PREFACE.

T

IS with a Poet, as with a Man who defigns to build, and is very exact, as he fuppofes, in cafting up the Coft beforehand: But, generally fpeaking, he is mistaken in his Account, and reckons fhort of the Expence he first intended: He alters his Mind as the Work proceeds, and will have this or that Convenience more, of which he had not thought when he began. So has it hapned to me; I have built a House, where I intended but a Lodge: Yet with better Success than a certain Nobleman, who beginning with a Dog-kennel, never liv'd to finish the Palace he had con triv'd.

From tranflating the First of Homer's Iliads (which I intended as an Effay to the whole Work) I proceeded to the Tranflation of the Twelfth Book of Ovid's Metamor→ phofes, because it contains, among other Things, the Caufes, the Beginning, and Ending, of the Trojan War: Here I ought in reason to have stopp'd; but the Speeches of Ajax and Ulyffes lying next in my way, I could not balk 'em. When I had compass'd them, I was fo taken with the former Part of the Fifteenth Book, (which is the Mafter-piece of the whole Metamorphofes) that I enjoin'd my felf the pleafing Task of rendring it into English. And now I found, by the Number of my Verfes, that they began to fwell into a little Volume; which gave me an Occafion of looking backward on fome Beauties of my Author, in his former Books: There occurr'd to me the Hunting of the Boar, Cinyras and Myrrha, the good-natur'd Story of Baucis and Philemon,with the reft, whichI hope I have tranf lated closely enough,and given them the fame Turn of Verfe

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which they had in the Original; and this, I may fay without vanity, is not the Talent of every Poet: He who has arriv'd the nearest to it, is the Ingenious and Learned Sandys, the beft Verfifier of the former Age; if I may properly call it by that Name, which was the former Part of this concluding Century. For Spencer and Fairfax both flourish'd in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth: Great Mafters in our Language; and who faw much farther into the Beauties of our Numbers, than those who immediately followed them. Milton was the Poetical Son of Spencer, and Mr. Waller of Fairfax; for we have our Lineal Defcents and Clans, as well as other Families: Spencer more than once infinuates, that the Soul of Chaucer was transfus'd into his Body; and that he was begotten by him Two hundred Years after his Decease. Milton has acknowledg'd to me, that Spencer was his Original; and many befides my felf have heard our famous Waller own, that he deriv'd the Harmony of his Numbers from the Godfrey of Bulloign, which was turn'd into English by Mr. Fairfax. But to return: Having done with Ovid for this time, it came into my mind, that our old English Poet Chaucer in many Things refembled him, and that with no disadvantage on the Side of the Modern Author, as I fhall endeavour to prove when I compare them: And as I am, and always have been, ftudious to promote the Honour of my Native Country, fo I foon refolv'd to put their Merits to the Trial, by turning fome of the Canterbury Tales into our Language, as it is now refin'd: For by this Means both the Poets being fet in the fame Light, and dress'd in the fame English Habit, Story to be compar'd with Story, a certain Judgment may be made betwixt them, by the Reader, without obtruding my Opinion on him: Or if I feem partial to my Country-man, and Predeceffor in the Laurel, the Friends of Antiquity are not few: And befides many of the Learn'd, Ovid has almost all the Beaux, and the whole Fair Sex, his declar'd Patrons. Perhaps I have affum'd fomewhat more to my felf than they allow me; because I have adventur'd to fum the Evidence: But the Readers are the Jury; and their

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Privilege remains entire to decide according to the Merits of the Caufe: Or, if they please to bring it to another Hear ing, before fome other Court. In the mean time, to follow the Thread of my Discourse, (as Thoughts, according to Mr. Hobbs, have always fome Connexion) fo from Chaucer I was led to think on Boccace, who was not only his Contempora ry, but also purfu'd the fame Studies; wrote Novels in Profe, and many Works in Verfe; particularly is faid to have invented the Octave Rhyme, or Stanza of Eight Lines, which ever fince has been maintain'd by the Practice of all Italian Writers, who are, or at leaft affume the Title of Heroick Poets: He and Chaucer, among other Things, had this in common, that they refin'd their Mother Tongues; but with this Difference, that Dante had begun to file their Language, at least in Verfe, before the time of Boccace, who likewife receiv'd no little help from his Mafter Petrarch. But the Refor mation of their Profe was wholly owing to Boccace him❤ felf; who is yet the Standard of Purity in the Italian Tongue, though many of his Phrafes are become obfolete, as in procefs of Time it muft needs happen. Chaucer (as you have formerly been told by our learned Mr. Rhymer) firft adorn'd and amplified our barren Tongue from the Provencall, which was then the moft polifh'd of all the Mo dern Languages: But this Subject has been copioufly treate ed by that great Critick, who deferves no little Commendation from us his Countrymen. For thefe Reasons of Time, and Refemblance of Genius, in Chaucer and Boccace, I refolv'd to join them in my prefent Work; to which I have added fome Original Papers of my own; which whether they are equal or inferior to my other Poems, an Author is the most im proper Judge; and therefore I leave them wholly to the Mercy of the Reader; I will hope the beft, that they will not be condemn'd; but if they should, I have the Excuse of an old Gentleman, who mounting on Horfeback before fome Ladies, when i was prefent,got up fomewhat heavily, but defir'd of the fair Spectators, that they would count Fourscore and eight before they judg'd him. By the Mercy of God, I am already come within twenty Years of his Number, a Cripple in my Limbs, but what Decays are in my Mind, the Reader must determine. I think my felf as vigorous as ever

in the Faculties of my Soul, excepting only my Memory, which is not impair'd to any great degree; and if I lofe not more of it, I have no great Reason to complain. What Judgment I had, increases rather than diminishes ; and Thoughts, fuch as they are, come crowding in fo faft upon me, that my only Difficulty is to chufe or to reject; to run them into Verfe, or to give them the other Harmony of Profe, I have fo long ftudy'd and practis'd both, that they are grown into a Habit, and become familiar to me. In short, though I may lawfully plead fome part of the old Gentleman's Excufe; yet I will referve it 'till I think I have greater need, and ask no Grains of Allowance for the Faults of this my present Work, but those which are given of courfe to human Frailty. I will not trouble my Reader with the shortnefs of Time in which I writ it; or the feveral Intervals of Sickness: They who think too well of their own Performances, are apt to boaft in their Prefaces how little Time their Works have coft them; and what other Business of more Importance interfer'd; But the Reader will be as apt to ask the Question, Why they allow'd not a longer Time to make their Works more perfect? and why they had fo despicable an Opinion of their Judges, as to thrust their indigefted Stuff upon them, as if they deferv'd no better.

With this Account of my prefent Undertaking, I conclude the first Part of this Difcourfe: In the fecond Part, as at a fecond Sitting, though I alter not the Draught, I muft touch the fame Features over again, and change the Dead-colouring of the Whole. In general I will only fay, that I have written nothing which favours of Immorality or Profaneness; at least, I am not conscious to If there happen to be my self of any fuch Intention. found an irreverent Expreffion, or a Thought too wanton, they are crept into my Verfes through my Inadvertency: If the Searchers find any in the Cargo, let them be ftav'd or forfeited, like Counterbanded Goods; at leaft, let their Authors be anfwerable for them, as being but imported Merchandife, and not of my own Manufacture. On the other Side, I have endeavour'd to chuse +

fuch Fables, both Ancient and Modern, as contain in each of them fome inftructive Moral, which I could prove by Induction, but the Way is tedious; and they leap fore-, moft into fight, without the Readers Trouble of looking after them. I wish I could affirm with a fafe Confcience, that I had taken the fame Care in all my former Writings; for it must be own'd, that fuppofing Verfes are never fo beautiful or pleafing, yet if they contain any thing which shocks Religion, or Good Manners, they are at beft, what Horace fays of good Numbers without good Senfe, Verfus inopes rerum, nugaque canora: Thus far, I hope, I am right in Court, without renouncing to my other Right of Self-defence, where I have been wrongfully_accus'd, and my Senfe wire-drawn into Blafphemy or Bawdry, as it has often been by a religious, Lawyer, in a late pleading against the Stage; in which he mixes Truth with Falfhood, and has not forgotten the old Rule, of calumniating ftrongly, that fomething may remain.

I resume the Thread of my Difcourfe with the first of my Tranflations, which was the Firft Iliad of Homer. If it fhall please God to give me longer Life, and mo-. derate Health, my Intentions are to tranflate the whole Ilias; provided ftill, that I meet with those Encouragements from the Publick, which may enable me to proceed in my Undertaking with fome Chearfulness. And this I dare affure the World before-hand, that I have found by Trial, Homer a moft pleafing Task than Virgil, (though I fay not the Tranflation will be lefs laborious.) For the Grecian is more according to my Genius, than the Latin Poet. In the Works of the two Authors we may read their Manners, and natural Inclinations, which are wholly different, Virgil was of a quiet, fedate Temper; Homer was violent, impetuous, and full of Fire. The chief Talent of Virgil was Propriety of Thoughts, and Orna ment of Words: Homer was rapid in his Thoughts, and took all the Liberties both of Numbers, and of Expreffions, which his Language, and the Age in which he liv'd, allow'd him: Homer's Invention was more copious,

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