[20] Isaiah xxxv. 2.—Pope. "It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God."
[21] An improper and burlesque image.—Warton.
The line is too particular; it brings the image too close, and by exhibiting the action stronger than poetical propriety and sublimity required, destroys the intended effect. In images of this sort, the greatest care should be taken just to present the idea, but not to detail it,—otherwise it becomes, in the language of Shakespeare, like "ambition that o'er-leaps itself."—Bowles.
Pope copied Dryden's translation of Virgil, Ecl. vi. 44, quoted by Wakefield;
And silver fauns and savage beasts advanced,
And nodding forests to the numbers danced,
[22] Virg. Ecl. iv. 46:
Aggredere, ô magnos, aderit jam tempus, honores,
Cara deum soboles, magnum Jovis incrementum.
Ecl. v. 62:
Ipsi lætitia voces ad sidera jactan
Intonsi montes, ipsæ jam carmina rupes,
Ipsa sonant arbusta, Deus, deus ille, Menalca!
"Oh come and receive the mighty honours: the time draws nigh, O beloved offspring of the gods, O great increase of Jove! The uncultivated mountains send shouts of joy to the stars, the very rocks sing in verse, the very shrubs cry out, A god, a god!"