But foon by impious arms from Latium chas'd, Their antient bounds the banish'd Mufes pafs'd. 710 Thence NOTES. praife of being one of the * first, if not the very first, pieces of criticifm, that appeared in Italy, fince the revival of learning; for it was finifhed, as is evident from a fhort advertisement prefixed to it, in the year 1520. It is remarkable, that most of the great poets, about this time, wrote an Art of Poetry. Triffino, a name respected for giving to Europe the first regular epic poem, and for first daring to throw off the bondage of rhyme, published at Vicenza, in the year 1529, Della Poetica, divifioni quattro, feveral before his Italia Liberata. We have of Fracaftorius, years Naugerius, five de poetica dialogus, Venetiis, 1555. Minturnus, De Poeta, libri fex, appeared at Venice 1559. Bernardo Taffo, the father of Torquato, and author of an epic poem, entitled, L'Amadigi, wrote Raggionamento della Poefia, printed at Venice, 1562. And to pay the highest honour to criticism, the great Torquato Taffo himself wrote Discorsi del poema Eroico, printed at Venice, 1587. Thefe difcourfes are full of learning and taste. But I must not omit a curious anecdote, which Menage has given us in his Anti-Baillet; namely, that Sperone claimed these difcourfes as his own; for he thus fpeaks of them, in one of his Letters to Felice Paciotto; "Laudo voi infinitamente di voler fcrivere della poetica; della quale interrogato molto fiate dal Taffo, e rifpondendogli io libramente, fi come foglio, egli n'a fatto un volume, e mandato al Signior Scipio Gonzago per cofa fua, e non mea: ma io ne chiarirò il mondo." Hence it appears, that our author was mistaken in saying, line 712, that "Critic-learning flourished most in France." For these critical works here mentioned, by fo many capital writers in Italy, far exceed any which the French, at that period of time, had produced. "'Tis hard (faid Akenfide) to conceive by what means the French acquired this character of fuperior correctness. We have claffic authors in English, older than in any modern language, except the Italian; and Spenfer and Sidney wrote with the trueft tafte, when the French had not one great poet they *Victorius's Latin tranflation of Ariftotle's Poetics, was published at Florence, 1560. Caftelvetro's Italian one at Vienna, 1570. Thence Arts o'er all the northern world advance, But we, brave Britons, foreign laws defpis'd, NOTES. 715 Fierce they can bear to read. Milton and Chapelain were contemporaries; the Pucelle and Paradife Loft were in hand, perhaps frequently, at the felf-fame hour. One of them was executed in fuch a manner, that an Athenian of Menander's age would have turned his eyes from the Minerva of Phidias, or the Venus of Apelles, to obtain more perfect conceptions of beauty from the English Poet; the other, though foftered by the French court for twenty years with the utmost indulgence, does honour to the Leonine, and the Runic poetry. It was too great an attention to French criticism, that hindered our poets, in Charles the Second's time, from comprehending the genius, and acknowledging the Authority of Milton; elfe, without looking abroad, they might have acquired a manner more correct and perfect, than French authors could or can teach them. In short, unless correctness signify a freedom from little faults, without enquiring after the most effential beauties, it scarce appears on what foundation the French claim to that character is established." VER. 714. And Boileau ftill in right of Horace fways.] May I be pardoned for declaring it as my opinion, that Boileau's is the best Art of Poetry* extant. The brevity of his precepts, enlivened by proper imagery, the juftnefs of his metaphors, the harmony of his numbers, as far as Alexandrine lines will admit, the exactness of his method, the perfpicacity of his remarks, and the energy of his ftyle, all duly confidered, may render this opinion not unreasonable. It is fcarcely to be conceived, how much is comprehended in four fhort cantos. He that has well digefted thefe, cannot be said to be ignorant of any important rule of poetry. The tale of the Phyfician turning Architect, in the fourth canto, is told with true * It was tranflated into Portuguese verse by Count d'Ericeyra. Fierce for the liberties of wit, and bold, We still defy'd the Romans, as of old. Yet fome there were, among the founder few Of those who lefs prefum'd, and better knew, 720 Who durft affert the juster ancient caufe, And here reftor'd Wit's fundamental laws. Such was the Muse, whose rules and practice tell, "Nature's chief Master-piece is writing well." NOTES. Such true pleasantry. It is to this work. Boileau owes his immortality; which was of the highest utility to this nation, in diffusing a juft way of thinking and writing; banishing every species of false wit, and introducing a general tafte for the manly fimplicity of the ancients, on whofe writings this poet had formed his tafte. Boileau's chief talent was the didactic. His fancy was not the predominant faculty of his mind. Fontenelle has thus characterised him; "Il étoit grand & excellent verfificateur, pourvû cependant que cette louange fe renferme dans fes beaux jours, dont la différence avec les autres eft bien marquée, & faifoit fouvent dire Helas! & Hola! mais il n'etoit pas grand poëte, fi l'on entend par ce mot, comme on le doit, celui qui Fait, qui Invente, qui Cree." It has become fashionable among the late French writers, to decry Boileau; Marmontel, Diderot, D'Alembert, have done it. The chief fault of Boileau seems to be his decrying the great poets of Italy, and particularly Taffo; but M. Maffei informs us, that the elder fon of Racine affured him, that his friend Boileau did not understand Italian, and had not read Taffo. The high encomium Taffo gave to Ariofto does him great honour, and shews him to be fuperior to envy. VER. 723. Such was the Mufe, whose rules and practice tell, "Nature's chief Mafter-piece is writing well.” This high panegyric, which was not in the first edition, procured to Pope the acquaintance, and afterwards the conftant friendship of the Duke of Buckingham; who, in his effay here alluded to, has followed the method of Boileau, in difcourfing on the various species of poetry in their different gradations, to no other purpose than to manifest his own inferiority. The piece is, indeed, Such was Rofcommon, not more learn'd than good, With manners gen'rous as his noble blood; NOTES. 726 To indeed, of the fatyric, rather than of the preceptive, kind. The coldness and neglect with which this writer, formed only on the French critics, fpeaks of Milton, muft be confidered as proofs of his want of critical difcernment, or of critical courage. I can recollect no performance of Buckingham, that ftamps him a true genius. His reputation was owing to his rank. In reading his poems, one is apt to exclaim with our author, "What woeful ftuff this madrigal would be, And each exalted ftanza teems with thought." The best part of Buckingham's effay is that, in which he gives a ludicrous account of the plan of modern tragedy. I should add, that his compliment to Pope, prefixed to his poems, contains a pleasing picture of the fedateness and retirement proper to age, after the tumults of public life; and by its moral turn, breathes the spirit, if not of a poet, yet of an amiable old man. VER. 725. Such was Rofcommon,] An Effay on Tranflated Verse feems, at first fight, to be a barren fubject; yet Rofcommon has decorated it with many precepts of utility and taste, and enlivened it with a tale in imitation of Boileau. It is indisputably better written, in a closer and more vigorous style, than the last-mentioned effay. Rofcommon was more learned than Buckingham. He was bred under Bochart, at Caen in Normandy. He had laid a defign of forming a fociety for the refining, and fixing the ftandard of, our language; in which project, his intimate friend Dryden was a principal affiftant. This was the first attempt of that fort; and, I fear, we fhall never fee another fet on foot in our days; even though Mr. Johnfon has lately given us fo excellent a Dictionary. It may be remarked, to the praife of Rofcommon, that he was the first critic who had tafte and spirit publickly to praise the Paradife Loft; with a noble encomium of which, and a rational recommendation of blank verse, he concludes his performance, though this paffage was not in the firft edition. Fenton, in his Obfervations To him the Wit of Greece and Rome was known, And ev'ry author's merit, but his own. Such late was Walsh-the Mufe's judge and friend, Who justly knew to blame or to commend; NOTES. 730 To Obfervations on Waller, has accurately delineated his character. "His imagination might have, probably, been more fruitful, and fprightly, if his judgement had been lefs fevere; but that feverity, delivered in a mafculine, clear, fuccinct ftyle, contributed to make him fo eminent in the didactical manner, that no man, with justice, can affirm, he was ever equalled by any of our own nation, without confeffing, at the fame time, that he is inferior to none. In fome other kinds of writing, his genius feems to have wanted fire to attain the point of perfection; but who can attain it?" Edit. 12mo. p. 136. VER. 729.] Several lines were here added to the first edition, concerning Walsh. VER. 729. Such late was Walk-the Mufe's judge and friend,] If Pope has here given too magnificent an eulogy to Walsh, it must be attributed to friendship, rather than to judgement. Walsh was, in general, a flimfy and frigid writer. The Rambler calls his works, pages of inanity. His three letters to Pope, however, are well written. His remarks on the nature of pastoral poetry, on borrowing from the ancients, and against florid conceits, are worthy perufal. Pope owed much to Walsh; it was he who gave him a very important piece of advice, in his early youth; for he used to tell our author, that there was one way fill left open for him, by which he might excel any of his predeceffors, which was, by correctnefs; that though, indeed, we had feveral great poets, we as yet could boast of none that were perfectly correct; and that therefore, he advifed him to make this quality his particular ftudy. Correctness is a vague term, frequently used without meaning and precifion. It is perpetually the naufeous cant of the French. critics, and of their advocates and pupils, that the English writers are generally incorrect. If correctness implies an absence of petty faults, this perhaps may be granted. If it means, that, because their tragedians have avoided the irregularities of Shakespeare, and have obferved a jufter economy in their fables, therefore the |