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162 oon became lacivious. Had he given way to thee deires, the fire would have extinguihed itelf in a natural manner; but virtue, and a romantic kind of delicacy, made him practie elf-denial; yet, when fear, delicacy, or virtue, retrained him, he debauched his imagination, and reflecting on the enations to which fancy gave force, he traced them, in the mot glowing colours, and unk them deep into his oul.

He then ought for olitude, not to leep with the man of nature; or calmly invetigate the caues of things under the hade where Sir Iaac Newton indulged contemplation, but merely to indulge his feelings. And o warmly has he painted, what he forcibly felt, that, intereting the heart and inflaming the imagination of his readers; in proportion to the trength of their fancy, they imagine that their undertanding is convinced when they only ympathize with a poetic writer, who kilfully exhibits the objects of ene, mot voluptuouly hadowed or gracefully veiled—And thus making us feel whilt dreaming that we reaon, erroneous concluions are left in the mind.

Why was Roueau's life divided between ectacy and miery? Can any other anwer be given than this, that the effervecence of his imagination produced both; but, had his fancy been allowed to cool, it is poible that he might have acquired more trength of mind. Still, if the purpoe of life be to educate the intellectual part of man, all with repect to him was right; yet, had not death led to a nobler cene of action, it is probable that he would have enjoyed more equal&ensp;