Doubtless moft Commentators wou'd hence take occafion to turn all to their author's advantage; and from the teftimony 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 whether 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 Measure, 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, witnefs 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 E £ 3+

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 Fir; and furely from what we hear of him, not unworthy to be the root of fo spreading a tree, and so 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 firft 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 thofe two famous works of Homer which are A lofe he did conceive it in fome fort his དང་ བཕབཅ་ duty to imitate that alfo which was loft: And was therefore induced to beftow 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 Dundlad.

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

nity heroic, than a Margites,,a Codrus, a Flecknoe, or a Tibbald..

We shall next declare the occafion and the cause which moved our Poet to this particu lar work. He lived in thofe days, when (after providence had permitted the Invention of Printing as a fcourge for the Sins of the learned) Paper also became fo cheap, and printers fo numerous, that a deluge of au-thors cover'd the land: Whereby not only. the peace of the honeft unwriting fubject was daily molefted, but unmerciful demands were made of his applaufe, yea of his money, by fuch as would neither earn the one, or deserve the other: At the fame time, the Liberty of the Prefs was fo unlimited, that it grew dangerous to refufe them either:: For they would forthwith publish flanders. unpunifh'd, the authors being anonymous; nay the immediate publishers thereof lay fculking under the wings of an Act of Par liament, affuredly intended for better purposes.

Now our author living in those times, did conceive it an endeavour well worthy an honeft fatyrift, to diffuade the dull and punish the malicious, the only way that was left. In that public-fpirited view he laid the plan of this Poem, as the greatest service he was cacapable (without much hurt or being flain) to render his dear country. First, taking things from their original, he confidereth the Caufes creative of fuch authors, namely Dulness

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Dulness and Poverty; the one born with them, the other contracted, by neglect of their proper talent thro' felf conceit of greater abilities. This truth he wrapp'd in an Allegory (as the conftitution of Epic poefy requires) and feigns, that one of these Goddeffes had taken up her abode with the other, and that they jointly infpir'd all fuch writers and fuch works. He proceedeth to thew the qualities they beftow on these authors, and the effects they produce: Then the materials or stock with which they furnish them, and (above all) that felf-opinion which causeth it to seem to themfelves vastly greater than it is, and is the prime motive of their fetting up in this fad and forry merchandize. The great power of these Goddeffes acting in alliance (whereof as the one is the mother of industry, fo is the other of plodding) was to be exemplify'd in some one, great and remarkable action. And none cou'd be more fo than that which our poet hath chofen, the introduction of the lowest diverfions of the rabble in Smithfield to be the entertainment of the court and town; or in other words, the Action of the Dunciad is the Removal of the Imperial feat of Dulnefs from the City to the polite world; as that of the Eneid is the Removal of the empire of Troy to Latium. But as Homer, finging only the Wrath of Achilles, yet includes in his poem the whole hiftory of the Trojan war, in like manner our author hatk