in his own Imagination, the pleasure which may result from the accidental association of ideas with a particular scene.

Illus. 2. The painter who paints a faithful copy of an individual object, whether it be a portrait or a landscape, or some particular scene for the stage, is not permitted to indulge in Imagination. But when he conceives some subject for a painting, for which he has no copy, the original idea must be formed in the Imagination; and, that the picture may produce the effect on the mind of the spectator which the artist has in view, the exercise of Imagination must concur with perception.

Corol. Painting, therefore, has something in common with those arts which not only take their rise from the power of Imagination, but produce objects which are addressed to it, and with those arts also which take their rise from Imagination, but produce objects which are addressed to the power of perception.

Пlus. 3. In poetry, and in every species of descriptive composition, the power of the Imagination is requisite both to the author and the reader; to the former, to present to the mind of another the objects of his own Imagination; and to the latter, to form in his mind a distinct picture of what is described. But no two persons possess Imagination in the same degree, or those other powers, abstraction, conception, and association, on the proper exercise of which the full display of Imagination depends; and therefore, though both may be pleased, the agreeable impressions that each may feel, may be widely different from those of the other, according as the pictures by which those impressions are produced, may be more or less happily imagined.

4. In landscape gardening, the designs of Kent, of Brown, and of Loudon evince, in their authors, a degree of Imagination analogous to that of the descriptive poet; and whatever they have designed meets the eye of every spectator, bating always the beauties and pleasures resulting to some individuals from association. But in poetry, the reader must actually possess some degree of the author's genius, and a mind furnished by previous habits, with the means of interpreting his language, to be able, by his own Imagination, to co-operate with the efforts of the author.

5. In article 195, it was observed, that “the fluctuating state of language does not permit general names always to retain the same precise signification;" and we may here add, that general words, which express complex ideas, seldom convey precisely the same meaning to different individuals; hence arises the ambiguity of language, in respect to sensible objects. For who, for example, in a descriptive composition, attaches the same precise idea to the words river, grove, mountain? The youth, the man of lively Imagination, has a very different conception of those words from another youth or another man of a blunt Imagination. The former thinks of some particular river, grove, mountain, that has made an impression on his mind; the latter, destitute of any such impression, and perhaps a native of London, would think of the Thames, Hornsey Wood, and the Surrey Hills. The youth who has been educated at Eton, at Winchester, or at Harrow, would be in the same predicament with him who had received the rudiments of his education at Westminster. For myself, I ever think with delight of the little Island

of Bute, where I was born, and partly educated; its wood-crowned hills, its lakes, its rocky coast, its ancient csstle, whence the Prince of Wales derives the title of Duke of Rothsay; my ancient and venerable masters Macartney and Mackinlay; the recollection of early friendships and all those agreeable ideas associated with the scenes of childhood and of youth, rush spontaneously on my mind, and would afford many pleasing descriptions were they thrown together in some boyish tale. Every man feels the same; every youth will assent to this: and it sufficiently establishes the position we have in hand, provided always common sense be our guide. But, to fill up any descriptive picture, both Imagination and Conception are requisite; hence those who have seen Loch Catherine will be able to judge correctly of Walter Scott's description of that charming scene; and those who have visited Florence, Athens, and Rome, as they now are, can judge of lord Byron's pictures of those places, and of their inhabitants. And the foregoing reasoning leads to the inference, that in descriptive composition, much is left to be supplied by the Imagination of the reader, on whose mind the effect will be in the direct ratio of his own invention and taste to that of the author's, or that with which the picture is finished.

Corol. 1. It is therefore, possible, on the one hand, as is remarked by Mr. Stewart, that the happiest efforts of poetical genius may be perused with perfect indifference by a man of sound judgment, and not destitute of natural sensibility, and on the other hand, that a cold and common-place description may be the means of awakening, in a rich and glowing Imagination, a degree of enthusiasm unknown to the author.

2. The primary object in these arts which we have mentioned, is to please; and this circumstance distinguishes poetry from philosophical compositions, which usually have for their object to inform and enlighten mankind; and also from oratory, whose object is to acquire an ascendant over the will of others, by bending to the speaker's purposes, their judgments, their imaginations, and their passions.

III. The Relation of Imagination and of Taste to Genius.

270. Persons accustomed to analyse and combine their conceptions, may acquire ideas of beauty far above any which they have seen realized. A habit of forming such mental combinations, and of remarking their effect on our own minds, must, therefore, contribute to exalt the Taste to a degree which it never can attain in those people who study to improve it by the observation and comparison only of external objects. (STEWART.)

Illus. 1. Genius in the fine arts is nothing more than a cultivated Taste combined with a creative Imagination. Without Taste, Imagination could only produce a random analysis and combination of our conceptions; and without Imagination, Taste would be des titute of the faculty of invention. These two ingredients of genius

may be mixed together in all possible proportions; and when either is possessed in a degree remarkably exceeding what falls to the ordinary share of mankind, it may compensate in some measure, for a deficiency in the other. An uncommonly correct Taste, with little Imagination, if it does not produce works which excite admiration, produces at least nothing that can offend. An uncommon fertility of imagination, even when it offends, excites our wonder by its creative powers, and shews what it could have performed, had its exertions been guided by a more perfect model. (STEWART.)

2. In the infancy of the arts, an union of these two powers in the same mind is necessary for the production of every work of genius. At that period there are no monuments of ancient genius on which Taste can be formed. It must therefore be from the result of experiments, which nothing but the Imagination of every individual can enable him to make, that Taste can be formed. At that period, therefore, Taste, without Imagination, is impossible. But, as experience becomes extended, Taste will be acquired, and, as it becomes perfect, Imagination will produce more chaste, more beautiful, and more finished pictures, or descriptions, or scenes.

Corol. Hence, as the productions of genius accumulate, Taste may be formed by a careful perusal of the works of others; and, as formerly Imagination served as a necessary foundation for Taste, so Taste now begins to invade the province of Imagination. The multiplicity and variety of the combinations, which, for a long succession of ages, Imagination has formed, present ample materials for a judicious selection. A high standard of excellence is now continually present to the artist's thoughts. He may, therefore, by industry, assisted by the most moderate degree of Imagination, produce, in time, performances, not only more free from faults, but incomparably more powerful in their effects, than the most original efforts of untutored genius, which, guided by an uncultivated taste, copies after an inferior model of perfection.

IV. Of the Influence of Imagination on Human Character and Happiness.

271. The power of Imagination has been hitherto considered chiefly as it is related to the arts of poetry, painting,. sculpture, and the creation of landscape; but its powerful influence on human character and happiness recommend it eminently to the attention of youth.

Illus. The lower animals, says Mr. Stewart, as far as we are able to judge, are entirely occupied with the objects of their present perceptions; and the case is nearly the same with the inferior orders of our own species. One of the principal effects which a liberal education produces on the mind, is to accustom us to withdraw our attention from the objects of sense, and to direct it at pleasure, to those intellectual combinations which delight the Imagination. And, among men of cultivated understandings, this faculty is possessed in very unequal degrees by different individu

als; and these differences, whether resulting from original constitution, or from early education, lay the foundation of some striking varieties in human character.

272. That sensibility depends, in a great measure, on the power of Imagination, will appear evident from the following illustration.

Illus. Point out to two men any object of compassion; a man, for example, reduced by misfortune from easy circumstances to indigence. The one feels merely in proportion to what he perceives by his senses. The other follows, in Imagination, the unfortunate man to his dwelling, and partakes with him and his family in their domestic distresses. He listens to their conversation, while they recal to remembrance the flattering prospects they once indulged; the circle of friends they had been forced to leave; the liberal plans of education which were begun and interrupted; and pictures to himself all the various resources which delicacy and pride suggest to conceal poverty from the world. As he proceeds in the painting, his sensibility increases, and he weeps, not for what he sees, but for what he imagines. Granted that his sensibility originally roused his Imagination, the warmth of his Imagination increased and prolonged his sensibility. Let any of my young friends take up the "Sentimental Journey" of Sterne, and he will find this position verified in numerous instances. The reflections on the state prisons of France, suggested by the accidental sight of a starling confined in a cage, is a case in point. And I have myself, without a shadow of vanity in what I say, had several illustrations of this remark during a residence of ten years in the metropolis; as well among the aged and infirm who had seen better days, as among those of my own age, who have had the cup of bliss dashed from their lips when they were about to sip its nectar.

273. On some persons, who discover no sensibility to the distresses of real life, the exhibitions of fictitious scenes of distress produce effects analogous to those we have illustrated.

Illus. In a novel or a tragedy, the picture is completely finished in all its parts; and we are made acquainted, (as in "THE VICAR of WAKEFIELD," for example, or " KING LEAR;") not only with every circumstance on which the distress turns, but with the sentiments and feelings of every character, with respect to the situation of that character. In real life we see, in general, only detached scenes of the tragedy, and the impression is slight, unless Imagination finishes the characters, and supplies the incidents which are wanting to make them complete.

274. Imagination, however, does not only increase our sensibility to scenes of distress; it gives us a double share of enjoyment in the prosperity of others, and fits us to participate, with a more lively interest, in every fortunate incident that falls to the lot either of individuals or of communities.

Obs. 1. Even from the productions of the earth, and the vicissi tudes of the year, Imagination carries forward our thoughts to the enjoyments they bring to the sensitive creation, and by interesting our benevolent affections in the scenes we behold, lends a new charm to the beauties of nature. In confirmation of this observation, I recommend to the student's perusal, Thomson's "Seasons," or Bloomfield's "Farmer's Boy.".

2. As to those callous beings who feel wholly for themselves, and have no emotions for the fate of others; who, in fact, evince no feeling for the distresses to which humanity is so much a prey; their coldness and selfishness may be traced to a want of attention, and a want of Imagination; and I shall not, therefore, insult the mind of generous youth, by pourtraying principles that bar the heart against the eloquent and pathetic language of beggary, famine, disease, and all the distress which exists in the world.

V. On the Culture of the Imagination.

275. It may be asserted, without fear of contradiction, that, with regard to the faculty of Imagination, as with regard to all the other endowments of the mind, certain degrees of improvement are within the reach of every individual who earnestly endeavours to attain it.

Illus. In truth, says Professor Jardine, the simple consideration that this faculty, like most others, is in a constant state of action, necessarily implies the notion of culture and improvement. In very young persons, too, its efforts are weak, and its combinations unsteady; but, as the range of knowledge enlarges, and the number of ideas is increased, its growing power makes itself manifest in the vivid reproductions which it places before the mind, and in the boldness of its varied creations.

Example 1. When Philip planned the conquest of Greece, or when Scipio and Polybius anticipated the destruction of Carthage, their Imaginations must have been strong and steady enough to present, before the eye of their minds, extensive combinations of distant events respecting the relative state and condition of these nations, and the various probabilities which fell within their view, Their Imaginations could not have performed for them this office when they first began to study politics.

2. When Sir Isaac Newton first began to study astronomy, he would probably find it extremely difficult to combine the revolutions of the Earth and Moon in their orbits round the Sun; but, in process of time, his Imagination would, with the utmost ease and steadiness, place before him the whole solar system, in the order of the relative distances, magnitudes, and dependencies of the several planets of which it is composed.

3. When the celebrated Edmund Burke, too, at the very time when the greatest part of the learned men of Europe were rejoicing at the pleasing prospect opened by the French Revolution, foresaw the confusion, anarchy, and bloodshed, that followed so hard upon it, his Imagination must have held up to him a long train of