1808. | Lyceum of Ancient Literature—Didactic Poetr Yo 
Matrons in crowds the many temples throng : 
“And at each altar smokes the victim steer. 
He, in bright Phebus’? marble porch en- 
thron’d. 
eviews the various spoils, and now adjusts 
To lofty columns. In successive ranks 
The subject nations follow in the rear, 
Their language as their arms, and chequer’d 
dress 
Dissimilar. Here might the Nomades 
Be trac’d, and Africans with zone unbound ; 
There the fierce Lelege, and quiver’d train 
Of dread Geloni, with the Carian band.— 
With waves unruffle.. old Euphrates roll’d, 
His surface now less rude. From clime re- 
mote 
The Morini were seen, and western Rhine 
With double horn. The canon Dahe there, * 
And headlong waves of swift Araxes, stay’d 
By no obstructive bridge, had Vulcan grav'd, 
Such scenes the heayenly shield display’d, 
whose werk . 
The wond’ring hero scans, nor can divine 
The strange intent of all his mother’s gift 
Mysterious bears; but views with secret joy, 
And lifts unconscious on his nervous arm 
The wide rencwn and distant fate of Rome. 
; A bok, 
=e 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
LYCEUM OF ANCIENT LITERA> 
TURE. — No. XIV. 
DIDACTIC POETRY. , 
HE epic and the drama are consi- 
dered the two highest kinds of poe- 
tical writing. But as the draina involves 
so many important poiuts, and mcludes 
so many authors of such various and dif- 
ferent merit, we are induced to postpone 
that branch of our undertaking till we 
have dismissed our review of the minor 
classes of the ancient poets. There is, 
besides, so much analogy between epic 
and didactic poetry, in the length and 
character of the poems included under 
those heads, that the one seemed neces- 
sarily destined to follow the other. Un- 
der the present head, we shall place the 
mythological or a Cee paca poems of 
Hesiod, Lucretius, Ovid, Virgil, and Ma- 
nihus. But, according to the plan we 
have announced, we premise a few obser- 
vations on the particular description of 
poetry to which these authors belong. 
We have said that an epic poem 1s the 
recital of some illustrious enterprize, in a 
poetical form; the end which it proposes 
is to extend our ideas of human periec- | 
tion, and excite our admiration, by a re- 
presentation of heroic deeds and virtuous 
characters. It is the humbler, thongh 
wot less useful, design of didactic poetry, 
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to convey knowledge and_ instruction, 
under the pleasing carb of poetry. Tn 
substance it does not differ from any phi- 
losophical, moral, or critical treatise in 
prose. Its next aim is to please, and, if 
possible, to interest ; but as its professed 
aim is to instruct, there have arisen some 
critics who have refused to denominate 
as poetry what they consider only a string 
of useful precepts, harmoniously convey- 
ed in verse. It is, they say, destitute of 
fiction, and fiction is essential to poetry, 
It may, however, be questioned if fiction 
be of the essence of poetry. Poetry is 
the art of painting to the imagination, It 
either represents sensible objects, or it 
delineates the affections and passions of 
the soul; or it contains certain abstract 
ideas, to which it gives a form and colour- 
ing. In the latter instance only can po- 
etry be said to feign; in the others, it 
imitates rather than creates, This posi- 
tion, which appears to us incontestible, 
once established, it follows that every 
discourse im verse isa poem. Whether 
the poet chuse some instructive subject, 
and treat it revularly: and in form, or, 
without intending a great or regular work, 
he only inveigh against particular vices, 
or make observations on human life and 
characters, as in satires and epistles, they 
are all equally poems. A didactic poem, 
in particular, when its design is under- 
stood and properly fulfilled, is a series of 
precepts illustrated and exemplified by 
pictures drawn from nature. The fiction 
is in the style, and not in the subject. 
Coldness and insipidity would be the in- 
evitable defects of a poem tormed with- 
out these essential ornaments. Nothing 
can be more insufferable than a subject; 
however sublime initself, if it be treated 
by a feeble and languid versifier, who 
chills whatever he touches, and substi- © 
tutes wit for genius, and argument for 
sensibility. ‘Phe truth is, that there are 
few descriptions of poetry more suscepti- 
ble of embellishments than this. By the 
charm of easy versification and harmoni- 
ous numbers, instruction is rendered 
more pleasing; the descriptions, episodes, 
and other ornaments, which it is allowed 
to intermingle with its subject, detain 
and engage the fancy. It is, in short, a 
field in which the genius, the learning, 
and the judgment of the poet, may be 
pesca to the greatest advantage. 
The first rule of a didactic poem is, 
that its subject should be solid and inte- 
resting. Its fundamental merit consists 
inscund thought, just principles, clear and 
apt illustrations, It is therefore always 
painful 
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