Church of Rome, for which he has by some been blamed for time-serving of
the basest kind. On the other hand his consistency and conscientiousness
have by others been as strongly maintained. The change, which was
announced by the publication, in 1687 of _The Hind and the Panther, a
Defence of the Roman Church_, at all events did not bring with it any
worldly advantages. It was parodied by C. Montague and Prior in the _Town
and Country Mouse_. At the Revolution D. was deprived of all his pensions
and appointments, including the Laureateship, in which he was succeeded
by his old enemy Shadwell. His latter years were passed in comparative
poverty, although the Earl of Dorset and other old friends contributed by
their liberality to lighten his cares. In these circumstances he turned
again to the drama, which, however, was no longer what it had been as a
source of income. To this period belong _Don Sebastian_, and his last
play, _Love Triumphant_. A new mine, however, was beginning to be opened
up in the demand for translations which had arisen. This gave D. a new
opportunity, and he produced, in addition to translations from Juvenal
and Perseus, his famous "Virgil" (1697). About the same time appeared
_The Ode for St. Cecilia's Day_, and _Alexander's Feast_, and in 1700,
the year of his death, the _Fables_, largely adaptations from Chaucer and
Boccaccio. In his own line, that of argument, satire, and declamation, D.
is without a rival in our literature: he had little creative imagination
and no pathos. His dramas, which in bulk are the greatest part of his
work, add almost nothing to his fame; in them he was meeting a public
demand, not following the native bent of his genius. In his satires, and
in such poems as _Alexander's Feast_, he rises to the highest point of
his powers in a verse swift and heart-stirring. In prose his style is
clear, strong, and nervous. He seems to have been almost insensible to
the beauty of Nature.

SUMMARY.--_B._ 1631, _ed._ Westminster and Camb., became prolific
playwright, _pub._ _Annus Mirabilis_ _c._ 1666, Poet Laureate 1667,
_pub._ _Absalom and Achitophel_ (part 1) 1681, _Medal_ 1682,
_MacFlecknoe_ 1682, _Religio Laici_ 1683, joined Church of Rome 1686,
_pub._ _Hind and Panther_ 1687, deprived of offices and pensions at
Revolution 1688, _pub._ translations including "Virgil" 1697, _St.
Cecilia's Day_ and _Alexander's Feast_ _c._ 1697, and _Fables_ 1700, when
he _d._

Sir W. Scott's ed. wi