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their Pucelle, or their Alarique: The English have only to boast of Spencer and Milton, who neither of them wanted either Genius or Learning, to have been perfect Poets; and yet both of them are liable to many Cenfures. For there is no Uniformity in the Design of Spencer: He aims at the Accomplishment of no one Action: He raises up a Heroe for every one of his Adventures: And endows each of them with fome particular Moral Virtue, which renders them all equal, without Subordination or Preference. Every one is moft Valiant in his own Legend; only we must do them that Juftice to obferve, that Magnanimity, which is the Character of Prince Arthur, fhines throughout the whole Poem; and fuccours the rest, when they are in Distress. The Original of every Knight was then living in the Court of Queen Elizabeth; and he attributed to each of them, that Virtue which he thought moft confpicuous in them: An ingenious Piece of Flattery, tho' it turn'd not much to his Account. Had he liv'd to finish his Poem, in the fix remaining Legends, it had certainly been more of a Piece; but cou'd not have been perfect, becaufe the Model was not true. But Prince Arthur, or his chief Patron Sir Philip Sidney, whom he intended to make happy by the Marriage of his Gloriana, dying before him, depriv'd the Poet, both of Means and Spirit, to accomplish his Defign: For the reft, his obfolete Language, and the ill Choice of his Stanza, are Faults but of the Second Magnitude: For notwithstanding the first, he is still intelligible, at least after a little Practice; and for the laft, he is the more to be admir'd; that labouring under fuch a Difficulty, his Verfes are so numerous, fo various, and fo harmonious, that only Virgil, whom he profeffedly imitated, has furpafs'd him, among the Romans; and only Mr. Waller among the English.

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As for Mr. Milton, whom we all admire with so much Juftice, his Subject is not that of an Heroick Poem, properly fo call'd. His Defign is the Lofing of our Happiness; his Event is not profperous, like that of all other Epique Works: His Heavenly Machines are many, and his Human Perfons are but two. But I will not take Mr. Rhymer's Work out of his Hands: He has promis'd the World a Critique on that Author; wherein, tho' he will not allow his Poem for Heroick, I hope, he will grant us, that his Thoughts are elevated, his Words founding, and that no Man has fo happily copy'd the Manner of Homer; or fo copioufly tranflated his Grécifms, and the Latin Elegancies of Virgil. 'Tis true, he runs into a flat Thought, fometimes for a hundred Lines together, but 'tis when he is got into a Track of Scripture: His antiquated Words were his Choice, not his Neceffity; for therein he imitated Spencer, as Spencer did Chaucer. And tho', perhaps the Love of their Mafters may have tranfported both too far, in the frequent ufe of them; yet in my Opinion, obfolete Words may then be laudably reviv'd, when either they are more founding, or more fignificant than thofe in Practice; and when their Obfcurity is taken away, by joining other Words to them, which clear the Sense; according to the Rule of Horace, for the Admiffion of new Words. But in both Cafes, a Moderation is to be obfèrv'd in the Ufe of them. For unneceflary Coinage, as well as unneceffary Revival, runs into Affectation; a Fault to be avoided on either hand. Neither will 1 juftify Milton for his blank Verse, tho' I may excuse him, by the Example of Hannibal Caro, and other Italians, who have us'd it: For whatever Causes he alledges for the abolishing of Rhyme (which I have not now the Leisure to examine) his own particular Reafon is plainly this, that Rhyme was not his Talent; he had neither the Ease of doing it, nor the Graces of it;, which is manifestin his Juvenilia,

Juvenilia, or Verfes written in his Youth; where his Rhyme is always conftrain'd and forc'd, and comes hardly from him, at an Age when the Soul is most pliant, and the Paffion of Love makes almost every Man a Rhymer, tho' not a Poet.

By this time, my Lord, I doubt not but that you wonder, why I have run off from my Bias fo long together, and made fo tedious a Digreffion from Satyr to Heroick Poetry. But if you will not excufe it, by the tatling Quality of Age, which, as Sir William Davenant fays, is always Narrative; yet I hope the Ufefulness of what I have to say on this Subject, will qualify the Remoteness of it; and this is the last time I will commit the Crime of Prefaces, or trouble the World with my Notions of any thing that relates to Verfe. I have then, as you fee, observ'd the Failings of many great Wits amongst the Moderns, who have attempted to write an Epique Poem: Befides thefe, or the like Animadver fions of them by other Men, there is yet a farther Reafon given, why they cannot poffibly fucceed, fo well as the Ancients, even tho' we cou'd allow them not to be inferior, either in Genius or Learning, or the Tongue in which they write, or all thofe other wonderful Qualifications which are neceffary to the forming of a true accomplish'd Heroick Poet. The Fault is laid on our Religion: They fay, that Christianity is not capable of thofe Embellishments which are afforded in the Belief of thofe Ancient Heathens.

And 'tis true, that in the fevere Notions of our Faith, the Fortitude of a Chriftian confifts in Patience and Suffering, for the Love of GOD, whatever Hardships can befal in the World; not in any great Attempts, or in performance of thofe Enterprizes which the Poets call Heroique and which are commonly the Effects of Intereft, Oftentation, Pride, and worldly Honours. That Humility and Refignation are our prime Virtues; and that these include no Action, but that of the Soul:

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When, as on the contrary, an Heroique Foem requires to its neceffary Defign, and as its laft Perfection, fome great Action of War, the Accomplishment of fome extraordinary Undertaking, which requires the Strength and Vigour of the Body, the Duty of a Soldier, the Capacity and Prudence of a General; and, in fhort, as much, or more of the Active Virtue, than the Suffering But to this, the Answer is very obvious. GOD has plac'd us in our several Stations; the Virtues of a private Christian are Patience, Obedience, Submiffion, and the like; bat those of a Magiftrate, or General, or a King, are Prudence, Counfel, active Fortitude, coercive Power, awful Commands and the Exercife of Magnanimity, as well as Juftice. So that this Objection hinders not, but that an Epique Poem, or the Heroique Action of fome Great Commander, enterpriz'd for the Common Good, and Honour of the Chriftian Caufe, and executed happily, may be as well written now, as it was of old by the Heathens; provided the Poet be endu'd with the fame Talents; and the Language, tho' not of equal Dignity, yet as near approaching to it, as our Modern Barbarifm will allow, which is all that can be expected from or any other now extant, tho' more refin'd; and therefore we are to reft contented with that only Inferiority, which is not poffibly to be remedy'd.

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I wish I could as easily remove that other Difficulty which yet remains. 'Tis objected by a great French Critique as well as an admirable Poet, yet living, and whom I have mentioned with that Honour which his Merit exacts from me, I mean Boileau, That the Machines of our Chriftian Religion in Heroique Poetry, are much more feeble to fupport the Weight than thofe of Heathenifm. Their Doctrine, grounded as it was on ridiculous Fables, was yet the Belief of the two victorous Monarchies, the Grecian and Roman. Their Gods did not only intereft themselves in the Event of Wars (which

is the Effect of a Superior Providence) but also efpoufed the feveral Parties, in a vifible Corporeal Defcent, manag'd their Intrigues, and fought their Battles fometimes in oppofition to each other: Tho' Virgil (more difcreet than Homer in that laft Particular) has contented himself with the Partiality of his Deities, their Favours, their Counfels or Commands, to thofe whofe Cause they had efpoufed, without bringing them to the Outrageoufness of Blows. Now our Religion (fays he) is depriv'd of the greatest Part of thofe Machines; at least the most fhining in Epique Poetry, Tho' St. Michael in Ariofio feeks out Difcord, to fend her among the Pagans, and finds her in a Convent of Friars, where Peace should - reign, which indeed is fine Satyr; and Satan in Tafse, gexcites Solyman to an Attempt by Night on the Christian Camp, and brings an Hoft of Devils to his Affiftance; yet the Arch Angel, in the former Example, when Dif cord was reftive, and would not be drawn from her belov'd Monaftery with fair Words, has the whip-hand of her, drags her out with many Stripes, fets her, on God's Name, about her Bufinefs; and makes her know f the Difference of Strength betwixt a Nuncio of Heaven, and a Minister of Hell: The fame Angel, in the latter Inftance from Taffe (as if God had never another Mesfenger belonging to the Court, but was confin'd like Ju-piter to Mercury, and Juno to Iris,) when he fees his time, that is, when half of the Chriftians are already kill'd, and all the reft are in a fair way of being routed, ftickles betwixt the Remainders of God's Hoft, and the Race of Fiends; pulls the Devils backwards by the Tails, and drives them from their Quarry; or otherwise the whole Bufinefs had mifcarry'd, and Jerufalem remain'd untaken. This, fays Boileau, is a very unequal Match for the poor Devils, who are fure to come by the worst of it in the Combat; for nothing is more easy, than for an Almighty Power to bring his old Rebels to

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