Page images
PDF
EPUB

"of those pleasures of the imagination, which are "the subject of my present undertaking, by way of "introduction in this Paper, and endeavoured to re"commend the pursuit of those pleasures to my "readers by several considerations;" we must be sensible that the sentence, thus clogged with circumstances in the wrong place, would neither have been so neat nor so clear, as it is by the present construction.

LECTURE XXI.

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE STYLE IN N° 412. OF THE SPECTATOR.

THE observations which have occurred in reviewing that Paper of Mr. Addison's, which was the subject of the last Lecture, sufficiently shew, that, in the writings of an author of the most happy genius and distinguished talents, inaccuracies may sometimes be found. Though such inaccuracies may be overbalanced by so many beauties, as render Style highly pleasing and agreeable upon the whole, yet it must be desirable to every writer to avoid, as far as he can, inaccuracy of any kind. As the subject therefore is of importance, I have thought it might be useful to carry on this criticism throughout two or three subsequent Papers of the Spectator. At the same time I must intimate that the Lectures on these Papers are solely intended for such as are applying themselves to

the study of English Style. I pretend not to give instruction to those who are already well acquainted with the powers of language. To them my remarks may prove unedifying; to some they may seem tedious and minute; but to such as have not yet made all the proficiency which they desire in elegance of Style, strict attention to the composition and structure of sentences cannot fail to prove of considerable benefit: and though my remarks on Mr. Addison should, in any instance, be thought illfounded, they will, at least, serve the purpose of leading them into the train of making proper remarks for themselves. * I proceed, therefore, to the examination of the subsequent Paper, N° 412.

I shall first consider those pleasures of the imagination, which arise from the actual view and survey of outward objects and these, I think, all proceed from the sight of what is great, uncommon, or beautiful.

This sentence gives occasion for no material remark. It is simple and distinct. The two words

* If there be readers who think any farther apology requisite for my adventuring to criticise the sentences of so eminent an author as Mr. Addison, I must take notice, that I was naturally led to it by the circumstances of that part of the kingdom where these Lectures where read; where the ordinary spoken language often differs much from what is used by good English authors. Hence it occurred to me, as a proper method of correcting any peculiarities of dialect, to direct students of eloquence to analyse and examine, with particular attention, the structure of Mr. Addison's sentences. Those papers of the Spectator, which are the subject of the following Lectures, were accordingly given out in exercise to students, to be thus examined and analysed; and several of the observations which follow, both on the beauties and blemishes of this author, were suggested by the observations given to me in consequence of the exercise prescribed.

which he here uses, view and survey, are not altogether synonymous: as the former may be supposed to import mere inspection; the latter more deliberate examination. Yet they lie so near to one another in meaning, that in the present case, any one of them, perhaps, would have been sufficient. The epithet actual, is introduced, in order to mark more strongly the distinction between what our author calls the primary pleasures of imagination, which arise from immediate view, and the secondary, which arise from remembrance or description.

There may, indeed, be something so terrible or offensive, that the horror or loathsomeness of an object may overbear the pleasure which results from its novelty, greatness, or beauty; but still there will be such a mixture of delight in the very disgust it gives us, as any of these three qualifications are most conspicuous and prevailing.

This sentence must be acknowledged to be an unfortunate one. The sense is obscure and embarrassed, and the expression loose and irregular. The beginning of it is perplexed by the wrong position of the words something and object. The natural arrangement would have been, There may, indeed, be something in an object so terrible or offensive, that the horror or loathsomeness of it may overbear. These two epithets, horror or loathsomeness, are awkwardly joined together. Loathsomeness is, indeed, a quality which may be ascribed to an object; but horror is not; it is a feeling excited in the mind. The Language would have been much more correct, had our Author said, There may, indeed, be something in an object so terrible or offensive, that the horror or disgust which it excites may overbear. The two first

epithets, terrible or offensive, would then have expressed the qualities of an object; the latter, horror or disgust, the corresponding sentiments which these qualities produce in us. Loathsomeness was the most unhappy word he could have chosen; for tó be loathsome, is to be odious, and seems totally to exclude any mixture of delight, which he afterwards supposes may be found in the object.

[ocr errors]

In the latter part of the sentence there are several inaccuracies. When he says,, there will be such a mixture of delight in the very disgust it gives us, as any of these three qualifications are most conspicuous the construction is defective, and seems hardly grammatical. He meant assuredly to say, such a mixture of delight as is proportioned to the degree in which any of these three qualifications are most conspicuous. - We know that there may be a mixture of pleasant and of disagreeable feelings excited by the same object; yet it appears inaccurate to say, that there is any delight in the very disgust. The plural verb are,

is improperly joined to any of these three qualifications; for as any is here used distributively, and means any one of these three qualifications, the corresponding verb ought to have been singular. The order in which the two last words are placed, should have been reversed, and made to stand prevailing and conspicuous. They are conspicuous because they prevail.

[ocr errors]

By greatness, I do not only mean the bulk of any single object, but the largeness of a whole view, considered as one entire piece.

In a former Lecture, when treating of the Structure of Sentences, I quoted this sentence as an instance of the careless manner in which adverbs are sometimes

interjected in the midst of a period. Only, as it is here placed, appears to be a limitation of the following verb mean. The question might be put, What more does he than only mean? As the Author, undoubtedly, intended it to refer to the bulk of a single object, it would have been placed with more propriety, after these words: I do not mean the bulk of any single object only, but the largeness of a whole view. As the following phrase, considered as one entire piece seems to be somewhat deficient, both in dignity and propriety, perhaps this adjection might have been altogether omitted, and the sentence have closed with fully as much advantage at the word view.

Such are the prospects of an open champaign country, a vast uncultivated desert, of huge heaps of mountains, high rocks and precipices, or a wide expanse of waters, where we are not struck with the novelty or beauty of the sight, but with that rude kind of magnificence which appears in many of these stupendous works of

nature.

The

He

This sentence, in the main, is beautiful. objects presented are all of them noble, selected with judgment, arranged with propriety, and accompanied with proper epithets. We must, however, observe, that the sentence is too loosely, and not very grammatically, connected with the preceding one. says, such are the prospects; such, signifies of that nature or quality, which necessarily presupposes some adjective, or word descriptive of a quality going before, to which it refers. But, in the foregoing sentence, there is no such adjective. He had spoken of greatness in the abstract only; and, therefore, such has no distinct antecedent to which we can refer it. The sentence would have been introduced with VOL. I.

E E

« PreviousContinue »