Classic Poem

EPILOGUE

TO THE SAME: SAID TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY LORD LYTTELTON,
BUT MORE PROBABLY BY MR HAMMOND .

You , who supreme o'er every work of wit,
In judgment here unaw'd, unbias'd, sit
The Palatines and Guardians of the pit;
If to your minds, this merely modern play
No useful sense, no generous warmth, convey;
If fustian here, through each unnatural scene
In strain'd conceits, sound high, and nothing mean;
If lofty Dulness, for your vengeance call,
Like Elmerick judge, and let the guilty fall:
But if Simplicity, with force and fire,
Unlabour'd thoughts, and artless words, inspire;
If, like the action, which these scenes relate,
The whole appear irregularly great;
If master-strokes, the nobler passion move,
Then, like the King, acquit us, and approve.