THE NEW SCIENCE AND POETRY 135 



He sees unafraid a meteor, the "great Columbus of the skies", — 

 ' ' 'Tis Newton 's soul that daily travels here 

 In search of knowledge for Mankind below. ""^ 

 The spirit of Newton is invoked to teach tlio poet the way of each 

 wandering comet, and to explain scientifically the rainbow. 

 Hughes, as far as he was able, transformed into poetry the new 

 knowledge of astronomy. In his mind there was no fear of im- 

 piety; all was admiration and wonder and delight. He could not 

 know too much. 



A topical poem of very little value, by Thomas Yalden, ad- 

 dressed to a Mr. Watson, "on his Ephemeris of Celestial Motions, 

 presented to her Majesty", shows how fully the gravitation theory 

 was accepted. This mechanical device was used to illustrate the 

 position and motion of the planets. From Yalden 's description 

 it can be seen to follow Newton's new system of the universe. But 

 of more importance is a poem by him, entitled The Insect. This 

 is one of the very earliest attempts to use for poetic material the 

 world of minutiae. " 'Tis nature's smallest products please the 

 eye", wrote the poet. Monsters are formed to cause terror, but 

 insects to delight. In these latter nature works with exquisite 

 fineness and perfects every part no matter how small.^-° There is 

 a touch of originality in the poem that startles the reader to at- 

 tention. 



As a mark of precocity stands the poem of Richard Glover, 

 prefixed to Pemberton's edition of Newton's works. The youth- 

 ful poet discourses at weary length on the discoveries of the great 

 scientist. Gravitation, the analysis of colors, and the theory of 

 sound transmission are treated with fulsome praise. Only one 

 thing that piques the poet's curiosity has Newton left unsolved; — 

 "What", he asks, "is that subtle spirit which causes a deflection of 

 the rays of light from their straight course to give color to the 

 rainbow in the sky, the grass in the meadow, the flowers of the 

 fields?" 



The remaining poets fall logically into two general groups ; ( 1 ) 

 those who found fresh material in the open fields, as John Philips, 

 Thomson, Dyer, and Somerville, and (2) those who found a new, 



"» The Ecstasy. 



^^ Poem on Sir Isaac Newton. 



