No. 592. readers, who are apt to believe they are very deep, because they are unintelligible. The ancient critics are full of the praifes of their contemporaries; they difcover beauties which efcaped the obfervation of the vulgar, and very often find out reafons for palliating and excufing fuch little flips and overfights as were committed in the writings of eminent authors. On the contrary, most of the fmatterers in criticism who appear among us, make it their business to vilify and depreciate every new production that gains applaufe, to defcry imaginary blemishes, and to prove by far-fetched arguments, that what pass for beau-. ties in any celebrated piece are faults and errors. In fhort, the writings of these critics compared with those of the ancients, are like the works of the fophifts compared with thofe of the old philofophers. ENVY and cavil are the natural fruits of lazinefs and ignorance; which was probably the reafon, that in the Heathen mythology Momus is faid to be the son of Nox and Somnus, of darkness and sleep. Idle men, who have not been at the pains to accomplish or distinguish themfelves, are very apt to detract from others; as ignorant men are very fubject to decry thofe beauties in a celebrated work which they have not eyes to difcover. Many of our fons of Momus, who dignify themselves by the name of critics, are the genuine defcendants of those two illuftrious ancestors. They are often led into those numerous abfurdities, in which they daily inftruct the people, by not confidering that, 1ft, There is fometimes a greater judgment fhewn in deviating from the rules of art, than in adhering to them; and, 2dly, That there is more.. beauty in the works of a great genius who is ignorant of all the rules of art, than in the works of a little genius, who not only knows, but fcrupulously obferves them. FIRST, We may often take notice of men who are perfectly acquainted with all the rules of good writing, and notwithstanding chufe to depart from them on extraordinary occafions. I could give inftances out of all the tragic writers of antiquity who have fhewn their judgment in this particular, and purpofely receded from an established rule of the drama, when it has made way for a much higher beauty than the observation of such a rule would have been. Those who have furveyed the noblest pieces of architecture and statuary both ancient and modern, know very well that there are frequent deviations from art in the works of the greatest masters, which have produced a much nobler effect than a more accurate and exact way of proceeding could have done. This often arifes from what the Italians call the gufto grande in these arts, which is what we call the fublime in writing. In the next place, our critics do not feem fenfible that there is more beauty in the works of a great genius who is ignorant of the rules of art, than in those of a little genius who knows and obferves them. It is of thefe men of genius that Terence speaks, in oppofition to the little artificial cavillers of his time; Quorum amulari exoptat negligentiam Potius, quam iftorum obfcuram diligentiam. Whofe negligence he would rather imitate, than those mens obfcure diligence. tem. A CRITIC may have the fame confolation in the ill fuccefs of his play, as Dr South tells us a phyfician has at the death of a patient, that he was killed fecundum arOur inimitable Shakespear is a ftumbling-block to the whole tribe of thefe rigid critics. Who would not rather read one of his plays, where there is not a fingle rule of the ftage obferved, than any production of a mo dern critic, where there is not one of them violated! Shakespear was indeed born with all the feeds of poetry, and may be compared to the ftone in Pyrrhus's ring," which, as Pliny tells us, had the figure of Apollo and the nine mufes in the veins of it, produced by the fpon- taneous hand of nature, without any help from art. N° 593. Monday, September 13. Quale per incertam lunam fub luce maligna Eft iter in fylvis Virg. Æn. 6. v. 270. Thus wander travellers in woods by night, Y Dryden. My dreaming correfpondent, Mr Shadow, has fens me a fecond letter, with feveral curious obfervations on dreams in general, and the method to render fleep improving an extract of his letter will not, I prefume, be difagreeable to my readers. S INCE we have fo little time to spare, that none of it may be loft, I fee no reason why we should neglect to examine thofe imaginary scenes we are prefented with in fleep, only because they have lefs reality in 'them than our waking meditations. A traveller would bring his judgment in queftion, who fhould defpife the ⚫ directions of his map for want of real roads in it, because here ftands a dot instead of a town, or a cipher inftead of a city; and it must be a long day's journey to travel through two or three inches. Fancy in dreams gives us much fuch another landskip of life as that does of countries, and though its appearances may feem ftrangely jumbled together, we may often obferve fuch traces and footsteps of noble thoughts, as, if carefully purfued, might lead us into a proper path of action. There is fo much rapture and ecftafy in our fancied blifs, and fomething fo difmal and fhocking in our fancied mifery, that though the inactivity of the body has given occafion for calling fleep the image of death, the brifkness of the fancy affords us a strong intimation of fomething within us that can never die. 'I HAVE Wondered, that Alexander the Great, who came into the world fufficiently dreamed of by his parents, and had himfelf a tolerable knack at dreaming, 'fhould fhould often fay, that fleep was one thing which made "him fenfible he was mortal.' I who have not fuch fields of action in the day-time to divert my attention from this matter, plainly perceive, that in thofe operations of the mind, while the body is at reft, there is a cer⚫tain vastness of conception very fuitable to the capacity, ⚫ and demonstrative of the force of that divine part in our compofition which will last for ever. Neither do I 'much doubt but had we a true account of the wonders the hero last mentioned performed in his fleep, his conquering this little globe would hardly be worth mentioning. I may affirm, without vanity, that when I compare feveral actions in Quintus Curtius with fome others in my own noctuary, I appear the greater hero ⚫ of the two." I SHALL close this fubject with observing, that while we are awake we are at liberty to fix our thoughts on what we pleafe, but in fleep we have not the command of them. The ideas which strike the fancy arife in us without our choice, either from the occurrences of the day paft, the temper we lie down in, or it may be the direction of fome fuperior being.. Ir is certain the imagination may be fo differently affected in fleep, that our actions of the day might be either rewarded or punished with a little age of happinefs or mifery. St Austin was of opinion, that if in paradife there was the fame viciffitude of fleeping and waking as in the prefent world, the dreams of its inhabitants would be very happy. AND fo far at prefent our dreams are in our power, that they are generally conformable to our waking thoughts, fo that it is not impoffible to convey ourselves to a confort of music, the conversation of distant friends, or any other entertainment which has been before lodged in the mind. A My readers, by applying thefe hints, will find the ne-ceffity of making a good day of it, if they heartily wish. themselves a good night. I HAVE often confidered Marcia's prayer, and Luacius's account of Cato, in this light. Marc. O ye immortal powers, that guard the juft, Watch round his couch, and foften his repofe, Banifh his forrows, and becalm his foul, With eafy dreams; remember all his virtues, And fhew mankind that goodness is your care. Luc. Sweet are the flumbers of the virtuous man! O Marcia, I have feen thy god-like father: Some power invifible fupports his foul, And bears it up in all its wonted greatness. A kind refreshing fleep is fallen upon him: I faw him ftretch'd at ease, his fancy loft In pleafing dreams; as I drew near his couch, He fmil'd, and cry'd, Cæfar, thou canst not hurt me. MR Shadow acquaints me in a postscript, that he has no manner of title to the vifion which fucceeded his firft letter; but adds, that as the gentleman who wrote it dreams very fenfibly, he fhall be glad to meet him fome night or other, under the great elm-tree, by which Virgil has given us a fine metaphorical image of fleep, in order to turn over a few of the leaves together, and oblige the public with an account of the dreams that lie under them. N° 594. Wednesday, September 15. -Abfentem qui rodit amicum, Qui non defendit, alio culpante; folutos Qui captat rifus hominum, famamque dicacis, Qui nequit, hic niger eft: bunc tu, Romane, caveto. Hor. Sat. 4. 1. I. v. 81. He that fhall rail against his abfent friends, Tells tales, and brings his friend in difefteem: ERE all the vexations of life put together, we W fhould find that a great part of them proceed from thofe |