BUTLER. 



biHiop Portcus's life of arcliljidiop Seeker; and tlie cha- 

 rafter of the worthy prelate has been more amply vinilicattd 

 by Dr. Halifax, then birtiop of Gloiictller, in a prefiice 

 to the fecond edition of hio charjje, printtd in 17S6, con- 

 taining an account of* the charaCler and writings of the 

 author. .Soon after liis removal to his new bifliopric, the 

 health of bifhop Butler began vifibly to decline ; and having 

 made ineffectual trial of the waters at Brillol, lie removed 

 to Bath, where he died on the ifith of Ju!ie, 1752. His 

 remains were interred in the cathedral at Brillol, whtre a 

 moiiumcnt, with an infcription, is ereRed to his-memorv. 

 For bifliop Butler's intellcftual charafter, it will be fufficient 

 to refer to his invaluable writings. Of his piety we may 

 obfene, that it was fincere and fervent, but perhaps inclin- 

 ing too much to the gloomy and afcetic extreme. His 

 benevolence was ardent and diffufive. During his refidence 

 on the fee of Brillol he expended in the repairs and im- 

 provement of the epifeopal palace the fum of 4000I., which 

 exceeded the whole amount of his receipts from that fee. 

 His bentfaftions were numerous and liberal. He maintained 

 the hofpitality and dignity of his diocefe with fpirit, ftrtting 

 apart three days in the week for the entertainment of the 

 principal gentry of t!ie county, and cor.defcending to 

 invite the poorcft of his clergy to his table, and to vifit them 

 in their parifhes. At his i!e<-eafe it is faid that he ordered all 

 his MSS. to be bvirnt, witlioiit unfolding the covers of any 

 of them. Biog. Brit. Halifax's Preface. 



Bi;tler, Samuel, a celebrated poet of the i^tlicen- 

 tury, was born at Strenfliam, iu Worcefterfhire, as fome fay, 

 in i6oo, and accoidin.v to others, in 1612. Having laid 

 the foundation of grammar-learning in the free-fchool at 

 Worctller, he was fent to Cambridee, where he retided, 

 without being matriculated in that Univtrfity, for 6 or 7 

 years. Upon his return to !):s native county, he lived as 

 cleric with an emintnt juftice of the peace, in vvhofe eafy and 

 reputable fervice lie had leifure for applying to his favourite 

 ftudies, hiflory and poetry, and alfo for amufing himfeif 

 with mufic and painting. Under the patronage of Eliza- 

 beth, coimtels of Kent, he had acccfs to a valuable library, 

 and the opportunity of frequent intercourfe with the great 

 Mr. Selden, who employed him in writing foreign letters, 

 and tranflating for him. He alfo lived for fome time with 

 fir Samuel Lake, a gentleman of an eminent family in Bed- 

 forddiire, and a famous commander under Oliver Cromwell. 

 About this time he wrote bis celebrated burlefque poem, 

 entitled " Hudibras," under which cbarafltr, as it is ge- 

 nerally fuppofcd, he intended to ridicule fir Samuel. After 

 the reftoration, Butler was made fecretary to Richard earl 

 of Carberry, lord prefident of Wales, and by him appointed 

 fteward of Ludlow cattle, when the court was revived there; 

 about which time he married Mrs. Herbert, a lady of good 

 family and fome fortune. The firft part of his " Hudibras" 

 was printed in 1663, and it was introduced to the notice of 

 the court by the " Mecxnas" of that age, the earl of Dor- 

 fet ; and vet, though it was highly extolled bv the prevailiag 

 party, both in church and Hate, and much admired, as well as 

 frequently cited, by the king, the author received no other re- 

 compencebefides praife and barren promifes, and was fuffered 

 to pafs his days in an obfcure and neglefted condition. The 

 only boon which was conferred upon him by the king (and 

 even this grant is difputed) was a donation, exempt from of- 

 fice fees, of 300I. which he honourably devoted to the dif- 

 charge of his debts ; but the profeffions of regard and fervice 

 made to him by lord chancellor Clarendon, and by the duke 

 of Buckingham, were futile and inefficient. RcfpcAed for 

 his integrity and beloved for his focial qualities by his few in- 

 timate friends, he died in lOSo, and was buried in the 



Vol. V. 



church -yard of St. Paul's, Covent-garden,at the cxpcnre of 

 his friend Mr. Longueville of the Temple ; and, in 1721, a 

 monument was erefted to his memory among the poett in 

 Weltminller abbey, by alderman Barber, the printer. The 

 infcription fancitions the common opinion of his povcity 

 by the following words: " Ne cui vivo deerant fere omnia 

 deeflet ctiam mortuo tumulus :" r. e. left he who, when liv- 

 ing, wanted almott every thing, fhould, when dead, want 

 alfo a tomb. 



A monument has fince been ercfled, by private fubfcrip- 

 tioii, in the portico of the church, luar which he was buried, 

 bearing the poet's buft, taken from that in Wcllminller 

 abbey ; and on a ftone beiuath the mcdidlion are infcribed 

 the following lines, contributed by Mr. O'BiTan : 

 " A few plain men, to pomp and pride unknown. 

 O'er a poor bard have raifed this humble ftone, 

 Whofe wants alone his genius could furpafs, 

 ViClim of zeal ! the matchlefs Hudibras ! 

 What ! tho' fair freedom fuffered in his page ! 

 Reader ! forgive the author — for the age — 

 How few, alas, difdain to cringe and cant. 

 When 'tis the mode to play the fycophant ! 

 But oh ! let all be taught from Butler's fate, 

 Who hope to make their fortune by the great. 

 That wit and pride are always dangerous things. 

 And little faith is due to courts and kings." 

 His poem, entitled " Hudibras" is one of the moft ori- 

 ginal works, with regard both to its ftyle and matter, that 

 was ever written. It is of the burklque kind, being ufually 

 ftyled a " mock-heroic," or " mock-epic," and much re- 

 fembles Homer's " Margites," which, according to Arif- 

 tole, bore the fame relation to comedy, that the Iliad and 

 Odyffey do to tragedy. The hint of it was fuggefted by the 

 inimitable Don Q^uixote ; and it was intended as a general 

 fatire on thofe times of anarchy and confufion, during which 

 the poet lived, and its leading aim was to expofe by ridicule 

 the religious and poHtical principles of the Puritans, as they 

 appeared after the civil war which overthrev.' church and 

 ftate in the reign of Charles I. Of this poem there are three 

 parts, which were printed feparately ; but the itory was left 

 unfinifhed. The diction and verlilication arc often grofsly 

 familiar and negligent, though, upon the whole, they add 

 to the humorous effcifl ; and it is juftly remarked by Dr. 

 Johnfon, in oppfuion to the judgment of Mr. Dryden, that 

 thcheroic ft yle and meafure would not have been better adapt- 

 ed to the author's purpofe. The frequent double rhymes, 

 introduced by the author, although they are often very 

 imperfc<3, fecm to give a kind of comic tone to the whole, 

 and to improve the wit by combining the moft incongruous 

 ideas. Butler, befides the talent which he poffeffed of in- 

 terefting and amufing the reader by odd and whimfical no- 

 tions and affociations, was well acquainted with human life. 

 To this purpofe Dr. Johnfon (Lives of the Poets) obferves, 

 that " he had watched with great diligence the operations 

 of human nature, and traced the tffefts of opinion, humour, 

 intereft, and paffion. From fuch remarks proceeded that 

 great number of fententious diftichs which have paffcd into 

 converfation, and arc added as proverbial axioms to the ge- 

 neral flock of praftical knowledge." Of the numerous edi- 

 tions of this poem, the moft valuable is that of Dr. Zachary 

 Grey, publillied in 1744, with copious annotations, and a 

 preface, in 2 volumes, Svo. The fingular popularity of this 

 poem produced feveral unfuccefsful imitations of it, and fome 

 vain attempts to tranflate parts of it into Latin. But it it 

 not eafy, or perhaps polTible, to transfer the humorous turn 

 of the phrafe, for which this performance is diftinguifhed, 

 into any foreign language. The undertaking, however dif- 

 4 G ficult, 



