unhappy, is more apt to affect an audience than that of the first kind; notwithstanding many excellent pieces among the Ancients, as well as most of thofe which have been written of late years in our own country, are raised upon contrary plans. I must, however, own that I think this kind of fable, which is the most perfect in tragedy, is not so proper for an heroic poem.

Milton feems to have been fenfible of this imperfection in his Fable, and has therefore endeavoured to cure it by feveral expedients; particularly by the mortification which the great adversary of mankind meets with upon his return to the affembly of infernal fpirits, as it is described in a beautiful paffage of the Tenth Book; and likewife by the vision wherein Adam, at the close of the Poem, fees his offspring triumphing over his great enemy, and himself restored to a happier Paradife than that from which he fell.

There is another objection against Milton's Fable, which is indeed almost the fame with the former, though placed in a different light, namely, that the hero in the Paradife Loft is unfuccefsful, and by no means a match for his enemies. This gave occafion to Mr. Dryden's reflection, that the devil was in reality Milton's hero. I think I have obviated this objection in my firft paper. The Paradife Loft is an epic or a narrative poem, and he that looks for an hero in it fearches for that which Milton never intended; but if he will needs fix the name of an hero upon any person in it, 'tis certainly the Meffiah is the

Loft; not doubting but the reader will pardon me if I alledge, at the fame time, whatever may be faid for the extenuation of such defects. The first imperfection which I fhall observe in the Fable is, that the event of it is unhappy.

The Fable of every poem is, according to Aristotle's divifion, either simple or implex. It is called simple, when there is no change of fortune in it; implex, when the fortune of the chief actor changes from bad to good, or from good to bad. The implex fable is thought the most perfect; I suppose because it is more proper to stir up the paffions of the reader, and to furprise him with a greater variety of accidents.

The implex fable is therefore of two kinds. In the first, the chief actor makes his way through a long feries of dangers and difficulties, till he arrives at honour and profperity, as we fee in the story of Ulyffes. In the fecond, the chief actor in the poem falls from fome eminent pitch of honour and prosperity into mifery and difgrace. Thus we see Adam and Eve finking from a state of innocence and happiness into the most abject condition of fin and forrow.

The most taking tragedies among the Ancients were built on this last sort of implex fable, particularly the tragedy of Oedipus, which proceeds upon a story, if we may believe Aristotle, the most proper for tragedy that could be invented by the wit of man. I have taken fome pains, in a former paper, to show that this kind of implex fable, wherein the event is

unhappy, is more apt to affect an audience than that of the first kind; notwithstanding many excellent pieces among the Ancients, as well as most of those which have been written of late years in our own country, are raised upon contrary plans. I must, however, own that I think this kind of fable, which is the most perfect in tragedy, is not fo proper for an heroic poem.

Milton feems to have been sensible of this imperfection in his Fable, and has therefore endeavoured to cure it by feveral expedients; particularly by the mortification which the great adversary of mankind meets with upon his return to the affembly of infernal fpirits, as it is described in a beautiful paffage of the Tenth Book; and likewife by the vision wherein Adam, at the close of the Poem, fees his offspring triumphing over his great enemy, and himself restored to a happier Paradife than that from which he fell..

There is another objection against Milton's Fable, which is indeed almost the same with the former, though placed in a different light, namely, that the hero in the Paradife Loft is unfuccefsful, and by no means a match for his enemies. This gave occafion to Mr. Dryden's reflection, that the devil was in reality Milton's hero. I think I have obviated this objection in my firft paper. The Paradife Loft is an epic or a narrative poem, and he that looks for an hero in it fearches for that which Milton never intended; but if he will needs fix the name of an hero upon any person in it, 'tis certainly the Meffiah is the

hero, both in the principal action, and in the chief episodes. Paganism could not furnish out a real action for a fable greater than that of the Iliad or Æneid, and therefore an Heathen could not form a higher notion of a poem than one of that kind which they call an Heroic. Whether Milton's is not of a fublimer nature I will not presume to determine: it is fufficient that I show there is in the Paradife Loft all the greatness of plan, regularity of design, and masterly beauties which we discover in Homer and Virgil.

I muft, in the next place, obferve that Milton has interwoven in the texture of his Fable fome particulars which do not feem to have probability enough for an epic poem, particularly in the actions which he ascribes to Sin and Death, and the picture which he draws of the Limbo of Vanity, with other paffages in the Second Book. Suchallegories rather favour of the spirit of Spenfer and Ariofto, than of Homer and Virgil.

In the ftructure of this Poem he has likewife admitted of too many digreffions. It is finely obferved by Aristotle, that the author of an heroic poem should feldom speak himself, but throw as much of his work as he can into the mouths of those who are his principal actors. Aristotle has given no reason for this precept; but I prefume it is because the mind of the reader is more awed and elevated when he hears Æneas ór Achilles speak, than when Virgil or Homer talk Volume I.

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in their own perfons: befides that, affuming the character of an eminent man is apt to fire the imagination, and raise the ideas of the author. Tully tells us, mentioning his Dialogue of Old Age, in which Cato is the chief speaker, that upon a review of it he was agreeably imposed upon, and fancied that it was Cato, and not he himself, who uttered his thoughts on that fubject.

If the reader would be at the pains to fee how the ftory of the Iliad and Æneid is delivered by those perfons who act in it, he will be furprised to find how little in either of these poems proceeds from the authors: Milton has, in the general disposition of his Fable, very finely observed this great rule; infomuch that there is fcarce a third part of it which comes from the Poet: the rest is spoken either by Adam and Eve, or by some good or evil spirit who is engaged either in their destruction or defenfe.

From what has been here observed it appears that digreffions are by no means to be allowed of in an epic poem. If the poet, even in the ordinary course of his narration, should speak as little as poffible, he should certainly never let his narration fleep for the fake of any reflections of his own. I have often obferved, with a fecret admiration, that the longest reflection in the Æneid is in that passage of the Tenth Book, where Turnus is represented as dreffing himself in the fpoils of Pallas whom he had flain. Virgil here lets his fable stand still for the fake of the following