IV. A PARALLEL OF THE CHARACTERS O F Mr. DRYDEN and Mr. POPE, As drawn by certain of their Contemporaries. His POLITICS, RELIGION, MORALS. MR. Dryden is a mere renegado from monarchy, poetry and good fenfe *. A true republican fon of monarchical Church †. A republican Atheist ‡. Dryden was from the beginning an αλλοπροσαλλος, and I doubt not will continue fo to the laft |. In the Poem called Abfalom and Achitophel are nororioufly traduced, The KING, the QUEEN, the LORDS and GENTLEMEN, not only their honourable * Milbourn on Dryden's Virgil, 8vo, 1698. p. 6. + Page 38. Page 8. Page 192. IV. A PARELLE L OF THE CHARACTERS O F Mr. POPE and Mr. DRYDEN, As drawn by certain of their Contemporaries. His POLITICS, RELIGION, MOrals. MR. Pope is an open and mortal enemy to his country and the commonwealth of learning Some call him a popish whig, which is directly inconfiftent + Pope, as a Papist, must be a tory and a high flyer. He is both whig and tory ||. He hath made it his cuftom to cackle to more than one party in their own fentiments § In his Miscellanies, the Perfons abufed are, The * Dennis Rem. on the Rape of the Lock, pref p. xii + Dunciad diffected. Pref. to Gulliveriana. Dennis, Character of Mr. P. $ Theobald, Letter in Mift's Journal, June 22,, 1728,, perfons expos'd, but the whole NATION and its REPRESENTATIVES notoriously libell'd. It is fcandalum magnatum, yea of MAJESTY itself *. He looks upon God's Gospel as a foolish fable, like the Pope, to whom he is a pitiful purveyort. His very Christianity may be questioned . He ought to expect more severity than other men, as he is most unmerciful in his own reflections on others . With as good a right as his Holiness, he fets up for poetical infallibility. § Mr. DRYDEN only a Verfifier. His whole Libel is all bad matter, beautified (which is all that can be faid of it) with good metre, Mr. Dryden's genius did not appear in any thing more than his Verfification, and whether he is to be ennobled for that only, is a question *. Mr. DRYDEN'S VIRGIL. Tonfon calls it Dryden's Virgil, to fhew that this is not that Virgil fo admir'd in the Augustan age; but a Virgil of another ftamp, a filly, impertinent, nonfenfical writer. None but a Bavius, a Maevius, or a Bathyllus carp'd at Virgilf; and none but such un *Whip and Key, 4to, printed for R. Janeway, 1682. Pref. 1 + Ibid. Page 39. Milbourn, p. 9. Ibid. p. 175. mixon, Effay on Crit. p. 84, † Milbourn, p. 2. KING, the QUEEN, His late MAJESTY, both Houses of PARLIAMENT, the Privy council, the Bench of BISHOPS, the established CHURCH, the prefent MINI STRY, &c. To make Sense of fome paffages, they must be construed into ROYAL SCANDAL *. pen, He is a Popish Rhymster, bred up with a contempt of the Sacred Writings +. His religion allows him to destroy Heretics, not only with his but with fire and fword; and fuch were all those unhappy wits whom he facrificed to his accurfed Popish Principles t It deferved Vengeance to fuggeft, that Mr. Pope had lefs Infallibility than his Namefake at Rome | Mr POPE only a Verfifier. The fmooth numbers of the Dunciad are all that recommend it, nor has it any other merit §, It must be owned that he hath got a notable knack of rhyming and writing fmooth verfeq. Mr. POPE'S HOMER. The Homer which Lintot prints, does not talk like Homer, but like Pope; and he who tranflated him one would fwear, had a hill in Tipperary for his Parnaffus, and a puddle in fome Bog for his Hippo * Lift, at the End of the Collection of Verses, Letters, Advertisements, 8vo. Printed for A. Moore, 1728, and the Preface of it, p. 6. + Dennis's Remarks Preface to Gulliveriana, p. 11. Dedication to the Collection of Verses, Letters, &c. § Mift's Journal of June 8, 1728. racter of Mr. P. and Dennis on Homer. on Homer. p. 27 p. 9. Cha It is true, thinking Vermin admire his Translator·*. foft and easy lines might become Ovid's Epiftles or Art of Love-But Virgil, who is all great and majeftic, &c. requires strength of lines, weight of words, and closeness of expressions; not an ambling Muse running on Carpet ground, and shod as lightly as a Newmarket racer. He has numberless faults in his Author's meaning, and in propriety of expreffion +. Mr. DRYDEN understood no Greek nor Latin. Mr. Dryden was once, I have heard, at Westminfter school: Dr. Busby would have whipt him for fo childish a Paraphrafe ‡. The meanest Pedant in England would whip a Lubber of twelve for conftruing so abfurdly . The tranflator is mad, every line betrays his Stupidity. §. The faults are innumerable, and convince me that Mr. Dryden did not, or would not understand his Anthor. This fhews how fit Mr. D. may be to tranflate Homer! A mistake in a single letter might fall on the Printer well enough, but exp for xp must be the error of the Author: Nor had he art enough to correct it at the Prefs 4. Mr. Dryden writes for the Court Ladies-He writes for the Ladies and not for ufe *. The tranflator puts in a little Burlefque now and then into Virgil for a ragout to his cheated fubfcribers,t |