The Works of Samuel Johnson

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Numb. 4. Saturday, March 3i, i750. Simul etjueunda t idcnta dicere Vilte. Hor . And join both profit and delight in one. Creech. TH E works of fiction, with which the pre- fent generation feems more particularly delighted, are fuch as exhibit life in its true ftate, Jiverfiried only by accidents that daily happen in the world, and influenced by paflions and qualities which are really to be found in converfing with mankind. This kind of writing may be termed not improperly the comedy of romance, and is to be con- dueted nearly by the rules of comick poetry. Its province is to bring about natural events by eafy means, and to keep up curiofity without the help of wonder: it is therefore precluded from the machines and expedients of the heroick romance, and can neither employ giants to fnatch away a lady from the nuptial rites, nor knights to bring her back from captivity; it can neither bewilder its perfonages in deferts, nor lodge them in imaginary caftles. I remember a remark made by Scaliger upon Pontanus, that all his writings are filled with the fame images; and that if you take from him his lilies and his roles, his fatyrs and his dryads, he will have nothing left that can be called poetry. In like manner, almoft all -the fictions of the laft age will vanifh, if you deprive them of a hermit and a wood, a battle and a fhipwreck. Why this wild ftrain of imagination found reception fo long in polite and learned ages, it is not eafy to conceive; but we cannot wonder that while readers could be procured, the authors were willing to continue it; for when a man had by practice gained fome fluency of language, he had no further care than to retire to his clofet, let loofe his invention, and heat his mind with incredibilities; a book was thus produced without fear of...