,,thirty ,,letters ,,on ,,various ,,subjects4 ,,in ,,two ,,volumes4 ,,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,london3 ,printed for ,t4 ,,cadell1 and ,t4 ,,evans1 in the ,strand2 and ,b4 ,,thorn and ,,son1 in ,,exeter4 ,,mdcclxxxiii4 ,,contents ,,of ,,the ,,second ,,volume4 ,,letter ,,page ,,xix4 ,criticism on ,quarles #e ,,xx4 ,on ,warm ,colouring #bg ,,xxi4 ,a false ,principle in ,painting exposed #cb ,,xxii4 ,passages in ,shakspeare explained #da ,,xxiii4 ,petition of ,,to and ,,the #di ,,xxiv4 ,on ,self-,production #ef ,,xxv4 ,some ,phrases explained #ga ,,xxvi4 ,obstructions in the ,way of ,fame #gg ,,xxvii4 ,on ,alliteration and ,literation #hb ,,xxviii4 ,on common ,superstitions #hh ,,xxix4 ,wrong ,representations of the ,solar ,system #ib ,,xxx4 ,criticism on ,quarles concluded #ajc ,,letters4 ,,letter ,,xix4 ,there was never a poet more admired in his life or more despised after his death than ,quarles4 ,he was patronized by the best of his age while living1 and when dead was first criticised1 then contemned1 and last of all totally forgotten1 unless when some bard wanted a name of one syllable to fill up a list of miserable rhymers4 ,pope was the last who made this use of him1 and at the same time1 in a note1 abused ,benlowes for being his patron4 ,i think it is ,sir ,philip ,sidney who says that no piece was ever a favourite of the common people without merit4 ,now1 though every thing ,i had heard of ,quarles was much in his disfavour1 ,i could not help thinking but that he had something good in him1 from my never seeing one of his books of emblems that was not worn to rags2 a sign of its being read a good deal1 unless it may be imagined that it was so used by children in turning over the prints4 ,be that as it may1 ,i have perused as much of him as a very dirty tattered book would give me leave1 and will risque the declaring1 that where he is good1 ,i know but few poets better4 ,he has a great deal of genuine fire1 is frequently happy in similies1 admirable in epithets and compound words1 very smooth in his versification1 so different from the poets of his own age2 and possessed that great qualification of keeping you in perpetual alarm1 so very different from the elegant writers of the present times4 ,i have run through his book of emblems to select some passages for your observation--they are buried1 it must be confessed1 in a heap of rubbish1 but are of too much value not to be worth some pains in recovering4--,where ,quarles is bad1 8he sounds the very base-string of humility0--but this may be said of ,shakspeare and ,milton as well4--,i mean not to put him in the same rank with these two poets2 he has a much greater proportion of bad to good than is to be found in them1 so much indeed as almost to prevent his good from appearing at all4 ,my intention is to clear some of his shining passages of their incumbrances2 which may occasion their being noticed1 and preserved from oblivion4 ,what think you of the following similies8 ,look how the stricken hart that wounded flies ,oe'r hills and dales1 and seeks the lower grounds ,for running streams1 the whilst his weeping eyes ,beg silent mercy from the following hounds2 ,at length1 embost1 he droops1 drops down1 and lies ,beneath the burthen of his bleeding wounds3 ,ev'n so my gasping soul1 dissolv'd in tears1 c4 ,,emb4 #aa4 ,,book ,,iv4 ,mark how the widow'd turtle1 having lost ,the faithful partner of her loyal heart1 ,stretches her feeble wings from coast to coast1 ,hunts ev'ry path2 thinks ev'ry shade doth part ,her absent love and her2 at length1 unsped1 ,she re-betakes her to her lonely bed1 ,and there bewails her everlasting widow-head4 ,,emb4 #ab4 ,,book ,,iv4 ,look how the sheep1 whose rambling steps do stray ,from the safe blessing of her shepherd's eyes1 ,eft-soon becomes the unprotected prey ,to the wing'd squadron of beleag'ring flies2 ,where swelt'red with the scorching beams of day ,she frisks from bush to brake1 and wildly flies away ,from her own self1 ev'n of herself afraid2 ,she shrouds her troubled brows in ev'ry glade ,and craves the mercy of the soft removing shade4 ,,emb4 #ad4 ,,book ,,iv4 ,the first1 will probably remind you of ,shakspeare's description of the wounded stag in ,as you like it2 which it may do1 and not suffer by the comparison4 ,the second1 is very original in the expression--the circumstance of ----thinks every shade doth part ,her absent love and her---- is ,i believe new1 and exquisitely tender4 ,there are others not much inferior to these4 ,the following verses allude to the print prefixed1 where a bubble is represented as heavier than the globe4 ,it is necessary to observe1 that the prints were designed first1 and the poems are in a great measure explanatory of them4 ,lord6 what a world is this1 which day and night ,men seek with so much toil1 with so much trouble1 ,which weigh'd in equal scales is found so light1 ,so poorly overbalanc'd with a bubble8 ,good ,god6 that frantic mortals should destroy ,their higher hopes1 and place their idle joy ,upon such airy trash1 upon so light a toy6 99 99 99 99 99 ,thrice happy he1 whose nobler1 thoughts despise ,to make an object of so easy gains2 ,thrice happy he1 who scorns so poor a prize ,should be the crown of his heroic pains3 ,thrice happy he1 that ne'er was born to try ,her frowns or smiles3 or being born1 did lie ,in his sad nurse's arms an hour or two1 and die4 ,,emb4 #d4 ,,book ,i4 ,tho' the considering mortality on the gloomy side1 is not productive of much happiness1 yet there are certain dispositions which feel some gratification in it--,quarles was one of these4 ,he seizes all opportunities of abusing the world2 and it must be confessed he has here done it in 8choice and elegant terms40 ,sometimes he is more outrageous in his abuse4 ,let wit1 and all her studied plots effect ,the best they can2 ,let smiling fortune prosper and perfect ,what wit began2 ,let earth advise with both1 and so project ,a happy man2 ,let wit or fawning fortune vie their best2 ,he may be blest ,with all that earth can give2 but earth ,can give no rest4 ,,emb4 #f4 ,,book ,i4 ,again-- ,false world1 thou ly'st3 thou canst not lend ,the least delight3 ,thy favours cannot gain a friend1 ,they are so slight3 ,thy morning-pleasures make an end ,to please at night3 ,poor are the wants that thou supply'st3 ,and yet thou vaunt'st1 and yet thou vy'st ,with heav'n2 fond earth1 thou boast'st1 ,false world1 thou ly'st4 ,,emb4 #e4 ,,book ,,ii4 ,the next quotation is an allusion to the print1 where the world is made a mirror4 ,believe her not1 her glass diffuses ,false portraitures---- ,were thy dimensions but a stride1 ,nay1 wert thou statur'd but a span1 ,such as the long-bill'd troops defy'd1 ,a very fragment of a man6 ,had surfeits1 or th' ungracious star ,conspir'd to make one common place ,of all deformities that are ,within the volume of thy face1 ,she'd lend the favour shou'd out-move ,the ,troy-bane ,helen1 or the ,queen of ,love4 ,,emb4 #f4 ,,book ,,ii4 ,this is finely wrought up--,quarles perfectly comprehended the effect of the musical crescendo1 which is instanced particularly in the last passage4 ,there is something very dreadful in the #dth line of this stanza4 ,see how the latter trumpet's dreadful blast ,affrights stout ,mars his trembling son6 ,see how he startles6 how he stands aghast1 ,and scrambles from his melting throne6 ,hark6 how the direful hand of vengeance tears ,the swelt'ring clouds1 whilst ,heav'n appears ,a circle fill'd with flame1 and center'd with his fears4 ,,emb4 #i4 ,,book ,,ii4 ,dr4 ,young has some lines on this subject which are by some much admired4--,but tho' the subject be the same1 it is differently circumstanced4--,young's is a general description of the last judgment1 ,quarles describes its effect on a single being who is supposed to have lived fearless of such an event4 --------,at the destin'd hour1 ,by the loud trumpet summon'd to the charge1 ,see all the formidable sons of fire1 ,eruptions1 earthquakes1 comets1 lightnings1 play ,their various engines2 all at once disgorge ,their blazing magazines2 and take by storm ,this poor terrestrial citadel of man4 ,amazing period6 when each mountain height ,out-burns ,vesuvius6 rocks eternal pour ,their melted mass1 as rivers once they pour'd2 ,stars rush1 and final ,ruin fiercely drives ,her plough-share o'er creation4---- ,now to me1 all this is a 8pestilent congregation of vapour40----,the formidable sons of fire spewing out blazing magazines--and ,ruin like a plough-man 7or rather plough-woman7 driving her plough-share--are mean1 incoherent images4 ,how much more sublimely ,quarles expresses the same1 and indeed some additional ones1 in the last three lines8 ,in the print belonging to the emblem from which the following is taken1 is a figure striking a globe with his knuckles4--,the motto1 ,tinnit1 inane est4 ,she's empty--hark6 she sounds--there's nothing there ,but noise to fill thy ear2 ,thy vain enquiry can at length but find ,a blast of murm'ring wind3 ,it is a cask1 that seems1 as full as fair1 ,but merely tunn'd with air2 ,fond youth1 go build thy hopes on better grounds3 ,the soul that vainly sounds ,her joys upon this world1 but feeds on empty sounds6 ,,emb4 #aj4 ,,book ,,ii4 ,but that you may not think the good passages of this poet are only scattered unequally through his poems2 take some entire ones--or nearly so4 ,what sullen star rul'd my untimely birth1 ,that would not lend my days one hour of mirth8 ,how oft' have these bare knees been bent to gain ,the slender alms of one poor smile in vain8 ,how often1 tir'd with the fastidious light1 ,have my faint lips implor'd the shades of night8 ,how often have my nightly torments pray'd ,for ling'ring twilight1 glutted with the shade8 ,day worse than night1 night worse than day appears1 ,in sighs ,i spend my nights1 my days in tears3 ,i moan unpity'd1 groan without relief1 ,there is no end nor measure of my grief4 ,the smiling flow'r salutes the day2 it grows ,untouch'd with care2 it neither spins nor sows3 ,o that my tedious life were like this flow'r1 ,or freed from grief1 or finish'd with an hour3 ,why was ,i born8 why was ,i born a man8 ,and why proportion'd by so large a span8 ,or why suspended by the common lot1 ,and being born to die1 why die ,i not8 ,ah me6 why is my sorrow-wasted breath ,deny'd the easy privilege of death8 ,the branded slave1 that tugs the weary oar1 ,obtains the sabbath of a welcome shore4 ,his ransom'd stripes are heal'd2 his native soil ,sweetens the mem'ry of his foreign toil3 ,but ah6 my sorrows are not half so blest2 ,my labour finds no point1 my pains no rest4 99 99 99 99 99 ,thou just observer of our flying hours1 ,that with thy adamantine fangs1 devours ,the brazen mon'ments of renowned kings1 ,doth thy glass stand8 or be thy moulting wings ,unapt to flie8 if not1 why dost thou spare ,a willing breast2 a breast that stands so fair8 ,a dying breast1 that hath but only breath ,to beg the wound1 and strength to crave a death8 ,o that the pleased heav'ns would once dissolve ,these fleshly fetters1 that so fast involve ,my hamper'd soul2 then would my soul be blest ,from all those ills1 and wrap her thoughts in rest6 99 99 99 99 99 ,,emb4 #ae4 ,,book ,,iii4 ,at other times he complains of the shortness of life1 and in strains equally pathetic4 ,my glass is half unspent2 forbear t'arrest ,my thriftless day too soon3 my poor request ,is that my glass may run but out the rest4 ,my time-devoured minutes will be done ,without thy help2 see--see how swift they run3 ,cut not my thread before my thread be spun4 ,the gain's not great ,i purchase by this stay2 ,what loss sustain'st thou by so small delay1 ,to whom ten thousand years are but a day8 ,my following eye can hardly make a shift ,to count my winged hours2 they fly so swift1 ,they scarce deserve the bounteous name of gift4 ,the secret wheels of hurrying time do give ,so short a warning1 and so fast they drive1 ,that ,i am dead before ,i seem to live4 ,and what's a life8 a weary pilgrimage1 ,whose glory in one day doth fill the stage ,with childhood1 manhood1 and decrepit age4 ,and what's a life8 the flourishing array ,of the proud summer-meadow1 which to-day ,wears her green plush1 and is to-morrow hay4 ,read on this dial1 how the shades devour ,my short-liv'd winter's day2 hour eats up hour2 ,alas6 the total's but from eight to four4 ,behold these lilies1 which thy hands have made ,fair copies of my life1 and open laid ,to view1 how soon they droop1 how soon they fade6 ,shade not that dial1 night will blind too soon2 ,my non-aged day already points to noon2 ,how simple is my suit6 how small my boon6 ,nor do ,i beg this slender inch1 to while ,the time away1 or falsely to beguile ,my thoughts with joy2 here's nothing worth a smile4 ,no1 no1 'tis not to please my wanton ears ,with frantic mirth2 ,i beg but hours1 not years3 ,and what thou giv'st me1 ,i will give to tears6 99 99 99 99 99 ,,emb4 #ac4 ,,book ,,iii4 8,read on this dial0--8,behold these lilies0--does not this put you in mind of the same form of expression in ,ossian8 8,his spear was like that blasted fir40 ,quarles was commenting on his print in which the dial and lilies were represented2 ,ossian saw his images 8in his mind's eye0----but both the poets considered them as really existing--at least1 they make them exist to their readers4 8,how the shades devour10 c4 ,shakspeare has the same figure ------------the tide ,eats not the flats with more impetuous haste it is wonderfully expressive6 ,in what he calls his hieroglyphics1 ,quarles compares man to a taper1 which furnishes him with a number of very striking allusions4 ,it is at first unlighted1 then a hand from heaven touches it with fire--the motto1 ,nescius unde4 ,this flame-expecting taper hath at length ,received fire1 and now begins to burn3 ,it hath no vigour yet1 it hath no strength2 ,apt to be puft and quencht at every turn3 ,it was a gracious hand that thus endow'd ,this snuff with flame3 but mark1 this hand doth shroud ,itself from mortal eyes1 and folds it in a cloud4 ,thus man begins to live4 ,an unknown flame ,quickens his finished organs1 now possest ,with motion2 and which motion doth proclaim ,an active soul1 though in a feeble breast3 ,but how1 and when infus'd1 ask not my pen2 ,here flies a cloud before the eyes of men1 ,i cannot tell thee how1 nor canst thou tell me when4 ,was it a parcel of celestial fire1 ,infus'd by heav'n into this fleshly mould8 ,or was it1 think you1 made a soul entire8 ,then1 was it new created1 or of old8 ,or is't a propagated spark1 rak'd out ,from nature's embers8 while we go about ,by reason to resolve1 the more we raise a doubt4 ,if it be part of that celestial flame1 ,it must be ev'n as pure1 as free from spot1 ,as that eternal fountain whence it came2 ,if pure and spotless1 then whence came the blot8 ,itself being pure1 could not itself defile2 ,nor hath unactive matter pow'r to soil ,her pure and active form1 as jars corrupt their oil4 ,or if it were created1 tell me when8 ,if in the first six days1 where kept 'till now8 ,or if thy soul were new-created1 then ,heav'n did not all at first1 he had to do3 ,six days expired1 all creation ceast2 ,all kinds1 ev'n from the greatest to the least1 ,were finish'd and compleat before the day of rest4 ,but why should man1 the ,lord of creatures1 want ,that privilege which plants and beasts obtain8 ,beasts bring forth beasts1 and plant a perfect plant2 ,and ev'ry like brings forth her like again2 ,shall fowls and fishes1 beasts and plants convey ,life to their issue1 and man less than they8 ,shall these get living souls1 and man dead lumps of clay8 ,must human souls be generated then8---- ,my water ebbs2 behold a rock is nigh3 ,if nature's work produce the souls of men1 ,man's soul is mortal--all that's born must die4 ,what shall we then conclude6 what sunshine will ,disperse this gloomy cloud8 till then1 be still ,my vainly striving thoughts2 lie down my puzzled quill4 ,,hieroglyph4 #b4 ,the closeness of the reasoning1 and the freedom of the verses cannot be enough admired4 ,i believe it would be difficult if not impossible to reason so shortly and yet so clearly in prose4 ,pope says the thoughts in his ,essay on ,man are in less compass for their being in verse4 ,the poetical language admits of elisions and other varieties we cannot have in prose4 ,this poem is followed by another1 before which is a design of the winds blowing the flame of the taper1 with this motto1 8,the wind passeth over it1 and it is gone60 ,no sooner is this lighted ,taper set ,upon the transitory stage ,of eye-bedark'ning night1 ,but it is straight subjected to the threat ,of envious winds1 whose wasteful rage ,disturbs her peaceful light1 ,and makes her substance waste1 and makes her flame less bright4 ,no sooner are we born1 no sooner come ,to take possession of this vast1 ,this soul-afflicting earth1 ,but danger meets us at the very womb2 ,and sorrow with her full-mouth'd blast ,salutes our painful birth ,to put out all our joys1 and puff out all our mirth4 ,nor infant innocence1 nor childish tears1 ,nor youthful wit1 nor manly pow'r1 ,nor politic old age1 ,nor virgins pleading1 nor the widows pray'rs1 ,nor lowly cell1 nor lofty tow'r1 ,nor prince1 nor peer1 nor page1 ,can 'scape this common blast1 nor curb her stormy rage4 99 99 99 99 99 ,tost to and fro1 our frighted thoughts are driv'n ,with ev'ry puff1 with ev'ry tide ,of life-consuming care2 ,our peaceful flame1 that would point up to heav'n ,is still disturb'd and turn'd aside2 ,and ev'ry blast of air ,commits such waste in man1 as man cannot repair4 99 99 99 99 99 ,what may this sorrow-shaken life present ,to the false relish of our taste ,that's worth the name of sweet8 ,her minute's pleasure's choak'd with discontent1 ,her glory soil'd with ev'ry blast-- ,how many dangers meet ,poor man betwixt the biggin and the winding sheet6 ,,hieroglyph4 #c4 ,tho' ,i have purposely omitted pointing out many of the particular beauties of these poems1 ,i would wish you to observe1 in this last1 the fine effect of compound words in which this author is so happy3 also the noble swell in the third stanza--the application of his allegory to its meaning1 in the fourth1 where the expression so admirably suits with both 8our peaceful flame1 c40----if these are not genuine strokes of genius1 ,i must1 as a great critic says on a like occasion1 acknowledge my ignorance of such subjects4 ,i wish we had some word in our language to express the same idea in poetry as crescendo does in music2 swell is applied to so many other purposes1 that it has not the effect of an appropriated term4 ,but for the present ,i must quit the subject--in a little time expect the remainder of my observations on this poet4 ,,letter ,,xx4 ,every one seems to be satisfied that warm colouring is essential to a good picture3 but what is warm colouring is not determined4 ,some have joined the idea of warmth to yellow1 others to red1 others to the compound of both1 the orange--they also differ in the degrees of each4 ,a warm picture to some1 is cold to others2 and vice versa4 ,lambert's idea of warmth1 was to make his pictures appear as if they were behind a yellow glass4 ,vanbloom's have a red glass before them4 ,both's an orange colour4 ,each has its admirers1 who condemn the rest4 ,who shall decide when ,doctors disagree8 ,nature4 ,all these hues are right as particulars1 but wrong as universals4 ,let us examine the different appearances of light from the dawn to noon4 ,the first break of day is a cold light in the ,east--this1 by degrees1 is tinged with purple1 which grows redder and redder until the purple is lost in orange--the orange in yellow1 and before the sun is two degrees high1 the yellow is changed to white4 ,invert the order of these1 and it is the coming on of the evening4 ,all these hues then exist in nature1 and one is just as right as the other4 ,it is necessary to distinguish between the painter's warmth1 and the sensation4 ,a picture1 that has most warmth of colouring1 represents that time of the day when we feel least4 ,a true representation of noon must have no tinge of yellow or red in the sky2 and yet from its being noon1 one might be led to imagine it must be warm4 ,it is the critic1 and not the artist1 which confounds the meaning of these terms4 ,in like manner1 summer and winter1 in respect to light1 are just the same3 the sun rises and sets as gorgeously in ,december1 if the weather be clear1 as in ,june4 ,i remember seeing two pictures of ,cuyp1 companions--one1 a cattle piece in summer2 the other1 winter with figures skaiting4 ,the sky in both was equally warm1 for which the painter was much censured by an auction-connoisseur1 who declared that it was impossible the sky could be warm in winter4 ,i believe it is a common mistake to apply the red and purple tints to the morning1 and the orange and yellow to the evening4 ,we hear pictures of ,claude called mornings and evenings1 which may be either4 ,it is really odd enough1 that there should not be a single circumstance to distinguish the morning from the evening1 unless it be in a view of a particular place--in this case1 the reversing of the light shews the difference4 ,in a picture1 there is no distinction between going to work1 or milking1 or returning from it--men ride1 drive cattle1 are fishing1 c4 as well early as late4 ,these considerations should soften the peremptory style of some judges1 and extend their taste1 which at present seems much confined4 ,we have seen that there are more natural hues than one or two4 ,i will allow them to say1 that a picture is too warm1 too cold1 too red1 too yellow to please them1 but let them not deny that these hues are all in nature1 and that well-managed they are all pictoresque4 ,,letter ,,xxi4 ,at the revival of the arts1 some evil genius1 who was determined to retard the progress of painting1 dictated this rule4 8,a picture should always have its horizon the height of the eye that looks at it--in nature1 the eye being always the height of the horizon2 therefore a picture will be most like nature that has its horizon the height of the natural eye40 ,one of the falsest rules that ever was founded on a false principle6 and this is the more lamentable1 as it has spoiled1 in point of perspective1 three parts of the historical pictures that have ever been painted4 ,as it is very difficult to destroy a rooted error1 and as this is a most pernicious one1 it is necessary to be full and particular4 ,when ,i say eye and horizon--the natural eye and horizon are meant4 ,when the terms artificial eye and artificial horizon are used1 the eye and the horizon represented in painting are to be understood4 ,we must be clear in this distinction1 for it is the confounding of the ideas expressed by these terms which has occasioned the mischief4 ,the eye1 and the horizon1 are always of the same height--therefore ,the artificial eye and the artificial horizon must always be so--but ,there is no connection between the real eye1 and the artificial horizon4 ,in every picture the artificial eye1 or point of sight1 is supposed to be at a certain height from the base-line2 as high as a human figure would be1 represented as standing there4 ,to this point every thing in the picture tends1 as every thing in a real view tends to the natural eye4 ,the picture then1 as far as this circumstance is concerned1 is perfect1 if the artificial eye and the artificial horizon go together2 for these always bear the same relation to each other1 let the picture be placed any where4 ,illustration ,let ,a be the eye1 ,b the picture 7in section7 and c the horizon of the picture4--,the eye is always the apex of the cone2 there is constantly the same relation between the parts in every position4 ,it must be observed that there is a defect in this illustration which it was impossible to avoid--for tho' ,i have considered ,a as the eye1 yet upon paper1 it is artificial as well as the picture ,b4 ,if you cannot make this distinction1 ,i propose the following demonstration4----,take a landscape and stand it upon a table--hang it up the height of the eye--above the height--put it upon a chair--upon the floor--it still1 perspectively considered1 is seen equally well--for ,the real eye is always the height of the artificial eye1 whether the picture be fixed in the cieling or laid upon the floor4 ,indeed if this was not so1 how would it be possible to hang one picture over another8 and yet this is done1 and with the greatest propriety4 ,i have often lamented the shifts to which painters are reduced1 who have followed this rule in opposition to their senses4 ,laresse was so thoroughly possessed with it1 that his idea of fitting up a room with pictures1 was to have those which were below the eye to contain nothing but ground1 and those which were above1 the sky and clouds4 ,but though he was convinced of the rectitude of his principle1 he was struck with the oddity of the practice--he therefore recommended that there should be but one picture from the floor to the cieling1 in which there might be a perfect coincidence of the natural and artificial horizon4 ,a portrait-painter sets the person he is to draw generally the height of his eye4----,suppose it to be a whole-length with a landscape in the back-ground3 the artist considers his picture is to hang above the eye1 and for that reason makes his horizon low1 about the height of the knees4 ,the consequence is1 that there are two points of sight1 which supposes an impossibility2 for the eye cannot be in two places at the same time4 ,if the eye be supposed on a level with the head of the figure1 as it was on drawing the face1 then the back-ground is too low2 if equal to the horizon of the back-ground1 then the figure is too high1 unless we suppose it on an eminence1 or ourselves in a pit2 in that case1 instead of seeing the face in front1 we must have looked under the chin--but as we do not1 the figure always appears to be falling forward4 ,raffaele's horizon is most commonly the height of his figures1 so that they stand properly1 and seem to be1 whether in a print or a picture1 the size of human creatures2--on the contrary1 when the horizon is low1 the figures always appear gigantic4 ,when ,i was a boy1 ,i had formed so very exalted an idea of the size of running horses1 from seeing them drawn with the distant hills appearing under their bodies1 that the first time ,i was at a course1 it appeared but as a rat-race4 ,every whole length picture will furnish you with an instance of this false principle1 which would appear more disagreeable1 if custom had not in some measure reconciled us to it4 ,i am aware that the practice of so many great men is a strong objection to my argument2 but as ,i conceive1 with due submission to such authority1 that there is demonstration on my side1 ,i cannot easily retract what ,i have advanced4 ,,letter ,,xxii4 ,the commentators of ,shakspeare think themselves obliged to find some meaning in his nonsense2 and to come at it1 twist and turn his words without mercy3 never considering1 that in his scenes1 as in common life1 some part must be necessarily unimportant4 ,many a passage has been criticised into consequence4 ,the meaning1 to use ,shakspeare's words on a like occasion1 8is like a grain of wheat hid in a bushel of chaff2 you shall seek all day e'er you find it1 and when you have it1 it is not worth the search40 ,an expression of ,shallow's in the second part of ,henry the fourth has been the subject of much criticism and hypercriticism4 8,we will eat a last year's pippin with a dish of carraways20 and it is certain that there was such a dish1 but if ,shakspeare had meant it1 he would have said1 8,a dish of last year's pippins with carraways0--8with a dish1 c40 clearly means something distinct from the pippins4 ,roasted pippins stuck full of carraways1 says one--carraway confect1 or comfit well known to children1 says another--as if every one did not know what carraway comfits were1 says a third1 laughing at the second4 ,dine with any of the natural inhabitants of ,bath about ,christmas1 and they probably will give you after dinner a dish of pippins and carraways--which last is the name of an apple as well known in that country as nonpareil is in ,london1 and as generally associated with golden pippins4 8,then am ,i a sous'd gurnet10 lays ,falstaff4 ,this fish has puzzled the commentators as much as the apple did before4--,what can it be8--,i never heard of such a fish4--,there is no such fish4 ,a magazine critic1 assured of its non-existence1 proposed reading grunt1 gurnet1 quasi grunet1 quasi grunt----well1 and what do we get by that8 ,why1 because hogs grunt1 and pork is the flesh of hogs1 sous'd gurnet means pickled pork6 ,very lately a commentator1 who once denied its existence1 has discovered in consequence of his great learning1 that there is really such a fish----he is really in the right--if he will go to the ,south coast of ,devonshire1 he may see plenty of them--but not sous'd4 ,and now ,i mention ,falstaff1 let me explain his copper ring4 ,he complains of being robbed when he was asleep1 and 8losing a seal-ring of his grandfather's worth forty marks40 8,o ,jesu10 says the hostess1 8,i have heard the prince tell him ,i know not how oft1 that the ring was copper40 ,is the appearance of copper so much like gold1 that one may be mistaken for the other8 ,formerly1 7about the time of ,falstaff's grandfather7 gold was a scarce commodity in ,england1 so scarce that they frequently made rings of copper and plated them thinly with gold2 ,i have seen two or three of them4 ,as the look of both was alike1 ,falstaff might insist upon its being gold2 on the contrary1 the prince1 from the quality of the wearer and lightness of the ring1 might with equal fairness maintain that it was only plated4 ,though it is not my intention to make one of the number of ,shakspeare's commentators1 ,i will take this opportunity of restoring a passage in ,king ,lear4 ,in the agony of his passion with his daughter1 he says 7in the modern editions7 8,th' untented woundings of a ,father's curse ,pierce every sense about thee40 ,in the old editions it is printed exceeding plainly1 8,th' untender woundings1 c40 that is1 not tender1 or cruel4 ,it would be waste of time to shew its propriety1 and that there is no such word as untented4 ,who first threw out the true reading and substituted the false1 ,i know not4 ,is it worth while to say1 that the word is often used by ,shakspeare1 and once at least besides in the same play1 8so young and so untender80 ,one more and ,i will release you4--,shylock says1 ,some men there are1 love not a gaping pig2 ,some that are mad1 if they behold a cat2 ,and others1 when the bag-pipe sings in the nose1 ,cannot contain1 c4----for affection4 that is1 because they are so affected4 ,these poor lines have been new-worded1 new stopped1 and all to find the meaning of as plain a passage as can be written4 8,some men cannot abide this thing1 others have an aversion to another1 which sometimes produces strange effects on their bodies1 because their imagination is so strongly affected4 ,masterless passion1 suffering1 or feeling1 compels them to follow the impulse40 ,the not understanding affection and passion in ,shakspeare's quaint sense has occasioned the difficulty4 ,there are many other corrupted and misunderstood passages that require as little attention1 to set them right1 as what has been exerted on this occasion1 by ,yours sincerely1 c4 ,,letter ,,xxiii4 ,scarce a year passes but our language has some new trick played with it4--,but let the sufferers speak for themselves4 ,to the ,people of ,,great-,,britain4 ,the ,petition of ,to and ,the1 ,humbly sheweth1 ,that your ,petitioners have1 time out of mind1 possessed certain places allowed to be their undoubted right1 and that they lately have been1 vi et armis1 thrust from their ancient possessions4 ,their misfortune being in common1 they present their common petition2 hoping that the laudable zeal for the reformation of abuses will extend even to them1 and that they shall be restored to their pristine use and consequence4 ,though your petitioners labour under a common misfortune1 yet it is necessary that they separately state their case4--,and first ,to for himself says1 ,that he has for years past had a place in the direction of all letters--that he was first removed from thence1 as he apprehends1 by some member of parliament1 who was too much busied in his country's good to attend to propriety4 ,as it is the wicked custom of the world to press down a falling man1 the said ,to is in a manner totally displaced from his ancient possession3 all people1 except the very few who prefer grammar to fashion1 agreeing to his removal4 ,were his place filled by a worthy successor he should keep his complaints secret1 remembering that he himself succeeded ,for--but to be succeeded by nothing1 is reviving the old fanatic principle of the last century1 which all who are lovers of the constitution must shudder at6 ,consider good people1 you who so well know the value of property1 what quantities of letters are at this instant in the post-office that are neither ,to nor ,for any person8 ,in many instances you condescend to be instructed by your neighbours--is the ,a ,monsieur yet left out in the direction of ,french letters8 ,if you were to address in ,latin1 would you not use the dative case--and pray what is the sign of the dative but your petitioner ,to8 ,secondly1 ,the for himself says1 ,that he has had1 from the first existence of our language1 precedence of army1 navy1 commons1 lords1 and even government itself2--that he is most basely removed from this his just station--for he appeals to all impartial judges1 if such are to be found1 what a foolish figure does army1 navy1 commons1 lords1 and government cut without he takes the lead4 ,if this were alone the damage it is surely of great concern1 but alas6 the evil is spreading6 scarce a day passes but he loses some ancient possession of trust and consequence6 ,it is1 indeed1 insinuated1 that your petitioner formerly usurped a station he had by no means a right to1 and that his present loss is a just retaliation4 ,what business had ,the1 says these meddlers1 before ,faustina and ,cuzzoni1 and so on through all the inas and onis to the present time8 ,alas6 my good countrymen1 consider1 these were but possessions of a day6 ,the ,faustina and her successors were but the grasshoppers of a season--from this encroachment he was soon dispossessed2 but navy1 army1 ministry1 are of perpetual duration4 ,perhaps you will reply that your petitioner is but an article--true--but think of the consequence--if you destroy your particles and articles1 and reduce your language by degrees to noun substantives1 who knows but the next innovation will be the substituting things instead of words--you have heard of a country so incumbered4----,consider the expence of carriage4--,think1 ,o ye wits1 of having your coaches attended with waggon loads of conversation4 ,nip the evil in its bud1 shew your regard for posterity1 and consider the petition of ,the4 ,in a general wreck it is worth while to save something4----,your ,petitioners are contented to be thrust out of parliament--it is confessed that the members of that honourable house should not attend to trifles4--,but consider1 good people1 you are not all members of parliament1 you may restore us to our ancient rights1 our just privileges1 and legal possessions--which we trust you will do1 and your poor ,petitioners ,shall ever pray1 c4 ,,letter ,,xxiv4 ,i cannot agree with you in the cause of that uncommon production you mention2 my thoughts on this subject1 and on some others connected with it1 will appear by the following reflections4 ,until the last hundred years or thereabout1 it was supposed that in many instances life was produced by putrefaction1 fermentation1 c4 ,leuwenhoek and other naturalists1 clearly demonstrated that some animals which were supposed to owe their existence to the above causes1 or in other words1 to spontaneous generation1 really had a regular production4 ,this discovery established the general principle of omnia ab ovo--but it must be received with reserve and exception4 ,after giving every theory of the earth a patient reading1 it seems to me probable that the whole world was originally covered with water to the depth of about three miles1 which is about as much below the surface1 as the highest mountains rise above it4 ,this depth1 though far below all soundings1 bears no more proportion to the earth's diameter1 than that of the paper it is covered with does to a common globe4 ,the idea of the sea approaching the center1 and of course1 possessing a superior share in quantity as well as surface of the earth1 has occasioned many difficulties in accounting for the balance between the different sides of the globe2 which vanish1 if the sea is not supposed of a greater depth than necessity requires1 or reason and probability warrant4 ,i consider all continents as a congeries of islands heaved up from the bottom of the sea at different times by vulcanos and earthquakes4 ,modern philosophers have discovered ancient vulcanos where they were never suspected to have existed1 and the whole earth is full of evidence that it was once beneath the ocean4 ,marble1 freestone1 and many other substances abound in seashells and marine productions4 ,it is frequently said that the sea has left many places which were once covered by it4 ,is it not rather to be supposed that those places have been elevated above the sea1 than that the sea has sunk below them8 ,there seems to be no cause in nature equal to the altering the quantity of water in the ocean1 but we know that there are many causes equal to the elevating the land above it4 ,if the sea had retired from the land1 the retiring must have been equal in all places2 this we are sure is not the case1 therefore it is the land in that particular place that must be risen4 ,in the manner ,i suppose all land to have been first brought to light1 many islands have been produced in our own time4 ,what was under the water is forced above it4 ,the marine substances on the surface by degrees decay2 moss appears1 grass succeeds1 then the smaller kind of plants1 bushes and trees4 ,animal life begins and goes on upon the same scale from the minuter1 to beings of more consequence4 ,this system is at least as general as the other1 but like that must be received with many restrictions2 for it is certain that by far the greater part of vegetables and animals would never be found self-produced in any one place1 tho' many might live1 and indeed flourish1 if brought there4 ,let us proceed from reasoning to facts4 ,some voyager discovers an island evidently formed by a vulcano1 and very remote from other countries2 it is a perfect wood to the water's edge1 has some plants which exist no where but in that spot1 together with others common to places in the same latitude4 ,it is full of insects1 reptiles1 birds1 and sometimes quadrupeds4 ,now1 if every one of these organized bodies was not brought there1 something must be self-produced4 ,in some islands of the ,east-,indies are serpents of an enormous size2 who could carry them there8 ,in all streams there are fish--how could they get there8 ,not from the sea1 for fish which inhabit the source of rivers are as soon killed by salt water as in air1 besides there are many rivers which do not run into the ocean4 ,perhaps this circumstance was never sufficiently considered4 ,every set of rivers is perfectly distinct from any other set4 ,the greater number have some fish which exist no where but in the particular stream they are bred4 ,find any other cause for their first production than what must be taken from the old philosophy4 ,let us attend to what we have always near us4 ,fill a vessel with water from the pump3 it is pure1 and contains neither animal1 nor vegetable4 ,after standing some days1 a green substance begins to be formed in it1 and which is inhabited by myriads of little beings3 this seems the first step towards plants and animals4 ,we are told indeed that the animalcules are from eggs laid by flies1 and the green slime is a plant which has its proper seed4 ,that the water may accidentally receive both eggs and seeds is highly probable2 but these 7by reasoning from other instances7 seem the first efforts towards vegetable and animal life4 ,besides1 it yet remains to be proved1 that the air so abounds with flying seeds and insects4 ,if the air swarmed1 as is supposed1 vision would be obstructed 7as by a fog which consists of particles inconceivably small71 and perhaps life in the nobler animals destroyed4 ,the slime to be produced from seed then must have come from some of the same sort in the neighbourhood2 besides1 if its being produced in the water depended upon accident1 which it does by this supposition1 it must sometimes fail4 ,again1 if the animals and vegetables1 in the above instance1 were from eggs floating in the air1 why are the smallest always produced first8 must it not sometimes happen that ova of a larger sort precede the smaller8 which is never the case3 not to mention the total impossibility of some ova1 particularly of animals1 being so conveyed4 ,it is well known that by pepper-water1 and a variety of other mixtures1 peculiar animalcules are produced4 ,can we suppose that the fly1 which lays the egg from which this creature exists1 continues floating in the air until some philosopher makes a mixture proper for its deposit8 is it done often enough to preserve the species8 ,what must the fly have done before pepper was brought from ,india8 ,you may tell me that the egg was deposited there--well then1 if the eggs are not hurt by the pepper being dried in an oven1 happen to be brought to ,europe1 and fall in the way of a naturalist1 the species is preserved4 ,much is not got by this4 ,there is great reason for believing that the animalcule was really produced by the infusion1 and did not exist before4 ,how are the worms in human bodies to be accounted for8 ,there are some1 it is true1 which bear a resemblance to earth-worms1 and are supposed to be eggs we take in with roots1 vegetables1 c4 ,not to insist upon the impossibility of a creature intended to live in the cold earth existing on the hot stomach1 it is well known that there are worms in the intestines which have no resemblance to any other thing in the creation--the jointed worm1 for instance1 which is found of many yards in length3 indeed1 if some accounts are to be credited1 of some scores of yards4 ,where does this animal exist except in the stomach where it is found8 ,sheep1 dogs1 horses1 c4 breed worms peculiar to themselves4 ,i have seen frequently between the sound and back-bone of a whiting1 long worms that were evidently bred there4 ,as ,i have no system to support1 ,i shall have no objection if you can account for these facts according to the present philosophy--but to me it seems absolutely impossible4 ,i may strengthen every thing ,i have advanced on self-production with additional arguments1 and those from instances on the largest scale4 ,the old and new continents are two immense islands4 ,you will get little by supposing them once joined at ,kamchatka4 ,what should ever induce those animals which are never seen out of a hot climate1 to travel so far ,north as the ,strait between the continents8 ,they do not approach it now1 why should they then8 ,besides1 has not each continent some creatures peculiar to itself8 ,did those in ,america come from countries where no such animals exist8 ,if they did not1 and are found in ,america only1 what is the fair conclusion8 ,when an inhabitant of the old continent asks how ,america was peopled1 why does the question stop there8 ,how was it supplied with vegetables and animals8 particularly river-fish2 and whence came those creatures that exist no where else8 ,pray1 what is to hinder an ,american from reversing the question8 ,when did our people1 he may say1 first migrate and give inhabitants to the ,eastern world8 ,what answer can be given to these questions confident with the present system of philosophy8 ,there is something in the sound of self-production which seems like a contradiction4 ,i mean nothing more by it1 than that a vegetable or animal does in many instances first exist by a different principle than that upon which the species is afterwards continued4 ,as the term does not exactly express this1 it may easily be perverted from the sense in which ,i wish to be understood4 ,perhaps we shall find that self-production shocks the imagination more or less according to the size of the thing produced4 ,who would not sooner believe that cheese breeds mites1 than that deserts produce elephants8 ,and yet1 according to our present philosophy1 one is as possible as the other4 ,if the consequences ,i have drawn from these facts appear to you wrong1 or the facts themselves ill-supported--convince me of my error1 and the whole shall be retracted as freely as it is advanced by ,yours most faithfully1 c4 ,,letter ,,xxv4 ,tho' ,i hate to set out upon the principle of word-hunting1 yet it always gives me pleasure when by accident ,i can trace the meaning of a word or phrase to its source1 and pursue it through its various changes to its present date4 ,the pleasure is still greater to mark the gradual refinement of language from obscurity and barbarism1 until it arrives at precision and elegance4 ,our tongue1 as every one knows1 is a compound of many4----,the pains which ,william the ,conqueror took to graft his ,norman ,french upon it1 succeeded in many instances1 and there are others where we may trace the dying away of the ,french by degrees1 and the ,english resuming its old place4 ,chaucer in his character of the ,monk1 says ,he was a lord full fat and in good point4 ,this is the remains of the ,french embonpoint1 or as it was written then en bon point4----,the phrase was wearing out in ,chaucer's time1 the en bon being translated1 and point preserved4 ,now1 the whole is translated1 and we say in good case1 or plight4----,you may find many other instances of this in the old poets4 8,the days are now a cock-stride longer10 say the country-folks at ,twelfth-day--and many have been the conjectures upon the derivation of this phrase 7see the ,gentleman's ,magazine74 ,it is not cock-stride1 but cock's-tread4 ,in the country1 tread is pronounced trede1 7not tred7--and in most of the western counties1 ,devonshire excepted1 stride has more of the e than i in its sound4--,but the impossibility of expressing by any known signs the different provincial modifications of the sound of the vowels1 has occasioned some strange mistakes when people of one county endeavour to write down an expression used in another4 ,our old poets1 who generally writ in the dialect of the province where they resided1 and spelt as well as they could with their own country vowels1 have given birth to much laughable criticism4 ,help-mate is an odd corruption4 ,in the ,book of ,genesis it is said1 8it is not good for man to be alone1 ,i will make an help meet for him0--that is an help1 proper for him--meet is an adjective4 ,but these two words1 like the first man and his help1 soon became one1 and of late have been corrected into help-mate4 ,as ,i was reading ,john ,struys's voyages the other day1 ,i thought ,i discovered the original of the word1 and perhaps of the liquor1 punch2 which1 if ,i am right1 has nothing to do with that diverting personage in puppet-shews of the same name1 from whom it is usually derived4 ,struys was at ,gomroon in ,persia1 where he says1 he drank----8,a liquor much in use there1 called pale punshen1 being compounded of arak1 sugar1 and raisins1 which is so bewitching that they cannot refrain from drinking it40 ,i really believe he forgot to mention the water--for how in such a climate as the southern part of ,persia it was possible to drink undiluted arak1 ,i have no conception4 ,the raisins have given place1 and very properly1 to lemons4 ,but ,i had better leave this to its own merits4--,i am afraid it will not bear too minute an examination--remember it is only humbly offered together with the other conjectures of ,yours1 c4 ,as ,struys's ,voyages is a scarce book1 ,i might with great ease have practised the common trick of authors1 and introduced water into the quotation without fear of discovery4 ,it being supposed that few will give themselves the trouble to turn to the original book to examine extracts1 authors have been made to give evidence to facts1 8of which they nothing know10 and to support systems which never had existence1 but in the imagination of the writer who presses them into his service4 ,,letter ,,xxvi4 ,the rubs and difficulties which the public throw in the way of a genius at his first appearance1 are frequently too great to be surmounted4 ,we are apt to form our opinion of a man's abilities1 by his resemblance to some other man of reputation in the art or science he professes4 ,a painter1 musician1 or author perfectly new we are afraid to commend--like hounds1 we wait for the opening of one whose cry we may venture to follow4--,but it should be remembered that a sure mark of a genius is originality4 ,as he is original1 and therefore new1 perhaps it may be necessary to conquer some prepossessions before we can judge of his merit2 and as he is generally incapable1 from that modesty which so frequently attends ability1 of insisting on his own excellencies1 the world should take that task from him4--,but does it so8 ,or from the fear of commending too hastily1 leave a ,being to languish in obscurity1 which should be protected and encouraged4 ,the greatest part of those who seem to have been born to make mankind happy1 were themselves miserable4 ,a melancholy catalogue might be made of these4 ,if we know any thing of ,homer1 it is1 that he ran about ballad-singing4 ,poor1 unhappy1 half-starved ,cervantes1 ,camens1 ,butler1 ,fielding6 ,does it not grieve you to be told that the author of ,tom ,jones lies in the factory's burying-ground at ,lisbon1 undistinguished1 unregarded--not a stone to mark the place6 ,and would it not raise our indignation to behold stately monuments erected for those whose names were never heard of1 until they appeared in their epitaph8----were they not considered rather as monuments of the sculptor's art1 than as preserving the memory of the persons whose dust they so pompously cover4 ,the instances of those original geniuses who in their life-time have enjoyed the public applause and lived by it1 are very few--indeed ,i cannot recollect any--,garrick excepted4 ,i do not consider ,virgil or ,pope in this light--they are not original4 ,it is true that ,shakspeare lived well enough1 but the money he got was by acting1 not writing4 ,milton was in tolerable circumstances1 but if he had had nothing more to depend on than the profit arising from the sale of the finest poem in the world1 he must have been starved4 ,it is common when we speak of a genius1 to say1 he will not be valued until he is dead--not that his death is essential to his reputation2 but there is a necessity of his being known and understood1 before he can be esteemed2 and it generally happens that life is of too short duration for that purpose-- 8,but the fair guerdon when we hope to find ,and think to burst out into sudden blaze1 ,comes the blind ,fury with th' abhorred shears ,and slits the thin-spun life40------ ,,letter ,,xxvii4 ,alliteration very early made its appearance in ,english poetry4 ,i have seen an old piece where it was intended to supply the place of rhyme3 the terminations of each line were different2 and there were in every one1 three or four words which begun with the same letter4 ,this ,i suppose was thought a beauty4 ,shakspeare in several places burlesques the improper use of ,alliteration with great pleasantry4 ,it was much in request in the days of ,thompson----his ----,floor1 faithless to the fuddled foot1 is scarce less ridiculous than ,shakspeare's ,bravely broach'd his bloody boiling breast4 ,i believe wherever it is perceived1 it disgusts4 ,there is something very ridiculous in the pains of an author when he is searching for a set of words beginning with the same letter3 this surely argues a 8lack of matter40 ,a man who has things in his head1 is never curious about words1 unless it be those which express his meaning quickest and clearest4 ,i would have given something to have seen the paper upon which ,smollet first sketched the titles of some of his novels4 ,i dare say it cost him as much time to fix upon the name ,roderick ,random1 as to write some of the best parts in that sprightly and entertaining performance4----,robert and ,richard were common1 ,roger and ,ralph were vulgar--there was a necessity for a sounding uncommon name1 and beginning with an ,r3 at last1 by a lucky chance ,roderick occurred--and ,roderick it is4--,do you think me fanciful8 ,i call upon ,peregrine ,pickle1 and ,ferdinand ,fathom to prove the contrary4 ,if we laugh at the hard-sought-for ,alliteration of the poet and historian1 may we not laugh a little louder at that of the comic dramatist8 ,can any language be less that of nature or common conversation1 than strings of words beginning with an ,m or ,n8 ,and yet this has been done by one who paints the 8,manners living as they rise40 ,it is surprizing that so sprightly a genius as ,foote could submit to the drudgery of consulting his spelling-book for words proper to be paired--my three ppp's put me in mind of a letter in the ,student1 in which p is predominant--it is highly humourous and well worth your perusing4 ,will you give me leave to make an abrupt transition from ,alliteration to ,literation1 and pardon me also for coining8 ,the ,germans in pronouncing ,english1 and writing it too1 if they have not studied the language1 almost constantly change b into p1 d into t1 g 7hard7 into k1 v into f1 and the reverse4 ,this peculiarity of theirs1 ,i find1 upon recollection1 is not confined to ,english4 ,in the ,burletta of ,la buona ,figliola1 the author makes his ,german character to say trompetti and tampurri--nay they serve their own language the same1 as ,i have observed from their pronunciation of proper names of cities1 c4 it seems difficult to account for this----but perhaps not more so than for the trick of the ,french in giving an aspirate to those ,english words where there is none1 and omitting it where it should be used4----,i once saw a ,french-man much surprized1 7not disconcerted7 at a general laugh when he was comparing our country women with his--an unlucky misplaced aspirate was all the cause--8,the ,english ladies10 says he1 8are so plain1 but the ,french ladies are so airy60 ,,letter ,,xxviii4 ,though superstition is pretty well laughed away1 yet there are some points in which we can never get the better of it4 ,the wedding ring in coffee grounds--the coffin in the candle--the stranger in the fire1 are marked by none but vulgar and foolish eyes4 ,you see salt spilt1 hear death-watches--owls hoot--dogs howl1 and despise the omen--you are above it4 ,but yet let me ask you1 an enlightened philosopher--,whether you are above choice of seats at whist8 ,whether you have not really believed that your chance for winning was much bettered by your taking the fortunate chairs1 and of course obliging your adversaries to sit1 not in those of the scornful1 but of the losers8 ,when you quit the game on a run of ill luck1 what is it but declaring your belief that the games already played have an influence upon those which are to come8 ,each ticket in a lottery has an equal chance----do you think so8 ,number #ajjj got the great prize in the last lottery--now1 confess honestly that you feel something within that tells you the same number can never win the great prize again--you would prefer every other number to it--and yet reason says1 that all the tickets have an equal probability of success4 ,in these instances and many others1 superstition1 even in cultivated minds1 will be always more than a match for truth4 ,a gentleman coming a passenger in a vessel from the ,west-,indies1 finding it more inconvenient to be shaved than to wear his beard1 chose the latter----but he was not suffered to have his choice long--it was the unanimous opinion of the sailors1 and indeed of the ,captain as well1 that there was not the least probability of a wind as long as this ominous beard was suffered to grow4 ,they petitioned--they remonstrated1 and at last prepared to cut the fatal hairs by violence4 ,now1 as there is no operation at which it is so much the patient's interest to consent1 as that of the barber----the gentleman quietly submitted--nor could the wind resist the potent spell which instantly filled all their sails1 and 8wafted them merrily away40 ,you see we have only got rid of general superstition1 we still retain that which belongs to our particular profession or pursuits4 ,adieu4 ,,letter ,,xxix4 ,i have often tryed to have a proper idea of vast space--great numbers--enormous size and such subjects1 and as you may suppose1 without success4 ,but though ,i fail in getting a competent idea1 ,i sometimes make an approach towards it1 which is better than nothing4 ,the solar system is one of these sublime subjects in the consideration of which ,i have frequently been lost4 ,i never attempted to conceive the size of the sun1 or the distance of saturn2 the impossibility instantly repels the most daring imagination4 ,no1 all that ,i have attempted is to have a just idea of the proportion 7upon any scale7 that the sun and planets bear to each other in respect to size and distance4 ,at first sight1 this seems easily done--,draw some concentric circles on a sheet of paper1 make the sun the centre1 and place the planets round in their order4--,or if you would have an idea of their motion as well1 look at an orrery4 ,but a little examination will convince you that this is doing nothing towards having an idea of their size and distance in proportion to each other1 which is the point sought4 ,nay1 it is worse than nothing1 for it imposes a falsity as a reality4 ,imagination by itself can do a great deal1 if assisted it can do more1 but if perverted1 nothing4 ,let us try to assist the imagination then4 ,if the sun be only a million times bigger than the earth1 7exactness is of no consequence to my argument1 so that ,i am within the truth7 it is plain that ,i cannot make two circles upon a sheet of paper 7without considering any thing about distance7 that can bear this proportion to each other2 and if this cannot be done for the earth1 much less can it for other planets and moons where the disproportion is greater4 ,let us take the floor of a large room--on this make a circle of two feet diameter for the sun--the size of the earth will be about a large pin's head4 ,the distance of the sun from the earth is about eighty of the sun's diameters2 if so1 there must be a circle of three hundred and twenty feet diameter for the earth's orbit1 which no room1 nor indeed any other building1 will contain4 ,let us try a field----here we may put our sun and draw the earth's orbit round4 ,if we stand in the center 7which we should do7 the earth is too small to be seen4 ,these difficulties occurring so soon1 how will they increase when we take in the superior planets8 ,the ingenious ,ferguson has endeavoured to assist our imagination by supposing ,st4 ,paul's dome1 in diameter one hundred and forty-five feet1 to be the sun----upon this scale1 ,mercury is between nine and ten inches1 and placed at the ,tower2 ,venus near eighteen1 at ,st4 ,james's ,palace2 the ,earth eighteen1 at ,marybone2 ,mars ten1 at ,kensington2 ,jupiter fifteen feet1 at ,hampton-,court2 and ,saturn eleven feet and half1 at ,cliffden4 ,let us be on the top of the dome1 and look for the planets where he has placed them4 ,do you think we could see any thing of ,jupiter and ,saturn8 to say nothing of their moons--or that we could conceive properly the difference between four miles and twenty1 when seen on a line8 the four may be two1 or one mile2 and the twenty may be ten1 or thirty1 for ought we can judge by the appearance4 ,all that we get by this is the knowing that a sheet of paper or an orrery give us wrong ideas1 and that we cannot by any contrivance put the size and distance of the planets upon a proportionable scale1 so as to take in the whole with our eye or understanding4 ,we are as much at a loss to comprehend the slowness of their motion--,i have not mistaken--,i mean slowness4--,a circuit which is six or twelve months or twice as many years performing1 is slow almost beyond conception2 and yet this motion is called whirling--as if the planets went round their orbits like a top6 ,though quick and slow are comparative terms1 we have ideas of each arising from the medium of the two1 from observation1 and common application1 that do not stand in need of any comparison to be understood4 ,the motion of a flea is quick2 of a snail1 slow2 and the common walk of a man is neither quick nor slow4 ,let us imagine an elephant to walk1 and a flea to hop the same distance in the same time--would you hesitate to say that the motion of the one was slow1 and the other quick8 ,in short1 swiftness or slowness does not depend upon the absolute quantity of ground the animal passes in a certain time1 but upon the relative quantity to its own size4 ,the earth is about eight minutes in moving the space of one diameter1 therefore its absolute motion is slow--it is twenty-four hours making one revolution round its axis1 which gives no idea of velocity4 ,it is certain that if we were placed very near the earth 7unaffected by its attraction7 there would appear an exceeding quick change of surface--and so would the motion of a snail appear to an animalcule4 ,the quantity of space when compared to any we can move in the same time is vast1 and the motion quick1 but when considered as belonging to a body of the size of a world1 the motion is slow4 ,suppose a common globe was turned round once in twenty-four hours--imagine an animal as much inferior to it in size as we are to the earth1 placed as ,i conceived the human spectator placed to view the earth--would the apprehension of this ,being induce you to call a single revolution in twenty-four hours1 whirling8 ,would not you say that though the surface passed quick in review before him1 yet that the absolute motion of the whole was exceedingly slow4 ,perhaps it is our measuring this motion by miles that makes us fancy that it is quick1 which is much like taking the height of a mountain in hairs-breadths4 ,when we are told that ,saturn moves in his orbit more than twenty-two thousand miles in an hour1 we conceive the velocity to be great2 but when we find that he is more than three hours moving his own diameter1 we must then think it as it really is1 slow4 ,bishop ,wilkins is the only writer ,i have met with who considers the motion of the heavenly bodies as ,i do1 and ,i am rather proud of having my opinion supported by so great a man4 ,there is another circumstance which prevents the solar system1 as commonly delineated1 from bearing a true resemblance to the apparent position and motion of the planets4 ,it is always drawn in plan instead of section1 whereas the appearance of the orbits of the heavenly bodies is always in section and never can be in plan4 ,this difference is not1 as far as ,i know1 noticed in any account of the solar system2 and yet if it be not attended to1 it is impossible to prove the truth of the system by the apparent paths of the planets4 ,this will be best understood by considering the inferior ones4 ,mercury and ,venus remove to a certain distance from the sun1 and then1 after seeming at rest1 return in nearly the same line and remove to the same distance on the other side1 where the same thing is repeated4 ,this to the eye is not a revolution in plan1 but a revolution in section--and this might be explained by a draught which should always accompany the common delineation of the planetary orbits4 ,,letter ,,xxx4 ,it is so long since that ,i sent you the first part of my observations on ,quarles that perhaps you have forgot my promise for the remainder4----,i will now resume the subject4 ,quarles sometimes introduces personages1 and makes his poem of the dramatic cast4 ,the sixth hieroglyphic is a dialogue between ,time and ,death2 as usual1 alluding to the print1 where ,death is going to extinguish the taper1 but is prevented by ,time4 ,there are a few awkward expressions in this1 which are easier to be overlooked than omitted4 ,time4 ,death4 ,time4 ,behold the frailty of this slender snuff2 ,alas6 it hath not long to last2 ,without the help of either thief or puff1 ,her weakness knows the way to waste3 ,nature hath made her substance apt enough ,to spend itself1 and spend too fast3 ,it needs the help of none ,that is so prone ,to lavish out untouch'd1 and languish all alone4 ,death4 ,time1 hold thy peace1 and shake thy slow-pac'd sand2 ,thine idle minutes make no way3 ,thy glass exceeds her hour1 or else doth stand1 ,i cannot hold1 ,i cannot stay4 ,surcease thy pleading1 and enlarge my hand1 ,i surfeit with too long delay3 ,this brisk this bold-fac'd light ,doth burn too bright2 ,darkness adorns my throne1 my day is darkest night4 ,time4 ,great ,prince of darkness6 hold thy needless hand1 ,thy captive's fast and cannot flee3 ,what arm can rescue8 who can countermand8 ,what pow'r can set thy pris'ner free8 ,or if they could2 what close1 what foreign land ,can hide that head that flees from thee8 ,but if her harmless light ,offend thy sight ,what need'st thou snatch at noon1 what must be thine at night8 ,death4 ,i have outstaid my patience2 my quick trade ,grows dull and makes too slow return3 ,this long-liv'd debt is due1 and should been paid ,when first her flame began to burn3 ,but ,i have staid too long1 ,i have delay'd ,to store my vast1 my craving urn4 ,my patent gives me pow'r ,each day1 each hour1 ,to strike the peasant's thatch1 and shake the princely tow'r4 ,time4 ,thou count'st too fast3 thy patent gives no pow'r ,till ,time shall please to say1 ,amen4 ,death4 ,canst thou appoint my shaft8 ,time4 ,or thou my hour8 ,death4 ',tis ,i bid1 do4 ,time4 ',tis ,i bid1 when2 ,alas6 thou canst not make the poorest flow'r ,to hang the drooping head 'till then3 ,thy shafts can neither kill1 ,nor strike1 until ,my power gives them wings1 and pleasure arms thy will6 ,there is nothing which destroys the reality in a dramatic dialogue more than when the speakers ask questions and reply in an equal quantity of lines4 ,perhaps the most disgusting instance of this is in ,milton's ,mask1 where ,comus and the ,lady have a verse each alternately1 for fourteen lines together4 ,we are more sensible of the sameness in quantity where it is so short1 and so often repeated1 than here in ,quarles where it is extended to a stanza1 and that repeated for each speaker but once--but even here you begin to feel its bad effect1 when it is finely relieved towards the end by the characters growing warmer in their dispute1 and1 of course1 making their speeches shorter4 ,yet what ,i here condemn1 others admire4----,you1 who are so fond of the ancients1 may easily defend this practice by their example1 and if you want any assistance to demolish me1 may call in ,mr4 ,west and the author of the ,origin and ,progress of ,language4--,this passage of the former from his translation of the ,iphigenia of ,euripedes is quoted by the latter with great commendations----not indeed because the dialogue is in alternate verse1 but for its being a fine imitation of the ancient trochaic measure4 ,iph4 ,know'st thou what should now be ordered8 ,tho4 ',tis thy office to prescribe4 ,iph4 ,let them bind in chains the strangers4 ,tho4 ,canst thou fear they should escape8 ,iph4 ,trust no ,greek2 ,greece is perfidious4 ,tho4 ,slaves depart1 and bind the ,greeks4 ,iph4 ,having bound1 conduct them hither1 c4 ,it is true that here the reply wants one of having the same number of syllables as the question--but still the constant return of the same quantity for each speaker is disgusting to all unprejudiced ears4 ,you will tell me that it is in the high gusto of the antique1 and that the feet are trochaics--,i can only reply1 that hard words cannot convince me contrary to reason1 and if a proper effect is not produced1 it is of very little consequence to me whether the authority is brought from ,greece or ,siberia4 ,horace's often-quoted ,pallida mors1 c4 was perhaps never better translated than at the end of the fourth stanza4 ,the ninth hieroglyphic will put you in mind of the poems that are squeezed or stretched into the form of axes1 altars1 and wings----but if you will attend to the matter1 and not the form1 you will find it excellent----to write this properly requires some care4 ,behold ,how short a span ,was long enough of old ,to measure out the life of man2 ,in those well-temper'd days1 his time was then ,survey'd1 cast up1 and found but threescore years and ten6 ,alas6 ,and what is that8 ,they come1 and slide1 and pass1 ,before my pen can tell thee what4 ,the posts of ,time are swift1 which having run ,their sev'n short stages o'er1 their short-liv'd task is done4 ,our days ,begun1 we lend ,to sleep1 to antick plays ,and toys1 until the first stage end3 #ab waining moons1 twice #e times told1 we give ,to unrecover'd loss3 we rather breathe than live4 ,we spend ,a ten years breath ,before we apprehend ,what 'tis to live1 or fear a ,death3 ,our childish dreams are fill'd with painted joys ,which please our sense awhile1 and waking prove but toys6 ,how vain ,how wretched is ,poor man1 that doth remain ,a slave to such a state as this6 ,his days are short1 at longest2 few at most2 ,they are but bad at best2 yet lavish'd out1 or lost4 ,they be ,the secret springs ,that make our minutes flee ,on wheels more swift than eagle's wings6 ,our ,life's a clock1 and ev'ry gasp of breath ,breathes forth a warning grief1 till ,time shall strike a ,death6 ,how soon ,our new-born light ,attains to full-ag'd noon6 ,and this1 how soon to grey-hair'd night6 ,we spring1 we bud1 we blossom and we blast ,e'er we can count our days1 our days they flee so fast6 ,they end ,when scarce begun2 ,and e'er we apprehend ,that we begin to live1 our life is done3 ,man count thy days2 and if they fly too fast ,for thy dull thoughts to count1 count ev'ry day the last4 ,methinks ,quarles's ghost is at my elbow1 which will not be appeased unless ,i remark that the first lines of each stanza make a verse1 being the text on which the poem is a comment4 ,behold1 alas6 our days we spend2 ,how vain they be1 how soon they end6 ,this is a kind of false wit once much in request4 ,jarvis1 the translator of ,don ,quixote1 calls it glossing--upon what authority ,i know not4 ,in the first chapter of the second book of the second volume may be found a text and gloss--with this difference from ,quarles's1 that the text is introduced at the end of the stanza and not at the beginning4 ,it is impossible to avoid smiling at the pains he must have taken to preserve the form of the stanza--in the third he is obliged to have the assistance of figures1 or his line would have been too long2 and after all his trouble there must be some for the reader before he has calculated how much 8#ab moons1 twice #e times told10 are----in the rest1 to say the truth1 it is not so apparent4 ,if this pyramidical stanza prevents you from attending to the poetry1 it is easily put in another--of the two first lines make one2 and the false wit immediately vanishes4--,i hope ,quarles's ghost vanished before ,i proposed the alteration4 ,i have1 like a prudent caterer1 reserved the best thing for the last4 ,it is the twelfth emblem of the third book4 ,the subject of the print is a figure trying to escape from the ,divine vengeance which is pursuing in thunders3 the motto----,o that thou wouldst hide me in the grave1 that thou wouldst keep me in secret until thy wrath be past6 ,upon this hint he has produced the following excellent poem4 ,ah6 whither shall ,i fly8 what path untrod ,shall ,i seek out to 'scape the flaming rod ,of my offended1 of my angry ,god8 ,where shall ,i sojourn8 what kind sea will hide ,my head from thunder8 where shall ,i abide1 ,until his flames be quench'd or laid aside8 ,what1 if my feet should take their hasty flight1 ,and seek protection in the shades of night8 ,alas6 no shades can blind the ,god of light4 ,what1 if my soul should take the wings of day1 ,and find some desert8 if she spring away ,the wings of vengeance clip as fast as they4 ,what1 if some solid rock should entertain ,my frighted soul8 can solid rocks restrain ,the stroke of ,justice and not cleave in twain8 ,nor sea1 nor shade1 nor shield1 nor rock1 nor cave1 ,nor silent deserts1 nor the sullen grave1 ,where flame-ey'd fury means to smite1 can save4 ,tis vain to flee2 'till gentle mercy shew ,her better eye2 the farther off we go1 ,the swing of ,justice deals the mightier blow4 ,th' ingenuous child1 corrected1 doth not flie ,his angry mother's hand1 but clings more nigh1 ,and quenches with his tears her flaming eye4 ,great ,god6 there is no safety here below2 ,thou art my fortress1 thou that seem'st my foe1 ',tis thou that strik'st the stroke1 must guard the blow4 ,six stanzas1 which though very good1 yet being of less merit than the rest are omitted4 ,it is obvious that he had the #acith psalm in his eye1 of which he has made great use4 ,the alarm at the beginning--the searching all nature for shelter--the impossibility of being hid from the author of nature--and the acquiescing at last in what was unavoidable1 are grand and natural ideas4 ,the motion of the wings of vengeance--and the recapitulation of the places where protection was fought in vain--are instances of expression rarely met with4 ,but what praise is sufficient for the simile in the eighth stanza8 ,to say only that it is apposite and beautiful1 comes very short of my sensations when ,i read it4 ,let me confess honestly that ,i think it one of the noblest instances of the sublime pathetic6 ,as a part of a religious poem it is proper1 in a high degree2 the scripture frequently considering our connection with the ,almighty as that of children with a parent4--,as a pictoresque image it is distinct1 natural1 and affecting4--,but to remark all the beauties of this poem would be to comment on every stanza4----,you will have more pleasure in finding them out yourself4 ,now what think you1 is not this rather too good to be lost8 ,was it from never reading ,quarles1 or taking his character from common report1 that ,pope considered his productions as the very bathos of poetry8 ,poor ,quarles6 thou hast had many enemies1 and art now forgotten4 ,but thou hast at last found a friend--not equal1 indeed1 to the task of turning a tide that has been flowing for a hundred years against thee--not equal to his wishes for giving thee and every neglected genius his due share of reputation--but barely capable of laying the first stone of thy temple of fame1 which he leaves to be compleated by abler and by stronger hands6 ,farewel4 ,p4 ,s4 ,i had forgot to inform you that these emblems were imitated in ,latin by one ,herman ,hugo1 a ,jesuit4 ,the first edition of them was in #afbc1 soon after the appearance of ,quarles2 and the book was reprinted for the ninth time in #afgf1 which last is the date of the copy in my possession4 ,how many more editions there have been1 ,i know not4 ,he makes no acknowledgement to ,quarles1 and speaks of his own work as original4 ,as a specimen of his manner1 take the following1 which is intended as an imitation of 8,ah whither shall ,i fly80 ,quis mihi securis dabit hospita tecta latebris8 ,tecta1 quibus dextr server ab igne tu8 ,heu6 tuus ante oculos quoties furor ille recursat1 ,nulla mihi toties fida sat antra reor4 ,tunc ego secretas1 umbracula frondea1 sylvas1 ,lustrque solivagis opto relicta feris4 ,tunc ego vel mediis timidum caput abdere terris1 ,aut maris exes condere rupe velim1 c4 ,it reads but poorly after the other1 though ,i have given you the best of it4 ,he afterwards by degrees quits his subject1 runs into stuff about ,cain and ,jonah1 and has entirely omitted the simile4 99 99 99 99 99 ,you express an inclination to publish my letters4 ,you should consider that the date of some of them is so far back1 that many allusions to passing incidents which might engage attention at the time1 now must fail of their effect4----,people are spoken of as living1 who are dead----and many other objections might be enumerated4 ,however1 you are at liberty to do what you please with them4 ,those which are of a private nature1 your prudence will1 of course1 keep to yourself3 and for the others1 where some conjectures are hazarded which may be thought different from received opinions2 the writer wishes them to be read with the same impartiality they were written----though he is well apprized of the difficulty of dispossessing old opinions4 ,,finis4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 - ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 - ,text enclosed by equals is in gespertt 7gespertt74 - ,blank pages have been removed4 - ,silently corrected typographical errors4 - ,spelling and hyphenation variations made consistent4 - ,page #hg1 end of letter ,,xxvii3 ,the symbol appears to be ,u#a;,,fde ,greek ,dasia 7rough breathing diacritical mark for an #8h' sound before a vowel7 and ,oxia 7acute accent74 - ,formatting of a dialogue in letter ,,xxx made more consistent4