بر Altho' a Poet is oblig'd to know all Arts and Sciences, yet he ought difcreetly to manage this Knowledge. He muft have Judgment to felect what is noble or beautiful, and proper for his Occafion. He muft, by a particular Chymistry, extract the Effence of Things, without foiling his Wit with the Grofs and Trumpery. But fome Poets labour to appear skilful with that wretched Affectation, they dote on the very Terms and Jargon; expofing themfelves rather to be laugh'd at by the Apprentices, than to be admir'd by Philofophers: But whether D'avenant be one of those, I leave others to examine. The Sort of Verfe he makes choice of, might, I fuppofe, contribute much to the vitiating of his Stile; for thereby he obliges himself to ftretch every Period to the End of four Lines. Thus the Senfe is broken perpetually with Parentheses, the Words jumbled in Confufion, and a Darkness spread over all; that the Senfe is either not difcern'd, or found not fufficient for one just Verse, which is fprinkled on the whole Tetraftick. In the Italian and Spanish, where all the Rhimes are diffyllable, and the Percussion stronger, this Kind of Verse may be necessary; and yet to temper that grave March, they repeat the fame Rhime over again, and then they close the Stanza with a Couplet further to sweeten the Severity. But in French and English, where we Rhime generally with only one, Syllable, the Stanza is not allow'd, much lefs the alternate Rhime in long Verfe; for the Sound of the monofyllable Rhime is either lost "ere we come to its Correfpondent, or we are in Pain by the fo long Expectation and Sufpenfe. This alternate Rhime, and the down-right Morality throughout whole Canto's together, fhew him better acquainted with the Quartrains of Pybrach, which he speaks of, than with any true Models of epick Poefie. After all, he is faid to have a particular Talent for the Manners; his Thoughts are great, and there appears fomething roughly noble throughout this Fragment; which, had he been pleas'd to finish it, would, doubtless, not have been left fo open to the Attack of Criticks. A more happy Genius for heroick Poefie, appears in Cowley. He understood the Purity, the Perfpicuity, the Majefty of Stile, and the Vertue of Numbers. He could difcern what was beautiful and pleasant in Nature, and could exprefs his Thoughts without the least Difficulty or Conftraint. He understood to difpofe of the Matters, and to manage his Digreffions. In fhort, he understood Homer and Virgil, and as prudently made his Advantage of them. Yet, as it may be lamented, that he carried not on the Work fo far as he defign'd, fo it might be wifh'd that he had liv'd to revife what he did leave us: I think the Troubles of David is neither Title nor Matter proper for an heroick Poem; feeing it is rather the Actions than his Sufferings, that make an Hero: Nor can it be defended by Homer's Odyffeis, fince Ulyffes's Sufferings conclude with one great and perfect Action. After all the heavy Cenfures that jointly from all Criticks have fallen on Lucan, I do a little wonder that this Author fhould chufe Hiftory for the Subject of his Poem, and a Hiftory where he is fo ftrictly ty'd up to the Truth. Ariftotle tells us, That Poetry is fomething more excellent, and more philofophical than Hiftory, and does not inform us what has been done, but teaches what may, and what ought to be done. And fince many Particulars in facred Story are neither heroick, nor indeed confiftent with the common Principles of Morality, but of a fingular, extraordinary, and unaccountable Difpenfation; and fince in the principal Actions all is carried on by Machine, how can these Examples be propos'd for great Perfons to imitate? or what Foundations for their Hopes in Impoffibilities? Poetry has no Life, nor can have any Operation without Probability: It may indeed amuse the People, but moves not the Wife, for whom alone (according to Pythagoras)'Asiow it is ordain'd. συνέταις, Instead of one illuftrious and perfect Action, &c. Stob. which properly is the Subject of an epick Poem, Cowley propofes to adorn fome several Particulars of David's Life; and thefe Particulars have no necessary Relation to the End, nor in any wife lead to the great Revolution : David is made King, but this is the Work of Heaven, not any Atchievement of his own. He neither did, nor ought to lift a Finger for gaining the Crown: He is among the Amale kites whilft his Work is done without him. This ill Choice of a Subject forces the Poet (how excellent otherwife foever) perpetually on Digreffions; and David is the leaft Part of the Poem. Some, perhaps, may object, That he begins not his Poem with all the Art and Address as might be defired. Homer would make us believe the drawing of Achilles, adorn'd with all his glorious Actions, a Defign too vast and impoflible; and therefore only proposes his Refentment of the Affront given him by Agamemnon; as if any one one Particular of his Life were fufficient to employ the greatest human Wit, with all its Mufes and divine Affiftance. Achilles could not be angry, but Heaven and Earth are engaged, and just Matter given for an heroick Poem. Thus whilst he proposes but one Paffage, we conceive a greater Idea of the reft than any Words could exprefs; and whilft he promises fo little, his Performances are the more admirable and furprizing. But in the Davideis we have all the Hero at the firft: In the Propofition, he is the best Poet, and is the best King: Now all the Author could do afterwards, is only to make good his Word, and make us conceive of his Hero the fame Idea at the End of the Poem, which was given us in the Beginning; whereas Homer calls the Man he defigns to celebrate barely Achilles, Son of Peleus, and recording his Actions, leaves others to conclude from them what a great Captain, Prince, and Hero, this Achilles was. Taffo left the Episode of Sophonia out of his Poem, because it was Troppo Lyrico. Yet Mr. Cowley is not content to mix Matters that are purely lyrical in this heroick Poem, but employs the Measures allo. Yet, notwithstanding what has been faid, we cannot now approve the Reafon (which Sir Philip Sidney gives) why Poets are lefs efteem'd in England, than in the other famous Nations, to be Want of Merit: nor be of their Opinion, who fay, that Wit and Wine are not of the Growth of our Country. Valour they allow us; but what we gain by our Arms, we lofe by the Weakness of our Heads: Our good Ale, and English Beef, they fay, may make us Soldiers, but are no very good Friends to Speculation. Were it proper here to handle this " Argu Argument, and to make Comparisons with our Neighbours, it might eafily by our Poetry be evinc'd, that our Wit was never inferiour to theirs, though, perhaps our Honefty made us worfe Politicians. Wit and Valour have always gone together, and Poetry been the Companion of Camps. The Hero and Poet were infpired with the fame Enthusiasm, acted with the fame Heat, and both were crown'd with the fame Laurel. Had our Tongue been as generally known, and thofe who felt our Blows understood our Language, they would confefs, that our Poets had likewife done their Part, and that our Pens had been as fuccessful as our Swords. And certainly, if Sir Philip Sidney had feen the Poets who fucceeded him, he would not have judg'd the English less deferving than their Neighbours. In the Davideis Fragment (and imperfect as it is) there fhines fomething of a more fine, more free, more new, and more noble Air, than appears in the Hierufalem of Taffo, which for all his Care, is fcarce perfectly purg'd from Pedantry. But in the lyrick Way however, Cowley far exceeds him, and all the rest of the Italians: Tho' Lyrick Poefie is their principal Glory, and Pope Urban VIII had the Honour, a little before him, to enrich modern Poesie with the Pindarick Strains. Many the greatest Wits of France have attempted the Epick, but their Performance anfwer'd not Expectation; our Fragments are more worth than their finish'd Pieces: And though, perhaps, want of Encouragement has hinder'd our Labours in the Epick, yet for the Drama, the World has nothing to be compared with us. But a Debate of this Importance is not the Work of a Preface; 1 fhall only here, on the behalf of our K English 1 |