Ancient Epic Poem, 106 



but the celestial machineiy of the ancients 

 must be preserved at any rate ; and, as no solid 

 base of support could be found, an airy and 

 visionary base must suffice and poetical taste 

 must be tau^^ht to worship what moral taste 

 loathed. 



:rlt will be proper therefore, 1st. To examine 

 on what foundations this allegorical interpre- 

 tation of the pagan deities rests ; whether it can 

 be maintained ; whether the allegory be sup- 

 ported with any thing of that consistency and 

 unity, which the , supposition of it requires; 

 whether it be credible, that the poets of Greece 

 and Rome, by the exhibition of their celestial 

 machinery, designed real personages such as 

 the popular faith received them, or merely an 

 allegorical representation of certain dignified 

 virtues. If, under this examination, the sup- 

 posed allegory be found to be an unsubstantial 

 fabric, the whole building, that is raised upon 

 it, falls to the ground, and the macliinery in 

 its plain and literal acceptation must answer 

 for itself and must be tried by the rules of" 

 universal good sense and taste, and by these 

 rules it. must be decided, whether any poem 

 can derive a dignity from the use of it. 



JUit,. before we can bring to the test of cre- 

 dibility this allegorical metamorphosis of the 

 heath<?n deities, twe must know precisely what 



