Classic Poem

TO LILLO'S ELMERICK .

You who, supreme o'er ev'ry work of wit,
In judgment here, unaw'd, unbiass'd, sit
The Palatines and Guardians of the pit;
If to your minds this merely modern play
No useful sense, no gen'rous warmth, convey;
If sustian here thro' each unnat'ral 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 masterstrokes the nobler passions move,
Then, like the king, acquit us, and approve.