Aesthetics, British -- 18th century -- Poetry; Pope, Alexander, 1688-1744 -- Poetry; Verse satire, English
Its situation shall be _London_ road:
_Pots_ o'er the door I'll place like Cits balconies,
Which[1] _Bently_ calls the _Gardens of Adonis_.
I'll have my Gardens in the fashion too,
For what is beautiful that is not new?
Fair four-legg'd temples, theatres that vye,
With all the angles of a _Christmas_-pye.
Does it not merit the beholder's praise,
What's high to sink? and what is low to raise?
Slopes shall ascend where once a green-house stood,
And in my horse-pond I will plant a wood.
Let misers dread the hoarded gold to waste,
Expence and alteration shew a _Taste_.
In curious paintings I'm exceeding nice,
And know their several beauties by their _Price_.
_Auctions_ and _Sales_ I constantly attend,
But chuse my pictures by a _skilful friend_.
Originals and copies much the same,
The picture's value is the _painter's name_.
My taste in Sculpture from my choice is seen,
I buy no statues that are not obscene.
In spite of _Addison_ and ancient _Rome_,
Sir _Cloudesly Shovel_'s is my fav'rite tomb.
How oft have I with admiration stood,
To view some City-magistrate in wood?
I gaze with pleasure on a Lord May'r's head,
Cast with propriety in gilded lead.
Oh could I view through _London_ as I pass,
Some broad Sir _Balaam_ in _Corinthian_ brass;
High on a pedestal, ye Freemen, place
His magisterial Paunch and griping Face;
_Letter'd and Gilt_, let him adorn _Cheapside_,
And grant the _Tradesman_, what a _King_'s deny'd.
Old Coins and Medals I collect, 'tis true,
Sir _Andrew_ has 'em, and I'll have 'em too.
But among friends if I the truth might speak,
I like the modern, and despise th' antique.
Tho' in the draw'rs of my japan _Bureau_,
To Lady _Gripeall_ I the _Caesars_ shew,
'Tis equal to her Ladyship or me,
A copper _Otho_, or a _Scotch Baubee_.
Without _Italian_, or without an ear,
To _Bononcini_'s musick I adhere:
Musick has charms to sooth a savage beast,
And therefore proper at a Sheriff's feast.
My soul has oft a secret pleasure found,
In the harmonious Bagpipe's lofty sound.
Bagpipes for men, shrill _German-flutes_ for boys,
I'm _English_ born, and love a grumbling noise.
The Stage should yield the solemn Organ's note,
And Scripture tremble in the Eunuch's throat.
Let _Senesino_ sing, what _David_ writ,
And _Hallelujahs_ charm the pious pit.
Eager in throngs the town to _Hester_ came,
And _Oratorio_ was a lucky name.
Thou, _Heeideggre!_ the _English_ taste has found,
And rul'st the mob of quality with sound.
In _Lent_, if Masquerades displease the town,
Call 'em _Ridotto_'s, and they still go down:
Go on, Prince _Phyz_! to please the British nation,
Call thy next _Masquerade_ a _Convocation_.
Bears, Lyons, Wolves, and Elephants I breed,
And _Philosophical Transactions_ read.
Next Lodge I'll be _Free-Mason_, nothing less,
Unless I happen to be _F.R.S._
I have a _Palate_, and (as yet) _two Ears_,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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