Note (X.) p. 314. Mr Price has stated, with his usual acuteness and candour, the essential difference between the philological question concerning the propriety of his language upon this subject; and the philosophical question concerning the reality of the distinction upon which his treatise hinges. I differ from him only in this, that I consider the former question as of much greater importance than he seems to attach to it. His words are these: "I must here observe (and I wish the reader to keep it in his "mind), that the inquiry is not in what sense certain words are "used in the best authors, still less what is their common and vulgar use and abuse; but whether there are certain qualities which uniformly produce the same effects in all visible objects, and, ac"cording to the same analogy, in objects of hearing, and of all the "other senses; and which qualities (though frequently blended and "united with others in the same object or set of objects) may be "separated from them, and assigned to the class to which they "belong. "If it can be shewn, that a character composed of these quali"ties, and distinct from all others, does prevail through all na"ture; if it can be traced in the different objects of art and of na"ture, and appears consistent throughout, it surely deserves a dis"tinct title; but, with respect to the real ground of inquiry, it "matters little whether such a character, or the set of objects belonging to it, is called beautiful, sublime, or picturesque, or by any other name, or by no name at all.", These remarks must bere ceived with very important limitations; for, granting them to hold (as they certainly do to a considerable extent) with respect to the use of words in any particular language, they certainly will not apply to cases where the same transitive or metaphorical meanings follow, in a variety of different tongues, the corresponding terms in all of them. This, I flatter myself, I have already shewn with sufficient clearness. As to the philosophical question about the two sets of qualities. distinguished by Mr Price, I not only agree with him in almost all the critical observations which he has introduced in the course of the discussion, but I esteem his work, as eminently calculated, in its practical tendency, to reform and to improve the public taste. I confess, at the same time, I am somewhat afraid, that the vagueness and ambiguity of his favourite term may give rise to many misapplications of his principles, very remote from the intentions. of the author. The picturesque cottages, and picturesque porters'lodges, which have lately been starting up all over the country (to the greater part of which we may apply the happy expression of * Essay on the Picturesque, pp. 40, 41. Delille-("Veut être pittoresque et n'est que ridicule”), afford a proof, that this apprehension is not without some foundation. Note (Y.) p. 344. "Un peintre, qui de tous les talens nécessaires pour former le "grand artisan, n'a que celui de bien colorer, decide qu'un tableau "est excellent, ou qu'il ne vaut rien en général, suivant que l'ou"vrier a sçu manier la couleur. La poesie du tableau est comptée pour peu de chose, pour rien même, dans son jugement. Il fait "sa decision, sans aucun égard aux parties de l'art quil n'a point.” -Reflexions Crit. sur la Poesie et sur la Peinture. 66 Note (Z.) p. 353. For the following very judicious remark of Mr Burke's, on the philosophical speculations of Sir J. Reynolds, the public is indebted to Mr Malone. (V. 1. XCVII.) "He was a great generalizer, and was fond of reducing every "thing to one system, more, perhaps, than the variety of principles "which operate in the human mind, and in every human work, "will properly endure. But this disposition to abstractions, to ge “neralizing, and classification, is the greatest glory of the human "mind, that, indeed, which most distinguishes man from other ani"mals, and is the source of every thing that can be called science. "I believe, his early acquaintance with Mr Mudge of Exeter, a 66 very learned and thinking man, and much inclined to philoso"phize in the spirit of the Platonists, disposed him to this habit. "He certainly, by that means, liberalized, in a high degree, the "theory of his own art; and if he had been more methodically in"stituted in the early part of life, and had possessed more lei66 sure for study and reflection, he would, in my opinion, have pur"sued this method with great success." Note (A a.) p. 381. Since finishing this Essay, I find that I have been partly anticipated in the foregoing remark by Mr Hume, who, in his Treatise of Human Nature, expresses himself thus: ""Tis a quality very observable in human nature, that any oppo"sition which does not entirely discourage and intimidate us, has "rather a contrary effect, and inspires us with a more than ordi"nary grandeur and magnanimity. In collecting our force to over"come the opposition, we invigorate the soul, and give it an eleva"tion with which otherwise it would never have been acquainted. "Compliance, by rendering our strength useless, makes us insen"sible of it; but opposition awakens and employs it. "This is also true in the inverse. Opposition not only enlarges "the soul, but the soul, when full of courage and magnanimity, in a manner seeks opposition.These principles have an effect on 66 "the imagination as well as on the passions. To be convinced of "this, we need only consider the influence of heights and depths on "that faculty. Any great elevation of place communicates a kind "of pride or sublimity of imagination, and gives a fancied superiority over those that lie below; and, vice versa, a sublime and strong imagination conveys the idea of ascent and elevation. "Hence it proceeds, that we associate, in a manner, the idea of "whatever is good with that of height, and evil with lowness. "Heaven is supposed to be above, and hell below. A noble genius "is called an elevated and sublime one. Et udam Spernit humum fugiente penna. On the contrary, a vulgar and trivial conception "is styled indifferently, low or mean. Prosperity is denominated "ascent, and adversity descent. Kings and princes are supposed "to be placed at the top of human affairs; as peasants and day"labourers are said to be in the lowest stations. These methods "of thinking and of expressing ourselves are not of so little consequence as they may appear at first sight. ""Tis evident to common sense as well as philosophy, that there "is no natural nor essential difference betwixt high and low, and "that this distinction arises only from the gravitation of matter, "which produces a motion from the one to the other. The very same direction, which in this part of the globe is called ascent, is "denominated descent in our antipodes; which can proceed from "nothing but the contrary tendency of bodies. Now, 'tis certain "that the tendency of bodies, continually operating upon our senses, must produce, from custom, a like tendency in the fancy, "and that, when we consider any object situated in an ascent, the "idea of its weight gives us a propensity to transport it from the "place in which it is situated to the place immediately below it, "and so on till we come to the ground, which equally stops the "body and our imagination. For a like reason we feel a difficulty "in mounting, and pass not without a kind of reluctance from the "inferior to that which is situated above it, as if our ideas acquired a kind of gravity from their objects. As a proof of this, do we "not find that the facility, which is so much studied in music and poetry, is called the fall or cadency of the harmony or period; "the idea of facility communicating to us that of descent, in the same manner as descent produces a facility? "Since the imagination, therefore, in running from low to high, "finds an opposition in its internal qualities and principles, and since the soul, when elevated with joy and courage, in a manner "seeks opposition, and throws itself with alacrity into any scene of "thought or action, where its courage meets with matter to nourish "and employ it; it follows, that every thing which invigorates and "enlivens the soul, whether by touching the passions or imagina"tion, naturally conveys to the fancy this inclination for ascent, “and determines it to run against the natural stream of its thoughts "and conceptions. This aspiring progress of the imagination suits "the present disposition of the mind; and the difficulty, instead of "extinguishing its vigour and alacrity, has the contrary effect of "sustaining and increasing it. Virtue, genius, power, and riches, are for this reason associated with height and sublimity, as poverty, slavery, and folly, are conjoined with descent and lowness. "Were the case the same with us as Milton represents it to be with "the angels, to whom descent is adverse, and who cannot sink with"out labour and compulsion, this order of things would be entirely "inverted; as appears hence, that the very nature of ascent and "descent is derived from the difficulty and propensity, and, conse"quently, every one of their effects proceeds from that origin."Treatise of Human Nature, Vol. II. p. 281, et seq. Though I must have repeatedly read the above passage in Mr Hume's works, it had totally escaped my recollection, till I met with a short abstract of it very lately, in turning over Dr Gerard's ingenious Essay on Taste. Note (B b.) p. 383. "As for the position, or attitude of virtue; though, in a historical piece, such as ours is designed, it would on no account be proper "to have immediate recourse to the way of emblem; one might, "on this occasion, endeavour, nevertheless, by some artifice, to give "our figure, as much as possible, the resemblance of the same god"dess, as she is seen on medals, and other ancient emblematic pieces of like nature. In this view, she should be so designed, as "to stand firm with her full poise upon one foot, having the other a little advanced and raised on a broken piece of ground or "rock, instead of the helmet or little globe on which we see her "usually setting her foot, as triumphant, in those pieces of the em"blematic kind. A particular advantage of this attitude, so judi"ciously assigned to virtue by ancient masters, is, that it expresses "as well her aspiring effort, or ascent towards the stars and heaven, "as her victory and superiority over fortune and the world. For "90 the poets have described her. And in our piece particularly, "where the arduous and rocky way of virtue requires to be em"phatically represented, the ascending posture of this figure, with "one foot advanced, in a sort of climbing action, over the rough "and thorny ground, must of necessity, if well executed, create a "due effect, and add to the sublime of this ancient poetic work." See a treatise, by Lord Shaftesbury, entitled, A Notion of the Historical Draught of the Judgment of Hercules, according to Prodicus, &c. See also La Gerusalemme Liberata, Canto 17. Stan. 61, 62. Note (C c.) p. 390. In Boileau's translation of Longinus, as in the English one of Smith, the word Babos is omitted; but in the edition of this translation, published by M. de St Marc, the following note is subjoined to the text: "Le Grec dit un art du Sublime ou du Profond. "Tous les interprètes ont pris ces deux termes pour synonymes, "J'ai peine à croire, que Longin ait voulu les employer comme "tels. Ce n'est que dans ce seul endroit qu'ils sont mis avec la "particule disjunctive; partout ailleurs la conjonction les unit "dans une même phrase. Je pense donc, que par le sublime et le "profond notre Rhéteur a voulu présenter deux idées différentes. "Et dans le fait, ces deux différentes idées conviennent également “à son sujet. La Profondeur n'est pas moins nécessaire que le "Sublime à la grande Eloquence." Instead, however, of supposing Longinus to have been influenced, in the above passage, by the conceit suggested by the French critic, it seems to me much more reasonable to conclude, that he had an eye to the similarity of the impressions produced, in many instances, by height and by depth, both in their literal and in their figurative acceptations. Various proofs of this similarity will occur in the sequel of this Essay. Note (D d.) p. 399. The tedious controversy about the sublimity of this passage of Scripture, which was provoked among the French critics, by a letter from Huet, Bishop of Avranches, to the Duke of Montausier, would now be scarcely remembered (at least in this country), were it not for the space which it is so absurdly allowed to occupy, in some of the best editions of Boileau's works.-The only English writer of note who has given any countenance to the Bishop's paradox is Lord Kames, who, after mentioning the dispute to which it gave rise, as a curious occurrence in literary history, observes that, in the opinions held by both parties, there was a mixture of truth and of error; the passage in question being sublime in one point of view, and not sublime in another. For the grounds on which this decision rests, see Elements of Criticism. A French poet of our own times, in alluding to the wonders of creative power, has attempted, by means of a very singular personification, to rise still higher than the sacred historian. With what success I leave to the reader to judge. "L'Imagination, féconde enchanteresse, "Qui fait mieux que garder et que se souvenir, "Refait tout ce qui fut, fait tout ce qui doit être, "Et comme à l'Eternel, quand sa voix l'appela, "L'être encore au néant lui répond: me Voilà." It is with some regret I mention, that these lines are quoted from рр |