stions of their Appetites they made the Rule of their Duty, and pretended a Privilege, under the Notion of Natural Freedom, to plunder their Landlords and One another as often as they pleas'd: How then were the Caitiffs rigorously dealt with? What reason had they to expect more favour than the Frogs? In good earnest, I think they had too much shew'd 'em before; and 'twas an Act of special Condescension in Jupiter to lay the Frogs at the Mercy of the Mice, and not the Mice rather at the Mercy of the Frogs. And so much by way of Interpretation.
If the Criticks shou'd be displeas'd at any Grammatical or Poetical Liberties I have taken, they'd highly oblige me. And the longer Bill they prefer, the better: Though let 'em distort Words, mangle Periods, and misapply Aristotle, Horace, and Bossu, till they're out of breath, I'll lay 'em a Wager at last they cann't discover so many Faults in the Performance as their humble Servant. I earnestly beg of 'em to honour me with a Hiss, and shall be most proud of their Condemnation, well-knowing their Sentence is always to be constru'd, like O———ts's Depositions, backward. Ever since I caught some termagant Ones in a Club, undervaluing our new Translation of Virgil, I've known both what Opinion I ought to harbour, and what use to make of 'em, and since the Opportunity of a Digression so luckily presents it self, I shall make bold to ask the Gentlemen their Sentiments of two or three Lines (to pass over a thousand other Instances) which they may meet with in that Work. The fourth Æneid says of Dido, after certain Effects of her taking Shelter with Æneas in the Cave appear,
Conjugium vocat, hoc prætexit nomine culpam.v. 172.
Which Mr. Dryden renders thus,
To veil the Crime and sanctifie the Shame.
Nor had he before less happlily render'd the 39th Verse of the second Æneid,
With noise say nothing, and in Parts divide.
If
