Pray take them, Sir.-Enough's a feast: Ingratitude's the certain crop; And 'tis but just, I'll tell ye wherefore, You give the things you never care for. Be mighty ready to do good; But makes a difference in his thought Now this I'll say, you'll find in me, To give me back my constitution! The engaging smile, the gaiety, That laugh'd down many a summer sun, And all that voluntary vein, 25 30 35 40 45 As when Belinda raised my strain. 50 A weasel once made shift to slink In at a corn-loft through a chink; NOTES. Ver. 51. A weasel once] Horace shines particularly in these short fables which he was so fond of introducing; as he does in Repserat in cumeram frumenti; pastaque, rursus Sæpe verecundum laudâsti; Rexque, Paterque Parvum parva decent. Mihi jam non regia Roma, Sed vacuum Tibur placet, aut imbelle Tarentum. Strenuus et fortis, causisque Philippus agendis Clarus, &c. NOTES. deed in that difficult art of telling a story well, of which the story of Philippus, "Strenuus et fortis," &c. is a master-piece. We are in no one respect so very inferior to the French as in our fables; we have no La Fontaine. The fables of Gay, esteemed our best, are written in a pure and neat style, but have not much nature or humour. Horace's mice are inimitable. The long introductions to the fables of Gay's second volume of fables read like political pamphlets. Warton. Ver. 67. Craggs and Child,] Mr. Craggs gave him some SouthSea subscriptions. He was so indifferent about them as to neglect making any benefit of them. He used to say, it was a satisfaction to him that he did not grow rich, as he might have done, by the public calamity. Warburton. But having amply stuff'd his skin, 55 I'm no such beast, nor his relation ; 60 Nor one that temperance advance, Cramm'd to the throat with Ortolans : All that may make me none of mine. South-sea subscriptions take who please, 65 'Twas what I said to Craggs and Child, There died my father, no man's debtor, And there I'll die, nor worse nor better. 70 75 80 SATIRA VI. Hoc erat in votis: modus agri non ita magnus, Illum ipsum mercatus, aravit, dives amico NOTES. Ver. 22. And to be kept in my right wits;] An apprehension of the loss of intellect gave the Dean great uneasiness through life. Some hereditary expectation, or some peculiarity of feeling, I presume, occasioned a perpetual anticipation of that sad event, which at length befel him. Pope's part of the imitation begins at verse 125, but I cannot accede to Warburton's opinion, that his portion of the performance is executed with more dexterity than that of Swift, who is unexceptionably excellent, and preserves with most happy accommodation the playful urbanity of his author. There are indeed several strokes in the more humorous passages of Pope's division, after Swift's best manner; but the following seems to me the most successful: Tells all their names, lays down the law: Wakefield. SATIRE VI. THE FIRST PART IMITATED IN THE YEAR 1714, BY DR. SWIFT; THE LATTER PART ADDED AFTERWARDS. I'VE often wish'd that I had clear I ask not to increase my store; 5 Well, now I have all this and more, But here a grievance seems to lie, All this is mine but till I die; 10 I can't but think 'twould sound more clever, To me and to my heirs for ever. If I ne'er got or lost a groat, By any trick, or any fault; And not like forty other fools: As thus," Vouchsafe, oh gracious Maker! 15 Or, if it be thy will and pleasure, 20 But only what my station fits, And to be kept in my right wits; |