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nothing; but leave thee, gentle reader, to steer thy judgment equally between various opinions, and to chule whether thou wilt incline to the Teftimonies of Authors avowed, or of Authors concealed; of thofe who knew him, or of those who knew him P.

not.

MARTINUS SCRIBLERUS

OF THE POEM.

HIS poem,

as it celebrateth the most grave

Tand ancient of things, Chaos, Night, and Dul

nefs; so is it of the most grave and ancient kind. Homer (faith Aristotle) was the first who gave the Form, and (faith Horace) who adapted the Meajure, to heroic poefy But even before this, may be rationally prefumed from what the Ancients have left written, was a piece by Homer compofed, of like nature and matter with this of our Poet. For of Epic fort it appeareth to have been, yet of matter surely not unpleasant; witness what is reported of it by the learned Archbishop Euftathius, in Odyff. x. And accordingly Ariftotle, in his Poetic, chap. iv. doth further fet forth, that as the Iliad and Odyffey gave example to Tragedy, fo did this poem to Comedy its first idea.

From thefe authors also it should feem, that the Hero, or chief perfonage of it was no lefs obfcure, and his understanding and fentiments no lefs quaint and ftrange (if indeed not more fo) than any of the actors of our poem. MARGITES was the name of this perfonage, whom Antiquity reordeth to have been Dunce the firft; and furely from what we hear of him, not unworthy to be the root of fo spreading a tree, and

fo numerous a pofterity. The poem therefore celebrating him, was properly and abfolutely a Dunciad; which though now unhappily loft, yet is its nature fufficiently known by the infallible tokens aforefaid. And thus it doth appear, that the first Dunciad was the first Epic poem, written by Homer himfelf, and anterior even to the Iliad or Odyssey.

Now, forafinuch as our poet hath tranflated those two famous works of Homer which are yet left, he did conceive it in fome fort his duty to imitate that alfo which was loft: and was therefore induced to beftow on it the fame form which Homer's is reported to have had, namely, that of Epic poem; with a title alfo framed after the ancient Greek manner, to wit, that of Duncid.

Wonderful it is, that fo few of the moderns have been ftimulated to attempt fome Dunciad! fince in the opinion of the multitude, it might coft lefs pain and toil than an imitation of the greater Epic. But pof. fible it is alfo, that, on due reflection, the maker might find it easier to paint a Charlemagne, a Brute, or a Godfrey, with juft pomp and dignity heroic, than a Margites, a Codrus, or a Fleckno.

We shall next declare the occafion and the cause which moved our poet to this particular work. He lived in those days, when (after Providence had permitted the invention of Printing as a fcourge for the fins of the learned) Paper alfo became fo cheap, and Printers fo numerous, that a deluge of authors covered the land: Whereby not only the Peace of the honest unwriting fubject was daily molested, but unmerciful demands were made of his applaufe, yea of his money,

by fuch as would neither earn the one, nor deserve the other. At the fame time, the license of the Prefs was fuch, that it grew dangerous to refuse them either: for they would forthwith publish flanders unpunished, the authors being anonymous, and skulking under the wings of publishers, a fet of men who never fcrupled to vend either Calumny or Blafphemy, as long as the Town would call for it.

a Now our author, living in thofe times, did conceive it an endeavour well worthy an honeft Satirist, to diffuade the dull, and punish the wicked, the only way that was left. In that public-fpirited view he laid the plan of this poem, as the greatest fervice he was capable (without much hurt, or being flain) to render his dear country. First, taking things from their original, he confidereth the causes creative of fuch Authors, namely, Dulness and Poverty; the one born with them, the other contracted by neglect of their proper talents, through felf-conceit of greater abilities. This truth he wrappeth in an Allegory b (as the conftruction of Epic poefy requireth) and feigns that one of these Goddeffes had taken up her abode with the other, and that they jointly inspired all fuch writers and fuch works. < He proceedeth to fhew the qualities they bestow on these authors, and the effects they produced: then the materials, or flock, with which they furnish them ; and (above all) that felfopinion f which caufeth it to seem to themselves vaftly

a Vide Boffu, Du poeme Epique, chap. viii.

b Boffu, chap. vii.

d Ver. 45 to 54.

c Book I. ver. 32, &c.

e Ver. 57. 77.

f Ver. 80.

greater than it is, and is the prime motive of their setting up in this fad and sorry merchandise. The great power of these Goddeffes acting in alliance (where of as the one is the mother of Industry, fo is the other of Plodding) was to be exemplified in some one, great and remarkable Action ; and none could be more fo than that which our poet hath chofen; viz. the restoration of the reign of Chaos and Night, by the miniftry of Dulness their daughter, in the removal of her imperial feat from the City to the polite World; aзthe Action of the Eneid is the restoration of the empire of Troy, by the removal of the race from thence to Latium. But as Homer finging only the Wrath of Achilles, yet includes in his Poem the whole hiftory: of the Trojan war; in like manner our author hath drawn into this single Action the whole history of Dulnefs and her children.

A Perfon must next be fixed upon to fupport this Action. This Phantom in the Poet's mind must have a Name : He finds it to be---; and he becomes of

courfe the Hero of the poem.

The Fable being thus, according to the best example, one and entire, as contained in the Propofition; the Machinery is a continued chain of Allegories, fetting forth the whole Power, Ministry, and Empire of Dulnefs, extended through her fubordinate instruments, in all her various operations.

This is branched into Episodes, each of which hath its Moral apart, though all conducive to the main end. The Crowd affembled in the fecond book, demonftrates

g Boffu, chap. vii. viii.

h Boffu, chap. viii. Vide Ariftot. Poetic. cap. ix.

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