Of WINDSOR FOREST, pofitive is the judgment of the affirmative Mr. JOHN DENNIS. "That it is a wretched rhapfody, impudently writ in emulation of the Cooper's Hill of Sir John Den"ham: the author of it is obfcure, is ambiguous, is af"fected, is temerarious, is barbarous." But the author of the Dispensary', Dr. GARTH, in the preface to his poem of Claremont, differs from this opinion: Those who have seen those two excellent "poems of Cooper's Hill, and Windfor Foreft, the one "written by Sir John Denhan, the other by Mr. Pope, will fhew a great deal of candor if they approve of "this." Of the Epiftle of ELors A, we are told by the obscure writer of a poem called Sawney, "That because Prior's "Henry and Emma charmed the finest tastes, our au"thor writ his Eloifa in oppofition to it; but forgot in nocence and virtue: if you take away her tender 66 thoughts, and her fierce defires, all the reft is of no "value." In which, methinks, his judgment resembleth that of a French taylor on a villa and gardens by the Thames "All this is very fine; but take away the "river, and it is good for nothing." : But very contrary hereunto was the opinion of Mr. PRIOR himself, faying in his Alma ". O Abelard! ill-fated youth, f Letter to B. B. at the end of the Remarks on Pope's Homer, 1717. t Printed 1728, p. 12. u Alma, Cant. 2. Dan Dan Pope, for thy misfortune griev'd, Its colours: gently has he laid The mantle o'er thy fad diftrefs, And Venus fhall the texture bless, &c. Come we now to his tranflation of the ILIAD, celebrated by numerous pens, yet fhall it fuffice to mention the indefatigable Sir RICHARD BLACKMORE, Kt. Who (though otherwife a fevere cenfurer of our author) yet ftileth this a "laudable tranflation ":" That ready writer Mr. OLD MIXON, in his forementioned Effay, frequently commends the fame. And the painful thus extols it, "The fpirit of Homer breathes all "through this tranflation.-I am in doubt, whether I "fhould moft admire the juftnefs of the original, or the "force and beauty of the language, or the founding va66 riety of the numbers: but when I find all these meet, "it puts me in mind of what the poet fays of one of his "heroes, That he alone raised and flung with ease a "weighty ftone, that two common men could not lift "from the ground; juft fo, one fingle perfon has per"formed in this tranflation, what I once defpaired to "have feen done by the force of several masterly hands.' Indeed the fame gentleman appears to have changed his fentiment in his Effay on the Art of finking in reputation, (printed in Mift's Journal, March 30, 1728.) where he fays thus: "In order to fink in reputation, let him "take it into his head to defcend into Homer (let the "world wonder, as it will, how the devil he got there) w In his Effays, vol. 1. printed for E. Curl. x Cenfor, vol. 2. p. 33. and "and pretend to do him into English, so his verfion de"note his neglect of the manner how." Strange variation! We are told in MIST'S JOURNAL, June 8. "That this tranflation of the Iliad was not in all respects "conformable to the fine tafte of his friend Mr. Addi"fon; infomuch that he employed a younger muse, in an "undertaking of this kind, which he supervised himself." Whether Mr. Addifon did find it, conformable to his taste, or not, beft appears from his own teftimony the year following its publication, in these words: Mr. ADDISON, FREEHOLDER, No. 40. "When I confider myself as a British freeholder, I "am in a particular manner pleased with the labours of "those who have improved our language with the tranflations of old Greek and Latin authors.We have already moft of their hiftorians in our own tongue, "and, what is more for the honour of our language, it has been taught to exprefs with elegance, the greatest "of their poets in each nation. The illiterate among our own countrymen may learn to judge from Dryden's Virgil of the moft perfect Epic performance. "And thofe parts of Homer which have been published already by Mr. Pope, give us reason to think that the "Iliad will appear in English with as little disadvan"tage to that immortal poem." As to the reft, there is a flight mistake, for this younger mufe was an elder: nor was the gentleman (who is a friend of our author) employed by Mr. Addison to translate it after him, fince he faith himself that he did it before". Contrariwife that Mr. Addifon engaged our author in this work appeareth by declaration thereof in the preface to the Iliad, printed fome time before his death, and by his own letters of October 26, and November 2, 1713, y Vid. pref. to Mr. Tickel's Tranflation of the First Book of the Iliad, 4to where where he declares it is his opinion, that no other perfon was equal to it. Next comes his Shakespeare on the stage: "Let him (quoth one, whom I take to be Mr. THEOBALD, Mift's Journal, June 8, 1728.) "publish fuch an author as he has leaft ftudied, and forget to discharge even the dull duty of an editor. In "this project let him lend the bookfeller his name (for << a competent fum of money) to promote the credit of "an exorbitant fubfcription." Gentle reader, be pleased to caft thine eye on the propofal below quoted, and on what follows (some months after the former affertion) in the fame Journalist of June 8, "The bookfeller proposed "the book by subscription, and raised fome thousands "of pounds for the fame: I believe the gentleman did "not share in the profits of this extravagant fubfcription." "After the Iliad, he undertook (faith MIST'S JOURNAL, June 8, 1728) "the fequel of that work, the Odyffey; and having "fecured the fuccefs by a numerous fubfcription, he "employed fome underlings to perform what, according "to his proposals, fhould come from his own hands.” To which heavy charge we can in truth oppofe nothing but the words of Mr. POPE'S PROPOSAL for the ODYSSEY. (Printed by J. Watts, Jan. 10, 1724.) "I take this occafion to declare that the fubfcription for "Shakespeare belongs wholly to Mr. Tonfon: and that "the benefit of this propofal is not folely for my.own use, "but for that of two of my friends, who have offifted me in "this work.” But these very gentlemen are extolled above our poet himself in another of Mift's Journals, March 30, 1728, faying, "That he would not advise "Mr. Pope to try the experiment again of getting a great "part of a book done by affiftants, left thofe extraneous "parts fhould unhappily afcend to the fublime, and re-. "tard the declenfion of the whole." Behold thefe underlings are become good writers! If any fay, that before the said proposals were printed, the fubfcription was begun without declaration of fuch affiftance; verily those who set it on foot, or (as their term is) fecured it, to wit, the right honourable the' Lord Viscount HARCOURT, were he living, would testify, and the right honourable the Lord BATHURST, now living, doth teftify, the fame is a falfhood. Sorry I am, that perfons profeffing to be learned, or of whatever rank of authors, fhould either falfely tax, or be falfely taxed. Yet let us, who are only reporters, be impartial in our citations, and proceed. MIST'S JOURNAL, June 8, 1728. "Mr. Addison raised this author from obfcurity, ob"tained him the acquaintance and friendship of the whole body of our nobility, and transferred his powerful in"terefts with thofe great men to this rifing bard, who fre"quently levied by that means unufual contributions on "the public." Which furely cannot be, if, as the author of The Dunciad diffected reporteth; Mr. Wycherley had before "introduced him into a familiar ac"quaintance with the greatest peers and brightest wits then "living." "No fooner (faith the fame Journalist) was his body "lifeless, but this author, reviving his resentment, li"belled the memory of his departed friend; and what 66 was ftill more heinous, made the scandal public.' Grievous the accufation! unknown the accufer! the perfon accused no witness in his own caufe; the person, in whose regard accused, dead! But if there be living any one nobleman whose friendfhip, yea, any one gentleman whofe fubfcription Mr. Addifon procured to our author; let him ftand forth, tha truth may appear! Amicus Plato, amicus Socrates, fed magis amica veritas. In verity, the whole ftory of the libel is a lye; witnefs those perfons |