part of mankind, thofe of ordinary or indifferent capacities; and these (to a man) will hate, or suspect kim: a hundred honeft gentlemen will dread him as a Wit, and a hundred innocent women as a Satirist. In a word, whatever be his fate in Poetry, it is ten to one but he muft give up all the reasonable aims of life for it. There are indeed fome advantages accruing from a Genius to Poetry, and they are all I can think of: the agreeable power of self-amufement when a man is idle or alone; the privilege of being admitted into the best company*; and the freedom of faying as many careless things as other people, without being fo feverely remarked upon.

*What is here faid of the privileges of the Poetic Character, will not, I believe, bear the test of truth and experience. Surely a Poet is not particularly allowed the "freedom of saying carelefs things," and his moral character and manners are to be eftimated, as well as his talents, before he is entitled to a certain ftation in fociety. Let me however take this opportunity, and I do it with pride, of vindicating a refpectable, and fuperior class of men, the English Poets. A few eccentric characters among them, who have difgraced their Genius, have been confidered fufficient to throw a fhade upon the whole clafs.

But let us estimate their character fairly, and we shall find the fons of true and original genius, in general, as highly elevated by their personal character, as by their talents. Need I mention the names of the "princely" and elegant Surrey, the amiable Spenser, the great, and, bating his political prejudices, the feverely-moral, Milton, Pope, Addison, Thomson, Young, Gray, Littelton, and many others, all of them as confpicuous for their fuperior virtues, moral character, and correct understanding, as for their high poetical endowments.

Hoc tribuiffe, parum, non tribuiffe, fcelus 1

I believe, if any one, early in his life, should contemplate the dangerous fate of authors*, he would scarce be of their number on any confideration. The life of a Wit is a warfare upon earth; and the present spirit of the learned world is fuch, that to attempt to serve it (any way) one must have the conftancy of a martyr, and a resolution to fuffer for its fake. I could wifh people would believe, what I am pretty certain they will not, that I have been much lefs concerned about Fame than I durft declare till this occafion, when methinks I fhould find more credit than I could heretofore: fince my writings have had their fate already, and it is too late to think of prepoffeffing the reader in their favour. I would plead it as fome merit in me, that the world has never been prepared for thefe Trifles by Prefaces †, biaffed by recommendation, dazzled with the names of great patrons, wheedled with fine reafons and pretences, or troubled with excufes. I confefs it was want of confideration that made me an author; I writ because it amufed me; I corrected because it was

This fate and these dangers have been the subject of an ingenious epiftle by the amiable Mr. Whitehead, The danger of writing Verfe; one of the happieft imitations of our Author's didactic manner; in which are many particulars fuggested or borrowed from this preface. J. WARTON.

+ As was the practice of his master Dryden, who is severely lafhed for this in the Tale of a Tub; and of as great a Genius P. Corneille, whofe pieces of bafe adulation are a difgrace to Poetry and Literature. Our Author was accustomed to mention Locke's dedication to Lord Pembroke with ftrong marks of disapprobation. J. WARTON.

as

as pleasant to me to correct as to write; and I published because I was told, I might please such as it was a credit to please. To what degree I have done this, I am really ignorant; I had too much fondness for my productions to judge of them at first, and too much judgment to be pleafed with them at last. But I have reafon to think they can have no reputation which will continue long, or which deferves to do fo: for they have always fallen fhort not only of what I read of others, but even of my own ideas of Poetry.

If any one should imagine I am not in earnest, I defire him to reflect, that the Ancients (to say the least of them) had as much Genius as we; and that to take more pains, and employ more time, cannot fail to produce more complete pieces. They conftantly applied themselves not only to that art, but to that fingle branch of an art, to which their talent was most powerfully bent; and it was the business of their lives to correct and finish their works for pofterity. If we can pretend to have used the fame industry, let us expect the fame immortality: Tho' if we took the fame care, we should still lie under a further misfortune: they writ in languages that be

* Il n'y a prefque aucun de mes ouvrages dont je fois content, & il y en a quelques uns que je voudrais n'avoir jamais faits, fays Voltaire. J. WARTON.

If this fentiment be real, and not affected, what a contrast does it form to the dignified and lofty confidence of Milton;

Si quid meremur fana pofteritas judicabit!
B 4

came

came universal and everlasting, while ours are extremely limited both in extent and in duration. A mighty foundation for our pride! when the utmost we can hope, is but to be read in one Island, and to be thrown afide at the end of one Age.

*

All that is left us is to recommend our productions by the imitation of the Ancients: and it will be found

true,

I have frequently heard Dr. Young fpeak with great difapprobation of the doctrine contained in this paffage; with a view to which he wrote his difcourfe on Original Compofition; in which he says, "Would not Pope have fucceeded better in an original attempt? Talents untried are talents unknown. All that I know is, that, contrary to these sentiments, he was not only an avowed profeffor of imitation, but a zealous recommender of it alfo. Nor could he recommend any thing better, except emulation, to those who write. One of thefe, all writers must call to their aid; but aids they are of unequal repute. Imitation is inferiority confeffed; emulation is fuperiority contested or denied; imitation is fervile, emulation, generous; that fetters, this fires; that may give a name; this, a name immortal. This made Athens to fucceeding ages the rule of taste, and the standard of perfection. Her men of genius ftruck fire against each other; and kindled, by conflict, into glories, which no time shall extinguish. We thank Efchylus for Sophocles, and Parrhafius for Zeuxis; Emulation for both. That bids us fly the general fault of imitators; bids us not be ftruck with the loud report of former fame, as with a knell, which damps the spirits; but, as with a trumpet, which infpires ardour to rival the renowned, Emulation exhorts us, inftead of learning our difcipline for ever like raw troops, under ancient leaders in compofition, to put thofe laurelled veterans in fome hazard of lofing their fuperior pofts in glory. Such is Emulation's high-fpirited advice, fuch her immortalizing call. Pope would not hear, pre-engaged with imitation, which bleffed him with all her charms. He chofe father, with his namefake of Greece, to triumph in the old world,

than

true, that in every age, the highest character for fense and learning has been obtained by those who have been most indebted to them. For, to fay truth, whatever is very good fense, must have been common fense in all times; and what we call learning, is but the knowledge of the fenfe of our predeceffors. Therefore they who fay our thoughts are not our own, because they refemble the Ancients, may as well fay our faces are not our own, because they are like our Fathers: And indeed it is very unreasonable, that people fhould expect us to be Scholars, and yet angry to find us fo.

be

I fairly confess that I have served myself all I could by reading; that I made ufe of the judgment of authors dead and living; that I omitted no means in my power to be informed of my errors, both by my friends and enemies: But the true reason thefe pieces are not more correct, is owing to the confideration how fhort a time they, and I, have to

than to look out for a new. His tafte partook the error of his religion; it denied not worship to faints and angels; that is, to writers, who, canonized for ages, have received their apotheofis from established and univerfal fame." It might, perhaps, have been replied to Young; you, indeed, have given us a confiderable number of original thoughts in your works, but they would have been more chafte and correct if you had imitated the ancients There are entertaining differtations on plagiarisms and

more.

borrowing in Le Motthe le Vayer, tom. ii. 344.
The opinion of Longinus deferves our attention.

κλοπή το πράγμα, αλλ', ὡς ἀπὸ καλῶν ἠθῶν, ἤ πλασμάτων, η δημιεργημάτων Tolúπwors. Sect. 13. p. 88. edit. Pearce. Of this opinion alfo were Addifon and Boileau.

J. WARTON.