Vane Ligur, fruftraque animis elate fuperbis! To be ferious, I hate to fee a book gravely written, and in all the forms of argumentation, which proves nothing, and which fays nothing; and endeavours only to put us into a way of diftrufting our own faculties, and doubting whether the marks of truth and falfhood can in any cafe be diftinguished from each other. Could that bleffed point be made out (as it is a contradiction in terms to say it can) we fhould then be in the most uncomfortable and wretched ftate in the world; and I would in that cafe be glad to exchange my Reason, with a dog for his Inftinct, to-morrow. I LETTER VIII. L. Chancellor HARCOURT to Mr. POPE. Decemb. 6, 1722. Cannot but fufpect myself of being very unreasonable in begging you once more to review the inclos'd. Your friendship draws this trouble on you. I may freely own to you, that my tenderness makes me exceeding hard to be fatisfied with any thing which can be faid on fuch an unhappy fubject. I caus'd the Latin Epitaph to be as often alter'd before I could approve of it. When once your Epitaph is set up, there can be no alteration of it; it will remain a perpetual monument of your friendship, and, I affure myfelf, you will fo fettle it, that it fhall be worthy of you. I doubt whether the word, deny'd, in the third line, will justly admit of that conftruction, which it ought to bear (viz.) renounced, deserted, &c. deny'd is capable, in my opinion, of having an ill fenfe put upon it, as too great uneafinefs, or more goodnature, than a wife man ought to have. I very well remember you told me, you could fearce mend those two lines, and therefore I can scarce expect your forgiveness for my defiring you to reconfider them. Harcourt ftands dumb, and Pope is forc'd to fpeak. I can't perfectly, at leaft without further difcourfing you, reconcile myself to the first part of that line; and the word forc'd (which was my own, and, I persuade inyself, for that reafon only fubmitted to by you) feems to carry too doubtful a conftruction for an Epitaph, which, as I apprehend, ought as easily to be understood as read. I shall acknowledge it as a very particular favour, if at your best leifure you will perufe the inclofed, and vary it, if you think it capable of being amended, and let me fee you any morning next week. I am, &c. LETTER 3 LETTER IX. The Bishop of ROCHESTER to Mr. POPE. Sept. 27, 1721. Am now confined to my bed-chamber, and to the matted room, wherein I am writing, feldom venturing to be carried down even into the parlour to dinner, unless when company to whom I cannot excufe myfelf, comes, which I am not ill-pleas'd to find is now very feldom. This is my cafe in the funny part of the year: what muft I expect, when inverfum contriftat Aquarius annum? "If these things be done in the green tree, what shall "be done in the dry?" Excufe me for employing a fentence of Scripture on this occafion; I apply it very ferioufly. One thing relieves me a little, under the ill profpect I have of fpending my time at the Deanry this winter, that I fhall have the opportunity of feeing you oftener; tho', I am afraid, you will have little pleafure in seeing me there. So much for my ill ftate of health, which I had not touch'd on, had not your friendly letter been fo full of it. One civil thing that you fay in it, made me think you had been reading Mr. Waller; and poffefs'd of that image at the end of his copy, à la malade, had you not beftow'd it on one who has no right to the leaft part of the character. If you have not read the verfes lately, I am sure you remember then because you forget nothing. With fuch a grace you entertain, And look with fuch contempt on pain, &c. I mention them not on the account of that couplet, but one that follows; which ends with the very fame rhymes and words (appear and clear) that the couplet but one after that does and therefore in my Waller there is a various reading of the firft of these couplets; for there it runs thus s; So lightnings in a stormy air Scorch more, than when the sky is fair, You will fay that I am not very much in pain, nor very bufy when I can relish these amusements; and you will fay true: for at prefent I am in both thefe refpects very easy. I had not ftrength enough to attend Mr. Prior to his grave, elfe I would have done it, to have fhew'd his friends that I had forgot and forgiven what he wrote on me. He is buried, as he defired, at the feet of Spencer and I will take care to make good, in every respect, what I faid I faid to him when living; particularly as to the Triplet he wrote for his own Epitaph; which, while we were in good terms, I promis'd him fhould never appear on his tomb while I was Dean of Westminster. I am pleased to find you have fo much pleasure, and (which is the foundation of it) fo much health at Lord Bathurst's may both continue till I fee you! may my Lord have as much fatisfaction in building the house in the wood, and ufing it when built, as you have in defigning it! I cannot fend a wifh after him that means him more happiness, and yet, I am fure, I wifh him as much as he willies himself. I am, I am, &c. LETTER X. From the fame. Bromley, Oct. 15, 1721. Otwithstanding I write this on Sunday even, to acknowledge the receipt of yours this morning, yet I forefee it will not reach you till Wednesday morning. And before fet of fun that day I hope to reach my winterquarters at the Deanry. I hope, did I fay? I recall that word, for it implies defire; and, God knows, that is far from being the cafe: for I never part with this place but with regret, tho' I generally keep here what Mr. Cowley calls the worst of company in the world, my own; and fee either none befide, or what is worse than none, fome of the Arii, or Sebafi of my neighbourhood: Characters, which Tully paints fo well in one of his Epiftles, and complains of the too civil, but impertinent interruption they gave him in his retirement. Since I have named those gentlemen, and the book is not far from me, I will turn to the place, and by pointing it out to you, give you the pleasure of perufing the epiftle, which is a very agreeable one, if my memory does not fail me. I am furpriz'd to find that my Lord Bathurft and you ́ are parted fo foon; he has been fick, I know, of fome late tranfactions; but should that fickness continue ftill in fome measure, I prophefy, it will be quite off by the beginning of November: a letter or two from his London friends, and a surfeit of folitude, will foon make him change his refolution and his quarters. I vow to you, I could live here with pleasure all the winter, and be contented with hearing no more news than the London Journal, or fome fuch trifling paper, affords me, did not the duty of my place require, abfolutely require my attendance at Weft-. infter, where I hope the Prophet will now and then re member member he has a bed and a candlestick. In fhort, I long to Tee you, and hope you will come if not a day, yet at least an hour fooner to town than you intended, in order to afford me that fatisfaction. I am now, I thank God! as well as ever I was in my life, except that I can walk scarce at all without crutches! And I would willingly compound the matter with the gout to be no better, could I hope to be no worse; but that is a vain thought, I expect a new attack long before Chriftmas. Let me fee you therefore while I am in a condition to relifh you, before the days (and the nights) come, when I fhall (and muft) say have no pleasure in them. I will bring your fmall volume of paftorals along with me, that you may not be difcouraged from lending me books, when you find me fo punctual in returning them. Shakespeare fhall bear it company, and be put into your hands as clear and as fair as it came out of them, tho' you, I think, have been dabbling here and there with the text? I have had more reverence for the writer and the printer, and left every thing ftanding juft as I found it. However, I thank you for the pleafure you have given me in putting me upon reading him once more before I die. I believe I fhall fcarce repeat that pleasure any more, having other work to do, and other things to think of, but none that will interfere with the offices of friendship, in the exchange of which with you, Sir, I hope to live and die Your, &c. P. S. Addifon's works came to my hands yefterday. I cannot but think it a very odd fet of incidents, that the book should be dedicated by a * dead man to + a dead man; and even that the new patron to whom Tickell chofe to infcribe his verfes, fhould be dead alfo before they were published. Had I been in the Editor's place I fhould have been a little apprehenfive for myself, under a thought that every one who had any hand in that work was to die before the publication of it. You fee, when I am converfing with you, I know not how to give over, till the very bot toin of the paper admonishes me once more to bid you adieu! IT LETTER XI. Feb. 8, 1721-2. MY LORD, T is fo long fince I have had the pleasure of an hour with your Lordhip, that I should begin to think my felf no long. ex Amicus omnium herarum, but for finding myself fo in my Mr. Addison. VOL. IV. ↑ Mr. Craggs. Lord Warwick. con. conftant thoughts of you. In those I was with you many hours this very day, and had you (where I wifh and hope one day to fee you really) in my garden at Twitnam. When I went laft to town, and was on wing to the Deanry, I heard your Lordship was gone the day before to Bromley, and there, you continued till after my return hither. I fincerely wish you whatever you with yourfelf, and all you with your friends or family. All I mean by this word or two, is juft to tell you fo, till in perfon I find you as I defire, that is, find you well: eafy, refign'd, and happy you will make yourself, and (I believe) every body that converfes with you; if I may judge of your power over other men's minds and affections, by that which you will ever have over those of Your, &c. LETTER XIL From the Bishop of ROCHESTER. Feb. 26, 1721-2. ERMIT me, dear Sir, to break into your retirement, and to defire of you a complete copy of those verses on Mr. Addifon*; fend me alfo your laft refolution, which hall punctually be obferved in relation to my giving out any copy of it; for I am again folicited by another Lord, to whom I have given the fame aniwer as formerly. No fmall piece of your writing has been ever fought after fo much it has pleas'd every man without exception, to whom it has been read. Since you now therefore know where your real ftrength lies, I hope you will not fuffer that talent to lye unemploy'd. For my part, I fhould be fo glad to fee you finif fomething of that kind, that I could be content to be alittle fneer'd at in a line or fo, for the fake of the pleasure I fhould have in reading the reft. I have talk'd my fenfe of this matter to you once or twice, and now I put it under my hand, that you may fee it is my deliberate opinion. What weight that may have with you I cannot fay: but it pleases me to have an opportunity of fhewing you how well I wish you, and how true a friend I am to your fame, which I defire may grow every day, and in every kind of writing, to which you fhall please to turn your pen. Not but that I have fome little intereft in the propofal, as I fhall be known to have been acquainted with a man that was capable of excelling in fuch different An imperfect Copy was got out, very much to the Author's furprize, who never would give any. manners, |