tations 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 thofe 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 confess, that the Delight which Horace gives me, is but languishing. Be pleas'd ftill to understand, that I fpeak of my own Tafte only: He may ravish other Men; but I am too stupid 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, almoft infipid. Juvenal is 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 Subje& home: His Spleen is rais'd, and he raises mine: I have the Pleasure 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 ftop with him. If he went another Stage, it wou'd be too far, it wou'd make a Journey of a Progress, 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 Juxuriant, 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 juft as thofe of Horace, and much more eleva

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ted. His Expreffions are Sonorous and more Noble; his Verse more numerous, and his Words are fuitable to his Thoughts, fublime and lofty. All thefe contribute to the Pleasure of the Reader; and the greater the Soul of him who reads, his Tranfports 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 Epiftle 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 Predeceffor, and was refolv'd to furpass 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 Reafon, why he minded only the Clearness 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 Conquest over himself, by Juvenal his Succeffor. He cou'd not give an equal. € 4

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Pleasure to his Reader, because he us'd not equal Intruments. The Fault was in the Tools, and not in the Work man. But Verfification and Numhers, are the greatest Pleasures of Poetry: Virgil knew it, and practis'd both so 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 justify my Opinion; and with Comma's after every Word, to fhew, that he has given almoft as many Lashes, as he has written Syllables; 'tis against a bad Poet, whofe ill Verfes he defcribes: Non tu, in triviis, indocte, folebas, firidenti, 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 sharper, his Indignation against Vice is more vehement; his Spirit has more of the Common-wealth Genius; he treats Tyran ny, and all the Vices attending it, as they deferve,

with the utmoft 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 Difadvantage 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 inftead 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 Fly-Catcher. This Reflection at the fame time excu-fes Horace, but exalts Juvenal. I have ended, before I was aware, the Comparifon 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 Minister 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. Pleasure, 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 efteem'd? But I am enter'd already upon another Topique; which concerns the particular Merits of thefe two Satyrifts. However, I will purfue my Bufinefs where I left it; and carry it far

ther

ther than that common Obfervation of the several Ages in which thefe Authors flourish'd. When Horace writ his Satyrs, the Monarchy of his Cæfar was in its Newness, and the Government but just made easy to the conquer'd People. They cou'd not poffibly have forgotten the Ufurpation of that Prince upon their Freedom, nor the violent Methods which he had us'd, in the compaffing that vaft Defign: They yet remember'd his Profcriptions, and the Slaughter of fo many noble Romans their Defenders. Amongst the rest, that horrible A&ion of his, when he forc'd Livia from the Arms of her Husband, who was conftrain'd to see her marry'd, as Dion relates the Story, and, big with Child as the was, convey'd to the Bed of his infulting Rival. The fame Dion Caffius gives us another Inftance of the Crime before mention'd: That Cornelius Sifenna, being reproach'd in full Senate, with the licencious Conduct of his Wife, return'd this Anfwer; That he had marry'd her by the Counsel of Auguftus: Intimating, fays my Author, that Auguftus had oblig'd him to that. Marriage, that he might, under that Covert, have the more free Accefs unto her. His Adulteries were still before their Eyes, but they must be patient, where they had not Power In other things that Emperor was moderate enough: Propriety was generally fecur'd; and the People entertain'd with publick Shows, and Donatives, to make them more easily digeft their loft Liberty. But Auguftus, who was confcious to himself, of fo many Crimes which he had committed, thought in the firft Place to provide for his own Reputation, by making an Edict against Lampoons and Satyrs, and the Authors of thofe defamatory Writings, which my Author Tacitus, from the Law-Term, calls famofos libellos..