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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28
Can wonder that our lofty Bards should please,
In such an Age, when Folly takes its range,
And Vice and Virtue do their Names exchange,
Whilst Poets write, to countenance the Cheat,
Plays without Plots, and Poems without Wit;
If quaint the Diction, or span-new the Thought,
No matter whether understood or not;
Full swelling Words a barren Theme may grace,
And, void of meaning, with some Judges pass,
But, if examin'd truly, will be found,
By Men of sense, no more than empty sound;
Yet, by the Author, lectur'd o'er in form,
The windy Lines may his admirers charm,
And cause 'em, at first hearing, to commend
The tuneful Nonsense, better read than pen'd.
So in dull rants well mouth'd upon the Stage,
The Player's accents grace the Hero's rage,
And, when repeated thus with art and care,
The cheated Audience lend a patient Ear
And often praise the wild Impertinence they hear.
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