Walker, Camden, and Kircher; and he shows an equal readiness to draw upon
Cudworth's _True Intellectual System_ and Boyle's new theories concerning
the nature of light. In view of such a breadth of knowledge it is somewhat
surprising to find him quoting as extensively as he does in the "Essay"
from Le Bossu and Rapin, and apparently leaning heavily upon them.

The "Essay" was composed at a time when the prestige of Rymer and
neo-Aristotelianism in England was already declining, and though Wesley
expressed some admiration for Rapin and Le Bossu, he is by no means docile
under their authority. Whatever the weight of authority, he says, "I see
no cause why Poetry should not be brought to the Test [of reason], as well
as Divinity...." As to the sacred example of Homer, who based his great
epic on mythology, Wesley remarks, "But this [mythology] being now
antiquated, I cannot think we are oblig'd superstitiously to follow his
Example, any more than to make Horses speak, as he does that of Achilles."
To the question of the formidable Boileau, "What Pleasure can it be to
hear the howlings of repining Lucifer?" our critic responds flippantly, "I
think 'tis easier to answer than to find out what shew of Reason he had
for asking it, or why Lucifer mayn't howl as pleasantly as either
Cerberus, or Enceladus." Without hesitation or apology he takes issue with
Rapin's conception of Decorum in the epic. But Wesley is empiricist as
well as rationalist, and the judgment of authority can be upset by appeal
to the court of experience. To Balzac's suggestion that, to avoid
difficult and local proper names in poetry, generalized terms be used,
such as _Ill-luck_ for the _Fates_ and the _Foul Fiend_ for _Lucifer_, our
critic replies with jaunty irony, "... and whether this wou'd not sound
extreamly Heroical, I leave any Man to judge," and thus he dismisses the
matter. Similarly, when Rapin objects to Tasso's mingling of lyric
softness in the majesty of the epic, Wesley points out sharply that no man
of taste will part with the fine scenes of tender love in Tasso, Dryden,