A fool quite angry is quite innocent: 110 Alas! 'tis ten times worfe when they repent. One dedicates in high heroic profe, And ridicules beyond a hundred foes: One from all Grubstreet will my fame defend, And, more abufive, calls himself my friend. This prints my Letters, that expects a bribe, And others roar aloud, "Subfcribe, fubscribe.' There are, who to my perfon pay their court: I cough like Horace, and, tho' lean, am fhort; Ammon's great fon one fhoulder had too high, Such Ovid's nofe, and "Sir! you have an Eye."— 116 Go VER. 111. in the MS. VARIATIONS. For fong, for filence fome expect a bribe; VER. NOTES. 115. 7 here are, who to my perfon] What Addifon fays in jeft, and with his ufual humour, is true in fact: "I have obferved that a reader feldom perufes a book with pleasure till he knows whether the writer of it be a black or fair man, of a mild or choleric difpofition, married or a bachelor." What paffages in Horace are more agreeable than when he tells us he was fat and præcanum, folibus aptum," prone to anger, but foon apAnd again, how pleafing the detail he gives of his way fleck, peafed. ་་ of life, the deferiptions of his mule, his dinner, his fupper, his furniture, his amusements, his walks, his time of bathing and fleeping, from the 105th line to the end of the fixth fatire of the first And Boileau, in his tenth epiftle, has done the fame in book. giving many amufing particulars of his father, family, and for tunes. WARTON. Go on, obliging creatures, make me fee, Why did I write? what fin to me unknown 120 125 VARIATIONS. I left After VER. 124. in the MS. But, Friend, this shape, which You and Curl admire, And for my head, if you'll the truth excufe, * Curl fet up his head for a fign. His Father was crooked, His mother was much afflicted with head-achs. NOTES. VER. 118. "Sir! you have an Eye."] It is remarkable that, amongst the compliments on his infirmities and deformities, he mentions his eye, which was fine, sharp, and piercing. It was done to intimate, that flattery was as odious to him when there was fome ground for commendation, as when there was none. WARBURTON. VER. 127. As yet a child, c.] He ufed to fay, that he began to write verfcs further back than he could remember. When he was eight years old, Ogilby's Homer fell in his way, and delighted him extremely; it was followed by Sandys' Ovid; and the raptures these then gave him were fo ftrong, that he spoke of them with pleasure ever after. About ten, being at fchool at Hydepark-corner, where he was much neglected, and fuffered to go to the I left no calling for this idle trade, No duty broke, no father difobey'd. 130 The NOTES. the comedy with the greater boys, he turned the tranfactions of the Iliad into a play, made up of a number of fpeeches from Ogilby's tranflation, tacked together with verfes of his own. He had the addrefs to perfuade the upper boys to act it; he even prevailed on the Master's Gardener to reprefent Ajax, and contrived to have all the Actors dreffed after the pictures in his favourite Ogilby. At twelve he went with his father into the Forest: and then got first acquainted with the Writings of Waller, Spenfer, and Dryden; in the order I have named them. On the first sight of Dryden, he found he had what he wanted. His Poems were never out of his hands; they became his model; and from them alone he learnt the whole magic of his verfification. This year he began an epic poem; the fame which Bp. Atterbury, long afterwards, perfuaded him to burn. Befides this, he wrote, in thofe early days, a Comedy and Tragedy, the latter taken from a story in the legend of St. Genevieve. They both defervedly underwent the fame fate. As he began his Paftorals foon after, he used to fay pleasantly, that he had literally followed the example of Virgil, who tells us, Cum canerem reges et prælia, &c. WARBURTON. All the circumstances of our Author's early life, mentioned in were communicated by Mr. Spence to Dr. Warburton. The account of this matter, as it was delivered to me by Mr. Spence, was as follows: As they returned in the fame carriage together from Twickenham, foon after the death of our Author, and joined in lamenting his death and celebrating his praises, Dr. Warburton faid he intended to write his life; on which Mr. Spence, with his ufual modefty and condefcenfion, faid, that he alfo had the fame intentions; and had, from time to time, collected from Pope's own mouth, various particulars of his life, purfuits, and ftudies; but would readily give up to Dr. Warburton all his collections on this fubject, and accordingly communicated them to him immediately. this Note, WARTON. "Sponte fua carmen numeros veniebat ad aptos, Et quod conabar scribere, verfus erat." WARTON. The Mufe but ferv'd to eafe fome friend, not Wife, NOTES. 134 Well VER. 129. I left no calling] Pope was originally intended by his father, for a l'ortrait-painter. "This idle trade," as he calls it, was probably more lucrative, than any other purfuit he could have followed. VER. 130. no father difobey'd.] When Mr. Pope was yet a child, his father, though no Poet, would fet him to make English verfes. He was pretty difficult to pleafe, and would often fend the boy back to new-turn them. When they were to his mind, he took great pleafure in them, and would fay, Thefe are good rhymes. WARBURTON. VER. 131. not Wife,] These two words feem added merely for the verfe, and are what the French call a cheville. WARTON. VER. 135. But why then publish?] To the three first names that encouraged his earlieft writings, he has added other friends, whofe acquaintance with him did not commence till he was a Poet of established reputation. From the many commendations which Walsh, and Garth, and Granville bestowed on his Pastorals, it may fairly be concluded how much the public tafte has been improved, and wi h how many good compofitions our language has been enriched, fince that time. When Gray published his exquifite Ode on Eton College, his first publication, little notice was. taken of it but I fuppofe no critic can be found that will not place it far above Pope's Paftorals. On reading which Ode a certain perfon exclaimed, "Sweet Pard, who fhunn'ft the noise of Folly, Moft mufical, most melancholy! Thee oft the lonely woods among I woo to hear thy evening fong; And think thy thrilling ftrains have power To raife Mufæus from his bower; Or Well-natur'd Garth inflam'd with early praise, With open arms receiv'd one Poet more, 140 Happy NOTES. Or bid the tender Spenfer come From his lov'd haunt, fair Fancy's tomb." See particularly that fine stanza, "Thefe fhall the fury paffions tear, and alfo, The vultures of the mind;" "Yet ah! why fhould they know their fate?" WARTON. The perfon whom Dr. Warton means, was his brother, the ate Thomas Warton, whofe exquifite tafte is well-known. VER. 139. Talbot, &c.] All these were Patrons or Admirers of Mr. Dryden; though a fcandalous libel against him, entitled Dryden's Satire to his Mafe, has been printed in the name of the Lord Somers, of which he was wholly ignorant. Thefe are the persons to whose account the Author charges the publication of his first pieces: perfons with whom he was converfant (and he adds beloved) at 16 or 17 years of age; an early period for fuch acquaintance. The catalogue might be made illuftrious, had he not confined it to that time when he wit the Palorals and Windfor Forefl, on which he paffes a fort of Cenfure in the lines following: yet more "While pure Defcription held the place of Senfe," &c. POPE. Every word and epithet here used is exactly characteristical and peculiarly appropriated, with much art, to the t of each of the perfons here mentioned; the elegance of Lanf. and manner down, the open free benevolence and candour of Garth, the warmth of Congreve, the difficulty of pleafing Swift, the very gefture (as I am informed) that Atterbury ufed when he was pleased, and the animated air and fpirit of Bolingbroke. WARTON. |