many of empty noife and ridiculous turbulence. The rants of Maximin have been always the sport of criticism; and were at length, if his own confeffion may be trufted,

the fhame of the writer.

Of this play he takes care to let the reader know, that it was contrived and written in feven weeks. Want of time was often his excufe, or perhaps fhortnefs of time was his private boast in the form of an apology,

It was written before the Conquest of Granada, but published after it. The defign is to recommend piety. "I confidered that

pleasure was not the only end of poefy, " and that even the instructions of morality "were not fo wholly the business of a poet, as that precepts and examples of piety were to be omitted; for to leave that employment altogether to the clergy, were "to forget that religion was first taught in "verfe, which the laziness or dulnefs of

fucceeding priesthood turned afterwards "into profe." Thus foolishly could Dryden write, rather than not fhew his malice to the parfons.

The

The two parts of the Conquest of Granada are written with a feeming determination to glut the public with dramatick wonders; to exhibit in its highest elevation a theatrical meteor of incredible love and impoffible va lour, and to leave no room for a wilder flight to the extravagance of pofterity. All the rays of romantick heat, whether amorous or warlike, glow in Almanzor by a kind of concentration. He is above all laws; he is exempt from all reftraints; he ranges the world at will, and governs wherever he appears. He fights without enquiring the cause, and loves in fpite of the obligations. of justice, of rejection by his mistress, and of prohibition from the dead. Yet the scenes are, for the most part; delightful; they exhibit a kind of illuftrious depravity, and majestick madness: fuch as, if it is sometimes defpifed, is often reverenced, and in which the ridiculous is mingled with the aftonishing.

In the Epilogue to the fecond part of the Conqueft of Granada, Dryden indulges his favourite pleasure of difcrediting his predecessors; and this Epilogue he has defended by a long poftfcript. He had promised a fecond dialogue, in which he should more

fully

8

fully treat of the virtues and faults of the English poets, who have written in the dramatick, epick, or lyrick way. This proi mife was never formally performed; but, with respect to the dramatick writers, he has given us in his prefaces, and in this poftfcript, fomething equivalent; but his purpose being to exalt himself by the com- . parison, he shews faults diftinctly, and only praises excellence in general terms.

A play thus written, in profeffed defiance of probability, naturally drew down upon itfelf the vultures of the theatre. One of the criticks that attacked it was Martin Clifford, to whom Sprat addreffed the Life of Cowley, with fuch veneration of his critical pow. ers as might naturally excite great expectations of inftruction from his remarks. let honeft credulity beware of receiving characters from contemporary writers. ford's remarks, by the favour of Dr. Percy, were at last obtained; and, that no man may ever want them more, I will extract enough to fatisfy all reasonable defire.

But

Clif

In the first Letter his obfervation is only

general : "You do live," fays he, ❝ in as "much ignorance and darkness as you did

"in the womb: your writings are like a Jack-of-all trades fhop; they have a variety, but nothing of value; and if thou "art not the dulleft plant-animal that "ever the earth produced, all that I have "converfed with are ftrangely mistaken in "thee,"

In the fecond, he tells him that Almanzor is not more copied from Achilles than from Ancient Pistol. "But I am,

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fays he, " strangely mistaken if I have not "feen this very Almanzor of yours in some disguise about this town, and paffing un"der another name. Pr'ythee tell me true, "was not this Huffcap once the Indian

Emperor, and at another time did he not "call himself Maximin? Was not Lynda

raxa once called Almeira? I mean under "Montezuma the Indian Emperor. I pro"teft and vow they are either the fame, or "fo alike that I cannot, for my heart, dif"tinguish one from the other. You are "therefore a strange unconscionable thief; "thou art not content to fteal from others, "but doft rob thy poor wretched felf too,"

Now was Settle's time to take his revenge. He wrote a vindication of his own lines;

and,

and, if he is forced to yield any thing, makes reprifals upon his enemy. To say that his answer is equal to the cenfure, is no high commendation. To expofe Dryden's method of analysing his expreffions, he tries the fame experiment upon the description of the ships in the Indian Emperor, of which however he does not deny the excellence; but intends to fhew, that by studied misconstruction every thing may be equally reprefented as ridiculous. After fo much of Dryden's elegant animadverfions, justice requires that something of Settle's should be exhibited. The following obfervations are therefore extracted from a quarto pamphlet of ninety-five pages:

"Fate after him below with pain did move, "And victory could scarce keep pace above.

These two lines, if he can fhew me any fenfe or thought in, or any thing but "bombaft and noife, he hall make me be"lieve every word in his obfervations on "Morocco fenfe.