436 MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE. 



The Works of Pope. A New and Illustrated Edition ; with Life, 

 Notes, and Critical Notices on each Poem. By the Rev. 

 G. CROLY, LL.D. Vol. I. A. J. Valpy, London. 



We rejoice to see the " Bard of Twickenham " in his present attractive 

 and popular form, as it will be sure to place his works in the hands of a mul- 

 titude of readers. Had Pope no other merit than that of being the model 

 of versification, we should be glad to see him extensively read. Poetry 

 is too generally considered as the mere impulses of an overflowing intel- 

 lect; and hence the art of writing poetry is neglected. No mere me- 

 chanical arrangement of words will ever suffice to make a good poem ; 

 and, on the other hand, no man, however highly gifted, will write good 

 poetry who does not clothe his thoughts in fitting language. It is here 

 that the works of Pope are invaluable to the poetic mind, and to the 

 reading public at large, as they serve to diifuse a taste for correct writing. 



So much for the mechanical portion of Pope's works : but he is also 

 the great moral poet of mankind ; and for this noble title he possessed 

 the most distinguished attributes. The strength of his phrases, the rich- 

 ness of his style^ his keenness of thought, and a profusion of fitting 

 imagery, shed a charm over his pages, which renders them irresistibly 

 fascinating; and though inferior in force and originality to his great 

 predecessor, " Glorious John/' the " High Priest of the Nine," he was 

 greatly his superior in many respects ; and they shine " twin stars" of 

 an era rich in intellect. 



We do not know that the editing of Pope could have been placed in 

 better hands than in those of Dr. Croly. To a perspicuous and manly 

 style, he adds an intimate acquaintance with the genius and literature of 

 poetry ; and the present volume is therefore greatly enriched by his 

 labours. The annotations and criticisms upon the poems are judicious, 

 and aid the reading of the text materially. The accompanying Memoir 

 is discriminative and impartial, and does justice both to the poet and 

 the man. The following is Dr. Croly's estimate of his personal character ; 

 and our second extract contains a judicious remark on Johnson's observa- 

 tion as to the flatness of Pope's conversation. 



" Almost his last words were, ' There is nothing that is meritorious but 

 virtue and friendship ; and indeed friendship itself is only a part of 

 virtue/ It is gratifying to know that his departure was without bodily 

 suffering : the calmness of his mind is evident from these reflections. His 

 life had been of an order which provides for tranquillity at its close : if 

 his infirmities, his necessities, and his studies, precluded him from taking 

 a distinguished part among the practical benefactors of society, he pos- 

 sessed at least the merit of such virtues as lay within his sphere : we 

 hear of no ungenerous rejections of distress, of no personal malignity, of 

 no betrayal of confidence, of neither degrading avarice nor heartless pro- 

 fusion. Temperate in mind and body, social, sincere, and fond, he exhi- 

 bited great ability without the varnish of the vices, and possessed eminent 

 fame, with perhaps as little of vanity as is consistent with the weakness 

 of human nature. Pope's chief error was in the severity of his satire ; 

 but this, he had persuaded himself, was only a just indignation against 

 notorious crime ; and conceiving that he was appointed for its punish- 

 ment, he was deluded by a sense of duty to mankind." 



" He was said by Johnson to have been unexciting and unexcitable in 

 conversation. But while to Johnson conversation was the business of 

 existence, to Pope it was but the relaxation of study : the one brought to 

 it the whole tension of a mind gathering its powers for the purpose ; the 

 other repaired to it for relief from exhaustion : to the former it was the 

 chosen theatre of intellectual struggle ; to the latter the chosen place of 

 intellectual repose. We are to look for Pope's conversation in his books, 



