As a poet, Akenside is entitled to praise of the high est kind. his great work, " The Pleasures of the Ima gination," is perhaps the best didactic poem of which ancient or modern times can boast ; and, when we re member that it was published at the age el 23, and that great part of it was probably written before he had reached his 18th year, it is not hyperbolical to say, that it is the finest effort of youthful genius that was ever presented to the world. No subject could have been more happily chosen for displaying the brilliant images of his fancy, and the uncommon amplitude of acquisi tions with which his mind was enriched. Every poeti cal beauty was naturally included in his plan : and has been exemplified in his verse s with singular felicity. In this admirable poem we arc charmed at once with the most melodious versification, the most luxuriant imagery, and the happiest elegance of diction; while its parts are so artfully disposed, that the arrangement could not be changed without materially injuring the general design. But these beauties, captivating as they are, form in fact the least part of its excellence. It de rives its most fascinating charm from that high tone of moral feeling,—from those glowing. emotions which fire the breast a the youthful bard, and which bly convince us, that from I lea yen descends The name of genius to 'he human breast, .1‘11(1 love and beauty mid pot tic And inspiration ! Let the youth who wishes to attain sublimity of senti ment, or firmness of principle, enrich his memory with the ennobling strains of the. Plea., of the imagina tion. \Vho can read such lines as these is ilhout catch ing the enthusiasm of virtue, and feeling himself pre pared for every great and noble achieNement ! Say, w-hy was man so emine»tiv raised Amid the vast creation ; why ordain'd Through life and death to dart his piercing etc With thoughts beyond the limit of his 13ut that lit' Omnipotent night send him forth In sight of mortal and immortal iron As on a boundless theatre, to run The great career of justice to ex:ilt His generous aim to all diviner deeds ; To chase each partial purpose limn his breast ; And through the mists of passion and of sense, And through the tossing tide of' chance and pain, To hold his course unfaltering, while thew once Of Truth and up the steep ascent Of Nature calls him to his high reward, Th' applauding smile of Heaven? Else wherefore burns In mortal bosoms, this unquenched hope 'That breathes from day to day sublimer things, And mocks possession 1 W herefore &i•is the mind, With such resistless ardour, to i.nibrace Majestic forms: impatient to he flee, Spurning the gross control of wilful might, Proud of the strong contention of her toils, Proud to be daring ? From the author of this poem, it is surely little de traction to say, that he is not always equal ;—that his fancy does not always preserve the same height to which she occasionally soars. It is but seldom, how
ever, that she deigns " to rest her wing beneath her native quarry ;"—and never, perhaps, was there a poem of equal length, which was distinguished by such a con tinued strain of sublime sentiment• and poetical diction. His chief fault is, that from too anxious a desire to avoid low and vulgar expressions, he sometimes involves himself in obscurity ;---yet, even in his obscurity, he is frequently splendick—he hides himself " in a veil of light," and conceals his natural grandeur by superfluity of ornament. lie himself was sensible of the imperfec tions of his poem : and went. on for several years rcvising and correcting it, till, feeling the work grow 00 his hand, he resolved to write it altogether anew, upon a plan somewhat different and enlarged. Two books, and great part of a third, were finished before his death, and were published, along with the original poem, by his friend Mr Dyson. The admirers of poetry will not much regret that his 11,111 was never completed ; for though his reformed work is more correct and close, i.. is nine]) less splendid and poetical than its From contemplating this wonderful production, we turn, with sonic regret, to his Odes. ‘Ve cannot, in deed, subscribe to the unjust and illiberal censure passed upon them by Dr Johnson. Though they may he inferior to the odes of Dryden and of (;ray, they fre quently breathe the true spirit of poetry; and perhaps, he read with higher admiration, were they not the offspring of the same genius which produced the Pleasures of Imagination ? His Ode to the Earl of Hun tingdon, and that to the Earl of Winchester, would have been sufficient to rank him high among lyric poets ; and his lIymn to the Naiads is esteemed one of the finest specimens of classical elegance. His talent for satire is very strikingly displayed in his Anisar to Curio. It is difficult to imagine what could induce him to change it afterwards into an Ode, which, Dr Johnson remarks, is disgraceful only to the author.
Besides his poems, Akenside published, in the Philo sophical Transactions, several medical treatises, which displayed much ingenuity and an intimate knowledge of the science. His Discourse on the Dysentery was con sidered as a very conspicuous specimen of latinity, and raised his reputation as a scholar as high as that which he already enjoyed as a poet. (4)