[281] Hor. Carm. Lib. I. Od. 12.
[282] Son of _Sirach_, _Ecclus_ xliv, 5.
[283] _Deut._ xv.
[284] Lib. III. Od. 1.
[285] Lib. I. Od. 3.
[286] Lib. II. Od. 13.
[287] Lib. III. Od. 29.
[288] Lib. IV. Od. 2.
[289] Mr. _Edmund Smith_, of _Christ-Church, Oxon_.
[290] Mus. Angl. Vol. II.
[291] Hor. Lib I. Od. 32.
[292] Lib. I. Od. 31.
[293] Lib. I. Od. 1.
[294] _Henry Purcell._
[295] Dr. _Croft._
[296] Art. Poet. ℣ 83.
[297] Lib. I. Od. 6.
[298] Lib. III. Od. 3.
[299] Lib. II. Od. 1.
[300] Lib. III. Od. 4.
[301] Lib. IV. Od. 4.
[302] Lib. II. Od. 3.
[303] Ibid.
[304] Od. 14.
[305] Od. 2.
[306] Lib. II. Od. 16.
[307] Casimir. Lib. I. Od. 1.
[308] Ibid.
[309] Od. 5.
[310] Hor. Carmen Seculare.
LECTURE XVII, XVIII.
_Of_ SATIRE.
It is Merit enough for a Writer on a Subject that has been often
canvass'd, if he can reduce into a short Compass whatever hath been said
before, and add something material of his own. Whether I have done this
in the present Case, must be submitted to the Judgment of the Audience;
I am sure I shall make it my Endeavour, not only to represent my own
Sentiments in an advantageous Light, but those of others; for I have a
large Field of Writers before me, on this Subject; not only _Horace_,
_Quintilian_, and the rest of the Ancients, but the learned _Casaubon_,
_Scaliger_, _Vossius_, _Dacier_, and some others.
A Difficulty occurs upon our first Entrance; for a Doubt has been made
about the Name of _Satire_, and the Orthography of it: The Reason of
which Doubt will appear, from the uncertain History we have of this Kind
of Poem. It cannot be denied, but that the _Grecian_ Satire differ'd
from the _Roman_; but yet the Difference seems not so great, as some
are apt to imagine: The former was of the dramatic Kind, a Sort of
Interlude annex'd to Tragedy, to remove from the Audience too melancholy
Impressions. It is _Horace_'s Observation,
_Carmine qui Tragico vilem certavit ob hircum,
Mox etiam agrestes Satiros nudavit, & asper
Incolumi gravitate jocum tentavit; eo quod
Illecebris erat, & grata novitate, morandus
Spectator._
The first Tragedians found that serious Style
Too grave for their uncultivated Age,
And so brought wild and naked Satires in,
(Whose Motion, Words, and Shape, were all a Farce)
As oft as Decency wou'd give them Leave;
Because the mad ungovernable Rout,
Full of Confusion, and the Fumes of Wine,
Lov'd such Variety, and Antic Tricks.
_Roscom._
The _Scene_ was laid in the Country, the _Persons_ Satyrs, and rural
Deities. Sometimes Peasants and Rustics were mix'd with them. The
Subject was jocose, and full of Sneer and Banter; the Style a Medium
between Comedy and Tragedy. This, as I said, was the satirical Poetry of
the _Grecians_; but Satire, as we now have it, is entirely _Roman_, if
we may believe _Quintilian_, who says[312], _Satira quidem tota nostra
est_; or _Horace_[313], who styles _Ennius_ the _Inventor of a Poem
unknown to the_ Grecians, meaning _Satire_, according to the Opinion
of most of his Interpreters. _Scaliger_, however, expresly denies it
to be of _Roman_ Original; and there is Reason, indeed, as we shall
see hereafter, to understand those Expressions of _Quintilian_ and
_Horace_ with some Abatement. Those that will not allow it to be deriv'd
from the _Grecians_, but entirely _Roman_, maintain, that _Satira_
should be writ with an _i_, not a _y_; and that it is not deriv'd from
_Satyrus_, but _Satur_; _Satira_, therefore, is the same as _Satura_,
as _Maximus_ anciently _Maxumus_. Now _Satur_ signifies _full_ of a
Mixture of Things, as _Lanx Satura_, a Dish full of Varieties; and, as
_Dacier_ observes[314], "those Laws were call'd _Leges Saturæ_[315],
which contain'd several Heads and Titles under them; as the
_Julian-Papian-Poppæan_ Law, which was otherwise call'd the _Miscella_,
which is but another Word for _Satura_. Hence that Expression, _per
Saturam legem ferre_, when the Votes of the Senators were not taken in
Order, or counted, but were given together promiscuously. And this is
properly _per Saturam sententias exquirere_, which is an Expression
_Sallust_ makes use of after _Lælius_. Nor is this all; some Books
anciently bore this Title; as _Pescennius Festus_ left _Historias
Saturas_, or _per Saturam_." Thus far _Dacier_. _Satire_, then, when
applied by a Metaphor to Writing, is a Miscellaneous Poem, full of
Variety of Matter: According to that of _Juvenal_,
_Quicquid agunt homines, votum, timor, ira, voluptas,
Gaudia, discursus, nostri est farrago libelli._
Whatever since that golden Age was done,
What Human Kind desires, and what they shun,
Rage, Passions, Pleasures, Impotence of Will,
Shall this satirical Collection fill.
_Dryden._
But however various the Matter of it is, it ought always to have
somewhat of Keenness and Invective, to expose the Vices and Follies of
Mankind with Raillery, or chastise them with Severity. Before Plays were
brought to _Rome_, the _Saturnine_ and _Fescennine_ Verses were much in
Vogue: They were a Sort of rude and unpolish'd Compositions, at best,
full of Contumely, and often of Ribaldry. Whence _Horace_,
_Fescennina per hunc inventa licentia morem
Versibus alternis opprobria rustica fudit._
Hence grew the Liberty of the looser Muse,
Hence they grew scurrilous, and wou'd abuse.
_Creech._
Afterwards, as the _Romans_ grew more polite, these kind of Verses
refin'd in Proportion: But they retain'd, still, their Jibes and Banter
and kept so far to their first Institution, as to make the Follies of
human Life the Object of their Ridicule. From hence proceeded _Satire_,
so call'd from the _Farrago_ and Variety of Matter it contain'd. It
was improv'd, likewise, with Music and Dancing, which, considering its
being carried on in Dialogue, made it resemble somewhat of the dramatic
Kind; nor had the _Romans_ any Thing, yet, that came so near the Drama
as this did. Afterwards, when they had receiv'd both Tragedy and
Comedy from the _Grecians_, they were so taken with the Novelty, that
Satire, for some Time, lay neglected. But coming again into Esteem,
it was added, as a Kind of _Exodium_, to Comedy. Thus Things went on
for some Years, till _Ennius_ arose, endu'd with Wit, and true poetic
Fire, who observing how fond the People were of seeing the Vices of
Mankind expos'd upon the Stage, thought a Poem on the same Subject,
without the Decoration of Scenes and Action, might have the same Effect.
Accordingly, he attempted Satires in the same Form we now see them, only
he did not confine himself to the Hexameter, but made use of all Sorts
of Measure. The Remains we have of this Poet, are noble Indications of
the Strength of his Genius; and _Horace_ and _Virgil_ have shewn what
Opinion they had of his Writings, by borrowing so much from them. After
_Ennius_, succeeded _Pacuvius_; but his Works are all lost, excepting
some Fragments, and those of uncertain Authority. Next came _Lucilius_,
of whom, likewise, we have only some Fragments remaining. But his
Excellencies and Imperfections are very amply set forth by _Horace_,
whose Words I have no Occasion to cite here. I would observe, however,
that those Lines,
----_Quid, cum est Lucilius ausus
Primus in hunc operis componere carmina morem?_
How, Sir, _Lucilius_, that did first engage
In writing Satires, and that lash'd the Age.
_Creech._
are not so to be understood, as if he was the first that attempted
Satire; which both _Ennius_ and _Pacuvius_, as we just now observ'd,
had done before him: But that _Lucilius_ improv'd it so far as to give
it that new Face, under which it appear'd in _Horace_'s Time: For that
his Satires were of the same Form with _Horace_'s, is maintain'd by
Monsieur _Dacier_ against _Casaubon_[319]. It must be allow'd, however,
that one Species of Satire owes its Perfection to _Horace_, as another
does to _Juvenal_; both which we shall hereafter speak of separately.
A third Kind was the _Varronian_ or _Menippean_ Satire, so call'd from
_Menippus_, a Cynic Philosopher, among the _Grecians,_ whose Doctrine
_Varro_ follow'd. It was a Sort of Medley, consisting not only of all
Kinds of Verse, but of Verse and Prose mix'd together; a Specimen
of which we have in _Petronius_'s _Satyricon_[320]. We have none of
_Varro_'s poetical Works remaining, except some small Fragments; which
is the more to be lamented, considering the Character _Quintilian_ gives
of him, That he was the most learned of all the _Romans_.
The Word _Satire_ was anciently taken in a less restrain'd Sense than
it is at present, not only as denoting a severe Poem against Vice, but
as consisting of Precepts of Virtue, and the Praises of it: And even in
the Satires, as they are call'd, of _Horace_, _Juvenal_, and _Persius_,
&c. which are principally levell'd against the Weakness, the Follies,
or Vices of Mankind; we find many Directions, as well as Incitements to
Virtue. Such Strokes of Morality, _Horace_, particularly, is full of;
and in _Juvenal_ they occur very frequently. Thus,
_Permittas ipsis expendere numinibus, quid
Conveniat nobis, rebusque sit utile nostris:
Charior est illis homo, quam sibi._
Intrust thy Fortune to the Pow'rs above,
Leave them to manage for thee, and to grant
What their unerring Wisdom sees thee want:
In Goodness, as in Greatness, they excel;
Ah! that we lov'd ourselves but half as well.
_Dryden._
And afterwards:
_Monstro, quod ipse tibi possis dare; semita certe
Tranquillæ per virtutem patet unica vitæ._
The Path to Peace is Virtue: What I show,
Thyself may freely on thyself bestow.
_Dryden._
All of them sometimes correct Vice, like Moralists, I may say, like
Divines, rather than Satirists: What less can we say of this of
_Persius_?
_O curvæ in terras animæ, & cœlestium inanes!_
O Souls, in whom no heav'nly Fire is found.
_Dryden._
Sentiments, these, one would think, were fetch'd from true Religion, not
from unassisted Reason; and which we might expect from the _Christian_,
more than the _Stoic_.
Notwithstanding the learned Arguments which _Casaubon_, _Dacier_, and
others have urg'd, for the Etymology of the Word Satire, I can't but
think their Opinion has more Probability in it than Truth; nor can any
sufficient Reason be assign'd, why it may not be as well deriv'd from
_Satyrus_, a Satyr, as from _Satur_, full. There's certainly too much
Reason to think that some Things in _Horace_, _Juvenal_, and _Persius_,
were borrow'd from the suppos'd Manners and Customs of Satyrs; and I
cannot but lament, that Writers so deserving in all other Respects,
should reprove some Vices in such a Manner, as to teach them; and
that while they are recommending Virtue, they should throw in some
Expressions so injurious to it. This Controversy, then, about the _Name_
of _Satire_, (which, it must be own'd, is the more material, because it
in a great Measure defines its _Nature_) I shall leave in Uncertainty,
with _Vossius_, rather than determine upon it positively with _Dacier_.
For I cannot but be surpriz'd to see this last Author so confidently
assert[324], "That _Satire_ is a Species of Poetry unknown to any but
the _Romans_, and has no Relation to the satirical Compositions of
the _Grecians_, as some learned Men, by Mistake, have thought[325]."
Now, I'll be bold to say, that not only _some_, but _most_, if not
all the Learned, have thought so, and still think the same; and even
Mons. _Dacier_ himself, I reckon among the Number, how much soever
he seems here to have forgot himself. I appeal not only to what I
have before said upon this Subject myself, but to what I have cited
from him, whether it does not appear that the _Roman Satire_ had some
_Affinity_ with the _Grecian_, and, particularly, that it ow'd its
Rise to it.[326]_Vossius_, speaking of the _Grecian_, tells us, "That
the Discourse was agreeable to the Characters of the Speakers; full of
Ribaldry, Ridicule, and Scurrility. The Failings of Men were the Objects
of their Scoffs, and to excite Laughter the Aim of them. _Horace_, in
his Art of Poetry,
_[327]Verum ita risores, ita commendare dicaces
Conveniet Satyros, ita vertere seria ludo."_
Yet Satires shou'd observe this decent Rule,
And so turn serious Things to Ridicule,
As, _&c._ _Creech._
Now will any one say, the _Grecian_ and _Roman_ Satire had nothing of
this in common between them? Are Lasciviousness, Ridicule, and Banter,
the exposing Vice, and the exciting Laughter, Properties in which the
_Roman_ Satire had no Share? We readily grant, indeed, that as it
appear'd in a _different Form_, it was not the very _same Kind_ of Poem
with the _Grecian_: But surely there was some, nay, a great deal of
Affinity between them; and the one, particularly, owes its Rise to the
other.
[Sidenote: _Eighteenth Lecture._]
Thus much for the Etymology, the History of the Rise and Progress of
Satire. With Respect to the Nature and different Species of it, I
can by no means subscribe to _Vossius_'s Opinion, who observes[328],
"That, as the Vices of Mankind may be corrected either publickly, or in
private, the latter Method is much the more suitable to Satire: And that
_Juvenal_ and _Persius_, setting aside the Metre, have deviated more
from the true Nature of it, than _Lucian_ in his Dialogues, or _Julian_
in his _Cæsars_. For the former shew their ill Nature more than their
Wit, and don't so much put Vice out of Countenance, as themselves out of
Temper; whereas the latter always keep up their Humour, and mix their
Reproof with Facetiousness[329]." According to this, the _Horatian_
Satire is the only true one; and the Writings of _Juvenal_ and _Persius_
have no Pretence to that Title. But the truer State of the Case is
this: Satire in _general_, is a Poem design'd to reprove the Vices and
Follies of Mankind: It is twofold; either the _jocose_, as that of
_Horace_, or the _serious_. like that of _Juvenal_. The former hidden,
the latter open. That generally makes Sport with Vice, and exposes it to
Ridicule: This probes it to the Bottom, and puts it to Torture: And so
far is it from not deserving the Title of Satire, that, in my Opinion,
it is the more noble Species of it; and the genteel Jokes of _Horace_,
how ingenious soever, are less affecting than the poetic Rage, and
commendable Zeal of _Juvenal_. I shall speak to both Kinds, as _Persius_
has well distinguish'd them, where he describes the Difference between
_Lucilius_ and _Horace_'s Way of Writing:
[330]----_Secuit Lucilius urbem
Te Lupe, te Muti, & genuinum fregit in illis.
Omne vafer vitium ridenti Flaccus amico
Tangit, & admissus circum præcordia indit,
Callidus excusso populum suspendere naso._
Yet old _Lucilius_ never fear'd the Times,
But lash'd the City, and dissected Crimes.
_Mutius_ and _Lupus_ both by Name he brought;
He mouth'd 'em, and betwixt his Grinders caught.
Unlike in Method with conceal'd Design,
Did crafty _Horace_ his low Numbers join;
And, with a sly insinuating Grace,
Laugh'd at his Friend, and look'd him in the Face:
Wou'd raise a Blush, where secret Vice he found;
And tickle, while he gently prob'd the Wound.
With seeming Innocence the Crowd beguil'd;
But made the desp'rate Passes when he smil'd.
_Dryden._
_Vossius_ still erring upon the same String, says, "It is not so much
the Business of Satire to reprove all Sorts of Vice, as those that are
the proper Subjects of Laughter[331]." If this Maxim is true, _Juvenal_
will scarce find a Place among the Satirists: For tho' he may sometimes
laugh, he is, for the Generality, serious; and shews the Lash much
more than his Teeth. Nay, his Smiles are very different from those of
_Horace_; they are not the genteel ones of a Courtier, but mix'd with
Gall and ill Nature; such as _Virgil_ describes:
_Ad quem subridens mista Mezentius ira._
To whom _Mezentius_ with malignant Smile.
The Argument which _Vossius_ cites for his Opinion, makes against it,
rather than for it. He urges[332], "that those Vices are the proper
Subjects of Satire, that were so of the ancient Comedy: Hence _Horace_;
"_Si quis dignus erat describi, quod malus, aut fur,
Aut mœchus foret, aut sicarius, aut alioqui
Famosus, multa cum libertate notabant._"
If they were to describe a vile, unjust,
And cheating Knave, or scourge a lawless Lust,
Or other Crimes; regardless of his Fame,
They shew'd the Man, and boldly told his Name.
_Creech._
I ask, then, are Thieves, Whoremasters, and Robbers, guilty of those
less Crimes which are only to be expos'd to Ridicule?
But the same learned Writer goes on: "The Diction of Satire, says
he[334], ought to resemble Prose rather than Poetry, and appear with as
much Ease as if it flow'd _Extempore_. _Juvenal_ has had little Regard
to this Rule, whose Style is Epic[335]; and _Persius_ still less, who is
swelling, and lofty. Whereas nothing is so great an Ornament to Satire,
as an Appearance of Truth and Simplicity, with which bold Metaphors are
very inconsistent." Here he takes for granted that there is only one
Kind of Satire, such as _Horace_ writ; which is begging a Question, that
can by no means be granted him. All he says may be very true, in respect
to that one Kind, but not at all applicable to the rest; and to blame
_Juvenal_ for not writing in the familiar Style, is the same Absurdity,
as if he should arbitrarily lay it down as an universal Rule, that every
Dramatic Piece ought to be writ so too; and then very gravely tell us,
_That_ Sophocles _has had little Regard to this Maxim_. For, to say the
Truth, there is scarce less Difference between the two Kinds of Satire,
than there is between Comedy and Tragedy. But I cannot conceive what
possess'd this Writer, when, to prove his Position, that Satire ought
to be writ in the low Style, he urges this of _Horace_[336]:
"_Non ego inornata, & dominantia nomina_ SOLUM,
_Verbaque, Pisones, satyrorum scriptor amabo_."
You must not think that a satiric Style
Allows of scandalous and brutish Words.
_Roscom._
"Here, says he, it is evident, that the Character of a Satirist is not
to affect Ornament, but Strength and Propriety." Now, not to observe
that _Horace_ is not speaking of the Satire of his own Time, but of
the satirical Drama that was us'd as an Interlude in Tragedy; to pass
by, I say, the Occasion of the Words, the Sense of them is so far
from favouring the Opinion they are brought for, that they directly
overthrow it: He says, that in this Kind of Writing he does not chuse
ONLY Words of common Use, proving therefore that Satire may
be writ in a sublimer Style. _Vossius_, I suppose, here took _non_ for
_nihilo_[337].
In the same Discourse he observes[338], "That it is the Business of
the Satirist not so much to correct the Manners of past Times, as of
the present. _Persius_, says he, often transgresses this Rule; for he
taxes few of his own Age, and those only under general Names; such
as _Titius_, or _Mævius_. His Poems, therefore, scarce deserve to be
call'd Satires, because they affect no one particularly. And _Juvenal_
sometimes deviates from this indubitable Rule." I cannot help making
a few Remarks on these Assertions, which will not a little serve to
illustrate the Subject before us. In the first Place, I can't see why
it is the Business of a Satirist to correct Mankind in Individuals,
rather than in general. He may chuse, indeed, either Way, and it is hard
to say which is more peculiarly his Province. But if any Difference
is to be made, I should take the Side against _Vossius_, and avoid
reproving Particulars. It is undoubtedly fairer to aim our Shafts
against the Vice, rather than the Man. The latter, indeed, is sometimes
justifiable, against some notorious Monsters, that deserve to be the
Butts of Mankind: But even here the Poet does not point them out by
their real Names, but under fictitious Characters; which is another
Particular I have been oblig'd to observe against the foremention'd
Author; who, for what Reason I know not, makes it essential to Satire
to characterise by Name; a Property which I should much rather leave
to the Libeller, than the Poet. _Horace_ and _Juvenal_, it is true,
sometimes assume this Liberty; but, for the Generality, 'tis Vice they
reprove in the Abstract; and when they seem to mention Names, it is to
be observ'd, that we, at this Distance of Time, know not whether they
are real or borrow'd ones. The other Observation of _Vossius_'s, _That
it is the Business of a Satirist not so much to correct the Manners of
past Times, as of the present_, I readily assent to; and is so evident a
Proposition, that it is needless to assert it. The Living, not the Dead,
are capable of Amendment; the latter are accidentally only, brought
upon the Stage, that the former, through their Sides, may receive the
more advantageous Wound. To this End, we often see _Juvenal_'s Example
follow'd:
[339]----_Experiar, quid concedatur in illos,
Quorum Flaminia tegitur cinis atque Latina._
Since none the Living Villains dare implead,
Arraign them in the Persons of the Dead.
_Dryden._
Which, by the Way, is a Confirmation of what we before alledg'd against
_Vossius_'s Opinion, _viz._ That, in _Juvenal_'s at least, the Living
ought to be noted in Satire under their real Names. But it is Time we
should now return to the two different Species of it which I before
mention'd.
They both agree in being pungent and cutting; yet are distinguish'd
by very evident Marks: The one is pleasant and facetious; the other
angry and austere: The one smiles; the other storms: The Foibles of
Mankind, are the Object of the one; greater Crimes, of the other:
The former is always in the low Style; the latter generally in the
Sublime: That abounds with Wit only; this adds to the Salt Bitterness
and Acrimony. _Horace_'s Satires are of so fine and delicate a Turn, as
may much easier be conceiv'd, than express'd: They are rightly term'd
_Discourses_, for some of them are scarce reducible under either Species
of Satire. _Juvenal_'s are all true Satires, except the fifteenth, which
is of uncertain Authority. So far is _Vossius_ from being in the right,
when he makes _Horace_ almost the only Satirist, and scarce admits
_Juvenal_ to the Title of one.
It is not very clear, then, why _Horace_ should say of himself,
[340]_Sunt quibus in Satira videar nimis acer._
Some fancy I am bitter when I jeer,
Beyond the Rules of Satire too severe. _Creech._
or who they were that thought so. I cannot, indeed, come into the
Opinion of others whom he mentions:
[341]----_Sine nervis altera, quicquid
Composui, pars esse putat, similisque meorum
Mille die versus deduci posse._
Some, that my Verse is dull, and flat; and say
A Man may write a Thousand such a Day.
_Creech._
But surely too much Warmth was never his Fault; he ought sometimes,
perhaps, to be condemn'd for the Want of it.
Either Kind of Satire may be writ in the Dialogue or Epistolary
Manner, and we have Instances of both Forms in _Horace_, _Juvenal_,
and _Persius_. As some of _Horace_'s, which are call'd Satires, are as
truly Epistles; so many of his Epistles might as well be call'd Satires.
For Example,[342]_Qui fit Mecænas_, &c. might, with equal Reason, be
reckon'd among the Epistles; and[343]_Prima dicte mihi_, &c. among the
Discourses or Satires, if the Author or Editor had so thought fit.
The distinguishing Nature of _Juvenal_ cannot be better known, than from
the very Beginning of his Satires:
_Semper ego auditor tantum? nunquamne reponam,
Vexatus toties rauci Theseide Codri?_ &c.
Still shall I hear, and never quit the Score,
Stunn'd with hoarse _Codrus Theseid_, o'er and o'er.
_Dryden._
At the first Onset, he declares open War, and gives sufficient
Intimation of the Strength of his Spirit, and what the Reader may expect
from it. He first sharpens his Style against the scribbling Poets of
his Age; and when he had, in a sarcastical Manner, mention'd the
Reasons that induced him to _write_,
----_Stulta est clementia, cum rot ubique
Vatibus occuras, perituræ parcere chartæ._
But since the World with Writing is possest, }
I'll versify in Spite; and do my best, }
To make as much waste Paper as the rest. }
_Dryden._
He sallies forth, a few Lines after, into a more extensive Field of
Satire, and with no less Wit than Gall, tells us the Reasons why he
chose this _Kind_ of _Writing_:
_Cur tamen hoc potius libeat decurrere campo,
Per quem magnus equos Auruncæ flexit Alumnus,
Si vacat, & placidi rationem admittitis, edam.
Cum tener uxorem ducat spado, Mævia Tuscum
Figat aprum, & nuda teneat venabula mamma;
Patricios omnes opibus sum provocet unus,
Quo tondente gravis juveni mihi barba sonabat;
Cum pars Niliacæ plebis, cum verna Canopi,
Crispinus, Tyrias humero revocante lacernas,
Ventilet æstivum digitis sudantibus aurum,
Nec sufferre queat majoris pondera gemmæ;
Difficile est, Satiram non scribere: nam quis inquæ
Tam patiens urbis, tam ferreus, us tentat se?_
But why I lift aloft the Satire's Rod,
And tread the Path that fam'd _Lacilius_ trod,
Attend the Causes which my Muse have led:
When sapless Eunuchs mount the Marriage-Bed,
When mannish _Mævia_, that two-handed Whore,
Astride an Horseback hunts the _Tuscan_ Boar,
When all our Lords are by his Wealth out-vy'd,
Whose Razor on my callow Beard was try'd;
When I behold the Spawn of conquer'd _Nile_,
_Crispinus_ both in Birth and Manners vile,
Pacing in Pomp with Cloak of _Tyrian_ Dye,
Chang'd oft a Day for needless Luxury;
And finding oft Occasion to be fann'd,
Ambitious to produce his Lady Hand;
Charg'd with light Summer Rings, his Fingers sweat,
Unable to support a Gem of Weight:
Such fulsome Objects meeting ev'ry where,
'Tis hard to write, and harder to forbear.
_Dryden._
In these, and the Lines that follow, he lays down the chief Heads of
Satire he design'd to treat of; this he does in an elegant and poetical
Manner, not by proposing them in general Terms, but by Particulars.
Afterwards, having weigh'd the Reasons his Friend alledges to dissuade
him from so dangerous an Attempt, he replies, with a Quickness and
Vivacity Worthy of a Satirist:
_Qui dedit ergo tribus patruis aconita, vehetur
Pensilibus plumis, atque illinc despiciet nos?_
Shall they who drench'd three Uncles in a Draught
Of pois'nous Juice, be then in Triumph brought?
_Dryden._
What a Poignancy in the Words, and how swift a Turn in the Thought?
I agree with _Vossius_, but for a different Reason from his, that
_Persius_ scarce deserves a Place among the Satirists. He has dropp'd,
indeed, many fine Expressions in describing the Beauty of Virtue, and
the Deformity of Vice: But he wants Poignancy and Sting; he never
laughs, and strikes but seldom: He does not correct Faults so much,
as find them; his Reproof, at best, is too mild, and more like the
Evenness of a _Philosopher_, than the Severity of a _Satirist_.
To come now to our own Times. There are few Kinds of Writing, in which
the Moderns, of our own Country especially, are less exceeded than in
this[348]; I mean in that Species of it in which _Juvenal_ writ: For
the _Horatian_ Satire is but little affected among us. That Author,
particularly[349], who not long since attack'd the _Jesuits_, tho' his
Works, either through want of Care, or Judgment, or, more probably,
considering his Youth, for want of both, are not so correct as might
have been wish'd; yet his shewn a true poetical Vein, and a Fire not
unworthy _Juvenal_ himself. No one can be a Stranger to _Dryden_, who,
as he exceeds others in every Kind of Poetry, so, in this, exceeds
himself. But to pass by the rest of our own Countrymen whom I might
mention, that deservedly celebrated _French_ Poet[350] has so happily
blended _Horace_ and _Juvenal_ together, that he seems to have found
out a beautiful Species of Satire between both. He claims the poetical
Laurel, but in Satire more particularly, from all the Writers of this
Age, by universal Consent; and that is an Authority, to which I shall
never think fit to oppose my private Judgment, whatever it is.