world; and people will establish their opinion of us, from what we do at that feafon when we have leaft judgment to direct us. On the other hand, a good Poet no fooner communicates his works with the fame defire of information, but it is imagined he is a vain young creature given up to the ambition of fame; when perhaps the poor man is all the while trembling with the fear of being ridiculous. If he is made to hope he may please the world, he falls under very unlucky circumftances for, from the moment he prints, he must expect to hear no more truth, than if he were a Prince or a Beauty. If he has not very good fenfe. (and indeed there are twenty men of wit, for one man of sense) his living thus in a course of flattery may put him in no fmall danger of becoming a Coxcomb: if he has, he will confequently have fo much diffidence as not to reap any great fatisfaction from his praise; fince, if it be given to his face, it can scarce be distinguished from flattery, and if in his absence, it is hard to be certain of it. Were he fure to be commended by the best and most knowing, he is as fure of being envied by the worst and most ignorant, which are the majority; for it is with a fine Genius as with a fine fashion, all those are displeased at it who are not able to follow it: and it is to be feared that esteem will feldom do any man fo much good, as ill-will does him harm. Then there is a third clafs of people, who make the largeft part of mankind, thofe of ordinary or indifferent capacities; and these (to a man) will hate, or fufpect him a hundred honeft gentlemen will dread him as a Wit, and a hundred innocent women as a Satirist. In a word, whatever be his fate in Poetry, it is ten to one but he must give up all the reasonable aims of life for it. There are indeed fome advantages accruing from a Genius to Poetry, and they are all I can think of: the agreeable power of felf-amufement when a man is idle or alone; the privilege of being admitted into the beft company*; and the freedom of faying as many carelefs things as other people, without being so feverely remarked upon. * What is here faid of the privileges of the Poetic Character, will not, I believe, bear the test of truth and experience. Surely a Poet is not particularly allowed the "freedom of saying carelefs things," and his moral character and manners are to be eftimated, as well as his talents, before he is entitled to a certain ftation in fociety. Let me however take this opportunity, and I do it with pride, of vindicating a respectable, and superior class of men, the English Poets. A few eccentric characters among them, who have difgraced their Genius, have been confidered fufficient to throw a fhade upon the whole class. But let us eftimate their character fairly, and we shall find the fons of true and original genius, in general, as highly elevated by their perfonal character, as by their talents. Need I mention the names of the "princely" and elegant Surrey, the amiable Spenser, the great, and, bating his political prejudices, the feverely.moral, Milton, Pope, Addison, Thomsou, Young, Gray, Littelton, and many others, all of them as confpicuous for their superior virtues, moral character, and correct understanding, as for their high poeti cal endowments. Hoc tribuiffe, parum, non tribuiffe, fcelus! I believe, if any one, early in his life, should contemplate the dangerous fate of authors *, he would scarce be of their number on any confideration. The life of a Wit is a warfare upon earth; and the present spirit of the learned world is fuch, that to attempt to serve it (any way) one must have the conftancy of a martyr, and a refolution to fuffer for its fake. I could wifh people would believe, what I am pretty certain they will not, that I have been much less concerned about Fame than I durft declare till this occafion, when methinks I fhould find more credit than I could heretofore; fince my writings have had their fate already, and it is too late to think of prepoffeffing the reader in their favour. I would plead it as fome merit in me, that the world has never been prepared for these Trifles by Prefaces t, biaffed by recommendation, dazzled with the names of great patrons, wheedled with fine reafons and pretences, or troubled with excufes. I confefs it was want of confideration that made me an author; I writ because it amufed me; I corrected because it was This fate and these dangers have been the subject of an ingenious epiftle by the amiable Mr. Whitehead, The danger of writing Verse; one of the happieft imitations of our Author's didactic manner; in which are many particulars fuggested or borrowed from this preface. J. WARTON. + As was the practice of his master Dryden, who is feverely lafhed for this in the Tale of a Tub; and of as great a Genius P. Corneille, whofe pieces of base adulation are a difgrace to Poetry and Literature. Our Author was accustomed to mention Locke's dedication to Lord Pembroke with ftrong marks of difapprobation. J. WARTON. as as pleasant to me to correct as to write; and I published because I was told, I might please such as it was a credit to please. To what degree I have done this, I am really ignorant; I had too much fondness for my productions to judge of them at firft, and too much judgment, to be pleased with them at laft. But I have reafon to think they can have no reputation which will continue long, or which deferves to do fo; for they have always fallen fhort * not only of what I read of others, but even of my own ideas of Poetry. If any one fhould imagine I am not in earnest, I defire him to reflect, that the Ancients (to say the least of them) had as much Genius as we; and that to take more pains, and employ more time, cannot fail to produce more complete pieces. They constantly applied themselves not only to that art, but to that fingle branch of an art, to which their talent was most powerfully bent; and it was the business of their lives to correct and finish their works for pofterity. If we can pretend to have used the same industry, let us expect the fame immortality: Tho' if we took the fame care, we should still lie under a further misfortune: they writ in languages that be * Il n'y a prefque aucun de mes ouvrages dont je fois content, & il y en a quelques uns que je voudrais n'avoir jamais faits, says Voltaire. J. WARTON. If this fentiment be real, and not affected, what a contrast does it form to the dignified and lofty confidence of Milton; Si quid meremur fana pofteritas judicabit! came came univerfal and everlasting, while ours are extremely limited both in extent and in duration. A mighty foundation for our pride! when the utmost we can hope, is but to be read in one Island, and to be thrown afide at the end of one Age. All that is left us is to recommend our productions by the imitation of the Ancients; and it will be found true, I have frequently heard Dr. Young fpeak with great difapprobation of the doctrine contained in this paffage; with a view to which he wrote his difcourfe on Original Compofition; in which he fays, "Would not Pope have fucceeded better in an original attempt? Talents untried are talents unknown. All that I know is, that, contrary to these fentiments, he was not only an avowed profeffor of imitation, but a zealous recommender of it alfo. Nor could he recommend any thing better, except emulation, to thofe who write. One of thefe, all writers must call to their aid; but aids they are of unequal repute. Imitation is inferiority confeffed; emulation is fuperiority contested or denied; imitation is fervile, emulation generous; that fetters, this fires; that may give a name; this, a name immortal. This made Athens to fucceeding ages the rule of tafte, and the standard of perfection. Her men of genius ftruck fire against each other; and kindled, by conflict, into glories, which no time shall extinguish. We thank Efchylus for Sophocles, and Parrhafius for Zeuxis; Emulation for both. That bids us fly the general fault of imitators; bids us not be ftruck with the loud report of former fame, as with a knell, which damps the spirits; but, as with a trumpet, which infpires ardour to rival the renowned, Emulation exhorts us, instead of learning our discipline for ever like raw troops, under ancient leaders in compofition, to put thofe laurelled veterans in fome hazard of losing their superior pofts in glory. Such is Emulation's high-fpirited advice, fuch her immortalizing call. Pope would not hear, pre-engaged with imitation, which bleffed him with all her charms. He chofe rather, with his namesake of Greece, to triumph in the old world, than |