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tered by verse are not fufficiently careful to avoid this flovenly practice they may be pitied, but they cannot be justified. Take for a specimen the following inftances, from the best poet, for verfification at least, that England has to boast of.

High on his helm celeftial lightnings play,
His beamy fhield emits a living ray,
Th' unweary'd blaze inceffant ftreams fupplies,
Like the red ftar that fires th' autumnal skies.

Strength and omnipotence inveft thy throne.

Iliad, v. 5.

Iliad, viii. 576.

So filent fountains, from a rock's tall head,
In fable ftreams foft-trickling waters shed.

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And like the moon, the broad refulgent shield
Blaz'd with long rays, and gleam'd athwart the field.

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No-could our fwiftnefs o'er the winds prevail,
Or beat the pinions of the western gale,
All were in vain

Iliad, xix. 460.

The humid fweat from ev'ry pore defcends.

Iliad, xxiii. 829.

Redundant epithets, fuch as humid, in the last citation, are by Quintilian difallowed to orators, but indulged to poets *; because his favourite poets, in a few inftances, are reduced to fuch epithets for the fake of verfification; for instance, Prata canis albicant pruinis, of Horace, and liquidos fontes, of Virgil.

As an apology for fuch careless expreffions, it may well fuffice, that Pope, in fubmitting to be a tranflator, acts below his genius. In a tranflation, it is hard to require the same spirit or accuracy, that is chearfully bestow'd on an original work. And to fupport the reputation of this author, I fhall give fome inftances from Virgil and Horace, more faulty by redundancy than any of thofe above mentioned:

Sæpe etiam immenfum cœlo venit agmen aquarum,
Et fædam glomerant tempeftatem imbribus atris
Collectæ ex alto nubes: ruit arduus æther,
Et pluviâ ingenti fata læta, boumque labores
Diluit.

Georg. lib. i. 322,

Poftquam altum tenuere rates, nec jam amplius ullæ Apparent terræ; cœlum undique et undique pontus ;

L. 8. cap. 6. fect. 2,

Tum

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Eft brevitate opus, ut currat fententia, neu se
Impediat verbis laffas onerantibus aures.

Serm. lib. 1. fat x. 9.

I close this chapter with a curious inquiry. An object, however ugly to the fight, is far from being fo when reprefented by colours or by words. What is the cause of this difference? With respect to painting the caufe is obvious a good picture, whatever the fubject be, is agreeable, because of the pleasure we take in imitation; and this pleasure overbalancing the difagreeableness of the fubject, makes the picture upon the whole agreeable. With respect to the description of an ugly object, the caufe is what follows. To connect individuals in the focial ftate, no particular contributes more than lan

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guage, by the power it poffeffes of an expeditious communication of thought, and a lively reprefentation of tranfactions. But nature hath not been fatisfied to recommend language by its utility merely independent of utility, it is made fufceptible of many beauties, which are directly felt, without the intervention of any reflection *. And this unfolds the mystery; for the pleasure of language is fo great, as in a lively description to overbalance the difagreeableness of the image raifed by itt. This however is no encouragement to deal in difagreeable fubjects; for the pleasure is incomparably greater where the fubject and the defcription are both of them agreeable.

The following defcription is upon the whole agreeable, though the fubject defcribed is in itfelf difmal :

Nine times the space that measures day and night
To mortal men, he with his horrid crew

Lay vanquish'd, rowling in the fiery gulf,
Confounded though immortal: but his doom
Referv'd him to more wrath; for now the thought
Both of loft happiness and lasting pain

Torments him; round he throws his baleful eyes
That witnefs'd huge affliction and difmay,
Mix'd with obdurate pride and stedfaft hate;

At once as far as angels ken he views
The difmal fituation waste and wild:

A dungeon horrible, on all fides round

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As one great furnace flam'd; yet from those flames
No light, but rather darkness vifible

Serv'd only to discover fights of wo,

Regions of forrow, doleful fhades, where peace
And reft can never dwell, hope never comes
That comes to all; but torture without end
and a fiery deluge, fed

Still urges,
With ever-burning fulphur unconfum'd!
Such place eternal justice had prepar'd
For those rebellious.

Paradife Loft, book 1. İ. 50.

An unmanly depreffion of fpirits in time of danger is not an agreeable fight; and yet a fine defcription or reprefentation of it will be relished:

K. Richard. What muft the King do now? muft he
fubmit?

The King fhall do it: must he be depos'd?
The King shall be contented: muft he lose
The name of King? o' God's name, let it go;
I'll give my jewels for a fet of beads;
My gorgeous palace, for a hermitage;
My gay apparel, for an almíman's gown;
My figur'd goblets, for a difh of wood;
My fceptre, for a palmer's walking staff;
My fubjects, for a pair of carved faints;
And my large kingdom, for a little grave;
A little, little grave; - an obfcure grave.
Or I'll be bury'd in the King's highway;
Some way of common tread, where fubjects feet
May hourly trample on their fovereign's head;
For on my heart they tread now, whilst I live;
And, bury'd once, why not upon my head?

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