the delectation of Variety, but also arrive at a more certain judgment, by a grave and circumfpect comparifon of the Witnesses with each other, or of each with himself. Hence alfo thou wilt be enabled to draw reflections, not only of a critical, but a moral nature, by being let into many particulars of the Perfon as well as Genius, and of the Fortune as well as Merit, of our Author in which if I relate some things of little concern peradventure to thee, and fome of as little even to him; I entreat thee to confider how minutely all true critics and commentators are wont to infift upon fuch, and how material they seem to themselves, if to none other. Forgive me, gentle reader, if (following learned example) I ever and anon become tedious: allow me to take the fame pains to find whether my author were good or bad, well or ill natured, modeft or arrogant; as another, whether his author was fair or brown, fhort or tall, or whether he wore a coat or a caflock.

We proposed to begin with his Life, Parentage, and Education: But as to thefe, even his contemporaries do exceedingly differ. One faith a, he was educated at home; another b, that he was bred at St. Omer's, by Jefuits; a third, not at St. Omer's, but at Oxford ! a fourth, that he had no University education at all. Those who allow him to be bred at home, differ as much concerning his Tutor: One faith, he was kept

c Dun

a Giles Jacob's Lives of the Poets, vol. ii. in his Life. b Dennis's Reflections on the Effay on Crit. ciad diffected, p. 4• d Guardian, No 40. e Jacob's

Lives, &c. vol. i

by

by his father on purpose; a second f, that he was an itinerant priest; a third 8, that he was a parfon; one h calleth him a fecular clergyman of the Church of Rome; another i, a monk. As little do they agree about his Father, whom one k supposeth, like the Father of Hefiod, a tradesman or merchant; another, a husbandman; anotherm, a hatter, &c. Nor has an author been wanting to give our Poet fuch a father as Apuleius hath to Plato, Jamblichus to Pythagoras, and divers to Homer, namely a Demon: For thus Mr. Gildon":"Certain it is, that his original is not from "Adam, but the Devil; and that he wanteth nothing "but horns and tail to be the exact resemblance of his "infernal Father." Finding, therefore, fuch contrariety of opinions, and (whatever be ours of this fort of generation) not being fond to enter into controversy, we shall defer writing the Life of our Poet, till authors can determine among themselves what Parents or Education he had, or whether he had any Education or Parents at all.

f Dunciad diffected, p. 4. g Farmer P. and his fon, h Dunciad diffected. i Characters of the times, p. 45. k Female Dunciad, p. ult. 1 Dunciad diffected. " Roome, Paraphrafe on the ivth of Genefis, printed 1729. n Character of Mr. P. and his Writings, in a Letter to a Friend, printed for S. Popping, 1716, p. 10. Curll, in his Key to the Dunciad (firft edit. faid to be printed for A. Dodd) in the 10th page, declared Gildon to be the author of that libel; though in the subsequent editions of his Key he left out this affertion, and affirmed (in the Curliad. p. 4. and 8.) that it was written by Dennis only.

C 3

Proceed

Proceed we to what is more certain, his Works, though not lefs uncertain the judgments concerning them; beginning with his ESSAY on CRITICISM, of which hear firft the most ancient of Critics,

Mr. JOHN DENNIS.

"His precepts are falfe or trivial, or both; his thoughts are crude and abortive, his expreffions ab"furd, his numbers harsh and unmufical, his rhymes "trivial and common ;-inftead of majesty, we have "fomething that is very mean; inftead of gravity, "fomething that is very boyish; and inftead of per"fpicuity and lucid order, we have but too often ob"fcurity and confufion." And in another place: "What rare numbers are here! Would not one swear

that this youngfter had efpoused fome antiquated "Mufe, who had fued out a divorce from fome fuper"annuated finner, upon account of impotence, and "who, being poxed by the former fpoufe, has got the gout in her decrepid age, which makes her hobble fo "damnably "."

No lefs peremptory is the cenfure of our hypercritical Hiftorian

Mr. OLDMIXON.

"I dare not fay any thing of the Effay on Criticism "in verfe; but if any more curious reader has difco"vered in it fomething new which is not in Dryden's "prefaces, dedications, and his effay on dramatic

• Reflections critical and fatirical on a Rhapfody, called, An Effay on Criticism. Printed for Bernard Lintot, octavo.

"poetry,

" poetry, not to mention the French critics, I fhould "be very glad to have the benefit of the discovery P.” He is followed (as in fame, fo in judgment) by the modeft and simple-minded

Mr. LEONARD WELSTED.

Who, out of great respect to our poet, not naming him, doth yet glance at his Effay, together with the Duke of Buckingham's, and the Criticisms of Dryden, and of Horace, which he more openly taxeth 9: “As to "the numerous treatises, essays, arts, &c. both in "verse and profe, that have been written by the mo"derns on this ground-work, they do but hackney the "fame thoughts over again, making them ftill more "trite. Most of their pieces are nothing but a pert, "infipid heap of common-place. Horace has, even in "his Art of Poetry, thrown out feveral things which 66 plainly fhew, he thought an Art of Poetry was of "no ufe, even while he was writing one."

To all which great authorities, we can only oppose that of

Mr. ADDISON.

"The Art of Criticism (faith he) which was pub"lished fome months fince, is a mafter-piece in its "kind. The obfervations follow one another like "thofe in Horace's Art of Poetry, without that metho"dical regularity which would have been requifite in

P Effay on Criticifm in profe, octavo, 1728, by the author of the Critical Hiftory of England.

9 Preface to his Poems, p. 18, 53. Spectator, No 253.

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" a profe

"a profe writer. They are some of them uncommon, "but fuch as the reader muft affent to, when he fees

"them explained with that ease and perfpicuity in "which they are delivered. As for those which are "the most known and the most received, they are placed

in fo beautiful a light, and illustrated with fuch apt "allufions, that they have in them all the graces of "novelty; and make the reader, who was before ac"quainted with them, ftill more convinced of their "truth and folidity. And here give me leave to men"tion what Monfieur Boileau has fo well enlarged upon "in the preface to his works: That wit and fine wri"ting doth not confist so much in advancing things "that are new, as in giving things that are known an "agreeable turn. It is impoffible for us, who live in "the latter ages of the world, to make obfervations ❝ in criticism, morality, or any art or science, which "have not been touched upon by others; we have * little elfe left us, but to reprefent the common sense "of mankind in more strong, more beautiful, or more "uncommon lights. If a reader examines Horace's "Art of Poetry, he will find but few precepts in it "which he may not meet with in Aristotle, and which "were not commonly known by all the poets of the "Auguftan age. His way of expreffing, and applying << them, not his invention of them, is what we are "chiefly to admire.

2

"Longinus, in his Reflections, has given us the fame "kind of fublime, which he obferves in the several "paffages that occafioned them: I cannot but take

"notice