$128. Lyric Poetry. On PINDAR. Pindar, the great father of lyric poetry, has been the occasion of leading his imitators into some defects. His genius was sublime; his expressions are beautiful and happy; his descriptions picturesque. But finding it a very barren subject to sing the praises of those who had gained the prize in the public games, he is perpetually digressive, and fills up his poems with fables of the gods and heroes, that have little connection either with his subject, or with one another. The ancients admired him greatly; but, as many of the histories of particular families and cities, to which he alludes, are now unknown to us, he is so obscure, partly from his subjects, and partly from his rapid, abrupt manner of treating them, that, notwithstanding the beauty of his expression, our pleasure in reading him is much diminished. One would imagine, that many of his modern imitators thought the best way to catch his spirit, was to imitate his disorder and obscurity. In several of the choruses of Euripides and Sophocles, we have the same kind of lyric poetry as in Pindar, carried on with mor clearness and connection, and at the same time with much sublimity. Ibid. $ 129. On HORACE, as a Lyric Poel. Of all the writers of odes, ancient or modern, there is none that, in point of correctness, harmony, and happy expression, can vie with Horace. He has de. scended from the Pindaric rapture to a more moderate degree of elevation; and joins connected thought, and good sense, with the highest beauties of poetry. He does not often aspire beyond that middle region, which I mentioned as belonging 10 the ode; and those odes, in which he attempts the sublime, are perhaps not always his best. The peculiar character, in which he excels, is grace and elegance; and in this style of composition, no poet has ever attained to a greater perfection than Horace. No poet supports a moral sentiment with more dignity, touches a gay one more happily, or possesses the art of trifling more agreeably, when he chuses to trifle. His language is so fortunate, that with a single word or epithet, he often conveys a whole description to the fancy. Hence he has ever been, and ever will con tinue to be, a favourite author with all persons of taste. Ibid. 130. On CASIMIR, and other modern Lyric Poets. Among the Latin poets of later ages, there have been many imitators of Horace. One of the most distinguished is Casimir, a Polish poet of the last century, who wrote four books of odes. In graceful ease of expression, he is far inferior to the Roman. He oftener affects the sublime; and in the attempt, like other lyric writers, frequently becomes harsh and unnatural. But, on several occasions, he discovers à considerable degree of original genius, and poetical fire. Buchanan, in some of his lyric compositions, is very elegant and classical. Among the French, the odes of Jean Baptiste Rousseau have been much and justly celebrated. They possess great beauty, both of sentiment and expression. They are animated, without being rhapsodical; and are not inferior to any poetical productions in the French language. In our own language, we have several lyric compositions of considerable merit. Dryden's Ode on St. Cecilia, is well known. Mr. Grey is distinguished in some of his odes, both for tenderness and several very beautiful lyric poems are to sublimity; and in Dodsley's Miscellanies, be found. As to professed Pindaric odes, herent, as seldom to be intelligible. Cowthey are, with a few exceptions, so incoley, at all times harsh, is doubly so in his Pindaric compositions. In his Auacreontic odes, he is much happier. They are smooth and elegant; and, indeed, the most agreeable and the most perfect, in their kind, of all Mr. Cowley's poems. Ibid. There is no ode whatever of Horace's, with out great beauties. But though I may be singu lar in my opinion, I cannot help thinking that in some of those odes which have been much ad-131. On the different Kinds of Poetical mired for sublimity (such as Ode iv. Lib. iv. "Qualem ministrum fulminis alitem, &c.") there appears somewhat of a strained and forced effort to be lofty. The genius of this amiable poet shews itself, according to my judgment, to greater advantage, in themes of a more temper rate kind. Composition in the Sacred Books; and of the distinguishing Characters of the chief Writers. 1st. Of the Didactic. tion which we fund in scripture, are chiefly The several kinds of poetical composi the the didactic, elegiac, pastoral, and lyric. Of the didactic species of poetry, the Book of Proverbs is the principal instance. The nine first chapters of that book are highly poetical, adorned with many distinguished graces, and figures of expression. At the 10th chapter, the style is sensibly altered, and descends into a lower strain, which is continued to the end; retaining however that sententious, pointed manner, and that artful construction of period, which distinguishes all the Hebrew poetry. The Book of Ecclesiastes comes likewise under this head; and some of the Psalms, as the 119th in particular. Blair. ed to be accompanied with music, the Old Testament is full. Besides a great number of hymns and songs, which we find scattered in the historical and prophetical books, such as the song of Moses, the song of Deborah, and many others of like nature, the whole book of Psalms is to be considered as a collection of sacred odes. In these, we find the ode exhibited in all the varieties of its form, and sup ported with the highest spirit of lyric poetry; sometimes sprightly, chearful, aud triumphant; sometimes solemn and magnificent; sometimes tender and soft. From these instances, it clearly appears, that there are contained in the holy scriptures 132. Of the Elegiac and Pastoral Poetry full exemplifications of several of the chief kinds of poetical writing. of Scripture. Of elegiac poetry, many very beautiful specimens occur in Scripture; such as the lamentation of David over his friend Jonathan; several passages in the prophetical books; and several of David's Psalms, composed on occasions of distress and mourning. The 42d Psalm, in particular, is, in the highest degree, tender and plaintive. But the most regular and perfect elegiac composition in the Scripture, perhaps in the whole world, is the book, entitled the Lamentations of Jeremiah. As the prophet mourns in that book over the destruction of the Temple, and the Holy City, and the overthrow of the whole state, he assembles all the affecting images which a subject so melancholy could suggest. The composition is uncommonly artificial. By turns the prophet, and the city of Jerusalem, are introduced, as pouring forth their sorrows; and in the end, a chorus of the people send up the most earnest and plaintive supplications to God. The lines The lines of the original too, as may, in part, appear from our translation, are longer than is usual in the other kinds of Hebrew poetry; and the melody is rendered thereby more flowing, and better adapted to the queri monious strain of elegy. in its form, it is a dramatic pastoral, or a Ibid. f 134. A Diversity of Style and Manner in the different Composers of the Sacred Books. On JoB, DAVID, and ISAIAH. Among the different composers of the sacred books, there is an evident diversity of style and manner; and to trace their different characters in this view, will contribute not a little towards our reading their writings with greater advantage. The most eminent of the sacred poets are, the author of the Book of Job, David, and Isaiah. As the compositions of David are of the lyric kind, there is a greater variety of style and manner in his works, than in those of the other two. The manner in which, considered merely as a poet, David chiefly excels, is the pleasing, the soft, and the tender. In his Psalms, there are many lofty and sublime passages; but, in strength of description, he yields to Job: in sublimity, he yields to Isaiah. It is a sort of a temperate grandeur, for which David is chiefly distinguished; and to this he always soon returns, when, upon some occasions, he rises above it. The psalms of the in which he touches us most, are those in righteous, or the goodness of God; ex• The Song of Solomon affords us a high presses the tender breathings of a devout exemplication of pastoral poetry, Con- mind, or sends up moving and affectionate sidered with respect to its spiritual mean- supplications to heaven. Isaiah is, without ing, it is undoubtedly a mystical allegory; exception, the most sublime of all poets. This is abundantly visible in our translaperpetual dialogue between personages in tion; and, what is a material circumthe character of shepherds: and, suitably stance, none of the books of scripture appear to that form, it is full of rural and pastoral to have been more happily translated than the writings of this prophet. Majesty is 133. On the Lyric Poetry of Scripture. commanding, and more uniformly supporthis reigning character; a majesty more Of lyric poetry, or that which is intended, than is to be found among the rest of images, from beginning to end. Ibid. the " $ 135. On JEREMIAH. When we compare him with the rest of the poetical prophets, we immediately see in Jeremiah a very different genius. Isaiah employs himself generally on magnificent subjects. Jeremiah seldom discovers any disposition to be sublime, and inclines always to the tender and elegiac. Ezekiel, in poetical grace and elegance, is much inferior to them both; but, he is distinguished by a character of uncommon force and ardour. To use the elegant expressions of Bishop Lowth, with regard to this Prophet:-"Est atrox, vehemens, tragicus; in sensibus, fervidus, acerbus, indignabundus; in imaginibus, fecundus, “truculentus, et nonnunquam ponè defor"mis; in dictione, grandiloquus, gravis, austerus, et interdùm incultus; frequens “in repetitionibus, non decoris aut gratiæ "causa, sed ex indignatione et violentia. "Quicquid susceperit tractandum, id se "dulo persequitur; in eo unicè hæret de"fixus; a proposito raro deflectens. In "cæteris, a plerisque vatibus fortassè superatus; sed in eo genere, ad quod vi“detur a natura unicè comparatus, nimirum, vi, pondere, impetu, granditate, "nemo unquam cum superavit." The same learned writer compares Isaiah to Homer, Jeremiah to Simonides, and EzeEschylus. Most of the book of Isaiah is strictly poetical; of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, not above one half can be held to belong to poetry. Among the minor prophets, Hosea, Joel, Micah, Habakkuk, and especially Nahum, are distinguished for poetical spirit, In the prophecies of Daniel and Jonah, there is no poetry. which is a part of Arabia; and the image- The poetry, however, of the book of. Job, is not only equal to that of any other of the sacred writings, but is superior to them all, except those of Isaiah alone. As Isaiah is the most sublime, David the most pleasing and tender, so Job is the most descriptive, of all the inspired poets. A peculiar glow of fancy, and strength of description, characterise the author. No writer whatever abounds so much in metaphors. He may be said, not to describe, but to render visible, whatever he treats of. A variety of instances might be given. Let us remark only those strong and lively colours, with which, in the following passages, taken from the 18th and 20th chapters of his book, he paints the condition of the wicked: observe how rapidly his figures rise before us; and what a deep impression, at the same time, they leave on the imagination. "Knowest thou not this "of old, since man was placed upon the "earth, that the triumphing of the wicked "is short, and the joy of the hypocrite, "but for a moment? Though his excel "lency mount up to the heavens, and his "head reach the clouds, yet he shall perish " for ever. He shall fly away as a dream, "and shall not be found; yea, he shall be "chased away, as a vision of the night. "The eye also which saw him, shall see "him no more; they which have seen "him, shall say, where is he?-He shall "suck the poison of asps, the viper's 66 tongue shall slay him. In the fulness of 136. On the Book of Jos. "his sufficiency, he shall be in straits; It only now remains to speak of the 66 every hand shall come upon him. He book of Job. It is known to be extremely "shall flee from the iron weapon, and ancient; generally reputed the most an"the bow of steel shall strike him through. cient of all the poetical books; the au"all darkness shall be hid in his secret thor uncertain. It is remarkable, that this "places. A fire not blown shall consume book has no connection with the affairs or "him. The heaven shall reveal his ini-. manners of the Jews, or Hebrews. The 66 quity, and the earth shall rise up against scene is laid in the land of Uz, or Idumæa," him. The increase of his house shall "depart kiel to Ibid. Gg3 86 "depart. His goods shall flow away in "the day of wrath. The light of the wicked shall be put out; the light shali "be dark in his tabernacle. The steps "of his strength shall be straitened, and "his own counsel shall cast him down. "For he is cast into a net, by his own *feet. He walketh upon a snare. Terrors shall make him afraid on every side; and the robber shall prevail against him. Brimstone shall be scattered upon his "habitation. His remembrance shall pe"rish from the earth, and he shall have "( no name in the street, He shall be dri "ven from light into darkness. They that come after him shall be astonished at his day. He shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty." Blair, 137. On the Iliad of HOMER. The subject of the Iliad must unquestionably be admitted to be, in the main, happily chosen. In the days of Homer, ro object could be more splendid and dig nified than the Trojan war. So great a confederacy of the Grecian states, under one leader, and the ten years siege which they carried on against Troy, must have spread far abroad the renown of many military exploits, and interested all Greece in the traditions concerning the heroes who had most eminently signalized themselves. Upon these traditions, Homer grounded his poem; and though he lived, s is generally believed, only two or three centuries after the Trojan war, yet, through the want of written records, tradition must, by his time, have fallen into the degree of obscurity most proper for poetry; and have left him at full liberty to mix as much fable as he pleased, with the remains of true history. He has not chosen, for his subject, the whole Trojan war: but, with great judgment, he has selected one part of it, the quarrel betwixt Achilles and Agamemnon, and the events to which that quarrel gave rise; which, though they take up forty-seven days only, yet include the most interesting, and most critical period of the war. By this management, he has given greater unity to what would have otherwise been an unconnected history of battles. He has gained one hero, or principal character, Achilles, who reigns throughout the work; and he has shewn the pernicious effect of discord among confederated princes. At the same time, I admit that Homer is less fortunate in his subject than Virgil. The plan of the Eneid includes a greater compass and a more agreeable diversity of events: whereas the Iliad is almost entirely filled with battles. The praise of high invention has in every age been given to Homer, with the greatest reason. The prodigious number of incidents, of speeches, of characters divine and human, with which he abounds; the surprising variety with which he has diversified his battles, in the wounds and deaths, and little history-pieces of almost all the persons slain, discover an invention next to boundless. But the praise of judgment is, in my opinion, no less due to Homer, than that of invention. His story is all along conducted with great art. He rises upon us gradually; his heroes are brought out, one after another, to be objects of our attention. The distress thickens, as the poem advances; and every thing is so contrived as to aggrandize Achilles, and to render him, as the poet intended he should be, the capital figure. But that wherein Homer excels all wri ters, is the characteristical part. Here he is without a rival. His lively and spirited exhibition of characters, is, in a great measure, owing to his being so dramatic a wri ter, abounding every where with dialogue and conversation. There is much more dialogue in Homer than in Virgil; or, indeed, than in any other poet. Ibid. 138. On the Odyssey of HOMER. My observations, hitherto, have been made upon the Iliad only. It is necessary to take some notice of the Odyssey also. Longinus's criticism upon it is not without foundation, that Homer may, in this poem, be compared to the setting sun, whose grandeur still remains, without the heat of his meridian beams. It wants the vigour and sublimity of the Iliad; yet, at the same time, possesses so many beauties, as to be justly entitled to high praise. It is a very amusing poem, and has much greater variety than the Iliad; it contains many interesting stories, and beautiful descriptions. We see every where the same descriptive and dramatic genius, and the same fertility of invention, that appears in the other work. It descends indeed from the dignity of gods, and heroes, and warlike achievements; but in reconipence, we have more pleasing pictures of ancient manners. In stead of that ferocity which reigns in the Iliad, the Odyssey presents us with the most most amiable images of hospitality and humanity; entertains us with many a wonderful adventure, and many a landscape of nature; and instructs us by a constant vein of morality and virtue, which runs through the poem. Blair. 139. On the Beaulies of VIRGIL. Virgil possesses beauties which have justly drawn the admiration of ages, and which, to this day, hold the balance in equilibrium between his fame and that of Homer. The principal and distinguishing excellency of Virgil, and which, in my opinion, he possesses beyond all poets, is tenderness. Nature had endowed him with exquisite sensibility; he felt every affecting circumstance in the scenes he describes; and by a single stroke, he knows how to reach the heart. This in an epic poem, is the merit next to sublimity; and puts it in an author's power to render his composition extremely interesting to all readers. 140. On the comparative Merit of HoMER and VIRGIL. Upon the whole, as to the comparative merit of those two great princes of epic poetry, Homer and Virgil; the former must undoubtedly be admitted to be the greater genius; the latter, to be the more correct writer. Homer was an original in his art, and discovers both the beauties and the defects, which are to be expected in an original author, compared with those who succeed him; more boldness, more nature and ease, more sublimity and force; but greater irregularities and negligences in composition. Virgil has, all along, kept his eye upon Homer; in many places he has not so much imitated, as he has literally translated him. The description of the storm, for instance, in ne first Eneid, and Eneas's speech pon that occasion, are translations from the fifth book of the Odyssey; not to mention almost all the similes of Virgil, which are no other than copies of those of Homer. The pre-eminence in invention, therefore, must, beyond doubt, be ascribed to Homer. As to the pre-eminence in judgment, though many critics are disposed to give it to Virgil, yet, in my opinion, it hangs doubtful. In Homer, we discern all the Greek vivacity; in Virgil, all the Roman stateliness. Homer's imagination is by much the most rich and copious; Virgil's the most chaste and correct. The strength of the former lies, in his power of warming the fancy; that of the latter, in his power of touching the heart. Homer's style is more simple and animated; Virgil's more elegant and uniform. The first has, on many occasions, a sublimity to which the latter never attains; but the latter, in return, never sinks below a certain degree of epic dignity, which cannot so clearly be pronounced of the former. Not, however, to detract from the admiration due to both these great poets, most of Homer's defects may reasonably be imputed, not to his genius, but to the manners of the age in which he lived; and for the feeble passages of the Eneid, this excuse ought to be admitted, that the Eneid was left an unfinished work, The chief beauty of this kind, in the Iliad, is the interview of Hector with Andromache. But, in the Eneid, there are many such. The second book is one of the greatest master-pieces that ever was executed by any hand; and Virgil seems to have put forth there the whole strength of his genius, as the subject afforded a variety of scenes, both of the awful and tender kind. The images of horror, presented by a city burned and sacked in the night, are finally mixed with pathetic and affecting incidents. Nothing, in any poet, is more beautifully described than the death of old Priam; and the family-pieces of Eneas, Anchises, and Creusa, are as tender as can be conceived. In many passages of the Æneid, the same pathetic spirit shines, and they have been always the favourite passages in that work. The fourth book, for instance, relating the unhappy passion and death of Dido, has been always most justly admired, and abounds with beauties of the highest kind. The interview of Eneas with Andromache and Helenus, in the third book; the episodes of Pallas and Evander, of Nisus and Euryalus, of Lausus and Mezentius, in the Italian wars, are all striking instances of the poet's power of raising the tender emotions. For we must observe, that though the Æneid be an unequal poem, and, in some places, languid, yet there are beauties scattered through it all; and not a few, even in the last six books, The best Ibid, To the admirers of polit learning the Lectures of Dr. Blair, at larg, are strongly recom Gg 4 mended |