forced to marry, and confequently loathed her: the crone being in bed with him on the wedding-night, and finding his averfion, endeavours to win his affection by reason, and speaks a good word for herfelf, (as who could blame her?) in hope to mollify the fullen bridegroom. She takes her topics from the benefits of poverty, the advantages of old age and ugliness, the vanity of youth, and the filly pride of ancestry and titles without inherent virtue, which is the true nobility. When I had closed Chaucer, I returned to Ovid, and tranflated fome more of his fables; and by this time had fo far forgotten the Wife of Bath's tale, that, when I took up Boccace, unawares I fell on the fame argument of preferring virtue to nobility of blood, and titles, in the ftory of Sigifmunda; which I had certainly avoided for the refemblance of the two difcourses, if my memory had not failed me.. Let the reader weigh them both; and if he thinks me partial to Chaucer, it is in him to right Boccace..

I prefer in our countryman, far above all his other ftories, the noble poem of Palamon and Arcite, which is of the Epic kind, and perhaps not much inferior to the Ilias or the Æneis: the ftory is more pleasing than either of them, the manners as perfect, the diction as poetical, the learning as deep and various; and the difpofition full as artful; only it includes a greater length of time, as taking up feven years at leaft; but Ariftotle has left undecided the duration of the action; which yet is easily reduced into the compafs of a year, by a narration of what preceded the re

turn

turn of Palamon to Athens. I had thought for the honour of our nation, and more particularly for his, whofe laurel, though unworthy, I have worn after him, that this story was of English growth, and Chaucer's own: but I was undeceived by Boccace; for cafually looking on the end of his feventh Giornata, I found Dioneo (under which name he shadows himself) and Fiametta (who reprefents his mistress the natural daughter of Robert king of Naples) of whom these words are fpoken, "Dioneo e la Fiametta granpezza conta

rono infieme d'Arcita, e di Palamone:" by which it appears that this story was written before the time of Boccace; but the name of its author being wholly loft, Chaucer is now become an original; and I queftion not but the poem has received many beauties by paffing through his noble hands. Befides this tale, there is another of his own invention, after the manner of the Provençals, called The Flower and the Leaf; with which I was fo particularly pleased, both for the invention and the moral, that I cannot hinder myself from recommending it to the reader.

As a corollary to this preface, in which I have done juftice to others, I owe fomewhat to myfelf: not that I think it worth my time to enter the lifts with one Milbourn, and one Blackmore, but barely to take notice, that fuch men there are who have written fcurrilously against me, without any provocation. Milbourn, who is in Orders, pretends amongst the reft this quarrel to me, that I have fallen foul on priesthood: if I have, I am only to ask pardon of good priests, and am afraid his

part

part of the reparation will come to little. Let him be fatisfied that he fhall not be able to force himself upon me for an adversary. I contemn him too much to enter into competition with him. His own tranflations of Virgil have answered his criticisms on mine. If (as they fay, he has declared in print) he prefers the verfion of Ogilby to mine, the world has made him the fame compliment: for it is agreed on all hands, that he writes even below Ogilby: that, you will fay, is not eafily to be done; but what cannot Milbourn bring about? I am fatisfied however, that while he and I live together, I fhall not be thought the worst poet of the age. It looks as if I had defired him underhand to write fo ill againft me: but upon my honeft word I have not bribed him to do me this fervice, and am wholly guiltless of his pamphlet. It is true, I fhould be glad, if I could perfuade him to continue his good offices, and write fuch another critique on any thing of mine: for I find by experience he has a great stroke with the reader, when he condemns any of my poems, to make the world have a better opinion of them. He has taken fome pains with my poetry; but nobody will be perfuaded to take the fame with his.. If I had taken to the church (as he affirms, but which was never in my thoughts) I should have had more sense, if not more grace, than to have turned myself out of nefice by writing libels on my parishioners. But his account of my manners and my principles are of a piece with his cavils and his poetry: and fo I have done with him for ever.

my

be

As

As for the City Bard, or Knight Phyfician, I hear his quarrel to me is, that I was the author of Abfalom and Achitophel, which he thinks is a little hard on his fanatic patrons in London.

But I will deal the more civilly with his two poems, because nothing ill is to be fpoken of the dead: and therefore peace be to the Manes of his Arthurs. I will only fay, that it was not for this noble knight that I drew the plan of an Epic poem on king Arthur, in my preface to the tranflation of Juvenal. The guardian angels of kingdoms were machines too ponderous for him to manage; and therefore he rejected them, as Dares did the whirlbats of Eryx, when they were thrown before him by Entellus. Yet from that preface he plainly took his hint: for he began immediately upon the story; though he had the bafenefs not to acknowledge his benefactor; but instead of it, to traduce me in a libel.

I fhall fay the lefs of Mr. Collier, because in many things he has taxed me juftly; and I have pleaded guilty to all thoughts and expreffions of mine, which can be truly argued of obfcenity, profanenefs, or immorality; and retract them. If he be my enemy, let him triumph; if he be my friend, as I have given him no perfonal occafion to be otherwife, he will be glad of my repentance. It becomes me not to draw my pen in the defence of a bad caufe, when I have so often drawn it for a good one. Yet it were not difficult to prove, that in many places he has perverted my meaning by his gloffes; and interpreted my words into blafphemy and

baudry,

baudry, of which they were not guilty; befides that he is too much given to horfe-play in his raillery; and comes to battle like a dictator from the plough. I will not fay, The zeal of God's house has eaten him up; but I am fure it has devoured fome part of his goodmanners and civility. It might also be doubted whe ther it were altogether zeal, which prompted him to this rough manner of proceeding; perhaps it became not one of his function to rake into the rubbish of ancient and modern plays; a divine might have employed his pains to better purpose, than in the naftiness of Plautus and Ariftophanes; whofe examples, as they excufe not me, so it might be poffibly supposed, that he read them not without fome pleasure. They who have written commentaries on thofe poets, or on Horace, Juvenal, and Martial, have explained fome vices, which without their interpretation had been unknown to modern times. Neither has he judged impartially betwixt the former age and us..

call

There is more baudry in one Play of Fletcher's, ed The Cuftom of the Country, than in all ours together. Yet this has been often acted on the stage in my remembrance. Are the times fo much more reformed now, than they were five and twenty years ago? If they are, I congratulate the amendment of our morals. But I am not to prejudice the cause of my fellow-poets, though I abandon my own defence: they have some of them anfwered for themselves, and neither they nor I can think Mr. Collier fo formidable an enemy, that we fhould fhun him. He has loft ground at the latter end

of