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By his advice, I disapprov'd the lay,
Where sparkling tropes in wild confusion play.
With him, and all the wise of ages past,
I held, that grandeur differ'd from bombast;
That he, who fears to launch into the deep,
Is often tame, and makes his readers sleep;
That graceful ease and vigor should combine,
To stamp the full perfection of the line;
That clear arrangement, like the light of day,
Gives light, and life, and beauty to the lay.
Where sparkling tropes in wild confusion play.
With him, and all the wise of ages past,
I held, that grandeur differ'd from bombast;
That he, who fears to launch into the deep,
Is often tame, and makes his readers sleep;
That graceful ease and vigor should combine,
To stamp the full perfection of the line;
That clear arrangement, like the light of day,
Gives light, and life, and beauty to the lay.
difficulty of providing point, and seasonableness of introduction, and novelty. In the last confession of the Giaour, the attention of the reader is drawn from the hero of the tale to attend to the following observations of the author: "The monk's sermon is omitted. It seems to have had so little effect upon the patient, that it could have no hopes from the reader. It may be sufficient to say, that it was of a customary length, (as may be perceived from the interruptions and uneasiness of the penitent,) and was delivered in the nasal tone of all orthodox preachers."
