heroes, the want of a general connection would often appear. On this account, as I prefume, he fometimes refumes and finishes, in fome diftant Book, a tale formerly begun and left imperfect. But, as numberless interruptions neceffarily intervene, this proceeding often occafions infinite perplexity to the reader. And it seems to be for the fame reason, that, after one of the twelve Knights has achieved the adventure of his proper Book, the poet introduces him, in the next Book, acting perhaps in an inferiour sphere, and degraded to fome lefs dangerous exploit. But this conduct is highly inartificial: for it destroys that repofe which the mind feels after having accompanied a hero, through manifold struggles and various diftreffes, to fuccefs and victory. Besides, when we perceive him entering upon any lefs illuftrious attempt, our former admiration is in fome measure diminished. Having feen him complete fome memorable conqueft, we become interested in his honour, and are jealous concerning his future reputation. To attempt, and even to achieve, fome petty pofteriour enterprife, is to derogate from his dignity, and to fully the tranfcendant luftre of his former victories.

Spenfer perhaps would have embarraffed himself and the reader lefs, had he made every Book one entire detached poem of twelve Cantos, without any reference to the reft. Thus he would have written twelve different Books, in each of which he might have completed the pattern of a particular virtue in twelve Knights refpectively at prefent he has remarkably failed, in endeavouring to reprefent all the virtues exemplified in one, The poet might either have established TWELVE KNIGHTS without an ARTHUR, or an ARTHUR without TWELVE KNIGHTS. Upon fuppofition that Spenfer was refolved to characterife the twelve moral virtues, the

B

former plan perhaps would have been beft: the latter is defective as it neceffarily wants fimplicity. It is an action confifting of twelve actions, all equally great and unconnected between themselves, and not compounded of one uninterrupted and coherent chain of incidents, tending to the accomplishment of one defign.

I have before remarked, that Spenfer intended to exprefs the character of a hero perfected in the twelve moral virtues, by reprefenting him as affifting in the fervice of all, till at last he becomes poffeffed of all. This plan, however injudicious, he certainly was obliged to obferve. But in the third Book, which is ftyled the Legend of Chastity, Prince Arthur does not fo much as lend his affiftance in the vindication of that virtue. He appears indeed; but not as an agent, or even an auxiliary, in the adventure of the Book.

Yet it must be confeffed, that there is something artificial in the poet's manner of varying from hiftorical precifion. This conduct is rationally illuftrated by himself. According to this plan, the reader would have been agreeably surprised in the laft Book, when he came to difcover that the feries of adventures, which he had juft feen completed, were undertaken at the command of the FAERIE QUEENE; and that the Knights had feverally fet forward to the execution of them, from her annual birth-day feftival. But Spenfer, in moft of the Books, has injudiciously forestalled the first of these particulars; which certainly should have been Concealed 'till the laft Book, not only that a needlefs repetition of the fame thing might be prevented, but that an opportunity might be fecured of ftriking the reader's mind with a circumftance new and unexpected.

Letter to Sir W. Raleigh. T. WARTON.

But notwithstanding the plan and conduct of Spenfer, in the poem before us, is highly exceptionable, yet we may venture to pronounce, that the fcholar has more merit than his mafter in this refpect; and that the Faerie Queene is not fo confufed and irregular as the Orlando Furiofo. There is indeed no general unity which prevails in the former: but, if we confider every book, or adventure, as a feparate poem, we fhall meet with fo many distinct, however imperfect, unities, by which an attentive reader is lefs bewildered, than in the maze of indigeftion and incoherence, of which the latter totally confifts, where we feek in vain either for partial or univerfal integrity:

"Cum nec pes nec caput uni

"Reddatur formæ." Hor. Art. Poet. v. 8.

Ariofto has his admirers, and moft defervedly. Yet every claffical, every reasonable critick must acknowledge, that the poet's conception in celebrating the MADNESS, or, in other words, defcribing the irrational acts, of a hero, implies extravagance and abfurdity. Orlando does not make his appear. ance till the eighth book, where he is placed in a fituation not perfectly heroick. He is difcovered to us in bed, defiring to fleep. His ultimate design is to find Angelica, but his pursuit of her is broken off in the thirtieth book; after which there are fixteen books, in none of which Angelica has the leaft fhare. Other heroes are likewife engaged in the fame purfuit. After reading the firft ftanza, we are inclined to think, that the fubject of the poem is the expedition of the Moors into France, under the emperor Agramante, to fight against Charle magne; but this bufinefs is the moft infignificant and inconfiderable part of it. Many of the heroes perform exploits equal, if not fuperiour, to thofe of

Orlando; particularly Ruggiero, who closes the poem with a grand and important achievement, the conqueft and death of Rodomont. But this event is not the completion of a story carried on, principally and perpetually, through the work.

This fpirited Italian paffes from one incident to another, and from region to region, with fuch incredible expedition and rapidity, that one would think he was mounted upon his winged fteed Ippogrifo. Within the compass of ten stanzas, he is in England and the Hefperides, in the earth and the moon. He begins the history of a knight in Europe, and fuddenly breaks it off to refume the unfinished catastrophe of another in Afia. The reader's imagination is distracted, and his attention harraffed, amidft the multiplicity of tales, in the relation of which the poet is at the fame inftant equally engaged. To remedy this inconvenience, the compaffionate expofitors have affixed, in fome of the editions, marginal hints, informing the bewildered reader in what book and stanza the poet intends to recommence an interrupted episode. This expedient reminds us of the aukward artifice practifed by the firft painters. However, it has proved the means of giving Ariofto's admirers a

h

h However, it has proved the means of giving Ariofto's admirers a clear comprehenfion of his ftories, &c.] There was a work of another kind publifhed, in the age of Spenfer, calculated to augment the fame of Ariofto, and to excite a defire in the reader, by the curious expofitions given of particular paffages, to perufe the whole of fuch a marvellous compofition. It was entitled "Bellezze del Furiofo di M. Lodovico Ariofto; Scielte da Oratio Tofcanella: Con gli Argomenti et Allegorie de i Conti: Con l'Allegorie de i nomi proprii principali dell' opera et coi luochi communi dell' autore per ordine di alfabeto; del medefimo." Printed at Venice, in 1574. 4to. The work is embellished with the ufual ornaments of that period, wooden cuts well defigned and well finished. TODD.

clear comprehenfion of his stories, which otherwife they could not have obtained, without much difficulty. This poet is feldom read a fecond time in order; that is, by paffing from the first canto to the fecond, and from the fecond to the reft in fucceffion by thus purfuing, without any regard to the proper courfe of the books and ftanzas, the different tales, which though all fomewhere finished, yet are at prefent fo mutually complicated, that the incidents of one are perpetually clashing with thofe of another. The judicious Abbe du Bos obferves happily enough, that "Homer is a geometrician in comparison of Ariofto." His mifcella.neous contents cannot be better expreffed than by the two firft verfes of his exordium.

"Le Donne, i Cavalier, l'Arme, gli Amori,
"Le Cortefie, l'audaci Imprefe, io canto."

But it is abfurd to think of judging either Ariofto or Spenfer by precepts which they did not attend to. We, who live in the days of writing by rule, are apt to try every compofition by thofe laws which we have been taught to think the fole criterion of excellence. Critical tafte is univerfally diffufed, and we require the fame order and defign which every modern performance is expected to have, in poems where they never were regarded or intended. Spenfer, (and the fame may be faid of Ariofto,) did not live in an age of planning. His poetry is the careless exuberance of a warm imagination and a ftrong fenfibility. It was his bufinefs to engage the fancy, and to intereft the attention by bold and ftriking images, in the formation, and the difpofi

1 Montefquieu has partly characterifed Spenfer, in the judgement he has paffed upon the English poets, which is not true with regard to all of them. "Leurs poetes auroient plus fouvent cette rudeffe originale de l'invention, qu'une cer