Mr. MALLET, In his epistle on Verbal Criticism : "Whose life severely fcan'd, tranfcends his lays; "For wit fupreme, is but his second praise.” Mr. HAMMOND, That delicate and correct imitator of Tibullus, in his Love Elegies, Elegy xiv. age, "Now fir'd by Pope and Virtue, leave the In his elegant and philofophical poem of the seasons: To the fame tune alfo fingeth that learned clerk of Suffolk Mr. WILLIAM BROOM E. "f Thus, nobly rifing in fair Virtue's cause, "From thy own life transcribe th` unerring laws.” And, to close all, hear the reverend Dean of St. Pa trick's: "A foul with ev'ry virtue fraught, "By Patriots, Priefts, and Poets taught: "Whose filial piety excells "Whatever Grecian ftory tells, "A genius for each bus'nefs fit, "Whofe meaneft talent is his wit," &c. Let us now recreate thee by turning to the other fide, and fhewing his character drawn by those with whom he never converfed, and whofe countenances he could not know, though turned against him: First again commencing with the high voiced and never enough quoted f In his Poems, and at the end of the Odyssey. 66 Mr. JOHN DENNÍS, Who, in his reflections on the Effay on Criticism, thus defcribeth him: "A little affected hypocrite, who has "nothing in his mouth but candour, truth, friendship, "good-nature, humanity, and magnanimity. He is fo "great a lover of falfhood, that, whenever he has a mind to calumniate his contemporaries, he brands them with "fome defect which is juft contrary to fome good quality, for " which all their friends and their acquaintance commend "them. He feems to have a particular pique to People of Quality, and authors of that rank. He must derive "his religion from St. Omer's."-But to the character of Mr. P. and his writings, (printed by S. Popping, 1716,) he faith, "Though he is a profeffor of the worft religion, yet he laughs at it;" but that " nevertheless, he is a vi"rulent Papist; and yet a Pillar for the Church of England.” Of both which opinions 66 Mr. LEWIS THEOBAL D feems alfo to be; declaring, in Mift's Journal of June 22, 1718. "That if he is not fhrewdly abufed, he made it "his practice to cackle to both parties in their own fenti"ments." But, as to his pique against People of quality, the fame Journalist doth not agree, but faith, (May 8, 1728.) "He had, by fome means or other, the acquaintance and "friendship of the whole body of our nobility." However contradictory this may appear, Mr. Dennis and Gildon in the character laft cited, make it all plain, by affuring us," That he is a creature that reconciles all contradictions; he is a beast, and a man; a Whig and a Tory; a writer (at one and the fame time) of g Ğuar"dians and Examiners; an Affertor of liberty, and of "the difpenfing power of kings; a Jefuitical profeffor of "truth; a bafe and a foul pretender to candour." So that, upon the whole account, we must conclude him either to have been a great hypocrite, or a very honeft g The names of two weekly papers, man; a terrible imposer upon both parties, or very mỡderate to either. Be it as to the judicious reader fhall feem good. Sure it is, he is little favoured of certain authors, whose wrath is perilous for one declares he ought to have a price fet on his head, and to be hunted down as a wild beast h. Another protests that he does not know what may happen; advifes him to infure his perfon; fays he has bitter enemies, and exprefly declares it will be well if he escapes with his life. One defires he would cut his own throat, or hang himself k. But Pafquin feemed rather inclined it fhould be done by the government, reprefenting him engaged in grievous defigns with a Lord of Parliament, then under profecution 1. Mr. Dennis himfelf hath written to a Minifter, that he is one of the most dangerous perfons in this kingdomm; and affureth the public, that he is an open and mortal enemy to his country; a monfter, that will, one day, fhew as daring a foul as a mad Indian, who runs a muck to kill the first Chriftians he meets n. Another gives information of Treafon discovered in his poem. Mr. Curl boldly fupplies an imperfect verfe with Kings and Princeffes p. And one Matthew Concanen, yet more impudent, publishes at length the Two most SACRED NAMES in this nation, as members of the Dunciad q! This is prodigious! yet it is almoft as ftrange, that in the midst of these invectives his greatest enemies have (I know not how) born teftimony to fome merit in him. Mr. THEO BALD. in cenfuring his Shakespear, declares," He has fo great h Theobald, Letter in Mift's Journal, June 22, 1728. i Smedley, Pref. to Gulliveriana, p. 14, 16. k Gulliveriana, p. 332. n Preface to Rem. m Anno 1729. 1 Anno 1723. on the Rape of the Lock, p. 12. and in the last page of that treatife. o Page 6, 7. of the Preface, by Concanen, to a book intitled, A Collection of all the Letters, Effays, Verses and Advertisements, occafioned by Pope and Swift's Mifcellanies. Printed for A. Moore, octavo 1712. p Key to the Dunciad, 3d edit. p. 18. 9 A Lift of Perfons, &c. at the end of the forementioned Collection of all the Letters, Eflays, &c. an efteem for Mr. Pope, and fo high an opinion of his "genius and excellencies; that notwithstanding he profeffes "a veneration almost rifing to Idolatry for the writings of this inimitable poet, he would be very loth even to "do him justice, at the expence of that other gentleman's "character.r" 66 Mr. CHARLES GILDON, after having violently attacked him in many pieces, at laft came to wifh from his heart, "That Mr. Pope would "be prevailed upon to give us Ovid's Epiftles by his "hand, for it is certain we fee the original of Sappho "to Phaon with much more life and likenefs in his ver"fion, .than in that of Sir Car. Scrope. And this he adds) is the more to be wifhed, because in the English "tongue we have fcarce any thing truly and naturally "written upon Loves." He also, in taxing Sir Richard Blackmore for his heterodox opinions of Homer, challengeth him to answer what Mr. Pope hath faid in his preface to that poet. Mr. OLD MIX ON. calls him a great mafter of our tongue; declares" the purity and perfection of the English language to be "found in his Homer; and, faying there are more good "verses in Dryden's Virgil than in any other work, except this of our author only t." The Author of a Letter to Mr. CIB BER. fays, "v Pope was fo good a verfifier [once] that his prede"ceffor Mr. Dryden, and his cotemporary Mr. Prior "excepted, the harmony of his numbers is equal to any "body's. And, that he had all the merit, that a man 66 can have that way." And Mr. THOMAS COOKE, after much blemishing our author's Homer, crieth out, r Introduction to his Shakespear reftored, in quarto, p. 3. s Commentary on the Duke of Buckingham's Effay, octavo, 1721, p. 97, 98. t In his profe Effay on Criticism. v Printed by J. Roberts, 1742, P, II. VOL. V. "But in his other works what beauties fhine, So alfo one who takes the name of H. STANHOPE. the maker of certain verses to Duncan Campbell x, in that poem, which is wholly a fatire on Mr. Pope, confeffeth, ""Tis true, if fineft notes alone could show "(Tun'd justly high, or regularly low) "That we fhould fame to these mere vocals give ; "Pope more than we can offer should receive: "For when fome gliding river is his theme, "His lines run smoother than the smootheft ftream," &'c. MIST'S JOUR NA L, June 8, 1728. 66 Although he fays, "The fmooth numbers of the Dunciad are all that recommend it, nor has it any other merit; yet that fame paper hath these words:" "The author " is allowed to be a perfect mafter of an eafy and elegant "verfification. In all his works we find the most happy turns, "and natural families, wonderfully fhort and thick fown." The Effay on the Dunciad alfo owns, p. 25. it is very full of beautiful images. But the panegyric, which crowns all that can be faid on this Poem, is bestowed by our Laureate, " Mr. COLLEY CIBBER, who "grants it to be a better Poem of its kind than ever "was writ:" but adds, "it was a victory over a parcel "of poor wretches, whom it was almoft cowardice to "conquer.-A man might as well triumph for having "killed fo many filly flies that offended him. Could he "have let them alone, by this time, poor fouls! they w Battle of Poets, folio, p. 15. x Printed under the title of the Progrefs of Dulnefs, duodecimo, 1728. |