The poetical works of James Thomson ...

Cxxx11 MEMOIR OF THOMSON.
of his works; and it is not likely that it will ever
become popular. His patriotism has however
found its noblest reward, by his "Rule Britannia"
having become the second National, and first
War-song of his Country.
The " Castle of Indolence " displays greater poetical invention than any other of his pieces; and,
little as allegory is suited to the existing taste, it
must still be read with pleasure. Of his Odes
and minor articles there is little that need be
said; and part of them have already been sufficiently noticed. His " Hymn" is destined to be
as permanent a favourite as "The Seasons," to
which, indeed, it is an appropriate conclusion, and,
like every other production of its author, displays
the highest veneration for the Deity.
Thomson's only prose work is an Essay on Descriptive Poetry, which was advertised as a separate production, in 1730, but which formed the
Preface to the second edition of "Winter," and
in this edition it is prefixed to "The Seasons."
That Essay is remarkable, not so much for ingenuity or original conceptions as for the arguments
used to show that poetry ought to be devoted to
loftier subjects than those to which it is sometimes applied. It was Thomson's especial merit
that he founded a new school in his art; and that
disdaining to follow in the path which conducted
most of his contemporaries to fame, he, with the
daring of genius, struck out a course for himself.