The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-12-26
CONCERNING GOOD INVEoTIVE

Pope's Satire on Addison Offered as a
Study in Polished Attack.
And so 1T has always been with the
higher specimens of invective. Without
a certain delicacy of meditation it misses
half its effect. Let US recall Pope's IN
vectlve; how deep it went. how carefully
its lights and shades were studied. how
fine were its graduations. No one who
INDUCES the amiable wish to reach the
heart with poisoned arrow should
neglect to study the great satire on Add
son in the letter to DR.. Arbuthnot. How
carefully Pope led up to it by painting
first the unintentional error OF a dull
bard who did badly, in pure ignorance,
what he desired to show that Addison did
with great subtlety in pure craft:
And he who now to sense, now nonsense leaning
Means not, but blunders round about meaning,
And he whose fustian's so sublimely bad
1t Is not poetry, but prose rui mao;
ALI these my modest satire bad translate
And owned that nine such poets made Tate,
How did they fume, and stamp, and roar and chafe
And swear not Addison himself was safe
This is his preparation tor the attack on
Addison which he then delivers with the
most exquisite grace, deiineating Addi-
sons accomp lisbed literary skill and moral
cowardice, and contrasting both with the
not, but blunders round about meaning"
Peace to all such, but were there one whose fires
True Genius kindles and fair Fame inspires,
BEST with each talent, and each art to please,
4 nd born to write, converse and live with ease;
Should such man TOO fond to rule alone
Bear, like the Turk no brother near the throne,
View him with scornfuL yet with jealous eyes
And hate for arts that caused himself TO rise.
Damn with faint praise, assent with CIVIL leer,
And, without sneering. teach the rest TO sheer;
Willing to wound, and yet afraid 10 strike,
Just hint a fault and hesitate DIS Ike:
Alike reserved to blame or TO commend
A timorous foe and suspicious friend,
Dreading cen fools, by hatterers beseged.
And so obiging that he ne'er obliged;
Like Cato give his little Senate laws
md sit attentive to his own applause;
While Wits and Tempiers every sentence raise
md wonder with foolish face OF praises
Who but must laugh if such a man there be?
Who would not weep II At-icus were her
There you have the careful and dis
eliminating eulogy which leads up to the
attack. an attack which, as well as i'm
putting craft and cowardice to Addison,
draws careless com parlson between him
and the mere bungler from whom mot
Addison himself was safe" The latter
meant not, but blundered "round about
meaning" Addison meant, but fluttered
round about his meaning, because he was
too tiruid to say it out, and too jealous not
to hint it.
The ordinary idea of invective is a
literary blow which bludgeon or shot
with blunderbuss that causes great re-
port, and probably gives deadly shock.
For example, Macaulay's attack on the
age of Charles ii was invective of this
bludgeoning kind: Then came those
days never to be recalled without blush,
the days OF servitude without loyalty and
sensuality without love, of dwertish
talents and gigantic vices. of cold hearts
and narrow minds, the goldeHage of the
coward, the bigot ana the slave"
That was bludgeoning invective with
vengeance, but might it not have been
surpassed in effect if Macaulay had given
those days credit for their cynical wit,
their degraded and degrading humor, and
approached his attack upon them from
the side on which it wouid~at least have
been possible to say something in their
favor and a great deal more against
them? That ages talents" at least,
were by no means dwarfish. though its
vices were gigantic. To our mind. the in
vective which is sgillfully mingled with
an appreciation that makes the censure
more effective is the more remem berable
and the more wounding. Inyective does
only half its work when it merely stuns
the adversary, instead of piercing and
penetrating the joints OF his armor.-Lon-
don Spectator.