A LOGICAL DISQUISITION ON EXALTED GENIUS. 121 



lie in something like a garret, since the tyranny of custom deprived 

 them of that satisfaction during their lives. The sentiments of such 

 renowned men are sufficient to balance against a world of envious, 

 ignorant, and purse-big and proud disputants and saucy cavillers ; 

 who have succeeded, however, too well and too often in their designs 

 against literature by the attacks they have made on its ancient and 

 venerable citadels : so that " garrets" are now (ad referendum) 

 become the dread of vain fools from the empty-headed and 

 tricking publisher, down to the "oldest coxcomb*' of a bookseller, 

 and the jest of small wits; to all whose sneers (for they deserve not 

 the name of reasons), besides the examples I have just quoted, I 

 will oppose this one consideration, that will, beyond dispute, evince 

 their high and intellectual parentage and dignity to any reasonable 

 and sensible man : which is, that poets (whom all the world allow 

 to be an altitudinal generation^ have fixed their residence in them 

 from time immemorial. In this they only follow the example of 

 their patronesses the Muses, who are always represented as inha- 

 biting the highest mountains in Greece : a fact that proves, that if 

 they should vouchsafe to come under a roof, a " garret " would 

 undoubtedly be their choice. But to set this point in a still clearer 

 light, it will be proper to consider, that the ancient writers, the bards 

 of fame and triumph particularly, often veiled their thoughts in 

 allegory, especially when the matter was of so dry and unpoetical a 

 nature, that they despaired of making it shine otherwise. So if 

 they would describe a poet scratching his head and biting his nails, 

 for a whole night, in his garret : instead of speaking of it as I now 

 do, they would suppose him led inspired to the " mountains" of 

 the Muses,* and there labouring under the influence of GREAT 

 APOLLO. 



-Magnum si pectore possit, 



Excussisse Deum 



But what will effectually strengthen this opinion (that mountains, in 

 most authors, must be understood to mean garrets) is. that they are 

 almost invariably represented as the habitations of the learned. 

 Apollo had his Cynthus, Orpheus his Hsemus, Endymion the astro- 

 nomer his Latmos, and Horace represents Pindar as similarly 

 situated. 



" Monte decurrens velut amnis." 



These last I do not urge, albeit, as positive proofs, yet I should not 

 be displeased if my reader had a mind to think them such : and this 

 f am persuaded he will be inclined to do, if he has read those excel- 

 lent books that prove, with so much (some will have it) honour to 

 religion and reason, that Bacchus is not only Moses, but Noah, 

 Samson, Hercules, and, what is as odd, and irreconcilable to 

 my mind and spirit, that Orpheus is king David ! I know I might, 

 like the authors of the books named, have raised myself a character 

 of great erudition, by quoting Greek and Hebrew in abundance, if, 

 like them, I chose to be admired at the price of not being under- 



* Aonas in Montes ut duxerit una sororura. 

 M.M. No. 8. Q 



