may be allowed to rife above the ufual appearances of nature, by combining things which are not commonly affociated but he must admit nothing which contradicts common fenfe and experience, or of which a real archetype cannot even be fuppofed to exift. The boldeft flights of poetic fiction muft not pafs the boundaries of nature and probability. It is upon this principle that Dr. Johnson defines poetry," the art of uniting pleasure with truth, "by calling imagination to the help of reafon."

PERFECT and DISTINCT CONCEPTION-a fecond character of thought in good writing-is the bafis of perfpicuity. A writer, whofe feeble mind produces only halfformed embrios of thought, or whofe impetucfity will not permit him to feparate his ideas from one another before he clothes them in language, must be obfcure. The image refle&ed from the mirror cannot be more perfect than the original object. He who does not himself clearly understand his own meaning, can have no right to expec that his reader will understand it. Thofe writers are most liable to this fault, whofe ambition or vanity outruns their genius. Affecting a degree of novelty and originality, which they are not able to attain; they fink into the profound, and become unintelligible.

To juftnefs and clearnefs, muft be added VARIETY, of conception. It is this quality chiefly, which raises a writer of true genius above one of mean, or moderate abilities. The field of nature lies equally open to all men: but it is only the man whofe powers are vigorous and commanding, who can combine them with that diverfity which is neceffary to produce a strong impreffion upon the imagination. To difcern, not only the obvious properties of things, but their more hidden qualities and relations; to perceive resemblances which are not commonly perceived; to combine images, or fentiments, which are not commonly combined; to exhibit, in defcription, perfons

perfons and things with all the interefting varieties of form or action of which they are capable, are the offices of genius; and it is only in the degree in which thefe marks of genius appear in any literary production, that it can be pronounced excellent.

PERFECTLY confiftent with that variety, which characterizes genius, is another effential quality of thought in good writing, UNITY OF DESIGN. In every piece, the writer fhould have one leading defign; every part should have fome relation to the reft; and all fhould unite to produce one regular whole.

Denique fit quidvis fimplex duntaxat et unum.

A thought may be just; a description may be beautiful; a fentiment may be pathetic; and yet, not naturally arifing from the fubject, it may be nothing better than a cenfurable excrefcence.

Sed nunc non erat his locus.

Whatever has no tendency to illuftrate the fubje&t, interrupts the reader's attention, and weakens the general effect. This rule muft not, however, be understood to preclude, efpecially in long works, fuch incidental excurfions, as, having fome relation to the main fubject, afford the reader an agreeable relief, without destroying the unity of the piece. Epifodes of this kind may be compared to the ivy twining about the oak; which, without concealing the form, or leffening the grandeur of the main object, gratifies the eye with a fenfe of variety.

To complete the merit of any literary work as far as thought is concerned, it is neceflary to add to every other excellence that of UTILITY. In writing, as in life, this ultimate end fhould never be forgotten. Whatever tends to enlighten the understanding, to enlarge the conceptions, to imprefs the heart with right feelings, or to

afford

afford innocent and rational amufement, may be pronounced useful. All beyond this is either trifling or pernicious. No ftrength of genius, or vivacity of wit, can dignify folly, or excufe immorality.

BESIDE these effential properties of the Thoughts which arç common to all good writing, there are others, which occur only in certain connections, according to the nature of the fubject, or the genius and inclination of the writer, and which may therefore be called INCIDENTAL. From these, which are very numerous, we shall select, as a fpecimen, Sublimity, Beauty, and Novelty.

THOSE Conceptions, expreffed in writing, which are adapted to excite in the mind of the reader that kind of emotion, which arifes from the contemplation of grand and noble objects in nature, are faid to be SUBLIME. The emotion of fublimity is doubtless firft produced by means of the powers of vifion. Whatever is lofty, vast, or profound, whilft it fills the eye, expands the imagination, and dilates the heart, and thus becomes a fource of pleasure.

Who that, from Alpine heights, his lab'ring eye
Shoots round the wide horizon, to furvey

Nilus, or Ganges, rolling his bright wave

Through mountains, plains through empires black with shade,
And continents of fand, will turn his gaze,

'To mark the windings of a fcanty rill

That murmurs at his feet?

FROM the fimilarity between the emotions, excited by greatness in objects of fight, and by certain other objects which affect the rest of the fenfes; and from the analogy which these bear to feveral other feelings excited by dif ferent caufes, the term Sublimity is applied to various other fubjects, as dignity of rank, extent of power, and eminence of merit. Hence thofe writers who most fuc

cessfully

cefsfully exhibit objects or characters of this kind before the imagination of their readers, are faid to be fublime.

In like manner, because certain objects of fight are diftinguished by characters of beauty, and are adapted to excite emotions of complacence, thofe writers who reprefent their fair forms, whether natural or moral, with the most lively colouring, are faid to excel in the BEAUTIFUL.

MOREOVER, fince there is in human nature a principle of curiofity, which leads us to contemplate unufual objects with the pleafing emotion which is called wonder, No. VELTY becomes another fource of pleafure in works of tafte, which affords ample fcope for the difplay of genius, to those who are indued by nature with an imagination, which can "body forth the forms of things unknown;” whence their pen

Turns them to fhape, and gives to airy nothing

A local habitation and a name,

In reading works of tafte, it is the bufinefs of criticifm, to remark in what manner any of thefe properties of thought, or others of the incidental kind, fuch as Pathos, Refemblance, Contraft, Congruity, and the like, are exemplified, or violated.

AFTER the Thoughts themfelves, the next object of criticifm is the METHOD in which they are difpofed.

NOTHING is more inconfiftent with good fenfe and true tafte, than the contempt with which fome affect to treat that methodical arrangement, which Horace fo happily ftyles lucidus ordo. Every kind of writing is certainly illuminated by an accurate difpofition cf its feveral parts. Method is fo far from being an abfolute proof of ftupidity, that it is no very queftionable indication of ftrength of mind, and compafs of thought. The first conceptions, which accidental affociation may raife in the

mind, are not likely to come forth fpontaneously in that order, which is most natural, and beft fuited to form a regular piece. It is only by the exercife of much attention and accurate judgment, that a writer can give his work the beauty of regularity amidst variety; and without this, the detached parts, however excellent, are but the members of a disjointed ftatue*. The reader, therefore, who wishes to form an accurate judgment concerning the merit of any literary production, will inquire, whether the author's general arrangement be fuch as beft fuits his defign; whether there be no confufion in the difpofition of particular parts; no redundancies or unneceffary repetitions; in fine, whether every fentiment be not only just, but pertinent, and in its proper place.

THE laft, but not the least extenfive field of criticifm is EXPRESSION.

HERE the first quality to be confidered is PURITY: This confifts in fuch a choice of words, and fuch a grammatical conftruction of sentences, as is confonant to the analogy of the language, and to the general ufage of accurate writers. Purity in the choice of words requires that, except in works of science, where new terms are wanted, no words be admitted but fuch as are established by good authority; that words be used in the fense which is commonly annexed to them, and that all heterogeneous mixtures of foreign or antiquated words be avoided. In the prefent ftate of modern languages, particularly the English, ftability and uniformity are of more confequence than enlargement. It is not in the power of fashion to juftify the affectation of introducing foreign words and phrafes to exprefs even that, which cannot be fo concifely expreffed in the vernacular tongue. With

* Neque enim, quamquam fufis omnibus membris, ftatua fit, nifi collocetur.

QUINTIL.

refpect