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However, (be it from what Motive it may) the following is a Criticisin chiefly, if not altogether, on the Praife-worthy Side of our Authors confidered, not proceeding from Envy of true Merit, nor Illnature in the Critick; therefore expect little except Comparison, Explanation, and bringing to light fome beautiful Paffages, in feveral great paftoral Poets, Mr. Pope, Mr. Gay, Mr. Philips, and in dramatick Paftoral, Taffo, Guarini, and our British, and much to be admir'd gentle Shepherd, Allan Ramfay.

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There are four Sorts of Paftorals; the firft Sort is that which is wrote with an Eye to antient Arcadian Shephersd, and this rifes in the Stile, and affumes more poetical Liberty than otherways would be allowed to fimple Shepherd Swains; of this Sort are the Paftorals of Mr. Pope and Mr. Philips.

The fecond Sort keeps in View only modern Shepherds, fpeaking in more homely Guife, without the poetical Painting mentioned in the firft, of this Kind are Mr. Gay's.

The third Sort is as either of these are manag'd by the Poet, and is the old Arcadian, or else the modern, and more natural Paftoral, either in Defcription, or Dialogue, of this Kind are fome of the Paftorals of each of the three Poets beforementioned.

The fourth Sort is paftoral Comedy, and this admits of Description, Dialogue, Accident, Incident, and Action, and is the greatest Perfection to which paftoral Poetry can be brought; of this Kind, is the Aminta of Taffo-The Faithful Shepherd of Guarini, and the Gentle Shepherd of Allan Ramfay. Boileau, in his Art of Poetry, has given very good Inftruction to a paftoral Writer, in the following Lines, tranflated from the original French, by Sir William Soames, and afterwards revis'd by the great Mr. Dryden.

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Sa fair Nymph, when rifing from her Bed, With fparkling Diamonds dreffes no ther Head; But without Gold, or Pearl, or coftly Scents, Gathers from neighb'ring Fields her Ornaments: Such, lovely in its Drefs, but plain withal, Ought to appear a perfect Paftoral: Its humble Method nothing has of fierce, But hates the rattling of a lofty Verse : There, native Beauty pleafes, and excites, And never with harfh Sounds the Ear affrights. But in this Stile a Poet often spent, In Rage throws by his rural Inftrument, And vainly, (when diforder'd Thoughts abound,) Amidft the Eclogue makes the Trumpet found: Pan flies, alarm'd, into the neighb❜ring Woods. And frighted Naiads dive into the Floods.

Mr. Philips, who wrote his Paftorals before Mr. Pope, fays little concerning the Manner of writing, or of the Nature of this Sort of Poetry, which, for many Years before he took his rural Pipe in Hand, had been quite neglected; it is therefore, I think, a little strange, that on the Revival of paftoral Poetry in England, he fhould only say:

T is ftrange to think, in an Age fo addicted to the Muses, how Paftoral Poetry comes to be never fo much as thought upon; confidering efpecially, that it has been always accounted the moft confiderable of the smaller Poems: Virgil and Spencer made use of it as a Prelude to heroick Poetry. But I fear the Innocency of the Subject makes it fo little inviting at present.

There is no Sort of Poetry, if well wrought, but gives Delight. And the Paftoral perhaps may

boast

of

of this in a peculiar Manner: For, as in Painting, fo I believe, in Poetry, the Country affords the most entertaining Scenes, and moft delightful Prospects.

Gaffendus, I remember, tells us, that Pierefkius was a great Lover of Mufick, efpecially that of Birds; because their artlefs Strains feem to have lefs of Paffion and Violence, but more of a natural Eafiness, and therefore do the rather befriend Contemplation. It is after the fame Manner that Paftoral gives a fweet and gentle Compofure to the Mind; whereas the Ethick and Tragick Poem put the Spirits in too great a Ferment by the Vehemence of their Motions.

To fee a stately, well built Palace strikes us, indeed, with Admiration, and swells the Soul, as it were, with Notions of Grandeur: But when I view a little Country Dwelling, advantagiously fituated amidst a beautiful Variety of Fields, Woods, and Rivers; I feel an unspeakable Kind of Satisfaction, and cannot forbear wifhing, that my good Fortune would place me in so sweet a Retirement.

When Mr. Pope publifh'd his, he was kinder to the Publick: Befides what we quoted in the Beginning of the first Volume of this Work, he has wrote many Things worthy Notice, and what will be of great Help to future Writers, in this Kind of Poem. The Original of Poetry, fays Mr. Pope, is afcribed to that Age which fucceeded the Creation of the World; and as the Keeping of Flocks, seems to be the first Employment of Mankind, the most antient Sort of Poetry, was probably Paftoral: 'Tis natural to imagine, that the Leisure of those antient Shepherds requiring fome Diverfion, none was fo proper to that folitary Life, as finging, and that in their Songs, they took Occafion to celebrate their

own

own Felicity: From hence a Poem was invented, and afterwards improv'd to a perfect Image of that happy Time, which, by giving an Emblem of the Virtues of a former Age, might recommend them to the prefent; and fince the Life of Shepherds was attended with more Tranquility than any other rural Employment, the Poets chofe to introduce their Perfons, from whom it receiv'd the Name of Paftoral.

If we could copy Nature, it may be useful to take this Confideration along with us, that Pastoral is an Image of what we call the Golden Age.

By this it is plain, that Mr. Pope efteem'd himself a Writer only of that Sort of Paftoral which painted the Golden Age. Mr. Gay, on the contrary, leaves that behind, and gives his Shepherds and Shepherdeffes a Turn altogether modern and natural, for which he artfully and properly prepares the Reader, in a masterly Manner, affecting Simplicity of Stile, and a Language a little older than what was us'd in his Time. Great Marvel hath it been, fays Mr. Gay, (and that not unworthily) to diverfe worthy Wits, that in this our Ifland of Britain, in all rare Sciences fo greatly abounding, more especially in all Kinds of Poefie highly flourishing, no Poet (though otherways of notable Cunning in Roundelays) hath hit on the right fimple Eclogue after the true ancient Guife of Theocritus, before this mine Attempt.

Other Poet travailing in this plain High-way of Paftoral know I none. Yet, certes, fuch it behoveth a Paftoral to be, as Nature in the Country affordeth; and the Manners alfo meetly copied from the ruftical Folk therein. In this alfo my Love to my native Country Britain much pricketh me forward, to describe aright the Manners of our own honest and labourious Plough-men, in no wife fure more unworthy a British Poet's Imitation, than thofe of Sicily or ArVOL. II. K

cadies

cadies albeit, not ignorant I am, what a Rout and Rabblement of critical Gallimawfry hath been made of late Days by certain young Men of infipid Delicacy, conceruing, I wift not what, golden Age, and other outragious Conceits, to which they would confine Paftoral.

Verily, as little Pleafance receiveth a true homebred Taft, from all the fine finical new-fangled Fooleries of this gay Gothic Garniture, wherewith they so nicely bedeck their Court Clowns, or clown Courtiers, (for, which to call them rightly, I wot not) as would a prudent Citizen journeying to his country Farms, fhould he find them occupied by People of this motley Make, inftead of plain downright hearty cleanly Folk; fuch as be now Tenants to the Burgeffes of this Realme.

Furthermore, it is my Purpose, gentle Reader, to fet before thee, as it were, a Picture, or rather lively Landfcape of thy own Country, juft as thou mighteft fee it, dideft thou take a Walk in the Fields at the proper Seafon.

Thou wilt not find my Shepherdeffes idly piping on oaten Reeds, but milking the Kine, tying up the Sheaves, or if the Hogs are aftray driving them to their Styes. My Shepherd gathereth none other Nofegays but what are the Growth of our own Fields, he fleepeth not under Myrtle Shades, but under a Hedge, nor doth he vigilantly defend his Flocks from Wolves, because there are none, as Maifter Spencer well obferveth.

Well is known that fince the Saxon King
Never was Wolf feen, many, or some
Nor in all Kent nor in Christendom.

For as much, as Fhave mentioned Maifter Spencer, foothly I must acknowledge him a Bard of fweeteft

Memorial