Criticism on Milton's Paradise lost From 'The Spectator' 31 December, 1711- 3 May, 1712 .. . llto fee how Ariftotle has treated an ancient Author, 33 miltons verse. called Euclid, for his infrpid Mirth upon this Dry den ufed to call this fort of Men his Profe-Crificks. jl mould, under this Head of the Language, con-fioW Miltons Numbers, in which he has made ufe offeveral Elifions, that are not cuftomary among otherJ?nglifh Poets, as may be particularly obferved in hisCDdting off the Letter F, when it precedes a his, and fome other Innovations in the Meafure ofhis Verfe,
Criticism on Milton's Paradise lost From 'The Spectator' 31 December, 1711- 3 May, 1712 .. . llto fee how Ariftotle has treated an ancient Author, 33 miltons verse. called Euclid, for his infrpid Mirth upon this Dry den ufed to call this fort of Men his Profe-Crificks. jl mould, under this Head of the Language, con-fioW Miltons Numbers, in which he has made ufe offeveral Elifions, that are not cuftomary among otherJ?nglifh Poets, as may be particularly obferved in hisCDdting off the Letter F, when it precedes a his, and fome other Innovations in the Meafure ofhis Verfe, has varied his Numbers in fuch a manner,as makes them incapable of fatiating the Ear andcloying the Reader, which the fame uniform Meafurewould certainly have done, and which the perpetualReturns of Rhyme never fail to do in long NarrativePoems. I mall clofe thefe Reflections upon the Lan-guage of Paradife Lojl, with obferving that Miltonhas copied after Homer, rather than Virgil, in thelength of his Periods, the Copioufnefs of his Phrafes,and the running of his Verfes into one Numb. CCXCL The SPECTATOR. Ubiplura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis Offendor maculis, quas aut Incuria fudit, Aut Humana parum cavit Natura Hor. \ But in a Poem elegantly writ, I will not quarrel with a flight Mijlake, Such as our Nature}s frailty may excufe. Saturday, February 2. 1712. Have now confiderd Miltons ParadifeLoft under thofe four great Heads of theFable, the Characters, the Sentiments, andthe Language; and have fhewn that heexcels, in general, under each of thefeHeads. I hope that I have made feveral Difcoveriesthat [which] may appear new, even to thofe who areverfed in Critical Learning. Were I indeed to chufe myReaders, by whofe Judgment I would Hand or fall,they mould not be fuch as are acquainted only withXht French and//tf//#/zCriticks,but alio with the Ancientand Moderns who have written in either of the learnedLanguages. Above all, I would have them well verfe
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