17 93* on Englijh poetry f — vene, 269^ 



produce pleasing images i the mind of the reader, 

 the efsence of poetry is wanting, and it is merelj* 

 a dead and lifelefs form. But if these great requi- 

 sites are present, though the form of verse itself, and 

 rhimes, be totally wanting, it will be accounted poe- 

 try in the strict and proper meaning of the word. 

 The book of Job, for example, because it pofsefses 

 these requisites in a high degree, is by all mankind 

 admitted to be a poetical composition, though ia 

 our version at least, it pofsefses none of the charac- 

 teristics of verse. So far is verse indeed from being 

 necefsary to poetry, that we can produce many in- 

 stances of poetical compositions being greatly inju- 

 red by having been converted into verse. Of this 

 the psalms of David are a noted example : and there 

 have been some poetical paraphrases, as they have 

 been called, of several sublime pafsages in the Bible, 

 lately made by well meaning men, which are still 

 more liable to objection, as degrading the Scriptures, 

 than the version of David's psalms, by Sternhold and 

 Hopkins itself. These are striking examples that 

 verie may not only exist independent of poetry, but 

 that it may even be employed as the means of mur- 

 dering poetry where it already existed. 



An old acquaintance of mine whom I much esteemed, 

 who pofsefsed a strong and vigorous understanding, 

 and great talents in many respects, but upon whom 

 heaven had not conferred the smallest Ihare of the vis 

 poetica, having discovered that he could number 

 syllables, and clafs together similar sounds ; in Ihort 

 that he could make verses, believed that little more 

 was necefjary to emulate Homer j and that he could 



