Now Night defcending, the proud fcene was der, But liv'd, in Settle's numbers, one day more. Now May'rs and Shrieves all hufh'd and fatiate lay, 90 Yet eat in dreams the custard of the day; While penfive Poets painful vigils keep, Sleepless themselves to give their readers fleep. Much to the mindful Queen the feaft recalls, What City-Swans, once fung within the walls; 65 Much the revolves their arts, their ancient praise, And fure fucceffion down from Heywood's days.. She faw with joy the line immortal run, Each fire impreft and glaring in his fon; REMARK S. VERSE 88. But liv'd in Settle's Numbers one day more.] A beau tiful manner of fpeaking, ufual with the Poets in praife of Poetry,' in which kind nothing is finer than thofe lines of Mr. Addison, Sometimes misguided by the tuneful throng, • I look for fireams immortaliz'd in song, That loft in filence and oblivion lye, Dumb are their fountains, and their channels dry; And in the smooth defcription murmur fill. VERSE 96. John Haywood.] Whofe Enterludes were printed inther time of Henry the eighth, VERSE 88. But liv'd in Settle's Numbers one day more.] Settle was alive at this time, and Poet to the City of London. His office was to compofe yearly panegyricks upon the Lord Mayors, and Verfes to be fpoken in the Pageants: But that part of the shows being by the frugality of fome Lord Mayors at length abolished, the employment of City Poet ceas'd; fo that upon Settle's demife, there was no fucceffor to that place. This important point of time our Poet has chofen, as the Crifis of the Kingdom of Dulnefs, who thereupon decrees to remove her imperial feat from the City, and over-fpread the other parts of the Town: To which great Enterprize all things being now ripe, the calls the Hero of this Poem. Mr. Settle was once a writer in fome vogue, particularly with hi Party; for he was the author or publisher of many noted Pamphlets in the time of King Charles the fecond. He answered all Dryden's political Poems; and being cry'd up on one fide, fucceeded not a little in his Tragedy of the Emprefs of Morroco (the first that was ever printed with Cuts.) " Upon this he grew infolent, the Wits writ a gainft his Play, he replied, and the Town judged he had the better. In fhort Settle was then thought a formidable Rival to Mr. Dryden "and not only the Town, but the University of Cambridge, was dis "vided which to prefer, and in both places the younger fort inclin "ed to Elkanah. DENNIS Pref. to Rem. on Hom. For the latter part of his Hiftory, fee the third Book, verse 238.- So watchful Bruin forms with plastic care 300 Each growing lump, and brings it to a Bear. She faw old Pryn in restless Daniel shine, REMARKS. VERSE for. Old Prynn in reftlefs Daniel.] William Prynn and Das niel de Foe were writers of Verfes, as well as of Politicks; as appears by the Poem of the latter De jure Divino, and others, and by these lines in Cowley's Mifcellanies of the former. One lately did not fear (Without the Mufes leave) to plant Verse here. Both thefe Authors had a resemblance in their fates as well as writ ings, having been a-like fentenc'd to the Pillory. Of Eufden and Blackmore. See Book 2. v. 254. and 300. And Philips. See Book 3. V. 274. VERSE 104. And all the mighty Mad] This is by no means to be understood literally, as if Mr. D, were really mad; Not that we are Jonorant of the Narrative of Dr. R. Norris, but it deferveth no more regard than the Pop upon P. and the like idle Traf, written by James Moor, or other young and light Perfons, who themfelves better deferve to be blooded, fearified, or whipped, for fuch their ungracious merriment with their Elders. No it is fpoken of that Excel Lent and Divine Madness, fo often mentioned by Plato, that poetical rage and enthufiafm, with which no doubt Mr. D. hath, in his time, been highly poffeffed; and of thofe extraordinary hints and motions whereof he himself fo feelingly treats in the Preface to Pr. Arch. [See Notes on Book 2. verse 256. SCRIBI. པ་ " VERSE 104. And all the mighty Mad in Dennis rage.] This Verfe in the furreptitious Editions ftood thus, And furious D- foam, &c. which, in that printed in Ireland, was unaccountably filled up with the great name of Dryden. Mr. Theobald in the Cenfor, Vol. 2. N° 33. alfo calls him by the Name of Furius. "The modern Furius is to be look'd on as more the object of Pity, than of that which he daily provokes, laughter and contempt. Did we really know how much this poor Man (I wish that reflection on Poverty had been spar'd) "fuffers by being contradicted, or which is the fame thing in effect, by hearing another praifed; we should in compaffion fometimes attend to him with a filent nod, and let him go away with the triumphs of his ill-nature. Poor Furius (again) when any ore of his cotemporaries are spoken well of, quitting the Ground of the prefent difpute, fteps back a thousand years to call in the fuccour of the Ancients. His very Panegyrick is spiteful, and he ufes it for the fame reason as fome Ladies do their commendations of a dead: Beauty. 105 ec બ In each the marks her image full expreft, REMARK S. Beauty, who never would have had their good word, but that ở living one happened to be mentioned in their Company. His applaufe is not the tribute of his Heart, but the facrifice of his Revenge", &c. Indeed his pieces against our Poet are fomewhat of an angry character, and as they are now fcarce extant, a tafte of his ftile may be fatisfactory to the curious. A young fquab, short Gentleman, whofe outward form though it fhould be that of downright Monkey, would not differ fo much from human shape, as his unthinking immaterial part does from human understanding. He is as ftupid and as venemous as a hunchbacked Toadthrough which folly and ignorance, thofe brethren fo lame and impotent, do ridiculously look very big, and very dull, and ftrut, and hobble cheek by jowl, with their arms on kimbo, being led, and fupported, and bully-backed by that blind Hector, Impudence Reflect. on the Effay on Crit. Page 26, 29. 30. ་ A Book It would be unjuft not to add his Reafons for this Fury, they are fo ftrong and fo coercive. I regard him (faith he) as an Enemy, a no fo much to me, as to my King, to my Country, to my Religion, "and to that Liberty which has been the fole felicity of my life. A vagary of fortune, who is fometimes pleased to be frolickfome, and the epidemick Madness of the times, have given him Reputation and Reputation (as Hobbs fays) is Power, and that has made him dan "S gerous. Therefore I look on it as my duty to King George, whofe faithful fubject I am, to my Country, of which I have appeared a conftant lover, to the Laws, under whofe protection I have fo long lived, and to the Liberty of my Country, more dear than life to me, of which I have now for forty years been a conftant afferter, c. I look upon it as my duty, I fay, to do •you shall fee what to pull the Lions skin from this little Afs, which popular errors has thrown round him; and to fhow, that this Author who has been lately fo much in vogue, has neither fenfe in his thoughts, nor english in his expreffions. DENNIS, Rem. on Hom. Pref. p. 20 and p. 91. &c.) Befides thefe publick-fpirited reafons, Mr. D. had a private one, which by his manner of expreffing it in page 92, appears to have been equally strong. He was even in bodily fear of his Life, from the machinations of the faid Mr. P." The ftory (fays he) is too long to be told, but who would be acquainted with it, may hear it from Mr. Curl my Bookfeller. However, what my reafon has fuggefted to me, that I have with a juft confidence faid, in defiance of his two "clandeftine weapons, his Slander and his Poyfon". Which laft words of his Book plainly difcover, Mr. D. his fufpicion was that of being poyfoned, in like manner as Mr. Curl had been before him. Of which fact fee A full and true account of a horrid and barbarous revenge by Poyfon on the body of Edmund Curl; printed in 1716, the year ante cedent to that wherein thefe Remarks of Mr. Dennis were published. But what puts it beyond all queftion, is a paffage in a very warm treatife in which Mr. D. was alfo concerned, price two pence, called A true character of Mr. Pope and his writings, printed for S. Popping 1716. in the tenth page whereof he is faid to have infulted people on thofe calamities and difeafes, which he himself gave them by adminiftring Poyfon to them"; and is called (P. 4.) a lurking way Taying Sees Gods with Dæmons in ftrange league ingage,:: REMARKS. laying coward, and a flabber in the dark. Which (with many other things moft lively fet forth, in that piece) muft have render'd him a terror, not to Mr. Dennis only, but to all Chriftian People. For the reft, Mr. John Dennis was the Son of a Sadler in London; born in 1657. He paid court to Mr. Dryden; and having obtained fome correfpondence with Mr. Wycherly and Mr. Congreve, he imme diately obliged the publick with their Letters. He made himself known to the Government by many admirable Schemes and Projects which the Miniftry, for reafons beft known to themselves, conftantly kept private. For his character as a writer, it is given us as follows. Mr. Dennis is excellent at pindarick writings, perfectly regular in all his performances, and a perfon of found Learning. That he is ma“fter of a great deal of Penetration and Judgment, his criticisms (particularlyon Prince Arthur) do fufficiently demonftrate". From the lame account it alfo appears, that he writ Plays more to get Reputation than Money". DENNIS of himself. See Jacob's Lives of Dram Poets, page 68, 69. compared with page 286. GA Poem. 66 66 VERSE 106 But chief in Tibbald] Lewis Tibbald (as pronounced) or Theobald (as written) was bred an Attorney, and Son to an Attor ney (fays Mr. Jacob) of Sittenburn in Kent. He was Author of many forgotten Plays, Poems, and other pieces, and of feveral anonymous Letters in praife of them in Mift's Journal. He was concerned in a Paper called the Cenfor, and a tranflation of Ovid, as we find from Mr. Dennis's Remarks on Pope's Homer, P, 9, 10. There is a notorious Ideot, one hight Whachum, who from an under-fpur-leather to the Law, is become an under-frapper to the Play-houfe, who has lately burle qu'd the Metamorphofes of Ovid by a vile Tranfla tion, &c. This Fellow is concerned in an impertinent Paper called the Cenfer". But notwithstanding this fevere character, another Critick fays of him, "That he has given us fome Pieces which met with approbation and that the Cave of Poverty is an excellent Giles Jacob's Lives of the Poets, vol. 2. p. 211. He had once a mind to tranflate the Odyey, the firft Book whereof was printed in 1717 by B. Lintott, and probably may yet be feen at his Shop.. What is ftill in memory, is a piece now about a year old, it had the arrogant Title of Shakespear Reftored: Of his he was fo proud himfelf, as to fay in one of Mift's Journals, June 8. "That to expose any “Errors in it was impracticable." And in another, April 27. “That whatever care for the future might be taken either by Mr. P. or› any other affiftants, he would ftill give above Soo Emmendations, that shall escape them all." During the pace of two years, while Mr. Pope was preparing his Edition of Shakespear, and published Ad-, vertisements, requesting all lovers of the Author to contribute to a more perfect one; this Reftorer (who had then fome correspondence: with him, and was folliciting favours by Letters) did wholly conceal his defign, 'till after its publication. Probably that proceeding elevated him to the Dignity he holds in this Poem, which he seems to deferve no other way better than his brethren, unlets we impute it to the hare he had in the Journals, cited among the Teftimonies of Authors prefixed to this work. VERSE 108. Tibbald's monfter-breeding breaft, Sees Gods with Da mons, &c.] This alludes to the extravagancies of the Farces of that apthor. See book 3. vers, 169, &c. She ey'd the Bard, where fupperlefs he fate, Where yet unpawn'd, mucli learned lumber lay, REMARK S. VERSE 109. Supper-lefs he fate.] It is amazing how the fenfe of this line hath been miftaken by all the former Commentators; who moft idly fuppofe it to imply, that the Hero of the Poem wanted a fupper. In truth a great abfurdity! Not that we are ignorant that the Hero of Homer's Odyffey is frequently in that circumftance, and therefore it can no way derogate from the grandeur of Epic Poem to reprefent fuch Hero under a Calamity, to which the greatest not only of Criticks and Poers, but of Kings and Warriors, have been fub ject. Bat much more refin'd, I will venture to fay, is the meaning of our author: It was to give us obliquely a curious precept, or what Beffu calls a difguifed fentence, that "Temperance is the life of Study. The Language of Poefy brings all into Action; and to reprefent a Critic encompaft with books, but without a fupper, is a picture which lively expreffeth how much the true Critic prefers the dier of the mind to that of the body, one of which he always caftigates and often totally neglects, for the greater improvement of the other. SCRIBLERUS VERSE 115. He roll'd his eyes that witness'd huge difmay.] Milt VERSE 120. -- •Admires new beauties not its own. Virg. Geo. 2. the one. VERSE id. This library is divided into two parts: (his polite learning) confifts of thofe books which feem'd to be the models of his poetry, and are preferr'd for one of thofe three reafons (ufual with collectors of Libraries) that they fitted the fhelves, on were gilded for fhew, or adorned with pictures: The other class our. author calls folid Learning, old bodies of Philofophy; old Commen-" tators, old English Printers, or old English Translations, all very voluminous, and fit to ere& Altars to Dulness. |