lar epigram, written by à fervile foreigner, to prove Mil-' ton an atheist. Not contented with reviling the great author himself, he extends the virulent attack to his nephew Philips, whom he accufes of having favoured, by a fufpicious filence, the fecret practice of his uncle, in riffling the treasures of others. "Philips (fays Lauder) every where in his Theatrum Poetarum,' either wholly paffes over in filence fuch authors as Milton was moft obliged to, or, if he chances to mention "them, does it in the moft flight and fuperficial manner imaginable."

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There is fome acuteness, and more truth, in this obfervation concerning Philips, than Lauder was himself aware of. Though Milton was indeed no plagiary, and his nephew of courfe had no thefts to conceal, it is very remarkable that Philips, giving an account of poets in all languages, omits fuch of their works as were built on subjects resembling thofe of his uncle. This omiffion is not only striking in the brief account he gives of the Latin poets collected by Lauder; it extends to fome: Italian writers, of whom I fhall presently have occafion to speak more at large. Let me firft obferve, in apology for the omiffions of Philips, which are too frequent to be confidered as accidental, that he probably chose not to enumerate various poems relating to angels, to Adam, and to Paradife, left ignorance and malice fhould abfurdly confider the mere existence of fuch poetry as a derógation from the glory of Milton. That Philips had

himfelf

himself no inconfiderable share of poetical taste, and that he was laudably zealous for the honour of his uncle, appears, I think, from the following remarks, which I transcribe with pleasure, from his preface to the little book I am speaking of, as they seem to contain an oblique and graceful compliment to his renowned relation "A poetical fancy is much feen in a choice of "verse proper to a chosen subject.

"Wit, ingenuity, and learning in verse, even elegance "itself, though that comes nearest, are one thing, true "native poetry is another, in which there is a certain “ air and spirit, which, perhaps, the most learned and "judicious in other arts do not perfectly apprehend, "much less is it attainable by any study or industry."

This certain air and fpirit are affuredly moft confpicuous in Milton: he was a poet of nature's creation, but one who added to all her endowments every advantage that ftudy could acquire.

By the force and opulence of his own fancy he was exempted from the inclination and the neceffity of borrowing and retailing the ideas of other poets; but, rich as he was in his own proper fund, he chose to be perfectly acquainted, not only with the wealth, but even with the poverty of others. He feems to have read, in different languages, authors of every class; and I doubt not but he had perused every poem collected by Lauder, though fome of them hardly afford ground enough for a conjecture, that he remembered any paffage they contain, in the courfe

course of his nobler compofition. Johnfon, in his preface to Lauder's pamphlet, represents the Adamus Exul of Grotius as "the first draught, the prima ftamina of the "Paradise Loft." The fame critic obferves, in touching on this fubject, in his life of Milton-" Whence he drew "the original defign has been variously conjectured by who cannot bear to think themselves ignorant of that, which, at laft, neither diligence nor fagacity can "difcover. Some find the hint in an Italian tragedy. "Voltaire tells a wild, unauthorized ftory of a farce feen by Milton in Italy, which opened thus: Let the "rainbow be the fiddle-ftick of the fiddle of heaven","

men,

The critic was perfectly right in relinquishing his former idea concerning the Adamus Exul of Grotius; but, in his remark on Voltaire, he fhews how dangerous it is to censure any writer for what he fays concerning books, which the cenfurer has no opportunity of examining. Voltaire, indeed, from his predominant paffion for ridi cule, and from the rafh vivacity, that often led him to fpeak too confidently of various works from a very flight infpection of their contents, is no more to be followed implicitly in points of criticism, than he is on the more important article of religion: but his opinions in literature, are generally worth examination, as he poffeffed no common degree of taste, a perpetual thirst for universal knowledge, and, though not the most intimate, yet, perhaps, the most extenfive acquaintance with literary works

and

and literary men that was ever acquired by any indi vidual.

When Voltaire vifited England in the early part of his life, and was engaged in foliciting a fubfcription for his Henriade, which firft appeared under the title of "The “League,” he published, in our language, an effay on Epic Foetry, a work which, though written under fuch difad vantage, poffeffes the peculiar vivacity of this extraordi nary writer, and is indeed fo curious a fpecimen of his versatile talents, that although it has been fuperfeded by a French compofition of greater extent, under the fame title, it ought, I think, to have found a place in that fig nal monument to the name of Voltaire, the edition of his works in ninety-two volumes.

As my reader may be gratified in feeing the English ftyle of this celebrated foreigner, I will tranfcribe, without abridgment, what he fays of Andreini:

"Milton, as he was travelling through Italy in his "youth, faw at Florence a comedy called Adamo, writ "by one Andreini, a player, and dedicated to Mary de *Medicis, Queen of France. The subject of the play "was the Fall of Man; the actors, God, the devils, the “angels, Adam, Eve, the Serpent, Death, and the feven "mortal fins that topic, fo improper for a drama, but "fo fuitable to the abfurd genius of the Italian ftage (as "it was at that time) was handled in a manner entirely "conformable to the extravagance of the defign. The

"fcene

"fcene opens with a chorus of angels, and a cherubim “thus speaks for the reft:- Let the rainbow be the "fiddle-stick of the fiddle of the heavens! let the pla<< nets be the notes of our mufic! let time beat care"fully the measure, and the winds make the sharps, "&c.' Thus the play begins, and every fcene rifes above "the last in profufion of impertinence!

"Milton pierced through the abfurdity of that performance to the hidden majesty of the fubject, which, being "altogether unfit for the ftage, yet might be (for the genius of Milton, and for his only) the foundation of an epic poem.

"He took from that ridiculous trifle the firft hint of "the nobleft work, which human imagination has ever "attempted, and which he executed more than twenty "years after.

“In the like manner, Pythagoras owed the invention of "mufic to the noife of the hammer of a black fmith; "and thus, in our days, Sir Ifaac Newton, walking in his "garden, had the first thought of his fyftem of gravita"tion upon feeing an apple falling from a tree."

It was thus that, in the year 1727, Voltaire, then studying in England, and collecting all poffible information concerning our great epic poet, accounted for the origin of Paradife Loft. Rolli, another foreign ftudent in epic poetry, who refided at that time in London, and was engaged in tranflating Milton into Italian verfe, published some severe cenfures, in English, on the English effay of Voltaire,

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