114 Miscellaneous Poem s.

He more to his new Friend than Mistress kind,

Mourns sadly mourns at being left behind ;

Of such a Death prefers the pleasing CharmsTo Love, and living in a Lady’s Arms.

How shameful, and what monil’rous Things are these ?And then they rail at those they cannot please;Conclude us only partial to the Dead,

And grudge the Sign of old Ben Johnson’s Head :

When the intrinsick Value of the Stage,

Can scarce be judg’d, but by a following Age ;

For Dances,- Flutes, Italian Songs, and Rh:me,

May keep up finking Nonsense-for a Time.

But that may fail, which now so much o'er rules,

And Sense no longer will submit to Fools.

By painful-Stefs we are at last got upPamajjus Hill, on whose bright airy TopThe Ep c Poets so divinely show.

And with just Pride behold the test below.

Heroic Poems have a just Pretence

To be the utmost Reach of humane Sense ;

A Work of such inestimable Worth,

There are but two the World has yet brought forth,Homer and Virgil ; with what awful SoundDo these meet Words the Ears of Poets wound !

Just as a Changeling seems below the restOf Men, or rather is a two-legg’d Beast ;

So these Gigantic Souls, amaz’dj we findAs much above the rest of human Kind,

Nature's whole Strength united ; endless Fame,

And universal Shouts attend their Name.

Read Homer once, and you can read no more,

For all Things else appear so dull and poor:

Verse will seem Prose ; yet often on him look,

And you will hardly need another Book.

Had * Rosso never writ, the World bad still,

Like Indians, view’d this wond’rous Piece of Skill;

As

* A celebrated French Author, uvko in his‘Treatise upon EpicPoetry, dreau all bis Examples front HOMER.