The Poetical Works of the Right Hon. George Granville, Lord Lansdowne/98

by George Granville

PROLOGUE
To Mr. Bevil Higgons’ excellent Tragedy, called
THE GENEROUS CONQUEROR.

Your comic writer is a common foe;
None can intrigue in peace, or be a beau;
Nor wanton wife nor widow can be ſped,
Not even Ruſſel^[1] can inter the dead,
But ſtraight this cenſor, in his whim of wit,5
Strips and preſents you naked to the pit.
Thus critics ſhould, like theſe, be branded foes,
Who for the poiſon only ſuck the roſe;
Snarling and carping, without wit or ſenſe,
Impeach mistakes, o’erlooking excellence,10

As if to ev’ry fop it might belong,
Like ſenators, to cenſure right or wrong.
But gen’rous minds have more heroic views,
And love and honour are the themes they chuſe.
From yon bright heav’n^[2] our author fetch’d his fire,15
And paints the paſſions that your eyes inſpire;
Full of that flame, his tender ſcenes he warms,
And frames his goddeſs by your matchleſs charms.18

1. A famous undertaker for funerals, alluding to a comedy written by Sir Richard Steele, entitled The Funeral.
2. To the ladies.