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SECTION VIII. 1743-44.

HE idea that I have had for an Epic poem, of late, turns wholly on civil and ecclesiastical government. The hero is a prince who establishes an empire. That prince is our Brutus from Troy; and the scene of the establishment, England. The plan of government, is much like our old original plan; supposed so much earlier: and the religion, introduced by him, is the belief of one God, and the doctrines of morality.-Brutus is supposed to have travelled into Egypt; and there to have learned the unity of the deity, and the other purer doctrines, afterwards kept up in the mysteries.—Though there is none of it writ as yet, what I look upon as more than half the work is already done; for 'tis all exactly planned." It would take you up ten years?" -Oh much less, I should think, as the matter is already quite digested and prepared.*-Pope.

The plan of this Epic, fully detailed, may be found in Ruffhead's Life of Pope, p. 410. It is perhaps well for Pope's reputation that he did not find leisure to carry this project into execution. Dr.

What was first designed for an Epistle on Education, as part of my essay-scheme, is now inserted in the fourth book of the Dunciad; as the subject for two other epistles (those on civil and ecclesiastical polity) will be treated more at large in my Brutus.-P.

I never save anything: unless I meet with such a pressing case, as is absolute demand upon me. Then I retrench fifty pounds or so from my own expenses. As, for instance, had such a thing happened this year, I would not have built my two summer-houses.-P.

I would be buried in Twickenham Church, if I should fail anywhere near it in the place where my father and mother lie. And would have no other epitaph, but the words SIBIQVE OBIIT, and the time, added to theirs.*-P.

In the list of papers, ordered to be burnt, were the pieces for carrying on the Memoirs of Scriblerus; and several copies of verses by Dean Parnell. I interceded in vain for both. As to the latter, he said that "they would not add anything to the Dean's character.”—P.

The rule laid down in the beginning of the Essay on

Warton has well observed, that so didactic a genius would probably have been deficient in the sublime and pathetic, which are the main nerves of the Epopea. That his poem would have more resembled the Henriade than the Iliad, and have shown more of the philosopher than the poet.-Editor.

* His remains were deposited in the same vault with those of his parents, to whose memory he had erected a monument with the following inscription. D. O. M. ALEXANDER POPE, VIRO INNOCUO, PROBRO, PIO, QUI VIXIT ANNOS LXXV. OB. MDCCXVII. ET EDITHÆ CONJUGI INCULPABILI, QVI VIXIT ANNOS XCIII. OB. MDCCXXXIII. PARENTIBUS BENE MERENTIBUS FILIUS FECIT ET SIBI. OBIIT AN. 1744, ÆTATIS 56. The last line was added after his death.-Editor.

Man, of reasoning only from what we know, is certainly a right one; and will go a great way toward destroying all the school metaphysics: and as the church writers have introduced so much of those metaphysics into their systems, it will destroy a great deal of what is advanced by them too.-P.

At present, we can only reason of the divine justice, from what we know of justice in man. When we are in other scenes, we may have truer and nobler ideas of it: but while we are in this life, we can only speak from the volume that is laid open before us.-P.

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The theological writers, from Clarke down to Jacob Behmen, have all (almost equally) Platonised and corrupted the truth. That is to be learned from the Bible, as it appears nakedly there; without the wresting of commentators, or the additions of schoolmen.-P.

There is hardly any laying down particular rules for writing our language: even Dean Swift's, which seemed to be the best I ever heard, were, three in four of them, not thoroughly well grounded.*-In most doubts, whether a word is English or not, or whether such a particular use of it is proper, one has nothing but authority for it. Is it in Sir William Temple, or Locke, or Tillotson?-If it be, you may conclude that it is right, or at least won't be looked upon as wrong.—P.

* One of the greatest difficulties in our language, lies in the use of the relatives; and the making it always evident to what autecedents they refer.-Dr. Swift to Mr. Hooke.—The following is an instance of what Swift used to call the Parson's style. “That were not of the growth, or at least, made free of Rome."-It should be-" That were not of the growth of Rome, or at least, made free of it.”—Hooke. Addition from MS. B.

"The great secret how to write well, is to know thoroughly what one writes about, and not to be affected." -[Or, as he expressed the same thing afterwards in other words,] "to write naturally, and from one's own knowledge."-P.

There was a Lord Russell who, by living too luxuriously, had quite spoiled his constitution. He did not love sport, but used to go out with his dogs every day, only to hunt for an appetite. If he felt anything of that, he would cry out, 'Oh, I have found it!' turn short round and ride home again, though they were in the midst of the finest chace.— It was this Lord, who, when he met a beggar, and was entreated by him to give him something because he was almost famished with hunger, called him “ a happy dog!" and envied him too much to relieve him.—P.

On Lord Hyde's return from his travels, his brotherin-law, the Lord Essex, told him, with a great deal of pleasure, that he had got a pension for him. It was a very handsome one, and quite equal to his rank.-All Lord Hyde's answer was: "How could you tell, my lord, that I was to be sold? or at least, how could you know my price so exactly?”—P. [It was on this account that Mr. Pope compliments him with that passage

"disdain, what Cornbury disdains."-Spence.]

Mr. Pope altered some verses in the Duke of Buckingham's Essay on Poetry; as he likewise did many in Wycherley's poems.-P.

Lydia, in Lady Mary Wortley Montague's Poems, is almost wholly Gay's; and is published as such in his works. There are only five or six lines new set in it by that lady.

It was that which gave the hint; and she wrote the other five eclogues.—P.

L'Estrange's excellent fable-style, is abominable in his translation of Josephus: and it is the same in his imitator, Collier, as to his lighter pieces, and his translation of Marcus Antoninus.-P.

I should not choose to employ some that could do it, to translate some of my poems into Latin; because, if they did it as they ought, it would make them good for nothing else.-P.

-Yes, I really think Betterton the best actor I ever saw: but I ought to tell you at the same time, that in Betterton's days the older sort of people talked of Harte's being his superior, just as we do of Betterton's being superior to those now.-P.

“I shall be very glad to see Dr. Hales; and always love to see him, he is so worthy and good a man.”—Yes, he is a very good man; only I'm sorry he has his hands so much imbrued in blood.—“ What, he cuts up rats ?”— Ay, and dogs too!-[With what emphasis and concern he spoke it.]—“ Indeed, he commits most of these barbarities, with the thought of being of use to man: but how do we know, that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above as dogs, for our curiosity, or even for some use to us ?"-P.

"I used to carry it too far; I thought they had reason as well as we.”—-So they have to be sure.-All our disputes about that, are only disputes about words.-Man has reason enough only to know what is necessary for him to know; and dogs have just that too." But then they must

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