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"honour. By this mean practice, indeed, he has acquired "the title of the British Homer, nay, has been preferred "to Homer and Virgil both, and confequently to every "other poet of every age and nation. Cowley, Waller, "Denham, Dryden, Prior, Pope, in comparison with "Milton, have borne no greater proportion, than that of "dwarfs to a giant, who, now he is reduced to his true "standard, appears mortal and uninfpired, and in abi

lity little fuperior to the poets above-mentioned, but "in honesty and open dealing, the best quality of the "human mind, not inferior, perhaps, to the most unli"cenfed plagiary that ever wrote."

In a publication, containing fuch language, Lauder was able to engage the great critic and moralift, Samuel Johnfon, as his confederate; for the preface and poftfcript to the Effay, from which the preceding paragraph is cited, are confeffedly the compofition of that elaborate and nervous writer.

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This confederacy, unbecoming as it may at first appear, will, on candid reflection, seem rather a credit than a difgrace to Johnson; for we certainly ought to believe that the primary motive, which prompted him to the affiftance of Lauder, was that true and noble compassion for indigence, which made him through life fo generoufly willing to afford all the aid in his power to literary mendicants; but in rendering justice to that laudable charity, which he conftantly exercised to the neceffitous, we cannot fail to obferve, that his malevolent

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prejudices against Milton were equally vifible on this fignal occafion. Had he not been under the influence of fuch prejudice, could his ftrong understanding have failed to point out to his affociate, what a liberal monitor very justly observed to Lauder, in convicting him of fraud and falfhood, that, allowing his facts to have been true, his inference from them was unfair. Lauder, with an unexampled audacity of impofture, had corrupted the text of the poets, whom he produced as evidence against Milton, by interpolating feveral verfes, which he had taken from a neglected Latin translation of the Paradise Loft. Expecting probably to escape both discovery and fufpicion by the daring novelty of his deception, and the mental dignity of his patron and coadjutor, he exulted in the idea of blasting the laurels of Milton; but those laurels were proof, indeed, against the furious and repeated flashes of malevolence and hoftility. More than one defence of ¡ the injured poet appeared; the first, I believe, was a pamphlet by Mr. Richardson, of Clare Hall, printed in 1747, and entitled Zoilomaftix, or, a Vindication of Milton, confifting of letters inferted in the miscellany, where the charge of Lauder had made its first appearance; but the complete overthrow of that impoftor was accomplished by Dr. Douglas, the prefent Bishop of Salisbury, who published, in 1750, a letter addreffed to Lord Bath, with the title of "Milton vindicated from the Charge of Plagiarism;" a performance that, in many points of view, may be regarded as a real honour to literature

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it unites what we find very rarely united in literary contention, great modefty with great fervour; and magnanimous moderation with the feverity of vindictive justice, The author speaks with amiable liberality of Mr. Bowle, in faying, "that gentleman had first collected materials "for an answer to Lauder," and "has the jufteft claim “to the honour of being the original detector of this ungenerous critic." The writer of this valuable pamphlet gave also an admonition to Johnson, which breathes the manly fpirit of intelligence, of justice, and of candour. "It is to be hoped (he faid) “nay it is to be expected, that the elegant and nervous writer, whofe judicious fentiments and inimi"table style point out the author of Lauder's preface "and postscript, will no longer allow one to plume him"felf with his feathers, who appeareth fo little to have "deferved his affiftance; an affiftance which, I am per"fuaded, would never have been communicated had there "been the least fufpicion of those facts, which I have "been the inftrument of conveying to the world_in “these sheets, a perusal of which will fatisfy our critic, "who was pleased to submit his book to the judgment "of the two univerfities, that it has been examined and carefully read at least by fome members of the univerfity of Oxford." The defence of Milton, which I have mentioned, by Mr. Richardson, proves also, for the honour of Cambridge, that her men of letters were by no means deficient in such regard, as they peculiarly owe to

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the reputation of the poet, who "flames in the van of that poetical hoft, which has contributed to her

renown.

When the pamphlet of Dr. Douglas had completely unveiled the moft impudent of literary frauds, Johnson, whom his prejudice against Milton could no longer render blind to the unworthiness of Lauder, recoiled from the wretch whom he had too credulously befriended, and finding him as deficient in the truth of facts as he was in propriety of sentiment, and decency of language, made him address to his antagonist, who had convicted him of fome forgeries, an ample avowal of more extenfive fraud, and a moft humble fupplication for pardon. This expiatory addrefs was dictated by Johnfon, whofe conduct on the occafion was manly and moral-but it failed to correct his associate, for prejudice against Milton in Lauder arofe almoft to madnefs; in Johnfon it amounted only to a degree of malevolence, too commonly produced by political difagreement; it had induced him to cherish too eagerly a detractive deception, fabricated to fink an illustrious character, without allowing himself the due exercife of his keen understanding to inveftigate its falfehood, or to perceive its abfurdity. Lauder feems to have hoped, for fome time, that a full confeffion of his offences would reftore him to the favour of the public; for in the year 1751 he ventured to publish an apolgy, addreffed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, foliciting patronage for his projected edition of

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the scarce Latin authors, from whom he had accufed Milton of borrowing. The chief purpose of fo extraordinary an attack on the renown of the poet, appears to have been a defire, prompted by indigence, to intereft the public in the re-appearance of these neglected writers, whom he meant to re-publifh. In clofing his apology to the Archbishop, he says, with fingular confidence:

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"As for the interpolations (for which I am so highly blamed) when paffion is fubfided, and the minds of "men can patiently attend to truth, I promise amply to replace them, with paffages equivalent in value that are "genuine, that the public may be convinced that it was “ rather passion and resentment, than a penury of evi“dence, the twentieth part of which has not as yet been "produced, that obliged me to make use of them.”

He printed the collection of Latin poets as he proposed, one volume in 1752, and a second in 1753. The book may be regarded as a literary curiofity, but it seems to have contributed little to the emolument of its miferable editor, who had thoroughly awakened univerfal indignation; and as Dr. Douglas observed, in a postscript to his pamphlet, reprinted in 1756, "The curiosity of the "public to see any of these poems was at an end; the only thing which had stamped a value upon them, was

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a supposition that Milton had thought them worthy of “his imitation. As therefore it now appeared, by the de" tection of Lauder's system of forgery, that Milton had "not imitated them, it is no wonder that the design of reprinting

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