fo well; fince the publick Good and Liberty of Rome were as much concern'd in deftroying one as the other.

k

Betray.] In this inftance of betraying a Friend, and in the following one, of deftroying one's Father, or Children; my meaning only is, that whatever Obligation or Concern we happen to be under, it may be a good Reafon for facrificing our Intereft to it, but not our Honefty, by doing any ill-natur'd or immoral Action.

1

Can we.] In repeating these four Verfes of Mr. Cowley, I have done an unusual thing; for notwithstanding that he is my Adversary in the Argument, and a very famous one too, I could not endure to let fo fine a Thought remain as ill exprefs'd in this Ode, as it is in his; which any body may find by comparing them together. But I would

not be understood as if I pretended to correct Mr. Cowley, tho' Expreffion was not his best Talent: For, as I have mended thefe few Verses of his, I doubt not but he could have done as much for a great many of mine.

m

As ftrong, as fine.] ment, must be allow'd

I, who oppose his Arguto fay 'tis not a good one; M 2

tho

tho' at the fame time I acknowledge it to be fo fine a Fallacy, and to have something in it so very fublime, that it impofes on our Reafon as much as CÆSAR did on Rome; and may be a little excused by that Ufurper's Apophthegm, Si violandum eft jus, regnandi caufa eft.

A Rape.] No body argues well, who does not argue fairly; and therefore I freely admit there was a Rape in the Case at first, which is not to be defended. Accordingly, if BRUTUS had kill'd CÆSAR at the famous Battle of Pharfalia, he might have prevented this Rape, and his own Crime befides in revenging it fo long afterwards. But, instead of confpiring against his Life at that time, he only begg'd his own.

• A Marriage fince.] CESAR was inexcufable for doing violence to his Country; yet Rome at last finding him fo mild a Governour, and so excellent a Person in all respects, submitted chearfully to him; all her greatest Men, of whom BRUTUS himfelf was one, acquiefcing entirely under his Dictatorship: which has made me carry on Mr. Cowley's Metaphor a little farther than he did, and give his violated Matron in Marriage; fuppofing Rome a wealthy Bride, who, out of Kindness and Prudence

to

together, is willing enough to make the best of it, and to efpoufe an agreeable Ravisher.

? Fair Truth.] He was a wife Man who faid Women were stronger than either the King, or Wine; but his Wisdom appear'd most in preferring Truth to them all. She has a Beauty out-fhining all the Art and Eloquence in the World; and I fhould not wonder to see a very Deift willing to die a Martyr for her, tho' he believ'd no Refurrection, and expected no Reward. There was one of that Principle lately among the Turks; a Man of Parts, and in nothing fantastical, who, rather than renounce fome Doctrines he maintain'd against a future Life, and the foolish Superftition of adoring MAHOMEt, chofe rather to die as calmly and as confiderately as SOCRATES himself.

In this bafe Age.] 'Tis almoft incredible what the Ancients have written, and really perform'd of Friendship. And therefore we fee the famous old Tragedies are often turn'd all upon that; whereas ours are only fill'd with Love; which, tho' as tender a Concern as the other, yet (a Woman being one of the Parties) is uncapable of many fublime Thoughts that arise among the Men, a Sex so much more knowing and active in the World, And even

for Softness itself, it will be hard to fhew a Scene more moving than that between AMYNTOR and MELANTIUS in the Maid's-Tragedy; which I fhould be forry to fee without great Emotion, fince 'tis a fhrewd fign of being both dull and ill-natur'd. No body has equall'd the Ancients on this Subject, except MONTAGNE, who on all Subjects has hardly been equall'd by the Moderns. The worst of

it is, this Friendship is a Virtue which does not depend upon one's felf alone to have; for in fuch a selfish Age, one Man, tho' never fo capable of it, may look about a great while before he finds out another; and this Contract will never hold, without an exact Counterpart.

Affift ye Angels.] All Religions agree in believing that fuperiour Beings afflift us on some important Occafions; but above all Poetry, and efpecially this kind of it, has an establish'd Right to depend on Infpiration. To speak Truth, all Poets have endeavour'd to hide their Vanity under this Veil of pretended Modefty; nothing seeming more humble than to diftruft themselves, and implore Affiftance, while at the fame time they prefum'd that something like divine Inspiration might shine out in their Poems. On which occafion (these Notes being already a rambling fort of Rhapfody) I will

venture to say a little on a Subject, of which others, for ought I can find, have not faid much : I mean, of that which Poets call a Mufe, by whom they pretend to be infpir'd, and is by all underftood to be a Genius for Poetry; to which Genius a Poet may be allowed in fome measure to pretend, because whoever wants it, tho' with never fo good Words and smooth Cadence, is yet little better than a player at Crambo. My imperfect Notion of a Genius is this, which I submit to better Judgments; I think it a happy Temper of the Brain, fo equally mix'd of Fancy and Judgment, that as great Heat of Imagination is apt to fpring all fort of Game, fo the understanding Faculty is ftill near at hand, to select the good, and to reject the reft.

How plainly.] This is according to the univerfal Opinion of Angels, that they need no Organs. of Speech among themselves; and their Thoughts are communicated to one another by what the Schoolmen call Intuition. Which however true or falfe, is enough for a Poet's applying it to this Subject of Friendship, which feems even among us Mortals to have fomething of divine in it.

A Race as far, &c.] According to the chriftian Faith, the Angels had a Beginning, tho' they can M 4 have