POETRY. 749 
but of fome involuntary fault. Each of thefeisgood; 
nor are they too confined, if we remember that there are 
no charadters entirely good nor entirely bad. But what 
follows, namely, that all charadters may be reprefented 
that are in nature, and that confequently Ariftotle’s rules 
are worth nothing. 
The plot, or fubjedt, of a tragedy, fltould be fimple and 
grand. A comedy, like a narrative poem, admits under¬ 
plots, which are digrefiions, or epifodes; and that be- 
caufe, as in the narrative poem, the fubjedt is not of fuch 
fublime intereft as to overwhelm all other emotions. Now, 
without this very engrofiing intereft, a tragedy is nothing; 
therefore no petty incidents, no digrefiions, may be al¬ 
lowed, unlefs they materially tend to the chief event. 
This brings us to the confideration of the unities as 
they are called. Now unity we have difmified. A naan 
likes to be told one ftory at a time. The unity of place 
is not worth obferving. The imagination is a poftilion 
that will drive its matter as quickly into Arabia as acrofs 
thefquare; a conqueror, that can raife up Ariftotle as 
eafily as hint who died yefterday. So a man fitting at a 
play is as likely to believe the painted fcenery to be Swif- 
ferland as Scotland, or London as Paris; and it is the 
fame whether the fcene changes to the next room or to 
the Antipodes; that is, fuppofing t’nefe great ftretches 
could be accomplilhed without deftroying unity of adtion 
or unity of character. But this is very difficult, for, if 
many years elapfe between fcenes, the adtors mult change, 
boys become old men, &c. Here unity of charadter is 
loll, and our paffions change unity of adtion alfo. Inde¬ 
pendent of which, according to nature, intenfe paffions 
cannot long adt without coming to a conclufion ; fo that 
tedious plots can never happen when ftrong and violent 
adtors exift. But, when milder touches form the bafis of 
a play, this confequent and infenfible unity of parts is 
unnatural. Yet in thefe which may be called fketches of 
charadters, we feel pleafure, though certainly not of the 
precife kind which the ftrongly-moving tragedy excites. 
Hiftorical plays, for example, amufe very much, (if cha¬ 
radters and events are faithfully pourtrayed,) without 
clofe attention to the condudt of the plot. Upon the 
whole, however, as the unities of time and place are ne- 
ceffary to unity of adtion ; as this follows from the colli— 
fion of vehement charadters, and as fuch charadlers intereft 
mankind in general in the Itrongeft degree; thofe authors 
will pleafe more generally that obferve the unities; but 
there may be many plays capable of affording exquifite de¬ 
light to refined minds, (who love thought and cbaradter,) 
without thefe rules. The rules of Ariftotle, however, as 
generally underftood, are erroneous: they ffiould be fe- 
condary to the charadters. The ftridt ufe of unity of 
place arofe indifpenfably on a ftage where there was no 
change of fcene. See the article Playhouse, p. 669, 70. 
Of the other kinds of poetry, the limits, as we have be¬ 
fore obferved, are not very precife. The ode, the Jmig, 
the elegy, are very beautiful forms. The fong is proba¬ 
bly the origin of all the other kinds. The exploits of he¬ 
roes were fung to the lyre at convivial meetings. As art 
and philofophy improved, moral refledtions came to be 
mixed with them; or, affuming a ftill bolder flight, jthey 
touched on religion itfelf; and the fublime fubjedts of 
Nature, God, Chaos, and Creation, came into the ode: 
and on fuch topics, Orpheus, Ninus, and Mufaeus, ap¬ 
pear to have fung. The fong now was an Ode, and the 
fublime ode was diftinguiflied from the inferior odes, and 
the latter from the fong, which was merely found. 
Theftainen of the two firftfeems in all cafes to be praife. 
The gods, virtue, love, mufic, wine, friends, or mif- 
tretfes, are the topics; but they are all praifed in fome 
form or other. The thoughts and charadters depidted in 
thefe odes laid the foundation for writers of a more ad¬ 
vanced period to eredt the epic on; or the adventures 
they contained formed materials for narrative poems; 
and it feems likely that thus Homer framed both the 
Vol. XX. No. 14.06. 
Iliad and Odyfifey. To follow the fame idea, the oppofi- 
tion of rival minltrels might perhaps have been the ori¬ 
gin of dialogue and the drama. Comprifing fo great a va¬ 
riety of fubjedts, the ode allows every form of verfe, and 
the greatell variety in its rhythm; the fublime odes, as 
thofe of Pindar, have a wild irregularity which enhances 
their beauty, but Hill within certain definite rules. But 
all fofter emotions demand regular and polilhed verfe. 
Indeed, as we have fhowxi when fpeaking of the higher 
poetny, the meafure mult accord with the ientiment. The 
Greeks, who introduced into one ode the praife of men and 
gods, moral refledtions, and burfts of aftedtionate enthu- 
fiafm, introduced the irregular meafure which is generally 
required in an ode; but it is fuited only to fuch fubjedts. 
We give examples of the fublime ode. They are equalled 
by none but Alexander’s Feaft, which certainly in excite¬ 
ment exceeds them. 
The following is an Hindoo hymn to Narrayna, or the 
Spirit of God, taken, as Sir William Jones informs us, 
from the writings of the ancient Branuns. 
Spirit of fpirits, who, through every part 
Of fpace expanded, and of endlefs time, 
Beyond the reach of lab’ring thought fublime, 
Bad’ft uproar into beauteous order ftart; 
Before heav’n was, thou art. 
Ere fpheres beneath us roll’d, or fpheres above. 
Ere earth in firmamental aether hung. 
Thou fat’ft alone, till, through thy myftic love. 
Things unexifting to exiftence fprung, 
And grateful defcant fung. 
Omnifcient Spirit, whofe all-ruling pow’r 
Bids from each fenfe bright emanations beam ; 
Glows in the rainbow, fparkles in the ftream. 
Smiles in the bud, and gliftens in the flow’r 
That crowns : each vernal bow’r; 
Sighs in the gale, and warbles in the throat 
Of every bird that hails the bloomy fpring, 
Or tells his love in many a liquid note, 
Whilll envious artills touch the rival firing, 
Till rocks and forefts ring ; 
Breathes in rich fragrance from the fandal grove. 
Or where the precious mulk-deer playful rove ; 
In dulcet juice, from cluit’ring fruit diftils, 
And burns falubrious in the tafteful clove : 
Safe banks and verd’rous hills 
Thy prefent influence fills. 
In air, in floods, in caverns, woods, and plains, 
Thy will infpirits all, thy fovereign Maya reigns. 
Blue cryftal vault, and elemental fires. 
That in th’ ethereal fluid blaze and breathe ; 
Thou, tolling main, whofe fnaky branches wreathe 
This penfile orb with intertwifting gyres; 
Mountains, whofe lofty fpires, 
Prefumptuous, rear their fummits to the fkies, 
And olend their em’rald hue with fapphire light; 
Smooth meads and lawns, that glow with varying dyes 
Of dew-befpangled leaves and blofloms bright, 
Hence ! vanilh from my fight 
Delufive pictures ! nnfubftantial fnows ! 
My foul abforb’d one only Being knows. 
Of all perceptions one abundant fource. 
Whence ev’ry objedt, ev’ry moment flows : 
Suns hence derive their force. 
Hence planets learn their courfe; 
But funs and fading worlds I view no more; 
God only I perceive; God only I adore. 
The eleventh Nemean Ode of Pindar. This ode is in- 
fcribed to Ariltagoras, upon occalion of his entering on 
his office of prefident or governor of the ifland of Tenedos: 
fo that, although it is placed among the Nemean odes, it 
has no fort of relation to thofe games, and is indeed pro- 
9'E perly 
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