It is unquestionably true, that no great original poetical work of distinguished merit has yet made its appearance in the United States, but it cannot at the same time be denied, that the individuals this writer has named, with Bryant, Sigourney, Willis, and several others, possess a fine poetical vein, the mens divinior of Horace. Some of their effusions contain passages of great beauty and splendor, and may be fairly classed with those of the first poets of our country. Most of them however, have merely what Mad. De Genlis calls the "art of making verses;" and either from the want of encouragement, the stimulus of praise, or continued enthusiasm, wing their flight briefly into the regions of poetic fancy, and seldom afterwards attempt any more lofty or daring excursions. But I must pause. I will endeavor in my next to bring my remarks on the science and literature of the United States to a close.
FINE PASSAGE IN HOOKER.
Hooker in his Ecclesiastical Polity says, "The time will come when three words, uttered with charity and meekness, shall receive a far more blessed reward, than three thousand volumes written with disdainful sharpness of wit."
For the Southern Literary Messenger.
TO ——.
| The dial marks the sunny hour, Every brilliant moment noting, But it loses all its power When a cloud is o'er it floating, As if gloom should be forgot! Thus on Time has Mem'ry dwelt, Tracing every fleeting minute, When thy radiant smiles were felt Courting each, if they were in it, Noting none if they were not! |