directly voluntary power appears to be exercised over either class, are neglected and soon become extinct. But no account of this vivid feeling of approval or disapproval, of this very rapid perception of the mutual congruity of the images for each other or for the general conception of the subject, can be given, other than this, that with such a power the original author of our intellectual susceptibilities has been pleased to form us. This is our nature; here we find one of the elements of our intellectual efficiency; without it we might still be intellectual beings, but it would be with the loss both of the reasoning power and of the imagination.

§. 310. Illustration of the subject from Milton.

What has been said can perhaps be made plainer, by considering in what way Milton must have proceeded, in forming his happy description of the garden of Eden. He had formed, in the first place, some general outlines of the subject; and as it was one, which greatly interested his feelings, the interest which he felt tended to keep the outlines steadily before him. If the feeling of interest was not sufficient to keep the general subject before the mind, he could hardly fail to detain it there, by adding the influence of a direct and decisive act of the will. Then the principles of association, which are ever at work, brought up a great variety of conceptions, having a relation of some kind to those general features; such as conceptions of rocks, and woods, and rivers, and green leaves, and golden fruit.

The next step was the exercise of that power, which we have of perceiving relations, which we sometimes denominate the Judgment, but more appropriately the susceptibility or power of Relative Suggestion. By means of this he was at once able to determine, whether the conceptions, which were suggested, were suitable to the general design of the description and to each other, and whether they would have, when combined together to form one picture, a pleasing effect. Accordingly those, which were judged most suitable, were combined together as parts of the imaginary creation, and were detained and fixed by means of that feeling of interest, and those acts of the will, which were at first exercised towards the more prominent outlines merely; while oth

ers speedily disappeared from the mind. And thus arose an imaginary landscape, glowing with a greater variety and richness of beauty, more interesting and perfect in every respect, than we can ever expect to find realized in nature.

§. 911. The creations of the imagination not entirely voluntary. From the explanation, which has been given of the operations of the power under consideration, it will be seen, that in its actions it is subject to limitations and restrictions. The opinion, that even persons of the most ready and fruitful imagination can form new imaginary creations, whenever they choose, by a mere volition, however widely it may have prevailed, does not appear to be well founded. In accordance with what may be regarded as the common opinion, we will suppose, as an illustration of what we mean, that a person wills to imagine a sea of melted brass, or an immense body of liquid matter which has that appearance. The very expressions, it will be noticed, are nugatory and without meaning, since the sea of brass, which the person wills to conceive of or imagine, is, by the very terms of the proposition, already present to his thoughts. Whatever a person wills, or rather professes to will to imagine, he has, in fact, already imagined; and, consequently, there can be no such thing as imaginations, which are exclusively the result of a direct act of the will. So that the powers of invention, although the influence of the indirect and subordinate action of the will may be considerable, must be aroused and quickened to their highest efforts in some other way.

And this view admits of some practical applications. Men of the greatest minds, (great we mean in the walks of literature,) are kept in check by the principles, which are involved in the exercise of imagination. Genius, whatever capabilities we may attribute to it, has its laws. And it is true, in regard to every standard work of the imagination, that it is the result, not of an arbitrary and unexplainable exercise of that power, but of a multitude of circumstances, prompting and regulating its action; such as the situation in life, early education, domestic habits, associates, reading, scenery, religion, and the influence of local superstitions and traditionary incidents. These are like the rain and sunshine to the

earth, without which it necessarily remains in its original barrenness, giving no signs of vivification and beauty. In the matter of creative power Bunyan will bear a comparison undoubtedly with Walter Scott; but Scott, in the situation in which he was placed and with the habits of thought and feeling which he cherished, could not have written the Pilgrim's Progress; nor could Bunyan, on the other hand, have written the Heart of Mid Lothian; not because either of them was destitute of the requisite degree of imagination, but because the creations of the imagination always have a relation to circumstances, and are not the result of a purely arbitrary act of the will.

§. 312. Illustration of the statements of the preceding section. It would be an easy matter and not without interest, to illustrate this fact in the operations of the mind, by a reference to the private history of those individuals, from whom the great works of literature have originated. But as this does not come within our plan, we will refer merely to a single instance.Moore relates, in his life of Lord Byron, that on a certain occasion he found him occupied with the history of Agathon, a romance by Wieland. And from some remarks made at the time, he seems to be of opinion, that Byron was reading the work in question as a means of furnishing suggestions to and of quickening his own imaginative powers. He then adds, "I am inclined to think it was his practice, when engaged in the composition of any work, to excite his vein by the perusal of others, on the same subject or plan, from which the slightest hint caught by his imagination, as he read, was sufficient to kindle there such a train of thought, as but for that spark had never been awakened."

This is said of a distinguished poet. Painting is an art, kindred with poetry; and both are based on the imagination. Accordingly the remarks which have been made, apply also to painting, and indeed to every other art, which depends essentially on the imaginative power. "Invention, (says Sir Joshua Reynolds,) is one of the great marks of genius; but, if we consult experience, we shall find, that it is by being conversant with the inventions of others, that we learn to invent; as by reading the thoughts of others, we learn to think. It is in vain for painters or poets to endeavor to in

vent without materials on which the mind may work, and from which invention must originate. Nothing can come of nothing. Homer is supposed to have been possessed of all the learning of his time; and we are certain that Michael Angelo and Raffaelle were equally possessed of all the knowledge in the art, which had been discovered in the works of their predecessors."*

§. 313. On the utility of the faculty of the imagination.

We have proceeded thus far in endeavoring to explain the nature of imagination; and we here turn aside from this general subject, for the purpose of remarking on the utility of this power. And this appears to be necessary, since there are some, who seem disposed to prejudice its claims in that respect. They warmly recommend the careful culture of the memory, the judgment, and the reasoning power, but look coldly and suspiciously on the imagination, and would rather encourage a neglect of it. But there is ground for apprehending, that a neglect of this noble faculty in any person, who aspires to a full developement and growth of the mind, cannot be justified either by considerations drawn from the nature of the mind itself, or by the practical results of such a

course.

In speaking on the utility of the imagination, it is certainly a very natural reflection, that the Creator had some design or purpose in furnishing men with it, since we find universally, that he does nothing in vain. And what design could he possibly have, if he did not intend, that it should be employed, that it should be rendered active, and trained up with a suitable degree of culture? But if we are thus forced upon the conclusion, that this faculty was designed to be rendered active, we must further suppose, that its exercise was designed to promote some useful purpose. And such, although it has sometimes been perverted, has been the general result.

No where is the power of imagination seen to better advantage than in the Prophets of the Old Testament. Ifit be said that those venerable writers were inspired, it will still remain true, that this was the faculty of the mind, which inspiration especially honored by the use, which was made of *Discourses before the Royal Academy, VI.

it. And how many monuments may every civilized nation boast of, in painting, architecture, and sculpture, as well as in poetry, where the imagination, in contributing to the national glory, has at the same time contributed to the national happiness! Many an hour it has beguiled by the new situations it has depicted, and the new views of human nature it has disclosed; many a pang of the heart it has subdued, either by introducing us to greater woes which others have suffered, or by intoxicating the memory with its luxuriance and lulling it into a forgetfulness of ourselves; many a good resolution it has cherished, and subtending, as it were, a new and wider horizon around the intellectual being, has filled the soul with higher conceptions, and inspired it with higher hopes. Conscious of its immortal destiny, and struggling against the bounds that limit it, the soul enters with joy into those new and lofty creations, which it is the prerogative of the imagination to form; and they seem to it a congenial residence. Such are the views, which obviously present themselves on the slightest consideration of this subject; and it is not strange, therefore, that we find in the writings of no less a judge than Addison, some remarks to this effect, that a refined imagination "gives a man a kind of property in every thing he sees, and makes the most rude, uncultivated parts of nature administer to his pleasures; so that he looks upon the world, as it were, in another light, and discovers in it a multitude of charms that conceal themselves from the generality of mankind."

§. 314. Works of imagination give different degrees of pleasure.

Disposed as we are, however, to maintain the high rank of the imagination as compared with other powers of the mind, and not only its high rank but its utility, we do not deny that different persons experience different degrees of pleasure from that source. Poetry, for instance, is one of the results of the imagination; and although it is generally regarded as a highly pleasing as well as useful art, we nevertheless find, that all persons do not possess the same relish for its beauties. But the fault does not appear to be so much in the art, or the powers of imagination which give existence to the art, as in those to whom it is addressed. The pleasure,