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AN ESSAY ON CRITICISM.

WRITTEN IN THE YEAR 1709.

Si quid neristi rectius iftis

Candidus imperti; fi non, his utere mecum.

HORACE.

CONTENTS OF THE ESSAY ON CRITICISM.

PART 1.

INTRODUCTION. That 'tis as great a fault to judge

ill, as to write ill, and a more dangerous one to
the public, ver. 1.

That a true Tafte is as rare to be found as a true
Genius, ver. 9 to 18.

That moft men are born with fome Tafte, but
fpoiled by falfe Education, ver. 19 to 25.
The multitude of Critics and caufes of them, ver.
26 to 45.

That we are to ftudy our own Tafte, and know
the limits of it, ver. 46 to 67.

Nature the best guide of judgment, ver. 68 to 87.
Improved by Art and Rules, which are but me-
thodized Nature, ver. 88.

Rules derived from the Practice of the Ancient
Poets, ver. 98 to 110.

That therefore the Ancients are neceffary to be
ftudied by a Critic, particularly Homer and
Virgil, ver. 120 to 138.

Of Licences, and the use of them by the Ancients,
ver. 140 to 180.

Reverence due to the Ancients, and praise of them,
ver. 181, &c.

PART II. Ver. 203, &c.
Caufes hindring a true Judgment. 1. Pride, ver.
208. 2 Imperfect Learning, ver. 215. 3:

233 to 288. Critics in Wit, Language, Verfi-
fication, only, 288, 305, 339, &c. 4. Being
too hard to please, or too apt to admire, ver.
384. 5. Partiality-too much love to a Sect,—
to the Ancients or Moderns, ver. 394. 6. Pre-
judice or Prevention, ver. 408. 7. Singularity,
ver. 424. 8. Inconftancy, ver. 430. 9. Party
Spirit, ver. 452, &c. 10. Envy, ver. 466. A-
gainst Envy, and in praife of Good-nature, ver.
508. &c. When Severity is chiefly to be used
by Critics, ver. 526, &c.

PART III. Ver. $68, &c.
Rules for the Conduct of Manners in a Critic. r.
Candour, ver. 563. Modefty, ver. 556. Good-
breeding, ver. $72. Sincerity and Freedom of
Advice, ver. 578. 2. When one's Counfel is
to be reftrained, ver. 584. Character of an in-
corrigible Poet, ver. 600; and of an impertinent
Critic, ver. 610, &c. Character of a good Cri-
tic, ver. 629. The History of Criticifm, and
Characters of the beft Critics: Ariftotle, ver.
645. Horace, ver. 653. Dionyfius, ver. 665.
Petronius, ver. 667. Quintilian, ver. 670.
Longinus, ver. 675. Of the Decay of Criti-
cifm, and its Revival. Erafmus, ver. 693. Vi-
da, ver. 705. Boileau, ver. 714. Lord Rof-
common, &c. ver. 725. Conclufion.

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81

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PART 1.

INTRODUCTION. That 'tis as great a fault to judge
ill, as to write ill, and a more dangerous one to
the public, ver. 1.

That a true Tafte is as rare to be found as a true
Genius, ver. 9 to 18.

That most men are born with fome Tafte, but
fpoiled by falfe Education, ver. 19 to 25.
The multitude of Critics and caufes of them, ver.
26 to 45.

That we are to ftudy our own Tafte, and know
the limits of it, ver. 46 to 67.

Nature the best guide of judgment, ver. 68 to 87.
Improved by Art and Rules, which are but me-
thodized Nature, ver. 88.

Rules derived from the Practice of the Ancient
Poets, ver. 98 to 110.

That therefore the Ancients are neceffary to be
ftudied by a Critic, particularly Homer and
Virgil, ver. 120 to 138.

Of Licences, and the use of them by the Ancients,
ver. 140 to 180.

Reverence due to the Ancients, and praise of them,
ver. 181, &c.

PART II. Ver. 203, &c.
Caufes hindring a true Judgment. 1. Pride, vér.
208. 2 Imperfect Learning, ver. 215.

3.

233 to 288. Critics in Wit, Language, Verfi-
fication, only, 288, 305, 339, &c. 4. Being
too hard to please, or too apt to admire, ver.
384. 5. Partiality-too much love to a Sect,-
to the Ancients or Moderns, ver. 394. 6. Pre-
judice or Prevention, ver. 408. 7. Singularity,
ver. 424. 8. Inconftancy, ver. 430. 9. Party
Spirit, ver. 452, &c. 10. Envy, ver. 466. A-
gainst Envy, and in praise of Good-nature, ver.
508. &c. When Severity is chiefly to be used
by Critics, ver. 526, &c.

PART III. Ver. 568, &c.
Rules for the Conduct of Manners in a Critic. t.
Candour, ver. 563. Modefty, ver. 556. Good-
breeding, ver. 572. Sincerity and Freedom of
Advice, ver. 578. 2. When one's Counfel is
to be restrained, ver. 584. Character of an in-
corrigible Poet, ver. 600; and of an impertinent
Critic, ver. 610, &c. Character of a good Cri-
tic, ver. 629. The Hiftory of Criticifm, and
Characters of the best Critics: Ariftotle, ver.
645. Horace, ver. 653. Dionyfius, ver. 665.
Petronius, ver. 667. Quintilian, ver. 670.
Longinus, ver. 675. Of the Decay of Criti-
cifm, and its Revival. Erafmus, ver. 693. Vi-
da, ver. 705. Boileau, ver. 714. Lord Rof-
common, &c. ver. 725. Conclufion.

ESSAY ON CRITICISM.

'Tis hard to fay, if greater want of skill
Appear in writing or in judging ill;
But of the two, lefs dangerous is th' offence
To tire our patience, than miflead our fense.
Some few in that, but numbers err in this,
Ten cenfure wrong for one who writes amifs;
A fool might once himself alone expofe,
Now one in verfe makes many more in profe.
'Tis with our judgments as our watches; none
Go juft alike, yet each believes his own.
In poets as true genius is but rare,
True taste as feldom is the critic's share;
Both muft alike from Heaven derive their light,
Thefe born to judge, as well as thofe to write.
Let fuch teach others who themselves excel,
And cenfure freely who have written well:
Authors are partial to their wit, 'tis true;
But are not critics to their judgment too?

IC

Yet, if we look more clofely, we fhall find
Moft have the feeds of judgment in their mind: 20
Nature affords at least a glimmering light; [right,
The lines, though touch'd but faintly, are drawn
But as the flightest sketch, if juftly trac'd,
ls by ill colouring but the more difgrac'd,
So by falfe learning is good fenfe defac'd:
Some are bewilder'd in the maze of schools,
And fome made coxcombs nature meant but fools.
In search of wit these lose their common sense,
And then turn critics in their own defence:
Each burns alike, who can, or cannot write,
Or with a rivals, or an eunuch's spite.
All fools have still an itching to deride,
And fain would be upon the laughing fide.
If Mævius fcribble in Apollo's fpite,
There are who judge still worse than he can write.
Some have at first for wits, then poets paft;
Turn'd critics next, and prov'd plain fools at last.
Some neither can for wits nor critics pafs,
As heavy mules are neither horfe nor afs.

VARIATIONS.

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Thofe half-learn'd witlings, numerous in our ifle,
As half-form'd infects on the banks of Nile; 41
Unfinish'd things, one knows not what to call,
Their generation 's fo equivocal:

To tell them would a hundred tongues require,
Or one vain wit's, that might a hundred tire.
But you, who feek to give and merit fame,
And justly bear a critic's noble name,
Be fure yourself and your own reach to know,
How far your genius, tafte, and learning, go;
Launch not beyond your depth, but be discreet, 50
And mark that point where fenfe and dulnefs meet.
Nature to all things fix'd the limits fit,
And wifely curb'd proud man's pretending wit:
As on the land while here the ocean gains,
In other parts it leaves wide fandy plains;
Thus in the foul while memory prevails,
The folid power of understanding fails;
Where beams of warm imagination play;
The memory's foft figures melt away.
One science only will one genius fit;
So vaft is art, fo narrow human wit:
Not only bounded to peculiar arts,
But oft in thofe confin'd to fingle parts.
Like kings, we lofe the conquefts gain'd before,
By vain ambition ftill to make them more:
Each might his feveral province well command,
Would all but ftoop to what they understand.

60

70

Firft follow nature; and your judgment frame
30 By her just standard, which is ftill the fame :
Unerring NATURE, fill divinely bright,
One clear, unchang'd, and univerfal light,
Life, force, and beauty, muft to all impart,
At once the fource, and end, and test of art,
Art from that fund each juft fupply provides;
Works without thew, and without pomp prefides,
In fome fair body thus th' informing foul
With fpirits feeds, with vigour fills the whole,
Each motion guides, and every nerve fuftains;
Itself unfeen, but in th' effects remains.
Some, to whom Heaven in wit has been profufe,
Want as much more, to turn it to its ufe; 81

Between ver. 25 and 26 were thefe lines, fince For wit and judgment often are at ftrife,

omitted by the Author:

Many are fpoil'd by that pedantic throng,

Who with great pains teach youth to reafonwrong:
Tutors, like virtuofos, oft inclin'd

By ftrange transfufion to improve the mind,
Draw off the fenfe we have, to pour in new:
Which yet, with all their skill, they ne'er could do.
Ver. 30, 31. In the first edition thus:
Thofe hate as rivals all that write; and others
But envy wits, as eunuchs envy lovers.

Ver. 32. "All fools," in the first edition: "All
fuch," in edition, 1717; finee restored.

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Though meant each others aid, like man and wife.

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90

ICO

'Tis more to guide, than fpur the mufe's steed;
Refrain his fury, than provoke his speed:
The winged courfer, like a generous horse,
Shows moft true mettle when you check his courfe.
Thofe rules of old difcover'd, not devis'd,
Are nature ftill, but nature methodis'd:
Nature, like liberty, is but reftrain'd
By the fame laws which firft herself ordain'd.
Hear how learn'd Greece her useful rules endites,
When to reprefs, and when indulge our flights:
High on Parnaffus' top her fons the fhew'd,
And pointed out those arduous paths they trod :
Held from afar, aloft, th' immortal prize,
And urg'd the rest by equal steps to rife.
Juft precepts thus from great example given,
She drew from them what they deriv'd from heaven.
The generous critic fann'd the poet's fire,
And taught the world with reafon to admire.
Then criticifm the mufe's handmaid prov'd,
To drefs her charms, and make her more belov'd:
But following wits from that intention stray'd,
Who could not win the mistress woo'd the maid;
Against the poets their own arms they turn'd,
Sure to hate moft the men from whom they learn'd.
So modern 'pothecaries taught the art
By doctors bills to play the doctor's part,
Bold in the practice of mistaken rules,
Prefcribe, apply, and call their masters fools.
Some on the leaves of ancient authors prey,
Nor time nor moths e'er fpoil'd fo much as they :
Some drily plain, without invention's aid,
Write dull receipts how poems may be made.
These leave the fenfe, their learning to difplay,
And thofe explain the meaning quite away. [teer,
You then whofe judgment the right course would
Know well each Ancient's proper character:
His fable, fubje&, fcope in every page;
Religion, country, genius of his age:
Without all these at once before your eyes,
Cavil you may, but never criticife.

Be Homer's works your ftudy and delight
Read them by day, and meditate by night,;

VARIATIONS.

110

120

Ver. 90. Ed. I. Nature, like monarchy, &c.
Ver. 92.
First learned Greece juft precepts did endite,
When to reprefs, and when indulge our flight.
Ver. 97.

From great examples ufeful rules were given.
After ver. 104, this line is omitted:
Set up themselves, and drove a feparate trade.
Ver. 116. Ed. 1. Thefe loft, &c.
Ver. 117. And these explain'd, &c.

Ver. 123. Ed. r. You may confound, but, &c.
Ver. 123. Cavil you may, but never criticife.

The Author after this verfe originally inferted the following, which he has however omitted in all the editions:

Zoilus, had thefe been known, without a name
Had dy'd, and Perault ne'er been damn'd to fame :
The fenfe of found antiquity had reign'd,
And facred Homer yet been unprofan'd.
None e'er had thought his comprehenfive mind
To modern customs, modern rules contin'd;

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And trace the mufes upward to their spring;
Still with itfelf compar'd, his text perufe ;
And let your comment be the Mantuan muse.
When first young Maro, in his boundless
mind

A work t'outlaft immortal Rome defign'd, 131
Perhaps he fecm'd above the critic's law,
And but from nature's fountains fcorn'd to draw:
But when t' examine every part he came,
Nature and Homer were, he found, the fame.
Convinc'd, amaz'd, he checks the bold defign;
And rules as ftrict his labour'd work confine,
As if the Stagyrite o'erlook'd each line.
Learn hence for ancient rules a just esteem;
To copy nature, is to copy them.

Some beauties yet no precepts can declare,
For there's a happiness as well as care.
Mufic refembles poetry; in each

140

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Are nameless graces which no methods teach, And which a mafter-hand alone can reach. If, where the rules not far enough extend, (since rules were made but to promote their end),

150

Some lucky licenfe answer to the full
Th' intent propos'd, that license is a rule.
Thus Pegalus, a nearer way to take,
May boldly deviate from the common track;
From vulgar bounds with brave disorder part,
And fnatch a grace beyond the reach of art,
Which, without paffing through the judgment,
gains

The heart and all its end at once attains.
In profpects thus, fome objects please our eyes,
Which out of nature's common order rife,
The shapelefs rock, or hanging precipice
Great wits fometimes may gioriously ofend,
And rife to faults true critics dare not mend. 160
But though the ancients thus their rules invade
(As kings difpenie with laws themfelves have
made);

Moderns, beware! or, if you must offend
Again the precept, ne'er tranfgrefs its end:
Let it be feldom, and compell'd by need;
And have, at leaft, their precedent to plead.
The critic cife proceeds without remorse.
Seizes your fame, and puts his laws in force.

Thence form your bring.

VARIATIONS.
Ver. 126
judgment, thence your notions
Ver 130.
When fr young Maro fung of kings and wars,
Ere warning Phoebus touch'd his trembling ears.
Ver. 130. Ed. 1. When firth great Maro, &c.
Ver. 136.

Convinc'd, amaz'd, he check'd the bold defign;
And did his work to rules as ftri& confine.
Ver. 145. Ed. 1. And which a master's hand, &c.
After ver. 158. the first edition reads,

But care in poetry must still be had,
It afks difcretion ev'n in running mad;
And though the ancients, &c.

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