In a word I hold that a Lofty Stile though in some places deficient seeing that deficiency proceeds from the very being Lofty is to be prefer'd before that which is compleat and indifferent True 't is Apollonius who wrote the Poem of the Argonantes do's never slacken Theocritus baiting some few things which are none of his own has in all his Works nothing but what is very delightfull Yet after all had you rather be Apollonius or Theoeritus then Homer Eratosthenes Erigo is a piece not to be censur'd but will you therefore reckon him a greater Poet then Archillicus who I confess is confus'd and wants order and Oeconomy in many parts of his Writings but 't is then only when that Divine Enthusiasme with which he is hurried on will not permit him to follow the Dictates of his own Judgment and so for Lyrick Poesy had you rather be Bachillides then Pindar or for Tragedy Ion then Sophocles notwithstanding these two viz Pachillides and Ion never stumble but have a great deal of Elegancy and Analogy in whatsoever they write which cannot be said of Pindar and Sophocles for in the height of their greatest raptures while they are Thundring and Lightning as I may so say when they shou'd not they most unfortunately smother their own fancies Yet is there any sober and Judicious man who will vouchsafe to compare all that Ion ever wrote to that single Play of Sophocles's Oedipus CHAP. XXVIII A Comparison betwixt Hyperide and Demosthenes NOw then if we esteem a piece according to the number and quality of the good things which are contained therein 't will follow that Hyperides is cleerly to be prefer'd before Demosthenes for besides that he is more Musical he has more accomplishments requisite to an Orator in most of which he is very eminent like the Olympick Gamesters who perform five several sorts of exercises and though in any one they come short of the chief Professors yet in the whole they surpass the common rank Demosthenes has not any one excellence which he has not imitated unless it be that of Composition or placing the sentences he has the smoothness of Lycias he knows how and where to be soft and tender and does not express all things with one and the same tone as Demosthenes does he is very pleasant in his Ethicks the liveliness of his stile is temper'd with a certain agreeable and blooming sweetness There is in his works abundance of very facetious things his way of deriding is very genteel and handsom he is wonderfully expert in handling an Irony his raileries are not dry or forc'd like theirs who Ape the Attick stile but lively and touching he is very quick at answering all objections by turning 'em into ridicule he has several delightful and Comical humours which always take where he aims and are most incomparably enamel'd with short witty sentences he has a natural Genius to stir up and beget pity he is very copious in his fabulous relations he is extreamly easie in his digressions he turns about and takes breath where he pleases as may be seen in those fictions which he relates of Latona Lastly he has made a Funeral oration which is so curiously penn'd that I question very much whether it can be match'd on the other hand Domosthenes is not very good at Ethicks his stile is not full or luxuriant but somewhat harsh In a word he wants almost all those qualities just before mentioned if he strives to be pleasant rather then not divert he makes himself ridiculous And the more he endeavours at being delightful he is the further off Yet after all for that in my mind all these excellencies which are thus crowded in Hyperides have nothing in 'em that is great and lofty they discover him to be at best but a weak and sober orator who does not rouze the mind and therefore no one was ever much transported at the reading his works Whereas Demosthenes contriving in himself all the qualities of an Orator truly born to loftiness and perfectly accomplished by study viz That stately and Majestical accent those lively movements that fulness sharpness readiness and what is most to be valued in him that vehemence of expression which no man else cou'd ever attain or come near to with the Assistance of all these divine qualities which I look upon as so many extraordinary gifts from Heaven and which I may not presume to call humane endowments he hath supplanted all the most famous Orators that ever were and if I may so say has violently thrown down and ecclipsed their glories by his Thunder and Lightning For in those things wherein his excellency lies he does so much exceed all others that he makes sufficient amends for those wherein he is deficient and without doubt 't is much easier to look stedfastly and with open eyes upon the Thunderbolts which shoot from Heaven then not to be moved at those violent and passionate expressions with which his writings are very full CHAP. XXIX Of Plato and Lysias c. AS for Plato there is yet another difference for he out-do's Lysias not only in the nature but number of his Excellencies Nay more those defects which Lysias has render him less inferiour to Plato then those faults with which he do's mightily abound What therefore is the reason that these Divine Authors have neglected an exact delicacy and correctness to look after nothing but Loftiness in their Writings 'T is that nature has not form'd Man like a heavy sordid Animal but sent him into the World as into a Spacious Theatre to be a Spectator of all that is Acted therein That she has I say brought him into the List as a noble Combatant that is to aim at nothing but Glory And therefore has she created in the Soul a fervent desire after every thing that apears most transcendently great and magnificent And do we not see that the Circumference of the whole World is not large enough to contain the thoughts of Man but that they oftentimes Mount above the Heavens and o're leap the bounds of Nature herself And without doubt if we do but cast our Eyes upon any one who throughout the whole course of his life has no one action that is not great and ilustrious 't will easily be understood to what end and purpose we were first created hence it is that we admire not little Brooks though the water be never so clear and useful for us but are extreamly delighted with and surpriz'd at the sight of the Danube the Nile the Rhine and above all the main Ocean We are not at all concern'd to see a little Flame which we our selves have kindled retain its brightness but are startled at those which come from Heaven though they are consum'd e're scarce they can appear and there is nothing so wonderfull in nature as those Furnaces in Mount Aetna which from its Abyss do's sometimes throw out Pint. Pyth. 1. Stones Rocks and Streams of Flame
ought we as much as possible we can to employ it daily about something that is great And because it may be asked how this can be done I have already shewed That the Elevation of the fancy is a perfect representation of the greatness of the soul Which makes us sometimes admire the very thoughts of a man tho' he says not a word because of that presence of mind which we discover in him For Example the silence of Ajax in Hell in the Odysses That silence declared something more noble and glorious * Lib 11. than all be could have said The first good quality therefore requisite to a compleat Orator is that his thoughts be not mean and humble for is it possible that a man whose thoughts are employed about base and servile matters should ever be Author of any thing worthy to be committed to Posterity No sure that can only be expected from the exalted and lofty fancies of High-Spirited men See for example the Answer which Alexander made when Darius proffered him half Asia in marriage with his Daughter Were I Alexander said Parmenio I would accept the offer and so would I reply'd the Prince If I were Parmenio Could any one but an Alexander have made such a reply 't is in this that Homer is so excellent whose thoughts are always sublime as appears in his description of Eris or the Goddess of strife when he says Her head 's in Heaven and on Earth her feet It may justly be said that this large extent is not so much the measure of that Goddess as of the Capacity and height of Homer's fancy far different from this is that verse of Hesiod's in his Poem Intituled the Buckler if it be true that he Wrote it where speaking of the Goddess of Darkness he saies A nasty Humor from her Nose Distill'd Here instead of rendring this Goddess as he ought to do terrible he makes her odious and lothsome but observe what Majestie Homer gives to all his Gods Iliad l. 5. as far as Humane Eye Into the Sea can from a Hill Descry So far Heaven's Fiery Steeds at once can Leap He measures the length of their leapes by the Vniverse who then at this strong Hyperbole will not naturally cry out that if the Horses of the Gods would take a Second jump they could not find room enough in the World no less excellent are those Descriptions which he makes of the Fight of the Gods viz. Il. l. 21. The Heavens eccho'd and Olympus shooke And in another place Hell was in Armes and the infernall King Leapt from his Throne Cry'd out least over him Iliad l. 20. Neptune shou'd cleave the earth and so the dim Loath'd filthy Mansion of the howling Fiends Shou'd open both to Gods and men c. Behold dear Terentianus the Earth open'd to its Center Hell ready to appear and all the Machine of the world unhing'd to shew that in this Combate Heaven Hell and all things as well mortal as immortal were engaged and that nature her self was in danger But all these thoughts are to be taken in an Allegoricall sence otherwise are they Atheisticall and unbecoming the Majesty of the Gods And for my part when I read in Homer of the wounds Punishments Teares and Imprisonment of Gods with such like accidents which continually befall them I cannot but think that he endeavour'd nothing more than to make his men at the Seige of Troy Gods and the Gods themselves men Nay he has made their Condition the worst of the two for when we are unhappy Death at least will put an end to our afflictions but as for the Gods he makes them not so much immortal as eternally miserable much better success has he when he describes a God in his full brightness and Majesty and not sullied with earthly concerns as may apear in that most remarkable place where speaking of Neptune he saies Il. l. 13. Great Neptune march'd and at each step he took Vnder his Feet the woods and mountains shook And he goes on then to the Sea he drove Whilst Whales from Whirlepits round his Chariot throng To see their Monarch as he pass'd along The Sea for joy open'd its liquid arms Whilst he flew swiftly on c. So that incomparable Law-giver of the Jews having a strong notion of the greatness and power of God has in the beginning of his Book these words God said let there be light and there was light c. let there be a firmament and there was a firmament c. It may not perhaps be unpleasant to you dear Terentianus if I shou'd quote another passage out of the same Poet whereby you may judge how Heroick he himself appears in writing the Character of a Heroe A general darkness was spread over all the Grecian Camp which prevented 'em from ingaging at this Ajax being at a stand cries out in a rage Il. l. 17. Drive O ye Gods these duskie Clouds away And fight us fairly in the open day This is like such a blunt Warrier as Ajax was he does not begg for life that were a thing too mean for a Heroe But wanting an opportunity to signalize his valour by reason of the Darkness which hindred him from fighting He calls out in a passion for Day-Light that he might fall like himself in grapling with Jupiter Here our Author enforces his thoughts with such a vehement fury as if he himself were enraged Il. l. 15. Like angry Mars amidst the thickest troops Or as a raging flame that in the night Runs through the woods and spreads its dismal light He foaming at the mouth appear'd c. But I must desire you for several reasons to observe how flat he grows in his Odysses Whereby you will find that when a great genius begins to decline it becomes delighted with fables and stories For to prove that his Odysses were composed after his Iliads I can bring many instances And first how many thoughts are there in the Odysses which without doubt are but the continuation of several misfortunes mentioned in the Iliads and set down in this last piece as so many effects of the Trojan war And besides many accidents in the Iliads are bewayl'd by the Heroes of the Odysses as disasters well known and of a long date The Odysses ought therefore properly to be called the Epilogue to the Iliads * These are the words of Nestor in the Odysses There the great Ajax lies Achilles there There fell his Godlike and much valued friend There my dear Son Antilochus took end Now then I am of opinion that the Iliads which Homer wrote when his fancy was at the highest are full of life and action Whereas for the most part the Odysses consist of tedious speeches and relations the certain symptoms of a feeble and decayed fancy So that in respect of this last I can only compare him to the seting Sun which still retains the same splendor but abates of its heat To be short It
said in hazarding your lives for the liberty and safety of Greece and of this we have Domesticall and undeniable examples for we cannot say those men have been too blame who fought for the same cause upon the plains of Marathon at Sallamis or before Plateae This he might have said but he has taken a clear different way and of a sudden as if inspired by some God or possest with the Soul of Apollo himself he swears by those valliant Defenders of Greece no Sirs no! You have not done amiss I swear by all the Ghosts of those brave Men who dyed Fighting for the same Cause upon the Plains of Marathon c. Thus by this Oath which I here call Apostrophe he deisies those ancients and consequently shewes that all who die in the like Cause are to be esteem'd as so many Gods by whom we ought to Swear Here instead of a natural way of arguing making use of this strong and pathetical manner of affirming by Oathes so extraordinary new and withall credible he infuses into his Judges the very minds of those Illustrious Men that died as an Antidote to expel all the venom of their own here by his commendations he perswades them to think they ought to be as proud of the Battel they lost against Philip as those Victories which they got at Marathon and Sallamis and by all these different means drawn into one single Figure he prevailes with them to be of his Opinion Yet some perhaps will pretend that Eupolis is the first who taught this way when he saies Their joy no more shall fill my brest with care By my great Fight at Marrathon I swear But to swear down-right is not to be commended or accounted great we ought to consider how where upon what occasion and to what purpose we do it So then that of this Poet who spoke to the Athenians at that time happy and not needing to be comforted is nothing but a bare Oath besides he do's not swear by such great and Immortal men as Demosthenes do's nor endeavour with him to kindle in the brests of the Athenians thoughts worthy the bravery of their Ancestors seeing that instead of Swearing by the names of those who Fought he Swears by the Fight it self a thing altogether inanimate On the contrary the Oath in Demosthenes was to Encourage the Athenians who were just before beaten that from henceforward they should not look upon the loss of the Battel at Chironea to be any misfortune So that as is already said he proves to them by reason that they have not done ill he gives them an example confirms them by Oathes commends them excites them to a War against Phillip and all this with one single Figure But for that it might be thus objected to our Orator you speak of a Battel lost against Phillip while you mannaged the Affairs of the Common Wealth and at the same time Swear by the Victory our Ancestors have won He has therefore taken great care to regulate his Expressions and make use of such only as are most necessary for his purpose to shew that upon all occasions though never so transporting we ought to carry our selves with equal sobriety and deliberation Wherefore when he Speaks of the Fight their Ancestors had by Land at Marathon by Sea at Salamis and those other near Artemis and Plateae he forbears to say how Victorious they were passing by the happy events of those Battels as well as the unhappy success of that at Chironea and to prevent all Objections he sayes those O Aeschynes whom we have lost in this Engagement are as much to be called the Defenders of their Country as those whom fortune has made Victorious CHAP. XV. That Figures ought necessarily to be lofty WE must not forget that as Figures do naturally contribute to the perfection of Loftiness so on the other hand does Loftiness to that of Figures but how and wherein that we are now to shew In the first place most certain it is that the use of Figures apart and by themselves creates a jealousie in the audience of some trick or fallacy especially when we are to speak before any Chief Magistrate and above all an Emperour a King or a Great General of an Army for such an one is immediately incensed and will not suffer himself like a little Child to be put upon by the gross cheats of a pedantick and crafty Rhetorician but looking upon the whole Speech to be a meer subtilty though now and then he listens to and is perhaps pleas'd with the quaintness thereof he retains a firm resolution to give no credit to what is said Wherefore that is the most excellent which is so disguis'd as not to be known to be a Figure and there is nothing can effect this better than the being Lofty and Pathetical because when wrapt in something that is great and wonderful it has what was before wanting and is no longer suspected of deceit An example whereof is that which I have lately mention'd I swear by the Ghosts of those great Men c. How has our Author concealed this Figure Do not we plainly see 't is by the very brightness of his thoughts For as all lesser Lights disappear when the Sun shines out so do the Subtilties in Rhetorick when surrounded by a dazling Greatness and as when parallel Lines are drawn upon a Plain with the same Colours and Shade a reflection of Light caused by that Shadow which the Piece casts is that which first appears to the Eye So the being Pathetical and Lofty by a natural sympathy which they have with the Affections of the Soul or by reason of their Lustre move us much more than those Figures which appear naked and without any Art CHAP. XVI Of Interrogations WHat shall I say of Questions and Interrogations for who can deny but that they add much to the grace and vigour of Speech Will you never do any thing else saies Demosthenes to the Athenians then ramble all over the Town to enquire after one another What newes is there Why what greater newes can there be then that a Macedonian makes himself Master of Athens and gives Laws to all Greece Is Phillip Dead saies one No saies another he is only Sick What I 'd fain know is it to you whether he be Sick or Dead When Heaven has set you at liberty you will soon find another Phillip And in another place Let us Embarque for Macedonia where shall wee Land sayes one the War it self Sirs will shew where Phillip is weakest and easiest to be Conquered If this had been spoken in an ordinary way t' would not have answer'd the weight of his Subject Whereas by asking the question and answering it himself as if 't were some other person he does not only make that which he sayes stronger and more considerable but at the same time probable for the being pathetical never suceeds better then when the Orator seems not to hunt after it