None need a guide, by sure attraction led, None want a place, for all their Centre found, There march'd the bard and blockhead, side by side, Look'd a white lily sunk beneath a show'r 2. There mov'd Montalto with superior air; His stretch'd-out arm display'd a volume fair; 105 Thro' both he pass'd, and bow'd from side to side3: Compos'd he stood, bold Benson thrust him by: She blows not both with the same Wind, P. and Warburton. [Part om.] 1 [The curl of the wig at the top of the head.] 2 Means Dr Middleton's laboured encomium on Lord Hervey, in his dedication of the Life of Cicero. Warton. 3 bow'd from side to side:] As being of no one party. Warburton. 4 bold Benson] This man endeavoured to raise himself to Fame by erecting monuments, striking coins, setting up heads, and procuring translations, of Milton; and afterwards by as great passion for Arthur Johnston, a Scotch physician's version of the Psalms, of which he printed many fine editions. See more of him, Book III, ver. 325. P. and Warburton. 5 The decent Knight] An eminent person, who was about to publish a very pompous edition of a great Author, at his own expense. P. and Warburton. Sir Thomas Hanmer. Wakefield. [His edition of Shakspere was published at Oxford in 1744, with a kind of sanction from the University, as it was printed at the theatre with the imprimatur of the Vice-Chancellor, and had no publisher's name on the title-page.' It was beautifully printed and obtained much favour, but its text is characterised by the editors of Withdrew his hand, and clos'd the pompous page1. 115 On whom three hundred gold-capt youths await, When Dulness, smiling-"Thus revive the Wits! But murder first, and mince them all to bits; 120 As erst Medea (cruel, so to save!) A new Edition of old son3 gave; Let standard-authors, thus, like trophies born, A heavy Lord shall hang at ev'ry Wit, So by each Bard an Alderman shall sit, And while on Fame's triumphal Car they ride, Some Slave of mine be pinion'd to their side." Now crowds on crowds around the Goddess press, Each eager to present their first Address. Dunce scorning Dunce beholds the next advance, 125 130 135 When lo! a Spectre rose, whose index-hand 140 145 And holds his breeches close with both his hands. the Cambridge Shakspere (Preface, p. xxxiv.) as better indeed than Pope's, inasmuch as many of Theobald's restorations and some probable emendations were introduced, but showing no trace of collation of the earlier Folios or any of the Quartos.] 1 Ver. 114. "What! no respect, he cry'd, for SHAKESPEAR'S page?" Thus revive, &c.] The Goddess applauds the practice of tacking the obscure names of Persons not eminent in any branch of learning, to those of the most distinguished Writers; either by printing Editions of their works with impertinent alterations of their Text, as in the former instances; or by setting up Monuments disgraced with their own vile names and inscriptions, as in the latter. P. and Warburton. 3 old Eson] Of whom Ovid (very applicable to these restored authors), Eson miratur, Dissimilemque animum subiit'P. and Warburton. [Met. VII. 292? where the story of Medea making Eson, the father of lason, young again is narrated concluded. The quotation is garbled.] A Page, Pagina, not Pedissequus. A Page of a Book; not a Servant, Follower, or Attendant; no Poet having had a Page since the death of Mr Thomas Durfey. Scriblerus. P. and Warburton. 5 So by each Bard an Alderman, &c.] Vide the Tombs of the Poets, Editio Westmonasteri ensis. P. and Warburton. 6 an Alderman shall sit,] Alluding to the monument erected for Butler by Alderman Barber. P. 7 [Winchester.] 8 [Personified in Dr Busby, who wielded his ferule at Westminster School from 1640 to 1695 Then thus. 'Since Man from beast by Words is known, 150 155 To ask, to guess, to know, as they commence, "Oh" (cry'd the Goddess) "for some pedant Reign! 1 like the Samian letter,] The letter Y, used by Pythagoras as an emblem of the different roads of Virtue and Vice. 'Et tibi quæ Samios diduxit litera ramos.' Pers. [Sat. III. v. 56]. P. and Warburton. 2 Plac'd at the door, &c.] This circumstance of the Genius Loci (with that of the Index-hand before) seems to be an allusion to the Table of Cebes, where the Genius of human Nature points out the road to be pursued by those entering into life. P. and Warburton. 3 to stand too wide.] A pleasant allusion to the description of the door of Wisdom in the Table of Cebes. Warburton. in yonder House or Hall.] Westminsterhall and the House of Commons. P. 5 [Sir William Wyndham, a leading member of the opposition against Walpole, died in 1740.] 6 [C. Imit. of Hor. Bk. 11. Ep. ii. v. 154.] 7 [Cf. Imit. of Hor. Bk. 1. Ep. vi.] 8 [Cf. Epil. to Satires, Dial. II. v. 84.] 160 165 170 175 180 9 that Master-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 say, "an Epic Poem is the greatest work human nature is capable of." P. and Warburton. 10 Some gentle JAMES, &c.] Wilson tells us that this King, James the First, took upon himself to teach the Latin tongue to Car, earl of Somerset; and that Gondomar the Spanish ambassador would speak false Latin to him, on purpose to give him the pleasure of correcting it, whereby he wrought himself into his good graces. This great Prince was the first who assumed the title of Sacred Majesty. Warburton. [Part om.] That which my Priests, and mine alone, maintain, 185 193 [Tho' Christ-church long kept prudishly away*.] Each staunch Polemic, stubborn as a rock, Came whip and spur, and dash'd thro' thin and thick On German Crouzaz, and Dutch Burgersdyck. As many quit the streams that murm'ring fall To lull the sons of Margret and Clare-hall, 200 205 [The theory of the divine right of the sovereign and its absolute independence of the law, was first fully developed in Cowell's Interpreter (1607); and carried out to its logical consequences in Filmer's Patriarca, which has been termed by Gneist the standard of this theory of government under Charles I.] 2 [Prompt at the call,-Aristotle's friends] The Author, with great propriety, hath made these, who were so prompt at the call of Dulness, to become preachers of the Divine Right of Kings, to be the friends of Aristotle; for this philosopher, in his politics, hath laid it down as a principle, that some men were, by nature, made to serve, and others to ccmmand. Warburton. 3 A hundred head of Aristotle's friends.] The Philosophy of Aristotle hath suffered a long disgrace in this learned University: being first expelled by the Cartesian, which, in its turn, gave place to the Newtonian. But it had all this while some faithful followers in secret, who never bowed the knee to Baal, nor acknowledged any strange God in Philosophy. These, on this new appearance of the Goddess, come out like Confessors, and made an open profession of the ancient faith, in the ipse dixit of their Master. SCRIBLERUS. [Dr Law speaks of the old scholastic method which clung to 'the dull, crabbed system of Aristotle's logic' as still prevailing in our public forms of education a short time before this satire was written (1723). See Mullinger's Essay on Cambridge in the Seventeenth Century.] [Tho' Christ-church] This line is doubtless spurious, and foisted in by the impertinence of the Editor; and accordingly we have put it be tween Hooks. For I affirm this College came as early as any other, by its proper Deputies; nor did any College pay homage to Dulness in its whole body. BENTLEY.' P. and Warburton. 5 still expelling Locke,] In the year 1703 there was a meeting of the heads of the University of Oxford to censure Mr Locke's Essay on Human Understanding, and to forbid the reading it. See his Letters in the last Edit. P. [But he was never expelled, only deprived of his studentship at Christ-Church; and this on the ground of political suspicions, before he had written his great Essay.] 6 [The hostility of Pope to Crouzaz is readily accounted for by the attack made by the latter on the Essay on Man. But Pope committed a gross mistake in introducing his adversary among Locke's Aristotelian opponents, as C. had formed his philosophy in the school of Locke. Dugald Stewart, quoted by Roscoe.] 7 the streams] The river Cam, running by the walls of these Colleges, which are particularly famous for their skill in Disputation. P. and Warburton. 8 sleeps in Port.] Viz. "now retired into harbour, after the tempests that had long agitated his society." So SCRIBLErus. But the learned Scipio Maffei understands it of a certain wine called Port, from Oporto a city of Portugal, of which this Professor invited him to drink abund antly. SCIP. MAFE. De Compotationibus Aca demicis. P. and Warburton. [Bentley's quar rel with his College virtually came to an end with the death of the Visitor, bp. Greene, whose right to decide the dispute between the Master and Society he had originally challenged. This event happened in 1738; the quarrel with the University had ended in 1725 by the restoration of all Bentley's rights and degrees by royal mandamus.] Walker with rev'rence took, and laid aside. 2 Thy mighty Scholiast, whose unweary'd pains Let Freind affect to speak as Terence spoke, Be sure I give them Fragments, not a Meal; Or chew'd by blind old Scholiasts o'er and o'er. 210 215 220 225 230 1 John Walker, Vice-Master of Trin. Coll. Cam- never lived to finish this crowning work of his bridge, while Bentley was Master. Carruthers life of Me or Te,] It was a serious dispute, [He laboured faithfully for Bentley, both in literary and personal matters. Thuillier (Corr. of Bentley 11. p. 549) calls him 'dignum tanto Magistro discipulum.'] 2 Aristarchus] A famous Commentator, and Corrector of Homer, whose name has been frequently used to signify a complete Critic. The compliment paid by our Author to this eminent Professor, in applying to him so great a Name, was the reason that he hath omitted to comment on this part which contains his own praises. We shall therefore supply that loss to our best ability. SCRIBL. P. and Warburton. 3[Bentley's editions of Horace and of Paradise Lost, published in 1711 and 1731 respectively.] 4 Critics like me] Alluding to two famous Editions of Horace and Milton; whose richest veins of Poetry he hath prodigally reduced to the poorest and most beggarly prose. SCRIBL. 5 Author of something yet more great than Letter;] Alluding to those Grammarians, such as Palamedes and Simonides, who invented single letters. But Aristarchus, who had found out a double one, was therefore worthy of double honour. SCRIBL. 6 While tow'ring o'er your Alphabet, like Saul, Stands our Digamma,] Alludes to the boasted restoration of the Eolic Digamma, in his long projected Edition of Homer. P. [Bentley about which the learned were much divided, and some treatises written: Had it been about Meum or Tuum, it could not be more contested, than whether at the end of the first Ode of Horace, to read, Me doctarum hederæ præmia frontium, or, Te doctarum hedera-. SCRIBL. 8 Or give up Cicero to C or K.] Grammatical disputes about the manner of pronouncing Cicero's name in Greek. Warburton. [Rather, of course, in Latin.] 9 Freind, Alsop] Dr Robert Freind, master of Westminster-school, and canon of Christchurch-Dr Anthony Alsop, a happy imitator of the Horatian style. P. and Warburton. 10 [Author of the Astronomicon-a writer of the Augustan age.] 11 [Author of the Polyhistor, a compilation from Pliny's Natural History.] 12 [The famous lexicographer, of whose work Küster (infra, v. 237) brought out the Cambridge editions.] 13 Suidas, Gellius, Stobæus] The first a Dictionary-writer, a collector of impertinent facts and barbarous words; the second a minute Critic; the third an author, who gave his Common-place book to the public, where we happen to find much Mince-meat of old books, P. and Warburton. |