View him with scornful, yet with jealous eyes, And hate for arts that caus'd himself to rife; 200 Damn with faint praise, afsent with civil leer, And without fneering, teach the rest to sneer NOTES. ; deed his own performance. Mr. Pope, in his first resentment of this ufage, was refolved to expose this new Verfion in a fevere critique upon it. I have now by me the Copy he had marked for this purpofe; in which he has claffed the several faults in tranflation, language, and numbers, under their proper heads. But the growing fplendor of his own work fo eclipfed the faint efforts of this oppofition, that he trufted to its own weakness and malignity for the juftice due to it. About this time, Mr. Addifon's fon-in-law, the E. of Warwick, told Mr. Pope, that it was in vain to think of being well with his Father who was naturally a jealous man; that Mr. Pope's fuperior talents in poetry had hurt him, and to such a degree, that he had underhand encouraged Gildon to write a thing about Wycherley, in which he had fcurrilously abused Mr. Pope and his family; and for this service he had given Gildon ten guineas, after the pamphlet was printed. The very next day Mr. Pope, in a great heat, wrote Mr. Addison a Letter, wherein he told him, he was no ftranger to his behaviour; which, however, he should not imitate: But that what he thought faulty in him, he would tell him fairly to his face; and what deferved praise he would not deny him to the world: and, as a proof of this difpofition towards him, he had fent him the inclofed, which was the Character, first published separately, and afterwards inferted in this place of the Epift. to Dr. Arbuthnot. This plain dealing had no ill effect. Mr. Addifon treated Mr. Pope with civility, and, as Mr. Pope believed, with justice, from this time to his death, which happened about three years after. Ibid. But were there one whofe fires, &c.] The ftrokes in this Character are highly finished. Atterbury fo well understood the force of them, that in one of his letters to Mr. Pope he fays, "Since you now know where your ftrength lies, I hope you "will not fuffer that talent to lie unemployed." He did not; and, by that means, brought fatiric Poetry to its perfection. Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike, Alike referv'd to blame, or to commend, 205 VARIATIONS. After 208. in MS. Who, if two Wits on rival themes conteft, 210 Alluding to Mr. P.'s and Tickell's Tranflation of the first Book of the Iliad. NOTES. VER. 208. And fo obliging, that he ne'er oblig'd;] He was one of thofe obliging perfons who are the humble Servants of all Mankind. Mr. Pope therefore did wifely, he foon returned his fhare in him to the common stock. VER. 212. And wonder with a foolish face of praife-] When men, out of flattery, extol what they are conscious they do not understand, as is fometimes the cafe of men of education, the fear of praifing in the wrong place is likely enough to give a foolish turn to the air of an embarraffed countenance. VER. 213. Who but must laugh, if fuch a man there be?] While a Character is unapplied, all the various parts of it will be confidered together; and if the affemblage of them be as in What tho' my Name stood rubric on the walls, Or plaifter'd posts, with claps, in capitals? 216 Or fmoaking forth, a hundred hawkers load, On wings of winds came flying all abroad? I fought no homage from the Race that write; I kept, like Afian Monarchs, from their fight: Poems I heeded (now be-rym'd fo long) No more than thou,greatGEORGE! a birth-day fong. I ne'er with wits or witlings pass'd my days, To spread about the itch of verse and praise; NOTES. 221 coherent as in this before us, it cannot fail of being the object of a malignant pleasantry. VER. 214. Who would not weep, if ATTICUS were he!] But when we come to know it belongs to Atticus, i. e. to one whose more obvious qualities had before gained our love or esteem; then friendship, in spite of ridicule, will make a separation: our old impreffions get the better of our new, or, at least, suffer themselves to be no further impaired than by the admiffion of a mixture of pity and concern. Ibid. ATTICUS] It was a great falfhood, which some of the Libels reported, that this Character was written after the Gentleman's death; which fee refuted in the Teftimonies prefixed to the Dunciad. But the occafion of writing it was fuch as he would not make public out of regard to his memory: and all that could further be done was to omit the name, in the Edition of his Works. VER. 216. claps, in capitals? The bills of Quack-Doctors and Quack-Bookfellers being usually pafted together on the fame pofts. VER. 218. On wings of winds came flying all abroad?] Hopkins, in the civth Pfalm. P. Nor like a puppy, daggled thro' the town, 230 235 But fick of fops, and poetry, and prate, VARIATIONS. After 234. in the MS. To Bards reciting he vouchsaf'd a nod, And fnuff'd their incenfe like a gracious god. NOTES. VER. 236.- a true Pindar flood without a head] Ridicules the affectation of Antiquaries, who frequently exhibit the headlefs Trunks and Terms of Statues, for Plato, Homer, Pindar, &c. Vide Fulv. Urfin. &c. P. To fome a dry rehearsal was affign'd, And others (harder still) he paid in kind. Dryden alone (what wonder?) came not nigh,245 Dryden alone escap'd this judging eye: But ftill the Great have kindness in referve, He help'd to bury whom he help'd to starve. May fome choice patron blefs each gray goofe quill! May ev'ry Bavius have his Bufo ftill! 250 So when a Statesman wants a day's defence, NOTES. VER. 248. help'd to bury] Mr. Dryden, after having liv'd in exigencies, had a magnificent Funeral beftow'd upon him by the contribution of feveral perfons of Quality. P. VER. 251. So when a Statefman &c.] Notwithstanding this ridicule on the public neceffities of the Great, our Poet was candid enough to confess that they are not always to be imputed to them, as their private may. For (when uninfected by the neighbourhood of Party) he speaks of those diftreffes much more difpaffionately. Our Ministers like Gladiators live, 'Tis half their bus'nefs blows to ward, or give; MS. |