Till Thames see Eaton's fons for ever play,
Till Westminster's whole year be holiday,
Till Ifis' Elders reel, their pupils fport,

And Alma mater lie diffolv'd in Port?

335

VARIATIONS.

Enough!

After ver. 338. in a former Edit. were the following lines:

Signs following signs lead on the mighty year;
See! the dull ftars roll round and re-appear.
She comes! the Cloud-compelling power, behold!
With Night primæval, and with Chaos old.
Lo! the great Anarch's ancient reign reftor'd,
Light dies before her uncreating word.
As one by one, at dread Medea's ftrain,
The fickening stars fade off th' æthereal plain :
As Argus' eyes, by Hermes' wand opprest,
Clos'd one by one to everlasting rest;
Thus at her felt approach, and fecret might,
Art after Art goes out, and all is Night.
See fculking Truth in her old cavern lie,
Secur'd by mountains of heap'd cafuiftry:
Philofophy, that touch'd the heavens before,
Shrinks to her hidden cause, and is no more:
See Phyfic beg the Stagyrite's defence !
See Metaphyfic call for aid on Senfe!
See Mystery to Mathematics fly!

In vain! they gaze, turn giddy, rave, and die.
Thy hand, great Dulnefs! lets the curtain fall,
And univerfal Darknefs buries all.

REMARKS.

Learning as is here prophefied, should be brought about by fuch weak inftruments as have been [hitherto] defcribed in our poem: But do not thou, gentle reader, reft too fecure in thy contempt of thefe inftruments. Remember what the Dutch ftories fomewhere relate,

that

Enough enough! the raptur'd Monarch cries; And thro' the Ivory Gate the Vision flies:

REMARKS.

340

that a great Part of their Provinces was once overflowed, by a small opening made in one of their dykes by a fingle Water-Rat.

However, that fuch is not seriously the judgment of our Poet, but that he conceiveth better hopes from the Diligence of our Schools, from the Regularity of our Universities, the Difcernment of our Great men, the Accomplishments of our Nobility, the Encouragement of our Patrons, and the Genius of our Writers of all kinds (notwithstanding fome few exceptions in each) may plainly be seen from his conclufion; where caufing all this vifion to pass through the Ivory gate, he exprefsly, in the language of Poefy, declares all fuch imaginations to be wild, ungrounded, and fictitious.

SCRIBL

THE END OF THE THIRD BOOK

VOL. III.

P

THE

DUN

CIA D.

BOOK THE FOURTH.

ARGUMENT.

THE Poet being, in this Book, to declare the Completion of the Prophecies mentioned at the end of the former, makes a new Invocation; as the greater Poets are wont, when fome high and worthy matter is to be fung. He fhews the Goddess coming in her Majefty, to destroy Order and Science, and to fubftitute the Kingdom of the Dull upon earth. How The leads captive the Sciences, and filences the Mufes ; and what they be who fucceed in their ftead. All her Children, by a wonderful attraction, are drawn about her; and bear along with them divers others, who promote her Empire by connivance, weak resistance, or difcouragement of Arts; fuch as Half wits, tastelefs Admirers, vain Pretenders, the Flatterers of Dunces, or the Patrons of them. All these crowd round her; one of them, offering to approach her, is driven back by a Rival, but she commends and encourages both. The first who speak in form are the

Geniuses of the Schools, who affure her of their care to advance her Cause by confining Youth to Words, and keeping them out of the way of real Knowledge. with her Their Address, and her gracious Answer; Charge to them and the Universities. The Univerfities appear by their proper Deputies, and assure her that the fame method is obferved in the progrefs of Education. The speech of Ariftarchus on this fubject. They are driven off by a band of young gentlemen returned from Travel with their Tutors; one of whom delivers to the Goddess, in a polite oration, an account of the whole Conduct and Fruits of their Travels prefenting to her at the fame time a young Nobleman perfectly accomplished. She receives him graciously, and endues him with the happy quality of Want of Shame. She fees loitering about her a number of Indolent Persons abandoning all business `and duty, and dying with lazinefs: To these approaches the Antiquary Annius, entreating her to make them Virtuofos, and affign them over to him: But Mummius, another Antiquary, complaining of his fraudulent proceeding, the finds a method to reconcile their difference. Then enter a Troop of people fantastically adorned, offering her strange and exotic prefents: Amongst them, one stands forth and demands juftice on another, who had deprived him of one of the greatest Curiosities in nature: but he justifies himself fo well, that the Goddess gives them both her approbation. She recommends to them to find proper employment for the Indolents before mention

ed,