which have not always fufficient confonance, and from the admiffion of broken lines into his "Solomon;" but perhaps he thought like Cowley, that hemisticks ought to be admitted into heroick poetry." It "Prior is never low, nor very often fublime. is faid by Longinus of Euripides, that he forces himself fometimes into grandeur by violence of effort, as the lion kindles his fury by the lafhes of his own tail. Whatever Prior obtains above mediocrity feems the effort of struggle and of pain. He has many vigorous, but few happy lines; he has every thing by purchafe, and nothing by gift; he had no nightly vifitations of the muse, no infufions of fentiment or felicities of fancy." "Some of his poems are written without regularity of measures; for, when he commenced poet, we had not recovered from our Pindarick infatuation; but he probably lived to be convinced that the effence of verse is order and confonance. "His numbers are fuch as mere diligence may attain; they feldom offend the ear, and feldom footh it; they commonly want airinefs, lightness, and facility; what is fmooth is not foft. His verfes always roll, but they feldom flow." POPE. * The late excellent Duchefs of Portland had five Dialogues of the Dead in MS. written by this celebrated Poet +. + Prior's Dialogues in the Duchefs of Portland's poffeffion are thus defcribed in the Preface to Nichols's "Collection of Poems :" "The late Recorder of Cambridge [Pont] had seen some MS. Dialogues of the Dead of Prior's; they were profe, but had verfe intermixed freely; and the fpecimen, I heard, proved it. The Dialogue was between Sir Thomas More and the Vicar of Bray. You must allow that the characters are well chofen; and the fpeakers maintain their respective opinions fmartly; at last the Knight seems to come over to his adverfary, at least fo far as to allow that the doctrine was convenient, if not honourable; but that he did not fee how any man conld allow himself to act thus: when the Vicar concludes; Nothing easier, with proper management; &c. You must go the right way to work For POPE. Α' » LEXANDER POPE was born in London, May 22, 1688, of parents whofe rank or station was never afcertained; we are informed, that his father was of a family of which the Earl of Downe was the head, and that his mother was the daughter of William Turner, Efq. of York. This is told by Pope. It is allowed that his father grew rich by trade, but whether in a fhop or on the exchange has never been difcovered. Both parents were Papifts. Pope was from his birth of a conftitution tender and delicate; his voice, when he was young, was fo pleafing that he was called in fondness the Little Nightingale. Not being fent early to school he was taught to read by an aunt; and when he was feven or eight years old became a lover of books. When he was about eight, he was placed in Hampshire under a Romish prieft, who taught him the Greek and Latin. He was firft regularly initiated in poetry by the perufal of Ogilby's "Homer" and Sandys's "Ovid." He was now removed to a school at Twyford near Winchefter, and again to another school For Confcience, like a fiery horfe, Will ftumble, if you check his course; This certainly is Rerling fenfe about about Hyde Park Corner; from which he used fometimes to ftroll to the play-houfe, and was fo delighted with theatrical exhibitions, that he formed a kind of play from Ogilby's "Iliad," which he perfuaded his fchool-fellows to act, with the addition of his master's gardener, who perfonated Ajax. It was under the two laft mafters he tranflated more than a fourth part of the "Metamorphofes." He used to fay, that he could not remember the time when he began to make verses. About the period of the Revolution his father quitted his trade, whatever it was, and retired to Binfield in Windfor foreft, with about twenty thoufand pounds, which he locked up in a chest, and took from it what his expences required. To this place Pope was called by his father when he was about twelve years old, and then had for a few months the affiftance of another prieft. Pope, finding little advantage from external help, refolved thenceforward to direct himfelf, and at twelve formed a plan of ftudy which he completed with little other incitement than the defire of excellence, and his primary and principal purpose was to be a poet. In his perufal of the English poets he foon diftin. guifhed the verfification of Dryden, and was impreffed with fuch veneration for his character, that he perfuaded fome friend to take him to the Coffee Houfe which Dryden frequented, and pleafed himself with having feen him. Dryden died May 1, 1701, fome days before Pope was twelve. The earliest of Pope's productions is his "Ode on Solitude," written about the above age; and as he read the Clafficks he amused himself with tranflating them. At fourteen he made a verfion of the first book of the "Thebais." He gave "Chaucer" a more fashionable appearance, and put "January and May," and the Prologue of the Wife of Bath" into modern English. He tranflated likewife the Epiftle of "Sappho to 66 Phaon" Phaon" from Ovid, to complete the verfion which was before imperfect; and wrote fome other small pieces, which he afterwards printed. At fourteen he wrote his poem of "Silence" after the manner of Rochefter's" Nothing," and alfo his "Windfor Foreft." Next year he removed for a time to London, that he might study French and Italian. He then returned to Binfield, and delighted himself with his own poetry. He wrote a Comedy, a Tragedy, an Epick poem, with panegyricks on all the Princes of Europe. Moft of his puerile productions were, by his maturer judgment, afterwards deftroyed. Alcander," the Epick Poem, was burnt by the perfuafion of Atterbury. The Tragedy was founded on the legend of "St. Genevieve." Of the Comedy there is no account. He next tranflated Tully "on Old Age," Sir Wm. Trumbul, who had been Secretary of State, when he retired from bufinefs, fixed his refidence in the neighbourhood of Binfield. Pope, not yet fixteen, was introduced to the Statefman of fixty, and fo diftinguished himself that their interviews ended in friendship and correfpondence. He now wrote his "Paftorals," although they were not published till five years afterwards. At this time began his acquaintance with Wicherley and Mr. Cromwel.. Walsh the Critic was one of his firft encouragers. His regard was gained by the " Paftorals." Walsh advised him to correctnefs, and, being delighted with rural poems, recommended to him to write a paftoral Comedy, a defign which Pope did not follow. He began at feventeen to frequent Wills's, a Coffee House on the North fide of Ruffel Street in Covent Garden, where the Wits at that time used to affemble. During this part of his life he was indefatigably diligent. The account given by himself of his ftudies was, that from fourteen to twenty he read only for amufement, amufement, from twenty to twenty-feven for improvement and inftruction. The paftorals, which had been for fome time handed about among Poets and Critics, were at last printed (1709) in Tonfon's Mifcellany, in a volume which began with the "Paftorals of Philips," and ended with thofe of Pope. The fame year was written the ἐσ Effay on Criticifm," and publifhed about two years afterwards. It was much and defervedly praised by Addifon in the "Spectator," but was pretty feverely attacked by Dennis. Of this Effay Pope declared that he did not expect the fale to be quick, because not one gentleman in fixty, even of liberal education, could understand it. He mentions a thousand còpies as a numerous impreffion. It has been tranflated into French by Hamilton, and commented by Dr. Warburton. The In the "Spectator" was published the, "Meffiah," which he firft fubmitted to the perufal of Steele, and corrected in compliance with his criticifms. verfes on the "Unfortunate Lady," it is fuppofed, were written about the time when his " Effay" was published. Not long after he wrote the "Rape of the Lock," the most airy, the most ingenious, and the moft delightful of all his compofitions, occafioned by Lord Petre cutting off a lock of Mrs. Arabella Fermor's hair. It was written, as is faid, in a fortnight (1711), and at its firft appearance it was termed by Addifon merum fal. Pope always confidered the intertexture of the machinery with the action as his moft fuccefsful exertion of poetical art. He indeed could never afterwards produce any thing of fuch unexampled excellence. About this time he publifhed "The Temple of Fame," which, as he tells Steele in their correfpondence, he had written two years before. Of |