polis, and the reft, which was to call fome Perfons by their own Names, and to expofe their Defects to the Laughter of the People. The Examples of which we have in the fore-mention'd Aristophanes, who turned the wife Socrates into Ridicule; and is also very free with the Management of Cleon, Alcibiades, and other Minifters of the Athenian Government. Now if this be granted, we may eafily fuppofe, that the firft Hint of Satyrical Plays on the Roman Stage, was given by the Greeks Not from the Satyrica, for that has been reafonably exploded in the former Part of this Difcourfe : But from their old Comedy, which was imitated first by Livius Andronicus. And then Quintilian and Horace must be cautiously interpreted, where they affirm, that Satyr is wholly Roman; and a Sort of Verfe, which was not touch'd on by the Grecians. The Reconcilement of my Opinion to the Standard of their Judgment, is not, however, very difficult, fince they spake of Satyr, not as in its first Elements, but as it was form'd into a feparate Work; begun by Ennius; purfu'd by Lucilius, and compleated afterwards by Horace. The Proof de-* pends only on this Poftulatum, that the Comedies of Andronicus, which were Imitations of the Greek, were also Imitations of their Railleries, and Reflections on particular Perfons. For if this be granted me, which is a moft probable Suppofition, 'tis eafy to infer, that the first Light which was given to the Roman Theatrical Satyr, was from the Plays of Livius Andronicus. Which will be more manifeftly discover'd, when I come to speak of Ennius. In the mean time I will return to Dacier.

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The People, fays he, ran in Crowds to these new Entertainments of Andronicus,as to Pieces which were more in their Kind, and more perfect than their former Satyrs, which for fome time they neglected and abandon'd. But not long after, they took them up again, and then they

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join'd them to their Comedies: Playing them at the End of every Drama; as the French continue at this Day to act their Farces; in the Nature of a feparate Entertainment from their Tragedies. But more particularly they were join'd to the Attellane Fables, fays Cafaubon; which were Plays invented by the Ofci. Those Fables, fays Valerius Maximus, out of Livy, were temper'd with the Italian Severity, and free from any Note of Infamy or Obsceneness; and as an old Commentator on Juvenal affirms, the Exodiarii, which were Singers and Dancers, enter'd to entertain the People with light Songs, and mimical Geftures, that they might not go away opprefs'd with Melancholy, from thofe ferious Pieces of the Theatre So that the ancient Satyr of the Romans was in extemporary Reproaches: The next was Farce, which was brought from Tuscany: To that fucceeded the Plays of Andronicus, from the old Comedy of the Grècians: And out of all these, sprung two feveral Branches of new Roman Satyr; like different Cyons from the fame Root. Which I fhall prove with as much Brevity as the Subject will allow.

A Year after Andronicus had open'd the Roman Stage with his new Drama's, Ennius was born; who, when he was grown to Man's Estate, having feriously confidered the Genius of the People, and how eagerly they followed the first Satyrs, thought it wou'd be worth his Pains to refine upon the Project, and to write Satyrs, not to be Acted on the Theatre, but Read. He preferv'd the Ground-work of their Pleasantry, their Venom, and their Raillery on particular Perfons, and general Vices: And by this means, avoiding the Danger of any ill Succefs, in a Publick Representation, he hop'd to be as well receiv'd in the Cabinet, as Andronicus had been upon the Stage. The Event was anfwerable to his Expectation. He made Difcourfes in feveral Sorts of Verse, vary'd often in the fame Paper; retaining ftill

in the Title, their original Name of Satyr. Both in relation to the Subjects, and the Variety of Matters contain'd in them, the Satyrs of Horace are entirely like them; only Ennius, as I faid, confines not himself to one Sort of Verfe, as Horace does; but taking Example from the Greeks, and even from Homer himself, in his Margites, which is a kind of Satyr, as Scaliger obferves, gives himself the License, when one Sort of Numbers comes not eafily, to run into another, as his Fancy dictates. For he makes no difficulty to mingle Hexameters with Iambique Trimeters; or with trochaique Tetrameters; as appears by thofe Fragments which are yet remaining of him: Horace has thought him worthy to be Copy'd; inferting many things of his into his own Satyrs, as Virgil has done into his Eneid.

Here we have Dacier making out that Ennius was the first Satyrift in that Way of Writing, which was of his Invention; that is, Satyr abstracted from the Stage, and new modell'd into Papers of Verses, on several Subjects. But he will have Ennius take the Ground-work of Satyr from the first Farces of the Romans; rather than from the formed Plays of Livius Andronicus, which were copy'd from the Grecian Comedies. It may poffibly be fo; but Dacier knows no more of it than I do. And it seems to me the more probable Opinion, that he rather imitated the fine Railleries of the Greeks, which he faw in the Pieces of Andronicus, than the Coarseness of his old Country-men, in their clownish extemporary Way of Jeering.

But befides this, 'tis univerfally granted, that Ennius, tho' an Italian, was excellently learn'd in the Greek Language. His Verfes were stuff 'd with Fragments of it, even to a Fault: And he himself believ'd, according to the Pythagorean Opinion, that the Soul of Homer was transfus'd into him: Which Perfius obferves, in his Sixth Satyr: Poftquam defertuit effe Monides. But this

being only the private Opinion of fo inconfiderable a Man as I am, I leave it to the farther difquifition of the Criticks, if they think it worth their Notice. Most evident it is, that whether he imitated the Roman Farce, or the Greek Comedies, he is to be acknowledg'd for the firft Author of Roman Satyr, as it is properly fo called, and diftinguished from any fort of Stage-Play.

Of Pacuvius, who fucceeded him, there is little to be faid, because there is fo little remaining of him: Only that he is taken to be the Nephew of Ennius, his Sister's Son; that in probability he was inftructed by his Uncle, in his way of Satyr, which we are told he has copy'd; but what Advances he made,we know not.

Lucilius came into the World, when Pacuvius Alourish'd most; he also made Satyrs after the Manner of Ennius, but he gave them a more graceful Turn; and endeavour'd to imitate more clofely the vetus Comedia of the Greeks: Of the which the old original Roman Satyr had no Idea, 'till the time of Livius Andronicus. And tho' Horace feems to have made Lucilius the first Author of Satyr in Verse amongst the Romans, in these Words, Quid cum eft Lucilius aufus Primus in hunc operis componere carmina morem: He is only thus to be underftood, that Lucilius had given a more graceful Turn to the Satyr of Ennius and Pacuvius; not that he invented a new Satyr of his own: And Quintilian feems to explain this Paffage of Horace in thefe Words: Satira quidem tota noftra eft, in qua primus infignem laudem adeptus eft Lucilius.

Thus, both Horace and Quintilian give a kind of Primacy of Honour to Lucilius, amongst the Latin Satyrifts. For as the Roman Language grew more refin'd, fo much more capable it was of receiving the Grecian Beauties in his Time: Horace and Quintilian could mean no more, than that Lucilius writ better than Ennius and Pacuvius: And on the fame account we prefer Horace to Lucilius:

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Lucilius: Both of them imitated the old Greek Comedy; and fo did Ennius and Pacuvius before them. The Po lithing of the Latin Tongue, in the Succeffion of Times, made the only Difference. And Horace himself, in two of his Satyrs, written purpofely on this Subject, thinks the Romans of his Age were too partial in their Commendations of Lucilius; who writ not only loosely, and muddily, with little Art, and much lefs Care, but also in a time when the Latin Tongue was not yet fufficiently purg'd from the Dregs of Barbarifm; and many fignificant and founding Words, which the Romans wanted, were not admitted even in the Times of Lucretius and Cicero of which both complain.

But to proceed, Dacier juttly taxes Cafaubon, faying, that the Satyrs of Lucilius were wholly different in Specie, from thofe of Ennius and Pacuvius. Cafaubon was led into that Miftake by Diomedes the Grammarian, who in effect fays this: Satyr among the Romans, but not among the Greeks, was a biting invective Poem, made after the Model of the ancient Comedy; for the Reprehenfion of Vices: Such as were the Poems of Lucilius, of Horace, and of Perfius. But in former Times, the Name of Satyr was given to Poems, which were compos'd of feveral Sorts of Verfes; fuch as were made by Ennius and Pacuvius; more fully expreffing the Etymology of the Word Satyr, from Satura, which we have obferv'd. Here 'tis manifeft, that Diomedes makes a Specifical Diftinction betwixt the Satyrs of Ennius and thofe of Lucilius, But this, as we fay in English, is only a Distinction without a Difference; for the Reafon of it is ridiculous, and abfolutely falfe. This was that which cozen'd honeft Cafaubon, who relying on Diomedes, had not fufficiently examin'd the Origin and Nature of those two Satyrs: which were entirely the fame, both in the Matter and the Form. For all that Lucilius perform'd beyond his Predeceffors, Ennius and Pacuvius, was only the adding

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