Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

the Kingdom of the Dull upon Earth: How fhe leads captive the Sciences, and filenceth the Mufes; and what they be who fucceed in their Stead. All her Children by a wonderful Attraction, are drawn about her; and bear along with them alfo divers others, who promote her Empire by Connivance, weak Refiftance, or Difcouragement of Arts; fuch as half Wits, taftelefs Admirers, vain Pretenders, the Flatterers of Dunces, or the Patrons of them. All these crowd round her: One of them offering to approach her, is driven back by a Rival, but she commends and encourages both. The firft who fpeak in Form are the Geniuses of the Schools, who affure her of their Care to advance her Caufe, by confining Youth to Words, and keeping them out of the Way of real Knowledge. Their Addrefs, and her gracious Anfwer; with her Charge to them and the Universities. The Univerfities appear by their proper Deputies, and affure her, that the fame Method is obferved in the Progress of Education: The Speech of Ariftarchus on this Subject. They are driven off by a Band of young Gentlemen, return'd from Travel with their Tutors; one of whom delivers to the Goddess, in a polite Oration, an Account of the whole Conduct and Fruits of their Travels: presenting to her at the fame Time a young Nobleman perfectly accomplish'd. She receives him gracioufly, and indues him with the happy Quality of Want of Shame. She fees loitering about her a Number of indolent Perfons abandoning all Business and Duty, and dying with Lazinefs; to thefe approaches the Antiquary Annius, intreating her to make them Virtuofos, and affign them over to him: But Mummius, another Antiquary, complaining of his fraudulent Proceeding, fhe finds a Method to reconcile their Difference. Then enter a Troop of People

fan

fantastically adorn'd, offering her strange and exotick Prefents: Amongst them one stands forth and demands Juftice on another, who had depriv'd him of one of the greatest Curiofities in Nature: But he juftifies himfelf fo well, that she gives them both her Approbation. She recommends to them to find proper Employment for the Indolents before-mention'd, in the Study of Butterflies, Shells, Birds-nefts, Mofs, &c, but with particular Caution, not to proceed beyond Trifles, to any useful or extenfive Views of Nature, or of the Author of Nature. Against the laft of these Apprehenfions, fhe is fecur'd by an Addrefs from the Minute Philofophers, &c. one of whom speaks in the Name of the reft. The Youth thus inftructed and principled, are delivered to her in a Body by the Hands of Silenus, and then admitted to tafte the Cup of the Magus her High Prieft, which caufes a total Oblivion of all Obligations, divine, civil, moral, or rational. To thefe her Adepts fhe fends Priefts, Attendants, and Comforters, of various Kinds; then confers on them Orders and Degrees; and finally difmiffing them with a Speech, confirms to each his Privileges, warns One in particular not to exceed them, and concludes with a Yawn of extraordinary Virtue, the Effects of which are not unfelt this Day.

Mr. Pope has been in this Piece equal to himself. Some there are, who at this Crifis, when the publick Dulness of ten Years past was come under Inquiry, were in great Expectations of meeting with a political Satire; but the ingenious Author has given the World only a Satire on Modern Life, and the Conduct of it in general; from the School to the Univerfity, from the Univerfity to Travel, from Travel into the various Branches of Dulness; in which falfe Hits and Men of falfe Tafe, falfe Philofophers, and

Men of falfe Religion, exercise their Faculties. The Poet has not particulariz'd many Follies of the fair Sex; however, he has not paid them any Compliment, as he has made the Sovereign of Dulness a Female, co- : ming in all the Majesty of a Goddess, to deftroy Science and Learning: But then he has given to the Sex fome of the greateft Excellencies human Nature is capable of poffeffing. The Defcription of Science, Wit, &c. Captives at the Footstool of Dulness, is a Picture fo full of Imagery, that every Figure as much prefents itfelf to your View, as if drawn by the Pencil of Le Brun.

Beneath her Footstool Science groans in Chains,
And Wit dreads Exile, Penalties and Pains;
There foam'd rebellious Logick, gagg'd and bound,
There ftrip'd fair Rhet'rick languifh'd on the Ground;
His blunted Arms by Sophistry are born,

And shameless Billingsgate her Robes adorn.
Morality by her false Guardians drawn,
Chicane in Furs, and Cafuiftry in Lawn,
Gafps, as they ftreighten at each End the Cord,
And dies when Dulness gives her Page the Word,
Mad Mathefis alone was unconfin'd,

Too mad for mere material Chains to bind,
Now to pure Space lifts her ecftatick Stare,
Now running round the Circle finds it square:
But held in ten-fold Bonds the Muses lie,
Watch'd both by Envy's and by Flattery's Eye:
Oft to her Heart fad Tragedy address'd
The Dagger, wont to pierce the Tyrant's Breast.
Oft her gay Sifter's Life and Spirit fled,
But Hiftory and Satire held their Head:
Nor could't thou, Chefterfield, a Tear refuse,
Thou wept'ft, and with thee wept each gentle Mufe.

The

The elegant Compliment paid to this distinguish'd Nobleman, is a juft Tribute for the strenuous Oppofition he made to the Playhouse Bill, which brought all theatrical Performances under the arbitrary Power of a Court Licencer; fince which the Publick has been entertain'd with nothing new but Buffoon Anticks and French Capers. As just as this Compliment is to one Peer, the Satire in the following Defcription is as just on feveral others.

When lo! a Harlot-form foft gliding by,

With mincing Step, foft Voice, and languid Eye;
Foreign her Air, her Robes difcordant Pride
In Patch-work flutt'ring, and her Head afide,
By finging Peers upheld on either Hand,

She tripp'd and laugh'd, too pretty much to stand;
Caft on the proftrate Nine a fcornful Look,
Then thus in quaint Recitativo fpóke:

O Cara! Cara! Silence all that Train:
Joy to great Chaos! Let Divifion reign,

My Racks and Tortures foon fhall drive them hence,
Break all their Nerves, and fritter all their Sense.
One Trill fhall harmonize Joy, Grief and Rage,
Wake the dull Church, and lull the ranting Stage;
To the fame Notes thy Sons fhall hum or fnore,
And all thy yawning Daughters cry Encore.
Another Phoebus, thy own Phoebus reigns,
Joys in my Jigs, and dances in my Chains.

This Defcription the Author in his Notes calls a detach'd Piece; but it is excellently introduc'd, as a Satire on hiring Italians to fing detach'd Pieces of Compofition, favourite Airs, and Sonatas, huddled into an Opera for Want of a Compofer. Here the Author again pays a due Tribute to Merit, by fhewing how injudiciously our Connoifeur-Subfcribers to Operas

Operas fuffered Mr. Handel to go to Ireland, when they give more for bad, incoherent Compofitions in England. What can be nobler than thefe Lines from the Mouth of the Phantom call'd Opera, in her Addrefs to Dulness!

-Soon, ah! foon Rebellion will commence, When Mufick vainly borrows Aid from Sense. Strong in new Arms, lo! Giant Handel ftands Like bold Briarcus, with a hundred Hands; To ftir, to roufe, to fhake the Soul he comes; And Jove's own Thunder follows Mars's Drums! Arreft him, Emprefs, or you sleep no more!She heard, and drove him to the Hibernian Shore.

Though Satire, in its Name carries a common Idea of Cenfure, not to fay Spleen or Ill-nature; yet Horace, the best Satirist, in moft Mens Opinions, took an Opportunity, amidst his Ridicule of Folly and Vice, to introduce a Contraft, and set up Merit and Virtue in Oppofition to them: The intervening Light of those were ftrong enough for the Shade of the other. Our English Horace pursues this Method: Affected Learning, Want of publick Spirit, &c. are deservedly expos'd; yet Wyndham and Talbot, Friend, Alfop and Murray, receive all the Oblations due to Men of refin'd Taste, Learning and Merit.

A large Part of this Poem exposes flattering Dulnefs, cultivating mistaken Talents, patronizing vile Scribblers, difcouraging living Merit, fetting up for Wits and Men of Tafte in Arts they understood not.As this is a literary Hiftory, it is not fo agreeable to the Generality of the fair Sex; but a fhocking Dulness, which the Poet afterwards lafhes, even every Lady who has a Son at School, will be affected with. A haughty, pedantick, tyrannick Schoolmafter is a Character as odious and contemptible, as that of a humane,

« ZurückWeiter »