Voltaire. Poetry is not an object which
comes under the cognizance of philosophy or wit.

Longuerue had profound erudition; but he decided on poetry in the same
manner as those learned men. Nothing so strongly characterises such
literary men as the following observations in the Longueruana, p. 170.

"There are two _books on Homer_, which I prefer to _Homer himself_. The
first is _Antiquitates Homericae_ of Feithius, where he has extracted
everything relative to the usages and customs of the Greeks; the other
is, _Homeri Gnomologia per Duportum_, printed at Cambridge. In these two
books is found everything valuable in Homer, without being obliged to
get through his _Contes a dormir debout_!" Thus men of _science_ decide
on men of _taste_! There are who study Homer and Virgil as the blind
travel through a fine country, merely to get to the end of their
journey. It was observed at the death of Longuerue that in his immense
library not a volume of poetry was to be found. He had formerly read
poetry, for indeed he had read everything. Racine tells us, that when
young he paid him a visit; the conversation turned on _poets_; our
_erudit_ reviewed them all with the most ineffable contempt of the
poetical talent, from which he said we learn nothing. He seemed a little
charitable towards Ariosto.--"As for that _madman_," said he, "he has
amused me sometimes." Dacier, a poetical pedant after all, was asked who
was the greater poet, Homer or Virgil? he honestly answered, "Homer by a
thousand years!"

But it is mortifying to find among the _anti-poetical_ even _poets_
themselves! Malherbe, the first poet in France in his day, appears
little to have esteemed the art. He used to say that "a good poet was
not more useful to the state than a skilful player of nine-pins!"
Malherbe wrote with costive labour. When a poem was shown to him which
had been highly commended, he sarcastically asked if it would "lower the
price of bread?" In these instances he maliciously confounded the
_useful_ with the _agreeable_ arts. Be it remembered, that Malherbe had
a cynical heart, cold and unfeeling; his character may be traced in his
poetry; labour and correctness, without one ray of enthusiasm.

Le Clerc was a scholar not entirely unworthy to be ranked amongst the
Lockes, the Seldens, and the Longuerues; and his opinions are as just
concerning poets. In the Parhasiana he has written a treatise on poets
in a very unpoetical manner. I shall notice h