[ 6i 1 



firft improver, and made the attempt to polifh and refine what 

 ftruck the firft view, as uncouth and favage, appear almoft vi- 

 fionary. It feemed, h'ke the deformed and impenetrable armour 

 of fome fhell-fifh, to defy all endeavours to reach the foft, the de- 

 licate, and wholefome fubftanee that ky concealed beneath. But 

 when fome bold adventurers had difcovered the interior and latent 

 merits of the language, and it appeared from the fuccefsful ex- 

 periments of Gefner, Lejjing, Klopjiock* Wieland., and others, that 

 it riot only poffefled energy, but was capable of grace and melody 

 — why were their fleps deferted ? — Why were the German Mufes 

 proftituted, to thexuffian fury, of caprice and ill tafte ? — Why was 

 a new-difcovered region fo foon overfpread, and defolated, by a 

 barbarian horde? 



The firft writers of German poetry feemed like magicians, 

 who had broke a powerful fpell ; and no fooner was the charm, 

 which impofed filence on the German writers of their native lan- 

 guage, diffolved, than their loquacity paft all bounds, and they 

 feemed refolved, to m?ke themfelves amends, for the taciturnity 

 of times paft, by efFufions without meafure, and without end. 

 The hafte of writing, and the rage of publication, aggravated the 

 imperfedions infeparable from the unformed ftate of the lan- 

 guage, and the origii^al ignorance of the writers. Immoderate am- 

 bition, 



* Klopjiock has eve^i sttainecl ,tp an havpionioHS verCfcitJon, p^^-tipiglaily i#i Jii,s 

 Lyric Poetry, which fully proves, were there no other inftancc, that the German 

 language is very fufceptible of grace and melody. 



