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Mæcenas and Augustus , could not be answered* by avixijfe relating to the same Persons; any more than* hisplacuijfe join’d with his belli domique r could relate tothose under whom he never went to War, nor wouldever consent to bear any Honours. For so he himself di-stinguishes to Mæcenas.

- ^ua non , ut forstt honoretn ,

yure mihi invideat quivis ita te quoque amicum.

ibid. v. 49.

He was formerly an AElor and in the Ministry of Af-fairs : Now only a Friend to a Minister: Himself still aprivate and retir’d Man., That he refus’d Augustus s Of-fer of the Secretary-fhip is well known. But in theseCircumstances, the Politeness as well as Artifice of Ho-race is admirable, in making Futurity or Posterity to bethe {peaking Party in both those Places, where he sug-gests his Intimacy and Favour with the Great, that theremight, in some Measure, be room left (tho in Strict^ness there was scarce any): for an O&avius and a Mæcenas,to be included.

The same excellent Author calls Horace the best Ge-nius and most Gentleman-like of Roman Poets.. Andspeaking of epistolary Writings he hath this Remark.It will be own’d surely by those who have learned tojudge of Elegancy and Wit, by the Help merely of mo-dern Languages, that we could have little Relish of thethe best Letters of a Balfac or Voiture , were we whollyignorant of the Characters of the principal Persons towhom those Letters were actually written. But much\ less could we find Pleasure in this Reading, should wetake it into our Heads, that both the Personage and Cor-respondency