As Cellide had before us'd a light Behaviour in › Trial of his Virtue, upon finding it only a Trial, and receiving from her this virtuous Lecture, he rejoins;

How

Put on the whole Armour of God-having your Loins girt about with Truth, and having on the Breaft-plate of Righteousness.--Above all, taking the Shield of Faith, wherewith ye fhall be able to quench all the fiery Darts of the wicked; and take the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. See also the fame Metaphor in Ifaiah lix. 17. from whom St. Paul took his. Were I to quote our Author's frequent Refemblance to the Stile and Sentiments of the Scriptures, another very large Field would open to us; and this would help us to the Solution of two Questions, which they who have a juft Tafte of the Excellencies of our old English Poets naturally ask: 1. How came the British Mufe in the very Infancy of Literature, when but juft fprung from the dark Womb of monkish Superftition, to rise at once to fuch Maturity, as fhe did in Spenfer, Shakespear, Beaumont, Fletcher, Fonfon and Maffenger? 2. What Spirit is it that has animated the frozen Foggy Genius of Britain into a nobler and fiercer Flame of Poetry than was ever yet kindled in the bright invigorating Climes of France and modern Italy; infomuch, that a Gallic and Italian Eye is dazled and offended at the Brightness of the nobleft Expreffions of Milton, and the Authors above-mention'd? We anfwer. It was no lefs a Spirit than the Spirit of God, it was the Sun of Righteoufnefs, the hallow'd Light of the Scriptures that was juft then rifen on the British Clime, but is ftill hid in Clouds and Darkness to France and Italy. A Light to which the brightest Strokes of Milton and Shakespear are but as the Rays of the Mid-day Sun, when compared to that ineffable inconceivable Luftre which furrounds the Throne of God. When the Zeal of Religion ran high, and a Collection of far the noblest Poems that were ever wrote in the World, those of Job, David, Ifaiah and all the Prophets were daily read, and publickly, folemnly and learnedly commented upon, in almoft every Town in the Kingdom; when every Man thought it a Difgrace not to study them in private, and not to treasure the nobleft Parts of them in his Memory, what wonder was it that our Poets should catch so much of the facred Fire, or that the British Genius fhould be array'd with the Beams of the Eaft? But when the Love of the Scriptures waxed faint, the Nerves of our Poetry grew in the fame Proportion weak and languid. One of the best Means therefore to gain a true Tafte of the extreme Poetic Sublimity of the facred Scriptures, is to converse with those Poets whofe Stile and Sentiments moft resemble them. And the very best Means to restore the British Genius to its priftin Vigour, and to

create

-How like the Sun

Labouring in his Eclipfe, dark and prodigious
She fhew'd till now? when having won his
way,
How full of Wonder he breaks out again
And sheds his virtuous Beams?

Such Paffages as these are frequent in our Authors Comedies; were they expreft only in genteel Profe, they would rank with the very nobleft Paffages of Terence, but what Reafon upon Earth can be affign'd, but meer Fashion, why, because they are Parts of Comedies, they fhould be weakened and flatned into

Profe by drawing the Sinews of their Strength and éclipfing those poetic Beams that shed Vigour, Life and Luftre on every Sentiment?

Such Poetic Excellence therefore will the Reader find in the genteel Parts of our Author's Comedies, but, as before hinted, there is a Poetic Stile often equally proper and excellent ev'n in the lowest Drollery of Comedy. Thus when the jocofe old Miramont in the Elder Brother catches auftere folemn Magiftrate Brifac endeavouring to debauch his Servant's Wife-Before he breaks in upon him, he fays;

0,

create other Shakespears and other Miltons, is to promote the Study, Love and Admiration of thofe Scriptures.

A concurrent Cause, which raised the Spirit of Poetry to fuch a Height in Queen Elizabeth's Reign, was the Encouragement and Influence of the Queen herself; to whom polite Literature was the most courtly Accomplishment. Look into Spenfer's Defcription of her Lords and Favourites, and you'll find a learned Queen made a whole Court of Poets, juft as an amorous Monarch afterwards made every flow'ry Courtier write Romance; and Martial Princes have turn'd intimidated Armies into Heroes.

There is much lefs Profe left in this Edition than there was in all the former; in which the Meajure was often most miferably neglected

O, th' infinite Frights that will affail this Gentleman!

The Quartans, Tertians, and Quotidians,

That'll bang, like Sergeants, on his Worship's Shoulders!

How will thofe folemn Looks appear to me,

And that fevere Face that fpake Chains and Shackles !

How small a Change of the Comic Words would turn this into the Sublime ? fuppofe it spoke of Nero by one who knew he would be at once deferted by the Senate and Army, and giv'n up to the Fury of the People.

What infinite Frights will foon affail the Tyrant?
What Terrors like ftern Lictors will arreft him?
How will that fierce terrific Eye appear,

Whofe flightest Bend pake Dungeons, Chains, and
Death?

Such as the former, is the general Stile of our Author's Drollery, particularly of Fletcher's; Beaumont deals chiefly in another Species, the Burlefque Epic. Thus when the little Comic French Lawyer is run Fighting-mad, and his Antagonist excepts against his Shirt for not being laced (as Gentlemen's Shirts of that Age used to be) he answers,

neglected. Wit without Money, the very firft Play which fell to my Lot to prepare for the Prefs after Mr. Theobald's Death, was all printed as Profe, except about twenty Lines towards the End; but the Reader will now find it as true Measure as almost any Comedy of our Authors.

Bafe

Bafe and degenerate Coufin, doft not know
An old and tatter'd Colours to an Enemy,
Is of more Honour, and fhews more ominous?
This Shirt five Times victorious I've fought under,
And cut thro' Squadrons of your curious Cut-works,
As I will do thro' thine; shake and be fatisfy'd.

This Stile runs thro' many of Beaumont's Characters, befide La-writ's, as Lazrillo, The Knight of the Burning Peftle, Beffus's two Swordsmen, &c. and he has frequent Allufions to and ev'n Parodies of the sublimeft Parts of Shakespear; which both Mr. Sympon and Mr. Theobald look upon as Sneers upon a Poet of greater Eminence than the fuppofed Sneerer (a very great * Crime if true) but I believe it an entire Miftake. The Nature of this Burlesque Epic requires the frequent Ufe of the most known and most acknowledged Expreffions of Sublimity, which apply'd to low Objects render them, not the Author of thofe Expreffions, ridiculous, Almoft all Men of Wit make the fame ufe of Shakespear and Milton's Expreffions in common Conversation without the least Thought of fneering either; and indeed if every Quotation from Shakespear thus jocularly apply'd in

*For a further Defence of our Authors from this Imputation, fee Note 31 of The Little French Lawyer, Vol. IV. page 248; and Note 29 of The Woman-Hater, Vol. X. page 250. In both which there is a Mistake with regard to the Author of thofe Plays. When I wrote the Notes, I fuppos'd it Fletcher, till Beaumont's Letter at the End of The Nice Valour, gave me a Key, which is given to the Reader in the firft Section of the Preface, and which explains the Difference of Manner between Beaumont and Fletcher.

a real

a real Sneer upon him, then all Burlesque Sublime is a Sneer upon the real Sublime, and Beaumont fneer'd himself as well as Shakespear.

From these three fhort Specimens the Reader will form, we hope, a just Idea of the three Stiles ufed in our Author's Comedies, the Sublime, the droll Poetic, and the burlefque Sublime. There is indeed a fmall Mixture of Profe, which is the only Part of our old Dramatic Poets Stile that Moderns have vouchfafed to imitate. Did they acknowledge the Truth, and confefs their Inability to rife to the Spirit, Vigour, and Dignity of the other Stiles, they were pardonable. But far from it, our reform'd Tafte calls for Profe only, and before Beaumont and Fletcher's Plays can be endur'd by fuch Attic Ears, they must be corrected into Profe, as if, because wellbrew'd Porter is a wholfom Draught, therefore Claret and Burgundy must be dashed with Porter before they were drinkable. For a true Specimen of our Modern Tafte, we will give the Reader one Cup of our Author's Wine thus porteriz'd, and that by One who perfectly knew the Palate of the Age, who pleased it greatly in this very Inftance, and fome of whofe Comedies have as much or more Merit than any Moderns except Congreve. Mr. Cibber has confolidated two of our Author's Plays, The Elder Brother, and The Cuftom of the Country, to form his Love makes a Man; or, The Fop's Fortune. In the former there are two old French Noblemen, Lewis and Brifac, the first proud of his Family and Fortune, the other of his Magifterial Power and Dignity; neither Men of Learning, and therefore both preferring courtly Accomplishments, and the Knowledge of the World, to the deepest Knowledge