Homer, even not in the fecond book (a graceful flattery to his countrymen); but he haftens from the fhips, and concludes not that book till he has made you an amends by the violent playing of a new machine. From thence he hurries on his action with variety of events, and ends it in lefs compafs than two months. This vehemence of his, I confefs, is more fuitable to my temper; and therefore I have tranflated his firft book with greater pleasure than any part of Virgil but it was not a pleasure without pains: the continual agitations of the fpirits muft needs be a weakening of any conftitution, especially in age; and many paufes are required for refreshment betwixt the heats; the Iliad of itself being a third part longer than all Virgil's works together. This is what I thought needful in this place to fay of Homer. I proceed to Ovid and Chaucer; confidering the former only in relation to the latter. With Ovid ended the golden age of the Roman tongue : from Chaucer the purity of the English tongue began. The manners of the poets were not unlike: both of them were well-bred, well-natured, amorous, and libertine, at leaft in their writings, it may be also in their lives. Their ftudies were the fame, philofophy and philology. Both of them were known in aftronomy, of which Ovid's books of the Roman feafts, and Chaucer's treatife of the Aftrolabe, are fufficient witneffes. But Chaucer was likewife an aftrologer, as were Virgil, Horace, Perfius, and Manilius. Both writ with wonderful facility and clearness: neither were great inven tors & : and tors: for Ovid only copied the Grecian fables; moft of Chaucer's ftories were taken from his Italian contemporaries, or their predeceffors. Boccace's Decameron was first published; and from thence our Englifhman has borrowed many of his Canterbury tales: yet that of Palamon and Arcite was written in all probability by fome Italian wit, in a former age; as I fhall prove hereafter the tale of Grizild was the invention of Petrarch; by him fent to Boccace; from whom it came to Chaucer: Troilus and Creffida was also written by a Lombard author; but much amplified by our English translator, as well as beautified; the genius of our countrymen in general being rather to improve an invention, than to invent themfelves; as is evident not only in our poetry, but in many of our manufactures. I find I have anticipated already, and taken up from Boccace before I come to him: but there is fo much less behind; and I am of the temper of moft kings, who love to be in debt; are all for present money, no matter how they pay it afterwards: befides, the nature of a preface is rambling; never wholly out of the way, nor in it. This I have learned from the practice of honeft Montaigne, and return at my pleasure to Ovid and Chaucer, of whom I have little more to fay. Both of them built on the inventions of other men; yet fince Chaucer had something of his own, as The Wife of Bath's Tale, The Cock and the Fox, which I have tranflated, and fome others, I may juftly give our countryman the precedence in that part; fince I can remember nothing of Ovid which was wholly his. : Both of them understood the manners, under which name I comprehend the paffions, and, in a larger sense, the defcriptions of perfons, and their very habits: for an example, I fee Baucis and Philemon as perfectly before me, as if fome ancient painter had drawn them; and all the pilgrims in the Canterbury tales, their humours, their features, and the very dress, as diftinctly as if I had fupped with them at the Tabard in Southwark yet even there too the figures in Chaucer are much more lively, and fet in a better light: which though I have not time to prove; yet I appeal to the reader, and am fure he will clear me from partiality. The thoughts and words remain to be confidered in the comparison of the two poets; and I have faved myself one half of that labour, by owning that Ovid lived when the Roman tongue was in its meridian; Chaucer, in the dawning of our language: therefore that part of the comparison ftands not on an equal foot, any more than the diction of Ennius and Ovid; or of Chaucer and our prefent English. The words are given up as a poft not to be defended in our poet, because he wanted the modern art of fortifying. The thoughts remain to be confidered: and they are to be measured only by their propriety; that is, as they flow more or lefs naturally from the perfons defcribed, on fuch and fuch occafions. The vulgar judges, which are nine parts in ten of all nations, who call conceits and jingles wit, 'who fee Ovid full of them, and Chaucer altogether without them, will think me little lefs than mad, for preferring the Englishman to the Roman: yet, with their leave, I must presume to say, that the things they admire, are not only glittering trifles, and so far from being witty, that in a ferious poem they are nauseous, because they are unnatural. Would any man, who is ready to die for love, defcribe his paffion like Narciffus ? Would he think of "inopem me copia fecit," and a dozen more of such expreffions, poured on the neck of one another, and fignifying all the fame thing? If this were wit, was this a time to be witty, when the poor wretch was in the agony of death! This is juft John Littlewit in Bartholemew Fair, who had a conceit (as he tells you) left him in his mifery; a miferable conceit. On these occasions the poet fhould endeavour to raise pity: but, instead of this, Ovid is tickling you to laugh. Virgil never made use of such machines, when he was moving you to commiferate the death of Dido: he would not deftroy what he was building. Chaucer makes Arcite violent in his love, and unjuft in the purfuit of it: yet when he came to die, he made him think more reasonably: he repents not of his love, for that had altered his character; but acknowledges the injustice of his proceedings, and refigns Emilia to PalaWhat would Ovid have done on this occasion? He would certainly have made Arcite witty on his death-bed. He had complained he was farther off from poffeffion, by being fo near, and a thousand fuch boyisms, which Chaucer rejected as below the dignity of the fubject. They, who think otherwife, would by the fame reafon prefer Lucan and Ovid to Homer and Virgil, and Martial to all four of them. As for the mon. turn turn of words, in which Ovid particularly excels all poets; they are fometimes a fault, and fometimes a beauty, as they are ufed properly or improperly; but in ftrong paffions always to be fhunned, because paffions are ferious, and will admit no playing. The French have a high value for them; and I confefs, they are often what they call delicate, when they are introduced with judgment; but Chaucer writ with more fimplicity, and followed nature more clofely, than to use them. I have thus far, to the best of my knowledge, been an upright judge betwixt the parties in competition, not meddling with the design nor the difpofition of it; because the defign was not their own; and in the difpofing of it they were equal. It remains that I fay fomewhat of Chaucer in particular. In the first place, as he is the father of English poetry, fo I hold him in the fame degree of veneration as the Grecians held Homer, or the Romans Virgil: he is a perpetual fountain of good sense; learned in all sciences; and therefore speaks properly on all fubjects: as he knew what to fay, fo he knows alfo when to leave off; a continence which is practised by few writers, and fcarcely by any of the ancients, excepting Virgil and Horace. One of our late great poets is funk in his reputation, because he could never forgive any conceit which came in his way; but fwept like a drag-net, great and small. There was plenty enough, but the dishes were ill-forted; whole pyramids of fweet-meats, for boys and women; but little of solid meat, for men : all this proceeded not from any want of knowledge, but |