Gazette Of The United States

THE TABLET. No. CXV.

"The main secret of being sublime, is to say great things in a few and plain words. Words, like dress, are often used to adorn that, which, without the aid of ornament, would be deemed of little value. We are not more frequently deceived in the worth of characters by decorations of attire, than we are in the importance of sentiments by embellishments of style. To know the value of a man or a book, we must strip them of their external glare, and view them under that simplicity which shows nothing different from what it really is. An interesting thought will continue to be such, however simple may be the expressions that convey it. Many writers aim at a sublime style, and suppose they attain it, by using a redundancy of epithets, and giving an harmonious cadence to their periods. Where this false notion prevails, people will only study to make their compositions sound well. Why should they be at the pains of deep contemplations, when a flowing pompous turn of expressions will be taken as an equivalent for sublime thoughts. But they are in reality very different things. No magnificence of words can give importance to a trivial thought: nor can any simplicity of expression deprive a great idea of its intrinsic excellence.

Shakspeare is allowed to excel any other author in the force of his descriptions. But it is well known that he was extremely careless in his style. We are compelled to admire him, though he wrote like one who did not seek admiration. His conceptions were naturally bold and lofty, and though his language was often coarse and vulgar, yet his works will live as long as men do. Let every one believe, that it is more necessary to study things than words; and that to think well is better than to speak smooth."