Page:The lives of the poets of Great Britain and Ireland to the time of Dean Swift - Volume 4.djvu/37

Rh  :No longer ſhall the hardy atheiſt praiſe Lucretius’ piercing wit, and philoſophic lays; But by your lines convinc’d, and charm’d at once, His impious tenets ſhall at length renounce, At length to truth and eloquence ſhall yield, Confeſs himſelf ſubdu’d, and wiſely quit the field.

ILLIAM Duncomb, eſq; has obliged the world with an entire edition of this author’s poetical and proſe works, to which he has prefixed ſome account of his life, written with candour and ſpirit. Upon his authority we chiefly build the following narration; in which we ſhall endeavour to do as much juſtice as poſſible to the memory of this excellent poet.

Our author was the ſon of a worthy citizen of London, and born at Marlborough in the county of Wilts, on the 29th of January 1677; but received the rudiments of his learning at private ſchools in London.

In the earlieſt years of his youth, he applied himſelf with ardour to the purſuit of the ſiſter arts, poetry, drawing, and muſic, in each of which by turns, he made a conſiderable progreſs; but for the moſt part purſued theſe and other polite ſtudies, only as agreeable amuſements, under frequent