Lord Marquefs of NORMANBY, Earl of MULGRAVE, &c. and Knight of the Moft Noble Order of the Garter. A Heroick Poem, truly fuch, is undoubtedly the greatest Work which the Soul of Man is capable to perform. The Defign of it, is to form the Mind to He-, roick Virtue by Example; 'tis convey'd in Verfe, that it may delight, while it inftructs: The Action of it is always one, entire, and great. The leaft and mest trivial Epifodes, or under-Actions, which are interwoven in it, are parts either neceffary, or convenient to carry on the main Defign. Either fo neceffary, that without them the Poem must be Imperfect, or fo convenient, that no others can be imagin'd more fuitable to the A 2 place place in which they are. There is nothing to be left void in a firm Building; even the Cavities ought not to be fill'd with Rubbish, which is of a perishable kind, deftructive to the ftrength: But with Brick or Stone, though of lefs Pieces, yet of the fame Nature, and fitted to the Crannies. Even the leaft Portions of them must be of the Epick kind; all things must be Grave, Majestical, and Sublime: Nothing of a Foreign Nature, like the trifling Novels, which Ariftotle and others have inferted in their Poens. By which the Reader is mif-led into another fort of Pleasure, oppofite to that which is defign'd in an Epick Poem. One raises the Soul and hardens it to Virtue, the other foftens it again and unbends it into Vice. One conduces to the Poet's aim, the compleating of his Work; which he is driving on, labouring and haft'ning in every Line: The other flackens his pace, diverts him from his Way, and locks him up like a Knight Errant in an Enchanted Caftle, when he fhould be pursuing his firft Adventure. Statius, as Boffu has well obferv'd, was ambitious of trying his Strength with his Master Virgil, as Virgil had before try'd his with Homer. The Grecian gave the two Romans an Exainple, in the Games which were Celebrated at the Funerals of Patroclus. Virgil imitated the Invention of Homer, but chang'd: the Sports. But both the Greek and Latin Poet, took their Occafions from the Subje&t; though to confefs the Truth, they were both Ornamental, or at beft, convenient parts of it, rather than of neceffity arifing from it. Statius, who through his whole Poem, is noted for want of Con. cut and Judgment; instead of staying, as he might have done, for the Death of Capaneus, Hippomedon, Tydeus, or fome other of his Seven Champions, (who are Heroes all alike) or more properly for the Tragical end of the two Brothers, whofe Exequies the next Succeffor had leifure to perform, when the Siege was rais'd, and in the Interval betwixt the Poet's first Action, and his fecond; went out of his way, as it were on propenfe Malice to commit a Fault. For he took his Opportunity to kill a Royal Infant, by the means of a Serpent, (that Author of all Evil) to make way for thofe Funeral Honours, which he intended for him. Now if this Innocent had been of any Relation to his Thebais; if he had either farther'd or hinder'd the taking of the Town, the Poet might have found fome forryExcufe at leaft, for detaining the Reader from the promis'd Siege. On thefes terms, this Capancus of a . Poet engaged his two Immortal Predeceffors,! and his Success was answerable to his Enter prife. If this Oeconomy must be obferv'd in the minuteft Parts of an Epick Poem, which, to a common Reader, feem to be detach'd from the Body, and almoft independent of it; what Soul, tho' fent into the World with great Advantages of Nature, cultivated with the liberal Arts and Sciences, converfant with Histories of the Dead, and enrich'd with Obfervations on the Living, can be fufficient to inform the whole Body of fo great a Work? I touch here but tranfiently, without any ftrict Method, on fome few of those many Rules of imitating Nature, which Ariftotle drew from Homer's Iliads, and Odyffes, and which he fitted to the Drama; A 3 Drama; furnishing himself alfo with Obferva tions from the Practice of the Theatre, when it flourish'd under Æfchilus, Eurypides, and Sophocles. For the Original of the Stage was from the Epick Poem. Narration, doubtlefs, preceded Acting, and gave Laws to it: What at firft was told Artfully, was, in process of time, represented gracefully to the fight, and hearing. Thofe Episodes of Homer, which were proper for the Stage, the Poets amplify'd each into an Action: Out of his Limbs they form'd their Bodies: What he had Contracted they Enlarg'd: Out of one Hercules were made infinity of Pygmies; yet all endued with humanSouls: For from him, their great Creator, they, have each of them the Divine particulam Aure. They flow'd from him at first, and are at last refolv'd into him. Nor were they only anima ted by him, but their Meafure and Symmetry was owing to him. His one, entire, and great Action was Copied by them according to the Proportions of the Drama: If he finish'd his Orb within the Year, it fuffic'd to teach them, that their Action being lefs, and being alfo lefs diverfify'd wirh Incidents, their Orb, of confequence, must be circumfcrib'd in a lefs com pafs, which they reduc'd, within the limits ei-... ther of a Natural or an Artificial Day. So that as he taught them to amplifie what he had fhorten'd, by the fame Rule apply'd the contrary way, he taught them to fhorten what he had amplifi'd. Tragedy is the miniature of Humane Life; an Epick Poem is the draught at length. Here, my Lord, I must contractalfo, for, before I was aware, I was almost running into a long Digreffion, to prove that there is no fuch 2 |