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 mult confefs that the Delight which Horace gives me, is but languishing. Be pleas'd ftill to understand, that I speak of my own Tafte only: He may ravish other Men; but I am too ftupid and infenfible to be ticki'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 infiped. 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 Subject 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 Progrefs, and turn Delight into Fatigue. When he gives over, 'tis a fign the Subject is exaufted, 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 juft as thofe of Horace, and much more elevated. His Expreffions are Sonorous and more Noble; his Verse 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 hist

way

in

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 gravely: I queftion not but he cou'd have rais'd it: For the First Epistle of the fecond Book, which hẹ writes to Auguftus, (a most 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 Pedefiris, in his other Satyrs, was rather his Choice than his Neceffity. He was a Rival to Lucilius his Predeceffor, and was refolv'd to surpass him 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 Clearness of his Satyr, and the Cleannefs of Expreffion, without afcending 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 Pleasure to his Reader, because he us'd not equal Inftruments. The Fault was in the Tools, and not in the Workman. But Verfifications 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

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 almost as many Lafhes, as he has written Syllables; 'tis against a bad Poet, whofe ill Verses he describes: Non tu, in triviis indocte, folebas, ftridenti, miserum, fiipula, difperdere carmen? But to return to my Purpofe, 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 deserve, 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 those 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 Ꭰ

falfe

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 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. Pleasure, tho' but the second in Degree, is the first 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 these two Satyrists. However, I will purfue my Bufinefs where I left it; and carry it farther than that common Obfervation of the feveral Ages in which these Authors flourish'd. When Horace writ his Satyrs; the Monarchy of his Cefar 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 Action of his, when he forc'd Livia from the Arms of her Husband, who was constrain'd to fee her marry'd, as Dion relates the Story, and, big with Child as she 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 Answer; That he had marry'd

her

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 ftill 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 eafily digeft their loft Liberty. But Auguftus, who was confcious to himself, of fo many Crimes which he had commited, thought in the first 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.

6

In the first Book of his Annals, he gives the following Account of it, in thefe Words: Primus Auguftus cognitionem de famofis libellis fpecie legis ejus, tractavit; commotus Caffii Severi libidine, quâ viros fœminafque inluftres, procacibus fcriptis diffamaverat. Thus in Englib: Anguftus was the firft, who under the Colour of that Law took cegnifance of Lampoons; being pro'vok'd to it, by the Petulancy of Caffius Severus, who ' had defam'd many illuftrious Perfons of both Sexes, iń his Writings.' The Law to which Tacitus refers, was Lex læfæ Majeftatis; commonly call'd, for the fake of Brevity, Majeftas; or, as we fay, High Treafon : He means not that this Law had not been Enacted formerly For it had been made by the Decemviri, and was infcrib'd amongst the reft in the Twelve Tables; to prevent the Afperfion of the Roman Majetty, either of the People themselves, or their Religion, or their Magiftrates: and the Infringement of it was Capital; that is, the Offender was whipt to Death, with the Fafces' which

were born before their chief Officers of Rome. But Auguftus was the first, who reftor'd that intermitted Law;