TO
HIS
GRACE
THE
Duke
of
Ormond
.
My
LORD
,
SOME
Estates
are
held
in
England
,
by
paying
a
Fine
at
the
change
of
every
Lord
:
I
have
enjoy'd
the
Patronage
of
your
Family
,
from
the
time
of
your
excellent
Grandfather
to
this
present
Day
.
I
have
dedicated
the
Lives
of
Plutarch
to
the
first
Duke
;
and
have
celebrated
the
Memory
of
your
Heroick
Father
.
Tho'
I
am
very
short
of
the
Age
of
Nestor
,
yet
I
have
liv'd
to
a
third
Generation
of
your
House
;
and
by
your
Grace's
Favour
am
admitted
still
to
hold
from
you
by
the
same
Tenure
.
I
am
not
vain
enough
to
boast
that
I
have
deserv'd
the
value
of
so
Illustrious
a
Line
;
but
my
Fortune
is
the
greater
,
that
for
three
Descents
they
have
been
pleas'd
to
distinguish
my
Poems
from
those
of
other
Men
;
and
have
accordingly
made
me
their
peculiar
Care
.
May
it
be
permitted
me
to
say
,
That
as
your
Grandfather
and
Father
were
cherish'd
and
adorn'd
with
Honours
by
two
successive
Monarchs
,
so
I
have
been
esteem'd
,
and
patronis'd
,
by
the
Grandfather
,
the
Father
,
and
the
Son
,
descended
from
one
of
the
most
Ancient
,
most
Conspicuous
,
and
most
Deserving
Families
in
Europe
.
'T
is
true
,
that
by
delaying
the
Payment
of
my
last
Fine
,
when
it
was
due
by
your
Grace's
Accession
to
the
Titles
,
and
Patrimonies
of
your
House
,
I
may
seem
in
rigour
of
Law
to
have
made
a
forfeiture
of
my
Claim
,
yet
my
Heart
has
always
been
devoted
to
your
Service
:
And
since
you
have
been
graciously
pleas'd
,
by
your
permission
of
this
Address
,
to
accept
the
tender
of
my
Duty
,
't
is
not
yet
too
late
to
lay
these
Poems
at
your
Feet
.
The
World
is
sensible
that
you
worthily
succeed
,
not
only
to
the
Honours
of
your
Ancestors
,
but
also
to
their
Virtues
.
The
long
Chain
of
Magnanimity
,
Courage
,
easiness
of
Access
,
and
desire
of
doing
Good
,
even
to
the
Prejudice
of
your
Fortune
,
is
so
far
from
being
broken
in
your
Grace
,
that
the
precious
Metal
yet
runs
pure
to
the
newest
Link
of
it
:
Which
I
will
not
call
the
last
,
because
I
hope
and
pray
,
it
may
descend
to
late
Posterity
:
And
your
flourishing
Youth
,
and
that
of
your
excellent
Dutchess
,
are
happy
Omens
of
my
Wish
.
'T
is
observ'd
by
Livy
and
by
others
,
That
some
of
the
noblest
Roman
Families
retain'd
a
resemblance
of
their
Ancestry
,
not
only
in
their
Shapes
and
Features
,
but
also
in
their
Manners
,
their
Qualities
,
and
the
distinguishing
Characters
of
their
Minds
:
Some
Lines
were
noted
for
a
stern
,
rigid
Virtue
,
salvage
,
haughty
,
parcimonious
and
unpopular
:
Others
were
more
sweet
,
and
affable
;
made
of
a
more
pliant
Past
,
humble
,
courteous
,
and
obliging
;
studious
of
doing
charitable
Offices
,
and
diffusive
of
the
Goods
which
they
enjoy'd
.
The
last
of
these
is
the
proper
and
indelible
Character
of
your
Grace's
Family
.
God
Almighty
has
endu'd
you
with
a
Softness
,
a
Beneficence
,
an
attractive
Behaviour
winning
on
the
Hearts
of
others
;
and
so
sensible
of
their
Misery
,
that
the
Wounds
of
Fortune
,
seem
not
inflicted
on
them
but
on
your self
.
You
are
so
ready
to
redress
,
that
you
almost
prevent
their
Wishes
,
and
always
exceed
their
Expectations
:
As
if
what
was
yours
,
was
not
your
own
,
and
not
given
you
to
possess
,
but
to
bestow
on
wanting
Merit
.
But
this
is
a
Topick
which
I
must
cast
in
Shades
,
left
I
offend
your
Modesty
,
which
is
so
far
from
being
ostentatious
of
the
Good
you
do
,
that
it
blushes
even
to
have
it
known
:
And
therefore
I
must
leave
you
to
the
Satisfaction
and
Testimony
of
your
own
Conscience
,
which
though
it
be
a
silent
Panegyrick
,
is
yet
the
best
.
You
are
so
easy
of
Access
,
that
Poplicola
was
not
more
,
whose
Doors
were
open'd
on
the
Outside
to
save
the
People
even
the
common
Civility
of
asking
entrance
;
where
all
were
equally
admitted
;
where
nothing
that
was
reasonable
was
deny'd
;
where
Misfortune
was
a
powerful
Recommendation
,
and
where
(
I
can
scarce
forbear
saying
)
that
Want
it self
was
a
powerful
Mediator
,
and
was
next
to
Merit
.
The
History
of
Peru
assures
us
,
That
their
Inca's
above
all
their
Titles
,
esteem'd
that
the
highest
,
which
call'd
them
Lovers
of
the
Poor
:
A
Name
more
glorious
,
than
the
Felix
,
Pius
,
and
Augustus
of
the
Roman
Emperors
;
which
were
Epithets
of
Flattery
,
deserv'd
by
few
of
them
;
and
not
running
in
a
Blood
like
the
perpetual
Gentleness
,
and
inherent
Goodness
of
the
ORMOND
Family
.
Gold
,
as
it
is
the
purest
,
so
it
is
the
softest
,
and
most
ductile
of
all
Metals
:
Iron
,
which
is
the
hardest
,
gathers
Rust
,
corrodes
its
self
;
and
is
therefore
subject
to
Corruption
:
It
was
never
intended
for
Coins
and
Medals
,
or
to
bear
the
Faces
and
Inscriptions
of
the
Great
.
Indeed
't
is
fit
for
Armour
,
to
bear
off
Insults
,
and
preserve
the
Wearer
in
the
Day
of
Battle
:
But
the
Danger
once
repell'd
,
't
is
laid
aside
by
the
Brave
,
as
a
Garment
too
rough
for
civil
Conversation
;
a
necessary
Guard
in
War
,
but
too
harsh
and
cumbersome
in
Peace
,
and
which
keeps
off
the
embraces
of
a
more
human
Life
.
For
this
Reason
,
my
Lord
,
though
you
have
Courage
in
a
heroical
Degree
,
yet
I
ascribe
it
to
you
,
but
as
your
second
Attribute
:
Mercy
,
Beneficence
,
and
Compassion
,
claim
Precedence
,
as
they
are
first
in
the
divine
Nature
.
An
intrepid
Courage
,
which
is
inherent
in
your
Grace
,
is
at
best
but
a
Holiday-kind
of
Virtue
,
to
be
seldom
exercis'd
,
and
never
but
in
Cases
of
Necessity
:
Affability
,
Mildness
,
Tenderness
,
and
a
Word
,
which
I
would
fain
bring
back
to
its
original
Signification
of
Virtue
,
I
mean
good
Nature
,
are
of
daily
use
:
They
are
the
Bread
of
Mankind
,
and
Staff
of
Life
:
Neither
Sighs
,
nor
Tears
,
nor
Groans
,
nor
Curses
of
the
vanquish'd
,
follow
Acts
of
Compassion
,
and
of
Charity
:
But
a
sincere
Pleasure
,
and
Serenity
of
Mind
,
in
him
who
performs
an
Action
of
Mercy
,
which
cannot
suffer
the
Misfortunes
of
another
,
without
redress
;
least
they
should
bring
a
kind
of
Contagion
along
with
them
,
and
pollute
the
Happiness
which
he
enjoys
.
Yet
since
the
perverse
Tempers
of
Mankind
,
since
Oppression
on
one
side
,
and
Ambition
on
the
other
,
are
sometimes
the
unavoidable
Occasions
of
War
;
that
Courage
,
that
Magnanimity
,
and
Resolution
,
which
is
born
with
you
,
cannot
be
too
much
commended
:
And
here
it
grieves
me
that
I
am
scanted
in
the
pleasure
of
dwelling
on
many
of
your
Actions
:
But
〈◊〉
〈◊〉
〈◊〉
〈◊〉
〈◊〉
is
an
Expression
which
Tully
often
uses
,
when
he
would
do
what
he
dares
not
,
and
fears
the
Censure
of
the
Romans
.
I
have
sometimes
been
forc'd
to
amplify
on
others
;
but
here
,
where
the
Subject
is
so
fruitful
,
that
the
Harvest
overcomes
the
Reaper
,
I
am
shorten'd
by
my
Chain
,
and
can
only
see
what
is
forbidden
me
to
reach
:
Since
it
is
not
permitted
me
to
commend
you
,
according
to
the
extent
of
my
Wishes
,
and
much
less
is
it
in
my
Power
to
make
my
Commendations
equal
to
your
Merits
.
Yet
in
this
Frugality
of
your
Praises
,
there
are
some
Things
which
I
cannot
omit
,
without
detracting
from
your
Character
.
You
have
so
form'd
your
own
Education
,
as
enables
you
to
pay
the
Debt
you
owe
your
Country
;
or
more
properly
speaking
,
both
your
Countries
:
Because
you
were
born
,
I
may
almost
say
in
Purple
at
the
Castle
of
Dublin
,
when
your
Grandfather
was
Lord-Lieutenant
,
and
have
since
been
bred
in
the
Court
of
England
.
If
this
Address
had
been
in
Verse
,
I
might
have
call'd
you
as
Claudian
calls
Mercury
,
Numen
commune
,
Gemino
faciens
commercia
mundo
.
The
better
to
satisfy
this
double
Obligation
you
have
early
cultivated
the
Genius
you
have
to
Arms
,
that
when
the
Service
of
Britain
or
Ireland
shall
require
your
Courage
,
and
your
Conduct
,
you
may
exert
them
both
to
the
Benefit
of
either
Country
.
You
began
in
the
Cabinet
what
you
afterwards
practis'd
in
the
Camp
;
and
thus
both
Lucullus
and
Caesar
(
to
omit
a
crowd
of
shining
Romans
)
form'd
themselves
to
the
War
by
the
Study
of
History
;
and
by
the
Examples
of
the
greatest
Captains
,
both
of
Greece
and
Italy
,
before
their
time
.
I
name
those
two
Commanders
in
particular
,
because
they
were
better
read
in
Chronicle
than
any
of
the
Roman
Leaders
;
and
that
Lucullus
in
particular
,
having
only
the
Theory
of
War
from
Books
,
was
thought
fit
,
without
Practice
,
to
be
sent
into
the
Field
,
against
the
most
formidable
Enemy
of
Rome
.
Tully
indeed
was
call'd
the
learn'd
Consul
in
derision
;
but
then
he
was
not
born
a
Soldier
:
His
Head
was
turn'd
another
way
:
When
he
read
the
Tacticks
he
was
thinking
on
the
Bar
,
which
was
his
Field
of
Battle
.
The
Knowledge
of
Warfare
is
thrown
away
on
a
General
who
dares
not
make
use
of
what
he
knows
.
I
commend
it
only
in
a
Man
of
Courage
and
of
Resolution
;
in
him
it
will
direct
his
Martial
Spirit
;
and
teach
him
the
way
to
the
best
Victories
,
which
are
those
that
are
least
bloody
,
and
which
tho'
atchiev'd
by
the
Hand
,
are
manag'd
by
the
Head
.
Science
distinguishes
a
Man
of
Honour
from
one
of
those
Athletick
Brutes
whom
undeservedly
we
call
Heroes
.
Curs'd
be
the
Poet
,
who
first
honour'd
with
that
Name
a
meer
Ajax
,
a
Man-killing
Ideot
.
The
Ulysses
of
Ovid
upbraids
his
Ignorance
,
that
he
understood
not
the
Shield
for
which
he
pleaded
:
There
was
engraven
on
it
,
Plans
of
Cities
,
and
Maps
of
Countries
,
which
Ajax
could
not
comprehend
,
but
look'd
on
them
as
stupidly
as
his
Fellow-Beast
the
Lion
.
But
on
the
other
side
,
your
Grace
has
given
your self
the
Education
of
his
Rival
;
you
have
studied
every
Spot
of
Ground
in
Flanders
,
which
for
these
ten
Years
past
has
been
the
Scene
of
Battles
and
of
Sieges
.
No
wonder
if
you
perform'd
your
Part
with
such
Applause
on
a
Theater
which
you
understood
so
well
.
If
I
design'd
this
for
a
Poetical
Encomium
,
it
were
easy
to
enlarge
on
so
copious
a
Subject
;
but
confining
my self
to
the
Severity
of
Truth
,
and
to
what
is
becoming
me
to
say
,
I
must
not
only
pass
over
many
Instances
of
your
Military
Skill
,
but
also
those
of
your
assiduous
Diligence
in
the
War
;
and
of
your
Personal
Bravery
,
attended
with
an
ardent
Thirst
of
Honour
;
a
long
Train
of
Generosity
;
Profuseness
of
doing
Good
;
a
Soul
unsatisfy'd
with
all
it
has
done
;
and
an
unextinguish'd
Desire
of
doing
more
.
But
all
this
is
Matter
for
your
own
Historians
;
I
am
,
as
Virgil
says
,
Spatiis
exclusus
iniquis
.
Yet
not
to
be
wholly
silent
of
all
your
Charities
I
must
stay
a
little
on
one
Action
,
which
preferr'd
the
Relief
of
Others
,
to
the
Consideration
of
your Self
.
When
,
in
the
Battle
of
Landen
,
your
Heat
of
Courage
(
a
Fault
only
pardonable
to
your
Youth
)
had
transported
you
so
far
before
your
Friends
,
that
they
were
unable
to
follow
,
much
less
to
succour
you
;
when
you
were
not
only
dangerously
,
but
in
all
appearance
mortally
wounded
,
when
in
that
desperate
Condition
you
were
made
Prisoner
,
and
carried
to
Namur
at
that
time
in
Possession
of
the
French
;
then
it
was
,
my
Lord
,
that
you
took
a
considerable
Part
of
what
was
remitted
to
you
of
your
own
Revenues
,
and
as
a
memorable
Instance
of
your
Heroick
Charity
,
put
it
into
the
Hands
of
Count
Guiscard
,
who
was
Governor
of
the
Place
,
to
be
distributed
among
your
Fellow-Prisoners
.
The
French
Commander
,
charm'd
with
the
greatness
of
your
Soul
,
accordingly
consign'd
it
to
the
Use
for
which
it
was
intended
by
the
Donor
:
By
which
means
the
Lives
of
so
many
miserable
Men
were
sav'd
,
and
a
comfortable
Provision
made
for
their
Subsistance
,
who
had
otherwise
perish'd
,
had
not
you
been
the
Companion
of
their
Misfortune
:
or
rather
sent
by
Providence
,
like
another
Joseph
,
to
keep
out
Famine
from
invading
those
,
whom
in
Humility
you
call'd
your
Brethren
.
How
happy
was
it
for
those
poor
Creatures
,
that
your
Grace
was
made
their
Fellow-Sufferer
?
And
how
glorious
for
You
,
that
you
chose
to
want
rather
than
not
relieve
the
Wants
of
others
?
The
Heathen
Poet
,
in
commending
the
Charity
of
Dido
to
the
Trojans
,
spoke
like
a
Christian
:
Non
ignara
mali
miseris
,
succurere
disco
.
All
Men
,
even
those
of
a
different
Interest
,
and
contrary
Principles
,
must
praise
this
Action
,
as
the
most
eminent
for
Piety
,
not
only
in
this
degenerate
Age
,
but
almost
in
any
of
the
former
;
when
Men
were
made
de
meliore
luto
;
when
Examples
of
Charity
were
frequent
,
and
when
there
were
in
being
,
Teucri
pulcherrima
proles
,
Magnanimi
Heroes
nati
melioribus
annis
.
No
Envy
can
detract
from
this
;
it
will
shine
in
History
;
and
like
Swans
,
grow
whiter
the
longer
it
endures
:
And
the
Name
of
ORMOND
will
be
more
celebrated
in
his
Captivity
,
than
in
his
greatest
Triumphs
.
But
all
Actions
of
your
Grace
are
of
a
piece
;
as
Waters
keep
the
Tenour
of
their
Fountains
:
your
Compassion
is
general
,
and
has
the
same
Effect
as
well
on
Enemies
as
Friends
.
'T
is
so
much
in
your
Nature
to
do
Good
,
that
your
Life
is
but
one
continued
Act
of
placing
Benesits
on
many
;
as
the
Sun
is
always
carrying
his
Light
to
some
Part
or
other
of
the
World
:
And
were
it
not
that
your
Reason
guides
you
where
to
give
,
I
might
almost
say
that
you
could
not
help
bestowing
more
,
than
is
consisting
with
the
Fortune
of
a
private
Man
,
or
with
the
Will
of
any
but
an
Alexander
.
What
Wonder
is
it
then
,
that
being
born
for
a
Blessing
to
Mankind
,
your
suppos'd
Death
in
that
Engagement
,
was
so
generally
lamented
through
the
Nation
?
The
Concernment
for
it
was
as
universal
as
the
Loss
:
And
though
the
Gratitude
might
be
counterfeit
in
some
,
yet
the
Tears
of
all
were
real
:
Where
every
Man
deplor'd
his
private
Part
in
that
Calamity
,
and
even
those
who
had
not
tasted
of
your
Favours
,
yet
built
so
much
on
the
Fame
of
your
Beneficence
,
that
they
bemoan'd
the
Loss
of
their
Expectations
.
This
brought
the
untimely
Death
of
your
Great
Father
into
fresh
remembrance
;
as
if
the
same
Decree
had
pass'd
on
two
short
successive
Generations
of
the
Virtuous
;
and
I
repeated
to
my self
the
same
Verses
,
which
I
had
formerly
apply'd
to
him
:
Ostendunt
terris
hunc
tantum
fata
,
nec
ultra
,
esse
sinunt
.
But
to
the
Joy
not
only
of
all
good
Men
,
but
of
Mankind
in
general
,
the
unhappy
Omen
took
not
place
.
You
are
still
living
to
enjoy
the
Blessings
and
Applause
of
all
the
Good
you
have
perform'd
,
the
Prayers
of
Multitudes
whom
you
have
oblig'd
,
for
your
long
Prosperity
;
and
that
your
Power
of
doing
generous
and
charitable
Actions
,
may
be
as
extended
as
your
Will
;
which
is
by
none
more
zealously
desir'd
than
by
Your
GRACE's
most
humble
,
most
oblig'd
,
and
most
obedient
Servant
,
John
Dryden
.
PREFACE
.
T
IS
with
a
Poet
,
as
with
a
Man
who
designs
to
build
,
and
is
very
exact
,
as
he
supposes
,
in
casting
up
the
Cost
beforehand
:
But
,
generally
speaking
,
he
is
mistaken
in
his
Account
,
and
reckons
short
of
the
Expence
he
first
intended
:
He
alters
his
Mind
as
the
Work
proceeds
,
and
will
have
this
or
that
Convenience
more
,
of
which
he
had
not
thought
when
he
began
.
So
has
it
hapned
to
me
;
I
have
built
a
House
,
where
I
intended
but
a
Lodge
:
Yet
with
better
Success
,
than
a
certain
Nobleman
,
who
beginning
with
a
Dogkennil
,
never
liv'd
to
finish
the
Palace
he
had
contriv'd
.
From
translating
the
First
of
Homer's
Iliads
,
(
which
I
intended
as
an
Essay
to
the
whole
Work
)
I
proceeded
to
the
Translation
of
the
Twelfth
Book
of
Ovid's
Metamorphoses
,
because
it
contains
,
among
other
Things
,
the
Causes
,
the
Beginning
,
and
Ending
,
of
the
Trojan
War
:
Here
I
ought
in
reason
to
have
stopp'd
;
but
the
Speeches
of
Ajax
and
Ulysses
lying
next
in
my
way
,
I
could
not
balk
'em
.
When
I
had
compass'd
them
,
I
was
so
taken
with
the
former
Part
of
the
Fifteenth
Book
,
(
which
is
the
Master-piece
of
the
whole
Metamorphoses
)
that
I
enjoyn'd
my self
the
pleasing
Task
of
rendring
it
into
English
.
And
now
I
found
,
by
the
Number
of
my
Verses
,
that
they
began
to
swell
into
a
little
Volume
;
which
gave
me
an
Occasion
of
looking
backward
on
some
Beauties
of
my
Author
,
in
his
former
Books
:
There
occur'd
to
me
the
Hunting
of
the
Boar
,
Cinyras
and
Myrrha
,
the
good-natur'd
Story
of
Baucis
and
Philemon
,
with
the
rest
,
which
I
hope
I
have
translated
closely
enough
,
and
given
them
the
same
Turn
of
Verse
,
which
they
had
in
the
Original
;
and
this
,
I
may
say
without
vanity
,
is
not
the
Talent
of
every
Poet
:
He
who
has
arriv'd
the
nearest
to
it
,
is
the
Ingenious
and
Learned
Sandys
,
the
best
Versifier
of
the
former
Age
;
if
I
may
properly
call
it
by
that
Name
,
which
was
the
former
Part
of
this
concluding
Century
.
For
Spencer
and
Fairfax
both
flourish'd
in
the
Reign
of
Queen
Elizabeth
:
Great
Masters
in
our
Language
;
and
who
saw
much
farther
into
the
Beauties
of
our
Numbers
,
than
those
who
immediately
followed
them
.
Milton
was
the
Poetical
Son
of
Spencer
,
and
Mr.
Waller
of
Fairfax
;
for
we
have
our
Lineal
Descents
and
Clans
,
as
well
as
other
Families
:
Spencer
more
than
once
insinuates
,
that
the
Soul
of
Chaucer
was
transsus'd
into
his
Body
;
and
that
he
was
begotten
by
him
Two
hundred
years
after
his
Decease
.
Milton
has
acknowledg'd
to
me
,
that
Spencer
was
his
Original
;
and
many
besides
my self
have
heard
our
famous
Waller
own
,
that
he
deriv'd
the
Harmony
of
his
Numbers
from
the
Godfrey
of
Bulloign
,
which
was
turn'd
into
English
by
Mr.
Fairfax
.
But
to
return
:
Having
done
with
Ovid
for
this
time
,
it
came
into
my
mind
,
that
our
old
English
Poet
Chaucer
in
many
Things
resembled
him
,
and
that
with
no
disadvantage
on
the
Side
of
the
Modern
Author
,
as
I
shall
endeavour
to
prove
when
I
compare
them
:
And
as
I
am
,
and
always
have
been
studious
to
promote
the
Honour
of
my
Native
Country
,
so
I
soon
resolv'd
to
put
their
Merits
to
the
Trial
,
by
turning
some
of
the
Canterbury
Tales
into
our
Language
,
as
it
is
now
refin'd
:
For
by
this
Means
both
the
Poets
being
set
in
the
same
Light
,
and
dress'd
in
the
same
English
Habit
,
Story
to
be
compar'd
with
Story
,
a
certain
Judgment
may
be
made
betwixt
them
,
by
the
Reader
,
without
obtruding
my
Opinion
on
him
:
Or
if
I
seem
partial
to
my
Country-man
,
and
Predecessor
in
the
Laurel
,
the
Friends
of
Antiquity
are
not
few
:
And
besides
many
of
the
Learn'd
,
Ovid
has
almost
all
the
Beaux
,
and
the
whole
Fair
Sex
his
declar'd
Patrons
.
Perhaps
I
have
assum'd
somewhat
more
to
my self
than
they
allow
me
;
because
I
have
adventur'd
to
sum
up
the
Evidence
:
But
the
Readers
are
the
Jury
;
and
their
Privilege
remains
entire
to
decide
according
to
the
Merits
of
the
Cause
:
Or
,
if
they
please
to
bring
it
to
another
Hearing
,
before
some
other
Court.
In
the
mean
time
,
to
follow
the
Thrid
of
my
Discourse
,
(
as
Thoughts
,
according
to
Mr.
Hobbs
,
have
always
some
Connexion
)
so
from
Chaucer
I
was
led
to
think
on
Boccace
,
who
was
not
only
his
Contemporary
,
but
also
pursu'd
the
same
Studies
;
wrote
Novels
in
Prose
,
and
many
Works
in
Verse
;
particularly
is
said
to
have
invented
the
Octave
Rhyme
,
or
Stanza
of
Eight
Lines
,
which
ever
since
has
been
maintain'd
by
the
Practice
of
all
Italian
Writers
,
who
are
,
or
at
least
assume
the
Title
of
Heroick
Poets
:
He
and
Chaucer
,
among
other
Things
,
had
this
in
common
,
that
they
refin'd
their
Mother-Tongues
;
but
with
this
difference
,
that
Dante
had
begun
to
file
their
Language
,
at
least
in
Verse
,
before
the
time
of
Boccace
,
who
likewise
receiv'd
no
little
Help
from
his
Master
Petrarch
:
But
the
Reformation
of
their
Prose
was
wholly
owing
to
Boccace
himself
;
who
is
yet
the
Standard
of
Purity
in
the
Italian
Tongue
;
though
many
of
his
Phrases
are
become
obsolete
,
as
in
process
of
Time
it
must
needs
happen
.
Chaucer
(
as
you
have
formerly
been
told
by
our
learn'd
Mr.
Rhymer
)
first
adorn'd
and
amplified
our
barren
Tongue
from
the
Provencall
,
which
was
then
the
most
polish'd
of
all
the
Modern
Languages
:
But
this
Subject
has
been
copiously
treated
by
that
great
Critick
,
who
deserves
no
little
Commendation
from
us
his
Countrymen
.
For
these
Reasons
of
Time
,
and
Resemblance
of
Genius
,
in
Chaucer
and
Boccace
,
I
resolv'd
to
join
them
in
my
present
Work
;
to
which
I
have
added
some
Original
Papers
of
my
own
;
which
whether
they
are
equal
or
inferiour
to
my
other
Poems
,
an
Author
is
the
most
improper
Judge
;
and
therefore
I
leave
them
wholly
to
the
Mercy
of
the
Reader
:
I
will
hope
the
best
,
that
they
will
not
be
condemn'd
;
but
if
they
should
,
I
have
the
Excuse
of
an
old
Gentleman
,
who
mounting
on
Horseback
before
some
Ladies
,
when
I
was
present
,
got
up
somewhat
heavily
,
but
desir'd
of
the
Fair
Spectators
,
that
they
would
count
Fourscore
and
eight
before
they
judg'd
him
.
By
the
Mercy
of
God
,
I
am
already
come
within
Twenty
Years
of
his
Number
,
a
Cripple
in
my
Limbs
,
but
what
Decays
are
in
my
Mind
,
the
Reader
must
determine
.
I
think
my self
as
vigorous
as
ever
in
the
Faculties
of
my
Soul
,
excepting
only
my
Memory
,
which
is
not
impair'd
to
any
great
degree
;
and
if
I
lose
not
more
of
it
,
I
have
no
great
reason
to
complain
.
What
Judgment
I
had
,
increases
rather
than
diminishes
;
and
Thoughts
,
such
as
they
are
,
come
crowding
in
so
fast
upon
me
,
that
my
only
Difficulty
is
to
chuse
or
to
reject
;
to
run
them
into
Verse
,
or
to
give
them
the
other
Harmony
of
Prose
,
I
have
so
long
studied
and
practis'd
both
,
that
they
are
grown
into
a
Habit
,
and
become
familiar
to
me
.
In
short
,
though
I
may
lawfully
plead
some
part
of
the
old
Gentleman's
Excuse
;
yet
I
will
reserve
it
till
I
think
I
have
greater
need
,
and
ask
no
Grains
of
Allowance
for
the
Faults
of
this
my
present
Work
,
but
those
which
are
given
of
course
to
Humane
Frailty
.
I
will
not
trouble
my
Reader
with
the
shortness
of
Time
in
which
I
writ
it
;
or
the
several
Intervals
of
Sickness
:
They
who
think
too
well
of
their
own
Performances
,
are
apt
to
boast
in
their
Prefaces
how
little
Time
their
Works
have
cost
them
;
and
what
other
Business
of
more
importance
interfer'd
:
But
the
Reader
will
be
as
apt
to
ask
the
Question
,
Why
they
allow'd
not
a
longer
Time
to
make
their
Works
more
perfect
?
and
why
they
had
so
despicable
an
Opinion
of
their
Judges
,
as
to
thrust
their
indigested
Stuff
upon
them
,
as
if
they
deserv'd
no
better
?
With
this
Account
of
my
present
Undertaking
,
I
conclude
the
first
Part
of
this
Discourse
:
In
the
second
Part
,
as
at
a
second
Sitting
,
though
I
alter
not
the
Draught
,
I
must
touch
the
same
Features
over
again
,
and
change
the
Dead-colouring
of
the
Whole
.
In
general
I
will
only
say
,
that
I
have
written
nothing
which
savours
of
Immorality
or
Profaneness
;
at
least
,
I
am
not
conscious
to
my self
of
any
such
Intention
.
If
there
happen
to
be
found
an
irreverent
Expression
,
or
a
Thought
too
wanton
,
they
are
crept
into
my
Verses
through
my
Inadvertency
:
If
the
Searchers
find
any
in
the
Cargo
,
let
them
be
stav'd
or
forfeited
,
like
Counterbanded
Goods
;
at
least
,
let
their
Authors
be
answerable
for
them
,
as
being
but
imported
Merchandise
,
and
not
of
my
own
Manufacture
.
On
the
other
Side
,
I
have
endeavour'd
to
chuse
such
Fables
,
both
Ancient
and
Modern
,
as
contain
in
each
of
them
some
instructive
Moral
,
which
I
could
prove
by
Induction
,
but
the
Way
is
tedious
;
and
they
leap
foremost
into
sight
,
without
the
Reader
's
Trouble
of
looking
after
them
.
I
wish
I
could
affirm
with
a
safe
Conscience
,
that
I
had
taken
the
same
Care
in
all
my
former
Writings
;
for
it
must
be
own'd
,
that
supposing
Verses
are
never
so
beautiful
or
pleasing
,
yet
if
they
contain
any
thing
which
shocks
Religion
,
or
Good
Manners
,
they
are
at
best
,
what
Horace
says
of
good
Numbers
without
good
Sehse
,
Versus
inopes
rerum
;
nugaeque
canorae
:
Thus
far
,
I
hope
,
I
am
Right
in
Court
,
without
renouncing
to
my
other
Right
of
Self-defence
,
where
I
have
been
wrongfully
accus'd
,
and
my
Sense
wire-drawn
into
Blasphemy
or
Bawdry
,
as
it
has
often
been
by
a
Religious
Lawyer
,
in
a
late
Pleading
against
the
Stage
;
in
which
he
mixes
Truth
with
Falshood
,
and
has
not
forgotten
the
old
Rule
,
of
calumniating
strongly
,
that
something
may
remain
.
I
resume
the
Thrid
of
my
Discourse
with
the
first
of
my
Translations
,
which
was
the
First
Iliad
of
Homer
.
If
it
shall
please
God
to
give
me
longer
Life
,
and
moderate
Health
,
my
Intentions
are
to
translate
the
whole
Ilias
;
provided
still
,
that
I
meet
with
those
Encouragements
from
the
Publick
,
which
may
enable
me
to
proceed
in
my
Undertaking
with
some
Chearfulness
,
And
this
I
dare
assure
the
World
before-hand
,
that
I
have
found
by
Trial
,
Homer
a
more
pleasing
Task
than
Virgil
,
(
though
I
say
not
the
Translation
will
be
less
laborious
.
)
For
the
Grecian
is
more
according
to
my
Genius
,
than
the
Latin
Poet.
In
the
Works
of
the
two
Authors
we
may
read
their
Manners
,
and
natural
Inclinations
,
which
are
wholly
different
.
Virgil
was
of
a
quiet
,
sedate
Temper
;
Homer
was
violent
,
impetuous
,
and
full
of
Fire
.
The
chief
Talent
of
Virgil
was
Propriety
of
Thoughts
,
and
Ornament
of
Words
:
Homer
was
rapid
in
his
Thoughts
,
and
took
all
the
Liberties
both
of
Numbers
,
and
of
Expressions
,
which
his
Language
,
and
the
Age
in
which
he
liv'd
allow'd
him
:
Homer's
Invention
was
more
copious
,
Virgil's
more
confin'd
So
that
if
Homer
had
not
led
the
Way
,
it
was
not
in
Virgil
to
have
begun-Heroick
Poetry
:
For
,
nothing
can
be
more
evident
,
than
that
the
Roman
Poem
is
but
the
Second
Part
of
the
Ilias
;
a
Continuation
of
the
same
Story
:
And
the
Persons
already
form'd
:
The
Manners
of
AEneds
,
are
those
of
Hector
superadded
to
those
which
Homer
gave
him
.
The
Adventures
of
Ulysses
in
the
Odysseis
,
are
imitated
in
the
first
Six
Books
of
Virgil's
AEneis
:
And
though
the
Accidents
are
not
the
same
,
(
which
would
have
argu'd
him
of
a
servile
,
copying
,
and
total
Barrenness
of
Invention
)
yet
the
Seas
were
the
same
,
in
which
both
the
Heroes-wander'd
;
and
Dido
cannot
be
deny'd
to
be
the
Poetical
Daughter
of
Calypso
.
The
Six
latter
Books
of
Virgil's
Poem
,
are
the
Four
and
twenty
Iliads
contracted
:
A
Quarrel
occasion'd
by
a
Lady
,
a
Single
Combate
,
Battels
fought
,
and
Town
besieg'd
.
I
say
not
this
in
derogation
to
Virgil
,
neither
do
I
contradict
any
thing
which
I
have
formerly
said
in
his
just
Praise
:
For
his
Episodes
are
almost
wholly
of
his
own
Invention
and
the
Form
which
he
has
given
to
the
Telling
,
makes
the
Tale
his
own
even
though
the
Original
Story
had
been
the
same
.
But
this
proves
,
however
that
Homer
taught
Virgil
to
design
:
And
if
Invention
be
the
first
Vertue
of
an
Epick
Poet
,
then
the
Latin
Poem
can
only
be
allow'd
the
second
Place
.
Mr.
Hobbs
,
in
the
Preface
to
his
own
bald
Translation
of
the
Ilias
,
(
studying
Poetry
as
he
did
Mathematicks
,
when
it
was
too
late
)
Mr.
Hobbs
,
I
say
,
begins
the
Praise
of
Homer
where
he
should
have
ended
it
.
He
tells
us
,
that
the
first
Beauty
of
an
Epick
Poem
consists
in
Diction
,
that
is
,
in
the
Choice
of
Words
,
and
Harmony
of
Numbers
:
Now
,
the
Words
are
the
Colouring
〈◊〉
Work
,
which
in
the
Order
of
Nature
is
last
to
be
〈◊〉
.
The
Design
,
the
Disposition
,
the
Manners
,
and
the
Thoughts
,
are
all
before
it
:
Where
any
of
those
are
wanting
or
imperfect
,
so
much
wants
or
is
imperfect
in
the
Imitation
of
Humane
Life
;
which
is
in
the
very
Definition
of
a
Poem
.
Words
Indeed
,
like
glaring
Colours
,
are
the
first
Beauties
that
arise
,
and
strike
the
Sight
;
but
if
the
Draught
be
false
or
lame
,
the
Figures
ill
dispos'd
,
the
Manners
obscure
or
inconsistent
,
or
the
Thoughts
unnatural
,
then
the
finest
Colours
are
but
Dawbing
,
and
the
Piece
is
a
beautiful
Monster
at
the
best
.
Neither
Virgil
nor
Homer
were
deficient
in
any
of
the
former
Beauties
;
but
in
this
last
,
which
is
Expression
,
the
Roman
Poet
is
at
least
equal
to
the
Grecian
,
as
I
have
said
elsewhere
;
supplying
the
Poverty
of
his
Language
,
by
his
Musical
Ear
,
and
by
his
Diligence
.
But
to
return
:
Our
two
Great
Poets
,
being
so
different
in
their
Tempers
,
one
Cholerick
and
Sanguin
,
the
other
Phlegmatick
and
Melancholick
;
that
which
makes
them
excel
in
their
several
Ways
,
is
,
that
each
of
them
has
follow'd
his
own
natural
Inclination
,
as
well
in
Forming
the
Design
,
as
in
the
Execution
of
it
.
The
very
Heroes
shew
their
Authors
:
Achilles
is
hot
,
impatient
,
revengeful
,
Impiger
,
iracundus
,
inexorabilis
,
acer
,
&c.
AEnoeas
patient
,
considerate
,
careful
of
his
People
,
and
merciful
to
his
Enemies
;
ever
submissive
to
the
Will
of
Heaven
,
quo
fata
trahunt
retrahuntque
,
sequamur
.
I
could
please
my self
with
enlarging
on
this
Subject
,
but
am
forc'd
to
defer
it
to
a
fitter
Time
.
From
all
I
have
said
,
I
will
only
draw
this
Inference
,
That
the
Action
of
Homer
being
more
full
of
Vigour
than
that
of
Virgil
,
according
to
the
Temper
of
the
Writer
,
is
of
consequence
more
pleasing
to
the
Reader
.
One
warms
you
by
Degrees
;
the
other
sets
you
on
fire
all
at
once
,
and
never
intermits
his
Heat
.
'T
is
the
same
Difference
which
Longinus
makes
betwixt
the
Effects
of
Eloquence
in
Demosthenes
,
and
Tully
.
One
persuades
;
the
other
commands
.
You
never
cool
while
you
read
Homer
,
even
not
in
the
Second
Book
,
(
a
graceful
Flattery
to
his
Countrymen
;
)
but
he
hastens
from
the
Ships
,
and
concludes
not
that
Book
till
he
has
made
you
an
Amends
by
the
violent
playing
of
a
new
Machine
.
From
thence
he
hurries
on
his
Action
with
Variety
of
Events
,
and
ends
it
in
less
Compass
than
Two
Months
.
This
Vehemence
of
his
,
I
confess
,
is
more
suitable
to
my
Temper
:
and
therefore
I
have
translated
his
First
Book
with
greater
Pleasure
than
any
Part
of
Virgil
:
But
it
was
not
a
Pleasure
without
Pains
:
The
continual
Agitations
of
the
Spirits
,
must
needs
be
a
Weakning
of
any
Constitution
,
especially
in
Age
:
and
many
Pauses
are
required
for
Refreshment
betwixt
the
Heats
;
the
Iliad
of
its
self
being
a
third
part
longer
than
all
Virgil's
Works
together
.
This
is
what
I
thought
needful
in
this
Place
to
say
of
Homer
.
I
proceed
to
Ovid
,
and
Chaucer
;
considering
the
former
only
in
relation
to
the
latter
.
With
Ovid
ended
the
Golden
Age
of
the
Roman
Tongue
:
From
Chaucer
the
Purity
of
the
English
Tongue
began
.
The
Manners
of
the
Poets
were
not
unlike
:
Both
of
them
were
well-bred
,
well-natur'd
,
amorous
,
and
Libertine
,
at
least
in
their
Writings
,
it
may
be
also
in
their
Lives
.
Their
Studies
were
the
same
,
Philosophy
,
and
Philology
.
Both
of
them
were
knowing
in
Astronomy
,
of
which
Ovid's
Books
of
the
Roman
Feasts
,
and
Chaucer's
Treatise
of
the
Astrolabe
,
are
sufficient
Witnesses
.
But
Chaucer
was
likewise
an
Astrologer
,
as
were
Virgil
,
Horace
,
Persius
,
and
Manilius
.
Both
writ
with
wonderful
Facility
and
Clearness
;
neither
were
great
Inventors
:
For
Ovid
only
copied
the
Grecian
Fables
;
and
most
of
Chaucer's
Stories
were
taken
from
his
Italian
Contemporaries
,
or
their
Predecessors
:
Boccace
his
Decameron
was
first
publish'd
;
and
from
thence
our
Englishman
has
borrow'd
many
of
his
Canterbury
Tales
:
Yet
that
of
Palamon
and
Arcite
was
written
in
all
probability
by
some
Italian
Wit
,
in
a
former
Age
;
as
I
shall
prove
hereafter
:
The
Tale
of
Grizild
was
the
Invention
of
Petrarch
;
by
him
sent
to
Boccace
;
from
whom
it
came
to
Chaucer
:
Troilus
and
Cressida
was
also
written
by
a
Lombard
Author
;
but
much
amplified
by
our
English
Translatour
,
as
well
as
beautified
;
the
Genius
of
our
Countrymen
in
general
being
rather
to
improve
an
Invention
,
than
to
invent
themselves
;
as
is
evident
not
only
in
our
Poetry
,
but
in
many
of
our
Manufactures
.
I
find
I
have
anticipated
already
,
and
taken
up
from
Boccace
before
I
come
to
him
:
But
there
is
so
much
less
behind
;
and
I
am
of
the
Temper
of
most
Kings
,
who
love
to
be
in
Debt
,
are
all
for
present
Money
,
no
matter
how
they
pay
it
afterwards
:
Besides
,
the
Nature
of
a
Preface
is
rambling
;
never
wholly
out
of
the
Way
,
nor
in
it
.
This
I
have
learn'd
from
the
Practice
of
honest
Montaign
,
and
return
at
my
pleasure
to
Ovid
and
Chaucer
,
of
whom
I
have
little
more
to
say
.
Both
of
them
built
on
the
Inventions
of
other
Men
;
yet
since
Chaucer
had
something
of
his
own
,
as
The
Wife
of
Baths
Tale
,
The
Cock
and
the
Fox
,
which
I
have
translated
,
and
some
others
,
I
may
justly
give
our
Country-man
the
Precedence
in
that
Part
;
since
I
can
remember
nothing
of
Ovid
which
was
wholly
his
.
Both
of
them
understood
the
Manners
;
under
which
Name
I
comprehend
the
Passions
,
and
,
in
a
larger
Sense
,
the
Descriptions
of
Persons
,
and
their
very
Habits
:
For
an
Example
,
I
see
Baucis
and
Philemon
as
perfectly
before
me
,
as
if
some
ancient
Painter
had
drawn
them
;
and
all
the
Pilgrims
in
the
Canterbury
Tales
,
their
Humours
,
their
Features
,
and
the
very
Dress
,
as
distinctly
as
if
I
had
supp'd
with
them
at
the
Tabard
in
Southwark
:
Yet
even
there
too
the
Figures
of
Chaucer
are
much
more
lively
,
and
set
in
a
better
Light
:
Which
though
I
have
not
time
to
prove
;
yet
I
appeal
to
the
Reader
,
and
am
sure
he
will
clear
me
from
Partiality
.
The
Thoughts
and
Words
remain
to
be
consider'd
,
in
the
Comparison
of
the
two
Poets
;
and
I
have
sav'd
my self
one
half
of
that
Labour
,
by
owning
that
Ovid
liv'd
when
the
Roman
Tongue
was
in
its
Meridian
;
Chaucer
,
in
the
Dawning
of
our
Language
:
Therefore
that
Part
of
the
Comparison
stands
not
on
an
equal
Foot
,
any
more
than
the
Diction
of
Ennius
and
Ovid
;
or
of
Chaucer
,
and
our
present
English
.
The
Words
are
given
up
as
a
Post
not
to
be
defended
in
our
Poet
,
because
he
wanted
the
Modern
Art
of
Fortifying
.
The
Thoughts
remain
to
be
consider'd
:
And
they
are
to
be
measur'd
only
by
their
Propriety
;
that
is
,
as
they
flow
more
or
less
naturally
from
the
Persons
describ'd
,
on
such
and
such
Occasions
.
The
Vulgar
Judges
,
which
are
Nine
Parts
in
Ten
of
all
Nations
,
who
call
Conceits
and
Jingles
Wit
,
who
see
Ovid
full
of
them
,
and
Chaucer
altogether
without
them
,
will
think
me
little
less
than
mad
,
for
preferring
the
Englishman
to
the
Roman
:
Yet
,
with
their
leave
,
I
must
presume
to
say
,
that
the
Things
they
admire
are
only
glittering
Trifles
,
and
so
far
from
being
Witty
,
that
in
a
serious
Poem
they
are
nauseous
,
because
they
are
unnatural
.
Wou'd
any
Man
who
is
ready
to
die
for
Love
,
describe
his
Passion
like
Narcissus
?
Wou'd
he
think
of
inopem
me
copia
fecit
,
and
a
Dozen
more
of
such
Expressions
,
pour'd
on
the
Neck
of
one
another
,
and
signifying
all
the
same
Thing
?
If
this
were
Wit
,
was
this
a
Time
to
be
witty
,
when
the
poor
Wretch
was
in
the
Agony
of
Death
?
This
is
just
John
Littlewit
in
Bartholomew
Fair
,
who
had
a
Conceit
(
as
he
tells
you
)
left
him
in
his
Misery
;
a
miserable
Conceit
.
On
these
Occasions
the
Poet
shou'd
endeavour
to
raise
Pity
:
But
instead
of
this
,
Ovid
is
tickling
you
to
laugh
.
Virgil
never
made
use
of
such
Machines
,
when
he
was
moving
you
to
commiserate
the
Death
of
Dido
:
He
would
not
destroy
what
he
was
building
.
Chaucer
makes
Arcite
violent
in
his
Love
,
and
unjust
in
the
Pursuit
of
it
:
Yet
when
he
came
to
die
,
he
made
him
think
more
reasonably
:
He
repents
not
of
his
Love
,
for
that
had
alter'd
his
Character
;
but
acknowledges
the
Injustice
of
his
Proceedings
,
and
resigns
Emilia
to
Palamon
.
What
would
Ovid
have
done
on
this
Occasion
?
He
would
certainly
have
made
Arcite
witty
on
his
Death-bed
.
He
had
complain'd
he
was
farther
off
from
Possession
,
by
being
so
near
,
and
a
thousand
such
Boyisms
,
which
Chaucer
rejected
as
below
the
Dignity
of
the
Subject
.
They
who
think
otherwise
,
would
by
the
same
Reason
prefer
Lucan
and
Ovid
to
Homer
and
Virgil
,
and
Martial
to
all
Four
of
them
.
As
for
the
Turn
of
Words
,
in
which
Ovid
particularly
excels
all
Poets
;
they
are
sometimes
a
Fault
,
and
sometimes
a
Beauty
,
as
they
are
us'd
properly
or
improperly
;
but
in
strong
Passions
always
to
be
shunn'd
,
because
Passions
are
serious
,
and
will
admit
no
Playing
.
The
French
have
a
high
Value
for
them
;
and
I
confess
,
they
are
often
what
they
call
Delicate
,
when
they
are
introduc'd
with
Judgment
;
but
Chaucer
writ
with
more
Simplicity
,
and
follow'd
Nature
more
closely
,
than
to
use
them
.
I
have
thus
far
,
to
the
best
of
my
Knowledge
,
been
an
upright
Judge
betwixt
the
Parties
in
Competition
,
not
medling
with
the
Design
nor
the
Disposition
of
it
;
because
the
Design
was
not
their
own
;
and
in
the
disposing
of
it
they
were
equal
.
It
remains
that
I
say
somewhat
of
Chaucer
in
particular
.
In
the
first
place
,
As
he
is
the
Father
of
English
Poetry
,
so
I
hold
him
in
the
same
Degree
of
Veneration
as
the
Grecians
held
Homer
,
or
the
Romans
Virgil
:
He
is
a
perpetual
Fountain
of
good
Sense
;
learn'd
in
all
Sciences
;
and
therefore
speaks
properly
on
all
Subjects
:
As
he
knew
what
to
say
,
so
he
knows
also
when
to
leave
off
;
a
Continence
which
is
practis'd
by
few
Writers
,
and
scarcely
by
any
of
the
Ancients
,
excepting
Virgil
and
Horace
.
One
of
our
late
great
Poets
is
sunk
in
his
Reputation
,
because
he
cou'd
never
forgive
any
Conceit
which
came
in
his
way
;
but
swept
like
a
Drag-net
,
great
and
small
.
There
was
plenty
enough
,
but
the
Dishes
were
ill
sorted
;
whole
Pyramids
of
Sweet-meats
,
for
Boys
and
Women
;
but
little
of
solid
Meat
,
for
Men
:
All
this
proceeded
not
from
any
want
of
Knowledge
,
but
of
Judgment
;
neither
did
he
want
that
in
discerning
the
Beauties
and
Faults
of
other
Poets
;
but
only
indulg'd
himself
in
the
Luxury
of
Writing
;
and
perhaps
knew
it
was
a
Fault
,
but
hop'd
the
Reader
would
not
find
it
.
For
this
Reason
,
though
he
must
always
be
thought
a
great
Poet
,
he
is
no
longer
esteem'd
a
good
Writer
:
And
for
Ten
Impressions
,
which
his
Works
have
had
in
so
many
successive
Years
,
yet
at
present
a
hundred
Books
are
scarcely
purchas'd
once
a
Twelvemonth
:
For
,
as
my
last
Lord
Rochester
said
,
though
somewhat
profanely
,
Not
being
of
God
,
he
could
not
stand
.
Chaucer
follow'd
Nature
every
where
;
but
was
never
so
bold
to
go
beyond
her
:
And
there
is
a
great
Difference
of
being
Poeta
and
nimis
Poeta
,
if
we
may
believe
Catullus
,
as
much
as
betwixt
a
modest
Behaviour
and
Affectation
.
The
Verse
of
Chaucer
,
I
confess
,
is
not
Harmonious
to
us
;
but
't
is
like
the
Eloquence
of
one
whom
Tacitus
commends
,
it
was
auribus
istius
temporis
accommodata
:
They
who
liv'd
with
him
,
and
some
time
after
him
,
thought
it
Musical
;
and
it
continues
so
even
in
our
Judgment
,
if
compar'd
with
the
Numbers
of
Lidgate
and
Gower
his
Contemporaries
:
There
is
the
rude
Sweetness
of
a
Scotch
Tune
in
it
,
which
is
natural
and
pleasing
,
though
not
perfect
.
'T
is
true
,
I
cannot
go
so
far
as
he
who
publish'd
the
last
Edition
of
him
;
for
he
would
make
us
believe
the
Fault
is
in
our
Ears
,
and
that
there
were
really
Ten
Syllables
in
a
Verse
where
we
find
but
Nine
:
But
this
Opinion
is
not
worth
confuting
;
't
is
so
gross
and
obvious
an
Errour
,
that
common
Sense
(
which
is
a
Rule
in
every
thing
but
Matters
of
Faith
and
Revelation
)
must
convince
the
Reader
,
that
Equality
of
Numbers
in
every
Verse
which
we
call
Heroick
,
was
either
not
known
,
or
not
always
practis'd
in
Chaucer's
Age.
It
were
an
easie
Matter
to
produce
some
thousands
of
his
Verses
,
which
are
lame
for
want
of
half
a
Foot
,
and
sometimes
a
whole
one
,
and
which
no
Pronunciation
can
make
otherwise
.
We
can
only
say
,
that
he
liv'd
in
the
Infancy
of
our
Poetry
,
and
that
nothing
is
brought
to
Perfection
at
the
first
.
We
must
be
Children
before
we
grow
Men.
There
was
an
Ennius
,
and
in
process
of
Time
a
Lucilius
,
and
a
Lucretius
,
before
Virgil
and
Horace
;
even
after
Chaucer
there
was
a
Spencer
,
a
Harrington
,
a
Fairfax
,
before
Waller
and
Denham
were
in
being
:
And
our
Numbers
were
in
their
Nonage
till
these
last
appear'd
.
I
need
say
little
of
his
Parentage
,
Life
,
and
Fortunes
:
They
are
to
be
found
at
large
in
all
the
Editions
of
his
Works
.
He
was
employ'd
abroad
,
and
favour'd
by
Edward
the
Third
,
Richard
the
Second
,
and
Henry
the
Fourth
,
and
was
Poet
,
as
I
suppose
,
to
all
Three
of
them
.
In
Richard's
Time
,
I
doubt
,
he
was
a
little
dipt
in
the
Rebellion
of
the
Commons
;
and
being
Brother-in-Law
to
John
of
Ghant
,
it
was
no
wonder
if
he
follow'd
the
Fortunes
of
that
Family
;
and
was
well
with
Henry
the
Fourth
when
he
had
depos'd
his
Predecessor
.
Neither
is
it
to
be
admir'd
,
that
Henry
,
who
was
a
wise
as
well
as
a
valiant
Prince
,
who
claim'd
by
Succession
,
and
was
sensible
that
his
Title
was
not
sound
,
but
was
rightfully
in
Mortimer
,
who
had
married
the
Heir
of
York
;
it
was
not
to
be
admir'd
,
I
say
,
if
that
great
Politician
should
be
pleas'd
to
have
the
greatest
Wit
of
those
Times
in
his
Interests
,
and
to
be
the
Trumpet
of
his
Praises
.
Augustus
had
given
him
the
Example
,
by
the
Advice
of
Mecoenas
,
who
recommended
Virgil
and
Horace
to
him
;
whose
Praises
help'd
to
make
him
Popular
while
he
was
alive
,
and
after
his
Death
have
made
him
Precious
to
Posterity
.
As
for
the
Religion
of
our
Poet
,
he
seems
to
have
some
little
Byas
towards
the
Opinions
of
Wickliff
,
after
John
of
Ghant
his
Patron
;
somewhat
of
which
appears
in
the
Tale
of
Piers
Plowman
:
Yet
I
cannot
blame
him
for
inveighing
so
sharply
against
the
Vices
of
the
Clergy
in
his
Age
:
Their
Pride
,
their
Ambition
,
their
Pomp
,
their
Avarice
,
their
Worldly
Interest
,
deserv'd
the
Lashes
which
he
gave
them
,
both
in
that
,
and
in
most
of
his
Canterbury
Tales
:
Neither
has
his
Contemporary
Boccace
,
spar'd
them
.
Yet
both
those
Poets
liv'd
in
much
esteem
,
with
good
and
holy
Men
in
Orders
:
For
the
Scandal
which
is
given
by
particular
Priesls
,
reflects
not
on
the
Sacred
Function
.
Chaucer's
Monk
,
his
Chanon
,
and
his
Fryar
,
took
not
from
the
Character
of
his
Good
Parson
.
A
Satyrical
Poet
is
the
Check
of
the
Laymen
,
on
bad
Priests
.
We
are
only
to
take
care
,
that
we
involve
not
the
Innocent
with
the
Guilty
in
the
same
Condemnation
.
The
Good
cannot
be
too
much
honour'd
,
nor
the
Bad
too
coursly
us'd
:
For
the
Corruption
of
the
Best
,
becomes
the
Worst
.
When
a
Clergy-man
is
whipp'd
,
his
Gown
is
first
taken
off
,
by
which
the
Dignity
of
his
Order
is
secur'd
:
If
he
be
wrongfully
accus'd
,
he
has
his
Action
of
Slander
;
and
't
is
at
the
Poet's
Peril
,
if
he
transgress
the
Law
.
But
they
will
tell
us
,
that
all
kind
of
Satire
,
though
never
so
well
deserv'd
by
particular
Priests
,
yet
brings
the
whole
Order
into
Contempt
.
Is
then
the
Peerage
of
England
any
thing
dishonour'd
,
when
a
Peer
suffers
for
his
Treason
?
If
he
be
libell'd
,
or
any
way
defam'd
,
he
has
his
Scandalum
Magnatum
to
punish
the
Offendor
.
They
who
use
this
kind
of
Argument
,
seem
to
be
conscious
to
themselves
of
somewhat
which
has
deserv'd
the
Poet's
Lash
;
and
are
less
concern'd
for
their
Publick
Capacity
,
than
for
their
Private
:
At
least
,
there
is
Pride
at
the
bottom
of
their
Reasoning
.
If
the
Faults
of
Men
in
Orders
are
only
to
be
judg'd
among
themselves
,
they
are
all
in
some
sort
Parties
:
For
,
since
they
say
the
Honour
of
their
Order
is
concern'd
in
every
Member
of
it
,
how
can
we
be
sure
,
that
they
will
be
impartial
Judges
?
How
far
I
may
be
allow'd
to
speak
my
Opinion
in
this
Case
,
I
know
not
:
But
I
am
sure
a
Dispute
of
this
Nature
caus'd
Mischief
in
abundance
betwixt
a
King
of
England
and
an
Archbishop
of
Canterbury
;
one
standing
up
for
the
Laws
of
his
Land
,
and
the
other
for
the
Honour
(
as
he
call'd
it
)
of
God's
Church
;
which
ended
in
the
Murther
of
the
Prelate
,
and
in
the
whipping
of
his
Majesty
from
Post
to
Pillar
for
his
Penance
.
The
Learn'd
and
Ingenious
Dr.
Drake
has
sav'd
me
the
Labour
of
inquiring
into
the
Esteem
and
Reverence
which
the
Priests
have
had
of
old
;
and
I
would
rather
extend
than
diminish
any
part
of
it
:
Yet
I
must
needs
say
,
that
when
a
Priest
provokes
me
without
any
Occasion
given
him
,
I
have
no
Reason
,
unless
it
be
the
Charity
of
a
Christian
,
to
forgive
him
:
Prior
loesit
is
Justification
sufficient
in
the
Civil
Law
.
If
I
answer
him
in
his
own
Language
,
Self-defence
,
I
am
sure
,
must
be
allow'd
me
;
and
if
I
carry
it
farther
,
even
to
a
sharp
Recrimination
,
somewhat
may
be
indulg'd
to
Humane
Frailty
.
Yet
my
Resentment
has
not
wrought
so
far
,
but
that
I
have
follow'd
Chaucer
in
his
Character
of
a
Holy
Man
,
and
have
enlarg'd
on
that
Subject
with
some
Pleasure
,
reserving
to
my self
the
Right
,
if
I
shall
think
fit
hereafter
,
to
describe
another
sort
of
Priests
,
such
as
are
more
easily
to
be
found
than
the
Good
Parson
;
such
as
have
given
the
last
Blow
to
Christianity
in
this
Age
,
by
a
Practice
so
contrary
to
their
Doctrine
.
But
this
will
keep
cold
till
another
time
.
In
the
mean
while
,
I
take
up
Chaucer
where
I
left
him
.
He
must
have
been
a
Man
of
a
most
wonderful
comprehensive
Nature
,
because
,
as
it
has
been
truly
observ'd
of
him
,
he
has
taken
into
the
Compass
of
his
Canterbury
Tales
the
various
Manners
and
Humours
(
as
we
now
call
them
)
of
the
whole
English
Nation
,
in
his
Age.
Not
a
single
Character
has
escap'd
him
.
All
his
Pilgrims
are
severally
distinguish'd
from
each
other
,
and
not
only
in
their
Inclinations
,
but
in
their
very
Phisiognomies
and
Persons
.
Baptista
Porta
could
not
have
describ'd
their
Natures
better
,
than
by
the
Marks
which
the
Poet
gives
them
.
The
Matter
and
Manner
of
their
Tales
,
and
of
their
Telling
,
are
so
suited
to
their
different
Educations
,
Humours
,
and
Callings
,
that
each
of
them
would
be
improper
in
any
other
Mouth
.
Even
the
grave
and
serious
Characters
are
distinguish'd
by
their
several
sorts
of
Gravity
:
Their
Discourses
are
such
as
belong
to
their
Age
,
their
Calling
,
and
their
Breeding
;
such
as
are
becoming
of
them
,
and
of
them
only
.
Some
of
his
Persons
are
Vicious
,
and
some
Vertuous
;
some
are
unlearn'd
,
or
(
as
Chaucer
calls
them
)
Lewd
,
and
some
are
Learn'd
.
Even
the
Ribaldry
of
the
Low
Characters
is
different
:
The
Reeve
,
the
Miller
,
and
the
Cook
,
are
several
Men
,
and
distinguish'd
from
each
other
,
as
much
as
the
mincing
Lady
Prioress
,
and
the
broad-speaking
gap-tooth'd
Wife
of
Bathe
.
But
enough
of
this
:
There
is
such
a
Variety
of
Game
springing
up
before
me
,
that
I
am
distracted
in
my
Choice
,
and
know
not
which
to
follow
.
'T
is
sufficient
to
say
according
to
the
Proverb
,
that
here
is
God's
Plenty
.
We
have
our
Fore-fathers
and
Great
Grand-dames
all
before
us
,
as
they
were
in
Chaucer's
Days
;
their
general
Chararacters
are
still
remaining
in
Mankind
,
and
even
in
England
,
though
they
are
call'd
by
other
Names
than
those
of
Moncks
,
and
Fryars
,
and
Chanons
,
and
Lady
Abbesses
,
and
Nuns
:
For
Mankind
is
ever
the
same
,
and
nothing
lost
out
of
Nature
,
though
every
thing
is
alter'd
.
May
I
have
leave
to
do
my self
the
Justice
,
(
since
my
Enemies
will
do
me
none
,
and
are
so
far
from
granting
me
to
be
a
good
Poet
,
that
they
will
not
allow
me
so
much
as
to
be
a
Christian
,
or
a
Moral
Man
)
may
I
have
leave
,
I
say
,
to
inform
my
Reader
,
that
I
have
confin'd
my
Choice
to
such
Tales
of
Chaucer
,
as
savour
nothing
of
Immodesty
.
If
I
had
desir'd
more
to
please
than
to
instruct
,
the
Reve
,
the
Miller
,
the
Shipman
,
the
Merchant
,
the
Sumner
,
and
above
all
,
the
Wife
of
Bathe
,
in
the
Prologue
to
her
Tale
,
would
have
procur'd
me
as
many
Friends
and
Readers
,
as
there
are
Beaux
and
Ladies
of
Pleasure
in
the
Town
.
But
I
will
no
more
offend
against
Good
Manners
:
I
am
sensible
as
I
ought
to
be
of
the
Scandal
I
have
given
by
my
loose
Writings
;
and
make
what
Reparation
I
am
able
,
by
this
Publick
Acknowledgment
.
If
any
thing
of
this
Nature
,
or
of
Profaneness
,
be
crept
into
these
Poems
,
I
am
so
far
from
defending
it
,
that
I
disown
it
.
Totum
hoc
indictum
volo
.
Chaucer
makes
another
manner
of
Apologie
for
his
broad-speaking
,
and
Boccace
makes
the
like
;
but
I
will
follow
neither
of
them
.
Our
Country-man
,
in
the
end
of
his
Characters
,
before
the
Canterbury
Tales
,
thus
excuses
the
Ribaldry
,
which
is
very
gross
,
in
many
of
his
Novels
.
But
first
,
I
pray
you
,
of
your
courtesy
,
That
ye
ne
arrete
it
nought
my
villany
,
Though
that
I
plainly
speak
in
this
mattere
To
tellen
you
her
words
,
and
eke
her
chere
:
Ne
though
I
speak
her
words
properly
,
For
this
ye
knowen
as
well
as
I
,
Who
shall
tellen
a
tale
after
a
man
He
mote
rehearse
as
nye
,
as
ever
He
can
:
Everich
word
of
it
been
in
his
charge
,
All
speke
he
,
never
so
rudely
,
ne
large
.
Or
else
he
mote
tellen
his
tale
untrue
,
Or
feine
things
,
or
find
words
new
:
He
may
not
spare
,
altho
he
were
his
brother
,
He
mote
as
well
say
o
word
as
another
.
Christ
spake
himself
full
broad
in
holy
Writ
,
And
well
I
wote
no
Villany
is
it
.
Eke
Plato
saith
,
who
so
can
him
rede
,
The
words
mote
been
Cousin
to
the
dede
.
Yet
if
a
Man
should
have
enquir'd
of
Boccace
or
of
Chaucer
,
what
need
they
had
of
introducing
such
Characters
,
where
obscene
Words
were
proper
in
their
Mouths
,
but
very
undecent
to
be
heard
;
I
know
not
what
Answer
they
could
have
made
:
For
that
Reason
,
such
Tales
shall
be
left
untold
by
me
.
You
have
here
a
Specimen
of
Chaucer's
Language
,
which
is
so
obsolete
,
that
his
Sense
is
scarce
to
be
understood
;
and
you
have
likewise
more
than
one
Example
of
his
unequal
Numbers
,
which
were
mention'd
before
.
Yet
many
of
his
Verses
consist
of
Ten
Syllables
,
and
the
Words
not
much
behind
our
present
English
:
As
for
Example
,
these
two
Lines
,
in
the
Description
of
the
Carpenter's
Young
Wife
:
Wincing
she
was
,
as
is
a
jolly
Colt
,
Long
as
a
Mast
,
and
upright
as
a
Bolt
.
I
have
almost
done
with
Chaucer
,
when
I
have
answer'd
some
Objections
relating
to
my
present
Work
.
I
find
some
People
are
offended
that
I
have
turn'd
these
Tales
into
modern
English
;
because
they
think
them
unworthy
of
my
Pains
,
and
look
on
Chaucer
as
a
dry
,
old-fashion'd
Wit
,
not
worth
receiving
.
I
have
often
heard
the
late
Earl
of
Leicester
say
,
that
Mr.
Cowley
himself
was
of
that
opinion
;
who
having
read
him
over
at
my
Lord's
Request
,
declar'd
he
had
no
Taste
of
him
.
I
dare
not
advance
my
Opinion
against
the
Judgment
of
so
great
an
Author
:
But
I
think
it
fair
,
however
,
to
leave
the
Decision
to
the
Publick
:
Mr.
Cowley
was
too
modest
to
set
up
for
a
Dictatour
;
and
being
shock'd
perhaps
with
his
old
Style
,
never
examin'd
into
the
depth
of
his
good
Sense
.
Chaucer
,
I
confess
,
is
a
rough
Diamond
,
and
must
first
be
polish'd
e'er
he
shines
.
I
deny
not
likewise
,
that
living
in
our
early
Days
of
Poetry
,
he
writes
not
always
of
a
piece
;
but
sometimes
mingles
trivial
Things
,
with
those
of
greater
Moment
.
Sometimes
also
,
though
not
often
,
he
runs
riot
,
like
Ovid
,
and
knows
not
when
he
has
said
enough
.
But
there
are
more
great
Wits
,
beside
Chaucer
,
whose
Fault
is
their
Excess
of
Conceits
,
and
those
ill
sorted
.
An
Author
is
not
to
write
all
he
can
,
but
only
all
he
ought
.
Having
observ'd
this
Redundancy
in
Chaucer
,
(
as
it
is
an
easie
Matter
for
a
Man
of
ordinary
Parts
to
find
a
Fault
in
one
of
greater
)
I
have
not
ty'd
my self
to
a
Literal
Translation
;
but
have
often
omitted
what
I
judg'd
unnecessary
,
or
not
of
Dignity
enough
to
appear
in
the
Company
of
better
Thoughts
.
I
have
presum'd
farther
in
some
Places
,
and
added
somewhat
of
my
own
where
I
thought
my
Author
was
deficient
,
and
had
not
given
his
Thoughts
their
true
Lustre
,
for
want
of
Words
in
the
Beginning
of
our
Language
.
And
to
this
I
was
the
more
embolden'd
,
because
(
if
I
may
be
permitted
to
say
it
of
my self
)
I
found
I
had
a
Soul
congenial
to
his
,
and
that
I
had
been
conversant
in
the
same
Studies
.
Another
Poet
,
in
another
Age
,
may
take
the
same
Liberty
with
my
Writings
;
if
at
least
they
live
long
enough
to
deserve
Correction
.
It
was
also
necessary
sometimes
to
restore
the
Sense
of
Chaucer
,
which
was
lost
or
mangled
in
the
Errors
of
the
Press
:
Let
this
Example
suffice
at
present
in
the
Story
of
Palamon
and
Arcite
,
where
the
Temple
of
Diana
is
describ'd
,
you
find
these
Verses
,
in
all
the
Editions
of
our
Author
:
There
saw
I
Danè
turned
unto
a
Tree
,
I
mean
not
the
Goddess
Diane
,
But
Venus
Daughter
,
which
that
hight
Danè
.
Which
after
a
little
Consideration
I
knew
was
to
be
reform'd
into
this
Sense
,
that
Daphne
the
Daughter
of
Peneus
was
turn'd
into
a
Tree
.
I
durst
not
make
thus
bold
with
Ovid
,
lest
some
future
Milbourn
should
arise
,
and
say
,
I
varied
from
my
Author
,
because
I
understood
him
not
.
But
there
are
other
Judges
who
think
I
ought
not
to
have
translated
Chaucer
into
English
,
out
of
a
quite
contrary
Notion
:
They
suppose
there
is
a
certain
Veneration
due
to
his
old
Language
;
and
that
it
is
little
less
than
Profanation
and
Sacrilege
to
alter
it
.
They
are
farther
of
opinion
,
that
somewhat
of
his
good
Sense
will
suffer
in
this
Transfusion
,
and
much
of
the
Beauty
of
his
Thoughts
will
infallibly
be
lost
,
which
appear
with
more
Grace
in
their
old
Habit.
Of
this
Opinion
was
that
excellent
Person
,
whom
I
mention'd
,
the
late
Earl
of
Leicester
,
who
valu'd
Chaucer
as
much
as
Mr.
Cowley
despis'd
him
.
My
Lord
dissuaded
me
from
this
Attempt
,
(
for
I
was
thinking
of
it
some
Years
before
his
Death
)
and
his
Authority
prevail'd
so
far
with
me
,
as
to
defer
my
Undertaking
while
he
liv'd
,
in
deference
to
him
:
Yet
my
Reason
was
not
convinc'd
with
what
he
urg'd
against
it
.
If
the
first
End
of
a
Writer
be
to
be
understood
,
then
as
his
Language
grows
obsolete
,
his
Thoughts
must
grow
obscure
,
multa
renascuntur
quoe
nunc
cecidere
;
cadentque
quoe
nunc
sunt
in
honore
vacabula
,
si
volet
usus
,
quem
penes
arbitrium
est
&
jus
&
norma
loquendi
.
When
an
ancient
Word
for
its
Sound
and
Significancy
deserves
to
be
reviv'd
,
I
have
that
reasonable
Veneration
for
Antiquity
,
to
restore
it
.
All
beyond
this
is
Superstition
.
Words
are
not
like
Land-marks
,
so
sacred
as
never
to
be
remov'd
:
Customs
are
chang'd
,
and
even
Statutes
are
silently
repeal'd
,
when
the
Reason
ceases
for
which
they
were
enacted
.
As
for
the
other
Part
of
the
Argument
,
that
his
Thoughts
will
lose
of
their
original
Beauty
,
by
the
innovation
of
Words
;
in
the
first
place
,
not
only
their
Beauty
,
but
their
Being
is
lost
,
where
they
are
no
longer
understood
,
which
is
the
present
Case
.
I
grant
,
that
something
must
be
lost
in
all
Transfusion
,
that
is
,
in
all
Translations
;
but
the
Sense
will
remain
,
which
would
otherwise
be
lost
,
or
at
least
be
maim'd
,
when
it
is
scarce
intelligible
;
and
that
but
to
a
few
.
How
few
are
there
who
can
read
Chaucer
,
so
as
to
understand
him
perfectly
?
And
if
imperfectly
,
then
with
less
Profit
,
and
no
Pleasure
.
'T
is
not
for
the
Use
of
some
old
Saxon
Friends
,
that
I
have
taken
these
Pains
with
him
:
Let
them
neglect
my
Version
,
because
they
have
no
need
of
it
.
I
made
it
for
their
sakes
who
understand
Sense
and
Poetry
,
as
well
as
they
;
when
that
Poetry
and
Sense
is
put
into
Words
which
they
understand
.
I
will
go
farther
,
and
dare
to
add
,
that
what
Beauties
I
lose
in
some
Places
,
I
give
to
others
which
had
them
not
originally
:
But
in
this
I
may
be
partial
to
my self
;
let
the
Reader
judge
,
and
I
submit
to
his
Decision
.
Yet
I
think
I
have
just
Occasion
to
complain
of
them
,
who
because
they
understand
Chaucer
,
would
deprive
the
greater
part
of
their
Countrymen
of
the
same
Advantage
,
and
hoord
him
up
,
as
Misers
do
their
Grandam
Gold
,
only
to
look
on
it
themselves
,
and
hinder
others
from
making
use
of
it
.
In
sum
,
I
seriously
protest
,
that
no
Man
ever
had
,
or
can
have
,
a
greater
Veneration
for
Chaucer
,
than
my self
.
I
have
translated
some
part
of
his
Works
,
only
that
I
might
perpetuate
his
Memory
,
or
at
least
refresh
it
,
amongst
my
Countrymen
.
If
I
have
alter'd
him
any
where
for
the
better
,
I
must
at
the
same
time
acknowledge
,
that
I
could
have
done
nothing
without
him
:
Facile
est
inventis
addere
,
is
no
great
Commendation
;
and
I
am
not
so
vain
to
think
I
have
deserv'd
a
greater
.
I
will
conclude
what
I
have
to
say
of
him
singly
,
with
this
one
Remark
:
A
Lady
of
my
Acquaintance
,
who
keeps
a
kind
of
Correspondence
with
some
Authors
of
the
Fair
Sex
in
France
,
has
been
inform'd
by
them
,
that
Mademoiselle
de
Scudery
,
who
is
as
old
as
Sibyl
,
and
inspir'd
like
her
by
the
same
God
of
Poetry
,
is
at
this
time
translating
Chaucer
into
modern
French
.
From
which
I
gather
,
that
he
has
been
formerly
translated
into
the
old
Provencall
,
(
for
,
how
she
should
come
to
understand
Old
English
,
I
know
not
.
)
But
the
Matter
of
Fact
being
true
,
it
makes
me
think
,
that
there
is
something
in
it
like
Fatality
;
that
after
certain
Periods
of
Time
,
the
Fame
and
Memory
of
Great
Wits
should
be
renew'd
,
as
Chaucer
is
both
in
France
and
England
.
If
this
be
wholly
Chance
,
't
is
extraordinary
;
and
I
dare
not
call
it
more
,
for
fear
of
being
tax'd
with
Superstition
.
Boccace
comes
last
to
be
consider'd
,
who
living
in
the
same
Age
with
Chaucer
,
had
the
same
Genius
,
and
follow'd
the
same
Studies
:
Both
writ
Novels
,
and
each
of
them
cultivated
his
Mother-Tongue
:
But
the
greatest
Resemblance
of
our
two
Modern
Authors
being
in
their
familiar
Style
,
and
pleasing
way
of
relating
Comical
Adventures
,
I
may
pass
it
over
,
because
I
have
translated
nothing
from
Boccace
of
that
Nature
.
In
the
serious
Part
of
Poetry
,
the
Advantage
is
wholly
on
Chaucer's
Side
;
for
though
the
Englishman
has
borrow'd
many
Tales
from
the
Italian
,
yet
it
appears
,
that
those
of
Boccace
were
not
generally
of
his
own
making
,
but
taken
from
Authors
of
former
Ages
,
and
by
him
only
modell'd
:
So
that
what
there
was
of
Invention
in
either
of
them
,
may
be
judg'd
equal
.
But
Chaucer
has
refin'd
on
Boccace
,
and
has
mended
the
Stories
which
he
has
borrow'd
,
in
his
way
of
telling
;
though
Prose
allows
more
Liberty
of
Thought
,
and
the
Expression
is
more
easie
,
when
unconfin'd
by
Numbers
.
Our
Countryman
carries
Weight
,
and
yet
wins
the
Race
at
disadvantage
.
I
desire
not
the
Reader
should
take
my
Word
;
and
therefore
I
will
set
two
of
their
Discourses
on
the
same
Subject
,
in
the
same
Light
,
for
every
Man
to
judge
betwixt
them
.
I
translated
Chaucer
first
,
and
amongst
the
rest
,
pitch'd
on
the
Wise
of
Bath's
Tale
;
not
daring
,
as
I
have
said
,
to
adventure
on
her
Prologue
;
because
't
is
too
licentious
:
There
Chaucer
introduces
an
old
Woman
of
mean
Parentage
,
whom
a
youthful
Knight
of
Noble
Blood
was
forc'd
to
marry
,
and
consequently
loath'd
her
:
The
Crone
being
in
bed
with
him
on
the
wedding
Night
,
and
finding
his
Aversion
,
endeavours
to
win
his
Affection
by
Reason
,
and
speaks
a
good
Word
for
her self
,
(
as
who
could
blame
her
?
)
in
hope
to
mollifie
the
sullen
Bridegroom
.
She
takes
her
Topiques
from
the
Benefits
of
Poverty
,
the
Advantages
of
old
Age
and
Ugliness
,
the
Vanity
of
Youth
,
and
the
silly
Pride
of
Ancestry
and
Titles
without
inherent
Vertue
,
which
is
the
true
Nobility
.
When
I
had
clos'd
Chaucer
,
I
return'd
to
Ovid
,
and
translated
some
more
of
his
Fables
;
and
by
this
time
had
so
far
forgotten
the
Wise
of
Bath's
Tale
,
that
when
I
took
up
Boccace
,
unawares
I
fell
on
the
same
Argument
of
preferring
Virtue
to
Nobility
of
Blood
,
and
Titles
,
in
the
Story
of
Sigismonda
;
which
I
had
certainly
avoided
for
the
Resemblance
of
the
two
Discourses
,
if
my
Memory
had
not
fail'd
me
.
Let
the
Reader
weigh
them
both
;
and
if
he
thinks
me
partial
to
Chaucer
,
't
is
in
him
to
right
Boccace
.
I
prefer
in
our
Countryman
,
far
above
all
his
other
Stories
,
the
Noble
Poem
of
Palamon
and
Arcite
,
which
is
of
the
Epique
kind
,
and
perhaps
not
much
inferiour
to
the
Ilias
or
the
AEneis
:
the
Story
is
more
pleasing
than
either
of
them
,
the
Manners
as
perfect
,
the
Diction
as
poetical
,
the
Learning
as
deep
and
various
;
and
the
Disposition
full
as
artful
:
only
it
includes
a
greater
length
of
time
;
as
taking
up
seven
years
at
least
;
but
Aristotle
has
left
undecided
the
Duration
of
the
Action
;
which
yet
is
easily
reduc'd
into
the
Compass
of
a
year
,
by
a
Narration
of
what
preceded
the
Return
of
Palamon
to
Athens
.
I
had
thought
for
the
Honour
of
our
Nation
,
and
more
particularly
for
his
,
whose
Laurel
,
tho'
unworthy
,
I
have
worn
after
him
,
that
this
Story
was
of
English
Growth
,
and
Chaucer's
own
:
But
I
was
undeceiv'd
by
Boccace
;
for
casually
looking
on
the
End
of
his
seventh
Giornata
,
I
found
Dioneo
(
under
which
name
he
shadows
himself
)
and
Fiametta
(
who
represents
his
Mistress
,
the
natural
Daughter
of
Robert
King
of
Naples
)
of
whom
these
Words
are
spoken
.
Dioneo
e
Fiametta
gran
pezza
eantarono
insieme
d'Arcita
,
e
di
Palamone
:
by
which
it
appears
that
this
Story
was
written
before
the
time
of
Boccace
;
but
the
Name
of
its
Author
being
wholly
lost
,
Chaucer
is
now
become
an
Original
;
and
I
question
not
but
the
Poem
has
receiv'd
many
Beauties
by
passing
through
his
Noble
Hands
.
Besides
this
Tale
,
there
is
another
of
his
own
Invention
,
after
the
manner
of
the
Provencalls
,
call'd
The
Flower
and
the
Leaf
;
with
which
I
was
so
particularly
pleas'd
,
both
for
the
Invention
and
the
Moral
;
that
I
cannot
hinder
my self
from
recommending
it
to
the
Reader
.
As
a
Corollary
to
this
Preface
,
in
which
I
have
done
Justice
to
others
,
I
owe
somewhat
to
my self
:
not
that
i
think
it
worth
my
time
to
enter
the
Lists
with
one
M
—
,
or
one
B
—
,
but
barely
to
take
notice
,
that
such
Men
there
are
who
have
written
scurrilously
against
me
without
any
Provocation
.
M
—
,
who
is
in
Orders
,
pretends
amongst
the
rest
this
Quarrel
to
me
,
that
I
have
fallen
soul
on
Priesthood
;
If
I
have
,
I
am
only
to
ask
Pardon
of
good
Priests
,
and
am
afraid
his
part
of
the
Reparation
will
come
to
little
.
Let
him
be
satisfied
that
he
shall
not
be
able
to
force
himself
upon
me
for
an
Adversary
.
I
contemn
him
too
much
to
enter
into
Competition
with
him
.
His
own
Translations
of
Virgil
have
answer'd
his
Criticisms
on
mine
.
If
(
as
they
say
,
he
has
declar'd
in
Print
)
he
prefers
the
Version
of
Ogilby
to
mine
,
the
World
has
made
him
the
same
Compliment
:
For
't
is
agreed
on
all
hands
,
that
he
writes
even
below
Ogilby
:
That
,
you
will
say
,
is
not
easily
to
be
done
;
but
what
cannot
M
—
bring
about
?
I
am
satisfy'd
however
,
that
while
he
and
I
live
together
,
I
shall
not
be
thought
the
worst
Poet
of
the
Age.
It
looks
as
if
I
had
desir'd
him
underhand
to
write
so
ill
against
me
:
But
upon
my
honest
Word
I
have
not
brib'd
him
to
do
me
this
Service
,
and
am
wholly
guiltless
of
his
Pamphlet
.
'T
is
true
I
should
be
glad
,
if
I
could
persuade
him
to
continue
his
good
Offices
,
and
write
such
another
Critique
on
any
thing
of
mine
:
For
I
find
by
Experience
he
has
a
great
Stroke
with
the
Reader
,
when
he
condemns
any
of
my
Poems
to
make
the
World
have
a
better
Opinion
of
them
.
He
has
taken
some
Pains
with
my
Poetry
;
but
no
body
will
be
persuaded
to
take
the
same
with
his
.
If
I
had
taken
to
the
Church
(
as
he
affirms
,
but
which
was
never
in
my
Thoughts
)
I
should
have
had
more
Sense
,
if
not
more
Grace
,
than
to
have
turn'd
my self
out
of
my
Benefice
by
writing
Libels
on
my
Parishioners
.
But
his
Account
of
my
Manners
and
my
Principles
,
are
of
a
Piece
with
his
Cavils
and
his
Poetry
:
And
so
I
have
done
with
him
for
ever
.
As
for
the
City
Bard
,
or
Knight
Physician
,
I
hear
his
Quarrel
to
me
is
,
that
I
was
the
Author
of
Absalom
and
Architophel
,
which
he
thinks
is
a
little
hard
on
his
Fanatique
Patrons
in
London
.
But
I
will
deal
the
more
civilly
with
his
two
Poems
,
because
nothing
ill
is
to
be
spoken
of
the
Dead
:
And
therefore
Peace
be
to
the
Manes
of
his
Arthurs
.
I
will
only
say
that
it
was
not
for
this
Noble
Knight
that
I
drew
the
Plan
of
an
Epick
Poem
on
King
Arthur
in
my
Preface
to
the
Translation
of
Iuvenal
.
The
Guardian
Angels
of
Kingdoms
were
Machines
too
ponderous
for
him
to
manage
;
and
therefore
he
rejected
them
as
Dares
did
the
Whirl-bats
of
Eryx
when
they
were
thrown
before
him
by
Entellus
:
Yet
from
that
Preface
he
plainly
took
his
Hint
:
For
he
began
immediately
upon
the
Story
;
though
he
had
the
Baseness
not
to
acknowledge
his
Benefactor
;
but
in
Head
of
it
,
to
traduce
me
in
a
Libel
.
I
shall
say
the
less
of
Mr.
Collier
,
because
in
many
Things
he
has
tax'd
me
justly
;
and
I
have
pleaded
Guilty
to
all
Thoughts
and
Expressions
of
mine
,
which
can
be
truly
argu'd
of
Obscenity
,
Profaneness
,
or
Immorality
;
and
retract
them
.
If
he
be
my
Enemy
,
let
him
triumph
;
if
he
be
my
Friend
,
as
I
have
given
him
no
Personal
Occasion
to
be
otherwise
,
he
will
be
glad
of
my
Repentance
.
It
becomes
me
not
to
draw
my
Pen
in
the
Defence
of
a
bad
Cause
,
when
I
have
so
often
drawn
it
for
a
good
one
.
Yet
it
were
not
difficult
to
prove
,
that
in
many
Places
he
has
perverted
my
Meaning
by
his
Glosles
;
and
interpreted
my
Words
into
Blasphemy
and
Baudry
,
of
which
they
were
not
guilty
.
Besides
that
,
he
is
too
much
given
to
Horse-play
in
his
Raillery
;
and
comes
to
Battel
,
like
a
Dictatour
from
the
Plough
.
I
will
not
say
,
The
Zeal
of
God
s
House
has
eaten
him
up
;
but
I
am
sure
it
has
devour'd
some
Part
of
his
Good
Manners
and
Civility
.
It
might
also
be
doubted
,
whether
it
were
altogether
Zeal
,
which
prompted
him
to
this
rough
manner
of
Proceeding
;
perhaps
it
became
not
one
of
his
Function
to
rake
into
the
Rubbish
of
Ancient
and
Modern
Plays
;
a
Divine
might
have
employ'd
his
Pains
to
better
purpose
,
than
in
the
Nastiness
of
Plautus
and
Aristophanes
;
whose
Examples
,
as
they
excuse
not
me
,
so
it
might
be
possibly
suppos'd
,
that
he
read
them
not
without
some
Pleasure
.
They
who
have
written
Commentaries
on
those
Poets
,
or
on
Horace
,
Juvenal
,
and
Martial
,
have
explain'd
some
Vices
,
which
without
their
Interpretation
had
been
unknown
to
Modern
Times
.
Neither
has
he
judg'd
impartially
betwixt
the
former
Age
and
us
.
There
is
more
Baudry
in
one
Play
of
Fletcher's
,
call'd
The
Custom
of
the
Country
,
than
in
all
ours
together
.
Yet
this
has
been
often
acted
on
the
Stage
in
my
remembrance
.
Are
the
Times
so
much
more
reform'd
now
,
than
they
were
Five
and
twenty
Years
ago
?
If
they
are
,
I
congratulate
the
Amendment
of
our
Morals
.
But
I
am
not
to
prejudice
the
Cause
of
my
Fellow-Poets
,
though
I
abandon
my
own
Defence
:
They
have
some
of
them
answer'd
for
themselves
,
and
neither
they
nor
I
can
think
Mr.
Collier
so
formidable
an
Enemy
,
that
we
should
shun
him
.
He
has
lost
Ground
at
the
latter
end
of
the
Day
,
by
pursuing
his
Point
too
far
,
like
the
Prince
of
Condé
at
the
Battel
of
Senneph
:
From
Immoral
Plays
,
to
No
Plays
;
ab
abusu
ad
usum
,
non
valet
consequentia
.
But
being
a
Party
,
I
am
not
to
erect
my self
into
a
Judge
.
As
for
the
rest
of
those
who
have
written
against
me
,
they
are
such
Scoundrels
,
that
they
deserve
not
the
least
Notice
to
be
taken
of
them
.
B
—
and
M
—
are
only
distinguish'd
from
the
Crowd
,
by
being
remember'd
to
their
Infamy
.
—
Demetri
,
Teque
Tigelli
Discipularum
inter
jubeo
plorare
cathedras
.