er Plots, and wonderful occurences, cannot be accounted _Pastoral_;
for that it might be agreeable to the Person it treats of, it must be
plain and simple, such as _Sophocles's_ _Ajax_, in which there is not
so much as one change of Fortune. As for the Manners, let that
precept, which _Horace_ lays down in his Epistle to the _Pisones_, be
principally observed.

Let each be grac't with that which suits him best.

For this, as 'tis a rule relateing to _Poetry_ in general, so it
respects this kind also of which we are treating; and against this
_Tasso_ in his _Amyntas_, _Bonarellus_ in his _Phyllis_, _Guarinus_ in
his _Pastor Fido_, _Marinus_ in his _Idylliums_, and most of the
_Italians_ grievously offend, for they make their _Shepherds_ too
polite, and elegant, and cloth them with all the neatness of the Town,
and Complement of the Court, which tho it may seem very pretty, yet
amongst good _Critics_, let _Veratus_ {32} say what he will in their
excuse, it cannot be allowed: For 'tis against _Minturnus's_ Opinion,
who in his second Book _de Poeta_ says thus: _Mean Persons are brought
in, those in Comedy indeed more polite, those in Pastorals more
unelegant, as suppos'd to lead a rude life in Solitude_; and _Jason
Denor_ a Doctor of _Padua_ takes notice of the same as a very absurd
Error: _Aristotle_ heretofore for a like fault reprehended the
_Megarensians_, who observ'd no _Decorum_ in their _Theater_, but
brought in mean persons with a Train fit for a _King_ and cloath'd a
Cobler or Tinker in a Purple Robe: In vain doth _Veratus_ in his
Dispute against _Jason Denor_, to defend those elaborately exquisite
discourses, and notable sublime sentences of his _Pastor Fido_, bring
some lofty _Idylliums_ of _Theocritus_, for those are not acknowledged
to be Pastoral; _Theocritus_ and _Virgil_ must be consulted in this
matter, the former designdly makes his Shepherds discourse in the
_Dorick_ i. e. the Rustick Dialect, sometimes scarce true Grammar; &
the other studiously affects ignorance in the persons of his
Shepherds, as _Servius_ hath observ'd, and is evident in _Melibaeus_,
who makes _Oaxes_ to be a River in _Crete_ when 'tis in
_Mesopotamia_: and both of them take this way that the Manners may
the more exactly suit with the Persons they represent, who of
themselves are rude and unpolisht: And this proves that they
scandalously err, who make their Shepherds appear polite and elegant;
nor can I imagine what _Veratus_ {33