which did not fee what the gay foliage concealed, and for a time flourished in the funfhine of univerfal approbation. So little was any evil tendency difcovered, that, as innocence is unfufpicious, many read it for a manual of piety. Its reputation foon invited a tranflator. It was first turned into French profe, and afterwards by Refnel into verfe. Both tranflations fell into the hands of Croufaz, who firft, when he had the verfion in profe, wrote a general cenfure, and afterwards reprinted Ref nel's verfion, with particular remarks upon every paragraph. Croufaz was a profeffor of Switzerland, eminent for his treatife of Logick, and his Examen de Pyrrhonifme, and, however little known or regarded here, was no mean antagonist. His mind was one of thofe in which philofophy and piety are happily united. He was accuftomed to argument and difquifition, and perhaps was grown too defirous of detecting faults; but his intentions were always right, his opinions were folid, and his religion pure. His inceflant vigilance for the promotion of piety difpofed him to look with diftruft upon all metaphyfical fyftems of Theology, and all fchemes of virtue and happiness purely rational; and therefore it was not long before he was perfuaded that the politions of Pope, as they terminated for the most part in natural religion, were intended to draw mankind away from revelation, and to reprefent the whole course of things as a necellary concatenation of indiffoluble fatality; and it is undeniable, that in many paffages a religious eye may cafily difcover expreffions not very favourable to morals, or to liberty. About About this time Warburton began to make his appearance in the first ranks of learning. He was a man of vigorous faculties, a mind fervid and vehement, fupplied by inceffant and unlimited enquiry, with wonderful extent and variety of knowledge, which yet had not oppreffed 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 scholar, the reafoner, and the wit. But his knowledge was too multifarious to be always exact, and his pursuits were 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 wishes of fome who favoured the cause. He feems to have adopted the Roman Emperor's determination, oderint dum metuant; he used no allurements of gentle language, but wifhed to compel rather than perfuade. His ftyle is copious without felection, and forcible without neatness; he took the words that presented themselves his diction is coarse and impure, and his fentences are unmeasured. He had, in the early part of his life, pleafed himfelf 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 obferve borrows for want "of leafure, and Pope for want of genius: Milton out "of pride, and Addifon out of modefty." F 2 And when Theobald published Shakespeare, in opposition to Pope, the best notes were supplied by Warburton. But the time was now come 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 inconftancy; but furely to think differently, at different times, of poetical merit, may be easily allowed. Such opinions are often admitted, and difmiffed, without nice examination. Who is there that has not found reason for changing his mind about questions of greater importance? Warburton, whatever was his motive, undertook, without folicitation, to refcue Pope from the talons of Croufaz, by freeing him from the imputation of favouring fatality, or rejecting revelation; and from month to month continued a vindication of the Effay on Man, in the literary journal of that time called The Republick of Letters. Pope, who probably began to doubt the tendency of his own work, was glad that the pofitions, of which he perceived himself not to know the full meaning, could by any mode of interpretation be made to mean well. How much he was pleafed with his gratuitous defender, the following Letter evidently fhews: * The commencement of the acquaintance between Pope and Warburton was accidental: it began at the bookseller's fhop at the corner of the Inner Temple-lane, which they happened to enter at the fame infant. “SIR, "SIR, March 24, 1743. "I have just received from Mr. R. two more of "your Letters. It is in the greateft hurry imaginable " that I write this; but I cannot help thanking you in "particular for your third Letter, which is fo ex"tremely clear, fhort, and full, that I think Mr. "Croufaz ought never to have another anfwer, and "deferved not fo good an one. I can only fay, you "do him too much honour, and me too much right, "fo odd as the expreffion feems; for you have made my fyftem as clear as I ought to have done, and "could not. It is indeed the fame fyftem as mine, "but illuftrated with a ray of your own, as they fay "our natural body is the fame ftill when it is glorified. "I am fure I like it better than I did before, and fo "will every man elfe. I know I meant juft what you "explain; but I did not explain my own meaning fo "well as you. You understand me as well as I do my"felf; but you exprefs me better than I could exprefs "myself. Pray accept the fincereft acknowledge"ments. I cannot but wifh thefe Letters were put "together in one Book, and intend (with your leave) "to procure a tranflation of part, at leaft, of all of "them into French; but I fhall not proceed a ftep "without your consent and opinion, &c.” By this fond and eager acceptance of an exculpatory comment, Pope teftified that, whatever might be the feeming or real import of the principles which he had received from Bolingbroke, he had not intentionally attacked religion; and Bolingbroke, if he meant to make him without his own confent an inftrument of mifchief, found him now engaged with his eyes open on the fide of truth. It is known that Bolingbroke concealed from Pope his real opinions. He once difcovered them to Mr. Hooke, who related them again to Pope, and was told by him that he must have mistaken the meaning of what he heard; and Bolingbroke, when Pope's uneafinefs incited him to defire an explanation, declared that Hooke had misunderstood him. Bolingbroke hated Warburton, who had drawn his pupil from him; and a little before Pope's death they had a dispute, from which they parted with mutual averfion. From this time Pope lived in the clofeft intimacy with his commentator, and amply rewarded his kindnefs and his zeal; for he introduced him to Mr. Murray, by whofe intereft he became preacher at Lincoln's Inn, and to Mr. Allen, who gave him his niece and his eftate, and by confequence a bishoprick. When he died, he left him the property of his works; a lewhich may gacy be reafonably estimated at four thou fand pounds. Pope's fondness for the Efay on Man appeared by his defire of its propagation. Dobfon, who had gained reputation by his version of Prior's Solomon, was employed by him to tranflate it into Latin verfe, and was for that purpofe fome time at Twickenham; but he left his work, whatever was the reafen, unfinished; and, by Benfon's invitation, undertook the longer task of Paradife Loft. Pope then defired his friend to find a fcholar who fhould turn his Effay into Latin profe; but no fuch performance has ever appeared. 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 mifcon duct |