Purityofstyle，andaneasyflowofnumbers，arecommontoallAddison’sLatinpoems。OurfavouritepieceistheBattleoftheCranesandPigmies;forinthatpiecewediscernagleamofthefancyandhumourwhichmanyyearslaterenlivenedthousandsofbreakfasttables。Swiftboastedthathewasneverknowntostealahint;andhecertainlyowedaslittletohispredecessorsasanymodernwriter。Yetwecannothelpsuspectingthatheborrowed，perhapsunconsciously，oneofthehappiesttouchesinhis\"VoyagetoLilliput\"fromAddison’sverses。Letourreadersjudge。
\"TheEmperor，\"saysGulliver，\"isTatlerbyaboutthebreadthofmynailthananyofhiscourt，whichaloneisenoughtostrikeanaweintothebeholders。\"
AboutthirtyyearsbeforeGulliver’sTravelsappeared，Addisonwrotetheselines:
\"JamqueaciesintermediassesearduusinfertPygmeadumductor，qui，majestateverendus，Incessuquegravis，reliquossupereminetomnesMolegigantea，mediamqueexsurgitinulnam。\"
TheLatinpoemsofAddisonweregreatlyandjustlyadmiredbothatOxfordandCambridge，beforehisnamehadeverbeenheardbythewitswhothrongedthecoffee—housesroundDruryLaneTheatre。