[Footnote 44: So little has Ramsay borrowed from the ordinary language of pastoral, which is generally a tame imitation of the dialogue of Virgil and. Theocritus, that in the whole of the Scotish poem there are (I think) only _three_ passages that bring to mind those common-places which, in the eclogues of Pope, we find almost in every line: The bees shall loath the flower, and quit the hive, The saughs on boggie-ground shall cease to thrive, Ere scornful queans, &c. ACT 1, SCENE 1. I've seen with shining fair the morning rise, And soon the sleety clouds mirk a' the skies. I've seen the silver spring a while rin clear, And soon in mossy puddles disappear. The bridegroom may rejoice, &c. _Act 3, Scene 3._ See yon twa elms that grow up side by side, Suppose them, some years syne, bridegroom and bride; &c. _Act 1, Scene 2._] * * * * * OPINIONS AND REMARKS ON "THE GENTLE SHEPHERD," _BY VARIOUS AUTHORS_. JOHN AIKIN, LL.D. 1772. "No attempt to naturalize _pastoral poetry_, appears to have succeeded better than Ramsay's Gentle Shepherd: it has a considerable air of reality, and the descriptive parts, in general, are in the genuine taste of beautiful simplicity."[45] [Footnote 45: Aikin's Essays on Song-Writing, p. 33.] JAMES BEATTIE, LL.D. 1776. "The sentiments of [the 'Gentle Shepherd'], are natural, the circumstances interesting; the characters well drawn, well distinguished, and well contrasted; and the fable has more probability than any other pastoral drama I am acquainted with. To an Englishman who has never conversed with the common people of Scotland, the language would appear only antiquated, obscure, or unintelligible; but to a Scotchman who thoroughly understands it, and is aware of its vulgarity, it appears _ludicrous_; from the contrast between _meanness_ of phrase and _dignity_ or _seriousness_ of sentiment. This gives a farcical air even to the most affecting part of the _poem_; and occasions an impropriety of a peculiar kind, which is very observable in the representation. And accordingly, this play, with all its merit, and with a strong national partiality in its favour, has never given general satisfaction upon the stage."[46] [Footnote 46: Beattie's Essays, p. 652. Ed. 1776.] WILLIAM TYTLER. 1783.