to action, with his fquire Ralpho, an Indes pendent Enthusiaft. Of the contexture of events planned by the author, which is called the action of the poem, fince it is left imperfect, no judgement can be made. It is probable, that the hero was to be led through many lucklefs adventures, which would give occafion, like his attack upon the bear and fiddle, to expofe the ridiculous rigour of the fectaries; like his encounter with Sidrophel and Whacum, to make fuperftition and credulity contemptible; or, like his recourfe to the low retailer of the law, difcover the fraudulent practices of dif ferent profeffions. What feries of events he would have formed, or in what manner he would have rewarded or punished his hero, it is now wain to conjecture. His work must have had, as it feems, the defect which Dryden imputes to Spenfer; the action could not have been one; thofe could only have been a fucceffion of incidents, each of which might have happened without the reft, and which could not all co-operate to any fingle conclufion. . The The difcontinuity of the action might however have been eafily forgiven, if there had been action enough: but I'believe every reader. regrets the paucity of events, and complains that in the poem of Hudibras, as in the hif tory of Thucydides, there is more faid than done. The fcenes are too feldom changed, and the attention is tired with long converfation. It is indeed much more eafy to form dialogues than to contrive adventures. Every pofition makes way for an argument, and every objection dictates an anfwer. When two difputants are engaged upon a complicated and extenfive question, the difficulty is not to continue, but to end the controverfy. But whether it be that we comprehend but few of the poffibilities of life, or that life itself affords little variety, every man who has tried knows how much labour it will coft to form fuch a combination of circumftances as fhall have at once the grace of novelty and credibility, and delight fancy without violence to reafon. Per Perhaps the Dialogue of this poem is not perfect. Some power of engaging the attention might have been added to it by quicker reciprocation, by feasonable interruptions, by fudden queftions, and by a nearer approach to dramatic fpritelinefs; without which, fictitious fpeeches will always tire, however fparkling with fentences, and however variegated with allufions. The great fource of pleasure is variety. Uniformity must tire at laft, though it be uniformity of excellence. We love to expect; and, when expectation is disappointed or gratified, we want to be again expecting. For this impatience of the prefent, whoever would please must make provifion. The fkilful writer irritat, mulcet, makes a due diftribution of the ftill and animated parts. It is for want of this artful intertexture, and thofe neceffary changes, that the whole of a book may be tedious, though all the parts are praised. If unexhaustible wit could give perpetual pleasure, no eye would ever leave half-read the the work of Butler; for what poet has ever brought fo many remote images fo happily together? It is scarcely poffible to perufe a page without finding fome affociation of images that was never found before. By the first paragraph the reader is amused, by the next he is delighted, and by a few more ftrained to astonishment; but astonishment is a toilfome pleasure; he is foon weary of wondering, and longs to be diverted. Omnia vult belle Matho dicere, dic aliquando Et bene, dic neutrum, dic aliquando malé. Imagination is useless without knowledge: nature gives in vain the power of combination, unless study and obfervation supply materials to be combined. Butler's treafures of knowledge appear proportioned to his expence: whatever topic employs his mind, he fhews himself qualified to expand and illustrate it with all the acceffaries that books can furnish: he is found not only to have travelled the beaten road, but the bye-paths of literature; not only to have taken general furveys, but to have examined particulars with minute infpection. VOL. I. MYSEVM If If the French boast the learning of Rabelais, we need not be afraid of confronting them with Butler. But the most violent parts of his performance are those which retired ftudy and native wit cannot fupply. He that merely makes a book from books may be ufeful, but can fcarcely be great. Butler had not fuffered life to glide befide him unfeen or unobserved. He had watched with great diligence the operations of human nature, and traced the effects of opinion, humour, intereft, and paffion. From fuch remarks proceeded that great number of fententious diftichs which have paffed into converfation, and are added as proverbial axions to the general flock of practical knowledge. When any work has been viewed and admired, the first queftion of intelligent curiofity is, how was it performed? Hudibras was not a hafty effufion; it was not produced by a fudden tumult of imagination, or a fhort paroxyfm of violent labour. To accumulate fuch a mass of fentiments at the call of acci I dental |