the nature of the subject they may chufe, before they begin to handle it; and confider well, whether their abilities are equal to it or not." A ftrong caution to young men not to fet up for poets rafhly.

I cannot help remarking a very artful stroke in the 24th line; to wit, the compliment to the Pifos, father and fons:

Pater & juvenes patre digni.

The fimple mentioning the father is the highest praise imaginable, as it implies, that his perior merit was known to every body; and juvenes patre digni is the greateft and moft delicate encomium that could be given of youths, to be worthy of fuch a father. This compliment, made in the very beginning of the epiftle, wonderfully prepoffeffes the reader in favour of the young noblemen, and prevents him from thinking the worse of the elder son, for any thing that is to be faid concerning him afterwards. So inimitable is the art of our poet!

Before I proceed farther, let me obferve how unreasonable some critics are, who maintain, that Horace's defign in this epiftle is to give rules and precepts concerning every fpecies of poetry. In thirteen lines, to wit, from the 73d to the 86th inclufive, he dispatches what he had to say on the epic, the elegiac, the iambic, and the lyric: and he omits intirely one great fpecies, to wit, the didactic; though very celebrated poems in that kind had been writ ten long before his time, amongst the Greeks by Hefiod and Empedocles, and by Lucretius amongst the Romans; not to mention Virgil's Georgics, which, no doubt, were published before the epiftle to the January 1961.

Pifos was written: fo far is he from intending to give inftructions relating to every fpecies of poetry! But this by the way.

From his general precepts, he, by a tranfition conducted with his ufual dexterity, proceeds to take dramatic poetry into confideration; and, if he was pretty full in delivering the former, he is much more copious in giving rules in the latter, bestowing near three hundred lines upon that fubject, though the whole epiftle contains but four hundred and feventy-fix. And there was good reafon for the poet to enlarge here: theatrical spectacles had been, for fome time, the moft general entertainment of the Romans; and were, in a particular manner, encouraged by Auguftus, out of a political view, in order to reconcile a people, that, not many years before, were zealous republicans, to abfolute power. And our poet here is fo induftrious, and fo accurate, that his precepts may be looked upon as the elements of dramatic compofition, especially the tragic kind.

But if there be a fecondary use of handing down a multiplicity of rules and admonitions, relating to the ftructure of poems in general, to wit, in order to fcare fuch readers as are not duly qualified from commencing poets, by presenting a view of the difficulties and difcouragements attending that profeffion; much more is there fuch an ufe in the formidable detail of the particular rules of the drama, which are fo numerous, and which must be obferved with fo much delicacy, in order to enfure fuccefs: and therefore the conclufion, addressed to young Pifo, is fo much the more ftrengthened; and the poet artfully C

inter

interweaves fome paffages to promote and ascertain this effect. There is much humour in the following, verfe 295,

Ingenium mifera quia fortunatius arte Credit, & excludit fanos Helicone poetas, Democritus, bona pars non ungues ponere curat, Non barbam; fecreta petit loca, balnea vitat: Nanfifcetur enim nomen pretium que poetæ, Si tribus Anticyris caput infanabile numquam Tonfori Licino commiferit. O ego lævus, Qui purgor bilem fub verni temporis horam! Non alius faceret meliora poemata.

Because Democritus in rapture cries, Poems of genius always bear the prize From wretched works of art; and thinks

that none

This paffage contains a ftrong difcouragement to young men from hazarding their talents in dramatic poetry, till they acquire much experience in the world; and probably that was the species young Pifo was attached to.

And to mention only one more, to wit, from ver. 322, to ver. 333, Graiis ingenium, &c. he feems almost to difcourage Romans, in general, from meddling in poetry at all.

The remaining part of the Epif tle, to wit, from ver. 366 to the conclufion, is all addreffed to the elder of the Pifos in a particular manner; O major juvenum, &c. and,

their nails;

To dark retreats and folitude they run;
The baths avoid, and public converse thun:
A poet's name and fortune sure to gain,
If long their beards, incurable their brain,
Ah, lucklefs 1, who purge in fpring my
Spleen!

Elfe fure the firft of bards had Horace been. FRANCIS.

Here the profeffed labouring poet makes but a forry figure; very different from what would become a young man of quality. And, verfe

plication of the foregoing part of the Epiftle; and if ever our author ftrained his wit, humour, art, and learning, it is here. He fets out with an healing compliment:

Quamvis & voce paterra Fingeris ad rectum, & per te fapis.

And, as if that were not fufficient, he steps fomewhat out of his way to mention the great benefits. that have accrued to mankind from poetry, in order to introduce the following confolatory claufe:

ne forte pudori Sit tibi mufa lyræ folers, & canter Apollo.

As if he had faid, "You need not be ashamed of having applied yourself to poetry hitherto: fome of the greatest and beft men of antiquity have done fo, to the unif, in time to come, you continue speakable benefit of mankind. And not that application more than is fuitable to your high ftation, and great circumftances, all is well."

Is not this a careful and delicate way of managing a poetry-fick

young

young man? And doth it not fhew, that, at least, a great part of the poet's defign in writing this Epistle, was to give falutary and effectual advice to his friend Pifo?

The principal argument our poet ufes to difcourage Pifo from perfifting in his poetical purfuits, which he therefore places in the front, is, that mediocrity in fome things, and in fome profeffions, is ufeful and valuable; but in poetry is good for nothing:

certis medium ac tolerabile rebus

Recte excedi....

Mediocribus effe poetis

Nen bomines, non di, non concessere columnæ.

And therefore, if a poet produces not a poem excellent in its kind, he not only lofes his labour, but expofes himself. But this maxim is to be understood so as to admit degrees of excellence in poetry, even in the fame kind. Though the ancients agree in esteeming Homer the prince of epic poets, yet they allowed great poetical merit to Virgil's Eneid. And Ovid, who has no mean opinion of himself, fays, Quantum Virgilius magno conceffit Homero, Tantum ego Virgilio Nafo poeta meo.

Here are three degrees of excellence implied, and thefe at a confiderable distance from one another, if the poet is fuppofed to fpeak fense: mediocrity is, then, what falls fhort of excellence. Excellence in a poem is what gives pleasure to

good judges. Mediocrity is what difappoints them in their expectations, though it is not down-rightly bad.

But I will venture to fay, the illuftration of this maxim, in the lines immediately following, is what the French call outrée :

Ut gratas inter mensas symphonia discors; ' Et craffum unguentum;& fardo cum meile

papaver

Offendunt; poterat duci quia cœna fine iftis; Sic animis natum, inventumque poema juvandis, Si paulum fummo deceffit, vergit ad imum、

Which may be thus fairly paraphrased: "As, at an agreeable feaft, a wretched band of mufic, coarfe ointment, and bitter bad fweet-meats, give difguft, because the fupper might have paffed very well without any thing of that kind at all; in like manner poetry, the nature and defign of which is to entertain and delight the mind, if it falls remarkably fhort of excellence, is good for little or nothing." Here, though I fhall by no means difpute the truth of the conclufion, yet I maintain, that the fimile is not fairly conducted. Symphonia difcors, craffum unguentum, fardo cum melle papaver, are in themselves abominable, even

though they were not contrafted with grate menfa; and yet here they are made to run parallel with a copy of verfes, which only paulum a fummo deceffit, without any difadvantageous comparifon.

[To be concluded in our next.]

IN

N the neighbourhood of Mecca lived formerly an induftrious peafant, whofe name was Aboucaf.

He had three fons, named Almoraddin, Dogandar, and Hanif. These he educated in a religious obfer

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vince of all the precepts of the law: they shared with him in all his labours, and, by their joint endeavours, they all four procured a fubfiftence adequate to their defires. Aboucaf, when he was dying, called his three fons to his bedfide, and addreffed them in the following terms: "" My fons, live in conftant union, and cultivate with care the farm which I leave you: it will abundantly supply you with all the neceffaries of life. Let the book of Glory be the chief study and delight of your fouls, and the chief object of your attention: in all the various cafualties of life depend upon it alone. My life draws near its end: I already behold the angel of death approach.-Farewel: remember the advice I have given:-adore the great Creator of the univerfe, and revere Mahomet his prophet." Having uttered these words, he expired; and his fons buried him with true filial piety.

For fome time they followed the wife advice which he had given them but one day, as they were at work in their farm, a queftion was agitated amongst them, which gave occafion to all the misfortunes that afterwards befel them. The dispute was concerning what was most defirable, and what should be the first with of each. Almoraddin, as he was of an afpiring temper, declared that power was the chief object of his defires: Dogandar, who was of a more fordid turn of mind, owned that his wishes concentered in the poffeffion of wealth; and Hanif fighed for the enjoyment of beauty. No fooner were thefe different wishes uttered, but a genie appeared to them, and addreffed them as follows: "Sons of Aboucaf, your

wishes are heard: I am a genie that prefides over fortune, and will engage to procure you the accomplishment of your defires, if you do not chufe to retract them, as mortals often wish for what, in the end, proves the cause of their deftruction." The three brothers persevering in their wishes, the genie prefented to each of them a talisman, whereon were engraved certain magic characters, and bid them repair to Bagdad. Almoraddin had not long refided there, till, by virtue of the talifman he had received from the genie, he attracted the notice of the caliph Haroun-Alrafchid, and was by him fent to govern a distant province, which being attacked by the Tartars, he defended it bravely, and repulfed them with great flaughter. This raised the jealousy of the vizir, who afterwards found means to perfuade the caliph, that the intention of Almoraddin was to make himself a party, and fhake off the yoke of obedience. Hereupon Haroun-Alrafchid, who was extremely jealous of his authority, fent for him to Bagdad, and, without hearing him fpeak in his own defence, caufed him to be beheaded.

Dogandar, after having acquired great riches by commerce, at last perished in a voyage which he made in queft of new gain.

The fate of Hanif was, perhaps, more wretched than that of either of his brothers. He married the beauteons Roufchen, and for some time their felicity was mutual and extreme. But the fiend jealoufy, which fo often changes the happinefs of lovers into bitterness, at last put an end to their bliss.

One of the chief perfons of the court of Bagdad, named Oglouf

Kan,