ies. The
Poet may still find out some prevailing passion or indiscretion in his
character, and shew it in such a manner as will sufficiently acquit
Providence of any injustice in his sufferings: For, as Horace observes,
the best man is faulty, tho' not in so great a degree as those whom we
generally call vicious men[41].

"If such a strict _Poetical Justice_ (_proceeds the Letter-writer_), as
some gentlemen insist upon, were to be observed in this art, there is no
manner of reason why it should not extend to heroic Poetry, as well as
Tragedy. But we find it so little observed in Homer, that his Achilles
is placed in the greatest point of glory and success, tho' his Character
is morally vicious, and only _poetically_ good, if I may use the phrase
of our modern Critics. The _AEneid_ is filled with innocent unhappy
persons. Nisus and Euryalus, Lausus and Pallas, come all to unfortunate
ends. The Poet takes notice in particular, that, in the sacking of Troy,
Ripheus fell, who was the most just man among the Trojans:

"----_Cadit & Ripheus justissimus unus
Qui fuit in Teucris, & servantissimus aequi.
Diis aliter visum est.----_

"The gods thought fit.--So blameless Ripheus fell,
Who lov'd fair Justice, and observ'd it well.

"And that Pantheus could neither be preserved by his transcendent piety,
nor by the holy fillets of Apollo, whose priest he was:

"----_Nec te tua plurima, Pantheu,
Labentem pietas, nec Apollinis infula texit._ AEn. II.

"Nor could thy piety thee, Pantheus, save,
Nor ev'n thy priesthood, from an early grave.

"I might here mention the practice of antient Tragic Poets, both Greek
and Latin; but as this particular is touched upon in the Paper
above-mentioned, I shall pass it over in silence. I could produce
passages out of Aristotle in favour of my opinion: And if in one place
he says, that an absolutely virtuous man should not be represented as
unhappy, this does not justify any one who shall think fit to bring in
an absolutely virtuous man upon the stage. Those who are acquainted with
that author's way of writing, know very well, that to take the whole
extent of his subject into his divisions of it, he often makes use of
such cases as are imaginary, and not reducible to practice....

"I shall conclude, _says this gentleman_, with observing, that tho' the
_Spectator_ above-mentioned is so far against the rule of _Poetical
Justice_, as to affirm, that good men may meet with