the imagination, in order to bring outftript, and to acknowledge my unacquaintance with poetry; tho', to tell the truth, I never applied myfelf to it ferioufly and regularly." about a good purpose, though the conclufion fhould not follow from the premiffes with a philofophical rigour. I doubt not but Horace himself was fenfible of the fraud; but it was an honeft fraud, if I may fo speak. The end was good, but the means crafty. Another ftrong argument, to one of Pifo's rank, to diffuade him from giving himself too much up to poetry, is couched in the following paffage : Ego nec ftudium fine divite vena, Qui ftudet optatum curfu contingere metam As if he had faid, "If your genius were ever so extraordinary, even as excellent as the divine Homer's, yet you can never be a great poet without great pains and application. You must often labour hard, and mortify yourself, abftaining from wine and women." A hard leffon this, for a young man of quality! And a little after, Nec fatis eft dixiffe ego mira poemata pango, Occupet extremum scabies; mibi turpe relinqui, Et quod non didici fane, nefcire fateri. This is a fine contraft to the lines mentioned immediately before, and a ftrong ridicule on youths pretending to poetry, without the proper qualifications. It is likewise a proof, that this was a fashionable folly amongst the young men of rank in Horace's time. It may be paraphrafed thus: "All this you must undergo; for it is far from being fufficient to fay, I make extremely pretty copies of verfes, better than most of my rivals: devil take the hindmoft, I think it difgraceful to be 5 Here let me obferve, that fane feems most naturally to agree with didici; and that the point fhould be placed immediately after the former, rather than the latter. If, instead of fane, plane, or prorfus, had been put, then either of these must have been joined to ne fcire. But the fenfe and the ridicule is, I think, stronger with fane, as I have pointed the verfe; but this I fhall not much difpute. Another proof, ftill more direct and full, that an itch of writing verfes was modifh at that time, may be seen from the following paffage in his Epiftle to Auguftus, ver. 108: Scribendi ßudio: pueri patrefque feveri, Non audet, nifi qui didicit dare; quod medi- Scribimus indocti, doɛtique poemata passim. And at our feafts eternal rhimes go round. write : Verse is the trade of every living wight. As As the fashionable humour of making verses in Horace's days is one of the chief fupports of our analyfis of the Epiftle under confideration, the infertion of fo long a paffage, to prove it, will be the more readily pardoned. The poet proceeds to lay before his pupil a third confideration, to deter him from continuing his clofe application to poetry; to wit, that, as he is a man of high rank and fortune, he runs the risk of being a dupe to flatterers and fycophants, who will not fail to make court to him, by applauding his verfes in the most artful, and at the fame time in the most paffionate and feemingly zealous manner; infomuch that it will be almost impoffible for him to diftinguish between truth and falfehood, fincerity and adulation. This part of the Epiftle is fo high wrought, that it furnishes a ftrong prefumption to confirm my opinion of its principal drift. The following fimile is admirable, ver. 431. Ut qui conducti plorant in funere dicunt, Es faciunt prope plura dolentibus ex animo, Derifor vero plus laudatore, movetur. As hirelings, paid for their funeral tear, Outweep the forrows of a friend fincere ; So the falfe raptures of a flatterer's art, Exceed the praises of an honeft heart. FRANCIS. He concludes this part of his admonition with an interefting reflection; to wit, that though the effects of flattery, with refpect to verfemaking, may appear trifling, yet they may lead into ferious mifchiefs: be nuga feria ducent In mala derifum femel exceptumque finifire. The poet concludes the Epiftle with an humorous picture of a conceited poet, full of his own verfes, and plaguing every one he meets to hear him reciting them. This picture is pushed to an agreeable extravagance, and has, according to our way of analising the Epiftle, its great ufe. The moral the poet is too well bred to add; but leaves it to his pupil himself to find it out, and apply it. It may be fuppofed to ftand thus: "You yourself, if you indulge an inordinate paffion for making verfes, may, in a great measure, fall into the fame ridicule ; which how it will become the son of Pifo, and the heir of a confular family, I leave to the world and yourfelf to think." It is with great judgment and art the poet concludes the Epiftle with this ftroke: what is faid laft generally makes the deepeft impreffion, other circumftances being equal. But this being, in its own nature, very likely to have great influence on a young nobleman, it is cunningly placed at the end of the performance, for the pupil to chew his cud upon. This is the fubftance of the reafons, which induce me to think that one great motive to the poet, for writing the celebrated Epiftle, if not the principal one, was to take an opportunity of giving falutary advice to young Pifo, and diffuade him from a too eager and close application to poetry. I fhall collect them into a narrower compafs, that you may have a fuccinct view of them placed nearer one another, which may perhaps recommend them more to your favour and approbation. The The Epiftle is infcribed to Pifo the father, and his two fons. father, a man of confular dignity, whofe eminence and worth were fufficient to justify our poet in undertaking and publishing fuch a work, work, either to illuftrate the fplendor, or promote the intereft of his family. To the father and younger fon nothing particular is addreffed, except a fhort compliment, already taken notice of, in four or five words in the beginning, and an hint or two, near the end, that the father was a good judge of poetical compofition : Quamvis & voce paterna fingeris ad rectum.- In meti; defcendat judicis aures, Et patris & noftras.-- Whereas the elder fon is perfonally fingled out, and spoke to in no lefs than 110 lines, which are all employed, directly or indirectly, with a view to the end above mentioned; and are, in a remarkable manner, highly laboured, even fo as to contain fomething very like fophiftry, in order to gain his point. The character of Horace, who was remarkably indolent, but at the fame time highly fenfible of the charms of friendship, seems very much to favour our opinion; it being scarce probable, that he would have undertook fo laborious a task, merely to correct and form the taste of the town with respect to dramatic poetry, unless he had been spurred on by a collateral incentive.-The multiplicity of the precepts, general and particular, and the bulk they take up, to wit, above three fourths of the performance, are no objection to our analyfis; but rather an argument for it, as they ferve to cover the author's defign on Pifo, obliquely contribute to promote it, and are artfully interfperfed with paffages preparatory towards it. The diffuafive addrefs to Pifo concludes the whole, and hath perfectly the air of a peroration, which com monly fets forth the drift and intention of a discourse. It hath been objected, by a very learned and ingenious friend of mine," that, in his opinion, an advice of this delicate and home-felt nature, might be more properly and effectually fuggested in private, than in a work calculated and in all probability intended for the public inspection." This objection may, I think, be fet afide by the following confiderations. Perhaps, and moft likely, private admonition to young Pilo had been first tried in vain. Perhaps the Epiftle was not published till long after it was written; but kept as a curiofity in the family, to whom it was infcribed, for the benefit of which it was penned. These fuppofitions are natural enough, and far from being ftrained. But, befides, the poet, in the Epistle, hath fo managed matters, that Pifo's character cannot fuffer by his treatment there, especially if he was then very young, which, for aught we know to the contrary, was the cafe. And to be fure Horace would not fhew his poem to any, much lefs publish it to the world, without Pifo the father's confent, who was a man of great fenfe. To come still closer; either young Pifo was more addicted to the study of poetry than Horace approved of, or he was not. If he was not, then the poet was guilty of an egregious impropriety, in giving him, fingled out, and diftinguilhed from his younger brother, (0 major juvenum) laboured inftructions, which he needed not. To fuppofe this, were an abfurdity. If he was too deeply fmitten with this pathon, which is fearce to be doubted, is there not wholfome advice, fet fet off with great learning, wit, humour, delicacy, and energy, and profecuted to a confiderable length, for a work of that kind, offered him, concluding the whole with an artful ftroke, in order to diffuade him from giving way to the cacoethes? And is not this to be reckoned, at least, one strong motive for writing the poem, if not the principal one? Upon the whole, I am so partial to my own way of thinking as to be convinced, that the celebrated Epiftle, viewed in this light, appears to have more beauty, more variety, and more of the peculiar characteriftic of our poet, to wit, the polite vafrities, or craftiness, than in any other; and this confideration chiefly confirms me in maintaining the analyfis now delivered. I remain, dear Sir, yours, &c. The FORCE of NATURAL AFFECTION. GENTLEMEN, ΤΗ To the Authors of the BRITISH MAGAZINE. HE power of natural affection is fo well known, that it is unneceffary to introduce the following ftory with any general reflections upon it, as the events which it contains are of fo interefting a nature, that they cannot fail to engage the attention of every reader that is not deftitute of the virtues of humanity. An old gentleman of an antient family, and poffeffed of a large estate, whom I fhall for the prefent call Gloriofus, as his greateft foible confifted in valuing himself too much upon the nobility of his ancestors, an extravagant notion which he had improved by a long refidence in Spain, had a fon, poffeffed of every amiable quality, whom I fhall beg leave to call by the name of Theodofius. As Gloriofus was rather intent upon increating the honour of his family than amaffing wealth,he'refolved to marry bis fon to the daughter of a neighbouring gentleman, whose pedigree could bear the ftrictest inquiry, tho' the portion of the young lady was but fall. In this he was feconded by his wife, who had imbibed all the extravagant notions of her husband. But they were both equally mortified and disappointed to find, that Theodofius was obftinately bent againft the match. His mother hereupon formed a fufpicion that his heart was pre-engaged; and this was foon after turned into certainty, by her intercepting a letter addressed by Theodofius to Sylvia, a young woman of extraordinary beauty and great accomplishments, who, being the daughter of a merchant to whom Gloriofus had particular obligations, had been by him entertained, when her father, on account of the perplexed ftate of his affairs, was obliged to quit the kingdom. It appeared from this letter, that Theodofius had been for fome time paft privately married to Sylvia, and that his rejecting the match proposed by his parents took rife from his affection to her. This discovery threw Gloriofus into the most violent rage imaginable; and he immediately refolved to difinherit his fon, and never fee him more, more, if he did not confent to have his clandeftine marriage annulled. Sylvia, being informed of this rigorous determination, begged to be heard in her own defence; and the old gentleman agreed to the interview, flattering himself that he fhould be able to perfuade her to confent to the feparation. The young lady, however, pleaded her caufe in terms fo pathetic, that, feeing Gloriofus begin to melt, fhe produced the two children whom The had by his fon; which affecting circumftance fo powerfully moved the paffions of the old man, that he immediately embraced them as his grand-children, notwithstanding all the remonftrances of his wife; and, fending for Theodofius, declared that he confented to his mar An. riage with Sylvia, and wished that their union might prove both lafting and happy. The joy of the young couple, upon this occafion, may be more easily conceived than expreffed: it was indeed fo great, that it received no confiderable acceffion when the father of Sylvia, having settled his affairs, returned from abroad, and made her fortune much greater than that which Theodofius was to have had with the lady whom his parents urged him to marry. This circumftance, however, contributed not a little to their fatisfaction, as interest has always great influence over the old. I am, Gentlemen, yours, &c. HISTORY OF CANADA. [Continued.] 1646. Sc SCAR CARCE had the French colony of Canada begun to enjoy the sweets of peace, and the miflionaries to resume their apoftolical labours, when the war was almost rekindled by an unexpected incident. Three Indians of Sylleri were murdered in the fields; another, travelling with his wife, was attacked, and mortally wounded: the woman was scalped, and left for dead; however, fhe recovered, and her husband died. The fufpicion, at first, fell upon the Iroquois; but it afterwards appeared, that the affaffins were of the nation called Sokokis, profeffed enemies of the Algonquins, who had used all their influence to fruftrate the peace which had been fo lately established. In spite of all their endeavours the treaty was ratified a-new, by fresh February 1,61. deputies from the canton of Agnier, who came to condole with the French governor upon the death of two miffionaries, the fathers Maffé and de Noué; the latter of whom had been found ftarved among the fnow, and immediately fainted by the fuperftition of the people. The deputies, who came with compliments of condolance, or, in their own phrase, to cover the dead, advised the governor-general to be upon his guard against the other cantons their brethren, until they fhould be exprefly comprehended in the peace. At the fame time they told him this might be easily effected, if he would procure the release of fome of their brethren, who were ftill detained prifoners by the French allies. These hints, however, were neglected. |