ol, by
the naive pedantry with which Addison, the typical man of taste of his
time, invokes the authority of Bossu and Aristotle, in his exposition of
Paradise Lost.[3] English writers were treading in the steps of Boileau
and Horace. Roscommon selected for a poem the lively topic of
"translated verse," and Sheffield had written with Dryden an essay upon
satire, and afterwards a more elaborate essay upon poetry. To these
masterpieces, said Addison, another masterpiece was now added by Pope's
Essay upon Criticism. Not only did Addison applaud, but later critics
have spoken of their wonder at the penetration, learning, and taste
exhibited by so young a man. The essay was carefully finished. Written
apparently in 1709, it was published in 1711. This was as short a time,
said Pope to Spence, as he ever let anything of his lie by him; he no
doubt employed it, according to his custom, in correcting and revising,
and he had prepared himself by carefully digesting the whole in prose.
It is, however, written without any elaborate logical plan, though it is
quite sufficiently coherent for its purpose. The maxims on which Pope
chiefly dwells are, for the most part, the obvious rules which have been
the common property of all generations of critics. One would scarcely
ask for originality in such a case, any more than one would desire a
writer on ethics to invent new laws of morality. "We require neither
Pope nor Aristotle to tell us that critics should not be pert nor
prejudiced; that fancy should be regulated by judgment; that apparent
facility comes by long training; that the sound should have some
conformity to the meaning; that genius is often envied; and that dulness
is frequently beyond the reach of reproof. "We might even guess, without
the authority of Pope, backed by Bacon, that there are some beauties
which cannot be taught by method, but must be reached "by a kind of
felicity." It is not the less interesting to notice Pope's skill in
polishing these rather rusty sayings into the appearance of novelty. In
a familiar line Pope gives us the view which he would himself apply in
such cases.

True wit is nature to advantage dress'd,
What oft was thought, but ne'er so well express'd.

The only fair question, in short, is whether Pope has managed to give a
lasting form to some of the floating commonplaces which have more or
less suggested themselves to every writer. If we apply this test, we
must admit that if the es