. 
4 
1808,] 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
MONUMENT 10 THOMSON. 
VUE first appearance of Tuomson, as 
the author of “* The Seasons,” was 
honoured with the distinguished attention 
of the most eminent literary and political 
characters of his age, and is now univer- 
sally acknowledzed to have formed an 
#ra in the Annals of Poetry. Destined to 
become the model of future descriptive 
poets, le at once formed a style peculiar- 
ly his own, and carried it to a degree of 
perfection hitherto unrivalled. Before 
the publication of ‘* The Seasons,” the 
description of natural objects, thongh it 
served the subordinate purposes of orna- 
ment and illustration, was scarcely thought 
_ capable of constituting the whete, or even 
the principal part of a long poem, It was 
reserved for THomson to shew to the 
world, what genius and taste like his can 
accomplish. With a mind capable of 
attending alike to what is vast, and to 
what is minute, he has traced in’ his 
*¢ Seasons,” (the earliest and noblest pro- 
duction of his Muse,) a progressive series 
of descriptions, as parts of the wonderful 
and interesting whole, formed by the an- 
nual vicissitudes of Nature. 
To the charms of poetic diction and 
picturesque imagery, this composition 
adds the more commanding graces of 
philosophic thought, and religious con- 
templation. By connecting the progress 
of arts and sciences, with the delineation 
of rural manners, and the description of 
external nature, as well as by his frequent 
allusions to characters and events in an- 
cient and modern history, Thomson has 
diversified his Poem in a manner equally 
new and delightful: while, by the sub- 
lime conceptions of the Author of Nature, 
which pervade his work, he has caused 
his descriptive poetry to rival the highest 
efforts of the Epic Muse. His ‘ Seasons” 
may as truly be said to be a religious as 
a descriptive: Poem; and, while ‘his de- 
votioaal sentiments ate in perfect unison 
with the subject of his work, being equal- 
ly remote from enthusiasm and super- 
Stition, they tend at once to elevate the 
mind, and to improve the heart. The 
sublime Hymn, which closes the Poem, 
and which may be regarded as bringing 
into one point of view, the wonders of 
Nature, and their great author, is a pro- 
duction of such transcendent merit, and 
so admirably calculated to awaken the 
noblest feelings of our nature, that had he 
never written another line, we should 
have conceived him to merit the gratitude 
aud admiration of posterity. 
Proposed Monument to Thomson the Poet. 5 
Congenial with this devotional spirit, 
is the gentleness and benevolence with 
which his heart overflows towards man, 
and the whole animal creation, These 
qualities are so exquisitely interwoven, 
with every part of the Poem, as to give to, 
it the most tender interest in the minds, 
of readers of taste and sensibility ; ‘and, 
the concurring testimony of those who 
knew him, affords reason to believe, that, 
in this respect, the productions of the, 
Poet were a genuine transcript of the, 
character of the Man, Nor ought we to, 
omit to mention, as a striking excellence, 
in his dramatic and other poetical works, 
the spirit of manly independence which 
he inculcates, and, his ardent Zeal for the 
liberty and happiness of bis country, 
The reputation of THomson, as the au-. 
thor of ‘The Seasons,” has been found, 
to increase with the lapse of years. This 
fact, while it is the surest test of the truth, 
of that judgment which his contempora- 
ries formed of his merit, is also the best, 
pledge of the continuance of his fame. 
It cannot, therefore, be doubted, that his, 
works will form the most permanent me- 
morial of his genius, and that the poem, 
of ‘' The Seasons,” in particular, which. 
is founded on, the unfading beauties of. 
nature, will be read and admired so long 
as the language and literature of our 
country shall remain. 
It has been long a subject of regret to 
the admirers of the Poet, that no public 
monument has been consecrated to his 
memory in the vicinity of Epyam, his na- 
tive village: and, as “ The Seasons” con- 
tinues to be one of the most popular po- 
ems in the English language, after having. 
stood the test of criticism for the greater 
part of a century, this regret is still felt 
with undiminished force. 
The pleasure enjoyed by cultivated 
minds in visiting classical ground has 
often been remarked: and the glow of 
admiration is felt in its full force, when 
we approach the spot where the Hero, 
the Philosopher, or the Poet, first gpened 
his eyes to the light of heaven. Tuomson 
has himself expressed the influence of 
this association of ideas, when, near the, 
opening of his poem of “ Liberty,” de- 
scribing himself as contemplating the 
ruins of ancient Rome, he says, 
“¢ Musing I lay, warm from the sacred walke, 
Where at each step imagination burns.’* 
There is a more than ordinary foundatio 
for this feeling of the mind in the case o 
the descriptive Poet; for as it is his bu- 
siness to adorn with the cliarins of poetia 
» diction, 
