But still the worst with most regret commend,

For each ill author is as bad a friend.

To what base ends, and by what abject ways

Are mortals urg'd thro' sacred lust of praise!
Ah! ne'er so dire a thirst of glory boast,
Nor in the critic let the man be lost.

Good nature and good sense must ever join;

To err is human; to forgive, divine.

But if in noble minds some dregs remain,

Not yet purg'd off, of spleen and sour disdain,
Discharge that rage on more provoking crimes,

Nor fear a dearth in these flagitious times.

No pardon vile obscenity should find,

Tho' wit and art conspire to move your mind;

520

525

530

But dulness with obscenity must prove

As shameful sure as impotence in love.

In the fat age of pleasure, wealth, and ease,

Sprang the rank weed, and thriv'd with large increase;

Dos sabios; vem a ser rizo dos nescios:

O peor he, (com magoa, e dòr o aponto)

Que hum author mau, he sempre mau amigo.
Com que fins baxos! com que abjectos meios
Insta aos mortais, o louco amor da fama!

Nunca tal cêde, de huma gloria errada
Na critica mergulhe homens sensatos.
Bomsenso, e coraçao unidos andem.
Errár he de homens, perdoar, divino.
Porem se algumas fézes de fastio
Ou de rancor contem o animo nobre,
Em crimes mais picantes descarregue,
O seu furor; nao tema que lhe falte
Em tao perverso tempo, assumpto vasto.
Nao alcancem perdaõ obscenos versos,
Bem que nelles conspire arte e juizo

A seduzir a mente, e a comover nos,

Mas parvoice obscena he vergonhosa,

Como insultos, que amor nojento engeita.
No seculo nutrido dos prazeres

U

When love was all an easy monarch's care,

Seldom at council, never in a war:

Jilts rul'd the state, and statesmen farces writ;

Nay wits had pensions, and young lords had wit;

536

Da riqueza, do commodo, he que nasce

Viçoso joyo, entre elles medra, e cresce

Quando hum monarca, todo á amor sentrega

Que a justiça, o concelho, a guerra esquece,

Regem loucos o reino, os estadistas

640

Hum incredulo clero, ao depois veio
Reformar a naçao, e dar-lhe a norma
De salvarse sem custo, alegremente.

Muito absoluto Deus lhe parecêra
Se os vassalos do ceó, naõ discutissem
Seus suppóstos direitos livremente

655

Pulpits their sacred satire learn'd to spare,

And Vice admir'd to find a flatt'rer there!

Encourag'd thus, Wit's Titans brav'd the skies,
And the press groan'd with licens'd blasphemies.
These monsters, Critics! with your darts engage,
Here point your thunder, and exhaust your rage!
Yet shun their fault, who, scandalously nice,

Will needs mistake an author into vice:

All seems infected that th' infected spy,

550

556

As all looks yellow to the jaundic'd eye.

Learn then what morals critics ought to show, 560

For 'tis but a half a judge's task to know.

"Tis not enough, taste, judgment, learning, join;

In all you speak, let truth and candour shine;

That not alone what to your sense is due

All may allow; but seek your friendship too. 565