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habits, moral and intelledual, of difpofitions and external cir- 

 ciimftances in the writings of known authors, and in fome 

 inftances to trace out their operation. 



The lights in which the fame fubje(5l appears to different 

 authors are indeed fo very different that it .is not poffible to 

 read a page of the copious index to the edition of the Eng- 

 lifh Poets, or even the quotations under the fame word in a 

 Didionary, without finding fomething characfleriflic of the. 

 habits or difpofition of the author. Thus wine is by Congreve 

 after Ovid fpoken of as in alliance with love, and by Gay 

 as putting time and care to flight ; Swift pronounces that 



Wine, powerful wine, can thaw the frozen cit, 

 And fafliion him to humour and to wit, 



after which he employs a page in fatirically defcribing its 

 effedls on feveral of the public charaders of the day ; but 

 Milton, whofc difpofition was religious, and whofe habit was 

 ftria temperance, fpeaks of the fweet poifoti of rnifufed w'lne^ 

 and introduces it as a topic to be commended by the crew 

 of Comus, and condemned by the chorus of Samfon Agonifles. 

 Thomfon in his beautiful defcription of night has given its 

 vifible marks with minute diftindnefs ; he talks of the glow- 

 worm twinkling with its moving radiance, and tells that 



a faint 



