too former, after having been hackneyed by every whining love-fick fonneteer, are become trite and common to afford any new and ftriking images, even from the pen of POPE. Witnefs the following lines. "When bold Sir Plume had drawn Clariffa "down, "Chloe step'd in, and kill'd him with a frown; "She fmil'd to see the doughty hero flain, But, at her smile, the Beau reviv'd again." These lines might pafs uncenfured, and might even be deemed pretty in an indifferent poet; but the fentiments and expreffions are too common-placed to be applauded in a genius: And this description, upon the whole, does not feem to be exalted to that height of mock dignity, to which Mr. POPE's talents were capable of raising it. It must be admitted, however, that he fhews great address, where he described Belinda throwing fnuff at the Baron, where the machinery is again artfully introduced. "The Gnomes direct, to ev'ry atom juft, "The pungent grains of titillating duft.' The last line affords an inftance of a very beautiful periphrafis. The poet fhews great management in the catastrophe of the piece. The Lock, the reco very of which was the end of all this conteft, is loft; which occafions various conjectures concerning the place of its concealment, and gives the poet an opportunity of making a very ingenious application of that celebrated fiction of Arifto, that all things loft on earth are treasured in the moon, wherein he has introduced a great deal of keen fatire. "Some thought it mounted to the Lunar sphere, "Since all things loft on earth are treasur'd "there. "There Heros' wits are kept in pond'rous “ vases, "And Beaux in fnuff-boxes and tweezer"cafes. "There broken vows, and death-bed alms are "found, "And lovers' hearts with ends of ribband "bound, "The courtier's promifes, and fick men's "pray'rs, "The fmiles of harlots, and the tears of heirs, 66 Cages for gnats, and chains to yoke a flea, The Lock, however, is at length discovered in the skies, where it is lodged with great poetical fancy; and, like Berenice's, becomes a conftellation. The poet does not suffer the reader to lose fight of his beautiful machinery: The Sylphs, who had been fo affiduous to preserve it, are finally introduced as viewing it with delight, while it afcends to heaven. "The "The Sylphs behold it kindling as it flies, "And pleas'd purfue its progrefs through the "kies." The poet preferves the vigour of his poetical fancy to the laft. Even after the favourite Lock is transformed into a conftellation, he, with inimitable pleafantry, defcribes the influence it will have on the fons of earth. furvey, "And hail with mufic its propitious ray; "This the bleft Lover fhall for Venus take, "And fend up vows from Rofamonda's lake: "This Partridge foon fhall view in cloudlefs "fkies, "When next he looks thro' Galilæo's eyes; "And hence th' egregious wizard fhall fore"doom "The fate of Louis, and the fall of Rome." Thus the poet has admirably fulfilled the precept of Horace "Servetur ad imum It will scarce be credited that a man could be found fo devoid of judgment and tafte, or in whom envy and ill-nature were fo predominant, as to betray him into a fenfelefs and illiberal criticifin on this excellent piece; and yet that doughty critic, Mr. Dennis, whom I have before had had occafion to mention, did not fcruple to expofe his weakness and his malice in the most fidiculous and fcurrilous animadverfions. His resentment and malevolence fo far got the better of the little critical merit which fome have allowed him to poffefs, that he abfurdly condemned feveral paffages, for reafons which conftituted their capital beauties. Such an impotent attack had the effect which might be expected: It ferved to render the critic contemptible, while Mr. POPE's fame rofe above all attempts to fupprefs it; and was not confined to his own country: this celebrated poem having been tranflated into feveral languages. There was, in particular, a French verfion of it, which was printed at Paris, in the year 1728. There were likewise translations of it in Italian, by the Abbé Conti, a noble Venetian; and by the Marquis Rongons, envoy extraordinary from the Duke of Modena to the late king. There have likewife been Latin verfions of it; and a profe irony of it, made its appearance in English *. This Among the compliments paid to our author on this occafion, we muft not omit the Eulogy of Sir William Trumball, who, in one of his letters to our author, fays 66 "You have given me the trueft fatisfaction imaginable, "not only in making good the juft opinion I have ever had of your reach of thought, and my idea of your comprehenfive "genius; but likewife in that pleasure I take, as an Eng"lishman, to fee the French, even Boileau himself, in his. "Lutrin, out-done in your poem: for you defcend, leviore plectro, to all the nicer touches, that your own obferva K "tion This poem happened to be published at a time when party contefts ran high, and among other fubjects of difpute, the famous Barrier treaty was much canvaffed, and applauded by the Whigs. Mr. POPE, though too honest and judicious to be a party-man, was nevertheless from his birth and education ranked "tion and wit furnish, on fuch a fubject as requires the "fineft ftrokes and the liveliest imagination." Dean Berkley likewife, in a letter addressed to our author, dated May 1ft, 1714, fpeaks of it in the highest terms of applaufe: "I have accidentally met with your Rape of the Lock "here, having never feen it before. Stile, painting, judg"ment, fpirit, I had already admired in other of your writings; but in this I am charmed with the magic of "your invention, with all thofe images, allufions and inex"plicable beauties, which you raise fo furprisingly, and at "the fame time fo naturally, out of a trifle." To the teftimonies in favour of this poem must be added that of the learned and ingenious author of the Elements of Criticism, who fays The Rape of the Lock is a gen"teel and gay fpecies of writing, lefs ftrained than the "others before mentioned, and is pleafant or ludicrous, "without having ridicule for its chief aim; giving way, "however, to ridicule, where it arifes from a particular "character, fuch as that of Sir Plume." He does not fcruple to add, that the verfification is the most complete of any in the English language. Meaning the Virgil Traveftie of Scarron-The Secchia Rapita of Taffoni-The Batrachomuomachia of Homer, -and the Lutrin of Boileau. among |
