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"take notice that our English Author has, after the "fame manner, exemplified feveral of his precepts in "the very precepts themselves." He then produces fome inftances of a particular kind of beauty in the numbers, and concludes with faying, "That we have "three poems in our tongue of the fame nature, and "each a masterpiece in its kind; the Effay on Tranf"lated Verfe, the Effay on the Art of Poetry, and the "Effay on Criticism."

Addison and Pope were now at the head of poetry and criticism; and both in fuch a state of elevation, that, like the two rivals in the Roman ftate, one could no longer bear an equal, nor the other a fuperior. Of the gradual abatement of kindness between friends, the beginning is often fcarcely difcernible by themfelves, and the procefs is continued by petty provocations, and incivilities fometimes peevishly returned, and fometimes contemptuously neglected, which would escape all attention but that of pride, and drop from any memory but that of refentment. That the quarrel of these two wits fhould be minutely deduced is not to be expected; however, we fhall mention fuch circumftances as are the moft material.

The author of Mift's Journal pofitively afferts, "that Mr. Addison raised Pope from obfcurity, ob"tained him the acquaintance and friendship of the "whole body of our nobility, and transferred his "powerful influence with thofe great men to this "rifing bard, who frequently levied, by that means, "unufual contributions on the public."

When this charge of ingratitude and difhonour was published against Mr. Pope, to acquit himself of it, he called upon any nobleman whofe friendship, or any one gentleman whofe fubfcription, Mr. Addison had procured to our Author, to ftand forth and declare it, that truth might appear. But the whole libel was proved a malicious ftory by many perfons of diftinction, who, feveral years before Mr. Addison's decease, approved

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thofe verfes denominated a libel, but which were, it is faid, a friendly rebuke, fent privately in our Author's own hand, to Mr. Addison himself, and never made public till by Curl, in his Mifcellanies, 12mo, 1727. The lines, indeed, are elegantly satirical, and, in the opinion of many unprejudiced judges, who had opportunities of knowing the character of Mr. Addifon, are no ill reprefentation of him. Speaking of the poetical triflers of the times, who had declared against him, he makes a fudden transition to Addison.

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Peace to all fuch! But were there one whofe fires
True genius kindles, and fair fame inspires,
Bleft with each talent and each art to please,
And born to write, converfe, and live with eafe;
Should fuch a man, too fond to rule alone,
Bear, like the urk, no rival near the throne,
View him with fcornful, yet with jealous eyes,
And hate for arts that caus'd himself to rife;
Damn with faint praife, affent with civil leer,
And, without fneering, others teach to fneer;
Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,
Juft hint a fault, and hesitate diflike;
Alike referv'd to blame or to commend,
A tim'rous fce, and a fufpicious friend;
Dreading e'en fools; by flatterers befieg'd;
And fo obliging, that he ne er oblig'd.
Like Cato give his little fenate laws,
And fit attentive to his own applaufe;
While wits and Templars ev'ry fentence raife,
And wonder with a foolish face of praife.
Who but muft laugh, if fuch a man there be!
Who would not weep, if Atticus were he!

Some readers may think these lines fevere, but the treatment he received from Mr. Addifon was more than fufficient to justify them, which will appear when we particularize an interview between thefe two poetical antagonists, procured by the warm folicitations of Sir Richard Steele, who was prefent at it, as well as Mr. Gray.

Mr. Jervas being one day in company with Mr. Addifon, the converïation turned upon Mr. Pope, for whom Addison, at that time, expreffed the highest regard, and affured Mr. Jervas that he would make use, not only of his intereft, but of his art likewife, to do Mr. Pope fervice. He then faid, he did not mean his art of poetry, but his art at Court; and protefted, notVOL. I. I

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withstanding many infinuations were fpread, that it fhould not be his fault if there was not the best underftanding and intelligence between them. He obferved, that Dr. Swift might have carried him too far among the enemy during the animofity, but now all was fafe, and Mr. Pope, in his opinion, was efcaped. When Mr. Jervas communicated this converfation to Mr. Pope, he made this reply: "The friendly office you "Endeavour to do between Mr. Additon and me de" ferves acknowledgments on my part. You thoroughly know my regard to his character, and my readi"nels to teftify it by ali ways in my power; you also "thoroughly knew the meannefs of that proceeding "of Mr. Phillips, to make a man I fo highly value fufpect my difpofition towards him. But as, after "all, Mr. Addifon must be judge in what regards him"felf, and as he has feemed not to be a very just one "to me, fo I must own to you I expect nothing but "civility from him, how much foever I wish for his

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friendship; and, as for any offers of real kindness "or fervice, which it is in his power to do me, I fhould "be ashamed to receive them from a man who has no "better opinion of my morals than to think me a party "man; nor of my temper, than to believe me capable "of maligning or envying another's reputation as a poet. In a word, Mr. Additon is fure of my refpect at all times, and of my real friendship, when"ever he fhall think fit to know me for what I am."

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Some years after this converfation, at the defire of Sir Richard Steele, they met. At first, a very cold civility, and nothing else, appeared on either fide; for Mr. Addifon had a natural referve and glooin at the beginning of an evening, which, by convertation and a glafs, brightened into an eafy chearfulness. Richard Steele, who was a moft focial benevolent man, begged of him to fulfil his promife, in dropping all animolity against Mr. Pope. Mr. Pope then defired to be made fenfible how he had offended, and obferved,

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that the tranflation of Homer, if that was the great crime, was undertaken at the requeft, and almoft at the command, of Sir Richard Steele. He entreated Mr. Addifon to fpeak candidly and freely, though it might be with ever fo much feverity, rather than, by keeping up forms of complaifance, conceal any of his faults. This Mr. Pope fpoke in fuch a manner as plainly indicated he thought Mr. Addison the aggreffor, and expected him to condescend, and own himtelf the caufe of the breach between them. But he was dilappointed; for Mr. Addifon, without appearing to be angry, was quite overcome with it. He began with declaring, that he always had wished him well, had often endeavoured to be his friend, and in that light advifed him, if his nature was capable of it, to diveft himself of part of his vanity, which was too great for his merit; that he had not arrived yet to that pitch of excellence he might imagine, or think his moft partial readers imagined; that when he and Sir Richard Steele corrected his verfes, they had a different air; reminding Mr. Pope of the amendment, by Sir Richard, of a line in the poem called the Meffiah;

He wipes the tears for ever from our eyes.

Which is taken from the prophet Ifaiah,

The Lord God will wipe all tears from off all faces;

From every face he wipes off every tear.

And it ftands fo altered in the newer editions of Mr. Pope's works. He proceeded to lay before him all the miftakes and inaccuracies hinted at by the writers who had attacked Mr. Pope, and added many things which he himself objected to. Speaking of his tranflation in general, he faid, that he was not to be blamed for endeavouring to get fo large a ium of money, but that it was an ill-executed thing, and not equal to Tickell, which had all the fpirit of Homer. Mr. Addifon, concluded, in a low hollow voice of feigned temper, that he was not folicitous about his own fame as a poet; that

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that he had quitted the Mufes to enter into the business of the public; and that all he spoke was through friendship to Mr. Pope, whom he advised to have a lefs exalted fenfe of his own merit.

Mr. Pope could not well bear fuch repeated reproaches, but boldly told Mr. Addison, that he appealed from his judgment to the public, and that he had long known him too well to expect any friendship from him; upbraided him with being a penfioner from his youth, facrificing the very learning purchafed by the public money to a mean thirst of power; that he was fent abroad to encourage literature, in place of which he had always endeavoured to fupprefs merit. At last the contest grew fo warm that they parted without any ceremony, and Mr. Pope, upon this, wrote the foregoing verses.

In this account, and indeed in all other accounts which have been given concerning this quarrel, it does not appear that Mr. Pope was the aggreffor. If Mr. Addion entertained fufpicions of Mr. Pope's being carried too far among the enemy, the danger was certainly Mr. Pope's, and not Mr. Addifon's. It was his misfortune, and not his crime. If Mr. Addifon fhould think himself capable of becoming a rival to Mr. Pope, and, in confequence of this opinion, publish a tranflation of part of Homer at the fame time with Mr. Pope's, and if the public should decide in favour of the latter, by reading his tranflation, and neglecting the other, can any fault be imputed to Mr. Pope? Could he be blamed for exerting all his abilities in fo arduous a province? And was it his fault that Mr. Addifon (for the First Book of Homer was undoubtedly his) could not tranflate to please the public? Befides, was it not fomewhat presumptuous to infinuate to Mr. Pope, that his verfes bore another face when he corrected them, while, at the fame time, the translation of Homer, which he had never feen in manufcript, bore away the palm from that very tranflation he himself

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