Part 3

Distorted Elf! to Nature a Disgrace, Thy Mind envenom'd pictur'd in thy Face; Malice with Envy in thy Breast combines, And in thy Visage grav'd those ghastly Lines. Like Plagues, like Death thy ranc'rous Arrows fly, At Good and Bad, at Friend and Enemy. To thy own Breast recoils the erring Dart, Corrupts thy Blood, and rankles in thy Heart. There swell the Poisons which thy Breast distend, And with the Load thy Mountain Shoulders bend. Horrid to view! retire from human Sight, Nor with thy Figure pregnant Dames affright. Crawl thro' thy childish Grot, growl round thy Grove, A Foe to Man, an Antidote to Love. In Curses waste thy Time instead of Pray'r, (a) And with thy Breath pollute the fragrant Air. There doze o'er _Shakespear_; then thy Blunders fell (b) At mighty Price; this Truth let _Tonson_ tell. Then frontless intimate, (oh perjur'd Bard!) Thy Labours were bestow'd without Reward. On that immortal Author wreak thy Spite, (c) And on his Monument thy Nonsense write. Should _Theobald_ thy presumptuous Errors shew, Be thou to _Theobald_ an invet'rate Foe. _Cibber_ shall foremost in thy Satyrs stand; His Plays succeed, and thine was justly damn'd. But _Colley_ call him, when thou would'st declame; Great is the Jest that lies in _Colley_'s Name.

[Footnote a: It is surely allowable to treat a Man after this manner who abuses all others, and to make this just Reflexion, since in his new _Dunciad_ he not only calls _Mummius_ a Fool, but uses this filthy Expression--who stinks above the Ground.]

[Footnote b: See this farther explained in the ingenious Dialogues of _Sawney_ and _Colley_.]

[Footnote c: Tho' he was informed that Wreck was improper, yet he was resolv'd it should be inscrib'd, because the Nonsense was in his Edition of _Shakespear_.]

Beware all ye, whom he as Friends carest, How ye entrust your Secrets to his Breast. (a) On Backs of Letters was his _Homer_ wrote, All your Affairs disclos'd to save a Groat. He valu'd not to whom he gave Offence; He sav'd his Paper, tho' at your Expence.

[Footnote a: When he sent his _Homer_ to his Acquaintance for their Emendations, it was written on the Back of the Letters of his Correspondents, whether of Business, Complement or Secrecy. A shameful Instance of Avarice and Treachery!]

But shall a low-born Wretch the best traduce, And call it Poetry, because Abuse? The Heav'n-born Muse, by Truth and Justice sway'd, To false Aspersions ne'er vouchsafes her Aid. When unprovok'd, not vengeful Wasps molest, Nor dart their Stings, when undisturb'd their Nest. Thy Muse, by _Virgil_'s Harpies taught to write, Scatters her Ordure in her screaming Flight; Sacred Religion and her Priests defames, And against Monarchs saucily exclames. (a) The Fathers, of our Church the surest Guides, As a poor Pack of Punsters she derides. But chief O _Cam!_ and _Isis!_ dread her Frown, (b) Chain'd to the Footstool of the Goddess' Throne. No Order, no Degree escapes her Rage, And dull, and dull, and dull swells ev'ry Page. Thirsty, she Poison draws from ev'ry Flow'r, Like Satan, seeks whom next she may devour.

[Footnote a: _Vide_ Notes on the new _Dunciad_.]

[Footnote b: Goddess of Dullness.]

So have I seen a Dog distracted roam; He bites, he snaps at all, disgorging Foam. The frighten'd Passenger the Danger flies, And sees the Poison flashing from his Eyes. Till some stout Dray-man dashes out his Brains, And his corrupted Blood the Kennel stains.

Thy Notes pedantic shall no more engage; _Arbuthnot_'s Wit enlivens not the Page. Thy Muse, that Prostitute abandon'd Jade, Now flounders in the Mire without _Swift_'s Aid. Thy base Invectives Men no more regard; With just Disdain thy Scare-Crow Muse is heard.

So when the latent Seeds their Fruits display, And gain fresh Vigour from a genial Ray: The careful Hind a monst'rous Figure frames; From various Rags unwonted Terror streams. The feather'd Choristers in Flocks retreat, And at a Distance view the tempting Bait. At length grown bold, they perch upon his Head, And with their Meute bedawb what late they fled.

_B-ns-n_ abuse for raising _Milton_'s Bust, And impiously molest learn'd _Johnston_'s Dust. Religious, he the Psalms in _Latin_ sung, From hence the Malice of the Deist sprung. While with a just Derision we survey, Thy wretched Epitaph on poor _John Gay_.

Had _Peter_, _Charters_ thee with Gold supply'd, _Peter_ and _Charters_ had been deify'd. But ev'ry Lord, each gen'rous Friend implore, And by Subscriptions meanly swell thy Store. When to the Town by sordid Int'rest led, Mump for a Dinner, flatter for a Bed. Then to thy Grot retire, indulge thy Spite, And rail at those who for Subsistence write. Summon thy Rags, invoke thy scurril Muse, With keenest Malice _Addison_ abuse. Sculking, the Scandal privately disperse, (a) Then own in Prose the Baseness of thy Verse.

[Footnote a: He writ a vile Lampoon on Mr. _Addison_, and then in a Preface owns, he deserves Respect from every Lover of Learning.]

So e're _Arachne_ to her Cell repairs, Insidiously she weaves her glewy Snares. Sullen, she meditates on Deaths to come, And meliorates the Poison in her Womb. (b) Should hapless _Clarion_ thither take his Flight, He falls her Prey, mindful of ancient Spite.

[Footnote b: _Vide_ _Spencer_'s Fate of the Butterfly.]

With Malice swoll'n, Pride, Envy, Avarice, Ingratitude attends this Train to Vice. Yet one remains untold; with Lust endu'd, Behold the Fribler lab'ring to be lewd. Kind _Cibber_ interpos'd, forbad the Banns, He'd peopled else this Isle with _Calibans_.

(a) The noble _Timon_, in thy waspish Strains, A Proof of thy Ingratitude remains. Courteous to all, munificent, humane, Subject of others Praise, to thee of Pain. Exalted far above thy groveling State, The Object of his Pity, not his Hate. He smiles at Scandal so unjustly thrown, And at thy Malice he disdains to frown.

[Footnote a: _Vide_ a Poem on Taste.]

Thus oft we see a currish, Mungrel Crew, A stately Mastiff eagerly pursue. They swarm around, they yelp, they snarl, they grin, Bold in Appearance, timerous within: With such mean Foes he deigns not to engage, But lifts his Leg, and pisses out their Rage.

How dar'st thou, Peasant, give thy Pen this Loose? Becomes it thee thus madly to traduce? The Great, the Low, the Virtuous, and the Base, Alike are grown thy Subject of Disgrace. Safe in thy Weakness, thou defi'st a Foe; E'en (b) _Cibber_'s Cudgel scorn'd to stoop so low. The Mercy of the Law restrains thy Fears; _Coventry_'s Act secures thy Nose and Ears. Yet there remains, to fill thy Soul with Care, A Blanket to curvet thee in the Air.

[Footnote b: _Vide_ _Cibber_'s Letter to _Pope_.]

O wretched Life consum'd in restless Pains, Where Dread of Punishment incessant reigns! Poor Self-Tormentor! in whose gloomy Breast The Vulture dwells, inhospitable Guest. Be to my Foe no greater Curse assign'd! Than a malignant Heart and envious Mind.

Thrice happy he! that's with Good Nature blest, Love of his Species rules his tender Breast; Nor there confin'd: The Brute Creation share His kind Beneficence and gen'rous Care. No base malicious Thoughts his Peace annoy: Are others happy? he partakes their Joy. Chearful and innocent the Day he spends, And Silver Sleep his quiet Nights attends.

But thou, a Stranger to this Peace of Mind, Search where thou may'st conspicuous Merit find: There strive to blacken with thy utmost Art, And rail the more, the greater the Desert.

Is there a Man, an Honour to the Age, Unsully'd by the keenest Party-rage; By Vice untainted; who, from early Youth, Firmly adher'd to Honour, Justice, Truth; Whom no unruly Passions e're cou'd blind, Nor ruffle his Serenity of Mind; His Country's Good, the Patriot's noblest View, Unbrib'd, unaw'd, does stedfastly pursue; Polite in Manners, and rever'd his Sense, And long in Senates fam'd for Eloquence; But if to these Endowments of the Mind, A graceful Figure happily is join'd, Then flows thy Gall, then raves thy half-form'd Clay, Then frets thy putrid Carcass to Decay.

So when the croaking Toad the Ox beheld, His envious Heart with Indignation swell'd. Vainly the Reptil thought he could extend His bloated Form, and Nature's Error mend. He drew his Breath; he swell'd--he burst; he dy'd A Victim to his Arrogance and Pride.

_FINIS._

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The Augustan Reprint Society

WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY

University of California, Los Angeles

PUBLICATIONS IN PRINT

[Where available, Project Gutenberg e-text numbers are shown in brackets.]

1948-1949

16. Nevil Payne, _Fatal Jealousy_ (1673). [16916]

17. Nicholas Rowe, _Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespeare_ (1709). [16275]

18. "Of Genius," in _The Occasional Paper_, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719); and Aaron Hill's Preface to _The Creation_ (1720). [15870]

1949-1950

22. Samuel Johnson, _The Vanity of Human Wishes_ (1749) and two _Rambler_ papers (1750). [13350]

23. John Dryden, _His Majesties Declaration Defended_ (1681). [15074]

1950-1951

26. Charles Macklin, _The Man of the World_ (1792). [14463]

1951-1952

31. Thomas Gray, _An Elegy Wrote in a Country Churchyard_ (1751); and _The Eton College Manuscript_. [15409]

1952-1953

41. Bernard Mandeville, _A Letter to Dion_ (1732).

1954-1955

49. Two St. Cecilia's Day Sermons (1696, 1697).

52. Pappity Stampoy, _A Collection of Scotch Proverbs_ (1663). [7018]

1958-1959

75. John Joyne, _A Journal_ (1679).

76. Andre Dacier, _Preface to Aristotle's Art of Poetry_ (1705).

1959-1960

80. [P. Whalley], _An Essay on the Manner of Writing History_ (1746).

83. _Sawney and Colley_ (1742) and other Pope Pamphlets.

84. Richard Savage, _An Author to be lett_ (1729).

1960-1961

85-6. _Essays on the Theatre from Eighteenth-Century Periodicals_.

90. Henry Needler, _Works_ (1728).

1961-1962

93. John Norris, _Cursory Reflections Upon a Book Call'd, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding_ (1690).

94. An. Collins, _Divine Songs and Meditacions_ (1653).

95. _An Essay on the New Species of Writing Founded by Mr. Fielding_ (1751).

96. _Hanoverian Ballads_.

1962-1963

97. Myles Davies, Selections from _Athenae Britannicae_ (1716-1719).

98. _Select Hymns Taken Out of Mr. Herbert's Temple_ (1697).

99. Thomas Augustine Arne, _Artaxerxes_ (1761).

100. Simon Patrick, _A Brief Account of the New Sect of Latitude Men_ (1662).

101-2. Richard Hurd, _Letters on Chivalry and Romance_ (1762).

1963-1964

103. Samuel Richardson, _Clarissa_: Preface, Hints of Prefaces, and Postscript.

104. Thomas D'Urfey, _Wonders in the Sun, or, the Kingdom of the Birds_ (1706).

105. Bernard Mandeville, _An Enquiry into the Causes of the Frequent Executions at Tyburn_ (1725).

106. Daniel Defoe, _A Brief History of the Poor Palatine Refugees_ (1709).

107-8. John Oldmixon, _An Essay on Criticism_ (1728).

William Andrews Clark Memorial Library: University of California, Los Angeles

The Augustan Reprint Society

GENERAL EDITORS

EARL MINER University of California, Los Angeles

MAXIMILLIAN E. NOVAK University of California, Los Angeles

LAWRENCE CLARK POWELL Wm. Andrews Clark Memorial Library

_Corresponding Secretary_:

Mrs. Edna C. Davis, Wm. Andrews Clark Memorial Library

The Society's purpose is to publish reprints (usually facsimile reproductions) of rare seventeenth and eighteenth century works. All income of the Society is devoted to defraying costs of publication and mailing.

Correspondence concerning subscriptions in the United States and Canada should be addressed to the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 2205 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. Correspondence concerning editorial matters may be addressed to any of the general editors. The membership fee is $5.00 a year for subscribers in the United States and Canada and 30/- for subscribers in Great Britain and Europe. British and European subscribers should address B. H. Blackwell, Broad Street, Oxford, England. Copies of back issues in print may be obtained from the Corresponding Secretary.

PUBLICATIONS FOR 1964-1965

JOHN TUTCHIN, _Selected Poems_ (1685-1700). Introduction by Spiro Peterson.

SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE, _An Essay upon the Original and Nature of Government_ (1680). Introduction by Robert C. Steensma.

T. R., _An Essay Concerning Critical and Curious Learning_ (1698). Introduction by Curt A. Zimansky.

ANONYMOUS, _Political Justice. A Poem_ (1736). Introduction by Burton R. Pollin and John W. Wilkes.

_Two Poems Against Pope_: LEONARD WELSTED, _One Epistle to Mr. A. Pope_ (1730); ANONYMOUS, _The Blatant Beast_ (1740). Introduction by Joseph V. Guerinot.

ROBERT DODSLEY, _An Essay on Fable_ (1764). Introduction by Jeanne K. Welcher and Richard Dircks.

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William Andrews Clark Memorial Library

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Make check or money order payable to THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

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Errata (added by transcriber):

Editor's Introduction in which our Author was abused [_Text reads "was / was" at line break. It is assumed that this error was not present in the original text, since the editor does not include a (sic) or similar notation_] probably intentional ambiguity [international] it being written by Mr. Welsted and others.[10] [_" missing_] Pope's _Illiad_.[22] [_spelling unchanged_] The writer shows a talent for invective, [invenctive]

Editor's Introduction: Footnotes the Son of a ____. [_here and later, the text uses lowlines in place of dashes_]

One Epistle: Preface Gareteers, and Beggars,: If he can [_punctuation unchanged_] Dr. _Arburthnot_, who originally sketch'd the Design [_spelling unchanged_]

Blatant-Beast BEAUTY, the fondling Mother's earliest [_' invisible_] A rude, mishapen Lump Contempt must raise. [_spelling unchanged_]

Augustan Reprint Society 22. ... and two _Rambler_ papers (1750) [_final . added_]