by Mr. Johnfon himself: what he sees intuitively, others must arrive at by a series of proofs; and I have not time to teach with precision: be contented therefore with a few cursory observations, as they may happen to arise from the chaos of papers, you have so often laughed at, "a stock fufficient to fet up an editor in form." I am convinced of the strength of my cause, and superior to any little advantage from fophistical arrangements.

General pofitions without proofs will probably have no great weight on either fide, yet it may not feem fair to fupprefs them: take them therefore as their authors occur to me, and we will afterward proceed to particulars.

The testimony of Ben. stands foremost; and fome have held it fufficient to decide the controversy: in the warmest panegyrick, that ever was written, he apologizes for what he supposed the only defect in his "beloved friend,

Soul of the age!

Th' applaufe! delight! the wonder of our stage!

whose memory he honoured almost to idolatry :" and confcious of the worth of ancient literature, like any other man on the fame occafion, he rather carries his acquirements above, than below the truth. "Jealoufy!" cries Mr. Upton; "people will allow others any qualities, but those upon which they highly value themselves." Yes, where there is a competition, and the competitor formidable: but, I think, this critick himself hath scarcely set in oppofition the learning of Shakspeare and Jonfon. When a fuperiority is univerfally granted, it by no means appears a man's literary interest to deprefs the reputation of his antagonist.

In truth the received opinion of the pride and malignity of Jonfon, at least in the earlier part of life, is abfolutely groundless: at this time scarce a play or a poem appeared without Ben's encomium, from the original Shakspeare to the tranflator of Du Bartas.

But Jonfon is by no means our only authority. Drayton the countryman and acquaintance of Shakspeare, determines his excellence to the naturall braines only. Digges, a wit of the town before our poet left the stage, is very strong to the purpose,

- Nature only helpt him, for looke thorow
"This whole book, thou shalt find he doth not borow,
"One phrafe from Greekes, not Latines imitate,
"Nor once from vulgar languages tranflate." 6

Suckling opposed his easier ftrain to the sweat of the learned Jonson. Denham affures us, that all he had was from old mother-wit. His native woodnotes wild, every one remembers to be celebrated by Milton. Dryden obferves prettily enough, that "he wanted not the spectacles of books to read nature." He came out of her hand, as fome one else expresses it, like Pallas out of Jove's head, at full growth and mature.

The ever memorable Hales of Eton, (who, notwithstanding his epithet, is, I fear, almoft forgotten,) had too great a knowledge both of Shakspeare and the ancients to allow much acquaintance between them: and urged very justly on the part of genius

in opposition to pedantry, that " if he had not read the classicks, he had likewife not stolen from them; and if any topick was produced from a poet of antiquity he would undertake to show somewhat on the fame fubject, at least as well written by Shakspeare."

Fuller a diligent and equal searcher after truth and quibbles, declares positively, that "his learning was very little,-nature was all the art used upon him, as he himself, if alive, would confefs." And may we not fay, he did confefs it, when he apologized for his untutored lines to his noble patron the Earl of Southampton?-this lift of witnesses might be easily enlarged; but I flatter myself, I shall stand in no need of fuch evidence.

One of the first and most vehement assertors of the learning of Shakspeare, was the editor of his poems, the well-known Mr. Gildon; and his steps were most punctually taken by a fubfequent labourer in the fame department, Dr. Sewell.

Mr. Pope fuppofed "little ground for the common opinion of his want of learning:" once indeed he made a proper diftinction between learning and languages, as I would be understood to do in my title-page; but unfortunately he forgot it in the course of his disquisition, and endeavoured to perfuade himself that Shakspeare's acquaintance

Hence perhaps the ill-ftarr'd rage between this critick and his elder brother, John Dennis, so pathetically lamented in the Dunciad. Whilft the former was perfuaded, that "the man who doubts of the learning of Shakspeare, hath none of his own:" the latter, above regarding the attack in his private capacity, declares with great patriotick vehemence, that "he who allows Shakspeare had learning, and a familiar acquaintance with the ancients, ought to be looked upon as a detractor from the glory of Great Britain." Dennis was expelled his college for attempting to ftab a man in the dark: Pope would have been glad of this anecdote.

with the ancients might be actually proved by the fame medium as Jonfon's.

Mr. Theobald is "very unwilling to allow him so poor a scholar, as many have laboured to represent him;" and yet is " cautious of declaring too positively on the other fide of the question."

Dr. Warburton hath exposed the weakness of some arguments from fufpected imitations; and yet offers others, which, I doubt not, he could as eafily have refuted.

Mr. Upton wonders "with what kind of reasoning any one could be so far impofed upon, as to imagine that Shakspeare had no learning;" and lashes with much zeal and fatisfaction "the pride and pertness of dunces, who, under such a name would gladly shelter their own idleness and ignorance."

He, like the learned knight, at every anomaly in grammar or metre,

"Hath hard words ready to show why,
" And tell what rule he did it by."

How would the old bard have been aftonished to have found, that he had very skilfully given the trochaic dimeter brachycatalectic, COMMONLY called the ithyphallic measure to the Witches in Macbeth! and that now and then a halting verse afforded a most beautiful instance of the pes proceleufmaticus!

But, continues Mr. Upton, it was a learned age; Roger Afcham affures us, that Queen Elizabeth read more Greek every day, than fome dignitaries of the church did Latin in a whole week." This appears very probable; and a pleasant proof it is of the general learning of the times, and of Shakfpeare in particular. I wonder, he did not corroborate it with an extract from her injunctions to her clergy, that "fuch as were but mean readers should peruse over before, once or twice, the chapters and homilies, to the intent they might read to the better understanding of the people."

Dr. Grey declares, that Shakspeare's knowledge in the Greek and Latin tongues cannot reasonably be called in question. Dr. Dodd supposes it proved, that he was not fuch a novice in learning and antiquity as fome people would pretend. And to close the whole, for I fufpect you to be tired of quotation, Mr. Whalley, the ingenious editor of Jonfon, hath written a piece expressly on this fide the question: perhaps from a very excusable partiality, he was willing to draw Shakspeare from the field of nature to classick ground, where alone, he knew, his author could possibly cope with him.

These criticks, and many others their coadjutors, have fuppofed themselves able to trace Shakspeare in the writings of the ancients; and have fometimes perfuaded us of their own learning, whatever became of their author's. Plagiarisms have been difcovered in every natural description and every moral fentiment. Indeed by the kind assistance of the various Excerpta, Sententiæ, and Flores, this business may be effected with very little expence of time or fagacity; as Addifon hath demonstrated in his comment on Chevy-chafe, and Wagstaff on Tom Thumb; and I myself will engage to give you quotations from the elder Englith writers (for to own the truth, I was once idle enough to collect fuch,) which shall carry with them at least an equal degree of fimilarity. But there can be no occafion of wafting any future time in this department: the world is now in poffeffion of the Marks of Imitation.

Shakspeare however hath frequent allufions to the falts and fables of antiquity." Granted :-and as Mat. Prior says, to save the effusion of more