reft, pitch'd on the Wife of Bath's Tale; not daring, as I have faid, to adventure on her Prologue; becaufe 'tis too licentious: There Chaucer introduces an old Woman of mean Parentage, whom a youthful Knight of noble Blood was forc'd to marry, and confequently loath'd her: The Crone being in bed with him on the wedding Night, and finding his Averfion, endeavours to win his Affection by Reason, and speaks a good Word for her felf, (as who could blame her?) in hope to mollifie the fullen Bridegroom. She takes her Topicks from the Benefits of Poverty, the Advantages of old Age and Uglinefs, the Vanity of Youth, and the filly Pride of Ancestry and Titles without inherent Virtue, which is the true Nobility. When I had clos'd Chaucer, I return'd to Ovid, and tranflated some more of his Fables; and by this time had so far forgotten the Wife of Bath's Tale, that when I took up Boccace, unawares I fell on the fame Argument of preferring Virtue to Nobility of Blood, and Titles, in the Story of Sigifmonda; which I had certainly avoided for the Refemblance of the two Difcourfes, if my Memory had not fail'd me. Let the Reader weigh them both; and if he thinks me partial to Chaucer, tis in him to right

Boccace.

I prefer in our Countryman, far above all his other Stories, the Noble Poem of Palamon and Arcite, which is of the Epique kind, and perhaps not much inferior to the Ilias or the Eneis: the Story is more pleafing than either of them, the Manners as perfect, the Diction as poetical, the Learning as deep and various; and the Difpofition full as artful only it includes a greater length of Time, as taking up feven Years at leaft; but Aristotle has left undecided the Duration of the Action; which yet is eafily reduc'd into the Compafs of a Year, by a Narration of what preceeded the Return of Palamon to Athens. I had thought for the Honour of our Nation, and more particularly for his, whofe Laurel, tho' unworthy, I have worn after him, that this Story was of English Growth, and Chaucer's own: But I was undeceiv'd by Boccace; for cafually looking on the End of his feventh Giornata, I found Dioneo (under

which Name he fhadows himself) and Fiametta (who reprefents his Miftrefs, the natural Daughter of Robert King of Naples) of whom thefe Words are ipoken. Dioneo e Fiametta gran pezza eantarono infieme d'Arcita, e di Palamone: by which it appears that this Story was written before the time of Boccace; but the Name of its Author being wholly loft, Chaucer is now become an Original; and I queftion not but the Poem has receiv'd many Beauties by paffing through his Noble Hands. Befides this Tale, there is another of his own Invention, after the manner of the Provencalls, call'd The Flower and the Leaf; with which I was fo particularly pleas'd, both for the Invention and the Moral; that I cannot hinder my self from recommending it to the Reader.

As a Corollary to this Preface, in which I have done Juftice to others, I owe fomewhat to my felf: not that I think it worth my time to enter the Lifts with one M-, and one B, but barely to take notice, that fuch Men there are who have written fcurriloufly against me without any Provocation. M-, who is in Orders, pretends amongst the reft this Quarrel to me, that I have fallen foul on Priesthood; if I have, I am only to ask Pardon of good Priefts, and am afraid his Part of the Reparation will come to little. Let him be fatisfied that he fhall not be able to force himself upon me for an Adverfary. I contemn him too much to enter into Competition with him. His own Tranflations of Virgil have answer'd his Criticisms on mine. If (as they fay, he has declar'd in Print) he prefers the Verfion of Ogilby to mine, the World has made him the fame Complement: For 'tis agreed on all hands, that he writes even below Ogilby: That, you will fay, is not cafily to be done; but what cannot M bring about? I am fatisfy'd however, that while he and I live together, I fhall not be thought the worft Poet of the Age. It looks as if I had defir'd him underhand to write fo ill against me: But upon my honeft Word I have not brib'd him to do me this Service, and am wholly guiltless of his Pamphlet. 'Tis true, I fhould be glad, if I could perfuade him to continue his good Offices, and write fuch another Critique on any

thing of mine: For I find by Experience he has a great, Stroke with the Reader, when he condemns any of my Poems, to make the World have a better Opinion of them. He has taken fome Pains with my Poetry; but no body will be perfuaded to take the fame with his. If I had taken to the Church (as he affirms, but which was never in my Thoughts) I should have had more Senfe, if not more. Grace, than to have turn'd my felf out of my Benefice by writing Libels on my Parishioners. But his Account of my Manners and my Principles, are of a Piece with his Cavils and his Poetry: And fo I have done with him for ever.

As for the City Bard, or Knight Phyfician, I hear his Quarrel to me is, that I was the Author of Abfalom and Achitophel, which he thinks is a little hard on his Fanatique Patrons in London.

But I will deal the more civily with his two Poems, because nothing ill is to be spoken of the Dead: And therefore Peace be to the Manes of his Arthurs. I will only fay that it was not for this Noble Knight that I drew the Plan of an Epick Poem on King Arthur in my Preface to the Tranflation of Juvenal. The Guardian Angels of Kingdoms were Machines too ponderous for him to manage; and therefore he rejected them as Dares did the Whirlbats of Eryx when they were thrown before him by Entellus: Yet from that Preface he plainly took his Hint: For he began immediately upon the Story; tho' he had the Baseness not to acknowledge his Benefactor; but instead of it, to traduce me in a Libel.

Ifhall fay the lefs of Mr. Collier, because in many Things he has tax'd me juftly; and I have pleaded Guilty to all Thoughts and Expreffions of mine, which can be truly argu'd of Obscenity, Profaneness, or Immorality; and retract them. If he be my Enemy, let him triumph, if he be my Friend, as I have given him no Perfonal Occafion to be otherwise, he will be glad of my Repentance. It becomes me not to draw my Pen in the Defence of a bad Cause, when I have so often drawn it for a good one. Yet it were not difficult to prove, that in many Places he has perverted my Meaning by his Gloffes; and interpreted my Words in

to Blafphemy and Baudry, of which they were not guilty. befides that, he is too much given to Horfe-play in his Raillery; and comes to Battel, like a Dictator from the Plough. I will not fay, The Zeal of God's Houfe has eaten bim up; But I am fure it has devour'd fome Part of his good Manners and Civility. It might also be doubted, whether it were altogether Zeal, which prompted him to this rough manner of Proceeding; perhaps it became not one of his Function to rake into the Rubbish of Ancient and Modern Plays; a Divine might have employ'd his Pains to better purpose, than in the Naftiness of Plautus and Ariftophanes; whofe Examples, as they excufe not me, fo it might be poffibly fuppos'd, that he read them not without fome Pleasure. They who have written Commentaries on those Poets, or on Horace, Juvenal, and Martial, have explain'dfome Vices, which without their Interpretation had been unknown to Modern Times. Neither has he judg'd impartially betwixt the former Age and us.

There is more Baudry in one Play of Fletcher's, call'd The Cuftom of the Country, than in all ours together. Yet this has been often acted on the Stage in my remembrance. Are the Times fo much more reform'd now, than they were Five and twenty Years ago? If they are, I congratulate the Amendment of our Morals. But I am not to prejudice the Cause of my Fellow-Poets, tho' I abandon my own Defence: They have fome of them anfwer'd for themselves, and neither they nor I can think Mr. Collier fo formidable an Enemy, that we should fhun him. He has loft Ground at the latter end of the Day, by pursuing his Point too far, like the Prince of Condé at the Battel of Senneph: From Immoral Plays, to No Plays; ab abufu ad ufum, non valet confequentia. But being a Party, I am not to erect my felf into a Judge. As for the reft of thofe who have written against me, they are fuch Scoundrels, that they deferve not the leaft Notice to be taken of them. Band Mare only distinguish'd from the Crowd, by being remember'd to their Infamy.

Demetri, Teque Tigelli
Difcipularum inter jubeo plorare cathedras.

To Her GR A CE the

Dutchess of ORMOND,

With the following POEM of PALAMON and ARCITE,

From CHAUCER,

MADAM,

HE Bard who first adorn'd our Na

tive Tongue Tund to his British Lyre this ancient

Song : Which Homer might without a Blush rehearse, And leaves a doubtful Palm in Virgil's Verse: He match'd their Beauties, where they most excell; Of Love sung better, and of Arms as well.

Vouchsafe, Illustrious Ormond, to behold What Pow'r the Charms of Beauty had of old; Nor wonder if such Deeds of Arms were done, Inspir’d by two fair Eyes,that

sparkled like your own.