omit them, or to lay them before his reader? But enough already concerning editors and editions, critics and critical science, has been spoken in a treatise intiXtled Critical obfervations on Shakespeare. Let us return to our intended fpecimen. You know very well that but half the poem of the Faery Queen is now extant: the ftories therefore, as well as allegories, being incomplete, muft in many inftances appear very intricate and confufed. For the poet's province intirely differs from the hiftorian's; in the former, the parts fo correfpond each with the other, that you must fee the whole, before you can well understand any part in the latter, that which is firft in time is firft likewife in the narration. However we will confider the fable, as we have it before us. St. George the patron and faint of England sets out at the request of a King's daughter, to flay a monftrous dragon, which (according to the Legend) haraffed her father's kingdom. The poet haftens into the midst of things, and fhews the Knight now pricking on the plain. His name and lineage is thus defcribed, "For well I wote thou springft from ancient race B. I. C. X. ft. 65. "Thence the thee brought into this faery lond, i. e. Georgos in the Greek tongue fignifies a husbandman; and 'tis well known Tyrrhenus arator Fatalem glebam mediis adfpexit in arvis Sponte fuâ primum, nulloque agitante, moveri : Ov. Met. xv, 553 Tages quidam dicitur in agro Tarquinienfi, quum terra araretur, & fulcus altius effet impreffus, extitiffe repente, & eum adfatus effe qui arabat. Cic. de Divin. II, 23. And in * While I am tranfcribing thefe verfes I cannot help wondering how fo good critics as Heinfius and Burman could admit fuch a botching epithet as Mediis arvis, when there are copies that read motis arvis. Now mota terra, mota humus is the fame as arata, and so used by Ovid this paffage before us here is an expreffion entirely Ovidian, Glebam afpexit moveri in motis arvis: the place likewife cited from Cicero proves this reading: quum terra araretur, &c. and fo Spenfer, As he his toplesome teme, &c. Fatalem glebam motis adfpexit in arvis Sponte fuá primum, nulloque agitante, moveri, 1 Hence likewife in allufion to his name Georgos, Spenfer in his letter to Sir W. Raleigh calls him "a CLOWNISH young man; who having defired a boone "of the Queen of cric road himfulf on "TICITIE for a better place." the Anore unfit thro' his Rusཔས བས ལཔ་པད MIGGTT BUT with respect to the allegorical and moral part of the poem, He is Holinefs perfonalized, a Chriftian man and God's faithful foldier and fervant: hence his arms is the Cross. [c. 1. ft. 2.] Una is Chriftian Truth, the Lamb is an emblem of her innocence, and the Afs the rides on of her humility. [ft. 4.] The first adventure that Truth thus united with Holiness, or Una and her champion, meet with, is the ferpentine fraud of Error, "Halfe like a Serpent, horribly displaide, "But th' other halfe did womans fhape retaine, "Most lothsom, filthie, foule, and full of vile difdaine. This our poet had from Hefiod; Milton has imitated both Hefiod and Spenser. And as 'tis very amufing to compare the imitations of great wits, pray turn to the old poet in Theog. . 295, &c. See how exactly Milton has tranflated, y. Dimidiam nympham, nigris oculis, pulcris genis Dimidiam item ingentem ferpenten, borrendumque et magnum, Varium, crudivorum, &c. "The one feem'd woman to the waist and fair; "But ended foul in many a fcaly fold, Voluminous, and vaft. Par. Cost. B.2.V.650. 'Tis mentioned in * Critical obfervations on Shakespeare how elegantly Milton has rifled the beauties of various authors, and has made them too his own, by properly applying and improving them, as his divine fubject required; and by keeping his mind always on the Scripture, and fcriptural images and expreffions. And what a noble allegory and epifode has Milton furnished cut from Hefiod, Spenfer, and a paffage in the epistle of St. James? THE kingdom of darkness must needs fall, whilft Holiness and Truth are thus united: in order therefore to feparate thefe, Archimago, the common adverfary of Chriftian knights, raises a jealoufie between them. They feparate; and how many misfortunes happen during this feparation? Falfhood attaches herself to Holiness. Nothing fucceeds. He is amazed at the plucking of a + bough, and feeing it stream with blood; he is amazed, and performs nothing: for holiness unaffifted with truth and reason is foon loft in amazement and filly wonderment. * See page 401, 413, 414. +C. 2. ft. 30. So Aeneas plucks up a myrtle bough, and the ghoft of Polydore fpeaks to him from beneath. The fancy of latter poets could not but be stricken with so furprizing an adventure: Tasse had his eye on this marvellous tale. B. xiii. ft. 41, &c. But more particularly Ariafio in the tranfformation of Aftolfo, whom Spenfer here chiefly follows. Falfhood next conducts him to the palace of foolish Pride, built on a fandy hill: from which efcaping, he fets himself down to reft at the lake of Idleness, and drinks of thofe fluggish waters, by which he is rendered feeble, and by thefe means is made a flave. Let us now return to Una feparated from her Knight. Forfaken Truth meets with blind Devotion. Whom the poet calls CORCECA [c. 3. ft. 18.] i. e. Cui caecum eft cor; in allufion to what the Apoftle writes, Rom. i. 21. "Whofe foolish heart was darkned". Ephef. iv. 18. Whofe understanding is darkned, being alienated from the life of God, thro' ignorance that is in her, because of the "BLINDNESS OF HER HEART": As 'twas owing to blind Devotion that Abbies, Monkeries, &c. were built and endowed, hence Abela is the daughter of Corceca: which daughter was enriched with the spoil of the laborious and fimple. The poet adds, "Wont to robbe Churches", meaning that the Church itfelf was robbed of its tythes, to enrich these fuperftitious houses. This Kirkrapine, or church-robber, was destroyed by the Lion, Una's defender, that is, by our English King Henry VIII, or Queen Elizabeth, the defender of the faith. Una after fome other "hair-breadth fcapes" luckily meets with prince Arthur, who redeems her Knight, and ftrips Falfhood of her borrowed garments, who flies to the wilderness to hide her fhame: "Thefe fhall hate the whore [Duella] and shall make her defolate [fly to the wilderness, c. viii. ft. 50.] and naked [st. 46] Revelat. xvii, 16. But our poet in this fine allegory and defcription had not only his eye on the Revelations, where the Scarlet Whore is defcribed; but likewife on Ariofto's description of Alcyna, whofe filthinefs and falfenefs appeared as foon as Rogero put on the inchanted ring: i. e. when he viewed effeminate pleafure and vanity with the eye of reason. Holiness and Truth once again united meet with Defpaire. Truth fortifies him, puts him in mind of his great defign in hand, viz. to flay the infernal fiend, the great Dragon. But firft fhe ftrengthens his mind with thofe Chriftian virtues, thofe heaven-born Sifters, Faith, Hope and Charity. Thus accoutred, he issues forth, flays the Dragon, and marries Una. "Let us be glad and rejoyce, and give honour to him: for THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB is come, and HIS WIFE hath made her felf ready." Revelat. xix. 7. 66 THE fecond book is the Legend of Sir Guyon, or of Temperance. Guyon has his name from to guide. Ital. guidare. Gall. guider. As Temperance, à temperando. "His carriage was full comely and upright, "His countenance demure and temperate, "That chear'd his friends, and did his foes amate. B. 2. c. 1. ft. 6. This temperate and even countenance was remarkable in † Socrates, and is highly philofophical. What Spenfer adds, "But yet fo STERNE, &c." This is exactly the philofopher's countenance, || Taupadòv Cλéπwv. Matth. vii. 26. +Cicero de off. I, 26. Arrianus in Epic. See too the description of APETH in Prodius' Hercules as related by Xen. in his memoirs of Socrates. L. 2. c. 1. τὰ δὲ ὄμματα αἰδοῖ, τὸ δὲ σχῆμα σωφροσύνῃ. Optima torvae Forma bovis. Says Virg. G. iii, 51. The paffage above cited is in Plato's Phaedo: Spenfer feems to have this very paffage in his eye; and if I fhould bring our English word etern from TAYPHAON, Etymology itself would not difallow of it. The adventure of Guyon is chiefly against a falfe inchantrefs named Acrafia, i e. intemperance. Taflo went before our poet, and pointed out the allegory of his poem, in which he tells us that "Ifmen and Armida [in Spenfer, Archimago and Acrafia] are two devilish temptations which do lay fnares for two powers of "the foul, from whence all other finns do proceed. Ifmen fignifies that temp"tation which feeketh to deceive with falfe belief the virtue opinative: Armida "is that temptation which laieth fiege to the power of our defires, fo from that "proceed the errours of opinion; from this, thofe of the appetite. This fo very nearly resembled our poet's intention, that he has not only imitated, but translated Taffo literally in many paffages. Nor could he well omit the great incantress Circe; by whom is imaged fenfual pleasure, that turneth men into brutes. SECT. II. 'Tis not my intent to fend you a perpetual commentary, but a short specimen. And tho' in general it may feem not difficult to trace the moral of the Faery Queene, yet to point out this minutely and particularly, and to follow our poet in his feveral imitations and allufions, may be perhaps not quite fo eafy a task. Let however what has been already faid of this subject fuffice at prefent; while I turn to another province, and that is of tracing out those warriors and courtiers, imaged under fictitious names, who are ingaged in the cause of the Faery Queene. From the court of the Faery Queene, or Queen Elizabeth, the Knights fet out, and to her court they are to return, to give an account of their various adventures. A hint of this nature may make fome readers and commentators refine too much; but that we may proceed with a proper clue, let us go on from things known, to what otherwife would be dark and intricate. WHAT reader is ignorant that kingdoms are often imaged by their Arms and Enfigns? When therefore I make the Lion, Una's defender, to be the defender of the faith, viz. England, or our English King, I make no question but this will be as readily allowed me, as to make the Raven, the Danish arms, to ftand for the Dane himself. "Ne fhall the Saxons felves all peaceably "There fhall a Raven far from rifing Sunne Thus again in the Ruines of Time, "What now is of th' Affyrian Lyoness, B. 3. C. 3. ft. 46. The The Affrian Lyoness, meaning the Affyrian and Caldean empire imaged under a beaft, which in the prophetic ftyle fignifies a Kingdom: it being ufual for the prophets, and that too very elegantly, to name countries, by the names of their enfigns or emblems. DAN. vii. 4. The firft was like a Lion [the Affyrian and Caldean Empire] A fecond like a Bear [the Perfian] Another like a Leopard [Alexander King of Macedon.] His WHELPS, his captains, who divided among themselves the vaft empires which he had conquered. The Lion attends on Mercilla [B. 5. C. 9. ft. 33] Whyleft underneath her feete, thereas fhe fate, "An huge great Lyon lay, &c. Mercilla is plainly Queen Elizabeth, and the Lady brought to the bar, is Mary Queen of the Scots. [ibid. ft. 38.] Her two paramours, faithleffe Blandamour and Paridell, [ft. 41.] are the Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland. The poet tries to apologize for his Faery Queene's conduct towards this unfortunate prifoner; but his Faery Queene was a Woman. Give me leave to mention here with what addrefs, in a part of this Episode, Spenfer has varied from Homer, who tells us the * Lite [Prayers] were ugly and lame; ugly, to fhew their forrow; lame, to fhew their humiliation. But our poet makes them fair virgins, attendants on Mercilla, Queen Elizabeth, as her Maids of honour: Add to this, that prayer, as praise and thanksgiving, is attended with a chearful countenance, and often in an erect posture. IN fome places of his poem Spenfer has given us the names themselves, left we might mistake him. Thus he mentions Sir Bourbon, [B. 5. C. 11. ft. 52.] meaning Henry King of Navarre, who was excluded the crown of France because a proteftant, and hence, "In dangerous diftrefs of a rude rout. Ibid. ft. 44. The Lady Flourdelis is the Genius of France. Bourbon in the encounter with the rabble rout, i. e. his rebellious subjects, flings away his fhield, and thus becomes a recreant Knight: [Relicta non bene parmula: this being the greatest mark of infamy in a warriour.] i, e. He leaves the proteftant religion, and in lieu of it gains the crown, "The love of lordfhips and of lands "Made him become most faithlefs and unfound. Ibid. a 12. ft. 2. However the Genius of his country, the Lady Flourdelis, ftill looks on him. as a recreant Knight; notwithstanding she is forced to admit him, "So bore her quite away, nor well nor ill apaid. NOR lefs vifible is the Episode of Belge. Ibid. c. 11. ft. 64. [B. 5.C. 10. ft. 6.] * Hom. 11. ί. 498. Καὶ γάρ τε Λιταί εἰσι Διὸς Κᾶραι μεγάλοιο Χωλαί τε, ξυσσαί τε. Etenim Preces funt Jovis magni filia, Claudæque, rugofæque. I would read here, Kai yap TOI A. Etenim fane P. "There |