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Article THE FREEMASON. No. IV. ← Page 3 of 4 →
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The Freemason. No. Iv.
doino- this he collects ( as he says himself ) the beauties of the poets , which merely consist of fragments without head or tail , and makes the purchaser believe he has as much for his money as if he bought the entire work . These curtailers are common , and you , as well as your brethren , must suffer under their pruning-knife : but beware of that unworthy wretch Plagiarywhom you see with pocket-book and
, pencil ; thus he steals from all around , and exhibits those stolen pieces ' as his own ; while , in truth , he gains more emolument , and acquires more fame , than the real authors did or ever could . Apollo having left this room , I followed him by command into another , where I beheld several gentlemen , whose names were writte their headsThese authors ( cried the god ) have by
n over . interest acquired what others more industrious cannot . Their names are well known , and it is no matter what they write , for it must be liked . He now introduced me into another room , more spacious than any I yet beheld , where I beheld a group of men with spectacles
upon their eyes , perusing various books : while some were reading their spectacles would fall off ; and . those who experienced this disaster seemed veiy much disconcerted . 1 perceived several who were blotting the books they read , several shaking their heads ,, and some smiling . These , exclaimed Apollo ,, these are critics—critics of every denominationpretendedenviousciuelpartial and impartial . The
pre-, , , , tended critics , cannot retain their spectacles ; they read without understanding , and seem much perplexed when the author is too great for them : tlie envious shake their heads because the bard is greater than they wish : the cruel blot as they read , in . order , to hide any beauty , and prevent others from reading and jud g ing ; the partial are those who are smiling over their favourite authorsand are determined
, to relish and approve of what their bocks contain . These partial critics generally trade in the literary way , and therefore find it an advantage to praise . whatever they publish . Now , the impartial critics are those very few whom you see attending to what they read .
I felt , indeed , the situation of those poor bards who depend upon this company , and , supposing that I should be one day or other-hi ; their power , began to despond ; but , roused by my leader , who now commanded me to follow him further , these g loomy reflections vanished . In the next room I perceived a different set—many books were before them , but all of them closed ; still they were very busy , having
several puises on the table , and reckoning large sums of money : I saw more joy than sense painted in their countenance . Still I looked round me with eager curiosity , but , alas ! beheld several poor wretches hanging about the wails , underneath whose feet were different mottos , expressive of their situation . 1 was much alarmed at this ghastly scene , and besought Apollo for an explanation . These men , answered the god , are other critics , who praise according to the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freemason. No. Iv.
doino- this he collects ( as he says himself ) the beauties of the poets , which merely consist of fragments without head or tail , and makes the purchaser believe he has as much for his money as if he bought the entire work . These curtailers are common , and you , as well as your brethren , must suffer under their pruning-knife : but beware of that unworthy wretch Plagiarywhom you see with pocket-book and
, pencil ; thus he steals from all around , and exhibits those stolen pieces ' as his own ; while , in truth , he gains more emolument , and acquires more fame , than the real authors did or ever could . Apollo having left this room , I followed him by command into another , where I beheld several gentlemen , whose names were writte their headsThese authors ( cried the god ) have by
n over . interest acquired what others more industrious cannot . Their names are well known , and it is no matter what they write , for it must be liked . He now introduced me into another room , more spacious than any I yet beheld , where I beheld a group of men with spectacles
upon their eyes , perusing various books : while some were reading their spectacles would fall off ; and . those who experienced this disaster seemed veiy much disconcerted . 1 perceived several who were blotting the books they read , several shaking their heads ,, and some smiling . These , exclaimed Apollo ,, these are critics—critics of every denominationpretendedenviousciuelpartial and impartial . The
pre-, , , , tended critics , cannot retain their spectacles ; they read without understanding , and seem much perplexed when the author is too great for them : tlie envious shake their heads because the bard is greater than they wish : the cruel blot as they read , in . order , to hide any beauty , and prevent others from reading and jud g ing ; the partial are those who are smiling over their favourite authorsand are determined
, to relish and approve of what their bocks contain . These partial critics generally trade in the literary way , and therefore find it an advantage to praise . whatever they publish . Now , the impartial critics are those very few whom you see attending to what they read .
I felt , indeed , the situation of those poor bards who depend upon this company , and , supposing that I should be one day or other-hi ; their power , began to despond ; but , roused by my leader , who now commanded me to follow him further , these g loomy reflections vanished . In the next room I perceived a different set—many books were before them , but all of them closed ; still they were very busy , having
several puises on the table , and reckoning large sums of money : I saw more joy than sense painted in their countenance . Still I looked round me with eager curiosity , but , alas ! beheld several poor wretches hanging about the wails , underneath whose feet were different mottos , expressive of their situation . 1 was much alarmed at this ghastly scene , and besought Apollo for an explanation . These men , answered the god , are other critics , who praise according to the