N° LXXXVIII. SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 1751. CUM TABULIS ANIMUM CENSORES SUMET HONESTI: AUT SINE PONDERE ERUNT, ET HONORE INDIGNA FERENTUR, HOR. BUT HE THAT HATH A CURIOUS PIECE DESIGN'D, 'TH Confirmed and animated by this ilJuftrious precedent, I fhall continue my enquiries into Milton's art of verfification. Since, however minute the employment may appear, of alalyfing lines into fyllables, and whatever ridicule may be incurred by a folemn deliberation upon accents and paufes, it is certain that without this petty knowledge no man can be a poet; and that from the proper difpofition of fingle founds re Tults that harmony that adds force to reaLon, and gives grace to fublimity; that fhackles attention, and governs paffions. That verfe may be melodious and pleafing, it is necessary, not only that the words be fo ranged as that the accent may fall in it's proper place, but that the fyllables themselves be fo chofen as to how smoothly into one another. This is to be effected by a proportionate mixture of vowels and confonants, and by tempering the mute confonants with Tiquids and femivowels. The Hebrew grammarians have obferved, that it is impoffible to pronounce two confonants without the intervention of a vowel, or without fome emiffion of the breath between one and the other; this is longer and more perceptible, as the founds of } CREECH. the confonants are lefs harmonically conjoined, and, by confequence, the flow of the verfe is longer interrupted. It is pronounced by Dryden, that a line of monofyllables is almost always harth. This, with regard to our language, is evidently true, not because monofyllables cannot compofe harmony, but because our monofyllables being of Teutonick original, or formed by contraction, commonly begin and end with confonants, as -Every lower faculty of fenfe, whereby they bear, fee, smell, touch, tafte. The difference of harmony arifing principally from the collocation of vow els and confonants, will be fufficiently conceived by attending to the following paffages: Immortal Amarant-there grows And flow'rs aloft, fhading the fount of life, Rolls o'er Elysian flow'rs her amber ftream; beams. Hpoufed Eve firft deck'd her nuptial bed; Milton, whofe ear had been accuftomed, not only to the mufick of the ancient tongues, which, however vitiated by our pronunciation, excel all that are now in ufe, but to the foftness of the Italian, the most mellifluous of all modern poetry, feems fully convinced of the unfitness of our language for fmooth verfification, and is therefore pleafed with an opportunity of calling in a fefter word to his affiftance; for this reason, and I believe for this only, he fometimes indulges himself in a long feries of proper names, and introduces them where they add little but mufick 1 his poem. The richer feat The moon-The Tufcan artist views He has indeed been more attentive to his fyllables than to his accents, and does not often offend by collifions of confonants, or openings of vowels upon each other, at least not more often than other writers who have had lefs impor tant or complicated fubjects to take off their care from the cadence of their lines. and the alexandrine of the French; and the elifion of vowels, however graceful it may feem to other nations, may be very unfuitable to the genius of the English tongue. There is reafon to believe that we have negligently loft part of our vowels, and that the filent e which our ancestors added to fome of our monofyllables, was once vocal. By this detruncation of our fyllables, our language is overstocked with confonants, and it is more neceffary to add vowels to the beginning of words, than to cut them off from the end. Milton therefore seems to have fomewhat miftaken the nature of our language, of which the chief defect is ruggednefs and afperity, and has left our harsh cadences yet harfher. But his elifions are not all equally to be cenfured in fome fyllables they may be allowed, and perhaps in a few may be fafely imitated. The abfciflion of a vowel is undoubtedly vicious when it is ftrongly founded, and makes, with it's affociats confonant, a full and audible fyllable. -What he gives, Fruits Hefperian fables true, If true, here only, and of delicious taste, -Evening now approach'd, Of guests he makes them slaves, And vital Virtue infus'd, and vital warmth Throughout the fluid mass. The great peculiarity of Milton's verfification, compared with that of later poets, is the elifion of one vowel before another, or the fuppreffion of the Last fyllable of a word ending with a vowel, when a vowel begins the follow-To ing word. As God made thee of choice his own, and of I believe every reader will agree that in all thofe paffages, though not equally in all, the mufick is injured, and in fome the meaning obfcured. There are other lines in which the vowel is cut off, but it is fo faintly pronounced in cominon fpeech, that the lofs of it in poetry is fcarcely perceived; and therefore such compliance with the measure may be allowed. Nature breeds This licence, though now difufed in English poetry, was practifed by our old writers, and is allowed in many other languages, ancient and modern; and therefore the criticks on Paradife Loft have, without much deliberation, commended Milton for continuing it. But one language cannot communicate it's rules to another. We have already tried and rejected the hexameter of the ancients, the double clofe of the Italians, They view'd the vaft immenfuralle abyfs. Perverfe, all monstrous, all prodigious things, From the fhore Impene Impenetrable, impal'd with circling fire. To none communicable in earth or heav'n. Yet even these contractions encrease the roughness of a language too rough already; and though in long poems they may be fometimes fuffered, it never can be faulty to forbear them. Milton frequently uses in his poems the hypermetrical or redundant line of eleven fyllables. Thus it fhall befall Him who to worth in woman over-trufting Lets her will rule-→→→ I alfo err'd in over-much admiring. Verfes of this kind occur almoft in every page; but though they are not unpleafing or diffonant, they ought not to be admitted into heroick poetry, fince the narrow limits of our language allow us no other diftinction of epick and tragick measures, than is afforded by the liberty of changing at will the terminations of the dramatick lines, and bring ing them by that relaxation of metrical rigour nearer to profe. N° LXXXIX. TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1751. DULCE EST DECIPERE IN LOCO. HOR. WISDOM AT PROPER TIMES 19 WELL FORGOT. LOCKE, whom there is no reason to fufpect of being a favourer of idlenefs or libertinifim, has advanced, that whoever hopes to employ any part of his time with efficacy and vigour, muft allow fome of it to pafs in trifles. It is beyond the powers of humanity to fpend a whole life in profound ftudy and intense meditation, and the moft rigorous exacters of industry and seriousness have appointed hours for relaxation and amufement. It is certain, that, with or without our confent, many of the few moments allotted us will flide imperceptibly away, and that the mind will break frem confinement to it's stated task, into fudden excurfions. Severe and connected attention is preferved but for a short time; and when a man fhuts himself up in his clofet, and bends his thoughts to the difcuffion of any abftrufe queftion, he will find his faculties continually stealing away to more pleafing entertainments. He often perceives himself transported, he knows not how, to diftant tracts of thought; and return to his first object as from a dream, without knowing when he forfook it, or how long he has been abstracted from it. It has been obferved, that the moft ftudious are not always the most learned. There is, indeed, no great difficulty in difcovering that this difference of proficiency may arife from the difference of intellectual powers, of the choice of books, or the convenience of information. But I believe it likewife frequently happens, that the most reclufe are not the most vigorous profecutors of nudy Many impofe upon the world, and many upon themselves, by an appearance of fevere and exemplary diligence; when they, in reality, give themselves up to the luxury of fancy, pleafe their minds with regulating the paft, or planning out the future; place themfelves at will in varied fituations of happiness, and flumber away their days in voluntary vifions. In the journey of life fome are left behind, because they are naturally feeble and flow; fome because they miss the way; and many because they leave it by choice, and inftead of preffing onward with a steady pace, delight themselves with momentary deviations, turn afide to pluck every flower, and repofe in every shade. There is nothing more fatal to a man whofe bufinefs is to think, than to have learned the art of regaling his mind with thofe airy gratifications. Other vices or follies are reftrained by fear, reformed by admonition, or rejected by the conviction which the comparison of our conduct with that of others may in time produce. But this invifible riot of the mind, this fecret prodigality of being, is fecure from detection, and fearless of reproach. The dreamer retires to his apartments, fhuts out the cares and interruptions of mankind, and abandons himfelf to his own fancy; new worlds rife up before him, one image is fol lowed by another, and a long fucceffion of delights dances round him. He is at last called back to life by nature, or by cuftom, and enters peevish into fo ciety, becaufe he cannot model it to his It happens, indeed, that these hypo- This captivity, however, it is neceffary for every man to break, who has any defire to be wife or ufefal, to pass his life with the esteem of others, or to look back with fatisfaction from his old age upon his earlier years. In order to regain liberty, he must find the means of flying from himfelf; he muft, in oppofition to the Stoick precept, teach his defires to fix upon external things; he muft adopt the joys and the pains of others, and excite in his mind the want of focial pleafures and amicable com munication. It is, perhaps, not impoffible to promote the cure of this mental malady, by clofe application to fome new study which may pour in fresh ideas, and keep curiofity in perpetual motion. But fudy requires folitude. and folitude is a ftate dangerous to thofe who are too much accustomed to fink into themselves. Active employment, or publick pleasure, is generally a neceffary part of this intellectual regimen, without which, though fome remiffion my be obtained, a complete cure will scarcely be effected. This is a formidable and obftinate difeafe of the intellect, of which, when it has once become radicated by time, the remedy is one of the hardest tasks of reafon and of virtue. It's flighteft attacks, therefore, fhould be watchfully oppofed; and he that finds the frigid and narcotick infection beginning to feize him, fhould turn his whole attention against it, and check it at the firft difcovery by proper counteraction. The great refolution to be formed, when happiness and virtue are thus formidably invaded, is, that no part of life be spent in a state of neutrality or indifference; but that fome pleasure be found for every moment that is not devoted to labour; and that, whenever the neceffary bufinefs of life grows irkfome or difgufting, an immediate transition be made to diverfion and gaiety. After the exercifes which the health of the body requires, and which have themselves a natural tendency to actuate and invigorate the mind, the most eligible amufement of a rational being feems to be that interchange of thoughts which is practifed in free and eafy convertation; where fufpicion is banished by experience, and emulation by benevolence; where every man speaks with no other reftraint than unwillingness to offend, and hears with no other difpofition than defire to be pleased. There must be a time in which every man trifles; and the only choice that nature offers us, is, to trifle in company or alone. To join profit with pleasure, has been an old precept among men who have had very different conceptions of profit. All have agreed that our amufements fhould not terminate wholly in the prefent moment, but contribute more or lefs to future advantage. He that amufes himself among well-chofen companions, can scarcely fail to receive, from the moft careless and obftreperous merriment which virtue can allow, fome ufeful hints; nor can converfe on the most familiar topicks, without fome cafual information. The loofe (parkles of thoughtlefs wit may give new light to the mind, and the gay contention for paradoxical pofitions rectify the opinions. This is the time in which thofe friendfhips that give happinefs or con olation, relief or fecurity, are generally formed. A wife and good man is never fo amiable as in his unbended and familiar inC c tervals, tervals. Heroick generofity, or philofophical discoveries, may compel veneration and respect, but love always implies fome kind of natural or voluntary equality, and is only to be excited by that levity and cheerfulness which difencumbers all minds from awe and folicitude, invites the modeft to freedom, and exalts the timorous to confidence. This ealy gaiety is certain to pleafe, whatever be the character of him that exerts it; if our fuperiors defcend from their elevation, we love them for leffening the distance at which we are placed below them; and inferiors, from whom we can receive no lafting advantage, will always keep our affections while their IT fprightliness and mirth contribute to our pleafure. Every man finds himself differently affected by the fight of fortreffes of war, and palaces of pleasure; we look on the height and ftrength of the bulwarks with a kind of gloomy fatisfaction, for we cannot think of defence without admitting images of danger; but we range delighted and jocund through the gay apartments of the palace, because nothing is impreffed by them on the mind but joy and feftivity. Such is the difference between great and amiable characters; with protectors we are fafe, with companions we are happy. N° XC. SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 1751. T is very difficult to write on the minuter parts of literature without failing either to pleafe or inftruct. Too much nicety of detail difgufts the greateft part of readers; and to throw a multitude of particulars under general heads, and lay down rules of extenlive comprehenfion, is to common underfandings of little ufe. They who undertake thefe fubjects are therefore always in danger, as one or other inconvenience arifes to their imagination, of frighting us with rugged fcience, or amufing us with empty found. In criticifing the work of Milton, there is, indeed, opportunity to interfperfe paffages that can hardly fail to relieve the languors of attention; and fince, in examining the variety and choice of the paufes with which he has diverfified his numbers, it will be neceffary to exhibit the lines in which they are to be found, perhaps the remarks may be well compenfated by the examples, and the irk fomeness of grammatical difquifitions fomewhat alleviated. Milton formed his fcheme of verfification by the poets of Greece and Rome, whom he propofed to himself for his models, fo far as the difference of his language from theirs would permit the imitation. There are indeed many inconveniencies infeparable from our hero ick meafure compared with that of Homer and Virgil; inconveniencies which it is no reproach to Milton not to have overcome, because they are in their own nature infuperable; but against which he has ftruggled with fo much art and diligence, that he may at least be faid to have deferved fuccefs. The hexameter of the ancients may be confidered as confifting of fifteen fyllables, fo melodiously difpofed, that as every one knows who has examined the poetical authors, very pleafing and fonorous lyrick meafures are formed from the fragments of the heroick. It is, indeed, fcarce poffible to break them in fuch a manner but that invenias etiam disjeti membra poëta, fome harmony will still remain, and the due proportions of found will always be difcovered. This measure therefore allowed great variety of paufes, and great liberties of connecting one verte with another, becaufe wherever the line was interrupted, either part fingly was mufical. But the ancients feem to have confined this privilege to hexameters; for in their other meatures, though longer than the Englifh heroick, thofe who wrote after the refinements of verification, venture fo feldom to change their pauses, that every variation may be fuppofed rather a com pliance with neceffity than the choice of judgment. Milton was conftrained within the |