How did they fume, and stamp, and roar, and chafe! And swear, not ADDISON himself was fafe. Peace to all fuch! but were there One whofe fires True Genius kindles, and fair Fame inspires; NOTES. Bleft VER. 192. And fwear, not ADDISON himself was fafe.] This is an artful preparative for the following tranfition; and finely obviates what might be thought unfavourable of the feverity of the fatire, by thofe who were ftrangers to the provocation. WARBURTON. VER. 192. ADDISON was fafe.] This character of Addison has been confidered as Pope's mafter piece, in "học dicendi genere." It is certainly moft fuccefsfully laboured; but how far it was a likeness, is with me very doubtful. VER. 193 but were there One whofe fires, &c.] Our Poet's friendship with Mr. Addifon began in the year 1713. It was cultivated, on both fides, with all the marks of mutual esteem and affection, and a conftant intercourfe of good offices. Mr. Addifon was always commending moderation; warned his friend against a blind attachment to party; and blamed Steele for his indiscreet zeal. The tranflation of the Iliad being now on foot, he recommended it to the public, and joined with the Tories in pushing the fubfcription; but at the fame time advised Mr. Pope not to be content with the applaufe of one half of the nation. On the other hand, Mr. Pope made his friend's intereft his own, fee note on Ver. 215. 1 Ep. B. ii. of Hor.) and, when Dennis fo brutally attacked the Tragedy of Cato, he wrote the piece called A narrative of his madness. * Thus things continued till Mr. Pope's growing reputation, and fuperior genius in Poetry, gave umbrage to his friend's falfe delicacy and then it was he encouraged Philips and others (fee his Let *This ftatement of Warburton's is neither candid nor true: it is very easy to fay, "Pope's growing reputation gave umbrage to Addison; that Addifon encouraged Philips, &c. in their clamours; that his jealousy at last broke out." But all this is directly contrary to the general tenor of Addifon's life and character, and if I fhould make it appear, as I trust I shall, that part is untrue, we ought furely to give little credit to the reft. Bleft with each talent and each art to please, And born to write, converse, and live with ease: NOTES. 195 View Letters) in their clamours against him as a Tory and Jacobite, who had affifted in writing the Examiners; and, under an affected care for the Government, would have hid, even from himself, the true grounds of his difguft. But his jealoufy foon broke out, and discovered itfelf, firft to Mr. Pope, and, not long after, to all the world. The Rape of the Lock had been written in a very hasty manner, and printed in a collection of Miscellanies. The fuccefs it met with encouraged the Author to revife and enlarge it, and give it a more important air; which was done by advancing it into a mock-epic poem. In order to this it was to have its Machinery; which, by the happieft invention, he took from the Roficrucian Syftem. Full of this noble conception, he communicated his scheme to Mr. Addifon; who, he imagined, would have been equally delighted with the improvement. On the contrary, he had the mortification to fee his friend receive it coldly; and even to advife him against any alteration; for that the poem, in its original state, was a delicious little thing, and, as he expreffed it, merum fal. Mr. Pope was fhocked for his friend; and then first began to open his eyes to his Character. Soon after this, a tranflation of the first book of the Iliad appeared under the name of Mr. Tickell; which coming out at a critical juncture, when Mr. Pope was in the midft of his engagements on the same subject, and by a creature of Mr. Addison's, made him suspect this to be another shaft from the fame quiver : And after a diligent enquiry, and laying many odd circumstances together, he was fully convinced that it was not only published with Mr. Addifon's participation, but was indeed his own performance. And Sir R. Steele, in the ninth Edition of the Drummer (which Tickell had omitted to infert amongft Addison's Works) in a long epiftle to Congreve, affirms very intelligibly, that Addison, and not Tickell, was the tranflator of the first book of the Iliad, to which the latter had fet his name. Mr. Pope, in his first resentment of this ufage, was refolved to expose this new View him with fcornful, yet with jealous eyes, NOTES. 200 Damn new Verfion in a fevere critique upon it. I have now by me the Copy he had marked for this purpose; in which he has claffed the several faults in translation, language, and numbers, under their proper heads. But the growing fplendor of his own works fo eclipfed the faint efforts of this oppofition, that he trusted to its own weakness and malignity for the juftice due unto it. About this time, Mr. Addison'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 talents in poetry had hurt him; and to fuch a degree, that he had underhand encouraged Gildon to write a thing about Wycherley; in which he had fcurriloufly abufed Mr. Pope and his family; and for this fervice he had given Gildon ten guineas, after the pam phlet was printed. The very next day, Mr. Pope, in great heat, wrote Mr. Addison a Letter, wherein he told him, he was no ftranger to his behaviour; which, however, he fhould 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 disposition towards him, he had fent him the inclosed; which was the CHARACTER, firft publifhed feparately, and afterwards inferted in this place of the Epiít. to Dr. Arbuthnot. This plain dealing had no ill effect. Mr. Addifon treated Mr Pope with civility, and, as Mr. Pope believed, with juftice, from this time to his death; which happened about three years after. It appears, from a collection of Swift's Letters lately publifhed, that Mr. Addison, when party was at its height, used Swift much better than he had ufed Pope, on that account, though It is faid that "Addifon ufed Swift much better than he ufed Pope." Addifon's conduct to Swift was generous and noble They were of different parties: Addison was required to give up his acquaintance, but he conftantly refufed; he treated him with refpect and kindness, though, by fo doing, he difobliged Lord Sunderland. Damn with faint praise, affent with civil leer, 205 Like VARIATIONS. After Ver. 208. in the MS. Who, if two Wits on rival themes conteft, Approves of each, but likes the worst the best. Alluding to Mr. P.'s and Tickell's Tranflation of the firft Book of the Iliad. NOTES. though he had been more roughly treated by Swift than Pope's nature would fuffer him to treat any one. But the reafon is plain, Swift was Addison's rival only in politics: Pope was his rival in poetry; an oppofition lefs tolerable, as more perfonal. However Addifon's focial talents, in the entertainment and enjoyment of his intimate friends, charmed both Pope and Swift alike; as a quality far fuperior to any thing that was to be found in any WARBURTON. other man. VER. 193 But were there One whofe fires, &c.] The strokes in this Character are highly finished. Atterbury fo well understood the force of them, that in one of his letters to Mr. Pope he says, "Since you now know where your Strength 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. WARBURTON. He declared that he would not give up Swift, to be made chief governor of the kingdom; and indeed fo high was his character, that Swift himself fays of him: "Mr. Addison's election has paffed eafy and undifputed, and I believe, if he had a mind to be hofen King, he would hardly be refused." Why fhould he be jealous and fplenetic, only, when Pope was concerned? Like Cato, give his little Senate laws, While Wits and Templars ev'ry fentence raise, 210 NOTES. Who VER. 199. Bear, like the Turk,] This is from Bacon de Aug. Scient. lib. 3. p. 180. And the thought was also used by Ld. Orrery, and by Denham. WARTON. VER. 209. Like Cato, give] In the fecond volume of the Biographia Britannica is a vindication of Addison, by a writer who, to a confummate knowledge of the laws and history of his country, added a most exquisite taste in literature, I mean Sir William Blackftone; who thus concludes this vindication: "Nothing furely could juftify fo deep a refentment, unless the story be true of the commerce between Addison and Gildon; which will require to be very fully proved, before it can be believed of a gentleman who was fo amiable in his moral character, and who (in his own cafe) had two years before exprefsly disapproved of a perfonal abuse of Mr. Dennis. The person, indeed, from whom Mr. Pope feems to have received this anecdote, about the time of his writing the character, (viz. about July 1715,) was no other than the Earl of Warwick, fon in-law to Mr. Addison himself: and the fomething about Wycherley (in which the ftory supposes that Addison hired Gildon to abuse Pope and his family) is explained by a note on the Dunciad, to mean a pamphlet containing Mr. Wycherley's Life. Now it happens, that in July 1715, the Earl of Warwick (who died at the age of twenty-three, in Auguft 1721) was only a boy of seventeen, and not likely to be entrusted with fuch a fecret, by a statesman between forty and fifty, with whom it does not appear he was any way connected or acquainted; for Mr. Addison was not married to his mother, the Countess of Warwick, till the following year 1716: nor would Gildon have been employed in July 17 15 to write Mr. Wycherley's Life, who lived till the December following. As therefore fo many inconfiftencies are evident in the story itself, which never found its way into print till near fixty years after it is faid to have happened, it will be no breach of charity to fuppofe that the whole of it was founded D 4 |