Church Government,* "I am meditating what king or knight BEFORE THE CONQUEST might be chosen, in whom to lay the pattern of a Christian hero." But shall I be pardoned for suspecting, that POPE would not have succeeded in his design; that so DIDACTIC a genius would have been deficient in that SUBLIME and PATHETIC, which are the main nerves of the epopea; that he would have given us many elegant descriptions, and many GENERAL characters, well drawn; T2 but "An heroical poem (says Milton, in the above-mentioned manuscript) may be founded somewhere in Alfred's reign, especially at his issuing out of Edelingsey, on the Danes, whose actions are well like those of Ulysses." In Milton's History of England may be seen the story of Brutus here in question; with which he seems pleased, as it suited the romantic turn of his mind. See his MANSUS. Siquando indigenas revocabo in carmina reges, Ipse ego Dardanias Rutupina per æquora puppes, And, particularly, the EPITAPHIUM DAMONIS. * Pag. 24. but would have failed to set before our eyes the REALITY of these objects, and the ACTIONS of these characters: for Homer professedly draws no characters, but gives us to collect them from the looks and behaviour of each person he introduces; that POPE's close and constant reasoning had impaired and crushed the faculty of imagination; that the political reflections, in this piece, would, in all probability, have been more numerous than the affecting strokes of nature; that it would have more resembled the HENRIADE than the ILIAD, or even the GIERUSALEMME LIBERATA; that it would have appeared (if this scheme had been executed) how much, and for what reasons, the man that is skilful in painting modern life, and the most secret foibles and follies of his contemporaries, is, THEREFORE, disqualified for representing the ages of heroism, and that simple life, which alone epic poetry can gracefully describe; in a word, that this composition would have shewn more of the PHILOSOPHER than of the POET. Add to all this, that it was to have been written in rhyme ;* a circum * Since this was said, it has appeared, that POPE intended to have written this poem in blank verse. a circumstance sufficient of itself alone to overwhelm and extinguish all enthusiasm, and produce endless tautologies and circumlocutions. Are not these suppositions strengthened by what Dr. Warburton* has informed us, namely, that POPE, in this poem, intended to have treated amply "Of ALL that regarded civil regimen, or the science of politics; that the several forms of a republic were here to be examined and explained; together with the several modes of religious worship, as far forth as they affect society;' than which, surely, there could not have been a more improper subject for an epic poem. It is not impertinent to observe, for the sake of those who are fond of the history of literature, and of the human mind in the progress of it, that the very first poem that appeared in France, any thing like an epic poem, was on this identical subject, of Brutus arriving in England. It was written by Master EUSTACHE, so early as in the reign of Louis the Seventh, surnamed the Young, who ascended the throne in the year 1137, and who was the husband of the celebrated Eleonora, T3 * Vol. III. Eleonora, afterwards divorced, and married to our Henry the Second. The author called it, Le ROMAN de Brut. Every piece of poetry was at that time denominated a romance. The Latin language ceased to be regularly spoken in France about the ninth century; and was succeeded by what was called the Romance-tongue, a mixture of the language of the Francs, and of bad Latin. The species of writing, called Romans, began in the tenth century, according to the opinion of the Benedictine fathers,* who have well refuted M. Fleuri and Calmet, who make it less ancient by two hundred years. The poem, or Roman, we are speaking of, is full of wonderful and improbable tales, and supernatural adventures, suited to the taste of so barbarous an age. It is matter of some curiosity, to see a specimen of the style of this eldest of the French poets. This is his exordium: Qui veut ouir, qui veut scavoir, い * Hist. Lit. T. 6, 7. We We may judge, from this passage, of the state of the language. Master Eustache has been particularly careful to mark the time in which he lived and wrote, by his two concluding lines : L'an mil cent cinquante-cinq ans Fit Maistre Eustache ces Romans. was I will take leave to add, that the second poem, now remaining, in the French language, entitled, The Romance of Alexander the Great. It was the confederated work of four authors, famous in their time. Lambert le Court, and Alexander of Paris, sung the exploits of Alexander; Peter de Saint Clost, wrote his will in verse; the writing the will of a hero being then a common topic; and John le Nivelois added a book concerning the manner in which his death was revenged. It is remarkable, that before this time, all the Romans had been composed in verses of eight syllables; but in this piece, the four authors first used verses of TWELVE syllables, as more solemn and majestic. And this was the origin, though but little known, of those verses which T4 |