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actors in this poem are not only be fuppofed to fquare exactly with

our progenitors, but our reprefentatives. We have an actual intereft in every thing they do, and no lefs than our utmost happiness is concerned, and lies at ftake in all their behaviour.

I fhall fubjoin as a corollary to the foregoing remark, an admirable obfervation out of Ariftotle, which hath been very much misreprefented in the quotations of fome modern critics. If a man of perfect ⚫ and confummate virtue falls into a misfortune, it raises our pity, ⚫ but not our terror, because we do ⚫ not fear that it may be our own cafe, who do not resemble the fuffering perfon. But as that great philofopher adds, If we fee a man of virtue, mixt with infirmities, fall into any misfortune, it does not only raife our pity but our terror; because we are afraid that the like misfortunes may happen to ourselves, who refemble the character of the fuf⚫fering perfon.

I fhall only remark in this place, that the foregoing obfervation of Ariftotle, tho it may be true in other occafions, does not hold in this; becaufe in the prefent cafe, though the perfons who fall into misfortune are of the most perfect and confummate virtue, it is not to be confidered as what may poffibly be, but what actually is our own cafe; fince we are embark'd with them on the fame bottom, and must be partakers of their happiness or mifery.

In this, and fome other very few inftances, Ariftotle's rules for epic poetry (which he had drawn from his reflections upon Homer) cannot

the heroic poems which have been made fince his time; fince it is evident to every impartial judge his rules would ftill have been more perfect, could he have perufed the Eneid which was made fome hundred years after his death.

In my next, I fhall go through. other parts of Milton's poem; and hope that what I fhall there advance, as well as what I have already written, will not only ferve as a comment upon Milton, but upon Ariftotle.

WE have already taken a general furvey of the fable and characters in Milton's Paradise Loft: The parts which remain to be confider'd, according to Ariftotle's method, are the fentiments and the language. Before I enter upon the firft of thefe, I muft advertise my reader, that it is my defign as foon as I have finished my general reflections on thefe four several heads, to give particular inftances out of the poem now before us of beauties and imperfections which may be observed under each of them, as alfo of fuch other particulars as may not properly fall under any of them. This I thought fit to premife, that the reader may not judge too haftily of this piece of criticism, or look upon it as imperfect, before he has feen the whole extent of it.

The fentiments in an epic poem are the thoughts and behaviour which the author afcribes to the perfons whom he introduces, and are juft when they are conformable to the characters of the feveral perfons. The fentiments have like

wife a relation to things as well as perfons, and are then perfect when they are fuch as are adapted to the fabject. If in either of thefe cafes the poet endevors to argue or explain, to magnify or diminish, to raife love or hatred, pity or terror, or any other paffion, we ought to confider whether the fentiments he makes ufe of are proper for those ends. Homer is cenfured by the critics for his defect as to this particular in feveral parts of the Iliad and Odyffey, tho' at the fame time those who have treated this great poet with candor, have attributed this defect to the times in which he lived. It was the fault of the age, and not of Homer, if there wants that delicacy in fome of his fentiments, which now appears in the works of men of a much inferior genius. Befides, if there are blemishes in any particular thoughts, there is an infinite beauty in the greatest part of them. In fhort, if there are many poets who would not have fallen into the meanness of fome of his fentiments, there are none who could have rifen up to the greatness of others. Virgil has excelled all others in the propriety of his fentiments. Milton fhines likewife very much in this particular: Nor muft we omit one confideration which adds to his honor and reputation. Homer and Virgil introduced perfons whofe characters are commonly known among men, and fuch as are to be met with either in hiftory, or in ordinary converfation. Milton's characters, most of them, lie out of nature, and were to be formed purely by his own invention. It shows a greater

genius in Shakespear to have drawn his Calyban, than his Hotspur or Julius Cæfar: The one was to be fupplied out of his own imagination, whereas the other might have been formed upon tradition, hiftory and obfervation. It was much eafier therefore for Homer to find proper fentiments for an affembly of Grecian generals, than for Milton to diverfify his infernal council with proper characters, and inspire them with a variety of fentiments. The loves of Dido and Æneas are only copies of what has paffed between other perfons. Adam and Eve before the fall, are a different fpecies from that of mankind, who are defcended from them; and none but a poet of the moft unbounded invention, and the most exquifite judgment, cou'd have filled their conversation and behaviour with fo many apt circumftances during their ftate of innocence.

Nor is it fufficient for an epic poem to be filled with fuch thoughts as are natural, unless it abound alfo with fuch as are fublime. Virgil in this particular falls fhort of Hamer. He has not indeed so many thoughts that are low and vulgar; but at the fame time has not fo many thoughts that are fublime and noble. The truth of it is, Virgil feldom rifes into very aftonifhing fentiments, where he is not fired by the Iliad. He every where charms and pleases us by the force of his own genius; but feldom elevates and tranfports us where he does not fetch his hints from Homer.

Milton's chief talent, and indeed his diftinguishing excellence lies in the fublimity of his thoughts. There

are

are others of the Moderns who rival him in every other part of poetry; but in the greatness of his fentiments he triumphs over all the poets both modern and ancient, Homer only excepted. It is impoffible for the imagination of man to diftend itself with greater ideas, than those which he has laid together in his firft, fecond and fixth books. The feventh, which defcribes the creation of the world, is likewife wonderfully fublime, tho' not fo apt to ftir up emotion in the mind of the reader, nor confequently fo perfect in the epic way of writing, because it is filled with lefs action. Let the judicious reader compare what Longinus has obierved on feveral paffages in Homer, and he will find parallels for most of them in the Paradife Loft.

From what has been faid we may infer, that as there are two kinds of fentiments, the natural and the fublime, which are always to be purfued in an heroic poem, there are also two kinds of thoughts which are carefully to be avoided. The first are fuch as are affected and unnatural; the fecond fuch as are mean and vulgar. As for the firft kind of thoughts we meet with little or nothing that is like them in Virgil: He has none of those trifling points and puerilities that are fo often to be met with in Ovid, none of the epigrammatic turns of Lucan, none of those fwelling fentiments which are fo frequently in Statius and Claudian, none of thofe mixed embellishments of Taffo. Every thing is juft and natural. His fentiments how that he had a perfect infight

into human nature, and that he knew every thing which was the moft proper to affect it.

Mr. Dryden has in fome places, which I may hereafter take notice of, mifreprefented Virgil's way of thinking as to this particular, in the tranflation he has given us of the Æneid. I do not remember that Homer any where falls into the faults abovementioned, which were indeed the falfe refinements of later ages. Milton, it must be confeft, has fometimes erred in this refpect, as I fhall fhew more at large in another paper; tho' confidering all the poets of the age in which he writ, were infected with this wrong way of thinking, he is rather to be admired that he did not give more into it, than that he did fometimes comply with the vicious taste which ftill prevails fo much among modern writers.

But fince feveral thoughts may be natural which are low and groveling, an epic poet should not only avoid fuch fentiments as are unnatural or affected, but also fuch as are mean and vulgar. Homer has opened a great field of rallery to men of more delicacy than greatness of genius, by the homelinefs of fome of his fentiments. But, as I have before said, these are rather to be imputed to the fimplicity of the age in which he lived, to which I may alfo add, of that which he defcribed, than to any imperfection in that divine poet. Zoilus, among the Ancients, and Monfieur Perrault, among the Moderns, pushed their ridicule very far upon him, on account of some fuch fentiments. There is no blemish to be obferved in Virgil,

under

under this head, and but a very few in Milton.

I shall give but one inftance of this impropriety of thought in Homer, and at the fame time compare it with an inftance of the fame nature, both in Virgil and Milton. Sentiments which raife laughter, can very feldom be admitted with any decency into an heroic poem, whose business is to excite paffions of a much nobler nature. Homer, however, in his characters of Vulcan and Therfites, in his ftory of Mars and Venus, in his behaviour of Irus, and in other paffages, has been obferved to have lapfed into the burlefque character, and to have departed from that serious air which feems effential to the magnificence of an epic poem. I remember but one laugh in the whole Æneid, which rifes in the fifth book upon Monates, where he is reprefented as thrown overboard, and drying himself upon a rock. But this piece of mirth is fo well timed, that the fevereft critic can have nothing to fay against it, for it is in the book of games and diverfions, where the reader's mind may be supposed to be fufficiently relaxed for fuch an entertainment. The only piece of pleafantry in Paradife Loft, is where the evil fpirits are defcribed as rallying the Angels upon the fuccefs of their new invented artillery. This paffage I look upon to be the most exceptionable in the whole poem, as being nothing elfe but a ftring of puns, and those too very indifferent.

Satan beheld their plight, And to his mates thus in derifion call'd.

O Friends, why come not on these victors proud!

Ere while they fierce were coming, and when we,

To entertain them fair with open front,

And breaft, (what could we more) propounded terms

Of compofition; ftrait they chang'd their minds,

Flew off, and into strange vagaries fell,

As they would dance, yet for a dance they feem'd Somewhat extravagant and wild, perhaps

For joy of offer'd peace; but I fuppofe

If our propofals once again were beard,

We should compel them to a quick refult.

To whom thus Belial in like

gamefome mood. Leader, the terms we fent, were terms of weight,

Of hard contents, and full of force urg'd home,

Such as we might perceive amus'd them all,

And ftumbled many; who receives them right,

Had need, from head to foot, well

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language; and as the learned world is very much divided upon Milton as to this point, I hope they will excufe me if I appear particular in any of my opinions, and incline to thofe who judge the most advantageoufly of the author.

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It is requifite that the language of an heroic poem fhould be both perfpicuous and fublime. In portion as either of these two qualities are wanting, the language is imperfect. Perfpicuity is the firft and most neceffary qualification; infomuch that a good-natur'd reader fometimes overlooks a little flip even in the grammar or fyntax, where it is impoffible for him to mistake the poet's fenfe. Of this kind is that paffage in Milton, wherein he speaks of Satan.

God and his Son except, Created thing nought valu'd he

nor fhunn'd.

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tend to each minute particular, and give the last finishing to every cir cumftance in fo long a work. The ancient critics therefore, who were acted by a fpirit of candor, rather than that of cavilling, invented certain figures of fpeech, on purpofe to palliate little errors of this nature in the writings of thofe authors who had fo many greater beauties to atone for them.

If clearness and perfpicuity were only to be confulted, the poet would have nothing else to do but to clothe his thoughts in the moft plain and natural expreffions. But fince it often happens that the most obvious phrafes, and those which are ufed in ordinary conversation, become too familiar to the ear, and contract a kind of meannefs by paffing through the mouths of the lar care to guard himself against vulgar, a poet fhould take particuidiomatic, ways of speaking. Ovid and Lucan have many poorneffes of expreffion upon this account, as taking up with the first phrases that offered, without putting themselves to the trouble of looking after fuch as would not only be natural, but also elevated and fublime. Milton has but a few failings in this kind, of which, however, you may meet with fome inftances, as in the following paffages.

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