Italians, from the admiration they have of him, have given the epithet of il divino *; I mean, Dante. Though I formerly knew Italian extremely well, I could never understand him; for which reafon I had done with him, fully convinced that he was not worth the pains 5 neceffary to understand him. The good Italian authors are, in my mind, but few, I mean, authors of invention; for there are, undoubtedly, very good hiftorians, and excellent tranflators. The two poets worth your reading, and, I was going to fay, the only two, are Taffo and Ariofto. Taffo' Gierufalemme Liberata is altogether, unquestionably a fine poem; though it has fome low, and many falfe, thoughts in it and Boileau very juftly makes it the mark of a bad taste, to compare le clinquant du Taffe à l'or de Virgile. The image, with which he adorns the introduction of his epic poem, is low and difgufting; it is that of a froward, fick, puking child, who is deceived into a dofe of neceffary phyfic by du bon bow The verses are these : Cofi all' egro fanciul porgiamo afpers However, the poem, with all its faults about it, may juftly be called a fine one. If fancy, imagination, invention, defcription, &c. conflitute a poet, Ariofto, is unquestionably, a great one. His Orlando, it is true, is a medley of lies and truths, facred and profane, wars, loves, enchantments, giants, mad heroes, and adventurous damsels: but then, he gives it you very fairly for what it is, and does not pretend to put it upon you for the true epopée, or epic poem. He says, Le donne, i cavalier, l'arme, gli amori Le cortefie, l'audaci imprefe, io canto. The connections of his ftories are admirable, his reflexions juft, his fneers and ironies incomparable, and his painting excellent. When Angelica, after having The tinfel of Taff to the gold of Virgil. *The divines. wandered over half the world alone with Orland pretends, notwithstanding, ch' el fior virginal cofi avea falvo, Forfe era ver, ma non verò credibile Aftolpho's being carried to the moon, by St. John, in order to look for Orlando's loft wits, at the end of the 34th book, and the many loft things that he finds there, is a moft happy extravagancy, and contains, at the fame time, a great deal of fenfe. I would advife you to read this poem with attention. It is, alfo, the fource of half the tales, novels, and plays, that have been written fince. The Paftor Fido of Gxarini is fo celebrated, that you should read it; but in reading it, you will judge of the great propriety of the characters. A parcel of fhepherds and fheperdefies, with the true paftoral fim plicity, talk metaphyfics, epigram, concetti, and quib bles, by the hour to each other. The Aminta del Taffo is much more what it is intended to be-a paftoral; the fhepherds, indeed, have their concetti, and their antithefes; but are not quite fo fublime and abftracted as thofe in Paftor Fido. I think that you will like it much the best of the two. Petrarch is, in my mind, a fing-fong love-fick poet; much admired, however, by the Italians: but an Italian, who should think no better of him than I do, would certainly fay, that he deserved his Laura better than his lauro; and that wretched quibble would be reckoned an excellent piece of Italian wit. The Italian profe writers (of invention I mean) which I would recommend to your acquaintance, are Machiavelli and Bocaccio: The former, for the establifhed reputation which he has acquired, of a confummate politician (whatever my own private fentiments may be of either his politics or his morality) the latter, *Faithful thepherd. for his great invention, and for his natural and agreeable manner of telling his ftories. Guicciardini, Bentivoglio, Davila, &c. are excellent hiftorians, and deferve being read with attention. The nature of history checks, a little, the flights of Italian imaginations; which, in works of invention, are very high indeed. Tranflations curb them still more; and their tranflations of the claffics are incomparable; particularly the firft ten, tranflated in the time of Leo the Xth. and infcribed to him under the title of the Collana. That original Collana has been lengthened fince; and, if I miftake not, confifts, now, of one hundred and ten volumes. From what I have faid, you will eafily guefs, that I neant to put you upon your guard; and not to let our fancy be dazzled, and your tafte corrupted, by the oncetti, the quaintneffes, and falfe thoughts, which are 00 much the characteristics of the Italian and Spanh authors. I think you are in no great danger, as our taste has been formed upon the beft ancient mods; The Greek and Latin authors of the beft ages, ho indulge themselves in none of the puerilities I ave hinted at. To do juftice to the beft English and French auors, they have not given into that falfe tafte; they low no thoughts to be good that are not just, and unded upon truth. The age of Lewis XIV. was y like the Auguftan ;-Boileau, Moliere, La Fonine, Racine, &c. eftablished the true, and expofed efalfe tafte. The reign of King Charles II. (meririous in no other refpect) banished falfe tafte out of ngland, and profcribed puns, quibbles, acroftics, &c. nce that, falfe wit has renewed its attacks, and enavored to recover its loft empire, both in England d France; but without fuccefs; though, I muft fay, ith more fuccefs in France than in England: AddifPope, and Swift, having vigorously defended the ghts of good fenfe; which is more than can be said their cotemporary French authors, who have of late d a great tendency to le faux brilliant, le raffinement, Pentortillement And lord Rofcommon would be more in the right now, than he was then, in faying, that The English bullion of one fterling line, Drawn to French wire, would through whole pages fhine. Lose no time, my dear child, I conjure you, in forming your tafte, your manners, your mind, your every thing you have but two years time to do it in; for, whatever you are, to a certain degree, at twenty, you will be, more or less, all the rest of your life. May it it be a long and happy one!-Adieu ! LETTER XC. Curiofities, Hiftory, &c. of Naples....Definition of a Politic Conftitution French,.... English, Polifb, and Swedish Monar chies MY DEAR FRIEND, YOU London, March 29th OU are now, I fuppofe, at Naples, in a new fcene of virtù, examining all the curiofities of Herculaneum, watching the eruptions of mount Vefuvius, and fur veying the magnificent churches and public buildings by which Naples is diftinguished. You have a count there into the bargain, which, I hope, you frequent and attend to. Polite manners, at leaft, are to be learned at courts; and must be well learned by who ever would ei her fhine or thrive in them, Though the do not change the nature, they fmooth and foften the manners of mankind. Vigilance, dexterity, and flex ibility, fupply the place of natural force; and it is the ableft mind, not the strongest body, that prevails there Monfieur and Madame Fogliani will, I am fure, the you all the politenefs of courts; for I know no bette bred people than they are. Domefticate yourfelf the while you stay at Naples, and lay afide the Engli coldnefs and formality. You have alfo a letter compre Mahony, whofe house i hope you frequent, it is the refort of the beft company. His fifter, Ma The falfe brilliant, the minute, and complex. ame Bulkeley, is now here; and had I known of your going fo foon to Naples, I would have got you a letter from her to her brother. The converfation of the moderns in the evening is full as neceffary for you, as that of the ancients in the morning. You would do well, while you are at Naples, to read fome very fhort hiftory of that kingdom. It has had great variety of mafters, and has occafioned many wars; the general hiftory of which will enable you to afk many proper questions, and to receive ufeful infor mation in return. Inquire into the manner and form of that government; for conftitution it has none, being an abfolute one; but the most abfolute governments have certain cuftoms and forms, which are more or lefs obferved by their refpective tyrants. In China it is the fafhion for the emperors, abfolute as they are, to govern with juftice and equity; as in the other oriental monarchies it is the custom to govern by violence and cruelty. The king of France, as abfolute, in fact, as any of them is by cuftom only more gentle; for I know of no conftitutional bar to his will. England is now the only monarchy in the world that can properly be faid to have a constitution; for the people's rights and liberties are fecured by laws. I cannot reckon Sweden and Poland to be monarchies, thofe two kings having little more to fay than the Doge of Venice. I do not prefume to fay any thing of the conftitution of the empire to you, who are, I trust, perfect master of that fubject. When you write to me, which, by the way, you do pretty feldom, tell me rather whom you fee, than what you fee. Inform me of your evening tranfactions and acquaintances; where, and how you pafs your evenings; what English people you meet with, and a hint of their characters; and what people of learning you have made acquaintance with. I intereft myfelf moft in what perfonally concerns you most : and this is a very critical year in your life. To talk like a virtuofo, your canvas is, I think, a good one, and Raphael Harte has drawn the outlines admirably; nothing is now wanting but the colouring of Titian, and W |