Page images
PDF
EPUB
[blocks in formation]

Cibber, his character as a dramatic writer,
541.

Cicero, his ideas of taste, 17, note. His dis-
tinction between amare and diligere, 108.
His observations on style, 113. Very
attentive to the beauties of climax, 129.
Is the most harmonious of all writers,
135. His remarks on the power of mu-
sic in orations, 137. His attention to
harmony too visible, 141. Instance of
his happy talent of adapting sound to
sense, 143. His account of the origin
of figurative language, 152. His obser-
vations on suiting language to the sub-
ject, 161 His rule for the use of meta-
phor, 162. Instance of antithesis in, 187.
The figure of speech called vision, 90.
His caution against bestowing profuse
ornaments on an oration, 193. His dis-
tinction of style, 196 His own charac-
ter as a writer, 197. His character of
the Grecian orators, 268. His own cha-
racter as an orator, 274. Compared
with Demosthenes, 276. Masterly apos-
trophe in. 290, note. His method of
studying the judicial causes he under-
took to plead, 301. State of the prose
cution of Avitus Cluentius, 305. Analysis
of Cicero's oration for him, ibid. The ex-
ordium of his second oration against Rul-
lus, 343. His method of preparing intro-
ductions to his orations,344. Excelled in
narration, 351. His defence of Milo, ibid.
357. Instance of the pathetic in his last
oration against Verres, 362 Character of
his treatise de Oratore, 389. Character
of his dialogues,412. His epistles, 415.
Clarendon, Lord, remarks on his style,
120. His character as an historian, 407.
Clarke, Dr. the style of his sermons cha-
racterized, 324.

Classics, ancient, their merits now finally
settled beyond controversy, 388. The
study of them recommended, 393.
Climax, a great beauty in composition,
129. In what it consists, 191.
Cluentius, Avitus, history of his prosecu-
tion, 305. His cause undertaken by Ci-
cero, ibid. Analysis of Cicero's oration
for him, ibid.

Colours, considered as the foundation of
beauty,
50.

Comedy, how distinguished from tragedy,
506, 533. Rules for the conduct of, ibid.
The characters in, ought to be of our
own country and our own time, 534.
Two kinds of, ibid. Characters ought
to be distinguished, 535. Style, 536.
Rise and progress of comedy, ibid. Spa-
nish comedy, 538. French comedy, 539.
English comedy, 540. Licentiousness of,
from the era of the restoration, 541.
The restoration of, to what owing, 543.
General remarks, 544.

Comparison, distinguished from metaphor,
158. The nature of this figure explain-
ed. 181.

Composition. See Literary composition.
Congreve, the plot of his Mourning Bride

embarrassed, 513. General character
of his tragedy, 532. His comedies, 541.
Conjugation of verbs, the varieties of, 90.
Conviction, distinguished from persuasion,

262.

Copulatives, caution for the use of them,
124.

Corneille, his character as a tragic writer,
528.

Couplets, the first introduction of, into
English poetry, 432.

Cowley, instances of forced metaphors in
his poems, 162. His use of similes cen-
sured, 186. His general character as a
poet, 446.

Crevier, his character of several eminent
French writers, 382, note.
Criticism, true and pedantic distinguished,
13.
Its object, 27. Its origin, 28.
Why complained of by petty authors,
ibid. May sometimes decide against the
voice of the public, ibid.
Cyphers, or arithmetical figures, a kind of
universal character, 75.

D.

David, King, his magnificent institutions
for the cultivation of sacred music and
poetry, 460. His character as a poet,
468.

Debate in popular assemblies, the eloquence
of, defined, 262. More particularly con-
sidered, 285. Rules for, 287.
Declamation, unsupported by sound rea-
soning, false cloquence, 286.
Declension of nouns considered in various
Whether cases or pre-
languages, 84.
positions were most anciently used, 85.
Which of them are most useful and
beautiful, 86.

Deities, heathen, probable cause of the
number of, 173.
Deliberative orations what, 284.
Delivery, the importance of,in public speak-
ing, 292, 365. The four chief requisites
in, 366. The powers of voice, ibid.
Articulation, 367. Pronunciation, 368.
Emphasis, 369. Pauses, 370. Decla-
matory delivery, 374. Action, ibid. Af-
fectation, 376.

Demetrius, Phalerus, the rhetorician, his
character, 273.

Demonstrative orations, what, 284.
Demosthenes, his eloquence characterized,
267. His expedients to surmount the
disadvantages of his person and address,
271. His opposition to Philip of Ma-
cedon, ibid. His rivalship with Es-
chines, 272. His style and action, ibid.
Compared with Cicero, 276. Why his
orations still please in perusal, 286.
Extracts from his Philippics, 293 His
definition of the several points of orato-
ry, 365.
Description, the great test of a poet's ima-
gination, 452. Selection of circum-
stances, ibid. Inanimate objects should
be enlivened, 455. Choice of epithets,
456.

Description and imitation, the distinction
between, 56.

Des Brosses, his speculations on the ex-
pressive power of radical letters and
syllables, 61, note.

Dialogue writing, the properties of, 411.
Is very difficult to execute, 412. Mo-
dern dialogues characterized, ibid.
Didactic poetry, its nature explained, 447.
The most celebrated productions in this
class specified, ibid. Rules for composi-
tions of this kind, 448. Proper embel-
lishments of, ibid.

Diderot, M. his character of English co-
medy, 543.

Dido, her character in the Æneid examin-
ed, 490.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, his ideas of
excellency in a sentence, 136 His dis-
tinction of style, 196. Character of his
treatise on Grecian oratory, 269. His
comparison between Lysias and Iso-
crates, 270, note. His criticism on Thu-
cydides, 397.

Discourse. See Oration.

Dramatic poetry, the origin of, 425. Dis-

tinguished by its objects, 505. See Tra-
gedy and Comedy.

Dryden, one of the first reformers of our
style, 200. Johnson's character of his
prose style, ibid, note. His character as
a poet, 432. His character of Shak-
speare, 530, note. His own character as
a dramatic writer, 531, 541.

Du Bos, Abbé, his remark on the theatri-
cal compositions of the ancients, 137.
E.

Education, liberal and essential requisite
for eloquence, 380.

Egypt, the style of the hieroglyphical writ-
ing of, 73. This an early stage of the
art of writing, ibid. The alphabet pro-
bably invented in that country, 76.
Emphasis, its importance in public speak-
ing, 369. Rule for, ibid.

Eloquence, the several objects of considera-
tion under this head, 261. Definition of

At-

the term, 262, 377. Fundamental max-
ims of the art, 262. Defended against
the objection of the abuse of the art of
persuasion, ibid. Three kinds of eló-
quence distinguished, 263. Oratory, the
highest degree of, the offspring of pas-
sion, 264 Requisites for eloquence, ibid.
French eloquence, 265 Grecian, 266.
Rise and character of the rhetoricians of
Greece, 268. Roman, 274. The attici
and asiani, 276. Comparison between
Cicero and Demosthenes, ibid. The
schools of the declaimers, 279. The
eloquence of the primitive fathers of the
church, 280. General remarks on mod-
ern eloquence, ibid. Parliament, 283.
The bar and pulpit, ibid. The three kinds
of orations distinguished by the ancients,
284 These distinctious how far corres-
pondent with those made at present,
285. Eloquence of popular assemblies
considered, ibid. The foundation of elo-
quence, 286. The danger of trusting to
prepared speeches at public meetings,
287. Necessary premeditation pointed
out, ibid. Method, 288. Style and ex-
pression, ibid. Impetuosity, 289.
tention to decorums, 290. Delivery,
292, 366. Summary, 292. See Cicero,
Demosthenes, Oration, and Pulpit.
English language, the arrangement of
words in, more refined than that of an-
cient languages, 70. But more limited,
ibid. The principles of general grammar
seldom applied to it, 78. The important
use of articles in, 81. All substantive
nouns of inanimate objects of the neuter
gender, 82. The place of declension in,
supplied by prepositions, 85. The va-
rious tenses of English verbs, 91. His-
torical view of the English language,
95. The Celtic the primitive language of
Britain, ibid. The Teutonic tongue the
basis of our present speech, 96. Its ir
regularities accounted for, ibid. Its
copiousness, ibid. Compared with the
French language, 97. Its style charac-
terized, ibid. Its flexibility, 98 Is more
harmonious than is generally allowed,
ibid. Is rather strong than graceful, 99.
Accent thrown farther back in English
words, than in those of any other lan-
guage, ibid. General properties of the
English tongue, ibid. Why so loosely
and inaccurately written, 100. The
fundamental rules of syntax, common
both to the English and Latin, ibid.
No author can gain esteem if he does
not write with purity, 104 Grammati-
cal authors recommended, ibid. note,
Epic poetry, the standards of, 393 Is the
highest effort of poetical genius. 470
The characters of, obscured by critics,
ibid. Examination of Bossu's account
of the formation of the Iliad, ibid. Epic
poetry considered as to its moral tenden-

cy, 472. Predominant character of, 473.
Action of, ibid. Episodes, 474. The
subject should be of remote date, 475.
Modern history more proper for dramatic
writing than for epic poetry, ibid. The
story must be interesting and skilfully
managed, 476 The intrigue, 477. The
question considered whether it ought
to end successfully, ibid. Duration for
the action, ibid. Characters of the
persouages, 478 The principal hero,
ibid. The machinery, 479. Narration,
480. Loose observations, 481.
Episode, defined with reference to epic
poetry, 474 Rules for conduct of, 475.
Epistolary writing, general remarks on,
413.

Eve, her character in Milton's Paradise
Lost, 504

Euripides, instance of his excellence in the
pathetic, 524, note. His character as a
tragic writer, 527

Exclamations, the proper use of, 189.
Mode of their operation, ibid. Rule for
the employment of, 190.

Exercise improves both bodily and mental
powers, 18.

Exordium of a discourse, the objects of,
342. Rules for the composition of, 343.
Explication of the subject of a sermon, ob.
servation on, 352.
F.

Face, human, the beauty of, complex, 53.
Farquhar, his character as a dramatic writ-
er, 542.

Fathers, Latin, character of their style of
eloquence, 279.

Fenelon, archbishop, his parallel between
Demosthenes and Cicero, 277.

His re-
marks on the composition of a sermon,
347. Critical examination of his Ad-
ventures of Telemachus, 500.
Fielding, a character of his novels, 420.
Figurative style of language defined, 146.
Is not a scholastic invention, but a natu-
ral effusion of imagination, 147.
How
described by rhetoricians, 148. Will not
render a cold or empty composition in-
teresting, 149 The pathetic and sub-
lime reject figures of speech, ibid. Ori-
gin of, 150. How they contribute to
the beauty of style, 153. Illustrative des-
cription, 154 Heightened emotion, ibid.
The rhetorical names and classes of fig-
ures frivolous, 156. The beauties of
composition not dependant on tropes and
figures, 192. Figures must always rise
naturally from the subject, 193. Are not
to be profusely used, 194. The talent
of using derived from nature, and not to
be created, ibid. If improperly intro-
duced, are a deformity, ibid, note. See
Metaphor.

Figure, considered as a source of beauty,
51.

Figures of speech, the origin of, 66.

Figures of thought among rhetoricians, de-
fined, 148.

Fitness and design, considered as sources
of beauty, 54.

Fleece, a poem, harmonious passage from,
145

Fontenelle, character of his dialogues, 413.
French, Norman, when introduced into
England, 95.

French writers, general remarks on their
style, 198. Eloquence,265, 280 French
and English oratory compared, 282.
Frigidity in writing characterized, 48.

G.

Gay, a character of his pastorals, 441.
Gender of nouns, foundation of, 82.
Genius distinguished from taste, 29. Its
import, ibid. Includes taste, 30. The
pleasures of the imagination, a striking
testimony of Divine benevolence, 31.
True, is nursed by liberty, 265. In arts
and writing, why displayed more in one
age than another, 291. Was more vi-
gorous in the ancients than in the mod-

erns, 391. A general mediocrity of,
how diffused, ibid.

Gesner, a character of his Idyls, 440.
Gestures in public oratory. See Action.
Gil Blas of Le Sage, character of that no-
vel, 419.

Girard, abbé, character of his Synonymes
François, 111.

Gordon, instances of his unnatural disposi-
tion of words, 56.

Gorgius of Leontium, the rhetorician, his
character, 268.

Gothic poetry, its character, 424.
Gracchus, C. his declamations regulated by
musical rules, 137.

Grammar, general, the principles of, titles
attended to by writers, 78. The divi-
sion of the several parts of speech, 79.
Nouns substantive, 80. Articles, 81.
Number, gender, and case of nouns, 82.
Prepositions, 85. Pronouns, 88. Ad-
jectives, ibid. Verbs, 90. Verbs the

most artificial complex of all the parts
of speech, 92. Adverbs, 93. Prepo-
sitions and conjunctions, ibid. Impor-
tance of the study of grammar, 94.
Grandeur See Sublimity.
Greece, short account of the ancient repub-
lics of, 266. Eloquence carefully stu-
died there, 287. Characters of the dis-
tinguished orators of, ibid. Rise and
character of the rhetoricians, 268.
Greek, a musical language, 64, 136. Its
flexibility, 98. Writers distinguished
for simplicity, 207.

Guarini, character of his Pastor Fido, 441.
Guicciardini, his character as an historian,
406.

H.

Habakkuk, sublime representation of the
Deity in, 40.

Harris, explanatory simile cited from, 183.

Hebrew poetry, in what points of view
to be considered, 459. The ancient pro-
nunciation of lost, 460 Music and poe-
try, early cultivated among the He-
brews, ibid
Construction of Hebrew
poetry, ibid. Is distinguished by a con-
cise strong figurative expression, 463.
The metaphors employed in, suggested
by the climate and nature of the land
of Judea, 463, 465. Bold and sublime
instances of personification in, 466.
Book of proverbs, 467. Lamentations
of Jeremiah, ibid. Book of Job, 468.
Helen, her character in the Iliad examin-
ned, 484.

Hell, the various descents into, given by
epic poets, show the gradual improve-
ment of actions concerning a future
state, 501.

Henriade. See Voltaire.

les, ibid. General character of his
Odyssey, 488. Defects of the Odyssey,
ibid. Compared with Virgil, 489.
Hooker, a specimen of his style, 200.
Horace, figurative passages cited from, 153.
Instance of mixed metaphor in, 165.
Crowded metaphors, 166. His charac-
ter as a poet, 393, 445. Was the refor-
mer of satire, 450.

Humour, why the English possess their
quality more eminently than other na-
tions, 540.

Hyperbole, an explanation of that figure,
169. Cautions for the use of, 170. Two
kinds of, ibid.

1.

Ideas, abstract, entered into the first for-
mation of language, 80.

Jeremiah, his poetical character, 468. See
Lamentations.

Herodotus, his character as an historian, Iliad, story of, 482. Remarks on, ibid.

397.

Heroism, sublime instances of pointed out,

35.

Harvey, character of his style, 204.
Hieroglyphics, the second stage of writing,
73 Of Egypt, ibid.
Historians, modern, their advantages over
the ancient, 390. Ancient models of,
393. The objects of their duty, 394.
Character of Polybius, 396. Of Thucy-
dides, ibid. Of Herodotus and Thuanus,
397. Primary qualities necessary in an
historian, 398 Character of Livy and
Sallust, 399. Of Tacitus, ibid. Instruc-
tions and cautions to historians, 400.
How to preserve the dignity of narra-
tion, 401. How to render it interesting,
402. Danger of refining too much in
drawing characters, 404. Character of
the Italian historians, 406. The French
and English, 407.

History, the proper object and end of, 394.
True, the characters of, ibid. The dif
ferent classes of, 395. General history,
the proper conduct of, ibid. The ne-
cessary qualities of historical narration,
401. The propriety of introducing ora-
tions in history, examined, 405.
And
characters, ibid. The Italians the best
modern historians, 406. See Annals,
Biography, Memoirs, and Novels.
Hogarth, his analysis of beauty consider-
ed, 51.

Homer, not acquainted with poetry as a
systematic art, 27. Did not possess a
refined taste, 30. Instances of sublimi-
ty in, 41. Is remarkable for the use of
personification, 175. Story of the Iliad,
482. Remarks on, ibid. His inven-
tion and judgment in the conduct of
the poem, 483. Advantages and de-
fects arising from his narrative speeches,
ibid. His character, 484. His machi-
nery, 485. His style, 48€. His skill
in narrative description, 487. His simi-

The principal characters, 484.
nery of, 485.

Machi-

Imagination, the pleasures of, as specified
by Mr. Addison, 31. The powers of,
to enlarge the sphere of our pleasure, a
striking instance of divine benevolence,
ibid. Is the source of figurative lan-
guage 147, 151.

Imitation, considered as a source of plea-
sure to raste, 55 And description dis-
tinguished, 57.

Inferences from a sermon, the proper man-
agement of, 364.

Infinity of space, numbers, or duration af-
fect the mind with sublime ideas, 32.
Interjections, the first elements of speech,

60.

[blocks in formation]

Johnson, his character of Dryden's prose
style, 200, note. His remarks on the
style of Swift, 250, note. His character
of Thompson, 454, note. His character of
Dryden's comedies, 541, note. His char-
acter of Congreve, 542.

Jonson. Ben, his character as a dramatic
poet, 540.

Isaus, the rhetorician, his character, 270.
Isaiah, sublime representation of the Deity
in, 40. His description of the fall of the
Assyrian empire, 180. His metaphors
suited to the climate of Judea, 463, 464.
His character as a poet, 468.
Isocrates, the rhetorician, his character,

269.

Judea, temarks on the climate and natural
circumstances of that country, 463.
Judicial orations, what, 284.
Juvenal, a character of his satires, 450.

[blocks in formation]

Lamentations of Jeremiah, the most perfect
elegiac composition in the sacred scrip-
tures, 467.

Landscape, considered as an assemblage of
beautiful objects, 418
Language, the improvement of, studied
even by rude nations, 9. In what the
true improvement of language consists,
10. Importance of the study of language
ibid. Defined, 59. The present refine-
ments of, ibid. Origin and progress of,

Ana-

60. The first elements of, ibid.
logy between words and things, 61. The
great assistance afforded by gestures,
63. The Chinese language, 64. The
Greek and Roman languages, ibid. Ac-
tion much used by ancient orators, 64.
Roman pantomimes, 65. Great differ-
ence between ancient and modern pro-
nunciation, ibid. Figures of speech the
origin of, 66. Figurative style of Ame-
rican languages, 67. Cause of the de-
cline of figurative language, ibid. The
natural and original arrangement of
words in speech, 68. The arrangement
of words in modern languages, different
from that of the ancients, 70. An exem-
plification, ibid. Summary of the fore-
going observations, 72. Its wonderful
powers, 155 All language strongly
tinctured with metaphor, 158. In mo-
dern productions, often better than the
subjects of them, 260. Written and oral,
distinction between, 383. See Grammar,
Style, and Writing.

Latin language, the pronunciation of,
musical and gesticulating, 64, 136. The
natural arrangement of words in, 69.
The want of articles a defect in, 81.
Remarks on words deemed synonymous
in, 108.

Learning, an essential requisite for elo-
quence, 380.

Lebanon, metaphorical allusions to, in He-
brew poetry, 464.

Lee, extravagant hyperbole quoted from,
171. His character as a tragic poet,
531.
Liberty, the nurse of true genius, 265.
Literary composition, importance of the
study of language, preparatory to, 11.
The beauties of, indefinite, 54. To what
class the pleasures received from elo-
quence, poetry and fine writing, are to

be referred, 56. The beauties of, not
dependant on tropes and figures, 192.
The different kinds of distinguished, 394.
See History, Poetry, &c

Livy, his character as an historian, 399,
402.

Locke, general character of his style, 202.
The style of his Treatise on Human Un-
derstanding, compared with the writings
of Lord Shaftesbury, 411.

Longinus, strictures on his Treatise on the
Sublime, 38. His account of the conse-
quences of liberty, 265 His sententious
opinion of Homer's Odyssey, 488.
Lopes de la Vega, his character as a drama-
tic poet, 538.

Love, too much importance and frequency
allowed to, on the modern stage, 521.
Lowth's English Grammar recommended,
101, note, 124, note. His character of the
prophet Ezekiel, 468.

Lucan, instances of his destroying a sub-
lime expression of Cæsar, by amplifica-
tion, 43. Extravagant hyperbole from,
171: Critical examination of his Phar-
salia, 493. The subject, ibid. Charac-
ters and conduct of the story, 494.
Lucian, character of his dialogues, 413.
Lucretius, his sublime representation of the
dominion of superstition over mankind,
34, note. The most admired passages in
his Treatise De Rerum Natura, 449.
Lusiad. See Camoens.
Lyric poetry, the peculiar character of,
443. Four classes of odes, 444. Char-
acters of the most eminent lyric poets,
445.

Lysias, the rhetorician, his character, 270.

M.

Machiavel, his character as an historian,

406

Machinery, the great use of in epic poetry,
478. Cautions for the use of, 479, 485.
Mackenzie, Sir George, instance of regular
climax in his proceedings, 191.

Man, by nature both a poet and musician,
423.

Marivaux, a character of his novels, 420.
Marmontel, his comparative remarks on

French, English, and Italian petry,
431, note.

Marsy, Fr. his contrast between the cha-
racters of Corneille and Racine, 529,
note.

Massillon, extracts from a celebrated ser-
mon of his, 323, note. Encomium on,
by Louis XIV. 326 His artful divi-

sion of a text, 350.
Memoirs, their class in historical composi-
tion assigned, 408. Why the French
are fond of this kind of writing, ibid.
Metalepsis, in figurative language explain.
ed, 156.

Metaphor, in figurative style, explained,
157, 168. All language strongly tinct

« PreviousContinue »