by elevation, is where the object is feen diftinctly; a greater elevation leffens in appearance the object, till it vanish out of fight with its pleasant emotion. The fame is equally remarkable in fi gurative grandeur and elevation, which fhall be handled together, because, as obferved above, they are scarce diftinguifhable. Sentiments may be fo ftrained, as to become obfcure, or to exceed the capacity of the human mind: against fuch licence of imagination, every good writer will be upon his guard. And therefore it is of greater importance to obferve, that even the true fublime may be carried beyond that pitch which produces the higheft entertainment: we are undoubtedly fufceptible of a greater elevation than can be infpired by human actions, the most heroic and magnanimous; witnefs what we feel from Milton's defcription of fuperior beings; yet every man must be fenfible of a more conftant and fweet clevation, when the hiftory of his own fpecies is the fubject; he enjoys an elevation equal to that of the greatest hero, of an Alexander, or a Cæfar, of a Erutus, or an Epaminondas; he accompanies thefe heroes in their fublimeft fentiments and most hazardous exploits, with a magnanimity equal to theirs; and finds it no ftretch, to preferve the fame tone of mind for hours together, without finking. The cafe is by no means the fame, in defcribing the actions or qualities of fuperior beings: the reader's imagination cannot keep pace with that of the poet;

the

the mind, unable to fupport itself in a strained elevation, falls as from a height; and the fall is immoderate like the elevation: where this effect is not felt, it must be prevented by fome obfcurity in the conception, which frequently attends the defcription of unknown objects.

A ftrained elevation is attended with another inconvenience, that the author is apt to fall fuddenly as well as the reader; because it is not a little difficult, to defcend fweetly and easily from fuch elevation, to the ordinary tone of the fubject. The following paffage is a good illuftra tion of this doctrine:

Sæpe etiam immenfum cœlo venit agmen aquarum,
Et fœdam glomerant tempeftatem imbribus atris
Conlectæ ex alto nubes. Ruit arduus æther,
Et pluvia ingenti fata læta boumque labores
Diluit. Inplentur foffa, et cava flumina crefcunt
Cum fonitu, fervetque fretis fpirantibus æquor.
Ipfe Pater, media nimborum in nocte, corufcâ
Fulmina molitur dextra. Quo maxuma motu
Terra tremit: fugêre feræ! et mortalia corda
Per gentes humilis ftravit pavor. Ille flagranti
Aut Atho, aut Rhodopen, aut alta Ceraunia telo
Dejicit ingeminant auftri, et denfiffimus imber.
Virg. Georg. l. 1.

In the defcription of a ftorm, to figure Jupiter throwing down huge mountains with his thunder-bolts, is hyperbolically fublime, if I may ufe that expreffion: the tone of mind produced by this image, is fo diftant from that produced by

a

a thick shower of rain, that the fudden tranfition must be unpleasant.

Objects of fight that are not remarkably great nor high, scarce raise any emotion of grandeur or of fublimity: and the fame holds in other objects; for we often find the mind roufed and animated, without being carried to that height. This difference may be difcerned in many forts of mufic, as well as in fome musical instruments : a kettledrum roufes, and a hautboy is animating; but neither of them inspires an emotion of fublimity revenge animates the mind in a confiderable degree; but I think it never produceth an emotion that can be termed grand or fublime; and I fhall have occafion afterward to obferve, that no difagreeable paffion ever has that effect. I am willing to put this to the test, by placing before my reader a moft fpirited picture of revenge it is a speech of Antony wailing over the body of Cæfar:

:

Wo to the hand that fhed this coftly blood!
Over thy wounds now do I prophesy,

(Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips,
To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue),

A curfe fhall light upon the kind of men;

Domestic fury, and fierce civil ftrife,

Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;

Blood and destruction shall be so in use,

And dreadful objects fo familiar,

That mothers fhall but fmile, when they behold
Their infants quarter'd by the hands of war,
All pity choak'd with custom of fell deeds,

And

And Cæfar's fpirit, ranging for revenge,
With Atè by his fide come hot from hell,
Shall in thefe confines, with a monarch's voice,
Cry, Havock! and let flip the dogs of war.

Julius Cafar, alt 3. Sc. 4.

No defire is more univerfal than to be exalted and honoured; and upon that account chiefly, are we ambitious of power, riches, titles, fame, which would fuddenly lofe their relish, did they not raise us above others, and command fubmiffion and deference *; and it may be thought, that our attachment to things grand and lofty, proceeds from their connection with our favourite paffion. But the preference that is given to things grand and fublime, must have a deeper root in human nature. Many beftow their time upon low and trifling amufements, without having the leaft tincture of this favourite paffion: yet these very perfons talk the fame language with the reft of mankind; and at least in their judgement, if not in their taste, prefer the more elevated pleafures they acknowledge a more refined taste, and are ashamed of their own as low and groveling. This fentiment, conftant and univerfal,

* Honeftum per fe effe expetendum indicant pueri, in quibus, ut in fpeculis, natura cernitur. Quanta ftudia decertantium funt! Quanta ipfa certamina! Ut illi efferuntur lætitia, cum vicerunt! Ut pudet victos! Ut fe accufari nolunt! Ut cupiunt laudari! Quos illi labores non perferunt, ut æqualium principes fint! Cicero de finibus.

muft

must be the work of nature; and it plainly indicates an original attachment in human nature, to every object that elevates the mind: fome men may have a greater relifh for an object not of the highest rank; but they are conscious of the preference given by mankind in general, to things grand and fublime; and they are fenfible, that their peculiar tafte, ought to yield to the ge

neral taste.

What is faid above, fuggests a capital rule for reaching the fublime, in fuch works of art as are fufceptible of it; and that is, to present those parts or circumstances only, which make the greateft figure, keeping out of view every thing low or trivial for the mind, from an elevation inspired by important objects, cannot, without reluctance, be forced down to bestow any share of its attention upon trifles. Such judicious felection of capital circumftances, is by an eminent critic ftyled grandeur of manner*. In none of the fine arts is there fo great scope for this rule as in poetry, which, by that means, enjoys a remarkable power, of bestowing upon objects and events an air of grandeur: when we are spectators, every minute object presents itself in its order; but in defcribing at fecond hand, these are laid afide, and the capital objects are brought clofe together. A judicious taste in thus felecting the most interesting incidents, to give them an u

Spectator, N° 415.