his House, Garden, &c. Nay, he refpects (as one may fay) the Perfons of the Gladiator, Amphitheatre, the Nile, and the Triton: He is only forry to fee them (as he might be to see any of his Friends) ridiculous, by being in the wrong Place, and in bad Company. Some fancy, that to say a Thing is perfonal, is the fame as to fay it is unjust, not confidering, that nothing can be just that is not perfonal. I am afraid, that all fuch Writings and Difcourses as touch no Man, will mend no Man." The Good natur'd, indeed, are apt to be alarm'd at any Thing like Satire; and the Guilty readily confer with the Weak for a plain Reason, because the Vicious look upon Folly as their Frontier: Jam proximus ardet No wonder those who know Ridicule belongs to them find an inward Confolation in removing it from themfelves as far as they can; and it is never fo far, as when they can get it fix'd upon the best Characters: No wonder thofe who are Food for Satirifts, fhould rail at them as Creatures of Prey; every Beast born for our Ufe would be ready to call a Man fo. I know no Remedy, unless People in our Age would as little frequent the Theatres, as they begin to do the Churches; unlefs Comedy were forfaken, Satire filent, and every Man left to do what feems good in his own Eyes, as if there were no King, no Prieft, no Poet in Ifrael. But I find myself oblig'd to touch a Point, on which I must be more ferious; it well deferves I fhould I mean the malicious Applicatiou of the Character of Timon, which I will boldly fay, they would impute to the Perfon the most different in the World from a Man-hater, and the Perfon whofe Tafte and Encourage Encouragement of Wit, have been often fhewn in the rightest Place. The Author of that Epiftle muft certainly think fo, if he has the fame Opinion of his own Merit as Authors generally have; for he has been favoured by this very Perfon.. Authors Why, in God's Name, muft a Portrait apparently collected from twenty different Men, be applied to one only! Has it his Eye? No, it is very unlike. Has it his Nofe or Mouth? No, they are totally differing. What then, I beseech you? Why it has the Mole on his Chin. Very well; but muft the Picture therefore be his, and has no other Man that Blemish. 241 Could there be a more melancholy Inftance how much the Tafte of the Publick is vitiated, and turns the most seasonable and falutary Phyfick into Poison, than if amidst the Blaze of a thoufand bright Qualities in a great Man, they fhould only remark there is a Shadow about him, as what Eminence is without ? 'I am confident the Author was incapable of imputing any fuch to one, whofe whole Life (to ufe his own Expreffion in Print of him) is a continued Series of good and generous Actions. I know no Man would be more concerned, if he gave the leaft Pain or Offence to any innocent Perfon; and none who would be lefs concerned, if the Satire were challenged by any one at whom he would really aim at. If ever that happens, I dare engage he will own it, with all the Freedom of one whose Cenfures are just, and who fets his Name to them. . MM But this Letter did not do, neither one that he wrote to the Duke, wherein he protefts himself innocent, and that the Infult to his Grace, was from the Malignity of thofe who had rais'd the Report, and made the Refemblance. The Town still conti nued nued unconvinced of this, and Mr. Pope's Character lay under a moft violent Lafh, by the Imputation of this Scandal; it was faid, that no one would foon be fafe, and that nothing but a publick Difowning of thefe Verfes, as meant to fignfy the Character of the Duke, could poffibly be fufficient to obviate the Sentence the Town muft pafs against him; this, in fome Measure, he complied with, having Leave from the Earl of Burlington to addrefs it to him, it is in a Letter dated March 7, 1731. My Lord, HE Clamour rais'd about my to T could not give me ifo much. Pain, as I receiv'd Pleasure in feeing the general Zeal of the World in the Cafe of a great Man, who is beneficent; and the particular Warmth of your Lordship in that of a private Man, who is innocent.. X 20 : It was not the Poem that deferv'd this from you for as I had the Honour to be your Friend, I could not treat you quite like a Poet: But fure the Writer deferv'd more Candor, even in those who knew him not, than to promote a Report, which, in regard to to that noble Perfon, was impertinent; in regard to me, villainous. Yet I had no great Cause to wonder, that a Character belonging to twenty, should be applied to one, fince, by that Means, nineteen would efcape the Ridicule. P I was too well content with my Kuowledge of that noble Perfon's Opinion in this Affair, to trouble the Publick about it. But fince Malice and Mistake are so long a dying, I have taken this Opportunity of a third Edition to declare his Belief, not only of my Innocence, but of their Malignity, of the former of which my own Heart is as confcious, as I fear fome of theirs must be of the latter. His Humanity 3. feels feels a Concern for the Injury done to me, while his Greatnefs of Mind can bear with Indifference the Infult offered to himself.* However, my Lord I own, that Criticks of this Sort can intimidate me, nay half incline me to write no more: That would be making the Town a Compliment it deferves; and which fome, I am fure, would take very kindly. This Way of Satire is dangerous, as long as Slander rais'd by Fools of the lowest Rank can find any Countenance from thofe of a higher. Even from the Conduct fhewn on this Occafion, I have learnt there are some who would rather be wicked than ridiculous; and therefore it may be fafer to attack Vices than Follies. I will therefore leave my Betters in the quiet Poffeffion of their Idols, their Groves, and their high Places; and change my Subject from their Pride to their Meanness, from their Vanities to their Miferies: And as the only certain Way to avoid Mifconftructions, to leffen Offence, and not to multiply ill-natur'd Applications, Imay probably, in my next, make use of real Names, and not of Fictitious Ones. I am, my Lord, Your Faithful, A. POPE. This at laft cool'd the falfe Rage of the Town, and was look'd upon as a full Denial of the Character sof Lord Timon belonging to the beforementioned Duke, and as it could now belong to no Body, it remains the imaginary Timon. In the winding up of this Poem, he mentions opening Harbours, making -publick Ways, and building Churches, Bridges, and other Alludes to the Letter the Duke of Chandos wrote to Mr. Pope. other useful Parts of Architecture, which would become a Prince: These are Imperial Works, and worthy Kings! For this Poem was publish'd in the Year 1732: When fome of the new built Churches, by the Act of Q Anne, were ready to fall, being founded in boggy Land, and others vilely executed, thro' fraudulent Cavils between Undertakers, Officers, &c. when Dagenham Breach had done very great Mifchiefs; when the Propofal of building a Bridge at Weftminfter had been petition'd againft, and rejected; when many of the Highways throughout Englana were hardly paffable, and moft of those that were repair'd by Turnpikes, made Jobbs for private Lucre, and infamously executed, even to the Entrances of London itself. Thefe four original Epiftles, we desire to diftinguifh from thofe wrote when our Poet was younger, as well as from those wherein he profeffes to imitate Horace, and Dr. Donne, these being purely his own Wit and Philofophy, and are fufficient, had he wrote nothing elfe, to have prov'd him a very great Poet and nice Thinker, where nothing but Morals were to be difcours'd of; of this Sort, or very like, we have one more to Dr. Arbuthnot, which contains an Apology of Mr. Pope for himself and Writings; it Į was drawn up at feveral Times, as Occafion offer'd; he had no Thought of publishing it, till it pleas'd fome Perfons of Rank and Fortune to attack, in a very extraordinary Manner, not only his Writings, but his Morals, Perfon, and Family, of which he therefore thought himfelf obliged to give fome Ac count. Dr. Arbuthnot was befides an excellent Physician, a very ingenious Gentleman, his Epitaph on Col. Chartres fhows it: It was reported that he, as well as |