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Bear me, fome Gods! oh, quickly bear me

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hences lliw ve bajatenig vert "To wholefome Solitude, the nurfe of Senfe, Where Contemplation prunes her ruffled bouwings,

And the free Soul looks down, to pity kings.

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"Mr. Pope has not only improved the bar mony, but the fenfe. In Milton, Contem * plation is called the Nurfe; in Pope, more "properly Solitude in Milton, Wisdom is "faid to prune her wings; in Pope, Contem "plation is faid to do it, and with much "greater propriety, as fhe is of a foaring "nature, and on that account is called by "Milton himfelf, the Cherub Contempla

tion."

tion.

ichol One fees, that Mr. Pope's view was to furpafs his original; which, it is faid, was always his way when he imitated." The meaning is, when he purpofely and profeffedly bent himself to Imitation; for then his fine genius taught him to feize every Quicize beauty, and his wonderful judgment, to avoid every defect or impropriety in his author, And this diftinction is very material to our paffing a right judgment on the merit of Imitators. It is commonly faid,

that

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thatstheir imitations fall short of their originals. And they will do fo, whatever the genius of the imitator bo, be, if they are formed only on a general refemblance of the thought imitated. For an inventor comprehends his own idea more diftinctly

and fully, and of course expreffes inctly

his purpofe better, than a cafual imitator.But then cafe is different, when a good writer Budies the paffage from which he borrows. For then he not only copies, but improves on the firft idea; and thus there will fréquently (as in the cafe of Pope) be greater merit in the copyift than the original.'N!

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XII. We fometimes catch an imitation lurking" in a licentious Paraphrafe."" The ground of fufpicion lies in the very complacency with which a writer expatiates on 94 borrowed fentiment. He is ufually more a referved in adorning one of his own.

94

"1. AURELIUS Vobferves of Fabriclus, “ quòd difficiliùs ab honeftate, quàm ok Sol à fuo curfu, averti poffet."

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ein TASSO flourishes a little on this thought;

Prima dal corfo diftornar la Luna

Ele ftelle potrà, che dal diritto

bist Torcere un fol mio paffo

C. x. S. 24.

Mr.

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Mr. Waller rifes upon the Italian,

"where her love was due,

So faft, fo faithful, loyal, and so true,
That a bold hand as foon might hope to force
The rowling lights of heav'n, as change her
On the Death of Lady RICH.

courfe."

re

But Mr. COWLEY, knowing what authority he had for the general fentiment, gives the reins to his fancy, and wantons upon it without measure:

Virtue was thy life's centre, and from thence
Did filently and conftantly difpenfe

The gentle vigorous influence

To all the wide and fair circumference:
And all the parts upon it lean'd fo eafilie,
Obey'd the mighty force fo willinglie,
That none could difcord or diforder fee
In all their contrarietię.

Each had his motion natural and free,

And the whole no more mov'd, than the whole world could be. BRUTUS.

2. The ingenious author of the Obfervations on Spenfer (from which fine fpecimen of his critical talents one is led to expect great things) directs us to another imitation of this fort.

Taffo had faid,

Cofi

Cofi a le belle lagrime le piume

Si bagna Amore, e gode al chiaro lume.

On which fhort hint Spenfer has raifed the following luxuriant imagery:

The blinded archer-boy,

Like lark in fhow'r of rain,
Sate bathing of his wings,
And glad the time did spend
Under thofe cryftal drops,

Which fall from her fair eyes,
And at their brightest beams
Him proyn'd in lovely wife.

3. I will just add two more examples of the fame kind; chiefly, because they illuftrate an observation very proper to be attended to on this fubject; which is, "That, "in this difplay of a borrowed thought, the Imitation will generally fall short of the Original, even though the borrower be the "greater Genius."

The Italian poet, just now quoted, fays fublimely of the Night,

Ufei la Notte, è sotto l'ali

Menò il filentio→→→

C. v. S. 79..

Milton has given a paraphrafe of this but very much below his original,

paffage,

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Now came ftill Ev'ning on, and Twilight gray
Had in her fober livery all things ciad ;
Silence accompany'd of

The ftriking part of Taffo's picture is, "Night's bringing in Silence under ber wings." So new and fingular an idea as this had detected an Imitation. Milton contents himself then with faying fimply, Silence accompany'd. However, to make amends, as he thought, for this defect, Night itfelf, which the Italian had merely perfonized, the English poet not only perJonizes, but employs in a very becoming

office :

гал

Now came ftill Ey'ning, on, and Twilight gray. Had in her fober livery all things clad, Every body will obferve a little blemish in this fine couplet. He fhould not have pfed the epithet ftill, when he intended to add,

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Silence accompanied

AWOD 110013 90011 dew benedisb But there is a worfe fault in this Imitation. To hide it, he speaks of Night's livery. When he had done that, to speak of ther ywings had been ungraceful. Therefore be is forced to fay obfcurely, as well as fimply, Silence accompany'd; and for lofes a more

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noble

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