THE
PREFACE
.
TO
what
ill
purposes
soever
Poetry
has
been
abus'd
,
its
true
and
genuine
End
is
by
universal
Confession
,
the
Instruction
of
our
Minds
,
and
Regulation
of
our
Manners
;
for
which
't
is
furnish'd
with
so
many
excellent
Advantages
.
The
Delicacy
of
its
Strains
,
the
Sweetness
and
Harmony
of
its
Numbers
,
the
lively
and
admirable
manner
of
its
Painting
or
Representation
,
and
the
wonderful
Force
of
its
Eloquence
,
cannot
but
open
the
Passages
to
our
Breasts
,
triumph
over
our
Passions
,
and
leave
behind
them
very
deep
Impressions
.
'T
is
in
the
power
of
Poetry
to
insinuate
into
the
inmost
Recesses
of
the
Mind
,
to
touch
any
Spring
that
moves
the
Heart
,
to
agitate
the
Soul
with
any
sort
of
Affection
,
and
transform
it
into
any
Shape
or
Posture
it
thinks
fit
.
'T
is
therefore
no
wonder
that
so
wise
a
State
,
as
that
of
Athens
,
should
retain
the
Poets
on
the
side
of
Religion
and
the
Government
.
The
Stage
there
was
set
up
to
teach
the
People
the
Scheme
of
their
Religion
,
and
those
Modes
of
Worship
the
Government
thought
fit
to
encourage
,
to
convey
to
them
such
Ideas
of
their
Deities
,
and
Divine
Providence
,
as
might
engage
their
Minds
to
a
Reverence
of
superiour
,
invisible
Beings
,
and
to
observe
and
admire
their
Administration
of
humane
Affairs
.
The
Poets
were
look'd
on
as
Divine
,
not
only
upon
the
account
of
that
extraordinary
Fury
and
Heat
of
Imagination
,
wherewith
they
were
thought
to
be
inspir'd
,
but
likewise
upon
the
account
of
their
Profession
and
Imployment
,
their
Business
being
to
represent
Vice
as
the
most
odious
,
and
Virtue
as
the
most
desirable
thing
in
the
World
.
Tragedy
was
at
its
first
Institution
a
part
of
the
Ancient
Pagans
Divine
Service
,
when
the
Chorus
which
originally
was
so
great
a
part
,
contain'd
many
excellent
Lessons
of
Piety
and
Morality
,
and
was
wholly
imploy'd
in
rectifying
their
mistakes
about
the
Gods
,
and
their
Government
of
the
World
,
in
moderating
their
Passions
,
and
purging
their
Minds
from
Vice
and
Corruption
.
This
was
the
noble
Design
of
the
Chorus
.
And
the
Representation
of
great
and
illustrious
Characters
,
gradually
afterwards
introduc'd
,
their
Impious
,
or
their
Generous
Actions
,
and
the
different
Event
that
attended
them
,
was
to
deter
Men
from
Vice
and
Impiety
,
and
encourage
them
to
be
Generous
and
Virtuous
,
by
shewing
them
the
Vengeance
that
at
last
overtook
the
one
,
and
the
Rewards
and
Praises
that
crown'd
the
other
.
The
End
of
Comedy
was
the
same
,
but
pursu'd
in
another
way
.
The
business
of
Comedy
being
to
render
Vice
ridiculous
,
to
expose
it
to
publick
Derision
and
Contempt
,
and
to
make
Men
asham'd
of
Vile
and
Sordid
Actions
.
Tragedy
design'd
to
Scare
Men
,
Comedy
to
Laugh
them
out
of
their
Vices
.
And
't
is
very
plain
,
that
Satyr
is
intended
for
the
same
End
,
the
Promotion
of
Virtue
,
and
exposing
of
Vice
;
which
it
pursues
by
sharp
Reproaches
,
vehement
and
bitter
Invectives
,
or
by
a
Courtly
,
but
not
less
cutting
Raillery
.
The
Odes
of
the
Lyric
Poet
were
chiefly
design'd
for
the
Praises
of
their
Gods
,
their
Heroes
and
extraordinary
Persons
,
to
draw
Men
to
an
Admiration
and
Imitation
of
them
.
But
above
all
other
kinds
,
Epick
Poetry
,
as
it
is
first
in
Dignity
,
so
it
mostly
conduces
to
this
End
.
In
an
Epick
Poem
,
where
Characters
of
the
first
Rank
and
Dignity
,
Illustrious
for
their
Birth
or
high
Employment
are
introduc'd
,
the
Fable
,
the
Action
,
the
particular
Episodes
are
so
contriv'd
and
conducted
,
or
at
least
ought
to
be
,
that
either
Fortitude
,
Wisdom
,
Piety
,
Moderation
,
Generosity
,
some
or
other
Noble
and
Princely
Virtues
shall
be
recommended
with
the
highest
Advantage
,
and
their
contrary
Vices
made
as
odious
.
To
give
Men
right
and
just
Conceptions
of
Religion
and
Virtue
,
to
aid
their
Reason
in
restraining
their
Exorbitant
Appetites
and
Impetuous
Passions
,
and
to
bring
their
Lives
under
the
Rules
and
Guidance
of
true
Wisdom
,
and
thereby
to
promote
the
publick
Good
of
Mankind
,
is
undoubtedly
the
End
of
all
Poetry
.
'T
is
true
indeed
,
that
one
End
of
Poetry
is
to
give
Men
Pleasure
and
Delight
;
but
this
is
but
a
subordinate
,
subaltern
End
,
which
is
it self
a
Means
to
the
greater
,
and
ultimate
one
before
mention'd
.
A
Poet
should
imploy
all
his
Iudgment
and
Wit
,
exhaust
all
the
Riches
of
his
Fancy
,
and
abound
in
Beautiful
and
Noble
Expression
,
to
divert
and
entertain
others
;
but
then
it
must
be
with
this
Prospect
,
that
he
may
hereby
engage
their
Attention
,
insinuate
more
easily
into
their
Minds
,
and
more
effectually
convey
to
them
wise
Instructions
.
'T
is
below
the
Dignity
of
a
true
Poet
to
take
his
Aim
at
any
inferiour
End
.
They
are
Men
of
little
Genius
,
of
mean
and
poor
Design
,
that
imploy
their
Wit
for
no
higher
Purpose
,
than
to
please
the
Imagination
of
vain
and
wanton
People
.
I
think
these
Poets
,
if
they
must
be
called
so
,
whose
Wit
as
they
manage
it
,
is
altogether
unuseful
are
justly
reproach'd
;
but
I
am
sure
those
others
are
highly
to
be
condemned
,
who
use
all
their
Wit
in
Opposition
to
Religion
,
and
to
the
Destruction
of
Virtue
and
good
Manners
in
the
World
.
There
have
been
in
all
Ages
such
ill
Men
that
have
perverted
the
right
Vse
of
Poetry
,
but
never
so
many
,
or
so
bold
or
mischievous
as
in
ours
.
Our
Poets
seem
engag'd
in
a
general
Con'federacy
to
ruin
the
End
of
their
own
Art
,
to
expose
Religion
and
Virtue
,
and
bring
Vice
and
Corruption
of
Manners
into
Esteem
and
Reputation
.
The
Poets
that
write
for
the
Stage
(
at
least
a
great
part
of
'em
)
seem
deeply
concern'd
in
this
Conspiracy
.
These
are
the
Champions
that
charge
Religion
with
such
desperate
Resolution
,
and
have
given
it
so
many
deep
and
ghastly
Wounds
.
The
Stage
was
an
Outwork
or
Fort
rais'd
for
the
Protection
and
Security
of
the
Temple
,
but
the
Poets
that
kept
it
,
have
revolted
,
and
basely
betray'd
it
,
and
what
is
worse
,
have
turn'd
all
their
Force
and
discharg'd
all
their
Artillery
against
the
Place
their
Duty
was
to
defend
.
If
any
Man
thinks
this
an
unjust
Charge
,
I
desire
him
to
read
any
of
our
modern
Comedies
,
and
I
believe
he
will
soon
be
convinc'd
of
the
Truth
of
what
I
have
said
.
The
Man
of
Sense
and
the
Fine
Gentleman
in
the
Comedy
,
who
as
the
chiefest
Person
propos'd
to
the
Esteem
and
Imitation
of
the
Audience
,
is
enrich'd
with
all
the
Sense
and
Wit
the
Poet
can
bestow
;
this
Extraordinary
Person
you
will
find
to
be
a
Derider
of
Religion
,
a
great
Admirer
of
Lucretius
,
not
so
much
for
his
Learning
,
as
his
Irreligion
,
a
Person
wholly
Idle
,
dissolv'd
in
Luxury
,
abandon'd
to
his
Pleasures
,
a
great
Debaucher
of
Women
,
profuse
and
extravagant
in
his
Expences
,
and
in
short
,
this
Finish'd
Gentleman
will
appear
a
Finish'd
Libertine
.
The
Young
Lady
that
must
support
the
Character
of
a
Vertuous
,
Well-manner'd
Sensible
Woman
,
the
most
perfect
Creature
that
can
be
,
and
the
very
Flower
of
her
Sex
,
this
Accomplish'd
Person
entertains
the
Audience
with
confident
Discourses
,
immodest
Repartees
,
and
prophane
Raillery
.
She
is
throughly
instructed
in
Intreagues
and
Assignations
,
a
great
Scoffer
at
the
prudent
Reservedness
and
Modesty
of
the
best
of
her
Sex
,
She
despises
the
wise
Instructions
of
her
Parents
or
Guardians
,
is
disobedient
to
their
Authority
,
and
at
last
,
without
their
Knowledge
or
Consent
,
marries
her self
to
the
Fine
Gentleman
above
mentioned
.
And
can
any
one
imagine
,
but
that
our
Young
Ladies
and
Gentlemen
are
admirably
instructed
by
such
Patterns
of
Sense
and
Virtue
?
If
a
Clergy-man
be
introduc'd
,
as
he
often
is
,
't
is
seldome
for
any
other
purpose
,
but
to
abuse
him
,
to
expose
his
very
Character
and
Profession
:
He
must
be
a
Pimp
,
a
Blockhead
,
a
Hypocrite
;
some
wretched
Figure
he
must
make
,
and
almost
ever
be
so
manag'd
,
as
to
bring
his
very
Order
into
Contempt
.
This
indeed
is
a
very
common
,
but
yet
so
gross
an
Abuse
of
Wit
,
as
was
never
endur'd
on
a
Pagan
Theater
,
at
least
in
the
ancient
,
primitive
Times
of
Poetry
,
before
its
Purity
and
Simplicity
became
corrupted
with
the
Inventions
of
after
Ages
.
Poets
then
taught
Men
to
reverence
their
Gods
,
and
those
who
serv'd
them
.
None
had
so
little
Regard
for
his
Religion
,
as
to
expose
it
publickly
,
or
if
any
had
,
their
Governments
were
too
wise
to
suffer
the
Worship
of
their
Gods
to
be
treated
on
the
Stage
with
Contempt
.
In
our
Comedies
the
Wives
of
Citizens
are
highly
encourag'd
to
despise
their
Husbands
,
and
to
make
great
Friendship
with
some
such
Vertuous
Gentleman
and
Man
of
Sense
as
is
above
describ'd
.
This
is
their
Way
of
recommending
Chastity
and
Fidelity
.
And
that
Diligence
and
Frugality
may
be
sufficiently
expos'd
,
tho'
the
two
Virtues
that
chiefly
support
the
Being
of
any
State
,
to
deter
Men
from
being
Industrious
and
Wealthy
,
the
Diligent
,
Thriving
Citizen
is
made
the
most
Wretched
,
Contemptible
Thing
in
the
World
:
and
as
the
Alderman
that
makes
the
best
Figure
in
the
City
,
makes
the
worst
on
the
Stage
,
so
under
the
Character
of
a
Justice
of
Peace
,
you
have
all
the
Prudence
and
Virtues
of
the
Country
most
unmercifully
insulted
over
.
And
as
these
Characters
are
set
up
on
purpose
to
ruin
all
Opinion
and
Esteem
of
Virtue
,
so
the
Conduct
throughout
,
the
Language
,
the
Fable
and
Contrivance
seem
evidently
design'd
for
the
same
Noble
End
.
There
are
few
Fine
Conceipts
,
few
Strains
of
Wit
or
extraordinary
Pieces
of
Raillery
,
but
are
either
immodest
or
irreligious
,
and
very
few
Scenes
but
have
some
spiteful
and
envious
Stroke
at
Sobriety
and
Good
Manners
,
whence
the
Youth
of
the
Nation
have
apparently
receiv'd
very
bad
Impressions
.
The
universal
Corruption
of
Manners
and
irreligious
Disposition
of
Mind
that
infects
the
Kingdom
,
seems
to
have
been
in
a
great
Measure
deriv'd
from
the
Stage
,
or
has
at
least
been
highly
promoted
by
it
.
And
't
is
great
Pitty
that
those
in
whose
Power
it
is
,
have
not
yet
restrain'd
the
Licentiousness
of
it
,
and
oblig'd
the
Writers
to
observe
more
Decorum
.
It
were
to
be
wish'd
that
Poets
,
as
Preachers
are
in
some
Countries
,
were
paid
and
licens'd
by
the
State
,
and
that
none
were
suffer'd
to
write
in
Prejudice
of
Religion
and
the
Government
,
but
that
all
such
Offenders
,
as
publick
Enemies
of
Mankind
should
be
silenc'd
and
duly
punish'd
.
Sure
some
Effectual
Care
should
be
taken
that
these
Men
might
not
be
suffer'd
by
Debauching
our
Youth
,
to
help
on
the
Destruction
of
a
brave
Nation
.
Some
of
these
Poets
,
to
excuse
their
Guilt
,
alledge
for
themselves
,
that
the
Degeneracy
of
the
Age
makes
their
leud
way
of
Writing
necessary
;
they
pretend
the
Auditors
will
not
be
pleas'd
,
unless
they
are
thus
entertain'd
from
the
Stage
;
and
to
please
they
say
is
the
chief
business
of
the
Poet.
But
this
is
by
no
means
a
just
Apology
;
't
is
not
true
,
as
was
said
before
,
that
the
Poet
's
chief
business
is
to
please
.
His
chief
business
is
to
instruct
,
to
make
Mankind
Wiser
and
Better
;
and
in
order
to
this
,
his
Care
should
be
to
please
and
entertain
the
Audience
with
all
the
Wit
and
Art
,
he
is
Master
of
.
Aristotle
and
Horace
,
and
all
their
Criticks
and
Commentators
,
all
Men
of
Wit
and
Sense
agree
,
that
this
is
the
End
of
Poetry
.
But
they
say
't
is
their
Profession
to
Write
for
the
Stage
;
and
that
Poets
must
Starve
if
they
will
not
in
this
way
humour
the
Audience
.
The
Theater
will
be
as
unfrequented
,
as
the
Churches
,
and
the
Poet
and
the
Parson
equally
neglected
.
Let
the
Poet
then
abandon
his
Profession
,
and
take
up
some
honest
,
lawful
Calling
,
where
joyning
Industry
to
his
great
Wit
,
he
may
soon
get
above
the
Complaints
of
Poverty
,
so
common
among
these
ingenious
Men
,
and
lye
under
no
necessity
of
prostituting
his
Wit
to
any
such
vile
Purposes
as
are
here
censur'd
.
This
will
be
a
course
of
Life
more
Profitable
and
Honourable
to
himself
,
and
more
useful
to
others
.
And
there
are
among
these
Writers
some
,
who
think
they
might
have
risen
to
the
highest
Dignities
in
other
Professions
,
had
they
imploy'd
their
Wit
in
those
Ways
.
'T
is
a
mighty
Dishonour
and
Reproach
to
any
Man
,
that
is
capable
of
being
useful
to
the
World
in
any
Liberal
and
Virtuous
Profession
,
to
lavish
out
his
Life
and
Wit
in
propagating
Vice
and
Corruption
of
Manners
,
and
in
battering
from
the
Stage
the
strongest
Entrenchments
and
best
Works
of
Religion
and
Virtue
.
Whoever
makes
this
his
Choice
,
when
the
other
was
in
his
Power
,
may
he
go
off
the
Stage
unpity'd
,
complaining
of
Neglect
and
Poverty
,
the
just
Punishments
of
his
Irreligion
and
Folly
.
'T
is
no
dishonour
to
be
a
true
Poet
,
if
indeed
a
Man
be
one
;
that
is
,
a
noble
Genius
well
cultivated
,
and
employ'd
in
Writing
in
such
a
way
,
as
reaches
the
End
of
his
Art
,
and
by
discouraging
Vice
,
promotes
the
Good
of
Mankind
.
But
't
is
a
mighty
Dishonour
and
Shame
,
to
employ
excellent
Faculties
and
abundance
of
Wit
,
to
humour
and
please
Men
in
their
Vices
and
Follies
.
Such
a
one
is
more
hateful
,
as
an
ill
Man
,
than
valuable
,
as
a
good
Poet.
The
great
Enemy
of
Mankind
,
notwithstanding
his
Wit
and
Angelick
Faculties
,
is
the
most
odious
Being
of
the
whole
Creation
.
Nor
is
this
Abuse
confin'd
to
the
Stage
â–ª
the
same
Strain
runs
thro'
the
other
kinds
of
Poetry
.
What
monstrous
leud
and
irreligious
Books
of
Poems
,
as
they
are
call'd
,
have
been
of
late
days
publish'd
,
and
what
is
the
greater
wonder
,
receiv'd
in
a
Civiliz'd
and
Christian
Kingdom
,
with
Applause
and
Reputation
?
The
sweetness
of
the
Wit
,
makes
the
Poison
go
down
with
Pleasure
,
and
the
Contagion
spreads
without
Opposition
.
Young
Gentlemen
and
Ladies
are
generally
pleasd
and
diverted
with
Poetry
,
more
than
by
any
other
way
of
Writing
;
but
there
are
few
Poems
they
can
fix
on
,
but
they
are
like
to
pay
too
dear
for
their
Entertainment
.
Their
Fancies
are
like
to
be
fill'd
with
impure
Ideas
,
and
their
Minds
engag'd
in
hurtful
Passions
,
which
are
the
more
lasting
,
by
being
convey'd
in
lively
Expressions
,
and
all
the
Address
of
an
artful
Poet.
For
this
End
among
others
,
I
undertook
the
writing
of
this
Poem
,
hoping
I
might
be
able
to
please
and
entertain
,
not
only
without
hurting
the
Reader
,
but
to
his
advantage
.
I
was
willing
to
make
one
Effort
towards
the
rescuing
the
Muses
out
of
the
hands
of
these
Ravishers
,
to
restore
them
to
their
sweet
and
chast
Mansions
,
and
to
engage
them
in
an
Employment
suitable
to
their
Dignity
.
If
I
succeed
not
my self
in
this
good
Design
,
I
hope
at
least
I
shall
awaken
the
Courage
and
Compassion
of
some
other
brave
Adventurers
,
that
may
more
happily
attempt
this
honorable
Work
.
To
write
an
Epick
Poem
is
a
work
of
that
Difficulty
,
that
no
one
for
near
seventeen
hundred
years
past
has
succeeded
in
it
;
and
only
those
two
great
Wits
Homer
and
Virgil
before
.
That
the
modern
Poets
have
been
so
unsuccessful
,
has
not
,
I
imagin
,
proceeded
so
much
from
want
of
Genius
,
as
from
their
Ignorance
of
the
Rules
of
writing
such
a
Poem
;
or
at
least
,
from
their
want
of
attending
to
them
.
Tho'
Aristotle's
excellent
Rules
of
Poetry
were
early
publish'd
by
Victorius
at
Florence
,
and
soon
after
farther
illustrated
by
the
Comments
of
several
Italian
Criticks
,
yet
we
do
not
find
that
Ariosto
or
Tasso
either
,
were
very
careful
to
observe
them
.
And
indeed
our
modern
Writers
neither
seem
to
have
attended
to
those
incomparable
Rules
,
nor
carefully
to
have
consider'd
the
great
Models
that
Homer
and
Virgil
had
left
them
.
Some
Readers
that
are
not
vers'd
in
this
matter
,
imagin
every
thing
written
in
Heroick
Verse
,
is
an
Heroick
Poem
;
but
these
have
not
consider'd
the
Nature
of
such
a
Work
,
nor
look'd
into
the
Criticks
,
who
have
written
on
this
Subject
.
I
shall
therefore
give
the
Definition
of
an
Epick
or
Heroick
Poem
,
that
those
that
have
it
not
already
,
may
now
have
a
true
Idea
of
its
Nature
.
An
Epick
Poem
is
a
feign'd
or
devis'd
Story
of
an
Illustrious
Action
,
related
in
Verse
,
in
an
Allegorical
,
Probable
,
Delightful
and
Admirable
manner
,
to
cultivate
the
Mind
with
Instructions
of
Virtue
.
'T
is
a
feign'd
or
devis'd
Discourse
;
that
is
,
a
Fable
;
and
so
it
agrees
with
Tragedy
and
Comedy
.
The
word
Fable
at
first
signified
indifferently
a
true
or
false
Story
,
therefore
Cicero
for
distinction
,
uses
Fictas
Fabulas
in
his
Book
de
Finibus
.
But
afterwards
Custom
obtain'd
to
use
the
word
always
for
a
feign'd
Discourse
.
And
in
the
first
Ages
,
especially
in
the
Eastern
World
,
great
use
was
made
by
Learned
and
Wise
Men
of
these
feign'd
Discourses
,
Fables
or
Apologues
,
to
teach
the
ruder
and
more
unpolish'd
Part
of
Mankind
.
Theologians
,
Philosophers
,
and
great
Law-givers
,
every
where
fell
into
this
way
of
instructing
and
cultivating
the
People
in
the
Knowledge
of
Religion
,
Natural
Philosophy
,
and
Moral
and
Political
Virtues
.
So
Thales
,
Orpheus
,
Solon
,
Homer
,
and
the
rest
of
the
great
Men
in
those
Ages
have
done
,
and
the
famous
Philosopher
Socrates
is
by
some
affirm'd
to
be
the
Author
of
many
of
the
Fables
that
pass
under
Aesop's
name
.
Most
of
them
made
their
Fables
in
Verse
,
that
by
the
addition
of
Harmony
and
Numbers
they
might
the
better
attain
their
End
.
Strabo
and
Plutarch
greatly
commend
this
way
of
teaching
the
People
;
and
these
Reasons
may
be
given
for
the
usefulness
of
it
.
Naked
Philosophical
Precepts
and
Doctrines
are
of
themselves
harsh
and
dry
,
hardly
attended
to
,
and
ungratefully
entertain'd
.
If
the
Hearers
are
rude
and
course
,
or
very
vicious
,
there
is
no
hope
of
gaining
them
by
a
grave
and
solemn
Discourse
of
Virtue
,
and
even
the
better
and
more
civiliz'd
Auditors
are
hardly
kept
attentive
to
it
.
Man
is
naturally
a
lover
of
Pleasure
,
and
if
you
would
do
him
Good
,
it
must
be
,
by
pleasing
him
;
you
must
give
him
Delight
,
and
keep
his
Mind
in
a
constant
agreeable
Agitation
,
else
he
will
not
attend
to
the
most
useful
Counsel
and
Instruction
.
He
is
pleas'd
already
with
the
Notions
and
Habitudes
,
howsoever
false
or
vicious
,
that
have
the
present
Possession
of
him
,
and
you
must
give
him
a
great
deal
of
Pleasure
and
Entertainment
to
engage
him
to
hear
you
,
when
you
would
perswade
him
to
the
trouble
,
of
becoming
Wiser
and
Better
.
Now
the
first
Wise
Men
that
undertook
to
civilize
and
polish
the
barbarous
World
,
found
this
way
of
Fables
especially
in
Verse
,
to
be
mighty
Acceptable
to
the
People
:
The
Contrivance
gave
them
Delight
,
and
the
Novelty
rais'd
their
Admiration
.
They
could
learn
them
perfectly
,
and
repeat
them
often
,
by
which
means
the
Instructions
of
Virtue
covertly
contain'd
in
them
,
were
inculcated
on
their
Minds
.
And
we
find
,
that
many
Ages
after
Orpheus
,
Solon
,
Homer
,
&c.
the
Divine
Law-giver
of
the
Christians
thought
fit
to
teach
the
People
by
Apologues
,
Parables
or
Fables
,
under
which
he
cover'd
and
disguis'd
his
Heavenly
Instructions
.
The
Action
must
be
Illustrious
and
Important
;
Illustrious
in
respect
of
the
Person
,
who
is
the
Author
of
it
,
who
is
always
some
Valiant
,
or
Wise
,
or
Pious
Prince
or
great
Commander
:
But
let
his
Character
be
what
it
will
in
other
respects
(
for
there
is
no
Necessity
the
Hero
should
be
a
good
or
a
wise
Person
)
't
is
always
necessary
he
should
have
Courage
;
which
single
Quality
is
sufficient
to
make
the
Hero
.
And
the
Action
must
be
important
,
both
in
respect
of
its
Object
and
its
End
.
'T
is
the
Action
of
some
great
Person
,
about
some
noble
and
weighty
Affair
.
'T
is
true
,
there
are
many
other
Persons
concern'd
,
but
t
is
the
Action
of
the
chief
Person
that
gives
the
Being
and
Denomination
to
the
Poem
.
This
Action
must
be
but
one
;
when
it
ceases
,
the
Poem
is
ended
;
and
if
it
be
reviv'd
,
and
taken
up
again
,
't
is
a
new
Poem
begins
.
Action
is
Motion
;
and
if
it
ceases
cannot
be
reviv'd
,
so
as
to
be
numerically
the
same
.
There
are
indeed
many
other
Actions
besides
the
Principal
one
,
but
they
all
depend
on
,
and
have
relation
to
that
which
is
Principal
,
with
the
Unity
of
which
,
the
Unity
of
the
Poem
stands
or
falls
.
If
this
principal
Action
be
broken
,
the
Poem
is
broken
too
,
if
there
be
any
other
Action
coordinate
and
independent
on
this
,
the
Poem
is
monstrous
,
and
has
as
many
Heads
,
as
there
are
found
independent
Actions
.
The
Narration
therefore
of
many
Actions
successively
of
one
great
Person
,
or
the
History
of
his
Life
related
in
Verse
,
is
by
no
means
an
Heroick
Poem
,
any
one
great
Action
being
sufficient
for
that
.
That
which
makes
the
Unity
of
the
Action
,
is
the
regular
Succession
of
one
Part
or
Episode
to
another
,
not
only
as
Antecedents
and
Consequents
,
but
as
it
were
Causes
and
Effects
,
wherein
the
Reader
may
discern
that
the
former
Episode
makes
the
following
necessary
,
and
the
Connection
between
them
is
such
,
that
they
assist
and
support
each
other
,
as
the
Members
of
the
Body
do
,
no
Episode
being
out
of
its
place
,
of
a
disproportion'd
size
to
the
Rest
,
or
that
could
be
spar'd
from
its
place
,
without
maiming
,
or
at
least
deforming
the
Whole
.
If
this
order
of
the
Episodes
be
preserv'd
,
and
there
appears
none
but
what
naturally
and
probably
results
from
the
principal
Action
,
then
the
Action
may
be
look'd
on
as
one
.
The
Action
must
be
related
in
an
Allegorical
manner
;
and
this
Rule
is
best
observ'd
,
when
as
Divines
speak
;
there
is
both
a
Literal
Sense
obvious
to
every
Reader
,
and
that
gives
him
satisfaction
enough
if
he
sees
no
farther
;
and
besides
another
Mystical
or
Typical
Sense
,
not
hard
to
be
discover'd
by
those
Readers
that
penetrate
the
matter
deeper
.
Virgil
seems
most
happy
in
this
Conduct
,
whose
Poem
all
along
contains
this
double
Sense
,
Homer
has
often
only
an
Allegorical
Sense
without
the
Literal
,
and
therefore
is
not
so
well
accommodated
to
this
Age
,
as
he
was
not
to
that
of
Augustus
.
But
Ariosto
and
Spencer
,
however
great
Wits
,
not
observing
this
judicious
Conduct
of
Virgil
,
nor
attending
to
any
sober
Rules
,
are
hurried
on
with
a
boundless
,
impetuous
Fancy
over
Hill
and
Dale
,
till
they
are
both
lost
in
a
Wood
of
Allegories
.
Allegories
so
wild
,
unnatura
l
,
and
extravagant
,
as
greatly
displease
the
Reader
.
This
way
of
writing
mightily
offends
in
this
Age
;
and
't
is
a
wonder
how
it
came
to
please
in
any
.
There
is
indeed
a
way
of
writing
purely
Allegorical
,
as
when
Vices
and
Virtues
are
introduc'd
as
Persons
,
the
first
as
Furies
,
the
other
as
Divine
Persons
or
Goddesses
,
which
still
obtains
,
and
is
well
enough
accommodated
to
the
present
Age.
For
the
Allegory
is
presently
discern'd
,
and
the
Reader
is
by
no
means
impos'd
on
,
but
sees
it
immediately
to
be
an
Allegory
,
and
is
both
delighted
and
instructed
with
it
.
The
devis'd
Story
must
be
related
in
a
probable
manner
;
without
this
all
things
will
be
harsh
,
unnatural
,
and
monstrous
;
and
consequently
most
odious
and
offensive
to
the
Iudicious
.
Probability
must
be
in
the
Action
,
the
Conduct
,
the
Manners
;
and
where
humane
means
cannot
,
Machine
s
are
introduc'd
to
support
it
.
Nothing
is
more
necessary
then
Probability
;
no
Rule
more
chastly
to
be
observ'd
.
An
Epick
Poem
must
likewise
be
delightful
and
admirable
;
and
to
make
it
so
,
must
concur
sublime
Thoughts
,
clear
and
noble
Expression
,
Purity
of
Language
,
a
just
and
due
Proportion
,
Relation
,
and
Dependance
between
the
Parts
,
and
a
beautiful
and
regular
Structure
and
Connection
discernable
in
the
Whole
.
Without
these
it
will
not
be
capable
of
giving
Delight
,
or
raising
Admiration
.
Admiration
is
the
Formal
Object
of
an
Epick
Poem
,
nothing
is
to
be
admitted
there
,
but
as
it
is
admirable
;
and
by
this
it
is
discriminated
from
all
other
sorts
of
Poetry
.
Every
kind
endeavours
to
please
and
delight
,
but
this
only
attempts
to
please
by
astonishing
and
amazing
the
Reader
.
In
an
Epick
Poem
every
thing
should
appear
great
and
wonderful
,
the
Thoughts
cannot
be
too
much
Elevated
,
the
Episodes
too
Noble
,
the
Expression
too
Magnificent
,
nor
the
Action
too
Wonderful
and
Surprising
,
if
Probability
be
preserv'd
.
No
Riches
of
Fancy
,
no
Pomp
of
Eloquence
can
be
laid
out
too
much
on
such
a
Work
where
the
Design
is
throughout
to
raise
our
Admiration
.
To
render
the
Action
the
more
Admirable
,
Homer
and
Virgil
have
introduc'd
the
Gods
,
and
engag'd
them
every
where
as
Parties
;
and
tho'
I
cannot
say
this
is
Essential
and
Necessary
to
an
Epick
Poem
,
yet
't
is
evident
,
that
interesting
Heaven
and
Hell
in
the
matter
,
does
mightily
raise
the
Subject
,
and
makes
the
Action
appear
more
wonderful
.
The
Pagan
Poets
had
in
this
a
great
advantage
,
their
Theology
was
such
,
as
would
easily
mix
it self
with
their
Poems
,
from
whence
they
receiv'd
their
greatest
Beauties
.
Homer
indeed
to
raise
his
Subject
by
his
frequent
Machines
,
seems
to
have
debas'd
his
Virgil's
Conduct
,
in
my
Opinion
,
is
more
careful
and
chast
.
But
some
of
our
modern
Criticks
have
believ'd
't
is
scarce
possible
for
a
Christian
Poet
to
make
use
of
this
advantage
,
of
introducing
Superiour
,
Indivisible
Powers
into
the
Action
,
and
therefore
seem
to
despair
of
seeing
an
Heroick
Poem
written
now
,
that
shall
reach
to
the
Dignity
of
those
of
the
Pagans
.
They
think
the
Christian
Religion
is
not
so
well
accommodated
to
this
matter
,
as
the
Pagan
was
;
and
that
if
any
Attempt
be
made
this
way
,
Religion
will
suffer
more
,
than
the
Poem
will
gain
by
it
.
My
Opinion
has
always
differ'd
from
these
Gentlemen's
,
I
believe
a
Christian
Poet
has
as
great
advantages
as
the
Pagan
had
;
and
that
our
Theology
may
enter
into
an
Epick
Poem
,
and
raise
the
Subject
without
being
it self
debas'd
.
And
this
indeed
was
a
second
Reason
why
I
undertook
this
Work
,
so
full
of
Difficulty
and
Hazard
.
I
was
willing
to
give
an
Instance
wherein
it
might
appear
,
that
the
Assertion
I
have
advanc'd
,
is
actually
true
.
In
the
Definition
which
I
have
given
of
an
Heroick
Poem
,
according
to
the
Sense
and
Iudgment
of
the
best
Criticks
,
I
have
said
,
its
End
is
to
convey
some
Instruction
of
Virtue
.
But
of
this
,
I
have
discours'd
at
large
at
the
beginning
of
this
Preface
,
and
there
is
no
need
of
repeating
it
.
'T
is
not
for
me
to
proceed
to
Censure
other
Mens
Performances
of
this
Kind
;
whoever
will
be
at
the
Pains
to
read
the
Commentators
on
Aristotle
,
and
Horace's
Rules
of
Poetry
;
or
that
will
but
carefully
consider
Rapin
,
Dacier
,
and
Bossu
,
those
great
Masters
among
the
French
,
and
the
Iudicious
Remarks
of
our
own
excellent
Critick
Mr.
Rymer
,
who
seems
to
have
better
consider'd
these
matters
,
and
to
have
seen
farther
into
them
,
than
any
of
the
English
Nation
;
will
be
soon
able
to
see
wherein
the
Heroick
Poems
that
have
been
publish'd
since
Virgil
by
the
Italian
,
French
,
and
English
Wits
have
been
defective
,
by
comparing
them
with
the
Rules
of
Writing
set
down
by
those
great
Masters
.
Whether
I
have
succeeded
better
,
must
be
left
to
the
determination
of
the
Iudicious
Reader
.
In
this
Work
I
have
endeavour'd
mostly
to
form
my self
on
Virgil's
Model
,
which
I
look
on
,
as
the
most
just
and
perfect
,
and
which
is
most
easily
accommodated
to
the
present
Age
,
supposing
the
Christian
Religion
in
the
place
of
the
Pagan
.
I
do
not
make
any
Apology
for
my
Imitation
of
Virgil
in
so
many
places
of
this
Poem
;
for
the
same
great
Master
has
imitated
Homer
as
frequently
and
closely
;
and
I
do
not
find
that
any
of
his
Criticks
have
condemn'd
him
for
his
doing
so
.
Nor
is
it
at
all
improbable
,
but
that
the
Greek
Poet
himself
imitated
his
Predecessors
of
the
same
Nation
,
tho'
no
doubt
he
wonderfully
improv'd
their
Model
.
Homer
was
not
the
first
Writer
of
an
Epick
Poem
.
We
find
Aristotle
in
his
Book
of
the
Art
of
Poetry
,
makes
mention
of
several
before
him
:
He
tells
us
of
an
Epick
Poem
,
intituled
,
The
Little
Ilias
,
and
another
the
Cyprica
;
and
censures
them
both
,
as
containing
many
perfect
,
distinct
,
and
independent
Actions
.
The
last
of
these
Poems
is
likewise
mention'd
by
Herodotus
in
Euterpe
,
by
Athenaeus
and
Pausanias
.
And
't
is
likely
many
more
such
Poems
were
written
before
Homer's
time
,
who
might
be
well
suppos'd
to
have
imitated
them
in
what
they
had
done
well
,
as
well
as
to
have
improv'd
them
in
avoiding
many
of
their
Errors
.
What
Homer
and
Virgil
have
perform'd
with
Honour
and
universal
Applause
,
I
have
attempted
:
What
they
have
been
able
,
I
have
been
willing
to
do
.
If
I
have
not
succeeded
,
my
disappointment
will
be
the
less
,
in
that
Poetry
has
been
so
far
from
being
my
Business
and
Profession
,
that
it
has
imploy'd
but
a
small
part
of
my
Time
;
and
then
,
but
as
my
Recreation
,
and
the
Entertainment
of
my
idle
hours
.
If
this
Attempt
succeeds
so
far
,
as
to
excite
some
other
Person
that
has
a
noble
Genius
,
Leisure
,
and
Application
,
to
Honour
his
Country
with
a
just
Epick
Poem
,
I
shall
think
the
Vacancies
and
Intervals
that
for
about
two
years
past
,
I
have
had
from
the
Business
of
my
Profession
;
which
notwithstanding
was
then
greater
then
at
any
time
before
,
have
been
very
well
imploy'd
.
Books
lately
Printed
for
,
and
Sold
by
A.
&
J.
Churchil
,
at
the
Black
Swan
in
Pater-Noster-Row
.
A
View
of
Universal
History
,
from
the
Creation
to
the
Year
of
Christ
1695.
wherein
the
most
memorable
Persons
and
Things
in
the
known
Kingdoms
and
Countries
of
the
World
,
are
set
down
in
several
Columns
by
way
of
Synchronism
,
according
to
their
proper
Centuries
and
Years
:
By
Francis
Tallents
,
sometime
Fellow
of
Magdalen
College
,
Cambridge
.
The
whole
graven
in
16
Copper-plates
,
each
15
Inches
deep
,
and
22
broad
;
bound
up
into
Books
,
the
Sheets
lined
.
A
Work
of
great
Exactness
and
Curiosity
.
Price
16
s.
Camden's
Britannia
,
newly
Translated
into
English
,
with
large
Additions
and
Improvements
.
By
Edmund
Gibson
of
Queens
College
in
Cambridge
.
The
General
History
of
the
Air.
By
Robert
Boyle
,
Esq
A
Compleat
Journal
of
the
Votes
,
Speeches
and
Debates
,
both
of
the
House
of
Lords
and
House
of
Commons
,
throughout
the
whole
Reign
of
Queen
Elizabeth
.
Collected
by
Sir
Simonds
Dewes
Baronet
,
and
Published
by
Paul
Bowes
of
the
Middle-Temple
,
Esq
The
Second
Edition
.
The
Works
of
the
famous
Nicholas
Machiavel
,
Citizen
and
Secretary
of
Florence
.
Written
Originally
in
Italian
,
and
from
thence
faithfully
Translated
into
English
.
Mr.
Lock
's
Essay
concerning
Humane
Understanding
.
The
Second
Edition
,
with
large
Additions
.
—
his
Thoughts
of
Education
,
8áµ’.
The
Fables
of
Aesop
and
other
Mithologists
;
made
English
by
Sir
Roger
L'Estrange
,
Kt.
Fol.
Two
Treatises
of
Government
:
The
first
an
Answer
to
Filmer's
Patriarchae
.
The
latter
an
Essay
concerning
the
true
Original
,
Extent
,
and
End
of
Civil
Government
,
8áµ’.
Notitia
Monastica
,
or
a
short
History
of
the
Religious
Houses
in
England
and
Wales
,
&c.
By
Thomas
Tanner
,
A.
B.
The
Resurrection
of
the
(
same
)
Body
asserted
from
the
Traditions
of
the
Heathens
,
the
Ancient
Jews
,
and
the
Primitive
Church
:
With
an
Answer
to
the
Objections
brought
against
it
.
By
Humphry
Hody
,
D.
D.
Bishop
Wilkins
of
Prayer
and
Preaching
;
Enlarged
by
the
Bishop
of
Norwich
,
and
Dr.
Williams
,
8áµ’.
Considerations
about
lowering
the
Interest
,
and
raising
the
Value
of
Money
,
8áµ’.
Short
Observations
on
a
Printed
Paper
,
intituled
,
For
encouraging
the
Coining
Salver
Money
in
England
,
and
after
for
keeping
it
here
.
Sir
William
Temple's
History
of
the
Netherlands
,
8áµ’.
—
Miscellanea
,
8áµ’.
Dr.
Gibson's
Anatomy
of
Humane
Bodies
,
with
Additions
,
8áµ’.
Dr.
Patrick's
new
Version
of
all
the
Psalms
of
David
in
Metre
,
12áµ’.
Mr.
L'Clerc
Logica
,
12áµ’.
Two
Treatises
of
Rational
Religion
,
8áµ’.
Gentleman's
Religion
,
with
the
Grounds
and
Reasons
of
it
.
In
which
the
Truth
of
Christianity
in
general
is
vindicated
;
its
Simplicity
asserted
;
and
some
Introductory
Rules
for
the
discovering
of
its
particular
Doctrines
and
Precepts
,
are
proposed
.
By
a
private
Gentleman
.
In
the
Press
.
Leland
de
Viris
illustratibus
,
and
Boston
of
Bury
,
from
the
MSS.
with
large
Improvements
;
and
a
Continuation
.
By
Mr.
Tanner
.
Sir
Richard
Baker's
Chronicle
of
the
Kings
of
England
,
continued
down
to
this
time
.
Cambridge
Concordance
,
Fol.