soul, I have supported. You know that my birth is to the full as noble
as Harley's; you know that my influence in the Lower House is far
greater; you know that my name in the country, nay, throughout Europe,
is far more popular; you know that the labour allotted to me has been
far more weighty; you know that the late Peace of Utrecht is entirely my
framing, that the foes to the measure direct all their venom against me,
that the friends of the measure heap upon me all the honour: when,
therefore, this exact time is chosen for breaking a promise formerly
made to me; when a pretended honour, known to be most unpalatable to me,
is thrust upon me; when, at this very time, too, six vacant ribbons of
the garter flaunt by me,--one resting on the knee of this Harley, who
was able to obtain an earldom for himself,--the others given to men of
far inferior pretensions, though not inferior rank to my own,--myself
markedly, glaringly passed by: how can I avoid feeling that things
despicable in themselves are become of a vital power, from the evident
intention that they should be insults to me? The insects we despise as
they buzz around us become dangerous when they settle on ourselves and
we feel their sting! But," added Bolingbroke, suddenly relapsing into a
smile, "I have long wanted a nickname: I have now found one for myself.
You know Oxford is called 'The Dragon;' well, henceforth call me 'St.
George;' for, as sure as I live, will I overthrow the Dragon. I say
this in jest, but I mean it in earnest. And now that I have discharged
my bile, let us talk of this wonderful poem, which, though I have read
it a hundred times, I am never wearied of admiring."

"Ah--'The Rape of the Lock'. It is indeed beautiful, but I am not fond
of poetry now. By the way, how is it that all our modern poets speak to
the taste, the mind, the judgment, and never to the /feelings/? Are
they right in doing so?"