MAC FLECKNOE. ALL humane things are subject to decay, And, when Fate summons, Monarchs must obey: This Fleckno found, who, like Augustus, young Was call'd to Empire and had govern'd long: In Prose and Verse was own'd, without dispute Through all the realms of Non-sense, absolute. Should onely rule, who most resembles me: But Sh never deviates into sense. 20 Some Beams of Wit on other souls may fall, Strike through and make a lucid intervall; But Sh- -'s genuine night admits no ray, His rising Fogs prevail upon the Day: Besides, his goodly Fabrick fills the eye And seems design'd for thoughtless Majesty: Thoughtless as Monarch Oakes that shade the plain, 30 And, spread in solemn state, supinely reign. Heywood and Shirley were but Types of thee, Thou last great Prophet of Tautology: Even I, a dunce of more renown than they, Was sent before but to prepare thy way: And coarsely clad in Norwich Drugget came To teach the Nations in thy greater name. Text from the second and corrected edition, 1684. The first, 1682, has several errors of the press. There is at Lambeth Palace a manuscript of the poem, which Todd collated. It is of no authority and most of its variants are manifestly wrong. One of them has by inadvertence been admitted into the texts of Scott, Christie, and Saintsbury. 15 Sh-1 Here and throughout the editors print Shadwell Shad-1682, Hall. The Treble squeaks for fear, the Bases roar : Thou wield'st thy Papers in thy threshing hand. St. Andrés feet ne'er kept more equal time, Not ev'n the feet of thy own Psyche's rhime: Though they in number as in sense excell, And vow'd he ne'er would act Villerius A watch Tower once, but now, so Fate ordains, 70 Of all the Pile an empty name remains. And, undisturb'd by Watch, in silence sleep. Where unfledged Actors learn to laugh and cry, Where infant Punks their tender voices try, And little Maximins the Gods defy. Great Fletcher never treads in Buskins here, Nor greater Johnson dares in Socks appear. But gentle Simkin just reception finds 81 Amidst this Monument of vanisht minds; Pure Clinches, the suburbian Muse affords; And Panton waging harmless war with words. Here Flecknoe, as a place to Fame well known, Ambitiously design'd his Sh's throne. For ancient Decker prophesi'd long since, That in this Pile should Reign a mighty Prince, Born for a scourge of Wit, and flayle of Sense, To whom true dulness should some Psyches owe, 90 But Worlds of Misers from his pen should flow; Humorists and Hypocrites it should produce, Whole Raymond Families and Tribes of Bruce. Now Empress Fame had publisht the His temples, last, with Poppies were o'erspread, That nodding seem'd to consecrate his head : Th' admiring throng loud acclamations make Heavens bless my Son, from Ireland let Then thus continued he, my son, advance Trust Nature, do not labour to be dull; Sir Formal's oratory will be thine. Sir Formal, though unsought, attends thy quill, 170 And does thy Northern Dedications fill. By arrogating Johnson's Hostile name. Thou art my blood, where Johnson has no part: What share have we in Nature or in Art? Where did his wit on learning fix a brand And rail at Arts he did not understand? Where made he love in Prince Nicander's vein, Or swept the dust in Psyche's humble strain? Where sold he Bargains, Whip-stich, kiss my Arse, 181 Promis'd a Play and dwindled to a Farce? 163 S-dl-y] The editors print Sedley RELIGIOLAICI OR A Laymans Faith. A POEM Written by Mr. DRYDEN. Ornari res ipfa negat; contenta doceri. LONDON, Printed for Jacob Tonfon at the Judge's Head in 20 THE PREFACE. A POEM with so bold a Title, and a Name prefix'd from which the handling of so serious a Subject wou'd not be expected, may reasonably oblige the Author to say somewhat in defence both of himself, and of his undertaking. In the first place, if it be objected to me that, being a Layman, I ought not to have concern'd myself with Speculations which belong to the Profession of Divinity, I cou'd answer that perhaps Laymen, with equal advantages of Parts and Knowledge, are not the most incompetent Judges of Sacred things; But in the due sense of my own weakness and want of Learning, I plead not this: I pretend not to make myself a Judge of Faith in others, but onely to make a Conto fession of my own; I lay no unhallow'd hand upon the Ark, but wait on it with the Reverence that becomes me at a distance: In the next place I will ingenuously confess, that the helps I have us'd in this small Treatise, were many of them taken from the works of our own Reverend Divines of the Church of England; so that the Weapons with which I Combat Irreligion are already Consecrated, though I suppose they may be taken down as lawfully as the Sword of Goliah was by David, when they are to be employed for the common Cause, against the Enemies of Piety. I intend not by this to intitle them to any of my errours, which yet I hope are only those of Charity to Mankind; and such as my own Charity has caus'd me to commit, that of others may more easily excuse. Being naturally inclin❜d to Scepticism in Philosophy, I have no reason to impose my Opinions, in a Subject which is above it: but whatever they are, I submit them with all reverence to my Mother Church, accounting them no further mine, than as they are Authoriz'd, or at least, uncondemn'd by her. And, indeed, to secure my self on this side, I have us'd the necessary Precaution of showing this Paper, before it was Publish'd, to a judicious and learned Friend, a Man indefatigably zealous in the service of the Church and State: and whose Writings, have highly deserv'd of both. He was pleas'd to approve the body of the Discourse, and I hope he is more my Friend than to do it out of Complaisance; 'Tis true he had too good a tast to like it all; and amongst some other faults recommended to my second view, which I have written perhaps too boldly on St. Athanasius, which he advis'd me wholy to omit. I am sensible enough that I had done more prudently to have followed 30 his opinion; But then I could not have satisfied myself that I had done honestly not to have written what was my own. It has always been my thought, that Heathens who never did, nor without Miracle cou'd, hear of the name of Christ, were yet in a possibility of Salvation. Neither will it enter easily into my belief, that before the coming of our Saviour, the whole World, excepting only the Jewish Nation, shou'd lye under the inevitable necessity of everlasting Punishment, for want of that Revelation, which was confin'd to so small a spot of ground as that of Palestine. Among the Sons of Noah we read of one onely who was accurs'd; and if a blessing in the ripeness of time was reserv'd for Japhet (of whose Progeny we are;) it seems unaccountable to me, why so many Generations of the same Offspring as preceeded our Saviour in the Flesh should be all involv'd in one common 40 condemnation, and yet that their Posterity should be Intitled to the hopes of Salvation : as if a Bill of Exclusion had passed only on the Fathers, which debar'd not the Sons from their Succession. Or that so many Ages had been deliver'd over to Hell, and so many reserv'd for Heaven, and that the Devil had the first choice, and God the next. Truly I am apt to think, that the revealed Religion which was taught by Noah to all his Sons, might continue for some Ages in the whole Posterity. That afterwards it was included wholly in the Family of Sem is manifest: but when the Progenies of Cham and Japhet swarm'd into Colonies, and those Colonies were subdivided into many others, in process of time their Decendants lost by little and little the Primitive and Purer Rites of Divine Worship, retaining onely the notion of one Deity; to which succeeding Generations |