vert, yet he had too clear and folid an underflanding, not to difcern the grofs abfurdities, and glaring impieties of Popish fuperftition; and once owned to Dr. Warburton, that he was convinced the Church of Rome had all the marks and signs of that Antichriftian Power and Apoftacy, fo ftrongly painted and predicted in the New Testament. Which opinion Dr. Warburton himself was fo zealous in establishing, that he founded a Lecture for Sermons to be annually preached at Lincoln's Inn Chapel, on this very fubject; perfuaded, like his excellent friend Dr. Balguy, that Popery is indeed nothing better than a refined fpecies of Paganism; and ❝that, so far as this extends, the Gospel has failed ❝of its genuine effect, and left men as it found them, Polytheifts and Idolaters." The approaching deftruction of the Church of Rome, especially in a neighbouring kingdom, was thus remarkably foretold by the King of Pruffia, 1777: Le Pape & les moines finiront fans doute; leur chute ne fera pas l'ouvrage de la raifon; mais ils périront à mefure que les Finances des grands "potentats se dérangeront. En France, quand on aura épuifé tous les expédiens pour avoir des espèces, on fera forcé de fécularifer des Abbayes & des Couvens. Cet exemple fera imité, & le nombre des Cuculati réduit à peu de chofe." Through the whole courfe of his life, Pope was firmly and unvariably convinced of the Being of a God, a Providence, and the Immortality of the Soul. Though perhaps, when he was writing under the guidance of Bolingbroke, he entertained fome unhappy and ill-founded doubts concerning the truth of the Chriftian Difpenfation. THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE*. I AM inclined to think that both the writers of books, and the readers of them, are generally not a little unreasonable in their expectations. The first feem to fancy the world muft approve whatever they produce, and the latter to imagine that authors are obliged to please them at any rate. Methinks, as on the one hand, no fingle man is born with a right of controuling the opinions of all the reft; so on the other, the world has no title to demand, that the whole care and time of any particular perfon fhould be facrificed to its entertainment. Therefore I cannot but believe that writers and readers are under equal obligations, for as much fame, or pleasure, as each affords the other. Every one acknowledges, it would be a wild notion to expect perfection in any work of man: *The clearness, the clofenefs, and the elegance of ftyle with which this preface is written, render it one of the beft pieces of profe in our language. It abounds in Atrong good fenfe, and profound knowledge of life. It is written with fuch fimplicity that fcarcely a fingle metaphor is to be found in it. Atterbury was fo delighted with it, that he tells our Author he had read it over twice with pleasure, and defired him not to balance a moment about printing it; "always provided there is nothing faid there that you may have occafion to unfay hereafter." These words are remarkable. This preface far excels thofe of Peliffon, Vaugelas, and D'Ablancourt, of which the French boaft fo highly. May I be allowed juft to add, that the fineft prefaces ever written, were, perhaps, that of Thuanus to his Hiftory, of Calvin_to his Inftitutes, and of Caufabon to his Polybius. and yet one would think the contrary was taken for granted, by the judgment commonly paft upon Poems. A Critic fuppofes he has done his part, if he proves a writer to have failed in an expreffion, or erred in any particular point: and can it then be wondered at, if the Poets in general feem refolved not to own themselves in any error? For as long as one fide will make no allowances, the other will be brought to no acknowledgments*. I am afraid this extreme zeal on both fides is ill-placed; Poetry and Criticifm being by no means the univerfal concern of the world, but only the affair of idle men who write in their clofets, and of idle men who read there. Yet fure, upon the whole, a bad Author deserves better ufage than a bad Critic: for a Writer's endeavour, for the most part, is to pleafe his Readers, and he fails merely through the misfortune of an ill judgment; but fuch a Critic's is to put them out of humour; a defign he could never go upon without both that and an ill temper. I think a good deal may be faid to extenuate the fault of bad Poets. What we call a Genius, is hard to be diftinguished by a man himself, from a ftrong inclination: and if his genius be ever fo great, he cannot at first discover it any other way, than by giving way to that prevalent propenfity which renders him the more liable to be miftaken. The only method he has is to make the experiment by In the former editions it was thus-For as long as one fide defpifes a well-meant endeavour, the other will not be fatisfied with a moderate approbation. But the Author altered it, as these words were rather a confequence from the conclufion be would draw, than the conclufion itself, which he has now inferted. W. writing, and appealing to the judgment of others: now if he happens to write ill, (which is certainly no fin in itself), he is immediately made an object of ridicule. I wish we had the humanity to reflect that even the worst authors might, in their endeavour to please us, deferve fomething at our hands. We have no cause to quarrel with them but for their obstinacy in persisting to write; and this too may admit of alleviating circumftances. Their particular friends may be either ignorant, or infincere; and the rest of the world in general is too well-bred to fhock them with a truth, which generally their Bookfellers are the firft that inform them of. This happens not till they have spent too much of their time to apply to any profeffion which might better fit their talents; and till fuch talents as they have are fo far difcredited as to be but of fmall fervice to them. For (what is the hardeft cafe imaginable) the reputation of a man generally depends upon the firft fteps he makes in the world; and people will establish their opinion of us, from what we do at that season when we have leaft judgment to direct us. On the other hand, a good Poet no fooner communicates his works with the fame defire of information, but it is imagined he is a vain young creature given up to the ambition of fame; when perhaps the poor man is all the while trembling with the fear of being ridiculous. If he is made to hope he may please the world, he falls under very unlucky circumftances: for, from the moment he prints, he muft expect to hear no more truth, than if he were a Prince, or a Beauty. If he has not very good fenfe (and indeed there are twenty men of wit for one man of fenfe) his living thus in a course of |