of his name, and put him in the midst of these adventures: there let him work for twelve books; at the end of which you may take him out, ready prepared to conquer or to marry; it being necessary that the conclusion of an epic poem be fortunate.

To make an Episode. Take any remaining adventure of your former collection, in which you could no way involve your hero; or any unfortunate accident that was too good to be thrown away; and it will be of use, applied to any other person, who may be lost and evaporate in the course of the work, without the least damage to the composition.

For the Moral and Allegory. These you may extract out of the fable afterwards, at your leisure : be sure you strain them sufficiently.

For the Manners. For those of the hero, take all the best qualities you can find in the most celebrated heroes of antiquity: if they will not be reduced to a consistency, lay them all on a heap upon him. But be sure they are qualities which your patron would be thought to have; and to prevent any mistake which the world may be subject to, select from the alphabet those capital letters that compose his name, and set them at the head of a dedication or poem. However, do not observe the exact quantity of these virtues, it not being determined whether or no it be necessary for the hero of a poem to be an honest man. For the under characters, gather them from Homer and Virgil, and change the names as occasion serves.

For the Machines. Take of deities, male and female, as many as you can use: separate them into two equal parts, and keep Jupiter in the middle:

let Juno put him in a ferment, and Venus molify him. Remember on all occasions to make use of volatile Mercury. If you have need of devils, draw them out of Milton's Paradise, and extract your spirits from Tasso. The use of these machines is evident: since no epic poem can possibly subsist without them, the wisest way is to reserve them for your greatest necessities. When you cannot extricate your hero by any human means, or yourself by your own wit, seek relief from heaven, and the gods will do your business very readily. This is according to the direct prescription of Horace, in his Art of Poetry :

Nec deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus
Inciderit.-

That is to say,

A poet should never call upon the gods for their assistance, but when he is in great perplexity.'

For the Descriptions. For a tempest. Take Eurus, Zephyr, Auster, and Boreas, and cast them together in one verse: add to these of rain, lightning, and thunder (the loudest you can) quantum sufficit; mix your clouds and billows well together till they foam, and thicken your description here and there with a quicksand. Brew your tempest well in your head, before you set it a blowing.

For a Battle. Pick a large quantity of images and descriptions from Homer's Iliad, with a spice or two of Virgil; and if there remain any overplus, you may lay them by for a skirmish. Season it well with similies, and it will make an excellent battle.

For a burning Town. If such a description be

necessary (because it is certain there is one in Virgil) old Troy is ready burned to your hands: but if you fear that would be thought borrowed, a chapter or two of the Theory of the Conflagration, well circumstanced and done into verse, will be a good succedaneum.

As for similies and metaphors, they may be found all over the creation; the most ignorant may gather them: but the difficulty is in applying them. For this, advise with your bookseller.

Pope.

B4

END OF VOL. V.

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