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VII.

A

PARALLEL

OF THE

CHARACTERS

O F

Mr. POPE and Mr. DRYDEN.

As drawn by certain of their Contemporaries.

Mr. POPE,

His POLITICS, RELIGION, MORALS.

MR

TR. Pope is an open and mortal enemy to his country, and the commonwealth of learning. Some call him a popifh whig, which is directly inconfiftent". Pope, as a papist, must be a tory and high flyer. He is both whig and tory .

He hath made it his cuftom to cackle to more than one party in their own fentiments.

In his Mifcellanies, the Perfons abufed are, The KING, the QUEEN, His late MAJESTY, both Houses of PARLIAMENT, the Privy-Council, the Bench of BISHOPS, the Eftablish'd CHURCH, the prefent MINISTRY, &c. To make Senfe of fome paffages, they must be construed into ROYAL SCANDAL .

a Dennis's Rem. on the Rape of the Lock, Pref. p. xii. b Dunciad diffected. Pref to Gulliveriana.

Dennis, Character of Mr. P. e Theobald, Letter in Mift's Journal, June 22, 1728.

Lift, at the end of a Collec

He looks upon God's gospel as a foolish fable, like the Pope, to whom he is a pitiful purveyor f. His very chriftianity may be queftioned %. He ought to expect more severity than other men, as he is most unmerciful in his own reflections on others b. With as good a right as his Holiness, he fets up for poetical infallibility.

Mr. DRYDEN only a Verfifier.

His whole Libel is all bad matter, beautify'd (which is all that can be faid of it) with good metre *. Mr. Dryden's genius did not appear in any thing more than his Verfification, and whether he is to be ennobled for that only, is a queftion 1.

Mr. DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.

Tonfon calls it Dryden's Virgil, to fhew that this is not that Virgil fo admir'd in the Auguftean age; but a Virgil of another ftamp, a filly, impertinent, nonfenfical writer. No ne but a Bavius, a Mævius, or a Bathyllus carp'd at Virgil; and none but fuch unthinking Vermin admire his Tranflator". It is true, foft and eafy lines might become Ovid's Epiftles or Art of Love-But Virgil, who is all great and majeftic, &c. requires ftrength of lines, weight of words, and clofeness of expreffions; not an ambling Muse running on Carpet-ground, and fhod as lightly as a Newmarket-racer. He has numberlefs faults in his Author's meaning, and in propriety of expreffion °.

Mr. DRYDEN understood no Greek nor Latin.

Mr. Dryden was once, I have heard, at Westminster school: Dr. Busby would have whipt him for fo childish a Paraphrase ". The meaneft Pedant in England would whip a Lubber of twelve for conftruing fo abfurdly . The Tranflator is mad, every line betrays his Stupidity г. The faults are innumerable, and convince me that Mr. Dryden did not, or would not understand his

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He is a Popish Rhymefter, bred up with a contempt of the Sacred Writings. His Religion allows him to deftroy Hereticks, not only with his pen, but with fire and fword; and fuch were all those unhappy Wits whom he facrificed to his accurfed Popish Principles h. It deferved Vengeance to fuggest, that Mr. Pope had less Infallibility than his Namefake at Rome .

Mr. POPE only a Verfifier.

The smooth numbers of the Dunciad are all that recommend it, nor has it any other merit *. It must be owned that he hath got a notable knack of rhyming and writing smooth verfe!.

Mr. POPE's HOMER.

The Homer which Lintot prints, does not talk like Homer, but like Pope; and he who tranflated him, one would fwear, had a Hill in Tipperary for his Parnaffus, and a puddle in fome Bog for his Hippocrene ". He has no Admirers among thofe that can distinguish, difcern, and judge ".

He hath a knack at smooth verse, but without either Genius or good sense, or any tolerable knowledge of English. The qualities which diftinguish Homer are the beauties of his Diction and the Harmony of his Verfification-But this little Author, who is fo much in vogue, has neither fenfe in his Thoughts nor English in his Expreffions °,

Mr. POPE understood no Greek.

He hath undertaken to tranflate Homer from the Greek, of which he knows not one word, into English, of which he understands as little P. I wonder how this Gentleman would look, fhould it be difcover'd, that he has not tranflated ten verfes to

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Author. This fhews how fit Mr. D. may be to tranflate Homer! A miftake in a fingle letter might fall on the Printer well enough, but we for iwe must be the error of the Author: Nor had he art enough to correct it at the Prefs. Mr. - Dryden writes for the Court Ladies --He writes for the Ladies, and not for ufe".

The Tranflator puts in a little Burlesque now and then into Virgil, for a Ragout to his cheated Subfcribers ".

Mr. DRYDEN trick'd his Subfcribers.

I wonder that any man, who could not but be conscious of his own unfitnefs for it, fhould go to amuse the learned world with fuch an undertaking! A man ought to value his Reputation more than Money; and not to hope that thofe who can read for themselves, will be impofed upon, merely by a partially and unfeasonably celebrated Name *. Poetis quidlibet audendi fhall be Mr. Dryden's Motto, tho' it fhould extend to picking of Pockets".

Names bestow'd on Mr. DRYDEN.

An APE] A crafty Ape dreft up in a gaudy gown- -Whips put into an Ape's paw, to play pranks with-None but Apith and Papish brats will heed him.

An Ass.] A Camel will take upon him no more burden than is fufficient for his ftrength, but there is another beast that crouches under all ".

A FROG.] Poet Squab endued with Poet Maro's Spirit! an ugly, croaking kind of Vermin, which would fwell to the bulk of an Ox b.

A COWARD] A Clinias or a Damætas, or a man of Mr. Dryden's own Courage c.

A KNAVE.] Mr. Dryden has heard of Paul, the Knave of Jefus Chrift: And if I mistake not, I've read somewhere of John Dryden, Servant to his Majeftyd.

A FOOL.] Had he not been fuch a felf-conceited Fool .Some great Poets are pofitive Blockheads.

A THING.] So little a Thing as Mr. Dryden %.

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gether in any book of Homer with juftice to the Poet, and yet he dares reproach his fellow-writers with not understanding Greek 1. He has ftuck fo little to his Original as to have his knowledge in Greek call'd in queftion'. Ifhould be glad to know which it is of all Homer's Excellencies which has fo delighted the Ladies, and the Gentlemen who judge like Ladies *.

But he has a notable talent at Burlefque; his genius flides fo naturally into it, that he hath burlefqued Homer without defigning it.

Mr. POPE trick'd his Subscribers.

'Tis indeed fomewhat bold, and almoft prodigious, for a fingle man to undertake fuch a work: But 'tis too late to diffuade by demonftrating the madness of the Project. The Subfcribers expectations have been rais'd in proportion to what their Pockets have been drained of ". Pope has been concern'd in Jobs, and hired out his Name to Bookfellers w:

Names beftow'd on Mr. POPE.

An APE.] Let us take the initial letter of his Christian name, and the initial and final letters of his furname, viz. APE, and they give you the fame Idea of an Ape as his Face, &c.

An Ass.] It is my duty to pull off the Lion's fkin from this little Afs y.

A FROG.] A fquab fhort Gentleman- a little creature that, like the Frog in the Fable, fwells, and is angry that it is not allow'd to be as big as an Ox 2.

A COWARD.] A lurking way-laying coward 2.

A KNAVE] He is one whom God and nature have mark'd for want of common honesty b.

A FOOL] Great Fools will be chriften'd by the names of great Poets, and Pope will be call'd Homer .

A THING.] A little abject Thing .

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