surprised them as a novelty, and retained the credit by consent
which it received by accident at first; or whether, as the province
of poetry is to describe nature and passion, which are always the
same, the first writers took possession of the most striking
objects for description and the most probable occurrences for
fiction, and left nothing to those that followed them but
transcription of the same events and new combinations of the same
images. Whatever be the reason, it is commonly observed that the
early writers are in possession of nature, and their followers of
art; that the first excel in strength and invention, and the latter
in elegance and refinement.

"I was desirous to add my name to this illustrious fraternity. I
read all the poets of Persia and Arabia, and was able to repeat by
memory the volumes that are suspended in the mosque of Mecca. But
I soon found that no man was ever great by imitations. My desire
of excellence impelled me to transfer my attention to nature and to
life. Nature was to be my subject, and men to be my auditors. I
could never describe what I had not seen. I could not hope to move
those with delight or terror whose interests and opinions I did not
understand.

Being now resolved to be a poet, I saw everything with a new
purpose; my sphere of attention was suddenly magnified; no kind of
knowledge was to be overlooked. I ranged mountains and deserts for
images and resemblances, and pictured upon my mind every tree of
the forest and flower of the valley. I observed with equal care
the crags of the rock and the pinnacles of the palace. Sometimes I
wandered along the mazes of the rivulet, and sometimes watched the
changes of the summer clouds. To a poet nothing can be useless.