and lion. By the help of fuch easy fictions, and vulgar topicks, without acquaintance with life, and without knowledge of art or nature, a poem of any length, cold and lifelefs like this, may be easily written on any fubject. In his Epilogues to Phædra and to Lucius, he is very happily facetious; but in the Prologue before the Queen, the pedant has found his way, with Minerva, Perfeus, and Andromeda. His Epigrams and lighter pieces are, like those of others, fometimes elegant, fometimes trifling, and sometimes dull; among the best are the Camelion, and the epitaph on John and Joan. Scarcely any one of our poets has written fo much, and tranflated fo little the version of Callimachus is fufficiently licentious; the paraphrafe on St. Paul's Exhortation to Charity is eminently beautiful. Alma is written in profeffed imitation of Hudibras, and has at least one accidental refemblance: Hudibras wants a plan, because it is is left imperfect; Alma is imperfect, because it seems never to have had a plan. Prior appears not to have propofed to himself any drift or design, but to have written the cafual dictates of the prefent moment. What Horace faid when he imitated Lucilius, might be faid of Butler by Prior, his numbers were not fmooth or neat: Prior excelled him in verfification, but he was, like Horace, inventore minor; he had not Butler's exuberance of matter and variety of illuftration. The spangles of wit which he could af→ ford, he knew how to polish; but he wanted the bullion of his master. Butler pours out a negligent profufion, certain of the weight, but careless of the ftamp. Prior has comparatively little, but with that little he makes a fine fhew. Alma has many admirers, and was the only piece among Prior's works of which Pope faid that he fhould wish to be the author. Solomon is the work to which he entrusted the protection of his name, and which he expected fucceeding ages to regard with veneration. His affection was natural; it had undoubtedly been written with great labour, and who 1 who is willing to think that he has been la→ bouring in vain? He had infufed into it much knowledge and much thought; had often polished it to elegance, often dignified it with fplendour, and fometimes heightened it to sublimity he perceived in it many excellences, and did not difcover that it wanted that without which all others are of fmall avail, the power of engaging attention and alluring curiofity, Tediousness is the most fatal of all faults; negligences or errors are fingle and local, but tediousness pervades the whole; other faults are cenfured and forgotten, but the power of tedioufnefs propagates itself. He that is weary the first hour, is more weary the fecond; as bodies forced into motion, contrary to their tendency, pafs more and more flowly through every succeffive interval of space. Unhappily this pernicious failure is that which an author is leaft able to discover. We are seldom tiresome to ourselves; and the ac of compofition fills and delights the mind with change of language and fucceffion of images; every couplet when produced is new, and novelty is the great fource of pleasure. Per-> VOL. III. D haps haps no man ever thought a line fuperfluous when he first wrote it, or contracted his work till his ebullitions of invention had fubfided. And even if he should controul his defire of im mediate renown, and keep his work nine years unpublished, he will be ftill the author, and still in danger of deceiving himself; and if he confults his friends, he will probably find men who have more kindness than judgement, or more fear to offend than defire to inftru&t. The tediousness of this poem proceeds not from the uniformity of the fubject, for it is fufficiently diversified, but from the continued tenour of the narration; in which Solomon relates the fucceffive viciffitudes of his own mind, without the intervention of any other speaker, or the mention of any other agent, unless it be Abra; the reader is only to learn what he thought, and to be told that he thought wrong. The event of every experiment is foreseen, and therefore the procefs is not much regarded. Yet the work is far from deferving to be neglected. He that shall peruse it will be able to mark many paffages, to which he may recur for inftruction or delight; many from which the poet may learn to write, and the philofopher to reafon. If If Prior's poetry be generally confidered, his praise will be that of correctness and industry, rather than of compass of comprehenfion, or activity of fancy. He never made any effort of invention : his greater pieces are only tiffues of common thoughts; and his fmaller, which confift of light images or fingle conceits, are not always his own. I have traced him among the French Epigrammatifts, and have been informed that he poached for prey among obfcure authors. The Thief and the Cordelier is, I fuppofe, generally confidered as an original production; with how much justice this Epigram may tell, which was written by Georgius Sabinus, a poet now little known or read, though once the friend of Luther and Melancthon : De Sacerdote Furem confolante. Quidam facrificus furem comitatus euntem |