important, and we have not been much ufed to fuch harangues: but we can by no means liften with complacency to every man who is difpofed to prove to us that he can fpeak, and even fpeak eloquently, for three hours. Our cordial advice, therefore, to the epic writers of this day is, that they invent fome other plan to employ the fertility of their genius, and contrive, in fome degree, to give novelty of form, as well as brilliancy of execution to their compofitions. This has been completely effected by one modern author, and his poems are circulated accordingly; but even he will require to be told, if his own genius and judgment fhould not fuggeft it to him, that a frequent repetition of the fame kind of trains, even excellent in themfelves, will foon be received with apathy. If Homer himself could revive, and write more Iliads and Odyffeys, he could not always obtain the fame attention. After fo many adventurers in the fame line, Mr. Hoyle fets out with many difadvantages against him. He offers the public an epic poem, when an epic poem is the laft thing they wish to have. As we acknowledge in him confiderable power of writing and invention, we have stated this circumftance at large, that it may leffen his mortification, if he should fail to pleafe the public; and that he may attribute his failure rather to the unpopular direction of his powers, than to any deficiency in them. It is a little extraordinary that one poet fhould be writing on the Exodus, while two others were, in partnership, defcribing the fubfequent marches of Ifrael to Canaan. If evidence were wanting, in a thing fo obvious, this might be received as evidence that the subject is in all its parts poetical; fince it has appeared fo to the eyes of fo many men of genius at once. What indeed can be a more exalted fubject for defcriptive poetry, than the wonderful difplay of miracles which attended that heavendirected progrefs! It does not, however, follow, that they can with advantage be made the fubject of an epic poem: nor have the reafenings yet been anfwered, which deny the regular chain of hiftory to be fuited to epic poetry. Milton indeed placed his foundation in Scripture hiftory, but he wifely took a point of which little or nothing could be writter but from imagination. He defcribed a state of human nature, unparalleled in all but its feelings; and though he ventured to defcribe battles, affer fo many had been described before, yet they were fuch battles as never had been fought but on that occafion, and by fuch agents as never, but in that inftance, had been brought into action. That That the poet now before us has confiderable talents for writing may be proved abundantly from the fpecimen before us; that he has failed to produce an attractive compofition, for in that we think he has failed, is occafioned, partly by the caufes already ftated, and partly by certain detects of judgment. Let us acknowledge, in the firft place, as the moft pleafing part of our task, that the language of this author is dignified and poetical; and his blank verfe harmonious. That he can alfo imagine well, and defcribe with force, might be proved by inftances innumerable; but, to give one that is remarkable, we are difpofed to take the defcription of the plague on the cattle, as fuppofed to be related by the emiffa y of Pharoah. "O king, with forrow fhall this tongue relate Yet is the worft untold; for as I paft Of facrifice, I enter'd to prefent The custom❜d reverence; foon the rites began Their odours; while the priefly choirs around M m 4 When When lo! loud bellowing, and with mortal pangs The folemn concourfe, with distracted speed In clamorous imprecation vent their woe." P. 61. "He with death-denouncing frown On Gama's crew what time the Table mount They pafs'd, and broke through ftorm and darkness way Thus alfo, in the plague of infects: "Far lefs in multitude The poifonous flies by Oroonoko's wave, Of Amazons, from many a barbarous realm Draining unnumber'd floods in fea-like pomp." P. 19. But, though the ftyle and expreffions are generally good, the texture of the narrative cannot attract many readers. The poem is in thirteen books; which odd and unufual number, though number is of no great confequence, might as well have been avoided. It opens with the fourth plague, that of flies, and concludes with the fong of Mofes, on the triumphant paffage of the Red Sea. It ends, therefore, exactly where the Exodiad begins. Yet the author brings forward Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, fo as to have their ambitious movements and daring characters difplayed in many inftances. The five first books are direct narrative, from the point of commencement. Then earlier events begin to be refumed by the narrative of Mofes, who relates to the Princefs Thermutis the hiftory of the deluge, and his own adventures in Midian, and till his return to Egypt, which occupy the feventh and eighth books. The direct narrative is then resumed, and continues to the end of the poem. The agency of evil fpirits is abundant through the greater part of the books. That fuch a narrative can little excite curiofity is evident, fince all the incidents are already known from the Bible. They may, however, be told in poetical language, and with the addition of fuch circum ftances fances as a fertile genius may imagine. It is here that we chiefly regret the want of judgment in the author, whose additions are frequently rather of the cumbrous kind. Thus, in the first book, the fong of the Magians is too much loaded with the names of unknown Egyptian deities. Emeph, Phtha, Sothis, Mnevis, and the reader is expected to be, like the Lover of Ifis, Victor of Typhon, and the monftrous boar Immediately after, the plague of flies comes on, and to his aftonishment the reader finds it not only a plague of flies, and flying infects, but also of birds, beafts, ferpents, and other reptiles: birds and beafts of the largest kinds, fuch as eagles, vultures, the lion, elephant, rhinoceros, with ferpents of the moft poisonous kinds. The certainty that fuch a fet of invaders, rufhing in at once, muft have made the land completely defolate is the firft fhock to probability, and the awkward mode of difmiffing thefe awkward vifitants is another, Not only the earth is obliged to open to receive many of them, but the waters are called in to sweep over the whole land. How, therefore, a fingle Egyptian could have been left alive it is not eafy to guefs. From whatever cabalistic or other legend Mr. H. has gained this ftrange invention, he ought not to confider that author as his friend, for he has led him to disfigure his poem in a wretched manner In his fecond book he is equally led away by a defire to difplay his diabolical knowledge, Not contented with the devils who have been occafionally heard of, he introduces fuch a barbarous fet of names as are enough to petrify the Mufes, Baal-famen, Aza, Azael, Samael, Satael, Semiazas, Amraphel, Adharmefa, Meforach, ftyled alfo Delephat, and Salambo; the Mazaroth, and the Mahuzzim. The latter, however, are well characterized, and made the patrons of faint worship *. Whofe fpirits pure with pitying fcorn reject Such homage." The poet seems to have determined to go beyond Milton in this fpecies of learning, and has fucceeded. Having faid this, and forbearing to cite other inftances in which, to our apprehenfion, the poets judgment has failed as to his Epifodes, let us anxioufly avoid paffing a general fentence of con or This appears to be taken from Wintle on Daniel xi. 38. from Jos. Mede. demnation demnation on a compofition, in many respects, of high merit. The author writes, almost every where, with vigout and poetical dignity; his conceptions are frequently fublime, in a high degree, and his expreffion of them fuch as to give their full force to the images he prefenis. The conteft of his demon Baal-famen with the archangel Gabriel in book v, is truly original and grand. The demon appears in all his majefty of terrific arms, and difplays the most invincible courage. But the archangel with fuperior dignity tears his arms from him, and leaves him defenceless. "Mantled with horror, crefted with defpair." They who can enjoy the gratification of fine paffages, detached from their context, may here find an abundant harvest: but we fear that few will be found to attend the whole progrefs of the poem. Nor is it a small praise to the author that his learning appears to be deep as well as extensive, and that nevertheless he has not condefcended to difplay it in a fingle note. His general views of the plan of redemption, and of prophecy, as connected with it, are correct and luminous. How he could have difplayed thefe great qualifications in a way more advantageous to himself, or more attractive to the public, we are not prepared to fay; but we fear that they will be found to lofe much of their legitimate effect in their present mode of exertion. We shall merely obferve, in conclufion, that we have now a great part of the Sacred Hiftory prefented to us in poems of the epic kind. Beginning with the Paradise Loft we may proceed to this poem of "Exodus," then follows the "Exodiad," and conducts the chofen people to the Land of Promife. There we find their achievements fung by Dr. Dwight in his "Conqueft of Canaan." Mr. Sotheby's "Saul" Saul" may then be taken up; and finally "Paradife Regained" and "Calvary." So extenfive a course of facred poetry cannot perhaps be produced in any other language, unless perhaps in modern Latin, ART. V. An Abridgment of the Light of Nature pursued, THE (Continued from p. 298.) HE author of this work having fhown that there are many fituations in which a man could have no reasonable inducement to purfue with uniformity the comfe of virtue. were |