# - [Mendelssohn, Moses.]

being the conclusion of a commentary on John Brown's History of the Rise of and Progress of Poetry (1764), written in an unidentified hand, in brown ink, consisting of two sections, marked "10)" and "11)", with a number of corrections and additions, in the same hand, entered in the margins; in the commentary, the author refutes Brown's view of the decline of contemporary poetry, placing prime importance upon the quality of the poetry rather than imitation of the model or novelty of the story



...O! tempora o! mores.
Wie wenn jemand die gantze Kunst zu mahlen in groteske Figuren ohne Zeichnung setzen wollte. Vielleicht ließe sichs beweisen, daß mehr Genie und Gabe erfordert würde, eine einzige Seite des Despreaux oder Pope nachzuahmen, als ein solches halbes Gedicht zu verfertigen. 



4 pages, folio (330 x 205cmm.), no place or date, some light creasing, two horizontal folds, very small tear to upper margin of manuscript, affecting two words

From the Mendelssohn family by descent

Moses Mendelssohn. Gesammelte Werke. Jubiläumsausgabe: V/2, prepared by Eva J. Engel (1991), pp.xlviii-lii and 293-297; V/4, prepared by Eva J. Engel (2003), pp.308-316

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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The subject of the observations in this manuscript was the History of the Rise of and Progress of Poetry by John Brown (1715-1766), a work which attempted to fuse literary history and aesthetic theory. Published in 1764, it contained the substance of his 1763 Dissertation on the Rise, Union, and Power...of Poetry and Music, omitting music.

Although the manuscript is described in Gesammelte Werke (2003), p.316, as being in Mendelssohn's hand, this is not the case. Whether the text of the manuscript, however, owes something to Mendelssohn or is entirely the work of the, as yet, unidentified writer must be left open here. However, there are many points of interconnexion between Brown and Mendelssohn which provide a context for the survival of this manuscript among the latter's papers - these ranging from a common preoccupation with certain aesthetic themes to a joint interest in the works of Shaftesbury (Brown was the author of an oft-reprinted Essay upon the Characteristics of the Earl of Shaftesbury (1751), and his sensationally received Estimate of Manners and Principles of the Times (1757) recalls the title of Shaftesbury's famous Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times): see Gesammelte Werke V/2, pp.xlixff.