other respects, a very poor creature indeed; felicis memorie, as the burlesque epitaph upon him says; expectans judicium. See a paper of verses upon him in the Musa Anglicanæ, intituled, Sub-Professor Linguæ Græcæ,'which shews what a contempt even the boys at Cambridge had for him." I will close this subject, for the present, by transcribing part of an unpublished letter from Dr. Salter. "The Dissertation on Phalaris I have read often, and always with fresh delight: but what relates to the first cause of the squabble with Christ-Church, or to the personal character and conduct of Bentley, in general or in this particular case, is now little interesting to the public. He certainly had in the most sovereign contempt the classical (or rather critical) taste of Christ Church; and though the editions which Dean Aldrich set on foot, were of some use and credit to the young editors, learned men considered them as rather disgraceful to literature; so Burman did Maittaire's, yet Maittaire was far superior to the bulk of Aldrich's operators, one of the lowest and meanest of which was Tony Alsop, whom the Westminster men were so proud of, for the very reason Dr. B. gives p. lxix. of his Preface, If they can but make a tolerable copy of verses, with two or three small faults in it, they must presently set up for authors, to bring the nation into contempt abroad, and themselves into it at home.' I doubt he never wrote an answer to their examination of his Æsop; which indeed, he says, was little worth it; and I believe him but, for all that, I wish he had; for, as he says of Pearson," his very dross was gold." Dr. Bentley and Dr. Hare were once very intimately acquainted and Hare, being himself an excellent scholar, had the highest reverence for Bentley's masterly learning to which he bore ample testimony in the address called "The Clergyman's 'Thanks to Phileleutherus Lipsiensis, for his Remarks on the Essay upon Free-thinking." This pamphlet is now scarce; the author having eaten his own words since, and his relations having omitted it in their collection of his pieces, made since his death. While B. and H. were acquainted, the former used frequently to talk of Terence's metre; as he was remarkably communiçative, wherever he saw taste and genius, or but curiosity; but though he had often instructed H. in it, he (H.) as often returned with a complaint in his mouth not unlike that of Cicero's dialogist about Plato; "While I am with you, I seem to understand it all; when I come to con it over by myself at home, I find I know nothing." B. told him, he must get Faërnus, and study him: which he had no sooner done, and smuggled a few more lectures, than he conceived himself fully master of all his master could teach him; and began clandestinely to project an edition of Terence. This was easy for him to do, without fear of discovery, as B. had now broken off all commerce with H. upon other accounts. When H.'s edition came out, dedicated to the great minister, in whose favour H. had undermined B.; this latter resolved at once to ruin it and its author. Accordingly he hastened out his own with extraordinary expedition indeed; allowing a week only to each play* and, to use his own strong expression, which was pretty near the truth, H.'s has never been heard of since. He nibbled at it soon, in an Epistola Critica to Dr. Bland; professing to attack only the Phædrus at present, and announcing a future attack on the Terence. That threatened attack was not only never made, but was certainly never intended; the whole of what he could say being introduced here in the introduction and conclusion with singular asperity, and under two or three articles in the body of the Epistlet. Dr. Bentley knew H. was preparing an edition of Phædrus, to follow his Terence; so annexed Phædrus to Terence in this edition, to return his compliment, as he told me himself, when he gave me the informations in this page. : "It is said, Dr. B. had already broken off all intercourse with Dr. H. before the latter provoked him, by interverting him (as he used himself to express it) in his edition of Terence. The history of their quarrel was given me by Dr. B.; and is this; B.'s political attachments were of the uncertain kind; particularly shewn to be so, in his dedicating his Horace to Lord Treasurer Oxford, which was originally destined to Lord Halifax, who had been of his own college. Lord Townshend, after obliging both universities, by founding a new Professorship in each for Modern Languages and History; and calling out a set of young men from each, to preach in course at Whitehall; and still * Dr. Bentley told me, that, as soon as he had agreed with the printer about the types, which were to be had from Holland on purpose for this work, he allotted one week only to each Comedy: and within that time finished his Notes. But this sort of boasting is found in every one of the Doctor's performances; a weakness unworthy of so great a man; and yet, I believe, not wholly void of truth. S. S. † Pages 27, 47, 77, 93, 100, 126, 139, 142. farther obliging his own University of Cambridge, by the royal donation of Bishop Moore's library; thought of fixing and securing Dr. B. by a handsome pension. [It was to be 1000l. per ann.] For this he was only desired to publish, at his own leisure, in his own way, and according to his own judgment, some classic authors, for the use of the royal grand-children. Hare went between Lord T. and Dr. B.; and matters were just concluded, when an envious and malignant suggestion of H.'s (as Dr. B. suspected, and was persuaded,) defeated the whole; and B. magnanimously disdained to engage with persons who discovered so illiberal a distrust of him. Instead of a certain annual fund, and a publication suo arbitrio, it was now proposed by Lord T. through Dr. H. that B. should have so much per sheet. B. rejected the offer with scorn. 'I wonder,' said he to H. you should bring me such a proposal, who have known me so well and so long. What! if I had no regard to their honour, and to my own, would there be any difficulty in filling sheets! Tell them, I'll have nothing to do with them.' Neither would he with H. whom he knew to be the suggester of this scheme. But I chose (said he) dissuere amicitiam; non dirumpere.' It has been said H. left a Plautus ready for the press: I do not think it; for H. had too much pride to disavow his clumsy operose method, and had too much sense to continue it. He had laboured on Plautus, I believe but his labours will never see the light. And facilis jactura. "We had a report at Cambridge, that, when Bentley saw Hare's Epistola Critica, he cried, I cannot think what the man would be at; he has as much pride as I have, and a great deal more ill-nature.' I myself heard him say, he could not read it through, nor imagined, Dr. Hare capable of writing such a book.' And indeed nothing can be more disgusting at once and ridiculous, than to see the same man in his Terence crying up metrical knowledge, and in his Epistola Critica no less crying it down." I need not, Mr. Urban, apologize for the length of this letter. It contains a mass of rough materials, which will not be disagreeable to any writer who may hereafter wish to write the Life of Dr. Bentley; and in that view, I hope, are not inconsistent with the plan of your Magazine. 1779, Νου. MR. URBAN, J. N. THE particulars you have printed of Dr. Bentley, are se interesting, that I hope you will permit me to trouble you with a few cursory remarks on them. Dr. S. has miserably misunderstood and mangled the trite, well-known character, which Dr. Bentley used to give of Joshua Barnes, when he said he knew almost as much Greek as an Athenian cobbler, by supposing that it was meant to insinuate that he "had [only] some knowledge in the Greek language;"-whereas, in truth, that language was so familiar to honest Joshua, that he could off-hand have turned a paragraph in a news-paper, or a hawker's bill, into any kind of Greek metre; and has often been known to do so, among his Cambridge friends. But with this uncommon knowledge and facility in that language, being very deficient in taste and judgment, Bentley compared his attainments in Greek, not to the erudition of a scholar, but to the colloquial readiness of a vulgar mechanic. And let me tell you, an Athenian cobbler, who had spoken Greek from his cradle, probably knew his native idiom much better than all the scholars now in the world, to whom it is a dead language. Although I am no Westminster man, I am shocked at an envious attempt to degrade poor Anthony Alsop, so justly admired for the purity and elegance of his Latin poetry, and a man of distinguished genius. It is said, Hare went between Lord T. and Dr. B. I thought Dr. Gooch was the person; perhaps both. The "envious and malignant suggestion" was, the advice of tying him down, or else that he would do nothing. Dr. Bentley received, in 1732, a hundred guineas from the booksellers, for his Paradise Lost. 1779, Suppl. MR. URBAN, IN your last volume it is asserted, that Dr. Bentley's Dedication of his edition of Horace was originally destined to Lord Halifax. Is not this a mistake? Lord Treasurer Godolphin has been mentioned as the personage in whose room the Doctor substituted his immediate successor, the Lord Treasurer Oxford, If this be fact, the Doctor's political attachments" will appear most glaringly "uncertain" indeed. The account of his detestation of the flattery to Bishop Stillingfleet, is to be found in Whiston's Life, p. 107-8. Anthony Alsop, who is justly vindicated from the gross and petulant attack upon him, has evidently inserted the last Fable in his truly elegant "Fabularum Esopicarum Delectus: Oxon. 1698," octavo, with a view to Dr. Bentley. You may perhaps think it deserving of a place in your Miscellany, for which a copy is transcribed by CANIS IN PRÆSEPI. OXONIENSIS. "Bos post laboris tædia reversus domum Gustare tu quod ipse nec vis, nec potes?" In your last volume, it is said that Dr. Bentley did not go beyond the first year in preaching the Boyle's Lectures. But this is a contradiction to the List of Preachers at the end of Dr. Ibbot's Sermons at Boyle's Lectures, 8vo, 1727; where Dr. Bentley is said to have preached the second year, but the sermons were not printed. 1780, May. XV. Anecdotes of Mr. MAITTAIRE, with an Account of his Publications. MR. URBAN, IN answer to the query about Mr. Maittaire, who was born in 1668, accept these hints. Doctor South made him student of Christ Church. (In other words, South, canon of Ch. Ch. brought in Mait taire, canoneer of that house.) He was second master of Westminster-school, from 1695 to 1699. In "Catalogus Librorum Manuscriptorum Angliæ & Hiberniæ, Oxon. 1697,” * See Boyle's Preface to Phalaris. |