I&22.1 Comparative Pretensions of Pope aiM. Boiteau. 49] 
conscientious or jealous of his self- 
respect. 
Of Pope it may also be said that he 
had more true sensibility and native 
poetic mind in him than Boileau: 
though it must be confessed that nei¬ 
ther possessed thattendernessand depth 
of feeling, and those imaginative powers 
calculated to succeed in lyric and dra¬ 
matic composition. Nor is this the least 
disparagement of their high and unques 
tionable excellence; for where is the 
poet who has mastered every species of 
writing ? Or who has so eminently suc¬ 
ceeded in so many various kinds as Pope ? 
Though he has been accused by his ene¬ 
mies, like M. Despreaux, of servile 
imitation, and even palpable plagiarism 
both from the ancients and moderns, 
such accusations are now become worse 
than frivolous, inasmuch as they are 
absurd and disgusting. They are in¬ 
deed 44 stale, flat and unprofitable” to 
such as advance them. It is now so well 
understood by our best critics that in¬ 
vention itself is only a happy combina¬ 
tion of incidents, thoughts and feelings, 
and imagination the form and colouring 
in which these are expressed, that we 
cannot countenance even such an inge¬ 
nious and learned commentator as Dr. 
Warton, in his attempts to lower the 
character of Pope, by quoting parallel 
passages from Dryden and Boileau to 
shew the imitations of the former. 
What shall we say of such as this ? 
“ Pride, malice, folly, against Dryden rose 
In various shapes of critics, parsons, 
beaus.” 
Boileau has it:— 
44 L'ignorance et Perreur & ses naissantes 
pieces 
En habits de marquis, en robes de eom- 
tesses 
Venaient pour diffamer un chef d’ceuvre 
nouveau.” 
After this discovery of similitude, 
with so very little likeness of a plagi¬ 
arism, he observes in his 44 Essay on 
the Genius of Pope”— 
44 It is but justice to add that the 
fourteen succeeding verses in the poem 
before us, (Art of Criticism) containing 
the character of a true critic* are su¬ 
perior to any thing in Boileau’s 4 Art 
of Poetry,’ from which, however, Pope 
lias borrowed many observations.” 
In deference to the judgment and 
feelings of our readers, we shall not 
multiply instances of this nature. It 
is quite unaccountable how so learned 
and enlightened a character as Dr, 
Warton should have fallen into the 
weakness and prejudices indulged by 
some ot Pope’s worst enemies, and in 
discharging the duties of a biographer 
and critic, have laid the foundation fora 
renewal of those low and ridiculous 
charges, disgraceful even to Cibber, 
and doubly despicable in the writers 
of the present age. To us the greater 
part of the Doctor’s observations seem 
written in a spirit, 
“ Willing to wound, and yet afraid to 
strike ; 
Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike,” 
but which carried with them sufficient 
weight and authority to give rise to a 
new and bitter controversy on Pope’s 
moral and poetical merits, equally ridi¬ 
culous and disgraceful; and one which 
we seriously intend to denounce and 
expose. 
But to return to our more immediate 
question, and in conclusion, we must 
observe, in justice to Pope, that in re¬ 
gard to variety and extent of genius, 
embracing almost every species of com¬ 
position, in more elevated and sustain¬ 
ed powers of thought, and a udder play 
of imagination, his muse mounted on 
a stronger pinion than that of Boileau, 
Of this, whoever- attentively peruses 
and reflects on the full extent and 
nature of their several writings, can¬ 
not long remain in doubt ; and he will 
easily perceive how much more plau¬ 
sibly a deficiency of pathos and sub¬ 
limity may be charged upon the 
genius of the French, than on that of 
the English poet. Thus to assert 
that Pope did not possess, in a very 
eminent degree, those descriptive, pa¬ 
thetic, and elevated powers, to which 
his greatest predecessors were indebted 
for their fame, proves to us how easily 
envy and folly are led to advance un¬ 
founded accusations, with a face of can¬ 
dour and of truth, which they cannot 
in the least substantiate. But of this 
his commentators have been guilty 
towards Pope, while the very proofs in 
refutation ot their opinions must have 
stared them in the face. With what 
degree of correct taste, or conscientious 
feeling could Dr. Warton and Mr. 
Bowles presume to under-value our 
author’s powers of description, when 
such lines as the following were to be 
found among the works they were 
editing: 
44 But o’er the twilight groves and dusky 
caves, 
Long sounding aisles, and intermingled 
graves. 
Black 
