THE

WORKS

O F

ALEXANDER POPE, Esq.

VOLUME THE FIRST.

CONTAINING HIS

JUVENILE POEMS, TRANSLATIONS,

A N D

IMITATIONS

EDINBURGH:

Printed for ALEXANDER DONALDSON;

And fold at his Shop, No. 48. St. Paul's Church-yard,
London, and at Edinburgh.

M. DCC. LXXVI.

Pollio,

Windfor Foreft,

Ode on St. Cecilia's day,

Two chorufes to the tragedy of Brutus,

Ode on folitude,

MESSIAH, a facred eclogue, in imitation of Virgil's

I

10

25

37

42

46

50

56

75

78

The dying Chriftian to his foul, an ode,

An effay on criticism,

79

80

JANUARY and MAY, from Chaucer,

The rape of the lock,

Elegy to the memory of an unfortunate lady,
Prologue to Mr. Addifon's tragedy of Cato,
Epilogue to Mr. Rowe's Jane Shore,
SAPPHO to PHAON, an epiftle from Ovid,
ELOISA to ABELARD, an epiftle,

The TEMPLE of FAME,

The WIFE of BATH, from Chaucer,

The first book of STATIUS's THEBAIS,

The FABLE of DRYOPE, from Ovid's metamorphofes, 273

VERTUMNUS and POMONA, from Ovid's metamor-

107

137

139

141

144

158

171

195

217

229

Page

III. Of WALLER. On a lady finging to her LUTE, 288

On a FAN of the author's defign, in which was

painted the ftory of CEPHALUS and PRO-

CRIS, with the motto AURA VENI,

IV. Of COWLEY. The GARDEN,

WEEPING,

V. Earl of ROCHESTER. On SILENCE,

VI. Earl of DORSET. ARTEMISIA,

ib.

289

290

ib.

292

PHRYNE,

293

VII. Of Dr. SWIFT.

The happy life of a Coun-

TRY PARSON,

ib.

PRE-

I

PRE F A C E.

AM inclined to think, that both the writers of books, and the readers of them, are generally not

a little unreasonable in their expectations. The first feem to fancy, that the world must approve whatever they produce, and the latter to imagine, that authors are obliged to please them at any rate. Methinks, as, on the one hand, no fingle man is born with a right of controuling the opinions of all the reft; fo, on the other, the world has no title to demand, that the whole care and time of any particular perfon fhould be facrificed to its entertainment. Therefore I cannot but believe, that writers and readers are under equal obligations, for as much fame or pleafure as each affords the other.

Every one acknowledges, it would be a wild notion. to expect perfection in any work of man; and yet one would think the contrary was taken for granted, by the judgment commonly paffed upon poems. A critic fuppofes he has done his part, if he proves a writer to have failed in an expreffion, or erred in any particular point and can it then be wondered at, if the poets in general feem refolved not to own themselves in any error? For, as long as one fide will make no allowances, the other will be brought to no acknowledgments *.

I am afraid this extreme zeal on both fides is ill placed; poetry and criticifm being by no means the univerfal concern of the world, but only the affair of

* In the former editions it was thus

แ

For as long as one fide defpifes a well-meant endeavour, the other will not be satisfied "with a moderate approbation."

VOL. I.

A

idle