See under Ripley rife a new White-hall, While Jones' and Boyle's united labours fall: REMARKS. Hibernian vol. i. p. 157. "Indeed he confeffes, he dares not fet "him quite on the fame foot with Virgil, left it should "feem flattery, but he is much mistaken if pofte"rity does not afford him a greater efteem than he at "prefent enjoys." He endeavoured to create fome mifunderstanding between our Author and Mr. Addison, whom alfo foon after he abufed as much. His conftant cry was, that Mr. P. was an Enemy to the government ;. and in particular he was the avowed author of a report very industriously spread, that he had a hand in a party paper called the Examiner: A falfehood well known to thofe yet living, who had the direction and publication of it. Ver. 328. While Jones' and Boyle's united labours fall: At the time when this poem was written, the banquetting-houfe of Whitehall, the church and piazza of Covent-garden, and the palace and chapel of Somerfet houfe, the works of the famous Inigo Jones, had been for many years fo neglected, as to be in danger of ruin. The portico of Covent-garden church had been just then restored and beautified at the expence of the Earl of Burlington: who, at the fame time, by his publication of the defigns of that great Master and Palladio, as well as by many noble buildings of his own, revived the true taste of Architecture in this Kingdom. Ver. 330. Gay dies unpenfion'd, &c.] See Mr. Gay's fable of the Hare and many Friends. This gentleman was early in the friendship of our author, which continued to his death. He wrote feveral works of humour Hibernian Politics, O Swift! thy fate; And Pope's, ten years to comment and translate. VARIATION. Ver. 331. in the former Editions thus, Proceed, And Pope's, tranflating ten whole years with Broome. On which was the following Note, "He concludes his "irony with a stroke upon himfelf: for whoever ima"gines this a farcafm on the other ingenious perfon, is “furely mistaken. The opinion our Author had of him was fufficiently fhewn by his joining him in the "undertaking of the Odyffey; in which Mr. Broome, "having engaged without any previous agreement, dif charged his part fo much to Mr. Pope's fatisfaction, "that he gratified him with the full fum of Five hun"dred pounds, and a prefent of all those books for "which his own intereft could procure him fubfcribers, to the value of One hundred more. The author only "feems to lament, that he was employed in Tranfla"tion at all." REMARKS. humour with great fuccefs, the Shepherd's Week, Trivia, the What d'ye-call it, Fables; and laftly, the celebrated Beggar's Opera; a piece of fatire which hit all taftes and degrees of men, from those of the highest quality to the very rabble: That verfe of Horace : "Primores populi arripuit, populumque tributim," I could never be fo juftly applied as to this. The vast fuccefs of it was unprecedented, and almost incredible: what is related of the wonderful effects of the ancient mufic or tragedy hardly came up to it: Sophocles and Euripides were lefs followed and famous. It was acted in London fixty-three days, uninterrupted; and renewed the next feafon with equal applaufes. It spread into all the great towns of England, was played in many Proceed, great days! till Learning fly the fhore, Till Birch fhall blush with noble blood no more, REMARKS. Till many places to the thirtieth and fortieth time, and at Bath and Bristol fifty, &c. It made its progrefs into Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, where it was performed twenty-four days together: it was last acted in Minorca. The fame of it was not confined to the author only; the ladies carried about with them the favourite fongs of it in fans; and houses were furnished with it in fcreens. The perfon who acted Polly, till then obfcure, became all at once the favourite of the town; her pictures were engraved, and fold in great numbers; her life written, books of letters and verfes to her, publifhed; and pamphlets made even of her fayings and jefts. Furthermore, it drove out of England, for that feafon, the Italian Opera, which had carried all before it for ten years. That idol of the Nobility and people, which the great Critic Mr. Dennis by the labours and outcries of a whole life could not overthrow, was demolished by a fingle ftroke of this gentleman's pen. This happened in the year 1728. Yet fo great was his modefty, that he conftantly prefixed to all the editions of it this motto, Nos hæc novimus effe nihil. Ver. 332. And Pope's, ten years to comment and translate.] The author here plainly laments that he was fo long employed in tranflating and commenting. He began the Iliad in 1713, and finifhed it in 1719. The edition of Shakespeare (which he undertook merely becaufe nobody elfe would) took up near two years more in the drudgery of comparing impreffions, rectifying the Scenery, &c. and the Tranflation of half the Odyffey employed him from that time to 1725. Ver. 333. Proceed, great days! &c.] It may perhaps feem incredible, that fo great a Revolution in Learning Till Thames fee Eaton's fons for ever play, And Alma mater lie diffolv'd in Port? 335 VARIATIONS. Enough! After ver. 338. in a former Edit. were the following lines: Signs following figns lead on the mighty year; In vain! they gaze, turn giddy, rave, and die. REMARKS. Learning as is here prophefied, should be brought about by fuch weak inftruments as have been [hitherto] defcribed in our poem: But do not thou, gentle reader, reft too fecure in thy contempt of these inftruments. Remember what the Dutch ftories fomewhere relate, that Enough! enough! the raptur'd Monarch cries; And thro' the Ivory Gate the Vision flies. REMARKS. 340 that a great Part of their Provinces was once overflowed, by a small opening made in one of their dykes by a fingle Water-Rat. However, that fuch is not feriously the judgment of our Poet, but that he conceiveth better hopes from the Diligence of our Schools, from the Regularity of our Universities, the Difcernment of our Great men, the Accomplishments of our Nobility, the Encouragement of our Patrons, and the Genius of our Writers of all kinds (notwithstanding fome few exceptions in each) may plainly be seen from his conclufion; where caufing all this vifion to pafs through the Ivory gate, he exprefsly, in the language of Poefy, declares all fuch imaginations to be wild, ungrounded, and fictitious. SCRIBL. THE END OF THE THIRD BOOK. VOL. III. P |