9-11-29 Duro As the Occasion of this poem was real, not fictitious; fo the method pursued in it, was rather imposed, by what spontaneously arose in the author's mind, on that occasion, than medi. tated, or designed. Which will appear very probable from the nature of it. For it differs from the common mode of Poetry, which is from long narrations to draw foort morals. Here, on the contrary, the narrative is fort, and the morality arising from it makes the bulk of the Poem. The reason of it is, That the fasts mentioned did na. turally pour these moral refle&tions on the thought of the writer. |