Sheds Tears at the fight of thofe he had involved inMifery ib.
His Reflections on the fight of Adam and Eve

ibid.

His addrefs to the Sun, feafon'd with Remorfe and Self-
Accufation

340

The Character of the Meffiah, his Power and Justice, tem-
pered with Love and Mercy

Terrible to his Enemies only

Defcription of his Works of Creation

341

ibid.

342

His Afcent into Heaven after the World was created 343
The Allegory of Sin and Death extremely poetical, but
not much to the advantage of his work

ibid.

344

The Sentiments admirably adapted to the Characters
Sublimity of Sentiments, Milton's chief Excellence ibid.
The Paffion of Love in a state of Purity, beautifully re-
prefented in the Characters of Adam and Eve.--See their
Sentiments under the Chapters of the Beauty of Thought
and Style of Poetry

Some Defects pointed out

ibid.

345

The Language raised and fupported with wonderful Art ibid.
The Difficulties he had to encounter with respect to the
Diction

ibid.

The Method he took to enrich his Style and render his
Numbers various and harmonious

346

Some Defects in his Diction pointed out

347

Of the Spirits contracting their Stature, so as to find room
in the Pandemonium

ibid:

The Difpute on that Subject stated

348

Of the Difficulty of writing a modern Epic Poem

349

Of Taffo's Jerufalem delivered

ibid.

The Portion of History on which this Poem is founded ib.

The Images he gives us of Armida, and her Behaviour
while Rinaldo hews down the Myrtle, is great

That Profe ought to be confider'd in oppofition to Verfe,
and not in opposition to Poetry

ibid.

That Poetry does not wholly confift in the Number and
Cadence of Syllables, but in a fpirited Fiction, bold
and noble Figures, and a Variety of beautiful and just
Images

ibid.

In the English Language the Harmony and Beauty of Verse
and Profe depend on nearly the fame Principles 358

ibid.

If there is no Poetry without Verfe, there can be none in
the English Verfion of the Pfalms of David, the Book of
Job, the Song of Solomon, or in any part of the Old
Teftament
The beautiful Simplicity of Fenelon's Style has, perhaps,
degraded him in the eyes of the injudicious, tho' he
is admir'd for it by the best Judges
Some Defects and Beauties pointed out

ibid.

359

The Scheme of Minerva's affuming the form of Mentor,
taken from the Hiftory of Tobias

Of Voltaire's Henriade

ibid.

ibid.

The Portion of History on which this Poem is founded ibid.
The Characters agreeably diverfified and well supported 363
The Thoughts, Style and Numbers elegant and graceful,

and often noble and fublime

Some Defects in the Fable

The Machinery extravagant

The Hero's changing his Religion, abfurd
His other Works admirable

Of Mr. Glover's Leonidas

ibid.

ibid.

ibid.

364

ibid.

365

The Portion of History on which this Poem is founded ib.
The Poem excellently calculated to infpire the Reader with

the Love of Liberty, public Virtue, and Patriotifim 369
Tho' theFable is taken from an ancient GrecianStory which
would have admitted of coeleftial Machinery, theAuthor
has prudently avoided that kind of Ornament ibid.
The Heroes of Homer and Virgil leffen'd by their Ma-
chinery

ibid.
No judging which was the greatest Hero, Hector or Achilles,
without eftimating the Aid each received from the Deities

ibid.

The Abfurdity not removed, by giving thofe Paffages an al-
legorical turn, for many of them will not admit of
either moral or phyfical Explication

370

The Beauty and Propriety of his Fictions, Incidents, and
Epifodes

ibid.

371

Of the Fable

The clofe of this Poem, as well as that of the Iliad and
Encid, feemingly deficient

ibid.

The Characters well fustained, and some of them finely
contrafted

Of the Character of Leonidas

ibid.

372

His Addrefs to the Spartans, on receiving the Anfwer from
the Oracle

ibid.

His Reply to the Perfian Ambaffador

373

The affecting manner in which he takes Leave of his Wife
and Children

ibid.

Of the Character of Xerxes

375

The Poet has more exalted his Heroes the Greeks, by
making fome of the Perfian Leaders valiant and amiable

Of the Character of Teribazus

Leffen'd by the manner of his Death

'The Adventure of Ariane to the Grecian Camp

Her Conference with Leonidas

ibid.

377

ibid.

378

Lamentation over the Body of Teribazus, and her Death 380

The Sentiments of the Poem are confiftent with the Charac-
ters, always proper, and often noble and fublime
The Language is for the most part elegant, expreffive, and
agreeably elevated

381

ibid.

The Numbers are in fome Places diffonant, and inharmo-

nious

ibid.

Reflections on Shakespeare

ibid.

His Volumes a Repofitory of true Wit, and of the fublimest
Beauties in Compofition

ibid.
His Numbers as harmonious as those of any modern Poet ibid.
His Diction fo elegant and expreffive, that he feems to
have been confidered as a Standard, and to have fixed the
volatile Fluctuations of a living Language, to which the
frequent Representation of his Plays has not a little con-
tributed
The Power he has over the Mind is not wholly owing to the
Force of his Wit and Fancy; but to his having in greater
Proportion than other Men that Power of Feeling or Sen-
fibility refulting from Nature and accurate Obfervation,
which we call good Taste

ibid.

ibid.

382

ibid.

As he confulted Nature more than Books, his Thoughts are,
for the most part, new and noble, whereas other Drama-
tic Poets of his Time, by having ancient Authors too
much in View, loft the Spirit of Originality
An Apology for the Defects in Shakespeare
The Character of a Book not to be estimated by the num-
ber of its Defects, but of its Beauties
ibid.
Reading compared to Converfation----He who frequents
Company to obferve only abfurd and vicious Characters
will obtain little Benefit ; but he who obferves and imi-
tates the Polite, may become a Fine Gentleman ibid.

ERRATA то VOL. I.

Page 41, Line 7. dele We come now to. P. 49, 1. 12. for
that read which. P. 53, 1. 39. for Poctry r. Poetry. P. 84,
in the Note, for Tibia r. Tibi. P. 85, l. 15. for where r. were,
P. 168, l. 10. dele in. P. 174, l. 12. for assimulated read
affembled. P. 175, 1. 13. for ever r. over.
Ibid. Line 37,
for white Afb, read ruild Afh. P. 189, 1. 36. for Hair read
Hare. P. 205, 1. 10. for Paise read Praife. P. 214, l. 19.
dele vinner. P. 216, 1. 21. for male read meal. P.
line the laft, for barborous read barbarous.

ERRATA TO VOL. II.

250,

Page 19, Line 2. for lays read lies. P. 96, 1. 2, of the Note,
for Operation read Oppreflion. P. 204, 1. 16. for Wreck read
eak. P. 341, 1. 14. for Obhorance read Abhorrence.

****

THE

****

INTRODUCTION.

F the fciences were to be estimated by their anti

from all others, fince it is, we may fuppofe, nearly as old as the Creation, and had its being almoft with the firft breath of mankind.

When Adam came from the hands of his all-bountiful Creator, and found himfelf in the plains of Paradise, amidst an infinite number of creatures, fo fearfully and wonderfully made; when he faw every herb, plant, and flower rife up for his ufe and pleafure, and every creature fubmit to his will; when he heard the morning's dawn ushered in with the orifons of birds, and the evenings warbled down with notes of thanks and gratitude; when all nature exulted in praife of the omnipotent Creator; when the morning flars fang together, and all the fons of God fhouted for joy t, could man, thus highly favoured of heaven, withold his tribute?—No,

when all things that breathe From th' earth's great altar fend up filent praise To the Creator, and his noftrils fill

With grateful fmell: forth came the human pair,

And join'd their vocal worship to the Choir
Of Creatures wanting voice.

both flood

Both turn'd, and under open sky ador'd

The God that made both sky, air, earth and heaven
Which they beheld, the moon's refplendent globe,
And ftarry pole :-Thou alfo mad ft the night,
Maker omnipotent, and thou the day! *

Poetry in its infant ftate was the language of devotion and love. It was the voice and expreffion of the heart of man when ravished and transported with a view of the numberlefs bleffings that perpetually flowed from God the fountain of all goodness.

--all things fmild

With Fragrance, and with Joy their hearts o'erflow'd. †

Enraptured thus with the love of God, and filled with an awful idea of his power, glory, and goodnefs; the foul, incapable of finding words in common language fuitable to its lofty conceptions, and difdaining every thing low and vulgar, was obliged to invent a language intirely new. Tropes and figures were called in to exprefs its fentiments, and the diction was dignified and embellished with metaphors, beautiful defcriptions, lively images, fimilies, and whatever elfe could help to exprefs, with force and grandeur, its paffion and furprife: difdaining common thoughts and trivial expreffions, it explores all Nature and afpires at all that is fublime and beautiful, in order to approach perfection and beatitude. Nor was this fufficient.-The mind diffatisfied with culling only the most noble thoughts, arrayed in forcible and luxuriant terms, and perceiving the sweetness which arofe from the melody of birds, called in mufic to its aid; when these illuftrious thoughts, dignify'd and drefs'd with pomp and fplendor, were + Ibid.

*Milton's Para life Loft.