either by bare narration, as in _Virgil's_ _Alexis_, and
_Theocritus's_ 7th _Idyllium_, in which the Poet speaks all along in
his own Person: or by action as in _Virgil's_ _Tityrus_, and the first
of _Theocritus_, or by both mixt, as in the Second and Eleventh
_Idylliums_, in which the Poet partly speaks in his own Person, and
partly makes others speak, and I think the old _Scholiast_ on
_Theocritus_ took an hint from these when he says, that Pastoral is a
mixture made up of all sorts, for 'tis Narrative, Dramatick, and mixt,
and _Aristotle_, tho obscurely, seems to hint in those words, _In
every one of the mentioned Arts there is Imitation, in some simple, in
some mixt_; now this latter being peculiar to _Bucolicks_ makes its
very form and Essence: and therefore _Scaliger_, in the 4th Chapter of
his first Book of Poetry, reckons up three Species of _Pastorals_, the
first hath but one Person, the second several, which sing alternately;
the third is mixt of both the other: And the same observation is made
by _Heinsius_ in his Notes on _Theocritus_, for thus he very plainly
to our purpose, _the Character of_ Bucolicks _is a mixture of all
sorts of Characters, Dramatick, Narrative, or mixt_: from all which
'tis very manifest that the manner of _Imitation_ which is proper to
_Pastorals_ is the mixt: for in other kinds of Poetry 'tis one and
simple, at least {30} not so manifold; as in _Tragedy Action_: in
_Epick_ Poetry _Narration_.

Now I shall explain what sort of _Fable_; _Manners_, _Thought_,
_Expression_, which four are necessary to constitute every kind of
Poetry, are proper to this sort.


Concerning the Fable which _Aristotle_ calls, *synthesin tôn
pragmatôn*, I have but one thing to say: this, as the Philosopher