Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 6: With His Letters and JournalsMoore, Thomas
General
Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 6: With His Letters and Journals
Moore, Thomas
Byron, George Gordon Byron, Baron, 1788-1824; Poets, English -- 19th century -- Biography
Mr. Bowles declares, that "he will not enter into a particular
examination of the pamphlet," which by a _misnomer_ is called
"Gilchrist's Answer to Bowles," when it should have been called
"Gilchrist's Abuse of Bowles." On this error in the baptism of Mr.
Gilchrist's pamphlet, it may be observed, that an answer may be
abusive and yet no less an answer, though indisputably a temperate
one might be the better of the two: but if _abuse_ is to cancel all
pretensions to reply, what becomes of Mr. Bowles's answers to Mr.
Gilchrist?
Mr. Bowles continues:--"But as Mr. Gilchrist derides my _peculiar
sensitiveness to criticism_, before I show how _destitute of truth is
this representation_, I will here explicitly declare the only
grounds," &c. &c. &c.--Mr. Bowles's sensibility in denying his
"sensitiveness to criticism" proves, perhaps, too much. But if he has
been so charged, and truly--what then? There is no moral turpitude in
such acuteness of feeling: it has been, and may be, combined with
many good and great qualities. Is Mr. Bowles a poet, or is he not? If
he be, he must, from his very essence, be sensitive to criticism; and
even if he be not, he need not be ashamed of the common repugnance to
being attacked. All that is to be wished is, that he had considered
how disagreeable a thing it is, before he assailed the greatest moral
poet of any age, or in any language.
Pope himself "sleeps well,"--nothing can touch him further; but those
who love the honour of their country, the perfection of her
literature, the glory of her language--are not to be expected to
permit an atom of his dust to be stirred in his tomb, or a leaf to be
stripped from the laurel which grows over it.
Mr. Bowles assigns several reasons why and when "an author is
justified in appealing to every _upright_ and _honourable_ mind in
the kingdom." If Mr. Bowles limits the perusal of his defence to the
"upright and honourable" only, I greatly fear that it will not be
extensively circulated. I should rather hope that some of the
downright and dishonest will read and be converted, or convicted. But
the whole of his reasoning is here superfluous--"_an author is
justified in appealing_," &c. when and why he pleases. Let him make
out a tolerable case, and few of his readers will quarrel with his
motives.
Mr. Bowles "will now plainly set before the literary public all the
circumstances which have led to _his name_ and Mr. Gilchrist's being
brought together," &c. Courtesy requires, in speaking of others and
ourselves, that we should place the name of the former first--and not
"_Ego_ et Rex meus." Mr. Bowles should have written "Mr. Gilchrist's
name and his."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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