to its height; and being a true fon of Nature, has delineated all her most striking objects, with a force and diftinctness hitherto unparalleled. The filence, the folitude, the gloomy folemnity, the pleafing melancholy, impreffed on our minds by the conventual scenes of Eloifa and Abelard, by the ideas of long-founding ifles, and cells, and lamps, and altars, and graves; induce and allure the reader to forget the inherent indelicacy of the ftory of these two unfortunate lovers. For though the "high-embowed "roof," "ftoried windows," " ftudious cloifters," and "pealing organ,” had been mentioned by Milton, yet this fort of scenery had never before been exhibited as the chief and leading object and foundation of any poem in our language. Pope was fully fenfible of the indelicate circumstances above-mentioned, that attended his fubject, and did not therefore much relish the manner in which Prior had faid, that these circumstances were concealed with dexterity and skill, in the following elegant lines: He o'er the weeping nun has drawn The God fhall to his votaries tell, Each confcious tear, each blushing grace That deck'd dear Eloifa's face. ALMA, p. 101. Savage related that Pope attempted this compofition in rivalship to Prior's Nut-brown Maid. It is not true that these very unhappy lovers "found quiet and "confolation in retirement and piety." The whole tenor of their letters contradicts this fuppofition. These curious letters were published in London by Dr. Rawlinfon, 1718, with an extraordinary motto prefixed from Claudian, relative to Abelard's punishment, too grofs to be here inferted. After arriving at fuch eminence by fo many capital compofitions, our Author, with that just self-confidence that ought to actuate every man of real genius and ability, meditated a higher effort; fomething that might improve and advance his fortune as well as his fame; a tranflation* of Homer, which Milton is faid once to have thought of executing. This tranflation he proposed to print by subscription, in fix volumes in quarto, for the fum of fix guineas: And to the eternal honour of our country, in encouraging a work of fuch fuperlative and uncommon merit, the fubfcription was larger than any before known. Every man of every party, that had any, or pretended to have any tafte or love of literature, fent his * A clamour was raised at the time, that he had not fufficient learning for fuch an undertaking; Dr. Johnfon fays, that confidering his irregular education, and course of life," it is not very likely that he overflowed with Greek." Perhaps our most eminent Poets may be ranked, with respect to their learning, in the following order: Milton, Spenfer, Cowley, Butler, Donne, Jonfon, Akenfide, Gray, Dryden, Addison. his name; and the number of fubfcribers were five hundred and seventy-five; but as fome fubfcribed for more than one copy, the copies delivered to fubfcribers were fix hundred and fifty-four. These copies Lintot, who became proprietor of the work, engaged to fupply, at his own expence, and also to give the Author two hundred pounds for each volume; fo that Pope obtained, on the whole, the fum of five thousand three hundred and twenty pounds four fhillings. With this money, fo very honourably obtained, he immediately and prudently purchased several annuities, and particularly one of five hundred pounds a year, from the Duke of Buckingham. The work was enriched by many judicious notes by Pope himfelf, as well as by Broome, who alfo was employed to make extracts from Euftathius, as was also a man of much greater learning, the celebrated Dr. Jortin, who gives the following account of the matter in his Adverfaria: "What paffed between Mr. Pope and me, I will "endeavour to recollect as well as I can, for it hap pened many years ago, and I never made any me"morandum of it. "When I was a foph at Cambridge, Pope was "about his Tranflation of Homer's Ilias, and had "published part of it. "He employed fome perfon (I know not who he "was) to make extracts for him from Euftathius, "which he inferted in his notes. At that time there ९ "was no Latin tranflation of that commentator. "Alexander Politi (if I remember right) began that "work fome years afterwards, but never proceeded "far in it. The perfon employed by Mr. Pope was ઃઃ not at leisure to go on with the work; and Mr. "Pope (by his bookseller, I suppose,) fent to Jefferies, "a bookfeller at Cambridge, to find out a ftudent "who would undertake the tafk. Jefferies applied "to Dr. Thirlby, who was my tutor, and who "pitched upon me. I would have declined the “work, having, as I told my tutor, other studies to "pursue, to fit me for taking my degree. But he"qui quicquid volebat valdè volebat, would not hear "of any excufe. So I complied. I cannot recollect "what Mr. Pope allowed for each book of Homer; "I have a notion that it was three or four guineas. "I took as much care as I could to perform the task "to his fatisfaction; but I was ashamed to defire my "tutor to give himself the trouble of overlooking my “operations; and he, who always used to think and fpeak too favourably of me, faid, that I did not "want his help. He never perused one line of it "before it was printed, nor perhaps afterwards. "When I had gone through fome books, (I forget"how many,) Mr. Jefferies let us know that Mr. "Pope had a friend to do the reft, and that we "might give over. "When I fent my papers to Jefferies, to be con"veyed to Mr. Pope, I inferted, as I remember, ❝ fome "fome remarks on a paffage, where Mr. Pope, in my opinion, had made a mistake. But, as I was not directly employed by him, but by a bookfeller, "I did not inform him who I was, or fet my name to my papers. "When that part of Homer came out in which "I had been concerned, I was eager, as it may be "fuppofed, to fee how things ftood; and much "pleased to find that he had not only used almost "all my notes, but had hardly made any alteration " in the expreffions. I obferved also, that, in a "subsequent edition, he corrected the place to “which I had made objections. "I was in fome hopes, in thofe days, (for I was "young,) that Mr. Pope would make inquiry about his co-adjutor, and take fome civil notice of him. "But he did not; and I had no notion of obtruding « myself upon him. I never faw his face." The first four books were published 1715, and the largeness of the subscription enabled him also to purchase the houfe at Twickenham, befides the an nuities above-mentioned; to which he removed, hav ing perfuaded his father to fell his little property at Binfield But Dr. Johnfon fays, the firft confiderable work published by fubfcription was Dryden's Virgil; but the folio edition of Paradife Loft was so published some years before. ba |