Sinks deep within him, and poffeffes Whole, 'Then dubs Director, and fecures his Soul. Behold Sir Balaam, now a Man of Spirit, There (fo the Dev'l ordain'd) one Christmas Tide Who drinks, whores, fights, and in a Duel dies : And the Poet goes on upon the fame Subject to the Earl of Burlington, a Nobleman worthy the greatest Praise, of a diftinguifh'd and true Tafte, and a very great Friend to Mr. Pope and his 'Writings, and indeed It has been much Matter of Wonder to us, confidering the great Love and Esteem there was between them, that we do not find the Earl of Burlington's Name in Mr. Pope's Will, we do not mean otherwise than that it might have been expected, that out of Mr. Pope's Collection of Books, and other Curiofities, fomething might have been found, which might have remain'd with my Lord, as a Memorial of the long Friendsbp between them-This Epiftle, of which we are now about to speak, is a Corollary to the preceeding. As that treated of the Extremes of Avarice and Profufion, this takes up one Branch of the latter, the Vanity of Expence in People of Quality or Fortune, and the Poet admires that Mifers fhould be fo anxious to heap up Riches, which they never can have Enjoyment of, and Prodigals fpend fo much Money, in what they have no Tafte of; he ridicules feveral patch'd Buildings, and Buildings of ill Tafte, to tafte Architecture he fays, Senfe fhould be previous, of which the chief Proof is to follow Nature, and adapt all to the Nature and Ufe of the Place, the Beauties not forced into it, but refulting from it. After this, Mr. Pope goes on with a Description, intended to comprize the Principles of a falfe Tafte of Magnificence, and to exemplify what was faid before, that nothing but good Senfe can attain it; the firft wrong Principle is to think that true Greatness confifts in Size and Dimenfion, whereas, let the Work be ever fo vaft, unless the Parts cohere in one Harmony, it will be but a great many Littlenefles put together, theré must be no Difproportion, nor the Ends and Bounds muft not be feen at once, which, however large, will diminish both the Gran deur and the Surprize. Mr. Pope fays thus : At Timon's Villa let us pafs a Day, Where all cry out, "what Sums are thrown away ! So So proud, fo grand, of that ftupendous Air, Greatnefs, with Timon, dwells in fuch a Draught Lo, what huge Heaps of Littleness around! No artful Wildness to perplex the Scene; My Lord advances with majeftick Mien, Lo fome are Vellom, and the Reft as good And now the Chappel's filver Bell you hear, And complaifantly help'd to all I hate, Thefe *This is a Fact, a Reverend Dean of Peterborough preaching at Court, threatned the Sinner with Punishment in a Place which he thought it not decent to name in fo polite an Affembly.' These Lines to a certain Grandee, no lefs than a Duke, gave great Offence, the Defcription was too plain not to be known (as the malicious Town faid) who was pointed at at firft Sight, and many Perfons began to think that Mr. Pope was out of his Place in attacking a Peer, and one of the first Rank, in fo publick a Manner, and Terms of fo little Refpect, Numbers of Complaints were made, the Duke himfelf wrote Mr. Pope a Letter, and made him fenfible, that he ought to have confin'd himfelf to a made Character, and not pretend to give for a real one, what altogether belong'd to no Body, in fhort, Mr. Pope began to wifh he had not pufh'd the Matter fo far, but there was no receding, all he could do was a little to palliate the Bufinefs, and partly deny that the Character was meant for that noble Duke, and this he chose to do, or rather got Mr. Cleland to do, in a Letter to his dear and intrinfick Friend Mr. Gay, dated December 16, 1731: Am aftonifh'd at the Complaints occafioned by a late Epiftle to the Earl of Burlington; and I fhould be afflicted, were there the least just Ground for them. Had the Writer attack'd Vice, at a Time when it is not only tolerated, but triumphant, and fo far from being conceal'd as a Defect, that it is proclaim'd with Oftentation as a Merit, I fhould have been apprehenfive of the Confequence: Had he fatiriz'd Gamefters of a hundred thousand Pounds Fortune, acquir'd by fuch Methods as are daily in Practice, and almoft univerfally encourag'd: Had he over warmly defended the Religion of his Country, against fuch Books as come from every Prefs, are publickly vended in every Shop, and greedily bought by almost every Rank of Men; or had he called our excellent Weekly Writers by the fame Names which they |