Englishman.—“And in our own Milton, Samson Agonistes makes as good, indeed a better bull; for he not only makes the mute speak, but speak loud:—
‘The deeds themselves, though mute, spoke loud the doer.’
And in Paradise Lost we have, to speak in fashionable language, two famous bulls. Talking of Satan, Milton says,
‘God and his Son except,
Created thing nought valued he nor shunn’d.’
And speaking of Adam and Eve, and their sons and daughters, he confounds them all together in a manner for which any Irishman would have been laughed to scorn:—
‘Adam, the goodliest man of men since born,
His sons; the fairest of her daughters Eve.’
Yet Addison, who notices these blunders, calls them only little blemishes.”
Scotchman.—“He does so; and he quotes Horace, who tells us we should impute such venial errors to a pardonable inadvertency; and, as I recollect, Addison makes another very just remark, that the ancients, who were actuated by a spirit of candour, not of cavilling, invented a variety of figures of speech, on purpose to palliate little errors of this nature.”
“Really, gentlemen,” interrupted the Hibernian, who had sat all this time in silence that spoke his grateful sense of the politeness of his companions, “you will put the finishing stroke to my obligations to you, if you will prove that the ancient figures of speech were invented to palliate Irish blunders.”
Englishman.—“No matter for what purpose they were invented; if we can make so good a use of them we shall be satisfied, especially if you are pleased. I will, however, leave the burden of the proof upon my friend here, who has detected me already in quoting from Pope’s Iliad instead of Homer’s. I am sure he will manage the ancient figures of rhetoric better than I should; however, if I can fight behind his shield I shall not shun the combat.”