ter than the What d'ye call it; Which is not Mr. P's but Mr. Gay's. Mr. GILDON affures us, in his New Rehearsal printed 1714, pag. 48," that he was writing a "Play of the Lady Jane Gray But it af terwards prov'd to be Mr. Row's. The fame Mr. Gildon and Dennis affure us,

"he

wrote a pamphlet called Dr. Andrew Tripe; (a) which prov'd to be one Dr. Wagstaff's. Mr. THEOBALD affures us, in Mift of the 27th of April, "That the treatife of the

Profund is very dull, and that Mr. Pope is "the author of it:" The writer of Gulliveriana is of another opinion, and fays, "the "whole or greatest part of the merit of this

treatise mult and can only be ascribed to Gulliver (b). [Here gentle reader cannot I but fmile at the strange blindness and positiveness of men, knowing the faid treatise to appertain to none other but to me, Martinus Scriblerus

Laitly we are affured, in Mift of June 8. "That his own Plays and Farces would bet"ter have adorn'd the Dunciad, than those "of Mr. Theobald: for he had neither ge"nius for Tragedy, or Comedy: Which whether true or not, is not eafy to judge; in as much as he hath attempted neither.

But from all that hath been said, the difcerning reader will collect, that it little a

(4) Ibid. p.

(b) Gulliveriana, p. 336.

vail'd

vail'd our author to have any Candour, fince when he declar'd he did not write for others, it was not credited: As little to have any Modefty, fince when he declin'd writing in any way himself, the prefumption of others was imputed to him. If he fingly enterpris'd one great work, he was tax'd of Boldness and Madness to a prodigy: (a). if he took affif tants in another, it was complain'd of and reprefented as a great injury to the public. (b) The loftieft Heroicks, the lowest ballads, treatifes against the state or church, fatyr on lords and ladies, raillery on wits and au thors, fquabbles with bookfellers, or even full and true accounts of monfters, poyfons, and murders of any hereof was there nothing fo good, nothing fo bad, which hath not at one or other feafon been to him afcribed. If it bore no author's name, then lay he concealed; if it did, he father'd it on that author to be yet better concealed. If it resembled any of his ftyles then was it evident; if it did not, then disguis'd he it on fet purpose. Yea, even direct oppofitions in religion, principles, and politicks, have cqually been fuppofed in him inherent. Surely a moft rare, and fingular character! of which let the reader make what he can.

(a) Burnet Homerides, p. 1. of his Tranflation of the Iliad. (b) The London, and Mift's Journals, on his

Undertaking of the Cdyfey.

Doubtless moft Commentators wou'd hence take occafion to turn all to their author's advantage; and from the testimony of his very enemies wou'd affirm, That his Capacity was boundless, as well as his Imagination; That he was a perfect mafter of all Styles, and all Arguments; And that there was in those times no other writer, in any kind, of any degree of excellence fave he himself. But as this is not our own fentiment, we shall determine on nothing; but leave thee, gentle reader! to fteer thy judgment equally between various opinions, and to chufe whe ther thou wilt believe the Teftimonies of those who knew him, or of those who knew

him not.

MAR

MARTINUS SCRIBLERUS,

OF THE

POEM.

HIS Poem, as it celebrateth the moft grave and antient of things, Chaos, Night and Dulnefs, fo is it of the most grave and antient kind. Homer, (faith Ariftotle) was the first who gave the Form, and (faith Horace) who adapted the Meafure, to heroic poefy. But even before this, may be rationally prefumed from what the antients have left written, was a piece by Homer compofed, of like nature and matter with this of our Poet. For of Epic fort it appeareth to have been, yet of matter furely not unpleasant, witness what is reported of it by the learned Archbishop Euftathius, in Odyff. K. And accordingly Ariftotle in his poetic, chap. 4. doth further fet forth, that as the Iliad and Odyffey gave example to Tragedy, fo did this poem to Comedy its firft Idea.

From these authors alfo it fhou'd feem, that the Hero or chief perfonage of it was

no lefs obfcure, and his understanding and fentiments no lefs quaint and ftrange (if indeed not more fo) than any of the actors in our poem. MARGITES was the name of this perfonage, whom Antiquity recordeth to have been Dunce the Firft; and furely from what we hear of him, not unworthy to be the root of fo fpreading a tree, and fo numerous a pofterity. The poem therefore celebrating him, was properly and abfolutely a Dunciad; which tho' now unhappily loft, yet is its nature fufficiently known by the infallible tokens aforefaid. And thus it doth appear, that the first Dunciad was the firft Epic poem, written by Homer himself, and anterior even to the Iliad or Odyffey.

Now forafmuch as our Poet had tranflated those two famous works of Homer which are yet left; he did conceive it in fome fort hist duty to imitate that also which was loft: And was therefore induced to bestow on it the fame Form which Homer's is reported to have had, namely that of Epic poem, with a title alfo framed after the antient Greek manner, to wit, that of Dunciad.

Wonderful it is, that fo few of the moderns have been stimulated to attempt fome Dunciad! Since in the opinion of the multitude, it might coft lefs pain and oil, than an imitation of the greater Epic. But poffible it is also that on due reflection, the maker might find it easier to paint a Charlemagne, a Brute or a Godfry, with just pomp, and dig