:: :: University of Virginia Library

Fielding was only the source of Murphy's reflections on "Imitation"; but the essay "On the Standards of modern Criticism" is wholly his, and it is one of the best of his humorous pieces of this kind. Opening with a favorite observation—that "Character" is determined by a ruling passion that "gives a casting Weight to the Genius" of a person—he regrets that there has been no objective means of measuring the force and efficacy of the particular passion necessary to produce the man of "Wit" or of "Hour," or, indeed, to produce Nature's masterpiece, "the modern Critic." Fielding had long made the latter the target of ridicule, most recently, for example, in the introductory essays to Tom Jones (Book X: "Containing Instructions very necessary to be perused by modern Critics"; and Book XI: "A Crust for the Critics")and in The Covent-Garden Journal, Nos. 3 (11 January 1752) and 46 (9 June 1752).

Here, it appears to have been a particular modern critic whose taste and judgment required the correction of being laughed at. Samuel Foote, actor and mimic at the Covent-Garden Theatre, and a man Fielding despised (Life,pp. 435-39), had belittled the gifts of David Garrick, the greatest actor of the age—and, as the author of the essay calls him, "my little Friend of Drury Lane": Foote was publicly arguing that Garrick at 5′6″ was physically too short to be convincing in the role of a hero (see below, note 14). Affecting to agree with Foote's premise, the solution Fielding proposes to the problem of subjectivity when judging the pretensions of authors and critics is reminiscent of the "physico-logical" schemes of Swift: having "shewn to a Demonstration" that the qualifications of writers are entirely dependent on "the Height and Stature of the Body"—a Wit is 5′6″, a Humorist is 5′8″, a practical Joker 5′10″, a Critic 6′—it follows that a yardstick in future must be "the only infallible Criterion."

As I believe the evidence attests,[22] de Castro's "suggestion" of nearly

225

ninety years ago was as "sage" as Dickson judged it to be. Arthur Murphy was not only Fielding's good friend but, as Fielding's contributions to the Gray's-Inn Journal make clear, his protégé as well; he is the most likely author of the Dedication to The Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon. And if he was author of the Dedication, Murphy, a professional writer and experienced editor of manuscripts, would certainly be the most likely person to have been employed by Millar to see through to publication the "perplexed autograph manuscript" that Amory has described. And, to repeat de Castro's words, "If that be so one can understand why Millar should have turned to him when requiring an editor for the `Complete' Works" of 1762.

The complete text of the essay follows below, the copy text being the only extant source: The Gray's-Inn Journal, No. 27 (21 April 1753), in the 1756 reprint, i. 174-179. The footnotes chiefly illustrate correspondences of topics and phrasing with Fielding's known writings; an asterisk before a note signals a particularly striking parallel. Notes followed by the letter "R" were contributed by Dr. Frederick G. Ribble, who read this essay in typescript.

References to Fielding's works are to the Wesleyan Edition (Middletown, CT, and Oxford: Wesleyan University Press and Oxford University Press, 1966/67- ), as follows in alphabetical order: Amelia, ad. M. C. Battestin (1983); Contributions to The Champion and Related Writings, ad. W. B. Coley (2003); The Covent-Garden Journal and A Plan of the Universal Register-Office, ad. Bertrand A. Goldgar (1988); The Jacobite's Journal and Related Writings, ad. W. B. Coley (1975); Joseph Andrews, ad. M. C. Battestin (1966/67); Miscellanies, Volume One, ad. Henry Knight Miller (1972), Volume Two and Volume Three, ad. Bertrand A. Goldgar and Hugh Amory (1993 and 1997); Tom Jones, ad. M. C. Battestin and Fredson Bowers, 2 vols. (1974/75), 2nd edn. paperback (Wesleyan UP, 1975); The True Patriot and Related Writings, ad. W. B. Coley (1987). For Familiar Letters see Fielding's Complete Works, ad. W. E. Henley, vol. 16 (1903); for The Masquerade, see The Female Husband and Other Writings, ad. Claude E. Jones (Liverpool University Press, 1960); for Shamela, see Joseph Andrews and Shamela, ad. M. C. Battestin (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1961); for The Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon, ad. Tom Keymer (Penguin Books, 1996).

In the notes to the text, the following abbreviations are used:

Am = Amelia (1751)
CGJ = Covent-Garden Journal (1752)
C-H = Chadwyck-Healey online database Eighteenth-Century Fiction (Cambridge, England: Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1996).
Ch = The Champion (1739-1740)
DGA = A Dialogue between a Gentleman of London . . . and an Honest Alderman (1747)
EC = "Essay on Conversation" (1743)
FL = Familiar Letters (1747)
HF = Henry Fielding
JA = Joseph Andrews (1742)
JW = Jonathan Wild (1743)
JVL = Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon
JWN = Journey from This World to the Next (1743)

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KCM = "Essay on the Knowledge of the Characters of Men" (1743)
Misc i, ii, iii = Miscellanies (1743), vols. 1, 2, 3
OED = Oxford English Dictionary
Sh = An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews (1741)
TE = The Twickenham Edition of the Poems of Alexander Pope, ad. John Butt et al., 11 vols. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1961-68).
TJ = Tom Jones (1749)
TP = True Patriot (1745-1746)

Numb. 27. Gray's-Inn, Saturday, April 21, 1753.

Ingrediturque solo, & caput inter nubila condit.

Virgil. [1]

THERE are few Terms which are applied with greater Impropriety, than those characteristical Appellations, which Men usually bestow on their Acquaintance, or on others, in whose Company and Conversation they may at any Time have been casually engaged. Every Character, indeed, is formed by the Prevalence of some particular Passion,[2] which influences the Temper, and gives a casting Weight to the Genius of the Person in whom it subsists.[3] But no Rules that I know of, have been yet laid down,[4] nor is there any certain Standard which should fix the Degree of Elevation, to which the ruling Passion must necessarily rise, before it can have Strength sufficient to determine the Character.

The Reader must, however, be informed, that I am not speaking of those moral Qualifications, or Endowments of the Heart, which speculative Writers have taken so much idle Pains[5] to adorn and recommend; and which Men of Sense, or Men of the World, have unanimously agreed in rejecting, as unworthy of their serious Notice. The Qualities I mean are pure Virtues of the Head or Face; Properties, which enable the Possessor to assume a solemn Aspect[6] at Incidents, which set the rest of the Table on a Roar;[7] or to interrupt what is truly serious and grave, by impertinent Questions of Levity and Mirth; or lastly, to condemn and cavil,[8] when all the World sees the highest Reasons for Applause and Admiration. The Effects which these Causes produce in Life, however various and complicated in their Appearance, may be reduced to the three general Sources of Wit, Hour, and Criticism, and as the Pretenders to these several Qualities are infinite in Number,[9] I have determined on a certain Standard, in order to regulate and adjust their Claims. The Method I propose is, to decide their different Pretensions by the Height and Stature of the Body.

And lest this should be considered as a wild chimerical Design,[10] I must beg Leave to assure my Reader, that the Theory I am forming is built upon the latest Discoveries, and most uncontroverted Principles of true Philosophy. It is possible however, that Persons of an over-refining Curiosity,[11] may be able to raise some Objections to what I am going to advance, but as everyThing is liable to be called in Question by those who are disposed to cavil, they will give me but little Pain upon that Head.[12] The plainest Truths have been disputed, and the most extravagant Opinions have been fortunate

227

enough to meet with their Advocates and Admirers. Now, I would have such People recollect what are the general Apprehensions arising in the Mind, on the Sight of an uncommon Stature; and how favourable, withal, even the Notions of the Vulgar[13] are to an unusual Height of Person. Is it not commonly supposed, that Men of this superior Eminence possess as superior Parts, and extraordinary Degrees of Merit. From this Principle, my little Friend of Drury-Lane is universally censured, as falling short of a true Hero, by near half a Foot;[14] whilst his more aspiring Antagonist is allowed to have all the necessary Dimensions, required both by ancient and modern Precedents, to constitute the heroic Character.

It is an Axiom in Philosophy,[15] which few, I hope, will be so hardy as to deny,[16] that the Soul is all and all in every Part. From hence it is obvious, that the Body which is a Covering only for the Ætherial Particle that is lodged within it, must necessarily receive its Dimensions from the Vigour of the Spirit, which actuates the exterior Frame. The greater Portion of Fire this Spirit is endued with, its elastic Qualities will be proportionably stronger;and the Dimensions of the Body will be protruded to a Size, exactly of the same Dimensions with the Soul which informs it. On this simple Hypothesis, which I imagine cannot be easily disproved, I proceed to settle the respective Qualifications of the different Pretenders, who have been mentioned above.

In the first Place, those who, with gentle William in the Play,[17] boast themselves not on Account of their Wisdom, but as they have a pretty Wit,do not exceed the lowest Degree of our appointed Standard. It is not in Nature, that such Persons can rise in their Stature, above the Height of five Feet and six Inches.[18] For Wit, which is merely an Exercise of the Tongue, doth[19] not require the same Bulk and Dimensions, which are essential to Qualifications of a superior Order. It is evidently a much less Exertion of the interior Faculties, than what are productive of that Talent which we call Hour. Hence we must advance a little in our Standard; and can admit no one to be a Man of real Hour, who does not come up to the full Height of five Feet and eight Inches; and this small Progression is the more allowable, as a considerable Part of Hour is frequently expressed by such Feats of Body, as require some little Degree of Size and Strength.[20] Giving a Friend a violent and unexpected Slap on the Back, or the dexterous Leaping over Chairs and Tables, have been often regarded as so many undoubted Signs of genuine Hour;[21] and are generally agreed to denote a most facetious Vein of Pleasantry,[22] in the Authors of such exquisite Jokes.[23] It will sometimes further happen, that these two Qualities may be blended in the same Person;as I doubt not but many of my Readers can recollect several of their Acquaintance, who are your only Men of Wit and Hour. Now, this Conjunction manifestly implies a much superior Energy of Soul;[24] and consequently, a still higher Advancement in our Scale of characteristic Excellencies. These Candidates for Fame will accordingly rise two Inches above those who are mentioned last; and none are to pass under the Denomination for the future, but whose Height is five Feet ten. For these Qualities, when thus united, will

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frequently exert themselves in Strokes[25] of Gallantry and Mirth, which are so much the more honourable as they are dangerous to the Person or the Purse of the ingenious Artist, who has the Courage or Curiosity to attempt the Experiment. The demolishing Windows, knocking down of Watchmen, bilking[26] of Waiters at Places of Entertainment, with other Instances of the like Kind, are very laudable and convincing Proofs of these compound Qualities, residing together in the same Habitation.[27] The last Quality, which greatly overtops the rest, and is indeed the Crown and Perfection of all, is the wonderful[28] and most ingenious Faculty of modern Criticism. And as this is, in the most exalted Manner, the Gift of Nature, whoever has the Happiness to be born a true Critic, is at least six Feet complete. A Critic is the Master-piece and noblest Work of Nature;[29] and may justly be expected to bear about him[30] some distinguishing Tokens,[31] which will enable a Spectator, at the first View, to acknowledge and revere his Merits. Hence she has bestowed on him a more than ordinary Portion of the Daring and Tremendous; [32] and these would appear to very little Effect in a Person of less Dimensions, than those which we have here assigned him. The Wit may be pert and sanguine;[33] the Man of Hour confident or overbearing; but it is the Critic alone, who glares horribly terrific. His every Look freezes the young Author's Blood;[34] and at the Sound of his Voice, the rooted Seats have been known to be torn from the Ground, and hurled violently through the Air, in furious and wild Commotion.[35] Phænomena,[36] like these, can only be produced by that iron Strength of Lungs,[37] and brazen Audacity of Figure, which Nature has so liberally imparted to the modern Critic.

It will be necessary to obviate[38] an Objection arising from popular Prejudice, that the Science of Criticism[39] being to examine into the Merit of all Productions of Genius and Learning, it does not seem to demand the Size and Dimensions which I have made essential to the Character; but the Objectors, I apprehend, are mistaken in the End of modern Criticism; and have not perhaps duly reflected on[40] the necessary Qualities to discharge the Province[41] they are desirous of allotting it. To execute that Task,[42] would require a moderate Portion of Sense, Taste and Judgment, under the Direction of Modesty and Candour; Talents so little practised by those who have taken up the Occupation of a a [sic] Critic, that they appear on all Occasions not to have the least Conception of them. Whoever will give himself Leave to consider, that the Character of a Critic, a Wit, and Man of Hour, in the present Estimation of the World, is supported[43] wholly by Mechanical Operations,[44] in which the Understanding has no Manner of Share,[45] he will easily agree with me, that the surest Method to discover those Characters, must be taken from that Part which is principally concerned; and as we can truly judge from outward Appearances alone, I have shewn to a Demonstration that the Stature of a Person is the only infallible Criterion, by which we can decide, on the Justness of his Pretensions; and that no one for the future can have any Right to either of those Characters, but whose Dimensions will exactly tally with the Measures of this Standard.

[22]

In addition to the evidence for Fielding's authorship presented in this essay, I report the conclusion of Michael and Jill Farringdon, who have conducted a computer-assisted analysis: "Attribution analysis using the cusum technique—and taking for comparison material from Fielding's Joseph Andrews and Nicholas Amhurst's The CraftsmanNo. 396—shows the whole essay is indistinguishable from Fielding's material and clearly separates from Armhurst's material." On the cusum technique, see Jill M. Farringdon, Analysing for Authorship: A Guide to the Cusum Technique (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1996).

[1]

Aeneid, x. 767: the tyrant Mezentius "walks the ground with head hidden in the clouds" (trans. H. Rushton Fairclough, Loeb Library, 1916).

[2]

"the Prevalence of some particular Passion": Cf. JA (I. xviii) "the latter Passion was far more prevalent" (p. 88). —R

[*3]

"Every Character . . . subsists": The theory that character is determined by a dominant passion is fundamental to HF's view of human nature. Cf. KCM, where he comments: "that immense Variety of Characters . . . could hardly exist, unless the Distinction had some original Foundation in Nature itself," and then declares that "among all these, there subsists . . . so manifest and extreme a Difference of Inclination or Character, that almost obliges us to acknowledge some unacquired, original Distinction, in the Nature or Soul of one Man, from that of another" (Misc i. 153-154). Also CGJ No. 55 (18 July 1752), where he explains the "Notion of Hour" (i.e. a ruling passion) as "nothing more than a violent Bent or Disposition of the Mind to some particular Point" (p. 300).

[*4]

"no Rules . . . yet laid down": C-H cites 49 instances in HF's fiction of "Rules" in the sense of a set of principles or regulations governing conduct, an art or science, etc. With the phrasing here, cf. EC, where HF will "lay down some general Rules" on the subject of "Good Breeding" (Misc i. 128); also TJ (V. i) "we have laid it down as a Rule"; "to lay down dogmatical Rules in any Art or Science" and "the Rules . . . laid down by those great Judges" (pp. 209, 210, 211); Am (IV. iii) "to lay down any fixed and certain Rules" (p. 161); JVL "lay down only one general rule" (p. 6); "my own rule laid down in my preface" (p. 15).

[*5]

"idle Pains": C-H cites 34 instances of "idle" in HF's fiction, 8 of which are in the present sense of "without purpose, meaningless": e.g. JWN (I. ii) "idle Opinions" (Misc ii.10); JW (III. ii) "as vain and idle, as to bid the . . . River to cease to run" (Misc iii. 95); TJ (IV. i) "idle Romances" (p. 150); (XII. v) "idle Trumpery" (p. 639); (XII. vi) "idle shows" (p. 641); (XV. iii) ("idle Stories") (p. 790).

[*6]

"assume a solemn Aspect": C-H cites 27 instances in HF's fiction of "Aspect" referring to the appearance of a person or situation: in the present context cf., especially, TJ (VIII. vi), where Partridge the barber/surgeon explains to Jones: "`You can't imagine, Sir, of how much Consequence a grave Aspect is to a Grave Character. A Barber may make you laugh, but a Surgeon ought to make you cry' " (p. 423). Also (I. xii), where Captain Blifil affects "great Gravity of Aspect" (p. 69).

[7]

"set the Table on a Roar": C-H cites 34 instances in HF's fiction of the verb "roar," including TJ (VII. iv), Squire Western's "extraordinary Degree of roaring Mirth" (p. 339).

[8]

"to . . . cavil": C-H cites 4 instances of "cavil" in HF's fiction, 2 as a noun and 2 as a verb, e.g. TJ (I. i) "Nor do I fear that my sensible Reader . . . will start, cavil, or be offended, because I have named but one Article" (p. 32); (V. i) "I have been surprized that Horace should cavil at this Art in Homer" (p. 214).

[*9]

"infinite in Number": These two words were among HF's favorites. C-H cites 77 instances in HF's fiction of "infinite/infinitely" and 130 of "number/numberless" denoting quantity (not a numeral). Used together, cf. JWN (I. viii) "infinite Numbers of Spirits" (Misc ii. 36).

[*10]

"chimerical Design": The adjective "chimerical" was a particular favorite of HF's: cf. Ch (26 Jan. 1739/40) "chimerical System" (p. 142); (3 May 1740) "a chimerical Good," "so chimerical a Reward," "chimerical Expectations" (pp. 298-299); TP (26 Nov. 1745) "chimerical" concerns (p. 139); (24 Dec. 1745) "chimerical" apprehensions (p. 163); (6-13 May 1746) "such chimerical Good" (p. 288); DGA "chimerical Enterprizes" and "Grievances" (pp. 49, 57, 59). In addition to these examples and the 4 citations in C-H of "chimerical" and "Chimera" in HF's fiction, a further 9, at least, occur in his works from The Modern Husband (1732) to the posthumous Fragment of a Comment on Bolingbroke.

[*11]

"an over-refining Curiosity": Beginning with the opening line of his earliest extant publication—The Masquerade (1728): "Some call Curiosity an evil"—HF was fascinated by the fact of human inquisitiveness; C-H cites 112 instances of "Curiosity" in the fiction alone.

[12]

"upon that Head": A favorite locution of HF's: e.g. JA (III. ii) "the utmost Perfection on that Head" (p. 199); TJ (IV. xiv) "be silent on that Head" (p. 206); Am (I. vii) "susceptible of Flattery on that Head" (p. 49); (V. ix) "my Assurances on that Head" (p. 228); (VII. viii) "to comfort me on that Head" (p. 298).

[*13]

"the Notions of the Vulgar": C-H cites 85 instances in HF's fiction of "vulgar" or "vulgarly." With the idea expressed by the present phrase, cf. JA (Preface) "in vulgar Opinion" (p. 5); (III. iii) "that vulgar Opinion" (p. 214); JW (I. v) "the vulgar erroneous Estimation of Things" (p. 23); TJ (XVII. i) "Mythology . . . more firmly believed by the Vulgar" (p. 876); XVIII. iii) "the vulgar Observation" (p. 933); A (II.i) "the vulgar Opinion of the Fatality of Marriage" (p. 67); (VII. x) "no greater vulgar Error" (p. 306).

[*14]

"my little Friend . . . half a Foot": In A Treatise on the Passions (1747), Samuel Foote complained that HF's close friend David Garrick, rival to Spranger Barry at Covent Garden, was too small in stature to be effective in heroic roles: "And as the Eye is the Scence [sic] first gratified, or disgusted, it may not be improper to enquire what kind of Prepossession arises in the Mind, from the Appearance of Mr. G's Figure, and here I am afraid frail Nature has been a little unkind, and tho' I must own I have very distinct Ideas of big and great, yet such is the Folly of the Million, that they expect a more than ordinary Appearance from a Man, who is to perform extraordinary Actions; it it is in vain, to tell them, that Charles of Sweden, was but five-feet five, or Alexander the Great, a very little Man" (p. 14). In TJ (XVI. v) HF (who was himself tall, "rising above six feet," as Murphy remembered in his Essay) rebuts this criticism by having Partridge, with Jones watching Hamlet at Drury Lane, twice refer to Garrick in the title role as a "little Man" (p. 854); yet, however unimpressive his stature, Garrick's acting when confronting the ghost has most effectively terrified him.

[15]

"an Axiom of Philosophy": cf. JWN (I. xix) "an Axiom of indubitable Truth" (Misc ii. 84).

[16]

"few . . . will be so hardy as to deny": Cf. JWN (I. v) "will any of you be so insensible or ungrateful, as to deny" (Misc ii. 27); Am (XI. i) "Why will you be so barbarous to deny" (p. 454). —R

[17]

"gentle William in the Play": Referring to Fribble the fop, a part played by Garrick (see above, n. 14) in his popular farce, Miss in Her Teens (1747), which was staged at Drury Lane for the first time this season on 28 April 1753, a week after this essay was published. In Act II, scene I, Fribble reads a poem entitled, "William Fribble, Esq; to Miss Biddy Bellair," in which he assures her "No brutal passion fires my breast, . . . But one of harmless, gentle kind, / Whose joys are centred—in the mind." When asked her opinion of the verses, Biddy replies: "I swear they are very pretty—but I don't quite understand 'em" (Eighteenth Century Drama: Afterpieces, ad. Richard W. Bevis [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970], p. 96).

[*18]

Garrick, the author's "little Friend of Drury-Lane" (above, n. 14), who acted the part of "gentle William" the fop in Miss in Her Teens (above, n. 17), is said to have been 5′6″.

[*19]

"doth": This is the sole occurrence in the essay of HF's characteristic preference for the archaic forms doth and hath; subsequently, does occurs twice and has five times. Since Murphy throughout the journal prefers does and has, it is tempting to suppose that the compositor began setting the type by following the reading of the manuscript before, in the seven subsequent instances, imposing the house style on HF's archaisms—such was in fact the case with a contribution HF made to Common Sense in 1738, where the manuscript hath was systematically changed to has (see M. C. with R. R. Battestin, "A Fielding Discovery, with Some Remarks on the Canon," Studies in Bibliography 33 [1980], p. 135). On the uncertain usefulness of hath and doth as a stylistic test of HF's writing, see W. B. Coley, TP, Appendix VI.

[*20]

"require some little Degree of Size and Strength": Cf. TJ (IX. i) "require some little Degree of Learning and Knowledge" (p. 489); JVL "acquired some little degree of strength" (p. 17). Also TJ (III. vi) "no little Degree of Inveteracy" (p. 138); (XI. iii) "she had . . . some little Degree of natural Courage" (p. 579); Am (IV. ix) "to introduce some little Degree of Love or Friendship" (p. 192). —R

[*21]

"a considerable Part . . . Signs of genuine Hour": Cf. KCM, where HF, on the causes of laughter, quotes Pope's Dunciad: "Gentle Dulness ever loves a Joke. / i.e. one of her own Jokes. These are sometimes performed by the Foot; as by leaping over Heads, or Chairs, or Tables, Kicks in the B—ch, &c. sometimes by the Hand; as by Slaps in the Face, pulling off Wigs, and infinite other Dexterities" (Misc i. 161). And in EC, recalling the sort of buffoonery practised on Parson Adams by the followers of the "roasting" squire (JA III. vii), he writes of "that Kind of Raillery . . . which is concerned in tossing Menout of their Chairs, tumbling them into Water, or any of those handicraft Jokes" (Misci. 150).

[22]

"a most facetious Vein of Pleasantry"; Cf. Dr. Harrison in Am (IX. v), who possessed "a Vein of Cheerfulness, Good-humour and Pleasantry" (p. 377); C-H records 12 instances in HF's fiction of "facetious" as various parts of speech: e.g. TJ (VIII. viii) "a most facetious Grin" (p. 432).

[23]

"exquisite Jokes": Cf. above note 21. In KCM introducing the line from the Dunciadabout Dulness loving a "Joke," HF admires Pope's "exquisite Pleasantry."

[*24]

"Energy of Soul": Dr. Ribble reminds me that " `Energy' is a distinctive, semi-technical term in Fielding's moral psychology, based on Aristotle's notion of energeia" and refers to his article, "Aristotle and the `Prudence' Theme of Tom Jones," Eighteenth-Century Studies 15 (1981), p. 38, which includes these references: FL "all the energies of love" (p. 51); TJ (XIII. i) "those strong Energies of a good Mind" (p. 687); Am (III. v) "the . . . Energies of that Passion" (p. 115); (VIII. x) "an Energy, a Habit, as Aristotle calls it" (p. 351); CGJ (14 March 1752) "the Energies of Benevolence" (p. 142 and n. 1); "that Compassion which is the constant Energy of these good Hearts" (p. 143); (11 April 1752)" In the Energy itself of Virtue (says Aristotle) there is great Pleasure" (p. 185). —R

[*25]

"Strokes": A favorite locution of HF's. C-H records the following 6 instances in the fiction: Sh (To Miss Fanny) "you have . . . brightened many strokes in this work" (p. 301); JA (I. ix) "some Strokes which every one will not truly comprehend" (p. 42); (III. x) "there are . . . manly Strokes . . . in your last Tragedy" (p. 261); TJ (I. iii) "There were some Strokes in this Speech" (p. 41); (IX. i) "the nicest Strokes of a Shakespear" (p. 493); Am (III. xi) "Thus she ran on, and after many bitter Strokes upon her Sister" (p. 142). Also JVL "we acknowledge the strokes of nature" (p. 8).

[26]

"bilking": Cf. TJ (XIV. iv) " `I don't intend to bilk my Lodgings' " (p. 753). —R

[*27]

"compound Qualities . . . in the same Habitation": In the fourth paragraph of the essay, "the Body" is defined as "a Covering only for the Ætherial Particle [i.e. the "Soul" or "Spirit"] that is lodged within it." The "compound Quality" that defines the Man of Wit and Hour gives him "a much superior Energy of Soul," and that soul resides in a body 5′ 10″ tall, its "Habitation." In JWN, HF had the spirits of the dead use the same conceit: the narrator speaks of his life on earth as "my Habitation in the Body"; his companion, who died of a violent fever, speaks of his body as "the inflamed Habitation I am lately departed from" (Misc ii. 8, 10). HF often refers to the dwelling places of his characters as their "Habitations": C-H records 20 instances in the fiction alone (including the two quoted).

[*28]

"wonderful": For this sarcastic use of the word, see TJ (XIV. i) "by the wonderful Force of Genius only" (p. 739). Also JA (II. vii) "a wonderful Capacity" (p. 130); (III. i) "the wonderful Extent of human Genius" (p. 187); JW (I. i) "those wonderful Productions of Nature called Great Men" (p. 7); (II. xi) "The Great and wonderful Behaviour of our Hero" (p. 80); TJ (VI. i) "certain Philosophers, among many other wonderful Discoveries" (p. 268); Am (VIII. vi) "by his own Account, he was the Author of most of the wonderful Productions of the Age" (p. 332). —R

[29]

"the Master-piece and noblest Work of Nature": Cf. JW (I. x) "Individuals . . .who do not seem intended by Nature as her greatest Master-piece" (Misc iii. 35). Also Misc i "A perfect Work! the Iliad of Nature!" (i. 12); JA (III. ii) "the Iliad, his noblest Work" (p. 198). —R

[30]

"to bear about him": Cf. TJ (IV. ix) "yet did he bear about him some thing of what the Antients called the Irascible" (p. 186). —R

[*31]

"some distinguishing Tokens": HF often used "Token" as a synonym for "sign"; C-H lists 13 instances in the fiction: e.g. TJ (III. v) "deficient in outward Tokens of Respect" (p. 133); (III. vi) "gave Tokens of that Gallantry of Temper" (p. 139); (XIII. x) "showed . . . the utmost Tokens of Surprize" (p. 727); (XVII. ii) "gave Tokens of Submission" (p. 879); Am (I. vii) "I gave him too undeniable Tokens [of infatuation]" (p. 51); (II. vi) "gave the strongest Tokens of Amazement" (p. 85). —R

[*32]

"the Daring and Tremendous": In his literary criticism HF liked to propose terms for generic types by placing the definite article before an adjective, thus making it into a substantive: e.g. "the Ridiculous," and "the Monstrous" (JA Preface); "the Marvellous" (TJ VIII. i). Here the terms characterizing the "modern Critic," who "glares horribly terrific," freezing "the young Author's Blood," suggest Pope's characterization of John Dennis (1657-1734) in the Essay on Criticism (1711): "Appius reddens at each Word you speak, /And stares, Tremendous! with a threatning Eye, / Like some fierce Tyrant in Old Tapestry!" (TE, ll. 585-587). From the Preface and notes to The Tragedy of Tragedies (1731), where Dennis is ridiculed as hidebound and priggish, to CGJ (9 June 1752), where he is referred to as being "of acutely austere Memory" (p. 258), Dennis might well be thought to represent for HF the very type of the "modern Critic."

[*33]

"pert and sanguine": HF was fond of both these words. C-H lists 10 occurrences of "pert/pertly/pertness" in the fiction—e.g. Sh "as pertly as I could," "pert again" (p. 311); "the pert Jade" (p. 339); JA (I. ix); "answered . . . very pertly"; (IV. i) "whom no Pertness could make her Mistress . . . part with" (p. 280); TJ (II. iii) "very pert and obstinate" (p. 85); (IV. xiii) "would be Pertness in a Woman" (p. 202); (XVII. iii) "Pertness, or what is called Repartee" (p. 882); Am (IV. vi) "answered pertly enough" (p. 178). Especially relevant in the present context is CGJ (19 May 1752), "A TREATISE on the Confidentand Pert, A modern Improvement in Writing" (pp. 231-233, continued pp. 255-259).—For "sanguine" C-H also lists 10 instances in the fiction—e.g. in TJ "sanguine" modifies "Expectations" (p. 106); "Assurance" (p. 221); "Friend" (p. 440); "Temper" and "Disposition of Mind" (p. 708); in Am, "Temper" (pp. 163, 499); "Persons" (p. 289); "Hopes" (p. 368). Also JVL "sanguine hopes" (pp. 19, 45). —R

[34]

"freezes the young Author's Blood": Cf. TJ (XI. vi) "These Words almost froze up the Blood of Sophia" (p. 593). —R

[35]

"the Sound of his Voice . . . furious and wild Commotion": Cf. Pope's complaint in the Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot (1734/35), recalling Dennis's attacks on his early poetry: "Yet then did Dennis rave in furious fret" (TE, l. 153).

[36]

"Phænomena": Cf. TJ (VII. xiii) "often attended with worse Phænomena" (p. 380); Am (I. i) "all the ordinary Phenomena" (p. 16); JVL "so extraordinary a phænomenon" (p. 50). —R

[*37]

"iron Strength of Lungs"; Cf. Am (XII. vi) "one of the sturdiest and forwardest of the Mob . . . who by a superior Strength of Body, and of Lungs, presided" (p. 519).

[38]

"obviate": C-H cites 5 occurrences of "obviate" in HF's fiction: JA (III. i) "to obviate some Constructions" (p. 188); TJ (III. iv) "to obviate some Misconstructions" (p. 128); (XI. i) "Criticism I here intend to obviate" (p. 569); (XII. i) "to obviate all such Imputations" (p. 620); Am (Dedication) "to obviate any Criticisms" (p. 3). Also JVL "to obviate some censures" (p. 11).

[39]

"the Science of Criticism": Cf. TJ (IX. i) "all the Arts and Sciences (even Criticism itself" (p. 489).

[40]

"have not . . . duly reflected on": Cf. TJ (IX. v) "hath duly reflected on these many Charms" (p. 510). —R

[*41]

"discharge the Province": HF often uses this geographical metaphor to refer to prescribed responsibilities, spheres of intellectual endeavor, or mental faculties. See JA (Preface) "within its proper Province" (p. 6); "The Ridiculous only . . . falls within my Province" (p. 7); (III. iv) "my Beer, which falls to my Province" (p. 227); TJ (II. i) "Founder of a new Province of Writing" (p. 77); (II. iv) "it is our Province to relate Facts" (p. 87); (IX. i) "the undisputed Province of Judgment" (p. 491); (XIV. i) "a Writer whose Province is Comedy" (p. 743); (XVI. vi) "within the Province of Cunning" (p. 859). —R

[42]

"execute that Task": C-H cites 82 instances in HF's fiction alone of "execute," the great majority in this sense of "to carry out, accomplish."

[43]

"Character . . . is supported": Cf. TJ (III. vi) "Persons of such Characters as were supported by Thwackum" (p. 137). —R

[*44]

"Mechanical Operations": The phrase evokes two of HF's favorite comic authors:Samuel Butler in Hudibras (1680), III. i. 1497-8: "The Tools of working out Salvation /By meer Mechanick Operation" (ad. John Wilders [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967], p. 231); and Jonathan Swift in The Mechanical Operation of the Spirit (1704), in which Swift ironically explains things spiritual in terms of mechanistic bodily functions. The author of the present essay has proceeded in this same vein, insisting that literary and intellectual faculties are proportionable to bodily height and stature.

[45]

"in which the Understanding has no Manner of Share": Cf. TJ (I. vi) "Nature . . .had given her a very uncommon Share of Understanding" (p. 48). —R