Verse prays for Peace, or sings down Pope and Turk. And feels that grace his pray'r besought in vain; Our rural Ancestors, with little blest, 240 245 250 Who felt the wrong, or fear'd it, took th' alarm,' 255 At length, by wholesome dread of statutes bound1, The Poets learn'd to please, and not to wound: Most warp'd to Flatt'ry's side; but some, more nice, 260 We conquer'd France, but felt our Captive's charms; 265 Wit grew polite, and Numbers learn'd to flow. 270 275 [There is no direct historical allusion in this; the law of libel was still very indefinite even in Pope's times.] 2 Waller was smooth;] Mr. Waller, about this time with the Earl of Dorset, Mr. Godolphin, and others, translated the Pompey of Corneille; and the more correct French Poets began to be in reputation. P. [Cf. Essay on Criticism, vv. 358-384.] 4 [Racine, the younger of the two great French tragedians, was more frequently translated by the English dramatists of the Restoration than Corneille; although Hallam is doubtless right in agreeing with Sir Walter Scott that the unnatural dialogue which prevailed in the English tragedies of that age was derived from baser models than these, viz. the French romances referred to ante, V. 145. The pathetic Otway (1651-1685) was indeed among the translators and adapters of Racine; but his Venice Preserved and Òrphan, on which his fame rests, were, as dramatic pieces, original.] But Otway fail'd to polish or refine, And fluent Shakespear scarce effac'd a line1. O you! whom Vanity's light bark conveys ' [I remember the players often mentioned it as an honour to S., that in his writings, whatsoever he penned, he never blotted out a line. My answer hath been, "Would he had blotted out a thousand.' Ben Jonson's Discoveries.] 2 Ev'n copious Dryden] copious aggravated the fault. For when a writer has great stores, he is inexcusable not to discharge the easy task of choosing from the best. Warburton. 3 [Another fault which often may befal, Is, when the wit of some great poet shall So overflow, that is, be none at all That ev❜n his fools speak sense, as if possessed, And each by inspiration breaks his jest.' Sheffield, Duke of Buckinghamshire, Essay on Poetry.] 4 [George Farquhar (1678—1707), the author of Sir Harry Wildair and the Beaux Stratagem.] [John Vanbrugh (1672—1726), author of the Relapse, and architect of Blenheim. His come 280 285 290 295 300 305 310 dies, though offensive on the ground mentioned by Pope, are perhaps healthier in feeling than those of any of his contemporaries.] P. 6 Astræa] A Name taken by Mrs. Behn, Authoress of several obscene Plays, etc. [Mrs Aphra Behn owed her popularity not only to her sins, but to a wonderful knack of contriving ingenious stage-situations which must arouse the envy of modern sensational playwrights. Astræa is the title of a French romance by Honoré d'Urfé, published in 1610.] 7 [Poor Pinky is the popular low comedian, William Pinkethman, of whose face some writers, according to Cibber, made a livelihood; and concerning whom the Tatler informs posterity,' among other things, that 'he devours a cold chicken with great applause' (in the character of Harlequin). See Geneste's History of the Stage, III. pp. 136-9.] 8 [i. e. the black-pudding.] From heads to ears, and now from ears to eyes1.) 315 320 325 330 "But has he spoken?" Not a syllable. 335 What shook the stage, and made the People stare? Cato's long Wig, flow'r'd gown, and lacquer'd chair, Or praise malignly Arts I cannot reach, Alone, deserves the favour of the Great; Think of those Authors, Sir, who would rely More on a Reader's sense, than Gazer's eye. 340 345 350 Who climb their mountain, or who taste their spring? From heads to ears, and now from ears to eyes.] From Plays to Operas, and from Operas to Pantomimes. Warburton. [Pantomimes were brought into the full blaze of public favour by Rich, manager of Covent Garden, in 1723; and Cibber, at Drury Lane, was obliged to produce the same kind of entertainment in self-defence.] 2 Old Edward's Armour beams on Cibber's breast.] The Coronation of Henry VIII. and Queen Anne Boleyn, in which the Playhouses vied with each other to represent all the pomp of a Coronation. In this noble contention, the Armour of one of the Kings of England was bor How shall we fill a Library with Wit1, When Merlin's Cave is half unfurnish'd yet?? My Liege! why Writers little claim your thought, I guess; and, with their leave, will tell the fault: Of all mankind, the creatures most absurd: 355 360 365 But most, when straining with too weak a wing, 370 T'enroll your Triumphs o'er the seas and land3, Be call'd to Court to plan some work divine, As once for LOUIS, Boileau and Racine. 375 Yet think, great Sir! (so many Virtues shown) Ah think, what Poet best may make them known? Or choose at least some Minister of Grace, 380 And great Nassau 6 to Kneller's hand decreed So well in paint and stone they judg'd of merit: 385 C One knighted Blackmore, and one pension'd Quarles7; The Forms august, of King, or conqu'ring Chief, What seas you travers'd, and what fields you fought! 390 395 Great George's acts let tuneful Cibber sing; 5 [The Italian sculptor, Bernini, whose roccoco works fill St Peter's at Rome.] 6 [King William III.] 7 [Francis Quarles, the author of the Emblems, died in 1644. Pope has done this ingenious member of the religious section of the Fantastic school great injustice in ranking him on a level with Blackmore.] Your Country's Peace, how oft, how dearly bought1! And Asia's Tyrants tremble at your Throne→ But most of all, the Zeal of Fools in rhyme. 400 405 410 415 THE SECOND EPISTLE OF THE SECOND BOOK OF HORACE. Ludentis speciem dabit, et torquebitur. HOR. [v. 124.] [Horace's Epistle is addressed to Julius Florus, an officer attached to the person of Tiberius in a military expedition abroad. Pope's Epistle, which like the Horatian treats the subject chiefly from a personal point of view, has much biographical value.] D EAR Col'nel, COBHAM's and your country's Friend! 1 [Ironical allusions to the pacific policy of George II.'s minister Walpole.] 2 From an anonymous poem, "The Celebrated Beauties,' published in Tonson's Miscellany in 1709. Carruthers. [Laurence Eusden, poet laureate under Charles II. Cf. Dunciad, I. v. 104.] 4 [Ambrose Philips, among other offences, perpetrated an Ode in honour of Walpole.] 5 [Elkanah Settle, the city-poet and the Doeg of Absalom and Achitophel.] 6 Colonel Cotterell, of Rousham near Oxford, the descendant of Sir Charles Cotterell, who, at the desire of Charles I., translated Davila into English. Warton. This Lad, Sir, is of Blois:] A Town in Beauce, where the French tongue is spoken in great purity. Warburton. |