Kone want a place, for all their Centre found,
Hung to the Goddefs, and coher'd around,
Not clofer, orb in orb, conglob'd' are seen
The buzzing Bees about their dufky Queen.
The gath'ring number, as it moves along,
Involves a vaft involuntary throng,

Who gently drawn, and struggling less and less,
Koll in her vortex, and her power confefs.
Not thofe alone who paffive own her laws,
But who, weak rebels *, more advance her cause,
Whate'er of dunce in College or in Town
Sneers at another, in toupee or gown;
Whate'er of mungril no one class admits,
A wit with dunces, and a dunce with wits,

80

85

90

VER. 76 to 10r. It ought to be obferved that here are three claffes in this affembly. The first of men abfolutely and avowedly dull, who naturally adhere to the Goddess, and are imagined in the fimile of the Bees about their Queen. The fecond involuntarily drawn to her, though not caring to own her influence; from ver. 81 to 90. The third of fuch, as though not members of her state, yet advance her service by flattering Dulness, cultivating mistaken talents, patronizing vile fcriblers, difcouraging living merit, or fetting up for wits, and Men of taste in arts they understand not; from

ver. 91 to 101.

* Such as thofe, who affect to oppose her Government, by fetting up for patrons of Letters, without knowing how to judge of merit. The confequence of which is, that, as all true merit is modeft and referved; and the falfe, forward and prefuming; and the Judge cafily imposed upon; Fools get the rewards due to genius. For as the Poet faid of one of these Patrons, "Dryden alone, (what wonder?) came not nigh,

And thus, as he rightly obferves, thefe weak Rebels unwittingly advance the caufe of her they would be thought most to oppose.

For while no rewards are given for the Encouragement of Letters, Genius will fupport itself on the footing of that reputation, which men of wit will always win from the Dunces. But an undue diftribution of the rewards of Learning will entirely deprefs or difguft ll true genius; which now not only finds itself robbed of the honours it might claim from others, but defeated of that very reputation it would otherwife have won for itself. For, as the courfe of things is ordered, general reputation, when it comes into rivalship, is rather attendant on favour and high station, than on the fimple endowments of Wit and Learning. Hence we conclude that unless the Province of encouraging Letters be wifely and faith ul y adminiftred, it were better for them that there were no encouragement at all.

Nor

Nor abfent they, no members of her state,
Who pay her homage in her fons, the Great;
Who false to Phoebus *, bow the knee to Baal;
Or impious, preach his Word without a call,
Patrons, who fneak from living worth to dead,
With-hold the penfion, and fet up the head;
Or veft dull Flatt'ry in the facred Gown ;
Or give from fool to fool the Laurel crown.
And (laft and worse) with all the cant of wit,
Without the foul, the Mufes Hypocrit +.

There march'd the bard and blockhead fide by fide,
Who rhym'd for hire, and patroniz❜d for pride.
Narciffus, prais'd with all a Parson's pow'r,
Look'd a white lily funk beneath a show'r.
There mov'd Montalto with fuperior air;
His stretch'd out arm display'd a Volume fair;
Courtiers and Patriots in two ranks divide,
Thro' both he pafs'd, and bow'd from fide to fide ‡ :
But as in graceful act, with awful eye

Compos'd he stood, bold Benson || thrust him by :
On two unequal crutches propt he came,
Milton's on this, on that one Johnfton's name,
The decent Knight & retir'd with fober rage,
Withdrew his hand, and clos'd the pompous page.
VOL. II.

N n

95

100

105

But

Spoken of the antient and true Phœbus; not the French Phoebus, who hath no chofen Priests or Poets, but equally infpires any man that pleaseth to fing or preach.

SCRIBL.

In this divifion are reckoned up, 1. The Idolizers of Dulness in the Great,- -2. Ill Judges,-3. Il Writers, -4. Il Patrons. But the last and worft, as he justly calls him, is the Mufe's Hypocrite, who is, as it were, the Epitome of them all. He who thinks the only end of poetry is to amuse, and the only business of the poet to be witty; and confequently who cultivates only fuch trifling talents in himself, and encourages only fuch in others, As being of no one party.

This man endeavoured to raise himself to Fame by erecting monuments, ftriking coins, fetting up heads, and procuring tranflations, of Milton; and afterwards by as great a paffion for Arthur Johnston, a Scoth physician's Version of the Pfalms, of which he printed many fine Editions. See more of him, Book iii. ver, 325.

But (happy for him as the times went then *)
Appear'd Apollo's May'r and Aldermen,

115

On whom three hundred gold-capt youths await,
To lug the pond'rous volume off in state.

When Dulnefs fimiling,-" Thus revive the Wits +! But murder firft, and mince them all to bits;

120

Let ftandard-Authors, thus, like trophies born,
Appear more glorious as more hack'd and torn.
And you, my Critics! in the chequer'd fhade,
Admire new light thro' holes yourselves have made.
Leave not a foot of verfe, a foot of ftone,
A Page ||, a Grave, that they can call their own;
But fpread, my fons, your glory thin or thick,
On paffive paper, or on folid brick,

125

130

So by each Bard § an Alderman shall fit **,
A heavy Lord fhall hang at every Wittt,

And

$ An eminent perfon who was about to publish a very pompous Edition of a great Author at his own expence.

* VER. 115, etc.] These four lines were printed in a separate leaf by Mr. Pope in the last Edit on, which he himself gave, of the Dunciad, with di rections to the printer, to put this leaf into its place as soon as Sir T. H.'ş Shakespear fhould be published.

+ The Goddess applauds the pra&ice of tacking the obscure names of Perfons not eminent in any branch of Learning, to those of the most distinguished Writers; either by printing Editions of their works with impertinent alterations of their Text, as in the former inftances; or by fetting up Monuments difgraced with their own vile names and inscriptions, as in the latter. Of whom Ovid (very applicable to these restored Authors)

"Afon miratur,

Diffimilemque animum fubiit”

For what less than a Grave can be granted to a dead author? or what lefs than a Page can be allowed a living one?

Ibid. Pagena, not Pediffequas. A Page of a Book, not a Servant, Follower, or Attendant: no Poet having had a Page fince the death of Mr. Thomas Durfey.

§ Vide the Tombs of the Poets, Editio Weftmonafterienfis.

SCRIEL

** Alluding to the Monument erected for Butler by Alderman Barber. tt How unnatural an image! and how ill fupported, faith Aristarchus Had it been,

A heavy Wit shall hang at ev'ry Lord,

fomething

And while on Fame's triumphal Car they ride,
Some flave of mine be pinion'd to their fide.

Now crowds on crowds around the Goddess prefs,
Each eager to present the first Address.

Dunce fcorning Dunce beholds the next advance,
But Fop fhews Fop fuperior complaisance *.
When lo! a spectre rofe, whofe index-hand
Held forth the Virtue of the dreadful wand +;
His beaver'd brow a birchen garland wears,
Dropping with Infant's blood, and Mother's tears.
O'er ev'ry vein a fhudd'ring horror runs :
Eton and Winton fhake thro' all their Sons.
All Flesh is humbled, Westminster's bold race
Shrink, and confefs the Genius of the place :

136

140

145

fomething might have been said, in an Age so distinguished for well judging Patrons. For LORD, then, read LOAD; that is, of Debts here, and of Commentaries hereafter. To this purpose, confpicuous is the cafe of the poor Author of Hudibras, whose body, long fince weighed down to the Grave by a load of debts, has lately had a more unmerciful load of Commentaries laid upon his Spirit; wherein the Editor has atchieved more than Virgil himfelf, when he turned Critic, could boast of, which was only, that be bad pick'd gold out of another man's dung; whereas the Editor has pick'd it out of his own.

SCRIBL.

Ariftarchus thinks the common reading right: and that the author himself had been struggling: and but just shaken off his Load when he wrote the following Epigram.

"My Lord complains, that Pope, stark mad with gardens,

"Has lopt three trees the value of three farthings:

But he's my neighbour, cries the peer polite,
"And if he'll visit me, I'll wave my right.
"What? on Compulfion? and against my Will,
"A Lord's acquaintance? Let him file his Bill.

*This is not to be afcribed fo much to the different manners of a Court and College, as to the different effects which a pretence to Learning, and a pretence to Wit have on Blockheads. For as Judgment confifts in finding out the differences in things, and Wit in finding out their likeneffes, to the Dunce is all difcord and diffenfion, and conftantly bufied in reproving, examining, confuting, etc. while the Fop flourishes in peace, with Songs and Hymns of praife, Addresses, Characters, Epithalamiums, etc.

A cane ufually borne by Schoolmasters, which drives the poor Souls about like the wand of Mercury. SCRIBL.

The pale Boy-Senator yet tingling ftands,

*

And holds his breeches clofe with both his hands.

155

Then thus. Since Man from beaft by Words is known, Words are Man's province, Words we teach alone. 150 When Reafon doubtful, like the Samian letter +, Points him two ways, the narrower is the better. Plac'd at the door of Learning ‡, youth to guide, We never fuffer it to ftand too wide |. To afk, to guefs, to know, as they commence, As Fancy opens the quick springs of Senfe, We ply the Memory, we load the brain, Bind rebel Wit, and double chain on chain, Confine the thought, to exercise the breath §; And keep them in the pale of Words till death. Whate'er the talents, or howe'er defign'd, We hang one jingling padlock on the mind ** A Poet the first day, he dips his quill; And what the laft? a very Poet still.

Pity; the charm works only in our wall,

:

Loft, loft too foon in yonder Houfe or Hall ++.

160

165

• An effect of Fear somewhat like this, is described in the viith Æneid, "Contremuit nemus

"Et trepidæ matres preffere ad pectora nates,"

nothing being fo natural in any apprehension, as to lay close hold on whatever is fuppofed to be most in danger. But let it not be imagined the author would infinuate these youthful fenators (tho' so lately come from school) to be under the undue influence of any Master.

SCRIBL

The letter Y used by Pythagoras as an emblem of the different roads of Virtue and Vice.

"Et tibi quæ Samios diduxit litera ramos.

Perf.

This circumstance of the Genius Loci (with that of the Index hand before) feems to be an allufion to the Table of Cebes, where the Genius of human nature points out the road to be pursued by thofe entering into life.

A pleasant allufion to the defcription of the door of Wisdom in the Table of Cebes.

S By obliging them to get the claffic poets by heart, which furnishes them with endless matter for Converfation, and Verbal amufement for their whole lives.

** For youth being used like Pack-horses and beaten under a heavy load of Words, left they should tire, their inftructors contrive to make the Words jingle in rhyme or metre.

++ Westminster-hall and the House of Commons,

There