Thick and more thick the black blockade extends, A hundred head of Aristotle's friends.1 191 Nor wert thou, Isis! wanting to the day, [Though Christ-church long kept prudishly away.] 2 Each staunch Polemic, stubborn as a rock, 195 Each fierce Logician, still expelling Locke,3 Came whip and spur, and dashed through thin and thick On German Crouzaz, and Dutch Burgersdyck." As many quit the streams that murmuring fall To lull the sons of Margaret and Clare-hall,5 200 1 The Author, with great propriety, hath made these who were so prompt, at the call of Dulness, to become preachers of the Divine Right of Kings, to be the friends of Aristotle; for this philosopher, in his politics, hath laid it down as a principle, that some men were by nature made to serve, and others to command.-Warburton. 2 This line is doubtless spurious, and foisted in by the impertinence of the Editor; and, accordingly, we have put it between Hooks. For I affirm this College came as early as any other, by its proper Deputies; nor did any College pay homage to Dulness in its whole body.-Bentley.-P. W. An allusion to Bentley's quarrel with Boyle and other Christ Church men about the authenticity of the Epistles of Phalaris. In the year 1703, there was a meeting of the heads of the University of Oxford to censure Mr. Locke's Essay on Human Understanding, and to forbid the reading it.-P. W. Locke was deprived of his studentship at Christ Church for political reasons, and before his "Essay" was published. He was not expelled. John Peter de Crousaz, a famous philosopher and mathematician, born 1663, died 1748. Francis Burgersdyck, author of a treatise on Logic, and Professor at the University of Leyden, born 1590, died 1629. 5 The river Cam, running by the walls of these Where Bentley late tempestuous wont to sport In troubled waters, but now sleeps in Port.1 Before them marched that awful Aristarch; Ploughed was his front with many a deep Remark: His Hat, which never vailed to human pride, Walker 2 with reverence took, and laid aside. 206 Low bowed the rest: He, kingly, did but nod,3 So upright Quakers please both Man and God.* "Mistress! dismiss that rabble from your throne: Avaunt is Aristarchus yet unknown? 210 5 Colleges, which are particularly famous for their skill in disputation.-P. W. rus. 1 Viz., "Now retired into harbour, after the tempests that had long agitated his society." So ScribleBut the learned Scipio Maffei understands it of a certain wine called Port, from Oporto, a city of Portugal, of which this Professor invited him to drink abundantly.-Scip. Maff. De Compotationibus Academicis.-P. W. Bentley's long war with the Authorities of Trinity College and the University came to an end in 1738. 2 John Walker, Vice-Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, while Bentley was Master. He was the associate and friend of the "awful Aristarch" in all his contests classical and personal.-Carruthers. 3 Milton: He, kingly, from his State The Hat-worship, as the Quakers call it, is an abomination to that sect: yet, where it is necessary to pay that respect to man (as in the Courts of Justice and Houses of Parliament), they have, to avoid offence, and yet not violate their conscience, permitted other people to uncover them.-P. W. 5 A famous Commentator, and Corrector of Homer, whose name has been frequently used to signify a complete Critic. The compliment paid by our author to this eminent Professor, in applying to him so great a name, was the reason that he hath omitted to com Thy mighty Scholiast, whose unwearied pains Made Horace dull, and humbled Milton's strains. Turn what they will to Verse, their toil is vain, Critics like me shall make it Prose again. Roman and Greek Grammarians! know your Better;1 1 215 Author of something yet more great than Letter: While towering o'er your Alphabet, like Saul, Stands our Digamma, and o'ertops them all.2 "'Tis true, on Words is still our whole debate, 3 Dispute of Me or Te3 of aut or at; 220 ment on this part, which contains his own praises. We shall therefore supply that loss to our best ability. -Scriblerus.-P. W. ' Imitated from Propertius, speaking of the Æneid: "Cedite, Romani scriptores, cedite Graii! Nescio quid majus nascitur Iliade.”—P. 2 Alludes to the boasted restoration of the Æolic Digamma, in his long projected Edition of Homer. He calls it something more than Letter, from the enormous figure it would make among the other letters, being one Gamma set upon the shoulders of another.-P. W. 'Bentley's printer having no better method of representing the Digamma than by a Roman capital F, gave occasion to Pope's allusion to its towering size."-Monk's Life of Bentley, quoted by Courthope. 3 It was a serious dispute, about which the learned were much divided, and some treatises written: Had it been about Meum or Tuum it could not be more contested, than whether at the end of the first Ode of Horace, to read, Me doctarum hederæ præmia_frontium, or Te doctarum hederæ.-Scriblerus.-P. Ŵ. To sound or sink, in cano, O or A, 3 2 225 Let Freind affect to speak as Terence spoke, 231 Are things which Kuster, Burman, Wasse shall see, 6 1 Grammatical disputes about the manner of pronouncing Cicero's name.-Warburton. 2 Dr. Robert Freind, Master of Westminster School, and Canon of Christ-church. Dr. Anthony Alsop, a happy imitator of the Horatian style.-P. W. 3Some Critics having had it in their choice to comment either on Virgil or Manilius, Pliny or Solinus, have chosen the worse author, the more freely to display their critical capacity.-P. W. Alluding to Bentley's Edition of Manilius. Suidas, Gellius, Stobaeus. The first, a Dictionarywriter, a collector of impertinent facts and barbarous words; the second, a minute Critic; the third, an author, who gave his Common-place book to the public, where we happen to find much Mince-meat of old books.-P. W. 5 These taking the same things eternally from the mouth of one another.-P. W. 6 Men of real and useful erudition.-Warton. Küster edited Suidas. Wasse was a Fellow of Queen's College, Cambridge, and edited Sallust and Thucydides. Burman was a scholar of Utrecht. When Man's whole frame is obvious to a Flea. "Ah, think not, Mistress! more true Dulness lies In Folly's Cap, than Wisdom's grave disguise. Nor could a BARROW work on every block, 245 250 "What though we let some better sort of fool Thrid every science, run through every school? 255 1 Isaac Barrow, Master of Trinity; Francis Atterbury, Dean of Christ-church: both great Geniuses and eloquent Preachers; one more conversant in the sublime Geometry, the other in classical Learning; but who equally made it their care to advance the polite Arts in their several Societies.-P. W. Dr. Isaac Barrow, the celebrated theologian and mathematician, born 1630, died 1677. "Canon here, if spoken of Artillery, is in the plural number; if of the Canons of the House, in the singular, and meant only of one in which case I suspect the Pole to be a false reading, and that it should be the Poll or Head of that Canon. It may be objected. that this is a mere Paronomasia, or Pun. But what of that? Is any figure of Speech more apposite to our gentle Goddess, or more frequently used by her and her Children, especially of the University?-Scriblerus.-P. 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