Remarks on Engraving on Wood. of every one who has not time and abilities to study and comprehend fo hetero geneous a jargon. Whilft the prefent rage for fyftematic reform through the regions of mature lafts, I could with the numerous and intelligent reformifts would direct their attention awhile from the claffification to the language of natural history. Here an ample field is open for their exertions, and I am confident that their well-directed labours would be crowned with the happiest fuccefs, both in clearing the path to the study of nature of its greatelt incumbrance, and in enfuring their fame by the gratitude of all who now groan under the weight of the barbarous phrafeology with which the fublime and important fcience of natural hiftory in all its departments is embarraffed. Yours, &c. R. H. N. Feb. 6, 1798. To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR, EWICK's Birds lately published, the fubject of engraving on wood, which I beg leave to fubmit to your confideration. If you fhall think them deferving a place in your ufeful Magazine, they are entirely at your service. The mode of engraving on wood, as practifed by the firit difcoverers of that art, was extremely different from that which is now followed by the BEWICKS, and fome other artists in Britain. The excellence of the old engravings confifted in the general correctnefs of the drawing, and the fpirited boldness of fome rough touches, which gave energy to the defign, but the manner was hard and dry; nor does it feem to have been even fufpected at that time, that it was poffible to produce a fuil deep and mellow fhade on a wood-cut, though it is now found that this can be better effected by an engraving on wood than by any other mode of engraving that has hitherto been adopted. Whether it is equally capable of producing that mellow foftnefs in the lighter fints, which can easily be effected on copper, is ftill a matter of doubt, though, if I were to judge from fome fpecimens I have feen, of the performance of a young artift, whofe name is not yet known to the public, I fhould be inclined to believe that it might, even in this refpect alfo, be brought to rival that on copper itfelf, But of this I wish to fpeak at prefent with diffidence, being confcious that the pub, lic must doubt in regard to thofe things shey have never feen. Hitherto the only fpecimens of modern engravings on wood that have been offered to the public, have been upon a fmall fcale; probably, because of the difficulty of finding wood of a large enough fize fit for the purpofe, for I am informed, our modern artifts ufe only box-wood. But from what I have feen of wood engravings of late, I should suppose, that, confidered as a fine art, it was much better adapted for producing a grand effect in large works than in smell things, because it admits of a rich fullness of fhade, a mellow softness in their gradations, and a great ftrength of touch, which can be effected in no other mode that hath ever yet been attempted. But, as I am no artist myself, I throw out this hint merely for the confideration of others, without pretending to decide.. It is, however, as an useful rather than a fine art, that I think the chief value of this invention confifts. It is well known, that where many copies of a book with prints are fold, the expence of taking off the impreffions on copper greatly enhances the price; and engravings on copper are the every delicate touch is fenfibly diminished almoft by every impreffion that is taken of it: and even the ftrongest engravings that can be made upon copper, are foon worn down; fo as to require to be re touched feveral times, before a numerous impreffion can be worked off. I need not add, that after every fuch retouching, the impreffions are much inferior to what they were before the form.er engraving was worn down. In this way, the value of different copies of the fame impreffion of the books must be greatly altered, though all must be fold at the fame price. In regard to engravings on wood, the cafe is very different. I have been affured, on the best authority, that a wood-cut, trongly engraved, if it gets common juftice done to it, will not be fenfibly worfe after an hundred thousand impreffions have been taken from it, and perhaps ten times that quantity may be taken before it has received fuch injury as to bring it to the state of a common copper-plate, that requires to be retouched." Add to this, that the expence of taking off the impreffions will not be, I have good reafon to believe, one fiftieth part of that of copper-plate engravings of the fame fize; and it is obvious, that the diminution of expence, by adopting this mode of engraving, in regard to works of extenfive fale, will be amazing, even if the original engraving thould have coft the fame fum as if done upon copper. I have been affured, by 112 Engraving on Wood....Similes from Homer. by a gentleman who has made the calculation, and on whofe accuracy I can con fidently rely, that, if the plates for the "Encyclopædia Britannica" had been engraven on wood instead of copper, (and they could have been done much better than those are) and allowing the fame fum for originally engraving the one as the other, the faving on each plate, for one impreffion only of that work, would have exceeded ten guineas, fo that the total gain to the proprietors of that work, arifing from this circumftance alone, would have exceeded four thousand guineas on one impreffion only. Mathematical diagrams and machinery of every fort, may thus be executed with the greatest accuracy and neatnefs. In natural history, the fpecimens that BEWICK has given in his beatts and birds, fhew what it is capable of. For delineating infects, fhells, and minerals, it is perhaps yet better calculated to produce a fine effect than in thofe fpecimens that have been already exhibited. I will not take up more of your paper by enumerating a greater number of particulars. What I have faid will, I think, be fufficient to prove, that the art of engraving on wood promifes to be of much utility to mankind in general, by diminifhing the price of fome works of primary importance to society, on which account it deferves to be encouraged and cultivated with affiduity. Jan. 1, 1798. N. M. From thofe confiderations, it is obvious that every work which can command an extenfive fale, and which requires to be illuftrated by engravings, will afford a much greater profit to the undertaker if thefe are executed on wood than on copper. And, as the plates can remain equally good for a fecond, a third, or a fourth impreffion, as for the firft, it will, in fome measure, fecure a copyright in the book, because no one, who has to pay for new engravings, could afford to fell an impreffion to cheap as he could do who has Homoblervation of the various the plates for nothing. The queftion then comes to be, What kind of works of general utility admit of being illuftrated by engravings on wood equally well as if they were done upon copper? I here put works of tafte entirely out of the queftion, and confider utility only. In this point of view, the first place in regard to importance ought, perhaps, to be aligned to anatomy. From the fpecimens I have already feen, 1 am perfectly fatisfied that anatomical plates can be executed on wood with all the precision poffible on copper, and, in fome particulars, (especially thofe where the mufcles are reprefented) with much greater ele gance and beauty. A fet of fuch plates, if executed from accurate defigns, by having the whole civilized globe for a market, (the explanations being easily printed in different languages) could be afforded at a very low price, lo as to bring them within the reach of every student of phyfic; while the undertaker would be infured in a moft abundant profit. The next fubject of general importance is architecture. Wood-engraving is peculiarly fitted to produce beautiful works of this clafs, at a very small expence. Heraldry is another subject that admits of being illustrated by wood-engravings with fingular propriety, as I am fatisfied of from fome fpecimens of this fort I have lately feen. For the Monthly Magazine. SIMILES OF HOMER, VIRGIL, AND MILTON, (CONTINUED.) From Wild Beafts. abounds in fimiles taken actions and characters of the ferocious animals, which, in the ruder states and paftoral occupations of mankind, must be objects of capital importance. Their encounters with each other, the devastations they occafion among the domestic kinds, and the mutual warfare carried on between them and the human species, cannot fail to imprefs the mind with a variety of ftriking ideas. The application of images, borrowed from this fource, to the circumftances of military tranfactions, is fo obvious, that little ingenuity is to be looked for in the difcovery either of general or particular points of refemblance; and the merit of comparifons, from this fource, must chiefly confift in the force and accuracy of defcription. The Grecian bard, in thefe refpects, is certainly unrivalled: every line in his defcriptive pieces is a proof that he copied from nature herself; and his fucceffors in epic poetry have done little more in their happiest efforts, than judicioufly felecting, and adorning with the beauties of diction, the various circumstances with which he had furnifhed them. Amidst the fimiles of this clafs, thofe in which the Lion forms the principal figure are by much the most frequent in the works of Homer. The generous courage and terrific force of this noble animal Similes of Homer, Virgil and Milton. The Lion thus 113 Whom, leaping at the fold, some shepherd fwain, His flocks defence, has ftruck with feeble wound, Now urg'd to mighty rage, no more re lorn animal rendered him peculiarly proper for comparison with the warriors of an age of heroes; when, from the artificial modes of combat, the ftrength and prowefs of a fingle individual became eminently confpicuous, and were of great moment in deciding the event of a battle. To confider every example in which the fimile of a lion is introduced, would prove tedious and uninteresting, on account of the frequent fameness, both of Then proudly fprings again the lofty mound! the original and refembling fcene. I So fprung Tydides on the Trojan hoft. H. v. 136. fhall therefore felect a few, the moft various in their circumftances and appiication, and of the greatest value as natural representations. The common occurrence in countries infested by wild beafts, of a nightly at tack upon the folds or ftalls, by a lion, has given occafion to three striking fimilies in Homer, each diftinguished by fome variation in the circumstances. In the firft I fhall adduce, the affault is effectually repelled-- As from the folded ftalls a nightly guard And flaming torches fly, that held in awe, This is a characteristical and wellpainted picture, but not perfectly exact in the application; fince Ajax is not making an attack on the enemy, like the lion, but is ftanding upon the defenfive. In the next inftance, the powers of the affailant and defenders are almost equally balanced, and this equality takes place both in the real and the refembling fcene. Sarpedon's fpirited attempt to break through the Grecian rampart, is thus imaged-- So, when a Lion, 'mid the mountains bred, Long hung'ring, feels th' adventurous im pulfe urge To try the well-barr'd circuit of the fold; dains Spreads dire difmay; in heaps they ftrew the foil; The impetuous courage of Diomed is with peculiar propriety refembled to that of the Lion, and the circumftance of his receiving a flight wound from the arrow of Pandarus, is exactly paralleled in the fimile. The retreat of the Lion, reprefented in the firft of thefe paffages, is defcribed in a fimile by Virgil, but lefs cireumftantially, and without the accompany ment of the nightly attack. -Ceu fævum turba leonem There is more of fentiment in this picture than in that of Homer, but lefs of nature. The Lion of the Greek poet combats for prey, and his unwillingness to retreat only proceeds from his hunger. That of the Roman fights for glory, and is withheld from flying by fhame. He is a happier object of comparifon for a hero; but is a lefs faithful reprefentative of an animal which, notwithstanding all the ftories of his magnanimity, has probably no moral qualities different from thofe of other carnivorous wild beafts. His propensity at all hazards to revenge an affront (a point of character common to various of the larger preda tory tory animals) is reprefented by Homer in a moft animated mannter in the paffage, of which the following is a tranflation: The dreadful Lion thus, his paffage across the Grecian rampart; and is therefore, like one of the former, defective in comparing an action of af fault to one of defence. Virgil, in a concife copy of this fimile, Whom all th' affembled country round pur has applied it with more exactnefs to He fue, Intent to kill, at firft moves careless on, breaft Indignant groans, with bufy tail his fides And loins he lafhes, roufing to the fight; Then sternly fouling, rushes headlong on, Refolved on flaughter, or a glorious death. Il. xx. 164. As a fimile, this noble picture feems ftrangely misplaced, or thrown away, fince it is only introductory to the Jingle combat in which Achilles, not wounded, or particularly irritated, engages with Eneas, an unequal adverfary. Virgil has given a fpirited imitation of this paffage, applying it, as loosely as Homer had done, to Turnus, inflamed to fury by the public outcry against him, after the unfuccefsful beginnings of the war against Æneas. lenor encompassed by affailing enemies. Ut fera, quæ denfa venantum fepta corona Contra tela furit, fefeque haud nefcia morti > Injicit, & faltu fuper venabula fertur: Haud aliter juvenis medios moriturus in ho the MONTHLY MAGAZINE, I fent a few general obfervations on English verfification. With your permiffion I will now purfue the fubject a little further. Ariftotle, who has called poetry imitation, calls mufic qusicopata The Ogyns και πραότητος, the likenefes of anger and gentleness, &c. this correfpondence he makes to depend on rhyme and melody εν τοις Ρυθμοίς και Μελεσι. In this point of view poetry and mufic are kindred arts: and the analogy with respect to rhyme, expreffion, and effect, is much clofer than many imagine. Sound has an influence on paffion; an influence not connected with an affociation of ideas, but with the tendency of certain tones to excite particular movements in the nerves. This is true of mufical founds; it is also true of metrical. Thele movements, however, are not always produced in verse, by causes uniformly the fame; fometimes it is by a particular movement of the verfe, as that of Homer, Ητοι ο μεν σκηριπτόμενος χερσιντε ποσοτε Λααν άνω ώθεσκο, δς. Or Mr. Dyer on English Verfification. Or that of Milton-- -Him th' Almighty Power Hurl'd headlong flaming from the ethereal fky, With hideous ruin and combuftion down Sometimes it is produced by a fingle word, ulularunt, howl, hifs, rear, &c. This is what Mr. Walth very properly calls, the style of found. This effect is produced by the application of the fule of the acute and grave accents; the acute making ftronger, the grave weaker vibrations; from an artful management of the letters, confidered as liquids, confonants, fingle, or double, vowels, dipthongs, open vowels, &c. From regarding the proper places for the paufe, tranfpofition, interrogation, &c. I am not yet fpeaking of any particular fpecies of verfification, but of the effect of found in general, in producing motion or paffion. When the poet wishes to exprefs, and to raife in the breast of his reader, the fofter or more lively paffions of love, hope, defire, &c. his verfe hould ftudy correfpondent movements; it fhould be foft, and accompanied with all the arts of infinuation; it should move fprightly, and with an air of triumph and exultation, &c.---on the other hand, when he would exprefs grief, pride, refentment, &c. the language fhould exprefs depreffion, indignation; fudden tranfition, &c. It is unneceffary to exemplify what has been fo frequently exemplified in books on rhetoric and poetry:---a few hints on the mechanical part of the different fpecies of English verfification, will be more to the purpose of your correfpondent L. The following rules feem to apply to the Iambic, or Heroic, a verfe of five feet, which may be with or without rhyme called Iambic, because the principal foot contained in it is an Iambic, a foot of two fyllables, with the firit fyllable fhort, the laft long. Ex. of the Iambic with rhyme,. Here thou | Great Annǎ, whōm | three realms obey, Doft fōmetimes counsel take, and fōme | times tea. I take thefe lines as affording an example of an inaccurate rhyme, which I fhall notice presently. At prefent, I obferve, that the last line is an example of perfect Iambic, The Heroic or Iambic admits other feet befides the Iambic. The first of thefe lines in the fourth place has taken a Spondee, or a foot of two long fyllables: 115 and this line is quoted to flew, that the obfervation of a threwd modern writer is not quite accurate," that to place three long fyllables confecutively in English, is a great difficulty." The English Iambic alfo admits a Dactyl, that is, a foot of three fyllables, with the first fyllable long, and the latt fhort, as in that line of Waller's, Could order teach | and their | high fpirits | compōfe as "High spirits”. And a Pyrrhic, that is, a foot of two fhort, as in the above verfe," and their." It will also admit of an Anapæft, that is a foot of three fyllables, the two firft fhort, and the last long; and of a Trochee, a foot of two fyllables, with the firft long, and last fhort; which the Greek Iambic never admitted: though it may be generally obferved, the more Iambics the verfe contains, it will be fo much the purer. With refpect to long and fhort, it fhould be noticed, though English verfe is not regulated by pofition, it is not so loofe as to let afide quantity, Sure there are poets who did never dream be turned into an Iambic, as repūte, re- The next obfervation relates to the Paule; a confideration of great importance in verfe, και επί λέξις κράτη τη πασων, ητις αν έχοι αναπαύλας και μετ Tabohas aguonas. The force of this obfervation will be obvious by confidering what has already been noticed ---the correfpondence of poetry with mufic. Mufic requires variety of movements, no less than fweetnefs of found: and without this variety, both poetry and mufic will be accompanied with a difgufting monotony. In Mr. Walsh's "Letter to Mr.Pope," it is obferved, there is naturally a paufe at the fourth, fifth, or fixth fyllables. "It is upon these the ear refts, upon the * Dionyf. Hal. De Struct. Orat. judicious |