ADVERTISEMENT. THE following Effays (which were read in a private literary fociety many years ago), having been seen and approved of by fome learned perfons in England, are now published at their defire. In writing them out for the prefs, confiderable amendments were made, and new observations added; and hence fome flight anachronisms have arifen, which, as they hurt not the fense, it was not thought neceffary to guard against. AN ESSA Y ON POETRY AND MUSIC, AS THEY AFFECT THE MIND. T HE rules of every useful art may be divided into two kinds. Some are necef fary to the accomplishment of the end proposed by the artist, and are therefore denominated Effential Rules; while others, called Ornamental or Mechanical, have no better foundation than the practice of fome great performer, whom it has become the fashion to imitate. The latter are to be learned from the communications of the artist, or by obferving his work: the former may be investigated upon the principles of reason and philofophy. These two claffes of rules, however different, haye often been confounded by critical writers, without any material injury to art, or any great inconvenience, either to the artist or to his difciple. For frequently it happens, that fashion and philofophy coincide; and that an artift gives the law in his profeffion, B 2 feffion, whose principles are as just as his performance is excellent. Such has been the fate of POETRY in particular. Homer, whom we confider as the founder of this art, becaufe we have none more ancient to refer to, appears, in the structure of his two poems, to have proceeded upon a view of things equally comprehensive and rational: nor had Ariftotle, in laying down the philofophy of the art, any thing more to do, than to trace out the principles of his contrivance. What the great critic has left on this fubject, proves Homer to have been no lefs admirable as a philofopher than as a poet; poffeffed not only of unbounded imagination, and all the powers of language, but also of a most exact judgment, which could at once propose a noble end, and devise the very best means of attaining it.. An art, thus founded on reason, could not fail to be durable. The propriety of the Homeric mode of invention has been acknowledged by the learned in all ages; every real improvement which particular branches of it may have received fince his time, has been conducted upon his princi. ples; and poets, who never heard of his name, have, merely by their own good sense, been prompted to tread the path, which he, guided by the fame internal monitor, had trod before them. And hence, notwithstanding its apparent licentiousness, true Poetry is a thing perfectly rational and regular; and nothing can be more strictly philofophical, than that part of criticism may and ought to be, which unfolds the general characters that diftinguish it from other kinds of compofition. Whether Whether the following discourse will in any degree juftify this laft remark, is fubmitted to the reader. It aspires to little other praise, than that of plain language and familiar illuftration; difclaiming all paradoxical opinions and refined theories, which are indeed fhowy in the appearance, and not of difficult invention, but have no tendency to diffufe knowledge, or enlighten the human mind; and which, in matters of tafte that have been canvaffed by mankind these two thousand years, would seem to be peculiarly incongruous. The train of thought that led me into this inquiry was fuggefted by a conversation many years ago, in which I had taken the freedom to offer an opinion different from what was maintained by the company, but warranted, as I then thought, and ftill think, by the greatest authorities and the best reasons. It was pleaded against me, that tafte is capricious, and criticism variable; and that the rules of Ariftotle's Poetics, being founded in the practice of Sophocles and Homer, ought not to be applied to the poems of other ages and nations. I admitted the plea, as far as these rules are local and temporary; but afferted, that many of them, being founded in nature, were indifpenfable, and could not be violated without fuch impropriety, as, though overlooked by fome, would always be offenfive to the greater part of readers, and obftruct the general end of poetical compofition: and that it would be no lefs abfurd, for a poet to violate the essential rules of his art, and justify himself by an appeal from the tribunal of Arif |