Doctor Graham seems to think there is no imitation where there 

 is no repetition both of thought and expression. But he should have 

 recollected that imitators often wish to pass for originals, and that it 

 is part of their art to embellish the thoughts which they borrow, and 

 give them such new colouring and construction as will best serve for 

 disguise. We do not suppose, with Doctor Graham, that Mr. Laing 

 intended any burlesque on criticism, when he said that Macpherson 

 imitated Tibullus as well as Milton, in the following passage: " Loveli- 

 ness was around her as light, her steps were the music of songs." 

 And again, "awe moved around her stately steps, like two stars were 

 her radiant eyes. If on the heath she moved, her breast was whiter 

 than the down of Cana ; if on the sea-beat shore, than the foam of 

 the rolling ocean." 



Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye, 



In every gesture dignity and love. MiLTON. 



lUam quidquid agit, quoque vestigia movet, 



Componit furtim, subsequiturque decor. 

 Seu solvit crines, fusis decet esse capillis : 



Seu compsit, comtis est veneranda comis. 



Urit, seu Tyria voluit procedere palla, 



Urit, seu nivea Candida veste venit. 



Tib. lib, 4, 



" The lines of Tibullus," says Laing, "were certainly in Milton's 

 contemplation. But his paraphrase is more literally transcribed by 

 Macpherson." The similarity of the remaining part of the passage 

 consists not in the imagery. We have neither the down of Cana, nor 

 the foam of ocean in Tibullus, nor the Tyrian nor the snow-white robe 

 in Ossian ; yet are we clearly of opinion, that the latter has imitated 

 the former, and that the modern Scotch is indebted to the ancient 

 Roman poet for the ''peculiar construction" of his sentence. The 

 dress is Ossianic, the figure Latian. 



