Tost by a Whirlwind of tempestuous Fire,
A Thousand Wretches in the Air expire.
Mr. Addison observes after Pere Bouhours, That it is impossible for any Thought to be beautiful, which is not just, and has not its Foundation in the Nature of Things: That the Basis of all Wit is Truth, and that no Thought can be valuable, of which good Sense is not the Ground-work. Therefore when Mr. Echard writes his Oxcellency for his Excellency, speaking of the Parliament's General the Earl of Essex, the Tyrannical Parliament for the Triennial Parliament, the New Noddle for the New Model with respect to the Army, and the like, we are not to be imposed upon by him, and to take it upon his bare Word for Wit. Neither is there any Wit at all in his burlesquing such Phrases as these; Presence of God, Seeking the Lord, Call of God, Jesus Christ, &c. Which he also would impose upon us for Witicisms.
His Descriptions are not all so lofty and sounding as that of the Sea-Fight, particularly when he paints Oliver Cromwel, without his Breeches, running away from the Cavaliers in his Drawers only, and then turning back upon them and beating them. Of this Kind is the incomparable Picture of the Aldermen Gloucester: Their Visages were pale, lean, and ugly; their Cloaths strange and unusual; their Voices pert, shrill, and fearless; Ambassadors from the godly City of Gloucester. His Similes are not more elevated, especially that where he compares the Silent and Victorious General Monk to a Cat, and General Lambert to a Mouse. He watched him as a Cat watches a Mouse, a singular Proof of his Perfection in Eloquence, which naturally leads us to Expression, and I doubt not the Historian thinks a finer Historical Stile than his own is not to be met with.
As in Thoughts so in Expression, we in England are apt to confound all the various Kinds under the general Terms of good Language, and a fine Stile. The Sublime, the Natural, the Didactick, the Narrative, the Tragick, the Comick, the Polite, the Affected, are seldom rightly distinguish'd, and the latter very often mistaken for the Polite. The Admirers of Mr. Echard's History do, doubtless, take what follows to have as much of the Sublime in it as the English Tongue is capable of. It introduces the glorious Reign of King Charles II.
Having gone through a stormy and tempestuous Season of various Misery, we arrive at a sudden Brightness and Splendour, a most unexpected Order, and glorious Calm and Sunshine. The Splendour and Brightness harder to be born than the preceeding Clouds and Darkness. What is Stormy and Tempestuous? what Brightness, Sunshine, and Splendour? What Clouds and Darkness? but other Words for the same Things, and instead of Amplification comes under the Denomination of another Figure very common in such puffy Rhetorick, call'd Tautology, which I am afraid the Historian and his Admirers mistake for the Sublime, there being but very few that can distinguish Sound from Sense, or Wind from Spirit. Let a Discourse be never so fine, says Rapin, it loses its worth when 'tis out of its Place, and appears affected. Affectation in Stile has the same Effect with ordinary Judges as Affectation in Air has with Women and Fops. It passes upon them for Politeness; and Delicacy, tho' there is nothing more vicious in Language. I might fill a Volume with Examples of this Vice, taken out of the Earl of Clarendon, and the Archdeacon's Histories, but as I had never troubled my self about them, had there been nothing in them but Want of Method, and an affected Stile, I shall content my self with two or three Observations only, which are sufficient to convince all those that can judge right; and as for others, I have not Leisure nor Words enough to attempt it.
He says the Sight of the Gloucester Aldermen at once gave Mirth to the most severe Countenances, and Sadness to the most cheerful Hearts. What Idea can one have of these Cavaliers, as he expresses himself, but that of some Idiots whom we have seen to laugh and cry in a Breath. He has two Expressions about Mines, which are very extraordinary, both as he is a Naturalist and as he is an Orator: The one is the Brass-Mine in Cumberland, the only Brass-Mine that ever was, or ever will be in the World. A Copper-Mine might have been found out there, and a Mine of Lapis calaminaris, which put together, would produce Brass enough, if there were Ore enough. Where he speaks of the Cleanliness of his Writing, he intimates, that he is one of those who dive into the rich Mines of Nature. What can one imagine about diving better than that of a Duck and a Dog in a Pond, or Boys in the Bath? To dive into a Mine, methinks, is like running a Man's Head into a Rock. If he had said he had been digging in the rich Mines of Nature, one might have expected some Mettal to have come of it, of one Sort or another. When the Parliament, that brought in King Charles II, met the first Time, Mr. Echard says, We are now arrived at the VAST Day, which I humbly conceive to be beyond Conception, and a strange Specimen of the Author's Talent in Elocution. He had a mind to make this Day something prodigious and uncommon, and therefore swells it up with an Epithet which bursts in the Operation. VAST might have been proper, if he had been speaking of the Ton of Heidelbergh, or Admiral Russel's Punch Bowl at Lisbon: But under what Figure will he put Day for the Word VAST to become it well? Doctor Littleton in his Dictionary makes VAST to be huge, burly, wide, broad, large, and what is much less for the Archdeacon's Purpose, misshapen, ill-favoured, desolate, insatiable, outragious; put Day to ever a one of them, and see how the Coat fits. Mr. Bailey in his very good Dictionary is contented with two or three Interpretations only, as a huge Day, a spacious Day. Ludlow, I believe, would have followed Littleton, and then for VAST would have understood desolate Day, ill-shapen Day, insatiable Day; so dangerous is it for People to meddle with Words which they do not understand. Of all the Blunders in Expression which are to be avoided, there was the best Provision made against this that could be, if a Man had had the least Acquaintance with the politer Authors, Monsieur St. Evremont having written a Dissertation on this very Word VAST, and whoever reads it, will pity a Writer who could fall into so gross an Errour, if there were no Malice in what he had written. I suppose that almost all Mr. Echard's Readers have taken this VAST in the Sense he intended for Important, and if he had said this Mountainous Day, it would have done as well: They would have expected a Birth from the Mountain, and the Arch-Deacon's History is a Labour of the same Kind.
As we in England are apt to confound Sentiments and Expressions, so we do the same by Talents, and think if a Man can make a School-Book or two, he can write a History. Jeremiah Collier wrote a short View of the Stage, which sold wonderfully, and immediately the Booksellers hir'd him to write Three Histories in Folio: And I question not but, because Sir Isaac Newton has outdone all Philosophers in his Treatise of Fluxions, they would employ him in Heroick Poetry, if he were young enough, and would be employ'd by them. There was a Pertness in Collier's Stile, which was mistaken for Vivacity, and tho' there cannot be any Thing more affected, yet it recommends his Essays, Views, &c. as somewhat in the Perfection of our Language. I wonder Dr. Felton should forget him, when he mentions Sir Roger L'Estrange, Mr. Trap, and other masterly Writers. You cannot name Collier's Views, Essays, &c. in Company, but some body or other immediately cries out, Ay! that's Fine. Wonderful fine, as will be seen presently.
In his Essays he has this Expression, A Man may act an Excellency for the Satisfaction if Significancy, which has the same Effect in Prose, as it is observ'd of some good Verses, that the Smoothness or Roughness of the Numbers are an Image of the Roughness or Smoothness of the Thing. You can hardly pronounce these Words without a prim Look, and screwing up your Mouth with the Affectation of a Girl at a Boarding-School. Would one imagine that this was said by the same Author in another place; Nothing is more nauseous than to be affected: And yet see further, Don't let Miss suffer her Heels to get too much into her Head, not to say any Thing about the Attitude, which would be very extraordinary in a Picture. Again, Seeing and Hearing are the most creditable Senses; the Brain has an unpromising Aspect, which cannot be known without Dissection. What Idea does this leave upon the Mind? or this, A Prince made but a lame Figure in Comparison with our Apostle. One would think Collier had Prince Prettiman and the Spanish Fryer in his Head when he wrote it. He is so fond of this Conceit, that he endeavours to prove, in his Essay on Theft, and elsewhere, that our Saviour's Disciples were Men of Quality, well-born, and well-bred, and if they did fish at any time, 'twas only for their Pleasure. As the Barber of Northampton told Estcourt, He was a Doctor by Profession, and shav'd only for his Diversion. But Collier seems to have less Regard for his Brotherhood in the last Centuries, when he informs us that by Queen Elizabeth's Injunctions a Clergyman could not marry till he had made his Complaint against Celibacy before two Justices of the Peace, and gain'd their Consent, and the good Will of the Master or Mistress where the Damsel serv'd, by which he gives us to understand, that soon after the Reformation the Priests Wives were all Abigail's.