■2,66 en Engli/B pcitry. Aug. it 



hints that may tend to lead yon Into what I fhould 

 deem a just train of thought, when you yourself 

 ihall think proper, at a future period of your life, to 

 prosecute the subject more fully than 1 can pretend, 

 or have ever attempted to do. 



Every person, when he hears of ["oetry and prose 

 contrasted to each other, at first sight would believe 

 that there could be no difHculty in distinguifliing the 

 one from the other on all occasions ; yet here, as in 

 many other cases, when he comes to investigate the 

 subect nearly, he finds it a matter of no small diffi- 

 culty to mark exactly the limits that distinguifh the 

 one from the other. 



Mankind are pretty generally agreed in admitting 

 that the most efsential characteristics of poetry are, 

 that the ideas Ihould be striking or sublime, the 

 language bold and figurative; and its disposition such 

 as to admit of bemg uttered with ease, in a flowing 

 melodious manner, and with some sort of rhythmical 

 or measured cadence. The last circumstance here 

 mentioned, the rhythmical cadence, is the most 

 obvious peculiarity, and therefore it has been by 

 many persons considered as the peculiar distinguifli- 

 ing characteristic of poetry, and numerous devices 

 that have been extremely difsimilar, have been adop- 

 ted at different times and in different nations, for 

 giving this rhythmus. This diversity of practice 

 fhows that every system of rhythmical construction 

 that has been adopted is merely artificial, being the 

 creature of fancy ad imitation alone; and that 

 of course no one system of rhythmical arrangement 



