Though all is eafy, nothing is feeble; though all feems carelefs, there is nothing harfh; and though, fince his earlier works, more than a century has paffed, they have nothing yet uncouth or obfolete..

He who writes much, will not eafily escape a manner, fuch a recurrence of. particular modes as may be eafily noted.. Dryden is always another and the fame, he does not exhibit a fecond time the fame elegancies in the fame form, nor ap-pears to have any art other than that of expreffing with clearness what he thinks with vigour. His ftile could not eafily be imitated, either ferioufly or ludicrously, for being always equable and always varied, it has no prominent or difcriminative

4

cha

characters. The beauty who is totally free from difproportion of parts and features cannot be ridiculed by an overcharged refemblance.

From his profe however, Dryden derives only his accidental and fecondary praife; the veneration with which his name is pronounced by every cultivator of English Literature, is paid to him as he refined the language, improved the fentiments, and tuned the numbers of English Poetry.

After about half a century of forced thoughts, and rugged metre, fome advances towards nature and harmony had been already made by Waller and Denham; they had fhewn that long difcourfes

i

in rhyme grew more pleafing when they were broken into couplets, and that verfe confifted not only in the number but the arrangement of fyllables.

But though they did much, who can deny that they left much to do? Their works were not many, nor were their minds of very ample comprehenfion. More examples of more modes of compofition were neceffary for the eftablishment of regularity, and the introduction of propriety in word and thought.

Every language of a learned nation neceffarily divides itself into diction fcholaftick and popular, grave and familiar, elegant and grofs; and from a nice dif tinction of thefe different parts, arifes

a great

a great part of the beauty of ftile. But if we except a few minds, the favourites. of nature, to whom their own original rectitude was in the place of rules, this delicacy of felection was little known to our authors; our fpeech lay before them in a heap of confufion, and every man took for every purpose what chance might offer him.

There was therefore before the time of Dryden no poetical diction, no system of words at once refined from the groffnefs of domestick use, and free from the harshness of terms appropriated to particular arts. Words too familiar, or too remote, defeat the purpofe of a poet. From thofe founds which we hear on fmall or on coarfe occafions, we do not

Leafily

eafily receive ftrong impreffions, or delightful images, and words to which we are nearly ftrangers, whenever they oc cur, draw that attention on themselves which they fhould convey to things.

Thofe happy combinations of words

which diftinguish poetry from profe, had been rarely attempted; we had few elegancies or flowers of fpeech, the rófes had not yet been plucked from the 'bramble, or different colours had not been joined to enliven one another.

'It may be doubted whether Waller and Denham could have over-born the prejudices which had long prevailed, and which even then were fheltered by the protection of Cowley. The new verfification, as it was called, may be confidered