enabled to draw reflections, not only of a 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 infist upon fuch, and how material they feem to themfelves, if to none other. Forgive me, gentle reader, if (following learned example) I ever and anon become tedious: allow me to take the fame pains to find whether my author were good or bad, well or ill-natured, modest or arrogant; as another, whether his author was fair or brown, fhort or tall, or whether he wore a coat or a cassock. We purposed to begin with his Life, Parentage, and Education But as to thefe, even his cotemporaries do exceedingly differ. One faith, he was educated at home; another, that he was bred at St. Omer's by Jefuits; a third, not at St. Omer's, but at Oxford; a fourth, that he had no Univerfity education at all. Those who allow him to be bred at home, differ as much concerning his Tutor: One faith, he was kept by his father on purpose; a second, that he was an itinerant prieft; a third, that he was a parfon; one calleth him a fecular clergyman of the Church of Rome; another, a monk. As little do they agree about his Father, whom one supposeth, like the Father of Hefiod, a tradesman or merchant; another, a husbandman; another ", 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 Dæmon; For thus Mr. Gildon " "Certain it is, that his original a Giles Jacob's Lives of Poets, vol. ii. in his Life. b Dennis's Reflect, on the Effay on Crit. Dunciad diffected, p. 4. od Guar dian, No. 40. e Jacob's Lives, &c. vol. ii. f Dunciad diffected, p. 4. g Farmer P. and his fon. ́h Dunc. diffect. iCharacters of the times, p. 45. k Female Dunciad p. ult. Dunc. diffect. m Roome, Paraphrafe on the ivth of Genefis, printed 1729. nCharacter of Mr. P. and his Writings, in a Let fer to a Friend, printed for S. Popping, 1716, p. 10. Curl, in his " is not from Adam, but the Devil; and that he want"eth nothing but horns and tail to be the exact refem"blance 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 fhall defer writing the life of our Poet, 'till authors can determine among themselves 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, tho' not lefs uncertain the judgments concerning them; beginning with his ESSAY on CRITICISM, of which hear firft the most ancient of Critics, Mr. JOHN DENNIS. "His precepts are false or trivial, or both; his thoughts "are crude and abortive, his expreffions abfurd, his "numbers harsh and unmufical, his rhymes trivial and common ;-instead of majesty, we have something that " is very mean: inftead of gravity, fomething that is "very boyish; and inftead of perfpicuity and lucid or"der, we have but too often obfcurity and confufion." And in another place : "What rare numbers are here! "Would not one fwear that this youngster had espoused "fome antiquated Mufe, who had fued out a divorce "from fome fuperannuated finner, upon account of impotence, and who, being poxed by her former spouse, "has got the gout in her decrepid age, which makes her "bobble fo damnably." No lefs peremptory is the cenfure of our hypercritical Hiftorian Mr. OLD MIXON. "I dare not fay any thing of the Effay on Criticism " in verse; but if any more curious reader has difcovered Key to the Dunciad (firft edit. faid to be printed for A. Dodd) in the 10th page, declared Gildon to be author of that libel; though in the fubfequent editions of his Key he left out this affertion, and affirmed (in the Curliad, p. 4, and 8.) that it was written by Dennis only. Reflections critical and fatyrical on à Rhapfody, called, An Effay on Criticifm. Printed for Bernard Lintot, octavo, in it fomething new which is not in Dryden's prefaces, "dedications, and his effay on dramatic poetry, not to "mention the French critics, I fhould be very glad to ❝ have the benefit of the discovery P. He is followed (as in fame, fo in judgment) by the modeft and fimple-minded Mr. LEONARD WELSTED; Who, out of great refpect to our poet not naming him, doth yet glance at his Ellay, together with the Duke of Buckingham's, and the Criticifms of Dryden, and of Horace, which he more openly taxeth 9: "As to the 66 numerous treatifes, effays, arts, &c. both in verfe and profe, that have been written by the moderns on this "ground-work, they do but backney the fame thoughts "over again, making them ftill more trite. Most 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 fhew, he "thought an Art of Poetry was of no use, even while he 66 was writing one." To all which great authorities, we can only oppose that of Mr. ADDISON. -"The Art of Criticism (faith he) which was pub"lished fome months fince, 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 muft affent to, when he fees them ex"plained with that ease and perfpicuity in which they are "delivered. As for thofe which are the most known and "the most receiv'd, they are placed in so beautiful a light, and illuftrated with fuch apt allufions, that they Efay on Criticifm in profe, octavo, 1728. by the author of the Critical Hiftory of England, 9 Preface to his Poems, p, 18. 53. Spectator, No. 253. 66 "have in them all the graces of novelty; and make the "reader, who was before acquainted with them, ftill 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 confist so much in advancing things that are new, as in giving things that are "known an agreeable turn. It is impoffible for us who "live in the latter ages of the world, to make observa"tions in criticism, morality, or any art or fcience, "which have not been touch'd upon by others; we have "little else left us, but to represent 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 Augustan age. His way of expreffing, and applying them, not "his invention of them, is what we are chiefly to ad"mire. 46 86 66 Longinus, in his Reflexions, has given us the fame "kind of fublime, which he obferves in the feveral paf"fages that occafioned them: I cannot but take notice "that our English author has after the fame manner ex 66 emplified several of the precepts in the very precepts "themselves." He then produces fome inftances of a particular beauty in the numbers, and concludes with saying, that "there are three poems in our tongue of the "fame nature, and each a mafter-piece in its kind; "The Effay on Tranflated Verfe; the Effay on the Art "of Poetry; and the Effay on Criticism." Of WINDSOR FOREST, pofitive is the judgment of the affirmative Mr. JOHN DE N N IS. "That it is a wretched rhapfody, impudently writ "in emulation of the Cooper's Hill of Sir John Denf Letter to B. B. at the end of the Remarks on Pope's Homer, 1717. "ham: 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, differs from this opinion: "Those who have seen these 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 ELOISA, we are told by the obfcure writer of a poem called Sawney: "That because Prior's "Henry and Emma charm'd the finest tastes, our author "writ his Eloife, in oppofition to it; but forgot innocence "and virtue: If you take away her tender thoughts, and "her fierce defires, all the reft is of no value." In which, methinks, his judgment resembleth that of a French taylor on a villa and gardens by the Thames: "All this is very fine, but take away the river, and it is good for "nothing. But very contrary hereunto was the opinion of Mr. PRIOR himself, faying in his Alma", O Abelard! ill fated youth, Dan Pope, for thy misfortune griev'd, A filken web; and ne'er shall fade And Venus fhall the texture blefs, &c. Come we now to his tranflation of the ILIAD, celebrated by numerous pens, yet shall it fuffice to mention the indefatigable t Printed 1728, p. 12. ▾ Alma, Cant. ii. |