"Hand in hand at wisdom's shrine, By Verulamian laws!" AKENSIDE. "But as we, in our isle imprisoned, Where cattle only, and divers dogs are bred, The precious unicorns, strange monsters call, So thought he sweets strange, that had none at all." HENRY TAYLOR AND THE AUTHOR OF " FESTUS." THE unrepressed vigour of imagination, and the graceful display of philosophical thought; the splendour of great and original imagery, and the level dignity of the operations of the understanding; the passion of poetry, and the sound sense of poetry; are proposed to be discussed in this essay. The calm philosophy of poetry, in its addresses to the understanding and the domestic affections, now holds the ascendancy; but as the fresh and energetic spirit of the present age advances, a contest is certain to take place in the fields of Literature on the above questions. The sooner, therefore, the battle is fought out, the better; and to this end, the poetical antagonisms shall at once be brought into collision. Several of the parties being personal friends, they will not be so much surprised at this summary cry" to arms," as that very large portion of the public who fancy that the periods of poetry are all over with us in England. A peculiar principle, and a peculiar style, are the first things to be considered in this business. If the absence of enthusiasm, or the total subjugation of it by the intellect; and if the absence of a power to call up imagery, or the levelling down of imagery to a barren regularity, be now considered as the true principle and style for the greatest poetry, then all our great poets of by-gone ages, have written in error, and must no longer be accounted great, except in the light of barbarians, even as Pope and Dr. Johnson regarded the men of the Elizabethan age. But this will never be admitted again, for the public mind has outgrown all such teaching. The attempt, therefore, seems to be to bring back the same impression or opinion, without verbally stating it,and, by making an exception in favour of Shakspere, to merge all the glories of his poetical contemporaries in a generalized idea of extravagance and disorder. - Most readers will recollect that Wordsworth has prefixed to his beautiful poem, "To the Daisy," some lines from Withers, which either originated or encouraged in him the principle by which the descriptive part of his poetry is so peculiarly influenced : "That from every thing I saw I could some instruction draw, FESTUS. And raise pleasure to the height, Through the meanest object's sight," &c. WITHERS. The disposition to misuse an extreme principle has for some time been perceptible. The great poet Wordsworth has said how much to his mind was "the meanest flower that blows." No doubt but it was much to him; and no doubt there is nothing mean, essentially, in nature. But when a number of other poets say "Well, and the meanest flower is just as much to us!"—we cannot believe that they are sincere, for the original impression is not theirs, and no one, by mere imitation, can have "thoughts that lie too deep for tears." The universal application of a sentiment, cannot imply a universal sensibility. (It should here be understood that we are not at present alluding to either of the gentlemen at the head of this paper, but speaking in general terms.) But out of this same 66 following" has been derived a notion that the more mean and insignificant a subject, or object is in itself, the more fit and worthy is the opportunity for a poet to make it great by uplifting and surrounding it with his own personal feelings and thoughts. To all this we say-" Leave the great poet his originality." His best teachings should be received, but his experience should not he imitated or assumed. Nor will the principle bear it any further than he has carried it without manifest injury to our litera |