most curious and interesting in all criticism, hath been, hitherto, very little understood: as may appear from hence, that there is not, as far as I can learn, one single treatise, now extant, written purposely to explain it; the discourse, which the learned Menage intended, and which, doubtless, would have given light to this matter, having never, as I know of, been made public. To supply, in some measure, this loss, I have thought it not amiss to put together and methodize a few reflexions of my own on this subject, which (because the matter is large, and cannot easily be drawn into a compass, that suits with the nature of these occasional remarks) the reader will find in a distinct and separate dissertation upon itt. CONCLUSION. AND, now, having explained, in the best manner I could, the two famous Epistles of Horace to Augustus and the Pisos, it may be expected, in conclusion, that I should say something of the rest of our poet's critical writings. For his Sermones (under which general term I include his Epistles) are of two sorts, MORAL and CRITICAL; and, though both are exquisite, the latter are perhaps, in their kind, the more perfect of the two; his moral principles being sometimes, I believe, liable to excep tion, his critical, never. * Diss. III. vol. ii. 1 The two pieces, illustrated in these volumes, are strictly critical: the first, being a professed criticism of the Roman drama; and the last, in order to their vindication, of the Roman poets. The rest of his works, which turn upon this subject of criticism, may be rather termed Apologetical. They are the Iyth and xth of the FIRST, and 1st of the SECOND book of Satires; and the XIXth of the FIRST, and, in part, the 11d of the SECOND book of Epistles. In these, the poet has THREE great objects; one or other of which he never loses sight of, and generally he prosecutes them all together, in the same piece. These objects are, 1. to vindicate the way of writing in satire. 2. To justify his opinion of a favourite writer of this class, the celebrated Lucilius, And 3. to expose the careless and incorrect composition of the Roman writers. He was himself deeply concerned in these three articles; so that he makes his own apology at the same time that he criticizes or censures others. The address of the poet's manner will be seen by bearing in mind this general purpose of his critical poetry. How he came to be engaged in this controversy, will best appear from a few observations on the state of the Roman learning, when he undertook to contribute his pains to the improvement of it. I have, in the introduction to the first of these volumes, given a slight sketch of the rise and progress of the Roman satire. This poem, was purely of Roman invention: first of all, struck out of the old fescennine farce, and rudely cultivated, by Ennius; Next, more happily treated, and enriched with the best part of the old comedy, by Lucilius: And, after some succeeding essays, taken up and finally adorned, by Horace. HORACE was well known to the public by his lyric compositions, and still more perhaps by his favour at court, when he took upon him to correct the manners and taste of his age, by his Lucilian Satires. But, here, he encountered, at once, many prejudices; and all his own credit, together with that of his court-friends, was little enough to support him, against the torrent. FIRST, the kind of writing itself was sure to give offence. For, though men were well enough pleased to have their natural malignity gratified by an old poet's satire against a former age, yet they were naturally alarmed at the exercise of this talent upon own, and, as it might chance, upon themselves. their The poet's eminence, and favour, would, besides, give a peculiar force and effect to his censures, so that all who found, or thought themselves liable to them, were concerned, in interest, to discredit the attempt, and blast his rising reputation. Omnes hi metuant versus, odere POETAM. Hence, he was constrained to stand upon his own defence, and to vindicate, as well the thing itself, as his management of it, to the tender and suspicious public. But this was not all: For, SECONDLY, an old satirist, of high birth and quality, LUCILIUS, was considered, not only as an able writer of this class, but as a perfect model in it; and of course, therefore, this new satirist would be much decried and undervalued, on the comparison. This circumstance obliged the poet to reduce this admired writer to his real value; which could not be done without thwarting the general admiration, and pointing out his vices and defects in the freest manner. This perilous task he discharged in the Ivth satire of his first book, and with such rigour of criticism, that not only the partizans of Lucilius, in the poet's own age, but the most knowing and candid critics of succeeding times, were disposed to com plain of it. However, the obnoxious step had been taken; and nothing remained but to justify himself, as he hath done at large, in his xth satire. On the whole, in comparing what he has said in these two satires with what Quinctilian long after observed on the subject of them, there seems no reason to conclude, that the poet that the poet judged ill; though he expressed his judgment in such terms as he would, no doubt, have something softened (out of complaisance to the general sentiment, and a becoming deference to the real merits of his master), if his adversaries had been more moderate in urging their charge, or if the occasion had not been so pressing, Lastly, this attack on Lucilius produced, or rather involved in it, a THIRD quarrel. The poet's main objection to Lucilius was his careless, verbose, and hasty composition, which his admirers, no doubt, called genius, grace, and strength. This being an inveterate folly among his countrymen, he gives it no quarter. Through all his critical works, he employs the utmost force of his wit and good sense to expose it: And his own writings, being at the same time supremely correct, afforded his enemies (which would provoke them still more) no advantage against him. Yet they attempted, as they could, to repay his perpetual reproaches on the popular writers for their neglect of limae labor, by objecting to him, in their turn, that what he wrote was sine nervis: and this, though they felt his force themselves, and though another set of men were complaining, at the same time, of his severity. Sunt quibus in satyrá videor nimis ACER— SINE NERVIS altera quicquid Composui pars esse putat, similesque meorum His detractors satirically alluding, in these last words, to his charge against Lucilius in horâ saepè ducentos, Ut magnum, versus dictabat, stans pede in uno. It is not my purpose, in this place, to enlarge further on the character of Lucilius, whose wordy satires gave occasion to our poet's criticism. Several of the ancient writers speak of him occasionally, in terms of the highest applause; and without doubt, he was a poet of distinguished merit. Yet it will hardly be thought, at this day, that it could be any discredit to him to be censured, rivalled, and excelled by Horace. |