Circumspection required in endeavouring to unite contrary excellencies.-The expression of a mixed passion not to be attempted.—Examples of those who excelled in the great style.-Raffaelle, Michael Angelo, those two extraordinary men compared with each other.-The characteristical style.- Salvator Rosa mentioned as an example of that style; and opposed to Carlo Maratti.—Sketch of the characters of Poussin and Rubens.-These two Painters entirely dissimilar, but consistent with Imitation.-Genius begins where Rules end.—Inven- tion acquired by being conversant with the inven- tions of others.-The true method of imitating.— The reality of a standard of Taste, as well as of corporal Beauty.-Beside this immutable truth, there are secondary truths, which are variable; The principles of art, whether Poetry or Painting, have their foundation in the mind; such as novelty, variety, and contrast: these in their excess become defects. Simplicity; its excess disagreeable.— Rules not to be always observed in their literal 91 115 147 189 MEMOIRS OF SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. THE family of Reynolds is of very ancient standing in the county of Devon, and has been particu. larly distinguished for its connexion with the church. At the time of the Reformation, there were, at Oxford, two very extraordinary divines of this name, John and William Reynolds, the former a zealous protestant, and the latter, who was his younger brother, a no less zealous catholic. Of the same lineage, in the reign of Charles I. was Richard Reynolds, Fellow of Exeter College, and afterwards rector of Stoke Fleming, and Woodley, in his native county. He suffered great hardships in the rebellion, being turned out of doors with his wife and six children. He lived, however, to be restored to his preferment, and died very near one hundred years old. This venerable ecclesiastic had a son, who was the father of three clergymen : 1. John, who was bred at Eton School, and next at King's College, Cambridge, where he proceeded to the degree of Master of Arts, but obtained that of Bachelor in Divinity from the University of Oxford, by diploma, in 1718. He was then canon of St. Peter's church, at Exeter, and afterwards became Fellow of Eton College, where he died at the age of eighty-seven, in 1758. His nephew painted his portrait, of which there is an engraving by James Mac Ardell. This divine left most of his property to Exeter College, Oxford, and very little, if any, to his relatives; for which this reason may be assigned: He was the only son of his father by his first wife; and the old gentleman, when on his death-bed, was induced to cut him entirely off in favour of the children by his second marriage. There happened, however, to be an estate which was overlooked by him in this disposition of his property, of which John Reynolds became possessed, and enjoyed it till his death. 2. Joshua, who was of Corpus-Christi College, where he took the degree of Master of Arts in 1697, and that of Bachelor in Divinity in 1707. He became beneficed in his native county, and had also a prebend in the cathedral of Exeter. 3. Samuel, who was of Baliol College, where he took the degree of Master of Arts, April 20, 1705. He became master of the free grammar school at Plympton St. Mary, and minister of the same parish, which was all the preferment he ever enjoyed. He married Theophila Potter, the daughter of Sampson Potter, of Baliol College, whose father, Francis, wrote a noted book on the apocalyptical number of 666. The wife of this Sampson Potter was the daughter of Thomas Baker, a profound mathematician, who was vicar of Ilton, in Somersetshire. Mr. Samuel Reynolds had eleven children, five of whom died in their infancy; the subject of the present memoir was the seventh, and was born at Plympton, July 16, 1723, and baptized there on the 30th of the same month. It has been asserted that, he was called Joshua by his father, in the hope that such a singular or uncommon name might prove beneficial to him at a future period of his life, by attracting for him the patronage of some person with a similar prefix. This curious account deserves some notice; because it shows how easy it is to pervert a simple occurrence into something remarkable and uncommon. The plain truth is, the child was named after his uncle Joshua, who was represented on this occasion by one Mr. Ivie, while Mrs. Anne Reynolds, of Exeter, became godmother, and had a Mrs. Darley for her proxy. There was in this, therefore, nothing at all extraordinary; though it is more than probable that Mr. Samuel Reynolds was induced to choose the name of Joshua, in the present instance, with the hope of securing for his child the particular favour of an uncle who had no issue of his own. It is, however, singular, that the parochial register of Plympton has, through some unaccountable negligence or inadvertency, deprived him of his baptismal name, for in the entry there he is styled, "Joseph, son of Samuel Reynolds:" to account for which, Mr. Malone supposes, that the name was originally written on a slip of paper thus, "Jos. son of Samuel Reynolds ;" and that the person who made the entry, by attempting to perfect the abbreviature, committed a blunder. This, we have no doubt, was the case, happening ourselves to have met in the same county with similar errors in the church registers, occasioned by the culpable negligence of the clergy, in entrusting the care of those important records to their ignorant parish clerks. One blunder of this kind had the effect of depriving a person of a considerable estate, to which he certainly, was entitled. Mr. Samuel Reynolds was a very worthy man and a good scholar, but too indolent and abstracted to discharge his trust properly as a preceptor: in consequence of which, the number of his pupils dwindled gradually away, till at last he had only one left. As, however, there was a tolerable stipend annexed to the situation, independent of that which arose from the living, he made himself very easy, and took no pains to increase his income, though he had a family of six children, five of whom were girls, wholly dependant upon him for their support. Under a parent naturally indulgent, and possessing little energy, Joshua was not likely to make any remarkable progress in grammatical learning. It has been said by some that he was intended for the |