Sometimes with Ariftippus, or St. Paul, S Long, as to him who works for Debt, the day, 34 Long as the Night to her whofe Love's away, Long as the Year's dull circle feems to run, That talk, which as we follow, or despise, 40 Which done, the pooreft can no wants endure; 45 And which not done, the richest must be poor. t Late as it is, I put myfelf to fchool, And feel fome" comfort, not to be a fool. W "Weak tho' I am of limb, and short of sight, Far from a Lynx, and not a Giant quite; NOTES. 50 I'll VFR. 31. Arifippus, or St. Paul,] There is an impropriety and indecorum, in joining the name of the molt profligate parafite of the court of Dionyfius, with that of an Apostle. In a few lines before, the name of Montagne is not fufficiently contrafted by the name of Locke; the place required that two philofophers, holding very different tenets, fhould have been introduced. Hobbes might have been oppofed to Hutchefon. I know not why he omitted a ftrong fentiment that follows immediately, "Et mihi res, non me rebus fubjungere conor;" Ver 20. which line Corneille took for his motto. WARTON. VER. 45. can no wants endure :] i. e. Can want nothing: badly expreffed. WARBURTON. Non tamen idcirco contemnas lippus inungi : Laudis amore tumes? Sunt certa piacula, quæ te Ter pure lecto poterunt recreare libello. b C Invidus, iracundus, iners, vinofus, amator; d Nemo adeo ferus eft, ut non mitcscere poffit, e f • Virtus eft, vitium fugere; et fapientia prima, Stultitia caruiffe. vides, quæ maxima credis Effe mala, exiguum cenfum, turpemque repulfam, Quanto devites animi, capitifque labore. NOTES. Impiger VER. 51. I'll do what Mead] Mr. Pope highly esteemed and loved this worthy man; whose unaffected humanity and benevolence have ftifled much of that envy which his eminence in his profeffion would otherwife have drawn out. Speaking of his obligations to this great Physician and others of the Faculty, in a Letter to Mr. Allen, about a month before his death, he fays, "There is no end of my kind treatment from the Faculty. They are in general the most amiable companions, and the best friends, as well as the most learned men I know." WARBURTON. VER. 65. to abhor; -more.] Dr King informed me that these were two of the rhymes to which Swift, who was fcrupulously exact in this respect, used to object, as he frequently did to fome others in Pope; and particularly to two in the Effay on Criticism, Verse 37. where delight is made to rhyme to wit; and to many in his Homer. WARTON. I'll do what Mead and Chefelden advise, To keep thefe limbs, and to preferve these eyes. And men must walk at least before they dance. Say, does thy blood rebel, thy bosom move 55 With wretched Avʼrice, or as wretched Love? Know, there are Words, and Spells, which can control 2 Between the Fits this Fever of the Soul; а Know, there are Rhymes, which fresh and fresh apply'd Will cure the arrant'ft Puppy of his Pride. b Be ' furious, envious, flothful, mad, or drunk, d A Switz, a High-dutch, or a Low-dutch & Bear; e "Tis the first Virtue, Vices to abhor; And the first Wisdom, to be Fool no more. 60 65 70 See him, with pains of body, pangs of foul, NOTES. Wilt VER. 70. Scar'd at the Spectre] Pope has given life to the image, and added terror to the fimple expreffion, Pauperiem. Bolingbroke tranflated this paffage in Horace, in about twenty-fix lines, and fent them to Swift in a letter, dated March 16, 1719. But a poor performance. Pope has omitted the Olympian games. 3 WARTON. Impiger extremos curris mercator ad Indos, Per mare pauperiem fugiens, per faxa, per ignes: Ne cures ea, quæ ftulte miraris et optas, h Difcere, et audire, et meliori credere non vis? k 66 i Vilius eft auro argentum, virtutibus aurum. "O cives, cives! * quærenda pecunia primum eft; "Virtus poft nummos:" hæc Janus fummus ab ime Perdocet hæc recinunt juvenes dictata fenefque, m Lævo fufpenfi loculos tabulamque lacerto. n Eft animus tibi, funt mores, eft lingua, fidefque: Sed quadringentis fex feptem millia defint, NOTES. Plebs VER. 77. Here, Wifdom calls, &c.] All from hence to Ver. ito, is a pretty clofe tranflation; but in general done with fo masterly a fpirit, that the Original, though one of the most finish. ed paffages in Horace, looks only like the imitation of it. WARBURTON. VER. 78. As Gold to Silver, Virtue is to Gold.] This perhaps is the most faulty line in the whole collection. The Original is, Yet "Vilius eft auro argentum, virtutibus aurum ;" which only fays, That as Silver is of lefs value than Gold, fo Gold is of lefs value than Virtue: in which fimple inferiority, and not the proportion of it, is implied. For it was as contrary to the Author's purpofe, as it is to common fenfe, to suppose, that virtue was but just as much better than gold, as gold is better than filver. Mr. Pope, too attentive to his conftant obje& conciseness, has, before he was aware, fallen into this abfurd meaning. However, this and many other inaccuracies in his works had been corrected, had he lived; as many, that now first appear in this edition, were actually corrected a little before his death. And Wilt thou do nothing for a nobler end, h And eafe thy heart of all that it admires? i 75 " Here, Wisdom calls: "Seek Virtue first, be bold! "As Gold to Silver, Virtue is to Gold." 80 There, London's voice: "Get Money, Money ftill! m From him whofe quills ftand quiver'd at his ear, n Barnard in " fpirit, sense, and truth abounds; 85 "Pray then, what wants he?" Fourfcore thousand pounds; NOTES. A Penfion, And here I cannot but do justice to one of his many good qualities, a very rare one, indeed, and what none but a truly great genius can afford to indulge; I mean his extreme readiness, and unfeigned pleasure, in acknowledging his mistakes: this, with an impatience to reform them, he poffeffed in a greater degree, and with lefs affectation, than any man I ever knew. WARBURTON. VER. 84. notches flicks] Exchequer Tallies. WARBURTON. VER. 85. Barnard in spirit, sense, and truth abounds ;] Sir John Barnard. It was the Poet's purpose to say, that this great Man (who does fo much honour to his Country) had a fine genius, improved and put in ufe by a true understanding; and both, under the guidance of an integrity fuperior to all the temptations of intereft, honours, or any meaner paffion. Many events, fince the paying this tribute to his virtue, have fhewn how much, and how particularly it was due to him. WARBURTON. VER. 85. Barnard] Sir John Barnard, Knight, was born at Reading, and brought up at a school at Wandsworth in Surry; his parents were Quakers. In 1703, he quitted the Society of Quakers, was received into the church by Compton, bishop of London, and continued a member of it. |