2dly, Sensibility,-which, the more exquisite it is, the wider will be the range of a Poet's perceptions and the more will he be incited to observe objects, both as they exist in themselves and as re-acted upon by his own mind. This power, though indispensable to a Poet, is one which he employs only in submission to necessity, and never for a continuance of time as its exercise supposes all the higher qualities of the mind to be passive, and in a state of subjection to external objects, much in the same way as the Translator or Engraver ought to be to his Original. the ability to observe with accuracy things as they are in themselves, and with fidelity to describe them, unmodified by any passion or feeling existing in the mind of the Describer: whether the things depicted be actually present to the senses, or have a place only in the memory. The powers requisite for the production of poetry are, first, those of observation and description, i.e. I shall here say a few words explanatory of this arrangement, as carried into effect in the present Volumes. In the Preface to that part of "The Recluse," lately published under the title of "The Excursion," I have alluded to a meditated arrangement of my minor Poems, which should assist the attentive Reader in perceiving their connection with each other, and also their subordination to that Work.
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