The Judges and Magistrates may with full as good reafon be reproached with Ill-nature for putting the Laws in execution against a Thief or Impoftor.

-The same will hold in the republic of Letters, if the Critics and Judges will let every ignorant pretender to scribling pass on the World.

THEOBALD, Letter to Mift, June 22, 1728.

ATTACKS may be levelled, either against Failures in Genius, or against the Pretenfions of writing without one.

CONCANEN, Ded. to the Author of the DUNCIA D.

A Satire upon Dulness is a thing that has been ufed and allowed in All Ages.

Out of thine own Mouth will I judge thee, wicked Scribler!

TESTIMONIES

O F

AUTHORS

CONCERNING

our POET and his WORKS.

B

M. SCRIBLERUS Lectori S.

EFORE we prefent thee with our exercitations on this moft delectable Poem (drawn from the many volumes of our Adverfaria on modern Authors) we fhall here, according to the laudable ufage of editors, collect the various judgments of the Learned concerning our Poet: Various indeed, not only of different authors, but of the fame author at different seafons. Nor fhall we gather only the Testimonies of fuch eminent Wits, as would of course defcend to pofterity, and confequently be read without our collection; but we fhall likewife with incredible labour feek out for divers others, which, but for this our diligence, could never at the diftance of a few months appear to the eye of the moft curious. Hereby thou may'st not only receive the delectation of Variety, but also arrive at a more certain judgment, by a grave and circumfpect comparison of the Witneffes with each other, or of each with himself. Hence alfo thou wilt be enabled to draw reflections, not only of a critical, but a moral nature, by being let into many

particulars of the Perfon as well as Genius, and of the Fortune as well as Merit, of our Author: In which if I relate fome things of little concern paradventure to thee, and fome of as little even to him; I entreat thee to confider how minutely all true critics and commentators are wont to infift upon fuch, and how material they seem to themselves, if to none other. Forgive me, gentle reader, if (following learned example) I ever and anon become tedious: allow me to take the fame pains to find whether my author were good or bad, well or ill-natured, modeft or arrogant; as another, whether his author was fair or brown, fhort or tall, or whether he wore a coat or a caffock.

We proposed to begin with his Life, Parentage, and Education: But as to these, even his cotemporaries do exceedingly differ. One faith, he was educated at home; another', that he was bred at St. Omer's by Jefuits; a third, not at St. Omer's, but at Oxford; a fourth, that he had no Univerfity education at all. Thofe who allow him to be bred at home, differ as much concerning his Tutor: One faith, he was kept by his father on purpose; a second f, that he was an itinerant prieft; a third, that he was a parfon; one calleth him a fecular clergyman of the Church of Rome; another, a monk. As little do they agree about his. Father, whom one * fuppofeth, like the Father of Hefiod, a tradefman or merchant; another', a husbandman; another ", a hatter, &c. Nor has an author been wanting to give our Poet fuch a father as Apuleius hath to Plato, Jamblichus to Pythagoras, and divers to

k

e

a Giles Jacob's Lives of Poets, vol. ii. in his Life. b Dennis's Reflections on the Effay on Crit. c Dunciad diffected, p. 4. d Guardian, N° 40. f Dunciad diffected, p. 4. Characters of the Dunc. diffect. printed 1729.

Jacob's Lives, &c. vol. ii.

8 Farmer P. and his fon. h Dunc. diffect.

times, p. 45. k Female Dunc. p. ult.

ונן

Roome, Paraphrafe on the ivth of Genefis,

Homer, namely a Dæmon: For thus Mr. Gildon " : "Certain it is, that his original is not from Adam, but "the Devil; and that he wanteth nothing but horns " and tail to be the exact resemblance of his infernal "Father." Finding, therefore, fuch contrariety of opinions, and (whatever be ours of this fort of generation) not being fond to enter into controverfy, we shall defer writing the life of our Poet, 'till authors can determine among themselves what Parents or Education he had, or whether he had any Education or Parents at all.

Proceed we to what is more certain, his Works, tho' not less uncertain the judgments concerning them; beginning with his ESSAY on CRITICISM, of which hear first the most antient of Critics,

Mr. JOHN DENNIS.

"His precepts are falfe or trivial, or both; his "thoughts are crude and abortive, his expreffions ab"furd, his numbers harsh and unmufical, his rhymes "trivial and common; -inftead of majesty, we have "fomething that is very mean; inftead of gravity, "fomething that is very boyish; and inftead of per

fpicuity and lucid order, we have but too often obfcu"rity and confufion." And in another place: "What "rare numbers are here! Would not one fwear that this "youngster had efpoufed fome antiquated Mufe, who

had fued out a divorce from fome fuperannuated finner, upon account of impotence, and who, being "poxed by her former fpoufe, has got the gout in her decrepid age, which makes her bobble fo damnably°:

Character of Mr. P. and his Writings, in a Letter to a Friend, printed for S. Popping, 1716, p. 10. Curl, in his Key to the Dunciad (firft edit. faid to be printed for A. Dodd) in the oth page, declared Gildon to be author of that libel; though in the fubfequent editions of his Key he left out this affertion, and affirmed (in the Curliad, p. 4. and 8.) that it was written by Dennis only.

• Reflections critical and fatyrical on a Rhapfody, called, An Effay on Criticism. Printed for Bernard Lintot, octavo.

No less peremptory is the cenfure of our hypercritical Hiftorian

Mr. OLD MIXSON.

"I dare not fay any thing of the Effay on Criticism "in verfe; but if any more curious reader has difco"vered in it fomething new which is not in Dryden's "prefaces, dedications, and his effay on dramatic poe"try, not to mention the French critics, I fhould be very glad to have the benefit of the discovery P." He is followed (as in fame, fo in judgment) by the modest and simple-minded

66

Mr. LEONARD WELSTED.

Who, out of great refpect to our poet not naming him, doth yet glance at his Effay, together with the Duke of Buckingham's, and the Criticisms of Dryden, and of Horace, which he more openly taxeth 1: "As "to the numerous treatifes, effays, arts, &c. both in "verfe and profe, that have been written by the mo"derns on this ground-work, they do but hackney the

fame thoughts over again, making them ftill more "trite. Moft of their pieces are nothing but a pert, "infipid heap of common place. Horace has even in "his Art of Poetry thrown out feveral things which "plainly fhew, he thought an Art of Poetry was of "no ufe, even while he was writing one."

To all which great authorities, we can only oppose

that of

Mr. ADDISON,

<< The Art of Criticifm (faith he) which was pub"lished some months fince, is a mafter-piece in its kind. "The obfervations follow one another, like those in "Horace's Art of Poetry, without that methodical regularity which would have been requisite in a profe

r Effay on Criticism in profe, octavo, 1728. by the author of the Critical History of England.

Preface to his Poems, p. 18, 53.

Spectator, N° 253.