Page:Terræ-filius- or, the Secret History of the University of Oxford.djvu/296

 N O x r.v. Terr,e. Filius. 79:' thy, and can in a handrome manner inlinuate to you, how fincerely he thinks you are fo, will, in all p,-o.'. bability, enjoy your good opinion as long as he lives. On the contrary, if a Pedant or a Coxcomb ' attemp,'s your commendation, the ful{ome ext,'ava-' gance of the one, and the odd ftarch'd encomiums of" the other, wou',d procure him your eternal averlion. If this be true n general of GomlJlm'nts made over a bottle or a tea-table, it is much more fo of tho printed Douceurs .that pafs between authors. and their betters, vulgarly call'd Dedications. When. the Sv_cx,xxoR or 'I','t. er makes a valuable pre- tnt of his works to a Peer of the realm, all is de- cent, greah and mode,qi in the writer you fee the complete gentleman; in the nobleman the difinte- refed patriot: but when a Coxcomb takes it in- to his h=d, to c,;v,;mlt !:i; eftecru for 7ou to the" lorefi, you have nothing but flowers of rhetofick, r[ooth, nothing but metaphor anti timlie; right or wrong, he compares you to whatever is bright or beautiful in the creation. lhcebe's pale erelet'; b - (in plain Ir, glifl the hl�-moon) the ?lanets ftars,. and fo upwards, have all of them _tomething or other to hy to you.  As for the Sun, flould that efcal:,e him, 'rwere a wonder. The P�.x, that other aukward prafite pull you down his Livy, muffers up his Cato's, his De- emJ's, and Fnbricius's and if he can happily find' rome little hint for a cornparifon between his pa- tron end an old Roman, with a great deal of learn- ing and fett:-fatisthion he prov,.:s them to be at ieaft coufin-germans. The beff on'r is, that whilfl: th, is dauber is laying it on thick anti threefold, he d.aws the parallel f0 wretchedly, and paints fo little' to the life, .that they refcmble no more than the, bladt 'ro/ on his hat does the blooming one or, the' tee. s to fide, you muff not exl:,ecq: it: 'tis flat, E 4. 'tis'

�