,,hazlitt ,,on ,,english ,,literature ,,an ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,appreciation ,,of ,,literature ,,by ,,jacob ,,zeitlin1 ,,ph4,d4 ,,associate ,,in ,,english ,,university ,,of ,,illinois ,,new ,,york ,,oxford ,,university ,,press ,,american ,,branch3 #ce ,,west #cb,,nd ,,street ,,london1 ,,toronto1 ,,melbourne1 ,,and ,,bombay ,,humphrey ,,milford #aiac ,,all ,,rights ,,reserved ,copyright1 #aiac ,,by ,,oxford ,,university ,,press ,,american ,,branch ,,preface ,the present selection of ,hazlitt's critical essays has been planned to serve two important purposes4 ,in the first place it provides the materials for an estimate of the character and scope of ,hazlitt's contributions to criticism and so acquaints students with one of the greatest of ,english critics4 ,and in the second place1 what is perhaps more important1 such a selection1 embodying a series of appreciations of the great ,english writers1 should prove helpful in the college teaching of literature4 ,there is no great critic who by his readableness and comprehensiveness is as well qualified as ,hazlitt to aid in bringing home to students the power and the beauty of the essential things in literature4 ,there is1 in him a splendid stimulating energy which has not yet been sufficiently utilized4 ,the contents have been selected and arranged to present a chronological and almost continuous account of ,english literature from its beginning in the age of ,elizabeth down to ,hazlitt's own day1 the period of the romantic revival4 ,to the more strictly critical essays there have been added a few which reveal ,hazlitt's intimate intercourse with books and also with their writers1 whether he knew them in the flesh or only through the printed page4 ,such vivid revelations of personal contact contribute much to further the chief aim of this volume1 which is to introduce the reader to a direct and spontaneous view of literature4 ,the editor's introduction1 in trying to fix formally ,hazlitt's position as a critic1 of necessity takes account of his personality1 which cannot be dissociated from his critical practice4 ,the notes1 in addition to identifying quotations and explaining allusions1 indicate the nature of ,hazlitt's obligations to earlier and contemporary critics4 ,they contain a body of detailed information1 which may be used1 if so desired1 for disciplinary purposes4 ,the text here employed is that of the last form published in ,hazlitt's own lifetime1 namely1 that of the second edition in the case of the ,characters of ,shakespeare's ,plays1 the lectures on the poets and on the age of ,elizabeth1 and the ,spirit of the ,age1 and the first edition of the ,comic ,writers1 the ,plain ,speaker1 and the ,political ,essays4 ,a slight departure from this procedure in the case of the essay on ,elia is explained in the notes4 ,my ,first ,acquaintance with ,poets1 and ,of ,persons ,one ,would ,wish to ,have ,seen are taken from the periodicals in which they first appeared1 as they were not republished in book-form till after ,hazlitt's death4 ,hazlitt's own spellings and punctuation are retained4 ,to all who have contributed to the study and appreciation of ,hazlitt1 the present editor desires to make general acknowledgement--to ,alexander ,ireland1 ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt1 ,mr4 ,birrell1 and ,mr4 ,saintsbury4 ,mention should also be made of ,mr4 ,nichol ,smith's little volume of ,hazlitt's ,essays on ,poetry 7,blackwood's71 and of the excellent treatment of ,hazlitt in ,professor ,oliver ,elton's ,survey of ,english ,literature from #aghj to #ahcj1 which came to hand after this edition had been completed4 ,a debt of special gratitude is owing to ,mr4 ,glover and ,mr4 ,waller for their splendid edition of ,hazlitt's ,collected ,works 7in twelve volumes with an index1 ,dent #aijb-aijf74 ,all of ,hazlitt's quotations have been identified with the help of this edition4 ,references to ,hazlitt's own writings1 when cited by volume and page1 apply to the edition of ,glover and ,waller4 ,finally ,i wish to express my sincere thanks to ,professor ,g4 ,p4 ,krapp for his friendly cooperation in the planning and carrying out of this volume1 and to him and to my colleague1 ,professor ,s4 ,p4 ,sherman1 for helpful criticism of the introduction4 ,,jacob ,,zeitlin4 ,february #bj1 #aiac4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,,chronology ,,of ,,hazlitt',s ,,life ,,and ,,writings ix ,,introduction xi ,i4 ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,elizabeth #a ,,ii4 ,,spenser #ba ,,iii4 ,,shakspeare #cd ,,iv4 ,,the ,,characters ,,of ,,shakspeare',s ,,plays ,,cymbeline #ej ,,macbeth #fj ,,iago #gb ,,hamlet #gf ,,romeo ,,and ,,juliet #hd ,,midsummernight',s ,,dream #he ,,falstaff #hh ,,twelfth ,,night #if ,v4 ,,milton #aja ,,vi4 ,,pope #aah ,,vii4 ,,on ,,the ,,periodical ,,essayists #acc ,,viii4 ,,the ,,english ,,novelists #aee ,,ix4 ,,character ,,of ,,mr4 ,,burke #agb ,x4 ,,mr4 ,,wordsworth #aia ,,xi4 ,,mr4 ,,coleridge #bje ,,xii4 ,,mr4 ,,southey #baf ,,xiii4 ,,elia #bbj ,,xiv4 ,,sir ,,walter ,,scott #bbg ,,xv4 ,,lord ,,byron #bcf ,,xvi4 ,,on ,,poetry ,,in ,,general #bea ,,xvii4 ,,my ,,first ,,acquaintance ,,with ,,poets #bgg ,,xviii4 ,,on ,,the ,,conversation ,,of ,,authors #cja ,,xix4 ,,of ,,persons ,,one ,,would ,,wish ,,to ,,have ,,seen #cae ,,xx4 ,,on ,,reading ,,old ,,books #ccc ,,notes #cdi ,,chronology ,,of ,,hazlitt',s ,,life ,,and ,,writings #aggh ,william ,hazlitt born at ,maidstone in ,kent1 ,april #aj4 #aghc-aghf ,residence in ,america4 #aghg ff4 ,residence at ,wem in ,shropshire4 #agic-agid ,student in the ,hackney ,theological ,college4 #agih ,meeting with ,coleridge and ,wordsworth4 #agih8-ahje ,study and practice of painting4 #ahjb ,visit to ,paris4 #ahje ,essay on the ,principles of ,human ,action4 #ahjf ,free ,thoughts on ,public ,affairs4 #ahjg ,an ,abridgment of the ,light of ,nature ,revealed1 by ,abraham ,tucker4 ,reply to the ,essay on ,population by the ,rev4 ,t4 ,r4 ,malthus4 ,eloquence of the ,british ,senate4 #ahjh ,marriage with ,sarah ,stoddart and settlement at ,winterslow4 #ahaj ,a ,new and ,improved ,grammar of the ,english ,tongue4 #ahab ,removal to ,london4--,lectures on philosophy at the ,russell ,institution4 #ahab-ahad ,on the staff of the ,morning ,chronicle4 #ahad ,begins contributing to the ,champion1 ,examiner1 and the ,edinburgh ,review4 #ahaf ,memoirs of the ,late ,thomas ,holcroft4 #ahag ,the ,round ,table4 ,the ,characters of ,shakespeare's ,plays4 #ahah ,a ,view of the ,english ,stage4 ,lectures on the ,english ,poets4 7,delivered at the ,surrey ,institution47 #ahai ,lectures on the ,english ,comic ,writers4 7,delivered at the ,surrey ,institution at the close of #ahah47 ,a ,letter to ,william ,gifford ,esq41 from ,william ,hazlitt ,esq4 ,political ,essays4 #ahbj ,lectures on the ,dramatic ,literature of the ,age of ,elizabeth4 7,delivered at the ,surrey ,institution at the close of #ahai47 ,joins the staff of the ,london ,magazine4 #ahba-bb ,table ,talk1 or ,original ,essays 7#b volumes74 #ahbb ,episode of ,sarah ,walker4--,journey to ,scotland to obtain a divorce from his wife4 #ahbc ,liber ,amoris1 or the ,new ,pygmalion4 ,characteristics in the ,manner of ,rochefoucauld's ,maxims4 #ahbd ,sketches of the ,principal ,picture-,galleries in ,england4 ,select ,british ,poets4 ,marriage with ,mrs4 ,bridgewater4--,tour of the ,continent4 #ahbe ,the ,spirit of the ,age4 #ahbf ,notes of a ,journey through ,france and ,italy4 ,the ,plain ,speaker1 ,opinions on ,books1 ,men1 and ,things 7#b volumes74 #ahbh-ahcj ,life of ,napoleon ,buonaparte 7#d volumes74 #ahcj ,conversations of ,james ,northcote4 ,death of ,william ,hazlitt1 ,september #ah4 ,,introduction ,,william ,,hazlitt ,i ,hazlitt characterized the age he lived in as critical1 didactic1 paradoxical1 romantic4#a ,it was the age of the ,edinburgh ,review1 of the ,utilitarians1 of ,godwin and ,shelley1 of ,wordsworth and ,byron--in a word of the ,french ,revolution and all that it brought in its train4 ,poetry in this age was impregnated with politics2 ideas for social reform sprang from the ground of personal sentiment4 ,hazlitt was born early enough to partake of the ardent hopes which the last decade of the eighteenth century held out1 but his spirit came to ripeness in years of reaction in which the battle for reform seemed a lost hope4 ,while the changing events were bringing about corresponding changes in the ideals of such early votaries to liberty as ,coleridge and ,wordsworth1 ,hazlitt continued to cling to his enthusiastic faith1 but at the same time the spectacle of a world which turned away from its brightest dreams made of him a sharp critic of human nature1 and his sense of personal disappointment turned into a bitterness hardly to be distinguished from cynicism4 ,in a passionate longing for a better order of things1 in the merciless denunciation of the cant and bigotry which was enlisted in the cause of the existing order1 he resembled ,byron4 ,the rare union in his nature of the analytic and the emotional gave to his writings the very qualities which he enumerated as characteristic of the age1 and his consistent sincerity made his voice distinct above many others of his generation4 ,hazlitt's earlier years reveal a restless conflict of the sensitive and the intellectual4 ,his father1 a friend of ,priestley's1 was a ,unitarian preacher1 who1 in his vain search for liberty of conscience1 had spent three years in ,america with his family4 ,under him the boy was accustomed to the reading of sermons and political tracts1 and on this dry nourishment he seemed to thrive till he was sent to the ,hackney ,theological ,college to begin his preparation for the ministry4 ,his dissatisfaction there was not such as could be put into words--perhaps a hunger for keener sensations and an appetite for freer inquiry than was open to a theological student even of a dissenting church4 ,after a year at ,hackney he withdrew to his father's home1 where he found nothing more definite to do than to solve some knotty point1 or dip in some abstruse author1 or look at the sky1 or wander by the pebbled sea-side4#b ,this was probably the period of his most extensive reading4 ,he absorbed the ,english novelists and essayists2 he saturated himself with the sentiment of ,rousseau2 he studied ,bacon and ,hobbes and ,berkeley and ,hume2 he became fascinated1 in ,burke1 by the union of a wide intellect with a brilliant fancy and consummate rhetorical skill4#c ,though he called himself at this time dumb and inarticulate1 and the idea of ever making literature his profession had not suggested itself to him1 he was eager to talk about the things he read1 and in ,joseph ,fawcett1 a retired minister1 he found an agreeable companion4 ,a heartier friend or honester critic ,i never coped withal4#d ,the writings of ,sterne1 ,fielding1 ,cervantes1 ,richardson1 ,rousseau1 ,godwin1 ,goethe1 etc4 were the usual subjects of our discourse1 and the pleasure ,i had had1 in reading these authors1 was more than doubled4#e ,how acutely sensitive he was to all impressions at this time is indicated by the effect upon him of the meeting with ,coleridge and ,wordsworth of which he has left a record in one of his most eloquent essays1 ,my ,first ,acquaintance with ,poets4 ,but his active energies were concentrated on the solution of a metaphysical problem which was destined to possess his brain for many years3 in his youthful enthusiasm he was grappling with a theory concerning the natural disinterestedness of the human mind1 apparently adhering to the bias which he had received from his early training4 ,but being come of age and finding it necessary to turn his mind to something more marketable than abstract speculation1 he determined1 though apparently without any natural inclination toward the art1 to become a painter4 ,he apprenticed himself to his brother ,john ,hazlitt1 who had gained some reputation in ,london for his miniatures4 ,during the peace of ,amiens in #ahjb1 he travelled to the ,louvre to study and copy the masterpieces which ,napoleon had brought over from ,italy as trophies of war4 ,here1 as he marched delighted through a quarter of a mile of the proudest efforts of the mind of man1 a whole creation of genius1 a universe of art1#f he imbibed a love of perfection which may have been fatal to his hopes of a career4 ,at any rate it was soon after1 while he was following the profession of itinerant painter through ,england1 that he wrote to his father of much dissatisfaction and much sorrow1 of that repeated disappointment and that long dejection which have served to overcast and to throw into deep obscurity some of the best years of my life4#g ,when ,hazlitt abandoned painting1 he fell back upon his analytic gift as a means of earning a living4 ,not counting his first published work1 the ,essay on the ,principles of ,human ,action1 which was purely a labor of love and fell still-born from the press1 the tasks to which he now devoted his time were chiefly of the kind ordinarily rated as job work4 ,he prepared an abridgement of ,abraham ,tucker's ,light of ,nature1 compiled the ,eloquence of the ,british ,senate1 wrote a reply to ,malthus's ,essay on ,population1 and even composed an elementary ,english ,grammar4 ,it would be a mistake to suppose that these labors were performed according to a system of mechanical routine4 ,hazlitt impressed something of his personality on whatever he touched4 ,his violent attack on the inhuman tendencies of ,malthus's doctrines is pervaded by a glow of humanitarian indignation4 ,for the ,eloquence of the ,british ,senate he wrote a sketch of ,burke1 which for fervor of appreciation and judicious analysis ranks with his best things of this class4 ,even the ,grammar bears evidence of his enthusiasm for an idea4 ,whenever he has occasion to express his feelings on a subject of popular interest1 his manner begins to grow animated and his language to gain in force and suppleness4 ,but ,hazlitt continued firmly in the faith that it was his destiny to be a metaphysician4 ,in #ahab he undertook to deliver a course of lectures on philosophy at the ,russell ,institution with the ambitious purpose of founding a system of philosophy more conformable to reason and experience than that of the modern material school which resolved all thought into sensation1 all morality into the love of pleasure1 and all action into mechanical impulse4#h ,though he did not succeed in founding a system1 he probably interested his audience by a stimulating review of the main tendencies of ,english thought from ,bacon and ,hobbes to ,priestley and ,godwin4 ,at the conclusion of his last lecture1 ,hazlitt told the story of a ,brahmin who1 on being transformed into a monkey1 had no other delight than that of eating cocoanuts and studying metaphysics4 ,i too1 he added1 should be very well contented to pass my life like this monkey1 did ,i but know how to provide myself with a substitute for cocoanuts4 ,but it must have become apparent to ,hazlitt and his friends that he possessed a talent more profitable than that of abstract speculation4 ,the vigor and vitality of the prose in these lectures1 compared with the heavy1 inert style of his first metaphysical writing1 the freedom of illustration and poetic allusion1 suggested the possibility of success in more popular forms of literature4 ,he tried to work for the newspapers as theatrical and parliamentary reporter1 but his temper and his habits were not adaptable to the requirements of daily journalism1 and editors did not long remain complacent toward him4 ,he did however1 in the course of a few years1 succeed in gaining admission to the pages of the ,edinburgh ,review and in establishing an enviable reputation as a writer1 of critical and miscellaneous essays4 ,even in that anonymous generation he could not long contribute to any periodical without attracting attention4 ,readers were aroused by his bold paradox and by the tonic quality of his style4 ,editors appealed to him for dashing articles1 for something brilliant or striking on any subject4 ,authors looked forward to a favorable notice from ,hazlitt1 and ,keats even declared that it would be a compensation for being damned if ,hazlitt were to do the damning4 ,in his essays the features of ,hazlitt's personality may be plainly recognized1 and these reveal a triple ancestry4 ,he claims descent from ,montaigne by virtue of his original observation of humanity with its entire accumulation of custom and prejudice2 he is akin to ,rousseau in a high-strung susceptibility to emotions1 sentiments1 and ideas2 and he is tinged with a cynicism to which there is no closer parallel than in the maxims of ,la ,rochefoucauld4 ,the union of the philosopher1 the enthusiast1 and the man of the world is fairly unusual in literature1 but in ,hazlitt's case the union was not productive of any sharp contradictions4 ,his common sense served as a ballast to his buoyant emotions2 the natural strength of his feelings loosened the bonds which attached him to his favorite theories2 his cynicism1 by sharpening his perception of the frailty of human nature1 prevented his philanthropic dreams from imposing themselves on him for reality4 ,the analytical gift manifested itself in ,hazlitt precociously in the study of human nature4 ,he characterized some of his schoolmates disdainfully as fit only for fighting like stupid dogs and cats1 and at the age of twelve1 while on a visit1 he communicated to his father a caustic sketch of some ,english ladies who require an ,horace or a ,shakespeare to describe them1 and whose ceremonial unsociality made him wish he were back in ,america4 ,his metaphysical studies determined the direction which his observation of life should take4 ,he became a remarkable anatomist of the constitution of human nature in the abstract1 viewing the motives of men's actions from a speculative plane4 ,he excels in sharp etchings which bring the outline of a character into bold prominence4 ,he is happy in defining isolated traits and in throwing a new light on much used words4 ,cleverness1 he writes1 is a certain knack or aptitude at doing certain things1 which depend more on a particular adroitness and off-hand readiness than on force or perseverance1 such as making puns1 making epigrams1 making extempore verses1 mimicking the company1 mimicking a style1 etc4444 ,accomplishments are certain external graces1 which are to be learnt from others1 and which are easily displayed to the admiration of the beholder1 viz4 dancing1 riding1 fencing1 music1 and so on4444 ,talent is the capacity of doing anything that depends on application and industry1 such as writing a criticism1 making a speech1 studying the law4#i ,these innocent looking definitions are probably not without an ironic sting4 ,it requires no great stretch of the imagination1 for example1 to catch in ,hazlitt's eye a sly wink at ,lamb or a disdainful glance toward ,leigh ,hunt as he gives the reader his idea of cleverness or accomplishment4 ,hazlitt's definitions often startle and give a vigorous buffet to our preconceptions4 ,he is likely to open an essay on ,good-,nature by declaring that a good-natured man is one who does not like to be put out of his way4444 ,good-nature is humanity that costs nothing2#aj and he may describe a respectable man as a person whom there is no reason for respecting1 or none that we choose to name4#aa ,against the imputation of paradox1 which such expressions expose him to1 he has written his own defence1 applying his usual analytical acuteness to distinguish between originality and singularity4#ab ,the contradiction of a common prejudice1 which always passes for paradox1 is often such only in appearance4 ,it is true that an ingenious person may take advantage of the elusive nature of language to play tricks with the ordinary understanding1 but it is equally true that words of themselves have a way of imposing on the uninquiring mind and passing themselves off at an inflated value4 ,no process is more familiar than that by which words in the course of a long life lose all their original power1 and yet they will sometimes continue to exercise a disproportionate authority4 ,then comes the original mind1 which1 looking straight at the thing instead of accepting the specious title1 discovers the incongruity between the pretence and the reality1 and in the first shock of the disclosure annoyingly overturns our settled ideas4 ,this is the spirit in which ,carlyle seeks to strip off the clothes in which humanity has irrecognizably disguised itself1 and it is the spirit in which ,robert ,louis ,stevenson tries to free his old-world conscience from the old-world forms4 ,to take a more recent parallel1 it is the manner1 somewhat exaggerated1 in which ,mr4 ,g4 ,k4 ,chesterton examines the upstart heresies of our own agitated day4 ,there would be nothing fanciful in suggesting that all these men owed a direct debt to ,hazlitt--,stevenson on many occasions acknowledged it4#ac ,hazlitt was as honest and sincere as any of them4 ,though the opening of an essay may appear perverse1 he is sure to enforce his point before proceeding very far4 ,he accumulates familiar instances in such abundance as to render obvious what at first seemed paradoxical4 ,he writes ,on the ,ignorance of the ,learned and makes it perfectly clear that no person knows less of the actual life of the world than he whose experience is confined to books4 ,on the other hand he has a whole-hearted appreciation of pedantry3 ,the power of attaching an interest to the most trifling or painful pursuits1 in which our whole attention and faculties are engaged1 is one of the greatest happinesses of our nature4444 ,he who is not in some measure a pedant1 though he may be a wise1 cannot be a very happy man4#ad ,these two examples illustrate ,hazlitt's manner of presenting both views of a subject by concentrating his attention on each separately and examining it without regard to the other4 ,on one occasion he anatomizes the faults of the dissenters1 and on another he extols their virtues1 ,i have inveighed all my life against the insolence of the ,tories1 and for this ,i have the authority both of ,whigs and ,reformers2 but then ,i have occasionally spoken against the imbecility of the ,whigs1 and the extravagance of the ,reformers1 and thus have brought all three on my back1 though two out of the three regularly agree with all ,i say of the third party4#ae ,the strange thing is not that he should have incurred the wrath of all parties1 but that he should show surprise at the result4 ,very often ,hazlitt's reflections are the generalization of his personal experience4 ,the essay ,on the ,disadvantages of ,intellectual ,superiority is but a record of the trials to which he was exposed by his morbid sensitiveness and want of social tact1 and amid much excellent advice ,on the ,conduct of ,life1 there are passages which merely reflect his own marital misfortunes4 ,it is not so much that he is a dupe of his emotions1 but in his view of life he attaches a higher importance to feeling than to reason1 and so provides a philosophic basis for his strongest prejudices4 ,custom1 passion1 imagination1 he declares1 insinuate themselves into and influence almost every judgment we pass or sentiment we indulge1 and are a necessary help 7as well as hindrance7 to the human understanding2 to attempt to refer every question to abstract truth and precise definition1 without allowing for the frailty of prejudice1 which is the unavoidable consequence of the frailty and imperfection of reason1 would be to unravel the whole web and texture of human understanding and society4#af ,it is this infusion of passion and sentiment1 the addition of the warm breath of his personal experience1 that gives the motion of life to his analytic essays1 and a deep and solemn humanity to his abstract speculations4 ,hazlitt felt life with an intensity which reminds us of a more spacious age4 ,what a huge heap1 a 'huge1 dumb heap1' of wishes1 thoughts1 feelings1 anxious cares1 soothing hopes1 loves1 joys1 friendships1 it is composed of6 ,how many ideas and trains of sentiment1 long and deep and intense1 often pass through the mind in only one day's thinking or reading1 for instance6 ,how many such days are there in a year1 how many years in a long life1 still occupied with something interesting1 still recalling some old impression1 still recurring to some difficult question and making progress in it1 every step accompanied with a sense of power1 and every moment conscious of the 'high endeavour and the glad success6'#ag ,what an exultant sense of power over the resources of life6 ,what an earnest delight in the tasting of every pleasure which the senses and the intelligence afford6 ,his enjoyments comprehended the widest range of sensations and activities4 ,he loved nature1 he loved books1 he loved pictures1 he loved the theatre1 he loved music and dancing4 ,he loved good talk and good fellowship2 he loved an idea and anyone who was susceptible to an idea4 ,he also loved a spirited game of rackets1 and though he hated brutality1 he has left us a very vivid and sympathetic account of a prize-fight4 ,above all he loved the words truth and justice and humanity4 ,with such sensibilities1 it is no wonder that his last words should have been ,i have had a happy life4 ,as the phrase is ordinarily understood1 ,hazlitt's dying expression might seem unaccountable4 ,outwardly few authors have been more miserable4 ,like the great ,french sentimentalist with whom we have compared him1 a suspicious distrust of all who came near him converted his social existence into a restless fever4 ,he had the gift of interpreting every contradiction to one of his favorite principles as a personal injury to himself1 and in the tense state of party feeling then prevailing1 the opportunities for taking offence were not limited4 ,hazlitt was one of the chief marks singled out for abuse by the critics of ,government4 ,to constant self-tormentings from within and persecution from without1 there was added the misfortune of an unhappy marriage and of a still more unhappy love affair which lowered him in his own eyes as well as in the eyes of the world4 ,from the point of view of the practical man1 ,hazlitt's life would be declared a failure4 ,the result of ,hazlitt's hard experiences with the realities of life was to confirm him in a devoted attachment to the past4 ,all his high enthusiasms1 his sanguine dreams1 his purest feelings continued to live for him in the past1 and it was only by recurring to their memory in the dim distance that he could find assurance to sustain his faith4 ,in the past all his experiences were refined1 subtilized1 transfigured4 ,a sunny afternoon on ,salisbury ,plain1 a walk with ,charles and ,mary ,lamb under a ,claude ,lorraine sky1 a visit to the ,montpelier ,gardens where in his childhood he drank tea with his father--occurrences as common as these were enveloped in a haze of glory4 ,and rarer events1 such as a visit to the pictures at ,burleigh ,house1 or to the galleries in the ,louvre1 tender visions of feminine grace and sweetness1 were touched in the recollection with a depth and pathos which subdued even the most joyous impressions to a refined melancholy4 ,in no other ,english writer is this rich sentiment of the past so eloquent1 and no one was better qualified to describe its sources4 ,time takes out the sting of pain2 our sorrows after a certain period have been so often steeped in a medium of thought and passion1 that they 'unmould their essence'2 and all that remains of our original impressions is what we would wish them to have been4444 ,seen in the distance1 in the long perspective of waning years1 the meanest incidents1 enlarged and enriched by countless recollections1 become interesting2 the most painful1 broken and softened by time1 soothe4#ah ,the ,farewell to ,essay ,writing is perfumed with the odor of grateful memories from which the writer draws his best consolation for the future4 ,he almost erects his feeling for the past into a religion4 ,happy are they1 he exclaims1 who live in the dream of their own existence1 and see all things in the light of their own minds2 who walk by faith and hope2 to whom the guiding star of their youth still shines from afar1 and into whom the spirit of the world has not entered6444 ,the world has no hold on them4 ,they are in it1 not of it2 and a dream and a glory is ever around them6#ai ,but this impassioned sentiment for the past was only a refuge such as ,byron might seek among the glories of by-gone ages or amid the solitary ,alpine peaks1 where it was possible to regain the strength spent in grappling with the forces of the actual world and return newly nerved to the battle4 ,for fighting was ,hazlitt's more proper element4 ,he could hate with the same intensity that he loved1 and his hatred was aroused most by those whom he regarded as responsible for the overturning of his political hopes4 ,politics had played the most important part in his early education4 ,in his father's house he had absorbed the spirit of protest1 accustomed himself to arguing for the repeal of the ,test ,act1 and to declaiming against religious and political persecution4 ,at the age of twelve he had written an indignant letter to the ,shrewsbury ,chronicle against the mob of incendiaries which had destroyed the house of ,priestley1 and as a student at ,hackney he showed sufficient self-reliance to develop an original ,essay on ,laws4 ,the defence of the popular cause was with him not an academic exercise1 but a religious principle4 ,since a little child1 ,i knelt and lifted up my hands in prayer for it4#bj ,the emotional warmth of his creed was heightened by the reading of ,rousseau1 and in ,napoleon it found a living hero on whom it could expend itself4 ,an uncompromising attachment to certain fundamental principles of democracy and an unceasing devotion to ,napoleon constitute the chief elements of ,hazlitt's political character4 ,he sets forth his idea of representative government exactly in the manner of ,rousseau when he proclaims that in matters of feeling and common sense1 of which each individual is the best judge1 the majority are in the right4444 ,it is an absurdity to suppose that there can be any better criterion of national grievances1 or the proper remedies for them1 than the aggregate amount of the actual1 dear-bought experience1 the honest feelings1 and heart-felt wishes of a whole people1 informed and directed by the greatest power of understanding in the community1 unbiassed by any sinister motive4#ba ,hazlitt was not a republican1 and he disapproved of the ,utopian rhapsodies of ,shelley1 woven as they seemed of mere moonshine1 without applicability to the evils that demanded immediate reform4 ,but he did insist that there was a power in the people to change its government and its governors1 and hence grew his idolatry of ,napoleon1 who1 through all vicissitudes1 remained the ,child and ,champion of the ,revolution1 the hero who had shown ,europe how its established despots could be overthrown4 ,the news of ,waterloo plunged ,hazlitt into deep distress1 as if it had been the shock of a personal calamity4 ,according to ,haydon1 he walked about unwashed1 unshaven1 hardly sober by day1 always intoxicated by night1 literally for weeks4 ,but his disappointment only strengthened his attachment to his principles4 ,these remained enshrined with the brightest dreams of his youth1 and in proportion as the vision faded and men were beginning to scoff at it as a shadow1 ,hazlitt bent his energies to fix its outline and prove its reality4 ,i am attached to my conclusions1 he says1 in consequence of the pain1 the anxiety1 and the waste of time they have cost me4#bb ,his doctrines contained nothing that was subversive of social order1 and their ultimate triumph lends the color of heroism to a consistency which people have often interpreted as proof of a limited horizon4 ,it is at least certain that he did not put his conscience out to market1 and that his reward came in the form of the vilest calumny ever visited upon a man of letters4 ,these were the most infamous years of the ,quarterly ,review and ,blackwood's ,magazine1 both of which had been founded as avowed champions of reaction4 ,their purpose was to discredit all writers whose politics or the politics of whose friends differed from the ,government4 ,everybody knows of the fate which ,keats and ,shelley suffered at their hands1 chiefly because they were friends of ,leigh ,hunt1 who was the editor of a ,liberal newspaper which had displeased ,george ,,iv4 ,even the unoffending ,lamb did not escape their brutality1 perhaps because he was guilty of admitting ,hazlitt to his house4 ,the weapons were misrepresentation and unconfined abuse1 wielded with an utter disregard of where the blows might fall1 in the spirit of a gang of young ruffians who knew that they were protected in their wantonness by a higher authority4 ,in the chastened sadness of his later years ,lockhart1 who was one of the offenders1 confessed that he had no personal grudge against any of ,blackwood's victims1 in fact that he knew nothing about any of them1 but that at the request of ,john ,wilson1 his fellow-editor1 he had composed some squibberies 444 with as little malice as if the assigned subject had been the court of ,pekin4 ,the sincere regret he expressed for the pain which his jokes had inflicted ought perhaps to be counted in extenuation of his errors4 ,it may be true1 as his generous biographer suggests1 that his politics and his feud with many of these men was an affair of ignorance and accidental associations in ,edinburgh1 that under different circumstances he might have been found inditing sonnets to ,leigh ,hunt1 and supping with ,lamb1 ,haydon1 and ,hazlitt4#bc ,but meanwhile irreparable mischief had been done to many reputations1 and the life of one man had been sacrificed to his sportiveness4#bd ,the signal for the attack on ,hazlitt was given by the ,quarterly in connection with a review of ,the ,round ,table1 ,hazlitt's first book4 ,the contents of this volume were characterized as vulgar descriptions1 silly paradox1 flat truisms1 misty sophistry1 broken ,english1 ill humour and rancorous abuse4#be ,a little later1 when the ,characters of ,shakespeare's ,plays seemed to be finding such favor with the public that one edition was quickly exhausted1 the ,quarterly extinguished its sale by proving that ,mr4 ,hazlitt's knowledge of ,shakespeare and the ,english language is on a par with the purity of his morals and the depth of his understanding4#bf ,the cry was soon taken up by the ,blackwood's people in a series on the ,cockney ,school of ,prose4 ,lockhart invented the expression pimpled ,hazlitt4 ,it so happened that ,hazlitt's complexion was unusually clear1 but the epithet clung to him with a cruel tenacity4 ,when an ill-natured reviewer could find nothing else to say1 he had recourse to pimpled essays or pimpled criticism4#bg ,the climax of abuse was reached in an article entitled ,hazlitt ,cross-,questioned1 which a sense of decency makes it impossible to reproduce1 and which resulted in the payment of damages to the victim4 ,even the publisher ,blackwood speaks of it1 with what sincerity it is not safe to say1 as disgusting in tone1 and ,murray1 who was the ,london agent for the ,magazine1 refused to have any further dealings with it4 ,but the harm was done4 ,hazlitt could not walk out without feeling that every passer-by had read the atrocious article and saw the brand of the social outcast on his features4 ,in an atmosphere like this1 it is scarcely to be wondered at if ,hazlitt's temper1 never of the amiable sort1 should have become embittered1 nor is it strange that he should sometimes1 through ignorance1 have committed the fault of which his enemies had been guilty in wantonness4 ,not content with retaliating the full measure of malice upon the heads of his immediate assailants1 he turned the stream of his abuse upon ,sir ,walter ,scott1 whom he singled out deliberately as the towering head of a supposed literary conspiracy4 ,he is credited with remarking2 ,to pay these fellows in their own coin1 the way would be to begin with ,walter ,scott1 and have at his clump foot4#bh ,very mean-spirited this sounds to us1 who are acquainted with the nobility of ,scott's character and who know with what magnanimous wisdom he kept himself above the petty altercations of the day4 ,but for ,hazlitt1 ,sir ,walter was the father-in-law and friendly patron of ,john ,lockhart1 he was the person who had thrown the weight of his powerful influence to make ,john ,wilson ,professor of ,moral ,philosophy at the ,university of ,edinburgh6 ,he did not carry his prejudice against the ,author of ,waverley4 ,in some instances ,hazlitt was consciously the aggressor1 but his attacks were never wanton4 ,he denounced ,wordsworth and ,coleridge and ,southey because they were renegades from the cause which lay nearest to his heart4 ,their apostasy was an unforgivable offence in his eyes1 and his wrath was proportioned to the admiration which he otherwise entertained for them4 ,it is true that he treated their motives hastily and unjustly1 but none of his opponents set him the example of charity4 ,in the earlier years of their acquaintance ,coleridge had spoken of ,hazlitt as a thinking1 observant1 original man4 one who says things that are his own in a way of his own1#bi whereas after their estrangement he discovered that ,hazlitt was completely lacking in originality4 ,wordsworth1 being offended at ,hazlitt's review of the ,excursion1 peevishly raked up an old scandal and wrote to ,haydon that he was not a proper person to be admitted into respectable society4#cj ,perhaps ,hazlitt was not as respectable as his poet-friends1 but he had a better sense of fair play4 ,at any rate1 in a complete balancing of the accounts1 ,hazlitt's frequent displays of ill-temper are offset by the insidious1 often unscrupulous baitings which he suffered from his opponents4 ,naturally his bitterness was extended to his reflections on mankind in general4 ,he felt as if the human race had wilfully deceived his sanguine expectations1 and he poured out his grievances against its refractoriness1 taking revenge for his public and his private wrongs1 in a passage in which high idealism is joined with personal spite1 in which he has revealed himself in all his strength and weakness1 and involved his enemies in a common ruin with himself4 ,it concludes the essay ,on the ,pleasure of ,hating3 ,instead of patriots and friends of freedom1 ,i see nothing but the tyrant and the slave1 the people linked with kings to rivet on the chains of despotism and superstition4 ,i see folly join with knavery1 and together make up public spirit and public opinions4 ,i see the insolent ,tory1 the blind ,reformer1 the coward ,whig6 ,if mankind had wished for what is right1 they might have had it long ago4 ,the theory is plain enough2 but they are prone to mischief1 'to every good work reprobate4' ,i have seen all that had been done by the mighty yearnings of the spirit and intellect of men1 'of whom the world was not worthy1' and that promised a proud opening to truth and good through the vista of future years1 undone by one man1 with just glimmering of understanding enough to feel that he was a king1 but not to comprehend how he could be king of a free people6 ,i have seen this triumph celebrated by poets1 the friends of my youth and the friends of man1 but who were carried away by the infuriate tide that1 setting in from a throne1 bore down every distinction of right reason before it2 and ,i have seen all those who did not join in applauding this insult and outrage on humanity proscribed1 hunted down 7they and their friends made a bye-word of71 so that it has become an understood thing that no one can live by his talents or knowledge who is not ready to prostitute those talents and that knowledge to betray his species1 and prey upon his fellow-man4444 ,in private life do we not see hypocrisy1 servility1 selfishness1 folly1 and impudence succeed1 while modesty shrinks from the encounter1 and merit is trodden under foot8 ,how often is 'the rose plucked from the forehead of a virtuous love to plant a blister there6' ,what chance is there of the success of real passion8 ,what certainty of its continuance8 ,seeing all this as ,i do1 and unravelling the web of human life into its various threads of meanness1 spite1 cowardice1 want of feeling1 and want of understanding1 of indifference towards others and ignorance of ourselves--seeing custom prevail over all excellence1 itself giving way to infamy--mistaken as ,i have been in my public and private hopes1 calculating others from myself1 and calculating wrong2 always disappointed where ,i placed most reliance2 the dupe of friendship1 and the fool of love2 have ,i not reason to hate and to despise myself8 ,indeed ,i do2 and chiefly for not having hated and despised the world enough4#ca--,this is not exactly downright cynicism2 it is more like disappointment1 beating its head frantically against the wall of circumstance4 ,yet through his bitterest utterances there is felt the warm sentiment that1 let people rail at virtue1 at genius and friendship as long as they will--the very names of these disputed qualities are better than anything else that could be substituted for them1 and embalm even the most angry abuse of them4#cb ,it is no wonder that ,hazlitt has never been a popular favorite4 ,with a stronger attachment to principles than to persons1 lavishing upon ideas or the fanciful creations of art a passionate affection which he grudgingly withheld from human beings1 stubbornly tenacious of a set of political dogmas to which he was ready to sacrifice his dearest friends1 morbidly sensitive to the faintest suggestion of a personal slight1 and prompter than the serpent to vent against the aggressor the bitterness of his poison1 he plays the role of ,ishmael among the men of letters in his day4 ,the violence of his retorts when he felt himself injured and his capacity for giving offence even when he was not directly provoked1 begot a resentment in his adversaries which blinded them to an appreciation of his genuine worth4 ,at best they might have assented1 after his death1 to the sublime pity with which ,carlyle1 from his spiritual altitudes1 moralized upon his struggles4 ,how many a poor ,hazlitt must wander on ,god's verdant earth1 like the ,unblest on burning deserts2 passionately dig wells1 and draw up only the dry quicksand2 believe that he is seeking ,truth1 yet only wrestle among endless ,sophisms1 doing desperate battle as with spectre-hosts2 and die and make no sign6#cc ,we must appeal to the issue to determine whether ,hazlitt's battle was altogether against spectre-hosts1 and whether in his quest for truth and beauty he has drawn up nothing but quicksand4 ,but at least ,carlyle's expression recognizes the earnestness of his purpose and the bravery with which he maintained the conflict4 ,hazlitt gave himself freely and without reserve to his reader4 ,by his side ,leigh ,hunt appears affected1 ,de ,quincey theatrical1 ,lamb--let us say discreet4 ,affectation and discretion were equally alien to ,hazlitt's nature1 as they concerned either his personal conduct or his literary exercises4 ,in regard to every impression1 every prejudice1 every stray thought that struggled into consciousness1 his practice was1 to use his own favorite quotation1 ,to pour out all as plain ,as downright ,shippen or as old ,montaigne4 ,he has drifted far from the tradition of ,addison and ,steele with which his contemporaries sought to associate him4 ,there was nothing in him of the courtier-like grace employed in the good-humored reproof of unimportant vices1 of the indulgent1 condescending admonition to the gentle reader1 particularly of the fair sex4 ,in ,hazlitt's hands the essay was an instrument for the expression of serious thought and virile passion4 ,he lacked indeed the temperamental balance of ,lamb4 ,his insight into human nature was intellectual rather than sympathetic4 ,though as a philosopher he understood that the web of life is of a mingled yarn1 he has given us none of those rare glimpses of laughter ending in tears or of tears subsiding in a tender smile which are the sources of ,lamb's depth and his charm4 ,the same thing is true of his humor4 ,he relished heartily its appearance in others and had a most wholesome laugh2 but in himself there is no real merriment1 only an ironic realization of the contrasts of life4 ,when he writes1 the smile which sometimes seeks to overpower the grim fixity of his features1 is frozen before it can emerge to the surface4 ,he lacks all the ingratiating arts which make a writer beloved4 ,but if one enjoys a keen student of the intricacies of character1 a bold and candid critic of human imperfections1 a stimulating companion full of original ideas and deep feelings1 he will find in ,hazlitt an inexhaustible source of instruction and delight4 ,hazlitt has long appealed to men of vigorous character and acute intellect1 men like ,landor1 ,froude1 ,walter ,bagehot1 ,robert ,louis ,stevenson1 and ,ernest ,henley1 who have either proclaimed his praise or flattered him with imitation4 ,by the friend who knew him longest and was better qualified than any other to speak of him1 he has been pronounced as in his natural and healthy state1 one of the wisest and finest spirits breathing4#cd ,,ii ,the discovery in the seventeenth century of the ,greek treatise ,on the ,sublime1 attributed to ,longinus1 with its inspired appreciation of the great passages in ,greek literature so different from the analytic manner of ,aristotle1 gave a decided impulse to ,english criticism4 ,it was at the same time that ,english prose1 under the influence of ,french models1 was developing a more familiar tone than it had hitherto been acquainted with4 ,the union of the enthusiasm of ,longinus with this moderated ,french prose resulted in the graceful prefaces of ,dryden1 which remained unmatched for more than a century4 ,the ,longinian fire1 breathed upon too by the genius of ,shakespeare1 preserved the eighteenth century from congealing into the utter formalism of pseudo-,aristotelian authority4 ,though they did not produce an even warmth over the whole surface1 the flames are observed darting through the crust even where the crust seems thickest4 ,it is significant that ,dr4 ,johnson should exclaim with admiration at the criticism of ,dryden1 not because ,dryden judged according to rules but because his was the criticism of a poet4 ,and he singles out as the best example of such criticism the well-known appreciation of ,shakespeare1 the very passage which ,hazlitt later quoted as the best character of ,shakespeare that has ever been written4#ce ,the high-priest of classicism wavered frequently in his allegiance to some of the sacred fetishes of his cult1 and had enough grace1 once at least1 to speak with scorn of the cant of those who judged by principles rather than by perception4#cf ,but to judge by perception is a comparatively rare accomplishment1 and so most critics continued to employ the foot-rule as if they were measuring flat surfaces1 while occasionally going so far as to recognize the existence of certain mountain-peaks as irregular beauties4 ,in a more or less conscious distinction from the criticism of external rules there developed also during the eighteenth century what its representatives were pleased to call metaphysical criticism1 to which we should now probably apply the term psychological4 ,this consisted in explaining poetic effects by reference to strictly mental processes in a tone of calm analysis eminently suited to the rationalistic temper of the age4 ,it methodically traced the sources of grandeur or of pathos or of humor1 and then illustrated its generalization by the practice of the poets4 ,it could thereby pride itself on going back of the rules to the fundamental laws of human nature4 ,kames's ,elements of ,criticism1 written in #agfa1 became a work of standard reference1 though it did not impose on the great critics4 ,in commending it ,dr4 ,johnson was careful to remark1 ,i do not mean that he has taught us anything2 but he has told us old things in a new way4#cg ,but in general ,kames was considered a safer guide than the enthusiastic ,longinus1 who throughout the century was looked upon with distrust4 ,instead of shewing for what reason a sentiment or image is sublime1 and discovering the secret power by which they affect a reader with pleasure1 he is ever intent on producing something sublime himself1 and strokes of his own eloquence4 ,so runs the complaint of ,joseph ,warton4#ch ,the distrust was not without ground4 ,the danger that the method of ,longinus in the hands of ungifted writers would become a cloak for critical ignorance and degenerate into empty bluster was already apparent4#ci ,only rarely was there a reader who could distinguish between the false and the true application of the method4 ,gibbon did it in a passage which impressed itself upon the younger critics of ,hazlitt's generation4 ,i was acquainted only with two ways of criticising a beautiful passage3 the one1 to shew1 by an exact anatomy of it1 the distinct beauties of it1 and whence they sprung2 the other1 an idle exclamation1 or a general encomium1 which leaves nothing behind it4 ,longinus has shewn me that there is a third4 ,he tells me his own feelings upon reading it2 and tells them with such energy1 that he communicates them4#dj ,that vital element1 the commentator's power of communicating his own feelings1 constituting as it does the difference between phrase-making and valuable criticism1 did not become prominent in ,english literature before the nineteenth century4 ,the official criticism of the early nineteenth century as represented by the ,edinburgh and ,quarterly ,reviews1 derives its descent directly from the eighteenth4 ,whatever the ,government might have thought of the politics of the ,edinburgh1 its literary outlook remained unexceptionably orthodox4 ,jeffrey's ,essay on ,beauty is a direct copy of ,alison's ,essay on ,taste4 ,much as ,dr4 ,johnson in the preceding age1 ,jeffrey prided himself on the moral tendency of his criticism--a morality which consisted in censuring the life of ,burns and in exalting the virtuous insipidities of ,maria ,edgeworth's tales as it might have been done by any faithful minister of the gospel4 ,to be sure he cannot be said to have held tenaciously to the old set of canons4 ,though he stanchly withstood the new-fangled poetic practices of ,wordsworth and of ,southey1 he bowed before the great popularity of ,scott and ,byron1 even at the cost of some of his favorite maxims4 ,in his writings the solvents of the older criticism are best seen at work4 ,jeffrey both by instinct and training was a lawyer1 and his position at the head of the most respected periodical formed a natural temptation to a dictatorial manner4 ,he was a judge who tried to uphold the literary constitution but wavered in the face of a strong popular opposition4 ,when the support of precedent failed him1 he remained without any firm conviction of his own4 ,while his poetic taste was quite adequate to the appreciation of a ,samuel ,rogers or a ,barry ,cornwall1 it was incomparably futile in the perception of a ,wordsworth or a ,shelley4 ,in a passage composed at the end of his long editorial career in #ahbi1 he unconsciously announced his own extinction as a critic3 ,since the beginning of our critical career1 we have seen a vast deal of beautiful poetry pass into oblivion1 in spite of our feeble efforts to recall or retain it in remembrance4 ,the tuneful quartos of ,southey are already little better than lumber3--and the rich melodies of ,keats and ,shelley1--and the fantastical emphasis of ,wordsworth1--and the plebeian pathos of ,crabbe1 are melting fast from the field of our vision4 ,the novels of ,scott have put out his poetry4 ,even the splendid strains of ,moore are fading into distance and dimness1 except where they have been married to immortal music2 and the blazing star of ,byron himself is receding from its place of pride4 ,we need say nothing of ,milman1 and ,croly1 and ,atherstone1 and ,hood1 and a legion of others1 who1 with no ordinary gifts of taste and fancy1 have not so properly survived their fame1 as been excluded by some hard fatality1 from what seemed their just inheritance4 ,the two who have the longest withstood this rapid withering of the laurel1 and with the least marks of decay on their branches1 are ,rogers and ,campbell2 neither of them1 it may be remarked1 voluminous writers1 and both distinguished rather for the fine taste and consummate elegance of their writings1 than for that fiery passion1 and disdainful vehemence1 which seemed for a time to be so much more in favour with the public4#da ,but the authority of ,jeffrey did not long remain unchallenged4 ,his unfortunate ,this will never do became a by-word among the younger writers who were gradually awaking to the realization of a new spirit in criticism4 ,the protest against the methods of the dictatorial quarterlies found expression in the two brilliant monthly periodicals1 ,blackwood's and the ,london ,magazine1 founded respectively in #ahag and #ahbj4 ,in these no opportunity was neglected to thrust at the inflated pretensions of the established reviews1 and1 though the animus of rivalry might be suspected of playing its part1 the blows usually struck home4 ,there is an air of absolute finality about ,lockhart's ,remarks on the ,periodical ,criticism of ,england1 and his characterization of ,jeffrey in this article is a bold anticipation of the judgment of posterity4#db ,the editor of the ,london ,magazine#dc writes with equal assurance1 ,we must protest against considering the present taste as the standard of excellence1 or the criticisms on poetry in the ,edinburgh ,review as the voice even of the present taste4 ,the test of critical eligibility in this age is an appreciation of ,wordsworth and a proper understanding of ,coleridge his prophet1 and it is by virtue of what inspiration they drew from these oracles that ,john ,lockhart and ,john ,scott became better qualified than ,jeffrey or ,gifford to form the literary opinions of the public4 ,coleridge more than any other person was responsible for bringing about a change in the attitude of literature toward criticism4 ,as ,hazlitt puts it with his inimitable vividness1 he threw a great stone into the standing pool of criticism1 which splashed some persons with the mud1 but which gave a motion to the surface and a reverberation to the neighbouring echoes1 which has not since subsided4#dd ,whether his ideas were borrowed from the ,germans or evolved in his own brain1 their importance for ,english literature remains the same4 ,coleridge's service lay in asserting and reasserting such fundamental principles as that a critical standard is something quite distinct from a set of external rules2 that the traditional opposition between genius and laws was based on a misconception as to the function of the critic2 that all great genius necessarily worked in accordance with certain laws which it was the function of the critic to determine by a study of each particular work of art2 that art1 being vital and organic1 assumed different shapes at different epochs of human culture2 that only the spirit of poetry remained constant1 while its form was molded anew by each age in accordance with the demands of its own life2 that it was no more reasonable to judge ,shakespeare's plays by the practice of ,sophocles than to judge sculpture by the rules of painting4 ,o6 few have there been among critics1 who have followed with the eye of their imagination the imperishable yet ever wandering spirit of poetry through its various metempsychoses2 or who have rejoiced with the light of clear perception at beholding with each new birth1 with each rare avatar1 the human race frame to itself a new body1 by assimilating materials of nourishment out of its new circumstances1 and work for itself new organs of power appropriate to the new sphere of its motion and activity4#de ,this rare grasp of general principles was combined in ,coleridge with poetic vision and a declamatory eloquence which enabled him to seize on the more ardent and open-minded men of letters and to determine their critical viewpoint4 ,william ,hazlitt was among the earliest to fall under ,coleridge's spell4 ,just how much he owed to ,coleridge beyond the initial impulse it is impossible to prove1 because so much of the latter's criticism was expressed during improvised monologues at the informal meetings of friends1 or in lectures of which only fragmentary notes remain4 ,at any rate1 while ,coleridge's chief distinction lay in the enunciation of general principles1 ,hazlitt's practice1 in so far as it took account of these general principles at all1 assumed their existence1 and displayed its strength in concrete judgments of individual literary works4 ,his criticism may be said to imply at every step the existence of ,coleridge's1 or to rise like an elegant superstructure on the solid foundation which the other had laid4 ,hazlitt communicated to the general public that love and appreciation of great literature which ,coleridge inspired only in the few elect4 ,the latter1 even more distinctly than a poet for poets1 was a critic for critics1#df and three generations have not succeeded in absorbing all his doctrines4 ,but ,hazlitt1 with a delicate sensitiveness to the impressions of genius1 with a boundless zest of poetic enjoyment1 with a firm common sense to control his taste1 and with a gift of original expression unequalled in his day1 arrested the attention of the ordinary reader and made effective the principles which ,coleridge with some vagueness had projected4 ,to analyze in cold blood such living criticism as ,hazlitt's may expose one to unflattering imputations1 but the attempt may serve to bring to light what is so often overlooked1 that ,hazlitt's criticism is no random1 irresponsible discharge of his sensibilities1 but has an implicit basis of sound theory4 ,in his ,history of ,criticism1 ,mr4 ,saintsbury takes as his motto for the section on the early nineteenth century a sentence from ,sainte-,beuve to the effect that nearly the whole art of the critic consists in knowing how to read a book with judgment and without ceasing to relish it4#dg ,we are almost ready to believe that the ,french critic1 in the significant choice of the words judgment and relish1 is consciously summarizing the method of ,hazlitt1 the more so as he elsewhere explicitly confesses a sympathy with the ,english critic4#dh ,hazlitt has indeed himself characterized his art in some such terms4 ,in one of his lectures he modestly describes his undertaking merely to read over a set of authors with the audience1 as ,i would do with a friend1 to point out a favorite passage1 to explain an objection2 or if a remark or a theory occurs1 to state it in illustration of the subject1 but neither to tire him nor puzzle myself with pedantical rules and pragmatical formulas of criticism that can do no good to anybody4#di ,this sounds dangerously like dilettantism4 ,it suggests the method of what in our day is called impressionism1 one of the most delightful forms of literary entertainment when practiced by a master of literature4 ,the impressionist's aim is to record whatever impinges on his brain1 and though with a writer of fine discernment it is sure to be productive of exquisite results1 as criticism it is undermined by the impressionist's assumption that every appreciation is made valid by the very fact of its existence4 ,but this was scarcely ,hazlitt's idea of criticism4 ,against universal suffrage in matters literary he would have been among the first to protest4 ,we might almost imagine we were listening to some orthodox theorist of the eighteenth century when we hear him declaring that the object of taste must be that1 not which does1 but which would please universally1 supposing all men to have paid an equal attention to any subject and to have an equal relish for it1 which can only be guessed at by the imperfect and yet more than casual agreement among those who have done so from choice and feeling4#ej ,though not the surest kind of clue1 this indicates at least that ,hazlitt's rejection of pedantical rules and pragmatical formulas was not equivalent to a declaration of anarchy4 ,for ,hazlitt the assertion of individual taste meant emancipation from arbitrary codes and an opportunity to embrace a compass as wide as the range of literary excellence4 ,realizing that every reader1 even the professed critic1 is hemmed in by certain prejudices arising from his temperament1 his education1 his environment1 he was unwilling to pledge his trust to any school or fashion of criticism4 ,the favorite oppositions of his generation--,shakespeare and ,pope1 ,fielding and ,richardson1 ,english poetry and ,french--had no meaning for him4 ,he was glad to enjoy each in its kind4 ,the language of taste and moderation is1 ,i prefer this1 because it is best to me2 the language of dogmatism and intolerance is1 ,because ,i prefer it1 it is best in itself1 and ,i will allow no one else to be of a different opinion4#ea ,this passage1 in connection with the one last quoted1 may be considered as fixing the limits within which ,hazlitt gave scope to personal preference4 ,the sum of his literary judgments reveals a taste for a greater variety of the works of genius than is displayed by any contemporary1 and the absence of a catholic and many-sided sympathy#eb is one of the last imputations that should have been brought against him4 ,his criticism has limitations1 but not such as are due to a narrowness of literary perception4 ,even ,hazlitt's shortcomings may frequently be turned to his glory as a critic4 ,the most remarkable thing about his violent political prejudices is the success with which he dissociated his literary estimates from them4 ,such a serious limitation in a critic as deficiency of reading in his case only raises our astonishment at the sureness of instinct which enabled him to pronounce unerringly on the scantest information4 ,never was there a critic of nearly equal pretensions who had as little of the scholar's equipment4 ,if1 as he tells us1 he applied himself too closely to his studies at a certain period in his youth1#ec he atoned for it by his neglect of books in later life4#ed ,a desultory education had left him without that intimacy with the classics which belonged of right to every cultivated ,englishman4 ,his allusions to the ,greek and ,latin writers are in the most general terms1 but with a note of reverence which did not enter into his speech concerning even ,shakespeare4 ,i would have you learn ,latin 7he is writing to his son7 because there is an atmosphere round this sort of classical ground1 to which that of actual life is gross and vulgar4#ee ,his knowledge of ,italian was no more thorough1 though here he was more nearly on a level with his contemporaries4 ,for ,boccaccio indeed he showed an intense affection1 and he could write intelligently1 if not deeply1 concerning ,dante and ,ariosto and ,tasso4#ef ,with ,french he naturally had a wider acquaintance1 but still nothing beyond the reach of the very general reader4 ,the notable point is that he refrains from passing judgment on the entire body of ,french poetry because it is unlike ,english poetry4 ,he is not infected with the wilful provincialism of ,lamb nor with the spirit of ,john ,bullishness which seriously proclaims in its rivals equally a want of books and men4#eg ,we may be sure of this1 says ,hazlitt1 that when we see nothing but grossness and barbarism1 or insipidity and verbiage in a writer that is the ,god of a nation's idolatry1 it is we and not they who want true taste and feeling4#eh ,having this wholesome counsel ever before him1 he can be more generously appreciative of the genius of ,molire1 more justly discerning in his analysis of the spirit of ,rousseau1#ei and more free of the puritanical clatter against ,voltaire than any of his fellow-critics4 ,with ,german literature his familiarity was bounded on the one hand by ,schiller's ,robbers1 on the other by the first part of ,faust1 the entire gap between these being filled by the popular versions of ,kotzebue's plays and ,mme4 de ,stal's book on ,germany4 ,yet he dared to write a character of the ,german people which is almost worth quoting4#fj ,in ,english his range of reading was correspondingly narrow4 ,such a piece of waywardness as his enthusiasm for ,john ,buncle1#fa derived no doubt from ,lamb1 is unique4 ,broadly speaking1 he prefers to accept the established canon and approaches new discoveries with a deep distrust4 ,he is very little concerned with writers of the second order1 and in his ,lecture on the ,living ,poets he shocked his audience unspeakably1 when he came to the name of ,hannah ,more1 by merely remarking1 ,she has written a great deal which ,i have never read4 ,he looked upon most living writers through the eyes of the somewhat jaded reviewer1 who1 though susceptible to a romantic thrill from one or the other1 is usually on his guard against spurious blandishments and reluctant to admit the claims of new pretenders4 ,even in poets of the first rank he slurred over a great deal2 but what he loved he dwelt on with a kind of rapt inspiration until it became his second nature1 its spirit and its language fused intimately with his own4 ,this revolutionist in politics was a jealous aristocrat in the domains of art1 and this admission does not impair our earlier assertion of his openness to a greater variety of impressions than any of his contemporaries in criticism4 ,hazlitt's professed indifference to system is probably due as much to lack of deep reading as to romantic impatience of restraint4 ,when he declared that it was beyond his powers to condense and combine all the facts relating to a subject#fb or that he had no head for arrangement1#fc it was only because he did not happen to be a master of the facts which required combination or arrangement4 ,for he did have an unusual gift for penetrating to the core of a subject and tearing out the heart of its mystery2 in fact1 his power of concrete literary generalization was in his age unmatched4 ,to reveal the distinctive virtue of a literary form1 to characterize the sources of weakness or of strength in a new or a by-gone fashion of poetry1 to analyze accurately the forces impelling a whole mighty age--these things1 requiring a deep and steady concentration of mind1 are among his most solid achievements4 ,in a paragraph he distils for us the essence of what is picturesque and worth dwelling on in the comedy of the ,restoration4 ,in a page he triumphantly establishes the boundary-line between the poetry of art and nature--,pope and ,shakespeare--which to the present day remains as a clear guide1 while at the same time ,campbell and ,byron and ,bowles are filling the periodicals with protracted and often irrelevant arguments on one side or the other which only the critically curious now venture to look into4 ,in the space of a single lecture he takes a sweeping view of all the great movements which gave vitality and grandeur to the ,elizabethan spirit and found a voice in its literature1 so that in spite of his little learning he seems to have left nothing for his followers but to fill in his outline4 ,the same keenness of discernment he applied casually in dissecting the genius of his own time4 ,he associated the absence of drama with the ,french ,revolution1 its tendency to deal in abstractions and to regard everything in relation to man and not men--a tendency irreconcilable with dramatic literature1 which is essentially individual and concrete4#fd ,to be sure the eighteenth century before the ,revolution was as void of drama as ,hazlitt's generation1 but what is true of the period which produced ,political ,justice and the ,edinburgh ,review would hold equally of the time which produced the ,essay on ,man and the deistic controversy4 ,he sometimes harshly exposes the weaker side of contemporary lyricism as a mere effusion of natural sensibility1 and he regrets the absence of imaginary splendor and human passion as of a glory departed4#fe ,but with all this he had the true historical sense4 ,it breaks out most unmistakably when he says1 ,if literature in our day has taken this decided turn into a critical channel1 is it not a presumptive proof that it ought to do so8#ff ,of the actual application of historical principles1 which were just beginning to be realized in the study of literature1 we find only a few faint traces in ,hazlitt4 ,some remarks on the influence of climate and of religious and political institutions occur in his contributions to the ,edinburgh1 but occasionally their perfunctory manner suggests the editorial pen of ,jeffrey4 ,doubtless ,hazlitt's discriminating judgment would have enabled him to excel in this field1 had he been equipped with the necessary learning4 ,it may also be a serious limitation of ,hazlitt's that he neglects questions of structure and design4 ,doubtless he was reacting against the jargon of the older criticism with its lifeless and monotonous repetitions about invention and fable and unity1 giving nothing but the superficial plan and elevation1 as if a poem were a piece of formal architecture4#fg ,in avoiding the study of the design of ,paradise ,lost or of the ,faerie ,queene he may have brought his criticism nearer to the popular taste2 but he deliberately shut himself off from a vision of some of the higher reaches of poetic art1 perhaps betraying thereby that lack of imagination with which he has sometimes been charged4#fh ,his interpretation of an author is therefore occasionally in danger of becoming an appreciation of isolated characters1 or scenes1 or passages1 as if he were actually reading him over with his audience4 ,but this is a limitation which ,hazlitt shares with all the finer critics of his day4 ,after all these shortcomings have been acknowledged1 the permanence of ,hazlitt's achievement appears only the more remarkable4 ,it is clear that the gods made him critical4 ,the two essential qualities of judgment and taste he seems to have possessed from the very beginning4 ,it is impossible to trace in him any development of taste2 his growth is but the succession of his literary experiences4 ,one looks in vain for any of those errors of youth such as are met even in a ,coleridge enamored of ,bowles4 ,what extravagance of tone ,hazlitt displayed in his early criticism he carried with him to his last day4 ,if any change is to be noted1 it is in the growing keenness of his appreciation4 ,the early maturity of his judicial powers is attested by the political and metaphysical tendency of his youthful studies4 ,his birth as a full-fledged critic awaited only the stirring of the springs of his eloquence1 as is evident from the excellence of what is practically his first literary essay1 the ,character of ,burke4 ,no critic has approached books with so intense a passion as ,hazlitt4 ,that sentimental fondness for the volumes themselves1 especially when enriched by the fragrance of antiquity1 which gives so delicious a savor to the bookishness of ,lamb1 was in him conspicuously absent4 ,for him books were only a more vivid aspect of life itself4 ,tom ,jones1 he tells us1 was the novel that first broke the spell of his daily tasks and made of the world a dance through life1 a perpetual gala-day4#fi ,keats could not have romped through the ,faerie ,queene with more spirit than did ,hazlitt through the length and breadth of eighteenth century romance1 and the young poet's awe before the majesty of ,homer was hardly greater than that of the future critic when a ,milton or a ,wordsworth swam into his ken4 ,this hot and eager interest1 deprived of its outlet in the form of direct emulation1 sought a vent in communicating itself to others and in making converts to its faith4 ,so intimately did ,hazlitt feel the spell of a work of genius1 that its life-blood was transfused into his own almost against his will4 ,i wish1 he exclaims1 ,i had never read the ,emilius 444 ,i had better have formed myself on the model of ,sir ,fopling ,flutter4#gj ,he entered into the poet's creation with a sympathy amounting almost to poetic vision1 and the ever-present sense of the reality of the artist's world led him to interpret literature primarily in relation to life4 ,the poetry of character and passion is what he regards of most essential interest4#ga ,this point of view unintentionally converts his familiar essays on life into a literary discourse1 and gives to his formal criticism the tone of a study of life at its sources1 raising it at once to the same level with creative literature4 ,though he nowhere employs the now familiar formula of literature and life1 the lecture ,on ,poetry in ,general is largely an exposition of this outlook4 ,life in its entire compass is regarded as the rough material of literature1 but it does not become literature until the artist's imagination1 as with a divine ray1 has penetrated the mass and inspired it with an ideal existence4 ,among the numerous attempts of his contemporaries to define the creative faculty of the poet1 this comparatively simple one of ,hazlitt's is worth noting4 ,this intuitive perception of the hidden analogies of things1 or1 as it may be called1 this instinct of imagination1 is perhaps what stamps the character of genius on the productions of art more than any other circumstance3 for it works unconsciously1 like nature1 and receives its impressions from a kind of inspiration4#gb ,it is this power that he has in mind when he says ,poetry is infusing the same spirit in a number of things1 or bathing them all as it were1 in the same overflowing sense of delight4#gc ,it shows ,hazlitt to have fully apprehended the guiding principle of the new ideal of criticism which1 looking upon the work of art as an act of original creation and not of mechanical composition1 based its judgment on a direct sympathy with the artist's mind instead of resorting to a general rule4 ,in the light of this principle he is enabled to avoid the pitfalls of a moralistic interpretation of literature and to decide the question as to the relative importance of substance and treatment with a certainty which seems to preclude the possibility of any other answer4 ,it is not the dignity of the theme which constitutes the great work of art1 for in that case a prose summary of the ,divine ,comedy would be as exalted as the original1 and it would be necessary merely to know the subject of a poem in order to pass judgment upon it4 ,a low or a trivial subject may be raised by the imagination of the artist who recognizes in it the elements of beauty or power4 ,no definition of poetry can be worth anything which would exclude ,the ,rape of the ,lock2 and ,murillo's painting of ,the ,two ,beggar ,boys is as much worth having as almost any picture in the world4#gd ,yet it is not true that execution is everything1 and the class or subject nothing4 ,the highest subjects1 equally well-executed 7which1 however1 rarely happens71 are the best4#ge ,though each is perfect in its kind1 there can be no difficulty in deciding the question of greatness between ,king ,lear and ,the ,comedy of ,errors4 ,the greatest strength of genius is shewn in describing the strongest passions3 for the power of imagination1 in works of invention1 must be in proportion to the force of the natural impressions1 which are the subject of them4#gf ,one also finds a test of relative values in the measure of fulness with which the work of art reflects the complex elements of life4 ,if we estimate a tragedy of ,shakespeare above one of ,lillo or ,moore1 it is because impassioned poetry is an emanation of the moral and intellectual part of our nature1 as well as of the sensitive--of the desire to know1 the will to act1 and the power to feel2 and ought to appeal to these different parts of the constitution1 in order to be perfect4#gg ,in treating of the specific distinction of poetry ,hazlitt does not escape the usual difficulties4 ,taking his point of departure from ,milton's thoughts that voluntary move harmonious numbers1 he defines poetry in a passage that satisfactorily anticipates the familiar one of ,carlyle1 as the music of language answering to the music of the mind4444 ,wherever any object takes such a hold of the mind as to make us dwell upon it1 and brood over it1 melting the heart in tenderness1 or kindling it to a sentiment of enthusiasm2--wherever a movement of imagination or passion is impressed on the mind1 by which it seeks to prolong or repeat the emotion1 to bring all other objects into accord with it1 and to give the same movement of harmony1 sustained and continuous1 or gradually varied according to the occasion1 to the sounds that express it--this is poetry4 ,the musical in sound is the sustained and continuous2 the musical in thought is the sustained and continuous also4 ,there is a near connection between music and deep-rooted passion4#gh ,in this mystical direction a definition could go no further1 but like nearly all writers and speakers ,hazlitt is inclined to use the word poetry in a variety of more or less connected meanings1#gi ordinarily legitimate enough1 but somewhat embarrassing when it is a question of definition4 ,that which lifts the spirit above the earth1 which draws the soul out of itself with indescribable longings1 is1 he says1 poetry in kind1 and generally fit to become so in name1 by 'being married to immortal verse4'#hj ,if it is true that ,pilgrim's ,progress and ,robinson ,crusoe possess the essence and the power of poetry and require only the addition of verse to become absolutely so1#ha then the musical expression is only a factitious ornament1 to be added or removed at the caprice of the writer4 ,but ,hazlitt is careful to declare that verse does not make the whole difference between poetry and prose1 leaving the whole question as vaguely suspended as ever4#hb ,bare theorizing1 according to his own confession1 was no favorite pursuit with ,hazlitt4 ,he enjoyed himself much more in the analysis of an individual author or his work4 ,his aversion to literary cant1 his love of saying things that are his own in a way of his own1 were here most in evidence4 ,what he says of ,milton might appropriately be applied to himself1 that he formed the most intense conception of things and then embodied them by a single stroke of his pen4 ,in a phrase or in a sentence he stamped the character of an author indelibly1 and1 enemy to commonplace though he was1 became a cause of commonplace in others4 ,no matter how much might already have been written on a subject 7and ,hazlitt did not make a practice of celebrating neglected obscurity7 his own view stood out fresh and clear1 and yet his judgments were never eccentric4 ,he wrestled with a writer's thoughts1 absorbed his most passionate feelings1 and mirrored back his most exquisite perceptions with all the color1 the light and the shade4 ,his fertility is more amazing than his intensity1 for no critic of nearly equal rank has enriched ,english literature with so many valuable and enduring judgments on so great a variety of subjects4 ,dr4 ,johnson is by common consent the spokesman of the eighteenth century1 or of its dominant class2 ,coleridge and ,lamb are entitled to the glory of revealing the literature between ,spenser and ,milton to ,english readers1 and the former rendered the additional service of acting as the interpreter of ,wordsworth4 ,but to give an idea of ,hazlitt's scope would require a summary of opinions embracing poetry from ,chaucer and ,spenser to ,wordsworth and ,byron1 prose sacred and profane from ,bacon and ,jeremy ,taylor to ,burke and ,edward ,irving1 the drama in its two flourishing periods1 the familiar essay from ,steele and ,addison to ,lamb and ,leigh ,hunt1 the novel from ,defoe to ,sir ,walter ,scott4 ,this does not begin to suggest ,hazlitt's versatility4 ,his own modest though somewhat over-alliterative words are that he has at least glanced over a number of subjects--painting1 poetry1 prose1 plays1 politics1 parliamentary speakers1 metaphysical lore1 books1 men1 and things4#hc ,the importance of ,hazlitt's ,shakespearian criticism is no longer open to question4 ,though ,coleridge alluded to them slightingly as out-and-out imitations of ,lamb1#hd ,hazlitt's dicta on the greatest ,english genius are equal in depth to ,lamb's and far more numerous2 and while in profoundness and subtlety they fall short of the remarks of ,coleridge himself1 they surpass them in intensity and carrying power4 ,to both of these men ,hazlitt owed a great deal in his appreciation of ,shakespeare1 and perhaps even more to ,august ,wilhelm ,schlegel1 whose ,lectures on ,dramatic ,literature he reviewed in #ahae4he ,his allusions to ,schlegel border on enthusiasm and he makes it a proud claim that he has done more than any one except ,schlegel to vindicate the ,characters of ,shakespeare's ,plays from the stigma of ,french criticism4#hf ,but however great his obligation1 there was some point in the compliment of the ,german critic when he declared that ,hazlitt had gone beyond him 7l'avoit dpass7 in his ,shakespearian opinions4#hg ,a few years later ,heine maintained that the only significant commentator of ,shakespeare produced by ,england was ,william ,hazlitt4#hh ,coleridge's notes1 it is to be remembered1 were not at that time generally accessible4 ,hazlitt's attitude toward ,shakespeare was wholesomely on this side of idolatry4 ,he did not make it an article of faith to admire everything that ,shakespeare had written1 and refused his praise to the poems and most of the sonnets4 ,even ,schlegel and ,coleridge could not persuade him to see beauties in what appeared to be blemishes1 but in a general estimate of ,shakespeare's all-embracing genius he conceived his faults to be of just as much consequence as his bad spelling4#hi ,he saw in him a genius who comprehended all humanity1 who represented it poetically in all its shades and varieties4 ,he examined all the fine distinctions of character1 he studied ,shakespeare's manner of combining and contrasting them so as to produce a unity of tone above even the art of the classic unities4 ,from the irresponsible comedy of ,falstaff to the deepest tragic notes of ,lear1 the whole gamut of human emotions encounters responsive chords in the critic's mind--the young love of ,romeo and ,juliet or the voluptuous abandonment of ,antony and ,cleopatra1 the intellect of ,iago irresistibly impelled to malignant activity or ,hamlet entangled in the coils of a fatal introspection4 ,to the sheer poetry of ,shakespeare he is also acutely sensitive1 to the soft moonlit atmosphere of the ,midsummernight's ,dream1 to the tender gloom of ,cymbeline1 to the philosophic poetry of ,as ,you ,like ,it4 ,some of his interpretations of isolated passages are hardly to be surpassed4 ,he comments minutely and exquisitely on what he considers to be a touchstone of poetic feeling1 ,daffodils ,that come before the swallow dares1 and take ,the winds of ,march with beauty4#ij ,and with what complete insight he translates a speech of ,antony's3 ,this precarious state and the approaching dissolution of his greatness are strikingly displayed in the dialogue of ,antony with ,eros3 ',antony4 ,eros1 thou yet behold'st me8 ,eros4 ,ay1 noble lord4 ,antony4 ,sometime we see a cloud that's dragonish2 ,a vapour sometime1 like a bear or lion1 ,a towered citadel1 a pendant rock1 ,a forked mountain1 or blue promontory ,with trees upon't1 that nod unto the world ,and mock our eyes with air4 ,thou hast seen these signs1 ,they are black vesper's pageants4 ,eros4 ,ay1 my lord4 ,antony4 ,that which is now a horse1 even with a thought ,the rack dislimns1 and makes it indistinct ,as water is in water4 ,eros4 ,it does1 my lord4 ,antony4 ,my good knave1 ,eros1 now thy captain is ,even such a body1' etc4 ,this is1 without doubt1 one of the finest pieces of poetry in ,shakspeare4 ,the splendour of the imagery1 the semblance of reality1 the lofty range of picturesque objects hanging over the world1 their evanescent nature1 the total uncertainty of what is left behind1 are just like the mouldering schemes of human greatness4 ,it is finer than ,cleopatra's passionate lamentation over his fallen grandeur1 because it is more dim1 unstable1 unsubstantial4#ia ,if an understanding of ,shakespeare in ,hazlitt's day may be taken as a measure of a critic's depth of insight1 his attitude toward ,shakespeare's fellow-dramatists will just as surely reveal his powers of discrimination4 ,lamb was often carried away by a pioneer's fervor and misled persons like ,lowell1 who1 returning to ,ford late in life1 found that the greater part of what he once took on trust as precious was really paste and pinchbeck1 and that as far as the celebrated closing scene in ,the ,broken ,heart was concerned1 ,charles ,lamb's comment on it was worth more than all ,ford ever wrote4#ib ,hazlitt's dispassionate sanity in this instance forms an instructive contrast3 ,except the last scene of the ,broken ,heart 7which ,i think extravagant--others may think it sublime1 and be right7 they ,ford's plays are merely exercises of style and effusion of wire-drawn sentiment4#ic ,the same strength of judgment rendered ,hazlitt proof against the excessive sentimentality in ,beaumont and ,fletcher and gave a distinct value to his opinions even when they seemed to be wrong1 which was not often4 ,but in writing of ,marlowe1 of ,dekker and of ,webster1 he spreads out all his sail to make a joyous run among the beauties in his course4 ,and it is so with the rest of his criticism--throughout the same susceptibility to all that is true1 or lofty1 or refined1 vigilantly controlled by a firm common sense1 the same stamp of originality unmistakably impressed on all4 ,i like old opinions with new reasons1 he once said to ,northcote1 not new opinions without any4#id ,but he did not hesitate to express a new opinion where the old one appeared to be unjust4 ,his heretical preference of ,steele over ,addison has found more than one convert in later days4 ,on ,spenser or ,pope1 on ,fielding or ,richardson1 he is equally happy and unimprovable4 ,in the opinion of ,mr4 ,saintsbury1 ,hazlitt's general lecture on ,elizabethan literature1 his treatment of the dramatists of the ,restoration1 of ,pope1 of the ,english ,novelists1 and of ,cobbett have never been excelled2 and who is better qualified than ,mr4 ,saintsbury by width of reading to express such an opinion8#ie ,of ,hazlitt's treatment of his own contemporaries an additional word needs to be said4 ,no charge has been repeated more often than that of the inconsistency1 perversity1 and utter unreliableness of his judgments on the writers of his day4 ,to distinguish between the claims of living poets1 particularly in an age of new ideas and changing forms1 is a task which might test the powers of the most discerning critics1 and in which perfection is hardly to be attained4 ,yet one may ask whether in the entire extent of ,hazlitt's writing a great living genius has been turned into a mockery or a figurehead been set up for the admiration of posterity4 ,of his personal and political antipathies enough has been said1 but against literary orthodoxy his only great sin is a harsh review of ,christabel4#if ,if in general we look at the age through ,hazlitt's eyes1 we shall see its literature dominated by the figures of ,wordsworth and ,scott1 the one regarded as the restorer of life to poetry1 the other as the creator or transcriber of a whole world of romance and humanity4 ,coleridge stands out prominently as the widest intellect of his age4 ,byron's poetry bulks very large1 though it is not estimated as superlatively as in the criticism of our own day4 ,it is a pity that ,hazlitt never wrote formally of ,keats1 for his casual allusions indicate a deep enjoyment of the rich beauties and the dim obscurities of the ,eve of ,st4 ,agnes#ig and an appreciation of the perfection of the great odes4#ih ,if he failed to give ,shelley his full dues1 he did not overlook his exquisite lyrical inspiration4 ,he spoke of ,shelley as a man of genius1 but 'all air1' disdaining the bars and ties of mortal mould2 he praised him for single thoughts of great depth and force1 single images of rare beauty1 detached passages of extreme tenderness1 and he rose to enthusiasm in commending his translations1 especially the scenes from ,faust4#ii ,he has been accused of writing a ,spirit of the ,age which omitted to give an account of ,shelley and ,keats1 but in the title of the book consists his excuse4 ,as it was not his idea to anticipate the decision of posterity but only to sketch the personalities who were in control of the public attention1 he passed over the finer poets who were still neglected1 and wrote instead about ,campbell and ,moore and ,crabbe4 ,it is sufficient praise for the critic that those of whom he has undertaken to treat stand irreversibly judged in his pages4 ,he is generous toward ,campbell and ,moore1 who were both personally hostile to him2 he is scrupulously honest toward ,bentham1 with whose system he had no sympathy4 ,the concluding pages of his sketch of ,southey1 in view of that poet's rancor against him1 are almost defiant in their magnanimity4 ,his adverse judgments1 moreover1 are as permanent as his favorable ones4 ,he pronounced the verdict against the naked realism of ,crabbe's poetry1 which persons like ,jeffrey thought superior to ,wordsworth's1 and he pricked the bubble of ,edward ,irving's popularity while it was at its pitch of highest glory4 ,if he was often bitter toward men whom he at other times eulogized1 it was in the heat and hurry of journalistic publication in a period when blows were freely dealt and freely taken4 ,if he sometimes censured even ,wordsworth and ,scott and grew impatient with ,byron and ,coleridge1 it must be remembered that these men of genius had imperfections1 and that the imperfections of men of genius are of far greater concern to their contemporaries than to posterity4 ,time dispels the mists and allows the gross matter to settle to the bottom4 ,we now have ,wordsworth in the selections of ,matthew ,arnold1 we read the ,waverley ,novels with ,lockhart's ,life of ,scott before us1 and we render praise to ,coleridge for what he has accomplished since his death4 ,with none of these advantages1 ,hazlitt's performance seems remarkable enough4 ,no contemporary with the exception of ,leigh ,hunt displayed as wide a sympathy with the writers of that time1 and ,hazlitt so far surpasses ,hunt in discrimination and strength1 that he deserves to be called1 strange as it may sound1 the best contemporary judge of the literature of his age4 ,it has already been suggested that much of ,hazlitt's appeal as a critic rests on the force of his popular eloquence1 so that a brief consideration of his prose is not in this connection out of place4 ,we may all be fine fellows1 said ,stevenson1 but none of us can write like ,hazlitt4 ,to write a style that is easy yet incisive1 lively and at the same time substantial1 buoyant without being frothy1 glittering but with no tinsel frippery1 a style combining the virtues of homeliness and picturesqueness1 has been given to few mortals4 ,writing in a generation in which the standards of prose were conspicuously unsettled1 when the most ambitious writers were seeking an escape from the frozen patterns of the eighteenth century in a restoration of the elaborate artifices of the seventeenth1 when quaintness and ornateness were the evidence of a distinguished style1 ,hazlitt succeeded in preserving the note of familiarity without fading into colorlessness or in any degree effacing his individuality4 ,he cannot be counted among the masters of finished prose1 he is as a matter of fact often very negligent1#ajj but he developed the best model of an undiluted1 sturdy1 popular style that is to be found in the ,english language4 ,perhaps an adherence to the eighteenth century tradition of plainness is the most prominent characteristic of ,hazlitt's prose4 ,but his plainness is not precisely of the blunt type associated with ,swift and ,arbuthnot4 ,it is modified by the ,gallic tone of easy familiarity1 by the ideal deemed appropriate for dignified converse among educated people of the world4 ,his periods are of the simplest construction and they are not methodically combined in the artificial patterns beloved of the eighteenth century followers of the plain style4 ,not that he altogether neglects the devices of parallelism and antithesis when he wishes to give epigrammatic point to his remarks1 but he more generally develops his ideas in a series of easily flowing sentences which are as near as writing can be to the tone of lively and sensible conversation4 ,it is impossible to match in the ,english essay such talk as ,hazlitt reproduces in his accounts of the evenings at ,lamb's room or of his meeting with ,coleridge1 in which high themes and spirited eloquence find spontaneous and unaffected expression through the same medium as might be employed in a deliberate definition of the nature of poetry4 ,the various sets of lectures are pitched in the same conversational key and are found adequate to conveying a notion of the grandeur of ,milton as well as of the familiarity of ,lamb4 ,those who have praised ,hazlitt's simplicity have often given the impression that his prose is a single-stringed instrument1 and have failed to suggest the range comprised between the simple hammer-strokes of the essay on ,cobbett and the magnificent diapason in which he unrolls the panorama of ,coleridge's mind4 ,in both passages there is the same sentence-norm4 ,in the first1 the periods1 not bound by any connecting words1 strike distinctly1 sharply1 with staccato abruptness4 ,the movement is that of a clean-limbed wrestler struggling with confident energy to pin down a difficult opponent3 ,his principle is repulsion1 his nature contradiction3 he is made up of mere antipathies2 an ,ishmaelite indeed1 without a fellow4 ,he is always playing at hunt-the-slipper in politics4 ,he turns round upon whoever is next to him4 ,the way to wean him from any opinion1 and make him conceive an intolerable hatred against it1 would be to place somebody near him who was perpetually dinning it in his ears4 ,when he is in ,england1 he does nothing but abuse the ,boroughmongers1 and laugh at the whole system3 when he is in ,america1 he grows impatient of freedom and a republic4 ,if he had staid there a little longer1 he would have become a loyal and a loving subject of his ,majesty ,king ,george ,,iv4 ,he lampooned the ,french ,revolution when it was hailed as the dawn of liberty by millions3 by the time it was brought into almost universal ill-odour by some means or other 7partly no doubt by himself7 he had turned1 with one or two or three others1 staunch ,bonapartist4 ,he is always of the militant1 not of the triumphant party3 so far he bears a gallant show of magnanimity2 but his gallantry is hardly of the right stamp3 it wants principle4 ,for though he is not servile or mercenary1 he is the victim of self-will4 ,he must pull down and pull in pieces3 it is not in his disposition to do otherwise4 ,it is a pity2 for with his great talents he might do great things1 if he would go right forward to any useful object1 make thorough-stitch work of any question1 or join hand and heart with any principle4 ,he changes his opinions as he does his friends1 and much on the same account4 ,he has no comfort in fixed principles3 as soon as anything is settled in his own mind1 he quarrels with it4 ,he has no satisfaction but in the chase after truth1 runs a question down1 worries and kills it1 then quits it like vermin1 and starts some new game1 to lead him a new dance1 and give him a fresh breathing through bog and brake1 with the rabble yelping at his heels and the leaders perpetually at fault4#aja ,in the other passage the clauses and phrases follow in their natural order1 but they are united by the simplest kind of connective device in an undistinguishable stream over which the reader is driven with a steady swell and fall1 sometimes made breathlessly rapid by the succession of its uniformly measured word-groups1 but delicately modulated here and there to provide restful pauses in the long onward career3 ,next1 he was engaged with ,hartley's tribes of mind1 'etherial braid1 thought-woven1'--and he busied himself for a year or two with vibrations and vibratiuncles and the great law of association that binds all things in its mystic chain1 and the doctrine of ,necessity 7the mild teacher of ,charity7 and the ,millennium1 anticipative of a life to come--and he plunged deep into the controversy on ,matter and ,spirit1 and1 as an escape from ,dr4 ,priestley's ,materialism1 where he felt himself imprisoned by the logician's spell1 like ,ariel in the cloven pine-tree1 he became suddenly enamoured of ,bishop ,berkeley's fairy-world1 and used in all companies to build the universe1 like a brave poetical fiction1 of fine words--and he was deep-read in ,malebranche1 and in ,cudworth's ,intellectual ,system 7a huge pile of learning1 unwieldly1 enormous7 and in ,lord ,brook's hieroglyphic theories1 and in ,bishop ,butler's ,sermons1 and in the ,duchess of ,newcastle's fantastic folios1 and in ,clarke and ,south and ,tillotson1 and all the fine thinkers and masculine reasoners of that age--and ,leibnitz's ,pre-established ,harmony reared its arch above his head1 like the rainbow in the cloud1 covenanting with the hopes of man--and then he fell plump1 ten thousand fathoms down 7but his wings saved him harmless7 into the hortus siccus of ,dissent etc4#ajb ,the same style which glistens and sparkles in describing the fancy of ,pope rises to an inspired chant with a clearly defined cadence at the recollection of the past glory of ,coleridge3 ,he was the first poet ,i ever knew4 ,his genius at that time had angelic wings1 and fed on manna4 ,he talked on for ever2 and you wished him to talk on for ever4 ,his thoughts did not seem to come with labour and effort2 but as if borne on the gusts of genius1 and as if the wings of his imagination lifted him from off his feet4 ,his voice rolled on the ear like the pealing organ1 and its sound alone was the music of thought4 ,his mind was clothed with wings2 and raised on them1 he lifted philosophy to heaven4 ,in his descriptions1 you then saw the progress of human happiness and liberty in bright and never-ending succession1 like the steps of ,jacob's ladder1 with airy shapes ascending and descending1 and with the voice of ,god at the top of the ladder4 ,and shall ,i1 who heard him then1 listen to him now8 ,not ,i6 ,that spell is broke2 that time is gone for ever2 that voice is heard no more3 but still the recollection comes rushing by with thoughts of long-past years1 and rings in my ears with never-dying sound4#ajc ,it would take much space to illustrate all the notes to which ,hazlitt's voice responds--the pithy epigram of the ,characteristics1 the ,chesterfieldian grace in his advice ,on the ,conduct of ,life1 the palpitating movement with which he gives expression to his keen enjoyment of his sensual or intellectual existence1 and the subdued solemnity of his reveries which sometimes remind us that he was writing in an age which had rediscovered ,sir ,thomas ,browne4 ,the following sentence proves how accurately he could catch the rhythm of the seventeenth century4 ,that we should wear out by slow stages1 and dwindle at last into nothing1 is not wonderful1 when even in our prime our strongest impressions leave little trace but for the moment1 and we are the creatures of petty circumstance4#ajd ,other passages in the same essay echo this manner only less strikingly3 ,life is indeed a strange gift1 and its privileges are most mysterious4 ,no wonder when it is first granted to us1 that our gratitude1 our admiration1 and our delight1 should prevent us from reflecting on our own nothingness1 or from thinking it will ever be recalled4 ,our first and strongest impressions are borrowed from the mighty scene that is opened to us1 and we unconsciously transfer its durability as well as its splendour to ourselves4 ,so newly found we cannot think of parting with it yet1 or at least put off that consideration sine die4 ,like a rustic at a fair1 we are full of amazement and rapture1 and have no thought of going home1 or that it will soon be night4 ,we know our existence only by ourselves1 and confound our knowledge with the objects of it4 ,we and nature are therefore one4 ,otherwise the illusion1 the 'feast of reason and the flow of soul1' to which we are invited1 is a mockery and a cruel insult4 ,we do not go from a play till the last act is ended1 and the lights are about to be extinguished4 ,but the fairy face of nature still shines on3 shall we be called away before the curtain falls1 or ere we have scarce had a glimpse of what is going on8 ,like children1 our step-mother nature holds us up to see the raree-show of the universe1 and then1 as if we were a burden to her to support1 lets us fall down again4 ,yet what brave sublunary things does not this pageant present1 like a ball or fte of the universe6#aje ,in ,hazlitt's vocabulary there is nothing striking unless it be the scrupulousness with which he avoids the danger of commonplaceness and of pedantry4 ,it is easy to forget that the transparent obviousness of his style was attained only after many years of groping4 ,we may well believe that there is a research in the choice of a plain1 as well as of an ornamental or learned style2 and1 in fact1 a great deal more4#ajf ,though he did not go in pursuit of the word to the extent of some later refiners of style1 he had a clear realization that the appropriate word was what chiefly gave vitality to writing4#ajg ,for this reason he constantly denounced ,johnsonese with its polysyllabic ,latin words which reduced language to abstract generalization4 ,his own vocabulary is concrete and vivid1 and of a purity which makes one wonder how even the ,quarterly ,review could have ventured to apply to him the epithet slang-whanger4 ,in spite of all that may be said in honor of the unadorned style of composition1 writers have ever found that even in prose ideas are most forcibly conveyed by means of imagery4 ,hazlitt1 it should be remembered1 was an ardent admirer of the picturesque qualities in the prose of ,burke1 the most brilliant of the eighteenth century4 ,in recalling his first reading of ,burke1 he tells how he despaired of emulating his felicities4 ,but whether by dint of meditating over ,burke or by the native vigor of his fancy1 ,hazlitt learned to write as boldly and as brilliantly as the great orator4 ,as a rule his rhetorical passages are not deliberately contrived1 in the manner for example of his esteemed contemporary ,de ,quincey4 ,his tropes and images rise directly out of his subject or his feelings4 ,instead of dissecting the qualities of a character or a work of art1 he translates its tone and its spirit as closely as language will permit4 ,that is why his criticism1 like ,lamb's or that of the master of this form1 ,longinus1 is itself first-rate literature1 recreating the impression of a masterpiece and sometimes even going beyond it4 ,of his picturesque quality examples enough may be found in the present volume1 yet one cannot forbear to add a few illustrations at this point4 ,there is his irresistible comparison of ,cobbett in his political inconsistency to a young and lusty bridegroom1 that divorces a favorite speculation every morning1 and marries a new one every night4 ,he is not wedded to his notions1 not he4 ,he has not one ,mrs4 ,cobbett among all his opinions4#ajh ,there is a good deal more than mere wit in the analogy between ,godwin's mechanical laboriousness and an eight-day clock that must be wound up long before it can strike4#aji ,and there is real grandeur in his description of ,fame3 ,fame is the sound which the stream of high thoughts1 carried down to future ages1 makes as it flows--deep1 distant1 murmuring evermore like the waters of the mighty ocean4 ,he who has ears truly touched to this music1 is in a manner deaf to the voice of popularity4#aaj ,in representing the brilliant hues of ,restoration comedy1 he allows an even freer play to his fancy3 ,in turning over the pages of the best comedies1 we are almost transported to another world1 and escape from this dull age to one that was all life1 and whim1 and mirth1 and humour4 ,the curtain rises1 and a gayer scene presents itself1 as on the canvas of ,watteau4 ,we are admitted behind the scenes like spectators at court1 on a levee or birthday2 but it is the court1 the gala-day of wit and pleasure1 of gallantry and ,charles ,,ii46 ,what an air breathes from the name6 what a rustling of silks and waving of plumes6 what a sparkling of diamond ear-rings and shoe-buckles6 ,what bright eyes1 7,ah1 those were ,waller's ,sacharissa's as she passed67 what killing looks and graceful motions6 ,how the faces of the whole ring are dressed in smiles6 how the repartee goes round6 how wit and folly1 elegance and awkward imitation of it1 set one another off6 ,happy1 thoughtless age1 when kings and nobles led purely ornamental lives2 when the utmost stretch of a morning's study went no farther than the choice of a sword-knot1 or the adjustment of a side-curl2 when the soul spoke out in all the pleasing eloquence of dress2 and beaux and belles1 enamoured of themselves in one another's follies1 fluttered like gilded butterflies1 in giddy mazes1 through the walks of ,st4 ,james's ,park6#aaa ,sometimes1 it is true1 he allows his spirits to run away with his judgment1 although in such instances the manner is so obviously exaggerated as to suggest deliberate mimicry4 ,his account of the tawdry sentimentality of ,moore's poetry sounds like pure travesty3 ,his verse is like a shower of beauty2 a dance of images2 a stream of music2 or like the spray of the water-fall1 tinged by the morning-beam with rosy light4 ,the characteristic distinction of our author's style is this continuous and incessant flow of voluptuous thoughts and shining allusions4 ,he ought to write with a crystal pen on silver paper4 ,his subject is set off by a dazzling veil of poetic diction1 like a wreath of flowers gemmed with innumerous dew-drops1 that weep1 tremble1 and glitter in liquid softness and pearly light1 while the song of birds ravishes the ear1 and languid odours breathe around1 and ,aurora opens ,heaven's smiling portals1 ,peris and nymphs peep through the golden glades1 and an ,angel's wing glances over the glossy scene4#aab ,one feature of ,hazlitt's style concerning which much has been said both in praise and in blame is his inveterate use of quotations4 ,his pages1 particularly when he is in a contemplative mood1 are sown with snatches from the great poets1 and the effect generally is of the happiest4 ,a line of ,shakespeare's or of ,wordsworth's1 blending with a vein of high feeling or deep reflection1 transfigures the entire passage as if by magic4 ,sometimes the phrase is merely woven into the general texture of the prose without in any way raising its tone1 and on occasion some fine poetic expression is vulgarized by being thrown into very common company4 ,it is vandalism to muster a sonnet of ,shakespeare's into such a service and it in no way enhances the expressiveness of the passage to say1 ,a flashy pamphlet has been run to a five-and-thirtieth edition1 and thus ensured the writer a 'deathless date' among political charlatans4#aac ,the fact is that quotations were a part of ,hazlitt's vocabulary1 which he used with the same freedom as common locutions and with less scrupulous regard for the associations which were gathered about them4 ,he negligently misquoted or wantonly adapted to his purpose1 but the reader is willing to pardon the moments of irritation for the numerous delightful thrills which he has provoked by some happy poetic memory stealing and giving odor to a sentiment in itself dignified or elevated4 ,hazlitt's influence as a critic may be inferred from a summary of his opinions4 ,it was not so much through the infusion of a new spirit in literature that he acted on other minds4 ,though his criticism owes much of its value to the freshness and boldness of his approach1 this temperamental virtue was not something which could be imitated by a less gifted writer4 ,sainte-,beuve indeed seems to recognize ,hazlitt as the exponent of the impetuous and inspired vein in criticism--the kind of inspiration which accompanies and follows those frequent articles dashingly improvised and launched under full steam4 ,one puts himself completely into it3 its value is exaggerated for the time being1 its importance is measured by its fury1 and if this leads to better results1 there is no great harm after all4#aad ,but though he professed these to be his own feelings as a critic1 they were in him so modified by the traditional ,french moderation and suavity of tone1 as well as by a greater precision of method1 as to make the resemblance to ,hazlitt inconspicuous4 ,it is hard to determine to what extent ,hazlitt's individualism is responsible for the lawless impressionism of some later critics1#aae but it is not to be imputed to him as a sin if1 in the course of a century1 one of his virtues has become exaggerated into a fault4 ,he has but suffered human destiny4 ,hazlitt's influence has been wide in guiding the taste of readers and in creating or giving currency to a body of opinions on literature which has found acceptance among critics4 ,if the tributes of ,schlegel and ,heine to ,hazlitt's ,shakespearian criticism were insufficient1 we have the word of his own countrymen for it that numberless readers were initiated into a proper understanding of ,shakespeare by means of his writings4#aaf ,in our own days ,mr4 ,howells has told us that ,hazlitt helped him to clarify and formulate his opinions of ,shakespeare as no one else has yet done4#aag ,critics no less than readers owe him a large debt4 ,hazlitt had not been writing many years before his fellow-laborers in literature began to recognize and pay homage to his superior insight4 ,his opinions were quoted as having the weight of authority by those who were friendly to him1 the writers in the ,london ,magazine or in the ,edinburgh ,review2 they were appropriated without acknowledgement by the hostile contributors to ,blackwood's4 ,many writers deferred to him as respectfully as he himself deferred to ,coleridge and ,lamb1 even though ,byron's respectable friends adjured the noble poet not to dignify ,hazlitt in open controversy except by mentioning him as a certain lecturer4 ,leigh ,hunt was frequently indebted to him1 but generally paid the tribute due4 ,macaulay sometimes assimilated a passage of ,hazlitt's to the needs of his own earlier essays4 ,in the essay on ,milton his balancing of ,charles's political vices against his domestic virtues is strikingly reminiscent of a similar treatment of ,southey by the older critic4 ,personal dislike of ,hazlitt1 persisting after his death1 for a long time prevented a proper respect being paid to his memory without much diminishing the weight of his influence4 ,the attitude toward him is summed up by a writer whose treatment in general does not err on the side of enthusiasm4 ,hazlitt1 he tells us1 is a writer with whose reputation fashion has hitherto had very little to do--who is even now more read than praised1 more imitated than extolled1 and whose various productions still interest many who care and know very little about the author4#aah ,but this very utterance was on the occasion of the turning of the tide4 ,it was in a review of ,hazlitt's ,literary ,remains which had been introduced by appreciative essays from the pens of ,bulwer-,lytton and ,thomas ,noon ,talfourd1 the former not a little patronizing1 but ,talfourd's excellent in its discrimination of the strength and weakness of ,hazlitt4 ,a few years later came the implied compliment of ,horne's ,new ,spirit of the ,age1 which would hardly be worth mentioning were it not that ,thackeray in reviewing it took occasion to pay an exquisite tribute to ,hazlitt4#aai ,from this time forth he was not wanting in stout champions1 though most people still maintained a cautious reserve in their judgments of him4 ,so sound and penetrating a critic as ,walter ,bagehot became an earnest convert1 and in ,bagehot's writings ,mr4 ,birrell has pointed out more than one resemblance to ,hazlitt4 ,james ,russell ,lowell has not been profuse in his expressions of admiration1 but he has probably followed ,hazlitt's track more closely than any other important critic4 ,many of his essays seem to have been composed with a volume of ,hazlitt on the desk before him4 ,there is the essay on ,pope with its general correspondence of points and occasional startling parallel of phrase4 ,hazlitt at the end of his lecture on ,pope and ,dryden remarks that poetry had declined by successive gradations from the poetry of imagination in the age of ,elizabeth to the poetry of fancy in the time of ,charles ,i1 and ,lowell repeats this with some amplification4 ,in the same connection he characterizes ,shakespeare1 ,chaucer1 ,spenser1 and ,milton in the sharp epigrammatic manner reminding one of ,hazlitt4 ,in the concluding pages of the essay on ,spenser we are also kept in a reminiscent mood1 till ,lowell tells us that to read him is like dreaming awake1 and at once there flashes upon us ,hazlitt's expression that ,spenser is the poet of our waking dreams4 ,it is through missionary work like this1 not altogether conscious and therefore all the more genuine1 that his opinions have been diffused through the length and breadth of ,english and been incorporated into the common stock4 ,gracious rills from the ,hazlitt watershed have flowed in all directions1 fertilizing a dry and thirsty land--is the happily turned phrase of ,mr4 ,birrell4 ,if in our own day there are still persons who1 looking upon criticism as a severe science1 occasionally sneer at him as a facile eulogist1#abj those who regard it rather as a gift have seen in him the greatest critic that ,england has yet produced4#aba ,wherever the golden mean between these two extremes of opinion may lie1 there is no doubt that for introducing readers to an appreciation of the great things in ,english literature1 ,hazlitt still remains without an equal4 ,i ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,elizabeth ,the age of ,elizabeth was distinguished1 beyond1 perhaps1 any other in our history1 by a number of great men1 famous in different ways1 and whose names have come down to us with unblemished honours2 statesmen1 warriors1 divines1 scholars1 poets1 and philosophers1 ,raleigh1 ,drake1 ,coke1 ,hooker1 and higher and more sounding still1 and still more frequent in our mouths1 ,shakspeare1 ,spenser1 ,sidney1 ,bacon1 ,jonson1 ,beaumont and ,fletcher1 men whom fame has eternised in her long and lasting scroll1 and who1 by their words and acts1 were benefactors of their country1 and ornaments of human nature4 ,their attainments of different kinds bore the same general stamp1 and it was sterling3 what they did1 had the mark of their age and country upon it4 ,perhaps the genius of ,great ,britain 7if ,i may so speak without offence or flattery71 never shone out fuller or brighter1 or looked more like itself1 than at this period4 ,our writers and great men had something in them that savoured of the soil from which they grew3 they were not ,french1 they were not ,dutch1 or ,german1 or ,greek1 or ,latin2 they were truly ,english4 ,they did not look out of themselves to see what they should be2 they sought for truth and nature1 and found it in themselves4 ,there was no tinsel1 and but little art2 they were not the spoiled children of affectation and refinement1 but a bold1 vigorous1 independent race of thinkers1 with prodigious strength and energy1 with none but natural grace1 and heartfelt unobtrusive delicacy4 ,they were not at all sophisticated4 ,the mind of their country was great in them1 and it prevailed4 ,with their learning and unexampled acquirement1 they did not forget that they were men3 with all their endeavours after excellence1 they did not lay aside the strong original bent and character of their minds4 ,what they performed was chiefly nature's handy-work2 and time has claimed it for his own4--,to these1 however1 might be added others not less learned1 nor with a scarce less happy vein1 but less fortunate in the event1 who1 though as renowned in their day1 have sunk into mere oblivion1 and of whom the only record 7but that the noblest7 is to be found in their works4 ,their works and their names1 poor1 poor dumb names1 are all that remains of such men as ,webster1 ,deckar1 ,marston1 ,marlow1 ,chapman1 ,heywood1 ,middleton1 and ,rowley6 ,how lov'd1 how honour'd once1 avails them not3 though they were the friends and fellow-labourers of ,shakspeare1 sharing his fame and fortunes with him1 the rivals of ,jonson1 and the masters of ,beaumont and ,fletcher's well-sung woes6 ,they went out one by one unnoticed1 like evening lights2 or were swallowed up in the headlong torrent of puritanic zeal which succeeded1 and swept away everything in its unsparing course1 throwing up the wrecks of taste and genius at random1 and at long fitful intervals1 amidst the painted gew-gaws and foreign frippery of the reign of ,charles ,,ii4 and from which we are only now recovering the scattered fragments and broken images to erect a temple to true ,fame6 ,how long1 before it will be completed8 ,if ,i can do anything to rescue some of these writers from hopeless obscurity1 and to do them right1 without prejudice to well-deserved reputation1 ,i shall have succeeded in what ,i chiefly propose4 ,i shall not attempt1 indeed1 to adjust the spelling1 or restore the pointing1 as if the genius of poetry lay hid in errors of the press1 but leaving these weightier matters of criticism to those who are more able and willing to bear the burden1 try to bring out their real beauties to the eager sight1 draw the curtain of ,time1 and shew the picture of ,genius1 restraining my own admiration within reasonable bounds6444 ,we affect to wonder at ,shakspeare1 and one or two more of that period1 as solitary instances upon record2 whereas it is our own dearth of information that makes the waste2 for there is no time more populous of intellect1 or more prolific of intellectual wealth1 than the one we are speaking of4 ,shakspeare did not look upon himself in this light1 as a sort of monster of poetical genius1 or on his contemporaries as less than smallest dwarfs1 when he speaks with true1 not false modesty1 of himself and them1 and of his wayward thoughts1 desiring this man's art1 and that man's scope4 ,we fancy that there were no such men1 that could either add to or take anything away from him1 but such there were4 ,he indeed overlooks and commands the admiration of posterity1 but he does it from the tableland of the age in which he lived4 ,he towered above his fellows1 in shape and gesture proudly eminent2 but he was one of a race of giants1 the tallest1 the strongest1 the most graceful1 and beautiful of them2 but it was a common and a noble brood4 ,he was not something sacred and aloof from the vulgar herd of men1 but shook hands with nature and the circumstances of the time1 and is distinguished from his immediate contemporaries1 not in kind1 but in degree and greater variety of excellence4 ,he did not form a class or species by himself1 but belonged to a class or species4 ,his age was necessary to him2 nor could he have been wrenched from his place in the edifice of which he was so conspicuous a part1 without equal injury to himself and it4 ,mr4 ,wordsworth says of ,milton1 that his soul was like a star1 and dwelt apart4 ,this cannot be said with any propriety of ,shakspeare1 who certainly moved in a constellation of bright luminaries1 and drew after him a third part of the heavens4 ,if we allow1 for argument's sake 7or for truth's1 which is better71 that he was in himself equal to all his competitors put together2 yet there was more dramatic excellence in that age than in the whole of the period that has elapsed since4 ,if his contemporaries1 with their united strength1 would hardly make one ,shakspeare1 certain it is that all his successors would not make half a one4 ,with the exception of a single writer1 ,otway1 and of a single play of his 7,venice ,preserved71 there is nobody in tragedy and dramatic poetry 7,i do not here speak of comedy7 to be compared to the great men of the age of ,shakspeare1 and immediately after4 ,they are a mighty phalanx of kindred spirits closing him round1 moving in the same orbit1 and impelled by the same causes in their whirling and eccentric career4 ,they had the same faults and the same excellences2 the same strength and depth and richness1 the same truth of character1 passion1 imagination1 thought and language1 thrown1 heaped1 massed together without careful polishing or exact method1 but poured out in unconcerned profusion from the lap of nature and genius in boundless and unrivalled magnificence4 ,the sweetness of ,deckar1 the thought of ,marston1 the gravity of ,chapman1 the grace of ,fletcher and his young-eyed wit1 ,jonson's learned sock1 the flowing vein of ,middleton1 ,heywood's ease1 the pathos of ,webster1 and ,marlow's deep designs1 add a double lustre to the sweetness1 thought1 gravity1 grace1 wit1 artless nature1 copiousness1 ease1 pathos1 and sublime conceptions of ,shakspeare's ,muse4 ,they are indeed the scale by which we can best ascend to the true knowledge and love of him4 ,our admiration of them does not lessen our relish for him2 but1 on the contrary1 increases and confirms it4--,for such an extraordinary combination and development of fancy and genius many causes may be assigned2 and we may seek for the chief of them in religion1 in politics1 in the circumstances of the time1 the recent diffusion of letters1 in local situation1 and in the character of the men who adorned that period1 and availed themselves so nobly of the advantages placed within their reach4 ,i shall here attempt to give a general sketch of these causes1 and of the manner in which they operated to mould and stamp the poetry of the country at the period of which ,i have to treat2 independently of incidental and fortuitous causes1 for which there is no accounting1 but which1 after all1 have often the greatest share in determining the most important results4 ,the first cause ,i shall mention1 as contributing to this general effect1 was the ,reformation1 which had just then taken place4 ,this event gave a mighty impulse and increased activity to thought and inquiry1 and agitated the inert mass of accumulated prejudices throughout ,europe4 ,the effect of the concussion was general2 but the shock was greatest in this country4 ,it toppled down the full-grown1 intolerable abuses of centuries at a blow2 heaved the ground from under the feet of bigotted faith and slavish obedience2 and the roar and dashing of opinions1 loosened from their accustomed hold1 might be heard like the noise of an angry sea1 and has never yet subsided4 ,germany first broke the spell of misbegotten fear1 and gave the watch-word2 but ,england joined the shout1 and echoed it back with her island voice1 from her thousand cliffs and craggy shores1 in a longer and a louder strain4 ,with that cry1 the genius of ,great ,britain rose1 and threw down the gauntlet to the nations4 ,there was a mighty fermentation3 the waters were out2 public opinion was in a state of projection4 ,liberty was held out to all to think and speak the truth4 ,men's brains were busy2 their spirits stirring2 their hearts full2 and their hands not idle4 ,their eyes were opened to expect the greatest things1 and their ears burned with curiosity and zeal to know the truth1 that the truth might make them free4 ,the death-blow which had been struck at scarlet vice and bloated hypocrisy1 loosened their tongues1 and made the talismans and love-tokens of ,popish superstition1 with which she had beguiled her followers and committed abominations with the people1 fall harmless from their necks4 ,the translation of the ,bible was the chief engine in the great work4 ,it threw open1 by a secret spring1 the rich treasures of religion and morality1 which had been there locked up as in a shrine4 ,it revealed the visions of the prophets1 and conveyed the lessons of inspired teachers 7such they were thought7 to the meanest of the people4 ,it gave them a common interest in the common cause4 ,their hearts burnt within them as they read4 ,it gave a mind to the people1 by giving them common subjects of thought and feeling4 ,it cemented their union of character and sentiment3 it created endless diversity and collision of opinion4 ,they found objects to employ their faculties1 and a motive in the magnitude of the consequences attached to them1 to exert the utmost eagerness in the pursuit of truth1 and the most daring intrepidity in maintaining it4 ,religious controversy sharpens the understanding by the subtlety and remoteness of the topics it discusses1 and braces the will by their infinite importance4 ,we perceive in the history of this period a nervous masculine intellect4 ,no levity1 no feebleness1 no indifference2 or if there were1 it is a relaxation from the intense activity which gives a tone to its general character4 ,but there is a gravity approaching to piety2 a seriousness of impression1 a conscientious severity of argument1 an habitual fervour and enthusiasm in their mode of handling almost every subject4 ,the debates of the schoolmen were sharp and subtle enough2 but they wanted interest and grandeur1 and were besides confined to a few3 they did not affect the general mass of the community4 ,but the ,bible was thrown open to all ranks and conditions to run and read1 with its wonderful table of contents from ,genesis to the ,revelations4 ,every village in ,england would present the scene so well described in ,burns's ,cotter's ,saturday ,night4 ,i cannot think that all this variety and weight of knowledge could be thrown in all at once upon the mind of a people1 and not make some impression upon it1 the traces of which might be discerned in the manners and literature of the age4 ,for to leave more disputable points1 and take only the historical parts of the ,old ,testament1 or the moral sentiments of the ,new1 there is nothing like them in the power of exciting awe and admiration1 or of rivetting sympathy4 ,we see what ,milton has made of the account of the ,creation1 from the manner in which he has treated it1 imbued and impregnated with the spirit of the time of which we speak4 ,or what is there equal 7in that romantic interest and patriarchal simplicity which goes to the heart of a country1 and rouses it1 as it were1 from its lair in wastes and wildernesses7 equal to the story of ,joseph and his ,brethren1 of ,rachael and ,laban1 of ,jacob's ,dream1 of ,ruth and ,boaz1 the descriptions in the ,book of ,job1 the deliverance of the ,jews out of ,egypt1 or the account of their captivity and return from ,babylon8 ,there is in all these parts of the ,scripture1 and numberless more of the same kind1 to pass over the ,orphic hymns of ,david1 the prophetic denunciations of ,isaiah1 or the gorgeous visions of ,ezekiel1 an originality1 a vastness of conception1 a depth and tenderness of feeling1 and a touching simplicity in the mode of narration1 which he who does not feel1 need be made of no penetrable stuff4 ,there is something in the character of ,christ too 7leaving religious faith quite out of the question7 of more sweetness and majesty1 and more likely to work a change in the mind of man1 by the contemplation of its idea alone1 than any to be found in history1 whether actual or feigned4 ,this character is that of a sublime humanity1 such as was never seen on earth before1 nor since4 ,this shone manifestly both in his words and actions4 ,we see it in his washing the ,disciples' feet the night before his death1 that unspeakable instance of humility and love1 above all art1 all meanness1 and all pride1 and in the leave he took of them on that occasion1 ,my peace ,i give unto you1 that peace which the world cannot give1 give ,i unto you2 and in his last commandment1 that they should love one another4 ,who can read the account of his behaviour on the cross1 when turning to his mother he said1 ,woman1 behold thy son1 and to the ,disciple ,john1 ,behold thy mother1 and from that hour that ,disciple took her to his own home4 without having his heart smote within him6 ,we see it in his treatment of the woman taken in adultery1 and in his excuse for the woman who poured precious ointment on his garment as an offering of devotion and love1 which is here all in all4 ,his religion was the religion of the heart4 ,we see it in his discourse with the ,disciples as they walked together towards ,emmaus1 when their hearts burned within them2 in his sermon from the ,mount1 in his parable of the good ,samaritan1 and in that of the ,prodigal ,son--in every act and word of his life1 a grace1 a mildness1 a dignity and love1 a patience and wisdom worthy of the ,son of ,god4 ,his whole life and being were imbued1 steeped in this word1 charity2 it was the spring1 the well-head from which every thought and feeling gushed into act2 and it was this that breathed a mild glory from his face in that last agony upon the cross1 when the meek ,saviour bowed his head and died1 praying for his enemies4 ,he was the first true teacher of morality2 for he alone conceived the idea of a pure humanity4 ,he redeemed man from the worship of that idol1 self1 and instructed him by precept and example to love his neighbour as himself1 to forgive our enemies1 to do good to those that curse us and despitefully use us4 ,he taught the love of good for the sake of good1 without regard to personal or sinister views1 and made the affections of the heart the sole seat of morality1 instead of the pride of the understanding or the sternness of the will4 ,in answering the question1 who is our neighbour8 as one who stands in need of our assistance1 and whose wounds we can bind up1 he has done more to humanize the thoughts and tame the unruly passions1 than all who have tried to reform and benefit mankind4 ,the very idea of abstract benevolence1 of the desire to do good because another wants our services1 and of regarding the human race as one family1 the offspring of one common parent1 is hardly to be found in any other code or system4 ,it was to the ,jews a stumbling block1 and to the ,greeks foolishness4 ,the ,greeks and ,romans never thought of considering others1 but as they were ,greeks or ,romans1 as they were bound to them by certain positive ties1 or1 on the other hand1 as separated from them by fiercer antipathies4 ,their virtues were the virtues of political machines1 their vices were the vices of demons1 ready to inflict or to endure pain with obdurate and remorseless inflexibility of purpose4 ,but in the ,christian religion1 we perceive a softness coming over the heart of a nation1 and the iron scales that fence and harden it1 melt and drop off4 ,it becomes malleable1 capable of pity1 of forgiveness1 of relaxing in its claims1 and remitting its power4 ,we strike it1 and it does not hurt us3 it is not steel or marble1 but flesh and blood1 clay tempered with tears1 and soft as sinews of the newborn babe4 ,the gospel was first preached to the poor1 for it consulted their wants and interests1 not its own pride and arrogance4 ,it first promulgated the equality of mankind in the community of duties and benefits4 ,it denounced the iniquities of the chief ,priests and ,pharisees1 and declared itself at variance with principalities and powers1 for it sympathizes not with the oppressor1 but the oppressed4 ,it first abolished slavery1 for it did not consider the power of the will to inflict injury1 as clothing it with a right to do so4 ,its law is good1 not power4 ,it at the same time tended to wean the mind from the grossness of sense1 and a particle of its divine flame was lent to brighten and purify the lamp of love6 ,there have been persons who1 being sceptics as to the divine mission of ,christ1 have taken an unaccountable prejudice to his doctrines1 and have been disposed to deny the merit of his character2 but this was not the feeling of the great men in the age of ,elizabeth 7whatever might be their belief7 one of whom says of him1 with a boldness equal to its piety3 ,the best of men ,that e'er wore earth about him was a sufferer2 ,a soft1 meek1 patient1 humble1 tranquil spirit2 ,the first true gentleman that ever breathed4 ,this was old honest ,deckar1 and the lines ought to embalm his memory to every one who has a sense either of religion1 or philosophy1 or humanity1 or true genius4 ,nor can ,i help thinking1 that we may discern the traces of the influence exerted by religious faith in the spirit of the poetry of the age of ,elizabeth1 in the means of exciting terror and pity1 in the delineation of the passions of grief1 remorse1 love1 sympathy1 the sense of shame1 in the fond desires1 the longings after immortality1 in the heaven of hope1 and the abyss of despair it lays open to us4#abb ,the literature of this age then1 ,i would say1 was strongly influenced 7among other causes71 first by the spirit of ,christianity1 and secondly by the spirit of ,protestantism4 ,the effects of the ,reformation on politics and philosophy may be seen in the writings and history of the next and of the following ages4 ,they are still at work1 and will continue to be so4 ,the effects on the poetry of the time were chiefly confined to the moulding of the character1 and giving a powerful impulse to the intellect of the country4 ,the immediate use or application that was made of religion to subjects of imagination and fiction was not 7from an obvious ground of separation7 so direct or frequent1 as that which was made of the classical and romantic literature4 ,for much about the same time1 the rich and fascinating stores of the ,greek and ,roman mythology1 and those of the romantic poetry of ,spain and ,italy1 were eagerly explored by the curious1 and thrown open in translations to the admiring gaze of the vulgar4 ,this last circumstance could hardly have afforded so much advantage to the poets of that day1 who were themselves1 in fact1 the translators1 as it shews the general curiosity and increasing interest in such subjects1 as a prevailing feature of the times4 ,there were translations of ,tasso by ,fairfax1 and of ,ariosto by ,harrington1 of ,homer and ,hesiod by ,chapman1 and of ,virgil long before1 and ,ovid soon after2 there was ,sir ,thomas ,north's translation of ,plutarch1 of which ,shakspeare has made such admirable use in his ,coriolanus and ,julius ,csar2 and ,ben ,jonson's tragedies of ,catiline and ,sejanus may themselves be considered as almost literal translations into verse1 of ,tacitus1 ,sallust1 and ,cicero's ,orations in his consulship4 ,boccacio1 the divine ,boccacio1 ,petrarch1 ,dante1 the satirist ,aretine1 ,machiavel1 ,castiglione1 and others1 were familiar to our writers1 and they make occasional mention of some few ,french authors1 as ,ronsard and ,du ,bartas2 for the ,french literature had not at this stage arrived at its ,augustan period1 and it was the imitation of their literature a century afterwards1 when it had arrived at its greatest height 7itself copied from the ,greek and ,latin71 that enfeebled and impoverished our own4 ,but of the time that we are considering1 it might be said1 without much extravagance1 that every breath that blew1 that every wave that rolled to our shores1 brought with it some accession to our knowledge1 which was engrafted on the national genius4 ,in fact1 all the disposeable materials that had been accumulating for a long period of time1 either in our own1 or in foreign countries1 were now brought together1 and required nothing more than to be wrought up1 polished1 or arranged in striking forms1 for ornament and use4 ,to this every inducement prompted1 the novelty of the acquisition of knowledge in many cases1 the emulation of foreign wits1 and of immortal works1 the want and the expectation of such works among ourselves1 the opportunity and encouragement afforded for their production by leisure and affluence2 and1 above all1 the insatiable desire of the mind to beget its own image1 and to construct out of itself1 and for the delight and admiration of the world and posterity1 that excellence of which the idea exists hitherto only in its own breast1 and the impression of which it would make as universal as the eye of heaven1 the benefit as common as the air we breathe4 ,the first impulse of genius is to create what never existed before3 the contemplation of that1 which is so created1 is sufficient to satisfy the demands of taste2 and it is the habitual study and imitation of the original models that takes away the power1 and even wish to do the like4 ,taste limps after genius1 and from copying the artificial models1 we lose sight of the living principle of nature4 ,it is the effort we make1 and the impulse we acquire1 in overcoming the first obstacles1 that projects us forward2 it is the necessity for exertion that makes us conscious of our strength2 but this necessity and this impulse once removed1 the tide of fancy and enthusiasm1 which is at first a running stream1 soon settles and crusts into the standing pool of dulness1 criticism1 and virt4 ,what also gave an unusual impetus to the mind of man at this period1 was the discovery of the ,new ,world1 and the reading of voyages and travels4 ,green islands and golden sands seemed to arise1 as by enchantment1 out of the bosom of the watery waste1 and invite the cupidity1 or wing the imagination of the dreaming speculator4 ,fairy land was realized in new and unknown worlds4 ,fortunate fields and groves and flowery vales1 thrice happy isles1 were found floating like those ,hesperian gardens famed of old1 beyond ,atlantic seas1 as dropt from the zenith4 ,the people1 the soil1 the clime1 every thing gave unlimited scope to the curiosity of the traveller and reader4 ,other manners might be said to enlarge the bounds of knowledge1 and new mines of wealth were tumbled at our feet4 ,it is from a voyage to the ,straits of ,magellan that ,shakspeare has taken the hint of ,prospero's ,enchanted ,island1 and of the savage ,caliban with his god ,setebos4#abc ,spenser seems to have had the same feeling in his mind in the production of his ,faery ,queen1 and vindicates his poetic fiction on this very ground of analogy4 ,right well ,i wote1 most mighty sovereign1 ,that all this famous antique history ,of some the abundance of an idle brain ,will judged be1 and painted forgery1 ,rather than matter of just memory3 ,since none that breatheth living air1 doth know ,where is that happy land of faery ,which ,i so much do vaunt1 but no where show1 ,but vouch antiquities1 which nobody can know4 ,but let that man with better sense avise1 ,that of the world least part to us is read3 ,and daily how through hardy enterprize ,many great regions are discovered1 ,which to late age were never mentioned4 ,who ever heard of th' ,indian ,peru8 ,or who in venturous vessel measured ,the ,amazons' huge river1 now found true8 ,or fruitfullest ,virginia who did ever view8 ,yet all these were when no man did them know1 ,yet have from wisest ages hidden been3 ,and later times things more unknown shall show4 ,why then should witless man so much misween ,that nothing is but that which he hath seen8 ,what if within the moon's fair shining sphere1 ,what if in every other star unseen1 ,of other worlds he happily should hear1 ,he wonder would much more2 yet such to some appear4 ,fancy's air-drawn pictures after history's waking dream shewed like clouds over mountains2 and from the romance of real life to the idlest fiction1 the transition seemed easy4--,shakspeare1 as well as others of his time1 availed himself of the old ,chronicles1 and of the traditions or fabulous inventions contained in them in such ample measure1 and which had not yet been appropriated to the purposes of poetry or the drama4 ,the stage was a new thing2 and those who had to supply its demands laid their hands upon whatever came within their reach3 they were not particular as to the means1 so that they gained the end4 ,lear is founded upon an old ballad2 ,othello on an ,italian novel2 ,hamlet on a ,danish1 and ,macbeth on a ,scotch tradition3 one of which is to be found in ,saxo-,grammaticus1 and the last in ,hollingshed4 ,the ,ghost-scenes and the ,witches in each1 are authenticated in the old ,gothic history4 ,there was also this connecting link between the poetry of this age and the supernatural traditions of a former one1 that the belief in them was still extant1 and in full force and visible operation among the vulgar 7to say no more7 in the time of our authors4 ,the appalling and wild chimeras of superstition and ignorance1 those bodiless creations that ecstacy is very cunning in1 were inwoven with existing manners and opinions1 and all their effects on the passions of terror or pity might be gathered from common and actual observation--might be discerned in the workings of the face1 the expressions of the tongue1 the writhings of a troubled conscience4 ,your face1 my ,thane2 is as a book where men may read strange matters4 ,midnight and secret murders too1 from the imperfect state of the police1 were more common2 and the ferocious and brutal manners that would stamp the brow of the hardened ruffian or hired assassin1 more incorrigible and undisguised4 ,the portraits of ,tyrrel and ,forrest were1 no doubt1 done from the life4 ,we find that the ravages of the plague1 the destructive rage of fire1 the poisoned chalice1 lean famine1 the serpent's mortal sting1 and the fury of wild beasts1 were the common topics of their poetry1 as they were common occurrences in more remote periods of history4 ,they were the strong ingredients thrown into the cauldron of tragedy1 to make it thick and slab4 ,man's life was 7as it appears to me7 more full of traps and pit-falls2 of hair-breadth accidents by flood and field2 more way-laid by sudden and startling evils2 it trod on the brink of hope and fear2 stumbled upon fate unawares2 while the imagination1 close behind it1 caught at and clung to the shape of danger1 or snatched a wild and fearful joy from its escape4 ,the accidents of nature were less provided against2 the excesses of the passions and of lawless power were less regulated1 and produced more strange and desperate catastrophes4 ,the tales of ,boccacio are founded on the great pestilence of ,florence1 ,fletcher the poet died of the plague1 and ,marlow was stabbed in a tavern quarrel4 ,the strict authority of parents1 the inequality of ranks1 or the hereditary feuds between different families1 made more unhappy loves or matches4 ,the course of true love never did run even4 ,again1 the heroic and martial spirit which breathes in our elder writers1 was yet in considerable activity in the reign of ,elizabeth4 ,the age of chivalry was not then quite gone1 nor the glory of ,europe extinguished for ever4 ,jousts and tournaments were still common with the nobility in ,england and in foreign countries3 ,sir ,philip ,sidney was particularly distinguished for his proficiency in these exercises 7and indeed fell a martyr to his ambition as a soldier7--and the gentle ,surrey was still more famous1 on the same account1 just before him4 ,it is true1 the general use of fire-arms gradually superseded the necessity of skill in the sword1 or bravery in the person3 and as a symptom of the rapid degeneracy in this respect1 we find ,sir ,john ,suckling soon after boasting of himself as one-- ,who prized black eyes1 and a lucky hit ,at bowls1 above all the trophies of wit4 ,it was comparatively an age of peace1 ,like strength reposing on his own right arm2 but the sound of civil combat might still be heard in the distance1 the spear glittered to the eye of memory1 or the clashing of armour struck on the imagination of the ardent and the young4 ,they were borderers on the savage state1 on the times of war and bigotry1 though in the lap of arts1 of luxury1 and knowledge4 ,they stood on the shore and saw the billows rolling after the storm3 they heard the tumult1 and were still4 ,the manners and out-of-door amusements were more tinctured with a spirit of adventure and romance4 ,the war with wild beasts1 c4 was more strenuously kept up in country sports4 ,i do not think we could get from sedentary poets1 who had never mingled in the vicissitudes1 the dangers1 or excitements of the chase1 such descriptions of hunting and other athletic games1 as are to be found in ,shakspeare's ,midsummer ,night's ,dream or ,fletcher's ,noble ,kinsmen4 ,with respect to the good cheer and hospitable living of those times1 ,i cannot agree with an ingenious and agreeable writer of the present day1 that it was general or frequent4 ,the very stress laid upon certain holidays and festivals1 shews that they did not keep up the same ,saturnalian licence and open house all the year round4 ,they reserved themselves for great occasions1 and made the best amends they could1 for a year of abstinence and toil by a week of merriment and convivial indulgence4 ,persons in middle life at this day1 who can afford a good dinner every day1 do not look forward to it as any particular subject of exultation3 the poor peasant1 who can only contrive to treat himself to a joint of meat on a ,sunday1 considers it as an event in the week4 ,so1 in the old ,cambridge comedy of the ,return from ,parnassus1 we find this indignant description of the progress of luxury in those days1 put into the mouth of one of the speakers4 ,why is't not strange to see a ragged clerke1 ,some stammell weaver1 or some butcher's sonne1 ,that scrubb'd a late within a sleeveless gowne1 ,when the commencement1 like a morrice dance1 ,hath put a bell or two about his legges1 ,created him a sweet cleane gentleman3 ,how then he 'gins to follow fashions4 ,he whose thin sire dwelt in a smokye roofe1 ,must make tobacco1 and must wear a locke4 ,his thirsty dad drinkes in a wooden bowle1 ,but his sweet self is served in si'ver plate4 ,his hungry sire will scrape you twenty legges ,for one good ,christmas meal on new year's day1 ,but his mawe must be capon cramm'd each day4 ,act ,,iii4 ,scene #b4 ,this does not look as if in those days it snowed of meat and drink1 as a matter of course throughout the year6--,the distinctions of dress1 the badges of different professions1 the very signs of the shops1 which we have set aside for written inscriptions over the doors1 were1 as ,mr4 ,lamb observes1 a sort of visible language to the imagination1 and hints for thought4 ,like the costume of different foreign nations1 they had an immediate striking and picturesque effect1 giving scope to the fancy4 ,the surface of society was embossed with hieroglyphics1 and poetry existed in art and compliment extern4 ,the poetry of former times might be directly taken from real life1 as our poetry is taken from the poetry of former times4 ,finally1 the face of nature1 which was the same glorious object then that it is now1 was open to them2 and coming first1 they gathered her fairest flowers to live for ever in their verse3--the movements of the human heart were not hid from them1 for they had the same passions as we1 only less disguised1 and less subject to control4 ,deckar has given an admirable description of a mad-house in one of his plays4 ,but it might be perhaps objected1 that it was only a literal account taken from ,bedlam at that time2 and it might be answered1 that the old poets took the same method of describing the passions and fancies of men whom they met at large1 which forms the point of communion between us3 for the title of the old play1 ,a ,mad ,world1 my ,masters1 is hardly yet obsolete2 and we are pretty much the same ,bedlam still1 perhaps a little better managed1 like the real one1 and with more care and humanity shewn to the patients6 ,lastly1 to conclude this account2 what gave a unity and common direction to all these causes1 was the natural genius of the country1 which was strong in these writers in proportion to their strength4 ,we are a nation of islanders1 and we cannot help it2 nor mend ourselves if we would4 ,we are something in ourselves1 nothing when we try to ape others4 ,music and painting are not our forte3 for what we have done in that way has been little1 and that borrowed from others with great difficulty4 ,but we may boast of our poets and philosophers4 ,that's something4 ,we have had strong heads and sound hearts among us4 ,thrown on one side of the world1 and left to bustle for ourselves1 we have fought out many a battle for truth and freedom4 ,that is our natural style2 and it were to be wished we had in no instance departed from it4 ,our situation has given us a certain cast of thought and character2 and our liberty has enabled us to make the most of it4 ,we are of a stiff clay1 not moulded into every fashion1 with stubborn joints not easily bent4 ,we are slow to think1 and therefore impressions do not work upon us till they act in masses4 ,we are not forward to express our feelings1 and therefore they do not come from us till they force their way in the most impetuous eloquence4 ,our language is1 as it were1 to begin anew1 and we make use of the most singular and boldest combinations to explain ourselves4 ,our wit comes from us1 like birdlime1 brains and all4 ,we pay too little attention to form and method1 leave our works in an unfinished state1 but still the materials we work in are solid and of nature's mint2 we do not deal in counterfeits4 ,we both under and over-do1 but we keep an eye to the prominent features1 the main chance4 ,we are more for weight than show2 care only about what interests ourselves1 instead of trying to impose upon others by plausible appearances1 and are obstinate and intractable in not conforming to common rules1 by which many arrive at their ends with half the real waste of thought and trouble4 ,we neglect all but the principal object1 gather our force to make a great blow1 bring it down1 and relapse into sluggishness and indifference again4 ,materiam superabat opus1 cannot be said of us4 ,we may be accused of grossness1 but not of flimsiness2 of extravagance1 but not of affectation2 of want of art and refinement1 but not of a want of truth and nature4 ,our literature1 in a word1 is ,gothic and grotesque2 unequal and irregular2 not cast in a previous mould1 nor of one uniform texture1 but of great weight in the whole1 and of incomparable value in the best parts4 ,it aims at an excess of beauty or power1 hits or misses1 and is either very good indeed1 or absolutely good for nothing4 ,this character applies in particular to our literature in the age of ,elizabeth1 which is its best period1 before the introduction of a rage for ,french rules and ,french models2 for whatever may be the value of our own original style of composition1 there can be neither offence nor presumption in saying1 that it is at least better than our second-hand imitations of others4 ,our understanding 7such as it is1 and must remain to be good for anything7 is not a thoroughfare for common places1 smooth as the palm of one's hand1 but full of knotty points and jutting excrescences1 rough1 uneven1 overgrown with brambles2 and ,i like this aspect of the mind 7as some one said of the country71 where nature keeps a good deal of the soil in her own hands4 ,perhaps the genius of our poetry has more of ,pan than of ,apollo2 but ,pan is a ,god1 ,apollo is no more6 ,,ii ,,spenser ,spenser flourished in the reign of ,queen ,elizabeth1 and was sent with ,sir ,john ,davies into ,ireland1 of which he has left behind him some tender recollections in his description of the bog of ,allan1 and a record in an ably written paper1 containing observations on the state of that country and the means of improving it1 which remain in full force to the present day4 ,spenser died at an obscure inn in ,london1 it is supposed in distressed circumstances4 ,the treatment he received from ,burleigh is well known4 ,spenser1 as well as ,chaucer1 was engaged in active life2 but the genius of his poetry was not active3 it is inspired by the love of ease1 and relaxation from all the cares and business of life4 ,of all the poets1 he is the most poetical4 ,though much later than ,chaucer1 his obligations to preceding writers were less4 ,he has in some measure borrowed the plan of his poem 7as a number of distinct narratives7 from ,ariosto2 but he has engrafted upon it an exuberance of fancy1 and an endless voluptuousness of sentiment1 which are not to be found in the ,italian writer4 ,farther1 ,spenser is even more of an inventor in the subject-matter4 ,there is an originality1 richness1 and variety in his allegorical personages and fictions1 which almost vies with the splendor of the ancient mythology4 ,if ,ariosto transports us into the regions of romance1 ,spenser's poetry is all fairy-land4 ,in ,ariosto1 we walk upon the ground1 in a company1 gay1 fantastic1 and adventurous enough4 ,in ,spenser1 we wander in another world1 among ideal beings4 ,the poet takes and lays us in the lap of a lovelier nature1 by the sound of softer streams1 among greener hills and fairer valleys4 ,he paints nature1 not as we find it1 but as we expected to find it2 and fulfils the delightful promise of our youth4 ,he waves his wand of enchantment--and at once embodies airy beings1 and throws a delicious veil over all actual objects4 ,the two worlds of reality and of fiction are poised on the wings of his imagination4 ,his ideas1 indeed1 seem more distinct than his perceptions4 ,he is the painter of abstractions1 and describes them with dazzling minuteness4 ,in the ,mask of ,cupid he makes the ,god of ,love clap on high his coloured winges twain2 and it is said of ,gluttony in the ,procession of the ,passions1 ,in green vine leaves he was right fitly clad4 ,at times he becomes picturesque from his intense love of beauty2 as where he compares ,prince ,arthur's crest to the appearance of the almond tree2 ,upon the top of all his lofty crest1 ,a bunch of hairs discolour'd diversely ,with sprinkled pearl and gold full richly drest ,did shake and seem'd to daunce for jollity2 ,like to an almond tree ymounted high ,on top of green ,selenis all alone4 ,with blossoms brave bedecked daintily3 ,her tender locks do tremble every one ,at every little breath that under heav'n is blown4 ,the love of beauty1 however1 and not of truth1 is the moving principle of his mind2 and he is guided in his fantastic delineations by no rule but the impulse of an inexhaustible imagination4 ,he luxuriates equally in scenes of ,eastern magnificence2 or the still solitude of a hermit's cell--in the extremes of sensuality or refinement4 ,in reading the ,faery ,queen1 you see a little withered old man by a wood-side opening a wicket1 a giant1 and a dwarf lagging far behind1 a damsel in a boat upon an enchanted lake1 wood-nymphs1 and satyrs2 and all of a sudden you are transported into a lofty palace1 with tapers burning1 amidst knights and ladies1 with dance and revelry1 and song1 and mask1 and antique pageantry4 ,what can be more solitary1 more shut up in itself1 than his description of the house of ,sleep1 to which ,archimago sends for a dream3 ,and more to lull him in his slumber soft ,a trickling stream from high rock tumbling down1 ,and ever-drizzling rain upon the loft1 ,mix'd with a murmuring wind1 much like the sound ,of swarming ,bees1 did cast him in a swound4 ,no other noise1 nor people's troublous cries ,that still are wont t' annoy the walled town ,might there be heard2 but careless ,quiet lies ,wrapt in eternal silence1 far from enemies4 ,it is as if the honey-heavy dew of slumber had settled on his pen in writing these lines4 ,how different in the subject 7and yet how like in beauty7 is the following description of the ,bower of ,bliss3 ,eftsoones they heard a most melodious sound ,of all that mote delight a dainty ear2 ,such as at once might not on living ground1 ,save in this ,paradise1 be heard elsewhere3 ,right hard it was for wight which did it hear1 ,to tell what manner musicke that mote be2 ,for all that pleasing is to living care ,was there consorted in one harmonee3 ,birds1 voices1 instruments1 windes1 waters1 all agree4 ,the joyous birdes shrouded in chearefull shade ,their notes unto the voice attempred sweet3 ,the angelical soft trembling voices made ,to th' instruments divine respondence meet4 ,the silver sounding instruments did meet ,with the base murmur of the water's fall2 ,the water's fall with difference discreet1 ,now soft1 now loud1 unto the wind did call2 ,the gentle warbling wind low answered to all4 ,the remainder of the passage has all that voluptuous pathos1 and languid brilliancy of fancy1 in which this writer excelled3 ,the whiles some one did chaunt this lovely lay2 ,ah6 see1 whoso fayre thing dost fain to see1 ,in springing flower the image of thy day6 ,ah6 see the virgin rose1 how sweetly she ,doth first peep forth with bashful modesty1 ,that fairer seems the less ye see her may6 ,lo6 see soon after1 how more bold and free ,her bared bosom she doth broad display2 ,lo6 see soon after1 how she fades and falls away6 ,so passeth in the passing of a day ,of mortal life the leaf1 the bud1 the flower2 ,ne more doth flourish after first decay1 ,that erst was sought to deck both bed and bower ,of many a lady and many a paramour6 ,gather therefore the rose 'whilst yet is prime1 ,for soon comes age that will her pride deflower2 ,gather the rose of love whilst yet is time1 ,whilst loving thou mayst loved be with equal crime4#abd ,he ceased2 and then gan all the quire of birds ,their divers notes to attune unto his lay1 ,as in approvance of his pleasing wordes4 ,the constant pair heard all that he did say1 ,yet swerved not1 but kept their forward way ,through many covert groves and thickets close1 ,in which they creeping did at last display#abe ,that wanton lady with her lover loose1 ,whose sleepy head she in her lap did soft dispose4 ,upon a bed of roses she was laid ,as faint through heat1 or dight to pleasant sin2 ,and was arrayed or rather disarrayed1 ,all in a veil of silk and silver thin1 ,that hid no whit her alabaster skin1 ,but rather shewed more white1 if more might be3 ,more subtle web ,arachne cannot spin2 ,nor the fine nets1 which oft we woven see ,of scorched dew1 do not in the air more lightly flee4 ,her snowy breast was bare to greedy spoil ,of hungry eyes which n'ote therewith be fill'd4 ,and yet through languor of her late sweet toil ,few drops more clear than nectar forth distill'd1 ,that like pure ,orient perles adown it trill'd2 ,and her fair eyes sweet smiling in delight ,moisten'd their fiery beams1 with which she thrill'd ,frail hearts1 yet quenched not2 like starry light1 ,which sparkling on the silent waves does seem more bright4 ,the finest things in ,spenser are1 the character of ,una1 in the first book2 the ,house of ,pride2 the ,cave of ,mammon1 and the ,cave of ,despair2 the account of ,memory1 of whom it is said1 among other things1 ,the wars he well rember'd of ,king ,nine1 ,of old ,assaracus and ,inachus divine2 the description of ,belphoebe2 the story of ,florimel and the ,witch's son2 the ,gardens of ,adonis1 and the ,bower of ,bliss2 the ,mask of ,cupid2 and ,colin ,clout's vision1 in the last book4 ,but some people will say that all this may be very fine1 but that they cannot understand it on account of the allegory4 ,they are afraid of the allegory1 as if they thought it would bite them3 they look at it as a child looks at a painted dragon1 and think it will strangle them in its shining folds4 ,this is very idle4 ,if they do not meddle with the allegory1 the allegory will not meddle with them4 ,without minding it at all1 the whole is as plain as a pikestaff4 ,it might as well be pretended that we cannot see ,poussin's pictures for the allegory1 as that the allegory prevents us from understanding ,spenser4 ,for instance1 when ,britomart1 seated amidst the young warriors1 lets fall her hair and discovers her sex1 is it necessary to know the part she plays in the allegory1 to understand the beauty of the following stanza8 ,and eke that stranger knight amongst the rest ,was for like need enforc'd to disarray4 ,tho when as vailed was her lofty crest4 ,her golden locks that were in trammels gay ,upbounden1 did themselves adown display1 ,and raught unto her heels like sunny beams ,that in a cloud their light did long time stay2 ,their vapour faded1 shew their golden gleams4 ,and through the persant air shoot forth their azure streams4 ,or is there any mystery in what is said of ,belphoebe1 that her hair was sprinkled with flowers and blossoms which had been entangled in it as she fled through the woods8 ,or is it necessary to have a more distinct idea of ,proteus1 than that which is given of him in his boat1 with the frighted ,florimel at his feet1 while --the cold icicles from his rough beard ,dropped adown upon her snowy breast6 ,or is it not a sufficient account of one of the sea-gods that pass by them1 to say-- ,that was ,arion crowned3-- ,so went he playing on the watery plain4 ,or to take the ,procession of the ,passions that draw the coach of ,pride1 in which the figures of ,idleness1 of ,gluttony1 of ,lechery1 of ,avarice1 of ,envy1 and of ,wrath speak1 one should think1 plain enough for themselves2 such as this of ,gluttony3 ,and by his side rode loathsome ,gluttony1 ,deformed creature1 on a filthy swine2 ,his belly was up blown with luxury2 ,and eke with fatness swollen were his eyne2 ,and like a crane his neck was long and fine1 ,with which he swallowed up excessive feast1 ,for want whereof poor people oft did pine4 ,in green vine leaves he was right fitly clad2 ,for other clothes he could not wear for heat2 ,and on his head an ivy garland had1 ,from under which fast trickled down the sweat3 ,still as he rode1 he somewhat still did eat1 ,and in his hand did bear a bouzing can1 ,of which he supt so oft1 that on his seat ,his drunken corse he scarce upholden can2 ,in shape and life more like a monster than a man4 ,or this of ,lechery3 ,and next to him rode lustfull ,lechery ,upon a bearded goat1 whose rugged hair ,and whaly eyes 7the sign of jealousy7 ,was like the person's self whom he did bear3 ,who rough and black1 and filthy did appear4 ,unseemly man to please fair lady's eye3 ,yet he of ladies oft was loved dear1 ,when fairer faces were bid standen by3 ,o6 who does know the bent of woman's fantsay8 ,in a green gown he clothed was full fair1 ,which underneath did hide his filthiness2 ,and in his hand a burning heart he bare1 ,full of vain follies and new fangleness2 ,for he was false and fraught with fickleness2 ,and learned had to love with secret looks2 ,and well could dance2 and sing with ruefulness2 ,and fortunes tell2 and read in loving books2 ,and thousand other ways to bait his fleshly hooks4 ,inconstant man that loved all he saw1 ,and lusted after all that he did love2 ,ne would his looser life be tied to law2 ,but joyed weak women's hearts to tempt and prove1 ,if from their loyal loves he might them move4 ,this is pretty plain-spoken4 ,mr4 ,southey says of ,spenser3 ,yet not more sweet ,than pure was he1 and not more pure than wise2 ,high priest of all the ,muses' mysteries6 ,on the contrary1 no one was more apt to pry into mysteries which do not strictly belong to the ,muses4 ,of the same kind with the ,procession of the ,passions1 as little obscure1 and still more beautiful1 is the ,mask of ,cupid1 with his train of votaries3 ,the first was ,fancy1 like a lovely boy ,of rare aspect1 and beauty without peer2 ,his garment neither was of silk nor say1 ,but painted plumes in goodly order dight1 ,like as the sun-burnt ,indians do array ,their tawny bodies in their proudest plight2 ,as those same plumes so seem'd he vain and light1 ,that by his gait might easily appear2 ,for still he far'd as dancing in delight4 ,and in his hand a windy fan did bear ,that in the idle air he mov'd still here and there4 ,and him beside march'd amorous ,desire4 ,who seem'd of riper years than the other swain1 ,yet was that other swain this elder's sire1 ,and gave him being1 common to them twain3 ,his garment was disguised very vain1 ,and his embroidered bonnet sat awry2 ',twixt both his hands few sparks he close did strain1 ,which still he blew1 and kindled busily4 ,that soon they life conceiv'd and forth in flames did fly4 ,next after him went ,doubt1 who was yclad ,in a discolour'd coat of strange disguise1 ,that at his back a broad capuccio had1 ,and sleeves dependant ,albanese-wise2 ,he lookt askew with his mistrustful eyes1 ,and nicely trod1 as thorns lay in his way1 ,or that the floor to shrink he did avise2 ,and on a broken reed he still did stay ,his feeble steps1 which shrunk when hard thereon he lay4 ,with him went ,daunger1 cloth'd in ragged weed1 ,made of bear's skin1 that him more dreadful made2 ,yet his own face was dreadfull1 ne did need ,strange horror to deform his grisly shade2 ,a net in th' one hand1 and a rusty blade ,in th' other was2 this ,mischiefe1 that ,mishap2 ,with th' one his foes he threat'ned to invade1 ,with th' other he his friends meant to enwrap2 ,for whom he could not kill he practiz'd to entrap4 ,next him was ,fear1 all arm'd from top to toe1 ,yet thought himself not safe enough thereby1 ,but fear'd each shadow moving to and fro2 ,and his own arms when glittering he did spy ,or clashing heard1 he fast away did fly1 ,as ashes pale of hue1 and winged-heel'd2 ,and evermore on ,daunger fixt his eye1 ',gainst whom he always bent a brazen shield1 ,which his right hand unarmed fearfully did wield4 ,with him went ,hope in rank1 a handsome maid1 ,of chearfull look and lovely to behold2 ,in silken samite she was light array'd1 ,and her fair locks were woven up in gold2 ,she always smil'd1 and in her hand did hold ,an holy-water sprinkle dipt in dew1 ,with which she sprinkled favours manifold ,on whom she list1 and did great liking shew1 ,great liking unto many1 but true love to few4 ,next after them1 the winged ,god himself ,came riding on a lion ravenous4 ,taught to obey the menage of that elfe ,that man and beast with power imperious ,subdueth to his kingdom tyrannous3 ,his blindfold eyes he bade awhile unbind1 ,that his proud spoil of that same dolorous ,fair dame he might behold in perfect kind2 ,which seen1 he much rejoiced in his cruel mind4 ,of which full proud1 himself uprearing high1 ,he looked round about with stern disdain1 ,and did survey his goodly company2 ,and marshalling the evil-ordered train1 ,with that the darts which his right hand did strain1 ,full dreadfully he shook1 that all did quake1 ,and clapt on high his colour'd winges twain1 ,that all his many it afraid did make3 ,tho1 blinding him again1 his way he forth did take4 ,the description of ,hope1 in this series of historical portraits1 is one of the most beautiful in ,spenser3 and the triumph of ,cupid at the mischief he has made1 is worthy of the malicious urchin deity4 ,in reading these descriptions1 one can hardly avoid being reminded of ,rubens's allegorical pictures2 but the account of ,satyrane taming the lion's whelps and lugging the bear's cubs along in his arms while yet an infant1 whom his mother so naturally advises to go seek some other play-fellows1 has even more of this high picturesque character4 ,nobody but ,rubens could have painted the fancy of ,spenser2 and he could not have given the sentiment1 the airy dream that hovers over it6 ,with all this1 ,spenser neither makes us laugh nor weep4 ,the only jest in his poem is an allegorical play upon words1 where he describes ,malbecco as escaping in the herd of goats1 by the help of his fayre horns on hight4 ,but he has been unjustly charged with a want of passion and of strength4 ,he has both in an immense degree4 ,he has not indeed the pathos of immediate action or suffering1 which is more properly the dramatic2 but he has all the pathos of sentiment and romance--all that belongs to distant objects of terror1 and uncertain1 imaginary distress4 ,his strength1 in like manner1 is not strength of will or action1 of bone and muscle1 nor is it coarse and palpable--but it assumes a character of vastness and sublimity seen through the same visionary medium1 and blended with the appalling associations of preternatural agency4 ,we need only turn1 in proof of this1 to the ,cave of ,despair1 or the ,cave of ,mammon1 or to the account of the change of ,malbecco into ,jealousy4 ,the following stanzas1 in the description of the ,cave of ,mammon1 the grisly house of ,plutus1 are unrivalled for the portentous massiness of the forms1 the splendid chiaro-scuro1 and shadowy horror4 ,that house's form within was rude and strong1 ,like an huge cave hewn out of rocky clift1 ,from whose rough vault the ragged breaches hung1 ,embossed with massy gold of glorious gift1 ,and with rich metal loaded every rift4 ,that heavy ruin they did seem to threat3 ,and over them ,arachne high did lift ,her cunning web1 and spread her subtle net1 ,enwrapped in foul smoke1 and clouds more black than jet4 ,both roof and floor1 and walls were all of gold1 ,but overgrown with dust and old decay1#abf ,and hid in darkness that none could behold ,the hue thereof3 for view of cheerful day ,did never in that house itself display1 ,but a faint shadow of uncertain light2 ,such as a lamp whose light doth fade away2 ,or as the moon clothed with cloudy night ,does shew to him that walks in fear and sad affright4 99 99 99 99 99 ,and over all sad ,horror with grim hue ,did always soar1 beating his iron wings2 ,and after him owls and night-ravens flew1 ,the hateful messengers of heavy things4 ,of death and dolour telling sad tidings2 ,while sad ,celleno1 sitting on a clift1 ,a song of bale and bitter sorrow sings1 ,that heart of flint asunder could have rift2 ,which having ended1 after him she flieth swift4 ,the ,cave of ,despair is described with equal gloominess and power of fancy2 and the fine moral declamation of the owner of it1 on the evils of life1 almost makes one in love with death4 ,in the story of ,malbecco1 who is haunted by jealousy1 and in vain strives to run away from his own thoughts-- ,high over hill and over dale he flies-- the truth of human passion and the preternatural ending are equally striking4--,it is not fair to compare ,spenser with ,shakspeare1 in point of interest4 ,a fairer comparison would be with ,comus2 and the result would not be unfavourable to ,spenser4 ,there is only one work of the same allegorical kind1 which has more interest than ,spenser 7with scarcely less imagination73 and that is the ,pilgrim's ,progress4 ,the three first books of the ,faery ,queen are very superior to the three last4 ,one would think that ,pope1 who used to ask if any one had ever read the ,faery ,queen through1 had only dipped into these last4 ,the only things in them equal to the former1 are the account of ,talus1 the ,iron ,man1 and the delightful episode of ,pastorella4 ,the language of ,spenser is full1 and copious1 to overflowing3 it is less pure and idiomatic than ,chaucer's1 and is enriched and adorned with phrases borrowed from the different languages of ,europe1 both ancient and modern4 ,he was1 probably1 seduced into a certain license of expression by the difficulty of filling up the moulds of his complicated rhymed stanza from the limited resources of his native language4 ,this stanza1 with alternate and repeatedly recurring rhymes1 is borrowed from the ,italians4 ,it is peculiarly fitted to their language1 which abounds in similar vowel terminations1 and is as little adapted to ours1 from the stubborn1 unaccommodating resistance which the consonant endings of the northern languages make to this sort of endless sing-song4--,not that ,i would1 on that account1 part with the stanza of ,spenser4 ,we are1 perhaps1 indebted to this very necessity of finding out new forms of expression1 and to the occasional faults to which it led1 for a poetical language rich and varied and magnificent beyond all former1 and almost all later example4 ,his versification is1 at once1 the most smooth and the most sounding in the language4 ,it is a labyrinth of sweet sounds1 in many a winding bout of linked sweetness long drawn out--that would cloy by their very sweetness1 but that the ear is constantly relieved and enchanted by their continued variety of modulation--dwelling on the pauses of the action1 or flowing on in a fuller tide of harmony with the movement of the sentiment4 ,it has not the bold dramatic transitions of ,shakspeare's blank verse1 nor the high-raised tone of ,milton's2 but it is the perfection of melting harmony1 dissolving the soul in pleasure1 or holding it captive in the chains of suspense4 ,spenser was the poet of our waking dreams2 and he has invented not only a language1 but a music of his own for them4 ,the undulations are infinite1 like those of the waves of the sea3 but the effect is still the same1 lulling the senses into a deep oblivion of the jarring noises of the world1 from which we have no wish to be ever recalled4 ,,iii ,,shakspeare ,the four greatest names in ,english poetry1 are almost the four first we come to--,chaucer1 ,spenser1 ,shakspeare1 and ,milton4 ,there are no others that can really be put in competition with these4 ,the two last have had justice done them by the voice of common fame4 ,their names are blazoned in the very firmament of reputation2 while the two first1 7though the fault has been more in their stars than in themselves that they are underlings7 either never emerged far above the horizon1 or were too soon involved in the obscurity of time4 ,the three first of these are excluded from ,dr4 ,johnson's ,lives of the ,poets 7,shakspeare indeed is so from the dramatic form of his compositions73 and the fourth1 ,milton1 is admitted with a reluctant and churlish welcome4 ,in comparing these four writers together1 it might be said that ,chaucer excels as the poet of manners1 or of real life2 ,spenser1 as the poet of romance2 ,shakspeare1 as the poet of nature 7in the largest use of the term73 and ,milton1 as the poet of morality4 ,chaucer most frequently describes things as they are3 ,spenser1 as we wish them to be2 ,shakspeare1 as they would be2 and ,milton as they ought to be4 ,as poets1 and as great poets1 imagination1 that is1 the power of feigning things according to nature1 was common to them all3 but the principle or moving power1 to which this faculty was most subservient in ,chaucer1 was habit1 or inveterate prejudice2 in ,spenser1 novelty1 and the love of the marvellous2 in ,shakspeare1 it was the force of passion1 combined with every variety of possible circumstances2 and in ,milton1 only with the highest4 ,the characteristic of ,chaucer is intensity2 of ,spenser1 remoteness2 of ,milton1 elevation2 of ,shakspeare1 everything4--,it has been said by some critic1 that ,shakspeare was distinguished from the other dramatic writers of his day only by his wit2 that they had all his other qualities but that2 that one writer had as much sense1 another as much fancy1 another as much knowledge of character1 another the same depth of passion1 and another as great a power of language4 ,this statement is not true2 nor is the inference from it well-founded1 even if it were4 ,this person does not seem to have been aware that1 upon his own shewing1 the great distinction of ,shakspeare's genius was its virtually including the genius of all the great men of his age1 and not his differing from them in one accidental particular4 ,but to have done with such minute and literal trifling4 ,the striking peculiarity of ,shakspeare's mind was its generic quality1 its power of communication with all other minds--so that it contained a universe of thought and feeling within itself1 and had no one peculiar bias1 or exclusive excellence more than another4 ,he was just like any other man1 but that he was like all other men4 ,he was the least of an egotist that it was possible to be4 ,he was nothing in himself2 but he was all that others were1 or that they could become4 ,he not only had in himself the germs of every faculty and feeling1 but he could follow them by anticipation1 intuitively1 into all their conceivable ramifications1 through every change of fortune or conflict of passion1 or turn of thought4 ,he had a mind reflecting ages past1 and present3--all the people that ever lived are there4 ,there was no respect of persons with him4 ,his genius shone equally on the evil and on the good1 on the wise and the foolish1 the monarch and the beggar3 ,all corners of the earth1 kings1 queens1 and states1 maids1 matrons1 nay1 the secrets of the grave1 are hardly hid from his searching glance4 ,he was like the genius of humanity1 changing places with all of us at pleasure1 and playing with our purposes as with his own4 ,he turned the globe round for his amusement1 and surveyed the generations of men1 and the individuals as they passed1 with their different concerns1 passions1 follies1 vices1 virtues1 actions1 and motives--as well those that they knew1 as those which they did not know1 or acknowledge to themselves4 ,the dreams of childhood1 the ravings of despair1 were the toys of his fancy4 ,airy beings waited at his call1 and came at his bidding4 ,harmless fairies nodded to him1 and did him curtesies3 and the night-hag bestrode the blast at the command of his so potent art4 ,the world of spirits lay open to him1 like the world of real men and women3 and there is the same truth in his delineations of the one as of the other2 for if the preternatural characters he describes could be supposed to exist1 they would speak1 and feel1 and act1 as he makes them4 ,he had only to think of any thing in order to become that thing1 with all the circumstances belonging to it4 ,when he conceived of a character whether real or imaginary1 he not only entered into all its thoughts and feelings1 but seemed instantly1 and as if by touching a secret spring1 to be surrounded with all the same objects1 subject to the same skyey influences1 the same local1 outward1 and unforeseen accidents which would occur in reality4 ,thus the character of ,caliban not only stands before us with a language and manners of its own1 but the scenery and situation of the enchanted island he inhabits1 the traditions of the place1 its strange noises1 its hidden recesses1 his frequent haunts and ancient neighbourhood1 are given with a miraculous truth of nature1 and with all the familiarity of an old recollection4 ,the whole coheres semblably together in time1 place1 and circumstance4 ,in reading this author1 you do not merely learn what his characters say1--you see their persons4 ,by something expressed or understood1 you are at no loss to decypher their peculiar physiognomy1 the meaning of a look1 the grouping1 the bye-play1 as we might see it on the stage4 ,a word1 an epithet paints a whole scene1 or throws us back whole years in the history of the person represented4 ,so 7as it has been ingeniously remarked7 when ,prospero describes himself as left alone in the boat with his daughter1 the epithet which he applies to her1 ,me and thy crying self1 flings the imagination instantly back from the grown woman to the helpless condition of infancy1 and places the first and most trying scene of his misfortunes before us1 with all that he must have suffered in the interval4 ,how well the silent anguish of ,macduff is conveyed to the reader1 by the friendly expostulation of ,malcolm--,what6 man1 ne'er pull your hat upon your brows6 ,again1 ,hamlet1 in the scene with ,rosencrans and ,guildenstern1 somewhat abruptly concludes his fine soliloquy on life by saying1 ,man delights not me1 nor woman neither1 though by your smiling you seem to say so4 ,which is explained by their answer--,my lord1 we had no such stuff in our thoughts4 ,but we smiled to think1 if you delight not in man1 what lenten entertainment the players shall receive from you1 whom we met on the way3--as if while ,hamlet was making this speech1 his two old schoolfellows from ,wittenberg had been really standing by1 and he had seen them smiling by stealth1 at the idea of the players crossing their minds4 ,it is not a combination and a form of words1 a set speech or two1 a preconcerted theory of a character1 that will do this3 but all the persons concerned must have been present in the poet's imagination1 as at a kind of rehearsal2 and whatever would have passed through their minds on the occasion1 and have been observed by others1 passed through his1 and is made known to the reader4--,i may add in passing1 that ,shakspeare always gives the best directions for the costume and carriage of his heroes4 ,thus1 to take one example1 ,ophelia gives the following account of ,hamlet2 and as ,ophelia had seen ,hamlet1 ,i should think her word ought to be taken against that of any modern authority4 ,ophelia4 ,my lord1 as ,i was reading in my closet1 ,prince ,hamlet1 with his doublet all unbrac'd1 ,no hat upon his head1 his stockings loose1 ,ungartred1 and down-gyved to his ancle1 ,pale as his shirt1 his knees knocking each other1 ,and with a look so piteous1 ,as if he had been sent from hell ,to speak of horrors1 thus he comes before me4 ,polonius4 ,mad for thy love6 ,oph4 ,my lord1 ,i do not know1 ,but truly ,i do fear it4 ,pol4 ,what said he8 ,oph4 ,he took me by the wrist and held me hard4 ,then goes he to the length of all his arm2 ,and with his other hand thus o'er his brow1 ,he falls to such perusal of my face1 ,as he would draw it3 long staid he so2 ,at last1 a little shaking of my arm1 ,and thrice his head thus waving up and down1 ,he rais'd a sigh so piteous and profound1 ,as it did seem to shatter all his bulk1 ,and end his being4 ,that done1 he lets me go1 ,and with his head over his shoulder turn'd1 ,he seem'd to find his way without his eyes2 ,for out of doors he went without their help1 ,and to the last bended their light on me4 ,act ,,ii4 ,scene #a4 ,how after this airy1 fantastic idea of irregular grace and bewildered melancholy any one can play ,hamlet1 as we have seen it played1 with strut1 and stare1 and antic right-angled sharp-pointed gestures1 it is difficult to say1 unless it be that ,hamlet is not bound1 by the prompter's cue1 to study the part of ,ophelia4 ,the account of ,ophelia's death begins thus3 ,there is a willow hanging o'er a brook1 ,that shows its hoary leaves in the glassy stream4---- ,now this is an instance of the same unconscious power of mind which is as true to nature as itself4 ,the leaves of the willow are1 in fact1 white underneath1 and it is this part of them which would appear hoary in the reflection in the brook4 ,the same sort of intuitive power1 the same faculty of bringing every object in nature1 whether present or absent1 before the mind's eye1 is observable in the speech of ,cleopatra1 when conjecturing what were the employments of ,antony in his absence3--,he's speaking now1 or murmuring1 where's my serpent of old ,nile8 ,how fine to make ,cleopatra have this consciousness of her own character1 and to make her feel that it is this for which ,antony is in love with her6 ,she says1 after the battle of ,actium1 when ,antony has resolved to risk another fight1 ,it is my birth-day2 ,i had thought to have held it poor3 but since my lord is ,antony again1 ,i will be ,cleopatra4 ,what other poet would have thought of such a casual resource of the imagination1 or would have dared to avail himself of it8 ,the thing happens in the play as it might have happened in fact4--,that which1 perhaps1 more than any thing else distinguishes the dramatic productions of ,shakspeare from all others1 is this wonderful truth and individuality of conception4 ,each of his characters is as much itself1 and as absolutely independent of the rest1 as well as of the author1 as if they were living persons1 not fictions of the mind4 ,the poet may be said1 for the time1 to identify himself with the character he wishes to represent1 and to pass from one to another1 like the same soul successively animating different bodies4 ,by an art like that of the ventriloquist1 he throws his imagination out of himself1 and makes every word appear to proceed from the mouth of the person in whose name it is given4 ,his plays alone are properly expressions of the passions1 not descriptions of them4 ,his characters are real beings of flesh and blood2 they speak like men1 not like authors4 ,one might suppose that he had stood by at the time1 and overheard what passed4 ,as in our dreams we hold conversations with ourselves1 make remarks1 or communicate intelligence1 and have no idea of the answer which we shall receive1 and which we ourselves make1 till we hear it3 so the dialogues in ,shakspeare are carried on without any consciousness of what is to follow1 without any appearance of preparation or premeditation4 ,the gusts of passion come and go like sounds of music borne on the wind4 ,nothing is made out by formal inference and analogy1 by climax and antithesis3 all comes1 or seems to come1 immediately from nature4 ,each object and circumstance exists in his mind1 as it would have existed in reality3 each several train of thought and feeling goes on of itself1 without confusion or effort4 ,in the world of his imagination1 every thing has a life1 a place1 and being of its own6 ,chaucer's characters are sufficiently distinct from one another1 but they are too little varied in themselves1 too much like identical propositions4 ,they are consistent1 but uniform2 we get no new idea of them from first to last2 they are not placed in different lights1 nor are their subordinate traits brought out in new situations2 they are like portraits or physiognomical studies1 with the distinguishing features marked with inconceivable truth and precision1 but that preserve the same unaltered air and attitude4 ,shakspeare's are historical figures1 equally true and correct1 but put into action1 where every nerve and muscle is displayed in the struggle with others1 with all the effect of collision and contrast1 with every variety of light and shade4 ,chaucer's characters are narrative1 ,shakspeare's dramatic1 ,milton's epic4 ,that is1 ,chaucer told only as much of his story as he pleased1 as was required for a particular purpose4 ,he answered for his characters himself4 ,in ,shakspeare they are introduced upon the stage1 are liable to be asked all sorts of questions1 and are forced to answer for themselves4 ,in ,chaucer we perceive a fixed essence of character4 ,in ,shakspeare there is a continual composition and decomposition of its elements1 a fermentation of every particle in the whole mass1 by its alternate affinity or antipathy to other principles which are brought in contact with it4 ,till the experiment is tried1 we do not know the result1 the turn which the character will take in its new circumstances4 ,milton took only a few simple principles of character1 and raised them to the utmost conceivable grandeur1 and refined them from every base alloy4 ,his ,imagination1 nigh sphered in ,heaven1 claimed kindred only with what he saw from that height1 and could raise to the same elevation with itself4 ,he sat retired1 and kept his state alone1 playing with wisdom2 while ,shakspeare mingled with the crowd1 and played the host1 to make society the sweeter welcome4 ,the passion in ,shakspeare is of the same nature as his delineation of character4 ,it is not some one habitual feeling or sentiment preying upon itself1 growing out of itself1 and moulding every thing to itself2 it is passion modified by passion1 by all the other feelings to which the individual is liable1 and to which others are liable with him2 subject to all the fluctuations of caprice and accident2 calling into play all the resources of the understanding and all the energies of the will2 irritated by obstacles or yielding to them2 rising from small beginnings to its utmost height2 now drunk with hope1 now stung to madness1 now sunk in despair1 now blown to air with a breath1 now raging like a torrent4 ,the human soul is made the sport of fortune1 the prey of adversity3 it is stretched on the wheel of destiny1 in restless ecstacy4 ,the passions are in a state of projection4 ,years are melted down to moments1 and every instant teems with fate4 ,we know the results1 we see the process4 ,thus after ,iago has been boasting to himself of the effect of his poisonous suggestions on the mind of ,othello1 which1 with a little act upon the blood1 will work like mines of sulphur1 he adds-- ,look where he comes6 not poppy1 nor mandragora1 ,nor all the drowsy syrups of the ,east1 ,shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep ,which thou ow'dst yesterday4---- ,and he enters at this moment1 like the crested serpent1 crowned with his wrongs and raging for revenge6 ,the whole depends upon the turn of a thought4 ,a word1 a look1 blows the spark of jealousy into a flame2 and the explosion is immediate and terrible as a volcano4 ,the dialogues in ,lear1 in ,macbeth1 that between ,brutus and ,cassius1 and nearly all those in ,shakspeare1 where the interest is wrought up to its highest pitch1 afford examples of this dramatic fluctuation of passion4 ,the interest in ,chaucer is quite different3 it is like the course of a river1 strong1 and full1 and increasing4 ,in ,shakspeare1 on the contrary1 it is like the sea1 agitated this way and that1 and loud-lashed by furious storms2 while in the still pauses of the blast1 we distinguish only the cries of despair or the silence of death6 ,milton1 on the other hand1 takes the imaginative part of passion--that which remains after the event1 which the mind reposes on when all is over1 which looks upon circumstances from the remotest elevation of thought and fancy1 and abstracts them from the world of action to that of contemplation4 ,the objects of dramatic poetry affect us by sympathy1 by their nearness to ourselves1 as they take us by surprise1 or force us upon action1 while rage with rage doth sympathise3 the objects of epic poetry affect us through the medium of the imagination1 by magnitude and distance1 by their permanence and universality4 ,the one fill us with terror and pity1 the other with admiration and delight4 ,there are certain objects that strike the imagination1 and inspire awe in the very idea of them1 independently of any dramatic interest1 that is1 of any connection with the vicissitudes of human life4 ,for instance1 we cannot think of the pyramids of ,egypt1 of a ,gothic ruin1 or an old ,roman encampment1 without a certain emotion1 a sense of power and sublimity coming over the mind4 ,the heavenly bodies that hang over our heads wherever we go1 and in their untroubled element shall shine when we are laid in dust1 and all our cares forgotten1 affect us in the same way4 ,thus ,satan's address to the ,sun has an epic1 not a dramatic interest2 for though the second person in the dialogue makes no answer and feels no concern1 yet the eye of that vast luminary is upon him1 like the eye of heaven1 and seems conscious of what he says1 like an universal presence4 ,dramatic poetry and epic1 in their perfection1 indeed1 approximate to and strengthen one another4 ,dramatic poetry borrows aid from the dignity of persons and things1 as the heroic does from human passion1 but in theory they are distinct4--,when ,richard ,,ii4 calls for the looking-glass to contemplate his faded majesty in it1 and bursts into that affecting exclamation3 ,oh1 that ,i were a mockery-king of snow1 to melt away before the sun of ,bolingbroke1 we have here the utmost force of human passion1 combined with the ideas of regal splendour and fallen power4 ,when ,milton says of ,satan3 --,his form had not yet lost ,all her original brightness1 nor appear'd ,less than archangel ruin'd1 and th' excess ,of glory obscur'd2-- the mixture of beauty1 of grandeur1 and pathos1 from the sense of irreparable loss1 of never-ending1 unavailing regret1 is perfect4 ,the great fault of a modern school of poetry is1 that it is an experiment to reduce poetry to a mere effusion of natural sensibility2 or what is worse1 to divest it both of imaginary splendour and human passion1 to surround the meanest objects with the morbid feelings and devouring egotism of the writers' own minds4 ,milton and ,shakspeare did not so understand poetry4 ,they gave a more liberal interpretation both to nature and art4 ,they did not do all they could to get rid of the one and the other1 to fill up the dreary void with the ,moods of their own ,minds4 ,they owe their power over the human mind to their having had a deeper sense than others of what was grand in the objects of nature1 or affecting in the events of human life4 ,but to the men ,i speak of there is nothing interesting1 nothing heroical1 but themselves4 ,to them the fall of gods or of great men is the same4 ,they do not enter into the feeling4 ,they cannot understand the terms4 ,they are even debarred from the last poor1 paltry consolation of an unmanly triumph over fallen greatness2 for their minds reject1 with a convulsive effort and intolerable loathing1 the very idea that there ever was1 or was thought to be1 any thing superior to themselves4 ,all that has ever excited the attention or admiration of the world they look upon with the most perfect indifference2 and they are surprised to find that the world repays their indifference with scorn4 ,with what measure they mete1 it has been meted to them again4 ,shakspeare's imagination is of the same plastic kind as his conception of character or passion4 ,it glances from heaven to earth1 from earth to heaven4 ,its movement is rapid and devious4 ,it unites the most opposite extremes2 or1 as ,puck says1 in boasting of his own feats1 puts a girdle round about the earth in forty minutes4 ,he seems always hurrying from his subject1 even while describing it2 but the stroke1 like the lightning's1 is sure as it is sudden4 ,he takes the widest possible range1 but from that very range he has his choice of the greatest variety and aptitude of materials4 ,he brings together images the most alike1 but placed at the greatest distance from each other2 that is1 found in circumstances of the greatest dissimilitude4 ,from the remoteness of his combinations1 and the celerity with which they are effected1 they coalesce the more indissolubly together4 ,the more the thoughts are strangers to each other1 and the longer they have been kept asunder1 the more intimate does their union seem to become4 ,their felicity is equal to their force4 ,their likeness is made more dazzling by their novelty4 ,they startle1 and take the fancy prisoner in the same instant4 ,i will mention one or two which are very striking1 and not much known1 out of ,troilus and ,cressida4 neas says to ,agamemnon1 ,i ask that ,i may waken reverence1 ,and on the cheek be ready with a blush ,modest as morning1 when she coldly eyes ,the youthful ,phoebus4 ,ulysses urging ,achilles to shew himself in the field1 says-- ,no man is the lord of any thing1 ,till he communicate his parts to others3 ,nor doth he of himself know them for aught1 ,till he behold them formed in the applause1 ,where they're extended6 which like an arch reverberates ,the voice again1 or like a gate of steel1 ,fronting the sun1 receives and renders back ,its figure and its heat4 ,patroclus gives the indolent warrior the same advice4 ,rouse yourself2 and the weak wanton ,cupid ,shall from your neck unloose his amorous fold1 ,and like a dew-drop from the lion's mane ,be shook to air1 ,shakspeare's language and versification are like the rest of him4 ,he has a magic power over words3 they come winged at his bidding2 and seem to know their places4 ,they are struck out at a heat1 on the spur of the occasion1 and have all the truth and vividness which arise from an actual impression of the objects4 ,his epithets and single phrases are like sparkles1 thrown off from an imagination1 fired by the whirling rapidity of its own motion4 ,his language is hieroglyphical4 ,it translates thoughts into visible images4 ,it abounds in sudden transitions and elliptical expressions4 ,this is the source of his mixed metaphors1 which are only abbreviated forms of speech4 ,these1 however1 give no pain from long custom4 ,they have1 in fact1 become idioms in the language4 ,they are the building1 and not the scaffolding to thought4 ,we take the meaning and effect of a well-known passage entire1 and no more stop to scan and spell out the particular words and phrases1 than the syllables of which they are composed4 ,in trying to recollect any other author1 one sometimes stumbles1 in case of failure1 on a word as good4 ,in ,shakspeare1 any other word but the true one1 is sure to be wrong4 ,if any body1 for instance1 could not recollect the words of the following description1 --,light thickens1 ,and the crow makes wing to the rooky wood1 he would be greatly at a loss to substitute others for them equally expressive of the feeling4 ,these remarks1 however1 are strictly applicable only to the impassioned parts of ,shakspeare's language1 which flowed from the warmth and originality of his imagination1 and were his own4 ,the language used for prose conversation and ordinary business is sometimes technical1 and involved in the affectation of the time4 ,compare1 for example1 ,othello's apology to the senate1 relating his whole course of love1 with some of the preceding parts relating to his appointment1 and the official dispatches from ,cyprus4 ,in this respect1 the business of the state does him offence4--,his versification is no less powerful1 sweet1 and varied4 ,it has every occasional excellence1 of sullen intricacy1 crabbed and perplexed1 or of the smoothest and loftiest expansion--from the ease and familiarity of measured conversation to the lyrical sounds --,of ditties highly penned1 ,sung by a fair queen in a summer's bower1 ,with ravishing division to her lute4 ,it is the only blank verse in the language1 except ,milton's1 that for itself is readable4 ,it is not stately and uniformly swelling like his1 but varied and broken by the inequalities of the ground it has to pass over in its uncertain course1 ,and so by many winding nooks it strays1 ,with willing sport to the wild ocean4 ,it remains to speak of the faults of ,shakspeare4 ,they are not so many or so great as they have been represented2 what there are1 are chiefly owing to the following causes3--,the universality of his genius was1 perhaps1 a disadvantage to his single works2 the variety of his resources sometimes diverting him from applying them to the most effectual purposes4 ,he might be said to combine the powers of schylus and ,aristophanes1 of ,dante and ,rabelais1 in his own mind4 ,if he had been only half what he was1 he would perhaps have appeared greater4 ,the natural ease and indifference of his temper made him sometimes less scrupulous than he might have been4 ,he is relaxed and careless in critical places2 he is in earnest throughout only in ,timon1 ,macbeth1 and ,lear4 ,again1 he had no models of acknowledged excellence constantly in view to stimulate his efforts1 and by all that appears1 no love of fame4 ,he wrote for the great vulgar and the small1 in his time1 not for posterity4 ,if ,queen ,elizabeth and the maids of honour laughed heartily at his worst jokes1 and the catcalls in the gallery were silent at his best passages1 he went home satisfied1 and slept the next night well4 ,he did not trouble himself about ,voltaire's criticisms4 ,he was willing to take advantage of the ignorance of the age in many things2 and if his plays pleased others1 not to quarrel with them himself4 ,his very facility of production would make him set less value on his own excellences1 and not care to distinguish nicely between what he did well or ill4 ,his blunders in chronology and geography do not amount to above half a dozen1 and they are offences against chronology and geography1 not against poetry4 ,as to the unities1 he was right in setting them at defiance4 ,he was fonder of puns than became so great a man4 ,his barbarisms were those of his age4 ,his genius was his own4 ,he had no objection to float down with the stream of common taste and opinion3 he rose above it by his own buoyancy1 and an impulse which he could not keep under1 in spite of himself or others1 and his delights did shew most dolphin-like4 ,he had an equal genius for comedy and tragedy2 and his tragedies are better than his comedies1 because tragedy is better than comedy4 ,his female characters1 which have been found fault with as insipid1 are the finest in the world4 ,lastly1 ,shakspeare was the least of a coxcomb of any one that ever lived1 and much of a gentleman4 ,,iv ,,the ,,characters ,,of ,,shakspeare',s ,,plays ,,cymbeline ,,cymbeline is one of the most delightful of ,shakspeare's historical plays4 ,it may be considered as a dramatic romance1 in which the most striking parts of the story are thrown into the form of a dialogue1 and the intermediate circumstances are explained by the different speakers1 as occasion renders necessary4 ,the action is less concentrated in consequence2 but the interest becomes more aerial and refined from the principle of perspective introduced into the subject by the imaginary changes of scene1 as well as by the length of time it occupies4 ,the reading of this play is like going a journey with some uncertain object at the end of it1 and in which the suspense is kept up and heightened by the long intervals between each action4 ,though the events are scattered over such an extent of surface1 and relate to such a variety of characters1 yet the links which bind the different interests of the story together are never entirely broken4 ,the most straggling and seemingly casual incidents are contrived in such a manner as to lead at last to the most complete developement of the catastrophe4 ,the ease and conscious unconcern with which this is effected only makes the skill more wonderful4 ,the business of the plot evidently thickens in the last act3 the story moves forward with increasing rapidity at every step2 its various ramifications are drawn from the most distant points to the same centre2 the principal characters are brought together1 and placed in very critical situations2 and the fate of almost every person in the drama is made to depend on the solution of a single circumstance--the answer of ,iachimo to the question of ,imogen respecting the obtaining of the ring from ,posthumus4 ,dr4 ,johnson is of opinion that ,shakspeare was generally inattentive to the winding-up of his plots4 ,we think the contrary is true2 and we might cite in proof of this remark not only the present play1 but the conclusion of ,lear1 of ,romeo and ,juliet1 of ,macbeth1 of ,othello1 even of ,hamlet1 and of other plays of less moment1 in which the last act is crowded with decisive events brought about by natural and striking means4 ,the pathos in ,,cymbeline is not violent or tragical1 but of the most pleasing and amiable kind4 ,a certain tender gloom overspreads the whole4 ,posthumus is the ostensible hero of the piece1 but its greatest charm is the character of ,imogen4 ,posthumus is only interesting from the interest she takes in him2 and she is only interesting herself from her tenderness and constancy to her husband4 ,it is the peculiar excellence of ,shakspeare's heroines1 that they seem to exist only in their attachment to others4 ,they are pure abstractions of the affections4 ,we think as little of their persons as they do themselves1 because we are let into the secrets of their hearts1 which are more important4 ,we are too much interested in their affairs to stop to look at their faces1 except by stealth and at intervals4 ,no one ever hit the true perfection of the female character1 the sense of weakness leaning on the strength of its affections for support1 so well as ,shakspeare--no one ever so well painted natural tenderness free from affectation and disguise--no one else ever so well shewed how delicacy and timidity1 when driven to extremity1 grow romantic and extravagant2 for the romance of his heroines 7in which they abound7 is only an excess of the habitual prejudices of their sex1 scrupulous of being false to their vows1 truant to their affections1 and taught by the force of feeling when to forego the forms of propriety for the essence of it4 ,his women were in this respect exquisite logicians2 for there is nothing so logical as passion4 ,they knew their own minds exactly2 and only followed up a favourite purpose1 which they had sworn to with their tongues1 and which was engraven on their hearts1 into its untoward consequences4 ,they were the prettiest little set of martyrs and confessors on record4--,cibber1 in speaking of the early ,english stage1 accounts for the want of prominence and theatrical display in ,shakspeare's female characters from the circumstance1 that women in those days were not allowed to play the parts of women1 which made it necessary to keep them a good deal in the back-ground4 ,does not this state of manners itself1 which prevented their exhibiting themselves in public1 and confined them to the relations and charities of domestic life1 afford a truer explanation of the matter8 ,his women are certainly very unlike stage-heroines2 the reverse of tragedy-queens4 ,we have almost as great an affection for ,imogen as she had for ,posthumus2 and she deserves it better4 ,of all ,shakspeare's women she is perhaps the most tender and the most artless4 ,her incredulity in the opening scene with ,iachimo1 as to her husband's infidelity1 is much the same as ,desdemona's backwardness to believe ,othello's jealousy4 ,her answer to the most distressing part of the picture is only1 ,my lord1 ,i fear1 has forgot ,britain4 ,her readiness to pardon ,iachimo's false imputations and his designs against herself1 is a good lesson to prudes2 and may shew that where there is a real attachment to virtue1 it has no need to bolster itself up with an outrageous or affected antipathy to vice4 ,the scene in which ,pisanio gives ,imogen his master's letter1 accusing-her of incontinency on the treacherous suggestions of ,iachimo1 is as touching as it is possible for anything to be3-- ,pisanio4 ,what cheer1 ,madam8 ,imogen4 ,false to his bed6 ,what is it to be false8 ,to lie in watch there1 and to think on him8 ,to weep 'twixt clock and clock8 ,if sleep charge nature1 ,to break it with a fearful dream of him1 ,and cry myself awake8 ,that's false to 's bed1 is it8 ,pisanio4 ,alas1 good lady6 ,imogen4 ,i false8 thy conscience witness1 ,iachimo1 ,thou didst accuse him of incontinency1 ,thou then look'dst like a villain3 now methinks1 ,thy favour's good enough4 ,some ,jay of ,italy1 ,whose mother was her painting1 hath betray'd him3 ,poor ,i am stale1 a garment out of fashion1 ,and for ,i am richer than to hang by th' walls1 ,i must be ript2 to pieces with me4 ,oh1 ,men's vows are women's traitors4 ,all good seeming ,by thy revolt1 oh husband1 shall be thought ,put on for villainy3 not born where't grows1 ,but worn a bait for ladies4 ,pisanio4 ,good ,madam1 hear me-- ,imogen4 ,talk thy tongue weary1 speak3 ,i have heard ,i am a strumpet1 and mine ear1 ,therein false struck1 can take no greater wound1 ,nor tent to bottom that4---- ,when ,pisanio1 who had been charged to kill his mistress1 puts her in a way to live1 she says1 ,why1 good fellow1 ,what shall ,i do the while8 ,where bide8 ,how live8 ,or in my life what comfort1 when ,i am ,dead to my husband8 ,yet when he advises her to disguise herself in boy's clothes1 and suggests a course pretty and full in view1 by which she may happily be near the residence of ,posthumus1 she exclaims1 ,oh1 for such means1 ,though peril to my modesty1 not death on't1 ,i would adventure4 ,and when ,pisanio1 enlarging on the consequences1 tells her she must change ----,fear and niceness1 ,the handmaids of all women1 or more truly1 ,woman its pretty self1 into a waggish courage1 ,ready in gibes1 quick-answer'd1 saucy1 and ,as quarrellous as the weazel---- she interrupts him hastily3-- ,nay1 be brief2 ,i see into thy end1 and am almost ,a man already4 ,in her journey thus disguised to ,milford-,haven1 she loses her guide and her way2 and unbosoming her complaints1 says beautifully-- ----,my dear lord1 ,thou art one of the false ones2 now ,i think on thee1 ,my hunger's gone2 but even before1 ,i was ,at point to sink for food4 ,she afterwards finds1 as she thinks1 the dead body of ,posthumus1 and engages herself as a foot-boy to serve a ,roman officer1 when she has done all due obsequies to him whom she calls her former master-- ----,and when ,with wild wood-leaves and weeds ,i ha' strew'd his grave1 ,and on it said a century of pray'rs1 ,such as ,i can1 twice o'er1 ,i'll weep and sigh1 ,and leaving so his service1 follow you1 ,so please you entertain me4 ,now this is the very religion of love4 ,she all along relies on her personal charms1 which she fears may have been eclipsed by some painted ,jay of ,italy2 she relies on her merit1 and her merit is in the depth of her love1 her truth and constancy4 ,our admiration of her beauty is excited with as little consciousness as possible on her part4 ,there are two delicious descriptions given of her1 one when she is asleep1 and one when she is supposed dead4 ,arviragus thus addresses her-- ----,with fairest flowers1 ,while summer lasts1 and ,i live here1 ,fidele1 ,i'll sweeten thy sad grave2 thou shalt not lack ,the flow'r that's like thy face1 pale primrose1 nor ,the azur'd hare-bell1 like thy veins1 no1 nor ,the leaf of eglantine1 which not to slander1 ,out-sweeten'd not thy breath4 ,the yellow ,iachimo gives another thus1 when he steals into her bedchamber3-- ----,cytherea1 ,how bravely thou becom'st thy bed6 ,fresh lily1 ,and whiter than the sheets6 ,that ,i might touch-- ,but kiss1 one kiss--',tis her breathing that ,perfumes the chamber thus3 the flame o' th' taper ,bows toward her1 and would under-peep her lids ,to see th' enclosed lights now canopied ,under the windows1 white and azure1 laced ,with blue of ,heav'ns own tinct--on her left breast ,a mole cinque-spotted1 like the crimson drops ,i' th' bottom of a cowslip4 ,there is a moral sense in the proud beauty of this last image1 a rich surfeit of the fancy1--as that well-known passage beginning1 ,me of my lawful pleasure she restrained1 and prayed me oft forbearance1 sets a keener edge upon it by the inimitable picture of modesty and self-denial4 ,the character of ,cloten1 the conceited1 booby lord1 and rejected lover of ,imogen1 though not very agreeable in itself1 and at present obsolete1 is drawn with much humour and quaint extravagance4 ,the description which ,imogen gives of his unwelcome addresses to her--,whose love-suit hath been to me as fearful as a siege--is enough to cure the most ridiculous lover of his folly4 ,it is remarkable that though ,cloten makes so poor a figure in love1 he is described as assuming an air of consequence as the ,queen's son in a council of state1 and with all the absurdity of his person and manners1 is not without shrewdness in his observations4 ,so true is it that folly is as often owing to a want of proper sentiments as to a want of understanding6 ,the exclamation of the ancient critic--,oh ,menander and ,nature1 which of you copied from the other6 would not be misapplied to ,shakspeare4 ,the other characters in this play are represented with great truth and accuracy1 and as it happens in most of the author's works1 there is not only the utmost keeping in each separate character2 but in the casting of the different parts1 and their relation to one another1 there is an affinity and harmony1 like what we may observe in the gradations of colour in a picture4 ,the striking and powerful contrasts in which ,shakspeare abounds could not escape observation2 but the use he makes of the principle of analogy to reconcile the greatest diversities of character and to maintain a continuity of feeling throughout1 has not been sufficiently attended to4 ,in ,,cymbeline1 for instance1 the principal interest arises out of the unalterable fidelity of ,imogen to her husband under the most trying circumstances4 ,now the other parts of the picture are filled up with subordinate examples of the same feeling1 variously modified by different situations1 and applied to the purposes of virtue or vice4 ,the plot is aided by the amorous importunities of ,cloten1 by the persevering determination of ,iachimo to conceal the defeat of his project by a daring imposture2 the faithful attachment of ,pisanio to his mistress is an affecting accompaniment to the whole2 the obstinate adherence to his purpose in ,bellarius1 who keeps the fate of the young princes so long a secret in resentment for the ungrateful return to his former services1 the incorrigible wickedness of the ,queen1 and even the blind uxorious confidence of ,cymbeline1 are all so many lines of the same story1 tending to the same point4 ,the effect of this coincidence is rather felt than observed2 and as the impression exists unconsciously in the mind of the reader1 so it probably arose in the same manner in the mind of the author1 not from design1 but from the force of natural association1 a particular train of thought suggesting different inflections of the same predominant feeling1 melting into1 and strengthening one another1 like chords in music4 ,the characters of ,bellarius1 ,guiderius1 and ,arviragus1 and the romantic scenes in which they appear1 are a fine relief to the intrigues and artificial refinements of the court from which they are banished4 ,nothing can surpass the wildness and simplicity of the descriptions of the mountain life they lead4 ,they follow the business of huntsmen1 not of shepherds2 and this is in keeping with the spirit of adventure and uncertainty in the rest of the story1 and with the scenes in which they are afterwards called on to act4 ,how admirably the youthful fire and impatience to emerge from their obscurity in the young princes is opposed to the cooler calculations and prudent resignation of their more experienced counsellor6 ,how well the disadvantages of knowledge and of ignorance1 of solitude and society1 are placed against each other6 ,guiderius4 ,out of your proof you speak3 we poor unfledg'd ,have never wing'd from view o' th' nest2 nor know not ,what air's from home4 ,haply this life is best1 ,if quiet life is best2 sweeter to you ,that have a sharper known2 well corresponding ,with your stiff age3 but unto us it is ,a cell of ignorance2 travelling a-bed1 ,a prison for a debtor1 that not dares ,to stride a limit4 ,arviragus4 ,what should we speak of ,when we are old as you8 ,when we shall hear ,the rain and wind beat dark ,december6 ,how1 ,in this our pinching cave1 shall we discourse ,the freezing hours away8 ,we have seen nothing4 ,we are beastly2 subtle as the fox for prey1 ,like warlike as the wolf for what we eat2 ,our valour is to chase what flies2 our cage ,we make a quire1 as doth the prison'd bird1 ,and sing our bondage freely4 ,the answer of ,bellarius to this expostulation is hardly satisfactory2 for nothing can be an answer to hope1 or the passion of the mind for unknown good1 but experience4--,the forest of ,arden in ,as you like it can alone compare with the mountain scenes in ,,cymbeline3 yet how different the contemplative quiet of the one from the enterprising boldness and precarious mode of subsistence in the other6 ,shakspeare not only lets us into the minds of his characters1 but gives a tone and colour to the scenes he describes from the feelings of their supposed inhabitants4 ,he at the same time preserves the utmost propriety of action and passion1 and gives all their local accompaniments4 ,if he was equal to the greatest things1 he was not above an attention to the smallest4 ,thus the gallant sportsmen in ,,cymbeline have to encounter the abrupt declivities of hill and valley3 ,touchstone and ,audrey jog along a level path4 ,the deer in ,,cymbeline are only regarded as objects of prey1 ,the game's a-foot1 etc4--with ,jaques they are fine subjects to moralise upon at leisure1 under the shade of melancholy boughs4 ,we cannot take leave of this play1 which is a favourite with us1 without noticing some occasional touches of natural piety and morality4 ,we may allude here to the opening of the scene in which ,bellarius instructs the young princes to pay their orisons to heaven3 ----,see1 boys6 this gate ,instructs you how t' adore the ,heav'ns2 and bows you ,to morning's holy office4 ,guiderius4 ,hail1 ,heav'n6 ,arviragus4 ,hail1 ,heav'n6 ,bellarius4 ,now for our mountain-sport1 up to yon hill4 ,what a grace and unaffected spirit of piety breathes in this passage6 ,in like manner1 one of the brothers says to the other1 when about to perform the funeral rites to ,fidele1 ,nay1 ,cadwall1 we must lay his head to the east2 ,my ,father hath a reason for't-- --as if some allusion to the doctrines of the ,christian faith had been casually dropped in conversation by the old man1 and had been no farther inquired into4 ,shakspeare's morality is introduced in the same simple1 unobtrusive manner4 ,imogen will not let her companions stay away from the chase to attend her when sick1 and gives her reason for it-- ,stick to your journal course2 the breach of custom ,is breach of all6 ,when the ,queen attempts to disguise her motives for procuring the poison from ,cornelius1 by saying she means to try its effects on creatures not worth the hanging1 his answer conveys at once a tacit reproof of her hypocrisy1 and a useful lesson of humanity-- ----,your ,highness ,shall from this practice but make hard your heart4 ,,macbeth ,the poet's eye in a fine frenzy rolling ,doth glance from heaven to earth1 from earth to heaven2 ,and as imagination bodies forth ,the forms of things unknown1 the poet's pen ,turns them to shape1 and gives to airy nothing ,a local habitation and a name4 ,,macbeth and ,lear1 ,othello and ,hamlet1 are usually reckoned ,shakspeare's four principal tragedies4 ,lear stands first for the profound intensity of the passion2 ,macbeth for the wildness of the imagination and the rapidity of the action2 ,othello for the progressive interest and powerful alternations of feeling3 ,hamlet for the refined development of thought and sentiment4 ,if the force of genius shewn in each of these works is astonishing1 their variety is not less so4 ,they are like different creations of the same mind1 not one of which has the slightest reference lo the rest4 ,this distinctness and originality is indeed the necessary consequence of truth and nature4 ,shakspeare's genius alone appeared to possess the resources of nature4 ,he is your only tragedy-maker4 ,his plays have the force of things upon the mind4 ,what he represents is brought home to the bosom as a part of our experience1 implanted in the memory as if we had known the places1 persons1 and things of which he treats4 ,macbeth is like a record of a preternatural and tragical event4 ,it has the rugged severity of an old chronicle with all that the imagination of the poet can engraft upon traditional belief4 ,the castle of ,macbeth1 round which the air smells wooingly1 and where the temple-haunting martlet builds1 has a real subsistence in the mind2 the ,weird ,sisters meet us in person on the blasted heath2 the air-drawn dagger moves slowly before our eyes2 the gracious ,duncan1 the blood-boultered ,banquo stand before us2 all that passed through the mind of ,macbeth passes1 without the loss of a tittle1 through our's4 ,all that could actually take place1 and all that is only possible to be conceived1 what was said and what was done1 the workings of passion1 the spells of magic1 are brought before us with the same absolute truth and vividness4--,shakspeare excelled in the openings of his plays3 that of ,,macbeth is the most striking of any4 ,the wildness of the scenery1 the sudden shifting of the situations and characters1 the bustle1 the expectations excited1 are equally extraordinary4 ,from the first entrance of the ,witches and the description of them when they meet ,macbeth1 ----,what are these ,so wither'd and so wild in their attire4 ,that look not like the inhabitants of th' earth ,and yet are on't8 the mind is prepared for all that follows4 ,this tragedy is alike distinguished for the lofty imagination it displays1 and for the tumultuous vehemence of the action2 and the one is made the moving principle of the other4 ,the overwhelming pressure of preternatural agency urges on the tide of human passion with redoubled force4 ,macbeth himself appears driven along by the violence of his fate like a vessel drifting before a storm3 he reels to and fro like a drunken man2 he staggers under the weight of his own purposes and the suggestions of others2 he stands at bay with his situation2 and from the superstitious awe and breathless suspense into which the communications of the ,weird ,sisters throw him1 is hurried on with daring impatience to verify their predictions1 and with impious and bloody hand to tear aside the veil which hides the uncertainty of the future4 ,he is not equal to the struggle with fate and conscience4 ,he now bends up each corporal instrument to the terrible feat2 at other times his heart misgives him1 and he is cowed and abashed by his success4 ,the deed1 no less than the attempt1 confounds him4 ,his mind is assailed by the stings of remorse1 and full of preternatural solicitings4 ,his speeches and soliloquies are dark riddles on human life1 baffling solution1 and entangling him in their labyrinths4 ,in thought he is absent and perplexed1 sudden and desperate in act1 from a distrust of his own resolution4 ,his energy springs from the anxiety and agitation of his mind4 ,his blindly rushing forward on the objects of his ambition and revenge1 or his recoiling from them1 equally betrays the harassed state of his feelings1--,this part of his character is admirably set off by being brought in connection with that of ,lady ,macbeth1 whose obdurate strength of will and masculine firmness give her the ascendancy over her husband's faultering virtue4 ,she at once seizes on the opportunity that offers for the accomplishment of all their wished-for greatness1 and never flinches from her object till all is over4 ,the magnitude of her resolution almost covers the magnitude of her guilt4 ,she is a great bad woman1 whom we hate1 but whom we fear more than we hate4 ,she does not excite our loathing and abhorrence like ,regan and ,gonerill4 ,she is only wicked to gain a great end2 and is perhaps more distinguished by her commanding presence of mind and inexorable self-will1 which do not suffer her to be diverted from a bad purpose1 when once formed1 by weak and womanly regrets1 than by the hardness of her heart or want of natural affections4 ,the impression which her lofty determination of character makes on the mind of ,macbeth is well described where he exclaims1 ----,bring forth men children only2 ,for thy undaunted mettle should compose ,nothing but males6 ,nor do the pains she is at to screw his courage to the sticking-place1 the reproach to him1 not to be lost so poorly in himself1 the assurance that a little water clears them of this deed1 shew anything but her greater consistency in depravity4 ,her strong-nerved ambition furnishes ribs of steel to the sides of his intent2 and she is herself wound up to the execution of her baneful project with the same unshrinking fortitude in crime1 that in other circumstances she would probably have shewn patience in suffering4 ,the deliberate sacrifice of all other considerations to the gaining for their future days and nights sole sovereign sway and masterdom1 by the murder of ,duncan1 is gorgeously expressed in her invocation on hearing of his fatal entrance under her battlements3-- ----,come all you spirits ,that tend on mortal thoughts1 unsex me here3 ,and fill me1 from the crown to th' toe1 top-full ,of direst cruelty2 make thick my blood1 ,stop up the access and passage to remorse1 ,that no compunctious visitings of nature ,shake my fell purpose1 nor keep peace between ,the effect and it4 ,come to my woman's breasts1 ,and take my milk for gall1 you murthering ministers1 ,wherever in your sightless substances ,you wait on nature's mischief4 ,come1 thick night6 ,and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell1 ,that my keen knife see not the wound it makes1 ,nor heav'n peep through the blanket of the dark1 ,to cry1 hold1 hold6---- ,when she first hears that ,duncan comes there to sleep she is so overcome by the news1 which is beyond her utmost expectations1 that she answers the messenger1 ,thou'rt mad to say it3 and on receiving her husband's account of the predictions of the ,witches1 conscious of his instability of purpose1 and that her presence is necessary to goad him on to the consummation of his promised greatness1 she exclaims-- ----,hie thee hither1 ,that ,i may pour my spirits in thine ear1 ,and chastise with the valour of my tongue ,all that impedes thee from the golden round1 ,which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem ,to have thee crowned withal4 ,this swelling exultation and keen spirit of triumph1 this uncontroulable eagerness of anticipation1 which seems to dilate her form and take possession of all her faculties1 this solid1 substantial flesh and blood display of passion1 exhibit a striking contrast to the cold1 abstracted1 gratuitous1 servile malignity of the ,witches1 who are equally instrumental in urging ,macbeth to his fate for the mere love of mischief1 and from a disinterested delight in deformity and cruelty4 ,they are hags of mischief1 obscene panders to iniquity1 malicious from their impotence of enjoyment1 enamoured of destruction1 because they are themselves unreal1 abortive1 half-existences--who become sublime from their exemption from all human sympathies and contempt for all human affairs1 as ,lady ,macbeth does by the force of passion6 ,her fault seems to have been an excess of that strong principle of self-interest and family aggrandisement1 not amenable to the common feelings of compassion and justice1 which is so marked a feature in barbarous nations and times4 ,a passing reflection of this kind1 on the resemblance of the sleeping king to her father1 alone prevents her from slaying ,duncan with her own hand4 ,in speaking of the character of ,lady ,macbeth1 we ought not to pass over ,mrs4 ,siddons's manner of acting that part4 ,we can conceive of nothing grander4 ,it was something above nature4 ,it seemed almost as if a being of a superior order had dropped from a higher sphere to awe the world with the majesty of her appearance4 ,power was seated on her brow1 passion emanated from her breast as from a shrine2 she was tragedy personified4 ,in coming on in the sleeping-scene1 her eyes were open1 but their sense was shut4 ,she was like a person bewildered and unconscious of what she did4 ,her lips moved involuntarily--all her gestures were involuntary and mechanical4 ,she glided on and off the stage like an apparition4 ,to have seen her in that character was an event in every one's life1 not to be forgotten4 ,the dramatic beauty of the character of ,duncan1 which excites the respect and pity even of his murderers1 has been often pointed out4 ,it forms a picture of itself4 ,an instance of the author's power of giving a striking effect to a common reflection1 by the manner of introducing it1 occurs in a speech of ,duncan1 complaining of his having been deceived in his opinion of the ,thane of ,cawdor1 at the very moment that he is expressing the most unbounded confidence in the loyalty and services of ,macbeth4 ,there is no art ,to find the mind's construction in the face3 ,he was a gentleman1 on whom ,i built ,an absolute trust4 ,o worthiest cousin1 7addressing himself to ,macbeth47 ,the sin of my ,ingratitude e'en now ,was great upon me1 etc4 ,another passage to shew that ,shakspeare lost sight of nothing that could in any way give relief or heightening to his subject1 is the conversation which takes place between ,banquo and ,fleance immediately before the murder-scene of ,duncan4 ,banquo4 ,how goes the night1 boy8 ,fleance4 ,the moon is down3 ,i have not heard the clock4 ,banquo4 ,and she goes down at twelve4 ,fleance4 ,i take't1 'tis later1 ,sir4 ,banquo4 ,hold1 take my sword4 ,there's husbandry in heav'n1 ,their candles are all out4-- ,a heavy summons lies like lead upon me1 ,and yet ,i would not sleep3 ,merciful ,powers1 ,restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature ,gives way to in repose4 ,in like manner1 a fine idea is given of the gloomy coming on of evening1 just as ,banquo is going to be assassinated4 ,light thickens and the crow ,makes wing to the rooky wood4 99 99 99 99 ,now spurs the lated traveller apace ,to gain the timely inn4 ,,macbeth 7generally speaking7 is done upon a stronger and more systematic principle of contrast than any other of ,shakspeare's plays4 ,it moves upon the verge of an abyss1 and is a constant struggle between life and death4 ,the action is desperate and the reaction is dreadful4 ,it is a huddling together of fierce extremes1 a war of opposite natures which of them shall destroy the other4 ,there is nothing but what has a violent end or violent beginnings4 ,the lights and shades are laid on with a determined hand2 the transitions from triumph to despair1 from the height of terror to the repose of death1 are sudden and startling2 every passion brings in its fellow-contrary1 and the thoughts pitch and jostle against each other as in the dark4 ,the whole play is an unruly chaos of strange and forbidden things1 where the ground rocks under our feet4 ,shakspeare's genius here took its full swing1 and trod upon the farthest bounds of nature and passion4 ,this circumstance will account for the abruptness and violent antitheses of the style1 the throes and labour which run through the expression1 and from defects will turn them into beauties4 ,so fair and foul a day ,i have not seen1 etc4 ,such welcome and unwelcome news together4 ,men's lives are like the flowers in their caps1 dying or ere they sicken4 ,look like the innocent flower1 but be the serpent under it4 ,the scene before the castle-gate follows the appearance of the ,witches on the heath1 and is followed by a midnight murder4 ,duncan is cut off betimes by treason leagued with witchcraft1 and ,macduff is ripped untimely from his mother's womb to avenge his death4 ,macbeth1 after the death of ,banquo1 wishes for his presence in extravagant terms1 ,to him and all we thirst1 and when his ghost appears1 cries out1 ,avaunt and quit my sight1 and being gone1 he is himself again4 ,macbeth resolves to get rid of ,macduff1 that he may sleep in spite of thunder2 and cheers his wife on the doubtful intelligence of ,banquo's taking-off with the encouragement--,then be thou jocund3 ere the bat has flown his cloistered flight2 ere to black ,hecate's summons the shard-born beetle has rung night's yawning peal1 there shall be done--a deed of dreadful note4 ,in ,lady ,macbeth's speech ,had he not resembled my father as he slept1 ,i had done 't1 there is murder and filial piety together2 and in urging him to fulfil his vengeance against the defenceless king1 her thoughts spare the blood neither of infants nor old age4 ,the description of the ,witches is full of the same contradictory principle2 they rejoice when good kings bleed1 they are neither of the earth nor the air1 but both2 they should be women1 but their beards forbid it2 they take all the pains possible to lead ,macbeth on to the height of his ambition1 only to betray him in deeper consequence1 and after showing him all the pomp of their art1 discover their malignant delight in his disappointed hopes1 by that bitter taunt4 ,why stands ,macbeth thus amazedly8 ,we might multiply such instances every where4 ,the leading features in the character of ,macbeth are striking enough1 and they form what may be thought at first only a bold1 rude1 ,gothic outline4 ,by comparing it with other characters of the same author we shall perceive the absolute truth and identity which is observed in the midst of the giddy whirl and rapid career of events4 ,macbeth in ,shakspeare no more loses his identity of character in the fluctuations of fortune or the storm of passion1 than ,macbeth in himself would have lost the identity of his person4 ,thus he is as distinct a being from ,richard ,,iii4 as it is possible to imagine1 though these two characters in common hands1 and indeed in the hands of any other poet1 would have been a repetition of the same general idea1 more or less exaggerated4 ,for both are tyrants1 usurpers1 murderers1 both aspiring and ambitious1 both courageous1 cruel1 treacherous4 ,but ,richard is cruel from nature and constitution4 ,macbeth becomes so from accidental circumstances4 ,richard is from his birth deformed in body and mind1 and naturally incapable of good4 ,macbeth is full of the milk of human kindness1 is frank1 sociable1 generous4 ,he is tempted to the commission of guilt by golden opportunities1 by the instigations of his wife1 and by prophetic warnings4 ,fate and metaphysical aid conspire against his virtue and his loyalty4 ,richard on the contrary needs no prompter1 but wades through a series of crimes to the height of his ambition from the ungovernable violence of his temper and a reckless love of mischief4 ,he is never gay but in the prospect or in the success of his villainies3 ,macbeth is full of horror at the thoughts of the murder of ,duncan1 which he is with difficulty prevailed on to commit1 and of remorse after its perpetration4 ,richard has no mixture of common humanity in his composition1 no regard to kindred or posterity1 he owns no fellowship with others1 he is himself alone4 ,macbeth is not destitute of feelings of sympathy1 is accessible to pity1 is even made in some measure the dupe of his uxoriousness1 ranks the loss of friends1 of the cordial love of his followers1 and of his good name1 among the causes which have made him weary of life1 and regrets that he has ever seized the crown by unjust means1 since he cannot transmit it to his posterity-- ,for ,banquo's issue have ,i fil'd my mind-- ,for them the gracious ,duncan have ,i murther'd1 ,to make them kings1 the seed of ,banquo kings4 ,in the agitation of his mind1 he envies those whom he has sent to peace4 ,duncan is in his grave2 after life's fitful fever he sleeps well4--,it is true1 he becomes more callous as he plunges deeper in guilt1 direness is thus rendered familiar to his slaughterous thoughts1 and he in the end anticipates his wife in the boldness and bloodiness of his enterprises1 while she for want of the same stimulus of action1 is troubled with thick-coming fancies that rob her of her rest1 goes mad and dies4 ,macbeth endeavours to escape from reflection on his crimes by repelling their consequences1 and banishes remorse for the past by the meditation of future mischief4 ,this is not the principle of ,richard's cruelty1 which displays the wanton malice of a fiend as much as the frailty of human passion4 ,macbeth is goaded on to acts of violence and retaliation by necessity2 to ,richard1 blood is a pastime4--,there are other decisive differences inherent in the two characters4 ,richard may be regarded as a man of the world1 a plotting1 hardened knave1 wholly regardless of everything but his own ends1 and the means to secure them4--,not so ,macbeth4 ,the superstitions of the age1 the rude state of society1 the local scenery and customs1 all give a wildness and imaginary grandeur to his character4 ,from the strangeness of the events that surround him1 he is full of amazement and fear2 and stands in doubt between the world of reality and the world of fancy4 ,he sees sights not shewn to mortal eye1 and hears unearthly music4 ,all is tumult and disorder within and without his mind2 his purposes recoil upon himself1 are broken and disjointed2 he is the double thrall of his passions and his evil destiny4 ,richard is not a character either of imagination or pathos1 but of pure self-will4 ,there is no conflict of opposite feelings in his breast4 ,the apparitions which he sees only haunt him in his sleep2 nor does he live like ,macbeth in a waking dream4 ,macbeth has considerable energy and manliness of character2 but then he is subject to all the skyey influences4 ,he is sure of nothing but the present moment4 ,richard in the busy turbulence of his projects never loses his self-possession1 and makes use of every circumstance that happens as an instrument of his long-reaching designs4 ,in his last extremity we can only regard him as a wild beast taken in the toils3 while we never entirely lose our concern for ,macbeth2 and he calls back all our sympathy by that fine close of thoughtful melancholy1 ,my way of life is fallen into the sear1 ,the yellow leaf2 and that which should accompany old age1 ,as honour1 troops of friends1 ,i must not look to have2 ,but in their stead1 curses not loud but deep1 ,mouth-honour1 breath1 which the poor heart ,would fain deny1 and dare not4 ,we can conceive a common actor to play ,richard tolerably well2 we can conceive no one to play ,macbeth properly1 or to look like a man that had encountered the ,weird ,sisters4 ,all the actors that we have ever seen1 appear as if they had encountered them on the hoards of ,covent-garden or ,drury-lane1 but not on the heath at ,fores1 and as if they did not believe what they had seen4 ,the ,witches of ,,macbeth indeed are ridiculous on the modern stage1 and we doubt if the ,furies of schylus would be more respected4 ,the progress of manners and knowledge has an influence on the stage1 and will in time perhaps destroy both tragedy and comedy4 ,filch's picking pockets in the ,beggar's ,opera is not so good a jest as it used to be3 by the force of the police and of philosophy1 ,lillo's murders and the ghosts in ,shakspeare will become obsolete4 ,at last1 there will be nothing left1 good nor bad1 to be desired or dreaded1 on the theatre or in real life4--,a question has been started with respect to the originality of ,shakspeare's witches1 which has been well answered by ,mr4 ,lamb in his notes to the ,specimens of ,early ,dramatic ,poetry4 ,though some resemblance may be traced between the charms in ,,macbeth1 and the incantations in this play1 7,the ,witch of ,middleton7 which is supposed to have preceded it1 this coincidence will not detract much from the originality of ,shakspeare4 ,his ,witches are distinguished from the ,witches of ,middleton by essential differences4 ,these are creatures to whom man or woman plotting some dire mischief might resort for occasional consultation4 ,those originate deeds of blood1 and begin bad impulses to men4 ,from the moment that their eyes first meet with ,macbeth's1 he is spell-bound4 ,that meeting sways his destiny4 ,he can never break the fascination4 ,these ,witches can hurt the body2 those have power over the soul4--,hecate in ,middleton has a son1 a low buffoon3 the hags of ,shakspeare have neither child of their own1 nor seem to be descended from any parent4 ,they are foul anomalies1 of whom we know not whence they are sprung1 nor whether they have beginning or ending4 ,as they are without human passions1 so they seem to be without human relations4 ,they come with thunder and lightning1 and vanish to airy music4 ,this is all we know of them4--,except ,hecate1 they have no names1 which heightens their mysteriousness4 ,the names1 and some of the properties which ,middleton has given to his hags1 excite smiles4 ,the ,weird ,sisters are serious things4 ,their presence cannot co-exist with mirth4 ,but1 in a lesser degree1 the ,witches of ,middleton are fine creations4 ,their power too is1 in some measure1 over the mind4 ,they raise jars1 jealousies1 strifes1 like a thick scurf o'er life4 ,iago ,the character of ,iago is one of the supererogations of ,shakspeare's genius4 ,some persons1 more nice than wise1 have thought this whole character unnatural1 because his villainy is without a sufficient motive4 ,shakspeare1 who was as good a philosopher as he was a poet1 thought otherwise4 ,he knew that the love of power1 which is another name for the love of mischief1 is natural to man4 ,he would know this as well or better than if it had been demonstrated to him by a logical diagram1 merely from seeing children paddle in the dirt or kill flies for sport4 ,iago in fact belongs to a class of character1 common to ,shakspeare and at the same time peculiar to him2 whose heads are as acute and active as their hearts are hard and callous4 ,iago is to be sure an extreme instance of the kind2 that is to say1 of diseased intellectual activity1 with the most perfect indifference to moral good or evil1 or rather with a decided preference of the latter1 because it falls more readily in with his favourite propensity1 gives greater zest to his thoughts and scope to his actions4 ,he is quite or nearly as indifferent to his own fate as to that of others2 he runs all risks for a trifling and doubtful advantage2 and is himself the dupe and victim of his ruling passion--an insatiable craving after action of the most difficult and dangerous kind4 ,our ancient is a philosopher1 who fancies that a lie that kills has more point in it than an alliteration or an antithesis2 who thinks a fatal experiment on the peace of a family a better thing than watching the palpitations in the heart of a flea in a microscope2 who plots the ruin of his friends as an exercise for his ingenuity1 and stabs men in the dark to prevent ennui4 ,his gaiety1 such as it is1 arises from the success of his treachery2 his ease from the torture he has inflicted on others4 ,he is an amateur of tragedy in real life2 and instead of employing his invention on imaginary characters1 or long-forgotten incidents1 he takes the bolder and more desperate course of getting up his plot at home1 casts the principal parts among his nearest friends and connections1 and rehearses it in downright earnest1 with steady nerves and unabated resolution4 ,we will just give an illustration or two4 ,one of his most characteristic speeches is that immediately after the marriage of ,othello4 ,roderigo4 ,what a full fortune does the thick lips owe4 ,if he can carry her thus6 ,iago4 ,call up her father3 ,rouse him 7,othello7 make after him1 poison his delight1 ,proclaim him in the streets1 incense her kinsmen1 ,and tho' he in a fertile climate dwell1 ,plague him with flies3 tho' that his joy be joy1 ,yet throw such changes of vexation on it1 ,as it may lose some colour4 ,in the next passage1 his imagination runs riot in the mischief he is plotting1 and breaks out into the wildness and impetuosity of real enthusiasm4 ,roderigo4 ,here is her father's house3 ,i'll call aloud4 ,iago4 ,do1 with like timourous accent and dire yell ,as when1 by night and negligence1 the fire ,is spied in populous cities4 ,one of his most favourite topics1 on which he is rich indeed1 and in descanting on which his spleen serves him for a ,muse1 is the disproportionate match between ,desdemona and the ,moor4 ,this is a clue to the character of the lady which he is by no means ready to part with4 ,it is brought forward in the first scene1 and he recurs to it1 when in answer to his insinuations against ,desdemona1 ,roderigo says1 ,i cannot believe that in her--she's full of most blest conditions4 ,iago4 ,bless'd fig's end4 ,the wine she drinks is made of grapes4 ,if she had been blest1 she would never have married the ,moor4 ,and again with still more spirit and fatal effect afterwards1 when he turns this very suggestion arising in ,othello's own breast to her prejudice4 ,othello4 ,and yet how nature erring from itself-- ,iago4 ,ay1 there's the point2--as to be bold with you1 ,not to affect many proposed matches ,of her own clime1 complexion1 and degree1 etc4 ,this is probing to the quick4 ,iago here turns the character of poor ,desdemona1 as it were1 inside out4 ,it is certain that nothing but the genius of ,shakspeare could have preserved the entire interest and delicacy of the part1 and have even drawn an additional elegance and dignity from the peculiar circumstances in which she is placed4--,the habitual licentiousness of ,iago's conversation is not to be traced to the pleasure he takes in gross or lascivious images1 but to his desire of finding out the worst side of everything1 and of proving himself an over-match for appearances4 ,he has none of the milk of human kindness in his composition4 ,his imagination rejects everything that has not a strong infusion of the most unpalatable ingredients2 his mind digests only poisons4 ,virtue or goodness or whatever has the least relish of salvation in it1 is1 to his depraved appetite1 sickly and insipid3 and he even resents the good opinion entertained of his own integrity1 as if it were an affront cast on the masculine sense and spirit of his character4 ,thus at the meeting between ,othello and ,desdemona1 he exclaims--,oh1 you are well tuned now3 but ,i'll set down the pegs that make this music1 as honest as ,i am--his character of bonhommie not sitting at all easy upon him4 ,in the scenes1 where he tries to work ,othello to his purpose1 he is proportionably guarded1 insidious1 dark1 and deliberate4 ,we believe nothing ever came up to the profound dissimulation and dextrous artifice of the well-known dialogue in the third act1 where he first enters upon the execution of his design4 ,iago4 ,my noble lord4 ,othello4 ,what dost thou say1 ,iago8 ,iago4 ,did ,michael ,cassio1 ,when you woo'd my lady1 know of your love8 ,othello4 ,he did from first to last4 ,why dost thou ask8 ,iago4 ,but for a satisfaction of my thought1 ,no further harm4 ,othello4 ,why of thy thought1 ,iago8 ,iago4 ,i did not think he had been acquainted with it4 ,othello4 ,o yes1 and went between us very oft-- ,iago4 ,indeed6 ,othello4 ,indeed8 ,ay1 indeed4 ,discern'st thou aught of that8 ,is he not honest8 ,iago4 ,honest1 my lord8 ,othello4 ,honest8 ,ay1 honest4 ,iago4 ,my lord1 for aught ,i know4 ,othello4 ,what do'st thou think8 ,iago4 ,think1 my lord6 ,othello4 ,think1 my lord6 ,alas1 thou echo'st me1 ,as if there was some monster in thy thought ,too hideous to be shewn4-- ,the stops and breaks1 the deep workings of treachery under the mask of love and honesty1 the anxious watchfulness1 the cool earnestness1 and if we may so say1 the passion of hypocrisy1 marked in every line1 receive their last finishing in that inconceivable burst of pretended indignation at ,othello's doubts of his sincerity4 ,o grace6 ,o ,heaven forgive me6 ,are you a man8 ,have you a soul or sense8 ,god be wi' you3 take mine office4 ,o wretched fool1 ,that lov'st to make thine honesty a vice6 ,ob monstrous world6 ,take note1 take note1 ,o world6 ,to be direct and honest1 is not safe4 ,i thank you for this profit1 and from hence ,i'll love no friend1 since love breeds such offence4 ,if ,iago is detestable enough when he has business on his hands and all his engines at work1 he is still worse when he has nothing to do1 and we only see into the hollowness of his heart4 ,his indifference when ,othello falls into a swoon1 is perfectly diabolical4 ,iago4 ,how is it1 ,general8 ,have you not hurt your head8 ,othello4 ,do'st thou mock me8 ,iago4 ,i mock you not1 by ,heaven1 etc4 ,the part indeed would hardly be tolerated1 even as a foil to the virtue and generosity of the other characters in the play1 but for its indefatigable industry and inexhaustible resources1 which divert the attention of the spectator 7as well as his own7 from the end he has in view to the means by which it must be accomplished4--,edmund the ,bastard in ,lear is something of the same character1 placed in less prominent circumstances4 ,zanga is a vulgar caricature of it4 ,,hamlet ,this is that ,hamlet the ,dane1 whom we read of in our youth1 and whom we may be said almost to remember in our after-years2 he who made that famous soliloquy on life1 who gave the advice to the players1 who thought this goodly frame1 the earth1 a steril promontory1 and this brave o'er-hanging firmament1 the air1 this majestical roof fretted with golden fire1 a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours2 whom man delighted not1 nor woman neither2 he who talked with the grave-diggers1 and moralised on ,yorick's skull2 the school-fellow of ,rosencrans and ,guildenstern at ,wittenberg2 the friend of ,horatio2 the lover of ,ophelia2 he that was mad and sent to ,england2 the slow avenger of his father's death2 who lived at the court of ,horwendillus five hundred years before we were born1 but all whose thoughts we seem to know as well as we do our own1 because we have read them in ,shakspeare4 ,hamlet is a name2 his speeches and sayings but the idle coinage of the poet's brain4 ,what then1 are they not real8 ,they are as real as our own thoughts4 ,their reality is in the reader's mind4 ,it is we who are ,hamlet4 ,this play has a prophetic truth1 which is above that of history4 ,whoever has become thoughtful and melancholy through his own mishaps or those of others2 whoever has borne about with him the clouded brow of reflection1 and thought himself too much i' th' sun2 whoever has seen the golden lamp of day dimmed by envious mists rising in his own breast1 and could find in the world before him only a dull blank with nothing left remarkable in it2 whoever has known the pangs of despised love1 the insolence of office1 or the spurns which patient merit of the unworthy takes2 he who has felt his mind sink within him1 and sadness cling to his heart like a malady1 who has had his hopes blighted and his youth staggered by the apparitions of strange things2 who cannot be well at ease1 while he sees evil hovering near him like a spectre2 whose powers of action have been eaten up by thought1 he to whom the universe seems infinite1 and himself nothing2 whose bitterness of soul makes him careless of consequences1 and who goes to a play as his best resource to shove off1 to a second remove1 the evils of life by a mock representation of them--this is the true ,hamlet4 ,we have been so used to this tragedy that we hardly know how to criticise it any more than we should know how to describe our own faces4 ,but we must make such observations as we can4 ,it is the one of ,shakspeare's plays that we think of the oftenest1 because it abounds most in striking reflections on human life1 and because the distresses of ,hamlet are transferred1 by the turn of his mind1 to the general account of humanity4 ,whatever happens to him we apply to ourselves1 because he applies it so himself as a means of general reasoning4 ,he is a great moraliser2 and what makes him worth attending to is1 that he moralises on his own feelings and experience4 ,he is not a common-place pedant4 ,if ,lear is distinguished by the greatest depth of passion1 ,,hamlet is the most remarkable for the ingenuity1 originality1 and unstudied development of character4 ,shakspeare had more magnanimity than any other poet1 and he has shewn more of it in this play than in any other4 ,there is no attempt to force an interest3 everything is left for time and circumstances to unfold4 ,the attention is excited without effort1 the incidents succeed each other as matters of course1 the characters think and speak and act just as they might do1 if left entirely to themselves4 ,there is no set purpose1 no straining at a point4 ,the observations are suggested by the passing scene--the gusts of passion come and go like sounds of music borne on the wind4 ,the whole play is an exact transcript of what might be supposed to have taken place at the court of ,denmark1 at the remote period of time fixed upon1 before the modern refinements in morals and manners were heard of4 ,it would have been interesting enough to have been admitted as a by-stander in such a scene1 at such a time1 to have heard and witnessed something of what was going on4 ,but here we are more than spectators4 ,we have not only the outward pageants and the signs of grief2 but we have that within which passes shew4 ,we read the thoughts of the heart1 we catch the passions living as they rise4 ,other dramatic writers give us very fine versions and paraphrases of nature2 but ,shakspeare1 together with his own comments1 gives us the original text1 that we may judge for ourselves4 ,this is a very great advantage4 ,the character of ,hamlet stands quite by itself4 ,it is not a character marked by strength of will or even of passion1 but by refinement of thought and sentiment4 ,hamlet is as little of the hero as a man can well be3 but he is a young and princely novice1 full of high enthusiasm and quick sensibility--the sport of circumstances1 questioning with fortune and refining on his own feelings1 and forced from the natural bias of his disposition by the strangeness of his situation4 ,he seems incapable of deliberate action1 and is only hurried into extremities on the spur of the occasion1 when he has no time to reflect1 as in the scene where he kills ,polonius1 and again1 where he alters the letters which ,rosencrans and ,guildenstern are taking with them to ,england1 purporting his death4 ,at other times1 when he is most bound to act1 he remains puzzled1 undecided1 and sceptical1 dallies with his purposes1 till the occasion is lost1 and finds out some pretence to relapse into indolence and thoughtfulness again4 ,for this reason he refuses to kill the ,king when he is at his prayers1 and by a refinement in malice1 which is in truth only an excuse for his own want of resolution1 defers his revenge to a more fatal opportunity1 when he shall be engaged in some act that has no relish of salvation in it4 ,he kneels and prays4 ,and now ,i'll do't1 and so he goes to heaven1 ,and so am ,i reveng'd3 that would be scann'd4 ,he kill'd my father1 and for that1 ,i1 his sole son1 send him to heaven4 ,why this is reward1 not revenge4 ,up sword and know thou a more horrid time1 ,when he is drunk1 asleep1 or in a rage4 ,he is the prince of philosophical speculators2 and because he cannot have his revenge perfect1 according to the most refined idea his wish can form1 he declines it altogether4 ,so he scruples to trust the suggestions of the ghost1 contrives the scene of the play to have surer proof of his uncle's guilt1 and then rests satisfied with this confirmation of his suspicions1 and the success of his experiment1 instead of acting upon it4 ,yet he is sensible of his own weakness1 taxes himself with it1 and tries to reason himself out of it4 ,how all occasions do inform against me4 ,and spur my dull revenge6 ,what is a man1 ,if his chief good and market of his time ,be but to sleep and feed8 ,a beast2 no more4 ,sure he that made us with such large discourse1 ,looking before and after1 gave us not ,that capability and god-like reason ,to rust in us unus'd4 ,now whether it be ,bestial oblivion1 or some craven scruple ,of thinking too precisely on th' event1-- ,a thought which quarter'd1 hath but one part wisdom1 ,and ever three parts coward2--,i do not know ,why yet ,i live to say1 this thing's to do2 ,sith ,i have cause1 and will1 and strength1 and means ,to do it4 ,examples gross as earth exhort me3 ,witness this army of such mass and charge1 ,led by a delicate and tender prince1 ,whose spirit with divine ambition puff'd1 ,makes mouths at the invisible event1 ,exposing what is mortal and unsure ,to all that fortune1 death1 and danger dare1 ,even for an egg-shell4 ',tis not to be great ,never to stir without great argument2 ,but greatly to find quarrel in a straw1 ,when honour's at the stake4 ,how stand ,i then1 ,that have a father kill'd1 a mother stain'd1 ,excitements of my reason and my blood1 ,and let all sleep1 while to my shame ,i see ,the imminent death of twenty thousand men1 ,that for a fantasy and trick of fame1 ,go to their graves like beds1 fight for a plot ,whereon the numbers cannot try the cause1 ,which is not tomb enough and continent ,to hide the slain8--,o1 from this time forth1 ,my thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth4 ,still he does nothing2 and this very speculation on his own infirmity only affords him another occasion for indulging it4 ,it is not from any want of attachment to his father or of abhorrence of his murder that ,hamlet is thus dilatory1 but it is more to his taste to indulge his imagination in reflecting upon the enormity of the crime and refining on his schemes of vengeance1 than to put them into immediate practice4 ,his ruling passion is to think1 not to act3 and any vague pretext that flatters this propensity instantly diverts him from his previous purposes4 ,the moral perfection of this character has been called in question1 we think1 by those who did not understand it4 ,it is more interesting than according to rules2 amiable1 though not faultless4 ,the ethical delineations of that noble and liberal casuist 7as ,shakspeare has been well called7 do not exhibit the drab-coloured quakerism of morality4 ,his plays are not copied either from ,the ,whole ,duty of ,man1 or from ,the ,academy of ,compliments6 ,we confess we are a little shocked at the want of refinement in those who are shocked at the want of refinement in ,hamlet4 ,the neglect of punctilious exactness in his behaviour either partakes of the licence of the time1 or else belongs to the very excess of intellectual refinement in the character1 which makes the common rules of life1 as well as his own purposes1 sit loose upon him4 ,he may be said to be amenable only to the tribunal of his own thoughts1 and is too much taken up with the airy world of contemplation to lay as much stress as he ought on the practical consequences of things4 ,his habitual principles of action are unhinged and out of joint with the time4 ,his conduct to ,ophelia is quite natural in his circumstances4 ,it is that of assumed severity only4 ,it is the effect of disappointed hope1 of bitter regrets1 of affection suspended1 not obliterated1 by the distractions of the scene around him6 ,amidst the natural and preternatural horrors of his situation1 he might be excused in delicacy from carrying on a regular courtship4 ,when his father's spirit was in arms1 it was not a time for the son to make love in4 ,he could neither marry ,ophelia1 nor wound her mind by explaining the cause of his alienation1 which he durst hardly trust himself to think of4 ,it would have taken him years to have come to a direct explanation on the point4 ,in the harassed state of his mind1 he could not have done much otherwise than he did4 ,his conduct does not contradict what he says when he sees her funeral1 ,i loved ,ophelia3 forty thousand brothers ,could not with all their quantity of love ,make up my sum4 ,nothing can be more affecting or beautiful than the ,queen's apostrophe to ,ophelia on throwing the flowers into the grave4 ----,sweets to the sweet1 farewell4 ,i hop'd thou should'st have been my ,hamlet's wife3 ,i thought thy bride-bed to have deck'd1 sweet maid1 ,and not have strew'd thy grave4 ,shakspeare was thoroughly a master of the mixed motives of human character1 and he here shews us the ,queen1 who was so criminal in some respects1 not without sensibility and affection in other relations of life4--,ophelia is a character almost too exquisitely touching to be dwelt upon4 ,oh rose of ,may1 oh flower too soon faded6 ,her love1 her madness1 her death1 are described with the truest touches of tenderness and pathos4 ,it is a character which nobody but ,shakspeare could have drawn in the way that he has done1 and to the conception of which there is not even the smallest approach1 except in some of the old romantic ballads4#abg ,her brother1 ,laertes1 is a character we do not like so well3 he is too hot and choleric1 and somewhat rhodomontade4 ,polonius is a perfect character in its kind2 nor is there any foundation for the objections which have been made to the consistency of this part4 ,it is said that he acts very foolishly and talks very sensibly4 ,there is no inconsistency in that4 ,again1 that he talks wisely at one time and foolishly at another2 that his advice to ,laertes is very excellent1 and his advice to the ,king and ,queen on the subject of ,hamlet's madness very ridiculous4 ,but he gives the one as a father1 and is sincere in it2 he gives the other as a mere courtier1 a busy-body1 and is accordingly officious1 garrulous1 and impertinent4 ,in short1 ,shakspeare has been accused of inconsistency in this and other characters1 only because he has kept up the distinction which there is in nature1 between the understandings and the moral habits of men1 between the absurdity of their ideas and the absurdity of their motives4 ,polonius is not a fool1 but he makes himself so4 ,his folly1 whether in his actions or speeches1 comes under the head of impropriety of intention4 ,we do not like to see our author's plays acted1 and least of all1 ,,hamlet4 ,there is no play that suffers so much in being transferred to the stage4 ,hamlet himself seems hardly capable of being acted4 ,mr4 ,kemble unavoidably fails in this character from a want of ease and variety4 ,the character of ,hamlet is made up of undulating lines2 it has the yielding flexibility of a wave o' th' sea4 ,mr4 ,kemble plays it like a man in armour1 with a determined inveteracy of purpose1 in one undeviating straight line1 which is as remote from the natural grace and refined susceptibility of the character1 as the sharp angles and abrupt starts which ,mr4 ,kean introduces into the part4 ,mr4 ,kean's ,hamlet is as much too splenetic and rash as ,mr4 ,kemble's is too deliberate and formal4 ,his manner is too strong and pointed4 ,he throws a severity1 approaching to virulence1 into the common observations and answers4 ,there is nothing of this in ,hamlet4 ,he is1 as it were1 wrapped up in his reflections1 and only thinks aloud4 ,there should therefore be no attempt to impress what he says upon others by a studied exaggeration of emphasis or manner2 no talking at his hearers4 ,there should be as much of the gentleman and scholar as possible infused into the part1 and as little of the actor4 ,a pensive air of sadness should sit reluctantly upon his brow1 but no appearance of fixed and sullen gloom4 ,he is full of weakness and melancholy1 but there is no harshness in his nature4 ,he is the most amiable of misanthropes4 ,,romeo ,,and ,,juliet ,,romeo ,,and ,,juliet is the only tragedy which ,shakspeare has written entirely on a love-story4 ,it is supposed to have been his first play1 and it deserves to stand in that proud rank4 ,there is the buoyant spirit of youth in every line1 in the rapturous intoxication of hope1 and in the bitterness of despair4 ,it has been said of ,,romeo ,,and ,,juliet by a great critic1 that whatever is most intoxicating in the odour of a southern spring1 languishing in the song of the nightingale1 or voluptuous in the first opening of the rose1 is to be found in this poem4 ,the description is true2 and yet it does not answer to our idea of the play4 ,for if it has the sweetness of the rose1 it has its freshness too2 if it has the languor of the nightingale's song1 it has also its giddy transport2 if it has the softness of a southern spring1 it is as glowing and as bright4 ,there is nothing of a sickly and sentimental cast4 ,romeo and ,juliet are in love1 but they are not love-sick4 ,everything speaks the very soul of pleasure1 the high and healthy pulse of the passions3 the heart beats1 the blood circulates and mantles throughout4 ,their courtship is not an insipid interchange of sentiments lip-deep1 learnt at second-hand from poems and plays1--made up of beauties of the most shadowy kind1 of fancies wan that hang the pensive head1 of evanescent smiles1 and sighs that breathe not1 of delicacy that shrinks from the touch1 and feebleness that scarce supports itself1 an elaborate vacuity of thought1 and an artificial dearth of sense1 spirit1 truth1 and nature6 ,it is the reverse of all this4 ,it is ,shakspeare all over1 and ,shakspeare when he was young4 ,,midsummer ,,night',s ,,dream ,puck1 or ,robin ,goodfellow1 is the leader of the fairy band4 ,he is the ,ariel of the ,,midsummer ,,night',s ,,dream2 and yet as unlike as can be to the ,ariel in the ,tempest4 ,no other poet could have made two such different characters out of the same fanciful materials and situations4 ,ariel is a minister of retribution1 who is touched with the sense of pity at the woes he inflicts4 ,puck is a mad-cap sprite1 full of wantonness and mischief1 who laughs at those whom he misleads--,lord1 what fools these mortals be6 ,ariel cleaves the air1 and executes his mission with the zeal of a winged messenger2 ,puck is borne along on his fairy errand like the light and glittering gossamer before the breeze4 ,he is1 indeed1 a most ,epicurean little gentleman1 dealing in quaint devices1 and faring in dainty delights4 ,prospero and his world of spirits are a set of moralists3 but with ,oberon and his fairies we are launched at once into the empire of the butterflies4 ,how beautifully is this race of beings contrasted with the men and women actors in the scene1 by a single epithet which ,titania gives to the latter1 the human mortals6 ,it is astonishing that ,shakspeare should be considered1 not only by foreigners1 but by many of our own critics1 as a gloomy and heavy writer1 who painted nothing but gorgons and hydras1 and chimeras dire4 ,his subtlety exceeds that of all other dramatic writers1 insomuch that a celebrated person of the present day said that he regarded him rather as a metaphysician than a poet4 ,his delicacy and sportive gaiety are infinite4 ,in the ,,midsummer ,,night',s ,,dream alone1 we should imagine1 there is more sweetness and beauty of description than in the whole range of ,french poetry put together4 ,what we mean is this1 that we will produce out of that single play ten passages1 to which we do not think any ten passages in the works of the ,french poets can be opposed1 displaying equal fancy and imagery4 ,shall we mention the remonstrance of ,helena to ,hermia1 or ,titania's description of her fairy train1 or her disputes with ,oberon about the ,indian boy1 or ,puck's account of himself and his employments1 or the ,fairy ,queen's exhortation to the elves to pay due attendance upon her favourite1 ,bottom2 or ,hippolita's description of a chace1 or ,theseus's answer8 ,the two last are as heroical and spirited as the others are full of luscious tenderness4 ,the reading of this play is like wandering in a grove by moonlight3 the descriptions breathe a sweetness like odours thrown from beds of flowers4444 ,the ,,midsummer ,,night',s ,,dream1 when acted1 is converted from a delightful fiction into a dull pantomime4 ,all that is finest in the play is lost in the representation4 ,the spectacle was grand2 but the spirit was evaporated1 the genius was fled4--,poetry and the stage do not agree well together4 ,the attempt to reconcile them in this instance fails not only of effect1 but of decorum4 ,the ideal can have no place upon the stage1 which is a picture without perspective3 everything there is in the fore-ground4 ,that which was merely an airy shape1 a dream1 a passing thought1 immediately becomes an unmanageable reality4 ,where all is left to the imagination 7as is the case in reading7 every circumstance1 near or remote1 has an equal chance of being kept in mind1 and tells accordingly to the mixed impression of all that has been suggested4 ,but the imagination cannot sufficiently qualify the actual impressions of the senses4 ,any offence given to the eye is not to be got rid of by explanation4 ,thus ,bottom's head in the play is a fantastic illusion1 produced by magic spells3 on the stage it is an ass's head1 and nothing more2 certainly a very strange costume for a gentleman to appear in4 ,fancy cannot be embodied any more than a simile can be painted2 and it is as idle to attempt it as to personate ,wall or ,moonshine4 ,fairies are not incredible1 but fairies six feet high are so4 ,monsters are not shocking1 if they are seen at a proper distance4 ,when ghosts appear at mid-day1 when apparitions stalk along ,cheapside1 then may the ,,midsummer ,,night',s ,,dream be represented without injury at ,covent-garden or at ,drury-lane4 ,the boards of a theatre and the regions of fancy are not the same thing4 ,,falstaff ,if ,shakspeare's fondness for the ludicrous sometimes led to faults in his tragedies 7which was not often the case7 he has made us amends by the character of ,falstaff4 ,this is perhaps the most substantial comic character that ever was invented4 ,sir ,john carries a most portly presence in the mind's eye2 and in him1 not to speak it profanely1 we behold the fulness of the spirit of wit and humour bodily4 ,we are as well acquainted with his person as his mind1 and his jokes come upon us with double force and relish from the quantity of flesh through which they make their way1 as he shakes his fat sides with laughter1 or lards the lean earth as he walks along4 ,other comic characters seem1 if we approach and handle them1 to resolve themselves into air1 into thin air2 but this is embodied and palpable to the grossest apprehension3 it lies three fingers deep upon the ribs1 it plays about the lungs and the diaphragm with all the force of animal enjoyment4 ,his body is like a good estate to his mind1 from which he receives rents and revenues of profit and pleasure in kind1 according to its extent1 and the richness of the soil4 ,wit is often a meagre substitute for pleasurable sensation2 an effusion of spleen and petty spite at the comforts of others1 from feeling none in itself4 ,falstaff's wit is an emanation of a fine constitution2 an exuberance of good-humour and good-nature2 an overflowing of his love of laughter and good-fellowship2 a giving vent to his heart's ease1 and over-contentment with himself and others4 ,he would not be in character1 if he were not so fat as he is2 for there is the greatest keeping in the boundless luxury of his imagination and the pampered self-indulgence of his physical appetites4 ,he manures and nourishes his mind with jests1 as he does his body with sack and sugar4 ,he carves out his jokes1 as he would a capon or a haunch of venison1 where there is cut and come again2 and pours out upon them the oil of gladness4 ,his tongue drops fatness1 and in the chambers of his brain it snows of meat and drink4 ,he keeps up perpetual holiday and open house1 and we live with him in a round of invitations to a rump and dozen4--,yet we are not to suppose that he was a mere sensualist4 ,all this is as much in imagination as in reality4 ,his sensuality does not engross and stupify his other faculties1 but ascends me into the brain1 clears away all the dull1 crude vapours that environ it1 and makes it full of nimble1 fiery1 and delectable shapes4 ,his imagination keeps up the ball after his senses have done with it4 ,he seems to have even a greater enjoyment of the freedom from restraint1 of good cheer1 of his ease1 of his vanity1 in the ideal exaggerated description which he gives of them1 than in fact4 ,he never fails to enrich his discourse with allusions to eating and drinking1 but we never see him at table4 ,he carries his own larder about with him1 and he is himself a tun of man4 ,his pulling out the bottle in the field of battle is a joke to shew his contempt for glory accompanied with danger1 his systematic adherence to his ,epicurean philosophy in the most trying circumstances4 ,again1 such is his deliberate exaggeration of his own vices1 that it does not seem quite certain whether the account of his hostess's bill1 found in his pocket1 with such an out-of-the-way charge for capons and sack with only one halfpenny-worth of bread1 was not put there by himself as a trick to humour the jest upon his favourite propensities1 and as a conscious caricature of himself4 ,he is represented as a liar1 a braggart1 a coward1 a glutton1 etc4 and yet we are not offended but delighted with him2 for he is all these as much to amuse others as to gratify himself4 ,he openly assumes all these characters to shew the humourous part of them4 ,the unrestrained indulgence of his own ease1 appetites1 and convenience1 has neither malice nor hypocrisy in it4 ,in a word1 he is an actor in himself almost as much as upon the stage1 and we no more object to the character of ,falstaff in a moral point of view than we should think of bringing an excellent comedian1 who should represent him to the life1 before one of the police offices4 ,we only consider the number of pleasant lights in which he puts certain foibles 7the more pleasant as they are opposed to the received rules and necessary restraints of society7 and do not trouble ourselves about the consequences resulting from them1 for no mischievous consequences do result4 ,sir ,john is old as well as fat1 which gives a melancholy retrospective tinge to the character2 and by the disparity between his inclinations and his capacity for enjoyment1 makes it still more ludicrous and fantastical4 ,the secret of ,falstaff's wit is for the most part a masterly presence of mind1 an absolute self-possession1 which nothing can disturb4 ,his repartees are involuntary suggestions of his self-love2 instinctive evasions of everything that threatens to interrupt the career of his triumphant jollity and self-complacency4 ,his very size floats him out of all his difficulties in a sea of rich conceits2 and he turns round on the pivot of his convenience1 with every occasion and at a moment's warning4 ,his natural repugnance to every unpleasant thought or circumstance1 of itself makes light of objections1 and provokes the most extravagant and licentious answers in his own justification4 ,his indifference to truth puts no check upon his invention1 and the more improbable and unexpected his contrivances are1 the more happily does he seem to be delivered of them1 the anticipation of their effect acting as a stimulus to the gaiety of his fancy4 ,the success of one adventurous sally gives him spirits to undertake another2 he deals always in round numbers1 and his exaggerations and excuses are open1 palpable1 monstrous as the father that begets them4 ,his dissolute carelessness of what he says discovers itself in the first dialogue with the ,prince4 ,falstaff4 ,by the lord1 thou say'st true1 lad2 and is not mine hostess of the tavern a most sweet wench8 ,p4 ,henry4 ,as the honey of ,hibla1 my old lad of the castle2 and is not a buff-jerkin a most sweet robe of durance8 ,falstaff4 ,how now1 how now1 mad wag1 what in thy quips and thy quiddities8 what a plague have ,i to do with a buff-jerkin8 ,p4 ,henry4 ,why1 what a pox have ,i to do with mine hostess of the tavern8 ,in the same scene he afterwards affects melancholy1 from pure satisfaction of heart1 and professes reform1 because it is the farthest thing in the world from his thoughts4 ,he has no qualms of conscience1 and therefore would as soon talk of them as of anything else when the humour takes him4 ,falstaff4 ,but ,hal1 ,i pr'ythee trouble me no more with vanity4 ,i would to ,god thou and ,i knew where a commodity of good names were to be bought3 an old lord of council rated me the other day in the street about you1 sir2 but ,i mark'd him not1 and yet he talked very wisely1 and in the street too4 ,p4 ,henry4 ,thou didst well1 for wisdom cries out in the street1 and no man regards it4 ,falsfaff4 ,o1 thou hast damnable iteration1 and art indeed able to corrupt a saint4 ,thou hast done much harm unto me1 ,hal2 ,god forgive thee for it4 ,before ,i knew thee1 ,hal1 ,i knew nothing1 and now ,i am1 if a man should speak truly1 little better than one of the wicked4 ,i must give over this life1 and ,i will give it over1 by the ,lord2 an ,i do not1 ,i am a villain4 ,i'll be damned for never a king's son in ,christendom4 ,p4 ,henry4 ,where shall we take a purse to-morrow1 ,jack8 ,falstaff4 ,where thou wilt1 lad1 ,i'll make one2 an ,i do not1 call me villain1 and baffle me4 ,p4 ,henry4 ,i see good amendment of life in thee1 from praying to purse-taking4 ,falstaff4 ,why1 ,hal1 'tis my vocation1 ,hal4 ',tis no sin for a man to labour in his vocation4 ,of the other prominent passages1 his account of his pretended resistance to the robbers1 who grew from four men in buckram into eleven as the imagination of his own valour increased with his relating it1 his getting off when the truth is discovered by pretending he knew the ,prince1 the scene in which in the person of the old king he lectures the prince and gives himself a good character1 the soliloquy on honour1 and description of his new-raised recruits1 his meeting with the chief justice1 his abuse of the ,prince and ,poins1 who overhear him1 to ,doll ,tearsheet1 his reconciliation with ,mrs4 ,quickly who has arrested him for an old debt1 and whom he persuades to pawn her plate to lend him ten pounds more1 and the scenes with ,shallow and ,silence1 are all inimitable4 ,of all of them1 the scene in which ,falstaff plays the part1 first1 of the ,king1 and then of ,prince ,henry1 is the one that has been the most often quoted4 ,we must quote it once more in illustration of our remarks4 ,falstaff4 ,harry1 ,i do not only marvel where thou spendest thy time1 but also how thou art accompanied3 for though the camomile1 the more it is trodden on1 the faster it grows1 yet youth1 the more it is wasted1 the sooner it wears4 ,that thou art my son1 ,i have partly thy mother's word1 partly my own opinion2 but chiefly1 a villainous trick of thine eye1 and a foolish hanging of thy nether lip that doth warrant me4 ,if then thou be son to me1 here lies the point2--,why1 being son to me1 art thou so pointed at8 ,shall the blessed sun of heaven prove a micher1 and eat blackberries8 ,a question not to be ask'd4 ,shall the son of ,england prove a thief1 and take purses8 a question to be ask'd4 ,there is a thing1 ,harry1 which thou hast often heard of1 and it is known to many in our land by the name of pitch3 this pitch1 as ancient writers do report1 doth defile2 so doth the company thou keepest3 for1 ,harry1 now ,i do not speak to thee in drink1 but in tears2 not in pleasure1 but in passion2 not in words only1 but in woes also3--and yet there is a virtuous man1 whom ,i have often noted in thy company1 but ,i know not his name4 ,p4 ,henry4 ,what manner of man1 an it like your majesty8 ,falstaff4 ,a goodly portly man1 i'faith1 and a corpulent2 of a cheerful look1 a pleasing eye1 and a most noble carriage2 and1 as ,i think1 his age some fifty1 or1 by'r-lady1 inclining to threescore2 and now ,i do remember me1 his name is ,falstaff3 if that man should be lewdly given1 he deceiveth me2 for1 ,harry1 ,i see virtue in his looks4 ,if then the fruit may be known by the tree1 as the tree by the fruit1 then peremptorily ,i speak it1 there is virtue in that ,falstaff3 him keep with1 the rest banish4 ,and tell me now1 thou naughty varlet1 tell me1 where hast thou been this month8 ,p4 ,henry4 ,dost thou speak like a king8 ,do thou stand for me1 and ,i'll play my father4 ,falstaff4 ,depose me8 if thou dost it half so gravely1 so majestically1 both in word and matter1 hang me up by the heels for a rabbit-sucker1 or a poulterer's hare4 ,p4 ,henry4 ,well1 here ,i am set4 ,falstaff4 ,and here ,i stand3--judge1 my masters4 ,p4 ,henry4 ,now1 ,harry1 whence come you8 ,falstaff4 ,my noble lord1 from ,eastcheap4 ,p4 ,henry4 ,the complaints ,i hear of thee are grievous4 ,falstaff4 ,s'blood1 my lord1 they are false3--nay1 ,i'll tickle ye for a young prince1 i'faith4 ,p4 ,henry4 ,swearest thou1 ungracious boy8 henceforth ne'er look on me4 ,thou art violently carried away from grace3 there is a devil haunts thee1 in the likeness of a fat old man2 a tun of man is thy companion4 ,why dost thou converse with that trunk of humours1 that bolting-hutch of beastliness1 that swoln parcel of dropsies1 that huge bombard of sack1 that stuft cloak-bag of guts1 that roasted ,manning-tree ox with the pudding in his belly1 that reverend vice1 that grey iniquity1 that father ruffian1 that vanity in years8 wherein is he good1 but to taste sack and drink it8 wherein neat and cleanly1 but to carve a capon and eat it8 wherein cunning1 but in craft8 wherein crafty1 but in villainy8 wherein villainous1 but in all things8 wherein worthy1 but in nothing8 ,falstaff4 ,i would1 your grace would take me with you2 whom means your grace8 ,p4 ,henry4 ,that villainous1 abominable mis-leader of youth1 ,falstaff1 that old white-bearded ,satan4 ,falstaff4 ,my lord1 the man ,i know4 ,p4 ,henry4 ,i know thou dost4 ,falstaff4 ,but to say1 ,i know more harm in him than in myself1 were to say more than ,i know4 ,that he is old 7the more the pity7 his white hairs do witness it3 but that he is 7saving your reverence7 a whore-master1 that ,i utterly deny4 ,if sack and sugar be a fault1 ,god help the wicked6 if to be old and merry be a sin1 then many an old host that ,i know is damned3 if to be fat be to be hated1 then ,pharaoh's lean kine are to be loved4 ,no1 my good lord2 banish ,peto1 banish ,bardolph1 banish ,poins3 but for sweet ,jack ,falstaff1 kind ,jack ,falstaff1 true ,jack ,falstaff1 valiant ,jack ,falstaff1 and therefore more valiant1 being as he is1 old ,jack ,falstaff1 banish not him thy ,harry's company2 banish plump ,jack1 and banish all the world4 ,p4 ,henry4 ,i do1 ,i will4 ,knocking2 and ,hostess and ,bardolph go out4 ,re-enter ,,bardolph1 running4 ,bardolph4 ,o1 my lord1 my lord2 the sheriff1 with a most monstrous watch1 is at the door4 ,falstaff4 ,out1 you rogue6 play out the play3 ,i have much to say in the behalf of that ,falstaff4 ,one of the most characteristic descriptions of ,sir ,john is that which ,mrs4 ,quickly gives of him when he asks her ,what is the gross sum that ,i owe thee8 ,hostess4 ,marry1 if thou wert an honest man1 thyself1 and the money too4 ,thou didst swear to me upon a parcel-gilt goblet1 sitting in my ,dolphin-chamber1 at the round table1 by a sea-coal fire on ,wednesday in ,whitsun-week1 when the ,prince broke thy head for likening his father to a singing man of ,windsor2 thou didst swear to me then1 as ,i was washing thy wound1 to marry me1 and make me my lady thy wife4 ,canst thou deny it8 ,did not goodwife ,keech1 the butcher's wife1 come in then1 and call me gossip ,quickly8 coming in to borrow a mess of vinegar2 telling us1 she had a good dish of prawns2 whereby thou didst desire to eat some2 whereby ,i told thee they were ill for a green wound8 ,and didst thou not1 when she was gone down stairs1 desire me to be no more so familiarity with such poor people2 saying1 that ere long they should call me madam8 ,and didst thou not kiss me1 and bid me fetch thee thirty shillings8 ,i put thee now to thy book-oath2 deny it1 if thou canst4 ,this scene is to us the most convincing proof of ,falstaff's power of gaining over the good will of those he was familiar with1 except indeed ,bardolph's somewhat profane exclamation on hearing the account of his death1 ,would ,i were with him1 wheresoe'er he is1 whether in heaven or hell4 ,one of the topics of exulting superiority over others most common in ,sir ,john's mouth is his corpulence and the exterior marks of good living which he carries about him1 thus turning his vices into commodity4 ,he accounts for the friendship between the ,prince and ,poins1 from their legs being both of a bigness2 and compares ,justice ,shallow to a man made after supper of a cheese-paring4 ,there cannot be a more striking gradation of character than that between ,falstaff and ,shallow1 and ,shallow and ,silence4 ,it seems difficult at first to fall lower than the squire2 but this fool1 great as he is1 finds an admirer and humble foil in his cousin ,silence4 ,vain of his acquaintance with ,sir ,john1 who makes a butt of him1 he exclaims1 ,would1 cousin ,silence1 that thou had'st seen that which this knight and ,i have seen6--,aye1 ,master ,shallow1 we have heard the chimes at midnight1 says ,sir ,john4 ,to ,falstaff's observation1 ,i did not think ,master ,silence had been a man of this mettle1 ,silence answers1 ,who1 ,i8 ,i have been merry twice and once ere now4 ,what an idea is here conveyed of a prodigality of living8 ,what good husbandry and economical self-denial in his pleasures8 ,what a stock of lively recollections8 ,it is curious that ,shakspeare has ridiculed in ,justice ,shallow1 who was in some authority under the king1 that disposition to unmeaning tautology which is the regal infirmity of later times1 and which1 it may be supposed1 he acquired from talking to his cousin ,silence1 and receiving no answers4 ,falstaff4 ,you have here a goodly dwelling1 and a rich4 ,shallow4 ,barren1 barren1 barren2 beggars all1 beggars all1 ,sir ,john3 marry1 good air4 ,spread ,davy1 spread ,davy4 ,well said1 ,davy4 ,falstaff4 ,this ,davy serves you for good uses4 ,shallow4 ,a good varlet1 a good varlet1 a very good varlet4 ,by the mass1 ,i have drunk too much sack at supper4 ,a good varlet4 ,now sit down1 now sit down4 ,come1 cousin4 ,the true spirit of humanity1 the thorough knowledge of the stuff we are made of1 the practical wisdom with the seeming fooleries in the whole of the garden-scene at ,shallow's country-seat1 and just before in the exquisite dialogue between him and ,silence on the death of old ,double1 have no parallel anywhere else4 ,in one point of view1 they are laughable in the extreme2 in another they are equally affecting1 if it is affecting to shew what a little thing is human life1 what a poor forked creature man is6 ,,twelfth ,,night2 ,,or1 ,,what ,,you ,,will ,this is justly considered as one of the most delightful of ,shakspeare's comedies4 ,it is full of sweetness and pleasantry4 ,it is perhaps too good-natured for comedy4 ,it has little satire1 and no spleen4 ,it aims at the ludicrous rather than the ridiculous4 ,it makes us laugh at the follies of mankind1 not despise them1 and still less bear any ill-will towards them4 ,shakspeare's comic genius resembles the bee rather in its power of extracting sweets from weeds or poisons1 than in leaving a sting behind it4 ,he gives the most amusing exaggeration of the prevailing foibles of his characters1 but in a way that they themselves1 instead of being offended at1 would almost join in to humour2 he rather contrives opportunities for them to shew themselves off in the happiest lights1 than renders them contemptible in the perverse construction of the wit or malice of others4--,there is a certain stage of society in which people become conscious of their peculiarities and absurdities1 affect to disguise what they are1 and set up pretensions to what they are not4 ,this gives rise to a corresponding style of comedy1 the object of which is to detect the disguises of self-love1 and to make reprisals on these preposterous assumptions of vanity1 by marking the contrast between the real and the affected character as severely as possible1 and denying to those1 who would impose on us for what they are not1 even the merit which they have4 ,this is the comedy of artificial life1 of wit and satire1 such as we see it in ,congreve1 ,wycherley1 ,vanburgh1 etc4 ,to this succeeds a state of society from which the same sort of affectation and pretence are banished by a greater knowledge of the world or by their successful exposure on the stage2 and which by neutralising the materials of comic character1 both natural and artificial1 leaves no comedy at all--but the sentimental4 ,such is our modern comedy4 ,there is a period in the progress of manners anterior to both these1 in which the foibles and follies of individuals are of nature's planting1 not the growth of art or study2 in which they are therefore unconscious of them themselves1 or care not who knows them1 if they can but have their whim out2 and in which1 as there is no attempt at imposition1 the spectators rather receive pleasure from humouring the inclinations of the persons they laugh at1 than wish to give them pain by exposing their absurdity4 ,this may be called the comedy of nature1 and it is the comedy which we generally find in ,shakspeare4--,whether the analysis here given be just or not1 the spirit of his comedies is evidently quite distinct from that of the authors above mentioned1 as it is in its essence the same with that of ,cervantes1 and also very frequently of ,molire1 though he was more systematic in his extravagance than ,shakspeare4 ,shakspeare's comedy is of a pastoral and poetical cast4 ,folly is indigenous to the soil1 and shoots out with native1 happy1 unchecked luxuriance4 ,absurdity has every encouragement afforded it2 and nonsense has room to flourish in4 ,nothing is stunted by the churlish1 icy hand of indifference or severity4 ,the poet runs riot in a conceit1 and idolises a quibble4 ,his whole object is to turn the meanest or rudest objects to a pleasurable account4 ,the relish which he has of a pun1 or of the quaint humour of a low character1 does not interfere with the delight with which he describes a beautiful image1 or the most refined love4 ,the ,clown's forced jests do not spoil the sweetness of the character of ,viola2 the same house is big enough to hold ,malvolio1 the ,countess1 ,maria1 ,sir ,toby1 and ,sir ,andrew ,ague-cheek4 ,for instance1 nothing can fall much lower than this last character in intellect or morals3 yet how are his weaknesses nursed and dandled by ,sir ,toby into something high fantastical1 when on ,sir ,andrew's commendation of himself for dancing and fencing1 ,sir ,toby answers--,wherefore are these things hid8 ,wherefore have these gifts a curtain before them8 ,are they like to take dust like mistress ,moll's picture8 ,why dost thou not go to church in a galliard1 and come home in a coranto8 ,my very walk should be a jig6 ,i would not so much as make water but in a cinque-pace4 ,what dost thou mean8 ,is this a world to hide virtues in8 ,i did think by the excellent constitution of thy leg1 it was framed under the star of a galliard6--,how ,sir ,toby1 ,sir ,andrew1 and the ,clown afterwards chirp over their cups1 how they rouse the night-owl in a catch1 able to draw three souls out of one weaver6 ,what can be better than ,sir ,toby's unanswerable answer to ,malvolio1 ,dost thou think because thou art virtuous1 there shall be no more cakes and ale8--,in a word1 the best turn is given to everything1 instead of the worst4 ,there is a constant infusion of the romantic and enthusiastic1 in proportion as the characters are natural and sincere3 whereas1 in the more artificial style of comedy1 everything gives way to ridicule and indifference1 there being nothing left but affectation on one side1 and incredulity on the other4--,much as we like ,shakspeare's comedies1 we cannot agree with ,dr4 ,johnson that they are better than his tragedies2 nor do we like them half so well4 ,if his inclination to comedy sometimes led him to trifle with the seriousness of tragedy1 the poetical and impassioned passages are the best parts of his comedies4 ,the great and secret charm of ,,twelfth ,,night is the character of ,viola4 ,much as we like catches and cakes and ale1 there is something that we like better4 ,we have a friendship for ,sir ,toby2 we patronise ,sir ,andrew2 we have an understanding with the ,clown1 a sneaking kindness for ,maria and her rogueries2 we feel a regard for ,malvolio1 and sympathise with his gravity1 his smiles1 his cross garters1 his yellow stockings1 and imprisonment in the stocks4 ,but there is something that excites in us a stronger feeling than all this--it is ,viola's confession of her love4 ,duke4 ,what's her history8 ,viola4 ,a blank1 my lord1 she never told her love3 ,she let concealment1 like a worm i' th' bud4 ,feed on her damask cheek3 she pin'd in thought1 ,and with a green and yellow melancholy1 ,she sat like ,patience on a monument1 ,smiling at grief4 ,was not this love indeed8 ,we men may say more1 swear more1 but indeed1 ,our shews are more than will2 for still we prove ,much in our vows1 but little in our love4 ,duke4 ,but died thy sister of her love1 my boy8 ,viola4 ,i am all the daughters of my father's house1 ,and all the brothers too2--and yet ,i know not4-- ,shakspeare alone could describe the effect of his own poetry4 ,oh1 it came o'er the ear like the sweet south ,that breathes upon a bank of violets1 ,stealing and giving odour4 ,what we so much admire here is not the image of ,patience on a monument1 which has been generally quoted1 but the lines before and after it4 ,they give a very echo to the seat where love is throned4 ,how long ago it is since we first learnt to repeat them2 and still1 still they vibrate on the heart1 like the sounds which the passing wind draws from the trembling strings of a harp left on some desert shore6 ,there are other passages of not less impassioned sweetness4 ,such is ,olivia's address to ,sebastian1 whom she supposes to have already deceived her in a promise of marriage4 ,blame not this haste of mine3 if you mean well1 ,now go with me and with this holy man ,into the chantry by3 there before him1 ,and underneath that consecrated roof1 ,plight me the full assurance of your faith1 ,that my most jealous and too doubtful soul ,may live at peace4 ,v ,,milton ,shakspeare discovers in his writings little religious enthusiasm1 and an indifference to personal reputation2 he had none of the bigotry of his age1 and his political prejudices were not very strong4 ,in these respects1 as well as in every other1 he formed a direct contrast to ,milton4 ,milton's works are a perpetual invocation to the ,muses2 a hymn to ,fame4 ,he had his thoughts constantly fixed on the contemplation of the ,hebrew theocracy1 and of a perfect commonwealth2 and he seized the pen with a hand just warm from the touch of the ark of faith4 ,his religious zeal infused its character into his imagination2 so that he devotes himself with the same sense of duty to the cultivation of his genius1 as he did to the exercise of virtue1 or the good of his country4 ,the spirit of the poet1 the patriot1 and the prophet1 vied with each other in his breast4 ,his mind appears to have held equal communion with the inspired writers1 and with the bards and sages of ancient ,greece and ,rome2-- ,blind ,thamyris1 and blind ,monides1 ,and ,tiresias1 and ,phineus1 prophets old4 ,he had a high standard1 with which he was always comparing himself1 nothing short of which could satisfy his jealous ambition4 ,he thought of nobler forms and nobler things than those he found about him4 ,he lived apart1 in the solitude of his own thoughts1 carefully excluding from his mind whatever might distract its purposes1 or alloy its purity1 or damp its zeal4 ,with darkness and with dangers compassed round1 he had the mighty models of antiquity always present to his thoughts1 and determined to raise a monument of equal height and glory1 piling up every stone of lustre from the brook1 for the delight and wonder of posterity4 ,he had girded himself up1 and as it were1 sanctified his genius to this service from his youth4 ,for after1 he says1 ,i had from my first years1 by the ceaseless diligence and care of my father1 been exercised to the tongues1 and some sciences as my age could suffer1 by sundry masters and teachers1 it was found that whether aught was imposed upon me by them1 or betaken to of my own choice1 the style by certain vital signs it had1 was likely to live2 but much latelier1 in the private academies of ,italy1 perceiving that some trifles which ,i had in memory1 composed at under twenty or thereabout1 met with acceptance above what was looked for2 ,i began thus far to assent both to them and divers of my friends here at home1 and not less to an inward prompting which now grew daily upon me1 that by labour and intense study 7which ,i take to be my portion in this life71 joined with the strong propensity of nature1 ,i might perhaps leave something so written to after-times as they should not willingly let it die4 ,the accomplishment of these intentions which have lived within me ever since ,i could conceive myself anything worth to my country1 lies not but in a power above man's to promise2 but that none hath by more studious ways endeavoured1 and with more unwearied spirit that none shall1 that ,i dare almost aver of myself1 as far as life and free leisure will extend4 ,neither do ,i think it shame to covenant with any knowing reader1 that for some few years yet1 ,i may go on trust with him toward the payment of what ,i am now indebted1 as being a work not to be raised from the heat of youth or the vapours of wine2 like that which flows at waste from the pen of some vulgar amourist1 or the trencher fury of a rhyming parasite1 nor to be obtained by the invocation of ,dame ,memory and her ,siren daughters1 but by devout prayer to that eternal spirit1 who can enrich with all utterance and knowledge1 and sends out his ,seraphim with the hallowed fire of his altar1 to touch and purify the lips of whom he pleases3 to this must be added industrious and select reading1 steady observation1 and insight into all seemly and generous arts and affairs4 ,although it nothing content me to have disclosed thus much beforehand2 but that ,i trust hereby to make it manifest with what small willingness ,i endure to interrupt the pursuit of no less hopes than these1 and leave a calm and pleasing solitariness1 fed with cheerful and confident thoughts1 to embark in a troubled sea of noises and hoarse disputes1 from beholding the bright countenance of truth in the quiet and still air of delightful studies4 ,so that of ,spenser3 ,the noble heart that harbours virtuous thought1 ,and is with child of glorious great intent1 ,can never rest until it forth hath brought ,the eternal brood of glory excellent4 ,milton1 therefore1 did not write from casual impulse1 but after a severe examination of his own strength1 and with a resolution to leave nothing undone which it was in his power to do4 ,he always labours1 and almost always succeeds4 ,he strives hard to say the finest things in the world1 and he does say them4 ,he adorns and dignifies his subject to the utmost3 he surrounds it with every possible association of beauty or grandeur1 whether moral1 intellectual1 or physical4 ,he refines on his descriptions of beauty2 loading sweets on sweets1 till the sense aches at them2 and raises his images of terror to a gigantic elevation1 that makes ,ossa like a wart4 ,in ,milton there is always an appearance of effort3 in ,shakspeare1 scarcely any4 ,milton has borrowed more than any other writer1 and exhausted every source of imitation1 sacred or profane2 yet he is perfectly distinct from every other writer4 ,he is a writer of centos1 and yet in originality scarcely inferior to ,homer4 ,the power of his mind is stamped on every line4 ,the fervour of his imagination melts down and renders malleable1 as in a furnace1 the most contradictory materials4 ,in reading his works1 we feel ourselves under the influence of a mighty intellect1 that the nearer it approaches to others1 becomes more distinct from them4 ,the quantity of art in him shews the strength of his genius3 the weight of his intellectual obligations would have oppressed any other writer4 ,milton's learning has all the effect of intuition4 ,he describes objects1 of which he could only have read in books1 with the vividness of actual observation4 ,his imagination has the force of nature4 ,he makes words tell as pictures4 ,him followed ,rimmon1 whose delightful seat ,was fair ,damascus1 on the fertile banks ,of ,abbana and ,pharphar1 lucid streams4 ,the word lucid here gives to the idea all the sparkling effect of the most perfect landscape4 ,and again3 ,as when a vulture on ,imaus bred1 ,whose snowy ridge the roving ,tartar bounds1 ,dislodging from a region scarce of prey1 ,to gorge the flesh of lambs and yeanling kids ,on hills where flocks are fed1 flies towards the springs ,of ,ganges or ,hydaspes1 ,indian streams2 ,but in his way lights on the barren plains ,of ,sericana1 where ,chineses drive ,with sails and wind their cany waggons light4 ,if ,milton had taken a journey for the express purpose1 he could not have described this scenery and mode of life better4 ,such passages are like demonstrations of natural history4 ,instances might be multiplied without end4 ,we might be tempted to suppose that the vividness with which he describes visible objects1 was owing to their having acquired an unusual degree of strength in his mind1 after the privation of his sight2 but we find the same palpableness and truth in the descriptions which occur in his early poems4 ,in ,lycidas1 he speaks of the great vision of the guarded mount1 with that preternatural weight of impression with which it would present itself suddenly to the pilot of some small night-foundered skiff2 and the lines in the ,penseroso1 describing the wandering moon1 ,riding near her highest noon1 ,like one that had been led astray ,through the heaven's wide pathless way1 are as if he had gazed himself blind in looking at her4 ,there is also the same depth of impression in his descriptions of the objects of all the different senses1 whether colours1 or sounds1 or smells--the same absorption of his mind in whatever engaged his attention at the time4 ,it has been indeed objected to ,milton1 by a common perversity of criticism1 that his ideas were musical rather than picturesque1 as if because they were in the highest degree musical1 they must be 7to keep the sage critical balance even1 and to allow no one man to possess two qualities at the same time7 proportionably deficient in other respects4 ,but ,milton's poetry is not cast in any such narrow1 common-place mould2 it is not so barren of resources4 ,his worship of the ,muse was not so simple or confined4 ,a sound arises like a steam of rich distilled perfumes2 we hear the pealing organ1 but the incense on the altars is also there1 and the statues of the gods are ranged around6 ,the ear indeed predominates over the eye1 because it is more immediately affected1 and because the language of music blends more immediately with1 and forms a more natural accompaniment to1 the variable and indefinite associations of ideas conveyed by words4 ,but where the associations of the imagination are not the principal thing1 the individual object is given by ,milton with equal force and beauty4 ,the strongest and best proof of this1 as a characteristic power of his mind1 is1 that the persons of ,adam and ,eve1 of ,satan1 etc4 are always accompanied1 in our imagination1 with the grandeur of the naked figure2 they convey to us the ideas of sculpture4 ,as an instance1 take the following3 ,he soon ,saw within ken a glorious ,angel stand1 ,the same whom ,john saw also in the sun3 ,his back was turned1 but not his brightness hid2 ,of beaming sunny rays a golden tiar ,circled his head1 nor less his locks behind ,illustrious on his shoulders fledge with wings ,lay waving round2 on some great charge employ'd ,he seem'd1 or fix'd in cogitation deep4 ,glad was the spirit impure1 as now in hope ,to find who might direct his wand'ring flight ,to ,paradise1 the happy seat of man1 ,his journey's end1 and our beginning woe4 ,but first he casts to change his proper shape1 ,which else might work him danger or delay3 ,and now a stripling cherub he appears1 ,not of the prime1 yet such as in his face ,youth smiled celestial1 and to every limb ,suitable grace diffus'd1 so well he feign'd3 ,under a coronet his flowing hair ,in curls on either cheek play'd2 wings he wore ,of many a colour'd plume sprinkled with gold1 ,his habit fit for speed succinct1 and held ,before his decent steps a silver wand4 ,the figures introduced here have all the elegance and precision of a ,greek statue2 glossy and impurpled1 tinged with golden light1 and musical as the strings of ,memnon's harp6 ,again1 nothing can be more magnificent than the portrait of ,beelzebub3 ,with ,atlantean shoulders fit to bear ,the weight of mightiest monarchies3 ,or the comparison of ,satan1 as he lay floating many a rood1 to that sea beast1 ,leviathan1 which ,god of all his works ,created hugest that swim the ocean-stream6 ,what a force of imagination is there in this last expression6 ,what an idea it conveys of the size of that hugest of created beings1 as if it shrunk up the ocean to a stream1 and took up the sea in its nostrils as a very little thing6 ,force of style is one of ,milton's greatest excellences4 ,hence1 perhaps1 he stimulates us more in the reading1 and less afterwards4 ,the way to defend ,milton against all impugners1 is to take down the book and read it4 ,milton's blank verse is the only blank verse in the language 7except ,shakspeare's7 that deserves the name of verse4 ,dr4 ,johnson1 who had modelled his ideas of versification on the regular sing-song of ,pope1 condemns the ,paradise ,lost as harsh and unequal4 ,i shall not pretend to say that this is not sometimes the case2 for where a degree of excellence beyond the mechanical rules of art is attempted1 the poet must sometimes fail4 ,but ,i imagine that there are more perfect examples in ,milton of musical expression1 or of an adaptation of the sound and movement of the verse to the meaning of the passage1 than in all our other writers1 whether of rhyme or blank verse1 put together1 7with the exception already mentioned74 ,spenser is the most harmonious of our stanza writers1 as ,dryden is the most sounding and varied of our rhymists4 ,but in neither is there anything like the same ear for music1 the same power of approximating the varieties of poetical to those of musical rhythm1 as there is in our great epic poet4 ,the sound of his lines is moulded into the expression of the sentiment1 almost of the very image4 ,they rise or fall1 pause or hurry rapidly on1 with exquisite art1 but without the least trick or affectation1 as the occasion seems to require4 ,the following are some of the finest instances3 ,his hand was known ,in ,heaven by many a tower'd structure high2-- ,nor was his name unheard or unador'd ,in ancient ,greece2 and in the ,ausonian land ,men called him ,mulciber2 and how he fell ,from ,heaven1 they fabled1 thrown by angry ,jove ,sheer o'er the crystal battlements2 from morn ,to noon he fell1 from noon to dewy eve1 ,a summer's day2 and with the setting sun ,dropt from the zenith like a falling star ,on ,lemnos1 the gean isle3 thus they relate1 ,erring4-- ,but chief the spacious hall ,thick swarm'd1 both on the ground and in the air1 ,brush'd with the hiss of rustling wings4 ,as bees ,in spring time1 when the sun with ,taurus rides1 ,pour forth their populous youth about the hive ,in clusters2 they among fresh dews and flow'rs ,fly to and fro2 or on the smoothed plank1 ,the suburb of their straw-built citadel1 ,new rubb'd with balm1 expatiate1 and confer ,their state affairs4 ,so thick the airy crowd ,swarm'd and were straiten'd2 till the signal giv'n1 ,behold a wonder6 ,they but now who seem'd ,in bigness to surpass earth's giant sons1 ,now less than smallest dwarfs1 in narrow room ,throng numberless1 like that ,pygmean race ,beyond the ,indian mount1 or fairy elves1 ,whose midnight revels by a forest side ,or fountain1 some belated peasant sees1 ,or dreams he sees1 while over-head the moon ,sits arbitress1 and nearer to the earth ,wheels her pale course3 they on their mirth and dance ,intent1 with jocund music charm his ear2 ,at once with joy and fear his heart rebounds4 ,i can give only another instance1 though ,i have some difficulty in leaving off4 ,round he surveys 7and well might1 where he stood ,so high above the circling canopy ,of night's extended shade7 from th' eastern point ,of ,libra to the fleecy star that bears ,andromeda far off ,atlantic seas ,beyond the horizon3 then from pole to pole ,he views in breadth1 and without longer pause ,down right into the world's first region throws ,his flight precipitant1 and winds with ease ,through the pure marble air his oblique way ,amongst innumerable stars that shone ,stars distant1 but nigh hand seem'd other worlds2 ,or other worlds they seem'd or happy isles1 etc4 ,the verse1 in this exquisitely modulated passage1 floats up and down as if it had itself wings4 ,milton has himself given us the theory of his versification-- ,such as the meeting soul may pierce ,in notes with many a winding bout ,of linked sweetness long drawn out4 ,dr4 ,johnson and ,pope would have converted his vaulting ,pegasus into a rocking-horse4 ,read any other blank verse but ,milton's1--,thomson's1 ,young's1 ,cowper's1 ,wordsworth's1--and it will be found1 from the want of the same insight into the hidden soul of harmony1 to be mere lumbering prose4 ,to proceed to a consideration of the merits of ,paradise ,lost1 in the most essential point of view1 ,i mean as to the poetry of character and passion4 ,i shall say nothing of the fable1 or of other technical objections or excellences2 but ,i shall try to explain at once the foundation of the interest belonging to the poem4 ,i am ready to give up the dialogues in ,heaven1 where1 as ,pope justly observes1 ,god the ,father turns a school-divine2 nor do ,i consider the battle of the angels as the climax of sublimity1 or the most successful effort of ,milton's pen4 ,in a word1 the interest of the poem arises from the daring ambition and fierce passions of ,satan1 and from the account of the paradisaical happiness1 and the loss of it by our first parents4 ,three-fourths of the work are taken up with these characters1 and nearly all that relates to them is unmixed sublimity and beauty4 ,the two first books alone are like too massy pillars of solid gold4 ,satan is the most heroic subject that ever was chosen for a poem2 and the execution is as perfect as the design is lofty4 ,he was the first of created beings1 who1 for endeavouring to be equal with the highest1 and to divide the empire of heaven with the ,almighty1 was hurled down to hell4 ,his aim was no less than the throne of the universe2 his means1 myriads of angelic armies bright1 the third part of the heavens1 whom he lured after him with his countenance1 and who durst defy the ,omnipotent in arms4 ,his ambition was the greatest1 and his punishment was the greatest2 but not so his despair1 for his fortitude was as great as his sufferings4 ,his strength of mind was matchless as his strength of body2 the vastness of his designs did not surpass the firm1 inflexible determination with which he submitted to his irreversible doom1 and final loss of all good4 ,his power of action and of suffering was equal4 ,he was the greatest power that was ever overthrown1 with the strongest will left to resist or to endure4 ,he was baffled1 not confounded4 ,he stood like a tower2 or ,as when ,heaven's fire ,hath scathed the forest oaks or mountain pines6 ,he is still surrounded with hosts of rebel angels1 armed warriors1 who own him as their sovereign leader1 and with whose fate he sympathises as he views them round1 far as the eye can reach2 though he keeps aloof from them in his own mind1 and holds supreme counsel only with his own breast4 ,an outcast from ,heaven1 ,hell trembles beneath his feet1 ,sin and ,death are at his heels1 and mankind are his easy prey4 ,all is not lost2 th' unconquerable will1 ,and study of revenge1 immortal hate1 ,and courage never to submit or yield1 ,and what else is not to be overcome1 are still his4 ,the sense of his punishment seems lost in the magnitude of it2 the fierceness of tormenting flames1 is qualified and made innoxious by the greater fierceness of his pride2 the loss of infinite happiness to himself is compensated in thought1 by the power of inflicting infinite misery on others4 ,yet ,satan is not the principle of malignity1 or of the abstract love of evil--but of the abstract love of power1 of pride1 of self-will personified1 to which last principle all other good and evil1 and even his own1 are subordinate4 ,from this principle he never once flinches4 ,his love of power and contempt for suffering are never once relaxed from the highest pitch of intensity4 ,his thoughts burn like a hell within him2 but the power of thought holds dominion in his mind over every other consideration4 ,the consciousness of a determined purpose1 of that intellectual being1 those thoughts that wander through eternity1 though accompanied with endless pain1 he prefers to nonentity1 to being swallowed up and lost in the wide womb of uncreated night4 ,he expresses the sum and substance of all ambition in one line3 ,fallen cherub1 to be weak is miserable1 doing or suffering6 ,after such a conflict as his1 and such a defeat1 to retreat in order1 to rally1 to make terms1 to exist at all1 is something2 but he does more than this--he founds a new empire in hell1 and from it conquers this new world1 whither he bends his undaunted flight1 forcing his way through nether and surrounding fires4 ,the poet has not in all this given us a mere shadowy outline2 the strength is equal to the magnitude of the conception4 ,the ,achilles of ,homer is not more distinct2 the ,titans were not more vast2 ,prometheus chained to his rock was not a more terrific example of suffering and of crime4 ,wherever the figure of ,satan is introduced1 whether he walks or flies1 rising aloft incumbent on the dusky air1 it is illustrated with the most striking and appropriate images3 so that we see it always before us1 gigantic1 irregular1 portentous1 uneasy1 and disturbed--but dazzling in its faded splendour1 the clouded ruins of a god4 ,the deformity of ,satan is only in the depravity of his will2 he has no bodily deformity to excite our loathing or disgust4 ,the horns and tail are not there1 poor emblems of the unbending1 unconquered spirit1 of the writhing agonies within4 ,milton was too magnanimous and open an antagonist to support his argument by the bye-tricks of a hump and cloven foot2 to bring into the fair field of controversy the good old catholic prejudices of which ,tasso and ,dante have availed themselves1 and which the mystic ,german critics would restore4 ,he relied on the justice of his cause1 and did not scruple to give the devil his due4 ,some persons may think that he has carried his liberality too far1 and injured the cause he professed to espouse by making him the chief person in his poem4 ,considering the nature of his subject1 he would be equally in danger of running into this fault1 from his faith in religion1 and his love of rebellion2 and perhaps each of these motives had its full share in determining the choice of his subject4 ,not only the figure of ,satan1 but his speeches in council1 his soliloquies1 his address to ,eve1 his share in the war in heaven2 or in the fall of man1 show the same decided superiority of character4 ,to give only one instance1 almost the first speech he makes3 ,is this the region1 this the soil1 the clime1 ,said then the lost archangel1 this the seat ,that we must change for ,heaven2 this mournful gloom ,for that celestial light8 ,be it so1 since he ,who now is sov'rain can dispose and bid ,what shall be right3 farthest from him is best1 ,whom reason hath equal'd1 force hath made supreme ,above his equals4 ,farewell happy fields1 ,where joy for ever dwells3 ,hail horrors1 hail ,infernal world1 and thou profoundest ,hell1 ,receive thy new possessor2 one who brings ,a mind not to be chang'd by place or time4 ,the mind is its own place1 and in itself ,can make a ,heav'n of ,hell1 a ,hell of ,heav'n4 ,what matter where1 if ,i be still the same1 ,and what ,i should be1 all but less than he ,whom thunder hath made greater8 ,here at least ,we shall be free2 th' ,almighty hath not built ,here for his envy1 will not drive us hence3 ,here we may reign secure1 and in my choice1 ,to reign is worth ambition1 though in ,hell3 ,better to reign in ,hell1 than serve in ,heaven4 ,the whole of the speeches and debates in ,pandemonium are well worthy of the place and the occasion--with ,gods for speakers1 and angels and archangels for hearers4 ,there is a decided manly tone in the arguments and sentiments1 an eloquent dogmatism1 as if each person spoke from thorough conviction2 an excellence which ,milton probably borrowed from his spirit of partisanship1 or else his spirit of partisanship from the natural firmness and vigour of his mind4 ,in this respect ,milton resembles ,dante1 7the only modern writer with whom he has any thing in common7 and it is remarkable that ,dante1 as well as ,milton1 was a political partisan4 ,that approximation to the severity of impassioned prose which has been made an objection to ,milton's poetry1 and which is chiefly to be met with in these bitter invectives1 is one of its great excellences4 ,the author might here turn his philippics against ,salmasius to good account4 ,the rout in ,heaven is like the fall of some mighty structure1 nodding to its base1 with hideous ruin and combustion down4 ,but1 perhaps1 of all the passages in ,paradise ,lost1 the description of the employments of the angels during the absence of ,satan1 some of whom retreated in a silent valley1 sing with notes angelical to many a harp their own heroic deeds and hapless fall by doom of battle is the most perfect example of mingled pathos and sublimity4--,what proves the truth of this noble picture in every part1 and that the frequent complaint of want of interest in it is the fault of the reader1 not of the poet1 is that when any interest of a practical kind takes a shape that can be at all turned into this1 7and there is little doubt that ,milton had some such in his eye in writing it17 each party converts it to its own purposes1 feels the absolute identity of these abstracted and high speculations2 and that1 in fact1 a noted political writer of the present day has exhausted nearly the whole account of ,satan in the ,paradise ,lost1 by applying it to a character whom he considered as after the devil1 7though ,i do not know whether he would make even that exception7 the greatest enemy of the human race4 ,this may serve to show that ,milton's ,satan is not a very insipid personage4 ,of ,adam and ,eve it has been said1 that the ordinary reader can feel little interest in them1 because they have none of the passions1 pursuits1 or even relations of human life1 except that of man and wife1 the least interesting of all others1 if not to the parties concerned1 at least to the by-standers4 ,the preference has on this account been given to ,homer1 who1 it is said1 has left very vivid and infinitely diversified pictures of all the passions and affections1 public and private1 incident to human nature1--the relations of son1 of brother1 parent1 friend1 citizen1 and many others4 ,longinus preferred the ,iliad to the ,odyssey1 on account of the greater number of battles it contains2 but ,i can neither agree to his criticism1 nor assent to the present objection4 ,it is true1 there is little action in this part of ,milton's poem2 but there is much repose1 and more enjoyment4 ,there are none of the every-day occurrences1 contentions1 disputes1 wars1 fightings1 feuds1 jealousies1 trades1 professions1 liveries1 and common handicrafts of life2 no kind of traffic2 letters are not known2 no use of service1 of riches1 poverty1 contract1 succession1 bourn1 bound of land1 tilth1 vineyard none2 no occupation1 no treason1 felony1 sword1 pike1 knife1 gun1 nor need of any engine4 ,so much the better2 thank ,heaven1 all these were yet to come4 ,but still the die was cast1 and in them our doom was sealed4 ,in them ,the generations were prepared2 the pangs1 ,the internal pangs1 were ready1 the dread strife ,of poor humanity's afflicted will1 ,struggling in vain with ruthless destiny4 ,in their first false step we trace all our future woe1 with loss of ,eden4 ,but there was a short and precious interval between1 like the first blush of morning before the day is overcast with tempest1 the dawn of the world1 the birth of nature from the unapparent deep1 with its first dews and freshness on its cheek1 breathing odours4 ,theirs was the first delicious taste of life1 and on them depended all that was to come of it4 ,in them hung trembling all our hopes and fears4 ,they were as yet alone in the world1 in the eye of nature1 wondering at their new being1 full of enjoyment and enraptured with one another1 with the voice of their ,maker walking in the garden1 and ministering angels attendant on their steps1 winged messengers from heaven like rosy clouds descending in their sight4 ,nature played around them her virgin fancies wild2 and spread for them a repast where no crude surfeit reigned4 ,was there nothing in this scene1 which ,god and nature alone witnessed1 to interest a modern critic8 ,what need was there of action1 where the heart was full of bliss and innocence without it6 ,they had nothing to do but feel their own happiness1 and know to know no more4 ,they toiled not1 neither did they spin2 yet ,solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these4 ,all things seem to acquire fresh sweetness1 and to be clothed with fresh beauty in their sight4 ,they tasted as it were for themselves and us1 of all that there ever was pure in human bliss4 ,in them the burthen of the mystery1 the heavy and the weary weight of all this unintelligible world1 is lightened4 ,they stood awhile perfect1 but they afterwards fell1 and were driven out of ,paradise1 tasting the first fruits of bitterness as they had done of bliss4 ,but their pangs were such as a pure spirit might feel at the sight--their tears such as angels weep4 ,the pathos is of that mild contemplative kind which arises from regret for the loss of unspeakable happiness1 and resignation to inevitable fate4 ,there is none of the fierceness of intemperate passion1 none of the agony of mind and turbulence of action1 which is the result of the habitual struggles of the will with circumstances1 irritated by repeated disappointment1 and constantly setting its desires most eagerly on that which there is an impossibility of attaining4 ,this would have destroyed the beauty of the whole picture4 ,they had received their unlooked-for happiness as a free gift from their ,creator's hands1 and they submitted to its loss1 not without sorrow1 but without impious and stubborn repining4 ,in either hand the hast'ning angel caught ,our ling'ring parents1 and to th' eastern gate ,led them direct1 and down the cliff as fast ,to the subjected plain2 then disappear'd4 ,they looking back1 all th' eastern side beheld ,of ,paradise1 so late their happy seat1 ,wav'd over by that flaming brand1 the gate ,with dreadful faces throng'd1 and fiery arms3 ,some natural tears they dropt1 but wip'd them soon2 ,the world was all before them1 where to choose ,their place of rest1 and ,providence their guide4 ,,vi ,,pope ,the question1 whether ,pope was a poet1 has hardly yet been settled1 and is hardly worth settling2 for if he was not a great poet1 he must have been a great prose-writer1 that is1 he was a great writer of some sort4 ,he was a man of exquisite faculties1 and of the most refined taste2 and as he chose verse 7the most obvious distinction of poetry7 as the vehicle to express his ideas1 he has generally passed for a poet1 and a good one4 ,if1 indeed1 by a great poet1 we mean one who gives the utmost grandeur to our conceptions of nature1 or the utmost force to the passions of the heart1 ,pope was not in this sense a great poet2 for the bent1 the characteristic power of his mind1 lay the clean contrary way2 namely1 in representing things as they appear to the indifferent observer1 stripped of prejudice and passion1 as in his ,critical ,essays2 or in representing them in the most contemptible and insignificant point of view1 as in his ,satires2 or in clothing the little with mock-dignity1 as in his poems of ,fancy2 or in adorning the trivial incidents and familiar relations of life with the utmost elegance of expression1 and all the flattering illusions of friendship or self-love1 as in his ,epistles4 ,he was not then distinguished as a poet of lofty enthusiasm1 of strong imagination1 with a passionate sense of the beauties of nature1 or a deep insight into the workings of the heart2 but he was a wit1 and a critic1 a man of sense1 of observation1 and the world1 with a keen relish for the elegances of art1 or of nature when embellished by art1 a quick tact for propriety of thought and manners as established by the forms and customs of society1 a refined sympathy with the sentiments and habitudes of human life1 as he felt them within the little circle of his family and friends4 ,he was1 in a word1 the poet1 not of nature1 but of art2 and the distinction between the two1 as well as ,i can make it out1 is this--,the poet of nature is one who1 from the elements of beauty1 of power1 and of passion in his own breast1 sympathises with whatever is beautiful1 and grand1 and impassioned in nature1 in its simple majesty1 in its immediate appeal to the senses1 to the thoughts and hearts of all men2 so that the poet of nature1 by the truth1 and depth1 and harmony of his mind1 may be said to hold communion with the very soul of nature2 to be identified with and to foreknow and to record the feelings of all men at all times and places1 as they are liable to the same impressions2 and to exert the same power over the minds of his readers1 that nature does4 ,he sees things in their eternal beauty1 for he sees them as they are2 he feels them in their universal interest1 for he feels them as they affect the first principles of his and our common nature4 ,such was ,homer1 such was ,shakspeare1 whose works will last as long as nature1 because they are a copy of the indestructible forms and everlasting impulses of nature1 welling out from the bosom as from a perennial spring1 or stamped upon the senses by the hand of their maker4 ,the power of the imagination in them1 is the representative power of all nature4 ,it has its centre in the human soul1 and makes the circuit of the universe4 ,pope was not assuredly a poet of this class1 or in the first rank of it4 ,he saw nature only dressed by art2 he judged of beauty by fashion2 he sought for truth in the opinions of the world2 he judged of the feelings of others by his own4 ,the capacious soul of ,shakspeare had an intuitive and mighty sympathy with whatever could enter into the heart of man in all possible circumstances3 ,pope had an exact knowledge of all that he himself loved or hated1 wished or wanted4 ,milton has winged his daring flight from heaven to earth1 through ,chaos and old ,night4 ,pope's ,muse never wandered with safety1 but from his library to his grotto1 or from his grotto into his library back again4 ,his mind dwelt with greater pleasure on his own garden1 than on the garden of ,eden2 he could describe the faultless whole-length mirror that reflected his own person1 better than the smooth surface of the lake that reflects the face of heaven--a piece of cut-glass or a pair of paste buckles with more brilliance and effect1 than a thousand dew-drops glittering in the sun4 ,he would be more delighted with a patent lamp1 than with the pale reflex of ,cynthia's brow1 that fills the skies with its soft silent lustre1 that trembles through the cottage window1 and cheers the watchful mariner on the lonely wave4 ,in short1 he was the poet of personality and of polished life4 ,that which was nearest to him1 was the greatest2 the fashion of the day bore sway in his mind over the immutable laws of nature4 ,he preferred the artificial to the natural in external objects1 because he had a stronger fellow-feeling with the self-love of the maker or proprietor of a gewgaw1 than admiration of that which was interesting to all mankind4 ,he preferred the artificial to the natural in passion1 because the involuntary and uncalculating impulses of the one hurried him away with a force and vehemence with which he could not grapple2 while he could trifle with the conventional and superficial modifications of mere sentiment at will1 laugh at or admire1 put them on or off like a masquerade dress1 make much or little of them1 indulge them for a longer or a shorter time1 as he pleased2 and because while they amused his fancy and exercised his ingenuity1 they never once disturbed his vanity1 his levity1 or indifference4 ,his mind was the antithesis of strength and grandeur2 its power was the power of indifference4 ,he had none of the enthusiasm of poetry3 he was in poetry what the sceptic is in religion4 ,it cannot be denied1 that his chief excellence lay more in diminishing1 than in aggrandizing objects2 in checking1 not in encouraging our enthusiasm2 in sneering at the extravagances of fancy or passion1 instead of giving a loose to them2 in describing a row of pins and needles1 rather than the embattled spears of ,greeks and ,trojans2 in penning a lampoon or a compliment1 and in praising ,martha ,blount4 ,shakspeare says1 ,in ,fortune's ray and brightness ,the herd hath more annoyance by the brize ,than by the tyger3 but when the splitting wind ,makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks1 ,and flies fled under shade1 why then ,the thing of courage1 ,as roused with rage1 with rage doth sympathise2 ,and with an accent tuned in the self-same key1 ,replies to chiding ,fortune4 ,there is none of this rough work in ,pope4 ,his ,muse was on a peace-establishment1 and grew somewhat effeminate by long ease and indulgence4 ,he lived in the smiles of fortune1 and basked in the favour of the great4 ,in his smooth and polished verse we meet with no prodigies of nature1 but with miracles of wit2 the thunders of his pen are whispered flatteries2 its forked lightnings pointed sarcasms2 for the gnarled oak1 he gives us the soft myrtle3 for rocks1 and seas1 and mountains1 artificial grass-plats1 gravel-walks1 and tinkling rills2 for earthquakes and tempests1 the breaking of a flower-pot1 or the fall of a china jar2 for the tug and war of the elements1 or the deadly strife of the passions1 we have ,calm contemplation and poetic ease4 ,yet within this retired and narrow circle how much1 and that how exquisite1 was contained6 ,what discrimination1 what wit1 what delicacy1 what fancy1 what lurking spleen1 what elegance of thought1 what pampered refinement of sentiment6 ,it is like looking at the world through a microscope1 where everything assumes a new character and a new consequence1 where things are seen in their minutest circumstances and slightest shades of difference2 where the little becomes gigantic1 the deformed beautiful1 and the beautiful deformed4 ,the wrong end of the magnifier is1 to be sure1 held to every thing1 but still the exhibition is highly curious1 and we know not whether to be most pleased or surprised4 ,such1 at least1 is the best account ,i am able to give of this extraordinary man1 without doing injustice to him or others4 ,it is time to refer to particular instances in his works4--,the ,rape of the ,lock is the best or most ingenious of these4 ,it is the most exquisite specimen of fillagree work ever invented4 ,it is admirable in proportion as it is made of nothing4 ,more subtle web ,arachne cannot spin1 ,nor the fine nets1 which oft we woven see ,of scorched dew1 do not in th' air more lightly flee4 ,it is made of gauze and silver spangles4 ,the most glittering appearance is given to every thing1 to paste1 pomatum1 billet-doux1 and patches4 ,airs1 languid airs1 breathe around2--the atmosphere is perfumed with affectation4 ,a toilette is described with the solemnity of an altar raised to the goddess of vanity1 and the history of a silver bodkin is given with all the pomp of heraldry4 ,no pains are spared1 no profusion of ornament1 no splendour of poetic diction1 to set off the meanest things4 ,the balance between the concealed irony and the assumed gravity1 is as nicely trimmed as the balance of power in ,europe4 ,the little is made great1 and the great little4 ,you hardly know whether to laugh or weep4 ,it is the triumph of insignificance1 the apotheosis of foppery and folly4 ,it is the perfection of the mock-heroic6 ,i will give only the two following passages in illustration of these remarks4 ,can anything be more elegant and graceful than the description of ,belinda1 in the beginning of the second canto8 ,not with more glories1 in the ethereal plain1 ,the sun first rises o'er the purpled main1 ,than1 issuing forth1 the rival of his beams ,launch'd on the bosom of the silver ,thames4 ,fair nymphs1 and well-drest youths around her shone1 ,but ev'ry eye was fix'd on her alone4 ,on her white breast a sparkling cross she wore1 ,which ,jews might kiss1 and infidels adore4 ,her lively looks a sprightly mind disclose1 ,quick as her eyes1 and as unfix'd as those3 ,favours to none1 to all she smiles extends2 ,oft she rejects1 but never once offends4 ,bright as the sun1 her eyes the gazers strike2 ,and like the sun1 they shine on all alike4 ,yet graceful ease1 and sweetness void of pride1 ,might hide her faults1 if belles had faults to hide3 ,if to her share some female errors fall4 ,look on her face1 and you'll forget 'em all4 ,this nymph1 to the destruction of mankind1 ,nourish'd two locks1 which graceful hung behind ,in equal curls1 and well conspir'd to deck ,with shining ringlets the smooth iv'ry neck4 ,the following is the introduction to the account of ,belinda's assault upon the baron bold1 who had dissevered one of these locks from her fair head for ever and for ever4 ,now meet thy fate1 incens'd ,belinda cry'd1 ,and drew a deadly bodkin from her side4 7,the same his ancient personage to deck1 ,her great1 great grandsire wore about his neck1 ,in three seal-rings2 which after1 melted down1 ,form'd a vast buckle for his widow's gown2 ,her infant grandame's whistle next it grew1 ,the bells she jingled1 and the whistle blew3 ,then in a bodkin grac'd her mother's hairs1 ,which long she wore1 and now ,belinda wears47 ,i do not know how far ,pope was indebted for the original idea1 or the delightful execution of this poem1 to the ,lutrin of ,boileau4 ,the ,rape of the ,lock is a double-refined essence of wit and fancy1 as the ,essay on ,criticism is of wit and sense4 ,the quantity of thought and observation in this work1 for so young a man as ,pope was when he wrote it1 is wonderful3 unless we adopt the supposition1 that most men of genius spend the rest of their lives in teaching others what they themselves have learned under twenty4 ,the conciseness and felicity of the expression is equally remarkable4 ,thus in reasoning on the variety of men's opinions1 he says-- ',tis with our judgments1 as our watches2 none ,go just alike1 yet each believes his own4 ,nothing can be more original and happy than the general remarks and illustrations in the ,essay3 the critical rules laid down are too much those of a school1 and of a confined one4 ,there is one passage in the ,essay on ,criticism in which the author speaks with that eloquent enthusiasm of the fame of ancient writers1 which those will always feel who have themselves any hope or chance of immortality4 ,i have quoted the passage elsewhere1 but ,i will repeat it here4 ,still green with bays each ancient altar stands1 ,above the reach of sacrilegious hands2 ,secure from flames1 from envy's fiercer rage1 ,destructive war1 and all-involving age4 ,hail1 bards triumphant1 born in happier days1 ,immortal heirs of universal praise6 ,whose honours with increase of ages grow1 ,as streams roll down1 enlarging as they flow4 ,these lines come with double force and beauty on the reader as they were dictated by the writer's despair of ever attaining that lasting glory which he celebrates with such disinterested enthusiasm in others1 from the lateness of the age in which he lived1 and from his writing in a tongue1 not understood by other nations1 and that grows obsolete and unintelligible to ourselves at the end of every second century4 ,but he needed not have thus antedated his own poetical doom--the loss and entire oblivion of that which can never die4 ,if he had known1 he might have boasted that his little bark wafted down the stream of time1 ,with theirs should sail1 ,pursue the triumph and partake the gale-- if those who know how to set a due value on the blessing1 were not the last to decide confidently on their own pretensions to it4 ,there is a cant in the present day about genius1 as every thing in poetry3 there was a cant in the time of ,pope about sense1 as performing all sorts of wonders4 ,it was a kind of watchword1 the shibboleth of a critical party of the day4 ,as a proof of the exclusive attention which it occupied in their minds1 it is remarkable that in the ,essay on ,criticism 7not a very long poem7 there are no less than half a score successive couplets rhyming to the word sense4 ,this appears almost incredible without giving the instances1 and no less so when they are given4 ,but of the two1 less dangerous is the offence1 ,to tire our patience than mislead our sense4 lines #c1 #d4 ,in search of wit these lose their common sense1 ,and then turn critics in their own defence4 l4 #bh1 #bi4 ,pride1 where wit fails1 steps in to our defence1 ,and fills up all the mighty void of sense4 l4 #bji1 #aj4 ,some by old words to fame have made pretence1 ,ancients in phrase1 mere moderns in their sense4 l4 #cbd1 #e4 ,tis not enough no harshness gives offence2 ,the sound must seem an echo to the sense4 l4 #cfd1 #e4 ,at every trifle scorn to take offence2 ,that always shews great pride1 or little sense4 l4 #chf1 #g4 ,be silent always1 when you doubt your sense1 ,and speak1 though sure1 with seeming diffidence4 l4 #cff1 #g4 ,be niggards of advice on no pretence1 ,for the worst avarice is that of sense4 l4 #egh1 #i4 ,strain out the last dull dropping of their sense1 ,and rhyme with all the rage of impotence4 l4 #fjh1 #i4 ,horace still charms with graceful negligence1 ,and without method talks us into sense4 l4 #fec1 #d4 ,i have mentioned this the more for the sake of those critics who are bigotted idolisers of our author1 chiefly on the score of his correctness4 ,these persons seem to be of opinion that there is but one perfect writer1 even ,pope4 ,this is1 however1 a mistake3 his excellence is by no means faultlessness4 ,if he had no great faults1 he is full of little errors4 ,his grammatical construction is often lame and imperfect4 ,in the ,abelard and ,eloise1 he says-- ,there died the best of passions1 ,love and ,fame4 ,this is not a legitimate ellipsis4 ,fame is not a passion1 though love is3 but his ear was evidently confused by the meeting of the sounds love and fame1 as if they of themselves immediately implied love1 and love of fame4 ,pope's rhymes are constantly defective1 being rhymes to the eye instead of the ear2 and this to a greater degree1 not only than in later1 but than in preceding writers4 ,the praise of his versification must be confined to its uniform smoothness and harmony4 ,in the translation of the ,iliad1 which has been considered as his masterpiece in style and execution1 he continually changes the tenses in the same sentence for the purpose of the rhyme1 which shews either a want of technical resources1 or great inattention to punctilious exactness4 ,but to have done with this4 ,the ,epistle of ,eloise to ,abelard is the only exception ,i can think of1 to the general spirit of the foregoing remarks2 and ,i should be disingenuous not to acknowledge that it is an exception4 ,the foundation is in the letters themselves of ,abelard and ,eloise1 which are quite as impressive1 but still in a different way4 ,it is fine as a poem3 it is finer as a piece of high-wrought eloquence4 ,no woman could be supposed to write a finer love-letter in verse4 ,besides the richness of the historical materials1 the high gusto of the original sentiments which ,pope had to work upon1 there were perhaps circumstances in his own situation which made him enter into the subject with even more than a poet's feeling4 ,the tears shed are drops gushing from the heart3 the words are burning sighs breathed from the soul of love4 ,perhaps the poem to which it bears the greatest similarity in our language1 is ,dryden's ,tancred and ,sigismunda1 taken from ,boccaccio4 ,pope's ,eloise will bear this comparison2 and after such a test1 with ,boccaccio for the original author1 and ,dryden for the translator1 it need shrink from no other4 ,there is something exceedingly tender and beautiful in the sound of the concluding lines3 ,if ever chance two wandering lovers brings ,to ,paraclete's white walls and silver springs1 etc4 ,the ,essay on ,man is not ,pope's best work4 ,it is a theory which ,bolingbroke is supposed to have given him1 and which he expanded into verse4 ,but he spins the thread of his verbosity finer than the staple of his argument4 ,all that he says1 the very words1 and to the self-same tune1 would prove just as well that whatever is1 is wrong1 as that whatever is1 is right4 ,the ,dunciad has splendid passages1 but in general it is dull1 heavy1 and mechanical4 ,the sarcasm already quoted on ,settle1 the ,lord ,mayor's poet1 7for at that time there was a city as well as a court poet7 ,now night descending1 the proud scene is o'er1 ,but lives in ,settle's numbers one day more-- is the finest inversion of immortality conceivable4 ,it is even better than his serious apostrophe to the great heirs of glory1 the triumphant bards of antiquity6 ,the finest burst of severe moral invective in all ,pope1 is the prophetical conclusion of the epilogue to the ,satires3 ,virtue may chuse the high or low degree1 ',tis just alike to virtue1 and to me2 ,dwell in a monk1 or light upon a king1 ,she's still the same belov'd1 contented thing4 ,vice is undone if she forgets her birth1 ,and stoops from angels to the dregs of earth4 ,but 'tis the ,fall degrades her to a whore3 ,let ,greatness own her1 and she's mean no more4 ,her birth1 her beauty1 crowds and courts confess1 ,chaste matrons praise her1 and grave bishops bless2 ,in golden chains the willing world she draws1 ,and hers the gospel is1 and hers the laws2 ,mounts the tribunal1 lifts her scarlet head1 ,and sees pale ,virtue carted in her stead4 ,lo6 at the wheels of her triumphal car1 ,old ,england's ,genius1 rough with many a scar1 ,dragged in the dust6 his arms hang idly round1 ,his flag inverted trails along the ground6 ,our youth1 all livery'd o'er with foreign gold1 ,before her dance2 behind her1 crawl the old6 ,see thronging millions to the ,pagod run1 ,and offer country1 parent1 wife1 or son6 ,hear her black trumpet through the land proclaim1 ,that not to be corrupted is the shame4 ,in soldier1 churchman1 patriot1 man in pow'r1 ',tis av'rice all1 ambition is no more6 ,see all our nobles begging to be slaves6 ,see all our fools aspiring to be knaves6 ,the wit of cheats1 the courage of a whore1 ,are what ten thousand envy and adore3 ,all1 all look up with reverential awe1 ,at crimes that 'scape or triumph o'er the law2 ,while truth1 worth1 wisdom1 daily they decry3 ,nothing is sacred now but villainy4 ,yet may this verse 7if such a verse remain7 ,show there was one who held it in disdain4 ,his ,satires are not in general so good as his ,epistles4 ,his enmity is effeminate and petulant from a sense of weakness1 as his friendship was tender from a sense of gratitude4 ,i do not like1 for instance1 his character of ,chartres1 or his characters of women4 ,his delicacy often borders upon sickliness2 his fastidiousness makes others fastidious4 ,but his compliments are divine2 they are equal in value to a house or an estate4 ,take the following4 ,in addressing ,lord ,mansfield1 he speaks of the grave as a scene1 ,where ,murray1 long enough his country's pride1 ,shall be no more than ,tully1 or than ,hyde4 ,to ,bolingbroke he says-- ,why rail they then if but one wreath of mine1 ,oh all-accomplished ,st4 ,john1 deck thy shrine8 ,again1 he has bequeathed this praise to ,lord ,cornbury-- ,despise low thoughts1 low gains3 ,disdain whatever ,cornbury disdains2 ,be virtuous and be happy for your pains4 ,one would think 7though there is no knowing7 that a descendant of this nobleman1 if there be such a person living1 could hardly be guilty of a mean or paltry action4 ,the finest piece of personal satire in ,pope 7perhaps in the world7 is his character of ,addison2 and this1 it may be observed1 is of a mixed kind1 made up of his respect for the man1 and a cutting sense of his failings4 ,the other finest one is that of ,buckingham1 and the best part of that is the pleasurable ,alas6 how changed from him1 ,that life of pleasure1 and that soul of whim3 ,gallant and gay1 in ,cliveden's proud alcove1 ,the bower of wanton ,shrewsbury and love6 ,among his happiest and most inimitable effusions are the ,epistles to ,arbuthnot1 and to ,jervas the painter2 amiable patterns of the delightful unconcerned life1 blending ease with dignity1 which poets and painters then led4 ,thus he says to ,arbuthnot-- ,why did ,i write8 ,what sin to me unknown ,dipp'd me in ink1 my parents' or my own8 ,as yet a child1 nor yet a fool to fame1 ,i lisped in numbers1 for the numbers came4 ,i left no calling for this idle trade1 ,no duty broke1 no father disobey'd3 ,the ,muse but served to ease some friend1 not wife2 ,to help me through this long disease1 my life2 ,to second1 ,arbuthnot6 thy art and care1 ,and teach the being you preserv'd to bear4 ,but why then publish8 ,granville the polite1 ,and knowing ,walsh1 would tell me ,i could write2 ,well-natur'd ,garth1 inflam'd with early praise1 ,and ,congreve lov'd1 and ,swift endur'd my lays2 ,the courtly ,talbot1 ,somers1 ,sheffield read2 ,e'en mitred ,rochester would nod the head2 ,and ,st4 ,john's self 7great ,dryden's friend before7 ,with open arms receiv'd one poet more4 ,happy my studies1 when by these approv'd6 ,happier their author1 when by these belov'd6 ,from these the world will judge of men and books1 ,not from the ,burnets1 ,oldmixons1 and ,cooks4 ,i cannot help giving also the conclusion of the ,epistle to ,jervas4 ,oh1 lasting as those colours may they shine1 ,free as thy stroke1 yet faultless as thy line2 ,new graces yearly like thy works display1 ,soft without weakness1 without glaring gay2 ,led by some rule1 that guides1 but not constrains2 ,and finish'd more through happiness than pains1 ,the kindred arts shall in their praise conspire1 ,one dip the pencil1 and one string the lyre4 ,yet should the ,graces all thy figures place1 ,and breathe an air divine on ev'ry face2 ,yet should the ,muses bid my numbers roll ,strong as their charms1 and gentle as their soul2 ,with ,zeuxis' ,helen thy ,bridgewater vie1 ,and these be sung till ,granville's ,myra die3 ,alas6 how little from the grave we claim6 ,thou but preserv'st a face1 and ,i a name4 ,and shall we cut ourselves off from beauties like these with a theory8 ,shall we shut up our books1 and seal up our senses1 to please the dull spite and inordinate vanity of those who have eyes1 but they see not--ears1 but they hear not--and understandings1 but they understand not1--and go about asking our blind guides1 whether ,pope was a poet or not8 ,it will never do4 ,such persons1 when you point out to them a fine passage in ,pope1 turn it off to something of the same sort in some other writer4 ,thus they say that the line1 ,i lisp'd in numbers1 for the numbers came1 is pretty1 but taken from that of ,ovid--,et quum conabar scribere1 versus erat4 ,they are safe in this mode of criticism3 there is no danger of any one's tracing their writings to the classics4 ,pope's letters and prose writings neither take away from1 nor add to his poetical reputation4 ,there is1 occasionally1 a littleness of manner1 and an unnecessary degree of caution4 ,he appears anxious to say a good thing in every word1 as well as every sentence4 ,they1 however1 give a very favourable idea of his moral character in all respects2 and his letters to ,atterbury1 in his disgrace and exile1 do equal honour to both4 ,if ,i had to choose1 there are one or two persons1 and but one or two1 that ,i should like to have been better than ,pope6 ,,vii ,,on ,,the ,,periodical ,,essayists ,the proper study of mankind is man4 ,i now come to speak of that sort of writing which has been so successfully cultivated in this country by our periodical ,essayists1 and which consists in applying the talents and resources of the mind to all that mixed mass of human affairs1 which1 though not included under the head of any regular art1 science1 or profession1 falls under the cognisance of the writer1 and comes home to the business and bosoms of men4 ,quicquid agunt homines nostri farrago libelli1 is the general motto of this department of literature4 ,it does not treat of minerals or fossils1 of the virtues of plants1 or the influence of planets2 it does not meddle with forms of belief or systems of philosophy1 nor launch into the world of spiritual existences2 but it makes familiar with the world of men and women1 records their actions1 assigns their motives1 exhibits their whims1 characterises their pursuits in all their singular and endless variety1 ridicules their absurdities1 exposes their inconsistencies1 holds the mirror up to nature1 and shews the very age and body of the time its form and pressure2 takes minutes of our dress1 air1 looks1 words1 thoughts1 and actions2 shews us what we are1 and what we are not2 plays the whole game of human life over before us1 and by making us enlightened spectators of its many-coloured scenes1 enables us 7if possible7 to become tolerably reasonable agents in the one in which we have to perform a part4 ,the act and practic part of life is thus made the mistress of our theorique4 ,it is the best and most natural course of study4 ,it is in morals and manners what the experimental is in natural philosophy1 as opposed to the dogmatical method4 ,it does not deal in sweeping clauses of proscription and anathema1 but in nice distinction and liberal constructions4 ,it makes up its general accounts from details1 its few theories from many facts4 ,it does not try to prove all black or all white as it wishes1 but lays on the intermediate colours1 7and most of them not unpleasing ones17 as it finds them blended with the web of our life1 which is of a mingled yarn1 good and ill together4 ,it inquires what human life is and has been1 to shew what it ought to be4 ,it follows it into courts and camps1 into town and country1 into rustic sports or learned disputations1 into the various shades of prejudice or ignorance1 of refinement or barbarism1 into its private haunts or public pageants1 into its weaknesses and littlenesses1 its professions and its practices--before it pretends to distinguish right from wrong1 or one thing from another4 ,how1 indeed1 should it do so otherwise8 ,quid sit pulchrum1 quid turpe1 quid utile1 quid non1 ,plenius et melius ,chrysippo et ,crantore dicit4 ,the writers ,i speak of are1 if not moral philosophers1 moral historians1 and that's better3 or if they are both1 they found the one character upon the other2 their premises precede their conclusions2 and we put faith in their testimony1 for we know that it is true4 ,montaigne was the first person who in his ,essays led the way to this kind of writing among the moderns4 ,the great merit of ,montaigne then was1 that he may be said to have been the first who had the courage to say as an author what he felt as a man4 ,and as courage is generally the effect of conscious strength1 he was probably led to do so by the richness1 truth1 and force of his own observations on books and men4 ,he was1 in the truest sense1 a man of original mind1 that is1 he had the power of looking at things for himself1 or as they really were1 instead of blindly trusting to1 and fondly repeating what others told him that they were4 ,he got rid of the go-cart of prejudice and affectation1 with the learned lumber that follows at their heels1 because he could do without them4 ,in taking up his pen he did not set up for a philosopher1 wit1 orator1 or moralist1 but he became all these by merely daring to tell us whatever passed through his mind1 in its naked simplicity and force1 that he thought any ways worth communicating4 ,he did not1 in the abstract character of an author1 undertake to say all that could be said upon a subject1 but what in his capacity as an inquirer after truth he happened to know about it4 ,he was neither a pedant nor a bigot4 ,he neither supposed that he was bound to know all things1 nor that all things were bound to conform to what he had fancied or would have them to be4 ,in treating of men and manners1 he spoke of them as he found them1 not according to preconceived notions and abstract dogmas2 and he began by teaching us what he himself was4 ,in criticising books he did not compare them with rules and systems1 but told us what he saw to like or dislike in them4 ,he did not take his standard of excellence according to an exact scale of ,aristotle1 or fall out with a work that was good for any thing1 because not one of the angles at the four corners was a right one4 ,he was1 in a word1 the first author who was not a bookmaker1 and who wrote not to make converts of others to established creeds and prejudices1 but to satisfy his own mind of the truth of things4 ,in this respect we know not which to be most charmed with1 the author or the man4 ,there is an inexpressible frankness and sincerity1 as well as power1 in what he writes4 ,there is no attempt at imposition or concealment1 no juggling tricks or solemn mouthing1 no laboured attempts at proving himself always in the right1 and every body else in the wrong2 he says what is uppermost1 lays open what floats at the top or the bottom of his mind1 and deserves ,pope's character of him1 where he professes to ----pour out all as plain ,as downright ,shippen1 or as old ,montaigne4#abh ,he does not converse with us like a pedagogue with his pupil1 whom he wishes to make as great a blockhead as himself1 but like a philosopher and friend who has passed through life with thought and observation1 and is willing to enable others to pass through it with pleasure and profit4 ,a writer of this stamp1 ,i confess1 appears to me as much superior to a common bookworm1 as a library of real books is superior to a mere book-case1 painted and lettered on the outside with the names of celebrated works4 ,as he was the first to attempt this new way of writing1 so the same strong natural impulse which prompted the undertaking1 carried him to the end of his career4 ,the same force and honesty of mind which urged him to throw off the shackles of custom and prejudice1 would enable him to complete his triumph over them4 ,he has left little for his successors to achieve in the way of just and original speculation on human life4 ,nearly all the thinking of the two last centuries of that kind which the ,french denominate morale observatrice1 is to be found in ,montaigne's ,essays3 there is the germ1 at least1 and generally much more4 ,he sowed the seed and cleared away the rubbish1 even where others have reaped the fruit1 or cultivated and decorated the soil to a greater degree of nicety and perfection4 ,there is no one to whom the old ,latin adage is more applicable than to ,montaigne1 ,pereant isti qui ante nos nostra dixerunt4 ,there has been no new impulse given to thought since his time4 ,among the specimens of criticisms on authors which he has left us1 are those on ,virgil1 ,ovid1 and ,boccaccio1 in the account of books which he thinks worth reading1 or 7which is the same thing7 which he finds he can read in his old age1 and which may be reckoned among the few criticisms which are worth reading at any age4#abi ,montaigne's ,essays were translated into ,english by ,charles ,cotton1 who was one of the wits and poets of the age of ,charles ,,ii2 and ,lord ,halifax1 one of the noble critics of that day1 declared it to be the book in the world he was the best pleased with4 ,this mode of familiar ,essay-writing1 free from the trammels of the schools1 and the airs of professed authorship1 was successfully imitated1 about the same time1 by ,cowley and ,sir ,william ,temple1 in their miscellaneous ,essays1 which are very agreeable and learned talking upon paper4 ,lord ,shaftesbury1 on the contrary1 who aimed at the same easy1 dgag mode of communicating his thoughts to the world1 has quite spoiled his matter1 which is sometimes valuable1 by his manner1 in which he carries a certain flaunting1 flowery1 figurative1 flirting style of amicable condescension to the reader1 to an excess more tantalising than the most starched and ridiculous formality of the age of ,james ,i4 ,there is nothing so tormenting as the affectation of ease and freedom from affectation4 ,the ice being thus thawed1 and the barrier that kept authors at a distance from common-sense and feeling broken through1 the transition was not difficult from ,montaigne and his imitators1 to our ,periodical ,essayists4 ,these last applied the same unrestrained expression of their thoughts to the more immediate and passing scenes of life1 to temporary and local matters2 and in order to discharge the invidious office of ,censor ,morum more freely1 and with less responsibility1 assumed some fictitious and humorous disguise1 which1 however1 in a great degree corresponded to their own peculiar habits and character4 ,by thus concealing their own name and person under the title of the ,tatler1 ,spectator1 etc4 they were enabled to inform us more fully of what was passing in the world1 while the dramatic contrast and ironical point of view to which the whole is subjected1 added a greater liveliness and piquancy to the descriptions4 ,the philosopher and wit here commences newsmonger1 makes himself master of the perfect spy o' th' time1 and from his various walks and turns through life1 brings home little curious specimens of the humours1 opinions1 and manners of his contemporaries1 as the botanist brings home different plants and weeds1 or the mineralogist different shells and fossils1 to illustrate their several theories1 and be useful to mankind4 ,the first of these papers that was attempted in this country was set up by ,steele in the beginning of the last century2 and of all our ,periodical ,essayists1 the ,tatler 7for that was the name he assumed7 has always appeared to me the most amusing and agreeable4 ,montaigne1 whom ,i have proposed to consider as the father of this kind of personal authorship among the moderns1 in which the reader is admitted behind the curtain1 and sits down with the writer in his gown and slippers1 was a most magnanimous and undisguised egotist2 but ,isaac ,bickerstaff1 ,esq4 was the more disinterested gossip of the two4 ,the ,french author is contented to describe the peculiarities of his own mind and constitution1 which he does with a copious and unsparing hand4 ,the ,english journalist good-naturedly lets you into the secret both of his own affairs and those of others4 ,a young lady1 on the other side ,temple ,bar1 cannot be seen at her glass for half a day together1 but ,mr4 ,bickerstaff takes due notice of it2 and he has the first intelligence of the symptoms of the belle passion appearing in any young gentleman at the ,west-end of the town4 ,the departures and arrivals of widows with handsome jointures1 either to bury their grief in the country1 or to procure a second husband in town1 are punctually recorded in his pages4 ,he is well acquainted with the celebrated beauties of the preceding age at the court of ,charles ,,ii2 and the old gentleman 7as he feigns himself7 often grows romantic in recounting the disastrous strokes which his youth suffered from the glances of their bright eyes1 and their unaccountable caprices4 ,in particular1 he dwells with a secret satisfaction on the recollection of one of his mistresses1 who left him for a richer rival1 and whose constant reproach to her husband1 on occasion of any quarrel between them1 was ,i1 that might have married the famous ,mr4 ,bickerstaff1 to be treated in this manner6 ,the club at the ,trumpet consists of a set of persons almost as well worth knowing as himself4 ,the cavalcade of the justice of the peace1 the knight of the shire1 the country squire1 and the young gentleman1 his nephew1 who came to wait on him at his chambers1 in such form and ceremony1 seem not to have settled the order of their precedence to this hour2#acj and ,i should hope that the upholsterer and his companions1 who used to sun themselves in the ,green ,park1 and who broke their rest and fortunes to maintain the balance of power in ,europe1 stand as fair a chance for immortality as some modern politicians4 ,mr4 ,bickerstaff himself is a gentleman and a scholar1 a humourist1 and a man of the world2 with a great deal of nice easy navet about him4 ,if he walks out and is caught in a shower of rain1 he makes amends for this unlucky accident by a criticism on the shower in ,virgil1 and concludes with a burlesque copy of verses on a city-shower4 ,he entertains us1 when he dates from his own apartment1 with a quotation from ,plutarch1 or a moral reflection2 from the ,grecian coffee-house with politics2 and from ,wills'1 or the ,temple1 with the poets and players1 the beaux and men of wit and pleasure about town4 ,in reading the pages of the ,tatler1 we seem as if suddenly carried back to the age of ,queen ,anne1 of toupees and full-bottomed periwigs4 ,the whole appearance of our dress and manners undergoes a delightful metamorphosis4 ,the beaux and the belles are of a quite different species from what they are at present2 we distinguish the dappers1 the smarts1 and the pretty fellows1 as they pass by ,mr4 ,lilly's shop-windows in the ,strand2 we are introduced to ,betterton and ,mrs4 ,oldfield behind the scenes2 are made familiar with the persons and performances of ,will ,estcourt or ,tom ,durfey2 we listen to a dispute at a tavern1 on the merits of the ,duke of ,marlborough1 or ,marshal ,turenne2 or are present at the first rehearsal of a play by ,vanbrugh1 or the reading of a new poem by ,mr4 ,pope4 ,the privilege of thus virtually transporting ourselves to past times1 is even greater than that of visiting distant places in reality4 ,london1 a hundred years ago1 would be much better worth seeing than ,paris at the present moment4 ,it will be said1 that all this is to be found1 in the same or a greater degree1 in the ,spectator4 ,for myself1 ,i do not think so2 or at least1 there is in the last work a much greater proportion of commonplace matter4 ,i have1 on this account1 always preferred the ,tatler to the ,spectator4 ,whether it is owing to my having been earlier or better acquainted with the one than the other1 my pleasure in reading these two admirable works is not in proportion to their comparative reputation4 ,the ,tatler contains only half the number of volumes1 and1 ,i will venture to say1 nearly an equal quantity of sterling wit and sense4 ,the first sprightly runnings are there3 it has more of the original spirit1 more of the freshness and stamp of nature4 ,the indications of character and strokes of humour are more true and frequent2 the reflections that suggest themselves arise more from the occasion1 and are less spun out into regular dissertations4 ,they are more like the remarks which occur in sensible conversation1 and less like a lecture4 ,something is left to the understanding of the reader4 ,steele seems to have gone into his closet chiefly to set down what he observed out of doors4 ,addison seems to have spent most of his time in his study1 and to have spun out and wire-drawn the hints1 which he borrowed from ,steele1 or took from nature1 to the utmost4 ,i am far from wishing to depreciate ,addison's talents1 but ,i am anxious to do justice to ,steele1 who was1 ,i think1 upon the whole1 a less artificial and more original writer4 ,the humorous descriptions of ,steele resemble loose sketches1 or fragments of a comedy2 those of ,addison are rather comments or ingenious paraphrases on the genuine text4 ,the characters of the club1 not only in the ,tatler1 but in the ,spectator1 were drawn by ,steele4 ,that of ,sir ,roger de ,coverley is among the number4 ,addison has1 however1 gained himself immortal honour by his manner of filling up this last character4 ,who is there that can forget1 or be insensible to1 the inimitable nameless graces and varied traits of nature and of old ,english character in it--to his unpretending virtues and amiable weaknesses--to his modesty1 generosity1 hospitality1 and eccentric whims--to the respect of his neighbours1 and the affection of his domestics--to his wayward1 hopeless1 secret passion for his fair enemy1 the widow1 in which there is more of real romance and true delicacy than in a thousand tales of knight-errantry--7we perceive the hectic flush of his cheek1 the faltering of his tongue in speaking of her bewitching airs and the whiteness of her hand7--to the havoc he makes among the game in his neighbourhood--to his speech from the bench1 to shew the ,spectator what is thought of him in the country--to his unwillingness to be put up as a sign-post1 and his having his own likeness turned into the ,saracen's head--to his gentle reproof of the baggage of a gipsy that tells him he has a widow in his line of life--to his doubts as to the existence of witchcraft1 and protection of reputed witches--to his account of the family pictures1 and his choice of a chaplain--to his falling asleep at church1 and his reproof of ,john ,williams1 as soon as he recovered from his nap1 for talking in sermon-time4 ,the characters of ,will4 ,wimble and ,will4 ,honeycomb are not a whit behind their friend1 ,sir ,roger1 in delicacy and felicity4 ,the delightful simplicity and good-humoured officiousness in the one1 are set off by the graceful affectation and courtly pretension in the other4 ,how long since ,i first became acquainted with these two characters in the ,spectator6 ,what old-fashioned friends they seem1 and yet ,i am not tired of them1 like so many other friends1 nor they of me6 ,how airy these abstractions of the poet's pen stream over the dawn of our acquaintance with human life6 how they glance their fairest colours on the prospect before us6 how pure they remain in it to the last1 like the rainbow in the evening-cloud1 which the rude hand of time and experience can neither soil nor dissipate6 ,what a pity that we cannot find the reality1 and yet if we did1 the dream would be over4 ,i once thought ,i knew a ,will4 ,wimble1 and a ,will4 ,honeycomb1 but they turned out but indifferently2 the originals in the ,spectator still read1 word for word1 the same that they always did4 ,we have only to turn to the page1 and find them where we left them6--,many of the most exquisite pieces in the ,tatler1 it is to be observed1 are ,addison's1 as the ,court of ,honour1 and the ,personification of ,musical ,instruments1 with almost all those papers that form regular sets or series4 ,i do not know whether the picture of the family of an old college acquaintance1 in the ,tatler1 where the children run to let ,mr4 ,bickerstaff in at the door1 and where the one that loses the race that way1 turns back to tell the father that he is come2 with the nice gradation of incredulity in the little boy who is got into ,guy of ,warwick1 and the ,seven ,champions1 and who shakes his head at the improbability of sop's ,fables1 is ,steele's or ,addison's1 though ,i believe it belongs to the former4 ,the account of the two sisters1 one of whom held up her head higher than ordinary1 from having on a pair of flowered garters1 and that of the married lady who complained to the ,tatler of the neglect of her husband1 with her answers to some home questions that were put to her1 are unquestionably ,steele's4--,if the ,tatler is not inferior to the ,spectator as a record of manners and character1 it is superior to it in the interest of many of the stories4 ,several of the incidents related there by ,steele have never been surpassed in the heart-rending pathos of private distress4 ,i might refer to those of the lover and his mistress1 when the theatre1 in which they were1 caught fire2 of the bridegroom1 who by accident kills his bride on the day of their marriage2 the story of ,mr4 ,eustace and his wife2 and the fine dream about his own mistress when a youth4 ,what has given its superior reputation to the ,spectator1 is the greater gravity of its pretensions1 its moral dissertations and critical reasonings1 by which ,i confess myself less edified than by other things1 which are thought more lightly of4 ,systems and opinions change1 but nature is always true4 ,it is the moral and didactic tone of the ,spectator which makes us apt to think of ,addison 7according to ,mandeville's sarcasm7 as a parson in a tie-wig4 ,many of his moral ,essays are1 however1 exquisitely beautiful and quite happy4 ,such are the reflections on cheerfulness1 those in ,westminster ,abbey1 on the ,royal ,exchange1 and particularly some very affecting ones on the death of a young lady in the fourth volume4 ,these1 it must be allowed1 are the perfection of elegant sermonising4 ,his critical ,essays are not so good4 ,i prefer ,steele's occasional selection of beautiful poetical passages1 without any affectation of analysing their beauties1 to ,addison's finer-spun theories4 ,the best criticism in the ,spectator1 that on the ,cartoons of ,raphael1 of which ,mr4 ,fuseli has availed himself with great spirit in his ,lectures1 is by ,steele4#aca ,i owed this acknowledgment to a writer who has so often put me in good humour with myself1 and every thing about me1 when few things else could1 and when the tomes of casuistry and ecclesiastical history1 with which the little duodecimo volumes of the ,tatler were overwhelmed and surrounded1 in the only library to which ,i had access when a boy1 had tried their tranquillising effects upon me in vain4 ,i had not long ago in my hands1 by favour of a friend1 an original copy of the quarto edition of the ,tatler1 with a list of the subscribers4 ,it is curious to see some names there which we should hardly think of 7that of ,sir ,isaac ,newton is among them17 and also to observe the degree of interest excited by those of the different persons1 which is not determined according to the rules of the ,herald's ,college4 ,one literary name lasts as long as a whole race of heroes and their descendants6 ,the ,guardian1 which followed the ,spectator1 was1 as may be supposed1 inferior to it4 ,the dramatic and conversational turn which forms the distinguishing feature and greatest charm of the ,spectator and ,tatler1 is quite lost in the ,rambler by ,dr4 ,johnson4 ,there is no reflected light thrown on human life from an assumed character1 nor any direct one from a display of the author's own4 ,the ,tatler and ,spectator are1 as it were1 made up of notes and memorandums of the events and incidents of the day1 with finished studies after nature1 and characters fresh from the life1 which the writer moralises upon1 and turns to account as they come before him3 the ,rambler is a collection of moral ,essays1 or scholastic theses1 written on set subjects1 and of which the individual characters and incidents are merely artificial illustrations1 brought in to give a pretended relief to the dryness of didactic discussion4 ,the ,rambler is a splendid and imposing common-place-book of general topics1 and rhetorical declamation on the conduct and business of human life4 ,in this sense1 there is hardly a reflection that has been suggested on such subjects which is not to be found in this celebrated work1 and there is1 perhaps1 hardly a reflection to be found in it which had not been already suggested and developed by some other author1 or in the common course of conversation4 ,the mass of intellectual wealth here heaped together is immense1 but it is rather the result of gradual accumulation1 the produce of the general intellect1 labouring in the mine of knowledge and reflection1 than dug out of the quarry1 and dragged into the light by the industry and sagacity of a single mind4 ,i am not here saying that ,dr4 ,johnson was a man without originality1 compared with the ordinary run of men's minds1 but he was not a man of original thought or genius1 in the sense in which ,montaigne or ,lord ,bacon was4 ,he opened no new vein of precious ore1 nor did he light upon any single pebbles of uncommon size and unrivalled lustre4 ,we seldom meet with anything to give us pause2 he does not set us thinking for the first time4 ,his reflections present themselves like reminiscences2 do not disturb the ordinary march of our thoughts2 arrest our attention by the stateliness of their appearance1 and the costliness of their garb1 but pass on and mingle with the throng of our impressions4 ,after closing the volumes of the ,rambler1 there is nothing that we remember as a new truth gained to the mind1 nothing indelibly stamped upon the memory2 nor is there any passage that we wish to turn to as embodying any known principle or observation1 with such force and beauty that justice can only be done to the idea in the author's own words4 ,such1 for instance1 are many of the passages to be found in ,burke1 which shine by their own light1 belong to no class1 have neither equal nor counterpart1 and of which we say that no one but the author could have written them6 ,there is neither the same boldness of design1 nor mastery of execution in ,johnson4 ,in the one1 the spark of genius seems to have met with its congenial matter3 the shaft is sped2 the forked lightning dresses up the face of nature in ghastly smiles1 and the loud thunder rolls far away from the ruin that is made4 ,dr4 ,johnson's style1 on the contrary1 resembles rather the rumbling of mimic thunder at one of our theatres2 and the light he throws upon a subject is like the dazzling effect of phosphorus1 or an ignis fatuus of words4 ,there is a wide difference1 however1 between perfect originality and perfect common-place3 neither ideas nor expressions are trite or vulgar because they are not quite new4 ,they are valuable1 and ought to be repeated1 if they have not become quite common2 and ,johnson's style both of reasoning and imagery holds the middle rank between startling novelty and vapid common-place4 ,johnson has as much originality of thinking as ,addison2 but then he wants his familiarity of illustration1 knowledge of character1 and delightful humour4 ,what most distinguishes ,dr4 ,johnson from other writers is the pomp and uniformity of his style4 ,all his periods are cast in the same mould1 are of the same size and shape1 and consequently have little fitness to the variety of things he professes to treat of4 ,his subjects are familiar1 but the author is always upon stilts4 ,he has neither ease nor simplicity1 and his efforts at playfulness1 in part1 remind one of the lines in ,milton3-- ----,the elephant ,to make them sport wreath'd his proboscis lithe4 ,his ,letters from ,correspondents1 in particular1 are more pompous and unwieldy than what he writes in his own person4 ,this want of relaxation and variety of manner has1 ,i think1 after the first effects of novelty and surprise were over1 been prejudicial to the matter4 ,it takes from the general power1 not only to please1 but to instruct4 ,the monotony of style produces an apparent monotony of ideas4 ,what is really striking and valuable1 is lost in the vain ostentation and circumlocution of the expression2 for when we find the same pains and pomp of diction bestowed upon the most trifling as upon the most important parts of a sentence or discourse1 we grow tired of distinguishing between pretension and reality1 and are disposed to confound the tinsel and bombast of the phraseology with want of weight in the thoughts4 ,thus1 from the imposing and oracular nature of the style1 people are tempted at first to imagine that our author's speculations are all wisdom and profundity3 till having found out their mistake in some instances1 they suppose that there is nothing but common-place in them1 concealed under verbiage and pedantry2 and in both they are wrong4 ,the fault of ,dr4 ,johnson's style is1 that it reduces all things to the same artificial and unmeaning level4 ,it destroys all shades of difference1 the association between words and things4 ,it is a perpetual paradox and innovation4 ,he condescends to the familiar till we are ashamed of our interest in it3 he expands the little till it looks big4 ,if he were to write a fable of little fishes1 as ,goldsmith said of him1 he would make them speak like great whales4 ,we can no more distinguish the most familiar objects in his descriptions of them1 than we can a well-known face under a huge painted mask4 ,the structure of his sentences1 which was his own invention1 and which has been generally imitated since his time1 is a species of rhyming in prose1 where one clause answers to another in measure and quantity1 like the tagging of syllables at the end of a verse2 the close of the period follows as mechanically as the oscillation of a pendulum1 the sense is balanced with the sound2 each sentence1 revolving round its centre of gravity1 is contained with itself like a couplet1 and each paragraph forms itself into a stanza4 ,dr4 ,johnson is also a complete balance-master in the topics of morality4 ,he never encourages hope1 but he counteracts it by fear2 he never elicits a truth1 but he suggests some objection in answer to it4 ,he seizes and alternately quits the clue of reason1 lest it should involve him in the labyrinths of endless error3 he wants confidence in himself and his fellows4 ,he dares not trust himself with the immediate impressions of things1 for fear of compromising his dignity2 or follow them into their consequences1 for fear of committing his prejudices4 ,his timidity is the result1 not of ignorance1 but of morbid apprehension4 ,he runs the great circle1 and is still at home4 ,no advance is made by his writings in any sentiment1 or mode of reasoning4 ,out of the pale of established authority and received dogmas1 all is sceptical1 loose1 and desultory3 he seems in imagination to strengthen the dominion of prejudice1 as he weakens and dissipates that of reason2 and round the rock of faith and power1 on the edge of which he slumbers blindfold and uneasy1 the waves and billows of uncertain and dangerous opinion roar and heave for evermore4 ,his ,rasselas is the most melancholy and debilitating moral speculation that ever was put forth4 ,doubtful of the faculties of his mind1 as of his organs of vision1 ,johnson trusted only to his feelings and his fears4 ,he cultivated a belief in witches as an out-guard to the evidences of religion2 and abused ,milton1 and patronised ,lauder1 in spite of his aversion to his countrymen1 as a step to secure the existing establishment in church and state4 ,this was neither right feeling nor sound logic4 ,the most triumphant record of the talents and character of ,johnson is to be found in ,boswell's ,life of him4 ,the man was superior to the author4 ,when he threw aside his pen1 which he regarded as an incumbrance1 he became not only learned and thoughtful1 but acute1 witty1 humorous1 natural1 honest2 hearty and determined1 the king of good fellows and wale of old men4 ,there are as many smart repartees1 profound remarks1 and keen invectives to be found in ,boswell's inventory of all he said1 as are recorded of any celebrated man4 ,the life and dramatic play of his conversation forms a contrast to his written works4 ,his natural powers and undisguised opinions were called out in convivial intercourse4 ,in public1 he practised with the foils on3 in private1 he unsheathed the sword of controversy1 and it was the ,ebro's temper4 ,the eagerness of opposition roused him from his natural sluggishness and acquired timidity2 he returned blow for blow2 and whether the trial were of argument or wit1 none of his rivals could boast much of the encounter4 ,burke seems to have been the only person who had a chance with him2 and it is the unpardonable sin of ,boswell's work1 that he has purposely omitted their combats of strength and skill4 ,goldsmith asked1 ,does he wind into a subject like a serpent1 as ,burke does8 ,and when exhausted with sickness1 he himself said1 ,if that fellow ,burke were here now1 he would kill me4 ,it is to be observed1 that ,johnson's colloquial style was as blunt1 direct1 and downright1 as his style of studied composition was involved and circuitous4 ,as when ,topham ,beauclere and ,langton knocked him up at his chambers1 at three in the morning1 and he came to the door with the poker in his hand1 but seeing them1 exclaimed1 ,what1 is it you1 my lads8 then ,i'll have a frisk with you6 and he afterwards reproaches ,langton1 who was a literary milksop1 for leaving them to go to an engagement with some un-idead girls4 ,what words to come from the mouth of the great moralist and lexicographer6 ,his good deeds were as many as his good sayings4 ,his domestic habits1 his tenderness to servants1 and readiness to oblige his friends2 the quantity of strong tea that he drank to keep down sad thoughts2 his many labours reluctantly begun1 and irresolutely laid aside2 his honest acknowledgment of his own1 and indulgence to the weaknesses of others2 his throwing himself back in the post-chaise with ,boswell1 and saying1 ,now ,i think ,i am a good-humoured fellow1 though nobody thought him so1 and yet he was2 his quitting the society of ,garrick and his actresses1 and his reason for it2 his dining with ,wilkes1 and his kindness to ,goldsmith2 his sitting with the young ladies on his knee at the ,mitre1 to give them good advice1 in which situation1 if not explained1 he might be taken for ,falstaff2 and last and noblest1 his carrying the unfortunate victim of disease and dissipation on his back up through ,fleet ,street1 7an act which realises the parable of the good ,samaritan7--all these1 and innumerable others1 endear him to the reader1 and must be remembered to his lasting honour4 ,he had faults1 but they lie buried with him4 ,he had his prejudices and his intolerant feelings2 but he suffered enough in the conflict of his own mind with them4 ,for if no man can be happy in the free exercise of his reason1 no wise man can be happy without it4 ,his were not time-serving1 heartless1 hypocritical prejudices2 but deep1 inwoven1 not to be rooted out but with life and hope1 which he found from old habit necessary to his own peace of mind1 and thought so to the peace of mankind4 ,i do not hate1 but love him for them4 ,they were between himself and his conscience2 and should be left to that higher tribunal1 where they in trembling hope repose1 the bosom of his ,father and his ,god4 ,in a word1 he has left behind him few wiser or better men4 ,the herd of his imitators shewed what he was by their disproportionate effects4 ,the ,periodical ,essayists1 that succeeded the ,rambler1 are1 and deserve to be1 little read at present4 ,the ,adventurer1 by ,hawksworth1 is completely trite and vapid1 aping all the faults of ,johnson's style1 without any thing to atone for them4 ,the sentences are often absolutely unmeaning2 and one half of each might regularly be left blank4 ,the ,world1 and ,connoisseur1 which followed1 are a little better2 and in the last of these there is one good idea1 that of a man in indifferent health1 who judges of every one's title to respect from their possession of this blessing1 and bows to a sturdy beggar with sound limbs and a florid complexion1 while he turns his back upon a lord who is a valetudinarian4 ,goldsmith's ,citizen of the ,world1 like all his works1 bears the stamp of the author's mind4 ,it does not go about to cozen reputation without the stamp of merit4 ,he is more observing1 more original1 more natural and picturesque than ,johnson4 ,his work is written on the model of the ,persian ,letters2 and contrives to give an abstracted and somewhat perplexing view of things1 by opposing foreign prepossessions to our own1 and thus stripping objects of their customary disguises4 ,whether truth is elicited in this collision of contrary absurdities1 ,i do not know2 but ,i confess the process is too ambiguous and full of intricacy to be very amusing to my plain understanding4 ,for light summer reading1 it is like walking in a garden full of traps and pitfalls4 ,it necessarily gives rise to paradoxes1 and there are some very bold ones in the ,essays1 which would subject an author less established to no very agreeable sort of censura literaria4 ,thus the ,chinese philosopher exclaims very unadvisedly1 ,the bonzes and priests of all religions keep up superstition and imposture3 all reformations begin with the laity4 ,goldsmith1 however1 was staunch in his practical creed1 and might bolt speculative extravagances with impunity4 ,there is a striking difference in this respect between him and ,addison1 who1 if he attacked authority1 took care to have common sense on his side1 and never hazarded anything offensive to the feelings of others1 or on the strength of his own discretional opinion4 ,there is another inconvenience in this assumption of an exotic character and tone of sentiment1 that it produces an inconsistency between the knowledge which the individual has time to acquire1 and which the author is bound to communicate4 ,thus the ,chinese has not been in ,england three days before he is acquainted with the characters of the three countries which compose this kingdom1 and describes them to his friend at ,canton1 by extracts from the newspapers of each metropolis4 ,the nationality of ,scotchmen is thus ridiculed3--,edinburgh4 ,we are positive when we say1 that ,sanders ,macgregor1 lately executed for horse-stealing1 is not a native of ,scotland1 but born at ,carrickfergus4 ,now this is very good2 but how should our ,chinese philosopher find it out by instinct8 ,beau ,tibbs1 a prominent character in this little work1 is the best comic sketch since the time of ,addison2 unrivalled in his finery1 his vanity1 and his poverty4 ,i have only to mention the names of the ,lounger and the ,mirror1 which are ranked by the author's admirers with ,sterne for sentiment1 and with ,addison for humour4 ,i shall not enter into that3 but ,i know that the story of ,la ,roche is not like the story of ,le ,fevre1 nor one hundredth part so good4 ,do ,i say this from prejudice to the author8 ,no3 for ,i have read his novels4 ,of the ,man of the ,world ,i cannot think so favourably as some others2 nor shall ,i here dwell on the picturesque and romantic beauties of ,julia de ,roubign1 the early favourite of the author of ,rosamond ,gray2 but of the ,man of ,feeling ,i would speak with grateful recollections3 nor is it possible to forget the sensitive1 irresolute1 interesting ,harley2 and that lone figure of ,miss ,walton in it1 that floats in the horizon1 dim and ethereal1 the day-dream of her lover's youthful fancy--better1 far better than all the realities of life6 ,,viii ,,the ,,english ,,novelists ,there is an exclamation in one of ,gray's ,letters--,be mine to read eternal new romances of ,marivaux and ,crebillon6--,if ,i did not utter a similar aspiration at the conclusion of the last new novel which ,i read 7,i would not give offence by being more particular as to the name7 it was not from any want of affection for the class of writing to which it belongs3 for1 without going so far as the celebrated ,french philosopher1 who thought that more was to be learnt from good novels and romances than from the gravest treatises on history and morality1 yet there are few works to which ,i am oftener tempted to turn for profit or delight1 than to the standard productions in this species of composition4 ,we find there a close imitation of men and manners2 we see the very web and texture of society as it really exists1 and as we meet with it when we come into the world4 ,if poetry has something more divine in it1 this savours more of humanity4 ,we are brought acquainted with the motives and characters of mankind1 imbibe our notions of virtue and vice from practical examples1 and are taught a knowledge of the world through the airy medium of romance4 ,as a record of past manners and opinions1 too1 such writings afford the best and fullest information4 ,for example1 ,i should be at a loss where to find in any authentic documents of the same period so satisfactory an account of the general state of society1 and of moral1 political1 and religious feeling in the reign of ,george ,,ii1 as we meet with in the ,adventures of ,joseph ,andrews and his friend ,mr4 ,abraham ,adams4 ,this work1 indeed1 ,i take to be a perfect piece of statistics in its kind4 ,in looking into any regular history of that period1 into a learned and eloquent charge to a grand jury or the clergy of a diocese1 or into a tract on controversial divinity1 we should hear only of the ascendancy of the ,protestant succession1 the horrors of ,popery1 the triumph of civil and religious liberty1 the wisdom and moderation of the sovereign1 the happiness of the subject1 and the flourishing state of manufactures and commerce4 ,but if we really wish to know what all these fine-sounding names come to1 we cannot do better than turn to the works of those1 who having no other object than to imitate nature1 could only hope for success from the fidelity of their pictures2 and were bound 7in self-defence7 to reduce the boasts of vague theorists and the exaggerations of angry disputants to the mortifying standard of reality4 ,extremes are said to meet3 and the works of imagination1 as they are called1 sometimes come the nearest to truth and nature4 ,fielding in speaking on this subject1 and vindicating the use and dignity of the style of writing in which he excelled against the loftier pretensions of professed historians1 says that in their productions nothing is true but the names and dates1 whereas in his everything is true but the names and dates4 ,if so1 he has the advantage on his side4 ,i will here confess1 however1 that ,i am a little prejudiced on the point in question2 and that the effect of many fine speculations has been lost upon me1 from an early familiarity with the most striking passages in the work to which ,i have just alluded4 ,thus nothing can be more captivating than the description somewhere given by ,mr4 ,burke of the indissoluble connection between learning and nobility2 and of the respect universally paid by wealth to piety and morals4 ,but the effect of this ideal representation has always been spoiled by my recollection of ,parson ,adams sitting over his cup of ale in ,sir ,thomas ,booby's kitchen4 ,echard ,on the ,contempt of the ,clergy is1 in like manner1 a very good book1 and worthy of all acceptation3 but1 somehow1 an unlucky impression of the reality of ,parson ,trulliber involuntarily checks the emotions of respect1 to which it might otherwise give rise3 while1 on the other hand1 the lecture which ,lady ,booby reads to ,lawyer ,scout on the immediate expulsion of ,joseph and ,fanny from the parish casts no very favourable light on the flattering accounts of our practical jurisprudence which are to be found in ,blackstone or ,de ,lolme4 ,the most moral writers1 after all1 are those who do not pretend to inculcate any moral4 ,the professed moralist almost unavoidably degenerates into the partisan of a system2 and the philosopher is too apt to warp the evidence to his own purpose4 ,but the painter of manners gives the facts of human nature1 and leaves us to draw the inference3 if we are not able to do this1 or do it ill1 at least it is our own fault4 ,the first-rate writers in this class1 of course1 are few2 but those few we may reckon among the greatest ornaments and best benefactors of our kind4 ,there is a certain set of them who1 as it were1 take their rank by the side of reality1 and are appealed to as evidence on all questions concerning human nature4 ,the principal of these are ,cervantes and ,le ,sage1 who may be considered as having been naturalised among ourselves2 and1 of native ,english growth1 ,fielding1 ,smollett1 ,richardson1 and ,sterne4#acb ,as this is a department of criticism which deserves more attention than has been usually bestowed upon it1 ,i shall here venture to recur 7not from choice1 but necessity7 to what ,i have said upon it in a well-known periodical publication2 and endeavour to contribute my mite towards settling the standard of excellence1 both as to degree and kind1 in these several writers4444 ,there is very little to warrant the common idea that ,fielding was an imitator of ,cervantes1 except his own declaration of such an intention in the title-page of ,joseph ,andrews1 the romantic turn of the character of ,parson ,adams 7the only romantic character in his works71 and the proverbial humour of ,partridge1 which is kept up only for a few pages4 ,fielding's novels are1 in general1 thoroughly his own2 and they are thoroughly ,english4 ,what they are most remarkable for1 is neither sentiment1 nor imagination1 nor wit1 nor even humour1 though there is an immense deal of this last quality2 but profound knowledge of human nature1 at least of ,english nature2 and masterly pictures of the characters of men as he saw them existing4 ,this quality distinguishes all his works1 and is shown almost equally in all of them4 ,as a painter of real life1 he was equal to ,hogarth2 as a mere observer of human nature1 he was little inferior to ,shakspeare1 though without any of the genius and poetical qualities of his mind4 ,his humour is less rich and laughable than ,smollett's2 his wit as often misses as hits2 he has none of the fine pathos of ,richardson or ,sterne2 but he has brought together a greater variety of characters in common life1 marked with more distinct peculiarities1 and without an atom of caricature1 than any other novel writer whatever4 ,the extreme subtlety of observation on the springs of human conduct in ordinary characters1 is only equalled by the ingenuity of contrivance in bringing those springs into play1 in such a manner as to lay open their smallest irregularity4 ,the detection is always complete1 and made with the certainty and skill of a philosophical experiment1 and the obviousness and familiarity of a casual observation4 ,the truth of the imitation is indeed so great1 that it has been argued that ,fielding must have had his materials ready-made to his hands1 and was merely a transcriber of local manners and individual habits4 ,for this conjecture1 however1 there seems to be no foundation4 ,his representations1 it is true1 are local and individual2 but they are not the less profound and conclusive4 ,the feeling of the general principles of human nature1 operating in particular circumstances1 is always intense1 and uppermost in his mind2 and he makes use of incident and situation only to bring out character4 ,it is scarcely necessary to give any illustrations4 ,tom ,jones is full of them4 ,there is the account1 for example1 of the gratitude of the elder ,blifil to his brother1 for assisting him to obtain the fortune of ,miss ,bridget ,alworthy by marriage2 and of the gratitude of the poor in his neighbourhood to ,alworthy himself1 who had done so much good in the country that he had made every one in it his enemy4 ,there is the account of the ,latin dialogues between ,partridge and his maid1 of the assault made on him during one of these by ,mrs4 ,partridge1 and the severe bruises he patiently received on that occasion1 after which the parish of ,little ,baddington rung with the story1 that the school-master had killed his wife4 ,there is the exquisite keeping in the character of ,blifil1 and the want of it in that of ,jones4 ,there is the gradation in the lovers of ,molly ,seagrim2 the philosopher ,square succeeding to ,tom ,jones1 who again finds that he himself had succeeded to the accomplished ,will4 ,barnes1 who had the first possession of her person1 and had still possession of her heart1 ,jones being only the instrument of her vanity1 as ,square was of her interest4 ,then there is the discreet honesty of ,black ,george1 the learning of ,thwackum and ,square1 and the profundity of ,squire ,western1 who considered it as a physical impossibility that his daughter should fall in love with ,tom ,jones4 ,we have also that gentleman's disputes with his sister1 and the inimitable appeal of that lady to her niece4--,i was never so handsome as you1 ,sophy3 yet ,i had something of you formerly4 ,i was called the cruel ,parthenissa4 ,kingdoms and states1 as ,tully ,cicero says1 undergo alteration1 and so must the human form6 ,the adventure of the same lady with the highwayman1 who robbed her of her jewels while he complimented her beauty1 ought not to be passed over1 nor that of ,sophia and her muff1 nor the reserved coquetry of her cousin ,fitzpatrick1 nor the description of ,lady ,bellaston1 nor the modest overtures of the pretty widow ,hunt1 nor the indiscreet babblings of ,mrs4 ,honour4 ,the moral of this book has been objected to1 without much reason2 but a more serious objection has been made to the want of refinement and elegance in two principal characters4 ,we never feel this objection1 indeed1 while we are reading the book2 but at other times we have something like a lurking suspicion that ,jones was but an awkward fellow1 and ,sophia a pretty simpleton4 ,i do not know how to account for this effect1 unless it is that ,fielding's constantly assuring us of the beauty of his hero1 and the good sense of his heroine1 at last produces a distrust of both4 ,the story of ,tom ,jones is allowed to be unrivalled3 and it is this circumstance1 together with the vast variety of characters1 that has given the ,history of a ,foundling so decided a preference over ,fielding's other novels4 ,the characters themselves1 both in ,amelia and ,joseph ,andrews1 are quite equal to any of those in ,tom ,jones4 ,the account of ,miss ,matthews and ,ensign ,hibbert1 in the former of these2 the way in which that lady reconciles herself to the death of her father2 the inflexible ,colonel ,bath2 the insipid ,mrs4 ,james1 the complaisant ,colonel ,trent1 the demure1 sly1 intriguing1 equivocal ,mrs4 ,bennet1 the lord who is her seducer1 and who attempts afterwards to seduce ,amelia by the same mechanical process of a concert-ticket1 a book1 and the disguise of a great-coat2 his little1 fat1 short-nosed1 red-faced1 good-humoured accomplice1 the keeper of the lodging-house1 who1 having no pretensions to gallantry herself1 has a disinterested delight in forwarding the intrigues and pleasures of others 7to say nothing of honest ,atkinson1 the story of the miniature-picture of ,amelia1 and the hashed mutton1 which are in a different style17 are masterpieces of description4 ,the whole scene at the lodging-house1 the masquerade1 etc41 in ,amelia1 are equal in interest to the parallel scenes in ,tom ,jones1 and even more refined in the knowledge of character4 ,for instance1 ,mrs4 ,bennet is superior to ,mrs4 ,fitzpatrick in her own way4 ,the uncertainty1 in which the event of her interview with her former seducer is left1 is admirable4 ,fielding was a master of what may be called the double entendre of character1 and surprises you no less by what he leaves in the dark1 7hardly known to the persons themselves7 than by the unexpected discoveries he makes of the real traits and circumstances in a character with which1 till then1 you find you were unacquainted4 ,there is nothing at all heroic1 however1 in the usual style of his delineations4 ,he does not draw lofty characters or strong passions2 all his persons are of the ordinary stature as to intellect2 and possess little elevation of fancy1 or energy of purpose4 ,perhaps1 after all1 ,parson ,adams is his finest character4 ,it is equally true to nature1 and more ideal than any of the others4 ,its unsuspecting simplicity makes it not only more amiable1 but doubly amusing1 by gratifying the sense of superior sagacity in the reader4 ,our laughing at him does not once lessen our respect for him4 ,his declaring that he would willingly walk ten miles to fetch his sermon on vanity1 merely to convince ,wilson of his thorough contempt of this vice1 and his consoling himself for the loss of his schylus1 by suddenly recollecting that he could not read it if he had it1 because it is dark1 are among the finest touches of navet4 ,the night-adventures at ,lady ,booby's with ,beau ,didapper1 and the amiable ,slipslop1 are the most ludicrous2 and that with the huntsman1 who draws off the hounds from the poor ,parson1 because they would be spoiled by following vermin1 the most profound4 ,fielding did not often repeat himself2 but ,dr4 ,harrison1 in ,amelia1 may be considered as a variation of the character of ,adams3 so also is ,goldsmith's ,vicar of ,wakefield2 and the latter part of that work1 which sets out so delightfully1 an almost entire plagiarism from ,wilson's account of himself1 and ,adams's domestic history4 ,smollett's first novel1 ,roderick ,random1 which is also his best1 appeared about the same time as ,fielding's ,tom ,jones2 and yet it has a much more modern air with it3 but this may be accounted for from the circumstance that ,smollett was quite a young man at the time1 whereas ,fielding's manner must have been formed long before4 ,the style of ,roderick ,random is more easy and flowing than that of ,tom ,jones2 the incidents follow one another more rapidly 7though1 it must be confessed1 they never come in such a throng1 or are brought out with the same dramatic effect72 the humour is broader1 and as effectual2 and there is very nearly1 if not quite1 an equal interest excited by the story4 ,what1 then1 is it that gives the superiority to ,fielding8 ,it is the superior insight into the springs of human character1 and the constant developement of that character through every change of circumstance4 ,smollett's humour often arises from the situation of the persons1 or the peculiarity of their external appearance2 as1 from ,roderick ,random's carrotty locks1 which hung down over his shoulders like a pound of candles1 or ,strap's ignorance of ,london1 and the blunders that follow from it4 ,there is a tone of vulgarity about all his productions4 ,the incidents frequently resemble detached anecdotes taken from a newspaper or magazine2 and1 like those in ,gil ,blas1 might happen to a hundred other characters4 ,he exhibits the ridiculous accidents and reverses to which human life is liable1 not the stuff of which it is composed4 ,he seldom probes to the quick1 or penetrates beyond the surface2 and1 therefore1 he leaves no stings in the minds of his readers1 and in this respect is far less interesting than ,fielding4 ,his novels always enliven1 and never tire us3 we take them up with pleasure1 and lay them down without any strong feeling of regret4 ,we look on and laugh1 as spectators of a highly amusing scene1 without closing in with the combatants1 or being made parties in the event4 ,we read ,roderick ,random as an entertaining story2 for the particular accidents and modes of life which it describes have ceased to exist3 but we regard ,tom ,jones as a real history2 because the author never stops short of those essential principles which lie at the bottom of all our actions1 and in which we feel an immediate interest--intus et in cute4 ,smollett excels most as the lively caricaturist3 ,fielding as the exact painter and profound metaphysician4 ,i am far from maintaining that this account applies uniformly to the productions of these two writers2 but ,i think that1 as far as they essentially differ1 what ,i have stated is the general distinction between them4 ,roderick ,random is the purest of ,smollett's novels3 ,i mean in point of style and description4 ,most of the incidents and characters are supposed to have been taken from the events of his own life2 and are1 therefore1 truer to nature4 ,there is a rude conception of generosity in some of his characters1 of which ,fielding seems to have been incapable1 his amiable persons being merely good-natured4 ,it is owing to this that ,strap is superior to ,partridge2 as there is a heartiness and warmth of feeling in some of the scenes between ,lieutenant ,bowling and his nephew1 which is beyond ,fielding's power of impassioned writing4 ,the whole of the scene on ship-board is a most admirable and striking picture1 and1 ,i imagine1 very little if at all exaggerated1 though the interest it excites is of a very unpleasant kind1 because the irritation and resistance to petty oppression can be of no avail4 ,the picture of the little profligate ,french friar1 who was ,roderick's travelling companion1 and of whom he always kept to the windward1 is one of ,smollett's most masterly sketches4 ,peregrine ,pickle is no great favourite of mine1 and ,launcelot ,greaves was not worthy of the genius of the author4 ,humphry ,clinker and ,count ,fathom are both equally admirable in their way4 ,perhaps the former is the most pleasant gossiping novel that ever was written2 that which gives the most pleasure with the least effort to the reader4 ,it is quite as amusing as going the journey could have been2 and we have just as good an idea of what happened on the road1 as if we had been of the party4 ,humphry ,clinker himself is exquisite2 and his sweetheart1 ,winifred ,jenkins1 not much behind him4 ,matthew ,bramble1 though not altogether original1 is excellently supported1 and seems to have been the prototype of ,sir ,anthony ,absolute in the ,rivals4 ,but ,lismahago is the flower of the flock4 ,his tenaciousness in argument is not so delightful as the relaxation of his logical severity1 when he finds his fortune mellowing in the wintry smiles of ,mrs4 ,tabitha ,bramble4 ,this is the best-preserved and most severe of all ,smollett's characters4 ,the resemblance to ,don ,quixote is only just enough to make it interesting to the critical reader1 without giving offence to any body else4 ,the indecency and filth in this novel are what must be allowed to all ,smollett's writings4--,the subject and characters in ,count ,fathom are1 in general1 exceedingly disgusting3 the story is also spun out to a degree of tediousness in the serious and sentimental parts2 but there is more power of writing occasionally shewn in it than in any of his works4 ,i need only refer to the fine and bitter irony of the ,count's address to the country of his ancestors on his landing in ,england2 to the robber-scene in the forest1 which has never been surpassed2 to the ,parisian swindler who personates a raw ,english country squire 7,western is tame in the comparison72 and to the story of the seduction in the west of ,england4 ,it would be difficult to point out1 in any author1 passages written with more force and mastery than these4 ,it is not a very difficult undertaking to class ,fielding or ,smollett2--the one as an observer of the characters of human life1 the other as a describer of its various eccentricities4 ,but it is by no means so easy to dispose of ,richardson1 who was neither an observer of the one1 nor a describer of the other2 but who seemed to spin his materials entirely out of his own brain1 as if there had been nothing existing in the world beyond the little room in which he sat writing4 ,there is an artificial reality about his works1 which is no where else to be met with4 ,they have the romantic air of a pure fiction1 with the literal minuteness of a common diary4 ,the author had the strongest matter-of-fact imagination that ever existed1 and wrote the oddest mixture of poetry and prose4 ,he does not appear to have taken advantage of anything in actual nature1 from one end of his works to the other2 and yet1 throughout all his works1 voluminous as they are--7and this1 to be sure1 is one reason why they are so17--he sets about describing every object and transaction1 as if the whole had been given in on evidence by an eye-witness4 ,this kind of high finishing from imagination is an anomaly in the history of human genius2 and1 certainly1 nothing so fine was ever produced by the same accumulation of minute parts4 ,there is not the least distraction1 the least forgetfulness of the end3 every circumstance is made to tell4 ,i cannot agree that this exactness of detail produces heaviness2 on the contrary1 it gives an appearance of truth1 and a positive interest to the story2 and we listen with the same attention as we should to the particulars of a confidential communication4 ,i at one time used to think some parts of ,sir ,charles ,grandison rather trifling and tedious1 especially the long description of ,miss ,harriet ,byron's wedding-clothes1 till ,i was told of two young ladies who had severally copied out the whole of that very description for their own private gratification4 ,after that1 ,i could not blame the author4 ,the effect of reading this work is like an increase of kindred4 ,you find yourself all of a sudden introduced into the midst of a large family1 with aunts and cousins to the third and fourth generation1 and grandmothers both by the father's and mother's side2--and a very odd set of people they are1 but people whose real existence and personal identity you can no more dispute than your own senses1 for you see and hear all that they do or say4 ,what is still more extraordinary1 all this extreme elaborateness in working out the story1 seems to have cost the author nothing2 for it is said1 that the published works are mere abridgments4 ,i have heard 7though this ,i suspect must be a pleasant exaggeration7 that ,sir ,charles ,grandison was originally written in eight and twenty volumes4 ,pamela is the first of ,richardson's productions1 and the very child of his brain4 ,taking the general idea of the character of a modest and beautiful country girl1 and of the ordinary situation in which she is placed1 he makes out all the rest1 even to the smallest circumstance1 by the mere force of a reasoning imagination4 ,it would seem as if a step lost1 would be as fatal here as in a mathematical demonstration4 ,the development of the character is the most simple1 and comes the nearest to nature that it can do1 without being the same thing4 ,the interest of the story increases with the dawn of understanding and reflection in the heroine3 her sentiments gradually expand themselves1 like opening flowers4 ,she writes better every time1 and acquires a confidence in herself1 just as a girl would do1 writing such letters in such circumstances2 and yet it is certain that no girl would write such letters in such circumstances4 ,what ,i mean is this3--,richardson's nature is always the nature of sentiment and reflection1 not of impulse or situation4 ,he furnishes his characters1 on every occasion1 with the presence of mind of the author4 ,he makes them act1 not as they would from the impulse of the moment1 but as they might upon reflection1 and upon a careful review of every motive and circumstance in their situation4 ,they regularly sit down to write letters3 and if the business of life consisted in letter-writing1 and was carried on by the post 7like a ,spanish game at chess71 human nature would be what ,richardson represents it4 ,all actual objects and feelings are blunted and deadened by being presented through a medium which may be true to reason1 but is false in nature4 ,he confounds his own point of view with that of the immediate actors in the scene2 and hence presents you with a conventional and factitious nature1 instead of that which is real4 ,dr4 ,johnson seems to have preferred this truth of reflection to the truth of nature1 when he said that there was more knowledge of the human heart in a page of ,richardson1 than in all ,fielding4 ,fielding1 however1 saw more of the practical results1 and understood the principles as well2 but he had not the same power of speculating upon their possible results1 and combining them in certain ideal forms of passion and imagination1 which was ,richardson's real excellence4 ,it must be observed1 however1 that it is this mutual good understanding1 and comparing of notes between the author and the persons he describes2 his infinite circumspection1 his exact process of ratiocination and calculation1 which gives such an appearance of coldness and formality to most of his characters1--which makes prudes of his women1 and coxcombs of his men4 ,every thing is too conscious in his works4 ,every thing is distinctly brought home to the mind of the actors in the scene1 which is a fault undoubtedly3 but then it must be confessed1 every thing is brought home in its full force to the mind of the reader also2 and we feel the same interest in the story as if it were our own4 ,can anything be more beautiful or more affecting than ,pamela's reproaches to her lumpish heart1 when she is sent away from her master's at her own request2 its lightness1 when she is sent for back2 the joy which the conviction of the sincerity of his love diffuses in her heart1 like the coming on of spring2 the artifice of the stuff gown2 the meeting with ,lady ,davers after her marriage2 and the trial-scene with her husband8 ,who ever remained insensible to the passion of ,lady ,clementina1 except ,sir ,charles ,grandison himself1 who was the object of it8 ,clarissa is1 however1 his masterpiece1 if we except ,lovelace4 ,if she is fine in herself1 she is still finer in his account of her4 ,with that foil1 her purity is dazzling indeed3 and she who could triumph by her virtue1 and the force of her love1 over the regality of ,lovelace's mind1 his wit1 his person1 his accomplishments1 and his spirit1 conquers all hearts4 ,i should suppose that never sympathy more deep or sincere was excited than by the heroine of ,richardson's romance1 except by the calamities of real life4 ,the links in this wonderful chain of interest are not more finely wrought1 than their whole weight is overwhelming and irresistible4 ,who can forget the exquisite gradations of her long dying-scene1 or the closing of the coffin-lid1 when ,miss ,howe comes to take her last leave of her friend2 or the heart-breaking reflection that ,clarissa makes on what was to have been her wedding-day8 ,well does a certain writer exclaim-- ,books are a real world1 both pure and good1 ,round which1 with tendrils strong as flesh and blood1 ,our pastime and our happiness may grow6 ,richardson's wit was unlike that of any other writer--his humour was so too4 ,both were the effect of intense activity of mind--laboured1 and yet completely effectual4 ,i might refer to ,lovelace's reception and description of ,hickman1 when he calls out ,death in his ear1 as the name of the person with whom ,clarissa had fallen in love2 and to the scene at the glove-shop4 ,what can be more magnificent than his enumeration of his companions--,belton1 so pert and so pimply--,tourville1 so fair and so foppish6 etc4 ,in casuistry this author is quite at home2 and1 with a boldness greater even than his puritanical severity1 has exhausted every topic on virtue and vice4 ,there is another peculiarity in ,richardson1 not perhaps so uncommon1 which is1 his systematically preferring his most insipid characters to his finest1 though both were equally his own invention1 and he must be supposed to have understood something of their qualities4 ,thus he preferred the little1 selfish1 affected1 insignificant ,miss ,byron1 to the divine ,clementina2 and again1 ,sir ,charles ,grandison1 to the nobler ,lovelace4 ,i have nothing to say in favour of ,lovelace's morality2 but ,sir ,charles is the prince of coxcombs1--whose eye was never once taken from his own person1 and his own virtues2 and there is nothing which excites so little sympathy as this excessive egotism4 ,it remains to speak of ,sterne2 and ,i shall do it in few words4 ,there is more of mannerism and affectation in him1 and a more immediate reference to preceding authors2 but his excellences1 where he is excellent1 are of the first order4 ,his characters are intellectual and inventive1 like ,richardson's2 but totally opposite in the execution4 ,the one are made out by continuity1 and patient repetition of touches3 the others1 by glancing transitions and graceful apposition4 ,his style is equally different from ,richardson's3 it is at times the most rapid1 the most happy1 the most idiomatic of any that is to be found4 ,it is the pure essence of ,english conversational style4 ,his works consist only of morceaux--of brilliant passages4 ,i wonder that ,goldsmith1 who ought to have known better1 should call him a dull fellow4 ,his wit is poignant1 though artificial2 and his characters 7though the groundwork of some of them had been laid before7 have yet invaluable original differences2 and the spirit of the execution1 the master-strokes constantly thrown into them1 are not to be surpassed4 ,it is sufficient to name them2--,yorick1 ,dr4 ,slop1 ,mr4 ,shandy2 ,my ,uncle ,toby1 ,trim1 ,susanna1 and the ,widow ,wadman4 ,in these he has contrived to oppose1 with equal felicity and originality1 two characters1 one of pure intellect1 and the other of pure good nature1 in ,my ,father and ,my ,uncle ,toby4 ,there appears to have been in ,sterne a vein of dry1 sarcastic humour1 and of extreme tenderness of feeling2 the latter sometimes carried to affectation1 as in the tale of ,maria1 and the apostrophe to the recording angel2 but at other times pure1 and without blemish4 ,the story of ,le ,fevre is perhaps the finest in the ,english language4 ,my ,father's restlessness1 both of body and mind1 is inimitable4 ,it is the model from which all those despicable performances against modern philosophy ought to have been copied1 if their authors had known any thing of the subject they were writing about4 ,my ,uncle ,toby is one of the finest compliments ever paid to human nature4 ,he is the most unoffending of ,god's creatures2 or1 as the ,french express it1 un tel petit bon homme6 ,of his bowling-green1 his sieges1 and his amours1 who would say or think any thing amiss6 ,,ix ,,character ,,of ,,mr4 ,,burke1 #ahjgacc ,the following speech is perhaps the fairest specimen ,i could give of ,mr4 ,burke's various talents as a speaker4 ,the subject itself is not the most interesting1 nor does it admit of that weight and closeness of reasoning which he displayed on other occasions4 ,but there is no single speech which can convey a satisfactory idea of his powers of mind3 to do him justice1 it would be necessary to quote all his works2 the only specimen of ,burke is1 all that he wrote4 ,with respect to most other speakers1 a specimen is generally enough1 or more than enough4 ,when you are acquainted with their manner1 and see what proficiency they have made in the mechanical exercise of their profession1 with what facility they can borrow a simile1 or round a period1 how dexterously they can argue1 and object1 and rejoin1 you are satisfied2 there is no other difference in their speeches than what arises from the difference of the subjects4 ,but this was not the case with ,burke4 ,he brought his subjects along with him2 he drew his materials from himself4 ,the only limits which circumscribed his variety were the stores of his own mind4 ,his stock of ideas did not consist of a few meagre facts1 meagrely stated1 of half a dozen common-places tortured in a thousand different ways3 but his mine of wealth was a profound understanding1 inexhaustible as the human heart1 and various as the sources of nature4 ,he therefore enriched every subject to which he applied himself1 and new subjects were only the occasions of calling forth fresh powers of mind which had not been before exerted4 ,it would therefore be in vain to look for the proof of his powers in any one of his speeches or writings3 they all contain some additional proof of power4 ,in speaking of ,burke1 then1 ,i shall speak of the whole compass and circuit of his mind--not of that small part or section of him which ,i have been able to give3 to do otherwise would be like the story of the man who put the brick in his pocket1 thinking to shew it as the model of a house4 ,i have been able to manage pretty well with respect to all my other speakers1 and curtailed them down without remorse4 ,it was easy to reduce them within certain limits1 to fix their spirit1 and condense their variety2 by having a certain quantity given1 you might infer all the rest2 it was only the same thing over again4 ,but who can bind ,proteus1 or confine the roving flight of genius8 ,burke's writings are better than his speeches1 and indeed his speeches are writings4 ,but he seemed to feel himself more at ease1 to have a fuller possession of his faculties in addressing the public1 than in addressing the ,house of ,commons4 ,burke was raised into public life3 and he seems to have been prouder of this new dignity than became so great a man4 ,for this reason1 most of his speeches have a sort of parliamentary preamble to them3 there is an air of affected modesty1 and ostentatious trifling in them3 he seems fond of coqueting with the ,house of ,commons1 and is perpetually calling the ,speaker out to dance a minuet with him1 before he begins4 ,there is also something like an attempt to stimulate the superficial dulness of his hearers by exciting their surprise1 by running into extravagance3 and he sometimes demeans himself by condescending to what may be considered as bordering too much upon buffoonery1 for the amusement of the company4 ,those lines of ,milton were admirably applied to him by some one--,the elephant to make them sport wreathed his proboscis lithe4 ,the truth is1 that he was out of his place in the ,house of ,commons2 he was eminently qualified to shine as a man of genius1 as the instructor of mankind1 as the brightest luminary of his age3 but he had nothing in common with that motley crew of knights1 citizens1 and burgesses4 ,he could not be said to be native and endued unto that element4 ,he was above it2 and never appeared like himself1 but when1 forgetful of the idle clamours of party1 and of the little views of little men1 he appealed to his country1 and the enlightened judgment of mankind4 ,i am not going to make an idle panegyric on ,burke 7he has no need of it72 but ,i cannot help looking upon him as the chief boast and ornament of the ,english ,house of ,commons4 ,what has been said of him is1 ,i think1 strictly true1 that he was the most eloquent man of his time3 his wisdom was greater than his eloquence4 ,the only public man that in my opinion can be put in any competition with him1 is ,lord ,chatham3 and he moved in a sphere so very remote1 that it is almost impossible to compare them4 ,but though it would perhaps be difficult to determine which of them excelled most in his particular way1 there is nothing in the world more easy than to point out in what their peculiar excellences consisted4 ,they were in every respect the reverse of each other4 ,chatham's eloquence was popular3 his wisdom was altogether plain and practical4 ,burke's eloquence was that of the poet2 of the man of high and unbounded fancy3 his wisdom was profound and contemplative4 ,chatham's eloquence was calculated to make men act2 ,burke's was calculated to make them think4 ,chatham could have roused the fury of a multitude1 and wielded their physical energy as he pleased3 ,burke's eloquence carried conviction into the mind of the retired and lonely student1 opened the recesses of the human breast1 and lighted up the face of nature around him4 ,chatham supplied his hearers with motives to immediate action3 ,burke furnished them with reasons for action which might have little effect upon them at the time1 but for which they would be the wiser and better all their lives after4 ,in research1 in originality1 in variety of knowledge1 in richness of invention1 in depth and comprehension of mind1 ,burke had as much the advantage of ,lord ,chatham as he was excelled by him in plain common sense1 in strong feeling1 in steadiness of purpose1 in vehemence1 in warmth1 in enthusiasm1 and energy of mind4 ,burke was the man of genius1 of fine sense1 and subtle reasoning2 ,chatham was a man of clear understanding2 of strong sense1 and violent passions4 ,burke's mind was satisfied with speculation3 ,chatham's was essentially active3 it could not rest without an object4 ,the power which governed ,burke's mind was his ,imagination2 that which gave its impetus to ,chatham's was ,will4 ,the one was almost the creature of pure intellect1 the other of physical temperament4 ,there are two very different ends which a man of genius may propose to himself either in writing or speaking1 and which will accordingly give birth to very different styles4 ,he can have but one of these two objects2 either to enrich or strengthen the mind2 either to furnish us with new ideas1 to lead the mind into new trains of thought1 to which it was before unused1 and which it was incapable of striking out for itself2 or else to collect and embody what we already knew1 to rivet our old impressions more deeply2 to make what was before plain still plainer1 and to give to that which was familiar all the effect of novelty4 ,in the one case we receive an accession to the stock of our ideas2 in the other1 an additional degree of life and energy is infused into them3 our thoughts continue to flow in the same channels1 but their pulse is quickened and invigorated4 ,i do not know how to distinguish these different styles better than by calling them severally the inventive and refined1 or the impressive and vigorous styles4 ,it is only the subject-matter of eloquence1 however1 which is allowed to be remote or obscure4 ,the things in themselves may be subtle and recondite1 but they must be dragged out of their obscurity and brought struggling to the light2 they must be rendered plain and palpable1 7as far as it is in the wit of man to do so7 or they are no longer eloquence4 ,that which by its natural impenetrability1 and in spite of every effort1 remains dark and difficult1 which is impervious to every ray1 on which the imagination can shed no lustre1 which can be clothed with no beauty1 is not a subject for the orator or poet4 ,at the same time it cannot be expected that abstract truths or profound observations should ever be placed in the same strong and dazzling points of view as natural objects and mere matters of fact4 ,it is enough if they receive a reflex and borrowed lustre1 like that which cheers the first dawn of morning1 where the effect of surprise and novelty gilds every object1 and the joy of beholding another world gradually emerging out of the gloom of night1 a new creation rescued from his reign1 fills the mind with a sober rapture4 ,philosophical eloquence is in writing what chiaro scuro is in painting2 he would be a fool who should object that the colours in the shaded part of a picture were not so bright as those on the opposite side2 the eye of the connoisseur receives an equal delight from both1 balancing the want of brilliancy and effect with the greater delicacy of the tints1 and difficulty of the execution4 ,in judging of ,burke1 therefore1 we are to consider first the style of eloquence which he adopted1 and secondly the effects which he produced with it4 ,if he did not produce the same effects on vulgar minds1 as some others have done1 it was not for want of power1 but from the turn and direction of his mind4#acd ,it was because his subjects1 his ideas1 his arguments1 were less vulgar4 ,the question is not whether he brought certain truths equally home to us1 but how much nearer he brought them than they were before4 ,in my opinion1 he united the two extremes of refinement and strength in a higher degree than any other writer whatever4 ,the subtlety of his mind was undoubtedly that which rendered ,burke a less popular writer and speaker than he otherwise would have been4 ,it weakened the impression of his observations upon others1 but ,i cannot admit that it weakened the observations themselves2 that it took anything from their real weight and solidity4 ,coarse minds think all that is subtle1 futile3 that because it is not gross and obvious and palpable to the senses1 it is therefore light and frivolous1 and of no importance in the real affairs of life2 thus making their own confined understandings the measure of truth1 and supposing that whatever they do not distinctly perceive1 is nothing4 ,seneca1 who was not one of the vulgar1 also says1 that subtle truths are those which have the least substance in them1 and consequently approach nearest to nonentity4 ,but for my own part ,i cannot help thinking that the most important truths must be the most refined and subtle2 for that very reason1 that they must comprehend a great number of particulars1 and instead of referring to any distinct or positive fact1 must point out the combined effects of an extensive chain of causes1 operating gradually1 remotely1 and collectively1 and therefore imperceptibly4 ,general principles are not the less true or important because from their nature they elude immediate observation2 they are like the air1 which is not the less necessary because we neither see nor feel it1 or like that secret influence which binds the world together1 and holds the planets in their orbits4 ,the very same persons who are the most forward to laugh at all systematic reasoning as idle and impertinent1 you will the next moment hear exclaiming bitterly against the baleful effects of new-fangled systems of philosophy1 or gravely descanting on the immense importance of instilling sound principles of morality into the mind4 ,it would not be a bold conjecture1 but an obvious truism to say1 that all the great changes which have been brought about in the moral world1 either for the better or worse1 have been introduced not by the bare statement of facts1 which are things already known1 and which must always operate nearly in the same manner1 but by the development of certain opinions and abstract principles of reasoning on life and manners1 on the origin of society and man's nature in general1 which being obscure and uncertain1 vary from time to time1 and produce correspondent changes in the human mind4 ,they are the wholesome dew and rain1 or the mildew and pestilence that silently destroy4 ,to this principle of generalization all religious creeds1 the institutions of wise lawgivers1 and the systems of philosophers1 owe their influence4 ,it has always been with me a test of the sense and candour of any one belonging to the opposite party1 whether he allowed ,burke to be a great man4 ,of all the persons of this description that ,i have ever known1 ,i never met with above one or two who would make this concession2 whether it was that party feelings ran too high to admit of any real candour1 or whether it was owing to an essential vulgarity in their habits of thinking1 they all seemed to be of opinion that he was a wild enthusiast1 or a hollow sophist1 who was to be answered by bits of facts1 by smart logic1 by shrewd questions1 and idle songs4 ,they looked upon him as a man of disordered intellects1 because he reasoned in a style to which they had not been used and which confounded their dim perceptions4 ,if you said that though you differed with him in sentiment1 yet you thought him an admirable reasoner1 and a close observer of human nature1 you were answered with a loud laugh1 and some hackneyed quotation4 ,alas6 ,leviathan was not so tamed6 ,they did not know whom they had to contend with4 ,the corner stone1 which the builders rejected1 became the head-corner1 though to the ,jews a stumbling block1 and to the ,greeks foolishness2 for indeed ,i cannot discover that he was much better understood by those of his own party1 if we may judge from the little affinity there is between his mode of reasoning and theirs4--,the simple clue to all his reasonings on politics is1 ,i think1 as follows4 ,he did not agree with some writers1 that that mode of government is necessarily the best which is the cheapest4 ,he saw in the construction of society other principles at work1 and other capacities of fulfilling the desires1 and perfecting the nature of man1 besides those of securing the equal enjoyment of the means of animal life1 and doing this at as little expense as possible4 ,he thought that the wants and happiness of men were not to be provided for1 as we provide for those of a herd of cattle1 merely by attending to their physical necessities4 ,he thought more nobly of his fellows4 ,he knew that man had affections and passions and powers of imagination1 as well as hunger and thirst and the sense of heat and cold4 ,he took his idea of political society from the pattern of private life1 wishing1 as he himself expresses it1 to incorporate the domestic charities with the orders of the state1 and to blend them together4 ,he strove to establish an analogy between the compact that binds together the community at large1 and that which binds together the several families that compose it4 ,he knew that the rules that form the basis of private morality are not founded in reason1 that is1 in the abstract properties of those things which are the subjects of them1 but in the nature of man1 and his capacity of being affected by certain things from habit1 from imagination1 and sentiment1 as well as from reason4 ,thus1 the reason why a man ought to be attached to his wife and children is not1 surely1 that they are better than others1 7for in this case every one else ought to be of the same opinion7 but because he must be chiefly interested in those things which are nearest to him1 and with which he is best acquainted1 since his understanding cannot reach equally to every thing2 because he must be most attached to those objects which he has known the longest1 and which by their situation have actually affected him the most1 not those which in themselves are the most affecting1 whether they have ever made any impression on him or no2 that is1 because he is by his nature the creature of habit and feeling1 and because it is reasonable that he should act in conformity to his nature4 ,burke was so far right in saying that it is no objection to an institution that it is founded in prejudice1 but the contrary1 if that prejudice is natural and right2 that is1 if it arises from those circumstances which are properly subjects of feeling and association1 not from any defect or perversion of the understanding in those things which fall strictly under its jurisdiction4 ,on this profound maxim he took his stand4 ,thus he contended1 that the prejudice in favour of nobility was natural and proper1 and fit to be encouraged by the positive institutions of society2 not on account of the real or personal merit of the individuals1 but because such an institution has a tendency to enlarge and raise the mind1 to keep alive the memory of past greatness1 to connect the different ages of the world together1 to carry back the imagination over a long tract of time1 and feed it with the contemplation of remote events3 because it is natural to think highly of that which inspires us with high thoughts1 which has been connected for many generations with splendour1 and affluence1 and dignity1 and power1 and privilege4 ,he also conceived1 that by transferring the respect from the person to the thing1 and thus rendering it steady and permanent1 the mind would be habitually formed to sentiments of deference1 attachment1 and fealty1 to whatever else demanded its respect3 that it would be led to fix its view on what was elevated and lofty1 and be weaned from that low and narrow jealousy which never willingly or heartily admits of any superiority in others1 and is glad of every opportunity to bring down all excellence to a level with its own miserable standard4 ,nobility did not therefore exist to the prejudice of the other orders of the state1 but by1 and for them4 ,the inequality of the different orders of society did not destroy the unity and harmony of the whole4 ,the health and well-being of the moral world was to be promoted by the same means as the beauty of the natural world2 by contrast1 by change1 by light and shade1 by variety of parts1 by order and proportion4 ,to think of reducing all mankind to the same insipid level1 seemed to him the same absurdity as to destroy the inequalities of surface in a country1 for the benefit of agriculture and commerce4 ,in short1 he believed that the interests of men in society should be consulted1 and their several stations and employments assigned1 with a view to their nature1 not as physical1 but as moral beings1 so as to nourish their hopes1 to lift their imagination1 to enliven their fancy1 to rouse their activity1 to strengthen their virtue1 and to furnish the greatest number of objects of pursuit and means of enjoyment to beings constituted as man is1 consistently with the order and stability of the whole4 ,the same reasoning might be extended farther4 ,i do not say that his arguments are conclusive2 but they are profound and true1 as far as they go4 ,there may be disadvantages and abuses necessarily interwoven with his scheme1 or opposite advantages of infinitely greater value1 to be derived from another order of things and state of society4 ,this however does not invalidate either the truth or importance of ,burke's reasoning2 since the advantages he points out as connected with the mixed form of government are really and necessarily inherent in it3 since they are compatible in the same degree with no other2 since the principle itself on which he rests his argument 7whatever we may think of the application7 is of the utmost weight and moment2 and since on whichever side the truth lies1 it is impossible to make a fair decision without having the opposite side of the question clearly and fully stated to us4 ,this ,burke has done in a masterly manner4 ,he presents to you one view or face of society4 ,let him1 who thinks he can1 give the reverse side with equal force1 beauty1 and clearness4 ,it is said1 ,i know1 that truth is one2 but to this ,i cannot subscribe1 for it appears to me that truth is many4 ,there are as many truths as there are things and causes of action and contradictory principles at work in society4 ,in making up the account of good and evil1 indeed1 the final result must be one way or the other2 but the particulars on which that result depends are infinite and various4 ,it will be seen from what ,i have said1 that ,i am very far from agreeing with those who think that ,burke was a man without understanding1 and a merely florid writer4 ,there are two causes which have given rise to this calumny2 namely1 that narrowness of mind which leads men to suppose that the truth lies entirely on the side of their own opinions1 and that whatever does not make for them is absurd and irrational2 secondly1 a trick we have of confounding reason with judgment1 and supposing that it is merely the province of the understanding to pronounce sentence1 and not to give in evidence1 or argue the case2 in short1 that it is a passive1 not an active faculty4 ,thus there are persons who never run into any extravagance1 because they are so buttressed up with the opinions of others on all sides1 that they cannot lean much to one side or the other2 they are so little moved with any kind of reasoning1 that they remain at an equal distance from every extreme1 and are never very far from the truth1 because the slowness of their faculties will not suffer them to make much progress in error4 ,these are persons of great judgment4 ,the scales of the mind are pretty sure to remain even1 when there is nothing in them4 ,in this sense of the word1 ,burke must be allowed to have wanted judgment1 by all those who think that he was wrong in his conclusions4 ,the accusation of want of judgment1 in fact1 only means that you yourself are of a different opinion4 ,but if in arriving at one error he discovered a hundred truths1 ,i should consider myself a hundred times more indebted to him than if1 stumbling on that which ,i consider as the right side of the question1 he had committed a hundred absurdities in striving to establish his point4 ,i speak of him now merely as an author1 or as far as ,i and other readers are concerned with him2 at the same time1 ,i should not differ from any one who may be disposed to contend that the consequences of his writings as instruments of political power have been tremendous1 fatal1 such as no exertion of wit or knowledge or genius can ever counteract or atone for4 ,burke also gave a hold to his antagonists by mixing up sentiment and imagery with his reasoning2 so that being unused to such a sight in the region of politics1 they were deceived1 and could not discern the fruit from the flowers4 ,gravity is the cloke of wisdom2 and those who have nothing else think it an insult to affect the one without the other1 because it destroys the only foundation on which their pretensions are built4 ,the easiest part of reason is dulness2 the generality of the world are therefore concerned in discouraging any example of unnecessary brilliancy that might tend to show that the two things do not always go together4 ,burke in some measure dissolved the spell4 ,it was discovered1 that his gold was not the less valuable for being wrought into elegant shapes1 and richly embossed with curious figures2 that the solidity of a building is not destroyed by adding to it beauty and ornament2 and that the strength of a man's understanding is not always to be estimated in exact proportion to his want of imagination4 ,his understanding was not the less real1 because it was not the only faculty he possessed4 ,he justified the description of the poet1-- ,how charming is divine philosophy6 ,not harsh and crabbed as dull fools suppose1 ,but musical as is ,apollo's lute6 ,those who object to this union of grace and beauty with reason1 are in fact weak-sighted people1 who cannot distinguish the noble and majestic form of ,truth from that of her sister ,folly1 if they are dressed both alike6 ,but there is always a difference even in the adventitious ornaments they wear1 which is sufficient to distinguish them4 ,burke was so far from being a gaudy or flowery writer1 that he was one of the severest writers we have4 ,his words are the most like things2 his style is the most strictly suited to the subject4 ,he unites every extreme and every variety of composition2 the lowest and the meanest words and descriptions with the highest4 ,he exults in the display of power1 in shewing the extent1 the force1 and intensity of his ideas2 he is led on by the mere impulse and vehemence of his fancy1 not by the affectation of dazzling his readers by gaudy conceits or pompous images4 ,he was completely carried away by his subject4 ,he had no other object but to produce the strongest impression on his reader1 by giving the truest1 the most characteristic1 the fullest1 and most forcible description of things1 trusting to the power of his own mind to mould them into grace and beauty4 ,he did not produce a splendid effect by setting fire to the light vapours that float in the regions of fancy1 as the chemists make fine colours with phosphorus1 but by the eagerness of his blows struck fire from the flint1 and melted the hardest substances in the furnace of his imagination4 ,the wheels of his imagination did not catch fire from the rottenness of the materials1 but from the rapidity of their motion4 ,one would suppose1 to hear people talk of ,burke1 that his style was such as would have suited the ,lady's ,magazine2 soft1 smooth1 showy1 tender1 insipid1 full of fine words1 without any meaning4 ,the essence of the gaudy or glittering style consists in producing a momentary effect by fine words and images brought together1 without order or connexion4 ,burke most frequently produced an effect by the remoteness and novelty of his combinations1 by the force of contrast1 by the striking manner in which the most opposite and unpromising materials were harmoniously blended together2 not by laying his hands on all the fine things he could think of1 but by bringing together those things which he knew would blaze out into glorious light by their collision4 ,the florid style is a mixture of affectation and common-place4 ,burke's was an union of untameable vigour and originality4 ,burke was not a verbose writer4 ,if he sometimes multiplies words1 it is not for want of ideas1 but because there are no words that fully express his ideas1 and he tries to do it as well as he can by different ones4 ,he had nothing of the set or formal style1 the measured cadence1 and stately phraseology of ,johnson1 and most of our modern writers4 ,this style1 which is what we understand by the artificial1 is all in one key4 ,it selects a certain set of words to represent all ideas whatever1 as the most dignified and elegant1 and excludes all others as low and vulgar4 ,the words are not fitted to the things1 but the things to the words4 ,every thing is seen through a false medium4 ,it is putting a mask on the face of nature1 which may indeed hide some specks and blemishes1 but takes away all beauty1 delicacy1 and variety4 ,it destroys all dignity or elevation1 because nothing can be raised where all is on a level1 and completely destroys all force1 expression1 truth1 and character1 by arbitrarily confounding the differences of things1 and reducing every thing to the same insipid standard4 ,to suppose that this stiff uniformity can add any thing to real grace or dignity1 is like supposing that the human body in order to be perfectly graceful1 should never deviate from its upright posture4 ,another mischief of this method is1 that it confounds all ranks in literature4 ,where there is no room for variety1 no discrimination1 no nicety to be shewn in matching the idea with its proper word1 there can be no room for taste or elegance4 ,a man must easily learn the art of writing1 when every sentence is to be cast in the same mould3 where he is only allowed the use of one word1 he cannot choose wrong1 nor will he be in much danger of making himself ridiculous by affectation or false glitter1 when1 whatever subject he treats of1 he must treat of it in the same way4 ,this indeed is to wear golden chains for the sake of ornament4 ,burke was altogether free from the pedantry which ,i have here endeavoured to expose4 ,his style was as original1 as expressive1 as rich and varied1 as it was possible3 his combinations were as exquisite1 as playful1 as happy1 as unexpected1 as bold and daring1 as his fancy4 ,if any thing1 he ran into the opposite extreme of too great an inequality1 if truth and nature could ever be carried to an extreme4 ,those who are best acquainted with the writings and speeches of ,burke will not think the praise ,i have here bestowed on them exaggerated4 ,some proof will be found of this in the following extracts4 ,but the full proof must be sought in his works at large1 and particularly in the ,thoughts on the ,discontents2 in his ,reflections on the ,french ,revolution2 in his ,letter to the ,duke of ,bedford2 and in the ,regicide ,peace4 ,the two last of these are perhaps the most remarkable of all his writings1 from the contrast they afford to each other4 ,the one is the most delightful exhibition of wild and brilliant fancy1 that is to be found in ,english prose1 but it is too much like a beautiful picture painted upon gauze2 it wants something to support it3 the other is without ornament1 but it has all the solidity1 the weight1 the gravity of a judicial record4 ,it seems to have been written with a certain constraint upon himself1 and to shew those who said he could not reason1 that his arguments might be stripped of their ornaments without losing any thing of their force4 ,it is certainly1 of all his works1 that in which he has shewn most power of logical deduction1 and the only one in which he has made any important use of facts4 ,in general he certainly paid little attention to them3 they were the playthings of his mind1 he saw them as he pleased1 not as they were2 with the eye of the philosopher or the poet1 regarding them only in their general principle1 or as they might serve to decorate his subject4 ,this is the natural consequence of much imagination3 things that are probable are elevated into the rank of realities4 ,to those who can reason on the essences of things1 or who can invent according to nature1 the experimental proof is of little value4 ,this was the case with ,burke4 ,in the present instance1 however1 he seems to have forced his mind into the service of facts3 and he succeeded completely4 ,his comparison between our connection with ,france or ,algiers1 and his account of the conduct of the war1 are as clear1 as convincing1 as forcible examples of this kind of reasoning1 as are any where to be met with4 ,indeed ,i do not think there is any thing in ,fox 7whose mind was purely historical7 or in ,chatham1 7who attended to feelings more than facts7 that will bear a comparison with them4 ,burke has been compared to ,cicero--,i do not know for what reason4 ,their excellences are as different1 and indeed as opposite1 as they well can be4 ,burke had not the polished elegance1 the glossy neatness1 the artful regularity1 the exquisite modulation of ,cicero3 he had a thousand times more richness and originality of mind1 more strength and pomp of diction4 ,it has been well observed1 that the ancients had no word that properly expresses what we mean by the word genius4 ,they perhaps had not the thing4 ,their minds appear to have been too exact1 too retentive1 too minute and subtle1 too sensible to the external differences of things1 too passive under their impressions1 to admit of those bold and rapid combinations1 those lofty flights of fancy1 which1 glancing from heaven to earth1 unite the most opposite extremes1 and draw the happiest illustrations from things the most remote4 ,their ideas were kept too confined and distinct by the material form or vehicle in which they were conveyed1 to unite cordially together1 or be melted down in the imagination4 ,their metaphors are taken from things of the same class1 not from things of different classes2 the general analogy1 not the individual feeling1 directs them in their choice4 ,hence1 as ,dr4 ,johnson observed1 their similes are either repetitions of the same idea1 or so obvious and general as not to lend any additional force to it2 as when a huntress is compared to ,diana1 or a warrior rushing into battle to a lion rushing on his prey4 ,their forte was exquisite art and perfect imitation4 ,witness their statues and other things of the same kind4 ,but they had not that high and enthusiastic fancy which some of our own writers have shewn4 ,for the proof of this1 let any one compare ,milton and ,shakspeare with ,homer and ,sophocles1 or ,burke with ,cicero4 ,it may be asked whether ,burke was a poet4 ,he was so only in the general vividness of his fancy1 and in richness of invention4 ,there may be poetical passages in his works1 but ,i certainly think that his writings in general are quite distinct from poetry2 and that for the reason before given1 namely1 that the subject-matter of them is not poetical4 ,the finest part of them are illustrations or personifications of dry abstract ideas2#ace and the union between the idea and the illustration is not of that perfect and pleasing kind as to constitute poetry1 or indeed to be admissible1 but for the effect intended to be produced by it2 that is1 by every means in our power to give animation and attraction to subjects in themselves barren of ornament1 but which at the same time are pregnant with the most important consequences1 and in which the understanding and the passions are equally interested4 ,i have heard it remarked by a person1 to whose opinion ,i would sooner submit than to a general council of critics1 that the sound of ,burke's prose is not musical2 that it wants cadence2 and that instead of being so lavish of his imagery as is generally supposed1 he seemed to him to be rather parsimonious in the use of it1 always expanding and making the most of his ideas4 ,this may be true if we compare him with some of our poets1 or perhaps with some of our early prose writers1 but not if we compare him with any of our political writers or parliamentary speakers4 ,there are some very fine things of ,lord ,bolingbroke's on the same subjects1 but not equal to ,burke's4 ,as for ,junius1 he is at the head of his class2 but that class is not the highest4 ,he has been said to have more dignity than ,burke4 ,yes--if the stalk of a giant is less dignified than the strut of a petit-matre4 ,i do not mean to speak disrespectfully of ,junius1 but grandeur is not the character of his composition2 and if it is not to be found in ,burke1 it is to be found nowhere4 ,x ,,mr4 ,,wordsworth ,mr4 ,wordsworth's genius is a pure emanation of the ,spirit of the ,age4 ,had he lived in any other period of the world1 he would never have been heard of4 ,as it is1 he has some difficulty to contend with the hebetude of his intellect1 and the meanness of his subject4 ,with him lowliness is young ambition's ladder2 but he finds it a toil to climb in this way the steep of ,fame4 ,his homely ,muse can hardly raise her wing from the ground1 nor spread her hidden glories to the sun4 ,he has no figures nor no fantasies1 which busy passion draws in the brains of men3 neither the gorgeous machinery of mythologic lore1 nor the splendid colours of poetic diction4 ,his style is vernacular3 he delivers household truths4 ,he sees nothing loftier than human hopes2 nothing deeper than the human heart4 ,this he probes1 this he tampers with1 this he poises1 with all its incalculable weight of thought and feeling1 in his hands1 and at the same time calms the throbbing pulses of his own heart1 by keeping his eye ever fixed on the face of nature4 ,if he can make the life-blood flow from the wounded breast1 this is the living colouring with which he paints his verse3 if he can assuage the pain or close up the wound with the balm of solitary musing1 or the healing power of plants and herbs and skyey influences1 this is the sole triumph of his art4 ,he takes the simplest elements of nature and of the human mind1 the mere abstract conditions inseparable from our being1 and tries to compound a new system of poetry from them2 and has perhaps succeeded as well as any one could4 ,nihil humani a me alienum puto--is the motto of his works4 ,he thinks nothing low or indifferent of which this can be affirmed3 every thing that professes to be more than this1 that is not an absolute essence of truth and feeling1 he holds to be vitiated1 false1 and spurious4 ,in a word1 his poetry is founded on setting up an opposition 7and pushing it to the utmost length7 between the natural and the artificial3 between the spirit of humanity1 and the spirit of fashion and of the world6 ,it is one of the innovations of the time4 ,it partakes of1 and is carried along with1 the revolutionary movement of our age3 the political changes of the day were the model on which he formed and conducted his poetical experiments4 ,his ,muse 7it cannot be denied1 and without this we cannot explain its character at all7 is a levelling one4 ,it proceeds on a principle of equality1 and strives to reduce all things to the same standard4 ,it is distinguished by a proud humility4 ,it relies upon its own resources1 and disdains external show and relief4 ,it takes the commonest events and objects1 as a test to prove that nature is always interesting from its inherent truth and beauty1 without any of the ornaments of dress or pomp of circumstances to set it off4 ,hence the unaccountable mixture of seeming simplicity and real abstruseness in the ,lyrical ,ballads4 ,fools have laughed at1 wise men scarcely understand them4 ,he takes a subject or a story merely as pegs or loops to hang thought and feeling on2 the incidents are trifling1 in proportion to his contempt for imposing appearances2 the reflections are profound1 according to the gravity and aspiring pretensions of his mind4 ,his popular1 inartificial style gets rid 7at a blow7 of all the trappings of verse1 of all the high places of poetry3 the cloud-capt towers1 the solemn temples1 the gorgeous palaces1 are swept to the ground1 and like the baseless fabric of a vision1 leave not a wreck behind4 ,all the traditions of learning1 all the superstitions of age1 are obliterated and effaced4 ,we begin de novo1 on a tabula rasa of poetry4 ,the purple pall1 the nodding plume of tragedy1 are exploded as mere pantomime and trick1 to return to the simplicity of truth and nature4 ,kings1 queens1 priests1 nobles1 the altar and the throne1 the distinctions of rank1 birth1 wealth1 power1 the judge's robe1 the marshal's truncheon1 the ceremony that to great ones 'longs1 are not to be found here4 ,the author tramples on the pride of art with greater pride4 ,the ,ode and ,epode1 the ,strophe and the ,antistrophe1 he laughs to scorn4 ,the harp of ,homer1 the trump of ,pindar and of ,alcus are still4 ,the decencies of costume1 the decorations of vanity are stripped off without mercy as barbarous1 idle1 and ,gothic4 ,the jewels in the crisped hair1 the diadem on the polished brow are thought meretricious1 theatrical1 vulgar2 and nothing contents his fastidious taste beyond a simple garland of flowers4 ,neither does he avail himself of the advantages which nature or accident holds out to him4 ,he chooses to have his subject a foil to his invention1 to owe nothing but to himself4 ,he gathers manna in the wilderness1 he strikes the barren rock for the gushing moisture4 ,he elevates the mean by the strength of his own aspirations2 he clothes the naked with beauty and grandeur from the stores of his own recollections4 ,no cypress grove loads his verse with funeral pomp3 but his imagination lends a sense of joy ,to the bare trees and mountains bare1 ,and grass in the green field4 ,no storm1 no shipwreck startles us by its horrors3 but the rainbow lifts its head in the cloud1 and the breeze sighs through the withered fern4 ,no sad vicissitude of fate1 no overwhelming catastrophe in nature deforms his page3 but the dewdrop glitters on the bending flower1 the tear collects in the glistening eye4 ,beneath the hills1 along the flowery vales1 ,the generations are prepared2 the pangs1 ,the internal pangs are ready2 the dread strife ,of poor humanity's afflicted will1 ,struggling in vain with ruthless destiny4 ,as the lark ascends from its low bed on fluttering wing1 and salutes the morning skies2 so ,mr4 ,wordsworth's unpretending ,muse1 in russet guise1 scales the summits of reflection1 while it makes the round earth its footstool1 and its home6 ,possibly a good deal of this may be regarded as the effect of disappointed views and an inverted ambition4 ,prevented by native pride and indolence from climbing the ascent of learning or greatness1 taught by political opinions to say to the vain pomp and glory of the world1 ,i hate ye1 seeing the path of classical and artificial poetry blocked up by the cumbrous ornaments of style and turgid common-places1 so that nothing more could be achieved in that direction but by the most ridiculous bombast or the tamest servility2 he has turned back partly from the bias of his mind1 partly perhaps from a judicious policy--has struck into the sequestered vale of humble life1 sought out the ,muse among sheep-cotes and hamlets and the peasant's mountain-haunts1 has discarded all the tinsel pageantry of verse1 and endeavoured 7not in vain7 to aggrandise the trivial and add the charm of novelty to the familiar4 ,no one has shown the same imagination in raising trifles into importance3 no one has displayed the same pathos in treating of the simplest feelings of the heart4 ,reserved1 yet haughty1 having no unruly or violent passions1 7or those passions having been early suppressed17 ,mr4 ,wordsworth has passed his life in solitary musing1 or in daily converse with the face of nature4 ,he exemplifies in an eminent degree the power of association2 for his poetry has no other source or character4 ,he has dwelt among pastoral scenes1 till each object has become connected with a thousand feelings1 a link in the chain of thought1 a fibre of his own heart4 ,every one is by habit and familiarity strongly attached to the place of his birth1 or to objects that recall the most pleasing and eventful circumstances of his life4 ,but to the author of the ,lyrical ,ballads1 nature is a kind of home2 and he may be said to take a personal interest in the universe4 ,there is no image so insignificant that it has not in some mood or other found the way into his heart3 no sound that does not awaken the memory of other years-- ,to him the meanest flower that blows can give ,thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears4 ,the daisy looks up to him with sparkling eye as an old acquaintance3 the cuckoo haunts him with sounds of early youth not to be expressed3 a linnet's nest startles him with boyish delight3 an old withered thorn is weighed down with a heap of recollections3 a grey cloak1 seen on some wild moor1 torn by the wind1 or drenched in the rain1 afterwards becomes an object of imagination to him3 even the lichens on the rock have a life and being in his thoughts4 ,he has described all these objects in a way and with an intensity of feeling that no one else had done before him1 and has given a new view or aspect of nature4 ,he is in this sense the most original poet now living1 and the one whose writings could the least be spared3 for they have no substitute elsewhere4 ,the vulgar do not read them1 the learned1 who see all things through books1 do not understand them1 the great despise1 the fashionable may ridicule them3 but the author has created himself an interest in the heart of the retired and lonely student of nature1 which can never die4 ,persons of this class will still continue to feel what he has felt3 he has expressed what they might in vain wish to express1 except with glistening eye and faultering tongue6 ,there is a lofty philosophic tone1 a thoughtful humanity1 infused into his pastoral vein4 ,remote from the passions and events of the great world1 he has communicated interest and dignity to the primal movements of the heart of man1 and ingrafted his own conscious reflections on the casual thoughts of hinds and shepherds4 ,nursed amidst the grandeur of mountain scenery1 he has stooped to have a nearer view of the daisy under his feet1 or plucked a branch of white-thorn from the spray3 but in describing it1 his mind seems imbued with the majesty and solemnity of the objects around him--the tall rock lifts its head in the erectness of his spirit2 the cataract roars in the sound of his verse2 and in its dim and mysterious meaning1 the mists seem to gather in the hollows of ,helvellyn1 and the forked ,skiddaw hovers in the distance4 ,there is little mention of mountainous scenery in ,mr4 ,wordsworth's poetry2 but by internal evidence one might be almost sure that it is written in a mountainous country1 from its bareness1 its simplicity1 its loftiness1 and its depth6 ,his later philosophic productions have a somewhat different character4 ,they are a departure from1 a dereliction of his first principles4 ,they are classical and courtly4 ,they are polished in style1 without being gaudy2 dignified in subject1 without affectation4 ,they seem to have been composed not in a cottage at ,grasmere1 but among the half-inspired groves and stately recollections of ,cole-,orton4 ,we might allude in particular1 for examples of what we mean1 to the lines on a ,picture by ,claude ,lorraine1 and to the exquisite poem1 entitled ,laodamia4 ,the last of these breathes the pure spirit of the finest fragments of antiquity--the sweetness1 the gravity1 the strength1 the beauty and the languor of death-- ,calm contemplation and majestic pains4 ,its glossy brilliancy arises from the perfection of the finishing1 like that of careful sculpture1 not from gaudy colouring--the texture of the thoughts has the smoothness and solidity of marble4 ,it is a poem that might be read aloud in ,elysium1 and the spirits of departed heroes and sages would gather round to listen to it6 ,mr4 ,wordsworth's philosophic poetry1 with a less glowing aspect and less tumult in the veins than ,lord ,byron's on similar occasions1 bends a calmer and keener eye on mortality2 the impression1 if less vivid1 is more pleasing and permanent2 and we confess it 7perhaps it is a want of taste and proper feeling7 that there are lines and poems of our author's1 that we think of ten times for once that we recur to any of ,lord ,byron's4 ,or if there are any of the latter's writings1 that we can dwell upon in the same way1 that is1 as lasting and heart-felt sentiments1 it is when1 laying aside his usual pomp and pretension1 he descends with ,mr4 ,wordsworth to the common ground of a disinterested humanity4 ,it may be considered as characteristic of our poet's writings1 that they either make no impression on the mind at all1 seem mere nonsense-verses1 or that they leave a mark behind them that never wears out4 ,they either ,fall blunted from the indurated breast-- without any perceptible result1 or they absorb it like a passion4 ,to one class of readers he appears sublime1 to another 7and we fear the largest7 ridiculous4 ,he has probably realised ,milton's wish1--and fit audience found1 though few3 but we suspect he is not reconciled to the alternative4 ,there are delightful passages in the ,,excursion1 both of natural description and of inspired reflection 7passages of the latter kind that in the sound of the thoughts and of the swelling language resemble heavenly symphonies1 mournful requiems over the grave of human hopes72 but we must add1 in justice and in sincerity1 that we think it impossible that this work should ever become popular1 even in the same degree as the ,lyrical ,ballads4 ,it affects a system without having any intelligible clue to one2 and instead of unfolding a principle in various and striking lights1 repeats the same conclusions till they become flat and insipid4 ,mr4 ,wordsworth's mind is obtuse1 except as it is the organ and the receptacle of accumulated feelings3 it is not analytic1 but synthetic2 it is reflecting1 rather than theoretical4 ,the ,,excursion1 we believe1 fell still-born from the press4 ,there was something abortive1 and clumsy1 and ill-judged in the attempt4 ,it was long and laboured4 ,the personages1 for the most part1 were low1 the fare rustic3 the plan raised expectations which were not fulfilled1 and the effect was like being ushered into a stately hall and invited to sit down to a splendid banquet in the company of clowns1 and with nothing but successive courses of apple-dumplings served up4 ,it was not even toujours perdrix6 ,mr4 ,wordsworth1 in his person1 is above the middle size1 with marked features1 and an air somewhat stately and ,quixotic4 ,he reminds one of some of ,holbein's heads1 grave1 saturnine1 with a slight indication of sly humour1 kept under by the manners of the age or by the pretensions of the person4 ,he has a peculiar sweetness in his smile1 and great depth and manliness and a rugged harmony1 in the tones of his voice4 ,his manner of reading his own poetry is particularly imposing2 and in his favourite passages his eye beams with preternatural lustre1 and the meaning labours slowly up from his swelling breast4 ,no one who has seen him at these moments could go away with an impression that he was a man of no mark or likelihood4 ,perhaps the comment of his face and voice is necessary to convey a full idea of his poetry4 ,his language may not be intelligible1 but his manner is not to be mistaken4 ,it is clear that he is either mad or inspired4 ,in company1 even in a tte--tte1 ,mr4 ,wordsworth is often silent1 indolent1 and reserved4 ,if he is become verbose and oracular of late years1 he was not so in his better days4 ,he threw out a bold or an indifferent remark without either effort or pretension1 and relapsed into musing again4 ,he shone most 7because he seemed most roused and animated7 in reciting his own poetry1 or in talking about it4 ,he sometimes gave striking views of his feelings and trains of association in composing certain passages2 or if one did not always understand his distinctions1 still there was no want of interest--there was a latent meaning worth inquiring into1 like a vein of ore that one cannot exactly hit upon at the moment1 but of which there are sure indications4 ,his standard of poetry is high and severe1 almost to exclusiveness4 ,he admits of nothing below1 scarcely of any thing above himself4 ,it is fine to hear him talk of the way in which certain subjects should have been treated by eminent poets1 according to his notions of the art4 ,thus he finds fault with ,dryden's description of ,bacchus in the ,alexander's ,feast1 as if he were a mere good-looking youth1 or boon companion-- ,flushed with a purple grace1 ,he shows his honest face-- instead of representing the ,god returning from the conquest of ,india1 crowned with vine-leaves1 and drawn by panthers1 and followed by troops of satyrs1 of wild men and animals that he had tamed4 ,you would think1 in hearing him speak on this subject1 that you saw ,titian's picture of the meeting of ,bacchus and ,ariadne--so classic were his conceptions1 so glowing his style4 ,milton is his great idol1 and he sometimes dares to compare himself with him4 ,his ,sonnets1 indeed1 have something of the same high-raised tone and prophetic spirit4 ,chaucer is another prime favourite of his1 and he has been at the pains to modernize some of the ,canterbury ,tales4 ,those persons who look upon ,mr4 ,wordsworth as a merely puerile writer1 must be rather at a loss to account for his strong predilection for such geniuses as ,dante and ,michael ,angelo4 ,we do not think our author has any very cordial sympathy with ,shakspeare4 ,how should he8 ,shakspeare was the least of an egotist of anybody in the world4 ,he does not much relish the variety and scope of dramatic composition4 ,he hates those interlocutions between ,lucius and ,caius4 ,yet ,mr4 ,wordsworth himself wrote a tragedy when he was young2 and we have heard the following energetic lines quoted from it1 as put into the mouth of a person smit with remorse for some rash crime3 ,action is momentary1 ,the motion of a muscle this way or that2 ,suffering is long1 obscure1 and infinite6 ,perhaps for want of light and shade1 and the unshackled spirit of the drama1 this performance was never brought forward4 ,our critic has a great dislike to ,gray1 and a fondness for ,thomson and ,collins4 ,it is mortifying to hear him speak of ,pope and ,dryden1 whom1 because they have been supposed to have all the possible excellences of poetry1 he will allow to have none4 ,nothing1 however1 can be fairer1 or more amusing1 than the way in which he sometimes exposes the unmeaning verbiage of modern poetry4 ,thus1 in the beginning of ,dr4 ,johnson's ,vanity of ,human ,wishes-- ,let observation with extensive view ,survey mankind from ,china to ,peru-- he says there is a total want of imagination accompanying the words1 the same idea is repeated three times under the disguise of a different phraseology3 it comes to this--let observation1 with extensive observation1 observe mankind2 or take away the first line1 and the second1 ,survey mankind from ,china to ,peru1 literally conveys the whole4 ,mr4 ,wordsworth is1 we must say1 a perfect ,drawcansir as to prose writers4 ,he complains of the dry reasoners and matter-of-fact people for their want of passion2 and he is jealous of the rhetorical declaimers and rhapsodists as trenching on the province of poetry4 ,he condemns all ,french writers 7as well of poetry as prose7 in the lump4 ,his list in this way is indeed small4 ,he approves of ,walton's ,angler1 ,paley1 and some other writers of an inoffensive modesty of pretension4 ,he also likes books of voyages and travels1 and ,robinson ,crusoe4 ,in art1 he greatly esteems ,bewick's woodcuts1 and ,waterloo's sylvan etchings4 ,but he sometimes takes a higher tone1 and gives his mind fair play4 ,we have known him enlarge with a noble intelligence and enthusiasm on ,nicolas ,poussin's fine landscape-compositions1 pointing out the unity of design that pervades them1 the superintending mind1 the imaginative principle that brings all to bear on the same end2 and declaring he would not give a rush for any landscape that did not express the time of day1 the climate1 the period of the world it was meant to illustrate1 or had not this character of wholeness in it4 ,his eye also does justice to ,rembrandt's fine and masterly effects4 ,in the way in which that artist works something out of nothing1 and transforms the stump of a tree1 a common figure into an ideal object1 by the gorgeous light and shade thrown upon it1 he perceives an analogy to his own mode of investing the minute details of nature with an atmosphere of sentiment2 and in pronouncing ,rembrandt to be a man of genius1 feels that he strengthens his own claim to the title4 ,it has been said of ,mr4 ,wordsworth1 that he hates conchology1 that he hates the ,venus of ,medicis4 ,but these1 we hope1 are mere epigrams and jeux-d'esprit1 as far from truth as they are free from malice2 a sort of running satire or critical clenches-- ,where one for sense and one for rhyme ,is quite sufficient at one time4 ,we think1 however1 that if ,mr4 ,wordsworth had been a more liberal and candid critic1 he would have been a more sterling writer4 ,if a greater number of sources of pleasure had been open to him1 he would have communicated pleasure to the world more frequently4 ,had he been less fastidious in pronouncing sentence on the works of others1 his own would have been received more favourably1 and treated more leniently4 ,the current of his feelings is deep1 but narrow2 the range of his understanding is lofty and aspiring rather than discursive4 ,the force1 the originality1 the absolute truth and identity with which he feels some things1 makes him indifferent to so many others4 ,the simplicity and enthusiasm of his feelings1 with respect to nature1 renders him bigotted and intolerant in his judgments of men and things4 ,but it happens to him1 as to others1 that his strength lies in his weakness2 and perhaps we have no right to complain4 ,we might get rid of the cynic and the egotist1 and find in his stead a common-place man4 ,we should take the good the ,gods provide us3 a fine and original vein of poetry is not one of their most contemptible gifts1 and the rest is scarcely worth thinking of1 except as it may be a mortification to those who expect perfection from human nature2 or who have been idle enough at some period of their lives1 to deify men of genius as possessing claims above it4 ,but this is a chord that jars1 and we shall not dwell upon it4 ,lord ,byron we have called1 according to the old proverb1 the spoiled child of fortune3 ,mr4 ,wordsworth might plead1 in mitigation of some peculiarities1 that he is the spoiled child of disappointment4 ,we are convinced1 if he had been early a popular poet1 he would have borne his honours meekly1 and would have been a person of great bonhommie and frankness of disposition4 ,but the sense of injustice and of undeserved ridicule sours the temper and narrows the views4 ,to have produced works of genius1 and to find them neglected or treated with scorn is one of the heaviest trials of human patience4 ,we exaggerate our own merits when they are denied by others1 and are apt to grudge and cavil at every particle of praise bestowed on those to whom we feel a conscious superiority4 ,in mere self-defence we turn against the world1 when it turns against us2 brood over the undeserved slights we receive2 and thus the genial current of the soul is stopped1 or vents itself in effusions of petulance and self-conceit4 ,mr4 ,wordsworth has thought too much of contemporary critics and criticism2 and less than he ought of the award of posterity1 and of the opinion1 we do not say of private friends1 but of those who were made so by their admiration of his genius4 ,he did not court popularity by a conformity to established models1 and he ought not to have been surprised that his originality was not understood as a matter of course4 ,he has gnawed too much on the bridle2 and has often thrown out crusts to the critics1 in mere defiance or as a point of honour when he was challenged1 which otherwise his own good sense would have withheld4 ,we suspect that ,mr4 ,wordsworth's feelings are a little morbid in this respect1 or that he resents censure more than he is gratified by praise4 ,otherwise1 the tide has turned much in his favour of late years--he has a large body of determined partisans--and is at present sufficiently in request with the public to save or relieve him from the last necessity to which a man of genius can be reduced--that of becoming the ,god of his own idolatry6 ,,xi ,,mr4 ,,coleridge ,the present is an age of talkers1 and not of doers2 and the reason is1 that the world is growing old4 ,we are so far advanced in the ,arts and ,sciences1 that we live in retrospect1 and doat on past achievements4 ,the accumulation of knowledge has been so great1 that we are lost in wonder at the height it has reached1 instead of attempting to climb or add to it2 while the variety of objects distracts and dazzles the looker-on4 ,what niche remains unoccupied8 ,what path untried8 ,what is the use of doing anything1 unless we could do better than all those who have gone before us8 ,what hope is there of this8 ,we are like those who have been to see some noble monument of art1 who are content to admire without thinking of rivalling it2 or like guests after a feast1 who praise the hospitality of the donor and thank the bounteous ,pan--perhaps carrying away some trifling fragments2 or like the spectators of a mighty battle1 who still hear its sound afar off1 and the clashing of armour and the neighing of the war-horse and the shout of victory is in their ears1 like the rushing of innumerable waters6 ,,mr4 ,,coleridge has a mind reflecting ages past3 his voice is like the echo of the congregated roar of the dark rearward and abyss of thought4 ,he who has seen a mouldering tower by the side of a chrystal lake1 hid by the mist1 but glittering in the wave below1 may conceive the dim1 gleaming1 uncertain intelligence of his eye3 he who has marked the evening clouds uprolled 7a world of vapours71 has seen the picture of his mind1 unearthly1 unsubstantial1 with gorgeous tints and ever-varying forms-- ,that which was now a horse1 even with a thought ,the rack dislimns1 and makes it indistinct ,as water is in water4 ,our author's mind is 7as he himself might express it7 tangential4 ,there is no subject on which he has not touched1 none on which he has rested4 ,with an understanding fertile1 subtle1 expansive1 quick1 forgetive1 apprehensive1 beyond all living precedent1 few traces of it will perhaps remain4 ,he lends himself to all impressions alike2 he gives up his mind and liberty of thought to none4 ,he is a general lover of art and science1 and wedded to no one in particular4 ,he pursues knowledge as a mistress1 with outstretched hands and winged speed2 but as he is about to embrace her1 his ,daphne turns--alas6 not to a laurel6 ,hardly a speculation has been left on record from the earliest time1 but it is loosely folded up in ,mr4 ,coleridge's memory1 like a rich1 but somewhat tattered piece of tapestry3 we might add 7with more seeming than real extravagance71 that scarce a thought can pass through the mind of man1 but its sound has at some time or other passed over his head with rustling pinions4 ,on whatever question or author you speak1 he is prepared to take up the theme with advantage--from ,peter ,abelard down to ,thomas ,moore1 from the subtlest metaphysics to the politics of the ,courier4 ,there is no man of genius1 in whose praise he descants1 but the critic seems to stand above the author1 and what in him is weak1 to strengthen1 what is low1 to raise and support3 nor is there any work of genius that does not come out of his hands like an illuminated ,missal1 sparkling even in its defects4 ,if ,mr4 ,coleridge had not been the most impressive talker of his age1 he would probably have been the finest writer2 but he lays down his pen to make sure of an auditor1 and mortgages the admiration of posterity for the stare of an idler4 ,if he had not been a poet1 he would have been a powerful logician2 if he had not dipped his wing in the ,unitarian controversy1 he might have soared to the very summit of fancy4 ,but in writing verse1 he is trying to subject the ,muse to transcendental theories3 in his abstract reasoning1 he misses his way by strewing it with flowers4 ,all that he has done of moment1 he had done twenty years ago3 since then1 he may be said to have lived on the sound of his own voice4 ,mr4 ,coleridge is too rich in intellectual wealth1 to need to task himself to any drudgery3 he has only to draw the sliders of his imagination1 and a thousand subjects expand before him1 startling him with their brilliancy1 or losing themselves in endless obscurity-- ,and by the force of blear illusion1 ,they draw him on to his confusion4 ,what is the little he could add to the stock1 compared with the countless stores that lie about him1 that he should stoop to pick up a name1 or to polish an idle fancy8 ,he walks abroad in the majesty of an universal understanding1 eyeing the rich strond1 or golden sky above him1 and goes sounding on his way1 in eloquent accents1 uncompelled and free6 ,persons of the greatest capacity are often those1 who for this reason do the least2 for surveying themselves from the highest point of view1 amidst the infinite variety of the universe1 their own share in it seems trifling1 and scarce worth a thought1 and they prefer the contemplation of all that is1 or has been1 or can be1 to the making a coil about doing what1 when done1 is no better than vanity4 ,it is hard to concentrate all our attention and efforts on one pursuit1 except from ignorance of others2 and without this concentration of our faculties1 no great progress can be made in any one thing4 ,it is not merely that the mind is not capable of the effort2 it does not think the effort worth making4 ,action is one2 but thought is manifold4 ,he whose restless eye glances through the wide compass of nature and art1 will not consent to have his own nothings monstered3 but he must do this1 before he can give his whole soul to them4 ,the mind1 after letting contemplation have its fill1 or ,sailing with supreme dominion ,through the azure deep of air1 sinks down on the ground1 breathless1 exhausted1 powerless1 inactive2 or if it must have some vent to its feelings1 seeks the most easy and obvious2 is soothed by friendly flattery1 lulled by the murmur of immediate applause1 thinks as it were aloud1 and babbles in its dreams6 ,a scholar 7so to speak7 is a more disinterested and abstracted character than a mere author4 ,the first looks at the numberless volumes of a library1 and says1 ,all these are mine2 the other points to a single volume 7perhaps it may be an immortal one7 and says1 ,my name is written on the back of it4 ,this is a puny and groveling ambition1 beneath the lofty amplitude of ,mr4 ,coleridge's mind4 ,no1 he revolves in his wayward soul1 or utters to the passing wind1 or discourses to his own shadow1 things mightier and more various6--,let us draw the curtain1 and unlock the shrine4 ,learning rocked him in his cradle1 and while yet a child1 ,he lisped in numbers1 for the numbers came4 ,at sixteen he wrote his ,ode on ,chatterton1 and he still reverts to that period with delight1 not so much as it relates to himself 7for that string of his own early promise of fame rather jars than otherwise7 but as exemplifying the youth of a poet4 ,mr4 ,coleridge talks of himself1 without being an egotist1 for in him the individual is always merged in the abstract and general4 ,he distinguished himself at school and at the ,university by his knowledge of the classics1 and gained several prizes for ,greek epigrams4 ,how many men are there 7great scholars1 celebrated names in literature7 who having done the same thing in their youth1 have no other idea all the rest of their lives but of this achievement1 of a fellowship and dinner1 and who1 installed in academic honours1 would look down on our author as a mere strolling bard6 ,at ,christ's ,hospital1 where he was brought up1 he was the idol of those among his schoolfellows1 who mingled with their bookish studies the music of thought and of humanity2 and he was usually attended round the cloisters by a group of these 7inspiring and inspired7 whose hearts1 even then1 burnt within them as he talked1 and where the sounds yet linger to mock ,,elia on his way1 still turning pensive to the past6 ,one of the finest and rarest parts of ,mr4 ,coleridge's conversation1 is when he expatiates on the ,greek tragedians 7not that he is not well acquainted1 when he pleases1 with the epic poets1 or the philosophers1 or orators1 or historians of antiquity7--on the subtle reasonings and melting pathos of ,euripides1 on the harmonious gracefulness of ,sophocles1 tuning his love-laboured song1 like sweetest warblings from a sacred grove2 on the high-wrought1 trumpet-tongued eloquence of schylus1 whose ,prometheus1 above all1 is like an ,ode to ,fate1 and a pleading with ,providence1 his thoughts being let loose as his body is chained on his solitary rock1 and his afflicted will 7the emblem of mortality7 ,struggling in vain with ruthless destiny4 ,as the impassioned critic speaks and rises in his theme1 you would think you heard the voice of the ,man hated by the ,gods1 contending with the wild winds as they roar1 and his eye glitters with the spirit of ,antiquity6 ,next1 he was engaged with ,hartley's tribes of mind1 etherial braid1 thought-woven1--and he busied himself for a year or two with vibrations and vibratiuncles1 and the great law of association that binds all things in its mystic chain1 and the doctrine of ,necessity 7the mild teacher of ,charity7 and the ,millennium1 anticipative of a life to come--and he plunged deep into the controversy on ,matter and ,spirit1 and1 as an escape from ,dr4 ,priestley's ,materialism1 where he felt himself imprisoned by the logician's spell1 like ,ariel in the cloven pine-tree1 he became suddenly enamoured of ,bishop ,berkeley's fairy-world1#acf and used in all companies to build the universe1 like a brave poetical fiction1 of fine words--and he was deep-read in ,malebranche1 and in ,cudworth's ,intellectual ,system 7a huge pile of learning1 unwieldy1 enormous7 and in ,lord ,brook's hieroglyphic theories1 and in ,bishop ,butler's ,sermons1 and in the ,duchess of ,newcastle's fantastic folios1 and in ,clarke and ,south and ,tillotson1 and all the fine thinkers and masculine reasoners of that age--and ,leibnitz's ,pre-established ,harmony reared its arch above his head1 like the rainbow in the cloud1 covenanting with the hopes of man--and then he fell plump1 ten thousand fathoms down 7but his wings saved him harmless7 into the hortus siccus of ,dissent1 where he pared religion down to the standard of reason1 and stripped faith of mystery1 and preached ,christ crucified and the ,unity of the ,godhead1 and so dwelt for a while in the spirit of ,john ,huss and ,jerome of ,prague and ,socinus and old ,john ,zisca1 and ran through ,neal's ,history of the ,puritans1 and ,calamy's ,non-,conformists' ,memorial1 having like thoughts and passions with them--but then ,spinoza became his ,god1 and he took up the vast chain of being in his hand1 and the round world became the centre and the soul of all things in some shadowy sense1 forlorn of meaning1 and around him he beheld the living traces and the sky-pointing proportions of the mighty ,pan--but poetry redeemed him from this spectral philosophy1 and he bathed his heart in beauty1 and gazed at the golden light of heaven1 and drank of the spirit of the universe1 and wandered at eve by fairy-stream or fountain1 ----,when he saw nought but beauty1 ,when he heard the voice of that ,almighty ,one ,in every breeze that blew1 or wave that murmured-- and wedded with truth in ,plato's shade1 and in the writings of ,proclus and ,plotinus saw the ideas of things in the eternal mind1 and unfolded all mysteries with the ,schoolmen and fathomed the depths of ,duns ,scotus and ,thomas ,aquinas1 and entered the third heaven with ,jacob ,behmen1 and walked hand in hand with ,swedenborg through the pavilions of the ,new ,jerusalem1 and sung his faith in the promise and in the word in his ,religious ,musings--and lowering himself from that dizzy height1 poised himself on ,milton's wings1 and spread out his thoughts in charity with the glad prose of ,jeremy ,taylor1 and wept over ,bowles's ,sonnets1 and studied ,cowper's blank verse1 and betook himself to ,thomson's ,castle of ,indolence1 and sported with the wits of ,charles the ,second's days and of ,queen ,anne1 and relished ,swift's style and that of the ,john ,bull 7,arbuthnot's we mean1 not ,mr4 ,croker's71 and dallied with the ,british ,essayists and ,novelists1 and knew all qualities of more modern writers with a learned spirit1 ,johnson1 and ,goldsmith1 and ,junius1 and ,burke1 and ,godwin1 and the ,sorrows of ,werter1 and ,jean ,jacques ,rousseau1 and ,voltaire1 and ,marivaux1 and ,crebillon1 and thousands more--now laughed with ,rabelais in his easy chair or pointed to ,hogarth1 or afterwards dwelt on ,claude's classic scenes1 or spoke with rapture of ,raphael1 and compared the women at ,rome to figures that had walked out of his pictures1 or visited the ,oratory of ,pisa1 and described the works of ,giotto and ,ghirlandaio and ,massaccio1 and gave the moral of the picture of the ,triumph of ,death1 where the beggars and the wretched invoke his dreadful dart1 but the rich and mighty of the earth quail and shrink before it2 and in that land of siren sights and sounds1 saw a dance of peasant girls1 and was charmed with lutes and gondolas1--or wandered into ,germany and lost himself in the labyrinths of the ,hartz ,forest and of the ,kantean philosophy1 and amongst the cabalistic names of ,ficht and ,schelling and ,lessing1 and ,god knows who--this was long after1 but all the former while he had nerved his heart and filled his eyes with tears1 as he hailed the rising orb of liberty1 since quenched in darkness and in blood1 and had kindled his affections at the blaze of the ,french ,revolution1 and sang for joy when the towers of the ,bastile and the proud places of the insolent and the oppressor fell1 and would have floated his bark1 freighted with fondest fancies1 across the ,atlantic wave with ,southey and others to seek for peace and freedom-- ,in ,philarmonia's undivided dale6 ,alas6 ,frailty1 thy name is ,genius6--,what is become of all this mighty heap of hope1 of thought1 of learning1 and humanity8 ,it has ended in swallowing doses of oblivion and in writing paragraphs in the ,courier4--,such and so little is the mind of man6 ,it was not to be supposed that ,mr4 ,coleridge could keep on at the rate he set off2 he could not realize all he knew or thought1 and less could not fix his desultory ambition2 other stimulants supplied the place1 and kept up the intoxicating dream1 the fever and the madness of his early impressions4 ,liberty 7the philosopher's and the poet's bride7 had fallen a victim1 meanwhile1 to the murderous practice of the hag1 ,legitimacy4 ,proscribed by court-hirelings1 too romantic for the herd of vulgar politicians1 our enthusiast stood at bay1 and at last turned on the pivot of a subtle casuistry to the unclean side3 but his discursive reason would not let him trammel himself into a poet-laureate or stamp-distributor1 and he stopped1 ere he had quite passed that well-known bourne from whence no traveller returns--and so has sunk into torpid1 uneasy repose1 tantalized by useless resources1 haunted by vain imaginings1 his lips idly moving1 but his heart for ever still1 or1 as the shattered chords vibrate of themselves1 making melancholy music to the ear of memory6 ,such is the fate of genius in an age1 when in the unequal contest with sovereign wrong1 every man is ground to powder who is not either a born slave1 or who does not willingly and at once offer up the yearnings of humanity and the dictates of reason as a welcome sacrifice to besotted prejudice and loathsome power4 ,of all ,mr4 ,coleridge's productions1 the ,ancient ,mariner is the only one that we could with confidence put into any person's hands1 on whom we wished to impress a favourable idea of his extraordinary powers4 ,let whatever other objections be made to it1 it is unquestionably a work of genius--of wild1 irregular1 overwhelming imagination1 and has that rich1 varied movement in the verse1 which gives a distant idea of the lofty or changeful tones of ,mr4 ,coleridge's voice4 ,in the ,christobel1 there is one splendid passage on divided friendship4 ,the ,translation of ,schiller's ,wallenstein is also a masterly production in its kind1 faithful and spirited4 ,among his smaller pieces there are occasional bursts of pathos and fancy1 equal to what we might expect from him2 but these form the exception1 and not the rule4 ,such1 for instance1 is his affecting ,sonnet to the author of the ,robbers4 ,schiller6 that hour ,i would have wish'd to die1 ,if through the shudd'ring midnight ,i had sent ,from the dark dungeon of the tower time-rent1 ,that fearful voice1 a famish'd father's cry-- ,that in no after-moment aught less vast ,might stamp me mortal6 ,a triumphant shout ,black horror scream'd1 and all her goblin rout ,from the more with'ring scene diminish'd pass'd4 ,ah6 ,bard tremendous in sublimity6 ,could ,i behold thee in thy loftier mood1 ,wand'ring at eve1 with finely frenzied eye1 ,beneath some vast old tempest-swinging wood6 ,awhile1 with mute awe gazing1 ,i would brood1 ,then weep aloud in a wild ecstasy4 ,his ,tragedy1 entitled ,remorse1 is full of beautiful and striking passages1 but it does not place the author in the first rank of dramatic writers4 ,but if ,mr4 ,coleridge's works do not place him in that rank1 they injure instead of conveying a just idea of the man1 for he himself is certainly in the first class of general intellect4 ,if our author's poetry is inferior to his conversation1 his prose is utterly abortive4 ,hardly a gleam is to be found in it of the brilliancy and richness of those stores of thought and language that he pours out incessantly1 when they are lost like drops of water in the ground4 ,the principal work1 in which he has attempted to embody his general view of things1 is the ,,friend1 of which1 though it contains some noble passages and fine trains of thought1 prolixity and obscurity are the most frequent characteristics4 ,,xii ,,mr4 ,,southey ,perhaps the most pleasing and striking of all ,mr4 ,southey's poems are not his triumphant taunts hurled against oppression1 are not his glowing effusions to ,liberty1 but those in which1 with a mild melancholy1 he seems conscious of his own infirmities of temper1 and to feel a wish to correct by thought and time the precocity and sharpness of his disposition4 ,may the quaint but affecting aspiration expressed in one of these be fulfilled1 that as he mellows into maturer age1 all such asperities may wear off1 and he himself become ,like the high leaves upon the holly-tree6 ,mr4 ,southey's prose-style can hardly be too much praised4 ,it is plain1 clear1 pointed1 familiar1 perfectly modern in its texture1 but with a grave and sparkling admixture of archaisms in its ornaments and occasional phraseology4 ,he is the best and most natural prose-writer of any poet of the day2 we mean that he is far better than ,lord ,byron1 ,mr4 ,wordsworth1 or ,mr4 ,coleridge1 for instance4 ,the manner is perhaps superior to the matter1 that is1 in his ,essays and ,reviews4 ,there is rather a want of originality and even of impetus3 but there is no want of playful or biting satire1 of ingenuity1 of casuistry1 of learning and of information4 ,he is full of wise saws and modern 7as well as ancient7 instances4 ,mr4 ,southey may not always convince his opponents2 but he seldom fails to stagger1 never to gall them4 ,in a word1 we may describe his style by saying that it has not the body or thickness of port wine1 but it is like clear sherry1 with kernels of old authors thrown into it6--,he also excels as an historian and prose-translator4 ,his histories abound in information1 and exhibit proofs of the most indefatigable patience and industry4 ,by no uncommon process of the mind1 ,mr4 ,southey seems willing to steady the extreme levity of his opinions and feelings by an appeal to facts4 ,his translations of the ,spanish and ,french romances are also executed con amore1 and with the literary fidelity of a mere linguist4 ,that of the ,cid1 in particular1 is a masterpiece4 ,not a word could be altered for the better in the old scriptural style which it adopts in conformity to the original4 ,it is no less interesting in itself1 or as a record of high and chivalrous feelings and manners1 than it is worthy of perusal as a literary curiosity4 ,mr4 ,southey's conversation has a little resemblance to a common-place book2 his habitual deportment to a piece of clock-work4 ,he is not remarkable either as a reasoner or an observer3 but he is quick1 unaffected1 replete with anecdote1 various and retentive in his reading1 and exceedingly happy in his play upon words1 as most scholars are who give their minds this sportive turn4 ,we have chiefly seen ,mr4 ,southey in company where few people appear to advantage1 we mean in that of ,mr4 ,coleridge4 ,he has not certainly the same range of speculation1 nor the same flow of sounding words1 but he makes up by the details of knowledge and by a scrupulous correctness of statement for what he wants in originality of thought1 or impetuous declamation4 ,the tones of ,mr4 ,coleridge's voice are eloquence3 those of ,mr4 ,southey are meagre1 shrill1 and dry4 ,mr4 ,coleridge's forte is conversation1 and he is conscious of this3 ,mr4 ,southey evidently considers writing as his stronghold1 and if gravelled in an argument1 or at a loss for an explanation1 refers to something he has written on the subject1 or brings out his port-folio1 doubled down in dog-ears1 in confirmation of some fact4 ,he is scholastic and professional in his ideas4 ,he sets more value on what he writes than on what he says3 he is perhaps prouder of his library than of his own productions--themselves a library6 ,he is more simple in his manners than his friend ,mr4 ,coleridge2 but at the same time less cordial or conciliating4 ,he is less vain1 or has less hope of pleasing1 and therefore lays himself less out to please4 ,there is an air of condescension in his civility4 ,with a tall1 loose figure1 a peaked austerity of countenance1 and no inclination to embonpoint1 you would say he has something puritanical1 something ascetic in his appearance4 ,he answers to ,mandeville's description of ,addison1 a parson in a tye-wig4 ,he is not a boon companion1 nor does he indulge in the pleasures of the table1 nor in any other vice2 nor are we aware that ,mr4 ,southey is chargeable with any human frailty but--want of charity6 ,having fewer errors to plead guilty to1 he is less lenient to those of others4 ,he was born an age too late4 ,had he lived a century or two ago1 he would have been a happy as well as blameless character4 ,but the distraction of the time has unsettled him1 and the multiplicity of his pretensions have jostled with each other4 ,no man in our day 7at least no man of genius7 has led so uniformly and entirely the life of a scholar from boyhood to the present hour1 devoting himself to learning with the enthusiasm of an early love1 with the severity and constancy of a religious vow--and well would it have been for him if he had confined himself to this1 and not undertaken to pull down or to patch up the ,state6 ,however irregular in his opinions1 ,mr4 ,southey is constant1 unremitting1 mechanical in his studies1 and the performance of his duties4 ,there is nothing ,pindaric or ,shandean here4 ,in all the relations and charities of private life1 he is correct1 exemplary1 generous1 just4 ,we never heard a single impropriety laid to his charge2 and if he has many enemies1 few men can boast more numerous or stauncher friends4--,the variety and piquancy of his writings form a striking contrast to the mode in which they are produced4 ,he rises early1 and writes or reads till breakfast-time4 ,he writes or reads after breakfast till dinner1 after dinner till tea1 and from tea till bed-time-- ,and follows so the ever-running year ,with profitable labour to his grave4-- on ,derwent's banks1 beneath the foot of ,skiddaw4 ,study serves him for business1 exercise1 recreation4 ,he passes from verse to prose1 from history to poetry1 from reading to writing1 by a stop-watch4 ,he writes a fair hand without blots1 sitting upright in his chair1 leaves off when he comes to the bottom of the page1 and changes the subject for another1 as opposite as the ,antipodes4 ,his mind is after all rather the recipient and transmitter of knowledge1 than the originator of it4 ,he has hardly grasp of thought enough to arrive at any great leading truth4 ,his passions do not amount to more than irritability4 ,with some gall in his pen1 and coldness in his manner1 he has a great deal of kindness in his heart4 ,rash in his opinions1 he is steady in his attachments--and is a man1 in many particulars admirable1 in all respectable--his political inconsistency alone excepted6 ,,xiii ,,elia ,so ,mr4 ,charles ,lamb chooses to designate himself2 and as his lucubrations under this nom de guerre have gained considerable notice from the public1 we shall here attempt to describe his style and manner1 and to point out his beauties and defects4 ,mr4 ,lamb1 though he has borrowed from previous sources1 instead of availing himself of the most popular and admired1 has groped out his way1 and made his most successful researches among the more obscure and intricate1 though certainly not the least pithy or pleasant of our writers4 ,he has raked among the dust and cobwebs of a remote period1 has exhibited specimens of curious relics1 and pored over moth-eaten1 decayed manuscripts1 for the benefit of the more inquisitive and discerning part of the public4 ,antiquity after a time has the grace of novelty1 as old fashions revived are mistaken for new ones2 and a certain quaintness and singularity of style is an agreeable relief to the smooth and insipid monotony of modern composition4 ,mr4 ,lamb has succeeded not by conforming to the ,spirit of the ,age1 but in opposition to it4 ,he does not march boldly along with the crowd1 but steals off the pavement to pick his way in the contrary direction4 ,he prefers bye-ways to highways4 ,when the full tide of human life pours along to some festive show1 to some pageant of a day1 ,elia would stand on one side to look over an old book-stall1 or stroll down some deserted pathway in search of a pensive description over a tottering door-way1 or some quaint device in architecture1 illustrative of embryo art and ancient manners4 ,mr4 ,lamb has the very soul of an antiquarian1 as this implies a reflecting humanity2 the film of the past hovers for ever before him4 ,he is shy1 sensitive1 the reverse of every thing coarse1 vulgar1 obtrusive1 and common-place4 ,he would fain shuffle off this mortal coil1 and his spirit clothes itself in the garb of elder time1 homelier1 but more durable4 ,he is borne along with no pompous paradoxes1 shines in no glittering tinsel of a fashionable phraseology2 is neither fop nor sophist4 ,he has none of the turbulence or froth of new-fangled opinions4 ,his style runs pure and clear1 though it may often take an underground course1 or be conveyed through old-fashioned conduit-pipes4 ,mr4 ,lamb does not court popularity1 nor strut in gaudy plumes1 but shrinks from every kind of ostentatious and obvious pretension into the retirement of his own mind4 ,the self-applauding bird1 the peacock see3-- ,mark what a sumptuous pharisee is he6 ,meridian sun-beams tempt him to unfold ,his radiant glories1 azure1 green1 and gold3 ,he treads as if1 some solemn music near1 ,his measured step were governed by his ear3 ,and seems to say--',ye meaner fowl1 give place1 ,i am all splendour1 dignity1 and grace6' ,not so the pheasant on his charms presumes1 ,though he too has a glory in his plumes4 ,he1 ,christian-like1 retreats with modest mien ,to the close copse or far sequestered green1 ,and shines without desiring to be seen4 ,these lines well describe the modest and delicate beauties of ,mr4 ,lamb's writings1 contrasted with the lofty and vainglorious pretensions of some of his contemporaries4 ,this gentleman is not one of those who pay all their homage to the prevailing idol3 he thinks that ,newborn gauds are made and moulded of things past1 nor does he ,give to dust that is a little gilt ,more laud than gilt o'er-dusted4 ,his convictions do not in broad rumor lie1 nor are they set off to the world in the glistering foil of fashion2 but live and breathe aloft in those pure eyes1 and perfect judgment of all-seeing time4 ,mr4 ,lamb rather affects and is tenacious of the obscure and remote3 of that which rests on its own intrinsic and silent merit2 which scorns all alliance1 or even the suspicion of owing any thing to noisy clamour1 to the glare of circumstances4 ,there is a fine tone of chiaro-scuro1 a moral perspective in his writings4 ,he delights to dwell on that which is fresh to the eye of memory2 he yearns after and covets what soothes the frailty of human nature4 ,that touches him most nearly which is withdrawn to a certain distance1 which verges on the borders of oblivion3--that piques and provokes his fancy most1 which is hid from a superficial glance4 ,that which1 though gone by1 is still remembered1 is in his view more genuine1 and has given more vital signs that it will live1 than a thing of yesterday1 that may be forgotten to-morrow4 ,death has in this sense the spirit of life in it2 and the shadowy has to our author something substantial in it4 ,ideas savour most of reality in his mind2 or rather his imagination loiters on the edge of each1 and a page of his writings recalls to our fancy the stranger on the grate1 fluttering in its dusky tenuity1 with its idle superstition and hospitable welcome6 ,mr4 ,lamb has a distaste to new faces1 to new books1 to new buildings1 to new customs4 ,he is shy of all imposing appearances1 of all assumptions of self-importance1 of all adventitious ornaments1 of all mechanical advantage1 even to a nervous excess4 ,it is not merely that he does not rely upon or ordinarily avail himself of them2 he holds them in abhorrence1 he utterly abjures and discards them1 and places a great gulph between him and them4 ,he disdains all the vulgar artifices of authorship1 all the cant of criticism1 and helps to notoriety4 ,he has no grand swelling theories to attract the visionary and the enthusiast1 no passing topics to allure the thoughtless and the vain4 ,he evades the present1 he mocks the future4 ,his affections revert to and settle on the past1 but then1 even this must have something personal and local in it to interest him deeply and thoroughly2 he pitches his tent in the suburbs of existing manners2 brings down the account of character to the few straggling remains of the last generation2 seldom ventures beyond the bills of mortality1 and occupies that nice point between egotism and disinterested humanity4 ,no one makes the tour of our southern metropolis1 or describes the manners of the last age1 so well as ,mr4 ,lamb--with so fine1 and yet so formal an air--with such vivid obscurity1 with such arch piquancy1 such picturesque quaintness1 such smiling pathos4 ,how admirably he has sketched the former inmates of the ,south-,sea ,house3 what fine fretwork he makes of their double and single entries6 ,with what a firm1 yet subtle pencil he has embodied ,mrs4 ,battle's ,opinions on ,whist6 ,how notably he embalms a battered beau2 how delightfully an amour1 that was cold forty years ago1 revives in his pages6 ,with what well-disguised humour1 he introduces us to his relations1 and how freely he serves up his friends6 ,certainly1 some of his portraits are fixtures1 and will do to hang up as lasting and lively emblems of human infirmity4 ,then there is no one who has so sure an ear for the chimes at midnight1 not even excepting ,mr4 ,justice ,shallow2 nor could ,master ,silence himself take his cheese and pippins with a more significant and satisfactory air4 ,with what a gusto ,mr4 ,lamb describes the inns and courts of law1 the ,temple and ,gray's-,inn1 as if he had been a student there for the last two hundred years1 and had been as well acquainted with the person of ,sir ,francis ,bacon as he is with his portrait or writings6 ,it is hard to say whether ,st4 ,john's ,gate is connected with more intense and authentic associations in his mind1 as a part of old ,london ,wall1 or as the frontispiece 7time out of mind7 of the ,gentleman's ,magazine4 ,he haunts ,watling-street like a gentle spirit2 the avenues to the play-houses are thick with panting recollections1 and ,christ's-,hospital still breathes the balmy breath of infancy in his description of it6 ,whittington and his ,cat are a fine hallucination for ,mr4 ,lamb's historic ,muse1 and we believe he never heartily forgave a certain writer who took the subject of ,guy ,faux out of his hands4 ,the streets of ,london are his fairy-land1 teeming with wonder1 with life and interest to his retrospective glance1 as it did to the eager eye of childhood2 he has contrived to weave its tritest traditions into a bright and endless romance6 ,mr4 ,lamb's taste in books is also fine1 and it is peculiar4 ,it is not the worse for a little idiosyncrasy4 ,he does not go deep into the ,scotch novels1 but he is at home in ,smollett or ,fielding4 ,he is little read in ,junius or ,gibbon1 but no man can give a better account of ,burton's ,anatomy of ,melancholy1 or ,sir ,thomas ,brown's ,urn-,burial1 or ,fuller's ,worthies1 or ,john ,bunyan's ,holy ,war4 ,no one is more unimpressible to a specious declamation3 no one relishes a recondite beauty more4 ,his admiration of ,shakspeare and ,milton does not make him despise ,pope2 and he can read ,parnell with patience1 and ,gay with delight4 ,his taste in ,french and ,german literature is somewhat defective2 nor has he made much progress in the science of ,political ,economy or other abstruse studies1 though he has read vast folios of controversial divinity1 merely for the sake of the intricacy of style1 and to save himself the pain of thinking4 ,mr4 ,lamb is a good judge of prints and pictures4 ,his admiration of ,hogarth does credit to both1 particularly when it is considered that ,leonardo da ,vinci is his next greatest favourite1 and that his love of the actual does not proceed from a want of taste for the ideal4 ,his worst fault is an over-eagerness of enthusiasm1 which occasionally makes him take a surfeit of his highest favourites4--,mr4 ,lamb excels in familiar conversation almost as much as in writing1 when his modesty does not overpower his self-possession4 ,he is as little of a proser as possible1 but he blurts out the finest wit and sense in the world4 ,he keeps a good deal in the back-ground at first1 till some excellent conceit pushes him forward1 and then he abounds in whim and pleasantry4 ,there is a primitive simplicity and self-denial about his manners2 and a ,quakerism in his personal appearance1 which is1 however1 relieved by a fine ,titian head1 full of dumb eloquence6 ,mr4 ,lamb is a general favourite with those who know him4 ,his character is equally singular and amiable4 ,he is endeared to his friends not less by his foibles than his virtues2 he ensures their esteem by the one1 and does not wound their self-love by the other4 ,he gains ground in the opinion of others1 by making no advances in his own4 ,we easily admire genius where the diffidence of the possessor makes our acknowledgment of merit seem like a sort of patronage1 or act of condescension1 as we willingly extend our good offices where they are not exacted as obligations1 or repaid with sullen indifference4--,the style of the ,essays of ,elia is liable to the charge of a certain mannerism4 ,his sentences are cast in the mould of old authors2 his expressions are borrowed from them2 but his feelings and observations are genuine and original1 taken from actual life1 or from his own breast2 and he may be said 7if any one can7 to have coined his heart for jests1 and to have split his brain for fine distinctions6 ,mr4 ,lamb1 from the peculiarity of his exterior and address as an author1 would probably never have made his way by detached and independent efforts2 but1 fortunately for himself and others1 he has taken advantage of the ,periodical ,press1 where he has been stuck into notice1 and the texture of his compositions is assuredly fine enough to bear the broadest glare of popularity that has hitherto shone upon them4 ,mr4 ,lamb's literary efforts have procured him civic honours 7a thing unheard of in our times71 and he has been invited1 in his character of ,,elia1 to dine at a select party with the ,lord ,mayor4 ,we should prefer this distinction to that of being poet-laureat4 ,we would recommend to ,mr4 ,waithman's perusal 7if ,mr4 ,lamb has not anticipated us7 the ,rosamond ,gray and the ,john ,woodvil of the same author1 as an agreeable relief to the noise of a ,city feast1 and the heat of city elections4 ,a friend1 a short time ago1 quoted some lines#acg from the last-mentioned of these works1 which meeting ,mr4 ,godwin's eye1 he was so struck with the beauty of the passage1 and with a consciousness of having seen it before1 that he was uneasy till he could recollect where1 and after hunting in vain for it in ,ben ,jonson1 ,beaumont and ,fletcher1 and other not unlikely places1 sent to ,mr4 ,lamb to know if he could help him to the author6 ,,xiv ,,sir ,,walter ,,scott ,sir ,walter has found out 7oh1 rare discovery67 that facts are better than fiction2 that there is no romance like the romance of real life2 and that if we can but arrive at what men feel1 do1 and say in striking and singular situations1 the result will be more lively1 audible1 and full of vent1 than the fine-spun cobwebs of the brain4 ,with reverence be it spoken1 he is like the man who having to imitate the squeaking of a pig upon the stage1 brought the animal under his coat with him4 ,our author has conjured up the actual people he has to deal with1 or as much as he could get of them1 in their habits as they lived4 ,he has ransacked old chronicles1 and poured the contents upon his page2 he has squeezed out musty records2 he has consulted wayfaring pilgrims1 bed-rid sybils2 he has invoked the spirits of the air2 he has conversed with the living and the dead1 and let them tell their story their own way2 and by borrowing of others1 has enriched his own genius with everlasting variety1 truth1 and freedom4 ,he has taken his materials from the original1 authentic sources1 in large concrete masses1 and not tampered with or too much frittered them away4 ,he is only the amanuensis of truth and history4 ,it is impossible to say how fine his writings in consequence are1 unless we could describe how fine nature is4 ,all that portion of the history of his country that he has touched upon 7wide as the scope is7 the manners1 the personages1 the events1 the scenery1 lives over again in his volumes4 ,nothing is wanting--the illusion is complete4 ,there is a hurtling in the air1 a trampling of feet upon the ground1 as these perfect representations of human character or fanciful belief come thronging back upon our imaginations4 ,we will merely recall a few of the subjects of his pencil to the reader's recollection2 for nothing we could add1 by way of note or commendation1 could make the impression more vivid4 ,there is 7first and foremost1 because the earliest of our acquaintance7 the ,baron of ,bradwardine1 stately1 kind-hearted1 whimsical1 pedantic2 and ,flora ,mac,ivor 7whom even we forgive for her ,jacobitism71 the fierce ,vich ,ian ,vohr1 and ,evan ,dhu1 constant in death1 and ,davie ,gellatly roasting his eggs or turning his rhymes with restless volubility1 and the two stag-hounds that met ,waverley1 as fine as ever ,titian painted1 or ,paul ,veronese3--then there is old ,balfour of ,burley1 brandishing his sword and his ,bible with fire-eyed fury1 trying a fall with the insolent1 gigantic ,bothwell at the ',change-house1 and vanquishing him at the noble battle of ,loudon-hill2 there is ,bothwell himself1 drawn to the life1 proud1 cruel1 selfish1 profligate1 but with the love-letters of the gentle ,alice 7written thirty years before71 and his verses to her memory found in his pocket after his death3 in the same volume of ,old ,mortality is that lone figure1 like a figure in ,scripture1 of the woman sitting on the stone at the turning to the mountain1 to warn ,burley that there is a lion in his path2 and the fawning ,claverhouse1 beautiful as a panther1 smooth-looking1 blood-spotted2 and the fanatics1 ,macbriar and ,mucklewrath1 crazed with zeal and sufferings2 and the inflexible ,morton1 and the faithful ,edith1 who refused to give her hand to another while her heart was with her lover in the deep and dead sea4 ,and in the ,heart of ,mid ,lothian we have ,effie ,deans 7that sweet1 faded flower7 and ,jeanie1 her more than sister1 and old ,david ,deans1 the patriarch of ,st4 ,leonard's ,crags1 and ,butler1 and ,dumbiedikes1 eloquent in his silence1 and ,mr4 ,bartoline ,saddle-tree and his prudent helpmate1 and ,porteous swinging in the wind1 and ,madge ,wildfire1 full of finery and madness1 and her ghastly mother4--,again1 there is ,meg ,merrilies1 standing on her rock1 stretched on her bier with her head to the east1 and ,dirk ,hatterick 7equal to ,shakspeare's ,master ,barnardine71 and ,glossin1 the soul of an attorney1 and ,dandy ,dinmont1 with his terrier-pack and his pony ,dumple1 and the fiery ,colonel ,mannering1 and the modish old counsellor ,pleydell1 and ,dominie ,sampson1#ach and ,rob ,roy 7like the eagle in his eyry71 and ,baillie ,nicol ,jarvie1 and the inimitable ,major ,galbraith1 and ,rashleigh ,osbaldistone1 and ,die ,vernon1 the best of secret-keepers2 and in the ,antiquary1 the ingenious and abstruse ,mr4 ,jonathan ,oldbuck1 and the old beadsman ,edie ,ochiltree1 and that preternatural figure of old ,edith ,elspeith1 a living shadow1 in whom the lamp of life had been long extinguished1 had it not been fed by remorse and thick-coming recollections2 and that striking picture of the effects of feudal tyranny and fiendish pride1 the unhappy ,earl of ,glenallan2 and the ,black ,dwarf1 and his friend ,habbie of the ,heughfoot 7the cheerful hunter71 and his cousin ,grace ,armstrong1 fresh and laughing like the morning2 and the ,children of the ,mist1 and the baying of the bloodhound that tracks their steps at a distance 7the hollow echoes are in our ears now71 and ,amy and her hapless love1 and the villain ,varney1 and the deep voice of ,george of ,douglas--and the immoveable ,balafre1 and ,master ,oliver the ,barber in ,quentin ,durward--and the quaint humour of the ,fortunes of ,nigel1 and the comic spirit of ,peveril of the ,peak--and the fine old ,english romance of ,ivanhoe4 ,what a list of names6 ,what a host of associations6 ,what a thing is human life6 ,what a power is that of genius6 ,what a world of thought and feeling is thus rescued from oblivion6 ,how many hours of heartfelt satisfaction has our author given to the gay and thoughtless6 ,how many sad hearts has he soothed in pain and solitude6 ,it is no wonder that the public repay with lengthened applause and gratitude the pleasure they receive4 ,he writes as fast as they can read1 and he does not write himself down4 ,he is always in the public eye1 and we do not tire of him4 ,his worst is better than any other person's best4 ,his back-grounds 7and his later works are little else but back-grounds capitally made out7 are more attractive than the principal figures and most complicated actions of other writers4 ,his works 7taken together7 are almost like a new edition of human nature4 ,this is indeed to be an author6 ,the political bearing of the ,scotch ,novels has been a considerable recommendation to them4 ,they are a relief to the mind1 rarefied as it has been with modern philosophy1 and heated with ultra-radicalism4 ,at a time also1 when we bid fair to revive the principles of the ,stuarts1 it is interesting to bring us acquainted with their persons and misfortunes4 ,the candour of ,sir ,walter's historic pen levels our bristling prejudices on this score1 and sees fair play between ,roundheads and ,cavaliers1 between ,protestant and ,papist4 ,he is a writer reconciling all the diversities of human nature to the reader4 ,he does not enter into the distinctions of hostile sects or parties1 but treats of the strength or the infirmity of the human mind1 of the virtues or vices of the human breast1 as they are to be found blended in the whole race of mankind4 ,nothing can show more handsomely or be more gallantly executed4 ,there was a talk at one time that our author was about to take ,guy ,faux for the subject of one of his novels1 in order to put a more liberal and humane construction on the ,gunpowder ,plot than our ,no ,popery prejudices have hitherto permitted4 ,sir ,walter is a professed clarifier of the age from the vulgar and still lurking old-,english antipathy to ,popery and ,slavery4 ,through some odd process of servile logic1 it should seem1 that in restoring the claims of the ,stuarts by the courtesy of romance1 the ,house of ,brunswick are more firmly seated in point of fact1 and the ,bourbons1 by collateral reasoning1 become legitimate6 ,in any other point of view1 we cannot possibly conceive how ,sir ,walter imagines he has done something to revive the declining spirit of loyalty by these novels4 ,his loyalty is founded on would-be treason3 he props the actual throne by the shadow of rebellion4 ,does he really think of making us enamoured of the good old times by the faithful and harrowing portraits he has drawn of them8 ,would he carry us back to the early stages of barbarism1 of clanship1 of the feudal system as a consummation devoutly to be wished8 ,is he infatuated enough1 or does he so dote and drivel over his own slothful and self-willed prejudices1 as to believe that he will make a single convert to the beauty of ,legitimacy1 that is1 of lawless power and savage bigotry1 when he himself is obliged to apologize for the horrors he describes1 and even render his descriptions credible to the modern reader by referring to the authentic history of these delectable times8 ,he is indeed so besotted as to the moral of his own story1 that he has even the blindness to go out of his way to have a fling at flints and dungs 7the contemptible ingredients1 as he would have us believe1 of a modern rabble7 at the very time when he is describing a mob of the twelfth century--a mob 7one should think7 after the writer's own heart1 without one particle of modern philosophy or revolutionary politics in their composition1 who were to a man1 to a hair1 just what priests1 and kings1 and nobles let them be1 and who were collected to witness 7a spectacle proper to the times7 the burning of the lovely ,rebecca at a stake for a sorceress1 because she was a ,jewess1 beautiful and innocent1 and the consequent victim of insane bigotry and unbridled profligacy4 ,and it is at this moment 7when the heart is kindled and bursting with indignation at the revolting abuses of self-constituted power7 that ,sir ,walter stops the press to have a sneer at the people1 and to put a spoke 7as he thinks7 in the wheel of upstart innovation6 ,this is what he calls backing his friends--it is thus he administers charms and philtres to our love of ,legitimacy1 makes us conceive a horror of all reform1 civil1 political1 or religious1 and would fain put down the ,spirit of the ,age4 ,the author of ,waverley might just as well get up and make a speech at a dinner at ,edinburgh1 abusing ,mr4 ,mac-,adam for his improvements in the roads1 on the ground that they were nearly impassable in many places sixty years since2 or object to ,mr4 ,peel's ,police-,bill1 by insisting that ,hounslow-,heath was formerly a scene of greater interest and terror to highwaymen and travellers1 and cut a greater figure in the ,newgate ,calendar than it does at present4--,oh6 ,wickliff1 ,luther1 ,hampden1 ,sidney1 ,somers1 mistaken ,whigs1 and thoughtless ,reformers in religion and politics1 and all ye1 whether poets or philosophers1 heroes or sages1 inventors of arts or sciences1 patriots1 benefactors of the human race1 enlighteners and civilisers of the world1 who have 7so far7 reduced opinion to reason1 and power to law1 who are the cause that we no longer burn witches and heretics at slow fires1 that the thumb-screws are no longer applied by ghastly1 smiling judges1 to extort confession of imputed crimes from sufferers for conscience sake2 that men are no longer strung up like acorns on trees without judge or jury1 or hunted like wild beasts through thickets and glens1 who have abated the cruelty of priests1 the pride of nobles1 the divinity of kings in former times3 to whom we owe it1 that we no longer wear round our necks the collar of ,gurth the swineherd1 and of ,wamba the jester2 that the castles of great lords are no longer the dens of banditti1 whence they issue with fire and sword to lay waste the land2 that we no longer expire in loathsome dungeons without knowing the cause1 or have our right hands struck off for raising them in self-defence against wanton insult2 that we can sleep without fear of being burnt in our beds1 or travel without making our wills2 that no ,amy ,robsarts are thrown down trap-doors by ,richard ,varneys with impunity2 that no ,red-,reiver of ,westburn-,flat sets fire to peaceful cottages2 that no ,claverhouse signs cold-blooded death-warrants in sport2 that we have no ,tristan the ,hermit1 or ,petit-,andr1 crawling near us1 like spiders1 and making our flesh creep1 and our hearts sicken within us at every movement of our lives--ye who have produced this change in the face of nature and society1 return to earth once more1 and beg pardon of ,sir ,walter and his patrons1 who sigh at not being able to undo all that you have done6 ,leaving this question1 there are two other remarks which we wished to make on the ,novels4 ,the one was1 to express our admiration of the good-nature of the mottos1 in which the author has taken occasion to remember and quote almost every living author 7whether illustrious or obscure7 but himself--an indirect argument in favour of the general opinion as to the source from which they spring--and the other was1 to hint our astonishment at the innumerable and incessant instances of bad and slovenly ,english in them1 more1 we believe1 than in any other works now printed4 ,we should think the writer could not possibly read the manuscript after he has once written it1 or overlook the press4 ,if there were a writer1 who born for the universe-- ----,narrow'd his mind1 ,and to party gave up what was meant for mankind---- who1 from the height of his genius looking abroad into nature1 and scanning the recesses of the human heart1 winked and shut his apprehension up to every thought and purpose that tended to the future good of mankind--who1 raised by affluence1 the reward of successful industry1 and by the voice of fame above the want of any but the most honourable patronage1 stooped to the unworthy arts of adulation1 and abetted the views of the great with the pettifogging feelings of the meanest dependant on office--who1 having secured the admiration of the public 7with the probable reversion of immortality71 showed no respect for himself1 for that genius that had raised him to distinction1 for that nature which he trampled under foot--who1 amiable1 frank1 friendly1 manly in private life1 was seized with the dotage of age and the fury of a woman1 the instant politics were concerned--who reserved all his candour and comprehensiveness of view for history1 and vented his littleness1 pique1 resentment1 bigotry1 and intolerance on his contemporaries--who took the wrong side1 and defended it by unfair means--who1 the moment his own interest or the prejudices of others interfered1 seemed to forget all that was due to the pride of intellect1 to the sense of manhood--who1 praised1 admired by men of all parties alike1 repaid the public liberality by striking a secret and envenomed blow at the reputation of every one who was not the ready tool of power--who strewed the slime of rankling malice and mercenary scorn over the bud and promise of genius1 because it was not fostered in the hotbed of corruption1 or warped by the trammels of servility--who supported the worst abuses of authority in the worst spirit--who joined a gang of desperadoes to spread calumny1 contempt1 infamy1 wherever they were merited by honesty or talent on a different side--who officiously undertook to decide public questions by private insinuations1 to prop the throne by nicknames1 and the altar by lies--who being 7by common consent71 the finest1 the most humane and accomplished writer of his age1 associated himself with and encouraged the lowest panders of a venal press2 deluging1 nauseating the public mind with the offal and garbage of ,billingsgate abuse and vulgar slang2 showing no remorse1 no relenting or compassion towards the victims of this nefarious and organized system of party-proscription1 carried on under the mask of literary criticism and fair discussion1 insulting the misfortunes of some1 and trampling on the early grave of others-- ,who would not grieve if such a man there be8 ,who would not weep if ,atticus were he8 ,but we believe there is no other age or country in the world 7but ours71 in which such genius could have been so degraded6 ,,xv ,,lord ,,byron ,lord ,byron and ,sir ,walter ,scott are among writers now living#aci the two1 who would carry away a majority of suffrages as the greatest geniuses of the age4 ,the former would1 perhaps1 obtain the preference with fine gentlemen and ladies 7squeamishness apart7--the latter with the critics and the vulgar4 ,we shall treat of them in the same connection1 partly on account of their distinguished pre-eminence1 and partly because they afford a complete contrast to each other4 ,in their poetry1 in their prose1 in their politics1 and in their tempers1 no two men can be more unlike4 ,if ,sir ,walter ,scott may be thought by some to have been ,born universal heir to all humanity1 it is plain ,lord ,byron can set up no such pretension4 ,he is1 in a striking degree1 the creature of his own will4 ,he holds no communion with his kind2 but stands alone1 without mate or fellow-- ,as if a man were author of himself1 ,and owned no other kin4 ,he is like a solitary peak1 all access to which is cut off not more by elevation than distance4 ,he is seated on a lofty eminence1 cloud-capt1 or reflecting the last rays of setting suns2 and in his poetical moods reminds us of the fabled ,titans1 retired to a ridgy steep1 playing on their ,pan's-pipes1 and taking up ordinary men and things in their hands with haughty indifference4 ,he raises his subject to himself1 or tramples on it2 he neither stoops to1 nor loses himself in it4 ,he exists not by sympathy1 but by antipathy4 ,he scorns all things1 even himself4 ,nature must come to him to sit for her picture--he does not go to her4 ,she must consult his time1 his convenience1 and his humour2 and wear a sombre or a fantastic garb1 or his ,lordship turns his back upon her4 ,there is no ease1 no unaffected simplicity of manner1 no golden mean4 ,all is strained1 or petulant in the extreme4 ,his thoughts are sphered and crystalline2 his style prouder than when blue ,iris bends2 his spirit fiery1 impatient1 wayward1 indefatigable4 ,instead of taking his impressions from without1 in entire and almost unimpaired masses1 he moulds them according to his own temperament1 and heats the materials of his imagination in the furnace of his passions4--,lord ,byron's verse glows like a flame1 consuming everything in its way2 ,sir ,walter ,scott's glides like a river1 clear1 gentle1 harmless4 ,the poetry of the first scorches1 that of the last scarcely warms4 ,the light of the one proceeds from an internal source1 ensanguined1 sullen1 fixed2 the other reflects the hues of ,heaven1 or the face of nature1 glancing vivid and various4 ,the productions of the ,northern ,bard have the rust and the freshness of antiquity about them2 those of the ,noble ,poet cease to startle from their extreme ambition of novelty1 both in style and matter4 ,sir ,walter's rhymes are silly sooth -- ,and dally with the innocence of thought1 ,like the old age-- his ,lordship's ,muse spurns the olden time1 and affects all the supercilious airs of a modern fine lady and an upstart4 ,the object of the one writer is to restore us to truth and nature3 the other chiefly thinks how he shall display his own power1 or vent his spleen1 or astonish the reader either by starting new subjects and trains of speculation1 or by expressing old ones in a more striking and emphatic manner than they have been expressed before4 ,he cares little what it is he says1 so that he can say it differently from others4 ,this may account for the charges of plagiarism which have been repeatedly brought against the ,noble ,poet--if he can borrow an image or sentiment from another1 and heighten it by an epithet or an allusion of greater force and beauty than is to be found in the original passage1 he thinks he shows his superiority of execution in this in a more marked manner than if the first suggestion had been his own4 ,it is not the value of the observation itself he is solicitous about2 but he wishes to shine by contrast--even nature only serves as a foil to set off his style4 ,he therefore takes the thoughts of others 7whether contemporaries or not7 out of their mouths1 and is content to make them his own1 to set his stamp upon them1 by imparting to them a more meretricious gloss1 a higher relief1 a greater loftiness of tone1 and a characteristic inveteracy of purpose4 ,even in those collateral ornaments of modern style1 slovenliness1 abruptness1 and eccentricity 7as well as in terseness and significance71 ,lord ,byron1 when he pleases1 defies competition and surpasses all his contemporaries4 ,whatever he does1 he must do in a more decided and daring manner than any one else--he lounges with extravagance1 and yawns so as to alarm the reader6 ,self-will1 passion1 the love of singularity1 a disdain of himself and of others 7with a conscious sense that this is among the ways and means of procuring admiration7 are the proper categories of his mind3 he is a lordly writer1 is above his own reputation1 and condescends to the ,muses with a scornful grace6 ,lord ,byron1 who in his politics is a liberal1 in his genius is haughty and aristocratic3 ,walter ,scott1 who is an aristocrat in principle1 is popular in his writings1 and is 7as it were7 equally servile to nature and to opinion4 ,the genius of ,sir ,walter is essentially imitative1 or denotes a foregone conclusion3 that of ,lord ,byron is self-dependent2 or at least requires no aid1 is governed by no law1 but the impulses of its own will4 ,we confess1 however much we may admire independence of feeling and erectness of spirit in general or practical questions1 yet in works of genius we prefer him who bows to the authority of nature1 who appeals to actual objects1 to mouldering superstitions1 to history1 observation1 and tradition1 before him who only consults the pragmatical and restless workings of his own breast1 and gives them out as oracles to the world4 ,we like a writer 7whether poet or prose-writer7 who takes in 7or is willing to take in7 the range of half the universe in feeling1 character1 description1 much better than we do one who obstinately and invariably shuts himself up in the ,bastile of his own ruling passions4 ,in short1 we had rather be ,sir ,walter ,scott 7meaning thereby the ,author of ,waverley7 than ,lord ,byron1 a hundred times over4 ,and for the reason just given1 namely1 that he casts his descriptions in the mould of nature1 ever-varying1 never tiresome1 always interesting and always instructive1 instead of casting them constantly in the mould of his own individual impressions4 ,he gives us man as he is1 or as he was1 in almost every variety of situation1 action1 and feeling4 ,lord ,byron makes man after his own image1 woman after his own heart2 the one is a capricious tyrant1 the other a yielding slave2 he gives us the misanthrope and the voluptuary by turns2 and with these two characters1 burning or melting in their own fires1 he makes out everlasting centos of himself4 ,he hangs the cloud1 the film of his existence over all outward things--sits in the centre of his thoughts1 and enjoys dark night1 bright day1 the glitter and the gloom in cell monastic--we see the mournful pall1 the crucifix1 the death's-heads1 the faded chaplet of flowers1 the gleaming tapers1 the agonized brow of genius1 the wasted form of beauty--but we are still imprisoned in a dungeon1 a curtain intercepts our view1 we do not breathe freely the air of nature or of our own thoughts--the other admired author draws aside the curtain1 and the veil of egotism is rent1 and he shows us the crowd of living men and women1 the endless groups1 the landscape back-ground1 the cloud and the rainbow1 and enriches our imaginations and relieves one passion by another1 and expands and lightens reflection1 and takes away that tightness at the breast which arises from thinking or wishing to think that there is nothing in the world out of a man's self6--,in this point of view1 the ,author of ,waverley is one of the greatest teachers of morality that ever lived1 by emancipating the mind from petty1 narrow1 and bigotted prejudices3 ,lord ,byron is the greatest pamperer of those prejudices1 by seeming to think there is nothing else worth encouraging but the seeds or the full luxuriant growth of dogmatism and self-conceit4 ,in reading the ,scotch ,novels1 we never think about the author1 except from a feeling of curiosity respecting our unknown benefactor3 in reading ,lord ,byron's works1 he himself is never absent from our minds4 ,the colouring of ,lord ,byron's style1 however rich and dipped in ,tyrian dyes1 is nevertheless opaque1 is in itself an object of delight and wonder3 ,sir ,walter ,scott's is perfectly transparent4 ,in studying the one1 you seem to gaze at the figures cut in stained glass1 which exclude the view beyond1 and where the pure light of ,heaven is only a means of setting off the gorgeousness of art3 in reading the other1 you look through a noble window at the clear and varied landscape without4 ,or to sum up the distinction in one word1 ,sir ,walter ,scott is the most dramatic writer now living2 and ,lord ,byron is the least so4--,it would be difficult to imagine that the ,author of ,waverley is in the smallest degree a pedant2 as it would be hard to persuade ourselves that the ,author of ,childe ,harold and ,don ,juan is not a coxcomb1 though a provoking and sublime one4 ,in this decided preference given to ,sir ,walter ,scott over ,lord ,byron1 we distinctly include the prose-works of the former2 for we do not think his poetry alone by any means entitles him to that precedence4 ,sir ,walter in his poetry1 though pleasing and natural1 is a comparative trifler3 it is in his anonymous productions that he has shown himself for what he is6-- ,intensity is the great and prominent distinction of ,lord ,byron's writings4 ,he seldom gets beyond force of style1 nor has he produced any regular work or masterly whole4 ,he does not prepare any plan beforehand1 nor revise and retouch what he has written with polished accuracy4 ,his only object seems to be to stimulate himself and his readers for the moment--to keep both alive1 to drive away ennui1 to substitute a feverish and irritable state of excitement for listless indolence or even calm enjoyment4 ,for this purpose he pitches on any subject at random without much thought or delicacy--he is only impatient to begin--and takes care to adorn and enrich it as he proceeds with thoughts that breathe and words that burn4 ,he composes 7as he himself has said7 whether he is in the bath1 in his study1 or on horseback--he writes as habitually as others talk or think--and whether we have the inspiration of the ,muse or not1 we always find the spirit of the man of genius breathing from his verse4 ,he grapples with his subject1 and moves1 penetrates1 and animates it by the electric force of his own feelings4 ,he is often monotonous1 extravagant1 offensive2 but he is never dull1 or tedious1 but when he writes prose4 ,lord ,byron does not exhibit a new view of nature1 or raise insignificant objects into importance by the romantic associations with which he surrounds them2 but generally 7at least7 takes common-place thoughts and events and endeavours to express them in stronger and statelier language than others4 ,his poetry stands like a ,martello tower by the side of his subject4 ,he does not1 like ,mr4 ,wordsworth1 lift poetry from the ground1 or create a sentiment out of nothing4 ,he does not describe a daisy or a periwinkle1 but the cedar or the cypress2 not poor men's cottages1 but princes' palaces4 ,his ,childe ,harold contains a lofty and impassioned review of the great events of history1 of the mighty objects left as wrecks of time1 but he dwells chiefly on what is familiar to the mind of every schoolboy2 has brought out few new traits of feeling or thought2 and has done no more than justice to the reader's preconceptions by the sustained force and brilliancy of his style and imagery4 ,lord ,byron's earlier productions1 ,lara1 the ,corsair1 etc4 were wild and gloomy romances1 put into rapid and shining verse4 ,they discover the madness of poetry1 together with the inspiration2 sullen1 moody1 capricious1 fierce1 inexorable1 gloating on beauty1 thirsting for revenge1 hurrying from the extremes of pleasure to pain1 but with nothing permanent1 nothing healthy or natural4 ,the gaudy decorations and the morbid sentiments remind one of flowers strewed over the face of death6 ,in his ,childe ,harold 7as has been just observed7 he assumes a lofty and philosophic tone1 and reasons high of providence1 fore-knowledge1 will1 and fate4 ,he takes the highest points in the history of the world1 and comments on them from a more commanding eminence3 he shows us the crumbling monuments of time1 he invokes the great names1 the mighty spirit of antiquity4 ,the universe is changed into a stately mausoleum3--in solemn measures he chaunts a hymn to fame4 ,lord ,byron has strength and elevation enough to fill up the moulds of our classical and time-hallowed recollections1 and to rekindle the earliest aspirations of the mind after greatness and true glory with a pen of fire4 ,the names of ,tasso1 of ,ariosto1 of ,dante1 of ,cincinnatus1 of ,csar1 of ,scipio1 lose nothing of their pomp or their lustre in his hands1 and when he begins and continues a strain of panegyric on such subjects1 we indeed sit down with him to a banquet of rich praise1 brooding over imperishable glories1 ,till ,contemplation has her fill4 ,lord ,byron seems to cast himself indignantly from this bank and shoal of time1 or the frail tottering bark that bears up modern reputation1 into the huge sea of ancient renown1 and to revel there with untired1 outspread plume4 ,even this in him is spleen--his contempt of his contemporaries makes him turn back to the lustrous past1 or project himself forward to the dim future6--,lord ,byron's tragedies1 ,faliero1#adj ,sardanapalus1 etc4 are not equal to his other works4 ,they want the essence of the drama4 ,they abound in speeches and descriptions1 such as he himself might make either to himself or others1 lolling on his couch of a morning1 but do not carry the reader out of the poet's mind to the scenes and events recorded4 ,they have neither action1 character1 nor interest1 but are a sort of gossamer tragedies1 spun out1 and glittering1 and spreading a flimsy veil over the face of nature4 ,yet he spins them on4 ,of all that he has done in this way1 the ,heaven and ,earth 7the same subject as ,mr4 ,moore's ,loves of the ,angels7 is the best4 ,we prefer it even to ,manfred4 ,manfred is merely himself with a fancy-drapery on3 but in the dramatic fragment published in the ,liberal1 the space between ,heaven and ,earth1 the stage on which his characters have to pass to and fro1 seems to fill his ,lordship's imagination2 and the ,deluge1 which he has so finely described1 may be said to have drowned all his own idle humours4 ,we must say we think little of our author's turn for satire4 ,his ,english ,bards and ,scotch ,reviewers is dogmatical and insolent1 but without refinement or point4 ,he calls people names1 and tries to transfix a character with an epithet1 which does not stick1 because it has no other foundation than his own petulance and spite2 or he endeavours to degrade by alluding to some circumstance of external situation4 ,he says of ,mr4 ,wordsworth's poetry1 that it is his aversion4 ,that may be3 but whose fault is it8 ,this is the satire of a lord1 who is accustomed to have all his whims or dislikes taken for gospel1 and who cannot be at the pains to do more than signify his contempt or displeasure4 ,if a great man meets with a rebuff which he does not like1 he turns on his heel1 and this passes for a repartee4 ,the ,noble ,author says of a celebrated barrister and critic1 that he was born in a garret sixteen stories high4 ,the insinuation is not true2 or if it were1 it is low4 ,the allusion degrades the person who makes it1 not him to whom it is applied4 ,this is also the satire of a person of birth and quality1 who measures all merit by external rank1 that is1 by his own standard4 ,so his ,lordship1 in a ,letter to the ,editor of my ,grandmother's ,review1 addresses him fifty times as my dear ,robarts2 nor is there any other wit in the article4 ,this is surely a mere assumption of superiority from his ,lordship's rank1 and is the sort of quizzing he might use to a person who came to hire himself as a valet to him at ,long's--the waiters might laugh1 the public will not4 ,in like manner1 in the controversy about ,pope1 he claps ,mr4 ,bowles on the back with a coarse facetious familiarity1 as if he were his chaplain whom he had invited to dine with him1 or was about to present to a benefice4 ,the reverend divine might submit to the obligation1 but he has no occasion to subscribe to the jest4 ,if it is a jest that ,mr4 ,bowles should be a parson1 and ,lord ,byron a peer1 the world knew this before2 there was no need to write a pamphlet to prove it4 ,the ,don ,juan indeed has great power2 but its power is owing to the force of the serious writing1 and to the oddity of the contrast between that and the flashy passages with which it is interlarded4 ,from the sublime to the ridiculous there is but one step4 ,you laugh and are surprised that any one should turn round and travestie himself3 the drollery is in the utter discontinuity of ideas and feelings4 ,he makes virtue serve as a foil to vice2 dandyism is 7for want of any other7 a variety of genius4 ,a classical intoxication is followed by the splashing of soda-water1 by frothy effusions of ordinary bile4 ,after the lightning and the hurricane1 we are introduced to the interior of the cabin and the contents of the wash-hand basins4 ,the solemn hero of tragedy plays ,scrub in the farce4 ,this is very tolerable and not to be endured4 ,the ,noble ,lord is almost the only writer who has prostituted his talents in this way4 ,he hallows in order to desecrate2 takes a pleasure in defacing the images of beauty his hands have wrought2 and raises our hopes and our belief in goodness to ,heaven only to dash them to the earth again1 and break them in pieces the more effectually from the very height they have fallen4 ,our enthusiasm for genius or virtue is thus turned into a jest by the very person who has kindled it1 and who thus fatally quenches the spark of both4 ,it is not that ,lord ,byron is sometimes serious and sometimes trifling1 sometimes profligate1 and sometimes moral--but when he is most serious and most moral1 he is only preparing to mortify the unsuspecting reader by putting a pitiful hoax upon him4 ,this is a most unaccountable anomaly4 ,it is as if the eagle were to build its eyry in a common sewer1 or the owl were seen soaring to the mid-day sun4 ,such a sight might make one laugh1 but one would not wish or expect it to occur more than once6#ada ,in fact1 ,lord ,byron is the spoiled child of fame as well as fortune4 ,he has taken a surfeit of popularity1 and is not contented to delight1 unless he can shock the public4 ,he would force them to admire in spite of decency and common-sense--he would have them read what they would read in no one but himself1 or he would not give a rush for their applause4 ,he is to be a chartered libertine1 from whom insults are favours1 whose contempt is to be a new incentive to admiration4 ,his ,lordship is hard to please3 he is equally averse to notice or neglect1 enraged at censure and scorning praise4 ,he tries the patience of the town to the very utmost1 and when they show signs of weariness or disgust1 threatens to discard them4 ,he says he will write on1 whether he is read or not4 ,he would never write another page1 if it were not to court popular applause1 or to affect a superiority over it4 ,in this respect also1 ,lord ,byron presents a striking contrast to ,sir ,walter ,scott4 ,the latter takes what part of the public favour falls to his share1 without grumbling 7to be sure1 he has no reason to complain72 the former is always quarrelling with the world about his modicum of applause1 the spolia opima of vanity1 and ungraciously throwing the offerings of incense heaped on his shrine back in the faces of his admirers4 ,again1 there is no taint in the writings of the ,author of ,waverley1 all is fair and natural and above-board3 he never outrages the public mind4 ,he introduces no anomalous character3 broaches no staggering opinion4 ,if he goes back to old prejudices and superstitions as a relief to the modern reader1 while ,lord ,byron floats on swelling paradoxes-- ,like proud seas under him2 if the one defers too much to the spirit of antiquity1 the other panders to the spirit of the age1 goes to the very edge of extreme and licentious speculation1 and breaks his neck over it4 ,grossness and levity are the playthings of his pen4 ,it is a ludicrous circumstance that he should have dedicated his ,cain to the worthy ,baronet6 ,did the latter ever acknowledge the obligation8 ,we are not nice1 not very nice2 but we do not particularly approve those subjects that shine chiefly from their rottenness3 nor do we wish to see the ,muses dressed out in the flounces of a false or questionable philosophy1 like ,portia and ,nerissa in the garb of ,doctors of ,law4 ,we like metaphysics as well as ,lord ,byron2 but not to see them making flowery speeches1 nor dancing a measure in the fetters of verse4 ,we have as good as hinted1 that his ,lordship's poetry consists mostly of a tissue of superb common-places2 even his paradoxes are common-place4 ,they are familiar in the schools3 they are only new and striking in his dramas and stanzas1 by being out of place4 ,in a word1 we think that poetry moves best within the circle of nature and received opinion3 speculative theory and subtle casuistry are forbidden ground to it4 ,but ,lord ,byron often wanders into this ground wantonly1 wilfully1 and unwarrantably4 ,the only apology we can conceive for the spirit of some of ,lord ,byron's writings1 is the spirit of some of those opposed to him4 ,they would provoke a man to write anything4 ,farthest from them is best4 ,the extravagance and license of the one seems a proper antidote to the bigotry and narrowness of the other4 ,the first ,vision of ,judgment was a set-off to the second1 though ,none but itself could be its parallel4 ,perhaps the chief cause of most of ,lord ,byron's errors is1 that he is that anomaly in letters and in society1 a ,noble ,poet4 ,it is a double privilege1 almost too much for humanity4 ,he has all the pride of birth and genius4 ,the strength of his imagination leads him to indulge in fantastic opinions2 the elevation of his rank sets censure at defiance1 he becomes a pampered egotist4 ,he has a seat in the ,house of ,lords1 a niche in the ,temple of ,fame4 ,everyday mortals1 opinions1 things1 are not good enough for him to touch or think of4 ,a mere nobleman is1 in his estimation1 but the tenth transmitter of a foolish face3 a mere man of genius is no better than a worm4 ,his ,muse is also a lady of quality4 ,the people are not polite enough for him3 the ,court is not sufficiently intellectual4 ,he hates the one and despises the other4 ,by hating and despising others1 he does not learn to be satisfied with himself4 ,a fastidious man soon grows querulous and splenetic4 ,if there is nobody but ourselves to come up to our idea of fancied perfection1 we easily get tired of our idol4 ,when a man is tired of what he is1 by a natural perversity he sets up for what he is not4 ,if he is a poet1 he pretends to be a metaphysician3 if he is a patrician in rank and feeling1 he would fain be one of the people4 ,his ruling motive is not the love of the people1 but of distinction2--not of truth1 but of singularity4 ,he patronises men of letters out of vanity1 and deserts them from caprice1 or from the advice of friends4 ,he embarks in an obnoxious publication to provoke censure1 and leaves it to shift for itself for fear of scandal4 ,we do not like ,sir ,walter's gratuitous servility3 we like ,lord ,byron's preposterous liberalism little better4 ,he may affect the principles of equality1 but he resumes his privilege of peerage1 upon occasion4 ,his ,lordship has made great offers of service to the ,greeks--money and horses4 ,he is at present in ,cephalonia1 waiting the event6 99 99 99 99 99 ,we had written thus far when news came of the death of ,lord ,byron1 and put an end at once to a strain of somewhat peevish invective1 which was intended to meet his eye1 not to insult his memory4 ,had we known that we were writing his epitaph1 we must have done it with a different feeling4 ,as it is1 we think it better and more like himself1 to let what we had written stand1 than to take up our leaden shafts1 and try to melt them into tears of sensibility1 or mould them into dull praise1 and an affected show of candour4 ,we were not silent during the author's life-time1 either for his reproof or encouragement 7such as we could give1 and he did not disdain to accept7 nor can we now turn undertakers' men to fix the glittering plate upon his coffin1 or fall into the procession of popular woe4--,death cancels every thing but truth2 and strips a man of every thing but genius and virtue4 ,it is a sort of natural canonization4 ,it makes the meanest of us sacred--it installs the poet in his immortality1 and lifts him to the skies4 ,death is the great assayer of the sterling ore of talent4 ,at his touch the drossy particles fall off1 the irritable1 the personal1 the gross1 and mingle with the dust--the finer and more ethereal part mounts with the winged spirit to watch over our latest memory1 and protect our bones from insult4 ,we consign the least worthy qualities to oblivion1 and cherish the nobler and imperishable nature with double pride and fondness4 ,nothing could show the real superiority of genius in a more striking point of view than the idle contests and the public indifference about the place of ,lord ,byron's interment1 whether in ,westminster ,abbey or his own family-vault4 ,a king must have a coronation--a nobleman a funeral-procession4--,the man is nothing without the pageant4 ,the poet's cemetery is the human mind1 in which he sows the seeds of never-ending thought--his monument is to be found in his works3 ,nothing can cover his high fame but ,heaven2 ,no pyramids set off his memory1 ,but the eternal substance of his greatness4 ,lord ,byron is dead3 he also died a martyr to his zeal in the cause of freedom1 for the last1 best hopes of man4 ,let that be his excuse and his epitaph6 ,,xvi ,,on ,,poetry ,,in ,,general ,the best general notion which ,i can give of poetry is1 that it is the natural impression of any object or event1 by its vividness exciting an involuntary movement of imagination and passion1 and producing1 by sympathy1 a certain modulation of the voice1 or sounds1 expressing it4 ,in treating of poetry1 ,i shall speak first of the subject-matter of it1 next of the forms of expression to which it gives birth1 and afterwards of its connection with harmony of sound4 ,poetry is the language of the imagination and the passions4 ,it relates to whatever gives immediate pleasure or pain to the human mind4 ,it comes home to the bosoms and businesses of men2 for nothing but what so comes home to them in the most general and intelligible shape1 can be a subject for poetry4 ,poetry is the universal language which the heart holds with nature and itself4 ,he who has a contempt for poetry1 cannot have much respect for himself1 or for any thing else4 ,it is not a mere frivolous accomplishment1 7as some persons have been led to imagine7 the trifling amusement of a few idle readers or leisure hours--it has been the study and delight of mankind in all ages4 ,many people suppose that poetry is something to be found only in books1 contained in lines of ten syllables with like endings3 but wherever there is a sense of beauty1 or power1 or harmony1 as in the motion of a wave of the sea1 in the growth of a flower that spreads its sweet leaves to the air and dedicates its beauty to the sun1--there is poetry1 in its birth4 ,if history is a grave study1 poetry may be said to be a graver3 its materials lie deeper1 and are spread wider4 ,history treats1 for the most part1 of the cumbrous and unwieldy masses of things1 the empty cases in which the affairs of the world are packed1 under the heads of intrigue or war1 in different states1 and from century to century3 but there is no thought or feeling that can have entered into the mind of man1 which he would be eager to communicate to others1 or which they would listen to with delight1 that is not a fit subject for poetry4 ,it is not a branch of authorship3 it is the stuff of which our life is made4 ,the rest is mere oblivion1 a dead letter3 for all that is worth remembering in life1 is the poetry of it4 ,fear is poetry1 hope is poetry1 love is poetry1 hatred is poetry2 contempt1 jealousy1 remorse1 admiration1 wonder1 pity1 despair1 or madness1 are all poetry4 ,poetry is that fine particle within us1 that expands1 rarefies1 refines1 raises our whole being3 without it man's life is poor as beast's4 ,man is a poetical animal3 and those of us who do not study the principles of poetry1 act upon them all our lives1 like ,molire's ,bourgeois ,gentilhomme1 who had always spoken prose without knowing it4 ,the child is a poet in fact1 when he first plays at hide-and-seek1 or repeats the story of ,jack the ,giant-killer2 the shepherd-boy is a poet1 when he first crowns his mistress with a garland of flowers2 the countryman1 when he stops to look at the rainbow2 the city-apprentice1 when he gazes after the ,lord-,mayor's show2 the miser1 when he hugs his gold2 the courtier1 who builds his hopes upon a smile2 the savage1 who paints his idol with blood2 the slave1 who worships a tyrant1 or the tyrant1 who fancies himself a god2--the vain1 the ambitious1 the proud1 the choleric man1 the hero and the coward1 the beggar and the king1 the rich and the poor1 the young and the old1 all live in a world of their own making2 and the poet does no more than describe what all the others think and act4 ,if his art is folly and madness1 it is folly and madness at second hand4 ,there is warrant for it4 ,poets alone have not such seething brains1 such shaping fantasies1 that apprehend more than cooler reason can4 ,the lunatic1 the lover1 and the poet ,are of imagination all compact4 ,one sees more devils than vast hell can hold2 ,the madman4 ,while the lover1 all as frantic1 ,sees ,helen's beauty in a brow of ,egypt4 ,the poet's eye in a fine frenzy rolling1 ,doth glance from heav'n to earth1 from earth to heav'n2 ,and as imagination bodies forth ,the forms of things unknown1 the poet's pen ,turns them to shape1 and gives to airy nothing ,a local habitation and a name4 ,such tricks hath strong imagination4 ,if poetry is a dream1 the business of life is much the same4 ,if it is a fiction1 made up of what we wish things to be1 and fancy that they are1 because we wish them so1 there is no other nor better reality4 ,ariosto has described the loves of ,angelica and ,medoro2 but was not ,medoro1 who carved the name of his mistress on the barks of trees1 as much enamoured of her charms as he8 ,homer has celebrated the anger of ,achilles3 but was not the hero as mad as the poet8 ,plato banished the poets from his ,commonwealth1 lest their descriptions of the natural man should spoil his mathematical man1 who was to be without passions and affections1 who was neither to laugh nor weep1 to feel sorrow nor anger1 to be cast down nor elated by any thing4 ,this was a chimera1 however1 which never existed but in the brain of the inventor2 and ,homer's poetical world has outlived ,plato's philosophical ,republic4 ,poetry then is an imitation of nature1 but the imagination and the passions are a part of man's nature4 ,we shape things according to our wishes and fancies1 without poetry2 but poetry is the most emphatical language that can be found for those creations of the mind which ecstacy is very cunning in4 ,neither a mere description of natural objects1 nor a mere delineation of natural feelings1 however distinct or forcible1 constitutes the ultimate end and aim of poetry1 without the heightenings of the imagination4 ,the light of poetry is not only a direct but also a reflected light1 that while it shows us the object1 throws a sparkling radiance on all around it3 the flame of the passions1 communicated to the imagination1 reveals to us1 as with a flash of lightning1 the inmost recesses of thought1 and penetrates our whole being4 ,poetry represents forms chiefly as they suggest other forms2 feelings1 as they suggest forms or other feelings4 ,poetry puts a spirit of life and motion into the universe4 ,it describes the flowing1 not the fixed4 ,it does not define the limits of sense1 or analyze the distinctions of the understanding1 but signifies the excess of the imagination beyond the actual or ordinary impression of any object or feeling4 ,the poetical impression of any object is that uneasy1 exquisite sense of beauty or power that cannot be contained within itself2 that is impatient of all limit2 that 7as flame bends to flame7 strives to link itself to some other image of kindred beauty or grandeur2 to enshrine itself1 as it were1 in the highest forms of fancy1 and to relieve the aching sense of pleasure by expressing it in the boldest manner1 and by the most striking examples of the same quality in other instances4 ,poetry1 according to ,lord ,bacon1 for this reason has something divine in it1 because it raises the mind and hurries it into sublimity1 by conforming the shows of things to the desires of the soul1 instead of subjecting the soul to external things1 as reason and history do4 ,it is strictly the language of the imagination2 and the imagination is that faculty which represents objects1 not as they are in themselves1 but as they are moulded by other thoughts and feelings1 into an infinite variety of shapes and combinations of power4 ,this language is not the less true to nature1 because it is false in point of fact2 but so much the more true and natural1 if it conveys the impression which the object under the influence of passion makes on the mind4 ,let an object1 for instance1 be presented to the senses in a state of agitation or fear--and the imagination will distort or magnify the object1 and convert it into the likeness of whatever is most proper to encourage the fear4 ,our eyes are made the fools of our other faculties4 ,this is the universal law of the imagination1 ,that if it would but apprehend some joy1 ,it comprehends some bringer of that joy3 ,or in the night imagining some fear1 ,how easy is a bush suppos'd a bear6 ,when ,iachimo says of ,imogen1 ,the flame o' th' taper ,bows toward her1 and would under-peep her lids ,to see the enclosed lights-- this passionate interpretation of the motion of the flame to accord with the speaker's own feelings1 is true poetry4 ,the lover1 equally with the poet1 speaks of the auburn tresses of his mistress as locks of shining gold1 because the least tinge of yellow in the hair has1 from novelty and a sense of personal beauty1 a more lustrous effect to the imagination than the purest gold4 ,we compare a man of gigantic stature to a tower3 not that he is any thing like so large1 but because the excess of his size beyond what we are accustomed to expect1 or the usual size of things of the same class1 produces by contrast a greater feeling of magnitude and ponderous strength than another object of ten times the same dimensions4 ,the intensity of the feeling makes up for the disproportion of the objects4 ,things are equal to the imagination1 which have the power of affecting the mind with an equal degree of terror1 admiration1 delight1 or love4 ,when ,lear calls upon the heavens to avenge his cause1 for they are old like him1 there is nothing extravagant or impious in this sublime identification of his age with theirs2 for there is no other image which could do justice to the agonising sense of his wrongs and his despair6 ,poetry is the high-wrought enthusiasm of fancy and feeling4 ,as in describing natural objects1 it impregnates sensible impressions with the forms of fancy1 so it describes the feelings of pleasure or pain1 by blending them with the strongest movements of passion1 and the most striking forms of nature4 ,tragic poetry1 which is the most impassioned species of it1 strives to carry on the feeling to the utmost point of sublimity or pathos1 by all the force of comparison or contrast2 loses the sense of present suffering in the imaginary exaggeration of it2 exhausts the terror or pity by an unlimited indulgence of it2 grapples with impossibilities in its desperate impatience of restraint2 throws us back upon the past1 forward into the future2 brings every moment of our being or object of nature in startling review before us2 and in the rapid whirl of events1 lifts us from the depths of woe to the highest contemplations on human life4 ,when ,lear says1 of ,edgar1 ,nothing but his unkind daughters could have brought him to this2 what a bewildered amazement1 what a wrench of the imagination1 that cannot be brought to conceive of any other cause of misery than that which has bowed it down1 and absorbs all other sorrow in its own6 ,his sorrow1 like a flood1 supplies the sources of all other sorrow4 ,again1 when he exclaims in the mad scene1 ,the little dogs and all1 ,tray1 ,blanche1 and ,sweetheart1 see1 they bark at me6 it is passion lending occasion to imagination to make every creature in league against him1 conjuring up ingratitude and insult in their least looked-for and most galling shapes1 searching every thread and fibre of his heart1 and finding out the last remaining image of respect or attachment in the bottom of his breast1 only to torture and kill it6 ,in like manner the ,so ,i am of ,cordelia gushes from her heart like a torrent of tears1 relieving it of a weight of love and of supposed ingratitude1 which had pressed upon it for years4 ,what a fine return of the passion upon itself is that in ,othello--with what a mingled agony of regret and despair he clings to the last traces of departed happiness--when he exclaims1 ,oh now1 for ever ,farewel the tranquil mind4 ,farewel content2 ,farewel the plumed troops and the big wars1 ,that make ambition virtue6 ,oh farewel6 ,farewel the neighing steed1 and the shrill trump1 ,the spirit-stirring drum1 th' ear-piercing fife1 ,the royal banner1 and all quality1 ,pride1 pomp1 and circumstance of glorious war3 ,and ,o you mortal engines1 whose rude throats ,th' immortal ,jove's dread clamours counterfeit1 ,farewel6 ,othello's occupation's gone6 ,how his passion lashes itself up and swells and rages like a tide in its sounding course1 when1 in answer to the doubts expressed of his returning love1 he says1 ,never1 ,iago4 ,like to the ,pontic sea1 ,whose icy current and compulsive course ,ne'er feels retiring ebb1 but keeps due on ,to the ,propontic and the ,hellespont3 ,even so my bloody thoughts1 with violent pace1 ,shall ne'er look back1 ne'er ebb to humble love1 ,till that a capable and wide revenge ,swallow them up4-- ,the climax of his expostulation afterwards with ,desdemona is at that line1 ,but there where ,i had garner'd up my heart1 ,to be discarded thence6-- ,one mode in which the dramatic exhibition of passion excites our sympathy without raising our disgust is1 that in proportion as it sharpens the edge of calamity and disappointment1 it strengthens the desire of good4 ,it enhances our consciousness of the blessing1 by making us sensible of the magnitude of the loss4 ,the storm of passion lays bare and shews us the rich depths of the human soul3 the whole of our existence1 the sum total of our passions and pursuits1 of that which we desire and that which we dread1 is brought before us by contrast2 the action and re-action are equal2 the keenness of immediate suffering only gives us a more intense aspiration after1 and a more intimate participation with the antagonist world of good2 makes us drink deeper of the cup of human life2 tugs at the heart-strings2 loosens the pressure about them2 and calls the springs of thought and feeling into play with tenfold force4 ,impassioned poetry is an emanation of the moral and intellectual part of our nature1 as well as of the sensitive--of the desire to know1 the will to act1 and the power to feel2 and ought to appeal to these different parts of our constitution1 in order to be perfect4 ,the domestic or prose tragedy1 which is thought to be the most natural1 is in this sense the least so1 because it appeals almost exclusively to one of these faculties1 our sensibility4 ,the tragedies of ,moore and ,lillo1 for this reason1 however affecting at the time1 oppress and lie like a dead weight upon the mind1 a load of misery which it is unable to throw off3 the tragedy of ,shakspeare1 which is true poetry1 stirs our inmost affections2 abstracts evil from itself by combining it with all the forms of imagination1 and with the deepest workings of the heart1 and rouses the whole man within us4 ,the pleasure1 however1 derived from tragic poetry1 is not anything peculiar to it as poetry1 as a fictitious and fanciful thing4 ,it is not an anomaly of the imagination4 ,it has its source and ground-work in the common love of strong excitement4 ,as ,mr4 ,burke observes1 people flock to see a tragedy2 but if there were a public execution in the next street1 the theatre would very soon be empty4 ,it is not then the difference between fiction and reality that solves the difficulty4 ,children are satisfied with the stories of ghosts and witches in plain prose3 nor do the hawkers of full1 true1 and particular accounts of murders and executions about the streets1 find it necessary to have them turned into penny ballads1 before they can dispose of these interesting and authentic documents4 ,the grave politician drives a thriving trade of abuse and calumnies poured out against those whom he makes his enemies for no other end than that he may live by them4 ,the popular preacher makes less frequent mention of heaven than of hell4 ,oaths and nicknames are only a more vulgar sort of poetry or rhetoric4 ,we are as fond of indulging our violent passions as of reading a description of those of others4 ,we are as prone to make a torment of our fears1 as to luxuriate in our hopes of good4 ,if it be asked1 ,why we do so8 the best answer will be1 ,because we cannot help it4 ,the sense of power is as strong a principle in the mind as the love of pleasure4 ,objects of terror and pity exercise the same despotic control over it as those of love or beauty4 ,it is as natural to hate as to love1 to despise as to admire1 to express our hatred or contempt1 as our love or admiration4 ,masterless passion sways us to the mood ,of what it likes or loathes4 ,not that we like what we loathe2 but we like to indulge our hatred and scorn of it2 to dwell upon it1 to exasperate our idea of it by every refinement of ingenuity and extravagance of illustration2 to make it a bugbear to ourselves1 to point it out to others in all the splendour of deformity1 to embody it to the senses1 to stigmatise it by name1 to grapple with it in thought1 in action1 to sharpen our intellect1 to arm our will against it1 to know the worst we have to contend with1 and to contend with it to the utmost4 ,poetry is only the highest eloquence of passion1 the most vivid form of expression that can be given to our conception of any thing1 whether pleasurable or painful1 mean or dignified1 delightful or distressing4 ,it is the perfect coincidence of the image and the words with the feeling we have1 and of which we cannot get rid in any other way1 that gives an instant satisfaction to the thought4 ,this is equally the origin of wit and fancy1 of comedy and tragedy1 of the sublime and pathetic4 ,when ,pope says of the ,lord ,mayor's shew1-- ,now night descending1 the proud scene is o'er1 ,but lives in ,settle's numbers one day more6 when ,collins makes ,danger1 with limbs of giant mould1 ,throw him on the steep ,of some loose hanging rock asleep3 when ,lear calls out in extreme anguish1 ,ingratitude1 thou marble-hearted fiend4 ,how much more hideous shew'st in a child ,than the sea-monster6 --the passion of contempt in the one case1 of terror in the other1 and of indignation in the last1 is perfectly satisfied4 ,we see the thing ourselves1 and shew it to others as we feel it to exist1 and as1 in spite of ourselves1 we are compelled to think of it4 ,the imagination1 by thus embodying and turning them to shape1 gives an obvious relief to the indistinct and importunate cravings of the will4--,we do not wish the thing to be so2 but we wish it to appear such as it is4 ,for knowledge is conscious power2 and the mind is no longer1 in this case1 the dupe1 though it may be the victim of vice or folly4 ,poetry is in all its shapes the language of the imagination and the passions1 of fancy and will4 ,nothing1 therefore1 can be more absurd than the outcry which has been sometimes raised by frigid and pedantic critics1 for reducing the language of poetry to the standard of common sense and reason3 for the end and use of poetry1 both at the first and now1 was and is to hold the mirror up to nature1 seen through the medium of passion and imagination1 not divested of that medium by means of literal truth or abstract reason4 ,the painter of history might as well be required to represent the face of a person who has just trod upon a serpent with the still-life expression of a common portrait1 as the poet to describe the most striking and vivid impressions which things can be supposed to make upon the mind1 in the language of common conversation4 ,let who will strip nature of the colours and the shapes of fancy1 the poet is not bound to do so2 the impressions of common sense and strong imagination1 that is1 of passion and indifference1 cannot be the same1 and they must have a separate language to do justice to either4 ,objects must strike differently upon the mind1 independently of what they are in themselves1 as long as we have a different interest in them1 as we see them in a different point of view1 nearer or at a greater distance 7morally or physically speaking7 from novelty1 from old acquaintance1 from our ignorance of them1 from our fear of their consequences1 from contrast1 from unexpected likeness4 ,we can no more take away the faculty of the imagination1 than we can see all objects without light or shade4 ,some things must dazzle us by their preternatural light2 others must hold us in suspense1 and tempt our curiosity to explore their obscurity4 ,those who would dispel these various illusions1 to give us their drab-coloured creation in their stead1 are not very wise4 ,let the naturalist1 if he will1 catch the glow-worm1 carry it home with him in a box1 and find it next morning nothing but a little grey worm2 let the poet or the lover of poetry visit it at evening1 when beneath the scented hawthorn and the crescent moon it has built itself a palace of emerald light4 ,this is also one part of nature1 one appearance which the glow-worm presents1 and that not the least interesting2 so poetry is one part of the history of the human mind1 though it is neither science nor philosophy4 ,it cannot be concealed1 however1 that the progress of knowledge and refinement has a tendency to circumscribe the limits of the imagination1 and to clip the wings of poetry4 ,the province of the imagination is principally visionary1 the unknown and undefined3 the understanding restores things to their natural boundaries1 and strips them of their fanciful pretensions4 ,hence the history of religious and poetical enthusiasm is much the same2 and both have received a sensible shock from the progress of experimental philosophy4 ,it is the undefined and uncommon that gives birth and scope to the imagination3 we can only fancy what we do not know4 ,as in looking into the mazes of a tangled wood we fill them with what shapes we please1 with ravenous beasts1 with caverns vast1 and drear enchantments1 so1 in our ignorance of the world about us1 we make gods or devils of the first object we see1 and set no bounds to the wilful suggestions of our hopes and fears4 ,and visions1 as poetic eyes avow1 ,hang on each leaf and cling to every bough4 ,there can never be another ,jacob's dream4 ,since that time1 the heavens have gone farther off1 and grown astronomical4 ,they have become averse to the imagination1 nor will they return to us on the squares of the distances1 or on ,doctor ,chalmers's ,discourses4 ,rembrandt's picture brings the matter nearer to us4--,it is not only the progress of mechanical knowledge1 but the necessary advances of civilization that are unfavourable to the spirit of poetry4 ,we not only stand in less awe of the preternatural world1 but we can calculate more surely1 and look with more indifference1 upon the regular routine of this4 ,the heroes of the fabulous ages rid the world of monsters and giants4 ,at present we are less exposed to the vicissitudes of good or evil1 to the incursions of wild beasts or bandit fierce1 or to the unmitigated fury of the elements4 ,the time has been that our fell of hair would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir as life were in it4 ,but the police spoils all2 and we now hardly so much as dream of a midnight murder4 ,macbeth is only tolerated in this country for the sake of the music2 and in the ,united ,states of ,america1 where the philosophical principles of government are carried still farther in theory and practice1 we find that the ,beggar's ,opera is hooted from the stage4 ,society1 by degrees1 is constructed into a machine that carries us safely and insipidly from one end of life to the other1 in a very comfortable prose style4 ,obscurity her curtain round them drew1 ,and siren ,sloth a dull quietus sung4 ,the remarks which have been here made1 would1 in some measure1 lead to a solution of the question of the comparative merits of painting and poetry4 ,i do not mean to give any preference1 but it should seem that the argument which has been sometimes set up1 that painting must affect the imagination more strongly1 because it represents the image more distinctly1 is not well founded4 ,we may assume without much temerity1 that poetry is more poetical than painting4 ,when artists or connoisseurs talk on stilts about the poetry of painting1 they shew that they know little about poetry1 and have little love for the art4 ,painting gives the object itself2 poetry what it implies4 ,painting embodies what a thing contains in itself3 poetry suggests what exists out of it1 in any manner connected with it4 ,but this last is the proper province of the imagination4 ,again1 as it relates to passion1 painting gives the event1 poetry the progress of events3 but it is during the progress1 in the interval of expectation and suspense1 while our hopes and fears are strained to the highest pitch of breathless agony1 that the pinch of the interest lies ,between the acting of a dreadful thing ,and the first motion1 all the interim is ,like a phantasma or a hideous dream4 ,the mortal instruments are then in council2 ,and the state of man1 like to a little kingdom1 ,suffers then the nature of an insurrection4 ,but by the time that the picture is painted1 all is over4 ,faces are the best part of a picture2 but even faces are not what we chiefly remember in what interests us most4--,but it may be asked then1 ,is there any thing better than ,claude ,lorraine's landscapes1 than ,titian's portraits1 than ,raphael's cartoons1 or the ,greek statues8 ,of the two first ,i shall say nothing1 as they are evidently picturesque1 rather than imaginative4 ,raphael's cartoons are certainly the finest comments that ever were made on the ,scriptures4 ,would their effect be the same if we were not acquainted with the text8 ,but the ,new ,testament existed before the cartoons4 ,there is one subject of which there is no cartoon1 ,christ washing the feet of the disciples the night before his death4 ,but that chapter does not need a commentary6 ,it is for want of some such resting-place for the imagination that the ,greek statues are little else than specious forms4 ,they are marble to the touch and to the heart4 ,they have not an informing principle within them4 ,in their faultless excellence they appear sufficient to themselves4 ,by their beauty they are raised above the frailties of passion or suffering4 ,by their beauty they are deified4 ,but they are not objects of religious faith to us1 and their forms are a reproach to common humanity4 ,they seem to have no sympathy with us1 and not to want our admiration4 ,poetry in its matter and form is natural imagery or feeling1 combined with passion and fancy4 ,in its mode of conveyance1 it combines the ordinary use of language1 with musical expression4 ,there is a question of long standing in what the essence of poetry consists2 or what it is that determines why one set of ideas should be expressed in prose1 another in verse4 ,milton has told us his idea of poetry in a single line-- ,thoughts that voluntary move ,harmonious numbers4 ,as there are certain sounds that excite certain movements1 and the song and dance go together1 so there are1 no doubt1 certain thoughts that lead to certain tones of voice1 or modulations of sound1 and change the words of ,mercury into the songs of ,apollo4 ,there is a striking instance of this adaptation of the movement of sound and rhythm to the subject1 in ,spenser's description of the ,satyrs accompanying ,una to the cave of ,sylvanus4 ,so from the ground she fearless doth arise ,and walketh forth without suspect of crime4 ,they1 all as glad as birds of joyous prime1 ,thence lead her forth1 about her dancing round1 ,shouting and singing all a shepherd's rhyme3 ,and with green branches strewing all the ground1 ,do worship her as queen with olive garland crown'd4 ,and all the way their merry pipes they sound1 ,that all the woods with doubled echo ring2 ,and with their horned feet do wear the ground1 ,leaping like wanton kids in pleasant spring2 ,so towards old ,sylvanus they her bring1 ,who with the noise awaked1 cometh out4 ,faery ,queen1 b4 i4 c4 vi4 ,on the contrary1 there is nothing either musical or natural in the ordinary construction of language4 ,it is a thing altogether arbitrary and conventional4 ,neither in the sounds themselves1 which are the voluntary signs of certain ideas1 nor in their grammatical arrangements in common speech1 is there any principle of natural imitation1 or correspondence to the individual ideas1 or to the tone of feeling with which they are conveyed to others4 ,the jerks1 the breaks1 the inequalities1 and harshnesses of prose are fatal to the flow of a poetical imagination1 as a jolting road or a stumbling horse disturbs the reverie of an absent man4 ,but poetry makes these odds all even4 ,it is the music of language1 answering to the music of the mind1 untying as it were the secret soul of harmony4 ,wherever any object takes such a hold of the mind as to make us dwell upon it1 and brood over it1 melting the heart in tenderness1 or kindling it to a sentiment of enthusiasm2--wherever a movement of imagination or passion is impressed on the mind1 by which it seeks to prolong and repeat the emotion1 to bring all other objects into accord with it1 and to give the same movement of harmony1 sustained and continuous1 or gradually varied according to the occasion1 to the sounds that express it--this is poetry4 ,the musical in sound is the sustained and continuous2 the musical in thought is the sustained and continuous also4 ,there is a near connection between music and deep-rooted passion4 ,mad people sing4 ,as often as articulation passes naturally into intonation1 there poetry begins4 ,where one idea gives a tone and colour to others1 where one feeling melts others into it1 there can be no reason why the same principle should not be extended to the sounds by which the voice utters these emotions of the soul1 and blends syllables and lines into each other4 ,it is to supply the inherent defect of harmony in the customary mechanism of language1 to make the sound an echo to the sense1 when the sense becomes a sort of echo to itself--to mingle the tide of verse1 the golden cadences of poetry1 with the tide of feeling1 flowing and murmuring as it flows--in short1 to take the language of the imagination from off the ground1 and enable it to spread its wings where it may indulge its own impulses-- ,sailing with supreme dominion ,through the azure deep of air-- without being stopped1 or fretted1 or diverted with the abruptnesses and petty obstacles1 and discordant flats and sharps of prose1 that poetry was invented4 ,it is to common language1 what springs are to a carriage1 or wings to feet4 ,in ordinary speech we arrive at a certain harmony by the modulations of voice3 in poetry the same thing is done systematically by a regular collocation of syllables4 ,it has been well observed1 that every one who declaims warmly1 or grows intent upon a subject1 rises into a sort of blank verse or measured prose4 ,the merchant1 as described in ,chaucer1 went on his way sounding always the increase of his winning4 ,every prose-writer has more or less of rhythmical adaptation1 except poets1 who1 when deprived of the regular mechanism of verse1 seem to have no principle of modulation left in their writings4 ,an excuse might be made for rhyme in the same manner4 ,it is but fair that the ear should linger on the sounds that delight it1 or avail itself of the same brilliant coincidence and unexpected recurrence of syllables1 that have been displayed in the invention and collocation of images4 ,it is allowed that rhyme assists the memory2 and a man of wit and shrewdness has been heard to say1 that the only four good lines of poetry are the well-known ones which tell the number of days in the months of the year4 ,thirty days hath ,september1 etc4 ,but if the jingle of names assists the memory1 may it not also quicken the fancy8 and there are other things worth having at our fingers' ends1 besides the contents of the almanac4--,pope's versification is tiresome1 from its excessive sweetness and uniformity4 ,shakspeare's blank verse is the perfection of dramatic dialogue4 ,all is not poetry that passes for such3 nor does verse make the whole difference between poetry and prose4 ,the ,iliad does not cease to be poetry in a literal translation2 and ,addison's ,campaign has been very properly denominated a ,gazette in rhyme4 ,common prose differs from poetry1 as treating for the most part either of such trite1 familiar1 and irksome matters of fact1 as convey no extraordinary impulse to the imagination1 or else of such difficult and laborious processes of the understanding1 as do not admit of the wayward or violent movements either of the imagination or the passions4 ,i will mention three works which come as near to poetry as possible without absolutely being so1 namely1 the ,pilgrim's ,progress1 ,robinson ,crusoe1 and the ,tales of ,boccaccio4 ,chaucer and ,dryden have translated some of the last into ,english rhyme1 but the essence and the power of poetry was there before4 ,that which lifts the spirit above the earth1 which draws the soul out of itself with indescribable longings1 is poetry in kind1 and generally fit to become so in name1 by being married to immortal verse4 ,if it is of the essence of poetry to strike and fix the imagination1 whether we will or no1 to make the eye of childhood glisten with the starting tear1 to be never thought of afterwards with indifference1 ,john ,bunyan and ,daniel ,defoe may be permitted to pass for poets in their way4 ,the mixture of fancy and reality in the ,pilgrim's ,progress was never equalled in any allegory4 ,his pilgrims walk above the earth1 and yet are on it4 ,what zeal1 what beauty1 what truth of fiction6 ,what deep feeling in the description of ,christian's swimming across the water at last1 and in the picture of the ,shining ,ones within the gates1 with wings at their backs and garlands on their heads1 who are to wipe all tears from his eyes6 ,the writer's genius1 though not dipped in dews of ,castalie1 was baptised with the ,holy ,spirit and with fire4 ,the prints in this book are no small part of it4 ,if the confinement of ,philoctetes in the island of ,lemnos was a subject for the most beautiful of all the ,greek tragedies1 what shall we say to ,robinson ,crusoe in his8 ,take the speech of the ,greek hero on leaving his cave1 beautiful as it is1 and compare it with the reflections of the ,english adventurer in his solitary place of confinement4 ,the thoughts of home1 and of all from which he is for ever cut off1 swell and press against his bosom1 as the heaving ocean rolls its ceaseless tide against the rocky shore1 and the very beatings of his heart become audible in the eternal silence that surrounds him4 ,thus he says1 ,as ,i walked about1 either in my hunting1 or for viewing the country1 the anguish of my soul at my condition would break out upon me on a sudden1 and my very heart would die within me to think of the woods1 the mountains1 the deserts ,i was in2 and how ,i was a prisoner1 locked up with the eternal bars and bolts of the ocean1 in an uninhabited wilderness1 without redemption4 ,in the midst of the greatest composures of my mind1 this would break out upon me like a storm1 and make me wring my hands1 and weep like a child4 ,sometimes it would take me in the middle of my work1 and ,i would immediately sit down and sigh1 and look upon the ground for an hour or two together1 and this was still worse to me1 for if ,i could burst out into tears1 or vent myself in words1 it would go off1 and the grief having exhausted itself would abate4 ,the story of his adventures would not make a poem like the ,odyssey1 it is true2 but the relator had the true genius of a poet4 ,it has been made a question whether ,richardson's romances are poetry2 and the answer perhaps is1 that they are not poetry1 because they are not romance4 ,the interest is worked up to an inconceivable height2 but it is by an infinite number of little things1 by incessant labour and calls upon the attention1 by a repetition of blows that have no rebound in them4 ,the sympathy excited is not a voluntary contribution1 but a tax4 ,nothing is unforced and spontaneous4 ,there is a want of elasticity and motion4 ,the story does not give an echo to the seat where love is throned4 ,the heart does not answer of itself like a chord in music4 ,the fancy does not run on before the writer with breathless expectation1 but is dragged along with an infinite number of pins and wheels1 like those with which the ,lilliputians dragged ,gulliver pinioned to the royal palace4--,sir ,charles ,grandison is a coxcomb4 ,what sort of a figure would he cut1 translated into an epic poem1 by the side of ,achilles8 ,clarissa1 the divine ,clarissa1 is too interesting by half4 ,she is interesting in her ruffles1 in her gloves1 her samplers1 her aunts and uncles--she is interesting in all that is uninteresting4 ,such things1 however intensely they may be brought home to us1 are not conductors to the imagination4 ,there is infinite truth and feeling in ,richardson2 but it is extracted from a caput mortuum of circumstances2 it does not evaporate of itself4 ,his poetical genius is like ,ariel confined in a pine-tree1 and requires an artificial process to let it out4 ,shakspeare says-- ,our poesy is as a gum ,which issues whence 'tis nourished1 our gentle flame ,provokes itself1 and like the current flies ,each bound it chafes4#adb ,i shall conclude this general account with some remarks on four of the principal works of poetry in the world1 at different periods of history--,homer1 the ,bible1 ,dante1 and let me add1 ,ossian4 ,in ,homer1 the principle of action or life is predominant2 in the ,bible1 the principle of faith and the idea of ,providence2 ,dante is a personification of blind will2 and in ,ossian we see the decay of life1 and the lag end of the world4 ,homer's poetry is the heroic3 it is full of life and action3 it is bright as the day1 strong as a river4 ,in the vigour of his intellect1 he grapples with all the objects of nature1 and enters into all the relations of social life4 ,he saw many countries1 and the manners of many men2 and he has brought them all together in his poem4 ,he describes his heroes going to battle with a prodigality of life1 arising from an exuberance of animal spirits3 we see them before us1 their number1 and their order of battle1 poured out upon the plain1 all plumed like estriches1 like eagles newly bathed1 wanton as goats1 wild as young bulls1 youthful as ,may1 and gorgeous as the sun at midsummer1 covered with glittering armour1 with dust and blood2 while the ,gods quaff their nectar in golden cups1 or mingle in the fray2 and the old men assembled on the walls of ,troy rise up with reverence as ,helen passes by them4 ,the multitude of things in ,homer is wonderful2 their splendour1 their truth1 their force1 and variety4 ,his poetry is1 like his religion1 the poetry of number and form3 he describes the bodies as well as the souls of men4 ,the poetry of the ,bible is that of imagination and of faith3 it is abstract and disembodied3 it is not the poetry of form1 but of power2 not of multitude1 but of immensity1 it does not divide into many1 but aggrandizes into one4 ,its ideas of nature are like its ideas of ,god4 ,it is not the poetry of social life1 but of solitude3 each man seems alone in the world with the original forms of nature1 the rocks1 the earth1 and the sky4 ,it is not the poetry of action or heroic enterprise1 but of faith in a supreme ,providence1 and resignation to the power that governs the universe4 ,as the idea of ,god was removed farther from humanity1 and a scattered polytheism1 it became more profound and intense as it became more universal1 for the ,infinite is present to every thing3 ,if we fly into the uttermost parts of the earth1 it is there also2 if we turn to the east or the west1 we cannot escape from it4 ,man is thus aggrandised in the image of his ,maker4 ,the history of the patriarchs is of this kind2 they are founders of the chosen race of people1 the inheritors of the earth2 they exist in the generations which are to come after them4 ,their poetry1 like their religious creed1 is vast1 unformed1 obscure1 and infinite2 a vision is upon it--an invisible hand is suspended over it4 ,the spirit of the ,christian religion consists in the glory hereafter to be revealed2 but in the ,hebrew dispensation1 ,providence took an immediate share in the affairs of this life4 ,jacob's dream arose out of this intimate communion between heaven and earth3 it was this that let down1 in the sight of the youthful patriarch1 a golden ladder from the sky to the earth1 with angels ascending and descending upon it1 and shed a light upon the lonely place1 which can never pass away4 ,the story of ,ruth1 again1 is as if all the depth of natural affection in the human race was involved in her breast4 ,there are descriptions in the book of ,job more prodigal of imagery1 more intense in passion1 than anything in ,homer1 as that of the state of his prosperity1 and of the vision that came upon him by night4 ,the metaphors in the ,old ,testament are more boldly figurative4 ,things were collected more into masses1 and gave a greater momentum to the imagination4 ,dante was the father of modern poetry1 and he may therefore claim a place in this connection4 ,his poem is the first great step from ,gothic darkness and barbarism2 and the struggle of thought in it to burst the thraldom in which the human mind had been so long held1 is felt in every page4 ,he stood bewildered1 not appalled1 on that dark shore which separates the ancient and the modern world2 and saw the glories of antiquity dawning through the abyss of time1 while revelation opened its passage to the other world4 ,he was lost in wonder at what had been done before him1 and he dared to emulate it4 ,dante seems to have been indebted to the ,bible for the gloomy tone of his mind1 as well as for the prophetic fury which exalts and kindles his poetry2 but he is utterly unlike ,homer4 ,his genius is not a sparkling flame1 but the sullen heat of a furnace4 ,he is power1 passion1 self-will personified4 ,in all that relates to the descriptive or fanciful part of poetry1 he bears no comparison to many who had gone before1 or who have come after him2 but there is a gloomy abstraction in his conceptions1 which lies like a dead weight upon the mind2 a benumbing stupor1 a breathless awe1 from the intensity of the impression2 a terrible obscurity1 like that which oppresses us in dreams2 an identity of interest1 which moulds every object to its own purposes1 and clothes all things with the passions and imaginations of the human soul1--that make amends for all other deficiencies4 ,the immediate objects he presents to the mind are not much in themselves1 they want grandeur1 beauty1 and order2 but they become every thing by the force of the character he impresses upon them4 ,his mind lends its own power to the objects which it contemplates1 instead of borrowing it from them4 ,he takes advantage even of the nakedness and dreary vacuity of his subject4 ,his imagination peoples the shades of death1 and broods over the silent air4 ,he is the severest of all writers1 the most hard and impenetrable1 the most opposite to the flowery and glittering2 who relies most on his own power1 and the sense of it in others1 and who leaves most room to the imagination of his readers4 ,dante's only endeavour is to interest2 and he interests by exciting our sympathy with the emotion by which he is himself possessed4 ,he does not place before us the objects by which that emotion has been created2 but he seizes on the attention1 by shewing us the effect they produce on his feelings2 and his poetry accordingly gives the same thrilling and overwhelming sensation1 which is caught by gazing on the face of a person who has seen some object of horror4 ,the improbability of the events1 the abruptness and monotony in the ,inferno1 are excessive3 but the interest never flags1 from the continued earnestness of the author's mind4 ,dante's great power is in combining internal feelings with external objects4 ,thus the gate of hell1 on which that withering inscription is written1 seems to be endowed with speech and consciousness1 and to utter its dread warning1 not without a sense of mortal woes4 ,this author habitually unites the absolutely local and individual with the greatest wildness and mysticism4 ,in the midst of the obscure and shadowy regions of the lower world1 a tomb suddenly rises up with the inscription1 ,i am the tomb of ,pope ,anastasius the ,sixth3 and half the personages whom he has crowded into the ,inferno are his own acquaintance4 ,all this1 perhaps1 tends to heighten the effect by the bold intermixture of realities1 and by an appeal1 as it were1 to the individual knowledge and experience of the reader4 ,he affords few subjects for picture4 ,there is1 indeed1 one gigantic one1 that of ,count ,ugolino1 of which ,michael ,angelo made a bas-relief1 and which ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds ought not to have painted4 ,another writer whom ,i shall mention last1 and whom ,i cannot persuade myself to think a mere modern in the groundwork1 is ,ossian4 ,he is a feeling and a name that can never be destroyed in the minds of his readers4 ,as ,homer is the first vigour and lustihed1 ,ossian is the decay and old age of poetry4 ,he lives only in the recollection and regret of the past4 ,there is one impression which he conveys more entirely than all other poets1 namely1 the sense of privation1 the loss of all things1 of friends1 of good name1 of country--he is even without ,god in the world4 ,he converses only with the spirits of the departed2 with the motionless and silent clouds4 ,the cold moonlight sheds its faint lustre on his head2 the fox peeps out of the ruined tower2 the thistle waves its beard to the wandering gale2 and the strings of his harp seem1 as the hand of age1 as the tale of other times1 passes over them1 to sigh and rustle like the dry reeds in the winter's wind6 ,the feeling of cheerless desolation1 of the loss of the pith and sap of existence1 of the annihilation of the substance1 and the clinging to the shadow of all things as in a mock embrace1 is here perfect4 ,in this way1 the lamentation of ,selma for the loss of ,salgar is the finest of all4 ,if it were indeed possible to shew that this writer was nothing1 it would only be another instance of mutability1 another blank made1 another void left in the heart1 another confirmation of that feeling which makes him so often complain1 ,roll on1 ye dark brown years1 ye bring no joy on your wing to ,ossian6 ,,xvii ,,my ,,first ,,acquaintance ,,with ,,poets ,my father was a ,dissenting ,minister at ,w--m in ,shropshire2 and in the year #agih 7the figures that compose that date are to me like the dreaded name of ,demogorgon7 ,mr4 ,coleridge came to ,shrewsbury1 to succeed ,mr4 ,rowe in the spiritual charge of a ,unitarian ,congregation there4 ,he did not come till late on the ,saturday afternoon before he was to preach2 and ,mr4 ,rowe1 who himself went down to the coach in a state of anxiety and expectation1 to look for the arrival of his successor1 could find no one at all answering the description but a round-faced man in a short black coat 7like a shooting jacket7 which hardly seemed to have been made for him1 but who seemed to be talking at a great rate to his fellow-passengers4 ,mr4 ,rowe had scarce returned to give an account of his disappointment1 when the round-faced man in black entered1 and dissipated all doubts on the subject1 by beginning to talk4 ,he did not cease while he staid2 nor has he since1 that ,i know of4 ,he held the good town of ,shrewsbury in delightful suspense for three weeks that he remained there1 fluttering the proud ,salopians like an eagle in a dove-cote2 and the ,welch mountains that skirt the horizon with their tempestuous confusion1 agree to have heard no such mystic sounds since the days of ,high-born ,hoel's harp or soft ,llewellyn's lay6 ,as we passed along between ,w--m and ,shrewsbury1 and ,i eyed their blue tops seen through the wintry branches1 or the red rustling leaves of the sturdy oak-trees by the road-side1 a sound was in my ears as of a ,siren's song2 ,i was stunned1 startled with it1 as from deep sleep2 but ,i had no notion then that ,i should ever be able to express my admiration to others in motley imagery or quaint allusion1 till the light of his genius shone into my soul1 like the sun's rays glittering in the puddles of the road4 ,i was at that time dumb1 inarticulate1 helpless1 like a worm by the way-side1 crushed1 bleeding1 lifeless2 but now1 bursting the deadly bands that bound them1 ,with ,styx nine times round them1 my ideas float on winged words1 and as they expand their plumes1 catch the golden light of other years4 ,my soul has indeed remained in its original bondage1 dark1 obscure1 with longings infinite and unsatisfied2 my heart1 shut up in the prison-house of this rude clay1 has never found1 nor will it ever find1 a heart to speak to2 but that my understanding also did not remain dumb and brutish1 or at length found a language to express itself1 ,i owe to ,coleridge4 ,but this is not to my purpose4 ,my father lived ten miles from ,shrewsbury1 and was in the habit of exchanging visits with ,mr4 ,rowe1 and with ,mr4 ,jenkins of ,whitchurch 7nine miles farther on7 according to the custom of ,dissenting ,ministers in each other's neighbourhood4 ,a line of communication is thus established1 by which the flame of civil and religious liberty is kept alive1 and nourishes its smouldering fire unquenchable1 like the fires in the ,agamemnon of schylus1 placed at different stations1 that waited for ten long years to announce with their blazing pyramids the destruction of ,troy4 ,coleridge had agreed to come over to see my father1 according to the courtesy of the country1 as ,mr4 ,rowe's probable successor2 but in the meantime ,i had gone to hear him preach the ,sunday after his arrival4 ,a poet and a philosopher getting up into a ,unitarian pulpit to preach the ,gospel1 was a romance in these degenerate days1 a sort of revival of the primitive spirit of ,christianity1 which was not to be resisted4 ,it was in ,january1 #agih1 that ,i rose one morning before day-light1 to walk ten miles in the mud1 and went to hear this celebrated person preach4 ,never1 the longest day ,i have to live1 shall ,i have such another walk as this cold1 raw1 comfortless one1 in the winter of the year #agih4--;,il y a des impressions que ni le tems ni les circonstances peuvent effacer4 ,dusse-je vivre des sicles entiers1 le doux tems de ma jeunesse ne peut renatre pour moi1 ni s'effacer jamais dans ma mmoire4 ,when ,i got there1 the organ was playing the #ajjth psalm1 and1 when it was done1 ,mr4 ,coleridge rose and gave out his text1 ,and he went up into the mountain to pray1 ,,himself1 ,,alone4 ,as he gave out this text1 his voice rose like a steam of rich distilled perfumes1 and when he came to the two last words1 which he pronounced loud1 deep1 and distinct1 it seemed to me1 who was then young1 as if the sounds had echoed from the bottom of the human heart1 and as if that prayer might have floated in solemn silence through the universe4 ,the idea of ,st4 ,john came into my mind1 of one crying in the wilderness1 who had his loins girt about1 and whose food was locusts and wild honey4 ,the preacher then launched into his subject1 like an eagle dallying with the wind4 ,the sermon was upon peace and war2 upon church and state--not their alliance1 but their separation--on the spirit of the world and the spirit of ,christianity1 not as the same1 but as opposed to one another4 ,he talked of those who had inscribed the cross of ,christ on banners dripping with human gore4 ,he made a poetical and pastoral excursion1--and to shew the fatal effects of war1 drew a striking contrast between the simple shepherd boy1 driving his team afield1 or sitting under the hawthorn1 piping to his flock1 as though he should never be old1 and the same poor country-lad1 crimped1 kidnapped1 brought into town1 made drunk at an alehouse1 turned into a wretched drummer-boy1 with his hair sticking on end with powder and pomatum1 a long cue at his back1 and tricked out in the loathsome finery of the profession of blood4 ,such were the notes our once-lov'd poet sung4 ,and for myself1 ,i could not have been more delighted if ,i had heard the music of the spheres4 ,poetry and ,philosophy had met together1 ,truth and ,genius had embraced1 under the eye and with the sanction of ,religion4 ,this was even beyond my hopes4 ,i returned home well satisfied4 ,the sun that was still labouring pale and wan through the sky1 obscured by thick mists1 seemed an emblem of the good cause2 and the cold dank drops of dew that hung half melted on the beard of the thistle1 had something genial and refreshing in them2 for there was a spirit of hope and youth in all nature1 that turned everything into good4 ,the face of nature had not then the brand of ,,jus ,,divinum on it3 ,like to that sanguine flower inscrib'd with woe4 ,on the ,tuesday following1 the half-inspired speaker came4 ,i was called down into the room where he was1 and went half-hoping1 half-afraid4 ,he received me very graciously1 and ,i listened for a long time without uttering a word4 ,i did not suffer in his opinion by my silence4 ,for those two hours1 he afterwards was pleased to say1 he was conversing with ,w4 ,h4's forehead6 ,his appearance was different from what ,i had anticipated from seeing him before4 ,at a distance1 and in the dim light of the chapel1 there was to me a strange wildness in his aspect1 a dusky obscurity1 and ,i thought him pitted with the small-pox4 ,his complexion was at that time clear1 and even bright-- ,as are the children of yon azure sheen4 ,his forehead was broad and high1 light as if built of ivory1 with large projecting eyebrows1 and his eyes rolling beneath them like a sea with darkened lustre4 ,a certain tender bloom his face o'erspread1 a purple tinge as we see it in the pale thoughtful complexions of the ,spanish portrait-painters1 ,murillo and ,velasquez4 ,his mouth was gross1 voluptuous1 open1 eloquent2 his chin good-humoured and round2 but his nose1 the rudder of the face1 the index of the will1 was small1 feeble1 nothing--like what he has done4 ,it might seem that the genius of his face as from a height surveyed and projected him 7with sufficient capacity and huge aspiration7 into the world unknown of thought and imagination1 with nothing to support or guide his veering purpose1 as if ,columbus had launched his adventurous course for the ,new ,world in a scallop1 without oars or compass4 ,so at least ,i comment on it after the event4 ,coleridge in his person was rather above the common size1 inclining to the corpulent1 or like ,lord ,hamlet1 somewhat fat and pursy4 ,his hair 7now1 alas6 grey7 was then black and glossy as the raven's1 and fell in smooth masses over his forehead4 ,this long pendulous hair is peculiar to enthusiasts1 to those whose minds tend heavenward2 and is traditionally inseparable 7though of a different colour7 from the pictures of ,christ4 ,it ought to belong1 as a character1 to all who preach ,christ crucified1 and ,coleridge was at that time one of those6 ,it was curious to observe the contrast between him and my father1 who was a veteran in the cause1 and then declining into the vale of years4 ,he had been a poor ,irish lad1 carefully brought up by his parents1 and sent to the ,university of ,glasgow 7where he studied under ,adam ,smith7 to prepare him for his future destination4 ,it was his mother's proudest wish to see her son a ,dissenting ,minister4 ,so if we look back to past generations 7as far as eye can reach7 we see the same hopes1 fears1 wishes1 followed by the same disappointments1 throbbing in the human heart2 and so we may see them 7if we look forward7 rising up for ever1 and disappearing1 like vapourish bubbles1 in the human breast6 ,after being tossed about from congregation to congregation in the heats of the ,unitarian controversy1 and squabbles about the ,american war1 he had been relegated to an obscure village1 where he was to spend the last thirty years of his life1 far from the only converse that he loved1 the talk about disputed texts of ,scripture and the cause of civil and religious liberty4 ,here he passed his days1 repining but resigned1 in the study of the ,bible1 and the perusal of the ,commentators1--huge folios1 not easily got through1 one of which would outlast a winter6 ,why did he pore on these from morn to night 7with the exception of a walk in the fields or a turn in the garden to gather brocoli-plants or kidney beans of his own rearing1 with no small degree of pride and pleasure78--,here were no figures nor no fantasies1--neither poetry nor philosophy--nothing to dazzle1 nothing to excite modern curiosity2 but to his lack-lustre eyes there appeared1 within the pages of the ponderous1 unwieldy1 neglected tomes1 the sacred name of ,,jehovah in ,hebrew capitals3 pressed down by the weight of the style1 worn to the last fading thinness of the understanding1 there were glimpses1 glimmering notions of the patriarchal wanderings1 with palm-trees hovering in the horizon1 and processions of camels at the distance of three thousand years2 there was ,moses with the ,burning ,bush1 the number of the ,twelve ,tribes1 types1 shadows1 glosses on the law and the prophets2 there were discussions 7dull enough7 on the age of ,methuselah1 a mighty speculation6 there were outlines1 rude guesses at the shape of ,noah's ,ark and of the riches of ,solomon's ,temple2 questions as to the date of the creation1 predictions of the end of all things2 the great lapses of time1 the strange mutations of the globe were unfolded with the voluminous leaf1 as it turned over2 and though the soul might slumber with an hieroglyphic veil of inscrutable mysteries drawn over it1 yet it was in a slumber ill-exchanged for all the sharpened realities of sense1 wit1 fancy1 or reason4 ,my father's life was comparatively a dream2 but it was a dream of infinity and eternity1 of death1 the resurrection1 and a judgment to come6 ,no two individuals were ever more unlike than were the host and his guest4 ,a poet was to my father a sort of nondescript3 yet whatever added grace to the ,unitarian cause was to him welcome4 ,he could hardly have been more surprised or pleased1 if our visitor had worn wings4 ,indeed1 his thoughts had wings2 and as the silken sounds rustled round our little wainscoted parlour1 my father threw back his spectacles over his forehead1 his white hairs mixing with its sanguine hue2 and a smile of delight beamed across his rugged cordial face1 to think that ,truth had found a new ally in ,fancy6#adc ,besides1 ,coleridge seemed to take considerable notice of me1 and that of itself was enough4 ,he talked very familiarly1 but agreeably1 and glanced over a variety of subjects4 ,at dinner-time he grew more animated1 and dilated in a very edifying manner on ,mary ,wolstonecraft and ,mackintosh4 ,the last1 he said1 he considered 7on my father's speaking of his ,vindici ,gallic as a capital performance7 as a clever scholastic man--a master of the topics1--or as the ready warehouseman of letters1 who knew exactly where to lay his hand on what he wanted1 though the goods were not his own4 ,he thought him no match for ,burke1 either in style or matter4 ,burke was a metaphysician1 ,mackintosh a mere logician4 ,burke was an orator 7almost a poet7 who reasoned in figures1 because he had an eye for nature3 ,mackintosh1 on the other hand1 was a rhetorician1 who had only an eye to common-places4 ,on this ,i ventured to say that ,i had always entertained a great opinion of ,burke1 and that 7as far as ,i could find7 the speaking of him with contempt might be made the test of a vulgar democratical mind4 ,this was the first observation ,i ever made to ,coleridge1 and he said it was a very just and striking one4 ,i remember the leg of ,welsh mutton and the turnips on the table that day had the finest flavour imaginable4 ,coleridge added that ,mackintosh and ,tom4 ,wedgwood 7of whom1 however1 he spoke highly7 had expressed a very indifferent opinion of his friend ,mr4 ,wordsworth1 on which he remarked to them--,he strides on so far before you1 that he dwindles in the distance6 ,godwin had once boasted to him of having carried on an argument with ,mackintosh for three hours with dubious success2 ,coleridge told him--,if there had been a man of genius in the room1 he would have settled the question in five minutes4 ,he asked me if ,i had ever seen ,mary ,wolstonecraft1 and ,i said1 ,i had once for a few moments1 and that she seemed to me to turn off ,godwin's objections to something she advanced with quite a playful1 easy air4 ,he replied1 that this was only one instance of the ascendancy which people of imagination exercised over those of mere intellect4 ,he did not rate ,godwin very high#add 7this was caprice or prejudice1 real or affected7 but he had a great idea of ,mrs4 ,wolstonecraft's powers of conversation1 none at all of her talent for book-making4 ,we talked a little about ,holcroft4 ,he had been asked if he was not much struck with him1 and he said1 he thought himself in more danger of being struck by him4 ,i complained that he would not let me get on at all1 for he required a definition of every the commonest word1 exclaiming1 ,what do you mean by a sensation1 ,sir8 ,what do you mean by an idea8 ,this1 ,coleridge said1 was barricadoing the road to truth3 it was setting up a turnpike-gate at every step we took4 ,i forget a great number of things1 many more than ,i remember2 but the day passed off pleasantly1 and the next morning ,mr4 ,coleridge was to return to ,shrewsbury4 ,when ,i came down to breakfast1 ,i found that he had just received a letter from his friend1 ,t4 ,wedgwood1 making him an offer of #aej l4 a-year if he chose to wave his present pursuit1 and devote himself entirely to the study of poetry and philosophy4 ,coleridge seemed to make up his mind to close with this proposal in the act of tying on one of his shoes4 ,it threw an additional damp on his departure4 ,it took the wayward enthusiast quite from us to cast him into ,deva's winding vales1 or by the shores of old romance4 ,instead of living at ten miles distance1 of being the pastor of a ,dissenting congregation at ,shrewsbury1 he was henceforth to inhabit the ,hill of ,parnassus1 to be a ,shepherd on the ,delectable ,mountains4 ,alas6 ,i knew not the way thither1 and felt very little gratitude for ,mr4 ,wedgwood's bounty4 ,i was presently relieved from this dilemma2 for ,mr4 ,coleridge1 asking for a pen and ink1 and going to a table to write something on a bit of card1 advanced towards me with undulating step1 and giving me the precious document1 said that that was his address1 ,mr4 ,coleridge1 ,nether-,stowey1 ,somersetshire2 and that he should be glad to see me there in a few weeks' time1 and1 if ,i chose1 would come half-way to meet me4 ,i was not less surprised than the shepherd-boy 7this simile is to be found in ,cassandra7 when he sees a thunderbolt fall close at his feet4 ,i stammered out my acknowledgments and acceptance of this offer 7,i thought ,mr4 ,wedgwood's annuity a trifle to it7 as well as ,i could2 and this mighty business being settled1 the poet-preacher took leave1 and ,i accompanied him six miles on the road4 ,it was a fine morning in the middle of winter1 and he talked the whole way4 ,the scholar in ,chaucer is described as going ----,sounding on his way4 ,so ,coleridge went on his4 ,in digressing1 in dilating1 in passing from subject to subject1 he appeared to me to float in air1 to slide on ice4 ,he told me in confidence 7going along7 that he should have preached two sermons before he accepted the situation at ,shrewsbury1 one on ,infant ,baptism1 the other on the ,lord's ,supper1 shewing that he could not administer either1 which would have effectually disqualified him for the object in view4 ,i observed that he continually crossed me on the way by shifting from one side of the foot-path to the other4 ,this struck me as an odd movement2 but ,i did not at that time connect it with any instability of purpose or involuntary change of principle1 as ,i have done since4 ,he seemed unable to keep on in a strait line4 ,he spoke slightingly of ,hume 7whose ,essay on ,miracles he said was stolen from an objection started in one of ,south's sermons--,credat ,judus ,appella67 ,i was not very much pleased at this account of ,hume1 for ,i had just been reading1 with infinite relish1 that completest of all metaphysical choke-pears1 his ,treatise on ,human ,nature1 to which the ,essays1 in point of scholastic subtlety and close reasoning1 are mere elegant trifling1 light summer-reading4 ,coleridge even denied the excellence of ,hume's general style1 which ,i think betrayed a want of taste or candour4 ,he however made me amends by the manner in which he spoke of ,berkeley4 ,he dwelt particularly on his ,essay on ,vision as a masterpiece of analytical reasoning4 ,so it undoubtedly is4 ,he was exceedingly angry with ,dr4 ,johnson for striking the stone with his foot1 in allusion to this author's ,theory of ,matter and ,spirit1 and saying1 ,thus ,i confute him1 ,sir4 ,coleridge drew a parallel 7,i don't know how he brought about the connection7 between ,bishop ,berkeley and ,tom ,paine4 ,he said the one was an instance of a subtle1 the other of an acute mind1 than which no two things could be more distinct4 ,the one was a shop-boy's quality1 the other the characteristic of a philosopher4 ,he considered ,bishop ,butler as a true philosopher1 a profound and conscientious thinker1 a genuine reader of nature and of his own mind4 ,he did not speak of his ,analogy1 but of his ,sermons at the ,rolls' ,chapel1 of which ,i had never heard4 ,coleridge somehow always contrived to prefer the unknown to the known4 ,in this instance he was right4 ,the ,analogy is a tissue of sophistry1 of wire-drawn1 theological special-pleading2 the ,sermons 7with the ,preface to them7 are in a fine vein of deep1 matured reflection1 a candid appeal to our observation of human nature1 without pedantry and without bias4 ,i told ,coleridge ,i had written a few remarks1 and was sometimes foolish enough to believe that ,i had made a discovery on the same subject 7the ,natural ,disinterestedness of the ,human ,mind7--and ,i tried to explain my view of it to ,coleridge1 who listened with great willingness1 but ,i did not succeed in making myself understood4 ,i sat down to the task shortly afterwards for the twentieth time1 got new pens and paper1 determined to make clear work of it1 wrote a few meagre sentences in the skeleton-style of a mathematical demonstration1 stopped half-way down the second page2 and1 after trying in vain to pump up any words1 images1 notions1 apprehensions1 facts1 or observations1 from that gulph of abstraction in which ,i had plunged myself for four or five years preceding1 gave up the attempt as labour in vain1 and shed tears of helpless despondency on the blank unfinished paper4 ,i can write fast enough now4 ,am ,i better than ,i was then8 ,oh no6 ,one truth discovered1 one pang of regret at not being able to express it1 is better than all the fluency and flippancy in the world4 ,would that ,i could go back to what ,i then was6 ,why can we not revive past times as we can revisit old places8 ,if ,i had the quaint ,muse of ,sir ,philip ,sidney to assist me1 ,i would write a ,sonnet to the ,road between ,w--m and ,shrewsbury1 and immortalise every step of it by some fond enigmatical conceit4 ,i would swear that the very milestones had ears1 and that ,harmer-hill stooped with all its pines1 to listen to a poet1 as he passed6 ,i remember but one other topic of discourse in this walk4 ,he mentioned ,paley1 praised the naturalness and clearness of his style1 but condemned his sentiments1 thought him a mere time-serving casuist1 and said that the fact of his work on ,moral and ,political ,philosophy being made a text-book in our ,universities was a disgrace to the national character4 ,we parted at the six-mile stone2 and ,i returned homeward pensive but much pleased4 ,i had met with unexpected notice from a person1 whom ,i believed to have been prejudiced against me4 ,kind and affable to me had been his condescension1 and should be honoured ever with suitable regard4 ,he was the first poet ,i had known1 and he certainly answered to that inspired name4 ,i had heard a great deal of his powers of conversation1 and was not disappointed4 ,in fact1 ,i never met with any thing at all like them1 either before or since4 ,i could easily credit the accounts which were circulated of his holding forth to a large party of ladies and gentlemen1 an evening or two before1 on the ,berkeleian ,theory1 when he made the whole material universe look like a transparency of fine words2 and another story 7which ,i believe he has somewhere told himself7 of his being asked to a party at ,birmingham1 of his smoking tobacco and going to sleep after dinner on a sofa1 where the company found him to their no small surprise1 which was increased to wonder when he started up of a sudden1 and rubbing his eyes1 looked about him1 and launched into a three-hours' description of the third heaven1 of which he had had a dream1 very different from ,mr4 ,southey's ,vision of ,judgment1 and also from that other ,vision of ,judgment1 which ,mr4 ,murray1 the ,secretary of the ,bridge-street ,junto1 has taken into his especial keeping6 ,on my way back1 ,i had a sound in my ears1 it was the voice of ,fancy3 ,i had a light before me1 it was the face of ,poetry4 ,the one still lingers there1 the other has not quitted my side6 ,coleridge in truth met me half-way on the ground of philosophy1 or ,i should not have been won over to his imaginative creed4 ,i had an uneasy1 pleasurable sensation all the time1 till ,i was to visit him4 ,during those months the chill breath of winter gave me a welcoming2 the vernal air was balm and inspiration to me4 ,the golden sun-sets1 the silver star of evening1 lighted me on my way to new hopes and prospects4 ,i was to visit ,coleridge in the spring4 ,this circumstance was never absent from my thoughts1 and mingled with all my feelings4 ,i wrote to him at the time proposed1 and received an answer postponing my intended visit for a week or two1 but very cordially urging me to complete my promise then4 ,this delay did not damp1 but rather increase my ardour4 ,in the mean time1 ,i went to ,llangollen ,vale1 by way of initiating myself in the mysteries of natural scenery2 and ,i must say ,i was enchanted with it4 ,i had been reading ,coleridge's description of ,england1 in his fine ,ode on the ,departing ,year1 and ,i applied it1 con amore1 to the objects before me4 ,that valley was to me 7in a manner7 the cradle of a new existence2 in the river that winds through it1 my spirit was baptised in the waters of ,helicon6 ,i returned home1 and soon after set out on my journey with unworn heart and untired feet4 ,my way lay through ,worcester and ,gloucester1 and by ,upton1 where ,i thought of ,tom ,jones and the adventure of the muff4 ,i remember getting completely wet through one day1 and stopping at an inn 7,i think it was at ,tewkesbury7 where ,i sat up all night to read ,paul and ,virginia4 ,sweet were the showers in early youth that drenched my body1 and sweet the drops of pity that fell upon the books ,i read6 ,i recollect a remark of ,coleridge's upon this very book1 that nothing could shew the gross indelicacy of ,french manners and the entire corruption of their imagination more strongly than the behaviour of the heroine in the last fatal scene1 who turns away from a person on board the sinking vessel1 that offers to save her life1 because he has thrown off his clothes to assist him in swimming4 ,was this a time to think of such a circumstance8 ,i once hinted to ,wordsworth1 as we were sailing in his boat on ,grasmere lake1 that ,i thought he had borrowed the idea of his ,poems on the ,naming of ,places from the local inscriptions of the same kind in ,paul and ,virginia4 ,he did not own the obligation1 and stated some distinction without a difference1 in defence of his claim to originality4 ,any the slightest variation would be sufficient for this purpose in his mind2 for whatever he added or omitted would inevitably be worth all that any one else had done1 and contain the marrow of the sentiment4--,i was still two days before the time fixed for my arrival1 for ,i had taken care to set out early enough4 ,i stopped these two days at ,bridgewater1 and when ,i was tired of sauntering on the banks of its muddy river1 returned to the inn1 and read ,camilla4 ,so have ,i loitered my life away1 reading books1 looking at pictures1 going to plays1 hearing1 thinking1 writing on what pleased me best4 ,i have wanted only one thing to make me happy2 but wanting that1 have wanted every thing6 ,i arrived1 and was well received4 ,the country about ,nether ,stowey is beautiful1 green and hilly1 and near the sea-shore4 ,i saw it but the other day1 after an interval of twenty years1 from a hill near ,taunton4 ,how was the map of my life spread out before me1 as the map of the country lay at my feet6 ,in the afternoon1 ,coleridge took me over to ,all-,foxden1 a romantic old family-mansion of the ,st4 ,aubins1 where ,wordsworth lived4 ,it was then in the possession of a friend of the poet's1 who gave him the free use of it4 ,somehow that period 7the time just after the ,french ,revolution7 was not a time when nothing was given for nothing4 ,the mind opened1 and a softness might be perceived coming over the heart of individuals1 beneath the scales that fence our self-interest4 ,wordsworth himself was from home1 but his sister kept house1 and set before us a frugal repast2 and we had free access to her brother's poems1 the ,lyrical ,ballads1 which were still in manuscript1 or in the form of ,sybilline ,leaves4 ,i dipped into a few of these with great satisfaction1 and with the faith of a novice4 ,i slept that night in an old room with blue hangings1 and covered with the round-faced family-portraits of the age of ,george ,i4 and ,,ii4 and from the wooded declivity of the adjoining park that overlooked my window1 at the dawn of day1 could ----hear the loud stag speak4 ,in the outset of life 7and particularly at this time ,i felt it so7 our imagination has a body to it4 ,we are in a state between sleeping and waking1 and have indistinct but glorious glimpses of strange shapes1 and there is always something to come better than what we see4 ,as in our dreams the fulness of the blood gives warmth and reality to the coinage of the brain1 so in youth our ideas are clothed1 and fed1 and pampered with our good spirits2 we breathe thick with thoughtless happiness1 the weight of future years presses on the strong pulses of the heart1 and we repose with undisturbed faith in truth and good4 ,as we advance1 we exhaust our fund of enjoyment and of hope4 ,we are no longer wrapped in lamb's-wool1 lulled in ,elysium4 ,as we taste the pleasures of life1 their spirit evaporates1 the sense palls2 and nothing is left but the phantoms1 the lifeless shadows of what has been6 ,that morning1 as soon as breakfast was over1 we strolled out into the park1 and seating ourselves on the trunk of an old ash-tree that stretched along the ground1 ,coleridge read aloud with a sonorous and musical voice1 the ballad of ,betty ,foy4 ,i was not critically or sceptically inclined4 ,i saw touches of truth and nature1 and took the rest for granted4 ,but in the ,thorn1 the ,mad ,mother1 and the ,complaint of a ,poor ,indian ,woman1 ,i felt that deeper power and pathos which have been since acknowledged1 ,in spite of pride1 in erring reason's spite1 as the characteristics of this author2 and the sense of a new style and a new spirit in poetry came over me4 ,it had to me something of the effect that arises from the turning up of the fresh soil1 or of the first welcome breath of ,spring1 ,while yet the trembling year is unconfirmed4 ,coleridge and myself walked back to ,stowey that evening1 and his voice sounded high ,of ,providence1 foreknowledge1 will1 and fate1 ,fix'd fate1 free-will1 foreknowledge absolute1 as we passed through echoing grove1 by fairy stream or waterfall1 gleaming in the summer moonlight6 ,he lamented that ,wordsworth was not prone enough to belief in the traditional superstitions of the place1 and that there was a something corporeal1 a matter-of-fact-ness1 a clinging to the palpable1 or often to the petty1 in his poetry1 in consequence4 ,his genius was not a spirit that descended to him through the air2 it sprung out of the ground like a flower1 or unfolded itself from a green spray1 on which the gold-finch sang4 ,he said1 however 7if ,i remember right71 that this objection must be confined to his descriptive pieces1 that his philosophic poetry had a grand and comprehensive spirit in it1 so that his soul seemed to inhabit the universe like a palace1 and to discover truth by intuition1 rather than by deduction4 ,the next day ,wordsworth arrived from ,bristol at ,coleridge's cottage4 ,i think ,i see him now4 ,he answered in some degree to his friend's description of him1 but was more gaunt and ,don ,quixote-like4 ,he was quaintly dressed 7according to the costume of that unconstrained period7 in a brown fustian jacket and striped pantaloons4 ,there was something of a roll1 a lounge in his gait1 not unlike his own ,peter ,bell4 ,there was a severe1 worn pressure of thought about his temples1 a fire in his eye 7as if he saw something in objects more than the outward appearance7 an intense high narrow forehead1 a ,roman nose1 cheeks furrowed by strong purpose and feeling1 and a convulsive inclination to laughter about the mouth1 a good deal at variance with the solemn1 stately expression of the rest of his face4 ,chantrey's bust wants the marking traits2 but he was teazed into making it regular and heavy3 ,haydon's head of him1 introduced into the ,entrance of ,christ into ,jerusalem1 is the most like his drooping weight of thought and expression4 ,he sat down and talked very naturally and freely1 with a mixture of clear gushing accents in his voice1 a deep guttural intonation1 and a strong tincture of the northern burr1 like the crust on wine4 ,he instantly began to make havoc of the half of a ,cheshire cheese on the table1 and said triumphantly that his marriage with experience had not been so unproductive as ,mr4 ,southey's in teaching him a knowledge of the good things of this life4 ,he had been to see the ,castle ,spectre by ,monk ,lewis1 while at ,bristol1 and described it very well4 ,he said it fitted the taste of the audience like a glove4 ,this ad captandum merit was however by no means a recommendation of it1 according to the severe principles of the new school1 which reject rather than court popular effect4 ,wordsworth1 looking out of the low1 latticed window1 said1 ,how beautifully the sun sets on that yellow bank6 ,i thought within myself1 ,with what eyes these poets see nature6 and ever after1 when ,i saw the sun-set stream upon the objects facing it1 conceived ,i had made a discovery1 or thanked ,mr4 ,wordsworth for having made one for me6 ,we went over to ,all-,foxden again the day following1 and ,wordsworth read us the story of ,peter ,bell in the open air2 and the comment upon it by his face and voice was very different from that of some later critics6 ,whatever might be thought of the poem1 his face was as a book where men might read strange matters1 and he announced the fate of his hero in prophetic tones4 ,there is a chaunt in the recitation both of ,coleridge and ,wordsworth1 which acts as a spell upon the hearer1 and disarms the judgment4 ,perhaps they have deceived themselves by making habitual use of this ambiguous accompaniment4 ,coleridge's manner is more full1 animated1 and varied2 ,wordsworth's more equable1 sustained1 and internal4 ,the one might be termed more dramatic1 the other more lyrical4 ,coleridge has told me that he himself liked to compose in walking over uneven ground1 or breaking through the straggling branches of a copse wood2 whereas ,wordsworth always wrote 7if he could7 walking up and down a strait gravel-walk1 or in some spot where the continuity of his verse met with no collateral interruption4 ,returning that same evening1 ,i got into a metaphysical argument with ,wordsworth1 while ,coleridge was explaining the different notes of the nightingale to his sister1 in which we neither of us succeeded in making ourselves perfectly clear and intelligible4 ,thus ,i passed three weeks at ,nether ,stowey and in the neighbourhood1 generally devoting the afternoons to a delightful chat in an arbour made of bark by the poet's friend ,tom ,poole1 sitting under two fine elm-trees1 and listening to the bees humming round us1 while we quaffed our flip4 ,it was agreed1 among other things1 that we should make a jaunt down the ,bristol-,channel1 as far as ,linton4 ,we set off together on foot1 ,coleridge1 ,john ,chester1 and ,i4 ,this ,chester was a native of ,nether ,stowey1 one of those who were attracted to ,coleridge's discourse as flies are to honey1 or bees in swarming-time to the sound of a brass pan4 ,he followed in the chace1 like a dog who hunts1 not like one that made up the cry4 ,he had on a brown cloth coat1 boots1 and corduroy breeches1 was low in stature1 bow-legged1 had a drag in his walk like a drover1 which he assisted by a hazel switch1 and kept on a sort of trot by the side of ,coleridge1 like a running footman by a state coach1 that he might not lose a syllable or sound1 that fell from ,coleridge's lips4 ,he told me his private opinion1 that ,coleridge was a wonderful man4 ,he scarcely opened his lips1 much less offered an opinion the whole way3 yet of the three1 had ,i to chuse during that journey1 ,i would be ,john ,chester4 ,he afterwards followed ,coleridge into ,germany1 where the ,kantean philosophers were puzzled how to bring him under any of their categories4 ,when he sat down at table with his idol1 ,john's felicity was complete2 ,sir ,walter ,scott's or ,mr4 ,blackwood's1 when they sat down at the same table with the ,king1 was not more so4 ,we passed ,dunster on our right1 a small town between the brow of a hill and the sea4 ,i remember eyeing it wistfully as it lay below us3 contrasted with the woody scene around1 it looked as clear1 as pure1 as embrowned and ideal as any landscape ,i have seen since1 of ,gaspar ,poussin's or ,domenichino's4 ,we had a long day's march--7our feet kept time to the echoes of ,coleridge's tongue7--through ,minehead and by the ,blue ,anchor1 and on to ,linton1 which we did not reach till near midnight1 and where we had some difficulty in making a lodgment4 ,we however knocked the people of the house up at last1 and we were repaid for our apprehensions and fatigue by some excellent rashers of fried bacon and eggs4 ,the view in coming along had been splendid4 ,we walked for miles and miles on dark brown heaths overlooking the channel1 with the ,welsh hills beyond1 and at times descended into little sheltered valleys close by the sea-side1 with a smuggler's face scowling by us1 and then had to ascend conical hills with a path winding up through a coppice to a barren top1 like a monk's shaven crown1 from one of which ,i pointed out to ,coleridge's notice the bare masts of a vessel on the very edge of the horizon and within the red-orbed disk of the setting sun1 like his own spectre-ship in the ,ancient ,mariner4 ,at ,linton the character of the sea-coast becomes more marked and rugged4 ,there is a place called the ,valley of ,rocks 7,i suspect this was only the poetical name for it7 bedded among precipices overhanging the sea1 with rocky caverns beneath1 into which the waves dash1 and where the sea-gull for ever wheels its screaming flight4 ,on the tops of these are huge stones thrown transverse1 as if an earthquake had tossed them there1 and behind these is a fretwork of perpendicular rocks1 something like the ,giant's ,causeway4 ,a thunderstorm came on while we were at the inn1 and ,coleridge was running out bareheaded to enjoy the commotion of the elements in the ,valley of ,rocks1 but as if in spite1 the clouds only muttered a few angry sounds1 and let fall a few refreshing drops4 ,coleridge told me that he and ,wordsworth were to have made this place the scene of a prose-tale1 which was to have been in the manner of1 but far superior to1 the ,death of ,abel1 but they had relinquished the design4 ,in the morning of the second day1 we breakfasted luxuriously in an old-fashioned parlour1 on tea1 toast1 eggs1 and honey1 in the very sight of the bee-hives from which it had been taken1 and a garden full of thyme and wild flowers that had produced it4 ,on this occasion ,coleridge spoke of ,virgil's ,georgics1 but not well4 ,i do not think he had much feeling for the classical or elegant4 ,it was in this room that we found a little worn-out copy of the ,seasons1 lying in a window-seat1 on which ,coleridge exclaimed1 ,that is true fame6 ,he said ,thomson was a great poet1 rather than a good one2 his style was as meretricious as his thoughts were natural4 ,he spoke of ,cowper as the best modern poet4 ,he said the ,lyrical ,ballads were an experiment about to be tried by him and ,wordsworth1 to see how far the public taste would endure poetry written in a more natural and simple style than had hitherto been attempted2 totally discarding the artifices of poetical diction1 and making use only of such words as had probably been common in the most ordinary language since the days of ,henry ,,ii4 ,some comparison was introduced between ,shakspeare and ,milton4 ,he said he hardly knew which to prefer4 ,shakspeare appeared to him a mere stripling in the art2 he was as tall and as strong1 with infinitely more activity than ,milton1 but he never appeared to have come to man's estate2 or if he had1 he would not have been a man1 but a monster4 ,he spoke with contempt of ,gray1 and with intolerance of ,pope4 ,he did not like the versification of the latter4 ,he observed that the ears of these couplet-writers might be charged with having short memories1 that could not retain the harmony of whole passages4 ,he thought little of ,junius as a writer2 he had a dislike of ,dr4 ,johnson2 and a much higher opinion of ,burke as an orator and politician1 than of ,fox or ,pitt4 ,he however thought him very inferior in richness of style and imagery to some of our elder prose-writers1 particularly ,jeremy ,taylor4 ,he liked ,richardson1 but not ,fielding2 nor could ,i get him to enter into the merits of ,caleb ,williams4#ade ,in short1 he was profound and discriminating with respect to those authors whom he liked1 and where he gave his judgment fair play2 capricious1 perverse1 and prejudiced in his antipathies and distastes4 ,we loitered on the ribbed sea-sands1 in such talk as this1 a whole morning1 and ,i recollect met with a curious sea-weed1 of which ,john ,chester told us the country name6 ,a fisherman gave ,coleridge an account of a boy that had been drowned the day before1 and that they had tried to save him at the risk of their own lives4 ,he said he did not know how it was that they ventured1 but1 ,sir1 we have a nature towards one another4 ,this expression1 ,coleridge remarked to me1 was a fine illustration of that theory of disinterestedness which ,i 7in common with ,butler7 had adopted4 ,i broached to him an argument of mine to prove that likeness was not mere association of ideas4 ,i said that the mark in the sand put one in mind of a man's foot1 not because it was part of a former impression of a man's foot 7for it was quite new7 but because it was like the shape of a man's foot4 ,he assented to the justness of this distinction 7which ,i have explained at length elsewhere1 for the benefit of the curious7 and ,john ,chester listened2 not from any interest in the subject1 but because he was astonished that ,i should be able to suggest any thing to ,coleridge that he did not already know4 ,we returned on the third morning1 and ,coleridge remarked the silent cottage-smoke curling up the valleys where1 a few evenings before1 we had seen the lights gleaming through the dark4 ,in a day or two after we arrived at ,stowey we set out1 ,i on my return home1 and he for ,germany4 ,it was a ,sunday morning1 and he was to preach that day for ,dr4 ,toulmin of ,taunton4 ,i asked him if he had prepared any thing for the occasion8 ,he said he had not even thought of the text1 but should as soon as we parted4 ,i did not go to hear him1--this was a fault1--but we met in the evening at ,bridgewater4 ,the next day we had a long day's walk to ,bristol1 and sat down1 ,i recollect1 by a well-side on the road1 to cool ourselves and satisfy our thirst1 when ,coleridge repeated to me some descriptive lines from his tragedy of ,remorse2 which ,i must say became his mouth and that occasion better than they1 some years after1 did ,mr4 ,elliston's and the ,drury-lane boards1-- ,oh memory6 shield me from the world's poor strife1 ,and give those scenes thine everlasting life4 ,i saw no more of him for a year or two1 during which period he had been wandering in the ,hartz ,forest in ,germany2 and his return was cometary1 meteorous1 unlike his setting out4 ,it was not till some time after that ,i knew his friends ,lamb and ,southey4 ,the last always appears to me 7as ,i first saw him7 with a common-place book under his arm1 and the first with a bon-mot in his mouth4 ,it was at ,godwin's that ,i met him with ,holcroft and ,coleridge1 where they were disputing fiercely which was the best--,man as he was1 or man as he is to be4 ,give me1 says ,lamb1 man as he is not to be4 ,this saying was the beginning of a friendship between us1 which ,i believe still continues4--,enough of this for the present4 ,but there is matter for another rhyme1 ,and ,i to this may add a second tale4 ,,xviii ,,on ,,the ,,conversation ,,of ,,authors ,the soul of conversation is sympathy4--,authors should converse chiefly with authors1 and their talk should be of books4 ,when ,greek meets ,greek1 then comes the tug of war4 ,there is nothing so pedantic as pretending not to be pedantic4 ,no man can get above his pursuit in life3 it is getting above himself1 which is impossible4 ,there is a ,free-masonry in all things4 ,you can only speak to be understood1 but this you cannot be1 except by those who are in the secret4 ,hence an argument has been drawn to supersede the necessity of conversation altogether2 for it has been said1 that there is no use in talking to people of sense1 who know all that you can tell them1 nor to fools1 who will not be instructed4 ,there is1 however1 the smallest encouragement to proceed1 when you are conscious that the more you really enter into a subject1 the farther you will be from the comprehension of your hearers--and that the more proofs you give of any position1 the more odd and out-of-the-way they will think your notions4 ,c---- is the only person who can talk to all sorts of people1 on all sorts of subjects1 without caring a farthing for their understanding one word he says--and he talks only for admiration and to be listened to1 and accordingly the least interruption puts him out4 ,i firmly believe he would make just the same impression on half his audiences1 if he purposely repeated absolute nonsense with the same voice and manner and inexhaustible flow of undulating speech6 ,in general1 wit shines only by reflection4 ,you must take your cue from your company--must rise as they rise1 and sink as they fall4 ,you must see that your good things1 your knowing allusions1 are not flung away1 like the pearls in the adage4 ,what a check it is to be asked a foolish question2 to find that the first principles are not understood6 ,you are thrown on your back immediately1 the conversation is stopped like a country-dance by those who do not know the figure4 ,but when a set of adepts1 of illuminati1 get about a question1 it is worth while to hear them talk4 ,they may snarl and quarrel over it1 like dogs2 but they pick it bare to the bone1 they masticate it thoroughly4 ,this was the case formerly at ,l----'s--where we used to have many lively skirmishes at their ,thursday evening parties4 ,i doubt whether the ,small-coal man's musical parties could exceed them4 ,oh6 for the pen of ,john ,buncle to consecrate a petit souvenir to their memory6--,there was ,l---- himself1 the most delightful1 the most provoking1 the most witty and sensible of men4 ,he always made the best pun1 and the best remark in the course of the evening4 ,his serious conversation1 like his serious writing1 is his best4 ,no one ever stammered out such fine1 piquant1 deep1 eloquent things in half a dozen half sentences as he does4 ,his jests scald like tears3 and he probes a question with a play upon words4 ,what a keen1 laughing1 hair-brained vein of home-felt truth6 ,what choice venom6 ,how often did we cut into the haunch of letters1 while we discussed the haunch of mutton on the table6 ,how we skimmed the cream of criticism6 ,how we got into the heart of controversy6 ,how we picked out the marrow of authors6 ,and1 in our flowing cups1 many a good name and true was freshly remembered4 ,recollect 7most sage and critical reader7 that in all this ,i was but a guest6 ,need ,i go over the names8 ,they were but the old everlasting set--,milton and ,shakespeare1 ,pope and ,dryden1 ,steele and ,addison1 ,swift and ,gay1 ,fielding1 ,smollett1 ,sterne1 ,richardson1 ,hogarth's prints1 ,claude's landscapes1 the ,cartoons at ,hampton-court1 and all those things1 that1 having once been1 must ever be4 ,the ,scotch ,novels had not then been heard of3 so we said nothing about them4 ,in general1 we were hard upon the moderns4 ,the author of the ,rambler was only tolerated in ,boswell's ,life of him2 and it was as much as anyone could do to edge in a word for ,junius4 ,l---- could not bear ,gil ,blas4 ,this was a fault4 ,i remember the greatest triumph ,i ever had was in persuading him1 after some years' difficulty1 that ,fielding was better than ,smollett4 ,on one occasion1 he was for making out a list of persons famous in history that one would wish to see again--at the head of whom were ,pontius ,pilate1 ,sir ,thomas ,browne1 and ,dr4 ,faustus--but we black-balled most of his list6 ,but with what a gusto would he describe his favourite authors1 ,donne1 or ,sir ,philip ,sidney1 and call their most crabbed passages delicious6 ,he tried them on his palate as epicures taste olives1 and his observations had a smack in them1 like a roughness on the tongue4 ,with what discrimination he hinted a defect in what he admired most--as in saying that the display of the sumptuous banquet in ,paradise ,regained was not in true keeping1 as the simplest fare was all that was necessary to tempt the extremity of hunger--and stating that ,adam and ,eve in ,paradise ,lost were too much like married people4 ,he has furnished many a text for ,c---- to preach upon4 ,there was no fuss or cant about him3 nor were his sweets or his sours ever diluted with one particle of affectation4 ,i cannot say that the party at ,l----'s were all of one description4 ,there were honorary members1 lay-brothers4 ,wit and good fellowship was the motto inscribed over the door4 ,when a stranger came in1 it was not asked1 ,has he written anything8--we were above that pedantry2 but we waited to see what he could do4 ,if he could take a hand at piquet1 he was welcome to sit down4 ,if a person liked any thing1 if he took snuff heartily1 it was sufficient4 ,he would understand1 by analogy1 the pungency of other things1 besides ,irish blackguard or ,scotch rappee4 ,a character was good any where1 in a room or on paper4 ,but we abhorred insipidity1 affectation1 and fine gentlemen4 ,there was one of our party who never failed to mark two for his ,nob at cribbage1 and he was thought no mean person4 ,this was ,ned ,p----1 and a better fellow in his way breathes not4 ,there was ----1 who asserted some incredible matter of fact as a likely paradox1 and settled all controversies by an ipse dixit1 a fiat of his will1 hammering out many a hard theory on the anvil of his brain--the ,baron ,munchausen of politics and practical philosophy3--there was ,captain ----1 who had you at an advantage by never understanding you3--there was ,jem ,white1 the author of ,falstaff's ,letters1 who the other day left this dull world to go in search of more kindred spirits1 turning like the latter end of a lover's lute3--there was ,a----1 who sometimes dropped in1 the ,will ,honeycomb of our set--and ,mrs4 ,r----1 who being of a quiet turn1 loved to hear a noisy debate4 ,an utterly uninformed person might have supposed this a scene of vulgar confusion and uproar4 ,while the most critical question was pending1 while the most difficult problem in philosophy was solving1 ,p---- cried out1 ,that's game1 and ,m4 ,b4 muttered a quotation over the last remains of a veal-pie at a side-table4 ,once1 and once only1 the literary interest overcame the general4 ,for ,c---- was riding the high ,german horse1 and demonstrating the ,categories of the ,transcendental philosophy to the author of the ,road to ,ruin2 who insisted on his knowledge of ,german1 and ,german metaphysics1 having read the ,critique of ,pure ,reason in the original4 ,my dear ,mr4 ,holcroft1 said ,c----1 in a tone of infinitely provoking conciliation1 you really put me in mind of a sweet pretty ,german girl1 about fifteen1 that ,i met with in the ,hartz forest in ,germany--and who one day1 as ,i was reading the ,limits of the ,knowable and the ,unknowable1 the profoundest of all his works1 with great attention1 came behind my chair1 and leaning over1 said1 ,what1 you read ,kant8 ,why1 ,i that am a ,german born1 don't understand him6 ,this was too much to bear1 and ,holcroft1 starting up1 called out in no measured tone1 ,mr4 ,c----1 you are the most eloquent man ,i ever met with1 and the most troublesome with your eloquence6 ,p---- held the cribbage-peg that was to mark him game1 suspended in his hand2 and the whist table was silent for a moment4 ,i saw ,holcroft down stairs1 and1 on coming to the landing-place in ,mitre-court1 he stopped me to observe1 that he thought ,mr4 ,c---- a very clever man1 with a great command of language1 but that he feared he did not always affix very precise ideas to the words he used4 ,after he was gone1 we had our laugh out1 and went on with the argument on the nature of ,reason1 the ,imagination1 and the ,will4 ,i wish ,i could find a publisher for it3 it would make a supplement to the ,biographia ,literaria in a volume and a half octavo4 ,those days are over6 ,an event1 the name of which ,i wish never to mention1 broke up our party1 like a bombshell thrown into the room3 and now we seldom meet---- ,like angels' visits1 short and far between4 ,there is no longer the same set of persons1 nor of associations4 ,l---- does not live where he did4 ,by shifting his abode1 his notions seem less fixed4 ,he does not wear his old snuff-coloured coat and breeches4 ,it looks like an alteration in his style4 ,an author and a wit should have a separate costume1 a particular cloth3 he should present something positive and singular to the mind1 like ,mr4 ,douce of the ,museum4 ,our faith in the religion of letters will not bear to be taken to pieces1 and put together again by caprice or accident4 ,l4 ,h---- goes there sometimes4 ,he has a fine vinous spirit about him1 and tropical blood in his veins3 but he is better at his own table4 ,he has a great flow of pleasantry and delightful animal spirits3 but his hits do not tell like ,l----'s2 you cannot repeat them the next day4 ,he requires not only to be appreciated1 but to have a select circle of admirers and devotees1 to feel himself quite at home4 ,he sits at the head of a party with great gaiety and grace2 has an elegant manner and turn of features2 is never at a loss--aliquando sufflaminandus erat--has continual sportive sallies of wit or fancy2 tells a story capitally2 mimics an actor1 or an acquaintance to admiration2 laughs with great glee and good-humour at his own or other people's jokes2 understands the point of an equivoque1 or an observation immediately2 has a taste and knowledge of books1 of music1 of medals2 manages an argument adroitly2 is genteel and gallant1 and has a set of bye-phrases and quaint allusions always at hand to produce a laugh3--if he has a fault1 it is that he does not listen so well as he speaks1 is impatient of interruption1 and is fond of being looked up to1 without considering by whom4 ,i believe1 however1 he has pretty well seen the folly of this4 ,neither is his ready display of personal accomplishment and variety of resources an advantage to his writings4 ,they sometimes present a desultory and slipshod appearance1 owing to this very circumstance4 ,the same things that tell1 perhaps1 best1 to a private circle round the fireside1 are not always intelligible to the public1 nor does he take pains to make them so4 ,he is too confident and secure of his audience4 ,that which may be entertaining enough with the assistance of a certain liveliness of manner1 may read very flat on paper1 because it is abstracted from all the circumstances that had set it off to advantage4 ,a writer should recollect that he has only to trust to the immediate impression of words1 like a musician who sings without the accompaniment of an instrument4 ,there is nothing to help out1 or slubber over1 the defects of the voice in the one case1 nor of the style in the other4 ,the reader may1 if he pleases1 get a very good idea of ,l4 ,h----'s conversation from a very agreeable paper he has lately published1 called the ,indicator1 than which nothing can be more happily conceived or executed4 ,the art of conversation is the art of hearing as well as of being heard4 ,authors in general are not good listeners4 ,some of the best talkers are1 on this account1 the worst company2 and some who are very indifferent1 but very great talkers1 are as bad4 ,it is sometimes wonderful to see how a person1 who has been entertaining or tiring a company by the hour together1 drops his countenance as if he had been shot1 or had been seized with a sudden lock-jaw1 the moment anyone interposes a single observation4 ,the best converser ,i know is1 however1 the best listener4 ,i mean ,mr4 ,northcote1 the painter4 ,painters by their profession are not bound to shine in conversation1 and they shine the more4 ,he lends his ear to an observation1 as if you had brought him a piece of news1 and enters into it with as much avidity and earnestness1 as if it interested himself personally4 ,if he repeats an old remark or story1 it is with the same freshness and point as for the first time4 ,it always arises out of the occasion1 and has the stamp of originality4 ,there is no parroting of himself4 ,his look is a continual1 ever-varying history-piece of what passes in his mind4 ,his face is as a book4 ,there need no marks of interjection or interrogation to what he says4 ,his manner is quite picturesque4 ,there is an excess of character and navet that never tires4 ,his thoughts bubble up and sparkle1 like beads on old wine4 ,the fund of anecdote1 the collection of curious particulars1 is enough to set up any common retailer of jests1 that dines out every day2 but these are not strung together like a row of galley-slaves1 but are always introduced to illustrate some argument or bring out some fine distinction of character4 ,the mixture of spleen adds to the sharpness of the point1 like poisoned arrows4 ,mr4 ,northcote enlarges with enthusiasm on the old painters1 and tells good things of the new4 ,the only thing he ever vexed me in was his liking the ,catalogue ,raisonne4 ,i had almost as soon hear him talk of ,titian's pictures 7which he does with tears in his eyes1 and looking just like them7 as see the originals1 and ,i had rather hear him talk of ,sir ,joshua's than see them4 ,he is the last of that school who knew ,goldsmith and ,johnson4 ,how finely he describes ,pope6 ,his elegance of mind1 his figure1 his character were not unlike his own4 ,he does not resemble a modern ,englishman1 but puts one in mind of a ,roman ,cardinal or ,spanish ,inquisitor4 ,i never ate or drank with ,mr4 ,northcote2 but ,i have lived on his conversation with undiminished relish ever since ,i can remember1--and when ,i leave it1 ,i come out into the street with feelings lighter and more etherial than ,i have at any other time4--,one of his tte--ttes would at any time make an ,essay2 but he cannot write himself1 because he loses himself in the connecting passages1 is fearful of the effect1 and wants the habit of bringing his ideas into one focus or point of view4 ,a lens is necessary to collect the diverging rays1 the refracted and broken angular lights of conversation on paper4 ,contradiction is half the battle in talking--the being startled by what others say1 and having to answer on the spot4 ,you have to defend yourself1 paragraph by paragraph1 parenthesis within parenthesis4 ,perhaps it might be supposed that a person who excels in conversation and cannot write1 would succeed better in dialogue4 ,but the stimulus1 the immediate irritation would be wanting2 and the work would read flatter than ever1 from not having the very thing it pretended to have4 ,lively sallies and connected discourse are very different things4 ,there are many persons of that impatient and restless turn of mind1 that they cannot wait a moment for a conclusion1 or follow up the thread of any argument4 ,in the hurry of conversation their ideas are somehow huddled into sense2 but in the intervals of thought1 leave a great gap between4 ,montesquieu said1 he often lost an idea before he could find words for it3 yet he dictated1 by way of saving time1 to an amanuensis4 ,this last is1 in my opinion1 a vile method1 and a solecism in authorship4 ,horne ,tooke1 among other paradoxes1 used to maintain1 that no one could write a good style who was not in the habit of talking and hearing the sound of his own voice4 ,he might as well have said that no one could relish a good style without reading it aloud1 as we find common people do to assist their apprehension4 ,but there is a method of trying periods on the ear1 or weighing them with the scales of the breath1 without any articulate sound4 ,authors1 as they write1 may be said to hear a sound so fine1 there's nothing lives 'twixt it and silence4 ,even musicians generally compose in their heads4 ,i agree that no style is good that is not fit to be spoken or read aloud with effect4 ,this holds true not only of emphasis and cadence1 but also with regard to natural idiom and colloquial freedom4 ,sterne's was in this respect the best style that ever was written4 ,you fancy that you hear the people talking4 ,for a contrary reason1 no college-man writes a good style1 or understands it when written4 ,fine writing is with him all verbiage and monotony--a translation into classical centos or hexameter lines4 ,that which ,i have just mentioned is among many instances ,i could give of ingenious absurdities advanced by ,mr4 ,tooke in the heat and pride of controversy4 ,a person who knew him well1 and greatly admired his talents1 said of him that he never 7to his recollection7 heard him defend an opinion which he thought right1 or in which he believed him to be himself sincere4 ,he indeed provoked his antagonists into the toils by the very extravagance of his assertions1 and the teasing sophistry by which he rendered them plausible4 ,his temper was prompter to his skill4 ,he had the manners of a man of the world1 with great scholastic resources4 ,he flung everyone else off his guard1 and was himself immovable4 ,i never knew anyone who did not admit his superiority in this kind of warfare4 ,he put a full stop to one of ,c----'s long-winded prefatory apologies for his youth and inexperience1 by saying abruptly1 ,speak up1 young man6 and1 at another time1 silenced a learned professor1 by desiring an explanation of a word which the other frequently used1 and which1 he said1 he had been many years trying to get at the meaning of1--the copulative ,is6 ,he was the best intellectual fencer of his day4 ,he made strange havoc of ,fuseli's fantastic hieroglyphics1 violent humours1 and oddity of dialect4--,curran1 who was sometimes of the same party1 was lively and animated in convivial conversation1 but dull in argument2 nay1 averse to anything like reasoning or serious observation1 and had the worst taste ,i ever knew4 ,his favourite critical topics were to abuse ,milton's ,paradise ,lost1 and ,romeo and ,juliet4 ,indeed1 he confessed a want of sufficient acquaintance with books when he found himself in literary society in ,london4 ,he and ,sheridan once dined at ,john ,kemble's with ,mrs4 ,inchbald and ,mary ,wolstonecraft1 when the discourse almost wholly turned on ,love1 from noon to dewy eve1 a summer's day6 ,what a subject6 ,what speakers1 and what hearers6 ,what would ,i not give to have been there1 had ,i not learned it all from the bright eyes of ,amaryllis1 and may one day make a ,table-talk of it6--,peter ,pindar was rich in anecdote and grotesque humour1 and profound in technical knowledge both of music1 poetry1 and painting1 but he was gross and overbearing4 ,wordsworth sometimes talks like a man inspired on subjects of poetry 7his own out of the question7--,coleridge well on every subject1 and ,g--dwin on none4 ,to finish this subject--,mrs4 ,m----'s conversation is as fine-cut as her features1 and ,i like to sit in the room with that sort of coronet face4 ,what she said leaves a flavour1 like fine green tea4 ,h--t's is like champagne1 and ,n----'s like anchovy sandwiches4 ,h--yd--n's is like a game at trap-ball3 ,l----'s like snap-dragon3 and my own 7if ,i do not mistake the matter7 is not very much unlike a game at nine-pins6444 ,one source of the conversation of authors1 is the character of other authors1 and on that they are rich indeed4 ,what things they say6 ,what stories they tell of one another1 more particularly of their friends6 ,if ,i durst only give some of these confidential communications6444 ,the reader may perhaps think the foregoing a specimen of them3--but indeed he is mistaken4 ,i do not know of any greater impertinence1 than for an obscure individual to set about pumping a character of celebrity4 ,bring him to me1 said a ,doctor ,tronchin1 speaking of ,rousseau1 that ,i may see whether he has anything in him4 ,before you can take measure of the capacity of others1 you ought to be sure that they have not taken measure of yours4 ,they may think you a spy on them1 and may not like their company4 ,if you really want to know whether another person can talk well1 begin by saying a good thing yourself1 and you will have a right to look for a rejoinder4 ,the best tennis-players1 says ,sir ,fopling ,flutter1 make the best matches4 ----------------,for wit is like a rest ,held up at tennis1 which men do the best ,with the best players4 ,we hear it often said of a great author1 or a great actress1 that they are very stupid people in private4 ,but he was a fool that said so4 ,tell me your company1 and ,i'll tell you your manners4 ,in conversation1 as in other things1 the action and reaction should bear a certain proportion to each other4--,authors may1 in some sense1 be looked upon as foreigners1 who are not naturalised even in their native soil4 ,l---- once came down into the country to see us4 ,he was like the most capricious poet ,ovid among the ,goths4 ,the country people thought him an oddity1 and did not understand his jokes4 ,it would be strange if they had2 for he did not make any1 while he staid4 ,but when he crossed the country to ,oxford1 then he spoke a little4 ,he and the old colleges were hail-fellow well met2 and in the quadrangles1 he walked gowned4 ,there is a character of a gentleman2 so there is a character of a scholar1 which is no less easily recognised4 ,the one has an air of books about him1 as the other has of good-breeding4 ,the one wears his thoughts as the other does his clothes1 gracefully2 and even if they are a little old-fashioned1 they are not ridiculous3 they have had their day4 ,the gentleman shows1 by his manner1 that he has been used to respect from others3 the scholar that he lays claim to self-respect and to a certain independence of opinion4 ,the one has been accustomed to the best company2 the other has passed his time in cultivating an intimacy with the best authors4 ,there is nothing forward or vulgar in the behaviour of the one2 nothing shrewd or petulant in the observations of the other1 as if he should astonish the bye-standers1 or was astonished himself at his own discoveries4 ,good taste and good sense1 like common politeness1 are1 or are supposed to be1 matters of course4 ,one is distinguished by an appearance of marked attention to every one present2 the other manifests an habitual air of abstraction and absence of mind4 ,the one is not an upstart with all the self-important airs of the founder of his own fortune2 nor the other a self-taught man1 with the repulsive self-sufficiency which arises from an ignorance of what hundreds have known before him4 ,we must excuse perhaps a little conscious family-pride in the one1 and a little harmless pedantry in the other4--,as there is a class of the first character which sinks into the mere gentleman1 that is1 which has nothing but this sense of respectability and propriety to support it--so the character of a scholar not unfrequently dwindles down into the shadow of a shade1 till nothing is left of it but the mere book-worm4 ,there is often something amiable as well as enviable in this last character4 ,i know one such instance1 at least4 ,the person ,i mean has an admiration for learning1 if he is only dazzled by its light4 ,he lives among old authors1 if he does not enter much into their spirit4 ,he handles the covers1 and turns over the page1 and is familiar with the names and dates4 ,he is busy and self-involved4 ,he hangs like a film and cobweb upon letters1 or is like the dust upon the outside of knowledge1 which should not be rudely brushed aside4 ,he follows learning as its shadow2 but as such1 he is respectable4 ,he browzes on the husk and leaves of books1 as the young fawn browzes on the bark and leaves of trees4 ,such a one lives all his life in a dream of learning1 and has never once had his sleep broken by a real sense of things4 ,he believes implicitly in genius1 truth1 virtue1 liberty1 because he finds the names of these things in books4 ,he thinks that love and friendship are the finest things imaginable1 both in practice and theory4 ,the legend of good women is to him no fiction4 ,when he steals from the twilight of his cell1 the scene breaks upon him like an illuminated missal1 and all the people he sees are but so many figures in a camera obscura4 ,he reads the world1 like a favourite volume1 only to find beauties in it1 or like an edition of some old work which he is preparing for the press1 only to make emendations in it1 and correct the errors that have inadvertently slipt in4 ,he and his dog ,tray are much the same honest1 simple-hearted1 faithful1 affectionate creatures--if ,tray could but read6 ,his mind cannot take the impression of vice3 but the gentleness of his nature turns gall to milk4 ,he would not hurt a fly4 ,he draws the picture of mankind from the guileless simplicity of his own heart3 and when he dies1 his spirit will take its smiling leave1 without having ever had an ill thought of others1 or the consciousness of one in itself6 ,,xix ,,of ,,persons ,,one ,,would ,,wish ,,to ,,have ,,seen ,come like shadows--so depart4 ,b---- it was1 ,i think1 who suggested this subject1 as well as the defence of ,guy ,faux1 which ,i urged him to execute4 ,as1 however1 he would undertake neither1 ,i suppose ,i must do both--a task for which he would have been much fitter1 no less from the temerity than the felicity of his pen-- ,never so sure our rapture to create ,as when it touch'd the brink of all we hate4 ,compared with him1 ,i shall1 ,i fear1 make but a common-place piece of business of it2 but ,i should be loth the idea was entirely lost1 and besides ,i may avail myself of some hints of his in the progress of it4 ,i am sometimes1 ,i suspect1 a better reporter of the ideas of other people than expounder of my own4 ,i pursue the one too far into paradox or mysticism2 the others ,i am not bound to follow farther than ,i like1 or than seems fair and reasonable4 ,on the question being started1 ,a---- said1 ,i suppose the two first persons you would choose to see would be the two greatest names in ,english literature1 ,sir ,isaac ,newton and ,mr4 ,locke8 ,in this ,a----1 as usual1 reckoned without his host4 ,every one burst out a laughing at the expression of ,b----'s face1 in which impatience was restrained by courtesy4 ,yes1 the greatest names1 he stammered out hastily1 but they were not persons--not persons4--,not persons8 said ,a----1 looking wise and foolish at the same time1 afraid his triumph might be premature4 ,that is1 rejoined ,b----1 not characters1 you know4 ,by ,mr4 ,locke and ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 you mean the ,essay on the ,human ,understanding1 and the ,principia1 which we have to this day4 ,beyond their contents there is nothing personally interesting in the men4 ,but what we want to see any one bodily for1 is when there is something peculiar1 striking in the individuals1 more than we can learn from their writings1 and yet are curious to know4 ,i dare say ,locke and ,newton were very like ,kneller's portraits of them4 ,but who could paint ,shakspeare8--,ay1 retorted ,a----1 there it is2 then ,i suppose you would prefer seeing him and ,milton instead8--,no1 said ,b----1 neither4 ,i have seen so much of ,shakspeare on the stage and on book-stalls1 in frontispieces and on mantlepieces1 that ,i am quite tired of the everlasting repetition3 and as to ,milton's face1 the impressions that have come down to us of it ,i do not like2 it is too starched and puritanical2 and ,i should be afraid of losing some of the manna of his poetry in the leaven of his countenance and the precisian's band and gown4--,i shall guess no more1 said ,a----4 ,who is it1 then1 you would like to see 'in his habit as he lived1' if you had your choice of the whole range of ,english literature8 ,b---- then named ,sir ,thomas ,brown and ,fulke ,greville1 the friend of ,sir ,philip ,sidney1 as the two worthies whom he should feel the greatest pleasure to encounter on the floor of his apartment in their night-gown and slippers1 and to exchange friendly greeting with them4 ,at this ,a---- laughed outright1 and conceived ,b---- was jesting with him2 but as no one followed his example1 he thought there might be something in it1 and waited for an explanation in a state of whimsical suspense4 ,b---- then 7as well as ,i can remember a conversation that passed twenty years ago2--how time slips67 went on as follows4 ,the reason why ,i pitch upon these two authors is1 that their writings are riddles1 and they themselves the most mysterious of personages4 ,they resemble the soothsayers of old1 who dealt in dark hints and doubtful oracles2 and ,i should like to ask them the meaning of what no mortal but themselves1 ,i should suppose1 can fathom4 ,there is ,dr4 ,johnson1 ,i have no curiosity1 no strange uncertainty about him3 he and ,boswell together have pretty well let me into the secret of what passed through his mind4 ,he and other writers like him are sufficiently explicit3 my friends1 whose repose ,i should be tempted to disturb1 7were it in my power7 are implicit1 inextricable1 inscrutable4 ,and call up him who left half-told ,the story of ,cambuscan bold4 ,when ,i look at that obscure but gorgeous prose-composition 7the ,urn-burial7 ,i seem to myself to look into a deep abyss1 at the bottom of which are hid pearls and rich treasure2 or it is like a stately labyrinth of doubt and withering speculation1 and ,i would invoke the spirit of the author to lead me through it4 ,besides1 who would not be curious to see the lineaments of a man who1 having himself been twice married1 wished that mankind were propagated like trees6 ,as to ,fulke ,greville1 he is like nothing but one of his own ',prologues spoken by the ghost of an old king of ,ormus1' a truly formidable and inviting personage3 his style is apocalyptical1 cabalistical1 a knot worthy of such an apparition to untie2 and for the unravelling a passage or two1 ,i would stand the brunt of an encounter with so portentous a commentator6--,i am afraid in that case1 said ,a----1 that if the mystery were once cleared up1 the merit might be lost2--and turning to me1 whispered a friendly apprehension1 that while ,b---- continued to admire these old crabbed authors1 he would never become a popular writer4 ,dr4 ,donne was mentioned as a writer of the same period1 with a very interesting countenance1 whose history was singular1 and whose meaning was often quite as uncomeatable1 without a personal citation from the dead1 as that of any of his contemporaries4 ,the volume was produced2 and while some one was expatiating on the exquisite simplicity and beauty of the portrait prefixed to the old edition1 ,a---- got hold of the poetry1 and exclaiming1 ,what have we here8 read the following3-- ,here lies a ,she-,sun and a ,he-,moon there1 ,she gives the best light to his sphere1 ,or each is both and all1 and so ,they unto one another nothing owe4 ,there was no resisting this1 till ,b----1 seizing the volume1 turned to the beautiful ,lines to his ,mistress1 dissuading her from accompanying him abroad1 and read them with suffused features and a faltering tongue4 ,by our first strange and fatal interview1 ,by all desires which thereof did ensue1 ,by our long starving hopes1 by that remorse ,which my words' masculine persuasive force ,begot in thee1 and by the memory ,of hurts1 which spies and rivals threaten'd me1 ,i calmly beg4 ,but by thy father's wrath1 ,by all pains which want and divorcement hath1 ,i conjure thee2 and all the oaths which ,i ,and thou have sworn to seal joint constancy ,here ,i unswear1 and overswear them thus4 ,thou shalt not love by ways so dangerous4 ,temper1 oh fair ,love6 love's impetuous rage1 ,be my true mistress still1 not my feign'd ,page2 ,i'll go1 and1 by thy kind leave1 leave behind ,thee6 only worthy to nurse it in my mind4 ,thirst to come back2 oh1 if thou die before4 ,my soul from other lands to thee shall soar4 ,thy 7else ,almighty7 beauty cannot move ,rage from the seas1 nor thy love teach them love1 ,nor tame wild ,boreas' harshness2 thou hast read ,how roughly he in pieces shivered ,fair ,orithea1 whom he swore he lov'd4 ,fall ill or good1 'tis madness to have prov'd ,dangers unurg'd3 ,feed on this flattery1 ,that absent lovers one with th' other be4 ,dissemble nothing1 not a boy2 nor change ,thy body's habit1 nor mind2 be not strange ,to thyself only4 ,all will spy in thy face ,a blushing1 womanly1 discovering grace4 ,richly cloth'd apes are called apes1 and as soon ,eclips'd as bright we call the moon the moon4 ,men of ,france1 changeable cameleons4 ,spittles of diseases1 shops of fashions1 ,love's fuellers1 and the rightest company ,of players1 which upon the world's stage be1 ,will quickly know thee4444 ,o stay here6 for thee ,england is only a worthy gallery1 ,to walk in expectation2 till from thence ,our greatest ,king call thee to his presence4 ,when ,i am gone1 dream me some happiness1 ,nor let thy looks our long hid love confess1 ,nor praise1 nor dispraise me2 nor bless1 nor curse ,openly love's force1 nor in bed fright thy nurse ,with midnight startings1 crying out1 ,oh1 oh1 ,nurse1 oh1 my love is slain1 ,i saw him go ,o'er the white ,alps alone2 ,i saw him1 ,i1 ,assail'd1 fight1 taken1 stabb'd1 bleed1 fall1 and die1 ,augur me better chance1 except dread ,jove ,think it enough for me to have had thy love4 ,some one then inquired of ,b---- if we could not see from the window the ,temple-walk in which ,chaucer used to take his exercise2 and on his name being put to the vote1 ,i was pleased to find that there was a general sensation in his favour in all but ,a----1 who said something about the ruggedness of the metre1 and even objected to the quaintness of the orthography4 ,i was vexed at this superficial gloss1 pertinaciously reducing every thing to its own trite level1 and asked if he did not think it would be worth while to scan the eye that had first greeted the ,muse in that dim twilight and early dawn of ,english literature2 to see the head1 round which the visions of fancy must have played like gleams of inspiration or a sudden glory2 to watch those lips that lisped in numbers1 for the numbers came--as by a miracle1 or as if the dumb should speak8 ,nor was it alone that he had been the first to tune his native tongue 7however imperfectly to modern ears72 but he was himself a noble1 manly character1 standing before his age and striving to advance it2 a pleasant humourist withal1 who has not only handed down to us the living manners of his time1 but had1 no doubt1 store of curious and quaint devices1 and would make as hearty a companion as ,mine ,host of ,tabard4 ,his interview with ,petrarch is fraught with interest4 ,yet ,i would rather have seen ,chaucer in company with the author of the ,decameron1 and have heard them exchange their best stories together1--the ,squire's ,tale against the ,story of the ,falcon1 the ,wife of ,bath's ,prologue against the ,adventures of ,friar ,albert4 ,how fine to see the high mysterious brow which learning then wore1 relieved by the gay1 familiar tone of men of the world1 and by the courtesies of genius4 ,surely1 the thoughts and feelings which passed through the minds of these great revivers of learning1 these ,cadmuses who sowed the teeth of letters1 must have stamped an expression on their features1 as different from the moderns as their books1 and well worth the perusal4 ,dante1 ,i continued1 is as interesting a person as his own ,ugolino1 one whose lineaments curiosity would as eagerly devour in order to penetrate his spirit1 and the only one of the ,italian poets ,i should care much to see4 ,there is a fine portrait of ,ariosto by no less a hand than ,titian's2 light1 ,moorish1 spirited1 but not answering our idea4 ,the same artist's large colossal profile of ,peter ,aretine is the only likeness of the kind that has the effect of conversing with 'the mighty dead1' and this is truly spectral1 ghastly1 necromantic4 ,b---- put it to me if ,i should like to see ,spenser as well as ,chaucer2 and ,i answered without hesitation1 ,no2 for that his beauties were ideal1 visionary1 not palpable or personal1 and therefore connected with less curiosity about the man4 ,his poetry was the essence of romance1 a very halo round the bright orb of fancy2 and the bringing in the individual might dissolve the charm4 ,no tones of voice could come up to the mellifluous cadence of his verse2 no form but of a winged angel could vie with the airy shapes he has described4 ,he was 7to our apprehensions7 rather a creature of the element1 that lived in the rainbow and played in the plighted clouds1 than an ordinary mortal4 ,or if he did appear1 ,i should wish it to be as a mere vision1 like one of his own pageants1 and that he should pass by unquestioned like a dream or sound-- ----,that was ,arion crown'd3 ,so went he playing on the wat'ry plain6 ,captain ,c4 muttered something about ,columbus1 and ,m4 ,c4 hinted at the ,wandering ,jew2 but the last was set aside as spurious1 and the first made over to the ,new ,world4 ,i should like1 said ,miss ,d----1 to have seen ,pope talking with ,patty ,blount2 and ,i have seen ,goldsmith4 ,every one turned round to look at ,miss ,d----1 as if by so doing they too could get a sight of ,goldsmith4 ,where1 asked a harsh croaking voice1 was ,dr4 ,johnson in the years #agde-f8 ,he did not write anything that we know of1 nor is there any account of him in ,boswell during those two years4 ,was he in ,scotland with the ,pretender8 ,he seems to have passed through the scenes in the ,highlands in company with ,boswell many years after 'with lack-lustre eye1' yet as if they were familiar to him1 or associated in his mind with interests that he durst not explain4 ,if so1 it would be an additional reason for my liking him2 and ,i would give something to have seen him seated in the tent with the youthful ,majesty of ,britain1 and penning the ,proclamation to all true subjects and adherents of the legitimate ,government4 ,i thought1 said ,a----1 turning short round upon ,b----1 that you of the ,lake ,school did not like ,pope8--,not like ,pope6 ,my dear sir1 you must be under a mistake--,i can read him over and over for ever6--,why certainly1 the ,essay on ,man must be allowed to be a master-piece4--,it may be so1 but ,i seldom look into it4--,oh6 then it's his ,satires you admire8--,no1 not his ,satires1 but his friendly ,epistles and his compliments4--,compliments6 ,i did not know he ever made any4--,the finest1 said ,b----1 that were ever paid by the wit of man4 ,each of them is worth an estate for life--nay1 is an immortality4 ,there is that superb one to ,lord ,cornbury3 ,despise low joys1 low gains3 ,disdain whatever ,cornbury disdains2 ,be virtuous1 and be happy for your pains4 ,was there ever more artful insinuation of idolatrous praise8 ,and then that noble apotheosis of his friend ,lord ,mansfield 7however little deserved71 when1 speaking of the ,house of ,lords1 he adds-- ,conspicuous scene6 another yet is nigh1 7,more silent far7 where kings and poets lie2 ,where ,murray 7long enough his ,country's pride7 ,shall be no more than ,tully or than ,hyde6 ,and with what a fine turn of indignant flattery he addresses ,lord ,bolingbroke-- ,why rail they then1 if but one wreath of mine1 ,oh6 all-accomplish'd ,st4 ,john1 deck thy shrine8 ,or turn1 continued ,b----1 with a slight hectic on his cheek and his eye glistening1 to his list of early friends3 ,but why then publish8 ,granville the polite1 ,and knowing ,walsh1 would tell me ,i could write2 ,well-natured ,garth inflamed with early praise1 ,and ,congreve loved and ,swift endured my lays3 ,the courtly ,talbot1 ,somers1 ,sheffield read1 ,ev'n mitred ,rochester would nod the head2 ,and ,st4 ,john's self 7great ,dryden's friend before7 ,received with open arms one poet more4 ,happy my studies1 if by these approved6 ,happier their author1 if by these beloved6 ,from these the world will judge of men and books1 ,not from the ,burnets1 ,oldmixons1 and ,cooks4 ,here his voice totally failed him1 and throwing down the book1 he said1 ,do you think ,i would not wish to have been friends with such a man as this8 ,what say you to ,dryden8--,he rather made a show of himself1 and courted popularity in that lowest temple of ,fame1 a coffee-house1 so as in some measure to vulgarize one's idea of him4 ,pope1 on the contrary1 reached the very beau ideal of what a poet's life should be2 and his fame while living seemed to be an emanation from that which was to circle his name after death4 ,he was so far enviable 7and one would feel proud to have witnessed the rare spectacle in him7 that he was almost the only poet and man of genius who met with his reward on this side of the tomb1 who realized in friends1 fortune1 the esteem of the world1 the most sanguine hopes of a youthful ambition1 and who found that sort of patronage from the great during his lifetime which they would be thought anxious to bestow upon him after his death4 ,read ,gay's verses to him on his supposed return from ,greece1 after his translation of ,homer was finished1 and say if you would not gladly join the bright procession that welcomed him home1 or see it once more land at ,whitehall-stairs4--,still1 said ,miss ,d----1 ,i would rather have seen him talking with ,patty ,blount1 or riding by in a coronet-coach with ,lady ,mary ,wortley ,montagu6 ,e----1 who was deep in a game of piquet at the other end of the room1 whispered to ,m4 ,c4 to ask if ,junius would not be a fit person to invoke from the dead4 ,yes1 said ,b----1 provided he would agree to lay aside his mask4 ,we were now at a stand for a short time1 when ,fielding was mentioned as a candidate3 only one1 however1 seconded the proposition4 ,richardson8--,by all means1 but only to look at him through the glass-door of his back-shop1 hard at work upon one of his novels 7the most extraordinary contrast that ever was presented between an author and his works71 but not to let him come behind his counter lest he should want you to turn customer1 nor to go upstairs with him1 lest he should offer to read the first manuscript of ,sir ,charles ,grandison1 which was originally written in eight and twenty volumes octavo1 or get out the letters of his female correspondents1 to prove that ,joseph ,andrews was low4 ,there was but one statesman in the whole of ,english history that any one expressed the least desire to see--,oliver ,cromwell1 with his fine1 frank1 rough1 pimply face1 and wily policy2 and one enthusiast1 ,john ,bunyan1 the immortal author of the ,pilgrim's ,progress4 ,it seemed that if he came into the room1 dreams would follow him1 and that each person would nod under his golden cloud1 nigh-sphered in ,heaven1 a canopy as strange and stately as any in ,homer4 ,of all persons near our own time1 ,garrick's name was received with the greatest enthusiasm1 who was proposed by ,j4 ,f----4 ,he presently superseded both ,hogarth and ,handel1 who had been talked of1 but then it was on condition that he should act in tragedy and comedy1 in the play and the farce1 ,lear and ,wildair and ,abel ,drugger4 ,what a sight for sore eyes that would be6 ,who would not part with a year's income at least1 almost with a year of his natural life1 to be present at it8 ,besides1 as he could not act alone1 and recitations are unsatisfactory things1 what a troop he must bring with him--the silver-tongued ,barry1 and ,quin1 and ,shuter and ,weston1 and ,mrs4 ,clive and ,mrs4 ,pritchard1 of whom ,i have heard my father speak as so great a favourite when he was young6 ,this would indeed be a revival of the dead1 the restoring of art2 and so much the more desirable1 as such is the lurking scepticism mingled with our overstrained admiration of past excellence1 that though we have the speeches of ,burke1 the portraits of ,reynolds1 the writings of ,goldsmith1 and the conversation of ,johnson1 to show what people could do at that period1 and to confirm the universal testimony to the merits of ,garrick2 yet1 as it was before our time1 we have our misgivings1 as if he was probably after all little better than a ,bartlemy-fair actor1 dressed out to play ,macbeth in a scarlet coat and laced cocked-hat4 ,for one1 ,i should like to have seen and heard with my own eyes and ears4 ,certainly1 by all accounts1 if any one was ever moved by the true histrionic stus1 it was ,garrick4 ,when he followed the ,ghost in ,hamlet1 he did not drop the sword as most actors do behind the scenes1 but kept the point raised the whole way round1 so fully was he possessed with the idea1 or so anxious not to lose sight of his part for a moment4 ,once at a splendid dinner-party at ,lord -----'s1 they suddenly missed ,garrick1 and could not imagine what was become of him1 till they were drawn to the window by the convulsive screams and peals of laughter of a young negro-boy1 who was rolling on the ground in an ecstasy of delight to see ,garrick mimicking a turkey-cock in the court-yard1 with his coat-tail stuck out behind1 and in a seeming flutter of feathered rage and pride4 ,of our party only two persons present had seen the ,british ,roscius2 and they seemed as willing as the rest to renew their acquaintance with their old favourite4 ,we were interrupted in the hey-day and mid-career of this fanciful speculation1 by a grumbler in a corner1 who declared it was a shame to make all this rout about a mere player and farce-writer1 to the neglect and exclusion of the fine old dramatists1 the contemporaries and rivals of ,shakspeare4 ,b---- said he had anticipated this objection when he had named the author of ,mustapha and ,alaham2 and out of caprice insisted upon keeping him to represent the set1 in preference to the wild hair-brained enthusiast ,kit ,marlowe2 to the sexton of ,st4 ,ann's1 ,webster1 with his melancholy yew-trees and death's-heads2 to ,deckar1 who was but a garrulous proser2 to the voluminous ,heywood2 and even to ,beaumont and ,fletcher1 whom we might offend by complimenting the wrong author on their joint productions4 ,lord ,brook1 on the contrary1 stood quite by himself1 or in ,cowley's words1 was a vast species alone4 ,some one hinted at the circumstance of his being a lord1 which rather startled ,b----1 but he said a ghost would perhaps dispense with strict etiquette1 on being regularly addressed by his title4 ,ben ,jonson divided our suffrages pretty equally4 ,some were afraid he would begin to traduce ,shakspeare1 who was not present to defend himself4 ,if he grows disagreeable1 it was whispered aloud1 there is ,g---- can match him4 ,at length his romantic visit to ,drummond of ,hawthornden was mentioned1 and turned the scale in his favour4 ,b---- inquired if there was any one that was hanged that ,i would choose to mention8 ,and ,i answered1 ,eugene ,aram4#adf ,the name of the ,admirable ,crichton was suddenly started as a splendid example of waste talents1 so different from the generality of his countrymen4 ,this choice was mightily approved by a ,north-,briton present1 who declared himself descended from that prodigy of learning and accomplishment1 and said he had family-plate in his possession as vouchers for the fact1 with the initials ,a4 ,c4--,admirable ,crichton6 ,h---- laughed or rather roared as heartily at this as ,i should think he has done for many years4 ,the last-named ,mitre-courtier#adg then wished to know whether there were any metaphysicians to whom one might be tempted to apply the wizard spell8 ,i replied1 there were only six in modern times deserving the name--,hobbes1 ,berkeley1 ,butler1 ,hartley1 ,hume1 ,leibnitz2 and perhaps ,jonathan ,edwards1 a ,massachusetts man4#adh ,as to the ,french1 who talked fluently of having created this science1 there was not a tittle in any of their writings1 that was not to be found literally in the authors ,i had mentioned4 ,horne ,tooke1 who might have a claim to come in under the head of ,grammar1 was still living4 ,none of these names seemed to excite much interest1 and ,i did not plead for the re-appearance of those who might be thought best fitted by the abstracted nature of their studies for their present spiritual and disembodied state1 and who1 even while on this living stage1 were nearly divested of common flesh and blood4 ,as ,a---- with an uneasy fidgetty face was about to put some question about ,mr4 ,locke and ,dugald ,stewart1 he was prevented by ,m4 ,c41 who observed1 ,if ,j---- was here1 he would undoubtedly be for having up those profound and redoubted scholiasts1 ,thomas ,aquinas and ,duns ,scotus4 ,i said2 this might be fair enough in him who had read or fancied he had read the original works1 but ,i did not see how we could have any right to call up these authors to give an account of themselves in person1 till we had looked into their writings4 ,by this time it should seem that some rumour of our whimsical deliberation had got wind1 and had disturbed the irritable genus in their shadowy abodes1 for we received messages from several candidates that we had just been thinking of4 ,gray declined our invitation1 though he had not yet been asked3 ,gay offered to come and bring in his hand the ,duchess of ,bolton1 the original ,polly3 ,steele and ,addison left their cards as ,captain ,sentry and ,sir ,roger de ,coverley3 ,swift came in and sat down without speaking a word1 and quitted the room as abruptly3 ,otway and ,chatterton were seen lingering on the opposite side of the ,styx1 but could not muster enough between them to pay ,charon his fare3 ,thomson fell asleep in the boat1 and was rowed back again--and ,burns sent a low fellow1 one ,john ,barleycorn1 an old companion of his who had conducted him to the other world1 to say that he had during his lifetime been drawn out of his retirement as a show1 only to be made an exciseman of1 and that he would rather remain where he was4 ,he desired1 however1 to shake hands by his representative--the hand1 thus held out1 was in a burning fever1 and shook prodigiously4 ,the room was hung round with several portraits of eminent painters4 ,while we were debating whether we should demand speech with these masters of mute eloquence1 whose features were so familiar to us1 it seemed that all at once they glided from their frames1 and seated themselves at some little distance from us4 ,there was ,leonardo with his majestic beard and watchful eye1 having a bust of ,archimedes before him2 next him was ,raphael's graceful head turned round to the ,fornarina2 and on his other side was ,lucretia ,borgia1 with calm1 golden locks2 ,michael ,angelo had placed the model of ,st4 ,peter's on the table before him2 ,correggio had an angel at his side2 ,titian was seated with his ,mistress between himself and ,giorgioni2 ,guido was accompanied by his own ,aurora1 who took a dice-box from him2 ,claude held a mirror in his hand2 ,rubens patted a beautiful panther 7led in by a satyr7 on the head2 ,vandyke appeared as his own ,paris1 and ,rembrandt was hid under furs1 gold chains and jewels1 which ,sir ,joshua eyed closely1 holding his hand so as to shade his forehead4 ,not a word was spoken2 and as we rose to do them homage1 they still presented the same surface to the view4 ,not being bon-fide representations of living people1 we got rid of the splendid apparitions by signs and dumb show4 ,as soon as they had melted into thin air1 there was a loud noise at the outer door1 and we found it was ,giotto1 ,cimabue1 and ,ghirlandaio1 who had been raised from the dead by their earnest desire to see their illustrious successors-- ,whose names on earth ,in ,fame's eternal records live for aye6 ,finding them gone1 they had no ambition to be seen after them1 and mournfully withdrew4 ,egad6 said ,b----1 those are the very fellows ,i should like to have had some talk with1 to know how they could see to paint when all was dark around them8 ,but shall we have nothing to say1 interrogated ,g4 ,j----1 to the ,legend of ,good ,women8--,name1 name1 ,mr4 ,j----1 cried ,h---- in a boisterous tone of friendly exultation1 name as many as you please1 without reserve or fear of molestation6 ,j---- was perplexed between so many amiable recollections1 that the name of the lady of his choice expired in a pensive whiff of his pipe2 and ,b---- impatiently declared for the ,duchess of ,newcastle4 ,mrs4 ,hutchinson was no sooner mentioned1 than she carried the day from the ,duchess4 ,we were the less solicitous on this subject of filling up the posthumous lists of ,good ,women1 as there was already one in the room as good1 as sensible1 and in all respects as exemplary1 as the best of them could be for their lives6 ,i should like vastly to have seen ,ninon de l',enclos1 said that incomparable person2 and this immediately put us in mind that we had neglected to pay honour due to our friends on the other side of the ,channel3 ,voltaire1 the patriarch of levity1 and ,rousseau1 the father of sentiment1 ,montaigne and ,rabelais 7great in wisdom and in wit71 ,molire and that illustrious group that are collected round him 7in the print of that subject7 to hear him read his comedy of the ,tartuffe at the house of ,ninon2 ,racine1 ,la ,fontaine1 ,rochefoucault1 ,st4 ,evremont1 etc4 ,there is one person1 said a shrill1 querulous voice1 ,i would rather see than all these--,don ,quixote6 ,come1 come6 said ,h----2 ,i thought we should have no heroes1 real or fabulous4 ,what say you1 ,mr4 ,b----8 ,are you for eking out your shadowy list with such names as ,alexander1 ,julius ,csar1 ,tamerlane1 or ,ghengis ,khan8--,excuse me1 said ,b----1 on the subject of characters in active life1 plotters and disturbers of the world1 ,i have a crotchet of my own1 which ,i beg leave to reserve4--,no1 no6 come1 out with your worthies6--,what do you think of ,guy ,faux and ,judas ,iscariot8 ,h---- turned an eye upon him like a wild ,indian1 but cordial and full of smothered glee4 ,your most exquisite reason6 was echoed on all sides2 and ,a---- thought that ,b---- had now fairly entangled himself4 ,why1 ,i cannot but think1 retorted he of the wistful countenance1 that ,guy ,faux1 that poor fluttering annual scare-crow of straw and rags1 is an ill-used gentleman4 ,i would give something to see him sitting pale and emaciated1 surrounded by his matches and his barrels of gunpowder1 and expecting the moment that was to transport him to ,paradise for his heroic self-devotion2 but if ,i say any more1 there is that fellow ,g---- will make something of it4--,and as to ,judas ,iscariot1 my reason is different4 ,i would fain see the face of him1 who1 having dipped his hand in the same dish with the ,son of ,man1 could afterwards betray him4 ,i have no conception of such a thing2 nor have ,i ever seen any picture 7not even ,leonardo's very fine one7 that gave me the least idea of it4--,you have said enough1 ,mr4 ,b----1 to justify your choice4 ,oh6 ever right1 ,menenius1--ever right6 ,there is only one other person ,i can ever think of after this1 continued ,h----2 but without mentioning a name that once put on a semblance of mortality4 ,if ,shakspeare was to come into the room1 we should all rise up to meet him2 but if that person was to come into it1 we should all fall down and try to kiss the hem of his garment6 ,as a lady present seemed now to get uneasy at the turn the conversation had taken1 we rose up to go4 ,the morning broke with that dim1 dubious light by which ,giotto1 ,cimabue1 and ,ghirlandaio must have seen to paint their earliest works2 and we parted to meet again and renew similar topics at night1 the next night1 and the night after that1 till that night overspread ,europe which saw no dawn4 ,the same event1 in truth1 broke up our little ,congress that broke up the great one4 ,but that was to meet again3 our deliberations have never been resumed4 ,,xx ,,on ,,reading ,,old ,,books ,i hate to read new books4 ,there are twenty or thirty volumes that ,i have read over and over again1 and these are the only ones that ,i have any desire ever to read at all4 ,it was a long time before ,i could bring myself to sit down to the ,tales of ,my ,landlord1 but now that author's works have made a considerable addition to my scanty library4 ,i am told that some of ,lady ,morgan's are good1 and have been recommended to look into ,anastasius2 but ,i have not yet ventured upon that task4 ,a lady1 the other day1 could not refrain from expressing her surprise to a friend1 who said he had been reading ,delphine3--she asked1--,if it had not been published some time back8 ,women judge of books as they do of fashions or complexions1 which are admired only in their newest gloss4 ,that is not my way4 ,i am not one of those who trouble the circulating libraries much1 or pester the booksellers for mail-coach copies of standard periodical publications4 ,i cannot say that ,i am greatly addicted to black-letter1 but ,i profess myself well versed in the marble bindings of ,andrew ,millar1 in the middle of the last century2 nor does my taste revolt at ,thurloe's ,state ,papers1 in ,russia leather2 or an ample impression of ,sir ,william ,temple's ,essays1 with a portrait after ,sir ,godfrey ,kneller in front4 ,i do not think altogether the worse of a book for having survived the author a generation or two4 ,i have more confidence in the dead than the living4 ,contemporary writers may generally be divided into two classes--one's friends or one's foes4 ,of the first we are compelled to think too well1 and of the last we are disposed to think too ill1 to receive much genuine pleasure from the perusal1 or to judge fairly of the merits of either4 ,one candidate for literary fame1 who happens to be of our acquaintance1 writes finely1 and like a man of genius2 but unfortunately has a foolish face1 which spoils a delicate passage3--another inspires us with the highest respect for his personal talents and character1 but does not quite come up to our expectations in print4 ,all these contradictions and petty details interrupt the calm current of our reflections4 ,if you want to know what any of the authors were who lived before our time1 and are still objects of anxious inquiry1 you have only to look into their works4 ,but the dust and smoke and noise of modern literature have nothing in common with the pure1 silent air of immortality4 ,when ,i take up a work that ,i have read before 7the oftener the better7 ,i know what ,i have to expect4 ,the satisfaction is not lessened by being anticipated4 ,when the entertainment is altogether new1 ,i sit down to it as ,i should to a strange dish1--turn and pick out a bit here and there1 and am in doubt what to think of the composition4 ,there is a want of confidence and security to second appetite4 ,new-fangled books are also like made-dishes in this respect1 that they are generally little else than hashes and rifaccimentos of what has been served up entire and in a more natural state at other times4 ,besides1 in thus turning to a well-known author1 there is not only an assurance that my time will not be thrown away1 or my palate nauseated with the most insipid or vilest trash1--but ,i shake hands with1 and look an old1 tried1 and valued friend in the face1--compare notes1 and chat the hours away4 ,it is true1 we form dear friendships with such ideal guests--dearer1 alas6 and more lasting1 than those with our most intimate acquaintance4 ,in reading a book which is an old favourite with me 7say the first novel ,i ever read7 ,i not only have the pleasure of imagination and of a critical relish of the work1 but the pleasures of memory added to it4 ,it recalls the same feelings and associations which ,i had in first reading it1 and which ,i can never have again in any other way4 ,standard productions of this kind are links in the chain of our conscious being4 ,they bind together the different scattered divisions of our personal identity4 ,they are land-marks and guides in our journey through life4 ,they are pegs and loops on which we can hang up1 or from which we can take down1 at pleasure1 the wardrobe of a moral imagination1 the relics of our best affections1 the tokens and records of our happiest hours4 ,they are for thoughts and for remembrance6 ,they are like ,fortunatus's ,wishing-,cap--they give us the best riches--those of ,fancy2 and transport us1 not over half the globe1 but 7which is better7 over half our lives1 at a word's notice6 ,my father ,shandy solaced himself with ,bruscambille4 ,give me for this purpose a volume of ,peregrine ,pickle or ,tom ,jones4 ,open either of them anywhere--at the ,memoirs of ,lady ,vane1 or the adventures at the masquerade with ,lady ,bellaston1 or the disputes between ,thwackum and ,square1 or the escape of ,molly ,seagrim1 or the incident of ,sophia and her muff1 or the edifying prolixity of her aunt's lecture--and there ,i find the same delightful1 busy1 bustling scene as ever1 and feel myself the same as when ,i was first introduced into the midst of it4 ,nay1 sometimes the sight of an odd volume of these good old ,english authors on a stall1 or the name lettered on the back among others on the shelves of a library1 answers the purpose1 revives the whole train of ideas1 and sets the puppets dallying4 ,twenty years are struck off the list1 and ,i am a child again4 ,a sage philosopher1 who was not a very wise man1 said1 that he should like very well to be young again1 if he could take his experience along with him4 ,this ingenious person did not seem to be aware1 by the gravity of his remark1 that the great advantage of being young is to be without this weight of experience1 which he would fain place upon the shoulders of youth1 and which never comes too late with years4 ,oh6 what a privilege to be able to let this hump1 like ,christian's burthen1 drop from off one's back1 and transport one's-self1 by the help of a little musty duodecimo1 to the time when ignorance was bliss1 and when we first got a peep at the rare-show of the world1 through the glass of fiction--gazing at mankind1 as we do at wild beasts in a menagerie1 through the bars of their cages1--or at curiosities in a museum1 that we must not touch6 ,for myself1 not only are the old ideas of the contents of the work brought back to my mind in all their vividness1 but the old associations of the faces and persons of those ,i then knew1 as they were in their lifetime--the place where ,i sat to read the volume1 the day when ,i got it1 the feeling of the air1 the fields1 the sky--return1 and all my early impressions with them4 ,this is better to me--those places1 those times1 those persons1 and those feelings that come across me as ,i retrace the story and devour the page1 are to me better far than the wet sheets of the last new novel from the ,ballantyne press1 to say nothing of the ,minerva press in ,leadenhall-street4 ,it is like visiting the scenes of early youth4 ,i think of the time when ,i was in my father's house1 and my path ran down with butter and honey1--when ,i was a little1 thoughtless child1 and had no other wish or care but to con my daily task1 and be happy6--,tom ,jones1 ,i remember1 was the first work that broke the spell4 ,it came down in numbers once a fortnight1 in ,cooke's pocket-edition1 embellished with cuts4 ,i had hitherto read only in school-books1 and a tiresome ecclesiastical history 7with the exception of ,mrs4 ,radcliffe's ,romance of the ,forest73 but this had a different relish with it1--sweet in the mouth1 though not bitter in the belly4 ,it smacked of the world ,i lived in1 and in which ,i was to live--and shewed me groups1 gay creatures not of the element1 but of the earth2 not living in the clouds1 but travelling the same road that ,i did2--some that had passed on before me1 and others that might soon overtake me4 ,my heart had palpitated at the thoughts of a boarding-school ball1 or gala-day at ,midsummer or ,christmas3 but the world ,i had found out in ,cooke's edition of the ,british ,novelists was to me a dance through life1 a perpetual gala-day4 ,the six-penny numbers of this work regularly contrived to leave off just in the middle of a sentence1 and in the nick of a story1 where ,tom ,jones discovers ,square behind the blanket2 or where ,parson ,adams1 in the inextricable confusion of events1 very undesignedly gets to bed to ,mrs4 ,slip-slop4 ,let me caution the reader against this impression of ,joseph ,andrews2 for there is a picture of ,fanny in it which he should not set his heart on1 lest he should never meet with anything like it2 or if he should1 it would1 perhaps1 be better for him that he had not4 ,it was just like ---- ----6 ,with what eagerness ,i used to look forward to the next number1 and open the prints6 ,ah6 never again shall ,i feel the enthusiastic delight with which ,i gazed at the figures1 and anticipated the story and adventures of ,major ,bath and ,commodore ,trunnion1 of ,trim and my ,uncle ,toby1 of ,don ,quixote and ,sancho and ,dapple1 of ,gil ,blas and ,dame ,lorenza ,sephora1 of ,laura and the fair ,lucretia1 whose lips open and shut like buds of roses4 ,to what nameless ideas did they give rise1--with what airy delights ,i filled up the outlines1 as ,i hung in silence over the page6--,let me still recall them1 that they may breathe fresh life into me1 and that ,i may live that birthday of thought and romantic pleasure over again6 ,talk of the ideal6 ,this is the only true ideal--the heavenly tints of ,fancy reflected in the bubbles that float upon the spring-tide of human life4 ,oh6 ,memory6 shield me from the world's poor strife1 ,and give those scenes thine everlasting life6 ,the paradox with which ,i set out is1 ,i hope1 less startling than it was2 the reader will1 by this time1 have been let into my secret4 ,much about the same time1 or ,i believe rather earlier1 ,i took a particular satisfaction in reading ,chubb's ,tracts1 and ,i often think ,i will get them again to wade through4 ,there is a high gusto of polemical divinity in them2 and you fancy that you hear a club of shoemakers at ,salisbury1 debating a disputable text from one of ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles in a workmanlike style1 with equal shrewdness and pertinacity4 ,i cannot say much for my metaphysical studies1 into which ,i launched shortly after with great ardour1 so as to make a toil of a pleasure4 ,i was presently entangled in the briars and thorns of subtle distinctions1--of fate1 free-will1 fore-knowledge absolute1 though ,i cannot add that in their wandering mazes ,i found no end2 for ,i did arrive at some very satisfactory and potent conclusions2 nor will ,i go so far1 however ungrateful the subject might seem1 as to exclaim with ,marlowe's ,faustus--,would ,i had never seen ,wittenberg1 never read book--that is1 never studied such authors as ,hartley1 ,hume1 ,berkeley1 etc4 ,locke's ,essay on the ,human ,understanding is1 however1 a work from which ,i never derived either pleasure or profit2 and ,hobbes1 dry and powerful as he is1 ,i did not read till long afterwards4 ,i read a few poets1 which did not much hit my taste1--for ,i would have the reader understand1 ,i am deficient in the faculty of imagination2 but ,i fell early upon ,french romances and philosophy1 and devoured them tooth-and-nail4 ,many a dainty repast have ,i made of the ,new ,eloise2--the description of the kiss2 the excursion on the water2 the letter of ,st4 ,preux1 recalling the time of their first loves2 and the account of ,julia's death2 these ,i read over and over again with unspeakable delight and wonder4 ,some years after1 when ,i met with this work again1 ,i found ,i had lost nearly my whole relish for it 7except some few parts7 and was1 ,i remember1 very much mortified with the change in my taste1 which ,i sought to attribute to the smallness and gilt edges of the edition ,i had bought1 and its being perfumed with rose-leaves4 ,nothing could exceed the gravity1 the solemnity with which ,i carried home and read the ,dedication to the ,social ,contract1 with some other pieces of the same author1 which ,i had picked up at a stall in a coarse leathern cover4 ,of the ,confessions ,i have spoken elsewhere1 and may repeat what ,i have said--,sweet is the dew of their memory1 and pleasant the balm of their recollection6 ,their beauties are not scattered like stray-gifts o'er the earth1 but sown thick on the page1 rich and rare4 ,i wish ,i had never read the ,emilius1 or read it with less implicit faith4 ,i had no occasion to pamper my natural aversion to affectation or pretence1 by romantic and artificial means4 ,i had better have formed myself on the model of ,sir ,fopling ,flutter4 ,there is a class of persons whose virtues and most shining qualities sink in1 and are concealed by1 an absorbent ground of modesty and reserve2 and such a one ,i do1 without vanity1 profess myself4#adi ,now these are the very persons who are likely to attach themselves to the character of ,emilius1 and of whom it is sure to be the bane4 ,this dull1 phlegmatic1 retiring humour is not in a fair way to be corrected1 but confirmed and rendered desperate1 by being in that work held up as an object of imitation1 as an example of simplicity and magnanimity--by coming upon us with all the recommendations of novelty1 surprise1 and superiority to the prejudices of the world--by being stuck upon a pedestal1 made amiable1 dazzling1 a leurre de dupe6 ,the reliance on solid worth which it inculcates1 the preference of sober truth to gaudy tinsel1 hangs like a mill-stone round the neck of the imagination--a load to sink a navy--impedes our progress1 and blocks up every prospect in life4 ,a man1 to get on1 to be successful1 conspicuous1 applauded1 should not retire upon the centre of his conscious resources1 but be always at the circumference of appearances4 ,he must envelop himself in a halo of mystery--he must ride in an equipage of opinion--he must walk with a train of self-conceit following him--he must not strip himself to a buff-jerkin1 to the doublet and hose of his real merits1 but must surround himself with a cortege of prejudices1 like the signs of the ,zodiac--he must seem any thing but what he is1 and then he may pass for any thing he pleases4 ,the world love to be amused by hollow professions1 to be deceived by flattering appearances1 to live in a state of hallucination2 and can forgive every thing but the plain1 downright1 simple honest truth--such as we see it chalked out in the character of ,emilius4--,to return from this digression1 which is a little out of place here4 ,books have in a great measure lost their power over me2 nor can ,i revive the same interest in them as formerly4 ,i perceive when a thing is good1 rather than feel it4 ,it is true1 ,marcian ,colonna is a dainty book2 and the reading of ,mr4 ,keats's ,eve of ,st4 ,agnes lately made me regret that ,i was not young again4 ,the beautiful and tender images there conjured up1 come like shadows--so depart4 ,the tiger-moth's wings1 which he has spread over his rich poetic blazonry1 just flit across my fancy2 the gorgeous twilight window which he has painted over again in his verse1 to me blushes almost in vain with blood of queens and kings4 ,i know how ,i should have felt at one time in reading such passages2 and that is all4 ,the sharp luscious flavour1 the fine aroma is fled1 and nothing but the stalk1 the bran1 the husk of literature is left4 ,if any one were to ask me what ,i read now1 ,i might answer with my ,lord ,hamlet in the play--,words1 words1 words4--,what is the matter8--,nothing6--,they have scarce a meaning4 ,but it was not always so4 ,there was a time when to my thinking1 every word was a flower or a pearl1 like those which dropped from the mouth of the little peasant-girl in the ,fairy tale1 or like those that fall from the great preacher in the ,caledonian ,chapel6 ,i drank of the stream of knowledge that tempted1 but did not mock my lips1 as of the river of life1 freely4 ,how eagerly ,i slaked my thirst of ,german sentiment1 as the hart that panteth for the water-springs2 how ,i bathed and revelled1 and added my floods of tears to ,gothe's ,sorrows of ,werter1 and to ,schiller's ,robbers-- ,giving my stock of more to that which had too much6 ,i read and assented with all my soul to ,coleridge's fine ,sonnet1 beginning-- ,schiller6 that hour ,i would have wish'd to die1 ,if through the shuddering midnight ,i had sent1 ,from the dark dungeon of the tow'r time rent1 ,that fearful voice1 a famish'd father's cry6 ,i believe ,i may date my insight into the mysteries of poetry from the commencement of my acquaintance with the authors of the ,lyrical ,ballads2 at least1 my discrimination of the higher sorts--not my predilection for such writers as ,goldsmith or ,pope3 nor do ,i imagine they will say ,i got my liking for the ,novelists1 or the comic writers1--for the characters of ,valentine1 ,tattle1 or ,miss ,prue1 from them4 ,if so1 ,i must have got from them what they never had themselves4 ,in points where poetic diction and conception are concerned1 ,i may be at a loss1 and liable to be imposed upon3 but in forming an estimate of passages relating to common life and manners1 ,i cannot think ,i am a plagiarist from any man4 ,i there know my cue without a prompter4 ,i may say of such studies--,intus et in cute4 ,i am just able to admire those literal touches of observation and description1 which persons of loftier pretensions overlook and despise4 ,i think ,i comprehend something of the characteristic part of ,shakspeare2 and in him indeed all is characteristic1 even the nonsense and poetry4 ,i believe it was the celebrated ,sir ,humphry ,davy who used to say1 that ,shakspeare was rather a metaphysician than a poet4 ,at any rate1 it was not ill said4 ,i wish that ,i had sooner known the dramatic writers contemporary with ,shakspeare2 for in looking them over about a year ago1 ,i almost revived my old passion for reading1 and my old delight in books1 though they were very nearly new to me4 ,the ,periodical ,essayists ,i read long ago4 ,the ,spectator ,i liked extremely3 but the ,tatler took my fancy most4 ,i read the others soon after1 the ,rambler1 the ,adventurer1 the ,world1 the ,connoisseur3 ,i was not sorry to get to the end of them1 and have no desire to go regularly through them again4 ,i consider myself a thorough adept in ,richardson4 ,i like the longest of his novels best1 and think no part of them tedious2 nor should ,i ask to have any thing better to do than to read them from beginning to end1 to take them up when ,i chose1 and lay them down when ,i was tired1 in some old family mansion in the country1 till every word and syllable relating to the bright ,clarissa1 the divine ,clementina1 the beautiful ,pamela1 with every trick and line of their sweet favour1 were once more graven in my heart's table4#aej ,i have a sneaking kindness for ,mackenzie's ,julia de ,roubign--for the deserted mansion1 and straggling gilliflowers on the mouldering garden-wall2 and still more for his ,man of ,feeling2 not that it is better1 nor so good2 but at the time ,i read it1 ,i sometimes thought of the heroine1 ,miss ,walton1 and of ,miss ---- together1 and that ligament1 fine as it was1 was never broken6--,one of the poets that ,i have always read with most pleasure1 and can wander about in for ever with a sort of voluptuous indolence1 is ,spenser2 and ,i like ,chaucer even better4 ,the only writer among the ,italians ,i can pretend to any knowledge of1 is ,boccacio1 and of him ,i cannot express half my admiration4 ,his story of the ,hawk ,i could read and think of from day to day1 just as ,i would look at a picture of ,titian's6-- ,i remember1 as long ago as the year #agih1 going to a neighbouring town 7,shrewsbury1 where ,farquhar has laid the plot of his ,recruiting ,officer7 and bringing home with me1 at one proud swoop1 a copy of ,milton's ,paradise ,lost1 and another of ,burke's ,reflections on the ,french ,revolution--both which ,i have still2 and ,i still recollect1 when ,i see the covers1 the pleasure with which ,i clipped into them as ,i returned with my double prize4 ,i was set up for one while4 ,that time is past with all its giddy raptures3 but ,i am still anxious to preserve its memory1 embalmed with odours4--,with respect to the first of these works1 ,i would be permitted to remark here in passing1 that it is a sufficient answer to the ,german criticism which has since been started against the character of ,satan 7viz4 that it is not one of disgusting deformity1 or pure1 defecated malice7 to say that ,milton has there drawn1 not the abstract principle of evil1 not a devil incarnate1 but a fallen angel4 ,this is the ,scriptural account1 and the poet has followed it4 ,we may safely retain such passages as that well-known one-- ----,his form had not yet lost ,all her original brightness2 nor appear'd ,less than archangel ruin'd2 and the excess ,of glory obscur'd-- for the theory1 which is opposed to them1 falls flat upon the grunsel edge1 and shames its worshippers4 ,let us hear no more then of this monkish cant1 and bigotted outcry for the restoration of the horns and tail of the devil6--,again1 as to the other work1 ,burke's ,reflections1 ,i took a particular pride and pleasure in it1 and read it to myself and others for months afterwards4 ,i had reason for my prejudice in favour of this author4 ,to understand an adversary is some praise3 to admire him is more4 ,i thought ,i did both3 ,i knew ,i did one4 ,from the first time ,i ever cast my eyes on anything of ,burke's 7which was an extract from his ,letter to a ,noble ,lord in a three-times a week paper1 ,the ,st4 ,james's ,chronicle1 in #agif71 ,i said to myself1 ,this is true eloquence3 this is a man pouring out his mind on paper4 ,all other style seemed to me pedantic and impertinent4 ,dr4 ,johnson's was walking on stilts2 and even ,junius's 7who was at that time a favourite with me7 with all his terseness1 shrunk up into little antithetic points and well-trimmed sentences4 ,but ,burke's style was forked and playful as the lightning1 crested like the serpent4 ,he delivered plain things on a plain ground2 but when he rose1 there was no end of his flights and circumgyrations--and in this very ,letter1 he1 like an eagle in a dove-cot1 fluttered his ,volscians1 7the ,duke of ,bedford and the ,earl of ,lauderdale#aea7 in ,corioli4 ,i did not care for his doctrines4 ,i was then1 and am still1 proof against their contagion2 but ,i admired the author1 and was considered as not a very staunch partisan of the opposite side1 though ,i thought myself that an abstract proposition was one thing--a masterly transition1 a brilliant metaphor1 another4 ,i conceived1 too1 that he might be wrong in his main argument1 and yet deliver fifty truths in arriving at a false conclusion4 ,i remember ,coleridge assuring me1 as a poetical and political set-off to my sceptical admiration1 that ,wordsworth had written an ,essay on ,marriage1 which1 for manly thought and nervous expression1 he deemed incomparably superior4 ,as ,i had not1 at that time1 seen any specimens of ,mr4 ,wordsworth's prose style1 ,i could not express my doubts on the subject4 ,if there are greater prose-writers than ,burke1 they either lie out of my course of study1 or are beyond my sphere of comprehension4 ,i am too old to be a convert to a new mythology of genius4 ,the niches are occupied1 the tables are full4 ,if such is still my admiration of this man's misapplied powers1 what must it have been at a time when ,i myself was in vain trying1 year after year1 to write a single ,essay1 nay1 a single page or sentence2 when ,i regarded the wonders of his pen with the longing eyes of one who was dumb and a changeling2 and when1 to be able to convey the slightest conception of my meaning to others in words1 was the height of an almost hopeless ambition6 ,but ,i never measured others' excellences by my own defects3 though a sense of my own incapacity1 and of the steep1 impassable ascent from me to them1 made me regard them with greater awe and fondness4 ,i have thus run through most of my early studies and favourite authors1 some of whom ,i have since criticised more at large4 ,whether those observations will survive me1 ,i neither know nor do ,i much care3 but to the works themselves1 worthy of all acceptation1 and to the feelings they have always excited in me since ,i could distinguish a meaning in language1 nothing shall ever prevent me from looking back with gratitude and triumph4 ,to have lived in the cultivation of an intimacy with such works1 and to have familiarly relished such names1 is not to have lived quite in vain4 ,there are other authors whom ,i have never read1 and yet whom ,i have frequently had a great desire to read1 from some circumstance relating to them4 ,among these is ,lord ,clarendon's ,history of the ,grand ,rebellion1 after which ,i have a hankering1 from hearing it spoken of by good judges--from my interest in the events1 and knowledge of the characters from other sources1 and from having seen fine portraits of most of them4 ,i like to read a well-penned character1 and ,clarendon is said to have been a master in this way4 ,i should like to read ,froissart's ,chronicles1 ,hollinshed and ,stowe1 and ,fuller's ,worthies4 ,i intend1 whenever ,i can1 to read ,beaumont and ,fletcher all through4 ,there are fifty-two of their plays1 and ,i have only read a dozen or fourteen of them4 ,a ,wife for a ,month1 and ,thierry and ,theodoret1 are1 ,i am told1 delicious1 and ,i can believe it4 ,i should like to read the speeches in ,thucydides1 and ,guicciardini's ,history of ,florence1 and ,don ,quixote in the original4 ,i have often thought of reading the ,loves of ,persiles and ,sigismunda1 and the ,galatea of the same author4 ,but ,i somehow reserve them like another ,yarrow4 ,i should also like to read the last new novel 7if ,i could be sure it was so7 of the author of ,waverley3--no one would be more glad than ,i to find it the best6-- ,,footnotes3 #a ,dramatic ,essays1 ,,viii1 #dae4 #b ,on ,living to ,one's ,self1 in ,table ,talk4 #c ,on ,reading ,old ,books1 pp4 #cdd-de4 #d ,on ,criticism1 in ,table ,talk4 #e ,life of ,holcroft1 ,works1 ,,ii1 #aga1 n4 #f ,on the ,pleasure of ,painting1 in ,table ,talk4 #g ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt3 ,lamb and ,hazlitt 7#aijj71 p4 #dd4 ,the letter in which these phrases are to be found is dated #agic by ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt1 but the present writer has given a detailed statement of his reasons for believing that it was written in #ahjc4 ,see ,nation1 ,october #ai1 #aiaa4 #h ,,xi1 #bf4 #i ,table ,talk1 ,on the ,indian ,jugglers4 #aj ,round ,table4 #aa ,on ,respectable ,people1 in ,plain ,speaker4 #ab ,on ,paradox and ,commonplace1 in ,table ,talk4 #ac ,hazlitt's ,table ,talk was included by ,stevenson in a youthful ,catalogus ,librorum ,carissimorum4 ,it is interesting that at the same time that ,carlyle was composing ,sartor ,resartus1 ,hazlitt should have penned this bit of savage satire4 ,it has been often made a subject of dispute1 ,what is the distinguishing characteristic of man8 ,and the answer may1 perhaps1 be given that he is the only animal that dresses4444 ,swift has taken a good bird's-eye view of man's nature1 by abstracting the habitual notions of size1 and looking at it in great or in little3 would that some one had the boldness and the art to do a similar service1 by stripping off the coat from his back1 the vizor from his thoughts1 or by dressing up some other creature in similar mummery6 ,it is not his body alone that he tampers with1 and metamorphoses so successfully2 he tricks out his mind and soul in borrowed finery1 and in the admired costume of gravity and imposture4 ,if he has a desire to commit a base or a cruel action without remorse and with the applause of the spectators1 he has only to throw the cloak of religion over it1 and invoke ,heaven to set its seal on a massacre or a robbery4 ,at one time dirt1 at another indecency1 at another rapine1 at a fourth rancorous malignity1 is decked out and accredited in the garb of sanctity4 ,the instant there is a flaw1 a 'damned spot' to be concealed1 it is glossed over with a doubtful name4 ,again1 we dress up our enemies in nicknames1 and they march to the stake as assuredly as in san ,benitos4444 ,strange1 that a reptile should wish to be thought an angel2 or that he should not be content to writhe and grovel in his native earth1 without aspiring to the skies6 ,it is from the love of dress and finery4 ,he is the ,chimney-sweeper on ,may-day all the year round3 the soot peeps through the rags and tinsel1 and all the flowers of sentiment6 ,aphorisms on ,man1 ,,lxiv4 ,works1 ,,xii1 #bbg4 #ad ,round ,table1 ,on ,pedantry4 #ae ,knowledge of the ,world1 ,,xii1 #cjg4 #af ,on ,prejudice1 ,,xii1 #cif4 #ag ,table ,talk1 ,on the ,past and ,future4 #ah ,table ,talk1 ,why ,distant ,objects ,please4 #ai ,love of ,power1 ,,xi1 #bfh4 #bj ,life of ,napoleon1 chap4 #cd4 #ba ,what is the ,people8 in ,political ,essays1 ,,iii1 #bib4 #bb ,he tells of an experience in crossing the ,alps which he intends should be symbolic of his whole life4 ,from a great distance he thought he perceived ,mont ,blanc1 but as the driver insisted that it was only a cloud1 ,i supposed that ,i had taken a sudden fancy for a reality4 ,i began in secret to take myself to task1 and to lecture myself for my proneness to build theories on the foundation of my conjectures and wishes4 ,on turning round occasionally1 however1 ,i observed that this cloud remained in the same place1 and ,i noticed the circumstance to our guide1 as favoring my first suggestion2 for clouds do not usually remain long in the same place4 ,we disputed the point for half a day1 and it was not till the afternoon when we had reached the other side of the lake of ,neufchatel1 that this same cloud rising like a canopy over the point where it had hovered1 'in shape and station proudly eminent1' he acknowledged it to be ,mont ,blanc4 ,notes of a ,journey ,through ,france and ,italy4 ,works1 ,,ix1 #bif4 #bc ,andrew ,lang's ,life of ,lockhart1 ,i1 #fc4 #abh-acj4 #bd ,john ,scott1 the editor of the ,london ,magazine1 was killed in a duel arising from his retaliatory attacks on ,lockhart and the ,blackwood ,school of ,criticism4 ,see ,london ,magazine1 ,,ii1 #eji1 #fff2 ,,iii1 #gf1 and ,statement prefatory to number for ,february1 #ahba4 #be ,april1 #ahag4 #bf ,january1 #ahah4 #bg ,i have been reading ,frederick ,schlegel4444 ,he is like ,hazlitt1 in ,english1 who talks pimples--a red and white corruption rising up 7in little imitations of mountains upon maps71 but containing nothing1 and discharging nothing1 except their own humours4 ,byron's ,letters1 ,jan4 #bh1 #ahba 7ed4 ,prothero1 ,v1 #aia74 #bh ,charles and ,mary ,cowden ,clarke's ,recollections of ,writers1 #adg4 #bi ,joseph ,cottle3 ,reminiscences of ,samuel ,taylor ,coleridge1 #dfe4 #cj ,haydon's ,correspondence and ,table ,talk1 ,,ii1 #cb4 #ca ,plain ,speaker4 #cb ,characteristics1 ,,cccvii4 #cc ,characteristics1 in ,carlyle's ,critical and ,miscellaneous ,essays 7,chapman and ,hall1 #ahih71 ,,iii1 #cb4 #cd ,letter of ,elia to ,robert ,southey1 ,lamb's ,works1 ed4 ,lucas1 ,i1 #bcc4 #ce ,on ,criticism1 in ,table ,talk4 #cf ,life of ,pope1 ,johnson's ,lives1 ed4 ,birkbeck ,hill1 ,,iv1 #bdh4 #cg ,boswell's ,johnson1 ed4 ,birkbeck ,hill1 ,,ii1 #hi4 #ch ,essay on the ,genius and ,writings of ,pope1 ,i1 #agj4 #ci ,see an essay by ,john ,foster on ,poetical ,criticism1 in ,critical ,essays1 ed4 ,bohn1 ,i1 #add4 #dj ,gibbon's ,journal1 ,october #c1 #agfb4 ,miscellaneous ,works1 ed4 #ahad1 ,v1 #bfc4 #da ,review of ,mrs4 ,hemans's ,poems1 ,edinburgh ,review1 ,october1 #ahbi4 ,jeffrey's ,works1 ,,iii1 #bif4 #db ,blackwood's ,magazine1 ,,ii1 #fgj-gi4 #dc ,i1 #bha 7,march1 #ahbj74 #dd ,spirit of the ,age1 ,william ,godwin4 #de ,works1 ed4 ,shedd1 ,,iv1 #ce4 #df ,mr4 ,saintsbury has applied this phrase to ,hazlitt himself1 but we prefer to transfer the honor4 #dg ,savoir bien lire un livre en le jugeant chemin faisant1 et sans cesser de le goter1 c'est presque tout l'art du critique4 ,chateaubriand et son ,groupe ,littraire1 ,i1 #bcd4 #dh ,portraits ,contemporains1 ,sonnet d',hazlitt1 ,,ii1 #eae4 #di ,age of ,elizabeth1 ,on ,miscellaneous ,poems1 ,v1 #cja4 #ej ,thoughts on ,taste1 ,,xi1 #dfj4 #ea ,conversations of ,northcote1 ,,vi1 #deg4 #eb ,cf4 ,herford3 ,age of ,wordsworth1 p4 #ea4 #ec ,on the ,conduct of ,life1 ,,xii1 #dbg4 #ed ,patmore3 ,my ,friends and ,acquaintances1 ,,iii1 #abb4 #ee ,on the ,conduct of ,life1 ,,xii1 #dbh4 ,see also the paper ,on the ,study of the ,classics1 in the ,round ,table4 #ef ,see a note to p4 #cbi4 #eg ,see ,wordsworth's sonnet1 ,great men have been among us4 #eh ,on ,criticism1 in ,table ,talk4 #ei ,he is the most illuminating and the most thoughtful of all ,rousseau's early ,english critics4444 ,his essay ',on the ,character of ,rousseau' was not surpassed1 or approached1 as a study of the great writer until the appearance of ,lord ,morley's monograph nearly sixty years afterwards4 ,e4 ,gosse3 ,fortnightly ,review1 ,july1 #aiab1 p4 #cj4 #fj ,in the review of ,schlegel's ,lectures on the ,drama1 ,works1 ,x1 #gh4 #fa ,see the paper on ,john ,buncle1 in the ,round ,table4 #fb ,correspondence of ,macvey ,napier1 p4 #ba4 #fc ,on the ,pleasure of ,painting1 in ,table ,talk4 #fd ,dramatic ,essays1 ,,viii1 #dae4 #fe ,on ,shakespeare and ,milton1 p4 #dd4 #ff ,the ,periodical ,press1 ,x1 #bjc4 #fg ,on ,criticism1 in ,table ,talk4 #fh ,cf4 ,on ,reading ,old ,books1 pp4 #cch-i1 where this charge is curiously echoed by ,hazlitt himself4 #fi ,ibid41 p4 #ccg4 #gj ,ibid41 p4 #cdj4 #ga ,on ,shakespeare and ,milton1 p4 #aji4 #gb ,the ,english ,novelists1 ,,viii1 #aji4 #gc ,thoughts on ,taste1 ,,xi1 #dfc4 #gd ,on ,criticism1 in ,table ,talk4 #ge ,ibid4 #gf ,characters of ,shakespeare1 ,lear4 #gg ,on ,poetry in ,general1 p4 #beh4 #gh ,on ,poetry in ,general1 p4 #bff4 #gi ,hazlitt defends himself on the ground that the word has these three distinct meanings in the ,english language1 that is1 it signifies the composition produced1 the state of mind or faculty producing it1 and1 in certain cases1 the subject-matter proper to call forth that state of mind4 ,letter to ,gifford1 ,i1 #cif4 #hj ,on ,poetry in ,general1 pp4 #bfh-i4 #ha ,ibid41 p4 #bfh4 #hb ,those interested in the perennial discussion of the relation of poetry to verse or metre would do well to read the recent interesting contribution to the subject by ,professor ,mackail in his ,lectures on ,poetry 7,longmans1 #aiab74 #hc ,on the ,causes of ,popular ,opinion1 ,,xii1 #cbj4 #hd ,coleridge3 ,table ,talk1 ,aug4 #f1 #ahcb4 #he ,edinburgh ,review1 ,feb41 #ahaf4 ,the nature of ,hazlitt's debt to ,coleridge1 ,lamb and ,schlegel is to some extent illustrated in the notes to the present text4 #hf ,whether ,genius is ,conscious of its ,powers1 in ,plain ,speaker4 #hg ,moore's ,letters and ,journals1 ,may #ba1 #ahba1 ,,iii1 #bce4 #hh ,shakespeare's ,mdchen und ,frauen4 #hi ,review of ,schlegel's ,lectures1 ,works1 ,x1 ,,iii4 #ij ,poetry1 ,,xii1 #cci4 #ia ,characters of ,shakespeare's ,plays1 ,antony and ,cleopatra4 #ib ,lowell3 ,old ,english ,dramatists4 #ic ,lecture on the ,age of ,elizabeth1 ,on ,beaumont and ,fletcher1 ,v1 #bfi4 #id ,conversation of ,northcote1 ,,vi1 #cic4 #ie ,essays in ,english ,literature1 ,second ,series4 #aei-afa4 #if ,there seems to be no reason for doubting ,hazlitt's authorship of the article in the ,examiner4 ,see ,works1 ,,xi1 #ehj4 #ig ,william ,gifford1 in ,spirit of the ,age4 #ih ,select ,british ,poets4 ,see ,works1 ,v1 #cgh4 #ii ,shelley's ,posthumous ,poems1 ,works1 ,x1 #bef ff4 #ajj ,hazlitt's syntax is often abbreviated1 elliptical1 and unregardful of book rules4 ,constructions like the following are not uncommon in his prose3 ,as a novelist1 his ,vicar of ,wakefield has charmed all ,europe4444 ,as a comic writer1 his ,tony ,lumpkin draws forth new powers from ,mr4 ,liston's face4 ,lectures on the ,english ,poets1 ,on ,swift1 ,young1 etc41 ,v1 #aai1 #abj4 #aja ,spirit of the ,age1 ,william ,cobbett4 #ajb ,see pp4 #baj-bac4 #ajc ,on the ,living ,poets1 in ,lectures on the ,english ,poets1 ,v1 #afg4 #ajd ,this is the form of the passage as published in the ,literary ,remains 7#ahcf74 ,that ,hazlitt did not attain effects like this offhand1 is evident from the comparative feebleness of the original sound of the passage in the ,monthly ,magazine3 ,that we should thus in a manner outlive ourselves1 and dwindle imperceptibly into nothing1 is not surprising1 when even in our prime the strongest impressions leave so little traces of themselves behind1 and the last object is driven out by the succeeding one4 ,on the ,feeling of ,immortality in ,youth1 ,works1 ,,xii1 #afj4 #aje ,this passage also shows alterations from the first form4 ,cf4 ,,xii1 #aeb4 #ajf ,lectures on the ,english ,poets4 ,on ,swift1 ,young1 etc41 ,v1 #ajd4 ,see also the paper in ,table ,talk on ,familiar ,style4 #ajg ,i grant thus much1 that it is in vain to seek for the word we want1 or endeavour to get at it second-hand1 or as a paraphrase on some other word--it must come of itself1 or arise out of an immediate impression or lively intuition of the subject2 that is1 the proper word must be suggested immediately by the thoughts1 but it need not be presented as soon as called for4444 ,proper expressions rise to the surface from the heat and fermentation of the mind1 like bubbles on an agitated stream4 ,it is this which produces a clear and sparkling style4 ,on ,application to ,study1 in ,plain ,speaker4 #ajh ,spirit of the ,age4 ,mr4 ,cobbett4 #aji ,ibid41 ,william ,godwin4 #aaj ,on the ,living ,poets1 ,lectures on ,english ,poets1 ,v1 #add4 #aaa ,lectures on the ,comic ,writers1 ,on ,wycherley1 ,congreve1 etc41 ,,viii1 #gj4 #aab ,spirit of the ,age1 ,mr4 ,t4 ,moore1 ,,iv1 #cec4 #aac ,table ,talk1 ,on ,patronage and ,puffing4 #aad ,l'espce d'entrain qui accompagne et suit ces frquents articles improviss de verve et lancs toute vapeur4 ,on s'y met tout entier3 on s'en exagre la valeur dans le moment mme1 on en mesure l'importance au bruit1 et si cela mne mieux faire1 il n'y a pas grand mal aprs tout4 ,portraits ,contemporains1 ,,ii1 #eae4 #aae ',range and keenness of appreciation' do not by themselves give taste1 but merely romantic gusto or perceptiveness4 ,in order that gusto may be elevated to taste it needs to be disciplined and selective4 ,to this end it must come under the control of an entirely different order of intuitions1 of what ,i have called the 'back pull toward the centre4' ,the romantic one sidedness that is already so manifest in ,hazlitt's conception of taste has1 ,i maintain1 gone to seed in ,professor ,saintsbury4 ,irving ,babbitt1 in ,nation1 ,may #af1 #aiab4 #aaf ,t4 ,n4 ,talfourd3 ,edinburgh ,review1 ,nov41 #ahbj4 #aag ,my ,literary ,passions1 #abj4 #aah ,edinburgh ,review1 ,january1 #ahcg4 #aai ,thackeray's ,works1 ed4 ,trent and ,henneman1 ,,xxv1 #cej-ea4 #abj ,robertson3 ,essays ,toward a ,critical ,method1 #ha4 #aba ,saintsbury's ,history of ,criticism and ,john ,davidson's ,sentences and ,paragraphs1 #aac4 #abb ,in some ,roman ,catholic countries1 pictures in part supplied the place of the translations of the ,bible3 and this dumb art arose in the silence of the written oracles4 #abc ,see ,a ,voyage to the ,straits of ,magellan1 #aeid4 #abd ,taken from ,tasso4 #abe ,this word is an instance of those unwarrantable freedoms which ,spenser sometimes took with language4 #abf ,that all with one consent praise new-born gauds1 ,tho' they are made and moulded of things past1 ,and give to ,dust1 that is a little gilt1 ,more laud than gold o'er-dusted4 ,troilus and ,cressida4 #abg ,in the account of her death1 a friend has pointed out an instance of the poet's exact observation of nature3-- ,there is a willow growing o'er a brook1 ,that shews its hoary leaves i' th' glassy stream4 ,the inside of the leaves of the willow1 next the water1 is of a whitish colour1 and the reflection would therefore be hoary4 #abh ,why ,pope should say in reference to him1 ,or more wise ,charron1 is not easy to determine4 #abi ,as an instance of his general power of reasoning1 ,i shall give his chapter entitled ,one ,man's ,profit is ,another's ,loss1 in which he has nearly anticipated ,mandeville's celebrated paradox of private vices being public benefits3-- ,demades1 the ,athenian1 condemned a fellow-citizen1 who furnished out funerals1 for demanding too great a price for his goods3 and if he got an estate1 it must be by the death of a great many people3 but ,i think it a sentence ill grounded1 forasmuch as no profit can be made1 but at the expense of some other person1 and that every kind of gain is by that rule liable to be condemned4 ,the tradesman thrives by the debauchery of youth1 and the farmer by the dearness of corn2 the architect by the ruin of buildings1 the officers of justice by quarrels and law-suits2 nay1 even the honour and functions of divines is owing to our mortality and vices4 ,no physician takes pleasure in the health even of his best friends1 said the ancient ,greek comedian1 nor soldier in the peace of his country2 and so of the rest4 ,and1 what is yet worse1 let every one but examine his own heart1 and he will find1 that his private wishes spring and grow up at the expense of some other person4 ,upon which consideration this thought came into my head1 that nature does not hereby deviate from her general policy2 for the naturalists hold1 that the birth1 nourishment1 and increase of any one thing1 is the decay and corruption of another3 ,nam quodcunque suis mutatum finibus exit1 ,continuo hoc mors est illius1 quod fuit ante4 i4e4 ,for what from its own confines chang'd doth pass1 ,is straight the death of what before it was4 ,vol4 ,i1 ,chap4 ,,xxi4 #acj ,no4 #abe4 #aca ,the antithetical style and verbal paradoxes which ,burke was so fond of1 in which the epithet is a seeming contradiction to the substantive1 such as proud submission and dignified obedience1 are1 ,i think1 first to be found in the ,tatler4 #acb ,it is not to be forgotten that the author of ,robinson ,crusoe was also an ,englishman4 ,his other works1 such as the ,life of ,colonel ,jack1 c41 are of the same cast1 and leave an impression on the mind more like that of things than words4 #acc ,this character was written in a fit of extravagant candour1 at a time when ,i thought ,i could do justice1 or more than justice1 to an enemy1 without betraying a cause4 #acd ,for instance3 he produced less effect on the mob that compose the ,english ,house of ,commons than ,chatham or ,fox1 or even ,pitt4 #ace ,as in the comparison of the ,british ,constitution to the proud keep of ,windsor1 etc41 the most splendid passage in his works4 #acf ,mr4 ,coleridge named his eldest son 7the writer of some beautiful sonnets7 after ,hartley1 and the second after ,berkeley4 ,the third was called ,derwent1 after the river of that name4 ,nothing can be more characteristic of his mind than this circumstance4 ,all his ideas indeed are like a river1 flowing on for ever1 and still murmuring as it flows1 discharging its waters and still replenished-- ,and so by many winding nooks it strays1 ,with willing sport to the wild ocean6 #acg ,the description of the sports in the forest3 ,to see the sun to bed and to arise1 ,like some hot amourist with glowing eyes1 etc4 #ach ,perhaps the finest scene in all these novels1 is that where the ,dominie meets his pupil1 ,miss ,lucy1 the morning after her brother's arrival4 #aci ,this essay was written just before ,lord ,byron's death4 #adj ,don ,juan was my ,moscow1 and ,faliero ,my ,leipsic1 and my ,mont ,st4 ,jean seems ,cain4 ,don ,juan1 ,canto ,,xi4 #ada ,this censure applies to the first cantos of ,,don ,,juan much more than to the last4 ,it has been called a ,,tristram ,,shandy in rhyme3 it is rather a poem written about itself4 #adb ,burke's writings are not poetry1 notwithstanding the vividness of the fancy1 because the subject matter is abstruse and dry1 not natural1 but artificial4 ,the difference between poetry and eloquence is1 that the one is the eloquence of the imagination1 and the other of the understanding4 ,eloquence tries to persuade the will1 and convince the reason3 poetry produces its effects by instantaneous sympathy4 ,nothing is a subject for poetry that admits of a dispute4 ,poets are in general bad prose-writers1 because their images1 though fine in themselves1 are not to the purpose1 and do not carry on the argument4 ,the ,french poetry wants the forms of the imagination4 ,it is didactic more than dramatic4 ,and some of our own poetry1 which has been most admired1 is only poetry in the rhyme1 and in the studied use of poetic diction4 #adc ,my father was one of those who mistook his talent after all4 ,he used to be very much dissatisfied that ,i preferred his ,letters to his ,sermons4 ,the last were forced and dry2 the first came naturally from him4 ,for ease1 half-plays on words1 and a supine1 monkish1 indolent pleasantry1 ,i have never seen them equalled4 #add ,he complained in particular of the presumption of his attempting to establish the future immortality of man1 without 7as he said7 knowing what ,death was or what ,life was--and the tone in which he pronounced these two words seemed to convey a complete image of both4 #ade ,he had no idea of pictures1 of ,claude or ,raphael1 and at this time ,i had as little as he4 ,he sometimes gives a striking account at present of the cartoons at ,pisa1 by ,buffamalco and others2 of one in particular1 where ,death is seen in the air brandishing his scythe1 and the great and mighty of the earth shudder at his approach1 while the beggars and the wretched kneel to him as their deliverer4 ,he would of course understand so broad and fine a moral as this at any time4 #adf ,see ,newgate ,calendar for #ageh4 #adg ,b---- at this time occupied chambers in ,mitre-court1 ,fleet-street4 #adh ,lord ,bacon is not included in this list1 nor do ,i know where he should come in4 ,it is not easy to make room for him and his reputation together4 ,this great and celebrated man in some of his works recommends it to pour a bottle of claret into the ground of a morning1 and to stand over it1 inhaling the perfumes4 ,so he sometimes enriched the dry and barren soil of speculation with the fine aromatic spirit of his genius4 ,his ,essays and his ,advancement of ,learning are works of vast depth and scope of observation4 ,the last1 though it contains no positive discoveries1 is a noble chart of the human intellect1 and a guide to all future inquirers4 #adi ,nearly the same sentiment was wittily and happily expressed by a friend1 who had some lottery puffs1 which he had been employed to write1 returned on his hands for their too great severity of thought and classical terseness of style1 and who observed on that occasion1 that ,modest merit never can succeed6 #aej ,during the peace of ,amiens1 a young ,english officer1 of the name of ,lovelace1 was presented at ,buonaparte's levee4 ,instead of the usual question1 ,where have you served1 ,sir8 the ,first ,consul immediately addressed him1 ,i perceive your name1 ,sir1 is the same as that of the hero of ,richardson's ,romance6 ,here was a ,consul4 ,the young man's uncle1 who was called ,lovelace1 told me this anecdote while we were stopping together at ,calais4 ,i had also been thinking that his was the same name as that of the hero of ,richardson's ,romance4 ,this is one of my reasons for liking ,buonaparte4 #aea ,he is there called ,citizen ,lauderdale4 ,is this the present earl8 ,,notes ,the annotations have not necessarily been introduced at the first occurrence of any name1 and no cross-references have been supplied in the notes to names which occur in the text more than once4 ,such information as the notes supply can be found with the help of the index4--,references1 where no other indication is given1 will be understood to be to the work under discussion4 ,the ,shakespeare references are to the one-volume ,globe edition4 ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,elizabeth ,this lecture forms the introduction to the series on the ,literature of the ,age of ,elizabeth4 ,hazlitt might have derived hints for it from ,schlegel1 who speaks of the zeal for the study of the ancients1 the extensive communication with other lands1 the interest in the literature of ,italy and ,spain1 the progress in experimental philosophy represented by ,bacon1 and contrasts the achievements of that age1 in a vein which must have captured ,hazlitt's sympathy1 with the pretensions of modern enlightenment1 as it is called1 which looks with such contempt on all preceding ages4 ,the ,elizabethans1 he goes on to say1 possessed a fullness of healthy vigour1 which showed itself always with boldness1 and sometimes also with petulance4 ,the spirit of chivalry was not yet wholly extinct1 and a queen1 who was far more jealous in exacting homage to her sex than to her throne1 and who1 with her determination1 wisdom1 and magnanimity1 was in fact1 well qualified to inspire the minds of her subjects with an ardent enthusiasm1 inflamed that spirit to the noblest love of glory and renown4 ,the feudal independence also still survived in some measure2 the nobility vied with each other in the splendour of dress and number of retinue1 and every great lord had a sort of small court of his own4 ,the distinction of ranks was as yet strongly marked3 a state of things ardently to be desired by the dramatic poet4 ,lectures on ,dramatic ,literature1 ed4 ,bohn1 p4 #cdi4 ,p4 #a4 ,raleigh1 ,sir ,walter 7#aeeb-afah71 the celebrated courtier1 explorer1 and man of letters4 ,drake1 ,sir ,francis 7#aede-aeie71 the famous sailor1 hero of the ,armada4 ,coke1 ,sir ,edward 7#aeeb-afcd71 the great jurist1 whose ,institutes1 better known as ,coke upon ,littleton1 became a famous legal text-book4 ,hooker1 ,richard 7#aeec-afjj71 theologian1 author of the ,laws of ,ecclesiastical ,polity 7#aeic71 a defense of the ,anglican ,church against the ,puritans and notable also as a masterpiece of ,english prose4 ,p4 #b4 mere oblivion4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ii1 #g1 #afe4 poor1 poor dumb names mouths4 ,julius ,csar1 iii1 #b1 #bbi4 ,marston1 ,john 7#aege-afcd74 ,in the third lecture on the ,age of ,elizabeth1 ,hazlitt calls him a writer of great merit1 who rose to tragedy from the ground of comedy1 and whose forte was not sympathy1 either with the stronger or softer emotions1 but an impatient scorn and bitter indignation against the vices and follies of men1 which vented itself either in comic irony or in lofty invective4 ,he was properly a satirist4 ,he was not a favourite with his contemporaries1 nor they with him4 ,works1 ,v1 #bbd4 ,his chief tragedy is ,antonio and ,mellida4 ,middleton1 ,thomas 7#aegj8-afbg71 and ,rowley1 ,william 7#aehe8-afdb874 ,in the second lecture on the ,age of ,elizabeth1 ,hazlitt associates these two names4 ,rowley appears to have excelled in describing a certain amiable quietness of disposition and disinterested tone of morality1 carried almost to a paradoxical excess1 as in his ,fair ,quarrel1 and in the comedy of ,a ,woman ,never ,vexed1 which is written1 in many parts1 with a pleasing simplicity and navet equal to the novelty of the conception4 ,middleton's style was not marked by any peculiar quality of his own1 but was made up1 in equal proportions1 of the faults and excellences common to his contemporaries4444 ,he is lamentably deficient in the plot and denouement of the story4 ,it is like the rough draft of a tragedy with a number of fine things thrown in1 and the best made use of first2 but it tends to no fixed goal1 and the interest decreases1 instead of increasing1 as we read on1 for want of previous arrangement and an eye to the whole4444 ,the author's power is in the subject1 not over it2 or he is in possession of excellent materials which he husbands very ill4 ,works1 ,v1 #bad-e4 ,for characters of other dramatists see notes to p4 #cbf4 ,how lov'd4 ,pope's ,elegy to the ,memory of an ,unfortunate ,lady4 ,p4 #c4 draw the curtain of time4 ,cf4 we will draw the curtain and show you the picture4 ,twelfth ,night1 i1 #e1 #bea4 within reasonable bounds4 ,at this point ,hazlitt digresses to reprove the age for its affectation of superiority over other ages and the passage1 not being relevant1 has been omitted4 less than smallest dwarfs4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i1 #ggi4 desiring this man's art4 ,shakespeare's ,sonnets1 ,,xxix4 in shape and gesture4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i1 #eij4 ,mr4 ,wordsworth says4 ,see ,sonnet entitled ,london1 #ahjb4 ,p4 #d4 drew after him4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii1 #fib4 ,otway1 ,thomas 7#afeb-afhe71 author of ,venice ,preserved1 the most popular post-,shakespearian tragedy of the ,english stage4 ,hazlitt notes in this play a power of rivetting breathless attention1 and stirring the deepest yearnings of affection4444 ,the awful suspense of the situations1 the conflict of duties and passions1 the intimate bonds that unite the characters together1 and that are violently rent asunder like the parting of soul and body1 the solemn march of the tragical events to the fatal catastrophe that winds up and closes over all1 give to this production of ,otway's ,muse a charm and power that bind it like a spell on the public mind1 and have made it a proud and inseparable adjunct of the ,english stage4 ,works1 ,v1 #ced-e4 ,jonson's learned sock4 ,milton's ,l',allegro4 ,p4 #f4 ,the translation of the ,bible4 ,the first important #afth century translation of the ,bible is ,william ,tyndale's version of the ,new ,testament 7#aebe7 and of the ,pentateuch 7#aecj74 ,the complete translations are those of ,miles ,coverdale 7#aece71 the ,great ,bible 7#aeci71 the ,geneva or ,breeches ,bible 7#aeeg71 the ,bishop's ,bible 7#aefh71 and the ,rheims-,douay ,bible--the ,new ,testament 7#aehb7 and the ,old ,testament 7#afji-afaj74 ,finally came the ,authorized ,version in #afaa4 ,p4 #h4 penetrable stuff4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #d1 #cf4 his washing1 etc4 ,st4 ,john1 xiii4 above all art1 etc4 ,cf4 ,pope's ,epistle to the ,earl of ,oxford3 ,above all ,pain1 all ,passion1 and all ,pride4 ,my peace4 ,st4 ,john1 xiv1 #bg4 they should love4 ,ibid41 xv1 #ab4 ,woman1 behold4 ,ibid41 xix1 #bf4 his treatment of the woman4 ,ibid41 viii1 #a-ab4 the woman who poured precious ointment4 ,st4 ,matthew1 xxvi1 #f-ac2 ,st4 ,mark1 xiv1 #c-i4 his discourse with the disciples4 ,st4 ,luke1 xxiv1 #ac-ca4 his ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,st4 ,matthew1 v-vii4 parable of the ,good ,samaritan and of the ,prodigal ,son4 ,st4 ,luke1 x1 #be-cg2 xv1 #aa-cb4 ,p4 #i4 ,who is our neighbour4 ,ibid41 x1 #bi4 to the ,jews1 etc4 ,i ,corinthians1 i1 #bc4 ,p4 #aj4 ,soft as sinews4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #c4 #ga4 ,the best of men4 ,dekker1 ,the ,honest ,whore1 ,part ,i1 v1 #b1 sub fin4 ,p4 #aa4 ,tasso by ,fairfax4 ,torquato ,tasso 7#aedd-aeie71 an ,italian poet whose great epic1 the ,gerusalemme ,liberata1 was finished in #aegd4 ,the ,english translation by ,edward ,fairfax was published in #afjj as ,godfrey of ,bulloigne1 or the ,recoverie of ,jerusalem4 ,ariosto by ,harrington4 ,lodovico ,ariosto 7#adgd-aecc71 whose romantic epic1 ,orlando ,furioso1 was first published in #aeaf1 and translated by ,sir ,john ,harrington in #aeia4 ,homer and ,hesiod by ,chapman4 ,george ,chapman 7#aeei8-afcd71 poet and dramatist1 published a complete translation of the ,iliad in #afaa1 of the ,odyssey in #afad1 of ,homer's ,battle of ,frogs and ,mice in #afbd1 and of ,the ,georgicks of ,hesiod in #afah4 ,virgil4 ,a complete ,english translation of the neid was made by ,gavin ,douglas1 a ,scottish poet 7#adgd8-aebb71 and first printed in ,london in #aeec4 ,there was a translation of the second and fourth books into blank verse by the ,earl of ,surrey1 published in #aeeg1 but the one most in use was by ,thomas ,phaer 7#aeaj8-aefj71 which appeared incompletely in #aeeh and #aefb and was completed by ,thomas ,twyne in #aehc4 ,ovid4 ,there were a number of translators of ,ovid during this period1 chief of whom was ,arthur ,golding1 whose version of the ,metamorphoses appeared in #aefe and #aefg4 ,the ,heroides were translated by ,george ,turberville in #aefg4 ,sir ,thomas ,north's translation of ,plutarch4 ,the chief work of ,plutarch1 a ,greek writer of the first century1 is the ,parallel ,lives1 which was translated into ,french by ,jacques ,amyot in #aeei4 ,sir ,thomas ,north's translation of ,amyot's version in #aegi was the most popular and influential of all ,elizabethan translations4 ,p4 #ab4 ,boccaccio1 ,giovanni 7#acac-acge71 ,italian poet and novelist4 ,among the ,english his best known work is the ,decameron1 a collection of a hundred prose tales4 ,versions of some of these stories appeared in various ,elizabethan collections1 such as the ,tragical ,tales translated by ,george ,turberville in #aehg4 ,the first complete translation was published in #afbj and reprinted in the ,tudor ,translations in #aiji4 ,petrarch 7#acjd-acgd71 ,italian humanist and poet1 whose sonnets were widely imitated by ,french and ,italian poets during the ,renaissance4 ,dante 7#abfe-acba74 ,the author of the ,divine ,comedy was not very well known to ,elizabethan readers4 ,there was no ,english translation of his poem attempted till that of ,rogers in #aghb1 and no version worthy of the name was produced till ,h4 ,f4 ,cary's in #ahad4 ,aretine4 ,the name of ,pietro ,aretino 7#adib-aeef71 an ,italian satirist who called himself the scourge of princes1 was well known in ,england1 but there was no translation of his works4 ,machiavel4 ,nicolo ,machiavelli 7#adfh-aebg71 a ,florentine statesman1 whose name had an odious association because of the supposedly diabolical policy of government set forth in his ,prince4 ,but this work was not translated till #afdj4 ,his ,art of ,war had been rendered into ,english in #aefj and his ,florentine ,history in #aeie4 ,castiglione1 ,baldassare 7#adgh-aebi74 ,il ,cortegiano1 setting forth the idea of a gentleman1 was translated as ,the ,courtier by ,thomas ,hoby in #aefa and was very influential in ,english life4 ,ronsard1 ,pierre de 7#aebd-aehe71 the chief ,french lyric poet of the sixteenth century1 whose sonnets had considerable vogue in ,england4 ,du ,bartas1 ,guillaume de ,saluste 7#aedd-aeij71 author of ,la ,semaine1 ou la ,cration du ,monde 7#aegh71 ,la ,seconde ,semaine 7#aehd71 translated as the ,divine ,weeks and ,works 7#aeib ff47 by ,joshua ,sylvester4 ,p4 #ac4 ,fortunate fields4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii1 #efh4 ,prospero's ,enchanted ,island4 ,eden's ,history of ,travayle1 #aegg1 is now given as the probable source of ,setebos1 etc4 ,right well ,i wote4 ,farie ,queene1 ,,ii1 ,introduction1 #a-c4 ,p4 #ad4 ,lear is founded4 ,shakespeare's actual sources were probably ,geoffrey of ,monmouth's ,history of the ,kings of ,britain 7c4 #aacj7 and ,holinshed's ,chronicle4 ,othello on an ,italian novel1 from the ,hecatommithi of ,giraldi ,cinthio 7#aefe74 ,hamlet on a ,danish1 ,macbeth on a ,scottish tradition4 ,the story of ,hamlet is first found in ,saxo ,grammaticus1 a ,danish chronicler of the tenth century4 ,shakespeare probably drew it from the ,histoires ,tragiques of ,belleforest4 ,macbeth was based on ,holinshed's ,chronicle of ,scottish ,history4 ,p4 #ae4 those bodiless creations4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #d1 #ach4 ,your face4 ,macbeth1 i1 #e1 #fc4 ,tyrrell and ,forrest1 persons hired by ,richard ,,iii to murder the young princes in the ,tower4 ,see ,richard ,,iii1 iv1 #b-c4 thick and slab4 ,macbeth1 iv1 #a1 #cb4 snatched a wild and fearful joy4 ,gray's ,ode on a ,distant ,prospect of ,eton ,college4 ,p4 #af4 ,fletcher the poet4 ,john ,fletcher the dramatist died of the plague in #afbe4 ,the course of true love4 ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 i1 #a1 #cd4 ,the age of chivalry was not then quite gone4 ,cf4 ,burke3 ,reflections on the ,french ,revolution 7ed4 ,bohn1 ,,ii1 #cdh73 ,but the age of chivalry is gone4 ,that of sophisters1 economists1 and calculators1 has succeeded2 and the glory of ,europe is extinguished forever4 fell a martyr4 ,sir ,philip ,sidney 7#aeed-aehf71 poet1 soldier1 and statesman1 received his mortal wound in the thigh at the battle of ,zutphen because1 in emulation of ,sir ,william ,pelham1 he threw off his greaves before entering the fight4 the gentle ,surrey4 ,henry ,howard1 ,earl of ,surrey 7#aeah8-aedg71 was distinguished as an innovator in ,english poetry as well as for his knightly prowess4 who prized black eyes4 ,sessions of the ,poets1 verse #bj4 ,like strength reposing4 ',tis might half slumb'ring on its own right arm4 ,keats's ,sleep and ,poetry1 #bcg4 ,p4 #ag4 they heard the tumult4 ,i behold the tumult and am still4 ,cowper's ,task1 ,,iv1 #ii4 descriptions of hunting and other athletic games4 ,see ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 iv1 #a1 #ajg ff41 and ,two ,noble ,kinsmen1 iii4 ,an ingenious and agreeable writer4 ,nathan ,drake 7#agff-ahcf71 author of ,shakespeare and his ,times 7#ahag74 ,in describing the life of the country squire ,drake remarks3 ,the luxury of eating and of good cooking were well understood in the days of ,elizabeth1 and the table of the country-squire frequently groaned beneath the burden of its dishes2 at ,christmas and at ,easter especially1 the hall became the scene of great festivity4 ,chap4 ,v4 7ed4 #ahch1 p4 #cg74 ,return from ,parnassus4 ,hazlitt gives an account of this play in the ,literature of the ,age of ,elizabeth1 ,lecture ,v4 ,p4 #ah4 it snowed4 ,canterbury ,tales1 ,prologue1 #cde4 as ,mr4 ,lamb observes1 in a note to ,marston's ,what ,you ,will in the ,specimens of ,dramatic ,literature 7ed4 ,lucas1 #a1 #dd73 ,the blank uniformity to which all professional distinctions in apparel have been long hastening1 is one instance of the decay of ,symbols among us1 which1 whether it has contributed or not to make us a more intellectual1 has certainly made us a less imaginative people4 ,cf4 ,schlegel's remark in the first note4 in act4 ,othello1 i1 ,i1 #fb4 description of a mad-house4 ,honest ,whore1 ,part #a1 v4 #b4 ,a ,mad ,world1 ,my ,masters1 the title of a comedy by ,middleton4 ,p4 #ai4 ,music and painting are not our forte4 ,cf4 ,hazlitt's review of the ,life of ,reynolds 7,x1 #ahf-hg73 ,were our ancestors insensible to the charms of nature1 to the music of thought1 to deeds of virtue or heroic enterprise8 ,no4 ,but they saw them in their mind's eye3 they felt them at their heart's core1 and there only4 ,they did not translate their perceptions into the language of sense3 they did not embody them in visible images1 but in breathing words4 ,they were more taken up with what an object suggested to combine with the infinite stores of fancy or trains of feeling1 than with the single object itself2 more intent upon the moral inference1 the tendency and the result1 than the appearance of things1 however imposing or expressive1 at any given moment of time4444 ,we should say that the eye in warmer climates drinks in greater pleasure from external sights1 is more open and porous to them1 as the ear is to sounds2 that the sense of immediate delight is fixed deeper in the beauty of the object2 that the greater life and animation of character gives a greater spirit and intensity of expression to the face1 making finer subjects for history and portrait2 and that the circumstances in which a people are placed in a genial atmosphere1 are more favourable to the study of nature and of the human form4 like birdlime4 ,othello1 ii1 #a1 #abf4 ,p4 #bj4 ,materiam superabat opus4 ,ovid's ,metamorphoses1 ,,ii1 #e4 ,pan is a ,god4 ,lyly's ,midas1 iv1 #a4 ,,spenser ,this is the latter half of the lecture on ,chaucer and ,spenser from the ,english ,poets4 ,p4 #ba4 ,spenser flourished1 etc4 ,edmund ,spenser 7#aeeb8-aeii71 served as secretary to ,sir ,henry ,sidney in ,ireland in #aegg1 and went again in #aehj as secretary to ,lord ,grey of ,wilton1 the ,queen's new deputy to ,ireland4 ,he was driven out by a revolt of the ,irish in #aeih4 ,a ,view of the ,state of ,ireland1 written dialogue-wise between ,eudoxus and ,irenus 444 in #aeif was first printed in #afcc4 description of the bog of ,allan4 ,farie ,queene1 ,,ii1 ix1 #af4 ,treatment he received from ,burleigh4 ,hazlitt refers to this treatment specifically in the essay ,on ,respectable ,people 7,,xi1 #dce73 ,spenser1 kept waiting for the hundred pounds which ,burleigh grudged him 'for a song1' might feel the mortification of his situation2 but the statesman never felt any diminution of his sovereign's favour in consequence of it4 ,the facts1 as they are recorded in the ,dictionary of ,national ,biography1 are as follows3 ,the queen gave proof of her appreciation by bestowing a pension on the poet4 ,according to an anecdote1 partly reported by ,manningham1 the diarist 7,diary1 p4 #dc71 and told at length by ,fuller1 ,lord ,burghley1 in his capacity of treasurer1 protested against the largeness of the sum which the queen suggested1 and was directed by her to give the poet what was reasonable4 ,he received the formal grant of #ej a year in ,february #aeij-a4 ,cf4 ,spenser's lines in ,mother ,hubbard's ,tale1 #hie ff4 ,though much later than ,chaucer4 ,the rest of this paragraph and most of the points elaborated in this lecture appeared in ,hazlitt's review of ,sismondi's ,literature of the ,south in #ahae 7,x1 #gc ff474 ,spenser's poetry is all fairyland4 ,in a lecture delivered in ,february1 #ahah1 three years after ,hazlitt's remarks had appeared in the ,edinburgh ,review1 ,coleridge spoke as follows3 ,you will take especial note of the marvellous independence and true imaginative absence of all particular space or time in the ,faery ,queene4 ,it is in the domains neither of history or geography2 it is ignorant of all artificial boundary1 all material obstacles2 it is truly in the land of ,faery1 that is1 of mental space4 ,the poet has placed you in a dream1 a charmed sleep1 and you neither wish1 nor have the power1 to inquire where you are1 or how you got there4 ,works1 ,,iv1 #bej4 ,p4 #bb4 clap on high4 ,farie ,queene1 ,,iii1 xii1 #bc4 ,in green vine leaves4 ,i1 iv1 #bb4 ,upon the top4 ,i1 vii1 #cb4 ,p4 #bc4 ,in reading the ,farie ,queene1 etc4 ,see ,,iii1 ix1 #aj2 ,i1 vii2 ,,ii1 vi1 #e2 ,,iii1 xii4 and mask4 ,l',allegro4 ,and more to lull4 ,i1 i1 #da4 honey-heavy dew of slumber4 ,julius ,csar1 ii1 #a1 #bcj4 ,eftsoons they heard4 ,,ii1 xii1 #gj4 ,p4 #be4 ,house of ,pride4 ,i1 iv1 #d4 ,cave of ,mammon4 ,,ii1 vii1 #bh4 ,cave of ,despair4 ,i1 ix1 #cc4 the account of ,memory4 ,,ii1 ix1 #ed4 description of ,belphoebe4 ,,ii1 iii1 #ba4 story of ,florimel4 ,,iii1 vii1 #ab4 ,gardens of ,adonis4 ,,iii1 vi1 #bi4 ,bower of ,bliss4 ,,ii1 xii1 #db4 ,mask of ,cupid4 ,,iii1 xii4 ,colin ,clout's ,vision4 ,,vi1 x1 #aj-bg4 ,p4 #bf4 ,poussin1 ,nicolas 7#aeid-affe71 ,french painter4 ,see ,hazlitt's delightful essay in ,table ,talk ,on a ,landscape by ,nicholas ,poussin4 ,and eke4 ,,iii1 ix1 #bj4 the cold icicles4 ,,iii1 viii1 #ce4 ,that was ,arion4 ,,iv1 xi1 #bc-bd4 ,procession of the ,passions4 ,i1 iv1 #af ff4 ,p4 #bh4 ,yet not more sweet4 ,southey's ,carmen ,nuptiale3 ,lay of the ,laureate4 ,in the ,character of ,milton's ,eve in the ,round ,table1 ,hazlitt remarks that ,spenser has an eye to the consequences1 and steeps everything in pleasure1 often not of the purest kind4 ,p4 #cj4 ,rubens1 ,peter ,paul 7#aegg-afdj71 ,flemish painter4 ,see the paper on ,the ,pictures at ,oxford and ,blenheim 7,works1 ,,ix1 #ga73 ,rubens was the only artist that could have embodied some of our countryman ,spenser's splendid and voluptuous allegories4 ,if a painter among ourselves were to attempt a ,spenser ,gallery1 7perhaps the finest subject for the pencil in the world after ,heathen mythology and ,scripture history71 he ought to go and study the principles of his design at ,blenheim4 the account of ,satyrane4 ,i1 vi1 #bd4 by the help4 ,,iii1 x1 #dg4 the change of ,malbecco4 ,,iii1 x1 #ef-fj4 ,p4 #ca1 n4 ,that all with one consent4 ,troilus and ,cressida1 iii1 #c1 #agf4 ,p4 #cb4 ,high over hills4 ,,iii1 x1 #ee4 ,pope who used to ask4 ,pope is also quoted in ,spence's ,anecdotes 7,section viii1 #agdc-d7 as saying that there is something in ,spenser that pleases one as strongly in one's old age1 as it did in one's youth4 ,i read the ',farie ,queene1' when ,i was about twelve1 with infinite delight1 and ,i think it gave me as much1 when ,i read it over about a year or two ago4 ,waller-,glover4 the account of ,talus4 ,v1 i1 #ab4 episode of ,pastorella4 ,,vi1 ix1 #ab4 ,p4 #cc4 in many a winding bout4 ,l',allegro4 ,,shakspeare ,this selection is from the ,lectures on the ,english ,poets4 ,at the beginning of his lecture on ,shakespeare and ,milton1 ,hazlitt maintains that the arts reach their perfection in the early periods and are not continually progressive like the sciences--an idea which he frequently comes back to in his writings1 notably in the ,round ,table paper1 ,why the ,arts are not ,progressive4 ,p4 #cd4 the fault1 etc4 ,cf4 ,julius ,csar1 i1 #b1 #adj4 ,shakspeare as they would be4 ,hazlitt may have had in mind ,dr4 ,johnson's comment in his preface to ,shakespeare's works3 the event which he represents will not happen1 but if it were possible1 its effect would probably be such as he had assigned2 he has not only shewn human nature as it acts in real exigencies1 but as it would be found in trials to which it cannot be exposed4 7,nichol ,smith3 ,eighteenth ,century ,essays on ,shakespeare1 p4 #aag47 ,p4 #ce4 its generic quality4 ,coleridge applied the epithet myriad-minded to ,shakespeare4 ,see also ,schlegel's ,lectures on the ,drama4 ed4 ,bohn1 p4 #cfc3 ,never perhaps was there so comprehensive a talent for characterization as ,shakespeare4 ,it not only grasps the diversity of rank1 age1 and sex1 down to the lispings of infancy2 not only do the king and the beggar1 the hero and the pickpocket1 the sage and the idiot1 speak and act with equal truthfulness 444 his human characters have not only such depth and individuality that they do not admit of being classed under common names1 and are inexhaustible even in conception2 no1 this ,prometheus not merely forms men1 he opens the gates of the magical world of spirits1 calls up the midnight ghost1 exhibits before us the witches with their unhallowed rites1 peoples the air with sportive fairies and sylphs2 and these beings1 though existing only in the imagination1 nevertheless possess such truth and consistency1 that even with such misshapen abortions as ,caliban1 he extorts the assenting conviction1 that were there such beings they would so conduct themselves4 ,in a word1 as he carries a bold and pregnant fancy into the kingdom of nature1 on the other hand1 he carries nature into the region of fancy1 which lies beyond the confines of reality4 ,we are lost in astonishment at the close intimacy he brings us into with the extraordinary1 the wonderful1 and the unheard-of4 a mind reflecting ages past4 ,these words occur in the first lines of a laudatory poem on ,shakespeare printed in the second folio 7#afcb74 ,the poem is signed ',j4 ,m4 ,s4' and was attributed by ,coleridge to ',john ,milton1 ,student4' ,see his ',lectures on ,shakespeare' 7ed4 ,t4 ,ashe71 pp4 #abi-acj4 ,waller-,glover1 ,,iv1 #daa4 ,p4 #cf4 ,all corners1 etc4 ,cymbeline4 iii4 #d1 #ci4 nodded to him4 ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 iii1 ,i1 #agg4 his so potent art4 ,tempest1 v1 i1 #ej4 ,when he conceived of a character1 etc4 ,cf4 ,maurice ,morgann1 ,on the ,character of ,falstaff3 ,but it was not enough for ,shakespeare to have formed his characters with the most perfect truth and coherence2 it was further necessary that he should possess a wonderful facility of compressing1 as it were1 his own spirit into these images1 and of giving alternate animation to the forms4 ,this was not to be done from without2 he must have felt every varied situation1 and have spoken thro' the organ he had formed4 ,such an intuitive comprehension of things and such a facility must unite to produce a ,shakespeare4 7,nichol ,smith3 ,eighteenth ,century ,essays on ,shakespeare1 p4 #bdg1 n47 subject to the same skyey influences4 ,cf4 ,measure for ,measure1 iii1 ,i1 #i3 servile to all the skyey influences4 his frequent haunts4 ,cf4 ,comus1 #cad3 my daily walks and ancient neighborhood4 ,p4 #cg4 coheres semblably together4 ,cf4 #b ,henry ,,iv1 v1 i1 #gb3 to see the semblable coherence4 ,it has been ingeniously remarked1 by ,coleridge1 ,seven ,lectures on ,shakespeare and ,milton1 p4 #aaf3 ,the power of poetry is1 by a single word perhaps1 to instil that energy into the mind1 which compels the imagination to produce the picture4444 ,here1 by introducing a single happy epithet1 'crying1' a complete picture is presented to the mind1 and in the production of such pictures the power of genius consists4 me and thy crying self4 ,tempest1 i1 #b1 #acb4 ,what6 man4 ,macbeth1 iv1 #c1 #bjh4 ,rosencrans4 ,the early editions consistently misspell this name ,rosencraus4 ,man delights not me4 ,hamlet1 ii1 #b1 #cba4 a combination and a form4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #d1 #fj4 ,p4 #ci4 ,there is a willow1 etc4 ,see ,hamlet1 iv1 #g1 #afg3 ,there is a willow grows aslant a brook ,that shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream4 ,now this is an instance1 etc4 ,hazlitt elsewhere ascribes this observation to ,lamb4 ,see p4 #hc1 n4 ,he's speaking now4 ,antony and ,cleopatra1 i1 #e1 #bd4 ,it is my birthday4 ,ibid41 iii1 #ac1 #ahe4 ,p4 #da4 nigh sphered in heaven4 ,collins's ,ode on the ,poetical ,character4 to make society4 ,macbeth1 iii1 #a1 #db4 ,p4 #db4 with a little act4 ,othello1 iii1 #c1 #cbh4 ,p4 #dc4 while rage4 ,troilus and ,cressida1 i1 #c1 #eb4 in their untroubled elements1 etc4 ,cf4 ,wordsworth's ,excursion1 ,,vi1 #gfc-gff3 ,that glorious star ,in its untroubled element will shine ,as now it shines1 when we are laid in earth ,and safe from all our sorrows4 ,satan's address to the sun4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iv1 #ca4 ,oh that ,i were4 ,richard ,,ii1 iv1 #a1 #bfj4 ,p4 #dd4 ,his form4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i1 #eia-eid4 ,p4 #de4 ,with what measure4 ,mark1 iv1 #bd2 ,luke1 vi1 #ch4 ,it glances4 ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 v1 #a1 #ac4 puts a girdle4 ,ibid41 ii1 #a1 #age4 ,i ask4 ,troilus and ,cressida1 i1 #c1 #bbg4 ,no man4 ,ibid41 iii1 #c1 #ae4 ,p4 #df4 ,rouse yourself4 ,ibid41 iii1 #c1 #bbb4 ,in ,shakspeare1 any other word1 etc4 ,in the essay ,on ,application to ,study1 in the ,plain ,speaker1 ,hazlitt gives further illustrations of this point4 ,p4 #dg4 ,light thickens4 ,macbeth1 iii1 #b1 #ej4 the business of the state4 ,othello1 iv1 #b1 #aff4 ,of ditties highly penned4 #a ,henry ,,iv1 iii1 #a1 #bji4 ,and so4 ,two ,gentlemen of ,verona1 ii1 #g1 #ca4 ,the universality of his genius1 etc4 ,cf4 ,on ,gusto1 ,round ,table3 ,the infinite quality of dramatic invention in ,shakspeare takes from his gusto4 ,the power he delights to show is not intense1 but discursive4 ,he never insists on anything as much as he might1 except a quibble4 ,p4 #dh4 ,he wrote for the great vulgar1 etc4 ,the same remark had been made by both ,pope and ,johnson4 ,see ,nichol ,smith's ,eighteenth ,century ,essays on ,shakespeare1 pp1 #di and #ada4 the great vulgar and the small4 ,cowley's ,translation of ,horace's ,ode ,,iii1 i4 his delights4 ,antony and ,cleopatra1 v1 #b1 #hh4 ,p4 #di4 ,his tragedies are better than his comedies4 ,hazlitt is here deliberately opposing the view of ,dr4 ,johnson expressed in the latter's preface to ,shakespeare3 ,in tragedy he often writes with great appearance of toil and study1 what is written at last with little felicity2 but in his comick scenes1 he seems to produce without labour1 what no labour can improve4 ,in tragedy he is always struggling after some occasion to be comick1 but in comedy he seems to repose1 or to luxuriate1 as in a mode of thinking congenial to his nature4 ,in his tragick scenes there is always something wanting1 but his comedy often surpasses expectation or desire4 7,nichol ,smith's ,eighteenth ,century ,essays on ,shakespeare1 p4 #aba47 ,in the second lecture of the ,english ,comic ,writers1 ,hazlitt recurs to this opinion of ,johnson's with the following comment3 ,for my own part1 ,i so far consider this preference given to the comic genius of the poet as erroneous and unfounded1 that ,i should say that he is the only tragic poet in the world in the highest sense1 as being on a par with1 and the same as ,nature1 in her greatest heights and depths of action and suffering4 ,there is but one who durst walk within that mighty circle1 treading the utmost bound of nature and passion1 showing us the dread abyss of woe in all its ghastly shapes and colours1 and laying open all the faculties of the human soul to act1 to think1 and suffer1 in direst extremities2 whereas ,i think1 on the other hand1 that in comedy1 though his talents there too were as wonderful as they were delightful1 yet that there were some before him1 others on a level with him1 and many close behind him4444 ,there is not only nothing so good 7in my judgment7 as ,hamlet1 or ,lear1 or ,othello1 or ,macbeth1 but there is nothing like ,hamlet1 or ,lear1 or ,othello1 or ,macbeth4 ,there is nothing1 ,i believe1 in the majestic ,corneille1 equal to the stern pride of ,coriolanus1 or which gives such an idea of the crumbling in pieces of the ,roman grandeur1 'like an unsubstantial pageant faded1' as the ,antony and ,cleopatra4 ,but to match the best serious comedies1 such as ,molire's ,misanthrope and his ,tartuffe1 we must go to ,shakspeare's tragic characters1 the ,timon of ,athens or honest ,iago1 where we shall more than succeed4 ,he put his strength into his tragedies and played with comedy4 ,he was greatest in what was greatest2 and his forte was not trifling1 according to the opinion here combated1 even though he might do that as well as any one else1 unless he could do it better than anybody else4 ,see also p4 #ii4 ,,characters ,,of ,,shakspeare',s ,,plays ,,cymbeline ,p4 #ea4 ,dr4 ,johnson is of opinion4 ,it may be observed that in many of his plays the latter part is evidently neglected4 ,when he found himself near the end of his work1 and in view of his reward1 he shortened the labour to snatch the profit4 ,he therefore remits his efforts where he should most vigorously exert them1 and his catastrophe is improbably produced or imperfectly represented4 7,nichol ,smith3 ,eighteenth ,century ,essays on ,shakespeare1 p4 #abc47 ,it is the peculiar excellence1 etc4 ,cf4 ,coleridge's ,works1 ,,iv1 #ge-gf3 ,in ,shakespeare all the elements of womanhood are holy1 and there is the sweet1 yet dignified feeling of all that continuates society1 a sense of ancestry and of sex1 with a purity unassailable by sophistry1 because it rests not in the analytic process1 but in that sane equipoise of the faculties1 during which the feelings are representative of all past experience1--not of the individual only1 but of all those by whom she has been educated1 and their predecessors even up to the first mother that lived4 ,shakespeare saw that the want of prominence which ,pope notices for sarcasm1 was the blessed beauty of the woman's character1 and knew that it arose not from any deficiency1 but from the exquisite harmony of all the parts of the moral being constituting one living total of head and heart4 ,he has drawn it indeed in all its distinctive energies of faith1 patience1 constancy1 fortitude1--shown in all of them as following the heart1 which gives its results by a nice tact and happy intuition1 without the intervention of the discursive faculty1 sees all things in and by the light of the affections1 and errs1 if it ever err1 in the exaggerations of love alone4 ,p4 #eb4 ,cibber1 in speaking4 ,see ,apology for the ,life of ,mr4 ,colley ,cibber 7#agdj71 ,i1 iv4 ,my lord4 i1 #f1 #aab4 ,p4 #ec4 ,what cheer4 iii1 #d1 #da4 ,the six quotations following are in the same scene4 ,p4 #ed4 ,my dear lord4 iii1 #f1 #ad4 ,and when with wild wood-leaves4 iv1 #b1 #chi4 ,p4 #ee4 ,with fairest flowers4 iv1 #b1 #bah4 ,cytherea1 how bravely4 ii1 #b1 #ad4 ,me of my lawful pleasure4 ii1 #e1 #i4 ,p4 #ef4 whose love-suit4 iii1 #d1 #acf4 the ancient critic4 ,aristophanes of ,byzantium1 who lived in the third century before the ,christian era4 the principle of analogy4 ,this point is enforced by ,hazlitt in connection with ,lear1 ,the ,tempest1 ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 and ,as ,you ,like ,it4 ,coleridge had previously remarked1 ,a unity of feeling and character pervades every drama of ,shakespeare 7,works ,,iv1 #fa71 and ,schlegel had written in the same manner concerning ,romeo and ,juliet3 ,the sweetest and the bitterest love and hatred1 festive rejoicings and dark forebodings1 tender embraces and sepulchral horrors1 the fulness of life and self-annihilation1 are here all brought close to each other2 and yet these contrasts are so blended into a unity of impression1 that the echo which the whole leaves behind in the mind resembles a single but endless sigh4 7ed4 ,bohn1 p4 #dja74 ,p4 #eg4 ,out of your proof4 iii1 #c1 #bg4 ,p4 #eh4 ,the game's afoot4 ,the game is up1 iii1 #c1 #ajg4 ,under the shade4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ii1 #g1 #aaa4 ,p4 #ei4 ,see1 boys4 ,stoop1 boys1 iii1 #c1 #b4 ,nay1 ,cadwell4 iv1 #b1 #bee4 ,stick to your journal course4 iv1 #b1 #aj4 ,your highness4 i1 #e1 #bc4 ,,macbeth ,p4 #fj4 ,the poet's eye4 ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 v1 #a1 #ab4 your only tragedy-maker4 ,an adaptation of your only jig-maker1 ,hamlet1 iii1 #b1 #acb4 the air smells wooingly1 the temple-haunting martlet4 i1 #f1 #d-f4 blasted heath4 i1 #c1 #gg4 air-drawn dagger4 iii1 #d1 #fb4 the gracious ,duncan4 iii1 #a1 #ff4 ,p4 #fa4 blood-boultered ,banquo4 iv1 #a1 #abc4 ,what are these4 i1 #c1 #ci4 bends up4 i1 #g1 #hj4 ,p4 #fb4 ,the deed4 ,cf4 ii1 #b1 #aa3 ,the attempt and not the deed confounds us4 pretersupernatural solicitings4 i1 #c1 #acj4 ,bring forth4 i1 #g1 #gc4 ,p4 #fc4 ,screw his courage4 i1 #g1 #fj4 lost so poorly4 ,cf4 ii1 #b1 #ga3 ,be not lost so poorly in your thoughts4 a little water4 ii1 #b1 #fh4 the sides of his intent4 i1 #g1 #bf4 for their future days and nights4 ,cf4 i1 #e1 #gj3 ,to all our days and nights to come4 ,the next five quotations are from the same scene4 ,p4 #fd4 ,mrs4 ,siddons4 ,sarah ,siddons 7#agge-ahca71 ,the ,tragic ,muse1 the most celebrated actress in the history of the ,english stage4 ,hazlitt wrote this passage for the ,examiner 7,june #af1 #ahaf7 immediately after seeing a performance of the part by ,mrs4 ,siddons4 ,see ,works1 ,,viii1 #cab-cgc4 ,p4 #fe4 ,there is no art4 i1 #d1 #aa4 ,how goes the night4 ii1 #a1 #a4 ,p4 #ff4 ,light thickens4 iii1 #b1 #ej4 ,now spurs4 iii1 #c1 #f4 ,p4 #fg4 ,so fair and foul a day4 i1 #c1 #ch4 such welcome and unwelcome news together4 ,cf4 iv1 #c1 #ach3 such welcome and unwelcome things at once4 ,men's lives are4 ,cf4 iv1 #c1 #aga3 and good men's lives ,expire before the flowers in their caps1 ,dying or ere they sicken4 ,look like the innocent flower4 i1 #e1 #ff4 to him and all1 to all and him4 iii1 #d1 #ia4 ,avaunt and quit my sight4 iii1 #d1 #ic4 himself again4 ,cf4 iii1 #d1 #ajg3 being gone1 ,i am a man again4 he may sleep4 iv1 #a1 #hf4 ,then be thou jocund4 iii1 #b1 #dj4 ,had he not resembled4 ii1 #b1 #ac4 should be women4 i1 #c4 #de4 in deeper consequence4 i1 #c1 #abf4 ,why stands4 iv1 #a1 #abe4 ,p4 #fh4 ,he is as distinct a being1 etc4 ,cf4 ,pope 7,nichol ,smith's ,eighteenth ,century ,essays1 p4 #dh73 ,every single character in ,shakespeare is as much an individual as those in life itself2 it is impossible to find any two alike2 and such as from their relation or affinity appear most to be twins1 will upon comparison be found remarkably distinct4 ,beattie also had commented on that wonderfully penetrating and plastic faculty1 which is capable of representing every species of character1 not as our ordinary poets do1 by a high shoulder1 a wry mouth1 or gigantic stature1 but by hitting off1 with a delicate hand1 the distinguishing feature1 and that in such a manner as makes it easily known from all others whatsoever1 however similar to a superficial eye4 7,quoted in ,drake's ,memorials of ,shakespeare1 #ahbh1 p4 #bee47 ,richard ,cumberland had developed a parallel between ,macbeth and ,richard ,,iii in the ,observer1 ,nos4 #ee-eh1 but it is to the suggestion of ,thomas ,whateley that ,hazlitt is chiefly indebted4 ,both ,richard ,,iii and ,macbeth1 says ,whateley1 are soldiers1 both usurpers2 both attain the throne by the same means1 by treason and murder2 and both lose it too in the same manner1 in battle against the person claiming it as lawful heir4 ,perfidy1 violence1 and tyranny are common to both2 and these only1 their obvious qualities1 would have been attributed indiscriminately to both by an ordinary dramatic writer4 ,but ,shakespeare1 in conformity to the truth of history as far as it led him1 and by improving upon the fables which have been blended with it1 has ascribed opposite principles and motives to the same designs and actions1 and various effects to the operation of the same events upon different tempers4 ,richard and ,macbeth1 as represented by him1 agree in nothing but their fortunes4 7,see the ,variorum edition of ,richard ,,iii1 p4 #edi47 ,hazlitt makes similar discriminations between the characters of ,iago and ,richard ,,iii1 between ,henry ,,vi and ,richard ,,ii1 and between ,ariel and ,puck4 the milk of human kindness4 i1 #e1 #ah4 himself alone4 ,cf4 #c ,henry ,,vi1 v1 #f1 #hc3 ,i am myself alone4 ,p4 #fi4 ,for ,banquo's issue4 iii1 #a1 #fe4 ,duncan is in his grave4 iii1 #b1 #bb4 direness is rendered familiar4 v1 #e1 #ad4 troubled with thick coming fancies4 v1 #c1 #ch4 ,p4 #gj4 subject to all4 ,measure for ,measure1 iii1 #a1 #i4 ,my way of life4 v1 #c1 #bb4 ,p4 #ga4 ,lillo1 ,george 7#afic-agci71 author of several bourgeois tragedies of which the best known is ,george ,barnwell 7#agca74 ,specimens of ,early ,english ,dramatic ,poets by ,charles ,lamb1 #ahjh4 7,works1 ed4 ,lucas1 ,,iv1 #add47 ,,iago ,p4 #gc4 ,what a full fortune and ,here is her father's house4 i1 #a1 #ff-gd ,p4 #gd4 ,i cannot believe4 i1 #a1 #bed4 ,and yet how nature4 iii1 #c1 #bbg4 milk of human kindness4 ,macbeth1 i1 #e1 #ah4 relish of salvation4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #c1 #ib4 ,oh1 you are well tuned4 ii1 #a1 #bjb4 ,p4 #ge4 ,my noble lord4 iii1 #c1 #ib4 ,o grace4 iii1 #c1 #cgc4 ,p4 #gf4 ,how is it4 iv1 #a1 #fj4 ,zanga1 in the ,revenge 7#agba71 a tragedy by ,edward ,young 7#afhc-agfe74 ,,hamlet ,p4 #gf4 ,this goodly frame and ,man delighted not4 ii1 #b1 #caj-cba4 ,p4 #gg4 too much i' th' sun4 i1 #b1 #fg4 the pangs4 iii1 #a1 #gb4 ,p4 #gh4 ,there is no attempt to force an interest4 ,professor ,saintsbury 7,history of ,criticism1 ,,iii1 #beh7 calls this utterance an apex of ,shakespearian criticism4 ,hazlitt makes a similar comment in the character of ,troilus and ,cressida3 ,he has no prejudice for or against his characters3 he saw both sides of a question2 at once an actor and a spectator in the scene4 ,dr4 ,johnson had observed this attitude in ,shakespeare1 but he had seen in it a violation of the demands of poetic justice3 he carries his persons indifferently through right and wrong1 and at the close dismisses them without further care1 and leaves their examples to operate by chance4 ,this fault the barbarity of his age cannot extenuate2 for it is always a writer's duty to make the world better1 and justice is a virtue independent on time or place4 7,nichol ,smith's ,eighteenth ,century ,essays on ,shakespeare1 p4 #abc47 outward pageant4 ,cf4 i1 #b1 #hf3 the trappings and the suits of woe4 we have that within4 i1 #b1 #he4 ,p4 #gi4 ,he kneels4 ,cf4 iii1 #c1 #gc3 ,now might ,i do it pat1 now he is praying4 ,p4 #hj4 ,how all occasions4 iv1 #d1 #cb4 ,p4 #ha4 that noble and liberal casuist4 ,doubtless suggested by ,lamb's description of the old ,english dramatists as those noble and liberal casuists4 7,works1 ed4 ,lucas1 ,i1 #df47 ,the ,whole ,duty of ,man1 a popular treatise of morals 7#afei74 ,academy of ,compliments1 or the ,whole ,duty of ,courtship1 being the nearest or most exact way of wooing a ,maid or ,widow1 by the way of ,dialogue or ,complimental ,expressions 7#afee1 #affi74 ,the neglect of punctilious exactness1 etc4 ,the entire passage follows pretty closely the interpretation of ,lamb3 ,among the distinguishing features of that wonderful character1 one of the most interesting 7yet painful7 is that soreness of mind which makes him treat the intrusions of ,polonius with harshness1 and that asperity which he puts on in his interviews with ,ophelia4 ,these tokens of an unhinged mind 7if they be not mixed in the latter case with a profound artifice of love1 to alienate ,ophelia by affected discourtesies1 so to prepare her mind for the breaking off of that loving intercourse1 which can no longer find a place amidst business so serious as that which he has to do7 are parts of his character1 which to reconcile with our admiration of ,hamlet1 the most patient consideration of his situation is no more than necessary2 they are what we forgive afterwards1 and explain by the whole of his character1 but at the time they are harsh and unpleasant4444 ,his behavior toward ,ophelia is not alienation1 it is a distraction purely1 and so it always makes itself to be felt by that object3 it is not anger1 but grief assuming the appearance of anger1--love awkwardly counterfeiting hate1 as sweet countenances when they try to frown4 ,on the ,tragedies of ,shakespeare4 7,works1 ed4 ,lucas1 ,i1 #ajc-ajd7 ,he may be said to be amenable1 etc4 ,cf4 ,coleridge 7,works1 ,,iv1 #ade73 ,his thoughts1 and the images of his fancy1 are far more vivid than his actual perceptions1 and his very perceptions1 instantly passing through the medium of his contemplations1 acquire1 as they pass1 a form and a colour not naturally their own4 ,hence we see a great1 an almost enormous1 intellectual activity1 and a proportionate aversion to real action1 consequent upon it1 with all its symptoms and accompanying qualities4 ,p4 #hb4 his father's spirit4 i1 #b1 #bee4 ,i loved ,ophelia4 v1 #a1 #bib4 ,sweets to the sweet4 v1 #a1 #bff4 ,p4 #hc4 ,there is a willow4 ,see p4 #ci4 our author's plays acted4 ,see pp4 #gj1 #hg4 ,p4 #hd4 ,kemble1 ,john ,philip 7#ageg-ahbc71 younger brother to ,mrs4 ,siddons and noted as the leader of the stately school in tragedy4 ,hazlitt often contrasted his manner with that of ,kean3 ,we wish we had never seen ,mr4 ,kean4 ,he has destroyed the ,kemble religion2 and it is the religion in which we were brought up4 ,works1 ,,viii1 #cde4 a wave o' th' sea4 ,winter's ,tale1 iv1 #d1 #ada4 ,kean1 ,edmund 7#aghg-ahcc71 the great ,english tragic actor whom ,hazlitt was instrumental in discovering for the ,london public4 ,shylock and ,othello were his most successful roles4 ,for accounts of his various performances1 see ,a ,view of the ,english ,stage 7,works1 ,,viii74 ,most of the points in this essay are reproduced from the notice of ,kean's ,hamlet 7,,viii1 #ahe-ahi74 ,,romeo ,,and ,,juliet ,this extract is the opening paragraph of the sketch4 ,p4 #hd4 a great critic1 ,a4 ,w4 ,schlegel4 ,the passage alluded to by ,hazlitt appears in ,coleridge's ,works 7,,iv1 #fj-fa7 in what is little more than a free translation3 ,read ',romeo and ,juliet'2--all is youth and spring2--youth with its follies1 its virtues1 its precipitancies2--spring with its odors1 its flowers1 and its transiency2 it is one and the same feeling that commences1 goes through1 and ends the play4 ,the old men1 the ,capulets and the ,montagues1 are not common old men2 they have an eagerness1 a heartiness1 a vehemence1 the effect of spring2 with ,romeo1 his change of passion1 his sudden marriage1 and his rash death1 are all the effects of youth2--whilst in ,juliet love has all that is tender and melancholy in the nightingale1 all that is voluptuous in the rose1 with whatever is sweet in the freshness of the spring2 but it ends with a long deep sigh like the last breeze of the ,italian evening4 ,p4 #he4 fancies wan4 ,cf4 ,lycidas1 cowslips wan4 ,,midsummer ,,night',s ,,dream ,these extracts are the second and last paragraphs of the essay4 ,p4 #he4 ,lord1 what fools4 iii1 #b1 #aae4 ,p4 #hf4 human mortals4 ii1 #a1 #aja4 gorgons and hydras4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii1 #fbh4 a celebrated person1 ,sir ,humphry ,davy2 see p4 #cdb4 ,cf4 ,coleridge 7,works1 ,,iv1 #ff73 ,shakespeare was not only a great poet1 but a great philosopher4 ,p4 #hg4 ,poetry and the stage4 ,cf4 ,lamb1 ,on the ,tragedies of ,shakespeare 7ed4 ,lucas1 ,i1 #aaj73 ,spirits and fairies cannot be represented1 they cannot even be painted1--they can only be believed4 ,but the elaborate and anxious provision of scenery1 which the luxury of the age demands1 in these cases works a quite contrary effect to what is intended4 ,that which in comedy1 or plays of familiar life1 adds so much to the life of the imitation1 in plays which appeal to the higher faculties1 positively destroys the illusion which it is introduced to aid4 ,,henry ,,iv ,hazlitt's interpretation of ,falstaff is worth comparing with that of ,maurice ,morgann in ,an ,essay on the ,dramatic ,character of ,sir ,john ,falstaff1 although ,hazlitt does not allude to ,morgann's essay and is supposed to have had no knowledge of it4 ,to me then it appears that the leading quality in ,falstaff's character1 and that from which all the rest take their colour1 is a high degree of wit and humour1 accompanied with great natural vigour and alacrity of mind4444 ,he seems1 by nature1 to have had a mind free of malice or any evil principle2 but he never took the trouble of acquiring any good one4 ,he found himself esteemed and beloved with all his faults2 nay for his faults1 which were all connected with humour1 and for the most part grew out of it4 ,as he had1 possibly1 no vices but such as he thought might be openly confessed1 so he appeared more dissolute thro' ostentation4 ,to the character of wit and humour1 to which all his other qualities seem to have conformed themselves1 he appears to have added a very necessary support1 that of the profession of a ,soldier4444 ,laughter and approbation attend his greatest excesses2 and being governed visibly by no settled bad principle or ill design1 fun and humour account for and cover all4 ,by degrees1 however1 and thro' indulgence1 he acquires bad habits1 becomes an humourist1 grows enormously corpulent1 and falls into the infirmities of age2 yet never quits1 all the time1 one single levity or vice of youth1 or loses any of that cheerfulness of mind which had enabled him to pass thro' this course with ease to himself and delight to others2 and thus1 at last1 mixing youth and age1 enterprize and corpulency1 wit and folly1 poverty and expence1 title and buffoonery1 innocence as to purpose1 and wickedness as to practice2 neither incurring hatred by bad principle1 or contempt by cowardice1 yet involved in circumstances productive of imputation in both2 a butt and a wit1 a humourist and a man of humour1 a touchstone and a laughing stock1 a jester and a jest1 has ,sir ,john ,falstaff1 taken at that period of life in which we see him1 become the most perfect comic character that perhaps ever was exhibited4 7,nichol ,smith's ,eighteenth ,century ,essays on ,shakespeare1 #bbf-g47 ,p4 #hh4 we behold4 ,cf4 ,colossians1 ii1 #i2 in him dwelleth all the fulness of the ,godhead bodily4 lards the lean earth4 #a ,henry ,,iv1 ii1 #b1 #aaf4 into thin air4 ,tempest1 iv1 #a1 #aej4 three fingers deep4 ,cf4 #a ,henry ,,iv1 iv1 #b1 #hj3 three fingers on the ribs4 ,p4 #hi4 it snows4 ,chaucer's ,prologue to the ,canterbury ,tales1 #cde4 ascends me4 #b ,henry ,,iv1 iv1 #c1 #aje4 a tun of man4 #a ,henry ,,iv1 ii1 #d1 #dic4 ,p4 #ia4 open1 palpable4 ,cf4 #a ,henry ,,iv1 ii1 #d1 #bdh3 ,these lies are like their father that begets them2 gross as a mountain1 open1 palpable4 ,by the lord4 ,ibid41 i1 #b1 #dd4 ,but ,hal4 ,ibid41 i1 #b1 #ia4 ,p4 #ib4 who grew4 ,cf4 ii1 #d1 #bdc3 eleven buckram men grown out of two4 ,harry1 ,i do not4 ii1 #d1 #dci4 ,p4 #id4 ,what is the gross sum4 #b ,henry ,,iv1 ii1 #a1 #ia4 ,p4 #ie4 ,would ,i were with him4 ,henry ,v1 ii1 #c1 #f4 turning his vices4 ,cf4 #b ,henry ,,iv1 i1 #b1 #bgg3 ,i will turn diseases to commodity4 their legs4 ,ibid41 ii1 #d1 #bfe4 a man made after supper4 ,ibid41 iii1 #b1 #ccb4 ,would1 ,cousin ,silence4 ,ibid41 iii1 #b1 #bbe4 ,i did not think4 ,ibid41 v1 #c1 #dj4 in some authority4 ,ibid41 v1 #c1 #aag4 ,you have here4 ,ibid41 v1 #c1 #f4 ,,twelfth ,,night ,p4 #if4 ,it aims at the ludicrous4 ,cf4 ,hazlitt's remark in the ,characters on ,much ,ado ,about ,nothing3 ,perhaps that middle point of comedy was never more nicely hit in which the ludicrous blends with the tender1 and our follies1 turning round against themselves in support of our affections1 retain nothing but their humanity4 ,p4 #ig4 ,william ,congreve 7#afgj-agbi71 ,william ,wycherley 7#afdj-agaf71 ,sir ,john ,vanbrugh 7#affd-agbf71 the chief masters of ,restoration ,comedy4 ,p4 #ih4 high fantastical4 i1 #a1 #ae4 ,wherefore are these things hid4 i1 #c1 #acc4 rouse the night-owl4 ii1 #c1 #fj4 ,dost thou think4 ii1 #c1 #abc4 ,p4 #ii4 ,we cannot agree with ,dr4 ,johnson4 ,see p4 #di and n4 ,what's her history4 ii1 #d1 #ab4 ,oh it came o'er4 i1 #a1 #e4 ,p4 #ajj4 ,they give a very echo4 ii1 #d1 #ba4 ,blame not this haste4 iv1 #c1 #bb4 ,the essay concludes with the quotation of one of the songs and ,malvolio's reading of the letter4 ,,milton ,p4 #aja4 ,blind ,thamyris4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii1 #ce4 ,p4 #ajb4 with darkness4 ,,vii1 #bg4 piling up every stone4 ,,xi1 #cbd4 ,for after ,i had from my first years4 ,the ,reason of ,church ,government1 ,book ,,ii1 ,introduction4 ,p4 #ajc4 ,the noble heart4 ,farie ,queene1 ,i1 v1 #a4 ,p4 #ajd4 makes ,ossa like a wart4 ,hamlet1 v1 #a1 #cjf4 ,him followed ,rimmon4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i1 #dfg4 ,as when a vulture4 ,,iii1 #dca4 ,p4 #aje4 the pilot4 ,i1 #bjd4 ,it has been indeed objected to ,milton4 ,cf4 ,coleridge 7,works1 ed4 ,shedd1 ,,iv1 #cjd73 ,milton is not a picturesque1 but a musical1 poet2 also ,coleridge's ,table ,talk1 ,august #g1 #ahcb3 ,it is very remarkable that in no part of his writings does ,milton take any notice of the great painters of ,italy1 nor1 indeed1 of painting as an art2 while every other page breathes his love and taste for music4444 ,adam bending over the sleeping ,eve1 in ,paradise ,lost1 and ,dalilah approaching ,samson1 in the ,agonistes1 are the only two proper pictures ,i remember in ,milton4 ,like a steam4 ,comus1 #eef4 ,p4 #ajf4 ,he soon saw4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii1 #fba4 ,p4 #ajg4 ,with ,atlantean shoulders4 ,,ii1 #cjf4 ,lay floating4 ,i1 #bif4 ,dr4 ,johnson condemns the ,paradise ,lost4 ,see the conclusion of his ,life of ,milton4 ,p4 #ajh4 ,his hand was known4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i1 #gcb4 ,but chief the spacious hall4 ,i1 #gfb4 ,p4 #aji4 ,round he surveys4 ,,iii1 #eee4 ,such as the meeting soul4 ,l',allegro4 the hidden soul4 ,ibid4 ,p4 #aaj4 as ,pope justly observes4 ,first ,epistle of the ,second ,book of ,horace1 #ajb4 ,p4 #aaa4 ,as when ,heaven's fire4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i1 #fab4 ,all is not lost4 ,i1 #bjf4 that intellectual being4 ,,ii1 #adg4 being swallowed up4 ,,ii1 #adi4 ,p4 #aab4 ,fallen cherub4 ,i1 #aeg4 rising aloft4 ,i1 #bbe4 the mystic ,german critics4 ,cf4 p4 #cdd4 ,p4 #aac4 ,is this the region4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i1 #bdb4 ,p4 #aad4 ,salmasius4 ,at the request of ,charles ,,ii1 ,claude de ,saumaise 7,claudius ,salmasius71 professor at ,leyden1 had written a vindication of ,charles ,i1 ,defensio pro ,carolo ,i 7#afdi71 to which ,milton replied with the ,defensio pro ,populo ,anglicano 7#afea74 ,the controversy between the two is noted for the virulency of the personal invective4 with hideous ruin4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i1 #df4 retreated in a silent valley4 ,,ii1 #edg4 a noted political writer4 ,dr4 ,stoddart1 editor of the ,times and brother-in-law of ,hazlitt1 whom the critic bitterly hated1 and ,napoleon are here referred to4 ,cf4 ,political ,essays1 ,,iii1 #aeh-aei4 ,p4 #aae4 ,longinus preferred the ,iliad4 ,whereas in the ,iliad1 which was written when his genius was in its prime1 the whole structure of the poem is founded on action and struggle1 in the ,odyssey he generally prefers the narrative style1 which is proper to old age4 ,hence ,homer in his ,odyssey may be compared to the setting sun2 he is still as great as ever1 but he has lost his fervent heat4 ,the strain is now pitched in a lower key than in the ',tale of ,troy ,divine'3 we begin to miss that high and equable sublimity which never flags or sinks1 that continuous current of moving incidents1 those rapid transitions1 that force of eloquence1 that opulence of imagery which is ever true to ,nature4 ,like the sea when it retires upon itself and leaves its shores waste and bare1 henceforth the tide of sublimity begins to ebb1 and draws us away into the dim region of myth and legend4 ,in saying this ,i am not forgetting the fine storm-pieces in the ,odyssey1 the story of the ,cyclops1 and other striking passages4 ,it is ,homer grown old ,i am discussing1 but still it is ,homer4 ,on the ,sublime1 ,,ix1 trans4 ,havell4 no kind of traffic4 ,cf4 ,tempest1 ii1 #a1 #adh4 ,the generations were prepared4 ,wordsworth's ,excursion1 ,,vi1 #eed4 the unapparent deep4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,vii1 #ajc4 ,p4 #aaf4 know to know no more4 ,cowper's ,truth1 #cbg4 ,they toiled not4 ,matthew1 vi1 #bh4 ,in them the burthen4 ,wordsworth's ,lines ,composed above ,tintern ,abbey4 such as angels weep4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i1 #fbj4 ,p4 #aag4 ,in either hand4 ,,xii1 #fcg4 ,,pope ,this selection begins with the second paragraph of the fourth lecture on the ,english ,poets4 ,p4 #aah4 ,the question whether ,pope was a poet4 ,hazlitt had written a paper in answer to this question in the ,edinburgh ,magazine for ,february1 #ahah 7,works1 ,,xii1 #dcj-dcb71 from which the following paragraphs down to ,such at least is the best account are copied4 ,the question had been previously answered by ,dr4 ,johnson with the same common sense as by ,hazlitt3 ,it is surely superfluous to answer the question that has once been asked1 ,whether ,pope was a poet8 otherwise than by asking in return1 ,if ,pope be not a poet1 where is poetry to be found8 ,to circumscribe poetry by a definition will only shew the narrowness of the definer1 though a definition which shall exclude ,pope will not easily be made4 7,life of ,pope1 ed4 ,b4 ,hill1 ,,iii1 #bea74 ,in their edition of ,pope 7,,ii1 #adj71 ,elwin and ,courthope express the opinion that the doubt which both ,johnson and ,hazlitt felt called upon to refute was never maintained by a single person of reputation4 ,yet there is something very close to such a doubt implied in the utterances of ,coleridge3 ,if we consider great exquisiteness of language and sweetness of metre alone1 it is impossible to deny to ,pope the character of a delightful writer2 but whether he was a poet1 must depend upon our definition of the word4444 ,this1 ,i must say1 that poetry1 as distinguished from other modes of composition1 does not rest in metre1 and that it is not poetry1 if it make no appeal to our passions or our imagination4 7,works1 ed4 ,shedd1 ,,iv1 #ef47 ,pope's verse was made the occasion of a long-winded controversy as to the relative value of the natural and artificial in poetry1 lasting from #ahai to #ahbe1 with ,william ,bowles and ,lord ,byron as the principal combatants4 ,hazlitt contributed an article to the ,london ,magazine for ,june1 #ahba1 ,pope1 ,lord ,byron and ,mr4 ,bowles 7,works1 ,,xii1 #dhf-ejh71 in which he pointed out the fallacies in ,byron's position and censured the clerical priggishness of ,bowles in treating of ,pope's life4 ,the chief points in the discussion are best summed up in ,prothero's edition of ,byron's ,letters and ,journals1 ,vol4 ,v1 ,appendix ,,iii4 ,if indeed by a great poet we mean4 ,cf4 ,introduction1 p4 #a4 ,p4 #abj4 the pale reflex4 ,romeo and ,juliet1 iii1 #e1 #bj4 ,p4 #aba4 ,martha ,blount 7#afij-agfb71 the object of ,pope's sentimental attachment throughout his life4 ,in ,fortune's ray4 ,troilus and ,cressida1 i1 #c1 #dg4 the gnarled oak 444 the soft myrtle4 ,farie ,qu41 ,,ii1 ii1 #aaf-aag4 calm contemplation4 ,thomson's ,autumn1 #abge4 ,p4 #abb4 ,more subtle web4 ,farie ,queene1 ,,ii1 xii1 #gg4 ,p4 #abc4 from her fair head4 ,rape of the ,lock1 ,,iii1 #aed4 ,now meet thy fate4 ,ibid41 ,v1 #hg-if4 ,p4 #abd4 ,lutrin4 ,the ,lutrin was a mock-heroic poem 7#afgd-afhc7 of the ,french poet and critic1 ,nicolas ,boileau ,despreaux 7#afcf-agaa71 the literary dictator of the age of ,louis ,,xiv4 ',tis with our judgments4 ,essay on ,criticism1 ,i1 #i4 ,still green with bays4 ,ibid41 ,i1 #aha4 ,p4 #abe4 the writer's despair4 ,cf4 ,ibid41 ,,ii1 #bgh3 ,no longer now that ,golden ,age appears1 ,when ,patriarch-wits survived a thousand years3 ,now length of fame 7our second life7 is lost1 ,and bare threescore is all ev'n that can boast3 ,our sons their fathers' failing language see1 ,and such as ,chaucer is shall ,dryden be4 with theirs should sail1 attendant sail4 ,essay on ,man1 ,,iv1 #chc-f4 ,p4 #abf4 ,there died4 ,eloisa to ,abelard1 #dj4 ,p4 #abg4 ,if ever chance4 ,ibid41 #cdg4 ,bolingbroke4 ,henry ,st4 ,john1 ,viscount ,bolingbroke 7#afgh-agea74 ,the ,essay plainly appears the fabric of a poet3 what ,bolingbroke supplied could be only the first principles2 the order1 illustration1 and embellishments must be all ,pope's4 ,pope's ,works1 ed4 ,elwin and ,courthope1 ,,ii1 #bfd4 ,p4 #abh4 he spins1 draweth out4 ,love's ,labour's ,lost1 v1 #a1 #ah4 the very words4 ,cf4 ,macbeth1 i1 #c1 #hh3 the selfsame tune and words4 ,now night descending4 ,dunciad1 ,i1 #hi4 ,virtue may choose4 ,epilogue to the ,satires1 ,dialogue ,i1 #acg4 ,p4 #abi4 character of ,chartres4 ,moral ,essays1 ,epistle ,,iii4 his compliments4 ,see p4 #cbb4 ,where ,murray4 ,imitations of ,horace1 ,epistle ,,vi1 #eb4 ,william ,murray 7#agje-agic71 ,chief ,justice of ,england1 created ,lord ,mansfield in #aggf4 ,why rail4 ,epilogue to ,satires1 ,dialogue ,,ii1 #ach4 ,despise low joys4 ,epistle to ,mr4 ,murray1 #fj4 ,p4 #acj4 character of ,addison4 ,epistle to ,dr4 ,arbuthnot1 #aic-bad4 ,buckingham4 ,george ,villiers1 second duke of ,buckingham 7#afbh-afhg71 statesman1 wit1 and poet4 ,alas6 how changed4 ,moral ,essays1 ,,iii1 #cje4 ,arbuthnot1 ,john 7#affg-agce71 physician and man of letters1 whom ,thackeray introduced in attendance at the death-bed of ,francis ,esmond4 ,he had a very notable share in the immortal ,history of ,john ,bull1 and the inimitable and praiseworthy ,memoirs of ,martinus ,scriblerus4444 ,arbuthnot's style is distinguished from that of his contemporaries1 even by a greater degree of terseness and conciseness4 ,he leaves out every superfluous word2 is sparing of connecting particles1 and introductory phrases2 uses always the simplest forms of construction2 and is more a master of the idiomatic peculiarities and internal resources of the language than almost any other writer4 ,english ,poets1 ,lecture ,,vi4 ,charles ,jervas 7#afge-agci7 gave ,pope lessons in painting4 ,he is also known as a translator of ,don ,quixote4 ,why did ,i write4 ,epistle to ,arbuthnot1 #abe4 ,p4 #aca4 ,oh1 lasting as those colours4 ,epistle to ,mr4 ,jervas1 #fc4 who have eyes4 ,psalms1 cxv1 #e2 cxxxv1 #af1 etc4 ,it will never do4 ,hazlitt was fond of mimicking this phrase with which ,jeffrey so unfortunately opened his well-known review of ,wordsworth's ,excursion4 ,i lisp'd in numbers4 ,epistle to ,arbuthnot1 #abh4 ,et quum conabar scribere4 ,cf4 ,ovid's ,tristia1 ,,iv1 x1 #bf3 ,et1 quod tentabam dicere1 versus erat4 ,,periodical ,,essayists ,the fifth lecture on the ,comic ,writers4 ,p4 #acc4 the proper study4 ,pope's ,essay on ,man1 ,,ii1 #b4 comes home4 ,bacon's dedication of the ,essays4 ,quicquid agunt homines4 ,whatever things men do form the mixed substance of our book4 ,juvenal's ,satires1 ,i1 #he4 ,with occasional exceptions1 this appears as the motto of the first #gh number of the ,tatler4 holds the mirror4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #b1 #bd4 the act and practic4 ,cf4 ,henry ,v1 i1 #a1 #ea3 ,so that the art and practic part of life ,must be the mistress to this theoric4 ,p4 #acd4 the web of our life4 ,all's ,well ,that ,ends ,well1 iv1 #c1 #hc4 ,quid sit pulchrum4 ,it tells us what is fair1 what foul1 what is useful1 what not1 more amply and better than ,chrysippus and ,crantor4 ,horace's ,epistles1 ,i1 ii1 #c-d4 ,montaigne1 ,michel 7#aecc-aeib74 ,essays1 ,books ,i and ,,ii1 #aehj2 ,book ,,iii1 #aehh4 ,p4 #ace4 not one of the angles4 ,sterne's ,tristram ,shandy1 ,bk4 ,,iii1 ,ch4 #ab4 ,p4 #acf4 pour out4 ,imitation of ,horace1 ,satire ,i1 #ea4 ,p4 #acf1 n4 more wise ,charron4 ,see ,pope's ,moral ,essays1 ,i1 #hg4 ,pierre ,charron 7#aeda-afjc71 a friend of ,montaigne1 author of ,de la ,sagesse 7#afja74 ,p4 #acg4 ,pereant isti4 lius ,donatus3 ,st4 ,jerome's ,commentary on the ,eucharist1 ch4 #a4 ,mr4 ,carr's translation of the sentence is ,confound the fellows who have said our good things before us4 7,camelot ,hazlitt47 ,p4 #ach4 ,charles ,cotton's 7#afcj-afhg7 translation of ,montaigne was published in #afhe4 ,it was dedicated to ,george ,savile1 ,marquis of ,halifax 7#afcc-afie71 who spoke of the essays as the book in the world ,i am best entertained with4 ,cowley1 ,abraham 7#afah-affg74 ,several ,discourses by way of ,essays in ,prose and ,verse appeared in the edition of his works in #affh4 ,sir ,william ,temple 7#afbh-afii74 ,his essays1 entitled ,miscellanea1 were published in #afhj and #afib4 ,lord ,shaftesbury 7#afga-agac71 author of ,characteristics 7#agaa74 ,p4 #aci4 the perfect spy4 ,macbeth1 iii1 #a1 #acj4 ,the ,tatler ran from ,april #ab1 #agji1 to ,june #b1 #agaa4 ,this paragraph and the larger portion of the next are substantially reproduced from the paper ,on the ,tatler in the ,round ,table4 ,isaac ,bickerstaff4 ,under the disguise of this name ,swift had perpetrated an amusing hoax on an almanac-maker of the name of ,partridge1 and in launching his new periodical ,steele availed himself of the notoriety of ,bickerstaff's name and feigned his identity with that personage4 ,p4 #adj4 the disastrous stroke4 ,cf4 ,othello1 i1 #c1 #aeg3 some distressful stroke that my youth suffered4 the recollection of one of his mistresses4 ,tatler1 ,no4 #ajg4 the club at the ,trumpet4 #acb4 the cavalcade4 #hf4 the upholsterer4 #aee1 #afj1 #agh4 ,if he walks out1 etc4 #bch4 ,p4 #ada4 ,charles ,lillie1 perfumer1 at the corner of ,beaufort ,buildings in the ,strand1 was agent for the sale of the ,tatler and ,spectator and is several times mentioned in those periodicals4 ,betterton1 ,thomas 7#afce8-agaj71 ,anne ,oldfield 7#afhc-agcj71 ,will ,richard ,estcourt 7#affh-agab71 were popular actors of the day4 ,tom ,durfey 7#afec-agbc7 was a dramatist and song writer4 ,duke of ,marlborough 7#afej-agbb71 and ,marshal ,turenne 7#afaa-afge74 ,the ,spectator ran from ,march #a1 #agaa1 to ,december #f1 #agab1 with an additional series from ,june #ah to ,december #bj1 #agad4 the first sprightly runnings4 ,dryden's ,aurengzebe1 iv1 #a4 ,p4 #adb4 ,addison1 ,joseph 7#afgb-agai74 the whiteness of her hand4 ,cf4 ,spectator4 ,no4 #aac4 ,she certainly has the finest hand of any woman in the world4 the havoc he makes4 ,spectator1 #aaf1 by ,budgell4 his speech from the bench and his unwillingness4 #abb4 his gentle reproof4 #acj4 his doubts4 #aag4 ,p4 #adc4 his account of the family pictures4 #aji1 by ,steele4 his choice of a chaplain4 #ajf4 his falling asleep at church and his reproof of ,john ,williams1 i4e41 ,john ,matthews4 #aab4 ,i once thought ,i knew4 ,cf4 ,on the ,conversation of ,authors1 where ,a---- 7,william ,ayrton7 is introduced as the ,will ,honeycomb of our set4 ,the ,court of ,honour4 ,addison created the court in ,tatler1 #bej4 ,its proceedings are recorded by himself and ,steele in ,nos4 #bec1 #bef1 #bei1 #bfb1 #bfe4 ,personification of ,musical ,instruments4 ,tatler1 #aec1 #aeg4 the picture of the family4 ,tatler1 #ie1 of unknown authorship4 ,p4 #add4 the account of the two sisters4 #aea4 the married lady4 #ajd4 the lover and his mistress4 #id4 the bridegroom4 #hb4 ,mr4 ,eustace and his wife4 #agb4 the fine dream4 #aag4 ,mandeville1 ,bernard 7d4 #agcc71 author of the satirical ,fable of the ,bees4 reflections on cheerfulness4 ,spectator1 #cha1 #chg1 #cic4 those in ,westminster ,abbey4 #bf4 ,royal ,exchange4 #fi4 ,p4 #ade4 the best criticism4 #bbf4 ,mr4 ,fuseli1 ,henry 7#agda-ahbe71 painter and art critic4 an original copy4 ,probably the octavo edition of #agaa4 ,the ,guardian ran from ,march #ab1 #agac1 to ,october #a1 #agac4 ,the ,rambler ran from ,march #bj1 #agdi-ej1 to ,march #ad1 #ageb4 ,dr4 ,johnson1 ,samuel 7#agji-aghd74 ,p4 #adf4 give us pause4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #a1 #fh4 ,p4 #adg4 ,all his periods1 etc4 ,see the ,character of ,burke and the preface to ,the ,characters of ,shakespeare's ,plays4 ,p4 #adh4 the elephant4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iv1 #cde4 ,if he were to write4 ,boswell's ,johnson1 ed4 ,birkbeck ,hill1 ,,ii1 #bca4 ,p4 #adi4 ,rasselas1 an ,oriental tale1 published in #agei4 abused ,milton and patronised ,lauder4 ,see ,boswell's ,johnson1 ,i1 #bbh-bca4 ,p4 #aej4 ,boswell1 ,james 7#agdj-agie71 made his literary reputation by his ,life of ,johnson4 the king of good fellows4 ,burns's ,auld ,rab ,morris4 inventory of all he said4 ,cf4 ,ben ,jonson's ,alchemist1 iii1 #b3 ,and ta'en an inventory of what they are4 ,goldsmith asked4 ,boswell's ,johnson1 ,,ii1 #bfj4 ,if that fellow ,burke4 ,,ii1 #dej4 ,what1 is it you4 ,i1 #bej4 ,p4 #aea4 with some unidead girls4 ,i1 #bea4 ,now1 ,i think4 ,,ii1 #cfb4 his quitting the society4 ,i1 #bja4 his dining with ,wilkes4 ,,iii1 #fd4 his sitting with the young ladies4 ,,ii1 #abj4 his carrying the unfortunate victim4 ,,iv1 #cba4 an act which realises the parable4 ,talfourd1 who heard this lecture1 reports that on ,hazlitt's allusion to this incident a titter arose from some who were struck by the picture as ludicrous1 and a murmur from others who deemed the allusion unfit for ears polite3 he paused for an instant1 and then added1 in his sturdiest and most impressive manner--'an act which realizes the parable of the ,good ,samaritan'--at which his moral1 and his delicate hearers shrank1 rebuked1 into deep silence4 where they4 ,gray's ,elegy4 ,p4 #aeb4 ,the ,adventurer ran from ,november #g1 #ageb1 to ,march #i1 #aged4 ,john ,hawkesworth 7#agae-aggc7 was its chief contributor4 ,the ,world ran from ,january #d1 #agec1 to ,december #cj1 #agef4 ,the ,connoisseur ran from ,january #ca1 #aged1 to ,september #cj1 #agef4 one good idea4 ,the paper referred to is ,no4 #agf of ,the ,world1 by ,edward ,moore1 the dramatist4 ,citizen of the ,world1 in two volumes1 #agfb4 go about to cozen4 ,cf4 ,merchant of ,venice1 ii1 #i1 #cg3 ,to cozen fortune and be honorable ,without the stamp of merit4 ,persian ,letters4 ,letters from a ,persian in ,england to his ,friend at ,ispahan 7#agce71 by ,lord ,lyttleton4 ,p4 #aec4 ,the bonzes4 ,citizen of the ,world1 ,letter ,x4 ,edinburgh4 ,we are positive4 ,ibid41 ,letter ,v4 ,beau ,tibbs4 ,letters ,,xxix1 ,,liv1 ,,lv1 ,,lxxxi4 ,lounger ran from ,february #e1 #aghe1 to ,january #f1 #aghf1 ,the ,mirror from ,january #bc1 #aggi1 to ,may #bg1 #aghj4 ,the chief contributor to both was ,henry ,mackenzie 7#agde-ahca71 author of the celebrated sentimental novels3 ,the ,man of ,feeling 7#agga71 ,the ,man of the ,world 7#aggc71 ,julia de ,roubign 7#aggg74 the story of ,la ,roche4 ,mirror1 #db1 #dc1 #dd4 the story of ,le ,fevre4 ,tristram ,shandy1 ,bk4 ,,vi1 ch4 #f4 ,p4 #aed4 author of ,rosamond ,gray4 ,charles ,lamb4 ,,the ,,english ,,novelists ,from the sixth lecture on the ,comic ,writers4 ,most of the matter had appeared in the ,edinburgh ,review for ,february1 #ahae1 as a review of ,madame ,d',arblay's ,wanderer4 7,see ,works1 ,x1 #be-dd47 ,in ,a ,farewell to ,essay-,writing 7,works1 ,,xii1 #cbg7 ,hazlitt harks back to his days with ,charles and ,mary ,lamb3 ,i will not compare our hashed mutton with ,amelia's2 but it put us in mind of it1 and led to a discussion1 sharply seasoned and well sustained1 till midnight1 the result of which appeared some years after in the ,edinburgh ,review4 ,p4 #aee4 ,be mine to read4 ,to ,richard ,west1 ,april1 #agdb4 ,marivaux1 ,pierre 7#afhh-agfc71 and ,crebillon1 ,claude ,prosper 7#agjg-aggg71 ,french novelists4 something more divine4 ,cf4 p4 #bed4 ,p4 #aef4 ,fielding 444 says4 ,joseph ,andrews1 ,bk4 ,,iii1 ch4 #a4 description somewhere given4 ,reflections on the ,french ,revolution1 ed4 ,bohn1 ,,ii1 #cea-ceb4 ,p4 #aeg4 ,echard4 ,john ,eachard 7#afcf-afig71 author of ,the ,grounds and ,occasions of the ,contempt of the ,clergy and ,religion ,enquired into4 7#afgj47 worthy of all acceptation4 #a ,timothy1 i1 #ae4 the lecture4 ,joseph ,andrews1 ,bk4 ,,iv1 ch4 #c4 ,blackstone1 ,sir ,william 7#agbc-aghj71 author of ,commentaries on the ,laws of ,england 7#agfe-fi74 ,de ,lolme1 ,john4 ,louis 7#agdj8-ahjg71 author of ,the ,constitution of ,england 7#agga74 ,cervantes1 ,miguel 7#aedg-afaf71 ,spanish novelist whose most famous work is ,don ,quixote4 ,le ,sage1 ,alain ,ren 7#affh-agdg71 ,french novelist1 author of ,gil ,blas4 ,fielding1 ,henry 7#agjg-aged74 ,his most important novels are ,joseph ,andrews 7#agdb71 ,tom ,jones 7#agdi71 ,amelia 7#agea71 ,jonathan ,wild 7#agdc74 ,smollett1 ,tobias 7#agba-agga71 wrote ,roderick ,random 7#agdh71 ,peregrine ,pickle 7#agea71 ,ferdinand ,count ,fathom 7#agec71 ,launcelot ,greaves 7#agfb71 ,humphrey ,clinker 7#agga74 ,richardson1 ,samuel 7#afhi-agfa71 wrote ,pamela 7#agdj71 ,clarissa ,harlowe 7#agdg-dh71 ,sir ,richard ,grandison 7#agec74 ,sterne1 ,laurence 7#agac-agfh71 wrote ,tristram ,shandy 7#agei-fg71 ,a ,sentimental ,journey ,through ,france and ,italy 7#agfh74 ,p4 #aeh4 in these several writers4 ,a few paragraphs are here omitted treating of ,don ,quixote1 ,lazarillo de ,tormes 7#aeec71 ,guzman d',alfarache by ,mateo ,aleman 7#aeii71 and ,gil ,blas4 ,they are thoroughly ,english4 ,in the review of ,walpole's ,letters 7,works1 ,x1 #afh71 ,hazlitt says3 ,there is nothing of a tea inspiration in any of his ,fielding's novels4 ,they are assuredly the finest thing of the kind in the language2 and we are ,englishmen enough to consider them the best in any language4 ,they are indubitably the most ,english of all the works of ,englishmen4 ,hogarth1 ,william 7#afig-agfd71 painter and engraver of moral and satirical subjects4 ,his two most famous series of paintings are ,the ,rake's ,progress and ,marriage la ,mode4 ,lamb in his ,essay on the ,genius and ,character of ,hogarth observes3 ,other pictures we look at1--his prints we read4 ,hazlitt1 sharing this view1 includes an account of ,hogarth in the seventh lecture of the ,comic ,writers1 which opens as follows3 ,if the quantity of amusement1 or of matter for more serious reflection which their works have afforded1 is that by which we are to judge of precedence among the intellectual benefactors of mankind1 there are1 perhaps1 few persons who can put in a stronger claim to our gratitude than ,hogarth4 ,it is not hazarding too much to assert1 that he was one of the greatest comic geniuses that ever lived4 ,p4 #aei4 the gratitude of the elder ,blifil4 ,bk4 ,i1 ch4 #ac4 the ,latin dialogues1 etc4 ,bk4 ,,ii1 chs4 #c-d4 ,p4 #afj4 honesty of ,black ,george4 ,bk4 ,,vi1 ch4 #ac4 ,i was never so handsome4 ,bk4 ,,xvii1 ch4 #d4 the adventure with the highwayman4 ,bk4 ,,vii1 ch4 #i4 ,sophia and her muff4 ,bk4 ,v1 ch4 #d4 coquetry of her cousin4 ,bk4 ,,xvi1 ch4 #i4 the modest overtures4 ,bk4 ,,xv1 ch4 #aa4 the story of ,tom ,jones4 ,cf4 ,coleridge's ,table ,talk1 ,july #e1 #ahcd3 ,i think the ,o,edipus ,tyrannus1 the ,alchemist1 and ,tom ,jones1 the three most perfect plots ever planned4 account of ,miss ,matthews and ,ensign ,hibbert ,hebbers4 ,bk4 ,i1 chs4 #g-i4 ,p4 #afa4 the story of the miniature picture4 ,bk4 ,,xi1 ch4 #f4 the hashed mutton4 ,bk4 ,x1 ch4 #f4 the masquerade4 ,bk4 ,x1 ch4 #b4 the interview4 ,bk4 ,x1 chs4 #b1 #h4 ,p4 #afb4 ,his declaring4 ,bk4 ,,iii1 ch4 #c4 his consoling himself4 ,bk4 ,,iii1 ch4 #b4 the night-adventures4 ,bk4 ,,iv1 ch4 #ad4 that with the huntsman4 ,bk4 ,,iii1 ch4 #f4 ,wilson's account4 ,bk4 ,,iii1 ch4 #c4 ,p4 #afc4 ,roderick ,random's carroty locks4 ch4 #ac4 ,strap's ignorance4 ch4 #ad4 intus et in cute4 ,persius' ,satires1 ,,iii1 #cj4 ,p4 #afd4 scene on ship-board4 ch4 #bd4 profligate ,french friar4 chs4 #db-dc4 ,p4 #afe4 the ,count's address4 ch4 #bg4 the robber-scene4 chs4 #bj-ba4 the ,parisian swindler4 ch4 #bd4 the seduction4 ch4 #cd4 ,p4 #aff4 the long description4 ,the allusions to ,miss ,byron's dress in ,vol4 ,,vii1 ,letter ,,iii1 can scarcely be called a long description4 ,p4 #afg4 ,dr4 ,johnson seems to have preferred4 ,cf4 ,boswell's ,johnson1 ed4 ,hill1 ,,ii1 #agd3 ,sir1 there is more knowledge of the heart in one letter of ,richardson's1 than in all ,tom ,jones4 ,p4 #afh4 reproaches to her lumpish heart4 ,pamela1 ed4 ,dobson and ,phelps1 ,i1 #bfh4 its lightness4 ,i1 #bgf4 the joy4 ,,ii1 #g-be4 the artifice of the stuff-gown4 ,i1 #ea4 the meeting with ,lady ,davers4 ,,ii1 #ade ff4 the trial-scene with her husband4 ,,iv1 #abb ff4 ,p4 #afi4 her long dying-scene4 ,clarissa ,harlowe1 ed4 ,dobson and ,phelps1 ,vol4 ,,viii1 ,letter #bi4 the closing of the coffin-lid4 ,,viii1 ,letter #ej4 the heart-breaking reflections4 ,,vi1 ,letter #bi4 ,books are a real world4 ,wordsworth's ,personal ,talk4 ,lovelace's reception and description of ,hickman4 ,,vi1 ,letter #hj4 the scene at the glove-shop4 ,,vii1 ,letter #gj4 ,belton1 so pert4 ,i1 ,letter #ca4 his systematically preferring4 ,cf4 ,why the ,heroes of ,romances are ,insipid 7,works1 ,,xii1 #fb73 ,there is not a single thing that ,sir ,charles ,grandison does or says all through the book from liking to any person or object but himself1 and with a view to answer to a certain standard of perfection for which he pragmatically sets up4 ,he is always thinking of himself1 and trying to show that he is the wisest1 happiest1 and most virtuous person in the whole world4 ,he is 7or would be thought7 a code of ,christian ethics2 a compilation and abstract of all gentlemanly accomplishments4 ,there is nothing1 ,i conceive1 that excites so little sympathy as this inordinate egotism2 or so much disgust as this everlasting self-complacency4 ,yet this self-admiration1 brought forward on every occasion as the incentive to every action and reflected from all around him1 is the burden and pivot of the story4 ,p4 #agj4 a dull fellow4 ,boswell's ,johnson1 ed4 ,birkbeck ,hill1 ,,ii1 #bbb4 the tale of ,maria4 ,bk4 ,,ix1 ch4 #bd4 the apostrophe to the recording angel4 ,bk4 ,,vi1 ch4 #h4 the story of ,le ,fevre4 ,bk4 ,,vi1 ch4 #f4 ,the rest of the lecture treats of ,fanny ,burney1 ,anne ,radcliffe1 ,elizabeth ,inchbald1 ,william ,godwin1 and ,sir ,walter ,scott4 ,,character ,,of ,,mr4 ,,burke ,first published in the ,eloquence of the ,british ,senate and republished in ,political ,essays4 ,p4 #agb4 ,the following speech4 ,hazlitt refers to the speech ,on the ,economic ,reform 7,february #aa1 #aghj74 ,see ,burke's ,works1 ed4 ,bohn1 ,,ii1 #ee-abf4 ,p4 #agd4 the elephant to make them sport4 ,paradise ,lost ,,iv1 #cde4 native and endued4 ,hamlet1 iv1 #g1 #ahj4 ,lord ,chatham4 ,william ,pitt1 ,earl of ,chatham 7#agjh-aggh71 the great ,english statesman4 ,p4 #agf4 a new creation4 ,goldsmith's ,traveler1 #bif4 ,p4 #agh4 ,all the great changes4 ,cf4 ,morley's ,life of ,burke1 ch4 #h3 ,all really profound speculation about society comes in time to touch the heart of every other object of speculation1 not by directly contributing new truths or directly corroborating old ones1 but by setting men to consider the consequences to life of different opinions on these abstract subjects1 and their relations to the great paramount interests of society1 however those interests may happen at the time to be conceived4 ,burke's book marks a turning-point in literary history1 because it was the signal for that reaction over the whole field of thought1 into which the ,revolution drove many of the finest minds of the next generation1 by showing the supposed consequences of pure individualistic rationalism4 ,p4 #agi4 ,alas6 ,leviathan4 ,cowper's ,task1 ,,ii1 #cbb4 the corner stone4 ,psalms1 cxvii1 #bb4 to the ,jews4 #a ,corinthians1 i1 #bc4 ,p4 #ahc4 the consequences of his writings4 ,in this view ,hazlitt has the full support of ,lord ,morley4 ,p4 #ahd4 ,how charming4 ,milton's ,comus1 #dgf4 ,he was one of the severest writers we have4 ,the description of ,burke's style which follows should be compared with that given on pp4 #cdd-e and with the splendid passage in the ,plain ,speaker essay ,on the ,prose ,style of ,poets1 beginning3 ,it has always appeared to me that the most perfect prose-style1 the most powerful1 the most dazzling1 the most daring1 that which went the nearest to the verge of poetry1 and yet never fell over1 was ,burke's4 ,it has the solidity1 and sparkling effect of the diamond2 all other fine writing is like ,french paste or ,bristol-stones in the comparison4 ,burke's style is airy1 flighty1 adventurous1 but it never loses sight of the subject2 nay1 is always in contact with1 and derives its increased or varying impulse from it4 ,it may be said to pass yawning gulfs 'on the unsteadfast footing of a spear3' still it has an actual resting-place and tangible support under it--it is not suspended on nothing4 ,it differs from poetry1 as ,i conceive1 like the chamois from the eagle3 it climbs to an almost equal height1 touches upon a cloud1 overlooks a precipice1 is picturesque1 sublime--but all the while1 instead of soaring through the air1 it stands upon a rocky cliff1 clambers up by abrupt and intricate ways1 and browzes on the roughest bark1 or crops the tender flower4 ,p4 #ahf4 the set or formal style4 ,see pp4 #adg-h4 ,p4 #ahg4 ,thoughts on the ,cause of the ,present ,discontents 7#aggj71 a criticism of the ministerial policy of the ,english government under ,george ,,iii4 ,reflections on the ,revolution in ,france 7#agij71 a severe arraignment of the principles which inspired the revolution and a prophetic warning of its consequences4 ,letter to the ,duke of ,bedford4 ,a ,letter from the ,right ,hon4 ,edmund ,burke1 to a ,noble ,lord1 on the attacks made upon him and his pension1 in the ,house of ,lords1 by the ,duke of ,bedford and the ,earl of ,lauderdale1 early in the present session of ,parliament4 7#agjf47 ,regicide ,peace4 ,three ,letters addressed to a ,member of the ,present ,parliament1 on the proposals for peace with the regicide ,directory of ,france4 7#agif47 ,p4 #ahh4 ,fox1 ,charles ,james 7#agdi-ahjf71 the famous ,whig statesman who was frequently the opponent of ,burke and of the younger ,pitt4 ,p4 #ahi4 ,dr4 ,johnson observed1 in his ,life of ,pope 7ed4 ,birkbeck ,hill1 ,,iii1 #bcj73 ,in their similes the greatest writers have sometimes failed2 the ship-race1 compared with the chariot-race1 is neither illustrated nor aggrandised2 land and water make all the difference3 when ,apollo running after ,daphne is likened to a greyhound chasing a hare1 there is nothing gained2 the ideas of pursuit and flight are too plain to be made plainer1 and a god and the daughter of a god are not represented much to their advantage by a hare and a dog4 a person4 ,conjecturally ,joseph ,fawcett4 ,in the essay ,on ,criticism 7,table ,talk7 ,hazlitt says3 ,the person of the most refined and least contracted taste ,i ever knew was the late ,joseph ,fawcett1 the friend of my youth4 ,he was almost the first literary acquaintance ,i ever made1 and ,i think the most candid and unsophisticated4 ,he had a masterly perception of all styles and of every kind and degree of excellence1 sublime or beautiful1 from ,milton's ,paradise ,lost to ,shenstone's ,pastoral ,ballad1 from ,butler's ,analogy down to ,humphrey ,clinker4 ,p4 #ahi1 n4 the comparison of the ,british ,constitution4 ,letter to a ,noble ,lord1 ,works1 ed4 ,bohn1 ,v1 #acg4 ,,mr4 ,,wordsworth ,from ,the ,spirit of the ,age4 ,characterizations of ,wordsworth also occur in the lecture ,on the ,living ,poets and in the ,essay ,on ,genius and ,common ,sense in ,table ,talk4 ,p4 #aia4 lowliness is young ambition's ladder4 ,julius ,csar1 ii1 #a1 #bb4 no figures4 ,cf4 ,julius ,csar1 ii1 #a1 #bca3 ,thou hast no figures nor no fantasies ,which busy care draws in the brains of men4 skyey influences4 ,measure for ,measure1 iii1 #a1 #i4 ,p4 #aib4 nihil humani4 ,terence3 ,heautontimoroumenos4 i1 #a1 #be4 the cloud-capt towers4 ,tempest1 iv1 #a1 #aea4 ,p4 #aic4 the judge's robe4 ,cf4 ,measure for ,measure1 ii1 #b1 #ei2 ,no ceremony that to great ones 'longs1 ,not the king's crown1 nor the deputed sword1 ,the marshal's truncheon1 nor the judge's robe4 ,pindar and ,alcus4 ,greek lyric poets4 a sense of joy4 ,wordsworth's ,to ,my ,sister4 ,p4 #aid4 ,beneath the hills4 ,cf4 ,wordsworth's ,excursion1 ,,vi1 #eca3 ,amid the groves1 under the shadowy hills ,the generations are prepared4444 ,p4 #aie4 ,to him the meanest flower4 ,ode on the ,intimations of ,immortality4 ,p4 #aif4 ,grasmere was the residence of ,wordsworth between #agii and #ahac4 ,cole-,orton was the residence of ,wordsworth's friend1 ,sir ,george ,beaumont1 to whom he dedicated the #ahae edition of his poems3 ,some of the best pieces were composed under the shade of your own groves1 upon the classic ground of ,cole-,orton4 ,p4 #aig4 ,calm contemplation4 ,cf4 ,laodamia3 ,calm pleasures there abide1 majestic pains4 ,fall blunted from each indurated heart4 ,goldsmith's ,traveler1 #bcb4 and fit audience4 ,wordsworth quotes this line from ,paradise ,lost1 ,,vii1 #ca1 in ,the ,recluse1 #ggf3 ',fit audience let me find though few6' ,so prayed1 more gaining than he asked1 the ,bard-- ,in holiest mood4 ,p4 #aih4 ,the ,excursion4 ,hazlitt wrote a review of this poem for the ,examiner which not only aroused ,wordsworth's resentment but led to one of his disagreements with ,lamb4 ,the review appears in the ,round ,table4 toujours perdrix1 always partridges1 alluding to a story of a ,french king1 who1 on being reproved by his confessor for faithlessness to his wife1 punished the offender by causing him to be fed on nothing but his favorite dish1 which was partridge4 ,see ,notes and ,queries1 ,series ,,iv1 ,vol4 ,,iii1 p4 #ccf4 ,in his person4 ,in #ahjc1 while on a visit to the ,lake ,country1 ,hazlitt had painted a portrait of ,wordsworth4 ,he has painted ,wordsworth1 writes ,southey1 but so dismally1 though ,wordsworth's face is his idea of physiognomical perfection1 that one of his friends1 on seeing it1 exclaimed1 ',at the gallows--deeply affected by his deserved fate--yet determined to die like a man2' and if you saw the picture1 you would admire the criticism4 ,life and ,correspondence1 ,,ii1 #bch4 ,his manner of reading4 ,see p4 #bie4 a man of no mark4 #a ,henry ,,iv1 iii1 #b1 #de4 ,p4 #aii4 ,he finds fault with ,dryden's description4 ,hazlitt adopted this criticism in his lecture ,on ,pope and ,dryden4 ,p4 #bjj4 ,titian 7c4 #adgg-aegf71 the great ,venetian painter4 ,chaucer4 ,wordsworth's modernizations of ,chaucer are ,the ,prioress's ,tale1 ,the ,cuckoo and the ,nightingale1 and a part of ,troilus and ,cressida4 a tragedy4 ,the ,borderers was written in #agie-if but not published till #ahdb4 ,the quotation which follows is from ,act iii1 #a1 #dje1 and should read3 ,action is transitory--a step1 a blow1 ,the motion of a muscle--this way or that-- ',tis done1 and in the after-vacancy ,we wonder at ourselves like men betrayed2 ,suffering is permanent1 obscure and dark1 ,and shares the nature of infinity4 ,wordsworth quoted these lines after the dedication to ,the ,white ,doe of ,rylstone and later added a note3 ,this and the five lines that follow were either read or recited by me more than thirty years since1 to the late ,mr4 ,hazlitt1 who quoted some expressions in them 7imperfectly remembered7 in a work of his published several years ago4 ,p4 #bja4 ,let observation4 ,cf4 ,de ,quincey's ,rhetoric 7,works1 ed4 ,masson1 ,x1 #abh73 ,we recollect a little biographic sketch of ,dr4 ,johnson1 published immediately after his death1 in which1 among other instances of desperate tautology1 the author quotes the well-known lines from the ,doctor's imitation of ,juvenal--',let observation1' etc41 and contends with some reason that this is saying in effect1--',let observation with extensive observation observe mankind extensively4' ,coleridge somewhere makes the same remark4 ,drawcansir4 ,a character in ,the ,rehearsal by the ,duke of ,buckingham4 ,let petty kings the names of ,parties know3 ,where'er ,i am1 ,i slay both friend and foe4 v1 #a4 ,walton's ,angler4 ,in the fifth lecture of the ,english ,poets ,hazlitt writes3 ,perhaps the best pastoral in the language is that prose-poem1 ,walton's ,complete ,angler4 ,that well-known work has a beauty and romantic interest equal to its simplicity1 and arising out of it4 ,in the description of a fishing-tackle1 you perceive the piety and humanity of the author's mind4 ,it is to be doubted whether ,sannazarius's ,piscatory ,eclogues are equal to the scenes described by ,walton on the banks of the river ,lea4 ,he gives the feeling of the open air3 we walk with him along the dusty roadside1 or repose on the banks of a river under a shady tree2 and in watching for the finny prey1 imbibe what he beautifully calls 'the patience and simplicity of poor honest fishermen4' ,we accompany them to their inn at night1 and partake of their simple1 but delicious fare2 while ,maud1 the pretty milkmaid1 at her mother's desire1 sings the classical ditties of the poet ,marlow2 ',come live with me1 and be my love4' ,paley1 ,william 7#agdc-ahje71 a noted theologian4 ,cf4 ,on the ,clerical ,character in ,political ,essays 7,works1 ,,iii1 #bgf73 ,this same shuffling divine is the same ,dr4 ,paley1 who afterwards employed the whole of his life1 and his moderate second-hand abilities1 in tampering with religion1 morality1 and politics1--in trimming between his convenience and his conscience1--in crawling between heaven and earth1 and trying to cajole both4 ,his celebrated and popular work on ,moral ,philosophy1 is celebrated and popular for no other reason1 than that it is a somewhat ingenious and amusing apology for existing abuses of any description1 by which any thing is to be got4 ,it is a very elaborate and consolatory elucidation of the text1 that men should not quarrel with their bread and butter4 ,it is not an attempt to show what is right1 but to palliate and find out plausible excuses for what is wrong4 ,it is a work without the least value1 except as a convenient commonplace book or vade mecum1 for tyro politicians and young divines1 to smooth their progress in the ,church or the ,state4 ,this work is a text-book in the ,university3 its morality is the acknowledged morality of the ,house of ,commons4 ,see also ,coleridge's opinion of ,paley on p4 #bhh4 ,bewick1 ,thomas 7#agec-ahbh71 a well-known wood-engraver4 ,waterloo1 ,antoine 7#afji8-afgf871 a ,french engraver1 painter1 and etcher4 ,rembrandt1 ,harmans van ,rijn 7#afjf-affi471 ,dutch painter1 whose mastery of light and shade was the object of ,hazlitt's special admiration4 ,p4 #bjb4 ,he hates conchology1 etc4 ,see the lecture ,on the ,living ,poets3 ,he hates all science and all art2 he hates chemistry1 he hates conchology2 he hates ,voltaire2 he hates ,sir ,isaac ,newton2 he hates wisdom2 he hates wit2 he hates metaphysics1 which he says are unintelligible1 and yet he would be thought to understand them2 he hates prose2 he hates all poetry but his own2 he hates the dialogues in ,shakespeare2 he hates music1 dancing1 and painting2 he hates ,rubens1 he hates ,rembrandt2 he hates ,raphael1 he hates ,titian2 he hates ,vandyke2 he hates the antique2 he hates the ,apollo ,belvidere2 he hates the ,venus of ,medicis4 ,where one for sense4 ,butler's ,hudibras1 ,,ii1 #bi4 ,p4 #bjc4 take the good4 ,plautus's ,rudens1 iv1 #g4 ,,mr4 ,,coleridge ,from the ,spirit of the ,age4 ,p4 #bje4 and thank4 ,cf4 ,comus1 #agf3 ,in wanton dance they praise the bounteous ,pan4 a mind reflecting4 ,see p4 #ce and n4 dark rearward4 ,cf4 ,tempest1 i1 #b1 #ej3 ,in the dark backward and abysm of time4 ,p4 #bjf4 ,that which was4 ,antony and ,cleopatra1 iv1 #ad1 #i4 quick1 forgetive4 #b ,henry ,,iv1 iv1 #c1 #ajg4 what in him is weak4 ,cf4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i1 #bb3 ,what in me is dark ,illumine1 what is low raise and support4 ,p4 #bjg4 and by the force4 ,cf4 ,macbeth1 iii1 #e1 #bh3 ,as by the strength of their illusion ,shalt draw him on to his confusion4 rich strond4 ,farie ,queene1 ,,iii1 iv1 #ah1 #bi1 #cd4 goes sounding4 ,hazlitt seems to have had a hazy recollection of two passages in ,chaucer's ,prologue4 ,in his essay on ',my ,first ,acquaintance with ,poets1' he says1 'the scholar in ,chaucer is described as going sounding on his way1' and in his ,lectures on the ,english ,poets he says1 'the merchant1 as described in ,chaucer1 went on his way sounding always the increase of his winning4' ,the scholar is not described as 'sounding on his way1' but ,chaucer says of him1 ',souninge in moral vertu was his speche1' while the merchant1 though 'souninge alway th' encrees of his winning1' is not described as going on his way4 ,wordsworth has a line 7',excursion1' ,book ,,iii71 ',went sounding on a dim and perilous way1' but it seems clear that ,hazlitt thought he was quoting ,chaucer4 ,waller-,glover1 ,,iv1 #dab4 ,p4 #bjh4 his own nothings4 ,coriolanus1 ii1 #b1 #ha4 letting contemplation4 ,cf4 ,dyer's ,grongar ,hill1 #bf3 till contemplation have its fill4 ,sailing with supreme dominion4 ,gray's ,progress of ,poesy4 ,he lisped4 ,pope's ,prologue to the ,satires1 #abh4 ,ode on ,chatterton4 ,monody on the ,death of ,chatterton1 written by ,coleridge in #agij1 at the age of eighteen4 ,p4 #bji4 gained several prizes4 ,at ,cambridge ,coleridge won the ,browne ,gold ,medal for a ,greek ,ode in #agib4 ,waller-,glover4 ,at ,christ's ,hospital1 a ,london school which ,leigh ,hunt and ,lamb attended about the same time as ,coleridge4 ,the former has left a record of its life in his ,autobiography1 and ,lamb has written of it1 with special reference to ,coleridge1 in his ,recollections of ,christ's ,hospital and ,christ's ,hospital ,five-and-,thirty ,years ,ago4 ,struggling in vain4 ,excursion1 ,,vi1 #eeg4 ,p4 #baj4 ,hartley1 ,david 7#agje-ageg71 author of ,observations on ,man 7#agdi71 and identified chiefly with the theory of association4 ,cf4 ,coleridge's ,religious ,musings1 #cfh3 and he of mortal kind ,wisest1 he first who marked the ideal tribes ,up the fine fibres through the sentient brain4 ,dr4 ,priestley1 ,joseph 7#agcc-ahjd71 scientist and philosopher of the materialistic school1 author of ,the ,doctrine of ,philosophical ,necessity ,illustrated 7#aggg74 ,see6 ,priestley there1 patriot1 and saint1 and sage4 ,religious ,musings1 #cga4 ,bishop ,berkeley's fairy-world4 ,george ,berkeley 7#afhe-agec71 idealistic philosopher4 ,cf4 p4 #bhg4 ,malebranche1 ,nicholas 7#afch-agae71 author of ,de la ,recherche de la ,vrit 7#afgd74 ,cudworth1 ,ralph 7#afag-afhh71 author of ,the ,true ,intellectual ,system of the ,universe 7#afgh74 ,lord ,brook's hieroglyphical theories4 ,fulke ,greville1 ,lord ,brooke 7#aeed-afbh71 friend and biographer of ,sir ,philip ,sidney4 ,bishop ,butler's ,sermons4 ,joseph ,butler 7#afib-ageb71 author of ,fifteen ,sermons ,preached at the ,rolls ,chapel 7#agbf71 and ,the ,analogy of ,religion1 ,natural and ,revealed1 to the ,constitution and ,course of ,nature 7#agcf74 ,duchess of ,newcastle4 ,margaret ,cavendish 7#afbd8-afgd71 published about a dozen folio volumes of philosophical fancies1 poems1 and plays4 ,in ,mackery ,end in ,hertfordshire ,lamb refers to her as the thrice noble1 chaste1 and virtuous1 but again somewhat fantastical and original-brained1 generous ,margaret ,newcastle4 ,clarke1 ,samuel 7#afge-agbi71 ,english theologian of latitudinarian principles4 ,south1 ,robert 7#afcd-agaf71 controversial writer and preacher4 ,tillotson1 ,john 7#afcj-afid71 a popular theological writer of rationalistic tendency4 ,leibnitz's ,pre-established ,harmony4 ,gottfried ,wilhelm ,leibnitz 7#afdf-agaf71 a ,german philosopher1 represented the world as consisting of an infinite number of independent substances or monads related to each other in such a way 7by the pre-established harmony7 as to form one universe4 ,cf4 ,coleridge's ,destiny of ,nations1 #ch ff43 ,others boldlier think ,that as one body seems the aggregate ,of atoms numberless1 each organized2 ,so by a strange and dim similitude ,infinite myriads of self-conscious minds ,are an all-conscious spirit1 which informs ,with absolute ubiquity of thought 7,his own eternal self-affirming act67 ,all his involved ,monads1 that yet seem ,with various province and apt agency ,each to pursue its own self-centering end4 ,p4 #baj1 n4 ,and so by many4 ,two ,gentlemen of ,verona1 ii1 #g1 #cj4 ,p4 #baa4 hortus siccus dry garden of ,dissent4 ,burke's ,reflections on the ,french ,revolution1 ,works1 ed4 ,bohn1 ,,ii1 #bhg4 ,john ,huss 7#acgc8-adae71 ,bohemian reformer and martyr4 ,jerome of ,prague1 a follower of ,huss who was burnt for heresy in #adaf4 ,socinus4 ,fausto ,paulo ,sozzini 7#aeci-afjd71 an ,italian theologian who sought to simplify the doctrine of the ,trinity4 ,john ,zisca 7#acgj8-adbd71 a leader of the extreme ,hussite party4 ,neal's ,history4 ,daniel ,neal 7#afdh-agdc7 published his ,history of the ,puritans #agcb-ch4 ,calamy1 ,edmund 7#afga-agcb7 published an ,account of the ,ministers1 ,lecturers1 ,masters and ,fellows of ,colleges1 and ,schoolmasters who were ,ejected or ,silenced after the ,restoration of #affj 7#agjb and #agac74 ,spinoza1 ,baruch 7#afcb-afgg71 a ,dutch philosopher of ,jewish parentage1 the chief representative of ,pantheism1 the doctrine of one infinite substance1 of which all finite existences are modes or limitations4 ,when he saw4 ,cf4 ,coleridge's ,remorse1 iv1 #b1 #ajj3 ,when we saw nought but beauty2 when we heard ,the voice of that ,almighty ,one who loved us ,in every gale that breathed1 and wave that murmur'd6 ,proclus 7#daj-dhe7 and ,plotinus 7#bjd-bgj71 philosophers of the ,neo-,platonic school4 ,in ,biographia ,literaria 7chap4 #i7 ,coleridge refers to his early study of ,plato and of ,plotinus1 with the commentaries and the ',theologia ,platonica' of the illustrious ,florentine2 of ,proclus1 and ,gemistius ,pletho4 ,duns ,scotus 7#abfe or #abge-acjh7 and ,thomas ,aquinas 7#abbg-abgd71 two great theologians of the ,catholic ,church4 ,jacob ,behmen or ,bhme 7#aege-afbd71 a ,german religious mystic who exerted considerable influence on ,english religious thought in the eighteenth century4 ,in the ,biographia ,literaria 7chap4 #i7 ,coleridge writes3 ,a meek and shy quietist1 his intellectual powers were never stimulated into feverous energy by crowds of proselytes1 or by the ambition of proselyting4 ,jacob ,behmen was an enthusiast in the strictest sense1 as not merely distinguished1 but as contradistinguished from a fanatic4444 ,the writings of these ,mystics acted in no slight degree to prevent my mind from being imprisoned within the outline of any single dogmatic system4 ,swedenborg1 ,emanuel 7#afhh-aggb71 the ,swedish scientist and mystic from whom have sprung some of the modern theosophical cults4 ,religious ,musings1 published in his ,poems on ,various ,subjects 7#agif74 the glad prose of ,jeremy ,taylor4 ,cf4 ,literature of the ,age of ,elizabeth1 ,lecture ,,vii3 ,in his writings1 the frail stalk of human life reclines on the bosom of eternity4 ,his ,holy ,living and ,dying is a divine pastoral4 ,he writes to the faithful followers of ,christ1 as the shepherd pipes to his flock4 ,he introduces touching and heartfelt appeals to familiar life2 condescends to men of low estate2 and his pious page blushes with modesty and beauty4 ,his style is prismatic4 ,it unfolds the colours of the rainbow2 it floats like the bubble through the air2 it is like innumerable dew-drops that glitter on the face of morning1 and tremble as they glitter4 ,he does not dig his way underground1 but slides upon ice1 borne on the winged car of fancy4 ,the dancing light he throws upon objects is like an ,aurora ,borealis1 playing betwixt heaven and earth4444 ,in a word1 his writings are more like fine poetry than any other prose whatever2 they are a choral song in praise of virtue1 and a hymn to the ,spirit of the ,universe4 ,bowles1 ,william ,lisle 7#agfb-ahej71 published ,fourteen ,sonnets in #aghi1 and a second edition containing twenty-one in the same year4 ,in the first chapter of the ,biographia ,literaria1 ,coleridge credits the sonnets of ,bowles with saving him from a premature absorption in metaphysics and theology and with introducing him to the excellences of the new school of poetry4 ,in his enthusiasm he went about making proselytes for ,bowles and as my school finances did not permit me to purchase copies1 ,i made1 within less than a year and a half1 more than forty transcriptions1 as the best presents ,i could offer to those1 who had in any way won my regard4 ,and with almost equal delight did ,i receive the three or four following publications of the same author4 ,coleridge also addressed a ,sonnet to ,bowles1 opening ,my heart hath thanked thee1 ,bowles6 for those soft strains1 ,that on the still air floating tremblingly1 ,wak'd in me ,fancy1 ,love1 and ,sympathy6 ,p4 #bab4 ,john ,bull4 ,croker's ,john ,bull was a scurrilous newspaper edited by ,theodore ,hook1 the first number of which appeared ,december #ag1 #ahbj4 ,mr4 ,croker1 ,john ,wilson 7#aghj-aheg71 politician and man of letters1 one of ,hazlitt's pet aversions1 and the same who comes in for such a severe chastisement in ,macaulay's review of his edition of ,boswell's ,johnson4 ,junius1 the mysterious author of a famous series of political letters which appeared in the ,london ,public ,advertiser from ,january #ba1 #agfi1 to ,january #ba1 #aggb1 collected as the ,letters of ,junius in #aggb4 ,the name of ,sir ,philip ,francis is the one most persistently associated with the composition of these letters4 ,godwin1 ,william 7#agef-ahcf71 leader of the philosophical radicals in ,england and a believer in the perfectibility of man1 wrote ,an ,enquiry concerning ,political ,justice 7#agic71 ,caleb ,williams 7#agid71 and other novels and miscellaneous works4 ,godwin was the husband of ,mary ,wolstonecraft1 and the father-in-law of ,shelley4 ,hazlitt wrote a sketch of him in the ,spirit of the ,age and reviewed his last novel1 ,cloudesley1 in the ,edinburgh ,review4 ,coleridge has a ,sonnet to ,william ,godwin3 ,nor will ,i not thy holy guidance bless1 ,and hymn thee1 ,godwin6 with an ardent lay2 ,for that thy voice1 in ,passion's stormy day ,when wild ,i roam'd the bleak ,heath of ,distress1 ,bade the bright form of ,justice meet my way-- ,and told me that her name was ,happiness4 ,sorrows of ,werter1 a sentimental novel of ,goethe's1 the work by which he was most generally known to ,english readers in ,hazlitt's day4 laugh'd with ,rabelais4 ,cf4 ,pope's ,dunciad1 ,i1 #bb3 ,or laugh and shake in ,rab'lais easy chair4 spoke with rapture of ,raphael4 ,coleridge had visited ,italy in #ahjf on his return from a stay in ,malta1 and had devoted his time there to a study of ,italian art4 ,see p4 #bih n4 ,giotto 7d4 #accg71 ,ghirlandaio1 whose real name was ,domenico ,bigardi 7#addi-adid71 and ,massaccio 7#adjb-adbi7 were early ,florentine painters4 wandered into ,germany4 ,coleridge's visit to ,germany and his introduction to the leading ,german philosophers dates back to #agih-ii4 ,kantean philosophy4 ,immanuel ,kant 7#agbd-ahjd7 was the leader of modern philosophy4 ,the writings of the illustrious sage of ,knigsberg1 the founder of the ,critical ,philosophy1 more than any other work1 at once invigorated and disciplined my understanding4 ,the originality1 the depth1 and the compression of the thoughts2 the novelty and subtlety1 yet solidity and importance of the distinctions2 the adamantine chain of the logic2 and ,i will venture to add--7paradox as it will appear to those who have taken their notion of ,immanuel ,kant from ,reviewers and ,frenchmen7--the clearness and evidence1 of the ,critique of ,pure ,reason2 and ,critique of the ,judgment2 of the ,metaphysical ,elements of ,natural ,philosophy2 and of his ,religion within the bounds of ,pure ,reason1 took possession of me as with a giant's hand4 ,after fifteen years' familiarity with them1 ,i still read these and all his other productions with undiminished delight and increasing admiration4 ,biographia ,literaria1 chap4 ,,ix4 ,fichte1 ,j4 ,gottlieb 7#agfb-ahad74 ,fichte's ,wissenschaftslehre1 or ,lore of ,ultimate ,science1 was to add the key-stone of the arch of ,kant's system4 ,ibid4 ,schelling1 ,friedrich ,wilhelm ,joseph 7#agge-ahbi74 ,in ,schelling's ,natur-,philosophie1 and the ,system des ,transcendentalen ,idealismus1 ,i first found a genial coincidence with much that ,i had toiled out for myself1 and a powerful assistance in what ,i had yet to do4444 ,many of the most striking resemblances1 indeed all the main and fundamental ideas1 were born and matured in my mind before ,i had ever seen a single page of the ,german ,philosopher2 and ,i might indeed affirm with truth1 before the most important works of ,schelling had been written1 or at least made public4 ,nor is this coincidence at all to be wondered at4 ,we had studied in the same school2 been disciplined by the same preparatory philosophy1 namely1 the writings of ,kant2 we had both equal obligations to the polar logic and dynamic philosophy of ,giordano ,bruno2 and ,schelling has lately1 and1 as of recent acquisition1 avowed that same affectionate reverence for the labors of ,behmen1 and other mystics1 which ,i had formed at a much earlier period4 ,ibid4 ,lessing1 ,gotthold ,ephraim 7#agbi-agha71 ,german dramatist and critic4 sang for joy4 ,coleridge had in #aghi composed some stanzas ,on the ,destruction of the ,bastille1 but these were not published till #ahcd4 would have floated his bark4 ,coleridge and ,southey with some other friends had in #agid formed a plan for an ideal colony1 the ,pantisocracy1 on the banks of the ,susquehanna4 ,in ,philharmonia's4 ,cf4 ,coleridge's ,monody on the ,death of ,chatterton1 #adj3 ,o'er peaceful ,freedom's undivided dale4 ,p4 #bac4 ,frailty4 ,cf4 ,hamlet1 i1 #b1 #adf3 thy name is woman4 writing paragraphs4 ,coleridge was connected with the staff of the ,courier as a sort of assistant-editor for five months in #ahaa4 ,his contributions during this period appeared as the ,essays on ,his ,own ,times in #ahej4 poet-laureate and stamp-distributor are references respectively to ,southey and ,wordsworth4 bourne from whence4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #a1 #gi4 tantalized by useless resources4 ,compare this with ,coleridge's own lines of bitter self-reproach addressed ,to a ,gentleman3 ,sense of past youth1 and manhood come in vain1 ,and genius given1 and knowledge won in vain4 ,p4 #bad4 one splendid passage4 ,the lines beginning ,alas6 they had been friends in youth 7#djh-dbf74 ,the same passage had been singled out for praise by ,hazlitt in his lecture ,on the ,living ,poets and in the review of ,christabel which had appeared in the ,examiner of ,june #b1 #ahaf4 ,the authorship of this review has been disputed but should on internal evidence1 despite its failure in appreciation1 be ascribed to ,hazlitt4 ,see ,works1 ,,xi1 #ehj-ehb4 ,translation of ,schiller's ,wallenstein1 made by ,coleridge in #agii-ahjj4 ,remorse4 ,this tragedy was played at the ,drury ,lane ,theatre with considerable popular success in #ahac4 ,it was a recast of an early play entitled ,osorio1 composed in #agig4 ,p4 #bae4 ,the ,friend2 a literary1 moral1 and political weekly paper1 excluding personal and party politics and the events of the day 7#ahji-ahaj71 was reissued in one volume in #ahab1 and with additions and alterations 7rather a rifacimento than a new edition7 in #ahah4 ,the sketch in the ,spirit of the ,age concludes with a contrast between ,coleridge and ,william ,godwin4 ,,mr4 ,,southey ,this selection forms the conclusion of a sketch of ,southey in the ,spirit of the ,age4 ,it illustrates1 even more strikingly than the ,character of ,burke1 ,hazlitt's power of dissociating his judgments from his prejudices1 inasmuch as there had been exchanges of rancorous personalities between the two men4 ,p4 #baf4 ,like the high leaves4 ,southey's ,the ,holly ,tree4 of any poet4 ,in an essay in the ,plain ,speaker ,on the ,prose ,style of ,poets1 ,hazlitt elaborates his theory that poets turned out inferior prose4 ,i have but an indifferent opinion of the prose-style of poets3 not that it is not sometimes good1 nay1 excellent2 but it is never the better1 and generally the worse from the habit of writing verse4 full of wise saws4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ii1 #g1 #aef4 ,p4 #bag4 historian and prose-translator4 ,southey wrote the ,history of ,brazil1 the ,history of the ,peninsular ,war1 the ,book of the ,church1 and lives of ,wesley1 ,cowper1 and ,nelson4 ,he translated from the ,spanish the romances of ,amadis of ,gaul1 ,palmerin of ,england1 and ,the ,cid4 ,p4 #bai4 ,pindaric or ,shandean1 i4e41 whimsical4 ,pindaric should of course be understood as a reference to ,peter ,pindar1 the name under which ,john ,wolcot 7#agch-ahai7 wrote his coarse and whimsical satires4 ,hazlitt mentions him at the end of his lectures ,on the ,comic ,writers3 ,the bard in whom the nation and the king delighted1 is old and blind1 but still merry and wise3--remembering how he has made the world laugh in his time1 and not repenting of the mirth he has given2 with an involuntary smile lighted up at the mad pranks of his ,muse1 and the lucky hits of his pen4 ,shandean is derived from ,sterne's novel1 ,tristram ,shandy4 ,and follows so4 ,henry ,v1 iv1 #a1 #bic4 his political inconsistency4 ,this is the subject of ,hazlitt's attacks on ,southey4 ,see ,political ,essays 7,works1 ,,iii1 #aji-abj1 #aib-bcb74 ,,elia ,the last essay in the ,spirit of the ,age is entitled ,elia and ,geoffrey ,crayon4 ,an edition published at ,paris by ,galignani in #ahbe omits the account of ,washington ,irving1 and this text1 as it is in all respects unexceptionable1 has been here adopted for the sake of coherence4 ,in a letter to ,bernard ,barton1 ,february #aj1 #ahbe1 ,lamb refers to ,hazlitt's sketch3 ,he has laid too many colours on my likeness1 but ,i have had so much injustice done me in my own name1 that ,i make a rule of accepting as much over-measure to ',elia' as ,gentlemen think proper to bestow4 ,p4 #bba4 shuffle off4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #a1 #fg4 ,the self-applauding bird4 ,cowper's ,truth1 #eh4 ,p4 #bbb4 ,new-born gauds and give to dust4 ,troilus and ,cressida1 iii1 #c1 #agf-gi4 do not in broad rumor lie1 and the two following quotations are free renderings of ,lycidas1 #gh-hb4 ,mr4 ,lamb rather affects4 ,hazlitt had ,lamb in his eye when he described the ,occult ,school in the essay ,on ,criticism 7,table ,talk73 ,there is another race of critics who might be designated as the ,occult ,school--ver adepti4 ,they discern no beauties but what are concealed from superficial eyes1 and overlook all that are obvious to the vulgar part of mankind4 ,their art is the transmutation of styles4 ,by happy alchemy of mind they convert dross into gold--and gold into tinsel4 ,they see farther into a millstone than most others4 ,if an author is utterly unreadable1 they can read him for ever3 his intricacies are their delight1 his mysteries are their study4 ,they prefer ,sir ,thomas ,brown to the ,rambler by ,dr4 ,johnson1 and ,burton's ,anatomy of ,melancholy to all the writers of the ,georgian ,age4 ,they judge of works of genius as misers do of hid treasure--it is of no value unless they have it all to themselves4 ,they will no more share a book than a mistress with a friend4 ,if they suspected their favourite volumes of delighting any eyes but their own1 they would immediately discard them from the list4 ,theirs are superannuated beauties that every one else has left off intriguing with1 bed-ridden hags1 a 'stud of night-mares4' ,this is not envy or affectation1 but a natural proneness to singularity1 a love of what is odd and out of the way4 ,they must come at their pleasures with difficulty1 and support admiration by an uneasy sense of ridicule and opposition4 ,they despise those qualities in a work which are cheap and obvious4 ,they like a monopoly of taste1 and are shocked at the prostitution of intellect implied in popular productions4 ,in like manner1 they would chuse a friend or recommend a mistress for gross defects2 and tolerate the sweetness of an actress's voice only for the ugliness of her face4 ,pure pleasures are in their judgment cloying and insipid-- ',an ounce of sour is worth a pound of sweet6' ,nothing goes down with them but what is caviare to the multitude4 ,they are eaters of olives and readers of black-letter4 ,yet they smack of genius1 and would be worth any money1 were it only for the rarity of the thing6 ,p4 #bbc4 fine fretwork4 ,essays of ,elia1 ,the ,south-,sea ,house4 the chimes at midnight4 #b ,henry ,,iv1 iii1 #b1 #bbh4 ,p4 #bbd4 cheese and pippins4 ,ibid41 v1 #c4 inns and courts of law4 ,the ,old ,benchers of the ,inner ,temple1 in ,essays of ,elia4 a certain writer4 ,hazlitt himself4 ,it is known to everybody that the friendship of ,lamb for ,hazlitt suffered certain strains1 and various attempts have been made to guess at the provocations4 ,mutual recriminations in regard to literary borrowings have been thought to be responsible for more than one breach4 ,so ,mr4 ,bertram ,dobell1 in his ,sidelights on ,lamb1 #bab-ad1 imagines that the mystery is solved in a letter of ,hazlitt's to the editor of the ,london ,magazine 7,april #ab1 #ahbj7 charging ,lamb with appropriating his ideas3 ,do you keep the ,past and ,future8 ,you see ,lamb argues the same view of the subject4 ,that 'young master' will anticipate all my discoveries if ,i don't mind4 ,the similarity of idea between ,hazlitt's ,past and ,future and ,lamb's ,new ,year's ,eve1 and the appearance in ,lamb's essay of the phrase young masters makes it clear enough what ,hazlitt is referring to1 but that either man should have taken the matter very seriously is hard to believe4 ,it is easier to look upon ,hazlitt's expression as banter of the same kind that ,lamb allowed himself in connection with the essay on ,guy ,faux alluded to in the present sketch4 ,this subject had been proposed by ,lamb1 as we are informed in ,of ,persons ,one ,would ,wish to ,have ,seen1 and had been written up by ,hazlitt in the ,examiner in #ahba 7,works1 ,,xi1 #cag-ccd74 ,two years later ,lamb contributed a paper on the same subject to the ,london ,magazine1 founded partly on an essay in the ,reflector 7#ahaa71 entitled ,on the ,probable ,effects of the ,gunpowder ,treason4 ,the essay in the ,london ,magazine 7,lamb's ,works1 ed4 ,lucas1 ,i1 #bcf ff47 opens with a facetious thrust at ,hazlitt3 ,a very ingenious and subtle writer1 whom there is good reason for suspecting to be an ex-,jesuit1 not unknown at ,douay some five-and-twenty years since 7he will not obtrude himself at ,m--th again in a hurry71 about a twelvemonth back1 set himself to prove the character of the ,powder ,plot conspirators to have been that of heroic self-devotedness and true ,christian martyrdom4 ,under the mask of ,protestant candour1 he actually gained admission for his treatise into a ,london weekly paper1 not particularly distinguished for its zeal towards either religion4 ,but1 admitting ,catholic principles1 his arguments are shrewd and incontrovertible4 ,then follows a quotation from ,hazlitt setting forth the ,catholic standpoint4 ,it is impossible1 upon ,catholic principles1 not to admit the force of this reasoning2 we can only not help smiling 7with the writer7 at the simplicity of the gulled editor1 swallowing the dregs of ,loyola for the very quintessence of sublimated reason in ,england at the commencement of the nineteenth century4 ,we will just1 as a contrast1 show what we ,protestants 7who are a party concerned7 thought upon the same subject1 at a period rather nearer to the heroic project in question4 ,this is the kind of resentment we would expect ,lamb to show at the appropriation of his ideas4 ,that there were not wanting grounds for real grievance against ,hazlitt may be gathered from a letter to ,wordsworth1 ,september #bc1 #ahaf 7,lamb's ,works1 ed4 ,lucas1 ,,vi1 #dia73 ,there was a cut at me a few months back by the same hand4444 ,it was a pretty compendium of observation1 which the author has collected in my disparagement1 from some hundred of social evenings which we had spent together1--however in spite of all1 there is something tough in my attachment to ,h---- which these violent strainings cannot quite dislocate or sever asunder4 ,i get no conversation in ,london that is absolutely worth attending to but his4 ,to one of his quarrels with ,lamb ,hazlitt owes the finest compliment he ever received1 and happily it marks the termination of all differences between them4 ,it occurs in the well-known ,letter of ,elia to ,robert ,southey which ,lamb published in the ,london ,magazine when ,southey reproached him with his friendship for ,hazlitt 7,works1 ,i1 #bcc73 ,i stood well with him for fifteen years 7the proudest of my life71 and have ever spoke my full mind of him to some1 to whom his panegyric must naturally be least tasteful4 ,i never in thought swerved from him1 ,i never betrayed him1 ,i never slackened in my admiration for him1 ,i was the same to him 7neither better nor worse7 though he could not see it1 as in the days when he thought fit to trust me4 ,at this instant1 he may be preparing for me some compliment1 above my deserts1 as he has sprinkled many such among his admirable books1 for which ,i rest his debtor2 or1 for any thing ,i know1 or can guess to the contrary1 he may be about to read a lecture on my weaknesses4 ,he is welcome to them 7as he was to my humble hearth71 if they can divert a spleen1 or ventilate a fit of sullenness4 ,i wish he would not quarrel with the world at the rate he does2 but the reconciliation must be effected by himself1 and ,i despair of living to see that day4 ,but1 protesting against much that he has written1 and some things he chooses to do2 judging him by his conversation which ,i enjoyed so long1 and relished so deeply2 or by his books1 in those places where no clouding passion intervenes--,i should belie my own conscience1 if ,i said less1 than that ,i think ,w4 ,h4 to be1 in his natural and healthy state1 one of the wisest and finest spirits breathing4 ,so far from being ashamed of that intimacy1 which was betwixt us1 it is my boast that ,i was able for so many years to have preserved it entire2 and ,i think ,i shall go to my grave without finding1 or expecting to find1 such another companion4 ,burton's ,anatomy of ,melancholy was published in #afba4 ,its quaint prose was often imitated by ,lamb and had a direct effect on his style4 ,sir ,thomas ,browne 7#afje-afhb71 physician and essayist1 author of ,religio ,medici 7#afdb71 ,pseudodoxia ,epidemica 7#afdf71 and ,hydriotaphia or ,urn ,burial 7#afeh74 ,fuller's ,worthies4 ,the ,history of the ,worthies of ,england 7#affb7 is the best known work of ,thomas ,fuller 7#afjh-affa71 an ,english divine and writer on church history4 does not make him despise ,pope4 ,see p4 #cbb4 ,parnell1 ,thomas 7#afgi-agag74 ,in the sixth lecture on the ,english ,poets ,hazlitt says3 ,parnell1 though a good-natured1 easy man1 and a friend to poets and the ,muses1 was himself little more than an occasional versifier4 ,gay1 ,john 7#afhe-agcb71 is best known by his ,beggar's ,opera 7#agbh7 and ,fables 7#agbg and #agch74 ,hazlitt writes of ,gay in the sixth lecture on the ,english ,poets and has a paper on ,the ,beggar's ,opera in the ,round ,table4 ,his taste in ,french and ,german4 ,cf4 ,on ,old ,english ,writers and ,speakers in the ,plain ,speaker3 ,mr4 ,lamb has lately taken it into his head to read ,st4 ,evremont1 and works of that stamp4 ,i neither praise nor blame him for it4 ,he observed1 that ,st4 ,evremont was a writer half-way between ,montaigne and ,voltaire1 with a spice of the wit of the one and the sense of the other4 ,i said ,i was always of the opinion that there had been a great many clever people in the world1 both in ,france and ,england1 but ,i had been sometimes rebuked for it4 ,lamb took this as a slight reproach2 for he had been a little exclusive and national in his tastes4 ,p4 #bbe4 ,his admiration of ,hogarth4 ,see note to p4 #aeh4 ,leonardo da ,vinci 7#adeb-aeai74 ,italian painter1 sculptor1 architect4 fine ,titian head4 ,hazlitt painted a portrait of ,lamb in the costume of a ,venetian senator4 ,this portrait now hangs in the ,national ,gallery4 ,p4 #bbf4 to have coined4 ,cf4 ,julius ,csar1 iv1 #c1 #gb3 ,i had rather coin my heart1 ,and drop my blood for drachmas4 ,mr4 ,waithman1 ,robert 7#agfd-ahcc71 was ,lord ,mayor in #ahbc4 ,rosamond ,gray1 a tale1 was published in #agih and ,john ,woodvill1 a tragedy1 in #ahjb4 ,the lines in the footnote are from the second act of ,john ,woodvill4 ,,sir ,,walter ,,scott ,this selection forms the latter half of the sketch of ,scott in the ,spirit of the ,age4 ,the following dialogue between ,northcote and ,hazlitt1 ,conversations of ,northcote1 ,,xvi1 represents ,hazlitt's feelings for ,scott3 ,n4 ',you don't know him1 do you8 ,he'd be a pattern to you4 ,oh6 he has a very fine manner4 ,you would learn to rub off some of your asperities4 ,but you admire him1 ,i believe4' ,h4 ',yes2 on this side of idolatry and ,toryism4' ,n4 ',that is your prejudice4' ,h4 ',nay1 it rather shows my liberality1 if ,i am a devoted enthusiast notwithstanding4 ,there are two things ,i admire in ,sir ,walter1 his capacity and his simplicity2 which indeed ,i am apt to think are much the same4' ,p4 #bbg4 more lively4 ,cf4 ,coriolanus1 iv1 #e1 #bcg2 it's spritely1 waking1 audible1 and full of vent4 their habits4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #d1 #ace4 ,p4 #bbh4 ,baron of ,bradwardine and the others mentioned in this sentence appear in ,waverley4 ,paul ,veronese 7#aebh-aehh71 a painter of the ,venetian school4 ,balfour of ,burley and the others in this sentence appear in ,old ,mortality4 ,the quotation is from chapter #ch4 ,meg ,merilees to ,dominie ,sampson1 in ,guy ,mannering4 ,p4 #bbi4 her head to the east4 ,cf4 ,guy ,mannering1 chap4 #ae2 ,na1 na6 not that way1 the feet to the east4 ,rob ,roy to ,die ,vernon1 in ,rob ,roy4 thick coming4 ,cf4 ,macbeth1 v1 #c1 #ch3 thick-coming fancies4 ,earl of ,glenallan1 in ,the ,antiquary4 ,black ,dwarf to ,grace ,armstrong1 in the ,black ,dwarf4 ,children of the ,mist1 in ,legend of ,montrose4 ,amy 7,robsart7 and ,varney1 in ,kenilworth4 ,george of ,douglas1 in ,the ,abbot4 ,p4 #bbi1 n4 the finest scene4 ,guy ,mannering1 chap4 #ea4 ,p4 #bca4 a consummation4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #a1 #fc4 by referring to the authentic history4 ,at this point ,hazlitt reproduces in a footnote one of ,scott's historical quotations in ,ivanhoe4 flints and dungs4 ,see ,ivanhoe1 chap4 #dc4 ,p4 #bcb4 calls backing4 #a ,henry ,,iv1 ii1 #d1 #afe4 ,mr4 ,mac,adam1 ,john ,loudon 7#agef-ahcf74 ,sixty years since4 ,the sub-title of ,waverley was ',tis ,sixty ,years ,since4 ,wickliff1 ,john 7c4 #acbj-achd71 an important ,english forerunner of the ,protestant ,reformation1 the first translator of the ,bible into ,english4 ,luther1 ,martin 7#adhc-aedf71 led the first successful revolt against the authority of the ,catholic ,church4 ,hampden1 ,john 7c4 #aeie-afdc71 an ,english patriot who by his refusal to pay ship-money precipitated the rebellion against ,charles ,i which ended in the beheading of that monarch4 ,sidney1 ,algernon 7#afbb-afhc71 an ,english patriot who fought on the side of ,parliament against ,charles ,i1 and who1 in the reign of ,charles ,,ii1 was tried for treason by ,jeffreys1 the hanging judge1 and condemned to execution without proof4 ,sidney is the author of ,discourses ,concerning ,government in which he vindicates the right of resistance to the misrule of kings4 ,somers1 ,john 7#afea-agaf71 took an important part in bringing about the bloodless ,revolution which drove ,james ,,ii from ,england in #afhh4 ,p4 #bcc4 ,red ,reiver1 in ,the ,black ,dwarf4 ,claverhouse1 in ,old ,mortality4 ,tristan the ,hermit and ,petit ,andr1 in ,quentin ,durward4 but himself4 ,though ,scott composed many of his own mottoes1 he never quoted his own previous verse but pretended to be using an ,old ,play or an ,old ,poem4 ,p4 #bcd4 born for the universe4 ,goldsmith's ,retaliation1 #ca4 winked and shut4 ,marston's ,antonio's ,revenge1 ,prologue4 ,p4 #bce4 ,who would not grieve4 ,cf4 ,pope's ,prologue to the ,satires1 #bac3 ,who but must laugh1 if such a man there be8 ,who would not weep if ,atticus were he8 ,,lord ,,byron ,from the ,spirit of the ,age4 ,discussions of ,byron's poetry are also to be found in the review of ,childe ,harold's ,pilgrimage 7,works1 ,,xi1 #dbj-dbf7 and in ,pope1 ,lord ,byron and ,mr4 ,bowles 7,,xi1 #dhf-ejh74 ,p4 #bcf4 ,as if a man4 ,coriolanus1 v1 #c1 #cf4 cloud-capt4 ,tempest1 iv1 ,i1 #aeb4 ,p4 #bcg4 prouder than4 ,cf4 ,shakespeare's ,troilus and ,cressida1 i1 #c1 #chj3 ,his crest that prouder than blue ,iris bends4 silly sooth4 ,twelfth ,night1 ii1 #d1 #dg4 ,p4 #bci4 denotes a foregone conclusion4 ,othello4 iii1 #c1 #dbh4 ,p4 #bdj4 in cell monastic4 ,cf4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 iii1 #b1 #dda3 ,to live in a nook merely monastic4 ,p4 #bda4 thoughts that breathe4 ,gray's ,progress of ,poesy1 #aaj4 ,p4 #bdb4 ,lord ,byron does not exhibit a new view of nature4 ,in the paper on ,pope1 ,lord ,byron and ,mr4 ,bowles1 ,hazlitt's tone is more generous3 ,his ,lordship likes the poetry1 the imaginative part of art1 and so do we4444 ,he likes the sombre part of it1 the thoughtful1 the decayed1 the ideal1 the spectral shadow of human greatness1 the departed spirit of human power4 ,he sympathizes not with art as a display of ingenuity1 as the triumph of vanity or luxury1 as it is connected with the idiot1 superficial1 petty self-complacency of the individual and the moment 7these are to him not 'luscious as locusts1 but bitter as coloquintida'72 but he sympathizes with the triumphs of ,time and ,fate over the proudest works of man--with the crumbling monuments of human glory--with the dim vestiges and countless generations of men--with that which claims alliance with the grave1 or kindred with the elements of nature4 ,works1 ,,xi1 #dif4 poor men's cottages4 ,merchant of ,venice1 i1 #b1 #ad4 reasons high4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii1 #eeh4 ,p4 #bdc4 ,till ,contemplation4 ,dyer's ,grongar ,hill1 #bf4 this bank4 ,macbeth1 i1 #g1 #f4 ,p4 #bdd4 ,the ,liberal3 ,verse and ,prose from the ,south1 a quarterly published in ,italy by ,leigh ,hunt and ,byron1 #ahbb-bc1 to which ,hazlitt also contributed4 ,in the second of its four numbers appeared ,byron's ,heaven and ,earth3 ,a ,mystery4 the deluge1 in ,heaven and ,earth4 his aversion4 ,see ,don ,juan1 ,,iii1 stanza #id3 ,a drowsy frowzy poem1 called the ,excursion1 ,writ in a manner which is my aversion4 born in a garret4 ,in the ,english ,bards and ,scotch ,reviewers1 ,byron1 speaking of ,jeffrey1 refers to the sixteenth story1 where himself was born4 ,letter to the ,editor4 ,the ,letter to ,william ,roberts1 editor of the ,british ,review1 appeared in the first number of the ,liberal4 ,long's1 a restaurant in ,bond ,street4 ,p4 #bde4 the controversy about ,pope4 ,see note to p4 #aah4 ,scrub1 in ,farquhar's ,beaux' ,stratagem4 very tolerable4 ,much ,ado ,about ,nothing1 iii1 #c1 #cg4 ,p4 #bdf4 a chartered libertine4 ,henry ,v1 i1 #a1 #dh4 ,p4 #bdg4 ,like proud seas4 ,two ,noble ,kinsmen1 ii1 #b1 #bc4 ,did the latter ever acknowledge the obligation8 ,scott wrote to ,byron's publisher1 ,john ,murray1 ,december #ag1 #ahba3 ,i accept with feelings of great obligation1 the flattering proposal of ,lord ,byron to prefix my name to the very grand and tremendous drama of ',cain4' ,i may be partial to it1 and you will allow ,i have cause2 but ,i do not think that his ,muse has ever taken so lofty a flight amid her former soarings4 ,farthest from them4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i1 #bdg4 ,p4 #bdh4 the first ,vision of ,judgment1 the one composed by ,southey on the occasion of the death of ,george ,,iii1 celebrating that monarch's entry into heaven and provoking a spirited travesty from ,byron4 ,none but itself4 ,this line is quoted by ,burke in the ,letters on a ,regicide ,peace1 from a play written or adapted by ,lewis ,theobald1 ,the ,double ,falsehood 7#agbg74 ,waller-,glover4 the tenth transmitter4 ,richard ,savage's ,the ,bastard4 ,p4 #bej4 ,nothing can cover4 ,beaumont and ,fletcher's ,the ,false ,one1 ii1 #a4 ,,on ,,poetry ,,in ,,general ,this is the first of the ,lectures on the ,english ,poets4 ,p4 #bea4 spreads its sweet leaves4 ,romeo and ,juliet1 i1 #a1 #aeh4 ,p4 #beb4 the stuff4 ,tempest1 iv1 #a1 #aef4 mere oblivion4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ii1 #g1 #aff4 man's life4 ,king ,lear1 ii1 #d1 #bgj4 ,p4 #bec4 ,there is warrant4 ,richard ,,iii1 i1 #d1 #aab4 such seething brains4 ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 v1 #a1 #d4 ,angelica and ,medoro4 ,characters in ,orlando ,furioso4 ,p4 #bed4 which ecstacy is very cunning in4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #d1 #ach4 ,poetry1 according to ,lord ,bacon4 ,cf4 ,bacon's ,advancement of ,learning1 ,book ,,ii3 ,because true ,historie representeth ,actions and ,euents more ordinarie and lesse interchanged1 therefore ,poesie endueth them with more ,rarenesse and more vnexpected and alternatiue ,variations3 ,so as it appeareth that ,poesie serueth and conferreth to ,magnanimitie1 ,moralitie1 and to delectation4 ,and therefore it was euer thought to haue some participation of diuinesse1 because it doth raise and erect the ,minde1 by submitting the shewes of things to the desires of the ,mind1 whereas reason doth buckle and bowe the ,mind unto the ,nature of things4 ,p4 #bee4 ,our eyes are made the fools4 ,macbeth1 ii1 #a1 #dd4 ,that if it would4 ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 v1 #a1 #ai4 ,the flame o' th' taper4 ,cymbeline1 ii1 #b1 #ai4 ,p4 #bef4 for they are old4 ,cf4 ,lear1 ii1 #d1 #aid4 ,nothing but his unkind daughters4 ,cf4 ,king ,lear1 iii1 #d1 #gb3 ,nothing could have subdued nature ,to such a lowness but his unkind daughters4 ,p4 #beg4 ,the little dogs4 ,ibid41 iii1 #f1 #fe4 ,so ,i am4 ,ibid41 iv1 #g1 #gj4 ,o now1 for ever4 ,othello1 iii1 #c1 #cdg4 ,never1 ,iago4 ,ibid41 iii1 #c1 #dec4 ,p4 #beh4 ,but there4 ,ibid41 iv1 #b1 #eg4 ,to be discarded thence6 ,the first edition at this point adds3 ,this is like that fine stroke of pathos in ',paradise ,lost1' where ,milton makes ,adam say to ,eve1 ',should ,god create another ,eve1 and ,i ,another rib afford1 yet loss of thee ,would never from my heart6' ,impassioned poetry is an emanation of the moral and intellectual part of our nature4 ,cf4 ,on ,people of ,sense in ,plain ,speaker3 ,poetry acts by sympathy with nature1 that is1 with the natural impulses1 customs1 and imaginations of men1 and is1 on that account1 always popular1 delightful1 and at the same time instructive4 ,it is nature moralizing and idealizing for us2 inasmuch as1 by shewing us things as they are1 it implicitly teaches us what they ought to be2 and the grosser feelings1 by passing through the strainers of this imaginary1 wide-extended experience1 acquire an involuntary tendency to higher objects4 ,shakspeare was1 in this sense1 not only one of the greatest poets1 but one of the greatest moralists that we have4 ,those who read him are the happier1 better1 and wiser for it4 ,moore1 ,edward 7#agab-ageg71 author of ,the ,gamester 7#agec74 ,p4 #bei4 ,as ,mr4 ,burke observes1 in ,a ,philosophical ,enquiry into the ,origin of ,our ,ideas of the ,sublime and ,beautiful1 ,part ,i1 ,section #ae3 ,choose a day on which to represent the most sublime and affecting tragedy we have2 appoint the most favourite actors2 spare no cost upon the scenes and decorations2 unite the greatest efforts of poetry1 painting1 and music2 and when you have collected your audience1 just at the moment when their minds are erect with expectation1 let it be reported that a state criminal of high rank is on the point of being executed in the adjoining square2 in a moment the emptiness of the theatre would demonstrate the comparative weakness of the imitative arts1 and proclaim the triumph of the real sympathy4 ,masterless passion4 ,cf4 ,merchant of ,venice1 iv1 #a1 #ea3 ,for affection1 ,mistress of passion1 sways it to the mood1 etc4 ,p4 #bfj4 satisfaction to the thought4 ,othello1 iii1 #c1 #ig4 ,now night descending4 ,see p4 #abh4 ,throw him4 ,collins's ,ode to ,fear4 ,ingratitude4 ,cf4 ,king ,lear1 i1 #d1 #bha3 ,more hideous1 when thou show'st thee in a child4 ,p4 #bfa4 both at the first4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #b1 #bc4 ,p4 #bfb4 ,and visions4 ,hazlitt uses this quotation in his paper on ,wordsworth's ,excursion in the ,round ,table with the change of poetic to prophetic4 ,this couplet occurs in a letter from ,gray to ,walpole 7',letters1' ed4 ,tovey ,i1 #g-h74 ,the lines are apparently a translation by ,gray of ,virgil1 'neid1' ,,vi1 #bhb-hd4 ,waller-,glover1 ,,xii1 #ejd4 ,p4 #bfc4 ,doctor ,chalmers's ,discourses4 ,thomas ,chalmers 7#aghj-ahdg71 a celebrated divine and preacher of ,scotland1 published in #ahag ,a ,series of ,discourses on the ,christian ,revelation1 ,viewed in ,connection with ,modern ,astronomy4 bandit fierce4 ,milton's ,comus1 #dbf4 our fell of hair4 ,macbeth1 v1 #e1 #aa4 ,macbeth 444 for the sake of the music4 ,some copies of the first edition misprint ,macheath1 the name of the leading character in ,gay's ,beggar's ,opera4 ,in writing ,on ,commonplace ,critics1 in the ,round ,table1 ,hazlitt represents the commonplace critic as questioning whether any one of ,shakespeare's plays1 if brought out now for the first time1 would succeed4 ,he thinks that ',macbeth' would be the most likely1 from the music which has been introduced into it4 ,the reference is to the music written for ,d',avenant's version of the play1 produced in #afgb4 ,according to ,waller-,glover 7,i1 #dcf71 this music1 traditionally assigned to ,matthew ,locke1 is now attributed to ,purcell2 but ,furness1 in the ,variorum edition of ,macbeth1 accepts the conclusion of ,chappell in ,grove's ,dictionary of ,music1 that ,purcell could not have been the composer of a work which appeared when he was in his fourteenth year1 especially as the only reason that can be assigned why modern musicians should have doubted ,locke's authorship is that a manuscript of it exists in the handwriting of ,henry ,purcell4 ,p4 #bfd4 ,between the acting4 ,julius ,csar1 ii1 #a1 #fc4 ,p4 #bfe4 ,thoughts that voluntary move4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,iii1 #cg4 the words of ,mercury4 ,cf4 ,love's ,labour's ,lost1 v1 #b1 #idj3 ,the words of ,mercury are harsh after the songs of ,apollo4 ,so from the ground4 ,farie ,queene1 ,i1 vi1 #ac4 ,p4 #bff4 the secret hidden soul4 ,milton's ,l',allegro4 ,p4 #bfg4 the golden cadences4 ,love's ,labour's ,lost1 iv1 #b1 #abf4 ,sailing with supreme dominion4 ,gray's ,progress of ,poesy4 sounding always4 ,see p4 #bjg and n4 except poets4 ,cf4 ,on the ,prose ,style of ,poets in the ,plain ,speaker3 ,what is a little extraordinary1 there is a want of rhythmus and cadence in what they write without the help of metrical rules4 ,like persons who have been accustomed to sing to music1 they are at a loss in the absence of the habitual accompaniment and guide to their judgment4 ,their style halts1 totters1 is loose1 disjointed1 and without expressive pauses or rapid movements4 ,the measured cadence and regular sing-song of rhyme or blank verse have destroyed1 as it were1 their natural ear for the mere characteristic harmony which ought to subsist between the sound and the sense4 ,i should almost guess the ,author of ,waverley to be a writer of ambling verses from the desultory vacillation and want of firmness in the march of his style4 ,there is neither momentum nor elasticity in it2 ,i mean as to the score1 or effect upon the ear4 ,he has improved since in his other works3 to be sure1 he has had practice enough4 ,poets either get into this incoherent1 undetermined1 shuffling style1 made up of 'unpleasing flats and sharps1' of unaccountable starts and pauses1 of doubtful odds and ends1 flirted about like straws in a gust of wind2 or1 to avoid it and steady themselves1 mount into a sustained and measured prose 7like the translation of ,ossian's ,poems1 or some parts of ,shaftesbury's ,characteristics7 which is more odious still1 and as bad as being at sea in a calm4 ,hazlitt's views on this question are peculiar1 though his examples are well chosen4 ,the more common opinion is that voiced by ,coleridge in his remarks ,on ,style3 ,it is1 indeed1 worthy of remark that all our great poets have been good prose writers1 as ,chaucer1 ,spenser1 ,milton2 and this probably arose from their just sense of metre4 ,for a true poet will never confound verse and prose2 whereas it is almost characteristic of indifferent prose writers that they should be constantly slipping into scraps of metre4 ,works1 ,,iv1 #cdb4 ,p4 #bfh4 ,addison's ,campaign 7#agje71 written in honor of ,marlborough's victory at ,blenheim1 was described as that gazette in rhyme by ,joseph ,warton 7#agbb-ahjj7 in his ,essay on the ,writings and ,genius of ,pope1 ,i1 #bi4 ,chaucer4 ,cf4 ,a4 ,w4 ,pollard's ,chaucer1 p4 #ce3 ,to ,boccaccio's ',teseide' and ',filostrato1' he was indebted for something more than the groundwork of two of his most important poems2 and he was also acquainted with three of his works in ,latin prose4 ,if1 as is somewhat hardily maintained1 he also knew the ,decamerone1 and took from it1 in however improved a fashion1 the idea of his ,canterbury ,pilgrimage and the plots of any or all of the four tales 7besides that of ,grisilde7 to which resemblances have been traced in his own work1 his obligations to ,boccaccio become immense4 ,yet he never mentions his name1 and it has been contended that he was himself unaware of the authorship of the poems and treatises to which he was so greatly indebted4 ,dryden4 ,his translations from ,boccaccio are ,sigismonda and ,guiscardo1 ,theodore and ,honoria1 ,cymon and ,iphigenia4 ,p4 #bfi4 married to immortal verse4 ,l',allegro4 ,john ,bunyan 7#afbh-afhh71 author of ,pilgrim's ,progress 7#afgh74 ,daniel ,defoe 7c4 #afei-agca71 journalist and novelist4 ,his masterpiece1 ,robinson ,crusoe1 appeared in #agai4 dipped in dews4 ,cf4 ,t4 ,heywood's ,ben ,jonson1 though his learned pen ,was dipt in ,castaly1 is still but ,ben4 ,philoctetes4 ,the story of the ,greek hero who1 on the voyage to the siege of ,troy1 was abandoned on an uninhabited island1 is the subject of a play by ,sophocles4 ,as ,i walked about4 ,robinson ,crusoe1 ,part ,i1 p4 #abe 7ed4 ,g4 ,a4 ,aitken74 ,p4 #bgj4 give an echo4 ,twelfth ,night1 ii1 #d1 #ba4 ,p4 #bga4 ,our poesy4 ,timon of ,athens1 i1 #a1 #ba4 ,p4 #bgb4 all plumed4 ,cf4 #a ,henry ,,iv1 iv1 #a1 #ih3 ,all plumed like estridges that with the wind ,baited like eagles having lately bathed2 ,glittering in golden coats1 like images2 ,as full of spirits as the month of ,may1 ,and gorgeous as the sun at midsummer2 ,wanton as youthful goats1 wild as young bulls4 ,if we fly4 ,psalms1 cxxxix1 #i4 ,p4 #bge4 ,pope ,anastatius4 ,inferno1 xi1 #h4 ,count ,ugolino4 ,ibid41 xxxiii4 ,ossian4 ,james ,macpherson 7#agcf-agif7 published between #agfj and #agfe what he alleged to be a translation of the ancient ,gaelic hero-bard1 ,oisin or ,ossian4 ,the poems fed the romantic appetite of the generation and were translated into practically every ,european language4 ,in ,germany especially the influence of ,ossian wrought powerfully through the enthusiasm it aroused in the young ,goethe and in ,schiller4 ,in ,england1 the poems1 immediately upon their appearance1 gave rise to a long controversy as to their authenticity1 ,dr4 ,johnson being among the first to attack the belief in their antiquity4 ,the truth seems to be that1 though there really is a legendary hero answering to ,ossian1 no such poems as ,macpherson attributed to him were ever transmitted4 ,the whole work is to all intents the original creation of ,macpherson himself4 ,the supposed ,gaelic originals1 which were published by the ,highland ,society of ,london in #ahjg1 have been proved by philologists to be spurious1 to be nothing in fact but translations into bad ,gaelic from ,macpherson's good ,english4 ,this conclusion is further supported by the mass of borrowings from the ,bible and the classics which have been found in ,ossian4 ,see ,j4 ,c4 ,smart3 ,james ,macpherson1 ,an ,episode in ,literature 7#aije74 ,p4 #bgf4 lamentation of ,selma4 ,lament of ,colma in ,songs of ,selma1 ,ossian1 ed4 ,william ,sharp1 p4 #daj4 ,roll on4 ,cf4 ibid41 p4 #dag3 ye bring no joy on your course6 ,,my ,,first ,,acquaintance ,,with ,,poets ,the identification of quotations has been omitted for this essay in order to allow students an opportunity to try it for themselves4 ,the third and fourth paragraphs of this essay had appeared in a letter of ,hazlitt's to the ,examiner 7,works1 ,,iii1 #aeb74 ,the entire essay was first published in the third number of the ,liberal 7see note to p4 #bdd74 ,p4 #bgg4 ,w--m4 ,wem4 ,p4 #bha4 ,murillo 7#afag-afhb7 and ,velasquez 7#aeii-affj7 are the two greatest ,spanish painters4 nothing--like what he has done4 ,in the essay ,on ,depth and ,superficiality 7,plain ,speaker71 ,hazlitt characterizes ,coleridge as a great but useless thinker4 ,p4 #bhb4 ,adam ,smith 7#agbc-agij71 founder of the science of political economy1 author of ,the ,wealth of ,nations 7#aggf74 huge folios4 ,in the essay ,on ,pedantry 7,round ,table7 ,hazlitt writes3 ,in the library of the family where we were brought up1 stood the ,fratres ,poloni2 and we can never forget or describe the feeling with which not only their appearance1 but the names of the authors on the outside inspired us4 ,pripscovius1 we remember1 was one of the easiest to pronounce4 ,the gravity of the contents seemed in proportion to the weight of the volumes2 the importance of the subjects increased with our ignorance of them4 ,p4 #bhc1 n4 ,hazlitt's father was the author of ,discourses for the ,use of ,families on the ,advantages of a ,free ,enquiry and on the ,study of the ,scriptures 7#agij7 and of ,sermons for the ,use of ,families in two volumes 7#ahjh74 ,p4 #bhd4 ,mary ,wolstonecraft 7#agei-agig71 author of the ,vindication of the ,rights of ,woman 7#agib74 ,mackintosh1 ,sir ,james 7#agfe-ahcb71 wrote ,vindici ,gallic1 a ,defence of the ,french ,revolution and its ,english ,admirers against the ,accusations of the ,right ,hon4 ,edmund ,burke4 ,hazlitt writes of ,mackintosh in the ,spirit of the ,age as one of the ablest and most accomplished men of the age1 both as a writer1 a speaker1 and a converser1 and comparing him with ,coleridge1 he remarks1 ,they have nearly an equal range of reading and of topics of conversation2 but in the mind of the one we see nothing but fixtures1 in the other every thing is fluid4 ,tom ,wedgwood 7#agga-ahje7 was an associate of some of the literary men of his day4 ,p4 #bhe4 ,holcroft1 ,thomas 7#agde-ahji71 actor1 dramatist1 novelist1 a member of ,godwin's group of radicals4 ,his chief writings are ,the ,road to ,ruin 7#agib71 ,anna ,st4 ,ives 7#agib71 and ,hugh ,trevor 7#agid-ig74 ,holcroft's ,memoirs1 written by himself1 were edited and completed by ,hazlitt and published in #ahaf 7,works1 ,,ii74 ,p4 #bhf4 ,hume1 ,david 7#agaa-aggf71 historian and sceptic philosopher1 described by ,hazlitt as one of the subtlest and most metaphysical of all metaphysicians4 ,his chief writings are ,a ,treatise on ,human ,nature1 being an ,attempt to ,introduce the ,experimental ,method of ,reasoning into ,moral ,subjects 7#agci-dj71 ,philosophical ,essays 7#agdh71 ,four ,dissertations 7#ageg74 ,p4 #bhg4 ,essay on ,vision4 ,hazlitt calls this the greatest by far of all his works and the most complete example of elaborate analytical reasoning and particular induction joined together that perhaps ever existed4 7,works1 ,,xi1 #ajh74 ,tom ,paine 7#agcg-ahji71 an influential revolutionary writer1 author of ,common ,sense 7#aggf71 a pamphlet advocating ,american independence1 ,rights of ,man 7#agia71 a reply to ,burke's ,reflections on the ,french ,revolution1 and ,the ,age of ,reason 7#agie74 ,he also took an active part in both the ,american and ,french revolutions4 prefer the unknown to the known4 ,cf4 the first essay ,on the ,conversation of ,authors3 ,coleridge withholds his tribute of applause from every person1 in whom any mortal but himself can descry the least glimpse of understanding4 ,he would be thought to look farther into a millstone than any body else4 ,he would have others see with his eyes1 and take their opinions from him on trust1 in spite of their senses4 ,the more obscure and defective the indications of merit1 the greater his sagacity and candour in being the first to point them out4 ,he looks upon what he nicknames a man of genius1 but as the breath of his nostrils1 and the clay in the potter's hands4 ,if any such inert1 unconscious mass1 under the fostering care of the modern ,prometheus1 is kindled into life1--begins to see1 speak1 and move1 so as to attract the notice of other people1--our jealous patroniser of latent worth in that case throws aside1 scorns1 and hates his own handy-work2 and deserts his intellectual offspring from the moment they can go alone and shift for themselves4 a discovery on the same subject4 ,hazlitt's first publication1 ,on the ,principles of ,human ,action4 ,p4 #bhh4 ,i sat down to the task1 etc4 ,cf4 ,on ,application to ,study 7,plain ,speaker73 ,if what ,i write at present is worth nothing1 at least it costs me nothing4 ,but it cost me a great deal twenty years ago4 ,i have added little to my stock since then1 and taken little from it4 ,i 'unfold the book and volume of the brain1' and transcribe the characters ,i see there as mechanically as any one might copy the letters in a sampler4 ,i do not say they came there mechanically--,i transfer them to the paper mechanically4 ,see also p4 #cde4 ,p4 #bhi4 which 444 he has somewhere told himself4 ,biographia ,literaria1 ch4 #aj4 that other ,vision of ,judgment4 ,byron's4 ,bridge-,street ,junto4 ,the ,constitutional ,association or1 as it was called by its opponents1 ',the ,bridge ,street ,gang1' founded in #ahba 'to support the laws for suppressing seditious publications1 and for defending the country from the fatal influence of disloyalty and sedition4' ,the ,association was an ill-conducted party organisation and created so much opposition by its imprudent prosecutions that it very soon disappeared4 ,see an article in the ,edinburgh ,review for ,june1 #ahbb4 ,waller-,glover1 ,,vi1 #dhg4 ,p4 #bij4 at ,tewkesbury4 ,in the essay ,on ,going a ,journey1 ,hazlitt refers to this episode as occurring at ,bridgewater3 ,i remember sitting up half the night to read ,paul and ,virginia1 which ,i picked up at an inn in ,bridgewater1 after being drenched in the rain all day2 and at the same place ,i got through two volumes of ,madame ,d',arblay's ,camilla4 ,paul and ,virginia 7#aghh71 a sentimental novel by ,bernardin ,st4 ,pierre 7#agcg-ahad74 ,p4 #bia4 ,camilla 7#agif71 a novel by ,fanny ,burney 7#ageb-ahdj74 a friend of the poet's4 ,this is a mistake4 ,wordsworth paid #bc a year for ,alfoxden4 ,the agreement is given in ,mrs4 ,henry ,sandford's ',thomas ,poole and ,his ,friends1' ,i1 #bbe4 ,waller-,glover4 ,p4 #bib4 ,in the outset of life4 ,alongside of this paragraph should be read the essay ,on the ,feeling of ,immortality in ,youth1 ,works1 ,,xii1 #aej4 ,p4 #bid4 ,chantrey1 ,sir ,francis 7#agha-ahdb74 ,his bust of ,wordsworth is now at ,cole-,orton4 ,haydon1 ,benjamin ,robert 7#aghf-ahdf71 a celebrated ,english painter who was intimate with many literary men4 ,in the picture referred to ,haydon also introduced a portrait of ,hazlitt4 ,monk ,lewis4 ,matthew ,gregory ,lewis 7#agge-ahah7 wrote among other things a sensational novel1 ,the ,monk 7#agie71 which gained him his nickname4 ,the ,castle ,spectre was originally produced at the ,drury ,lane ,theatre in #agig4 ,p4 #bie4 ,tom ,poole 7#agfe-ahcg71 friend and patron of ,coleridge4 ,p4 #bif4 ,sir ,walter ,scott's1 etc4 ,probably a reference to the banquet given to ,george ,,iv by the ,magistrates of ,edinburgh and attended by ,scott1 ,august #bd1 #ahbb4 ,blackwood1 ,william 7#aggf-ahcd71 the ,edinburgh publisher4 ,gaspar ,poussin 7#afac-afge74 ,his real name was ,dughet1 but he changed it out of respect to his brother-in-law1 ,nicholas ,poussin4 ,domenichino or ,domenico ,zampieri 7#aeha-afda71 a painter of ,bologna4 ,p4 #big4 ,death of ,abel 7#ageh71 an idyllic-pastoral poem by ,solomon ,gessner 7#agcj-aghh71 a ,german poet of the ,swiss school who enjoyed a wide popularity in the eighteenth century4 ,p4 #bih4 since the days of ,henry ,,ii4 ,as ,henry ,,ii lived in the twelfth century1 and as neither ,coleridge nor ,wordsworth ever refer to the language of ,henry ,,ii as their standard1 the statement in the text may probably be considered as a blunder of ,hazlitt's4 ,he spoke with contempt of ,gray and with intolerance of ,pope4 ,cf4 ,biographia ,literaria1 ch4 #b3 ,i felt almost as if ,i had been newly couched1 when1 by ,mr4 ,wordsworth's conversation1 ,i had been induced to re-examine with impartial strictness ,gray's celebrated ,elegy4 ,i had long before detected the defects in ,the ,bard2 but the ,elegy ,i had considered as proof against all fair attacks2 and to this day ,i can not read either without delight1 and a portion of enthusiasm4 ,at all events whatever pleasure ,i may have lost by the clearer perception of the faults in certain passages1 has been more than repaid to me by the additional delight with which ,i read the remainder4 ,in his ,table ,talk1 ,october #bc1 #ahcc1 ,coleridge says again3 ,i think there is something very majestic in ,gray's ,installation ,ode2 but as to the ,bard and the rest of his lyrics1 ,i must say ,i think them frigid and artificial4 ,of ,pope and his followers he writes 7,biographia ,literaria1 ch4 #a73 ,i was not blind to the merits of this school1 yet1 as from inexperience of the world1 and consequent want of sympathy with the general subjects of these poems1 they gave me little pleasure1 ,i doubtless undervalued the kind1 and with the presumption of youth withheld from its masters the legitimate name of poets4 ,i saw that the excellence of this kind consisted in just and acute observations on men and manners in an artificial state of society1 as its matter and substance1 and in the logic of wit1 conveyed in smooth and strong epigrammatic couplets1 as its form2 that even when the subject was addressed to the fancy1 or the intellect1 as in the ,rape of the ,lock1 or the ,essay on ,man2 nay1 when it was a consecutive narration1 as in that astonishing product of matchless talent and ingenuity1 ,pope's ,translation of the ,iliad2 still a point was looked for at the end of each second line1 and the whole was1 as it were1 a sorites1 or1 if ,i may exchange a logical for a grammatical metaphor1 a conjunction disjunctive1 of epigrams4 ,meantime1 the matter and diction seemed to me characterized not so much by poetic thoughts1 as by thoughts translated into the language of poetry4 he thought little of ,junius as a writer4 ,cf4 ,coleridge's ,table ,talk1 ,july #c1 #ahcc3 ,the style of ,junius is a sort of metre1 the law of which is a balance of thesis and antithesis4 ,when he gets out of his aphorismic metre into a sentence of five or six lines long1 nothing can exceed the slovenliness of the ,english4 dislike for ,dr4 ,johnson4 ,cf4 ,table ,talk1 ,july #d1 #ahcc3 ,dr4 ,johnson's fame now rests principally upon ,boswell4 ,it is impossible not to be amused with such a book4 ,but his bow-wow manner must have had a good deal to do with the effect produced4444 ,as to ,burke's testimony to ,johnson's powers1 you must remember that ,burke was a great courtier2 and after all1 ,burke said and wrote more than once that he thought ,johnson greater in talking than in writing1 and greater in ,boswell than in real life4 opinion of ,burke4 ,cf4 ,table ,talk1 ,april #h1 #ahcc3 ,burke was indeed a great man4 ,no one ever read history so philosophically as he seems to have done4444 ,he would have been more influential if he had less surpassed his contemporaries1 as ,fox and ,pitt1 men of much inferior minds1 in all respects4 ,he liked ,richardson1 but not ,fielding4 ,on this subject ,coleridge evidently changed his mind4 ,cf4 ,table ,talk1 ,july #e1 #ahcd3 ,what a master of composition ,fielding was6 ,upon my word1 ,i think the ,o,edipus ,tyrannus1 the ,alchemist1 and ,tom ,jones the three most perfect plots ever planned4 ,and how charming1 how wholesome1 ,fielding always is6 ,to take him up after ,richardson is like emerging from a sickroom heated by stoves into an open lawn on a breezy day in ,may4 ,caleb ,williams1 the chief novel of ,william ,godwin4 ,p4 #bih1 n4 ,he had no idea of pictures4 ,see p4 #bab4 ,buffamalco4 ,cristofani ,buonamico 7#abfb-acea71 also known as ,buffalmacco1 a painter of ,florence4 ,p4 #cjj4 ,elliston1 ,robert ,william 7#aggd-ahac71 actor and later manager of the ,drury ,lane ,theatre4 still continues4 ,see p4 #bbd and n4 ,,on ,,the ,,conversation ,,of ,,authors ,this is the title of ,essays ,,iii and ,,iv of the ,plain ,speaker4 ,our selection begins with the last paragraph of the first1 which forms a fitting introduction to the account of one of ,lamb's celebrated ,wednesday evenings4 ,lamb tells us that his sister was accustomed to read this essay with unmixed delight4 ,p4 #cja4 ,when ,greek meets ,greek4 ,nathaniel ,lee's ,alexander the ,great1 iv1 #b4 ,c----4 ,coleridge4 ,p4 #cjb4 small-coal man4 ,thomas ,britton 7#afed8-agad71 a dealer in small coal1 who on the floor of his hut above the coal-shop held weekly concerts of vocal and instrumental music1 at which the greatest performers of the day1 even ,handel1 were to be heard4 ,and1 in our flowing cups4 ,cf4 ,henry ,v1 iv1 #c1 #ea3 then shall our names ,familiar in his mouth as household words 444 ,be in their flowing cups freely remember'd4 ,p4 #cjc4 the cartoons4 ,see ,hazlitt's account of ,raphael's cartoons in ,the ,pictures at ,hampton ,court 7,works1 ,,ix1 #dc74 ,donne1 ,john 7#aegc-afca71 poet and divine4 ,hazlitt in the ,lectures on the ,english ,poets confesses that he knows nothing of him save some beautiful verses to his wife1 dissuading her from accompanying him on his travels abroad 7see p4 #cah71 and some quaint riddles in verse1 which the ,sphinx could not unravel4 ,v1 #hc4 ,p4 #cjd4 ,ned ,p----4 ,edward ,phillips4 ,lamb speaks of him as that poor card-playing ,phillips1 that has felt himself for so many years the outcast of ,fortune4 7,works1 ed4 ,lucas1 ,,vii1 #igb47 ,captain ----4 ,rear-,admiral ,james ,burney 7#agej-ahba71 brother of ,fanny ,burney the novelist1 author of a ,chronological ,history of the ,voyages and ,discoveries in the ,south ,sea or ,pacific ,ocean in five volumes 7#ahjc-ahag74 ,the captain was himself a character1 a fine1 noble creature--gentle1 with a rough exterior1 as became the associate of ,captain ,cook in his voyages round the world1 and the literary historian of all these acts of circumnavigation4 ,crabb-,robinson's ,diary1 #ahaj4 ,jem ,white4 ,james ,white 7#agge-ahbj71 of whom ,lamb has left us a sketch in the essay ,on the ,praise of ,chimney-,sweepers3 ,he carried away half the fun of the world when he died4 ,he wrote1 it is supposed with some cooperation from ,lamb1 the ,original ,letters1 etc41 of ,sir ,john ,falstaff and his ,friends 7#agif71 which were described by ,lamb as without exception the best imitations ,i ever saw4 7,works1 ed4 ,lucas1 ,,vi1 #b47 ,a review of this book by ,lamb1 consisting chiefly of specimens1 appeared in the ,examiner in #ahai 7,works1 ed4 ,lucas1 ,i1 #aia ff74 turning like the latter end4 ,this phrase occurs in one of the extracts in ,lamb's review of ,falstaff's ,letters just mentioned 7p4 #aid74 ,a----4 ,william ,aryton 7#aggg-aheh71 a musical critic and director of the ,king's ,theatre in the ,haymarket4 ,in the letter of ,elia to ,robert ,southey 7,lamb's ,works1 ,i1 #bcj7 he is spoken of as the last and steadiest left me of that little knot of whist-players1 that used to assemble weekly1 for so many years1 at the ,queen's ,gate4 ,mrs4 ,r-----4 ,mrs4 ,reynolds1 who had been ,lamb's schoolmistress4 ,m4 ,b4 ,martin ,charles ,burney1 son of ,admiral ,burney4 ,martin ,burney is as odd as ever4444 ,he came down here1 and insisted on reading ,virgil's 'neid' all through with me 7which he did17 because a ,counsel must know ,latin4 ,another time he read out all the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john1 because ,biblical quotations are very emphatic in a ,court of ,justice4 ,a third time1 he would carve a fowl1 which he did very ill-favoredly1 because 'we did not know how indispensable it was for a ,barrister to do all those sort of things well4 ,those little things were of more consequence than we supposed4' ,so he goes on1 harassing about the way to prosperity1 and losing it4 ,with a long head1 but somewhat wrong one--harum-scarum4 ,why does not his guardian angel look to him8 ,he deserves one--3 may be1 he has tired him out4 ,lamb's ,works1 ,,vii1 #hee4 ,author of the ,road to ,ruin4 ,thomas ,holcroft4 ,p4 #cje4 ,critique of ,pure ,reason1 by ,kant4 ,biographia ,literaria4 ,coleridge's account of his literary life1 published in #ahag4 ,those days are over6 ,the event here referred to may be ,waterloo4 ,mr4 ,lucas thinks that ,hazlitt's share in ,lamb's gatherings ceased after an unfortunate discussion of ,fanny ,burney's ,wanderer1 which ,hazlitt condemned in terms that her brother1 the ,admiral1 could not forgive4 7,lamb's ,works1 ,i1 #dhb47 ,it is likely that ,mr4 ,lucas has been led astray by the statement in ,crabb-,robinson's ,diary to the effect that ,hazlitt used to attend ,captain ,burney's whist-parties till he affronted the ,captain by severe criticisms on the works of his sister1 presumably by his article in the ,edinburgh ,review in #ahad4 ,hazlitt commemorates ,lamb's evenings in the ,pleasure of ,hating 7,plain ,speaker73 ,what is become of 'that set of whist players1' celebrated by ,elia in his notable ,epistle to ,robert ,southey1 ,esq4 444 'that for so many years called ,admiral ,burney friend8' ,they are scattered1 like last year's snow4 ,some of them are dead--or gone to live at a distance--or pass one another in the street like strangers2 or if they stop to speak1 do it as coolly and try to cut one another as soon as possible4 ,some of us have grown rich--others poor4 ,some have got places under ,government--others a niche in the ,quarterly ,review4 ,some of us have dearly earned a name in the world2 whilst others remain in their original privacy4 ,we despise the one1 and envy and are glad to mortify the other4 ,like angels' visits4 ,cf4 ,blair's ,the ,grave1 #ehb3 ,like those of angels1 short and far between4 ,hazlitt was fond of pointing out this source for ,campbell's famous line ,like angels' visits few and far between1 and of insisting that the alteration spoiled the sense4 ,thereby he is said to have incurred ,campbell's bitter hostility4 ,p4 #cjf4 ,mr4 ,douce1 ,francis 7#ageg-ahcd71 ,shakespearian scholar and keeper of the manuscripts in the ,british ,museum4 ,l4 ,h----4 ,leigh ,hunt4 ,there is a sketch of him in the ,spirit of the ,age4 aliquando sufflaminandus erat4 ,he sometimes had to be checked4 ,this is a quotation from ,seneca which ,ben ,jonson in ,timber 7ed4 ,schelling1 p4 #bc7 had applied to ,shakespeare4 ,p4 #cjg4 ,the ,indicator4 ,leigh ,hunt's most successful series of essays1 which began their run in #ahai4 ,mr4 ,northcote1 ,james 7#agdf-ahca71 the painter of whose talk ,hazlitt has left an entertaining record in the ,conversations of ,james ,northcote 7#ahcj71 a book which inspired ,crabb-,robinson to say1 ,i do not believe that ,boswell gives so much good talk in an equal quantity of his life of ,johnson4 ,p4 #cjh4 ,sir ,joshua's4 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds 7#agbc-agib71 the famous ,english painter4 ,p4 #cji4 ,horne ,tooke 7#agcf-ahab71 politician and author of a celebrated philological volume1 ,the ,diversions of ,purley 7#aghf1 #ahje74 ,his portrait is included in the ,spirit of the ,age3 ,he was without a rival 7almost7 in private conversation1 an expert public speaker1 a keen politician1 a first-rate grammarian1 and the finest gentleman 7to say the least7 of his own party4 ,he had no imagination 7or he would not have scorned it67--no delicacy of taste1 no rooted prejudices or strong attachments3 his intellect was like a bow of polished steel1 from which he shot sharp-pointed poisoned arrows at his friends in private1 at his enemies in public4 hear a sound so fine4 ,j4 ,s4 ,knowles's ,virginius1 v1 #b4 ,p4 #caj4 silenced a learned professor4 ,cf4 ,spirit of the ,age3 ,he used to plague ,fuseli by asking him after the origin of the ,teutonic dialects1 and ,dr4 ,parr1 by wishing to know the meaning of the common copulative1 ,is4 ,curran1 ,john ,philpot 7#agej-ahag71 member of ,parliament from ,ireland1 orator and wit4 ,p4 #caa4 ,mrs4 ,inchbald1 ,elizabeth 7#agec-ahba71 a well-known actress1 dramatist1 and novelist4 ,in literature she is associated with the group of ,william ,godwin1 and her best-known works are ,a ,simple ,story and ,nature and ,art4 from noon to dewy eve4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i1 #gdc4 ,mrs4 ,m----4 ,mrs4 ,montagu1 wife of ,basil ,montagu4 ,in the ,pleasure of ,hating 7,plain ,speaker7 there is another allusion to ,mrs4 ,montagu whose dark raven locks made a picturesque background to our discourse4 ,h--t's4 ,leigh ,hunt's4 ,n--'s4 ,northcote's4 ,h--yd--n's4 ,haydon's4 ,doctor ,tronchin4 ,theodore ,tronchin1 a physician of ,geneva1 figures in ,rousseau's ,confessions4 ,p4 #cab4 ,sir ,fopling ,flutter1 a character in ,george ,etherege's comedy1 ,the ,man of ,mode4 ,for wit is like a rest4 ,master ,francis ,beaumont's ,letter to ,ben ,jonson4 ,for players read gamesters4 came down into the country4 ,charles and ,mary ,lamb with a few of their friends paid a visit to ,hazlitt at ,winterslow in #ahaj4 ,like the most capricious poet4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 iii1 #c1 #h4 walked gowned4 ,lamb's ,sonnet ,written at ,cambridge1 ,august #ae1 #ahai4 ,p4 #cac4 the person ,i mean4 ,george ,dyer 7#agee-ahda71 an amiable hack-writer and a friend of ,lamb4 ,he figures prominently in two of the ,essays of ,elia1 ,oxford in the ,vacation and ,amicus ,redivivus1 and in many of ,lamb's letters4 ,to ,g4 ,d4 a poem is a poem4 ,his own as good as any bodie's1 and god bless him1 any bodie's as good as his own1 for ,i do not think he has the most distant guess of the possibility of one poem being better than another4 ,the ,gods by denying him the very faculty itself of discrimination have effectually cut off every seed of envy in his bosom4 ,letter to ,wordsworth 7,lamb's ,works1 ed4 ,lucas1 ,,vi1 #eai74 ,,of ,,persons ,,one ,,would ,,wish ,,to ,,have ,,seen ,this1 like the preceding essay1 is a record of one of ,lamb's ,wednesday evenings4 ,it was originally published in the ,new ,monthly ,magazine for ,january1 #ahbf1 from which the present text is reproduced4 ,it was republished by ,hazlitt's son in ,literary ,remains 7#ahcf7 and ,winterslow 7#ahej74 ,p4 #cae4 ,come like shadows4 ,macbeth1 iv1 #a1 #aaa4 ,b----4 ,lamb4 ,the name is supplied in ,literary ,remains4 defence of ,guy ,faux4 ,see p4 #bbd and n4 ,never so sure4 ,pope's ,moral ,essays1 ,,ii1 #ea4 ,a----4 ,william ,ayrton4 ,p4 #caf4 in his habit4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #d1 #ace4 ,p4 #cag4 ,and call up him4 ,il ,penseroso1 #aji4 wished that mankind4 ,browne's ,religio ,medici1 ,part #aa1 section #i4 ,prologues spoken4 ,see ,prologue to ,fulke ,greville's tragedy of ,alaham4 ,p4 #cah4 old edition4 ,mr4 ,w4 ,c4 ,hazlitt suggests that it is the edition of #afji of which ,lamb owned a copy4 ,memoirs of ,hazlitt1 ,i1 #bgf4 ,here lies4 ,an ,epithalamion on the ,lady ,elizabeth and ,count ,palatine4 ,muses' ,library1 ,i1 #hf4 ,by our first strange4 ,elegy on his ,mistress1 ,i1 #aci4 ,p4 #cbj4 lisped in numbers4 ,pope's ,prologue to ,satires1 #abh4 ,his meeting with ,petrarch4 ,chaucer was in ,italy in #acgb-c1 but his meeting with ,petrarch is only a matter of conjecture4 ,he probably did not meet ,boccaccio1 the author of the ,decameron4 ,ugolino4 ,see p4 #bge4 portrait of ,ariosto4 ,hazlitt probably refers to the ,portrait of a ,poet in the ,national ,gallery1 now ascribed to ,palma4 ,p4 #cba4 the mighty dead4 ,thomson's ,winter1 #dcb4 creature of the element4 ,cf4 ,comus1 #bii3 ,of some gay creatures of the element1 ,that in the colors of the rainbow live1 ,and play i' the plighted clouds4 ,that was ,arion4 ,farie ,queene1 ,,iv1 ix1 #bc4 ,for ,captain ,c41 ,m4 ,c41 ,miss ,d----1 ,literary ,remains supplies ,admiral ,burney1 ,martin ,burney1 ,miss ,reynolds4 with lack-luster eye4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ii1 #g1 #ba4 ,p4 #cbb4 his compliments4 ,see p4 #abi4 ,p4 #cbc4 ,but why then publish4 ,prologue to ,satires1 #ace4 ,gay's verses4 ,mr4 ,pope's ,welcome from ,greece 7ed4 ,muses' ,library1 ,i1 #bjg74 ,p4 #cbd4 ,e----4 ,in ,literary ,remains the name supplied is ,erasmus ,phillips1 probably a mistake for ,edward ,phillips4 nigh-sphered in heaven4 ,collins's ,ode on the ,poetical ,character1 #ff4 ,garrick1 ,david 7#agag-aggi71 the celebrated actor4 ,j4 ,f----4 ,according to ,literary ,remains1 ,barron ,field 7#aghf-ahdf71 ,lamb's friend and correspondent4 ,handel1 ,george ,frederick 7#afhe-agei71 the musical composer1 ,german by birth but naturalized in ,england4 ,p4 #cbe4 ,wildair1 in ,farquhar's comedy ,sir ,harry ,wildair4 ,abel ,drugger1 in ,ben ,jonson's ,alchemist1 was one of ,garrick's famous parts4 ,p4 #cbf4 author of ,mustapha4 ,fulke ,greville4 ,kit ,marlowe 7#aefd-aeic71 the most brilliant writer of tragedy before ,shakespeare4 ,he wrote ,tamburlaine the ,great1 ,the ,tragical ,history of ,dr4 ,faustus1 ,the ,jew of ,malta1 and ,edward the ,second4 ,in the ,age of ,elizabeth ,hazlitt says of him1 ,there is a lust of power in his writings1 a hunger and thirst after unrighteousness1 a glow of the imagination1 unhallowed by any thing but its own energies4 ,webster1 ,john1 wrote during the first quarter of the seventeenth century4 ,his chief plays are ,the ,white ,devil and the ,duchess of ,malfy4 ,dekker1 ,thomas 7c4 #aegj-afda74 ,the ,shoemaker's ,holiday1 ,the ,honest ,whore1 and ,old ,fortunatus are his best plays4 ,in the third lecture of the ,age of ,elizabeth ,hazlitt thus compares ,webster and ,dekker3 ,webster would1 ,i think1 be a greater dramatic genius than ,deckar1 if he had the same originality2 and perhaps is so1 even without it4 ,his ,white ,devil and ,duchess of ,malfy1 upon the whole perhaps1 come the nearest to ,shakspeare of anything we have upon record2 the only drawback to them1 the only shade of imputation that can be thrown upon them1 'by which they lose some colour1' is1 that they are too like ,shakspeare1 and often direct imitations of him1 both in general conception and individual expression4444 ,deckar has1 ,i think1 more truth of character1 more instinctive depth of sentiment1 more of the unconscious simplicity of nature2 but he does not1 out of his own stores1 clothe his subject with the same richness of imagination1 or the same glowing colours of language4 ,deckar excels in giving expression to certain habitual1 deeply-rooted feelings1 which remain pretty much the same in all circumstances1 the simple uncompounded elements of nature and passion3--,webster gives more scope to their various combinations and changeable aspects1 brings them into dramatic play by contrast and comparison1 flings them into a state of fusion by a kindled fancy1 makes them describe a wider arc of oscillation from the impulse of unbridled passion1 and carries both terror and pity to a more painful and sometimes unwarrantable excess4 ,deckar is content with the historic picture of suffering2 ,webster goes on to suggest horrible imaginings4 ,the pathos of the one tells home and for itself2 the other adorns his sentiments with some image of tender or awful beauty4 ,in a word1 ,deckar is more like ,chaucer or ,boccaccio2 as ,webster's mind appears to have been cast more in the mould of ,shakespeare's1 as well naturally as from studious emulation4 ,heywood1 ,thomas 7d4 c4 #afej71 a prolific dramatist who excelled in the homely vein4 ,his best-known play is ,the ,woman ,killed with ,kindness4 ,beaumont1 ,francis 7#aehd-afaf71 and ,fletcher1 ,john 7#aegi-afbe71 composed their dramas in collaboration4 ,in the ,age of ,elizabeth ,hazlitt calls them lyric and descriptive poets of the first order1 but as regards drama the first writers who in some measure departed from the genuine tragic style of the age of ,shakspeare4 ,they thought less of their subject1 and more of themselves1 than some others4 ,they had a great and unquestioned command over the stores both of fancy and passion2 but they availed themselves too often of commonplace extravagances and theatrical trick4444 ,the example of preceding or contemporary writers had given them facility2 the frequency of dramatic exhibition had advanced the popular taste2 and this facility of production1 and the necessity for appealing to popular applause1 tended to vitiate their own taste1 and to make them willing to pamper that of the public for novelty and extraordinary effect4 ,there wants something of the sincerity and modesty of the older writers4 ,they do not wait nature's time1 or work out her materials patiently and faithfully1 but try to anticipate her1 and so far defeat themselves4 ,they would have a catastrophe in every scene2 so that you have none at last3 they would raise admiration to its height in every line2 so that the impression of the whole is comparatively loose and desultory4 ,they pitch the characters at first in too high a key1 and exhaust themselves by the eagerness and impatience of their efforts4 ,we find all the prodigality of youth1 the confidence inspired by success1 an enthusiasm bordering on extravagance1 richness running riot1 beauty dissolving in its own sweetness4 ,they are like heirs just come to their estates1 like lovers in the honeymoon4 ,in the economy of nature's gifts1 they 'misuse the bounteous ,pan1 and thank the ,gods amiss4' ,their productions shoot up in haste1 but bear the marks of precocity and premature decay4 ,or they are two goodly trees1 the stateliest of the forest1 crowned with blossoms1 and with the verdure springing at their feet2 but they do not strike their roots far enough into the ground1 and the fruit can hardly ripen for the flowers6 ,jonson1 ,ben 7#aegc-afcg71 was the originator of the comedy of humors4 ,hazlitt1 in discussing him at length in the second lecture on the ,comic ,writers1 confesses a disrelish for his style4 ,he was a great man in himself1 but one cannot readily sympathise with him4 ,his works1 as the characteristic productions of an individual mind1 or as records of the manners of a particular age1 cannot be valued too highly2 but they have little charm for the mere general reader4 ,schlegel observes1 that whereas ,shakspeare gives the springs of human nature1 which are always the same1 or sufficiently so to be interesting and intelligible2 ,jonson chiefly gives the humours of men1 as connected with certain arbitrary and conventional modes of dress1 action1 and expression1 which are intelligible only while they last1 and not very interesting at any time4 ,shakspeare's characters are men2 ,ben ,jonson's are more like machines1 governed by mere routine1 or by the convenience of the poet1 whose property they are4444 ,his portraits are caricatures by dint of their very likeness1 being extravagant tautologies of themselves2 as his plots are improbable by an excess of consistency2 for he goes thoroughstitch with whatever he takes in hand1 makes one contrivance answer all purposes1 and every obstacle give way to a predetermined theory4444 ,old ,ben was of a scholastic turn and had dealt a little in the occult sciences and controversial divinity4 ,he was a man of strong crabbed sense1 retentive memory1 acute observation1 great fidelity of description and keeping in character1 a power of working out an idea so as to make it painfully true and oppressive1 and with great honesty and manliness of feeling1 as well as directness of understanding3 but with all this1 he wanted1 to my thinking1 that genial spirit of enjoyment and finer fancy1 which constitute the essence of poetry and wit4444 ,there was nothing spontaneous1 no impulse or ease about his genius3 it was all forced1 up-hill work1 making a toil of pleasure4 ,and hence his overweening admiration of his own works1 from the effort they had cost him1 and the apprehension that they were not proportionably admired by others1 who knew nothing of the pangs and throes of his ,muse in child-bearing4 ,works1 ,,viii1 #ci-da4 ,of ,ben ,jonson's tragedies ,hazlitt held a higher opinion than of his comedies4 ,the richer the soil in which he labours1 the less dross and rubbish we have4444 ,his tenaciousness of what is grand and lofty1 is more praiseworthy than his delight in what is low and disagreeable4 ,his pedantry accords better with didactic pomp than with illiterate and vulgar gabble2 his learning engrafted on romantic tradition or classical history1 looks like genius4444 ,his tragedy of the ,fall of ,sejanus1 in particular1 is an admirable piece of ancient mosaic4444 ,the depth of knowledge and gravity of expression sustain one another throughout3 the poet has worked out the historian's outline1 so that the vices and passions1 the ambition and servility of public men1 in the heated and poisonous atmosphere of a luxurious and despotic court1 were never described in fuller or more glowing colours4 ,works1 ,v1 #bfb-c4 a vast species alone4 ,cowley's ,the ,praise of ,pindar4 ,g----4 ,godwin1 according to ,literary ,remains4 ,drummond of ,hawthornden4 ,william ,drummond 7#aehe-afdi71 the poet who recorded his conversation with ,ben ,jonson on the occasion of a visit paid to him by the latter in #afah4 ,he has not done himself or ,jonson any credit by his account of their conversation1 says ,hazlitt in the ,lectures on the ,age of ,elizabeth4 ,works1 ,v1 #bii4 ,eugene ,aram was hanged in #agei for a murder he had committed several years earlier4 ,admirable ,crichton4 ,james ,crichton 7#aefj8-aehb71 a ,scotchman of noble birth who1 in a brief life1 gained the reputation of universal genius and concerning whose powers many legends arose4 ,p4 #cbg4 ,h----4 ,hunt1 according to ,literary ,remains4 ,hobbes1 ,thomas 7#aehh-afgi71 the ,english philosopher4 ,his chief work is ,leviathan1 or the ,matter1 ,form1 and ,power of a ,commonwealth1 ,ecclesiastical and ,civil 7#afea74 ,hazlitt vindicated the superiority of ,hobbes as a thinker at a time when his fame was overshadowed by other reputations4 ,he calls him the founder of the modern material philosophy and maintains that the true reason of the fate which this author's writings met with was that his views of things were too original and comprehensive to be immediately understood1 without passing through the hands of several successive generations of commentators and interpreters4 ,ignorance of another's meaning is a sufficient cause of fear1 and fear produces hatred4 ,works1 ,,xi1 #be-dh4 ,jonathan ,edwards 7#agjc-ageh74 ,in writing ,on the ,tendency of ,sects in the ,round ,table1 ,hazlitt had alluded to ,edwards as an ,englishman and had spoken of his work on the ,will as written with as much power of logic1 and more in the true spirit of philosophy1 than any other metaphysical work in the language4 ,p4 #cbg1 n4 ,lord ,bacon1 ,francis 7#aefa-afbf71 statesman1 scientist1 and man of letters4 ,his chief works are the ,essays 7#aeig71 the ,advancement of ,learning 7#afjd71 ,novum ,organum 7#afbj71 ,history of ,henry ,,vii 7#afbb74 ,p4 #cbh4 ,dugald ,stewart 7#agec-ahbh71 ,scotch philosopher4 ,duchess of ,bolton4 ,lavinia ,fenton 7#agjh-agfj71 the original ,polly in ,gay's ,beggar's ,opera1 married the ,duke of ,bolton in #agea4 ,p4 #cbi4 ,raphael1 ,sanzio 7#adhc-aebj71 the greatest of all the ,italian painters4 ,lucretia ,borgia with calm golden locks4 ,this sounds like a striking anticipation of ,landor's fine line1 ,calm hair meandering in pellucid gold in his poem ,on ,lucretia ,borgia's ,hair4 ,or had ,hazlitt seen the poem before it was published8 ,michael ,angelo 7#adge-aefd71 poet1 painter1 architect1 and sculptor1 the most famous of the great ,italian artists4 ,correggio 7#adid-aecd71 ,giorgione 7#adgg-aeaj71 ,guido 7#aege-afdb71 ,cimabue 7#abdj-acjb71 ,vandyke 7#aeii-afda74 ,the other painters are mentioned elsewhere in this volume4 whose names on earth4 ,in his review of ,sismondi's ,literature of the ,south 7,works1 ,x1 #fb7 ,hazlitt cites among the proofs of ,dante's poetic power his description of the poets and great men of antiquity1 whom he represents 'serene and smiling1' though in the shades of death1 'because on earth their names in fame's eternal records shine for aye4' ,as these lines have not been located in ,dante1 they have been ascribed to the lying memory of ,lamb1 from whose lips ,hazlitt learned them4 ,p4 #ccj4 ,mrs4 ,hutchinson1 ,lucy 7b4 #afbj71 whose life of her ,puritan husband1 ,colonel ,hutchinson1 had appeared in #ahjf1 presumably shortly before the conversation recorded in this essay4 one in the room4 ,mary ,lamb1 the sister of the essayist4 ,ninon de ,lenclos 7#afae-agje71 for a long time the leader of fashion in ,paris and the patroness of poets4 ,voltaire 7#afid-aggh71 the sceptical philosopher of the ,enlightenment2 ,rabelais 7#adij-aeec71 the greatest ,french humorist1 author of ,gargantua and ,pantagruel2 ,molire 7#afbb-afgc71 the master of ,french comedy2 ,racine 7#afci-afii71 the master of ,french classic tragedy2 ,la ,fontaine 7#afba-afie71 author of the ,fables2 ,la ,rochefoucauld 7#afac-afhj71 celebrated for his book of cynical ,maxims which ,hazlitt imitated in his ,characteristics2 ,st4 ,evremont 7#afaj-agjc71 a critic4 ,p4 #cca4 ,your most exquisite reason4 ,cf4 ,twelfth ,night1 ii1 #c1 #aee4 ,oh1 ever right4 ,coriolanus1 ii1 #a1 #bjh4 ,h----4 ,this speech is attributed to ,lamb in ,literary ,remains1 but wrongly so according to ,waller and ,glover because1 in the first place1 the speech seems more characteristic of ,hunt than of ,lamb1 and1 secondly1 because the volume of the ,new ,monthly in which the essay appeared contains a list of errata in which two corrections 7one of them relating to initials7 are made in the essay and yet this ',h----' is left uncorrected4 ,,on ,,reading ,,old ,,books ,this essay was first published in the ,london ,magazine for ,february1 #ahba1 and republished in the ,plain ,speaker4 ,p4 #ccc4 ,i hate to read new books4 ,it would take too long to recall all the passages in which ,hazlitt voices his sentimental attachment to the writers with whom he first became acquainted4 ,the greatest pleasure in life1 he says in one essay1 is that of reading when we are young1 and at the conclusion of his lectures on the ,age of ,elizabeth he remarks3 ,were ,i to live much longer than ,i have any chance of doing1 the books which ,i read when ,i was young1 ,i can never forget4 ,patmore's statement concerning ,hazlitt's later reading may be exaggerated1 but it is interesting in this connection3 ,i do not believe ,hazlitt ever read the half of any work that he reviewed--not even the ,scotch novels1 of which he read more than of any other modern productions1 and has written better perhaps1 than any other of their critics4 ,i am certain that of many works that he has reviewed1 and of many writers whose general pretensions he has estimated better than anybody else has done1 he never read one tithe4 ,my ,friends and ,acquaintances1 ,,iii1 #abb4 ,tales of my ,landlord4 ,scott's4 ,lady ,morgan 7#aghc8-ahei71 a writer of ,irish stories1 of which the best-known is ,the ,wild ,irish ,girl 7#ahjf74 ,she is also the author of certain miscellaneous productions1 among which is a ,life of ,salvator ,rosa reviewed by ,hazlitt for the ,edinburgh ,review1 ,july1 #ahbd4 ,works1 ,x1 #bgf-caj4 ,anastatius1 an ,eastern romance by ,thomas ,hope 7#aggj-ahca74 ,delphine 7#ahjb71 a novel by ,madame ,de ,stal 7#agff-ahag71 the celebrated ,french bluestocking4 in their newest gloss4 ,macbeth1 i1 #g1 #cd4 ,andrew ,millar 7#agjg-agfh71 the publisher of ,thomson's and ,fielding's works4 ,thurloe's ,state ,papers4 ,a ,collection of ,state ,papers 7#agdb7 by ,john ,thurloe 7#afaf-affh71 ,secretary of ,state under ,cromwell4 ,sir ,godfrey ,kneller 7#afdh-agbc71 a portrait painter of ,german birth whose work and reputation belong to ,england4 ,p4 #cce4 for thoughts4 ,cf4 ,hamlet1 iv1 #e1 #age3 ,there's rosemary1 that's for remembrance2 pray1 love1 remember3 and there is pansies1 that's for thoughts4 ,fortunatus's ,wishing ,cap1 in ,dekker's play of ,old ,fortunatus4 ,bruscambille4 ,tristram ,shandy1 ,bk4 ,,iii1 ch4 #ce4 the masquerade4 ,tom ,jones1 ,bk4 ,,xiii1 ch4 #g4 the disputes4 ,bk4 ,,iii1 ch4 #c4 the escape of ,molly4 ,bk4 ,,iv1 ch4 #h4 ,sophia and her muff4 ,bk4 ,v1 ch4 #d4 her aunt's lecture4 ,bk4 ,,vii1 ch4 #c4 the puppets dallying4 ,hamlet1 iii1 #b1 #beg4 ,p4 #ccf4 ignorance was bliss4 ,gray's ,ode on a ,distant ,prospect of ,eton4 ,ballantyne press4 ,the printing firm of ,john and ,james ,ballantyne in ,edinburgh with which ,scott was associated1 and in whose financial ruin he was so disastrously involved4 ,minerva ,press4 ,the sponsor of popular romances4 ,p4 #ccg4 ,mrs4 ,radcliffe1 ,anne 7#agfd-ahbc71 a very popular writer of novels in which romance1 sentiment1 and terror are combined in cunning proportions4 ,her chief novels are ,the ,romance of the ,forest 7#agia71 ,the ,mysteries of ,udolpho 7#agid7 and ,the ,italian 7#agig74 ,hazlitt writes of her in the lecture ,on the ,english ,novelists4 sweet in the mouth4 ,revelation1 x1 #i4 gay creatures4 ,comus1 #bii4 ,tom ,jones discovers ,square4 ,bk4 ,v1 ch4 #e4 where ,parson ,adams4 ,joseph ,andrews1 ,bk4 ,,iv1 ch4 #ad4 ,p4 #cch4 ,chubb's ,tracts4 ,thomas ,chubb 7#afgi-agdg71 a tallow-chandler who devoted his leisure hours to the deistic controversy4 ,his ,tracts and ,posthumous ,works were published in six volumes in #aged4 fate1 free-will4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii1 #efj4 ,would ,i had never seen4 ,marlowe's ,dr4 ,faustus1 ,scene #ai4 ,p4 #cci4 ,new ,eloise4 ,julie1 ou ,la ,nouvelle ,hloise 7#agfj71 a novel by the great ,french sentimentalist1 ,jean ,jacques ,rousseau 7#agab-aggh71 who was the most powerful personal force in the revolutionary movement of the eighteenth century and whose writings have left a deep impression on the political and educational systems of the nineteenth4 ,his other important works are ,the ,social ,contract and mile 7#agfb7 and the ,confessions 7#aghb74 ,hazlitt has a ,character of ,rousseau in the ,round ,table 7see p4 xliv1 n474 scattered like stray-gifts4 ,wordsworth's ,stray ,pleasures4 ,sir ,fopling ,flutter1 in ,sir ,george ,etherege's comedy ,the ,man of ,mode 7#afgf74 ,p4 #cci1 n4 a friend4 ,charles ,lamb4 ,p4 #cdj4 leurre de dupe1 a decoy4 ,the expression occurs in the fourth book of ,rousseau's ,confessions4 a load to sink a navy4 ,henry ,,viii1 iii1 #b1 #chc4 ,marcian ,calonna is a dainty book4 ,lamb's ,sonnet to the ,author of ,poems ,published under the ,name of ,barry ,cornwall4 ,p4 #cda4 ,keats4 ,hazlitt shared the popular conception of ,keats as an effeminate poet4 ,he concludes the essay ,on ,effeminacy of ,character in ,table ,talk with a reference to ,keats3 ,i cannot help thinking that the fault of ,mr4 ,keats's poems was a deficiency in masculine energy of style4 ,he had beauty1 tenderness1 delicacy1 in an uncommon degree1 but there was a want of strength and substance4 ,his ,endymion is a very delightful description of the illusions of a youthful imagination1 given up to airy dreams--we have flowers1 clouds1 rainbows1 moonlight1 all sweet sounds and smells1 and ,oreads and ,dryads flitting by--but there is nothing tangible in it1 nothing marked or palpable--we have none of the hardy spirit or rigid forms of antiquity4 ,he painted his own thoughts and character2 and did not transport himself into the fabulous and heroic ages4 ,there is a want of action1 of character1 and so far1 of imagination1 but there is exquisite fancy4 ,all is soft and fleshy1 without bone or muscle4 ,we see in him the youth1 without the manhood of poetry4 ,his genius breathed 'vernal delight and joy4'--',like ,maia's son he stood and shook his plumes1' with fragrance filled4 ,his mind was redolent of spring4 ,he had not the fierceness of summer1 nor the richness of autumn1 and winter he seemed not to have known1 till he felt the icy hand of death6 ,again in the introduction to the ,select ,british ,poets 7,works1 ,v1 #cgh71 he says that ,keats gave the greatest promise of genius of any poet of his day4 ,he displayed extreme tenderness1 beauty1 originality1 and delicacy of fancy2 all he wanted was manly strength and fortitude to reject the temptations of singularity in sentiment and expression4 ,some of his shorter and later pieces are1 however1 as free from faults as they are full of beauties4 ,come like shadows4 ,macbeth1 iv1 #a1 #aaa4 ,tiger-moth's wings and ,blushes with blood4 ,keats's ,eve of ,st4 ,agnes4 ,words1 words4 ,hamlet1 ii1 #b1 #aid4 the great preacher4 ,edward ,irving4 as the hart4 ,psalms1 xlii1 #a4 ,giving my stock sum4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 ii1 #a1 #dh4 ,p4 #cdb4 ,valentine1 ,tattle and ,prue1 characters in ,congreve's ,love for ,love 7#afie74 know my cue4 ,cf4 ,othello1 i1 #b1 #hc4 ,intus et in cute4 ,see p4 #afc4 ,sir ,humphry ,davy 7#aggh-ahbi71 the celebrated chemist4 ,p4 #cdc4 with every trick and line line and trick4 ,all's ,well ,that ,ends ,well1 i1 #a1 #ajg4 the divine ,clementina1 in ,richardson's ,sir ,charles ,grandison4 that ligament4 ,sterne's ,tristram ,shandy4 ,bk4 ,,vi1 ch4 #aj4 story of the hawk4 ,decameron1 ,fifth ,day1 ninth story4 at one proud fell swoop4 ,macbeth1 iv1 #c1 #bai4 ,p4 #cdd4 with all its giddy dizzy raptures4 ,wordsworth's ,tintern ,abbey1 #he4 embalmed with odours4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,,ii1 #hdc4 the ,german criticism4 ,see p4 #aab4 ,his form4 ,paradise ,lost1 ,i1 #eia4 ,falls flat4 ,ibid41 ,i1 #dfj4 ,p4 #cde4 ,for ,dr4 ,johnson's and ,junius's style4 ,see pp4 #adg-i1 #ahf1 #aij4 he1 like an eagle4 ,coriolanus1 v1 #f1 #aae4 ,an ,essay on ,marriage4 ,no such essay by ,wordsworth is at present known to exist4 ,it would seem either that ',marriage' is a misprint for some other word1 or that ,hazlitt was mistaken in the subject of the essay referred to by ,coleridge4 ,hazlitt is probably recalling a conversation with ,coleridge in ,shropshire at the beginning of #agih 7cf4 ',my ,first ,acquaintance with ,poets'71 at which time ,a ,letter to the ,bishop of ,llandaff 7#agic7 was the only notable prose work which ,wordsworth had published4 ,waller-,glover4 ,p4 #cde1 n4 ,is this the present earl8 ,james ,maitland1 eighth ,earl of ,lauderdale 7#agei-ahci71 succeeded his father in ,august1 #aghi4 ,waller-,glover4 ,p4 #cdf4 worthy of all acceptation4 #a ,timothy1 i1 #ae4 ,clarendon4 ,edward ,hyde1 ,earl of ,clarendon 7#afji-afgd71 ,english statesman and author of the ,history of the ,rebellion 7#agjd-agjg74 ,froissart1 ,jean 7#acch-adaj71 the chronicler of the ,hundred ,years' ,war4 ,holinshed1 ,ralph 7d4 #aehj871 author of ,chronicles of ,england1 ,scotlande1 and ,irelande 7#aegh74 ,stowe1 ,john 7#aebe8-afje71 author of ,englysh ,chronicles 7#aefa74 ,thucydides 7#dfj8 ,b4,c4-#cii871 the historian of the ,peloponnesian ,war4 ,guicciardini1 ,francesco 7#adhc-aedj71 ,italian statesman and author of a ,history of ,italy from #adid to #aecb4 ,p4 #cdg4 ,the ,loves of ,persiles and ,sigismunda1 the last work of ,cervantes 7translated into ,english in #afai7 and ,galatea1 his first work 7#aehe74 another ,yarrow4 ,cf4 ,wordsworth's ,yarrow ,revisited4 ,,index ,,index ,academy of ,compliments1 #ha4 ,addison1 ,joseph1 xxxii1 liii1 lvii1 #acj1 #adb1 #adc1 #add1 #adg1 #aec1 #bfh1 #cjc1 #cbh1 #cgg1 #cgh4 ,adventurer1 ,the1 #aeb1 #cdb1 #cgi4 schylus1 #dh1 #ga1 #bji1 #bgh4 ,alcus1 #aic4 ,alexander's ,feast1 #aii4 ,alison1 ,a41 xxxvi4 ,a ,mad ,world1 ,my ,masters1 #ah4 ,amelia1 #afj-b4 ,amyot1 ,jacques1 #ceb4 ,anatomy of ,melancholy1 #bbd1 #cig1 #djj4 ,ancient ,mariner1 #bac1 #big4 ,antony and ,cleopatra1 liv-lvi1 #ci1 #cfa4 ,aquinas1 ,thomas1 #baa1 #cbh1 #cib4 ,aram1 ,eugene1 #cbf1 #dbd4 ,arbuthnot1 ,john1 lx1 #acj1 #bab1 #cge4 ,aretine1 ,peter1 #ab1 #cbj1 #cec4 ,ariel1 #he-f1 #baj1 #cfe4 ,ariosto1 ,lodovico1 xliii1 #aa1 #ba1 #bdc1 #bec1 #cbj1 #ceb4 ,aristophanes1 #dh4 ,aristophanes of ,byzantium1 #cfc4 ,aristotle1 xxxiii1 #ace4 ,arnold1 ,matthew1 lix4 ,as ,you ,like ,it1 lv1 #eh1 #cfc4 ,atherstone1 ,edwin1 xxxvii4 ,ayrton1 ,w41 #cjd1 #cae-i1 #cbh1 #cca1 #cgh1 #daf4 ,babbitt1 ,irving1 lxx n4 ,bacon1 ,francis1 xii1 xv1 liii1 #a1 #adf1 #bed1 #cbg n41 #dbe4 ,bagehot1 ,w41 xxxiii1 lxxii4 ,beattie1 ,james1 #cfe4 ,beaumont and ,fletcher1 lvi1 #a1 #b1 #bbf1 #cbf1 #cdf1 #dbb4 ,beggar's ,opera1 #ga1 #bfc4 ,behmen1 ,jacob1 #baa1 #cib4 ,belleforest1 ,franois de1 #cec4 ,bentham1 ,jeremy1 lviii4 ,berkeley1 ,george1 xii1 #baj1 #bhg n41 #cbg1 #cch1 #cij4 ,betterton1 ,t41 #ada1 #cgg4 ,bewick1 ,t41 #bja1 #chh4 ,bible1 #f-aa1 #bfd1 #bga1 #bgb-c1 #cea4 ,bickerstaff1 ,isaac1 #aci1 #adj1 #cgg4 ,birrell1 ,a41 lxxii1 lxxiii4 ,blackstone1 ,sir ,william1 #aeg1 #chj4 ,blackwood's ,magazine1 xxv-xxvii1 xxxvii1 lxxi4 ,blackwood1 ,w41 xxvii1 #bif1 #dac4 ,blount1 ,martha1 #aba1 #cba1 #cbd1 #cgd4 ,boccaccio1 ,giovanni1 xliii1 #ab1 #af1 #abg1 #acg1 #bfh1 #cbj1 #cdc1 #ceb1 #djh-i1 #dbb4 ,boileau1 ,nicolas1 #abd1 #cgd4 ,bolingbroke1 ,viscount1 #abg1 #abi1 #aij1 #cge4 ,borgia1 ,lucretia1 #cbi4 ,boswell1 ,j41 #aej-a1 #cjc1 #cag1 #cba1 #cgi1 #dad4 ,bowles1 ,w4 ,l41 xlv1 xlvii1 #baa1 #bde1 #cgd1 #cic4 ,britton1 ,t41 #cjb1 #dae4 ,broken ,heart1 ,the1 lvi4 ,brooke1 ,lord4 ,see ,greville1 ,fulke4 ,browne1 ,sir ,thomas1 lxiv1 #bbd1 #caf-g1 #cig1 #djj4 ,buckingham1 ,duke of1 #acj1 #cge4 ,buffamalco1 #bih n41 #dae4 ,bulwer-,lytton1 ,edward1 lxxii4 ,bunyan1 ,john1 #bbd1 #bfi1 #cbd1 #dji4 ,burke1 ,edmund1 xii1 xiv1 liii1 lxvi1 #ade n41 #adg1 #aej1 #aef1 #agb-ij2 his mental range1 #agb-c2 as an orator1 #agc-e2 subtlety of understanding1 #agf-h2 views on government and society1 #agi-hb2 onesidedness1 #ahb-c2 prose style1 #ahd-i1 #bga n41 #cde1 #chd2 #bab1 #bei1 #bhd1 #bih1 #cbe1 #cdc-e1 #daa1 #dad-e4 ,burleigh1 ,lord1 #ba1 #cef4 ,burney1 ,fanny1 #chj1 #chc1 #dac1 #dag4 ,burney1 ,james1 #cjd1 #cba1 #daf1 #dag4 ,burney1 ,martin1 #cjd1 #cba1 #cbd1 #cbh1 #daf-g4 ,burns1 ,robert1 xxxvi1 #g4 ,burton1 ,robert1 #bbd1 #cig1 #djj4 ,butler1 ,joseph1 #baj1 #bhg1 #bii1 #cbg1 #che1 #cij4 ,byron1 ,lord1 xi1 xxiii1 xxvii n41 xxxvi1 xxxvii1 xlv1 liii1 lviii-lix1 lxxi1 #aig1 #bjc1 #baf1 #bcf-ej1 his self-centered nature contrasted with ,scott's1 #bcf-da2 his intensity1 #bda-c2 his romances1 #bdb2 his tragedies1 #bdc2 his satire1 #bdd-e2 his serio-comic style1 #bde-f2 his extravagance1 #bdf-h2 aristocratic pride1 #bdh2 death in ,greece1 #bdi-ej1 #cic4 ,cain1 #bdg4 ,calamy1 ,edmund1 #baa1 #cia4 ,caleb ,williams1 #bih4 ,camilla1 #bia1 #dac4 ,campaign1 ,the1 #bfh1 #djh4 ,campbell1 ,thomas1 xxxvii1 xlv1 lviii1 #dag-h4 ,carlyle1 ,t41 xviii n41 xxxi1 li4 ,cary1 ,h4 ,f41 #cec4 ,castiglione1 ,b41 #ab1 #cec4 ,catiline1 #aa4 ,cervantes1 ,miguel de1 xiii1 #ig1 #aeg-h1 #cdg1 #chj1 #dcj4 ,chalmers1 ,t41 #bfc1 #djg4 ,chantrey1 ,sir ,francis1 #bid1 #dac4 ,chapman1 ,g41 #b1 #d1 #aa1 #ceb4 ,charron1 ,p41 #acf n41 #cgf4 ,chatham1 ,lord1 #agd-e1 #agg n41 #ahh1 #chc4 ,chatterton1 ,t41 #cbh4 ,chaucer1 ,geoffrey1 liii1 lxxiii1 #ba1 #cb1 #cd-e1 #dj-b1 #bjj1 #bfg-h1 #cai-ba1 #cdc1 #djh-i1 #dbb4 ,chester1 ,john1 #bie-i4 ,chesterton1 ,g4 ,k41 xviii4 ,childe ,harold1 #bdb4 ,christabel1 lvii1 #bad1 #cie4 ,chubb1 ,t41 #cch1 #dbg4 ,cibber1 ,colley1 #eb4 ,cicero1 #ab1 #ahh-i4 ,cimabue1 #cbi1 #cca1 #dbe4 ,cinthio1 ,giraldi1 #cec4 ,citizen of the ,world1 #aeb-c1 #cgi4 ,clarendon1 ,earl of1 #cdf1 #dcj4 ,clarissa ,harlowe1 #afh-i1 #bgj4 ,clarke1 ,s41 #baj1 #cia4 ,claude of ,lorraine1 #bab1 #bfd1 #bih n41 #cjc1 #cbi4 ,cobbett1 ,w41 lvii1 lxi-lxii1 lxvii4 ,coke1 ,sir ,edward1 #a1 #cej4 ,coleridge1 ,s4 ,t41 xiii1 service to ,english criticism1 xxxviii-xl2 xlvii1 lii1 liii1 liv1 lviii-lix1 lxi1 lxiii-lxiv1 lxxi1 #bje-ae2 his intellect1 #bje-g2 extent of reading1 #bji-ab2 inactivity1 #bac2 his poetry1 #bac-d2 his prose1 #bad-e2 compared with ,southey1 #baf-h2 #bgg-cjj2 his preaching1 #bgi-hj2 kindness to ,hazlitt1 #bhj1 #bhc1 #bhf2 appearance1 #bha2 literary opinions1 #bhd-h1 #bih1 #dac-e2 conversation1 #bhi1 #cja2 manner of reading1 #bib1 #bie2 #cjc1 #cjd-e1 #caj1 #caa1 #cda1 #cde1 #cef1 #ceh1 #cei1 #cfb1 #cfc1 #cfg1 #cfh1 #cfi1 #cga1 #cgd1 #cha1 #chg1 #djh1 #daa4 ,collins1 ,w41 #bjj4 ,comedy1 #if-h1 #cga4 ,comedy of ,errors1 l4 ,comus1 #cb4 ,congreve1 ,w41 #ig1 #cga4 ,connoisseur1 ,the1 #aeb1 #cdb1 #cgi4 ,coriolanus1 #aa1 #cfa4 ,corneille1 ,pierre1 #cfa4 ,cornwall1 ,barry1 xxxvi4 ,correggio1 #cbi1 #dbe4 ,corsair1 ,the1 #bdb4 ,cotton1 ,c41 #ach1 #cgf4 ,count ,fathom1 #afd-e4 ,cowley1 ,a41 #ach1 #cgg4 ,cowper1 ,w41 #aji1 #baa1 #big4 ,crabbe1 ,g41 xxxvii1 lviii-lix4 ,crebillon1 ,claude1 #aee1 #bab1 #chj4 ,crichton1 ,james1 the ,admirable1 #cbf1 #dbd4 ,croker1 ,j4 ,w41 #bab1 #cic4 ,croly1 ,george1 xxxvii4 ,cromwell1 ,oliver1 #cbd4 ,cudworth1 ,r41 #baj1 #cij4 ,cumberland1 ,r41 #cfe4 ,curran1 ,j4 ,p41 #caj1 #dah4 ,cymbeline1 lv1 #ej-i4 ,dante1 xliii1 #ab1 #dh1 #aab1 #aad1 #bjj1 #bdc1 #bga1 #bgc-e1 #cbj1 #cec1 #dbe4 ,d',avenant1 ,w41 #djg4 ,davidson1 ,john1 lxxiii n4 ,davies1 ,sir ,john1 #ba4 ,davy1 ,sir ,humphry1 #cdb1 #cfh1 #dbi4 ,death of ,abel1 #big1 #dac4 ,defoe1 ,daniel1 liii1 #aeg n41 #bfi1 #dji4 ,dekker1 ,t41 lvi1 #a1 #d1 #aj1 #ah1 #cbf1 #dba-b4 ,de ,lolme1 ,j4 ,l41 #aeg1 #chj4 ,delphine1 #ccc4 ,de ,quincey1 ,t41 xxxii1 lxvii1 #chg4 ,dobell1 ,bertram1 #cih4 ,domenichino1 #bif1 #dac4 ,don ,juan1 #bde1 #bdf n4 ,donne1 ,j41 #cjc1 #cah-i1 #daf4 ,don ,quixote1 #afd1 #ccj1 #ccg1 #cdf1 #cha4 ,douce1 ,f41 #cjf1 #dah4 ,drake1 ,sir ,francis1 #a1 #cej4 ,drake1 ,nathan1 #ag1 #ced4 ,drummond1 ,william1 of ,hawthornden1 #cbf1 #dbd4 ,dryden1 ,j41 xxxiii1 xxxiv1 #ajg1 #abg1 #bjj1 #bfh1 #cjc1 #cbc4 ,du ,bartas1 ,g41 #ab1 #cec4 ,duns ,scotus1 #baa1 #cbh1 #cib4 ,durfey1 ,tom1 #ada1 #cgg4 ,dyer1 ,g41 #cac1 #dai4 ,eachard1 ,john1 #aeg1 #chj4 ,edgeworth1 ,maria1 xxxvi4 ,edinburgh ,review1 xi1 xv1 xxxv1 xxxvi1 xxxviii1 xlvi1 lxxi1 lxxii4 ,edwards1 ,jonathan1 #cbg1 #dbd4 ,elliston1 ,r4 ,w41 #cjj1 #dae4 ,emilius1 xlviii1 #cci-dj4 ,english ,bards and ,scotch ,reviewers1 #bdd4 ,epistle of ,eloise to ,abelard1 #abg4 ,essay on ,criticism1 #abd-e4 ,essay on ,laws1 xxiii4 ,essay on the ,principles of ,human ,action1 xiv1 #bhg1 #dab4 ,estcourt1 ,r41 #ada1 #cgg4 ,euripides1 #bji4 ,eve of ,st4 ,agnes1 lviii4 ,excursion1 ,the1 #aih4 ,farie ,queene1 xlvii1 xlviii1 #ac1 #cef1 #ceg4 ,fairfax1 ,edward1 #aa4 ,farquhar1 ,george1 #cdc4 ,fawcett1 ,j41 xii1 #che4 ,fichte1 ,j4 ,g41 #bab1 #cid4 ,field1 ,barron1 #cbd1 #dbj4 ,fielding1 ,h41 xiii1 xlii1 lvii1 #aef-fe1 #afg1 #bbd1 #bih1 #cjc1 #cbd1 #chj1 #dae4 ,fletcher1 ,john1 #d1 #af1 #ag1 #ced4 ,ford1 ,john1 lvi4 ,foster1 ,john1 xxxv n4 ,fox1 ,c4 ,j41 #agg n41 #ahh1 #bih1 #che4 ,francis1 ,sir ,philip1 #cic4 ,friend1 ,the1 #bae1 #cif4 ,froissart1 ,jean1 #cdf1 #dcj4 ,froude1 ,j4 ,a41 xxxiii4 ,fuller1 ,t41 #bbd1 #cdf1 #djj4 ,fuseli1 ,h41 #ade1 #caj1 #cgh4 ,garrick1 ,d41 #aea1 #cbd-e1 #dbj4 ,gay1 ,j41 #bbd1 #cjc1 #cbh1 #dja4 ,geoffrey of ,monmouth1 #cec4 ,george ,barnwell1 #cfe4 ,gessner1 ,s41 #dac4 ,ghirlandaio1 #bab1 #cbi1 #cca1 #cid4 ,gibbon1 ,edward1 xxxv1 #bbd4 ,gifford1 ,w41 xxxviii4 ,gil ,blas1 #cjc1 #ccg1 #cha4 ,giorgione1 #cbi1 #dbe4 ,giotto1 #bab1 #cbi1 #cca1 #cid4 ,godwin1 ,w41 xi1 xiii1 xv1 lxvii1 #bab1 #bbf1 #bhd-e1 #cjj1 #caa1 #cbf1 #chc1 #cic1 #cif4 ,goethe1 ,j4 ,w41 xiii1 #bab1 #cda1 #cid1 #dji4 ,golding1 ,arthur1 #ceb4 ,goldsmith1 ,oliver1 #adh1 #aej1 #aea1 #aeb-c1 #afb1 #agj1 #bab1 #cjh1 #cba1 #cbe1 #cdb4 ,gosse1 ,e41 xliv n4 ,gray1 ,t41 #aee1 #bjj1 #bih1 #cbh1 #dad4 ,greville1 ,fulke1 #baj1 #caf-g1 #cbf1 #cij4 ,guardian1 ,the1 #ade1 #cgh4 ,guicciardini1 ,f41 #cdf1 #dcj4 ,guido1 #cbi1 #dbe4 ,guy ,faux1 #bbd1 #bca1 #cae1 #cca1 #cii4 ,guzman d',alfarache1 #cha4 ,halifax1 ,marquis of1 #ach1 #cgf4 ,hamlet1 liv1 #ad1 #cg-i1 #ea1 #fj1 #gf-hd1 #cfg-h4 ,hampden1 ,john1 #bcb1 #djb4 ,handel1 ,g4 ,f41 #cbd1 #dae1 #dba4 ,harrington1 ,sir ,john1 #aa4 ,hartley1 ,d41 #baj1 #cbg1 #cch1 #cij4 ,hawkesworth1 ,john1 #aeb1 #cgi4 ,haydon1 ,b4 ,f41 xxiv1 xxvi1 xxix1 #bid1 #caa1 #dac4 ,hazlitt1 ,john1 xiii4 ,hazlitt1 ,w41 the elder1 xii1 #bgg-h1 #bha-d1 #daa4 ,hazlitt1 ,w4 ,in relation to his age1 xi-xii2 early environment and reading1 xii-xiii2 interest in metaphysics1 xiii-xv2 as a painter1 xiii-xiv2 beginnings of authorship1 xiv2 introduction to journalism1 xv2 as an essayist1 xvi ff42 his paradox1 xvii-xx2 emotional warmth1 xx-xxi2 outward unhappiness1 xxi-xxii2 sentiment for the past1 xxii-xxiii2 attachment to political principles1 xxiii-xxv2 literary-political quarrels1 xxv-xxix2 embittered feelings1 xxix-xxxi2 ,carlyle's judgment1 xxxi2 as an essayist1 xxxii-xxxiii2 as a critic1 xxxix ff42 debt to ,coleridge1 xxxix-xl and notes passim2 union of taste and judgment1 xl-xli2 catholicity of taste1 xli-xlii2 narrowness of reading1 xlii-xlv2 generalizing power1 xlv-xlvi2 historical viewpoint1 xlvi2 limitations1 xlvii2 feeling for books1 xlviii1 #dbf2 on literature and life1 xlix2 on imagination1 xlix2 on substance and form1 l2 on poetry and metre1 li2 scope of his criticism1 lii-liii2 on ,shakespeare1 liii-lvi2 on ,elizabethan dramatists1 lvi2 on his contemporaries1 lvii-lix2 his prose style1 lix-lxix2 on diction1 lxvi n42 use of quotations1 lxix2 influence1 lxix-lxxiii2 his view of ,english character1 #ai-bj2 on progress in the arts1 #bfb1 #ceh2 friendship with ,lamb1 #cih-djj1 #dag2 meeting with ,coleridge and its effects1 #bgg-cjj4 ,hazlitt1 ,w4 ,c1 xiv n4 ,heaven and ,earth1 #bdc4 ,heine1 ,heinrich1 liv1 lxxi4 ,henley1 ,ernest1 xxxiii4 ,henry ,,vi1 #cfe4 ,herford1 ,c4 ,h41 xlii n4 ,hesiod1 #aa4 ,heywood1 ,t41 #b1 #d1 #cbf1 #dbb4 ,hobbes1 ,t41 xii1 xv1 #cbg1 #cch1 #dbd4 ,hoby1 ,t41 #cec4 ,hogarth1 ,w41 #aeh1 #bab1 #bbe1 #cjc1 #cbd1 #cha4 ,holcroft1 ,t41 #bhe1 #cjj1 #cjd-e1 #daa1 #dag4 ,holinshed1 ,ralph1 #ae1 #cdf1 #cec-d1 #dcj4 ,homer1 xlviii1 #aa1 #ajd1 #aab1 #aae1 #aai1 #ahi1 #aic1 #bec1 #bfh1 #bgj1 #bga-b1 #bgc1 #bge1 #ceb4 ,hood1 ,tom1 xxxvii4 ,hook1 ,theodore1 #cic4 ,hooker1 ,richard1 #a1 #cej4 ,horne1 ,r4 ,h41 lxxii4 ,howells1 ,w4 ,d41 lxxi4 ,hume1 ,d41 xii1 #bhf-g1 #cbg1 #cch1 #daa4 ,humphrey ,clinker1 #afd1 #che4 ,hunt1 ,leigh1 xvii1 xxvi1 xxxii1 liii1 lix1 lxxi1 #cjf-g1 #caa1 #cbg1 #ccj-a1 #cij1 #djd1 #dah1 #dbf4 ,huss1 ,john1 #baa1 #cia4 ,hutchinson1 ,lucy1 #ccj1 #dbe4 ,iago1 liv1 #db1 #gb-f1 #cfa1 #cfe4 ,imagination1 #cd2 in ,shakespeare1 #de2 in ,milton1 #ajd-e2 #bee-f4 ,inchbald1 ,elizabeth1 #caa1 #chc1 #dah4 ,irving1 ,edward1 liii1 lix1 #cda4 ,irving1 ,washington1 #cig4 ,jeffrey1 ,francis1 xxxvi-xxxviii1 xlv1 lix1 #bdd1 #cgf1 #djd4 ,jerome of ,prague1 #baa1 #cia4 ,jervas1 ,c41 #acj-a1 #cge4 ,john ,bull1 #bab1 #cic4 ,john ,buncle1 xliv1 #cjb4 ,johnson1 ,s41 xxxiv1 xxxvi1 lii1 #cd1 #ii1 #ajg1 #aji1 #ade-eb2 his prose style1 #adf-i1 #ahf2 his character by ,boswell1 #aej-b2 #afg1 #ahi1 #bja1 #bab1 #bhg1 #bih1 #cjc1 #cjh1 #cag1 #cba1 #cbe1 #cde1 #ceh1 #cfa1 #cfb1 #cff1 #cgc1 #cgh1 #chg1 #cig1 #dji1 #dad-e4 ,john ,woodvill1 #bbf1 #dja4 ,jonson1 ,ben1 #a1 #b1 #d1 #aa1 #bbf1 #cbf1 #dbc-d4 ,joseph ,andrews1 #aef-h1 #afj1 #afa-b1 #ccg4 ,julia de ,roubign1 #aed1 #cdc4 ,julius ,csar1 #aa4 ,junius1 #aij1 #bab1 #bbd1 #bih1 #cjc1 #cbd1 #cde1 #cic1 #dad4 ,kames1 ,lord1 xxxiv1 xxxv4 ,kant1 ,i41 #bab1 #cid1 #cie1 #dag4 ,kean1 ,e41 #hd1 #cfh4 ,keats1 ,john1 xvi1 xxv1 xxxvi1 xlviii1 lviii1 #cda1 #dbh-i4 ,kemble1 ,j4 ,p41 #hd1 #caj1 #cfg-h4 ,king ,lear1 l1 liv1 #ad1 #db1 #dh1 #ea1 #fj1 #gh1 #bef-g1 #bfj1 #cfa1 #cfc4 ,kneller1 ,sir ,godfrey1 #ccc1 #dbg4 ,kotzebue1 ,a4 ,f4 ,f41 xliv4 ,la ,fontaine1 ,jean de1 #ccj1 #dbe4 ,lamb1 ,charles1 xvii1 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#cfd1 #cgc-d1 #dad4 ,poussin1 ,gaspar1 #bif1 #dac4 ,poussin1 ,nicolas1 #bf1 #bja1 #ceg4 ,priestley1 ,joseph1 xii1 xv1 xxiii1 #baj1 #cij4 ,proclus1 #baa1 #cib4 ,puck1 #de1 compared with ,ariel1 #he-f1 #cfe4 ,quarterly ,review1 xxv1 xxvi1 xxvii1 xxxv1 lxvi4 ,rabelais1 ,f41 #dh1 #bab1 #ccj1 #dbe4 ,racine1 ,j41 #ccj1 #dbe4 ,radcliffe1 ,anne1 #ccg1 #chc1 #dbg4 ,raleigh1 ,sir ,walter1 #a1 #cej4 ,rambler1 ,the1 #ade-f1 #cdb1 #cgh1 #cig4 ,rape of the ,lock1 l1 #abb-d4 ,raphael1 #bab1 #bfd1 #bih n41 #cbi1 #chi1 #daf1 #dbe4 ,rasselas1 #adi1 #cgh4 ,religious ,musings1 #baa4 ,rembrandt1 #bjb1 #bfc1 #cbi1 #chh1 #chi4 ,remorse1 #bad1 #bii1 #cif4 ,return from ,parnassus1 #ag4 ,reynolds1 ,mrs41 #cjd1 #cba1 #cbc1 #daf4 ,reynolds1 ,sir ,joshua1 #bge1 #cjh1 #cbe1 #cbi1 #dah4 ,richard ,,ii1 #dc1 #cfe4 ,richard ,,iii1 compared with ,macbeth1 #fh-gj1 #cfe4 ,richardson1 ,s41 xiii1 xlii1 lvii1 #aeg1 #aeh1 #afe-gj1 #bgj1 #bih1 #cjc1 #cbd1 #cdb1 #cha1 #dae4 ,rivals1 ,the1 #afd4 ,roberts1 ,william1 #bdd1 #djd4 ,robertson1 ,j4 ,m41 lxxiii n4 ,robinson ,crusoe1 li1 #bja1 #bfh-i4 ,roderick ,random1 #afb-d4 ,rogers1 ,samuel1 xxxvi1 xxxvii4 ,romeo and ,juliet1 liv1 #ea1 #hd-e1 #caj1 #cfc1 #cfh4 ,ronsard1 ,pierre1 #ab1 #cec4 ,rosamond ,gray1 #aed1 #bbf1 #dja4 ,rousseau1 ,j4 ,j41 xii1 xiii1 xvi1 xxiv1 xliv n41 #bab1 #caa1 #ccj1 #cci-dj1 #dbh4 ,rowley1 ,william1 #b1 #cej4 ,rubens1 ,peter ,paul1 #cj1 #cbi1 #ceg4 ,sainte-,beuve1 ,c4 ,a41 xl1 lxx4 ,st4 ,evremont1 ,ch41 #ccj1 #dja1 #dbe4 ,st4 ,pierre1 ,b41 #dac4 ,saintsbury1 ,g41 xl n41 lvii1 lxx n41 lxxiii n41 #cff4 ,sallust1 #ab4 ,salmasius1 ,claudius1 #aad1 #cgb4 ,sannazarius1 #chh4 ,saxo ,grammaticus1 #ae1 #cec4 ,schelling1 ,f4 ,w4 ,j41 #bab1 #cid-e4 ,schiller1 ,friedrich1 xliv1 #bad1 #cda1 #dji4 ,schlegel1 ,a4 ,w41 liii n41 liv1 lxxi1 #hd1 #cdi1 #ceh1 #cfc1 #cfh1 #dbc4 ,schlegel1 ,f41 xxvii n4 ,scott1 ,john1 xxvi n41 xxviii4 ,scott1 ,sir ,walter1 xxviii1 xxxvi1 xxxvii1 liii1 lviii-lix1 #bbg-ce2 his novels1 #bbg-cj2 his freedom from prejudice1 #bcj-a2 his ,toryism1 #bca-c2 character1 #bcd-e2 compared with ,byron1 #bcf-da1 #bdf-g2 his poetry1 #bcg-h1 #bda1 #bdi1 #bif1 #cdg1 #chc1 #djh1 #dbg4 ,sejanus1 #aa1 #dbd4 ,seneca1 #agg4 ,settle1 ,elkanah1 #abh4 ,shaftesbury1 ,lord1 #ach1 #cgg1 #djh4 ,shakespeare1 ,w41 xxvii1 xxxiii1 xxxiv1 xlii1 xliii1 xlv1 l1 liii-lvi1 lxix1 lxxi1 lxxiii1 #a1 rank among contemporaries1 #b-e1 #ce2 #aa1 #ac1 #ad1 #ag1 #cb1 #cc1 #cd-ajj2 compared with ,chaucer1 ,spenser1 and ,milton1 #cd-e1 #dj-c2 compared with modern poets1 #dd2 universal sympathy of mind1 #ce-dj1 #aai1 #ceh2 his imagination1 #de2 language and versification1 #df-g2 faults1 #dg-h2 genius for comedy1 #di1 #if-i1 #cfa1 #cga2 his women1 #di1 #ea-b1 #cfb2 unity of feeling1 #ef-g1 #cfc2 his morality1 #ei1 #ha2 tragic power1 #fj1 #cfa2 use of contrast1 #ff-g2 skill in individualizing character1 #fh-gj1 #he-f1 #cfd-e2 unsuited to stage1 #gj-a1 #hc-d1 #hg1 #cfi2 detachment from his characters1 #gh1 #cff2 his poetry1 #ii-ajj1 #aja1 #ajd1 #ajg1 #aai1 #aba1 #aeh1 #ahi1 #bjj1 #bbd1 #bbi1 #beh1 #bfh1 #bih1 #cjc1 #caf1 #cca1 #cdb1 #djf1 #djg1 #dba-c4 ,shelley1 ,p4 ,b41 xi1 xxiv1 xxv1 xxxvi1 xxxvii1 lviii1 #cic4 ,shenstone1 ,william1 #che4 ,sheridan1 ,r4 ,b41 #caj4 ,shrewsbury ,chronicle1 xxiii4 ,siddons1 ,sarah1 #fd1 #cfd4 ,sidney1 ,algernon1 #bcb1 #djb4 ,sidney1 ,sir ,philip1 #a1 #af1 #bhh1 #cjc1 #caf1 #ced4 ,sir ,charles ,grandison1 #aff1 #afh1 #afi1 #bgj1 #cbd1 #chc4 ,sir ,fopling ,flutter1 xlviii1 #cab1 #cci1 #dai4 ,sir ,roger de ,coverley1 #adb4 ,smith1 ,adam1 #bhb1 #daj4 ,smollett1 ,t41 #aeg-h1 #afb-e1 #bbd1 #cjc1 #cha4 ,socinus1 ,f4 ,p41 #baa1 #cia4 ,somers1 ,john1 #bcb1 #djc4 ,sophocles1 #ahi1 #bji1 #dji4 ,sorrows of ,werther1 #bab1 #cid4 ,south1 ,robert1 #baj1 #bhg1 #cia4 ,southey1 ,robert1 xxviii1 xxxvi1 lviii1 lxxi1 #bh1 #bab1 #baf-i1 #bhi1 #cjj1 #cie4 ,spectator1 ,the1 #ada-e1 #cdb1 #cgg4 ,spenser1 ,edmund1 liii1 lvii1 lxxiii1 #a1 #ac1 #ba-cc2 his picturesqueness1 #ba ff42 his allegory1 #be-bf2 language and versification1 #cb-c2 #cd-e1 #ajc1 #ajg1 #bfe1 #cba1 #cdc1 #djh4 ,spinoza1 ,baruch1 #baa1 #cia4 de ,stal1 ,madame1 xliv1 #dbf4 ,steele1 ,richard1 xxxii1 liii1 lvii1 #aci1 #adb1 #add1 #ade1 #cjc1 #cbh4 ,sterne1 ,l41 xiii1 #aec1 #aeg1 #aeh1 #agj-a1 #cjc1 #cji1 #cha1 #cig4 ,stevenson1 ,r4 ,l41 xviii n41 xxiii1 lix4 ,stewart1 ,dugald1 #cbh1 #dbe4 ,stoddart1 ,dr41 #aad1 #cgb4 ,stowe1 ,john1 #cdf1 #dcj4 ,suckling1 ,sir ,john1 #af4 ,surrey1 ,earl of1 #af1 #ceb1 #ced4 ,swedenborg1 ,emanuel1 #baa1 #cib4 ,swift1 ,jonathan1 xviii n41 lx1 #bab1 #cjc1 #cbh1 #cgg4 ,sylvester1 ,joshua1 #cec4 ,tacitus1 #ab4 ,talfourd1 ,t4 ,n41 lxxii1 #cgi4 ,tartuffe1 #cfa4 ,tasso1 ,t41 xliii1 #aa1 #bd n41 #aab1 #bdc1 #ceb4 ,tatler1 ,the1 #aci1 #adj-e1 #cdb1 #cgg4 ,taylor1 ,jeremy1 liii1 #baa1 #bih1 #cib4 ,tempest1 #ac1 #he-f1 #cfc4 ,temple1 ,sir ,william1 #ach1 #cgg4 ,thackeray1 ,w4 ,m41 lxii4 ,thomson1 ,james1 #aji1 #bjj1 #bab1 #big1 #cbh4 ,thucydides1 #cdf1 #dcj4 ,thurloe1 ,john1 #ccc1 #dbg4 ,tillotson1 ,john1 #baj1 #cia4 ,timon of ,athens1 #dh1 #cfa4 ,titian1 #bfd1 #cjh1 #cbj1 #cbi1 #cdc1 #chg1 #chi4 ,tom ,jones1 xlviii1 #aei-fj1 #afb-c1 #bij1 #cce-g4 ,tooke1 ,horne1 #cji1 #caj1 #cbg1 #dah4 ,troilus and ,cressida1 #de4 ,tucker1 ,abraham1 xiv4 ,turberville1 ,george1 #ceb-c4 ,turenne1 ,marshal1 #ada1 #cgg4 ,twelfth ,night1 #if-ajj4 ,two ,noble ,kinsmen1 #ag4 ,twyne1 ,thomas1 #ceb4 ,vanbrugh1 ,sir ,john1 #ig1 #ada1 #cga4 ,van ,dyck1 ,sir ,anthony1 #cbi1 #chi1 #dbe4 ,velasquez1 #bha1 #daj4 ,venice ,preserved1 #cea4 ,veronese1 ,paul1 #bbh1 #djb4 ,virgil1 #aa1 #acg1 #adj1 #big1 #ceb4 ,vision of ,judgment1 #bdh1 #bhi1 #djd-e4 ,voltaire1 ,f4 ,m4 ,a41 xliv1 #dh1 #bab1 #ccj1 #chi1 #dja1 #dbe4 ,waithman1 ,robert1 #bbf1 #dja4 ,wallenstein1 #bad1 #cif4 ,walton1 ,izaak1 #bja1 #chg-h4 ,warton1 ,joseph1 xxxv1 #djh4 ,waterloo1 ,antoine1 #bja1 #chh4 ,waverley ,novels1 #bbd1 #bbh-cj1 #bdj1 #cjc1 #ccc4 ,webster1 ,john1 lvi1 #a1 #d1 #cbf1 #dba-b4 ,wedgwood1 ,tom1 #bhd-f1 #daa4 ,whateley1 ,thomas1 #cfe4 ,white1 ,james1 #cjd1 #daf4 ,whole ,duty of ,man1 #ha4 ,wickliff1 ,john1 #bcb1 #djb4 ,wilson1 ,john1 xxvi1 xxviii4 ,wolcot1 ,john4 ,see ,peter ,pindar4 ,wolstonecraft1 ,mary1 #bhd-e1 #caa1 #cic1 #daa4 ,wordsworth1 ,w41 xi1 xxviii-xxix1 xxxvi1 xxxvii1 xxxviii1 xliii1 xlviii1 liii1 lviii-lix1 lxix1 #c1 #aji1 #aia-bjd2 the poet of simple humanity1 #aia2 his democracy1 #aib2 defiance of convention1 #aib-d2 poet of nature1 #aie-f2 his philosophic vein1 #aif-h2 his appearance1 voice1 and manner1 #aih-i1 #bic-e2 his opinions of poets and painters1 #aii-bjb1 #chh-i2 the child of disappointment1 #bjc-d1 #baf1 #bdb1 #bdd1 #bhd1 #bij-e2 meeting with ,hazlitt1 #bic1 #big1 #caa1 #cde1 #chf1 #cie1 #dac4 ,world1 ,the1 #aeb1 #cdb1 #cgi4 ,wycherley1 ,william1 #ig1 #cga4 ,young1 ,edward1 #aji1 #cff4 ,zanga1 #gf4 ,zisca1 ,john1 #baa1 #cia4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,passages in italics are indicated by underscore4 ,additional spacing after some of the quotes is intentional to indicate both the end of a quotation and the beginning of a new paragraph as presented in the original text4 ,the following misprints have been corrected3 agan corrected to again 7page lxv7 controul corrected to control 7page #ah7 ,guttony corrected to ,gluttony 7page #bf7 developement corrected to development 7page #gh7 ,pharoah's corrected to ,pharaoh's 7page #id7 beween corrected to between 7page #ie7 theirs corrected to their 7page #acc7 atchieve corrected to achieve 7page #acf7 idomatic corrected to idiomatic 7page #agj7 distate corrected to distaste 7page #bbb7 ,woolstonecroft corrected to ,wolstonecraft 7page #caa7 recal corrected to recall 7page #cch7 begininng corrected to beginning 7page #cda7 ,other than the corrections listed above1 printer's inconsistencies in spelling1 punctuation1 hyphenation1 and ligature usage have been retained4