To aid our cause, if Heav'n thou can'ft not bend, This, this is he, foretold by ancient rhymes: " 319 315 320 325 is preferr'd for Wit! Hence it appears that Mr. Cibber (who values himself on fubfcribing to the *Names of miferable Farces, which it was the custom to act at the end of the best Tragedies, to spoil the digeftion of the audience. + In Tibbald's farce of Proferpine, a corn-field was fet on fire: whereupon the other playhouse had a barn burnt down for the recreation of the Spectators. They also rival'd each other in fhowing the burnings of hell-fire, in Dr. Fauftus. It is reported of Æfchylus, that when his tragedy of the Furies was acted, the audience were fo terrified that the children fell into fits, and the big-bellied women miscarried. See Ovid, Met. iii. § W- Benfon (Surveyor of the Buildings to his Majesty K. George I.) gave in a report to the Lords, that their house and the Painted-chamber adjoining were in immediate danger of falling. Whereupon the Lords met in a committee to appoint fome other place to fit in, while the house should be taken down. But it being proposed to cause some other builders first to infpect it, they found it in very good condition. The Lords, upon this, were going upon an address to the King against Benson, for such a misreprefentation; but the Earl of Sunderland, then fecretary, gave them an affu rance See under Ripley rise a new White-hall, 339 Hibernian rance that his Majefty would remove him, which was done accordingly. In favour of this man, the famous Sir Chriftopher Wren, who had been Architect to the crown for above fifty years, who built most of the Churches in London, laid the first stone of St. Paul's, and lived to finish it, had been difplaced from his employment at the age of near ninety years. **" He was (faith Mr. JACOB) one of the wits at Button's, and ajustice "of the peace:" But he hath fince met with higher preferment in Ireland : and a much greater character we have of him in Mr. Gildon's Complete Art of Poetry, vol. i. p 157. "Indeed he confeffes, he dares not set him quite on the fame fiot with Virgil, left it should feem flattery, but he is much "mistaken if pofterity does not afford him a greater efteem than he at prefents enjoys." He endeavoured to create fome misunderstanding between our Author and Mr. Addifon, whom alfo foon after he abused as much. His conftant cry was, that Mr P. was an Enemy to the government; and in particular he was the avowed author of a report very induftriously spread, that he had a hand in a party paper called the Examiner: A falfhood well known to thofe yet living, who had the direction and publication of it. * At the time when this poem was written, the banquetting house of Whitehall, the church and piazza of Covent-garden, and the palace and chapel of Somerset house, the works of the famous Inigo Jones, had been for many years fo neglected, as to be in danger of ruin. The portico of Covent-garden had been just then restored and beautified at the expence of the Earl of Burlington; who, at the fame time, by his publication of the defigns of that great Mafter and Palladio, as well as by many noble buildings of his own, revived the true taste of Architecture in this Kingdom. See Mr. Gay's fable of the Hare and many Friends, This gentleman was early in the friendship of our author, which continued to his death. He wrote feveral works of humour with great fuccefs, the Shepherd's Week, Trivia, the What-d'ye-call it, Fables; and lastly, the celebrated Beggar's Opera; a piece of fatire which hit all taftes and degrees of men, from those of the highest quality to the very rabble: That verfe of Horace "Primores populi aripuit, populumque tributim," could never be fo juftly applied as to this. The vast success of it was unprecedented, and almost incredible: what is related of the wonderful effects of the ancient music or tragedy hardly came up to it: Sophocles and Euripides were lefs followed and famous. It was acted in London fixty-three days, uninterrupted; and renewed the next feafon with equal applauses. It spread into all the great towns of England, was play'd in many places to the thirtieth and fortieth time, and at Bath and Bristol fifty, etc. It made its progrefs into Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, where it was performed twenty-four days together: it was last acted in Minorca. The fame of it was not Hibernian Politics, O Swift! thy fate *; 335 not confined to the author only; the ladies carried about with them the favourite fongs of it in fans; and houfes were furnished with it in fcreens, The perfon who acted Polly, till then obfcure, became all at once the favourite of the town; her pictures were ingraved, and fold in great numbers; her life written, books of letters and verfes to her, published; and pamphlets made even of her fayings and jests.` Furthermore, it drove out of England, for that feafon, the Italian Opera, which had carried all before it for ten years. That idol of the nobility and people, which the great Critic Mr. Dennis by the labours and outeries of a whole life could not overthrow, was demolished by a fingle ftroke of this gentleman's pen. This happened in the year 1728. Yet fo great was his modefty, that he constantly prefixed to all the editions of it this motto, Nes bæc novimus effe nibil. * See Book i. ver. 26. + The author here plainly laments that he was fo long employed in tranflating and commenting. He began the Iliad in 1713, and finifhed it in 1719, The edition of Shakespeare (which he undertook merely becaufe nobody elfe would) took up near two years more in the drudgery of comparing impreffions, rectifying the Scenery, etc. and the tranflation of half the Odyssey employed him from that time to 1725. It may perhaps feem incredible, that fo great a Revolution in Learning as is here prophefied, should be brought about by such weak instruments as have beer [hitherto] defcribed in our poem: But do not thou, gentle reader, reft too fecure in thy contempt of thefe Inftruments. Remember what the Dutch ftories fomewhere relate, that a great part of their provinces was once overflowed, by a fmall opening made in one of their dykes by a fingle Water-Rat. However, that fuch is not seriously the judgment of our Poet, but that he conceiveth better hopes from the Diligence of our Schools, from the Regu larity of our Universities, the Difcernment of our Great men, the Accom. plishments of our Nobility, the Encouragement of our Patrons, and the Genius of our Writers of all kinds (notwithstanding fome few exceptions in cach) may plainly be feen from his conclufion; where caufing all this vifion to pass through the Ivory gate, he exprefly, in the language of Poefy, declares all fuch imaginations to be wild, ungrounded, and fictitious. SCRIBL. || Another great prophet of Dulness, on this fide Styx, promiseth those days to be near at hand. The Devil (saith he) licensed Bishops to license Masters of Schools to inftruƐt youth in the knowledge of the beatben Gods, their religion, etc. The Schools and Univerfities will foon be tired and ashamed of Claffics and fuch trumpery. HUTCHINSON's Use of Reafon recovered. 2 SCRIBL. 'Till |