Though my own aldermen conferr'd the bays, Coach'd, carted, trod upon, now loose, now fast, 280 285 290 295 And ev'ry year be duller than the laft; Till, rais'd from booths, to theatre, to court, Her feat imperial Dulnef's fhall transport. 300 Already Opera prepares the way, The fure forerunner of her gentle fway: VARIATIONS. After ver. 284. In the former edit. followed, Diff'rent our parties, but with equal grace And lick up ev'ry blockhead in the way. 305 310 Grub Grub-street! thy fall fhould men and gods confpire, This, this is he foretold by ancient rhymes, REMARKS. 315 320 325 See v. 325. On poets' tombs fee Benfon's titles writ!] W--m Benson (Surveyor of the buildings to his Majeay King George I.) gave in a report to the Lords, that their house, and the Painted-Chamber adjoining, were in immediate danger of falling; whereupon the Lords met in a committee to appoint fome other place to fit in while the houfe fhould be taken down. But it being propofed to caufe fome other builders first to inspect it, they found it in very good condition. The Lords, upon this, were going upon an addrefs to the King against Benfon for fuch mifreprefentation; but the Earl of Sunderland, then Secretary, gave them an affurance that his Majesty would remove him, which was done accordingly. In favour of this man, the famous Sir Chriftopher Wren, who had been architect to the Crown for above fifty years, who built most of the churches in London, laid the first tone of St. Paul's, and lived to finish it, had been difplaced from his employment at the age of near ninety years. v. 326.--Ambrofe Philips.] "He was (faith Mr. Jacob) one of the wits "at Button's, and a justice of the Peace." But he hath fince met with VARIATIONS. higher v. 323. See, See, our own, &c.] In the former edit. Beneath his reign fhall Eufden wear the bays, Benfon fole judge of architecture fit, Hibernian politicks, O Swift! thy doom, And Pope's tranflating three whole years with Broome. IMITATIONS. v. 319, 320. This, this is he foretold by ancient rhymes, The Auguftus, &c.] "Hic vir, hic ea! tibi quem promitti fæpius audis, Virg. Æn. VI. Saturnian here relates to the age of Lead, mentioned, B. I. ver. 26. See under Ripley rife a new Whitehall, And Pope's, ten years to comment and tranflate. REMARKS. 330 higher preferment in Ireland: and a much greater character we have of him in Mr. Gildon's Complete Art of Poetry, vol. I. p. 157. "Indeed, "he confeffes, he dares not fet him quite on the fame foot with Virgil, "let it thould feem flattery, but he is much mistaken if poterity does "not afford him a greater efteem than he at prefent enjoys." He endeavoured to create fome mifunderftanding between our Author and Mr. Addifon, whom alfo foon after he abufed as much. His conftant cry was, that Mr. P. was an enemy to the government; and in particular he was the avowed author of a report very industriously spread, that he had a hand in a party-paper called The Examiner: a faliehood well known to thofe, yet living, who had the direction and publication of it. v. 330. Gay dies unpenfion'd, &c.] See Mr. Gay's fable of the Hare and many Friends. This gentleman was early in the friendthip of our Author, which continued to his death. He wrote feveral works of humour with great fuccefs; The Shepherd's. Week, Trivia, The What-dye-call it, Fables; and, laftly, the celebrated Beggar's Opera; a piece of fatire which hit all tastes and degrees of men, from thofe of the highest quality to the very rabble. That verfe of Horace, Primores populi arripuit, populumque tributim, could never be fo justly applied as to this. The vaft fuccefs of it was unprecedented, and almost incredible: what is related of the wonderful effects of the ancient music of tragedy hardly came up to it: Sophocles and Euripides were lefs followed and famous. It was acted in London fixty-three days uninterrupted; and renewed the next feafon with equal applaufe. It fpread into all the great towns of England, was played in many places to the thirtieth and fortieth time, and at Bath and Bristol, fifty, &c. It made its progrefs into Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, where it was performed twenty-four days together: it was lag acted in Minorca. The fame of it was not confined to the author only; the ladies carried about with them the favourite fongs of it in fans; and houfes were furnished with it in fcreens. The perfon who acted Polly, till then obfcure, became all at once the favourite of the Town; her pictures were engraved, and fold in great numbers; her life written, books of letters and verfes to her published, and pamphlets made even of her fayings and jets. Furthermore, it drove out of England, for that feafon, the Italian opera, which had carried all before it for ten years. That idol of the nobility and people, which the great critic Mr. Dennis, by the labours and outcries of a whole life, could no overthrow, was demolished by a fingle troke of this gentleman's pen. This happened in the year 1728. Yet fo great was his Modetty, that he contantly prefixed to all the editions of it this motto, Nos hæc novimus esse nihil. VARIATIONS. v. 331. In the former edit. thus: O Swift! thy doom, And Pope's tranflating ten whole years with Broome. On which was the following note: "He concludes his irony with a "troke upon himself: for whoever imagines this a farcafm on the other " ingenious perfon is furely mistaken. The opinion our Author had of him was fufficient y fhewn by his joining him in the undertaking of the "Odyffey; in which Mr. Broome having engaged without any previous 66 agreement Proceed, great days I till Learning fly the shore, Enough! enough! the raptur'd Monarch cries! REMARKS. 335 340 v. 333. Proceed, great days! &c.---Till Birch fhall blush, &c.] Another great prophet of Duinefs, on this fide Styx, promifeth thofe days to be near at hand. "The devil (faith he) licenfed bifhops to license matters "of fchools to inftru&t youth in the knowledge of the Heathen Gods, "their religion, &c. The fchools and univerfities will foon be tired and "afhamed of claffics, and fuch trumpery." Hutchinion's Ufe of Reason recovered. Scribl. VARIATIONS. 66 agreement, difcharged his part fo much to Mr. Pope's fatisfaction, "that he gratified him with the full fum of five hundred pounds, and a "prefent of all thofe books for which his own interest could procure him fubfcribers, to the value of one hundred more. The Author only "feems to lament that he was employed in tranflation at all." After ver. 338, in the firft edit. were the following lines: IMITATIONS. v. 340. And through the iv'ry gate, &c.] "Sunt geminæ fomni portæ; quarum altera fertur Virg. Æn. VI. TO DR. JONATHAN SWIFT. The Argument. THE Poet being in this Book to declare the completion of the Prophefies mentioned at the end of the former, makes a new Invocation; as the greater poets are went, when fome high and worthy matter is to be fung. He fhews the Goddefs coming in her Majefty to destroy Order and Science, and to fubftitute the kingdom of the Dull upon earth. How the leads captive the fciences, and filences the Mufes; and what they be who fucceed in their ftead. All her children, by a wonderful attraction, are drawn about her; and bear along with them divers others, who promote her empire by connivance, weak refiftance, or difcouragement of arts; fuch as half-wits, tatelets adm.rers, vain pretenders, the flatterers of dunces, or the patrons of them. All thefe crowd around her; one of them offering to approach her, is driven back by a rival, but the commends and encourages both. The first who fpeak in form are the Genuifes of the Schools, who affure her of their care to advance her caufe by confining youth to Words, and keeping them out of the way of real Knowledge. Their addrefs, and her gracious anfwer; with her charge to them and the Universities. The Universities appear by their prop r deputies, and affure her, that the fame method is obferved in the progrefs of education The fpeech of Ariftarchus on this fubject. They are driven off by a band of young gentlemen returned from Travel with their Tutors; one of whom delivers to the Godcefs, in a polite oration, an account of the whole conduct and fruits of their Traveis; prefenting to her at the fame time a young nobleman perfectly accomplished. She receives him graciously, and indues him with the happy quality of want of fhame. She fees loitering about her a number of indolent Perfons abandoning all bufinefs and duty, and dying with lazinefs; to thefe approaches the antiquary Annius, intreating her to make them Virtuofos, and affign them over to him; but Mummius, another antiquary, complaining of his fraudulent proceeding, The finds a method to reconcile their difference. Then enter a troop of people fantaftically adorned, offering her ftrange and exotic prefents: amongst them, one tands forth and demands juftice on another, who had deprived him of one of the greatest curiofities in Nature; but he justifies himself fo well, that the Goddess gives them both her approbation. She recommends to them to find proper employment for the Indolents before mentioned, in the study of Butterfies, Shells, Birds-nets, Mofs, &c. but with particular caution not to proceed beyond Trifles, to any ufeful or extenfive views of Nature, or of the Author of Nature. Against the laft of thefe apprehenfions the is fecured by a hearty addrefs from the Minute Philofophers and Free-thinkers, one of whom speaks in the name of the ref. The youth, thus instructed and principled, are delivered to her in a body, by the hands of Silenus; and then admitted to tefte the cup of the Magus, her high priest, which caufes a total oblivion of all obligations, divine, civil, moral, er rational. To thefe her adepts the fends Priefts, Attendants and Comforters, of various kinds; confers on them Orders and Degrees; and then difmiffing them with a fpeech, confirming to each his Privileges, and telling what the expects from each, concludes with a Yawn of extraordinary virtue; the progrefs and effect whereof on all orders of men, and the confuramation of all, in the restoration of Night and Chaos, conclude the Poem. YET, yet a moment, one dim ray of light Indulge, dread Chaos, and eternal Night! Of darknefs vifible fo much be lent, REMARKS. 5 v. 2.dread Chaos and eternal Night!] Invoked, as the restoration of their empire is the action of the Poem. VOL. II. Dd Sufpend |
