he Tribe of Poets, and above all, Bad Poets,
are a People ready to take fire; and that Minds so covetous of Praise
wou'd not easily digest any Raillery, how gentle soever. I may farther
say to my advantage, that I have look'd with the Eyes of a Stoick
upon the Defamatory Libels that have been publish'd against me.
Whatever Calumnies they have been willing to asperse me with, whatever
false Reports they have spread of my Person, I can easily forgive
those little Revenges; and ascribe 'em to the Spleen of a provok'd
Author, who finds himself attack'd in the most sensible part of a
Poet, I mean, in his Writings.

But I own I was a little surpriz'd at the whimsical Chagrin of certain
_Readers_, who instead of diverting themselves with this Quarrel of
_Parnassus_, of which they might have been indifferent Spectators,
chose to make themselves Parties, and rather to take pet with Fools,
than laugh with Men of Sense. 'Twas to comfort these People, that I
compos'd my ninth Satire; where I think I have shewn clearly enough,
that without any prejudice either to one's Conscience or the
Government, one may think bad Verses bad Verses, and have full right
to be tir'd with reading a silly Book. But since these Gentlemen have
spoken of the liberty I have taken of _Naming_ them, as an Attempt
unheard-of, and without Example, and since Examples can't well be put
into Rhyme; 'tis proper to say one word to inform 'em of a thing of
which they alone wou'd gladly be ignorant, and to make them know, that
in comparison of all my brother Satirists, I have been a Poet of great
Moderation.

To begin with _Lucilius_ the Inventer of Satire; what liberty, or
rather what license did he not indulge in his Works? They were not
only Poets and Authors whom he attack'd, they were People of the first
Quality in _Rome_, and Consular Persons. However _Scipio_ and
_Laelius_ did not judge that Poet (so determin'd a Laugher as he was)
unworthy of their Friendship; and probably upon occasion no more
refus'd him, than they did _Terence_, their advice on his Writings:
They never thought of espousing the part of _Lupus_ and _Metellus_,
whom he ridicul'd in his Satires, nor imagin'd they gave up any part
of their own Character in leaving to his Mercy all the Coxcombs of the
Nation.

----_num_ Laelius, _aut qui_
_Duxit ab oppressa meritum Carthagine nomen,_
_Ingenio offensi, aut laeso doluere_ Metello
_Famosisve_ Lupo _co-operto versibus?_