Alexander Pope (1688–1744). Complete Poetical Works. 1903.
AppendixA. A Glossary of Names of Pope’s Contemporaries Mentioned in the Poems
This Glossary includes only such names as from their importance, from Pope’s frequent mention of them, or for some other obvious reason, could not profitably be treated in the Notes.
Anstis. Garter King at Arms.
Arbuthnot, John (1675–1735). Physician, mathematician, and classical scholar. A Tory in politics. Member of Scriblerus Club. Friend of Pope, Swift, and Gay, whom he rivalled in satire. Swift said, ‘He has more wit than we all have, and more humanity than wit.’
Argyle, John, 2d Duke of (1678–1743). Statesman, soldier, and lover of letters; of a varied career both in war and in politics, but an honest man.
Arnall, William. Party-writer and journalist, of whom Pope complains that he admitted having ‘received, in the space of four years, no less than £1997 6s. 8d. out of the Treasury.’
Atterbury, Francis, Bishop of Rochester. Friend of Pope and Swift. Banished as a plotting Jacobite in 1722, and thereafter influential at the court of the Pretender till his death in 1731.
Bathurst, Allen Apsley, Lord, a Tory peer, was one of the most intimate of Pope’s friends and associates. ‘He united,’ says Carruthers, ‘a sort of French vivacity’ [‘Bathurst impetuous, whom you and I strive who shall love the most,’ is the mention of him in Gay’s catalogue of Pope’s friends] ‘to English principles, and mingled freely in society till past ninety, living to walk under the shade of lofty trees which Pope and he had planted, and to see his son Lord Chancellor of England.’ He died in the year 1774, at the age of ninety-one. (Ward.)
Bentley, Richard. Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and one of the great classical scholars of the time.
Berkeley, Dr., Bishop of Cloyne. Author of Alciphron, and a man of great learning and probity.
Bethel, Hugh. A Yorkshire gentleman with whom Pope was intimate, and frequently corresponded. He was a close friend of Pope’s dearest friends, the Blounts of Mapledurham. He died in 1748. (Ward.)
Betterton, Thomas. Pope copied a portrait by Kneller of this famous actor, which is still extant. Betterton achieved success in all the major Shakespearean parts.
Blackmore, Sir Richard (1652–1729). Author of a philosophical poem called The Creation; and immortalized as the Quack Maurus of Dryden’s prologue to The Secular Masque. ‘His indefatigable muse,’ says Pope, ‘produced no less than six epic poems: Prince and King Arthur, twenty books; Eliza, ten; Alfred, twelve; The Redeemer, six; besides Job, in folio, the whole book of Psalms; The Creation, seven books; and many more. ’T is in this sense he is styled afterwards the Everlasting Blackmore.’
Bladen. Colonel Martin Bladen was a man of some literature and translated Cæsar’s Commentaries. I never could learn that he had offended Pope. He was uncle to Wm. Collins, the poet, whom he left an estate. (Warton.)
Bland. Dr. Bland was Provost of Eton, and, according to Warton, ‘a very bad writer.’
Blount, Martha. The woman for whom Pope seems to have cherished the feeling nearest akin to love. Indeed, it is supposed that if it had not been for the older sister Teresa, the attachment between Pope and Martha Blount might have come to marriage.
Blount, Teresa. See previous note, and Biographical Sketch.
Bolingbroke, Henry St. John, Lord (1678–1751). Tory and High Churchman, one of the great orators of the day, and member of several ministries. Friend of Prior and Swift, and later of Pope, much of whose later work was influenced by the shallow philosophy of Bolingbroke.
Booth, Barton. Actor, especially noted for his articulation; the original Cato in Addison’s drama.
Boyle, Henry, Lord Carleton. Nephew of the famous Robert Boyle. Secretary of State under William III., and President of the Council under Queen Anne. (Pope.)
Boyle, Richard, Earl of Burlington (1695–1753). He took no prominent part in politics, although his high rank obtained for him a great post at court and the order of the Garter. But he obtained wide fame by his taste in architecture, inspired by a natural love of art and educated by studies in Italy. Horace Walpole says of him that he ‘had every quality of genius and artist, except envy.’ (Ward.)
Brydges, James, Duke of Chandos. Friend of Pope and master of the Estate of Canons, which Pope was supposed to have satirized (Moral Essays, Epistle IV. 98–126). Paymaster of the Forces, under Godolphin.
Buckingham, Edmund, Duke of. Only son of John Sheffield, Duke of Buckinghamshire, by Katherine Darnley, natural daughter of James II. (Roscoe.)
Buckingham, more properly Buckinghamshire, John Sheffield, Duke of. See Sheffield.
Budgell, Eustace (1685–1737). Kinsman and friend of Addison. Accompanied Addison to Ireland as clerk, and became Under-Secretary of State. Wrote thirty-seven numbers of The Spectator. Was accused of forging a will in his own favor, fell into disgrace and debt, and committed suicide.
Burlington, Richard Boyle, Earl of. See Richard Boyle.
Carey, Henry. Author of Sally in Our Alley; and dramatist.
Carleton, Henry Boyle, Lord. See Henry Boyle.
Carteret, John, Earl Granville. Statesman, diplomat, and classical scholar. Political opponent of Walpole.
Caryll, John. Member of one of the Roman Catholic families living in the neighborhood of Windsor Forest. The Rape of the Lock was due to his suggestion, and he remained a life-long friend of the poet.
Chandos, James Brydges, First Duke of. See Brydges.
Charteris, Francis. See Pope’s note on Moral Essays, Epistle III., line 20.
Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of. The most accomplished man of his time, wit, diplomatist, statesman, arbiter of manners; now mainly famous as the writer of the Letters to his Son.
Cibber, Colley (1671–1757). Actor, manager, and playwright; author of The Careless Husband. He incurred the enmity of Pope by burlesquing the farce, Three Hours after Marriage, and eventually displaced Theobald as hero of The Dunciad.
Cobham, Richard Temple, Lord. Sir Richard Temple, created Viscount Cobham by George I. in 1718, and made a Field Marshal in 1742, was on intimate terms with Pope during the latter part of the poet’s life. Pope speaks, in his last letter to Swift, of ‘generally rambling in the summer for a month to Lord Cobham’s, the Bath, or elsewhere.’ (Ward.)
Congreve, William (1669–1728), of good family, well educated. Studied law, gained fame by his plays. One tragedy, The Mourning Bride, and several licentious comedies are now associated with his name. He was one of those who encouraged Pope’s earliest efforts. To him Pope dedicated the translation of The Iliad.
Cornbury, Lord. Afterwards Lord Hyde, ‘a young Tory nobleman of literary tastes,’ says Ward, to whom Bolingboke addressed his Letters on History.
Cowper, William, First Earl. Lord Keeper, in 1705, and one of the Lords Justices on the death of Queen Anne.
Craggs, James. A man of low birth, who gained place and power. A friend of Pope’s after 1711. Secretary of War in 1717, Secretary of State in 1720. His death in 1721 probably prevented his conviction of fraud in connection with the South Sea affair.
Curll, Edmund. A bookseller with whom Pope had for years a friendly connection, but who incurred Pope’s resentment by publishing some of his private correspondence in 1727. The possible fact of his own complicity in the publication did not prevent Pope from placing Curll in the pillory of The Dunciad.
Demoivre. A French mathematician especially famed for his skill in trigonometry.
Dennis, John (1657–1734). A forcible though unrefined critic, by no means the dunce Pope makes him out. His attack on Addison’s Cato, and Addison’s reception of Pope’s unsolicited championship of the play, led to the estrangement between Pope and Addison. Dennis was not slow to retort upon Pope, who never forgave an injury to his self-esteem.
Digby, Robert. A frequent correspondent of Pope’s during the years 1717 and 1724; died in 1726, and was lamented by Pope in a letter to his brother, Edward Digby, and in an epitaph.
Dodington, Bubb, afterwards Lord Melcombe, the author of a well-known diary, and the confidential adviser of Frederick, Prince of Wales. He is a character in many respects representative of his age; utterly unconscientious and cheerfully blind to his unconscientiousness; and a liberal rather than discriminating patron of literary men. He died in 1762. (Ward.)
Dorset, Charles Sackville, Earl of (1637–1706). Author of the ballad, ‘To all you Ladies Now at Land,’ some other songs, and a few satires. Belonged to the household of Charles II. and of William and Mary. He introduced Hudibras to notice, and was the friend and patron of Waller and Dryden.
Duck, Stephen. A modest and worthy man, who had the honour (which many, who thought themselves his betters in poetry, had not) of being esteemed by Mr. Pope. Queen Caroline chose this man for her favourite poet. (Warburton.)
Dunton, John. A broken bookseller and abusive scribbler; he writ Neck or Nothing, a violent satire on some ministers of state; a libel on the Duke of Devonshire and the Bishop of Peterborough. (Pope.)
Durfey or D’Urfey, Thomas. A scribbler and poetaster who would now be unknown if Pope had not named him so frequently.
Fenton, Elijah. A poet of no mean talent, and translator of four books of Pope’s Odyssey.
Fleury, Cardinal. Prime minister of France from 1726 to his death, in 1743.
Fortescue, Hon. W. An intimate friend and a frequent associate and correspondent of the poet’s, and a schoolfellow of Gay’s. He afterwards became one of the Barons of the Exchequer, and ultimately Master of the Rolls. (Ward.)
Frowde, Philip. A dramatic writer and fine scholar, a friend of Addison’s. (Carruthers.)
Gay, John (1638–1732). A close friend of Pope and Swift, a clever poet, and author of the famous Beggars’ Opera.
Gildon, Charles (1665–1724) wrote a number of works, critical and dramatic. His plays were unsuccessful, but his Complete Art of Poetry (1718) is a work of considerable research and care. (Chambers.)
Godolphin, Lord. Lord Treasurer under Queen Anne. He was Addison’s patron, but Macaulay says of him, ‘Most of the time which he could save from public business was spent in racing, card-playing, and cock-fighting.’
Gonson, Sir John. A hanging judge said to have been particularly severe in his punishment of unfortunate women. His portrait is supposed to have been inserted by Hogarth in Plate III. of The Harlot’s Progress.
Grafton, Charles, second Duke of.
Granville, George, afterward Lord Lansdowne (1667–1735). A poetical imitator of Waller; Secretary of War under Queen Anne, and raised to the peerage in 1717.
Grosvenor, Sir Thomas. A country baronet, member of Parliament. Remarkable for his obstinate independence.
Halifax, Charles Montagu, Earl of. A peer no less distinguished by his love of letters than his abilities in Parliament. He was disgraced in 1710, on the change of Queen Anne’s ministry. (Pope.)
Hare, Francis, Bishop of Chichester. Tutor at Cambridge of (Sir) Robert Walpole.
Harley, Robert, Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer. Speaker of the House of Commons in 1701, Secretary of State in the Godolphin ministry. Subsequently created Earl of Oxford and appointed Lord Treasurer. A rival of Bolingbroke. Impeached for Jacobitism in 1716 and imprisoned in the Tower. Died in 1724. Subject of an epistle by Pope, p. 116, this edition.
Hearne, Thomas. Antiquary. He revenged himself, says Ward, for the sarcastic reference to him in The Dunciad by ill-natured reflections on Pope’s education and parentage in his Diary.
Henley, John. A native of Leicestershire, had graduated at Cambridge; but set up a scheme of Universology on his own account, establishing his ‘Oratory’ in a wooden booth in Newport market in 1726. Three years later he removed his pulpit to the corner of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, and though subjected to a prosecution for profaning the clerical character, continued his exhibitions till the middle of the century. (Ward).
Hervey, John Lord. Author of Memoirs of the Reign of George II.; a courtier, Vice Chamberlain to George II., and later Lord Privy Seal. He married one of Pope’s court friends, Miss Lepell (see The Challenge). The cause of Pope’s enmity is unknown, but after the year 1727 Pope lost no opportunity to asperse the character of the peer, alluding to him as ‘Lord Fanny,’ ‘Fannius,’ and finally ‘Sporus.’ (Epistle to Arbuthnot, 305–333.)
Hopkins, ‘Vulture.’ See Pope’s note on Moral Essays, III. 85.
Japhet Crook. A Londoner who amasses a large fortune by sharp practice. See Pope’s note on Moral Essays, III. 86.
Jervas, Charles. See head-note to the Epistle to Jervas, p. 82.
Johnson, Charles. A second-rate dramatist. (Bowles.)
Lintot, Bernard. A publisher pilloried with Curll in The Dunciad; but he himself had published some of Pope’s earlier work, to the advantage of the poet.
Mead, Dr. Physician to George II., and one of the eminent scientists of his day.
Mist, Nathaniel. Editor of a famous Tory journal. (Pope.)
Monroe, Dr. Physician to Bedlam Hospital. (Pope.)
Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley. One of the most interesting women of her day. A fair scholar and a clever versifier. Pope became acquainted with her in 1715, when she was already married to a dull man; and was for a time much attached to her. They quarrelled, and Pope thereafter lost no chance to insult her in prose and verse, commonly under the name of ‘Sappho.’
Moore, James, afterward Moore-Smythe. A member of Pope’s own circle, and a friend of Teresa Blount’s, but the object of Pope’s lasting rancour. The inoffensive author of many verses and a comedy, The Rival Modes, in which occurred certain lines which Pope accused him of having stolen from his lines to Martha Blount. Moore-Smythe retorted the charge.
Morris, Bezaleel. Author of some satires on the translators of Homer, with many other things printed in newspapers. (Pope.)
Murray, William, afterwards Lord Mansfield. A man of wit and cultivation, the incumbent of many high offices. He earned Pope’s friendship by defending the Essay on Man from the attacks of various critics.
Oldfield, Mrs. The most famous comédienne of the age.
Oldfield, Mrs. This eminent glutton ran through a fortune of fifteen hundred pounds a year in the simple luxury of good eating. (Warburton.)
Onslow. Arthur. Sprung from a family members of which had already in two instances filled the chair, was elected Speaker in 1728, and occupied the post for thirty-three years, to the satisfaction of both parties in the House. (Ward.)
Osborne, Thomas. The bookseller who had the honour of a thrashing at the hands of Dr. Johnson; a tricky and unreliable man against whom Pope had more than one grievance.
Oxford, Robert Harley, Earl of. See Harley.
Ozell, John. A translator of French plays, whom Pope several times ridicules.
Parnell, Thomas (1679–1717). Poet, and member of the Scriblerus Club. He wrote the life of Homer for Pope’s Iliad, and after his death Pope brought out an edition of his poems.
Pelham, Henry. Became First Lord of the Treasury in 1743, through Walpole’s influence; and died in 1754, the King exclaiming on his death: ‘Now I shall have no more peace!’ (Ward.)
Peter (Walter). See Walter.
Philips, Ambrose. Poet, Whig, and member of Addison’s coterie. Author of the Pastorals with which Pope’s were published, and frequent subject thereafter of Pope’s satire.
Polwarth. The Hon. Hugh Hume, son of Alexander, Earl of Marchmont, grandson of Patrick, Earl of Marchmont, and distinguished, like them, in the cause of liberty. (Pope.) He was made one of Pope’s executors.
Pulteney, William, afterward Earl of Bath. Orator and pamphleteer, and principal opponent to Sir Robert Walpole.
Rich, John. Manager of the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden.
Rochester, Francis Atterbury, Bishop of. See Atterbury.
Rolli, Paolo Antonio. An Italian poet, and writer of many operas in that language, which, partly by the help of his genius, prevailed in England near twenty years. He taught Italian to some fine gentlemen, who affected to direct the operas. (Pope.)
Rowe, Nicholas (1673–1718). Friend of Addison, editor of Shakespeare, and writer of plays in blank verse, among the best known of which are Jane Shore and The Fair Penitent.
Rundel, Dr., Bishop of Derry. A friend of Pope and Swift, and frequently mentioned in their letters.
Sandys, Samuel, First Baron. Opponent of Sir Robert Walpole. A man of steady industry rather than of talent.
Schutz, Augustus. Held, according to Carruthers, court offices near the person of George II., both before and after his accession to the throne.
Secker, Thomas (1693–1768). Bishop of Bristol, later of Oxford, and finally Archbishop of Canterbury. Noted for his piety and liberality.
Sheffield, John, Duke of Buckinghamshire (1649–1722). Author of an Essay on Poetry, which both Dryden and Pope praised, but which the modern critic finds of little value.
Shippen, William. A free-speaking Jacobite, who was sent to the Tower in 1718.
Shrewsbury, Charles Talbot, Duke of. Had been Secretary of State, Embassador in France, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Chamberlain, and Lord Treasurer. He several times quitted his employments, and was often recalled. He died in 1718 (Pope).
Smythe, James Moore-. See Moore.
Somers, John Lord. He had been Lord Keeper in the reign of William III., who took from him the seals in 1700. The author had the honour of knowing him in 1706. A faithful, able, and incorrupt minister; who, to the qualities of consummate statesman, added those of a man of learning and politeness. (Pope.)
Southern, Thomas (1660–1746). Author of Oroonoko, a play founded on Mrs. Behn’s novel of the name, and very popular in its day.
Stanhope, James Earl. A nobleman of equal courage, spirit, and learning. General in Spain, and Secretary of State. (Pope.)
Temple, Richard, Lord Cobham. See Cobham.
Theobald, Lewis. Usually called Tibbald by Pope. Author and translator. Editor of a respectable Shakespeare, and critic of Pope’s edition of the dramatist: therefore made hero of The Dunciad.
Tibbald. See Theobald.
Tickell, Thomas. A member of Addison’s coterie, and author of numerous papers in the Spectator and Guardian; notably the papers on English Pastoral which provoked Pope’s enmity.
Tonson, Jacob. A leading bookseller in Pope’s day, and publisher of much of his work.
Trumbull, or Trumbal, Sir William. See Biographical Sketch in this edition, p. xiii.
Villiers, George, Duke of Buckingham. See Buckingham.
Walter, Peter. A London capitalist whom Pope frequently mentions (under the name of Peter) as an example of extreme rapacity.
Warwick, Lord. Son of the Countess of Warwick, whom Addison married.
Wasse, Joseph. Fellow of Queen’s College, Cambridge, and coeditor with Jebb of the Bibliotheca Literaria.
Welsted, Leonard. Journalist and Whig pamphleteer; author of some satirical verses of Pope.
Wharton, Philip, Duke of. Son of Addison’s patron. A man of ability who died an exile, after a life of wild dissipation.
Withers, General Henry. A distinguished soldier. In his old age the friend of Pope and Gay.
Wortley, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. See Montagu.
Wycherley, William (1640–1715). Dramatist and one of Pope’s earliest friends.