The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 13Dryden, John
General
The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 13
Dryden, John
Poetry
follow from hence, that the Satires of Horace are wholly different from
those of Lucilius, because Horace has not less surpassed Lucilius in
the elegancy of his writing, than Lucilius surpassed Ennius in the turn
and ornament of his. This passage of Diomedes has also drawn Dousa, the
son, into the same error of Casaubon, which I say, not to expose the
little failings of those judicious men, but only to make it appear,
with how much diffidence and caution we are to read their works, when
they treat a subject of so much obscurity, and so very ancient, as is
this of satire.
Having thus brought down the history of Satire from its original to
the times of Horace, and shown the several changes of it, I should
here discover some of those graces which Horace added to it, but that
I think it will be more proper to defer that undertaking, till I make
the comparison betwixt him and Juvenal. In the mean while, following
the order of time, it will be necessary to say somewhat of another
kind of satire, which also was descended from the ancients; it is that
which we call the Varronian satire, (but which Varro himself calls the
Menippean,) because Varro, the most learned of the Romans, was the
first author of it, who imitated, in his works, the manner of Menippus
the Gadarenian, who professed the philosophy of the Cynicks.
This sort of satire was not only composed of several sorts of verse,
like those of Ennius, but was also mixed with prose; and Greek was
sprinkled amongst the Latin. Quintilian, after he had spoken of the
satire of Lucilius, adds what follows; "There is another and former
kind of satire, composed by Terentius Varro, the most learned of
the Romans; in which he was not satisfied alone with mingling in it
several sorts of verse." The only difficulty of this passage is,
that Quintilian tells us, that this satire of Varro was of a former
kind. For how can we possibly imagine this to be, since Varro, who
was contemporary to Cicero, must consequently be after Lucilius?
But Quintilian meant not, that the satire of Varro was in order of
time before Lucilius; he would only give us to understand, that the
Varronian satire, with mixture of several sorts of verses, was more
after the manner of Ennius and Pacuvius, than that of Lucilius, who was
more severe, and more correct; and gave himself less liberty in the
mixture of his verses in the same poem.
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