Durgen Or, A Plain Satyr upon a Pompous Satyrist. Amicably Inscrib'd, by the Author, to those Worthy and Ingenious Gentlemen misrepresented in a late invective Poem, call'd, The Dunciad [by Edward Ward] |
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 | Durgen |  |
Some, skill'd in soothing Flattery and Praise,
Have by their Panegyricks won the Baies,
And clim'd to Honours by their fawning Wit,
But Scandal never rais'd a Poet yet;
At great Men's faults th'aspiring Bard should wink,
Courts must be flatter'd, or his int'rest sink.
Satyr, 'tis true, may artfully be Pen'd,
And the bold Author justify the end,
But awful Pow'r, whose Word is a Command,
Will bear no lash from an inferior Hand:
What sturdy Soldier durst, in Publick, make
Reflexions on his General's mistake;
Or, what bold Clerk, tho' skillful in the Laws,
Arraign the partial Judge that tries the Cause;
Not, that the wisest Magistrate can steer
Thro' e'ery gulph of State, from error clear,
But ruling Pow'rs this privilege will claim,
(Lest envious Writers should eclipse their Fame)
To be exempt from Satyr, tho' not free from Blame.
Have by their Panegyricks won the Baies,
And clim'd to Honours by their fawning Wit,
But Scandal never rais'd a Poet yet;
At great Men's faults th'aspiring Bard should wink,
Courts must be flatter'd, or his int'rest sink.
Satyr, 'tis true, may artfully be Pen'd,
And the bold Author justify the end,
But awful Pow'r, whose Word is a Command,
Will bear no lash from an inferior Hand:
What sturdy Soldier durst, in Publick, make
Reflexions on his General's mistake;
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Arraign the partial Judge that tries the Cause;
Not, that the wisest Magistrate can steer
Thro' e'ery gulph of State, from error clear,
But ruling Pow'rs this privilege will claim,
(Lest envious Writers should eclipse their Fame)
To be exempt from Satyr, tho' not free from Blame.
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