This happened in the year 1728. Yet fo great was e his modefty, that he conftantly prefixed to all the editions of it this motto, Nos hæc novimus effe nibil. Ver. 332. And Pope's, ten years to comment and tranflate.] The author here plainly laments that he was fo long employed in tranflating and commenting. He began the Iliad in 1713, and finished it in 1719. The edition of Shakespeare (which he undertook merely becaufe nobody elfe would) took up near two years more in the drudgery of comparing impreffions, rectifying the Scenery, &c. and the Tranflation of half the Odyifey employed him from that time to 1725. Ver. 333. Proceed, great days! &c.] It may perhaps feem incredible, that fo great a Revolution in Learning as is here prophefied, thould be brought about by fuch weak inftruments as have been hitherto defcribed in our poem: But do not thou, gentle in reader, rett too fecure in thy contempt of thefe inftruments. Remember what the Dutch ftories fomewhere relate, that a great Part of their Provinces was once overflowed, by a small opening made in one of their dykes by a fingle Water-Rat. However, thit fuch is not feriously the judgment of our Poet, but that he conceiveth better hopes from the Diligence of our Schools, from the regulalarity of our Universities, the Difcernment of our Grear men, the Accomplishments of our Nobility, the Encouragement of our Patrons, and the Genius of our Writers of all kinds (notwithstanding fome few exceptions in each), may plainly be feen from his conclufion; where, caufing all this vifion to pafs through the Ivory gate, he exprefsly, in the language of Poefy, declares all fuch imaginations to be wild, angrounded, and fictitious. D U THE SCRIBL. NCIA D: ruben fome Figh and He heros de Gid the greater Poets are wont, worthy matter is to be fung. defs coming in her Majefty, to deftrey Order and Science, and to fubfitute the Kingdom of the Dull upon earth. How he leads captive the Sciences, ad filences the Mules; and what they be a Jucceed in their fed. All her Children, by a wonderful attraction, are drawn about her; and bear aling with them divers others, who promote her Empire by connivance, weak refifance, of discouragement of Arts; fuch as Half wits, taftelis umrers, vain Pretenders, the Flatterers of Dunces, or the Patrons of them. ill thefe crowd round her; one of them, offering to approach Ler, is driven back by a Rival, but the commends and encourages both. The first who freak in form are the Geniuses of the Schools, a her of their care to advance her Cafe by confining Youth to Words, and keeping them out of the way of real Knowledge. Their Addres, and her gracious Answer; with her Clage to them and the Universities. The Uriverfities appear by their proper Deputies, and affure her that the fame method is cherved in the progress of Edu cation. aflure The jeh of Ariftarchus on this fubJet. They are driven off by a band of young gentleme returned from Travel with their Tutors; one of whom delivers to the Goddess, in a polite oration, an account of the whole Conduct and Fruits of their Travels: prefenting to her at the fame time a yourg Nobleman je fectly accom plished. She receives him graciously, and endues him with the happy quality of Want of Shame. She fees loitering about her a number of Irdsient Ferfons abandering all bufirefs and duty, and dying with lazinefs: to theje af proact's the Antquary Annius, entreating her to make them Vire trofes, and often them over to him: but Alurmius, another Antiquary, complaining of h's fraudulent proceeding, the finds a meth d to reconcile their difference. Then erter a Trap of people fantafically adorned, offering her frarge and exotic prefents: amongst them, one ftands forth and demands juftice on another, who had deprived him of one of the greatest Curiofities in nature but he juflies himfef to well, that the Goddess gives them both ker approbation. She recommends to them to find proper employment for the Indolents before mentioned, in the judy of Butterflies, Shelte, Birds-nefts, Moss, &c. bit with particular caution, not to proceed beyond Trifles, to any useful or exterfive views of Nature, or of the Author of Nature. .ift the laft of these apprehenfiors, he is fecured by a hearty Address from the Minute Philophers and Free-thinkers, one of whom peaks the name of the rest. The Youth, thus infructed and principled, are delivered to her in a way, by the Fands of Stenus; and then admitted to tafe the Cup of the Magus her high Prift, rohich caufes a total oblivion of all Obligations, evine, cril, moral, or rul.ra.. To the her Adepts the fends Pricfts, Attendants, and Compèriers, of warious kinds; confers on them Ord rs and Degrees; and then dijmyling them with a spuch, compim ing to each his Privileges, and idling what the 3 N expects YET, yet a moment, one dim Ray of Light 5 this the Poet alluding to, in the Production of a new moral World, makes it partake of its original Principles. Ver. 16. Lead and Gold.] i. e. dull and vena!. Ver. 20. her Laure re fon reclines.] With great judgment it is imagined by the Poet, that fuch a Colleague as Dulneís hd elected, should fleep on the Throne, and have very little thire in the Achica of the Poem. Accordingly he hath done line or nothing from the day of his Anointing; having pait through the fecond book without taking port ia any thing that was trani.ted about him; and through the third in profound Sleep. Nor ought 15 this, well confidered, to feem ftrange in our days, when fo many King-conforts have done the like. Now film'd the D. g-tar's unpropitious ray, REMARKS. as SCRIBL. This verfe our excellent Laureate took fo to heart, that he appealed to all mankind, "if he was bet The DUNCIAD, Book IV.] This book may feldom aileep as any fool! But it is hoped properly be diftinguished from the former by the the Poet hath nor injured him, bu rather verified Name of the GREATER DUNCIAD, not fo indeed his Prophecy (p. 243 of his own Life, Svo. ch. ix) in Size, but in fubject; and fo far contrary to the where he fays, the rader will be as much pleated diftinction anciently made of the Greater and Leffer "to find me a Dunce in my old Age, as he was to Iliad. But much are they mistaken who imagine this" prove me a brisk block ead in my Youth."Work in any wife inferior to the former, or of any other hand than of our Poet; of which 1 am much more certain than that the Iliad itfelf was the Work of Solemon, or the Batrachom.uomachia of Honer, as Barnes hath affirmed. Wherever there was any room for Brifknefs, or Alacrity of ary fort, even in finking; he hath bad it allowed; but here, where there is nothing for him to do but to take his natural reft, he must per mit his Hiftorian to be filent. It is from their ac BENT.tions only that Princes have their character, and Peets from their works: And if in these be be as much afleep as any fool, the Poet must leave him and them to fleep to all eternity. Ver. 1, &c.] This is an Invocation of much | Piety. The Poet, willing to approve himself a genuine Son, beginneth by fhewing (what is ever agreeable to Dulness) his high refpect for Antiquity and a Great Family, how dead or dark foever: Next declareth his paffion for explaining Myfteries; and lastly his Impatience to be reunited to her. BENTL. Ibid. her Laureate] "When I find my Game in the fathical works of this, Poet, I never lock "upon it as any malice meant to me, but PROFIT to hin felf. For he confiders that my Fice is more known than moit in the nation; and there "fore a Lick at the Laureate will be a fune bait "ad captandum vulgus, to catch little readers."Life of Colley Cibber, ch. ii. SCRIEL. Ver. 2. dread Chaos, and eternal Night?} In-" voked, as the Restoration of their Empire is the Action of the Poem. Ver. 14. To blot out Order, and extinguish Light] The two great Ends of her Miflion; the Now if it be certain, that the works of our one in quality of Daughter of Chaos, the other as Poet have owed their fuccefs to this ingenious exDaughter of Night. Grder here is to be understood pedient, we hence derive an unanswerable Argu extenfively, both as Civil and Moral; the diftinc-ment, that this Fourth DUNCIAD, as well as the tion between high and low in Society, and true and false in Individuala: Light as Intellectual only, Wit, Science, Arts. Ver 15. Of dull and veral] The Allegory continued; oull referring to the extinction of Light or Science; venal to the deftruction of Order, and the Truth of Things. Ibid. a new World] In allufion the Epicurean opinion, that from the Diffclution of the natural world into Night and Chios, a new one fhould arife; former three, hath had the Author's laft hand, and was by him intended for the Prefs: Or elfe to what purpofe hath he crowned it, as we fee by this fini ing stroke, the profitable Lick at the Laureate ? BENIL. Ver. 21, 22. Beneath her foot-flool, &c.] We are next prefented with the pictures of thofe whom the Goddes leads in Captivity. Science is only depreffed and confined so as to be rendered ustless ; but Wit or Genius, as a more dangerous and at There foam'd rebellious Logic, gagg'd and bound; H's blunted Arms by Sophiftry are borne, 25 There funk Thalia, nervelefs, cold, and dead, Had not her Sifter Satire held her head: Nor could't thou, CHESTERFIELD! a tear re Thou wept'it, and with thee wept each gentle Muse, And dies, when Dulnefs gives her P. ge the word. 30 In patch-work fluttering, and her head afide; Mad Machelis alone was unconfin'd, Too mad for mere material chains to biad, Now to pure Space lifts her extatic ftare, Now running round the Circle, finds it fquare. But held in tenfold bonds the Mufes lie, Watch'd bo h by Envy's and by Flattery's eye; There to her heart fad Tragedy addrest The dagger wont to pierce the Fyrant's breaft ; But fober History rettrain'd her rage, And promis'd vengeance on a barbarous age. REMARKS, 35 40 Ave enemy, punished, or driven away: Dulnefs being often reconciled in fome degree with Learning, but never upon any terms with Wt. And accordingly it will be feen that the admits fomething like each Science, as Cafuittry, Sophiftry, &c. but nonothing like Wit, Opera alone fupplying its place Ver. 30. gives her Page the word.] There was a Judge of this name, always ready to hang any man that came before him, of which he was fuffered to give a hundred miferable examples, during a long life, even to his dotage.-Though the candid Scriblerus imagined Page here to mean no more than a Page or Mute, and to allude to the tuftom of ftrangling State Criminals in Turkey by Mutes or Pages. A practice more decent than that of our Page, who, before he hanged any one, loaded him with reproachful language. SCRIBL. Ver. 39. But fober Hiftory] Hiftery attends on Tragesy, Satire on Comedy, as their fubftitutes in the dif harge of their diftinct furctions; the one in high life, recording the crimes and punishments of the great; the other in low, expofing the vices or foilies of the common people. But it may be afked, How came History and Satire to be admitted with impunity to minifter confort to the Mufes, even in th prefence of the Goddefs, and in the midst of all her triumphs? A question, fay, Scriblerus, which we thus refolve: Hiftory was brought up in her infancy by Dulne's herfelf; but being afterwards efpouled into a noble boufe, the forgot (as is ufual) the humility of her birth, and the cares of her early friends. This occafioned a long ef trangement between her and Duinefs. At length, in process of time, they met together in a Monk's Cell, were reconc led, and became better friends After this they had a fecond quartel, but it held not long, and are now again on reafonable terms, and fo are likely to continue. This accounts for the connivance fhewn to History on this occafion. But the boid efs of SATIRE fprings from a very different caufe; for the reader ought to know, that the alone of all the filters is unconquerable, never to be filenced, when truly infpiled and ani than ever. By hoging Peers upheld on either hand, She trip'd and laugh'd, too pretty much to ftand: 50 O Cara! Cara tilence all that train: REMARKS, mated (as fhould feem) from above, for this very purpofe, to oppofe the kingdom of Dulness to her last breath. Ver. 43. Nor could't thou, &c.] This Noble Perlon in the year 1737, when the Act aforefaid was brought into the Houfe of Lords, oppofed it in an excellent fpeech (fays Mr. Cibber)" with a "lively fpirit, and uncommon eloquence." This fpeech had the honour to be answered by the faid Mr. Cibber, with a lively fpirit alfe, and in a manner very uncommon, in the 8th Chapter of his Life and Manners And here, gentle Reader, would gladly infert the other speech, whereby thou mighteft judge between them; but I must defer it on account of tome differences not yet adjunied between the noble Author, and myfelf, concerning the True Reading of certain Paffiges. BENTL. Ver. 45 When lo! a Harlet form] The Attitude given to this Phantom reprefents the nature and genius of the Italian Opera; its affected airs, its effeminate founds, and the practice of patching up thefe Operas with favourite Songs, incoherently put together. These things were fupposted by the fubfcriptions of the Novility. This circumstance, that OPERA fhould prepare for the opening of the. grand Sellious, was prophesied of in Book III. ver. 304, "Already Opera prepares the way, "The fure forerunner of her gentle fway." Ver. 54. Let Divifion reign:] Alluding to the falfe tafte of playing tricks in Mufic with numberlefs divifions, to the neglect of that harmony which conforms to the Se-fe, and applies to the Paffions. Mr. Handel had introduced a great number of Hinds, and more variety of Inftruments into the Orchestra, and employed even Drums and Cannon i to make a fuller Chorus; which proved to much too manly for the ine Gentlemen of his age, that he was obliged to remove his Music into Ireland. After which they were reduced, for want of Com→ polers, to practife the patch-work above-mentioned, 3N2 To the fame notes thy fons fhall hum, or fnore, 60 65 Strong in new Arms, lo! Giant HANEDL ftands, The gathering number, as it moves along, Nor abfent they, no members of her flate, 75 80 85 But as in graceful aft, with awful eye, Compos'd he food, bold Denton thrust him by: 110 115 When Duinefs fmiling-Thus revive the Win! But marder firit, and mince them ali to bits; 120 As erft Medea (cruel, fo to fave!) A new edition of old fon gave; Let ftandard-Authors, thus, like trophies borne, "Leave not a foot of verfe, a foot of frone, REMARKS. 130 Ver. 108-bow'd from fide to fide:] As being 90 of no one party. Ver. 110. bold Benfon] This man endeavoured to raise himfelf to Fame by erecting monuments, ftriking coins, fetting up heads, and procuring tranflations, of Milton; and afterwards by as great 95 a paffion for Arthur Johnfton, a Scotch Phyfician's Verfion of the Pfalms, of which he printed many fine editions. See more of him, Book iii. ver. 100 325. Ver. 113. The decent Knight] An eminent perfon who was about to publish a very pompous Edi There march'd the bard and blockhead fide by tion of a great Author at his own expence. fide, Ver. 76 to 101. It ought to be cbferved that here are three claffes in this aflembly. The firft of men abfolutely and avowedly dull, who naturally adhere to the Goddess, and are imaged in the fimile of the Bees about their Queen. The fecond involuntarily drawn to her, though not caring to own her influence; from ver. 81 to 90. The third of fuch as, though not members of her ftate, yet advance her fervice by flattering Dulnefs, cultivating mistaken talents, patronizing vile feriblers, difcouraging living merit, or fetting up for wits, and Lien of afte in arts they understand not; from Ver. 119. Thus revive, &c.] The Goddess applauds the practice of tacking the obfcurè names of Perfons not eminent in any branch of Learning, to thofe of the moft diftinguished Writers; either by printing Editions of their works with impertinent alterations of their Text, as in the former instances; own vile names and infcriptions, as in the latter. or by fetting up Monuments difgraced with their Ver. 128. A Page, a Grave,] For what lefs than a Grave can be granted to a dead author? er what lefs than a Page can be allowed a living one! A Page of a SCRIBL terienus. Ibid.-an Alderman fhall fit,] Alluding to the Monument erected for Butler by Alderman Barber. Ver 132. A heavy Lord fhall hang at every Wit,] How unnatural an Image, and how ill fupported! faith Ariftarchus. Had it been, A heavy Wit shall hang at every Lord, fomething might have been faid, in an Age fo diftinguished for well-judging Patrons. For LORD, then, read LOAD; that is, of Debts here, and of Commentaries hereafter. To this purpofe, confpicuous is the cafe of the poor Author of Hudibras, whole body, long fince weighed down to the Grave, by a load of Debts, has lately had a more unmerciful load of Commentaries laid upon his Spirit; wherein the Editor has atchieved more than Virgil himself, when he turned Critic, could boast of, which was only, that he had picked gold out of another man's dung; whereas the Editor has picked it out of his own. SCRIEL. Aristarchus thirks the common reading right: and that the author himfelf had been fruggling, and but juft fhaken off his Load when he wrote the following Epigram: "My Lord complains, that Pope, ftark mad with "gardens, Dunce fcorning Dunce beholds the next advance, This is not to be 'afcribed fo much to the different His beaver'd brow a birchen garland wears, 165 Oh (cry'd the Goddefs) for fome pedant Reign! Some gentle JAMES, to blefs the land again; 176 REMARKS. Ver. 140. the dreadful wand ;] A cane ufually borne by Schoolmasters, which drives the poor fouls about like the wand of Mercury. SCRIRL. Ver. 151. like the Samian letter,] The letter Y ufed by Pythagoras as an emblem of the different roads of Virtue and Vice. "Et tibi quæ Samios diduxit litera ramos.", Perf. Ver. 174. that Mafter-piece of Man.] Viz. an Epigram. The famous Dr. South, declared a perfect Epigram to be as difficult a performance as an Epic Poem. And the Critics fay, "An Epic Poem is the greatest work human nature is ca"pable of." Ver. 176. Some gentle JAMES, &c.] Wilfon tells us that this King, James the Firit, took upon himself to teach the Latin tongue to Car, Earl of Somerfet; and that Gondomar the Spanish Ambaffedor would fpeak falfe Latin to him, on purpose to give him the pleasure of correcting it, whereby he wrought himfelf into his good graces. This great Prince was the firft who affumed the title of Sacred Majefty, which his loyal Clergy transferred from God to him. The Principles. ' |