of mum, 386 The pond'rous books two gentle readers bring; REMARKS. 395 400 Who v. 397. Thrice Budgel aim'd to speak.] Famous for his fpeeches on many occafions about the South-fea fcheme, &. "He is a very ingenious gene tleman, and hath written fome excellent Epilogues to plays, and one "finall piece on Love, which is very pretty." Jacob, Lives of Poets, Vol. II. p. 289. But this gentleman fince made himfelf much more eminent, and perfonally well known to the greatest fatefmen of all parties, as well as to all the courts of law in this nation. v. 399. Toland and Tindal. Two perfons, not fo happy as to be obfcure, who writ again the religion of their country. Toland, the author of the Atheist's Liturgy, called Pantheificon, was a fpy in pay to Lord Oxford. Tindal was author of The Rights of the Christian Church, and Christianity as old as the Creation. He alfo wrote an abufive pamphlet against Earl S---, which was fuppreffed while yet in MS. by an eminent Perton, then out of the ministry, to whom he fhewed it, expecting his approbation. This Doctor afterwards published the fame piece, mutatiş mų◄ tandis, against that very perfon. Who fat the neareft, by the words o'ercome, 405 As what a Dutchman plumps into the lakes, 415 Blefs'd with his father's front and mother's tongue, REMARKS. Hung v. 411. Centlivre.] Mrs. Sufanna Centlivre, wife to Mr. Centlivre, Yeoman of the Mouth to his Majesty. She writ many plays, and a long (fays Mr. Jacob, Vol. I. p. 32.) berore fhe was feven years old. She alfo writ a ballad against Mr. Pope's Homer before he began it. v. 413. Boyer the fate, and Law the flage gave o'er.] A. Boyer, a voluminous compiler of annals, political collections, &c.---William Law, A. M. wrote with great zeal against the stage; Mr. Dennis antwered with as great. Their books were printed in 1726. v. 414. Morgan.] A writer again religion, diftinguifhed no otherwife from the rabble of his tribe than by the pompoufness of his title; for hav. ing stolen his morality from Tindal, and his philofophy froin Spinoza, he calls himself, by the courtesy of England, a Moral Philofopher. Ibid.---Mandeville.] This writer, who prided himself as much in the reputation of an immoral philofopher, was author of a famous book called The Fable of the Bees: written to prove, That inoral virtue is the invention of knaves, and Christian virtue the impofition of fools; and that vice is neceffary, and alone fufficient, to render fociety flourishing and happy. v. 415. Norton.] Norton de Foe, offspring of the famous Daniel; Fortes creantur fortibus: one of the authors of the Flying Pot, in which wellbred work Mr. P. had fometime the honour to be abufed with his betters, and of many hired fcurrilities, and daily papers, to which he never fet his name. VARIATIONS. v. 413.] In the first edition it was, Ts and T-- the church and itate gave o'er, IMITATIONS. . 410. O'er all the fea of heads.] A waving fea of heads was round me fpread, Blackm. Job, Hung filent down his never-blufhing head, IMITATIONS. v. 418. And all was huf'd, as Folly's felf lay dead.] Alludes to Dryden's verfe in the Indian Emperor: "All things are huíh'd, as Nature's felf lay dead." 420 425 TO DR. JONATHAN SWIFT. The Argument. AFTER the ether perfons are difpofed in their proper places of reft, the Goddess tranfports the King to her Temple, and there lays him to fumber with his head on her lap; a pofition of marvellous virtue, which caufes all the vifions of wild enthufiafts, projectors, politicians, inamoratoes, cattle-builders, chemifts, and poets. He is immediately carried on the wings of Fancy, and led by a mad poetical fibyl to the Elyfion fhade; where, on the banks of Lethe, the fouls of the dull are dipped by Bavius, before their entrance into this world. There he is met by the ghost of Settle, and by him made acquainted with the wonders of the place, and with thofe which he himself is defined to perform. He takes him to a Mount of Vision, from whence he thews him the part triumphs of the Empire of Dulness, then the prefent, and lastly the future how fmall a part of the world was ever conquered by Science, how foon thofe conquets were stopped, and those very nations again reduced to her dominion. Ten diftinguishing the island of Great Britain, fhews by what aids, by what perfons, and by what degrees, it shall be brought to her empire. Some of the perfons he caufes to pass in review before his eyes, defcribing each by his proper figure, character, and qualifications. On a fudden the fcene thifts, and a vast number of miracles and prodigies appear, utterly furprising and unknown to the King himself, till they are explained to be the wonders of his own reign now commencing. On this fubject Settle breaks into a congratulation, yet not unmixed with concern, that his own times were but the types of thefe. He pro phecies how firft the nation fhall be over-run with Farces, Operas, Shows; how the throne of Duineis fhall be advanced over the Theatres, and fet up even at Court: then how her fons fhall prefide in the feats of Arts and Sciences; giving a glimpfe, or Pifkah fight, of the future fulness of her glory, the accomplishment whereof is the fubject of the Fourth and laft Book. BUT in her Temple's laft recefs inclos'd, On Dulness' lap th' Anointed head repos'd. Him close the curtains round with vapours blue, And foft befprinkles with Cimmerian dew: Then raptures high the feat of sense o'erflow, Which only heads refin'd from reason know. Hence from the straw where Bedlam's prophet nods, He hears loud oracles, and talks with gods: Hence the fool's paradife, the statesman's scheme, The air-built caftle, and the golden dream, The maid's romantic wish, the chemist's flame, And poet's vifion of eternal fame. And now, on Fancy's eafy wing convey'd, The king descending, views th' Elyfian fhade. IMITATIONS. v. 7, 8. Hence from the Araw where Bedlam's prophet nods, Et varias audit voces, fruiturque deorum and 10 A flip Virg. Æn. VHI. A flip-fhod Sibyl led his steps along, 15 Her treffs ftaring from poetic dreams, 21 (Once iwan of Thames, tho' now he fings no more.) Old Bavius fits to dip poetic fouls, And blunt the fenfe, and fit it for a skull Inftant, when dipt, away they wing their flight, REMARKS. 25 v. 19. Taylor.] John Taylor, the Water-poet; an honeft man, who owns he learned not fo much as the Accidence; a rare example of mo detty in a poet! "I must confefs I do want cloquence, "And never fcarce did learn my Accidence; "I there was gravel'd, could no farther get." He wrote fourfcore books in the reign of James I. and Charles I. and afterwards (like Edward Ward) kept an alehouse in Long-Acre. He died in 1654. v. 21. Benlowes.] A country gentleman, famous for his own bad poetry, and for patronizing bad poets, as may be feen from many Dedications of Quarles and others to him. Some of thefe anagram'd his name Benlowes into Benevolus: to verify which he spent his whole eftate upon them. v. 22. And Shadwell nods, the poppy, &c.] Shadwell took opium for many years, and died of too large a dofe, in the year 1692. v. 24. Old Bavius fits.] Bavius was an ancient poet, celebrated by Virgil for the like caufe as Bayes by our Author, though not in fo Christian-like a manner: for heathenifhly it is dec ared by Virgil of Bavius, that he ought to be hated and detected for his evil works: Qui Bavium non odit? whereas we have often had occafion to obferve our Poet's great good nature and mercifulness through the whole courfe of this Poem. Scribl. v. 28. Brown and Mears.] Bookfellers, printers for any body. The allegory of the fouls of the dull coming forth in the form of books dreffed in calf's leather, and being let abroad in vast numbers by bookfellers, is fufficiently intelligible. IMITATIONS. "Furens antro fe immifit aperto." Virg. "Seclufum nemus ---- v. 23. Here in a dufky vale, &c.] "Vidit Æneas in vaie reducta "Hunc circum innumeræ gentes," &c. "Lethæumque domos placidas qui prænatat amnem, &c. Virg. Æn. VI. Alluding to the story of Thetis v. 24. Old Bavius fits to dip poetic fouls. dipping Achilles to render him impenetrable. At |