To confider Perfius yet more clofely: he rather infulted over vice and folly, than expofed them, like Juvenal and Horace. And as chafte and modest as he is esteemed, it cannot be denied, but that in fome places he is broad and fulfom, as the latter verfes of the fourth fatire, and of the fixth, fufficiently witneffed. And it is to be believed that he who commits the fame crime often, and without neceffity, cannot but do it with some kind of pleasure.

To come to a conclufion, he is manifeftly below Horace; because he borrows most of his greatest beauties from him; and Cafaubon is fo far from denying this, that he has written a treatise purposely concerning it; wherein he fhews a multitude of his translations from Horace, and his imitations of him, for the credit of his author, which he calls Imitatio Horatiana,

To these defects, which I cafually obferved, while I was tranflating this author. Scaliger has added others; he calls him, in plain terms, a filly writer, and a trifler; full of oftentation of learning; and after all, unworthy to come into competition with Juvenal and Horace.

After fuch terrible accufations, it is time to hear what his patron Cafaubon can alledge in his defence. Instead of answering, he excufes for the most part; and when he cannot, accufes others of the fame crimes. He deals with Scaliger, as a modeft fcholar with a mafter. He compliments him with fo much reverence, that one would fwear he feared him as much at least as he refpected him. Scaliger will not allow Perfius to have any wit; Cafaubon interprets this in the mildeft fenfe; and confeffes his author was not good at turning things into a pleasant ridicule; or in other words, that he was not a laugh, able writer. That he was ineptus, indeed, but that he was non aptiffimus ad jocandum. But that he was oftentatious of his learning, that, by Scaliger's good favour, he denies. Perfius fhewed his learning, bu was no boafter of it; he did oftendere, but not often

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tare; and fo, he fays, did Scaliger: where, methinks, Cafaubon turns it handfomely upon that fupercilius critick, and filently infinuates that he himfelf was fufficiently vain-glorious, and a boaster of his own knowledge. All the writings of this venerable cenfor, continues Cafaubon, which are xpuo xgvoóreça, more golden than gold itself, are every where fmelling of thyme, which, like a bee, he has gathered from ancient authors: but far be oftentation and vain-glory from a gentleman, so well born, and fo nobly educated as Scaliger. But, fays Scaliger, he is fo obfcure, that he has got himself the name of Scotinus, a dark writer: now, fays Casaubon, it is a wonder to me that any thing could be obfcure to the divine wit of Scaliger; from which nothing could be hidden. This is indeed a strong compliment, but no defence. And Cafaubon, who could not but be fenfible of his author's blind fide, thinks it time to abandon a poft that was untenable. He acknowledges that Perfius is obfcure in fome places but fo is Plato, fo is Thucydides, fo are Pindar, Theocritus, and Ariftophanes, amongst the Greek poets; and even Horace and Juvenal, he might have added, amongst the Romans. The truth is, Perfius is not fometimes, but generally obfcure and therefore Cafaubon, at laft, is forced to excufe him, by alledging that it was fe defendendo, for fear of Nero; and that he was commanded to write fo cloudily by Cornutus, in virtue of holy obedience to his mafter. I cannot help my own opinion; I think Cornutus needed not to have read many lectures to him on that fubject. Perfius was an apt fcholar; and when he was bidden to be obfcure in fome places, where his life and fafety were in queftion, took the fame counsel for all his books; and never afterwards wrote ten lines together clearly. Cafaubon, being upon this chapter, has not failed, we may be fure, of making a compliment to his own dear comment. If Perfius, fays he, be in himfelf obfcure, yet my interpretation has made him intelligible.

telligible. There is no queftion but he deferves that praife, which he has given to himself: but the nature of the thing, as Lucretius fays, will not admit of a perfect explanation. Befides many examples which I could urge, the very laft verfe of his laft fatire, upon which he particularly values himself in his preface, is not yet fufficiently explicated. It is true, Holiday has endeavoured to juftify his conftruction; but Stelluti is against it: and, for my part, I can have but a very dark notion of it. As for the chastity of his thoughts, Cafaubon denies not but that one particular paffage, in the fourth fatire, At fi unctus ceffes, &c. is not only the moft obfcure, but the most obfcene of all his works: I understood it; but for that reafon turned it over. In defence of his boisterous metaphors, he quotes Longinus, who accounts them as inftruments of the fublime; fit to move and ftir up the affections, particularly in narration. To which it may be replied, that where the trope is far fetched and hard, it is fit for nothing but to puzzle the understanding; and may be reckoned amongst these things of Demofthenes which Efchines called θαύματα, not ῥήματα, that is Prodigies, not Words. It must be granted to Cafaubon, that the knowledge of many things is loft in our modern ages which were of familiar notice to the ancients; and that fatire is a poem of a difficult nature in itself, and is not written to vulgar readers. And through the relation which it has to comedy, the frequent change of perfons makes the fenfe perplexed; when we can but divine who it is that fpeaks: whether Perfius himself, or his friend and monitor; or, in fome places, a third perfon. But Cafaubon comes back always to himself, and concludes, that if Perfius had not been obfcure, there had been no need of him for an interpreter. Yet when he had once enjoined himself so hard a task, he then confidered the Greek proverb, that he muft χελώνες φαγεῖν ἢ μὴ φαγεῖν· either eat the whole fnail, or let it quite alone; and fo he went through

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with his laborious task, as I have done with my dif ficult tranflation.

Thus far, my lord, you fee it has gone very hard with Perfius: I think he cannot be allowed to ftand in competition either with Juvenal or Horace. Yet for once I will venture to be fo vain, as to affirm, that none of his hard metaphors, or forced expreffions, are in my tranflation: but more of this in its proper place, where I fhall fay fomewhat in particular, of our general performance, in making these two authors English. In the mean time, I think myself obliged to give Perfius his undoubted due, and to acquaint the world, with Cafaubon, in what he has equalled, and in what excelled his two competitors.

A man who is refolved to praise an author, with any appearance of juftice, must be sure to take him on the ftrongeft fide, and where he is leaft liable to exceptions. He is therefore obliged to chufe his mediums accordingly; Cafaubon, who faw that Perfius could not laugh with a becoming grace, that he was not made for jefting, and that a merry conceit was not his talent, turned his feather, like an Indian, to another light, that he might give it the better glofs. Moral doctrine, fays he, and urbanity, or well mannered wit, are the two things which conftitute the Roman fatire. But of the two, that which is moft effential to this poem, and is, as it were, the very foul which animates it, is the fcourging of vice, and exhortation to virtue. Thus wit, for a good reafon, is already almoft out of doors and allowed only for an inftrument, a kind of tool, or a weapon, as he calls it, of which the fatirift makes ufe, in the compaffing of his defign. The end and aim of our three rivals, is confequently the fame. By what methods they have profecuted their intention, is farther to be confidered. Satire is of the nature of moral philofophy, as being inftructive: he, therefore, who inftructs moft ufefully, will carry the palm from his two antagonifts. The philofophy in which Perfius was educated, and which he pro

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feffes through his whole book, is the ftoick: the most noble, most generous, most beneficial to human kind, amongst all the fects, who have given us the rules of ethicks, thereby to form a severe virtue in the foul; to raife in us an undaunted courage, against the affaults of fortune; to efteem as nothing the things that are without us, because they are not in our power; not to value riches, beauty, honours, fame, or health, any farther than as conveniencies, and fo many helps to living as we ought, and doing good in our generation. In fhort, to be any ways happy, while we poffefs our minds, with a good confcience, are free from the flavery of vices, and conform our actions and converfations to the rules of right reason. See here, my lord, an epitome of Epictetus; the doctrine of Zeno, and the education of our Perfius. And this he expreffed, not only in all his fatires, but in the manner of his life. I will not leffen this commendation of the ftoick philofophy, by giving you an account of fome abfurdities in their doctrine, and fome perhaps impieties, if we confider them by the ftandard of chriftian faith: Perfius has fallen into none of them; and therefore is free from those imputations. What he teaches might be taught from pulpits, with more profit to the audience, than all the nice fpeculations of divinity, and controverfies concerning faith; which are more for the profit of the fhepherd, than for the edification of the flock. Paffion, intereft, ambition, and all their bloody confequences of difcord, and of war, are banished from this doctrine. Here is nothing propofed but the quiet and tranquility of the mind; virtue lodged at home, and afterwards diffused in her general effects, to the improvement and good of human kind. And therefore I wonder not that the present bishop of Salisbury has recommended this our author, and the tenth fatire of Juvenal, in his Paftoral Letter, to the ferious perufal and practice of the divines in his diocefs, as the best common-places for their fermons, as the ftore-houfes and magazines of moral virtues,

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