above all, in imitation of classical models, correctness of style. And, in the words of James Russell Lowell, “in his own province he still stands unapproachably alone. If to be the greatest satirist of individual men, rather than of human nature, if to be the highest expression which the life of the court and the ballroom has ever found in verse, if to have added more phrases to our language than any other but Shakespeare, if to have charmed four generations, make a man a great poet - then he

is one. He was the chief founder of an artificial style of writing, which in his hands was living and powerful, because he used it to express artificial modes of thinking and an artificial state of society. Measured by any high standard of imagination, he will be found wanting; tried by the test of wit, he is unrivalled."

FOR FURTHER READING AND STUDY.

Carruthers, "Pope's Life and Letters"; Stephen, "Life of Pope," (English Men of Letters); Johnson, “Lives of the Poets"; Thackeray, English Humorists"; Lowell, "My Study Windows."

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A review of the Rape of the Lock." A critique of Pope's translation of Homer, Stephen, "Life of Pope," ch. III., and Matthew Arnold, "On Translating Homer." Had Pope sufficient ground for satirizing Addison? Stephen, "Life of Pope," ch. II.; Macaulay, "Essay on Addison"; Courthope, "Life of Addison," ch. VII. Some characterizations from " The Dunciad." A collection of choice passages from the "Essay on Man." A comparison of the "Ode on St. Cecilia's Day" with that of Dryden. Johnson's famous parallel between Pope and Dryden, "Lives of the Poets."

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The Essay on Criticism" will be found among the selections of Part II.

AGE OF JOHNSON.

PRINCIPAL WRITERS.

Orators.— Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816). Orator, politician, and dramatist. Pitt said of his speech in the trial of Warren Hastings, "that it surpasses all the eloquence of ancient or modern times." Two of his dramas, "The Rivals" (1775) and "The School for Scandal” (1777), take high rank.

Edmund Burke (1730–1797). Orator, statesman, and author. His principal works are his "Inquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful” (1756) and his "Reflections on the Revolution in France" (1790). (See Text.)

HISTORIANS.- David Hume (1711-1776). Historian and philosopher. Author of "Essays Moral and Political" (1741), “Inquiry Concerning the Human Understanding" (1748), "History of England" (1754-1762), etc. (See Text.)

William Robertson (1721-1793). Clergyman and historian. Author of "History of Scotland" (1759), "History of Charles V." (1769), and "History of America" (1777). (See Text.)

Edward Gibbon (1737-1794). Author of “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” (1776–1788), etc. (See Text.)

POETS.-Mark Akenside (1721-1771). His principal book is his "Pleasures of the Imagination (1744), suggested by Addison's essay on the same subject in the Spectator.

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Thomas Gray (1716-1771). His poem "A Distant Prospect of Eton College" (1742) attracted attention. His best-known poem is the Elegy in a Country Churchyard" (1750). "Progress of Poesy" (1755) and "The Bard," which was not completed, are his other productions. One of the most artistic of English poets.

William Collins (1721-1759. A lyrical poet of fine genius. His volume of "Odes," published in 1747, fell still-born from the press. His "Ode on the Death of Thomson," "Ode to Evening," and "Ode on the Passions are excellent poems.

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George Crabbe (1754-1832). His principal poem is "The Village” (1783). He was Augustan in the form of his poetry, using the rhymed couplet, but modern in spirit. Byron calls him "Nature's sternest painter, but the best."

James Beattie (1735-1803). "The Minstrel," his best poem, appeared, the first part in 1771, and the second part in 1774. It is written in Spenserian stanza and marks the transition from the artificial to the natural school. (See Text.)

William Shenstone (1714-1763). "The Schoolmistress" (1742) is a poem in Spenserian verse, belonging to the rising romantic school. It describes a village school.

Author of the ballad of

William Cowper (1731-1800). A poet marking the transition from the artificial to the natural school. "John Gilpin," a series of moral satires ror," "Truth," "Table Talk," etc. - and work. Famous also as a letter-writer.

"The Progress of Er"The Task,' his greatest

MISCELLANEOUS.- Thomas Warton (1728-1790). Professor of Poetry at Oxford, and author of a “History of English Poetry" (1781), extending to the early part of the seventeenth century. Thomas Percy (1729-1811). Bishop, and author of "Reliques of Ancient English Poetry." (See Text.)

James Boswell (1740-1795). Friend of Dr. Johnson, noting that great writer's speech and actions. His "Life of Dr. Johnson' (1791) is regarded as one of the best biographies ever written.

Horace Walpole (1717-1797). Earl of Oxford, and author of The Castle of Otranto" (1765), written in an extravagant romantic style, and "Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of Richard III." (1768).

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Adam Smith (1723-1790). Political economist, and author of The Wealth of Nations" (1776), a widely influential book, laying the foundations of a national political economy.

GREAT REPRESENTATIVE WRITERS.

SAMUEL JOHNSON.

OLIVER GOLDSMITH.

ROBERT BURNS,

VI.

AGE OF JOHNSON.

(1745-1800.)

251. Why so Called. The course of English literature is marked by a succession of rises and descents. Notwithstanding the presence of a few writers of marked excellence, the period under consideration is one of literary decadence. Old influences were giving place to new. This period is named after Johnson, the great literary dictator, simply as a matter of convenience. While he was the centre of an influential literary group for many years, and the most picturesque and commanding literary figure of his time, other and mightier influences were at work, giving a new tone and direction to literature.

252. A Period of Transition. In great measure Johnson bore the impress of the preceding period. In his poetry he is coldly classical; and in part, at least, of his prose, he is an imitator of Addison. The real characteristic of this second half of the eighteenth century is transition. By the side of the literary forms and canons of the age of Pope, there arose a new kind of writing distinguished by a return to nature. Artificial poetry had already been carried to its utmost limits; and if literature was to reach a higher excellence, it was obliged to assume a new form. And to this it was urged by the momentous social, political, and religious changes that took place, not only in England, but on the Continent and in America during the latter part of the century.

253. Social Advancement.- In their onward course mankind made a marked advance. In social and political relations the rights of men were more clearly recognized, and the brotherhood of mankind began to affect existing customs and institutions. As in all great forward movements of the world, a variety of causes coöperated in bringing about great changes.

Unwilling hands often played an important part. The stupidity and obstinacy of George III. and some of his ministers hastened the formal declaration of those principles of liberty which mark a new era in civil government.

254. Democratic Tendencies.- A strong tendency of the age was crystallized in the Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident," said the wise and courageous representatives of the American colonists, "that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." This solemn declaration sounded the knell of absolutism in the world. It is a political gospel that is destined to leaven the whole lump.

But how came the American colonists to a recognition of the weighty truths embodied in this declaration? They simply voiced the growing spirit of the age. The greater diffusion of knowledge had opened the eyes of men to a better perception of truth. The force of custom and prejudice was, in a measure, broken. The claims of superiority set up by privileged classes were seen to be baseless, and injustice and oppression in the state were discerned and denounced.

255. Growing Intelligence.-In England there was a noteworthy advance in popular intelligence. Remarkable inventions in the mechanic arts placed new power in the hands of the producing classes. The use of coal in smelting iron; the opening of canals throughout England; the invention of the spinningjenny and power-loom; the perfecting of the steam-engine with its wide application to manufacturing purposes - all this brought people together in large communities, greatly raised the average intelligence, and established the industrial supremacy of England.

Printing-presses were set up in every town; circulating libraries were opened; newspapers were multiplied; and monthly magazines and reviews fostered the general intelligence that called them into being. The proceedings of Parliament were