ons of himself and the poet, and Blakey, the draughtsman, told
Burke that "it was by Warburton's particular desire that he made him the
principal figure, and Pope only secondary, and that the light, contrary
to the rules of art, goes upwards from Warburton to Pope." A gentleman
remarked, when Burke related the anecdote, that they were drawn looking
in opposite directions.[6] The sarcasm summed up the opinion which has
always prevailed. The clumsy inventions of Warburton had not the
semblance of plausibility, and scarce anybody except his shadow, and
fulsome echo, Bishop Hurd, ever doubted that the text and commentary
looked different ways.[7]

Proud of his dreary paradoxes, Warburton scorned the humble office of
furnishing useful information. Pope had said, in his Imitations of
Horace, that because three ladies liked a luckless play, a spendthrift
had taken the whole house upon the poet's night,[8] which drew from
Warburton the following note:--"The common reader, I am sensible, will
be always more solicitous about the names of these three ladies, the
unlucky play, and every other circumstance that attended this piece of
gallantry, than for the explanation of our author's sense, or the
illustration of his poetry, even where he is most moral and sublime. But
had it been in Mr. Pope's purpose to indulge so impertinent a curiosity,
he had sought elsewhere for a commentator on his writings. Which defect
in these notes, the periodical scribblers, however, have been stupid and
shameless enough to object to them."[9] Warburton's reserve was
praiseworthy when his motive was respect for private feelings. His
general neglect to clear up the allusions in Pope's poems did not admit
of this apology, and in default of a better defence he called his
critics "stupid and shameless." His habit when reasons failed him was to
supply their place with abuse.

The edition of Warburton was published in 1751, and no attempt was made
to supersede it till Gilbert Wakefield commenced a new edition in 1794.
He was "labouring," he says, "for a subsistence," and the cost of the
work, which was printed at his own expense, obliged him to bring out a
volume at a time. Before the first volume was quite through the press he
learned that Joseph Warton was engaged on a similar undertaking. Warton
had the support of the London booksellers, and the edition of Wakefield
ended with his opening volume. The world did not lose the benefit of his
annotations. He p