2 
06 
book adapted to his purpofe. 
ought to take into their eftimate, that vat. 
efiufion of thought which is fo abundantly 
poured over the writings of Cowper, without 
which human Hleteey: is only an idle combi- 
nation of founds and fyllables. The favorable 
reception which this volume experienced, pro- 
duced another of fuperior merit. His princi- 
pal performance was undoubtedly ‘* The 
Tafk,°> a poem. ‘The occafion that gave 
birth to it was trivial. A lady had requefted 
him to write a piece in blank verfe, and gave 
him for its fubject a thing next to her at the 
time, viz. the fofa. This he expanded into 
one of the fineft moral poems our language 
has produced. Jt is written in blank verfe as 
defired; and though in that refpect it re- 
fembles Milton’s, it is neverthelefs original 
and highly charactetiftic. It is not too ftately 
for familiar defcription, nor too depreffed for 
fublime and elevated imagery. If it has any 
fault, itis that of being too much Jaden with 
idiomatic expreflion; a fault which the au- 
thor, in the rapidity with which his ideas and 
his utterance feem to have flowed, very na- 
turally incurred. In this poem, his fancy 
yan with the moft excurfive freedom. The 
poet enlarges upon his topics, and confirms 
his argument by every variety of illuftration. 
He never however dwells upon them too long, 
and leaves off infuch a manner, that it feems 
it was in his power to have faid more. The 
arguments of the poem are various. The 
works of nature, the affociations with which 
they exhibit themfelves, the defigns of Pro- 
vidence, and the paffions of men. Of one 
advantage, the nee has amply availed him- 
felf. | The work not being rigidly confined 
to any precife fubject, he has indulged him- 
felf in all the laxity and freedom of a mif- 
cellaneous poem. Yet he has ftill adhered 
fo faithfully tothe general laws of congruity, 
that whether he infpires the fofter affections 
into his reader, or delights him with keen 
and playful ratllery, or Gilcourfes on the or- 
dinary manners of human nature, or holds up 
the bright pictures of religious confolation to 
his mind, he adopts, at pleafurey a diction 
jut and appropriate, equal inelevation tothe 
facred effufions of pious rapture, and fuffici- 
ently eafy and familiar for defcriptions of do- 
meftic life; fkilful alike in foaring without 
effort, and_defcending without meannels, 
He who defires to put into the hands of 
youth a poem, which not deftitute of poetic 
-embellifhment, is free from all matter of a 
licentious tendency, will findin the Tafk a 
It would-be ab- 
furd and extravagant aufterity to condemn 
thofe poetical productions i in which Tove con- 
{titutes the leading feature. That paffion has 
sn every age been the concernment of life, 
the theme of Ene poet, the plot of the ftage, 
Yet there is a kind of amorous fenftbi lity, 
bordering on Leste enthuiiafm, which the 
youthful mind too often imbibes from the 
glowing fentiments of the poets. ‘Their ge- 
nius defcribes, in the meft fplended colours, 
the opetaten of a pafhon which requires re+ 
buke rather than incentive, and lends to the 
Marriages and Dzaths in and near\ London, 
i feer 
{Juae Is 
moft grovelling fenfuality, the enchantmentg 
of a-rich and creative imagination. But in_ 
the Tafk of Cowper, there is no licentioufnefs 
of defcription. All is grave, majestic and mo- 
ral. A vein of fober thinking pervades every 
page, and, in finifhed poetry, defcribes the 
infufficiency and vanity of human purfuits. 
Not that he is always fevere. He frequent- 
ly enlivens the mind of his reader by fportive 
defcriptions, and by reprefenting in elevated 
meafures, ludicrous objects and circumftances, : 
a‘f{pecies of the mock heroic, fo admired in 
Phillips’s Splendid Shilling. The hiftorical 
account he has given of chairs, in the fir 
book of the tak, is a ftriking fpecimen of his 
powers of verfification, and of his talent for 
humour in this latter ftyle. The attention 
is however the moft detained by thofe paf- 
fages, in which the charms of rural life, and 
the endearments of domeftic retirement are 
defcribed, The tafk abounds with incidents, 
introduced as epifodes, and interpofing an 
agreeable relief to the grave and ferious part 
of the poetry. ' His crazy Kate is a defcrip- 
tion of the calamity of a difordered reafony 
admirably exa& and affecting. 
«¢ She begs an Idle pin of all fhe meets.” 
What poet would have introduced fo minute 
a circumiftance into his reprefentation! and 
yet that minutenefs conftitutes its happy ef- 
Tt would be an endlefs tafk in the bio . 
grapher to point out all its beauties, Its re- 
putation is eftablifhed by univerfal confenty 
and has given its author a very eminent fta- 
tion amongft our national poets. His John 
Gilpin is univerfally known, and may be 
confidered as afportive piece of humour, which 
would have done credit to many writers, but 
can hardly be faid to have added to Mr. Cow- 
Per’s reputation. His next work was a tran- 
flation of the Vliad and Odvfley into Miltonic 
blank verfe. It is an unjuft piece of criti- 
cifm to compare the verfion of Mr. Pope to 
that of Mr Cowper. The merits of each 
are diftinét and appropriate. Mr. Pope has 
exhibited Homer as he would have fung had 
he been born in England. Mr. Cowper has 
endeavoured to pourtray him, as he wrote in 
Greece, adhering frequently to the peculiari- 
ties of his original’s idiom, and defiring to 
preferve his ftrength and energy, together 
with his harmony and fmoothnefs. In early 
life Mr. Cowper was the intimate friend of 
Lord Thurlow, and while at Huntingdon, 
formed a clofe friendfhip with Dr. Cotton, of 
St. Alban’s, a poet of no flender fame, by 
whofe converfation he doubtlefs greatly im- 
proved himielf. By an intermarriage between 
the families, Mr. Cowper was related to the 
author of Thelyphrbora, and of courfe te the 
prefent bithop of Peterborough, but this con- 
nexion does not appear to have been culti~ 
vated or-improved. Mr. Cowper died of 2 
fevere and lingering illnefs, at Eaft Dereham, 
in Norfolk, April 25, 1800, His funeral 
fermon was aaceened by the Rev. Mr. News 
ton, in St. Mary Wolnoth church, Lombard 
itreet, on Sunday the r1th of May. ; 
(The A-count ef Dr..Pbillips and of fume ctheg * 
Reryous will be given in cur next), 
