That Cafting-weight pride adds to emptiness, 180 And strains from hard-bound brains, eight lines a year; It is not Poetry, but profe run mad: All these, my modeft Satire bad translate, And own'd that nine fuch Poets made a Tate. How did they fume, and stamp, and roar, and chafe! And fwear, not ADDISON himself was safe. NOTES. VER. 180.-a Perfian tale.] Amb. Philips tranflated a Book called the Perfian tales. P. VER. 184. Steals much, Spends little, and has nothing left:] A fine improvement of this line of Boileau, Qui toujours emprunt, et jamais ne gagne rien. VER. 186. Means not, but blunders round about a meaning:] A cafe common both to Poets and Critics of a certain order; only with this difference, that the Poet writes himfelf out of his own meaning; and the Critic never gets into another man's. Yet both keep going on, and blundering round about their fubject, as benighted people are wont to do, who seek for an entrance which they cannot find. Peace to all fuch! but were there One whofe fires True Genius kindles, and fair Fame inspires; Bleft with each talent and each art to please, And born to write, converfe, and live with ease : 195. 200 205 VER.193. But were there one whose fires, &c.] The strokes in this Character are highly finished. Atterbury fo well understood the force of them, that in one of his letters to Mr. Pope he fays, "Since you now know where your ftrength lies, I hope you will not fuffer that talent to "lie unemployed." He did not; and, by that means, brought fatiric Poetry to its perfection. VARIATIONS. After 208. in the MS. Who, if two Wits on rival themes conteft, Alluding to Mr. P.'s and Tickell's Tranflation of the firft Book of the Iliad. *C Like Cato, give his little Senate laws, And fit attentive to his own applause; While Wits and Templars ev'ry fentence raise, 210 216 220 No more than thou, great GEORGE! a birth-day fong, I ne'er with wits or witlings pafs'd my days, To fpread about the itch of verfe and praise; NOTES. VER.214. ATTICUS] It was a great falfhood, which some of the Libels reported, that this Character was written after the Gentleman's death; which fee refuted in the Teftimonies prefixed to the Dunciad. But the occafion of writing it was fuch as he would not make public out of regard to his memory and all that could further be done was to omit the name, in the Edition of his Works. P. VER. 216. claps, in capitals?] The bills of QuackDoctors and Quack Bookfellers being usually pasted together on the fame pofts. VER. 218. On wings of winds came flying all abroad?] Hopkins, in the ciyth Pfalm. P. Nor like a puppy, daggled thro' the town, To fetch and carry fing-fong up and down; 225 Nor at Rehearsals fweat, and mouth'd, and cry'd, With handkerchief and orange at my fide; 230 But fick of fops, and poetry, and prate, 235 240 He paid fome bards with port, and fome with praise, To fome a dry rehearsal was affign'd, And others (harder still) he paid in kind. VARIATIONS. After 234. in the MS. To Bards reciting he vouchfaf'd a nod, And snuff'd their incenfe like a gracious god. NOTES. VER. 236.-a true Pindar food without a head] Ridicules the affectation of Antiquaries, who frequently exhibit the headlefs Trunks and Terms of Statues, for Plato, Homer, Pindar, &c. Vide Fulv. Urfin. &c. P. Dryden alone (what wonder?) came not nigh, 245 Dryden alone efcap'd this judging eye: But ftill the Great have kindness in reserve, He help'd to bury whom he help'd to ftarve. 250 May fome choice patron bless each gray goofe quill! May ev'ry Bavius have his Bufo ftill! So when a Statesman wants a day's defence, Or Envy holds a whole week's war with Sense, Or fimple pride for flatt'ry inakes demands, May dunce by dunce be whistled off my hands! Bleft be the Great! for thofe they take away, And those they left me; for they left me GAY; Neglected die, and tell it on his tomb: 255 Left me to fee neglected Genius bloom, Of all thy blameless life the fole return 259 My Verfe, and QUEENSB'RY weeping o'er thy urn! Oh let me live my own, and die fo too! (To live and die is all I have to do :) Maintain a Poet's dignity and ease, And fee what friends, and read what books I please: Above a Patron, tho' I condefcend Sometimes to call a Minifter my friend. NOTES. 265 VER. 248. help'd to bury] Mr. Dryden, after having liv'd in exigencies, had a magnificent Funeral beftow'd upon him by the contribution of feveral perfons of Quality. P. VER. 265-tho' I condefcend &c.] He thought it, and he justly thought it, a condefcenfion in an boneft Man to accept the friendship of any one, how high foever, whofe |