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had long defpaired, a performance deferving the name of a Poet. Such, Sir, is your work. It is, "indeed, above all commendation, and ought to have "been published in an age and country more worthy " of it. If my teftimony be of weight any where, you "are fure to have it in the ampleft maner," &c. &c.

Thus we fee every one of his works hath been extolled by one or other of his moft inveterate enemies; and to the fuccefs of them all they do unanimously give teftimony. But it is fufficient, inftar omnium, to behold the great critic, Mr. Dennis, forely lamenting it, even from the Effay on Criticifm to this day of the Dunciad! "A most notorious inftance (quoth he) of "the depravity of genius and tafte, the approbation "this Effay meets with *.-I can fafely affirm, that "I never attacked any of these writings, unless they

had fuccefs infinitely beyond their merit.-This, "though an empty, has been a popular fcribbler. "The epidemic madness of the times has given him "reputation +.-If, after the cruel treatment so many "extraordinary men (Spenfer, Lord Bacon, Ben John❝son, Milton, Butler, Otway, and others) have re"ceived from this country for these last hundred years, "I should fhift the scene, and thew all that penury "changed at once to riot and profufenefs, and more "fquandered away upon one object than would have "fatisfied the greater part of thofe extraordinary men, "the reader, to whom this one creature should be un"known, would fancy him a prodigy of Art and "Nature; would believe that all the great qualities "of thefe perfons were centered in him alone. But if "I fhould venture to affure him that the people of "England had made fuch a choice the reader would "either believe me a malicious enemy and flanderer, "or that the reign of the last (Queen Anne's) miniftry "was defigned by Fate to encourage fools ."

VOL. III.

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Dennis, Preface to his Reflections on the Effay on Criticism. + Preface to his Remarks on Homer,

Remarks on Homer, p. 8. 9.

But

But it happens that this our Poet never had any place, perfion, or gratuity, in any fhape, from the faid glorious Queen, or any of her minifters. All he owed, in the whole courfe of his life, to any court, was a fubfcription for his Homer of 200l. from King George I. and 100l. from the Prince and Princess.

However, left we imagine our Author's fuccefs was conftant and univerfal, they acquaint us of certain works in a lefs degree of repute, whereof, although owned by others, yet do they affure us he is the writer. Of this fort Mr. Dennis * afcribes to him two Farces, whofe 'names he does not tell, but affures us that there is not one jeft in them; and an imitation of Horace, whofe title he does not mention, but affures us it is much more execrable than all his works.† The Daily Journal, May 11, 1728, affures us, "He " is below Tom Durfey in the drama; because (as

that writer thinks) the Marriage-Hater Matched, ❝ and the Boarding-School, are better than the What"d'ye-call it;" which is not Mr. P's. but Mr. Gay's. Mr. Gildon affures us, in his New Rehearfal, p. 48, "That he was writing a play of the Lady Jane "Gray;" but it afterwards proved to be Mr. Rowe's. We are affured by another," He wrote a pamphlet called Dr. Andrew Tripet;" which proved to be one Dr. Wagfta's. Mr. Theobald affures, in Mift of the 27th of April, "That the Treatife of the Profound is very dull, and that Mr. Pope is the au"thor of it." The writer of Gulliveriana is of another opinion; and fays, "The whole, or greatet "part, of the merit of this treatife muft and can

only be afcribed to Gulliver§." [Here, gentle Keader! cannot I but fmile at the ftrange blindneis and pofitiveness of men, knowing the faid treatise to appertain to none other but to me, Martinus Scriblerus.]

We are affured, in Mift of June 8, "That his own "plays and farces would better have adorned the Dun

❝ciad

Remarks on Homer, p. 8. + Character of Mr. Pope, p. 7.
Character of Mr. Pope, p. 6. Gulliver, p. 336.

ciad than thofe of Mr. Theobald; for he had neither genius for tragedy nor comedy." Which, whether true or not, it is not eafy to judge, in as much as he had attempted neither; unlefs we will take it for granted, with Mr. Cibber, that his being once very angry at hearing a friend's play abufed, was an infallible proof the play was his own; the faid Mr. Cibber thinking it impoffible for a man to be much concerned for any but himfelf: Now let any man judge (faith "he) by this concern, who was the true mother of the "child*?"

But from all that hath been faid, the difcerning reader will collect, that it little availed our Author to have any candour, fince, when he declared he did not write for others, it was not credited; as little to have any modefty, fince, when he declined writing in any way himself, the prefumption of others was imputed to him. If he fingly enterprized one great work, he was taxed of boldness and madnefs to a prodigyt: if he took affiftants in another, it was complained of, and reprefented as a great injury to the Publict. The loftieft heroics, the loweft ballads, treatises against the ftate or church, fatires on lords and ladies, raillery on wits and authors, fquabbles with book fellers, or even full and true accounts of monfters, poisons, and murders; of any hereof was there nothing fo good, nothing fo bad, which had not, at one or other feafon, been to him afcribed. If it bore no author's name, then lay he concealed; if it did, he fathered it upon that author to be yet better concealed; if it refembled any of his ftyles, then was it evident; if it did not, then difguifed he it on fet purpose. Yea, even dire& oppofitions in religion, principles, and politics, have equally been fuppofed in him inherent. Surely a most rare and fingular character! of which let the reader make what he can. Doubtlefs

Cibber's Letter to Mr. Pope, p. 19.

Burnet's Homerides, p. 1 of his tranflation of the Iliad.

The London and Mitt's Journals, on his undertaking the Odyffey.

Doubtlefs moft commentators would hence take occafion to turn all to their author's advantage, and, from the teftimony of his very enemies, would affirm, that his capacity was boundless as well as his imagination; that he was a perfect master of all styles, and all arguments; and that there was in thofe times no other writer, in any kind, of any degree of excellence, save he himself. But as this is not our own fentiment, we fhall determine on nothing; but leave thee, gentle Reader, to fteer thy judgment equally between various opinions, and to choose whether thou wilt incline to the teftimonies of authors avowed, or of authors concealed; of those who knew him, or of thofe who knew him not. P.

MARTINUS SCRIBLERUS

OF THE POEM.

THIS Poem, as it celebrateth the moft grave and ancient of things, Chaos, Night and Dulnets, fo is it of the moft grave and ancient kind. Homer (faith Ariftotle) was the first who gave the form, and (faith Horace) who adapted the meafure, to heroic poefy. But even before this, may be rationally prefumed, from what the Ancients have left written, was a piece by Homer, compofed of like nature and matter with this of our Poet: for of epic fort it appeareth to have been, yet of matter furely not unpleafant, witnefs what is reported of it by the learned Archbishop Euftathius, in Odyffey X. And accordingly Ariftotle, in his Poetic, chap. iv. doth further set forth, that as the Iliad and Odyffey gave an example to Tragedy, fo did this poem to Comedy its first idea.

From thefe authors alio it should feem that the Hero, or chief perfonage of it, was no lefs obfcure, and his understandtng and sentiments no less quaint and strange (if indeed not more fo) than any of the actors of our Poem. Margites was the name of this perfonage, whom Antiquity recordeth to have been Dunce the firft i and furety, from what we hear of him, not unworthy to be the root of so spreading a tree, and fo numerous a pofterity,

pofterity. The poem, therefore, celebrating him, was properly and abfolutely a Dunciad; which though now unhappily loft, yet is its nature fufficiently known by the infallible tokens aforefaid. And thus it doth appear that the firft Dunciad was the first epic poem, written by Homer himself, and anterior even to the Iliad or Odyssey.

Now forafmuch as our Poet hath tranflated thofe two famous works of Homer which are yet left, he did conceive it in fome fort his duty to imitate that alfo which was loft; and was therefore induced to bestow on it the fame form which Homer's is reported to have had, namely, that of epic poem, with a title alfo framed after the ancient Greek manner, to wit, that of Dunciad.

Wonderful it is that fo few of the Moderns have been ftimulated to attempt fome Dunciad! fince, in the opinion of the multitude, it might coft lefs pain and toil than an imitation of the Greater Epic. But poffible it is alfo, that, on due reflection, the maker might find it easier to paint a Charlemagne, a Brute, or a Godfrey, with juft pomp and dignity heroic, than a Margites, a Codrus, or a Fleckno.

He

We fhall next declare the occafion and the caufe which moved our Poet to this particular work. lived in thofe days when (after Providence had permitted the invention of Printing as a fcourge for the fins of the learned) paper alfo became fo cheap, and printers fo numerous, that a deluge of authors covered the land; whereby not only the peace of the honest unwriting fubje&t was daily molefted, but unmerciful demands were made of his applaufe, yea of his money, by fuch as would neither earn the one nor deferve the other. At the fame time the licence of the Prefs was fuch, that it grew dangerous to refufe them either; for they would forthwith publifh flanders unpunished, the authors being anonymous, and fkulking under the wings of publishers, a fet of men who never fcrupled to vend either calumny or blafphemy, as long as the Town would call for it. Now

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