revife that part which is done, with that care which I refolved to bestow upon it, and which the dignity of the matter well deserves. For what worthier fubject could have been chofen, among all the treafuries of past times, than the life of this young prince; who, from fo fmall beginnings, through fuch infinite troubles and oppofitions, by fuch miraculous virtues and excellencies, and with fuch incomparable variety of wonderful actions and accidents, became the greatest monarch that ever fat on the most famous throne of the whole earth? Whom should a poet more justly seek to honour, than the highest person who ever honoured his profeffion? whom a Chriftian poet, rather than the man after God's own heart, and the man who had that facred pre-eminence above all other princes, to be the best and mightiest of that royal race from whence Christ himfelf, according to the flesh, difdained not to descend?

When I confider this, and how many other bright and magnificent fubjects of the like nature the holy Scripture affords and proffers, as it were, to poefy; in the wife managing and illuftrating whereof the glory of God Almighty might be joined with the fingular utility and nobleft delight of mankind; it is not without grief and indignation that I behold that divine fcience employing all her inexhauftible riches of wit and eloquence, either in the wicked and beggarly flattery of great perfons, or the unmanly idolizing of foolish women, or the wretched affectation of fcurril laughter, or at best on the confufed antiquated dreams

of

of fenfelefs fables and metamorphofes. Amongst all holy and confecrated things, which the devil ever stole and alienated from the service of the Deity; as altars, temples, facrifices, prayers, and the like; there is none that he fo univerfally, and fo long, ufurpt, as poetry. It is time to recover it out of the tyrant's hands, and to restore it to the kingdom of God, who is the father of it. It is time to baptize it in Jordan, for it will never become clean by bathing in the water of Damafcus. There wants, methinks, but the converfion of that, and the Jews, for the accomplishment of the kingdom of Christ. And as men, before their receiving of the faith, do not without fome carnal reluctancies apprehend the bonds and fetters of it, but find it afterwards to be the trueft and greatest liberty : it will fare no otherwife with this art, after the rege`neration of it; it will meet with wonderful variety of new, more beautiful, and more delightful objects; neither will it want room, by being confined to, heaven.

There is not fo great a lye to be found in any poet, as the vulgar conceit of men, that lying is effential to good poetry. Were there never fo wholefome nourishment to be had (but alas! it breeds nothing but difeafes) out of thefe boafted feafts of love and fables ; yet, methinks, the unalterable continuance of the diet fhould make us naufeate it: for it is almoft impoffible to ferve up any new difh of that kind. They are all but the cold-meats of the ancients, new-heated, and new fet forth. I do not at all wonder that the old poets made

C 3

:

made fome rich crops out of these grounds; the heart of the foil was not then wrought out with continual tillage but what can we expect now, who come a gleaning, not after the first reapers, but after the very beggars Befides, though thofe mad ftories of the gods and heroes feem in themselves fo ridiculous; yet they were then the whole body (or rather chaos) of the theology of thofe times. They were believed by all, but a few philofophers, and perhaps fome atheists.; and ferved to good purpofe among the vulgar (as pitiful things as they are), in ftrengthening the authority of law with the terrors of confcience, and expectation of certain rewards and unavoidable punishments. There was no other religion; and therefore that was better than none at all. But to us, who have no need of them; to us, who deride their folly, and are wearied with their impertinencies; they ought to appear no better arguments for verse, than those of their worthy fucceffors, the knights-errant. What can we imagine more proper for the ornaments of wit or learning in the ftory of Deucalion than in that of Noah? Why will not the actions of Sampfon afford as plentiful matter as the labours of Hercules? Why is not Jeptha's daughter as good a woman as Iphigenia? and the friendship of David and Jonathan more worthy celebration than that of Thefeus and Perithous? Does not the paffage of Mofes and the Ifraelites into the Holy Land yield incomparably more poetical variety than the voyages of Ulyffes or Æneas? Are the obfolete thread-bare

thread-bare tales of Thebes and Troy half fo. ftored with great, heroical, and fupernatural actions (fince verfe will needs find or make fuch), as the wars of Joshua, of the Judges, of David, and divers others? Can all the transformations of the gods give fuch copious hints to flourish and expatiate on, as the true miracles of Chrift, or of his prophets and apostles? What do I inftance in these few particulars? All the books of the Bible are either already moft admirable and exalted pieces of poefy, or are the best materials in the world for it.

Yet, though they be in themfelves fo proper to be made use of for this purpose; none but a good artist will know how to do it: neither must we think to cut and polish diamonds with fo little pains and skill as we do marble. For, if any man defign to compofe a facred poem, by only turning a story of the Scripture, like Mr. Quarles's, or fome other godly matter, like Mr. Heywood of angels, into rhyme; he is fo far from elevating of poefy, that he only abafes divinity. In brief, he who can write a prophane poem well, may write a divine one better; but he who can do that but ill, will do this much worfe. The fame fertility of invention; the same wisdom of disposition; the fame judgment in obfervance of decencies; the fame luftre and vigour of elocution; the fame modefty and majesty of number; briefly, the fame kind of habit, is required to both only this latter allows better stuff; and therefore would look more deformedly, ill dreft in it.

I am far from affuming to myself to have fulfilled the duty of this weighty undertaking: but fure I am, there is nothing yet in our language (nor perhaps in any) that is in any degree anfwerable to the idea that I conceive of it. And I fhall be ambitious of no other fruit from this weak and imperfect attempt of mine, but the opening of a way to the courage and industry of some other perfons, who may be better able to perform it thoroughly and fuccefsfully.

JUVENILE