Selected quad for the lemma: land_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
land_n	lie_v	little_a	sail_v	1,306	5	10.2775	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A35678	Remarks on a book entituled Prince Arthur, an heroick poem with some general critical observations and several new remarks upon Virgil / by Mr. Dennis.	Dennis, John, 1657-1734.	1696 (1696)	Wing D1040; ESTC R35663	111,647	266

Stile and Subject I must confess the Question here is not concerning Stile But it will not be amiss to give the Reader a Hint that if it appears that Mr. Blackmore has not Variety of Matter and that the Stile perpetually ought to be suited to the Subject it must of necessity follow that either Mr. Blackmore has not suited his Manner of writing to his Subject or that his Stile is not enough diversified But to shew that Mr. Blackmore has not Variety of things which is our Business here we need only put the Reader in mind that since we have shewn that this Author has no Plenty it evidently follows that he has no Variety For though there may be Plenty without Variety yet I cannot see how the latter can be without the former but we will still go a little further and shew that Mr. Blackmore has not Variety even in Proportion to his little Substance As Virgil has with an admirable Simplicity diversified his Stile incessantly and inimitably whereas Mr. Blackmore with a forbidding Affectation has a wearisome Uniformity so it is extr●…mly remarkable that Virgil with exact Regularity and a perfect Unity has Variety as well as Plenty of Matter whereas Mr. Blackmore in the irregular Constitution of a double Action does not only want a sufficient Variety of Incidents but a Variety proportioned even to his little Number Virgil aft●…r he has terrified his Reader with the Description of that wonderful Tempest which we find in the Beginning of his Poem takes care to refresh him by the pleasing Landskip of the Place where Aeneas landed Mr. Blackmore who in the Beginning of his Poem has servilely follow'd Virgil has made a like Description But this is in an extraordinary manner remarkable that Virgil's Description is not only necessary but exceedingly beautiful nay the very Beauty of it makes the Necessity whereas Mr. Blackmore's is without Necessity as it is absolutely without Beauty After this Description we have an Account of the future Greatness of Rome from the Mouth of the King of the Gods we have in the same first Aeneid Venus disguis'd in an enchanting manner and appearing in the hunting Dress of a Tyrian Virgin which Machine is absolutely necessary to prepare the Passion of Dido and then we have the Metamorphosis of the God of Love to Ascanius and see him in the Lap of a beautiful Queen and not only see but feel her Caresses which is certainly one of the most charming Images that ever was shewn in Poetry Ille ubi complexu Ae●…eae colloque pependit Et magnum falsi implevit genitoris amorem Reginam petit haec oculis haec pectore toto Haeret interdum g●…emio fovet inscia Dido Insidet quantus miserae Deus Thus Virgil is apparently entitled to the Benediction of the French Criticks For he passes from than which is pleasant and from that which is terrible to that which is soft and moving But Mr. Blackmore after he has wearied us with the Description of a Tempest which is mortally tedious gives us the solemn Entertainment of a sententious Harangue and anon proceeds to des●…ribe Persecution after such a Manner that as Longi●… says of the Goddess Discord of Hesiod he has render'd the Image nauseous which he designed terrible Indeed he continues to be so grave and so solemn for the whole fi●…st four Books excepting in Places where he is tri●…ing and childish that I appeal to any impartial Reader whether Boileau's Expression ●…ay not be applied to him and whether he does not all that while appear Toujours sur un 〈◊〉 psalmodier to be continually setting a Psalm But to make this Want of Variety in Mr. Blackmore still more manifest the Reader is desired to consider that Virgil though he has scarce one thing in his whole Poem which is absolutely foreign from his Action yet his Narration is every where moving and he always speaks to the Heart whereas the Pathetick in Mr. Blackmo●…e's Narration is scarce any where to be found though in that Narration there are several things which are wholly foreign from the Subject So that in the one we have only Action and yet that Action very often stands still in the other we have always both Action and Passion and yet the Action by the Passion is never obstructed any further than is requisite for the forming one of those just Difficulties without which the Intrigue would be altogether insipid Let us now examin with as much Succinctness as we can the Travels the Machins the Councils the Battels in Mr. Blackmore and Virgil and consider the Variety of one and the other in Relation to these For the first Virgil in his first Book shews his Hero in Europe and Africa The Scene of the second Book lies in Asia and Aeneas in the third is seen in all the three Parts of the then known World He sets Sail from the lesser Asia he lands both in the Isles and Continent of Europe and is thrown upon the African Coasts Whereas Mr. Blackmore's Hero sails only from little to great Britain In Virgil the Machins are as well distinguish'd as the Men Jupiter Juno Mercury Venus Minerva Diana Apollo are not only more generally distinguish'd by Sexes but each by a singular Complication of their several Passions and Inclinations Nay the in●…ernal Persons Charo●… Pluto Rhadamanthus Alecto Atropos are as fairly distinguish'd as the celestial Persons Whereas in Mr. Blackmore the Angels are distinguish'd only by their Ranks and their Offices which cannot characteristically mark the Persons Their Inclinations are the same For Love and Zeal are found to predominate in all so that their Characters are all a-like and Gabriel Raphael and Uriel are as it were but one Person The Devils have likewise the same Qualities Rage and Envy Hatred and Malice tyrannizing in all Virgil has a great deal of Variety in his Councils not only because there is Passion in all of them which we have said above but because the Characters in them are admirably well distinguish'd In the Council of the Gods in the tenth Book Venus appears zealous for her Offspring and supplicating Juno shews Wrath and Severity and Enmity and Hate to the Trojans Jupiter shews a Majesty and Impartiality becoming the King of the Gods In the Council in the eleventh Book Venalus discovers the Opinion and Resolution of Diomedes which appear to be his own not only by his Affirmation but by his way of Delivering them The Speech which he makes is grave and sensible and by a moving Relation of the Misfortunes of the Grecians excites a gentle Compassion which shews a Tenderness of Nature in him who raises it and an Inclination to Peace The next who declares his Opinion is Drances who discovers a great deal of Malice and Rancour and disguises his Envy and the Hate which he bears to Turnu●… under a pr●…tended Concern for the State The fir●… delivers himself with Tenderness and Concern for the State The Harangue