only thought, spoke to some particular Friend, and to be foon forgot: It is unpardonable Cruelty, for we are fully perfwaded had Mr. Pope revis'd all the Works publifh'd as his, he would have left nothing indecent or to be complain'd of, and the Rondeau, the Letter to a Lady about an Hermaphrodite, and all in that Strain, had never had a Place any where but in the Fire, which is propereft for them; not that there is any Thing fo very heinous in them that they may be call'd wicked, they are only jocofely obfcene; but it is unmannerly, only to fhew any tho' the leaft Indecency to the Publick, and thofe Things which are pardonable among Companions and Intimates, would be infufferable to be done or fpoke, where. Perfons of both Sexes, and all Ages and Degrees, are, fuppos'd prefent.

Thefe, tho' very great, were not all the Injuries which Mr. Pope receiv'd; he was by different People. publickly accus'd to be an open and mortal Enemy to bis Country; it was faid he had abus'd the KING, the QUEEN, his late MAJESTY, both Houfes of PARLIAMENT, the Privy-Council, the Bench of Br-. SHOPS, the Eftablifh'd CHURCH, and the prefent Miniftry. It was faid he had been brought up with a Contempt of the facred Writings, and having faid in one of his Letters to Mr. Cromwell, Priefts indeed in their Characters, if they reprefent God, are. facred, and fo are Conftables, as they reprefent the King; but you will own a great many of them are. very odd Fellows, and the Devil a Bit of Likeness in them." This was interpreted a general Dislike to all Chriftian Priefts, tho' others faid, he was wholly biafs'd and govern'd by them. They declared, that he was no Poet only a Verfifier, underftood no Greek, and trick'd his Subfcribers; call'd him Ape, As, Frog, lurking way-laying Coward,

Knave, little abject Thing, Fool; nay, Welfted had the Impudence to tell in Print, (as all the other Abufes are) that Mr. Pope had occafion'd a great Lady's Death, talking about what he was not at all inform'd, for he nam'd a Lady which Mr. Pope had never heard of: This Man added, that he had libell'd the Duke of Chandos, with whom this falfe Parfon faid he had liv'd in great Familiarity, and receiv'd from him a Prefent of Five Hundred Pounds, the Falfehood of both which was known to his Grace. Mr. Pope never receiv'd any Prefent, farther than the Subfcription for Homer, from him or any Great Man whatfoever; and all he ow'd in the whole Courfe of his Life to any Court, was a Subfcription for his Homer of Two Hundred Pounds, from the late King, and One Hundred from his prefent Majesty and the late Queen, then Prince and Princefs of Wales.

All this and more had Mr. Pope to bear, not only thefe Falfehoods and uncommon Scurrilities, but even Threats; and one declares, he ought to have a Price fet on his Head, and be hunted down as a wild Beast; another protefts, that he does not know what may happen, advifes him to infure his Perfon, fays he has bitter Enemies, and exprefly declares, it will be well if he escapes with his Life.

Not intimidated with thefe bold and open Threats, he, as we have fhown before, continued to oppofe and fatirize Vice and Folly, and defend Wisdom and Virtue, and at length publishes his laft poetical Work, a fourth Book of the Dunciad; in which the Poet being to declare the Completion of all the Prophecies mentioned at the End of the former, makes a new Invocation, as the greater Poets are wont, when fome high and worthy Matter is to be fung. He fhows the Goddefs coming in her Majefty to destroy Order and Science, and to fubftitute

the Kingdom of the Dull upon Earth: How the leads captive the Sciences, and filenceth the Mufes; and what they be who fucceed in their Stead. All her Children by a wonderful Attraction, are drawn about her; and bear along with them alfo divers others, who promote her Empire by Connivance, weak Refiftance, or Difcouragement of Arts; fuch as half Wits, taftelefs Admirers, vain Pretenders, the Flatterers of Dunces, or the Patrons of them. All thefe crowd round her: One of them offering to approach her, is driven back by a Rival, but the commends and encourages both. The firft who fpeak in Form are the Geniuses of the Schools, who affure her of their Care to advance her Caufe, by confining Youth to Words, and keeping them out of the Way of real Knowledge. Their Addrefs, and her gracious Anfwer; with her Charge to them and the Universities. The Univerfities appear by their proper Deputies, and affure her, that the fame Method is obferved in the Progrefs of Education: The Speech of Ariftarchus on this Subject. They are driven off by a Band of young Gentlemen, return'd from Travel with their Tutors; one of whom delivers to the Goddefs, in a polite Oration, an Account of the whole Conduct and Fruits of their Travels & presenting to her at the fame Time a young Nobleman perfectly accomplish'd. She receives him gracioufly, and indues him with the happy Quality of Want of Shame. She fees loitering about her a Number of indolent Perfons abandoning all Bufinefs and Duty, and dying with Laziness; to these approaches the Antiquary Annius, intreating her to make them Virtuofos, and affign them over to him: But Mum mius, another Antiquary, complaining of his fraudulent Proceeding, fhe finds a Method to reconcile their Difference. Then enter a Troop of People

fan

fantaftically adorn'd, offering her strange and exotick Prefents: Amongst them one stands forth and demands Justice on another, who had depriv'd him of one of the greatest Curiofities in Nature: But he juftifies himfelf fo well, that he gives them both her Approbation. She recommends to them to find proper Employment for the Indolents before-mention'd, in the Study of Butterflies, Shells, Birds-nefts, Mofs, &c. but with particular Caution, not to proceed beyond Trifles, to any ufeful or extenfive Views of Nature, or of the Author of Nature. Against the last of these Apprehenfions, the is fecur'd by an Addrefs from the Minute Philofophers, &c. one of whom speaks in the Name of the reft. The Youth thus inftructed and principled, are delivered to her in a Body by the Hands of Silenus, and then admitted to tafte the Cup of the Magus her High Prieft, which causes a total Oblivion of all Obligations, divine, civil, moral, or rational. To these her Adepts the fends Priests, Attendants, and Comforters, of various Kinds ; then confers on them Orders and Degrees; and finally difmiffing them with a Speech, confirms to each his Privileges, warns One in particular not to exceed them, and concludes with a Yawn of extraordinary Virtue, the Effects of which are not unfelt this .Day.

I

Mr. Pope has been in this Piece equal to himself Some there are, who at this Crifis, when the publick Dulness of ten Years paft was come under Inquiry, were in great Expectations of meeting with a politi cal Satire; but the ingenious Author has given the World only a Satire on Modern Life, and the Con duct of it in general; from the School to the University, from the University, to Travel, from Travel into the various Branches of Dulness; in which falfe Wits and Men of falfe Tafte, falfe Philofophers, and

Q4

Men

Men of falfe Religion, exercise their Faculties. The Poet has not particulariz'd many Follies of the fair Sex; however, he has not paid them any Compliment, as he has made the Sovereign of Dulness a Female, coming in all the Majesty of a Goddess, to destroy Science and Learning: But then he has given to the Sex fome of the greatest Excellencies human Nature is capable of poffeffing. The Description of Science, Wit, &c. Captives at the Footstool of Dulness, is aPicture fo full of Imagery, that every Figure as much prefents itself to your View, as if drawn by the Pencil of Le Brun.

Beneath her Footftool Science groans in Chains,
And Wit dreads Exile, Penalties and Pains;
There foam'd rebellious Logick, gagg'd and bound,
There ftrip'd fair Rbet'rick languifh'd on the Ground;
His blunted Arms by Sophistry are born,

And shameless Billingsgate her Robes adorn.
Morality by her falfe Guardians drawn,
Chicane in Furs, and Cafuiftry in Lawn,
Gafps, as they ftreighten at each End the Cord,
And dies when Dulness gives her Page the Word,
Mad Mathefis alone was unconfin❜d,

Too mad for mere material Chains to bind,
Now to pure Space lifts her ecstatick Stare,
Now running round the Circle finds it fquare:
But held in ten-fold Bonds the Mufes lie,
Watch'd both by Envy's and by Flattery's Eye:
Oft to her Heart fad Tragedy address'd

The Dagger, wont to pierce the Tyrant's Breaft."
Oft her gay Sifter's Life and Spirit fled,

But Hiftory and Satire held their Head:

Nor could't thou, Chesterfield, a Tear refuse,

Thou wept'st, and with thee wept each gentle Muse.