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About this time Warburton began to make his appearance in the first ranks of learning. He was a man of vigorous faculties, a mind fervid and vehement, fupplied by inceffant and unlimited enquiry, with wonderful extent and variety of knowledge, which yet had not oppreffed his imagination, nor clouded his perfpicacity. To every work he brought a memory full fraught, together with a fancy fertile of original combinations, and at once exerted the powers of the fcholar, the reafoner, and the wit. But his knowledge was too multifarious to be always exact, and his pursuits were too eager to be always cautious. His abilities. gave him an haughty confidence, which he difdained to conceal or mollify; and his impatience of oppofition difpofed him to treat his adverfaries with fuch contemptuous fuperiority as made his readers. commonly his enemies, and excited against the advocate the wishes of fome who favoured the cause. He feems to have adopted the Roman Emperor's determination, oderint dum metuant; he ufed no allurements of gentle language, but wifhed to compel rather than perfuade.

His ftyle is copious without felection, and forcible without neatnefs; he took the words that prefented themselves his diction is coarfe and impure, and his fentences are unmeasured.

He had, in the early part of his life, pleased himself with the notice of inferior wits, and correfponded with the enemies of Pope. A Letter was produced, when he had perhaps hinfelf forgotten it, in which he tells Concanen, "Dryden I obferve borrows for want of leafure, and Pope for want of genius: Milton out of pride, and Addifon out of modesty." And when Theobald

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Theobald published Shakespeare, in oppofition to Pope, the best notes were fupplied by Warburton.

But the time was now come when Warburton was to change his opinion, and Pope was to find a defender in him who had contributed fo much to the exaltation of his rival*.

The arrogance of Warburton excited against him every artifice of offence, and therefore it may be fuppofed that his union with Pope was cenfured as hypocritical inconftancy; but furely to think differently, at different times, of poetical merit, may be easily allowed. Such opinions are often admitted, and difmiffed, without nice examination. Who is there that has not found reafon for changing his mind about questions of greater importance ?

Warburton, whatever was his motive, undertook, without folicitation, to rescue Pope from the talons of Croufaz, by freeing him from the imputation of favouring fatality, or rejecting revelation; and from month to month continued a vindication of the Effay on Man, in the literary journal of that time called The Republick of Letters.

Pope, who probably began to doubt the tendency of his own work, was glad that the pofitions, of which he perceived himself not to know the full meaning, could by any mode of interpretation be made to mean well. How much he was pleafed with his gratuitous defender, the following Letter evidently fhews:

The commencement of the acquaintance between Pope and Warburton was accidental: it began at the bookfeller's fhop at the corner of the Inner Temple-lane, which they happened to enter at the same instant.

"SIR,

"SIR,

March 24, 1743.

"I have juft received from Mr. R. two more of 66 your Letters. It is in the greateft hurry imaginable "that I write this; but I cannot help thanking you in

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particular for your third Letter, which is fo ex"tremely clear, fhort, and full, that I think Mr. "Croufaz ought never to have another anfwer, and "deferved not fo good an one. I can only fay, you "do him too much honour, and me too much right, "fo odd as the expreffion feems; for you have made

my fyftem as clear as I ought to have done, and "could not. It is indeed the fame fyftem as mine, "but illuftrated with a ray of your own, as they fay "our natural body is the fame ftill when it is glorified. "I am fure I like it better than I did before, and fo "will every man elfe. I know I meant juft what you "explain; but I did not explain my own meaning fo "well as you. You understand me as well as I do my"felf; but you exprefs me better than I could exprefs "myfelf. Pray accept the fincereft acknowledge

ments. I cannot but wish these Letters were put "together in one Book, and intend (with your leave) "to procure a tranflation of part, at least, of all of "them into French; but I fhall not proceed a step "without your confent and opinion, &c."

By this fond and eager acceptance of an exculpatory comment, Pope teftified that, whatever might be the feeming or real import of the principles which he had received from Bolingbroke, he had not intentionally attacked religion; and Bolingbroke, if he meant to make him without his own confent an inftrument of mifchief, found him now engaged with his eyes open on the fide of truth.

It is known that Bolingbroke concealed from Pope his real opinions. He once discovered them to Mr, Hooke, who related them again to Pope, and was told by him that he must have miftaken the meaning of what he heard; and Bolingbroke, when Pope's uneafinefs incited him to defire an explanation, declared that Hooke had misunderstood him.

Bolingbroke hated Warburton, who had drawn his pupil from him; and a little before Pope's death they had a difpute, from which they parted with mutual averfion.

From this time Pope lived in the closeft intimacy with his commentator, and amply rewarded his kindnefs and his zeal; for he introduced him to Mr. Murray, by whose interest he became preacher at Lincoln's Inn, and to Mr. Allen, who gave him his nicce and his eftate, and by confequence a bishoprick. When he died, he left him the property of his works; a legacy which may be reasonably estimated at four thoufand pounds.

Pope's fondness for the Efay on Man appeared by his defire of its propagation. Dobfon, who had gained reputation by his verfion of Prior's Solomon, was employed by him to tranflate it into Latin verfe, and was for that purpose fome time at Twickenham; but he left his work, whatever was the reafon, unfinished ; and, by Benson's invitation, undertook the longer task of Paradife Loft, Pope then defired his friend to find à scholar who should turn his Effay into Latin prose; but no fuch performance has ever appeared.

Pope lived at this time among the Great, with that reception and refpect to which his works entitled him, and which he had not impaired by any private mifcon

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duct or factious partiality. Though Bolingbroke was his friend, Walpole was not his enemy; but treated. him with fo much confideration as, at his request, to folicit and obtain from the French Minister an abbey for Mr. Southcot, whom he confidered himself as obliged to reward, by this exertion of his intereft, for the benefit which he had received from his attendance in a long illness.

It was faid, that, when the Court was at Richmond, Queen Caroline had declared her intention to vifit him. This may have been only a careless effufion, thought on no more: the report of such notice, however, was foon in many mouths; and, if I do not forget or misapprehend Savage's account, Pope, pretending to decline what was not yet offered, left his houfe for a time, not, I fuppofe, for any other reafon than left he fhould be thought to stay at home in expectation of an honour which would not be conferred. He was therefore angry at Swift, who reprefents him as refufing the vifits of a Queen, because he knew that what had never been offered had never been refused.

Befide the general fyftem of morality, fuppofed to be contained in the Effay on Man, it was his intention to write diftinct poems upon the different duties or conditions of life; one of which is the Epistle to Lord Bathurst (1733) on the Ufe of Riches, a piece on which he declared great labour to have been bestowed *.

Into this poem fome incidents are hiftorically thrown, and fome known characters are introduced, with others of which it is difficult to fay how far they are real or fictitious; but the praife of Kyrl, the Man of Rofs, deferves particular examination, who, after a long and pompous enumeration of his publick works and private

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