Poetry. 191 



ance is not distinguished by much novelty of sen- 

 timent, or felicity of invention; but seldom have 

 common ideas been presented with so much 

 " beauty of embellishment," or so much " sweet- 

 ness of melody. " Seldom have opinions of ques- 

 tionable propriety been more happily disguised, 

 or exhibited with such " dazzling splendour of 

 imagery," and " seductive powers of eloquence." 

 The Fleece, by Mr. Dyer, notwithstanding the 

 small degree of distinction which it has attained, 

 is pronounced, by good judges, to stand among 

 the most excellent poems of the didactic kind 

 which the moderns have produced. The Pleasures 

 of the Imagination, by Dr. Akenside, is also a 

 performance which belongs to this class; and is, 

 doubtless, one of the most beautiful specimens 

 that our language affords. Genius, learning, taste, 

 pure morality, and liberal philosophy shine in 

 every page. Dr. Armstrong, in his celebrated 

 poem on the Art of Preserving Health, though he 

 did not aim at so elevated a strain as Akenside, 

 has produced a work of high excellence.' Never 

 sinking below the dignity of his subject, he is al- 

 ways chaste, correct, instructive, and elegant. 



The English Garden of Mr. Mason, may also 

 be mentioned as a very finished and interesting 

 specimen of didactic composition. Simple, natu- 

 ral, and interesting in his descriptions, luminous and 

 instructive in his philosophy, and purely moral in 

 his sentiments, he is by no means the least of those 

 authors on whose works the honour of English po- 

 etry, for the last fifty years, must rest. In the Botanic 

 Garden, by Dr. Darwin, there is a bold attempt 

 " to enlist imagination under the banner of sci- 

 ence," to an extent beyond example. In this at- 



s Lord Monboddo pronounces this poem to be the best specimen of 

 didactic poetry in the English language, and equal to any, ancient or 

 modern. Origin and Progress of Language. 



