The

THE diffolute reign of Charles II. juftly deserved the fatirical profcription in this paffage, Under the notion of laughing at the abfurd aufterities of the Puritans, it became the mode to run into the contrary extreme, and to ridicule real religion and unaffected virtue. The king, during his exile, had seen and admired the fplendor of the court of Louis XIV. and endeavoured to introduce the fame luxury into the English court. common opinion, that this was the Augustan age in England, is exceffively false. A just tafte was by no means yet formed. What was called SHEER WIT, was alone ftudied and applauded. Rochefter, it is faid, had no idea that there could be a better poet than Cowley. The King was perpetually quoting HUDIBRAS. The neglect of fuch a poem as the Paradise Loft, will for ever remain a monument of the bad tafte that prevailed. It may be added, that the progrefs of philological learning, and of what is called the belles lettres, was perhaps obftructed by the inftitution of the Royal Society; which turned

the

the thoughts of men of genius to phyfical enquiries. Our style in profe was but beginning to be polished: although the diction of Hobbes is fufficiently pure; which philofopher, and not the FLORID Spratt, was the claffic of that age. If I was to name a time, when the arts and polite literature, were at their height in this nation, I should mention the latter end of King William, and the reign of Queen Anne.

34. With mean complacence ne'er betray your truft, Nor be fo civil as to prove unjust *.

OUR poet practifed this excellent precept, in his conduct towards Wycherley; whose pieces he corrected, with equal freedom and judgment. But Wycherley, who had a bad heart, and an infufferable share of vanity, and who was one of the profeffed WITS of the laft-mentioned age, was foon difgufted at this candour and ingenuity of POPE; infomuch, that he came to an open and ungenerous rupture with him.

*Ver. 581.

THE

35. Fear not the anger of the wife to raise;

Those best can bear reproof who merit praise. †

THE freedom and unrefervedness, with which Boileau and Racine communicated their works to each other, is hardly to be parallelled of which many amiable inftances appear in their letters, lately published by the fon of the latter: particularly in the following. J'ai trouvè que la TROMPETTE & LES SOURDS etoient trop joues, & qu'il ne falloit point trop appuyer fur votre incommoditè, moins encore chercher de l' efprit fur ce fujet." Boileau communicated to his friend the first sketch of his Ode on the Taking Namur. It is entertaining to contemplate a rude draught by fuch a mafter; and is no less pleafing to observe the temper, with which he receives the objections of Racine.

r

« J'ai deja retouchè a tout cela; mais je ne veux point l'achever que je n'aie reçu vos remarques, qui furement m' eclaireront encore l'efprit." The fame volume informs us of

+ Ver. 583. Pag. 197. See also pag. 245. 191.
a curious

a curious anecdote, that Boileau generally made the second verfe of a couplet before the firft; that he declared it was one of the grand fecrets of poetry to give, by this means, a greater energy and meaning to his verses; that he advised Racine to follow the fame method, and faid on this occafion, "I have taught him to rhyme difficilement."

36. No place fo facred from fuch fops is barr'd,

Nor is Paul's church more safe than Paul's church-yard;
Nay, fly to altars; there they'll talk you dead :
For fools rush in where angels fear to tread. *

THIS stroke of satire is literally taken from Boileau.

Gardez-vous d'imiter ce rimeur furieux,
Qui de fes vains ecrits lecteur harmonieux
Aborde en récitant quiconque le falüe,
Et pourfuit de fes vers les paffans dans la ruë,
Il n' eft Temple fi faint des Anges refpecté,
Qui foit contre fa muse un lieu du fureté. †

Which lines allude to the impertinence of a
French poet, called Du Perrier; who, finding

* Ver. 622.

Art. Poet. Chant. iv.

Boileau

Boileau one day at church, infifted upon repeating to him an ode, during the elevation

of the hoft; and defired his opinion, whe-
ther or no it was in the manner of Malherbe.
Without this anecdote, the pleafantry of the
fatire would be overlooked. It may here be
occafionally obferved, how many beauties in
this fpecies of writing are loft, for want of
knowing the facts to which they allude. The
following paffage may be produced as a proof.
Boileau, in his excellent Epiftle to his Gar-
dener at Anteuil, fays,

Mon maitre, dirois-tu, paffe pour un Docteur,
Et parle quelquefois mieux qu' un Predicateur †,

It seems our author and Racine returned one day in high fpirits from Verfailles, with two honeft citizens of Paris, As their converfation

* The names of Racine, and Corneille, being often mentioned in this work, it will not be improper to add an ingenious Parallel of their respective merits, written by Fontenelle.

I. Corneille had no excellent author before his eyes, whom he could follow: Racine had Corneille.