deduced. Now, if I can clearly make out, on the contrary, that the most ancient writers have particularly defcribed both the perfon and the office of a true critic, agreeable to the definition laid down by me; their grand objection, from the filence of authors, will fall to the ground.. I confefs to have for a long time borne a part in this general error; from which I should never have acquitted myself, but through the affiftance of our noble moderns; whofe moft edifying volumes I turn indefatigably over night and day, for the improvement of my mind, and the good of my country. Thefe have with unwearied pains made many ufeful fearches into the weak fides of the ancients, and given a comprehenfive lift of them. Befides, they have proved beyond contradiction, that the very finest things, delivered of old, have been long fince invented, and brought to light by much later pens *; and that the nobleft discoveries, thofe ancients ever made of art and nature, have all been produced by the tranfcending genius of the prefent age. Which clearly fhews, how little merit thofe ancients can justly pretend to; and takes off that blind admiration paid them by men in a corner, who have the unhappiness of converfing too little with prefent things. Reflecting maturely upon all this, and taking in the whole compafs of human nature, I eafily concluded, that thefe ancients, highly fenVOL. I. A a * See Wotton of ancient and modern learning. fible fible of their many imperfections, must needs have endeavoured, from fome paffages in their works, to obviate, foften, or divert the cenforious reader, by fatire or panegyric, upon the true critics, in imitation of their masters, the moderns. Now, in the common places of both these *, I was plentifully inftructed, by a long course of useful ftudy in prefaces and prologues; and therefore immediately refolved to try what I could difcover of either, by a diligent perusal of the most ancient writers, and especially those who treated of the earlieft times. Here I found, to my great furprife, that although they all entered, upon occafion, into particular defcriptions of the true critic, according as they were governed by their fears or their hopes; yet whatever they touched of that kind, was with abundance of caution, adventuring no farther than mythology and hieroglyphic. This, I fuppose, gave ground to fuperficial readers, for urging the filence of authors against the antiquity of the true critic; though the types are so appofite, and the applications so neceffary and natural, that it is not easy to conceive, how any reader of a modern eye and tafe could overlook them. I fhall venture, from a great number to produce a few, which, I am very confident, will put this question beyond dispute. It well deferves confidering, that these ancient writers, in treating enigmatically upon the fubject, have generally fixed upon the very fame hieroglyph; * Satire and panegyric upon critics. roglyph; varying only the ftory, according to their affections, or their wit. For, firft, Paufanias is of opinion, that the perfection of writing correct, was entirely owing to the inftitution of critics. And that he can poffibly mean no other than the true critic, is, I think, manifeft enough from the following defcription. He fays*, They were a race of men who delighted to nibble at the fuperfluities and excrefcences of books; which the learned at length obferving, took warning, of their own accord, to lop the luxuriant, the rotten, the dead, the fapless, and the overgrown branches, from their works. But now, all this he cunningly fhades under the following allegory: That the Nauplians in Argos learned the art of pruning their vines, by obferving, that when an ASS had browfed upon one of them, it thrived the better, and bore fairer fruit. But Herodotus †, holding the very fame hieroglyph, fpeaks much plainer, and almost in terminis. He hath been fo bold as to tax the true critics of ignorance and malice; telling us openly, for I think nothing can be plainer, that in the weftern part of Libya, there were ASSES with horns. Upon which relation Ctefias ‡ yet refines, mentioning the very fame animal about India; adding, that whereas all other ASSES wanted a gall, thefe horned ones were fo redundant in that part, that their flesh was not to be eaten, because of its extreme bitterness. * Lib. Now, A a 2 + Lib. 4. Vide excerpta ex eo apud Photium. Now, the reason why thofe ancient writers treated this fubject only by types and figures, was, because they durft not make open attacks against a party fo potent and terrible, as the critics of thofe ages were; whofe very voice was fo dreadful, that a legion of authors would tremble, and drop their pens at the found: For fo Herodotus tells us exprefsly in another place *, how a vast army of Scythians was put to flight in a panic terror by the braying of an ASS. From hence it is conjectured by certain profound philologers, that the great awe and reverence paid to a true critic by the writers of Britain, have been derived to us from thofe our Scythian ancestors. In short, this dread was fo univerfal, that, in procefs of time, thofe authors who had a mind to publish their fentiments more freely, in defcribing the true critics of their feveral ages, were forced to leave off the use of the former hieroglyph, as too nearly approaching the prototype; and invented other terms inftead thereof, that were more cautious and myftical. So Diodorus †, fpeaking to the fame purpose, ventures no farther than to fay, that, in the mountains of Helicon, there grows a certain weed, which bears a flower of fo damned a fcent, as to poison those who offer to fmell it. Lucretius gives exactly the fame relation : Eft etiam in magnis Heliconis montibus arbos, Near Helicon, and round the learned hill, Grow trees whofe bloffoms with their odour kill. Lib. 6. But Ctefias, whom we lately quoted, hath been a great deal bolder. He had been used with much severity by the true critics of his own age, and therefore could not forbear to leave behind him, at least, one deep mark of his vengeance against the whole tribe. His meaning is fo near the furface, that I wonder how it poffibly came to be overlooked by thofe who deny the antiquity of the true critics. For, pretending to make a description of many strange animals about India, he hath fet down these remarkable words. Amongst the reft, fays he, there is a ferpent that wants teeth, and consequently cannot bite; but if its vomit, to which it is much addicted, happens to fall upon any thing, a certain rottennefs or corruption enfues. Thefe ferpents are generally found among the mountains where jewels grow, and they frequently emit a poifonous juice; whereof whoever drinks, that person's brains fly out of his noftrils. There was also among the ancients, a sort of critics, not diftinguifhed in fpecie from the former, but in growth or degree, who feem to have been only the tyro's or junior fcholars; yet, because of their differing employments, they are frequently mentioned as a fect by themselves. The usual exercise of these younger students was, to attend constantly at theatres, and learn to spy out the worst parts of the play, whereof they were obliged carefully to take note, and render a rational account to their tutors. Fleshed at these smaller fports, like young wolves, they grew up in time |
