sors or cotemporaries, into its present state.

Illus. Dryden began to write at the Restoration, and continued long an author both in poetry and prose. He had made the language his study; and though he wrote hastily, and often incorrectly, though his style is not free from faults, yet there is a richness in his diction, a copiousness, ease, and variety in his expression, which has not been surpassed by any who have come after him*.

2. Since his time, considerable attention has been paid to purity and elegance of style; but it is elegance rather than strength, that forms the distinguishing quality of most of the good English writers. Some of them compose in a more manly and nervous manner than others; but, whether it be from the genius of oui language, or from whatever other cause, it appears, that we are far from the strength of several of the Greek and Roman authors.

CHAPTER II.

OF THE DRY, PLAIN, NEAT, ELEGANT, AND
FLOWERY STYLE.

444. HITHERTO we have considered style under those characters that respect its expressiveness of an author's meaning. Let us now proceed to consider it in another view, with respect to the degree of ornament emyloyed to beautify it. Here, the style of different authors seems to rise, in the following gradation: a DRY, a PLAIN, a NEAT, an ELEGANT, and a FLOWERY manner. Of each of these in its order.

445. First, A DRY MANNER. This excludes ornament of every kind. Content with being understood, it has not the least aim to please, either the

* Dr. Johnson, in his life of Dryden, gives the following character of his prose style: "His prefaces have not the formality of a settled style, in which the first half of a sentence betrays the other. The clauses are never balanced nor the periods modelled; every word seems to drop by chance, though it falls into its proper place. Nothing is cold or languid, the whole is airy, animated, and vigorous; what is little, is gay; what is great, is splendid. Though all is easy, nothing is feeble; though all seems careless, there is nothing harsh; and though, since his earlier works, more than a century has passed, they have nothing yet uncouth or obsolete."

fancy or the ear. This is tolerable only in pure didactic writing; and even there, to make us bear it, great weight and solidity of matter are requisite ; and entire perspicuity of language.

Illus. 1. Aristotle is the most complete example of a dry style. Never, perhaps, was there any author who adhered so rigidly to the strictness of a didactic manner throughout all his writings, and conveyed so much instruction, without the least approach to ornament. With the most profound genius and extensive views, he writes, says Dr. Blair, like a pure intelligence, who addresses himself solely to the understanding, without making any use of the channel of the imagination.

2. But this is a manner which deserves not to be imitated. For, althougl: the goodness of the matter may compensate the dryness of harshness of the style, yet is that dryness a considerable defect; as it fatigues attention, and conveys our sentiments, with disadvantage, to the reader or hearer.

446. A PLAIN STYLE rises one degree above a dry style. A writer of this character employs very little ornament of any kind, and rests almost entirely upon his sense. But, if he is at no pains to engage us by the employment of figures, musical arrangement, or any other art of writing, he studies, however, to avoid disgusting us like, a dry and a harsh writer. Besides perspicuity, he pursues propriety, purity and precision in his language; which form one degree, and no inconsiderable one, of beauty. Livliness too, and force may be consistent with a very plain style: and therefore, such an author, if his sentiments be gɔod, may be abundantly agreeable.

Obs. The difference between a dry and plain writer, is, that the former is incapable of ornament, and seems not to know what it is; the latter seeks not after it. Ile gives us his meaning in good language, distinct and pure; he gives himself no further trouble about ornament; either, because he thinks it unnecessary to his subject; or because his genius does not lead him to delight in it; or, because it leads him to despise it.

447. What is called a NEAT STYLE Comes next in. order; and here we have arrived in the region of ornament; but that ornament not of the highest or most sparkling kind.

Illus. 1. A writer of this character shews, that he does not des

pise the beauty of language. It is an object of his attention. But Iris attention is shewn in the choice of words, and in a graceful collocation of them; rather than in any high efforts of imagination, or eloquence.

2. His sentences are always clean, and free from the encumbrance of superfluous words; of a moderate length; rather inclining to brevity, than a swelling structure; closing with propriety; without any appendages, or adjections dragging after the proper close.

3. His cadence is varied; but not of the studied musical kind. 4. His figures, if he uses any, are short and correct; rather than bold and glowing.

Scholia 1. Such a style as this may be attained by a writer who has no great powers of fancy or genius; merely by industry, and careful attention to the rules of writing, and it is a style always agreeable.

2. It imprints a character of moderate elevation on our composition, and carries a decent degree of ornament, which is not unsuitable to any subject whatever.

3. A familiar letter, or a law paper, on the driest subject, may he written with neatness; and a sermon, or a philosophical treatise, ina neat style, will be read with pleasure.

448. AN ELEGANT STYLE is a character expressing a higher degree of ornament than a neat one, and, indeed, is the term usually applied to style, when possessing all the virtues of ornament, without any of its excesses or defects.

Illus. 1. From what has been formerly delivered, it will easily be understood, that complete elegance implies great perspicuity and propriety; purity in the choice of words, and care and dexterity in their harmonious and happy arrangement. It implies, farther, the grace and beauty of imagination spread over style, as far as the subject admits display; and all the illustration which figurative language adds, when properly employed.

2. In a word, an elegant writer is one who pleases the fancy and the ear, while he informs the understanding; and who gives us his ideas clothed with all the beauty of expression, but not overcharged with any of its misplaced finery*.

449. When the ornaments, applied to a style, are

*In this class, therefore, we place only the first-rate writers in the language; such as Addison, Dryden, Pope, Temple, Boling broke, Atterbury, Campbell, Kames, Dr. Blair, Dugald Stewart, and a few more: writers who differ widely from one another in many of the attributes of style, but whom we now class together under the denomination of elegant, as, in the scale of ornament, possessing nearly the same place.

too rich and gaudy in proportion to the subject; when they return upon us too fast, and strike us either with a dazzling lustre, or a false brilliancy, this forms what is lled a FLORID STYLE; a term commonly used to signify the excess of ornament.

Obs. In a young composer this is very pardonable. Perhaps it is even a promising symptom in young people, that their style should incline to the florid and luxuriant. Much of it will be diminished by years; much will be corrected by ripening judgment; some of it, by the mere practice of composition, will he worn away. Let there be, at first, only sufficient matter that can bear some pruning and lopping off. At this time of life, let genius be bold and inventive, and pride itself in its efforts, though these should not, as yet, be correct. Luxuriancy can easily be cured; but for barrenness there is no remedy*.

450. But although the florid style may be allowed to youth, in their first essays, it must not receive the same indulgence from writers of maturer years. It is to be expected, that judgment, as it ripens, should chasten imagination, and reject, as juvenile, all such ornaments as are redundant, unsuitable to the subject, or not conducive to its illustration.

Obs. 1. Nothing can be more contemptible than that tinsel splendour of language, which some writers perpetually affect. It were well, if this could be ascribed to the real overflowing of a rich imagination. We should then have something to amuse us, at least, if we found little to instruct us. But the worst is, that with those frothy writers, it is a luxuriancy of words, not of fancy.

2. We see a laboured attempt, in these writers, to rise to a splen dour of composition, of which they have formed to themselves some loose idea; but having no strength of genius for attaining it, they endeavour to supply the defect by poetical words, by cold exclamations, by common-place figures, and every thing that has the appearance of pomp and magnificence,

3. It has escaped these writers, that sobriety in ornament is one great secret for rendering it pleasing; and that, without a founda tion of good sense and solid thought, the most florid style is but a childish imposition on the public. The public, however, are but too apt to be so imposed on; at least the mob of readers, who are

*Multum inde decoquent anni, multum ratio limabit, aliquid velut usu ipso deteretur; sit modo unde excidi possit quid et exsculpi.-Audeat hæc ætas plura, et inventis gaudeat; sint licet illa non satis interim sicca et severa. Facile remedium est uberțatis: sterilla nullo labore vincuntur. Quinctilian.

very ready to be caught, at first, with whatever is dazzling and gaudy, whether it be served up in the shape of two-pennies' worth of politics, or crude and infectious romances at a heavier charge.

V

CHAPTER III.

THE SIMPLE, AFFECTED, AND VEHEMENT STYLES.

451. We are now to treat of style under another character, one of great importance in writing, and which requires to be accurately examined; that of simplicity, or a natural style, as distinguished from affectation.

Obs. Simplicity, applied to writing, is a term very frequently used; but like many other critical terms, often used loosely and without precision. This has been owing chiefly to the different meanings given to the word simplicity, which, therefore, it will be necessary to distinguish; and to shew in what sense it is a proper attribute of style. We may remark four different acceptations in which it is taken.

452. The first is, simplicity of composition, as opposed to too great a variety of parts. Horace's precept refers to this:

Denique sit quod vis simplex duntaxat et unum*.

Illus. This is the simplicity of plan in a tragedy, as distinguished from double plots, and crowded incidents; the simplicity of the Iliad, or Eneid, in opposition to the degressions of Lucan, and the scattered tales of Ariosto; the simplicity of Grecian architecture, in opposition to the irregular variety of the Gothic. In this sense, simplicity is the same with unity. (Art. 154.)

453. The second sense is, simplicity of thought, as opposed to refinement. Simple thoughts are. what arise naturally; what the occasion or the subject suggest unsought; and what, when once suggested, are easily apprehended by all. Refinement in writing, expresses a less natural and obvious train of

"Then learn the wand'ring humour to controul,

And keep one equal tenor through the whole.”