THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE WORKS OF Alexander Pope, Efq, IN NINE VOLUMES, COMPLETE. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS By JOSEPH WARTON, D.D. AND OTHERS. VOLUME THE FIFTH. LONDON: Printed for B. LAW, J.JOHNSON, C. DILLY, G. G. and J. ROBINSON, J.NICHOLS, R.BALDWIN, H. L. GARIJNIB, F. and C. RIVINGTON, J.SEWELL, T. PAYNE, J. WALKER, R. FAULDEK, J. SCATCHERD, B. and J. WHITI, OGILVY and SON, T. N. LONGMAN, CADXLL jun. and DAVIES, and . POT K. 1797. A A CONTENTS OF THE FIFTH VOLUME. {The Article marked thus f war not tnferted In Dr. WARBURTON'S Edition.j Pa S e A LETTER to the PUBLISHER, occafioned by the firft correct Edition of the DUNCIAD - j MARTINUS SCRIBLERUS'S Prolegomena and Illuftra- tions to the DUNCIAD, with the Hypercritics of ARISTARCHUS - - 15 The DUNCIAD, in FOUR BOOKS. Book I. - -75 Book II. - - 123 Book III. - - 177 Book IV. - - 227 APPENDIX. I. A Preface prefixed to the five firft imperfel Editions of the DUNCIAD - 301 II. A Lift of Books, Papers, and Verfes in which our Author was abufed - - 307 III. Advertifement to the firft Edition with NOTES, in quarto *.- , - - 314 IV. Adver- CONTENTS. Page IV. Advertifement to the firft Edition of the FOURTH BOOK when printed feparately 316 V. Advertifement to the complete Edition of 1 743 318 VI. Advertifement printed in the Journals, 1730 319 VII. A Parallel of the Charaders of Mr. DRYDEN and Mr. POPE 'i-*' '-O . 321 f The DUNCIAD, as it flood in the quarto Edition, 1728. fBook I. .- - 337 fBook II. - - 349 t Book III. - - . - ' 365 >A ..III THE D U N C I A D, IN FOUR BOOKS. WITH THE PROLEGOMENA OF SCRIBLERUS, THE HYPERCRITICS OF ARISTARCHUS, AND NOTES VARIORUM. VOJ,. V. [3] A LETTER TO THE PUBLISHER, OCCASIONED BY THE FIRST CORRECT EDITION D U N C I A D. TT is with pleafure I hear, that you have procured * a correct copy of the Dunciad, which the many furreptitious ones have rendered fo neceflary ; and it is yet with more, that I am informed it will be attended with a Commentary : A work fo requifite, that 1 cannot think the Author himfelf would have omitted it, had he approved of the firfl appearance of this poem. Such notes as have occurred to me I herewith fend you : You will oblige me by inferting them amongft thofe which are, or will be, tranfmitted to you by others ; fince not only the Authors friends, but even ftrangers, appear engaged by humanity, to take fome care of an Orphan of fo much genius and fpirit, which its parent feems to have abandoned from the very beginning, and fuffered to ftep into the world naked, unguarded, and unattended. It was upon reading fome of the abufive papers lately publimed, that my great regard to a Perfon, whofe Friendfhip I efteem as one of the chief honours B a of 4 A LETTER of my life, and a much greater refpeft to Truth, than to him or any man living, engaged me in enquiries, of which the enclofed Notes are the fruit. I perceived that moft of thefe Authors had been (doubtlefs very wifely) the firfl aggreflbrs. They had tried, till they were weary, what was to be got by railing at each other: Nobody was either concerned or furprized if this or that fcribler was proved a dunce : But every one was curious to read what could be faid to prove Mr. Pope one, and was ready to pay fomething for fuch a difcovery : A ilratagem, which, would they fairly own, it might not only reconcile them to me, but fcreen them from the refentment of their lawful Superiors, whom they daily abufe, only (as I charitably hope) to get that by them, which they cannot get from them. I found this was not all : 111 fuccefs in that had tranfported them to Perfonal abufe, either of himfelf, or (what I think he could lefs forgive) of his Friends. They had called men of virtue and honour bad men, long before he had either leifure or inclination to call them bad writers: And fome had been fuch old offenders, that he had quite forgotten their perfons as well as their flanders, till they were pleafed to revive them. Now what had Mr. Pope done before, to incenfe them? He had publimed thofe works which are in the hands of every body, in which not the leaft mention TO THE PUBLISHER. 5 mention is made of any of them. And what has he done fince ? He has laughed, and written the Dunciad. What has that faid of them ? A very ferious truth, which the public had faid before, that they were dull : And what it had no fooner faid, but they themfelves were at great pains to procure, or even purchafe room in the prints, to teftify under their hands to the truth of it. I mould jflill have been filent, if either I had feen any inclination in my friend to be ferious with fuch accufers, or if they had only meddled with his Writings j fmce whoever publifhes, puts himfelf on his trial by his Country. But when his moral character was attacked, and in a manner from which neither truth nor virtue can fecure the mod innocent j in a manner, which, though it annihilates the credit of the accufation with the juft and impartial, yet aggravates very much the guilt of the accufers ; I mean by authors without names; then I thought, fmce the danger was common to all, the concern ought to be fo ; and that it was an act of juftice to detecl: the authors, not only on this account, but as many of them are the fame who for feveral years paft have made free with the greateft names in church and flate, expofed to the world the private misfortunes of families, abufed all, even to women, and whofe proftituted papers (for one or other Party, in the unhappy divifions of their country) have infulted the fallen, the friendlefs, the exil'd, and the dead. 9 3 BeGdes 6 A LETTER Befides this, which I take to be a public concern, I have already confefled I had a private one. I am one of that number, who have long loved and efteemed Mr. Pope ; and had often declared it was not his capacity or writings (which we ever thought the lead valuable part of his character) but the honeft, open, and beneficent man, that we moft efteemed, and loved in him Now, if what thefe people fay were believed, I muft appear to all my friends either a fool, or a knave ; either impofed on myfelf, or impofmg on them ; fo that I am as much interefted in the confutation of thefe calumnies, as he is himfelf. I am no author, and confequently not to be fufpected either of jealoufy or refentment againft any of the men, of whom fcarce one is known to me by fight ; and as for their writings, I have fought them (on this one occafion) in vain, in the clofets and libraries of all my acquaintance. I had ftiil been in the dark, if a Gentleman had not procured me (I fuppofe from forae of themfelves, for they are generally much more dangerous friends than enemies) the pafTages I fend you. I folemnly proteft I have added nothing to the malice or abfurdity of them ; which it behoves me to declare, fince the vouchers themfelves will be fo foon and fo irrecoverably loft. You may in fome meafure prevent it, by preferving at leaft their titles % and difcovering (as far as you can 8 Which we have done in a lift printed in the Appen."x. TO THE PUBLISHER. 7 can depend on the truth of your information) the names of the concealed authors. The firfl objection I have heard made to the poem is, that the perfons are too obfcure for fatire. The perfons themfelves, rather than allow the objection, would forgive the fatire ; and if one Could be tempted to afford it a ferious anfwer, were not all affaffmates, popular infurrections, the infolence of the rabble without doors,, and of domeftics within, moft wrongfully chaftifed, if the meannefs of offenders indemnified them from punifhment ? On the contrary, obfcurity renders them more dangerous, as lefs thought of: Law can pronounce judgment only on open facts; morality alone can pafs cenfure on intentions of mifchief j fo that for fecret calumny, or the arrow flying in the dark, there is no public punimment left, but what a good writer inflicts. The next objection is, that thefe fort of authors are poor. That might be pleaded as an excufe at the Old Bailey, for leffer crimes than defamation, (for 'tis the cafe of almofl all who are tried there), but fure it can be none here : For who will pretend that the robbing another of his Reputation fupplies the want of it in himfelf ? I queflion not but fuch authors are poor, and heartily wilh the objection were removed by any honeft livelihood. But poverty is here the accident, not the fubject : He who defcribes malice and villainy to be pale and meagre, expreffes not the lead anger againfl palenefs or leannefs, but B 4 againfl 8 A LETTER againfl malice and villainy. The Apothecary irt Romeo and Juliet is poor ; but is he therefore juftified in vending poifon ? Not but poverty itfelf becomes a juft fubject of fatire, when it is the confequence of vice, prodigality, or neglect of one's lawful calling ; for then it increafes the public burden, fills the ftreets and highways with robbers, and the garrets with clippers, coiners, and weekly journalifts. But admitting that two or three of thefe offend lefs in their morals than in their writings j mufl poverty make nonfenfe facred ? If fo, the fame of bad authors would be much better confulted than that of all the good ones in the world ; and not one of an hundred had ever been called by his right name. They miflake the whole matter : It is not charity to encourage them in the way they follow, but to get them out of it ; for men are not bunglers becaufe they are poor, but they are poor becaufe they are bunglers. Is it not pleafant enough, to hear our authors crying out on the one hand, as if their perfons and characters were too facred for fatire ; and the public objecting on the other, that they are too mean even for ridicule ? But whether bread or fame be their end, it mufl be allowed, our author, by and in this poem, has mercifully given them a little of both. There are two or three, who by their rank and fortune have no benefit from the former objections, fuppofing them good, and thefe I was forry to fee in fuel} TO THE PUBLISHER. 9 fuch company. But if, without any provocation, two or three gentlemen will fall upon one, in an affair wherein his intereft and reputation are equally embarked ; they cannot certainly, after they have been content to print themfelves his enemies, complain of being put into the number of them, Others, I am told, pretend to have been once his friends. Surely they are their enemies who fay fo, fmce nothing can be more odious than to treat a friend as they have done. But of this I cannot perfuade myfelf, when I confider the conftant and eternal averfion of all bad writers to a good one. Such as claim a merit from being his admirers, I would gladly afk, if it lays him under a perfonal obligation ? At that rate he would be the moft obliged humble fervant in the world. I dare fwear for thefc in particular, he never defired them to be his admirers, nor promifed in return to be theirs : That had truly been a fign he was of their acquaintance ; but would not the malicious world have fufpe&ed fuch an approbation of fome motive worfe than ignorance, in the author of the Effay on Criticifm ? Be it as it will, the reafons of their admiration and of his contempt are equally fubfifting, for his works and theirs are the very fame that they were. ; One, therefore, of their afiertions I believe may be true, " That he has a contempt for their writings." And there is another, which would probably be fooner allowed by himfelf than by any good judge befide, io A LETTER befide, " That his own have found too much fuccefs Xvith the public." But as it cannot confift with his modefty to claim this as a juftice, it lies not on him, but entirely on the public, to defend its own judgment. There remains what in my opinion might feem a better plea for thefe people, than any they have made ufe of. If obfcurity or poverty were to exempt a man from fatire, much more mould folly or dulnefs, which are flill more involuntary ; nay, as much fo as perfonal deformity. But even this will not help them: Deformity becomes an object of ridicule when a man fets up for being handfome; and fo muft Dulnefs when he fets up for a Wit. They are not ridiculed becaufe ridicule in itfelf is, or ought to be, a pleafure ; but becaufe it is jufl to undeceive and vindicate the honed and unpretending part of mankind from impofition, becaufe particular interefl ought to yield to general, and a great number who are not naturally fools, ought never to be made fo, in complaifance to thofe who are. Accordingly we find that in all ages, all vain pretenders, were they ever fo poor, or ever fo dull, have been conftantly the topics of the moft candid fatirifts, from the Codrus of Juvenal to the Damon of Boileau. Having mentioned Boileau, the greateft Poet and moft judicious critic of his age and country, admirable for his talents, and yet perhaps more admirable for his judgment in the proper application of them ; I cannot TO THE PUBLISHER. cannot help remarking the refemblance betwixt him and our author, in qualities, fame, and fortune ; in the diftindions (hewn them by their fuperiors, in the general efteem of their equals, and in their extended reputation amongft foreigners ; in the latter of which ours has met with the better fate, as he has had for his tranflators perfons of the mofl eminent rank and abilities in their refpe&ive nations b . But the refemblance holds in nothing more, than in their being equally abufed by the ignorant pretenders to poetry of their times -, of which not the lead memory will remain but in their own writings, and in the notes made upon them. What Boileau has done in almoft all his poems, our author has only in this : I dare anfwer for him he will do it in no more ; and on this principle, of attacking few but who had flandered him, he could not have done it at all, had he been confined from cenfuring obfcure and worthlefs perfons, for fcarce any other were his enemies. However, as the parity is fo remarkable, I hope it will continue to the laft ; and if ever he mould b Eflay on Criticifm, in French verfe, by General Hamilton ; the fame, in verfe alfo, by Monfieur Roboton, Counfcllor and Privy Secretary to King George I. after by the Abbe Reynel, in verfe, with notes. Rape of the Lock, in French, by th-e Princefs of Conti, Paris, 1728, aixl in Italian verfe, by the Abbe Conti, a noble Venetian ; and by the Marquis Rangoni, Envoy extraordinary from Modena to King George II. Others of his works by Salvini of Florence, &c. His Eflays and Diflertations on Homer, feveral times tranflated into French. Eflay on Man, by the Abbe Reynel, in verfe ; by Monficur bilhouette, in profe, 1737, and iince by others in French, Italian, and Latua. 12 A LETTER ihould give us an edition of this poem himfelf, I may fee fome of them treated as gently, on their repentance or better merit, as Perrault and Quinault were at laft by Boileau. In one point I muft be allowed to think the character of our Englifli poet the more amiable. He has not been a follower of fortune or fuccefs ; he has lived with the great without flattery ; been a friend to men in power, without penfions, from whom, as he afked, fo he received, no favour, but what was done him in his friends. As his fatires were tha more juft for being delayed, fo were his panegyrics; bellowed only on fuch perfons as he had familiarly known, only for fuch virtues as he had long obferved in them, and only at fuch times as others ceafe to praife, if not begin to calumniate them, I mean when out of power, or out of fafhion c . A fatire, therefore, on writers fo notorious for the contrary practice, became no man fo well as himfelf ; as none, it is plain, was fo little in their friendfhips, or fo much in that of thofe whom they had moft abufed, namely, the greateft and beft of all parties. Let me add a further reafon, that, though engaged in their friendlhips, he never efpoufed their animofities ; and can e As Mr. Wycherley, at the time the town declaimed againd his book of poems ; Mr. Walfli, after his death ; Sir William Trumball, when he had refigned the office of Secretary of State ; Lord Bolingbroke, at his leaving England, after the Queen's death ; Lord Oxford, in his lad decline of life ; Mr. Secretary Craggs, at the end of the South-Sea year, and after his death ; Others only in Epitaphs. tO THE PUBLISHER, 13 can almofl fmgly challenge this honour, not to have written a line of any man, which, through guilt, through fhame, or through fear, through variety of fortune, or change of Interefts, he was ever unwilling to own. I fhall conclude with remarking what a pleafure it muft be to every reader of humanity, to fee all along, that our Author in his very laughter is not indulging his own ill nature, but only puniming that of others. As to .his Poem, thofe alone are capable of doing itjuftice, who, to ufe the words of a great writer, know how hard it is (with regard both to his fubject and his manner) VETUSTIS DARE NOVITATEM, OBSOLETIS NITOREM, OBSCURIS LUCEM, FASTIDITIS GRATIAM. I am Your mofl humble fervant, St. James's, Dec. 22, 1728. WILLIAM CLELAND*. d This Gentleman was of Scotland, and bred at the univerfity of Utrecht, with the Earl of Mar. He ferved in Spain under Earl Rivers. After the peace, he was made one of the commiffioners of the cuftoms in Scotland, and then of Taxes in England ; in which, having mewn himfelf for twenty years diligent, pun&ual, and incorruptible, though without any other afiiftance of fortune, he was fuddenly difplaced by the Minifter, in the fixty-eighth year of his age j and died two months after, in 1741. He was a perfon of unirerfal learning, and an enlarged converfation ; no man had a warmer heart for his friend, or a fincerer attachment to the conftitution of his country. And yet, for all this, the public would never believe him to be the author of this letter. P. W. Many reafons have been alledged to prove it was written by our author himfelf. MARTINUS SCRIBLERUS His Prolegomena and Illuftrations TO T US. D U N C I A D: ,V I T H T H K HTPER-CRITICS OF ARISTARCHUS. C '73 Dennis, Remarks on Pr. Arthur. T .CANNOT but think it the moft reasonable thing in the world, to diflinguifh good .writers, by difcouraging the bad. Nor is it an ill-natured thing, in relation even to the very perfons upon whom the reflexions are made. It is true, it may deprive them, a little the fooner, of a fhort profit and a tranfitory reputation ; but then it may have a good effect, and oblige them (before it be too late) to decline that for which they are fp very unfit, and to have recourfe to fomething in which they may be more fuccefsful. Ckarafter of Mr. P. 1716. THE Perfons whom Boileau has attacked in his writings, have been for the mofl part Authors, and moft of thofe Authors, Poets : And the cenfures he hath pafied upon them have been confirmed by all Europe. Gildon, Pref. to his New Rebearfal. IT is the common cry of the Poetafters of the town, and their fautors, that it is an ill-natured thing to expofe the Pretenders to wit and poetry. The Judges and Magiftrates may with full as good reafon be reproached with Ill-nature for putting the laws in execution againfl a thief or importer The fame will hold in the republic of Letters, if the Critics and Judges will let every ignorant pretender to fcribbling pafs on the world, VOL. v. c Theobald, [ Lett.toMift, June 22, 1728. ATTACKS may be levelled, either againft Failures in Genius, or againft the Pretenfions of writing without one. Concanen, Ded. to the Author of the Dunciad. A Satire upon Dullnefs is a thing that has been ufed and allowed in all ages. Out of thine own Mouth will I judge thee 9 wicked Scribbler! TESTIMONIES OF AUTHORS CONCERNING OUR POET AND HIS WORKS. M. SCRIBLERUS Ledori S. TJEFORE we prefent thee with our exercitations on *-* this moft delectable poem (drawn from the many volumes of our Adverfaria on modern authors) we mall here, according to the laudable ufage of editors, collect the various judgments of the learned concerning our Poet : Various indeed, not only of different authors, but of the fame author at different feafons. Nor mail we gather only the teftimonies of fuch eminent wits, as would of courfe defcend to pofterity, and confequently be read without our collection ; but we mall likewife with incredible labour feek out for divers others, which, but for this our diligence, could never at the diftance of a few months appear to the eye of the moft curious. Hereby thou may 'ft not only receive the delectation of variety, but alfo arrive at a more certain judgment, by a grave and circumfpect comparifon of the whnefies with each other, or of each with himfelf. Hence alfo thou wilt be enabled to draw reflections, not only of a C 2 critical io TESTIMONIES critical but a moral nature, by being let into many particulars of the perfon as well as genius, and of the fortune as well as merit, of our Author : In which if I relate fome things of little concern peradventure to thee, and fome of as little even to him ; I entreat thee to confider how minutely all true critics and commentators are wont to infifl upon fuch, and how material they feem to themfelves, if to none other. Forgive me, gentle reader, if (following learned example) lever and anon become tedious : allow me to take the fame pains to find whether my author were good or bad, well or ill-natured, modeft or arrogant ; as another, whether his author was fair or brown, fhort or tall, or whether he wore a coat or ^ caffock. We purpofed to begin with his Life, Parentage, and Education : But as to thefe, even his contemporaries do exceedingly differ. One faith % he was educated at home ; another b , that he was bred at St. Omer's by Jefuitsj a third % not at St. Omer's, but at Oxford ; a fourth d , that he had no univerfity education at all. Thofe who allow him to be bred at home, differ as much concerning his Tutor : One faith % he was kept by his father on purpofe ; a fecond f , that he was an itinerant pried ; a third *, that 1 Giles Jacob's Lives of Poets, vol. ii. in his Life. b Dennis's Reflexions on the Eflay on Criticifm, p. 4. e Dunciad diiFefted, p. 4. d Guardian, N4O, < Jacob's Lives, &c. vol. ii. f Dunciad differed, p. 4, * Farmer P. and his fon. OF AUTHORS. 21 that he was a parfon ; one h calleth him a fecular clergyman of the church of Rome ; another ! , a monk. As little do they agree about his father, whom one k fuppofeth, like the father of Hefiod, a tradefman or merchant j another 1 , a hufbandman ; another m , a hatter, &c. Nor has an author been wanting to give our poet fuch a father, as Apuleius hath to Plato, Jamblichus to Pythagoras, and divers to Homer, namely a Demon : For thus Mr. Gildon n : " Certain it is, that his original is not from Adam, but the Devil ; and that he wanted nothing but horns and tail to be the exact refemblance of his infernal Father." Finding therefore fuch contrariety of Opinions, and (whatever be ours of this fort of generation) not being fond to enter into controverfy, we mail defer writing the Life -of our Poet, till authors can determine among themfelves what parents or education he had, or whether he had any education or parents at all. Proceed we to what is more certain, his Works, though not lefs uncertain the judgments concerning them; h Dunciad difle&ed. ' Charafters of the times, p*45. k Female Dunciad, p. lilt. l Dunciad difTe&ed. m Roome, Paiaphrafe on the ivth of Genefis, printed 1729. n Chara&er of Mr. P. and his Writings, in a Letter td a Friend, printed for S. Popping, 1716, p. 10. Curl, in his Key to the Dunciad, (firil edit, faid to be printed for A. Dodd), in the loth, page, declared Gildon to be author of that libel ; though in the fubfequent editions of his Key he left out this aflertion, and affirmed (in the Curliad, p. 4. and 8.) that it was written by Dennis only. c 3 22 TESTIMONIES them; beginning with his Efiay on Criticifm, of which hear firft the moft ancient of Critics, Mr. JOHN DENNIS. " His precepts are falfe or trivial, or both ; his thoughts are crude and abortive, his expreflions abfurd, his numbers harfh and unmufical, his rhymes trivial and common : inftead of majefly, we have fomething that is very mean ; inftead of gravity, fomething that is very boyilh ; and inftead of perfpicuity and lucid order, we have but too often obfcurity and confufion." And in another place: ' What rare numbers are here ! Would not one fwear that this youngfter had efpoufed fome antiquated mufe, who had fued out a divorce from fome fuperannued fmner, upon account of impotence, and who being poxed by her former fpoufe, has got the gout in her decrepid age, which makes her hobble fo damnably V No lefs peremptory is the cenfure of our hypercritical Hiftorian, Mr. OLDMIXON. * e I dare not fay any thing of the Effay on Criticifm in verfe ; but if any more curious reader has difcovered in it fomething new which is not in Dryden's prefaces, dedications, and his Efiay on Dramatic Poetry, not to mention the French critics, I mould be very glad to have the benefit of the difcovery p ." He Refle&ions critical and fatirical on a Rhapfody, called an Effay on Criticifm. Printed for Bernard Lintot, o&avo. P Efiay on Criticifm in profe, o&avo, 1728, by the author of The Critical JSiftory of England. OF AUTHORS. 23 He is followed (as in feme, fo in judgment) by the modeft and fimple-minded Mr. LEONARD WELSTEAD ; Who, out of great refpe& to our poet hot naming him, doth yet glance at his Efiay, together with the Duke of Buckingham's, and the Criticifms of Dryden, and of Horace, which he more openly taxeth q ; " As to the numerous treatifes, eflays, arts, &c. both in verfe and profe, that have been written by the moderns on this ground-work, they do but hackney the fame thoughts over again, making them ftill more trite. Moft of their pieces are nothing but a pert, infipid heap of common-place. Horace has even in his Art of Poetry thrown out feveral things which plainly mew he thought an Art of Poetry was of no ufe, even while he was writing one." To all which great Authorities, we can only oppofe that of Mr. ADDISON. " 'The Art of Criticifm (faith he) which was publifhed fome months fmce, is a mafter-piece in its kind. The obfervations follow one another, like thofe in Horace's Art of Poetry, without that methodical regularity which would have been requifite in a profe writer. They are fome of them uncommon, but fuch as the reader mufl aflent to, when he fees them explained with that eafe and perfpicuity in which * Preface to his Poems, p. 18, 53. * Spedator, N a jj c 4 24 TESTIMONIES which they are delivered. As for thofe which are the mod known and the moft received, they are placed in fo beautiful a light, and illuftrated with fuch apt allufions, that they have in them all the graces of novelty ; and make the reader, who was before acquainted with them, (till more convinced of their truth and folidity. And here give me leave to mention what Monfieur Boileau has fo well enlarged upon in the preface to his works : That wit and fine writing doth not confift fo much in advancing things that are new, as in giving things that are known an agreeable turn* It is impoflible for us who live in the latter ages of the world, to make obfervations in criticifm, morality^ or any art or fcienee, which have not been touched upon by others ; we have little elfe left us, but to reprefent the common fenfe of mankind in more ftrong, more beautiful, or more uncommon lights. If a reader examines Horace's Art of Poetry, he will find but few precepts in it which he may not meet with in Ariftotle, and which were not commonly known by all the poets of the Auguftan age. His way of expreffing and applying them, not his invention of them, is what we are chiefly to admire. " Longinus, in his reflections, has given us the fame kind of fublime, which he obferves in the feveral paflages that occafioned them : I cannot but take notice that our Englifh author has after the lame manner exemplified feveral of the precepts in - the OF AUTHORS. 25 the very precepts themfelves." He then produces fome inflances of a particular beauty in the numbers, and concludes with faying, that fc there are three poems in our tongue of the fame nature, and each a mafter-piece in its kind ; The Effay on Tranilated Verfe j the Eflay on the Art of Poetry ; and the Eflay on Criticifm." Of Windfor Foreft, pofitive is the judgment of the affirmative Mr. JOHN DENNIS* *' 9 That it is a wretched rhapfody, impudently writ in emulation of the Cooper's Hill of Sir John Denham: The author of it is obfcure, is ambiguous, is affected, is temerarious, is barbarous." But the author of the Difpenfary, Dr. GARTH, in the preface to his poem of Claremont l , differs from this opinion ; " Thofe who have feen thefe two excellent poems of Cooper's Hill, and Windfor Foreft, the One written by Sir John Denham, the other by Mr. Pope, will fhew a great deal of candour if they approve of this." Of the Epiftle of Eloifa, we are told by the obfcure writer of a poem called Sawney, " That becaufe Prior's Henry and Emma charmed the fineft tafles, our author writ his Eloife in opppfition to it ; but forgot innocence and virtue : if you take away her tender * Letter to B. B. at the end of the Remarks on Pope'* Homer, 1717. ' Printed 1728, p. 12. * .; is J t ^6 TESTIMONIES tender thoughts, and her fierce defires, all the reft is of no value." In which, methinks, his judgment refembles that of a French taylor on a villa and gardens by the Thames : "All this is very fine, buC take away the river, and it is good for nothing." But very contrary hereunto was the opinion of Mr. PRIOR himfelf, faying in his Alma u , " O Abelard ! ill-fated youth, Thy tale will juftify this truth. But well I weet, thy cruel wrong Adorns a nobler Poet's fong : Dan Pope, for thy misfortune griev'd, With kind concern and ikill has weav'd A filken web ; and ne'er mail fade Its colours : gently has he laid The mantle o'er thy fad diftrefs, And Venus mail the texture blefs," &c. Come we now to his tranflation of the Iliad, celebrated by numerous pens, yet mail it fuffice to mention the indefatigable Sir RICHARD BLACKMORE, Kt. Who (though otherwife a fevere cenfurer of our author) yet ftyleth this a " laudable tranflation w ." That ready writer Mr. OLDMIXON, in his forementioned eflay, frequently commends the fame. And the painful Mr* Alma, Cant. u*. w In hi* Eflays, Vol. i. printed for E. Curl. OF AUTHORS. 27 Mr. LEWIS THEOBALD thus extolls it x : " The fpirit of Homer breathes all through this tranflation. I am in doubt, whether I mould mod admire the juftnefs to the original, or the force and beauty of the language, or the founding variety of the numbers : But when I find all thefe meet, it puts me in mind of what the poet fays of one of his heroes, That he alone raifed and flung with eafe a weighty ft one, that two common men could not lift from the ground ; juft fo, one fingle perfon has performed in this tranflation, what I once defpaired to have feen done by the force of feveral mafterly hands." Indeed the fame gentleman appears to have changed his fentiment in his Effay on the Art of finking in Reputation, (printed in Mift's Journal, March 30, 1728), where he fays thus : " In order to fink in Reputation, let him tak it into his head to defcend into Homer (let the world wonder, as it will, how the devil he got there) and pretend to do him into Englifli, fo his verfion denote his negleft of the manner how." Strange variation ! We are told in MIST'S JOURNAL, June 8, " That this tranflation of the Iliad was not in all refpefts conformable to the fine tafte of his friend Mr. Addifon ; infomuch that he employed a younger irtufe, in an undertaking of this kind, which h fupervifed * Cenfor, Vol. ii. N 33. *8 TESTIMONIES fupervifed himfelf." Whether Mr. Addifon did find it conformable to his tafte, or not, beft appears from his own teftimony the year following its publication, in thefe words : Mr. ADDISON, FREEHOLDER, N' 40. ft When I confider myfelf as a Britifh freeholder I am in a particular manner pleafed with the labours of thofe who have improved our language with the tranflations of old Greek and Latin authors. We have already moil of their Hiftorians in our own tongue, and, what is more for the honour of our language, it has been taught to exprefs with elegance the greatefl of their poets in each nation. The illiterate among our own countrymen may learn to judge from Dry den's Virgil of the moft per feel; epic performance* And thofe parts of Homer which have been publifhed already by Mr. Pope, give us reafon to think that the Iliad will appear in Englifh with as little difadvantage to that immortal poem." As to the reft, there is a flight miftake, for this younger mufe was an elder : Nor was the gentleman (who is a friend of our author) employed by Mr. Addifon to tranflate it after him, fmce he faith himfelf that he did it before y. Contrariwife that Mr* Addifon engaged our author in this work appeareth by declaration thereof in the preface to the Iliad, printed fome time before his death, and by his own letters * Vid. pref. to Mr. Tickel's tvauflation of the firft book of the Iliad, 410. OF AUTHORS. 29 letters of O&ober 26, and November 2, 1713^ Where he declares it is his opinion, that no other perfon was equal to it. Next conies his Shakefpear on the ftage : " Let him (quoth one, whom I take to be Mr. Theobald, Mift's Journal, June 8, 1728), publifli fuch an author as he has leaft ftudied, and forget to difcharge even the dull duty of an editor. In this project let him lend the bookfeller his name (for a competent fum of Money) to promote the credit of an exorbitant fubfcription." Gentle reader, be pleafed to caft thine eye on the propofal below quoted, and on what follows (fome months after the former aflertion) in the fame Journalift of June 8 : " The bookfeller propofed the book by fubfcription, and raifed fome thoufands of pounds for the fame : I believe the gentleman did not {hare in the profits of this extravagant fubfcription. * e After the Iliad, he undertook (faith MIST'S JOURNAL, June 8, 1728) the fequel of that work, the OdyfTey ; and having fecured the fuccefs by a numerous fubfcription, he employed fome underlings to perform what, according to his propofals, mould come from his own hands." To which heavy charge we can in truth oppofe nothing but the words of Mr. POPE'S PROPOSAL for the ODYSSEY, (printed for J. Watts, Jan. 10, 1724.) P I take this occafion to declare that the fubfcription fpr Shakefpear belongs wholly to Mr. Tonfon : And that 3 o TESTIMONIES that the benefit of this Propofal is not folely for my own ufe, but for that of two of my friends, who have aflifted me in this work." But thefe very gentlemen are extolled above our poet himfelf in another of Mifl's Journals, March 30, 1728, faying, " That he would not advife Mr. Pope to try the experiment again of getting a great part of a book done by affiftants, left thofe extraneous parts mould unhappily afcend to the fublime, and retard the declenfion of the whole." Behold ! thefe Underlings are become good writers ! If any fay, that before the faid propofals were printed, the fubfcription was begun without declaration of fuch amftance ; verily thofe who fet it on foot, or (as the term is) fecured it, to wit, the right honourable the Lord Vif9ount HARCOURT, were he living, would teflify, and the right honourable the Lord BATHURST, now living, doth teflify, the fame is a falfhood. Sorry I am, that perfons profefling to be learned, or of whatever rank of authors, mould either falfely tax, or be falfely taxed. Yet let us, who are only reporters, be impartial in our citations, and proceed. MIST'S JOURNAL, June 8, 1728. " Mr. Addifon raifed this author from obfcurity, obtained him the acquaintance and friendfhip of the whole body of our nobility, and transferred his powerful intereils with thofe great men to this rifing bard, who frequently levied by that means unufual contributions OF AUTHORS. ?I contributions on the public." Which furely cannot be, if, as the author of the Dunciad differed reporteth ; " Mr. Wycherley had before introduced him into a familiar acquaintance with the greatefl Peers and brighteft Wits then living." " No fooner (faith the fame Journalift) was his body lifelefs, but this author reviving his refentment, libelled the memory of his departed friend ; and what was ftill more heinous, made the fcandal public." Grievous the accufation! unknown the accufer ! the perfon accufed no witnefs in his own caufe ; the perfon, in whofe regard accufed, dead ! But if there be living any one nobleman whofe friendship, yea any one gentleman whofe fubfcription Mr. Addifon procured to our author ; let him (land forth, that truth may appear ! " Amicus Plato, amicus Socrates, fed magis arnica veritas." In verity the whole ftory of the libel is a lie ; witnefs thofe perfons of integrity, who feveral years before Mr. Addifon 's deceafe, did fee and approve of the faid verfes, in no wife a libel, but a friendly rebuke, fent privately in our author's own hand to Mr. Addifon himfelf, and never made public, till after their own Journals, and Curl had printed the fame. One name alone, which I am here authorifed to declare, will fufficiently evince the truth, that of the right honourable the Earl of Burlington. Next is he taxed with a crime (in the opinion of fome authors, I doubt, more heinous than any in morality),- 32 TESTIMONIES morality), to wit, plagiarifm, from the inventive and quaint-conceited JAMES MOORE SMITH, Gent. " z Upon reading the third volume of Pope's Mifcellanies, I found five lines which I thought excellent j and happening to praife them, a gentleman procured a modern comedy, (the Rival Modes), publimed laft year, where were the fame verfes to a tittle. " Thefe gentlemen are undoubtedly the. firfl plagiaries that pretend to make a reputation by ftealing from a man's works in his own life-time, and out of a public print." Let us join to this what is written by the author of the Rival Modes, the faid Mr. James Moore Smith, in a letter to our author himfelf, who had informed him, a month before that play was acted, Jan. 27, 1726-7, that " Thefe verfes, which he had before given him leave to mfert in it, would be known for* his, fome copies being got abroad. He defires, neverthelefs, that fince the lines had been read in his comedy to feveral, Mr. P. would not deprive it of them ;" &c. Surely if we add the teflimonies of the Lord Bolingbroke, of the lady to whom the faid verfes were originally addrelfed, of Hugh Bethel Efq. and others who knew them as our author's long before the faid gentleman compofed his play ; it is hoped, the ingenuous that affect not error, will rectify their opinion by the fuffrage of fo honourable perfonages. And * Daily Journal, March 18, 1728. OF AUTHORS. 33 And yet followeth another charge, infinuating no lefs than his enmity both to Church and State, which could come from no other informer than the faid Mr. JAMES MOORE SMITH* " a The Memoirs of a Parifh Clerk was a very dull and unjuft abufe of a perfon who wrote in defence of our Religion and Conftitution, and who has been dead many years." This feemeth alfo moft untrue ; it being known to divers that thefe Memoirs were written at the feat of the Lord Harcourt in Oxfordfhire, before that excellent perfon (bifhop Burners) death, and many years before the appearance of that hiftory, of which they are pretended to be an abufe. Moft true it is that Mr. Moore had fuch a defign, and was himfelf the man who preft Dr. Arbuthnot and Mr. Pope to affift him therein ; and that he borrowed thofe Memoirs of our author, when that hiftory came forth, with intent to turn them to fuch abufe. But being able to obtain from our author but one fmgle hint, and either changing his mind, or having more mind than ability, he contented himfelf to keep the faid Memoirs, and read them as his own to all his acquaintance. A noble perfon there is, into whofe company Mr. Pope once chanced to introduce him, who well remembereth the converfation of Mr. Moore to have turned upon the " Contempt he had for the work of that reverend prelate, * Daily Journal, April 3, 1728. YOL. V. D 34 TESTIMONIES prelate, and how full he was of a defign he declared himfelf to have of expofmg it." This noble perfon is the Earl of Peterborough. Here in truth (hould we crave pardon of all the forefaid right honourable and worthy perfonages, for having mentioned them in the fame page with fuch weekly riff-raff railers and rhymers ; but that we had their ever-honoured commands for the fame; and that they are introduced not as witnefies in the controverfy, but as witneffes that cannot be controverted ; not to difpute, but to decide. Certain it is, that dividing our writers into two clafles, of fuch who were acquaintance, and of fuch who were flrangers to our author j the former are thofe who fpeak well, and the other thofe who fpeak evil of him. Of the firft clafs, the mod noble JOHN Duke of BUCKINGHAM fums up his character in thefe lines ; ' BEZALEEL MORRIS. " Aufpicious bard ! while all admire thy ftrain, All but the felfim, ignorant, and vain j I, whom no bribe to fervile flatt'ry drew, Muft pay the tribute to thy merit due : Thy if) ' ^iro 7f ! ' I declare upon the honour and vvord of a gentleman> that I' never wrote fo much as one line in concert with any one man yvhatfoever. And thefe two Letters from Gildon will plainly (hew that we are not writers in concert with each other. Sir, " The height of my ambition is to pleafe men of the beft judgment ; and. finding that I have entertained my mailer agreeably, I have the extent of the reward of my labour." " Sir, " I had not the opportunity" of hearing of your excellent pamphlet till this day. I am infinitely fatisfied and pleafed with it, and hope you will meet with, that encouragement your admirable performance deferves, &c. " CH. GILDON-." " Now is it not plain, that anyone who fends fuch compliments to another, has not been ufed to write in partnerfhip with him to whom he fends them ?" Dennis, Rem. on the Dune. p. 50, Mr. Dennis is therefore welcome to take this piece to himfelf. 44 TESTIMONIES Thy mufe fublime, fignificant, and clear, Alike informs the Soul, and charms the Ear." And Mr. LEONARD WELSTED thus wrote * to the unknown author on the firfl publication of the faid Eflay : " I muft own, after the reception which the vileft and mofl immoral ribaldry hath lately met with, I was furprized to fee what I had long defpaired, a performance deferving the name of a poet. Such, Sir, is your work. It is, indeed, above all commendation, and ought to have been publimed in an age and country more worthy of it. If my teflimoiiy be of weight any where, you are fure to have it in the amplefl manner," &c. &c. &c. Thus we fee every one of his works hath been extolled by one or other of his moft inveterate enemies ; and to the fuccefs of them all they do unanimoufly give teftimony. But it is fufficient, inflar omnium, to behold the great critic, Mr. Dennis, forely lamenting it, even from the Efiay on Criticifm to this day of the Dunciad ! " A moft notorious inftance (quoth he) of the depravity of genius and tafte, the approbation this Eifay meets with b . I can fafely affirm, that I never attacked any of thefe writings, unlefs they had fuccefs infinitely beyond their merit. This, though an empty, has been In a letter under his hand, dated March 12, 1733. * Dennis, Pref. to his Refleft. on the Efiay on Criticifm. OF AUTHORS. 45 been a popular fcribler. The epidemic madnefs of the times has given him reputation*. If, after the the cruel treatment fo many extraordinary men (Spencer, Lord Bacon, Ben.Johnfon, Milton, Butler, Otway, and others) have received from this country, for thefe laft hundred years, I mould fhift the fcene, and (hew all that penury changed at once to riot and profufenefs ; and more fquandered away upon one cbjeft) than would have fatisfied the greater part of thofe extraordinary men ; the reader to whom this one creature mould be unknown, would fancy him a prodigy of art and nature, would believe that all the great qualities of thefe perfons were centered in him alone : But if I mould venture to affure him, that the PEOPLE of ENGLAND had made fuch a choice the reader would either believe me a malicious enemy ^ and Jlanderer ; or that the reign of the laft (Queen Anne's) Miniftry was defigned by fate to encourage Fools d ." But it happens, that this our poet never had any place, penfion, or gratuity, in any fhape, from the faid glorious Queen, or any of her Miniflers. All he owed, in the whole courfe of his life, to any court, was a fubfcription for his Homer of 2oo/. from King George I, and ioo/. from the Prince and Princefs. However, left we imagine our author's Succefs was conftant and univerfal, they acquaint us of certain c Pref. to his Rem. on Homer. * Rcm. on Horn. p. 8, 9. 46 TESTIMONIES ertain works in a lefs degree of repute, whereof, although owned by others, yet do they affure us he is the writer. Of this fort Mr. DENNIS e afcribes to him two farces, whofe names he does not tell, but allures us that there is not one jeft in them : And an imitation of Horace, whofe title he does not mention, but allures us // is much more execrable than all his works*. The DAILY JOURNAL, May u, 1728, allures us, " He is below '1 om Durfey in the Drama, becaufe (as that writer thinks) the Marriage-Hater matched, and the Boarding-School, are better than the What-d'ye- call-it ;" which is not Mr. P's, but Mr. Gay's. Mr. GILDON alfures us, in his New Rehearfal, p. 48. " That he was writing a play of the Lady Jane Grey ;" but it afterwards proved to be Mr. Rowe's. We are affured by another, " He wrote a pamphlet called Dr. Andrew Tripe ;" which proved to be one Dr. WagftafPs. Mr. THEOBALD allures, in Mill of the 27th of April, <: That the treatife of the Profound is very dull, and that Mr. Pope is the author of it." The writer of Gulliveriana is of another opinion ; and fays, * f the whole, or greateft part, of the merit of this treatife muft and can only be afcribed to Gulliver V [Here, gentle reader! cannot I but fmile at the ftrange blindnefs and pofitivenefs of men ; knowing the faid treatife to appertain to none other but to me Martinus Scribkrus.] We * Rem. on Homer, p. 8. f Character of Mr. Pope, p. 7. * Ibid. p. 6. h Gulliv. p. 336. OF AUTHORS.- 47 We are afiured in Mid of June 8, "That his own plays and farces would better have adorned the Dunciad, than thofe of Mr. Theobald ; for he had neither genius for tragedy nor comedy.*' Which, whether true or not, it is not eafy to judge j in as much as he had attempted neither. Unlefs we will take it for granted, with Mr. Gibber, that his being once very angry at hearing a friend's Play abufed, was an infallible proof the play was his own j the faid Mr. Gibber thinking it impoffible for a man to be much concerned for any but himfelf : " Now let any man judge (faith he) by this concern, who was the true mother of the child j ?" But from all that hath been faid, the difeerning reader will colled}:, that it little availed our author to have any candour, fince when he declared he did not write for others, it was not credited j as little to have any modefty, fmce, when he declined writing in any way himfelf, the prefumption of others was imputed to him. If he fingly enterprized one great work, he was taxed of boldnefs and madnefs to a prodigy k : If he took affiftants in another, it was complained of, and reprefented as a great injury to the publick '. The loftieft heroics, the lowed ballads, treatifes againfl the (late or church, fatires on lords and ladies, raillery on wits and authors, fquabbles with 1 Gibber's Letter to Mr. P. p. 19. k Burnet's Homerides, p. I. of his tranflation of the Iliad. 1 The London and Mift's Journals, on his undertaking the Odyffey. 48 TESTIMONIES, &c. with bookfellers, or even full and true accounts of monfters, poifons, and murders ; of any hereof wag there nothing fo good, nothing fo bad, which had not at one or other feafon been to him afcribed. If it bore no author's name, then lay he concealed , if it did, he fathered it upon that author to be yet better concealed : If it refembled any of his ftyles, then it was evident ; if it did not, then difguifed he it on fet purpofe. Yea, even direct oppofitions in religion, principles, and politics, have equally been fuppofed in him inherent. Surely a moft rare and fingular character ! Of which let the reader make what he can. Doubtlefs moft commentators would hence take occafion to turn all to their author's advantage, and from the teflimony of his very enemies would affirm, That his capacity was boundlefs, as well as his imagination ; that he was a perfect mafter of all ftyles, and all arguments ; and that there was in thofe times no other writer, in any kind, of any degree of excellence, fave he himfelf. But as this is not our own fentiment, we fhall determine on nothing ; but leave thee, gentle reader, to fleer thy judgment equally between various opinions, and to chufe whether thou wilt incline to the Teftimonies of Authors avowed, or of Authors concealed ; of thofe who knew him, or of thofe who knew him not. P. [49 ] MARTINUS SGRIBLERUS OF THE POEM*. is poem, as it celebrateth the mod grave and ancient of things, Chaos, Night, and Dulnefs ; fo is it of the moft grave and ancient kind. Homer (faith Ariftotle) was the firft who gave the form, and (faith Horace) who adapted the meafure, to heroic poefy. But even before this, may be rationally prefumed from what the ancients have left written, was a piece by Homer compofed, of like nature and matter with this of our poet. For of epic fort it appeareth to have been, yet of matter furely not unpleafant, witnefs what is reported of it by the learned archbifhop Euftathius, in Odyff. x. And accordingly Ariftotle, in his Poetic, chap. iv. doth further fet forth, that as the Iliad and OdyiTey gave example to tragedy, fo did this poem to comedy its firft idea. From thefe authors alfo it mould feem, that the Hero, or chief perfonage of it was no lefs obfcure, and his underftanding and fentiments no lefs quaint and ftrange (if indeed not more fo) than any of the actors of our poem. MARGITES was the name of this perfonage, whom Antiquity recordeth to have been * AH this difcourfe was written by Pope. VOL. V. K 5 o MARTINUS SCRIBLERUS been Dunce thefrft ; and furely from what we hear of him, not unworthy to be the root of fo fpreading a tree, and fo numerous a pofterity. The poem therefore celebrating him was properly and abfolutely a Dunciad; which though now unhappily loft, yet is its nature fufficiently known by the infallible tokens aforefaid. And thus it doth appear, that the firft Dunciad was the firft epic poem, written by Homer himfelf, and anterior even to the Iliad or Odyfley. Now, forafmuch as our poet hath tranflated thofe two famous works of Homer which are yet left, he did conceive it in fome fort his duty to imitate that alfo which was loft ; and was therefore induced to beftow on it the fame form which Homer's is reported to have had, namely that of epic poem ; with a title alfo framed after the ancient Greek manner, to wit, that of Dunciad. Wonderful it is, that fo few of the moderns have been ftimulate x d to attempt fome Dunciad ! fmce in the opinion of the multitude, it might coft lefs pain and toil than an imitation of the greater epic. But poffible it is alfo, that, on due reflection, the maker might find it eafier to paint a Charlemagne, a Brute, or a Godfrey, with juft pomp and dignity heroic, than a Margites, a Codrus, or a Fleckno. We mail next declare the occafion and the caufe which moved our poet to this particular work. He lived in thofe days, when (after Providence had permitted the invention of printing as a fcourge for the OF THE POEM. 51 the fins of the learned) paper alfo became fo cheap, and printers fo numerous, that a deluge of authors covered the land : whereby not only the peace of the honeft unwriting fubject was daily molefted, but unmerciful demands were made of his applaufe, yea of his money, by fueh as would neither earn the one, nor deferve the other. At the fame time, the licence of the prefs was fuch, that it grew dangerous to refufe them either : for they would forthwith publifli flanders unpunifhed, the authors being anonymous, and fkulking under the wings of publifhers, a fet of men who never fcrupled to vend either calumny or blafphemy, as long as the town would call for it. a Now our author, living in thofe times, did conceive it an endeavour well worthy an honeft fatyrift, to diffuade the dull, and punifli the wicked, the only way that was left. In that public-fpirited view he laid the plan of this poem, as the greatefl fervice he was capable (without much hurt or being flain) to render his dear country. Firft taking things from their original, he confidereth the caufes creative of fuch authors, namely Dulnefs and Poverty ; the one born with them, the other contracted by neglect of their proper talents, through felf-conceit of greater abilities. This truth he wrappeth in an allegory b (as the conftruction of epic poefy requireth), and feigns that * Vide Boflu, Du Poerae Epique, ch. via. b Boflu, chap. vii. E 2 5 z MARTINUS SCRIBLERUS that one of thefe Goddefies had taken up her abode with the other, and that they jointly infpired all fiich writers and fuch works. c He proceedeth to fhew the qualities they beftow on thefe authors, and the effefls they produce d j then the materials, or feck, with which they furnifh them e ; and (above all) that felf-opinivn f , which eaufeth it to feem to themfelves vaftly greater than it it, and is the prime motive of their fetting up in this fad and forry merchandife. The great power of thefe Goddeffes acting in alliance (whereof as the one is the mother of Induftry, fo is the other of Plodding) was to be exemplified in fome one, great and remarkable action ? : And none could be more fo than that which our poet hath chofen, wz.- the reftoration * of the reign of Chaos and Night, by the miniftry of Dulnefs their daughter, in the removal of her imperial feat from the city to the polite world ; as the action of the Aeneid is the reftoration of the empire of Troy, by the removal of the race from thence to Latium. But as Homer fmging only the wrath of Achilles, yet includes in his poem the whole hiftory of the Trojan war ; in like manner our author hath drawn into this Jingle action the whole hiftory of Dulnefs and her children. A per/on muft next be fixed upon to fupport this action. This phantom in the poet's mind muft have a name : c Book I. ver. 32. &c. d Ver. 45 to 54. e Boflu, B.I. rer. 57 to 77. f Ver. 80. * Ibid. chap, vii, viii. * Altered from the edition 1729. See the note at the beginning f B. IV. of the Dunciad. OF THE POEM. 53 a name h ; He finds it to be ; and he becomes of courfe the Hero of the poem. The fable being thus, according to the beft example, one and entire, as contained in the propofition; the machinery is a continued chain of allegories, fetting forth the whole power, miniftry, and empire of Dulnefs, extended through her fubordinate initruments, in all her various operations. This is branched into Epifodes, each of which hath its Moral apart, though all conducive to the main end. The crowd, afiembled in the fecond book, demonftrates the defign to be more extenfive than to bad poets only, and that we may expect other epifodes of the Patrons, Encouragers, or Paymafters of fuch authors, as occafion mail bring them forth. And the third book, if well confidered, feemeth to embrace the whole world. Each of the games relateth to fome or other vile clafs of writers : The firft concerneth the plagiary, to whom he giveth the name of More ; the fecond the libelous Novelift, whom he ftyleth Eliza; the third, the flattering Dedicator -, the fourth, the bawling Critic, or noify Poet ; the fifth, the dark and dirty Party-writer ; and fo of the reft ; affigning. to each fome proper name or other, fuch as he could find. As for the Characters, the public hath already acknowledged how juftly they are drawn : The manners h Boffu, chap. viii. V ide Ariftot. Poetic, is chap. 54 MARTINUS SCRIBLERUS manners are fo depi&ed, and the fentiments fo peculiar to thofe to whom applied, that furely to transfer them to any other or wifer perfonages, would be exceeding difficult : And certain it is, that every perfon concerned, being confulted apart, hath Readily owned the refemblance of every portrait, his own excepted. So Mr. Gibber calls them, " a parcel of poor wretches, fo many filly flies 1 : but adds, our Author's wit is remarkably more bare and barren, whenever it would fall foul on Gibber, than upon any other perfon whatever." The defcriptiom are fmgular, the comparifons very quaint, the narration various, yet of one colour : The purity and chaftity of diflion is fo preferved, that in the places moft fufpicious, not the words but only the images have been cenfured, and yet are thofe images no other than have been fandified by ancient and claflical authority, (though, as was the manner of thofe good times, not fo curioufly wrapped up), yea, and commented upon by the moft grave Do&ors, and approved Critics. As it beareth the name of Epic, it is thereby fubjected to fuch fevere indifpenfible rules as are laid on all Neoterics, a ftrict imitation of the Ancients; infomuch that any deviation, accompanied with whatever poetic beauties, hath always been cenfured by the found Critic. How exacl: that imitation hath been in this piece, appeareth not only by its general ftru&ure, * Cibber's Letter to Mr. P. p. 9, 12, 41. OF THE POEM. 55 ftructure, but by particular allufions infinite, many whereof have efcaped both the commentator and poet himfelf, yea divers by his exceeding diligence are fo altered and interwoven with the reft, that feveral have already been, and more will be, by the ignorant abufed, as altogether and originally his own. In a word, the whole poem proveth itfelf to be the work of our Author, when his faculties were in full vigour and perfection : at that exact time when years have ripened the judgment, without diminiming the imagination : which, by good critics is held to be punctually at forty. For at that feafon it was that Virgil finimed his Georgics; and Sir Richard Blackmore, at the like age compofing his Arthurs, declared the fame to be the very Acme and pitch of life for epic poefy : Though fmce he hath altered it to Jtxty, the year in which he publilhed his Alfred k . True it is, that the talents for crificifm, namely fmartnefs, quick cenfure, vivacity of remark, certainty of afieveration, indeed all but acerbity, feem rather the gifts of youth than of riper age: But it is far otherwife in poetry ; witnefs the works of Mr. Rymer and Mr. Dennis, who beginning with Criticifm, became afterwards fuch poets as no age hath paralleled. With k See his Eflays. E 4 56 MARTINUS SCRIBLERUS, &c. With good reafon therefore did our author chufe. to write his Eflay on that fubjeft at twenty, and referve for his maturer years this great and wonderful work of the Dunciad. P. [573 RICHARDUS ARISTARCHUS OF THE O 1 HERO OF THE POEM*, k F the nature of DUNCIAD in general, whence derived, and on what authority founded, as well as of the art and conduct of this our poem in particular, the learned and laborious Scriblerus hath, according to his manner, and with tolerable mare of judgment, diflertated. But when he cometh to fpeak of the PERSON of the Hero fitted for fuch poem, in truth he miferably halts and hallucinates. For, mifled by one Monfieur Boffu, a Gallic critic, he prateth of I cannot tell what phantom of a Hero, only raifed up to fupport the fable. A putid conceit ! As if Homer and Virgil, like modern Undertakers, who firft build their houfe, and then feek out for a tenant, had contrived the ftory of a war and a wandring, before they once thought either of Achilles or Aeneas. We mall therefore fet our good brother and the world alfo right in this particular, by afiuring them, * It is a fingular circumftance, that the hero of the Rehearfal, as well as of the Dunciad, Ihould have been changed. Howard, not Dryden, was the original hero of the former. And perhaps thefe changes, in both pieces, were for the worfe. 58 RICHARDUS ARISTARCHUS them, that, in the greater epic, the prime intention of the mufe is to exalt heroic virtue, in order to propagate the love of it among the children of men ; and confequently that the poet's firft thought muft needs be turned upon a real fubjecl: meet for laud and celebration ; not one whom he is to make, but one whom he may find, truly illuftrious. This is the primum mobile of his poetic world, whence every thing is to receive life and motion. For, this fubjeft being found, he is immediately ordained, or rather acknowledged, an Hero y and put upon fuch ation as befitteth the dignity of his character. But the Mufe ceafeth not here her eagle-flight. For fometimes, fatiated with the contemplation of thefe funs of glory, me turneth downward on her wing, and darts, with Jove's lightning, on the goofe zndferpent kind. For we apply to the Mufe in her various moods, what an ancient mafter of \vidom affirmeth of the Gods in general : " Si Dii non irafcuntur impiis et injuftis, nee pios utique juftofque diligunt. In rebus enim diverfis, ut in ntramque par tern moveri neceffe eft, aut in neutram. Itaque qui'bonos diligit, et malos odit; et qui malos non odit, nee bonos diligit. Quia et diligere bonos ex odio malorum venit j et malos odifle ex bonoruni caritate defcendit." Which in our vernacular idiom may be thus interpreted : " If the gods be not provoked at evil men, neither are they delighted with the good and jufl. For contrary objects muft .either OF THE HERO OF THE POEM. 59 either excite contrary affections, or no affections at all. So that he who loveth good men, muft at the fame time hate the bad ; and he who hateth not bad men, cannot love the good j becaufe to love good men proceedeth from an averfion to evil; and to hate evil men, from a tendernefs to the good." From this delicacy of the Mufe arofe the little Epic, more lively and choleric than her elder fitter, (whofe bulk and complexion incline her to the flegmatic). And for this, fome notorious vehicle of vice and folly was fought out, to make thereof an EXAMPLE. An early inftance of which (nor could it efcape the accurate Scriblerus) the Father himfelf of Epic-poem, affordeth us. From him the practice defcended to the Greek dramatic Poets, his Offspring ; who in the compofition of their Tetralogy *, or fet of four pieces, were wont to make the laft a Satiric Tragedy. Happily one of thefe ancient Dunciads (as we may well term it) is come down unto us, amongft the Tragedies of the poet Euripides. And what doth the reader fuppofe maybe thefubject thereof? Why in truth, and it is worthy obfervation, the unequal contefl of an old, dull, debauched buffoon Cyclops, with the heaven-directed Favourite of Minerva : who, after * Richardus Ariftarchus is fond of bringing things, however improper and incongruous, into a fyftem. Our Dunciad is to be added to the epics of Homer, Virgil, and Milton, as a fatiric piece, to make, as it were, a complete Tetralogy, as the Cyclops of Euripides was added to ferious tragedies. This conceit is extremely {trained and tortured. 60 RICHARDUS ARISTARCHUS after having quietly born all the monfter's obfcene and impious ribaldry, endeth the farce in punifhing him \vith the mark of an indelible brand in his forehead. May we not then be excufed, if for the future we confider the Epics of Homer, Virgil, and Milton, together with this our poem, as a complete Tetralogy ; in which, the laft worthily holdeth the place or ftation of the fatiric piece ? Proceed we therefore in our fubjed. It hath been long, and, alas for pity ! ftill remaineth a queftion, whether the Hero of the greater Epic mould be an boneft Man ; or, as the French Critics exprefs it, un honnete bomme * : but it never admitted of any doubt, but that the Hero of the little Epic mo jld be his very oppofite. Hence, to the advantage of our Dunciad, we may obferve, how much jufter the Moral of that poem mud needs be, where fo important a queftion is previoufly decided. But then it is not every knave, nor (let me add) every fool that is a fit fubjeft for a Dunciad. There muft flill exift fome analogy, if not refemblance of qualities, between the Heroes of the two poems j and this, in order to admit what neoteric Critics call the Parody, one of the livelieft graces of the little Epic. Thus it being agreed, that the conflituent qualities of the greater Epic Hero, are Wifdom^ Bravery, and Love, from whence fpringeth heroic Virtue ; * Si un Heros Poetique doit etre un honnete horame. Bofiu, du Poeme Epique, liv. v. ch. 5. OF THE HERO OF THE POEM. 6 1 Virtue ; it followeth, that thofe of the lefler Epic Hero fhould be Vanity, A/urance, and Debauchery, from which happy affemblage refulteth heroic Dulnefs^ the never-dying fubjecl: of this our Poem. This being fettled, come we now to particulars* It is the character of true Wifdom, to feek its chief fupport and confidence within itfelf; and to place that fupport in the refources which proceed from a confcious rectitude of Will. And are the advantages of Vanity, when arifmg to the heroic ftandard, at all fhort of this felf-complacence ? Nay, are they not, in the opinion of the enamoured owner, far beyond it ? " Let the world (will fuch a one fay) impute to me what Folly or weaknefs they pleafe ; but till Wifdom can give me fomething that will make me more heartily happy, I am content to be G \ZED AT V This, we fee, is Vanity according to the heroic gage or meafure; not that low and ignoble fpecies which pretendeth to virtues we have not j but the laudable ambition of being gazed at for glorying in thofe vices, which every body knows ive have. " The world may alk (fays he) why I make my follies public ? Why not ? I have pafled my time very pleafantly with them ." In fhort, there is no fort of Vanity fuch a Hero would fcruple to exult in, but that which might go near to degrade him from his high ftation in this our Dunciad; namely, b Dedication to the Life of COLIY CIBBFR. Life, p. 2. odavo edit. 62 RICHARDUS ARISTARCHUS namely, " Whether it would not be Vanity in him, to take (hame to himfelf for not being a wife man & ?" Bravery, the fecond attribute of the true Hero, is Courage, manifefling itfelf in every limb ; while its correfpondent virtue in the mock Hero, is, that fame Courage all collefted into the FACE. And as Power, when drawn together, muft needs have more force and fpirit than when difperfed, we generally find this kind of courage in fo high and heroic a degree, that it infults not only Men, but Gods. Mezentius is, without doubt, the braveft character in all the Aeneis : But how ? His bravery, we know, was an high courage of blafphemy. And can we fay lefs of this brave man's, who having told us that he placed " his Summum bonum in thofe follies, "which he was not content barely to poflefs but would likewife glory in," adds, " If I am mifguided, 'TIS NATURE'S FAULT, and I follow HER C ." Nor can we be miftaken in making this happy quality a fpecies of Courage, when we confider thofe illuftrious marks of it, which made his FACE " more known (as he juftly boafteth) than moil in the kingdom ;" and his Language to confift of what we muft allow to be the moft daring Figure of Speech, that which is taken from the Name of God. Gentle Love, the next ingredient in the true Hero's compofition, is a mere bird of paflage, or (as Shakefpear 4 Life, p. 2. odavo edit* * Life, p. 23. odavo. OF THE HERO OF THE POEM. 63 Shakefpear calls it) Summer -teeming Luft, and evaporates in the heat of Touth ; doubtlefs by that refinement it fuffers in pafling through thofe certain firainers which our Poet fomewhere fpeaketh of*. But when it is let alone to work upon the Lees, it acquireth ftrength by Old age ; and becometh a lading ornament to the little Epic. It is true, indeed, there is one objection to its fitnefs for fuch an ufe : For not only the ignorant may think it common, but it is admitted to be fo, even by him who bed knoweth its value. " Don't you think, (argueth he) to fay only a man has his Whore f , ought to go for little or nothing ? Becaufe defendit numerus, take the firft ten thoufand men you meet, and, I believe you would be no lofer if you betted ten to one, that every fmgle fmner of them, one with another, had been guilty of the fame frailty g ." But here he feems not to have done juftice to himfelf; f the man is fure enough a Hero, who hath his Lady at fourfcore. How doth his modelly herein lefien the merit of a whole well-fpent Life : not taking to himfelf the commendation (which Horace accounted the * " Lull, through fome certain firainers well refin'd, Is gentle love, and charms all womankind." . f Alluding to thefe lines in the Epift. to Dr. Arbuthnot. " And has not CoLLY^/7/his Lord and Whore, His Butchers Henley, his Free-Mafons Moore ?" * C. Cibber's Letter to Mr. P. p. 46. j- Here Ariftarchus defcends improperly from his gravity into a drain a little ludicrous. 64 RICHARDUS ARISTARCHUS the greateft in a theatrical chara&er) of continuing, to the very dregs, the fame he was from the beginning, " Servetur ad IMUM Qualis ab incepto procefferat.'* But here, in juftice both to the Poet and the Hero, let us farther remark, that the calling her his Whore, implieth me was his own and not his neighbour's. Truly a commendable Continence ! and fuch as Scipio himfelf muft have applauded. For how much Self-denial was exerted not to covet his neighbour's whore ? and what diforders muft the coveting her have occafioned in that Society, where (according to this political calculator) nine in ten of all ages have their concubines ! We have now, as briefly as we could devife, gone through the three conftituent qualities of either Hero. But it is not in any, nor in all of thefe, that Heroifm properly or effentially refideth. It is a lucky refult rather from the collifion of thefe lively qualities againfl one another. Thus, as from Wifdom, Bravery, and Love, arifeth Magnanimity the objeft of Admiration , which is the aim of the greater Epic; fo from Vanity, Impudence, and Debauchery, fpringeth Buffoonry, the fource of Ridicule, that " laughing ornament," as the owner well termeth it h , of the little Epic. He h Colly Gibber's Letter to Mr. P. p. 31. OP THE HERO OF THE POEM. 65 He is not aihamed (God forbid he ever fhould be afliamed !) of this character ; who deemeth that not Reafon but Rifibility diftinguiflieth the human fpecies from the brutal. " As Nature (faith this profound philofopher) diflinguifhed our fpecies from the mute creation by our Rifibility, her defign muft have been by that faculty as evidently to raife our bappinefs, as by our Osfublime, OUR ERECTED FACES, to lift the dignity of oviform above them j ." All this confidered, how complete a Hero * muft he be, as well as how happy a Man, whofe Rifibility lieth not barely in his mufclesy as in the common fort, but (as himfelf informeth us) in his very fpirits ? And whofe Os fublime is not limply an ERECT FACE, but a brazen head, as mould feem by his preferring it to one of Iron, faid to belong to the late king of Sweden k . But whatever perfonal qualifies a Hero may have> the examples of Achilles and Aeneas Ihew us, that all thefe are of fmall avail, without the cpnftant afliftance oftbeGQDs: for the fubverfion and erection of Empires have never been adjudged the work of Man. How greatly foever then we may efteem of his high talents, we can hardly conceive his perfonal prowefs alone fufficient to reftore the decayed empire of * Gibber's Life, p. 23, 24. k Letter, page 8. * In this and many other pafiages of this difcourfe, the attempts of Ariftarchus, at fatire and ridicule, are very frigid and awkward indeed. VOL. V. F 66 RICHARDUS ARISTARCHUS of DULNESS. So weighty an achievement mud require the particular favour and protection of the GREAT ; who being the natural patrons and fupporters of Letters, as the ancient Gods were of Troy, muft firft be drawn off, and engaged in another Interefl, before the total fubverfion of them can be accomplished. To furmount, therefore, this laft and greateft difficulty, we have, in this excellent man, a profeffed Favourite and Intimado of the GREAT. And look, of what force ancient piety was to draw the Gods into the party of Aeneas, that, and much ftronger is modern incenfe, to engage the Great in the party of Dulnefs. Thus have we eflayed to pourtray or fhadow out this noble Imp of Fame. But now the impatient readtr will be apt to fay, if fo many and various graces go to the making up a Hero, what mortal {hall fuffice to bear his character ? Ill hath he read, who feeth not, in every trace of this picture, that individual, ALL-ACCOMPLISHED PERSON, in whom thefe rare virtues and lucky circumftances have agreed to meet and concentre, with the ftrongeft luftre and fulled harmony. The good Scriblerus indeed, nay the World itfelf, might be impofed on, in the late fpurious editions, by I can't tell what Sham Hero, or Phantom : But it was not fo eafy to impofe on HIM whom this egregious error moft of all concerned. For no fponer had the fourth book laid open the high and fwelling OF TH HERO OF THE POEM. 67 fwelling fcene, but he recognized his own heroic Acts : And when he came to the words, Soft on her lap her Laureatfon reclines, (though Laureat imply no more than one crown* d with laurel^ as befhteth any affociate or Confort in Empire) he loudly refented this indignity to violated Majefty. Indeed not without caufe, he being there reprefented as faft ajleep ; fo mifbefeeming the Eye of Empire, which, like that of Jove, mould never doze nor flumber. " Hah ! (faith he) faft afleep, it feems ! that's a little too (trong. Pert and dull at lead you might have allowed me, but as feldom afieep as any fool '." However, the injured Laureat may comfort himfelf with this reflection, that tho' it be a Jleep* yet it is not the Jleep of death, but of immortality. Here he will m live at leaft, tho* not awake; and in no worfe condition than many an .enchanted Hero before him. The famous Durandarte, for inftance, was, like him, caft into a long flumber by Merlin the Britijh Bard and Necromancer : and his example, for fubmitring to it with a good grace, might be of fervice to our Hero. For that difaftrous knight being forely prefied or driven to make his anfwer by feveral perfons of quality n , only replied with a fjgh, Patience, andjhuffle the cards . But 1 Colly Gibber's Letter to Mr. P. p. 53. Ibid. p. I. n See Gibber's Letter to Mr. P. * Don Quixote, Part ii. Book ii. chap. 22. F 2 68 RICHARDUS ARISTARCHUS But now, as nothing in this world, no not the moft facred or perfect things either of Religion or Government, can efcape the flings of Envy, methinks I already hear thefe carpers objecting to the clearnefs of our Hero's tide. It would never (fay they) have been efteemed fufficient to make an Hero for the Iliad or Aeneis, that Achilles was brave enough to overturn one Empire, or Aeneas pious enough to raife another, had they not been Goddefs-born, and Princes-bred. What then did this Author mean, by erecting a Player inftead of one of his Patrons, (a perfon, " never a Hero even on the flage p ") to this dignity of Colleague in the empire of Dulnefs ; and Atchiever of a work that neither old Omar, Attila, nor John of Leiden, could entirely bring to pafs. To all this we have, as we conceive, a fufficient anfwer from the Roman hiftorian, Fabrum ejfe fuae quemque fortunae : 'That every man is the Carver of his own fortune. The politic Florentine, Nicholas Machiavel, goeth ftill further, and affirmeth that a man needeth but to believe himfelf a Hero to be one of the worthieft that ever breathed. " Let him (faith he) but fancy himfelf capable of high things, and he will of courfe be able to atchieve the higheft." From this principle it followeth, that nothing can exceed our Hero's prowefs j as nothing ever equalled the P See Gibber's Life, p. 148. OF THE HERO OF THE POEM* 69 the greatnefs of his conceptions. Hear how he conflantly paragons himfelf ; at one time, to ALEXANDER the Great and CHARLES the XII. of Sweden, for the excefs and delicacy of his Ambition ^ j to HENRY the IV. of FRANCE, for honeft Policy r ; to the firft BRUTUS, for love of Liberty s ; to Sir ROBERT WALPOLE, for good Government while in power ' : At another time, to the godlike SOCRATES, for his Diverfions and Amufements u ; to HORACE, MONTAIGNE, and Sir WILLIAM TEMPLE, for an elegant Vanity that maketh them for ever read and admired w ; to TWO Lord CHANCELLORS, for Law, from whom, when confederate againlt him at the bar, he carried away the prize of Eloquence * ; and, to fay all in a word, to the right reverend the Lord BISHOP of LONDON himfelf, in the art of writing P a/lord letters ?. Nor did his Aflions fall fhort of the fublimity of his Conceit. In his early youth, he met the Revolution z face to face in Nottingham ; at a time when other Patriots contented themfelves to follow her. It was here he got acquainted with Old Battle-array, of whom he hath made fo honourable mention in one of his immortal Odes \ But he fhone 1 See Gibber's Life, p. 149. r Ibid. p. 424. * Ibid. p. 366. * Ibid. p. 457. u Ibid. p. 18. Ibid. p. 425. x Ibid. p. 436, 437. / Ibid. p. 52. z Ibid. 47. a " Old BATTLE-ARRAY in confufion is fled; And olive-rob'd Peace is come in his ftead," &c. Colly Gibber's Birth-day Ode, or New-year's Ode, (I don't know which) on the Peace. F 3 70 RICHARDUS ARISTARCHUS ihone in Courts as well as Camps : He was called up when the Nation fell in labour of this Revolution b : and was a goflip at her chriflening, with the Bifliop and the Ladies c . As to his Birth, it is true he pretendeth ne relation either to heathen God or Goddefs ; bat, what is as good, he was defcended from a Maker of both d . And that he did not pafs himfelf on the world for a Hero, as well by birth as education, was his own fault : For, his lineage he bringeth inta his life as an Anecdote, and is fenfible he had it in his power to be thought no body's fon at all e : And what is that, I pray you, but coining into the world a Hero ? But be it (the punctilious Laws of Epic Poefy fo requiring) that a Hero of more than mortal birth muft needs be procured for this achievement : Even for this we have a refource. We can eafily derive our Hero's pedigree from a Goddefs of no fmall power and authority amongfl men ; and legitimate and inftall him after the right claflical and authentic famion : For, like as the ancient Sages found a fon of Mars in a mighty Warrior ; a fon of Neptune in a fkilful Seaman ; a fon of Phoebus in a harmonious Poet ; fo have we here, if need be, a fon of FORTUNE * in an artful Gamefter. And who, I pray you, b Colly Gibber's Life, p. 57. c Ibid. 58, 59. * A Statuary. Gibber's Life, p. 6. * A very pitiful jeft indeed ! OF THE HERO OF THE POEM. 71 you, fitter than the Offspring of Chance, to affift in reftoring the Empire of Night and Chaos f There is in truth another objection of greater weight, namely, " That this Hero ftill exifteth, and hath not yet finifhed his earthly courfe. For if Solon faid well, that no man could be called happy till his death, furely much lefs can any one, till then, be pronounced a Hero : this fpecies of men being far more fubjed than others to the caprices of Fortune and Humour." But to this alfo we have an anfwer, which will (we hope) be deemed decifive. It cometh from bimfelf; who, to cut this matter fhort, hath folemnly protefted that HE WILL NEVER CHANGE OR AMEND. With regard to his Vanity > he declareth that nothing {hall ever part them. " Nature (faith he) hath amply fupplied me in Vanity ; a pleafure which neither the pertnefs of Wit, nor the gravity of Wifdom, will ever perfuade me to part with f ." Our poet had charitably endeavoured to adminifler a cure to it : But he telleth us plainly, " My fuperiors perhaps may be mended by him ; but for my part I own myfelf incorrigible. I look upon my Follies as the befl part of my Fortune g ." And with good reafon: We fee to what they have brought him! Secondly, as to Buffoonry, " Is it (faith he) a time of day for me to leave off thefe fooleries, and fet up a new f Cibber's Life, p. 424. * Ibid. p. 19, F 4 72 RICHARDUS ARISTARCHUS a new character ? I can no more put off my Follies than my Skin ; I have often tried, but they ftick too clofe to me ; nor am I fure my friends are difpleafed with them, for in this light I afford them frequent matter of mirth, &c. &c. h " Having then fo publickly declared himfelf INCORRIGIBLE, he is become dead in law, (I mean the law Epopoeian} and devolveth upon the Poet ; is now his property j and may be taken and dealt with like an old Egyptian Hero ; that is to fay, emboweled and embalmed for Pofterity. Nothing therefore (we conceive) remaineth to hinder his own prophecy of himfelf from taking immediate efiedt. A rare felicity ! and what few Prophets have had the fatisfa&ion to fee, alive ! Nor can we conclude better than with that extraordinary one of his, which is conceived in thefe Oraculous words, MY DULNESS WILL FIND SOMEBODY TO DO IT RIGHT ''. * Tandem PHOEBUS adeft y morfufque inferre parent em Congelat, et patulos^ ut erant, INDURAT hiatus k . W. h Gibber's Life, p. 17. ' Ibid. p. 243, o&avo edit. * Ovid, of the ferpent biting at Orpheus's head. * It is difficult to fee the propriety and juftnefs of this application from Ovid. By AUTHORITY. QBp trirtue of tbe 0utbo?itg in O0 bj) tf)e * A 61 for fubjefting Poets to the Power of a Licenfer, toe baDe retrifeD t{)i0 piece; tobere ft'nDing tbe Gple anD appellation of KING to bafee been gifcen to a certain Pretender, Pfeudo-Poet, Phantom, Of tfte name Of TIBBALD ; anD app^efjentiing tl)e fame may te DeemeD in fome fo?t a Eefleftion on Majefty, oi at leaft an infult on tfjat Legal autljojitp tofiicl) &a0 beftotoeD on anotfjer pecfon tDe Crown of Poefy : Wt Ijatje o^DereD tfje faiD Pretender, Pfeudo-Poet, o^ Phantom, Uttetlg to vanifh anD evaporate out Of tfcte 3nl) Do Declare tfje faiD f)?one of from bencefojtl) to tie abDicateD anD Uacant, unlef0 Dulp anD latofullg fupplieD bg tbe LAUREATE himfelf. 8nD it 10 fterebg enafteD, tbat no otber perfon Do p^efume to TO tbs fame* OC Ch. * A ftroke of fatire againft the aft for licenfing plays, which was oppofed with equal wit and vehemence, by many of our poet's friends, and particularly by the Earl of Chefterfield. [75] THE D U N C I A D = T O DR. JONATHAN SWIFT. BOOK THE FIRST, ARGUMENT* Proportion, the Invocation, and the Infcription. Then the Original of the great Empire ofDulnefs, and caufe of the continuance thereof. The College of the Goddefs in the City, with her private Academy for Poets in particular ; the Governors of it, and the four Cardinal Virtues. Then the Poem haftes into the midft of things, prefenting her on the evening of a Lord Mayor's day revolving the long fuccejpon of her Sons, and the glories paJJ and to come. She fxes her eye on Bays to be the Injlrument of that great Event which i ike Subject of the Poem. He is defcribed penfive among his Booh, giving up the Caufe, and apprehending the Period vf her Empire : After debating whether to betake himfelft the Church, or to Gaming, or to Party-writing, he raifes an. Altar of proper books, and (making firft his folemn prayer mnd declaration} purpofes thereon tofacrijice all his unfuccefsful writings. As the pile is kindled, the Goddefs, beholding the fame from her feat, flies and puts it out by cajling upon it the 76 ARGUMENT. the poem ofThule. She forthwith reveals herfelf to him, tranfports him to her Temple, unfolds her Arts, and initiates him into her Myfleries ; then announcing the death of tufden the Poet Laureate, anoints him, carries him to Court, and proclaims himfuccejffor. - [77] BOOK I. ATT^HE Mighty Mother, and her Son, who brings ** The Smithfield Mufes to the ear of Kings, I fing. Say you, her inftruments the Great ! Call'd to this work by Dulnefs, Jove, and Fate ; You REMARKS. The DUNCIAD, fic MS. It may well be difputed whether this be a right reading: Ought it not rather to be fpelled Dunceiad, as the Etymology evidently demands ? Dunce with an e, therefore Duncciad with an e. That accurate and punctual Man pf Letters, the Reftorer of Shakefpeare, conilantly obferves the prefervation of this very Letter e, in fpelling the name of his beloved Author, and not like his common carelefs Editors, with the omiffion of one, nay fometimes of two ee's (as Shakfpear] which is utterly unpardonable. " Nor is the neglecl of a Single Letter fo trivial as to fome it may appear ; the alteration whereof in a Jearned language is an Achievement that brings honour to the Critic who advances it; and Dr. Bentley will be remembered to polterity for his performances of this fort, as long as the world ihall have any efteem for the remains of Menander and Philemon." THEOBALD. VARIATIONS. VJER, I. The Mighty Mother, fcff.] In the firft Edit, it war thus, Books and the Man I fing, the firft who brings The Smithfield Mufes to the Ear of Kings. Say, great Patricians J fince yourfelves infpire Thefe wond'rous works (fo Jove and Fate require) Say, for what caufe, in vain decry'd and curft, Still IMITATIONS. Say, great Patricians .' fince yourfelves infpire Thefe wond'rous works " ' Dii coeptis (nam vos mutaftis et illas.)" OVID. Met i. 78 THE DUNCIAD. Book I. You by whofe care, in vain decry'd, and curft, 5 Still Dunce the fecond reigns like Dunce the firft ; Say, REMARKS. This Poem was written in the year 1726. In the next year an imperfect Edition was published at Dublin, and reprinted at London in twelves ; another at Dublin, and another at London in oftavo ; and three others in twelves the fame year. But there was no perfect Edition before that of London in quarto ; which was attended with Notes. We are willing to acquaint Pofterity, that this Poem was prefented to King George the fecond and his Queen, by the hands of Sir Robert Walpole, on the I2th of March 1728-9. SCHOL. VET. It was exprefly confefled in the Preface to the firft edition, that this Poem was not publilhed by the Author himfelf. It was printed originally in a foreign Country. And what foreign Country ? Why, one notorious for blunders ; where finding blanks only inftead of proper names, thefe blunderers filled them up at their pleafure. The very Hero of the Poem hath been miftaken to this hour ; fo that we are obliged to open our Notes with a difcovery who he really was. We learn from the former Editor, that this Piece xvas prefented by the hands of Sir Robert Walpole to King George II. Now the author direftly tells us, his Hero is the Man " who brings The Smithfield Mufes to the ear of Kings." And it is notorious who was the perfon on whom this Prince conferred the honour of the Laurel. It appears as plainly from the Apoflrophe to the Great in the third verfe, that Tibbald could not be the perfon, who was never an author in fafhion, or carefled by the Great ; whereas this fingle chara&eriftic is fufficient to point out the true Hero ; who, above all other Poets of his time, was the Peculiar Delight and Ckofen Companion of the Nobility of England ; and wrote, as he himfelf tells us, certain of his Works at the earnejl Dejire of Perfons of Quality Laftly IMITATIONS. VER. 6. Alluding to a verfe of Mr. Dryden, not in Mac Fleckno (as is faid ignoranlly in the Key to the Dunciad, p. i.) but in his verfes to Mr. Congreve, ' And Tom the fecond reigns like Tom the firft." Book I. THE DUNCIAD. 79 Say, how the Goddefs bade Britannia fleep, And pour'd her Spirit o'er the land and deep. In REMARKS. Laftly, the fixth verfe affords full proof; this Poet being the only one who was univerfally known to have had a Son fo exa&ly like him, in his poetical, theatrical, political, and moral Capacities, that it could juftly be faid of him ** Still Dunce the fecond reigns like Dunce the firft." BENTL. VER. i. The Mighty Mother and her Son, CsV.] The Reader ought here to be cautioned, that the Mother, and not the Son, is the principal Agent in this Poem : The latter of them is only chofen as her colleague, (as was anciently the cuftom in Rome before fome great expedition), the main aftion of the Poem being by no means the Coronation of the Laureate, which is performed in the very firft book, but the Reftoration of the Empire of Dulnefs in Britain, which is not accomplilhed till the laft. * Ibid. her Son, who brings, &c.~\ Wonderful is the ftupidity of all the former Critics and Commentators on this work ! It breaks forth at the very firft line. The author of the Critique prefixed to Sawny, a Poem, p. 5. hath been fo dull as to explain the Man affuring him that Virgil there fpeaketh not of himfelf, but of Aeneas; " Arma virumque cano, Trojae qui primus ab oris Italiam, fato profugus, Lavinaque venit Littora : multum ille et terris ja&atus et alto," &c, I cite the whole three verfes, that I may by the way offer a Conjedural Emendation, purely my own, upon each : Firft, orte fhould be read aris, it being, as we fee, Aen, \\. 513. from the altar of Jupiter Hercaeus that Aeneas fled as foon as he faw Priam flain. In the fecond line 1 would read^&rfw for fato, fince it is moft clear it was by Winds that he arrived at the^/tan? of Italy. JaSatus, in the third, is furely as improperly applied to lerrit, as proper to alto ; to fay a man is to/I on land, is much at one with faying he walks at fea : Rifum teneatis, amid ? Correct it, as I /doubt not it ought to be, vexatus. SCRIBLERUS. VER. 2. The Smithfitld Mufes'} Smithfield is the place where Bartholomew Fair was kept, whofe (hews, machines, and dramatical 8o THE DUNCIAD. Bookl. In eldeft time, ere mortals writ or read, Ere Pallas ifTu'd from the Thund'rer's head, 10 Dulnefs o'er all poflefs'd her ancient right, Daughter of Chaos and eternal Night : Fate in their dotage this fair Ideot gave, Grofs as her fire, and as her mother grave, Laborious, heavy, bufy, bold, and blind, 15 She rul'd, in native Anarchy, the mind. Still her old Empire to reft ore (he tries, For, born a Goddefs, Dulnefs never dies. O Thou ! whatever title pleafe thine ear, Dean, Drapier, Bickerftaff, or Gulliver! 20 Whether thou chufe Cervantes' ferious air, Or laugh and make in Rab'lais* eafy chair, Or REMARKS. dramatical entertainments, formerly agreeable only to the tafte of the Rabble, were, by the Hero of this poem, and others of equal genius, brought to the Theatres of Covent Garden, Lincolns-inn-fidds, and the Haymarket, to be the reigning pleafures of the'Court and Town. This happened in the reigns of Ring George I. and II. See Book iii. VER. 12. Daughter of Chaos, &c.] The beauty of the whole Allegory being purely of the poetical kind, we think it not our proper bufinefs, as a Scholiafl, to meddle with it : but leave it (as we (hall in general all fuch) to the reader ; remarking only that Chaos (according to He/iod's soy&na) wag the Progenitor of all the Gods. SCRIBLERUS. VER. 20. Drafter, Bicierfta/, or Gulliver I] The feveral Names and Characters he aflumed, in his ludicrous, his fplenetic, qr his party writings ; which take in all his works. * VER. 21. Cervantes' ferious air,] In the Travels of Gulliver ; written to decry the Lying Vanities of Travellers, juft as Don Quixote's adventures were to expofe the abfurdities of Books of Chivalry ; and with the fame ferious and folemn air. The laughing with Rab'lais, in the next line, alludes to the Tale of a Tub, Bookl. THE DUNCIAD. 8j Or praife the Court, or magnify Mankind, Or thy griev'd Country's copper chains unbind ; From VARIATIONS. After ver. 22. in the MS. Or in the graver Gown inftruA mankind, Or filent let thy morals tell thy mind. But this was to be underftood, as the Poet fays, ironies, like the 23d Verfe. R JEM ARKS. jul>, which is in the manner of the fatirical and more regular parts of that famous French droll. Dr. S. Clarke in the firft Edition of his Boyle's Lectures gives this book for an example of fcoffing Atheifm. And tho' I think there be neither impiety nor irreligion in the conduct of his Tale, yet furely it was impoffible for a man really penetrated with a ferious fenfe of Religion, ever to prevail on himfelf to expofe the abufes of it in the manner he has done. * The Travels of Gulliver were not written to decry the lying vanities of travellers, but chiefly and principally to expofe the politics and meafures of the Englifti government, as well as the pride and depravity of human nature in general. Nor are they carried on or conceived in the manner of Cervantes. Voltaire called Swift, for writing the Tale of a Tub, Rabelais in his fenfes. When fo many un'deferving perfons have been perfecuted, particularly under the arbitrary government of France, for the freedom of their opinions, it is marvellous that Rabelais, who levelled his bitter fatire againft fo many haughty princes, and as haughty prieils, could pofiibly efcape their vengeance. Garagantua certainly meant Francis I.; Louis XJI. is Grand Goufier; Henry II. Pantagruel ; Charles V. Picrocole. The Monks of that time are difguifed under the name of Brother John des Entomures. The genealogy of Chrift is ridiculed by that of Garagantua. The Treatifes of Theology were laughed at under the titles of the books found in the Library of St. Vi&or ; fuch as Biga Salutis, Braguelta Juris, Pentouffle Decentorun ; and by fuch queftions as, utrunrf chimera in vacuo bombinans poffit comedere fecundas intentiones. Lord Peter's Loaf is minutely copied from Rabelais. Scarron had a matter named J. Moreau, who wrote in Heroic verfe a comic poem called The Pigmeid ; which Scarron copied in VOL. v. o his gz THE DUNCIAD. Book T. From thy Boeotia tho' her Pow'r retires, 25 Mourn not, my SWIFT ! at ought our Realm acquires. Here pleas'd behold her mighty wings outfpread To hatch a new Saturnian age of Lead. Clofe to thofe walls where Folly holds her throne, And laughs to think Monroe would take her down, Where VARIATIONS, VER. 29* Clofe to thofe walls, &c.~\ In the former Edd. thus* Where wave the tatter'd enfigns of Rag-fair, A yawning ruin hangs and nods in air ; Keen, hollow winds howl through the bleak recefs, Emblem of mufic causM by Emptinefs; Here in one bed two {hiv'ring Sifters lie, The Cave of Poverty and Poetry. Var. Where wave the tatter' d enfigns of Rag-fair,] Rag-fair is a place near the Tower of London, where old clothes and frippery are fold. W. REMARKS, Bis Gigantomachei. Had Swift ever feen thefe poems which bear fo near a refemHance to his Liliput and Brobdignac ? Lord Orford obferved to me, that he thought Swift had been guilty of an ufelefs repetition of the fame fatire in thefe two Voyages, by only changing great into fmall. And he alfo was of opinion, that Cervantes had continued his work to too great a length. After his hero- had attacked a Windmill for a Giant, and had miftaken a mean, Inn for a magnificent Caftle, all that followed was only the felf fame idea varied, and new-modelled. I pretend not to determine on the jiiflnefs of this criticifm ; becaufe I am unwilling to hint any thing that can in the fmalleft degree depreciate this original writer, Cervantes. But it is with difficulty I can bring myfelf to doubt of the juilnefs of any of Lord Orford's critical opinions. VER. 23. Or praife the Court, or magnify Mankind r ,J Ironice* alluding to Gulliver'* reprefentations of both. The next line relates to the papers of the Drapier againft the currency of Wood's Copper coin in Ireland* which, upon the great difcontent of the People, his Majefty was gracioufly pleafed to recal. W. Book I. THE DUNCIAD. 83 Where o'er the gates, by his fam'd father's hand, 3 1 Great Gibber's brazen, brainlefs brothers fland j One Cell there is, conceaPd from vulgar eye, The Cave of Poverty and Poetry. Keen, hollow winds howl through the bleak recefs Emblem of Mufic caus'd by Emptinefs. 36 Hence Bards, like Proteus long in vain ty'd down, Efcape in Monflers, and amaze the town. Hence REMARKS. VER. 31. By his fam'd father's handy] Mr. Caius- Gabriel Cibber, father of the Poet Laureate. The two Statues of the Lunatics over the gates of Bedlam-hofpltal were done by him, and (as the fon juftly fays of them) are no ill monuments of his fame as an Artift. W. VER. 34. Poverty and Poetry.] I cannot here omit a remark that will greatly endear our Author to every one, who mall attentively obferve that Humanity and Candor, which every where appears in him towards thofe unhappy obje&s of the ridicule of all mankind, the bad Poets. He here imputes all fcandalous rhymes, fcurrilous weekly papers, bafe flatteries, wretched elegies, fongs, and verfes, (even from thofe fung at Court, to ballads in the ftreets), not fo much to malice or fervility as to Dulnefs ; and not fo much to Dulnefs as to Neceffity.' And thus, at the very commencement of his Satire, makes an apology for all that are to be fatirized. W. VER. 37. Hence Bards, like Proteus long in vain ty'ddotvn, Efcape in Monjlers, and amaze the town.] Ovid has given us a very orderly account of thefe efcapes \ '* Sunt quibus in plures jus eli: tranfire figuras : Ut tibt, complexi terrain maris incola, PROTEU ; Nunc violentus Afer ; nunc, quern tetigifle timerent, Anguis eras ; modo te faciebant cornaa Tattrum : Saepe Lapis poteras." Met. viii. Neither Palaephatus, Phurnutus, nor Heraclides give us any fteady light into the mythology of this myfterious fable. If I be not deceived in a part of learning which has fo long exercifed my pen, by Proteus muft certainly be meant a hacknied Town fcribler; c 2 and 84 THE DUNCIAD. Book t Hence Mifcellanies fpring, the weekly boafl Of Curl's chafle prefs, and Lintot's rubric poll : 40 Hence REMARKS. and by his transformations, the various difguifes fuch a one affumes, to elude the purfuit of his natural enemy, the Bailiff. And in this light, doubtlefs, Horace underftood the fable, where* fpeaking of Proteus, he fays, " Quum RAPIES in jus malts ridentem aUenis t Fiet aper," &c. Protetfs is reprefented as one bred of the mud and flime of Egypt, the original foil of Arts and Lettera; and what, I pray you, is a Town-fcribbler, but a creature made up of the excrements of luxurious Science ? By the change then into a Boar, fs meant his character of a furious and dirty Party-writer ; the Snake fignifies a Libeller ; and the Horns of the Bull, the Dilemmas of a Polemical Anf'werer. Thefe are the three great Parts he affumes ; and when he has completed his circle, he finks back again (as the laft change into a Stone denotes) into his natural ftate of immoveable Stupidity. Hence it is, that the Poet, where fpeaking at large of all thee various Metamorphofes in the fecond Book, defcribes MOTHER OSBORNE, the great Antitype of our Proteus^ in ver. 312. after all her changes, as at laft qmlzjlupified to Stone. If I may expect thanks of the learned world for this difcovery, I would by no means deprive that excellent Critic of his fhare, who difcovered before me, that in the character of Proteus was defigned Sopbiftam, Magum, Politicum, praejertim rebus omnibus fefe accommodantem. Which in Englilh is, A political Writer, a Libeller, and a Difputer, writing indifferently for or againfl every Party in the ftate, every Seel in religion, and every Character in private life. See my Fables of Ovid explained. ABBE BANIER. * A very clofe refemblance to the following lines of Dr. Young, in his firft epiftle on the Authors of the Age, addreft to Mr. Pope. " How juftly Proteus' tranfmigrations fit The monftrous changes of a modern wit ? NQW, fuch a gentle ftream of eloquence As feldom rifes to the verge of fenfe ; Now, by mad rage transform'd into a flame, Which yet fit engines well apply'd can tame ; Now, on immodeft trafh the fwine obfcene Invites the town to fup at Drury Lane ; A dreadfcl Book I. THE DUNCIAD. 85 Hence hymning Tyburn's elegiac lines, Hence Journals, Medleys, Merc'ries, MAGAZINES : Sepulchral VAKI ATIO NS. VER.4I. In the former Edd. Hence hymning Tyburn's elegiac Lay, Hence the foft ting-Cong on Cecilia's Day. VER. 42. Alludes to the annual Songs compofcd to Mufic on St. Cecilia's Feaft. W. REMARKS. A dreadful Lyon, now, he roars at Pow'r, Which fends him to his brothers at the Tow'r ; He's, now, a Serpent, and his double tongue Salutes, nay licks the feet of thofe he flung." VF.R. 40. Curl's chafle prefs, and Lintofs rubric pqft ] Two foookfellers, of whom fee Book ii. The former was fined by the Court of King's Bench for publishing o'bfcene Books ; the latter ufually adorned his fhop with titles in red letters. W. VER. 41. Hence hymning Tyburn's elegiac lines,] It is an ancient Englifh cuftom, for the Malefa&ors to fing a Pfalm at their execution at Tyburn ; and no lefs cuftomary to print Elegies on their deaths, at the fame time, or before. W. VER. 42. MAGAZINES :]] The common names of thofe monftrous colle&ions in profe and verfe ; where Dulnefs aflumes all the various fhapes of Folly to draw in, and cajole the Rabble. The eruption of every miferable Scribbler ; the dirty fcum of every Itagnant Newfpaper ; the rags of worn-out Nonftnfe and Scandal, picked up from every Dunghill ; under the title ofJE/ays, Reflections, Queries, Songs, Epigrams, Riddles, &c. equally the difgrace of Wit, Morality, and Common Senfe. P. * It is but juftice to add, that the Gentleman's Magazine, the firft of its kind, does by no means deferve this fevere farcafm ; but lias been a means of preferving many ufeful and fugitive pieces on many interefting fubje&s. IMITATIONS, VER. 41, 42. Hence hymning Tyburn* t< Hence, &c . " Genus unde Latinum, Albanique patres, atque altae mocnia Romae." VIRC. Acneid. i. c 3 S6 THE DUNCIAD. Book I. Sepulchral Lies, our holy Walls to grace, And New-year Odes, and all the Grub-ftreet race. In clouded Majefty here Dulnefs fhone ; 45 Four guardian Virtues, round, fupport her throne : Fierce champion Fortitude, that knows no fears Of hifles, blows, or want, or lofs of ears : Calm Temperance, whofe bleffings thofe partake Who hunger and who thirfl for fcribbling fake : 50 Prudence REMARKS. VER. 43. Sepulchral Lies,] Is a juft fatire on the Flatteries and Falfhoods admitted to be infcribed on the walls of Churches, in Epitaphs ; which occafioned the following Epigram : " FRIEND! in your Epitaphs, I'm griev'd, So very much is faid : One half will never be believ'd, The other never read." W. The Epigram here inferted, alludes to the too long, and fometimes, fulfome Epitaphs, written by Dr. FRIEND, in pure Latiaky indeed, but full of Antithefes. VER. 44. New-year Odes,} Made by the Poet Laureate for the time being, to be fung at court on every New-year's-day, the words of which are happily drowned in the voices and inilniments. W. VER. 50. Who hunger and who thirfl, CsV.} " This is an allufion to a text in Scripture, which (hews, in Mr. Pope, a delight in prophanenefs," faid Curl upon this place. But it is very familiar with Shakefpear to allude to pafiages of Scripture. Out of a great number I will felecl a few, in which he not only alludes to, but quotes the very Text from holy Writ. In All's well IMITATIONS. VER. 45. In clouded Majejlj~\ " the Moon Rifing in clouded Majefty" MILTON, bcok iv. VER. 48. that knows no fears ()f htffet, Hows, or want, or loft of ears :] *' Quern neque pauperies, neque mors, neque vincula terrent.' 1 HOR. Book I. THE DUNCIAD. 8; Prudence, whofe glafs prefents th* approaching jail : Poetic Juftice, with her lifted fcale, Where, in nice balance, truth with gold fhe weighs, And folid pudding againft empty praife. Here fhe beholds the Chaos dark and deep, 55 Where namelefs Somethings in their caufes fleep, Till genial Jacob, or a warm Third day, Call forth each niafs, a Poem, or a Play : How REMARKS, well that ends well, I am no great Nebuchadnezzar, I have not much Jkill in grafs. Ibid. They are for the Jlowery tuay that leads to the broad gate and the great Jire t Matt. vii. 13. In Much ado about nothing, All, all, and moreover God faiu him when he was hid in the Garden, Gen. iii. 8. (in a very jocofe fcene). In Love's Labour Loft, he talks of Samfon carrying the gates on his back ; in the Merry Wives of Windfor, of Goliah and the weaver's beam ; and in Henry IV. FalftafPs foldiers are compared to Lazarus and the prodigal fon. The firft part of this note is Mr. CURL'S, the reft is Mr. Theobald's, Appendix to Shakefpear reftor'd, p. 144. W. It feems to be rather an odd and a weak defence of ufmg a phrafe of Scripture lightly and profanely, to fay that Shakefpear did fo. VER. 55. Beholds the Chaos] This paflage from hence down to verfe' 78, is an inftance of great power and elegance of Style on a fubjeA that with fuch difficulty admits of either. VER. 57. Jacob,] A race of bookfellers, that did honor to their profeflion, for integrity and encouragement of authors. Jacob Tonfon was admitted to the familiarity and friendfhip of the moft eminent writers of his time ; who made him a prefent of their portraits by good matters. IMITATIONS. VER. 55. Here fie beholds the Chaos dark and deep. Where namelefs Somelhings, 5*f.] That is to fay, unform'd things, which are either made into Poems or Plays, as the Bookfellers or the Players bid moft. G 4 Thefe 88 THE DUNCIAD. Book I. How hints, like fpawn, fcarce quick in embryo lie, How new-born nonfenfe firft is taught to cry, 60 Maggots half form'd in rhyme exactly meet, And learn to crawl upon poetic feet. Here one poor word an hundred clenches makes, And ductile Dulnefs new meanders takes ; There motley Images her fancy ftrike, 65 Figures ill pair'd, and Similes unlike. She fees a Mob of Metaphors advance, Pleas'd with the madnefs of the mazy dance ! How REMARKS. VER. 63. Here one poor tvord an hundred clenches makes y ~\ It may not be amifs to give an inftance or two of thefe operations of Dulnefs out of the Works of her Sons, celebrated in the Poem. A great Critic formerly held thefe clenches in fuch abhorrence, that he declared, " he that would pun, would pick a pocket." Yet Mr. Dennis's works afford us notable examples in this kind ; " Alexander Pope hath Cent abroad into the world as manyJiulls as his namefake Pope Alexander. Let us take the initial and final letters of his name, viz. A. PE, and they give you the idea of an Ape.-^-Pope comes from the Latin word Pofa, which fignifies a little wart : or frompoppyfma, becaufe he was continually popping out fquibs of wit, or rather Popyfmata or Popyfmus." DENNIS on Horn, and Daily Journal, June n, 1728.. P. IMITATIONS. Thefe lines allude to the following in Garth's Difpenfaryy Cant. vi. " Within the chambers of the globe they fpy The beds where fleeping vegetables lie, Till the glad fummons of a genial ray Unbinds the glebe, and calls them out to day." W. VER. 64. And duSlk Dullnefs, &V.] A parody on a verfe in Garth, Cant. i. " How ductile matter new meanders takes." W. Bookl. THE DUNCIAD. 89 How Tragedy and Comedy embrace ; How Farce and Epic get a jumbled race ; 70 How Time himfelf (lands ftill at her command, Realms fhift their place, and Ocean turns to land. Here gay Defcription Egypt glads with fhow'rs, Or gives to Zembla fruits, to Barca flow'rs ; Glitt'ring with ice here hoary hills are feen, 75 There painted vallies of eternal green, In cold December fragrant chaplets blow, And heavy harvefts nod beneath the fnow. All thefe, and more, the cloud-compelling Queen Beholds through fogs that magnify the fcene, 80 She REMARKS. VER. 70, &c. Hoiu Farce and Eplc-r-How Time bimfelf, &c.~] Allude to the tranfgreffions of the Unities in the Plays of fuch poets. For the miracles wrought upon Time and Place, and the mixture of Tragedy and Comedy, Farce and Epic, fee Pluto and Proferpine, Penelope, &c. if yet extant. W. VER. 73. Egypt glads tvithjho-w'rs,'\ In the Lower Egypt rain is of no ufe, the overflowing of the Nile being fufficient to impregnate the foil. Thefe fix verfes reprefent the inconfiftences in the descriptions of poets, who heap together all glittering and gaudy images, though incompatible in one feafon, or in one fcene." See the Guardian, N 40. parag. 6. See alfo Eu/Jen's whole works, if to be found. It would not have been unpleafant to have given examples of all thefe fpecies of bad writing from thefe Authors, but that it is already done in our Treatife of the Bathos. SCRIBL. VER. 79. The cloud-compeUir.g\ Gray has left a very fine fragment of an hymn to Ignorance, very much in the manner of the Dunciad; " Many of the lines of this fragment (fays Mr. Mafon) are IMITATIONS. VER. 79. The doud-com'eUing ^ueen] From Homer's Epithet pf Jupiter, 9 e Ajyefj'T Zjuc. W. 90 THE DUNCIAD. Book I. She tinfel'd o'er in robes of varying hues, With felf-applaufe her wild creation views ; Sees momentary monfters rife and fall, And with her own fools-colours gilds them all. 'Twas on the day, when * * rich and grave, 85 Like Cimon, triumphed both on land and wave : (Pomps without guilt, of bloodlefs fwords and maces, Glad chains, warm furs, broad banners, and broad faces) Now VARIATIONS. VER. 85. in the former Editions, 'Twas on the day when Thorold, rich and grave. Sir George Thorold, Lord Mayor of London in the year 1720, W. REMARKS. are fo flrong, and the general cafl of the verification fo mufical, that I believe it will give the generality of readers a higher opinion of his poetical talents, than many of his lyrical productions have done. I fpeak of the generality ; becaufe it is a certain faft, that their tafte is founded upon the ten-fyllable couplets ofDryden and Pope, and upon thefe only.'* P. 176. VER. 85, 86. 'Twos on the Jay, 'when * * rick and grave, Like Cimon, triumfh'd] Viz. a Lord Mayor's Day, his name tin: author had left in blanks, but moft certainly could never be that which the Editor foifted in formerly, and which no way agrees with the chronology of the poem. BENTL. The proceffion of a Lord Mayor is made partly by land, and partly by water. Cimon, the famous Athenian General, obtained a viftory by fea, and another by land, on the fame day, over the Perfians and Barbarians. W. VER. 88. Glad chains,'] The ignorance of thefe Moderns! This was altered in one edition to Gold chains, fhewing more regard to the metal of which the chains of Aldermen are made, than to the beauty of the Latinifm and Graecifm, nay of figurative fpeech itfelf : Laetas fegetes, glad, for making glad, &c. SCRIBL, Book I, THE DUNCIAD. 9 , Now Night defcending, the proud fcene was o'er, But hVd, in Settle's numbers, one day more. 90 Now May'rs and Shrieves all huuVd and fatiate lay, Yet eat, in dreams, the cuftard of the day j While penfiye Poets painful vigils keep, Sleeplefs themfelves to give their readers fleep. Much to the mindful Queen the feaft recalls 95 What City Swans once fung within the walls ; Much (he revolves their arts, their ancient praife, And fure fucceflion down from Heywood's days. She faw, with joy, the line immortal run, Each fire impreft and glaring in his fon : 100 So watchful Bruin forms, with plaflic care, Each growing lump, and brings it to a Bear. She REMARKS. VER. 90. But liv'J, in Settle's numbers one day more.] A beautiful manner of fpeaking, ufual with poets in praife of poetry, in which kind nothing is finer than thofe lines of Mr. Addifon : " Sometimes, mifguided by the tuneful throng, I look for ftreams immortaliz'd in fong, That loft, in filence and oblivion lie, Dumb are their fountains, and their channels dry j Yet run for ever by the Mufes fkill, And in the fmooth defcription murmur ftill." Ibid. But Ii fharpers, Subtle and Face, in the Alchymift. VER. 131. Poor Fletcher's half-eat fcenes,} A great number of them taken out to patch up his plays. W. VER. 132. The Frippery} " When I fitted up an old play, it was as a good houfewife will mend old linen, when me has not better employment." Life, p. 217, Oclavo. W. VER. 133. Haplefs Shakefpear, &c.] It is not to be doubted but Bays was a fubfcriber to Tibbald's Shakefpear. He was H 2 frequently IOD THE DUNCIAD. Book I. The reft on Out-fide merit but prefume, 135 Or ferve (like other Fools) to fill a room ; Such with their fhelves as due proportion hold, Or their fond Parents dreft in red and gold j Or where the pictures for the page atone, And Quarles is fav'd by Beauties not his own. 140 Here REMARKS. frequently liberal this way ; and, as he tells us, " fubfcribed to Mr. Pope's Homer, out of pure Generofity and Civility ; but when Mr. Pope did fo to his Nonjuror, he concluded it could be nothing but a joke." Letter to Mr. P. p. 24. This Tibbald, or Theobald, publifhed an edition of Shakefpear, of which he was fo proud himfelf as to fay, in one of Mill's Journals, June 8, " That to expofe any errors in it was impracticable." And in another, April 27, " That whatever care might for the future be taken by any other Editor, he would ftill give above five hundred Emendations, that^/ta// efcapc them all." W. VER. 134. Wifttd he had blotted] It was a ridiculous praife which the Players gave to Shakefpear, " that he never blotted a line." Ben Johnfon honeftly wifhed he had blotted a thoufand ; and Shakefpear would certainly have wifhed the fame, if he had lived to fee thofe alterations in his works, which, not the Aclors only (and efptcially the daring Hero of this Poem.) have made on the Stage t but the prefumptuous Critics of our days in their Editions. W. VER. 135. Tie rejl on Ottt-fide merit, &V.J This Library is divided into three parts ; the firft confifts of thofe authors from whom he Hole, and whofe works he mangled ; the fecond, of fuch as fitted the fhelves, or were gilded for fliew, or adorned with pictures ; the third clafs our author calls folid learning, old Bodies 'of Divinity, old Commentaries, old Englifh Printers, or old English Tranflations ; all very voluminous, and fit to ereft altars to Dulnefs. W. Thefe fix lines are below the ufual vein of our author ; and the note upon them is very forced and unnatural. The prints in Ogilby's China, many of them by Hollar, atone for the page. Dryden ufed to fay that Qmirles excelled him in a facility of rhyming. Book I. THE DUNCIAD. 101 Here fwells the fhelf with Ogilby the great ; There, ft amp' d with arms, Newcaftle mines complete: Here REMARKS. VER. 141. Ogllly the great',] " John Ogilby was one who, from a late initiation into literature, made fuch a progrefs as might well ftyle him the prodigy of his time ! fending into the world fo many large volumes! His tranflations of Homer and Virgil done to the life, and with fuch excellent fculptures : And (what added great grace to his works) he printed them all on facial good paper, and in a very good letter '." WIN STAN LY, Lives of Poets. W. VER. 142. There, Jlamp 'd, fcfc.] " A lift of her works, which fill many folio's, ( fays Mr. Walpole ) , here follows : " The World's Olio. Nature's Pidure drawn by Fancy's pencil to the life. In this volume (fays the title) are feveral feigned {lories of natural descriptions, as comical, tragical, and tragi-comical, poetical, romantical, philofophical, and hiftorical, &c. &c, Lond. 1656. folio. One may guefs how like this portrait of Nature is, by the fantaftic bill of the features. Orations of divers forts, accommodated to divers places. Lond. 1662. folio. Plays. Lond. 1662. Philofophical and Phyfical Opinions. Lond. 1663. folio. Obfervations upon Experimental Philofophy ; to which is added, the Defcription of a New World. Lond. 1668. folio. One Mr. James Briflow began to tranflate fome part of thefe philofophic difcourfes into Latin. ^Philofophical Letters. Lond. 1664. folio. Poems and Phancies. Lond. 1664. folio. Sociable Letters. Lond. 1664. folio. The Life of the Duke her hu&and, c. Lond. 1667. folio. It was tranflated into Latin. .-Plays never before printed. Lond. 1668. folio." Her plays alone are nineteen in number, and fome of them in two parts. One of them, The Blazing World, is unfinilhed, her Grace (which feems never elfe to have happened to her) finding her genius not tend to the profecution of it. To another, called The Prefence, are nine and twenty fupernumerary fcenes. In another, The Unnatural Tragedy, is a whole fcene written againft Cambden's IMITATIONS. VER. 140. In the former Edd. The page admires new beauties not it's own.] " Miraturque novas frondes et non fua poma." VIRG. Georg. ii. io4 THE DUNCIAD. Book I. Here all his fufPring brotherhood retire, And 'fcape the martyrdom of jakes and fire : A Gothic Library ! of Greece and Rome 145 Well purg'd, and worthy Settle, Banks, and Broome. But, VARIATIONS. VER. 146. In the firft Edit, it was, Well purg'd, and worthy W y, Ws, and Bl And in the following altered to Withers, Quarks, and Blome, on which was the following note : It was printed in the furreptitious editions, Jf'ejlly, Watts % who were perfons eminent for good life : the one writ the Life of Chrift in verfe, the other fome valuable pieces in the lyric kind on pious fubje&s. The line is here rellored according to its priginal. " George Withers was a great pretender to poetical zeal againft the vices of the times, and abufed the greateft perfonages in power, which brought upon him frequent Correction. The MarJhalJ'ea and Neivgate were no ftrangers to him.'* WINSTANLY. Quarks wa^as dull a writer, but an honefter man. Blame's books are remarkable for their cuts. W. R EM A RKS. Cambden's Britannia ; her Grace thought, I fuppofe, that 3 geographic fatire in the middle of a play, was mixing the utll: with the dulcl. Three volumes more, in folio, of her poems are preferved in manufcript. Whoever has a mind to know more of this fertile pedant, will find a detail of her works in Ballard's Memoirs, from whence I have taken this account." VER. 146. Worthy Settle, Batiks, and Broome. ~\ The Poet has mentioned thefe three authors in particular, as they are parallel to our Hero in his three capacities : l . Settle was his Krother Laureate ; only indeed upon half-pay, for the City inftead of the Court ; but equally famous for unintelligible flights in his poems on public occafions, fuch as Shows, Birth-days, &c. 2. Banks was his Rival in Tragedy (tho } more fuccefsful) in one of his Tragedies, the Earl of EJJex, which is yet alive : Anna Boleya, the $>ueen of Sects, and Cyrus the Great, are dead and gone. Thefe he dreft in a fort of Beggar's Velvet, or a happy mixture of the thick FuJKan, and thin Profaic ; exadly imitated in Perolla and JJidora, Cxfar in Egypf^ and the Htro'fc Daughter, 3% Broome V Book I. THE DUNCIAD. 103 But, high above, more folid Learning fhone, The Claflics of an Age that heard of none ; There Caxton flept, with Wynkyn at his fide, One clafp'd in wood, and one in ftrong coxv-hide j There, REMARKS. was a ferving man of Ben Johnfon, who once picked up a Comedy from his Betters, or from fome caft fccnes of his Mafter, not entirely contemptible. W. VER. 149. CaxtcnJ A Printer in the time -of Edw. IV. Rich. HI. and Hen. VII. Wynkyn de Word, his fucceffor, in that of Hen. VII. and VIII. The former, whom Bale intitles, Vtr non omnino Jlup'ulus, tranflated into profe Virgil's Aeneis, as a hiftory ; of which he fpeaks, in his Proeme, in a very fingular manner, as of a book hardly known. " Happened that to my hande cam a lytyl book in frenche, whiche late was tranflated out of latyn by fome noble clerke of fraunce, whiche booke is named Eneldos, (made in latyn by that noble poete & grete clerk Vyrgyle:) whiche booke I fawe over and redde therein, How after the generall deftruccyon of the grete Troy, Eneas departed berynge his old fader anchifes upon his fholdres, his lytyl fon yolas on his hande, his wyfe with moche other people followynge, and how he (hipped and departed ; wythe all thyftorye of his adventures that he had er he came to the atchievement of his conqueft of ytalye, as all alonge ihall be (hewed in this prefent booke. In whiche booke I had grete playfyr, by caufe of the fayr and honeft termes & wordes in frenche, whiche I never fawe to fore lyke, ne none fo playfaunt ne fo well ordred ; whiche booke as me femed fliolde be moch requfiyte to noble men to fee, as wel for the eloquence as the hyftoryes. How wel that many hondred yerys paflVd was the fayd booke of Eneydos wyth other workes made and lerned dayly in fcholis, efpecyally in ytalye and other places, whiche hiftorye the fayd Vyrgyle made in metre." Tiblald quotes a rare pafTage from him in Mift's Journal of March l6 1728, concerning njlraunge and mervyUoufe beajle called Sag ittarye, which he would have Sbalefpear to mean rather than Teucer, the Archer celebrated by Homer. W. An undeferved piece of ridicule, oil an induftrioug man, whofe labours introduced literature into this country. See what is faid of him by one who was a real and rational lover of antiquity, itt the Hiftory of EngliflV FoetrV-, vol. ii. H4 io4 THE DUNCIAD. Book I. There, fav'd by fpice, like Mummies, many a year, Dry Bodies of Divinity appear : 152 De Lyra there a dreadful front extends, And here the groaning (helves Philemon bends. Of thefe twelve volumes, twelve of ampleft fize, Redeem' d from tapers and defrauded pies, 156 Infpir'd he feizes : Thefe an altar raife ; An hecatomb of pure> unfully'd lays That altar crowns : A folio Common-place Founds the whole pile, of all his works the bafe : Quartos, octavos, fhape the lefs'ning pyre ; 161 A twifted Birth-day Ode completes the fpire. Then he : Great Tamer of all human art ! Firft in my care, ancl ever at my heart ; Dulnefs ! VARIATIONS. VER. 162. Atiuljied, rV.] In the former Edd. And laft, a little Ajax tips the Spire. W, Altered for the worfe. Var. A little Ajax\ In duodecimo, translated from Sophocles by Tibbald, W. REMARKS. VER. 152. Dry Bodies of Divinlty~\ The impropriety of placing fuch fort of books in the library of Cibber, is not to be vindicated. VER. 153. De Lyra there] Fie was born in Normandy of Jewifh, parents, educated under fome learned Rabbis, and for many years devoted to Judaifm. He afterwards was converted to Chriftianity, and became a Cordelier at Verneuil, 1291. He taught with great reputation at Paris, and was made executor to the will of King Philip's Qiueen.. He djed in an advanced age, 1340. VER. 154. Philemon Holland, Doaorin Phyfic. " He tranflated Jo many books, that a man would think he had done nothing elfe ; infomuch that he might be called Tranjlator general of his age. The books alone of his turning into Englifli are fufficient to make a Country Gentleman a complete Library." WINSTANJLY. ' Bookl. THE DUNCIAD. 105 Dulnefs ! whofe good old caufe I yet defend, 165 With whom my Mufe began, with whom mall end, E'er fince Sir Fopling's Periwig was Praife, To the laft honours of the Butt and Bays : O thou ! of Bus'nefs the directing foul ! To this our head like byafs to the bowl, 170 Which, as more pond'rous, made its aim more true, Obliquely wadling to the mark in view : O ! ever gracious to perplex'd mankind, Still fpread a healing mift before the mind ; And, left we err by Wit's wild dancing light, 175 Secure us kindly in our native night. Or, HEM ARKS. VER. 167. E'er fince Sir Fopling's Periwig] The firft vifible caufe of the paffion of the Town for our Hero, was a fair flaxen full-bottom'd Periwig, which, he tells us, he wore in his firfl play oftheFoolinffi/hion. It attrafted, in a particular manner, the FrknJfhip of Col. Brett, who wanted topurchafe it. " Whatever contempt (fays he) Philofophers may have for a fine Periwig, my friend, who was not to defpife the world, but to live in it, knew very well that fo material an article of drefs upon the head of a man of fenfe, if it became him, could never fail of drawing to him a more partial Regard and Benevolence, than could poffibly be hoped for in an ill made one. This, perhaps, may foften the grave cenfure, which fo youthful a purchafe might othtrwife have laid upon him. In a word, he made his attack upon this Periwig, as your young fellows generally do upon a lady of pleafure, firft by a few familiar praifes of her perfon,and then a civil enquiry into the price of it ; and we finifhed our bargain that night over a bottle," See Life, octavo, p. 303. This remarkable Periwig ufually made its entrance upon the ftage in a feJan, brought in by two chairmen with infinite approbation of the audience. W, IMITATIONS. VER. 166. With whom my Muj'e l>fgan t with whom fiall end, ] " A te principium, tibi definet." VIRG. Eel. viii. " *E A 10? a^xjuM'Su, * EK Ala XV% Mi7>i." THEOC. *' Prima dicle mihi, fumma dicende Camoena." HQR, io6 THE DUNCIAD, Book I. Or, if to Wit a Coxcomb make pretence, Guard the fure barrier between that and Senfe ; Or quite unravel all the reasoning thread, And hang fome curious cobweb in its ftead ! 1 80 As, forc'd from wind-guns, lead itfelf can fly, And pond'rous flugs cut fwiftly through the fky j As VARIATIONS. YER. 177- Or, if fa Wit, fcfc.] In the former Edd. Ah ! flill o'er Britain ftretch that peaceful wand, Which hills th' Helvetian and Batavian land ; Where rebel to thy throne if Science rife, She does but mew her coward face and dies : There thy good Scholiafts with unweary'd pains Make Horace flat, and humble Maro's (trains ; Here ftudious I unlucky moderns fave, Nor fleeps one error in its father's grave, Old puns reilore, loft blunders nicely feek, And crucify poor Shakefpear once a week. For thee fupplying, in the worft of days, Notes to dull books, and prologues to dull plays > Not that my quill to critics was confin'd, My verfe gave ampler leffons to mankind : So graveft precepts may fuccefslefs prove, But fad examples never fail to move. As, forc'd from wind-guns, &c. W. Thefe lines appear to be better than thofe in tlu: prefent text. Var. And crucify poor Shakefpear once a oiife,~\ Waller on the Navy, " Thofe tow'rs of Oak o'er fertile plains may go, And vifit mountains where they once did grow." W. REMARKS. Ver. 225. O lorn, in fin, 5V.] This is a tender pafilonate Apollrophe to his own works, which he is going to facrific?, agreeable to the nature of man in great affli&ion j and reflecting like a parent on the many miferable fates to which they would otherwife be fubjedt. W. Ver. 228. My better] Notwithftanding all our author's or his commentators efforts, to reduce to contempt Gibber's Apology for his Life, they will never be able to convince fenfible ancj difpafiionate IMITATIONS. Ver. 229. Unjlaln'd, untouch'd, &JV.] " Faelix Priameia virgo ! Jufla mori : quae fortitus non pertulit ullos, Nee vi&oris heri tetigit captiva cubile ! Nos, patria incenfa, diverfa per aequora veclae," &c- VIRC. Aencid- iir 112 THE DUNCIAD. Book I. Ye fhall not beg, like gratis-given Bland, Sent with a Pafs, and vagrant through the land ; Nor fail with Ward, to Ape-and-monkey climes, Where vile Mundungus trucks for viler rhymes: Not fulphur-tipt, emblaze an Alehoufe fire j 235 Not wrap up Oranges, to pelt your fire ! O ! pafs more innocent, in infant flate, To the mild Limbo of our Father Tate : Or peaceably forgot, at once be bleft In Shadwell's bofom with eternal Reft ! 140 Soon to that mafs of Nonfenfe to return, Where things deftroy'd are fwept to things unborn. With REMARKS. difpaffionate readers, that it is not a work abounding In curious anecdotes, and in characters nicely and accurately drawn, though in a ftyle indeed fingular and affecled. Swift was fo highly pleafed with Gibber's Life, that he fat up all night to read it, and would not quit it till he had finifhed the volume ; of which, when Cibbcr was informed, he ihed tears of joy. VER. 231. gratis-given Bland Sent with a Piifs,] It was a practice fo to give the Daily Gazetteer and minifterial pamphlets (in which this B. was a writer) and to fend them Pofl-free to all the Towns in the Kingdom. W. Bland, was the Provoft of Eton. VER. 233. mor to Pope's. Surely, furely, every man is free to deferve well of his country.!" JOHN OZELL. We cannot but fubfcribe to fuch reverend teftimonies, as thofe of the Bench of Bi/bops, Mr. Toland, and Mr. Gildon. W. Ibid. A Gibber, Tibbald, or Ozefl.] A triumvirate furely not of authors on a level. Thejfr/? far fuperior to the other two. What did they produce, in any refpecl, equal to the Carelefs Hit/band, and the Hi/lory of the Stage ! VER. 287. The Goddefs then,] There was a poem published, 1712, entitled Bibliotheca, by Mr. Thomas Newcomb, a friend of Dr. Young, and reprinted in the fifth volume of Nicols's Collection, page 19, in which the Goddefs Oblivion is introduced, fpeaking and a&ing, fo very like the Goddefs Dulnefs, and which throughout bears fo clofe and ftriking a refemblance to the Dunciad, that k is impoffible Pope (hould not have feen and copied it, though with exquiiite improvements. The expreffion, o'er his anointed head, is from Mac Fleckno, " That for anointed Dulnefs he was made." As alfo is the preceding line, 262 ; " Hii brows thick fogs, inftead of glories, grace." VER. 290. a Heideggre] A ftrange bird from Switzerland, and not (as fome have fuppofed) the name of an eminent perfon who was a man of parts, and, as was faid of Petronius, Arbiter Eltgantiaruni. W Book I. THE DUNCIAD. n 9 Safe, where no Critics damn, no duns moleft, 295 Where wretched Withers, Ward, and Gildon reft, And high-born Howard, more majeftic fire, With Fool of Quality completes the quire. Thou, VARIATIONS. VER. 293. Know, Eufden, 3V.] In the former Edd. " Know, Settle, cloy'd with cuftard and with praife, Is gather'd to the dull of ancient days, Safe where no critics damn, no duns moleft, Where Gildon, Banks, and high-born Howard reft. I fee a King ! who leads my chofen fons To lands that flow with clenches and with puns : Till each fam'd theatre my empire own ; Till Albion, as Hibernia, blefs my throne ! I fee ! I fee ! Then rapt flie fpoke no more, God fave king Tibbald ! Grubftreet alleys roar. So when Jove's block, &c. W. REMARKS. VER. 296. Withers, ~\ See on ver. 146. Ibid. Gildon] Charles Gildon, a writer of criticifms and libels of the laft age, bred at St. Omer's with the Jefuits ; but renouncing popery, he publiflied Blount's books againft the Divinity of Chrift, the Oracles of Reafon, &c. He fignalized himfelf as a critic, having written fome very bad Plays ; abufed Mr. P. very fcandaloufly in an anonymous pamphlet of the life of Mr. Wycherley, printed by Curl j in another, called the New Rehearfal, printed in 1714; in a third, entitled the Complete Art of Englifh Poetry, in two volumes ; and others. W. Ibid. Withers, Ward,] It muft be confefled, that in this quarrel with mean and contemptible writers, Pope was the aggreflbr ; for it cannot be believed that the initial Letters in the Bathos, were placed at random and without defign. VER. 297. Howard,] Hon. Edward Howard, author of the Britifh Princes, and a great number of wonderful pieces, celebrated by the late Earls of Dorfet and Rochefter, Duke of Buckingham, Mr. Waller, &c. i2o THE DUNCIAD. Bookl. Thou, Gibber ! thou, his Laurel (halt fupport, Folly, my fon, has ftill a Friend at Court. 300 Lift up your Gates, ye Princes, fee him come ! Sound, found ye Viols, be the Cat-call dumb ! Bring, bring the madding Bay, the drunken Vine j The creeping, dirty, courtly Ivy join. And thou ! his Aid de camp, lead on my fons, 305 Light-arm'd with Points, Antithefes, and Puns. Let Bawdry, Billingfgate, my daughters dear, Support his front, and Oaths bring up the rear : And under his, and under Archer's wing, Gaming and Grub-ftreet fkulk behind the King. 3 10 O ! when REMARKS. VER. 301. Lift up your Gates,"] I know not what can excufe this very profane allufion to a fublime paflage in the Pfalms ; which was added to the laft edition of the Dunciad in four books ; and this too under the aufpices and dire&ion of Dr. Warburton. So again in Book iii. ver. 126. Andalfo again Book iv. ver. 562. " Dove-like me gathers to her wings again." And in the Arguments, he talks of giving a Pifgah-fight of the future fulnefs of her Glory; and even of fending Priefts, and Comforters. VER. 309, 310. under Archers wing, Gaming, 5V.] When the Statute againft Gaming was drawn up, it was reprefented, that the King, by ancient cuftom, plays at Hazard one night in the year ; and therefore a claufe was inferted, with an exception as to that particular. Under this pretence, the Groom-porter had a Room appropriated to Gaming all the fummer the Court was at Kenfington, which his Majefty accidentally being acquainted of,, with a jutt indignation prohibited. Jt is reported the fame practice is yet continued wherever the Court refides, and the Hazard Table there open to all the profefled Gamefters in Town. " GreateJ} zn&jufleft Sov 'REIGN $ know you this ? Alas ! no more, than Thames' calm head can know Whofe meads his arms drown, or whofe corn o'erflow." Donne to Queen Eliz. W. This practice has been laid afide for many years. Book I. THE DUNCIAD. . 32 i O ! when fhall rife a Monarch all our own, And I, a Nuriing- mother, rock the throne ; 'Twixt Prince and People clofe the curtain draw, Shade him from Light, and cover him from Law ; Fatten the Courtier, ftarve the learned band, 315 And fuckle Armies, and dry-nurfe the land : Till Senates nod to Lullabies divine, And all be fleep, as at an Ode of thine." She ceas'd. Then fwells the Chapel- royal throat : God fave king Gibber ! mounts in ev'ry note. 320 Familiar White's, God fave king Colley ! cries ; God fave king Colley ! Drury-lane replies : To Needham's quick the voice triumphal rode, But pious Needham dropt the name of God ; Back -to the Devil the laft echoes roll, 325 And Coll ! each Butcher roars at Hockley-hole. So REMARKS. VER. 3 1 9. Chapel-royal] The Voices and Inftruments ufed in the fervice of the Chapel-royal being alfo employed in the performance of the Birth-day and New-year Odes. W. VER. 324. But pious Needham] A Matron of great Fame, and very religious in her way ; whofe conftant prayer it was, that me might " get enough by her profeffion to leave it off in time, and make her peace with God." But her fate was not fo happy ; for being convicted, and fet in the pillory, me was (to the lafting fhame of all her great Friends and Votaries) fo ill ufed by the populace, that it put an end to her days. W, IMITATIONS. VER. 304. The creeping, dirty, courtly Ivy join.] " Quorum Imagines lambunt Hederae fequaces." PERS. VER. 311.0.' ivhenjhall rife a Monarch, &c.~] Boileau, Lutrin, Chant. II. " Htlas ! qu'eft devenu cet terns, cet heureux terns, Ou les Rois s'honoroient du nom de Faineans ;" &c. W* 122 THE DUNCIAD. Book I. So when Jove's block defcended from on high, (As fmgs thy great forefather Ogilby) Loud thunder to its bottom fhook the bog 329 And the hoarfe nation croak'd, God fave King Log ! REMARKS. VER. 325. Back to tie Devil] The Devil Tavern in Fleet-ftreet, where thefe Odes are ufually rehearfed before they are performed at Court. Upon which a Wit of thofe times made this Epigram, " When Laureates make Odes, Do you afk of what fort ? Do you afk if they're good, or are evil ? You may judge From the Devil they come to the Court, And go from the Court to the Devil." W. The Epigram inferted on this Tavern, is one of the coldeft and dulleft that can be read. And it is not clear why the Butchers roared out the name of Colley. VER. 328. Ogilby) God fave King Log /] See Ogilby's Efop's Fables, where, in the ilory of the Frogs and their King, this excellent hemiftic is to be found. Our author manifefls here, and elfewhere, a prodigious tendernefs for the bad writers. We fee he feledls the only good pafl'age, perhaps, in all that ever Ogilby writ ; which (hews how candid and patient a reader he muft have been. But how much all indulgence is loft upon thefe people may appear from the juft reflection made on their conftant condud and conftant fate, in the following Epigram : " Ye little Wits, that gleam'd a while, When Pope vouchfaf'd a ray, Alas ! depriv'd of his kind fmile, How foon ye fade away ! "To compafs Phoebus' car about, Thus empty vapours rife ; Each lends his cloud, to put him out, That rear'd him to the fkies. " Alas ! thofe fkies are not your fphere ; There He fhall ever burn : Weep, weep, and fall ! for Earth ye were, And muft to Earth return." W. THE END OF THE FIRST BOOK. THE D U N C I A D. BOOK THE SECOND. ARGUMENT. THE King being proclaimed^ the folemnily is graced with public Games and ' /'ports of various kinds ; not inJJituted by the Hero, as by Aeneas in Virgil, but for greater honour by the Goddefs in perfon (in like manner as the games Pythia, IJihmia, &c. were anciently faid to be ordained by the Gods, and as Thetis herfelf appearing, according to Homer, Odyjf. xxiv. propofed the prizes in honour of her Jon Achilles). Hither flock the Poets and Critics, attended, as is but juft, with their Patrons and Bookfellers. The Goddefs is firft pleafed, for her difport, to propofe games to the Bookfellers, and felteth up the phantom of a Poet, which they contend to overtake. The Races defcriled, with their divers accidents. Next, the game for a Poetefs. Then follow the Exercifes for the Poets, of tickling, vociferating, diving: The fir/1 holds forth the arts and praclices of Dedicators, the fecond of Difputants and fuftian Poets, the third of profound, dark, and dirty Party-writers. La/ily, for the Critics, the Goddefs prcpofes (with great propriety) an Exercife, not of their parts, but their patience, in hearing the works of two voluminous Authors, the one in verfe, and the other in profe, deliberately read, without 124- ARGUMENT. without Jleeping : The various effefts of which y with thefeveraJ degrees and manners of their operation, are here Jet forth ; //// the whole number, not of Critics only, but offpeftators, aftors, and all prefent, fall f aft ajleep \ which naturally and necejjarily ends the games. C 1*5] BOOK II. HIGH on a gorgeous feat, that far out-fhone Henley's gilt tub, or Fleckno's Irifh throne, Or that where on her Curls the Public pours, All-bounteous, fragrant Grains and Golden fliow'rs, Great REMARKS. Two things there are, upon the fuppofition of which the very bafis of all verbal criticifm is founded and fupported : The firft:, that an Author could never fail to ufe the left word on every occafion ; the fecond, that a Critic cannot chufe but know which that is. This being granted, whenever any word doth not fully content us, we take upon us to conclude, firft, that the author could never have ufed it ; and, fecondly, that he muft. have ufed that very one, which we conjecture, in its ilead. We cannot, therefore, enough admire the learned Scriblerus for his alteration of the text in the two laft verfes of the preceding book, which in all the former editions flood thus : " Hoarfe thunder to its bottom (hook the bog, And the loud nation croak'd, God fave king Log!" He has, with great judgment, tranfpofed thefe two epithets ; putting hoarfe to the nation, and loud to the thunder: And this being evidently the true reading, he vouchfafed not fo much as to mention the former ; for which aflertion of the juft right of a Critic, he merits the acknowledgment of all found Commentators. W. VER. i. Henley's gilt /,] The pulpit of a Diflenter is ufually called a Tub ; but that of Mr. Orator Henley was covered with velvet, IM I T AT IONS. VER. I. High on a gorgeous feat,'] Parody of Milton, bookii, " High on a throne of royal date, that far Outfhone the wealth of Ormus and of Ind, Or where the gorgeous Eaft with richeft hand Show'rs on her kings Barbaric pearl and gold, Satan exalted fate." W. 126 THE BUNCIAD. Book II. Great Gibber fate : The proud Parnaffian fneer, 5 The confcious fimper, and the jealous leer, Mix on his look : All eyes dired their rays On him, and crowds turn Coxcombs as they gaze. His Peers mine round him with reflected grace, New edge their dulnefs, and new bronze their face. So REMARKS. velvet, and adorned with gold. He had alfo a fair altar, and over it this extraordinary infcription, The Prhnitive Euchari/l. See the hiilory of this perfon, book iii. W. Ibid, or Fleckno' s Ir'ifh throne, ] Richard Fleckno was an Irifh prieft, but had laid afide (as himfelf expreffed it) the mechanic part of priefthood. He printed fome plays, poems, letters, and travels. I doubt not, our author took occafion to mention him in refpeft to the Poem of Mr. Dryden, to which this bears fome refemblance, though of a character more different from it than that of the Aeneid from the Iliad, or the Lutrin of Boileau from the Defait de Bouts rime'es of Sarazin. W, Andrew Marvell wrote a fatirical poem on Fleckno, wjth his ufual fpirit. There Is a comedy of Fleckno, 1667, entitled Demoiffelles a la Mode. VER. 3. Or that where on her Curls the Public pours,~\ Edmund Curl flood in the pillory at Charing-Crofs, in March 1727-8. ' This (faith Edmund Curl) is a falfe affertion I had indeed the corporal punimment of what the Gentlemen of the long Robe are pleafcd jocofely to call mounting the Rojlrum for one hour : but that fcene of Action was not in the month of March, but in February" [Curliad 12, p. 19.] And of the Hi/lory of his being toft in a Blanket, he faith, ' Here, Scriblerus ! thou leefeth in what thou afTerteft concerning the blanket : it was not a blanket, but a rug. M P. 25. Much in the fame manner Mr. Cibber remonilrated, that his Brothers, at Bedlam, mentioned Book i. were not Brazen, but Blocks ; yet our author let it pafs unaltered, as a trifle that no way altered the relationship. W. VER. 5. Great Gibber fate .] It is obfervable that in this paflage the lines run more into one another, than in any other part of our author's works. See lines 5, 7. Perhaps it might be wifhed he had more frequently done fo, as it would have added variety to his numbers. Harte and Fenton thought fo. Book II. THE DUNCIAD. I2; So from the Sun's broad beam, in mallow urns 1 1 Jieav'n's twinkling Sparks draw light, and point their horns. Not with more glee, by hands Pontific crown'd, With fcarlet hats wide-waving circled round, Rome in her Capitol faw Querno fit, 1 5 Thron'd on feven hills, the Antichrifl of wit. And now the Queen, to glad her fons, proclaims By herald Hawkers, high heroic Games. They fummon all her Race : An endlefs band Pours forth, and leaves unpeopled half the land. 20 A motley REMARKS. VER. 15. Rome inker Capitol faw Querno fit ,~] Camillo Querno was of Apulia, who hearing the great Encouragement which Leo X. gave to Poets, travelled to Rome with a harp in his hand, and fung to it twenty thoufand verfes of a poem called Alexias. He was introduced as a Buffoon to Leo, and promoted to the honour of the Laurel; a jell which the court of Rome and the Pope himfelf entered into fo far, as to caufe him to ride on an elephant to the Capitol, and to hold a folemn feftival on his coronation ; at which, it is recorded, the Poet himfelf was fo tranfported as to weep for joy *. He was ever after a conftant frequenter of the Pope's table, drank abundantly, and poured forth verfes without number. PAUUUS Jovius, Elog. Vir. doft. cap. Ixxxii. Some idea of his poetry is given by Fam. Strada, in his Prolufions. W. VER. 1 6. Antichrift of ~\ " Occupet extremum fcabies j mihi turpe relinqui eft." HOR. de Arte. W. VER. 61, &c. Something like this in Homer, II. x. ver. 220. of Diomed. Two different manners of the fame author in his K 3 fimilies 134 THE DUNCIAD. Book IT. With arms expanded Bernard rows his ftate, And left-legg'd Jacob feems to emulate. Full in the middle way there flood a lake, 69 "Which Curl's Corinna chanc'd that morn to make : (Such was her wont, at early dawn to drop Her ev'ning cates before his neighbour's mop) Here REMARKS. VER. 70. Curl's Corinna~\ This name, it feems, was taken by one Mrs. Thomas, who procured fome private letters of Mr. Pope, while almoft a boy, to Mr. Cromwell, and fold them, without the confent of either of thofe Gentlemen, to Curl, who printed them in i2 mo , 1727. He difcovered her to be the publifher, in his Key. p. 1 1 . We only take this opportunity of mentioning the manner in which thofe letters got abroad, which the author was alhamed of as very trivial things, full not only of levities, but of wrong judgments of men and books, and only excufable from the youth and inexperience of the writer. W. IMITATIONS. fimilies are alfo imitated in the two following ; the firft, of the Bailiff, is fhort, unadorned, and (as the Critics well know) from familiar life ; the fecond, of the Water-fowl, more extended, pifturefque, and from rural life. The Jpth verfe is likevvife a literal tranflation of one in Homer. W. VER. 64, 65. On feet and wings, and flies, and 'wades , and hops ; So lab' ring on, with Jhoulders , hands, and head,] " So eagerly the Fiend O'er bog, o'er fteep, thro' ftreight, rough, denfe, or rare, With head, hands, wings, or feet purfues his way, And fwims, or finks, or wades, or creeps, or flies." MILTON, Book ii. W. VER. 67, 68. With arms expanded Bernard rows hisjlate t And left-legg 'd Jacob feems to emulate.] Milton, of the motion of the Swan, His ftate with oary feet." AndDryden, of another's, With two left leg* W. $ookll. THE DUNCIAD. 135 Here fortun'd Curl to Hide ; loud fhout the band, And Bernard ! Bernard ! rings thro' all the Strand. Obfcene with filth the mifcreant lies bewray'd, 75 Fall'n in the plafh his wickednefs had laid : Then REMARKS. VER. 75. Olfcene with filth, sV.] Though this incident may feem too low and bafe for the dignity of an Epic poem, the learned very well know it to be but a copy of Homer and Virgil i the very words &*9< andjimus are ufed by them, though our poet (in compliance to modern nicety) has remarkably enriched and coloured his language, as well as raifed the verfificatjon, in this Epifode, and in the following one of Eliza. Mr. Dryden, in Mac-Fleckno, has not fcrupled to mention the Morning Toajl at which the fifties bite in the Thames, Pifling Alley, Relics of the Bum, &c. but onr author is more grave, and (as a line writer fays of Virgil in his Georgics) toj/es about his dung with an air of Majejty. If we confider that the exercifes of his Authors could with juftice be no higher than tickling, chattering, braying, or diving, it was no eafy matter to invent fuch games as were proportioned to the meaner degree of Bookfellers. In Homer and Virgil, Ajax and Nifus, the perfons drawn in this plight, are Heroes ; whereas here they are fuch with whom it had been great impropriety to have joined any but vile ideas j beiides the natural connexion there is between Libellers and common Nuifances. Neverthelefs I have heard our author own, that this part of his Poem was (as it frequently happens) what coft him moft trouble 'and pleafed him leaft ; but that he hoped it was excufeable, fince levelled at fuch as underftand no delicate fatire : Thus the politeft men are obliged fometimes tofwear, when they happen to have to do with porters and oyfter-wenches. W. I M IT ATIO N S. VER. 73. Here fortun'd Curl toflide ;] tt Labitur infelix, caefis ut forte j.uyencis Fufus humum viridefque fuper madefecerat herbas Concidit, immundoque fimo, facroque cruore." VIRGIL, Aeneid. v. of Nifus. W. VER. 74. And Bernard! Bernard /] " Ut littus, Hyla, Hyla, omne fonaret." rsgr VIR.GIL, Ed. vi. W. 136 THE DUNCIAD. Book II. Then firft (if Poets aught of truth declare) The caitiff Vaticide conceiv'd a pray'r. Hear Jove ! whofe name my bards and I adore, As much at lead as any God's, or more ; 80 And him and his, if more devotion warms, Down with the Bible, up with the Pope's Arms, A place there is, betwixt earth, air, and feas, Where, from Ambrofia, Jove retires for eafe. There in his feat two fpacious vents appear, 85 On this he fits, to that he leans his ear, And hears the various vows of fond mankind ; Some beg an eaftern, fome a weftern wind : All vain petitions, mounting to the fky, "With reams abundant this abode fupply : 90 Amus'd he reads, and then returns the bills Sign'd with that Ichor which from Gods diftils. In R E M AR KS. VER. 7. Obfcene"] Do thefe examples juftify the introdu&ion ef fuch naufeous and paltry images, or at all diminifli the difguft of the reader ? particularly the pafiage which Dryden difgraced himfclf by writing? Balfac feverely cenfured Malherbe for the expreffion, excrement de la terre. This pafTage of Pope refembles twomoft filthy lines ofEupolis, quoted by Athenaeus, page 314. The Commentator, at the end of the note on this paffage, afllgns a ftrange fort of apology and obligation for ufing oaths. And in truth, the whole note is grofs and indelicate to a degree. VER. 82. Down with the Bille, up with the Pope's Arms.] The Bible, Curl's fign : the Crofs-keys, Lintot's. W. VER. 83. See Lucian's Icaro-Menippus; where this fiftion is more extended. W. IMITATIONS. VER. 83. A place there is , betwixt earth, air, and feas,] " Orbe locus medio eft, inter terrafque, fretumque, Coeleftefque plagas" OVID. Met. xii. W Book II. THE DUNCIAD. 137 In office here fair Cloacina ftands, And minifters to Jove with pureft hands. Forth from the heap me pick'd her Vct'ry's pray'r, And plac'd it next him, a diftinclion rare ! 96 Oft had the Goddefs heard her fervant's call, From her black grottos near the Temple-wall, Lift'ning delighted to the jeft unclean Of link-boys vile, and watermen obfcene ; 100 Where as he fim'd her nether realms for Wit, She oft had favour'd him, and favours yet. Renew'd by ordure's fympathetic force, As oil'd with magic juices for the courfe, Vig'rous he rifes ; from th' effluvia flrong 105 Imbibes new life, and fcours and (links along j Re-paffes Lintot, vindicates the race, Nor heeds the brown diihonours of his face. And REMARKS. VER. 92. Alludes to Homer, Iliad v. ep T6 f " A ftream of necl'rous humour iffuing flow'd, Sanguine, fuch as celeftial fp'rits may bleed." MILTON. W. VER.93.C/0a'tf]TheRomanGoddefsofthecommon-fe\vers. W. Ibid. In office here, ffc.] Never were images, abominably low and difgufting, elevated and exprefied in finer language, than from hence to verfe 108. \Vhat an abufe of talents to compofe fuch lines on fuch a fubjeft ? VER. 101. Where as heji/l'd, &c.] See the preface to Swift's and Pope's Mifcellanies. W. VER. 104. As oll'd with magic juices] Alluding to the opinion that there are ointments ufed by witches to enable them to fly in the air, &c. IMITATIONS. VEU. 1 08. Nor heeds the brown difhonours of his face ^\ ~ " faciem oftentabat, et udo Turpia membra fimo" VIR.G. Aeneid. v. W. 138 THE DUNCIAD. Book II. And now the victor ftretch'd his eager hand Where the tall Nothing flood, or feem'd to ftand ; A fhapelefs (hade, it melted from his fight, 1 1 r Like forms in clouds, or vifions of the night. To feize his papers, Curl, was next thy care ; His papers light, fly diverfe, toft in air ; Songs, fonnets, epigrams, the winds uplift, 1 1 5 And whilk 'em back to Evans, Young, and Swift. Th* embroider'd fuit at leaft he deem'd his prey, That fuit an unpay'd taylor fnatch'd away. No REMARKS. VER. 1 1 6. Evans, Toung, and Swift. 1 Some of thofe perfons, whofe writings, epigrams, or jefts, he had owned. See Note on ver. O. W. Dr. Evans was of St. John's College Oxford ; author of the Apparition, and of an Epiftle to Bobart the Botanift, entitled, Vertumnus. He was a man of remarkable wit and vivacity, and many of his repartees were long remembered and repeated at Oxford. The apparition was a fatire on Tindal. VER. ll%. an unpaid taylor] This line has been loudly complained of in Mift, June 8, Dedic* to Sawney, and others, as a moft inhuman fatire on the poverty of Poets : But it is thought our author will be acquitted by a jury of Taylors. To me this inftance feems unluckily chofen ; if it be a fatire on any body, it muft be on a bad pay-mafler, fmce the perfon to whom they have here applied it, was a man of fortune. Not but Poets may well be jealous IMITATIONS. VER. III. Ajkapelefsjkadc, &c. " Effugit imago Par levibus ventis, volucrique fimillima fomno." VIRG. Aeneid. vi. W. VER. 1 14. His papers light, Jly diverfe, toft in air ; ] " Carmina turbata volent rapidis ludibria ventis." VIRG. Aeneia. vi. of the Sibyl's leaves. W. Book II. THE DUNCIAD. J39 No rag, no fcrap, of all the beau, or wit, That once fo flutter'd, and that once fo writ. 120 Heav'n rings with laughter : Of the laughter vain, Dulnefs, good Queen, repeats the jefl again. Three wicked imps, of her own Grub-ftreet Choir, She deck'd like Congreve, Addifon, and Prior ; Mears, Warner, Wilkins run : delufive thought ! Breval, Bond, Befaleel, the varlets caught. 126 Curl REMARKS. jealous of fo great a prerogative as non-payment ; which Mr. Dennis fo far afierts, as boldly to pronounce that, " If Homer himfelf was not in debt, it was becaufe nobody would truft him." Pref. to Rem. on the Rape of the Lock, p. 15. W. VER. 124. like Congreve, Addifon, and Prior ;] Thefe authors being fuch whofe names will reach pofterity, we mall not give any account of them, but proceed to thofe of whom it is necefiary. Befaleel Morris was author of fome fatires on the tranflators of Homer, with many other things printed in newfpapers. " Bond writ a fatire againft Mr. P . Capt. Breval was author of The Confederates, an ingenious dramatic performance to expofe Mr. P. Mr. Gay, Dr. Arb. and fome ladies of quality," fays CURL, Key, p. II. W. This is the paflage in which our author has mentioned Prior with rather more honor than in any other part of his works. Prior was mortified that Pope did not commend his Solomon fo highly as he wimed. VER. 125. Mears, Jfarner, Wilkins,] Bookfellers and Printers of much anonymous ftuff. W VER. 126. Bre-val, Bond, Befaleel,'] I forefee it will be objected from this line, that we were in an error in our aflertion on ver. 50. of this book, that More was a fictitious name, fince thefe perfons are equally reprefented by the poet as phantoms. So at firil fight it may feem ; but be not deceived, reader ; thefe alfo are not real perfons. 'Tis true, Curl declares Breval, a captain, author of a piece called the Confederate; ; but the fame Curl firft faid it was written by Jofeph Gay : Is his fecond aflertion tobe credited any more than i 4 o THE DUNCIAD. Book II. Curl ftretches after Gay, but Gay is gone, He grafps an empty Jofeph for a John : So Proteus, hunted in a nobler fnape, Became, when feiz'd, a puppy, or an ape. 130 To him the Goddefs : Son ! thy grief lay down, And turn this whole illufion on the town As the fage dame, experienc'd in her trade, By names of Toafts retails each batter'd Jade ; (Whence haplefs Monfieur much complains at Paris Of wrongs from Duchefles and Lady Maries ;) 136 Be thine, my ftationer ! this magic gift ; Cook mall be Prior, and Concanen, Swift : So mall each hoflile name become our own, And we too boail our Garth and Addifon. 140 With REMARKS. than his firfl ? He likewife affirms Bond to be one who writ a fatire on our poet. But where is fuch a fatire to be found ? where was fuch a writer ever heard of? As for Befaleel, it carries forgery in the very name ; nor is it, as the others are, a furname. Thou may'ft depend upon it, no fuch authors ever lived ; all phantoms. SCRIBL. VER. 131. Lay down,] Is one of the moft inaccurate expreffions in this poem. VER. 138. Cookjhallle Prior, ~\ The man here fpecified writ a thing called The Battle of Poets, in which Philips and Welfted were the Heroes, and Swift and Pope utterly routed. He alfo published fome malevolent things in the Britifh, London, and Daily Journals ; and at the fame time wrote letters to Mr. Pope, protefting his Innocence. His chief work was a tranflation of Hefiod, to which Theobald writ notes and half notes, which he carefully owned. W. Ibid. And Concane , Swift:] In the firft. edition of this poem there were only afterifks in this place, but the names were fince inferted, merely to fill up the verfe, and give cafe to the ear of the reader. W. BookIL THE DUNCIAD. i 4I With that fhe gave him (piteous of his cafe, Yet fmiling at his rueful length of face) A ihaggy REMARKS. VER. 140. And sV . " Codrus had but one bed, fo fhort to boot, That his fhort wife's fhort legs hung dangling out. His cupboard's head fix earthen pitchers grac'd, Beneath them was his trufty tankard plac'd ; And to fupport this noble plate, there lay A bending Chiron, caft from honeft clay. His few Greek books a rotten cheft contain'd, Whofe covers much of mouldinefs complain'd, Where mice and rats devour'd poetic bread, And on heroic verfe luxurioufly were fed. 'Tis true poor Codrus nothing had to boaft, And yet poor Codrus all that nothing loit." DRYDEW. But Mr. Concanen, in his dedication of the Letters, Advertifements, &c. to the author of the Dunciad, aflures us, " that Juvenal never fatirized the Poverty of Codrus.'* John Dunton was a broken bookfeller, and abufive fcribler: he writ Neck or Nothing, a violent fatire on fome minifters of ftate, a libel on the Duke of Devonihire and the Bimop of Peterborough, &c. W. VER. 148. And Tutchin flagrant from the fcourge ] John Tutchin, author of fome vile verfes, and of a weekly paper called The Obfervator: He wasfentenced to be whipped through feveral towns in the weft of England, upon which he petitioned King James II. to be hanged. When that prince died in exile, he wrote an invective againft his memory, occafioned by fome humane elegies on his death. He lived to the time of Queen Anne. Book II. THE DUNCIAD. 145 Himfelf among the ftory'd chiefs he fpies, As, from the blanket, high in air he flies, And oh ! (he cry'd) what flreet, what lane but knows Our purgings, pumpings, blanketings, and blows ? In every loom our labours mail be feen, 155 And the frefh vomit run for ever green ! See in the circle next, Eliza plac'd, Two babes of love clofe clinging to her waifl ; Fair REMARKS. VER. 149. There Ridpath, Roper,'] Authors of the Flying-poft and Foil-boy, two fcandaloiis papers oil different fides, for which they equally and alternately deferved to be cudgelled, and were fo. W. Ibid. Cudgell'd] It is painful to reflect, that even Dryden once underwent this difcipline. Mr. Nelfon, whofe truth cannot be queftioned, writes thus to Dr. Mapletoftj Jan. 2, 1679; "Your friend and fchoolfellow Mr. Dryden has been feverely beaten for being the fuppofed author of a late very abulive lampoon. There has been a good fum of money offered to find who fet them on work ; 'tis faid they received their orders from the Dutchefs of Portfmouth, who is concerned in the lampoon." Line 150 is particularly happy. VER. 151. Himfelf among the Jlory' d chief s hefp'ies\ The hiftory of Curl's being toficd in a blanket, and whipped by the Scholars of Welt mi nfter, is well known. Of his purging and vomiting, fee A full and true acccount of a horrid Revenge on the body of Edm. Cuil, &c. in Swift and Pope's Mifcellanies. W. IMITATIONS. VER. 151. Himfelf among the florid chiefs he fpies,'] '* Se quoque principibus permixtum agnovit Achivis Conflitit, et lacrymans : Quis jam locus, inquit, Achate ! Quae regio in terris noftri non plena laboris ?" VIRG. Aen.i. W. VER. 156. And the fre/h vomit run for ever green !~] A parody on thefe lines of a late noble author : " His bleeding arm had furnifh'd all their rooms, And run for ever purple in the looms." W, VOL, v. j. THE DUNG I AD. BooklF, Fair as before her works fhe ftands confefs'd, 159 In flow'rs and pearls by bounteous Kirkall drefs'd. The Goddefs then : " Who beft can fend on high The falient fpout, far-flreaming to the (ky ; His R E M A R K-S. VER. 157. See irt the circle next, Eliza plac'd} In this game is expofed, in the moft contemptuous manner, the profligate licentioufnefs of thofe fhamelefs fcribblers (for the moft part of that fex, which ought lead to be capable of fuch malice or impudence) who, in libellous Memoirs and Novels, reveal the faults or misfortunes of both fexes, to the ruin of public fame, or difturbance of private happinefs-. Our good poet (by the whole caft of his work being obliged not to take off the Irony) where he could not (hew his indignation, hath fliewn his contempt, as much as poffible ; having here drawn as vile a pi&ure as could be reprefented in the colours of Epic poefy. SCRISL. Ibid. Eliza Hay wood; This woman was authorefs of thofe moft fcandalous books called The Court of Carimania r and the New Utopia; For the two bales of love, fee CURL, KEY, p. 22. But whatever reflection he is pleafed to throw upon this Lady* furely it was what from him (he little deferred, who had celebrated- Curl's undertakings for Reformation of manners, and declared herfelf " to be fo perfectly acquainted with the fioeetnej's of his difpojition, and that tendernefs with which he confidered the errors of his fellow creatures ; that, though me mould find the little inadvertencies of her own life recorded in his papers, fhe was certain it would be done in fuch a manner as (he could not but approve.'* Mrs. HAYWOOD, Hift. of Ciar. printed in the Female Dunciad, p. 1 8. W. VER. 160. Kirkall, the name of an Engraver. Some of this Lady's works were printed in four volumes in *2mo, with her pifture thus drefled up before them. W. VER. 162. The falient fpout, \ No wit can atone for the meannefs, filthinefs, and vulgarity, of this conteft. This Ofborne waa the bookfcller IMITATIONS. VER. 158. Two babes of love clofe clinging to her waift ;] " Crefla genus, Pholoe, geminique fub ubere nati." VIRG. Aeneid.v. W. Book II. THE DUNCIAD. ,47 His be yon Juno of majeftic fize, With cow-like udders, and with ox-like eyes. This China Jordan let the chief o'ercome 165 Replenifh, not inglorioufly, at home.'* Ofborne and Curl accept the glorious ftrife, (Tho* this his Son difluades, and that his Wife.) One REMARKS. bookfeller who purchafed the great library of the Earl of Oxford, for 13,0007. which, fays Mr. Oldys, was not more than the binding of the books had coft. Dr. Johnfon wrote the preface to the catalogue, and is reported* during this employment, to have knocked Ofborne down with a folio in his (hop. But Johnfon himfelfufed to fay, " I beat him for being impertinent to me; but it was in my own chamber, and not in his mop." VER. 167. OJborne, Thomas~\ A Bookfeller in Gray's Inn, very well qualified by his impudence to a6l this part ; therefore placed here inftead of a lefs deferving Predeceflbr. This man publifhed advertifements for a year together, pretending to fell Mr. Pope's Subfcription books of Homer's Iliad at half the price: Of which books he had none, but cut to the fize of them (which was quarto) the common books in folio, without Copper-plates, on a worfe paper, and never above half the value. Upon this Advertifment the Gazetteer harangued thus, July 6, 1 739. " How melancholy muft it be to a writer to be fo unhappy as to fee his works hawked for fale in a manner fo fatal to his fame ! IMITATIONS. VER. 163. yon Juno With cow-like udders, and 'with ox- like eyet.] In allufion to Homer's B,orr? on/ma "Hp. VER. 165. This China Jordan] Tertius Argolica hac galea contentus abito." VIRG. Aeneid. vi. In the games of Homer, Iliad xxiii. there are fet together, as prizes, a Lady and a Kettle, as in this place Mrs. Haywood and a Jordan. But there the preference in value is given to the Kettle, at which Mad. Dacier is juftly difpleafed. Mrs. H. is here treated with diilin&ion, and acknowledged to be the more valuable of the two. W. L 2 148 THE DUNCIAH. Book E. One on his manly confidence relies, One on his vigour and fuperior fize. 170 Firft Ofborne lean'd againft his letter'd pofl ; It rofe, and labour 'd to a curve at mod. So Jove's bright bow difplays its wat'ry round, (Sure fign, that no fpeclator fhall be drown'd.) A fecond effort brought but new difgrace, 175 The wild Meander walh'd the Artift's face : Thus the fmall jett, which hafty hands unlock, Spirts in the gardener's eyes who turns the cock. Not fo from mamelefs Curl ; impetuous fpread The flream, and fmoking flourifl/d o*er his head. So REMARKS. fame! How, with Honour to yourfelf, and Juftice to your Subfcribers, can this be done ? What an ingratitude to be charged on the Only honeft Poeti[\at lived in 1738! and than whom Virtue Has not had ajhriller Trumpeter for many ages ! That you were once generally admired and ejleemed can be denied by none ; but that you and your works are now defpifed, is verified by taiu'JaBs''* which being utterly falfe, did not indeed much humble the Author, but drew this juil chaftifement on the Bookfeller. W. VER. 172. IT, is inaccurate, and wants a fubftantive. IMITATIONS. VER. 169, 170. One on his manly confidence relies, One on his vigour] te Ille melior mottf, fretufque juventa ; Hie membris et mole valens." VIRG. Aeneid. v. W. VER. 173, 174. So Jove's bright bow (Sure Jig*) ] The words of Homer, of the Rain-bow, in Iliad xi. J TE KfOKlfc-JI "En ntyii: a-Tr,fii-i, tifaq ptpituv a\6f uiruv* " Que le fils de Saturne a fondez dans les niies, pour etre dan tous les ages une figne a tous les mortels." DACIER. W. Book II. THE DUNCIAD. 149 So (fam'd like thee for turbulence and horns) 1 8 1 Eridanus his humble fountain fcorns ; Through half the heav'ns he pours th* exalted urn j His rapid waters in their paflage burn. Swift as it mounts, all follow with their eyes : Still happy Impudence obtains the prize. 186 Thou REMARKS. VER. 183. Through half the heav'ns be pours th y exalted urn ;] In a manufcript Dunciad (where are fome marginal corrections of fome gentlemen fome time dcceafed) I have found another reading of thefe lines, thus, And lifts his urn, through half the heav'ns to flow ; His rapid waters in their pafTage glow. This I cannot but think the right : For firft, though the difference between burn and glow may feem not very material to others, to me 1 confefs the latter has an elegance, a je ne fyay quoi, which is much eafier to be conceived than explained. Secondly, every reader .of our poet muft have obferved how frequently he ufes this word glow in other parts of his works : To inftance only in his Homer : (i.) Iliad ix. ver. 726." With one refentment glows, (2.) Iliad xi. ver. 626. " There the battle glows. (3.) Ibid. ver. 985. " The clofing flefh that inftant ceas ? d to glow. < 4 .)'IHa4 IMITATIONS. VER. 18 1, 182. So (fam'd like tbee for turbulence and horns) Eric/anus'] Virgil mentions thefe two qualifications of Eridanus, Georg. iv. " Et gemina auratus taurino cornua vultu, Etidanus, quo non alius per pinguia culta In mare purpureum violentior influit amnis." The Poets fabkd of this river Eridanus, that it flowed through the flues. DEN HAM, Cooper's Hill : " Heav'n her Eridanus no more mall boaft, Whofe fame's in thine, like lefTer currents loft ; Thy nobler ft ream fliall vifit Jove's abodes, To faine among the ftars, and bathe the Gods.'* W. a 150 THE DUNCIAD. Book II. Thou triumph'ft, Victor of the high- wrought day, And the pleas'd dame, foft-fmiling, lead'ft away. Ofborne, through perfect modefly o'ercome, Crown'd with the Jordan, walks contented home. But now for Authors nobler palms remain; 191 Room for my Lord ! three jockeys in his train ; Six huntfmen with a mout precede his chair : He grins, and looks broad nonfenfe with a flare. His Honour's meaning Dulnefs thus expreft, 195 " He wins this Patron, who can tickle bed." He chinks his purfe, and takes his feat of ftate : With ready quills the Dedicators wait ; Now REMARKS. (4.) Iliad xii. vcr. 45." Encompafs'd He&or glows. (5.) Ibid. ver. 475. " His beating breaft with gen'rous ardour glows. (6.) Iliadxviii.ver.59i. *' Another part glow'd with refulgent arms. (7.) Ibid. ver. 654. " And ctirl'd on filver props in order glow." I am afraid of growing too luxuriant in examples, or I could ftretch this catalogue to a great extent ; but thefe are enough to prove his fondnefs for this beautiful wordy which, therefore, let all future editions replace here. I am aware, after all, that burn is the proper word to convey an idea of what was faid to be Mr. Curl's condition at this time : But from that very reafon I infer the direft contrary. For furely every lover of our author will conclude he had more humanity than to infult a man on fuch a misfortune or calamity, which could never befal him purely by his own fault, but from an unhappy communication with another. This Note is half Mr. THEOBALD, half SCRIBL. It refle&s fhame on both of them. VER. 187.^ high -wrought day,~\ Some affirm this was originally, vatllpJl day ; but the Poet's decency would not fuffer it. W. Nor Ihould the Commentator have written fuch a note ! Book II. THE DTJNC1AD. 151 Now at his head the dextrous talk commence, And, inftant, fancy feels th' imputed fenfe ; 200 Now gentle touches wanton o'er his face, He ftruts Adonis, and affe&s grimace: Rolli the feather to his ear conveys ; Then his nice tafle directs our Operas: Bentley his mouth with claffic flatt'ry opes, 205 And the pufPd orator burfts out in tropes. But REMARKS. VER*. 198. Thi Dedicators'] Among the innumerable inftances that might be given of fuliome Dedications, none can exceed that of the courtly Abbe Choify, to Madame Maintenon, prefixed to the tranflation of his Kemfis, with her picture kneeling before a .crucifix, and thefe words of the 44th Pfalm; " Hearken, O Daughter, and confider." VER. 203. Paulo Antonio Rolli, an Italian Poet, and writer of many Operas in that language, which, partly by the help of his genius, prevailed in England near twenty years. He taught Italian to fome fine Gentlemen, who affected to direct the Operas. W. He alfo translated Paradife Loft with fpirit and elegance j and published Marchettis' fine tranflation of Lucretius. VER. 305. Bentley his mouthy &c.~\ Not fpoken of the famous Dr. Richard Bendey, but of one Thomas Bentley, a fmall critic, who aped his uncle in a little Horace. The great one was intended to be dedicated to the Lord Halifax, but (on a change of the Miniftry) was given to the Earl of Oxford ; for which reafon the little one was dedicated to his fon the Lord Harley. A tafte of his Claffic Elocution may be feen in his following Panegyric on the Peace of Utrecht. -Cupimus Patrem tuum, fulgentiffimum illud Orbis Anglicanijubar, adorare ! ingens Reipublicae nojlrae columen! Ofortunatam tanto Heroe Britanniam / ////' tali tantoque viro DEUM per Omnia adfu'iffe, manumquc ejus et menlem direxiffe, CERTISSIMUM EST. Hujus enim Unius ferme opera, aequiffimis et perhonorificiis conditionibus, diuturno, heu nimium ! bello, Jinem impojitum videmus. Diem aelerna memoria digniflimam ! qua terrores Patriae omnes txcidit, Pacemque dlu exoftatam toil fere Europac re/lituitj ille Populi Anglic an'i Amor, Harkius. L 4 Thug i 5 2 THE DUNCIAD. Book II. But Welfled moft the Poet's healing balm 207 Strives to extract from his foft, giving palm ; Unlucky VARIATIONS. VER. 207. in the firft Edd. But Oldmixon the Poet's healing balm, &c. W. REM AR KS. Thus critically (that is, verbally) tranflated : " Thy Father, that moft refulgent ilar of the Anglican Orb, we much defire to adore ! O mighty Column of our Republic ! Oh Britain, fortunate in fuch an Hero! That to fuch and fo great a Man GOD was ever prefent, in every thing, and all along directed both his hand and his heart, is a Moft Abfolute Certainty ! For it is in a manner by the operation of this Man alone, that we behold a War (alas ! how much too long an one ! ) brought at length to an end, on the mojl ju/l and niojl honourable Conditions. Oh Day eternally to be memorated ! wherein all the Terrors of his Country were ended, and a PEACE (long wifhed for by almojl all Europe] was reftored by HAK.LEY, the Love and Delight of the People of England." , But that this Gentleman can write in a different ftyle, may be feen in a letter he printed, to Mr. Pope, wherein feveral Noble Lords are treated in a molt extraordinary language, particularly the Lord Bolingbroke abufed for that very PEACE which he here makes the Jingle work pf the Earl of Oxford, diredled by God Almighty* W. VER. 207. tt'clftsJ] Leonard Welded, author of The Triumvirate, or a Letter in vtrfe from Palemon to Celia at Bath, which was meant for a fatire on Mr. P. and fome of his friends, about the year 1718. He writ other things which we cannot remember. Smedley, in his Metamorpholis of Scriblerus, mentions one, the Hymn of a Gentleman to his Creator ; And there was another in praife either of a Cellar, or a Garret. L. W. characterized in the treatife Utfl B^9a. : , or the Art of Sinking, as a Didapper, and after as an Eel, is faid to be this perfon, by Dennis, Daily Journal of May n, 1,728. He was alfo characterized under another animal, a Mole, by the author of the enfuing Simile, which was handed about at the fame time : Dear Welfled, mark, in dirty hole, That painful animal, a Mole ; Above Bookll. THE DUNCIAD. I53 Unlucky Welfted ! thy unfeeling mafler, The more thou tickleft, gripes his fift the fader. 210 While thus each hand promotes the pleafmg pain, And quick fenfations Ikip from vein to vein ; A youth unknown to Phoebus, in defpair, Puts his laft refuge all in heav'n and pray'r. What force have pious vows ! The Queen of Love Her fitter fends, her vot'refs, from above. 216 As taught by Venus, Paris learnt the art To touch Achilles' only tender part ; Secure, through her, the noble prize to carry, He marches off, his Grace's Secretary. 220 Now turn to different fports (the Goddefs cries) And learn, my fons, the wond'rous power of Noife. To move, to raife,'to ravifh ev'ry' heart, With Shakefpear's nature, or with Johnfon's art, Let REMARKS. Above ground never born to grow, What mighty ftir it keeps below ? To make a Mole-hill all this ftrife, It digs, pokes, undermines for life. How proud a little dirt to fpread ; Confcious of nothing o'er its head ! Till, lab'ring on for want of eyes, It blunders into Light and dies." You have him again in book iii. ver. 169. W. VER. 213. A youth unknown to Phoebus, 5V. ] The fatire of this epifode being levelled at the bafe flatteries of authors to worthlefs wealth or greatnefs, concludes here with an excellent leflbn to fuch men : That although their pens and praifes were as exquifite as they conceit of themfelves, yet (even in their own mercenary views) a creature unlettered, who ferveth the pafiions, or pimpeth to the pleafures, of fuch vain, braggart, puff'd Nobility, fliall with thofe patrons be much more inward, and of them much higher rewarded. SCRIBL. i 5 4 THE DUNCIAD. Book II. Let others aim: 'Tis yours to fhake the foul 225 With Thunder rumbling from the muftard bowl, With horns and trumpets now to madnefs fwell, Now fink in forrows with a tolling bell ; Such happy arts attention can command, When fancy flags, and fenfe is at a fland. 230 Improve we thefe. Three Cat-calls be the bribe Of him, whofe chatt'ring mames the Monkey tribe : And his this Drum, whofe hoarfe heroic bafe Drowns the loud clarion of the braying Afs. Now thoufand tongues are heard in one loud din : The Monkey-mimics rum difcordant in; 236 Twas chatt'ring, grinning, mouthing, jabb'ring all, And Noife and Norton, Brangling and Breval, Dennis REMARKS. VER. 226. JFitb Thunder rumbling from the mujlar d l>o when- ever he has fpoken of any dirty or low work, conftantly puts us in mind of the Poverty of the offenders, as the only extenuation of fuch practices. Let any one but remark, when a Thief, a Pickpocket, a Highwayman, or a Knight of the poft, are fpoken of, how much our hate to thofe characters is lefTened, if they add a needy Thief, a poor Pickpocket, an hungry Highwayman, a flawing Knight of the poft, etc. W. Here again has Swift borrowed from his friend, on the great number of our Scribblers who, he fays, " Computing by their Pecks of Coals, Amount to juft nine thoufand fouls." This Rhapfody, and the verfes on his own death, are the beft of Swift's poetical produdlions, though they cannot be called true Poetry. VER. 283. In naked majejiy Qldmixon Jlands ,~\ Mr. JOHN OLD- MIXON, next to Mr. Dennis, the moft ancient Critic of our Nation an unjufl cenfurer of Mr. Addifon in his profe Eflay on Criticifm, whom alfo in his imitation of Btouhours (called the Arts of Logic and Rhetoric) he mifreprefents in plain matter of fad ; for in p. 45, he cites the Spectator as abufing Dr. Swift by name, where there is not the leaft hint of it ; and in p. 304, is fo injurious as to fugged that Mr. Addifon himfelf writ that Taller, No. 43, which fays of his own Simile, that " 'Tis as great as ever entered into the mind of man." " In Poetry he was not fo happy as laborious, and therefore characlerifed by the Tat- ler, No. 62. by the name of Omicronthe Unborn Poet." Curl, Key, p. 13. " He writ Dramatic works, and a volume of Poetry con- Ming of heroic Epiftles, etc. fome whereof are very well done," faid that great Judge Mr. Jacob, in his Lives of Poets, vol. ii. P- 33- VOL. v. M In i6a THE DUNCIAD. Book II. Then fighing, thus, " And am I now threefcore ? Ah why, ye Gods ! fhould two and two make four ?" He faid, and climb'd a ftranded lighter's height, Shot to the black abyfs, and plung'd downright. The Senior's Judgment all the crowd admire, Who but to fink the deeper, rofe the higher. 290 Next Smedley div'd ; flow circles dimpled o'er The quaking mud, that clos'd, and op'd no more. All look, all figh, and call on Smedley loft ; Smedley in vain refounds through all the coaft. Then REMARKS. In his Effay on Criticifm, and the Arts of Logic and Rhetoric, he frequently reflects on our Author. But the top of his cha- racter was a pervertcr of Hiftory, in that fcandalous one of the Stuarts in folio, and his Critical Hiftory of England, two volumes, oftavo. Being employed by Bilhop Kennet, in publifhing the Hiftorians in his Colle&ion, he falfified Daniel's Chronicle in numberlefs places. Yet this very man, in the preface to the firft of thefe books, advanced a particular fad to charge three eminent perfons of falfifying the Lord Clarendon's Hiftory ; which fad has been difproved by Dr. Atterbury, late Bifhop of Rochefter, then the only furvivor of them ; and the particular part he pre- tended to be falfified, produced fince, after almoft ninety years, in that noble author's original manufcript. He was all his life a virulent Party-writer for hire, and received his reward in a fmall place, which he enjoyed to his death. W. VER. 291. Next Smedley div'd;'] In the furreptitious editions* this whole Epifode was applied to an initial letter E , by whom, if IMITATIONS. VER. 285. Then Jighlng , thus, " And am I now threefcore ? etc,"] " Fletque Milon fenior, cum fpedat inanes Herculeis fimiles, fluidos pendere lacertos." OVID. VER. 293. and call on Smedley lojl y etc,~\ ' Alcides wept in vain for Hylas loft, Hylas, in vain, refounds through all the coaft." Lord ROSCOM. Tranflat. of VIRGIL'S vi th EcL Book II. THE DUNCIAD. 163 Then * eflay'd ; fcarce vanifh'd out of fight, 2 95 He buoys up inftant, and returns to light : He bears no tokens of the fabler flreams, And mounts far off among the Swans of Thames. True to the bottom, fee Concanen creep, A cold, long-winded, native of the deep : 300 If VARIATIONS. After ver. 298. in the firft Edit, followed thefe, Far worfe unhappy D r fuccecds, He fearch'd for coral, but he gather'd weeds. REMARKS. if they meant the Laureate, nothing was more abfurd, no part agreeing with his charadter. The Allegory evidently demands a perfon dipp'd in fcandal, and detply immerfed in dirty work ; whereas Mr. Eufden's works rarely offended but by their length and multitude, and accordingly are taxed of nothing elfe in book i. ver. 1 02. But the perfon here mentioned, an Irifhman, was author and publiflier of many fcurrilous pieces, a weekly Whitehall Journal in the year 1722, in the name of Sir James Baker ; and particularly whole volumes of Billingfgate againft. Dr. Swift and Mr. Pope, called Gulliveriana and Alexandriana* printed in octavo, 1728. W. VER. 295. Then * ejay^d;'] A gentleman of genius and fpirit, who was fecretly dipt in fome papers of this kind, on whom our poet beftows a panegyric inftead of a fatire, as deferving to be better employed than in party quarrels, and perfonal inve&Jves. W. Suppofed to be Hill : though this was denied by Pope. VER. 299. Concanen} MATTHEW CONCANEN, an Irimman, bred to the law. Smedley (one of his brethren in enmity to Swift) in his Metamorphofis of Scriblerus, p. 7. accufes him of " having boafted of what he had not written, but others had revifed and done for him." He was author of feveral dull and dead fcurrilities in the Britifn and London Journals, and in a pape/ called the Speculatift. In a pamphlet, called a Supplement to the Profund, he dealt very unfairly with our poet, not only fre- quently imputing to him Mr. Broome's verfes (for which he might indeed feem in fome degree accountable, having corrected what that gentleman did) but thofe of the duke of Buckingham, M ^ and 164 THE DUNCIAD. Book II. If perfeverance gain the Diver's prize, Not everlafling Blackmore this denies : No noife, no ftir, no motion canft thou make, Th* unconfcious ftream fleeps o'er thee like a lake. Next plung'd a feeble, but a defp'rate pack, 505 With each a fickly brother at his back : Sons of a Day ! juft buoyant on the flood, Then number'd with the puppies in the mud. Afk ye their names ? I could as foon difclofe The names of thefe blind puppies as of thofe. 3 1 o Faft by, like Niobe (her children gone) Sits Mother Ofborne, ftupify'd to ftone ! And REMARKS. and others : To this rare piece fomebody humouroufly caufed him to take for his motto, De profundis c!ama Jix Jbil- lings and eight-pence, out of the Treafury." But frequently, through his fury or folly, he exceeded all the bounds of his com- iniffion, and obliged his honourable Patron to difavow his fcur- rilities. W. VER. 318. Gravitation Weft.] From Dorfet on Howard, who had fuch alacrity in Sinking. Book II. THE DUNCIAD, 167 When lo ! a burft of thunder fhook the flood, 325 Slow rofe a form, in majefly of Mud.; Shaking the horrors of his fable brows, And each ferocious feature grim with ooze. Greater he looks, and more than mortal flares : Then thus the wonders of the deep declares. 330 Firft he relates, how finking to the chin, Smit with his mien, the Mud-nymphs fuck'd him in : How young Lutetia, fofter than the down, Nigrina black, and Merdamante brown, Vy'd for his love in jetty bow'rs below, 335 As Hylas fair was ravifh'd long ago. Then REMARKS. VER. 323. The plunging Prelate,] It was Imagined he meant Bifliop Sherlock, whom Bolingbroke attacks fo violently in the Diflertation on Parties, for defending the meafures of Sir Robert Walpole, who was Sherlock's Contemporary at Eton College, and who ufed to relate, that when fome of the Scholars, going to bathe in the Thames, ftood fhivering on the Bank, Sherlock plunged in immediately over his head and ears. VER. 331- Firft be relates,] The Adventures of Smedley, and what he faw in the Shades below, from thence down to Line 352, are finely imagined, and one of the moil poetical paflages in any of his Works. VER. 336. As Hylas fair] Who was ravifhed by the water- nymphs and drawn into the river. The ftory is told at large by Valerius Flaccus, lib. iii. Argon. See Virgil, Eel. vi. W. But it is better told by Theocritus, Idyll. 13. I M ITATI ON S. VER. 329. Greater he loots, and more than mortal ftartt .*] VIRG. Aeneid. vi. of the Sibyl : " majorque videri, Nee mortale fonans " M 4 168 THE DUNCIAD. Book II. Then fung, how fhown him by the Nut-brown maids A branch of Siyx here rifes from the Shades, That tindur'd as it runs with Lethe's ftreams, And wafting vapours from the land of dreams, 340 (As under feas Alpheus' fecret fluice Bears Pifa's off'rings to his Arethufe) Pours into Thames : and hence the mingled wave Intoxicates the pert, and lulls the grave : Here brifker vapours o'er the TEMPLE creep, 345 There, all from Paul's to. Aldgate drink and fleep. Thence REMARKS, VER. 338. A branch of Styx, etc.] Ot T' apty* tfAigtov T/la>j:noi> spy' I>f OTgom *aA?UJoo $VP, Qvs? oyc Hwtiu Homer, II. ii. Catal. Of the Land of Dreams in the fame region, he makes mention, Odyff- xxiv. See alfo Lucian's True Hiflory. Lethe and the Land of Dreams allegorically reprefent the Stupefaction and vi/ion- ary Madnefs of Poets, equally dull and extravagant. Of Alpheus's water gliding fecretly under the fea of Pifa, to mix with thofe of the Arethufe in Sicily, fee Mofchus Idyll, viii. Virg. Eel x. " Sic tibi, cum fluftus fubter labere Sicanos, Doris amara fuam non intermifceat undam." And again, Aeneid. iii. " - Alpheum fama eft hue, Elidis amnem, Occulias egiffe vias fubter mare, qui mine Ore, Arethufa, tuo Siculis confunditur undis." W. VER. 341- Secret Jluice\ Not fo much from Mofchus or Virgil, as mentioned in the above note, but clearly taken from the Ar- cades of Milton ; " Divine Alpheus, who, by fecret flufe, Stole under feas to meet his Arethufe." Book II. THE DUNCIAD. 169 Thence to the banks where rev'rend Bards repofe, They led him foft ; each rev'rend Bard arofe ; And Milbourn chief, deputed by the reft, Gave him the cafibck, furcingle, and veft. 350 " Receive (he faid) thefe robes which once were mine, " Dulnefs is facred in a found divine." He ceas'd, and fpread the robe ; the croud confefs The rev'rend Flamen in his lengthen'd drefs. Around him wide a fable Army ftand, 255 A low-born, cell-bred, felfim, fervile band, Prompt REMARKS. VER. 349. And Millourn} Luke Milbourn a Clergyman, the fairefl of Critics ; who, when he wrote againft Mr. Dryden's Virgil, did him juftice in printing at the fame time his own tranf- lations of him, which were intolerable. His manner of writing has a great -refemblance with that of the Gentlemen of the Dun- ciad againft our author, as will be feen .in the Parallel of Mr. Dryden and him. Append. \V. VER. 355. Around him wide, etc.] It is to be hoped that the fatirc in thefe lines will be underftood in the confined fenfe in which the Author meant it, of fuch only of the Clergy, who, though folemnly engaged in the fervice of Religion, dedicate themfelves, for venal and corrupt ends, to the fervice of Minifters or Factions ; and tho' educated under an entire ignorance of the world, afpire to interfere in the government of it, and confequently to difturb and diforder it ; in which they fall fliort of their Predeceflbrs only by being invefted. with much lefs of that power and authority which they employed indifferently (as is hinted at in the lines above) IMITATIONS. VER. 347. Thence to the banks, etc.] " Turn canit errantem Permeffi ad flumina Gallum, Utque viro Phoebi chorus afiurrexerit omnis; Ut Linus haec illi divino carmine paftor, Floribus atque apio crines ornatus, amaro, Dixerit, Hos tibi dant calamos, en accipe, Mufae, Afcraeo quos ante feni" etc. 1 70 THE DUNCIAD. Book II. Prompt or to guard or flab, or faint or damn, Heav'n's Swifs, who fight for any God, or Man. Through Lud's fam'd gates, along the well-known Fleet Rolls th,e black troop, and overihades theftreet, 360 Till fhow'rs of Sermons, Characters, Eflays, In circling fleeces whiten all the ways : So clouds replenifh'd from fome bog below, Mount in dark volumes, and defcend in fnow. Here flopp'd the Goddefs, and in pomp proclaims, A gentler exercife to clofe the games. 366 cf Ye Critics ! in whofe heads, as equal fcales, 77 3 THE D U N C I A D, BOOK THE THIRD. ARGUMENT. A FT E R the other perfons are difpofed in their proper places of reft, the Goddejs transports the King to her Temple, and there lays him to JIumber with his head an her lap : a pojition of marvellous virtue, whicfr caufes all the Vlfions of wild enthu- fiafls,projelors, politicians, Inamoratos ; cajlle-builders, chemljls t and poets, fie Is Immediately carried on the wings of Fancy and led by a mad Poetical Sibyl to the Elyfian {hade ; where, on the banks of Lethe, the fouls of the dull are dipped by Bavius, before their entrance into this world. There he is met by the gh oft of Settle, and ly him made acquainted with the wonders of the place, and with thsfe which he himfelf is deflined to perform. He takes him to a Mount of Vifion, from whence he Jhews him the pajl triumphs of the empire of Dulnefs, then the prefent, and lajlly the future : how f mall a part of the world was ever conquered by Science, howfoon thofe conqucjls were flopped, and thofe very nations again reduced to her dominion. Then dljllnguljhlng the Jjland of Great Britain, Jhews by what aids, by what p^rjons, and by what degrees, It Jhall be brought to her Empire. Some of the perfons he caufes to pafs in review before his eyes, defer ibing each by his proper figure, character, and qualifications. On a fudden the Scene fhifts, and a vajl number of miracles and prodigies appear, VOL. v. N utterly 178 ARGUMENT. utterly furprizing and unknown to the King himfelf, till they are explained to be the wonders of his own reign now commencing. On this JubjecJ Settle breaks into a csngratulation y yet not unmixed with concern, that his own times were but the types of thefe* He prophecies how fir Jl the nation Jhall be over-run with Farces, Operas, and Shows ; how the throne of Dulnefs Jhall be advanced over the Theatres, and Jet up even at Court : then how her Sons Jhall prefide in the feats of Arts and Sciences : giving a glympfe, or Pifgah-Jight, of the future Fulnefs of her Glory, the accompli/hment whereof is thefubjecJ of the fourth and lajl book. C '793 BOOK III. u T in her Temple's laft recefs inclos'd, On Dulnefs' lap th' Anointed head repos'd. Him clofe fhe curtains round with Vapours blue, And foft befprinkles with Cimmerian dew. Then raptures high the feat of Senfe o'erflow, 5 Which only heads refin'd from Reafon know. Hence, from the flraw where Bedlam's Prophet nods, He hears loud Oracles, and talks with Gods : Hence the Fool's Paradife, the Statefman's icheme, The air-built Caftle, and the golden Dream, 10 The Maid's romantic wifii, the Chemift's flame, And Poet's vifion of eternal Fame. And now, on Fancy's eafy wing convey 'd, The King defcending, views th' Elyfian Shade. A flip- REMARKS. VER. 5, 6, &c. Hereby is intimated that the following Vifion is no more than the chimera of the dreamer's brain, and not a real or intended fatire on the prefent Age, doubtlefs more learned, more enlightened, and more abounding with great Genius's in Divinity, Politics, and whatever arts and fciences, than all the preceding. For fear of any fuch miftake of our Poet's honeft meaning, he hath again, at the end of the Vifion, repeated this monition, faying that it all parted through the Ivory gate, which (according to the Ancients) denoteth Falfity. SCRIBL. IMITATIONS. VER. 7,8. Hence, from thejlrauia in fuperjlitionibns et facris Romanorum perpetuo verfatur. The fame Pope is accufed by Voffius, and others, of having caufed the noble monuments of the old Roman magnificence to be dcftroyed, left thofe who came to Rome fhould give more attention to Triumphal Arches, &c. than to holy things. Bayle, Dift. W. , 9 o THE DUNCIAD. BookllL Padua, with fighs, beholds her Livy burn 105 And ev'n th' Antipodes Vigilius mourn. See, the Cirque falls, th' unpillar'd Temple nods, Streets pav'd with Heroes, Tyber choak'd with Gods: Till Peter's keys fome chrift'ned Jove adorn, And Pan to Mofes lends his pagan horn j no See gracelefs Venus to a Virgin turn'd, Or Phidias broken, and Apelles burn'd. Behold REMARKS. VER. 108. Tyber choak'd -with Gods .-] The Ruins of Rome are imaged in a fublimer ftrain by Akenfide : Defolation o'er the grafs-grown ftreet Expands her raven wings ; and from the gate Where fenates once the weal of nations plann'd, Hifles the gliding fnake through hoary weeds That clafp the motild'ring column." B. 2. v. 680. It is obferved, that interruptions in the periods of learning may be fometimes favourable to the Arts and Sciences, by breaking the progrefs of authority, and dethroning the ufurpers over human reafon. VER. 109. 77/7 Peter's keys fome drift ned Jove adorn,~\ After the government of Rome devolved to the Popes, their zeal was for fome time exerted in demolifhing the heathen Temples and Statues, fo that the Goths fcarce deftroyed more monuments of Antiquity out of rage, than thefe out "of devotion. At length they fpared fome of the Temples, by converting them to Churches ; and fome of the Statues, by modifying them into images of Saints. In much later times, it was thought neceflary to change the ilatues of the Apollo and Pallas, on the tomb of Sannazarius, into David and Judith ; the Lyre eafily became a Harp, and the Gorgon's Head turned to that of Holofernes. W. VER. in. Gracelefs Venus'] Many pleafing inftances of this kind are given in Middleton's entertaining Letter from Rome : tf As it is, in the Pantheon, (he fays), 'tis juft the fame in all the other heathen Temples that ftill remain at Rome ; they have only pulled down one idol to fet up another in its place, and changed Book III. THE DUNCIAD. i 9l Behold yon' Ifle, by Palmers, Pilgrims trod, Men bearded, bald, cowl'd, uncowPd, mod, unfhod, Peel'd, patch'd, and pyebald, linfey-woolfey bro- thers, n 5 Grave Mummers ! fleevelefs fome, and mirtlefs others. That once was Britain Happy ! had me feen No fiercer fons, had Eafter never been. In peace, great Goddefs, ever be ador'd ; How keen the war, if Dulnefs draw the fword ! 120 Thus REMARKS. changed rather the name than the object of their worfhip. Thus the little Temple of Vefta, near the Tiber, mentioned by Horace, is now poflefled by the Madonna of the Sun ; that of Fortuna Virilis, by Mary the Egyptian ; that of Saturn (where the public Treafure was anciently kept), by St. Adrian ; that of Romulus and Remus, in the Via Sacra, by two other brothers, Cofmas and Damianus ; that of Antonine the Godly, by Laurence the Saint : But for my part, I mould fooner be tempted out of devotion for Romulus or Antonine, to proflrate myfelf before their ftatues, than thofe of a Laurence or a Damian ; and much rather with Pagan Rome give Divine Honours to the Founders of Empires, than with Popifh Rome to the Founders of Mo- nalleries." Middleton borrowed much from Les Conformites de Ceremonies modemes avec les Anciennes. A Leyde, 1667. VER. 112. Or Phidias broken,] Poggius, fitting with a friend on the top of the Capitoline hill, makes a pleafing and eloquent defcription of the Ruins of Rome, which lay in profpeft below him ; inferted in the Dialogue de Varietate Fortunae, republifhed at Paris, 1723 ; written about the year 1440. VER. 117, 1 1 8. Happy! had Eajler never been.] Wars in England anciently, about the right time of celebrating Eafter. W- I MITATIONS. VER. II7> 1 18. Happy had Eajler never leen.~] " Et fortunatam, fi nunquam armenta fuiflent." VZRG. Eel. vi. W. 192 THE DUNCIAD. Book III. Thus vifit not thy own ! on this bleft age Oh fpread thy Influence, but reftrain thy Rage. And fee, my fon ! the hour is on its way, That lifts our Goddefs to imperial fway ; This fav'rite Ifle, long fever' d from her reign, 1 25 Dove-like, me gathers to her wings again. Now look thro' Fate ! behold the fcene me draws ! What aids, what armies to affert her caufe ! See all her progeny, illultrious fight ! Behold, and count them, as they rife to light. 130 As Berecynthia, while her offspring vye In homage to the Mother of the iky, Surveys around her, in the bleft abode, An hundred fons, and ev'ry fon a God : Not with lefs glory mighty Dulnefs crown'd, 135 Shall take through Grub-ftreet her triumphant round ; And REMARKS. VER. 126. Dove-lite, foe gathers] This is fulfilled in the fourth book. W. The line is a little prophane. IMITATIONS. VER. 127, 129. Now look through Fate ! See all her progeny, &c. ] " Nunc age, Dardaniam prolem quae deinde fequatur Gloria, qui maneant Itala de gente nepotes, Illuftres animas, noftrumque in nomen ituras, Expediam." VIRG. Aeneid. vi. W. VER. 131. As Berecynthia, &c.~\ " Felix prole virum, qualis Berecynthia mater Invehitur curru Phrygias turrita per urbes, Laeta deum paitu, centum complexa nepotes, Omnes coelicolas, omnes fupera alta tenentes." VIRG. Aeneid. vi. W. Book III, THE DUNCIAD. 193 And her Parnafius glancing o'er at once, Behold an hundred fons, and each a Dunce. Mark firft that Youth who takes the foremoft place, And thrufts his perfon full into your face. 140 With all thy Father's virtues bleft, be born 1 And a new Gibber fhall the ftage adorn. A fecond fee, by meeker manners known, And modefl as the maid that fips alone ; From the ftrong fate of drams if thou get free, Another Durfey, Ward ! mail fing in thee. 146 Thee fhall each ale-houfe, thee each gill-houfe mourn, And anfw'ring gin-mops fowrer fighs return. Jacob, the fcourge of Grammar, mark with awe, Nor lefs revere him, blunderbufs of Law. 1 50 Lo! V A R I ATI O N S. VER. 149. in the firft Edit, it was, Woolllon, the fcourge of fcripture, mark with awe ! And mighty Jacob, blunderbufs of Law ! W. RE MARKS. VER. 138. And each a Dunce.~\ Never was there an happier Parody ! merum fal heightened by its allufion to one of the moft magnificent pafiages in Virgil, Anchifes (hewing to Aeneas his future progeny. IMITATIONS. VER. 139. Marl frjl that Toutb, fcfc.] " Ille vides, pura juvenis qui nititur hafta, Proxima forte tenet lucis loca" VIRG. Aen. vi. W. VER. 145. From the Jlrong fate of drams if thou get free,] " fi qua fata afpera rumpas, Tu Marcellus eris !" VIRG. Aeneid. vi. W. VER. 147. Thee flail each ale-l>t>ufe, etc."] <, " Te nemus Angitiae, vitrea te Fucinus unda, Te liquidi flevere lacus." VIRG. Aeneid. viii. Virgil again, Eel. x. " etiam lauri, etiam flevere myricae," &c, "W. VOL. V. O i 9 4 THE DUNCIAD. Book III. Lo P p le's brow, tremendous to the town, Horneck's fierce eye, and Roome's funereal Frown. Lo VARIATIONS. VER. 151. Lo P -p le's I/row, 3^.] In the former Edd. Hayvvood, Centlivre, glories of their race, Lo Horneck's fierce, and Roome's funereal face. W. REMARKS. VER. 149. Jacob i the fcourge of Grammar, mark with awe,] " This Gentleman is fon of a conjiderable Maltfter of Romfey in Southamptonfhire, and bred to the Law under a very eminent Attorney : Who, between his more laborious ftudies, has diverted himfelf with Poetry. He is a great admirer of Poets and their works, which has occafioned him to try his genius that way. He has writ in profe the Live s of the Poets, Effays, and a great many Law-books, The Accvmpliftfd Conveyancer, Modern Juflicc" &c. GILES JACOB of himfelf, Lives of Poets, vol. i. He very grofly, and unprovoked, abufed in that book the Author's Friend, Mr. Gay. W. VER. 149, 150. Jacob, the fcourge of Grammar, mark with awe, Nor lefs revere him, blunderbufs of Law.] There may feem fome error in thefe verfes, Mr. Jacob having proved our author to have a RefpeB for him, by this undeniable argument. " He had once a Regard for my Judgment otherwife he would never have fubfcribed Two Guineas to me, for one fmall Book in oclavo." Jacob's Letter to Dennis, printed in Dennis's remarks on the Dunciad, p. 49. Therefore I mould think the appellation of Blunderbufs to Mr. Jacob, like that of Thunderbolt to Scipio, was meant in his honour. Mr. Dennis argues the fame way. " My writings having made great impreflion on the minds of all fenfible men, Mr. P. repented, and \.o give proof of his Repentance, fubfcribed to my two Volumes of feleft Works, and afterwards to my two Volumes of Letters." Ibid. p. 80. We mould hence believe, the name of Mr. Dennis hath alfo crept into, this poem by fome miftake. But from hence, gentle reader ! thou may'ft beware, when thou giveft thy money to IMITATIONS. VER. 150. Virg. Aeneid. vi. " duo fulmina belli Scipiadas, cladem Libyae I" W. Book III. THE DUNCIAD. 195 Lo fneering Goode, half malice and half whim, A Fiend in glee, ridiculoufly grim. 1 54 Each Cygnet fweet, of Bath and Tunbridge race, Whofe tuneful whiilling makes the waters pafs : Each REMARKS. to fuch Authors, not to flatter thyfelf that thy motives are Good- nature or Charity. W. VER. 152. Horneck and Roome~] Thefe two were virulent Party-writers, worthily coupled together, and one would think prophetically, fmce after the publishing of this piece, the former dying, the latter fucceeded him in Honour and Employment. The firft was Philip Horneck, Author of a Billingfgate paper, called The High German Do6lor. Edward Roome was fon of an Undertaker for Funerals in Fleet-ftreet, and writ fome of the papers called Pafquin, where by malicious Inuendos he endeavoured to reprefent our Author guilty of malevolent practices with a great man then under the profccution of Parliament. Of this man was made the following Epigram : " You afk why Roome diverts you with his jokes, Yet if he writes, is dull as other folks ; You wonder at it. This, Sir, is the cafe, The jefl is loft unlefs he prints his face." Popple was the author of fome vile Plays and Pamphlets. He publifhed abufes on our author in a Paper called the Prompter. W. Is it furprifing, fliall I fay, or mortifying, to fee the pains and patience of our Author and his Friends who compiled thefe large notes, in tracing out the lives and works of fuch paultry and forgotten fcribblers ! It is like walking through the darkeft alleys of the dirtiell part of St. Giles's. To pull out thefe Literary Cacu^'s, incendia vana vomentes, from their dark dungeons and deep retreats, was a truly Herculean (though not very Heroic) labour, Thefe, in truth, were A via picridum loca ! VER. 153. Goode,~\ An ill-natured Critic, who writ a fatire on our Author, called, The mock Efop, and many anonymous Libels in News-papers for hire. W. VER. 15^. Each Cygnet f-weet,~\ Borrowed from two lines of Young's Univerfal Paffion. S. 6. " Is there a wit who chants the reigning lafs, And fweetly whittles as the waters pafs !" i^6 THE DUNCIAD. Book III. Each Songfter, Riddler, ev*ry namelefs name, All crowd, who foremoft fhall be damn'd to Fame. Some ftrain in rhyme ; the Mufes, on their racks, Scream like the winding of ten thoufand jacks : 160 Some free from rhyme or reafon, rule or check, Break Prifcian's head, and Pegafus's neck ; Down, down they larum, with impetuous whirl, The Pindars, and the Miltons of a Curl. 1 64 Silence, ye Wolves ! while Ralph to Cynthia howls, And makes Night hideous Anfwer him, ye Owls ! Senfe, V ARI AT IONS. VER. 157. Each Songjter, Riddler, &c.~\ In the former Edd. Lo Bond and Foxton, ev'ry namelefs name. After ver. 158. in the firft Edit, followed, How proud, how pale, how earneft all appear ! How rhymes eternal gingle in their ear ! "W. REMARKS. VER. 157. E-rfry namelefs name,] Perfonal fatire, on objects fa obfcure, is unavoidably attended with the inconvenience of ac- companying it with large notes and explanations, which, though tedious, are necefiary ; and without which it would be unintelligible. Broflette has been forced to ufe this method in his many notes on the Lutrin, and on the Satires of Boileau. VER. 165. Ralph~\ James Ralph, a name inferted after the firft editions, not known to our Author till he writ a fwearing- piece called Sawney, very abufive of Dr. Swift, Mr. Gay, and himfelf. Thefe lines allude to a thing of his, intitled, Night, a Poem. This low writer attended his own works with pane- gyrics in the Journals, and once in particular praifed himfelf highly above Mr. Addifon, in wretched remarks upon that Author's IMITATIONS. VER. 1 66. And makes Night hideous~\ *' Vifit thus the glimpfes of the moon, Making Night hideous" SHAKES?. W. Booklll. THE DUNCIAD. 197 Senfe, fpeech,and meafure, living tongues and dead, Let all give way and Morris may be read. Flow, Welfled, flow ! like thine infpirer, Beer, Tho' ftale, not ripe ; tho' thin, yet never clear ; 170 So RE MARKS. Author's Account of Engl'ifly Poets, printed in a Condon Journal, Sept. 1728. He was wholly illiterate, and knew no language, not even French. Being advifed to read the rules of dramatic poetry before he began a play, he fmiled and replied, " Shake/pear writ without rules." He ended at laft in the common fink of all fuch writers, a political News-paper, to which he was recom- mended by his friend Arnal, and received a fmall pittance for pay ; and being detected in writing on both fides on one and the fame day, he publickly juftified the morality of his conduct. W. He was afterwards patronized by Lord Melcornb, who affifted him in compiling a very curious Hiftory of England from the Reftoration to the Revolution, and is frequently mentioned in Lord Melcomb's Diary. VER. 168. Morris.'} Befaltel See Book ii. W. VER. 169. Flow, Weljled, csV.] Of this author fee the Remark en Book ii. ver. 209. But (to be impartial) add to it the fol- lowing different character of him : Mr. Welftcd had, in his youth, raifed fo great expectations of his future genius, that there was a kind of Jlruggle between the mod eminent in the two uniyerfities, which fliould have the honour of his education. To compound this, he (civilly} became a member of both, and after having patted fome time at the one, he removed to the other. From thence he returned to town, where he became the darling Expectation of all the polite Writers, whofe encourage- ment he acknowledged in his occafional poems, in a manner that will make no fmall part of the Fame of his protectors. It alfo appears IMITATIONS. VER. 169. Flow, Weljled,jlow ! &c.~\ Parody on Denham, Cooper's mi " O could I flow like thee, and make thy ilream My great example, as it is my theme : Tho' deep, yet clear ; tho' gentle, yet not dull ; Strong without rage ; without o'erflowing, full !" W. o 3 198 THE DUNCIAD. Book III. So fweetly mawkifli, and fo fmoothly dull *, Heady, not ftrong ; o'erflowing, tho' not full. Ah Dennis ! Gildon ah ! what ill-ftarr'd rage Divides a friendfhip long confirmed by age ? Blockheads REMARKS. appears from his Works, that he was happy in the patronage of the mod illuftrious characters of the prefent age. Encouraged by {uch a Combination in his favour, he publifhed a book of poems, fome in the Ovidian, fome in the Horatian manner, in both which the moft exquifite Judges pronounce he even rival' d hit mafters His Love verfes have refcued that way of writing from contempt In his Translations, he has given us the very foul and fpirit of his author. His Ode his Epiftle his Verfes his Love-tale all, are the mojl perfefi things in all poetry. WELSTED of Himfelf, Char. ~\ t _, Qualia demens Egyptus portenta colit." JuvfiKAL. Not one of whofe fuperftitions equalled the grofsabfurdity of thedoe- trine of Tranfubftantiation. The Egyptian did not make the onion which he eat, and worfliipped. The Bramins are fhocked at this do&rine, and challenge our miflionaries to produce any opinion fo abfurd from their Vedam. VER. 2 12. Of Toland and Tindal, fee Book ii. Thomas Wool- jlon was an impious madman, who wrote in a mod infolent ftyle againft the Miracles of the Gofpel, in the years 1726, &c. W. VE.R. 219. Content, each] Thefe four lines are perhaps the moft obfcure of any in our poet's writings. 2 o6 THE DUNCIAD. Book III. Perfift, by all divine in Man unaw'd, But, " Learn, ye DUNCES ! not to fcorn your God." Thus he, for then a ray of Reafon ftole 225 Half through the folid darknefs of his foul ; But foon the cloud return'd and thus the Sire : See now, what Dulnefs and her Sons admire ! See what the charms, that fmite the fimple heart Not touch'd by Nature, and not reach'd by Art. 230 His never-blufhing head he turn'd afide, (Not half fo pleas'd when Goodman prophefy'd) And look'd, and faw a fable Sorc'rer rife, Swift to whofe hand a winged volume flies : All REMARKS. VER. 231. His bead'} Here is fome obfcurity. Whofe head? He is not fufficient ; we do not at firft perceive it was Gibber. It is a fault in many, even good writers, not to repeat the fub- ftantive intended. I muft repeat, that it is the faults of good writers only, that are worth noticing. VER. 232. Not half fo pleas' d when Goodman prophefy V] Mr. Gibber tells us, in his Life, p. I49 that Goodman being at the rehearfal of a play, in which he had a part, clapped him on the moulder, and cried, " If he does not make a good aftor, I'll be d d. And (fays Mr. Gibber) I make it a quellion, whe- ther Alexander himfelf, or Charles the twelfth of Sweden, when at the head of their firft victorious armies, could feel a greater tranfport in their bofoms than I did in mine." W. VER. 233. A fable Sorc'rer] Dr. Fauftus, the fubjeft of a fet of Farces, which lafled in vogue two or three feafons, in which both Playhoufes ftrove to outdo each other for fome years. All the extravagancies in the fixteen lines following were introduced on IMITATIONS. VER. 224. Learn, ye Dunces! not to fcorn your God.~\ " Difcite juftitiam moniti, et non temnere divos." VIRG. W. Bookffl. THE DUNCIAD. 207 All fudden, Gorgons hifs, and Dragons glare, 235 And ten-horn'd fiends and Giants rufh to war. Hell rifes, Heav'n defcends, and dance on Earth : Gods, imps, and monfters, mufic, rage, and mirth, A fire, a jigg, a battle, and a ball, Till one wide conflagration fwallows all. 240 Thence a new world to Nature's laws unknown, Breaks out refulgent, with a heav'n its own : Another Cynthia her new journey runs, And other planets circle other funs. The forefts dance, the rivers upward rife, 245 Whales fport in woods, and dolphins in the fkies j And REM ARKS. OH the Stage, and frequented by perfons of the firft quality in England, to the twentieth and thirtieth time. W. The fixteen following lines contain fome of the moft forcible and lively descriptions any where to be found j and are a perfect pattern of a clear pifturefque ftyle. VER. 237. Hell rifes, Heav'n defcends, and dance on Earth .-] This monitrous abfurdity was actually reprefented in Tibbald's Rape of Proferpine. W. Thefe abfurdities were indeed brought on the flage by Tibbald but not by Cibber ; who again and again difclaimed and defpifed them, as may be feen in various paflages of his apology. It is therefore unjuft to charge him with favouring and promoting fuch fpeftacles ; which for a long time he refilled, and was forced, very unwillingly, to gratify by them the depraved appetite of the Public ; of which he much and loudly complains. IMITATIONS. VER. 244. And other planets. ] " folemque_//aw, fua fidera norunt" VIRG. Aeneid. vi. W. VER. 246. Whales fport In woods, and dolphins in the flies ;] " Delphinum fylvis appingit, fluftibus aprum." HOR. W. fiog THE DUN CI AD. Book III. And lafl, to give the whole creation grace, Lo ! one vaft Egg produces human race. Joy fills his foul, joy innocent of thought ; What pow'r, he cries, what pow'r thefe wonders wrought? 250 5 on ; what t-hou feek'ft is in thee ! Look, and find Each Monfter meets his likenefs in thy mind. Yet would'il thou more ? In yonder cloud behold, Whofe farfenet Ikirts are edg'd with flamy gold, 254 A matchlefs Youth ! his nod thefe worlds controuls, Wings the red lightening, and the thunder rolls. Angel of Dulnefs, fent to fcatter round Her magic charms o'er all unclaffic ground : Yon ftars, yon funs, he rears at pleafure higher, Illumes their light, and fets their flames on fire. 260 Immortal REMARKS. VER. 248. Lo! one vaft Egg~\ In another of thefe Farces Harlequin is hatch'd upon the flage, out of a large Egg. W. IMITATIONS. VER. 251. Son ; what tboufeek'Jl is in thee /J " Quod petis in te eft Ne te quaefiveris extra." PERS. W. VER. 256. Wings the red Kght'ning, &c.~] Like Salmoneus in Aer.eid. vi. '* Dum flammas Jovis, et fonitus imitatur Olympi. nimbos, et non imitabile fulmen, Acre et cornipedum curfu fimularat equorum." W. VER. 258. O'er aU unclajjic ground :~\ Alludes to Mr. Add! - fon's verfe, in the praifes of Italy : " Poetic fields encompafs me around, And ftill I feem to tread on claflic groupd." As ver. 264. is a parody on a noble one of the fame author in The Campaign ; and ver. 259, 260. on two fublime verfes of .Y. w. Book III. THE DUNCIAD. 209 Immortal Rich ! how calm he fits at eafe 261 'Mid mows of paper, and fierce hail of peafe j And proud his Miftrefs* orders to perform, Rides in the whirlwind, and directs the ftorm. But lo ! to dark encounter in mid air 265 New wizards rife ; I fee my Gibber there ! Booth in his cloudy tabernacle fhrin'd, On grinning dragons thou malt mount the wind. Dire is the conflict, difmal is the dinn, Here fhouts all Drury, there all Lincoln's-in ; 270 Contending Theatres our empire raife, Alike their labours, and alike their praife. And are thefe wonders, Son, to thee unknown ? Unknown to thee ? Thefe wonders are thy own. Thefe Fate referv'd to grace thy reign divine, 275 Forefeen by me, but ah ! withheld from mine. In Lud's old walls tho' long I rul'd, renown'd Far as loud Bow's flupehdous bells refound ; Tho' VARIATIONS. After ver. 274. in the former Edit, followed, For works like thefe let deathlefs Journals tell " None but thyfelf can be thy parallel." W. REMARKS. VER. 261. Immortal Rich >] Mr. John Rich, Matter of the Theatre Royal in Covent-garden, was the firft that excelled this way. W, VER. 266. New wizards] Yet it is plain from many pafiages in Gibber's Life, that he defpifed thefe fooleries and abufes of the ftage ; and there are many other paffages in his Life ftrongly written to the fame purpofe. Neither Booth nor Gibber ever degraded themfelves to the appearances mentioned in the two next lines. They were joint managers of the Drury-lane Theatre. 2io THE DUNCIAD. Book III. Tho* my own Aldermen confer'd the bays, To me committing their eternal praife, 280 Their full-fed Heroes, their pacific May'rs, Their annual trophies, and their monthly wars : Tho' long my Party built on me their hopes, For writing Pamphlets, and for reading Popes ; Yet lo ! in me what authors have to brag on! 285 Reduc'd at laft to hifs in my own dragon. Avert it, Heav'n ! that thou, my Gibber, e'er Should'ft wag a ferpent-tail in Smithfield fair ! Like the vile ftraw that's blown about the ftreets, . The needy Poet flicks to all he meets, 2 go Coach'd, VARIATIONS. After ver. 284. In the former Edit, followed, Different our parties, but with equal grace The Goddefs fmiles on Whig and Tory race. W. REMARKS. VER. 282. Annual trophies, on the Lord-mayor's day; and monthly wars in the Artillery-ground. W. Of late years the city militia has been put on a more refpe&able footing. VER. 283. Tho* long my Parly~\ Settle, like mofl Party -writers, was very uncertain in his political principles. He was employed to hold the pen in the Charafler of ^poptfk fucceJTor, but afterward* printed his Narrative on the other fide. He had managed the ceremony of a famous Pope-burning on Nov. 17, 1680, then became a trooper in King James's army, at Hounflow-heath. After the Revolution he kept a booth at Bartholomew-fair, where, in the droll called St. George for England, he afted in his old age in a Dragon of green leather of his own invention ; he was at laft taken into the Charter-houfe, and there died, aged ilxty years. W. VER. 290. The needy Poet~\ Read the following excellent ac- count of the itate of modern authors, by one who knew them well : It Book III. THE DUNCIAD. 211 Coach'd, carted, trod upon, now loofe, now faft, And carry'd off in fome Dog's tail at laft. Happier REMARKS. '* It is not now, as in former times, when men ftudied long, and pafled through the feverities of difcipline, and the probation of public trials, before they prefumed to think themfelves qualified for inftrutlors of their countrymen. There is found a nearer way to fame and erudition, and the enclofures of literature are thrown open to every man whom idlenefs difpofes to loiter, or whom pride inclines to fet himfelf in view. The failor publifhes his journal ; the farmer writes the procefs of his annual labour : He that fuc- ceeds in his trade thinks his wealth a proof of his underftanding, and boldly tutors the public : He that fails, confzders his mifcar- riage as the confequence of a capacity too great for the bufinefs of a (hop, and amufes himfelf in the Fleet with writing or tranf- lating. The laft century imagined, that a man compofing in his chariot was an objeft of curiofity ; but how much would the wonder have been increafed, by a footman ftudying behind it ? There is now no clafs of men without its authors, from the peer to the thremer ; nor can the fons of literature be confined any longer to Grub-ftreet or Moorfields ; they are fpread over all the town, and all the country, and fill every ftage of habitation, from the cellar to the garret. " It is well known, that the price of commodities mult always fall as the quantity is increafed, and that no trade can allow its profefTors to be multiplied beyond a certain number. The great mifety of writers proceeds from their multitude. We eafily per- ceive that in a nation of clothiers, no man could have any cloth to make but foi\ his own back ; that in a community of bakers every man muft ufe his own bread ; and what can be the cafe of a nation of authors, but that every man muft. be content to read his book to himfelf? For furely it is in vain to hope, that of men labouring at the fame occupation, any will prefer the work of his neighbour to his own ; yet this expectation, wild as it is, feems to be indulged by many of the waiting race ; and therefore it can be no wonder that, like all other men who fuffcr their minds to form inconftderate hopes, they are harafled and dejeded with frequent difappointments. " If I were to form an adage of mifery, or fix the loweft point to which humanity could fall, I mould be tempted to name the life p i of 2t2 THE DUNCIAD. Book III. Happier thy fortunes I like a rolling ftone, Thy giddy dulnefs {till (hall lumber on, Safe in its heavinefs, (hall never ftray, 295 But lick up ev'ry blockhead in the way. Thee fhall the Patriot, thee the Courtier tafte, And ev'ry year be duller than the laft. Till rais'd from booths, to Theatre, to Court, Her feat imperial Dulnefs mail tranfport. 300 Already VARIATIONS, VER. 295. Safe in its heavinefs t &c.~\ In the former Edit. Too fafe in inborn heavinefs to ftray ; And lick up ev'ry blockhead in the way. Thy Dragons, Magiftrates, and Peers fhall tafte, And from each (hew rife duller than the laft. Till rais'd from booths, &c. W. REMARKS. of an author. Many univerfal comparifons there are by which mifery is expreffed. We talk of a man teazed like a bear at the ftake, tormented like a toad under a harrow, or hunted like a dog with a ftick tied to his tail : All thefe are indeed ftates of uneafiV nefs ; but what are they to the life of an author I Of an author worried by critics, tormented by his bookfeller, and hunted by his creditors. Yet fuch muft be the cafe of many among the retailers of knowledge, while they continue thus to fwarm over the land ; and whether it be by propagation or contagion, produce new writers to heighten the general diltrefs, to encreafe confufion r and haften famine." VER. 297. Thee fball the Patriot, thee the Courtier tajlc,} It ftood in the firft edition wich-bknks, ** and **. Concanen was fure, " they muft needs mean no body but King GEORGE and Queen CAROLINE ; and faid he would infift it was fo, till the Poet cleared himfelf by filling up the blanks otherwife, agreeably to the context, and confiftent with his Allegiance." Pref. to a Colledion of verfes, eflays, letters, &c. againft Mr. P. printed for A. Moor, p. 6. W. Book III. THE DUNCIAD, 213 Already Opera prepares the way, The fure fore-runner of her gentle fway : Let her thy heart, next Drabs and Dice, engage, The third mad paffion of thy doting age. Teach thou the warbling Polypheme to roar, 305 And fcream thyfelf, as none e'er fcream'd before ! To aid our caufe, if Heav'n thou can'ft not bend, Hell thou fhalt move ; for Fauftus is our friend : Pluto with Cato thou for this fhalt join, And link the Mourning Bride to Proferpine. 310 Giubftreet ! REMARKS. VER. 301. Already Opera] The Italian Opera is faid to owe its origin to a facred drama, entitled, Converfione de S. Paolo, fet to mufic by Francifco Beverini, a moft celebrated compofer at that time, and reprefented before Cardinal Riario, nephew to Pope Sixtus TV, in the Carnival Seafon of 1480. This was followed by another at the Carnival at Venice, 1485. But in this latter drama was a mixture of comic characters, lawyers, phyficians, ladies, fervants, merchants, &c. though on a ferious fubjeft, and entitled, La Verita Raminga. VER. 305. Polypheme} He tranflated the Italian Opera of Polifemo ; but unfortunately loft the whole jeft of the ftory. The Cyclops afks Ulyfles his name, who tells him his name is Noma : After his eye is put out, he roars and calls the Brother Cyclops to his aid : They enquire who has hurt him P he anfwers Noman ; whereupon they all go away again. Our ingenious Tranflator made Ulyfles anfvver, / take no name, whereby all that followed became unintelligible. Hence it appears that Mr. Gibber (who values himfelf on fubfcribing to the Englifh Tranflation of Homer's Iliad) had not that merit with refpeft to the Odyfley, or he might have been better inftru&ed in the Greek Pun-ology, W. VER. 308, 309. Faujlus, Pluto, &c.] Names of miferable Farces, which it was the cuftom to aft at the end of the beft Tragedies, to fpoil the digeftion of the audience. W. p 3 2i 4 THE DUNG I AD. Book III. Grubflreet ! thy fall fhould men and Gods confpire, Thy flage fhall ftand, enfure it but from Fire. Another Efchylus appears ! prepare For new abortions, all ye pregnant fair ! In flames, like Semele's, be brought to bed, 315 While op'ning Hell fpouts wild-fire at your head. Now Bavius take the poppy from thy brow, And place it here ! here all ye Heroes bow ! This* REMARKS. VER. 312. enfure it but from Fire.] In Tibbald's Farce of Pro- ferpine, a corn-field was fet on fire : whereupon the other play- houfe had a barn burnt down for the recreation of the fpeftators. They alfo rival'd each other in mowing the burnings of hell-fire, in Dr. Fauftus. W. VER. 313- Another Efchylur appears /] It is reported of Efchy- lus, that when his tragedy of the Furies was aded, the audience were fo terrified that the children fell into fits, and the big-bellied women mifcarried. W. On mentioning this abortive attempt of Tibbald to tranflate the Prometheus, one cannot forbear thinking of the fpirited and faithful tranflation which Mr. Potter has given us of this great Father of the Greek Tragedy. VER. 315. like Seme/e's,'] See Ovid. Met. iii. W. It ftems ftrange, that a writer of Congreve's good and claffical tafte mould choofe Semele for the fubjedl of a drama, where the cataftrophe is fo very abfurd : the ftage direction in the laft aft is " As the cloud which contains Jupiter is arrived juft over the canopy of Semele, a fudden and great flam of lightning breaks forth, and a clap of loud thunder is heard ; when at one inflant Semele, with the palace, and the whole fcene, difappears, and Jupiter re-afcends fwiftly." It was with juftice he took, for a motto to his Opera, thefe words of Seneca " A natura difcedimus, populo nos damus, nullius rei bono auftori, & in hie re, ficut in omnibus, inconftantifiimo." I wonder Pope mentioned the ftory of Seniele, as his friend Congreve had introduced it on the ftage. Book III. THE DUNCIAD. This, this is he, foretold by ancient rhymes : Th* Auguftus born to bring Saturnian times. 320 Signs following figns lead on the mighty year ! See ! the dull ftars roll round and re-appear. See, fee, our own true Phoebus wears the bays ! Our Midas fits Lord Chancellor of Plays ! On Poets Tombs fee Benfon 5 s titles writ ! 325 Lo ! Ambrofe Philips is prefer'd for Wit ! See VARIATIONS. VER. 323. See, fee, our own, sV.] In the former Edit. Beneath his reign, fhall Eufden wear the bays, Gibber prefide Lord Chancellor of plays, Benfon fole Judge of Archite&ure fit, And Namby Pamby be prefer'd for Wit ! I fee, th' unfinifh'd Dormitory wall, I fee the Savoy totter to her fall ; Hibernian Politics, O Swift ! thy doom, And Pope's, tranflating three whole years with Broome. Proceed, great days, &c. W. REMARKS. VER. 325. On Poets Tombs fee Senfon's titles writ .'] W m Benfon (Surveyor of the Buildings to his Majefty King George I.) gave in a report to the Lords, that their Houfe and the Painted- chamber adjoining were in immediate danger of falling. Where- upon the Lords met in a committee to appoint fome other place to fit in, while the houfe fhould be taken down. But it being propofed to caufe fome other builders firft to infpecl it, they found IMITATIONS. VER. 319, 320. This, this is he, foretold by antient rhymes : TV Augujlus, fcfr.] " Hie vir, hie eft ! tibi quern promitti faepius audis, Auguftus Caefar, divum genus ; aurea condet Secula qui rurfus Latio, regnata per ava Saturno quondam" VIRG. Aeneid. vi. Saturnian here relates to the age of Lead, mentioned book i, rer. 26. W, * 4 si6 THE DUNCIAD. BookJII. See under Ripley rife a new White-hall, ' While Jones' and Boyle's united labours fall : While R EM ARKS- found it in very good condition. The Lords, upon this, were going upon an addrefs to the King againft Benfon, for fuch a mifrepreientation ; but the earl of Sunderland, then fecretary, gave them an aflurance that his Majefty would remove him, which was done accordingly. In favour of this man, the famous Sir Chriftopher Wren, who had been Architect to the crown for above fifty years, who built moft of the Churches in London, laid the firft ilone of St. Paul's, and lived to finifh it, had been dif- placed from his employment at the age of near ninety years. W. VER. 326. Ambrofe Philips'} " He was (faith Mr. JACOB) one of the wits at Button's, and a juftice of the peace :" But he hath fince met with higher preferment in Ireland ; and a much greater character we have of him in Mr. Gildon's Complete Art of Poetry, vol. i. p. 157. " Indeed he confefles, he dares not fet him quite on the fame foot with Virgil; left it fhouldfeem flattery: but he is much miftaken if pofterity does not afford him a greater efteem than he at prefcnt enjoys.*' He endeavoured to create fome mifimderftanding between our Author and Mr. Addifon, whom alfo foon after he abufed as much. His conftant cry was, that Mr. P. was an Enemy to the government ; and in particular he was the avowed author of a report very induftrioufly fpread, that he had a hand in a party-paper called the Examiner : A falfehood well known to thofe yet living, who had the direction and publi- cation of it. W. He proceeded to grofler infults, fays Dr. Johnfon, and hung up a rod at Button's, with which he threatened to chaftife Pope, who appears to be extremely exafperated. It was an honour to Philips to be joined with fo excellent a prelate as Dr. Boulter in writing the Freethinker ; who, when he was made Primate of Ireland, did not forget the companion of his labours, but took him to Ireland as partaker of his fortune ; and making him his fecretary, added fuch preferments as enabled him to reprefent the county of Armagh in parliament. VER. 328. While Jones' and Boyle's united labours fall .] At the time when this poem was written, the Banquetting-houfe of Whitehall, the church and piazza of Covent-garden, and the palace and chapel of Somerfet-houfe, the works of the famous Inigo BookUL THE DUNCIAD. 217 While Wren with forrow to the grave defcends, Gay dies unpenfion'd with a hundred friends, 330 Hibernian REMARKS. Inigo Jones, had been for many years fo neglefted, as to be in danger of ruin. The portico of Covent-garden church had been juft then reftored and. beautified at the expence of the Earl of Burlington ; who, at the fame time, by his publication of the defigns of that great Matter and Palladio, as well as by many noble buildings of his own, revived the true tafte of Architecture in this Kingdom. W. VER. 329. While Wren} " The length of his life enriched the reigns of feveral princes, and difgraced the laft of them. A va- riety of knowledge proclaims the univerfality, a multiplicity of works the abundance, St. Paul's the greatnefs, of Sir Chriftopher's genius. The nobleft temple, the largeft palace, the molt fumptuous hofpital, in fuch a kingdom as Britain, are all works of the fame hand. He reftored London, and recorded its fall. I do not mean to be very minute in the account of Wren, even as an ar- chitect. Every circumftance of his ftory has been written and repeated. Bifhop Sprat, Anthony Wood, Ward in his Lives of the Grefham Profeffors, the General Dictionary, and the New Defcription of London and its Environs, books in the hands of eyery body, are voluminous on the article of Sir Chriftopher. In 1680 he was chofen Prefident of the Royal- fociety ; was in two parliaments ; was twice married ; had two fons and a daughter ; and died in 1723, at the age of ninety-one, having lived to fee the completion of St. Paul's ; a fabric, and an event, which one cannot wonder left fuch an impreffion of content on the mind of the good old man, that, being carried to fee it once a year, it feemed to recal a memory that was almoft deadened to every other ufe. He was buried under his own fabric, with four words that comprehend his merit and his fame: "Si quxras monumentum, circumfpice !" WALPOLE'S Anecdotes, 8vo. vol. iii. p. 163. VER. 330. Gay dies unpenpon'd, sV.] See Mr. Gay's fable of the Hare and many Friends. This gentleman was early in the friendfhip of our author, which continued to his death. He wrote feveral works of humour with great fuccefs, the Shepherd's Week, Trivia, the What-d'ye-call-it, Fables ; and laftly, the celebrated Beggar's Opera ; a piece of fatire which hit all taftes and 2iS THE DUNCIAD. Book III. Hibernian Politics, O Swift ! thy fate j And Pope's, ten years to comment and tranflate. Proceed, VARIATIONS. V EH. 331. in the former Editions thus, O Swift t thy doom, And Pope's, tranflating ten whole years with Broome. On which was the following Note : " He concludes his irony with a ftroke upon himfelf : for whoever imagines this a farcafm on the other ingenious perfon, is furely miitaken. The opinion our Author had of him was fufficiently fhewn by his joining him in the undertaking of the Qdyjfey ; in which Mr. Broome having engaged without any previous agreement, difcharged his part fo much to Mr. Pope's fatisfadiion, that he gratified him with the full fum of Five hundred pounds, and a prefent of all thofe books for which his own iutereft could procure him fubfcribers, to the value of One hundred more. The Author only feems to lament, that he was employed in Translation at all." W. REMARKS. and degrees of men, from thofe of the highefl quality to the very rabble : That verfe of Horace, " Primores populi arripuit, populumqne tributim," could never be fo juftly applied as to this. The vaft fuccefs of it was unprecedented, and almoft incredible : What is related of the wonderful effects of the ancient mufic or tragedy hardly came up to it : Sophocles and Euripides were lefs followed and famous. It was afted in London fixty-three days, uninterrupted ; and re- newed the next feafon with equal applaufes. It fpread into all the great towns of England, was played in many places to the thirtieth and fortieth time, at Bath and Briftol fifty, &c. It made its progrefs into Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, where it was performed twenty-four days together : It was at laft acted in Minorca. The fame of it was not confined to the author only; the ladies carried about with them the favourite fongs of it in, fans ; and houfes were furnifhed with it in fcreens. The perfon who afted Polly, till then obfcure, became all at once the favourite of the town ; her pictures were ingraved, and fold in great num- bers ; her life written, books of letters and verfes to her, pub- liihed ; and pamphlets made even of her fayings and jefts. Furthermore, Book III. THE DUNCIAD. 219 Proceed, great days ! till Learning fly the fhore, Till Birch fliall blufti with noble blood no more, Till REMARKS. Furthermore, it drove out of England, for that feafon, the Italian Opera, which had carried all before it for ten years. That idol of the Nobility and people, which the great Critic Mr. Dennis by the labours and outcries of a whole life could not overthrow, was demolished by a fingle ftroke of this gentleman's pen. This happened in the year 1728. Yet fo great was his modefly, that he conftantly prefixed to all the editions of it this motto, No's haec novimus efle nihiL W. The Dutchefs of Queenfberry was forbid to appear at Court, on account of her patronizing Mr. Gay, on which occafion flie fent the following reply to King George II. " Thurfday, Feb. 27, 1728. ', 'fr ' That the Dutchefs of Queenfberry is furprized, and well pleafed, that the King hath given her fo agreeable a command as to flay from Court, where fhe never came for diverfion, but to befrow a great civility upon the King and Queen. She hopes by fuch an unprecedented order as this, that the King will fee as few as he wifhes at his court (particularly fuch as dare think or fpeak the truth). I dare not do otherwife, and ought not ; nor could I have imagined that it would not have been the higheft compli- ment that I could poflibly pay the King, to endeavour to fupport truth and innocence in his houfe ; particularly when the King and Queen had both told me that they had not read Mr. Gay's play. I have certainly done right then to ftand to my own word, rather than his Grace of Grafton's, who hath neither made ufe of truth, judgment, or honour, through this whole affair, either for himfelf or his friends. " C. QUEENSBERRY." What follows was written by her Grace at the bottom of the copies of the above anfwer, which fhe gave to her particular friends. " This is the anfwer I gave in writing to the Vice Chamber- lain to read to the King, in anfwer to the meflage he brought me from the King to refrain coming to court." 2 2o THE DUNCIAD. Book III. Till Thames fee Eaton's fons for ever play, 335 Till Weftminfter's whole year be holiday, Till REMARKS. VF.R. 331. Hibernian Politics, Swift ! thy fate > '\ See book i. ver. 26, ' W. VER. 332. And Pope's, ten years to comment and Iran/late. ] The author here plainly laments that he was fo long employed in tranflating and commenting. He began the Iliad in 1713, and finished it in 1719. The Edition of Shakefpear (which he under- took merely becaufe no body elfe would) took up near two years more in the drudgery of comparing impreffions, rectifying the Scenery, &c. and the Translation of half the Odyfley employed him from that tjme to 1725. W. VER. 333. Proceed, great days / ff vain Pretenders, the Flatterers of Dunces, or the Patrons of them. All thefe crowd around her ; one of them offering to approach her, is driven back by ft Rival, but Jhe commends and encourages both. The firft who Jpeak in form are the Genius's of the Schools, whs affure her of their care to advance her Caufe by confining Touih to Words, and keeping them out of the way of real Knowledge. Their Addrefs, and her gracious Anfwer ; with her Charge to them and the Univerfities. The Un i ver fit ies appear by their proper Deputies, and aJJ'ure her that the fame method is obferved in the progrefs of Education. The fpeech 0/"Ariflarchus on this fubjecl. They are driven off by a band of young Gentlemen returned from Travel with their Tutors ; one of whom delivers to the 228 ARGUMENT. Goddefs, in a polite oration, an account of the whole Conduct and Fruits of their Travels ; prefenting to her at the fame time a young nobleman perfectly accomplijhed. She receives him gracioujly, and indues him with the happy quality of Want of Shame. She J'ees loitering about her a number of Indolent Perfons abandoning all bujlnefs and duty, and dying with lazinefs ; To ihefe approaches the Antiquary Annius, intreating her to make them Viituofos, and af/ign them over to him : But Mummius, another Antiquary, complaining of his fraudulent proceeding, Jhe finds a method to reconcile theit difference. Then enter a Troop of people fantajlically adorn 'd, offering her flrange and exotic prefents : Among/1 them, one /lands forth and demands juftice on another, ivho had deprived him of one of the greateji Curiijities in nature : but he jujlijies himfelffo well, that the Goddejs gives them both her approba- tion- She recommends to them to find proper employment for the Indolents before-mentioned, in the Jludy of Butterflies, Shells, Birds-nefts, Mofs, &c. but with particular caution, not to proceed beyond Trifles, to any ujeful or extenjive views of Nature, or of the Author of Nature. Again/1 the lajl of thefe apprehenjions, Jhe isfecured by a hearty Add rej} from the Minute Philofophers and Free-thinkers, one ofwhsmfpeaks in the name of the rejl. The Youth thus injlrufled and prin- cipled, are delivered to her in a body, by the hands of Silenus ; and then admitted to tajle the Cup of the Magus her High Priejl, which caufes a total oblivion of all Obligations, divine* civil, moral, or rational. To thefe her Adepts Jhe fends Friefts, Attendants, and Comforters, of various kinds ; confers on them Orders and Degrees ; and then difmiffing them with a fpeech, confirming to each his Privileges, and telling what Jhe expecls from each, concludes with a Yawn of extraordinary virtue : The Progrefs and Effecls whereof on all Orders' of men, and the Confummation of all, in the Re- Jloration of Night and Chaos, conclude the Poem. BOOK IV. XT'ET, yet a moment, one dim Ray of Light Indulge, dread Chaos, and eternal Night ! Of darknefs vifible fo much be lent, As half to mew, half veil the deep Intent. Ye REMARKS. The DUNCIAD, Book IV.] This Book may properly be dif- tinguifhed from the former, by the name of the GREATER DUNCIA.D, not fo indeed in fize, but in fubjecl ; and fo far, con- trary to the diftin&ion anciently made of the Greater and Leffer Iliad. But much are they miftaken who imagine this Work to be in any wife inferior to the former, or of any other hand than of our Poet ; of which 1 am much more certain than that the Iliad itfelf was the work of Solomon, or the Batrachomitomachia of Homer, as Barnes hath affirmed. BENTL, P. VER. i, &c. This is an Invocation of much Piety. The Poet willing to approve himfelf a genuine Son, beginneth by mew- ing (what is ever agreeable to Dulnefs] his high refpecl: tm Anti- quity and a Great Family, how dead or dark foever : Next de- clareth his paflion for explaining Myfteries ; and laftly, his Impa- tience to be re-united to her. SCRIBL. P. * It was thought improper to omit the many notes in this fourth book, marked P. * becaufe they were the joint work of Pope and Warburton ; and nothing of Mr. Pope's ought to be loft. The firil fixteen lines are particularly elevated and ftrong. And yet the exprefllon in the third line, " fo much be lent," is fomewhat harfh and forced. VER. 2. dread Chaos, and eternal Night /] Invoked, as the Reftoration of their Empire is the Aftion of the Poem. P. * VER. 4. half to flew, half veil the deep Intent.'] This is a great propriety, for a dull Poet can never exprefs himfelf othenvife than by halves, or imperfectly. SCRIBL. P. * I underftand it very differently ; the Author in this work had indeed a deeb Intent ; there were in it Myjlcrles, or Vog'|u1a, q_ which 230 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. Ye Pow'rs ! whofe Myfteries reftor'd I fmg, 5 To whom Time bears me on his rapid wing, Sufpend a while your Force inertly ftrong, Then take at once the Poet and the Song. Now flam'd the Dog-ftar's unpropitious ray, Smote ev'ry Brain, and wither'd ev'ry Bay ; 10 Sick was the Sun, the Owl forfook his bow'r, The moon-ftruck Prophet felt the madding hour : Then R EMARKS. which he durft not fully reveal ; and doubtlefs in divers verfes (according to Milton) " more is meant than meets the ear.'* BENTL. P. * VER. 6. To whom Time bears me on his rapid wing,] Fair and foftly, good Poet ! (cries the gentle Scriblerus on this place.) For fure, in fpite of his unufual modefty, he mail not travel fo fait toward oblivion, as divers others of more confidence have done : For when I revolve in my mind the catalogue of thofe who have moft boldly promifed to themfelves Immortality, viz. Pindar, Luis Gongora, Ronfard, Oldham, Lyrics ; Lycophron, Statius, Chapman, Blackmore, Heroics ; I find the one half to be already dead, and the other in utter darknefs. But it becometh not us, who have taken up the office of his Commentator, to fuffer our Poet thus prodigally to caft away his Life ; contrariwife, the more hidden and abftrufe his work is r and the more remote its beauties from common Underilanding, the more it is our duty to draw forth and exalt the fame, in the face of men and angels. Herein (hall we imitate the laudable Spirit of thofe, who have (for this very reafon) delighted to comment on dark and uncouth Authors, and even on their darker Fragments ; have preferred Ennius to Virgil, and have chofen rather to turn the dark Lanthom of LYCOPHRON, than to trim the everlaiting Lamp of Homer. SCRIBL. P. * VER. 7. Force inertly Jlrong,'] Alluding to the Vis inertiae of Matter, which, though it really be no Power, is yet the foundation of all the qualities and attributes of that fluggifh- fubftance. P. * Book IV. THE DUNCIAD, 231 Then rofe the Seed of Chaos, and of Night, To blot out Order, and extinguifh Light, Of dull and venal a new World to mold, 1 5 And bring Saturnian days of Lead and Gold. She mounts the Throne: her head a Cloud conceal'd, In broad Effulgence all below reveal'd, ( J Tis thus afpiring Dulnefs ever mines) Soft on her lap her Laureat fon reclines. 20 Beneath REMARKS. VER. 14. To blot out Order, an d e xtingui/h Light,] The two great ends of her miflion ; the one in quality of Daughter ot Chaos, the other as Daughter of Night. Order here is to be understood extenfively, both as civil and moral ; the diftinftions between high and low in Society, and true and falfe in Individuals : Light, as intelkaual only ; Wit, Science, Arts. P. * VER. 15. Of dull and venal] The Allegory continued; dull referring to the extinction of Light or Science ; venal to the de- flruaion of Order, or the Truth of things. P. * Ibid, a new World] In reference to the Epicurean opinion, that from the diflblution of the natural World into Night and Chaos, a new one fhould arife ; this the Poet alluding to, in the production of a new moral World, makes it partake of its original Pi in- ciples. P. * VER. 16. Lead am/ Gold] i.e. dull and venal. P. * VER. 18. all below reveal'd,] It was the opinion of the Ancients, that the Divinities manifefted themfelves to men by their Back- parts. Virg. Aeneid. i. et avertens, rofta cervice refulfit. But this pafTage may admit of another expofition. Vet. Adag. The higher you climb, the more you JJjeiv your A . Verified in no inftance more than in Dulnefs afpmng. Emblematized alfo by an Ape climbing and expofing his pofteriors. SCRIBL. P. * VER. 20. her Laureat Son reclines.] With great judgment is it imagined by the Poet, that fuch a Colleague as Dulnefs had elected, mould fleep upon the Throne, and have very little (hare in the Aftion of the Poem. Accordingly he hath done little or nothing from the day of his Anointing ; having pafled through the fecond book without taking part in any thing that was tranfafted about him ; and through the third in profound Sleep. Nor ought this, well 2 3 * THE DUNCIAD. Book IV, Beneath her foot-ftool, Science groans in Chains, ' And Wit dreads Exile, Penalties and Pains. There foam'd rebellious Lcgic^ gagg'd and bound, There, flript, fair Rhefric languifh'd on the ground f His REMARKS. well confidered, to feem ftrange in our days, when fo many King- conforts have done the like. SCRIRL. P. * " When I find my Name in the fatirical works of this Poet> I never look upon it as any malice meant to me, but PROFIT to himfelf. For he confiders that my Face is more known than mod in the nation ; and therefore a Lick at the Laurent will be a fure bait ad captandum vulgus t to catch little readers." Life of Colley Gibber, ch. H. W. Now if it be. ceitain, that the works of our Poet have owed their fuccefs to this ingenious expedient, we hence derive an un* anfwerable argument, that this Fourth DUNCIAD, as well as the former three, hath had the Author's latt hand, and was by him intended for the prefs : Or elfe to what purpofe hath he crowned it, as we fee, by this finiming ftroke, the profitable Lick at the Laureat? BENTL. P. Surely it is not right that the hero fhould take no part in any thing that was tranfa&ed about him in the fecond book ; and that in the third book he mould be in a profound fleep. VER.. 21, 22. Beneath her foot-Jlool, &c.] We are next pre- fented with the pictures of thofe whom the Goddefs leads in Cap- tivity. Science is only deprefled and confined fo as to be rendered ufelefs ; but Wit or Genius, as a more dangerous and active enemy, punimed, or driven away : Dulnefs being often reconciled in fome degree with Learning, but never upon any terms with Wit. And accordingly it will be feen that fhe admits fomething like each Science, as Cafuiftry, Sophiftry, &c. but nothing like Wit, Opera alone fupplying its place. P. * Though there are many paffages in this fourth book of great fplendor and fpirit, yet there are many alfo that are disjointed, ununiform, and obfcure r occafioned by their being taken from materials and fragments of a work he once defigned to write, on True and Falfe Learning. In the very fame proportion that he was peculiarly happy and judicious in the fine additions he made to his Rape of the Lock, he was unfortunate and foiled in the additions he made to his Dunciad. Book IV. THE DUNCIAD. 253 His blunted Arms by Sophijlry are born, 25 And fhamelefs Billingfgate her Robes adorn. Morality, by her falfe Guardians drawn, Chicbane in Furs, and Cafuiftry in Lawn, Gafps, as they ftraiten at each end the cord, And dies, when Dulnefs gives her Page the word. Mad Mdthefu alone was unconfin'd, 3 1 Too mad for mere material chains to bind, Now to pure Space lifts her extatic flare, Now running round the Circle, finds its fquare. But held in ten-fold bonds the Mufes lie, 35 Watch'd both by Envy's and by Flattery's eye : There R E M ARKS. VER. 30. gives her Page the ivord.~\ There was a Judge of this- name, always ready to hang any man that came in his way ; of which he was fuffered to give a hundred miferable example* during a long life, even to his dotage Though the candid Scriblerus imagined Page here to mean no more than a Page or -Mute, and to allude to the cuftom of Strangling State Criminals in Turkey by Mutes or Pages. A praftiee more decent than that of our Page, who, before he hanged any one, loaded him with re- proachful language. SCRIBL. P. * VER. 31. Mad Mathefis] Alluding to the flrange Conclufions fome Mathematicians have deduced from their principles, con- cerning the real Quantity of Matter, the Reality of Space, &c. P. * Is it allowable to make the fecond fyllable of Mathefis, fliort > though Prudentius indeed has done fo. VER. 34. running round the Circle, finds it fquare.~] Regards the wild and fruitlefs attempts offquaring the Circle. P. * VER. 36. Watch'd both ly Envy's and ly Flatt'ry's eye.] One of the misfortunes falling on Authors, from the A3 for fubjecting- Plays to the power of a Licenfer, being the falfe reprefentations to which they were expofed, from fuch as either gratified their envy to Merit, or made their court to Greatnefs, by perverting general reflections againft Vice into Libels on particular Perfons. P. * 2 3 4 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. There to her heart fad Tragedy addreft The dagger wont to pierce the Tyrant's bread ; But fober Hiftory reftrain'd her rage, And promifs'd Vengeance on a barb'rous age. 40 There funk Thalia, nervelefs, cold, and dead, Had not her Sifter Satire held her head : Nor cou'd'ft thou, CHESTERFIELD ! a tear refufe, Thou wept'ft, and with thee wept each gentle Mufe. When lo ! a Harlot form foft fliding by, 45 With mincing ftep, fmall voice, and languid eye : Foreign REMARKS. VER. 43. Nor coiftFJl thou, sV.] This Noble Perfon in the year 1737* when the Adi aforefaid was brought into the Houfe of Lords, oppofed it in an excellent fpeech (fays Mr. Gibber) " with a lively fpirit, and uncommon eloquence." This fpeech had the honour to be anfwered by the faid Mr. Gibber, with a lively fpirit alfo, and in a manner very uncommon, in the 8th Chapter of his Life and Manners* And here, gentle Reader, would I gladly in- fert the other fpeech, whereby thou mighteft judge between them : but I muft defer it on account of fome differences not yet adjufled between the Noble Author and myfelf, concerning the True Reading of certain pafiages. BENTL. P.* VER. 45. When lo ! a Harlot form} The Attitude given to this Phantom reprefents the nature and genius of the Italian Opera ; its affected airs, its effeminate founds, and the practice of patching up thefe Operas with favourite fongs, incoherently put together. Thefe things were fupported by the fubfcriptions of the Nobility. This circumftance, that OPERA mould prepare for the opening of the grand Seffions, was prophefied of in Book iii. ver. 304. " Already Opera prepares the way, The fure fore-runner of her gentle fway." P. * Our author had not feen the charming Drama's of Metaftafio ; who is indeed a very fine tragic poet ; the plans of fome of his pieces are conducted with the trueft art and judgment, which cannot BooklV. THE DUNCIAD. 235 Foreign her air, her robe's difcordant pride In patch-work fluttering, and her head afide : By fmging Peers up- held on either hand, She tripp'd and laugh'd, too pretty much to ftand j Caft on the proftrate Nine a fcornful look, 51 Then thus in quaint Recitativo fpoke. O Cara ! Cara ! filence all that train : Joy to great Chaos ! let Divifion reign : Chromatic REMARKS. cannot be fbrprifing to thofe who know that this enchanting writer has been excelled by few moderns in genius and in learning. Hear a very ferious philofopher aflerting, " that nothing can be more deeply affecting than the interesting fcenes of the ferious Opera ; when to good poetry and good mufic, to the Poetry of Metaftafio and the mufic of Pergolefe, is added the execution of a good aftor." EfTays of ADAM SMITH, p. 159. See alfo p. 167, of the Mufical Imitations in the fame work. Voltaire thinks more highly of the opera than Pope : *< Ou les beaux vers, la danfe, la mufique, L,'art de tromper les yeux par les couleures, L'art plus heureux de feduire les cceurs ; De cent plaifirs font un plaiilr unique." If Pope therefore had lived to read the operas of Metaftafio, he would probably have altered his opinion of this fpecies of- poetry. And he feems to have not been acquainted with thofe of Qiiinault ; or perhaps took his opinion concerning them from, Boileau. Some are far above love ftories ; fee the incantations of Medea ; the opening of Pluto ; the fpeeches ef Medufa, Ceres, and Alcefte. VER. 54. let Dlvi/ton reign :] Alluding to the falfe tafle of playing tricks with Mufic with numberlefs divifions, to the neglecl of that harmony which conforms to the Senfe, and applies to the Paffions. Mr. Handel had introduced a great number of Hands, and IMITATIONS. VER. 54. Joy to great Chaos /] Joy to great Caefar The beginning of a famous old Song. W. 236 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. Chromatic tortures foon fhall drive them hence, 55 Break all their nerves, and fritter all their fenfe : One Trill fhall harmonize joy, grief, and rage, Wake the dull Church, and lull the ranting Stage ; To the fame notes thy fons fhall hum, or fnore, And all thy yawning daughters cry, encore. 60 Another Phoebus, thy own Phoebus, reigns, Joys in my jigs, and dances in my chains. But foon, ah foon, Rebellion will commence, If Mufic meanly borrows aid from Senfe : Strong in new Arms, lo ! Giant HANDEL flands, Like bold Briareus, with a hundred hands j 66 To REMARKS. and more variety of Inftrutnents into the Orcheftra, and employed even Drums and Cannon to make a fuller Chorus ; which proved fo much too manly for the fine Gentlemen of his age, that he was obliged to remove his Mufic into Ireland. After which they were reduced, for want of Compofers, to praclife the patch-work above-mentioned. P. * This fubjeft is treated with accuracy and tafte in Avifon's Effay on Mufical Expreffion ; and the fuperiority of Expreffion to execu- tion, infifted on and demonftrated. VER. 55. Chromatic tortures} The judicious and elegant author of the General Hiftory of Mufic has given us accurate accounts of every fpecies of this art, and enriched his work with a variety of curious particulars concerning it, unknown before. VER. 61. thy own Phoebus, reigns,"] " Tuus jam regnat Apollo." VIRG. Not the ancient Phoebus, the God of Harmony, but a modern Phoebus of French extraction, married to the Princefs GalimatAia, one of the handmaids of Dulnefs, and an affiftant to Opera. Of whom fee Bouhours, and other Critics of that nation. SCRIBL. P. * VER. 65. Giant Handel] The honor paid to this truly fublime genius, by the repeated performances of his nobleft works at Weftminfler- BooklV. THE DUNCIAD. 237 To jflir, to rouze, to fhake the Soul he comes, And Jove's own Thunders follow Mars's Drums. Arreft him, Emprefs ; or you fleep no more She heard, and drove him to th* Hibernian more. 70 And now had Fame's poflerior Trumpet blown, And all the Nations fummon'd to the Throne. The young, the old, who feel her inward fway, One inftinft feizes, and tranfports away. None need a guide, by fure Attraction led, 75 And flrong impulfive gravity of Head : None R E M A RKS. Weftminfter-Abbey, under the patronage of the King, will not foon be forgotten. The magnificence and accuracy of which performances were beyond compare. It is remarkable, that in the earlier part of his life, Pope was fo very infenfible to the charms of mufic, that he once afked his friend Dr. Arbuthnot, who had a fine ear, " whether, at Lord Burlington's concerts, the rapture which the company exprefied upon hearing the compo- fitions and performance of Handel, did not proceed wholly from affectation ?" Dr. Burney obferves, v. i. p. 329. that both Dryden and my friend Pitt, have inaccurately and improperly tranflated the palfage of Virgil, b. 6. relating to Orpheus, v. 645. " Obloquitur numeris feptem difcrimina vocum." VER. 71. Fame's poflerior Trumpet} Poflerior ; viz. her fecond or more certain Report : unlefs we imagine this word poflerior to relate to the pofition of one of her Trumpets, according to Hudibras : 11 She blows not both with the fame Wind, But one before and one behind ; And therefore modern Authors name One good, and t'other evil Fame." P. * VER. 75. None need a guide, None 'want a place,]] The fons of Dulnefs want no inftru&ors in fludy, nor guides in life : They are their own matters in all Sciences, and their own Heralds and Introducers into all places. P. * 238 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. None want a place, for all their Centre found, Hung to the Goddefs, and cohered around. Not clofer, orb in orb, conglob'd are feen The buzzing Bees about their dufky Queen. 80 The gathering number, as it moves along, Involves a vaft involuntary throng, Who gently drawn, and ftruggling lefs and lefs, Roll in her Vortex, and her pow'r confefs. Not thofe alone who paffive own her laws, 85 But who, weak Rebels, more advance her caufe. Whate'er of dunce in College or in Town Sneers at another, in toupee or gown ; Whate'er of mungril no one clafs admits, A wit with dunces, and a dunce with wits. 90 Nor abfent they, no members of her ftate, Who pay her homage in her fons, the Great j Who falfe to Phoebus, bow the knee to Baal ; Or impious, preach his Word without a call. Patrons, REMARKS. VER. 76 to loi.] It ought to be obferved that here are three claffes in this aflembly. The firfl of me a abfolutely and avowedly dull, who naturally adhere to the Goddefs, and are reprefented in the flmile of the Bees about their Qvieen. The fecond involun- tarily drawn to her, though not caring to own her influence ; from ver. 8 1 to 90. The third of fuch as, though not members of her ftate, yet advance her fervice by flattering Dulnefs, cul- tivating miilaken talents, patronizing vile fcriblers, difcouraging living merit, or fetting up for wits, and men of tafte in arts they underftand not ; from ver. 91 to 101. P. * VER. 93. falfe to Phoebus] Spoken of the ancient and true Phoelus ; not the French Phoebus y who hath no chofen Priefts or Poets, but equally infpires any man that pleafeth to fing or preach. SCRIBL. P. * Book IV. THE DUNCIAD. 339 Patrons, who fneak from living worth to dead, 95 "With-hold the penfion, and fet up the head ; Or veil dull Flatt'ry in the facred Gown ; Or give from fool to fool the Laurel crown, And (laft and worft) with all the cant of wit, Without the foul, the Mufe's Hypocrit. 100 There march'd the bard and blockhead, fide by fide, Who rhym'd for hire, and patroniz'd for pride. Narciflus, prais'd with all a Parfon's pow'r, Look'd a white lilly funk beneath a fhow'r. There mov'd Montalto with fuperior air ; 105 His ftretch'd-out arm difplay'd a Volume fair ; Courtiers and Patriots in two ranks divide, Through both he pafs'd, and bow'd from fide to fide : But as in graceful act, with awful eye Compos'd he flood, bold Benfon thruft him by : On REMARKS. VER. 94. his Word without a call.~\ We might have cxpe&ed an obje&ion to this exprefiion from Dr. Warburton. . VER. 99, 100. And (laft and worjf] -with all the cant of ivit, Without the foul, the Mufe's Hypocrit.] In this divifion are reckoned up, I. The Idolizers of Dulnefs in the Great 2. Ill Judges 3. Ill Writers 4. Ill Patrons. But the lajl and -worjl, as he juftly calls him, is the Mufe's Hypocrite, who is, as it were, the Epitome of them all. He who thinks the only end of poetry is to amufe, and the only bufinefs of the poet to be witty; and confequently who cultivates only fuch trifling talents in himfelf, and encourages only fuch in others. * VER. 103. Narcljjusipra'ifd'} Means Dr. Middleton's laboured encomium on Lord Harvey in his dedication of the Life of Cicero. Had Mr. Pope ever read Dr, Warburton's dedication of his Eflay on Prodigies, to Sir Robert Sutton ? 2 4 o THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. On two unequal crutches propt he came, 1 1 1 Milton's on this, on that one Johnfton's name. The decent Knight retir'd with fober rage, Withdrew his hand, and clos'd the pompous page. But VARIATIONS. VR. 114. " What! no refpeft, he cry'd, for SHAKESPEAR'S REMARKS. VER. 1 10. WaBenfonJ This man endeavoured to raife himfclf to Fame by eve&ing monuments, finking coins, fetting up heads, and procuring .tranflations, of Milton ; and afterwards by as great pafiion for one Arthur John/Ion, a Scotch phyfician's Verfion of the J'falms, of which he printed many fine Editions. See more of him, Book iii. ver 325, P. * . VER. 112. Milton's on this,] Benfon is here fpoken of too con- temptuoufly. He tranflated faithfully, if not very poetically, the fecond book of the Georgics, with ufeful notes ; he printed elegant editions of Johnilon's Pfalms ; he wrote a Difcourfe on Verfification ; he refcued his country from the difgrace of having no monument creeled to the memory of Milton in Weflminfter Abbey ; he encouraged and urged Pitt to tranflate the Aeneid ; and he gave Dobfon a thoufand pounds for his Latin trauflatkrrr of Paradife Loft. Dobfon had acquired great reputation by his tranflation of Prior's Solomon, the firft book of which he finifhed when he was a fcholar at Winchefter College. He had not at that time, as he told me (for I knew him well), read Lucretius, which would have given a richnefs and force to his verfes ; the chief fault of which was a monotony, and want of variety of Virgilian paufes. Mr. Pope wifhed him to tranflate the Eflay on Man ; which he began to do, but relinquifhed on account of the impofiibility of imitating its brevity in another language. He has avoided the monotony above mentioned in his Milton ; which monotony was occafioned by tranflating a poem in rhyme. Bifhop Hare, a capable judge, ufed to mention his Solomon as one of the pureft pieces of modern Latin poetry. Though he had fo much felicity in tranflating, yet his original poems, of which I have feen many, were very feeble and flat, and contained no mark of genius. He had no great ftock of general literature, and was by BooklV. THE DUNCIAD. 241 But (happy for him as the times went then) 115 Appear'd Apollo's Mayor and Aldermen, On REMARKS. by no means qualified to pronounce on what degree of learning Pope pofleffed ; and I am furprized that Johnfon mould quote him, as faying, " I found Pope had more learning than I ex- pefted." VER. 113. The. decent Knight] An eminent perfon, who was about to publifh a very pompous Edition of a great Author at his etun ex fence. P. * VER. 115. But (happy for him'] Thefe four lines, of which the firft is a very indifferent one, were not in the quarto edition of I 743 P a g e x ^5 : ^ ut were added on occafion of Sir Thomas Hanmer's edition, printed at Oxford in fix large quarto volumes: which edition occafioned a violent quarrel betwixt Sir Thomas and Dr. Warburton, of which the reader may judge by perufing the two curious letters here annexed. " Milden-hall near Newmarket, Suffolk, October 28, 1742. " Dear Sir, " I have much doubted with myfelf whether it were proper for me to return an anfwer to the favour of your letter, till after hearing again from you or Dr. Shippen. There feem to arife fome difficulties with refpeft to the delign of printing a new edition of Shakefpeare, and I beg it may be laid afide, if you are not fully fatisfied, that fome advantage may arife from it to the univerfity ; for I have no end in view to myfelf to make me defire it. I am fatisfied there is no edition coming or likely to come from Warburton, but it is a report raifed to ferve fome little purpofe or other, of which I fee there are many on foot. I have reafon to know that gentleman is very angry with me, for a caufe of which 1 think I have no reafon to be afliamed, or he to be proud. My acquaintance with him began upon an application from himfelf, and at his requeft the prefent bifhop of Salifbury introduced him to me for this purpofe only, as was then declared, that as he had many obfervations upon Shakefpeare then lying by him, over and above thofe printed in Theobald's book, he much defired to communicate them to me, that I might judge whether any of them worthy to be added to thofe emendations, which he underftood I had long been making upon'that author. I received VOL. v. R hi* * 4 2 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. On whom three hundred gold-capt youths await, To lug the pond'rous volume off in Hate. When REMARKS. his offer with all the civility I could : upon which a long corre- fpondence began by letters, in which he explained his fenfe upon many paffages, which fometimes I thought juft, but moftly wild and out of the way. Afterwards he made a journey hither on purpofe to fee my books j he ftaid about a week with me, and had the infpeclion of them: and, all this while I had no fufpicion of any other defign, in all the pains he took, but to perfect a correct text in Shakefpeare, of which he feemed very fond. But not long after, the views of intereft began to mew themfelves, feveral hints were dropt of the advantage he might receive from publifhing the work thus corrected ; but as I had no thoughts at all of making it public, fo I was more averfe to yield to it in fuch a manner as was likely to produce a paltry edition, by making it the means only of getting a greater fum of money by it. Upon this, he flew into a great rage, and there is an end of the ftory ; with which I have thought it befl to make you acquainted, that, as you mention the working of his friends, you may judge the better of what you fee and hear from them, and may make what ufc you pleafe of the truth of facts, which I have now laid before you. " As to my own particular, I have no aim to purfue in this affair : J propofe neither honour, reward, or thanks, and fhould be very well pleafed to have the books continue upon their flielf, in my own private clofet. If it is thought they may be of ufe or pleafure to the public, I am willing to part with them out of my hands, and to add, for the honour of Shakefpeare, fome de- corations and embellifhments at my own expence. It will be an unexpected pleafure to me, if they can be made in any degree profitable to the univerfity, to which I fhall always retain a gra- titude, a regard, and reverence ; but that I may end as I began, I beg the favour of you, if upon more mature confideration among yourfelves, you fee reafon to difcourage. you from pro- ceeding in this affair, that you will give it over, and not look upon yourfelvts to be the more obliged to profecute it from any fteps already taken with, " Sir, your raoft humble and obedient fervant, " THO. HANMER." The Book IV. THE DUNCIAD. 343 When Dulnefs, fmiling " Thus revive the wits ! But murder firft, and mince them all to bits; 120 As REMARKS. The bifhop's ftri&ures on this charge, which were defigned to be printed in the Biographia Britannica, if the fheet had not been cancelled, are as follow : " Sir Thomas Hanmer's letter from Milden-hall to Oxford, O6t. 28, 1742, is one continued falfehood from beginning to end. " It is falfe that my acquaintance with him began upon an application from me to him. It began on an application of the prefent bifhop of London to me, in behalf of Sir T. Hanmer; and, as I underltood, at Sir T. Hanmer's deiire. The thing fpeaks itfelf. It was publicly known that I had written notes on Shakefpear, becaufe part of them were printed ; few people knew that Sir T. Hanmer had : I certainly did not know ; nor, indeed, whether he was living or dead. '* The falfehood is ftill viler (becaufe it fculks only under an infinuation) that I made a journey to him to Milden-hall, without invitation : whereas it was at his earned and repeated requeft, as appears by his letters, which I have ftill by me. " It is falfe that the views of intereft began to mew themfelves in me to this difmterefted gentleman. My refentmentat Sir Thomas H.'s behaviour began on the following occafion : a bookfeller in London, of the beft reputation, had wrote me word, that Sir Thomas Hanmer had been with him, to propofe his printing an edition of Shakefpear on the following conditions ; of its being pompoufly printed with cuts, (as it afterwards was at Oxford) at the expence of the faid bookfeller, who, betides, fhould pay one hundred guineas, or fome fuch fum, to a friend of his, (Sir T. Hanmer's) who had tranfcribed the gloj/ary for him. But the bookfeller, underftanding that he made ufe of many of my notes, and that I knew nothing of the project, thought fit to fend me this account. On which, I wrote to Sir Th. Hanmer, upbraiding him with his behaviour, and demanding, out of his hands, all the letters I had written to him on the fubjeft ; which he unwil- lingly complied with, after cavilling about the right of property in thofe letters, for which he had (he faid) paid the poftage. " When the bookfeller would not deal with him on thefe terms, he applied to the univerfity of Oxford ; and was at the expence of his purfe in procuring cuts for his edition ; and at the expence of JR. 2 his 244 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. As erft Medea (cruel, fo to fave !) A new Edition of old Aefon gave ; Let ftandard Authors, thus, like trophies born, Appear more glorious as more hack'd and torn. And you, my Critics ! in the chequer'd made, 1 25 Admire new light through holes yourfelves have made. Leave not a foot of verfe, a foot of ftone, A Page, a Grave, that they can call their own ; But REMARKS. his reputation in employing a number of ray emendations on the text, without my knowledge or confent : and this behaviour was what occafioned Mr. Pope's perpetuating the memory of the Oxford edition of Shakefpear in the Dunciad. " This is a true and exaft account of the whole affair, which I never thought worth while afterwards to complain of, but to the bifhop of London, at whofe defire I lent Sir Thomas Hanmer my affiftance : nor mould ever have revived it, but for the publication of this fcandalous letter, fent from Oxford to this Philip Nichols, to be inferted in the Biographia Britannica. " Jan. 29, 1761. W. GLOUCESTER." VER. 119. " Thus revive, &c.] The Goddefs applauds the practice of tacking the obfcure names of Perfons not eminent in any branch of learning, to thofe of the moft diftinguifhed Writers ; either by printing Editions of their works with impertinent altera- tions of their Text, as in the former inftances ; or by fetting up Monuments difgraced with their own vile names and infcriptions, as in the latter. P. * VER. 122. old Aefon] Of whom Ovid (very applicable tothefc reftored authors) - " Aefon mlratur, " Diffimilemque znimumful/iit" P. * VER. 125. the chequer' dfoade,] An expreffion of Milton. IMITATIO NS. VER. 126. Admire new light, &.~] " The Soul's dark cottage, batter'd and decay'd, " Lets in new light, through chinks that time has made." WALLER. W. Book IV. THE DUNCIAD. 245 But fpread, my fons, your glory thin or thick, On paffive paper, or on folid brick. 130 So by each Bard an Alderman mall fit, A heavy Lord mail hang at ev'ry Wit, And while on Fame's triumphal Car they ride, Some Slave of mine be pinion'd to their fide." Now crowds on crowds around the Goddefs prefs, Each eager to prefent the firft Addrefs. 136 Dunce fcorning Dunce beholds the next advance, But Fop mews Fop fuperior complaifance. When REMARKS. VER. 128. A Page, a Grave,] For what lefs than a Grave can be granted to a dead author ? or what lefs than a Page can be afforded a living one ? P. * Paglna, not Pediffequus* A Page of a Book, not a Servant, Follower, or Attendant ; no Poet having had a Page fince the death of Mr. Thomas Durfey. SCRIBL. P.* VER. 131. So by each Bard an Alderman, &c.~\ Vide the Tombs of the Poets, Editio Weftmonafterienfis. P. * Alluding to the monument erected for Butler, the Author of Hudibras, by Alderman Barber. W. VER. 132. A heavy LORD^/M." IMITATIONS. VER. 215. Roman and Greek Grammarians, sV.] Imitated from Propertius fpeaking of the Aeneid. " Cedite, Roman ifcrlptores, cedite Graii ! Nefcio quid majus nafcttiir IKade" ' W. 256 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. Let Freind affed to fpeak as Terence fpoke, And Alfop never but like Horace joke : From me, what Virgil, Pliny may deny, 225 Manilius or Solinus mail fupply : For Attic Phrafe in Plato let them feek, I poach in Suidas for unlicens'd Greek. In ancient Senfe if any needs will deal, Be fure I give them Fragments, not a Meal ; 230 What Gellius or Stobaeus hafh'd before, Or chew'd by blind old Scholiafts o'er and o'er. The critic Eye, that microfcope of Wit, Sees hairs and pores, examines bit by bit : How REMARKS. VER. 223, 224. Freind Alfop} Dr. Robert Freind, mafter of Weftminfter-fchool, and canon of Chrift-church Dr. Anthony Alfop, a happy imitator of the Horatian ftyle. P. * Not only in odes but in fome Aefopic fables. VER. 226. Manilius or So!inus~] Some Critics having had it in their choice to comment either on Virgil or Manilius, Pliny or Solinus, have chofen the worfe author, the more freely to difplay their critical talents. P. * VER. 228. fcfr. Suidas, Gellius, Stobaeus} The firft a Diaionary- writer of impertinent fafts and barbarous words ; the fecond a minute Critic ; the third a collector, who gave his Common-place book to the public, where we happen to find much Mince-meat of good old Authors. P. * All thefe three writers abound in ufeful and elegant remarks, and in facts, which, but for their collections, would have been loft and unknown ; and therefore deferved not this ridicule, efpecially from a poet who, as Dr. Jortin obferves, knew very little of their works. Burman, Kufter, and Wafle, mentioned verfe 237, were men of real and ufeful erudition. VER. 232. Or chew* d by blind old Schonajls o'er and o'er. ~] Thefe men taking the fame things eternally from the mouth of one another. P. * Book IV. THE DUNCIAD, 257 How parts relate to parts, or they to whole, 235 The body's harmony, the beaming foul, Are things which Kufter, Burman, Wafie mail fee, When Man's whole frame is obvious to a Flea. Ah, think not, Miftrefs ! more true Dulnefs lies In Folly's Cap, than Wifdom's grave difguife. 240 Like buoys, that never fink into the flood, On Learning's furface we but lie and nod. Thine is the genuine head of many a houfe, And much Divinity without a No~?. Nor REMARKS. VER. 239, 240. Ah, think not, Miftrefs, &c. In Folly's Cap, &c.~\ By this it appears, that the Dunces and Fops, mentioned ver. 139, 140. had a contention for the Goddefs's favour on this great day. Thofe got the Hart ; but Thefe make it up by their Spokefman in the next fpeech. It feems as if Ariftarchus here firfl faw him advancing with his fair Pupil. SCRIBL. * VER. 243. Thine is the genuine] It has been fuggeited that Dr. Warburton inferted fome lines of his own compofition in this fourth book of the Dunciad, which the poet wrote at his earned requeft ; and thefe two verfes, as containing fome common cant words peculiar to the univerlity, are mentioned as fome of them : As alfo the following, " As erft Medea cruel fo to fave, A new Edition of old Oefon gave." And the calling the members of the Univerfity of Oxford, " Apollo's May'r and Aldermen," is faid to be one of Dr. Warburton's witticifms. For the truth of this aflertion I cannot vouch. VER. 244. And much Divinity without a N;.] A word much affedted by the learned Ariftarchus in common converfation, to fignify Genius or natural acumen. But this paflage has a farther view : Na< was the Platonic term for Mind, or the Jirjl caufe ; and that fyftem of Divinity is here hinted at which terminates in blind Nature, without a N? : fuch as the Poet afterwards defcribes (fpeaking of the dream of one of thefe later Platonifts) Or that bright Image to our Fancy draw, Which Theocles in raptur'd Viftonfaw, That Nature sV. P. * 258 THE DUNCIAD. BooklV. Nor could a BARROW work on ev'ry block, 245 Nor has one ATTERBURY fpoil'd the flock. See ! ftill thy own, the heavy Canon roll, And Metaphyfic fmokes involve the Pole. For thee we dim the eyes, and fluff the head With all fuch reading as was never read : 250 For thee explain a thing till all men doubt it, And write about it, Goddefs, and about it : So REMARKS. VER. 245, 246. Barrow, Atterlury~\ Ifaac Barrow, Mafter of Trinity ; Francis Atterbury, Dean of Chrift-church ; both great Genuifes and eloquent Preachers ; one more converfant in the fublime Geometry, the other in claffical Learning; but who equally made it their care to advance the polite Arts in their feveral Societies. P. * No compofitions can be more different than the fermons of thefe two eminent divines. If there be more eloquence and tafte in the dif- courfes of Atterbury, there is certainly more matter, more penetra- tion, more knowledge of human nature, in thofe of Barrow. VER. 247. the heavy Canon] Canon here, if fpoken of drtillery, is in the plural number ; if of the Canons of the Houfe, in the fingular, and meant only of one : in which cafe I fufpeft the Pole to be a falfe reading, and that it mould be the Poll, or Head of that Canon. It may be objected, that this is a mere Paranomajia or Pun, But what of that ? Is any figure of Speech more appo- fite to our gentle Goddefs, or more frequently ufed by her and her Children, efpecially of the Univerlity ? Doubtlefs it better fuits the Character of Dulnefs, yea of a Doctor, than that of an Angel ; yet Milton feared not to put a confiderable quantity into the mouths of his. It hath indeed been obferved, that they were the Devil's Angels, as if he did it to fugged that the Devil was the Author as well of falfe Wit, as of falfe Religion, and that the Father of Lies was alfo the Father of Puns. But this is idle : It muft be owned to be a Chriftian practice ; ufed in the primitive times by fome of the Fathers, and in the latter by moft of the Sons of the Church ; till the debauched reign of Charles the fecond, when the mameful Paffion for Wit overthrew every thing : and even then the beft Writers admitted it, provided it was ob- fcene, under the name of the Double entendre. SCRIBL. P. * Book IV. THE DUNCIAD. 259 So fpins the filk-worm fmall its flender ftore, And labours till it clouds itfelf all o'er. What tho* we let fome better fort of fool 255 Thrid ev'ry fcience, run through ev'ry fchool ? Never by tumbler through the hoops was fhown Such fkill in paifing all, and touching none. He may indeed (if fober all this time) Plague with Difpute, or perfecute with Rhyme. 260 We only furnifh what he cannot ufe, Or wed to what he muft divorce, a Mufe : Full in the midft of Euclid dip at once, And petrify a Genius to a Dunce : Or fet on Metaphyfic ground to prance, 265 Show all his paces, not a ftep advance. With the fame CEMENT, ever fure to bind, We bring to one dead level every mind. Then take him to devellop, if you can, And hew the Block off, and get out the Man. 270 But R E M AR KS. VER. 257. Never by tumbler} Thefe two verfes are verbatim from an epigram of Dr. Evans, of St. John's College, Oxford ; given to my father twenty years before the Dunciad was written. The Parenthefis, in v. 259, (if fober all this time) is a poor expletive. VER. 264. petrify a Genius] Thofe who have no Genius, employed in works of imagination ; thofe who have, in abftrad fciences. P. * VER. 266. not ajlep advance.} He has condefcended to borrow this illuftration on metaphyficians, from Lord Hervey's Obferva- tions on Alciphron. VER. 267. With the fame Cement ,] A cement bringing to a level, is not a pure metaphor : and take him to devellop, v. 269. is hard. 260 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. But wherefore wafte I words ? I fee advance Whore, Pupil, and lac'd Governor from France. Walker ! our hat nor more he deign'd to fay, But, flern as Ajax' fpectre, ftrode away. In flow'd at once a gay embroider'd race, 275 And titt'ring pufh'd the Pedants off the place : Some REMARKS. VER. 270. And hew the Block of,] A notion of Ariftotle, that there was originally in every block of marble, a Statue, which would appear on the removal of the fuperfluous parts. P. * VER. 272. lac' "d Governor] Why lac'd? Becaufe Gold and Silver are neceflary trimming to denote the drefs of a perfon of rank ; and the Governor muft be fuppofed fo, in foreign countrks, to be admitted into courts and other places of fair reception. But how comes Ariftarchus to know at fight that this Governor came from France? Know? Why, by his laced coat. SCRIBL. P. * Ibid. Whore, Pupil, and lac'd Governor] Some Critics have objected to the order here, being of opinion that the Governor mould have the preference before the Whore, if not before the Pupil : But were he fo placed, it might be thought to infmuate that the Governor led the Pupil to the Whore : and were the Pupil placed firft, he might be fuppofed to lead the Governor to her. But our impartial Poet, as he is drawing their piclure, re- prefents them in the order in which they are generally feen ; namely, the Pupil between the Whore and the Governor ; but placeth the Whore firft, as me ufually governs both the other. P. * Ibid. Whore, Pupil,] Meaning the late Duke of Kingfton, and his celebrated miflrefs, Mad. De La Touche. VER. 274. Jlern as Ajax' fpeSre, Jlrode away.] See Homer, OdyfT. xi. where the Ghoft of Ajax turns fullenly from UlyfTes the Traveller, who had fucceeded againft him in the difpute for the arms of Achilles. There had been the fame contention be- tween the Travelling, and the Univerfity Tutor, for the fpoils of our young heroes ; and faftiion adjudged it to the former ; fo that this might well occafion the fallen dignity in departure, which Longinus fo much admired. SCRIBL. * VER. 276. And tit? ring pujtid, &c.] HOR. " Rideat et pulfet lafciva decentius aetas." P. * Book IV. THE DUNCIAD. 2 tfi Some would have fpoken, but the voice was drown'd By the French horn, or by the op'ning hound. The firft came forwards with an eafy mien, As if he faw St. James's and the Queen. 280 When thus th* attendant Orator begun, Receive, great Emprefs ! thy accomplifh'd Son : Thine from the birth, and facred from the rod, A dauntlefs infant ! never fcar'd with God. The Sire faw, one by one his Virtues wake : 285 The Mother begg'd the bleffing of a Rake. Thou gav'ft that Ripenefs, which fo foon began, And ceas'd fo foon, he ne'er was Boy, nor Man, Through School and College, thy kind cloud o'er-caft, Safe and unfeen the young Aeneas paft : 290 Thence REMARKS. VER. 280. As ifhefaiv St. James's] Refle&ing on the difre- fpe&ful and indecent Behaviour of feveral forward young perfons in the Prefence, fo offenilve to all ferious men, and to none more than the good Scriblerus. P. * VER. 281. th' attendant Orator] The Governor abovefaid. The Poet gives him no particular name ; being unwilling, I prefume, to offend or do injuRice to any, by celebrating one only with whom this character agrees, in preference to fo many who equally deferve it. SCRIBL. P. * VER. 290. unfeen the young Aeneas/wy? . Thence bur/ling glorious,} See Virg. Aeneid. i. " At Venus obfcuro gradientes acre fepfit, Et multo nebulae circum Dea fudit amiclu, Cernere ne quis eos ; i . neu quis contingere poffit ; 2. Molirive moram ; aut 3. veniendi pofcere caufas." Where he enumerates the caufes why his mother took this care of him: to wit, I. that no body might touch or correft him: 2. might IMITATIONS. VER. 284. A dauntlefs Infant! never fcar'd with God.] fine Dis animofus Infans." HOR. W. * 3 262 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. Thence burfting glorious, all at once let down, Stunn*d with his giddy Larum half the town. Intrepid then, o'er feas and lands he flew : Europe he faw, and Europe faw him too. There all thy gifts and graces we difplay, 295 Thou, only thou, directing all our way ! To where the Seine, obfequious as me runs, Pours at great Bourbon's feet her filken fons ; Or Tyber, now no longer Roman, rolls, Vain of Italian Arts, Italian Souls : 300 To happy Convents, bofom'd deep in vines, Where flumber Abbots, purple as their wines : To ifles of fragrance, lilly-filver'd vales, Diffufmg languor in the panting gales : To lands of ringing, or of dancing flaves, 305 Love-whifp'ring woods, and lute-refounding waves. But REMARKS. might flop or detain him : 3. examine him about the progrefs he had made, or fo much as guefs why he came there. P. * VER. 294. Europe he faw,] The pernicious effects of too early travelling are here ridiculed and expofed with equal good fenfe, and charming poetry. VER. 301. To happy Convents,] I cannot forbear faying, though indeed every reader of tafte will perceive the thing, that Pope has never written, nor indeed does our language afford, fix more de- licious lines. The three compound epithets, which are more in number than he ever has ufed fo near each other, have a fine effeft, and are moft happily conftru&ed. So alfo is greatly-daring, in line 3 1 8.. Verfe 302, Abbots, purple as their wines, is from Roufleau the Poet. VER. 303. Klly-fiher'd vales,] Tuberofes. W. VER. 305. To lands of dancing Jlaves ,] In the year 1413, when the City of Paris was in the utmofl. defolation, in the mur- ders and profcriptions of the Great, by the uncontrouled fury of a mad Book IV. THE DUNCIAD. 263 But chief her fhrine where naked Venus keeps, And Cupids ride the Lion of the Deeps ; Where, eas'd of Fleets, the Adriatic main Wafts the fmooth Eunuch and enamour'd fwain. Led by my hand, he faunter'd Europe round, 311 And gathered ev'ry Vice on Chriftian ground ; Saw ev'ry Court, heard ev'ry King declare His royal Senfe, of Op'ra's or the Fair ; The Stews and Palace equally explor'd, 3 r 5 Intrigu'd with glory, and with fpirit whor'd ; Try'd all hors-d'oeuvres , all liqueurs defin'd ; Judicious drank, and greatly-daring din'd ; Dropt REMARKS. a mad Populace, who had deftroyed one half of the Court, and had kept the other half, with the King and Dauphin, Prifoners in the Palace, devoted to deftruciion. At this dreadful jun&ure, the infolence of one Jacqueville, the Captain of the Mob, has been the occafion of bringing down to us a circumftance very de- clarative of the iingular temper of this gay Nation. As that Fellow, with his Guards at his heels, was going his rounds, to fee that the work of ruin went on without interruption, when he came to the Palace he went abruptly up into the apartments, where he found the Dauphin and the principal Lords and Ladies of the Court dancing, as in the midft of Peace and Security : on which, with the air of a Cato, he reproached them for the levity of their behaviour, at a time when the reft of the Court were lan- guifhing in the Dungeons of the Common Prifons. W. VER. 308. And Cupids ride tie Lion of the Deeps ;] The winged Lion, the Arms of Venice. This Republic heretofore the molt confiderable in Europe, for her Naval Force and the extent of her Commerce ; now illuftrious for her Carnivals. P. * VER. 313. ev'ry King declare"] Another of his many farcafms on kings. Verfe 316. for intriguing with glory, fee his friend Lord Chelterfield's Letters. s 4 264 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. Dropt the dull lumber of the Latin ftore, Spoil'd his own language, and acquir'd no more ; All Claflic learning loft on Claffic ground ; 321 And lad turn'd Air, the Echo of a Sound ! See now, half-cur'd, and perfe&ly well-bred, With nothing but a Solo in his head j As much Eftate, and Principle, and Wit, 325 As Janfen, Fleetwood, Gibber mail think fit ; Stol'n from a Duel, follow'd by a Nun, And, if a Borough chufe him not, undone ; See, to my country happy I reft ore This glorious Youth, and add one Venus more. 350 Her too receive (for her my foul adores) So may the fons of fons of fons of whores, Prop REMARKS. , VER. 318. greatly -daring dir?d\\ It being indeed no fmall rifque to eat through thofe extraordinary compofitions, whofe difguifed ingredients are generally unknown to the guefts, and highly inflammatory and unwholefome. P. * VHR. 324.. With nothing but a Solo in his head ;] With nothing but a Solo ? Why, if it be a Solo, how mould there be any thing elfe ? Palpable tautology ! Read boldly an Of era, which is enough of confcience for fuch a head as has loft all its Latin. BENTL. P. * VER. 326. 'Janfen, Fleetwood, Ciller,] Three very eminent perfons, all Managers of Plays ; who, though not Governors by profeffion, had, each in his way, concerned themfelves in the Education of Youth : and regulated their Wits, their Morals, or their Finances, at that period of their age which is the moft im- portant, their entrance into the polite world. Of the laft of thefe, and his Talents for this end, fee Book i. ver. 199, &c. P. * VER. 328. And, if a Borough chufe him} A fevere ftroke on fome parts of the Englifh Parliament. IMITATIONS. VER. 332. So may the fons of fons, &7V.] " Et nati natorum, et qui nafcentur ab illis." VIRG. W. BooklV. THE DUNCIAD. 265 Prop thine, O Emprefs ! like each neighbour Throne, And make a long Pofterity thy own. Pleas'd, fhe accepts the Hero, and the Dame, 335 Wraps in her Veil, and frees from fenfe of Shame. Then look'd, and faw a lazy, lolling fort, Unfeen at Church, at Senate, or at C6urt, Of ever-liftlefs Loit'rers, that attend No Caufe, no Truft, no Duty, and no Friend. 340 Thee too, my Paridel ! fhe mark'd thee there, Stretch'd on the rack of a too eafy chair, And heard thy everlafting yawn confefs The Pains and Penalties of Idlenefs. She pity'd ! but her Pity only fhed 345 Benigner influence on thy nodding head. But REMARKS. VER. 331. Her to receive, sV.] This confirms what the learned Scriblerus advanced in his note on ver. 272, that the Governor, as well as the Pupil, had particular intereft in this lady. P. * VER. 333. Kite each neighbour Throne, ~\ A line fomewhat ob- fcure ; but feeming to contain a very extenfive piece of fatire. VER. 341. Thee too, my Paridel !] The Poet feems to fpeak of this young gentleman with great affe&ion. The name is taken from Spenfer, who gives it to a wandering courtly 'Squire, that travelled about for the fame reafon, for which many young Squires are now fond of travelling, and efpecially to Paris. P. * IMITATIONS. VER. 342. Stretch* d on the rack And heardy Sffr.] " Sectet, aeternumque fedebit, Infelix Thefeus, Phlegyafque miferrimus omnes . Admonet" VIRG. W 266 THE DUNG I AD. BooklV. But Annius, crafty Seer, with ebon wand, And well-diflembled em'rald on his hand, Falfe as his Gems, and cankered as his Coins, Came, cramm'd with capon, from where Pollio dines. Soft, as the wily Fox is feen to creep, 351 Where balk on funny banks the fimple fheep, Walk round and round, now prying here, now there, So he ; but pious, whifper'd firft his pray'r. Grant, gracious Goddefs, grant me ftill to cheat ! O may thy cloud ftill cover the deceit ! 356 Thy choicer mifts on this aflembly flied, But pour them thickeft on the noble head. So fhall each youth, affifted by our eyes, See other Caefars, other Homers rife ; 360 Through REMARKS. VtR. 347. Annius ^\ The name taken from Annius the Monk of Viterbo, famous for many Impofitions and Forgeries of ancient manufcripts and inscriptions, which he was prompted to by mere Vanity ; but our Annius had a more fubftantial motive. P. * The fudden appearance of this character, whom we never heard of before, makes this pafiage very obfcure. By Annius, was meant Sir Andrew Fountaine. VER. 355. ftill to cheat,'] Some read^/f/7/, but this is frivolous; for Annius hath that fltill already ; or if he had not, Jkill were not wanting to cheat fuch perfons. BENTL. P. * IMITATIONS. VER. 355. grant mejllllto cheat ! O may thy cloud Jlill cover the deceit /] " Da, pulchra Laverna, Da mihi fallere Noftem peccatis et fraudibus objice nubem." HOR. W. Book IV. THE DUNCIAD. 2 6 7 Through twilight Ages hunt th* Athenian fowl, Which Chalcis, Gods ; and mortals call an Owl j Now fee an Attys, now a Cecrops clear, Nay, Mahomet ! the Pigeon at thine ear ; Be rich in ancient brafs, tho* not in gold, 365 And keep his Lares, though his houfe be fold j To heedlefs Phoebe his fair bride poftpone, Honour a Syrian Prince above his own ; Lord of an Otho, if I vouch it true ; Bleft in one Niger, till he knows of two. 370 Mummius o'erheard him ; Mummius, Fool-re- nown'd, Who like his Cheops ftinks above the ground, Fierce REMARKS. VER. 361. hunt th' Athenian fowl,] The Owl flamp'd on the reverfe on the ancient money of Athens. Which Chalcis Gods, and Mortals call an Owl, is the verfe by which Hobbes renders that of Homer, XaAxis* xut\r,a-xuo-i 00<, t)jpt< St KvfuAt* P. * VER. 363. Attys and Cecrops. ,] The firft King of Athens, of whom it is hard to fuppofe any Coins are extant ; but not fo im- probable as what follows, that there mould be any of Mahomet, who forbad all Images ; and the ftory of whofe pigeon was a monkifh fable. Neverthelefs one of thefe Annius's made a coun- terfeit medal of that Impoftor, now in the potfeflion of a learned Nobleman. P. * VER. 371. Mummius'] This name is not merely an allufion to the Mummies he was fo fond of, but probably referred to the Roman General of that name, who burned Corinth, and com- mitted the curious Statues to the Captain of a Ship, afluring him, " that if any were loft or broken, he mould procure others to be made in their ftead :" by which it mould feem (whatever may be pretended) that Mummius was no Virtuofo. P. * Who, or from whence, was Mummius ? we know as little of him, thus abruptly brought out, as of Annuls in the preceding pafiage, ver. 347. It is painful, but necefiary, to make an ob- fervation 268 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. Fierce as a ftartled Adder, fwell'd, and faid, Rattling an ancient Siftrum at his head : Speak'ft thou of Syrian Princes ? Traitor bafe ! Mine, Goddefs ! mine is all the horned race. 376 True, REMARKS. fervation on fuch a fault in our poet. To fay the name alluded to Egyptian Mummies, is frigid enough ! I have been lately in- formed, that by Mummius was meant Dr. Mead, a man too learned and too liberal to be thus fatirized. Ibid. Fool-renown* J ,~\ A compound epithet in the Greek manner, renown' 'd by fools, or renowned for making fools . P. * VER. 372. Cheops] A King of Egypt, whofe body was cer- tainly to be known, as being buried alone in his Pyramid, and is therefore more genuine than any of the Cleopatra's. This Royal Mummy, being ftolen by a wild Arab, was purchafed by the Conful of Alexandria, and tranfmitted to the Mufeum of Mum- mius ; for proof of which he brings a paflage in Sandys's Travels ; where that accurate and learned Voyager afiures us that he faw the Sepulchre empty, which agrees exadly (faith he) with the time of the theft above-mentioned. But he omits to obferve that Herodotus tells us it was empty in his time. P. * VER. 375. Speak'jl thou of Syrian Princes ? &c.~\ The flrange (lory following, which may be taken for a fiftion of the Poet, is juftified by a true relation in Spon's Voyages. Vaillant (who wrote the Hiilory of the Syrian Kings, as it is to be found on medals) coming from the Levant, (where he had been collecting various coins), and being purfued by a Corfaire of Sallee, fwal- lowed down twenty gold metals. A fudden Bourafque freed him from the Rover, and he got fafe to land with the medals in his belly. On his road to Avignon he met two Phyficians, of whom he de- manded affiftance. One advifed purgations, the other vomits. In this uncertainty he took neither, but purfued his way to Lyons ; where he found his ancient friend the famous Phyfician and An- tiquary, Dufour, to whom he related his adventure. Dufour, without flaying to enquire about the uneafy fymptoms of the burthen he carried, firft afked him, whether the Medals were of the higher Empire ? He afTured him they were. Dufour was ravifhed with the hope of poileffing fo rare a treafure ; he bar- gained with him on the fpot for the mott curious of them ; and was to recover them at his own eKpence. P. * Book IV. THE DU NCI AD, 269 True, he had wit, to make their value rife ; From foolifti Greeks to deal them, was as wife ; More glorious yet, from barb'rous hands to keep, When Sallee Rovers chac'd him on the deep. 380 Then taught by Hermes, and divinely bold, Down his own throat he rifqu'd the Grecian gold, Receiv'd each Demi- God, with pious care, Deep in his Entrails I rever'd them there, I bought them, (hrouded in that living mrine, 385 And, at their fecond birth, they iflue mine. Witnefs great Ammon ! by whofe horns I fwore, (Reply'd foft Annius) this our paunch before Still bears them, faithful ; and that thus I eat, Is to refund the Medals with the meat. 390 To prove me, Goddefs ! clear of all defign, Bid me with Pollio fup, as well as dine : There all the Learn'd mail at the labour ftand, And Douglas lend his foft, obftetric hand. The REMARKS. VER. 387. Witnefs great Ammon !] Jupiter Ammon is called to witnefs, as the father of Alexander, to whom thofe Kings fuc- ceeded in the divifion of the Macedonian Empire, and whofe Horns they wore on their Medals. P. * VER. 394. Douglas] A Phyfician of great learning and no lefs tafte ; above all, curious in what related to HORACE ; of whom he collected every Edition, Tranflation, and Comment, to the number of feveral hundred volumes. P. * IMITATIONS. VER. 383. Received e ach Demi-God. ] " Emiflumque ima de fede Typhoea terrae Coelitibus fecifle metum ; cun&ofque dedifle, Terga fugae : donee fefibs Aegyptia tellus Ceperit" OVID. W. 270 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. The Goddefs fmiling feem'd to give confent ; 395 So back to Pollio, hand in hand, they went. Then thick as Locufts black'ning all the ground, A tribe, with weeds and fhells fantaflic crown'd, Each with fome wond'rous gift approach'd the Pow'r, A Neft, a Toad, a Fungus, or a Flow'r. 400 But far the foremoft, two, with earned zeal, And afpect ardent to the Throne appeal. The firft thus open'd : Hear thy fuppliant's call, Great Queen, and common Mother of us all ! Fair from its humble bed I rear'd this Flow'r, 405 Suckled, and chear'd, with air, and fun, and fhow*r. Soft REMARKS. VER. 397. Then thick as Locujls'] This tranfition Is too hafty and abrupt. VER. 403. Hear thy Juppliant' s call,] The chara&er and fpeech of the Florift in this paflage, and thofe of the Butterfly Hunter, verfe42i to verfe 436, cannot efcape the attention and applaufe of the elegant and judicious reader. Why, therefore, it will be faid, point them out ? Verfe 418, where no carnation fades, is particularly happy and appropriated to the character of the perfon (peaking. IMITATIONS. VER. 405. Fair from its humble bed, &c. nam'd it Caroline: Each maid cry'd, charming ! and each youth, divine ! Now proftrate ! dead! behold that Caroline : No maid cries, charming! and no youth, divine;] Thefe verfes are tranflated from Catullus, Epith. " Ut flos in feptis fecretus nafcitur hortis, Quam mulcent aurae, firmat Sol, educat imber, Multi ilium pueri, multae optavere puellae : Idem quum tenui carptus defloruit ungui, Nulli ilium pueri, nullae optavere puellae," &c. W. It is alfo elegantly tranflated by Ariofto. BooklV. THE DUNCIAD. 271 Soft on the paper ruff its leaves I fpread, Bright with the gilded button tipt its head. Then thron'd in glafs, and nam'd it CAROLINE : Each maid cry'd, Charming ! and each youth Divine ! Did Nature's pencil ever blend fuch rays, 41 1 Such vary'd light in one promifcuous blaze ? Now proftrate ! dead ! behold that Caroline : No maid cries, Charming ! and no youth, Divine ! And lo the wretch ! whofe vile, whofe infect luft Lay'd this gay daughter of the Spring in duft. 416 Oh punifh him, or to th' Elyfian fhades Difmifs my foul, where no Carnation fades. He ceas'd, and wept. With innocence of mien, Th' Accus'd ftood forth, and thus addrefs'd theQueen. Of all th' enamel'd race, whofe filv'ry wing 421 Waves to the tepid Zephyrs of the fpring, Or fwims along the fluid atmofphere, Once brighteft fhin'd this child of Heat and Air. I faw, and ftarted from its vernal bow'r, 425 The rifmg game, and chac'd from flow'r to flow'r. It REMARKS. VER. 409. and narrfdit Caroline :] It is a compliment which the Florifts ufually pay to Princes and great perfonages, to give their names to the moft curious Flowers of their raifing : Some have been very jealous of vindicating this honour ; but none more than that ambitious Gardener at Hammerfmith, who caufed his Favourite to be painted on his Sign, with this infcription, This Is My Queen Caroline. P. * IMITATIONS. VEE. 421. Of all th' enamel'd race,] The Poet feems to have an eye to Spenfer, Muiopotmos. Of all the race of (liver-winged Flies Which do poflefs the Empire of the Air." W, 272 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. It fled, I followed ; now in hope, now pain ; It flopt, I ftopt j it mov'd, I mov'd again. At laft it fix'd, 'twas on what plant it pleas'd, And where it fix'd the beauteous bird I feiz'd : 430 Rofe or Carnation was below my care ; I meddle, Goddefs ! only in my fphere. I tell the naked fact without difguife, And, to excufe it, need but mew the prize ; Whofe fpoils this paper offers to your eye, 435 Fair ev'n in death ! this peerlefs Butterfly. My fons ! (me anfwer'd) both have done your parts : Live happy both, and long promote our arts. But hear a Mother, when me recommends To your fraternal care, our ileeping friends. 440 The common Soul, of Heav'n's more frugal make, Serves but to keep fools pert, and knaves awake : A drowzy Watchman, that juft gives a knock, And breaks our reft, to tell us what's a clock. Yet by fome object ev'ry brain is flirr'd ; 445 The dull may waken to a Humming-bird ; The V ARI ATIO N S. VER. 441. The common Soul, sV.] In the firft Edit, thus, Of Souls the greater part, Heav'n's common make, Serve but to keep fools pert, and knaves awake ; And moll but find that centinel of God, A drowzy Watchman in the land of Nod. W. REMARKS. VER. 440. our Jleeping friends.'} Of whom fee v. 345, above. W. IMITATIONS. VER. 427, 428. ItJUd, If allow* d, fc>V.] " I ftarted back, It ftarted back ; but pleas'd I foon return'd, Pleas'd it return'd as foon"- MILTON. W. Book IV. THE DUNCIAD. 273 The moft reclufe, difcreetly open'd, find Congenial matter in the Cockle-kind ; The mind, in Metaphyfics at a lofs, May wander in a wildernefs of Mofs ; 450 The head that turns at fuperlunar things, Poiz*d with a tail, may fleer on Wilkins' wings. O ! would the Sons of Men once think their. Eyes And Reafon giv'n them but to ftudy Flies ! See Nature in fbme partial narrow fhape, / 455 And let the Author of the Whole efcape : Learn but to trifle ; or, who mofl obferve, To wonder at their Maker, not to ferve. Be REMARKS. VER. 450. a tvildernefs of Mofs ;] Of which the aturalifts count I can't tell how many hundred fpecies. P. * VER. 452. Wilkins' wings.] One of the firft Projectors of the Royal Society ; who, among many enlarged and ufeful notions, entertained the extravagant hope of a poffibility to fly to the Moon ; which has put fome volatile Geniufes upon making wings for that purpofc. P. * VER. 453. O/ would the Sons of Men, etc.} This is the third fpeech of the Goddefs to her Supplicants, and completes the whole of what fhe had to give in inftruftion on this important oc- cnfion, concerning Learning, Civil Society, and Religion. In the firft fpeech, ver. 119, to her Editors and conceited Critics, (he dire&s how to deprave Wit and difcredit fine Writers. In her fecond, ver. 175, to the Educators of Youth, fhe mews them how all civil duties may be extinguifhed, in that one do&rine of Divine Hereditary Right. And in this third, fhe charges the Jnveftigators of Nature to amufe themfelves in trifles, and reft in fecond caufes, with a total difregard of the firft. This being all that Dulnefs can wifh, is all fhe needs to fay ; and we may apply to her (as the Poet hath managed it) what hath been faid of true Wit, that She neither fays too little, nor too much. P. * 274 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. Be that my taik (replies a gloomy Clerk, Sworn foe to Myft'ry, yet divinely dark ; 460 Whofe pious hope afpires to fee the day When Moral Evidence (hall quite decay, And damns implicit faith, and holy lies, Prompt to impofe, and fond to dogmatize :) Let others creep by timid fteps, and flow, 465 On plain Experience lay foundations low, By REMARKS. VER. 459. a gloomy Clerk,"] The Epithet gloomy in this line may feem the fame with that of dark in the next. But ghomy relates to the uncomfortable and difaftrous condition of an irreli- gious Sceptic ; whereas dark alludes only to his puzzled and em- broiled Syftems. P. * VER. 462. When Moral Evidence Jhall quite decay,] Alluding to a ridiculous and abfurd way of fome Mathematicians, in calcu- lating the gradual decay of Moral Evidence by mathematical pro- portions : according to which calculation, in about fifty years it will be no longer probable, that Julius Caefar was in .Gaul, or died in the Senate Houfe. See Craig's Theologiae Chriftlanae Prlncipia Mathematics.- But as it feems evident, that fads of a thoufand years old, for inftance, are now as probable as they were five hundred years ago ; it is plain that in fifty more they quite difappear, it mult be owing, not to their Arguments, but to the extraordinary Power of our Goddefs ; for whofe help there- fore they are bound to pray. P. * VER. 46568. Let others creep through Nature led.] In thefe lines are defcribed the Dlfpofitlon of the rational Inquirer ; and the means and end of Knowledge. With regard to his difpojitton, the contemplation of the works of God with human faculties muft needs make a modeft and fenfible man timorous and fearful ; and that will naturally direft him to the right means of acquiring the little knowledge his faculties are capable of comprehending, namely fclaln andfure experience ; which though it fupports only an humble foundation, and permits, only a very flow progrefs, yet it leads, furely, to the end, the difcovery of the God of Nature. W. This Book IV. THE DUNG I AD. 275- By common fenfe to common knowledge bred, And laft, to Nature's Caufe through Nature led* All-feeing in thy mills, we want no guide, Mother of Arrogance, and Source of Pride ! 470 We nobly take the high Priori Road, And reafon downward, till we doubt of God : Make R EM A RKS. This note may well remind us of what Lord Bacon finely fays on the fubje<5l of drained interpretations : " Wines which at the firft treading run gently, are pleafanter than thofe which are forced by the wine prefs j for thefe tafte of the (tone and pf the hufk of the grape. VER. 471. the high Priori Road,'] Thofe who, from the effects in this vifible world, deduce the Eternal Power and Godhead of the Firft Caufe, though they cannot attain to an adequate idea of the Deity, yet difcover fo much of him, as enables them to fee the end of their Creation, and the means of their Happinefs : whereas they who take this high Priori Road (fuch as Hobbes, Spinofa, Des Cartes, and fome better Reafoners) for one that goes right, ten lofe themfelves in Mifts, or ramble after Vifions, which deprive them of all fight of their end, and miflead them in the choice of the means. P. * He alludes to Dr. Clarke's famous Demonftrations of the At- tributes of God, a book which Bolingbroke, who hated Clarke becaufe he was a favourite of Queen Caroline, impotently attacked. Jn Bolingbroke's works are many paffages in ridicule of this Queen's pretences to underftand philofophy, and religious con- troverfies, and particularly the controverfies relating to the Trinity. Dr. Clarke and Woolafton confidered moral obligation as arifing from the effential differences and relations of things Shaftefbury and Hutchefon, as arifing from the moral fenfe ; and the generality of divines, as arifing folely from the will of God. On thefe three principles practical morality has been built by thefe different writers. " Thus has God been pleafed (fays the Author of the Divine Legation) to give three different excitements to the praftice of virtue ; that men, as he finely adds, of all ranks, con- ilitutions, and educations, might find their account in one or other of them ; fomething that would hit their palate, fatisfy x 2 their 276 THE DUNCIAD. Fook IV: Make Nature ftill incroach upon his plan ; And fhove him off as far as e'er we can : Thruft fome Mechanic Caufe into his place ; 475 Or bind in Matter, or diffufe in Space. Or, at one bound, o'erleaping all his laws, Make God Man's Image, Man the final Caufe, Find REMARKS. their reafon, or fubdue their will. But this admirable provifion for the fupport of virtue, hath been in fome meafure defeated by its pretended advocates, who have facrilegioufly untwifted this three-fold cord, and each, running away with the part he efteemed the ftrongeft, hath affixed that to the throne of God, as the golden chain that is to unite and to draw all to it." Book i. p. 39. firft edition. VER. 473. Make Nature-foil] This relates to fuch as, being- afliamed to aflert a mere Mechanic Caufe, and yet unwilling to forfake it entirely, have had recourfe to a certain Plaftic Nature, Elajlic Fluid, Subtile Matter, &V.] P. * VER. 475. Thru/I fome Mechanic Caufe into its place, Or bind In Matter, or diffufe in Space. ] The firft of thefe Follies is that of Des Cartes ; the fecond of Hobbes ; the third of fome fucceeding Philofophers. P. * VER. 478, &c. Make God Man's Image, Man thejinal Caufe, Find Virtue local, all Relation fcorn, See all in Self } Here the Poet, from the errors relating to a Deity in natural Philofophy, defcends to thofe in moral. Man was made accord- ing to God's Image : but this falfe Theology, meafuring his at- tributes by ours, makes God after Man's Image : this proceeds from the imperfe&ion of his Reafon. The next, of imagining himfelf the final Caufe, is the effeft of his Pride : as the making Virtue and Vice arbitrary, and Morality the impofition of the Magiftrate, is of the Corruption of his heart. Hence he centers every thing in himfelf. The Progrefs of Dulnefs herein differing from that of Madnefs j this ends In feeing all in God\ the other iu feeing all in Self, P. * Book IV. THE DUNCIAD. 277 Find Virtue local, all Relation fcorn, See all in Self, and but for Self be born : 480 Of nought fo certain as our Reafon ftill, Of nought fo doubtful as of Soul and Will. Oh hide the God ftill more ! and make us fee Such as Lucretius drew, a God like Thee : Wrapt up in Self, a God without a Thought, 485 Regardlefs of our merit or default. Or that bright Image to our fancy draw, Which Theocles in raptur'd vifion faw, While REMARKS. VER. 481. Of nought fo certain as our Reafon^?///,] Of which we have mod caufe to be diffident. Of nought fo doubtful as of Soul and Will ; ". e. the Exiftence of our Soul, and the Freedom of our Will ; the two things moft felf-evident. P. * VER. 484. Such as Lucretius drew,] Lib. i. ver. 57. " Omnis enim per fe Divam natura necefle eft Immortali aevofumma cum pace fruatur, Semota ab noftris rebus, fummotaque longe Nee bene pro merites capitur, nee tangitur Ira ;" from whence the two verfes following are tranflated ; and wonder- fully agree with the character of our Goddefs. SCRIBL. P. * VER. 487. Or that bright Image] Bright Image was the title given by the later Platonifts to that Vifion of Nature, which they had formed out of their own fancy ; fo bright, that they called it AuTOTTTo/AjaXfta, or the Self-feen Image, i. e. feen by its own light. * Ibid. Or that bright Image] i. e. Let it be either the Chance- God of Epicurus, or the FATE, of this Goddefs. * VER. 488. Which Theocles in raptur'd Fifton faw,] Thus this Philofopher calls upon his Friend, to partake with him in thefe Vifions : " To-morrow, when the Eaftern Sun With his firft Beams adorns the front Of yonder Hill, if you're content To wander with me in the Woods you fee, We will purfue thofe Loves of ours, By favour of the Sylvan Nymphs : T J and 278' THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. While through Poetic fcenes the GENIUS roves, Or wanders wild in Academic Groves ; 490 That NATURE our Society adores, Where Tindal dictates, and Silenus fnores. Rous'd REMARKS. and invoking firft the Genius of the Place, we'll try to obtain at leaft fome faint and diftant view of the Sovereign Genius and firjl Beauty." CHARACT. Vol. ii. page 245. This Genius is thus apoftrophized (pag. 345.) by the fame Philofopher : " O glorious Nature! Supremely fair, and fovereignly good ! All-loving, and all-lovely ! all-divine ! Wife Subftitute of Providence ! impower'd Creatrejs ! or impoiv'ring Deity t Supreme Creator ! Thee I invoke, and thee alone adore." Sir Ifaac Newton diftinguilhes between thefe two in a very different manner. (Princ. Schol. gen. fub fin.) Hunc cogno- fcimus folummodo pef proprietates fuas et attributa t et per fapienliflimas et optimas rerumjlruffuras, et caufas Jinales ; veneramur autem et co- limus ob dominium. Deus etenim fine dominio, providential et caujis Jinalibus, nihil aliud ejl quam Fatum et Natura. P. * The manifeft injuftice of introducing Shaftefbury,who was a rigid deift, though not a Chriftian, and who wrote fo ftrongly in favour of an intelligent firft caufe, has been before noticed in the remarks on the Eflay on Man. Dr. Berkley was the firft author, who printed in his Alciphron fome paflages of Shaftefbury, which certainly border on the bombaft, as blank verfes. In the London Journal, May 18, 1732, there is a vindication of Shaftefbury againft Alciphron, fuppofed by Bifhop Hoadley. VER. 489. roves, Or wanders wild in Academic Groves;] t Above all things I lov'd Eafe t and of all Philofophers thofe who reafoned moft at their Eafe, and were never angry or difturb'd, as thofe call'd Sceptics never were. I look'd upon this kind of Philofophy as the prettiejl^ agreeablejt, raving Exercife of the mind, poffible to be imagined." Vol. ii. p. 206. P. * VER. 491. That Nature our Society adores^} See the Pantheijli- con t with its liturgy and rubrics, compofed by Toland; which ' very BooklV; THE DUNCIAD. 279 Rous'd at his name, up rofe the bowzy Sire, And fliook from out his Pipe the feeds of fire ; Then fnapt his box, and ftrok'd his belly down : 405 Rofy and rev'rend, tho* without a Gown. Bland and familiar to the throne he came, Led up the Youth, and call'd the Goddefs Dame. Then thus. From Prieflcraft happily fet free, Lo ! every finifh'd Son returns to thee : 500 Firft flave to Words, then vaflal to a Name, Then dupe to Party ; child and man the fame : Bounded REMARKS. very lately, for the Edification of the Society, has been tranflated into Englifli, and publickly fold by the Bookfellers of London and Weftminfter. * VER. 492. Silenus] Mr. Thomas Gordon. Silenus was an Epicurean Philofopher, as appears from Virgil, Eclog. vi. where he fmgs the principles of that Philofophy in his drink. P. * By Silenus he means Gordon, the tranflator of Tacitus ; which tranflation he made in an affected, hard, abrupt, and inharmo- nious ftyle, under the notion of imitating the pregnant brevity of the original, crowded as it is, with fenfe and matter. He alfo was the publimer of the Independent Whig, and obtained a lu- crative place under government. Lord Monboddo has certainly been too fevere in his animadverfions on Tacitus. Let us pardon his affe&ed ftyle, for his weighty matter. VER. 494. feeds of fre ;] The Epicurean language, Semina rerum, or Atoms. Virg. Eclog. vi. Semina ignis- -femina Jtammae. P.* VER. 501. Firjljlave to Words, fcfr.] A recapitulation of the whole Courfe of modern Education defcribed in this book, which confines Youth to the ftudy of Words only in Schools ; fubjecls them to the authority of Syjlems in the Univerfities ; and deludes them with the names of Party-dtflinftions in the World. All equally concurring to. narrow the Underftanding, and eftablim Slavery and Error in Literature, Philofophy, and Politics. The whole finiftied in modern FREE-THINKING ; the completion of whatever is vain, wrong, and deftruftiye to the happinefs of man- kind, as it eftablifhes Self-love for the fole Principle of Aftion. P.* T 4 2 8o THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. Bounded by Nature, narrow'd ftill by Art, A trifling head, and a contracted heart. Thus bred, thus taught, how many have I feen, 505 Smiling on all, and fmil'd on by a Queen ? Mark'd out for Honours, honoured for their Birth, To thee the moft rebellious things on earth : Now to thy gentle fhadow all are fhrunk, All melted down, in Penfion, or in Punk ! 510 So K* fo B** fneak'd into the grave, A Monarch's half, and half a Harlot's flave. Poor W** nipt in Folly's broadeft bloom, Who praifes now ? his Chaplain on his Tomb. Then take them all, oh take them to thy breaft ! Thy Magus, Goddefs! fhall perform the reft. 516 With that, a WIZARD OLD his Cup extends; Which whofo taftes, forgets his former friends, Sire, REMARKS. VER. 506. fmiFJ on ly a Queen ?"] i. e. This Queen or Goddefs ofDulnefs. W. But it certainly was intended as a fly and fatirical ftroke on Queen Caroline, and did not relate to the Goddefs of Dulnefs. VER. 51 1. So K* fo B * *, poor W.~\ It is vain to enquire the names that belong to thefe initial letters. Some of the fineft paflages in Abfalom and Architophel, one of Dryden's capital poems, though concerning perfons of far more confequence and importance, are now already unknown ; and the fatire has loft all its force and poignancy. VER. 517. bit Cup Which ivhofo taftes, fcfr.] The Cup of Self- love, which caufes a total oblivion of the obligations of Friendfhip, or IMITATIONS. VER. 518. Which whofo taftes, forgets his former friends, Sire, fcff.] Homer of the Nepenthe, Odyfl". iv. Avrix a'f 1 si? oTvec f3z\s (pugpxxat, t$t tiruo* ita,x.uv IarX>* Book IV. THE DUNC1AD. 281 Sire, Anceftors, Himfelf. One cafls his eyes Up to a Star t and like Endymion dies : 520 A Feather, fliooting from another's head, Extracts his brain ; and Principle is fled ; Loft is his God, his Country, ev'ry thing ; And nothing left but Homage to a King ! The vulgar herd turn off to roll with Hogs, 525 To run with Horfes, or to hunt with Dogs ; But REMARKS. or Honour ; and of the Service of God or our Country ; all facri- ficed to Vain-glory, Court-worftiip, or the yet meaner confedera- tions of Lucre and brutal pleafures. From ver. 520 to 528. P. * Ibid. With that, a Wizard~\ The greater myfteries, mentioned in a remark of Warburton on this paflage, have no more to do with the Dunciad, than they have with the fixth book of the Aeneid. All that can be collected about the myfteries is to be found in Meurfius's Collections on this fubjeft, in the 27 vol. Folio, of Graevius' and Gronovius's Thefaur. From which collections Warburton borrowed largely in his famous diflertation on this fubjeft, which has been fo completely refuted by Gibbon, VER. 523, 524. Loft is bis God, his Country And nothing left lut Homage to a King /] So ft range as this muft feem to a mere Englifh reader, the famous Monf. de la Bruyere declares it to be the character of every good fubjeft in a Monarchy : " Where (fays he) there is nofuch thing as Love of our Country, the Intereft, the Glory, and the Service of the Prince, fupply its place." fie la Repitblique, chap. x. Of this duty another celebrated French Author fpeaks, indeed, a little more difrefpe&fully ; which, for that reafon, we (hall not tranflate, but give in his own words, " L' Amour de la Patrie, le grand motif des premiers Heros, n'eft plus regarde que comme une Chimere ; 1'idee du Service du Roi, etendiie jufqu'a 1'oubli de tout autre Principe, tient lieu de ce qu' on appelloit autrefois Grandeur d'Ame & Fidelite." BouIainvilKers Hift. des Anciens Parlemtnts de France-, &c. And a much greater man than either of them, the Cardinal de Retz, fpeaking of a converfation he had with the Regente, Anne of Auftria, makes this obfervation on the Court, Je connus en cet endroit, qu'il eft impoffible que la Cour conoive ce que c'eft LE PUBLIC. La flatterie, qui en eft la pefte, Pinfefte toujours a un tel point, qu'elle lui caufe un dellre incurable fur cet article." * 2** THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. But, fad example ! never to efcape Their Infamy, ftill keep the human fhape. But me, good Goddefs, fent to ev'ry child Firm Impudence, or Stupefaction mild ; 530 And ftraight fucceeded, leaving mame no room, Cibberian forehead, or Cimmerian gloom. Kind Self-conceit to fome her glafs applies, Which no one looks in with another's eyes : But as the Flatt'rer or Dependent paint, 535 Beholds himfelf a Patriot, Chief, or Saint. On other's Int'reft her gay liv'ry flings, Int'reft, that waves on Party-colour'd wings : Turn'd to the Sun, me cafts a thoufand dyes, And, as me turns, the colours fall or rife. 540 Others the Syren Sifters warble round, And empty heads confole with empty found. No more, alas ! the voice of Fame they hear, The balm of Dulnefs trickling in their ear. Great REMARKS. VER. 528. keep the human Jhape. ] P'ew pieces of fatire are more finely imagined, than the Circe of Gelli, (copied from Plutarch), in which the men transformed into beafts, refufe to return again into the human fliape, and be again fubjeft to the follies and mi- feries of that fpecies of animals. The 526th line contains a moft fevere inve&ive on horfe-racing and hunting ; and perhaps an in- vecYive too fevere. VER. 529. Butjbe, good Goddefs, sV.] The only comfort fuch people can receive, muft be owing in fome (hape or other to Dul- nefs ; which makes one fort ftupid, another impudent ; gives Self- conceit to fome, arifing from the flatteries of their dependants ; prefents the falfe colours of Intereft to others, and bufies or amufes the veft with idle Pleafures or Senfualities, till they become eafy under any infamy. Each of which fpecies is here (hadowed under allegorical perfons. P. * Book IV. THE DUNCIAD. 2 s 3 GreatC**, H** 5 P**, R**, K*, 545 Why all your Toils ? your Sons have learn'd to fing. How quick Ambition haftes to ridicule ! The Sire is made a Peer, the Son a Fool. On fome, a Prieft fuccincl: in amice white Attends ; all flefti is nothing in his fight ! 550 Beeves, at his touch, at once to jelly turn, And the huge Boar is fhrunk into an Urn : The board with fpecious mirac.les he loads, Turns Hares to Larks, and Pigeons into Toads. Another (for in all what one can mine ?) 55 5 Explains the Seve and Verdeur of the Vine. What cannot copious Sacrifice attone ? Thy Treufles, Perigord ! thy Hams, Bayonne ! With French Libation, and Italian Strain, Warn Bladen white, and expiate Hays's ftain. 560 KNIGHT REMARKS. VER. 556. Seve and Verdeur] French Terms relating to Wines, which fignify their flavour and poignancy. " Et je gagerois que chez le Commandeur Villandri priferoit fa Seve et fa Verdeur." DEPREAUX. St. Evremont has a very pathetic letter to a Nobleman in difgrace, advifing him to feek Comfort in a good Table ; and particularly to be attentive to thefe qualities in his Champaigne. P. * VER. 560. Bladen Hays'] Names of Gamefters. Bladen is a black man. ROBERT KNIGHT Cafliienof the South-fea Com- pany, who fled from England in 1720 (afterwards pardoned in 1742.) Thefe lived with the utmoft magnificence at Paris, and kept open tables frequented by perfons of the firft Quality of England, and even by Princes of the Blood of France. P. * The former Note of Bladen is a black man, is very abfurd. The Manufcript text is here partly obliterated, and doubtlefs could only have been " Waft) Blackmoors white " alluding to a known Proverb. SCRIBL. P. * Colonel 284 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. KNIGHT lifts the head, for what are crouds undone, To three efiential Partridges in one ? Gone ev'ry blufh, and filent all reproach, Contending Princes mount them in their Coach. Next bidding all draw near on bended knees, 565 The Queen confers her Titles and Degrees. Her children firfl of more diftinguiih'd fort, Who ftudy Shakefpear at the Inns of Court, Impale REMARKS. Colonel Martin Bladen, was a man of fome literature, and tranflated Caefar's Commentaries. I never could learn that he had offended Pope. He was uncle to my dear and lamented friend Mr. William Collins the Poet, to whom he left an eftate, which he did not get pofleffion of till his faculties were deranged and he could not enjoy it. I remember Collins told me that Bladen had given to Voltaire, all that account of Camoens inferted in his eflay on the Epic Poets of all Nations, and that Voltaire feemed before entirely ignorant of the name and character of Camoens. VER. 562. To three ejfential Partridges] It cannot be denied that this is a farcafm on one of the myft cries of the Chriftian Religion. VER. 567. Her children Jirfl of more di/lingui/h 'dfort, Whojludy Shakefpear at the Inns of Court, ~\ 111 would that Scholiaft difcharge his duty, who mould negleft to honour thofe whom DULNESS has di/lingui/hed : or fuffer them to lie forgotten, when their rare modefty would have left them namelefs. Let us not, therefore, overlook the fervices which have been done her Caufe, by one Mr. Thomas Edwards, a Gen- tleman, as he is pleafed to call himfelf, of Lincoln's Inn ; but, in reality, a Gentleman only of the Dunciad ; or, to fpeak him bet- ter, in the plain language of our honefl Anceftors to fuch muflirooms, A Gentleman of the lajl Edition : who nobly eluding the folicitude of his careful Father, very early retained himfelf in the caufe of Dulnefs againft Shakefpear ; and with the wit and learning of his Anceftor Tom Thimble in the Rehearfal, and with the air of good nature and politenefs of Caliban in the Tempeft, hath now happily finifhed the Dunce's Progrefs, in perfonal abufe. Tor a,Libeller is nothing but a Grubftreet Critic run to Seed. SCRIBL. * This attack on Mr. Edwards is not of weight fufficient to weaken the effe&s of his excellent Canons of Criticifm. Book IV. THE DUNCIAD. 285 Impale a Glow-worm, or Vertii profefs, Shine in the dignity of F. R. S. 570 Some, deep Free-Mafons, join the filent race Worthy to fill Pythagoras's place : Some Botanifts, or Florifts at the leaft, Or iffue Members of an Annual feaft. Nor pafs the meanefl unregarded, one 575 Rofe a Gregorian, one a Gormogon. The laft, not leaft in honour or applaufe, Ifis and Cam made DOCTORS of her LAWS. Then, bleffing all, Go, Children of my care ! To Practice now from Theory repair. 580 All my commands are eafy, fhort, and full : My Sons ! be proud, be felfifh, and be dull. Guard REMARKS. VER. 570. Shine in the dignity'] A line taken from Bramfton's Man of Tafte ; a fatire in which Bramfton has been guilty of the indecorum and abfurdity of making his hero laugh at himfelf and his own follies. VER. 571. Some, deep Free-Mafons, join the filent race] The Poet all along exprefies a very particular concern for this filent Race : He has here provided, that in cafe they will not waken or open (as was before propofed) to a Humming-bird, or a Cockle, yet at worft they may be made Free-Mafons ; where Taciturnity is the only eflential qualification, as it was the chief of the difciples of Pythagoras. P. * VER. 576. a Gregorian, one a Gormogon.] A fort of Lay- brothers, two of the innumerable Slips from the Root of the Free- Mafons. P. * VER. 578. Ifis and Cam] When we confider on whom the Univerfities have fometimes conferred degrees, we muft wifh that Pope and Warburton had been made doftors'at Oxford. VER. 582. lefelfijb, and le dull.] From Dryden's Abfalom and ArchitopheU " With this prophetic bleffing, Be thou dull." 236 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. Guard my Prerogative, aflert my Throne : This Nod confirms each Privilege your own. The Cap and Switch be facred to his Grace ; 585 With Staff and Pumps the Marquis lead the Race ; From Stage to Stage the licens'd Earl may run, Pair'd with his Fellow-Charioteer the Sun ; The learned Baron Butterflies defign, Or draw to filk Arachne's fubtile line j 590 The REMARKS. VER. 584. each Privilege your own, &c.~\ This fpeech of Dul- nefs to her Sons at parting may poffibly fall (hort of the Reader's expectation ; who may imagine the Goddefs might give them a Charge of more confequence ; and, from fuch a Theory as is be- fore delivered, incite them to the pra&ice of fomething more ex- traordinary, than to perfonate Running-Footmen, Jockeys, Stage- Coachmen, &c. But if it be well confidered, that whatever inclination her fons might have to do mifchief, they are generally rendered harmlefs by their Inability j and that it is the common effect of Dulncfs (even in her greateft efforts) to defeat her own defign ; the Poet, I am perfuaded, will be juftified, and it will be allowed, that thefe worthy perfons, in their feveral ranks, do as much as can be well expefted from them. P. * VER. 589. The learned Baron] Evidently taken from Young's Univerfal Paffion, fatire I. " By this infpir'd (O ne'er to be forgot) Some lords have learnt to fpell, and fome to knot." The trifling employments and amufements of fome men of quality cannot be' more finely or more juftly expofed. The dance of the judges, mentioned at ver. 591. is not of this fort, is not of a piece with the reft, and arofe from another caufe. And yet, though fome men of rank may merit the ridicule in the above verfes, 585, &c. yet candour muft allow, that a great number deferve not this farcafm. VER. 590. Arachne 1 s fubtile line ;] This is one of the moft in- genious employments affigned, and therefore recommended only to Peers of Learning. Of weaving gray-filk Stockings of the Webs of Spiders, fee the Philofoph. Tranfaft. P. * BooklV. THE DUNCIAD. 287 The Judge to dance his brother Sergeant call j The Senator at Cricket urge the Ball j The Bifhop flow (Pontific Luxury !) An hundred Souls of Turkeys in a pie ; The fturdy Squire to Gallic matters ftoop, 595 And drown his Lands and Manors in a Soupe. Others import yet nobler arts from France, Teach Kings to fiddle, and make Senates dance. Perhaps more high fome daring fon may foar, Proud to my lift to add one Monarch more ; 600 And nobly confcious, Princes are but things Born for Firft Miniflers, as Slaves for Kings, Tyrant fupreme ! mall three Eftates command, And MAKE ONE MIGHTY DUNCIAD OF THE LAND ! More me had fpoke, but yawn'd All Nature nods : What Mortal can refift the Yawn of Gods ? 606 Churches REMARKS. VER. 591. The Judge to dance his Irother Sergeant call}"] Al- luding perhaps to that ancient and folemn Dance intitled, A Call of Sergeants. P. * VER. 598. Teach Kings to fiddle,] An ancient amufement of Sovereign Princes, (viz.) Achilles, Alexander, Nero ; though de- fpifed by Themiftocles, who was a Republican. Make Senates dance, either after their Prince, or to Pontoife, or Siberia. P. * Ibid, make Senates dance.] Alludes to the frequent banifliments of the parliaments of France, when they exerted a noble fpirit of oppofition to defpotic power. In the Annual Regifters of thofe times, are many fpirited remarks on thefe banifhments by a man of great genius. VER. 602. Princes are bat things] The making minifters of more real importance than princes, is admirably fevere. VER. 606. What Mortal can rejifl the Tawn of Gods ?] This verfe is truly Homerical ; as is the conclufion "of the A&ion, where the a88 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. Churches and Chapels inftantly it reach'd ; (St. James's firft, for leaden G preach'd) Then catch'd the Schools ; the Hall fcarce kept awake; The Convocation gap'd, but could not fpeak : 610 Loft REMARKS. the great Mother compofes all, in the fame manner as Minerva at the period of the Odyffey. It may indeed feem a very fin- gular Epitafis of a Poem, to end as this does, with a GREAT YAWN; but we muft confider it as the Tawn of a God, and of powerful effects. Nor is it out of nature ; mod long and grave Counfels concluding in this very manner : Nor yet without autho- rity, the incomparable Spencer having ended one of the moft con- fiderable of his works with' a ROAR ; but then it is the Roar of a Lion, the effects whereof (as here of the Taiun] are defcribed as the Cataftrophe of the Poem. P. * VER. 607. Churches and Chapels, &V.] The Progrefs of this Yawn is judicious, natural, and worthy to be noted. Firft it feizeth the Churches and Chapels ; then catcheth the Schools, where, though the boys be unwilling to fleep, the Mafters are not : Next Weftminfter-hall, much more hard indeed to fubdue, and not totally put to filence even by the Goddefs : then the Convocation, which though extremely dejirous to fpeak, yet cannot : Even the Houfe of Commons, juftly called the Senfe of the Na- tion, is loft (that is to fay fufpended) during the Yawn (far be it from our Author to fuggeft it could be loft any longer ! ) but it fpreadeth at large over all the reft of the Kingdom, to fuch a degree, that Palinurus himfelf (though as incapable of deeping as Jupiter himfelf) yet noddeth for a moment : the effecl of which, though ever fo momentary, could not but caufe fome relaxation, for the time, in all public affairs. SCRIBL. P. * VER. 608. for leaden G ] He meant Dr. Gilbert, Bifhop of Salifbury. He had never given Pope any particular offence ; but he had attacked Dr. King of Oxford, whom Pope much re- fpefted. And this attack was made in a rude and rough manner. VER. 610. The Convocation gap'd) but could not fpeak :~\ Im- plying a great defire 'fo to do, as the learned Scholiaft on the place rightly obferves. Therefore, beware, Reader, left thou take this Gape for a Taion, which is attended with no defire, but Book IV. THE DUNCIAD. 289 Loft was the Nation's Senfe, nor could be found, While the long folemn Unifon went round : Wide, and more wide, it fpread o'er all the realm jY/" Ev'n Palinurus nodded at the Helm : " The Vapour mild o'er each Committee crept j Unfinim'd Treaties in each Office flept ; 616 And Chieflefs Armies doz'd out the Campaign ; And Navies yawn'd for Orders on the Main." O Mufe ! relate (for you can tell alone, Wits have fhort Memories, and Dunces none) 620 Relate; REMARKS. to go to reft : by no means the difpofition of the Convocation j whofe melancholy cafe in fhort is this : She was, as is reported^ infected with the general influence of the Goddefs ; and while fhe was yawning carelefly at her eafe, a wanton Courtier took her at advantage, and in the very nick, clap'd a Gag into her mouth. Well therefore may we know her meaning by her gaping ; and this diftrefsful poilure which our poet here defcribes, is j.uft as ihe (lands at this day, a fad example of the effects of Dulnefs and Malice unchecked and defpifed. BENTL. * VER. 615, 618. Thefe Verfes were written many years ago, and may be found in the State Poems of that time. So that Scriblerus is miftaken, or whoever elfe have imagined this Poem of a frefher date. . P. * VER. 619. O mufe! relate'] Mr. Gray's opinion of this fourth book was as follows : "The genii of operas arid fehotols., with their attendants, the pleas of the virtuofo's and florifts, and the yawn of Dulnefs in the end, are as fine as any thing he haa written. The metaphyfician's part is to me the worft ; and here and there a few ill-exprefled lines, and fome hardly intelligible." VER. 620. Wits havejhort Memories,'] This feemeth to be the reafon why the Poets, whenever they give us a Catalogue, con- ftantly call for help on the Mufes, who, as the Daughters of Memory, are obliged not to forget any thing. So Homer, Iliad ii. yu f ^ Matron, VOL, v. v And 2 9 o THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. Relate, who firfl, who laft refign'd to reft ; Whofe Heads fhe partly, whofe completely bleft ; What Charms could Faction, what Ambition lull, The Venal quiet, and intrance the Dull ; Till drown'd was Senfe, and Shame, and Right, and Wrong 625 O fing, and hum the Nations with thy Song 1 ****** In vain, in vain, the all-compofmg Hour Refiftlefs falls : The Mufe obeys the Pow'r. She comes ! fhe comes ! the fable Throne behold Of Night Primeval, and of Chaos old ! 630 Before her, Fancy's gilded clouds decay, And all its varying Rain-bows die away. Wit moots in vain its momentary fires, The meteor drops, and in a flam expires. As one by one, at dread Medea's ftrain, 635 The fick'ning ftars fade off th' ethereal plain ; As REMARKS. And Virg. Aeneid. vii. " Et meminiftis enim, Divae, et memorarc poteftis : Ad nos vix tenuis famae perlabitur aura/' But our Poet had yet another reafon for putting this tafk upon the Mufe, that, all befides being afleep, ihe only could relate what palfed. ScaiBt. P. * IMITATIONS. VER.62I. Relate, whojirjl, wbolaft reftgn'd to rejl', Whofe Heads Jhe partly, whofe completely bleft. ] " Quern telo pritnum, quern poflremum afpera Virgo Dcjicis ? aut quot humi morientia corpora fundis'?" VIRC. W. Book IV. THE DUNG I AD. 391 As Argus' eyes, by Hermes' wand oppreft, Clos'd one by one to everlafting reft 5 Thus at her felt approach, and fecret might, Art after Art goes out, and all is Nighc. 640 See Ikulking Truth to her old cavern fled, Mountains of Cafuiftry heap'd o'er her head ! Philofophy, that lean'd on Heav'n before, Shrinks to her fecond caufe, and is no more. Phyfa VARIATIONS. VER. 643. In the former Edit, it ftood thus, " Philofophy, that reach' d the Heav'ns before, Shrinks to her hidden caufe, and Is no more!'* W. REMARKS. VER. 643. Philofophy, that lean'd on ffeav'n] Philofophy has at length brought things to that pafs, as to have it efteemed un- philofophical to reft in the firjl cavfe ; as if its bufmefs were an endlefs indagation of caufe after caufe, without ever coming to the Firft. So that to avoid this unlearned difgrace, fome of the propagators of our bell philofophy have had recourfe to the con- trivance here hinted at. For this philofophy, which is founded on the principle of Gravitation, firft confidered that property in matter as fomething extrinfical to it, and imprefTed by God upon it. Which fairly and modeftly coming up to the firft Caufe, was puftiing natural enquiries as far as they mould go. But this flop- ping, though at the extent of our ideas, and on the maxim of the great founder of this Philofophy, Bacon) who fays, Circa uhimatcs rerum frujlranea ejl inqulfitlo, was miftaken by foreign philofophei 1 as recurring to the occult qualities of the Peripatetics ; whofe fenfe is thus delivered by a great Poet, whom, indeed, it more became than a Philofophen Sed IMITATIONS. VER. 637. As Argus' eyes, Sfff.j " Et quamvis fopor eft oculorum parte receptus^ Parte tamen vigilat Vidit Cyllenius omnes Succubuifle oeulos," &c. OTID. Met. m W, u 2 292 THE DUNCIAD. Book IV. Phyfic of Metaphyfic begs defence, 645 And Metaphyftc calls for aid on Senfe ! See REMARKS. " Sed gravitas etiam crefcat, dum corpora centra Accedunt propius. Videor mihi cernere terra Emergent quldquid caliginis ac tenebrarum Pellaei Juvenis DotJor conjecerat ollm In Phyficaejludium." Anti-Lucr. To avoid which imaginary difcredit to the new theory, it was thought proper to feek for the caufe of gravitation in a certain fubttie matter or elaftic fuid, which pervaded all body. By this means, inileacl of really advancing in natural enquiries, we were brought back again, by this ingenious expedient, to an unfatif- factory fecond caufe : mir* ing t&eir oton bafe alfap, 01 otbertoife faifif^itig tbe fame $ tobicb tbep publiU, utter, an& uenD ad genuine : Cbe fain !0abecDaaer0 baDing no rigbt tbereto, as neitber beir0, erccutotf, atmtiniflratO^lEf, a!0gn0, 0? in any fort related td fucb IPoeta, to all o? anp of tbem $ NOW we, u 4 batting [ 296 ] tatting carefully reuifeD tW our Dunciad, be* ginning toitb tjje tootfJiaf The Mighty Mother, ana enuing toitb tfce toojD0 buries AH, contain- ing tfoe entitC ftim Of One thoufand feven hundred and fifty-four verfes, Declare CtJCtP tiJOjll, figure, point, ann comma of tbis inuueffion to be authentic : 3nn no tbercfoje firittlj) enjoin anD fojbiD anp pecfon o? perfons to&atfoetier, to erafe, reberfe, put bettoeen hooks, o^ bp anp otter mean0, tireftlp o? inDiteftlj), cbange 01 mangle anp of tbem. And tue DO fcerebp cavnefllp crfjoit all our tyetb;en to follotu this our Example, tofucb toe beartiJp toiflj our great Jjan beretofoje fet, a0 a . . , v . . a Read thus confidently, inftead of '* beginning with the word Books, and ending with the word Jlies," as formerly it flood Read alfo, " containing the entire fum of one thoufand feven hun- dred and ffty-four verfes," inftead of " one thoufand and twelve lines ;" fuch being the initial and final words, and fuch the true and entire contents of this poem, Thou art to know, Reader ! that the firft Edition thereof, like that of Milton, was never feen by the Author, (though living and not blind : ) The Editor himfelf confeffed as much in his Preface : And no two poems were ever published in fo arbitrary a manner. The Editor of this, had as boldly fupprefled whole PafTages, yea the entire laft book, as the Editor of Paradife Loir, added and augmented. Milton himfelf gave but ten books, his Editor twelve; this Author gave/or books, his Editor only three. But we have happily done juftice to both ; and prefume we (hall live in this our laft labour, as long as in any of our others. BENTL. C 297 3 ana pjeuention of all fucb atwfeg. Provided always, tftat nothing in tbi0 declaration Qmll be conftrticu to limit tuc latoful ano unnoubtcD vigbt of cueip fubjett of tftis Ecalm, to juDgc, cenfure, 02 contjemtt, in tfje tubole 02 in part, an# Poem o? Poet to&atfoetier. Given under our hand at London this third Day of January, in the Year of our Lord one thoufand feven hundred thirty and two. Declarat* cor* me, JOHN BARBER, Mayor. APPENDIX. 1 C 3' ] i-zisn PREFACE . r! .7 Prefixed to the five firft imperfed Editions of the DUNCIAD, in three books, printed at DUBLIN and LONDON, in oftavo and duodecimo, 1727. The PUBLISHER to the READER. T T will be found a true obfervation, though fome- what furprizing, that when any fcandal is vented againft a man of the higheft diftin&ion and character, either in the ftate or literature, the public in general afford Tie PulTiJher'} Who he xvas is uncertain ; but Edward Ward tells us, in his preface to Durgen, " that moft judges are of opinion this preface is not of Englim extra&ion, but Hibernian," &c. He means it was written by Dr. Swift, who, whether the publifher or not, may be faid in a fort to be author of the Poem. For when he, together with Mr. Pope (for reafons fpecified in the preface to their Mifcellanies) determined to own the moft trifling pieces in which they had any hand, and to deftroy all that remained in their power; the firft Jketch of this poem was fnatched from the fire by Dr. Swift, who perfuaded his friend to proceed in it, and to him it was therefore infcribed. But the occafion of print- ing it was as follows : There was publifhed in thofe Mifcellanies, a Treatife of the Bathos, or Art of Sinking in Poetry, in which was a chapter, where the fpecies of bad writers were ranged in clafles, and initial letters of names prefixed, for the moft part at Random. But fuch 3 o2 APPENDIX. afford it a moft quiet reception ; and the large part accept it as favourably as if it were fome kindnefs done to themfelves : whereas if a known fcoundrel or blockhead but chance to be touched upon, a whole legion is up in arms, and it becomes the com- mon caufe of all fcriblers, bookfellers, and printers whatfoevef. Not to fearch too deeply into the reafon hereof, I will only obferve as a facl:, that every week for thefe two months paft, the town has been perfecuted with b pamphlets, advertifements, letters, and weekly eflays, fuch was the Number of poets eminent in that art, that fome one or other took every letter to himfelf. All fell into fo violent a fury, that for half a year, or more, the common Newfpapers (in moft of which they had fome property, as being hired writers) were filled with the moft abufive falfehoods and fcurrilities they could poffibly devife ; a liberty no ways to be wondered at in thofe people, and in thofe papers, that, for many years, during the uncontrouled Licence of the prefs, had afperfed almoft all the great characters of the age ; and this with impunity, their own perfons and names being utterly fecret and obfcure. This gave Mr. Pope the thought, that he had now fome opportunity of doing good, by detecting and dragging into light thefe common enemies of mankind j fince to invalidate this univerfal flander, it fufficed to mew what contemptible men were the authors of it. He was not without hopes, that by manifefting the dulnefs of thofe who had only malice to recommend them ; either the book* fellers would not find their account in employing them, or the men themfelves, when difcovered, want courage to proceed in fo unlawful an occupation. This it was that gave birth to the Dun- ciad ; and he thought it an happinefs, that by the late flood of flander on himfelf, he had acquired fuch a peculiar right over their Names as was neceffary to his defign. W. b Pamphlets, advertifements t &c.~\ See the lift of thofe anony- mous papers, with their datei and authors annexed, inferted be- fore the Poem. W. APPENDIX. 3 o 3 cflays, not only againft the wit and writings, but againft the character and perfon of Mr. Pope. And that of all thofe men who have received pleafure from his works, (which by modeft computation may be about a c hundred thoufand in thefe kingdoms of England and Ireland ; not to mention Jerfey, Guern- fey, the Orcades, thofe in the new world, and fo- reigners who have tranflated him into their languages) of all this number not a man hath flood up to fay- one word in his defence. The only exception is the d author of the following poem, who doubtlefs had either a better infight into the grounds of this clamour, or a better opinion of Mr. Pope's integrity, joined with a greater perfonal love for him, than any other of his numerous friends and admirers. Farther, that he was in his peculiar intimacy, ap- pears from the knowledge he manifefts of the mofl private c Alout a hundred tboufand'] It is furprizing with what ftupidity this preface, which is almoft a continued irony, was taken by thofe authors. All fuch paflages as thefe were underftood by- Curl, Cook, Cibber, and others, to be ferious. Here the Lau* reate (Letter to Mr. Pope, p. 9.) " Though I grant the Dun- ciad a better poem, of its kind than ever was writ ; yet when I read it with thofe vain glorious encumbrances of Notes and Re- marks upon it, &c. it is amazing, that you, who have writ with fuch mafterly fpirit upon the ruling Pafllon, mould be fo blind a flave to your own, as not to fee how far a low avarice of Pralfe," &c. (taking it for granted that the notes of Scribleru* and others, were the author's own.) W. d The author of the following poem, CSV.] A very plain irony, fpeaking of Mr. Pope himfelf. W. 3 04 APPENDIX. private authors of all the anonymous pieces againft him, and from his having in this poem attacked e no man living, who had not before printed, or publifhed, fome fcandal againft this gentleman. How I came pofleft of it, is no concern to the reader; but it would have been a wrong to him had I detained the publication ; fmce thofe names which are its chief ornaments die off daily fo faft, as mufl render it too foon unintelligible. If it provoke the author to give us a more perfect edition, I have my end. Who he is I cannot fay, and (which is a great pity) there is certainly f nothing in his ftyle and manner of writing, which can diftinguifh or difcover him : For if it bears any refemblance to that of Mr. Pope, 'tis not improbable but it might be done on purpofe, with a view to have it pafs for his. But by the frequency of his allufions to Virgil, and a la- boured (not to fay affected) Jbortnefs in imitation of him, I mould think him more an admirer of the Roman poet than of the Grecian, and in that not of the fame tafte with his friend. I have e The publifher in thefe words went a little too far : but it is certain whatever names the reader finds that are unknown to him, are of fuch : and the exception is only of two or three, whofe dulnefs, impudent fcurrilities, or ftlf-conceit, all mankind agreed to have juftly entitled them to a place in the Ehinciad. W. { There is certainly nothing in his Jlyle, Csfc.J This irony had fmall effeft in concealing the author. The Dunciad, imperfect as it was, had not been publifhed two days, but the whole Town, gave it to Mr. Pope. W. APPENDIX. 305 I have been well informed, that this work was the labour of full g fix years of his life, and that he wholly retired himfelf from all the avocations and pleafures of the world, to attend diligently to its correction and perfection; and fix years more he intended to beftow upon it, as it mould feem by this verfe of Statius, which was cited at the head of his manufcript, Oh mihi btffenos multum vigilata per annas, Duncia*! Hence alfo we learn the true title of the poem ; which with the fame certainty as we call that of Homer the Iliad, of Virgil the Aeneid, of Camoens the Lufiad, we may pronounce, could have been, and can be no other than The DUNCIAD. It 8 The labour of full fix years, sV.J This alfo was honeftly and ferioufly believed by divers gentlemen of the Dunciad. J. Ralph, pref. to Sawney : " We are told it was the labour of fix years, with the utmoft afllduity and application : It is no great compli- ment to the author's fenfe, to have employed fo large a part of his life," &c. So alfo Ward, pref. to Durgen : " The Dunciad, as the publilher very wifely confefles, cofl the author fix yea*s retirement from all the pleafures of life ; though it is fomewhat difficult to conceive, from either its bulk or beauty, that it could be fo long in hatching, &c. But the length of time and clofenefs of application were mentioned to prepofiefs the reader with a good opinion of it." They juft as well underftood what Scriblerus faid' of the Poem. W. h The prefacer to Curl's Key, p. 3. took this word to be really in Statius: ' By a quibble on the word Duncia y the Dunciad is formed." Mr. Ward alfo follows him in the fame opinion. W. VOL. V. 3 o6 APPENDIX. It is ftyled Heroic, as being doubly fo ; not only with refpect to its nature, which, according to the beft rules of the ancients, and ftri&eft ideas of the moderns, is critically fuch ; but alfo with regard to the heroical difpofition and high courage of the writer, who dared to ftir up fuch a formidable, irritable, and implacable race of mortals. There may arife fome obfcurity in chronology from the Names in the poem, by the inevitable removal of fome authors, and infertion of others, in their niches. For whoever will confider the unity of the whole defign, will be fenfible, that the poem was not made for thefe authors^ but thefe authors for the poem. I mould judge that they were clapped in as they rofe, frefh and frefh, and changed from day to day; in like manner as when the old boughs wither, we thruft new ones into a chimney. I would not have the reader too much troubled or anxious, if he cannot decypher them; fince when he mail have found them out, he will probably know no more of the perfons than before. Yet we judged it better to prefer ve them as they are, than to change them for fictitious names ; by which the fatire would only be multiplied, and ap- plied to many inftead of one. Had the Hero, for inftance, been called Codrus, how many would have affirmed him to have been Mr. T. Mr. E. Sir R. B. &c. but now all that unjuft fcandal is faved by calling him by a name, which by good luck happens to be that of a real perfon. APPENDIX. 307 II. A LIST of BOOKS, PAPERS, and VERSES, in which our Author was abufed, before the Publi- cation of the DUNCIAD ; with the true Names of the Authors. R ! EFLECTIONS critical and fatyrical on a late Rhap- fody, called, An Eflay on Criticifm. By Mr. Dennis, printed by B. Lintot, price 6d. A new Rehearfal, or Bays the younger ; contain- ing an Examen of Mr. Rowe's plays, and a word or two on Mr. Pope's Rape of the Lock. Anon. [By Charles Gildon] printed for J. Roberts, 1714, price is. Homerides, or a Letter to Mr. Pope, occafioned by his intended tranflation of Homer. By Sir Iliad Dogrel [ Tho.Burnet and G. Ducket, efquires] printed for W. Wilkins, 1715, price pd. -^Efop at the Bear-garden ; a vifion, in imitation of the Temple of Fame, by Mr. Prefton. Sold by John Morphew, 1715, price 6d. The Catholic Poet, or Proteftant Barnaby's Sor- rowful Lamentation ; a Ballad about Homer's Iliad. By Mrs. Centlivre, and others, 1715, price id. An Epilogue to a Puppet-mew at Bath, concerning the faid Iliad. By George Ducket, efq; printed by E. Curl. x 2 A com- 3 o8 APPENDIX. A complete Key to the What d'ye call it. Anon* [By Griffin a player, fupervifed by Mr. Th ] printed by J. Roberts, 1715. A true character of Mr. P. and his writings, in a letter to a friend. Anon. [Dennis] printed for S. Pop- ping, 1716, price 3d. The Confederates, a Farce. By Jofeph Gay [J. D. Breval] printed for R. Burleigh, 1717, price is. Remarks upon Mr. Pope's tranflation of Homer j with two letters concerning the Windfor Forefl, and the Temple of Fame. By Mr. Dennis, printed for E. Curl, 1717, price is. 6d. Satires on the tranflators of Homer, Mr. P. and Mr. T. Anon. [Bez. Morris] 1717, price 6 d. The Triumvirate ; or, a Letter from Palaemon to Celia at Bath. Anon. [Leonard Welfted] 1711, folio, price is. The Battle of Poets ; an heroic poem. By Tho. Cooke, printed for J. Roberts, folio, 1725. Memoirs of Lilliput. Anon. [Eliza Haywood] odavo, printed in 1727. An Eflay on Criticifm, in profe. By the Author of the Critical Hiftory of England [J. Oldmixon] o&avo, printed 1728. Gulliveriana and Alexandriana ; with an ample preface and critique on Swift and Pope's Mifcellanies. By Jonathan Smedley, printed by J. Roberts, octavo, 1728. Characters APPENDIX. 309 Characters of the Times ; or, an account of the writings, characters, &c. offeveral gentlemen libelled by S and P , in a late Mifcellany, octavo, 1728. Remarks on Mr. Pope's Rape of the Lock, in let- ters to a friend. By Mr. Dennis ; written in 1 724, though not printed till 1728, octavo. VERSES, LETTERS, ESSAYS, or ADVERTISEMENTS,. in the PUBLIC PRINTS. Britim Journal, Nov. 25, 1 727. A Letter on Swift and Pope's Mifcellanies. [ Writ by M. Concanen.] Daily Journal, March 18, 1728. A Letter by Phi- lomauri. James-Moore Smith. Id. March 29. A Letter about Therfites ; accufmg the author of difaffection to the Government. By James-Moore Smith. Mill's Weekly Journal, March 30. An Effay on the Arts of a Poet's finking in reputation ; or, a Sup- plement to the Art of Sinking in Poetry. [Suppofed by Mr. Theobald.] Daily Journal, April 3. A Letter under the name of Philo-ditto. By James-Moore Smith. Flying Poft, April 4. A Letter againft Gulliver and Mr. P. [By Mr. Oldmixon.] Daily Journal, April 5. An Auction of Goods at Twickenham. By James-Moore Smith. The Flying Poft, April 6. A Fragment of a Treatife upon Swift and Pope. By Mr. Oldmixon. x 3 The 3 iQ APPENDIX. The Senator, April 9. On the fame. By Edward Roome. Daily Journal, April 8. Advertifement by James- Moore Smith. Flying Poft, April 13. Verfes againft Dr. Swift, and againfl Mr. P 's Homer. By J. Oldmixon. Daily Journal, April 23. Letter about the tranf- lation of the character of Therfites in Homer. By Thomas Cooke, &c. Mift's Weekly Journal, April 27. A Letter of Lewis Theobald. Daily Journal, May 1 1. A Letter againft Mr. P. at large. Anon. [John Dennis.] All thefe were afterwards reprinted in a pamphlet, entituled, a Collection of all the Verfes, Efiays, Let- ters, and Advertifements occafioned by Mr. Pope and Swift's Mifcellanies, prefaced by Concanen, Anony- mous, octavo, and printed for A. Moore, 1728, price i s. Others of an elder date, having lain as wafte Paper many years, were, upon the publication of the Dunciad, brought out, and their Authors betrayed by the mercenary Bookfellers (in hopes of ifome pof- fibility of vending a few) by advertifmg them in this manner " The Confederates, a farce. By Capt. Breval (for which he was put into the Dunciad.) An Epilogue to Powel's Puppet-mow. By Col. Ducket (for which he was put into the Dunciad.) EfTays, &c. By Sir Richard Blackmore. (N. B. It was for a paflage of this book that Sir Richard was put into the Dunciad.)" And fo of others. APPENDIX. 3,1 AFTER THE DUNCIAD, 1728. An Effay on the Dunciad, o&avo, printed for J. Roberts. [In this book, p. 9. it was formally declared, " That the complaint of the aforefaid Libels and Advertifements was forged and untrue j that all mouths had been filent, except in Mr. Pope's praife ; and nothing againft him publifhed, but by Mr. Theo- bald."] Sawney, in blank verfe, occafioned by the Dun- ciad ; with a Critique on that poem. By J. Ralph [a perfon never mentioned in it at firft, but inferted after] printed for J. Roberts, o&avo. A complete Key to the Dunciad. By E. Curl. i2mo. price 6d. A fecond and third edition of the fame, with ad- ditions, i2mo. The Popiad. By E. Curl, extracted from J. Den- nis, Sir Richard Blackmore, &c. ismo. price 6 d. The Curliad. By the fame E. Curl. The Female Dunciad. Collected by the fame Mr. Curl, i2mo. price 6d. With the Metamor- phofis of P. into a Hinging Nettle. By Mr. Foxton, i2mo. The Metamorphofis of Scriblerus into Snarlerus. By J. Smedley, printed for A. Moore, folio, price 6d. The Dunciad differed. By Curl and Mrs. Thomas, 1 2 mo. x 4 An 3 ii APPENDIX. An Efiay on the Tafte and Writings of the prefent times. Said to be writ by a gentleman of C. C. C. Oxon, printed for J. Roberts, octavo. The Arts of Logic and Rhetoric, partly taken from Bouhours, with new Reflections, &c. By John Old- mixon, o&avo. Remarks on the Dunciad. By Mr. Dennis, de- dicated to Theobald, octavo. A Supplement to the Profund. Anon. By Mat- thew Concanen, o&avo. Mift's Weekly Journal, June 8. A long Letter, fign'd W. A. Writ by fome or other of the Club of Theobald, Dennis, Moore, Concanen, Cooke, who for fome time held conftant weekly meetings for thefe kind of performances. Daily Journal, June u. A Letter figned Philo- fcriblerus, on the name of Pope Letter to Mr. Theo- bald, in verfe, figned B. M. TBezaleel Morris] againft Mr. P . Many other little epigrams about this time in the fame papers, by James Moore, and others. Mift's Journal, June 22. A Letter by Lewis Theobald. Flying Poft, Auguft 8. Letter on Pope and Swift. Daily Journal, Auguft 8. Letter charging the Author of the Dunciad with Treafon. Durgen : a plain fatire on a pompous fatirift. By Edward Ward, with a little of James Moore. Apollo's Maggot in his Cups. By E. Ward. Gulliveriana APPENDIX. 3I3 Gulliveriana fecunda. Being a Colle&ion of many of the Libels in the Newfpapers, like the former Vo- lume, under the fame title, by Smedley. Advertifed in the Craftfman, Nov. 9, 1728, with this remark- able promife, that -i t f6'.'.nr'__ JJ >"} teohij ,o1+ ,^>H bns i,! a Dennis Rem. on the Rape of the Lock, pref. p. xii. b Dunciad diflefted. c Pref. to Gulliveriana. d Dennis, Character of Mr. P. Theobald, Letter in Mift's Journal, June 22, 1728. VOL. V. V 22 APPENDIX, expofed, but the whole NATION and its REPRE- SENTATIVES notorioufly libelled. It is fcandalum tnagnatum, yea of MAJESTY itfelf e . He looks upon God's gofpel as a foolifli fable, like the Pope, to whom he is a pitiful purveyor f . His very Chriftianity may be queftioned p . He ought to expet more feverity than other men, as he is moft unmerciful in his reflections on others h . With as good a right as his Holinefs, he fets up for poetical infallibility 5 . .,*.!' Mr. DRYDEN only a Verfifier. His whole Libel is all bad matter, beautify'd (which is all that can be faid of it) with good metre k . Mr. Dryden's genius did not appear in any thing more than his Verification, and whether he is to be en- nobled for that only, is a queftion '. Mr. BRYDEN's VIRGIL. Tonfon calls it Dryden's Virgil, to fhew that this is not that Virgil fo admired in the Auguftean age ; but a Virgil of another ftamp, a filly, impertinent, non- fenfical c Whip and Key, 410, printed for R. Janevvay, 1682. Preface. f Ibid. e Milbourn,. p. 9. h Ibid. p.. 1 75-. 1 Page 39. * Whip and Key, Pref. 1 Oldmixon, Eflay on Criticifm, p. 84. /f r * APPENDIX. 323 In his Mifcellanies the Perfons abufed are, The KING, the QUEEN, his late MAJESTY, both Houfes of PARLIAMENT, the Privy-Council, the Bench of BISHOPS, ' the Eftabh'med CHURCH, the prefent MI- NISTRY, &d. To make Senfe of fome pafiageSj.they muft be conftrued into ROYAL SCANDAL f -. He is a Popifh Rhymefter, bred up with a con*- tempt of the Sacred Writings *. His Religion allows him to deftroy Heretics, not only with his. peri,' but with fire and fword ; ,and fuch were all thbfe unhappy; Wits whom he facrificed to his accurfed Popifh' Prin- ciples h . It deferved Vengeance to fuggeft, that Mr. Pope had lefs infallibility than his Namefake at Romfe *. Mr. POPE only a Verfifier, The fmooth numbers of the Dunciad are all that recommend it, nor has it any other merit fe . It muft be owned that he hath got a notable knack of rhyming and writing fmooth verfe '. l>!u-:>//io 3on iX'fJ itobrui. .'.'/. u;df ^rri Loniv/ioo bur . l/t v/oii 'xiWiifll; feirf'i"' .' lorliij/i; aid Li-iJlisbn:; Jon iixn / Mr. POPE's HOMER. The Homer which Lintot prints, does not talk like Homer, but like Pope j and he who tranflated him, one fOjj'i''// *.)1"1 * -^* > *S^JJj** * Jl L/O-s^- r il^ /*lCJ[ "/liA { Lift at the end of a Collel 4 0! .i ,- r t gHJy{ ,oJO F . >, ,-?!-. k>r, -. PERSONS celebrated in this POEM. .o>3 o? . ( '.RIKI ,-noM .s ;i: JsiSfbrJI .ordv.ri ,iii .EI .:i J'JsL'btt ,?.'T-oM .! [The firft Number mews the BOOK, the fecond the VERSE.] .-o^.i t r..; ii .AIM . ?". *r; . C 337 ] THE DUNG I AD: T O DR. JONATHAN SWIFT. ARGUMENT to BOOK the FIRST. THE Proportion, the Invocation, and the Infcription. Then the Original of the great Empire ofD\i\nefs, and caufe of the continuance thereof. The beloved feat of the Goddefs is de- fcribed, with her chief attendants and officers, her functions, operations, and effetls. Then the poem hafles into the midfl of things, presenting her on the evening of a Lord Mayor's day, revolving the long fuccejjion of her fans, and the glories pajl and to come. She fixes her eye on Tibbald to be the inftru- ment of that great event which is the Subject of the poem. He is described penjive in hisjludy, giving up the caufe, and apprehending the period of her empire from the old age of the prefent monarch Settle : Wherefore debating whether to betake himfelf to Law or Politicks, he raifes an altar of proper books, and (mating firjl his folemn prayer and declaration} purpofes thereon to facrifce all his unfuccefsful writings. As the pile is kindled, the Goddefs beholding the flame from her VOL. V. Z f'Ot, 338 ARGUMENT. feat, flies In perfon and puts it out, by cafling upon it tht poem 0f Thule. She forthwith reveals herfelf to him, tran* fports him to her Temple, unfolds her arts, and initiates him into her my/leries ; then announcing the death of Settle that night, anoints, and proclaims him Succeffor, [ 339 BOOK I. T>OOKS and the Man I fing, the firft who brings " The Smithfield Mufes to the Ear of Kings. Say great Patricians ! (fmce yourfelves infpire Thefe wond'rous works : fo Jove and Fate require) Say from what caufe, in vain decry 'd and curft, 5 Still Dunce the fecond reigns like Dunce the firft. In eldeft time, e'er mortals writ or read, E'er Pallas iffu'd from the Thund'rer's head, Dulnefs o'er all poflefs'd her anrient right, Daughter of Chaos and eternal Night : 10 Fate in their dotage this fair ideot gave, Grofs as her fire, and as her mother grave, Laborious, heavy, bufy, bold, and blind, She rul'd in native Anarchy, the mind. Still her old empire to confirm, me tries, 15 For born a Goddefs, Dulnefs never dies. O THOU ! whatever Title pleafe thine ear, Dean, Drapier, Bickerftaff, or Gulliver, Whether thou chufe Cervantes' ferious air, Or laugh and fhake in Rab'lais eafy Chair, 20 Or praife the Court, or magnify Mankind, Or thy griev'd Country's copper chains unbind \ From thy Baeotia tho' Her Pow'r retires, Grieve not, my SWIFT at ought our realm acquires, z 2 Here 340 THE DUNCIAD. Book I. Here pleas'd behold her mighty wings out-fpread, 25 To hatch a new Saturnian Age of Lead. Where wave the tatter'd enfigns of Rag-fair, A yawning ruin hangs and nods in air j Keen, hollow winds howl thro* the bleak recefs, Emblem of Mufic caus'd by Emptinefs. 30 Here in one bed two fhiv'ring Sifters lye, The Cave of Poverty and Poetry. This, the Great Mother dearer held than all The clubs of Quidnunc's, or her own Guild-hall. Here ftood her Opium, here (he nurs'd her Owls, 35 And deftin'd here the imperial feat of fools. Hence fprings each weekly Mufe, the living boaft Of Curl's chafte prefs, and Lintot's rubric poft, Hence hymning Tyburn's elegiac lay, Hence the foft fmg-fong on Cecilia's day, 40 Sepulchral Lyes, our holy walls to grace, And New-year Odes, and all the Grubftreet race. 'Twas here in clouded majefty fhe ftione ; Four guardian Virtues, round, fupport her throne j Fierce champion Fortitude, that knows no fears 45 Of hifles, blows, or want, or lofs of ears : Calm Temperance, whofe bleffings thofe partake Who hunger, and who third, for fcribling fake : Prudence, whofe glafs prefents th* approaching jayl : Poetic Juflice, with her lifted fcale ; 50 Where, in nice balance, truth with gold fhe weighs* And folid pudding againft empty praife. Here fhe beholds the Chaos dark and deep, Where, namelefs Somethings in their caufes fleep, Till Bookl. THE DUNC1AD. 34I Till genial Jacob, or a warm Third-day Secure us kindly in our native night. Ah ! ftill o'er Britain ftretch that peaceful wand, 155 Which lulls th* Helvetian and Batavian land j Where rebel to thy throne if Science rife, She does but mew her coward face and dies ; There, thy good Scholiafts with unweary'd pains Make Horace flat, and humble Maro's drains : 160 Here ftudtous I unlucky moderns fave, Nor fleeps one error in its father's grave, Old puns reftore, loft blunders nicely feek, And crucify poor Shake/pear once a week. For thee I dim thefe eyes, and fluff this head, 1 65 With all fuch reading as was never read ; For thee fupplying, in the worft of days, Notes to dull books, and prologues to dull plays ; For thee explain a thing till all men doubt it, And write about it, Goddefs, and about it ; 170 So fpins the filk-worm fmall its flender ftore, And labours, 'till it clouds itfelf all o'er. Not Bookl. THE DUNCIAD. 34S Not that my quill to Critiques was confin'd, My Verfe gave ampler leflbns to mankind ; So graved precepts may fuccefslefs prove, 175 But fad examples never fail to move. As forc'd from wind-guns, lead itfelf can fly, And ponderous flugs cut fwiftly thro* the Iky : As clocks to weight their nimble motion owe, The wheels above urg'd by the load below ; 1 80 Me, emptinefs and dulnefs could infpire, And were my elafticity and fire. Had Heav'n decreed fuch works a longer date, Heav'n had decreed to fpare the Grubftreet-ttaie. But fee great Settle to the duft defcend, 1 85 And all thy caufe and empire at an end ! Cou'd Troy be fav'd by any fingle hand, His grey-goofe weapon mufl have made her ftand. But what can I ? my Flaccus caft aiide, Take up th* Attorney's (once my better) guide ? 190 Or rob the Roman geefe of all their glories, And fave the ftate by cackling to the Tories ? Yes, to my Country I my pen confign, Yes, from this moment, mighty Mift ! am thine, And rival, Curtius ! of thy fame and zeal, 195 O'er head and ears plunge for the publick weal. Adieu my children ! better thus expire Unftall'd, unfold, thus glorious mount in fire Fair without fpot ; than greas'd by grocer's hands, Or fhip'd with Ward to ape and monkey lands, 200 Or wafting ginger, round the ftreets to go, And vifit alehoufe where ye firft did grow. With 34 6 THE DUNCIAD. Bookl, With that, he lifted thrice the fparkling brand, And thrice he dropt it from his quiv'ring hand : Then lights the ftruclure, with averted eyes ; 205 The rowling fmokes involve the facrifice. The opening clouds difclofe each work by turns, Now flames old Memnon, now Rodrigo burns, In one quick flafh fee Proferpine expire, And laft, his own cold JEfchylus took fire. 210 Then gum'd the tears, as from the Trojan's eyes When the laft blaze fent Him to the fkies. Rowz'd by the light, old Dulnefs heav'd the head j Then fnatch'd a meet of Thule from her bed, Sudden me flies, and whelms it o'er the pyre, 215 Down fink the flames, and with a hifs expire. Her ample prefence fills up all the place ; A veil of fogs dilates her awful face : Great in her charms ! as when on Shrieves and May'rs She looks, and breathes herfelf into their airs. 2 20 She bids him wait her to the facred Dome j Well-pleas'd he enter 'd, and confefs'd his home : So Spirits ending their terreflrial race, Afcend and recognize their native place. Raptur'd, he gazes round the dear retreat, 225 And in fweet numbers celebrates the feat. Here to her Chofen all her works fhe fhews ; Profe fwell'd to verfe, Verfe loitring into profe ; How random thoughts now meaning chance to find, Now leave all memory of fenfe behind : 230 How prologues into prefaces decay, And thefe to notes are fritter'd quite away. How Book I. THE DUNCIAD. 347 How index-learning turns no ftudent pale, Yet holds the eel of fcience by the tail. How, with lefs reading than makes felons 'fcape, 235 Lefs human genius than God gives an ape, Small thanks to France, and none to Rome or Greece, A pad, vamp'd, future, old, reviv'd, new piece, 'Twixt Plautus, Fletcher, Congreve, and Corneille, Can make a Gibber, Johnfon, or Ozell. 240 The Goddefs then, o'er his anointed head, With myftic words, the facred Opium fhed ; And lo ! her bird, a monfler of a fowl ! Something betwixt a Heideggre and owl, Perch'd on his crown. All hail ! and hail again, 245 My fon ! the promised land expects thy reign. Know, Settle cloy'd with cuflard, and with praife, Is gather'd to the dull of antient days, Safe, where no Critics damn, no duns moleft, Where wretched Withers, Banks, and Gildon reft, And high-born Howard, more majeftic fire, 251 Impatient waits, till * * grace the quire. I fee a Chief, who leads my chofen fons, All arm'd with points, antithefes and puns ! I fee a Monarch, proud my race to own ! 255 A Nurfmg-mother, born to rock the throne ! Schools, courts, and fenates mall my laws obey, Till Albion, as Hibernia, blefs my fway. She ceas'd : her owls refponfive clap the wing, And Grubjlreet garrets roar, God fave the king. 260 So 34 8 THE DUNCIAD. Bookl. So when Jove's block defcended from on high, (As fmgs thy great forefather, Ogilby>) Loud thunder to its bottom Ihook the bog, And the hoarfe nation croak'd, God fave King Log. END OF THE FIRST BOOK. C 349 3 THE D U N C I A D. ARGUMENT to BOOK the SECOND. THE King being proclaimed, the folemnity is graced with pub- lick games and fports of various kinds; not injlituted by the Hero, as by tineas in Virgil, but for greater honour by the Goddefs in perfon (in like manner as the games Pythia^ Ifthmia, &c . were anciently faid to be by the Gods, and as Thetis herfelf appearing, according to Homer Odyfl". 24. propofed the prizes in honour of her fan Achilles). Hither flock the Poets and Criticks, attended, as is but jujl, -with their Patrons and Bookfellers. The Goddefs is fir/I pleafed for her difport to propofe games to the Bookfellers, andj'etteth up the phantom of a Poet which they contend to overtake. The Races defcribed, ivith their divers accidents : next, the Game for a Poetefs : then follow the exercifes for the Poets, of tickling, vociferating, diving: the firft holds forth the arts and practices of Dedicators, the fecond of Difputants and fujlian Poets, the third of profound, dark, and dirty Authors. Lajlly, for the Critics, the Goddefs propofes (with great pro- priety) an exercife not of their parts, but their patience ; in hearing the works of two voluminous authors, one in verfe and the other in profe, deliberately read, without Jleeping : The various 350 ARGUMENT. various effefls of which, with thefeveral degrees and manners of their operation, are here fet forth : till the whole number, not of critics only, but offpeclators, aflors, and all prefent, fall faft ajleepy which naturally and neceffarily ends the games. C 351 ] BOOK II. TTIGH on a gorgeous feat, that far out-mone- * *" Henley's gilt tub, or Fkckno's Irifh throne, Or that, where on her Curls the public pours, All-bounteous, fragrant grains, and golden fhow'rs : Great Tibbald nods : The proud Parnqffian fneer, 5 The confcious fimper, and the jealous leer, Mix on his look. All eyes direft their rays On him, and crowds grow foolifh as they gaze. Not with more glee, by hands pontific crown'd, With fcarlet hats, wide waving, circled round, 10 Rome in her capitol faw Querno fit, Thron'd on fev'n hills, the Antichrift of wit. To grace this honoured day, the Queen proclaims By herald hawkers, high heroic games. She fummons all her fons : An endlefs band 1 5 Pours forth, and leaves unpeopled half the land ; A motley mixture ! in long wigs, in bags, In filks, in crapes, in garters, and in rags, From drawing rooms, from colleges, from garrets, On horfe, on foot, in hacks, and gilded chariots, 20 All who true dunces in her caufe appeared, And all who knew thofe dunces to reward. Amid that Area wide me took her ftand, Where the tall May-pole once o'er look'd the Strand. But 35 2 THE DUNCIAD. Book II. But now, fo ANNE and Piety ordain, 25 A church collects the faints of Drury-lane. With authors, Stationers obey'd the call, The field of glory is a field for all ; Glory, and gain, th' induftrious tribe provoke ; And gentle Dulnefs ever loves a joke. 30 A Poet's form fhe plac'd before their eyes, And bad the nimbleft racer feize the prize ; No meagre, mufe-rid mope, aduft and thin, In a dun night-gown of his own loofe fkin, But fuch a bulk as no twelve bards could raife, 35 Twelve ftarveling bards of thefe degen'rate days. All as a partridge plump, full-fed, and fair, She form'd this image of well-bodied air, With pert flat eyes fhe window'd well its head, A brain of feathers, and a heart of lead, 40 And empty words fhe gave, and founding ftrain, But fenfelefs, lifelefs ! idol void and vain ! Never was dafh'd out, at one lucky hit, A fool, fo juft a copy of a wit ; So like, that critics faid, and courtiers fwore, 45 A Wit it was, and call'd the phantom More. All gaze with ardour : fome, a poet's name, Others, a fword-knot and lac'd fuit inflame. But lofty Lintot in the circle rofe ; " This prize is mine ; who tempt it, are my foes : With me began this genius, and mall end." 51 He fpoke, and who with Lintot fhall contend ! Fear held them mute. Alone untaught to fear Stood dauntlefs Curl, ct Behold that rival here ! The Book II. THE DUNCIAIX 353 The race by vigor, not by vaunts is won ; 55 So take the hindmoft Hell He faid, and run. Swift as a bard the bailiff leaves behind, He left huge Lintot, and out-ftrip'd the wind. As when a dab-chick waddles thro* the copfe, On feet, and wings, and flies, and wades, and hops ; So lab'ring on, with moulders, hands, and head, 61 Wide as a windmill all his figure fpread, With legs expanded Bernard urg'd the race, And feem'd to emulate great Jacob's pace. Full in the middle way there flood a lake, 65 Which Curl's Corlnna chanc'd that morn to make : (Such was her won't, at early dawn to drop Her evening cates before his neighbour's mop,) Here fortun'd Curl to flide ; loud fhout the band, And Bernard ! Bernard ! rings thro* all the Strand. Obfcene with filth the mifcreant lies bewray'd, 7 1 Fal'n in the plafh his wickednefs had laid : Then firft (if poets aught of truth declare) The caitiff Vaticide conceiv'd a prayer. Hear Jove ! whofe name my bards and I adore, As much at leaft as any God's, or more ; 76 And him and his if more devotion warms, Down with the Bible, up with the Pope's Arms. A place there is, betwixt earth, air and feas, Where from Ambrofia, Jove retires for eafe. 80 There in his feat two fpacious vents appear, On this he fits, to that he leans his ear, And hears the various vows of fond mankind, Some beg an eaftern, fome a weftern wind : VOL. v. A A All 354 THE DUNCIAD. Book II. All vain petitions, mounting to the Iky, 85 With reams abundant this abode fupply ; Amus'd he reads, and then returns the bills Sign'd with that Ichor which from Gods diflils. In office here fair Cloacina (lands, And minifters to Jove with purefl-hands ; 90 Forth from the heap me pick'd her vot'ry's pray'r, And plac'd it next him, a diftin&ion rare ! (Oft, as he fifli'd her nether realms for wit, The Goddefs favoured him, and favours yet) Renew'd by ordure's fympathetic force, 95 As oil'd with magic juices for the courfe, Vig'rous he rifes, from th' effluvia ftrong Imbibes new-life and fcours and flinks along : Re-pafies Lintot, vindicates the race, Nor heeds the brown difhonours of his face. 100 And now the vi&or flretch'd his eager hand Where the tall Nothing flood, or feem'd to ftand ; A fhapelefs made, it melted from his fight, Like forms in clouds, or vifions of the night ! To feize his papers, Curly was next thy care j 1 05 His papers light, fly diverfe, toll in air : Songs, fonnets, epigrams the winds uplift, And whifk 'em back to Evans, Tounge^ and Swift. Th' embroider'd fuit, at lead, he deem'd his prey ; That fuit, an unpay'd taylor fnatch'd away ! no No rag, no fcrap, of all the beau, or wit, That once fo flutter'd, and that once fo writ. Heav'n rings with laughter : Of the laughter vain, Dulnefs, good Queen, repeats the jefl again. Three Book II. THE DUNCIAD. 355 Three wicked imps of her own Grubftreet choir, 115 She deck'd like Congreve, Addifon and Prior ; Mean, Warner , Wilkins run : delufive thought ! Breval, Befaleel, Bond., the varlets caught. Curl ftretches after Gay, but Gay is gone, He grafps an empty Jofeph for a John : 120 So Proteus, hunted in a nobler fhape, Became, when feiz'd, a puppy, or an ape. To him the Goddefs. Son ! thy grief lay down, And turn this whole illufion on the town. As the fage dame, experienced in her trade, 125 By names of Toafts retails each batter'd jade, (Whence haplefs Monfieur much complains at Paris Of wrongs from Duchefles and Lady Mary's) Be thine, my ftationer ! this magic gift ; Cook mall be Prior, and Concanen, Swift ; 136 So mall each hoflile name become our own, And we too boaft our Garth and Addifon. With that, me gave him (piteous of his cafe, Yet fmiling at his ruful length of face) A maggy tap'ftry, worthy to be fpread 1 35 On Codrus* old, or Dunton's modern bed; Inftru&ive work ! whofe wry mouth'd portraiture Difplay'd the fates her confeflbrs endure. Ear-lefs on high, flood un-abafli'd Defoe, And Tuchin flagrant from the fcourge, below : 140 There Ridpath, Roper, cudgell'd might ye view, The very worded ftill look'd black and blue : Himfelf among the floried Chiefs he fpies, As from the blanket high in air he flies, 144 A A 2 And 356 THE DUNCIAD. Book H. And oh ! (he cry'd) what ftreet, what lane but knows Our purgings, pumpings, blanketings and blows ? In ev'ry loom our labours (hall be feen, And the frefli vomit run for ever green ! See in the circle next, Eliza plac'd ; Two babes of love clofe clinging to her wade ; 150 Fair as before her .works me ftands confefs'd, In flow'rs and pearls by bounteous Kirkall drefs'd. The Goddefs then : Who beft can fend on high The falient fpout, far-dreaming to the fky : His be yon Juno of majeftic fize, 1 55 With cow-like udders, and with ox-like eyesr. This China- Jordan, let the chief overcome Replenifh, not inglorioufly, at home." Chapman and Curl accept the glorious ftrife, (Tho' one his fon difluades, and one his wife) 1 60 This on his manly confidence relies, That on his vigour and fuperior fize. Firft Chapman lean'd againft his letter'd poft ; It rofe, and labour' d to a curve at moft. So Jove's bright bow difplays its watry round, 165 (Sure fign, that no fpe&ator mail be drown'd) A fecond effort brought but new difgrace, The wild Mtsander wafh'd the Artifl's face : Thus the fmall jett which hafty hands unlock, Spirts in the gardner's eyes who turns the cock. 1 70 Not fo from fhamelefs Curl-, impetuous fpread The ftream, and fmoaking, flourim'd o'er his head. So, (fam'd like thee for turbulence and horns,) EHdanus his humble fountain fcorns ; Thro' Book II. THE DUNCIAD. 357 Thro* half the heav'ns he pours th* exalted urn ; 175 His rapid waters in their paflage burn. Swift as it mounts, all follow with their eyes ; Still happy Impudence obtains the prize. Thou triumph'ft, Vidor of the high-wrought day, And the pleas'd dame, foft-fmiling leads away. 1 80 Chapman, thro* perfeft modefty o'ercome, Crown'd with the Jordan, walks contented home. But now for Authors nobler palms remain ; Room for my Lord J three Jockeys in his train : Six huntfmen with a fhout precede his ehair ; 1 85 He grins, and looks broad nonfenfe with a flare. His honour'd meaning Dulnefs thus expreft ; " He wins this Patron who can tickle beft." He chinks his purfe, and takes his feat of flate : With ready quills the Dedicators wait, 190 Now at his head the dext'rous tafk commence, And inftant, fancy feels th' imputed fenfe ; Now gentle touches wanton o'er his face, He flruts Adonis, and affedls grimace : Rolli the feather to his ear conveys, 195 Then his nice tafle dire&s our Opera's : Eentley his mouth with clafiic flatt'ry opes, And the puff'd orator burfls out in tropes. But Welfted moft the poet's healing balm Strives to extraft, from his foft, giving palm ; 200 Unlucky Welfted! thy unfeeling matter, The more thou tickleft, gripes his fift the fader. While thus each hand promotes the pleafmg pain, And quick fenfations {kip from vein to vein, A A 3 A youth 358 THE DUNCIAD. Book II. A youth unknown to Phttbw, in defpair, 205 Puts his laft refuge all in heav'n and pray'r. What force have pious vows ? the Queen of Love His Sifter fends, her vot'refs, from above. As taught by Venus, Paris learnt the art To touch Achilles' only tender part ; 210 Secure, thro* her, the noble prize to carry, He marches off, his Grace's Secretary. Now turn to different fports (the Goddefs cries) And learn, my fons, the wond'rous pow'r of Noife. To move, to raife, to ravifh ev'ry heart, 215 With Shake/pear's nature, or with Johnfon's art, Let others aim : 'Tis yours to make the foul With Thunder rumbling from the muftard bowl, With horns and trumpets now to madnefs fwell, Now fink in forrows with a tolling Bell, 220 Such happy arts attention can command, When fancy flags, and fenfe is at a fland. Improve we thefe. Three Cat-calls be the bribe, Of him, whofe chatt'ring mames the Monkey tribe, And his this Drum, whofe hoarfe heroic bafe 225 Drowns the loud clarion of the braying Afs. Now thoufand tongues are heard in one loud din : The Monkey-mi micks rufti difcordant in : 'Twas chatt'ring, grinning, mouthing, jabb'ring all, And Noife, and Norton, Brangling, and Breval, 230 Dennis, and Diifonance ; and captious art, And fnip-fnap mort, and interruption fmart. Hold (cry'd the Queen) A Cat-call each mall win, Equal your merits 1 equal is your din ! But Book II. THE DUNCIAD. 359 But that this well-difputed game may end, 235 Sound forth, my Brayers, and the welkin rend. As when the long-ear'd milky mothers wait At fome Tick mifer's triple-bolted gate, For their defrauded, abfent foals they make A moan fo loud, that all the Guild awake ; 240 Sore fighs Sir Gilbert^ ft ar ting, at the bray, From dreams of millions, and three groats to pay ! So fwells each wind-pipe ; Afs intones to Afs, Harmonic twang, of leather, horn, and brafs ; Such, as from lab'ring lungs th' Enthufiaft blows, High founds, attempted to the vocal nofe. 246 But far o'er all, fonorous Blackmore\ drain ; Walls, fteeples, fkies, bray back to him again : In Tot'nam fields, the brethren with amaze Prick all their ears up, and forget to graze ; 250 Long Chantry-lane retentive rolls the found, And courts to courts return it round and round : Thames wafts it thence to Rufus* roaring hall, And Hungerford re-ecchoes bawl for bawl. All hail him victor in both gifts of fong, 255 Who fings fo loudly, and who fmgs fo long. This labour paft, by Bridewell all defcend, (As morning-pray 'r and flagellation end) To where Fleet-ditch with difemboguing dreams Rolls the large tribute of dead dogs to Thames, 260 The King of dykes ! than whom no fluice of mud With deeper fable blots the filver flood. " Here ftrip my children ! here at once leap in ! * Here prove who beft can dafh thro' thick and thin, A A 4 And 360 THE DUNCIAD. Book II. And who the moft in love of dirt excel, 265 Or dark dexterity of groping well. Who flings moft filth, and wide pollutes around The ftream, be his the Weekly Journals bound ; A pig of lead to him who dives the beft : A peck of coals a-piece mail glad the reft." 270 In naked majefty Oldmixon ftands, And M/o-Iike, furveys his arms and hands, Then fighing, thus. " And am I now threefcore ? Ah why, ye Gods ! mould two and two make four ? He faid, and climb'd a ftranded Lighter's height, Shot to the black abyfs, and plung'd down-right. 276 The Senior's judgment all the crowd admire, Who but to fink the deeper, rofe the higher. Next Smedley div'd ; flow circles dimpled o'er The quaking mud, that clos*d, and op'd no more. All look, all figh, and call on Smedley loft; 281 Smedley in vain refounds thro' all the coaft. Then * eflay'd ; fcarce vanifh'd out of fight, He buoys up inftant, and returns to light : He bears no token of the fabler ftreams, 285 And mounts far off among the Swans of Thames. True to the bottom, fee Concanen creep, A cold, long-winded, native of the deep ! If perfeverance gain the Diver's prize, Not everlafting Blackmore this denies : 290 No noife, no ftir, no motion can'ft thou make, Th J unconfcious flood fleeps o'er thee like a lake. Not fo bold Arnall ; with a weight of fcull, Furious he finks, precipitately dull. Whirlpools Book II. THE DUNCIAD. 3 6r Whirlpools and ftorms his circling arm inveft, 295 With all the might of gravitation bleft. No crab more active in the dirty dance, Downward to climb, and backward to advance. He brings up half the bottom on his head, And loudly claims the Journals and the Lead. 300 Sudden, a burft of thunder (hook the flood : Lo Smedley rofe in majefty of mud ! Shaking the horrors of his ample brows, And each ferocious feature grim with ooze. Greater he looks, and more than mortal flares ; 305 Then thus the wonders of the deep declares. Firft he relates, how finking to the chin, Smit with his mien, the mud-nymphs fuck'd him in : How young Lutetia, fofter than the down, Nigrina black, and Merdamante brown, 310 Vy'd for his love in jetty bow'rs below ; As Hylas fair was ravifh'd long ago. Then fung, how mown him by the nut-brown maids A branch of Styx here rifes from the Shades, That tindtur'd as it runs with Lethe's flreams, 315 And wafting vapours from the land of Dreams, (As under feas Alphaus* fecret fluice Bears Pifa's offerings to his Arethufi) Pours into Thames : Each City bowl is full Of the mixt wave, and all who drink grow dull. 320 How to the banks where bards departed doze, They led him foft ; how all the bards arofe, Taylor, fweet Swan of Thames, majeftic bows, And Shadwett nods the poppy on his brows ; While 362 . THE DUNCIAD. Book II, While Milbourn there, deputed by the reft, 325 Gave him the cafibck, furcingle, and veft ; And "Take (hefaid) thefe robes which once were mine, Dulnefs is facred in a found Divine." He ceas'd, and fhow'd the robe ; the crowd confefs The rev'rend Flamen in his lengthen'd drefs. 330 Slow moves the Goddefs from the fable flood, (Her Prieft preceding) thro' the gates of Lud. Her Critics there me fummons, and proclaims A gentler exercife to clofe the games. Here you ! in whofe grave heads, as equal fcales, I weigh what author's heavinefs prevails ; 336 Which mod conduce to footh the foul in {lumbers, My Henley's periods, or my Blackmore's numbers ? Attend the trial we propofe to make : If there be man who o'er fuch works can wake, 340 Sleep's all fubduing charms who dares defy, And boafts Ulyjfes* ear with Argus* eye ; To him we grant our ampleft pow'rs to fit Judge of all prefent, pail, and future wit, To cavil, cenfure, dictate, right or wrong, 345 Full, and eternal privilege of tongue. Three Cambridge Sophs and three pert Templars came, The fame their talents, and their taftes the fame, Each prompt to query, anfwer, and debate, And fmit with love of Poefy and Prate, 350 The pond'rous books two gentle readers bring, The heroes fit ; the vulgar form a ring. The Bookll. THE DUNCIAD. ^ The clam'rous crowd is hulh'd with mugs of Mum, Till all tun'd equal, fend a gen'ral hum. Then mount the clerks, and in one lazy tone, 355 Thro* the long, heavy, painful page, drawl on ; Soft creeping, words on words, the fenfe compofe, At ev'ry line, they ft retch, they yawn, they doze. As to foft gales top-heavy pines bow low Their heads, and lift them as they ceafe to blow j Thus oft they rear, and oft the head decline, 361 As breathe, or paufe, by fits, the airs divine : And now to this fide, now to that, they nod, As verfe, or profe, infufe the drowzy God. Thrice Budgel aim'd to fpeak, but thrice fupprefl By potent Arthur, knock'd his chin and breaft. 366 Toland and Tindal? prompt at priefts to jeer, Yet filent bow'd to Chrift's No kingdom here. Who fate the neareft, by the words o'ercome Slept firft, the diftant nodded to the hum. 370 Then down are roll'd the books ; ftretch'd o'er 'em lies Each gentle clerk, and mutt'ring feals his eyes. At what a Dutchman plumps into the lakes, One circle firft, and then a fecond makes, What Dulnefs dropt among her fons impreft 375 Like motion, from one circle to the reft ; So from the mid-moft the nutation fpreads Round, and more round, o'er all the fea of heads. At laft Centlivre felt her voice to fail, Motteux himfelf unfinifli'd left his tale, 380 Boyer the State, and Law the Stage gave o'er, Nor Kelfey talk'd, nor Nafo whifper'd more ; Norton, 364 THE DUNCIAD. Book II. Norton, from Daniel and Oftrtza fprung, Blefs'd with his father's front, and mother's tongue, Hung filent down his never-blufhing head ; 385 And all was hufli'd, as Folly's felf lay dead. Thus the foft gifts of Sleep conclude the day, And ftretch'd on bulks, as ufual, Poets lay. Why fhould I fing what bards the nightly Mufe Did flumbring vifit, and convey to ftews : 390 Who prouder march'd, with magiftrates in ftate, To fome fam'd round-houfe, ever open gate : How Laurus lay infpir'd befide a link, And to mere mortals feem'd a Prieft in drink : While others, timely, to the neighbouring Fleet 395 (Haunt of the Mufes) made their fafe retreat. THE END OF THE SECOND BOOK. . .-7L C 365 ] ,*..- * 'A sVVkw'uA^vi viv D U N C I A D. . ARGUMENT to BOOK the THIRD. AFTER the other persons are difpofed in their proper places of reft, the Goddefs transports the King to her Temple, and there lays him to Jlumber with his head on her lap ; a pofition of marvellous virtue, which caufes all the yifions ofwildenthu- Jiafls, projectors, politicians, inamoratos, caJHe-builders, chymi/ls, and poets. He is immediately carried on the wings of Fancy to the E.\yzianjhade ; where on the banks of Lethe the fouls of the dull are dipped by Bavius, before their entrance into this world. There he is met by the ghojl of Settle, and by him made acquainted with the wonders of the place, and with thofe which he is himfelf dejlined to perform. He takes him to a Mount ofViRon, from whence he Jhews him the pajl triumphs of the Empire of Dulnefs, then the prefent, and lajlly the future : How f mall a part of the world was ever conquered by Science, how foon thofe conquejls were flopped, and thofe very nations again reduced to her dominion. Then dijiinguijhing the I/land of Great Britain, Jhews by what aids, and by what perfons, it/hall be forthwith brought to her empire. Thefe he caufes topafs in review before his eyes, defcribing each by bis proper figure, characler, and qualifications. On afudden the 366 ARGUMENT. thefcenejhifts, and a vajl number of miracles and prodigies appear , utterly furprizing and unknown to the King himfelf, till they are explained to be the wonders of his own reign now commencing. On this fubjeft Settle breaks into a cengratu- Jation, yet not unmixed with concern, that his own times were but the types of thefe. He prophecies how firft the nation Jhatt be over-run with Farces, Operas, and Shows ; and the throne of Dulnefs advanced over both the Theatres ; then how her fans /hall prejide in the feats of Arts and Sciences, till in conclujion all/hall return to their original Chaos : Afcene, of which the prefent Ac-lion of the Dunciad is but a Type or Foretajle, giving a Glympfe, or Pifgah- fight of the promifed Fulnefs of her Glory ; the accomplijhment whereof will, in all probability, hereafter be the Theme of many other and greater JDunciads. y) Wtt C 367 ] . :ii rioTlojki iwn^v v./o : /fK>tfftiiiV^n;p?>: .fiuwqe'* iv ;; Sol r-^rf'7/ : f/sct? i,ii ' . BOOK III. :3iofod 8-i33-{ &3if!i syiv/j i