Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/451

 POE

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POI

the Ion and fimple, from the grand Poetry ; by giving the for- mer the Title of Verification : and that we make Poetry and Verfification two diftinft Arts. In effect, there is not more difference between Grammar and Rhetoric, than between the Art of making Verfes and that of inventing Poems. See Versification.

The Grand Poetry, then, confifts principally in Fiction, or the Inventions of Fable ; in the expressing of things by Allegories and Metaphors ; and in the inventing of Aftions under which the Truth;, which the Poet has to teach, may be agreably difguis'd. See Fable.

In this view, force any Poems retain the Nature and Ef- fence of the grand Poetry, but the Epopea, Tragedy and Come- dy; the reft, be rh:y Elegies, Satires, Song, or what they will, come under Verification. _ The antient Eloquence, 'tis obferv'd, was full of Myste- ries and Allegories -The Truth was by them ufually

difgus'd under thofe ingenious Inventions cal I'd Fables, q. d. Words; as if there were as much difference between thefe fabulous Diicourfes of the Learned, and the common Lan- guage ; as between the Speech peculiar to Man, and the Voice of Brutes. See Fable.

At firft, Fables were chiefly ufed in treating of the Divine Nature, after the manner they then conceived of it : This occasioned the firft Poets to be called Divines, and Poetry the Language of the Gods — The divine Attributes they fepa- rated into a Number of Perfons; by reafon the Weaknefs of the human Mind could not conceive fo much Power, and fo much Action, in a fimplicity fo drift and indivisible as that of God. See God.

Nor could they fpeak of the Operation of this almighty Caufe, without (peaking likewife of its Effects.— They there- fore added Phyficks to their Theology, handling both after the fame Manner, without quitting their Veils or Allego- ries. See Allegory.

Now, Man being the moll confiderable of all the Works of the Deity; and there being nothing fo proper for Poets, or of fuch general Ufe to Mankind, as fuch a Subject', they therefore added Ethicks to the former, and treated the Do- ctrine of Manners in the fame way as they had done Divi- nity and Phyfiology.— And hence arofe the Epopea, or Epic Poem. See Epic.

The Epic Poets have done, with regard to Morality, juft the contrary of what the Divine Poets did for their Theo- logy.— As the too great Diverfity of Divine Actions and Perfeftions, fo little proportionate to our Understanding, oc- ' cafioned the latter to divide the Tingle Idea of the Ample EfTence of God into feveral Perfons under different Names ; as Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Sic. So, on the contrary, the Mature of Moral Philofophy, which never gives any Rules for particular things, occasioned the Epic Poets to unite in one Tingle Idea, in the fame Perfon, and even in a Angle Action, whatever of the like kind occurs in different Perfons, and different Actions.

Thus, fays Artflotte, Poetry teaches Moral Philofophy, not by reciting historically what Akibiades has done, or ("uttered; but by proposing what fuch a Perton, whom the Poet calls by any Name h; pleafes, would necesurily or probably have done or laid on the like occasion.— 'Tis in this manner, it represents either the unhappy Confluences of Designs ill concerted, of wicked Actions, &c. or the Reward of good Actions, and the Pleasure reap'd from a Defign laid in Virtue, and conducted by Prudence.

Thus, according to our Critic, the poetical Aftions and Perfons are all felgn'd, allegorical, and univerfal ; not histo- rical and lingular.— This is likewife the Sentiment of Ho- race, who adds, that Poets teach Morality as well as Philo- fophy:, but the Preference herein he gives to Homer. See Manners.

This Advantage of the Poets over mere Philofophers arifes hence, that all poetry is an Imitation. — Now Imitation is a thing extremely natural -, and hence this manner of pro- pofis.g things b;comes better fitted to engage the Au- ditors. Again, Imitation is an Instruction given by Ex- amples ; and Examples are the more proper" to perfuade,

in regard they prove the thing possible. In effeft,

Imitation is fo much the Nature of Poetry, that Art- ftotle tells us 'tis to this the Art owes its Rife. See Imi- tation.

But the Poets by becoming Philofophers did not ceafe to be Divines; on the contrary, the Morality they taught obli- ged them frequently to introduce the Deity in their Works ; and the Share fo august a Being had in the Aftion, obliged the Poet to make it grand, important, and conducted by Perfons of Kings and Princes. See Machine.

Add to this, that it likewife obliged the Poets to think, and fpeak after a manner elevated above the common Pitch of Men, and to equal, in fome measure, the divine Perfons he introduced ; and to this purpofe ferv'd the poetical, figu- rative Language, and the Majefty of Heroic Verfe.

To convey their "ft-uths to the belt Advantage, and adapt them to the particular Purposes they were intended for ;

Poets found out various Forms.— Hence the Epopea ant) Drama.

Epic Poetry is more for the Manners and Habitudes, than the Paffions ; thefe last rife all at once, and their Violence is but of a fhort Duration ; but the Habitudes are cooler and more gentle, and rife and fall more (lowly. See H a- bitude.

The Epic Aftion, therefore, could not be restrained to a Day, or two, as that of the Drama; a longer and a jufter Space was required for this, than for Tragedy, which is only for the Paffions. — And hence arofe a (till greater diffe- rence between Tragedy and the Epopea.

For the Tragic Violence required a stronger and more lively Reprefentation than the Epic ; and accordingly it con- sists wholly in the Action, the Poet never fpeaking; as he does in the Epopea, where there are no Actors.

The Laws of Epic and Dramatic Poetry; See under E- pic, Character, Invocation, Dramatic, Theatre, Tragedy, Comedy, Act, Scene, Character, Sentiment. For the lower Poetry, fee each under its proper Article, Ode, Song, Epi- gram, Elegy, Satire, &c.

POINT, Pun ctu m, in Geometry, is defined by Euclid to be, that which has no Parts, or is indivifible. See Part, Indivisible, Crc.

Wolfius defines it, that which terminates itfelf on every fide ; or which has no Terms or Boundaries diftinft from itfelf. See Term.

This is what we otherwife call the Mathematical Point; and is only conceived by the Imagination; yet is it in this that all Quantity begins and ends; the Flux or Motion of the Point generating a Line, that of a Line a Surface, r>ci See Quantity; fee alio Line, &c.

Hence fome define a Point to be Inceptive of Magnitude. See Inceptive and Magnitude.

A Line can only cut another in a Point. Any three Points being given, out of a right Line, a Circle, or part of a Circle, may be drawn that (hall pafs thro' them all. See Circle.

To draw a parallel Line, a Perpendicular, a Tangent, die. to a given Point, are popular Problems in Geometry. See Perpendicular, Parallel, &c.

Proportion of Mathematical Points.

'Tis a current Maxim, that all Infinites, whether infinite- ly great or infinitely (mall, are equal ; yet is the Maxim falfe in both Cafes.— Dr. Halley thews feveral infinite Quan- tities which are in a finite Proportion to one another ; and fome infinitely greater than others. See Infinite Quanti- ty The like, the Honourable Mr. Robartes (hews of in- finitely final] Quantities, viz.. Mathematical Points.

He demonstrates, for instance, that the Points of Contaft between Circles, and their Tangents, are in a fubduplicate Proportion to the Diameters of the Circles. That the Point of Contaft between a Sphere and a Plane is infinitely greater than that between a Circle and a Tangent ; and that the Points of Contaft in Spheres of different Magnitude are to one another as the Diameters of the Spheres. See Con- tact, &c.

Points/" contrary Flexure, in the higher Geometry, is a Point of a Curve, wherein it is bent, or inflected to a Part contrary to that it before tended to: fo, e.gr. as to turn its Convexity towards its Axis, or any other fix'd Point which before it turn'd its Concavity towards. See Curve.

If the Curve turn back again towards the Point whence it firft fet out, the Point of the Flexure is particularly call'd the Point of Regreffion, or Retrcgradation. See Retrograda- T I o N of Curves.

Wolfius illustrates the Ufe of the Calculus differentialis in finding the Point of Contrary Flexion in various kinds of Curves. See Flexion.

Point, Puntlum, in Phyficks, is the fmalleft, or lead fenfible Object of Sight, mark'd with a Pen, Point of a Compafs, or the like. See Object.

This is what we popularly call a Phyfical Point; which in

reality has Parts ; tho' thofe Parts are not here regarded

Of fuch Points does all Phyfical Magnitude consist. See Magnitude.

This Phyfical Point coincides with what Mr. Locke calls the Point fenfible, and which he defines to be the least Par- ticle of Matter, or Space, we can difcern He adds, that

to the sharpest Eye this is feldom lefs than 30 Seconds of a Circle, whereof the Eye is the Centre. See Vision.

Point, in Grammar, is a Charafter ufed to mark the Divifions of a Difcourfe. See Character.

The Point proper, is what we otherwife call a Full-Stop* or Period, and ferves to denote the Senfe compleat, and the Period ended. See Period.

Two Points ufually mark the middle of a Perioi, and (hew a Conftruftion compleat, and the Senfe to be perfeft>

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