Chapter 4

Well, I can't stand the Force of your Argument:You are smart, you have brought your self well off.

Thus he conquers hisAlphius, and compels himto own, That the Priests are an independant State; and thus Boys build Houses of Cards to blow them down when they have done. What a Parcel of Flowers and Graces might one pick up in his Writings, if it was morea propos, such asSlender Difficulty,Lean Temper,touchy Point,Cheek by Joule,to con over,to be Uppish,Intents and Purposes,to glitter upon the Senses,Enrichments,renverse,Deconcert,bigger Entertainment of the Soul,don't,on't,can't,won't,'tis,it's,at's, and the frequent Use of Proverbs.

Where there's Life there's Hope.One Swallow makes no Summer,&c.

The Use of Proverbs is so far from giving Disgust in common Conversation, especially in the Country, that 'tis look'd upon to be Wit as well as Mimickry, Buffoonry, Pun, Quibble,&c.and you would be star'd at if you should object against either of them as the effect of Ignorance or Folly. TheSpectatortakes Notice that Puns made a considerable Figure on the Banks ofCam, and Proverbs must needs do no less on the Banks ofIsis, when so great a Scholar asEdward Llwydset the Example, two in one Paragraph.

Romewas not built in a Day.Better late than never.

On laisse aux Discours du Peuple les manieres de s'appliquer en Proverbes.'Tis for the Vulgar only to express themselves by Proverbs. But what are Proverbs,&c.toCollier's huddling of Metaphors, a Vice in Eloquence which is hardly taken Notice of inEnglishWritings;To be always pouring in Oil, is the Way to overset the Flame and extinguish the Lamp: If you lay a Country constantly under Water, you must spoil the Soil.Here Fire and Water most lovingly agree together to do the same Business.To overset a Flameis a fine Way of speaking, and as easily to be conceiv'd, as to overset a Cockboat or aWherry. Again,I fancy we shall sift the Gentleman to the Bran, and make him run the Gauntlet before he gets clear.TheBranGentleman having run the Gauntlet, we will add one Instance more, and have done with his Metaphors;They will glean up the best Thoughts, they will draw of the Spirit of the Argument when the Mine has been work'd by such Hands.TheGleaner, the Chymist, and the Miner, are at once at work for him in the same short Sentence. If the Writer or Reader's Head can be clear under such Operations, it will be a Wonder. TheSpectatorhas a Remark on this Subject, equally pleasant and judicious:Thus I have known a Heroe compar'd to aThunder-bolt, aLion, and theSea,alland each of them proper Metaphors for Impetuosity, Courage, and Force; but by bad Management it hath so happen'd, that theThunder-bolthath overflow'd the Banks, theLionhas been darted through the Skie, and the Billows have roll'd not of theLybianDesart; neither of which is so bad asCollier's burning and drowning the same Thing at the same Time.

TheDeclamatoryStile, another great Vice in Eloquence, is the Characteristick of theseEssays; tho' I question not but it is thought to be the very Cream of the Discourse. If 'tis excuseable any where it is in Country Pulpits, where, if a Parcel of Words are well put together, we should not be too scrupulous about the Sense.Then Commerce must give way to Religion, Baptism sway the Indenture, and the Gospel govern theExchange.Are not the Gospel, Baptism, and Religion, the Exchange, Indenture, and Commerce, the same Things in theContrast. I am far from affecting a foreign Word when we have as good a one of our own, much less when we have a better; andAttitudeandContrastmay be supplied byPostureandOpposition, if the Reader pleases; out the former was used for Decorum sake, the idea being toogross when in anEnglishDress. The Author is again declaiming:It may be the Failing of Drunkenness is imperceptible in the single Instance, 'twill rise in the Sum;To go always a little out of the Way makes a strange Mistake upon the progress;A Grain will grew to a Burthen by Addition;To be always dipping an Estate, is the Way to turn Beggar;A Drop that's perpetually pelting Will make a Stone give way.How new, how eloquent is all this, and that which comes after! He is preaching to the Booksellers about sellingArian Books, Sceptical Books, Books of Divorce, Impotence,&c.Whatever they think on't,AtheismandLewdnessis the most fatal Mortality;—The Plague of the Heart the most frightful Distemper—Infection is safer lodged in the Veins, than in the Will—A Man had much better be poyson'd in his Blood, than in his Principle.The Stream is the same still, but as a Boar pisses it comes by Spirts. Again,Are we never to do any Thing without a Majority; If we are govern'd by Numbers, we shall live strangely; If you go to Poll, Sense and Conscience will lose it in most Cases.Of all the Modern Criticks, who have given us Rules, Dr.Feltonupon theClassicksis the Author, who seems to have stood most upon his own Legs: Others have learnt much of theFrench, and have been much blam'd for it by those who have and have not read their Books.Rymerconfesses theFrenchbegan theArtofCriticismamong the Moderns:They fell not to it in earnest, says he, in his Preface toRapin,till theRoyal Academywas founded,andCardinalRichelieuencourag'd and rally'd all the scatter'd Wits under his Banner: ThenMalherbereform'd their ancient licentious Poetry.Malherbedied Seven Years before theRoyal Academywas thought of; however he did begin the Reformation of theFrenchPoetry, and was happily follow'd byVoiture,Sarazin,Maynard,Godeau, &c. TheAcademyhave indeed assum'd to themselves the sole Glory of refining theFrenchTongue, tho' they can by no means engross the Merit of it.Malherbebegan it before they had a Being, and several eminentFrenchAuthors have written since, who were not of theAcademy, as St.Evremont,Menage,&c.But there's something pleasant in the Complements that are paid to it, and theAntiquarieshave found out just such another Society inRome, under the Patronage ofAugustus, to refine theRomanLanguage, which, by the way, had been refined before byTerence,Lucretius,Cicero,Hortensius, and their Contemporaries, at the latter End of the Republick. The Learned Antiquaries go so far as to name theRoman Academicians,

Mecænas,Pollio,Plotius,Valgius,The TwoMessala's,The TwoBibulus's,Piso, the Father,Servius,Fulvius,Tibullus,Horace.

Ovidperhaps was left out because he was in Exile atTomos; but why could they not have put inLivy,Propertius, &c. They have given this Academy, the Temple and Library ofApollo, to meet and study in, and it is pretended, thatHorace's Epistle to thePiso'swas written by Direction of the Academy, and if there had ever been such an Academy at all, one might the sooner have given Credit to it. TheFrenchAcademy set an Example to other learned and ingenious Men, to make themselves Masters of their own Language, and the Encouragement they met with fromLewisXIV produced an Age of Poets, Orators, and Criticks. The latter have done more towards explaining theClassicksthan had been done before from theAugustanAge to their own. They threw Pedantry and Jargon out of their Writings, and render'd them as polite as judicious. Such are the Criticisms ofRapin,Bossu,Segrais,Boileau,Bouhours, andDacier, who are all read with like Profit and Pleasure; and this is the Reason of the frequent Use of them, and not an Affectation of foreign Phrases, and technical Cant, as is insinuated by such as never read, or never understood them, and by such too as have not only both read and understood them, but have learnt of them all the Reading they have, and yet make use of no other Names thanQuintillian,Longinus,Donatus,Eustathius, and the Ancients. This is very common, and I could easily prove it upon those who have charg'd others with Ignorance and Illiterature. The ReadingFrenchAuthors is inconceivably beneficial to such as do not understandLatinso well as Mr.Dryden, andGreekso well as Mr.Pope: They will learn as much of theGreekHistory fromAblancourt'sThucydides, and of theLatinfromDu Ryer'sLivy, as they could from the Originals. And as to the Poets, they had better read MadamDacier'sHomer, andSegrais'sVirgil, which they do understand, than the OriginalHomerandVirgilwhich they do not. My LordRoscommonowns of theFrench,

The choicest Books thatRomeorGreecehave known,Their excellent Translators made their own.

And tho' in all Translations the Spirit and Beauty of the Original must in a great measure be lost by Transfusion, yet in History especially you are sure to have the Method, the Facts, and the Politicks, tho' you have not the Strength and Ellegance of the Style.Drydentells the late Duke ofBucks, in the Dedication to hisVirgil;Impartially Speaking, theFrenchare as much better Criticks, as they are worse Poets.The Latter is incontestable; and not to mentionMilton, who is above all Parallel. They have nothing ofEpickPoetry so good as our KingArthur; neither are theirCorneilleandRacinea Match for ourShakespearandOtway. They have no Body to name againstWycherley,Etherege,Shadwel,Congreve,Vanburgh,Steel.Moliere, the best of their Comick Poets, could writeScapius,Dandins,Sganarelles, and all Kinds of Farce perfectly well; but for Wit and Humour, Repartee, Polite Conversation, for what the Criticks call theVis Comica, you must have recourse to theEnglishComedies, if you would know what it is. AFrench Marquis, asMoliereshew'd him upon his Stage, would only make a very good Taylor upon ours. They have noHopkinsfor Elegy, noPhilipsfor Pastoral:Scarronwill hardly serve for aRalphoto ourHudibras. In theOde, I think,Malherbeis at least equal toCowley, andVoitureandSarazinare not behind ourSucklingandWaller, in the gallant Way: Nor is ourPriorbehind theirLa Fontainefor Taletelling. On the other Hand, I am afraid we must allow, that we have no Translation inEnglishequal toSeagrais'sVirgilfor Intelligence of the Original, and a correct as well as harmonious Diction, especially if the Character given of it byRuæusis just. Did we look into other Sciences, we should find our selves more than a Match for them; What Names have they to set against ourNewtonandHalleyin the Mathematicks, and ourSydenhamandWillisinPhysick. They have noBacon, noBoylein Philosophy. In History indeed they have aVarillasand aMaimbourgfor ourNelsonandBrady, and doubtless the Royal Historiographers will, in the History ofLewisXIV, come up to theGrand Rebellion, and Mr.Echard's History for Impartiality and Truth. If I were aFrenchmanI should make a Start here, and cry out, What is theirTureuneand theirCondeto ourMarlborough, and their GreatMonarch, who took Pleasure in Slaughter and Devastation, to our Glorious KingGeorge, whose only Care and Delight is to maintain Liberty and Peace.

Dr.Feltondeclares we began to refine our Language much sooner than theFrench, and that the Writers in QueenElizabeth's Reign are far preferable toShakespear,Fletcher,Waller,Suckling,May,Sands, and all the Writers from theGunpowderPlot to the Restoration. He will not be advis'd by the best Critick in Poetry, as he represents him. Mr.Dryden, who speaking ofBeaumontandFletcher, writes thus;I am apt to believe theEnglishLanguage in them arrived to its Perfection: They wrote between the Beginning of KingJamesI and the Reign of KingCharlesII, a Period in which Dr.Feltonmakes theEnglishLanguage to have declin'd; though, if I were permitted to give Judgement, I should continue the Improvement of our Tongue till the Time of theSpectator, and the Translation ofHomer, where, I think, it is in the greatest Purity and Elegance, and that one of the first deplorable Signs of its Declension was even the Discourse upon theClassicks.Drydenhimself continues the good Taste till the Opening of the Long Parliament 1640, when, if you'l believe him, the Muses were struck dead at a Blow, abandon'd to a barbarous Race of Men, Enemies of all good Learning, such asSelden,Whitlock,Bathurst,Wilkins, and the immortalMilton. This Passage should have been transplanted into the two famous Histories of those Times, publish'd since KingWilliam's Death, particularly that of theGrand Rebellion, which Dr.Feltonprotests is the most impartial one that ever was written; but it is very well it does not stand in need of his Certificate, for there would have been great Exception taken against his Authority. As gooda Word as the Doctor gives Mr.Drydenas aCritick,Drydenout-does him in his own Panegyrick.

LetDrydenwith new Rules our Stage refine,And his great Models form by this Design.

This Piece of Modesty in Verse is excelled by another in Prose;Our present Poets,himself the Top of them, have far surpast all the antient and modern Writers of other Countries.

Thus has he put himself aboveHomer,Sophocles,Virgil,Horace,Corneille,Racine,Boileau, &c. Notwithstanding we were so happy in Mr.Dryden's Criticisms, DoctorFeltonis of Opinion the Art is not brought enough to Perfection among us; and therefore earnestly sollicites SirRichard Steelto write Comments uponHomerandVirgil, as Mr.Addisonhas done uponMilton. I am satisfied SirRichard Steeldid not keep his Countenance if ever that Passage of the Doctor's came in his Way. I will not say the same of Mr.Trap, who, they tell me, is a Poet by his Place, or amadePoet, better by half than one born so; but if DoctorFeltonhad foreseen that the ingenious Gentleman would have came off as He did withVirgil, and in what a sad Place DoctorSwiftwould find his Translation, I believe he would have postpon'd the Encomium,What a polite Critick may do if he pleases, says the Doctor,and in how different an AspectCriticismappears, when formed by Men of Parts and Fire, we may see in Mr.Trap; and the Encomium continues for a Page or two: But the aforesaid Translation having cut the Matter short, I will repeat no more of it.

Cowleywas in as great Vogue 60 or seventy Years ago, as any Composer or Translater of our Time has been, and DoctorFeltonwithout knowing that his Character is worn, informs us, that hisDavideisis as good an Epick Poem as theIlias, that his Lyricks are as good asPindar's orHorace's, that he wrote Elegies as well asTibullus, Epistles as well asOvid, Pastorals as well asTheocritus; and that hisCutter of Colmanstreetis as good a Comedy as theAdelphi of Terence. The Doctor's own Words are;He rivalled theGreekandLatinPoets in every Thing but Tragedy.His saying so is the more remarkable, for that he had seen the Preface toDryden's Fables, wherein that incomparable Critick, as he terms him, saysCowleyis sunk in his Reputation, and the late Duke ofBucksin his Essay acknowledges as much:

Cowleymight boast to have perform'd his Part,Had he with Nature joyn'd the Rules of Art:But ill Expression gives sometimes AllayTo noble Thoughts——————Tho' All appears in Heat and Fury done,The Language still must soft and easy run.

DoctorFeltonin Praise of Criticism tells us, with equal Elegance and Perspicuity,If the Rules had not been given, we had not been troubled withmany fewerWriters:And in the Pursuit of his own excellent Work, he declares,He has tempered theBrisknessof Thought with the Sedateness of Judgement.TheFrenchhave theirPensees Brusques, but the Doctor could not fall so low as that.Brusquesignifyingblunt,rash, and the like. ThisBrisknessis, I suppose, more agreeable to the Conception of a certain Bookseller, who being written to by a certain Squire for abrisk History, sent him by the next Carrier that ofDon Quixot. This was thirty Years ago, before we were so well furnished withbrisk Historiesas we have been since.

I takebriskin our Tongue to be tolively, aspertis towitty: But I cannot depend on my own Judgement; the Translator ofHomerhaving usedBrisknessin the same Sense as DoctorFeltonuses it:Heaven and Earth became engaged in the Subject, by which it rises to a great Importance, and is hastened forward into the briskest Scenes of Action.If that Author could bear the least Objection to any Thing that belongs to him, I would ask the Reader whether he does not fancy there is some Affectation in the Expression. But let that pass; if we are rightly informed, the WordBriskis in theTeutonick Friesch, which is in plain EnglishFrisk, and then for the Gods and Demi-gods to frisk up and down the Field of Action, or the Doctor to frisk up and down his Closet is very indecorous. The Duke ofBuckinghamin theRehearsalseems to takeBriskin the latter Sense, as when Thunder and Lightning act their Parts on the Stage. The former says, I am thebold Thunder, the latter thebrisk Lightning I. And not at all to derogate from the Character of Lightning, which has been so serviceable toall Sorts of Poetry and Poets, I cannot help confirming my Opinion by a very common Simile, and sayingAs brisk as bottled Ale.

Among all the Refiners of our Tongue, 'tis the vulgar Notion, that SirRoger L'Estrangewas most eminent. True it is, DoctorFeltonowns he was good for nothing butBanterandRailing; for that is what we inEnglandgenerally mean by Raillery. Tho'SmithandJohnsonin theRehearsalare not the most lively Characters; yet their Dialogue withBayesis what theFrenchcallRaillery. We inEnglanddo mean very often the Dialogue ofBillinsgate, where it is common enough to hear one Fish-Woman cry to another,No more of your Raillery, which is there the worst Sort of Railling; and for that and Banter the Doctor assures usL'Estrangewas most proper. The same say I, and that he understood no more of true Eloquence than he did ofGreek, out of which the Booksellers hired him to translateJosephus, and he did it from theFrenchTranslation. The PhilosopherSeneca's Works he pretended to translate from theLatin, and I wish Mr.Trapwould translate the following Phrases in hisSeneca'sMoralsback into that Tongue again,One good Turn is the shoeing Horn to another.He does me Good in spite of my Teeth.After a Matter of eight Years; and this intoGreekforEsop's Fables, TheMoon was in a heavy Twitter: Yet I'm satisfied these fine Sayings are some of those that gained him the Reputation of being a polite Writer ofEnglish: I have heard that about the Moon very much commended, which shews that we are not sufficiently sensible how mean Words debase a Thought.There's nothing, saysBoileau,which debases a Discourse more than mean Words. A mean Thought exprest in noble Terms, is generally better than the most noble Thoughts exprest in mean Terms.I know no greater Instance of the ill Effect of mean Terms, than what we find in two Verses of Mr.Montague's Epistle to the LordDorseton KingWilliam's Victory at theBoyne. 'Tis in the greatest Heat of that glorious Action, and in the Middle of theSublime, which is not wanting in that Poem.

Stop, stop, brave Prince! What does your Muse, Sir, faint!Proceed, pursue his Conquest. Faith I can't.

Mr.Philips's Poems, thesplendid ShillingandCyder, are full of Instances where mean Thoughts are raised by noble Expressions, and they are wonderfully pleasing; as inCyder; this of thePear-Tree.

What tho' the Pear Tree rival not the WorthOfAriconianProducts, yet her FreightIs not contemn'd, and her wide branching ArmsBest screen thy Mansion from the fervent Dog,Adverse to Life. The wintry HurricanesIn vain employ their Roar; her Trunk unmov'd,Breaks the strong Onset, and controuls their Rage;Chiefly theBosbury, whose large Increase,Annual in sumptuous Banquets, claims Applause.Thrice acceptableBevrage! could but ArtSubdue the floatingLee,Pomona's selfWould dread thy Praise, and shun the dubious Strife.Be it thy Choice, when Summer Heats annoy,To sit beneath her leavy Canopy,Quaffing rich Liquids, Oh! how sweet t'enjoyAt once her Fruits, and hospitable Shade.

I have never met with any Author who so happily imitated the manner and stile ofMiltonasPhilipshas done, and there seems to be hardly any other Difference than that of the Subjects they wrote of.

What I have quoted out ofL'Estrangeis nothing to the Delicacy of a modern Writer of Plays, who without Wit, Language, Learning, or Manners, wrote three or four Farces, which took as much asPradon's inFrance; but theEnglishhave not recollected themselves so soon as theFrenchdid; forPradonout-liv'd the Vogue he was in, and became a greater Jest than ever he had made. What think ye of our Poet's Delicacy and Wit, who in a gallant Letter to his Mistress, tells her,He's gall'd with riding, Love is forging Darts in his Belly; he's a Dog in a Doublet, &c. There's a deal of graver Nonsense with it, but it being mostlyBlasphemy, I dare not repeat it. This Author had his Portion of temporary Fame.Ogilvyhad his Day, andDrydensays:

Fame, like a little Mistress of the Town,Is gain'd with Ease; but then she's lost as soon.

However, as long as the Credit lasts, these temporary Authors bear the Port of the greatest Genius, are clapt and star'd at, as those Merchants who are driving in their Coaches to Bankrupcy, have generally the best Equipage. What are become of theMarots, theRonsards, theScuderiesof our neighbour Nation, yet these Writers were infinitely superiour to what most of our taking Authors have been. Could any Body have thought that SirRichard Baker's Chronicle would ever have past from the Justice's Hall Window to the Butler's Cellar, or thatCowley'sMistresswould have lost all her Charms in thirty Years Time, and become a Cast-Off for City Prentices and Lawyers Clerks, to say nothing ofOrinda,Flatman, &c. Yet these Writers were Originals which raises their Merit much above all Sorts of Translators, and it ought to be a Lesson to all Poets and Historians, whether first Hand or second Hand, to pay the World for their Applause with Modesty, which is the surest Way to keep it in a good Humour;Since 'tis Posterity only, saysBoileau,which sets a Value upon all Writings, you must not, as admirable as you take a modern Author to be, presently put him upon a Level with those Writers who have been admired for so many Ages, because one cannot be sure his Works will pass with Glory to the next. Indeed without going far for Examples, How many Authors have we seen admired in our Age, whose Glory is vanished in a very few Years. How wereBalzac's Works admired thirty Tears ago?So much that CardinalRichelieuat the same Time that he was meditating the universal Monarchy for the Crown ofFrance, wrote in Vindication of them. The Bishop ofRochesterdid the same forCowley; but neither the Cardinal nor the Bishop could defend them from the Fate of all Temporary Authors. NeitherCowleynorBalzacare now any more mentioned inFranceorEngland. And the main Reason why they lost their Credit was for want of duly considering what their particular Talents were adapted to; for that they had both very great Talents is universally acknowledged,Mons. deBalzaca passe toute sa vie a ecrire des lettres, dont il n'a jamais pu attraper le veritable Charectere.Balzacspent all his Time in writing Letters, but could never hit the true Character.Cowleyapplied himself to Poetry, and never enough knew thePower and Harmony of Numbers. He had a great deal too much Wit to charm his Mistress with his Passion. Very few of us are let into this Secret. We cannot believe that a Poet can have too much Wit, and indeed the Offence given that Way is not very common. The last Duke ofBucksrightly instructs us:

Another Fault which often does befall,Is when the Wit of some great Poet shallSo overflow, as to be none at all.}

}

Again,

That silly Thing we call sheer Wit avoid.

This probably was a Rebuke to the Author of thePlain-DealerandCountry-Wife, who has transgressed in this kind as much as any Body, and was the best able to do it. The Author of theRelapseis not entirely free from this Censure, nor the Authors ofLove for Love, and theFuneral. But it will not be more surprising than it is true, thatPeter Motteuxdeclared he had taken a great deal of pains with a Character in a Farce of his, to bring it within the Duke ofBuckingham's Rule in those Places where he told me he had given it too much Wit. Mr.Walsh, one of the greatest Criticks of our Nation, observes, that the Softness, Tenderness, and Violence of Passion, are wanting in Mr.Cowley's Love Verses, insomuch that hecould hardly fancy he was in Love when he wrote them.Pref.toLett.Yet there were Variety and Learning enough in them, and more Wit than in all our witty Poets since the Restoration, excepting those above-mentioned. Mr.Wycherly, who wrote as good Comedies as any in theEnglish, or any other Tongue, did not value himself so much upon them as on a Folio of as bad Verses as any.Creechhaving had Success inLucretius, was put upon translatingHorace, and it is said byDryden, that he might lose so much of his Reputation, as to prevent Rivalship. Nay,Butler, tho' he knew the Follies of Mankind so perfectly well, did not perceive that there is no greater Folly than to undertake what one is not fit for, and was persuaded to letHudibrastranslateOvid. On this Rock many Authors have split, who would have succeeded had they consulted their Talents, and taken the right Course: but it is a general Maxim with us inEngland, Versesare Verses. He that can write one Thing, can write another, and till our Taste is so refined, that we can distinguish the Good and the Bad in the various Kinds of Thinking, Writers will not be at the Pains to consult their Talents, but content themselves with pleasing their own Fancy, or that of the Publick, by which Means, like Flies, they make a buzzing for a Day or two, and are forgotten for ever. TheSpectatorvery judiciously animadverts on this Weakness:Our general Taste inEnglandis for Epigram, Turns of Wit, and forced Conceits, which have no manner of Influence, either for the bettering or enlarging the Mind of him who reads them, and have been carefully avoided by the greatest Writers, both among the Antients and Moderns.He adds after Mr.Dryden,The Taste of most of ourEnglishPoets is extreamlyGothick, which I have endeavoured to banish in several of my Speculations.

Another remarkable Observation of Dr.Felton's is, that thebest Performers are the best Judges. He has onlyHoraceagainst him of the Antients, andDacierof the Moderns, as is already observed in this Essay. I believe no Body will deny, but Mr.Walshbefore-mentioned was one of our best Judges of Regularity and Wit, yet hardly any Body will say he was one of our best Performers. There's nothing more common with small Genius's and small Judges, than to demand of all Criticksto write themselvesbefore they criticise upon others Writings. They would stare if it should be said, thatDurseyknew no more of Poetry than he did of Philosophy, nor ofEnglishthan ofHebrew; though it is very true, if it be understood of the Art of Poetry, and the Beauty of Language; yet, that he was a Performer, is I doubt not well known to the Doctor, and well approved of. To teach us good Language by Example, Dr.Feltonexpresses himself thus elegantly and unaffectedly.When I wrote these Sheets, my LordLandsdown's Poems lay dispersed up and down in the Miscellanies; but some kind Hand, as for Instance the Bookseller, upon a very laudable Motive,hath assembled those scattered Stars, and added another Lyre to the Constellation; which, though it is meant, to do singular Honour to those Poems, must have an ill Effect in astronomical Observations; it makes thirteen to the Dozen in the twelve Houses, and must cause as much Confusion, astwo Signs of the Harp in a short Lane. The Modesty of the following Passage adds as much to its Merit as to the Truth of it:If I offered any Thing which is not commonly observed, I hope it will not be interpreted any Singularity, but such as may render your Lordship more eminent and distinguished in the World; and having taught his noble Pupil what he should imitate, he gives him warning what he should avoid, and that is the Reading any Thing written by aPresbyterian:What crude indigested Volumes! How many tedious Sheets without Argument or Consistency, are the Writings of some of theDissenters!whom does he mean, such asBates,Manton,How,Pool,Clarkson,Alsop, &c. He and some other good Church-Criticks makePresbyterianismto be a Sort ofHellebore, if you do but snuff it up in your Nose you run mad immediately. Thence it is, that thePresbyteriansare termedFanatici, by the learned and sober Writers of our two famous Universities. Is it expected, that every Orthodox Doctor should know as much as BishopStillingfleet, or write as well as ArchbishopTillotson? Where is the Reason or Justice of censuring a Body of Men for the Enthusiasm and Ignorance of a few? Would this Doctor suffer the Tables to be turn'd, and a Judgement to be made of the Writings of good Church-men, by the Argument and Consistency of the Works, with which the learned World are obliged by those of the Country Clergy, whose Pieces can crawl to the Press, whether in Prose or Verse, Meditations or Hymns. I do verily believe he did not think of Dr.Bates, when he fell thus furiously on Dissenters, or had ever seen any of his Writings, which are as polite as the Politest of our Age; the Sentiments as pious, as great, as noble, and as just, according to the Subject, and the Language as pure and as harmonious. What can be more so, than this Passage of hisHarmony of the divine Attributes, speaking of the Fall ofAdam:Prodigious Pride! He was scarce out of the State of Nothing, no sooner created but he aspired to be as God; not content with his Image, he would rob God of his Eternity to live without End; of his Sovereignty to command without Dependance; of his Wisdom to know all Things without Reserve. Infinite Insolence! that Man the Son of Earth, forgetful of his Original, should usurp the Prerogatives, which are essential to the Deity, and set himself upa real Idol, was a Strain of the same Arrogancy which corrupted the Angels.This is what Dr.FeltoncallsPresbyterian Crudity. It is strange, but it is true, that there is a Narrowness of Soul, and a Conceit in some of our Ecclesiasticks founded on the Establishment which we do not meet with in others; nay, not in those who pretend to Supremacy and Infallibility. FatherBouhours, though as zealous a Jesuit as any inFrance, yet had so just a Notion of every one's Merit in polite Learning, that he freely owns the Refinement of theFrenchTongue, and theFrenchManners was owing to those of the reformed Religion, even toPresbyterians.Nous devons aux dernieres Heresies une partie de l'Embellissement de notre Langue, & de la politesse de notre Siecle.

And anotherFrenchBigot tells us;One of their Historians has observed, that the pretended Reformers began to speak well and write well, and were the First that shewed their Way to others. They were all of themPresbyterians:

————Parvos femando libellosSucratis populumq; rudem amorcando parolis.

OurStaunchCriticks will not allow, that aPresbyterianever had or could have any Wit or any Eloquence, though it was only to make an ill Use of it. No, no Body must be well-born or well-bred, that is without the Pale. No Man must be brave, nor Woman beautiful. The Men are all painted with cropt Hair, and the Women with Forehead-Cloaths, unless they assent and consent. No Wit, no Language, no Honour, nor any Thing that's good, is to be had any more than Matrimony without a Licence.Vide Grand Rebellion, and Mr.Echard'sHistory of England.

I am so very well entertain'd withDryden'sVirgil, that I am glad to meet with any Excuse for his Translation; and would allow Dr.Felton's, thatthe Faults are to be ascribed partly to some Defects of our Language; if the Doctor himself, a few Lines before, had not said of the same Language,that it is capable of all the Beauty, Strength, and Significancy of theGreekandLatin. The Faults which have been generally found withDrydenas toVirgil, have been his mistaking or altering the Sense of the Original, and turning theEpickStile intoElegiack. I doubt not but theEnglishTongue has Expression forEnglishSentiments, let them be ever so great and sublime; but I may very well doubt whether it has Diction equal to the Strength and Dignity of theIlias, without the HelpsMiltonmade use of, as compounding of Words and reviving some old Teutonicks, which would look very uncouthly among the Softnesses and Gingles of our fine Writers of late.

I wish the Doctor had explain'd how he would have us to understand him, when he informs us, that to translate well is more difficult than to write well; by which he intimates, that to form a Fable for a great and important Action, to mark the Characters with suitable Sentiments, to conduct the One and maintain the Other with Art and Elevation diversify'd with proper Episodes; through such a Work as theIlias, is so far from being the principal Part of anEpickPoem that it is no Part at all; for with all this the Translator has nothing to do. The Labour and Merit of it, according to Dr.Felton, consist in the Language and Verses, in finding Words to express the Action and Sentiments, and to adorn those Words with Numbers and Harmony. This is all that is necessary in a Translation; and being also but some Parts of the Original, it cannot be more difficult to do a Part than to do the Whole. Can one suppose, that to write such a History as Mr.Echard's from printed Books, written Books, from the Hearsay and Report of Men, Women and Children, is more difficult than to contrive and write such a One as theCassandraofCalprenade? or in plainEnglish, that to invent and tell a Story, is much easier than the bare telling it only? It needs no Reflection. If the Version ofHomerhad been born when he wrote, he must of Consequence have preferr'd it to theIlias, which would have cost the Translator's Modesty, as much as SirRichard Steele's to be put upon a Comment onHomerandVirgil. My LordRoscommonhas explain'd this Matter to us sufficiently:

Though Composition is the nobler Part,Yet good Translation is no easy Art.

MonsieurMaucroix, who translatedCicerointoFrench, writes thus of translating to MonsieurBoileau:You have told me more than once, that Translation is not the Way to Immortality; and he excuses his meddling with it, onAccount of his Want of Application and Knowledge: As to Immortality it is to be question'd, whether that was the main Thing our Translators had in View. It will not be deny'd, but thatDryden's Bookseller put him upon translatingVirgil, by the Temptation of so much a Line. And other Undertakers pay well enough to make a mortal Life a little comfortable, it is not much Matter whether the Work be immortal or not.Ogilbyhowever is sure of Immortality; for though his Translations are as dead as his Carcass, yet he will be remember'd in good Satyr for the Badness of them.My Author, says MonsieurMaucroix,is learned for me, the Topicks are all digested, the Inventing and Disposing are none of my Business; I have nothing to do but to utter my self. Which Utterance is much more difficult, as Dr.Feltonwill have it, than to study, to digest, to invent, to dispose, and to utter too. I do not suppose, that a Man ever applied himself to Translation, if he felt in himself any of the heavenly Fire which animates a great Genius, or was ambitious of Fame by the Merit of an Epick Poem. It must be own'd, that Judgement is requisite in Translation as well as Composition, not only to preserve the Spirit of the Original, but also to make Choice of such a One as the Translator may be best able to manage. Mr.Charles Hopkinswas Master of this Secret; and instead of attemptingHomerorVirgil, he contented himself withOvid, and succeeded to Admiration.Hopkinsknew, that the Manners and Sentiments inOvidwere natural and universal, which must please in all Ages; whereas, but a very few can relish the Quarrels and Battles, which are the main Subject of theIlias. The Learned have explained to us, for what it is that our Adoration is due toHomer: For the Unity and Greatness of his Fable, the Variety and Dignity of his Characters, and his sublime Thought and Expression; I dare not say Diction and Sentiments, because theSpectatorhas disgraced the Use of technical Terms, by calling it Cant; and supposing, that those who use them, do it to disguise their Ignorance, and shew their Vanity in critical Phrase.

I should be glad to know, which it is of allHomer's before-mention'd Excellencies, that has so delighted the Ladies, and the Gentlemen who judge like Ladies; or whether ever a One of those Excellencies has been at alldistinguished from the Other; or whether there is any Possibility of expressing the Sublime of theGreekTongue in our Language. As to the Sentiments, which are a principal Part of Epick Poetry, they may be translated; we very probably think much after the same Manner theGreeksdid, though we do not speak so. The Passions are the same in all humane Nature; and probably the Expression of them, by so great a Master of our Tongue as the Translator ofHomer, may gain as much as it may lose by the Translation. But the Mischief of it is, these Sentiments are that Part of theIliaswhich the Criticks have made most bold with:

For who, without a Qualm, hath ever look'dOn holy Garbage, though byHomercook'd?Whose railing Heroes, and whose wounded gods,Make some suspect he snores as well as nods.But I offend————Roscom.

Dormitat Homerus; thatHomersometimes sleeps, was said before byHorace. TheSpectatorinforms us, thatHomeris censured by the Criticks, for his Defect as to the Sentiments in several Parts of theIliasandOdysses. However, it is most certain, that the Translation ofHomermust have pleased Ladies and Gentlemen by these very Sentiments, or by the Translator's beautiful Diction and Versification. But then all the great Parts of Epick Poetry are lost to them, especially those that depend on the Dignity and Strength of Expression, which will not be pretended to be entirely preserved in theEnglishVersion.

ReadingDaciera few Days since, I was extreamly surprised at a Criticism of his on a Translation ofHomer, by a much greater Critick than himself, evenHoracehis Master, who has thus translated the Beginning of theOdyssey:

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