THE NEW SCIENCE AND POETRY 123 



He, too, must take a thrust at Sloane, as seen in his satiric poem 

 the Kit-Cats (1709). Blackmore, himself, became the target for 

 many a witty line on account of his heavy, monotonous verse, 

 whicli few ever read. His attitude, therefore, is not of much im- 

 portance. 



The group of brilliant Queen Anne wits found much satiric 

 material in the new science. Prior, the eldest of them, got much 

 fun out of ridiculing the different philosophic theories in Alma; 

 or, The Progress of the Mind. Fame, he says, awaits the men who 

 will reconcile Aristotle and Gassendus.®^ All systems have un- 

 sound foundations. If one questions the premises of any philoso- 

 pher's theory, then he is rendered helpless. Deny to Descartes 

 his "subtil matter" and he has nothing left; refuse to accept the 

 elastic force of matter and "Sir Isaac would look odd"; disprove 

 the existence of the philosopher's stone, and "how could our chemic 

 friends go on ? " Not only so, but the whole activity is misapplied, 

 "Circles to square and cubes to double. 



Would give a man excessive trouble; 



The Longitude uncertain roams, 



In spite of Whiston and his bombs ".^'^ 

 The search after rarities has no attraction for him and men are 

 fools to yield to such a curiosity.®^ The physiologists, too, have gone 

 to a foolish excess in their search for likenesses in bodily structure 

 between brutes and men.^^ 



Prior's is a contemptuous attitude. Like Blackmore, he claims 

 that nature is too subtle for man to understand; the Avisest answer 

 to all questions is to say, "Thus the Creator has done". There is 

 no reason for confidence in any man-made theory ; for, — 



"Forc'd by reflective reason, I confess. 

 That human science is but guess. "^^ 

 Swift devotes little attention in verse to the new science. In 

 his burlesque Ode to the Athenian Society occur such lines as 

 these, — s 



« Lines 244-6. "^^ 



"Alma, Canto III, 366-9. 

 «'IlDid. 448-83. 

 «8An Ode, 1689. 

 "Alma, 739-40. 



