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ceCsrully in Ceveral or his picces. One

~ovantage

poCo

Cenes aboye tiétion, that of more re.lotly engaging ollr be–

li~f.

which tends above any othtr panicular tO raiCe our

Cympathy . The (cene of colfledy is genmlly !.Iid at

home: familiarity is no objeélion; and we are pecu–

liarly fenfibl e of the rioicule of our own manners.

After a proper fu bjcét is cbuCen, the dividing it into

pans requlres fome arto The condufion of a book in ao

epic pocm, or of an aét in a play, cannot be altogether

arbitrary; nor be

int~nded

for lo night a purpofe as to

make the pans of eqllallength. The Cuppofed paufe at

the ehu of every book, and the real paufe at the eRd of

e" ry aét, ought always tO coincide with fome pauCe in

the aétion. In this reCpeét, a dramatie or epie poem

ought to reCemble a Centence or period in language, di–

vided intomembers that are diUingui/hed fromeach other

by proper pauCes; or it ought to refemble a piece of

mufic, having a fuU

cloCe

at the eod, preceded by im–

perfeét cloCes that contribute to the melody. Every

aél in a dranlUic poemought Jherefore to c10fe with Come

¡ocident tha¡ makes a paufe in the aétioD; for otherwiCe

there can be n6 pretext for interrupting the repreCenta.

tion : it would be abrurd to break off in the very heat of

aélioo; agai nU whieh every one would exdaim : the ab·

Curdity fliU remains, though the aétion releOls, if it be

Dot aéluaUy fuf'pended for lome time. This rule is alfo

applicable tO an epic poem: thollgh there, a deviation

from the rule is lefs remarkable; becau(e it is in the rea–

der's po"er to hide the abCurdity, by proceeding inUant.

Iy tOanother book. Th'e firfl book

the ParadiCe

LolI ends without any regular cloCe, perfeét or imper–

feél : it breaks off abruptly, where Satan, Ceated on his

throne, is prepared to make a Cpeeeh to the convocated

hoU of the faUen angels ; and the Cecond book begi ns

withthe fpeech. Miltonfeems tohave copied the !Eneid,

whieh the tWO firfl books are divided much io the

Came manner. Neither is there any proper pauCe at the

end of the fi fth book of the JEneid. T here i9

pro–

per plufe at the end of the feventh book of ParadiCe

LoO, nor at the end of the eleventh.

This braneh of toe fubjeél /hall be cl6Ced with a gene·

ral rule, That aélioo beiqg lhe fundamental part of e·

,ery rompofition ..oetoer epie or dramatie, the Centi–

ments and tone of language ought to be fubfervient to

the aélioo, fo

in every refpeél tOappear natural, and

proper for the oceaGon. T he applieation of this rule tO

our modero plays, IVould reduce the bulk of them to a

Ikeleton.

After carrying on rogether epic and dramatic eompofi–

tions, we proceed to handle them feparately, and to

mention cireumOanees peculiar to each, begi nning IVith

the epie ki nd. In a theatrieal entertai nment, whieh em–

ploys both the eye and the car, it would be a groCs ab–

¡llrdity to introduce upon the Uage fuperior beings in a

vifible f113pe. There is not place for tois objeélion in an

epic poem; and Boileau, with many otoer critie!, de·

ciares Urongly for this Con of machintry in an epic poem.

Hut wa. ing allthority, which is apt tO impoCe upon the

judgment, let us draw what light IVe can from. reaCon.

This matter is but indiflinltly haodled by cnues: tbe

po~tical

privilege of aniOlating iofcnflble obje{ls for en-

VOL.

!l.

No.

41.

livrning defeription, is very different fromwhat is

termed

machina)',

where deitics, angels, devils, or o·

ther fupero"tural powers, are introdueed as real perfon–

agts, mixing in the a(lion, and conuibu ting to the ca·

tallrophe; and yet theft t\Vo thi ngs areconltantly jumb.

led together in the reafoning. The fornler is foundedOQ

a natural principIe: but canthe fatter claim the fame au.

thority? fofar fromit, that nothing can be moreunnatu.

ral. hs efJ'eéts, at the fame time, are deplorable. Firfl

!t gives an air of fiélion to the whole

and prevents

tha~

Imprenion of reality whico is requifite tO interefl OUr af.

fcélions, and to moveour panions: this of itCelf is Cuf.

ficient to explode machinery, what'ever entertainment it

n~ay ~fford

tomders of a fanullic taUe or irregular ima–

~1O~uon.

And,

nex~,

were it ponible, by difguifing the

hétlon, .tO

~elude

In.to

no~ion

of.rea!ity, an infuper–

able obJeéllon IVould OIUremalO, whlch IS, that the aim

~nd

of an epie poem

ca~

?ever be amined in any per–

feéllDn where maehlnery ISIntroduced; for aD evideot

reaCon, toat vinuous emotions eannot be raiCed fuceeCs–

fully but by the aélions of thoCe who are endufd witn

pa~on!

and alTetlions like our own, that is, by humaQ

aéllons: and as for moral inUruélion, it is elear, that

none can be drawn frombeings IVho aél not upon the

fame principIes with uso

A fable in JEfop's manner is

no objeélion to this reaConing : his Iions, bulll, and goats,

are truly men under

~iCguire:

they atl and feel in everr

reCpeél as human belOgs l and the moral IVe draw is

foundeo on that fuppofition. Homer, it is true, intro.

dum the gods into his fable: but he was authorifed to

take

t~at

I.iberty by

t~e

religion of his eountry; it being

an aruele

the Grecran creed, that thegods often inter–

poCe vifiblyand bodily inhuman affairs. We muOhow·

el'er obCerve, that Homer's deities do no honour to his

poeml : fiélioos thu tranCgrefs the bounds of nature,

feldom have a good effeél : they may inflame the imagi–

natioo for a moment, but will oot be reliflled by any

perCon of a correa taUe. Let us add, that of wh:uever

uCe Cuco fiélions may be to a mean .genius, an able wri·

ter has much finer materials of Nature's produélion, for

elevating his Cubjeél, and making it intereUing.

T he marveUous is indeed fo mueh promoted,by Ola–

chinery, that it is oot IVonderful to find it embraced

by the bulk of writers, and perhaps of readers.

io·

dulged at aU, it is geoeraUy indulged to excefs. Ho·

mer introduces his deities with no greater ceremony than

his mortals

and Virgil has lliU lels moderation: a pilo!

fpent with watehingcannot faUafleepanddrop into the Cea

by natural means: one bed eannot'hold the t\Vo lovers,

JEneas a.d Dido, withollt the immediate interpofitioo of

Cuperior po\Vers. The ridiculous in fueh fiélioo! muO al:–

pear, eventhrough toethiekeUvail o[gravity andColemnity.

• Angels and dcvils Cerve equaUywito the Heathen dei.

ties, as materials for fi gurative I. nguage, perhaps better

among Coriflians, becauCe we bdieve

them, and Dot

in the Heathen deities. But evcry ooe i9 fenfible, as

well .s Boileau, that the invifible powtr! in our creed

make a mueh \Vorfe fi gure as aélors in a modero poem,

than the invifible

pOI~ers

in the Heathen creed did in ano

cient times. T he reaCon Ceems to be what

follow~.

T he Heathen deities,

the opinion of Ibeir votaries,

3 U

we~