58 



destruction, must always have a tincture 

 of the sublime*. 



If we next take a view of those animals 

 that are called picturesque, the same qua- 

 lities will be found to prevail. ! The ass is 

 generally thought to be more picturesque 

 than the horse ; and among horses, it is 

 the wild and rough forester, or the worn- 

 out cart-horse to which that title is appli- 

 ed. The sleek pampered steed, with his 



* There is a simile in Ariosto, in which the two charac- 

 ters are finely united : 



Quale stordito, et stupido aratore, 

 Poi ch'e passato il fulmine, si leva 

 Di la, dove l'altissimo f^agore 

 Presso agli uccisi buoi steso l'aveva ; 

 Che mira sensa fronde, et senza onore, 

 II Pin che da lontan veder soleva, 

 Tal si levo'l Pagano. 



Milton seems to have thought of this simile ; but the sub- 

 limity both of his subject and of his own genius, made him 

 reject those picturesque circumstances, the variety of which, 

 while it amuses, distracts the mind, and has kept it fixed 

 on a few grand and awful images : 



As when heaven's fire 

 Has scath'd the forest oaks, or mountain pines, 

 With singed top their stately growth tho* bare, 

 Stands on the blasted heath. 



