Page:The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, Volume 3.djvu/63

Rh from Dryden. The concluding verses are these:

Of his irregular poems, that to Mrs. Arabella Hunt seems to be the best: his ode for Cecilia’s Day, however, has some lines which Pope had in his mind when he wrote his own.

His imitations of Horace are feebly paraphrastical, and the additions which he makes are of little value. He sometimes retains what were more properly omitted, as when he talks of vervain and gums to propitiate Venus.

Of his Translations, the satire of Juvenal was written very early, and may therefore be forgiven, though it had not the massiness and vigour of the original. In all his versions strength and sprightliness are wanting: his Hymn to Venus, from Homer, is perhaps the best. His lines are weakened with expletives, and his rhymes are frequently imperfect. His