With Nature's Gifts, fuftains the Gifts of Nature, The Fountain where fhe drinks, fhe makes her Bath, At the fame Time we allow, that the Sentiments in many Places of the Faithful Shepherd are (taking Taffo for a Rule) too lofty, and the Stile too founding for paftoral Comedy; nevertheless, those very Paffages by themselves are beautiful, and some of them as great as any to be found in the Tragedies of the Antients and Moderns; this Poet has in several Places in this Drama fcattered Thoughts, which were indeed his own Sentiments, which, he did not dare to write, to speak, or even own to think, as a Chriftian Poet, but a Perfon filling a Character in a heathen Paftoral, fafely enough: Of this we could give a great many Inftances, but fhall content ourfelves with one, which has not escap'd Censure, and for which a Monk once told me, that all his Works ought to be burnt; this Reclufe would have infinuated, as if he (through the blind Prophet Tirenio) abfolutely denied all Revelation, or poffible Intercourse between Man and the Divinity; I fhall put the Paffage I speak of in the best Light I may Amarillis being falfely accus'd of Breach of Faith, is > VOL. II. N 3 con condemn'd to Death, but the Law allowing any Perlon who should offer themselves, to die in her Stead, Mirtillo, the Faithful Shepherd, takes the Advantage of it, and demands that he may die, and the be fet at Liberty. Upon which the Solemnity of the Sacrifice begins, and the Victim, after a certain limited Time of Speech, is to remain filent ; but the Sacrifice is interrupted by the coming in of Carino, the fuppos'd Father of Mirtillo, to whom unwittingly Mirtillo fpeaks, which makes void the preceding Rites, and he is fent back to the Temple to renew his Vow, and Meffengers with him for freth Wine and Water, and other Things proper for the Sacrifice: Mean time the Discovery is made, that Mirtillo is the Son of Montano the high Priest, who was going to offer him up, this raifes a violent Conflict in the Breaft of Montano, who declares, that he will instead of Mirtille, kill himself; in this Circumftance Things are, when the blind Prophet is led in, and difcovers Mirtillo to be the Faithful Shepherd, foretold by the Oracle to free this Land of Offerings of human Blood. It is the Beginning of Tirenio's Speech only that we fhall quote. O quanto fpeffo giova La cecità de gli occhi al veder molto; Ch' alhor non traviata L'anima, ad in fe fteffa Tutta raccolta, fuole. Aprir nel cieco fenfo occhi Lincei. Non bifogna, Montano, Paffar sì leggiermente alcuni gravi Non afpettati cafi, Che trà l'opere humane han del divino. Però che i fommi Dei Non converfano in terra, Nè Nè favellan con gli huomini mortali ; '. Mute à l' orecchie, e rifonanti al core The following is as clofe a Translation as we are able to give : How often does the Want of Eyes give Sight! Which the blind Vulgar to blind Chance afcribe, Of this we shall not make the fame Application as the Monk did; let every one judge for himself. It is objected by Mr. Pope and others, that Guarini has, befides thefe deep and fpeculative Verfes, too much Contrivance and too ravell'd a Plot for a Dramatick Paftoral: But this is fuppofing that every Paftoral Writer muft follow Taffo exactly, because he invented this Sort of Poem. Taffe's Characters are nothing but Shepherds and Shepherdeffes on their native Plains, fuppos'd to know little elfe, but about N 2 their their Flocks and Sports, and a little Love; though you fee his Thyrfis has been at Court, and fpeaks high Phrafe to Daphne, of the Prince whofe Favour he enjoy'd: Nay, Daphne tells him, he has foar'd aloft. However in Taffo's Amintas there appears no Plot, but all happens by Accident; the little Contrivance of bringing Silvia to the Fountain excepted. Take all this for granted, may not another Poet, ftill keeping the Arcadian Stile, introduce Characters, who may be fuppos'd (though inhabiting the Plains) to act Parts fuller of Defign. Guarini's Characters are, except two or three, of another Sort from those of Taffo. Montano is High-Priest of Diana, defcended from the Gods; Silvio and Mirtillo are his Children; Mirtillo has feen the World, and liv'd a great While at Elis, to which Place Amarillis had alfo been conducted, to fee the Sports that were celebrated there in Honour of Jupiter, and she is the Daughter of Titirus, defcended likewife from the Gods; Corifca is an old Coquet and a Traveller, had liv'd in great Towns, come but lately from Argos, and the Satire is a Character which allows great Liberty. Here is a Prophet; and Carino, who had travelled all over thofe Parts, befides feveral other Characters. We can't see why it should be denied the Poet, to form what Plot might fuit his Genius best out of thefe, who are naturally fuppofed to be capable of fuch Actions as we fee them employ'd in: So that we think Mr. Pope, had he attempted fuch a Work, would have been deceiv'd, where he fays, he fhould certainly displease all those, who are charm'd with Bonarelli and Guarini, and imitate Taffo; becaufe (fetting Bonarelli quite afide) we find almost all Lovers of Poetry equally charm'd with Tafe and Guarini; who, with Mr. Allan Ramsay are the best Writers Writers of the Paftoral Drama, that have ever yet wrote. We hope it will be obferved, that we have impartially shown the Beauties of thefe Poets; not having any Regard to the Differences between Mr. Philips and Mr. Pope, we have done Juftice to the former, and shall ftill quote from his Fifth Paftoral the Story of the Nightingale; which, though not entirely of Mr. Philips's Invention, (being first touched by Strada, and then by Mr. Crafhaw) is very finely improved: When Shepherds flourish'd in Eliza's Reign, He makes the Birds in Troops about him throng, But |