Who but must laugh, the Mafter when he fees, A puny infect, fhiv'ring at a breeze! Lo, what huge heaps of littleness around! The whole, a labour'd Quarry above ground. 110 On ev'ry fide you look, behold the Wall! No pleafing Intricacies intervene, No artful wildness to perplex the scene 115 Grove nods at grove, each Alley has a brother, And half the platform just reflects the other. COMMENTARY. Yet the punishment is confined as it ought; and the evil is turned to the benefit of others: For -hence the Poor are cloath'd, the Hungry fed ; The fuff'ring eye inverted Nature fees, Juft at his Study-door he'll blefs your eyes. His Study with what Authors is it stor'd? In Books, not Authors, curious is NOTES. Ibid. Grove nods at grove, &c.] The exquifite humour of this expreffion arifes folely from its fignificancy. These groves, that have no meaning, but very near relation-fhip, can exprefs themselves only like twin-ideots by nods; which just serve to let us understand, that they know one another, as having been nurfed, and brought up by my Lord; To all their dated Backs he turns you round: 135 140 And now the Chapel's filver bell you hear, That fummons you to all the Pride of Pray'r : Light quirks of Mufic, broken and uneven, Make the foul dance upon a Jig to Heav'n. On painted Cielings you devoutly stare, Where sprawl the Saints of Verrio or Laguerre, NOTES. fatire on the vanity in collecting them, more frequent in men of Fortune than the ftudy to understand them. Many delight chiefly in the elegance of the print, or of the binding; fome have carried it fo far, as to caufe the upper fhelves to be filled with painted books of wood; others pique themfelves fo much upon books in a language they do not underftand, as to exclude the most useful in one they do. P. VER. 142. The falfe Tafte in Mufic, improper to the subjects, as of light airs in churches, often practifed by the organists, &c. P. 145 On gilded clouds in fair expansion lie, And bring all Paradise before your eye. NOTES. The first figure has been taken notice of for the force of it's expreffion. We fee all the marks of conviction, and refignation to the will of the divine Messenger. But I do not know, that it has been suspect This was not only faid to deride | round him in a circle; and a the indecency and aukward ftatue of Mars in the front of pofition of the figures, but to his temple denotes the scene of infinuate the want of dignity in Action. the fubjects. Raphael's pagans, as the devils in Milton, act a nobler part than the Gods and Saints of ordinary poets and painters. The cartons at Hampton-Court are talked of by every body; they have been copied, engraved, and criti-ed, that a particular character cifed; and yet fo little ftudied was here reprefented. And or confidered, that in the nobleft yet the Platonic countenance, of them, of which more, too, and the female attendant, fhew has been faid than of all the plainly, that the painter designreft, we are as much ftrangers ed DIONYSIUS, whom Eccleto St. Paul's audience in the fiaftical story makes of this fect, Arcopagus, as to thofe he and to whom facred history has preached before at Theffalo- given this companion. For the nica or Beroa. woman is DAMARIS mentioned, with him, in the Acts, as a joint convert. Either the Artift miftook his text, and fuppofed her converted with him at this audience; or, what is more likely, he purposely committed the indecorum of bringing a woman into the Arcopagus, the better to mark out his Dionyfius; a character of great fame in the Romish Church, from a voluminous myftic impoftor who has affumed his titles. Next to this PLATONIST of open vifage and extended The ftory from whence the painter took his fubject is this, "St. Paul came to Athens, "was encountered by the Epi<< cureans and Stoics, taken up "by them to the court of Areo26 pagus, before which he made "his apology; and amongst his * converts at this time, were "Dionyfius, the Areopagite, "and a woman named Dama"ris." On this fimple plan he exercises his invention. Paul is placed on an eminence in the act of speaking, the audience To reft, the Cushion and foft Dean invite, NOTES. 150 Circle, and behind the principal figures, are a number of young faces to denote the fcholars and difciples of the feveral fects. These are all before the apoftle. Behind him are two other Figures: One regarding the Apoftle's action, with his face turned upwards; in which the paffions of malicious zeal and disappointed rage are fo ftrongly marked that we needed not the red bonnet to see he was a Jewish Rabbi. The other is a pagan priest full of anxiety for the danger of the established Religion. arms, is a figure deeply col-, determination. Without the lected within himfelf, immerged in thought, and ruminating on what he hears. Conformable to his ftate, are his arms buried in his garment, and his chin reposing on his bofom; in a word, all his lineaments denote the STOIC; the fymbol of which fect was, Ne te quafiveris extra. Adjoining to him is an old man with a fqualid beard and habit, leaning on his crouch, and turning his eyes upwards on the Apoftle; but with a countenance fo four and canine, that one cannot hefitate a moment in pronouncing him a CYNIC. The next that follows, by his elegance of Thus has this great Master, drefs, and placid air of raillery in order to heighten the dignity and neglect, betrays the EPI- of his fubject, brought in the CUREAN: As the other which heads of fect of philofoftands close by him, with his phy and religion which were finger on his lips denoting fi-moft averfe to the principles, lence, plainly marks out a fol- and moft oppofed to the fuclower of PYTHAGORAS. Af- cefs of the Gofpel; so that one ter these come a groupe of may truly esteem this carton figures caveling in all the rage as the greatest effort of his diof disputation, and criticifing vine genius. the divine Speaker. Thefe VER. 146. Where sprawl plainly defign the ACADE- the Saints of Verrio, or LaMICS, the genius of whofe guerre.] The fine image here school was to debate de quoli-given in a fingle word, admibet ente, and never come to a rably expofes the unnatural po every |