Page:The Dunciad - Alexander Pope (1743).djvu/215

 But Annius,^{[R 1]} crafty Seer, with ebon wand,
And well dissembled em'rald on his hand,
False as his Gems, and canker'd as his Coins,
350 Came, cramm'd with capon, from where Pollio dines.
Soft, as the wily Fox is seen to creep,
Where bask on sunny banks the simple sheep,
Walk round and round, now prying here, now there;
So he, but pious, whisper'd first his pray'r.
355 Grant, gracious Goddess!^{[R 2]} grant me still to cheat,^{[R 3]}
O may thy cloud still cover the deceit!
Thy choicer mists on this assembly shed,
But pour them thickest on the noble head.
So shall each youth, assisted by our eyes,
360 See other Cæsars, other Homers rise;
Thro' twilight ages hunt th' Athenian fowl,^{[R 4]}
Which Chalcis Gods, and mortals call an owl,

Remarks

1. Ver. 347. Annius,] The name taken from Annius the Monk of Viterbo, famous for many Impositions and Forgeries of ancient manuscripts and inscriptions, which he was prompted to by mere Vanity, but our Annius had a more substantial motive.
2. Ver. 355. grant me still to cheat!—O may thy cloud still cover the deceit!] Hor.
   ——— Da, pulchra Laverna,
   Da mihi fallere ———
   Noctem peccatis & fraudibus objice nubem.
   
   
3. Ibid. still to cheat,] Some read skill, but that is frivolous, for Annius hath that skill already; or if he had not, skill were not wanting to cheat such persons. Bentl.
4. Ver. 361. hunt th' Athenian fowl,]