feldom or never hit by thofe, who would learn it too late. He first distinguished himself by his Latin compofitions, publifhed in the Mufa Anglicana, and was admired as one of the best authors fince the Auguftan age, in the two univerfities, and the greatest part of Europe, before he was talked of as a poet in town. There is not perhaps any harder task than to tame the natural wildnefs of wit, and to civilize the fancy. The generality of our old English poets abound in forced conceits, and affected phrafes; and even thofe, who are faid to come the nearest to exactness, are but too often fond of unnatural beauties, and aim at something better than perfection. If Mr. Addifon's example and precepts be the occafion, that there now begins to be a great demand for correctness, we may justly attribute it to his being first fashioned by the ancient models, and familiarifed to propriety of thought,

and

and chastity of style. Our country owes it to him, that the famous Monfieur Boileau firft conceived an opinion of the English genius for poetry, by perufing the prefent he made him of the Mufa Anglicana. It has been currently reported, that this famous French poet, among the civilities he fhewed Mr. Addifon on that occafion, affirmed, that he would not have written against Perrault, had he before seen fuch excellent pieces by a modern hand. Such a faying would have been impertinent and unworthy Boileau, whofe difpute with Perrault turned chiefly upon fome paffages in the ancients, which he refcued from the mif-interpretations of his adversary. The true and natural compliment made by him, was, that those books had given him a very new idea of the English politenefs, and that he did not queftion but there were excellent compofitions in the native language of a country, that

poffeffed

poffeffed the Roman genius in fo eminent a degree.

The firft English performance made public by him, is a fhort copy of verfes to Mr. Dryden, with a view particularly to his tranflations. This was foon followed by a verfion of the fourth Georgic of Virgil, of which Mr. Dryden makes very honourable mention, in the poftfcript to his own translation of all Virgil's works: Wherein I have often wondered that he did not, at the fame time, acknowledge his obligation to Mr. Addison, for giving him The Effay upon the Georgics, prefixed to Mr. Dryden's tranflation. Left the honour of fo exquifite a piece of criticifm fhould hereafter be transferred to a wrong author, I have taken care to infert it in this collection of his works.

Of fome other copies of his verfes, originally printed in Dryden's Mifcellanies, while he was young, the largest is An Account of the greatest English Poets;

in

in the clofe of which he infinuates a defign he then had of going into holy orders, to which he was ftrongly importuned by his father. His remarkable seriousness and modefty, which might have been urged as powerful reasons for his choosing that life, proved the chief obstacles to it. These qualities, by which the priesthood is fo much adorned, reprefented the duties of it as too weighty for him; and rendered him ftill the more worthy of that honour, which they made him decline. It is happy that this very circumstance has fince turned fo much to the advantage of virtue and religion, in the cause of which he has bestowed his labours the more fuccessfully, as they were his voluntary, not his neceffary employment. The world became infenfibly reconciled to wisdom and goodness, when they faw them recommended by him with at least as much spirit and elegance, as they had been ridiculed for half a century.

He

He was in his twenty-eighth year, when his inclination to fee France and Italy was encouraged by the great Lord Chancellor Somers, one of that kind of patriots, who think it no wafte to the public treasure to purchase politeness to their country. The poem upon one of King William's campaigns, addreffed to his Lordship, was received with great humanity, and occafioned a meffage from him to the author to defire his acquaintance. He foon after obtained, by his intereft, a yearly penfion of three hundred pounds from the crown, to fupport him in his travels. If the uncommonnefs of a favour, and the distinction of the person who confers it, enhance its value: Nothing could be more honourable to a young man of learning, than fuch a bounty from fo eminent a patron.

How well Mr. Addifon anfwered the expectations of my Lord Somers, cannot appear better, than from the

book