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But Self-Defence, and Correction, and not Correction, was the Design of this Epiftle; fo I'll proceed to his fecond Obfervation, and fee how hard that will bear upon me.

Another of the Paffages which Mr. Pope is pleas'd to be merry with, is in a Speech of Violante's; Wax! render up thy Truft.

This, in his English, is open the Letter: And he facetioufly mingles it with fome pompous Inftances, moft, I fuppofe, of his own Framing; which in plain Terms fignify no inore than, See, who's there, Snuff the Candle; Uncork the Bottle; Chip the Bread; to fhew how ridiculous Actions of no Confequence are, when too much exalted in the Diction. This he brings under a Figure, which he calls the Buskin, or Stately. But we'll examine Circumftances fairly, and then we fhall fee which is moft ridiculous, the Phrafe, or our fagacious Cenfurer.

Violante is newly debauched by Henriquez, on his folemn Promise of marrying her: She thinks, he is returning to his Father's Court, as he told her, for a fhort Time; and expects no Letter from him. His Servant, who brings the Letter, contradicts his Mafter's going for Court; and tells her he's gone fome two Months Progrefs another Way, upon a Change of Purpose. She, who knew what Conceffions the had made to him, declares herfelf by Starts, under the greateft Agonies; and immediately, upon the Servant leaving her, expreffes an equal Impatience and Fear for the Contents of this unexpected Letter.

To Hearts like mine Sufpence is Mifery.
Wax! render up thy Tauft.Be the Contents
Profp'rous, or fatal, they are all my Due.

Now Mr. Pope fhews us his profound Judgment

in Dramatical Paffions, thinks a Lady in her Circumstances cannot, without Abfurdity, open a Le ter that comes to her on Surprize, with any more Preparation than the moft unconcern'd Perfon alive fhould a common Letter by the Penny-Poft. I'll beg Leave to put him in mind of two Paffages in ShakeSpear, in both which the Poet has, upon opening Letters, prefac'd the Action with the like Address to the Wax. The firft is in King Lear, where Edgar having, in Defence of his Father, kill'd Goneril's Steward, fearches his Pockets for Papers, and finding a Letter, breaks it open, with this Introduction.

Leave, gentle Wax; and Manners blame us not; To know out Enemies Minds, we rip their Hearts; Their Papers are more lawful,

The other is in Cymbeline. The Princefs Imogen, whose Husband is banifhed, has a Letter from him brought to her by her Servant Pifanio. The poor Lady, whofe Love makes her afraid that her absent Lord may either not be in Health, or difcontented at his Exile, prays, neither of these may be the Cafe, and breaks up the Letter with fomewhat more SoJemnity.

Good Wax, thy Leave. Bleft be you Bees, that make thefe Locks of Counfel! &c.

I am aware Mr. Pope may reply, his Cavil was not against the Action itself of addreffing to the Wax, but to the exalting that Action in the Terms. In this Point I may fairly fhelter myfelf under the Judgment of a Man, whofe Character in Poetry will vie with any Rival this Age fhall produce. Mr. DRYDEN, in his Effay on Dramatick Poefy, tells us, "That

when,

"when, from the most elevated Thoughts of Verfe, "we pass to thofe which are most mean, and which "are common with the loweft of Houfhold Con"verfation; yet ftill there is a Choice to be made "of the best Words, and the leaft Vulgar, (pro"vided they be apt) to exprefs fuch Thoughts. Our Language (fays he) is noble, full, and fignificant; " and I know not why he, who is Mafter of it, may not cloath ordinary Things in it, as decently as the Latin, if he ufe the fame Diligence in his "Choice of Words."

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I come now in the laft Quotation, which, in our Examiner's handling, falls under this Predicament, of being a Thought aftonishingly out of the Way of common Senfe.

Nought but himself can be his Parallel.

This he hints, may feem borrowed from the Thought of that Mafter of a Show in Smithfield, who writ in large Letters over the Picture of his Elephant, This is the greatest Elephant in the World except himself. I like the Pleasantry of the Gentleman's Banter, but have no great Doubt of getting clear from the Severity of it. The Lines in the Play stand thus;

Is there a Treachery like this in Baseness,
Recorded any where? It is the deepest:
None but itself can be its Parallel.

I am not a little furprized to find, that our Examiner at laft is dwindled into a Word-catcher. Literally fpeaking, indeed, I agree with Mr. Pope, that nothing can be the Parallel to itself; but allowing a little for the Liberty of Expreffion, does it not plainly imply, that it is a Treachery which stands fingle for the Nature of its Bafenefs, and has not its Paral

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belon Record; and that nothing but a Treachery equa to it in Baseness, can parallel it? If this were fuch Nonfenfe, as Mr. Pope would willingly have it, it would be a very bad Plea for me to alledge, as the Truth is, that the Line is in Shakespear's old Copy; for I might have fupprefs'd it. But, I hope, it is defenfible; at leaft, if Examples may keep it in Countenance. I remember a Piece of Nonfenfe juft of the fame Stamp, in the Amphytrio of Plautus: Sofia, having furvey'd Mercury from Top to Toe, finds him fuch an exact Refemblance of himself, in Dress, Shape, and Features, that he cries out,

Tam confimil' eft, atq; Ego.

That is, He is as like me, as I am to myself: For the Syntax must be help'd out thus: atq; Ego fum mihi. Now I humbly conceive, in Strictness of Expreffion, a Man can no more be like himself, than a Thing be its own Parallel. But to confine myself to Shakespear: I doubt not but I can produce fome fimiliar Paffages from him, which, literally examin'd, are ftark Nonsense; and yet, taken with a candid Latitude, have never appear'd ridiculous. Mr. Pope would fcarce allow one Man to fay to another, "Compare or weigh your Miftrefs with your Mi "ftrefs, and, I grant you, fhe's a very fair Wo"man: But compare her with fome other Women "that I could name, and the Cafe will be altered." Yet the very Subftance of this is faid by Shakespear in Romeo and Juliet; and Mr. Pope has not degraded it as any Abfurdity, or unworthy of the Author.

Pho! Pho! you faw her fair, none elfe being by;
Herfelf poiz'd with herself in either Eye :
But, &c.

Or what fhall we fay of the three following Quota

tions? And, I am fure I could match them with Threefcore of the fame Stamp.

Romeo and Juliet.

Oh! fo light a Foot

Will ne'er wear out the everlafting Flint.

Winter's Tale. For Cogitation

Refides not in the Man, that does not think.

Hamlet. Try what Repentance can, What can it not? Yet what can it, when one cannot repent?

Who does not fee at once, that the heaviest Foot that ever trod, could not wear out the everlasting Flint? Or, that he, that does not. think, has no Thought in him? Or, that Repentance can avail nothing, when a Man has no Repentance? Yet let thefe Paffages appear with the cafting Weight of Allowance, the Licentia fumptus pudenter, as Horace calls it; and their Abfurdity will not be fo extravagant, as when examined by the literal Touchstone. But it is high Time to conclude.

If Mr. Pope is angry with me for attempting to reftore Shakespear, I hope the Publick are not. Admit my Sheets have no other Merit, they will at least have this: They will awaken him to fome Degree of Accuracy in his next Addition of that Poet, which we are to have in a few Months: And then we fhall fee whether we owed the Errors of the former Edition to Indiligence, or his Inexperience in the Author. And as my Remarks upon the whole Works of Shakefpoar fhall closely attend upon the Publication of his Edition, I'll venture to promife without Arrogance, that I'll then give above five hundred more fair Emendations, that fhall escape him and all his Affiftants.

I am, Sir,

Your very humble Servant,

LEW. THEOBALD.

There

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