Such Notes as have occurr'd to me I here with send you; you will oblige me by inferting them amongst those which are, or will be, tranfmitted to you by others: fince not only the Author's Friends, but even strangers, appear ingag'd by humanity, to fome care of an orphan of fo much genius and fpirit, which its parent feems to have abandoned from the very beginning, and fuffered to step into the World naked, unguarded, and unattended.

It was upon reading fome of the abusive papers lately publish'd, that my great regard to a perfon whofe friendship I shall ever efteem as one of the chief honours of my life, and a much greater refpect to Truth than to him or any man living, ingag'd me in Enquiries, of which the inclos'd Notes are the fruit.

I perceiv'd, that most of these authors had been (doubtlefs very wifely) the first Aggreffors they had try'd till they were weary, what was to be got by railing at each other; no body was either concern'd, or furpriz'd, if this or that Scribler was prov'd a Dunce: but every one was curious to read what could be faid to prove Mr. POPE one, and was ready to pay fomething for fuch a discovery: A ftratagem which would they fairly own, might not only reconcile them to me, but screen them from the resentment of their lawful fuperiors, whom they daily abuse, only (as I charitably hope) to get

A 4

that

that by them, which they cannot get from them.

I found this was not all: ill fuccefs in that had tranfported them to perfonal abuse, either of himself, or (what I think he could lefs forgive) of his Friends. They had called men of virtue and honour Bad Men, long before he had either leifure or inclina tion to call them Bad Writers: and fome had been fuch old offenders, that he had quite forgotten their perfons as well as their fanders, till they were pleas'd to revive:

them.

Now what had Mr. POPE done before to incense them? He had publish'd those works which are in the hands of every body, in which not the least mention is made of any of them: And what has he done fince? He has laugh'd and written the DUNCIAD What has that faid of them? a very serious truth which the publick had faid before, that they were dull: and what it had no fooner faid, but they themselves were at great pains to procure or even purchase room in the prints, to teftify under their hands to the truth of it.

I should still have been filent, if either I had feen any Inclination in my friend to be ferious with fuch accufers, or if they had only attack'd his writings: fince whoever publihes, puts himself on his tryal by his country. But when his moral character was attack'd, and in a manner from which nei

ther

ther Truth nor Virtue can fecure the most Innocent, in a manner which though it annihilates the credit of the accufation with the just and impartial, yet aggravates very much the guilt of the accufer, (I mean by authors without Names :) Then I thought, fince the danger is common to all, the concern ought to be fo; and that it was an act of justice to detect the Authors, not only on this account, but as many of them are the fame, who for feveral years paft, have made free with the greatest Names in Church and State, expos'd to the world the private misfortunes of Families, abus'd all even to Women, and whofe prostituted papers (for one or other Party, in the unhappy Divifions of their Country) have infulted the Fallen, the Friendlefs, the Exiled, and the Dead.

Befides this, which I take to be a publick concern, I have already confefs'd I had a private one. I am one of that number who have long lov'd and esteem'd Mr. POPE, and had often declared it was not his Capacity or Writings (which we ever thought the least valuable part of his character) but the honeft, open, and beneficient Man, that we most esteem'd and lov'd in him. Now if what thefe people fay were believ'd, I muft appear to all my friends either a foot or a knave, either impos'd on my self, or impofing on them: So that I am as much interested

interested in the Confutation of these calumnies, as he is himself.

I am no Author, and confequently not to be fufpected either of jealoufy or refentment. against any of the men, of whom scarce one is known to me by fight; and as for their writings, I have fought them (on this one occafion) in vain, in the closets and libraries of all my acquaintance. I had ftill been in the dark, if a Gentleman had not procur'd me (I fuppofe from fome of themselves, for they are generally much more dangerous friends than enemies) the paffages I fend you. I folemnly proteft I have added no thing to the malice or abfurdity of them, which it behoves me to declare, fince the vouchers themselves will be fo foon and fo irrecoverably loft. You may in fome meafure prevent it, by preferving at least their *Titles, and difcovering (as far as you can depend on the truth of your information) the names of the conceal'd authors.

The first objection I have heard made to the Poem is, that the Perfons are too obfcure for Satyre. The Perfons themselves, rather than allow the objection, would forgive the Satyre; and if one could be tempted to afford it a ferious anfwer, were not all affaffinates, popular infurrections, the infolence of the rabble without doors and of do

Which we have done in a Lift in the Appendix. No 2. mefticks

mefticks within, moft wrongfully chastized, if the Meannefs of Offenders indemnified them from punishment? On the contrary, obfcurity renders them more dangerous, as lefs thought of: Law can pronounce judgment only on open Facts, Morality alone can pafs cenfure on Intentions of mischief; fo that for fecret calumny or the arrow flying in the dark, there is no publick punishment left, but what a good writer inflicts.

The next objection is, that these fort of authors are Poor. That might be pleaded as an excufe at the Old Baily for leffer crimes than defamation, for 'tis the cafe of almost all who are try'd there; but fure it can here be none, fince no man will pretend that the robbing another of his reputation fupplies the want of it in himself. I queftion not but fuch authors are poor, and heartily with the objection were removed by any honeft livelihood. But Poverty here is the accident, not the fubject: he who defcribes malice and villany to be pale and meagre, expreffes not the least anger against paleness or leannefs, but against malice and villany. The apothecary in ROMEO and JULIET is poor, but is he therefore justified in vending poifon? Not but poverty itself becomes a juft fubject of Satyre, when it is the confequence of vice, prodigality, or neglect of one's lawful calling; for then it increases the publick burden, fills the streets and high-ways