BY UNIV. OF JAMES THOMSON. WITH CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS OF VARIOUS AUTHORS ON HIS AND NOTES, EXPLANATORY AND CRITICA L, BY BY JAMES ROBERT BOYD, EDITOR OF THE PARADISE LOST, AND OF YOUNG'S NIGHT THOUGHTS, "The Seasons,"-a Poem, which, founded as it is upon the unfading beauties o REVISED EDITION. DR. AIKIN. NEW YORK: A. S. BARNES & CO., 51 JOHN-STREET. 1856. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852 BY A. S. BARNES & CO. In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York. 25449 STEREOTYPED BY REESE LIBRARY PLAN AND DESIGN OF THIS EDITION. In this age, when the press is covering our land with a frivolous and pernicious literature, there is great danger that the rising generation will too much neglect, if not entirely lose sight of, those noble and solid productions of the British Muse which were familiar to their predecessors-the poems of Milton and Young, of Cowper and Thomson. These are worthy, not of a hasty perusal only, but of frequent and profound study-especially by the young-for the varied information which they contain; for the learning, and taste, and high order of genius which they display, and for the eminent service they are adapted to afford, in the proper culture of the mind and of the heart. The study of such authors, if so far pursued as to secure a fair appreciation of their style, and sentiments, and scientific information, cannot fail to raise the mind above the danger of contaminating and degrading itself with the greatly inferior and the worthless productions so common at the present day. But such an acquaintance with these authors cannot, except in rare instances, be looked for, without the aid of suitable commentaries, that shall clear up obscure passages, call attention to what is beautiful or faulty in style or sentiment, and, in short, give to the immature and uncultivated mind the aid and the incitement which it needs, to enter into the spirit and feel the force of these productions. In our academies and colleges the poets of Greece and Rome are critically studied; many years of toil are bestowed upon them; but it is painful to consider how little attention, on the other hand, is devoted to the English poets, though some of them are not less deserving than the former of study and admiration. It was the earnest desire and hope of leading teachers to give to the best English poets the same high place in a course of education, and the same attention which is given to the Roman and Grecian, that induced me to prepare a critical commentary on the Paradise Lost, and on Young's Night Thoughts, and now upon Thomson's Seasons; and I cannot doubt, that at no distant day a thorough and critical study of such works as these will be deemed essential, and will be demanded in all seminaries above the grade of the primary schools. It is true that even in these the poems alluded to are used extensively; but, in almost all instances, it is for no higher purpose than grammatical parsing. This, indeed, has its benefits, but there are much higher purposes to be attained in the proper study of these authors, which, it is hoped, may be secured by the diligent study of them in connection with the commentaries now before the public. Not only in the school-room-in the family circle also -the productions of these distinguished English poets, explained and illustrated, are much needed. Every family library and every district-school library should contain a commentary upon Milton, and Young, and Thomson, adapted to the wants of the mass of readers. In my editions of these authors, I have endeavored, by the copiousness and elementary character of many of the notes, to make the study of them an introduction and preparation for the general reading of poetry to advan tage-an object of no small importance in the view of any one who duly regards and seeks to promote the refinement of taste, the proper culture of the imagination, and intellectual strength. Bishop Newton first rendered to the cause of literature and to the general reader, a most important service, by selecting from the papers of Addison, in the Spectator, the criticisms which they contained upon the Paradise Lost, and by distributing them in the form of notes to the various parts of the poem to which they related, that they might conveniently be read in connection with the passage thus illustrated or explained. In the illustration of Thomson, I have adopted the same course, by selecting from the pages of reviews and other works, such valuable criticisms as I have discovered upon "The Seasons," and by distributing them through the poem for the convenience of the reader: so that the notes will be found to embrace a tolerably extensive Cyclopedia of erudite and tasteful criticism, in reference to this poem, from the pens of some of the most distinguished critics of the present century-no small advantage surely to all who have not access to these original sources, or if they had, have not the time or industry to look them up, as they might be found useful for the better appreciation of the successive portions of the work. For the convenience of the reader, when taking up the poem for desultory or occasional perusal, the principal topics have been designated in a conspicuous manner, so that a selection may be made without difficulty or delay. That "The Seasons" eminently deserves the labor of criticism and of full illustration, will appear, on considering the vast amount of interesting information of all |