and striking directly on the Reader's View. Folly was the proper Quarry of Horace, and not Vice: And, as there are but few notoriously wicked Men, in Comparison with a Shoal of Fools and Fops; fo 'tis a harder thing to make a Man wife, than to make him honeft: For the Will is only to be reclaim'd in the one; but the Understanding is to be inform'd in the other. There are Blind-fides and Follies, even in the Profeffors of Moral Philofophy; and there is not any one Sect of them that Horace has not expos'd. Which, as it was not the Defign of Juvenal, who was wholly employ'd in lashing Vices, fome of them the most enormous that can be imagin'd; fo, perhaps, it was not_fo much his Talent. Omne vafer vitium ridenti Flaccus amico, tangit, & admiffus circum præcordia ludit. This was the Commendation which Perfius gave him: Where by Vitium, he means thofe little Vices, which we call Follies, the Defects of Human Understanding, or at moft the Piccadillo's of Life, rather than the Tragical Vices, to which Men are hurry'd by their unruly Paffions and exorbitant Defires. But in the Word Omne, which is univerfal, he concludes with me, that the Divine Wit of Horace left nothing untouch'd; that he enter'd into the inmost Receffes of Nature; found out the Imperfections even of the most Wife and Grave, as well as of the Common People; discovering, even in the great Trebatius, to whom he addreffes the firft Satyr, his hunting after Business, and following the Court, as well as in the Perfecutor Crifpinus, his Impertinence and Importunity. 'Tis true, he expofes Crifpinus openly, as a common Nuifance: But he rallies the other as a Friend, more finely. The Exhortations of Perfius are confin'd to Noblemen: And

the Stoick Philofophy is that alone which he recommends to them: Juvenal exhorts to particular Virtues, as they are oppos'd to those Vices against which he declaims: But Horace laughs to fhame all Follies, and infinuates Virtue, rather by familiar Examples, than by the severity of Precepts.

This laft Confideration feems to incline the Balance on the fide of Horace, and to give him the Preference to Juvenal, not only in Profit, but in Pleasure. But, after all, I must confefs, that the Delight which Horace gives me, is but languishing. Be pleas'd ftill to understand, that I fpeak of my own Taste only: He may ravish other Men; but I am too ftupid and infenfible to be tickl'd. Where he barely grins himself, and, as Scaliger fays, only fhews his white Teeth, he cannot provoke me to any Laughter. His Urbanity, that is, his Good Manners, are to be commended, but his Wit is faint; and his Salt, if I may dare to fay fo, almost infipid. Juvenalis of a more Vigorous and Masculine Wit, he gives me as much Pleasure as I can bear: He fully fatisfies my Expectation; he treats his Subjec home: His Spleen is rais'd, and he raises mine: I have the Pleafure of Concernment in all he fays: He drives his Reader along with him; and when he is at the end of his way, I willingly stop with him. If he went another Stage, it wou'd be too far, it wou'd make a Journey of a Progrefs, and turn Delight into Fatigue. When he gives over, 'tis a fign the Subject is exhaufted, and the Wit of Man can carry it no farther. If a Fault can be justly found in him, 'tis that he is fometimes too luxuriant, too redundant; fays more than he needs, like my Friend the Plain-Dealer, but never more than pleases. Add to this, that his Thoughts are as just as thofe of Horace, and much more eleva

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ted. His Expreffions are Sonorous and more Noble; bis Verfe more numerous, and his Words are fuitable to his Thoughts, fublime and lofty. All these contribute to the Pleasure of the Reader; and the greater the Soul of him who reads, his Transports are the greater. Horace is always on the amble, Juvenal on the gallop; but his way is perpetually on Carpet-ground. He goes with more impetuofity than Horace, but as fecurely; and the Swiftnefs adds a more lively Agitation to the Spirits. The low Style of Horace is according to his Subject, that is generally grovely: I queftion not but he cou'd have rais'd it: For the First Epistle of the Second Book, which he writes to Auguftus, (a molt inftructive Satyr concerning Poetry,) is of fo much Dignity in the Words, and of fo much Elegancy in the Numbers, that the Author plainly fhews, the Sermo Pedeftris, in his other Satyrs, was rather his Choice than his Neceffity. He was a Rival to Lucilius his Predeeeffor, and was refolv'd to furpafs him in his own manner. Lucilius, as we fee by his remaining Fragments, minded neither his Style nor his Numbers, nor his Purity of Words, nor his Run of Verfe. Horace therefore

copes with him in that humble way of Satyr; writes under his own Force, and carries a dead Weight, that he may match his Competitor in the Race. This I imagine was the chief Reason, why he minded only the Clearnefs of his Satyr and the Cleannefs of Expreffion, without af cending to thofe Heights, to which his own Vigour might have carry'd him. But limiting his Defires only to the Conqueft of Lucilius, he had the Ends of his Rival, who liv'd before him; but made way for a new Conqueft over himself, by Juvenal his Succeffor. He cou'd not give an equal

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Pleasure to his Reader, because he us'd not equal Inftruments. The Fault was in the Tools, and not in the Workman. But Verfification and Numbers, are the greatest Pleasures of Poetry: Virgil knew it, and practis'd both fo happily, that for ought I know, his greatest Excellency is in his Diction. In all other Parts of Poetry, is faultlefs; but in this he plac'd his chief Perfection. And give me leave, my Lord, fince I have here an apt Occafion, to fay, that Virgil cou'd have written fharper Satyrs, than either Horace or Juvenal, if he wou'd have employ'd his Talent that way. I will produce a Verfe and half of his, in one of his Eclogues, to juftify my Opinion; and with Comma's after every Word, to fhew, that he has given almoft as many Lafhes, as he has written Syllables; 'tis against a bad Poet, whofe ill Verfes he defcribes: Non tu, in triviis, indocte, folebas, ftridenti, miferum, ftipula, difperdere carmen? But to return to my Purpose, when there is any thing deficient in Numbers, and Sound, the Reader is uneafy, and unfatisfy'd; he wants fomething of his Complement, defires fomewhat which he finds not: And this being the manifeft Defect of Horace, 'tis no wonder, that finding it fupply'd in Juvenal, we are more delighted with him. And befides this, the Sauce of Juvenal is more poignant, to create in us an Appetite of reading him. The Meat of Horace is more nourishing; but the Cookery of Juvenal more exquifite; fo that granting Horace to be the more general Philofopher, we cannot deny that Juvenal was the greater Poet, I mean in Satyr. His Thoughts are fharper, his Indignation against Vice is more vehement; his Spirit has more of the Common-wealth Genius; he treats Tyranny, and all the Vices attending it, as they deferve,

. lxxxi with the utmost Rigour and confequently a Noble Soul is better pleas'd with a zealous Vindicator of Roman Liberty, than with a temporizing Poet, a Well-manner'd Court-flave, and a Man who is often afraid of laughing in the right Place; who is ever decent, because he is naturally fervile. After all, Horace had the Disadvantage of the Times in which he liv'd; they were better for the Man, but worfe for the Satyrift. 'Tis generally faid, that thofe enormous Vices which were practis'd under the Reign of Domitian, were not known in the time of Auguftus Cæfar: That therefore Juvenal had a larger Field than Horace. Little Follies were out of doors, when Oppreffion was to be fcourg'd instead of Avarice; it was no longer time to turn into Ridicule the falfe Opinions of Philofophers, when the Roman Liberty was to be afferted. There was more need of a Brutus in Domitian's Days, to redeem or mend, than of a Horace, if he had then been living, to laugh at a FlyCatcher. This Reflection at the fame time excufes Horace, but exalts Juvenal. I have ended, before I was aware, the Comparison of Horace and Juvenal, upon the Topicks of Pleasure and Delight; and indeed, I may fafely here conclude that Common-place: for if we make Horace our Minifter of State in Satyr, and Juvenal of our private Pleasures; I think the latter has no ill Bargain of it. Let Profit have the Preheminence of Honour, in the End of Poetry. Pleafure, tho' but the fecond in Degree, is the firft in Favour. And who wou'd not chufe to be lov'd better, rather than to be more esteem'd? But I am enter'd already upon another Topique; which concerns the particular Merits of thefe two Satyrifts. However, I will pursue my Bufinefs where I left it; and carry it farC. 5 ther