Note 105 — AN ESSAY ON CRITICISM.
Reading edition
When Pope supposes Virgil to have properly "checked in his bold design of drawing from nature's fountain," and in consequence to have confined his work within rules as strict,
As if the Stagyrite o'erlooked each line,
how can he avoid the force of his own ridicule, where a little further, in this very piece, he laughs at Dennis for
Concluding all were desp'rate sots and fools, Who durst depart from Aristotle's rules.—Dr. Aikin.
The argument of Pope is sophistical and inconsistent. It is inconsistent, because if Virgil found Homer and nature the same, his work would not have been confined within stricter rules when he copied Homer than when he copied nature. It is sophistical, because though Homer may be always natural, all nature is not contained in his works.