Till Thames fee Eaton's fons for ever play,
Till Westminster's whole year be holiday,
Till Ifis' Elders reel, their pupils fport,

And Alma mater lie diffolv'd in Port?

335

VARIATIONS.

Enough!

After ver. 338. in a former Edit. were the following

lines:

Signs following figns lead on the mighty year;
See! the dull itars roll round and re-appear.
She comes! the Cloud-compelling power, behold!
With Night primæval, and with Chaos old.
Lo! the great Anarch's ancient reign restor'd,
Light dies before her uncreating word.
As one by one, at dread Medea's ftrain,
The fickening stars fade off th' æthereal plain :
As Argus' eyes, by Hermes' wand oppreft,
Clos'd one by one to everlasting reft;
Thus at her felt approach, and fecret might,
Art after Art goes out, and all is Night.
See fculking Truth in her old cavern lie,
Secur'd by mountains of heap'd cafuiftry :
Philofophy, that touch'd the heavens before,
Shrinks to her hidden caufe, and is no more :
See Phyfic beg the Stagyrite's defence!
See Metaphyfic call for aid on Senfe!
See Mystery to Mathematics fly!

In vain! they gaze, turn giddy, rave, and die.
Thy hand, great Dulnefs! lets the curtain fall,
And univerfal Darknefs buries all.

REMARKS.

Learning as is here prophefied, fhould be brought about by fuch weak inftruments as have been [hitherto] defcribed in our poem: But do not thou, gentle reader, reft too fecure in thy contempt of thefe inftruments. Remember what the Dutch ftories fomewhere relate,

that

Enough! enough! the raptur'd Monarch cries; And thro' the Ivory Gate the Vision flies.

REMARKS.

340

that a great Part of their Provinces was once overflowed, by a small opening made in one of their dykes by a fingle Water-Rat.

However, that fuch is not seriously the judgment of our Poet, but that he conceiveth better hopes from the Diligence of our Schools, from the Regularity of our Univerfities, the Difcernment of our Great men, the Accomplishments of our Nobility, the Encouragement of our Patrons, and the Genius of our Writers of all kinds (notwithstanding fome few exceptions in each) may plainly be feen from his conclufion; where caufing all this vifion to pafs through the Ivory gate, he exprefsly, in the language of Poefy, declares all fuch imaginations to be wild, ungrounded, and fictitious.

SCRIBL.

THE END OF THE THIRD BOOK.

VOL. III.

P

THE

DUNCIA D.

BOOK THE FOURTH.

ARGUMENT.

THE Poet being, in this Book, to declare the Completion of the Prophecies mentioned at the end of the former, makes a new Invocation; as the greater Poets are wont, when fome high and worthy matter is to be fung. He fhews the Goddefs coming in her Majefty, to deftroy Order and Science, and to fubftitute the Kingdom of the Dull upon earth. How the leads captive the Sciences, and filences the Muses; and what they be who fucceed in their ftead. All her Children, by a wonderful attraction, are drawn about her; and bear along with them divers others, who promote her Empire by connivance, weak refiftance, or difcouragement of Arts; fuch as Half wits, taftelefs Admirers, vain Pretenders, the Flatterers of Dunces, or the Patrons of them. All thefe crowd round her; one of them, offering to approach her, is driven back by a Rival, but the commends and encourages both. The firft who fpeak in form are the Geniuses

P 2

Geniuses of the Schools, who affure her of their care to advance her Caufe by confining Youth to Words, and keeping them out of the way of real Knowledge. Their Address, and her gracious Answer; with her Charge to them and the Univerfities. The Univerfities appear by their proper Deputies, and affure her that the fame method is observed in the progress of Education. The fpeech of Ariftarchus on this fubject. They are driven off by a band of young gentlemen returned from Travel with their Tutors; one of whom delivers to the Goddefs, in a polite oration, an account of the whole Conduct and Fruits of their Travels: presenting to her at the fame time a young Nobleman perfectly accomplished. She receives him graciously, and endues him with the happy quality of Want of Shame. She fees loitering about her a number of Indolent Persons abandoning all business and duty, and dying with laziness: To these approaches the Antiquary Annius, entreating her to make them Virtuofos, and affign them over to him: But Mummius, another Antiquary, complaining of his fraudulent proceeding, fhe finds a method to reconcile their difference. Then enter a Troop of people fantastically adorned, offering her ftrange and exotic prefents: Amongst them, one stands forth and demands justice on another, who had deprived him of one of the greatest Curiosities in nature: but he justifies himself so well, that the Goddess gives them both her approbation. She recommends to them to find proper employment for the Indolents before mention

ed,