dragon. Though my own aldermen conferr'd the bays, 280 285 290 295 300 305 310 VARIATIONS. After ver. 284. In the former edit. followed, Diff'rent our parties, but with equal grace v. 295. Safe in its heaviness, &c.] In the former edit. Thy dragons magistrates and peers shall tafte, Grub 315 Grub-ftreet! thy fall should men and gods conspire, REMARKS. 320 325 See v. 325. On poets' tombs see Benson's titles writ!] W--m Benfon (Surveyor of the buildings to his Majesty King George 1.) gave in a report to the Lords, that their house, and the Painted-Chamber adjoining, were in immediate danger of falling; whereupon the Lords met in a committee to appoint fome other place to fit in while the house should be taken down. But it being proposed to caufe fome other builders first to infpect it, they found it in very good condition. The Lords, upon this, were going upon an address to the King against Benfon for fuch mifrepresentation; but the Earl of Sunderland, then Secretary, gave them an affurance that his Majesty would remove him, which was done accordingly. In favour of this man, the famous Sir Christopher Wren, who had been architect to the Crown for above fifty years, who built most of the churches in London, laid the first stone of St. Paul's, and lived to finith it, had been displaced from his employment at the age of near ninety years. v. 326.--Ambrose Philips.] "He was (faith Mr. Jacob) one of the wits "at Button's, and a justice of the Peace." But he hath fince met with higher VARIATIONS. v. 32 3. See, See, our own, &c.] In the former edit. Beneath his reign shall Eusden wear the bays, IMITATIONS. v. 319, 320. This, this is he foretold by ancient rhymes, The Augustus, &c.] "Hic vir, hic est! tibi quem promitti sæpius audis, "Secula qui rurfus Latio, regnata per arva "Saturnio quondam."- Virg. Æn. VI. Saturnian here relates to the age of Lead, mentioned, B. I. ver. 26. See under Ripley rife a new Whitehall, And Pope's, ten years to comment and translate. REMARKS. 330 higher preferment in Ireland: and a much greater character we have of him in Mr. Gildon's Complete Art of Poetry, vol. I. p. 157. "Indeed, "he confeffes, he dares not fet him quite on the fame foot with Virgil, "left it should feem flattery, but he is much mistaken if posterity does "not afford him a greater esteem than he at present enjoys." He endeavoured to create fome mifunderstanding between our Author and Mr. Addison, whom alfo foon after he abused as much. His conftant cry was, that Mr. P. was an enemy to the government; and in particular he was the avowed author of a report very industrioufly fpread, that he had a hand in a party-paper called The Examiner: a faliehood well known to thofe, yet living, who had the direction and publication of it. v. 330. Gay dies unpenfion'd, &c.] See Mr. Gay's fable of the Hare and many Friends. This gentleman was early in the friendship of our Author, which continued to his death. He wrote feveral works of humour with great fuccefs; The Shepherd's. Week, Trivia, The What-dye-call it, Fables; and, lastly, the celebrated Beggar's Opera; a piece of fatire which hit all tates and degrees of men, from those of the highest quality to the very rabble. That verse of Horace, Primores populi arripuit, populumque tributim, could never be so juftly applied as to this. The vast fuccefs of it was unprecedented, and almost incredible: what is related of the wonderful effects of the ancient music of tragedy hardly came up to it: Sophocles and Euripides were lefs followed and famous. It was acted in London fixty-three days uninterrupted; and renewed the next feafon with equal applause. It spread into all the great towns of England, was played in many places to the thirtieth and fortieth time, and at Bath and Bristol, fifty, &c. It made its progress into Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, where it was performed twenty-four days together: it was lan acted in Minorca. The fame of it was not confined to the author only; the ladies carried about with them the favourite fongs of it in fans; and houses were furnished with it in fcreens. The perfon who acted Polly, till then obfcure, became all at once the favourite of the Town; her pictures were engraved, and fold in great numbers; her life written, books of letters and verses to her published, and pamphlets made even of her fayings and jeîts. Furthermore, it drove out of England, for that season, the Italian opera, which had carried all before it for ten years. That idol of the nobility and people, which the great critic Mr. Dennis, by the labours and outcries of a whole life, could no overthrow, was demolished by a fingle stroke of this gentleman's pen. This happened in the year 1728. Yet fo great was his Modesty, that he constantly prefixed to all the editions of it this motto, Nos hæc novimus effe nihil. VARIATIONS. v. 331. In the former edit, thus: O Swift! thy doom, And Pope's tranflating ten whole years with Broome. On which was the following note: "He concludes his irony with a "ftroke upon himself: for whoever imagines this a farcafm on the other " ingenious perfon is furely mistaken. The opinion our Author had of "him was fufficient y fhewn by his joining him in the undertaking of the "Odyffey; in which Mr. Broome having engaged without any previous "agreement Proceed, great days I till Learning fly the shore, And thro' th' iv'ry gate the vision flies. REMARKS. 335 340 v. 333. Proceed, great days! &c.---Till Birch shall blush, &c.] Another great prophet of Dulness, on this fide Styx, promifeth those days to be near at hand. "The devil (faith he) licensed bishops to license matters " of schools to inftruct youth in the knowledge of the Heathen Gods, "their religion, &c. The schools and univerfities will foon be tired and "afhamed of classics, and fuch trumpery." Hutchinson's Ufe of Reason recovered. Scribl. VARIATIONS. "agreement, discharged his part so much to Mr. Pope's fatisfaction, that he gratified him with the full fum of five hundred pounds, and a " present of all those books for which his own interest could procure him "fubfcribers, to the value of one hundred more. The Author only "feems to lament that he was employed in tranflation at all." After ver. 338, in the first edit. were the following lines: Then when these signs declare the mighty year, When the dull stars roll round and re-appear, Let there be darkness! (the dread Pow'r thall fay;) All shall be darkness, as it ne'er were day; To their first chaos Wit's vain works shall fall, And univerfal darkness cover all. IMITATIONS. v. 340. And through the iv'ry gate, &c.] "Sunt geminæ fomni portæ; quarum altera fertur Virg. Æn. VI. TO DR. JONATHAN SWIFT. The Argument. THE Poet being in this Book to declare the completion of the Prophefies mentioned at the end of the former, makes a new Invocation; as the greater poets are went, when fome high and worthy matter is to be fung. He shews the Goddess coming in her Majesty to destroy Order and Science, and to fubftitute the kingdom of the Dull upon earth. How the leads captive the sciences, and filences the Mufes; and what they be who fucceed in their stead. 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, tasteless adm.rers, vain pretenders, the flatterers of dunces, or the patrons of them. All thefe crowd around her; one of them offering to approach her, is driven back by a rival, but the commends and encourages both. The first who speak in form are the Genuifes 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 addreis, and her gracious anfwer; with her charge to them and the Universities. The Universities appear by their propor deputies, and affure her, that the fame method is obferved in the progrefs of education The fpeech of Aristarchus 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 Godaefs, in a polite oration, an account of the whole conduct and fruits of their Traveis; presenting to her at the fame time a young nobleman perfectly accomplished. She receives him gracioufly, and indues him with the happy quality of want of thame. She fees loitering about her a number of indolent Perfons abandoning all bufinefs and duty, and dying with laziness; to these approaches the antiquary Annius, intreating her to make them Virtuofos, and affign them over to bim; but Mummius, another antiquary, complaining of his fraudulent proceeding, the finds a method to reconcile their difference. Then enter a troop of people fantastically adorned, offering her strange and exotic prefents: amongst them, one hands forth and demands justice on another, who had deprived him of of one of the greatest curiofities in Nature; but he juftifies himself so well, that the Goddess gives them both her approbation. She recommends to them to find proper employment for the Indolents before mentioned, in the study of Butterflies, Shells, Birds-nests, Mofs, &c. but with particular caution not to proceed beyond Trifles, to any useful or extenfive views of Nature, or of the Author of Nature. Against the laft of these apprehenfions the is fecured by a hearty address from the Minute Philofophers and Free-thinkers, one of whom speaks in the name of the reft. The youth, thus instructed and principled, are delivered to her in a body, by the hands of Silenus; and then admitted to taste the cup of the Magus, her high priest, which caufes a total oblivion of all obligations, divine, civil, moral, or rational. To thefe her adepts she sends Priests, Attendants and Comforters, of various kinds; confers on them Orders and Degrees; and then difmiffing them with a speech, confirming to each his Privileges, and telling what the expects from each, concludes with a Yawn of extraordinary virtue; the progrefs and effect whereof on all orders of men, and the confummation of all, in the restoration of Night and Chaos, conclude the Poem. VET, yet a moment, one dim ray of light Of darknefs visible so much be lent, As half to shew, half veil, the deep intent. Ye Pow'rs! whose mysteries restor'd I fing, 5 REMARKS. v. 2.---dread Chaos and eternal Night!] Invoked, as the restoration of their empire is the action of the Poem. VOL. II. Dd Suspend |