6. The style of Dryden is capricious and varied'; that of Pope is cautious
and uniform'. Dryden obeys the emotions of his own mind'; Pope constrains
his mind to his own rules of composition.' Dryden is sometimes vehement
and rapid'; Pope is always smooth, uniform, and gentle'. Dryden's page is
a natural field, rising into inequalities, varied by exuberant
vegetation'; Pope's is a velvet lawn, shaven by the scythe and leveled by
the roller'.
7. If the flights of Dryden are higher', Pope continues longer on the
wing'. If the blaze of Dryden's fire is brighter', the heat of Pope's is
more regular and constant'. Dryden often surpasses' expectation, and Pope
never falls below' it.
REMARK l.--Words and members connected by or used disjunctively, generally
express contrast or antithesis, and always receive opposite inflection.