a 

 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 CRITICAL REFLECTIONS 
 
 O N 
 
 POETRY 
 
 AND 
 
 PAINTING. 
 
 Written in French 
 
 By M. I'Abbe Du Bos, Member and perpetual 
 Secretary of the French Academy. 
 
 Tranflated into English by 
 
 THOMAS NUGENT, Gent. 
 
 Fro?n the fifth 'Edition rc-oifed^ correBed, and 
 inlarged by the Author. 
 
 JJt pHura poefts er'it. " 
 
 HoR. de arte poet. 
 
 Vol. II. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Z^rintcd for John Nourse, at the Latnlf^ oppofitc 
 
 Katherine-Street in the Strand. 
 
 MDCCXLVlU.
 
 
 THE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 /^ F Genius in general. Pd^e i 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Of the Genius -which forms faint ers and poets* id* 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 I'hnt the impulfe of genius deternwies men to he pain^ 
 ters or poets. 1 5 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Ohjeolicn againfl the preceding pr&pofiiion, and anf'wer 
 to the objetlion. 26 
 
 C II A P. V. 
 
 Of the fiudies and progrefs of painters and poets, 32 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 
 Of artijls 'zvitboi'j genius. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 c H A P. vin 
 
 
 I7jat Genius's are limited. 
 
 49 
 
 A z 
 
 c H A p; 
 

 
 Tlie CONTENTS. 
 
 C H A P. VIII. 
 
 Of plagiaries : What it is they differ in from thofe, 
 ivho improve their Jludies to the heft advantage, page 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Of the ohjiacles which retard the progrefs of young 
 artifls. 6y 
 
 C H A P. X. 
 
 Of the time rcquijite for men of genius to attain to that 
 degree of merit of which they are capable . 82 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 Of works fuitahle to men of genius^ and of artifls 
 who counterfeit other people s manner. 90 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Of illuflricus ages, and of the fhare which moral 
 caufcs have in the progrefs of arts. ^j 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 ^hat phyfical caufes have probably had alfo a fhare ih 
 the fur prizing progrefs of arts and fciences. 107 
 
 Firft Reflection-. That there are countries 
 iind times in which arts and fciences do not flour ifh, 
 notwithfianding the vigorous concurrence of moral 
 caufcs in their favor. - no 
 
 Second Reflection. 'That the arts attain to 
 
 their higbefl degree of elevation by afudden progrefs, 
 
 and that the effects of moral caufes cannot carry 
 
 - them to that point of pcrfe5Jion^ to which they feem 
 
 -to have fpontaneotifly rifen, 128 
 
 Third
 
 The CONTENTS. 
 
 Third Reflection. ^hat eminent painters have 
 been always cotemporaries -with the great poets of 
 their own country. page 164 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 How it is pojfihle for phyfical caufes to influence the fate 
 of illuftrious ages. Of the power of air over hu- 
 man bodies. 176 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 I^he power of the air over our bodies proved by the 
 different characters of nations. 186 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 OhjeClion drawn from the character of the Romans 
 and the Dutch. Anfwer to this objeElion. 204 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 Of the extent cf climates fitter for the arts and fci- 
 enccs, than others. And of the changes which thefe 
 climates are fiihjeB to. 213 
 
 C H A P. XVIII. 
 
 I'hat we mufl attribute the diverfity of the air of 
 different countries^ to the nature of the emanations 
 bf the earth which vary according to the difference 
 of countries. 217 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Ihat the difference we ohferve in the genius of people 
 
 oj the f dine country in different ages^ mufi be attri- 
 
 Luted to the \-ariatnnj of the air, ii^ 
 
 C II A P.
 
 The CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 Of the difference of manners and inclinations in peo- 
 fle of the fame country in different ages, page 230 
 
 CHAP. XXL 
 
 Of the manner in ivkich the reputation of poets and 
 painters is eflablifhed. 235 
 
 C H A P. XXII. 
 
 I'hai the public judges right of poans and pictures in 
 general. Of the fenfe "jje have to dijiinguifh the 
 vwit of thefeijoorks. 237 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 ^hat the tcay of difcv.ffion is not fo proper for difiin-^ 
 guifloing the merit of poems and pictures^ as that 
 of fenfe. 250 
 
 C H A P. XXIV. 
 
 Ohje^ion eigainfi the Jolidity cf the public judgments, 
 and anfwer to this objetlion. 259 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 Of the judgment of people cf the profeffton, 267 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 That the public judgments prevail at length d*uer the 
 decifions of artifis. 273 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 That there is a greater regard due to the judgments • 
 cf painters i than to thofe of poets. Of the art of 
 difcovcring the hand of painters, 279 
 
 CHAP.
 
 The CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 Of the time when poems and p'lBures are appraifed to 
 their full ^j due. /^^^ 283 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 I'hat there are fome countries in ivhich the ^calue ef 
 works is fooner knoivn^ than in others. 28 S 
 
 C H A P. xxx: 
 
 OhjeL-Jion draivn frcm good izwrks ivhich hai'S been dif- 
 app'oved at firjl l^ the public ; as alfo from bad. 
 ones that haz'C been commended. Anfjoer to this ob- 
 jc^ion. 298 
 
 C H A P. XXXI. 
 
 IhoA the public judgment is not recalled, but is every 
 day more firongly confirmed. 307 
 
 C II A P. XXXII. 
 
 'That^ in fpite of critics.^ the reputation of our ad" 
 mired poets ivill always increafe. ^i^ 
 
 C H A P. XXXIII. 
 
 'I hat the veneration and refpett for the excellent au- 
 thors of antiQu'riy i"ill akvays continue. Whether 
 it be true that we reafon better than the ancients. 
 
 329 
 
 C II A P. XXXIV. 
 
 ti^.i! '.[e rcpulaiibii of a lyflcra of philofcphy may b'e 
 runied. ./hid tbpJ this cdiinol happen to a poem. 
 
 C H A P.
 
 The CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. XXXV. 
 
 Of the idea "juhich men have of the writings of the 
 ancients, when they do not under/land the originals. 
 
 page 370 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 Of the errors which perfons are liable to, who judge 
 of a poem by a tranflation, or by the remarks of 
 critics. 386 
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 Of the defers we imagine we fee in the poems of the 
 ancients. 388 
 
 C H A P. XXXVIII. 
 
 That the remarks of critics on particular poems do not 
 give people a difrelifh of them ; and that when they 
 lay them aftde, 'tis only in order to read better per- 
 formances of the fame kind. 400 
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 ^hat there are profeffions, in which fuccefs depends 
 more upon genius, than upon the fuccour which may 
 he received from art ; and others on the contrary, 
 in which it depends more -upon art than genius. 
 We ought not to infer, that one age furpaffes an- 
 other in the profeffions of the firfi kind, hecaufs it 
 excels them in the fecond. 403 
 
 CRITICAL
 
 CRITICAL REFLECTIONS 
 
 O N 
 
 Poetry and Painting. 
 PART n. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Of Genius i?i general. 
 
 HE fublimity of poetry and painting 
 confifts in moving and pleafing, as that 
 of eloquence in perfuading. 'Tis noc 
 fufficitrnc ''fays Horace in a legidative 
 fiiyle, in order to add more weight to 
 liis ('ccifion,) that your vcrfes be elegant, rhey muft 
 alfo be capable of moving the he.irt, and of infpir- 
 ing it with fuch fentiments as they intend to excite. 
 
 Non fatis cjl ■pulchra ejfe pcenuita, diilcia funto^ 
 Et quocimque i-olcnt ani7num cudttcris agtmto. 
 
 HoR, de arte. 
 
 Vol. II. 
 
 '^i:
 
 2 Critical Reflections c;z 
 
 *7Vj not enough y that plays are neatly wrought , 
 Exa5lly forttC d^ and of an even flot^ 
 They muji be taking too^ furprizey and feize^ 
 And force our fouh injhich way the writers pleafe., 
 
 Creech. 
 
 Horace would have addrcfied himfelf in the fame 
 manner to j:>ainters. 
 
 'Tis impoflible for either a poem, or picture, to 
 produce this effeft, unlefs they have fome other merit 
 befides that of the regularity and elegance of execu- 
 tion. The beft drawn pifture imaginable, or a poem 
 difpofed in the moft regular manner, and written 
 with the greateft accuracy of ftyle, may prove fri- 
 gid and tirefom. In order to render a work affeft- 
 ing, the elegance of defign and the truth of color- 
 ing, if a pidiure •, and the richnefs of verfification, 
 if a poem, ought to be employed in difplaying 
 fuch objects as are naturally capable of moving and 
 pleafmg '. 
 
 If the heroes ot a tragic poet do not engage mc 
 by- their charai^ers and adventures, the play grows 
 tirefom, though it be written with the greateft pu- 
 rity of ftyle, and the exacleft conformity to the rules 
 of the ftage. But if the poet relates fuch adven- 
 tures, and exhibits fuch fituations and charafters, as 
 are equally interefting as thole of Pyrrhus and Pau- 
 lina, his poem calls forth my tears, and obliges me 
 to acknowledge the artift as a divine performer, who 
 has lb great a command over my heart, 
 
 * Ars euim cum a natura frofeBa, fj, niji naltira iKoveat ^ de- 
 IfJlct, nihil fane egiJT( ^jidcaitiy. Cic, I'b, 3. de Oratore. 
 
 -Ilk
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. ^ 
 
 Ilk per cxtsnfum funefn mihi pojfe tidetur 
 Ire poeta^ nieion qui ps^us inaniter angit, 
 IrritcUy rmdcet, falfis tsrroribus implet. 
 
 HoR. ep. I. 1. 2. 
 
 I fairly grant thcfe poets zvit, that rule 
 My pajfions as they pleafe^ dijturb my fcul ; 
 A'fid then by a Jhort turn my thoughts relieve : 
 JVhofe lively ficiion makes me laugh or grieve ; 
 Whofe 110 ell-ivr ought fcenes jiat^ral and jujl appear; 
 I fee the place i and fancy I am there. 
 
 CP-EECH. 
 
 The refemblance therefore between the ideas, which 
 the poet draws from his own genius, and thofe which 
 men arc fuppofed to have in the ficuation in which 
 he reprefcnts his perfonages, the pathetic likewife of 
 the images he has formed before he took either pen 
 or pencil in hand, conftiiute the chief merit of poems 
 and pictures. 'Tis by the defign and the invention 
 of ideas and images, proper for moving us, and 
 employed in the executive part, that we diftinguifh 
 the great artift from the plain workman, who fre- 
 quently excels the former in execution. The beil 
 T'eriifiers arc not the greaceft poets, as the moft regu- 
 lar dcfigners are tar from being tlie grc^'ateft painters. 
 
 The works of eminent mafrers are feldom long 
 i^xamincd, before we find that they confidercd the 
 reguhirity and graces of cxecjuon not as the ultimate 
 end of their art, but cr.ly as means for difplaying 
 bcauiics of a much fup.ri^r p.atu'e. 
 
 They conform to ruijs, in orJ.cr to gain our minds 
 by a continued prob.^.bility , a probability capable of 
 making '.i^ forg'-\ i:;a; 't.; i nyjr'? fidion which 
 
 b : foftens
 
 ^ C R I T r C A L R E r L i: C T I O N S G'/l 
 
 foftcns our hearts. They (!ii])]ay the beauties of ex- 
 ecution, to prevent us in favor of their pjrfonages 
 by external d-jgince, or the cliarms of language. 
 They chufe to fix our frnfes on fuch objects, as are 
 ilefigned to move our fouls. This is the end an 
 orator propofcs to hinifelf, when he fubnnts to the 
 j^rcceprs of grammar and rhetoric : his principal aim 
 is not to be commended ior tlie eorreetnefs and ele- 
 gance of his compofition, things that have no 
 pcrfiiafive virtue ; but to bring us over to his 
 opinion by the force of his arguments, or by the pa- 
 thetic of thofc images, which his invention turniflies, 
 and whereof his art fupplies liim only with the 
 oeconomical management. 
 
 Now a perfon muft be born with a genius, to 
 know how to invent •, but to be able to invent well, re- 
 quires a long and unwearied application. A man 
 who invents ill, and executes without judgment, does 
 nor, as QuiiUiiian " obferves when fpcaking of in- 
 vention, even fo much as merit the name of an in- 
 venter. I'he rules which have been hitherto reduced 
 to method, are guides that point ouc the v/ay only 
 at a diilance ; and 'tis merely by the help ol ex- 
 perience, that men of a happy genius learn from 
 tlience, how to make a pra>ilica! application of the 
 ccncife maxims of tliofe laws and their general pre- 
 cepts. Obferve always the pathetic (fay tliefe rules) 
 and never \tt your fpeclators or auditors grow heavy 
 or tired. Fir.e maxims indeed ! but a perfon born 
 v/iihout a r;or,ius underilands nothing ct the nature 
 of the precept they contain ; and even the great.^fl 
 
 ' Ego psr:-a ncc >,:-\-}?'-JJ} quuidn credo cum qui kh: judicu-'jlt, 
 <'^'1NT. l\Vi.. or.it, 1. 3. c. 1. 
 
 Gcnius
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 5 
 
 genius does not learn in a day's time to make a 
 proper application of them. 'Tis fit therefore we 
 treat here of the genius and ftudies requifite to form 
 painters and poets. 
 
 If our artifts happen to want that divine enthufiafm, 
 which renders painters poets, and poets painters, if 
 they have not, as Monfieur Perrault cxprefles it % 
 
 Cc /t'.Y, cettc di'vine fiatnCy 
 Vefpr'it de notre cfprit.i^ Tame denotre ame. 
 
 Thai fire^ that flame divine^ 
 Soul of our fouls, and f ub fiance of our minds. 
 
 ttiey nuifb continue all their lives in the low rank of 
 iourncymen, who are paid for their daily hire, 
 but are far from defcrving the confideration and re- 
 wards which polite nations owe to illuftrious artifts. 
 Thi-y belong- to that clafs of men, of whom Cicero 
 lays ^, that they are paid for their 'vjork^ not for 
 their fkill. What little they know of their profef- 
 fion, they have learnt by rote, juil as one might 
 learn any other mechanic bufinefs. Men of the rnofb 
 ordinary capacities may become indifferent painters 
 ■^■Si\ poets. 
 
 Genius is an aptitude, which man has received 
 from nature to perform well and eafily, that which 
 others can do but indifferently, and with a great 
 deal of pains. We learn to execute things for which 
 we i\ave a genius, with as much facility as we fpeak 
 our own mother- tongue. 
 
 A man born with a genius for commanding an 
 army, and capable of becoming a great general bv 
 
 ■* hpijlte on genius to Monfieur di Fantcnelle. 
 
 ^ '-Z^orum opira, non juerum artes emuntur. CiC. de oflic. I.r. 
 
 s B 3 the
 
 6 Critical Reflectiqns on 
 
 the help of experience, is one whofe organical Con- 
 formation is fuch, than his valor is no obftruftion to 
 his prefence of mind, and his prefcnce of mind makes 
 no abatement of his valor. He is a man endowed 
 with a found judgment and lively imagination, who 
 prefervcs the free ufe of thcfe two faculties in the 
 ebullition of blood, that fucceeds immediately after 
 the chillnefs, which the lirft view of great perils 
 throws into human breafts •, in the fame manner as 
 heat follows cold in the accefles of an ague. In 
 the midft of the ardor which makes him forget his 
 danger, he fees, he deliberates, and refolves, as if he 
 were tranquil and ferene in his tent. He difcovers 
 therefore in an inftant a wrong motion made by the 
 enemy, which other officers much older than himfelf 
 would have looked at a long time, before they could 
 have difcovered tiie motive or defc(ft. 
 
 Such a difpofition of mind, as I have here fpokc 
 of, cannot be acquired by art ; it can be pofleffed only 
 by a perfon, who has brought it with him into the 
 world. The apprchenfion of death intimidates thofe 
 who are not animated at the fight of the enemy •, and 
 thofe who are too much animated, lofe that prefence 
 of mind fo neceffary for cifcerning diftindlly what 
 pafles, and difcovering julliy what is moll expedient. 
 Let a man haV'C ever fo great abilities in cool blood, 
 he can never be a good general, if the fight of the 
 enemy renders him, cither fiery, or timorous. Hence 
 fuch n'um.bers of people who reafon fo well on mi- 
 litary affairs in their clofets, perform fo indifferently 
 in the field. Hence fuch multitudes of men fpend 
 their whole livts in the art of war, without attain- 
 ing the capacity of commanding. 
 
 I ara
 
 Poetry mid Painting. 7 
 
 I am not ignorant that honor and emulation fre- 
 quently induce men, who are naturally timorous, to 
 take the fame fteps, and ufe the fame external de- 
 monftrations, as thofe who are born brave. In like 
 manner men of the greateft impetuofity and fire obey 
 their officers, when they are forbidden to advance 
 where their ardor leads them. But men have not 
 the fame command over their imaginations, as over 
 their limbs. Wherefore, tho' mihtary difcipline may- 
 be capable of reflraining the impetuous within their 
 ranks, and of making the tim.orous fland to their 
 pofts ; yet it cannot prevent the inward confufion 
 of either of them, nor with-hold the fouls of the 
 former from advancing, or the hearts of the latter 
 from retiring. Neither of them are any longer ca- 
 pable of having that liberty of mind and imagina- 
 tion in danger, which even the Romans themfelves 
 commended in Hannibal '. I'his is what we call be- 
 ing every where prefent during the time of adlion. 
 
 What has been here faid ot the art of war, may be 
 equally applied to all other profeffions. The admini- 
 ftration of great concerns, the art of putting people 
 to thofe employments for which they are naturally 
 formed, the ftudy of phyfic, and even gaming it- 
 felf, all require a genius. Nature has thought fit 
 to m.ake a diftribution of her talents amongft men, 
 in order to render them necefiary to one another •, 
 the wants of men being the very firft link of fociety. 
 She has therefore pitched upon particular perlons to 
 give them an aptitude to perform rightly fome things, 
 which fhe has rendered impoffible to others •, and 
 
 a* Plurimum tinfAil inter ipfa pcriciila, Livius 1. 2. 
 
 B 4. the
 
 8 Critical Reflections on 
 
 the latter have a hicility granted them for other 
 things, which facility has been rcfufed the former. 
 Some h.ive a fiibhmc and extenfivc genius in a parti- 
 cular fphere, while others have received the talent of 
 apphcation in the fame fphere •, a talent fo neeeffary 
 for managing the' execution. If the latter ftand in 
 need of the former to direft them, the former want 
 likevvife the latter to execute their directions. Na- 
 ture indeed has made an unequal diftribution of her 
 blefiings amongft her children, yet fhe has difinhe- 
 rited none, and a man divefled of all kind of abilities 
 is as great a phasnomenon as an univerfal genius. Ic 
 has been obferved by the moft celebrated mafter that 
 ever appeared in the art of inibucting children ", that 
 men void of all abilities are as rare to be met with, 
 as monllers. 
 
 Providence feems even to have rendered peculiar 
 talents and inclinations more common amongft fome 
 people than others, in order to introduce that mutual 
 dependence between different nations, which fhe has 
 fo carefully eftablil'hed bctvv'cen individuals, Thofe 
 wants which engage individuals to form focieties, in- 
 duce alfo nations to fettle a mutual correfpondence. 
 It has been therefore the Divine v.'ill, thai nations 
 fliould be obliged to make an exchange of talents 
 and indufl:ry with one another, in the fame manner as 
 they exchange the dirlerent products of their coun- 
 tries, to the end that they fhould have recourfc 
 to each other, for the very fame motive which in- 
 duces individuals to enter into fociety in order to 
 
 » Hchetes ^jcro CJ' indociles non magU fccuyuium natures hominh 
 tduntur, ^uam prodigio/a corpora ^ vionjlris infignla. Qui NT. 
 I. I. cap, I. 
 
 form
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 9 
 
 form one body of people; which is, the want of 
 being well, or the defire of being better. 
 
 From the diverfity of genius the difference of in- 
 clination arifes in men, whom nature has had the pre- 
 caution of leading to the employments for which Ihc 
 defigns them, with more or lefs impetuofity, in pro- 
 portion to the greater or lefler number of obftacles 
 they have to furmount, in order to render them- 
 fclves capable of anfwering this vocation. Thus the 
 inclinations of men are fo very different, only by 
 reafon that they all follow the fame mover, that is, 
 the impuJfe of their genius. 
 
 Cajlcr gaiidet eqiiis^ ovo -prognatiis eodem, 
 Pugnis, qiiot capitum vivunt totidem Jiiidiorum 
 Millia. HoR. fat. 1. 1.2. 
 
 Pollux on foot^ on horfeback Cajior fights ; 
 
 y-Zj many inen.fo many their delights. Creech. 
 
 Whence arifes this difference ? Go and inquire, 
 fays the fame philofopher, of the genius of each 
 perfon, which alone is able to anfwer your quef^ 
 t!on : every individual has his particular genius 
 different from that of others, and in fome there is 
 as great a difference as between black and white.*' 
 
 Scii: genius natale comes qui temper at afirum 
 'Nature Beus humane, mor talis in umim 
 i^odque caput y vultu mutabilis., albus ^ ater. 
 
 HOR. Cp. 2. 1. 2. 
 
 That genius only knows^ thai s wont to wait 
 On birth day Jlars, the guider of our fate , 
 Our nature's God, that doth his influence fhed, 
 Eafy to any fhape^ or good, or bad. Creech. 
 
 This
 
 to Critical Reflections c;2 
 
 This is what renders fome poets pleafing, even when 
 they trefpafs againft rules, whilft others are difagre- 
 able, norwithftanding their drift regularity. The cha- 
 rafter, which men bring with them into the world, 
 caufes fome, as Quintilian obfervcs % to pJeafe us 
 even with their failings, whilft others difpleafe u* 
 in fpite of their good qualities. 
 
 My fubjeft will not permit me to expatiate any 
 longer on the difference of genius in men and nations. 
 Thofc who are defirous of further inftrudion on 
 this article, and of improving the natural inftinft 
 which teaches us the knowledge of mankind, may 
 read the examen of minds by Huarte, and the portrai- 
 ture of the characters of meriy ages^ and nations by 
 Barclay. A perfon may profit very much by the per- 
 ufal of thefe works, the' they do not merit the in- 
 tire confidence of the reader ; but my bufmefs is to 
 treat only of the genius which forms painters and 
 poets. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Of the genius which forms painters and poets. 
 
 THE genius of thefe arts confifls, as I appre- 
 hend, in a happy arrangement of the organs 
 of the brain, in a juft conformation of each of thefe 
 organs, as alfo in the quality of blood which difpofes 
 it to ferment during exercife, fo as to furnifh a plen- 
 ty of fpirits to the fprings employed in the funftions 
 
 a In qullnifdain inrtutes non hahent gratiatn., in quihufdam I'l 
 iia ip/a dcUdant. Q^mnt, Inft. I. ii. c. 3 
 
 O
 
 Po ETRY ^;i^ PaI N T I NO. If 
 
 of the imagination. In faft, the excefTive lafTitude 
 and wafting of fpirits, which attend a long appUcation 
 of mind, are fufficient to evince, that the fatigues of 
 the imagination confiderably exhauft the ftrcngth of 
 the body. I have fuppofed here, that the compofer's 
 blood is heated ; for indeed painters and poets can- 
 not Invent in cool blood ; nay 'tis evident they muft 
 be wrapt into a kind of enthufiafm when they pro- 
 duce their ideas. Ariftotle mentions a poet, who 
 never compofed fo well, as when his poetic fury hur- 
 ried him into a kind of frenzy. The admirable pic- 
 tures we have in Tallb of Armida and Clorinda, were 
 drawn at the expence of a difpofition he had to real 
 madnefs, into which he fell before he died. Apollo 
 lias his drunkennefs as well as Bacchus. Do you 
 Unagine, fays Cicero ^, that Pacuvius wrote in cool 
 blood ? No, it was impojjtble. He muji have been in- 
 fpired with a kind of fur)\ to be able to write fuch ad' 
 mrable verfes. 
 
 But the very happieft fermentation of the blood 
 r,m produce nothing but chimerical ideas in a brain 
 compofed of vicious or ill-difpofed organs -, which 
 Are confequently incapable of reprefenting nature to 
 a poet, fuch as it appears to other men. The copies 
 he draws of nature have no refemblance, becaufe his 
 glafs (to ufe this expreflion) is untrue. Now creep- 
 ing along tiic ground, and now foaring above the 
 clouds, if he happens fometimes to touch the truth, 
 'tis merely by accident. Such were amongft us the 
 
 ^ Pacwvium putatis in fcrihendo leni anir/13 ac remijfo fnijfe ? 
 f.eri nullo modo potuit ; fape enim audnji poetam honiim neminem,fine 
 infiammatione animcrum exijlere poj/e, l^ fine quidam affatu quaft 
 furo'-ii. Cic. de orut. 1. 3. 
 
 '< author
 
 12 Critical Reflections en 
 
 authors of the poems on St Mary Magdalen and St 
 Lewis, both of them full of poetic rapture, tho* 
 never reprefenting nature, becaufe they copied her in- 
 tirely from the whimfical empty notions they had 
 formed in their own extravagant imaginations : 
 They both flrayed equally wide, tho' by different: 
 roads, from the refemblance of trutii. 
 
 On the other hand, if a brain furniflied with a 
 good difpofition of organs fhould want that fire, 
 which proceeds from a warm blocd full of fpirits, its 
 produdions will indeed be regular, but fiat withal 
 and infipid. 
 
 Impetus illc jacet^ vatum qui -peElora nutrit. 
 
 Ovid de Pont. I. 4. el. 2. 
 
 The fire is fpent^ which ivanns the foci's breafi. 
 
 If the poetic fire warms him fometimes, it is foon 
 extinguiflied, and throws out only a glimmering light. 
 Hence 'tis faid, that a man of wit is able to write a 
 ilanza, but he muft be born a poet to be capable of 
 writing three, I'hofe who are not born poets, are 
 foon out of breath when they attempt to climb up 
 ParnalTus. They have a glimpfe of what they ought 
 to rnake their perfenages fay, but they cannot forni 
 any diftincl notion thereof, and much lefs exprefs it. 
 They remain frigid, while they endeavour to engage 
 us. Nervi deficiuni animique. 
 
 When the right quaUty of blood unites with a hap- 
 py difpofition of organs, this favourable concurrence 
 conftitutes, methinks, a pidlurefque or poetic genius ; 
 for I diftruft all phyfical explications, confidering the 
 imperfection of this fcience, in which we are conti- 
 nually obliged to have recourfe to conjedture. But 
 
 the
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. i 3 
 
 the facts I have here explained, are certain, and 
 chefc fads, tho' not fo eafily accounted for, 2re fuffi- 
 Cient to fupport my fyflem. I fancy therefore that 
 this happy ademblage is, phyfically fpcaking, that di- 
 vinity which the poets fay dwells within their breafts. 
 
 EJl Deus in nobis, agitante calefcimus ilk. 
 Impetus hie Jacra femina 7nentis hahet. 
 
 Ovid. faft. i. i. 
 
 IVitbin us dwells a God, who gives us fire ; 
 And feeds cf life divine our fouls injpire. 
 
 ''Tis in this that divine fury confiils, fo often men- 
 tioned by the ancients ; on which a modern writer 
 compoied a learned treatife about fifty-five years 
 ago ''. This is what Montagne meant by the fol- 
 lowing words'^: fVby Jhculd net the fe -poetic fallies, 
 which tranfport their author beyond himfelf, be afcrib- 
 ed to his happy fate^ fince he acknowledges, that they 
 furpafs his flrength^ and that they come not from him- 
 felf^ nor are they in any manner fubjetl to his power ? 
 1 be fame may be faid of painiin^^ where fome firokes 
 happen to drop from the painter's hand, which are 
 fo fupcrior to his own conception and knowledge, as to 
 throw him into admiration and furprize. 
 
 Tliis happy fate conlifls in bt-ing born with a ge- 
 nius. Genius is the (ire which ck'vates painters above 
 therrif Ivcs, and enables them to intufc a foul into 
 their figures, arid motion into their compofitions. 
 'lis the enti-.u'iulm whicii Icizes poets, when they 
 b'jh')l(l tlic grac.-s lkipp;riga!on>: tiie meadows, where 
 otiiers lie nothm;^ bu': iiwc'^s of Hitcp. Hence their 
 vein happens not to b.: always at th.ir own difpofal. 
 
 ■■ I'ititui dc fuviji-c i-.tttci,, '' i^j!u■^, book I. chap. 23 
 
 ] Hence
 
 14 Critical Reflections on 
 
 Hence likewife their ipirit feems to abandon them 
 fotnetimes ; and at other times to pull them by the 
 ear, as Horace exprelfes it, to obhge them to write 
 or paint. Our genius, as we (hall explain more at 
 large in the courfe of thefe reflexions, ought to feel 
 the effect of all thofe alterations, to which our ma- 
 chine is rendered fo fubjefl by leveral unknown caufes. 
 Happy thofe painters and poets, who have a parti- 
 cular command over their genius, who break loofe 
 from the enthufiafm when they leave off work, and 
 who never bring with them into company the drun- 
 kennefs of Parnaffus. 
 
 'Tis fufficiently evinced by experience, that all 
 men are not born with talents proper for rendering 
 them poets or painters : We have feveral inftances of 
 thofe, whom a labor, continued for the fpace of 
 many years rather with obftinacy than perfeverance, 
 could never raife above the degree of fimple verfi- 
 fiers. We have feen likewife men of very good 
 parts, who after having copied feveral times the 
 moft fublime produftions in painting, have waxed old 
 with their pencil and pallet in hand, without ever 
 rifing higher than the rank of indifferent colorifts 
 and ferviie imitators. 
 
 Men born with the genius which forms the great 
 general, or the magiflrate worthy of enafting laws, 
 frequently die before their abilities are difcovered. A 
 perfon poffeffed of fuch a genius cannot difplay it, 
 unlefs he be called to thofe employments for which he 
 is qualified •, and he frequently dies before he is in- 
 trufted with them. Suppofing even that he happens 
 to be born within fuch a diftancc of thefe employ- 
 ments, as to be able to reach them in the courfe of 
 
 human
 
 Poetry and Pa inting. i^ 
 
 human life, he oftentimes wants tlie art necefia- 
 ry for acquiring them. Tho' he is capable of exer- 
 cifing them with dignity, yet he is incapable of fol- 
 lowing the road which in his days leads to their 
 attainment. Genius is almoil conftantly attend- 
 ed with a kind of loftinefs and grandeur. I do 
 not mean that which confifts in tone and air ; for 
 this is no more than a furly look which indicates a 
 narrow mind, and renders a man as contemptible 
 in the eye of a phiJofopher, as a footman drelTed in 
 a difcarded minifter's livery is in the eyes of cour- 
 tiers. I mean that loftinefs which confifts in the 
 noblenefs of the fentiments, and in an elevation of 
 mind which fixes a juft price on the preferments to 
 which we afpire, as alfo on the trouble which a per- 
 fon muft be at to obtain them j efpecially if be is 
 obliged to apply to perfons whom he does not con- 
 fider as competent judges of merit. In fine, men 
 are qualified by virtues to fill the moft eminent places, 
 but it frequently happens in all ages, that the way 
 to obtain them is by meannefs and vice. There arc 
 confequently a great many geniufes, born with a ca- 
 pacity for the higheft employments, who die without 
 having ever had an opportunity of fhewing their ta- 
 lents. Thus a pcrfon born with military or political 
 talents has not beenintrufted with the command of ar- 
 mies, or with the government of provinces : and a 
 man born with a genius for architecture, has been re- 
 fufed the dircdtion of a Itrudure in which he might 
 have difplaycd his abilities. 
 
 Men who have a talent for poetry or painting arc 
 not of the number of thofe wlio depend, as it were, 
 on the fmiles and good- will of fortune, to make their 
 
 appcir:i!icc
 
 "i6 Critical Reflections on 
 
 appearance in public. Fortune cannot deprive them 
 of the helps that are requifite for making their abilities 
 known : This we fliall explain here more at large. 
 
 The mechanic part of painting is very labori- 
 ous, but it is not unfurmountable to thofe who are 
 born with a genius for that art. They are fupported 
 againfl: the difagreablenefs thereof by the allurement 
 of a profefilon for which they find themfelves quali- 
 fied, and by the fenfible advancement they make in 
 their ftudies. Novices in the art find every where 
 mafters, whofe diredtion contributes to fliorten their 
 journey. Be they eminent or indifferent mafters in 
 their profefTions, it does not fignify ^ a difciple that has 
 a genius will always bc^nefit by their inftruftions. 
 'Tis enough for him that they arc capable of teach- 
 ing him the praftical part of the art, which they 
 cannot be ignorant of, after having profefTed it 
 ten or a dozen years. An able Icholar learns 
 to perform well, by feeing his mafter perform ill. 
 The force of genius changes the moft ill-digefted 
 precepts into right nourifhment : It enables a per- 
 fon to do that bed, which he has learnt of no body 
 but himfelf. Lejfons given by mafters^ fiys Seneca % 
 are like grains of feeds. The quality of the fruit 
 which the feeds produce^ depends principally on that 
 cf the foil^ in which they have been fcivn. Tlje very 
 poorefi produces good fruit in an excellent foil. Thus 
 when precepts have been fown in a ivell-difpofed mind., 
 they fhoot up mofi beautifully^ and the mind brings 
 
 * Eadem pr<tcepiorum ratio, qiicp fcminum ; multum effxiunt, etjl 
 angujla Jint \ tantum, ut dixi, idonea mens accipiat ilia, iff in fe 
 trahat, multa invicem ^'cncrahit, iff plus pr^ftct quhn acaperit. 
 Se.s. ep. 38, 
 
 forth
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. ly 
 
 forth ^ as it isjere^ a better fort of grain than that 
 which was fown. How many eminent men, in all 
 kinds of profefTions, have learnt the firft elements 
 of the arts which raifed them to immortality, from 
 mafters whofe fole reputation is that of having had 
 fuch illufl:rious difciples ? 
 
 Thus Raphael, inftru6led by a painter of a mid- 
 ling rank, but fupported by his own genius, raifed 
 himfelf much above his mafter after a few years 
 practice. He had only occafion for Pietro Perugi- 
 no's Jcfibns to initiate him. The fame may be 
 faid of Annibal Caraccio, of Rubt;ns, Pouffin, Le 
 Brun, and other painters, whofe genius we fo much 
 admire. 
 
 With refpedl to poets, the principles of 
 their art are fo very eafy to be underftood, and 
 carried into execution, that they do not even ^o 
 much as want a mafter to point out the method of 
 ftudying them. A man of genius may learn of him- 
 ftlf in two months time all the rules of French poe- 
 try. Hl' is even capable of tracing thefe rules in a 
 lliort time to their very fource, and of judging of 
 the importance: of each by thofe principles which fnfl: 
 tllablin-ied them. Wheretore the public never fixed 
 any idea of glory to the chance of teaching the ele- 
 ments of poetry to frholars, who have afterwards 
 filled fucceeding ages with the tame of their reputa- 
 tion. There has never been any mention made of 
 the mafters, who fir(t taught Virgil or Horace the 
 art of poetry. We do not even fo much as know 
 who flicwed Molicre and Corneille, tho' fo near our 
 own days, the ca:fura and meafure of our verfe. 
 Thofc mafters are not fuppofed to have had a fuf- 
 Vo;.. II C iicienc
 
 i8 Critical Reflections on 
 
 ficient fhare in the glory of their difciples, to merit 
 our giving ourfdves the trouble of inquiring and 
 retaining their names. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 ^'hat the impulfe of ge?iius determines meji to 
 be painters or poets, 
 
 THERE is no great merit in being the firft 
 to induce a young poet to take pen in hand, 
 his very genius would have made him take it. A 
 genius does not depend merely on the folicitation of 
 friends, to fhew himfelf to the public. He is not 
 difcouraged, becaufe his firft eflays have not fucceed- 
 ed ; he pufhes on with perfeverance, and makes his 
 way at length acrofs the heedlefnefs and wander- 
 ings of youth. 
 
 'Tis not employments of too elevated, or too low 
 a nature ; nor an education which feems to remove 
 a man of genius from an application to things for 
 which he has- a talent ; nor any thing elfe in fine, that 
 can hinder him from fhewing at lead the fphere of 
 his genius, tho' he happens not to fill it. What- 
 ever is propofed to him as the objedc of his 
 application, can never fix him, unlefs it be that 
 which nature has allotted him. He never lets 
 himfelf be diverted from hence for any length of 
 time, and is always fure to return to it, in fpite 
 of all oppofition, nay fometimes in fpite of himfelf. 
 Of all impulfes, that of nature, from whom he has 
 receivedhis inclinations, is much the ftrongeft. 
 
 Ctijlode
 
 Poetry and Pa i n T i n g. 19 
 
 Cuftode G? curd natura ■potentior ormi, 
 
 Juv. fat. 10. 
 
 For nature is a better guardiaji far^ 
 Than fawcy pedants^ or dull tutors are. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 Every thing is converted into pallets and pencils in 
 the hands of a boy endowed with a genius for paint- 
 ing. He makes himfelf known to others for what he 
 is, when he does not yet know it himfelf. 
 
 The Annahfls of painting relate a vafb number of 
 facts in confirmation of what I have here aflerted. 
 The moi't eminent painters were not born in the 
 fnops or work-houfcs of their profeflion. There 
 are very few painters fons, who, purfuant to the 
 common cuftom of other arts, have been bred up 
 in their fathers profeflion. Among the illuftrious ar- 
 tifts who refledl fo great an honor on the two lafl; 
 centuries, Raphael was the only one, as far as I 
 can remember, that was fon to a painter. Giorgione's, 
 and Titian's parents, as well as thofe of Leonardo 
 cUi Vinci, an.l Paolo Veronefe, never handled either 
 pencil or chifel. Michael Angelo's father, accord- 
 ing to common fame, was of a very good extraction, 
 and lived wichout praclifing any lucrative profeffion. 
 Andrea del Sarto was a taylor's fon, and Le Tein- 
 torct fon oi a dyer. Tne father of the Caraccio's did 
 not profels handling a pencil. Michael Angelo di 
 Caravaggio was a malon's fon, and Correggio's fa- 
 ther a plowman. Guido was the fon of a mufician, 
 Dominichino of aflioemaker, and Albanoof a mercer. 
 Laniranco was a foundling, who learned to paint of 
 li'ii own genius, almoll m the fame manner as Paf- 
 
 C 2 chal
 
 20 Critical Reflections on 
 
 chal leanit the mathematics. Rubcns's father had 
 neither lliop nor workhoufc, but was one of the 
 magillrates of Antwerp. Hie father of Van- 
 dyke was neither painter nor fculptor. Frefnoy, 
 who lias favoured us with a poem on the art ot 
 painting, which has merited a trandation and notes 
 from Monfieur de Pile, and has left us alfo feveral 
 good pictures, was bred a phyfician. The parents of 
 the four beft French painters of the lalt century, 
 Valentine, le Sueur, Pouffin, and le Brun, were not 
 painters. The genius of thofe great men went, as 
 it were, in fearch of them to their parents houfe, to 
 condud: them thence to Parnaffus : For painters 
 afcend Parnailus as well as poets. 
 
 Poets who have attained to any degree of fame, 
 are ftill a flronger inftance of what I have advanced 
 concerning the impulfe of genius. There never 
 would have been a poet, had not the force of genius 
 determined particular men to the profeflion ; for ne- 
 ver was a parent known, that defigned his fon for 
 this employment. Befides, thofe who are charged 
 with the education of a boy of fixteen, endea- 
 vour always, for a very obvious reafon, to di- 
 vert him from poetry, as foon as he lliews an ex- 
 traordinary paffion i"or this art. Ovid's father was 
 not fatisfied with bare remonftrances, in order to 
 extinguifh the poetic fire of his fon ; but fuch was 
 the force of genius, that our little Ovid is faid to 
 have promifcd in verfe to leave off making verfes, 
 when he was whipt for this paffion. Horace's. firfl 
 profeffion was that of bearing arms : Virgil was a 
 fort of a jockey •, at leaft we read in his life, that 
 he made himfelf known to Auguftus by his fe- 
 
 crets
 
 Poetry and Painting. 21 
 
 crets for the curing of horfes, for which tliis great 
 poet was introduced into this emperor*s flables. 
 But to wave any further inftances drawn from ancient 
 hiftory, let us reflecft on the vocation of the poets 
 of our own times. Examples drawn from fads whofe 
 circumflances are diflinftly known, will be much 
 more effedual than thofe that are borrowed from 
 pall ages ; and we Hiall be eafily induced to believe, 
 that what has happened to the poets of our days, 
 happened in like manner to thofe of all ages. 
 
 The moft eminent French poets, who honoured 
 :hc reign of Lewis XIV. were by birth and edu- 
 cation remote from the profefTion of poetry. None 
 of them had been engaged in the employment of 
 initru(fting youth, nor in any of thofe occupations, 
 vvhich lead a man of genius infenfibly to ParnafTus. 
 On the contrary, they fcemed to have been kept at a 
 great diftance from thence, either by profefHons they 
 had already engaged in, or by employments, for 
 which their birth and education deligncd them. iVIo- 
 liere's father brought his fon up an upholfterer ; and 
 Peter Corncille w^ore a counfcHor's gown, when he 
 wrote his full pieces. QLiinauIt was clerk to a law- 
 yer, when ii'j gave himfelf up to his inclination for 
 poetry \ for his firft comic effays were wrote on papers 
 half dawbcd over with lawyers fcrollings. Racine 
 wore an cccleliaftic habit, when lie compofcd his 
 tivfce firft tragedies. T\\.: reader v/ill find no diifi- 
 culty in believing, that tiic retired gentlemen, who 
 bred Racine up from his inf.ip.cy) and were intruded 
 with the care ot his education, ntver cncouraL^^'d him 
 to write for the ftage. On the contrary, they lef: 
 
 C j no
 
 22 Critical Reflections on 
 
 no ftone unturned to extinguifli the violent ardor he 
 had for rhiming. Monfieur le Maitre, who had 
 him particularly under his care, was as diligent in 
 concealing from him all forts of books of French 
 poetry, as foon as he difcovered his inclination that 
 way i as Pafchal's lather was careful in keeping his 
 fon from the knowledge of any thing that might lead 
 him to think of geometry. La Fontaine's employ- 
 ment among the waters and forefts ought to have 
 defined him for the planting and cutting of trees, 
 and not for making them fpeak. If Monfieur 
 L'HuiHier, Chapelle's father, could have directed 
 the occupations of his fon, he would have applied him 
 to any thing rather than poetry. In fine, every body 
 knows by heart the verfes, in which Boileau, who 
 was fon, brother, uncle, and coufai to a recorder, 
 gives an account of his vocation from the dufi of 
 the rolls to the fmiling verdure of ParnalTus. All 
 thefe great men are a convincing proof, that 'tis na- 
 ture, not education, as Cicero obferves, which forms 
 the poet ^ Without afccnding higher than our own 
 times, let us call: an eye on the hiftory of other 
 profeflions that require a particular genius. We 
 ihall find that the greatelt part ot thofe who have 
 diftinguifned themfelves in thefe profelTions, were not 
 engaged therein by the counfels or impulfe of their 
 parents, but by their own natural inclination. 
 Nanteuil's parents ufcd the fame endeavors to 
 hinder him from being an ingraver, as the genera- 
 lity of parents employ to ingage their children to 
 
 * Poetam tiatura ipfu 'valere o' mentis liribus excitari, et quafi 
 dlvino quodam fpiriiu af,ari. Cic. pro Aicli. poet. 
 
 I a par-
 
 Poetry ^;?^ Pa INT I N G. 23 
 
 a particular profefTion. He was obliged fometimes 
 to climb up into a tree, and conceal himfelf there in 
 order to exercife himfelf in drawing. 
 
 Le Fevre, born an algebraift and great aftrono- 
 mer, began to exercife his genius, when he fol- 
 lowed a weaver's trade at Lifieux. The very threads 
 of his loom contributed to improve him in the 
 knowledge of numbers. Roberval, while tending 
 his Hieep, could not efcape the influence of his ftar, 
 which had deftined him to be a great geometrician. 
 He was learning geometry before he knew there 
 was any fuch fcience. He was occupied in drawing 
 lines and figures on the ground with his crook, 
 when a perfon chanced to pafs by, who taking no- 
 tice of the child's amufement, undertook to pro- 
 cure him an education more fuitable to his talents, 
 than that which he received from the peafant he 
 lived with. The adventure which happened to Mon- 
 fieur Pafchal has been publillied by fo many dif- 
 ferent hand?, that it is known all over Euro};?e. His 
 father, far from exciting him to the ftudy of geo- 
 metry, very induftrioufly concealed from him what- 
 ever might give him an idea of this fcience i from 
 an apprehenfion of his growing too fond of that 
 ftudy. But he found that the child had attained 
 by mere dlnr of genius to underiland feveral pro- 
 pofitions of Euclid. Deprived of guide or mafter, 
 he had already made a moft furprizing progrefs 
 in geometry, without having any notion of ftudy- 
 ing that fcience. 
 
 The parents of Monfieur Tournefort tried every 
 method imaginable to divert him from purfu- 
 ing the (ludy of botany. He was obliged, when 
 
 C 4 he
 
 24 Critical Reflections on 
 
 he had a mind to go a fimpling, to conceal himfclf, 
 as other children hide themfelvcs to lofe their time at 
 play. Monfieur Bernoulli, a gentleman of a very 
 great reputation even from his youth, and who died 
 thirty-five years ago profefTor of mathematics in the 
 univerfity of Bafil, gave himfelf up to the ftudy of 
 this fcience, notvvithftanding the long and continual 
 efforts his father ufed to divert him from it. He 
 ufed to hide himfelf to ftudy the mathematics, 
 which made him afterwards take for his device, a 
 Phaeton with thefe words : Invito patre ftdera verfo. 
 ^hro' fiars I roll againfi my father' s will. This in- 
 fcription is at the bottom of his portrait in the li- 
 brary of the city of Bafil. Let the reader pleafe to 
 rccolleft here likewife all that he has read and 
 heard from ocular wirneffes, concerning this very 
 fubjc(5t. I iliculd tire his patience, were I to relate 
 all the fads that can be allcdged to prove, that there 
 is no obftacle linfurmountable to the impulfe of ge- 
 nius. Was it not againil his parent's inclination, 
 that the modern writer of the life of Philip Auguftus 
 and Charles VII. ^ applied himfelf to the compofing 
 of hiftory \ a tafic for which he v/as bleil with 
 fuch eminent talents ? Would Hercules, Soli man, 
 and feveral Oiher theatrical pieces have been ever 
 ccmpofed, had not the genius of their authors ufed 
 violence to oblige them to fall into the occupation 
 they fancied moft, in fpite of the education they 
 received, and the profelTion they embraced } 
 What if we were to quit awhile the republic of let- 
 ters, in order to run thro' the hiftory of other pro- 
 feflions, and efpecially of great generals ? Is it not 
 
 » Monfieur Baudot de fulli receiver of the land tax at Sarlct. 
 
 commonly
 
 Poetry ^^^ Painting.' 2^ 
 
 commonly in oppofition to the advice of their pa- 
 rents, that thofe who are not born in a military fa* 
 mily, venture to embrace the profefTion of arms ? 
 
 Mens birth may be confidered two different ways, 
 Firft with regard to their phyfical conformation, and 
 the natural inclinations which refult from thence. 
 Secondly v/ith refpeft to the fortune and condition 
 in which they are born as members of a particular 
 fociety. Now the phyfical birth always prevails over 
 the moral one. This requires a little explication. 
 Education, which is incapable of giving a particular 
 genius or inclination to children that have it not from 
 nature, is unable likewife to deprive them of this 
 genius, or to ftrip them of this inclination, if they 
 have brought it with them into the world. Children 
 are conftrained only for a certain time, by the educa- 
 tion they receive in confequence of their m.oral birth ; 
 but the inclinations that arife from their phyfical na- 
 tivity, laft with a greater or lefler degree of vivacity 
 as long as life iifcif. They are the effect of the con- 
 fl ruction and arrangement of our organs, and incef- 
 iiintly impel us where our propenfity leads us. 
 
 Naiurayij ex pel las Jure a, tamen tifque recur ret. 
 
 HORAT. 
 
 Strhe to expel firor.g nature^ ''tis in z'ain^ 
 JFtth double force Jhe will return again^ 
 And ccnniicrivg rife above the proud difdain. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 Befidcs, thcfe inclinations are in their higheft vigor 
 and impctuofity exactly at that very period of life, 
 in which wc arc freed from the conflraint of educa- 
 iion. 
 
 I CHAP. 
 
 1
 
 126 P o E T R V and Pa i n t i n g, 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 OhjeBio?i againji the preceding propofitio?:, and 
 anfwer to the objeSlion. 
 
 IT will be objefted here, that I have not a jufl: 
 idea of what pafies in foclety, if I imagine that 
 all genius's anfwer their vocation. You know not 
 (fome will fay) that the neceffities of life inflave, 
 as it were, the greateft part of mankind to that 
 condition of life in which they were educated from 
 their infancy. Now the mifery of thefe conditions 
 muft flifle a great number of genius's, who would 
 have diftinguiilied themfelves, had they been fo 
 happy as to have been born in a more elevated fitua- 
 tion. 
 
 Ui f^pe fuinma ingenia in occiilto latent ! 
 Hie qualis imperator, nunc pjivatus ejl. 
 
 Plaut. capt. a6t. i. fcen. 2. 
 
 Hew oft are great abilities conceaV d 
 
 From public viezv I how mean a garment hides 
 
 A genius fit for Jlratagems of war ? 
 
 The greateil part of mankind being put out from 
 their infancy to low mechanic trades, wax old in 
 life before they have an opportunity of attaining to 
 a proper degree of learning, in order to enable 
 their genius to rake wing. Some will tell me, per- 
 haps in a pathetic ftrain, that yon poor coachman in 
 tattered rags,wiio gets his wretched livelihood by lafh- 
 ing to death a pair of meagre ftarved horfes, tied to a 
 rotten coach jufl ready to fall to pieces, would have 
 
 been
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n G. 27 
 
 been perhaps a Raphael or aVirgil, had he been fo for* 
 tunate as to have been born of a genteel family, and 
 received an education proportioned to his natural 
 talents. 
 
 I have already granted, that thofe who are born 
 with a genius for the command of armies, or for 
 any other great employments, and even if you 
 will, for architedure, cannot difplay their abili- 
 ties, unlefs they have a lift from fortune, and are 
 feconded by lucky conjundures. Wherefore I 
 acknowledge, that the greateft part of thefe men 
 are ranked amongft the vulgar clafs of mankind, and 
 quit this life without leaving pofterity the leaft veftige 
 of their exigence. Their talents lie buried becaufe 
 fortune does not help to difcover them. But the 
 cafe is quite different with refpefl to fuch as are born 
 painters or poets, and 'tis thefe only who fall under 
 our prefent debate. With regard to thefe, I confider 
 the arrangement cf the different conditions which 
 form fociety as a kind of fea : Your indifferent ge- 
 niufc-s are overwhelmed by the waves •, but great 
 ones find means to reach the fhore. 
 
 Men are not, when born, what they are at thirty 
 years of age. Before they become mafons, plow- 
 men, or fhoemakers, they are a long while in a ftate 
 of childhood. During their youth they are aconfide- 
 rable time fit for the apprenticefhip of a profefTion, 
 to which their genius has called them. The time 
 which nature has allowed to children, for their 
 prtnticefhip in painting, lafts till their five and 
 twentieth year. Now the genius which forms a 
 poet or painter, prevents a perfon from his in- 
 fancy, from falling into a fcrvile fubmiiTion 
 
 ta
 
 28 Critical Reflections on 
 
 to mechanic employments, and fets him upon feek- 
 ing out ways and means of inftrudlion. Sup- 
 pofing his parents to be in fo diftrelTed a condition as 
 to be incapable of giving him a fuitable education, 
 upon his fhcwing a much nobler inclination than his 
 equals, fomebody elfe will take care of him ; the 
 child himfelf will go in purfuit thereof with fo much 
 ardor, that chance at lafl will throw it in his way. 
 When I fay chance, I mean every occafion particu- 
 larly confidered ; for thefe occafions occur fo fre- 
 quently, that the chance which makes the boy here 
 mentioned embrace them, muft certainly come fooner 
 or later. Children born with a fuperior genius, and 
 men who make it their bufinefs to inftru6l fuch chil- 
 deren, mufb certainly meet fome time or other. 
 
 'Tis no difficult matter to comprehend, how chil- 
 dren of bright capacities, who are born in towns, fall 
 into the hands of people capable of inftru(5ling them. 
 With regard to the country, in the beft part of Eu- 
 rope, it is ftrewed with convents, whereof the religi- 
 ous never fail to take notice of a young peafant, who 
 fliews a curiofity and aptnefs fuperior to his equals. 
 He is foon taken in to ferve Mafs, where he has an 
 opportunity of making his firft ftudies. Then he is 
 fure of his point •, for the wit and capacity he has 
 an opportunity of fhewing, engage other people to af- 
 fifl: him \ nay he goes half way himfelf to meet the 
 fuccours that are coming to him. Monfieur Baillet, to 
 whom we are indebted for a great number of books, 
 flocked with very fingular erudition, was caught in 
 this net. 
 
 Befides, the genius which determines a child to 
 learning, gr painting, infpires him with a great 
 
 averfioa
 
 Poetry aftd Painting. 29 
 
 averfion to thofe mechanic employments, to which 
 he fees his equals applied. He conceives a ha- 
 tred to low trades, by which his parents or friends 
 would debafe the elevation of his mind. This for- 
 cible conftraint during his infancy, grows infupport- 
 able, in proportion as he advances in years, and be- 
 comes fcnfible of his capacity and mifery His in- 
 ftinCt, and what little he hears of the world, 
 furnifhes him with fome confufed ideas of his voca- 
 tion, enough to convince him he is not in his right 
 place. At length he fteals away from his father's 
 houfe, as Sixtus Qiiintus and many others have done, 
 and palfes to fome neighbouring town. If his genius 
 inclines him to poetry, and confequently to a love 
 for polite learning, his bright capacity will render 
 him worthy of the attention of fome good-natured 
 perfon or other. He will fall into the hands of 
 fome body that will deftine him for the church ; for 
 all Chriftian focieties abound with charitable perfons 
 who think it their duty to procure a proper educa- 
 tion for poor fcholars who Ihew any glimpfe of 
 genius ; and this in order to render them one 
 day an ornament to their community, or church. 
 Thefe children, when they grow up do not 
 always think themfelves obliged to follow the 
 pious views of tlieir benefactors. If their genius 
 leads them to poetry, they refign themfelves to it, 
 and embrace a profelTion for which they were not 
 defigned, but fitted by their education. How can 
 we imagine, that good feeds will lye dead on the 
 ground, when people are fo ready to pick up thofe, 
 that give the Icaft appearance of hopes ? 
 
 Again;
 
 ^o CRiTiCAt Reflections o;/ 
 
 Again. Were we even to grant that a malignity 
 of conjun(5lurcs had inflaved a man of genius to an 
 abje6l condition, before he had learnt to read, (which 
 is to fuppofe the moft ill-natured treatment of for- 
 tune) yet his genius will iome way or another make 
 its appearance. He will learn to read when he is 
 twenty years old, to enjoy independent of any body 
 that fenfible pkafure, whicli verfes afford to a man 
 who is born a poet. His next itage will be to 
 make verfes himfelf. Have we not feen two 
 poets rife from the fhops of none of the moft noble 
 trades i the famous joiner of Nevcrs, and the Ihoe- 
 maker, repairer of yip olio' s hiijkins P Has not Au- 
 br-y> a mailer paver at Paris, exhibited within thefe 
 fixty years tragedies of his own making? We have 
 even feen a coachman, who knew not a letter, make 
 verfes, which tho' very bad ones indeed, are fuffi- 
 cicnt never thelefs to prove, that the leaft fpark of 
 the very groileft poetic fire cannot be fo fmothered, 
 but it will throw out fome glimmering hght. In fine, 
 'tis not a man's acquired learning that renders him 
 a poet ; 'tis his poetic genius that is the caufe of 
 his learning, by forcing him to look out for means 
 of attaining to a proper knowledge for perfcfting 
 his talent. 
 
 A child born with a picturefque genius, begins, 
 when he is ten years old, to fketch with a coal the 
 faints he fees painted in churches : Can twenty years 
 elapfe before he finds an opportunity of cultivating 
 his talent ? Will not his capacity make an impref- 
 fion on fomebody, who will carry him to a neigh- 
 bouring town, where under the dire<5tion of a bung- 
 ling mafter he will render himfelf deferving of the 
 
 attention
 
 Critical Reflections en 31 
 
 attention of an abler inftru6lor, whom he will foon 
 go in fearch of from one country to another ? But 
 let us. iuppofe the boy ftays in his hamlet ; he will 
 cultivate there his natural genius, till his pictures 
 will furprize fome body travelling that way. This 
 v/as the fate of Correggio, who had raifed himfelf to 
 an eminent degree in painting, before the world knew, 
 that there was in the village of Correggio a very pro- 
 mifing young man, who was beginning to Ihew a 
 new kind of talent in his art. If this be an accident 
 that feldom happens, 'tis bccaufe 'tis rare to find 
 fuch great geniufes as Correggio, and ftill more rare 
 that they are not in their proper ftations when twenty 
 years old. Thofe who remain buried all their lives, 
 are, as I have already obferved, only weak capacities, 
 men who would never have thought of painting or 
 writing, had they not been defired to work ; men 
 who would never have gone themfelves in fearch of 
 the art ■, but muil have had the way pointed out. 
 I'he lofs of thefe is not great, as they were never 
 defigned by nature for illuftrious artifts, 
 
 I'he hiftory therefore of painters and poets and of 
 other men of letters, abounds with faifls which fuffi- 
 ciently evince, that children born with a genius will 
 furmount the grcateft obftructions their birth can 
 throw in tlieir way to learning. In a fubjedl of 
 this nature facts are much ftronger than any reafon- 
 ings whatfoever. Let thofe, who are unwilling to 
 give themfelves the trouble of reading this hiftory, re- 
 fleft a little on the vivacity and docility of youth, 
 and on the innumerable v/ays, whereof we have on- 
 ly pointed out a part, which can each in particular 
 conduct a child to fomc fituation, in which he may 
 
 culrivate
 
 32 Critical Reflections £>« 
 
 cultivate his natural talents. They will be convinced 
 of the impofTibility there is, that out of a hundred 
 geniufes even one only fhould remain for ever bu- 
 ried, unlefs he happens by a very odd caprice of 
 fortune to be born among the Calmuc Tartars, or by 
 fome unaccountable accident to be tranfported in his 
 infancy into Lapland. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 0/ the fiudies and progrefs of painters and poets. 
 
 C"^ E N I U S is therefore a plant which flioots up, 
 X a^s it were, of itfelf j but the quality and quan- 
 tity of its fruit depend in a great meafure on the 
 culture it receives. The very brighteft capacity can- 
 not be perfedled but by the afliftance of a long courfe 
 of ftudy. 
 
 Natura fieret laudabik carmen an arte, 
 ^^fitum <?/?, ego nee Jiudium fine divite vena. 
 Nee rude quid -profit video ingenium alterius fic. 
 Altera pofcit opem res ^ cotijurat amice. 
 
 lioR. de arte. 
 
 Now fome difpute to which the greatejl part, 
 A poem owes, to nature, or to art ; 
 But faith, to fpeak my thoughts, I hardly know. 
 What witlefs art, or artlefs wit can do : 
 Each by itfelf is vain Tin fur e, but joined 
 Their force is firong, each proves the other^ s friend, 
 
 Creech. 
 Quintilian, another great judge of works of wit and 
 learning, will not even allow us to difpute, whethei'
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 33 
 
 ^tis genius, or ftudy which forms the excellent ora- 
 tor. He determines, that there can be no fuch thing 
 as a great orator, without the concurrence of both. 
 
 But a man born with a genius, is foon capable of 
 ftudying by himfelf, and 'tis the fludy which he 
 makes by his own choice, and determines by his 
 talle, that contributes mod to accomplifh him. This 
 ftudy confifts in a continual attention to nature, and 
 a ftrious reflc6lion on the works of eminent mas- 
 ters, attended with obfervations on what is proper to 
 be imitated, and what we fliould endeavour to fur- 
 pafs. Thefe obfervations lead us to the knowledge 
 of many things, which our genius would never have 
 fuggelted to us of itfelf, or which it would not have 
 hit upon 'till very late. One becom.es mailer in a 
 day's time of the manner and knack of execution, 
 which coil the invcnter whole years of refearch and 
 labor. L'.vtn if our genius had vigor enough to 
 carry us fu far thro' an unbeaten road, we could not 
 however arrive tlicre by the fole affifbance of our own 
 Ih-ergth, unlefs we were determined to go thro' a 
 l';ng and unwearied fatigue, fimilar to that of the lirft 
 in venters. 
 
 Michael Angelo pracftifed in all probability a 
 long time, before he could draw the Eternal Father 
 with th:it chara(ft:er of Divine Majefty, in which he 
 has reprefcnted him. Perhaps Raphael, born with 
 a genius not quite fo bold as th- Florentine, would 
 never have reached by the Arength of his own wings 
 
 * 5" (.70 quari natura fie plus confirat ad cloquentiam quant doilri- 
 >.a. ^lod a J propofitum nojlri quidem operis non pertinet. Kec 
 e>tim cc7ifi.mfnatu: a) tifcx r.ifi ex utraquc fieri fotcji- QuiNT Inft. 
 lib. II. 
 
 Vol, II. D \\\%
 
 34 Critic AL Reflections (?« 
 
 the fublimity of this idea. At lead he would not 
 have attained it, but after an infinite number of un- 
 fruittul attempts, and at the cxpence of feveral great 
 and repeated ejftbrts. But Raphael happens to have 
 a glance of the Eternal Father drawn by Michael 
 Angelo : ftruck with the noblenefs of the idea of 
 this great genius, whom we may call a Corneille in 
 painting, he lays hold thereof, and becomes capable 
 in one day of throwing into the figures he draws in 
 refemblance of the Eternal Father, the characters of 
 grandeur, majefty, and divinity, which he had juft 
 before admired in the performance of his competi- 
 tor. Let us relate the ftory at length, as it is a 
 better proof of what I advance, than a multiplicity 
 of arguments. 
 
 Raphael was employed in painting the arched 
 roof of the gallery which divides the apartments 
 of the fecond fioor of the Vatican ; which gal- 
 lery is commonly called the lodges. The arch- 
 ed roof is not one continued vault, but is di- 
 vided into as many fquare arches, as there are 
 v»'indows in the gallery, and thefe arches have 
 each their particular center. Thus every arch 
 has four facings, and Raphael was painting at 
 that time, a ftory of the Old Tellament on each of 
 the facings of the firft arch. He had already finillicd 
 three days of the works of the creation, on three of 
 thofe facings, when the adventure, I am going to 
 mention, happened. The figure which reprefents 
 God the Father in thofe three pictures is really no- 
 ble and venerable •, but there is too great a foftnefs 
 in it, without a fufficient mixture of majefty. *Tis 
 only a human head, Raphael having drawn it in the 
 I tafte
 
 Poetry arid Pa i n t i n g. 35 
 
 tafte of thofe heads which painters make for Chrift ; 
 and if there be any difference, 'tis only that which, 
 purfuant to the laws of art, ought to be between 
 two heads, whereof one is deftined for reprefenting 
 the Father, and the other the Son. Juft as Raphael 
 commenced the frefcos of the vault of the lodges, 
 Michael Angelo was employed in painting the vault 
 of one of the Vatican chapels, built by Pope Sixtus 
 IV. Tho' Michael Angelo, jealous of his ideas, 
 had ordered no body to be fuffered to come into the 
 chapel, yet Raphael found means to get admittance. 
 Struck, with the Divine Majefty and the noble air 
 of grandeur which Michael Angelo infufed into the 
 figure of the head of the Eternal Father, which is 
 flill feen in fundry parts of Sixtus's chapel, perform- 
 ing the great work of the creation, he condemned 
 his own tafte in this point, and preferred that of 
 his rival. Raphael has reprefented the Eternal Father 
 in the laft pidure of the firft lodge, with a more 
 than human m^jcfty. He does not infpire us mere- 
 ly with veneration, he ftrikes us even with an aw- 
 ful terror. 'Tis true, Bellori "" difputes Michael An- 
 gelo's having had the honor ot improving by his 
 works the tafie and manner of Raphael. But the 
 reafons alledgcd by this author do not appear to 
 me folid enough to explode the common opinion 
 founded on the tradition of Rome, and on other 
 facts befides thole which he denies. ^ 
 
 Raphael was but an indifferent colorift, when he 
 firft faw one of Giorgione's pieces. He inftantly per- 
 ceived, that his art might draw from colors, far diffe- 
 
 * Difcription of the piiiures drav:n b^ Raphael o/Urbin in the 
 chamber i of the Vatican, p. 86. 
 
 D 2 rent
 
 ^6 Critical Reflections on 
 
 rent beauties from thofe, he had hitherto extrafted. 
 This convinced him that he had not a competent 
 knowledge of the art of coloring. He attempted 
 therefore to follow Giorgione's example, and guef- 
 fmg by mere force of genius, at that painter's 
 manner of drawing, he fell very little fhort of his 
 model. His effay was ^ a reprefentation of the 
 miracle which happened at Bolfena, where the 
 pried who was celebrating mafs before the pope, 
 and doubted of the truth of tranfubftantiation, 
 faw the confecrated hoit become bloody in his 
 hands. The pidlure here mentioned is commonly 
 called the mafs of Pope Julius, and is painted in 
 frefco on the top and fides of the window, in 
 the fecond divifion of the fignature apartment in the 
 Vatican. 'Tis fufficient to let the reader know, that 
 this piece was drawn by Raphael in the prime of 
 his practice, to convince him that the poetry muft 
 be abfolutely marvelous. The prieft who had 
 doubted of the real prefence, and had fcen the con- 
 fecrated hoft grow bloody in his hands during the 
 elevation, feems penetrated with refpe6l and terror. 
 The painter has exhibited each of the alTiftants in his 
 proper character •, but it affords a particular plea- 
 fure to behold the altonifhment of the pope's Swifs, 
 who ftare at the miracle from the bottom of the pic- 
 ture. Thus it is that this eminent artiit has drawn 
 a poetic beauty from the neceflity of obferving the 
 Cofiume^ by giving the pope his ordinary retinue. By 
 a poetic liberty, Raphael pitches upon the head of Ju- 
 lius II. to reprefent the pope, in whofe prefence this 
 miracle happened. Julius looks attentively at the mi- 
 
 * Bellori, ibid, 
 
 racle.
 
 PoE T Ry ^W Paint I Nc. 37 
 
 racle, but does not feem to be greatly moved. The 
 painter fuppofes that the pope was too well convinced 
 of the real prefcnce, to be furprized with the moft 
 miraculous events that might happen to a confecrac- 
 ed hoft. 'Tis impoffible to charaderife the vifible 
 head of the church, introduced into fuch an event, by 
 a nobler and more fuitable exprelTion. This expref- 
 fion fhews us alfo the ftrokes of Julius IPs particu- 
 lar chara6ler. We may eafily diftinguifli by his por- 
 trait the obfbinate befieger of Mirandola. But the 
 coloring of this piece, which was the firft caufe of my 
 mentioning it, is much iuperior to that of any of the 
 other pl6lures of Raphael. There is no carnation 
 drawn by Titian, that reprefents more naturally the 
 foftnefs, which a body ought to have, that is compofed 
 of fluids and iblius. The drapery feems to be made of 
 the fineft filk. and woollen fluffs juft come from the 
 hand s of the tay lor . Had Raphael drawn his other pie- 
 ces with as true and rich a coloring as this, he would 
 have been ranked among the moft eminent colorifts. 
 
 The fame thing happens to young people that are 
 Lorn poets ; the beauties which lye open in works 
 compofed before their time, make a lively impref- 
 fjon upon them. They eafily catch the manner of turn- 
 ing verfes and the mechanic part of preceding authors. 
 I fhould be glad to be informed by fome authentic rela- 
 tion, how much VirgiFs imagination was heated and 
 inriched upon his firft reading of Homer's Iliad. 
 
 The works of great matters have another manner 
 of engaging young people of genius ; which is by 
 flattering their felf-love. A young man of abili- 
 ties difcovers in thofe works fcveral beauties and 
 graces, of which he had already a confufed idea, 
 D 3 fct
 
 38 Critical Reflections en 
 
 fet off with all the perfeflion they can poflibly admit. 
 He fancies he traces his own ideas in the beauties 
 of a mafter-piece confecrated by the admiration of 
 the pubHc. The fame adventure happens to him, as 
 that which befel Corregio, wliile he was yet a plain 
 burgher of the little town of Corregio, when he firft 
 faw one of Raphael's pictures. 1 faid a plain bur- 
 gher, tho' a vulgar error debafes Corregio to the 
 condition of a peafant. Monficur Crozat has ex- 
 traded from the public regifters of the town of Cor- 
 regio feveral proofs, which fufficiently demonftrate 
 that Vafari was miftaken in the idea he gives us of 
 Corregio's fortune, and efpecially in the recital he 
 makes of the circum fiances of his death. 
 
 Corregio, who had not as yet raifed himfelf by 
 his profefTion, tho* already a great painter, was 
 fo full of what he had heard concerning Raphael, 
 whom princes contended to heap with prefents and 
 honors, that he fancied, an artift who made fo great 
 a figure in the world, muft have had a much fu- 
 perior degree of merit to his, which had not as 
 yet drawn him out of his mediocrity of fortune. 
 Like a man unpraflifed in the world, he judged of the 
 fuperiority of Raphael's merit by the difference of his 
 circumftances. But as foon as he got fight of a 
 piece done by that eminent mafter, and after ex- 
 amining it with attention, he had confidered how he 
 fhould have treated the fame fubjed: himfelf, he 
 cried out, I am a painter as well as he. The fame 
 thing perhaps happened to Racine, the firft time he 
 read the Cid. 
 
 Nothing, on the contrary, is a greater indication 
 of a man's want of genius than to fee him examine 
 
 coldly
 
 Poetry and Painting. 39 
 
 coldly the performances of thofe, who have excelled 
 in the art he pretends to profefs. A man of genius 
 cannot fo much as mention the faults committed by 
 great mafters, without previoufly commending the 
 beauties of their produftions. He fpeaks of them 
 only as a father would mention the defefts of his 
 fon. Cicfar, born with a military genius, was mov- 
 ed, even to flied tears, at the fight of the llatue of 
 Alexander, The firfb idea which occurred to him 
 when he beheld the efiigy of that Greek, hero, 
 whofe glory had been carried by the wings of fame 
 to tht moft diilant corners of the earth, was no: of 
 the faults which Alexander had committed in his ex- 
 peditions. Carfar did not compire them with his greac 
 exploits ; no, he was ftruck with admiration. 
 
 I do not mean by this, that we muft conceive imme- 
 diately a bad opinion of a young artifl: for cnticifing 
 fome defe(5ls in the works of great mafters : for defefts 
 rhcy really had, as they were men. A genius, inftead 
 of hinderingthem from feeing thofe faults, will lay tliem 
 open. What I look upon as a bad prefige, is to fee a 
 young man very little moved with the excellency of the 
 produ6lions of great mafrers : that he is not tranf- 
 ported into a kind of entliufiafm when he fees them : 
 that he wants to calculate the beauties and defects he 
 finds, in order to know whether he is to fet a value 
 upon them, and does not chufe to form a judg- 
 ment on their merit, 'till after he has balanced his 
 account. Had he that vivacity and delicacy of fen- 
 timent, which are the infeparablc companions of ge- 
 nius, he would be fo (truck with the beauties ot ce- 
 lebrated pieces, that he would iling away his fcah:fs 
 nnd compalfes to judge of tiiem, as other people 
 
 \) J. have
 
 40 Critical Reflections on 
 
 have always done, that is, by the impreflion made by 
 thofe works. A balance is very unfit for deciding 
 the value ol pearls and diamonds. A rough pearl 
 of a bad water, let it be ever fo heavy, can never 
 be of an equal value with the famous peregrine,, that 
 pearl for which a merch.jnt ventured to give a hun- 
 dred thoufand crowns, reflecting, fays he to PhiHp 
 IV. that there was a king ol Spain in the world. 
 An infinity of ordinary beauties thrown together, 
 have not (to make ufe of this expreffion) fo much 
 weight, as one of thofe ftrokts, which the moderns^ 
 even thofe who deal in eclogues, mull commend in 
 Virgil's Bucolics. , : 
 
 Geni,us is foon diflinguillied in the works of young 
 people J they give a proof ot their being endowed 
 with it, even before they are acquainted with the prac- 
 tice of their art. We find in their pieces fome ideas 
 and exprefnons, whicli have not occurred before, but 
 are what we may call new thoughts. We obfcrve 
 amidfl a great number of defects, a fpirit that aims 
 at very emment beauties, and in order to attain his 
 end, performs things which his mailer is incapable of 
 teaching him. IF thefe young telle ws are really po- 
 ets, they invent new charafttrs, they fay fomething 
 that one has not read before, and their verfes are full 
 of turns and expreffions, which do not occur elfe- 
 where. For inftance, your verfificrs of no genius that 
 undertake to write operas, can give us nothing but 
 thofe thread-bare expreffions, which L«//i (tomake ufe 
 ofBoileau's words} ufedtoheat again with the founds 
 of his rnufic. As Qiiinault was the author and inventer 
 oi the proper ftyle of operas, this fhyle is an argument 
 that Quinault had a particular genius, which thofp 
 
 who
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t. 1 1^ g. 41 
 
 who can only trouble us with a repetition of what 
 he faid before them, mull certainly want. On the 
 contrary a poet, whofe genius renders him capable 
 to give a being to new ideas, is able at the fame 
 time to produce new figures, and to create new 
 turns to exprefs them. We are very feldom obliged 
 to borrow words to exprefs our thoughts. 'Tis even 
 rare that we are at any great trouble to fii^ them ; 
 fince thought and expreflion rife generally at the 
 fame time. 
 
 A young painter of genius begins to differ foon 
 from his mailer, in things wherein his mailer difa- 
 grees with nature. This he fees with his eyes almoft 
 hali fhut, and frequently better than he that pretends 
 to inllrudl him. Raphael was only twenty years 
 old, and yet an eleve of Pietro Perugino, when 
 he was employed at Sienna. Yet he dillinguifhed 
 himfelf fo well, that he was intrulled with the 
 compofition of fevcral pidures. One fees here that 
 Raphael had already ftrove to vary the airs of 
 the head i that he endeavoured to give life to his 
 figures ; that he defigned the naked part under his 
 draperies \ in fine, that he did feveral things, which 
 probably he never learnt of his mailer. Nay, his 
 mailer himftlf became his difciple, for *tis vifible 
 by the pieces drawn by Perugino in Sixtus's cha- 
 pel in the Vatican, that he learnt of Raphael. 
 
 Anoflier mark o\ genius in young people, is to make a 
 very flow progrefs in thofe arts and pradices, which 
 form the general occupation of the com mon run of man- 
 kind during their youth, at the very time that they ad- 
 vance with gigantic ftrides in the profeflion for which 
 nature has intirely defigned them. Formed only for this 
 
 prcfcffion.
 
 42 Critical Reflections ft^; 
 
 profcffion,their capacity fecms very mean, when they at- 
 tempt to apply themfelves toother ftudies. If they learn 
 thtm, *tis with difficulty, and they execute them with a 
 very bad grace. Wherefore a young painter, whofe 
 mind is intirdy taken up with ideas relating to his 
 profeflion ^ who is not fo expeditioufly fitted, as other 
 young fellows his equals, for the converfation and 
 praiftice of the world ; who appears whimfical in his 
 vivacity ; and whom an abfence of mind proceeding 
 from a continual attention to his ideas renders auk- 
 waid in his manners and carriage ; fuch a young 
 painter, I fay, generally turns out an excellent artift. 
 His very failings are a proof of the adivity of his 
 genius. The world to him is only an affemblage 
 of objefts proper to be imitated with colors. To 
 him the moft heroic aflion in the life of Charles V. 
 is this great emperor's Hooping to pick up Titian's 
 pencil. Do not ftrive to undeceive a young artift 
 thus prejudiced with the notion of the regard due to 
 his art ; let him fancy at ieaft, during the firft years 
 of his i^raiftice, that men illullrious in the arts and 
 fciences hold the fame rank now in the world, as 
 they formerly held in Greece. Do not, I fay, en- 
 deavour to undeceive him, experience will too foon 
 perhaps fet him right. 
 
 CHAP. VL " 
 
 Of artijis ivithout genius. 
 
 WE have already obferved, that there is no 
 man, generally fpeaking, but what brings 
 Ibme talent with him into the world, proper for the 
 
 neceffities
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 43 
 
 necefTities or conveniences of fociety ; but thefe talents 
 are all very different. Some are born with a talent fuited 
 for a particular profeflion ; and others for various pro- 
 feflions. The latter are capable of fucceeding in many, 
 but their fuccefs cannot be very confiderable. Na- 
 ture places them in the world to fupply the fcarcity of 
 men of genius, who are deftined to perform wonders 
 in one fphere, out of which they have no adivity. 
 
 In fa(5l, a man fit to fucceed in feveral profeflions, 
 is very feldom likely to be eminent in any one of 
 them. 'Tis thus a foil proper for producing feveral 
 forts of plants, cannot give fuch a perfeflion to any 
 particular plant, as it would have attained to in a 
 foil peculiarly fit for it, tho' improper for any 
 other fpecies. A land equally fit for bearing grapes 
 as well as corn, will produce neither of them in any 
 eminent degree of perfeclion. The fame quaHties 
 which render a ground particularly adapted for one 
 fort of plant, difquality it for another. 
 
 When one of thofc indeterminate fpirits, who are 
 fit for every thing, only becaufe they are proper for 
 nothing, happens by fome conjuncture to find the 
 way to ParnalTus, he learns the rules of poetry well 
 enough to avoid committing grofs miftakes. He 
 is generally attached to fome author, whom he 
 chutes for his model. Pie feeds his mind with 
 the thoughts of his original, and loads his me- 
 mory with his exprefTions. As the perfons here 
 mentioned, who are deftined to be the nurfery of 
 middling artifts, have not a genius themfelves, 
 our copier, by confining himfcif to fuch models, 
 is deprived of courfe of a proper fubjeft of 
 imitation in nature. Thefe fubjefts he can 
 
 difccrn
 
 44 Critical Reflections on 
 
 difcern only in fucli copies of nature as are made 
 by men of genius. If tliis imitating artiil hap- 
 pens to be a man of fenfe, tho* of a poor ge- 
 nius, he gets neverthelefs a comfortable fubfiftence 
 from the plunder he makes of another man's pro- 
 perty. His verfification is fo correal, and his 
 rliime efpecially is fo rich, that he acquires by his 
 new performances a kind of credit in the world. If 
 he does not pafs for a man of genius, he is efteemed 
 at leaft as a perfon of fome parts. 'Tis impoiTible 
 (people will fay) to write fuch verfes without being 
 a poet. Let him only take care not to expofe him- 
 felf to the pubhc aflembled , that is, let him avoid 
 writing for the ftage. The moft elegant verfes, that 
 are barren of invention, or decked only with bor- 
 rowed imbellifliments, ought never to be produced 
 in pubUc, but with the greaceft circumfpeftion. 
 There are only fome peculiar receptacles, where 
 they fhould be nurfed in the beginning •, they 
 ought not to fee light at firfb but before particular 
 friends •, and ftrangers fliould not hear them, till 
 they have been firft informed, that fuch and fuch 
 gentlemen have commended them. The preven- 
 tion caufed by thefe applaufes, impofes upon people 
 for fome time. 
 
 If our imitating artifl: be not a man of fenfe, he 
 makes an unfeafonable application of the llrokes 
 and expreffions of his model, whereof we are inju- 
 dicioufly reminded by his verfes : He behaves in 
 the publication of his works, as in the compofing 
 of them : He affronts the public with greater intre- 
 pidity than Racine and Quinault were mafters of on 
 the like occafions. Hilled at upon one ftage ; he 
 
 gets
 
 Poetry ajid Pa i n t i n g. 45 
 
 gets himfelf houted at and damned on another : Ex- 
 pofed to more contempt in proportion as he is more 
 known, his name is adopted by the pubhc as a com- 
 mon appellation for a wretched poet ; happy even 
 in this refped, if his fliame and infamy do not 
 furvive him. 
 
 Men of a midling capacity for a great variety of 
 things, meet with the fam.e fate when they apply 
 themfeives to painting, A perfon of this ftamp, 
 who by fome accident is become a painter, fhews 
 rat'-^iei a fervile than an exa6l imitation of his 
 mafler's talLc in the contours and coloring. He 
 grows a corred:, if not an elegant defigner, and if 
 we cannot commend the excellence of his coloring, 
 we do noi however obferve any very grofs miftakes 
 contrary to truth, becaufe there are rules to direft 
 him : But as none but men of genius can learn by 
 rules to fucceed in the ordonnance and poetic com- 
 pofinion, his pi6lures are extremely defec5tive in thefc 
 articles. His works are agreable only by de- 
 taci:ed pieces, becaufe having never formed one ge- 
 neral idea of his plan, but having licked it out by 
 piece- meal, the parts are unconneftedk 
 
 Infelix cpcris jiimma quia ponere totum 
 Nffciet. HoR. de arte. 
 
 But hi s a fct^ unhappy in his art, 
 
 Becaufe he cauuot fajhicn every part. 
 
 And 'make the v:hoIe ccmplete. Creech. 
 
 In vain a pcrfcjn of this flamp ferves his appren- 
 ticciliip under tiic beft 'oi ma.cers j he can never 
 maI^c• in Inch a fchool, the fame progrefs as a 
 Vl\u. .t ^j^-\v\ ~ -a v/ifli the alTiitance of an in- 
 different
 
 46 Critical Reflections on 
 
 different inflrufler. A mafter, as Quintilian ob- 
 ferves*, is incapable of communicaling to his difciple 
 the talent and art of inventing^ which are the chief 
 cccomplifljments of orators and painters. A painter 
 may therefore impart the fecrets of liis praftice, tho* 
 he cannot his talents for compofition and expreflion. 
 A difciple void of genius, is frequently incapable of 
 attaining even to that perfeftion which his mafter is 
 arrived to in the mechanic part of his art. A fervile 
 imitator will naturally fall fiiort of his model, 
 becaufe he adds his own faults to thole of the 
 perfon he imitates. Befides, if the mafter be a man 
 of genius, he will foon be tired of inftru6ling fuch 
 a difciple. He finds he is upon the rack, as Tully ^ 
 expreffes it, when he fees his pupil fo extreamly dull 
 in what he himfelf comprehended fo quickly when 
 he was a fcholar. 
 
 We meet with nothing new in the compofitions 
 of painters of no genius, nothing fingular in their 
 exprefllons. They are fo very barren, that when 
 they have copied after others for a confiderable 
 time, they fall at length to copying themfelves ; 
 and as foon as we know what pifture they have 
 promifed, we find it eafy to guefs at the greatefb 
 part of their figures. The habit of imitating 
 others, leads us to imitate ourfelves. The idea 
 of what we have painted, occurs always eafier 
 to our minds than what has been done by 
 others. 'Tis the firft thing that prefents itfelf to 
 
 * Eaqu^e in oratore maxima funt, imitahilia vonfunt. Ingenium^ 
 itruenlio, 'vis,facilitas is' quii-iquid arte non traditur. Qu INT. 
 
 '' ^Mid enim ipfe celeriter arripuity id cUm tarde percipi ^videt, 
 diftrmiutitr. Cjc. pro Rordo. 
 
 thofe
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 47 
 
 thofe who feek for their compofition and figures 
 in their memory rather than in their imagination. 
 Some, like Baffano, have no fcruple in making a 
 downright repetition of their own works. Others, 
 endeavouring to conceal the thefts they have made 
 from their own produ<5lions, introduce their per- 
 fonages again upon the ftage, under a difguife 
 indeed, but fuch a difguife as may be eafily dif- 
 covered ; by which means their theft become* ftill 
 more odious. The public confiders a work in its 
 pofTeffion as its real property, and thinks itfelf 
 exnemely ill ufed to be obliged to purchafe a fccond 
 time, what it already had bought at the price of 
 its commendations. 
 
 As it is eafier to follow a beaten track, than to 
 open a new road, an artift without a genius attains 
 quickly to that degree of perfeftion to which he is 
 capable ot rifing : Pie foon arrives to his proper 
 height, and then grows no taller. His iirft effays 
 are frequently as perfe(5l as the works he produces in 
 his full maturity. We have fcen painters without 
 a genius, but grown famous for fome time by the 
 dexterity of putting themfelves forward, who per- 
 form much worle when they come to the ftate of man- 
 hood, than during their youth. Their mafler-pieces 
 are in thole countries where they made their ftudies ; 
 and they fcem to have loft one half of their merit 
 by repafTing the Alps. In effed: thcfe artifts, when 
 they come back to Paris, do not find fo eafy an 
 or-portunity there, as at Rome, of ftealing pieces, 
 and fomctimes intire figures to inrich their compofi- 
 tions. Tluir pictures grow extremely poor, when they 
 Lave no longtr an opportunity to pick up from the per- 
 formances
 
 48 Critical Reflections on 
 
 formances of eminent mafters, the head, the foot, 
 the attitude, and fometimes the ordonnance they 
 wanted. 
 
 We may compare the magnificent parade of the 
 ancient and modern mafter-pieces, which render 
 Rome the mod fuperb city in the world, to thofe 
 fhops where a great quantity of jewels are expofed 
 to fale. Let thofe jewels be fet forth in ever fo great 
 a profufion, the number you bring home, will be 
 only in proportion to the money you took with you 
 for the purchafe. Thus there is no folid benefit 
 reaped from the great mafter-pieces of Rome, but in 
 proportion to the genius with which they are confi- 
 dered. Le Sueur, who never was at Rome, and 
 had feen only from afar, that is, in copies, the riches 
 of this great capital of the polite arts, reaped more 
 benefit from thence than feveral painters who are apt 
 to boaft of having dwelt many years at the foot 
 of the capitol. In like manner a young poet im- 
 proves by reading Virgil and Horace in proportion 
 only to his genius, by the light of which he ftudies 
 the ancients. 
 
 Let thofe who are born with an indeterminate 
 genius, fuch as have an aptnefs and capacity for 
 every thing, apply themfelves therefore to thofe arts 
 and fciences, in which the moft knowing are the moft 
 eminent. There are fome profeflions, in which the 
 imagination or art of inventing is as prejudicial, as 
 it is neceflary in poetry and painting. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 Poetry ^W Paint I NO. 49 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 'ithat Genius's are limited. 
 
 ME N born with a genius for a particular 
 art or profefTion, are the only people capa- 
 ble of any eminent degree of fuccefs ; but then 
 'tis obfcrvable, that thefe are the only profcffions 
 and arts, in which they can poffibly excel. They 
 fall into a very low character, when they quit their 
 own fphere ; and lofe their vigor and penetration 
 of mind, as foon as they enter upon things for which 
 nature has not formed them. 
 
 The men here mentioned are not .only debarred 
 from excelling in more than one profeffion, but 
 are likewife generally confined to one of thofe 
 branches into which the profeffion is divided. 'Tis 
 ahnoji impqffible^ fays Plato, that the fame man Jhould 
 excel in ijuorks of a different nature. Tragedy and 
 comedy arc^ of all poetic imitations^ thofe which have 
 the greatefl refemblance \ and yet the fame poet has 
 not an equal fuccefs in both. A5iors who play in 
 tragedies, are not the fame as thofe who a£l in co- 
 medies *. Thofe painters who have excelled in draw- 
 ing the fouls of men, and in a juft expreffion of the 
 paffions, were but indilferent colorifts. Others have 
 
 (■i.i7a(i3i tv, uc-'JTtf 'iv, t' a-^ixloi;. Ov yap «r. Z^o^-il afa i'zCriS'rjJU 
 
 ci.A;,a» ct atvTc* a.u.x tt fjni4.i7a6cn, clc* Ki^y.-^^'mi ii Tfaya.-Jia» trei- 
 t.lf? Plato dc Repub. 1, 3. 
 
 Vol. II. E rnade
 
 50 Critical Reflections on 
 
 made the blood circulate in the flefli of their figures ; 
 but they have irot been fo well acquainted with the 
 exprelTion, as the midling artifts of the Roman 
 fchqol. We have known feveral Dutch painters en- 
 dovi'ed with a genius for the mechanic part of their 
 art, and efpecially for the marvelous talent of 
 imitating the effc6ls of the chiaro-fcuro in a nar- 
 row rpace, a talent for which they have been indebt- 
 ed to a particular patience of mind, which enabled 
 them to hang for a long time over the fame work, 
 without being feized with that vexation and fret- 
 ting, which is apt to rife in men of a livelier difpo- 
 fition, when t4iey fee their eiTorts prove feveral times 
 abortive. 'I'hefe fiegmatic painters have invefti- 
 gated with a kind of obftinacy, and by an infinite 
 number of attempts, the teints, the mezzo-tin- 
 tos, and in fhort cvecy thing necefiary for the 
 degradation of the colors oi obiffts ; and by 
 their perfeverance they have learnt to paint cveri 
 light itfelf. We are inchanted with the magic of 
 their chiaro-fcuro ; for the various fli.adows are not 
 better laid out in nature, dian in their pieces. But 
 thofe very painters have been unfucctfsful in other 
 parts of their art, of no lefs confcquencc. Bare of 
 all invention in their exprcfilons, and incapable of 
 raifing themfelves above fuch objefls as were prefent 
 to them, they have drav/n nothing but low paffions, 
 and a mean ignoble nature. The fcene of their pie- 
 ces is a fliop, a guard-houfe, or a country kitchen ; 
 and their heroes are a parcel of fneaking fel- 
 lows. The Dutch painters here mentioned, who 
 have attempted hlftorical pieces, have drawn works 
 that are admirable for their chiaro-fcuro, but in every 
 
 other
 
 Poetry mid Pa i n t i n g." ^t 
 
 other refpedt ridiculous. The drefles of their per- 
 fonages are extravagant, and their expreffions lo\v 
 and comic. They draw UlyfTes without art or cun- 
 ning, Sufanna without modeily, and Scipio without 
 any ftroke of grandeur or courage. Thus the pen- 
 cil of thefe Frigid artifts deprives thofe illuftrioua 
 heads of their known chara6ler. Our Dutchmen, 
 (among whom 'tis plain I do not rank the painters 
 of the fchool of Antwerp,) were perfe6tly fenfible of 
 the value of local colors, but they were incapable 
 of drawing the fame advantage from thence as the 
 painters of the fchool of Venice. The talent of co- 
 loring, as pra6lifcd by Titian, requires invention ; 
 and depends more on a fecundity of imagination in 
 contriving proper expedients for the mixture of co- 
 lors, than upon an obilinate perfeverance in re-touch- 
 ing the fame thing a hundred times. 
 
 We may rank Teniers in the number of the pain- 
 ters here mentioned •, for tho' he was born in Bra- 
 bant, yet his genius determined him to imitate the 
 taftc of the Dutch painters, rather than that of Ru- 
 bens and Vandyke, his countrymen and cotempora- 
 ries. Never was there a painter, that had greater 
 fucccfs than Teniers in low fubjecls, fuch was the 
 excellency of his pencil. He underftood the chiaro- 
 Icuro perfectly v/ell, and furpailed all his competi- 
 tors in the knowlcdo;e of local colors. But wficn he 
 attempted hiliory-painting, liis fucccfs was even in- 
 terior to that of indifferent painters. His paJUcc:^ 
 v/hcreof he has drawn avail nunibL-r, are immcdi- 
 r.":j!y known by tlie nv. an and llupid air oi the 
 \v^■::^ . (A x\:'- pi ir'/.ifial ptnionag-.'s. Vvc commonly 
 give t'.ie ii.ur,.. ;.;; ; '/;'(/' to j.iietiircs drawn by an 
 
 V. 2 iinpoll'j;"^
 
 52 Critical Reflections on 
 
 impoftor, who imitates the hand and manner of com- 
 pofing and coloring of another painter, under whofe 
 name he has a mind to expofe his work to the 
 public. 
 
 7'hcre are to be feen at Bruflels in the gallery of 
 the Prince de la Tour fome large hiftorical pieces, 
 defigned for Cartoons to a fuit of hangings, and re- 
 preilnting the hiftory of the Turriani of Lombardy, 
 from whence the houfe of la Tour Taxis is defcend- 
 ed. The firft pictures are done by Teniers, who 
 caufed the reft to be finillied by his fon. Nothing 
 can be more indifferent with refpedl to compofition 
 and expreffion. 
 
 M. de la Fontaine had certainly a natural ge- 
 nius for poetry \ but his talent was for tales and 
 fables, which he has treated with an agreable erudi- 
 tion, of which this kind of writing did not feem fuf- 
 ceptible. When La Fontaine attempted to write 
 comedies, they never miffed being received with the 
 hiffes and cat-calls of the pit ; and the fame fate, 
 'tis known, attended his operas. Each kind of poe- 
 try requires a particular ability, and nature cannot 
 beftow an eminent talent upon a man, without refu- 
 fing to favor him with other qualifications. Where- 
 fore 'tis fo far from being aftonifliing that La Fon- 
 taine compofed bad comedies, that it would have 
 been a llibjcd: ot furprize, had he wrote good ones. 
 If Pouffin had colored as well as BaiTano, he would 
 have made as great a figure among painters, as 
 Julius Cafar among heroes. Had Ciefar been 
 juft, his clemency would have rendered him the 
 moil illuftrious of all the Romans. 
 
 'Tis
 
 PoKTRY ^W Painting. 53 
 
 'Tis therefore a matter of great importance to 
 the noble artifts here mentioned, to know wha tkind 
 of poetry and painting their talents have defigned 
 them for, and to confine themfelves to that for 
 which nature has formed them. Art can only per- 
 fect the aptitude or talent which we have brought 
 with us into the world, but cannot give us a talent 
 which nature has refufed us. It makes indeed a great 
 addition to our abilities, but this is when we ftudy a 
 profefllon for which we have been deftined by nature. 
 The principal part of art, fays QLiintilian ^, conjifts 
 in attempting things that are becoming. But this 
 is a point that can neither be learnt ivithout art, 
 nor be intirely acquired by precepts. It often hap- 
 pens that a painter remains concealed among the 
 croud, who would have been ranked among the 
 moft eminent of his profefTion, had he not been be- 
 witched by a blind ambition, attempting to excel in 
 fome kinds of painting for which he had no capacity; 
 whereby he negUi^ed the parts, lor which he had a 
 natural ability. The works he attempted, are, if 
 you will, of a fiioerior clafs : Bur would it not have 
 been more honourable for him to have held the 
 firll place amon;^; land-fl<ip painters, than the laft 
 among the j)aintcrs of hiftory ? Is it not a greater 
 credit to be mentioned as one of thr: principal por- 
 trait-painters of our time, than a^ a wtv relied ranger 
 ut lame and ignoble figures ? 
 
 The pafiion of being elleemcd an ui^.ivfrfal genius, 
 d.bafes a great numbc-r of a^tiiT■^. Wficn the value 
 ■■:t an arcifl is rated in gcncr.il, '.vc arc apt to take as 
 
 i- tpi't rji aytii d, :cre quid fcu:.-^. !■ j '■■ -j": j^':' ''•'>■, wj.v/ 
 ■■/.' .'.'/-■ //,'-.•: ', adt potcjt. Qj.' INI. liiil ;. i I . 
 
 V -: murh
 
 54 Critical Reflections on 
 
 much notice of his inditFcrent, as of his valuable 
 pieces : Wherefore he runs the rifk of having a cha- 
 j-ader or definition given of him as author of the 
 former. What a number of eminent authors fhould 
 \vc have had, if their writings had been lefs volumi- 
 nous ! Had Martial left us only thofe hundred epir 
 grams, wliich men ot learning in all countries gene- 
 rally know by heart •, had his book contained no 
 larger a colledion than that of Catullus \ there would 
 be no fuc!i great diflinclion made between him an4 
 that ingenious Roman knight. At leaft there would 
 never have been a great wit ^ fo incenfed at feeing 
 thefe two writers compared, as to commit every 
 year with great ceremony a copy of Martial to the 
 flames, in order to appeafe by this whimfical facri-r 
 fice the poetic manes of Catullus. 
 
 Let us return to the limits prefcribed by nature 
 to the moft extenfive genius, and conclude, that the 
 leafi limited genius is that, whofe bounds are not of 
 fo narrow a compafs as thofe of others. Optimus ilk 
 qui mir.i'/yiis urgetur. Now there is nothing more 
 proper fur difeovv^ring the limits of an artift's ge- 
 nius, than his performances in fome branch or kind, 
 for v/hich nature has not defigned him. 
 
 Emuhtion and ftudy can never enable a genius 
 to leap beyond the bounds which nature hath pre- 
 fcribed to his adivity. Labor indeed may perfeft 
 hiin, but I cucfiion whether it can give him a greater 
 extent thp.n he has received from nature. The extent 
 which labor fe'cms to communicate to genius's, is 
 only apparent ; and art inftrucls them to conceal 
 their Jin:its, but it never extends them. The fame 
 
 Jyui-.gcrlus a learned Italian in the \6th century. 
 
 I thing
 
 'Poetry end Painting. ^^ 
 
 thing happens to men in ail profeHions, as in that of 
 gaming. A man who has attained in a particul;ir 
 kind of play to the utmoft extent of his ability, ad- 
 vances no farther, and the leflbns of the beft mafters, 
 and even the continual praftice of gaming for the 
 fpace of feveral years, are incapable of giving him 
 any greater improvement. Wherefore labor and ex- 
 perience will enable painters, as well as poets, to give 
 a greater corredlnefs, but not a greater fublimity, 
 to their productions. They cannot make them 
 bring forth works of a charafter fuperior to their 
 natural capacity. A genius who has only received 
 of nature the wings of a dove, will never learn to 
 foar with the flight of an eagle. We fcldom acquire, 
 as Montagne obferves, by ftudying other men's 
 works, the talent they had for invention. "" 'The imi- 
 tatio/i of f peaking is fcon acquired ; that of judging 
 and inventing is not fo cafly attained. Women'' s man" 
 teaus and attire niay he borrozved ; but jlrcngth and 
 nerz'es cannot. 
 
 The IclTons of an eminent muHcian unfold our 
 organs, and learn us to fmg methodically : And yet 
 they make but a very fmall alteration in the foiind 
 and extent ot our natural voice, notwithftanding 
 they Icem to give it a foftnefs and f )me kind of extent. 
 
 Now that which confticutcs the diiierence of our 
 minds, as long as the foul continues united to the 
 body, is a thing no lefs real than what clifcriminates 
 our voices and faces, Philofophers cf all fcifs agree, 
 that tlie characicr of our minds proceeds from tiie 
 conformation of thofe organs of the brain, which 
 ailat the foul to difcharge ics [unclions. Now it C\c-
 
 '56 Critical Reflections on 
 
 pends no more on us to change the conformation," 
 or configuration of thefe organs than to alter that of 
 the mufck's and cartilages of our face and throat. 
 It ever there happens any phyfical alteration in thefe 
 organs, 'tis not produced by the mere effort of our 
 will, but by fome phyfical change fupervening in 
 cur conftitution •, and they are altered in the 
 fame manner as the other parts of the body. Our 
 minds do not therefore attain to a refemblance by 
 looking at one another ; unkfs it be as our voice and 
 faces arc capable of acquiring a likenefs. Art does 
 net augment the phyfical extent of our voice, or in- 
 creafe our genius, only inafmuch as the exercife, 
 wherein confifts the pradice of the art, is capable of 
 making a real change of fome part of the conftruc- 
 tion of cur organs. Now the change which exercife is 
 capable of making is a very fmall matter. Art does 
 no more remove the defe6ls of organization which 
 it learns to conceal, than it augments the natural ex- 
 tent of fuch phyfical talents as are improved by its 
 leffons. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Of plagiaries : What it is they differ in from 
 thoje^ ijoho improve their Jiudies to the beji 
 advantage. 
 
 >UT cannot (fome will fay) an artifl fupply the 
 
 want of elevation and the fterility of his genius, 
 
 by tranfplanting into his works thofe beauties which 
 are fo much admired in the produflions of eminent 
 
 maflers ?
 
 Poetry W Painting. 57 
 
 inafters ? Can't he foar by the counfels of his friends, 
 to where the ftrength of his own genius would never 
 have been able to carry him ? 
 
 With refpeft to the firft point, my anfwer is, that 
 it was always allowable to receive the affiftance of 
 other people's wit, provided it be done without pla- 
 giarifm. 
 
 That which conftitutes a plagiary, is the publifh- 
 ing another man's work for one's own. 'Tis giving 
 for our own compofition, intire verfes which we 
 have had neither trouble nor merit in tranfplanting 
 from another man's performance. I fay, when we 
 have tranfplanted without trouble, for if we happen 
 to adopt the verfes of a poet, who has wrote in a dif- 
 ferent language from our own, we are not then guilty 
 of plagiarifm. The vcrfe becomes in fome mea- 
 fure ours, becaufe the new expreffion, with which we 
 have clad another perfon's thought, is our proper- 
 ty. There is fome merit in committing fuch a 
 theft, as it cannot be executed well without trouble, 
 and without being endowed at leaft with the talent 
 of expreffion. There is as much induftry requifite 
 to fucceedin this, as was neceffary in Sparta to ftcal Hke 
 a gentleman. To difcover in our own language pro- 
 per terms, and equivalent expreffions to thofe which 
 the ancient or modern author has made ufe of : To 
 be able to give them a proper turn, in order to 
 convey the energy of the thought, and prefcnt us 
 with the fame image as the original, is not the tafk 
 and bufincfs of a fcholar. Thcfe thoughts tranf- 
 planted thus from one language into another, can 
 fucceed only in the hands of thofc, wlio have at 
 ieift the talent of inventing terms. \\hv:\:':\'.
 
 5^^ Critical Reflect^oijjs c;? 
 
 when they fucceed, one half of cheir beagty be* 
 longs to thofc wlio lit them in a new Hght, 
 
 The reputation therefore of Vifgi} ^annpt be di- 
 mininied, by fliewing that he borrowed a vaft num- 
 ber of things from Homer. Fulvius Urfinys put 
 bimfelf to a great deal of trouble to very little pur- 
 pofe, if he colJc6led all the paflages which t.he La- 
 tin poet imitated in the Greek, merely to afperfe the 
 charadfer of the Latin writer. Virgil has acqijifed, 
 as it were, a right to the property of all thofe ideas 
 which he borrowed of Homer. They belong to him 
 fairly in Latin^ becaufe of the elegant turn and con- 
 cifenefs with which he has rendered them in his pwa 
 language, and the dexterity with which he fets thofe 
 fragments in a regular building whereof he is the 
 archited:. Thofe who imagined they might lefleji 
 Boileau's reputation, by printing by way of com- 
 ment, at the bottom of the text of his works, the 
 verfes of Horace and Juvenal which he inchafed ia 
 his, were very much miftaken. The verfes of the 
 ancients, which this poet has fo artfully turned into 
 French, and fo completely rendered an homogeneous 
 part of the work in v;hich he ingrafts them, that 
 the whole feems to be one connefted thought of the 
 fame perfon, are as great an honour to BoileaU; as 
 thofe that flow quite new from his vein. The ori-^ 
 ginal turn he gives his tranflations, the boldnefs of 
 his GxprcrHons, as free as if they had rifen with his 
 conception, difplay almofl as much invention as the 
 produ6iion of a new thought. This is what made 
 La Bruyere fay % that Boileau fecmed to create other 
 mens ideas. 
 
 '■ Harangue to the Acadenvy. 
 
 it
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. ^9 
 
 It even adds a peculiar grace to one's works, to 
 imbellifh them with antique fragments. The verfes 
 of Horace and Virgil well tranilated, and feafonably 
 applied in a French poem, have pretty near the fame 
 efFe<fl as the antique ftatues in the gallery of Verfailles. 
 The readers are pleafed to fee in a new drefs, the 
 thought with which they were formerly delighted in 
 Latin. They are glad to have an opportunity of 
 reciting the verfes of an ancient poet, in order to 
 compare them with thofe of a modern imitator, 
 who flrives to vie with his original. There is no- 
 thing fo inconfiderable but felf-love fets a value upon 
 when it flatters our vanity. Wherefore authors moft 
 celebrated for the fecundity of their genius, have 
 not difdained to add this kind of grace or ornament 
 to their works. Was it a fterility of imagination 
 which obliged Corneille and La Fontaine to borrow fo 
 many things from the ancients ? Moliere has fre- 
 quently done the fame, and tho' he was rich enough 
 with his own fund, he tranilated neverthelefs ten 
 verfes fucccfiively from Ovid, in the lecond a6l of 
 the iMifanthrope. 
 
 We may admit of the afTifbance of thofe poets, 
 who have wrote in the modern tongues ; as 
 we may benefit by the help of the works of the 
 Greeks and Romans •, but when we make ufe of the 
 produftions of modern poets, we ought, me- 
 thinks, to mention whom we are indebted to, ef- 
 pcciaily if we borrow a confidcrable part. I do 
 not approve, for inflance, M. de la Foifc's bor- 
 rowing the intrigue, characters, and principal 
 incidents of the tragedy of Manllus% from Mr. 
 
 * Man! i us j.w, CKitJ. in i6c|-. 
 
 Otway's
 
 6o Critical Reflections en 
 
 Otway's Englifh play, intitled, Venice Pre ferved^, 
 without mentioning the work which Ipd been of fuch 
 fervice to him. All that can be alledged in defence 
 of M. de la Pofle, is, that he has only ufed reprifals 
 in quality of a Frenchman, becaufe Otway him- 
 felt borrowed from the hirtory of the confpiracy of 
 Venice, by the abbot of St Real % the fubjed, the 
 principal charadcrs, and the moll beautiful paflages 
 of his piece. If M. de la Fofle has taken from 
 Otway Ibme things which the Englifh poet did not 
 borrow of the abbot of St Real, as the epifode of the 
 marriage of Servilius, and the Cataftrophe, 'tis by 
 reafon that he who retakes a fhip which had been 
 made a prize by the enemy, is fuppofed to have a 
 right to the goods, which they have added to the 
 freight of the velTel. 
 
 As all painters fpeak, as it were, the fame lan- 
 guage, they cannot borrow the famous ftrokes of 
 another painter, ifhisv/orks be ftill exifting. Pouflln 
 might have adopted the notion of the Greek pain- 
 ter, who reprefented Agamemnon with his head 
 veiled at the facrilice of Iphigenia, in order to con- 
 vey a flronger idea of the excels of grief which over- 
 whelmed the father of the viiflim. He might have 
 made life of this llroke for the fame exprefTion, by 
 reprefenting Agrippina hiding her face with her hands 
 in the picture of the death of Germanicus. The 
 Greek painter's piece was no longer exiiVmg, when 
 the Frenchman drew his. But Pouflin would 
 have been charged with having flole this ftroke, 
 were it to be icen in one of Raphael's or Caraccio's 
 pi(5tures. 
 
 ^ As: c dill 16S2. ^ Piinted in 1674. 
 
 I As
 
 Poetry <7W Painting. 6i 
 
 As there is no merit in dealing a head from Ra- 
 phael, or a figure from Domlnichino -, as the theft 
 is not attended with any great labor, 'tis forbidden 
 under pain of public contempt : But as both talent 
 and labor are required to animate the marble of an 
 antique figure, and to make of a ftatue a living figure, 
 which fhall concur to the fame aflion with other per- 
 fonages, 'tis a coxmmendable performance. A painter is 
 therefore allowed to make ufe of an Apollo of Bel- 
 vcder, to reprefent Perfeus, or fome other hero of 
 Perfeus's age, provided he animates this ftatue, and 
 is not fatisfied wich copying it corredlly, in order to 
 place it in the pi6lure juft as it is in the niche. Let 
 painters therefore give life to thofe ftatues before 
 they make them ad. This is what Raphael has done, 
 who feems, Prometheus like, to have ftole fire from 
 heaven to animate them. I refer thofe who defire 
 further inftru6lions on this fubjed:, to a Latin wri- 
 ting of Rubens, concerning the imitation of antique 
 ftatues. In were to be wiilied, that this great ge- 
 nius had always pradifed his own lefiTons. 
 
 Painters who make the fame ufc of antiques as 
 Raphael, Michael Angelo, and fome others have 
 done, may be compared to Virgil, Racine, or Boi- 
 leau. Thdc have made ufe of poems that were an- 
 cient with regard to the time in which they com- 
 pofcd, in the fame manner as the illuftrious painters 
 above-mentioned m.ade ufe of antique ftatues. As 
 ior painters who have no poetic rapture, whofe iatire 
 compofition confifts in laying, as it were, the pidures 
 of great mafters under contribution, demanding two 
 heads of one, an arm of another, and from the richeft of 
 
 all
 
 62 Critical Reflections c;^ 
 
 all iL group ; robbers, that frequent Parnafllis only 
 to plunder pafTcngers ; I compare them to patchers 
 of centons, the moft contemptible of all verfifiers. 
 Let them take care they don't fall into the hands of 
 the officer whom Boccalini placed on the double 
 mount •, for he will be fure to ftigmatize them. 
 
 There is a vaft difference between carrying off 
 from a gallery the painter's art, or between appro- 
 priating the manner of operating peculiar to the ad- 
 mired artilt, and transferring into our Portofolio a 
 part of his figures. A man of no genius is incapa- 
 ble of converting, like Raphael, the grand and fin- 
 gular things he remarks, into his own fubftance. 
 Without laying hold of the general principles, he is 
 fatisfjcd witli copying what he has before his eyes. 
 He therefore takes a figure along with him, but he 
 does not learn to treat in the fame tafte a figure of 
 his own invention. A man of genius guefifes at the 
 artift's manner of performing. He fees him, as it 
 were, at work, by looking at his performance •, 
 and laying Jiold of his manner, 'tis in his imagina- 
 tion only he carries off the booty. 
 
 With regard to the counfels of people of under- 
 ftanding, 'tis true they may prevent painters and 
 pccts from committing errors •, but they cannot fug- 
 geft the expreffions and the poetic ftile, nor fupply 
 the defe6l of genius. They may flraiten the tree, 
 but they cannot render it fertile. Thefe counfels 
 are fit only for corre6ling miftakes, and principally 
 for reflifying the plan of a work of fome extent ; 
 fuppofing the authors happen to fliew a fl-ietch of 
 their plan, and thofe whom they confult, confider 
 
 and
 
 Poetry a?id Pa i n t i « g J 63 
 
 and examine it well, and have it, piirfuant to Quin- 
 tilian's ^ advice, as prefent in their minds as if they 
 had made it themfelves. 'Tis thus Boileau gave 
 thofe counfels to Racine, which proved fo frequently 
 of ufc to him. What can a poet in reality expeft 
 from reading a work to a friend, to which he has 
 already put the laft hand, than to be itt right con- 
 cerning fome word, or at furthefl with refpeft to 
 Ibme fentiment ? Let us even fuppofe, that after a 
 fingle reading we may be able to give good advice 
 to the artift with refpeft to the plan of his 
 work •, is it to be imagined he would be patient and 
 docile enough to comply with us, and to mould 
 anew a work which he had already finifhed, 
 imagining he was to have no farther trouble about 
 it ? 
 
 The moil fublime genius's are not born great ar- 
 tifts, but only capable of becoming flich. 'Tis by 
 dint of labor they rife to their highelt point of per- 
 feftion. 
 
 'Doolrina fed vim promcvel infjamy 
 
 Re^iqite ctdtus peBora rohorant. Hor. od.4. 1,4, 
 
 yet the bcji hlcod by learning is refin^ dy 
 And virtt'.e arms the [olid mind. 
 
 Rut the impatience of appearing in public fpurs US 
 on ; and we attempt to write a poem, when we are 
 fcarce yet able to turn a vcrfe. Infbcad of beginnino- 
 to work for ourfclvcs, we mufl labor, forfoorh, for 
 
 Dll'igcntcr len^/nnti??: ejf, nc pcrnc ad fcrihemit folUcitudimm. 
 h:c per partes :nodo j\rutanda funt omnia, fed perfect US liber utiquc 
 ex inttgrortfuKciidui. (^ I N r . dc inll. 
 
 the
 
 64 Critical Reflegtions on 
 
 the public. Such is particularly the fate of young 
 poets i but as they do not know their own genius-, 
 and have not as yet formed a ftyle fuitable to their 
 charadler, and proper for exprelling the ideas of 
 their imagination, they are confequcntly miftaken in 
 chufmg fuch fubjefls as are not agreablc to their 
 talents, and in imitating in their firfl produ6bions, the 
 Ityle, turn, and manner of thinking of other writers. 
 For example, Racine '^ wrote his firfl tragedy in the 
 tafte of Corneille, tho' he had not a talent of treat- 
 ing tragedy in the manner as Corneille has handled 
 it. Racine would have never been able to fupport 
 himfelf, had he, to make ufe of this expreffion, con- 
 tinued to walk in his prcdecefTor's bufkins. *Tis 
 therefore very natural for young poets, who inftead 
 of imitating that fide of nature which their genius 
 points out to them, ftrive to copy the part which 
 others have imitated ; who ufe violence to their ta- 
 lent, and endeavour to force it to purfue the fame 
 track which others have beaten with fuccefs ; 'tis ve- 
 ry natural, I fay, for them to write very indifferent 
 pieces in the beginning •, pieces that may be faid to 
 be unworthy of primogeniture with refpedl to their 
 younger brothers. 
 
 'Tis in vain neverthelefs to attempt to perfuade 
 young people, prelTed by emulation, excited by the 
 fire and aftivity of youth, and fpurred on by the 
 impatience of their genius to the purfuit of fame, 
 to defer making their appearance in public, till they 
 have difcovcred their kind of talent, and fufHciently 
 improved it. It would be to no purpofe to tell them, 
 that it would be gaining a great point to furprize 
 
 ' Lei freres ennemis, or the brothers at I'ariancs, 
 
 the
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 65 
 
 the public •, that they would be much more refpefled, 
 were they never to appear as apprentices in their 
 profeflion ; that unexpected mafter-pieces, againft' 
 which envy has no time to form a party, make a 
 much greater progrefs than works long expefled, 
 which find rival critics upon their guard, and the 
 charader of whofe author may be defined from fome 
 indifferent poem or picture. Nothing is capable of 
 reflraining the impetuofity of a young man, feduced 
 by the flattering incentive of vanity, whereof the 
 excefs only is to be cenfured in youth. Befides, as 
 Cicero ^ obferves, Prudence does not fall to young 
 people's Jhare. 
 
 Thefe precipitate performances remain, but 'tis 
 unjuft they lliould injure the memory of illuflrious 
 arcifts. Is not a prenticefliip necefTary in all pro- 
 fefTions ? Now a prenticefliip confifls in committing 
 faults, in order to become capable of avoiding them. 
 Do we even fo much as dream of reproaching a perfon 
 that writes good L,atin, with the barbarifms and fole- 
 cilms with which his firft exercifes muft have been un- 
 doubtedly fluffed. If painters and poets have the mif- 
 fortune of ferving their prenticefliip under the infpeftion 
 of the public, we ought not however to lay thofe little 
 miftakes to their charge, in giving a defcription of 
 their charjcfter after they have attained to the rank 
 of eminent urtifls. 
 
 But artifts without a genius, who are as fit to be 
 PoufTin's as I'ltian's eleves, jog on all their life in the 
 road in which hazard has firil engaged them •, whereas 
 men endowed with genius perceive, when they chance to 
 be led affray, that they hav>; got into a wrong road : Upon 
 
 * Fni.iiii'.ia ron la.iit :>i baic utotrm ClC pry Cctlio, 
 
 Vol. II y v/lilch
 
 66 Critical Reflections on 
 
 which they abandon it to take up with another, and 
 quit that ot their mailer to go in purfuit of a new 
 one. By mafter I underftand here performances as 
 well as perlbns. Raphael, tho' dead above two 
 hundred years ago, may ilill train up pupils. Our 
 young artill therefore, who is bleft with a genius, 
 enters upon a pradice of his own to imitate nature, 
 and this pradice he forms from maxims refulting 
 from his own and otiicr people's labor. Every day 
 adds fome new improvements to his former know- 
 ledge. Each elegy and pifture he makes, contri- 
 butes to render him a better painter or poet ; and 
 he excels at length thofe who probably had the ad- 
 vantage of him in mafters and models. There is 
 nothing but what affords him an opportunity for 
 fome ufeful refleclion -, and in the midft of an open 
 field he makes as ufeful a fludy, as if he were in his 
 cabinet. In fine, his merit, raifcd to its highefi: 
 pitch of perfection, fupports itfelf with credit, till 
 his organs growing feeble thro' old age, his trem- 
 bling hand is no longer able to accompany his yet 
 vigorous imagination. Genius is the laft thing that 
 grows old in man. The moft decrepit and broken 
 with age become warm, and afTume an air of youth, 
 when they enter into a difcourfe of things relating 
 to the profeffion, for which they received a genius 
 from nature. Let yon withered old officer fpeak of 
 war, he feems feized with infpiration, as if he were 
 fitting upon a tripod ; he talks like a man of forty, 
 and finds matter and exprefTions with the fame readi- 
 nefs and eafe, as that which a blood fermenting 
 with fi^irits affords for conception and fpecch. 
 
 Several
 
 Poetry mid Pa i n t i n g. 6y 
 
 Several ocular witneiTes have affured me, that 
 Poullin was, to the very end of his hfe, a youthful 
 painter with refpe6l to his imagination. His merit 
 furvived the dexterity of his hand, and he ftill con- 
 tinued to invent, when he had no longer the talents 
 requifite for the execution. In this refpeft, there 
 is fome kind of difference between poets and 
 painters. The plan of a long poem, the difpofi- 
 tion of which, to be good for any thing, fliould 
 be formed in the head of the inventer, cannot be 
 executed without the afTiftance of memory -, infomuch 
 that the plan muft feel the effeft of the infeebling 
 of this faculty ; a confequence that too commonly 
 attends old age. The memory of old men is trea- 
 cherous with regard to new things. Hence arofe 
 the defeats which occur in the plan of the latter tra- 
 gedies of the great Corneille. The adventures are 
 not properly brought on, and the perfonages are 
 frequently thrown into fituarions, in which they can 
 have nothing that is good or natural to fay : Yet we 
 may diftinguifli now and then the elevation, and 
 even the fecundity of Corneille' s genius, by means 
 of the poetic ftyle. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Of the objlaclcs which retard the progress of 
 young artijh. 
 
 ALL geniufes flicw themfelvcs fome time cr 
 other, but they do not all attain to that de- 
 gree of perfeftion wr/i; h narurc has rendered them 
 
 i' I caoablc
 
 68 Critical Reflections on 
 capable of acquiring. Some there are, whole pro- 
 grefs is Hope in the very middle of their courfe. A 
 young m:in cannot make all the advancement he is 
 capable of in the art of painting, unlefs his hand be 
 perfeded at the fame time with his imagination. 
 'Tis not fufficient for painters to conceive noble 
 ideas, to imagine the moft elegant compofitions, and 
 to difcover the moll pathetic exprciTions •, their hand 
 muft acquire likcwife a docility of bending a hun- 
 dred different ways, to become capable of drawing 
 with exadnefs the lines prefcribed by their imagina- 
 tion. *' We fhali be incapable of performing any 
 *' thing worth notice, fays Frefnoi in his art of 
 '' painting, uniefs our hand be taught to fpread on 
 '*' canvals the beauties which our mind produces." 
 
 Sic nihil ars cperd manmim privata fufremum 
 Exeqiiitm\ fed languet triers v.ti vin5ia lacertoSy 
 Difpojitumo^ue typuni non lingua pinxit Apelles . 
 
 Fki-snoi de arte graphica. 
 
 Genius hath its arms tied, as it were, in an artifr 
 wiiofe hand is not docile and pliant. The fame 
 pretty near may be faid of the eye as of the hand. 
 The eye of a painter ought to be accuftomed early, 
 ro judge by a fure and ealy operation, what effeft 
 may arile from a certain mixture or oppofition of co- 
 lors i what efi'ed: a figure of a particular height may 
 jiave in a group ; and what may be the effect of a 
 particular group, after the pidlure is colored. If the 
 imagination hath not a hand and eye at its difpofal 
 capable of forwarding its views, its compleatefl ideas 
 will be able to produce only fome coarfe picture, 
 v/hich the very artift that has drawn it will defpife ; 
 
 fo
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n c' 69 
 
 fo inferior will he find the execution of his hand to 
 the invention of his mind. 
 
 The ftudy necefTary, for perfeding the eye and 
 hand, does not confill in giving fome hours to an 
 interrupted labor. It demands an intire attention 
 and confbant perfeverance for the fpace of feveral 
 years. Every one knows the maxim which forbids 
 painters to let a day pafs without drawing a llroke j 
 a maxim fo very judicious, that it is cotnmonly ap- 
 plied to all forts of profefTions. Nulla dies fine linea. 
 
 The proper time of life for acquiring this per- 
 fection of eye and hand, is that in which our inter- 
 nal and external organs are compleatly formed -, that 
 is, from fifteen to thirty. The organs contra6t with 
 eafe, during this period, all thofe habits, of which 
 their firft conformation renders them fufceptible. 
 But if thofe precious years are lofl, if they flip away 
 without being laid out to an advantage ; the docility 
 of our organs leaves us, which all our repeated ef- 
 forts will never be able to recal. Tho' our tongue 
 is a much fu])pler organ than our hand, yet we al- 
 ways mifpronounce a foreign language, which wc 
 have learnt after the age of thirty. 
 
 Unhappily for mankind, 'tis in thofe precious 
 years we are mod apt to be called away from feri- 
 ous applications. 'Tis then we begin to confide in 
 our own knowledge, which can be no more than the 
 very firff dawn of prudence. 'Tis then we lofc 
 that docility for counfel, which fcrves children in- 
 ftead of a great many virtues ; and our refolution, 
 as weak as our reafon, is not fufficient proof againft 
 wearinefs and diflike. Horace defines a young man, 
 
 F — — Moni'
 
 70 Critical Reflections on 
 
 ' I —— Monitoribus afper^ 
 Ulilium tardus provifor, prodigus ariSy 
 Sublimisy cupidufque, t? amata reli/tquere pernix. 
 
 HoR. de arte. 
 
 Rough to reproofs and eajy lent to vice : 
 hiconftant^ eager ^ haughty^ fierce, and proud ; 
 A very jloiv provider for his goody 
 And prodigal of his coin and of his blood. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 1 
 
 Btfides, every thing affords us, in this ftage of lift*, 
 opportunities of indulging our pleaiures. The va- 
 rious taftes of a young man are pafllons, and his 
 pafTions are furies. The fire of their blood brings 
 feveral of thefe upon them at a time ; and *tis very 
 extraordinary, if their infant reafon can be miftrefs 
 only for a few moments. 
 
 I mufl; add here anotlier refle(ftion, which is, that 
 the genius of poetry and painting cannot dwell in a 
 man of a cold temperament, or of an indolent hu- 
 mor. That very conflitution which makes him a 
 poet or a painter, inclines him to the livelieft of paf- 
 llons. The hiftory of fuch eminent artifls as have 
 not been fhipwreckcd upon the rocks here mentioned, 
 abounds at lead with the dangers they have been ex- 
 pofed to, and their narrow efcapes : Some have been 
 dafhed to pieces, but there are none of them but 
 what have at lead run a-ground, 
 
 I cannot conceive the caufe of the Bifliop of Al- 
 ba's furpafllng himfelf in the defcription he gives us 
 of the inquietudes and tranfports of a young poet 
 tyrannized by a pafTion, which ftruggles with his 
 
 senius.
 
 Poetry and Painting. 71 
 
 genius, and drags him againfl his will from the occu- 
 pations for which nature has formed him. 
 
 S^epe etenim te£los mmiitis in ojfibus ignes 
 Verfat amor^ moUifque ejl intus flamma medullas ; 
 Nee miferum patitur vatum meminijfe^ nee undce 
 Cajlali^, tantum fufpirat vulnere c<£Co^ 
 Ante ocidcs fimulacra volant no£iefque diefque 
 Nuncia virginei vulttis^ quern perditus ardet. 
 Nee pot is ejl alio fix am traducere mentem 
 Saucius. ViDA art. poet. 1. 1. 
 
 Oft hidden fires on all his vitals prey , 
 Devour the youth, and melt his foul away 
 By fiow degrees •, — — hlot out his golden dreams ^ 
 The tuneful poets, and Cafialian fir earns ; 
 Struck with afecret wound, he weeps andjighs ; 
 In every thought the darling phantoms rife j 
 The fancied charmer fwims before his fight. 
 His theme all day, his vifion all the night : 
 The wandering ohjetl takes up all his care. 
 Nor can he quit th^ i'm aginary fair. Pitt. 
 
 The nature of the waters of Hippocrene does not 
 render them proper, as yet, for extinguilhing this 
 fort of conflagration. 
 
 The pafTion of drinking is flill more dangerous 
 than the foregoing : It occafions a great lofs of 
 time, and difables a young artift from making a good 
 ufe of what httle leifure it leaves him. Excefs of 
 liquor is not one of thofe vices, which age is apt to 
 corred: in man : And yet it deprives the mind in a 
 few years of its vigor, and the body of great part 
 of its ftrength. A man too much addided to liquor, 
 is furly and heavy without his bottle, and what little 
 F 4 fpirits
 
 72 Critical Reflections on 
 
 fpirlts he has, arife only from the digeftion of a flo- 
 mach, which mud ncccffarily be fpoiled before its 
 time. 
 
 Horace, wlien he fpeaks fcrioudy, fays that a 
 young man who has a mind to excel in any profef- 
 fion, ought to be very temperate. 
 
 Jbjlinuit i:enere ^ vino. — • — HoR.de arte. 
 
 Nor tajle the joys of wine, nor jweets of love, 
 
 Creech. 
 
 Petronius, the lead auftere of all writers, requires a 
 young man, who intends to diftinguifh himfelf in 
 his lludies, to be very fober. Friigalitatis lege pal- 
 leat exatla. Juvenal fpeaking of the poets of his 
 time, who wrote large works, fays, that they abftain- 
 ed from wine even on thofe days, which were fet afide 
 by cuftom for the pleailires of the tabic. 
 
 fait utile mult is 
 
 Pallere i^ vinum toto nefcire Decembri. 
 
 Juv. fat. 7. 
 
 1'hen, then^ "'twas worth a writer s pains, to pine. 
 Look pale, f.nd all Drconber tafle nc wine. 
 
 Mr. Charles Dryden. 
 
 I fliall nor be repro.ichcd with having fummoned 
 the young people whom I intend here to arraign, 
 before too fivere a tribunal. 
 
 In fine, as the hurry and precipitation of a young 
 painter is not always attended with fuccefs, he may 
 now and then chance to take a diflike to a labori- 
 ous employment, the fuccefs ot which does not anfwer 
 his expedlations. The natural impatience of young 
 people is the caufe of their wanting to reap imme- 
 diately
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 73 
 
 diately after they have fown. The allurement of an 
 exercife to which our genius invites us, helps us 
 very much to furmount our diflikcs, and withftand 
 our pleafures : but 'tis always better, when the de- 
 fire of making our fortune comes in to alTift the im- 
 pulfe of our genius. It were therefore to bewifhed, 
 that a young man, whom his inclination determines to 
 be a painter, fhould find himfelf in fuch a fituation, as 
 to confider his art as the means of his eftablilliment, 
 and to expeft his figure and appearance in the 
 world, in proportion to the improvement he makes 
 in his profefTion. If a young man's fortune, in- 
 ftead of engaging him in a conftant labor, concurs 
 with the levity of his age to call him off^from appli- 
 cation ; what can we expeft, but that he will let the 
 time proper for the forming of his organs Aide away 
 infenfibly without improving in his art ? A work 
 frequently interrupted, and generally accompanied 
 only with a fuperficial attention, is infufficient to 
 perfect an artift. In fact, the fuccefs of our labor 
 depends almoll as much on the difpofition we are in 
 when we apply ourfelves ; on what we were abouc 
 before we began ; and on what we intended to do 
 after we finifh ; as on the duration of the very 
 labor itfelf. When the force of genius brings a 
 young painter back to a m.ore ferious ftudy of his 
 art, alter the drunkennefs of his youth is paft •, his 
 eyes and hands are no longer capable of improve- 
 ment. If he has a mind to make good pi6lures, 
 let him meddle only with that part which depends 
 on the imagination, and let another hand be con- 
 cerned in the execution. 
 
 Poets,
 
 74 Cri TiCAt Reflections (j« 
 
 Poets, whofc prenticefhip is not attended with fo 
 much difficulty as that of painters, can always ren- 
 der themfclves capable of anfwering their vocation. 
 The very firft ardor with which their genius infpires 
 them, is fufficient to learn the rules of poetry ; for 
 'tis not thro' ignorance that fo many writers tranf- 
 grefs them. The greateft part of thofe who violate 
 thefe rules, know them very well •, but they find 
 themfclves deltitute of abilities fufficient for reducing 
 them to pradice. 
 
 'Tis true a poet may take a diflike againft enter- 
 taining us with long performances, becaufe of the 
 trouble attending the difpofition of the plan. Per- 
 feverance is not a virtue that young people are 
 fond of. If they apply themfelves with ardor to the 
 mod laborious and moft difficult exercifes, 'tis upon 
 condition of the ffiortnefs of their continuance. 'Tis 
 therefore a great happinefs for fociety, when young 
 poets are obliged by their fortune to engage in a 
 continual application. 
 
 By the neceflity oi making one's fortune I do not 
 mean that of fubfifling. The extremity of indi- 
 gence, which obliges a perfon to write for bread, 
 contributes only to lead a man of genius aftray, who 
 confuting not his talents, but his wants, pitches up- 
 on that kind of poetry which he finds moft lucra- 
 tive. Inftead of compofmg ingenious allegories and 
 excellent faty res, he fpends his time in fcribhng wretch- 
 ed pieces for the ftage : for the ftage in France is the 
 Peru of poets. 
 
 A poetic enthufiafm is not a talent, which the 
 fear of llarving can infpire. If, as Pcrfius fays, who 
 
 calls
 
 Po E T R Y and Pa i n t i n g. 75 
 
 calls the belly the father of induflry, ingenii largi- 
 tor venter^ an empty belly fharpens people's wit, 
 writers muft certainly be excepted. Boileau ob- 
 ferves after Juvenal, that 
 
 Horace a hii [on faoul quand il voit les Menades. 
 
 When Horace Bacchus faw^ his guts 'were full. 
 
 In faft, as the faid Latin poet explains exceedingly 
 well, to fet foot on the mount Olympus, to pene- 
 trate into the proje6ls of the Gods, to give feafts and 
 entertainments to the Goddefles, is not the bufinefs 
 of a poor fhabby fellow, that does not know where 
 to get a dinner. If Virgil, continues Juvenal, had 
 not had the eafe and conveniences of life, thofe hy- 
 dras, which he reprefents as fuch hideous monfters, 
 would have been no more than ordinary fnakes. 
 The fury, which fills the bofom of Turnus and A- 
 mata with rage, would have been, to fpeak after 
 our way, like only to the tranquil Eumenis of the 
 opera of Ifis. 
 
 Mngn.e 7nentis opus^ nee de lodice parandd 
 Attonit<:e^ currus i^ equos faciefque Deorum 
 Jfpicerc, i^ qualis Rutulum confundat Erynnis. 
 Nam fi Virgilio puer ^ tolerabile defit 
 Hofpitium, caderent omnes a crinibus hydri. 
 
 Juv. fat. 7. 
 
 // wit jhould have no care^ or this alone^ 
 To make his rifing numbers jujlly run. 
 Phcebus and Bacchus ^ thofe t'wo jolly Gods, 
 Bear no Jlarv'd poets to their blejl abodes. 
 'Tis not for hungry "duit, vjith ivants controlVd, 
 The face of Jove in council to behold: 
 
 Or
 
 yb Critical Reflections on 
 
 Or fierce Ale^o, 'when her brand Jhe tofs'd 
 Betwixt the Trojan and Rutilian hoji. 
 If Virgil's fuit Maecenas had not fped^ 
 And fent Alexis to the poet's bed, 
 'The crejied Jnakes had dropt upon the ground. 
 And the loud trumpet languifiod in the found. 
 
 Mr. Charles Dryden. 
 Excefs of want debafes the mind, and a genius re- 
 duced thro' mifery to write, lofes one half of his 
 vigor. 
 
 On the other hand, pleafures are as great an ob- 
 ftrud:ion as want, to a poet's improvement. True 
 it is that Lucan compofed his PharfaHa, notwith- 
 ftanding all the amufements and avocations, which 
 are the common confequence of opulency. He receiv- 
 ed the compliments of his friends on the fuccefs of 
 his poem, in his gardens inriched with llatues of 
 marble •, but one fingle example proves nothing. Of 
 all thofe poets who have ever attained to a high de- 
 gree of reputation, Lucan is the only one, to the 
 beft of my remembrance, that always lived from his 
 earlieft years in plenty. I believe every one will join 
 ilTue with me, when I aflert, that Moliere would ne- 
 ver have taken the pains neceflary for rendering 
 himfelf capable of compofing Les femmes fcavantes, 
 nor have been at the trouble of writing it after he 
 had qualified himfelf for it, had he been in pofTeflion 
 of £.n eftate of a hundred thoufand livres a year, at 
 the age of twenty. Methinks I difcover the proper 
 fituation of a young poet, in a witty exprefTion of our 
 king Charles IX. Poets and horfes, (faid that young 
 prince in Latin, a language with which the cuftoni 
 o'i that time allowed even polite peoj^le to fprinkle 
 
 fhcir
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 77 
 
 their converfation) ought not to be fattened, but 
 fed. Equi i5 foet.f alendi flint 7wn faginandi. The 
 excefTive pafTion which the great folks of that time 
 had for their horfcs renders this comparifon excufa- 
 ble, as the fafliion of thofe days authorifed it. The 
 defire of improving his fortune raifes the fpirit of a 
 poet who is in this fituation, without any danger of 
 want to debafe his mind, and obhge him to run af- 
 ter a fordid ftipend, as fo many mercenary fcribblers 
 of dramatic poems, who feem to trouble their heads 
 very little about the fuccefs of their pieces, but to fix 
 '■'ieir attention on the money they expert. 
 
 Geftit enim niomnum in loculos diinittere^ poji hoc 
 .^<curuSy cadat an re^o fiet fahula tab. 
 
 HoR. ep. I. 1. 2, 
 
 He zvnies for gold^ and if his pocket* s cramm^df 
 He cares not^ let the play he clapped or damned. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 As the mechanic part of our poetry is very diffi- 
 cult to thofe v/ho write none but excellent verfes, and 
 cafy to fuch as are contented with fcribbling indiffe- 
 rent ones, hence we have a greater number of bad 
 poets than painters. Every one that has the leaft 
 glimmering of wir, or the fmalleft tindlure of learn- 
 ing, attempts to write verfes ; and unhappily for 
 poets, every body becomes thus a judge, foas to pro- 
 nounce fentence on all new poems, with the feverity 
 of a rival. Poets have complained a long time of 
 the great number of competitors, who flart up daily 
 thro* the facility of the mechanic part of their art. 
 He that is not a pilot, fays Horace, ought not to 
 '' (land at t!ic helm. Thole v.ho have not fludicd 
 
 *' the
 
 •} 
 
 yS Critical Reflections on 
 
 ** the virtue of fimples, fhould not pretend to make 
 " up medicines. None but phyficians ought to 
 " prelcribe bleeding to patients. Even the very 
 " meaneft trades are not pra6lired 'till after an ap- 
 " prenticefliip -, but every body, capable or incapa- 
 '* ble, will dabble in verfes." 
 
 Navem ngere ignarus jiavis timet -, Abrotonum tfgro 
 Non audety niji qui didicit^ dare quod medicorumejl, 
 Promittunt medici ; traofant fahrilia fabri ; 
 Scribimus indo£li doStique poemata fajfim. 
 
 HoR. ep. I. 1. 2. 
 
 He that^s no pilot, is afraid to fail. 
 
 Urge him to guide a fhip, you fhanU prevail 
 
 And only dolors will pretend to heal. 
 
 By fmiths alone are locks and fiaples made. 
 
 And none pretend but artijis in the trade. 
 
 But now for poetry we are all fit-, 
 
 And jkilful, or unjkilful, all mufi write. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 The mod ftupid verfifiers generally write with the 
 greateft fluency and eafe. Hence we are peftered 
 with I'uch a prodigious number of wretched perform- 
 ances, as are a fcandal to ParnafTus, and frequent- 
 ly hinder men of fenfe from ajfifuming the glorious 
 title of a poet. 
 
 This brings to my mind what Boileau faid to Ra- 
 cine, concerning the facility of writing verfes. Ra- 
 cine had juft publifhed his tragedy of Alexander, 
 when he got acquainted with the author of the Art 
 of Poetry. As he was making mention of his ilu- 
 dies, he told him that he had a furprizing facility in 
 compofing verfes. I will teach you, replied Boi- 
 leau,
 
 PoETR Y tfW Paint IN G. 79 
 
 Icau, to take pains with your verlification, a thing 
 I am fenfible you will quickly learn. Racine has 
 been heard to fiiy, that Boileau was as good as his 
 word. 
 
 But thefe troubles and contradicfbions are incapa- 
 ble of giving a young man a diftafle of poetry, if he 
 has had his vocation from Apollo himfelf, and is be- 
 lides excited with the defire of acquiring a name and 
 fortune in the world. He will attain fooner or later 
 CO his higheft degree of poetic merit ; but the ufe 
 he will make of his abilities, will depend in a great 
 meafure on the times in which he lives. If his un- 
 lucky ftars throw him into the world, when there is 
 iicithtr an Auguftus nor a Maecenas to protect him, 
 his produ(5tions are not likely to be fo frequent or 
 Co voluminous, as if he were born in a happy age 
 with refpedl to the arts and fciences. Virgil was at 
 an infinite deal of labor and pains to compofe a 
 poem of fuch an extent as his/Eneid, nocwithftanding 
 the rclilh his genius gave him for this kind of ftudy, 
 and tho* he was encouraged by the attention which 
 Auguftus gave to his verfcs, and excited by a noble 
 fpirit ot emulation. Had he lived at a time when 
 there was neitlicr an Auguflus, nor a Maecenas, nor 
 a rival, he would ftill have been determined by the 
 impulfe of his genius, and love of glory, to improve 
 his talent. Very likely he would have made himfelf 
 capable of compofing an iTlneid ; but it can hardly 
 be fuppofcd he would have had pcrfcvcrance fuffi- 
 cicnt to terminate fo large a work. Perhaps we flioukl 
 ]i;ive had only feme few eclogues of his, written in 
 an cafy tlucnc flylc, and a fketch of the iEneid con- 
 taining only one or two book^. 
 
 i Your
 
 So Critical Reflections on 
 
 Your great artifts arc not thofe, whofe produc- 
 tions are attended with lead difficulty. Their .inac- 
 tion frequently proceeds from a dread they have of 
 the pains which eminent works muft cofl them ; 
 when people imagine 'tis lazinefs that keeps them 
 unemployed. As failors, who fet footonfliore after 
 having, to make ufe of the exjTrefllon of an ancient 
 writer, beheld death in every wave that drew near 
 them, grow out of conceit for a while ot expofing 
 themfelves to the perils of the fea ; fo a poet, who 
 IS fenfible of the pains a good tragedy has coft him, 
 is not fo very ready to attempt another. He muft 
 reft tor a while ; and after being tired of his labor, 
 he muft grow weary of idlenefs, before he goes to 
 work again. 
 
 A poet cannot, without a vaft deal of labor and 
 application, lay out the plan of a work of any extent. 
 'Ihe pains of corredting and polifliing one's own 
 verfes is likewife a very troublefome employment. 
 'Tis impofiible but a perfon muft foon grow tired 
 of the ferious attention to trifling niceties, which this 
 kind of fatigue requires : And yet he muft have 
 the refolution to go through with it, be it ever 
 fo tedious. I appeal to the teftimony of thofe poets, 
 who have been deficient in this kind of labor. True 
 it is, that poets feel a moft fenfible pleafure in the 
 enthufiafm of compofing. The foul wrapt up in the 
 ideas, which rife in the heated imagination, is not 
 fenfible of the efforts fhe makes in their pro- 
 dudlion ; 'tis only the laffitude and exhaufting of 
 fpirits, which are the confequencc of compofing, that 
 convinces them of their labor.
 
 P o E T R y and Painting. 8j 
 
 Ne(iue idem tmqiiam 
 j^que eji heattis ac poema cwn fcribit, 
 Tayn gaudet in fe. Catull. epigr. 20. 
 
 He's never half fo bleft. 
 As when he writes and when the mufe proves kindy 
 Such is the joy that fills his ravijh^d mind. 
 
 Tliofe who write verfes without a poetic genius, 
 are pleafed with their own performances, rather thro* 
 a kind of delirium than any real enthufiafm. The 
 greatefl part of them, like Pygmalion, fall in love 
 with their own fhapelefs or foft produftions, and 
 never trouble their heads about reviling them ; for 
 to fall in love implies being blind to the imperfec- 
 tions of what one loves. There never was a Greek 
 tyrant, whofc ears have been filled with fo much 
 flattery, as a poet paystohimfelf, when he cenfes thofe 
 pretended deities created by his pen. *Tis chiefly 
 to bad poets we ought to apply the follov/ing 
 pafl^age of Cicero. / donU know how it comes topafs^ 
 that rather in this than in other kinds every man thinks 
 his own performance the hefl. I was never yet ac- 
 quainted with a poet^ who did not imagine himfelf the 
 greatefl man in his profefjlon ^. But a good poet 
 is not fo eafily fatisficd with what he has commit- 
 ted to writing. He is not even pleafed with his 
 verfc'S, tho' they merit the approbation of others j 
 and the trouble he is at in polifhing them to his 
 mind, is attended frequently with impatience and 
 difquiet. 
 
 * //> hoc tr.tm gchfrf ncfc'io ^uo patla nagis quam in aliis fuum 
 <u:>jue puLhcrrimum eft. Adi:uc neminem ccgnovi poetam qui fibi 
 rj'i '.ptimiii \<iderct:ir. C:;;. Tufc. 1. 5. 
 
 Vol, II. G CHAP.
 
 8i! Critical Reflections c;; 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Of the Umc r e qui fit e J or ?}icn of genius to attain 
 to that degree oj merit of winch they are 
 capable. 
 
 THERE is a great difference with refpe«5t 
 to the rpace of time requifite for men of ge- 
 nius to arrive to thtir highcll degree of merit. 
 In the firft place, genius's born for profcflions, which 
 demand a great fhare of experience and maturity of 
 fpirit, are formed later than thofe, whom nature has 
 defigned for profeffions in which a perfon may 
 fucceed with little prudence and a ftrong imagi- 
 nation. A great minifter, for inftance, a great ge- 
 neral, a great magiftrate, does not arrive to the height 
 of his perfeftion and knowledge, but in a more 
 advanced flage of life than that in which painters 
 and poets attain to their higheft degree of excellency. 
 The firft cannot be formed without fuch a know- 
 ledge and fkill of things, as is acquired only by 
 experience ; a knowledge which a great extent of 
 mind, a fubtle imagination, and even a conftant 
 application, are incapable of fupplying. In fine, 
 thefe profcfilons require a ripe judgment, and es- 
 pecially a conftancy unmixt with obflinacy. One 
 may be born widi a dilpofition to thefe qualities, 
 but none are polIelTed of them at their birth -, nor is 
 it even polTible to acquire them very early in life. 
 
 As our imagination gathers its full ftrength much 
 foonerthan our judgment •, painters, poets, muficians, 
 and thofe whofe talent lies chiefly in invention, are 
 not fo long a forming a^ others. The age of thirty 
 
 is,
 
 Po E T RY and Pa I N T I N G. 83 
 
 is, methinks, that in which painters and poets, gene- 
 rally fpeaking, readi the higheft ftep of Parnaffus. 
 They may afterwards grow more corred: and more 
 prudent in their produdions, but they do not become 
 more fertile, more pathetic, nor more fublime. 
 
 As fome genius's are flower than others (which is 
 what I had to fay in the fecond place) as their progrefs 
 may be retarded by all the obllruftions now mention- 
 ed, we have not pretended to determine the age of 
 thirty as a critical year, before or after which there is 
 nothing more to be expeded. There may be five or 
 fix years difference in the age, in which two great pain- 
 ters or poets attain to their higheft degree of perfec- 
 tion. One may arrive to it at eight and twenty, and 
 the other at three and thirty. Racine was quite formed 
 at eight and twenty: La Fontaine was much older when 
 he wrote the firft of his excellent pieces. Even the kind 
 of poetry to which an artift applies himfelf, fcems 
 to retard this happy year. Moliere was forty years 
 old, when he compofed the firft of his beft comedies. 
 But Moliere's being a great poet was not fufficient to en- 
 able him to write thofe pieces : it was neceffary like- 
 wife to have acquired a knowledge of men and the 
 world, a knowledge which is not fo early attained, 
 and without which the very beft poets can write 
 but iniiifferent comedies. A tragic poet ought to 
 reach his higheft degree of perfection much earlier 
 than the comic writer •, a genius, and a general know- 
 ledge of the human heart, fuch as we generally ac- 
 quire in our firft ftudies, being fufficient to v/rltc an 
 excellent tragedy. But to write a comedy of an 
 equal charadter, befides genius and ftudy, 'tis ne- 
 cedary to have convcrfed a long time with the world. 
 
 G 2 In
 
 84 P o E t R V and Painting. 
 
 In fad, to compofe an excellent comedy, we muft 
 know in what confifts the difference, which age, edu- 
 cation, and profefllon produce betwixt people, whofe 
 natural characfler is the iame. We mult know what 
 form is communicated by a particular character of 
 mind to thofe fcntiments which are common to all 
 men. In fliort, we fhOuld have a thorough know- 
 ledge of mankind, and be acquainted with the lan- 
 guage of all the paflions, ages, and conditions. Ten 
 years time is not too much for learning fo great a 
 variety of things. 
 
 'Tis very natural for great genius's to reach their 
 higheft point of perfeftion fomewhat later than men 
 oflefs elevation and extent. Great genius's have 
 occafion for many more things than others -, they arc 
 like thofe trees which bear excellent fruit, and in 
 fpring have fcarce bloffomed, when the reft are al- 
 ready covered with leaves. Quintilian, who by pro- 
 fcfilon was obliged to ihidy the charadler of children, 
 gives a moft admirable defcription of what we com- 
 monly call, Jlcja and fortvard capacities. " If the 
 body, fays he, be not pretty plump in one's child- 
 hood, it will never be well fhaped when one 
 comes to full manhood. Thofe whofe limbs are 
 formed too foon become afterwards infirm and 
 meagre : wherefore of all children thofe are the 
 leaft promifing, in my opinion, continues ^in- 
 tiliafij who by the generality of people are fup- 
 pofed to have more wit and capacity than others, 
 bccaufe their judgment is fooner ripened. But 
 this premature undcrllanding proceeds from the 
 imbecillity of their minds : they arc in a good 
 (late of health, rather by rcafon they have no bad 
 
 humorSj
 
 Poetry mid Pa i n t i n g. 85 
 
 " humors, than becaufe of their having a robuft 
 " body *." I have given here a few ftrokes only 
 of this pafTage, which is fo extremely beautiful, that 
 it deferves to be read intire. 
 
 And yet this is the character which fills matters 
 prefently with great expedlations. I fpeak of the 
 common run, for if the mailer himfelf be a man of 
 genius, he will be able to difcern whether his pupil 
 has a genius or no at eighteen. He will perceive ic 
 by the very manner of repeating his leflbns, and 
 by the objedions he forms. In fine, he will didin- 
 guifli it, by feeing him do what he did himfelf when 
 he was a fcholar. 'Tis thus Scipio ^milianus dif- 
 covered Marius's genius, when in anfwer to thofe 
 that inquired of him, what perfon he looked upon as 
 fit for commanding the armies of the republic, in cafe 
 they fhould lofe him ; he told them Marius : Marius 
 notwithftanding was at that time a fubaltern officer, 
 and had performed as yet no exploit ; nor difplayed 
 any quality, that could have rendered him worthy in 
 vulgar eyes of being Scipio's fucceflbr. 
 
 As foon as young people are arrived to that time, 
 in which they muft think and extrad matters from 
 their own fund, the difference between a ii>an of ge- 
 nius and one who has none, becomes obvious to aU 
 the world. The former invents very faft, tlio* he 
 does not invent right j the other does not invent 
 
 * Erit illud plenius interim corpus quod max aiulta atas ajirin- 
 gat. Hinc fpts roboris, macicrn namquc o" infirmitatem in pojierunt 
 minari folct protinus omnibus mcmbrii txprtjffus ivfans .... lUd 
 mihi in pueris natura minimum fpci dabit, in qua it.grnium juaicio 
 pra-funtitur .... Macies illis pro /unit ate iff judicii loco infirmi- 
 'as ejl. Quint. 1. 2. c. 4 
 
 G 3 at
 
 86 Crit icAL Reflect IONS <?« 
 
 at all. But *tis eafy^ as Quintilian fays **, to find a re- 
 medy for luxuriancy •, there's no labor can furmount 
 fieriljty. Art which cannot make water rife where 
 there is no fource, can confine rivers which overflow, 
 to their beds. The niore the man of genius, and 
 he that has none, advance towards the ftate of man* 
 hood, the more the difference between them grows 
 fenfible. The very fame thing happens in this ref- 
 ped: in poetry and painting, as we obferve in all other 
 conditions of life. The art of a governor and the 
 Jeifons of a preceptor ^change a child into a youth} 
 they infufe into him a greater fliare of knowledge, 
 than he could be naturally fuppofed to have at his 
 age. But this very child, when he arrives to that 
 ftage of life in which he muft think, fpeak, and 
 act of himfelf, is (Iript all of a fudden of his pre- 
 tnatLire merit. His fummer is far from an- 
 fwering the fine bloffoms of his fpring. The too 
 follicitous education he has received becomes rather 
 prejudicial to him, by reafon of its being the occa- 
 fion of his falling into the dangerous habit of let- 
 ting other people think for him. His mind has 
 contracted an internal lazinefs, which makes him wait 
 for external impulfes to refolve and to aft. The 
 mind contracts a habit of lazinefs with as much fa^ 
 cility as the legs and feet. A man who never ftirs 
 without the aiTiftance of fome vehicle, becomes foon 
 incapable of the fame free ufe of his legs, as a per- 
 fon who has a conftant prad'ice of walking. As we 
 niuft lend a hand to the former when he walks, fo 
 we mull help the other to think, and even to will 
 
 * Facile ejl remedium nkertatii ; Jlerilia nulla lahore 'vincuntnr. 
 QnjVT. 1. z. c. 4, 
 
 In
 
 Poetry, and Pa i n t i n g. 87 
 
 In a child bred up v^ith lefs care, his inward part 
 labours of itfelf, and his mind grows adlive. He 
 learns to reafon and determine of himfelf, in the 
 fame manner as other things are learnt. At length 
 he attains to argue and refolve righrly, by dint of 
 reafoning and refiefling on the caufe of his deception, 
 when the events convince him of the error of his 
 judgment. 
 
 The more an artill endowed with genius takes time 
 to perfed: himlelf, and the more he waits for experience 
 to become moderate in his failics, referved in his in- 
 ventions, and cautious in his produflions, the further 
 generally he carries his improvement. The noon of 
 fummer days is further from the fun's rifing than 
 that of winter. Cherries attain to their full maturity 
 with the very lirfb warmth ; but grapes do not ripen 
 . but by the afiiltance of the fummer heats, and the 
 temperature of autumn. " Nature, fays Qiuntilian'\ 
 '* has not thought proper to let any thing, that is 
 " compleat in its kind, come quickly to perleftion. 
 '* The more excellent and fubhme the work is, the 
 " greater difficulties muft be furmounted to finifli 
 *' it." This is the opinion of the autiior here men- 
 tioned, who certainly underflood his fubjed: perfcdtly 
 well, tho' he never read Defcartes, Wherefore, the 
 more fprings are requifitc for the fibres of the brain, 
 and the more numerous thcfe fibres are \ the more 
 time they require to attain to all thofe qualities of 
 which they are capable. 
 
 * Nihil tulm m ii?r. ipfu Vfitif-a voJul' 7Kagnuvi rJJici cite, pr.rpo- 
 I'uitque pulrherrimo cuir.uc cp>'ri liU i.:'!'.atfm, aux n: jcnidi q^iicpc 
 *.anc JiCti.: Lgi.r., itt jiir.jjvn i:i:::::uiia diutiui lijccribiis parcr.'.urt 
 conUmnntv.r, Q^jint. L'lfl. 1. ic. c. 2. 
 
 G 4 Great
 
 J8 Critical Reflections oji 
 
 Great maftcrs therefore are generally longer in the 
 courfe of their ftudies, than common artifts. Their ap- 
 prenticeihip, if you will Jafls longer, by reafon that they 
 continue learning at an age, at which ordinary aftifts 
 are already mafters of what little they are capable of 
 knowing. Let no body be frightened at the mention 
 of apprenticelhip, for there are feveral apprentices 
 whofe abilities furpafs thofe of their maftcrs, tho' 
 their mafters commit lefs faults. But the difference 
 is, as Pliny expreftes it % that the latter^ with all 
 their ccrreElnefs^ have no Jlrokes deferving of ap- 
 flaufe •, the former y amidji their mijiakes, fhew fome- 
 thing worthy of commendation. 
 
 "When Guido and Dominichino had finiflied each 
 their pidlure in a fmall church built in the garden of 
 the monaftery of St Gregory on Mount C^lius, and 
 dedicated to St Andrew, Annibal Caraccio their 
 mafter was prefTed. to decide which of thofe two 
 eleves deferved the prize. Guide's piece reprefents 
 St Andrew kneeling before the crofs •, and that of 
 Dominichino exhibits the flagellation of this apoftle^ 
 Thefe were grand fubjedls, on which our two anta- 
 gonifts had a very fpacious field for difplaying 
 their talents ; and they executed their pieces with 
 fo much the more care, as being painted in frefco 
 one oppofice to the other, they were to continue eternal 
 rivals, and to perpetuate, as it were, the competition 
 of their mafters. Guido, faid Caraccio, has per- 
 formed like a mafter, and Dominichino as an ap- 
 
 • SeJ <s' his no7i lahentibus nulla laus, ill'ts nonnulla laus tt'tamjt 
 tabantur. Plin. cpifl. 
 
 '' Dominichino has repeated this I'ery/ubje^ at St Andrea della 
 n)alle, 
 
 prentice ;
 
 Critical Reflections c« Sg 
 
 prentice •, but, continued he, the apprentice is fu- 
 perior to his mafter. We fee indeed fome faults in 
 Dominichino's piece, which do not occur in Guide's ; 
 but we meet there alfo with fome touches, which are 
 not to be feen in his rival's. There we perceive a 
 fpirit which aimed at beauties, to which Guido's foft 
 and tranquil genius had no thoughts of afpiring. 
 
 The more we are capable of rifing, the more fteps 
 we have to afcend before we can attain to the highefl 
 pitch of elevation. Horace muft have been a full-ag- 
 ed man when he made himfelf known as a poet : and 
 Virgil was near thirty when he wrote his firft eclogue. 
 Racine was pretty near the fame age, according to 
 Boileau, when he publifhed his Andromache, which 
 may be confidered as the firft tragedy of this great 
 poet. Corneille was upwards of thirty when he com- 
 pofed his Cid. Moliere had not at that age wrote 
 any of thofe comedies, to which he is indebted for 
 the reputation he left behind him. Boileau was turned 
 of thirty when he publifhed his fatyres, fuch as we 
 have them at prefent. True it is, that the contrary 
 may be inferred from the dates of his pieces inferted 
 in a pofthumous edition of his works ; but thefe 
 dates, which are frequently contradicted, even by the 
 piece of poetry to which they are prefixed, do not 
 feem to me to be of any weight. Raphael was 
 about thirty when he difplayed the noblenefs and 
 fublimity of his genius in the Vatican. 'Tis there 
 we may behold his chief performances, worthy of 
 the great name he tranfmitted to fucceeding ages. 
 
 C li A F.
 
 90 CjlITICAL Refle£.tiojj^ On 
 
 C H A p. XL , 
 
 Of ivorks fui faille to men of gehius, and , of 
 artifls who cawiterfeit . other peppk's manner, 
 
 MEN of genius, that are jealous of their , re- 
 putation, ought to publiih none but large 
 performances, fmce it is inipoflible for them to con- 
 ceal their apprentic^fliip from the. public. By this 
 precaution they might avoid expofing themfelves to 
 difagreable comparifons. "When painters and ppets 
 of ever fo eminent a genius happen to publifh, 
 either poems confifting of a fmall nuq^ber of verfes, 
 or pidtures containing a fingle figure without ex- 
 prfflion, and placed in a common attitude, their pro- 
 du6lions are expofed to very odious parallels. As a 
 perfon may fcribble four .or five good verfes without 
 a gemus, or draw a good pidure of the Virgin 
 Mary with a child in her lap, without being a great 
 painter, the difference between the plain workman 
 and the divine artift is not fo. obvious in fuch limited 
 pieces, as in works oi greater compofition and 
 fufceptible of a larger number of beauties. In the 
 latter this difference fhews itfelf in its full extent. 
 
 There are fome pidures of .the Virgin Mary done 
 by Carlo Maratti, which the favorers of this pain- 
 ter maintain to. be equal in beauty to thofe of Ra- 
 phael, for which we cannot charge them with any ex- 
 cefiive exaggeration. And yet what immenfe difference 
 is there in the compofition of thofe two painters, 
 and who is it that ever prefjmed to draw a pa- 
 rallel between them ! Tho' painters are as apt to be 
 
 felf-
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 91 
 
 feJf-conceited as poets, yet Carlo Maratti himfelf did 
 not think himfelf worthy to mix his pencil with that 
 of Raphael. A little after the jubilee year of 1700^ 
 there Avas a refolution taken to repair the ceiling of 
 the. gallery of that palace at Rome, which goes by 
 the name of the Little Farnefe. This houfe was 
 built by Auguftine Chigi, who lived under the pon- 
 tificate of Leo X. The paintings which Chigi 
 had caufed to be drawn here by Raphael, have 
 rendered the name of Chigi as famous in Eu- 
 rope, as the pontificate. of Alexander VII. * Carlo 
 Maratti having been choftn as the principal painter 
 at Rome, to take the above-mentioned ceiling in 
 -hand, on which Raphael had reprefented the hiftory 
 of Pfyche, this able painter would not confent to 
 make any addition to the old work, but only to 
 touch it over again with the paftel ; becaufe, faid 
 he, if there fhould happen to rife hereafter, a perfon 
 worthier than I, of joining his pencil with that of 
 Raphael, perhaps he will efface my work, in order 
 to fubftitute his own. 
 
 Vander Meulen knew how to paint a horfe as well 
 as Le Brun, and Baptift could draw a bafket of flow- 
 ers better than Pouflln. To come to poetry, Boileau 
 has wrote feme epigrams much inferior to thofe of two 
 or three poets, who would not fo much as prefume 
 to compare themfclves to him. We cannot judge 
 io well of the fuperiority of one race-horfe over an- 
 other, when they run too fhort a diftance : The dif- 
 ference is eafier to be diftinguifhed, when they ftart 
 for any confiderable length. It would be unnecefiary 
 to explain here in what fenfe I underlland a fniall 
 
 ♦ This pope ivas of the family of the Chigi. 
 
 work i
 
 92 Cri TIC AL Reflecttons 0« 
 
 work ; for a pifture only three feet long, may be 
 fometimes a large work •, and a poem of only three 
 hundred verfcs may be a large poem. 
 
 I Ihall add here one refledion concerning thofc 
 works, which do not require much invention i 'tis that 
 your forgers in painting counterfeit them with much 
 greater eafe than they can counterfeit thofe in which 
 the imagination of the artift has full room to difplay 
 itfelf. Your makers of pajlicci, that is, thofe picr 
 lures which are drawn in imitation of the manner 
 of a great artift, and are expofed in public under 
 his name, tho' he never faw them -, thofe makers 
 of pafiicci, I fay, are never able to forge the 
 ordonnance, coloring, or the expreflion of emi- 
 nent matters. We may imitate another man's hand, 
 but we cannot, to exprefs myfelf thus, imitate fo 
 well his mind ; we cannot learn to think like another 
 fo well, as we can learn to mimic his fpeech. 
 
 Were an indifferent painter to counterfeit a large 
 compofition of Dominichino's, or Rubens, he would be 
 no more able to impofe upon us, than one that would 
 attempt to make a pajliccio under the name of Gior- 
 gione or Titian. We mufl have a genius almoft 
 equal to that of the painter we attempt to counterfeit, 
 to be able to make our work pafs for his. We can- 
 not therefore counterfeit the genius of great men, 
 but we may fometimes fucceed fo far as to imitate 
 their hand, that is, their manner of laying on the 
 colors, and drawing their ftrokes, the airs they ufed 
 to give tlieir heads, and the vicious parts of their 
 pradice. 'Tis much eafier to imitate mens faults 
 than their perfections. For inftance, Guido is charged 
 with having made his heads too broads They fre- 
 i quentJy
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 93 
 
 qucntly want a roundnefs, by reafon their parts are 
 not diftind, and do not rife fufficiently one upon 
 another. In order therefore to imitate him in this 
 particular, 'tis fufficient to be negligent, and not to 
 give one's felf the trouble of pradifing what the 
 rules prefcribe with relation to the roundnefs of 
 heads. 
 
 Jordano the Neapolitan, whom his countrymen 
 call the // fa prejlo, or the quick difpatcher, was, 
 next to Teniers, the greateft maker 0^ pajiicci, that 
 ever laid fnares for the curious. Flufht with the va- 
 nity of having counterfeited with fuccefs fome of 
 Guido's heads, he undertook fome large compofiti- 
 ons in the tafte of that amiable artift, and in that of 
 fome other eleves of Caraccio. All thofe pictures, 
 reprefenting divers events of the hiftory of Perfeus, 
 are to be feen at Genoa, in the palace of the marquis 
 Grillo, who paid this forger much handfomer, than 
 the great mailers, whofe ape he afted, had been paid 
 in their time. Upon feeing thofe piftures, one cannot 
 help being furprized, that a painter, who did not want 
 talents, fhould have employed his labor and time fo 
 ill, and that a noble Genoefe could have made fo 
 bad a ufe of his money. 
 
 The fame remark holds good in poetry. A man 
 of no genius, but who has read a great number of 
 verfcs, may, by a proper arrangement of fuch things 
 as he recoUcds, compofe an epigram which will bear 
 fo great a refemblancc to thofe of Martial, as to 
 pafs for one of that poet's. But a poet, who after 
 diverting himfelf with writing a thirteenth book of 
 the yEncid, fhould be bold enough to attribute it to 
 \'jrgil, would find no body to fwallow the cheat. 
 
 Murctus
 
 94 Crit^ical Reflections o« 
 Murenis was able to make fix verfes of his owfl 
 compofing, pafs for thofe of Trabea, a Latin comic 
 poet, who hved in the fixth hundredth year after the 
 foundation of Rome. 
 
 Here^ ft quereliSy ejulatu, fietibus 
 
 Medicina fieret miferiis mortalium, , 
 
 Auro parand^ lacrim^ contra forent. 
 
 Nunc h£C ad minuenda mala non magis "ualenf, 
 
 ^am n^niie pr^fic^ ad excitandos mortuos^ 
 
 Res turhid<€ conftliumy non fle turn expetunt. 
 
 Majier^ if human miferies could be remedied by com^ 
 plaints and weepings tears would foon be purchafed 
 with gold. But thefe contribute no more to the lej/en- 
 ing of our misfortunes, than the funeral fongs of a 
 hired mourner can avail towards raifing the dead. 
 Troubles in life do not call for tears^ but counfel. 
 
 Jofeph Scaliger had been fo far deceived by thofe 
 verfes, as to quote them in his commentary on Varro', 
 as a fragment of Trabea difcovered in an ancient 
 manufcript. If Muretus had attempted to forge a 
 Tvhole comedy in the ftyle of Terence, he could not 
 have impofed upon Scaliger. Men that have a regard 
 for their reputation, ought therefore to endeavour to 
 put it out of the power of future impoftors, to im- 
 pute fuppofitious works to their memory. 'Tis 
 enough for them to anfwer for their own faults to 
 pofterity. 
 
 • P^ge 212. Edit. ann. 1573. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 95 
 
 Of ilhiftrious ages^ a?:d of the fiare ivhich mo-, 
 ral caufes have in the progrefs of arts, 
 
 ALL ages are not equally fertile in great ar- 
 tifls. 'Tis a common obfervation that there 
 are fome ages in which the arts and fciences are in a 
 drooping condition, as there are others in which they 
 produce flowers and fruit in abundance. What com- 
 parifon is there between the poetic writings of the 
 Auguftan age, and the produflions of that art in 
 the age of Gallienus ! Was painting the fame art, 
 in a manner, under Leo X. as in the two preceding 
 centuries ? But the fuperior excellency of fome ages, 
 in comparifon to others, is a thing too well known, 
 to require any arguments to evince it. Our 
 bufinefs here is to trace, if poflible, thofe caufes 
 which render one particular age fo valtly fuperior 
 to others. 
 
 Before I enter upon my fubjefl, I muft beg leave 
 of the reader to ufe the word age in a fignification 
 fomewhat different from that in which it is rigoroufly 
 underllood. The word age, in the civil fenfe there- 
 of, implies a duration of one hundred years ; but 
 fumetimes I ihall make it import a duration of fixty 
 or feventy only. I fancied I might ufe the word age in 
 this fignification with fo much the more liberty, as 
 the duration of an age is eflentially arbitrary, and 
 the agreement of people in giving a hundred years 
 to each age, was only in order to facilitate the calcu- 
 lations and citations of chronology. There is no 
 I phyfical
 
 96 Critical Reflections on 
 
 phyfica) revolution in nature at the end of a hundred 
 years, as there is at the expiration of one year, 
 which is what we call the annual revolution of the 
 fun. Befides, people are accuftomed to make ufe 
 of the word age, when they fpcak of thofe happy 
 times in which the arts and fciences particularly 
 iiourifhed. One is uled to fay and hear on this oc- 
 cafion, the age of Auguftus, of Alexander, and of 
 Lewis XIV. 
 
 *l'is eafy to perceive, that moral caufes have a 
 great fharc in the fenfible difference there is in ages. 
 J call here moral caufes, thofe which operate in fa- 
 vor of arts, without imparting any real capacity or 
 wit to the artifts, and in Ihort, without making any 
 phyfical alteration in nature, but are only an induce- 
 ment to perfe(5l their genius, by rendering their labor 
 cafier to them, and by exciting them by emulation 
 and rewards, to ftudy and appUcation. I give 
 therefore the appellation of moral caufes of the per- 
 fe<5bion of arts, to the happy fituation in which pain- 
 ters and poets tind their country at their fetting out 
 in their refpe<5live profefTions •, to the inclination of 
 their fovereign and their fellow citizens for the po- 
 lite arts i in fine, to thofe excellent mafters who 
 f^ouriih in their time, whofe inftrudtions abridge 
 their fludies, and fecure their fuccefs. Is there any 
 doubt but Raphael would have been a compleat 
 painter four years fooner, had he been the eleve of 
 another Raphael ? Who can pretend to fay, that a 
 French painter who had taken wing at the com- 
 mencement of the thirty five years war which ra- 
 vaged France tiil the treaty of Vervini% could have 
 
 » //, thejfar I 598. 
 
 the
 
 Poetry and Painting.* 97 
 
 \\\t r^me opportunities of improvement, or meet 
 with the fame encouragement, as if he had begun 
 to fly in the year fixtecn hundred and fixty. 
 
 Is it poITible for the countrymen of great artifts to 
 give fuch an attention to the pohte arts^ as may 
 promote their fuccefs, unlefs they happen to live at 
 a time wlien they are allowed to be more attentive 
 to their pleafures than wants ? Now this general 
 attention to pleafure^ fuppofes a long train of years 
 exempt from thofe inquietudes and fears which are 
 the general confequence of war, at leaft fuch as may 
 endanger the eftates and fortunes of particulars, by 
 aiming at the fubverfion of the conftitution of which 
 they are members. I'he delicate tafte the Romans 
 had for the polite arts was unknown to them, whilfl: 
 they were engaged in their own country in wars, the 
 events of which might have been fatal to their repub- 
 lic, becaufe the enemy upon the gaining of a victory 
 might come and incamp upon the banks of the Tiber. 
 They did not begin to relifh poetry and paintings 
 till after they had transferred the feat of war into 
 Greece, Africa, Afia, and Spain, v/hen the battles 
 fought by their generals did not decide the fate of 
 their republic, but only its glory and extent of do- 
 minions. The people of Rome, as Horace ob- 
 Icrvts, 
 
 Et poji Punica hella quietus qu.crcre ca^pit 
 S^id Sophocles^ ^ Thefpis, ^ JEfch^lus utile fer^ 
 rent. Hor. ep. 1. 2. ep. i. 
 
 Till Carthage ruin'^d, JJjc grew foft in peace j 
 
 And then in'^uir^d ivhat 'lueighty Sophocles^ 
 
 Vol, n, H ^at
 
 98 CRITICAL Reflections on 
 
 What jEfchyluSy what The/pis taught the age, 
 P^hat goody what profit did commend the ftage- 
 
 Creech. 
 
 Thfe recompences of a fovercign come next to the 
 attention ot our countrymen and cotemporaries. 
 If he diftributes his favors impartially, they are an 
 encouragement to artifts -, which they ceafe to be, as 
 foon as they are mifplaced. Nay, it would be much 
 better, were a fovereign not to diftribute any favors 
 at all, than to do it without judgment. An able 
 artift may find means to comfort himfelf under the 
 contempt and negle(5l into which his art is fallen. 
 A poet may even bear with the difrclifh people 
 chance to have for poetry j but he is ready to burft 
 with envy and fpite, when he fees a prize given to 
 works that are far inferior to his own performances. 
 He grows defperate at the fight of an injuflice which 
 is a perfonal affront to him, and he renounces, as 
 much as in him lies, the Mufes for ever. 
 
 Men are not generally fo felf- conceited, as people 
 imagine, but have at leaft a glimpfe or imperfedl 
 knowledge of their intrinfic value, as well as of 
 their eftimation in the eves of the world. Thofe 
 who are neither fovereigns, nor minifters, nor too 
 nearly related to one another, have frequent oppor- 
 tunities of knowing their real value, which they can- 
 not doubt of for any confiderable time, unlefs they 
 be perfedt fools. One cannot commend and hug 
 one's felf alone for any length of time -, and Cotin could 
 not have been long ignorant that his verfes were hified 
 at by the public. That vanity therefore and conceit 
 which appears in middling poets, is frequently af- 
 
 feded.
 
 Poetry /?/7i Painting. 99 
 
 feded, infomuch that their inward opinion differs 
 from their outward fpeeches in commendation of their 
 works. There is no queftion but poets arc fre- 
 quently infincere in fpeaking of the merit of their 
 verfes. Is it not contrary to their inward con- 
 vi(5lion, that they commend as their very beft 
 performance that which the public elleems the 
 worft ? But this is becaufe they want to give 
 a reputation to a poem whofe weaknefs ftands in 
 need of a fupporr, by fhewing an affefled prejudice 
 in favor of this piece ; v/hilft they abandon thole 
 works to their own fate, which are able to fupporc 
 themfelvcs with their own wings. Corneille was of- 
 ten heard to fay, that Attila was his beft piece ; and 
 Racine would fain make people believe, that he 
 preferred Berenice to any of his profane tragedies. 
 
 Great mafters ought therefore not only to meet 
 with a recompence, but they fhould even be re- 
 warded in a particular manner. Without this di- 
 ftinction, prefents ceafc to be a recompence, and 
 becoms a mere falary common to good and bad 
 artifts, by which no one thinks himfeif particularly 
 honored. The Roman foldiers would have ceafed 
 to fct a value upon the crown of oaken boughs, for 
 which they ufed to expofc themfelves to the greatelt 
 dangers, had the favor of a general bellowed it 3 
 few times on thof- who never deferved it. 
 
 We find that moral caufes were a great encourage- 
 ment to the polite arts, in thofe ages in which paint- 
 ing and poetry fiourilhed. Hiftory makes mention 
 of tour ages, whufe produdtions iiave been admired 
 by fuccccding times. Thofc happy ages in which 
 the arts attained to a perfe^lion which they fell fhort 
 H 2 ©f
 
 xt>o Critical Reflections o« 
 
 of at other times, are, that which commenced ten 
 years before the reign of Philip father of Alexander 
 the Great, that of Julius Csefar and Auguftus, that 
 of Julius n. and Leo X. and finally, that of our 
 king Lewis the fourteenth. 
 
 Greece was no longer afraid of being ravaged by 
 Barbarians in the time of Philip king of Macedon. 
 The wars which the Greeks waged amongft them- 
 felves, were not of fuch a deflrudlive nature to fo- 
 ciety, as to drive particulars from their own houfe 
 and home, or lead them flaves into an enemy's 
 country ; fuch as thofe, which the barbarous con- 
 querors emerging from the northern fnows, waged 
 formerly againft the Roman empire. The wars 
 which were then . carried on in Greece, refembled 
 thofe which have been frequently waged on the fron- 
 tiers of the Spanifh Netherlands, that is, a kind of 
 war in which the people, 'tis true, run a rifk of be- 
 ing conquered, but not of being made flaves, or of 
 lofing their property, or of being expofed to fuch 
 misfortunes as commonly happen in the wars be- 
 tween the Chriftians and Turks. The wars there- 
 fore of the Greeks amongft themfelves, were wkat 
 may be properly called regular wars, in which the 
 laws of civility and humanity were frequently prac- 
 tifed. It was forbidden by the law of natioiis at that 
 time, to pull or beat down a trophy railed by the ene- 
 my to perpetuate his glory and the oppolire party* s 
 infamy. Now all thofe laws of nations which dilcri- 
 minate the engagements of armies from the com- 
 bats of WMld beafts, were fo religioufly obferved at 
 that time, that the Rhodians choie rather to ere6l a 
 building in order to inclofe and conceal the trophy 
 
 raifed
 
 Poetry ^;/^ Painting. lor 
 
 raiTed there by Artemifia after the taking of their town, 
 than to deftroy it upon any account. Greece abounded 
 at the fame time with fanfluaries equally refp?d:ed by 
 the feveral contending parties. A perfedt neutrality 
 prevailed always in thofe afylums, and the weaker fide 
 was always fecure from the attacks of the mofl 
 inveterate enemy. One may eafily form an idea of 
 the little efFufion of blood in thofe battles which 
 ■were fought between the Greeks, by the furprize 
 with which Livy fays they were feized at the fight of 
 the butcherly arms of the Romans, and of the great 
 carnage and flaughter they made in the heat of battle. 
 This furprize was like that of the Italians, when they 
 firfl: faw the manner in which the French waged war, 
 during the expedition of our king Charles VIII. to 
 the kingdom of Naples. 
 
 People of all ranks muft have been vaftly at 
 their eafe during the happy days of Greece. So- 
 ciety was then divided into mailers and (laves, by 
 which means the feveral exigencies of the community 
 were much better anfwered, than by a low and ill- 
 educated clafs of people, who work only thro' nc- 
 cciTity, and find themfelves dellitutc of feveral things 
 requifite for carrying on their bufinefs to an advan- 
 tage, when they are reduced to labor. The wafps 
 and hornets were not fo numerous with regard to 
 »he bees, as they are in our days. The Greeks, for 
 inftance, did not bring up a part of their inhabit- 
 ants to be unfit for every thing except the art of 
 war ; a kind of education which has been a long 
 while one of the mofb dreadful fcourges of Europe, 
 'Hie generality therefore of the nation made plea- 
 lure their principal occupation, in the fame man- 
 li ^ ner
 
 ;io2 Critical Reflections on 
 
 jier as is pradifed by fuch of our own countrymen as 
 are born to an eftate of a hundred thoufand livres 
 a year ; and their climate gave them a greater 
 fenfibility of the pleafures of the mind, amongft 
 which poetry and painting are the moft bewitch- 
 ing allurements. Wherefore the greateft part of 
 the Greeks were connoifleurs, at leaft by acquiring 
 a comparative tafte. Hence a workman became a 
 celebrated artift in Greece as foon as his merit wass 
 eminent ; and nothing gave a man a greater dignity 
 than the fame of being illuftrious in the arts and 
 fciences. This kind of merit changed a common 
 fellow into a great perfonage, infomuch as to be 
 thought upon a level with thofe that were intrufted 
 with the higheft and moft important offices of the 
 ftate. 
 
 The Greeks were fo much prevented in favor of 
 all thofe talents which conduce to the amufement of 
 fociety, that their very kings did not think it a dif- 
 honor to chufe players for their minifters^. To 
 appear upon the fiage for the public amufement ^ fays 
 Cornelius Nepos, fpeaking of the Greeks, was never 
 reckoned dijhonorable among thofe nations ^ tho* with 
 us *tis ejieemed ah infamous^ or at leaft a mean and 
 indecent employment ''. 
 
 The opportunities of receiving the applaufes 
 and favors of great affemblies, were alfo very fre- 
 quent in Qxtttt, As we have congrefles in our 
 
 * Livius hillor. 1. 24. Quint, dial, de orat. 
 
 * Jn fcenam 'veroprodire ^ populo ejfe fpeHaculo nemini in eifdem 
 geniihus fuit turpitudini, qme omnia apud nospartim infamia, par' 
 timhumilin, fartim ah h^irefiate remofa tsr.untur. CoR. Nepos in, 
 propcmio. 
 
 times^
 
 Poetry md Painting. 103 
 
 times, where the deputies of princes and ftates meet 
 in order to terminate wars, and regulate the fate of 
 provinces and the limits of kingdoms •, in like man- 
 ner there were aflemblies formerly from time to time, 
 where the moil illuftrious perfonages of Greece ren- 
 devouzed, in order to decide the merit of the mofl: 
 eminent painter, the mofl moving poet, and the beft 
 wreftler. This was the real motive which induced 
 fuch multitudes of people to flock to thofe public 
 games that were celebrated in different cities. The 
 public porticos where the poets went to recite their 
 verfes, or painters to expofe their pidlures, were 
 places where the better fort of company ufed gene- 
 rally to meet. In fine, the works of great mafiers, 
 as Pliny obferves ^, were not confidered at the time 
 here mentioned, as common moveables dejlined to im- 
 hellijh a private perfon's apartment ; no, they were 
 looked upon as the jewels of the fiat e and as a public 
 treafure, the enjoyment whereof was due to all the in- 
 habitants. The ardor which painters and poets had 
 in thofe times to improve their talents, was not in- 
 ferior to the eagernefs which we obferve in the 
 people of our days to heap up money, and to attain to 
 great employments in the flate. Wherefore the 
 Mufes, as Horace obferves,' prefented the Greeks 
 particularly with wit and eloquence, to recompence 
 them for their conilant fervice and attendance, and 
 for their difintcrcfledncls in every thing, except the 
 article of praifc. 
 
 * Kon cnim farktcs excolebar.t ilorHinis tantum, nee domoi uno in 
 l^'Co fnanfuras, qua ex incendio rapi iion pojfcnt. Omnis rorum ars ur- 
 lih,i! txcuhabat^ ^iJtr^ue ret conununis terrarum erat. PuN. 
 
 hm. I. 35. 
 
 H 4. Graiis
 
 ;o4 Critical Reflections o« 
 
 Graiis ingenium^ Gratis dedit ore roturido 
 Mufa loqui, prater laudem nullius nvaris. 
 
 HoR. de arte. 
 
 ^he Mtifis lov'd the Greeks ^ mid hieft with fenfe^ 
 'They freely gave them wit and clcqimice. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 If we do but confider the fityation of Rome, when 
 Virgil, Pollio, Varius, HoracCj Tibvllus, and their 
 cotemporaries were fo great an honor tp poetry, 
 we Hiall hx\^^ that in their days Rome was the floy- 
 rifl^ng capital of the greateft and happieft empire 
 that ever exifted. This city enjoyed, after a long 
 fuccefiion of troubles and civil wars, the fweets of a 
 repofe flie had been long a fli^anger to, and this 
 under the government of a prince who was a real 
 lover of merit, being poflefled of a great fhare of 
 3t hinifelf. Befides, Auguftus was obliged to 
 make a good life of his new authority, in order 
 ^o be- rnore able to eftablifh it ; and confequently 
 he could not confide it but to fuch minifters as 
 \vere lovers of jufdce, and likely to make a mo- 
 derate ufe of their power. Thu.s riches, honors, 
 and dillintSlions were the fure encouragement and re- 
 ward of merit. As a court was a new and odious 
 thing at Rome, Auguftus was determined, that his 
 at leaft fhould be fubjed to no other reproach than 
 that of being a court. 
 
 If we dcfccnd to the age of Lep X. in which 
 
 the arts and fciences, that had been buried 
 
 ten centuries, rofe out of their tombs ; we fhalJ 
 
 find, that under his pontificate Italy was in the 
 
 ■ greateft ftate cf profpcrity it had b?en in finge 
 
 I the
 
 Poetry end Painting. 105' 
 
 the time of the Csefars. Thofe petty tyrants, who 
 had nejlled themfdlves with their officers and at- 
 tendants in an infinite number of fortrefies, and 
 whofe friendfhip and quarrels were both a terrible 
 fcourge to fociety, had been juft exterminated by 
 the prudence and courage of Pope Alexander VI. 
 Seditions were now removed from the cities, the 
 greateft part of which formed themfelves at the 
 clofe of the preceding century, into regular and 
 fettled governments. We may venture to alTert, that 
 the foreign wars which commenced about that time 
 in Italy by the expedition of Charles VIII. to Na- 
 ples, were not fo grievous to fociety, as the perpe- 
 tual dread of being carried off, upon going into 
 the country, by the banditti of a villain, who was 
 fettled, and, purfuant to the phrafe of thofe times, 
 fortified in a ftrong hold ; or as the apprehenfion of 
 feeing one's houfe fet on fire in a popular tumult. 
 The wars of thofe days refembled a ftorm of hail 
 v/hich came by pufts, and ravaged only a fmall 
 part or corner of the country. The art of exhaull- 
 ing provinces tor the fubfifting of armies on the 
 frontiers, that pernicious art which perpetuates the 
 quarrels of fovercigns, and continues the calamities 
 of war a long time after the conclufion of treaties, 
 infomuch as to render it impolTibie for peace to 
 flourifh till feveral years after the war is frniflied ; that 
 pernicious art, I fay, had not been as yet invented. 
 '1 wo Popes had reigned fuccefllvcly, who were ex- 
 tremely defirous of leaving illuilrious monuments 
 of their pontificate, and found themfelves obliged of 
 tourfe to excite and encourage all thofe artifts and 
 men of karning, who by immortalizing themfelves 
 
 were
 
 lo6 Critical Reflections on 
 
 were capable of giving them immortality. Francis \. 
 Charles V. and Henry VIII, grew jealous of their re- 
 putation, and rivalled them in their turns in the en- 
 couragement of arts and fcicnces. By this means 
 learning and arts made a mofl furprizing progrefs; 
 and painting particularly was carried, in a very fhort 
 term of years to its utmoil pitch of perfeftion ; no 
 wonder, -when^ to exprefs myfelf in Pliny's words, 
 it was courted by kings and nations, ennobling thofe 
 whom it deigned to hand down topofterity *. 
 
 The reign of our late king Lewis XIV was a 
 mofl favourable time for the arts and fciences. As 
 foon as that prince took the reins of government in- 
 to his own hands, he made the moft advantageous fet- 
 tlcments for men of genius, that were ever eftablifhed 
 by any fovereign. The minifter whom he employ- 
 ed for this particular purpofe, was extremely capa- 
 ble of difcharging his office. M. Colbert's protec- 
 tion v/as never purchafed at the price of a fervile 
 and afiidiious flattery, nor of a pretended or real fub- 
 jc6ion to his will and pleafure. He had no other 
 inclination but that of having his prince ferved by 
 men of the bed capacities. Sole author of his ma- 
 iler's decifions, and difpofer of his favors, he went 
 himfelf in fearch of thofe that were thus qualifi- 
 ed, and offered them his protedion and friend- 
 iliip, when they did not prefume to demand it. 
 Merit therefore at that time, thro' the magnificence 
 of the prince, and the wife conduft of the minifler, 
 became a kind of eflate or patrimony. 
 
 * Cun expeteretiir a regihus popuHjque, illos nclUita'Ms ^jtos /frg^ 
 nata tjjct poKc.-;i tradere. Plin. i, i,^. 
 
 G H A P.
 
 Poetry ^«i Painting. 107 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 'J'hat phyjical caufes have probably had alfo a 
 Jhare in the furprizmg progrefs of arts and 
 fciences, 
 
 THERE is no room, in fine, to queftion but 
 that moral caufes have contributed to the 
 furprizing progrefs of poetry and painting in par- 
 ticular ages. But may not phyfical caufes have had 
 alfo their influence in this fame progrefs ? May 
 they not contribute to the amazing difference we 
 obferve between the flate of arts and fciences in two 
 fucceeding ages ? Is it not the phyfical caufes that 
 put the moral caufes in motion? Is it the liberality 
 of fovereigns, or the applaufe of one's countrymen, 
 that forms illuftrious painters and poets ? Or is it 
 not rather the great artifts who attrad this liberality, 
 and by their wonderful produ6tions force an atten- 
 tion and regard for thofe arts, which the world did 
 not fhew them, while they were yet rude and imper- 
 fed. Tacitus obferves, that thofe times which are 
 fertile of eminent men^ abound likewife in fuch as 
 are capable of doing jufiice to their merit ^. Have 
 we not rcafon to believe, that there are times, in 
 which men of tlie fame country are born with great- 
 er capacity and wit than at other times ? Is it pofli- 
 ble to imagine, for example, that Auguftus, had he 
 been fervcd even by two Maecenas's, would have 
 been able if he had lived in the time of Conftantine, 
 
 * Virlutes njdcm te?nporibus optime irjlimaiitur quibus facilliv:} 
 •gignuntur. Tag. vit. Agric. 
 
 to
 
 ,"joS Critical Reflections on 
 
 to change by his largcfTcs the writers of the fourth 
 century into livys and Ciceros ? If Julius II. and 
 Leo X. had reigned in Sweden, is it to be fuppofed 
 that their munificence would have produced in thofe 
 northern climates, other Raphaels, Bcmbus's, and 
 Machiavels ? Are all countries proper for pro- 
 ducing great poets and painters ? And are there 
 not fome barren ages in countries capable of fuch 
 productions ? 
 
 Whilft I have been meditating on this fubjefl, a 
 great variety of ideas have frequently prefented them- 
 felves to my mind, which I look upon rather as 
 fimple glimmerings than real lights. I cannot there^ 
 fore after all my refledions, be pofitive, whether men 
 who are born during a certain fpace of years, are as 
 much fuperior to their anceftors and pofterity in ex- 
 tent and vigor of mind, as thofe firll men, of whom 
 facred and profane hiftory makes mention, and who 
 lived to a very great age, were certainly fuperior 
 to their defcendants in an equality of humors and 
 goodnefs of complexion. However there is a fuf- 
 ficient air of probability in thefe ideas, to think them 
 worthy of entertaining my reader. 
 
 Men frequently attribute phyfical effefts to mo- 
 ral caufcs. Sometimes we impute to an unlucky or 
 crofs accident, thofe chagrins whofe origin is intirelj* 
 in the intemperature of our humors, or in fome dif- 
 -pofition of air that opprelTes our machine. Had the 
 air been a little more ferene, perhaps we fhould have 
 beheld with indifference, a thing which feems to throw 
 us into the moft violent fits of defpair. I fhall there- 
 fore expofe here my refieftions fo much the more 
 f-tadily, as in point of probability and conjed^ure.
 
 Poetry and Painting. 109 
 
 we fee ourfelves refuted with pleafure, upon difco- 
 vering a greater folidity in an anfwer than vve really 
 expefted. JVe that are directed by probability (to 
 make ufe of Cicero's words) and are incapable of 
 exceeding the Innits of ivhat bears at leafl a refem- 
 hiance to truths are ready to refute without obfli^ 
 nacy^ and to be refuted curfelves without anger or 
 pajfton \ 
 
 My firfl: refledfion is, that there are countries and 
 times in which arts and fciences do not flourifh, 
 notwithftanding the vigorous concurrence of moral 
 cauTes in their favor. The Achilles's who appear 
 in thofe times, do .not find a Homer to fing their 
 exploits. Their great acflions only furnifh future 
 poets with proper fubjefts to excite them. 
 
 My fecond refle6lion is, that arts and fciences do 
 hot arrive to their full perfedtion, by a flow advance, 
 proportioned to the time employed in their culture, 
 but by a very fudden progrefs. They attain this 
 perfedion, when moral caufes do nothing particular 
 to promote them, but what they had done before 
 for a long time, vv-ithout having produced any very 
 fenfible fruit of their adlivity. Arts and fciences 
 decline likewife at a time, when moral caufes re^ 
 double their efforts to fupport them in that point 
 of elevation, to which they rofe, in a manner, of 
 themfelves. 
 
 My third and lafl: refledion is, that great painters 
 have always been cotcmporaries with great poets, and 
 
 * Nos qui fi^uimur probabilia, ncc iJjra id quod 'vcrlftmile occur- 
 rtrit progredi pojfumus^ <jf rcftllcrc fine pertinacia i^ rejelli Jint 
 irucundia parati fumui. Cjc. Tufc. quxft. 1. 2, 
 
 chejr
 
 lid Critical Reflections on 
 
 they have both flourifhed at the fame time with fuch 
 of their countrymen as have been moft eminent in 
 other profcffions. It feems as if a kind of fpirit of 
 perfe6tion in their days had fhed itfclf upon the in- 
 habitants of their country. Thofe profcfTions which 
 flouriftied together with poetry and painting, fell 
 with them at the fame time to negleft and ruin. 
 
 Firft Reflection. 
 
 IT would be needlefs to ufe many arguments to 
 prove, that there are countries, which have ne- 
 ver produced any eminent painters or poets. Every 
 body knows, for inftance, that we have never had 
 from the extremities of the North but wild poets, 
 coarfe verfifiers, and frigid colorifts. Painting and 
 poetry have never approached the pole nearer than 
 the latitude of Holland ; and even in this province 
 we have feen only a poor ftarved kind of painting. 
 The Dutch poets have fhewn a greater vigor and 
 fpirit, than their painters. It feems (if I be permit- 
 ted to jeft) that poetry is not fo ijiuch afraid of the 
 cold as painting. 
 
 It has been obferved in all ages, that the glory of 
 wit and capacity has been confined in fuch a manner 
 to particular countries, that even neighbouring pro- 
 vinces have been unable to fhare it with them. Pa- 
 terculus fays ^, that one Ihould be no more furpriz- 
 ed at feeing fo many illuftrious orators at Athens, 
 than at not finding at Thebes, Sparta, or Argos, a 
 perfon celebrated for eloquence. Experience had 
 rendered familiar this unequal diftribution of capacities 
 between neighbouring countries. Different ideaSy 
 
 * PATERCUL. hift. lib. I, 
 
 I fays
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n c. 1 1 1 
 
 fays a modern author ^, are like plants and flowers 
 which do n:t grow alike in all kinds of climates. Per^ 
 haps c: • French foil is no more fit for the reafoning 
 ufed by the JEgyptians^ than it is proper for their 
 palms ; and without travelling fo far, probably our 
 orange-trees -which do not grow with fuch eafe here 
 as in Italy, are an indication that there is a certain 
 turn of mind in Italy, which is not altogether like that 
 of France. *Tis abfolutely certain, that by the con- 
 catenation and reciprocal dependance between all the 
 parts of the material world, the difference of climates 
 which fheivs itfelf fcnfibly in the plants, mufi extend 
 itfelf likewife to the brain, and be productive there of 
 fome effect or ether. It were to be wilhed that 
 this author bad taken the trouble to unfold this 
 principle. He would have cleared, much better than 
 I can, thofe truths whicli I fhall endeavour to lay 
 open ; he who is pofiTefled in fb eminent a degree 
 of the rmoft precious talent a man of learning can 
 be mailer of, that is, the gift of placing the ab- 
 (Irufcll fubje(5ls within reach of common capacities, 
 and of rendering the moft complicated truths intel- 
 ligible, with tolerable attention, even to thofe who 
 never made any ftudy but in his works, of the fcien- 
 ces they explain. 
 
 It will not avail to fay, that the reafon wJiy arts 
 and fciences have not fiourifhed beyond the fifty 
 fecond degree of North latitude, nor nearer than 
 ^ve and twenty degrees to the line, is becaufe they 
 have not been tranfplanted to the torrid or fri- 
 gid Zone. The arts rife of themfelves in proper 
 climates : They muft therefore have their birth, their 
 '•' M. tie I-'onteiiclle, di^rcCion upon th^ ancients. 
 
 cradle.
 
 tiz Critical Reflections on 
 
 cradle, and their in venters, before they can be tranf* 
 planted. Who is it that firft brought the arts into 
 iEgypt ? No body. But the iligyptians, favored by 
 the chmate of their country, gave them birth them- 
 felves. The arts would rife of their own accord in 
 countries that have a proper foil for them, were they 
 never to be tranfplanted thither. Perhaps they would 
 appear fomewhat later j however they would certain* 
 ly make their appearance. Thofe, in whofe coun- 
 try the arts have never fiouriflied, are people who 
 live abfolutely in an improper climate. Were it not 
 for this, the arts would rife in thofe places of them - 
 felves, or at leafl: they would have been tranfplant- 
 ed thither by means of commercei 
 
 The Greeks, for example, did not travel more 
 frequently into ^gypt, than the Poles, as well as other 
 northern nations, and the Englifh, travel at prefent 
 into Italy. Neverthelefs the Greeks foon tranfplant- 
 ed the art of painting from -^gypt into Greece^ 
 while its fovereigns and republics, ftill rude and un- 
 polifhed, did not think the acquifition of this art 
 to be an affair of any importance. 'Tis thus a field 
 which is left unmanured clofe to a foreft, is fown 
 of itfelf, and becomes quickly a copfe, when the foil 
 is fit for the bearing of trees. 
 
 The Englifh thefe two centuries paft have been 
 as fond of painting as any other nation j except the 
 Italians ; infomuch that foreign painters, who have 
 fettled in England during this period, have gained 
 three times more by their art, than they could have 
 doine elfewhere. 'Tis well known, what a Value 
 Henry VIII. had for pi<5tures, and with what mag- 
 niticefice he recompenc(;d Holbein. The munificence 
 
 of
 
 Po E TRY <7W Paint I ng] 113 
 of Q. Elizabeth encouraged all forts of arts during 
 a reign of near fifty years. Charles I, who lived in 
 great fplendor the firft fifteen years of his reign, car- 
 ried his love for painting to a very great height ; 
 infomuch that 'tis owing to his excefs of paflion 
 for this art, that the price of piftures is rifen fo 
 high in our days. As he employed agents all 
 over Europe to make a colleftion for him at any 
 rate, whiiit Phihp IV King of Spain opened 
 his treafures for the fame purpofe with the great- 
 efl prodigality, the competition of thofe two mo- 
 narchs enhanced the price of eminent performan- 
 ces. Thus the treafures of the art became the 
 fource of real treafures in commerce *. And yet 
 England has not hitherto produced {o much as 
 one painter, who deferves to be ranked among 
 the artiifs of the firft, or even of the fccond clafs. 
 The Enghili climate has been warm enough to 
 produce a number of eminent men in mod fciences 
 and profefTions. It has even given us good mu- 
 ficians and excellent poets, but it has not favour- 
 ed us with painters, who have made fo great a fi- 
 gure, as the philofophers, poets, and other illuftri- 
 ous worthies of the EngUQi nation. The Englifh 
 painters of note may be all reduced to three por- 
 trait painters ''. 
 
 Thofe paina.rs v.iio flouriflied in England under 
 Henry VI 11 and Charles I were foreigners, wiio 
 carried into tiiat ifland an art which the inhabi- 
 tant^, of the country could not keep. Holbein 
 
 - Cooper, I>j?,o:;, I<il£y. 
 
 V'j L. il. 1 ' nnd
 
 114 Critical Reflections on 
 
 and Lely were Germans -, and Vandyke a Flem* 
 ming. Thofe who even in our days have been 
 elteemed as the chief painters of the country, 
 were not Englilhnicn. Vario was a Neapolitan, 
 and Kncller a German. The medals ftruck in 
 England in Cromwell's time, and thofe made 
 there under Charles II and James II were ve- 
 ry good work, but done by a ftranger : This 
 was Roetticrs of Antwerp, Guibbons's country- 
 man, who was for a confiderable time the prin- 
 cipal fculptor in London. 
 
 We even obferve that the defign is generally 
 bad in works done in England : If ever they 
 are wcft*th admiring, 'tis for the hand and execu- 
 tion of the workman, and not for the defign of 
 the artift. There are certainly no workmen in the 
 world that have a greater beauty in the execution, 
 or that know how to manage their tools better than 
 the Englilli. But they have not been able as yet 
 to attain to that tafte in their defigns, which fome 
 foreign artifts carried over with them to London ; 
 where it has never ftirred out of their fliops. 
 
 'Tis not only in exceflive cold or wet countries^ 
 that the arts cannot flourifli -, there are even tem- 
 perate climates, where they are in a drooping 
 condition. Tho' the Spaniards have had feveral 
 magnificent fovereigns, who have been as much cap- 
 tivated with the charms of painting, as any pope 
 v/hatfoever ; yet this nation, fo fertile of great per- 
 fonages, and even of great poets in verfe and profe, 
 has not produced a painter of the firil clafs, and can 
 hardly furnifh us with two of the fecond. Charles V, 
 
 Philip
 
 Poetry £2;ii Painting. ii^; 
 
 Philip 11, Philip IV, and Charles II, v%^ere oblig- 
 ed to employ foreign painters to vs'ork at the Efcu- 
 rial and in other places. 
 
 The liberal arts have never travelled further than 
 Europe, unlefs it be to take an airing, (if the expref- 
 fion be allowed me) on the coafts of Afia and Afric. 
 'Tis obfervable, that the Europeans, and thofe who 
 are born on the coafts bordering upon Europe, have 
 always been fitter than other people for arts and fcicn- 
 ces, aswellas political government. Wherefoever the 
 Europeans have carried their arms, they have generally 
 fubdued the inhabitants. They have vanquiflied them 
 when they were only ten to thirty, and very fre- 
 quently when they have fought ten againft a hundred. 
 Without afccnding fo high as Alexander the GreaC 
 and the Romans, let us only recal to mind with what 
 eafe a handful of Spaniards and Portuguefe, by the 
 help of their induftry and the arms they carried 
 with them from Europe, fubdued the two Indies. 
 To alledge that the Indians would not have been fo 
 eafily conquered, if they had been mailers of the fame 
 military machines, ihc fame arms and difcipline as 
 their conquerors, proves the fuperiority of genius in 
 the Europeans, who had invented all thofc things, 
 when the Afiatics and Americans had made no 
 fuch dilcovery, tho' they had been continually at 
 war wiLh one another. If it be true that chance 
 tiught the Chinefe fooner than us the uk of gun- 
 powder and printing, we have carried both thcfe 
 arts, as foon as wc difcovered them, to fuch a de- 
 gree ot perfedion, that we are capable now of giv- 
 ing Icffons to the Chinefe. Our mifiionaries at 
 picfent have chi diredion of the calling of their 
 I 2 cannon.
 
 ii6 Critical REFLECTION s o« 
 
 cannon, and we have taught them the praftice of 
 printing with feparate types. Every body knows, 
 that the Chinefe iifed to print at that time with 
 copper-plates, which could be of fervice on'ly 
 in the printing of one thing i whereas the fepa- 
 rate types, without mentioning feveral other con- 
 veniences which they afford to printers, have like- 
 wife that of being of ufe in the impreflion of dif- 
 ferent llieets. We print Virgil's iEneid with the 
 fame types, that were ufed in printing the new 
 Teftament. When the Europeans firft entered China, 
 the aftronomers of that country, who had been ex-- 
 ceedingly well paid for many ages, were incapable of 
 foretelling an eclipfe with any exadtnefs. 'Tis now 
 upwards of two thoufand years fince the European 
 aftronomers have been moft accurate in this kind of 
 predlftion. 
 
 The arts feem even to fuffer, when they are kept 
 at too great a diftance from Europe. Tho' the lE- 
 gyptians were the firft inventors of painting and 
 fculprure, they have not had fo great a fhare as the 
 Greeks and Italians, in the glory of thefe arts. 
 The fculpturcs which are agreed to have been done 
 by the ^^gyptians, that is, thofe which are feen on 
 the ancient buildings of iEgypr, as their obelifks 
 and mummies, are nothing to compare to fuch as 
 were executed in Greece and Italy. If we happen to 
 meet with a fphinx of furprizing beauty, 'tis pro- 
 bably the work of fome Greek fculpror, vi^ho divert^ 
 ed himfelf with making ^Egyptian figures, as our 
 painters take a pleafure fometimes in imitating the 
 figures of the baftb-relievos, and the pictures of 
 the Indies and China. Have we not had artifb our- 
 
 felves.
 
 Poetry ^;z^ Pa I N T 1 N G. ijr 
 lelves, who have diverted themfelves with makins- 
 Iphinxcs ? There are feveral fuch in the gardens cf 
 Verfailles, which are original pieces done by our mc- 
 dern fculptors. PJiny does not extol in his work 
 any one mafter-piece in painting and fcuipture done 
 by an iligyptian, tho' he gives us fuch a long lilt 
 of the performances of famous artifts. We even 
 find ^ that Greek fculptors ufed to travel to /Ecrypr 
 for work. To return to Pliny's lllence, it is obfer- 
 vable that this author lived at a time, when the /K- 
 gyptian works were flill extant. Petronius write s, 
 that there were none but bad painters trained up in 
 ytgypt. He obftrves likewife that the ^Egyptians 
 had done a vaft deal of prejudice to this art, by in- 
 venting rules proper for rendering its apprenticclhip 
 lefs tedious, and the practice lefs laborious, 
 
 'Tis now thirty years ago fince Sir John Chardin 
 has given us the defigns of the ruins of PL'rfe})olis. 
 We may fee by thefe that the kings of Pcrfia, 
 notwithdanding their immenfe opulence fo much 
 boafted of in ancient hiftory, had but very inditFe- 
 rent workmen. Probably, the Greek artifts were 
 not fo ready to go and ftek their fortunes in the 
 Perfian krvict as the Greek foldiers. Be; that as 
 it will, one is not at all furprized, after having fccn 
 tliofc defigns, that Alexander fer fire to a palace, 
 whofe ornament and furniture appeared coarfe and 
 indiiTerent to him, in comparifon to what he had 
 Ictn in Greece. The Perfians under Darius v/tre 
 what thofe that inhabit the fame country are at 
 { n lent, that is, extreme patient and able work- 
 .ucn, with refpeft to their manual labor, but void. 
 ' Djodorus Sicuii^-, book I . 
 
 I 3 cf
 
 ii8 Critical Reflections (5;? 
 
 of genius to invent, and of talents to imitate the 
 mofb ingaging beauties of nature. 
 
 Europe is ovcr-ftocked with fluffs, china-ware, 
 and other curiofitks of China, and the eaftern parts 
 of Afia. Nothing can be lefs pidurefque than the 
 tafte of the deiign and coloring, which prevails in 
 thefe works. There have been feveral tranflations 
 publifhed of the poetic compofitions of the eaftern 
 nations. When we find a flroke in its proper place, 
 or a probable adventure, we admire it ; and this is 
 as much as we can fay of them. Wherefore all thefe 
 tranflations, which feldom go thro' a fccond edition, 
 have only a tranfient vogue, for which they are in-. 
 debred to the foreign air of the original, and to the 
 inconfiderate fondnefs which numbers of people have 
 for fingular things. The fame curiofity which fets 
 people a running after the countrymen of the authors 
 of thofe writings, when they appear in France dref-^ 
 fed after their own country falhion, makes us defi- 
 rous at firft of reading thefe tranflations. 
 
 If there had been any poets of equal merit with 
 Homer among the Brachmans and ancient Perfians, 
 the Greeks who travelled to inrich their libraries, in 
 the fame manner as people in our days crofs the feas 
 in order to fill their magazines, would in all pro- 
 bability have rendered them into their language. 
 One of their princes would have ordered a Greek 
 tranflation of them, as one of the Ptolemies is faid 
 to have had the Bible done into that tongue, tho* 
 this prince had no notion of the Divine infpiration 
 of its penmen. 
 
 When the Spaniards difcovered the continent of 
 America, they found two empires that had flourifhcd 
 
 for
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 119 
 
 forfeveral years, thofeofPeru and Mexico : and the 
 art of painting had been cultivated for a long time 
 in thofe empires. The people endowed with an in- 
 credible patience and flight of hand, had even creat- 
 ed the art of making a kind of Mofaic with the 
 feathers of birds. 'Tis aftonifhing that human hands 
 could have fufficient dexterity to range and reduce 
 into the form of colored figures, fo many different 
 filaments. But as thefe people had no genius, they 
 were, in fpite of all their dexterity, very coarfc ar- 
 tifts. They underftood neither the moft fimple rules 
 of defign, nor the firft principles of compofition, per- 
 fpediive, or chiaro-fcuro. They did not fo much 
 as know how to paint with minerals and other 
 natural colors which come to us from their coun- 
 try. They have feen fince that time fome of the 
 bed pi6lures of Italy, a vaft number of which have 
 been fcnt by the Spaniards into the Weft-Indies. 
 Their iiew mafters have likevY'ife fliewn them how 
 to make ufc. of their pencil and colors, but have 
 not been able to render them fkil/'ul painters. The 
 Indians, who have been fo docile in other arts, 
 which they have learnt of the Spaniards, as to be- 
 come bert.:r mafons, for inftance, than their mafters, 
 have found nothing in the European pictures with- 
 in thar reach, except the vivacity of the colors, 
 l^iiis they have not only iniirated with iliccefs, 
 but have even furpaffcd their originals, by v/hat I 
 have heard from thofe who have fe:cn feveral cupolas 
 painted iw Mexico by Indian artifts. 
 
 The Chinele, who xxc lo curious in their own 
 C(nintry paintings, have liLtl-.: or no tafte for the V.w- 
 ropcan picture?, in wliich we fee fay they'y too !iiar:y 
 
 I .!. i'lacls
 
 J20 Critical Reflections on 
 
 black fpots -, for 'tis thus they call our fhades. Aftcl' 
 reflefting on what has been hitherto alledged, and on 
 feveral other things which are generally known, and 
 are fufficient to prove my propofition, I cannot help 
 being of Fonteneile's opinion, who fpeakiqg of the 
 knowledge and turn of mind of the eaftern people, 
 fays ; ^ I am really inclined every day more and more 
 to belie've^ that there is a certain genius^ which has yet 
 travelled hut a very little "joay out of Europe. 
 
 As there are countries, in which rnoral caufes 
 have never been produ£live of great painters or 
 poets j fo there are times wherein moral caufes 
 are unable to form eminent artifts, even in thofe 
 countries, which at other times produce them with 
 the greateft eafe, and, as it were, fpontaneoufly. 
 One would imagine, that capricious nature brings 
 forth thefe great artifts, only juft when her fancy 
 pleafes. 
 
 Before Juhus II there had been feveral popes in 
 Italy, who diftinguifhed themfelves by their libera- 
 lity towards painters and men of letters, but could 
 never with all their magnificence give wings to ar- 
 tifts, fo as to make them reach to that pitch of per- 
 feflion, to which fuch numbers of their profelTion at- 
 tained under the pontificate c.f this pope. Laurence 
 of Medicis diftributed for a long time thofe royal 
 bounties at Florence, which induced people to give 
 him the firname of Magnificent •, and the greateft 
 part of his liberalities were beftowed with difcre- 
 tion on all Lrts of real merit. The Bentivoglio^ 
 did the fame thing at Bologna, and the princes of 
 
 * Plurality of Worlds. Sixth et'eniiig. 
 
 X the
 
 Po ETRY c;fi Painting^ 121 
 the houfe of Efte at Ferrara. The Vifcontis and 
 the Sforzas were encouragers of the polite arts at 
 Milan. And yet no body appeared in thofe times, 
 whofe works could be compared to fuch as were 
 afterwards produced, upon the refloration of polite 
 arts and learning. It feems as if men eminent in 
 all kind of merit, who, purfuant to one's common 
 way of thinking, ought to have been diftributed in- 
 to feveral ages, all waited for the pontificate of Ju- 
 lius II to make their appearance. 
 
 Let us now turn our eyes a while to what palTed 
 in France, with regard to poetry and painting. Did 
 the moral caufes wait, 'till Le Sueur, Le Brun, 
 Corneille, La Fontaine, and Racine had fliewn them- 
 fclves ; before they would encourage painting and 
 poetry ? Can it be faid, that the effe6ls have been 
 feen to proceed fo quickly in our country from the 
 action of mora] caufcs, that we muft attribute there- 
 to the furprizmg iliccefs of eminent artifts. Before 
 Francis I we have had princes who have been very 
 liberal to men of merit, without having been able, 
 notwithlbmding all tlieir largelTcs, of having the ho- 
 nor of producing a French painter or poet, whofe 
 works could have been put any ways in competition 
 in future times, with thofe which appeared under 
 Lewis XI II and Lewis XIV. There are fcarce any 
 fragments remaining of thofc times either in verfe 
 or profe, that vye can read with any pleafure, 
 'Fhe chancellor de I'Lfopital fays in his harangue, 
 which he pronounced before the Hates of the king- 
 dom alfembled at Orleans : ■ T'hat good King Lewis 
 XJl ufed to take a pleafurc in bearing t be farces and 
 » In 1561, 
 
 ffomedies^
 
 122 Critical Reflections on 
 
 comedies^ c-jcn thofc ^ciLicb zi'erc written uitb ihegreateji 
 liberty y becanfehf! faid he learnt J ever nl things that were 
 done in his kin^^doniy ivhich zvould have otherwife ef- 
 caped his knc-zvledge. OF all thofe farces compofed 
 under Lewis XII or betore, that of Patelin is the 
 on]y one that is preferved in our cabinets. 
 
 The Kfcat kini^ Francis was one of the moft 
 zealous protectors, that the arts and fciences could 
 ever boail of. Every body knows what favor, or 
 to fpeak more exadly, what friendfhip he fliewed to 
 Roux, to Andrea del Sarto, to Leonardo da Vinci, 
 (who died in his arms) as likewife to every one that 
 was illuftrious for talent or merit. 
 
 With what profufion did not he pay for the pi(5lures 
 he had ordered to be made by Raphael ? His liberali- 
 ty and kind reception drew numbers of painters [into 
 France ; but tho' his bounties were beftowed conti- 
 nually on the profcflbrs of this art during a reign of 
 thirty three years, they could never form an eminent 
 painter amongft his own fubjeds. Thofe painters 
 who fettled at that time in France, died without 
 elevcs, fuch at leaft as were worthy of them ; in the 
 fame manner as animals tranfported into a very diffe- 
 rent climate, die without leaving any of the fairiS 
 breed behind them. 
 
 This generous prince was no lefs fond of poetry 
 than painting, and he ufed even to write verfes fome- 
 times himfelf. His filler Margarite of Valois, the 
 firll of the two queens of Navarre that bore that 
 name, u.fed likewife to compofe verfes. We have 
 an intire volume of her poems, under the name of 
 Mrrrguerites FrancoifeSy or the French pearls. This 
 reign produced therefore a great quantity of poems , 
 
 but
 
 Poetry a72d Painting. 123 
 
 but thofe of Clement Marot and St Gelais, are the 
 only ones almoft that are read in our days. The 
 reft ferve for ornament to thofe libraries, in 
 which fcarce books are as much intitled to have a. 
 place as good ones. As the changes which have 
 happened in our language do not hinder us from 
 taking a pleafure ftill in reading thofe fragments 
 that Marot compofed within the fphere of his 
 genius, which was not fuited for great works ; fo 
 they would not make us difrelilTi the works of his 
 cotemporaries, were they interfperfed v/ith the 
 fame beauties as thofe we find in the writings of 
 poets who fiouridied under Lewis XIV. 
 
 Henry II and Diana of Valentinois were very 
 fond of the Mufes. Charles IX refpe<5led them fo 
 far as to facrificc, as it were, his perfon to them ; 
 and the verfes which he compofed for Ronfard, are 
 equal to the very beft that were written by that il- 
 luftrious poet, 
 
 Ta hrrc qui ra-vit far de fi deux accords 
 T'l dc'r:ne les efprits dont je 'n ai que le corps ^ 
 Lc riaitrc elk t\n rend^ tS tc fcait introduire..^ 
 Ou lc plus ficr tyran ne pent avoir d' empire. 
 
 Ihy lyre, lijhlcb charms us 'usith its tmicful firings^ 
 Subdues thofe fouls that fcorn to yield to kings y 
 Extend^ thy fi'say and captivating hand. 
 Where the fierce tyrant can have no command. 
 
 This prince made the famous James Amiot, fon to 
 a butcher of Mclun, great Almoner of francc. 
 Every body knows the excrfllve profufion of Henry 
 III towards rhc French Plciacics, or tlic focicty oi 
 the fcvcn brighcll Itars of the French poetry under
 
 124 Critic AL Reflections o« 
 
 his reign. He did not pradife towards them the 
 above-mentioned maxim of his brother Charles IX 
 relating to the fubfiftence proper to be given to 
 poets. All the great wits who lived under Henry III, 
 and even thofe who frequently abufed their talents 
 to preach and write againft him, had a fliare in 
 his prodigality. At the time here mentioned, po- 
 ets and men of letters were admitted to a kind of 
 familiarity with our kings. They approached them 
 with as much privacy, and were as well received as 
 the greateft lords of the court. And yet all thefc 
 favors and honors were infufficient to carry even fo 
 much as one poet, during that period, to the top of 
 Parnaffus. 'Tis furprifing that fo much encourage- 
 ment produced fo little fruit in a country, where one 
 kind look from the fovereign is able to fend twenty 
 perfons of diftinftion to dare certain death at a. 
 breach with the greateft intrepidity. 
 
 'Tis natural for a court to be palTionately fond 
 of every thing that is agreable to the inclination and 
 tafte of its mafter ; and the court of Frcince has 
 conftantly excelled all others in this refpeft. Where- 
 fore I leave the reader to judge, whether it was thro* 
 the fault of moral caufes, that there was not aMoIiere 
 or a Corneille at the court of the princes of the houfe 
 of Valois. Were not Terence, Plautus, Horace, Vir- 
 gil, and the other great authors of antiquity, who con- 
 tributed io greatly to form the poets of the feven- 
 teenth century, in the hands of the great wits 
 of the courts of Francis I and Henry III ? Is it 
 becaufe Ronfard and his cotemporaries did not un-r 
 derftand the learned tongues, they compofed works, 
 whofe tafte has fo little a refembknce with that of 
 
 the
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n c' 125 
 
 the better fort of the Greek and Roman writings ? 
 No, fo far from that, their greateft defeft is to have 
 imitated them in too fervile a manner, and to have 
 attempted to fpeak Greek and Latin with French 
 words. 
 
 Our late king made feveral as iudicious and mag- 
 nificent foundations, as could have been eftabliflied by 
 the Romans, in favor of thofe arts which depend on 
 the defign. In order to give young people, that were 
 born with a genius for painting, all imaginable con- 
 veniency and eafe for improving their talents, he 
 founded an academy for them at Rom.e. This was 
 giving them a kind of fettlement in the country 
 of the polite arts, Thofe eleves that fhew any glim- 
 mering of genius, are maintained there long enough 
 to have an opportunity of learning their profefllon. 
 Thus refpedt and recompience wait for the able ar- 
 tift, and even fometimes, as we ourfelves have 
 fjen, precede their merit. And yet fifty years 
 care and expence has fcarce produced three or four 
 painters, vvhuie works have the true ftamp of im- 
 mortality. 
 
 ''lis alfo obfervable, that thofe three French pain- 
 ters, who were fo great an honor to our nation un- 
 der the reign of Tcwis XIV', were no ways indebted 
 to thefe foundations, having been quite formed in 
 their art before thefe fettlements were made. In 
 the year fixieen hundred and fixty one, that is, the 
 year in which Lewis XIV took thj reins of go- 
 vernment into his own hands, and in which his /Ige 
 began, PoufTin was feventy years old, and Le Sueur was 
 dcud. Lc Brun was then iorty, and if the magni- 
 ficence
 
 126 Critical Reflections on 
 
 licence of t\\c Ibvereign excited him to work, it was 
 not chat liowevcr which rendered him capable of ex- 
 ceJHng. In fine, Nature, whom this great prince 
 obliged fo often to bend under his will, refufed obfti- 
 natcly to obey him in this article. She would not. 
 produce under his reign fuch a number of able pain- 
 ters as file brought forth of her own accord under 
 Leo X. As the phyfical caufes denied their concur- 
 rence here with the moral ones, the whole power of 
 this prince could never raife fuch a fchool in France, 
 as thofe that were formed of a fudden at other times, 
 at Rome, Venice, and Bologna. 
 
 The immenfe expences of Lewis XIV had no 
 other fuccefs, but that of forming a large number of 
 excellent fculptors. As a perfon that knows how to 
 make handfome ftatues is a good fculptor ; and as it 
 is not necelTary in order to merit this title, to have 
 publifhed fome of thofe great works which we have 
 fpoken of in the firfl part of our refledtions ; wc 
 may venture to fay, that fculpture does not demand 
 fo much genius as painting. A fovereign that can- 
 not raife a certain number of young people, who by 
 means of fuch helps as he fupplies them with, are 
 capable of becoming fo many Raphaels or Carac- 
 cios, may find a great many who by his encourage- 
 ment are able to attain to a great perfeftion in 
 fculpture. The fchool which has not been erefted at 
 a time, wherein the phyfical caufes concur with the 
 moral ones, produces therefore men eminent in 
 fculpture and ingraving, inftead of giving birth 
 to painters of the firfl order. I'his is exadly what 
 has happened in France. Since the reftoration of 
 
 arts.
 
 Poetry and Pa r n t i n g. 127 
 
 arts, there have been no where fo many excellent 
 fculptors and good ingravers of all forts, as in this 
 kingdom under the reign of the late king. 
 
 The Italians, of whom we firf!: learnt the art of 
 fcLilpture, have been obliged thefe many years to em- 
 ploy our artifts. Pugec, a feu Ip tor from Marfeilles % 
 was preferred to feveral Italian workmen, to carve 
 two of the four ilatues deligned for adorning the 
 niches of the pilafters, which fupport the dome of 
 tilt magnificent church of St Mary of Carignano at 
 Genoa. ' Twas he alfo that made the ftatues of St Se- 
 baftian and St Alexander Sauli. I am not inclinable to 
 injure the reputation of Domenico Guidi who made 
 that of St John, nor the other artifl: who carved the 
 figure of St Bartholomew ^but the Genoefethemfelves 
 regret at prefent that Puget did not carve the four 
 Ilatues. When the Jefuirs at Rome eredted, about 
 five and forty years ago, the altar of St Ignatius in 
 the church called by the name of Jefus, they pub- 
 liflied their intention of giving the execution of the 
 two groups of five figures of white marble, which 
 were to be placed on each fide of this fumptuous 
 monument, to whofoever fhould produce the beft 
 model. The moft able fculptors that were then in 
 Italy prefcnted each his model, and thefe having been 
 expofed to public view, it was decided by general 
 confent, that the model of Theodon, who was then 
 fcuI]:>tor of the fabric of St Peter, and that of Le 
 Gros, both Frenchmen, dcferved the preference, 
 riuy made therefore thofe two groups, wiiich are 
 ranked at prefent among the mailer-pieces of jno- 
 dcrnKcme. The brazen baluftrade inclofing this al- 
 
 ' Dcccafcd at IVI^rfei]Ic5 1695, aged 72. 
 
 tar.
 
 taS Critical Reflections on 
 
 tar, and compofed of angels fporting among roWS 
 of vines interwoven with ears of corn, is likewife 
 the work of a French fculptor. The five beft in- 
 gravers in brafs we have ever feen, were Frenchmen 
 cither by birth or education ; and the fame may be 
 faid of ingravers in other metals. The goldfmith's 
 trade, whether in large or fmall work, as well as 
 all thofe arts whofe value is raifed by the defign, 
 are more perfeft in France than in any other country. 
 But as painting does not depend fo much on moral 
 caufes, as the above-mentioned arts, the progrefs 
 thereof has not been in proportion to the afliftances 
 it has received within thefe fourfcore years. 
 
 Second Reflection. 
 
 ^hat the arts attain to their highejl degree of eleva- 
 tion by a fudden progrefs, and that the effedis of 
 moral caufes cannot carry them to that point of 
 perfe^ion, to which they feeni to have fpontaneoujly 
 rifen. 
 
 THUS I have given my firfl; feafon for af- 
 firming, that men are not born with fo much 
 genius ia one country as in another, and that even- 
 in the fame country there are certain periods, in 
 which people have not fo much genius as at other 
 times. My fecond reafon feems to me as ftrong 
 as the firft. This is, that there are particular 
 times, in which men attain in very few years to a 
 furprizing pitch of perfeftion in thofe very arts and 
 profefiions, which they cultivated almolt ineff'cdlually 
 before for a long fuccefTion of ages. This prodigy 
 com^5 to pais without any new intervention of the 
 
 moral
 
 Poetry ajid Pa i n t i n g. 129 
 
 moral caufes, to which fo miraculous a progrefs 
 can be attributed. On the contrary, arts and 
 fciences decline, when moral caufes redouble their 
 efforts to fupport them in that point of elevation, 
 to which they feem to have been raifed by a fecret 
 influence. 
 
 The reader is already aware of what kind of proofs 
 I am going to alledge, in order to Ihew that the 
 progrefs of the polite arts was extremely rapid, and 
 that thcfe arts breaking thro' the bounds of a long 
 fpace of time, leaped of a fudden from their dawn 
 to their noon of perftdion. Painting was revived 
 in Italy as early as the thirteenth century, by 
 Cimnbuc''b'' pencil. There were fcveral painters who 
 acquired fome reputation in the two following cen- 
 turies, but none of them attained to any eminent 
 degree of perfection. The works of thofe painters, 
 fo much cried up in their own times, have had the 
 fame fatie in Italy, as Ronfard's poems in France, 
 that is, of not bsing any longer inquired for. 
 
 In 14S0 painting was yet a rude and imperfe6l 
 art, notwithll.inding it had been conftantiy cultivated 
 during the fpace ot two hundred years. They ufcd 
 to draw nature at that time with a very fcrupulous 
 exaclnefs, but without giving her a grand or, no- 
 ble air. The heads were finiflied with fo much 
 care, that one might tell the very hairs of their 
 heads and beards •, the draperies v/ere of the mofb 
 glittering colors and heightened v/ithgold : In fine, 
 the artiil's hand had acquired Ibur.e cafe and dexte- 
 rity, but without the k-u't tire, or fpark of genius. 
 No body had as yet liit upon the beauties that are 
 
 * boin ill 1210. 
 
 Vol. II, K drawn
 
 130 r o E T R V and Pa i n T i N c. 
 
 drawn from the naked ol bodies reprefentcd in ac- 
 tion. There had been no difeovery yet made in 
 the chiaro-lcuro, nor in the aerial peripe£tive, no 
 more than in the elegance ot the contours, or in the 
 fine air oF the draperies. I'hofe painters knew how 
 to range the figures of a pi6ture, but without 
 being able to difpofe them purfuant to the prefcnt 
 rules of piclurcfque compofition. Before Raphael 
 and his cotemporaries, the martyrdom ot a faint 
 feemed not to move any of the Ipeftators. The 
 alTiftants, whom the painter introduced into this tra- 
 gic action, were only to fill up that fpace in the 
 canvafs which the iaint and the executioners left 
 empty. 
 
 Towards the dole of tlie fifteenth century, paint- 
 ing, which had hitherto walked with fo ilow a pace 
 towards its perfection, that its progrcfs was a'moft 
 Imperceptible, advanced all of a fudden with gi- 
 gantic ilrides. A kind of Gothic painting com- 
 mer;ced the ornaments of feveral cdilkes, whofe laft 
 imbeliilhmcnts are tl:c mailer-pieces of Raphael and 
 his cottmporaries. Cardinal John Medicis % who 
 did not grow old in his pur})le, having been chofen 
 pope at tirirty fcven years oi agv', renewed the de- 
 coration of tlic church ol St Paer of Montorio, 
 and fet people to work at it a little after he had 
 received his cardinal's har. The chapels which are 
 on the left hand 'onfing in, and were done the 
 firfl:, are imbrlliflud witli paintings and fculptures 
 of a very indiilercnt tafte, and fomewhat bordering 
 upon the Goiliic ; but the oppofite chapels were 
 adorned bv artifts of the very firfl clafs. The firfl 
 ^ Lf.o y 
 
 as
 
 Poetry aiid Pa i n t i n o. 131 
 
 as you come into the church, is done by Fra Seha- 
 Jiiano del Piombo : Another is inriched with ftatues 
 by Daniel of Volcera : In fine, we fee on the high 
 altar the transfiguration by Raphael, a pidlure as 
 well known in Europe as Virgil's vEneid. 
 
 The fate of fculpture has been the very fame as 
 that of painting. One would have imagined, that 
 the eyes of artills, which had been hitherto fliut, 
 had been opened all of a fudden by a kind of mi- 
 racle. A poet would fay, that every new perform- 
 ance of Raphael produced a painter. And yet the 
 moral caufes exerted themfelves no more at that 
 time in favor of the arts, than they had done before, 
 tho' to no purpofe, during the fpace of two centu- 
 ries. The antique itatucs, and bafib-relievo's, which 
 Raphael and his cotemporaries knew how to make 
 \\\d\ a good ufe of, were vifible to their predc- 
 cclT"ors, without being of any fervice to them. If 
 lome anriqucs were difcovered, which their prede- 
 ccilbrs had not lecn, wliat a vaft number muft they 
 have behL'id, which periilied before Raphael could 
 iuvc fight of them .-' How comes it, that thefe 
 prcdccclluis did not rake and rummage into the 
 ruins of anri-nt Rome, like Raphael and his cotem- 
 poraries ? "i'ls bccaufe they had no genius : 'Tis 
 becaufe their talle ciilFcred from that which wc 
 oblcrve in the Marcus Aurelius, and all the other 
 woiks of fculpture and architecture, which had 
 been dilcovcrcd and ling up a long while before 
 Haphaci. 
 
 'i hat fame prodigy v/Iiich happened at Rome, 
 
 canie to pafs at the fame time at \^enice, Florence, 
 
 :i:;J all the crli-r cities of Italy Men fprung up 
 
 K - there.
 
 132 Critical Reflections en 
 
 there, as it were, from under ground, who immor- 
 talized their memories by thfir il^lll in their proicf- 
 fions, and were all far fupcrior to the mafters they 
 had learnt of •, men without predecefTors to imitate, 
 and eleves of their own genius. Venice fiiw it- 
 felf inriched all of a Hidden with excellent painters, 
 notwithrtanding the republic had not founded 
 lately any new academies, nor propofed new 
 prizes. Thofe happy inlluenccs which were then 
 fhed on the art of painting, went in fearch of 
 Corregio to his village, to raifs there a painter of a 
 particular charafter. He was the firft that attempt- 
 ed to hang figures really in the air, and which form 
 a cieling^ as painters exprefs it. Raphael, in paint- 
 ing the nuptials of Ffyche on the vault of the falcon 
 of the little Farnefe, has treated his fubjc6t, as if it 
 were done on a tapeftry faflencd to the ceiling. 
 Corregio hung figures in the air in the afTumption 
 of the virgin Mary, which he drew in the cupola 
 of the cathedral church of Parma, and in the 
 afcenfion of Chrift painted in the cupola of the ab- 
 bey of St John of the famic city. This very thing 
 only would be fuflkient to fliew the action of phy- 
 fical caufes in the reftoration of arts. All thofe 
 fchools that were formed at that time, led by cif- 
 ferent roads to the perrecticn of their zji. Their 
 manner did not refemble one another, tho' they -zvrrc 
 nil fo extremely good, as Cicero fiys''' upon a like 
 occafion, that vje Jljctdd hc.xe been i:c:<ed^ had net 
 each fchcol purftied its ov:n. 
 
 ^ 0?,':ncs inter fe dijp.rr.iles, :ta tcjr.cn ut ncmhum <vdls eJTe ful 
 dljhn'dan. Cic. de orat. 1. 3. 
 
 i ne
 
 Po E T RY and Pa I N T I N G. 133 
 
 The North received hkewife forae b^-ams of this 
 influence. Albert Durer, Holbein, and Luke of 
 Leydcn, were much better painters tlian any tiiat 
 had hitherto appeared in their country. There are 
 feveral piiflures of Holbein prefcrvcd in the cabinet 
 ot t-ie hbrary of Bafil, two of which demonilrate 
 tlie furprifipg progreis which painting ma e at that 
 time. The firtl of thefe pid:ures, which by an 
 infcription at the bottom appears to have been made 
 in 1 5 16, reprcfrnts a fchoojmafier teaching chil- 
 dren to read. Ic h.iS all the faults with v,:;ich v,e 
 have reproached thofe paintings that were done be- 
 fore l^aphaei's time. The fecond, which exhibits 
 the mianner our Saviour was taken down from tlie 
 crofs, and whole infcription fhews it to have bscii 
 done in 1521, is in the right tailie. Holbein had 
 iccn fome new pictures, and had bcnefitC':' tiiercby, 
 in the lame manner as Raphael im[)roved by feeing 
 i\\z works cf I^Jichael Ange'o. The Altar-piece 
 whic'i repr.fents in eight feparate pictures t!ie prin- 
 pal cverirs of the palilon, and is prefcrvcd in- t;:e 
 r-'i^vn h.ow^;: of Jlifil, mull" have been drawn by Hol- 
 bein beiore the l^vOman Catholic worikip wiis fup- 
 prefl'^ \ in that ricy, or t!ie protellant Religion ella- 
 b!:''';, _-ci, and pictur'-s expelled the churches in 1527, 
 'i."'v:fe eig':t 'pieces may be cc^mpared wirii tlie belt 
 per!ormanc:s of R.iphaei's eleve:^ lor the poetry, 
 and pr'dlrred to tiiem widi reipeid; to tiie coloring. 
 Ti.ere ap'vears even a gre.;tcr knowledge ot the 
 c naro-kuro, tlian otlicr painrcrs were rnaflers- ot 
 m t'ude tiiiT";. Wc ])'erceive liere fome marvelous" 
 idcnrs of liglit, clpecially in the picture re- 
 K 3 prefer. ti: '.:';;
 
 134 Critical Reflections o?i 
 
 prefenting Chrift made prifoner in the garden of 
 Olives. 
 
 The fame event happened in France under the 
 reign of Lewis XIIl as that which fell out in Italy 
 under Julius II. A bright fun was ^(^tn to fhine forth 
 of a fudden, which had been ufhercd in by a very 
 weak dawn. Our poetry rofe up, as it were, in an 
 inftant, and foreign nations, which had hitherto de- 
 fpifed it, fell fuddenly in love with it. Peter Cor- 
 ncille, to the belt of my remembrance, is the firft 
 French protane poet, ot whom a piece of any ex- 
 tent has been rendered into a foreign language. 
 
 We find fonie admirable ftanzas in the works of 
 feveral French poets, who wrote before the time above 
 poinied out as the epoch, from which we are to date 
 the fplendor of the French poetry. Malherbe is ini- 
 mitable in the number and cadence of his verfes : 
 but as he had a better ear than genius, the greatefl 
 part of his vcrfcs are cc^mmendable only for the 
 mcchanifm and harmonious arr.mgement ot his words, 
 for which he had a furprizing capacity. They did 
 not even require at that tinie, that poemiS fhould 
 confifl, as it v/erc, of contiguous beauties ; fome 
 fhining paiTages were fufficient to recommend a 
 whole piece. The poverty of the other verfes was 
 cxcufed, being confidered as made only for conne6l- 
 ing the former, wherefore thtrv were called, as we 
 learn from abbot ce MarciUes's memoirs, fajjage- 
 verfes. 
 
 There are fome ftanzas in the works of Defportes 
 and De Bertaut, tliat are able to vie with the very bell 
 that have been wrote hnce Corneille ; and yet tiiofe 
 that would attempt tlie intirc pcrufal of the works
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g- 235 
 
 of thofe two poets, on the credit of fome fragments 
 tliey might have heard recited, would foon be tired 
 of their undertaking. The books now mentioned 
 refemble thofe chains of mountains, where we mull 
 traverfe a vaft deal of wild and delert land, before 
 we can meet with a pleafant cultivated valley. 
 
 There had been a theatre for about two hundred 
 years in France, wlien Corneille firll wrote his Cid. 
 And yet what progrefs did our dramatic poetry make 
 during that time.'' None at ail. Corneille found our 
 llage almoft as rude and barbarous, as it was under 
 Lewis II. Our drama made a greater progrefs from 
 1635 to 1665, ''^^^'^ received tar gre'^ter improve- 
 ments during thofe thirty years, than ail the three 
 preceding centuries. Rotrou appeared at the fame 
 time as Corneille : Racine, Moliere, and Qiiinauk 
 ilarted up foon after. Could one obferve a fufficient 
 degree of perfection in the dramatic poetry of Gar- 
 nier and Mairet, to have room to hope, that fuch 
 eminent poets as Corneille and Moliere would fofoon 
 appear in our poetic hemifphere ? Who are the poe- 
 tic anceilors, as it were, of La Fontaine ? And to 
 mention a word with regard to our painters, were 
 L'reminet and Vouet, who worked under Lewis XIII, 
 defcrving of the honor of being the immediate pre- 
 decefTors of Pouflin, Sueur, and Le Brun ? 
 
 Thofe great men, who compofe what we call the 
 Augullan age, were not formed during the happy 
 days of tlic reign of that emperor. Lvery body 
 knows, that the commencement of the age of Au- 
 gulhis was a time of fire and fword. Thefc days, 
 fo happy for the whole uriivcrle, do not commence 
 their thue till tlie battie of Aiflium, when the tute- 
 K 4 lary
 
 136 Critical Reflections c;2 
 
 lary genius of Rome overthrew with one blow, An- 
 tony, Difcord, and Cleopatra. Virgil was forty years 
 old, when this event happened. Let us take notice 
 of the following pidure lie draws of thofe very 
 times, in which he was formed in his art, and 
 which he fo elegantly defcribes to have been the 
 reign of Mars and Fury. 
 
 ^a'ppe ubifas verfum at que nefas^ tot bellaperorhem. 
 Tarn midtie fcekrum facies^ non ullus aratro 
 JDignus honor^ fquallent ahduElis arva colonis^ 
 Et curvcc rigidum falces confiantur in enfem. 
 Hinc movet Euphrates, illinc Germania bellum i 
 Vicince miptis inter fe legibus urbes 
 ylrma ferunt, favii toto Mars impiits or be. 
 
 ViRG. Georg. 1. i. 
 
 Where fraud and rapine i right and wrong cojifoundy 
 Where impious arms from evry part re founds 
 And morifirous crimes in evry jJoape are crozvn^d. 
 The peaceful peafant to the wars is preji ; 
 The fields lye fallow in inglorious reft : 
 The plrjn no pafrure to the flock affords, 
 The crooked fey the s are ftreigthened into fwords : 
 And there Euphrates her foft off-fpring arms. 
 And here the Rhine rebellows with alarms ; 
 The neighFring cities range on fevral fides, "] 
 
 Perfidious Mars Icng plighted leagues divides, \ 
 /hid 0'' er the wafted world in triumph rides, J 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 Thofe who had raifed themfelves to any particular 
 degree of credit or fame, were more expofcd than 
 others in the profcriptions, and during all the hor- 
 rors of the firft years of the reign of Auguftus. 
 
 CicerOj 
 
 1
 
 POE TR Y <^;z^ Pa I N T I N G. I 37 
 
 Cicero, who was facrificed in thofe unhappy times 
 abovementioned by Virgil, died the vidim of his 
 abilities. 
 
 Largiis £5? exundans ktho dedit ingenii fons 
 Ingcnio manus cfi ^ cerz-ix Ccffa. 
 
 Juv. fat. 10. 
 
 But both thofe orators fo much renown' d. 
 In their ozvn depths of eloquence were drown d: 
 1'he hand and head were never lojl, of thofe 
 Who dealt in dvOggrel^ or who -punnd in profe. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 Horace was five and thirty years old, when the bat- 
 tle of Aftium was fought. The liberality of Au- 
 guftus excited feveral great poets to write, but they 
 were become eminent aheady in their profefllon be- 
 fore this encouragement. 
 
 But that which is fuiHcient alone to convince us 
 that the moral caufes do but concur with another 
 fecond caufe ftronger than thcmfclves, to the fur- 
 prizing progrefs which arts and learning make in 
 certain ages, is, that thofe arts and fciences fall into 
 a ftate of decay at the very time when the moral 
 caiifcs are ufing their utmoft efforts to fupport them 
 in that point of elevation to which they fpontane- 
 oufly rofc. Thofe great men, who tormed them- 
 felvcs, as it were, with their own hands, were never 
 able to train up either by their kdfons, or their 
 examples, clev^cs of equal fame and ability with 
 themfelvcs. Their fucceflbrs, who had received in- 
 ftructions in tlieir art from the moll eminent maf- 
 ter'; ^ (uccefTors, who i(;r this and feveral otlur 
 rcafons, ought to have furpafled their mailers, had 
 
 they
 
 138 Cri TIC AL Rk FLEC TIONS C;/ 
 
 tliey been born with an equal genius, have occupied 
 but not filled the place of their predecefibrs. The 
 firft fuccelTors of thofe great mailers have been re- 
 placed by dilciples of a ftill inferior merit. At 
 Jength the genius of arts and fciences difappears in- 
 tircly, till the revolution of ages comes to raife it 
 out of its tomb, where it feems to bury itfelf for a 
 long feries of time, after having fliewn itfelf only for 
 a few years. 
 
 In that very fame country, where nature had pro- 
 duced fo liberally, and without any extraordinary 
 afTiftance, the famous painters of the age of Leo X ; 
 the recompences and cares of the academy of St Luke, 
 eftabliflied by Gregory XII and by Sixtus Quintus, 
 the attention of fovereigns, and in fine, all the efforts 
 of moral caufes have never been able to give a pof- 
 terity to thofe great artifts, v.ho fprung, as it were, 
 from their own loins. The fchools of Venice and 
 I'iorencc degenerated in fixty years. 'Tis true, 
 jiainting fupporred itfelf with fplcndor at Rome 
 during a greater number of year? -, for even towards 
 the middle of the lafl century there were fome emi- 
 nent mailers in that city. But thofe painters were 
 all fi;rr.ngers, fuch as Poulfin, the elevcs of the Ca- 
 lacci vv'ho came to Rome to difplay the abilities ot 
 tJie Ichool of Bologna, and feme others. As this 
 ichool had fiourilhed later than that of Rome, it 
 lias alfo fiirvived the Roman fchool. But, it the 
 cxpreffion be allowed me, there were no young trees 
 that grew up near theie great oaks. Pouifin, during 
 Thirty years conilant labor in a ichool in the 
 very hcaic of Rome, formed only one clcve oi any 
 :ame in p.^inring, r!io' this gr?at man was as capable^ 
 '2 ^ of
 
 Critical Reflections c?2 139 
 
 of teaching his art, as any mafler that ever profefied 
 it. In the fame city, but not at fame fame time, 
 Raphael, who died as young as his fcholars, had 
 formed in the courfe of ten or a dozen years a fcliool 
 of five or fix painters, whofe works are at prefent 
 a part of the glory of their mailer. In fine all the 
 Italian fchools, fuch as thofe of Venice, Rome, Par- 
 ma, Bologna, where great genius's appeared in fuch 
 numbers during the liourifliing ftate of the art of 
 painting, are grown at prefent intirely barren. 
 
 This decay happened juft at a time when Italy 
 enjoyed the happicft days it had feen fince the de- 
 llru6lion of the Roman empire. All thofe conjunc- 
 tures which could decide the fate of the polite arts 
 (were it true that their fite depended intirely on mo- 
 ral caufes) concurred to make them flourifli at the 
 very time they began to decline. The wars of Italy 
 lafted from the expedition of our king Charles 
 VIII to Naples, 'till the peace concluded at Cam- 
 bray 1529 between the Emperor Charles the Vth 
 and Francis I, which was foon followed with the iall 
 revolution of the ftate of Florence. During the fpace 
 of thirty four years, Italy, to exprefs myfelf in the 
 words of her own hiftorians, had been trampled un- 
 der foot by barbarous nations. The kingdom of 
 Naples was conquered four or five times by difi'e- 
 rcnt princes, and the ftate of Milan underwent 
 more frequent revolutions. The Venetians faw feve- 
 ral times their enemies armies from their turrets, and 
 i'lorence was almoft conftantly in war, either with 
 the family of Medicis, who wanted to indave her, 
 or v/ith the inhabitants ol V'li.i, whom they were dc~ 
 firous ut fubduing. Rome more than once beheld 
 
 huftilc
 
 146 Critical Rf, flections on 
 
 lioflile or fufpeftcd troops within its walls, and this 
 capital of polite arts was plundered by the arms of 
 Charles V with as much barbarity as if it had 
 been ftormed by the Turks. And yet it was exaftly 
 during thole thirty four years that the arts and fci- 
 cnces maoe that progrefs in Italy, w+iich is confider- 
 ed in our days as a kind of prodigy. 
 
 Since the laft revolution of the ftate of Florence 
 to the clofe of the fixttcnth century, the tranquil- 
 lity of Italy was not interrupted but by wars on 
 their frontiers, or of a very fhort continuance. 
 During this fpace of time none of its cities were 
 ranfsck'd, nor was there any violent revolution in 
 the five principal governments, into which it is 
 divided. The Germans and French made no more 
 invafions, except the expedition of the duke of 
 Guife to Naples under Paul the IVth, which was ra- 
 ther an inroad than a war. The feventeenth cen- 
 tury was a time of reft and plenty for Italy 'till its 
 very laft year. It was during the time now men- 
 tioned, that the Venetians amafTed immenfe fums 
 of money, and made their famous gold chain, to 
 which they added fome new rings every year. 
 Then it was that Sixtus Qiiintus put five millions 
 of gold crowns into the apoftolic treafure ; that the 
 bank of Genoa was rcplenifhed ; that the Grand 
 Dukes of Tufcany heaped up fuch immenfe fums ; 
 that the dukes of Ferrara filled their cofi^ers ; in 
 fhort, that all thofe who governed in Italy, except 
 the viceroys of Naples, and the governors of Mi- 
 lan, found, after the ufual and cautionary expences, 
 a fupcrfluity which might be faved from the reve- 
 nue of each year j which is undoubtedly the fureft 
 
 fymptom
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 141 
 
 fymptom of the fiourifhing ftate of a government. 
 Neverthelefs it was during thofe years of profperity 
 that the fchools of Rome, i'lor.'nce, Venice, and 
 fucccfTively that of Bologna, grew poor and barren 
 of good artiRs. As their noon of perfection, if I 
 may exprcfs myfclf fo, v/ns very near their firft 
 rifing, fo their fetting fucceeded quickly their noon. 
 I am not willing- to predift the decadency of our 
 age, notwithfban.'.ing what a perfon of very great 
 capacity has wrote upwards of forty years ago, fpeak- 
 ihg of the excellent works which his age had pro- 
 duced. ^ IVe mt'Ji candidly coiifefs^ that 'tis noiv 
 ten years fincc that happy time is elapfed. Before 
 M. Boileau died he favv a lyric poet take wing, born 
 with the talents of thofc ancient poets, to whom Vir- 
 gil allots an honorable place in the Elyfian fields, 
 for having given the firft leflbns of morality to fierce 
 and favage man. The works of thofe ancient po- 
 ets, which formed one of the firft links of fociety, 
 and gave birth to the fable of Amphion, did not 
 ccjiitain maxims more fage than the odes of the au- 
 tlior here mentioned, whom nature feemed to 
 have favored with a genius, only to adorn morality, 
 and give an amiable drcfs to virtue. Others, who 
 are ftill living, defcrve I fliould make an honorable 
 mention oi their works, but as Velleius Paterculus 
 lays in an aimoft fimilar cafe, Vi'vcrum cenfura diffi- 
 ri/js : 'Tis too delicate a point to attempt to give 
 a judgment of the living poets. 
 
 It we afcend to the age of Auguftus, wc fliall 
 
 find th:t learning and arts, eipccially poetry, be- 
 
 n V) decline, when every thing confpired to make 
 
 ' . -' ' '■' . ' yr^Jt-j-i ( n :.: i.iuci'.'its and tr.oderru. 
 
 il-»cra
 
 142 Critical Reflections on 
 
 them flourifli : They degenerated in the moft glo- 
 rious times of the Roman empire. Numbers of 
 people tliink. that the arts and fciences perifhed un- 
 der the ruins of that monarchy fubverted and laid 
 •wade by the northern nations. They fuppofed there- 
 fore that the inundations of Barbarians, attended 
 with the intire confufion of fociety in moft of thofe 
 places where they fettled, deprived the conquered 
 people of the proper conveniences, and even of the 
 very defire to cultivate the polite arts. The arts, 
 they fay, could never fubfift in a country whofe ci- 
 ties were changed into fields, and their fields into 
 dcferts. 
 
 Pierides donee Romnm £5? Tyberina fluenta 
 Deferiiere^ lialis e^puljie protinus oris. 
 Tdnti caiifa mali Latio gens afpera aperto 
 Septus irrumpens : funt jujfi vertere morem 
 /lufonid.-e z'i^i, ' vi^oris "oocibus ufi. 
 Cejfit amor mufarum ; artes fubiere repente 
 fndignx i atqiie cpibiis cunclt incubuere parandis. 
 
 ViDA Poetic. 1. I. 
 
 *7"?7/ frcn the Ilefperian plains and Tyber chas"" d 
 From Rome the banifi'dfijlers fled at laji ; 
 l^rivn by the barbarous nations^ inho from far 
 Bi'.rfl into Latiiim 'with a tide of war. 
 Hence a vaji chajige of their old manners fprung^ 
 The flaves were fore" d to fpeak their mafter^s tongue. 
 No honors now were paid the facred mufe^ 
 But all were bent on mercenary "views. 
 
 Pi t t. 
 
 This opinion is not the lefs falfe, for its being fo 
 generally received. Falfe opinions are eftabliflied 
 
 with
 
 Poetry aiid Pa i n t i n g. 143 
 
 with as much facility in hiftory, as in philofophy. 
 The arts and fciences were already degenerated and 
 fallen into a flate of decay, notwithitanding they 
 had b':fen cultivated with care, when thofe nations, 
 t\\Q icourges of mankind, quitted the northern 
 fnows. We may look upon the bull of Caracalla 
 as the laft gafp of the Roman fculpture. The two 
 triumphal arches erecfted in honor of his father 
 Severus, the chapiters of the columns in the Sep- 
 tizon, which were afterwards removed into different 
 churches, when that building was pulled down, and 
 chi' remaining ftatues which are known to have 
 o/en made at that time, fufficiently demonfhratc 
 ihiz fculpture and architefture began to decline un- 
 c:er that prince and his children. Every body knows 
 r;iat t!;e Low-relieves of the largeft of thofc two tri- 
 umphal arches were done by an indifferent hand. 
 *■ i is natural however to luppofe that the mofl able 
 Ji wlpcors were employed about it, were it only out 
 • 1 a regard due to the place where it was crefted. 
 i fiis v/as in the molt confiderable part of the town 
 .1' ^;ie further end of the Fon'.m Romanum^ and, as 
 >^.€ have reafon to believe, at the foot of one of 
 xiioie Hairs dedin-d for afcendirig to the Capitol, 
 v.hich was called the hundred Jieps. Now Severus's 
 1 igd preceded the firlt taking of Rome by Alari- 
 cus, u[v,vard-: of two hundred years -, and from that 
 emperor's time t!ie arts were continually in a flate 
 oi decline. 
 
 'i'he monuments that arc extant, of the fuccelTors 
 of Scvci us, are Ifill a lefs honor to fculpture, than 
 tiic Low-relieves of the largcll of the two triumphal 
 nrch'.^ created to the mcmorv v'l tiiat prince. 
 
 The
 
 144 Critical Reflections 07i 
 
 The Roman medals, ftruck after the reign of Cara- 
 calla, and that of Macrinus his fucceflbr, who fur- 
 vived him but two years, are much inferior to thofe 
 that were ilruck under the preceding emperors. Af- 
 ter Gordianus Pius they degenerated in a more fen- 
 fiblc manner, and under Gallienus, who reigned fifty 
 years alter Caracalla, they became a moft wretched, 
 coin. There is neither tafte nor dellgn in their in- 
 graving, nor judgment in their coining. As thofe 
 medals were a kind of coin deftined to inftrudl pofte- 
 rity with refpeft to the virtues and great exploits of 
 the prince under whofe reign they were ftruck, as well 
 as to ferve the ufes of traffick, 'tis highly proba- 
 ble, that the Romans, who were as jealous as any 
 other nation of their honor, employed for this kind 
 of work the moft able artifts they could find. 'Tis 
 therefore reafonable to judge by the beauty of the 
 medals, of the ftate of ingraving under each emperor ; 
 for ingraving is an art which always goes hand in hand 
 with fculpture. The obfervations made by means 
 of medals, are confirmed by what we remark in 
 thofe pieces of fculpture, whofe time is known, and 
 which are ftill exifting. For inftance, the medals of 
 Conftantine the Great, who reigned fifty years after 
 Gallienus, are very ill ingraved, and of a poor 
 tafte ; and we find likewife, by the triumphal arch 
 erefted to the memory of this prince, which is ftill 
 to bs feen at Rome, that under his reign, and a 
 hundred years before the Barbarians took poiTeffion 
 of that city, fculpture was become as coarfe and 
 imperfe6l an art, as it was in the commencement 
 of the firft Punic war. 
 
 I AVhen
 
 P o 1- TRY ami Pa I N T I N G, 14 C 
 
 Wlien tiie fdndte and people of Rome deter- 
 mined to erccl ti'is tiiumphal arch in honor of 
 Conftaniine, there was not in all probability in the 
 capital of the empire, a fculptor able to undertake 
 the work. Notwithftandinr: the refpccl they had 
 at Rome for the memory of Trajan, they dripped 
 the arch, erccled to that prince, of its ornaments ; 
 an.l witiioLit any regard to conformity or fit- 
 ncfs tiiey employed them in the fabric of that 
 which tli-y erected to Confiantine. The triumphal 
 arches of the Romans were not monuments invent- 
 ed merely by farcy, like ours •, neither were their 
 ornamenrs mere arbitrary imbellilhments, directed 
 or,ly by the ideas of the architect. As we have 
 no real tiii;m]:ihb, and after our vidories we 
 dio n(jt conduct the victor in a chariot pre- 
 ccc!ed by th.e captivef, the modern fculptors are 
 confequentiy allowed, to make ufe of fuch trophies 
 and amis as their f.r.ry ('ii\'.\:l:s, in order to im- 
 t-.c;!:;li tlieir a!!eq.;r:cal arciies : for which reafori 
 tiie (jrn ip.jv:.:? or otir triumphal arclies are moft 
 (>\ th:;:: ;i:::i;);e to apv other 'ouildinp' of that kind. 
 init as :;i,' riiumpiial arciies of the Romans were 
 erect-.,: ir.er.:/ to perpetuate ilie memory of a real 
 trii; ii: '■, rh: orn.^i^ients taken iVom the Ipoils 
 yy^\c:. ha.' ap])earec; already in a tiiiimph, and were 
 pr(;p-r lor dccorannfi, the arch erected on that 
 O'^c: ;o:^ were i';. t iit for imbLl!i:'i;n:J- that which 
 th'-.-y \v;.i" V) er-eci; in me.'iiory of anotlicr, efpe- 
 f-iaiiy il the vi:to'-y had been i^aincd over a 
 <i:liere;-it peo;,)!.' i!^)rn tiiofl-, wlide overthrow was 
 i':>- ocrafion of rlee fn f I tiiuiiipli and arch. F.- 
 ^■'!■y hcc'y could dhri'^^nsiili t!,--: the Dacian, the 
 ^' '■■'■■■ '^- I. Part!:i.sn,
 
 I 46 L' R 11 I c A L R }. I' J. £ C T i O K S Oil 
 
 Piirthian, aiivl tlic (jcrm.in, in the fame manner as 
 the Frciich were known trom the Spaniards, about 
 a hundrcei years ago, when thofe nations wore 
 each of them their peculiar drefs. The trium- 
 phal arches ot the Romans were therefore hillo- 
 rical monuments, that required an hillorical ve- 
 rity, trom whence they could not deviate without 
 afting contrary to the rules of decorum. 
 
 Neverthelefs, Conllantine's arch was imbelliflied 
 with captivT Parthians, and trophies compofed of 
 their arms anJ fpoils ; ornaments all borrowed 
 from Trajan's arch. I'raj.m had taken thefe fpoils 
 from the Farthians •, but Conftantine had not as 
 yet been engaged m any quarrel with that na- 
 tion. In fine, the arch was adorned with Low-re- 
 iievcs, in which all the world might then, and does 
 at prefent, difcovcr tlie liead of IVajan. Nor can 
 it be faici, that it was for the Hike of expedition 
 that Trajan's monument was thus fachficcd to 
 Conftantine's arch •, for as this could not be com- 
 pofed iiitircly ot c(Vi!f\:lei; pieces, a fculptor of that 
 time was oblige! to make tome I .ow-rclieves, in 
 order to lill up t'ae vacant fpaccs. Such are the 
 I -ow-rclievcs which are i^cn under the principal 
 arch ', as alfo the deities t'iat appear on the out- 
 ade, placed on the mouldings of the center of 
 -lie two little arches ; and likewife the broken Low- 
 rcdicvcs, th.at are on the key-ftones of thefe arches. 
 All this fculpture, whole p.irts are diftinguifhed from 
 -ne another upon approaching the arch, is much in- 
 ferior to the better kind of Gothic ; tho' in all pro- 
 bability the moft eminent fculptor ot the empire 
 was employed in the execution cf it. In fine, 
 
 when
 
 Poetry ajid Painting. 14^ 
 
 when Conftantine wanted to imbelliili his new capi- 
 tal, Conllantinople, he knew of no better fcheme 
 than to tranTport thither Ibme of the fineft monu- 
 ments of Ron^ie. And yet as fculpture does not 
 depend fo much on moral caufes as poetry and 
 painting ; and as the phyfical caufes have not the 
 fame empire over it as over the other two arts, 
 it ought confequently to have a flower decline 
 than thofe arts ^ nay, even a fiower decline than 
 eloquence. Befides, we find by what Petronius fays 
 of painting, that this art began to degenerate even 
 fo early as the emperor Nero's reign. 
 
 To come now to poetry, Lucan was fuccefTor to 
 Virgil ; and what a number of fteps do we find 
 already, defcending from the 7£neid to the Pharfa- 
 Ha ? Next to Lucan appeared Statius, whofe poetry 
 is reckoned much inferior to that of Lucan. Sta- 
 tius, who lived under Domitian, left no fuccefTor 
 behind him : neither was Horace fucceeded in 
 the lyric kind of writing. Juvenal fupported fa- 
 tyre und'jr the empire of Adrian, but his poems 
 may he confiJercd as the lall: gafp of the Roman 
 iVIurcs. Aufc-nius and Claudian, who attempted to 
 revive th.c Latin poetry, produced only a phantom 
 th„t rcleml:.I< ti it •, their verfes having neither the 
 numbers, nor the force of tliofe that were written 
 under t!ie reign of Auguftus. Tacitus, who wrote 
 un.'ier '1 rajan, is the lalt Roman hiftorian, hav- 
 ing no other fiiccefibr but i\\<:: abridger of 
 Trogus Pompc-ius. I'ho' rlic learned feem to be 
 tiividi'd wich regard to the time when Quintus Cur- 
 tiijs wrote his hillory of Alexander, and tho' he is 
 li.'ppofed by Ibmc to be a later writer than Tacitus, 
 L ?. ic
 
 14^ Critical Rkflkctions cii 
 
 it feems to mc iiotwirhilantiing, to be :iblbiutc!y de- 
 cided by a puOiigc ot his book, tliat 'u' wrote 
 about tomilorc years bcloic Tacitus. lie iays % 
 in relation to the misfortunes whicli cnlucd after 
 tlie death ot Alexander, when the Macedonians 
 chofc leveral chiefs inftead of" one : That Komc 
 had like to have been lately ruined by a pro- 
 iecl" of reilorinf]; the re|niblic. We dillinguilh in 
 the magnificent recital he makes of this event, 
 all the principal circumfiances of th.e tuniult which 
 happened in Rome, when the ienate attempted, 
 after the dcceale of Caligula, to re-ellablifli the re- 
 publican' government, and when their partifans made 
 head ngainli the pr^\!torian cohorts, who infifted upon 
 having an emperor. (.)ifintus Curtius draws fo par- 
 ticular a defcription of all the circumftances of the 
 acceflion of- Claudms to the empire, which calmed 
 the tumult ■, he crives fuch broad hints of Claudius'sS 
 faniily, that i*: is impof^ible to hefitate with regard 
 ro the applJcarion of tliis paHage, efpecially as the 
 .narrative cannot be api^ic d to the accelllon of any 
 of the thirty immediate iiiccei^ors of Claudius. This 
 'paifiige of Quinrus C\]!tlus can be underftood only 
 with rffp/ect to the accelTion oi Clauciius or that 
 ■ of Gordiaiuis Puis. 
 
 Sixty years aftu- the dcccafe ol AuguRus, Quin- 
 tilian Vv-rote c.v\ tlic caufes of tlic decay of the Ro- 
 man eloquence. Toiiginus, who wrote under Gal- 
 jieniis, has given us a chapter on the caufes of the 
 'degeneracy of fpirits^ at the end of his treatife on 
 the Sublime. There v,as only the art of oratory left 
 :u that time ; but the orators themfelvcs had difap- 
 
 ^ QuiNTUsCuRTIUS, 1, 10, fcd. Q. 
 
 peared.
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. ii^ 
 
 peared. The decadency of arts and iciences was be- 
 come aliX'ady a lenfible objecl: \ and had made a fuf- 
 ficient imprefiion on thole who were capable of re- 
 flecting, to oblige theni to enquire into the caufes 
 oi" this decay. i'his obfcrvation had been made a 
 long time before the Barbarians had ravaged Italy. 
 
 ' 1 isoblervabieaUb, that the arts and fciences began 
 to decline under m ;gnidcent emperors, who cultivated 
 the arts themfelves. Nero, Adrian, Marcus Aurelius, 
 and Alexander Severus knew how to paint : Can it 
 therefore be fuppofed that the arts were difregarded dur- 
 ing their reigiis .^ In line, in the four centuries which 
 elapfed from Julius Gtlar's time to the inundation 
 ot tlie Barbarians, tiiere were fucceilively feveral 
 peaceable reigns, which may be confidered as a real 
 and hiftorical golden age. Nerva, Trajan, Adrian, 
 Anioninus i'lus, and Marcus Aurelius, who fuc- 
 ceeded one another nnmediately, and whofe acceflion 
 to the empire was as tranquil as that of a ion who 
 fucceeds his iatiier, were all great and good princes ; 
 and their contiguous reigns compofc almoit an intire 
 century. 
 
 True it is, that feveral emperors were tyrants ; 
 and that the civil wars, by which a great number of 
 thole princes obtained or loft the empire, were very 
 frequent. But the tyrannical humor of Caligula, 
 Nero, Don:iitian, Commodus, Caracalla, and Max- 
 iminus, ne'ver dilcharged itfelf upon men ot letters, 
 and much lefs upon artifls. I.ucan, the only man 
 ol letters of any note, that was put to death in 
 thofe times, was condemnedl ior a confpiracy, and 
 not as a poet. Did the death of Lucan difcourage 
 thofe, who were men of genius, from writing verles ? 
 
 I . ^ Statius,
 
 150 Critical Reflections on 
 Statius, Juvenal, Martial, and many others who 
 might have \tt\\ him die, were not deterred by his 
 death Irom writing. The tyrannical ipirit of thofe 
 en'iperors was levelled prir,cipally againft the great 
 ir.cn of the ilate. The ambition, which even the 
 cruelleil amongil them had of being upon good 
 terms with the people, and which induced them to 
 ingratiate themfelves with the populace, by enter- 
 taining them Avith all forts of fcafts and fpeftacles, 
 engaged them to encourage the advancement of arts 
 and learning. 
 
 As for the civil wars, which are fo much talked 
 of in hiflory, the fcenes of the greateft part of them 
 were out of Italy, and finifhed in two campaigns. 
 They did not diilurb forty years out of three hun- 
 dred, which are computed from the time of Augu- 
 flus to that of Gajlienus. The civil war of Otho 
 and Vifellius, and that between ViteHius and Vefpa- 
 fian, which did not lalt both together lb long as 
 nine months, could furely be never fo great a pre- 
 judice to learning and arts, as the civil war between 
 Pcmpey and Caslar, as that alfo of Modcna, and the 
 other civil wars which Augullus waged agalnft the 
 murderers of Ca^far, and againft Mark Antony. Ne- 
 verthelefs the civil commotions, in v/hich Julius 
 Caefar and Auguflus had a Hiare, were no obftruftion 
 to tlve progrefs of learning. The death of Domi- 
 tian was the efft6t of a plot of his own ftrvants, 
 and the day after his death Nerva entered upon a 
 peaceable reign. Things v/ent pretty rear m the 
 fame m;:nner at the death of Commodus, and at 
 that of Pertinax, the two firfl emperors that v/ere 
 Hilled and depofed after Domidan. Severus difpof- 
 3 ' ielied
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 151 
 
 fefled Didius Julianus without fighting, and the war 
 he waged in the eafl againft Pcfcennius Niger, as 
 alfo tiiat which afterwards broke cut in Gaul be- 
 tween him and CloJius Albinus, liid not interrupt 
 the ftudies of the learned, nor the labors of the Ro- 
 man artitb, no more tl^ui i\\z fudden revolution that 
 happened in Afia, and which difpoirciTed Caracalla 
 to make room for Macrinus, and removed tlic lat- 
 ter to fubftitute Heliogabalus. 'Tis true, thole tu- 
 multuous revolutions happened fometimes in Rome, 
 but they generally endcdi in a day or two, without 
 being attended with thofe accidents which arc apt to 
 retard the progrcfs of arts and fciences. 
 
 Nero v/as depofed at Rome without ng'iting a 
 blow. The murder ol G::lb:i, and Otho's acceffion 
 to the tlirone, was a morning's work, and the in- 
 llirrcction coll only the lives of a hundred people. 
 I'he Romans Hood and belield the en(2;ao;ement be- 
 tween Vefpafian's and Vitcllius's troops, with as 
 much unconcernednefs as if they had been gazing 
 at tlie combats of the gladiators. Maximinus was 
 depofed, and the Gordians of Afric lubRitutcd in 
 his place, with as much eafe and tranquillity as if 
 fentence had been executed upon a private perfon. 
 When the Gordians died in Afric, I'uppianus and 
 Balbinus fucceeded them without any difturbance, 
 and it was but a two day's war v/hich broke out be- 
 tween t!ie people and the pratorian cohorts, when 
 thefe two emperors were aifafl'inated, and C-iordianus 
 Pius fubdituted in their ftead. The other revoluti- 
 ons were very fudden, and we have already obferved 
 that th' y liappened out of Rome. In fine, the civil 
 war. or t!ie Romans, under their firft fifty em[)e- 
 I^ a rors.
 
 152 Critical Ret LECTIONS (//v 
 
 rors, were only particui.ir difputes between the ar- 
 mies contending which fliould have the honor of 
 giving a mailer to the empire. During thefe broils, 
 th- two parties took as much care oi their refpec- 
 live provinces, as our Chriftian princes take, in thofc 
 wars in which they are but too olten engaged, of 
 ll'ch territories as they cxpeft to conc]uer and pre- 
 ferve. Th.ere happen on thefe occafions a great many 
 dilbrdcrs, but not fuch as to bury the arts and fci- 
 ences. 'I'is not every kind of v.-ar that obfiruds 
 the progrefs of the arts •, no, 'ris only fuch as en- 
 dangers private people's fortunes, fuch as reduces 
 thcni from a Hate of liberty to that of fervitude, or 
 deprives them at leaft cf their property. 
 
 Such were the wars between the Perfians and the 
 Greeks, and fiich thofe betwceii the Barbarians of 
 the North and the Roman cujpire. Such alio are 
 the w^ars bLtvvcen the I'urks and Chrillians, in which 
 the whole body of the people run greater riflvs, than 
 the foldiers are expcfed to in the common courfe ot 
 war. Wars of this fort generally fubvert the arts 
 and fciences in thofe cc'jntrics which they lay wafte •, 
 but regular wars, in vvhicli the people are expofed to 
 no other danger but that of changing mafter, anei 
 of belonging to one princc rather than to another, 
 are not a neceilary caiife cf the deftruction of the 
 arts and fciences, unlefs it be in fome town fo un- 
 happy as to be taken by f:orm. The terror fpread 
 by fuch wars, can only ret..ni their progrefs for a 
 few years •, tho' it doer, not fcem to produce even 
 that effecl. The arts and fciences (by vdiat fatali- 
 ty I know not) never flouriHi better than in the 
 fnidft of tiiek wars. Greece v/as expof.d to a great 
 5 many
 
 Poetry mid Pa i n t i n G* 153 
 
 many fucli commotions in the learned age of Philip 
 father of Alexander the Great. It was during the civil 
 wars which tore the Roman empire under Csefar and 
 Auguftus, that the arts and fciences made fuch a 
 furprizing progrefs at Rome. From the year 1494 
 to 1529, Italy was continually haralTed by armies 
 confiding for the greatcft part of foreign foldiers. 
 The Spanifh Netherlands were attacked by France and 
 Holland at the time the fchool of Antwerp flourifh- 
 ed : and was it not in war time that the arts and 
 fciences made their greateft progrefs in France ? 
 
 It does not therefore appear, upon mature in- 
 quiry^ that during the three ages which followed 
 the murder of Cicfur, the Roman empire was ex- 
 pofed to any of thofe frightful wars, which are ca- 
 pable of throwing the arts and fciences into a ftate 
 of decay. The Barbarians did not commence to have 
 any fixt fettlements in the empire, nor the petty 
 tyrants to rife up in particular provinces, till to- 
 wards the reign of Gallienus. Thofe governors who 
 made thcmfdves fovereigns, might have occafioned 
 the devaftation of fome countries, by the wars they 
 waged with one another in fuch provinces, as had 
 no IbrrrefTes on their frontiers by reafon of their 
 having been a long time fubjeft to the fame m after : 
 Yet thefe dcvaflations could never be the caufe of 
 that great decay of the arts and fciences. The ca- 
 pital of a flate is always the feat of arts in a con- 
 nected government •, wherefore we may reafonably 
 fujipofe, that the able arti'ls of the Roman empire 
 were always to be met v/ith at Rome. The dcva- 
 flations therefore of this (ity only can be alledged as 
 01, e ol the caufes of the '.k'.iinc of the arts and fci- 
 
 erxes.
 
 154 d"^ IT I C A L R E F LECTIO N S OU 
 
 cnccs. Now Ivomc was the capital of a great cm-' 
 ].)irc, aiid continued to be imbellilhed with new 
 c -iifices, till it was taken by Alaricus, an event 
 v.iiich did not h-ippen till lour hundred and fifty 
 years after the death of Ca^far. The tumults of 
 the Prartorian Cohorts could be no obftrudion to 
 her having great painters, fculptors, orators, and 
 poets, fip.ce they were no hindrance to an infi- 
 nite multitude ot inJirferent artiils. When the 
 arts are cultivated enough to form a great number of 
 indifferent artills, they might form excellent ones, 
 were not the workmen deftitute of genius. 
 
 Rome is to this very day full of tombs and fla- 
 tues, which by their infcriptions and the women's 
 head-dri^fi, are eafily diftinguifhed to have been 
 made from the reign of Trajan to that of Conftan- 
 tine. As the Roman l.idies ufcd to change their 
 heac-drcfs as often as the French ladies do theirs, 
 the make of thofe head-dreffes which are found in 
 the Roman monuments, foon inform us under 
 Vv-hat emperor they were made \ as we know by the 
 niedals of the wives and relations of the emperors, 
 ..t what time a particular fafliion prevailed. 'Tis 
 rhus one may judge of the time in which the figure 
 of a French lady in a town drefs was made, by the 
 Iielp of a colli ction ot the feveral modes which have 
 obranx'd in France v/ithin thefe three hundred 
 years, fuch as that publifhcd by Monfieur de Gaig- 
 ideres. 
 
 Authors of the fourth century take notice, that 
 th-re were more (latues at Rome than inhabitants ; and 
 the fint't ilatucb, whofc remains we prize fo much 
 to this day, v/erc of this number. From. Qracal- 
 
 la's
 
 Poetry ^;zJ Painting. 15^ 
 
 la's time thefc ilatues were never able to form any- 
 good fculptors : Their efficacy and influence remained 
 fulpended till the time of Pope Julius II. And yet 
 the people of Rome continued even in Conftantine's 
 time to raife molt magnificent buildings, and con- 
 fequently to employ great numbers of fculptors. 
 Arcifts of all kinds were never more numerous at 
 Rome, than when they were lead fkilful in their pro- 
 feffion. How many fumptuous buildings were erect- 
 ed by Severus, C.iracalh, Alexander Severus, and 
 Gordianus Pius ? One cannot behold the ruins of 
 Caracalla's hot ba:hs, without being aftonifhed at the 
 immenfe bulk of this edifice : even Auguilus himfelt' 
 never built one of fo great a fize. There never was 
 a more fumptuous fabric, more loaded with orna- 
 ments and incrullations, or which did a greater 
 honor by its bulk to a fovereign, than the hot baths 
 of Dioclefian, one of Gallienus's fucceflbrs. The 
 hall of this edifice is nov/ the Carthufian church at 
 Rome ; and one of the porters lodges makes another 
 church, that of the begging friars of St Bernard 
 at I'ermini. 
 
 Let us add one remark to thefe confiderations. 
 The greateft part of the Roman fculptors made 
 their apprenticefliip in the condition of flaves •, we 
 may therefore fuppofe, that merchants who dealt in 
 flaves, were very careful in examining, whether 
 amongft the children they brought up for fale, there 
 were not fome wlio had a particular talent for fculp- 
 tiire. 'Tis probable alio, that when they found them 
 cujjable of excelling in this art, they were very dili- 
 gent in giving tht-m a proper education for ini- 
 provin^,^^ th^ir abilities, If a Have turned out a good 
 
 artiff,
 
 156 C'RincAL Re FL F cTi ON s en 
 
 artill, liC jva;\cd a tivafurc to Ins mailer, wlitther 
 he liaJ a mind to kll his ^icilon or liis works. Now 
 the miilioJs which may be employed to obhge 
 a young Have to apply himlclf to bufincfs, are much 
 more ciilclual than thofe which arc iifcd to engage 
 tree -bom people. Befides, what a powerful incen- 
 tive was it kn" Haves, to be flattered with the hopes 
 of libtrty ! Thole mailer pieces whofe vcfliges we 
 io much ad mite, were Hill in all public places \ where- 
 iure we can iin[)ute to moral caules the ignorance 
 ef th.oie a! tills only, who did not appear till after 
 Rcir/j was taken and })]undered by Alaricus. 
 
 \Vhcnce comes it, that the arts and fciences did 
 not fupport themfelves in Greece in that high de- 
 !2Tee ot credit, to which they had been railed un- 
 der the fauher of Alexander, and the fuccelTors of 
 this conqueror ? Whence comes it,' that they conii- 
 iHied always to dcchne, inlbmuch that the Greek ar- 
 tiils were grovv-n as rude and ignorant under Con- 
 ftanrine, as tliey were tv/o hundred years before 
 Philip. Arts and learning fell into a fenfible de- 
 cay in Greece from the time cf Perfeus king of Ma- 
 cedon, who v/as defeated and made prifoner by Pau- 
 lus .'"Eaiilius. Painting did not fupport itfelf fo long, 
 but began to degenerate, as Quintilian obferves % as 
 ta: ly as the nrR uiccefiors of Alexander. Lucian m.ay 
 pass for the only poet that appeared after that time, 
 ti^o" he wrote in prole. Plutarch, and Dion Cafiius, 
 wiio is nearer to the latier's time than merit, are 
 
 ^: .-r^ilve piJIu-a. Quint Infi. 1 i [. c. ic. 
 
 clUcmui
 
 Poetry and Pa i x t i :; g . 1 57 
 
 efjecmed the bed aiitaors that wrote flnce Greece 
 vras become a province 01 the Ilcuiian empire. The 
 writings of thofe two Greeh.s c'.eferve our refpecl 
 and veneration, being the works of judicious 
 hifcorians, w^no luve tranfmiLLe^l to us in a very 
 fenfible manner, fevcral curious and important tads, 
 v/hich wc have only '[:o\n tiicir relations. Plutarch's 
 boo'.cs efpecially are tb.e mjoil precious remains we 
 have of Greek and Roman antiquity, in refpeft 
 to the details and ^za.>, with vv'hich he acquaints us. 
 The fame pretty near m.ay be faid of Dion and He- 
 rodian, who vvrote under Alexander Severus and 
 Gor.'ianus Pius •, yet thefe hiilorians are no way to 
 be compared tor ilrength and dignity, or for the 
 art of painting great events, to lierodotus and 
 T':acydides. \S'e have- already mentioned the ufe 
 whie''- may be made of meda!\., to know the condition 
 liie arts were in at the tinse they were ftruck. Now the 
 me;.a!s which were If ruck in va^t numbers with the 
 ":np'rijrs head:; in rbiofe provinces of the Roman em^ 
 \.::.-, in whiidi &■/: Greek langu:ige obtained, are very 
 i'! ip.n-ived. in t omparifon to {vj:\\ as were made at 
 Ro;i;e at the fame lime by th.e authority of thofe 
 - n.ir.', v/hofe mark they borr. For ( xample, thofe 
 -,t Scverus ftruck at Corth, wlTLh are become 
 now vrry coniiiuv-) by means of tbr difcovcry of 
 ■\ treafnre in that '.nan.! ab^-ut fv^y \ears ago, are 
 v:.lliy inf.rior to the I ,atin rncd.d, oi tliis fame em- 
 p.ror, wh;c!i were (buck at I^J;,^ : Neverthelef^ 
 theCotfu mcf.i.ds arc ii^^'-'-^' •'■' '"''- '•'-'7 b;.ll of any 
 th,iLv,-ereflri:ckinGr^' c: 'I hii- (;^■r p^^'nt^r d ru'elcarcc 
 'e 'un''^ (. ( an\' (.•xeeptii.n 
 
 Gr 
 
 recc'
 
 J 58 Critical Reflections on 
 
 Greece notwithilanding, from the death of Alex- 
 ander till its fubjcclion to the Romans, was expofed 
 to none of thole calamitous wars, which are capable 
 of throwing the arts and fcicnces into oblivion. The 
 tumult occafioned by the irruption of the Gauls in- 
 to Greece about a hundred years after the death of 
 Alexander, was of no long continuance. But were 
 we even to grant, that the arts and fciences 
 fuffcred by the wars wiiich broke out betvveen 
 the fucceffors of Alexander, and by thofe which 
 the Romans carried on againll two kings of Macedon 
 and the i^tolians ; they ought neverthelefs to have re- 
 verted again to their former ftate of perfeftion, as 
 foon as the tranquillity of Greece was reftored and 
 fettled by its fubmifTion to the Romans. The applica- 
 tion and ftudy of artifts was no more interrupted after 
 that period, but by the Mithridatic war and the civil 
 wars of the Romans, which gave fome little diilur- 
 bance for four or five years to difrerent provinces. At 
 the very lateft, the arts and fciences ought to have 
 raifed their heads under the reign of Auguftus, who 
 made them f^.ourifli at Rome. After the battle of 
 Actium Greece enjoyed for the fpace of three hun- 
 dred years, its fereneft days. Under the greateft part 
 of the Roman emperors, the fubjcflion of Greece to 
 the empire was rather a kind of fee-dependance, 
 which fecured the public tranquillity, than a fervitude 
 burthenfome to particulars, and prejudicial to fociety. 
 The Romans had not a {landing army in Greece, as 
 in other provinces j the moft part of the cities were 
 governed by their ancient laws, and generally fpeak- 
 ing, of all foreign fovereignties never was there one 
 v/hich was lefs opprefHve to conquered nations, than 
 
 that
 
 P o E TRY and Pa i n t i n g. i 59 
 
 ihar qF the Romans. Their government had more 
 of the nature of a rudder than of a yoke. Finally, 
 the wars which the Athenians, Thebans, and Lace- 
 demonians waged agiinfc one another; thofe like- 
 wife of Philip with the reil of the Greeks, were 
 much more dreadful for their duration and events, 
 than the wars which Alexander, his fucceffors, and 
 the Romans carried on in Greece. Yet the former 
 wars did not debar the arts and fciences from mak- 
 ing that furprizing progrefs, which reflects to this 
 very day fo m^uch honor on human underftanding. 
 
 What has been hitherto allcdged (fome will fay) 
 does not prove that tlic Greeks had not under the 
 Antoninus's and their fucccfTors as much genius as 
 Phidias and Praxiteles -, but their artifhs were dege- 
 nerated, becaufe the Romans had tranfported the 
 mafter- pieces of the moft eminent artifts to Rome, 
 and confequently had ftript Greece of fuch objects as 
 Vvere mof: proper to form the tafte and excite the 
 emulation of young workmen. It was during the 
 fec(>nd Punic v.ar that Marccllus "" removed to Rome 
 'he Ipoils of the porticos of Siracufe, from whence 
 the Roman citizens imbibed a relifh for the arts» 
 which foon bccatne the general tafte of Rome, and 
 was afterwards the caufe of fo many depredations. 
 Pven thofe wlio vvere ignorant of the value and 
 merit of llatues, vale?, and other cUiiofiiies, feiz- 
 cd notwithllanding on every occafion of carry- 
 ing them to Rome, where they fr.v them fo high- 
 ly valued. 'Tis plain that Mummius, who intended 
 to ir.ric h Rome with the [[\y.\i of Corinth, under- 
 It.joJ U'-thlng at all of their value, by tiie ridiculous 
 
 I.--.-!:;: hiir. 1. 2- 
 
 nieiiace
 
 i6o Critical Reflections on 
 
 menace he made to the mafters of the vcdcl?, who 
 were charged with this magnificent freight ". Ne- 
 ver could there have been a lofs more difficult to 
 repair than that of this precious depofitum, confift- 
 ing of fo many mafter-pieces of thofe illuftrious ar- 
 tifts, who contribute as much as the greateft generals 
 to tranlmit the glory of their age to pofterity. Ne- 
 verthelefs, Mummius recommending this treafure to 
 their care, threatened them very feriouQy, that if 
 they ihould chance to lofe the llatues, piiftures, and 
 other things with which he intruftcd them, he would 
 be fure to have others of equal value made at their 
 expence. But the Romans (to go on with the ob- 
 jection) foon emerged from this ignorance, and 
 even the common foldier learnt to avoid breaking 
 the precious vafes, when plundering the enemies 
 towns. Sylla's army brought the Greek tafte for 
 the polite arts from Afia to Rome, or to fpeak more 
 correftly, they rendered it common in that city. 
 'Then it vjas^ fays Salluft '', that the Roman foldiers 
 firft learnt to wench, to drink, to admire jiatues, 
 ■piLlures, and emhojfed '■jejfcls •, then to get at them 
 hy Jfeallh or open "violence, and to roh the temples of 
 the Gods ; polluting every thi?ig they could lay holdfo 
 cither facred or profane. 
 
 As early as the time of the republic there had 
 been more Verres's than one, and more than one 
 Roman who had exercifcd a right of conqueft over 
 
 * Yell. Paterc. 1. 2. 
 
 '' Ibi primujji infucvit excrcitus populi Rcmani amare, fotarc, fig- 
 ■ncique, iabulas p'Sias, 'vafa ceclata 7:m-ari, ea fri'vatim ac publice 
 rnprre, ftelubra /poliare,/acrc profauaqiie omnia poUucrc. Sallust. 
 dc Bell. Catilix. 
 
 the
 
 Poetry and Painting. i6i 
 
 the fubjeclcd provinces. What a melancholy de- 
 Icription of thefe excelTes do we meet with in Ci- 
 cero's fourth oration againft this plunderer I This 
 JicentioLifncfs, far from ending with the republican 
 government, became a mod lawlefs and unbridled 
 rapacioufnefs under feveral emperors. The impu- 
 dence with which Caligula plundered the pro- 
 vinces, is moft notorious, Nero fent Carinas and 
 Acratus, two connoijfeurs, into Greece and Afia, to 
 pick up all the fine pieces of fculpture that were 
 remaining in thofe countries, in order to imbelliih 
 his new buildings. The poor Greeks, as Juvenal 
 obfcrves, were ftript even of their houfhold Gods : 
 They did not fo much as leave them the lead dimi- 
 nutive God that was worth removing. 
 
 ]pfi deinde lares ^ fi qucd fpeciahile fignum. 
 
 Si quis in ediculay Dens unicus. Juv, fat. 8. 
 
 I'heir^ rapine is fo ahje5l and frophaney 
 
 They not from trifles^ nor from Gods refrain j 
 
 But the peer I y^vcs from the niches feize^ 
 
 If they he Utile images that plcafe. Stepney. 
 
 All thcfc facts arc true, yet there was ftill fuch a 
 great number of fine pieces of fculpture remaining in 
 (jrcece and Afia, that it was impoffible torthe artifts to 
 be in want of niodels : There were objects enough left 
 that were capable of exciting their emiulation. The 
 excellent ftatues which have been found in Greece with- 
 in thef,: two or three centuries, are a fufficient proof: 
 that the Roman emperors and their officers had not 
 frript the country. The (^ianymedes which is to be 
 fc^.n in the Jibrarv or St -MaiL at Venice, was found 
 
 \'r.! II.. ' IM i,r,
 
 1 62 Critical Reflections on 
 
 in Greece about three hundred years ago. The An- 
 dromeda belonging to tlie duke of Modena, was 
 difcov'crcd at Athens, when this town was plunder- 
 ed by the Venetians during the war, that was termi- 
 nated by the peace of Carlowitz. The relations of 
 travellers abound with dcfcriptions of ftatues and 
 Low-rclicvcs, which are flill to be feen in Greece 
 and Afia Minor, Did tlie Romans take away the 
 Low-rclitves Irom the temple of Minerva at xlthens ? 
 But to come to letters, did they ilrip the Greeks of 
 all the copies of Hom.cr, Sophocles, and other 
 writers of the beft note ? No •, but thefe happy days 
 were paft. The induftry of the Greeks was dege- 
 nerated into a kind of artifice, and their penetration 
 and fagacity into a low fpirit of cunning. Thus they 
 were grown very coarfe and ignorant, except in the 
 art of prejudicing one another. During the laft fix 
 centuries of the empire of Conftantinoplc, they were 
 lefs dextrous and knowing, cfpecially in the arts, 
 than they had been in the time of Amyntas king of 
 Macedon. 'Tis true, that the happy age of Greece 
 lafted longer than the Auguftan age, or that of 
 l^o X. Learning maintained itfelf there after the 
 decay of the polite arts, becaufe, generally fpeaking, 
 the Greeks in all ages have been fuperior in wit and 
 capacity to other nations. One would imagine, that 
 nature has received a particular vigor and ftrength 
 in Greece, which fhe has not in other countries ; fo 
 as to communicate more fubflance to nouriiliments, 
 and more malignity to poifon. The Greeks, in fadt, 
 have carried their vices and virtues to a much higher 
 point than anv other nation. 
 
 The
 
 Pc ETRY ^?;^ PaI N T I N G. l6^ 
 
 The city of Antwerp was for a certain time the 
 Athens of the countries on this fide the Alps. 
 And yet when Rubens began to raife the credit of 
 his fchool, the moral caules did not feem then to 
 exert themfelves in favor of his art. If the flourifh- 
 ing (late of cities and kingdoms were the fole caufe 
 of the peifedlion of the polite arts, painting fliould have 
 been fixty years fooner in its higheit fplendor. When 
 Rubens firft appeared, Antwerp had loft one 
 hah of its grandeur, fince the nev/ republic of 
 Holland had ingroficd the greateft part of its com- 
 merce. The adjacent country was actually the 
 feat of war, and a neighbouring enemy was every 
 day making fome new attempts againft that cityj by 
 which the eftatcs of the merchants, clergy, and 
 all the principal inhabitants, v/ero continually ex- 
 pofed to the moll imminent dangers. Rubens left 
 cleves fuch as Jordans a*id Vandyke, who were in- 
 deed a credit to their mailer, but left no difciples be- 
 hind them 13 inherit their reputation. The fchool of 
 Rubins has h:id the fame fate as other fchools, I 
 mean that it drtjpt when every thing feemed to con- 
 cur to fupport it. It feems as if Quelims, who may 
 be looked upoii as her Lift pa;nt;.T, were likely to 
 dye without le.tving any eleves worthy of his name. 
 We have heaid of none as yet, and there is no like- 
 lihooJ he v/iil acquiic any pupils in his prefent 
 retirement. 
 
 From wiiat has been hitherto alledged, 'tis evi- 
 dent that the arLs and faiences attain to the higheft 
 p')int ot th'^ir fplendor, by a ludden progrefs which 
 'j'^.^^oc b.- artnbut'.'d to moral caufcs •, and 'tis alio 
 M 2 phi:^
 
 164 Critical Reflections on 
 
 plain that they decline, when thepj fame moral r.au- 
 Ics exert thciiildvcs as mucJTi as pofliblc to fupporc 
 them. 
 
 Third R e f l i; c t i o x. 
 
 .7/'^?' cm'ip.cfit pniniers ha\)e been al'U)ays cclcmpoyarlei 
 •:r///:7 th: z^'cat tods of ibcir oven coimtrv. 
 
 N tine the eminent artifls of every couniry have 
 been generally cutenipor.iries. 'I'hc great pain- 
 ters ol tlic fcvcral rehools have ^.ot only lived at 
 tlie fame time, but have been iikevvife cotempora- 
 ricii v<\xh the \vxA\ i-nrous poets of tlieir own coun- 
 try. The apes m uhieh theartf fiouriflied, liave been 
 r.lfo fertile of nicii emuivnt in all fLi'c;nces, virtues, 
 and profeilions. There Iccms to be a peculiar time, 
 in which a certain fpirit of perfeftion Ihcds itfeif on 
 J.he inhabitants of a particular country. 'J'his fame 
 ipirit feetns to withdrav/ itfeif after having rendered 
 two or three generations perieelcr than the preceding 
 or following ones. 
 
 When Greece produced an Apcllcs, licr fecundiity 
 gave us at the fame time u Praxiteles and a Lyfippus. 
 Then it was, that her greateil poets, her moft emi • 
 ;u;nt orators and philolophers fiouriilied. Socrates, 
 i^lato, Ariitotle, Demollhenes, Ifocrates, Tiiucydi- 
 des, Xenophon, ilifchylus, Euripides, Sophocles, 
 Ariilophanes, Menander, and ievcrai others, lived 
 all in tlie fame age. What eminent men appeared 
 among the Greek generals of that time ! \Vhat h- 
 mous exploits did not they perform with fmall ar- 
 M.ics ! ^Vhat great princes were not Philip king of 
 
 Macedon
 
 Poetry and Painting. 165 
 
 Macedon and his fon ! Were we to colle6l all the 
 ilJuflrious men that Greece has produced from the 
 time of Perfeus king of Macedon down to the tak- 
 ing of Conftantinople by the Turks, we fnall not find 
 in thofe feventeen centuries fuch a fwarm or men 
 eminent in all profefTions, as appeared in the age 
 of Plato. All other profcffions degenerated in 
 Greece together with the polite arts. Livy calls Phi- 
 lopomenus, one of the praetors of the Achaians dur- 
 ing the reign of Perfeus king of Macedon, the laft 
 ot the Greeks. 
 
 1 he Auguilan age had the fame fate as that of 
 Plato. Among the monuments of Roman fculp- 
 tiire we meet with nothing niore exquifite than thofe 
 j-)i. res which were made in the reign of Auguilus. 
 Suc!-! as the bv;il: of Agrippa his fon-in-iaw, which is 
 to be \ccvi in the gallery of the great duke of Tufcany ; 
 the Cicero n[ t'.'e Villa ?vl:itthci •, as alio rl'ic chapiters 
 o; tivj i..''uirins of Julius Cai'.ir's temple, which are 
 yet ttiT.c'.-n,::^ i;i t"':e middle ol' the Canipo VacclnOy and 
 w;i ■' ;^. rj. tile f:ain!.ors of Europe have agreed to 
 tai:.: le^r iv.o.icls, when tl:ey treat of the Corln- 
 t;.. :-i o:-.'er- It v/;is under Augullus that the Roman 
 m^'dals b.inn to ;_'ro'.v fine ; ar-d ingraving is an art 
 v^'hicii ^-'.n.eraliy loilows the fate of fculpture. Wc 
 ci:;!ingi:ii'!-i t!^c times in which a great many ingrav- 
 ed fa.'n.-s W'::-e don( , by the fubjoets anci hea.is which 
 tlicy re;-a\;;L!iL. J iie finePL i\t)man ftones are fuch as 
 wf i;nov/ were ingravcij ;n Augr.llus's time. .Such 
 \- • 'v Cicrrc; o;-) an agate wliich beion';:;cd to Charles II 
 
 -■. l; o[ I'.ngiandi, arid the llop.e in the kir.g's ca- 
 ■ :.•■ I rrin-cfcnting AuguiUis and iavia. Sucii is tlic 
 
 ;c;.- vvi'ich. was given to the late king by M. Fef.:!i 
 M ^ of
 
 1 66 Critical Reflections on 
 
 of Bafil, where we fee an Apollo on a rock playing 
 on his lyre. This is the attitude which charadlcrifes 
 the Apollo A5fiacus in the medals of Auguftus, under 
 whom this new divinity fifft appeared, after he had 
 gained tiie battle of A6lium. We havelikewife another 
 reafon to believe that thefe medals were ingraved in 
 Auguftus's reign : 'Tis the name ot the ingravers 
 which we re.id where the name of the artifts are fome- 
 times ingraved in this kind of work. Now Pliny "" and 
 others inform us, that thofe excellent ingravers in Hone, 
 lived under this emperor. We may alfo mention 
 here the agate in relievo^ which is to be {ittx\ in the 
 emperor's cabinet at Vienna, and reprefents Auguftus 
 and Livia; as likewife that whofe defign we have 
 had from father Montfaucon in his travels thro' Ita- 
 ly ^, which reprefents Mark Antony and Cleopatra. 
 In fine, the moft valuable of all the antique ftones, 
 the agate of the holy chapel at Paris, whofe expli- 
 cation has employed the erudition of five of the 
 moft illuftrious antiquarians, was ingraved under 
 Auguftus or his two immediate fucceflbrs. This is 
 a point that Ptirefc, Triftan, Albert Rubens, M. le 
 Roi, and father Hardoiim are agreed upon. 
 
 We may affirm the fame of the Roman architec- 
 ture, as has been now faid ot fculpture. The thea- 
 tre of Marcellus, the portico and inward decora- 
 tions of the Rctonda, the temple of Julius C^far 
 in the Campo Vaccino^ that of Jupiter Anxur at Ter- 
 racina, (whi h we know to be the work of the ar- 
 chited; Pollio '^ by an infchption ingraved on one of 
 
 a Plin. hift. I. 37. ^ Pag. 242. 
 
 ^ Probiibly this v,-.:s VJtruvius, whofe name was Fitru'vius Pcl- 
 ^h, and whvj lived under Augulius.
 
 Poetry and Painting. 167 
 
 the marble pieces of the great wall -,) and the tem- 
 ple of Caftor and Pollux, built at Naples at the ex- 
 pence of a freed-man of Auguftus, are efteemed the 
 nobleft monuments of the Roman magnificence and 
 the mod valuable for their architedure. 
 
 Every body knows, that the greateft Roman poets, 
 or to fpeak more juflly, all the great Latin poets, ex- 
 cept two or three, flourifhed in the age of Auguftus. 
 This prince faw, or at leaft might have feen, Virgil, 
 Horace, Propertius, Catullus, Tibullus, Ovid, Phte- 
 drus, Cornelius Gallus, and feveral others whofe works 
 have perifhed, tho' they were admired as much in 
 their days, as we admire thofe that are extant. He 
 might have feen Lucretius, who died in the year of 
 Rome 699, the very day that Virgil put on the 
 toga viriliSj or m.anly gown, as Donatus obferves 
 in the life of Virgil. Mr. Creech, * the laft and beft 
 commentator of Lucretius, is miftaken in the life he 
 has given us of this author, by making him dye 
 the fame day that Virgil was born. He.ir what 
 Horace fays of the merit of Fundanius, Pollio, 
 and Varius, three other cotemporaries of Au- 
 guftus. 
 
 Arguta meretrice potes, Davoque Clnemela 
 Ehtdcnte fcneyn^ cornels garrire libellos^ 
 Unus vivorum, Fundani. Pollio regum 
 Fail a canity pede ter percujfo : forte epos acer, 
 Ut nemc^ Varius ducit : molle at que face turn 
 Virgilio annuerunt gnudentes rure Cam^fi^. 
 
 HoR. ferm. 1. i. fat. 10. 
 
 * His book was printed at Oxford in 169". 
 
 M 4. ^'^
 
 } 
 
 i68 Critical Reflections on 
 
 ^ruc comedy Fundanhis oily writes, 
 Pcllio the atis of kings ^ and noble fights : 
 Strong epic poems Variiis bejl can raife. 
 And Virgil's happy ratife in eclogues plays. 
 Natural, and foft, andjujlly wins the bays. 
 
 Creech. 
 *Tis a vaft prejudice in favor of thefe poets, that 
 fo judicious a v/riter as Horace, ranks them in the 
 fame clafs with Viroil. 
 
 o 
 
 The greateft part of the above-mentioned poets 
 might have fcen Cicero, Hortenfius, and the reft of 
 the moft celebrated Roman orators. I'hey muft 
 have feen JuHus Ca!far as remarkable, when a citizen, 
 for his eloquence and feveral other civil virtues, as 
 famous, when a general, for his exploits and know- 
 ledge in the art of v;ar. Livy the prince of the 
 Roman hiftorians, Salluft an hiftorian whom Pater- 
 culus and Quintihan ^ dare compare to Thucydides, 
 flourifhed under Auguftus. They were likevafe co- 
 temporaries with Vitruvius the moft illuftrious of the 
 Roman architects. Auguftus was born before the 
 death of ^fopus and Rofcius the moft eminent co- 
 medians mentioned in the Roman hiftory. What 
 furprizing men were Cato Uticenfis, Brutus, and 
 the moit pare of the murderers of Csefar ! What a 
 great man muft Agrippa have been, who made fo 
 prodigious a fortune under a prince fo good a judge 
 of merit as AuguUus ? As Seneca the father ob- 
 ferves, ^ the moji eminent oratcrs that the Roman elc- 
 
 a Vei.l. Pat. 1.2. Quint. Inft. 1. !o cap. i. 
 
 ^ Sluldquid Romc.r.a facundia hahei, quod ir.fohnti Gr^rc!^ aut 
 cf!Q-:ct r.uf prafaat. circa Ciccronern cffloruit. Oturd.i ingevia 
 ^U'l' h'Ccrn Jiudiis iiojlrh nttiileriint tunc nata funt. In dctcr'.us de~ 
 inde (^uctidie data res cf. M, Ann. Senec. Controv. 1. i. 
 
 CUCHCS
 
 Poetry and Painting. 169 
 
 quence had to compare or prefer to proud Greece, flou- 
 rijhed about Cicero s time. Then it was that thofeg:-?at 
 wits appeared, who illujlrated the feveral branches 
 of the Roman learning, which from that period has 
 been continually on the decline. 
 
 The pontificates of Julius II, Leo X, and Clement 
 VII, To extremely fertile of great painters, produced 
 alfo the bed architects and the greateir fculptors that 
 Italy can boaft of. At the fame time there appeared 
 excellent ingravcrs in all thofe branches which this art 
 includes. The rifing art of prints was improved in 
 their hands, upon its tird appearance, as much as 
 painting was perfefted in the pidures of Raphael. 
 Every one is acquainted with the fame and merit of 
 Ariofto and TalTo, who lived at leaft in the fame age. 
 
 Fracaflorius, Sannazarius, and Vida, compofed the 
 beft Latin verfcs at thnt time, that had been wrote 
 fmce the recovery of letters. What great men, each 
 of them in their kind, were Leo X, Paul III, the 
 cardinals Bembo and Sadoletus, Andrew Doria, the 
 marquifs of Pefcara, Philip Strozzi, Cofmus of Me- 
 dicis (liled the Great, Machiavel, and Guicciardin the 
 hiftorian.'' Rutin proportion as the arts have con- 
 tinued to decline, the places and profeflions of thofe 
 great men have ceafed to be filled with perfons of 
 their merit. 
 
 The moft eminent French fculptors, Sarazin, les 
 Anguiers, Hongre, 1-s Muxy, (r/rardon, Dezj,:r- 
 dins, Coizcvcx, Le Gros, Theodon, Puget, and fe- 
 v( r^il others v/ho are flill living, flourifned under the 
 reign of the late king, as alfo Pouflin, Le Sueur, Le 
 Bran, Coyj^jl, Jouvcnct, Les Bolognes, Foreft, Ki- 
 gauit, and others who reflect fo great an honor on 
 
 our
 
 zyo Critical Reflections o?t 
 
 our nation. Was it not under his rt-ign that the 
 Manfards diftinguifhed themfelves by their works ? 
 Then it w;is, that Vermeulc, Mellan, EdeUnk, Simon- 
 neau, N^mtcuil, les Poilly, Maflbn, Piteau, Van-Schu- 
 pen, Mademoifelle Stella, Gerard Audran, Le Clerc, 
 Picard, and fo m^my other ingravers, fome of whom 
 are ftill living, excelled in all forts of ingraving. 
 We have had feveraJ goldfmiths and ingravers of 
 medals at that time, fuch as Varin, who deferve 
 that their reputation fliould be as durable as that 
 of Diofcorides and Alcimedon. Sarrazin, the Cor- 
 neilles, Molicre, Racine, La Fontaine, Boileau, Qui- 
 nault, and Chapelle, were all fucccfTively the cotem- 
 poraries of thcfe worthies. They lived at the fame 
 time with Le Notre, a perfon famous for having 
 perfected, and even created in fome meafure the art 
 of gardening, which obtains at prefent in the greateft 
 part of Europe. Lulli, who came into France fo 
 very young, that he may be confidered as a 
 Frenchman, tho' he was born in Italy, excelled to 
 fuch a degree in mufic, that moft countries have 
 been jealous of his reputation. In his days there 
 were feveral very eminent in the art of playing on 
 all kinds of inftruments. 
 
 All the various branches of eloquence and 
 learning were cultivated under the reign of the 
 late king by perfons, who may be cited as models 
 to fuch as in future times will apply themfelves 
 to the fame kinds of ftudy. Petau, Sirmond, 
 Du Cange, Launoi, Monfieur de Valois, Du 
 Chefne, Herbclot, Vaillant, Rapin, Com.mire, 
 Mabillon, D'Acheri, Thomaffin, Arnaud, Pafcal, 
 Nicole, BofTu, Monfieur Le Maitre, Rochefoucault, 
 
 Cardinal,
 
 Poetry <7W Painting. 171 
 
 Cardinal Retz, Bochard, Saumaife, Malbranche, 
 Monfieur Claude, Defcartes, Gaflendi, Rohault, 
 Abbot Regnier, Patru, Huetius, Monfieur de la 
 Bruyere, Flechier, Fenelon, BoITuet, Bourdaloue, 
 Mafcaron, Defmares, Vaugelas, Ablancourt, Abboc 
 St Real, PelifTon, Monfieur Regis, Perrauk, and 
 fo many others, have lived in an age which pro- 
 duced lb many mafter-pieces in poetry, painting, 
 and fculpture, as will perpetuate the glory of this 
 age to pofterity. 
 
 In thofe two generations v/hich furnilhed France 
 with the illuftrious lift of the learned above-menti- 
 oned, we find a vaft number of men eminent in all 
 kinds of profeflions. How many excellent magi- 
 rtrates has this age, fo fertile in geniufes, produced ? 
 The name of the great Conde and that of marllial 
 Turenne, will be an appellation ufed for charadlc- 
 rifing a great general, as long as the French na- 
 tion fubfifts. What a great man would marfhal 
 Guebriant have been, had not an untimely death 
 fnaichtd him away in the vigor of his age ? All 
 the talents requifite in the military art have been 
 difplayed by perfons of mod fingular merit. Mar- 
 fhal Vauban is confidered not only by our French 
 officers, but by all the military gentlemen of Eu- 
 rope, as the grcateft of engineers. What reputation 
 have not fome of the late king's minifters at this 
 very time hi Europe ? Let us wifli for fucceflbrs to 
 thofe worthies who are deccafed without having 
 been yet replaced •, and that the Raphaels, who are 
 yet living, in whatfbever kind of profeflion, may 
 leave us their Julio Kc-mano'i) to confole U3 for their 
 lufs. 
 
 Vclleius
 
 172 C R I T I C A L R E F L E C T I O N S OH 
 
 VeJlcius Paterculus, who wrote his hiflory to- 
 wards the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, 
 examining into the fate of the illuftrious ages that 
 had preceded hinn, makes the f^imc reflexions as I 
 have now made on thole very ages, and the other il- 
 luftrious times which have fucceeded that hiftorian. 
 Hear how he explains himfelf at the end of his laft 
 bool<: \ / cannot help committing to writing the ideas 
 which rife in my mind^ zi^ithout being capable to throzo 
 them into the form of a clear and continued fyfiem. 
 Is it not a ftirprizing thing to obferve, when we re- 
 jit.^ on the events of pafi ages^ that the perfonages 
 eminent in all kinds of profejfions have been always co- 
 temporaries^ that they have fiotirijhed always in the 
 fame period which has been of a very fhort continue 
 ance. In a few years JEfchylus^ Sophocles^ and 
 Euripides carried tragedy to its highefl pitch of per- 
 fection ? Arifiophanes^ Eupolis^ and Cratinus, cfla- 
 hlifljed in a very fhort fpace of iime^ the fpeSlacle 
 which zve call the ancient comedy. Menander, with 
 Philemon and D?philus his cotemporaries^ if not his 
 equals J perfected in a few years^ what goes under the 
 
 name 
 
 * Cum l-a-c particnla opcri; 'velui forvinm propojiti cxcejjit, qnan- 
 quam intelllgo, !nihi in hac tarn prttcipiti fefttnatioJie, qut£ me rotes 
 pronive guy^itis ac njeriicis niodo nufquavi pat'Jur cnnf^fiere, pane 
 nragis neccjfaria prcrterciinda, quntn fupern:acua ajnpleBc7ida : tieqtteo 
 iarren temperate ?nihi, quhi rem fcCpe a git at am aiiifno ir.eo, neque ad 
 liquidum raticne perduSiojn, f ynem jlilo. ^uis eiiim abunde vnrari 
 fcteji, CJ-iinerJlfbna atjufruc profejjiotia ii:gin'ia, in eand[?n for)nam^ 
 ^' in idem artcti tcmporis co7igvicens ^fpatiutn ; {ff quemadt/iodum 
 claufa capfa, alioque j'cpto dlverfi ge'ieris animalia^ nihilo 7rAniii ft- 
 parata .ilienti, in uinan cuctque corpus congregantur, ita cujufqu; 
 clari opcris capacia ingciiia in Rinilitud'rncvi i^ tcrr.porum iff proftc-
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 173 
 
 name of the nevj comedy. Ihey ijoere inventers of a 
 new kind of poetry ^ and left puces behind them that 
 were inimitabk. "The illuflricus philcfophers of the 
 fchocl of Socrates expired ivith his difciples Plato 
 arui Ariflotle. 'Tis chfervahle alfo that they lived at 
 the fame time as the great poets above-mentioned. 
 Have there been any great orators fince Jfccrates ? 
 Have there been any heard of fince his difciples, or at 
 leajl fince the eleves of his difciples ? '■J he age which 
 produced thofe great men i^as fo fnort, that they might 
 all have been acquainted vjitb Crie another. 
 
 -The fame thing vuhich happened in Greece, is come 
 to pafs at Rome- If you afcend higher than Accius 
 and his totemporaries, you vjill meet with nothing but 
 ruflicity and coarfenefs in the Latin tragedy. The pre- 
 deccffors of this author can be commended only for one 
 thing ; which is, their having firjt broke the ice. The 
 true zvit and plcafantry of ihe comic fl age appears only 
 
 in 
 
 tumn fimft-.liu nb aliis ft'j.ura'vsriint ? Una, ncquz 7r.ultoru7n antio- 
 >:,!:: f:.:ti'j di-cifci, a.tc'.-, per di^if:: Jpiri'us n;iros, ^/chylum. So- 
 T '.LiV.v;, EuripiJitK, illuj'.ra'vit trn^^ixa'ics : Una frifcam illam ts° 
 •vctircm fub C>ati>:y, A,ljhpl-ui:c , ^ Ei'talide Ccmceuiam ; ac no- 
 •vai;: coinicam lihnnndiur. (CquahjqUi. ._,'..; (Ttath fr.agis quam oieris, 
 Vr-l:ry.^n ac Diphu'ii., C" i>r:.enirc l-,tra pauc'^ljiv.os atuns, tieque 
 iu:i'..:i.du rtliquere. I'l.llufpl.oi urn qucjuc ingciia, Socratico ore 
 diflu^iiila, c;a,v,- .•;;;;, q^'^i paiill'. ahtL ci.u'>:-.i-a^:tnu:, quanta poj} p la- 
 : j':r> Ar:Jlotclij-^:'.c nyyt, HI fijiuere l;a')? PuiJ ante Ifocratem, 
 quid p:ji fjui and. t:iLS, fcruniqac d'j\'.;.:.ljy, claiurn hi oratorihus 
 JuLt> .-Idijfjitui.m a) latum angufliu timt^rum, ut nctno tr.cmoria 
 .■■;f/..vi, alter ah lihiro -iid. ti >:t -jiuv,- > irt . IScque hoc in Grifcii 
 ';■■''■''•' in RoKar.-i e-jitut ;".c' :':>. A./.'v ' ■/. o'^pcra ac ludia rrpetas, 
 i^ iH^in't laiifliiiila ;.':/,.////, /v /L^l ) a ' cj^u^ iU:n RjV'.ana tragacdia 
 n: , tiuL.J'r.u Latiidi Ip-jm f,,.,'ir p.i CrcHnn'!, TerentiumqK?, 
 :\ :'i! ■ ci'irA.n l:<h t.iii . .;.': •''<:;■ i-:i> t. Ii:,j'i.j- (lit ^y Livium
 
 174 Critical Reflections 07i 
 
 in the pieces of Afranius^ C.ecilius^ and Terence^ thret 
 CO temporary "juriters. We find in the [pace of four f cor i 
 yearSy all the Roman hijlorians of note^ and even 
 T. Livy. /imong the hificrians of the preceding 
 ages we meet only with fuch authors as Cato, that is, 
 chfcure and coarfe annaVifis. The time fo fertile of 
 good poets has not lafled much longer than that 
 which has abounded in good hiflorians. The art of 
 oratory and the Roman eloquence^ and in fhort the 
 perfe^ion of the Latin profit is vifiblc in Cicero only 
 and his cotemporaries. Amongfl the orators that have 
 fucceeded him^ we find very few that have left us any 
 performances that are capable of pleafing \ and not 
 one of them has wrote any thing that deferves our ad- 
 miration. At the mofi we might make feme exception 
 in favor of Cato. But you will excufe me, you Publius 
 Crajfus, Publius Scipio, Lcelius^ Fannius^ Sergius 
 Galba, and both you Gracchi, if I cannot except yott 
 from the general law. Thofe 
 
 quoquc priorum a:tati adjiruasj printer Catoneniy iff quofdam rjcterei 
 <S obfcuros nibiiis LXXX. annis circumdatum a-vunt tulit ; ut nee 
 pottaiUTH in antiquius citeriujque proccjjit ubcrtas. At oratio, ac 
 ''uis faren/is, perfcSlumque prof^e eloquentia decus, ut idem f'-pd- 
 rctur Cato (pace P. CraJJi Scipionifque is' La /it y Gracchorum, £3* 
 Fannii ij Ser. Galba: dixerim) itauni'verfa fuh principe operis fui 
 erupit Tullio, ut deleSlari ante eum paucijjifnis, miraii njero neviinetii 
 pojjis, nifi aut ab illo I'ifum, out qui ilium rjidtrit. Hoc idem e've- 
 nijfe grammaticis, plajlis, picloribus, fculptoribus, quifquis tempo- 
 rum trjtitsrit fiotis, repetiet ; i^ emiiientia cujufque operis artijjimis 
 temporum claujiris circumdata. Hujus ergo pracedentifque fcculi in- 
 {■eniorum fimilitiidines congregantis iS in fiudium par, iff in emclu- 
 v.intum, caufa: cumfcmper require, nunqiiam reperio, quas ejfe 'vcras 
 t3?7f,dam, fid fortajfe njeri Jimiles ; inter quas has ?/iaxime. Alit 
 rctnulatio ingetua ; Cif r.unc iifvidia, nunc admiratio incitationem ac- 
 (i.vdi: : naturaque., qu-^d [umno fludio petit urn eft. adfcendit in fummum : 
 
 diffici-
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. iji 
 
 1'hofe who will reflect [erioufly en the times ^ in 
 which the famous gram'marians^ painters^ ftatuaries^ 
 and fculptors have lived, ivill find that they were co- 
 temporaries with the moft eminent poets, hiftorianSy 
 and orators of their country, and that the appellation 
 of illuftrious has been always confined to a fmall number 
 cf years. When I happen there fere to compare our 
 age to the preceding ones, and to refieuf how vainly 
 we attempt to imitate cur prcdeceffots who were only 
 men like ourfelves, I cannot account for the fenfible 
 difference we obferve between their productions and 
 curs, by reafons that afford me any fatisfa£iion. 
 
 Patcrculus's fcntiment carries ^o much the more 
 weight with it here, as his cotcmporaries had in 
 their hands, when he wrote, a vaft number of 
 v/orks which have fmce perifhed. As the greateft 
 part of thtm therefore are no longer extant, we 
 cannot decide tlus dif^aitc at prelent fo well as it 
 
 dtlhcilifnjie in prrf^tio m:,ia cji ; ^uit-uraiitn-qvc, quod proccdtre non 
 ^<jtcjl, reccd::. F.t, id p.s/nj ad conjcjucndos, quos trior es ducimus, ac- 
 itridi.'.T.ir, it a uhi aut p wtcriri ciut a-qi-.ari ics po^e defperwuimuSy 
 jiudium cum J^i jtnfjiit ; ij qu:d adj-qui )!d;i pofrj} , fequi difinit , ^3° 
 'vlIiiI ocipcitam rclu.qui.ns matcriian, q:ia:rit no'vam : pr>^ teritoque 
 i3, in quo end 'U re non pjjjunui, rdd'^uid in quo Kitamur conquirimus : 
 Jiquii'urquc, W Jrcqut':: uc :.zb:li- ti c^i'^iv.', i-iaximum pcrjecti operis 
 imp:dif>:cntumfit. lianf.c adrniratio ad c^nditi'^ntm tempo) um, i^ 
 utlium. \jna utl: ^-Itii:.! piur.vu: a?:i;:i cloquentia, quam uni- 
 'jcijii Gr.-ecia, alzri.'Jqu: f.::-u't ; udco ut corpora gentis illius fepw 
 rata fint in (il:Ui ii\ttatr', i7:gct::u njcio i dis Atheniciifiiim murii 
 :l:iiifu c^ijhrr.ci Aiq\i l.g'j ! oc tnugi i miratus fim, quam ncminem 
 /hi'ivu/n, dhLbu:.:in: , La:cdatnu7iiu!n (j'.itoiim. aut dum n^ixit audo- 
 'itutr, aut p:Jl moittfn T.'urr.cri.i digiru:/: ixij! i//iatum. ^'^ iirbes, 
 '■'d '"■ult-^ al: r, tal'.u:,': lludi jrrr-n fur, r JL riJa, vi Thebas unum OS 
 I'lfuLiKi uiumina^-it ; nam AlcnuiKa Lasoncs falso fibi mindicant. 
 Vi J Lt lu. 1'a iLP.cuLu , li'j. !. h;it. ir. fine. 
 
 i could
 
 176 Critical Reflections on 
 
 could have been determined at that time. Bcfides, 
 the experience of what has pafled fince Paterculus, 
 adds a new lirength to his reflexions : We have 
 flx'wn, that the fate of the age of Leo X has been 
 the lame as that of tltc ages of Plato and Au- 
 guftuB. 
 
 C H A P. XIV. 
 
 Ihvo iL is poj/iule for phyjical cciufcs to i/ifluence 
 the fate of illuflrious ages. Of the power of 
 dir C'jcr human bodies. 
 
 N order to give an explication of the propoiltions 
 above advanced, and proved by undoubted fa6-s, 
 may we not venture to affirm that there are coun- 
 tries, in which men are not born with the difpoii- 
 fions requifire for excelHng in certain profeflions, as 
 there arc foils wheie particular plants cannot grow ? 
 May we not afterwards maintain, that as the grains 
 which are fown, and the trees that are come to their 
 full growth, do not bear fruit eveiy year of an 
 equal pcrfeflion even in the moft fertile and pro- 
 pereft foil, fo children educated in the happiefl cli- 
 mates, do not in all ages turn out men of like abi- 
 lities ? Cannot fome years prove more favorable 
 than others- to the phyfical education of children, as 
 there are fome more favorable than others to the 
 vegetation of trees and plants ? In effeft, the hu- 
 man machine is not much Icfs dcpc-ndent on th»€ 
 qualities of the air, on the changes to which thefe 
 qualities are liable, and, in fliort, on all the varia- 
 I tions
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g, lyj 
 
 tions which may obftru6t or favor what we call the 
 operations of nator^, than the very frilas them- 
 fclves. 
 
 As two grains from" the fame plant, produce a 
 fruit of a different quality when th'cy are fov/n in 
 different foils, or eV-en when t'ley are fown in the 
 fame foil but in different years ; fo two chilJren 
 born with their brains formed exactly in the f^me 
 manner, will differ, when they grow up to the ftate 
 of manhood, in fenfe and inclinatioris,' if one of them 
 be bred in Sweden, and the other in And'aKifia. They 
 will even differ in thefe refpeds, though brought up 
 in the fame country,' if the feafons cf the^r carlielt 
 ftage of life differ confiderably in temperatur.'. 
 
 During the life of man, and as long as thj foul 
 continues united to the body, the ch.irader of our 
 minds and inclinations depends very much on the 
 quality of our blood, which nourifhes our organs, 
 and iurniflics th^m v/ith matter of accretion during 
 infuicy and youth. Now the qualify of our blood 
 deutnds vallly on the air we breathe •, as alfo on 
 rhe a;r in .vhich we have been bred, by reafon of its 
 'iaving deri.^td the quality of our blood during our in- 
 fancy. Tlie fame air contributes in our younger days 
 to the conformation of our organs, which by a necef^ 
 fary co:ic:iten;ic''on, contributes afterwards in the 
 irate of manhoo>l to the quality ot cur blooJ. Hence 
 it comc5, that people who dwell in different climateSj 
 differ lo mucii in fpirit and inclmadon^. 
 
 But the very quality of the air depends on 
 'diat of the emanations of the earth •, and ac- 
 '"ording to the compofition of the earth, the 
 air that ineIo^:s i:, is ciiff*ere'it. Now the emana- 
 
 Voi. II. K tions
 
 178 Cri ricAL Reflections (?« 
 
 tions of the earth, which is a mixt body fubjeft to 
 continual fermentations, can never be exaftly of the 
 fame nature in a particular country : And yet thefe 
 wiianations cannot vary without changing the tempe- 
 rature of the air, and making fome alteration in its qua- 
 lity. There muft be therefore, in confequence of 
 this vicilTitude, fome changes now and then in the 
 fpirit and h\mior of the people of a particular 
 country, fince there muft: be ages more favorable 
 than others to the phyfical education of children. 
 "Wherefore fome generations will be more fenfible 
 and livelier in France than others -, and this from a 
 caufe of the fame nature as that which renders men 
 more fenfible and acute in fome countries than 
 others. This difference between two generations of 
 the inhabitants of the fame country, will happen 
 thro* the influence of that very caufc, from whence 
 the different temperature of years, and the inequality 
 of fruits of different harvefls, are known to pro- 
 ceed. 
 
 Let us difcufs the reafons that may be alledged 
 in fupport of this paradox, after defiring the reader 
 to make a great difference between the facls above 
 related, and the elucidations I ffiall attempt to give 
 of thofe facts. In cafe my phyfical explications 
 happen not to prove folid, my error in this point 
 will not hinder the fails from being true, or from 
 proving that the moral caufes alone do not determine 
 the fate of the arts and fciences. The effect will 
 not be lefs certain, for my having given a wrong 
 explication of the caufe. 
 
 The air we breathe, communicates to the blood 
 in our lungs the qualities with which it is impreg- 
 nated.
 
 Poetry W Painting* 179 
 
 nated. It depofites alfo on the furface of the 
 earth the matter which contributes moft to its 
 fecundity, and the care generally taken to dig and 
 manure it, proceeds from the experience people 
 have, that the earth is much more fertile, when a 
 great number of its particles have imbibed this 
 aerial matter. Men eat one part of the fruits of 
 the earth, and abandon the other to beafts, whofe 
 flefh they afterwards convert into their own fub- 
 ftance. The quality of the air is communicated alfo 
 to the waters of fountains and rivers by means of 
 fnows and rains, which are impregnated with a part 
 of tlie corpufcles fufpended in the air. 
 
 Now the air, which certainly has a great power 
 over our machine, is a mixt body compofed of ele- 
 mentary air and of the emanations which efcape 
 from the bodies it pervades, or which its continual 
 aflion may chance to fet loofe. Naruralifts prove 
 alfo that the air is likewife filled with an infinite 
 number of fmall animals and their feeds. This is 
 fufficient to make us eafily conceive, that it is fub- 
 jeft to an infinite number of alterations refulting 
 from the rriixture of corpufcles in its comporition, 
 which corpufck'ii can neither be always the fame, 
 nor always ia the fame quantity. Hence 'tis ;ilfo 
 cafy to apprch-nd, that among the different alternti- 
 ons to whicii the air i;^ fucceiTively expofcd, fome 
 muil laft lunger tlnn other-^-, and ibme m.uft favor 
 more than others the Droduftions of nature. 
 
 1 ne air is ahb expofed to fcvernl viciffitudes pro- 
 cecJin;^ horn txternd Ciufes, fuch as the afl:on of 
 the Inn divcrfiri'jd by its rlevation, proximity, and 
 c'\'po:uion, and alfj by the nuurc of the foil, on 
 
 X 2 which
 
 aBo Critical Reflections en 
 
 which its beams are reilc6ted. The lame may be faid 
 of the adlion of the wind, which blows from adjacent 
 countries. Thefe caufes, which I call external, ren- 
 der the air fubjeft to vicilhtudes of cold and heat, 
 drought and humidity. Sometimes the alterations 
 of the air produce thefe vicifiitudes, as it hap- 
 pens alfo that thefe viciiTitudes are the caufe of 
 ibme alterations. But this difcuHion does not efien- 
 tially beloiig to my fubjeCb, which we cannot difin- 
 tangie too much from fuch things as are not abfo- 
 lutely ntcelfary for clearing it up. 
 
 Nothing is more proper for conveying a juft idea 
 of the influence whicii the qualities peculiar to the air 
 of a certain country by virtue of its compofition, 
 and which we may call permanent qualities, have 
 over men and efpecially children, than to recall to 
 mind the knowledge we have of the power which 
 the fimple viciffitudes, or tranfient alterations of the 
 air have even over thofe, whofe organs have acquired 
 their full coniiftencc. 'i'Jie quality of the air refult- 
 ing from its compoficion, is much more durable than 
 thefe viciffitudes. 
 
 Neverthelefs the Immor, and even the fpirit and 
 inclinations oi adult people, depend very much on 
 the vicilhtudes of the air. According as this is dry 
 or moifb, according as ir is hot, cold, or temperate, 
 we are mechanically merry or lad, and pleafed or 
 vexed without any particular motive : In fine, we 
 experience a facility or difficuiry of turning and 
 applying our minds to what objefts we pleafe. If 
 thefe viciffitudes proceed fo far, as to caufe an altera- 
 tion in the air, their eftccl mufl; be Hill more fenfi- 
 ble. 7'Iie fermentation which prepares a ftorm, ope- 
 rates
 
 Poetry and Pa i x\ t i n g. i 8i 
 
 rates not only on our minds, inromuch as to render 
 us heavy, and debar us from thinking with our 
 wonted Hberty of imagination •, but moreover it cor- 
 rupts even our provifions. It is fuillcienr to alter 
 the ilate of a diilemper or a wound for the worfe -, 
 and is frequently mortal to fuch as have been cut 
 for the Hone. 
 
 The poet Vida had frequently experienced thofe 
 critical moments, in which the work of the imagi- 
 nation grows difagreable ; and he attributes it to the 
 aclion of the air on our machine. In f:i6f, our 
 minds may be laid to indicate tlie prefent ftate of 
 the air v/ith an exactiiefs almoft equal to that ot 
 Barometers and Thermometer,':. 
 
 Nam "sarlant fpecies animorum^ ^ peclcra nojlra 
 Nunc hcs, nunc illos, muUo difcrimine, -molus 
 Concipiunt : feu quod cccH mutatur in hcras 
 TempeJlaSj homlnumqiic fimul qu.cque peclora mutant. 
 
 Vida poet. \. 2. 
 
 For evn the foul not always helds the fame ^ 
 But knoivs at different times a different frajne. 
 Whether with rolling fafons fJje complies^ 
 "J urns 'ujith the fun^ or changes with the fkie:. 
 
 P I r T. 
 
 We obferve even in animals the dilTerent ciTcft'^ of 
 the action ot the air. According as it is fcrenc or 
 troubled, brifk or heavy, it inlpircs beads with vi- 
 vacity, or throws them into a heavincfs which a 
 very fmall attention can render perceptible. 
 
 Vcrtuntur [pedes animorum, (s' piviora molus 
 Nunc alios J alios dum nuhila voiliis agcbat, 
 
 N 3 Co::c'pii:nL :
 
 ;i82 Critical Reflections o;? 
 
 Concipiunt : hinc ilk avium concentus in agriSy 
 Bine lata pecudes, Cs? ovantes gutture corvi. 
 
 ViRG. Georg. 1. i. 
 
 But with the changeful temper of the Jkies^ 
 As rains condenfe, and fun-Jhine rarefies -, 
 So turn the fpecies in their altered minds. 
 Composed by calms y and dif composed by winds. 
 From hence proceeds the birds harmonious voice : 
 From hence the cows exult, and frijking lambs re- 
 joice. Pryden. 
 
 The fame may be obferved of temperaments, which 
 are inflamed by excefs of heat, almoft to a degree 
 of madnefs. If there are twenty wicked aflions 
 comrnitted at Rome in the fpace of a year, fifteen 
 of them are perpetrated in the two months of the 
 violent heats. There is a country in Europe where 
 people that make away with themfelvcs, are not fo 
 fcarce as in other parts. It has been obferved in 
 the capital of that kingdom, where they keep bills 
 of mortality, that out of fixty fuicides in one year, 
 fifty of them happen towards the beginning or end 
 of winter. There prevails in that country a north- 
 caft wind, which offufcates the fky, and makes a 
 very fenfible imprefiion even on the moll robuft. 
 The magiftrates of the criminal courts in France 
 make another remark pretty near to the fame 
 purpofe. They obferve, that there are fome 
 years which are more fertile of great crimes than 
 others ; tho' the malignities of thofe years cannot be 
 attributed to an extraordinary fcarcity of provifions, 
 to a difbanding of troops, or to any other fenfible 
 taufes. 
 
 Excefs
 
 PoE TRY tfW Pain t'in G. 183 
 
 Excefs of cold congeals the imagination of feme -, 
 and abfolutely changes the temper and humor of 
 others. From fweet and good humored in other 
 ieafons, they become almoft favage and infupport- 
 able in violent frofts. I fhall produce here only one 
 inftance of Henry III king of France. My author 
 M. De Thou, a perfon of great dignity, whofe 
 narrative I fhall tranflate, has given us the hif- 
 tory of a prince that died but a few years before 
 he wrote, and with whom he had an intimate fami- 
 liarity. 
 
 As foon as Henry III began to live regularly, he 
 ivas very feldom out of order. He ufed only during 
 the violent frojls to have a kind of melancholy fit^ 
 which was vifible to his domeflics, who then found him 
 feevifh and difficulty whereas at other times he was 
 an indulgent and good humored majier. He was oh- 
 ferved therefore to have no relifh for his pleafures in 
 very cold weather, hut ufed to fleep little^ and rifing 
 earlier than ufual^ he applied himfelf affiduoufly 
 to hufinefs, determining affairs like a man go- 
 verned by a rigid peevifj temper. It was in thefe 
 fits, that this prince tired his chancellor and his 
 four fecretaries of fate with exceffive writing, ^he 
 chancellor De Chiverni, who ferved him from his 
 infancy, had been fenfihle for a long time of the altera- 
 tion caufed by cold weather in his temperament. I 
 remember a particular piece of confidence which that 
 magijlrate fhcwed me concerning this fuhje^, when 1 
 happened to pafs by Kfclimonl, a feat of his in the 
 country of Chartrain, in my way to Bluis, lihere the 
 court refided at that time. I'he chancellor foretold me 
 in converfation, a few days before the Guifcs were 
 N 4 killed.
 
 1 8^ Poetry ajid Pa i n t i n g. 
 
 kilkdy thr.t if ih^' duke cc}itinued to vex the king as 
 he did in fuch' iv eat her, that prince would havt 
 him Certainly difpatched het'-Ji'cen four walls without 
 any form of trial. The kin^ s fprit^ continued 
 Zy, is caf.ly fr'cv.pked^ even to a degree of fury^ 
 d-iring fuch a fro^ as we feel at prcfent. In fad, 
 the duke of Giiife was killed at Blois the day be- 
 fore Chrillmas eye, a few days after the conver- 
 fation between the chancellor de Chiverni and the 
 prehdent de Thou. 
 
 As the qualities of the air which we have diflin- 
 guifhed by the name of permanent, have a greater 
 power over us than its viciilitudes, the changes 
 which happen in cur machine, when thefe qualities 
 are altered, mud confcquently be more fenfible and 
 durable, thsn thofe caufed by the viciflltudes. 
 Wherefore thefe alterations are fometimes pro- 
 ductive of epidemic diforders which carry off in 
 three months fix thoufand perfons in a town, where 
 hardly two tlicufand die in the common courfe 
 of t!i£ year. 
 
 Another fenfible proof of the power which the 
 qualities of the air h.-.ve over our minds, is what we 
 experience when travelling. As we change air very 
 often upon ajcu'rney, almcfl in the fame manner as 
 we fhculd change it, were there an alteration in the air 
 of the country we Jive in, the air of one trad; of land 
 diminiihes our ordinary appetite, and that of an- 
 other augments it. A French refugee in Holljnd 
 complains at leaft three times a day, that his gaiety 
 and vivacity of fpirit has abandoned him. Our 
 native air is oft-times a remedy to us : Tnat diflem- 
 pcT which is called the Hemve in feme countries, 
 
 and
 
 Poetry and Pa i N t i n ci 185 
 
 ^nd fills the Cck perfon with a violent defire of 
 returning to his native home, when, as Juvenal 
 exprefles it, 
 
 ■ ' ■ " — — not OS trijils deftderat h^dos, 
 
 Juv. fat. 
 
 is an inftinft, which warns us, that the air we are 
 in, is not fo fuitable to our conftitution, as that 
 which a fecrejC inftind induces us to long for. 
 The Hemve becomes uneafy to the mind, bc- 
 caufe ic is a real uneafmefs to the body. An air 
 too different from that to which a perfon is accu- 
 flomed, is a fource of ailments and diftempers. 
 
 Nonne vides etiam c^li novilate Cs? aquarum 
 Tentari procul a patria quicumque domoque 
 jidveniunty idea quia longe difcrepat aer. 
 
 LucRET. de nat. rer. 1. 6, 
 
 A traveller in evry place he fees^ 
 
 Or hazards^ or endureSy a new difeafe, 
 
 Becaufe the air^ or water difagrces. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 } 
 
 An air whicli is very wholefome perhaps to the 
 inhabitants of the country, is a flow poifon to fome 
 llrangcrs. Who is it that has not heard of the Ta- 
 hardilloy a kind of fever attended with the moft 
 uncafy fymptoms, which attacks almoft all the Eu- 
 ropeans a few weeks after their arrival in the Spa- 
 nifn Weft-Indies ? The mafs of blood formed by 
 the air and nourifliments of Europe, being incapa- 
 ble to mix with the American air, or with the 
 ihylc produced by the food of that country, is 
 conlcciuently difiblved. The only way of curing 
 
 people
 
 i86 Critical Reflections on 
 
 people feizcd with this diftemper, which proves 
 frequently mortal, is to bleed them plentifully, 
 and to accuflom them by degrees to the food of 
 the country. The fame diforder attacks the Spa- 
 niards born in America upon their coming to Eu- 
 rope i fo that the native air of the father proves 
 a kind of poifon to the fon. 
 
 This difference between the air of two countries 
 is imperceptible to our fenfes, and out of the reach 
 of any of our inftruments ; for we know it only by 
 its effeds. But there are fome animals, which fecm 
 to diftinguifli it by their fenfes. They do not pafs 
 from the country they inhabit to adjacent provinces, 
 where the air appears to us the fame as that which 
 they arc fo fond of. Thus we do not fee on the 
 banks of the Seine a large kind of bird, with which 
 the Loire is covered. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 ^be power of the air over our bodies proved by 
 the different charadiers of nations, 
 
 WHENCE comes it that all nations are fo 
 different from one another in fhape, ftature, 
 inclination, and fpirit, tho* they defcend all from one 
 and the fame progenitor ? Whence comes it, that 
 the new inhabitants of a country refemble in a few 
 generations, fuch as inhabited the fame country be- 
 fore them, from whom they are not however de- 
 fcended ? Why are thofe people who dwell within 
 the fame diftance from the line, fo different from one 
 
 another ?
 
 Poetry ^«i Painting. 187 
 
 another ? A mountain only feparates a people of a 
 robuft conftitution from one of a weak temperament ; 
 and a nation naturally couragious from another of a 
 moft timorous difpofition. Livy ^ obferves, that in 
 the war with the Latins, their troops might have 
 been diflinguiftied from the Romans at the very firfl 
 fight : The Romans were fmall and feeble, whereas 
 the Latins were tall and robuft. And yet Latium and 
 the ancient territory of Rome were countries of a 
 very inconfiderable extent, and bordering upon one 
 another. Have the bodies of the Andalufian pea- 
 fants the fame natural conformation, as thofe of the 
 peafants of oldCaftile ? Are the inhabitants of the ad- 
 jacent provinces as fupple and nimble as the people 
 of Bifcay ? Is it fo eafy to meet with fine voices in Au- 
 vergne, as in Languedoc ? Quintilian fays, ^ that one 
 may difcover a man's country by his •voice, as we may 
 know the allay of brafs by its found. The difference 
 becomes ftill more fenfible when we examine the 
 nature of very diftant countries : *Tis furprizing 
 between a Negro and a Ruffian. And yet this can 
 proceed only from the difference of the air of the 
 countries, where the anceftors of the prefent Ne- 
 groes and Ruffians, who are all defcendants of Adam, 
 went firft to fettle. The firft men who fettled 
 near the Line, muft have left a pofterity, who 
 differed very little from the pofterity of thofe 
 who went in fearch of fettlements towards the 
 Ardic pole. The grand^children born fome to- 
 wards the Pole, and others near the Line, accordr 
 * Liv. hift. 1. 6. 
 
 Non enim fine caufa dicitur harharum Gracitm've ; nam fonts 
 kjruincs ui ara tinmtu digno/cimu:. Quint, Inil, oraC. 1. 2. C- 5. 
 
 ing
 
 i88 Critical Reflections on 
 
 ing to the progreffion of men's inhabiting the earthi, 
 mud have hatl a leller leremblance. At length, this 
 rclemblancc diminifhing every genera,tion, and in pro- 
 portion as colonies approached fome towards the 
 Line, and others the Ardlic Pole, the races of man- 
 kind arrived at laft to that difference, in which we 
 behold them at prcfent. Ten centuries might have 
 been fufficient to render the defcendants of the fame 
 parents, as different from one another as the Ne- 
 groes and Swedes. 
 
 'Tis only three hundred years fmce the Portu-* 
 guefe planted on the weitcrn coail of Afric the 
 colonies which they poffefs there at prefent ; never- 
 thelefs the defcendants of the firll planters have no 
 refcmblance with the prefent natives of Portugal. 
 The hair of the African Portuguefe is fhort and 
 curled, their nofe flat, and their lips thick, hke the 
 Negroes whofe country they inhabit. They have 
 imbibed long fince the complexion of thofe Blacks 
 tho' they always claim the honorable appellation of 
 Whites. On the other hand, the Negroes do not re- 
 tain in cold climates die blacknefs they have in Afric : 
 Here their H-iin grows whitiili, infomuch that if a 
 colony of Negroes were to fettle in England, they 
 would probably lofe in a long feries of time their 
 natural color, in the fame manner as the Portuguefe 
 of Cape-Vtrd have loft theirs in the countries near 
 the Line. 
 
 Now if the diverfity of climates is capable of pro- 
 ducing fuch a variety, and difference in the com- 
 plexion, fizc, fliape, and even in the very voice of 
 men ; it ought conftquently to caufe a greater 
 difference in the genius, inclinations, and manners 
 
 of
 
 Critical Reflections en 189 
 
 of nations. The organs of the brain, or the parts 
 of the human body, which, phyfically fpeaking, de- 
 cide the fpirit and inchnations of men, are without 
 comparifon more compounded and more dehcate, 
 than the bones and other parts which determine their 
 ftature and force : They are more compounded, 
 than thofe which decide the found of the voice and 
 the agihty of the body. Wherefore two men who 
 happen to have their blood of a quaUty different 
 enough to occafion an external difTimilitude, will be 
 muth more unlike one another in mind ; and will 
 have a greater difference of inclinations than of 
 fhapc and complexion. 
 
 Experience feems to confirm this way of reafon- 
 ing. All nations differ more in inclinations and mind 
 than in make and color of body. As an ambaffador 
 of Rhodes faid before the Roman fenate, * each neo- 
 pie has its chara<5ler, as well as every individual. 
 O^lintilian, ^ after having given the moral reafons 
 which v/cre allcdgcd for the difference between the 
 eloquence of the Athenians, and that of the Afiatic 
 Greeks, fiys that we muH: look for it in the natural 
 character of both nations. In effe6l, drunkennefs 
 and other vices are commoner in fome countries than 
 in others : and the fame may be alfo faid of moral 
 virtues. The conformation of the organs and the 
 
 '■" 7 .V.?; cvuatm, quarr. Ju'.^ui'Jivrn honilnuv: yr.ores fui.t. Gcntes 
 qirjijui all-.:- ;, iKin.u.r, al.jc cwj.u, > , qntdum timldu:, in i;inU7n, in 
 
 ■..hcnri I 
 
 ■7.,;;, 
 
 "j:\i 1 
 
 7/.-^ furj. Ll 
 
 V. \.^k. 1.45- 
 
 ^ M:\ 
 
 / .-v..' 
 
 '.„: ., 
 
 >.!.'! yf!t! dijf. . '. 
 
 •.'.■'.•••• '^'.;_//' 'Cf dtceutium natur^r 
 
 liP"t!n-, 
 
 r; .' 
 
 l.{ .hi 
 
 ,'. / l::K[''.i /■;:,•• I.' 
 
 : : c' I, v.. 7-/7/, 7:ili/ in^>:c aut re- 
 
 , ;;//./..•.:, , 
 
 IC'-l 
 
 ij>:t. 
 
 Jj'uira g. '.; / 
 
 •.,'•:/.( !;,r .ilio-jui i3 Jt'/7a>i/ior 'va- 
 
 /..",, W '/. 
 
 
 
 y ,'7:;7rj v.j\:t:' 
 
 <)} I.. 1 , lr.il, J. 12. C. 10. 
 
 tern-
 
 190 Critical Reflections Oft 
 
 temperament of body give an inclination to particu-^ 
 lar virtues or vices, which influences the generality 
 of every nation. Wherefocver luxury is introduced, 
 it has always a fubfervicncy to the predominant in- 
 clination of the nation that falls into extravagance. 
 According to the different tafte of countries, people 
 are ruined either by fumptuous buildings, or magni- 
 ficent equipages, or by keeping nice and delicate ta- 
 bles, or in fine by downright excefs of eating and 
 drinking. A Spanifh grandee fquanders his money 
 in intrigues and gallantry : but a Polifli palatine's pro- 
 fufion confifts in wine and brandy. 
 
 The Catholic religion is eflentially the fame with 
 refpe6l to its ceremonial and dogmatic parts, where- 
 focver the Roman communion is embraced. Each 
 nation notwithftanding mixes fomething of its par- 
 ticular character in this worfhip. According to the 
 genius of every nation, it is exercifed with more or 
 lefs pomp, more or lefs dignity, and with more or lefs 
 fenfible demonftrations of gladnefs or repentance. 
 
 There are very few heads, whofe brains are fo ill 
 formed as not to make a man of wit, or at leaft a 
 man of im.agination in a certain climate j and quite the 
 contrary in another. 
 
 Tho' the Boeotians and Athenians were only fepa- 
 rated from one another by mount Citha^ron, yet the 
 former were fo well known to be a coarfe heavy 
 people, that to exprefs a man's ftupidity, it was 
 ufual to fay, he feemed to have been born in Bceo- 
 tia ; whereas the Athenians pafied for the moft fen- 
 fible and ingenious people in the univerfe. I wave 
 citing here the encomiums, which the Greek writers 
 I have
 
 Poetry and Path TIN G, 191 
 
 have given of the wit and tafte of the Athenians. 
 The greateft part of them (fome will fay) were either 
 born or chofe to live at Athens. But Cicero, who 
 knew the Athenians perfectly well, having lived a 
 Jong time amongft them, and who cannot be fuf- 
 pefled of a fervile flattery to people that were fub- 
 je<5ts of his republic, gives the fame teftimony as 
 the Greeks in their favor. The judgment of the 
 Athenians^ he fays % "duas always fo found and pru- 
 dent, that they could never lijlen to any thing hut 
 what was -pure and elegant. What M. Racine 
 ^ys in the preface to his Plaideurs, that the A- 
 thenians never laughed at nonfenfe, is only a tran- 
 flation in different words of the Latin paflage of 
 Cicero j and thofe who have cenfured the French 
 author for writing it, have, to cxprefs myfelf in 
 Montagne*s words, given him a box on Cicero's 
 ear, a witnefs who cannot be excepted againft in the 
 fadt here in queftion. 
 
 The fame reafon which produced fo -great a dif- 
 ference between the Athenians and Bceotians, is the 
 caufc of fo fmall a refemblance between the Floren- 
 tines and fome of their neighbours. Hence alfo it 
 comes, that we fee even in France fo much fenfe and 
 ready wit in the peafants of a province contiguous to 
 another, where people of the fame condition of life are 
 almoit ftupid. Tho' the ditTercnce oFair be not con- 
 fidcrable enough in thefc people to make an external 
 diverfity in their bodies, it is fufficicnt nocwithfland- 
 ing to cr^te a ^iiverfity in fuch organs, a'-, are imme- 
 diately employed in the functions of the foul. 
 
 • /.t'liKiCnjii (^uo'iivi fcp-r /■■ ,'.''-■'■;.■■. • nuL-y.'^w iuf^i-ium, 
 r!''il rt yff.t v'lfi ivcc-rupttiT. (I'.id'.rt tt thg-iftS, CiC. dcOfat. 
 
 Wc
 
 192 Critical Reflections c« 
 
 We even find minds whicli do not fecm to 
 be of the fame fpecies, when we refleft on the 
 genius of people, whofe difference is ib confi- 
 der^ble, as to be vifible in their make and com- 
 pletion. Does a peafant of North Holland, and a 
 peafant of Andalufia think, in the fame manner ? 
 Have they the fame paflions ? Are they aAuated 
 alike by thofe paflions they feel in common ? Are 
 they willing to be governed in the fame manner ? 
 When this external difference grows (till greater, 
 the difference of minds is prodigious. Behold, 
 fays the author of the Plurality of worlds ■, 
 how much the face of nature is changed betweeh 
 this and China. Different faces ^ different fhafes, 
 different cuJlotnSy and almofi different frincipks of 
 veafoning. 
 
 I do not chufe to give here a particular defcrip- 
 tion of the charader of each nation, or of the pe- 
 culiar genius of every age, but fhall refer my reader 
 to Barclay's Euphormio, who treats this fubjed in 
 one of the books of that fatire, which goes gene- 
 rally by the name of Icon ammorum. But I fhall 
 add one reflexion to what has been hitherto faid, to 
 fhew how probable it is, that the underftanding 
 and inchnations of men depend on the air they 
 breathe, and on the country where they are bred. 
 "Tis that (Irangers who have fettled in any 
 country whatfoever, refcmble the ancient inha- 
 bitants after a certain number of generations. 
 The principal nations of Europe have at pre- 
 fcnt the fame charader as the ancient people of 
 
 ■^ M. de Foiucnelle, Plurality of worlds, 2d evening. 
 
 2 the
 
 Poetry ^;/^ Painting. 193 
 
 the countries they now inhabit, notwithftanding 
 they do not defcend from thjofe ancicru: people. 
 I fliall illuftrate this remark by a few examples. 
 
 The prefent Catalonians are defcended, for the 
 moft part, from the Goths and other foreign na- 
 tions, who upon their firft fettling in Catalonia, 
 brought different languages and cuftoms with them, 
 from thofe of the people who inhabited that coun- 
 try in the Scipio's time. 'Tis true, that thofe ftrange 
 nations have abolifhed the ancient language, which 
 has made room for another compofed of the dif- 
 ferent idioms which they fpoke. This is a thing 
 however that has been decided intirely by cuflom . 
 But nature has revived in the prefent inhabitants 
 the manners and inchnations of the Catalonians in 
 the Scipio's days. Livy fiiys of the ancient Ca- 
 talonians, i/jai it was as eafy to dejlroy^ as to dif- 
 arm them ^ : Now all Europe knows whether the pre- 
 fent Catalonians do not anfwer that character. Do 
 not we difcover the Caitilians in the portrait Juflin 
 draws of the Iberians '^ ? T^heir bodies are inured t9 
 L'Ungcr and fatigue ; and their minds are fo frc- 
 pared for death ^ as not to be afraid of it. They 
 can live upon z'ery littk^ and are as much afraid 
 of lofing their gravity^ as other people of lofing their 
 Ife. The Iberians had as different a charafter of 
 iiiinci from that of the Gauls, as the prefent cha- 
 
 ^ Fa-ox gius null.im ejjt -vitam Jl'-.e armli putat . Ll\\ 
 
 •" Lorj 'i, a i:9i,':i,.ii!n ,i.{ iHidium hd'oianque, atiitni ad trior tan pa- 
 
 '.Ui Dura rjT.mlui ij' adfty:.la p.:^-[:':-ij\ia. Ilia fzrtior ta.ztur- 
 
 ■■•'7tn Lura quam z:t,r. jv ^i . 
 
 Vol.. II, O raitcr
 
 194 Critical Reflections on 
 
 radcr of the Caililians differs from that of the 
 French. 
 
 Tho' the French dcfcend, the grcateft part of 
 them, from tlie Germans, and the other Barbarians 
 fettled in Gaul ; they have notwithflanding the fame 
 inclinations and charader of mind as the ancient 
 Gauls. 'Tis eafy to difcover in the prefent French 
 the grcatefl: part of thole llrokes which Casfar, FIo- 
 rus, and the ancient hillorians attributed to that 
 people. A particular talent of the French, for which 
 they are celebrated all over Europe, is a furprizing 
 induftry, in imitating with eafe the inventions of 
 flrangers. Csefar gives this talent to the Gauls, 
 whom he calls, a people of great qtiicknefs of mind, 
 extremely fit for imitating and executing whatfoe'ver 
 they are taught *. He was furprized to fee how 
 well the Gauls, whom he befieged, had imitated the 
 mod difiicult military machines of the Romans, tho' 
 they were quite new to them. Another very par- 
 ticular touch in the charadcr of the French nation, 
 is their infurmountable propenfity to gaiety whe- 
 ther fcafonable or not, which makes them conclude 
 the moft ferious refledlions with a fong. Thus we 
 find the Gauls chara6lerifed in the Roman hiftory, 
 and principally in a relation of Livy*s. Flanni- 
 bal at the head of a hundred thoufand men, de- 
 manded a palTage into Italy of the inhabitants 
 of L at country which is now called Langucdoc, 
 offering to pay ready money for what his men 
 fhould confume, and menacing at the fame time to 
 lay their country wafte with fire and fword, if they 
 
 * Gemts fu7nmie foItrtuTy at que ad omnia vnitanda atqtie ifficien- 
 da, qua ah Gitoqui traduntuv ppijjirnvm, C^i:5. 
 
 attempted
 
 Poetry ^W Painting. 195 
 
 attempted to traverfe his march. Whilft they were 
 deliberating on Hannibal's propofition, the ambaf- 
 fadors of the Roman republic, who had only a 
 very fmall retinue with them, demanded audience. 
 After having talked very big for a great while of the 
 fenate and people of Rome, whom our Gauls had 
 never heard mentioned but as enemies to fuch of 
 their countrymen as had fettled in Italy, the ambaf* 
 fadors propofed to obftrud the paflage of the Car- 
 thaginians. This was really defiring the Gauls to 
 make their country the theatre of war, in order to 
 hinder Hannibal from transferring it to the banks of 
 the Tiber. The propofition was indeed of fuch a 
 nature, as not to be made but with great art and 
 precaution even to ancient allies. 'The audience 
 therefore^ fays Livy ^, burjied out into a 'violent fit of 
 laughter^ infomuch that the magiftrates had much ada 
 to command filence, in order to give a ferious anfwer 
 to the ambajfadors. 
 
 Davila relates in the hiftory of our civil wars ^ 
 an adventure of this fort, which happened at the 
 conferences that were held for peace, during the 
 fiege of Paris by Henry IV ^ Upon cardinal 
 Gondi's faying, that it was not hunger, but the 
 love for their king which induced the Parifians to 
 enter into a conference, the king's prefence could 
 not prevent the young lords from bu'riing 
 out into laughter at the cardinal's difcourfe, ,/hich 
 
 ■ Tanto cum ficmitu rifus du'ttur nrtus , ut I'l'x a magijiratihu: 
 Tr.a)o>ibuf(jue natu jiixcntus fedaretur . I- 1 v. 
 \ D:;vila, ]. II. « in 1550. 
 
 O 2 bccamt
 
 196 Critical Reflections on 
 
 became really ridiculous by its boldnefs ; both par- 
 ties being very well afllired of the contrary. All 
 Europe reproaches the French, to this very day, 
 .with their uneafinefs and levity, which makes them 
 quit their own country, to ramble in fearch of em- 
 ployments, and to lilt under every colors. Florus* 
 has obfcrved of the Gauls, that there 'ujere no ar- 
 mies to he found without Gallic foldiers. It in Cse- 
 iar's time we meet with Gauls in the fervice of the 
 kings of Judea, Mauritania, and .^gypt, do not we 
 find Frenchmen in our days amongft all the troops 
 in Europe, even among thofe of the king of Per- 
 fia and the Great Mogul ^ 
 
 The prefent Englifh. are not defcended, generally 
 fpeaking, from the Britons who inhabited that ifland 
 when the Komans fubdued it. Neverthelefs the 
 ftrokes with which Csefar and Tacitus charafterife the 
 Britons, are extremely well fuited to the Englifh : 
 For the one were not more fubjed: to jealoufy than 
 the other. Tacitus obferves\ that Agricola found 
 no better method of engaging the ancient Britons to 
 make their children learn Latin, as well as Rhetoric 
 and the other polite arts in ufe among the Romans, 
 than to excite them by emulation, by making them 
 afliamed to fee themfelves excelled by the Gauls. 
 The fpirit of the Britons, faid Agricola, is of a 
 better frame than that of the Gauls, and if they 
 have a mind to take pains, it depends intlrely 
 on themfelves, to furpafs their neighbours. Agri- 
 
 '" Nullum helium fine m'Jite Gallo. Florus. 
 
 yam 'vcro principum f.lios libcralibiis art; bus erudlrc U i^igenia 
 B-ritannorum Jludiii Gallaru?n antcferrey ut qui modb liiiguani Ro7na- 
 ra-n ahnushant, iloquentiam co7iiV.p'fc(rcnt, Tac. 
 
 i cola's
 
 • Poetry «;z^ Painting. iqj 
 
 cola's artifice had its defined efi'cdl, and the Britons 
 who before icorned to fpeak Latin, grew even defiroas 
 of acquiring the beauties of the Roman eloquence. 
 Let the EngHfh themfelves judge, whether the arti- 
 fice ufed by Agricola might not be employed amongft 
 them at prefent with the like fuccefs ? 
 
 Tho' Germany is in a much different condition 
 at prefent, from what it was when Tacitus defcribed 
 it; tho' it is fi:ocked now with towns, where- 
 as it had formerly nothing but villages ; tho' 
 the morafles and the greateft part of the forefls 
 have been converted into meadows and plowed 
 lands •, in fine, tho' the ancient manner of dref- 
 fing and living be confequently dift'erent in feveral 
 things from that of the prefent inhabitants •, we 
 may diftinguifli neverthelefs the genius and character 
 of the old Germans in thofc of our times. Their 
 women, like thofe in former days, follow the cunps 
 in much greater numbers than thofe of other coun- 
 tries. What Tacitus obferves of the repaf!:s of the 
 old Germans, is true with regard to the genera- 
 lity of the moderns. Like their ancellors they 
 rcalon very well concerning affairs when they are 
 warm .:t table, but they never come to a conclu- 
 fion but in cool blood ^ Thus we nnd in every 
 rcfpcet the ancient })eopic in the mojicrn, tho' the 
 latter proiefs a diff/rcnt rcli!z;ion, and arc governed 
 by diticrer.t maximr. 
 
 It his been in all nnzc-zi obfervc;!, t':rit the influence 
 fff cl;n":r;^'j is ftroncer r.hcin t'uit: ot C/ri^in and b!':yj.l. 
 
 * D'.a^iraiU dun '■>■'■■ yr )ir'iiiii:t, r^, ■.,■;.• .'.•.'.7»;.' d:,-'> vrrarc non ^^":f- 
 
 O 1 TIic
 
 198 Critical Rj:f3lpctions on 
 
 The Gallogrecians defcended from the Gauls who fet- 
 tled in Afia, became in five or fix generations, as foft 
 and ejffeminate as the Afiatics •, tho' they fprung from 
 warlike anceftors, who fettled in a country, where 
 they had nothing to depend upon but their valor 
 and arms. Livy, fpeaking of an event which hap- 
 pened at an almoft equal diftance of time from 
 the eftablilhment of the Gallogrecian colony, and its 
 conqueft by the Romans, fays of the Afiatic Gauls, 
 the Gallogrecians were- a more warlike people at that 
 timey not having yet degenerated from the fpirii of the 
 ancient Gauls *. 
 
 People of all countries illuftrious for feats of 
 arms, have grown effeminate and pufillanimous, 
 after having been tranfplanted into lands, whofe 
 climate foftens the native inhabitants. The Ma- 
 cedonians who fettled in Syria and iEgypt, grew 
 in a few years time downright Syrians and ^gyp- 
 tians, and degenerating from their anceftors valor, 
 kept only their language and ftandards. On the 
 contrary, the Greeks who went to Marfeilles, 
 contracted the boldnefs and contempt of death, 
 peculiar to the Gauls, But, as Livy fays \ 
 
 ' Gallogretci ea tempefiate hellicof.ores erant, Gallicos adhuc non- 
 dum exoleta Jiirji'g gent is gefiantes anhnos. L i v . 
 
 ** Siicut in frugihus pecudibu/que, non iantum Jemina ad femiandatn 
 indolem <valent, quantum terra praprietas ceelique fub quo aluntur 
 mutant. Macedones qui Alexandriam in uHgypto, qui Sekuciam ac 
 JBabylo'tiiam, quique alias /par/as p^r orbem terrarum colonias hubevt, 
 in Syros, Parthos, JEgyptios degenerarunt. Majplia inter Gallos 
 Jit a traxit aliquantulum ab accolis animorum. Tarentinis quid ex 
 Spartana dura ilia ^ horrida libevtate manjit ? Gcnerojiii) in fua 
 ^uidquid fede gignitur ; itijitum aliena terras nqtura njertente fe, de- 
 general. Liv. hift. I. 28. 
 
 relating
 
 Poetry ^W Painting. 199 
 
 relating the fadls here mentioned, 'tis the fame 
 " thing with fome m^n, as with plants and brutes. 
 *' Now the qualities of plants do not depend fo 
 ** much on the place from whence the grain has 
 *' been borrowed, as from the foil in which it is 
 *' fown ; in like manner the quaUties of brutes de- 
 *' pend lels on their breed, than on the country 
 *' where they are born, and grow up.'* 
 
 Thus the grains which fucceed very well in one 
 country, degenerate when fown in another. The 
 linfeed which comes from Livonia, and is fown 
 in Flanders, produces a very fine plant ; but 
 that which grows in Flanders, and is fown in the 
 fame foil, bears nothing but a baftard-plant. The 
 fame may be faid of the grain of melon, radifh, 
 and fcveral other pulfe, which mud be renewed to 
 have them good, at lead after a certain number of 
 generations, by fending for new grains to the coun- 
 try where they grow in full perfection. As trees 
 Oioot up, and produce fruit much flower than plants, 
 the fame tree gives different fruit, according to the 
 foil where it firft grew, and that to which it is tranf- 
 planted. The vine tranfplanted from Champagne to 
 Brie, produces very foon a wine, which has none of 
 the quahties of the liquor it afforded in its primitive 
 foil. True it is, that brutes have not fo near a 
 relation to the earth, as trees and plants ; never- 
 thelefs as the air makes animals live, and the 
 earth nourlfVics them ; their qualities do not de- 
 pend lefs on the places where they arc bred, than 
 ri'jr qualities of the trees and plants on the country 
 where they grow. Let us go on with confulting 
 (■"■■rpf'ricncc 
 
 O 4 Si lice
 
 200 Critical Reflections on 
 
 Since Livy wrote hi? hiftory, feveral nations 
 in Europe have fent colonies into climates more 
 remote and more different from that of their 
 native country, than the climate of the Gauls was 
 from that ot Gallogrccia. It has happened alfo, 
 that the change of manners, inclination, and fpirit, 
 which are unavoiciible to thofe who change coun- 
 tries, has been more fudden and fenfible in the new 
 than in the ancient colonies. 
 
 The Franks v/ho fettled in the Holy Land, upon its 
 being conquered by the firft Crufade, became after 
 a few generations, as pufillanimous and vicious as 
 the natives of the country. The hiftory of the lat- 
 ter Crufades abounds with bitter complaints againft 
 the treachery and effeminacy of the oriental Franks. 
 The Sultans of yEgypt had no other method 
 left of preferving the valor and difcipline of their 
 troops, than by recruiting them in CircafTia, from 
 whence their Mamelucks came. Experience had 
 fhewn them, that the children of the CircafTians 
 born and bred in iEgypt, had only the inclinations 
 and courage of Egyptians. The Ptolomys, and 
 other fovereigns of 7£gypt who were careful of 
 keeping good troops, had always a ftanding army 
 compcfed of foreigners. The natives of the coun- 
 try, who pretended to have performed fuch great 
 exploits under Sefoftris and their firft kings, were 
 very much degenerated at the time of Alexander 
 the Great. JEgypr, fmce the conqueft thereof by 
 the Perfians, has been ahvays an eafy prey to 
 a handful of foreign foldiers. Since Cambyfes's 
 time, the natives have never, if I may fay fo, 
 drawn an /Egyptian fword. Even at prefent an 7E- 
 
 gypdaa
 
 Poetry and Painting. 201 
 
 o-yptian is not admitted into the troops maintain- 
 ed by the Grand Signor on the j^gyptian efta- 
 blifliment : Thefe muft be compofed of foreign 
 foldicrs. 
 
 The Portugiiefe eftabUfhed in the Eaft-Indies are 
 become as effeminate and cowardly as the natives of 
 that country. Thofe invincible Portuguefe in Flan- 
 ders, where they made up one half of the tamous 
 Spanifli infantry deftroyed at Rocrois % had near 
 relations in the Indies, who let themfelves be beaten 
 about like fheep. Thofe who can remember the 
 particular events of the wars of the Low Countries, 
 which gave birch to the republic of Holland, mufl 
 know that the Fiemilli infantry could never fland 
 againft chat which was compofed of native Spaniards. 
 But fuch as have read the luftory of the conquefls of 
 the Dutch in the Eaft-Indies, mufl remember on the 
 orhcr hand, that a handful of Dutchmen ufed to put 
 whole armies ot Indian Portuguefe to flight. I do 
 not care to quote any odious writings, I fhall only 
 appeal to the Dutch themfelves, whether their coun- 
 trymen who are fettled in the Eaft-Indies, have pre- 
 fcrved the manners and good qualities they had in 
 Europe. 
 
 The court of Madrid, which has been conftant- 
 ly attentive to the particular chara6ter and genius 
 of the different nations it governed, has always placed 
 a greater conndence in the children of Spaniards 
 born m Elandcrs, than in the olispringof Spaniards 
 born in the kingdom of Naples. The latter were 
 not put upon an equal footing with the natives of 
 ^pain, as the others were. 'I'his wary court has 
 ' in 16.13, 
 
 made
 
 202 Critical Reflections on 
 
 made it always her maxim not to intruft any em- 
 ployment of importance in the Weft-Indies to the 
 Creoiian Spaniards, or fiich as were born in America. 
 And yet thefe Creolians arc inhabitants born of Spa- 
 nifli parents, without any mixture of American or 
 African blood. Thofe that are defcended of a Spa- 
 nifh Father and an American mother are called 
 Meftizo's ; and when the mother happens to be a 
 negro, they are called Mulattoes. 
 
 The incapacity of thofe fubje(5ls has had as 
 great a fhare in this policy, as the fear of their 
 revolting. 'Tis difficult indeed to conceive, how 
 much the Spanifh blood (a blood fo brave and ge- 
 nerous in Europe) has degenerated in feveral pro- 
 vinces of America. It would be abfolutely incredible, 
 did not twelve or fifteen different relations of the 
 expeditions of the Buccaneers to the new world, agree 
 all of them in this point, and furnifh us with the 
 moft convincing circumftances. 
 
 Brutes receive a different fhape and conformation, 
 in the fame manner as men, according to the coun- 
 try where they are born, or bred. There was no 
 fuch things as horfes in America, when the Spani- 
 ards difcovered that part of the world. 'Tis very 
 likely that the firft which were tranfportcd thither 
 for breed, were the very fineft of Andalufia where 
 the embarkation was made. As the expences of the 
 freight amounted to upwards of two hundred 
 crowns a horfe, 'tis likely the purchafe money was 
 not at all fpared ; efpecially as horfes were then 
 exceeding cheap in that province. There are not- 
 withflanding fome provinces in America where the 
 breed of horfes has degenerated. The horfes of St 
 
 Domingo
 
 Poetry and Painting* 203 
 
 Domingo and the Antilles are fmall, ill-fhaped, 
 and have only the courage (if I be allowed to fpeak. 
 fo) of the noble animals from which they are def- 
 cended. There are indeed fome other pro- 
 vinces in America, where the Andalufian breed is 
 rather improved. Thofe of Chili are as much fu- 
 perior in beauty and goodnefs to the Andalu- 
 fian horfes, as thefe furpafs thoie of Picardy. The 
 Caftilian and Andalufian flieep tranfported into other 
 paftures, afford no longer {uch precious wool, as tliofc 
 mentioned by Juvenal, 
 
 ■ ' * ' ^as B^Hcus adjuvat aer, 
 
 Juv. fat. 12. 
 
 By noble fprings improv*dy and Bcetic air. 
 
 Power. 
 
 When the goats of Ancyra lofe their mountain 
 pafture, they ceafe to have that hair fo vaftly 
 efteemed in the eaft, and known even in Europe. 
 * There are countries where a horfe is generally fo 
 gentle an animal, as to let himfelf be led by children : 
 In other places, as in the kingdom of Naples, he 
 is almoft a favage animal, whom you mud take par- 
 ticular care of. Horfes even change their difpofition 
 and temper, by altering their air and food i hence thofc 
 of Andalufia are much m.ore tradable in their own 
 country than in ours. In fine, mod animals ceafc 
 to breed, when they are tranfported into a climate 
 too different from their own : thus tigers, apes, 
 camels, elephants, and fevcral kinds of birds do not 
 multiply in our countries. 
 
 a ButatQuius ep. i. 
 
 CHAP,
 
 204 Critical Reflections on 
 
 CHAP XVI. 
 
 ObjeBion draucn from the charaSfer of the Ro- 
 vians and the Dutch. Anfwer to this ob- 
 jcBion. 
 
 IT will be objedited here perhaps, that there are 
 two nations in Europe, whom the character gi- 
 ven their anceftors by ancient writers do not fuit at 
 prefent. The modern Romans, it will be faid, bear 
 no manner of refemblance to thofe ancient Romans 
 fo famous for their military virtues, and whom Ta- 
 citus, defcribcs as a people who were profefled foes 
 to all vain demonftrations of ceremonial refpefb ; 
 a people whofe fole occupation was to eftablifh and 
 extend their authority. ^ Tiridates, brother of the 
 king of Parthia, who came to Rome in order to pay 
 homage (purfuant to our modern way of expreffing 
 it) for the crown of Armenia, would not have been 
 fo much afraid of the Roman ceremonial, continues 
 the abovemcntioned author, had he been a little better 
 acquainted with that nation. The Batavians and an- 
 cient Frienanders (it will be flill objefted) were two 
 warlike nations, who took up arms, as foon as the 
 Romans attempted to lay any other tribute upon 
 them, but that of military fervice. The prefent 
 inhabitants of the province of Holland, which 
 includes the ifle of the Batavians, and a part of 
 the country of the ancient Frieflanders, are intire- 
 \y addifted to commerce. They furpafs all o- 
 
 * ^'^pud qucs jus imperii valet, iiiaiiia tranfrnittiaitur. Tacit, 
 Annul. lib. 15. 
 
 ther
 
 P o E T R V and Pa I N T 1 5j G. 205 
 
 ther people In the regularity and order of their 
 towns, and in their municipal government. The 
 people are readier to pay t\\Q he;ivieft taxes that 
 are raifed in Europe, than to enter into the fervice. 
 The Belgians are very unfit for land fervice, and a 
 Dutchman on horfeback is a 7noJl ridiculous fight, fays 
 Puffendorf % fpeaking of the prefent inhabitants of 
 Holland, who are as willing to take foreign troops 
 into their pay, as the Batavians were ready formerly 
 to fight for foreigners. 
 
 With refpeft to the Romans, my anfwer is, that 
 when the reft of Europe will refolve to lay afide their 
 ceremonies, the Romans will not be the laft to get 
 rid of theirs. Ceremonies are the prefent fafliion ; for 
 which reafon they endeavour to excel other nations 
 in this refped:, as they were formerly fuperior to 
 them in the military art. Perhaps the modern 
 Romans would fhew us that moderation in fuccefs, 
 and that intrepidity in danger, which formed the 
 character of the ancient Romans, if their princes were 
 not of a profcllion which forbids them to afpire to 
 military glory. Mull people becaufe they have 
 courage, get themfclves killed immediately in 
 battle i as thofc that are born poets fcribble verfes ? 
 If the Romans have really degenerated, their 
 degeneracy docs not certainly extend to all forts 
 of virtues. No nation undcrftands better how 
 to behave rclolutely, or to fliew a feafonable 
 compliance in bufinefs ; and we may obferve 
 even in the common people of Rome, that art of 
 
 ^ y/i/ tcryfu-i;n mJituim pu^ii'n idonci f:o:t BilgeT, l^ equo in- 
 /:J,>ii Pnitu-us luilibrii:>n oprrtu: J.i/rt- Pt'FF. introd ad hift. 
 I'.urop, 
 
 in-
 
 2o6 Critical Reflections on 
 
 infinuiting efteem for their fellow citizens ; tin aft 
 tlut has been always one of the principal caufes of a 
 nation's reputation. 
 
 Befides, there has been fuch a prodigious change 
 in the air of Rome and the adjacent country, fince 
 the time of the C^fars, that it is not at all aftonilh- 
 ing there Ihould be a difference between the pre- 
 fent and ancient inhabitants : Nay, in our fyftem, 
 this is the very thing that ought naturally to have 
 happened, fince the alteration of the caufe muft be 
 always fuppofed to alter the effecft. 
 
 In the firft place, the air of the city of Rome, 
 except the quarter of the Trinita di Monte, and that 
 of the Quirinal, is extremely unwholfome during 
 the dog-days, infomuch that it cannot agree but with 
 thofe who arc accuftomed to it gradually, as Mi- 
 thridates was to poifon. People muft even re- 
 new every year the habit of fupporting the infedted 
 air, by beginning to breathe it the very firft days of 
 its alteration : for 'tis mortal to thofe who breathe 
 it the firft time, if it be at the height of its 
 corruption. One is as little furprized to fee a 
 perfon die, who upon coming from the country, 
 goes to lodge where the air is corrupted, or even 
 thofe who at that time ftiould remove from a 
 wholfome quarter of the town, as to fee a man ex- 
 pire when ftruck by a cannon-ball. The caufe of 
 this corruption of the air is not a fecret to us. 
 Rome was cut through as well under, as above 
 ground, and every ftreet had a cloaca or common 
 ihore under the pavement. Thefe common fhores 
 met all at the Tiber by different channels, that were 
 cleanfcd continually by the waters of fiftsen aque- 
 I duds,
 
 POETR Y ^W PaI N TING. 207 
 
 du<5bs, which conveyed intire rivers to Rome •, and 
 thefe rivers difcharged themfelves into the Tiber by 
 means of the cloacce. Tlie buildings of this vaft 
 city having been deftroyed by the Goths, by the 
 Normans of Naples, and by time ; the ruins of the 
 edifices erefted on the {^wtn hills have filled the ad- 
 jacent valleys, infomuch that the ancient fuperficies 
 of the earth lies frequently buried in thefe valleys full 
 forty feet deep. This heap of rubbifh has ftopt up 
 feveral branches, by which many of the leiTer cloacae 
 communicated with the great ones, that terminated 
 at the Tiber. The vaults being broken in by the 
 fall of the neighbouring buildings, or thro' antiquity, 
 confequcntly itopped feveral channels, and intercept- 
 ed the courfe of the waters. But the greateft part 
 of the finks, thro' which the rain and the waters of 
 the ancient aquedufts that are ftill fubfifting, fall 
 \nm> the cloaca^ have continued to VfQ open. The 
 water has therefore come coniiantly into thefe chan- 
 nels, without finding any out-let. Here it ftagnates, 
 and becomes infected to fuch a degree, that when 
 the rummagers happen to dig one of thefe chan- 
 nels, the ftink and infedlion which exhales from 
 thence, ftrikes them frequently with mortal diftem- 
 pers. Thofc wlio have ventured to eat fuch fifh as 
 they have found there fomedmes, have generally 
 loll their lives for their rafh curiofity. Now thefe 
 channels are not fo deep under ground, but that the 
 heat, which is excefiive at Rome during the dog- 
 days, extradis from thence moft peftilential exha- 
 lations, which break out fo much the eaficr, as the 
 chinks of the vaults arc only ltoj)t with rubbifh 
 and gravel, whic-i are not fo clofc a fieve for fifting 
 
 the
 
 ±oS Critical Reflections 0/2 
 
 the exhalations, as that of the common earth or na- 
 tural Ibil. 
 
 Secondly, the air of the level country about 
 Rome, which extends twelve leagues in thofc places 
 where the Appenine removes fartheft off from this 
 city, reduces during the three hot months the very na- 
 tives who are accuftomed to it from their infancy, to 
 .1 ftate of languifliment and wearinefs almoft incredi- 
 ble to thofe that have not feen it. In feveral parts 
 the religious are obliged to quit their convents to 
 go and fpend the dog-days fome where elfe. In 
 fine, the air of the country about Rome ftrikes a 
 llrangcr who expofes himfelf to its aftivity, in time 
 of fleep, with as fudden and fure a death as the 
 fword. This air is then always pernicious, from 
 whatfoever quarter the wind blows, w^hich is a con- 
 vincing argument that the earth is in Ibme meafure 
 the caufe of its alteration. The infedlion thel'efore 
 fhews, that there has been fome confiderable change 
 in the earth; whether this proceeds from its not 
 being manured as in the time of the Ca^fars ; or 
 whether it is to be attributed to the moraffes 
 of Oftia and Ofante ^, which are not drained as 
 formerly ; or whether in fine it arifes from the mines 
 of alum, fulphur, and arfenic, which in fuccelfion of 
 time have been formed under the fuperficies of the 
 earth, and emit at prefent, but efpecially in lum- 
 mer-time, more malignant exhalations, than thofe 
 which were emitted, before they had attained their 
 prefent degree of maturity. We fee frequently in 
 the country about Rome a phaznomenonj which Hiould 
 
 Psmptincr paluda 
 
 induce
 
 Poetry a7id Painting. £09 
 
 induce us to think, that the alteration of the air pro- 
 ceeds from a new caufe, that is, from the mines 
 that have been perfe<5led under the furface of the 
 earth. During the violent heats, exhalations rife 
 from the earth which lighten of themfelves, and form 
 long ridges or columns of fire, with the earth for 
 their bafis. Livy would have inferted a prolix re- 
 cital of the facrifices made for the expiation of thefe 
 prodigies, had thefe pha^nomena been {^^)\ in that 
 country when he wrote his hiftory. 
 
 Another proof we have, that there has been a 
 phyfical alteration in the air of Rome and the adja- 
 cent country, is, that the climate is not fo cold 
 as it was formerly in the time of the C^fars, tho* 
 the country was better inhabited and cultivated 
 at that time, than it is at prefcnt. We are in- 
 formed by the Roman annals, that in the year 480 
 of its foundation, the winter was fo extremely cold, 
 that the trees were killed with the frofl. The Ti- 
 ber was frozen over at Rome, and the earth co- 
 vered with fnow during the fpace of forty days. 
 When Juvenal draws the picture of a fuper- 
 ftitious woman, he fays, that ilie caufes the ice of 
 the Tiber to be broken, in order to make her 
 ablutions. 
 
 Ilihernum frathi glacie defcendct in aranem^ 
 Ter mntulino Tybcri incrgctur^ iy Ipfis 
 Vorticihiis timidum caput ahluct^ inde fuperbi 
 Totum Regis agrwn ?mda i^ trancbunda cruentii 
 Erepct genibus. Juven*. fat. Si. 
 
 'i'/.'/'o' ye they beat and plirige into the jl ream ^ 
 Ij Jo the God has ivarnd them in a drea?)}. 
 
 Vol II. p m^k
 
 210 Critical Reflections 071 
 
 IFeak in their limbs but in devotion Jlrong^ 
 On their bare hands and feet they crawl along 
 A whole field' s lengthy the laughter of the throng. 
 
 Dryuen. 
 
 } 
 
 Here he Tpeaks of the Tiber's being frozen over, as 
 of an ordinary event. Several paffages of Horace 
 fuppofe the ftreets of Rome full of ice and 
 fnow. We fliOLild have been better informed con- 
 cerning this fubjedt had the ancients underftood the 
 ufe of Thermometers \ but tho' their writers have 
 not inftrufted us with refped: to this point, they 
 let us know enough to be convinced that the win- 
 ters were formerly feverer at Rome, than at prefent. 
 The Tiber is no more frozen there, than the Nile 
 at Grand Cairo. They think it a very rigid win- 
 ter in Rome, when the fnow lyes two days upon 
 the ground, or when they can obferve a thin bit of 
 ice for two nights together in lome fountain expof- 
 ed to the north. 
 
 As for the Dutch, I anfwer that they do not live 
 upon the fame ground as the Batavians and ancient 
 Frieflanders, tho' they inhabit the fame country. 
 The iQe of the Batavians was indeed a low country, 
 but it was covered with wood. With refped to the 
 land of the ancient Frieflanders, which forms ac 
 prefent the greateft part of the province of FIol- 
 land ; to wit, that which lies between the Ocean, the 
 Zuiderzee, and the old bed of the Rhine which paf- 
 fes by Leyden, it abounded at that time with hills 
 that were hollow withinfide : This is exprefled by 
 the word Holland introduced in the middle age j 
 which fignifies a hollow land in the language of 
 
 that
 
 P o JE T R y and Pa i n t i n g. 211 
 
 that country. Tacitus ^ informs us, that the a- 
 bovementioncd arm of the Rhine, which fepa- 
 rated FricHand from the ifle of the Batavians, 
 preferved the rapidity that river has in its courfe^ 
 an evident proof that the country was then 
 mountainous. The fca having infinuated itfelf 
 into thefe cavities was the caufe of the finking of 
 the earth, which has raifcd itfelf fince above the fur- 
 face of the waters that covered it after its depref- 
 fion, by the help of the fands which the waves 
 of the fea brought thither, and of the flime which 
 the rivers left behind them after frequent inunda- 
 tions, bctore they were rellrained by dykes. 
 
 Another proof of what I have advanced iSj that 
 in that part ot the province of Holland, which be- 
 longed to ancient Friedand, they find frequently, 
 upon digging foundations, trees which are faflened 
 to the ground by their roots, fifteen feet below the 
 level oi the country. And yet this country which is as 
 fmooth as a lloor, is lower now than high water, and 
 upon a level with very low water. This Ihews that the 
 earth which the nbovementioned roots of trees are 
 faftened to, is a foil that v/as formtfrly funk. Thofe that 
 have a miiid to be iurther intormed with rce;ard to 
 the lime and other circuniilancts of thcfe inunda- 
 tions, may read the two firit volumes of M. Al- 
 ting's work, intitled, Bcfiriplio ■ av/i Batnvi. 
 'Tis a work tlicy will read with gnat utility, and 
 not without regretting that this author died a- 
 •i;out tliirty years at'o, belore he cf;u!d leave us his 
 tl-!rd \-olunic. Idoliaiid havinj-:; b^.cn drained and 
 
 ^ T c;tv<; ^^:V.\. 1. 2. 
 
 V ?. peopled
 
 212 Critical Reflections 07i 
 
 peopled again, it is now an even pafture land, cut 
 into a vaft number of canals, and covered with fome 
 lakes and moraffes. " The foil has changed its na- 
 ture to fuch a degree, that the cows and oxen of 
 that country are larger now than elfewherc, whereas 
 formerly they were very fmall. In fine, a fourth 
 part ot its lurface is covered with water, which 
 was not the cafe perhaps of one twelfth part of 
 it in former times. The people likewife having 
 increafed there more than in any other part of 
 Europe, by means of events which are foreign to my 
 prcfent purpofe •, want and the facility of having pulfe 
 and milk-meats in a continued meadow, has accuf- 
 tomed the inhabitants to live upon this fiegmanc 
 diet i whereas the ancient inhabitants fed upon the 
 flefh of their flocks, and of domcftic animals that 
 were grown wild, with which, purfuant to the obfcr- 
 fervation of Tacitus and feveral other ancient writers, 
 their woods abounded. 
 
 Sir William Temple, who was fo much furprized 
 at the difference of chara6ler between the Batavians 
 and the Dutch, attempting to give the reafon there- 
 of, attributes it to their change of diet ^ Such 
 rev^olutions as thefe on the furface of the earth, 
 which always caufe a great alteration in the air, and 
 have been alfo accompanied with fo great a 
 change in their ordinary aliment, that the modern 
 inhabitants live like fifhermen and gardeners, where- 
 as the okl ones lived like huntfmen ; fuch revolu- 
 tions, I fay, could never have happened without al- 
 tering the character of the people. 
 
 ^ Tacitus A'W. 1. 4. 
 
 ^ Slate of the Vnile.i Prs'-jincc::, c. 4. 
 
 After
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 213 
 
 After all that has been hitherto faid, 'tis more tha'i 
 probable, that the particular genius of each nation 
 depends on the quality of the air they breathe. One 
 has reafon therefore to charge the climate, with that 
 fcarcity of genius's and wits, which is obfervable in 
 fome nations. The temperature of hot climates^ fays 
 Sir John Chardin, ^ enervates the mind as 'UJell as 
 the bod)\ and dijfipates that fire of imagination fo ne- 
 ceffary for invention. People are incapable in thofe 
 climates of fiich long 11; etchings and ft rang applications, 
 as are reqi'.ifne for the prodiiLfions of the liberal and 
 Ydcchanic arts. ''Tis only tozvards the North we muft 
 look for the arts and trades in their higheft perfe^ion. 
 Our author fpeaks of Ifpahan ; and Rome and A- 
 thens are northern cities with refpe6t to the capital 
 of Pcrlia. This is a fentiment founded on experi- 
 ence. Does not every body agree in attributing the 
 ilupidity of the Ntgroes and the LapUnders to the 
 cxjcfs ot heat or cold in tiK.ir refpeclive countries ? 
 
 C II A P. XVII. 
 
 Of the extent of climates fitter for the arts and 
 jlienccs, than ethers. And of the changes 
 \chich thefe climates are fnhjecl to, 
 
 IT may be here objcflLU, tliat the arts and fcienre=: 
 have fiouri filed und^r very diiVcrent cHmatcs. 
 M^'mphis, it will be faid, is eighteen degrees nearer 
 i!ic kin th:ia Paris, and yet the arts and fcicncjs hav2 
 nour.ihed in thefe two cities. 
 
 * Dcicriplion of Pcrfia clr'p. 7, 
 
 1* 3
 
 2J4 Critical Reflections m 
 
 I anfwer, that 'tis not every degree of heat oicold, 
 that is contrary to the happy nourifhment of chil- 
 dren, but only the very higheft excefs. Far from 
 limiting the temperature of climate fit for the 
 culture of arts and fciences, to four or five de- 
 grees, I am Q)\ opinion that this temperature may 
 take in twenty or twenty five degrees of latitude. 
 This happy climate may even extend itfelf and gain 
 ground by tlie help of feveral favorable events. 
 
 For example, the extent of commerce may fur- 
 nifh the northern nations at prefent with the means, 
 which they had not formerly of making a part of 
 their ordinary nourifliment of wines and other ali- 
 ments which eorne from warm countries. Com- 
 merce, which has been furprizingly improved with- 
 in thefe two laft centuries, has difcovered thefe things 
 where they were before unknown ^ and has even ren- 
 dered them common in places, where they were 
 formerly very fcarce. Tiie increafe of trade has 
 made wine as general a drink in feveral countries, 
 where it does not grow, as in thofe kingdoms that 
 have the pleafure of the vintage. It has put fugar 
 and fpices in northern countries on the footing of 
 provifions, that are for general confumption. Of 
 late years, both fimpje and compound brandy, coffee, 
 chocolate^ and other commodities that grow only in 
 the very warmeft climates, are in general ufe, even 
 among the comm^on people, in Holland, England, 
 Poland, Germany, and the North. The falts and 
 fpirituous juices of thofe liquors throw a foul, or, to 
 fpeak phyfically, an lEthereal oil into the blood of 
 the northern nations, which is not found in their own 
 country food. Thefe juices fill the blood of a nor- 
 thern
 
 Poetry <?W Painting. 215 
 
 thern inhabitant with fpirits fornied in Spain and the 
 very warmeft climates. A portion of the air and 
 fap of the land of the Canaries, is carried into Eng- 
 land in the wines of thofe iflands, which are tranf- 
 ported thither in fuch great quantities. The frequent 
 confumption therefore of the provifions and com- 
 modities of hot countries, drav/s the fun, as it were^ 
 nearer to the provinces of the North, and infufes a 
 vigor and delicacy into the blood and the imagina- 
 tions of the inhabitants of thofe countries, which was 
 unknown to their anceftors, whofe fimplicity was fa- 
 tisfied with the productions of their own native foil. 
 As people are fubjeft at prefent in thefe countries to 
 didempers, which they were ftrangers to, before the 
 frequent ufe of ftrange aliments fo much prevailed, 
 which are not perhaps juftly proportioned to the air 
 of the country •, they ought for this very reafon 
 to have a greater warmth and fubtlety in their 
 blood. Certain it is, that at the fame time that new 
 diftempers appeared amongft them, or fomc 
 diftempcrs grew more frequent than formerly, o- 
 thers difappeared, or became not fo common. I 
 have hrard Monfieur Regis, a famous phyfician 
 of Amfterdam, fay, that fince the ufe of thele pro- 
 vifions began to prevail generally among the inha- 
 bitants of that city, they were not fubjed to the 
 twentieth part of the fcorbufic didempers, with 
 which they were formerly affilfted. 
 
 Tho' a country be at a certain diftance from 
 the Line, this is not fufTicient to render the 
 climate fit for breeding men of wit and abilities. 
 The air may happen to be contrary by its perma- 
 nent qualities, to the phyfical education of chil- 
 P 4 dren,
 
 2i6 Critical Reflectioj^s on 
 
 dren, who by the delicacy of their organs might 
 have been defigned for men of wit and tuiv;nts. The 
 mixture of the corpufcles, which enter into the com- 
 pofition of this air may happen to be bad by fome 
 excefs of one of its good principles •, and the ema- 
 nations of the earth may likewife chance to be hea- 
 vy and coarfe in feme countries. All thefe defedls, 
 whereof we may conceive an infinite number, may 
 be the occafion, that the air of a country, whofe 
 temperature feems to be the fame as that of a neigh- 
 bouring province, does not prove fo favorable to the 
 phyfical education of children, as the air which they 
 breathe in the latter. Two regions that are at the 
 fame diftance from the Pole, may have a cUmate 
 phyfically different. Since the difference of the air 
 of two neighbouring provinces renders the inhabi- 
 tants of the one taller than the others why may it 
 not make them more ingenious and fenfible in one 
 country than in another ? llie fr/e of men fhould natu- 
 rally be more difficult to vary, than the quality and 
 fpring of the organs of the brain. The finer an organ 
 is, the eafier the blood that contributes to its nourifh- 
 ment, is able to change it. Now of all the organs 
 of the human body, thofe are the moft delicate which 
 ferve in the fundlions of the foul. What I have 
 here faid, is only an explication of the general opi- 
 nion, which has always attributed the difference 
 obfcrvable between different nations, to the diffe- 
 rent qualities of the air. The climate of each country 
 is always, in my opinion, the principal caufe of the in- 
 clinations and cujloms of men, lohich are not more 
 different amongfi thcntfelves, than the conjlitution of 
 
 th&
 
 Poetry aiid Painting. 217 
 
 ihe air varies in different places^ fays a perfon "" to 
 whom we may apply the encomium which Homer 
 beflows upon Uly fifes. 
 
 ^i mores hominnm muhorum vidit £ff urbes. 
 
 HoR. de art, 
 
 WJoo T'rcy once falPn to many countries went. 
 And ftritlly z-fhv'd the men and government. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 C H x^ P. XVIII. 
 
 ^haf we 77iujl attribute the diver fity of the air 
 of different countries^ to the nature of the 
 emanations of the earth ivhich vary accord- 
 ing to the difference of countries, 
 
 TH E emanations of the earth are the only ap- 
 parent caufe, to which we can attribute the 
 firnlible difference, wc obfcrve between the qualities 
 of the air, in countries equally diftant from the Line. 
 I'his opinion agrees very well with experience. The 
 emanations, on which the qualities of the air depend, 
 are themfelves dependent on the nature of thofe bo- 
 dies from which they exhale. Now, when a per- 
 fon comes to examine into the compofition of the 
 terreflrial globe in two countries which have a dif- 
 ference of air, he will find this compofition different. 
 There is more water, for inftance, in a corner of 
 Holland, than in the whole county of Kent. The 
 
 \ Sir John Cuaroin. tom, z. p. 4. 
 
 J bofom
 
 2i8 Critical Reflections en 
 
 bofom of the earth does not include the fame bodies 
 in France as it commonly contains in Italy. In fe- 
 veral parts of the latter the earth is full of allum, 
 fulpJiur, brimftone, and other minerals. Thefe bo- 
 dies in France are not in the fame quantity in 
 proportion to other bodies, as in Italy. We find 
 thro' almoil all France that the gravel confifts of 
 marl, or of a kind of a fat, whitifh, foft ftone, in 
 which there is a vafb deal of volatile falts. 'Tis 
 fait alfo that predominates in the foil of Poland ; 
 infomuch that they find intire mines thereof in fe- 
 veral parts of that kingdom. Thefe are fuffi- 
 cient not only for the confumption of the country, 
 but moreover for that of feveral neighbouring pro* 
 vinces. 'Tis to this fait fo predominant in the 
 foil of Poland, that philofophers attribute the fur- 
 prizing fertility of the greateft part of its provinces, 
 as likewife the extraordinary bignefs of its fruit, 
 and if I be allowed to exprefs myfelf thus, the huge 
 volume of the bodies born and nourifhed in that 
 country. In England the gravel is compofed prin- 
 cipally of lead, pewter, fea-coal, and other minerals, 
 which vegetate and improve continually. 
 
 We may even venture to fay, that the difi^erence 
 of thefe emanations is obvious, in fome meafure, to 
 our fenfes. The color of the ambient air, as alfo of 
 the clouds which form a painted horizon at the fet- 
 ting and rifing of the Sun, depend on the nature 
 of the exhalations which fill the air, and mix with 
 the vapors, of which thefe clouds are formed. Now 
 every body may obferve, that the atmofphere and 
 the clouds which glitter in the horizon, are not of the 
 fame color in ail countries, In Italy, for example, 
 
 the
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 219 
 
 the atmofphere is of a greenifh blue, and the clouds 
 of the horizon are of a very deep yellow and red. In 
 the Netherlands the atmofphere is of a pale blue, 
 and the clouds of the horizon are only tinged with 
 a whitifh color. This very difference is obfervablc 
 in the painted Jkies of Titian and Rubens, thefe 
 two painters having reprefented nature fuch as it ap- 
 pears in Italy and the Low Countries where they 
 copied it. I conclude therefore from what has been 
 hitherto fet forth, that as the qualities of the earth 
 decide the particular tafte of fruits in different coun- 
 tries, fo they determine alio the nature of the air. 
 The qualities and properties of the earth are ahke 
 the caufe of the diverfity there is in the air of two 
 different countries, as they are the caufe of the dif- 
 ferent tafle of wines, which grow in neighbouring 
 provinces. 
 
 Now this caufe is fubjeft by it's nature to a vafl 
 rtumber of viciifitudes and alterations. As the earth 
 is a mixt body compofed of fluids and folids of 
 different kinds and fpecies, they muft both of them 
 inceffantly a6t, and produce continual fermentations, 
 efpecially as the air and central fire contribute alfo 
 to throw the matter into motion. As the leaven, 
 as well as the mixture and proportion of this leaven, 
 is not always the fame, the fermentadons do not al- 
 ways terminate in the fame produ(5tion. For which 
 reafon the emanations of the fame foil cannot be al- 
 ways the fame in the fame country j but muft be 
 fubjcdt to divers alterations. 
 
 Experience adds a great weight to this argument. 
 Docs the very fame earth emit every year the fame 
 quantity of thofe exhalationSj which form the matter 
 
 of
 
 220 Critical Reflections oji 
 
 of thunder and lightning ? As there are fome coun- 
 tries more lubjed to thunder, than others, fo there 
 are fome years in wliich it thunders ten times oftner 
 than in others. There were hardly two claps of 
 thunder heard at Paris in the fummer of 1 716 -, but it 
 thundered thirty times and upwards the fummer of 
 1 7 17. The fame thing happens with refpedt to 
 earthquakes. Arc all years equally pluvious in the 
 fame country ? 'Tis eafy to fee in the Almanacks of 
 the Obfervatory the difterence there is in the quanti- 
 ty of rain which falls at Paris in the courfe of two 
 different years. This difference amounts fometimes 
 to very near two thirds. \Vc cannot attribute the in- 
 equality which is obfervable in the eruptions of vul- 
 canos or fiery mountains, to any other caufe but to 
 the variety of fermentations which are continually 
 working in the bofom of the earth. 'Tis well known, 
 that thefe formidable mountains vomit more fire fome 
 years than others, and that they are fometimes a con- 
 fiderable while without any erudations at all. In 
 fine, are all years equally wholfome, pluvious, win- 
 dy, cold, warm, in the fame country ? 
 
 The fun and the emanations of the earth decide 
 in France, as well as clfewhere, the temperature of 
 different years ; for we cannot aflign any other 
 caufe, unlefs we fhould have recourfe to the influence 
 of the flars. Now out of thefe two caufes, there is one 
 of them that never varies its adion, that is the fun. 
 We mufh therefore attribute the immenfe difference 
 we obferve in France between the temperature of two 
 different years, to the variation that happens in the 
 emanations of the earth. I fay that the aftion of the 
 fun does not vary. It mounts and defccnds at Pa- 
 ris
 
 Poetry ^W Pain ting. 221 
 
 rls every year at the fame height. If there be fome 
 difference in its elevation, 'tis fenfible only to mo- 
 dern aflronomers, and it can produce no other dif- 
 ference between the fummer of two years, than that 
 which is obferved between the fummers of SenUs and 
 Paris. The diftance there is between Paris and Sen- 
 lis from North to South, amounts to the greater ele- 
 vation which the fun may have one year at Paris, 
 than another. 
 
 The difference in the temperature of years is quite 
 another fort of variation. Some fummers at Paris 
 are intolerably hot -, others are fcarce a degree dif- 
 ferent from cold weather. 'Tis frequently colder 
 on midfummer day, than it was fix weeks before. 
 The winter is fometimes very rigid in the fame ci- 
 ty ; and the frofl lafts forty days fucceffively. Other 
 years the winter flides away without three confecu- 
 tive days of froll. In fome years there falls twenty 
 two inches of rain-water at Paris : ^ Other years there 
 does not fall eight. Some years the winds are more 
 frequent and violent than others : The fame may be 
 obferved of every country : For all of them admit 
 of a different temperature of years. 'Tis true that 
 in fouthern climates, the fcafons of rain and heat 
 are not fo irregular as in our parts. Thefe heats and 
 rains, more or lefs violent, generally come pretty 
 near on the fame days ; wherefore the caufe varies in- 
 deed in thofe countries, but lo not fo capricious as 
 in France. 
 
 But, (fome will fay) tho' the fun afccnds every 
 year to the fame hciglu, may not there be fome ob- 
 lhu<6tion, fuch as a ii)ar, which may llackcn his ac- 
 
 * Set tht Ahia'uv.ki cf tic Ohjir'iiatiry. 
 
 tion
 
 222 Critical Reflections on 
 
 tion in fome years, more than in others ? li' lb, he* 
 would have the greateft fhare in producing thofe 
 variations, whofe caufe you go in fearch oi into the 
 bofom of the earth. 
 
 My anfwer is, that experience will not permit us 
 to impute this variation to the fun. There would 
 be a kind of rule in this irregularity, if it pro- 
 ceecded from the remifnefs of the a6tion of the 
 fun ; I mean that all countries would feel this irre- 
 gularity in proportion to their diftance from the line, 
 and that the fun's elevation would conftantly decide 
 the degree of heat, let it be what it will in a parti- 
 cular year. Thus a warmer fummer than ufual at 
 Paris, would fuppofe a fummer unufually warm at 
 Madrid. A very mild winter at Paris, would fup* 
 pofe milder weather than ufual at Madrid. But the 
 thing is otherwife. The winter of 1699 and 1700 
 was very mild at Paris, and very rigid at Madrid* 
 It froze fifteen days fuccefTively at Madrid, and not 
 two days fuccefTively at Paris. The fummer of 17 14 
 was very dry and warm at Paris ; the fame fummer 
 was exceeding rainy and tolerably cold in Lombardy. 
 The day of the fummer folftice is fometimes colder 
 than the day of the equinox. Thus the variation of 
 the temperature of years is fuch that it cannot be 
 attributed to the fun. We mud therefore impute 
 it to a particular caufe in each country, that is, to 
 the difference of the emanations of the earth. 'Tis 
 this alfo which renders fomc years more fubjeft to 
 diflempers than others. 
 
 Ipfd f^pe CO or t a 
 
 De terra fur gunt, ■ ■ Lucret. 1. 6. 
 
 There
 
 Poetry and Painting. 233 
 
 Tliere are fome epidemical diforders which rife in- 
 lenfibly out of the ground, but there are others 
 which we fee flart up, as it were, of a fudden. 
 Such are the difeafes which break out in places, where 
 there have been lately great earthquakes, which 
 places were very wholefome before thefe fubterraneous 
 commotions. The firft Jlratum or cover of the earth 
 is compofed of common clay, ftones, flints, and 
 fand. Thefe wife nature has employed to cover the 
 fccond Jlratum, compofed of minerals and fat 
 earth, whofe juices contribute to the fecundity of 
 the outward foil. Thefe juices either afcend into 
 the tubes of plants, or tlfe they rife in the air, after 
 having been rarened or filtered thro' the ^v^ Jiratuiti 
 of the earth, and there they form that aerial nitre, 
 which falling afterwards upon the ground, from 
 whence it fprung, contributes fo much to its ferti- 
 lity. Now when there happens to be any of thofe 
 great earthquakes, fcvcral parts of this fecond Jlra- 
 tum are laid open, and expofed to the immediate ac- 
 tion of the air and fun, which finding no interpofi- 
 tion, loofcns and attracts too large a quantity of 
 wolecul^. BefKic3, thefe mokculif being as yet too 
 coarfc, ought not to Iiave ri fen in the air, till 
 tijcy had been rarefied by palFing thro' the firil Jlra- 
 Uwiy as thro' a iicve. Thus the air of that part of 
 the country bLComcs infcfted, and continues fo till 
 the uncovered earth is txhauilcd oi a part of its 
 jifices, or till the dull which is continually waited by 
 the winds, has covered it with a now crull. 
 
 But, as wc have oblcrvcd already, there are fomc 
 
 epidemical diflcmpcrs, v.luch rile mfenfibly, as it 
 
 Were, out ot the earth, without any perceptible 
 
 I change.
 
 224 Crit icAL Reflections o« 
 
 change. Such are the peftilential maladies which 
 break out fometimes in a country without being im- 
 ported from other parts ; the caufe whereof can be 
 notiiing elfe but the alterations which happen in the 
 emanations of the earth. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 1'hat the difference ive obferve in the genius of 
 people of the fame country in different ages, 
 mufl be attributed to the variations of the 
 air. 
 
 I CONCLUDE therefore from what has been 
 hitherto fet forth, that as the difference of the 
 character of nations is attributed to the different 
 qualities of the air of their refpedlive countries ; in 
 like manner the changes which happen in the man- 
 ners and genius of the inhabitants of a particular 
 country, muft be imputed to the alterations of 
 the qualities of the air of that fame country. 
 Wherefore as the difference obfervable between 
 the French and Italian*, is affigned to the dif- 
 ference there is between the air of France and 
 Italy ; fo the fenfible difference between the manners 
 and genius of the French of two different ages, 
 mufl be attributed to the alteration of the qualities 
 of the French air. As the quality of our air varies 
 in fome refped:s, and continues unvaried in others, it 
 enfues that the French in all ages will have a general 
 charafter which will diftinguifh them from other na- 
 tions i tho' this will not prevent a difference between 
 
 the
 
 P E T RY and Pa I N T I N G.' 225 
 
 thQ French of different ages. 'Tis thus that wines 
 have a particular tafte in each foil, which they al- 
 ways preferve, tho' they are not always of equal 
 goodnefs. Hence the Italians, for inftance, will be 
 evermore fitter for painting and poetry, than the in- 
 habitants of the provinces bordering on the Baltick. 
 But as tlie caufe which produces this alteration be- 
 tween nations, is fubjedl to feveral changes, it feems 
 that fome generations in Italy mufb have greater 
 talents for excelling in thefe arts, than others. 
 
 The whole qtiejiion concerning the -pre-eminence he- 
 tween the ancients and moderns^ fays the great 
 defender of the latter ^, being once rightly undcrjloody 
 is reducible to this pointy whether or no the trees which 
 grew formerly in our fields, ivere larger than thofe 
 in our days. Methinks, continues he, that thefurefi 
 way of deciding this point is to confult natural phi- 
 lofophy^ who has the fecret of abridging a great many 
 difputes which Rhetoric zvould protraof to eternity. 
 Let us confult her, I freely give my confent. What 
 anfwcr dots Ih.e giv^e us ? She tells us two things. 
 The firft is, that fome plants have in all times at- 
 tained a greater pcrfedion in one country than in 
 another : The fecond, that even in the fame coun- 
 try trees and plants do not produce every year fruit 
 of equal goodnefs. 
 
 We may apply to years whit Virgil fays of coun- 
 tries, that ail their productions arc not alike excel- 
 lent. 
 
 — Non cmnis fcrt omnia telhis. 
 T!ie caufc of this cfFecl fhews an activity to which 
 Vvc may attribute the ditfercnLu obfcrvable in 
 * Font t Ni I :.E . D-jrrcfr..'n j;: t},? incientj, 
 
 Vol II. g_ the
 
 226 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 
 
 the fpiric and genius of nations and ages. Does it 
 not operate Icnfibly on the fpirit of men, by ren- 
 dering the temperature of cUmates as various as we 
 lee it in different countries and years ? Is not the 
 temperature of the climate either very prejudicial 
 to the phyfical education of children, or exceed- 
 ing favorable ? Why fliould we not allow, that 
 children educated in France in a particular leries 
 of years, remarkable for a happy temperature, 
 have a better conilruclion of brains, than luch 
 as have been bred there during a fuccelTion of 
 years, noted for intemperature ? Does not every 
 body attribute the capacity of the Florentines and 
 the Ifupidity of the people of Bergamo, to the dif- 
 ference there is between the air of Bergamo and 
 Florence ? 
 
 But (fume v/ill objedl) if thefc changes which you 
 fuppofe to happen fucceflively in the earth, air, and 
 intellec^tual faculties, were real ; we fhould obferve in 
 the fame country fome alteration in the configuration 
 of human bodies. Wherefore the change you ima- 
 gine happens within them, would be accompanied 
 with a knfible alteration in their external parts. 
 
 My anfwcr is in the lirfl place grounded on all 
 that has been fa-id before, that the caufe which is 
 powerful enough to a6t on the brains, may not be fo 
 llrong perhaps as to alter the ilature of the body. 
 Secondly, that were we to make in France, for in- 
 ftance, an exad and continued obfervation on the fize 
 and ftrength of bodies, perhaps we fliould find, that 
 there are ibmc generations ot men who arc bigger 
 and robufler than others. Very likely we fliould dif- 
 covcr that there are fome ages, in which the human 
 
 ipecies
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 227 
 
 fpccies continually improves, and others in which it 
 declines. When we obferve that our military peo- 
 ple find the weight of a cuirafs and helmet an in- 
 lupportable burthen, whereas a whole complete fuit 
 of armour did not appear too great a weight to 
 our anceftors •, when we compare the fatigues they 
 muft have undergone in the wars of the Crufades, 
 to the delicacy of our camps -, is it not very natural 
 for us to fall into that opinion ? 
 
 It muft not be alledged, that 'tis the foftnefs of 
 education which enervates the body. Is it only in 
 our days that fathers and mothers are too fond of 
 their children r Have not children of all ranks 
 and conditions been bred up by their parents 
 in former times, as they are at prefent ? Is it not 
 becaufc children are born with a more delicate con- 
 ftitution, that experience fupplies us with more 
 fcrupulous precautions for their prefervation ? 'Tis 
 natural for parents to have the fame care and at- 
 tention in the phyfical education of their children, 
 as they remember they themfelves flood in need of: 
 'Tis natural for them to judge of their delicacy, by 
 what t!:ey felt themfelves in their infancy. Experi- 
 ence alone, by Ihewing us that thefe cares are no 
 longer lulhcienr, can make us think, that we muft 
 employ more attention and management for the pre- 
 fervat:on of our children than was taken for our- 
 fclves. Does not the impulfe ot nature, which is 
 vciy fddom rcniled, render thole exercifes that 
 llrcnf^'licn the body, amiable even in our d:ays to 
 luch as have a fufhcient lliarc of health to go through 
 riicin ? W'liy therefore c^oes the generality of 
 :n.;ir ill ". ;-i our days negl'<^t them ? In fine, docs 
 O 2 our
 
 228 Critical Reflections c// 
 
 our foftnefs and effeminacy proceed from our kirid 
 ot living ; or is it becaufe we are born with weaker 
 flomachs than our anceftors, that every one in 
 his ilation feeks for new preparations of ahments, 
 and eafier nourifhment •, and that the abftinences 
 wliich thofe very anceftors found no great difficulty 
 ill obfcrving, are in our days abfolutely impra6lica- 
 ble with refpeft to one third of the world ? Why 
 iliould we not think, that 'tis the phyfical part 
 which prefcribes laws to the moral ? I am therefore 
 apt to imagine, that the kind of life, for inftance, 
 the cuftom of wearing more or Icfs cloaths in par- 
 ticular feafons, which takes place fucceffively in the 
 fame country, depends on the vigor of our bodies, 
 which inables them to inure themfelves to more or lefs 
 cold, according as they are more or lefs robuft. About 
 i^ifty years ago, people were not fo warmly clad in 
 France during the v/intcr, as they are at prefent, 
 becaufe their bodies at that time were generally more 
 robufl and lefs fenfible of the injuries of the cold. 
 / haz'e cl^ferved, fays Sir John Chardin *, in my tra- 
 1-eIsy that as our manners follow the temperament of 
 the body^ purfuant to Gallien's obfervation, fo the 
 te?nperament of the body follovjs the quality of the 
 (hmate \ infomuch that the cujlcms cr habits of people 
 are not the effe£f of mere caprice^ but of fome natu- 
 ral caufe or neceffity, 'u^hich is not difcoi-ercd till after 
 a i-ery cxa^t refearch. When our bodies grow 
 weaker and more fenfible of the injuries ot the 
 air, it follows of courfe, that people change fome- 
 tliing in their manners and cuftoms, as they would, 
 
 * Tiaveli to Peiri.;, 1. 2, p. 275. 
 
 ■were
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t^i n g." 229 
 
 were the climate to be altered : Their wants vary 
 alike by either of the changes. 
 
 There are old folks in our days who affirm, 
 that a certain court was compofed of handfomer 
 women and better built men, than another court 
 peopled with the defcendants of the former. Let 
 us but enter into an exad: inquiry of a hundred fa^ 
 milies in particular ages, and we fhall find fourfcore, 
 in which the fon is of an inferior fize to that of 
 his father. The race of mankind would degene- 
 rate in procefs of time into pigmies, if thofe days 
 of decline and degeneracy of fize, were not fucceed- 
 ed by times, in which the body is raifed again to its 
 former ftature. Thus the weak and robuft genera- 
 tions feem to have an alternate fucceflion. 
 
 We can attribute like wife the difference which is 
 obferved between the behaviour and politcnefs of dif- 
 ferent ages, to no other caufe, but to the changes 
 which happen in the qualities of the air of the fame 
 country. There have been times, when it was an 
 tafy matter to prevail upon the principal men of 
 1 nation to quit their families. It was then no 
 difficult talk to perfuade them to go in queft of 
 military glory a thoufand leagues from their own 
 country, in contempt of the fatigues of a long 
 iourney, which to their foft pofterity would appear 
 like the labors of Hercules, 'Tis becaufe (fom^e will 
 f.iy) it was the fafliion at that time to engage in 
 fuch expeditions, liut ic would be impoffible to in- 
 troduce fuch fafliions in our days : They cannot 
 V.v cflablifl-ied but by the help, as it were, of phy- 
 lic;il conjunftures. Can any one imagine, that were 
 the moft eloquent preacher in our times to announce 
 
 (^3 a cru-
 
 230 Critical Reflections on 
 
 a crufade, he would find a great many barons to fol- 
 low him beyond fea. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 Of the difference of manners and inclinations 
 in people of the fame country in different 
 ages. 
 
 THERE are likewife ages, whofe events 
 make us imagine, that feme phyfical altera- 
 tion has happened in the conllitution of mankind. 
 Such are thofe, wherein men, remarkable in other 
 refpefts for politenefs and even learning, abandon 
 themfelves to mod unnatural actions with a fhock- 
 ing facility. This was the cafe of the French na- 
 tion during the reigns of Charles IX and Henry III. 
 Every perfonage, that makes any thing of a figure 
 in the hiflpry of Charles IX and in that of his bro- 
 thers, even to the very clergy, died by a violent 
 death. The lords of that time, fuch as marfhal 
 St Andre, the ccnftable de Montmorenci, prince 
 Conde, and the duke of Joyeufe, were flain in bat- 
 tle, pcrifhed by ailaflination and villany. The blows 
 were given by men that knew them, and who aimed 
 at their life in particular ; and we even know the 
 names of thofe that murdered them. I know not by 
 what fatality Henry II, the three kings his children, 
 and Henry IV, who fucceeded one another inimedi- 
 atcly, died all five by a violent death ; a misfortune 
 which happened not to any of our kings of the third 
 race, tho' nioft of them reigned in very difficult 
 I times.
 
 Poetry and Pa inting. 231 
 
 times, and when men were more unpoliPaed than in 
 the fixteenth century. We have fecn civil wars in 
 France in the fcventeenth century, and parties as 
 much inflamed and animated againft cne another 
 under Lewis XIII and Lewis XIV, as it was pofiible 
 for the facfbions that followed the dukes of Guife or 
 the admiral de Coligni in the preceding century ; 
 and yet the hiftory of the latter commotions has not 
 been full of thofe poifonings, aflafilnates, and other 
 tragic events fo common in France under the latter 
 princes of the branch of Valois. 
 
 Nor will it avail to fay, that the motive of reli- 
 gion which influenced the civil wars during the 
 reign of the Valois, poifoned people's minds ; a 
 motive which did not alted: our laft civil wars. 
 I fiiould fay for anfwtr, that as the precept of loving 
 one's enemies is not contefted either by Rome 
 or Geneva, it follows of confequcnre, that who- 
 foever engages fincerely in either caufe, ought to 
 have a horror for murder or affaffination.- It was a 
 wicked policy, fcconded by the fpirit of the age, 
 whic!: induced people whole whole religion (to 
 make ufe of tlie expreflion of the times) confiilcd 
 in ;i red or wliicc karf, to perpetrate fuch flagitious 
 villanics. If any one fliould reply, that thofe 
 wretches, tho fincere Catholics or fluguenots, were 
 peo])ie of wild extravagant imagiriations, and, 
 in a v/ord, honed fanatics ; this would be efpou- 
 fmg my lent; meat. As there were no fuch perfons 
 during the lail civil wars, we niuft conalude, that 
 there ;ire times, in whicli wxw of this charader, 
 who always hna occafions of running into the like 
 ^xcclfcs, are commoner than at other times. This 
 
 a 4 i^
 
 232 CriT IC AL ReF LECT ION S O;; 
 
 is admitting of a difterence of fpirits in the fame 
 country, but in different ages. 
 
 In eflfeft, were fuch rivers of blood fpilt on 
 account of the herefy of Arrius, which raifed fuch 
 difputes and commotions in Cliriftcndom ? There 
 had been feveral contefls in France in point of reli- 
 gion, before the Reformation ; but except the wars 
 againft the Albigcnfes^ thofe difputes never occafioned 
 the effufion of French blood ; becaufe there was not 
 that fame acrimony in their humors, nor the fame 
 inflammation in their minds. 
 
 "Whence comes it, that men in fome ages are feized 
 with an invincible averfion to all mental application, 
 and have fo little an inclination to ftudy, that every 
 method which is ufed in order to excite them to it, 
 remains a long time ineffedlual ? The moft painful 
 exercifes of the body, and the greateft dangers, do 
 not frighten them fo much as application. What 
 privileges and advantages have not our kings been 
 pbliged to grant to graduates and the clergy in 
 the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, in order to 
 ^ncour^ge the French to fhake off that extreme 
 grofs ignorance, into which they had been plunged 
 fo long by fome unknown fatality .^ There was fo 
 great a neceffity at that time for exciting people to 
 ftudy, that in fome countries a part of the benefit 
 of the clergy was extended to fuch as knew how 
 to read. In fadl, it was a common thing to fee 
 great lords, who could not fign their own names, or 
 xvho wrote them without knowing the power of the 
 chara6lers of which they were compofed, but copied 
 only from the pattern fet before them. On the 
 Other hand, it wa? ufqal to fee men, v/ho. were 
 
 ready
 
 PoE T RY rtW PaI N TI NG. 233 
 
 ready to face the greatefl: dangers, or to engage in 
 the moft laborious exercifcs. 'Tis upwards now of 
 a century fince people have had a ftrong inclination 
 for fludy, and for praflifing the liberal arts, tho* 
 they have not had the fame encouragement as for- 
 merly. Men of an indifferent fhare of learning, 
 and perfons who profefs the liberal arts with flender 
 or mean capacities, are grown fo common, that fome 
 are whimfical enough to think, there ought to be as 
 much care taken at prefent to limit the number of 
 fuch as profefs the liberal arts, as there was formerly 
 to augment it. I'heir number, fay they, is in- 
 crcafed too high, in proportion to thofe who pro- 
 fefs the mechanic arts ; and the difproportion be- 
 tween them is become prejudicial to fociety. Js 
 •uue are fo unfortunate^ fays Seneca *, as to be luKuri- 
 ctis in every thing elfe^ fo tve are troubled alfo "juith 
 an intemperance of letters. 
 
 In fine, how comes it that wc obfcrve in the fame 
 country fome ages fo fubjed: to, and others almofl; 
 intirely exempt from, epidemical diforders •, if this 
 diliercnce dees not proceed from the alterations 
 that happen in the qualities of the air, which va- 
 ries in different ages ? Wc reckon four gL-neral 
 plagues in France from 1530 to 1636. During 
 the fucceeding fourfcore years to 171S, very 
 few cities in France have been vilited with this 
 fcourge. 'Tis upwards of fourfcore years fmce 
 the Lazcretcos of the greatefl part of this king- 
 dom have not been opened. Strange diflcmpers 
 rile in particular ages, and after fliewing them- 
 
 ^ Ut cnmiian reruiii fic littcrarum quQ^uc i%ti.77:^crni:tid lah)ra- 
 n:ui. bHNiiCA epiil, icj. 
 
 fclvcs
 
 234 Critical Reflections c;z 
 
 felves two or three times during a certain number 
 of years, they difappear at laft for ever. Such 
 were in France the burning dijlemper, and the 
 cbolic of Poitou. When we fee fo many vifible 
 effects of the alterations of the qualities of the 
 air ; when we have fo diftindt a knowledge that this 
 alteration is real, and are even acquainted with the 
 caufe thereof, can we forbear attributing thereto, 
 the fenfible difference we obferve in the fame coun- 
 try between men of two different ages ? I conclude 
 therefore with tlie words of Tacitus^, " That the 
 *' world [is fubjedt to changes and vicifTitudes, 
 " whofe periods are unknown to us ; but their revolu- 
 " tions bring back by an alternate fucceffion, po- 
 " litenefs and barbarifm, as well as the talents of 
 " mind, and the ftrength of body, and confe- 
 " quently the increafe and decay of the arts and 
 " fciences ; in the fame manner as the revolution 
 *' of the fun is attended with an alternate {ucct^- 
 " fion of feafons." 'Tis a confequence of the plan 
 adopted by the Creator, and of the mieans he has 
 chofen for its execution. 
 
 * Rehus cunHis ineji quidavt njelut orbis, ut quemadnu^'fH 
 tftnparum I'ices, ita morum vertautur. Tacit» 
 
 CHAP,
 
 Critical Reflections p;; 235 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 Of the manner in which the reputation of poet % 
 and painters is efiablifoed, 
 
 I Intend to perform here the promife I made in 
 the commencement of this work, to examine be- 
 fore I had done, the manner in which the reputation 
 of painters and poets is eftabhfhed. Whatever my 
 fubjeft will oblige me here to fay with refpedl to 
 the fuccefs of verfes and pictures, will ferve for a fur- 
 ther confirmation of what I have already obierved 
 relating to the moft important and effential merit 
 of thefc productions. 
 
 New performances are approved at firfl by judges 
 of a very different chara6ler, that is, by men of the 
 fame profelTion, and by the public. They would be 
 foon rated at their juil value, were the public as ca- 
 pable of defending and maintaining their fentiment, as 
 they know how to efpoufe the right party. But 
 their judgment is eafily perplexed by perfons who 
 make profefTion of the art, to whofe jurifdiclion the 
 new produdion belongeth. Now thefc perfons are 
 frequently fubjeft to make a falfe report of things, 
 for reafons which wc fhall give hereafter. They 
 therefore throw fuch a mift over the truth, that the 
 public continues frequently for fomc time in a f^ate 
 of uncertainty or error. They do not know cxa6lly 
 what character the new work merits in a general con- 
 fideration. They remain fufpended with regard to 
 t\v'. c^uedion, whether it be good or bad taken alto- 
 gether, and they even fomctimes give credit, but 
 
 only
 
 ^^6 Critical Reflections o?i 
 
 oniy for a fhort time, to perfons of the profefllon 
 that impofe upon them. 
 
 This firfl time being elapfed, the public ap- 
 praifes a work to its full value, and gives it the 
 rank due to its merit, or condemns it to obli- 
 vion. 'Tis never deceived in this decifion, be- 
 caufe it judges difintereftedly, and likewife by a 
 fenfible perception. 
 
 When I fay, that the public judgment is difintc^ 
 refted, I do not pretend to affirm that one does 
 not meet with fome whom friendfhip engages in 
 favor of authors, and others who are prejudiced 
 againft them by a particular averfion. But thefe 
 are in fo fmali a number, in comparifon to difin- 
 terefted judges, that their prevention hath no great 
 influence in the general fuBrage. A painter, and 
 much more a poet (who generally is a great man 
 in his own imagination, and frequently of that 
 violent charafter of fpirit, as excludes any indif- 
 ference of perfons) fancies to himfelf, that a great 
 town, or a whole kingdom is peopled intirely with 
 rivals or adorers of his merit. He has a notion that 
 he has divided it into two fa<5lions, as much ani^ 
 mated the one for him, and the other againft him, 
 as the Guelfs and GibelJines were formerly for and 
 againft the emperors ; when adfually there are not 
 fifty who have declared either way, or who concern 
 themfelves with any warmth in the fuccefs of his 
 verfes. The greateft part of thofe whom he fup- 
 pofes to be abfolutely determined by fentiments of 
 hatred or friendfhip, are very indifferent about the 
 matter, and are difpofed to judge of the author by 
 the comedy, and not of the comedy by the author. 
 
 They
 
 Poetry and Pa i n 1 1 n g. 2^7 
 
 They are ready to fpeak their opinion with as much 
 freedom, as friends and fellow-boarders at the fame 
 houfe give their fentiment with regard to a cook, 
 whom the mafter of the houfe has a mind to make a 
 trial of. This is a judgment which cannot be faid 
 to be one of the leaft equitable in our country. 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 ^hat the public judges right of poems and pi5iures 
 in general. Of the Jaife we have to difiin- 
 guijh the merit of thefe works. 
 
 TH E public gives not only a difinterefted 
 judgment of a work, but judges likewife 
 what opinion we are to entertain of it in general, by 
 means of the fenfe, and according to the impref- 
 fion made thereon by the poem or pidure. Since the 
 chief end of poetry and paihring is to move us, the 
 produ6lions of thcfe arts can be valuable only in 
 proportion as they touch and engage us. A work 
 that is exquifitely moving, muft be an excellent 
 piece, take it all together. For the fame reafon, a 
 work which docs not move and engage us, is good 
 for nothing \ and if it be not obnoxious to criticifm 
 for trefpafling againfl rules, 'tis bccaufe it may be 
 bad, v/ithout any violation of rules i as on the 
 cnnrrary one full of faults againft rules, may be an 
 excellent performance. 
 
 Now our fcnfcs inform us whether a work touches 
 or makes a proper imprcflion u}ion us, much better 
 than a!l r!:e dilllTriticjr.s compofed by critics, to cx- 
 
 plai/i
 
 23S Critical Reflections on 
 
 plain ics merit, and calculate its perfecSlions and <\C' 
 fedts. The way of difcuITion and analyfis, which 
 thofe gentlemen employ, is indeed very proper, when 
 the point is to find out the caules why a work pleafes 
 or not ; but this method is inferior to that of the 
 fenfe, when we are to decide the following queftion : 
 Does the work pleafe, or does it not ? Is the piece 
 good or bad in general ? For thefe are both the fame 
 thing. Reafon therefore ought not to intervene in a 
 judgment which we pafs on a poem or picture in 
 general, except it be to account for the decifion of 
 our fenfes and to explain what faults hinder it from 
 pkafing, and what charms are capable of rendering 
 it engaging, Reafon will not permit us (if I may 
 fay fo) to reafon on a quellion of this nature, 
 unlefs it be defigned to juftify the judgment which 
 the fcnfe has palTed. The decifion of the queftion 
 does not belong to the jurifdidlion of reafon : 
 This ought to fubmit to the judgment pronounced 
 by fenfe, which is the competent judge of the 
 queftion. 
 
 Do we ever reafon, in order to know whether a 
 ragoo be good or bad -, and has it ever entered into 
 any body's head, after having fettled the geometri- 
 cal principles of tafte, and defined the qualities 
 of each ingredient that enters into the compofition 
 of thofe mefles, to examine into the proportion ob- 
 ferved in their mixture, in order to decide whether 
 the ragoo be good or bad ? No, this is never prac- 
 tifed. We have a fenfe given us by nature to dif- 
 tinguifh whether the cook aded according to the rules 
 of his art. People tafte the ragoo, and tho' unac- 
 quainted with thofe rules, they are able to tell, whe- 
 ther
 
 POE TR Y ^7;i Pa I NT I NG. 239 
 
 tner it be good or no. The lame may be faid in 
 Ibme refped: of the produftions of the mind, and of 
 pidures made to pleafe and move us. 
 
 We have a fenfe, which judges of the merit 
 of works, that confift in the imitation of objeds 
 of a moving nature. This is the very fenfe, which 
 would have judgc'd of the objed, that the painter, 
 poet, or mufician has imitated. 'Tis the eye, 
 when we are to judge of the coloring of a 
 pidure. 'Tis the ear, when we are to decide, whe- 
 ther the accents of a recitative be moving, whe- 
 ther they agree with the words, and whether the 
 mufic be melodious. If we are to determine, whe- 
 ther the imitation we are entertained with in a poem 
 or in the compoution of a pidure, be capable of 
 exciting our pity, and of moving us •, the fenfe whofe 
 province it is to judge thereof, is the very fenfe which 
 would have been moved, and have judged of the 
 objed imitated. 'Tis that fixth fenfe we have with- 
 in us, without feeing its organs. 'Tis a portion of 
 ourfclves, which judges trom what it feels, and 
 which, to exprefs myfelf in Plato's words "*, deter- 
 mines, without confulting cither rule or compafs. 
 I'his is, in fine, what is commonly called fenfe or 
 fcnfirive perception. 
 
 The heart is agitated of icfclf, by a motion pre- 
 vious to all deliberation, when the objed; prefented 
 IS really affed;ing ■, whether this objed has received 
 ics being from nature, or from an imitation made 
 by art. Our heart is made and organized for this 
 very purpolc : Ics operation therefore runs before 
 <;ur rcjloning, a^ the adion of the eye and ear 
 ■' Dc Rcpub 1 iG 
 
 precede:-
 
 t^b Critical Reflections on 
 
 precedes it in their fenfations. 'Tis as rare to fee 
 men born without the fenfe here mentioned, as 
 'tis to meet witli people born blind. Bui it can be 
 7io iUorc communicated by art^ liiys Qiiintilian % to thofe 
 that have it not from fiature, than the fenfe of tajle^ ot 
 fmelling. Wherefore imitations produce their etfeds, 
 ib as to make us laugh or cry, and engage us, be- 
 fore our reafon has time to a6l or examine. We 
 weep at a tragedy, before we have difcufled whe- 
 ther the object which the poet prefents us, be natu- 
 rally capable of moving, or whether it be well imi- 
 tated. Our fenfe tells us its nature, before ever wc 
 have thought of inquiring into it. The fame in- 
 flinft which would force a figh from us, upon meet- 
 ing a mother attending the funeral of an only fon, 
 draws tears from us, when the ftage exhibits a faith- 
 ful imitation of this melancholy event. 
 
 We know whether a poet has pitched upon a mov- 
 ing objed:, and whether he has properly imitated % 
 as we can tell, without reafoning, whether the pain- 
 ter has drawn a beautiful figure, or our friend's por^ 
 trait be like the original. To judge whether this 
 portrait has a likenefs, or no, muft we take the 
 proportions of our friend's countenance, and compare 
 them to thofe of the portrait '^. The painters them- 
 felves will acknowledge, that they have a fudden 
 fenfe vvhich goes before all examen, and that an 
 excellent picture which they never faw before, makes 
 fo quick an imprefllon upon them, as enables them, 
 before any difcuffion, to judge in general of its 
 merit. This firit Apprehenfon is even fufficient to 
 
 * Kcc ?nagi: arie tr.i.iitur, quam gujlui aut adaratus. Quint. 
 Inft. 1 6, c. 6< 
 
 I give
 
 PoETR V <7;;^ Paint IX g: 24I 
 
 give them a knowledge of the noble artift. 
 
 We are therefore in the right to fay, that if a per- 
 fon has but underitanding^ he can judge of every- 
 thing, for hereby underftanding we mean a jullnefs 
 and delicacy of fenfe. Wherefore Monfieur P.dcal ^ had 
 not properly digeftcd what he wrote, where he fays, 
 That thofe '-juho judge of any rsjork by riile^ are ivith 
 refpeSi to others^ as a man^ ivho has a tvatch^ is 
 ivith regard to the rejl of the company that have 
 none^ when they ivant to know^ what <?' clock it is. 
 I fancy this is one of thofe thoughts which a 
 little meditation would have made him explain ; for 
 every one knows that the work here mentioned is 
 compofed of ideas, which Monfieur Pafcal commit- 
 ted to paper as they occurred to him, rather in or- 
 der to examine than publifli them. After his de- 
 ceafe they were printed juft in the condition in 
 which they were found. When we are to decide 
 the merit ot a work that was made to move us, 
 'tis not the rults that are our watch, 'tis the impref- 
 fion we reccrivc from the work. Our watch goes right, 
 in proportion as our fenfe is delicate. 
 
 Ijoileau builds upon this rcafon, when he afHrma 
 that the grearcft part of profed critic?, who ftrivc 
 to fupply the deicdl of their fenfe by their know- 
 ledge of the rules, do not form as found a judg- 
 ment of the merit of excellent works, as men of ge- 
 nius of the Hrlt rank, who have not vm^c fo exaft 
 a rtudy of thofe rules. Grjj mc leave to tell you, 
 iays he to Monfieur Perraiilt, that even in our times, 
 'jks not^ as ycu imagine^ the Schrevclius's, the Pern- 
 
 Vol IL R rchi's.
 
 242 Critical Reflections on 
 redus'*s, the Menagius'Sy nor^ to exprefs myfelf in 
 Molieres terms, the learned In lUS, who have the 
 greateji relijh for the beauties of Homer, Virgil^ 
 Horace, and Cicero. ^Tis your geniuses of the firfi 
 clafs, whom I have always feen moji affe^ed with 
 reading thofe excellent authors : ''Tis your men of 
 the moji exalted fttuations. And if I were ahfolutely 
 chliged to cite feme of them, you would be fur" 
 prized with the great names I fhould commit to paper : 
 you would find among the reft not only the hamoig- 
 nons'^s, the Dagueffeaux^s, the Trois-villes*s, but like- 
 wife the Conde's, the Conti^s and the Turenne's. 
 
 In effeft, the ancient poets would be as much afto- 
 niflied to hear, what paflages of their works the ge- 
 nerality of their commentators are moft difpleafed 
 with, as if they were to know what Abbot de Ma- 
 rolles, and other tranflators of his rank, malce them 
 fay fometimes. Are profefTors tlut have taught Lo- 
 gic all their lives, the propereft perfons for know- 
 ing when a man fpeaks good fenfe, and reafons 
 juilly? 
 
 If the chief merit of poems and pictures were to 
 confift in being conformable to written rules, one 
 might then fay that the beft method of judging of 
 their excellency, as alfo of the degree of efteem they 
 ought to hold in the minds of men, would be cer- 
 tainly that of difcuffion and analyfis. But the prin- 
 cipal merit of poems and pictures is to pleafe us. 
 This is the chief end which painters and poets aim 
 at, when they take fo much pains to conform to 
 the rules of their art. We are therefore able to judge 
 whether they have fucceedcd, when we know whe- 
 ther their performance is affeding or no. One may 
 
 fay
 
 Poetry iz;?</ Pain i' IN G.' 243 
 
 fay indeed, that a work, in which the cfTential rules 
 are violated, cannot be pleanng. But this is better 
 known, by judging from the imprelTion m^de by 
 that work, than by forming a judgment of ir from 
 the difTertations of critics, who very feldom agree 
 with refpe<5l to the importance of each rule. Where- 
 fore the public is capable of judging right with rc- 
 Jation to verfes and piflures, without being acquaint- 
 ed with the rules of poetry and painting ; for, as 
 Cicero * fays. All men are capable of judging by 
 the help of an inis:ard fenfe, tho^ unacquainted with 
 rules ^ whether the produ£Iions of arts are good or bad, 
 and whether the reafons they hear^ be conclufive. 
 
 Quintilian obferves in a work ^ which we have of- 
 ten cited, tho' not fo often as it deferves, That *tis 
 not by reafoning we judge of works made to 7nGve and 
 pleafe. We judge by an inward motion^ which we 
 know not how to explain : At Icaji thofe who havt 
 hitherto endeavoured to explain it^ have mifcarried in 
 the attempt. 
 
 The pit, without knowing the rules of dramatic 
 poetry, forms as good a judgment of theatrical 
 pieces, as thofe that belong to the profcflion. The 
 fame thing happens^ fays Abbot Aubignac, with re- 
 gard to the Jlage as with refpe^ to eloq^iience ^ the ig- 
 norant are as fenfille of their perfections as the learn- 
 
 * Omv.et taclto quoAmn frrif.i fine ulla arte out mtiem-, quic fint 
 in artihus ac nilio/iiuui prava aui reSIa, dijuJ.cnvt. Cic. dcorat. 
 1.3. 
 
 '^ No7i rati'yTie aliqua, (rd rriolu nef^io an iner,arr>ihili jtiduafur. 
 hi'j:ie h'jc nh idlu jatii ixl'iiuiri j'-ito, ii'it "lulf; tCKtaiitriut . 
 QUIM . Iu.1. I 6, 
 
 R ;. ed.
 
 244 Critical Reflections on 
 
 ed, tho' they are not Jo well informed of the reafon 
 of thefe perfeofions. 
 
 Hence it comes that eminent artifts think proper 
 fometimes to confult perfons, who are ftrangers to 
 the rules of their arts, but are capable neverthelcfs 
 ut giving their decifions with refpeft to the effeft 
 of a work compofed for moving mankind ; becaufe 
 of their being endowed with a very fenfible difpofi- 
 tion. Such, people as thefe decide frequently even 
 before they fpeak, and without thinking of pafling 
 a decifion. But as foon as the motions of their 
 heart, which operates mechanically, are manifefted 
 by their geilure and countenance, they become, as 
 it were, a touch-ftone, which diftindly indicates, 
 whether the principal merit of a work that is fliewn 
 •r read to them, be wanting or not. Wherefore the' 
 thefe perfons are incapable of contributing to the 
 perfection of a work by their advice, or of giving 
 even a methodical account of their fentiment, their 
 decifion nevrrthelefs may be liifely depended upon... 
 There are feveral examples ol what 1 have here ad- 
 vanced ; and 'tis well known that Malherbe and 
 Moliere ufed to read their verfes to their fervant 
 maids, to try 'whether they -would take, to ufe the fa- 
 vorite expreflion of our dramatic poets. 
 
 But there are fome beauties (it will be objefted) 
 in works of this kind, v/hofc value mud ablblutely 
 lye hid from the ignorant. For inftance, a perfon 
 who docs not know, that the fame Pharnaces who 
 joined with the Romans againll his father Mithri- 
 dates, was jgnominioufly ftript of his territories fome 
 years after by Julius Csefar, is not ftruck with the 
 
 beauty 
 
 3
 
 Poetry ^W Paint iNG. 245 
 
 beauty of thefe prophetic verfes, which Racine puts 
 into the mouth of Mithridates juft as he is expiring. 
 
 Tot oil tard il faudra qiie Pharnace pcrijfey 
 Fiez-voits aux Remains dt( foin de fon fupplice. 
 
 At length Pharnaces muft receive his doom, 
 Th'' avenging hand impends^ I fee, from Rome. 
 
 Ignorant people cannot therefore judge of a poem 
 in general, fmce they underftand only a part of its 
 beauties. 
 
 I intrcat the reader not to forget the firfl anfwer 
 I am going to make to this obje6lion. 'Tis that 
 I do not mean the lower clafs of people by the pub- 
 lic capable of paffing judgment on poems or pic- 
 tures, or of deciding the meafure of their excellence. 
 The word public is applicable here to fuch perfons 
 only, as have acquired fome lights, either by read- 
 ing or by being converfant with the world. Thefe 
 are the only perfons who are capable of afcertaining 
 the rank of poems and pictures -, tho' in fome excel- 
 lent works one meets with beauties that are capable of 
 making an imprefTion upon the vulgar. But as they 
 have no knowledge of any other works of the fame 
 kind, they are unqualify' d to determine the degree 
 of excellence of a poem that commands their tears, 
 or of fixing the rank it ought to iiavc among other 
 poems. The public therefore here in quell ion, is limited 
 to perfons that read, and have a knowledge of thea- 
 trical entertainments, who fee or hear people talk of 
 pi6lures, and who have acquired by fome means or 
 other, that difccrnment which is called the Tajie of 
 Comparifon^ whereof we ihall prefently have occa- 
 fion to fpeak more at large. The reader, by attcnd- 
 
 R 3 ing
 
 ^4^ Critical Kefi^ections 012 
 
 ing to times and places, as well as to the nature of 
 the work, which happens to be examined, will foor^ 
 conceive much better than I am able to explain, to 
 what ftagc of capacity, to what degree of know- 
 ledge, and to what fituation or condition, the pub- 
 lic here meant, ought to be reflrained. For exam- 
 ple, every one that is able to pafs a found judg- 
 ment on a French tragedy, is not equally capable of 
 forming a right opinion of the iEncid, or of 
 any other Latin poem. The public capable of 
 judging in our days with regard to the merit of 
 Homer, is not neai? fo numerous as the public that 
 IS able to judge of the JfEneid. The public judg- 
 ment is therefore retrained, according to the nature 
 of the work in queftion. The word public is like- 
 wife limited more or Jefs, according to the times and 
 places fpoken of. There are fome ages and towns, 
 where the neceffary lights for judging properly of 
 a work by its effed, are more generally diffufcd 
 than in others. A particular rank of citizens, whp 
 have not the advantage of thefe lights in a country- 
 town, have thero in a metropolis. A rank that was 
 deprived of them at the commencement of the fix- 
 teenth century, is favoured with them at the clofc of 
 the feventeen^h. For infl4nce, fince the eftablifh- 
 ing of operas, the number capable of giving 
 their judgment on mufic, is confiderably increafed at 
 Paris. But as I have already faid, I am not afraid 
 that my reader will be miftaken with regard to the 
 extent, it will be proper to give the fignification of 
 the word 'public^ purfuant to the occafions on which 
 I ihall employ it. 
 
 My
 
 Poetry and Painting. 247 
 
 My fecond anfwer to the objection drawn from 
 the verfcs of Mithridates, is, that the public does 
 not finifh in one day the trial of works that have 
 real merit. Before verdidl is given, they muft lie 
 fome time, as it were, before the court. Now 
 as foon as the merit of a work draws the pub- 
 lic attention, thofe beauties which they cannot 
 comprehend without the afllftance of fome explica- 
 tion, do not pafs unobferved. This explication is 
 foon handed about, and defcends to the very loweft 
 clafs, who account for them afterwards with the author, 
 in giving a general definition of his work. Men 
 have at lead as ftrong a dcfire of telling what they 
 know, as of learning what they know not. Be- 
 fides, 1 do not imagine that the public would judge 
 amifs of a work in general, were even fome of thefc 
 beauties to efcape them. 'Tis not on beauties of 
 Jjjiis fort, that a fenfible author, who writes in a mo- 
 dern language, grounds the kiccefs of his poem. 
 The tragedies of Corneille and Racine do not con- 
 tain four fuch ftrokes as that jaft now mentioned of 
 Mithridates. If a piece is damned, we may venture 
 to fay, it would have met with the fame fate, were 
 every member of the public to have a thorough 
 knowledge of thofe veiled beauties. Two or rhrt--; 
 pafiagts which they overlooked, and whicii would 
 have pieafed them if they had rightly un:icriiood 
 tlieir nieaning, would not prevent their being tired 
 wich fifteen hundred others, which they unucrilood 
 *o perfection. 
 
 As the chief aim of poetry and painting i?^ to 
 move and plcafe us, every man who is not abfo- 
 lut'Jy Itupid, mull feci the effcd of good verfcs, and 
 
 R 4 ii..c
 
 248 Critical Reflections oft 
 
 fine piclures. All men ought to be in pofleflion of 
 a right of giving their fulfragc, wlien the quefti- 
 on to be decided is, whether poems or pi(5lures pro- 
 duce their proper effed:. . Wherefore, when the af- 
 fair in hand is to judge of the general effed: of a 
 work, the painter and poet have as little right to 
 objed: againll thofe who are unpradifed in their art, 
 as a furgeon would be intitled to refufe the teftimony 
 of a perfon who had undergone an operation, when 
 the point in difpute is only to know whether the o- 
 peration had been painful ; merely under the pretext 
 of the patient's ignorance in anatomy. What opi- 
 nion fhould we have of a mufician, were he to main- 
 tain, that fuch as do not underftand mufic, are in- 
 capable of judging whether the minuet he has com- 
 pofed, be agreable or not ? When an orator fets his 
 auditory a yawning and fleeping, is it not agreed 
 upon, that he made a bad difcourfc, without ex^- 
 mining'whether the perfons he fet afleep, underftood 
 any thing of rhetoric. Men convinced by inftind, 
 that the merit of an oration, as well as of a poem 
 or a pidurc, muft come within the reach of fenfe, 
 give credit to the auditor's relation, and depend up- 
 on his decifion, as foon as they know him to be a kn- 
 fible perfon. Were even one of the fpedators oi 
 a decried tragedy, to give a bad account of the rea- 
 fons of its being tirefome to him, tlfis would not 
 hinder us from paying a deference to the general 
 fenfe of the public. We fhould flill continue to 
 ]ook upon it as a bad performance, tho' the rcafoc. 
 of its badnejs were ever fo ill explained. We believe 
 the man, tho' wc do not comprehend his arguments. 
 
 What
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 249 
 
 What is it but the general fenfe, which decides 
 that fome colors are naturally gayer than others ? 
 Thofe who pretend to explain this truth by prin- 
 ciples, advance nothing but what is very obfcure, 
 and beyond the reach of moft capacities : And 
 yet the thing itfelf is looked upon as certain all 
 over the univerfe. It would be as ridiculous in the 
 Indies, to maintain that black is a gay color, as ic 
 would be at Paris, to affert that a light green or pink 
 were melancholy colors. 
 
 True it is, that with refped to the merit of pic- 
 tures the public is not fo competent a judge, as in 
 relation to the merit of poems. The perfeflion of 
 a great part of the beauties of a pidure, for in- 
 ftance, that of the defign, is not rightly percep- 
 tible but to painters, or connoijfeurs who have flu- 
 died painting as much as the artifts themfelves. 
 But we Ihall inquire elfewhere, into the beauties of 2 
 picture that admit of the public for a competent 
 judge, and thofc beauties that cannot be appraifed 
 to their juft value, but by fuch as underftand the 
 f ules of painting. 
 
 
 CHAP.
 
 250 Critical Reflection so/2 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 ^hat the way cf difcujjion is not Jo proper for 
 dijiinguijhiiig the merit of poems and pic^ 
 tures, as that of fen je, 
 
 TH E more we advance In years, and improve 
 in reafon, the Icfs credit we are apt to give 
 to philofophical arguments, and the more confi- 
 dence we have in fenfe and pradlice. Experience 
 teaches us, that we are very feJdom deceived by a 
 diftinft report of our fenfcs, and that the habit of 
 rekfoning and judging from this report, leads us to a 
 plain and fure pra6lice ; whereas we are deceived 
 every day in philofophical operations, that is, in 
 laying down general principles, and in drawing 
 from thence a chain of conclufions. With refpedt 
 to the arts, their principles are very numerous, 
 and nothing is eaficr than to be miftaken in the 
 choice of that which we are willing to ftate as the 
 moil important. May not this principle change, 
 according to the kind of work we have a mind to 
 apply to ? We may give alfo a greater extent to 
 a principle, than it ought naturally to have ; and we 
 are apt very often to efteem an unprecedented thing 
 impolTible. This is enough to throw us out of the 
 right road, the very third fyllogifm : The fourth 
 therefore becomes a fenfible fophifm, and the fifth 
 contains a conclufion, whofe falfity flrikes even 
 thole who are incapable of making an analyfis of 
 the reafoning, and of tracing it to the very fource 
 of its error. In fine, whether it be that natural 
 I philofo"
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 251 
 
 philofophers or critics ftate their principles wrong, 
 or whether they do not infer their conclufions right, 
 they find themfelves miftaken every day, the* they 
 give the ftrongeft affurances, that their method is 
 an infallible guide to truth. 
 
 How many errors hath experience difcovered in 
 philofophical reafonings, which were held in paft 
 ages for folid arguments ? As many as flie will in 
 future times difcover in thofe reafonings, which arc 
 fuppofed in our days to be founded on uncontefta- 
 ble truths. As we reproach the ancients for having 
 believed the dreadful abfurdity of a vacuum and 
 the influence of the ftars, our poflerity will objeft 
 fome time or another againft the like errors, which 
 reafon would attempt in vain to unfold, but expe- 
 rience and time will foon be capable of detefting. 
 
 The two moft illuftrious philofophical aflemblies 
 in Europe, the Academy of fciences at Paris, and 
 the Royal fociety at London, have not thought 
 proper to adopt, or build any general fyftem of 
 phyfics. By conforming to the opinion of chancel- 
 lor Bacon, they adhere to no fyftem, left the defirc 
 of juftifying it, fhould bewitch the eyes of the ob- 
 fervers, and make them fee the experiments, non 
 as they really arc, but as they ought to be in or- 
 der to add weight to an opinion which they have 
 attempted to fprcad for true. Thefe two famous 
 academics are therefore fatisfied with verifying the 
 fadts and inferting them in their rcgiftcrs, con- 
 vinced that noching is eafier for our reafon tiian 
 to ftumble, as foon as it attempts to go two paces 
 beyond the point, to which it has been conduftid 
 by experience. 'Tis therefore from the hands of 
 
 cxpe-
 
 252 Critical Reflections o?i 
 
 experience that thefe focieties expedl a general fyf- 
 tem. What lliall we think of thofe fyftems of poe- 
 tic rules, which, fo far from being grounded on ex- 
 perience, attempt point-blank to contradidt it, and 
 pretend to demonftrate to us, that works admired 
 by all who have been capable of underftanding them 
 thefe two thoufand years, are very far from deferv- 
 ing admiration ? 
 
 The more we know ourfelves and the reft of 
 mankind, the lefs, as I have already obfcrved, 
 we confide in fpeculative decifions, even in matters 
 that in rigor are fufceptlble of geometrical demonftra- 
 tion. M. Leibnitz would never venture to let his 
 coachman drive thro' a place where the fellow 
 even when fafting alTures him, that he muft ab- 
 folutely be overturned ; tho' a mathematician had 
 demonftrated to that learned man, by a geome- 
 trical analyfis of the declivity and height of the 
 way, as aUb by the weight of the vehicle, that 
 the thing could not happen. We are apt to be- 
 lieve our own common fenfe preferable to philofo- 
 phy, becaufc the latter is eaficr impofed upon than 
 the former. 
 
 If there is an art that depends on philofophical 
 fpeculation, 'tis that of navigation. Let us afk 
 our navigators, whether the old pilots, whofe whole 
 knowledge confifts in experience, and in what little 
 they have learnt by rote, do not give a better guefs 
 in a long voyage, what place or latitude the fliip ac- 
 tually fteers her courfe in, than your frefli-watcr 
 mathematicians, tho' the latter have fludied for ten 
 years together, all the auxiliary fcienccs to the art of 
 ria\'ie;a:ion. They will anlwer, thvit they never faw
 
 Poetry and Painting, 253 
 
 thefe mathematicians fet pilots right with regard to 
 the eftimation, except in their printed relations •, on 
 which occafion they may very well alledge the an- 
 fwer of the lion in the fable, who was defired to 
 take notice of a Low-relieve, where a man had flung 
 a lion on the ground ; to which he replied that 
 lions had no fculptors. 
 
 When archduke Albert undertook the famous fiege 
 of Oftend, he fent for Pompey Targon, the greatell 
 mathematician of his time, but without experience, to 
 make him his principal engineer. But Pompey Tar- 
 gon was very far from anfwering the archduke's ex- 
 pectation. Not one ot his machines fucceeded, and 
 chey were obliged to difmifs him, after he had cauied 
 an imm.enfc expcnce and effufion of blood to very 
 little purpofe. They gave the direction of the fiege 
 afterwards to the famous Ambrofe Spinola, who had 
 only genius and experience, which however fucceeded. 
 This great general had never ftudied any of thofc 
 fciences that arc requifite to form an engineer, 
 when he took a difguft at feeing another noble Gc- 
 noefe preferred to him in the purchafe of the palace 
 Turfi at Genoa. This fee him upon going into the ar- 
 my in the Spanifh Netherlands, at a very advanced 
 period of life, in comparifon to the age in which 
 people generally make tlieir apprcnticcfhip in the 
 art of war. 
 
 When tlie great prince Condc laid ficgc to Thion- 
 villc after the battle of Rocroi % he lent for Robcr- 
 val, the moft knowing perfun in the mathematics at 
 that time, and who di; d royal profjllbr in this 
 fcicnce, as a peifon capable of ad\'iiing him with re- 
 
 fpta
 
 1^54 Critical llEFtECTroNS m 
 
 fped to the ficge he was going to form. iJtoi 
 bcrval propofed nothing that was prafticablej 
 wherefore they were obliged to fend him to Metz^ 
 to wait there till other engineers had taken the placei 
 'Tis plain from Boccalini*s books, that he was ac- 
 quainted with the moft ingenious obfcrvations the an- 
 cients and moderns have left us, on the great art of 
 governing. Pope Paul V, from the notion he had 
 of his fame and abilities, intruflcd him with the go- 
 vernment of a fmall town, which a man that did 
 not underftand a word of Latin might Very well 
 know how to manage. The pontif was obliged af- 
 ter three months adminiftration, to recall the cele- 
 brated author of the political commentaries upon 
 Tacitus, and of the famous book intitled the Tcucb- 
 
 A phyfician at twenty five years of age, is as well 
 perfuaded of the truth of the phyfical reafonings, 
 which pretend to unfold the manner of the opera- 
 ting of the bark in the cure of intermitting fevers, 
 as he may be of the efficacy of the remedy. A 
 phyfician at fixty is convinced of the truth of the 
 fad which he has feen feveral times ; but he gives 
 no manner of credit to the explications of the effeft 
 of the remedy. Is it the knowledge in fimples, and 
 fkill in anatomy, or is it the experience of a phyfi- 
 cian, that determines a perfon who has fome expe- 
 rience himfelf, in the choice of his phyfician ? 
 Charles 11 king of England ufed to fay, that of all 
 the Frenchmen that ever he knew, Monfieur Gour- 
 ville was the man of the beft fenfe. This Gentle- 
 man wanted a phyfician ; and the mofr celebrated 
 members of the faculty made intereft to be admit- 
 ted
 
 PoETRV and Painting. 255 
 
 ted to aflift him in that capacity. Without minding 
 their recommendations he fent a trufty fervant to 
 the door of the college one day when the faculty was 
 alTembled, with orders to bring him, without any 
 furtlier inquiry, the phyfician whofe complexion 
 he fhould judge to be moft like to that of his 
 mafter. The fervant in conformity to his orders, 
 brought him juft fuch a man as he wanted, and the 
 fcheme anfwered his expe(5tation. Monfieur Gour- 
 ville's determination was in favor of experience, 
 which with refpe6t to him was ftill more deferving 
 of that appellation. 
 
 The late Monfieur de Tournefort, one of the wor- 
 thieft: members of the academy of fcicnces, fays, with 
 refpedl to a diiScult pafs, which he got over % For 
 i)iy part, I abandoned myfelf intirely to the guidance of 
 tny horfe^ and found it anfwered better than if 1 had 
 Jtrove to manage him myfelf. An automaton that fol- 
 lows naturally the laws of mechanics^ condulis itfelf 
 much better on thefe occajions, than the mofi knowing^ 
 ■per f on in mechanics^ who fhould attempt to praSlife the 
 rules he has learnt in his cabinet^ were he even a member 
 of the academy of fciences. Obferve, 'tis the expe- 
 rience of a horfe, that is, of a machine in the opinion 
 of this author, which is preferred here to the rea- 
 fonings of an academic. 'I'his horfe (give me leave 
 to joke a little) carries us a great way. Tho' the 
 counfcllors are generally more learned than the 
 judges, ytt 'tis very common for the former to be 
 miftaken m the conjedlures they form of the ifTue of 
 a law-fuit. The judges who have read only a fmall 
 number of books, but whofc daily experience ac- 
 
 * Voyage to the Levant, Ictt. ii. 
 
 quaints
 
 2^6 Critical Reflections o^ 
 
 quaints them with the motives that determine tht 
 tribunals in the trial of a procefs, are very feldotii 
 miilaken in their predidions with relpedt to the 
 event of a caufc. 
 
 Now if there is any fubjed, in which reafon 
 ought to be filcnt when oppofed to experience, 'tis 
 certainly in thofe queftions which may be raifed con- 
 cerning the merit of a poem. 'Tis when we want 
 to know, whether a poem pleafes or not ; whether, 
 generally fpeaking, it be an excellent or indifferent 
 performance. The general principles we go upon, 
 in reafoning confidently with refped to the merit of 
 a poem, are exceeding few. There is fometimcs 
 room for exception againft a principle that feems 
 the moft univerfal -, and a great many of them are 
 fo vague, that one may maintain with equal probabi^ 
 lity, that the poet has^either obferved or fwerved from 
 them. The importance of thofe principles depends 
 alfo on an infinite number of circumftances of times 
 and places in which the poet has wrote. In fhort, 
 as the principal aim of poetry is to pleafe, 'tis ob- 
 vious that its principles are oftner arbitrary than thofe 
 of other arts, becaufe of the various taftes of thofe 
 for whom the poet compofcs. Tho' the beauties of 
 the art of rhetoric ought to be much lefs arbitrary 
 than thofe of poetry, neverthelefs Quintilian * fays, 
 fh^i ii has iwver fubmittcd but to a very fmall number 
 of thofe principles and rules, which are called general 
 
 • Propter qua: inihi femper vioris fuit quam m'lmine aUigare tne 
 ad pracepta qua: y.a.ho'SiX.oi <vocantur, id eji, ut dkamiis quomodt 
 poffumus, uni'ver/alia -vel perpctuaiia. Raro enini repcritur hoc ge- 
 nus, ut Tion lab e f aft ar'i parte all qua aut fubrui foj/it. Quint. 
 Inft. 1. 2. c. 14. 
 
 and
 
 Poetry a?2d Pa i n t i n g. 257 
 
 and univerfal ; for there are hardly any of them 
 wbofe validity is not contejled for "jery goodreafons. 
 
 'Tis therefore almoft impofTible to fet a juft va- 
 lue upon what may refult from the happy irregu- 
 larities of a poet, as Ukewife from his atten- 
 tion to certain principles, and his negligence in 
 deviating from others. In fine, what a vafl num- 
 ber ot faults are generally forgiven becaufe of the 
 beauty of his flyle ? Another thing to be obferved 
 is, that after having reafoned and concluded well for 
 ourfclves, we fhould be liable to draw a bad con- 
 clufion for others, who might happen to be exactly 
 the very perfons, for whom the poet compofed 
 his work. Would a geometrical ellimation of the 
 merit of Ariofbo made by a Frenchman in our days, 
 be of any weight with the Italians of the fixteenth 
 century ? Would the rank which a French writer of 
 differtations fhould chance to give Ariofto in confe- 
 quence of a poetic analyfis of his poem, be acknow- 
 ledged to be tlut v/hich is due to Mojfer Lodovico ? 
 What a vail number of calculations and combina- 
 tions a perfon mufl" make betore he is capable of 
 drawing a juft confequence ! A great volume in folio 
 would be fcarce fufficicnt to contain the exact ana- 
 lyfis of Racine's Phaedra according to this method, 
 and to eflimate this piece by way of cxamen. The 
 dilcuflion would be as much liable to error, as 
 it would be tirefome to the writer, and difagre- 
 able to the reader. That which the analyfis in 
 vain attempts to find, is immediately difcovcred by 
 our fenfc. 
 
 \oi.\\. S The
 
 258 Critical Reflections cji 
 
 The fenfe here fpoken of, is in all men ; but as 
 they have not eyes and ears of equal goodneft, 
 fo their fenfe is not equally perfeft. Some have 
 it better than others, either becaufe their organs 
 are naturally better compofed, or becaufe they 
 have improved it by frequent ufe and experience. 
 Such as thcfe ought naturally to difcern fooner than 
 others the merit or infignificancy of a work. 'Tis 
 thus a perfon, that is clear-fighted, difcovers people 
 diftinclly a hundred yards off, when thofe who are 
 juft dole to him, can hardly difcern the color of 
 men''s drefs that are approaching towards them^ 
 Were we to be direded by our iirft motion, wc 
 Ihould judge of the extent of other men's fenfes by 
 our own. It happens therefore, that Iliort-fighted 
 folks hcfitate fometimes before they acquiefce to the 
 fenfe of one that fees better than themfelves ; but 
 as foon as the perfon who is moving forward, comes 
 within a proportionable diftance, they are all of on* 
 opinion. 
 
 In like manner all that judge by fenfe, agree 
 at lafl with refpeft to the effcd and merit of a, 
 work. If a conformity of opinion be not efta- 
 bliflied amongft them fo foon as it ought, 'tis be- 
 caufe men, in giving their opinion with refpe(ft to 
 a poem or a piflure, do not confine themfelves always 
 to fay what they think, and to relate fincerely the 
 imprefilon it makes upon them. Inftead of fpeak- 
 ing fimply and according to their own apprehctifiony 
 the merit of which they are frequently unac- 
 quainted with, they attempt to decide by principles ;- 
 and as the greatell part are incapable of explain-
 
 Poetry d72d Painting. 259 
 
 ing themfelves methodically, they perplex their de- 
 cifions, and difturb one another in their judgments. 
 A httle time reconciles them again to themfelves, as 
 well as to one another. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 DbjeBio7i againfi the folidity of the public judge- 
 ments^ and anfwer to this objeSlion. 
 
 IB E G I N already, methinks, to hear a long 
 citation of errors, into which the public in all 
 ages and countries have fallen with regard to the 
 merit of thofe who have been invefted with high 
 dignitij?, or have exercifcd particular profefTions. 
 How cari you pretend (fome will fay) to make us 
 imagine there is any infallibility in an appraifer of 
 merit, that has been io often miftaken with regard 
 to generals, miniders, and magiilrates, and fo ofteil 
 obliged to retract his juc'gment ? 
 
 I fhali make two replies to tliis obje6lion, which 
 in reality is more impofing than folid. In the 
 firft place, the public is feldom miilakcn, in de- 
 fining in gen'.ral the abovcmeniioncd pcrfons as 
 an txan^plc of iniu'licc, tho' it may commend or 
 blame thirn uiircafonably fometimes with regard to 
 a particular event. Let us explain this propofition. 
 The public docs not judge of the merit ol' a general 
 troni a f)n<j;V caniixtip-n, nor of that ot a minifter 
 lr(;tn one {(>]■' negoci -.fion, nor of a phyfician from 
 the trcaimjiU of a fmgle diilcmper. Its judgment 
 
 S 7. ii
 
 26o Critical Reflections 07i 
 
 is formed from feveral events and fuccefifes. Now as 
 imjuil as it would be to judge of the merit of the 
 pcrfons here mentioned from one fingle fuccefs ; (o 
 reafonable, methinks, it is to form a judgment of 
 them from repeated fuccefTcs, as well as by com- 
 paring them to thofe of perfons who have had 
 the management of affairs of the like nature. 
 
 A fingle lucky fuccefs, or even two, may be the 
 effed of the power of conjundures. 'Tis rare that 
 Kick alone can produce three happy events -, but 
 when thcfe fucceffes amount to a certain number, it 
 v/ould be madnefs to pretend they are merely theeffed; 
 of hazard, and that the ability of the general or mi- 
 nifter is not at all concerned in them. The fame 
 may be faid with regard to unlucky adventures. A 
 player of trick-track, who out of twenty games 
 with the fame perfon wins nineteen, is always 
 fuppofed to underftand the game better than his ad- 
 verfary, tho' the caprice of the dice may make a bad 
 player win two games running of a very good 
 one. Now war and thofe other profefTions de- 
 pend much lefs on fortune tlian trick-track, tho' for- 
 tune has fome fhare in the fuccefs of thofe who profefs 
 it. The plan a general lays, after having examined 
 his forces, his refources, and in lliort the means that 
 are in the enemy's or in his own power, is not ex- 
 pofed fo often to be difconcerted as the projed of a 
 gamefler. Wherefore the public is in the right to 
 think, that a general who is conllantly fucccfsful in 
 his campaigns, underftands the art of war •, tho' a 
 general may have a lucky event without merit, as 
 he may lofe a battle or be obliged to raife a fiege, 
 without being unfl<:ilful in his profelTion. Cardinal 
 
 Mazaria
 
 PCETRY ^«^ Pa I NT I N G, 261 
 
 Mazarin underftood as well as any man, what 
 fliare capacity hath in events, which weak people 
 imagine to depend almoft intirely on chance, bc- 
 caufe they depend in part. For this reafon he never 
 confided cither armies or negotiations to any but 
 lucky perfons, upon a fuppofition that one cannot 
 fucceed often enough to merit the title of fortunate, 
 without having great abilities. Now the public 
 feldom retrafts the general judgments it has palTed 
 on the merit of generals and minifters, in the man- 
 ner here explained. 
 
 My fecond anfwer is, that it would be wrong to 
 conclude, the public rnay be miftaken with regard 
 to a poem, or picture, becaufe it often praifes or 
 condemns minillers and generals unrcafonably with 
 refpc^ft to particular events. The public is never 
 miUaken, lor inftance, with regard to the praife or 
 blarne due to a general after winning or lofing a 
 battle, but for pafiing its judgment on an intire ob- 
 jett, whereof it underftood only a part. When it is 
 in tile wrong, 'tis tor having cenlured or commcndcci, 
 before it had been rightly inftrucled in the parts 
 wlneh the general had in th- good or bad fucccf;. 
 The thing is, the public would tain iu^'ge, w'lde it: 
 is mihniormcd with rcfj-iect to tiie hirls. It has 
 paiicti i':s iuvlgnient en the general, before it was 
 right!/ InftruLtcd (itJKr roneenviig th.e conilrair.t 
 he lay u;idcr irom t'le orders of .his prince or his rc- 
 ].ub!ic, or witli rLfj)eet to ri:e crofils ]\c. nvt v."it'i ironi 
 t;i<;f: wiude bnfin'-.ls it was to .I'dil ]\::n, o: \n vcu^Md 
 10 his bcirig d:iai'[)oi!"iteJ ol his Dro!!;!; ■(! tucv'ours.' 
 ihe pi.biic (;(>es not isuow, w;;^tiier he has nor 
 ioii",ht o!'i th.e ha/.ard which lee'.rI^. to have b' n
 
 26z Critical Reflections o« 
 
 the only caufe of his fuccefs, either by prefling the 
 enemy clofe, or by giving him fome occafion of 
 falling into a prcfumptuous confidence j and whe- 
 ther the benefit he draws from this hazard, be not 
 due to the precautions he had taken befcreband to 
 improve it to his advantage. It cannot tell, whether 
 the general could remove, or at leaft whether he 
 ought to have forefeen the unlucky accident which 
 ciifappointed his enterprize, and has given it even an 
 appearance of temerity, after it proved abortive. 
 The fame may be faid of the public, when it com- 
 mends or cenfures the minifter, the magiftrate, and 
 even the phyfician, with regard to a particular 
 event. 
 
 But the cafe is otherwife in praifing painters 
 or poets, becaufe thefe are never happy or un- 
 happy with refpecft to the fuccefs of their produc- 
 tions, but in proportion to their merit. Whei^ 
 the public decides of their works, its judgment 
 is direded towards an object, which it knows 
 and fees in all and every part. All the beauties and 
 imperfeftions of thefe forts of works are laid open, 
 and nothing that can render them worthy of blame or 
 praife is concealed, but is known as much as is ne- 
 celTary for forming a right judgment. A prince 
 who has given his commiffion to a general, or his 
 inftruftion to a minifter, is not as capable of judging 
 of their condud, a^ the publi? is of judging of po- 
 ems and pi(flures. 
 
 Painters and poets (fome will continue to objc6l) 
 are at leaft the unhappieft of all thofe whofe works 
 are expofed to the eyes of the public. For every 
 body has a right to arraign them, even without giving 
 
 any
 
 Po E T R Y and Pa I N T I N G. 263 
 
 any reafon for fo doing ; whereas the learned in 
 other arts or Iciences are judged only by their pcers^ 
 who are Ukevvife obliged to convi6l them in form 
 before they are intitled to proceed to fentence. 
 
 I do not imagine it would be any great advantage 
 for painters and poets, to be judged only by their 
 peers. But let us anfwer more ferioufly. When a 
 work treats of fciences or fubje6ls that are merely fpe- 
 culative, its merit is not difcernible to the fenfe. 
 People therefore that have acquired a necelTary 
 knowledge for diftinguifhing whether a work be 
 good or bad, are the only perfons that are ca- 
 pable of judging. Men are not born with a 
 knowledge of aftronomy and phyfics, as with a 
 fcnfitive faculty. They cannot therefore judge of 
 the merit of a phyfical or aftronomical piece, but 
 by virtue of their acquired knowledge -, whereas they 
 are able to form, a judgment of vcrfes and pi6lures 
 in confequence of their natural difcernment. Where- 
 fore geometricians, phyficians, and divines, or thole 
 v/ho without hanging ouf" a fign of thefe fciences, 
 are neverthelefs well acquainted with them, are the 
 only perfons capable of judging of a work that treats 
 of their refpedtive fciences. But every man may 
 •judge of verfes and piftures, becaufe every man has 
 ?. natural (enfibility, and the effccl of verfes and pic- 
 tures falls under the fenfe. 
 
 Tho' this anfwer is irrefragable, yet I fliall fli!l 
 rorroboratc it with another reflexion. As foon as 
 the fciences abovementioned liave operated by vir- 
 ir,e of their principles, and produced fomcthing 
 that muft be ufeful or agrcable to mankind in gc- 
 ;icral, wc can tell then without any other light but 
 
 S 4 what
 
 264 Critical Re FLECTIONS o;/ 
 
 what comes from the fenfitive faculty, whether the 
 learned author has fucceeded. People ignorant in 
 aftronomy know as well as the learned, whether the 
 aftronomer has foretold an eclipfe precifely, or whe- 
 ther the machine produces the eifeft promifed by 
 the mathematician, tho' they can alledge no metho- 
 dical proof, that the aftronomer and mathematician 
 are in the wrong, nor are capable of telling in what 
 they have been miftaken. 
 
 If there be any fuch thing as arts, that fall under 
 the fenfe, painting and poetry muft certainly be of 
 this number, fince their operation is defigned intirely 
 to m.ove us. The fole exception that can be made, 
 is, that there are fome pi6lures and poems, whofe 
 intire merit does not fall under the fenfe. We 
 cannot determine by a fenfitive afllftance, whether 
 truth be obferved in an hiftorical picture reprefent- 
 ing the fiege of a place, or the ceremony of a, con- 
 fecration. Our fenfes alone cannot inform us, whe- 
 ther the author of a philofophical poem reafons juft- 
 ]y, and proves his fyilem-with folidity. 
 
 Our fenfes, I allow, cannot judge of that part of 
 the merit of a poem or piclure, which may be dif- 
 tinguiflicd by the name of its excrinfecal merit ; but 
 this is becaufe the arts of poetry and painting them- 
 felvcs are incapable of deciding of it. In this ref- 
 pe6t painters and poets have no manner of advan- 
 tage over the reft of mankind. If any of thefe ar- 
 tifts are capable of deciding with regard to what we 
 have called extrinfecal merit in poems and piftures, 
 "tis becaufe they have the advantage of fome other 
 knowledge, befides wliat they have received from the 
 arts of poetry and painting. 
 
 When
 
 Poetry mid Pa i n t i n g. 2 65 
 
 "When there happens to be a difpute concerning 
 one of thofe mixt pieces, which fall within the in- 
 fpeflion of different tribunals, each of them decides 
 the queftion belonging to its jurifdi6tlon. This gives 
 rife fometimes to oppofite tho' juft fentiments con- 
 cerning the merit of the fame work. Thus poets 
 very juftly commend Lucretius's poem on the uni- 
 verfe, as the produftion of an eminent artift ; when 
 philofophers condemn it as a book fluffed with falfe 
 reafonings. 'Tisthusalfo hiflorians blame Varillas, 
 becaufe of the miftakes he commits in almoft every 
 page •, whilft thofe who feek for amufement only, 
 commend him for his entertaining narratives, and 
 for the graces of his flyle. 
 
 But to return to Lucretius, the public Is as much 
 a judge of that part of the m.erit of his poem which 
 belongs to the jurifdiclion of poetry, as the poets 
 themfelves. All this portion of the merit of Lucre- 
 tius falls under the fenfe. 
 
 The true method therefore of diftinguifhing the 
 merit of a poem, will be always to confult the im- 
 prcfTion it makes. Our age is too knowing, or, if 
 you pleafe, too philofophical, to believe we muft: 
 learn of critics, what wc arc to think of a work 
 compofed to move us, when we can read this 
 work ourfelves, and there are multitudes that have 
 aCLually read it. Philofophy, which teaches us to 
 judge of things by their proper principles, informs 
 us at the fame time, that in order to know the me- 
 rit and excellence of a poem, wc mutt examine whe- 
 ther and how far it pleafcs and engages its readcrs, 
 
 Truc it is, that perfons who are unacquainted 
 v/ith the art, are incapable of afccnding as high as 
 
 the
 
 266 Critical Reflections oji 
 
 the caufes, which render us tired with a bad po- 
 em, or of pointing out their particular faults. Where- 
 fore I am far from pretending, that an ignorant per- 
 fon can tell precifely what the painter or poet has 
 failed in, and much lefs advile them with refpeft 
 to the correcElion of each error -, but this does not 
 debar him from judging by the impreflion made 
 by a work compofed on purpofe to pleafe and 
 engage him, whether and how far the author has 
 fucceeded in his enterprize. An ignorant perfon can 
 therefore affirm, that a work is good or bad ; and 
 'tis even falfe that he gives no reafon for his judg- 
 ment. The tragic writer, he will fay, has not 
 made him weep, nor the comic poet laugh. He al- 
 ledges, that he feels nopleafurein gazing at a pidure, 
 for which he has no value or efteem. 'Tis the bu/inels 
 of the works themfelves to make their defence againfl 
 fuch criticifms, and v/hatfoever an author may chance 
 to fay in order to excufe the weak parts of his po- 
 em, has no more efFed, than the ftudied encomiums 
 which his friends beftow on the beautiful paf- 
 fages. Scuderi's tyrannical love is ranked amongft 
 the bad performances, notwithftanding Sarrazin's dif- 
 fertation in its favor. In faft, all the critical argu- 
 ments in the world are incapable of perfuading peo- 
 ple that a work pleafes, when they feel it does not ; 
 or that a work engages them, when they experience 
 the contrary. 
 
 CHAP,
 
 PoETR Y ^w^ Paint IN G. 267 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 Of the judgment of artifts, 
 
 AFTER having fpoken of the public judg- 
 ment with refpedi; to a new work, 'tis pro- 
 per we treat of fuch judgments as are palled by the 
 artiits themfelves. The greatcft part of thefe 
 gentlemen are apt to judge wrong of works confi- 
 dered in general ; for which there can be three 
 reafons alledged. The firft is, that the fenfibi- 
 licy of artifts is blunted : The fecond, they 
 judge of every thing by way of difcufilon : The 
 third, in fine, they are prevented in favor of 
 feme part of the art, and in the general judg- 
 ments they make, they fet a greater value upon 
 it, than it dcfcrves. Under the name of artifts I 
 include here, not only poets and painters, but like- 
 wife a great number ot fuch as write concerning 
 poems and pictures. What ! (fome will fay) the 
 more ignorant therefore a pcrfon is in poetry 
 and painting, the more capable he is of giving 
 a foJid judgment of thefe arts. Strange paradox! 
 The explication I am going to give of my propofi- 
 tion, joined to v/hat has been already faid, will be a 
 fufficient reply to an objection fo proper for preju- 
 dicing the world againft my opinion. There are 
 fome artills much more capable than the g -ncra- 
 lity of mankind, of pafiing judgment on the 
 performances of their art. 'rhcfe are fuch as are 
 born with a genius which is alv/ays accompanied 
 
 wiih
 
 26S Critical Reflections on 
 
 with a more exquifite fenfe, than that of the 
 common run of mankind. But the number of 
 thefe is very inconfiderable \ and as for thofe 
 without genius, I affirm that their judgments 
 are lefs folid than thofe of the generality of peo- 
 ple, or, if you will, of the vulgar. I am induced 
 to think thus for the following reafons. The 
 fenfibility of an artift without genius wears off in 
 time, and what little he learns by his pradlice, 
 contributes only to deprave his natural tafte, and 
 incline him to the wrong fide in his decifions. His 
 fenfe has been blunted by the neceflity of occupying 
 himfelf with verfes and painting, efpecially as he 
 muft have been frequently obliged to write and paint, 
 as it were, againft his will, in particular moments 
 when he felt no inclination for his work. He is be- 
 come therefore infenfible to the pathetic of verfes and 
 piftures, which have no longer the fame effeft upon 
 him, as they formerly had, and ftill have on men of 
 his age. 
 
 'Tis thus an old phyfician, tho' born of a tender 
 and companionate difpofition, is no longer moved as 
 much as another man with the fight of a dying per- 
 fon, or as much as he would have beenaffe6led himfelf, 
 if he had not pradlifed phyfic. The furgeon is har- 
 dened in the very fame manner, and acquires a 
 habit of diflefting thofe wretches without repugnance, 
 whofe kind of death renders their bodies a ftronger 
 objecft of horror. The mofl doleful ceremonies make 
 no impreffion on fuch, as by p^ofeffion are obliged 
 to aiTift at them. The heart grows callous in the 
 fame manner as. the hands and feet-; as Cicero very 
 
 ingenioufly
 
 Poetry a?hi Pa i n t i n g. 269 
 
 ingenioufly exprelTes himklf in giving a lively pic- 
 ture of the indolence of the republic. 
 
 Befides, painters and poets look upon imitations 
 as labor, whereas others confider them as interelt- 
 ing objefts. Wherefore the fubject of imitation, 
 that is, the events of the tragedy, and the ex- 
 prelTions of the pifture, make a very fuperficial im- 
 prefTion upon painters and posts without genius, 
 iuch as are here confidered. They are accuftomed 
 to fo feeble an emotion, that they hardly perceive 
 whether a work moves them or not. Their atten- 
 tion is intirely fixe on tjie mechanic execution, from 
 whence they form a judgment of the whole. The 
 poetry of Coypel's pidure reprefenting the facrifice 
 of Jephtha's daughter, does not ftrike them, and 
 they examine it with as much indifference, as if it 
 exhibited a ruftic dance, or fome other fubjeft inca- 
 pable of moving us : Infenfible of the pathetic of 
 his expreirions, they arraign him only by confult- 
 ing their rule and compafs, juit as if a picture 
 oug'it not to contain beauties fuperior to the deci- 
 fion of thofe inftruments. 
 
 'Tis thus the greateft part of our poets would ex- 
 amine the Cid, it this piece were new. Painters and 
 poets who have no enthufiafm do not feel that of 
 others, and giving their futlrage by way of difcuffion, 
 they commend or cenfure a work in genera], and de- 
 fine it to be good or bad, accortiing as they find it re- 
 gular in tlieir analyfis. How can they be good judges 
 oi the whole, when they are bad ones of the inven- 
 tion, a part whicli conditutes the principal merit of 
 works, and diftinguilhes the great genius from the 
 fimple artifl ? 
 
 Wherefore
 
 ^5^o Critical Reflections o« 
 
 Artilts therefore judge ill in general, tho' their 
 realbnings particularly examined prove tolerably juft $ 
 but they apply them to a ufe for which they were 
 never intended. To pretend to judge of a poem 
 or of a pidure in general by the way of difcuflion, 
 is to attempt to meafure a circle with a rule : You 
 fhould take a pair of compafTes, which is the pro* 
 per inftrument for meaftiring it. 
 
 In fa6t, we fee folks miftaken every day, in pre- 
 dicting the fuccefs of a dramatic piece, by reafon of 
 their having formed their prognoftics by way of dif- 
 cuflion ; who would form very folid judgments^ 
 were they directed by their fenfe. Racine and Boi- 
 leau were of the number of thofe artifts, who are 
 much better qualify'd than other men to judge of 
 verfes and poems. Who would imagine, but that 
 after having conferred and communicated their 
 thoughts with one another, their judgments muft 
 have been infallible at leaft with refpeft to each fcene 
 confidered in particular ? And yet Boilcau has ac- 
 knowledged, that the judgments which his friend 
 and he frequently palled after a methodical difcuf- 
 fion on the different fuccefs, which fhould have at- 
 tended the fcveral fcenes of his friend's tragedies, 
 happened frequently to be contradicled by the events 
 and that they had both of them been conflantly 
 convinced by experience, that the public was al- 
 ways right in palfing a different judgment. Both 
 of them, in order to be better able to judge of 
 the effedt of their verfes, made ufe of the fame me- 
 thod pretty near as that of Malherbe and Moliere. 
 
 We took notice, that artifls are likewife apt 
 to fall into another error, in forming their de- 
 
 cifion.
 
 Po E T R Y mid Pa i n t i n g. 271 
 
 clfion. *Tis their having too great a regard in 
 the eftimation of the work, for the capacity of 
 the artift in that part of the art, in favor of which 
 they are prevented. The fate of artifts without ge- 
 nius, is to apply themfelves principally to the ftudy 
 of a part of the art they profefs, and to imagine, 
 after having made fome progrefs therein, that 'tis 
 the only important branch. The poet, whofe prin- 
 cipal talent confifts in his facility of rhiming, foon 
 imbibes the prejudiced notion, that a poem with 
 a neglefted verfification muft of necefllty be an 
 indifferent piece ; tho' it be rich in invention, and 
 abounds with thoughts fo fuitable to the fubjeft, thac 
 one is furprized at their being new. As his talent 
 does not lye in invention, thcfe beauties have but 
 very little weight in his fcales. A painter, who of 
 all thofe talents fo neceffary to form the great artift, 
 has only that of coloring, decides of the excellence 
 or badnefs of a pifturc, in proportion to the artift' s 
 abilities in managing the colors. The poetry of the 
 pidure palTcs for little or nothing in his judgment, 
 which is made without any regard to fuch parts 
 of the art as he is not mafter of. A poetic pain- 
 ter will fall into the fame error, by fetting a very 
 low value upon a pidure, that fliould happen to be 
 dekdive in the ordonnancc, and mca^. in the expref- 
 fions -, tho' the coloring may delcrvo to be admired- 
 By fuppofing that thofe parts of tiic art wc are defi- 
 cient in, are fcarce worthy of notice, we maintain, 
 without mentioning it directly, th::r wc want nothing 
 to make us en^inent in our proUilion. One may 
 apply to arults what Petroniuj lays of men who 
 
 abound
 
 272 Critical Reflections oji 
 
 abound in riches. * Men are all defirous^ that what- 
 foever qualification they have themfehes JJjould be the 
 greatefi 77ierit in fociety. The reader will pleafe to 
 obfervc, that what I have hitherto faid has been in 
 regard only to the general judgments by which 
 artifls determine the merit of a work. That pain- 
 ters are more capable than others, of judging of 
 the merit of a pifture with refped: to the coloring, 
 the regularity of the defign, and fomc other beau- 
 ties in the execution, is what no body attempts 
 to queftion, and what we fhall take notice of 
 ourfelves in the twenty feventh chapter of this 
 work. 
 
 'Tis manifeft that I have fpoken here in refpe(5t to 
 fuch painters and poets only, as are honeftly miftak- 
 en. Had I fludied to render their decifions fufpeded, 
 what might not I fay concerning the injuftices they 
 daily and purpofely commit, in charadlerifing the 
 works of their competitors ? In other profeffions men 
 are generally fatisfied with being the moil emi- 
 nent among their cotemporaries : but in poetry and 
 painting one can hardly fuffer the fhadow of a rival. 
 Ca^far was contented to have an equal, but moft po- 
 ets and painters, proud and haughty like Pompey '', 
 cannot fo much as bear the thoughts of being ap- 
 proached. They are willing there fhould be a great 
 diflance in the eyes of the public, between them- 
 felves and fuch of their cotemporaries as feem to 
 
 * Nihil I'olunt inter homines melius credi, quain cuod ipfi tenetit. 
 Petron. Satyr. 
 
 ^ Nam veque Pompeius parem a?iimo quemquam tulit, ^ in quibuj 
 rehus primus ejje dcbebat, folus ejfe cupiebat. Pat erc. hill. 1. z. 
 
 I tread
 
 Poetry ^;7^ Painting. 273 
 
 tread neareft their footfteps. 'Tis therefore very 
 rare, that the principal men in thefe two profefli- 
 ons condefcend to do juftice even to fiich of their 
 cotemporaries, as are only juft beginning their 
 career, and who cannot of courfc be put upon a level 
 with them, but in a future and very remote time. 
 One has occafion frequently to reproich the great 
 men here fpoken of, with that touch of felf-love, 
 which Auguftus was accufed of : that is, with hav- 
 ing chofen in the perfon of Tiberius, the propereft 
 fucceflbr to make him regretted. If great artiits are 
 fo fenfible of jealoufy, what mull we think of the 
 indifferent ones ? 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 I'hat the public judgfnents prevail at length over 
 the decifiofis of artijls. 
 
 WH AT has been above evinced by reafon, 
 is fufficiently confirmed by experience. 
 Arnfts muft certainly be often miltakcn, fince 
 their dccifions are commonly revcrfcd by the pub- 
 lic, on xvhofe voice the fate of works has always 
 depended. The public opinion carries it, when 
 it happens to ditfcr even with the mofl eminent 
 artidsj in relpcfl to the merit of a new produc- 
 tion. V/j io no purpofe, lays Boilcau % for a wcrk 
 to he apprcjcd by a fmall number of connoiffeurs ; un- 
 lefs it has fome at tractive proper for exciti/io- the gC' 
 neral tnfte of mankind^ it will never he able to pafs 
 
 * I'rcfate to :hc fi:;c.o:. of 17-;. 
 
 Vol. II. T fcr
 
 274 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 
 
 for a good performance^ and the connoiffeurs themfelves 
 will be obliged to own^ that they ivere mifiaken in giving 
 their approbation. The fame thing happens, when 
 the pLibhc gives its approbation to a work con- 
 demned by the connoififeurs. As the public will judge 
 hereafter by their fenfes, in the fame manner as thofe 
 before them have judged, they will confequently 
 be of one opinion. Pofterity has never cenfured 
 thofe poems which the cotemporaries of the author 
 commended as excellent, tho' they may negled; to 
 read them, in order to amufe themfelves with 
 better performances. On the other hand there is 
 no inllance of poems having been unacceptable to 
 the cotemporaries of their author, and attaining in 
 future times to any degree ot reputation. Pofierity^ 
 iays a Roman writer, " will believe as much, as the 
 prefent age will warrant to be true. 
 
 Party writings, and poems on recent events, 
 have but a very Ihort-liv'd fame, if they be indebt- 
 ed for their whole fuccefs to the conjun6lures in 
 which they are publiflied. They are generally 
 forgotten in fix months, by reafon that they are 
 not confidered fo much in the light of poems, 
 as in that of gazettes. *Tis not at all furprizing, 
 they fliould be ranked hereafter among thofe fatyri- 
 cal memoirs, which are curious only with refped; to 
 the fafts of which they inform us, or in regard to 
 the circumftances of thofe fafts which they recal to 
 aur memory : The pubhc had condemned them to 
 this very fate fix months after their birth. But thofe 
 poems, and party-writings, which are elleemcd 
 
 . * Tanii'.mdcm quoque pojlen crcdunt, quantum p- iff ens teias fpo- 
 pndo-it. CuRMUS, lib. 8. 
 
 a year
 
 Poetry and Pa r n t i n g. 27^ 
 
 a year after their firft appearance, and without 
 any refped: to circumftances, are tranfmitted with 
 the fame efteem to pofterity. We fet as great 
 a value on Seneca's fatyre againft the emperor 
 Claudius, as they could have done at Rome two 
 years after the death of that prince. We have 
 as great a regard for the Satyra Menippea, the 
 provincial letters, and fome other books of that 
 kind, as they had a year after the firft edition 
 of thofe writings. Thofe fongs which were com- 
 pofed ten years ago, and are ftill retained, will be 
 like wife fung by our pollerity. 
 
 The faults which artiils affed: to obferve In 
 works elleemed by the public, may retard in- 
 deed, but not obftruft their fuccefs. One may an- 
 fwer them, that a poem or a pifture may be an ex- 
 cellent work, notvvithftanding its badnefs in fome 
 parts. It would be unneccfTary to explain here to 
 the reader, that throurihout this whole diiTcrtation 
 the word had rnuft be underftood in a relative 
 i^gniiication. 'I'is plain, for example, that when 
 'tis laid, the coloring of a pidture ot the Roman 
 Ichool is fi;ood for nothing, this exprcfTion i;nports 
 only tint this coloring is inferior to rh:it of fcveral 
 other pictures, whether Fie mi (h or Lombard, whofe 
 reputaiion 13 notwithilariding very indifferent. We 
 lliouki vdA kel tlie f )iec of the exfM-eHitjns of a pic- 
 ture, if the coi'jring were abfolutcly filfc un'l bad. 
 Wiien wc fay that Corneille's verfification is bad in 
 iome placc;, we mean only that 'tis more neglected, 
 tb.an that ol feveial poets, wluj are elleemed in- 
 ditierent arillls. Were tlic verfilication to be abio- 
 Jutely b.i ', and to oP/cnd us at every line, the poem 
 'X 2 would
 
 ;^6 Critical Reflections o?i 
 
 would never be able to move us. For, as Quin- 
 tilian obferves *% Phrafes that fet out by offending 
 the ear with their roughnefs^ and ujher t h em f elves in, 
 as it icere^ with a had addrefs^ find the entrance into 
 our hearts ohfini5led. 
 
 The decifions of artifls, notwithftanding their 
 being fubjedl to all the illufions here mentioned, 
 have a great fliare neverthelefs in the firft reputa- 
 tion of a new work. In the firft place, tho' they have 
 not influence enough to get a poem or pidure con- 
 demned by thofe that know them ; yet they may 
 hinder a great many from having any knowledge 
 of them, by diflliading them from going to fee, 
 or read them. Thefe prejudices, which fpread, have 
 an eifeft for fome time. In the fecond place, the 
 public prejudiced in favor of the difcernment of 
 artifts, imagine for fome time that they have more 
 penetration and fagacity than thcmfelves. Where- 
 fore as the work, to which they are willing to do juf- 
 tice, attains quickly to the good or bad reputation 
 due to it -, fo the reverfe falls out when they rcfufe 
 doing juftice to it, either thro' prevarication, or mif- 
 take. But when they are divided in their fentiments, 
 they invalidate their credit, and the public judges of 
 courfe without them. 'Tis by the help of this di- 
 vifion that Moliere and Racine attained quickly to 
 fo high a degree of reputation. 
 
 Tho' the artifts cannot impofe on others, fo 
 as to make them take excellent things for bad, 
 yet they can make them believe that thofe ex- 
 cellent things are but indiftercnt with refpect to 
 
 ^ A7/!'.7 hitrare po'ejl it: aff'eilum, quod in nure iiclut quodam 'vrj- 
 tihulo jlailtr. r,^lftndu, Qt; INT. Inft. 1. 9. cap. 4. 
 
 Others,
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t'i n g. 277 
 
 others. The error into which they throw the public 
 by this means, with refpefl to a new performance, 
 is a long while a removing. 'Till the work be- 
 comes generally known, the prejudice which the 
 decifion of the artifts has caufed in the world, ba- 
 lances the fentiment of judicious and difinterefted 
 perfons, efpecially if it be from the hands of an 
 author whofe reputation is not yet eftablifhed. If 
 the author be known already for an excellent artiil, 
 his work is fooner refcued from opprefllon. Whilft 
 one prejudice combats againft another, truth efcapes, 
 as it were, from their hands, and fhews itfelf. 
 
 The moft part of the prejudices which pain- 
 ters and poets fpread againft a new work, pro- 
 ceeds from this, that thofe who fpeak of a poem 
 or of a picture on the credit of other?, chufe x.<:t 
 take and repeat the opinions of artifts, rather 
 than to relate the fentiments of fuch as have not 
 iiung out their figns, as it were, in the profeflion 
 to which the work belongs. In thefc kinds of 
 things, in which men do not think tliey have 
 an eflcntial intereft to determine them to tlie right 
 fide of the queftion, they let themfclves be im- 
 pofed upon by an argument which has a very 
 great v/eight v/ith them. This is, that the artiik 
 ought to have more experience than others. I fay, 
 impofcd upon ; for, as I have flicwn already, 
 moll painters and poets do not judge by their 
 fenfcs, nor by paying a deference to their natural 
 talle improved by comparifons and experience •, but 
 by way of analyfis. They do not judge like men 
 ciidowed with the fixth fcnfe abovcmentioned, but 
 :'.s ipcculative philofophers. Vanity contributes alto 
 T 3 to
 
 278 Critical Reflections on 
 
 to make us efpoufe the opinion of artifts, prefer- 
 able to that of men of tafte and fenfe. To em- 
 brace the fentiment of a perfon who has no more 
 experience than ourfelves, is acknowledging in fome 
 meafure that he is a man of better fenfe and under- 
 Handing. This is paying a kind of homage to his 
 natural difcernment. But to believe the artift, and 
 to pay a deference to the opinion of a man who is ot 
 a profefTion which we are not fo well acquainted with, 
 is only fhewing a refpe6t to the art and paying ho- 
 mage to experience. The profeflion of the art im- 
 pofes on a great many in fuch a manner, that they 
 ftifle at leaft for fome time their own fentiment -, be- 
 ing alhamed, as Quintilian ^ obferves, to differ with 
 others in opinion. We liften therefore with plea- 
 fure to artifts, who enter into a methodical ex- 
 amination of a tragedy, or pid:ure, and we ftrive 
 even to retain as much as we can of the very tech- 
 nical terms : but this is in order to gain the admi- 
 ration and attention of others in repeating them. 
 
 * Vudct cnim d:JJ'aitire, ^ quojl tacita 'verecundia inhibetnur plus 
 tiohis credert. Qt.iiNr. 1. 10. cap. i. 
 
 
 CHAP,
 
 Po E T R Y a?2d Pa I N T I N G, 279 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 ^hat there is a greater regard due to the judg- 
 ments of pai?iters^ dhan to thofe of poets. Of 
 the art of difco''oering tjje hand of painters. 
 
 TH E public fcems to have more attention 
 to painters who are employed in examin- 
 ing a pidure, than to poets taken up in criticif- 
 ing a poem : in which refpect we cannot help 
 commending their judgment. The gtneraniy of 
 men are very far Irom having fo much know-, 
 ledge of the mechanic part of painting, as that of 
 poetry ; and, as we have fnewn in the beginning of 
 thefe eflays, the beauties of execution are much more 
 confiderable in a picture, than they poiTibly can be 
 in a French poem. We have even ft-en that the 
 beauties of execution alone are capable of render- 
 ing a picture valuable. Now thefe beauties make a 
 lenfible impreOion upon men, who do not undir- 
 jlar.d ti)e mechanic part of painting •, and yet they 
 aie not capable to judge of the merit of a pain- 
 ter. I'o be able to iudi>;e oi the commrndatlon due 
 to him, one Ihould know hov/ near he has approach- 
 ti to thofe artifts, who are mioll extfddcd for 
 liaving excelled in the parts, in v,'!iich he lias fuc- 
 c^edcd. Thefe arc Ibmc o[ tlic djgrces more or 
 lefs, whicii form the difference between a great 
 and an ordinary arilil : And this is what the ar- 
 ciits arc iudgcs ot. Whcrtlorc tlic rcp.urarion of 
 a painter, whole talent conliiis in the chiaro-l.u- 
 ro or m the local colors, depends much more on
 
 '280 CriT IC AL ReF LECT ION S 0« 
 
 the judgment of his peers^ than the fame of a perfon^ 
 vvhofe merit confifts in the expreflion of the paffions 
 and in poetic inventions •, things which the public 
 iinderilands, compares, and judges of itfelf. We 
 obferve alfo by the hiftory of painters, that the co- 
 lorifts have not attained fo early to fo great degree of 
 reputation, as painters famous for their poetry and 
 defign. 
 
 'Tis obvious, that in purfuancc of this principle, 
 I mud acknowledge the artifts are the proper 
 judges, when we want to know, as near as pof- 
 fible, who drew the picture ; but they are not for 
 all this the only judges of the merit of the piece. 
 As the greateft artills have fometimes drawn ve- 
 ry indifferently, we cannot infer the excellence 
 of the pidure from the knowledge we have of 
 the author. It does not follow of courfe that it 
 is a firfl rate piece, from its being undoubted- 
 ly the prGdu6lion of one of the moft celebrated 
 painters. 
 
 Tho' experience informs us, that the art of gueffing 
 at the author of a pi6lure, from the knowledge we have 
 of the mafter's hand, is the moft fallible of all arts next 
 to phyfic, it prejudices neverthelefs the public in favor 
 of the decifions of thofe that pradtife it, even when 
 they are m.ade on other points. Men who are more 
 ready to admire than to approve, hear with fubmif- 
 fion, and repeat with confidence, the judgments of a 
 perfon who affefls a diftind: knowledge of feveral 
 things which they do not underftand. We fhall fee, 
 from what I am going to fay concerning the infalli- 
 bility of the art of defcerning the hands of great 
 maftersj what bounds ought to be fet to the natural 
 
 prevention
 
 • Poetry ^;2i Painting. 281 
 
 prevention we have in favor of fuch judgments as 
 are given by the profefibrs of this art, and who de- 
 cide with as much afTurance as a young phyfician 
 writes a prefcription. 
 
 Thofe that are expert in the art of diftinguifhing 
 the hand of great mailers, are not well agreed among 
 themfelves, but with refpedl to fuch famous pi6lures, 
 as have already eftabliflied, as it were, their cre- 
 dit, and made their hiftory known to the world. 
 With regard to pidures whofc fame is not yet fixt 
 by a conftant and uninterrupted tradition, there are 
 none but our own and thofe of our friends, that have 
 the names of their authors afcertained. As for the pic- 
 tures in pofTeflion of other perfons, and efpecially of 
 fellow-citizens, they are doubtful originals. Some of 
 thefe are objecfted againft for being only copies, and 
 others pajlicci. Intereft completes the uncertainty 
 in the decifion of an art, which is fubje6l to mif- 
 takes, even when it proceeds ingenuoufly. 
 
 'Tis well known, that feveral painters have been 
 piiftaken with regard to their own works, and that 
 they have frequently taken a copy for the very ori- 
 ginal they themfelves had painted. Vafari relates as 
 an ocular witnefs, that Julio Romano, after having 
 drawn the drapery of a pidlure done by Raphael, 
 miftook a copy of this pi6lure done by Andrea del 
 Sarto for the very original. In fa61:, tho' it ought 
 to be (^afier at prefent to diftinguith a man's pen 
 than his pencil •, yet thofe who are fkilled in writ- 
 ing, are daily miftaken, and divided in their judg- 
 ments. 
 
 The particular fliape of the ftrokc, by which 
 every man forms the four and twenty letters of 
 
 th»
 
 2Sz Critical Reflections (j« 
 
 the alphabet, the connexions of thefe chara(5lersi 
 the figure and diftance of the lines, the greater 
 or leffer perfeverance of the perfon that writes, in 
 not precipitating, as it were, his pen in the heat 
 of his motion, as moft penmen do, who form 
 the charaders of the firft lines better than thofc 
 of the next ; in fine, the manner in which he has 
 held his pen ; all this, I fay, enables us better to 
 diftinguifh people's hand-writing, than the ftrokes 
 of a pencil qualify us to difcern the hand of a pain- 
 ter. As writing flows from a rapid and continued 
 movement of all the mufcles of the hand, it depends 
 intirely on their conformation and habit. A ftrained 
 charader is immediately fufped:ed of being counter- 
 feited, and we foon diftinguifh whether it be drawn 
 with eafe and freedom. 
 
 We cannot difcern fo well, whether the ftrokes 
 drawn by a pencil are ftudied, or whether the copi- 
 er has retouched and mended his ftroke to give it 
 a greater likenefs to the natural touch of another 
 painter. A perfon is as much mafter in painting 
 to lick over his ftroke fevcral times, in order to give 
 it its proper finifhing, as the ancients were to mend 
 their charader, when they ufed to write on wax writ- 
 ing-tables. Now the ancients were fo far convinced, 
 th^t one might counterfeit another man's hand in his 
 writing-tables, becaufe the chara6lers might be re- 
 touched without being dilcerned, that no public deed 
 was efteemed valid unlefs the partks concerned fet 
 their feals to the contrad. The perfedion the ancients 
 attained to in ingraving ftones for feals, v/as owing 
 to the care they had in making particular feals, fuch 
 as could not eafily be counterfeited. This care 
 
 they
 
 Critical Reflections r;2 283 
 
 they had of having each a different feal, is the 
 caufeof our finding atprefent fuch whimfical figure?, 
 and frequently the head of the owner of the feal, on 
 the antique ingraved flones. 
 
 But notwithftanding all the methods we have 
 of difcerning men's hand-writing, this art is ftill 
 fo very fallible, that thofe nations which are more 
 careful in protedling the innocent than in pun- 
 ilhing the guilty, forbid their courts to admit 
 the proof of hand-writing in criminal caufes : 
 and in countries where this proof is received, 
 the judges confider it rather as a probable circum- 
 ftance, than as a complete evidence. What Ihall 
 we therefore think of the art, which boldly fuppofes 
 it cannot be deceived by any counterfeit ftrokes in 
 imitation of thofe of Raphael or Pouflin ? 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 Of the time ivhcn poems and pictures are appralj- 
 ed to their full value. 
 
 TH E time at length comes, when the public 
 appraifcs a work no longer by the relation 
 of artifts, but according to the imprefllon made by 
 the work itfclf: Thofe who had judged differently 
 from the profeffors of the art, by referring things 
 to the dccifion of their fcnfes, communicate their 
 opinions to one another, and the uniformity of 
 their fcnfation changes the opinion of every par- 
 ticular perfon into a perfuafion. New mafters rife 
 up in the art, who form a jufl and difintereflcd 
 jud^^ment oi injured works •, and undeceive the world 
 I mctho-
 
 284 Critical Reflections on 
 
 methodically with regard to the prejudices fown by 
 their predeceflbrs. People of themfelves obferve, that 
 thofe who promifed them fomething better than the 
 work whofe merit had been contefted, have not kept 
 their word. On the other hand its profefled enemies 
 drop off ; by which means it is rated at length to 
 its full value. 
 
 Such has been amongft us the fate of the operas 
 of Qiiinault. It was impolTible to perfuadethe public, 
 that they ;were not moved with the reprefentations 
 of Thefeus and Athys -, but they were made to be- 
 lieve, that thefe pieces were full of grofs errors, 
 which did not proceed fo much from the vicious na- 
 ture of the poem, as from the want of capacity in the 
 poet. Thus it was thought an eafy matter to write bet- 
 ter than this poet, and if there occurred any thing 
 that was good in his operas, a perfon was not allowed 
 to be lavifh in commendations of the author,' un^ 
 der the penalty of being reputed a fhallow capacity. 
 We have therefore feen Quinault pleafe for fome 
 time, whilft the very people he pleafed, durft not main- 
 tain that he was an excellent poet in his way. But the 
 public being confirmed in their fentiment by experi- 
 ence, have got rid of that conftraint in which they had 
 been fo long confined, and plucked up at length a re- 
 folution to fpcak out their thoughts. There have been 
 fome later poets who have encouraged people to fay, 
 that Qiiinault excelled in that kind of lyric poetry 
 to which he applied himfclf. La Fontaine and 
 other choice wits have done fomething more to 
 convince us, that fome of Quinault's operas are as 
 excellent as thofe poems really can be. They have 
 wrote operas themfelves, tkat are vaftly inferior to fe- 
 I vera!
 
 Poetry a?id Pa i n t i n g. 28 < 
 
 veral of QuinauJc's. Sixty years ago it was treafon 
 to fay that Quinault was an excellent poet in his way -, 
 and no body now duril: lay the contrary. Among 
 the prodigious number of operas which have been 
 wrote fince his time, there are none but Thetis and Pe- 
 leus, Iphigenia, the \"enetian Fealb, and Europe in 
 Gallantry, that are ranked in the fame clafs with 
 thofe of this excellent poet. 
 
 Were we to examine the hiftory of fuch poets 
 as have been an honor to the French Parnaffus, we 
 fhall find none but what are indebted to the pubhc 
 for the fuccefs of their works •, none but what have 
 had the profeflbrs of the art a long while their de- 
 clared enemies. The public admired theCid a con- 
 fiderable time, before poets would allow this piece 
 to be filled with moft exquifite beauties. How many 
 forry criticifms, and wretched comedies, have not 
 Mollere's rivals wrote againlt him ? Did Racine ever 
 publilh a tragedy, without expofing it to fome cri- 
 tical piece, which reduced it upon a level with the 
 mod indifferent performance, and concluded with. 
 ranking the author in i\\t fame clafs with Boyer and 
 Pradon ^ But Racine me: with the fame fate as 
 Qtiinault. Boileau's predication in favor of Racine's 
 tragedies is fully accompHihed, and impartial pofte- 
 rity has declared \ivAi in their lavor. The fame may 
 be laid of painters. Not one of them would have 
 attained after his death to the degree of diftinftion due 
 to his merit, wcic his iate to be always in the power 
 of other painters. But by good luck his rivals are 
 maftcrs of his reputation but for a fhort time ; for 
 tiie pubhc takes the cauie by degrees into their own 
 
 hands.
 
 286 Critical Reflections on 
 
 Iiands, and after an impartial inquiry, does every 
 body julticc according to their merit. 
 
 But (fome will fay) if my comedy is damned by 
 means of the hiffes and catcalls of an invidious party, 
 how will the public be able to do juflice to this 
 piece, if they never afterwards hear of it ? I anfwer 
 in the firft place, that I do not apprehend that a party 
 can damn a piece, let them hifs it ever fo much. 
 The Grimbler was hified, but was not damned for 
 all that. In the fecond place the play is printed, 
 and thus remains under the eyes of the public. A 
 man of fenfe, but of a profclTion too ferious to be 
 prejudiced againft the merit of a piece by an event 
 which he has never heard fpoken of, reads it with- 
 out partiality or prevention, and finds it a good 
 performance. This he tells to fuch as have an opi- 
 nion of his judgment, who read it, and find his 
 judgment cxadt. Thefe inform others of their 
 difcovery, and the piece which I am willing to 
 fuppofe had been funk, begins to rife again above 
 water- This is one manner out of a hundred, 
 whereby a good piece which had been wronged 
 upon its firft appearance, may be raifed to the rank 
 due to its merit. Bur, as I have already obfcrved, 
 this is what never happens, and I do not really think 
 that there can bs one inftance given of a French 
 piece rejedled by the public, upon its firft appear- 
 ance, which has been afterwards approved, when the 
 conjundiures, that firft opprefled it, were removed. 
 On the contrary, I could name feveral comedies and 
 operas, that have been damned upon their being firft 
 reprefcnted, which have had the fame fate when they 
 
 have
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 287 
 
 have been broughc twenty years afterwards upon 
 the flage. And yet the parties, to which the au- 
 thor and his friends imputed its firft fall, were quite 
 difperfed, upon their being revived a fecond time. 
 But the public never changes its fentiment, becaufe 
 it efpoufes always the right fide of the queftion. A 
 piece appears ftill an indifferent performance upon 
 its revival, if it was judged fuch at its firft repre- 
 fentation. If one Ihould afk me, what time the 
 public takes to be able to know a work, and to 
 form its judgment of the merit of the artift ; I an- 
 fwer, that the length of this time depends on two 
 things ; that is, on the nature of the work, and on 
 the capacity of the public before whom it is exhi- 
 bited. A theatrical piece, for inftance, will be fooner 
 appraifed to its juft value, than an epic poem. The 
 public is affembled to pafs judgment on the pieces 
 of the theatre, and thofe who are there convened, foon 
 communicate their fentiments to one another. A painter 
 who paints the cupola's and vaults of churches, or 
 who makes large pictures defigned for places where 
 public alTemblies are held, is fooner known than one 
 that works on eafcl-pieces deftined for private aparc- 
 ments. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 288 Critical Reflections o« 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 ^hat there are fome coimtries in which the va^ 
 lue of works isfooner known, than in others, 
 
 IN the fecond place, as the public is not equally 
 knowing in all countries, there are fome parts 
 ■where artifts can keep them longer in the dark, than 
 in others. For inftance, pidures expofed at Rome, 
 will be fooner appraifed to their juft value, than if 
 they were to be expofed at London or Paris. The 
 inhabitants of Rome are almoft all of them born 
 with a very great fenfibility for painting, and their 
 natural taftehas likewife frequent occafions of improv- 
 ing and perfeding itfelf by the help of thofe excel- 
 lent works, which they meet with in their churches, 
 palaces, and almoft every houfe they enter. The 
 cuftoms and manners of the country leave a great 
 vacancy or leifure in every body's daily occupations, 
 even in thofe of fuch artifts as are condemned elfe- 
 where to as uninterrupted labor as that of the Da- 
 naids. This ina6tion, together with the continual 
 opportunities they have of feeing fine pictures, and 
 perhaps the greater fenfibility alfo of the organs 
 m that country than in cold climates, produces 
 fo general a tafte for painting at Rome, that 'tis a 
 common thing to fee fome valuable pictures in 
 barbers ftiops, where they explain their beauties 
 moft emphatically to their cuftomers, to comply 
 with the neceflity of entertaining people, which 
 even in Horace's time feemed to be a duty of 
 their profefiion. In fine, in an induftrious nation, 
 
 capable
 
 Po E TRY ^zW Pa I N T I NG. 289 
 
 capable of taking all forts of pains to get a liveli- 
 hood, without being fubje6l to regular labor, a 
 peculiar fet of people have been formed, who fub- 
 lift by means of a traffick in pictures. 
 
 Thus the public in Rome is almoft intirely com- 
 pofed of connoiffeurs in painting. 'Tis true, they 
 are but indifferent connoiffeurs -, yet they have at 
 leaft a comparative tafte, which hinders the profef- 
 fors of the art from impofing upon them fo eafily 
 as in other places. If the inhabitants of this 
 city are not learned enough to refute metho- 
 dically their falfe reafonings, they are capable 
 at leaft of perceiving the fallacy, and of informing 
 themfelvcs of what they muft fay in order to re- 
 fute it. On the other hand, artifts become more 
 circumfpedt, when they find they have to do with 
 men that underftand fomething of the matter. 'Tis 
 not among divines that your reformers undertake to 
 make fincere profelytes to their doflrines. 
 
 A painter therefore who works at Rome attains 
 quickly to the degree of reputation he deferves, 
 crpecially if he be an Italian. The Itahans, almoft 
 as fond of the glory of their nation as the ancient 
 Greeks, are very jealous of the fame which a na- 
 tion acquires by fciences and the polite arts. 
 With refpecl to the fciences, ajl the ItaHans muft 
 certainly agree to what fignor Ottieri has wrote 
 in the hillory of the war which broke out in cbii- 
 fjqucnce of the difputes concerning the fuccefTion 
 oi Charles II king of Spain ''. This author after 
 obferving, that the Italians ought not to give any 
 longer the name of Barbarians to the inhabitants of 
 
 * Printed at Rome in 17x8. 
 
 Vol. IJ. U pro-
 
 290 Critical Reflections on 
 
 provinces Htuated to the north and weft of Italy, 
 but only to call them Ultramontanes •, becaufe of the 
 politcnefs they have acquired in thefe latter ages, 
 acids'" ; and our IlalianSy tho' eftdcwed ivitb as great 
 a pjare of fenfe and capacity as other nations, are for 
 this and fe'veral ether reafons, fallen into a very great 
 degeneracy 'with refpe^l to real and folid learning. 
 But this nation thinks differently in regard to the 
 pohte arts. Every Italian . becomes therefore a 
 painter, when he is to give his opinion of a foreign 
 picture. He even complains, ais it were, that the 
 ideas capable of being an honor to the inventer, 
 fhould occur to any but his own countrymen. A 
 friend of mine was eye-witnefs to the following ad- 
 venture. 
 
 Every one knows the misfortunes of Belifarius, 
 reduced to alk charity on the highway, after having 
 frequently commanded with the moft fignal fuc- 
 cefs the armies of the emperor JuiVinian. Vandyke 
 has drav/n a large eafel-piece, in which this unfortu- 
 nate general is rcprefented in the pofture of a beg- 
 gar ftretching out his hand to the paflengers. Each 
 perfon that ftands gazing at him, feems moved 
 with a companion which exprelTes the character of his 
 age and condition. But our attention is particularly 
 engaged by a foldier, whofe countenance and attitude 
 expreffcs a perfon plunged into the deepeft medita- 
 tion, at the fight of this great warrior precipitated 
 
 '' T. I ncjlii Ito.Uayu httule forniti di f,nr.o r capacita Jicn ifife- 
 rtcrc alii alt re tmzio?::, /sno r'nr.ajii prr quejia, e per altre cagioni 
 cnjqjiliti^ e pyrjj'u chs abjetti net preggie JelP ecceilente Utteratura. 
 
 p^g. 296. 
 
 into
 
 PoEtRY and Painting. 291 
 
 Into the loweft mifery, from a rank which is the 
 higheft aim of mihtary ambition. This foldier 
 is fo extremely well done, that one feems to hear 
 him fay, behold what mujl ■perhaps be fiiy fate after 
 forty campaigns ! An Engliih nobleman happening 
 to be at Rome, where he brought this picture, 
 lliewed it to Carlo Maratti. What a pity it is (fays 
 this painter, with one of thofe fallies which with a 
 fingle ftroke gives a defcription of the bottom of the 
 heart) that an Ultramontane fhould have prevented 
 us in this beautiful invention ? I have even heard 
 from perfons worthy of credit, that among the com- 
 mon people at Rome,' fome of them were fuch de- 
 clared enemies to the reputation of our French pain- 
 ters, as to tear the prints ingraved from Sueur, le 
 Brun, Mignard, Coy pel, and fome other painters of 
 our nation, which the Carthufians of that city had 
 placed together with prints ingraved from Ita- 
 lian artifts in the gallery over the cloyfters of their 
 monaftery. The cornparifons made there every 
 day between the French and Italian mailers, pro- 
 voked our jealous Romans, as much as the pa- 
 rallels made at Parii; about iourfcore years ago, be- 
 tween the pictures drawn by Sueur in the little 
 cloyffcr of the Carthufians, and thofe by le Brun, 
 irritated the elevcs of the latter. As the Carthu- 
 fians at Paris were obliged to hide Sueur's pieces, 
 to prevent tiiem from being expofcd to the infults 
 of le Brun's elevcs \ fo the Carthufians at Rome 
 were forced to hinder ordinary people from coming 
 into t.iC gallery where the prints of French painters 
 arc cx^'Okd. 
 
 U 2 Th€
 
 292 Critical Reflections on 
 
 The French are generally prepoflefled in favor of 
 foreigners, where the qiicftion does not relate to 
 cookery and drefs ; but the Italians on the contrary 
 are prejudiced againft the Ultramontanes. The 
 Frenchman at firft fuppofes the foreign artift to be 
 more fl<i]ful than his countryman, nor is he difa- 
 bufed oF his error, till after having made feveral 
 comparifons. He finds fome difficulty in allowing 
 an artill born in the fame country with himfelf, to 
 be as knowing in his profeflion as one born five 
 hundred leagues from France. On the contrary, 
 the prepofleirion of the Italians is feldom in fa- 
 vor of a flranger who profeiTes the liberal arts ; 
 and if ever they do him jufbce, 'tis as late as pof- 
 fible. Thus after .having negleifled PoufTin for a 
 confidcrable tiiiie, they have acknowledged him at 
 length for cne of the moft eminent mailers that 
 ever handled a pencil. In the lame manner they 
 have done jullice to Monfieur le Brun's genius •, for 
 after having made liim prince of the academy of St 
 Luke, they men lion his merit with refped:, tho* 
 they take too much notice cf the weak coloring of 
 this great poet, notwithftanding it is preferable to 
 that of feveral of the great mailers of the Roman 
 ichool. The Italians in general may boafl of their 
 clrcumfpection, and the French of their hofpitality. 
 M. AJgarotti fays in the epiftle of his book on Sir 
 Jfaac Nt'wron's philofophy, addrefled to M. Fonte- 
 rtelle : JVere it not for the tranfMion of fome French 
 uo'jks^ ive Jhoiild fee Jiothing nciv in Ital)\ but collec- 
 i-ioHs of verfes a7id fongs, with •which ive fwarm ^. 
 
 " Jlgarotti, rpiftlc on the Nc^utoJiian pJ:;hJ'opl:y, dated the 2^'h 
 s/ -Jamuj, 1736. 
 
 The
 
 Poetry /?;7f/ Pai N T I N G. 293 
 
 People are not To knowing in painting at Paris, 
 as at Rome ; and the French in general have 
 not their inward fenfe fo lively as the Italians. The 
 difference between them is already vifible in thofc 
 who dwell at the foot of the Alps on the fide 
 of PVance and Italy •, but it is ftill greater between 
 the natives of Paris and Rome. Befides, we are 
 far from cultivating as much as they, the com- 
 mon fenfibility of man for painting ; nor do v/e, 
 generally fpeaking, acquire the comparative tails 
 as well here as at Rome. This tafte is formed 
 within us, even without thinking of it : By dint of 
 •^"holding piftures during our youth, the idea 
 md image of eleven or twelve excellent pifturcs is 
 mgraved and imprinted deeply in our yet tender 
 imagination. Now thefe pidures, which are always 
 prefent to us, and have a certain rank, and fixt 
 in.trit, f^rv^e, if I may fay fo, for pieces of com- 
 v:i.ri<r;n, which inable us to .judge folidly, how 
 FuNir a new work ^^pproaches the perfection which 
 otJicr j)aintc;rs hne attained, and in what rank 
 ic (!clerves to be placed. The idiea thefe twelve 
 pidures p'-efent t<j our nf;nus pro .uccs part of 
 the elfcct which would have proceeded from the 
 })iclures thcn-ifelvts, v/erc tln-y placed jiCXt to 
 tiiat vv'liofe merit and rank we v;ant to difcern. 
 'Tiie dinerenccr oLltrvable berwcrn the n^;jrit of 
 !;.vo piciures ff.t oppofite to one another, is obvi- 
 OT, 10 every body th;it is not eitlicr llupid or 
 }'!ind. 
 
 I^'if. ro arqiiirc tliis comj^:irat;\\" t.ifie, v.dfich ina- 
 L'cs i;s to judge ol a prei'rnt by an ablent pic- 
 ^'.;:v, i ii'^ifon muR h.ivc h^j.\ bicd in the \Kyy 
 
 I ' ? cent'.r
 
 294 Critical Reflections on 
 
 center of painting. He muft have frequent opi 
 portunities, efpecially in his younger days, of behold- 
 ing feveral excellent piftures in perfed eafe and tran- 
 quillity. Liberty of mind is as neceflaryj in order 
 to be fenfible of the intire beauty of a work, as to 
 compofe it. To be a good fpeftator, one mirft 
 have that peace of foul, which rifes not from the 
 exhaufting, but from the ferenity of the imagina- 
 tion. 
 
 Phiedri lib elks legere fi dejlderas^ 
 Vaces oportet^ Eutycbe, a negotiis^ 
 Ut liher animus fentiat vim carminis. 
 
 Ph^d. hb. 3. prolog. 
 
 Now we fpend our lives in France in a continual 
 feries of pleafures or tumultuary occupations, which 
 leave hardly any void fpace in our time, but keep us 
 in a confbant hurry and fatigue of fpirit. One 
 may apply to us, what Pliny faid formerly of the 
 Romans of his time (who were a little more occu- 
 pied than the prefent Romans) when he complains 
 of the flender notice they took of the magnificent 
 ftatues, with which feveral porticos were adorned \ 
 The great multitude and hurry of hufinefs and em- 
 ploytnents diverts every one from the co7itemplation of 
 thefe objetls ; a contemplation fuited to thofe onfy^ 
 who have leifure and tranquillity of mind. Our life 
 is a perpetual fcene of trouble and embarrafment, 
 either to make a fortune capable of fatisfying our 
 
 ^ ?.^f:g^n p.egct'torinn oficionimque cccwi nhducunt ontnes a con- 
 tcr-.^Luicnc talium, quoniam ot<oforu77: {fS in magna loci Jilentia apta 
 aJrairatio talis efi. Plix. hill. I. 36. cap. 5. 
 
 boundlefa
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 29? 
 boundlds defires, or to preferve it in a country, 
 where it is not lefs difficult to keep than to acquire. 
 PJeafures which are brifker anJ more repeated here 
 than in other countries, lay hold of the httle time 
 left us by the occupations whicli either fortune has 
 laid out for us, or our own inquietude of mind has 
 procured us. A great many courtiers have lived 
 thirty years at Verfailles, walking to and fro regularly 
 five or fix times a day in the great apartment, whom 
 you might eafily perfuade, that the pilgrims of 
 Emaus were done by le Brun •, and the Queens of 
 Perfia at Alexander's feet, by Paolo Veronefe. My 
 French readers will find no difficulty in believing me. 
 Hence it is, that Sueur deferved his fame fo long 
 before he enjoyed it. Pouffin, whom we extol {a 
 much in our days, was in no great efteem with 
 the public, when in his very belt days he came to 
 pra6life in France. But difinteredcd perfon?, who 
 are dire6led in their fcntiments by truth, recover 
 themfelves, tho' Ibmewhat late -, and hying a ftrefs 
 upon an opinion which they obfc rve h:is been em- 
 braced by the majority, they oppofe thofe who 
 would attempt to put two very unequal artills 
 upon a level. One of them afccnds a ftep higher 
 every year, while the other defcends a ftep lower, 
 till at length they come to be fo ciillmt from one 
 another, that the public being cHfabufcd, is fur- 
 prized to have leen them placed in the fame rank. 
 Can we conceive, that Monficur Mignard could 
 have been compared for fomc time t(j le Brun ? 
 Perhaps we Ihall be as mucii fLirj)ri7.ed twenty ycuj 
 hence, when we come to relied on the parallels made. 
 in the prefent times. 
 
 LI 4 Tlic
 
 2.g6 Critical Reflections 012 
 
 The fame thing has happened at Antwerp, where 
 the generality of people undeidand no more of 
 painting, than they do at Paris. Before Vandyke 
 went to England, the other painters raifed him 
 rivals, whom the deluded public imagined to have 
 been his equals in merit. But now the diftance be- 
 tween them appears infinite, becaufe every day 
 error lofes a partifan, while truth acquires one. 
 When the fchool of Rubens was in its full prime, 
 the Dominicans at Antwerp wanted fifteen large 
 pi6lures to adorn the body of their church. Van- 
 dyke, fatisfied with the price, offered to do them 
 all : But the other painters advifed thofe good fa- 
 thers to divide the work, and to employ twelve of 
 Rubens's eleves, who feemed to be pretty near in 
 the fame clafs. They perfuaded thofe friars, 
 that the difference of hands would render the 
 order of thofe pictures more agreable, and that 
 emulation would alfo oblige each painter to exert 
 himfelf in a work defiined to be compared eter- 
 nally to thofe of his competitors. Thus out of fif- 
 teen pidures Vandyke did but two, namely, the fla- 
 gellation, and the carrying of the crofs. But the 
 public cannot think at prefent of Vandyke's rivals 
 without indignation and refentment. 
 
 As we have had a greater number of excellent 
 poets than painters in France, the natural tafle 
 for poetry has had therefore a better opportutu- 
 nity of improving, than that for painting. If the 
 fine picftures are almoft all of them fhut up at 
 Paris in places where the public has not a free accefs, 
 we have our theatres open to all the world, where 
 we may venture to fay (v/ithout apprehending 
 
 the
 
 Po E T R Y and Pa I N T I N G.' 297 
 
 the reproach of being led away by national preju- 
 dice, a thing almoft as dangerous as a party fpirit) 
 the beft theatrical pieces are reprefented, that have 
 been written fince the recovery of letters. Fo- 
 reigners do not adopt the comedies and tragedies of 
 other nations with the fame readinefs, nor with 
 that refpecl for their authors, as they do ours. 
 They trandate our tragedies -, while they are fatis-, 
 fied with imitating thofe of other nations. Moft 
 young people frequent the playhoufes in France, 
 and, without reflection or defign, retain an infinite 
 number of comparative pieces and touchftones in 
 their memory. The women refort to our public 
 diverfions with as much freedom as the men, and 
 th:y all talk very frequently of poetry, and efpe- 
 cially of the dramatic kind. Thus the public 
 knows enough to do judice readily to bad pieces, 
 and to fupport the good ones againft the caballing 
 of parties. 
 
 The juftice rendered to works that are fent 
 abroad by means of the prefs, may indeed be 
 feme months before it appears ; but performances 
 brought upon the ftage have their fate decided 
 much fooner. There would be nothing certain 
 in conftquence of human knowledge, could four 
 hundred p'^rfons, after communicating their thoughts 
 to one another, believe they are moved when 
 they are not ; or were they to be affecfted by 
 an objcfl that has nothing engaging in its na- 
 ture. Indeed the public cannot decide fo quickly 
 the difference between good and cxquifite •, where- 
 fore they cannot commend at firft a piece like 
 Fhjedra, a*^ much as it dcf'.rvcs. They cannot 
 
 con-
 
 ^9^ CftitiCAL tlEPLfieridNs on 
 
 conceive the full merit of a work, till they have 
 fcen it fevcral times, nor give it the preference it de- 
 ferves, till after having compared for a while the 
 pleafure it gives them, with the fatisfadlion they re- 
 ceive from fuch excellent works as have had a 
 long and eftabliflied approbation. 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 Ohjedlion drawn from good works which have 
 been difappfoved at Jirji by the public 3 as 
 aljb from bad ones that have been comniend- 
 ed. Anfwer to this objediion. 
 
 IT will be objefled here, that there have been 
 fome wretched farces, and pitiful comedies, which 
 have amufed the town for a long time, and have 
 fometimes drawn fpedlatcrs to the twentieth night. 
 But thofe who go to fee thefe farces while they arc 
 new, will tell you themfelves they are not de- 
 ceived, ,and that they are very fenfible of the little 
 merit of thofe Smithheld comedies. They will teii 
 you upon the very fpot, that they make an immenfe 
 difference betwixt thofe pieces and the Mifanthrope, 
 and that they come thither merely to fee an aftor, 
 who fucceeds in fome odd charafter, or elfe a fcene 
 which bears a relation to a recent event, that is 
 very much talked of in the world. Wherefore 
 as foon as the time of their novelty is elapfcd, 
 and the conjun6lure which fupported them is over, 
 they arc then intirely forgot, and the players 
 
 2 Gc)
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 299 
 
 do not remember a word of them » which proves 
 vv^hat Terence fays, 
 
 —————— Olim am Jletit iwva^ 
 
 ASloris opera magis Jletijfe qiiam fun. 
 
 Ter. prolog. Phorm. 
 
 But (fome will continue to obje6t) the fuccefs of the 
 Mifanthrope was dubious for fome time, Pradon's 
 rhcEdra, which the public has now fo great a con- 
 tempt for, and which, to fay fomething more, it has 
 fo perfectly torgot, had at firit as great fuccefs as 
 the Ph?edra of Racine. Pradon had for fome time 
 as many fpeclators at the Hotel de Guenegaud, as Ra- 
 cine at the Hotel de Bourgogne. In a word, thefe two 
 tragedies, which appeared in the fame month, ftrug- 
 gled for feveral days, before the good one obtained 
 the vidtory. 
 
 Tho' the Mifanthrope is, perhaps, the bell 
 comedy extant ; yet we are not furprized that 
 the public hefitated a little before it acknowledg- 
 ed its excellency, and that the general fuffrage did 
 not declare in its favor 'till after eight or ten re- 
 prefcntations ; when we reflect- on the circumftances 
 in which it was firfl; exhibited. Ihe world was 
 a ftranger at that time to that noble comic kind 
 of writing, which fets true but different charac- 
 ters againft one another, fo as to caufe a refult ot 
 diverting incidents, tho' the perfonages never affect 
 any pleasantry. 'Till then the public were hardly 
 ever diverted wich natural faces : Wherefore as they 
 were accuftomed tor a long time to a coarfe or Ro- 
 tnantic comedy, which entertained them with low, 
 or improbable adventures, and introduced none but 
 
 daw bed
 
 4-00 Critical Reflections on 
 
 dawbed or grotefque buffoons on the ftage, they 
 were furprized to behold a mufe, which without 
 putting any ridiculous mafks on the faces of the ac- 
 tors, exhibited neverthelefs moft excellent charaders 
 for comedy. MoHere's rivals fwore all this time from 
 the knowledge they had of the ftage, that this new 
 kind of comedy was good for nothing. Thus the 
 public were in fufpence for a few days : They did 
 not know whether they were in the wrong to believe 
 thzt Jodolet Mafler and Servant -t and Don Japhet of 
 Armenia were in the right tafle ; or whether they were 
 to blame for thinking that this tafle was to be found 
 in the Mifanthrope. But after a certain number of 
 reprefentations people began to fee, that the method 
 of treating comedy as a moral philofophcr, was 
 much the beft ; and leaving the jealous poets (a fet 
 of men who are as little to be credited with refpeft 
 to the works of their competitors, as women are to 
 be believed with regard to the merit of their rivals) 
 leaving them, I fay, to rail againfb the Mifanthrope, 
 they brought themfelves in a very little time to 
 admire it. 
 
 Perfons of an exquifite tafle, faw from the very 
 beginning which way the public would fhortly be 
 determined. Every one knows the commendations 
 the duke of Montauzier bellowed on the Mifanthrope 
 upon its very firfl reprefentation. Boileau, upon feeing 
 the third, aifured Racine, that he was not vexed at 
 the danger to which Moliere's reputation was like- 
 ly to be expofed, for this comedy would very foon 
 meet with mofl furprizing fuccefs. The public 
 juftified the predidlion of the author of the art 
 of poetry, and the French for thefe many years have 
 
 cited
 
 Pdi.tv.y and pAHifiij a. 30! 
 
 4 ited the Mifanthrope as the honor of their comic 
 Itage. In fa6b, this is, of all our French pieces, that 
 which our neighbours feem to be moft fond of. 
 
 As for Pradon's Phaedra, we ftill remember that a 
 cabal formed of feveral partizans, among whom there 
 Were perfons equally confiderable for their wit and 
 the rank they held in the world, had confpired to 
 raife Pradon's Ph3edra,and to humble that of Racine. 
 The confpiracy of the marquifs of Bsdmar againft 
 the republic of Venice, was not conduced with 
 greater artifice, nor continued with more vigor. But 
 what was the eftcft of this confpiracy ? It brought 
 a fuller houfe than there would otherwife have been 
 to Pradon's tragedy^ merely to fee how Racine's 
 competitor had treated the fame fubjed. But 
 this famous confpiracy could not hinder the pub- 
 lic from admiring Racine's Phsbdra after the fourth 
 night. When the fuccefs of thofc two tragedies 
 fcemed pretty equal, reckoning the people who 
 took tickets at the Hotel de Guenegaud and the 
 Iloul de Bourgogne, one might eafily fee it was 
 quite the reverie, upon hearing the fentiments 
 of thofc who returned from thefe Hotels, where 
 two feparate companies at that time afted the 
 French comedy. At a month's end this fiiadow of 
 equality difappearcd, and the Hotel de Gue»egaud, 
 where Pradon's piece v/as a6lcd, became a perfe(5t 
 defert. Every one knows Boileau's verfcs on ihe 
 fuccefs of Corncille's Cid : 
 
 En vain centre k Cid un minijli-e fe ligue, 
 'Tout Paris pour Ckiincne a Us \eiix de Rodrigue, 
 
 In
 
 302 Critical Reflections «>« 
 
 In vain the court againjl the Cid confpireSy 
 While the whole town the fair Chimene admires. 
 
 I have already mentioned the operas of Quinaiilr, 
 and have faid enough, methinks, to convince 
 fuch of our dramatic poets as have mifcarried in 
 their plays, that the public profcribes none but bad 
 performances. If we can apply the following verfe 
 of Juvenal to them, 
 
 Hand tamen invideas vati quern ptdpita pafcunt. 
 
 Juv. Sat. 7. 
 
 'Tis for other reafons foreign to my prefent fubjed. 
 It might be ftill objefted, that the Greeks an^ 
 Romans pronounced frequently unjuft fentences in 
 their theatres, which they afterwards retradled. Mar- 
 tial fays, that the men (j/yZ/i^^MJ denied Menander fre- 
 quently the prize due to his comedies. 
 
 Rara co-ronato flaufere theatra Menandro. 
 
 Authors cited by Aulus Gellius "" have obferved, that 
 out of a hundred comedies written by Menandef, 
 there had been eight only which obtained the prize 
 given by the ancients to poets, who were fo lucky 
 as to write the bed piece among thofe that were re- 
 prefented on certain folemnities. We learn alfo 
 from Gellius, that Euripides was crowned for five 
 tragedies only out of feventy five which he compof- 
 ed. The public difgufted with Terence's Hecyra, 
 when it was firft a6ted, would not let the players 
 go through with it. 
 
 I anfwer, that Gellius and Martial do not fay, 
 that the tragedies of Euripides, or Menander's co- 
 * AvLUs Gellius. lib. 17. cap. 4. 
 
 «edicS
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 30^ 
 
 mcdies were condemned, tho' others might have 
 been more entertaining. Were thofe viftorious pie- 
 ces extant, perhaps we fhould be able to unfold 
 that which dazzled the fpediator : Perhaps we fhould 
 even find, that the fpedator was right in his judg- 
 ment. Tho' the great Corneirie be, generally fpeak- 
 ing, much luperior to Rotrou, are there not feveral 
 of the former's tragedies (I will not prefiime to de- 
 termine the number) which would lofe the prize 
 when compared to Rotrou' s Wencedaus, in the 
 judgment of an impartial affembly. In like man- 
 ner, tho' Menander wrote fome comedies which ren- 
 dered him fuperior to Philemon (a poet, whofe pie- 
 ces frequently gained the prize over Menander's) 
 might not Philemon have compofed feveral pieces 
 which merited the prize in preference to fome of 
 Menander's ? Quintilian fays, " that the Athenians 
 " were miflaken in one thing only with refped; to 
 ** Philemon, which was, their preferring him too of- 
 " ten to Menander. They would have been in 
 " the right, had they been fatisfied to give him 
 " the fccond place ; for in every body's judg" 
 '^ mcnt, he deferved to be ranked immediately next 
 ** to Menander ""." Apuleius fpeaks ^ of this fame 
 Philemon in the fecond book of his Florida^ as of 
 a poet wiio had very great talents, and was particu- 
 larly commendable for the moral excellence of his 
 
 * Piilenioii, qui ut pravis ful tcmporls juMci'is Menandro fape 
 p.-vlatui fjl, it a co':lhifu omniur: viv^ttit cridi ficundus. Quint. 
 lull. 1. 10. 
 
 ^ StKtcntirr tit if cGi^^riicntiS. Faro a^uJ ilium corruptelo', isf 
 uti crrorcs c^tucjji amorce. Apul. Flor/ 
 
 comedies.
 
 404 Critical R.eflections on 
 
 comedies. He praifes him for abounding in 
 good maxims, for mixing very few dangerous paf- 
 fages in his plays, and for treating love as a 
 treacherous and bewitching paflion. Were not the 
 Athenians in the right to have a regard to the mo- 
 rality of their comic poets, in diftributing their 
 prizes ? 
 
 As for Euripides, the very bed dramatic poets of 
 Greece were his cotemporaries, and 'tis fuch pieces 
 as theirs that have frequently obtained the prize in 
 oppofition to his. *Tis therefore a wrong thing to 
 place Euripides and Menander at the head of thofe 
 poets that have been difregard^d by the fped:ators, 
 in order to confole by the likenefs of their faces 
 fuch of our dramatic writers, as have had the mis- 
 fortune of the public's being diffatisfied with their 
 performances. 
 
 I have ftill another reafon to produce in anfwer to 
 the objedion I am refuting. *Tis that the theatre 
 of thofe days was not a tribunal comparable to ours. 
 As the theatres of the ancients were very large, where 
 people entered without paying, the affembiies dege- 
 nerated into a multitude of carelefs people, who 
 were confequently ready to diflurb thofe that 
 Ihewed any attention. Horace informs us, that the 
 bluftering of the winds, locked up in the forefts of 
 Mount St Angel, and the roaring of the fea, agi- 
 tated by a tempell, did not raife a more fright- 
 ful noife than thofe tumultuous alTembhes. " What 
 " players, fays he, have a voice llrong enough to 
 * ' nuke thcmfrlves heard ? '^
 
 PoE TRY tfW Painting. 305 
 
 'Nam qua pervincere voces 
 
 Evaluere fonum^ referunt quern noflra theatra ? 
 Gargannm mugire putes nemus aut mare Tufcmn ; 
 1'anto cum Jlrepitu ludi fpe^antur. 
 
 HORAT. ep. I. ]. 2. 
 
 For who can judge^ or who can hear the wit 
 When noi[e and ftrange confufion fills the pit ? 
 As when the winds dajh waves againji the Jljoar, 
 Or lajh the woods, and all the monfters roar : 
 So great the floout^ when rich and Jtrangely drefs^d 
 The player comes, they clap his gawdy vejl. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 The lower clafs of people who were foon tired, be- 
 caufc they could not be attentive throughout the 
 piece, called out fometimes with loud fhouts and 
 cries, even as early as the third aft, for diverfions 
 more proportioned to their capacities ; and they tvcn 
 infulted thofe who dcTired the comedians to proceed. 
 A defcription of one of thofe mobbifh uproars may 
 be feen in the fequel ot the above-cited paflagc of 
 Horace, and in the prologue of the Hecyra, the re- 
 prcfcntation of which was twice interrupted by the 
 heat and violence of the people. There were ma- 
 giftrates indeed appointed to prevent thefe diforders ; 
 but they fcldom did thiir duty, as is frequently the 
 cafe in matters of greater importance. At Rome and 
 under the reign of Tiberius (who ol" all the Romin 
 princes undeiilood belt the art of making himfcif 
 obeyed; fome of the principal officers of the empe- 
 ror's rzuarJs were either killed or wounded at the thea- 
 tre, attempting to hinder the diforder -, and the on- 
 ly lit;. taction obtained, was that the lenate gave the 
 \'uL. II. X prsEtors
 
 5c6 Critical Reflections o;z 
 
 prretc rs leave to baiiifli the authors of thofe tu- 
 inults. The emperors who were defirous of ingra- 
 tiating themfelves with tlie people, abolilhed even 
 the cuflom of fending foldiers to mount guard at 
 the play-houfes. Our theatres are not fubj eft to the 
 like fiorms, but have the happinefs of enjoying a 
 calm and order, which one would think it impoffible 
 to eftablilh in aflemblies, that fo lively a nation as 
 ours forms for their divcrfion, and where one part 
 of the citizens comes armed, and the other dif- 
 armed. Mere they liften very peaceably to bad plays, 
 and fometimes to as indifferent players. 
 
 We have no public aUemblies like the ancients 
 to judge of poems that are not of the dramatic 
 kind. Wherefore artills are better able to favor, 
 or defry thofe poems, whofe publication is made 
 by means of the prefs. They have it in their 
 power to fet the fine pallages oil', and to cxcufe the 
 bad ones ; as they can diminifli the merit of the 
 good ones, either by faying they were llolcn, or 
 by comparing tlicm to the verfcs of another poet, 
 who has handled the like fubjed. When the pub- 
 lic have been thus inipofed upon in the general 
 character of one of thofe poems, they cannot be un- 
 deceived in a day. There is fome time requifite for 
 difintereded perfons to be fenfibic of their miflakes, 
 and to confirm thenifelves in the right opinion by 
 the authority of numbers. The greateft proot wt 
 can therefore have of the excellency of a poem, 
 upon its iiril appearing, is its engaging us tc 
 continue the reading of it, and that thofe wlio have 
 perufed it fpeak of it with a kind of alTedion, ever 
 when tl»cv cenfure its faults.
 
 Poetry and Pa in t i n g; ^oj 
 
 I am of opinion, that the time requifite for de- 
 ciding the merit of a new poem, fuch as can be 
 realJy called a good work, is confined to two years 
 after its firft edition. If it is a bad performance, 
 the public does not take fo much time to condemn 
 it, Jet the profeflbrs of the art exert themfelves ever 
 fo much to fupport its reputation. When the Maid 
 of Orleans made its firft appearance, it had the ad- 
 vantage of being encouraged by men of letters, as 
 well French as foreigners. The great men of the 
 nation had crowned it already with favors, and the 
 world prepolTeiTed by all thefe encomiums, waited 
 for it with the cenfer in hand. And yet as foon as 
 the Maid of Orleans was read, people fhook off" their 
 prejudice, and defpifed it even bctore any critic had. 
 pubhfliedthe reafons of its being worthy of contempt. 
 The premature credit of the work occafioned num- 
 bers to inquire into this affair with greater curio- 
 fity and fpirit : and every one learnt from the firft 
 refearches they made, that others yawned as well 
 as themfelves in perufing it, and that the maid was 
 grown old in her cradle. 
 
 C H A P. XXXI. 
 
 ^that the public judgment is 720 1 recalled^ but is 
 ereery day 7nore jhongly confirmed. 
 
 THE judgment of the public receives an ad- 
 dirional llrength irom lini;;. Tnc Maid of 
 Ci leans is coniinuallv more uclpllcd -, whilil: every 
 J.iy ii.cr'.afc^ t!ic veneration vaili wLi-ii v,".- kjok up- 
 
 X 2 c:\
 
 3o8 Critical REFLtCTiONsc;/ 
 
 on Polyeuftes, Phjudra, the Mifanthrope, and the 
 Art of poetry. The reputation of a poet cannot 
 reach during his life to its due point of elevation. 
 An author, who is thirty years of age, when he pub- 
 Hflies his beft works, cannot live fo many years lon- 
 ger as is neceilary for the public to know, not only 
 that his works are excellent, but likewife that they 
 are of the fame order as thofe Greek and Roman 
 pieces, which have been fo much extolled by thofe 
 that underftood them. 'Till the works of a mo- 
 dern author are placed in the abovemention- 
 ed rank, his reputation may increafe continually. 
 Wherefore two or three years are fulHcient to know 
 whether a new poem be good, or indifferent •, but 
 perhaps an intire century is requifite to be able to 
 judge of its whole merit, upon fuppofition of its be- 
 ing a work of the iiril order. Hence the Romans, 
 who had Tibullus and Propertius's elegies in their 
 hands, were fome time before they ranked thofe of 
 Ovid in the fame clafs. Hence likewife that fame 
 people did not quit the reading of Ennius, as foon 
 as Virgil's Eclogues and Bucolics made their firfl ap- 
 pearance. This is what the following epigram from 
 Mai^ial literally fignifies, which is generally cited 
 by poets, who are not fo happy as to meet with 
 fuccefs. 
 
 Ennius ejl le^us faho tihi Roma Marone. 
 
 Mart. io. Epigr. lib. 5. 
 
 It would be fo much the more ridiculous to pre- 
 tend, that Martial meant here, that the Romans had 
 placed Ennius's poems for fome time in the fame 
 rank with the -/Eneid, as this epigram can relate only 
 
 to
 
 Poetry <7;?rt^ Painting. 307 
 
 to what pafled at Rome in VirgiPs life-time. Now 
 every oiis knows that the /Eneid was one of thofe 
 works which are called pofthumous, for being pub- 
 iilhed after the death of the author. 
 
 I diftinguifh two forts of merit (If I may call them 
 fo) in a poem ; one real, and the other compara- 
 tive. The firfl confifts in pleafing and moving : 
 The fecond in moving as much or more than 
 authors of a known character. It confifts in plca- 
 Jing and engaging as much as thofe Greeks and 
 Romans, who are generally fuppofed to have attained 
 to the highcft pitch that human underftanding can 
 reach, becaufe we have not yet feen any thing that 
 iurpanfcs them. 
 
 Cotemporarics judge well of the real merit of 
 <i work, but they are apt to miftake, when they 
 ]udge of its comparative merit, or when they at- 
 tempt to decide the rar.k due to it. They arc 
 ilibjeft in this calc to fail into one of the following 
 criors. 
 
 The firH: is to put a v/ork too foon upon a level 
 wirh thofe of the ancients. The fecond, to fuppofe 
 a r/eatcr diil.ince than there is in reality bctv/een it 
 and tlic aiic'cnt pieces. I fay therefore in the firft 
 ^;lace, tlia: the public arc milfaken fometimes, 
 when too much charmed with fuch new pro- 
 iiuctions as move and pleafe them ; they ufurp 
 unfeafonably the rights of policrity, by decid- 
 ing that thefe productions arc of the fame order 
 as the clafiic, and, as we commonly call them, 
 cor.iecrated j;erforniances of the Greeks and Ro- 
 rn.ms •, and that their authors will be always th.c>. 
 princioal poets in their language. 'Tis thus ri ^^ 
 X 3 cotcin-
 
 310 Critical Reflect j(6n§ ^« 
 
 cotemporaries of Ronflird and the French Pleiades 
 were miftaken, in pronouncing that the French po- 
 ets would never be able to furpafs thofe new Prome- 
 theus' s % who, to cxprefs mylelf poetically, had no 
 other divine fire at their difpofal, but what they bor- 
 rowed from the writings of the ancients. 
 
 Ronfard, the brightefl ftar of thofe pleiades, had 
 a great deal of learning, but very little genius. We 
 do not find in his verfes fuch fubhme ideas, fuch 
 happy turns of expreffion, nor fuch noble figures, as 
 we obferve in the Greek and Latin authors. As 
 he had no enthufiafm, but was a mere admirer of 
 the ancients, the reading of them warmed him, and 
 ferved him inflead of Apollo's tripod. But as 
 he boldly adopts (which is his fole merit) the 
 beauties collefted in his reading, without confining 
 Hmfelf to the rules of our fyntax, thefe beauties 
 ieem to rife from his own invention. His liberties of 
 expreffion appear like fallits of a natural warmth of 
 vein, and his verfes compofed in imitation of Virgil 
 and Homer, have alfo the air of an original. The 
 ornaments therefore v/ith which his works are ftrew- 
 cd, were capable of pleafing readers, who did not 
 underftand thofe originals, or who were fo doatingly 
 fond of them, as to carefs even the refemblance 
 of their features in the moft disfigured copies. 'Tis 
 true, Ronfard's language is not French •, but people 
 imagined at that time, that it was impoffible to 
 write poetically and correftly in our tongue. Be- 
 fides, poems in the vulgar languages are as necefl"ary 
 for police nations, as thofe firft conveniences that are 
 
 * RoNSARD, Eelleau, Joachim du Bf.llay, Jodei-lk, 
 
 PoNIUi UB. TilJAKT, DORAT, BaIF. 
 
 I contrived
 
 Poetry and Painting. 311 
 
 contrived by a growing luxury. When Ronlard 
 and his cotemporaries, of whom he was the chief, 
 appeared, our anceftors had hardly any poems which 
 they could read with pleafure. The commerce with 
 the ancients, which had been furprizingly increaf- 
 cd fmce the recovery of letters, by the invention of 
 printing, gave people a diftafte at that time for our 
 r.ld writers of romances. Hence Ronfard's cotempo- 
 raries looked upon his poem^s, as pieces dropt down 
 from heaven. Had tlicy been latisiicd with laying, 
 that his verfes were infinitely pleafing to them, and 
 th;'.t the image; r.hey abound in were va(l!y engag- 
 ing, we fnould have no reafon to condemn them. 
 But rlifv ftemed to claim a right which did not be- 
 long to r!iem :, r.iid ufurpf^ct the prerogative of pof- 
 teriry, by prociain/mg him tiie grcatelt French poet 
 of their time, as well as of future ages. 
 
 There i'.ive been French poets fincc Ronfird, 
 who iiad !7iore gfniu?, an! bcTides compofej 
 rorrecrly. Henct^ we have laid Ronlard afidc, to 
 m.ai.e th<. woiks of tli^ latter our pref.nt amufcm.ent. 
 We very jnftiy prefer them to Rf^.^.iard ; but thofe 
 w'lo are acuuainiTd v/ith the latter, arc not furpriz- 
 e;' tf-.r.t his rorem])oraiies {^uvA a plealhre in rea;!- 
 ii.L; lis works, no:vv irhOanding ihc- Gothic taftc of 
 h:> -mages. I Ih.aH hnifli r!ie hihircl of Ronfard 
 v.'i^i'i one r-mark. Tiiis is, that ihc cotemporaries 
 iA thiis pdC" were i:ot nfiflakfii in their jucigmeiit 
 v/ith refped; to his works, and lli; h others as were 
 ill; n extant. They did not preicr in earnefl the Fran- 
 : : i to the .F!neid, wlicn this I'Ver.rh p.oem was 
 rd, rubliihed. I'iu' i\mz reafons v.diich hindered 
 'Sxiv. kom l}e''ng miliakcn in this point, wouki 
 X ^. have
 
 312 Critical Reflections on 
 have likewifc prevented them from preferring the 
 Franciad to the Cinna and the Horatii, had thefe 
 tragedies been then extant. 
 
 After what has been here faid, 'tis evident we mufl: 
 leave to time and experience the determination of 
 the rank, which the poets our cotemporaries are to 
 hold among writers, who compofe that colltdion 
 of books, which is raifed by men of letters of all 
 nations, and may be called the library of mankind. 
 Every nation has, 'tis true, a particular library of 
 good books written in their own language, but there 
 is befides a common one for all nations. We mull 
 therefore wait 'till a poet's reputation has gra- 
 dually increafed during a century, before we can 
 decide, that he deferves to be ranked in the fame 
 clafs with thofe Greek and Roman authors, whofe 
 works are faid generally to be confecrated, becaufe 
 they are of the number of thofe, which Quintihan * 
 defines, ihe monuments of the ingenious that have the 
 approbation of a long fucceffion of ages. 
 
 In the fecond place, I fay, that the public commits 
 fometimes another fault, by fuppofing the works of 
 their cotemporaries to be remoter than they really are, 
 from the perfedlion to which the ancients attain- 
 ed. When we have as many poems in our hands 
 as we can read, we are too difficult in doing juf- 
 tice to fcvcral excellent productions, and for a long 
 v/hi!e v,e place thtm at too great a diilance from 
 confecrated performances. But every one will make 
 naturally of hirnfelf the reflecTtions I fliould be capa- 
 ble of offering on this fubjccl. 
 
 a Ingcnlcrurn V'.cnnv^enta qu<-c JLtcuIis ^^rohatiur. Qui NT. Ii'-fr. 
 
 1.3. c. 9. 
 
 Uc
 
 Poetry a'ui Pa i n t i n o. 313 
 
 Let us fay fomething now of the prefigr:?, by which 
 w€ may promife to fuch works as liave been pub- 
 liflied in our days and in thofe of the preceding ge- 
 neration, the glory of being ranked by pofterity, 
 in the fame order with the ancients. 'Tis a favor- 
 able omen for a work of this kind, that its reputa- 
 tion increafes every year. This happens, when the 
 author has no fucceflbr, and much more, when he 
 has been dead a long time without having been re- 
 placed. Nothing Is a greater proof of his having been 
 an uncommon perfon in the fphere in which he 
 fhone, than the inutiUty of the efforts of thofe who 
 have attempted to rival him. Thus fixcy years 
 which are elapfed fince the death of Moliere, with- 
 out fubftituting a perfon of equal abilities in his 
 room, add a luftre to his reputation, which it could 
 not have acquired a year after his deceafe. The 
 public have not ranked in the fame clafs with Moliere, 
 the very befb of our comic writers who have appear- 
 ed fince his death. This honor has not been done 
 to Renard, to Bourfault, to the two authors of the 
 Grumbler % nor to feveral other comic poets, whofe 
 pieces have diverted the pubHc, when well ail- 
 ed. Thofe even amongft our poets who are mod 
 inclined to gafconading, never compared themfelves 
 ferioufly to Moliere •, nor have they ever ranked the 
 autlior of the Philofopher married above him. Every 
 year tliat paHes wichout giving a fucceflbr to the 
 French Terence will add fomething to his reputation. 
 Bur (fome will afk mej are you fure that pollcrity 
 will not contradid the encomiums, which have been 
 
 * The Abbot dc Bruilis and FALArpiAT. 
 
 beltoweJ
 
 3^5 Critical Reflections on 
 
 beftowed by cotemporaries on thofe French poets 
 whom you confider as placed already by future a^^es 
 jn the fame rank with Horace and Terence ? 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 ^hat, in fpite of critics, the reputation of our 
 admired poets will always increafe. 
 
 TH E works of our eminent French poets have 
 no reafon, methinks, to apprehend the fate 
 of thofe of Ronfard. They have compofed in the 
 fame tafte as the excellent authors of antiquity ; 
 they have imitated them with judgment, and not as 
 Ronfard and his cotemporaries, that is, fervilely, 
 and as Horace fays that Servilius had imitated the 
 Greeks, 
 
 — — . Hofcefecutus^ 
 
 Mutatis tantiim numeris. 
 
 This fervile imitation of poets who have wrote in 
 foreign languages, is the fate of authors who com- 
 pofe when their nation begins to Ihake off its bar- 
 baroufnefs. But our beft French poets have imita- 
 ted the ancients, as Horace and Virgil imitated 
 the Greeks, that is, by following, as the others had 
 done, the genius of the language in which they com- 
 pofed, and by taking nature tor their firft model. 
 Good writers borrow nothing, but the manner of 
 copying nature. The ftyle of Racine, Boileau, 
 La Fontaine, and our other illuftrious countrymen, 
 will never grow fo old as to furfcit people with 
 
 the
 
 ' PaEfRV and Painting. 314 
 
 the reading of their works ; no, it will be im- 
 poflible to read them without being ftruck with 
 their beauties, becaufe they are copied from na- 
 ture. 
 
 In faft, our language, methinks, attained fe- 
 venty years ago to its higheft pitch of perfec- 
 tion. An author printed fixty years before Ablan- 
 court, feemed in his time a Gothic writer. Now, 
 tho* 'tis already upwards of fourfcore years fince 
 Ablancourt wrote, his ftyle does not appear to us 
 to have grown old. In order to write well, wc 
 muft always be direfted by thofe rules, which this 
 author and his firil fucceffors have followed. Every 
 reafonable change that may happen to a language, 
 once its fyntax is become regular, can fall only 
 upon words. Some v/ax old, or obfolete ; others 
 become fafhionable ; fome new ones are coined ; and 
 the orthography of others is altered, in order to 
 foftcn the pronunciation. Horace has drawn the 
 horofcopc of all languages, where he fays of his 
 own : 
 
 Multa renafcenttir qucs jam cecidere, cadentque 
 Qu^ nunc junt in honore vocabula^ fi volet ufus, 
 f^ieni penes arbitriiim eji ^ jus iy norma loquendi, 
 
 HoR. de arte poet. 
 
 Scn2c i-jcrds that have^ or elfe will feel decay. 
 Shall be reJ}or*d, and come again in play ; 
 And words noiv fam\i, Jhall not be fancy d long, 
 Ihr^ faall not pleafe the ear, nor move the tongue : 
 yjs life fjjall thefe approve^ and thofe condemn, 
 I'fe the [ok rule of fpeech, and judge fupr erne. 
 
 Crlecii. 
 
 Ufe
 
 3i6 Critical Reflections an 
 
 Ufe is generally the maftcr of words, but very fel- 
 dom of the rules of fyntax. Now old words never 
 make us grow tired of an author, whofe phrafes 
 are laid out in a regular conftru6lion. Do we not 
 flill read Amiot with pleafure ? I fhall make one ob- 
 fcrvation here by the way ; 'tis not becaufe the La- 
 tin authors of the fecond and fubfequent centuries 
 made ufe of new words, or becaufe the conftruc- 
 tion of their phrafes was not purfuant to the rules 
 of grammar, that their ftyle appears to us fo infe- 
 rior to that of Livy and his cotemporaries. The 
 authors of the fecond and following centuries have, 
 generally fpeaking, ufed the fame words as Livy. 
 Their phrafes have been formed according to the 
 fame rules of fyntax as his, at lead the difference 
 between them in this refpe<5l was very inconfidera- 
 ble. But vicious tranfpofitions were in fafhion in 
 their times ; the cuftom of taking words in a tran- 
 fiated fenfe that did not fuit them, was authorized ; 
 and they were employed, without any regard to their 
 proper fignification, either in foolidi epithets, or in 
 thofe figures whofe falfe luftre prefents no diftin^St 
 image. 'Tis fo far true, that 'tis punning upon 
 words, and the abufe of metaphors, which, for ex- 
 ample, disfigure the profe of Sidonius Apollinaris, 
 that the laws made by Majorianus, and the other 
 emperors cotemporaries of this bifhop, are drawn 
 up in as pure a ftyle as if they had been made in the 
 time of the firft Casfars, by reafon that the authors 
 of thofe laws, reftrained by the dignity of their 
 work from exceeding the limits of a grave and fim- 
 ple ftyle, have not been expofcd to the danger of 
 making an abufe of figures, and ol hunting after 
 
 points
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 317 
 
 points and falfe wit. Buctho' the ftyle becomes corrupt- 
 ed, and the language adulterated, people will always 
 admire the ftyle of fuch authors, as have wrote when 
 the language was in its full force and purity. We 
 continue to commend their noble fimplicity, even 
 when we are incapable of imitating it ; for it is fre- 
 quently our incapacity of performing as well as 
 they, that is the caufe of our undertaking to do 
 better. This tinfel and ftudy of points is fo often 
 fubftituted in the room of fenfe and energy of dif- 
 courfe, for no other reafon but becaufe it is eafier to 
 have fome fliare of wit, than to be both moving 
 and natural. 
 
 Virgil, Horace, Cicero, and Livy, were read 
 and admired, as long as the Latin was a living 
 language ; and the writers who compofed five 
 hundred years after thofe authors, and when the 
 Latin ftyle was already in a ftate of depravity, are 
 more liberal in their praifes upon them, than thofe 
 who lived in the time of Auguflus. The refpedt 
 and veneration for the authors of the fame age as 
 Plato continued in Greece, notwithftanding the de- 
 generacy of artifts. Thofe authors were admired as 
 great models, two thoufand years after they had 
 wrote, and at a lime when they had fo few imita- 
 tors. For the truth of this I appeal to the teftimo- 
 ny of thofe Greeks, who explained thefe au- 
 thors to us after the taking of Conftantinople by the 
 'J'urks. The good writers of the age of Leo X, as 
 Machiavcl and Guicciardin, are not grown obfolete, 
 with regard to the prefent Italians : Nay, fo far 
 from that, their llyle is preferred to the mod florid 
 way of writing of later writers, becaufe the phrafe 
 I of
 
 ^i8 CmTicAx Reflections on 
 
 of the Iralian tongue attained to its full reguJarity as 
 early as the fixteenth century. 
 
 Whether therefore the ftyle, which our principal 
 authors adopted under Lewis XIV, continues al- 
 ways in fafhion, that is, whether it be the ftyle in 
 which our poets and orators endeavour to compofe 5 
 or whether it has the Jot of the ftyle in vogue under 
 the two firft Casfars, which b^gan to degenerate 
 in the reign of Claudius, when men of wit ufurped 
 the hberty of introducing figures to cxcefs, and 
 endeavoured to fupply with tinfel, that force of 
 fenfe and fimple elegance which their genius 
 could not reach to •, I maintain, that the celebrated 
 poets of the age of Lewis XIV will be immortal 
 like Virgil and Ariofto. 
 
 In tlie fecond place, our neighbours admire as 
 much as we ourfelves, our celebrated French poets, 
 and are as ready in repeating by heart thofe verfes 
 of Boileau and la Fontaine, which pafs for pro- 
 verbs. They have even adopted our beft works, 
 by tranflating them into their own language. Not- 
 withftanding the jealoufy of wit and learning, which 
 reigns between .nations as well as individuals, they 
 rank fome of thefe tranQations above the works of 
 the fame kind that have been compofed in their own 
 country. Our good poems, like thofe of Homer 
 and Virgil, are already placed in the abovementioned 
 common library of nations, 'Tis as rare to find a 
 cabinet in foreign countries without a Moliere, as 
 without a Terence. The Italians, who avoid as 
 much as poiTibls all occafions of giving us any fubjed: 
 of vanity (perhaps becaufe they think themfelves 
 charged with die care of our conduct) Jiave done 
 
 juftice
 
 Poetry and Painting* 319 
 
 juftice to the merit of our poets. As we ufed to ad- 
 mire and tranflate their poets oi the fixteenth cen- 
 tury, they have paid the lame honors to ours of the 
 leventcenth •, and have rendered the beft pieces of 
 our comic and tragic writers into Italian. Caftelli, 
 fecretary to the elector of Brandenburg, has tranQated 
 Moliere's works into Itahan, a verfion which has 
 gone thro' feveral editions. There are ahb fome of 
 Moliere's pieces, which have not only been literally 
 tranQated more than once into Italian, but have 
 been moreover found fo pleafing, as to deferve to 
 be drefied and travefted, as it were, into Italian co- 
 medies. There is an Italian comedy intitled, Don 
 Pilone% which Signor Gigli the author lays he bor- 
 rowed from Moliere's Tartulfc. To make a remark here 
 by the way, as Signor Gigh does not mention in his 
 preface what I remember to have read in fome me- 
 moirs or other, viz. that the Tartuffe was origi- 
 nally an Italian comedy, and that Moliere had only 
 adapted it to the French itage -, as, I fay, Signor Gigli 
 makes no mention ot it, we may very well quefiion 
 the truth of what the author of thole memoirs ad- 
 vances, who perhaps only hear>l it as a report. The 
 Italians laugh and weep at tiitle pieces with more 
 earneftne's and pafFion, than at the reprefentation 
 of their own tlieatric.i! perlormar.cc.s •, and have been 
 fo much afieCtcJ wit.h them, that even fome of 
 t'neir j^ucts have complained ol it. I'he abbot Gra- 
 
 " // iO;v P.Jj-i.- ■;:.•■■•■') 7/ /;,';/; '.';7.' f !■'■';, co}r.cd':.i t -atta not'a' 
 ruKtv dul Vi\iv,,i'. J.i (;/;v/V;-7 ',;'/'/, e dolicutnnll' 111. Cont . 
 fl.'^'in The^.j'Ji 7^0. 'v-v.;//. /•; Ly .1 /. ;■ M.:i r_ .ur.l./r, con licoiza 
 r'r' ,'■/'■(■! ;r,ri, l.^vno \~\\. I'r-f. :l J .^r.ito di qufjla opera e 
 t-rut'j did c,':br: 'L-uujjj dd:Ull:r. 
 
 vina.
 
 320 Critical Reflections ojj 
 
 vina, in his difTertation on tragedy printed about 
 five and twenty years ago *, fays, that his country- 
 men adopt without judgment fome of our dramatic 
 pieces, whofe faults have been cenfured by our na- 
 tion, who has explained herfelf upon this head by 
 the mouth of two of her ableft critics. He means 
 here Rapin and M. Dacier, whofe judgments he 
 produces on the French tragedies ; judgments which 
 he adopts with fo much the more pleafure, as he 
 had compofed his work principally to fhew the fu- 
 periority of the ancient tragedy over the modern. 
 But methinks it will not be amifs to give the 
 abbot's own words, defiring my reader at the 
 fame time not to forget that this gentleman was a 
 poet himfelf, and had compofed feveral tragedies in 
 imitation of the ancients ^. Thus we have feen 
 with what feverity the French nation (a nation fo 
 frodigioufiy improved Jince the time of Francis I ) paffes 
 her judgment on the merit of her own theatrical pieces 
 by means of her mojl learned critics ; and with what 
 precaution and dijiin^lion fhe propofes fuch, as are 
 blindly and indifcriminately received and diffufed 
 amongfi our theatres^ tranflated with the fringes of 
 ridiculous points, romantic expreJJionSy and other fucb 
 
 glittering 
 
 * In 1715. 
 
 ^ Or ecco quejia nazlone dal temp di Francefco prima Jino a nojlri 
 gzorni cultijjitna, con che ferieta di giudicio per tnez^o de ifuoi pm 
 Jifii cntici prononcia delle proprie opere teatrali, e con che dij{i?i- 
 tione propone quelle, che da not ciecamer.te dff fenza difcrexione al- 
 cunafo7io rice'vute e fparfe per tutti i teatri, e tradotte colfregio de 
 i no-Ji per.fuu falfi cd efprtjfioni piu Romancfche ed alt re pit) belle 
 pitnpe, le quali f.accano per fcmpre la mc7ite e lafa'vella de gli uo' 
 
 tr.hit
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n G. 321 
 
 glittering tinfel, which never fail to alienate the minds 
 and language of men from the rules of nature and rea- 
 fon. If, as this author pretends, his countrymen 
 dawb our pieces with points and romantic expref- 
 fions, the reproach does not relate to us. 
 
 Young people that have any thing of a polite 
 education, are as well acquainted with Boileau as 
 with Horace, and generally retain as many verfes of 
 the French as of the Latin poet, at the Hague, 
 Stockholm, Copenhagen, in Poland, Germany, and 
 even in England. We need not be afraid of the par^ 
 tiality of the Englifh in our favor ; yet they ad- 
 mire Racine, Corneille, Boileau, and Moliere. They 
 have fhewn the fame efteem for them as for Virgil 
 and Cicero, by trandating them into their language ; 
 for as foon as a French piece fucceeds in France, it 
 is almoft lure of attaining to this honor. I do not 
 think that the Englifh have three different tranflations 
 of Virgil's eclogues, and yet they have three differ- 
 ent vcrfions of the tragedy of the Horatii by Corneille * . 
 As early as 1675 they had a profe verfion of Ra- 
 cine's Andromache, revifed and fitted to the ftage 
 by M. Crown. \\\ 1712 Mr Phihps publiflicd a new 
 tranflation in verle of this fame tragedy, which has 
 been alfo ad:cd. 'I'is true, he has added three 
 icencs at the end ot the fifth act, and as they 
 are very proper for fhewing the taftc of Phi- 
 lips's couritrymen, I will give here an extra6l of 
 what they contain. In the firft of thefc additional 
 fccncs, Phccnix appears with a numerous retinue, 
 
 viiin dalL re yule dtlui aatura, t dilUi ragicne. Gravina, p. i i ,. 
 * V/.v^/ 0/ I.G-.L-er print td in i'j;6. That of Cotton printed in 
 \'r\, [hut (f i^h-i nil:^: Jlrjhcd ly Sir jKln Dcr.hufi, iuJ 
 f^r-.titid m li.'i. 
 
 \'oj.. II. y whom
 
 322 Critical Reflections 0f2 
 
 whom he commands to purfue Oreftes. In the fecond, 
 Andromache appears again upon the ftage, not as M. 
 Racine made her return in the firft edition of his tra- 
 gedy '', that is, as a captive of Oreftes, who is going to 
 carry her with him to Sparta. But fhe comes back 
 to offer to the body of Pyrrhus, which is brought 
 upon the ftage, all the attendance and care of a 
 fond wife afflidled with the death of her hufband. 
 In the third fcene, hearing a military found which 
 announces the proclamation of her fon Aftianax, fhe 
 abandons herfelf to fentiments ftiitable to her cha- 
 rader. 
 
 I fpeak here of thofe tranllations only which are 
 pubfifhed as fuch -, for it frequently happens that 
 Engliflx tranflators will not own themfelves in that 
 chara6ler, but attempt to give their copy for an ori- 
 ginal, xlow often has Mr Dryden^, even in the 
 judgment of his own countrymen, given nothing 
 more than a mere tranflation of French authors 
 in works, which lie publifhed for his own ? But I 
 fhould fatigue the reader, v/ere I to enter too far in- 
 to thcfe particulars. 
 
 The Germans have rendercci fevcral of our French 
 poets into their tongue, tho' they had lefs occafion 
 for tranflations of this fort, than other nations, by rea- 
 fon that they have honored our language with 
 making it familiar in their country. They write 
 very frequently to one another in French, and fe- 
 veral princes ufe this langiiage in correfponding 
 with their minifters, tho* they are natives of Ger- 
 many. 
 
 ^ Done in 1668. p. 86. 
 
 ^ LANGEAiNii'b Lives of the dramatic poets, p. iji. 
 
 I In
 
 Poetry j;z<:/ Pa i n t i n g. 323 
 
 In Holland, thofe that have any thing of an 
 education, fpeak French from their youth. The 
 States ufe this language on feveral occafions, and 
 even fix their great feal to a6ls drawn up in French. 
 The Dutch neverthclefs have tranllated feveral 
 of our beft works, efpecially our dramatic pieces; 
 which they have naturalized as Dutchmen. 
 
 Count Ericeyra, the worthy heir of the Fivy of 
 his country, has tranflated Boileau's Art of poetry 
 into Portuguefe. Now 'tis obfervable that our neigh- 
 bours did not tranllate our old tragedies, fuch as 
 thofe of Jodelle and Garnier. In Henry the IVth's 
 time, there was no fuch thing, as companies of 
 French comedians ftrolling about Holland, Poland, 
 Germany, the North, and fome ftates of Italy, to 
 acl the pieces of Hardi and Chretien. But now 
 there are companies of French comedians, that have 
 fixt fettlements in foreign countries. 
 
 The fuftrage of our neighbours, which is as free 
 and difmtcrciled as that of pofterity, appears to 
 me as a fecurity of its approbation. The praifes 
 which Boileau has beftowed upon Moliere and Ra- 
 cine, will procure them as much efteem in future 
 times, as they have obtained amongft the Fnglilli 
 and the Italians our cotemporaries. 
 
 It will not fignify to fay, that the v^oguc which 
 the Frencli language has h.:d within thcfe fe- 
 vcnty years, is the caufe of the reputation which 
 cur poems have in foreign countries. Foreigners 
 will tell us themfclves, that our poems and books 
 li.ive contributed more than any thing elfe to give 
 c'lC jan^aijge, in wliieh they arc wrote, fo great .1 
 Y 2 currency.
 
 324 Critical Reflections on 
 
 currency, that it has almoft deprived the Latin of 
 the advantage of being a language, which moft na- 
 tions learn by a kind of tacit convention, to make 
 themfelves iinderftood. We may apply to the French 
 tongue what Cicero faid of the Greek ' : Greek 
 ivorks an read by almoji every nation ; but the 
 Latin is confined within its cwn narrow bounds. 
 When a German minifler has an affair to negotiate 
 with an Englifh or Dutch minilter, there is no dif- 
 pute about the language they are to ufe in their con- 
 ferences : It has been fettled long ago, that they are 
 to fpeak French. Foreigners even complain that 
 the French invades the rights, as it were, of living 
 languages, by introducing its words and phrafes in- 
 ftead of their own exprefiions. The Germans and 
 Dutch complain, that the ufe which their country- 
 men make of French words, but efpecially of the 
 verbs, in fpeaking Dutch and German, corrupts 
 their languages, as much as Ronfard corrupted the 
 French by the words and phrafes of the learned 
 languages, with wiiich he intermixed his verfes. 
 The Examiner, the author of a political paper pub- 
 lifhed periodically in London about thirty years 
 ago, fays that the French begins to be fo vaftly 
 blended with the Englilh phrafes, in fpeaking of 
 military affairs, that the common people in Eng- 
 land are no longer able to underftand the pre- 
 fent relations of fieges and battles written by their 
 countrymen. The abbot Gravina has made the 
 fame complaint with regard to the Italian in his 
 
 * Gricca leguntur in cmnihus fere gcntibus. Lati7ia fu'u fnibus 
 exiguis fane cotitintntur. Cic. orat. pro Archia. 
 
 i . book
 
 PoE TR Y rtW Paint I N G. 325 
 
 book upon tragedy. We have even reafon to think, 
 that the writings of the great men of our nation bid 
 fair for fecuring to our language the fate of the 
 Greek and Roman tongues, that is of rendering it 
 a Jearned language, if ever it happens to be a dead 
 one. 
 
 But (fome will fay) may not future critics obferve 
 fuch grofs miftakes in thole admired writings, as 
 will render them contemptible to pofterity ? 
 
 I anfwer, that the moft fubtie remarks of the 
 greateft metaphyficians will never be able to diminifli 
 one degree of the reputation of our poets, be- 
 caufe fuch remarks, were they even to be juft, 
 ■will never (trip our poems of thofe charms, by 
 which they have a right to pleafe all readers. If 
 the faults which thofe critics fliould happen to con- 
 demn, are contrary to the art of poetry, they will 
 only teach us to know the caufe of an effe(5b, which 
 was already felt. Thofe who faw the Cid, before the 
 criticifms of the French academy were publiflied, were 
 fenfible ot fome defects in this poem, tho' incapable 
 to tell diftindly in what they confided. If thefc 
 faults fliould be contrary to other fcienccs, fuch 
 as geography, or afironomy, the public will be 
 obliged to the critics who deteft them -, but ilill they 
 will be incapable of diminirtiing the reputation of 
 the poet, which is not founded on this, that his ver- 
 fes are free from the like miftakes, but that the read- 
 ing of them is engaging. I laid, were even thofe 
 remarks to be juft •, for in all probability, for one 
 good remark there would be a hundred bad ones. 
 
 'Tis uiidoubtcdly much eafier to make weil- 
 j-^rQundcl remarks on poems, when their authors 
 
 Y 3 arc
 
 ^26 Critical Reflections on 
 
 are known, and when they fpeak of fuch things 
 as we have feen, or whofe explications or applica- 
 tions are preferved by a yet recent tradition -, than 
 it will be hereafter, when all thefe lights will be ex- 
 tinguiOied by time and by revolutions to which hu- 
 man focieties are fubjedl. Now the remarks which 
 are made at prefent againft cmr modern poets, and 
 dwell upon errors into which, 'tis pretended, they 
 have fallen, either with refpedl to phyfics or aftro- 
 nomy, are frequently a proof that the critics have 
 a mind to find fault, not that the poets have com- 
 mitted fuch errors. Let us give one example. 
 
 Boileau compofed his letter to Monfieur de Guil- 
 leragues towards the year 1675, at a time when the 
 new philofophy was the modifli fcience -, for we 
 have fafhions in fciences as well as in cloaths. Even 
 the very ladies ftuclied the new fyflems at that time, 
 which feveral profeffors taught in our vulgar lan- 
 guage at Paris. 'Tis very likely that Moliere, who 
 wrote his Learned Wtjmen towards the year 1672, 
 and who puts the dogmas and ftyle of the new 
 philofophy lb frequently into the mouths of his he- 
 roins, attacked in that comedy the excefs of a reign- 
 ing tafte, and that he expofed a ridiculous charafter 
 which feveral perfons afted every day in private life. 
 When Boileau wrote his epiftle to Monfieur deGuille- 
 ragues, the converfations on phyfics brought frequently 
 upon the tapis thefpots of the fun, by the help of which 
 aftronomers obferved that this planet turns on its 
 own axis in about feven and twenty days. Some of 
 thefj macuh^ having difappeared, occafioned a great 
 noife ev'.-n upon Parnaffus. The wits on this occafion 
 fiid, that the fun, in order to attain to a greater re- 
 
 fcmblance
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 327 
 
 femblance to the late king, who had taken it for the 
 body of his device, had got rid of his fpots. 
 
 In this JLinfture, Boileau willing to exprefs poeti- 
 cally, that notwithftanding the prevailing tafte he ap- 
 plied himftlf intirely to the ftudy of morals prefer- 
 able to that of phyfics, (a fentiment very fuitable to 
 a fatyric poet) writes to his friend, that he refigns 
 feveralquefbions, which the latter fcience treats of, to 
 the refearches of other people. Let others, fays he, 
 inquire, 
 
 Si k foleil ejl fixe^ ou tcunte fur [on axe. 
 Does the fun fiand^ or en its axis turn? 
 Certain it is, that the poet means here to fpcak 
 only of the qucftion, whether the fun placed in the 
 center of our vortex, turns on its axis, or not. 
 Even the very conftrucftion of the phrafe is fufficient 
 alone to prove, that it can have no other meaning, 
 and this is the f^-nfe which offers itfelf at the very 
 firll pcrufal. Neverthelefs feveral critics have ex- 
 plained this verfe, as if the author intended to op- 
 pofe the lyftcm of Copernicus, which makes the pla- 
 nets whirl round the fun placed in the center of our 
 vortex, to the opinion ot liich as maintain that the 
 fun hath its proper motion, by which it turns 
 on its own axis. If Boileau meant any fuch thing, 
 he was certainly in the wrong. The opinion of 
 thofe who affirm tliat the fun turns on its axis, 
 and the fyftem ot fuch as maintained before the late 
 difcoverics, that it was immoveable in the center of the 
 vortex, juppolt: both alike that the fun is in the 
 middle ol the vortex, where Co[)ernicus has placed 
 il. Monfieur i^errault objecled againft lk)ileau up- 
 wards of thirty years ago, ' '■Thai thofe ivho maiuta'rii 
 
 * I'rcfacc to ihc Jpol'^gy fjr 'v.,/r.cn. p. 7. 
 
 Y 4 that
 
 328 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 
 
 that the fun is fixt and immoveable, are the fame who 
 hold that it turns on its own axis, and that they are 
 not two different opinions y as he feems to injinuate in 
 his verfes. T'rue it is^ continues Monfieur Perrault 
 fome lines lower, that it is not handfome for fo great 
 a -poet, to he ignorant of thofe arts and fciences he pre- 
 tends to fpeak of. But 'tis notBoileau*s fault, if Monfieur 
 Perrault mifundcrdands him, and much lefs is it his 
 fault, if other critics are pleafed to imagine that by 
 the abovementioncd words, he intended to oppofc the 
 fyftem of Copernicus to that of Ptolomy, which 
 fuppofes that the fun turns round the earth. Boi- 
 Jeau has repeated it a hundred times, that his fole in- 
 tention was to oppofe the opinion of thofe who made 
 the fun turn on its own axis, to the fyftem of 
 fuch as would not admit of this motion ; and the 
 verfe iti'elf points out this fenfe dear enough to want 
 !iO explication. 
 
 Accufations o: this nature have not lefTened the 
 reputation of our poets, fmce the ancients never 
 fuffered for the like injurious imputations, tho' far 
 more confiderable in number. As they wrote in 
 languages that are reckoned dead in our days, and 
 as a great many things they fpoke of are but very 
 imperfectly known by the moft learned ; wc may 
 without temerity believe, that their critics and com- 
 mentators are frequently in the wrong, even on fe- 
 veral occanons, where one cannot prove that they 
 are not in the right. 
 
 We may therefore venture to predid, without 
 any danger of prefumption, the fame fate as that 
 of Virgil, Horace, and Cicero, to the French writ- 
 ers who have honoured the age of Lewis XIV, that 
 
 is
 
 Po E T R Y afid Pa i n t i n g. 329 
 
 IS of being confidered In all ages and nations, as 
 upon a rank with thofe great men, whofe works are 
 elleemed the moft valuable produdions of the hu- 
 man under Handing. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 'That the veneration and refpeB for the excel- 
 le?it authors of antiquity will always continue. 
 Whether it be true that we reafon better than 
 the ancients, 
 
 BU T are not (fome will fay) thofe great men 
 themfelves expofed to be degraded ? May not 
 our prefent veneration for the ancients be changed 
 into a fimple eileem, in ages more enlightened than 
 thofe which have fo much admired them ? Is not 
 Virgil's reputation in danger of the fame fate, as 
 that of Ariftotle ? Is not the Iliad expofed to the 
 deftiny of Ptolomy's fyftem, with regard to which 
 the world is at prefent undeceived ? Our critics m.ake 
 poems and other works undergo a feverer trial, than 
 they have been heretofore ufed to. They make ana- 
 lyfes of them, purfuant to the method of geome- 
 tricians j a very proper method for difcovering 
 the faults which cfcaped the preceding cenfors. 
 The arms of the ancient critics were not fo fharp 
 as ours. 'Tis eafy to judge by the prefent ftate of 
 the natural fciences, how much our age is more en- 
 lightened than thofe ol Plato, Auguftus, and Leo X. 
 The perfection to which wc have brought the art 
 of r'.iiloningj which has led us into fo many difco- 
 
 verics
 
 330 Critical Reflections on 
 
 veries in the natural fciences, is a fertiJe fource of 
 new lights, which begin to fpread themfelvcs already 
 over polite learning, and arc likely to difpel the old 
 prejudices from thence, as they have removed them 
 from the natural fciences. Thefe lights will com- 
 municate themfelvcs like wife to the various profef- 
 fions of life, and we begin already to perceive their 
 dawn in all dates and conditions. Perhaps the next 
 generation, fhocked with the enormous blunders of 
 Homer and his companions, will defpife them, as a 
 perfon who has attained to the life of reafon, con- 
 temns the boyifli ftories which were the amufement 
 of his infancy. 
 
 Our age may be perhaps more karned than the 
 preceding ones •, but I deny that the human un»- 
 derftanding has at prefent, generally fpeaking, more 
 penetration, and juftnefs, than in thofe times. As 
 the moil learned men have not always the moll 
 fenfe ; fo one age, more learned than another, is not 
 always the mod rational. Now our prefent difpute 
 relates to good fenfe, fince the queilion is about 
 judging. In queilions where fads are generally 
 known, a perfon does not judge better than another| 
 becaufe he is more learned, but becaufe he has 
 more fenfe and juftnefs of mind. 
 
 It cannot certainly be proved, by the condu£l of 
 people in high or low ftations of life, within thefe 
 feventy years, in all thofe ftates of Europe, in which 
 the fludy of fciences, that are fo great an improver 
 ment to human reafon, llourifhes moft, that the 
 minds of men have been founder and clearer within 
 this period than in the preceding ages, and that dur- 
 ing this time they have been more rational than 
 
 their
 
 Poetry <7;?^ Pa I N T iNG. 331 
 
 their anceftors. This date of feventy years, which 
 is given for an epoch to this pretended renovation 
 of minds, is very ill chofen. I do not care to 
 enter into odious details, with regard to na- 
 tions and individuals, I fhall be fatisfied with 
 faying, that this philofophical fpirit, which ren- 
 ders men fo rational, and as it were Jo condufive^ 
 will very foon reduce a great part of Europe into the 
 fame flate it was in under the Goths and Vandals, 
 fupponng it continues to make the fiime progrefs, 
 as it has done within thefe feventy years. I fee 
 the necefiary arts neglefted •, the mod ufeful fyftems 
 for the prefervation of fociety aboliflied \ and fpecu- 
 lative reafonings preferred to practice. We behave 
 without any regard to experience, the befl direflor 
 of mankind, and we have the imprudence to a^l, 
 as if we were the firft generation that knew how to 
 reafon. The care of pofterity is intirely neglefled ; 
 and the expences which our anceftors made in build- 
 ings and moveables, would have been loft to us, 
 infomuch that we fhould not be able to find wood 
 in our forefts for buildings or fire, had they been ra- 
 tional after our prefent manner. 
 
 Tho* kingdoms and republics (fome will fay) re- 
 duce themfclves to the necefTity of ruining, cither their 
 fubjccls who lend them money, or the people who 
 fupport thofc ftates by their labor v/hich they will be 
 no longer able to continue, after they arc reduced 
 to indigence ; tho' particulars behave, as if they were 
 to have their enemies for their heirs, and the prefent 
 generation a61s, as if it were to be the laft fprig of 
 mankind : this does not however hinder us froni 
 rtafoning with rcfpcdt to fcicnccs, better than our 
 
 prcdeccffors.
 
 332 Critical Reflections on 
 
 predeceflbrs. They may have furpaffed us. If this 
 cxpreflion be allowed me, in practical reafon, but we 
 excel them in the Jpeculative. One may judge of our 
 fuperiority of wit and reafon over men of paft ages, 
 by the ftate in which the natural fciences are at prc- 
 lent, and that in which they were in former times. 
 
 I anfwer, that 'tis true the natural fciences, which 
 cannot be too much efteemed, nor their depofita- 
 ries or truftees too much honored, are more perfe6t 
 at prefent than they were in Auguftus's time or in 
 that of Leo X. But this is not owing to our having 
 a greater juftnefs and folidity of mind, nor to our 
 knowing better how to reafon than the people of 
 thofe days, nor to a kind of regeneration of minds : 
 The only caufc of the perfedtion of natural fciences, 
 or to fpeak more exactly, the only caufe of thefe 
 fciences being lefs imperfe(5t at prefent than they were 
 in former days, is our knowing more fadts than they 
 were acquainted with. Time and chance have open- 
 ed to us within thefe latter times an infinite num- 
 ber of difcoveries, in which I fiiall prove, that rea- 
 foning has had very little Ihare ; and thefe dif-r 
 coveries have demonflrated the falfity of feveral 
 philofophical dogmas, fubftituted by our predeceiTors 
 in ftcad of truth, which men were before incapable 
 of knowing. 
 
 And here, methinks, we have hit upon the fo- 
 Jution of a problem that has been often propounded : 
 Why fhould not our poets and orators furpafs thofe of 
 antiquity, as 'tis certain that our learned in natural fci- 
 ences excel the ancient natural philofophers ? We are in- 
 debted to time for whatfoever advantage we may chance 
 to have over the ancients in natural fciences. Time 
 
 has
 
 Critical Reflect IONS o.^z 333 
 
 has demonftraced feveral fads which the ancients 
 were ignorant of, in whofe place they fubftituted er- 
 roneous opinions, which were the occafion of their 
 making a hundred falfe reafonings. The fame ad- 
 vantage which time has given us over tlie ancients, 
 our pofterity will have over us. 'Tis fufficient one 
 age fucceeds another to excel the preceding in the 
 natural fciences, unlefs there has happened fome re- 
 volution in fociety confiderable enough to extinguifh, 
 to the prejudice of pofterity, the lights by which 
 their anoeftors were directed. 
 
 But has not reafoning, fay they, contributed very 
 much to extend the new difcoveries ? I grant it ; 
 moreover I do not deny but that we reafon with 
 juftnefs. I only deny that we reafon with greater fo- 
 lidity than the Greeks and Romans -, and I am fa- 
 tisfied with affirming, that they would have made 
 as good a ufe as wc, of the capital truths which 
 hazard, as it were, has detefted to us, had it dif- 
 covered the fame truths to them. I ground my 
 fuppofition on tliis, that they have reafoned as 
 well as we, on all thofe fubjefts of which they 
 could have as much knowledge ; and that we 
 do not reafon better than they, except in things 
 of which we are better inftrufted, cither by expe- 
 rience or revelation, that is, in natural fciences, and 
 thcolopy. 
 
 In order to prove that we reafon better than the 
 ancients, it would be requifite to fliew, that it is 
 to the juftnefs of our reafoning, and not to 
 chance, or fortuitous experiments, we are indebt- 
 ed for the knowledge of fuch truths as we know 
 and they di!.! not. But far from being able to 
 
 evince
 
 334 Critical Reflections on 
 evince that we are under an obligation for our new 
 dilcoverics to philofophcrs who attained to the 
 moft important natural truths by methodical re- 
 fearches, and by the lb much boafled afliflance of 
 the art of making a concatenation of conclufions ; 
 the very reverfe of all this can be demonftrated. Wc 
 can fhew that thefe inventions, and, as it were, 
 original difcoveries, are intirely owing to hazard, 
 and that we have benefited by them only in quali- 
 ty of lafl: comers. 
 
 In the firft place, I fhall not be cenfured. for 
 denying to philofophers and the learned who in- 
 veftigate methodically the fecrets of nature, all 
 thofe inventions whereof they are not generally 
 acknowledged the inventers. I can refufe them 
 the honor of all the difcoveries made within thefe 
 three hundred years, which have not been publiflied 
 under the name of fomc learned perfon. As phi- 
 lofophers, and their friends likewife write, the pub- 
 lic is inform^ed of their difcoveries, and quickly hears 
 to what illuflTious perfon it owes the lead obliga- 
 tion. Wherefore I may deny that philofophers are 
 the inventers of fluices which have been difcovered 
 within thefe two hundred years, and have been not 
 only of infinite fervice in commerce, but have like- 
 wife furnifhed fubjecls for fo many remarks on the 
 nature and properties of water. I may deny that 
 they were the inventers of water-mills or wind-mills, 
 as alfo of weight or balance clocks, which have 
 been fo ufeful in obfervations of all kinds, by ena- 
 bling us to meafure time with exadnefs. I may deny 
 likewife that they vvere the inventers of gun-pow- 
 der, which has been the occafion of fo many obfer- 
 vations
 
 Poetry and Painting. 335 
 
 Valions on the air •, nor of feveral other difcoveries, 
 whofe authors are not certainly known, tho' they 
 have contributed very much towards the perfecting 
 of the natural fciences. 
 
 Secondly, I can alledge fome pofitive proofs of 
 my propofition. I can make it appear that me- 
 thodical refearches had no fliaVe in the four dif- 
 coveries, that have contributed the moft towards 
 what fuperiority our prefent times may have over 
 paft ages in the natural fciences. Thefe four difco- 
 veries, namely, the knowledge of the weight of the 
 air, the compafs, the art of printing, and the telef- 
 cope, are intirely owing to experiments and hazard. 
 
 Printing, an art fo favorable to the advance- 
 ment of fciences, which grow more perfetfl in pro- 
 portion as knowledge is thereby extended, was dif- 
 covered in the fifteenth century, and near two hun- 
 dred years before Defcartcs, who pafles for the father 
 of the new philofophy, had publiflicd his medita- 
 tions. 'Tis difputed who was the firfb inventer of 
 printing \ but no one attributes this honor to a 
 philofopher. Befides, this inventer appeared at a 
 time, when the mofl he could know was the art of 
 reafoning, fuch as was then taught in the fchools ; 
 an art which our modern philofophcrs treat with fo 
 much fupcrcilioufncfs and contempt. 
 
 k lecms the compafs was known as early as the 
 thirteenth cc'itury ; but whether the ufe of it was 
 tlifcovcrcd by John Goya a mariner of Melphi, or 
 v.'Ivjthcr by fomcbody older than him, its inventer 
 :..s in the fame cafe us the inventer of printing. What 
 light* have not been derived to thofe who ftudy 
 
 * f'.i.v.; \'ir,ciL. dc ]i:v. Kcr, I. 3. c. 7. 
 
 piiyfic^,
 
 336 Critical Reflections c« 
 
 phyfics, from the knowledge of the property of the 
 loadftone in turning towards the North pole, and 
 from the knowledge of the virtue it has to Gom^- 
 municate this property to iron. Befides, as foon as 
 the compafs was found, the art of navigation muft 
 of necefllty have been perfe6ted, and the Europeans 
 muft fooner or later have made thofe difcoveries, which 
 were abfoIuteJy impoflible without fuch an afliftance, 
 and which they have made fince the latter end of the 
 fifteenth century. Thefe difcoveries, which have 
 brought us acquainted with America, and fo many 
 other unknown countries, have inriched botany, 
 aftronomy, phyfic, the hiftory of animals, and in 
 fhort, all the natural fciences. Have the Greeks 
 and Romans given us any reafon to believe they were 
 incapable of diftributing the new plants (which 
 would have been fent them from America, and from 
 the extremities of Afia and Afric) into different 
 clafles, and of fubdividing them into feveral kinds ; 
 or of diftributing the ftars near the Antardic pole 
 into conftellations ? 
 
 'Twas towards the commencement of the feven- 
 teenth century, that James Metius of Alcmaer, 
 feeking for fomething elfe, found out the telefcope. 
 It feems as if it had been the pleafure of fate to 
 mortify the modern philofophers, by giving birth 
 to the accident which was the caufe of the invention 
 of tclefcopes, before the time which thefe gen- 
 tlemen mark as the epoch of the reftoration of hu- 
 man underftanding. Within thefe fourfcore years, 
 fince men have begun to ihew themfelves fo ex- 
 adt and penetrating, there has been no fuch im- 
 portant difcoverv made as that juft now mentioned. 
 
 The
 
 Poetry ^;;^ Painting. 337" 
 
 The fprlngs of natural knowledge concealed from 
 the ancients, were difcovercd before the period, 
 in which it is pretended that the fciences began to 
 acquire that perfeftion which reflects fo great an 
 honor on thofe who have improved them. 
 
 James Mctius, inventcr of the telcfcope, was a 
 very ignorant perfon, purfuant to Defcartes's ac- 
 count ^, who lived a long time in the province where 
 the fadt here in queftion happened, and who com- 
 mitted it to writing thirty years after the event. 
 Mere hazard gave him the honor of this inven- 
 tion, which alone has contributed more than all 
 the fpeculations of philofophers to perfect the na- 
 tural fciences i and this in preference to his father 
 and brother, v/ho were great mathematicians. This 
 man difcovercd the telefcope not by any methodical 
 refearch, but by a mere fortuitous experiment ; for 
 he was then amufin^ himfcll with making; burning- 
 glailes. 
 
 It was an eafy matter to find the microfcope, after 
 the invention ol the telefcope. Now we may fafely 
 affirm, that it is by the help of thefe infhruments 
 lo many obfervations have been made which have in- 
 riched allronomy and natural philofophy, and ren- 
 dered thefc fciences fo much fuperior to what they 
 were in forn"ier times. \\c arc indebted likcwife to 
 thefe inflrumeiiib tor feveral obfe: vjtiuns in which 
 they are not u'.e.l, becauie tlicy never would have 
 been attemj;re'-!, ii {^receding oblLrvations performed 
 L)y the iii!'tr'jinv.nLS here mentioned, JuJ not lirfl: 
 i.tn'cd thie L.ea of the experiment. 
 
 V,,^ IT. 7 The
 
 33^ Critical Reflections on 
 
 The effed:s ol" fuch a difcovcry may be infinitely 
 mulriplicd. Atter they improved aftronomy, agro- 
 nomy improved other Iciences. It has improved, for 
 example, geography, by giving the points of longi- 
 tude with certainty, and with almofl as much eafe, 
 as they could have given heretofore the points of la- 
 titude. As the progrcfs of experience is not fud- 
 den, there was a neceflity for an interval of very 
 near fourfcore years from the invention of the telef- 
 cope to the planifphere of the oblervatory, and to 
 Monfieur de Liile's map of the world, the fir(t in 
 which the principal points of the terreflrial globe 
 have been placed in their true pofition. Whatfoever 
 facility was derived irom the telcfcope towards afcer- 
 taining the breadth of the Atlantic ocean, fmce Ga- 
 lileo had applied it to the obfervation of the liars -, 
 Hill all the geographers who publiHied maps before de 
 Liile, have been mifbaken here in feveral degrees. 
 'Tis not fifty years fmce t!iis grofs miilake, with re- 
 gard to the diftance of the coafts of Afric and 
 South America, countries difcovered two hundred 
 years ago, has been corrected. Within this very 
 ipace of time a true difcovery has been alfo made of 
 the real breadth ot the interjacent fea between Afia 
 and America, commonly called the South- Sea. 
 The philofophical fpirits, or your fpeculativc natu- 
 rahlls, had m.ade no ufe of all thofe fid^s ; when 
 there ilarted up a man whofc profeffion it was to 
 make prints and maps, who benefited by thefe expe- 
 riments. Perhaps the Greeks and Romans would 
 have improved by the telefcope, fooner than we ; tor 
 rhc diftance and pofitions of places which they have 
 left us, intitle us to make this fuppofitioR. Monfieur
 
 Po E TRY a?jd Pa I N T I N G. 339 
 
 de Lifle, who dctecfted more faults in the modern 
 geographers, than thele have circovercd in the anci- 
 ents, has flicwn, that it was a miflake of the m.oderns, 
 when they cenfured the ancients with refpc'fl to the 
 diltance they fixed between Sicily and Afric, as 
 Jikewife with regard to fome other points of geo- 
 graphy. 
 
 The lafh of thofe difcoverics, which have fo 
 vallly contributed to inrich the natural fciences, 13 
 that of the weight of the air. This refcucs our 
 philofophers from fuch errors, as thofe, who were 
 ignoraiit of it, gave into, by attributing the eflecls 
 oi the weifi-ht of the air to the horror of a vacuum. 
 It has likewife given birth to the invention of the 
 barometer, and to all the other inftruments or ma- 
 chines, that produce their cffeCl by virtue of the 
 weight of the air, and by wh/ich fo great a num- 
 ber of piiilofophical truths Ikivc been demonllrated. 
 
 Tlv? C'dehratecl M.jaliJeo had obferved indeed, tha: 
 the anr.ieting pumi)'] r.iifed the wat.T thirty two 
 tcct \]V'\\ ; but he attributed this elevation, fo 
 (.•p\)(>l]:c to the motion of heavy bo Tu s, ..) the 
 h/orror or dread ot a vacuum, in the laint manner 
 as liis predii'cellbrs had done, aii'.i as the preient phi- 
 lofophers 'vvoul.i lidr",viie do, were it not for tlie ior- 
 ruitous dilcovery I am .";oing to Ipcak oh In 164.3 
 'I'orricelli, njeeiriiic pioieilor of the great duke Fer- 
 (iinandji, obilrvcd in lomc expenmental ellayj:, that 
 \\\\c\: a tur-e l;oi;t at ihe upper oiifice, and open 
 undc rr:ead:, w.is k'-r.r iluniiinj-; upripj.t in a vellel 
 iu'l ot cjiiK kfilver, f;;e cjui'di'dilver rensained fulpended 
 to a certain heigth in the iu!)e, and thuo lufpcnJed 
 •' ])':c';:'.(cd in 1 ^4;. 
 
 7. ? fell
 
 34^ Critical Reflections on 
 
 fell dircdlly into the veflcl, if the upper orifice were 
 opened. This was the firft experiment made ori 
 this fubjeft, and was called the experiment of the 
 vacuum \ but the confequences that attended it, 
 have rendered it famous. ^ Torricelli finding his 
 experiment very curious, communicated it to his 
 friends, but without referring it to its real caufe, 
 which he had not yet difcovercd. 
 
 Father Merfenne, a Minim of Paris, celebrated 
 among the philofophers of that time, was in- 
 formed of this experiment by letters from Italy 
 as early as 1644, upon which he made it public 
 in France. Monfieur Petit, and M. Pafcal, the 
 father of the author of the provincial letters, 
 made feveral experiments in confequcnce of that of 
 Torricelli. M. Pafcal, junior, made his likewife, 
 and publifhed them in a trcatife printed 1647. No 
 one had yet thought of explaining thefe experiments 
 by the weight of the air. ITiis is an unconteftable 
 proof that the learned did not proceed from one 
 principle to another, and in a fpeculative way 
 to the difcovery of this truth. l^xperiments gave 
 a fortuitous knowledge of it to philofophers, who 
 fo little dreamed of the gravity of the air, that 
 they handled it, as it were, for a long time, with- 
 out being able to comprehend it. This truth fell 
 in their way by chance, and it feems alfo, that by 
 mere chance they took notice of it. 
 
 AVe are pofitively allured by ocular witneffes who 
 have written on this fubjedl, that M. Pafcal ^ had no 
 knowledge of the id^a of the weight of the air^ 
 
 * Saggi J'cfpcrienze fatie mil Acadimia dil Cime?}to, pag, 23. 
 ° Preface ti his ireatifc ok the fqnilibriuvi of hqusn, 
 
 which
 
 Fo E TRY and Pa i n ting. 341 
 
 which Torricelli hit upon at length by dint of repeat- 
 ing his experiment, tiiJ after he publiflied the above- 
 mentioned treatife. M. Pafcal found this expHca- 
 tion very pleafing •, but as it was only a fimple con- 
 jeclure, he made feveral experiments to know the 
 truth or falfity of it, and one of thofe was the famous 
 experiment made in 164S on the Puis de Domme^ a 
 very high mountain in France. At length he com- 
 pofed his treatifes oi the equihbrium of liquors, and 
 of the weight of the air, which liave been printed fe- 
 veral times. After that iVT. Guericke, burgo-mafter 
 of Magdeburg, and Mr Boyle found out the pneu- 
 matic machine, and others invented thofe inftruments 
 that mark the different changes which the variations 
 of the weather produce in the weight of the air. The 
 rarefactions of the air have given likewife fome in- 
 fight into thofe of other liquids. Let the reader 
 judge therefore by this recital, the truth of which 
 no one cm difpute, whether it was the learned 
 doubts and fpcculations of philofophers, that led 
 them on trom one principle to another, to the ex- 
 periments wliicli difcovered the weight of the air. 
 In reality, the fliare which realbning had in this dif- 
 covery, does no great honor to it. I fliall not 
 fpcak here of inventions unknown to the ancients, 
 hut v/hofe authors arc known to us, fuch as that of 
 cutting the diamond, which was found out by a 
 goldfmith of Bruges under Lewis XI % before which 
 time tliey ufcd to prefer coloured (loncs to diamonds. 
 None of thefe men were plulofophers, not even of 
 die peripatetic fchool. 
 
 j Jht lijlory of '^:n:ir-(s Jloiu;, h BtR(;t'i:N, />. 15. 
 
 z 3 -t;.
 
 342 Critical Reflections en 
 
 'Tis therefore evident from what has been here 
 mentioned, that the knowledge we have in the natural 
 fciences, and which the ancients had not, and that 
 the trutJi hkewifc which is found in our reafonings 
 on feveral phyfical queiVions, and could not be 
 found in tlitirs, are all owing to hazard and fortui- 
 tous experiments. The difcoveries that have been 
 made by this means, have, if I may fay fo, been a 
 Jong time a fnooting up. It was neceffary that one 
 difcovery ihould wait for another, to produce all 
 the fruit it was able to give. One experiment 
 was not fufficiently conclufive without another, 
 which was not made till a long time after the firft : 
 And the laft inventions have thrown a furprizing 
 light upon the knowledge which preceded them. 
 Happily for cur age, it has found itfelf in the ma- 
 turity of timiC, when the natural fciences were making 
 the moil rapid progrefs. The lights refulting from 
 the preceding inventions, after having made fepa- 
 rately a certain progrclTion, began to combine about 
 iourfcore or a hundred years ago. We may fay of 
 our age what Qiiintilian faid of his "", Antiquity has 
 inftriitied its hy fo 77iany precepts and examples^ that 
 no other age [e ems to have bccnfo happy as ours^ for 
 ivhofe imprcz-emeut the learned of prft ages have fo 
 carefully laboured. 
 
 For example, the human body was well enough 
 known in Hippocrates's timie, to give him a vague 
 notion of the circulation of the blood, but was not as 
 yet fufnciently laid open to let this great man into a 
 
 ^ Tot ):os pr^^Ctp'?,i'':'S, tot exenipHs ii:f}ru:<it ai:t:qiutas^ id pojjit 
 "-cu'i-ri i:ulla Jcrtc :-:a!'c:::di (ttas fcliclcr rjuam iiojlra, cul dcco7ni-c 
 pil'.rei cL:lora-:::iunt. <>c\ri. L;iL ]. 12. C. II. 
 
 clear
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n.g. 343 
 
 clear knowledge of that truth ^ It appears by his 
 writings, that he has rather guefled than underftood. 
 it, and that far from giving a diftind explication 
 to his cotemporaries, he had not a clear idea 
 of it himlelf. Servttus, a perion lb well known for 
 his impiety and his punifimu^nt '\ coming feveral 
 ages after Hippocrates, had a much diilincter no- 
 tion of im circulation of the blood, and has given 
 a very clear dellription of it in his preface to the 
 fecond edition '^ of the book, for which Calvin had 
 him burnt at Geneva. ILv.vey coming fixty years 
 after Servecus, has been able to give us a more di- 
 ftinct explication of the principal circumftanccs of 
 the circulation. I'he greateft part of the learned of 
 his time were convinced ol the truth of his opinion, 
 and they even efi:ablillied it in the w^orld, as much 
 as a pliyfical truth, which does not fall under the 
 fenfcs, can be cflablifhed ; that is, it pafTed for a 
 more probable fcntiment than the contrary opinion. 
 
 1 'he public allent to philolbphical reafonings can- 
 not go further •, tor mankind either by inflindt, or 
 principle, place always a great difference between 
 the ccrtair.ty of natur.il truths, known by means oi 
 the fenfcs, and the certainty of fuch as are known 
 only by the way of realoning. The latter ap- 
 pear to them as mere probabilities. ' Hs necefiary 
 to place at Icall fome eilential circumfl.mcc within 
 the reach of their lenfes, in order to convince them 
 fully of thefe truths. Wherefore, tho' the greatefl 
 
 ^'llmtl'j'jci n Iir^mt. Xj-v. a^.i . 
 "^ IL v.a • , \ M ut.il td (',, )!t -■:! i>: i ^' 5 3 . 
 
 W or!.. \- pyt/'i't- I J i.ii-':iti:> upon aiuun: and mod r': 
 
 Z 4 part
 
 344 Critical Reflections on 
 part of the natural pliilolophers, as well as of the 
 public, were convinced in 1687 ^^ ^^^ certainty of 
 the circulation of the blood, yet there were ftill a 
 great many learned men who had drawn a con- 
 iiderable party into their opinion, that this circu- 
 lation was a mere chim^era. In the medical 
 fchool of the univerfity of Paris, thefes were held 
 at that very time againft this opinion. At length 
 the microfcopes were perfefted to that degree, that 
 by their afiiftance one might fee the blood run with 
 rapidity thro' the arteries towards the extreme 
 parts of the body of a fifh, and return more flowly 
 thro' the veins towards the center •, and this as di- 
 flinftiy, as we can fee from Lyons the Rhone and 
 the Saonc run within their banks. No body would 
 attempt now to write or maintain a thefis againft the 
 circulation of the blood. 'Tis true, that thofe 
 who are pcrfuaded at prefcnt of this circulation, 
 have not all of them ^ttn it themfelves ; but they 
 know it is no longer proved by arguments, but by 
 ccular demonftration. Men (I repeat it again) are 
 more apt to give credit to thofe who tell them, / 
 hnvefeen it, than to fuch as fay, I have concluded. Now 
 the do6trinc of the circulation of the blood, by the 
 jjghts it has given with regard to the circulation of 
 ether liquors, and by the difcoveries it has been the 
 caufe of, has contributed more than any other 
 obfervation, to improve anatomy. It has even im- 
 proved other fciences, fuch as botany. Can it- 
 be denied, but that this do6lrine gave great lights 
 to Monfieur Pcrrault the phyfician, with regard to 
 the circulation of the fap in trees and plants ? I leave 
 ic to any man to judge, what Ihare the philofophi-
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 345 
 
 cal fpirlt born within thefe hundred years, could have 
 had in the eftablifhment of this dogma. 
 
 The truth, or opinion, of the motion of the 
 earth round the fun, has had the fame fate as 
 that of the circulation of the blood. Several an- 
 cient philofophers were acquainted with this truth, 
 but as they had not the fame means in hand as 
 we have, to prove it, it rem.ained a dubious 
 point, whether Philolaus, Ariftarchus, and other 
 aftronomers, were in the right to make the earth 
 turn round the fun ; or whether Ptolomy and his fol- 
 lowers h:.d reafon to make the fun turn round the 
 earth ? Ptolomy's fyftem feemcd to prevail, when 
 Copernicus undertook, in the fixteenth century, 
 to maintain Philolaus's opinion with new proofs, 
 or at Icaft feemingly fuch, which he drew from 
 obfervations. The v/orld was diviJcd once more, 
 and Tycho P»rahe fet up a middle fyftem, to 
 reconcile the ailronomicid fads which had been at 
 that time demonllrativcly fliewn, to the opinion 
 of the immobility of the earth. About that time 
 navigators began to fail round our globe, and 
 foon after it was known that the callcrly winds 
 blew continually between the trophies in both hemi- 
 fphcres. I'his was a phyfcal proof of the opinion 
 which makes ilic earth turn on its axis, from weft 
 to eaft in four and twenty hours, and finifli its 
 courie thro' the Zodiac in a year. Some time 
 after th;h the telcfcopc was invented ; and by 
 the help 01 r'iis inftrument fuch evident obfer- 
 vations were made on the appearances of Venus 
 and the other planets, fucli \i rclemblance was 
 difcovcrcd betvvcen the earth and tliole planets, 
 
 which
 
 3^6 Critical Reflections oft 
 
 which turn on their axis and round the fun, that the 
 pubHc is at prcfcnt convinced of the truth of Co- 
 pernicus's fyfhem. About fixty years ago, there 
 was not a profciTor in the univerfity of Paris, that 
 would venture to teach this fyftem. At prefent al- 
 nioft every body teaches it, at leaft: as the only hypo- 
 thefis, that can explain the aftronomical phsenomena 
 of which we have a certain knowledge. Before 
 thefe principal truths were fet in a proper light, the 
 learned, inftead of going from this point to make 
 new difcoveries, loft their time in wrangling. They 
 fpent it in maintaining the opinion which they era- 
 braced either thro' choice or hazard, by proofs that 
 could never be good or folid when fupplied by argu- 
 mentation alone ; whilfi the natural fciences made no 
 manner of progrcfs. But as foon as thefe truths were 
 demonftratcd, they led us, as it were, by the hand 
 to an infinite number of other difcoveries ; and ena- 
 bled philofophers, tliat had any fenfe, to employ their 
 time ufefully in compleating their knowledge by 
 experiments. If our predecefTors therefore had 
 not the fame knowledge, as we have, 'tis becaufc 
 they had not the clue wliich guides us thro' the 
 labyrinth. 
 
 In facl the ^twi^., penetration, and extent of mind, 
 which the ancients Ihew in their laws, their hiftories, 
 and even in their philofophical queftions, where (thro* 
 a weaknei's fo natural to man and into which we tall 
 every day; they have not given their own reveries 
 for truths, which they could have no knowledge 
 of in their days, as the accident to which their 
 difcovcj-y was owing had not yet happened : All 
 this together, I fay, induces us to think that their 
 1 reafon
 
 Po E T R y and Pa i n T i n g. 347 
 
 reafon was capable of making the lame ufe as 
 ours of tlic great truths, which experience has 
 revealed to us within thele two centuries. Not to 
 ftray irom our ilibject, did not the ancients know as 
 wc;!I as wc, that this iuperiority of reafon, which we 
 call the philofophical fijirit, ought to prefide over all 
 arts and Iciences ? Have not they acknowledged that 
 it was a ncceiTary guide? Have not they faid in ex- 
 prcis terms, that philolbphy was the mother of the 
 polite arts ? Nor are you ipiormit^ fays Cicero ^ to his 
 brother, that philofopby fa called by the Greeks, is by 
 the learned efieehud the foiirce and parent, as it "ujere, 
 cf all ccmmcndahle arts. 
 
 Let thofe who attempt to anfwer me, refle6t fe- 
 riouOy on this palfagf^, before they conclude I am in 
 the wrong : For one of the defeiSts ot our critics is to 
 reafon before they have reiiefted. Let them recol- 
 lect alfo (a thing they fcem to have forgot) what the 
 ancients have obferved with refpc6t to the ftudy of 
 geometry, i::hich improves even thofe "juho do not in- 
 tend to profefs it ", and that Quintilian has wrote a 
 whole chapter on the utility which even orators them- 
 felves may draw from the Ihidy of this fcience. Does 
 not h.e fay there in cx;Tefs terms, " There is this 
 "" dificrence between gconietry and the other arts, 
 " that thele are or no Icrvice 'till after they 
 *' are learnt, but the ftudy alone of geometry is 
 *' of great utility, by lealon that nothing is more 
 '" proper for opening, extending, and giving ftrength 
 
 ^ ^ejut enim te fitgit^ laudut,'.) uiu c^ni.ium ar!:::>n procrcatricon 
 au'jriiiam tf qunji pai <)iiiin, cam (jUnrr. '^J !l,l^,pliti::; (Ji\tci n:9Cant , 
 a: ',mfibu: dcciijjimh )udii.uyi . C;c. 
 
 '' i^<i !>:jlrutt Uiuin qwji f.hi fis: cxcrat . 
 
 " to
 
 34.B Crit icAL Reflections 0^; 
 
 " to the mind, than the method of geometri- 
 " dans'." 
 
 Indeed, to conclude that our reafon is of a diffe- 
 rent ftamp from that ot the ancients, or to affirm 
 that it is fuperior to theirs, becaufe we are more 
 learned than they in the natural fciences, is the fame 
 as if we were to infer that we had more underftand- 
 ing than they, becaufe we know how to cure inter- 
 mitting fevers with the bark, which they couk] not ; 
 when all our merit in this cure is owing to our 
 having learnt of the Indians of Peru, the virtue of this 
 medicine which grows in their country. 
 
 If we excel the ancients in fome fciences indepen- 
 dent of the fortuitous difcoveries made by hazard 
 and time, this fuperiority proceeds from the fame 
 caufe, which makesa fon die richer than the father, on 
 fuppofition that their condu6l has been equal, and 
 Fortune has favored them both alike. If the an- 
 cients had not cleared away the weeds, as it were, 
 from geometry, the moderns born with a genius 
 for this fcicnce would have been obliged to em- 
 ploy their time and talents in grubbing them up ; 
 and as they would not confequently be fo much ad- 
 vanced upon their firft fetting out, they would never 
 be able to reach as far as they have done. The mar- 
 quifs de I'Hopital, Mr. Leibnitz, and Sir Ifaac New- 
 ton, would never have pufhed geometry fo far, had 
 they not found this fcience in a flate of perfeflion, 
 which was owing to its having been cultivated by a 
 
 =• In gcometria partem fatentur ejfe utilem icncris >rtatibus, agi- 
 (i^rl namque animos ii acid, iff ingenia ad fercifiendi faalitatem 
 rjtnire inde couccdunt : fed prodeffe earn non ut ca:teras artes aan per- 
 cept c^ fmty fed cum di/catur, e.xljUmani, Qvitat. Init 1. 1 . c. 1 8.- 
 
 I great
 
 Po E TRY ^W Pa I N T I N C. 349 
 
 great number of ingenious men, who had improved 
 fwccefTively by the hghts and difcoveries of their 
 predecefTors. Had Archimedes appeared in the time 
 of Newton, he would have done as much asNewron, 
 as the Jattcr would have done the fame as Archi- 
 medes, had he appeared in the time of the fecond 
 Punic war. We may likewife prefumc, that the an- 
 cients would have made ufe of algebra in their geo- 
 metrical problems, if they had had as convenient cy- 
 phers for arithmetical calculations as the Arabic ; 
 by the help of which Alphonfus X, king of Caftile, 
 made his altronomical tables in the thirteenth century. 
 
 'Tis alio certain, that we are frequently miftaken, 
 when we accule the ancient philofophcrs of igno- 
 rance ; for the greatefh part of their knowledge was 
 Joft with the writings that contained it. As we have 
 not the hundredth part of the books compofed 
 by Greek and Roman authors, we may be cafily 
 miflaken in fixing the limits as we do to their pro- 
 grcfs in the natural fciences. The critics bring 
 charges very often againft the ancients merely thro* 
 ignorance. Plas not our prefent age, by its fuperior 
 knowledge over the preceding generations, jullitied 
 Pliny the elder with regard to feveral reproaches of 
 error and falfity which were brought againll him a. 
 hundred and fifty years ago. 
 
 But (fome will be apt to reply; it muft be allow- 
 ed at lead, that logic or the art of thinking is 
 much compicuer in our days than in former times, 
 and that it mull follow of nvjcelHty, that the mo- 
 dtrns wh'j have learnt this logic, and have formed 
 lhernk:lv(s by its rules, rcafon on all fjbiecfi vvitlt 
 griMtci exactnefs than t!ie anCKut-, 
 
 I
 
 350 Critical P.eflections on 
 
 I anfwer in the firft place, 'tis not abfolutely cer- 
 tain that the art of thinking is completer in 
 OLir days than in former ages. Moft of the rules 
 which are looked upon as new, are implicitely 
 contained in Ariftotle's logic, where we find the 
 method of invention, and that of doftrine. Be- 
 fides, had wc the explication of the rules which the 
 philofophers delivered to their difciplcs, perhaps we 
 fliould find there what we imagine we have invent- 
 ed, as it has happened to famous philofophers to 
 find in manufcripts a part of the difcoveries, of 
 which they fancied thcmfclves the principal authors. 
 Were we even to grant that logic is fomewhat more 
 perfeft at prefent than it was formerly, yet the learn- 
 ed, generally fpeaking, would not reafon better now 
 than in thofe times. The juftnefs with which a perfon 
 Jays down his principles, draws confequences, and 
 proceeds from one conclufion to another, depends 
 more on the chara6ler of his mind, whether volatile 
 or fedate, rafli or circumfpeft, than on the logic 
 he has learnt. 'Tis imperceptible in practice, whe- 
 ther he has fiudied Barbey's logic, or that of Port 
 Royal. The logic he chanced to learn, does not 
 make as much difference perhaps, with refped: to 
 his manner of reafoning, as arifes from the weight 
 of an ounce taken from or added to a quintal. This 
 art rather ferves to fhew us how we reafon na- 
 turally, than to influence the practice, which, as 
 I have already obferved, depends on each perfon's 
 particular charader of mind. Is it obferved, that 
 thofe who are beft verfed in logic, I mean in that 
 of Port Royal, and even whofe profefTion it is to 
 teach it, are the people who reafon moil confequen- 
 
 tially.
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i xN g. 3-1 
 
 tially, and make the moil judicious choice of principles 
 proper for laying the bafis of their conclufions ? 
 Does a young man of eighteen years of age, who 
 knows by heart all the rules of fyllogifm and 
 method, does he, I fay, reafon more juftly, than a 
 perfon of forty, who never knew them, or has in- 
 tirely forgot them ? Next to the natural chara'fler of 
 the mind, 'tis experience, or the extent of dif- 
 coverics, and the knowledge of facfls, which ena- 
 abJes one man to reafon better than another. Now 
 the fciences in which the moderns reafon better than 
 the ancients, are exadlly thofe v/herein the former 
 know feveral things, which the latter born before 
 the fortuitous difcoveries abovementioned, could nor 
 pofllbiy have been acquainted with. 
 
 In etfecl, ("and this is myfccond anfv/er to the objec- 
 tion drawn from the perfecStion of the art of think- 
 ing) wc do not reafon better than the ancients in 
 hiftory, politics, or morals. Not to mention 
 remoter writers, have not Commines, Machiavel, 
 Mariana, Fra Paolo, Thuanus, D'Avila, and Guic- 
 ciardin, who wrote when logic was not in a more 
 perfc6l ftate than in former ages, have not they, 
 I fay, penned their hiflorics with as much method 
 and good fenfe, as all thole hidorian'^ who wrote 
 witliin thefc fixty years ? Have we ever an author 
 to compare to f,)iiintiHan ff;r the order and folidi- 
 ty of his reafonings ? In fine, were it true that the 
 art of reafoning is more p'riee^i; in our times than 
 it was formerly, our philol(ji;iicrs would agree bet- 
 ter with one another than the ancient philofophers. 
 It wmII be here objected tliat 'tis no longer al- 
 lowable to lay down prinw][-ie- but fuch as are clear 
 
 oiid
 
 352 Critical Reflections 0?i 
 
 and well proved, 'fis no longer permitted to 
 draw a conrequcnce from thence, unlefs it is clear- 
 ly and dittin(^lly deducible. A confequence of a 
 greater extent than the principle from whence it was 
 drawn, would be immediately obferved by every 
 body, io as to be treated as a ridiculous conclu- 
 fion. I anfwer, that a Chinefe who had no o- 
 ther knowledge of our age but from this picture, 
 would imagine that all our learned are of one 
 opinion. Truth is one, he would fay, and 'tis impof- 
 fible now to miftake it. All the ways by which 
 a perfon may be led allray, are ftopt up. Thefe 
 ways are to lay down wrong principles of an argu- 
 ment, or to infer a wrong confequence from juft prin- 
 ciples. How then is it pofiible to err ? All the learned 
 therefore, of whatever profeflion, mufh be at length 
 of one opinion. They muil all agree what are thofe 
 things whereof men cannot as yet difcover the truth ; 
 they fliould likewife be all of the fame fentiment where 
 the truth of thiPigs can be known : And yet people 
 never difputcd nior;; than they do at prefent. Our 
 learned, as well as the ancient philofophers, arc agreed 
 only in rcfpecl to fads, and they refute one anodier 
 upon every thing that cannot be known but by 
 way of argumentation ; treating each other as per- 
 fons who are wilfully blind, and refufe to fee the 
 light. If they do not difpute any longer with regard 
 to fome thefes, 'tis becaufe fads and experience have 
 obliged them to agree in refpecft to thofe poi::ts. 
 I embrace here fo many different profeflions ui^i-'er 
 the name of philofophy and fciences, that I dare 
 not name them all. All of them, tho' gi'idcd by 
 the fame logic, muft be fumetimes miftuken v i:h
 
 Poetry ^;z^ Paint ing; 353 
 
 rcfpe(5t to the evidence of their principles ; or elfc 
 they muft chufe fuch as are improper for their fub- 
 jecft, or in fine they muft fometimes infer wrong con- 
 fequences. Thofe who extol fo highly the lighfi 
 wiiith the philofophical fpirit has flied on our age, 
 will anfwer perhaps, that they underftand by our 
 age only thcmfclves and their friends, and that we 
 mult look upon fuch as are not of their opinion in 
 every thing, as people like the ancients, who un- 
 derftand nothing of philofophy. 
 
 We may apply the emblem of time, which dif- 
 clofes the truth only by flow degrees, to the pre- 
 icnt ftate of the natural faiences. Jf we fee a greater 
 portion oi truth than the ancients, 'tis not be- 
 caufe we are clearer fighted, but time has difcover- 
 ed more. I conclude therefore that thofe works 
 whofc reputation has maintained itfclt againft the re- 
 marks of paft critics, will always jjreferve it, not- 
 v/ithftanding the fubtle obfervations oi future cenfors. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 77y// the reputation oj' a Jy/iem rr, phil'jfophy ??2av 
 /"^ rubied. And that thi: can/yjt happen to 
 a poem. 
 
 ^"1"^' 1 I O' L'r: plivfics of the fchools and PtolLmy's 
 J[ l/ilem are nov/ explode J, it does not from 
 then'.': i^iiow [hat 1 lomer's Iliad, or Virgil's JV.w.-'-A 
 can m'j.r wicli tlic like ticattnent. Tiiof'; opinions 
 \y\\<,\': ext'.-iit and duration an: founded on lenle, 
 and on thr inward cxperien-.e, as 1: were, 0; Juc'i 
 a- iit/c alway^ adop:ei th':m, arc not fubje;^t to b.- 
 \'u .'.. \\. A i cxplcJ -J.,
 
 354 Critical Reflections on 
 exploded, like philolbphical opinions, whofe extent 
 and continuance are owing to the facility with which 
 they are received upon other men's credit and au- 
 thority. As the firft authors of a philofophical 
 iyilem may be miftaken, fo they may impofe upon 
 fheir followers fucceffively from generation to gene- 
 ration. Poiterity may therefore rejed at length, as 
 an error in philofophy, what their anceftors look- 
 ed upon a long time as truth, and which even 
 they themfelves imagined to be fuch upon the au- 
 thority of their mafters. 
 
 Men, whofe curiofity extends much further than 
 their lights, are always defirous of knowing what 
 opinion they fhould be of with refpe6t to the caufe 
 of feveral natural effefts ; and yet the moft part 
 of them are incapable of examining or difcover- 
 ing by themfelves the truth of thefe nutters, fup- 
 pofing it even within the reach of tlieir eye. On 
 the other hand there are always reafoners amongft them, 
 vain enough to imagine they have difcovcred thefe- 
 phyfical truths ; and others fo infincere as to affirm 
 they have a diftind knowledge of them by princi- 
 ples, tho* they are fenfible that their light is mere 
 darknefs. As both the one and the other fet them- 
 felves up for mafters, what is the confequence ? The 
 fmatterers receive as a certain truth, whatever is de- 
 livered to them as iueh by pcrfons in whofe favor 
 they are prejudiced thro' different motives, without 
 knowing or even examining the merit and folidity of 
 thofe proofs with which they fupport their philofo- 
 phical dogmas. The difciplcs are perfuaded that 
 thofe perfons are better acquainted with the truth 
 tl^n otherSj and that they have no defiga to de- 
 ••■ ccive 
 
 V
 
 PoE TRY <7W Painting. ^55 
 ceive them. Their firft followers contrive afterwards 
 to get new eleves, who imagine frequently that they 
 are ftrongly convinced of a truth, of which they do 
 not underftand one fingle proof. Thus it is, that an 
 infinite number of falfe opinions on the influence of 
 the ftars, the ebbing and flowing of the fea, the 
 prefage of comets, the caufes of difl:empers, the 
 organifation of the human body, and on feveral 
 other phyfical quefliions, have been eilablinied. 'Tis 
 thus the fyftem taught in the fchools under the title 
 of Ariftotle's phyfics, was generally received. 
 
 The great number therefore of fuch as have 
 followed and defended an opinion in phyfics efta- 
 blifhed by authority, or by a confidence in other 
 people's knowledge, the number alfo of ages in 
 which this opinion prevailed, prove nothing at all in 
 its favor. Thofe who adopted this opinion received it 
 without inquiry -, or, if they inquired, they were not 
 fofuccefsful in their rcfearclies, as perfons who having 
 examined it after them, improved by th.-i new difco- 
 vcries, or even by the faults of their prtdeceflxjrs. 
 
 It follows therefore, that with refpccl to phyfics 
 and other natural fciences, pofterity arc very much 
 in the right not to depend on the fentimcnts of their 
 anccllors. Hence a man ot lenfe and learning may 
 impugn feveral principles of chymiftry, botany, phy- 
 fics, medicine, and ailronomy, which during the 
 ipacc of many centuries, were regarded as uncon- 
 tcftable truths. He is allowed (cfpccially whtji he 
 ran allcdg'.- lome experiment in iavor of his fcnti- 
 ment; to attack thefc princijdcs with as little rcflraint 
 and ceremony, as if lie were to fi:dit only againlf a 
 fyllem ui four days ft'anding, fuch as one of thofc fyf-
 
 356 Critical Reflections on 
 
 terns which are not as yet beheved but by the author 
 and his friends, who ceafe to give their aflfent to it, 
 as foon as they begin to quarrel with him. No 
 man can eftabUfli an opinion fo well by reafoning 
 and conjefture, but another with more penetration or 
 good luck may fubvert it. Hence it is, that the 
 prepofleirion of mankind, in favor of a philofophical 
 fyftem, does not even prove it will continue thirty 
 years. Men may be difabufed by truth, as they 
 may pafs from an ancient error to a new one more 
 capable of deceiving them than the firfl. 
 
 Nothing therefore is more unreafonable, than to 
 lay a ftrefs on the fuffrage of ages and nations, in 
 order to prove the folidity of a philofophical fyftem, 
 and to maintain that the vogue it has at prefent 
 v/ill laft for ever ; but 'tis prudent to lay a ftrefs of 
 this fort to evince the excellence of a poem, or to 
 maintain that it will be always admired. A falfe 
 lyftcm may, as I have already obferved, furprize the 
 world, it may prevail for feveral ages •, but this 
 cannot be laid of a bad poem. 
 
 The reputation of a poem is determined by the 
 pleafure it affords the reader, and eftablifhed by 
 the fenfes. Wherefore as the opinion of this poem's 
 being an excellent work, cannot be riveted nor fpread 
 but by means of an inward conviction arifmg from 
 the very experience of thofe who receive it, we may 
 alledge the time it has lafted, for a proof that this 
 opinion is founded on truth itftlf. One has even 
 good grounds to maintain that future generations 
 will be moved with reading a poem, which has af- 
 fected all thofe in paft ages that have been able to 
 read it in the original. There is only one fup- 
 
 pofition
 
 Poetry ^W Paint iNG. 357 
 
 pofition admitted in this realbning, which is, that 
 men of all ages and countries referable one another 
 with refped: to the heart. 
 
 People are not therefore fo much expofed to be 
 duped in point of poetry, as with refpect to philofo- 
 phy •, and a tragedy cannot, like a fyllem, make its 
 tortune without real merit. Befides, we fee that pcr- 
 lons who are not agreed with regard to thofe thing?, 
 whofe truth is examined by way of argumentation, 
 are neverthelefs of one opinion in refpeft to matters 
 decided by the ftnfe. No body complains of thefe 
 decifions ; that Raphael's transfiguration, for in- 
 ftance, is an admirable pidure, and that Polyeudes 
 is an excellent tragedy. Rut philofophers rife up 
 every day in oppolition to thofe who maintain, that 
 the fcarch afier truth is a work in which the truth 
 is taught. Philofophers in general do juftice to 
 the perfonal merit ol Dcfcartes, yet they are divid- 
 ed with regard to the goodnefs of his philofophical 
 fyftem. BLudes, m'en, as wc have before obltrvcd, 
 frequently aJ.opt the fyilem they profefs, upon other 
 peou't's credit ; ar.d the public voice, which declares 
 in riieir favor, is thus conipofcd ol echoes, that 
 repeat only what they have heard. The fmall num- 
 ber that rliancc to tell their own fentiments, mention 
 no more than wliat rht.y have leer; aniidfl: their pre- 
 judKL':, \\v:- Hiflui'iK'c of which is as llrong in onpo- 
 firi(jn to rr.ilon, as it is weak in oppofition to k-nlc. 
 Thofe wiio fp_ak of a poem, lay what they tclt 
 theriif-lves w;i;Ie th' y wrre rcadi.ig it •, and thus 
 eacfi pcribn giv.'^- ti:-- judgment he has formed on 
 hi.(jv/n ex}.eri(:ric-- Now we are feldom deceived 
 reipeCt to irudi? chat tall unckr the lenfcs, as 
 
 ;.a 
 
 A a 3 ^^c
 
 35^ Critical Reflections on 
 
 we are with regard to things that cannot be decided 
 
 but by way of realbning. 
 
 We arc not only right in deciding things whichi 
 can be judged by the fenfes, but moreover *tis im- 
 poflible tor others to deceive us in thefe mat- 
 ters. Our fenfes oppofe a perfon, who would at- 
 tempt to make us beUeve that a poem which we 
 found infipid is capable of engaging us -, but they 
 do not contradift a perfon who endeavours to 
 make us take a bad argument in metaphyfics for 
 a good one. 'Tis only by an effort of mind, and 
 by refiedions which fome for want of lights, and 
 others thro' lazinefs, are incapable of, that we arc 
 able to know its falfity, and unravel its error. We 
 know without meditating, nay, we even feel the 
 contrary of whatever a perfon fays, who intends to 
 perfuade us, that a work which gives us a vaft 
 deal of pleafure, violates thofe rules that have been 
 eilabJidied in order to render a work capable of 
 pleafing. If we are not learned enough to anfwer 
 bis reafonings, at leaft an inward repugnance hin- 
 ders us from giving any credit to them. Men are 
 all born with a conviflion, that every argumen- 
 tation which tends to perfuade them to think the 
 contrary of what they feel, can be nothing but a 
 fophifm. 
 
 A poem therefore which has pleafed in all ages 
 and nations, is really worthy of pleafing, notwith- 
 llanding what defeds may be obferved in it ; and 
 confequently it ought always to be agreeable to fuch 
 as underftand it in the original.. 
 
 Prejudice (fome will here fay) is almoft as capable 
 of fcducing us in favor of a poem, as in favor of a 
 
 fyftem.
 
 Poetry and Painting. 359 
 
 fyftem. For example, when thofe who are 
 charged with the care of our education, admire 
 the i^neid, their admiration caufes a prejudice, 
 which makes us think it a better work than it 
 really is. They engage us by the influence they 
 have over us, to think as they do. Thus we are 
 taught to embrace their fentiments ; and 'tis to 
 prejudices like thele that Virgil and the authors 
 who are commonly called daffies, are indebted for 
 the greateft part of their reputation. Critics may 
 therefore cafb a blemilh upon this reputatijon, by 
 Tapping the foundation oi thofe prejudices which 
 exaggerate the merit of Virgil's iEneid, and make 
 his eclogues appear fo fuperior to others, which in 
 reality do not fall very fhort of them. This argu- 
 ment may be enforced with a methodical diflerta- 
 tion on the force of prejudices which mankind im- 
 bibe in their infancy •, a common place well known 
 to all the world. 
 
 My anfvver is, th.it fuch prejudices as thefe here 
 in queftion, would never be able to fubfift long in 
 the minds of fuch as had imbibed them, unlefs they 
 were founded on truth. Their very experience and 
 lenfes v/ould foon difabufe them. Upon fuppofi- 
 tion tjiat during our infancy, and at a time when we 
 have no knowledge of other poems, they had infpir- 
 ed us with a veneration for the i^neid which it did not 
 defer ve, we fhould fhake ofF this prejudice as foon 
 as we began to read other poems, and to compare 
 them with the /Kneid. In vain we fhould have been 
 told a thoufand times during our infancy, that the 
 /Eneid charms all its readers, wc fhould not be im- 
 A a 4 pofed
 
 360 Critical Reflections on 
 
 pofed upon any longer, if it afforded us but very little 
 plcafure , when we became capable of underftanding 
 it of ourfelves. 'Tis thus the difciples of a pro- 
 fefTor, who had taught that the declamations which 
 go by Quintilian's name, are fuperior to Cicero's 
 orations, would throw off this prejudice, as foon as 
 they attained to a lufficient maturity to be able to dif- 
 tinguifh between thefe performances. The errors in 
 philofophy which we have brought away with us from 
 the college, may always flick to us, becaufe we 
 cannot be undeceiv^ed but by a very clofe meditation, 
 which we are often incapable of making. But it 
 would be fufficient to read thofe poets, whofe merit 
 had been exaggerated, to get rid of our prejudice, 
 unlcfs we were abfolute fanatics. Now, we not 
 only admire the yEneid as much in our full ma- 
 turity of judgment, as during our infancy, and 
 when the authority of our mafters might im- 
 pofe upon our tender reafon -, but moreover our 
 admiration continually increafes, in proportion as 
 our tafte improves, and our lights become more 
 cxtenfive. 
 
 Befides, 'tis an eafy matter to prove hifcorically 
 and by a deduftion of fafts, that Virgil and the 
 other excellent poets of antiquity, are not indebted 
 to colleges, nor to early prejudices, for their firft ad- 
 mirers. This opinion cannot be maintained except 
 by a perfon who does not carry his refleiflions be- 
 yond his own time and country. The firft admir- 
 ers of Virgil were his own countrymen and cotem- 
 poraries ; among whom there were numbers of wo- 
 men^ and men engaged in the hurry and occupa- 
 I tions
 
 Poetry ^;z^ Painting. 361 
 
 tions of life, lefs learned perhaps than thofe who 
 fabricate the reputation of poets after their own 
 fancy, inftead of fearching for it in the writings 
 of the ancients. When the iEneid firll appeared, 
 it was rather an aflembly-book, if I may fay fo, 
 than a work defigned for the ufe of a college. 
 As it was written in the living language of 
 that time, women therefore as well as men, the 
 ignorant as well as the learned, perufed it, and 
 paffed their judgments according as it affedled 
 them. The name of Virgil was not impofing ; but 
 his book was expofed to all the affronts to which a 
 new performance can be fubjeft. In fhorr, Virgil's 
 cotemporaries judged of the /Eneid, as our fathers 
 judged of Boileau's fatyres, or of La Fontaine's fa- 
 bles upon the firfl: publication of thefe works. It 
 was therefore the imprelTion which the /Eneid made 
 upon the public, and the tears which the women fhed 
 upon the reading of it, that gave it the charafter of 
 an excellent poem. This approbation was chang- 
 ed into admiration as early as Quintilian's time, who 
 wrote about ninety years after Virgil. Juvenal, Quin- 
 tilian's cotemporary, informs us, that even in his time 
 children were taught already to read Horace and 
 Viriril. 
 
 Thun modo non percat tolidem clfccijfe lucernas^ 
 !:^iot Jlabant pucri^ cum totus decolor ejfet 
 t'laaus, iff hicreret nigro fuligo Mcironi. 
 
 juV. fat. 7. 
 
 'Then thou art bound to fmcll on cither hand 
 /h many Jlinking lamps, as fchool-boys Jland ;
 
 362 Cr I TiCAL Reflections o;z 
 IVhere Horace could not read in his own fully' d 
 
 book : 
 And Virgil'j facred page is all hefmear* d imtb 
 fmokc. Mr. Charles Dryden. 
 
 This admiration has always contir.ued to increafe. 
 Five hundred years after Virgil, and at an age when 
 the Latin was flill a living language, people men- 
 tioned this poet with as much veneration, as his 
 greatefb admirers can fpeak of him in our days. 
 Juftinian's inftitutes % the moft refpcftable of all 
 profane books, inform us that the Romans always 
 meant Virgil when they faid the word poet abfolute- 
 ly, and by way of preference, as the Greeks con- 
 Itantly underftood Homer when they ufed the fame 
 cxprefllon. 
 
 Virgil therefore is not indebted to tranflators or 
 commentators for his reputation. He was admired 
 before there was any necelTity for tranflating him, 
 and 'tis the fuccefs of his verfes that was the firft 
 occafion of his being honored with commentators. 
 When Macrobius and Servius commented or ex- 
 plained him in the fourth century, according to the 
 moft probable opinion, they could not beftow much 
 greater encomiums upon him than thofe which he 
 received from the public. Otherwife thefe encomi- 
 ums would have been contradicted by every body, 
 as the Latin was flill the living language of thofe 
 for whom Servius and Macrobius wrote. The fame 
 may be faid of Euftatius, Afconius Pedianus, Do- 
 natus, Acron and other ancient commentators, who 
 
 * Cum tort am dicifnus nee add'mus 7:omcti,ftihauditur apud Gracos 
 tgregiui Uomerus, apud nos Virgilius. Inft. I. i. tit. 2. 
 
 I publilhed
 
 Poetry ^;7^ Painting. 363 
 
 publifhed their comments, when people ftill fpoke 
 the language of the Greek or Roman author, who 
 was the fubjeft of their labors. 
 
 In fine, all the modern nations that were form- 
 ed in Europe after the deftruftion of the Roman 
 empire by the Barbarians, have fet a value upon 
 Virgil's writings, in the fame manner as the cotem- 
 poraries of that pof j, Thefe people, fo different 
 from one another with regard to language, religion, 
 and manners, united all of them in their fentiments 
 of refpeft tor Virgil as foon as they began to be 
 poliflied, and became capable of underftanding 
 him. They did not look upon the i^neid as an ex- 
 cellent poem, becaufe they had been taught at an 
 univerfity to admire him ; for they had no univer- 
 fities at that time ; but becaufe they found it an 
 excellent poem upon the reading of it, they all 
 agreed to make the fludy thereof a part of the po- 
 lite education of their children. 
 
 As foon as the northern nations acquired fettle- 
 ments in the territories of the Roman empire, and 
 learnt the Latin tongue, they began to have the fame 
 tafte for Virgil as the cotemporarics of that amiable 
 poet. I fhall be contented with producing only one 
 example. Theodoric, the firll king of the Vi(i- 
 goths ellablifhed in Gaul, and cotemporary of the 
 emperor Valentinian III, ordered his fon Theodoric 
 II to apply himfelf to the fludy of Virgil. The latter 
 Theodoric, writing to the celebrated Avitus, who 
 vvas proclaimed emperor in 455, and who prefTed 
 liim to make up matters with the Romans, fays to 
 him as follows : 
 
 Par
 
 364 Critical Reflections on 
 
 Parvumque edifcere jujfit 
 
 j4d tua "jcrha pater ^ docili quo prifca Maronis 
 Carmine molliret Scythicos mihi pagina mores. 
 
 Sid. Apoll. carm. fept, 
 
 *' I have too many obligations to you, to refufe 
 " any thing you demand. Vv''as it not you that 
 *' had the care of inftru6ling me in my youth, and 
 " that explained Virgil to me, when my father in- 
 ** filled upon my applying myfelf to the fludy of 
 " this poet ? " Sidonius, who relates this faft, 
 was ibn-in-law to Avitus. 
 
 'Tis the fame with refpect to the other famous 
 poets of antiquity. They wrote in the vulgar lan- 
 guage of their country, and their firll admirers 
 gave them an approbation which was not fub- 
 jedl to error. Since the fettlement of the mo- 
 dern nations in Europe, not one of them has 
 preferred the poems compofed in their own lan- 
 guage to the works of thofe ancient poets. Thofe 
 who underftand the poetry of the ancients, are all 
 agreed as well in the north as the fouth of Europe, 
 in catholic as in proteRant countries, that they are 
 more moved and taken with them, than with poems 
 compofed in their own native language. Can it be 
 fuppofed that the learned of all ages entered into a 
 whimfical confpiracy to facrifice the glory of their 
 countrymen, mofl of whom they had no know- 
 ledge of but by their books, to the fame of Greek 
 and Roman writers, who had it not in their power 
 to requite them for their prevarication .-^ The per- 
 fons here mentioned could not be ingenuoufly mif- 
 taken, bccaufe they were to give an account of their 
 
 owp^
 
 Poetry and Painting. 365 
 
 own fenfc: and feeling. The number of thofe, who 
 have expreflTed thcmfelves differently, is fo inconfi- 
 derable, as not to merit the name of an exception. 
 Now if there can be any difpute with refpeft to the 
 merit and excellence of a poem, it ought' to be de- 
 cided by the impreffion it has made on all men 
 during the courfe of twenty centuries. 
 
 The philofophical fpirit, which is nothing but 
 reafon ftrengrhened by experience, whereof the name 
 alone would be new to the ancients, is of great fer- 
 vice in compofing books which inftruifl people to 
 avoid miftakes in writing, as alfo in detecting thofe 
 that have been committed by an author ; but it mif- 
 guides us in judging of a poem in general. Thofe 
 beauties in which its greateit merit confifts, are bet- 
 ter felt than found out by rule and compafs. Quin- 
 tilian did not make a mathematical calculation or 
 a mctaphyfical difculilon of the real and relative 
 faults of thofe, on whom he has pafTed a judgment 
 adopted by all ages and nations. 'Tis by the ini- 
 prefTion they itiake on the reader, that this great 
 man has denned them j and the public, which has 
 conflantly ufed the fame method of judging, has al- 
 ways conformed to his opinion. 
 
 In fine, in things which belong to the jurifdic- 
 tion of the fcnfj, luch as the merit of a poem ; 
 the Linodoii of all men who have and flill do read 
 Jt, as well as their veneration tor the work, amount 
 to as ftrong a proof as a demonflration in geome- 
 try. Now 'tis on the flrength of this dcmonltra- 
 tion, that peo})le are fo palhonately fond of Virgil 
 and other poets. Wherefore men will not change 
 t'j'.ir opinion on tliis [^oint, till the fprings of the 
 
 human
 
 ^66 Critical REt-LECTioNs c;/ 
 
 human machine are altered. The poems of thofc 
 great authors will not appear indifferent perform- 
 ances, till the organs of this machine be fo chang- 
 ed, as to find a bitternefs in fugar, and a fweet- 
 nefs in wormwood. People will anfwer the cri- 
 tics, without entering into a difcufiion of their re- 
 marks, that they are already fenfible of the faults of 
 thofc poems they admire ; but (till they will not 
 change their opinion, tho* they were to fee fome 
 more. They will anfwer, that the countrymen of 
 thefe great poets rcuft have obferved feveral faults 
 in their works, which we are incapable of difcover- 
 ing. Their works were written in a vulgar lan- 
 guage, and their countrymen knew an infinite 
 number of things that are now forgot, which 
 might have afforded fubje6t for feveral well- 
 grounded criticifms. And yet they admired thofc 
 illuftrious authors as much as we do. Tet our cri- 
 tics confine themfelves therefore to v/rite againft 
 fuch commentators as would fain make beauties of 
 thofe faults, of whicli tlicre is always a large num- 
 ber in the very bed performances. The ancients 
 are no m.ore anfwerable for the puerilities of thefe 
 commentators, than a fine woman ought to be ac- 
 countable for tiic extravagancies into which the 
 blindnefs of pafTion throv/s her unknown admirers. 
 The pubhc has a right of leaving fuch reafonings 
 as conclude contrary to their experience, to be dif- 
 cufTed by the learned, and to ilick to what it cer- 
 tainly knows by way of fenfation. Their own knfe^ 
 confirmed by that of former ages, is fufficient to 
 peifuade them, that all thofe reafonings muft be 
 falfe, and they continue very quietly in their opi- 
 nion.
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 367 
 
 nion, waiting till fomebody takes the trouble of giv- 
 ing us a methodical account of their errors. For 
 inftance, a phyfician, who is a man of parts and a 
 great logician, writes a book to prove, that vegeta- 
 bles and tiili are as wholefome nourifhment as flefli 
 in our country and climate. He lays down his 
 principles in a methodical manner ; his arguments 
 are well drawn up, and feem conclufive ; and yet 
 no body is convinced of the truth of his propofi- 
 tion. His cotemporaries, without giving them- 
 felves the trouble of dcteding the fource of his er- 
 ror, condemn him upon their own experience, 
 which fenfibly convinces them, that flefli is with us 
 an eafier and wholefomer food than fifli and vegeta- 
 bles. Men know very well, that 'tis eafler to daz- 
 zle their underfl:anding, than to impofe upon their 
 fcnfes. 
 
 A perfon who attempts to defend an eftablifli- 
 ed fyflem or opinion, undertakes a fubjecl that 
 does not excite greatly the curiofity of his 
 cotcmporaries. If this author writes ill, no bo- 
 dy thinks him worth mentioning ; if he writes 
 well, people will fay, that he expoled in a fenfible 
 manner what they knew already. But to attack an 
 tftablifhcd fyflem, is the thing which prefently 
 dillinguifhes an author. 'Tis not therefore in 
 our days only t'aai; men of let.';rs have endea- 
 voured, by attacking rcctivcd opinions, to ac- 
 quire the reputation of men of a fuperior know- 
 ledge, horn to j^rcJ'cribe and not to receive laws 
 trom their cottmporarics. All the eltabliflied opi- 
 nions ill literature have fuflaincd repeated attacks. 
 'I'hctc is not fo much as one celebrated author but 
 
 what
 
 368 Critical Reflections on 
 
 what fome critic has attempted to degrade i and 
 we have fecn writers maintain, that Virgil was not 
 the author of the Aineid, and that Tacitus did 
 not write the hiftory and annals that go under 
 his name. Whatever can be alledged to diminifli 
 the reputation of" the excellent works of antiquity, 
 has already been wrote, or at leaft aflerted : And 
 yet they continue in the hands of all mankind ; no 
 more expofed to be degraded than to perifh, a mif- 
 fortune which great part of them has fufFered by the 
 devaftations of Barbarians. The art of printing has 
 multiplied too many copies, and were Europe to be 
 fo ravaged as to lofe them all, flill the libraries of 
 the European colonics in America, and the remote 
 parts of Afia, would preferve thofe precious monu- 
 ments to pofterity. 
 
 But to return now to the critics. When we ob- 
 fcrve any defers in a book which is generally ac- 
 knowledged to be an excellent piece, we mult not 
 imagine ourfelves the firft that have defcried them. 
 Perhaps the ideas that occur to us then, prefented 
 themfelves before to feveral others, who at the firft 
 motion would have been willing to have publifhed 
 them the very fame day, in order to undeceive the 
 world immediately of its old errors. A few reflec- 
 tions made them defer attacking the general opinion 
 fo very foon, which to them appeared a mere pre- 
 judice i and a little meditation made them fenfible, 
 that their imagining themfelves more clear fighted 
 than others, was owing to their own ignorance. They 
 were convinced at length, that the world had fome 
 reafon to think as it did for fo many ages ; that if 
 the reputation of the ancients could have been pof- 
 
 fibly
 
 Poetry <?;?^ Paint in g. 369 
 
 Pihly diminiflied, the duft ot time would have 
 lulJied it long ago •, and in fliort, that they had 
 been impofcd upon by an inconfidcrate zeal. 
 
 A young man who enters upon a coniiderable em- 
 ployment, lets out with ccnfuring the adminiilration 
 ot his predecefTor. He cannot comprehend how people 
 o[ lenfe and prudence could have commended him ; 
 wherctore he propolis to put a (top to vice, and to 
 promote virtue in a more efFe(5lual manner. The ill 
 luccefs of his endeavors to reform abufes, and to efta- 
 blilh that order and regularity of which he had form- 
 ed the f ica in his c.ibinet, the knowledge alfo which 
 experience turnilhes him, by which alone he can be 
 initructed, will foon convince him tliat his» predecefTor 
 managed right, and the public had reafon to applaud 
 him. In like manner our iirlt meditations preju- 
 dice us fjmctinvjs againft the received opinions ot 
 the republic ot le'ters ; but a courfe ot more k;ri- 
 <.nis reriections on the manner in wiuch thcie oj^i- 
 nions Were elbiblilhe-.l, hkewife a more QX'x'Anw. 
 and ti'.llincler knowledge of what nieii are capable 
 ot dioina:. anvl in line, even our own exueneii^e re- 
 ronciies liS to iliefe opinions. A I'Vench piinter oi 
 twenry years (;t age, who g(jt^; to Rome to lludy, 
 does not fee at iirll m Raphael's work^ a merit equal 
 to tiieir great reputation, i le is f jmetimes io vola- 
 tile and unguarded as to pubhOi his ientiment ; buL 
 within the lj)aee ot a year, when a little reneClion 
 has brought him over to tlie gcr.eral o[)inion, he is 
 vexed tor havin;.; expreifed hiinfell in tliat manner. 
 'lis owing to igiKJiMMCe, tint p. oidj !ve>:de lome- 
 times troni the coiniViOn opii'.ion in tilings, the me • 
 rit oi whi':.h may be known by a!! nnniund. A'-. ■
 
 370 Critical Reflections o;z 
 
 thing, fays Quintilian "", is more odious than thofe 
 ivho knowing only fome thing more than the firji ele- 
 ments of letters^ are puffed up with a vain and con- 
 ceited notion of learning. 
 
 CHAP. XXXV. 
 
 Of the ideaivhicb men have of the writings of 
 the ancients^ when they do not underjiand the 
 originals, 
 
 AS for thofe who are not acquainted with the lan- 
 guages, in which the poets, orators, and even 
 the hiftorians of antiquity have wrote, they are inca- 
 pable of themfelves to judge of their excellency ; 
 wherefore if they are defirous of having a juft idea 
 of the merit of thofe works, they mud take it from 
 the relation of perfons who have and do underfband 
 thefe languages. Men cannot judge right of an ob- 
 jecl, when they are not able to form their judg- 
 ment by the report of the ftnfe deitincd to know it. 
 We cannot give our opinion of the goodnefs of 
 a liquor 'till after we have taded it, nor of the 
 excellence of a tunc, 'till we have heard it. Now 
 a poem written in a language we do not un- 
 deriland, cannot be known to us by the report of 
 the fenfe appointed to judge of it. 'Tis impoffible 
 for us to dilcern its merit by means of that fixth 
 fenfc we have fpoken of. 'Tis the bufinefs of this 
 
 ^ }<ihi! cfl pejus lis qui paululum aliquid ultra frimas litteras 
 pogrcJJ:^ fulj'am fill fcUntia prfuajfjucm inducrunt. Quint- 
 i. f, c, ::. 
 
 fenfc
 
 PctTRY tf«i Paint I N G. 371 
 
 fenfe to know whether the obje6t prefented to us, 
 be moving and capable of engaging us ; as it belongs 
 to the ear to judge whether the founds are pleafing, 
 and to the palate, whether the tafte is agreable. 
 
 All the critical difcourfes in the world are no more 
 capable of conveying a juft idea of the merit of 
 Horace's odes to a perfon that does not underftand 
 Latin, than a relation of the qualities of a liquor 
 which we had never tafted, would be able to give us 
 a right notion of the tafte of that liquor. Nothing 
 can fupply the report of the proper fenfe for judg- 
 ing of the thing in queftion. The ideas which we 
 form to ourfelves from other people's reafon- 
 ing and difcourfe, refemble the notion a blind man 
 has formed to himfelf of colors : Or we may com- 
 pare them to the ideas which a perfon who had 
 never been fick, may have formed of a fever or 
 cholic. 
 
 Now, as a perfon vvho has never heard a particu- 
 ftr air or tunc, is not admitted to difpute M'ith re- 
 gard to its excellence, againft thofe who have heard it ; 
 and as a man v/ho never had a fever, is not allowed 
 to conccft the imprefllcn made by this diftcmpcr, with 
 thofe who have been afflicted with it •, in like man- 
 ner he who does not underftand the language in 
 which a poet has v/rote, ought not to be allowed to 
 difpute with fuch as underftand this poet, concerning 
 his meric and the imprefTion he makes. To difpute 
 with regard to the merit of a poet and his fuperiori- 
 ty over other writers, is it not difputing in relation 
 to the different impreftlon which th'.ir p<xms have on 
 their readers, and to the emoLion they Caufe ? Is it 
 not difputing ot tlic truth of a rmtural fa<5t, a quef- 
 
 B b 2 tiuii
 
 372 Critical Rr.r lect ions on 
 
 tion on which people will always give credic to 
 ocular witnefTcs who are uniform in their report, pre- 
 ferable to all thofe who Ihould attempt to contell 
 the poflibility thereof by metaphylical arguments ? 
 
 Since men therelorc, who do not underlland the 
 language the poet has writ in, arc incapable of paf- 
 iing a judgment upon his merit, and upon the rank 
 clue to him \ is it not more reafonable they fliould 
 adopt the judgment of fuch as have an- 1 do under- 
 ftand him, than embrace the opinion of two or 
 three critics who affirm that the poem does not 
 make fuch imprcnion upon them, as every body 
 clfe fays it does ? I take no notice here but of 
 the fenfitive decifions of critics, for I reckon ana- 
 lyles and difcuffions for nothing in a fubjeCl which 
 fhould not be determined by the way of reafoning. 
 Now thofe critics who fay, that the poems of the an- 
 cients do not make the fame impreffion upon, them, 
 as upon the reft of mankind, are one againft a hun- 
 dred thoufand. Should we take any notice of a 
 fophill, who would attempt to prove, that thofe 
 who feel a pleafure in wine, have a depraved tafle, 
 and would corroborate his arguments by the exam- 
 ple of five or fix abftcmious perlbns, that have an 
 averfion to this liquor? Inofe who arc capable of 
 underftanding the ancients, without reliilnng them, 
 are in as fmall a number with rcfpccl to their ad- 
 mirers, as men who have a natural avcrlion to wine 
 are in comparifon to fuch as love it. 
 
 We mull not be impofed upon by the artifices 
 of the defpifers of the ancients^ who ftrivc to jufti- 
 fy their difrelifh by the authority of fuch learned 
 men, as have obfcrved milfakes in the fineft w^orks 
 
 of
 
 Po E T R Y and Pa i n t i n g. 373 
 
 of antiquity, Theie gentlemen, io dextrous in the 
 art of talfifying the truth without lying, would fain 
 make us beHeve that the learned are of their party. 
 Here in one fenfe they are in the right -, for in quef- 
 tions relating to matters of iad, as that of know- 
 ing whether the reading of a particular poem be en- 
 gaging or not, men judge commonly according as 
 the courts of judicature are accuilomed to determine; 
 that is, they pronounce always in favor of a hundred 
 witnelles, wjio depofe they have {titn a fli6l, in op- 
 polition to all the argumet:ts of a fmall number who 
 lay tiiey have not fcen it, and even aver it to be 
 impoflible. 'i'hc defpifers of the ancients are intitled 
 to appeal to the authority of thefe critics only, 
 who have advanced, that the ancients were indebted 
 to old mituikes and grofs prejudices, for a reputa- 
 tion of which their tiefects rendered them undeferv- 
 ing. Now the catalogue of thefe critics might be 
 comprlfed in two lines, v/hile whole volumes would 
 icarce contain the lift of critics of the oppofite tafte. 
 In fact, to attack fo general a corifent, and to give 
 the lye to fo many paft ages, nay, even to our 
 own, one muft fuppofe that the world has but jull 
 got over its infancy, and that wc are the firlt ge- 
 neration of rational men that the earth has yet pro- 
 duced. 
 
 But Ibme will aflc me, whether the tranflations 
 made by learned and able writers, do not enable 
 thofe, tor example, who do not underftand Latin, 
 to judge (jf tiiemlelves and even by their fenfes of 
 Virgil's Auieid ? 
 
 I anfwer, that Virgil's /iLneiJ done into French, 
 falls, as it were, under tlie very fenfc which would 
 
 B b 3 have
 
 3 74 Critical Reflections on 
 
 Iiave judged of the original poem ; but the j?^neid 
 in French is not the fame poem as in the Latin. 
 A great part of the merit of a Greek or Latin po- 
 em confills in the numbers and harmony of the ver- 
 fes ; and ihefe beauties, tho' very fenfibly felt in the 
 originals, canf-ot be tranfpianted, as it were, into 
 a French tranflation. Even Virgil himfelf would be 
 incapable of tranfplanting them, efpecially as our lan^ 
 guage is not fo fufceptible of thofe beauties as the La-' 
 tin, purfuant to what we have obferved upon this 
 fubje6l in the firft part of this work. In the 
 fecond place, the poetic ftyle (of which we have 
 difcourfed at large alfo in the firfl part, and which 
 decides almoft intirely the fuccefs of a poem) is fo 
 disfigured in the very beft tranflation, that it has 
 fcarce any traces left to diftinguifh it. 
 
 *Tis difFiCult to tranflate an author with purity 
 and fidelity, even an author who relates nothing but 
 fafts, and with the greateft fimplicity of ftyle, efpe- 
 cially when he has compofed in a language more 
 favorable for nervous and accurate expreflions, than 
 that into which we attempt to tranflate him. 'Tis 
 therefore vaftly difficult to render any writer into 
 French, who compofed in Greek or Latin. Let 
 the reader therefore judge whether it be pofllble to 
 tranflate the figurative ftyle of thofe poets who have 
 wrote in Greek or Latin, without enervating the force 
 of their ft'yle, and ftripping it of its greateft ornaments. 
 
 Either the tranfiator takes the liberty of changing 
 the figures, and of fubftituting others which are ufed 
 in his own language, inftead of thofe employed by the 
 author ; or elfehe renders thofe figures word for word, 
 and preferves the very fame images in his copy, 
 
 which
 
 P o E TRY and Pa I N T I N G. 37 ^ 
 
 which they rep relent in the original. If he changes 
 the figures, 'tis no longer the original author but 
 the tranflator that is fpeaking to us. This muft 
 certainly be a great lofs, even were the ttanflator 
 (which very feldom happens) to have as much fenfc 
 and genius as the original author? 
 
 'Tis natural for us to exprefs our own idea better 
 than that of another perfon. Befides, 'tis very rare, 
 that the figures which are confidered as relative in 
 the two languages, have exactly the fame meaning ; 
 and even when they have the fame meaning, they 
 may happen not to have the fame dignity. For ex- 
 ample, to exprefs a thing that furpafies the power 
 of man, the Latins would fay, Ciavam Herculi ex- 
 iorquere ; but the French would fay, Prendre la 
 Lune avec les dents *. Is the fimplicity and grandeur 
 of the Latin proverb, fo well exprefled by the French 
 figure .'' 
 
 The lofs is every bit as great, at lead to the 
 poem, when the tranflator gives the figures word 
 ior word. In the firft place, 'tis impoffible for 
 him to render the words exaftly, without being 
 frequently obligeci to ufe epithets cither to reflraiii 
 or extend their figniiication. Words which ne- 
 cefTity makes us oftentimes confider as fynony- 
 Hious, or relative in Latin and French, have not 
 always the fame propriety, nor tlie fame extent 
 of fignification ; and 'tis this propriety which fre- 
 quently forms the exadlnefs of the cxprelTion, and 
 riie merit of the figure which the poet has employed. 
 \ lie French tranflate generally the Latin word 
 Htrui by that of Mailre^ tho* the latter docs 
 
 * That is, ts lay hold of the mocu inih .t.y'' ifcth. 
 
 B b 4 not
 
 37^ Critical Reflections oh 
 
 not incIuJc exactly the il-nfe ot the Latin, which 
 properly fignitics a niaflcr with regard to his iluve. 
 I'he traiiOator is therefore obliged rometimes to ule 
 a circumlocution, in order to convey the lenfe ot a 
 lingle word, which drawls out the exprefiion, and 
 renders the phrafe languid and heavy in the vcrfion, 
 tho' it might have been very lively in the original. 
 The fame may be faid of Virgil's phrafes, as of 
 Raphael's figures. Alter but ever fo fittle of Ra- 
 phael's contour, and you take away the energy of 
 the exprenion, and the noble air of the head. In 
 like manner, if Virgil's exprefiion be ever fo little 
 changed, his phrafe affumes fo different a form, that 
 we find no longer the exprellion of the original. 
 Tho' the French word Empereiir is derived from 
 that of Imperaior^ arc we not obliged by the different 
 extent of the figniiication of thcle two words, to 
 employ frequently a circumloeution to point out 
 precifely the fenfe in which we ufe the word Km- 
 percur^ in tranflaring hnperalor? Some of our bed 
 tranllators have even chofen to adopt in a French 
 phrafe the Latin word Imperator. 
 
 Befides, may not a word, which bears exaftly 
 the fame figniiication in the two languages, be no- 
 bler in one than in i\\q. other, when confidercd as a 
 fimple found, and taken independent of the idea fixe 
 to it ; infomuch that one iliall find a low word in 
 the tranOation, when the author ufed a graceful one 
 in the original. Is the word Rermud in French as 
 graceful as Rinaldo in Italian ? Does not '-J'ltus found 
 better than T'ile .^ 
 
 -Again, words tranflated from one language into 
 ariothcr, m;iy be degraded and fuHain fomc damage, 
 
 as
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 377 
 
 as it were, with relpect to the idea affixed to the 
 word. Does not the word Hofpes Jofe a part of the 
 dignity it has in Latin, (where it fignifies a man unit- 
 ed to another by the ilricleil ties of friendfhip, a 
 man ib clofely connected with another as to be able 
 to make the fame ufc of his friend's houfe as of his 
 own) when it is rendered into I'rench by the word 
 Hotey which commonly fignifies a perfon who enter- 
 tains or is entertained by others for the fake of mo- 
 ney ? 'Tis the fame with words, as 'tis with men. 
 To imprint veneration, 'tis not fufficient to fliew 
 thcmfelves fometimes in honorable fignifications or 
 funclions, 'tis neceflary moreover that they never 
 appear in low functions, or mean fignifications. 
 
 In the fecond place, fuppofing a tranfiator has 
 fucceeded fo as to render the Latin figure in its 
 full llrength, yet it v/ill frequently happen that this 
 figure will not make the fame impreffion upon us, 
 as it did upon the Romans for whom the poem was 
 compoft.d. \N'e liave but a very imperfect know- 
 ledge of things whofe figures are borrowed. Were 
 we even to have a complcat knowledge of them, 
 ilill we fliould not, for reafons I am going to lay 
 down, have the lame tatle for thofe things as tha 
 -Romans had j whercioic the image that repre- 
 fcnts them, cannot afict^l us as much as it did the 
 Romans. 
 
 I'hus the figures borrowed from the arms and 
 military machines of the ancients, cannot make the 
 Jame impreffion upon us as they did upon them. 
 Can the figures c;ra\vn from tlie combat of gladia- 
 tors llrike a Frenchman who knows nothing of, or at 
 Jcafl who never law the con^bats of the am[)hitiieatre, 
 
 as
 
 378 Critical Reflections oji 
 
 as much as the Romans, who were fo taken with 
 thofe fpediacles as to be prefent at them feveral times in 
 a month ? Is it to be fuppofed, that the figures bor- 
 rowed from the orchellra, from the chorufes and 
 dances of the opera, could affed: fuch as never faw 
 this fpcdiacle, as much as they ftrike thofe who go 
 to the opera every week ? Does the figure, to eat 
 his bread under the Jhade of his fig-tree, make 
 the fame impreflion upon us, as it does upon a 
 Syrian almoft continually tormented by a fcorch- 
 mg fun, and w^ho finds an infinite pleafure in 
 laying himfelf down to reft under the Ihade of 
 the large leaves of this tree, the beft fhelter he 
 can find amongft all the trees in the fruitful 
 plains of his country ? Can the northern nati- 
 ons be as fenfible of ail the other figures which de- 
 fcribe the pleafure of a cool Ihade, as the people 
 who live in hot countries, and for whom thefe 
 images were invented ? Virgil and the other ancient 
 poets would have employed figures of an oppofite 
 tafte, if they had wrote for the northern nations. In- 
 ftead of drawing the greateft part of their meta- 
 phors from a brook whofe cool flreams quench the 
 traveller's thirft, or from a grove fpreading a de- 
 lightful (hade on the brink of a fountain, they 
 would have taken them from a good warm ftove, 
 or from the eff'eds of wine and fpirituous liquors. 
 They would have chofen to defcribe the fenfible 
 pleafure which a man, who is almoft ftiff with 
 cold, feels upon approaching the fire •, or the 
 flower but more agreable fenfation he finds in put- 
 ting on a coat lined with good comfortable fur. We 
 are much more affected with the defcription of fuch 
 
 pleafures
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 379 
 
 pleafures as we feel every day, than with the pifhire 
 of pleafures we have never or but feldom tafted. 
 As we are indifferent in refpecft to delights which 
 we never wifli for, we cannot be fenfibly afFefted by 
 the defcription of them, were it drawn even by 
 Virgil. What charms could a great many people 
 of the north, (who never drank a drop of pure wa- 
 ter, and who have only an imaginary knowledge of 
 the pleafure defcribed by the poet) what charms, I 
 fay, could they find in the following verfes of Vir- 
 gil's fifth eclogue, which entertain us with fo de- 
 lightful an image of the pleafure a man feels, when 
 opprelTed with toil, he compofes himfelf to fleep on 
 the green turf ; or of the fweet fenfation a traveller 
 who is burnt with thirfl, finds in quenching it with 
 tlie cool waters of a cryftal fountain ? 
 
 ^.ale fopor fejfis in gr amine ^ quale per afium 
 Diilcis aqua faliente fitim rejiinguere rivo. 
 
 ViRG. eclog. 5. 
 
 As to the weary [wain with cares oppreji^ 
 Beneath the Jylvan Jhade, refrejhing reji : 
 As to the fevrijh traveller ^ when fir Ji 
 He finds a cryfial fir earn to quench his thirfl, 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 This is the fate of mofl of thofe images, which the 
 ancient poets adopted with fo much judgment, to 
 engage their cotemporaries and countrymen. 
 
 Befides, an image that is noble in one country, 
 may be low and mean in another. Such is that 
 which a Greek poet gives us of the afs, an animal 
 which in ffls country is fmooth and well made, whereas 
 in ours 'tis a wretched creature, Befides, this ani- 
 mal
 
 3S0 Critical Reflections c;/ 
 
 mal is in thole parts Ikklled and mounted by the 
 principal people of the nation, and frequently ho- 
 nored with gold trappings •, whereas among us it is 
 always niiferably harneired, and . abandoned to the 
 meaneil drudgery of the populace. Let us hear, 
 for inQance, what a milTionary writes with relation 
 to the opinion they have of a0es in fome parts of 
 tlie EaiVIndies \ We meet with ajfes here as well 
 iis in Europe. T^ou would not imagine^ madam, that 
 'UDC ha-vc here an intire breed, which is pretended to 
 defcend in a right line from one afs, and is even very 
 jnuch honored upon that account. Ton will {ay., per- 
 haps, that this breed mujl be one of the very meanejl. 
 Not at all, madam, 'tis the king's. Would it 
 ^be right to pals judgment on a poet of that 
 country, by the ideas we have formed of him from 
 a Frc-nch tranilation ? Had we never fcen any other 
 horks but thofe of the peafants in the ifle of 
 France, fliould we be fo affected as we are, with 
 all thofe figures which give a pompous defcription 
 of a courfer ? But, you'll fay, one ought to allow 
 a poet, who is criticized in a tranflation, all the 
 figures and profopopasias that are founded on the 
 cuftoms and manners of his country. I anfwer in 
 the firft place, that this is never done. I do not 
 think tliat it proceeds from prevarication, and 
 I accufe the critics only of not having a fuffici- 
 ent knowledge of the manners and cuiloms of dif- 
 ferent people, to be able to judge what figures are 
 authorized or not in a certain poet. In the fecond 
 place, thefe figures are not only excufable, but they 
 ai'c beautiful in the original. 
 
 » Lettrcs Edif. t. 1 2. p, 96. 
 
 la
 
 Poetry and Painting. 381 
 
 In fine, let us only inquire of thole wlio know 
 how to write in Latin and French. They will an- 
 fvver, that the energy of a phrafe, or the effect of 
 a figure, are fo inherent, as it were, in the words of 
 the language in which one has invented or com- 
 pofed, that they are incapable of tranflating their 
 own writings to their minJ, or of giving the ori- 
 ginal turn to their own thoughts, when tranllating 
 them from French into Latin, and much Icfs when 
 they render them from Latin into French. Images 
 and ftrokes of eloquence iofe always fome part of 
 their beauty and ftrength, when tranfplantcd from 
 the language in which they had their origin. 
 
 We have as good tranfiations of Virgil and Morace, 
 as tranfiations can be. And yet thofe who under- 
 iland Latin, never fail to tell u<^, that thefe ver- 
 fions do not give us an idea of the merit of rlic 
 originals ; and their teftimony is Hill corroborated by 
 the general experience of people who arc led by the 
 agreablcncfs ot books in their choice of reading. 
 Thofe who are verfed in the Latin tongue, are never 
 fatiated with reading Horace and Virgil •, while fuch 
 as cannot read thefe poets but in tranfiations, find 
 f) little entcrtamment, that they have occafion for a 
 great deal of relolurion to read the /luiciJ thro' ; 
 and cannot help being lurprized that the originals 
 arc read with fo much [iltafurc. On the other hand, 
 pcrfons wh(j are allonifiicd, that works v/hich charm 
 them fo much in the originals, Ihould be (o tire- 
 tome to fuch as perufe the rraunarions, arc as much 
 in the wrong as the lormcr. Th( y ought both to 
 rcf.cL^, that thofe who re id 1 Icnacc's odes inlwench, 
 do iiQC re.id the fame pucm^ as [)cople wlio read 
 
 them
 
 382 Critical Reflections en 
 
 them in I^tin. My refle6lion is fo much the more 
 juft, as one cannot learn a language, without pick- 
 ing up at the fame time a knowledge of feveral 
 things relating to the manners and cufloms of the 
 people who fpoke it, which gives us an infight into 
 the figures and ftyle of the author, of which thofc 
 who have not fuch lights, muft be deprived. 
 
 How comes it, that the French have fo little te- 
 lifh for the tranllations of Ariofto and TalTo, the* 
 the reading of the Rolando Furiofo, and the Gieru- 
 falemme liberata^ juftiy charms fuch Frenchmen, as 
 have a fufficient knowledge of the Italian, to un- 
 derftand without difficulty the originals ? What is 
 the reafon that the fame perfon who has read Racine's 
 works fix times over, cannot go thro' with the tran- 
 flation of Virgil, notwithftanding thofe who under- 
 iland Latin have read the ^neid ten times, for 
 thrice they have perufed the tragedies of the French 
 poet? *Tis becaufe it is natural for every tranflation 
 to give a bad copy of the greatefl beauties of a 
 poem, while it faithfully reprefents the defecfts of the 
 plan and charafters. The merit of things in poetry 
 is aimofl: always identified (if I be allowed the ex- 
 prefTion) with the merit of the exprefTion. 
 
 Thofe who read hiflory for inftrudion, lofe only 
 the beauties of the hiftorian's flyle, when they read 
 him in a good tranflation. The principal merit of 
 an hiflorian does not confifl like that of a poet, in 
 iri<fving J nor is it his ftyle that chiefly engages us 
 to his work. Events of importance are interefting 
 of themfelves, and truth alone furniflics them with 
 the pathetic. The chief merit of hiftory is to in- 
 rich our memory, and to form our judgment -, but 
 
 that
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 383 
 
 that of a poem confifts in movmg us, and 'tis the 
 very charm of the emotion that makes us read it. 
 Wherefore the principal beauty of a poem is 
 loft when we do not underftand the poet's own 
 felecl expreflions, and when wc do not behold them 
 in the order in which he ranged them to pleafe the 
 ear, and to form images capable of moving the 
 h^art. 
 
 In effect, let us change the words of the two fol- 
 lowing verfes of Racine which we have already 
 cited. 
 
 Enchatner un captif de fes fers etonne^ 
 Co}itre itnjoiig qui lui plait vainement mutine^ 
 
 T'o lead a captive at his chains furpriz'dy 
 Rebelling vainly 'gainji a pleajing yoke. 
 
 And let us fay, ftill keeping to the figure : To lay 
 a prifoner of war in irons, who is furprifed thereat^ 
 and a^s in -vain the mutineer againji an agr cable 
 yoke ; the verfes would lofe the harmony and poetry 
 of their ftyle. The fame figure prefents no longer 
 the fame image ; and the painting exhibited in Ra- 
 cine's verfes is dawbcd over, as it were, as foon as 
 the terms are difplaccd, and the definition of the 
 word is fubftitutcd inllead of the worJ. Th©fe who 
 want to be furtlicr convinced how far one word 
 taken for another enervates the vigor of a phrafe, 
 even without goiiig out of the limits of the lan- 
 guage in which it was compofed, let them read the 
 twenty third chipter of Arillotle's art of poetry. 
 
 The French nanllators oi Greek antl Latin poets 
 are obh[2;ed to deviate a great deal niore from the 
 cx[ reflioni oi the original than I have done in thofe 
 
 I verfes
 
 384 Critical Reflections on 
 
 verlcs of Pha;dra. Pcrlons of the grcatell capacity 
 and application are tired with the unfuccefsful ef- 
 forts they make in order to infpirc their tranflations 
 with as much energy as the original, where they 
 rind a ftrength and cxad:nefs which they cannot tranf- 
 fufe into their copy. They let theml'elves at length 
 be led away with the genius of our language, and 
 fubmit to the fate of tranilations, after having Itrug- 
 gled againll it for fome time. 
 
 Since therefore a tranflation does not give us the 
 author's fele(5l words, nor the arrangement in 
 which he placed them in order to pleafe the ear and 
 to move the heart, we may fay, that to judge of a 
 poem in general from the verfion, is to form a 
 judgment of the picSture of a great mafter, cele- 
 brated chiefly for his coloring, from a print in 
 which the ftrokes of his delign are quite lolt. A 
 poem lofes by a tranilation its harmony and num- 
 bers, which I compare to the coloring of a pifture ; 
 as alfo the poetry of the ftyle, which may be com- 
 pared to the defign and the expreflion. A verfion is 
 a print, in which nothing remains of the original 
 pidfure, but the ordonnance and attitude of the 
 figures j and even this is frequently altered. 
 
 To judge therefore of a poem by tranilations and 
 cricicifms.^ is judging of a thing defigned to fall un- 
 der a particular fenfe, without having any knowledge 
 ot it by that fenfe. But to form an idea of a poem 
 from the unanimous depolition of perfons acquainted 
 with the original concerning the impreilion it makes 
 on them, is the beft way to judge, when we do not 
 iindcrftand it ourfelves. Nothing is more reafona- 
 hle than to fuppofe, that the objed would make the 
 3 fame
 
 Poetry izW Painting, 385 
 
 fame impreffion upon us, as it does on them, were we 
 as fufceptible of this imprelTion. Is it Hkely we fliould 
 liften to a man, who fhould attempt to prove 
 by plaufible arguments, that the pidure of the 
 marriage of Cana, done by Paolo Veronefe, which 
 he never faw, cannot be fo agreable, as people fay 
 it is, who have feen it ; by reafon that it is im- 
 pofTible a pidure fliould pleafe, when there are fuch 
 a number of defects in the poetic compofition of 
 the work, as are obferved in this of Paolo Vero- 
 nefe ? We fhould defire the critic to go and fee 
 the pidure, and we fliould rely on the uniform re- 
 lation of thofe that faw it, who protefl: it has 
 charmed them notwithfl:anding its defefts. In fadt, 
 the uniform report of the fenfes of other men, is the 
 furefl: way, next to the report of our own, to judge 
 of things which fall under a fenficive perception. 
 This we are fufficiently convinced of, and it will be 
 impoITible ever to fl:agger human belief or opinion 
 founded on the unilorm report of other peoples 
 fenfes. A perfon cannot therefore, without an inex- 
 cufable temerity, afl^ert with confidence, when the 
 queftion relates to a poem he does not underftand : 
 That the opinion wliich men have of its excellence, is 
 only a prejudice of education founded on applaufesy 
 ijjhich^ upon tracing them to their firfl origin^ ws 
 find for the mc/i part to he no more than echoes to 
 one another^ ; and 'tis llill a higher degree of rafli- 
 nefs to compofc the imai^inary hiftory of this pre- 
 judice. 
 
 Voi.IJ. C- CHAP,
 
 3^6 Critical RefleOtIons (?;? 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 Of the errors which perfons are liable tCj ivho 
 judge of a poem by a tranfation^ or by the 
 remarks of critics. 
 
 WHAT flioLiId we think of an Englilhman, 
 fuppofing that any of them could be fo 
 indifcreer, who, without underftanding a word of 
 French, fhould attempt to arraign the Cid upon 
 Rutter's tranflation % and pronounce judgment at 
 length, that the fondnefs of the French for the ori- 
 ginal mud be attributed to the prejudices of their 
 infancy ? We fliould tell him, that we are better ac- 
 quainted than he is widi the imperfcdiions of the Cid, 
 hut that he cannot havT our fenfibility of the beau- 
 ties which make us admire it, in fpite of all its faults, 
 fn line, we fliould fay unto this prefumptuous 
 judge, whatever a pcrfuafion founded on {Q\\{ii fug- 
 geilf, wlien we cAnnot readily recoiled: the proper 
 realbns and terms for making a methodical refuta- 
 tion of propofitions, whofe error offends us. 'Tis 
 difBcult in fuch a cafe for the moft moderate per- 
 fons to contain themfelves from breaking out into 
 fome harfh expreiTions. Now thofe who have learnt 
 Greek and Englifh are very fenfible, that a Greek 
 poet rendered into French, fuffers a great deal 
 more by the verfion, than a French poet tranflated 
 
 into Englifn, 
 
 * Printed in 1637. 
 
 All
 
 Poetry tf;?i Paint IN G. 387 
 
 All the judgments and parallels that can be made 
 of thofe poems, which are underflood only by tran- 
 flations and critical dilTertations, lead us infallibly to 
 falfe conclufions. Let us fuppofe, for inftance, the 
 Maid of Orleans and the Cid to be tranflated into 
 the Pohlh tongue, and that one of the learned of 
 Cracow, after having perufed thefe trandatiohs, 
 pafTes judgment on thofe poems by way of examen 
 and difcufllon. Let us fuppofe, that after having 
 made a methodical inquiry into the plan, the man- 
 ners, the characters, and the probability of the 
 events, whether in the natural or fupernatural order, 
 he decides at length the value of thofe two poems j 
 he will certainly determine in favor of the Maid 
 of Orleans, which in an operation of this nature will 
 appear a more regular poem, and lefs defecflive in 
 its kind, than the Cid. If we fhould likewife fup- 
 pofe, that this Polifh reafoner perfuades his country- 
 men, that a perfon is capable of judging of a poem 
 written in a language he does not underlland, by 
 reading the tranflation of it with critical remarks, 
 they will certainly conclude, that Chapelain is a 
 better poet than the great Corneille. They will treat 
 us as people who are Haves to prejudices, for not 
 fubmitting to their decifion. What fhall we there- 
 fore think of a proceeding which leads men naturally 
 to this (ore of judgments ? 
 
 C c 2 CHAP.
 
 388 Critical Reflections on 
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 Of the dejedh we imagine we fee in the poems 
 of the ancients. 
 
 AS for thofe defeds we fancy we fee in the 
 poems of the ancients, and which we fome- 
 times tell fo dexteroufly at our fingers ends, 'tis pof- 
 fible we may be often and feveral ways miflaken. 
 Sometimes we may cenfure the poet, as dcfeftive in 
 his compofition, for having inferted feveral things 
 which the time he lived in, and the refpedt due to 
 his cotemporaiies, obliged him to mention. For 
 inftance, when Homer compofed his Iliad, he did 
 not write a fabulous ftory, that left him at liberty 
 to forge the charafters of his heroes as he had a 
 mind, or to give the events what fuccefs he pleafed, 
 and CO imbellifh certain fads with all the noble cir- 
 cumllances his imagination could fuggeil. He un- 
 dertook to write in verfe, a part of the events of a 
 war, which the Greeks his countrymen had waged 
 againft the Trojans, whereof there was flill a re- 
 cent tradition remaining. Purfuant to the common 
 opinion, Homer flouriOicd about a hundred and 
 fifty years after the fiege of Troy, and according to 
 Sir Ilaac Newton's chronology * he lived ftill nearer 
 to the time of that war, and might have feen feveral 
 perfons, who knew Achilles, and the other illuftrious 
 heroes of Agamemnon's army. I grant therefore 
 that Homer, as a poet, ought to have treated the 
 events in a different manner from that of a fimpic 
 
 * Chronolog. p. qj. and p. 162. 
 
 hiftorian.
 
 Poetry md Pa i n t i n g. 3 89 
 
 hlftorian. He fhould have introduced the marvel- 
 ous as much as it was reconcileable to probability, 
 according to the rehgion of thole times. He ought 
 to have imbellifhed thofe events with fidions, and to 
 have done, in Ihort, whatever Ariftotle "* commends 
 him for having performed. But Homer, in qua- 
 lity of a citizen and hiftorian, and as a writer of 
 ballads or fongs, that were deftined chiefly to ferve 
 as annals to the Greeks, was frequently obliged to 
 render his recitals conformable to the knowledge 
 tht public had of thofe fads. 
 
 We fee by the example of our anceftors, and by 
 the prcfent praftice in the North of Europe and fome 
 parts of America, that the firll hiftorical monu- 
 ments of nations, for preferving the memory of pad 
 events, as well as for exciting men to the mofl 
 necefl"ary virtues in growing focieties, are drawn up 
 in verfe. The people therefore, tho' yet rude and 
 ignorant, compofe a kind of fongs to celebrate the 
 praifes of fuch of their countrymen as rendered 
 themfelves worthy of imitation, which they fing on 
 feveral occalions. Cicero '^ informs us, that juft af- 
 ter Numa's time, the Romans were come into the 
 pradice of fmging fongs at table in praife of 
 illuftrious men. 
 
 The Greeks had their beginnings, like other peo- 
 ple, and were an infant focicty before they grew up 
 to be a polifhcd nation. Their firft hiftorians were 
 all poets i wherefore Strabo "^ and other ancient wri- 
 ter:, inform us, that even Cadmus, Pherecides '^, and 
 
 * Poetic, cap. 24. ^ Tiifc. 1. 4. "^ Geogr. lib. i. 
 
 ^ ^^crftiitm nexu repudiatj, conjlriherc i::ifii^ ^ajfivli ^verbis PI'C- 
 rtciJti. Apul. I'lox, i. 4. 
 
 C c 1 rjeca-
 
 2go Critical Reflections^/z 
 
 Hecateus, the firft who wrote in profe» made no 
 alteration in their ftyle but with regard to the mea- 
 fure of the vcrfe. Hiftory preferved for fevcral 
 ages among the Greeks fome remains of its origin. 
 Moft of thofe who wrote afterwards in profe, re- 
 tained the poetic flyle, and preferved for a long 
 while even the liberty of mixing the marvelous in 
 their events. The Greek hijioriam, fays Quintilian ^, 
 ajfume a kind of liherty almojl equal to that of poets. 
 Homer is not one of thofe firfl: writers of fongs 
 above-mentioned -, he did not appear till ibme time 
 after them. 
 
 ■^ Pojl hos injignis Homerus, 
 
 "Tirtieufque ntares animos in Martia bella 
 Verfihus exacuit. •— — Ho rat. de arte. 
 
 Next Homer and Tyrtaus boldly dare 
 I'o whet brave minds, and lead the flout to 'war. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 But people were accuftomed in his time to look 
 upon poems as hiftorical monuments. Homer wouI4 
 have therefore been to blame, had he changed cer- 
 tain characters, or altered fome known events, and 
 efpecially if he had omitted in the enumerations of 
 his armies, the heroes who went upon that memorable 
 expedition. We may eafily imagine the complaints 
 their defcendants would have made againft the poet. 
 Tacitus relates that the Germans ufed to fing, at 
 the time when he wrote his annals, the exploits of 
 Arminius, who was dead fourfcore years before. 
 Were the authors of thofe Cherufcan fongs at liberty 
 
 * Gr^t'is hijloriis plcrujnque foeitc^ Jimi'is vi''fl licenlia. Quint. 
 Inft. 1. 2. cap. 4.
 
 Po E T R Y and Pa I N T I N G. . 391 
 
 to contradicl public and known fails, and to fup- 
 pofe, for example, in order to do more honor to 
 their hero, that Arminius never took the oath of 
 allegiance to the Roman eagles which he defeated ? 
 When thofe poets fpake of the interview on the 
 banks of the Wefer, between him and his brother 
 Flavius, v/ho ferved in the Roman army, was it pof- 
 fible for them to finifli the conference with decency 
 and gravity, when every body knew that the German 
 general and the Roman officer abufed one another in 
 prefence of the armies of both nations, and would 
 have come to blows were it not for the river 
 that was between them ? 
 
 Ixt us take another example that will ftrike us 
 Ixitter. Hiftory and poetry are in our days two very 
 «.iiitcrent profeflions. We have hiilorians to read 
 when we are delirous of being informed with re- 
 gard to the truth of facls ; and we fcek merely for 
 amufement in the reading of poecs. ChapeLiiti 
 wrote his Maid of Orleans at a much greater di- 
 A.mce of time from the event he fung, than that 
 wiiich was between the taking of I'roy by the 
 Greeks, and the time when Homer compofcd his 
 Wv'A. And yet can we imagine that Chapelain was 
 at liberty to treat and imbcllifli the charader of 
 ihe principal charadcrs as he pleafed ? Could he 
 ref^rclent Agnes Sorel as a violent and finguinary 
 rnaid, or as a perfon without any elevation of 
 niirid, and who had advifcd Charles VII to live 
 with her in obf( urity ? Would he have been allowed 
 to give this prince the known character ol the count 
 de Ounois ? Would it have been right ol him to 
 rhange the events of combats and fieges accor^^in ;; 
 C c 4 to
 
 392 Critical Reflections on 
 
 to his fancy ? Was it poflible for him to conceal 
 fome known circumftances of his aftions, which 
 are not fo much to the honor of Charles VII ? Had 
 he done any thing of all this, tradition would have 
 flood up, and contradifled him. Befidcs, as we have 
 fhewn in the firfl part of this work, nothing is a 
 greater enemy to probability (which is the very foul 
 of fidlion) than to fee the fiftion contradided by fads 
 that are generally known. 
 
 If Homer's heroes do not draw their fwords and 
 fight as often as they quarrel, 'tis becaufe they had 
 not the fame notions with regard to point of honor, 
 as the Goths and the like barbarous nations. The 
 Greeks and Romans who lived before the general 
 corruption of their countrymen, were lefs afraid of 
 death than the Englifh of our times ; but it was 
 their opinion, that a groundlefs contumely difho- 
 nored only the perfon that pronounced it. If the 
 contumely contained a jufl: charge, their fentiment 
 was, that the perfon affronted had no other method 
 of repairing his honor, than that of reforming his 
 manners. Thofe polite nations never dreamt, that 
 a duel which is to be decided by chance, or at the 
 moft by a fkill in fencing which they confidered as 
 the profefTion of their flaves, was a proper method 
 of juftifying one's felf, with regard to a reproach, 
 which frequently does not fo much as concern a per- 
 fon's bravery. The advantage gained, proves only 
 that one is a better gladiator than his adverfary, 
 but not that he is exempt from the vice with which 
 he is charged. Was it fear that hindered Caefar 
 and Cato from cutting one another's throats, after 
 Csefar expofed in a full Senate-houfe a billet- dou^ 
 I that
 
 Poetry and Painting. 393 
 
 that had been fent him by Caco's fiftcr ? The man- 
 ner in which they both encountred death, is a fuf- 
 ficient proof they were not afraid of it. I do not 
 remember to have read either in the Greek or Ro- 
 man hiftory any thing that refembles the Gothic 
 duels, except an accident that happened at the fu- 
 neral games, which Scipio Africanus gave un- 
 der the walls of new Carthage in honor of his uncle 
 and father, who had both loft their lives in the Spa- 
 nifh wars. Livy ^ relates, that the champions were 
 not common gladiators hired from the merchant, 
 but barbarians, fuch as Scipio perhaps was very glad 
 to get rid of, and who fought againft one another 
 thro' different motives. Some of them, fays the 
 hiftorian, agreed to terminate their difputes by the 
 fword. The Greeks and Romans, who were fo 
 pafilonately fond of glory, never imagined it a 
 diflionorable thing for a fubjed to wait for fa- 
 tisfadion from public authority. It was referved 
 therefore for thofe people, whom mifery drove from 
 their northern fnows, to believe that the bed cham- 
 pion muft of necefTity be the honeftelt man, and that 
 the name of government could with juftice be gi- 
 ven to a fociety, in which the rules of honor oblig- 
 ed fellow-citizens to revenge their real or pretended 
 injuries by force of arms. If Quinault does not 
 make Phaeton ^ draw his fword in the converfation 
 between him and Epaphus, 'tis becaufe he intro- 
 duces two /Egyptians upon the ftage, and not two 
 Burgundians or Vandals. 
 
 The prejudice therefore which the grcatefb part of 
 piarikind have foi their own times and country, is a 
 * Liv. hill, 1, rS. ^ Opera of I'lucton. ait 3. 
 
 fertile
 
 394 Cri TicAL Reflections o/z 
 
 fertile fourcc ol faJfe remarks as well as of wrong judg- 
 inents. They take what is prad:ifed there for a rule of 
 what ought to be always and every where obferved. 
 And yet there is only a finall number of cuftoms, or 
 even of virtues and vices, that have been praifed or 
 condemned in all times and countries. Now poets are 
 in the right topraftife what Quintilian advifes orators, 
 which is to draw their advantages from the ideas of 
 thofc for whom they compofe, and to conform to 
 them *. Wherefore we fhould transform ourfelves, 
 as it were, into thofe for whom the poem was writ- 
 ten, if we intend to form a Ibund judgment of its 
 images, figures and fentiments. The Parthian, who 
 after being repulfed. in the firlt charge, flies back 
 tull gallop, in order to take a better opportunity, 
 and not to expofe himfelf in vain to the enemy's 
 darts, ought not to be looked upon as guilty of 
 cowardice -, becaulc this manner of fighting was au- 
 thorized by the military difcipline of that nation, 
 founded on the idea they had of courage and real 
 valour. The ancient Germans, fo celebrated for their 
 bravery, were alio of opinion, that to retreat upon 
 fome occafions, in order to return with more vigor 
 to the charge, was rather a prudent than cowardly 
 a6lion ^. 
 
 We have feen Homer condemned for giving an 
 elegant defcription of the gardens of king Alcinoiis, 
 not unlike, fay fome people, to thofe of an honelt 
 vine-dreffer or gardener in the neighbourhood of Pa* 
 
 * Vluri7num rcfcrt qui /int audientium mores, qua public} recepta 
 perfuafij. Quint. Inil. 1. 3. cap. 9. 
 
 '' Ccdere loco dum rurjus ir.Jles, 7nagis conJlUi quam formidinii af- 
 bitrantar^ Tac, de mor. Germ. 
 
 ris.
 
 Po ETRY j«^ Paint iNG. 395 
 
 ris. But allowing this to be true, that the defign- 
 ing of a fine garden is the tafk of an architeft, and 
 to plant it at a very great cxpence, the merit of a 
 prince -, ftill 'tis the poet's bufinefs to give a good 
 dcfcription of fuch as are planted by the people of 
 his time. Homer is as great an artift in the de- 
 fcription he gives of the gardens of Aicinoiis, as if 
 he had entertained us with that of the groves of 
 Verfailles. 
 
 After reproaching the ancient poets for filling 
 their verfcs with common objeds and ignoble images, 
 feveral think themfelves very moderate, when they 
 lay the fault they have not really committed, to the 
 age they lived in, and pity them for having had 
 the misfortune of appearing in a time of ruiticity 
 and ignorance. 
 
 The manner in which we live, if I may fay fo, with 
 our horfes, prejudices us againft the fpeeches with 
 which men addrefs thefe animals in the poems of the 
 ancients. We cannot bear that their mailer fhould 
 fpeak. to them in the fame manner almofl, as a huntf- 
 man fpeaks to a hound. But thefe difcourfes were 
 very fuitable in the Iliad, a poem written for a na- 
 tion, among whom a horfe was, as it were, a fellow- 
 boarder with his mafter. They muft have been agre- 
 able to a people, who fuppoled fuch a knowledge in 
 horfes as we do not allow them, and who frequently 
 ufed to talk in that manner to thofe creatures. Whe- 
 ther the opinion which admits hearts to have fomc 
 degree of reafon bordering upon that of man, be 
 falfe or no, this is no bufinefs of the poet. His 
 tafk is not to purge his age of its errors in phyfics, . 
 but to give a faithful dcfcription of tlie cultoms 
 
 and
 
 396 Cri TicAL Reflections o« 
 
 and manners of his country, in order to render his 
 imitation as likely as pofiible. Homer, in this very 
 paflage for which he has been fo frequently cenfur- 
 cd, would ftill have pleafed feveral nations of A- 
 fia and Afric, who have not changed their ancient 
 method of managing their horfes, no more than fe- 
 veral other cufloms. 
 
 I fhall give here an extrafb from Bufbequius, am- 
 baflador from the emperor Ferdinand I, to the Grand 
 Signor Soliman II, concerning the manner of ma- 
 naging their horfes in Bithynia, a country not far 
 from the Greek colonies of Afia, and bordering up- 
 on Phrygia, where the great Hedtor was born, 
 whom fome of our critics would flrike fpeechlefs 
 for fpeaking to his horfes. / obfervedy fays he, * in 
 Bithynia, that every body, even the very peafantSy 
 treat their colts with great tendernefs \ that when they 
 want them to do any thing, they carefs them as we 
 do children ; and that they let them go to and fro 
 about the houfe. Nay, they would be glad to make 
 them Jit down to table. The grooms drefs their horfes 
 with the fame gentlenefs, for 'tis by ftroking and aU 
 moji by ■perfuafion they manage them, and they never 
 beat them but in cafes of extremity. Wherefore they 
 contra5i a kind of friendjhip for men, and Uis very 
 rare they kick up their heels, or grow vicious in any 
 ether Planner. In cur countries they are bred up 
 in a very different way. The grooms never enter 
 the Jiables without forming againft them, and ne- 
 ver think they drefs them well, unlefs they give them 
 a hundred blows, a treatment which makes them fear 
 fiftd hate mankind. The Turks teach their horfes alfg 
 * BusBEQu. Legat. Turc. epilt. 3.
 
 Po E TRY and Pa I N T I N G. 397 
 
 to kneel down, that they may mount them with more 
 cafe. They teach them to. -pick up a Jiick or a fivord 
 from the ground with their teeth to prefent it to the 
 rider, and they put filver rings in the noftrils offuch 
 as have been thus taught, as a kind of difiin5iion, in 
 recumpence for their docility. I have feen fome of 
 them learn to fiand in the fame place, without being 
 held by any body, after the rider had difmounted ; and 
 others go thro'' their exercifes of themf elves, and obey 
 all the commands of the riding majiers, who flood at 
 fome dijlance. Mine, fays Bufbequius fome lines low- 
 er, give me a good deal of diverfion every evening. 
 They are led into the court, and the horfe I call by 
 his name, looks at tne Jtedfajily and neighs. JVe have 
 got acquainted by means of fome fiices of melon, which 
 I my felf put into their mouths. 'Tis likely this was 
 not effe(5led, without the ambalTador's making feme 
 of thofe fpeeches to his horfcs, which were capable 
 of drawing upon hirn the ccnfure of our critics. 
 
 There is no body in the republic of letters, but 
 has heard of the chevalier d'Arvieux% a gentleman 
 famous for his voyages, employments, and oriental 
 learning. I fliall not be charged with having cited 
 exceptionable witnene<^, to prove that a great many of 
 the Afiatic inhabitants talk ftill to their horfcs, as 
 He6tor fpoke to his in Afia. This gentleman after 
 having difcourfed at large, in the eleventh chapter 
 of his relation, concerning the manners and cultoms 
 ot the Arabians, of the docility, and, if I may fay 
 fo, of the good nature of their horfes, and the ten- 
 derncfs and humanity with wliich their maftcrs treat 
 them, adds what follows. /I merchant of Marfeilles 
 
 » Dcccaltd in 1702, 
 
 who
 
 398 Critical Reflections on 
 
 who lived at Rama^ kept a mare ill partner jhip with 
 tin Arabian. This mane was called Touyffe, and be- 
 fides her beauty ^ youth y and price of twelve hundred 
 crowns y had the merit of being of the principal and 
 nobleji race, The merchant had -her genealogy and all 
 her lineal defcents by father and mother^ as high as 
 five hundred years of ancientnefs, the whole proved by 
 public a£is drawn up in the abovementioned form, 
 Abrahim (this is the name of the Arabian) ufed to 
 go frequently to Rama ^ to fee how this mare did, 
 whom he was mofi paffionately fond of. I have had 
 fever al times the pleafure of feeing him weep with 
 t-endernefs, while he was embracing and careffing 
 her. He ufed to kifs her on thefe occafions^ and to 
 wipe her eyes with his handkerchief. He rubbed her 
 down with his jhirt-Jleeves^ and gave her a thoufand 
 bleffings during whole hours that he talked to her. My 
 eyes, my foul, my heart, faid he, how hard is my 
 fate to be obliged to let you out to fo many mnfters, 
 without being able to maintain you myfelf? I am 
 poor, my dear, thou knoweji it well. My darling, I 
 reared thee in my own houfe like my daughter, I ne- 
 ver folded or Jtruck thee^ but always carejfed thee to 
 the beft of my power. God prefcrve thee my beloved. 
 Thou art handfome, foft, and amiable. God preferve thee 
 from the looks of the envious ; and a thoufand fuch like 
 Ipeechcs. He ufed to embrace her then mofi tenderly, 
 and to go away with his face Jiill towards her, giv- 
 ing her as he retired backward a thoufand tender a^ 
 -dieus. This puts me in mind of an Arabian at Tu- 
 nis ^ where I was fent for the execution of a treaty 
 cf peace, who would not deliver up a mare we had 
 * A village in PaleiUnc, 
 
 bought
 
 Po E T R y and Pa i n t i n g. 399 
 
 bought for the king^Jiiul When he put the money in 
 his bag^ he cafi his eyes upon the mare, and began 
 to ivcep. Is it poJfibU\ faid he, that after having 
 bred thee in my houfe ivith fo much care, and after 
 having had fo many kind fervices of thee ^ in requital 
 I fhould deliver thee up in Jlavery to the Franks ? 
 iV(9, my darlings my life^ Vll be guilty of no fucb 
 crime. Upon 'which he filing the tnoney upon the ta- 
 ble, and embracing and kijfing his mare^ he carried 
 her back ivith him. The relations of the oriental 
 countries are full of (lories of this fort. But it is 
 not every where believed, neither has it been always 
 a received opinion, that brutes are nothing more 
 than mere machines. This we muft own, is one of 
 rhedifcoveries made by the new philofophy, without 
 the help of experiments, and by mere ftrength of rea- 
 foning. As for its progrefs, 'tis a thing that every 
 body knows, fo that I Hiall fay nothing concerning it. 
 
 'Tis not fufficient to know how to write well, in 
 cruer to be able to give a judicious criticifm of 
 ancient and foreign poems, one muft have alfo a 
 knowledge of the fubjeds they treat of. A thing that 
 might have been very ufual in their time, and com- 
 mon in their country, may be contrary neverthelefs 
 to probability and reafon in the eyes of thofe cenfors, 
 who have no knowledge but of their own times and 
 country. Claudian is fo furprized that the mules 
 'hould be obedient to the voice of the mule-driver, 
 th;it he thinks he can draw an argument from thence 
 to prove the truth of the hillory of Orpheus. 
 
 Miraris f: voce feras phicaverit Orpheus, 
 C'.Wi p'-Qnas pccudei Gallica terba rcgant. 
 
 ^Tis
 
 '400 Critical Reflections on 
 
 *Tis very probable that Claudian would have had 
 fome difficulty to give credit to a thing, which the 
 inhabitants of Provence hardly take notice of, had 
 he never quitted TEgypt, the country in which he is 
 fuppofed to have been born. Perhaps his country- 
 men cenfured him for tranfgrefling in this point 
 againft the rules of probability. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 T^hat the remarks of critics on particular poems 
 do 7iot gi'-oe people a difreliJJ: of them -, and that 
 lohen they lay them ajide^ 'tis only in order to 
 read better performances of the fame kind. 
 
 BE it as it will with refpeft to thofc faults, which 
 paft and future critics have and Ihall find in 
 the writings of the ancients •, they will never be able 
 to prejudice the public againft the reading of them. 
 They will continue to be read and admired, 'till fu- 
 ture poets produce fomething better. It was not 
 our geometrical critics that gave our anceftors a dif- 
 tafte for Ronfard's poems, and made them lay him 
 afide •, but poems of a far more engaging nature 
 than thofe of Ronfard's. It was Moliere's comedies 
 that put us out of conceit with Scarron and other 
 poets that preceded him ; and not the books that 
 we.-e wrote in order to dete(5l the defeds of thofe 
 pieces. In cafe we fliould be entertained hereafter 
 with better performances than thofe which are alrea- 
 dy
 
 Poetry iind VkHht i n 6. 40 r 
 
 dy in the hands of thepuWIc, there will be nooccafion 
 for critics to come iihd adrift' u^ to c(tfk good for better. 
 People do not want to be irtftrdfled with refpeft Z) 
 the merit of two ^X)ems, as concerning that of two 
 fyllems of philofophy. They jud^-e a^d form their 
 difcernments of poems by the help of their fenfes, 
 much better than critics with the affiftance of their 
 rules. Thofe who have a mind to dimiiiifh the repu- 
 tation which the public has for Virgil, and to deprive 
 him of his readers, muft favor us lirft with a better 
 poem than the /Eneid. They muft foar iiigher than 
 Virgil and his companions, not as the wren that 
 placed himfelf on the back of the eagle, to take his 
 flight when the bird of Jupiter grew tired, in order 
 to tell him infukingly that he had furpafTed him in 
 the heigth of his flight. Let them do it, with the 
 ftrength of their own wings. 
 
 Let them chufc therelore a new fubje6l from mo- 
 dern hiflory, in which they cannot borrow the in- 
 ventions, nor the poetic phrafes of the ancients, but 
 muft draw the poetic ftyle and fi6lion from the fund 
 of their own genius. Let them write an epic poem 
 on the deftrudion of the league by Henry IV, in 
 which the converfion of this prince, followed by 
 the reduftion of Paris, would be naturally the un- 
 ravelling of the piece. A man that has a fufficient 
 ilrength of genius for poetry and is able to extra6t 
 from his own fund all the beauties neceflTai-y for fuf- 
 taining a grand fiction, would find his account 
 much better in treating a fubjecl' of this fort, in 
 which there would be no danger of clafliing with 
 any other writer, than in handling fubje^ts taken 
 irom tabic, or from the dreek .md Roman hiftoiies. 
 
 Vol. II. Dd Inlli^ad
 
 402 Critical Reflections on 
 
 Inftead of borrowing therefore their heroes from the 
 Greeks and Latins, let them venture to take them 
 from our kings and princes. 
 
 Plomer did not fing the battles of the Ethiopians 
 or the /Egyptians, but thofe of his countrymen. 
 Virgil and Lucan took their fubjedls from the Ro- 
 man hidory. Let our poets therefore attempt to 
 fing thofe things we have before our eyes, fuch 
 as our combats, feafls, and ceremonies. Let them 
 entertain us with poetic defcriptions of the build- 
 ings, rivers, and countries we fee every day, 
 and whofe originals we can compare, in a man- 
 ner, with the imitation. With what grandeur and 
 pathos would not Virgil have treated an apparition 
 of St Lewis to Henry IV, the day before the battle 
 of Yvri, when this prince, the honor of the defen- 
 dants of our holy king, made profefTion as yet of 
 the fdith of Geneva ? With what elegance would he 
 have dt'fcribed the virtues in white robes, condu6led 
 by clemency, coming to open to this great prince 
 the gates of Paris } The interefl which every bo- 
 dy would find in this fubjed: from different mo- 
 tives, would be a fure pledge of the public atten-? 
 tion to the work. But the reafons we have given 
 in thefe refledliuns, together with paft experience, are 
 fufF.cient to convince us, that the pofTibility of writ- 
 ing a better epic poem in French than the lE- 
 neid, is only a metaphyseal poflibility, fuch as that 
 of moving the earth by giving a fixt point without 
 the globe. 
 
 As long as our modern writers do not excel, 
 nor even equal the ancients, people will always 
 continue to read and admire them, and this 
 
 veneratioi^
 
 Poetry ^;z^ Painting.' 403 
 
 veneration will continually increafe without any 
 danger of being diminifhed by the malicious at- 
 tempts of envy. We do not admire their works 
 becaufe of their having been produced in certain 
 ages, but 'tis thefe ages we refpe6l for giving birth 
 to fuch great performances. We do not admire the 
 Iliad, the J£nt\d, and fome other writings, on ac- 
 count of their having been wrote a long time ago ; 
 but becaufe we find them admirable when we perufe 
 them, and thofe that underftood them, have in all 
 ages admired them •, in fine, becaufe a long feries of 
 ages is elapfed, and yet no fucceeding rival has rofe 
 up to equal thofe authors in this kind of poetry. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 T/jat there are profejjions^ in ivhich fuccefs de^ 
 pends more upon genius^ than upon the fuc- 
 coiir which may be received from art ; and 
 others on the co?itrary in ivhich if depends 
 more upon art than genius. We ought not 
 to infer that one age furpajfes another in 
 profeffions of the firji kind^ becaufe it excels 
 them in the jecond. 
 
 WH AT has been above faid with refpccft 
 to poets, hiftorims, and excellent ora- 
 tors, mud not be undcrilood of all th-j writers 
 ut antiquity. For example, the ancient writings on 
 
 D d 2 thofe
 
 4<^4 Critical Reflections on 
 
 tliolc fcienccs, whoie merit tonHlts in extent pf 
 knowledge, -avc not rujKTior ro ilich as the moderns 
 have wrote concerning tliole very lubjccts. I ihouid 
 even be as little furprized at a man's fliewing no 
 ligns of admiration at the extent of the knowledge 
 of the ancients, who had taken his idea of their me- 
 rit from their works on phyfics, botany, geography, 
 and aftronomy, bccaufc his profefTion obliged \i\\T\ 
 to make his principal lludy of thofe fciences •, as at 
 feeing a perfon who had formed his idea of the 
 merit of x.\\tz ancients from their works of hiflory, 
 eloquence, and poetry, filled with admiration for 
 thofe great originals. The ancients were ignorant 
 in the abovenientioned fciences, of a great many 
 things which we are well acquainted with ; and led 
 on by the natural itch, which men liave of carrying 
 their dccifions beyond the limits of their certain 
 knowledge, they tell, as I have already qbfeFYcd, 
 into an infinite number of errors. 
 
 I'hus an aftronomer in our days ur.dcrllands better 
 than Ptolemy thofe very things which this mathematici- 
 an knew, and belides he knovvs all the difcoveries which 
 have been made fince the time ot the Antqninns's, 
 cither by the help of voyages, or by the alliftance of 
 the telefcope. Were Ptolemy to come back into the 
 world, he would become a difciple to the obferva- 
 tory. The fame may be faid of anatomifts, naviga- 
 tors, botanifts, and of all fuch as profefs thofe fciences, 
 whofe merit confifts more in knowing than in invent- 
 ing and producing. But there are other protefTions, 
 in which the laft comers have not the fame advan- 
 tage over their predeceflbrs, by reafon that the pro- 
 grtfs they admit of, depends more on the ta- 
 lent
 
 Poetry and Pa i n t i n g. 405 
 
 lent of inventing, and the natural genius of the 
 perfon that pradilcs them, than on the flate of 
 perfedion in which thde profeiTions are, when the 
 perfon that exercifes them, finillies his career. 
 Wherefore the man born with the happiell ge- 
 nius, makes the greateft progrefs in thele pro* 
 feffion?, independent of the degree of pertedion in 
 which they are when he praftifcs them. 'Tis 
 fnougii for him that the profeffion he embraces 
 be reduced to art, and that the pradice of this 
 art has fome kind of method ; nay, he may 
 invent the art, and digeft the method himfelf The 
 fircngth of his genius, which enables him to 
 guefs and imagine an infinite number of things 
 above the reach of ordinary capacities, gives him 
 a great( r advantage over men of common under- 
 ftandings, who fhall profefs this very art after it 
 has been brought to perfeftion ; than they can have 
 over him by the knowledge of new difcoveries, and 
 by the new lights with which the art is inriched, 
 when they come to profefs it in their turn. The 
 affiflance which may be derived from the perfec- 
 tion, to which one of the arts here mentioned Jias 
 attained, cannot lead ordinary capacities as far, as 
 the fupcriority of natural lights is able to conduft 
 a man of genius. 
 
 Such are the profcITions of a painter, a poct^ 
 a general, a mufician, an or.ttor, and even that 
 of a mufician. Men become great generals and 
 eminent orators, as fuon as they pradife thcfe 
 profelFions with a pro{)er genius, let the fhate of 
 the arts that inllrue't them be what it will. l"he 
 2 merit
 
 4o6 Cri TicAL Reflections o;? 
 
 merit of illuftrious artifts and of great men in 
 all rhe profeflions abovementioned, depends prin- 
 cipally on the portion of genius they have brought 
 with them into the world ; whereas that of a bota- 
 nift, a natural philofopher, an aftronomer, and a 
 chemifl, depends chiefly on the ftate of perfec- 
 tion, to which fortuitous difcoveries and other peo- 
 ple's labor have advanced the fcience he intends to 
 cultivate. Hiftory confirms what I have afl!erted 
 here, with refped to all thofe profeflions, which 
 principally depend on genius. 
 
 Among the abovecited profeflions, that of phy- 
 fic feems to be the moft: dependent on the fl:ate 
 in which a perfon finds it, when he begins to pro- 
 fefs it. And yet when we enter into a ft:ri6t in- 
 quiry concerning this art, we find that its opera- 
 tions depend more on the particular genius, in 
 proportion to which every phyfician benefits by- 
 other people's knowledge as well as by his own 
 experience, than on the fl;ate of phyfic, when he 
 begins to profefs it. 
 
 The parts of phyflc are, the knowledge of the 
 difl:empers, the knowledge alfo of the remedies, and 
 the application of the remedy fuitable to the dif- 
 temper. The difcoveries that have been made fince 
 Hippocrates's time in anatomy and chemift:ry, fa- 
 cilitate very much the knowledge of the difeafcs. 
 We are likewife acquainted in our days with an in- 
 finite multitude of remedies which Hippocrates never 
 fo much as heard of, and the number of which confi- 
 derably furpafl^es that of the remedies which he knew 
 and we have lofl:. Chemifl:ry has fupplied us with 
 
 part
 
 P o E TRY and Pa I N T I N G. 407 
 
 part of thefe new remedies, and for the other we 
 are indebttd to the countries difcovered to the 
 Europeans within thefe two centuries. Our gen- 
 tlemen of the faculty are agreed neverthelefs, that 
 Hippocrates's aphorifms are the work of a man, 
 who far furpafies, taking him all together, any of 
 our modern phyficians. They do not pretend to 
 equal, but are fatisfied with admiring his prac- 
 tice and predi(ftions with refpe6l to the courfe 
 and the conclufion of diforders, tho' he mp.de 
 them with fewer fuccors than our prefent phyfi- 
 cians have for making their prognoftics. There 
 is not one of them that would fo much as hefi- 
 tate, were he to be afked whether he fhould chufe 
 to be attended by Hippocrates in an acute dif- 
 temper, (even fuppofing the extent of Hippocra- 
 tes's knowledge to be as limited as when he 
 wrote) than by the fkilfulleft phyfician of London 
 or Paris. They would all prefer to be in the 
 hands of Plippocrates. This is becaufe the talent 
 of difcerning the temperament of the patient, the 
 nature ot the air, its prtfent temperature, the 
 fymptoms of the diforder, as well as the inftindt 
 which makes a perfon hit upon a fuitable remedy, 
 and the critical moment of applying it, depend 
 upon genius. Hippocrates v/as born with a fu- 
 perior genius for phyfic, which gave him a greater 
 advantage in practice over modern phyncian<^, than 
 all the new difcoveries are able to give the latter 
 over Hippocrates. 
 
 'Tis vulgirly thought, that were Ca^fir to 
 
 come back into the world, and to fee our firc- 
 
 ^ arms
 
 4o8 Critical Ri!:flections o?t 
 
 arms and modern fortifications, and in (hort all 
 our offcnfive and defenfive weapons, he would be 
 exceedingly fiirprized. He would be obliged, fay 
 they, to recommence his apprenticefbip, and even 
 to make a very long one before he would be ca- 
 pable of leading two thoufand men into the field. 
 Not at all, faid marfhal Vauban, who was fo much 
 the more fenfible of the flrength of Caefar's genius, 
 as he had a o;reat lliare of it himfelf. Cfefar would 
 be able to learn in lefs than fix months all that 
 we know ; and as foon as he would have learnt 
 the ufe of our arms, and been acquainted, as it were, 
 with the nature of our arrows and fhields, his ge- 
 nius would apply them perhaps to ufes which wc 
 do not fo much as think of. 
 
 The nrt of painting includes at prefent an infi- 
 nite multitude ot obfervations and experiments, which 
 were unknown in Raphael's time -, yet we do not 
 lee that any of our painters have equalled that 
 amiable genius. Thus, on fuppofition that we 
 know fomething relating to the art of difpofing 
 the plan of a poem, and of giving a decency 
 of manners to the perfonages, which the ancients 
 were ftrangers to ; ftill they mud have excelled 
 us, if it be true that they had a fuperior geni- 
 us ; and this fo much the more as 'tis certain that 
 the languages in which they compofed, were more 
 adapted to poetry than ours. We perhaps fhall 
 commit lefs faults than they, but we fliall never be 
 able to reach that degree of excellence which they 
 attained. Our eleves will be better inftru6led than 
 theirs, but our mafters will have far inferior abiHties.
 
 P o E T R Y mid Pa i n t i k g. 405^ 
 
 Many of thefe great natural genius' s^ fays one of 
 the beft Englifh poets ^, that were never difci- 
 plined and broken by rules of art^ are to be found 
 among the ancients^ and in -particular among thofe 
 of the more eaflern -parts of the world. Homer has 
 innumerable flights, that Virgil was not able to 
 reach., and in the Old 'Teflameyit we find feveral 
 paffages more elevated and fuhlime than any in 
 Homer. 
 
 In fad, Racine appears a gi^eater poet in his 
 Athaha, than in any of his other tragedies, on- 
 ly becaufe his fubjed; being taken from the Old 
 Teflament, it authorized him to imbeliifh his ver- 
 fes with the bold eft figures and the mod pom- 
 pous images of fcripture •, whereas he was allow- 
 ed to make but a very fober ufe of them in 
 his profane pieces. People liftened with refpedt 
 to the oriental ftyle when fpoken by the per- 
 fonages of Athalia, and were infinitely charmed 
 with it. In fine, fays the abovementioned Eng- 
 lifh author in fome other place, we may be ex- 
 after than the ancients, but v/e cannot be fo 
 fublimc. I know not thro' what fatality all the 
 great poets of the modern nations are agreed in 
 preferring the compofitions of the ancients to any 
 of their own. Indeed, 'tis acknowledging our in- 
 capacity of writing in the tafl:e of the ancients, to 
 endeavour to degrade them. Quintilian '^ obfervcs, 
 
 " Spcdator. N°. i6o. 3. Sept. 171 1. 
 
 '' iilu:ii ille ti'jn dtjViterat incfJTne. cum divn-fi fihi confjiis 
 ger.eri:, placcic Je in diccvdo ^ojfc ii: rjiuhu^ ii'.i placcroit, dif- 
 fld,rtt. C^-INT. In!t. 1. 19. 
 
 V o L, 11. E c tiiat
 
 4IO Critical Reflections en 6cc." 
 
 that Seneca continually difparaged thofc great men 
 who had preceded him, becaufe he perceived that 
 their writings and his were of fo different tafte, 
 that either one or the other mud be difagre- 
 able to his cotemporaries. In fa6l, it was im- 
 poflible for them to have any value for the tinfel 
 and pointed ftyle of Seneca's writings, which 
 feemed to forebode a decline of genius ; as long 
 as they continued to admire the noble and fim- 
 ple (lyle of the writers of the Auguftan age. 
 
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 1\ . I'oliiic.il Maxinr. of the Sr.itr ofUoHani: comprclicnding 
 fi ucncr-l View of tlir civil CJovfriinu-iil of thnt Rcpubltt, 
 niuVtlic- Pruiiiplc"! on wljicli it is fouiiilrd ; the Nature, RiTc, 
 aiul I'rogrcis oJ ihc I'onimcrcc of itj Subjcdtj, and of llicir true 
 Jiitcicll-. witli irlpctU to all tluir Neighbour;. Ky 'John dr 
 Witt, l\ iiiioiiaty of llollanri. Traiidatcd from the Dutch (Jri 
 |Mnal, whuh «oiir.-\iiis many curious rafl.ijrrs not to lie found ih 
 any of the Fnuih Vcrfions. 'I'ouhidi is prefixed, Uifloncal 
 MrmoiiN of the two illulliiouh ISrolhtrs Cotficliui and John de 
 If if I. Piuc 6 i. 
 
 VI. Thr Philofopliiinl Miliary and Memoirs of the Royal 
 Aradrmy of SrirnccH at Paru : Or, An Abriilv>mtnt of all the 
 I'.iprfi ii-latnij, to Natural I'liilofophy, which have bcrn ptib- 
 lilhi-d by the iMt-mbrrs of th it iliullriods Society. Ilhillrntrd 
 with t'-'pprr Plates. The whole trnndued and abridged hy 
 7 !>/; Muifyn, F. R. S. Proli-(li>r oC Bor.itiy in the Univerfity 
 *\\' (.mmhr;il\ir ; atul F.p'')ntm CJ'iimhrf, Auiliorof the Univerlal 
 i)ickion.iry of .'\rt'. and Seiencci. Five Volumes, .^to. 
 
 VH. Trru'rh into Turl:,\ ; containinji the moll accurate Ac- 
 count of the Turk*', aud nciehb()urint» Nations, ihcir Manner?, 
 Cullonr, Kcli?:ion. Pohcy, RkIic^. tfc 'I'larOafed from the 
 OrijMiia! I.ati:i of ihc Le-irned ./.</■. Uajhrquiut . \r-nu. Price 3 >. 
 bound. 
 
 Vrn. A Cieiieral and ('nniplcat Tin'.tife on all i!u- Pireafro 
 iiuidt-nt to Clnldrcn, from iluir Birih to il>e e\<{<: ol Fifteen. 
 By John Jfiiuc, M. I). Rcj»iu!i I'rofellor of McdKinc at Ptvi-, 
 niitl Chief Phyliciaii to hi-* prcfcnt Majcdy the Kiii^; of Fcfi •, 
 &(.. ^^l•o. Pi ice 3 ». ( ./ 
 
 IX. An Appendix to the Ooi'tiinc o( AnTuiicc. cont.-'ir- 
 i.-,^ loine Rriu.i.k. on Mr. Dr M.ri;r\ Book oil the fame S'.b- 
 )ci.\ Ih :■'..' Price (jJ
 
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