POPE says, in a note appended to this Epistle in 1735, that it was written in 1715, but not published till 1720, when it appeared with Tickell's edition of Addison's works. The latter of these statements is inaccurate: the former is probably untrue. Tickell's edition did not appear till 1721. The Dialogue on Medals had been left in his hands to be prepared for publication, and in the biographical notice prefixed to the works, there is not the slightest hint that Addison had ever intended to produce it separately. Even, however, if he had thought of publishing it in 1715, it is in the highest degree improbable that Pope would have addressed a complimentary poem to Addison at the very time when, according to his own account, he wrote and sent to his rival the satire on his character. Besides, had the verses been in existence in 1717, the mere fact that Addison had not published his Dialogue would scarcely have prevented an author of Pope's vanity from printing his Epistle in the volume of his poems published in that year. The question would seem to be practically decided by Gilliver's edition of the Dunciad, in which is published the following notice: "A list of all our Author's genuine works." "The Works, &c., 1717. This edition contains whatever is his, except the following, which have been written since that time; Inscription to Dr. Parnell's Poems, and Verses on Mr. Addison's Treatise on Medals, first printed after his death in Mr. Tickell's edition of his works, epitaphs, &c." The note appended by Pope to the Epistle in 1735 is, we can hardly doubt, part of the scheme which he concocted to clear himself from the charge of having written the character of Addison after the latter was dead. In 1721 the literary world was, of course, busy with the praises of the great essayist, and Pope falling in with the general sentiment, took advantage of the appearance of Tickell's work to come forward with a poetical panegyric. Afterwards, when the injurious report about his character of Addison had been widely circulated, and he himself was engaged in a harassing war with the Dunces, he perceived that an effect might be produced by ante-dating the composition of the Epistle, so as to give an appearance of magnanimity to the part which he described himself as having acted in the quarrel. The verses on Craggs were a difficulty, for, though they had appeared in the Epistle in 1721, they could not possibly have been written in 1715, at which date young Craggs occupied no position which would have entitled him to the name of "statesman." Pope, however, ingeniously surmounted this obstacle by pretending that the last ten verses were of later composition, and were added to the original draft of the Epistle, as a compliment to a statesman recently dead. EPISTLE VII. ΤΟ MR. ADDISON, OCCASIONED BY HIS DIALOGUES ON MEDALS.1 3 SEE the wild waste of all devouring years! 1 This was originally written in 3 Palladio, speaking of the Baths of 10 5 Diocletian, says: "Nell' edificatione delle quali, Dioclesiano tenne moltianni 140 mila Christiani a edificarle." -WARBURTON. 4 The woods were unpeopled to provide beasts for the Roman spectacles. By draining a distant country of her floods,' he must mean the water brought from a distance to flood the Colosseum for the purpose of mimic naval combats. 5 Ver. 5-10 were not included in the copy printed in Tickell's edition of Addison's works. |