yet had not oppreffèd his imagination, nor clouded his perfpicacity. To every work he brought a memory full fraught, together with a fancy fertile of original combinations, and at once exerted the powers of the fcholar, the reafoner, and the wit. But his knowledge was too multifarious to be always exact, and his purfuits too eager to be always cautious. His abilities gave him an haughty confidence, which he difdained to conceal or mollify; and his impatience of oppofition difpofed him to treat his adverfaries with fuch contemptuous fuperiority as made his readers commonly his enemies, and excited against the advocate the wifhes of fome who favoured the caufe. He teems to have adopted the Roman Emperor's determination, oderint dum metuant: he ufed no allurements of gentle languge, but wifhed to compel rather than perfuade. His ftyle is copious without felection, and forcible without neatnefs; he took the words that prelented themselves: his diction is coarfe and impure, and his fentences are unmeasured. He had, in the early part of his life, pleafed himself with the notice of inferior wits, and correfponded with the enemies of Pope. A Letter was produced, when he had perhaps himself forgotten it, in which he tells Concanen, "Dryden I obfervé borrows for want of "leafure, and Pope for want of genius: Milton cut of "pride, and Addison out of modefty." And when Theobald publifhed "Shakespeare," in oppofition to Pope, the best notes were fupplied by Warburton. But the time was now conie when Warburton was to change his opinion; and Pope was to find a defender in him who had contributed fo much to the exaltation of his rival. The arrogance of Warburton excited against him every artifice of offence, and therefore it may be fuppofed that his union with Pope was cenfured as hypocritical inconfiancy; but furely to think differently, at different times, of poetical merit, may be eafily al lowed, d 2 lowed. Such opinions are often admitted, and dif miffed, without nice examination. Who is there that has not found reafon for changing his mind about queftions of greater importance? Warburton, whatever was his motive, from month to month, continued a vindication of the "Eflay on "Man," in the literary journal of that time, called "The Republick of Letters." From this time Pope lived in the closest intimacy with Warburton, and amply rewarded his kindness and his zeal; for he introduced him to Mr. Murray, by whofe intereft he became preacher at Lincoln'sInn, and to Mr. Allen, who gave him his niece and his eftate, and by consequence a bishoprick. When he died, he left him the property of his works; a le. gacy which may be reasonably estimated at four thoufand pounds. Pope lived at this time among the Great, with that reception and refpect to which his works entitled him, and which he had not impaired by any private mifconduct or factious partiality. He published from time to time (between 1730 and 1740) Imitations of different Poems of Horace, generally with his name, and once as was fufpected without it. This mode of imitation, in which the ancients are familiarifed, by adapting their fentiments to modern topics, by making Horace fay of Shakspeare what he originally faid of Ennius, and accommodating his fatires on Pantolabus and Nomentanus to the flatterers and prodigals of our own time, was first practised in the reign of Charles the Second by Oldham and Rochefter. It is a kind of middle compofition between translation and original defign, which pleafes when the thoughts are unexpectedly applicable, and the parallels lucky. It feems to have been Pope's favourite amufement; for he has carried it further than any former poet. His His laft Satires, of the general kind, were two Dialogues, named, from the year in which they were publifhed, "Seventeen Hundred and Thirty-eight." In thefe poems many are praised, and many are reproached. Pope was then entangled in the oppofition; a follower of the Prince of Wales, who dined at his house, and the friend of many who obftructed and censured the conduct of the Minifters. His political partiality was too plainly fhewn: he forgot the prudence with which he paffed, in his earlier years, uninjured and unoffending, thro' much more violent conflicts of faction. Pope now added, at Warburton's request, another book to the "Dunciad," of which the defign is to ridicule fuch ftudies as are either hopelefs or ufelefs, as either purfue what is unattainable, or what, if it be attained, is of no use. When this book was printed (1742) the laurel had been for fome time upon the head of Cibber; a man whom it cannot be fuppofed that Pope could regard with much kindness or efteem, though in one of the imitations of Horace he has liberally enough praised the "Careless Hufband." In the "Dunciad," among other worthless fcribblers, he had mentioned Cibber; who, in his "Apology," complains of the great poet's unkindness as more injurious, "because," fays he, "I have never offended him." It might have been expected that Pope should have been, in fome degree, mollified by this fubmiffive gentlenefs, but no fuch confequence appeared. Though he condefcended to commend Cibber once, he mentioned him afterwards contemptuoufly in one of his fatires, and again in his epistle to Arbuthnot; and in the fourth book of the Dunciad," attacked him with acrimony, to which the provocation is not easily difcoverable. Perhaps he imagined that, in ridiculing the Laureat, he fatirifed thofe by whom the laurel had been given, and gratified that ambitious petulance with which he affected to infult the great, d 3 The The feverity of this fatire left Cibber no longer any Fatience. He had confidence enough in his own Fowers to believe that he could difturb the quiet of his adverfary, and doubtless did not want inftigators, who, without any care about the victory, defired to amuse themielves by looking on the conteft. He therefore gave the town a pamphlet, in which he declares his refolution from that time never to bear another blow without returning it, and to tire out his adverfary by perfeverance, if he cannot conquer him by ftrength. The inceffant and unappeafable malignity of Pope he imputes to a very diftant caufe. After the "Three "Hours after Marriage" had been driven off the stage, by the offence which the mummy and crocodile gave the audience, while the exploded fcene was yet fresh in memory, it happened that Cibber played Bayes in the Rehearsal; and, as it had been ufual to enliven the part by the mention of any recent theatrical tranfactions, he faid, that he once thought to have introduced his lovers difguifed in a Mummy and a Crocodile. "This," fays he, "was received with loud claps, "which indicated contempt of the play." Pope, who was behind the scenes, meeting him as he left the ftage, attacked him, as he fays, with all the virulence of a "Wit out of his fenfes ;" to which he replied, "that "he would take no other notice of what was faid by "fo particular a man than to declare, that, as often as "he played that part, he would repeat the fame pro"vocation." Of all our Poet's writings none were read with more general approbation than his Ethic Epiftles, or multiplied into more editions. Mr. Pope, who was a perfect economist, fecured to him.elf the profits arifing from his own works; he was never fubjected to neceffity, and therefore was not to be impofed upon by the art or fraud of publishers. But now approaches the period in which, as he himfelf expressed it, he stood in need of the generous tear he paid: Pocts Poets themselves must fall like thofe they fung; Mr. Pope, who had been always subjected to a variety of bodily infirmities, finding his ftrength give way, began to think that his days, which had been prolonged paft his expectation, were drawing towards a conclufion. However, he vifited the Hot-Wells at Bristol, where, for some time, there were small hopes of his recovery; but making too free with purges, he grew worfe, and feemed defirous to draw nearer home. A dropfy in the breast at last put a period to his life at the age of fifty-fix, on the 30th of May 1744, at his houfe at Twickenham, where he was interred in the fame grave with his father and mother. Mr. Popes's behaviour in his laft illness has been variously reprefented to the world; fome have affirmed that it was timid and peevish; that, having been fixed in no particular fyftem of faith, his mind was wavering, and his temper broken and disturbed. Others have afferted that he was all chearfulness and refignation to the Divine will. Which of thefe opinions is true we cannot now determine; but if the former, it must be regretted that he who had taught philofophy to others, fhould himself be deftitute of its affiftance in the most critical moments of his life. The bulk of his fortune he bequeathed to Mrs. Blount, with whom he lived in the strictest friendfhip, and for whom he is faid to have entertained the warmest affection. His works, which are in the hands of every perfon of true tafte, and will last as long as our language will be understood, render unneceffary all further remarks on his writings. He was equally admired for the dignity and fublimity of his moral and philofophical works, the vivacity of his fatirical, the clearness and propriety of his didactic, the richnefs and variety of his defcriptive, and the elegance of all, added to a harmony of verfification, and correctness of fentiment and language, unknown to our former |