scent, to guide us to the most advantageous declivities, and habituate our imagination to a depth of thinking. Many there are that can fall, but few can arrive at the felicity of falling gracefully; much more for a man who is amongst the lowest of the Creation, at the very bottom of the Atmosphere, to descend beneath himself, is not fo eafy a tafk unless he calls in Art to his affiftance. It is with the Bathos as with small Beer, which is indeed vapid and infipid, if left at large, and let abroad; but being by our Rules confined and well stopt, nothing grows fo frothy, pert, and bouncing. The Sublime of Nature is the Sky, the Sun, Moon, Stars, etc. The Profund of Nature is Gold, Pearls, precious Stones, and the Treafures of the Deep, which are ineftimable as unknown. But all that lies between these, as Corn, Flower, Fruits, Animals, and Things, for the meer ufe of Man, are of mean price, and fo common as not to be greatly esteemed by the curious. It being certain that any thing, of which we know the true ufe, cannot be invaluable Which affords a folution, why common Sense hath either been totally despised, or held in small repute, by the greatest modern Critics and Authors. Of the true Genius for the Profund, and by what it is constituted. A ND I will venture to lay it down, as the firft Maxim and Corner-Stone of this our Art; that whoever would excel therein, must ftudioufly avoid, deteft, and turn his head from all the ideas, ways, and workings of that peftilent Foe to Wit, and Destroyer of fine Figures, which is known by the Name of Common Senfe. His bufinefs must be to contract the true Gout de travers; and to acquire a moft happy, uncommon, unaccountable Way of Thinking. He is to confider himself as a Grotefque painter, whose works would be spoiled by an imitation of nature, or uniformity of defign. He is to mingle bits of the most various, or difcordant kinds, landscape, hiftory, portraits, animals, and connect them with a great deal of flourishing, by heads or tails, as it fhall please his imagination, and contribute to his principal end, which is to glare by ftrong oppofition of colours, and furprize by contrariety of images, Serpentes avibus geminentur, tig, ibus agni. Hor. His defign ought to be like a labyrinth, out of which no body can get clear but himself. And fince the great Art of Poetry is to mix Truth with Fiction, in order to join the Credible with the Surprizing; our author shall produce the Credible, by painting Nature in her lowest fimplicity; and the Surprizing, by contradicting common opinion. In the very Manners he will affect the Marvellous; he will draw Achilles with the patience of Job; a Prince talking like a Jack-pudding; a Maid of honour felling bargains; a footman speaking like a philofopher; and a fine Gentleman like a fcholar. Whoever is converfant in modern Plays, may make a most noble collection of this kind, and at the fame time, form a complete body of modern Ethics and Morality. Nothing feemed more plain to our great authors than that the world had long been weary of natural things. How much the contrary are formed to please, is evident from the univerfal applaufe daily given to the admirable entertainments of Harlequin and Magicians on our stage. When an audience behold a coach turned into a wheel-barrow, a conjurer into an old woman, or a man's head where his heels fhould be; how are they struck with transport and delight? Which can only be imputed to this caufe, that each object is changed into that which hath been fuggefted to them by their own low ideas before. He ought therefore to render himself master of this happy and anti-natural way of thinking to fuch a degree, as to be able, on the appearance of any object, to furnish his imagination with ideas infinitely below it. And his eyes should be like unto the wrong end of a perspective glass, by which all the objects of nature are leffened. For Example; when a true genius looks upon the Sky, he immediately catches the idea of a piece of blue luteftring, or a child's mantle. The Skies, whofe fpreading volumes fcarce have room, If he looks upon a tempeft, he shall have an image of a troubled bed, and defcribe a fucceeding calm in this manner: с The Ocean, joy'd to fee the tempeft fled, New lays his waves, and fmooths his ruffled bed. The Triumphs and Acclamations of the Angels, at the Creation of the Universe, prefent to his imagination "the Rejoicings of the Lord Mayor's Day;" and he beholds thofe glorious beings celebrating the Creator, by huzzaing, making illuminations, and flinging fquibs, crackers and fky-rockets. 66 d Glorious Illuminations, made on high, Prince Arthur, p. 41, 42. ‹ P. 14. d P. 50. N. B. In order to do Juftice to thefe great Poets, our Citations are taken from the best, the laft, and most correct Editions of their Works. That which we use of Prince Arthur, is in Duodecimo, 1714. The fourth Edition rev.fed. P. In just degrees, and shining order plac'd, If a man who is violently fond of Wit, will facrifice to that paffion his friend or his God, would it not be a fhame, if he who is fmit with the love of the Bathos fhould not facrifice to it all other tranfitory regards? You shall hear a zealous Proteftant Deacon invoke a Saint, and modeftly befeech her to do more for us than Providence: * Look down, blefs'd faint, with pity then look down, Shed on this land thy kinder influence, And guide us through the mists of providence, Neither will he, if a goodly Simile come in his way, fcruple to affirm himself an eye-witness of things never yet beheld by man, or never in exiftence; as thus, Thus have 1 feen in Araby the bless'd, A Phenix couch'd upon her fun'ral neft. But to convince you that nothing is fo great which a marvellous genius, prompted by this e A. Philips on the death of Queen Mary. f Anon. VOL. VI. P |