Chapter IV: Preface

_The indecent Images, and the frequent and bad Imitations of the Classics in the _Dunciad_, have occasioned several just Observations upon so new and coarse a Manner of Writing: I shall wave this Topic at present, and only regard the most plausible Insinuation in Favour of this Author; which is, that he never begun an Attack upon any Person, who had not before, either in Print or private Conversation, endeavour'd something to his Disadvantage._

_This Assertion is by no means true, as I shall immediately shew; if it were true, it might indeed bear some Weight, but however with this Distinction, that the Reports of private Conversation, brought to him by such Emissaries, as belong to him, are not always to be believed, and that no Attack in Print upon a Man's Poetical Character, ought to be repaid by Lampoon and Virulence upon the Moral Character of his Antagonist: Every Person has a Right to determine upon the Talents of Writers, particularly of one, who appears in Publick only to gratify the two worst Appetites, that disgrace Human Nature, I mean Malice and Avarice; and sure no Man deserves a violent Injury to his Reputation, as a Gentleman, because perhaps at a Distance of several Years since he might have said, that Mr. _Pope_ had nothing in him Original as a Writer, that Mr. _Tickel_ greatly excelled him in his Translation of _Homer_, and many of his Contemporaries in other Branches of Writing, and that he is infinitely inferior to Mr. _Phillips_ in Pastoral: And yet such Arguments or Apologies as these have been used by himself, or his Tea-Table Cabals, for calling Gentlemen Scoundrels, Blockheads, Gareteers, and Beggars,: If he can transmit them to Posterity under such Imputations, he is a bad Man; if he cannot, he is a bad Writer: I believe, that he would rather suffer under the first Character, than the last: But before I have done with him, I will make a very strict Inquiry into both._

_In the mean time I shall shew the Reader, in general, the Falshood of his main Pretence, that he has meddled with no one, that had not before hurt him, and in this View, tho' I should be ashamed of being too serious in a Controversy of this Sort, I think it proper to acquaint the Town with the original Design of the _Dunciad_, and the real Reasons of its Production. This Piece, which has been honour'd by Booksellers of Quality, contains only the Poetical Part of Dulness, extracted from a Libel, call'd, _The Progress of it_, and which included several other Branches of Science, and perhaps some of those Gentlemen, who have in the warmest Manner asserted the Cause of the _Dunciad_, might have seen a Publication of a Work, upon the Death of this Writer, in which no past Friendship could have screen'd them from Lampoon for any Pretences to excel in any Science whatever: It appears, therefore, that he was teaz'd into a Publication of these Cantos, which regarded the Writers of the Age, by some Attacks, that were made upon him about that Time: We must refer to a Miscellany of Poems published by Him and _Swift_, to which is prefix'd, _An Essay on the Profund_, to consider if those Attacks were justifiable; Mr. Dean _Swift_ never saw the _Profund_, till made publick, and Dr. _Arburthnot_, who originally sketch'd the Design of it, desired that the Initial Letters of Names of the Gentlemen abused might not be inserted, that they might be _A_ or _B_, or _Do_ or _Ro_, or any thing of that Nature, which would make this Satire a general one upon any dull Writers in any Age: This was refused by _Pope_, and he chose rather to treat a Set of Gentlemen as Vermin, Reptiles, _&c._ at a Time when he had no Provocation to do so, when he had closed his Labours, finish'd his great Subscriptions, and was in a fashionable Degree of Reputation: Several Gentlemen, who are there ranked with the dullest Men, or dullest Beasts, never did appear in Print against him, or say any thing in Conversation which might affect his Character: Some Replies, which were made to the _Profund_, occasioned the Publication of the _Dunciad_, which was first of all begun with a general Malice to all Mankind, and now appears under an Excuse of Provocations, which he had received, after he himself had struck the first Blow in the above-mentioned Miscellanies._

_I cannot indeed say much in Praise of some Performances, which appear'd against him, and am sorry that Voluntiers enter'd into the War, whom I could wish to have been only Spectators: But the Cause became so general, that some Gentlemen, who never aim'd at the Laurel, grew Poets merely upon their being angry: A Militia, in Case of publick Invasion, may perhaps be thought necessary, but yet one could always wish for an Army of regular Troops: I should not have touched upon this Circumstance, but to obviate some Imputations, which he had suggested, of my Writing several Pieces, which I never heard of, till I saw them with the rest of the Town: But these Suggestions shall be considered in the Preface to the next Epistle, in which, among other Things, I intend to state several Matters of Fact, in Contradiction to the Notes of the _Dunciad_, particularly as they concern the Writers of the following Poem._

[Decoration]

[Decoration]

One

E P I S T L E

to

Mr. _A. P O P E_,

Occasion'd By

Two Lately Publish'd.

If noble _B----m_, (a) in Metre known,
With Strains has grac'd thee, humble as thy own;
Who (b) _G--l--n_'s Dullness did for thine discard,
A better Critick, for as bad a Bard!
Not unregarded let this Tribute be,
Tho' humble, just; well-bred, tho' paid to Thee.

_Parnassian_ Groves, and _Twick'nam_ Fountains, say,
What Homage to the Bard shall _Britain_ pay!
The Bard! that first, from _Dryden's_ thrice-glean'd Page,
Cull'd his low Efforts to Poetic Rage;
Nor pillag'd only that unrival'd Strain,
But rak'd for Couplets [1] _Chapman_ and _Duck-Lane_,
Has sweat each Cent'ry's Rubbish to explore,
And plunder'd every Dunce that writ before,
Catching half Lines, till the tun'd Verse went round,
Complete, in smooth dull (c) Unity of Sound;
Who, stealing Human, scorn'd Celestial Fire,
And strung to _Smithfield_ Airs the [2] _Hebrew_ Lyre;
Who taught declining (d) _Wycherley_ to doze
O'er wire-drawn Sense, that tinkled in the Close,
To lovely _F----r_ impious and obscene,
To mud-born _Naiads_ faithfully unclean;
Whose raptur'd Nonsense, with Prophetick Skill,
First taught that Ombre, which fore-ran Quadrille;
Who from the Skies, propitious to the Fair,
Brought down _Cæcilia_, and sent [3] _Cloris_ there,
Censur'd by _W--ke_, by _A------ry_ blest,
Prais'd _Sw----t_ in Earnest, and sung Heav'n in Jest,
Here, mov'd by Whim, and there by Envy stung,
Would flatter _Ch----s_, or would libel [4] _Y----ge_,
By _F----n_ left, by Reverend Linguists hated,
Now learns to read the _Greek_ he once translated.

[Footnote 1: A Translator of _Homer_.]

[Footnote 2: Burlesque of the first _Psalm_, more profest than
_Sternbold's_.]

[Footnote 3: See Verses, in _P--pe_'s Poems, to the Memory of an
unfortunate young Lady.]

[Footnote 4: _Sir W. Y._]

Oh say, to him what Trophies shall be rais'd,
That unprovok'd will strike, and fawn unprais'd!
Each fav'rite Toast who marks, or rising Wit,
To sketch a Satire, that in Time may fit;
Still hopes your Sun-set, while he views your Noon,
And still broods o'er the closely-kept Lampoon;
The lurking Presents o'er the Tomb he paid,
And thus atton'd our _British Virgil_'s Shade,
A Mushroom [1] Satire in his Life conceal'd,
Since chang'd to Libel, and in Print reveal'd;
Who lets not [2] Beauty base Detraction 'scape,
And mocks Deformity with _Æsop_'s Shape;
Who _Cato_'s Muse with faithless Sneers belied,
The Prologue father'd, and the Play decried,
On [3] _H----y_'s learned Page, dull-sporting trod,
Betray'd his Patrons, and lampoon'd his God;
Translator, Editor, could far out-go
In _Homer_ _Ogleby_, in _Shakespeare_ _R----_
O! how burlesqu'd, great _Dryden_, is thy Strain,
When little _Alexander_ [4] _slays the Slain_!

[Footnote 1: Libel on Mr. _Addison_ in _P--pe_ and _Sw--t_'s
Miscellanies.]

[Footnote 2: Lady _M. W. M._]

[Footnote 3: Lord B----p of _Salisbury_.]

[Footnote 4: See _Dryden_'s Ode on St. _Cæcilia_'s Day.

------Fought all his Battles o'er again;
------And thrice he _slew the Slain_.]

On, mighty Rhimer, haste new Palms to seize,
Thy little, envious, angry Genius teize;
Let thy weak wilful Head, unrein'd by Art,
Obey the Dictates of thy flatt'ring Heart;
Divide a busy, fretful Life between
Smut, Libel, Sing-song, Vanity, and Spleen;
With long-brew'd Malice warm thy languid Page,
And urge delirious Nonsense into Rage;
Let bawdy Emblems, now, thy Hours beguile;
Now, Fustian Epic, aping _Virgil_'s Stile;
To _Virgil_ like, to _Indian_ Clay as _Delf_,
Or _Pulteney_, drawn by _Jervase_, to Herself:
Rheams heap'd on Rheams, incessant, mayst thou blot,
A lively, trifling, pert, one knows not what!
Form thy light Measures, nimbler than the Wind,
Whilst heavy lingring Sense is left behind;
With all thy Might pursue, and all thy Will,
That unabating Thirst, to scribble still,
Giv'n at thy Birth! the Poetaster's Gust,
False and unsated as the Eunuch's Lust!

Illustrious Fops, mean time, o'er-rate thy Lays,
And blooming Critics, as they spell thee, praise:
Blest Coupleteer! by blooming Critics read,
At Toilets _ogled_, and with Sweetmeats fed:
See, lisping Toilers grace thy _Dunciad_'s Cause,
And scream their witty Scavenger's Applause,
While powder'd Wits, and lac'd Cabals rehearse
Thy bawdy _Cento_, and thy _Bead-roll_ Verse;
Gay, bugled Statesmen on thy Side debate,
And libel'd Blockheads court thee, tho' they hate.
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
Fools of all Kinds their Suffrages impart,
The Fools of Nature, and the Fools of Art.

These in thy threadbare Farce shall Beauties show,
Shall praise thy ribald Mirth, and maudlin Woe;
Praise ev'n thy imitating _Chaucer_'s Tales,
And call that merry [1] Temple, Fame's _Versailles_:
Thy [2] Shepherd-Song with Rapture they shall see,
Which rivals _Philips_, as _Banks_ rivals _Lee_;
Thy [3] _Guernsey_ and _Barbados_ Wreath shall own,
Where _Durfey_ ne'er was read, nor _Settle_ known;
That Wreath, that Name, which thro' both Worlds is gone,
Which Doctor (e) _Y----_ applauds, and _Prestor John_.

[Footnote 1: Temple of Fame by _P----_]

[Footnote 2: _P----pe_'s Pastorals.]

[Footnote 3: See the Original Preface to the _Dunciad_.]

Lo! as _Anchises_, to the Goddess-born,
So I the Worthies, that thy Page adorn,
Point out to Thee.----See [1] here * * * *
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
The Prelate! next, exil'd by cruel Fates,
Who plagues all Churches, and confounds all States;
With Treasons past perplex'd, and present Cares;
A Fop in Rhime, and Bungler in Affairs.
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
And here! a Groupe of Brother Quill-men see,
Co-witlings all, and Demi-bards like Thee;
Such whom the Muse shall pass with just Disdain,
Nor add one Trophy to thy mottly Train:
But Quack _Arb----t_ shall Oblivion blot,
That puzzling, plodding, prating, pedant _Scot_!
The grating Scribler! whose untun'd Essays
Mix the _Scotch_ Thistle with the _English_ Bays,
By either _Phoebus_ pre-ordain'd to Ill,
The Hand prescribing, or the flattering Quill,
Who doubly plagues, and boasts two Arts to kill!

[Footnote 1: The Characters left out here may perhaps be inserted
in some future Edition of this Poem.]

'Midst this vain Tribe, that aid thy setting Ray,
The Muse shall view, but spare ill-faced _G--y_:
Poor (f) _G--y_, who loses most when most he wins.
And gives his Foes his Fame, and bears their Sins;
Who more by Fortune than by Nature curst,
Yields his best Pieces, and must own _Thy_ worst.

Thus prop'd, thy Head with _Grub-street_ Zephyrs tainted,
By (g) _Rich_ recorded, and by _J----_ painted;
_J----!_ who so refin'd a Rake is reckon'd,
He breaks all (h) _Sinai_'s Laws, except the Second:
Thus prais'd, thus drawn, t'extend thy Projects try,
Leave the _Blue [1] Languish_, and the Crimson Sigh;
Leave the gay Epithets that Beauty crown,
White [2] _Whitylinda_, and _Brownissa_ Brown;
Forget awhile (i) _Belinda_ and the Sun;
Forget the _Fights of Stand_, and Flights of Run:
No more let _Ombre_'s Play inspire thy Vein,
Nor strow with Captive Kings the [3] _Velvet Plain_;
Omit awhile the _Silver Peal_ to ring, }
Nor talk dulcissant, nor mellifluous sing, }
Nor _hang suspended_, nor _adherent cling_. }
But haste to mount Immortal Envy's Throne,
To crush all Merit, that disputes thy own;
For thou wert born to damp each rising Name,
And hang, like Mildews, on the Growth of Fame;
Fame's fairest Blossoms let thy Rancour blast,
Bane of the modern Laurel, like the past;
While stupid Riot stands in Humour's Place,
And bestial Filth, Humanity's Disgrace,
Low Lewdness, unexcited by Desire,
And all great [4] _Wilmot_'s Vice, without his Fire.

[Footnote 1: The Phrases distinguished here in _Italics_, are
truly quoted from _P----pe_; and the others in Company with them,
ought to be in no other Company.]

[Footnote 2: See _Dunciad_. _Nigrina_ Black.]

[Footnote 3: Here a Card Table; in _P--pe_, a Field of Grass.]

[Footnote 4: _Wilmot_, Earl of _Rochester_.]

At length, when banish'd _Pallas_ shall withdraw,
And Wit's made Treason by the _Popian_ Law;
When minor Dunces cease, at length, their Strife,
And own thy Patent to be dull for Life;
By Tricks sustain'd, in Poet-craft compleat,
Retire triumphant to thy _Twick'nam_ Seat;
That Seat! the Work of (k) half-paid drudging _Br----me_,
And call'd by joking _Tritons_, _Homer_'s Tomb:
There to stale, stol'n, stum Crambo bid adieu,
And sneer the Fops, that thought thy Crambo new;
There, like the _Grecian_ Chief, on whom thy Song
Has well reveng'd unhappy _Priam_'s Wrong;
Waste, in thy hidden Cave, the Festive Day,
With mock _Machaon_, and _Patroclus G----_
_Sleep_, (l) _Sleep in Peace_ the Works, for _Wapping_ born!
No more thy Cuckoo Note shall wake the Morn;
In Ease, and Avarice, and aukward State,
_The Fool of Fortune_, shalt thou hail thy Fate;
Slumbring in Quiet o'er Lampoons half writ,
Which, ripe in Malice, only wait for Wit.

So when _Vanessa_ yielded up her Charms,
The blest _Cadenus_ languish'd in her Arms;
High, on a Peg, his unbrush'd Beaver hung,
His Vest unbutton'd, and his God unsung;
Raptur'd he lies; Deans, Authors are forgot,
_Wood_'s Copper Pence, and _Atterbury_'s Plot;
For her he quits the Tythes of _Patrick_'s Fields,
And all the Levite to the Lover yields.

[Decoration]

[Decoration]

NOTES

On the Foregoing

POEM.

(a) _If Noble _B------m_,_

The late Duke of _Buckingham!_ who made that fine Alteration of the Tragedy of _Julius Cæsar_ from _Shakespeare_, and who is said by Mr. _Pope_ to have bestow'd the finest Praise upon _Homer_ that he ever received, in the following Lines;

Read _Homer_ once, and you need read no more;
For all Things else will be so mean and poor,
Verse will seem Prose: Yet often on him look,
And you will never need another Book.

D---- of B----'s Essay on Poetry.

He has also printed a Copy of Verses in Praise of _Pope_, which were returned by another in Praise of his Grace. There is so great a Similitude in the Stile of these Writers, that the Reader, I think, need not doubt their Sincerity in admiring each other.

'Tis great Delight to laugh at some Mens Ways;
But 'tis much greater to give Merit Praise.

D---- of B----.

_Sheffield_ approves, consenting _Phoebus_ bends,
And I and Malice from this Hour, am Friends.

Pope.

(b) _Who _G------n_'s Dulness------_

_Charles Gildon_, dismiss'd from the D----'s Pension and Favour, on Account of his Obstinacy in refusing to take the Oaths to _P--pe_'s Supremacy.

(c) _Smooth dull Unity of Sound._

_P--pe_'s Reputation for versifying is a vulgar Error, founded only on discreet Theft: Half a Line from Mr. _Dryden_'s _Conquest of Mexico_, and another from his Translation of _Virgil_, have seemingly made tolerable Music, when join'd in his Works; but Music of the _Morocco_ Kind, which has but one Note.

(d) _Who taught declining _Wycherley_------_

Mr. _Wycherley_ subscribed to a Compliment (some say, before his Death) upon _P--pe_'s Pastorals, in which he says, his _Arcadia speaks the Language of the Mall_, but does not explain, whether he means at Noon or Night. I do not agree with what Mr. _Wycherley_ is supposed to have writ of him, but I do with what he certainly said of him, _viz._ _That he was not able to make a Suit of Cloaths, but could perhaps turn an old Coat._

(e) _Which Doctor _Y------__

The Reverend Doctor _Edward Young_, who, in this Quarrel of the great contending Powers in Poesy, has been courted by all Sides: But some late Incidents give a Suspicion, that he has privately acceded to the _Treaty of Twickenham_.

(f) _Poor _G----_, who loses most----_

Mr. _Gay_, not thought to be the entire Author of the _Beggar's Opera_, and ordered to own _Three Hours after Marriage_.

(g) _By _Rich_ recorded------_

_Gilbert Pickering Rich._ A great Admirer of _P--pe_, eminent for his Translation of _Horace_, which can be equall'd by nothing but _P--pe_'s translating of _Homer_. He concludes the first Ode by giving (_sublimi feriam sidera vertice_) in these Words;

I'll bound, I'll spring, I'll strike the weaken'd Pole,
I'll knock so hard, I'll knock thro' it a Hole.

(h) _------Breaks all _Sinai_'s Laws except the Second._

Second Commandment: "Thou shalt not make the Likeness of any Thing in Heaven above, or on the Earth beneath, or the Waters under the Earth."

(i) _Forget awhile _Belinda_ and the Sun._

In the _Rape of the Lock_, _Belinda_ and the Sun are very often said to be very much alike, which occasion'd two Lines in Praise of that Poem, written by a Friend of Mr. _Pope_;

Here, like the Sun, _Belinda_ strikes the Swain,
In the same Page like the same Sun again.

Monsieur _Boileau_, speaking of the Poetasters of his Nation, in a Poem to the King, makes this Comparison the Consummation of Dulness;

_Et enfin te compare au Soloeil._

And in the End he compares your Majesty to the Sun.

(k) _------Half-paid drudging _B----me_._

The Reverend Mr. _B----me_, who translated a great Part of _Homer_, and construed the Rest: _N.B. A half-paid Poet_ is oftentimes the Occasion of an _unpaid Taylor_.

(l) _Sleep, Sleep in Peace------_

These Lines are a Parody of a famous Passage in the Tragedy of _Phædra_ and _Hyppolitus_.

Sleep, Sleep in Peace, ye Monsters of the Wood:
No more my early Horn shall wake------

_So when bright _Venus_ yielded up her Charms,
The blest _Adonis_ languish'd in her Arms;
His idle Horn on flagrant Myrtle hung,
His Arrows scatter'd, and his Bow unstrung;
Obscure in Covert lay his dreaming Hounds,
And bay'd the fancy'd Boar with feeble Sounds:
For nobler Sports he quits the savage Fields,
And all the Hero to the Lover yields._

FINIS.

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* * * * *
* * * *

[Transcriber's Note:

Footnotes are here shown between stanzas. The labels (a, b, c) are unchanged.]

The

_BLATANT-BEAST._

a

POEM.

What is that Blatant-Beast? Then he reply'd.
It is a Monster bred of hellish Race,
Then answered he, which often hath annoy'd
Good Knights and Ladies true, and many else destroy'd.
SPENCER's Fairy Queen, Book VI. Canto I.

No Might, no Greatness in Mortality
Can Censure 'scape: Back-wounding Calumny
The whitest Virtue strikes. What King so strong,
Can tye the Gall up in sland'rous Tongue?
SHAKESPEAR.

[Decoration]

_LONDON:_

Printed for J. ROBINSON, at the _Golden Lyon_
in _Ludgate-street_.

MDCCXLII.

[Decoration]

The

_BLATANT-BEAST_

a

POEM.

Beauty, the fondling Mother's earliest Pray'r,
Nature's kind Gift to sweeten worldly Care.
Beauty the greatest Extasy imparts,
Steals thro' our Eyes, and revels in our Hearts;
Adds Lustre to a Crown, gives Weight to Sense,
The Orator assists in Truth's Defence.
The very Fool our Hearts resistless warms,
And while we curse the Tongue, the Figure charms.
If Beauty be the Subject of our Praise,
A rude, mishapen Lump Contempt must raise.

When _Lucifer_ with Angels held first Place,
Seraphic Beauty sparkled in his Face.
By Pride and Malice tempted to rebel,
Vengeance pursu'd him to the lowest Hell:
Not sulph'rous Lakes suffic'd, nor dreary Plains;
Deformity was join'd t' improve his Pains.

Paint then the Person, and expose the Mind,
Who rails at others, to his own Faults blind.
Sly _Sancho_'s Paunch, meagre _Don Quixot_'s Love,
The Satyr and the Ridicule improve.
So when fam'd _Butler_ wou'd Rebellion paint,
He lasht the Traitor and the Mimic Saint.
Sir _Hudibras_ he sung; the crumpled Wight,
Contempt and Laughter ever will excite.

The Blatant-Beast once more has broke his Chains,
Disperses Falshoods, and remorseless reigns.
Scornful of all thy Verses dare design,
(Where useless Epithets crowd ev'ry Line,)
The Blatant-Beast shall be afresh pursu'd,
Nor cease my Labours till again subdu'd.

Distorted Elf! to Nature a Disgrace,
Thy Mind envenom'd pictur'd in thy Face;
Malice with Envy in thy Breast combines,
And in thy Visage grav'd those ghastly Lines.
Like Plagues, like Death thy ranc'rous Arrows fly,
At Good and Bad, at Friend and Enemy.
To thy own Breast recoils the erring Dart,
Corrupts thy Blood, and rankles in thy Heart.
There swell the Poisons which thy Breast distend,
And with the Load thy Mountain Shoulders bend.
Horrid to view! retire from human Sight,
Nor with thy Figure pregnant Dames affright.
Crawl thro' thy childish Grot, growl round thy Grove,
A Foe to Man, an Antidote to Love.
In Curses waste thy Time instead of Pray'r,
(a) And with thy Breath pollute the fragrant Air.
There doze o'er _Shakespear_; then thy Blunders fell
(b) At mighty Price; this Truth let _Tonson_ tell.
Then frontless intimate, (oh perjur'd Bard!)
Thy Labours were bestow'd without Reward.
On that immortal Author wreak thy Spite,
(c) And on his Monument thy Nonsense write.
Should _Theobald_ thy presumptuous Errors shew,
Be thou to _Theobald_ an invet'rate Foe.
_Cibber_ shall foremost in thy Satyrs stand;
His Plays succeed, and thine was justly damn'd.
But _Colley_ call him, when thou would'st declame;
Great is the Jest that lies in _Colley_'s Name.

[Footnote a: It is surely allowable to treat a Man after this
manner who abuses all others, and to make this just Reflexion,
since in his new _Dunciad_ he not only calls _Mummius_ a Fool,
but uses this filthy Expression--who stinks above the Ground.]

[Footnote b: See this farther explained in the ingenious Dialogues
of _Sawney_ and _Colley_.]

[Footnote c: Tho' he was informed that Wreck was improper, yet he
was resolv'd it should be inscrib'd, because the Nonsense was in
his Edition of _Shakespear_.]

Beware all ye, whom he as Friends carest,
How ye entrust your Secrets to his Breast.
(a) On Backs of Letters was his _Homer_ wrote,
All your Affairs disclos'd to save a Groat.
He valu'd not to whom he gave Offence;
He sav'd his Paper, tho' at your Expence.

[Footnote a: When he sent his _Homer_ to his Acquaintance for
their Emendations, it was written on the Back of the Letters of
his Correspondents, whether of Business, Complement or Secrecy.
A shameful Instance of Avarice and Treachery!]

But shall a low-born Wretch the best traduce,
And call it Poetry, because Abuse?
The Heav'n-born Muse, by Truth and Justice sway'd,
To false Aspersions ne'er vouchsafes her Aid.
When unprovok'd, not vengeful Wasps molest,
Nor dart their Stings, when undisturb'd their Nest.
Thy Muse, by _Virgil_'s Harpies taught to write,
Scatters her Ordure in her screaming Flight;
Sacred Religion and her Priests defames,
And against Monarchs saucily exclames.
(a) The Fathers, of our Church the surest Guides,
As a poor Pack of Punsters she derides.
But chief O _Cam!_ and _Isis!_ dread her Frown,
(b) Chain'd to the Footstool of the Goddess' Throne.
No Order, no Degree escapes her Rage,
And dull, and dull, and dull swells ev'ry Page.
Thirsty, she Poison draws from ev'ry Flow'r,
Like Satan, seeks whom next she may devour.

[Footnote a: _Vide_ Notes on the new _Dunciad_.]

[Footnote b: Goddess of Dullness.]

So have I seen a Dog distracted roam;
He bites, he snaps at all, disgorging Foam.
The frighten'd Passenger the Danger flies,
And sees the Poison flashing from his Eyes.
Till some stout Dray-man dashes out his Brains,
And his corrupted Blood the Kennel stains.

Thy Notes pedantic shall no more engage;
_Arbuthnot_'s Wit enlivens not the Page.
Thy Muse, that Prostitute abandon'd Jade,
Now flounders in the Mire without _Swift_'s Aid.
Thy base Invectives Men no more regard;
With just Disdain thy Scare-Crow Muse is heard.

So when the latent Seeds their Fruits display,
And gain fresh Vigour from a genial Ray:
The careful Hind a monst'rous Figure frames;
From various Rags unwonted Terror streams.
The feather'd Choristers in Flocks retreat,
And at a Distance view the tempting Bait.
At length grown bold, they perch upon his Head,
And with their Meute bedawb what late they fled.

_B-ns-n_ abuse for raising _Milton_'s Bust,
And impiously molest learn'd _Johnston_'s Dust.
Religious, he the Psalms in _Latin_ sung,
From hence the Malice of the Deist sprung.
While with a just Derision we survey,
Thy wretched Epitaph on poor _John Gay_.

Had _Peter_, _Charters_ thee with Gold supply'd,
_Peter_ and _Charters_ had been deify'd.
But ev'ry Lord, each gen'rous Friend implore,
And by Subscriptions meanly swell thy Store.
When to the Town by sordid Int'rest led,
Mump for a Dinner, flatter for a Bed.
Then to thy Grot retire, indulge thy Spite,
And rail at those who for Subsistence write.
Summon thy Rags, invoke thy scurril Muse,
With keenest Malice _Addison_ abuse.
Sculking, the Scandal privately disperse,
(a) Then own in Prose the Baseness of thy Verse.

[Footnote a: He writ a vile Lampoon on Mr. _Addison_, and then in
a Preface owns, he deserves Respect from every Lover of Learning.]

So e're _Arachne_ to her Cell repairs,
Insidiously she weaves her glewy Snares.
Sullen, she meditates on Deaths to come,
And meliorates the Poison in her Womb.
(b) Should hapless _Clarion_ thither take his Flight,
He falls her Prey, mindful of ancient Spite.

[Footnote b: _Vide_ _Spencer_'s Fate of the Butterfly.]

With Malice swoll'n, Pride, Envy, Avarice,
Ingratitude attends this Train to Vice.
Yet one remains untold; with Lust endu'd,
Behold the Fribler lab'ring to be lewd.
Kind _Cibber_ interpos'd, forbad the Banns,
He'd peopled else this Isle with _Calibans_.

(a) The noble _Timon_, in thy waspish Strains,
A Proof of thy Ingratitude remains.
Courteous to all, munificent, humane,
Subject of others Praise, to thee of Pain.
Exalted far above thy groveling State,
The Object of his Pity, not his Hate.
He smiles at Scandal so unjustly thrown,
And at thy Malice he disdains to frown.

[Footnote a: _Vide_ a Poem on Taste.]

Thus oft we see a currish, Mungrel Crew,
A stately Mastiff eagerly pursue.
They swarm around, they yelp, they snarl, they grin,
Bold in Appearance, timerous within:
With such mean Foes he deigns not to engage,
But lifts his Leg, and pisses out their Rage.

How dar'st thou, Peasant, give thy Pen this Loose?
Becomes it thee thus madly to traduce?
The Great, the Low, the Virtuous, and the Base,
Alike are grown thy Subject of Disgrace.
Safe in thy Weakness, thou defi'st a Foe;
E'en (b) _Cibber_'s Cudgel scorn'd to stoop so low.
The Mercy of the Law restrains thy Fears;
_Coventry_'s Act secures thy Nose and Ears.
Yet there remains, to fill thy Soul with Care,
A Blanket to curvet thee in the Air.

[Footnote b: _Vide_ _Cibber_'s Letter to _Pope_.]

O wretched Life consum'd in restless Pains,
Where Dread of Punishment incessant reigns!
Poor Self-Tormentor! in whose gloomy Breast
The Vulture dwells, inhospitable Guest.
Be to my Foe no greater Curse assign'd!
Than a malignant Heart and envious Mind.

Thrice happy he! that's with Good Nature blest,
Love of his Species rules his tender Breast;
Nor there confin'd: The Brute Creation share
His kind Beneficence and gen'rous Care.
No base malicious Thoughts his Peace annoy:
Are others happy? he partakes their Joy.
Chearful and innocent the Day he spends,
And Silver Sleep his quiet Nights attends.

But thou, a Stranger to this Peace of Mind,
Search where thou may'st conspicuous Merit find:
There strive to blacken with thy utmost Art,
And rail the more, the greater the Desert.

Is there a Man, an Honour to the Age,
Unsully'd by the keenest Party-rage;
By Vice untainted; who, from early Youth,
Firmly adher'd to Honour, Justice, Truth;
Whom no unruly Passions e're cou'd blind,
Nor ruffle his Serenity of Mind;
His Country's Good, the Patriot's noblest View,
Unbrib'd, unaw'd, does stedfastly pursue;
Polite in Manners, and rever'd his Sense,
And long in Senates fam'd for Eloquence;
But if to these Endowments of the Mind,
A graceful Figure happily is join'd,
Then flows thy Gall, then raves thy half-form'd Clay,
Then frets thy putrid Carcass to Decay.

So when the croaking Toad the Ox beheld,
His envious Heart with Indignation swell'd.
Vainly the Reptil thought he could extend
His bloated Form, and Nature's Error mend.
He drew his Breath; he swell'd--he burst; he dy'd
A Victim to his Arrogance and Pride.

_FINIS._

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The Augustan Reprint Society

WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY

University of California, Los Angeles

PUBLICATIONS IN PRINT

[Where available, Project Gutenberg e-text numbers are shown in
brackets.]

1948-1949

16. Nevil Payne, _Fatal Jealousy_ (1673). [16916]

17. Nicholas Rowe, _Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespeare_ (1709). [16275]

18. "Of Genius," in _The Occasional Paper_, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719); and Aaron Hill's Preface to _The Creation_ (1720). [15870]

1949-1950

22. Samuel Johnson, _The Vanity of Human Wishes_ (1749) and two _Rambler_ papers (1750). [13350]

23. John Dryden, _His Majesties Declaration Defended_ (1681). [15074]

1950-1951

26. Charles Macklin, _The Man of the World_ (1792). [14463]

1951-1952

31. Thomas Gray, _An Elegy Wrote in a Country Churchyard_ (1751); and _The Eton College Manuscript_. [15409]

1952-1953

41. Bernard Mandeville, _A Letter to Dion_ (1732).

1954-1955

49. Two St. Cecilia's Day Sermons (1696, 1697).

52. Pappity Stampoy, _A Collection of Scotch Proverbs_ (1663). [7018]

1958-1959

75. John Joyne, _A Journal_ (1679).

76. André Dacier, _Preface to Aristotle's Art of Poetry_ (1705).

1959-1960

80. [P. Whalley], _An Essay on the Manner of Writing History_ (1746).

83. _Sawney and Colley_ (1742) and other Pope Pamphlets.

84. Richard Savage, _An Author to be lett_ (1729).

1960-1961

85-6. _Essays on the Theatre from Eighteenth-Century Periodicals_.

90. Henry Needler, _Works_ (1728).

1961-1962

93. John Norris, _Cursory Reflections Upon a Book Call'd, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding_ (1690).

94. An. Collins, _Divine Songs and Meditacions_ (1653).

95. _An Essay on the New Species of Writing Founded by Mr. Fielding_ (1751).

96. _Hanoverian Ballads_.

1962-1963

97. Myles Davies, Selections from _Athenae Britannicae_ (1716-1719).

98. _Select Hymns Taken Out of Mr. Herbert's Temple_ (1697).

99. Thomas Augustine Arne, _Artaxerxes_ (1761).

100. Simon Patrick, _A Brief Account of the New Sect of Latitude Men_ (1662).

101-2. Richard Hurd, _Letters on Chivalry and Romance_ (1762).

1963-1964

103. Samuel Richardson, _Clarissa_: Preface, Hints of Prefaces, and Postscript.

104. Thomas D'Urfey, _Wonders in the Sun, or, the Kingdom of the Birds_ (1706).

105. Bernard Mandeville, _An Enquiry into the Causes of the Frequent Executions at Tyburn_ (1725).

106. Daniel Defoe, _A Brief History of the Poor Palatine Refugees_ (1709).

107-8. John Oldmixon, _An Essay on Criticism_ (1728).

William Andrews Clark Memorial Library: University of California, Los Angeles

The Augustan Reprint Society

GENERAL EDITORS

EARL MINER
University of California, Los Angeles

MAXIMILLIAN E. NOVAK
University of California, Los Angeles

LAWRENCE CLARK POWELL
Wm. Andrews Clark Memorial Library

_Corresponding Secretary_:

Mrs. Edna C. Davis, Wm. Andrews Clark Memorial Library

The Society's purpose is to publish reprints (usually facsimile reproductions) of rare seventeenth and eighteenth century works. All income of the Society is devoted to defraying costs of publication and mailing.

Correspondence concerning subscriptions in the United States and Canada should be addressed to the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 2205 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. Correspondence concerning editorial matters may be addressed to any of the general editors. The membership fee is $5.00 a year for subscribers in the United States and Canada and 30/- for subscribers in Great Britain and Europe. British and European subscribers should address B. H. Blackwell, Broad Street, Oxford, England. Copies of back issues in print may be obtained from the Corresponding Secretary.

PUBLICATIONS FOR 1964-1965

JOHN TUTCHIN, _Selected Poems_ (1685-1700). Introduction by Spiro Peterson.

SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE, _An Essay upon the Original and Nature of Government_ (1680). Introduction by Robert C. Steensma.

T. R., _An Essay Concerning Critical and Curious Learning_ (1698). Introduction by Curt A. Zimansky.

ANONYMOUS, _Political Justice. A Poem_ (1736). Introduction by Burton R. Pollin and John W. Wilkes.

_Two Poems Against Pope_: LEONARD WELSTED, _One Epistle to Mr. A. Pope_ (1730); ANONYMOUS, _The Blatant Beast_ (1740). Introduction by Joseph V. Guerinot.

ROBERT DODSLEY, _An Essay on Fable_ (1764). Introduction by Jeanne K. Welcher and Richard Dircks.

THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY

William Andrews Clark Memorial Library

2205 WEST ADAMS BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90018

Make check or money order payable to THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

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* * * * *

Errata (added by transcriber):

Editor's Introduction
in which our Author was abused
[_Text reads "was / was" at line break. It is assumed that this
error was not present in the original text, since the editor does
not include a (sic) or similar notation_]
probably intentional ambiguity [international]
it being written by Mr. Welsted and others.[10] [_" missing_]
Pope's _Illiad_.[22] [_spelling unchanged_]
The writer shows a talent for invective, [invenctive]

Editor's Introduction: Footnotes
the Son of a ____.
[_here and later, the text uses lowlines in place of dashes_]

One Epistle: Preface
Gareteers, and Beggars,: If he can
[_punctuation unchanged_]
Dr. _Arburthnot_, who originally sketch'd the Design
[_spelling unchanged_]

Blatant-Beast
BEAUTY, the fondling Mother's earliest [_' invisible_]
A rude, mishapen Lump Contempt must raise. [_spelling unchanged_]

Augustan Reprint Society
22. ... and two _Rambler_ papers (1750) [_final . added_]