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Nor public Flame, nor private, dares to fhine;
Nor human Spark is left, nor Glimpfe divine!
Lo! thy dread Empire, CHAOS! is reftor'd,
Light dies before thy uncreating word:

Thy hand, great Anarch! lets the curtain fall; 655 And univerfal Darkness buries All.

REMARK S.

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well at the memory of the past overflow of dulnefs, when the barbarous learning of so many ages was wholly employed in corrupting the fimplicity, and defiling the purity of Religion, as at the view of these her false supports in the prefent; of which it would be endless to recount the particulars. However amidst the extinction of all other Lights, the is faid only to withdraw hers as hers alone in its own nature is unextinguishable and eternal. VER. 650. And unawares Morality expires.] It appears from hence that our Poet was of very different fentiments from the Author of the Characteristics, who has written a formal treatise on Virtue, to prove it not only real but durable, without the fupport of Religion. The word unawares alludes to the confidence of those men, who fuppofe that Morality would flourish beft without it, and confequently to the furprize fuch would be in (if any fuch there are) who indeed love Virtue, and yet do all they can to root out the Religion of their Country.

The END of the FOURTH BOOK.

!

By the AUTHOR:

A DECLARATION.

WHEREAS certain Haberdashers of Points and Particles, being inftigated by the spirit af Pride, and assuming to themselves the name of Critics and Reftorers, have taken upon them to adulterate the common and current sense of our Glorious Ancestors, Poets of this Realm, by clipping, coining, defacing the images, miring their own base allay, o2 otherwife falsifing the same; which then publish, utter, and vend as genuine: The said haberdashers having na right thereto, as neither hers, executors, administrato2s, assigns, 02 in any fort related to such Poets, to all oz any of them: Now We, having carefully revised this our Dunciad, a beginning with

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a Read thus confidently, instead of "beginning with the word “Books, and ending with the word flies," as formerly it stood; Read alfo, "containing the entire fum of one thousand, Seven bun"dred, and fifty fix verses," inftead of "one thousand and twelve "lines;" fuch being the initial and final words, and fuch the true and entire contents of this poem,

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the words The Mighty Mother, and ending with the mods buries All, containing the entire sum of One thousand seven hundred and fifty-four verses, des clare every wozd, figure, point, and comma of this impression to be authentic: And do therefaze strictly enjoin and fozbid any person og persons whatfoever, to erase, reverse, put between hooks, o2 bp any other means, directly og indirectly, change o2 mangle any of them. And we do hereby earnestly erhost all our brethren to follow this our example, which we heartily with our great Predecesso2s had heretofoze set, as a remedy and prevention of all fuch abuses. Provided always, that nothing in this Declaration fhall be construed to limit the lawful and undoubted right of every subject of this Healm, to judge, censure, o2 condemn, in the whole of in part, any poem oz Poet whatsoever.

Given under our hand at London, this third day of January, in the year of our Lord One thoufand, feven hundred, thirty and two.

Declarat' cor' me,
JOHN BARBER, Mayor.

• Thou art to know, reader! that the first Edition thereof, like that of Milton, was never seen by the Author (though living and not blind:) The Editor himself confefs'd as much in his Preface: And no two poems were ever published in so arbitrary a manner. The Editor of this, had as boldly fuppreffed whole Paffages, yea the entire laft book, as the Editor of Paradife loft, added and augmented. Milton himself gave but ten books, his Editor twelve; this Author gave four books, his Editor only three. But we have happily done juftice to both; and prefume we fhall live, in this our laft labour, as long as in any of our others. BENTL.

APPENDIX.

I.

PREFACE

Prefixed to the five firft imperfect Editions of the DUNCIAD, in three books, printed at DUBLIN and LONDON, in octavo and duodeci. mo, 1727.

I

The PUBLISHER to the READER.

T will be found a true obfervation, tho' fomewhat furpriziag, that when any scandal is vented against a man of the highest distinction and cha

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The Publisher] Who he was is uncertain but Edward Ward tells us, in his preface to Durgen, "that moft judges are of opi"nion this preface is not of English extraction, but Hibernian,' &c. He means it was written by Dr. Swift, who, whether publifher or not, may be faid in a fort to be author of the poem. For when he, together with Mr. Pope (for reasons specified in the preface to their Miscellanies) determined to own the most trifling pieces in which they had any hand, and to destroy all that remained in their power; the first sketch of this poem was fnatched from the fire by Dr. Swift, who perfuaded his friend to proceed in it, and to him it was therefore inscribed. But the ocafion of printing it was as follows:

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