nificence of Roman syllables, the writer conceals penury
of thought, and want of novelty, often from the reader and often from
himself.
In his twenty-second year he first showed his power of English poetry by
some verses addressed to Dryden; and soon after published a translation
of the greater part of the Fourth Georgic upon Bees; after which, says
Dryden, "my latter swarm is scarcely worth the hiving." About the same
time he composed the arguments prefixed to the several books of Dryden's
Virgil; and produced an Essay on the Georgics, juvenile, superficial,
and uninstructive, without much either of the scholar's learning or the
critic's penetration. His next paper of verses contained a character
of the principal English poets, inscribed to Henry Sacheverell, who was
then, if not a poet, a writer of verses; as is shown by his version of
a small part of Virgil's Georgics, published in the Miscellanies; and
a Latin encomium on Queen Mary, in the "Musae Anglicanae." These verses
exhibit all the fondness of friendship; but, on one side or the other,
friendship was afterwards too weak for the malignity of faction. In this
poem is a very confident and discriminate character of Spenser, whose
work he had then never read; so little sometimes is criticism the effect
of judgment. It is necessary to inform the reader that about this
time he was introduced by Congreve to Montague, then Chancellor of
the Exchequer: Addison was then learning the trade of a courtier, and
subjoined Montague as a poetical name to those of Cowley and of Dryden.
By the influence of Mr. Montague, concurring, according to Tickell,
with his natural modesty, he was diverted from his original design of
entering into holy orders. Montague alleged the corruption of men who
engaged in civil employments without liberal education; and declared
that, though he was represented as an enemy to the Church, he would
never do it any injury but by withholding Addison from it.
Soon after (in 1695) he wrote a poem to King William, with a rhyming
introduction addressed to Lord Somers. King William had no regard to
elegance or literature; his study was only war; yet by a choice of
Ministers, whose disposition was very different from his own, he
procured, without intention, a very liberal patronage to poetry. Addison
was caressed both by Somers and Montague.
In 1697 appeared his Latin verses on the Peace of Ryswick, which he
dedicated to Montague, and which was afterwards
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