¿Quisquis erit vitae, fcribam, color. T. 10 puer, ut sis Vitalis metuo ; et majorum ne quis amicus Frigore te feriat. H. . Quid ? cum est Lucilius ausus Primus in hunc operis componere carmina morem, f Detrahere et pellem, nitidus qua quifque per ora Cederet, intror/um turpis; num Laelius, et qui Duxit ab oppreffa meritum Carthagine nomen, VER. 97. Whether the darken'd room-- ---Or whiten'd wall--This is only a wanton joke upon the terms of his Original Quisquis erit vitae color. VER, 104. Will club their Testers, &c.] The image is exceed ing humorous, and, at the same time, betrays the injustice of their resentment in the very circumstance of their indulging it; as it thews 'the Poet had said no more of their avarice, than what was true. Our Author's abundance of Wit has made his readers backward in acknowledging his talent for Humour. But the veins are equally rich; and the one fows with ease, and the other is always placed with propriety. VER. 105---120. What? 'armd för Virtue, etc.] This is not only superior to Horace, but equal to any thing in himself. Ver. 110. Lights of the Church, or Gliardians of the Lawson Because just Satire is an useful fupplement to the sanctions of Law and Religion ; and has, therefore, a claim to the prorection of those who preside in the administration either of church or state. Whether the darken'd room to muse invite, F.d Alas young man ! your days can ne'er be long, life! P. e What? arm'd for Virtue when I point the pen, Brand the bold front of shameless guilty men; 106 Dash the proud Gamefter in his gilded Car; Bare the mean Heart that lurks beneath a Star; Can there be wanting, to defend Her cause, Lights of the Church, or Guardians of the Laws ? Could pension’s Boileau lah in honest strain Flatt'rers and Bigots 'ev’n in Louis' reign? Could Laureate Dryden Pimp and Fry'r engage, Yet neither Charles nor James be in a rage ? And I not f ftrip the gilding off a Knave, 115 Unplac'd, unpension'd, no man’s - heir, or llave ? 11) VER, 115. Could pension'd Boileau---Could Laureat Dryden] It was Horace's purpose to compliment the former times, and therefore he gives the virtuous examples of Scipio and Lælius; it was Mr. Pope's, to satirize the present, and therefore he gives the vicious examples of Louis, Charles and James. Either way the instances are equally pertinent ; but in the latter they have rather greater force. Only the line, Uni æquus virtuti atque ejus amicis, loses something of its (pirit in the imitation ; for the amici, referred to, were Scipio and Lælius. Ingenio offensi ? aut laeso dolucre Metello, AMICIS. h Quin ubi se a vulgo et scena in secreta remorant Quidquid sum ego, quamvis 1 VER.129. And He, wbose lightning, etc.] Charles Mordaunt Earl of Peterborow, who in the year 1705 took Barcelona, and in the winter following with only 280 horse and 900 foot enterprized and accomplished the Conquest of Valentia. VER: 133: Envy must own, etc:] Horace makes the point of honour to confit fimply in his living familiarly with the Great, I will, or perish in the gen'rous cause: There, my retreat the best Companions grace, 125 the Great, No Pimp of pleasure, and no Spy of state, that pry not, tongue that ne'er repeats, 135 Fond to spread friendships, but to cover heats; To help who want, to forward who excel ; This, all who know me, know; who love me, tell ; Cum magnis vixisse invita fatebitur usque Invidia. Our poet, more nobly, in his living with them on the foot. ing of an honest man. He prided himself in this superiority, as appears from the following words, in a letter to Dr. Swift, “ To have pleased great men, according to Horace, is a praise; but not to have flattered them, and yet not have displeased them, is a greater.” Let. vir. Jan. 12, 1723. Vol. IV. E i With eyes ķ nisi quid tu, docte Trebati, Diflentis. T. ?Equidem nihil hinc diffingere poffum Sed tamen ut monitus cavęąs, ne forte negoti Incutiat tibi quid fanctarum inscitia legum : m“ Și mala condiderit in quem quis carmina, jus eft Judiciumque." H. Efto, fiquis n mala. fed bona fi quis Judice condiderit laudatus Caesare ? fi quis opprobriis dignum laceraverit, integer ipse? T. • Solventur risu tabulæ ; tu missus abibis. VER. 146. A man was hang'd, &c.] Si mala condiderit. -A great French Lawyer explains this matter very truly: « L'Aristocratie est le Gouvernment qui proscrit les plus les “ 'Ouvrages satiriques, Les Magistrats y font de petits fove“ rains, qui ne sont pas assez grands pour mepriser les injures, « Si dans la Monarchie quelque trait ya contre le Monarque, " il est li hayt que le trait n'arrive point jusqu'à lui; un Seigneur Aristocratique en est percé de part en part, « Aulli les Decemvirs, qui formoient une Aristocratie, puni “ rent-ils de mort les Ecrits Satiriques.” De L'Esprit des Loix, L. xii. c. 13. VIĶ. 150. Libels and Satires ! lawless things indeed! But grave Epifles, etc.] The legal objection is here more juftly and decently taken off than in the Orginal. Horace evades the force of it with a quibble, Elo, Aquis mala ; fed bona fi quis. But the Imitator's grave Epistles shew the fatire to be a serious reproof, and therefore justifiable; which the integer ipfe of the Original does not : for however this might plead in mi. tigation of the offence, nothing but their being grave Er rifles could justify the attack. Vzr, 152, F. Indeed ?] Hor. |