made ufe of a popular tradition, according to which it was believed, that a certain wooden bucket, which is kept at Modena, in the treasury of the cathedral, came from Bologna, and that it had been forcibly taken away by the Modenefe. Crefcembini adds, that because Taffoni had feverely ridiculed the Bolognefe, Bartolomeo Bocchini, to revenge his countrymen, printed, at Venice, 1641, a tragico-heroi-comic poem, entitled, Le Pazzie dei Savi, ovvero, Il Lambertaccio, in which the Modenese are fpoken of with much contempt. The Italians have a fine turn for works of humour, in which they abound. They have another poem of this species, called Malmantile Racquiftato, written by Lorenzo Lippi, in the year 1676, which Crefcembini highly commends, calling it, "Spiritofiflimo e leggiadriffimo poema giocofo." It was afterwards reprinted at Florence, 1688, with the useful annotations of Puccio Lamoni, a Florentine painter, who was himfelf no contemptible poet To thefe must be added, the lively and amufing poem called Ricciardetto. In the Adventurer, No. 1:3, I formerly endeavoured to fhew the fuperiority of the moderns over the ancients, in all the fpecies of ridicule, and to point out fome of the reafons for this supposed fuperiority. It is a fubject that deferves a much longer difcuffion. Among other reafons given, it is there faid, that though democracies may be the nurfes of true fublimity, yet monarchy and courts are more productive of politeness. Hence the arts of civility, and the decencies of converfation, as they unite men more closely, and bring them together more frequently, multiply opportunities of obferving thofe incongruities and abfurdities of behaviour, on which ridicule is founded The ancients had more liberty and ferioufnefs; the moderns more luxury and laughter. In a word, our forms of government, the various confequent ranks in fociety, our commerce, manners, habits, riches, courts, religious controverfies, intercourse with women, late age of the world in which we live, and new arts, have opened fources of ridicule unavoidably unknown to the ancients. The Rape of the Lock is the fourth *, and most excellent of the heroi-comic poems. The fubject was a quarrel, occafionéd by * Dr. Warton has forgotten to mention the Lutrin of Boileau, and the Difpenfary of Garth. He means the Rape of the Lack is the moft excellent of thofe Poems of this fpecies which have been moft diftinguished; namely, La Secchia Rapita, Lutrin, Difpenfary, Rape of the Lock. 1 by a little piece of gallantry of Lord Petre, who, in a party of pleasure, found means to cut off a favourite lock of Mrs. Arabella Fermor's hair. On fo flight a foundation has he raised this beautiful fuperftructure; like a Fairy palace in a defart. Pope was accustomed to fay," what I wrote fastest always pleafed most." The first sketch of this exquifite piece, which Addison called Merum Sal, was written in lefs than a fortnight, in two Cantos only; but it was fo univerfally applauded, that, in the next year, our poet enriched it with the machinery of the Sylphs, and extended it to five Cantos; when it was printed, with a Letter to Mrs. Fermor, far fuperior to any of Voiture. The infertion of the machinery of the Sylphs in proper places, without the least appearance of its being aukwardly stitched in, is one of the happiest efforts of judgment and art. He took the idea of these invifible beings, fo proper to be employed in a poem of this nature, from a little French book entitled, Le Comte de Gabalis, of which is given the following account, in an entertaining writer: «The Abbé Villars, who came from Thoulouse to Paris, to make his fortune by preaching, is the author of this diverting work. The five dialogues of which it confifts, are the result of those gay conversations, in which the Abbé was engaged, with a small circle of men, of fine wit and humour, like himself. When this book first appeared, it was univerfally read, as innocent and amuling. But at length its confequences were perceived, and reckoned dangerous, at a time when this fort of curiofities began to gain credit. Our devout preacher was denied the chair, and his book forbidden to be read. It was not clear whether the author intended to be ironical, or spoke all seriously. The fecond volume, which he promised, would have decided the question; but the unfortunate Abbé was foon afterwards affaffinated by ruffians, on the road to Lyons. The laughers gave out, that the Gnomes and Sylphs, difguifed like rufflaus, had fhot him, as a punishment for revealing the fecrets of the Cabala; a crime not to be pardoned by these jealous fpirits, as Villars himfelf has declared in his book." The motto to the fecond edition, when it was enlarged into five cantos, printed in octavo for Lintot, 1714, was from Ovid; as was that to the first: 66 a tonfo eft hoc nomen adepta capillo." Both mottos feem to be happily chofen. No writer has equalled Addifon in the happy and dextrous application of paffages from 3 the the claffics for his mottos. Such as that prefixed to the fine paper on the Hoop petticoat, No. 116 of the Tatler; "Pars minima eft ipfa puella fibi." To the account of the Spectator's Club, No. 2. Et plures uno conclamant ore." To No. 8, On Masquerades ; "At Venus obfcuro gradientes aëre fepfit, Et multo nebulæ circum Dea fudit amictu: To No. 23, On Anonymous Satires ; VIRG. "Sævit atrox Volfcens, nec teli confpicit ufquam Auctorem, nec quo fe ardens immittere poffit." VIRG. and many others. The mottos prefixed to the papers in the Rambler and Adventurer, were not so happy. The attempt to tranflate them was abfurd The one prefixed to Philips's Cyder was elegant. "Honos erit huic quoque pomo?” Atterbury fuggested the interrogation point. Warburton was commended for defpifing common antagonists, and faying, Optat aprum, aut fulvum defcendere monte leonem.” But Harrington had faid this, in his Oceana, of an adversary. Mr. Walpole, to intimate his high and just opinion of Gray's Ode on Eton College as a first production, wrote on it this line of Lucan; "Nec licuit populis parvum te Nile videre." I dare believe the learned and amiable author did not know that Fontenelle had applied the very fame line to Newton. A motto to Mr. Gray's few, but exquifite, poems might be, from Lucretius, lib. 4. "Suavidicis potius quàm multis verfibus edam, Parvus ut eft cycni melior canor.". WARTON. I know not whether thefe obfervations on various claffical mottos are worth retaining, they may be however amusing to fome readers. Dr. Warton has not mentioned one, which is fingularly happy and beautiful, applied by Addison to the Fragments of Sappho : “O fuavis anima, qualem te dicam bonam antehac fuiffe, tales cum fint reliquiæ !" THE RAPE OF THE LOCK. Nolueram, Belinda, tuos violare capillos; CANTO Ι. MART. HAT dire offence from am'rous caufes fprings, WHAT What mighty contests rise from trivial things, I fing This verfe to CARYL, Mufe! is due: This, ev'n Belinda may vouchsafe to view : NOTES. Slight » It appears by this Motto, that the following Poem was written or published at the Lady's requeft. But there are some further circumftances not unworthy relating. Mr. Caryl (a Gentleman who was Secretary to Queen Mary, wife of James II. whofe fortunes he followed into France, Author of the Comedy of Sir Solomon Single, and of several tranflations in Dryden's Mifcellanies) originally proposed the subject to him, in a view of putting an end, by this piece of ridicule, to a quarrel that was rifen between two noble Families, thofe of Lord Petre and of Mrs Fermor, on the trifling occafion of his having cut off a lock of her hair. The Author fent it to the Lady, with whom he was acquainted; and fhe took it fo well as to give about copies of it. That first sketch (we learn from one of his Letters) was writlen in lefs than a fortnight, in 1711, in two Cantos only, and it was fo printed; firft, in a Mifcellany of Bern. Lintot's, without the name of the Author. But it was received fo well, that he made it more confiderable the next year by the addition of the machinery of the Sylphs, and extended it to five Cantos. We fhall give the reader the pleasure of seeing in what manner these additions were inferted, fo as to feem not to be added, but to grow out of the Poem. See Notes, Cant. 1. ver. 19, &c. POPE. Slight is the fubject, but not so the praise, Say what ftrange motive, Goddefs! could compel 5 10 Sol through white curtains fhot a tim❜rous ray, Thrice VARIATIONS. VER. II, 12. It was in the first editions, And dwells fuch rage in softest bofoms then, VER. 13, &c. flood thus in the first edition, POPE Sol through white curtains did his beams difplay, Thrice the wrought slipper knock'd against the ground, POPE NOTES. VER. 10. Could make a gentle Belle] "The characters introduced in this poem were Mr. Caryl, juft before mentioned; Belinda was Mrs. Arabella Fermor; the Baron was Lord Petre, of small stature, who foon after married a great heiress, Mrs. Warmsley, and died leaving a pofthumous fon; Thaleftris was Mrs. Morly; Sir Plume was her brother, Sir George Brown, of Berkfhire." Copied from a MS. in a book presented by R. Lord Burlington, to Mr. William Sherwin. WARTON. |