_Design, Thought, and Expression,
in Prose and Verse._
I am very far from any Conceit of my own Ability, to treat of so nice a
Subject as this, in a Manner worthy of it; but having frequently
observed what Errors have been committed by both Writers and Readers for
want of a right Judgement, I could not help collecting some loose Hints
I had by me, and putting them into a little Form, to shew rather what I
would do than what I can do; and to excite some happier Genius, to give
us better Lights than we have hitherto been led by, which is said with
great Sincerity, and without the least Mixture of Vanity or
Affectation.
I shall not, in this _Essay_, enter into the philosophical Part of
Criticism which _Corneille_ complains of, and that _Aristotle_ and his
Commentators have treated of Poetry, rather as _Philosophers_ than
_Poets_. I shall not attempt to give Reasons why Thoughts are _sublime_,
_noble_, _delicate_, _agreeable_, and the like, but content my self with
producing Examples of every Kind of right Thinking, and leave it to
Authors of more Capacity and Leisure, to treat the Matter a _Fond_, and
teach us to imitate our selves what we admire in others.
_Aristotle_, _Horace_, _Bossu_, _Boileau_, _Dacier_, and several other
Criticks, have directed us right in the Rules of Epick and Dramatick
Poetry, and _Rapin_ has done the same as to _History_, and other Parts
of polite Learning. Several Attempts have been made in _England_ to
instruct us, as well as the _French_ have been instructed; but far from
striking out any new Lights, our _Essays_ are infinitely short of the
Criticisms of our Neighbours. They teach us nothing which is not to be
found there, and give us what they take thence curtailed and imperfect.
'Tis true, they have drest up their Rules in Verse, and have succeeded
in it very well. There is something so just and beautiful in my Lord
_Roscommon_'s Essay and Translation of _Horace_'s _Ars Poetica_, as
excels any Thing in _French_ within the like Compass. I have read the
late Duke of _Buckingham_'s Essay very often, but I don't think it such
a perfect Piece as _Dryden_ represents it, in his long and tedious
Dedication to that noble Lord before the _Æneis_. There are many Things
very well thought in it, and they do not seem to be much the better for
the Poetry; which is so prosaick, that if the Rhimes were pared away, it
would be reduced to downright Prose. Indeed _Horace_'s Epistle to the
_Piso's_ is not much more poetick; and I do not think, that the modern
Criticks, like the Oracles of Old, give the greater Sanction to their
Rules, for that they are put into Rhime.
I dare not say any Thing of the last _Essay_ on _Criticism_ in Verse,
but that if any more curious Reader has discovered in it something new,
which is not in _Dryden_'s _Prefaces_, _Dedications_, and his _Essay_ on
_Dramatick Poetry_, not to mention the _French_ Criticks, I should be
very glad to have the Benefit of the Discovery.
I was strangely surprised to meet with such a Passage, as what follows,
in the Writings of so good an Author as Sir _Robert Howard_. _Preface_
to Duke of _Lerma_: "In the Difference of Tragedy and Comedy, there can
be no Determination but by the _Taste_; and whoever would endeavour to
like or dislike by the Rules of others, he will be as unsuccessful as if
he should try to be perswaded into a Power of believing, not what he
must, but what others direct him to believe."
Thus are _Aristotle_, _Horace_, and all that have commented on them;
thus are _Boileau_, the Lord _Roscommon_, the Duke of _Bucks_, and all
the modern Criticks, confounded with a Word or two, and the Rules of
Writing rendered useless and ridiculous.
The Rules laid down by those great Criticks are not to be valu'd,
because they are given by _Aristotle_, _Horace_, &c. but because they
are in Nature and in Truth. _Homer_, _Sophocles_, and _Euripides_, wrote
before _Aristotle_, and the Observations he made upon their Poems, were
to shew us how they succeeded by a happy Imitation of Nature, and
without such Imitation there can be no Poetry; but according to Sir
_Robert Howard_'s Assertion, that only which a Man likes is good; and if
you are pleas'd with seeing or hearing any Thing unnatural or even
monstruous,
_A Woman's Head joyn'd to a Fishes Tail;_
it is preferable to what is just and true, to the _Venus_ of _Medicis_,
or the most perfect _Madonna_ in _Italy_. Thus a wrong Taste is as good
as a right one, and the Smell of a Pole-cat to be preferr'd to that of a
_Civet_, if a Man's Nose is so irregular. After this Rate, there never
was a Poet who could write up to the _Frenchman_'s Ladder-dance, or
_Rich_'s Harlequin; and whereas Sir _Robert_ says, we may as well
believe, because others do, as judge, because _Aristotle_, _Horace_, &c.
do, there is no Agreement in the Proposition, or it is not rightly
stated; for we do not judge so because _Aristotle_ and _Horace_ did so
judge; but because it is in Nature and in Truth, and they first shew'd
us the Way to find it out.
Criticism is so far from being well understood by us _Englishmen_, that
it is generally mistaken to be an Effect of Envy, Jealousy, and Spleen;
an invidious Desire to find Faults only to discredit the Author, and
build a Reputation on the Ruin of his.
One has great Reason to think so, when the Critick looks only on one
Side; when he hunts after little Slips and Negligences, and will not, or
cannot see, what is beautiful and praise-worthy. If an historical or
poetical Performance can no sooner acquire Applause, than he falls upon
it without Mercy, neglects every Thing commendable in it, and skims off
the Filth that rises on the Top of it; one may be sure his Jealousy is
piqu'd, and he is alarm'd for fear every Encrease of Honour to another
should be a Diminution of his own Glory; such Sort of Criticism is
easily learnt. A Wen or Mole in the Face is sooner perceiv'd than the
Harmony of Features, and the fine Proportion of Beauty; or, as _Dryden_
says,
_Errours like Straws upon the Surface flow,
He who would search for Pearls must dive below._
This Thought is borrow'd from the Lord _Bacon_; who, speaking of Notions
and Inferences what may be applied to Families, says, _Time is like a
River in which Metals and solid Substances sink, while Chaff and Straw
swim on the Surface_. Such borrowing as _Dryden_'s is highly
commendable; he has paid back what he borrowed with Interest, and it can
by no Means deserve the Scandal of _Plagiarism_. I cannot doubt, but Mr.
_Addison_ in the sublime Thought, where he represents the Duke of
_Marlborough_ in the Heat of the War:
_Rides in the Whirlwind, and directs the Storm;_
did nor forget these two Lines of _Boileau_ to the King:
_Serene himself the stormy War he guides,
And o'er the Battle like a God presides._
I shall all along, through this Discourse, take the Liberty to pass from
one Subject to another as the Hint offers, without any Method, according
to the Freedom of _Essays_. Mr. _Dryden_ excuses this Freedom, by the
Example of _Horace_'s Epistle to the _Piso's_, which is immethodical and
I must excuse my self by Mr. _Dryden_'s--
The Taste and Appetite of these straw Criticks, may justly be compar'd
to Ravens and Crows, who neglecting clean Food, are always searching
after Carrion.
_Horace_'s Rule is very well worth observing, when we are about to give
Judgement on a Poem or History, where the _Will_ is not concern'd:
Ubi plura nitent in Carmine non ego paucis
Offendor maculis, quas aut incuria fudit,
Aut humana parum cavit natura.
_When in a Poem most are shining Thoughts,
I'm not offended if I find some Fau'ts;
Such as are Slips of Negligence, or where
The Poet may through humane Frailty erre._
As it is much easier to discern Blemishes than Beauties, so is it to
censure than to commend, as the Duke of _Buckingham_ tells us:
_Yet whatsoe'er is by vain Criticks thought,
Praising is harder much than finding Fau't:
In homely Pieces ev'n the_ Dutch _excel_,
Italians _only can draw Beauty well_.
Such Criticks need not be in Pain, if a Poem or History makes its Way in
the World a little; if it is not good, it will lose Ground of it self
faster than it got it. If imperfect Pieces have gain'd Credit, and kept
it for some Time, it was not for what was bad in them, but what, if not
really good, was at least agreeable. _Dryden_'s Translation of _Virgil_
was generally liked for the Diction and Versification, though it was
dislik'd on Account of Equality and Truth; and to have made a _Critick_
upon it, as _Milbourn_ did, without doing justice to his Numbers and
Language, shew'd the Spirit of the Man was more engaged in it than his
Judgement. All Criticisms on _Dryden_'s Language and Numbers are in
Defiance of _Horace_'s Rule above-mention'd, because there is no Body
but knows that it was impossible for _Dryden_ to make an ill Verse, or
to want an apt and musical Word, if he took the least Care about it. I
could very easily mark out a thousand Slips and Negligences of that Kind
in his _Virgil_; yet for all that, there are more good Verses in that
Translation than in any other, if Mr. _Pope_'s _Homer_ is not to be
excepted.
It has been often said by very good Judges, that _Cato_ was no proper
Subject for a Dramatick Poem: That the Character of a Cynick
Philosopher, is very inconsistent with the Hurry and Tumult of Action
and Passion, which are the Soul of Tragedy. That the ingenious Author
miscarried in the Plan of his Work, but supported it by the Dignity, the
Purity, the Beauty, and the Justness of the Sentiments and the Diction.
This was so much the Opinion of Mr. _Maynwaring_, who was generally
allow'd to be the best Critick of our Time, that he was against bringing
the Play upon the Stage, and it lay by unfinish'd many Years. Mr.
_Maynwaring_ highly approv'd of the Sentiments and the Diction, but did
not fall in with the Design. That it was play'd at last was owing to Mr.
_Hughes_, who wrote the _Siege of Damascus_, a Tragedy. He had read the
Four Acts, which were finished, and rightly thought it would be of
Service to the Publick, to have it represented at the latter End of
Queen _Ann_'s Reign, when the old _English_ Spirit of Liberty was as
likely to be lost as it had ever been since the Conquest. He endeavour'd
to bring Mr. _Addison_ into his Opinion, which he did so far as to
procure his Consent, that it should be acted if Mr. _Hughes_ would write
the last Act, and he offer'd him the Scenary for his Assistance,
excusing his not finishing it himself on Account of some other
Avocations. He prest Mr. _Hughes_ to do it so earnestly, that he was
prevail'd upon and set about it. But a Week after, seeing Mr. _Addison_
again with an Intention to communicate to him what he had thought of it,
he was agreeably surpris'd at his producing some Papers, where near half
of the Act was written by the Author himself, who took Fire at the Hint
that it would be serviceable, and upon a second Reflection went thorough
with the Fifth Act: Not that he was diffident of Mr. _Hughes_'s Ability,
but knowing that no Man could have so perfect a Notion of his Design as
himself, who had been so long and so carefully thinking of it. I was
told this by Mr. _Hughes_, and I tell it to shew that it was not for the
_Love_ Scenes, that Mr. _Addison_ consented to have his Tragedy acted,
but to support the old _Roman_ and _English_ Publick Spirit, which was
then so near being suppressed by Faction and Bigotry. The most cunning
of their Leaders were sensible of it, and therefore very dexterously
stole away the Merit of the Poem, by applauding the Poet, and
patronizing the Action and Actors. It is therefore obvious, that a
severe Critick may find a Colour for his Severity, with Respect to the
_Design_ of the Play, but that will not hinder its captivating every one
that sees or reads it. The Graces and Excellencies, both of Thought and
Expression, do much more deserve our Admiration and Applause, than the
Deficiency in the Fable deserves Censure. However, as to _Dryden_'s
_Virgil_ and _Cato_, ask those that admire the one or the other what it
is that pleases them? And I doubt it will be found to be the very
Places, which should have most displeased, where _Dryden_ offended most
against the Character of Epick Poetry by imitating _Ovid_'s Softness,
and an eternal _Jeu des Mots_, _Playing upon Words_, and where _Cato_
suspends the Action and Passion of the Scene to teach the Audience,
Philosophy and Morality.
It is common for the most discreet and delicate Authors to take Care of
themselves, when they are treating of any of the Sciences. You will
always find the Divine, the Lawyer, the Mathematician, the Astrologer,
the Chymist, the Mechanick, _&c._ reserving to themselves the Merit of
their particular Sciences when they are discoursing of the Arts in
general. A merry Instance of this in the _Astrologer_ is mention'd by
the very learned _Gregory_ out of _Albumazer_, who asserted, that all
Religions were govern'd by the Planets; the _Mahometan_ by _Venus_, the
_Jewish_ by _Saturn_, and the _Christian_ by the _Sun_: Nay, he adds,
that one _Guido Bonatus_ a _Gymnosophist_ affirms in his Parallells,
that _Christ himself was an Astrologer, and made use of Elections_. The
_Spectator_, with all his Modesty, has discover'd something of this
Self-love in that of the Sciences, and could not help giving into this
Infirmity. Every one knows what a fine Talent he had for Writing, and
particularly how beautiful his Imagination was, and how polite his
Language. Himself was not a Stranger to it; and we therefore read in the
_Spectator_, Nº 291; _I might further observe, that there is not a_
Greek _or_ Latin _Critick, who has not shewn, even in the Stile of his
Criticisms, that he was Master of all the Elegance and Delicacy of his
native Language_. Here does this excellent Author forbid any one's Claim
to the Character of a Critick, who is not like himself Master of the
Delicacy and Elegance of his native Tongue; though I am apt to believe,
that as a Man may be a very good Judge of Painting without being
himself a Painter, so he may make very good Criticisms in Poetry and
Eloquence, without being a Poet or an Orator. What would have become of
our famous Critick _Rymer_, whom Mr. _Dryden_ has so much commended, and
so much abused, if his Criticisms must not pass, on Account of his not
being Master of the Elegance and Delicacy of our Language, as it does
not appear he was by his Translation of OVID's Epistle from _Penelope_
to _Ulysses_.
_Here skulk'd_ Ulysses.
_Your Sword how_ Dolon _no nor_ Rhesus _'scap'd,
Banter'd the One, this taken as he napp'd.
Whatever Skippers hither come ashore,
For thee I ask and ask them o'er and o'er.
Perhaps to her your dowdy Wife define
Who cares no more, so that her Cupboard shine:
Who revel in your House without Controul,
And eat and waste your Means our Blood and Soul._
The _Bantring_ and _Napping_, the _Skipper_, the _Dowdy Wife_, the
_Cupboard_, the _Means_, and the _Blood_ and _Soul_, agree admirably
with the Royal Characters of King _Ulysses_ and Queen _Penelope_, and
the courtly Manner of _Ovid_. _Radcliff_'s Letter, from the Skipper's
Wife of _Newcastle_ to her Husband at _St. Catherine_'s, can hardly have
more of the Burlesque in it.
The Truth is, Mr. _Addison_, in the above Quotation, has a Fling upon
the Author of the Critick upon his _Cato_. _A few general Rules
extracted out of the_ French _Authors, with a certain Cant of Words,
have sometimes set up an illiterate heavy Writer, for a most judicious
and formidable Critick._ I know no Instance wherein that Gentleman loses
his Temper so much as in this. There were but three Authors in our Time
who were _Criticks_ by Profession, _Rymer_, _Dennis_, and _Gildon_.
_Rymer_ is own'd by himself to be a masterly Critick: He himself knew
Mr. _Dennis_ did not want Learning; and as to Fire, he has perhaps
rather too much of it, than too little. I can't help thinking, that the
Ode he writ on _Dryden_'s Translation of the 3d Book of the _Georgicks_,
in _Tonson_'s Fourth Miscellany, deserv'd a kinder Word than illiterate
or heavy.