little, but still it is not well, nor gives any idea of the determined virtues of his heart. It just serves to help the reader to an image of the person, whose genius and integrity they must admire, if they are so happy as to have a taste for either."

II. GRAY'S STERILITY.

Very few of the world's great poets have made it easier for the general public to read their "Complete Works" than Gray. The temptation to scribble and to print is one that assails not only the would-be, but the genuine poets. This accounts for the bulky volumes which the student of a later age must buy and con, but which the rank and file of even intelligent readers pass by silently, content to have samples in place of the entire stock. Nor does the student always wish that the master had written more. We wish he had written more in his best vein, but the chances are even that he would not have written in his best, vein. There are many of Wordsworth's sonnets which the world has willingly let die; their titles in the Tables of Contents are merely the headstones of their graves. The Excursion let it be said softly and with a timid glance over the shoulder is long enough. With a man like Gray- there are not very many men like Gray· the case is different. His sterility is so surprising that it becomes necessary at the outset not only to call attention to it—the price of his "Complete Poetical Works" will do that—but to attempt to explain it. This can be done without resorting to any subtle theories. The view given by Matthew Arnold in his famous essay1 is entirely without foundation in fact. It is true that there is a curious lack of

1 Ward's English Poets, III, 302.

harmony between Gray's cold, classical style and the Romantic subjects he treated; this no doubt often made articulation extremely difficult. But Mr. Arnold's theory, that his scantiness of production was caused by his living in the "age of prose and reason is quite wide of the mark. The reason why Gray wrote so little was not because he was chilled by the public taste of the age; he would probably have written no more had he lived a hundred years before or since. He was not the man to be depressed by an unfavorable environment; for his mind was ever open to new influences, and he welcomed with the utmost eagerness all genuine signs of promise. His correspondence shows how closely and intelligently he followed the course of contemporary literature; he had something to say about every important new book. The causes of his lack of production are simple enough to those who start with no pre-conceived theory, and who prefer a commonplace explanation built on facts to a fanciful one built on phrases. Gray was Gray was a scholar, devoted to solitary research, and severely critical; this kind of temperament is not primarily creative, and does not toss off immortal poems every few weeks. The time that Mason, for example, spent in production, Gray spent in acquisition, and when he did produce, the critical fastidiousness of the scholar appeared in every line. All his verses bear evidence of the most painstaking labor and rigorous self-criticism. Again, during his whole life he was handicapped by wretched health, which, although never souring him, made his temperament melancholy, and acted as a constant check on what creative activity he really possessed. And finally, he abhorred publicity and popularity. No one who reads his correspondence can doubt this fact. He hated to be dragged out from his scholarly seclusion, and evidently preferred complete

66

obscurity to any noisy public reputation. This reserve was never affected; it was uniformly sincere, like everything else in Gray's character. His reticence was indeed extraordinary, keeping him not only from writing, but from publishing what he did write. He wrote, in English and Latin, more than sixty poems, but only twelve appeared in print during his lifetime; and his prose is all posthumous. Gray's own friends would have had no difficulty in explaining his scantiness of production. Horace Walpole, writing to George Montagu, 3 Sept. 1748, says: "I agree with you most absolutely in your opinion about Gray; he is the worst company in the world. From a melancholy turn, from living reclusely, and from a little too much dignity, he never converses easily; all his words are measured and chosen, and formed into sentences; his writings are admirable; he himself is not agreeable." Again, referring to Gray's slowness in composition, Walpole writes to Montagu, 5 May 1761. He is talking about Gray's proposed History of Poetry, and he says: "If he rides Pegasus at his usual foot-pace, [he] will finish the first page two years hence." In the compo

sition of his poems as well as in his studies, Gray was thorough; he disliked all short cuts to knowledge. Observe his admirable remark on such things: "Mr. Gray always considered, that the Encyclopædias and universal Dictionaries of various kinds, with which the world now abounds so much, afforded a very unfavourable symptom of the age in regard to its literature; as no real or profound learning can be obtained but at the fountain-head." 1 The adjective that perhaps best expresses Gray is fastidious. He was as severe on the children of his own brain as he was on those of others; he never let them appear in public until he was sure

1 Mathias, Observations, 1815, p. 50.

everything was exactly as it should be. Even his greatest poem pleases more by its exquisite finish than by its depth of feeling. These three reasons, then, his scholarly temperament, his bad health, and his dignified reserve, account satisfactorily for his lack of fertility. If we wish to know why so deep and strong a nature produced so little poetry, we must look at the man, and not at his contemporaries.

III. CHIEF INFLUENCES THAT AFFECTED GRAY'S

STYLE.

Two English poets exerted a powerful impression upon Gray Dryden and Milton. The former influenced Gray's style in his early Odes; in his later poems Dryden's influence is scarcely discernible, but Gray never ceased to admire Dryden's verse, freely acknowledging how much he had gained from him, and listening impatiently when Dryden was censured. Yet for Dryden's character Gray had nothing but contempt.1 Spenser was a favorite of Gray's, as he has been with nearly all the poets. Gray usually read Spenser just before composing; but it was Milton whose influence was most powerful and continuous. About 1750 the Miltonic school of poets included the principal English men of verse - Collins, the Wartons, Mason and others; and Gray was no exception. The abundance of Miltonic words and phrases in Gray's poems is everywhere noticeable; and the Elegy was simply the culmination of a class of literature which derived its inspiration directly from Il Penseroso.

1 See p. 65.

2 For an account of the influence of Milton on eighteenth century literature, see the editor's Beginnings of the English Romantic Movement, chap. v.

Gray's style was also greatly influenced by his profound knowledge of the classics; among the Greek poets, Pindar perhaps had the most pronounced effect on his style. The polish, finish, and chiseled perfection of Gray's verse was doubtless owing in no small degree to his study and admiration of Greek; even after Gray adopted Romantic themes his style is often strictly Classic. Gray's Latin poems are very little read nowa-days, but they attest his knowledge and interest in Roman literature; and they called out words of praise from that famous Latinist, Dr. Johnson.

3

1

The influence of French and Italian poetry in both these languages he was a good scholar-affected Gray strongly. His admiration for Racine is well known; but among contemporary French authors he was especially influenced by Gresset.2 Gray called him a "great master, ‚"3 and quoted some of his verses in a letter to Wharton. His plays seemed to have perfectly charmed Gray, who said, "The Méchant is the best comedy I ever read." Moreover, according to Mason, Gresset is responsible for one of Gray's poems; for the Épître à ma Sœur inspired him to write his Ode on the Pleasure Arising from Vicissitude. It is interesting, in view of the great contrast between the men, to recall the fact that when in Paris in 1739, Gray dined with the Abbé Prévost, the author of that masterpiece of passion, Manon Lescaut. Of the French people and French habits of thought Gray had no very high opinion, although his dislike of Voltaire and Rousseau doubtless largely due to religious prejudice.

5

1 Works, II, 167, 232.

2 Jean Baptiste Louis Gresset (1709-1777).

8 Works, II, 182.

5 See notes on that poem.

4 Works, II, 186.

was