,the ,augustan ,reprint ,society ,,essays ,,on ,,taste from ,john ,gilbert ,cooper ,letters ,concerning ,taste ,third ,edition 7#ageg7 ,john ,armstrong ,miscellanies 7#aggj7 ,with an ,introduction by ,ralph ,cohen ,publication ,number #cj ,los ,angeles ,william ,andrews ,clark ,memorial ,library ,university of ,california ,,general ,,editors ,h4 ,,richard ,,archer1 ,clark ,memorial ,library ,,richard ,c4 ,,boys41 ,university of ,michigan ,,edward ,,niles ,,hooker1 ,university of ,california1 ,los ,angeles ,,john ,,loftis1 ,university of ,california1 ,los ,angeles ,,assistant ,,editor ,w4 ,,earl ,,britton1 ,university of ,michigan ,,advisory ,,editors ,,emmett ,l4 ,,avery1 ,state ,college of ,washington ,,benjamin ,,boyce1 ,duke ,university ,,louis ,i4 ,,bredvold1 ,university of ,michigan ,,cleanth ,,brooks1 ,yale ,university ,,james ,l4 ,,clifford1 ,columbia ,university ,,arthur ,,friedman1 ,university of ,chicago ,,louis ,a4 ,,landa1 ,princeton ,university ,,samuel ,h4 ,,monk1 ,university of ,minnesota ,,ernest ,,mossner1 ,university of ,texas ,,james ,,sutherland1 ,queen ,mary ,college1 ,london ,h4,t4 ,,swedenberg1 ,,jr41 ,university of ,california1 ,los ,angeles ,,introduction ,the essays on taste taken from the work of ,john ,gilbert ,cooper and ,john ,armstrong and reprinted in this issue are of interest and value to the student of the eighteenth century because they typify the shifting attitudes toward taste held by most mid-century poets and critics4 ,cooper1 who accepts the ,shaftesbury-,hutchesonian thesis of the internal sense1 emphasizes the personal1 ecstatic effect of taste4 ,armstrong1 while accepting the rationalist notions of clarity and simplicity1 attacks methodized rules and urges reliance on individuality4 ,following ,shaftesbury and ,hutcheson closely1 ,cooper treats taste as an immediate1 prerational response of an internal sense to the proportion and harmony in nature1 a response from an internal harmony of the senses1 imagination1 and understanding to a similar harmony in external nature4 ,cooper defines the effect of good taste as a ,glow of ,pleasure which thrills thro' our whole ,frame4 ,this ,glow is characterized by high emotional sensibility1 and it thus minimizes the passivity which ,hutcheson attributes to the internal sense4 ,armstrong's sources are more eclectic than ,cooper's4 ,armstrong shows similarities to ,pope in his rationalism1 to ,dennis in his treatment of poetry as an expression of the passions1 and to ,hutcheson in his emphasis on benevolence and the psychological basis of perception4 ,but to these views1 he frequently adds personal eccentricities4 ,for example1 ,taste3 ,an ,epistle to a ,young ,critic reveals its ,popean descent in its tone and form2 however1 its gastronomic ending displays ,armstrong's interest1 as a physician1 in the relation of diet to literary taste4 ,if ,armstrong's boast that ,i'm a shrewd observer1 and will guess ,what books you doat on from your fav'rite mess1 is a personal eccentricity1 his attack on false criticism and his exhortation to judge for oneself are typical harbingers of late eighteenth-century individualism and confidence in the natural man4 ,an honest farmer1 or shepherd writes ,armstrong in ,of ,taste1 who is acquainted with no language but what is spoken in his own county1 may have a much truer relish of the ,english writers than the most dogmatical pedant that ever erected himself into a commentator1 and from his ,gothic chair1 with an ill-bred arrogance1 dictated false criticism to the gaping multitude4#a ,footnote #a3 ,john ,armstrong1 ,miscellanies 7,london1 #aggj71 ,,ii1 #acg4 ,cooper and ,armstrong both hold a historically intermediate position in their attitudes toward taste1 accepting early eighteenth-century assumptions and balancing them with late eighteenth-century emphases4 ,neither of them abandons the moral assumption of art which1 as ,armstrong explains it1 is a belief in a standard of right and wrong in the nature of things1 of beauty and deformity1 both in the natural and moral world4#b ,cooper1 who defines taste as a thrilling response to art1 falls back upon ,hutcheson in minimizing the importance of art and making it secondary to moral knowledge4 ,armstrong1 while describing taste as the sensitive discrimination of degrees of beauty and deformity1 bases this discrimination not on artistic1 but on moral qualities4 ,footnote #b3 ,ibid41 ,,ii1 #acd4 ,the complete transition from classic to romantic premises of taste is characterized by the separation of art from morals4 ,this step neither ,cooper nor ,armstrong takes4 ,but they do exhibit tendencies which explain how the shift was made possible4 ,both writers insist on a felt response to a work of art4 ,cooper emphasizes that this response must be to the whole work4 ,this assumption implies that a work of art is an entity complete in itself2 it makes possible the argument that art conveys artistic1 not moral knowledge4 ,cooper1 by stressing sensibility as an effect of taste1 suggests the ,wordsworthian notion that the poet is more sensitive than other people4 ,armstrong1 in addition to his hostility to formal criticism and his confidence in the natural man1 reveals three other tendencies which later eighteenth-century critics elaborated4 ,like ,edward ,young in his ,conjectures on ,original ,composition1 #agei1 ,armstrong opposes slavish imitation of ancient models and declares that the writer should catch their graces without affecting it them so that his own original characteristical manner will still distinguish itself4#c ,armstrong emphasizes exquisiteness of perception as the basis for taste3 the more exquisite the mind1 the more is it able to discriminate among the various degrees of the beautiful and the deformed4 ,although later critics repudiate ,armstrong's moral discrimination1 they transform it into a refined discrimination of aesthetic qualities4 ,finally1 by suggesting that the man of genius differs from the man of taste by his ability to handle a medium1 ,armstrong implies the possibility of a technical criticism in terms of the writer's craft1 apart from moral judgment4 ,footnote #c3 ,ibid41 ,,ii1 #afh4 ,although the works of ,cooper and ,armstrong elicited contrasting popular reactions--,letters concerning ,taste running into four editions from #agee to #agga and ,armstrong's writings1 with the exception of ,the ,art of ,preserving ,health1 never winning much public favor--neither writer exerted a strong critical influence4 ,cooper did not reassess or change significantly the assumptions of ,shaftesbury and ,hutcheson4 ,his work was primarily a popularization of their ideas1 and1 in its enthusiastic language1 its emphasis on sensibility1 and its epistolary form1 it seems directed at flattering a female audience4 ,armstrong's remarks on taste1 written in imitation of the simplicity and clarity of the rational tradition1 are personal assertions and opinions rather than well-defined or clearly thought-out critical positions4 ,they are random thoughts rather than a coherent critical theory4 ,the significance of ,cooper and ,armstrong rests1 therefore1 on certain representative attitudes toward taste which exhibit the change from classic to romantic4 ,on the one hand1 they accept the moral postulates of art1 and1 on the other1 they emphasize the emotional basis of taste4 ,cooper treats art as a secondary form of knowledge1 yet emphasizes the thrill that art gives4 ,armstrong accepts the standards of clarity and simplicity1 while emphasizing the individuality of response and the need for discriminating particular1 rather than general1 qualities4 ,though ,cooper and ,armstrong fail to revaluate the traditions they accept1 they exemplify trends which led others to perform this revaluation and to transform the moral assumptions into aesthetic criteria4 ,bibliographical ,note ,the two reprints from the twenty letters of ,john ,gilbert ,cooper's ,letters concerning ,taste4 ,to which are added ,essays on similar and other ,subjects are from the third edition1 dated #ageg2 the first edition was published in #agee as ,letters concerning ,taste4 ,the selections by ,john ,armstrong are taken from the two-volume ,miscellanies published in #aggj4 ,the ,taste of the ,present ,age received its first publication in this edition1 but the other prose had previously been published in #ageh under the pseudonym of ,launcelot ,temple in the first volume of ,sketches3 or ,essays on ,various ,subjects4 ,the poem ,taste3 ,an ,epistle to a ,young ,critic was first published in #agec4 ,ralph ,cohen ,,letters ,,concerning ,,taste4 ,,letter ,i4 ,to ,,euphemius4 ,whence comes it1 ,,euphemius1 that you1 who are feelingly alive to each fine ,sensation that ,beauty or ,harmony gives the ,soul1 should so often assert1 contrary to what you daily experience1 that ,,taste is governed by ,caprice1 and that ,,beauty is reducible to no ,criterion8 ,i am afraid your ,generosity in this ,instance is greater than your ,sincerity1 and that you are willing to compliment the circle of your ,friends1 in giving up by this ,concession that envied ,superiority you might claim over them1 should it be acknowledged that those uncommon ,emotions of ,pleasure1 which arise in your ,breast upon the ,observation of moral or natural ,elegance1 were caused by a more ready and intimate ,perception of that universal ,,truth1 which the all-perfect ,,creator of this harmonious ,system ordained to be the ,,venus of every ,object1 whether in the ,material ,world2 in the imitative ,arts2 or in living ,characters and ,manners4 ,how irreconcileable are your ,doctrines to the ,example you afford us6 ,however1 since you press me to justify your ,practice against your ,declarations1 by giving a ,definition of what is meant by ,,taste1 ,i shall not avoid the invidious ,office of pointing out your superior ,excellence to others1 by proving that ,,truth and ,,beauty are coincident1 and that the warmest ,admirers of these ,,celestial ,,twins1 have consequently ,souls more nearly allied to therial ,spirits of a higher ,order4 ,the effect of a good ,,taste is that instantaneous ,glow of ,pleasure which thrills thro' our whole ,frame1 and seizes upon the ,applause of the ,heart1 before the intellectual ,power1 ,reason1 can descend from the ,throne of the ,mind to ratify it's ,approbation1 either when we receive into the ,soul beautiful ,images thro' the ,organs of bodily ,senses2 or the ,decorum of an amiable ,character thro' the ,faculties of moral ,perception2 or when we recall1 by the imitative ,arts1 both of them thro' the intermediate ,power of the ,imagination4 ,nor is this delightful and immediate ,sensation to be excited in an undistempered ,soul1 but by a ,chain of ,truths1 dependent upon one another till they terminate in the hand of the ,divine ,,composer of the whole4 ,let us cast our ,eyes first upon the ,objects of the ,material ,world4 ,a rural ,prospect upon the very first ,glance yields a grateful ,emotion in the ,breast1 when in a ,variety of ,scenes there arises from the whole ,,one ,order1 whose different ,parts will be found1 by the critical ,eye of ,contemplation1 to relate mutually to one another1 and each examined apart1 to be productive of the ,necessaries1 the ,conveniencies1 and ,emoluments of ,life4 ,suppose you was to behold from an ,eminence1 thro' a small range of ,mountains covered with ,woods1 several little ,streams gushing out of ,rocks1 some gently trickling over ,pebbles1 others tumbling from a ,precipice1 and a few gliding smoothly in ,willow-shaded ,rivulets thro green ,meadows1 till their tributary ,waters are all collected by some ,river ,god of a larger ,urn1 who at some few ,miles distance is lost in the ,ocean1 which heaves it's broad ,bosom to the ,sight1 and ends the ,prospect with an immense ,expanse of ,waters4 ,tell me1 ,,euphemius1 would not such a ,scene captivate the ,heart even before the intellectual ,powers discover ,minerals in the ,mountains2 future ,navies in the ,woods2 ,civil and ,military ,architecture in the ,rocks2 healing ,qualities in the smaller ,streams2 ,fertility1 that the larger ,waters distribute along their serpentising ,banks2 ,herbage for ,cattle in the ,meadows2 and lastly1 the more easy ,opportunities the ,river affords us to convey to other ,climates the ,superfluities of our own1 for which the ,ocean brings us back in ,exchange what we stand in need of from theirs4 ,now to heighten this beautiful ,landscape1 let us throw in ,corn ,fields1 here and there a ,country ,seat1 and1 at proper ,distances1 small ,hamlets1 together with ,spires and ,towers1 as ,,milton describes them1 bosom'd high in tufted ,trees4 ,does not an additional ,rapture flow in from this ,adjunct1 of which ,reason will afterwards discover the latent ,cause in the same manner as before4 ,your favourite ,architecture will not fail to afford less remarkable ,instances1 that ,truth1 ,beauty1 and ,utility are inseparable4 ,you very well know that every ,rule1 ,canon1 and ,proportion in building did not arise from the capricious ,invention of ,man1 but from the unerring ,dictates of ,nature1 and that even what are now the ornamental ,parts of an ,edifice1 originally were created by ,necessity2 and are still displeasing to the ,sight1 when they are disobedient1 if ,i may use that moral ,expression1 to the ,order1 which ,nature1 whose ,laws cannot be repealed1 first gave to supply that ,necessity4 ,here ,i appeal to your own ,breast1 and let me continue the ,appeal by asking you concerning another ,science analogous to this1 which is founded upon as invariable ,principles3 ,i mean the ,science of living well1 in which you are as happily learned as in the former4 ,say then1 has not every amiable ,character1 with which you have been enamoured1 been proved by a cool ,examination to contain a beautiful ,proportion1 in the ,point it was placed in1 relative to ,society8 ,and what is it that constitutes ,moral ,deformity1 or what we call ,vice1 but the ,disproportion which any ,agent occasions1 in the ,fabric of ,civil ,community1 by a ,non-compliance to the general ,order which should prevail in it8 ,as the ,arts of ,painting1 ,sculpture1 and ,poetry are imitative of these1 their ,excellence1 as ,,aristotle observes1 consists in ,faithfulness to their ,original3 nor have they any primary ,beauty in themselves1 but derive their shadowy ,existence in a mimetic ,transcript from ,objects in the ,material ,world1 or from ,passions1 ,characters1 and ,manners4 ,nevertheless that internal ,sense we call ,,taste 7which is a ,herald for the whole human ,system1 in it's three different ,parts1 the refined ,faculties of ,perception1 the gross ,organs of ,sense1 and the intermediate ,powers of ,imagination7 has as quick a ,feeling of this secondary ,excellence of the ,arts1 as for the primary ,graces2 and seizes the ,heart with ,rapture long before the ,senses1 and ,reason in ,conjunction1 can prove this ,beauty by collating the ,imitations with their ,originals4 ,if it should be asked why external ,objects affect the human ,breast in this ,manner1 ,i would answer1 that the ,,almighty has in this1 as well as in all his other ,works1 out of his abundant ,goodness and ,love to his ,creatures1 so attuned our ,minds to ,truth1 that all ,beauty from without should make a responsive ,harmony vibrate within4 ,but should any of those more curious ,gentlemen1 who busy themselves ,with ,enquiries into ,matters1 which the ,deity1 for ,reasons known only to himself1 has placed above our limited ,capacities1 demand how he has so formed us1 ,i should refer them1 with proper ,contempt1 to their more aged ,brethren1 who may justly in ,derision be stiled the ,philosophers of ultimate ,causes4 ,to you1 my dear ,friend1 whose truly philosophical and religious ,taste concludes that whatever ,,god ordains is right1 it is sufficient to have proved that ,truth is the ,cause of all ,beauty1 and that ,truth flows from the ,fountain of all ,perfection1 in whose unfathomable ,depth finite ,thought should never venture with any other ,intention than to wonder and adore4 ,but ,i find ,i have been imperceptibly led on from ,thought to ,thought1 not only to trespass upon the common ,stile of a ,letter1 by these abstruse ,reasonings and religious ,conclusions1 but upon the ordinary length of one likewise2 therefore shall conclude by complimenting my own ,taste in ,characters1 when ,i assure you that ,i am1 ,your most affectionate ,friend1 c4 ,,letter ,,ii4 ,to the ,,same4 ,it gave me no small ,pleasure to find1 by your ,answer to my last ,letter1 that you now allow ,,beauty to be the ,daughter of ,,truth2 and ,i in my turn will make a ,concession to you1 by confessing that ,,beauty herself may have acquired ,charms1 but then they are altogether such as are consistent with her divine ,extraction4 ,what you observe is very true1 that the human ,form 7the most glorious ,object1 as you are pleased to call it1 in the ,creation7 let it be made with the most accurate ,symmetry and ,proportion1 may receive additional ,charms from ,education1 and steal more subtily upon the ,soul of the ,beholder from some adventitious ,circumstances of easy ,attitudes or ,motion1 and an undefineable ,sweetness of ,countenance1 which an habitual ,commerce with the more refined ,part of ,mankind superadds to the ,work of ,nature4 ,this the ancient ,grecian ,artists would have represented mythologically in ,painting by the ,,graces crowning ,,venus4 ,we find how much ,,lely has availed himself in his shadowy ,creations of transcribing from ,life this adventitious ,charm into all his ,portraits4 ,i mean1 when he stole upon his animated ,canvas1 as ,,pope poetically expresses it1 ,the sleepy ,eye that spoke the melting ,soul4 ,you will ask me1 perhaps1 how ,i can prove any ,alliance in this particular ,circumstance of a single ,feature to ,truth2 ,or rather triumphantly push the ,argument farther1 and say1 ,is not this additional ,charm1 as you call it1 inconsistent with the ,divine ,original of ,beauty1 since it deadens the fiery ,lustre of that penetrating ,organ8 ,i chuse to draw my ,answer from the ,schools of the antient ,,ethographi1 who by their enchanting ,art so happily conveyed1 thro' the ,sight1 the ,lessons of ,moral ,philosophy4 ,these ,sages would have told you1 that our ,souls are attuned to one another1 like the ,strings of musical ,instruments1 and that the ,chord of one being struck1 the ,unison of another1 tho' untouched1 will vibrate to it4 ,the ,passions therefore of the human ,heart1 expressed either in the living ,countenance1 or the mimetic ,strokes of ,art1 will affect the ,soul of the ,beholder with a similar and responsive ,disposition4 ,what wonder then is it that ,beauty1 borrowing thus the ,look of softening ,love1 whose ,power can lull the most watchful of the ,senses1 should cast that sweet ,nepenthe upon our ,hearts1 and enchant our corresponding ,thoughts to rest in the ,embraces of ,desire8 ,sure then ,i am1 that you will always allow ,love to be the ,source and ,end of our ,being1 and consequently consistent with ,truth4 ,it is the ,superaddition of such ,charms to ,proportion1 which is called ,taste in ,musick1 ,painting1 ,poetry1 ,sculpture1 ,gardening and ,architecture4 ,by which is generally meant that happy ,assemblage which excites in our ,minds1 by ,analogy1 some pleasurable ,image4 ,thus1 for ,instance1 even the ,ruins of an old ,castle properly disposed1 or the ,simplicity of a rough hewn ,hermitage in a ,rock1 enliven a ,prospect1 by recalling the ,moral ,images of ,valor and ,wisdom2 and ,i believe no ,man will contend1 that ,valor exerted in the ,defence of one's ,country1 or ,wisdom contemplating in ,retirement for the ,welfare of ,mankind1 are not truly amiable ,images1 belonging to the ,divine ,family of ,truth4 ,i think ,i have now reconciled our two favorite ,opinions1 by proving that these additional ,charms1 if they must be called so1 have their ,origin in ,nature as much as ,proportion itself4--,i am very glad the ,prints ,i sent afforded you so much ,pleasure1 not only as ,i wish every thing which comes from me may be favorably received by you1 but as they are likewise a ,confirmation of my ,arguments2 for the ,man who drew them is no very great ,artist1 but being a faithful ,disciple of ,nature1 having delineated every ,object in a ,camera ,obscura1 he has not failed of gaining the uncontested ,applause1 which the ,followers of that unerring ,mistress will ever receive from ,mankind4 ,my ,,eudocia calls me to administer with her ,comfort to a little fatherless ,family in the ,district of our ,hamlet1 therefore must conclude myself1 ,your sincere ,friend1 c4 ,,letter ,,taste3 ,,an ,,epistle ,,to ,a ,,young ,,critic4 ,range from ,tower-hill all ,london to the ,fleet1 ,thence round the ,temple1 t'utmost ,grosvenor-street3 ,take in your route both ,gray's and ,lincoln's ,inn2 ,miss not1 be sure1 my ,lords and ,gentlemen2 ,you'll hardly raise1 as ,i with,a ,petty guess1 #e ,above twelve thousand men of taste2 unless ,in desperate times a ,connoisseur may pass4 ,a ,connoisseur6 ,what's that8 ',tis hard to say3 ,but you must oft amidst the fair and gay ,have seen a wou'd-be rake1 a fluttering fool1 #aj ,who swears he loves the sex with all his soul4 ,alas1 vain youth6 dost thou admire sweet ,jones8 ,thou be gallant without or blood or bones6 ,you'd split to hear th' insipid coxcomb cry ,ah charming ,nanny6 'tis too much6 ,i die6-- #ae ,die and be d--n'd1 says one2 but let me tell ye ,i'll pay the loss if ever rapture kill ye4 ,footnote ,a3 ,sir ,william ,petty1 author of the ,political ,arithmetic4 ',tis easy learnt the art to talk by rote3 ,at ,nando's 'twill but cost you half a groat2 ,the ,redford school at three-pence is not dear1 ,sir2 ,at ,white's--the stars instruct you for a tester4 #ba ,but he1 whom nature never meant to share ,one spark of taste1 will never catch it there3-- ,nor no where else2 howe'er the booby beau ,grows great with ,pope1 and ,horace1 and ,boileau4 ,good native ,taste1 tho' rude1 is seldom wrong1 ,be it in music1 painting1 or in song4 ,but this1 as well as other faculties1 ,improves with age and ripens by degrees4 ,i know1 my dear2 'tis needless to deny 't1 #cj ,you like ,voiture1 you think him wondrous bright2 ,but seven years hence1 your relish more matur'd1 ,what now delights will hardly be endur'd4 ,the boy may live to taste ,racine's fine charms1 ,whom ,lee's bald orb or ,rowe's dry rapture warms3 ,but he1 enfranchis'd from his tutor's care1 #cf ,who places ,butler near ,cervantes' chair2 ,or with ,erasmus can admit to vie ,brown of ,squab-hall of merry memory2 ,will die a ,goth3 and nod at ,a,woden's feast1 #dj ,th' eternal winter long1 on ,b,gregory's breast4 ,long may he swill1 this patriarch of the dull1 ,the drowsy ,mum--,but touc not ,maro's skull6 ,his holy barbarous dotage sought to doom1 ,good heaven6 th' immortal classics to the tomb6-- ,those sacred lights shall bid new genius rise #de ,when all ,rome's saints have rotted from the skies4 ,be these your guides1 if at the ivy crown ,you aim2 each country's classics1 and your own4 ,but chiefly with the ancients pass your prime1 #ej ,and drink ,castalia at the fountain's brim4 ,the man to genuine ,burgundy bred up1 ,soon starts the dam of ,methuen in his cup4 ,footnote ,a3 ,alluding to the ,gothic heaven1 ,woden's hall2 where the happy are for ever employed in drinking beer1 mum1 and other comfortable liquors out of the skulls of those whom they had slain in battle4 ,footnote ,b3 ,pope ,gregory the ,v,ith1 distinguished by the name of ,st4 ,gregory2 whose pious zeal1 in the cause of barbarous ignorance and priestly tyranny1 exerted itself in demolishing1 to the utmost of his power1 all the remains of heathen genius4 ,those sovereign masters of the ,muses skill ,are the true patterns of good writing still1 #ee ,their ore was rich and seven times purg'd of lead2 ,their art seem'd nature1 'twas so finely hid4 ,tho' born with all the powers of writing well1 ,what pains it cost they did not blush to tell4 ,their ease 7my ,lords67 ne'er lowng'd for want of fire1 ,nor did their rage thro' affectation tire4 #fa ,free from all tawdry and imposing glare ,they trusted to their native grace of air4 ,rapt'rous and wild the trembling soul they seize1 ,or sly coy beauties steal it by degrees2 #fe ,the more you view them still the more they please4 ,yet there are thousands of scholastic merit ,who worm their sense out but ne'er taste their spirit4 ,witness each pedant under ,bentley bred2 ,each commentator that e'er commented4 #gj 7,you scarce can seize a spot of classic ground1 ,with leagues of ,dutch morass so floated round47 ,witness--but1 ,sir1 ,i hold a cautious pen1 ,lest ,i should wrong some honourable men4 ,they grow enthusiasts too--',tis true6 'tis pity6 #ge ,but 'tis not every lunatic that's witty4 ,some have run ,maro--and some ,milton--mad1 ,ashley once turn'd a solid barber's head3 ,hear all that's said or printed if you can1 ,ashley has turn'd more solid heads than one4 #hj ,let such admire each great or specious name2 ,for right or wrong the joy to them's the same4 ,right6 ,yes a thousand times4--,each fool has heard ,that ,homer was a wonder of a bard4 ,despise them civilly with all my heart-- #he ,but to convince them is a desperate part1 ,why should you teize one for what secret cause ,one doats on ,horace1 or on ,hudibras8 ',tis cruel1 ,sir1 'tis needless1 to endeavour ,to teach a sot of ,taste he knows no flavour1 #ij ,to disunite ,i neither wish nor hope ,a stubborn blockhead from his fav'rite fop4 ,yes--fop ,i say1 were ,maro's self before 'em3 ,for ,maro's self grows dull as they pore o'er him4 ,but hear their raptures o'er some specious rhime ,dub'd by the musk'd and greasy mob sublime4 #if ,for spleen's dear sake hear how a coxcomb prates ,as clam'rous o'er his joys as fifty cats2 ,music has charms to sooth a savage breast1 ,to soften rocks1 and oaks--and all the rest3 #ajj ,i've heard--,bless these long ears6--,heav'ns what a strain6 ,good ,god6 ,what thunders burst in this ,campaign6 ,hark ,waller warbles6 ,ah6 how sweetly killing6 ,then that inimitable ,splendid ,shilling6 ,rowe breathes all ,shakespear here6--,that ode of ,prior #aje ,is ,spencer quite6 egad his very fire6-- ,as like--,yes faith6 as gum-flowers to the rose1 ,or as to ,claret flat ,minorca's dose2 ,as like as 7if ,i am not grosly wrong7 ,erle ,robert's ,mice to aught e'er ,chaucer sung4 #aaj ,read boldly1 and unprejudic'd peruse ,each fav'rite modern1 ev'n each ancient muse4 ,with all the comic salt and tragic rage ,the great stupendous genius of our stage1 ,boast of our island1 pride of human-kind1 #aae ,had faults to which the boxes are not blind4 ,his frailties are to ev'ry gossip known3 ,yet ,milton's pedantries not shock the town4 ,ne'er be the dupe of ,names1 however high2 ,for some outlive good parts1 some misapply4 #abj ,each elegant ,spectator you admire2 ,but must you therefore swear by ,cato's fire8 ,masques for the court1 and oft a clumsey jest1 ,disgrac'd the muse that wrought the ,alchemist4 ,but to the ancients4--,faith6 ,i am not clear1 #abe ,for all the smooth round type of ,elzevir1 ,that every work which lasts in prose or song1 ,two thousand years1 deserves to last so long4 ,for not to mention some eternal blades ,known only now in th' academic shades1 #acj 7,those sacred groves where raptur'd spirits stray1 ,and in word-hunting waste the live-long day7 ,ancients whom none but curious critics scan1 ,do1 read,a ,messala's praises if you can4 ,ah6 who but feels the sweet contagious smart #ace ,while soft ,tibullus pours his tender heart8 ,with him the ,loves and ,muses melt in tears2 ,but not a word of some hexameters4 ,you grow so squeamish and so dev'lish dry1 ,you'll call ,lucretius vapid next4 ,not ,i4 #adj ,some find him tedious1 others think him lame3 ,but if he lags his subject is to blame4 ,rough weary roads thro' barren wilds he tried1 ,yet still he marches with true ,roman pride3 ,sometimes a meteor1 gorgeous1 rapid1 bright1 #ade ,he streams athwart the philosophic night4 ,find you in ,horace no insipid ,odes8-- ,he dar'd to tell us ,homer sometimes nods2 ,and but for such a aide's hardy skill ,homer might slumber unsuspected still4 #aej ,footnote ,a3 ,a poem of ,tibullus's in hexameter verse2 as yawning and insipid as his elegies are tender and natural4 ,tasteless1 implicit1 indolent and tame1 ,at second-hand we chiefly praise or blame4 ,hence 'tis1 for else one knows not why nor how1 ,some authors flourish for a year or two3 ,for many some1 more wond'rous still to tell2 #aee ,farquhar yet lingers on the brink of hell4 ,of solid merit others pine unknown2 ,at first1 tho',a ,carlos swimmingly went down1 ,poor ,belvidera fail'd to melt the town4 ,sunk in dead night the giant ,milton lay #afj ',till ,sommer's hand produc'd him to the day4 ,but1 thanks to heav'n and ,addison's good grace ,now ev'ry fop is charm'd with ,chevy ,chace4 ,footnote ,a3 ,don ,carlos1 a tragedy of ,otway's1 now long and justly forgotten1 went off with great applause2 while his ,orphan1 a somewhat better performance1 and what is yet more strange1 his ,venice ,preserved1 according to the theatrical anecdotes of those times1 met with a very cold reception4 ,specious and sage1 the sovereign of the flock ,led to the downs1 or from the wave-worn rock #afe ,reluctant hurl'd1 the tame implicit train ,or crop the downs1 or headlong seek the main4 ,as blindly we our solemn leaders follow1 ,and good1 and bad1 and execrable swallow4 ,pray1 on the first throng'd evening of a play #agj ,that wears the,a facies hippocratica1 ,strong lines of death1 signs dire of reprobation2 ,have you not seen the angel of salvation ,appear sublime2 with wise and solemn rap ,to teach the doubtful rabble where to clap8-- #age ,the rabble knows not where our dramas shine2 ,but where the cane goes pat--by ,g-- that's fine6 ,footnote ,a3 ,the appearance of the face in the last stage of a consumption1 as it is described by ,hippocrates4 ,judge for yourself2 nor wait with timid phlegm ,till some illustrious pedant hum or hem4 #agi ,the lords who starv'd old ,ben were learn'dly fond ,of ,chaucer1 whom with bungling toil they conn'd1 ,their sons1 whose ears bold ,milton could not seize1 ,would laugh o'er ,ben like mad1 and snuff and sneeze1 ,and swear1 and seem as tickled as you please4 ,their spawn1 the pride of this sublimer age1 #ahe ,feel to the toes and horns grave ,milton's rage4 ,tho' liv'd he now he might appeal with scorn ,to ,lords1 ,knights1 ',squires and ,doctors1 yet unborn2 ,or justly mad to ,moloch's burning fane ,devote the choicest children of his brain4 #aij ,judge for yourself2 and as you find report4 ,of wit as freely as of beef or port4 ,zounds6 shall a pert or bluff important wight1 ,whose brain is fanciless1 whose blood is white2 ,a mumbling ape of taste2 prescribe us laws #aie ,to try the poets1 for no better cause ,than that he boasts per ann4 ten thousand clear1 ,yelps in the ,house1 or barely sits a ,peer8 ,for shame6 for shame6 the liberal ,british soul ,to stoop to any stale dictator's rule6 #bjj ,i may be wrong1 and often am no doubt1 ,but right or wrong with friends with foes 'twill out4 ,thus 'tis perhaps my fault if ,i complain ,of trite invention and a flimsy vein1 ,tame characters1 uninteresting1 jejune1 #bje ,and passions drily copied from ,a,le ,brun4 ,for ,i would rather never judge than wrong ,that friend of all men1 generous ,fenelon4 ,but in the name of goodness1 must ,i be #baj ,the dupe of charms ,i never yet could see8 ,and then to flatter where there's no reward-- ,better be any patron-hunting bard1 ,who half our ,lords with filthy praise besmears1 ,and sing an ,anthem to ,,all ,,ministers3 ,taste th' ,attic salt in ev'ry ,peer's poor rebus1 #bae ,and crown each ,gothic idol for a ,phoebus4 ,footnote ,a3 ,first painter to ,lewis ,,xiv4 who1 to speak in fashionable ,french ,english1 called himself ,,lewis ,,the ,,great4 ,our sovereign lords the passions1 ,love1 ,rage1 ,despair1 c4 were graciously pleased to sit to him in their turns for their portraits3 which he was generous enough to communicate to the public2 to the great improvement1 no doubt1 of history-painting4 ,it was he who they say poison'd ,le ,sueur2 who1 without half his advantages in many other respects1 was so unreasonable and provoking as to display a genius with which his own could stand no comparison4 ,it was he and his ,gothic disciples1 who1 with sly scratches1 defac'd the most masterly of this ,le ,sueur's performances1 as often as their barbarous envy could snugly reach them4 ,yet after all these atchievements he died in his bed6 ,a catastrophe which could not have happened to him in a country like this1 where the fine arts are as zealously and judiciously patronised as they are well understood4 ,alas6 so far from free1 so far from brave1 ,we dare not shew the little ,taste we have4 ,with us you'll see ev'n vanity controul ,the most refin'd sensations of the soul4 #bbj ,sad ,otway's scenes1 great ,shakespear's we defy3 ,lord1 ,madam6 'tis so unpolite to cry6-- ,for shame1 my dear6 d'ye credit all this stuff8-- ,i vow--well1 this is innocent enough8 ,at ,athens long ago1 the ,ladies--7married7 #bbe ,dreamt not they misbehav'd tho' they miscarried1 ,when a wild poet with licentious rage ,turn'd fifty furies loose upon the stage4 ,they were so tender and so easy mov'd1 ,heav'ns6 how the ,grecian ladies must have lov'd6 ,for all the fine sensations still have dwelt1 #bca ,perhaps1 where one was exquisitely felt4 ,thus he who heavenly ,maro truly feels ,stands fix'd on ,raphael1 and at ,handel thrills4 ,the grosser senses too1 the taste1 the smell1 #bce ,are likely truest where the fine prevail3 ,who doubts that ,horace must have cater'd well8 ,friend1 ,i'm a shrewd observer1 and will guess ,what books you doat on from your fav'rite mess1 ,brown and ,l',estrange will surely charm whome'er ,the frothy pertness strikes of weak small-beer4 ,who steeps the calf's fat loin in greasy sauce ,will hardly loathe the praise that bastes an ass4 ,who riots on ,scotcht ,collops scorns not any ,insipid1 fulsome1 trashy miscellany2 #bde ,and who devours whate'er the cook can dish up1 ,will for a classic consecrate each,a bishop4 ,footnote ,a3 ,see ,felton's ,classics4 ,but ,i am sick of pen and ink2 and you ,will find this letter long enough4 ,adieu6 ,,of ,,genius ,there is a standard of right and wrong in the nature of things1 of beauty and deformity1 both in the natural and moral world4 ,and as different minds happen to be more or less exquisite1 the more or less sensibly do they perceive the various degrees1 of good and bad1 and are the more or less susceptible of being charmed with what is right or beautiful1 and disgusted with what is wrong or deformed4 ,it is chiefly this sensibility that constitutes genius2 to which a sound head and a good heart are as effectual as a lively imagination4 ,and a man of true genius must necessarily have as exquisite a feeling of the moral beauties1 as of whatever is great or beautiful in the works of nature2 or masterly in the arts which imitate nature1 in poetry1 painting1 statuary1 and music4 ,on the other side1 where the heart is very bad1 the genius and taste1 if there happen to be any pretensions to them1 will be found shocking and unnatural4 ,,nero would be nothing less than a poet2 but his verses were what one may call most villainously bad4 ,his taste of magnificence and luxury was horribly glaring1 extravagant and unnatural to the last degree4 ,,caligula's taste was so outragiously wrong1 that he detested the works of the sweet ,,mantuan poet more passionately than ever ,,moecenas admired them2 and if ,,virgil had unfortunately lived down to those times in which that monster appeared1 he would probably have been tortured to death for no other crime but that he wrote naturally1 and like an honest man4 ,true genius may be said to consist of a perfect polish of soul1 which receives and reflects the images that fall upon it1 without warping or distortion4 ,and this fine polish of soul is1 ,i believe1 constantly attended with what philosophers call the moral truth4 ,there are minds which receive objects truly1 and feel the impressions they ought naturally to make1 in a very lively manner1 but want the faculty of reflecting them2 as there are people who1 ,i suppose1 feel all the charms of poetry without being poets themselves4 ,,of ,,taste4 ,our notion of taste may be easily understood by what has been said upon the subject of genius2 for mere good taste is nothing else but genius without the power of execution4 ,it must be born2 and is to be improved chiefly by being accustomed1 and the earlier the better1 to the most exquisite objects of taste in its various kinds4 ,for the taste in writing and painting1 and in every thing else1 is insensibly formed upon what we are accustomed to2 as well as taste in eating and drinking4 ,one who from his youth has been used to drink nothing but heavy dismal port1 will not immediately acquire a relish for claret or burgundy4 ,in the most stupid ages there is more good taste than one would at first sight imagine4 ,even the present1 abuse it with what contemptuous epithets you please1 cannot be totally void of it4 ,as long as there are noble humane and generous dispositions amongst mankind1 there must be good taste4 ,for in general1 ,i do not say always1 the taste will be in proportion to those moral qualities and that sensibility of mind from which they take their rise4 ,and while many1 amongst the great and the learned1 are allowed to have taste for no better reason than that it is their own opinion1 it is often possessed by those who are not conscious of it1 and dream as little of pretending to it as to a star and garter4 ,an honest farmer1 or shepherd1 who is acquainted with no language but what is spoken in his own county1 may have a much truer relish of the ,english writers than the most dogmatical pedant that ever erected himself into a commentator1 and from his ,gothic chair1 with an ill-bred arrogance1 dictated false criticism to the gaping multitude4 ,but even those who are endued with good natural taste1 often judge implicitly and by rote1 without ever consulting their own taste4 ,instances of this passive indolence1 or rather this unconsciousness of one's own faculties1 appear every day2 not only in the fine arts1 but in cases where the mere taste1 according to the original meaning of the word1 is alone concerned4 ,for ,i am positive there are many thousands who1 if they were to bring their own palate to a severe examination1 would discover that they really find a more delicious flavour in mutton than in venison1 in flounder than in turbut1 and yet prefer middling or bad venison to the best mutton2 that is1 what is scarcest and dearest1 and consequently what is1 from the folly of mankind1 the most in vogue1 to what is really the most agreeable to their own private taste4 ,in matter of taste1 the public1 for the most part1 suffers itself to be led by a few who perhaps are really no judges2 but who1 under the favour of some advantages of title1 place1 or fortune1 set up for judges1 and are implicitly followed even by those who have taste4 ,these washy dictators have learnt at school to admire such authors as have for ages been possessed of an indisputed renown3 but they would never have been the first to have discovered strokes of true genius in a co-temporary writer1 though they had lived at the court of ,,augustus or of ,q4 ,,elizabeth4 ,so undistinguishing is our taste1 that if the most torpid dunce this fruitful age can boast of1 could by some artful imposture prepossess the public1 that the most insipid of all his own bread-sauce compositions1 to be published next winter1 was a piece ,,milton's1 or any other celebrated author1 recovered from dust and obscurity1 it would be received with universal applause2 and perhaps be translated into ,french before the town had doated six weeks upon it4 ,one might venture to say too1 that if a work of true spirit and genius was to be introduced into the world1 under the name of some writer of low reputation1 it would be rejected even by the greatest part of those who pretend to lead the taste4 ,and no wonder1 while an eminent vintner has mistaken his own old hock at nine shillings the bottle for that at five4 ,,of ,,writing ,,to ,,the ,,taste ,,of ,,the ,,age4 ,whatever some have pretended1 one may reasonably enough doubt whether ever an author wrote much below himself from any cause but the necessity of writing too fast4 ,when this happens to a writer who1 with the advantages of leisure and easy circumstances1 is capable of producing such works as might charm succeeding ages1 it is a disgrace to the nation and the times wherein such a genius had the misfortune to appear4 ,it belongs to true genius to indulge its own humour2 to give a loose to its own sallies2 and to be curbed1 restrained and directed by that sound judgment alone which necessarily attends it4 ,it belongs to it to improve and correct the public taste2 not to humour or meanly prostitute itself to the gross or low taste which it finds4 ,and you may depend upon it1 that whatever author labours to accommodate himself to the taste of his age--suppose it1 if you please1 this present age--the sickly wane1 the impotent decline of the eighteenth century3 which from a hopeful boy became a most insignificant man2 and for any thing that appears at present will die a very fat drowsy block-head1 and be damned to eternal infamy and contempt3 every such author ,i say1 though he may thrive as far as an author can in the present age1 will by degrees languish into obscurity in the next4 ,for though naked and bare-faced vanity2 though an active exertion of little arts1 and the most unremitting perseverance in them2 though party1 cabal1 and intrigue2 though accidental advantages1 and even whimsical circumstances2 may conspire to make a very moderate genius the idol of the implicit multitude3 works that lean upon such fickle props1 that stand upon such a false foundation1 will not be long able to support themselves against the injuries of time4 ,such buildings begin to totter almost as soon as their scaffolding is struck4 ,but if you find it necessary to comply with the humour of your age2 the writing best calculated to please a false taste is what has something of the air of good writing1 without being really so4 ,for to the vulgar eye the specious is more striking than the genuine4 ,the best writing is apt to be too plain1 too simple1 too unaffected1 and too delicate to stir the callous organs of the generality of critics1 who see nothing but the tawdry glare of tinsel2 and are deaf to every thing but what is shockingly noisy to a true ear4 ,they are struck with the fierce glaring colours of old ,frank2 with attitudes and expressions violent1 distorted1 and unnatural3 while the true1 just and easy1 the graceful1 the moving1 the sublime representations of ,raphael have not the least power to attract them4 ,the bullying1 noisy march in ,judas ,macchabeus has perhaps more sincere admirers than that most pathetic one in ,saul3 and in conversation pertness and mere vivacity is more felt by the general run of company than easy unaffected wit2 as flashy1 bouncing1 flatulent cyder boasts of more spirit than the still vigour of reserved ,madeira4 ,but the easiest1 as well as the most effectual way of writing to the bad taste of your age1 is to set out while your genius is yet upon a level with it4 ,accordingly1 if you have a son who begins to display a hopeful bloom of imagination1 be sure to publish1 with all the advantages that can be procured1 the very first essays of his genius4 ,they will hardly be too good to please2 and besides1 they have a chance to be received with particular favour and admiration as the productions of a young muse4 ,when he has thus taken possession of the public ear1 he may venture1 as his genius ripens1 to do his best2 he may write as well as he can1 perhaps without much danger of sinking in reputation4 ,the renown of his first crude essays will be sufficient to prejudice the mobility1 great and small1 in favour of the most exquisite pieces he can produce afterwards4 ,but if he must live by his wit1 the best thing you can do for him is to transplant him1 as early as possible1 to ,,paris2 where in the worst of days1 in the most ,gothic muse-detesting age1 there is still some shelter afforded to the most delicate as well as the most uncommon flower that blossoms in the human mind4 ,in that gay serene and genial climate the muses are still more or less cultivated1 though not with the same ardour and passion in every age2 as appears from the following passage translated from a,a ,french author1 who wrote about the beginning of the present century4 ,almost all the arts have in their turns experienced that disgust and love of change which is natural to mankind4 ,but ,i don't know that any one of them has felt it more than ,poetry2 which in some ages has been exalted to a triumphal heighth1 in others neglected1 discouraged and despised4 ,about sixty years ago1 under the administration of one of the greatest geniuses that ever ,france produced1 poetry found itself amongst us at its highest pitch of glory4 ,those who cultivated the muses were regarded with particular favour3 this art was the road to fortune and dignified stations4 ,but in these days this ardour seems to be considerably abated4 ,we do not appear to be extremely sensible to poetical merit1 c4 ,footnote ,a3 ,defense de la ,poesie2 par ,m4 l',abb ,messieu4 ,memores de ,literature1 ,tome #b;de4 ,,the ,,taste ,,of ,,the ,,present ,,age4 ,amongst many other distinguishing marks of a stupid age1 a bad crop of men1 ,i have been told that the taste in writing was never so false as at present4 ,if it is really so1 it may perhaps be owing to a prodigious swarm of insipid trashy writers3 amongst whom there are some who pretend to dictate to the public as critics1 though they hardly ever fail to be mistaken4 ,but their dogmatic impudence1 and something like a scientific air of talking the most palpable nonsense1 imposes upon great numbers of people1 who really possess a considerable share of natural ,taste2 of which at the same time they are so little conscious as to suffer themselves passively to be misled by those blundering guides4 ,a ,taste worth cultivating is to be improved and preserved by reading only the best writers4 ,but whoever1 after perusing a satire of ,horace1 even in the dullest ,english translation1 can relish the stupid abuse of a blackguard rhymster1 may as well indulge the natural depravity of his ,taste1 and riot for life upon distiller's grains4 ,but the ,taste in writing is not1 cannot be worse1 than it is in music1 as well as in all theatrical entertainments4 ,in architecture indeed there are some elegant and magnificent works arising1 at a very proper time to restore the nation to some credit with its neighbours in this article2 after its having been exposed to such repeated disgraces by a triumvirate of awkward clumsey piles1 that are not ashamed to shew their stupid heads in the neighbourhood of ,whitehall3 and one more1 that ought to be demolished2 if it was for no other reason but to restore the view of an elegant church1 which has now for many years been buried alive behind the ,mansion-house4 ,it is indeed some comfort1 that while ,taste and ,genius happen to be very false and impotent in most of the fine arts1 they are not so in all4 ,the arts of ,gardening particularly1 and the elegant plan of a farm1 have of late years displayed themselves in a few spots to greater advantage in ,england1 than perhaps ever before in any part of ,europe4 ,this is indeed very far from being universal2 and some gardens1 admired and celebrated still1 are so smoothly regular1 so over-planted1 and so crowded with affected1 impertinent1 ridiculous ornaments of temples1 ruins1 pyramids1 obelisks1 statues1 and a thousand other contemptible whims1 that a continuation of the same ground in its rude natural state1 is infinitely more delightful4 ,you must often have seen fine situations ruined with costly pretences to improvement4 ,the most noble and romantic situation of any gardens ,i have seen1 is near ,chepstow2 and the gentleman who possesses that delightful spot1 has shewn great judgment and a true taste1 in meddling so little with ,nature where she wanted so little help4 ,this is one happy instance of an admirable situation1 where ,nature is modestly and judiciously improved1 not hurt1 by art4 ,an opposite instance of what art1 skill1 and taste may produce1 without any particular advantages of ground or situation1 is most agreeably displayed in the royal gardens at ,kew4 ,there you find an extent of flat ground1 so easily1 agreeably1 and unaffectedly broken1 that you would think it impossible to alter it but to the worse4 ,to pass without any notice the agreeable and the elegant pieces of architecture1 which without crowding adorn those delightful gardens2 perhaps there is not a physick garden in ,europe where any botanist can be more agreeably entertained1 as to the variety of curious plants4 ,but there is something new as far as ,i know1 and particularly ingenious here in the disposition and management of them4 ,those that naturally delight in the rocks1 and the dry hungry soil1 are here planted upon ridges of artificial rock-work2 where they shew all the luxuriance of vegetation that they could amongst the ,alps1 the ,pyrenees or the ,andes4 ,while a very different tribe1 the ,aquatics1 display themselves in a large cistern1 where they are constantly supplied with their best and most natural nourishment the rain water1 conveyed to them from the eves of the richest greenhouse ,i have ever seen4 ,william ,andrews ,clark ,memorial ,library3 ,university of ,california ,,the ,,augustan ,,reprint ,,society ,general ,editors ,h4 ,,richard ,,archer ,william ,andrews ,clark ,memorial ,library ,r4,c4 ,,boys ,university of ,michigan ,e4,n4 ,,hooker ,university of ,california1 ,los ,angeles ,,john ,,loftis ,university of ,california1 ,los ,angeles ,the society exists to make available inexpensive reprints 7usually facsimile reproductions7 of rare seventeenth and eighteenth century works4 ,the editorial policy of the ,society continues unchanged4 ,as in the past1 the editors welcome suggestions concerning publications4 ,all correspondence concerning subscriptions in the ,united ,states and ,canada should be addressed to the ,william ,andrews ,clark ,memorial ,library1 #bbje ,west ,adams ,blvd41 ,los ,angeles #ah1 ,california4 ,correspondence concerning editorial matters may be addressed to any of the general editors4 ,membership fee continues #b4ej per year4 ,british and ,european subscribers should address ,b4,h4 ,blackwell1 ,broad ,street1 ,oxford1 ,england4 ,publications for the fifth year #aiej-aiea 7,at least six items1 most of them from the following list1 will be reprinted47 ,,frances ,,reynolds 7873 ,an ,enquiry ,concerning the ,principles of ,taste1 and of the ,origin of ,our ,ideas of ,beauty1 c4 7#aghe74 ,introduction by ,james ,l4 ,clifford4 ,,thomas ,,baker3 ,the ,fine lady's ,airs 7#agji74 ,introduction by ,john ,harrington ,smith4 ,,daniel ,,defoe3 ,vindication of the ,press 7#agah74 ,introduction by ,otho ,clinton ,williams4 ,,john ,,evelyn3 ,an ,apologie for the ,royal ,party 7#afei72 ,a ,panegyric to ,charles the ,second 7#affa74 ,introduction by ,geoffrey ,keynes4 ,,charles ,,macklin3 ,man of the ,world 7#agha74 ,introduction by ,dougald ,mac,millan4 ,prefaces to ,fiction4 ,selected and with an ,introduction by ,benjamin ,boyce4 ,,thomas ,,sprat3 ,poems4 ,,sir ,,william ,,petty3 ,the ,advice of ,w4,p4 to ,mr4 ,samuel ,hartlib for the ,advancement of some particular ,parts of ,learning 7#afdh74 ,,thomas ,,gray3 ,an ,elegy ,wrote in a ,country ,church ,yard 7#agea74 7,facsimile of first edition and of portions of ,gray's manuscripts of the poem74 99 99 99 99 99 ,to the ,augustan ,reprint ,society ,subscriber's ,name and ,address3 ,william ,andrews ,clark ,memorial ,library #bbje ,west ,adams ,boulevard ,los ,angeles #ah1 ,california ,as ,,membership ,,fee ,i enclose for the years marked3 ,the current year #b4ej ,the current the #dth year #e4jj ,the current1 #crd1 #dth year #g4ej ,the current1 #bnd1 #crd1 #dth year #aj4jj ,the current1 #ast1 #bnd1 #crd1 #dth year #aa4ej 7,publications no4 #c #d are out of print7 ,make check or money order payable to ,,the ,,regents ,,of ,,the ,,university ,,of ,,california4 ,,note3 ,all income of the ,society is devoted to defraying cost of printing and mailing4 ,,publications ,first ,year 7#aidf-aidg7 #a4 ,richard ,blackmore's ,essay upon ,wit 7#agaf71 and ,addison's ,freeholder ,no4 #de 7#agaf74 #b4 ,samuel ,cobb's ,of ,poetry and ,discourse on ,criticism 7#agjg74 #c4 ,letter to ,a4,h4 ,esq42 concerning the ,stage 7#afih71 and ,richard ,willis' ,occasional ,paper ,no4 ,,ix 7#afih74 7,,out ,,of ,,print7 #d4 ,essay on ,wit 7#agdh71 together with ,characters by ,flecknoe1 and ,joseph ,warton's ,adventurer ,nos4 #abg and #acc4 7,,out ,,of ,,print7 #e4 ,samuel ,wesley's ,epistle to a ,friend ,concerning ,poetry 7#agjj7 and ,essay on ,heroic ,poetry 7#afic74 #f4 ,representation of the ,impiety and ,immorality of the ,stage7#agjd7 and ,some ,thoughts ,concerning the ,stage 7#agjd74 ,second ,year 7#aidg-aidh7 #g4 ,john ,gay's ,the ,present ,state of ,wit 7#agaa72 and a section on ,wit from ,the ,english ,theophrastus 7#agjb74 #h4 ,rapin's ,de ,carmine ,pastorali1 translated by ,creech 7#afhd74 #i4 ,t4 ,hanmer's 787 ,some ,remarks on the ,tragedy of ,hamlet 7#agcf74 #aj4 ,corbyn ,morris ,essay towards ,fixing the ,true ,standards of ,wit1 etc4 7#agdd74 #aa4 ,thomas ,purney's ,discourse on the ,pastoral 7#agag74 #ab4 ,essays on the ,stage1 selected1 with an ,introduction by ,joseph ,wood ,krutch4 ,third ,year 7#aidh-aidi7 #ac4 ,sir ,john ,falstaff 7pseud471 ,the ,theatre 7#agbj74 #ad4 ,edward ,moore's ,the ,gamester 7#agec74 #ae4 ,john ,oldmixon's ,reflections on ,dr4 ,swift's ,letter to ,harley 7#agab72 and ,arthur ,mainwaring's ,the ,british ,academy 7#agab74 #af4 ,nevil ,payne's ,fatal ,jealousy 7#afgc74 #ag4 ,nicholas ,rowe's ,some ,account of the ,life of ,mr4 ,william ,shakespear 7#agji74 #ah4 ,aaron ,hill's ,preface to ,the ,creation2 and ,thomas ,brereton's ,preface to ,esther4 ,fourth ,year 7#aidi-aiej7 #ai4 ,susanna ,centlivre's ,the ,busie ,body 7#agji74 #bj4 ,lewis ,theobald's ,preface to ,the ,works of ,shakespeare 7#agcd74 #ba4 ,critical ,remarks on ,sir ,charles ,gradison1 ,clarissa1 and ,pamela 7#aged74 #bb4 ,samuel ,johnson's ,the ,vanity of ,human ,wishes 7#agdi7 and ,two ,rambler papers 7#agej74 #bc4 ,john ,dryden's ,his ,majesties ,declaration ,defended 7#afha74 #bd4 ,pierre ,nicole's ,an ,essay on ,true and ,apparent ,beauty in ,which from ,settled ,principles is ,rendered the ,grounds for ,choosing and ,rejecting ,epigrams1 translated by ,j4,v4 ,cunningham4