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SEMPER

EA DEM

By the AUTHOR

A DECLARATION..

WHEREAS certain Haberdashers of Points and Particles, being instigated by the spirit of Pride, and affuming to themselves, the name of Critics and Restorers, have taken upon them to adulterate the common and curzent fence of our Glorious Ancestors, Poets of this Realm, by slipping, coining, defacing the images, miring their own bale allay, oz otherwile fallifying the same; which they publish, utter, and bend as genuine: The faid Haberdafhers having no right thereto, as neither heirs, execu tos, administratozs, alligns, 02 in any fort related to such Poets, to all or any of them: Now We, having carefully revised this our Dunciad, * beginning with the words

* Read thus confidently, inftead 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 " bundred, and fifty-fix verses," instead of "one thousand and

The Mighty Mother, and ending with the words buries All, containing the entire fum of One thousand feven hundred and fifty-four verses, declare evezy word, figure, point, and comma of this impzellion to be authentic: And do therefore ftriæly enjoin and fozbid any person oz perlons whatsoever, to erase, reverse, put between hooks, or by any other means, direxly or indirefly, change oz mangle any of them. And we do hereby earnestly exhozt all out bzethren to follow this our example, which we heartily with our great Predeceffozs had heretofore let, as a remedyand prevention of all fuch abuses. Provided always, that nothing in this Declaration fhall be construed to limit the lawful and undoubted right of every subjcx of this Realm, to judge, cenfure, or condemn, in the whole or 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 thousand, feven hundred, thirty and two..

Declarat' cor' me,

JOHN BARBER, Mayor.

"twelve lines;" fuch being the initial and final words, and fuch the true and entire contents, of this poem.

Thou art to know, Reader! that the first Edition thereof, Jike that of Milton, was never feen by the Author, (though living and not blind :) The Editor himself confeffed as much in his Preface: And no two poems were ever published in fo arbitrary a manner. The Editor of this, had as boldly fuppreffed whole Paffages, yea the entire last book, as the Editor of Faradife 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 last labour, as long as in any of our others. BENTL.

APPENDIX.

I.

PREFACE

Prefixed to the five firft imperfect Editions of the DUNCIA D, in three Books, printed at DUBLIN and LONDON, in octavo and duodecimo, 1727.

The PUBLISHER* to the READER.

T will be found a true obfervation, tho' somewhat

IT

furprizing, that when any scandal is vented againft a man of the highest distinction and character, either in the state or in literature, the public in general afford it a moft quiet reception; and the larger part accept it as favourably as if it were fome kindness done to

*The Publisher] Who he was is uncertain; but Edward Ward tells us, in his preface to Durgen," that most judges are "of opinion this preface is not of English extraction, but "Hibernian," &c. He means it was written by Dr. Swift, who, whether publisher or not, may be faid in a fort to be author of the poem. For when be, together with Mr. Pope (for reafons specified in the preface to their Mifcellanies) determined to own the moft trifling pieces in which they had any hand, and to deftroy all that remained in their power; the fft fketch 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 infcribed. But the occafion of printing it was as follows:

themselves: whereas if a known fcoundrel or blockhead but chance to be touched upon, a whole legion is up in arms, and it becomes the common caufe of all fcriblers, booksellers, and printers whatsoever.

Not to fearch too deeply into the reason hereof, I will only obferve as a fact, that every week for these two months paft, the town has been perfecuted with pamphlets, advertisements, letters, and weekly

There was published in thofe Mifcellanies, a Treatife of the Bathos, or Art of Sinking in Poetry, in which was a chapter, where the fpecies of bad writers were ranged in claffes, and initial letters of names prefixed, for the most part at random. But fuch was the Number of Poets eminent in that art, that fome one or other took every letter to himself. All fell into fo violent a fury, that for half a year, or more, the common News papers (in most of which they had fome property, as being hired writers) were filled with the most abufive falfehoods and fcurrilities they could poffibly devife; a liberty no ways to be wondered at in those people, and in thofe papers, that, for many years, during the uncontrolled Licence of the prefs, had afperfed almost all the great characters of the age; and this with impunity, their own perfons and names being utterly fecret and obfcure. This gave Mr. Pope the thought, that he had now fome opportunity of doing good, by detecting and dragging into light thefe common Enemies of mankind; fince, to invalidate this univerfal flander, it fufficed to fhew what contemptible men were the authors of it. He was not without hopes, that, by manifefting the dulness of those who had only malice to recommend them; either the bookfellers would not find their account in employing them, or the men themselves, when discovered, want courage to proceed in fo unlawful an occupation. This it was that gave birth to the Dunciad; and he thought it an happiness, that, by the late flood of flander on himself, he had acquired fuch a peculiar right over their Names as was neceffary to his defign.

+ pamphlets, advertisements, &c.] See the Lift of those anonymous papers, with their dates and authors, annexed, inferted before the Poem.

effays, not only against the wit and writings, but against the character and perfon of Mr Pope. And that of all thofe men who have received pleasure from his works, which by modeft computation may be about a hundred thousand in thefe kingdoms of England and Ireland; (not to mention Jersey, Guernsey, the Orcades, thofe in the new world, and foreigners who have tranflated him into their languages); of all this number not a man hath stood up to say one word in his defence.

The only exception is, the || author of the following poem, who doubtless had either a better insight into the grounds of this clamour, or a better opinion of Mr Pope's integrity, join'd with a greater perfonal love for him, than any other of his numerous friends and admirers.

Farther, that he was in his peculiar intimacy, appears from the knowledge he manifefts of the most

about a hundred thousand] It is furprising with what ftupidity this preface, which is almost a continued irony, was taken by thofe authors. All fuch paffages as thefe were understood by Curl, Cook, Cibber, and others, to be ferious. Hear the Laureate (Letter to Mr Pope, p 9) "Tho' I grant the Dunciad a "better poem of its kind than ever was writ; yet, when I read

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it with thofe vain glorious incumbrances of Notes and Re"marks upon it, &c.—it is amazing, that you, who have writ "with fuch masterly spirit upon the ruling Paffion, should be fo "blind a flave to your own, as not to see how far a low avarice "of Praife," &c. (taking it for granted that the notes of Scriblerus and others, were the author's own)

The author of the following poem, &c.] A very plain irony, fpeaking of Mr. Pope himself.

VOL. III.

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