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CONSIDERATIONS ON MILTON'S
EARLY READING AND THE
PRIMA STAMINA OF HIS
PARADISE LOST
Charles Dunster
Published on demand by
UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS
University Microfilms Limited, High Wycomb, England A Xerox Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.
f
* * *
'his is an authorized facsimile of the original book, and was iroduced in 1969 by microfilm-xerography by University Microfilms, A Xerox Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.
* * *
CONSIDERATIONS
MILTON'S , - ~
EARLY READINOi*
AND THE
PRIMA STAMINA
\ OF HIS
IPARADISE LOST;
\
TOGETHER WITH
I- EXTRACTS FROM A POET
OF THE
SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
IN A LETTER
TO
JVILLIAM FALCONER, M.D.
FROM
CHARLES DUNSTER, M.A.
FRXSTED BY AND FOR JOHN NICHOLS, RED-LION PASSAGE, FLEET-STREET, LONDOHj LND SOLD BY R. H. EVANS, (SUCCESSOR TO MR, EDWARDS,) 26, PALL MALL 5 ROBSON, BOND- STREET; NICOL, PALL MALLJ PAYNE, MEWS- GATE ', ALSO BY BULL, MEYLER, AND BALLY, BATH ; DEIGHTON, CAM- BRIDGE^ COOKE, OXFORD J AR- CHER, DUBLIN ; AND LAYNG^ EDINBURGH.
1800.
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VERtOR NE, DUM 05T2>rDEKE CUPIO aUAK- TUM ViRGILIUS NOSTEE EX ANTIQUIORUM LEC- TIONE PROFECEIVIT, ET QUOS EX OMNIBUS FLOKES VEL aU;E XN CARMINI8 8UI DECOREM EX DXVER- 9IS ORNAMENTA LICAVERXT, OCCA8IONEM REPRE- I1KNI>KNDI VEL IMPKRITIS VEL MALXONI8 M1NI8- TREM EXPROriRANTIBUS TANTO VIRO ALXKNX USUR- PATXONEM.— y^r aUXS PRAUDX ViRGXLIO VER- TAT, SX AI> RXCOLENDUM SR aU^DAM AB ANTI- aUIORIBUS MUTUATUS SIT? CuX ETXAM GRATIA JXABENDA EST aUOD NONNULLA AB XLLX8 IN OPUS SUUM, aUOD ^TERNO MANSURUM EST, TRANS- FERENDO FECIT NE OMNXNO MEMORIA VETERUM DELERETUR : UUOS, SICUT PRJESENS 8ENSUS OS- TENDXT, NON SOLUM NEGLECTUI VERUM ETXAM RISUX HABERE JAM C^EPXMUS. DENiaUE ET JU- DICIO TRANSFERENDI ET MODO IMXTANDX CON8E- CUTU8 EST, UT aUOD APUD XLLUM LEGERXMU5 ALXENUM, AUT XLLXUS ESSE MALIMU8, AUT ME- LIUS KIC ftUAM UBX NATUM EsT SONARE MX- REMUR.
Macrob. SATURNAL. vi, i.
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" * "• > '^ ' . • ' ' • • ' 'AVw Crove, Nw, T, 1799. ^
Among the various obligations which I owe to your frlendfhip^ the ad- vice you gave me, when firft I became much an invalid,. ** to have always fomc^ ** literary obje<5l in purfuit, but not of a *^ fatiguing kind,'* is not one of the Icaft. I have found the bcft cfFciSts from it ;' and, in forming from dcfultory reading colledlions for illuftrating the works of our great claffic and divine poet, I am confident, that I have pafled through' many hours of invalid lajigour and mor- bid oppreflion with infinitely lefs fenfi-- bility of them, than I fhould have done, if devoid of fome fuch mental occupa- tion.
B The
■ C ^ V
The various branches of reading which fuch a purfuit infenlibly leads to, and the numerous ftorcs of amufement and infor- mation which it cafually and unexpedledly opens, I can truly fay, have often ope- rated upon me the efFedl afcribed by the old poet to the forrow-foothing daughters of Jupiter and Mnemofyne ;
- ' Soothing my pains, and refpiting my cares *; : .
I particularly experienced this at the latter end of laft year; at which feafon I gene-, rally droop moft, which I believe is the^ cafe with valetudinarians of my clafs.
•:, la pafling through Salifbury to this place, the fummer before laft, I amufcd myfelf, in the evening, with a volume of the Gentleman's Magazine; a com- plete feries of which valuable mifcellany
. . f • ■ T , • ■
Hcfiod TuEocoN. 45.
I . »l docs
i. 700
( 3 )
does credit to the rcfpeftable * circulating library adjoining to the Inn. — I found, in the Magazine for November 1796, a brief account of Sylvejier^s Du Bartas, ihcwing it to have been a popular work, and point- ing out fomc parallelifms, (not very firi- king indeed,) between Milton and the tranflator of Du Bartas. Thefe notices were accompanied wdth an obfervation, attributed to Dr. Farmer -f*, that *^ the *^ fubjeft of Milton's great poem muft *^ naturally have led him to read in Syl- *^ vejler's Du Bartas.^' — This awakened in
* It were much to be wiflied, that tlie pro- prietors of our Cflfes Liter aires at Batli, and at other public places, would carefully preferv'c, and regu- larly bind up the more valuable periodical publica- tions which they take in. They would by this means gradually amafs a valuable Jlock of literary amufemcnt and reference ; which would do more cre- dit to their reading-room and catalogue, than the large quantity of totally unintercfling books, which often fw ell the one, and incumber the other.
f I do not, however, find it in his excellent Ejfaj en the Learning 9/ Shakefpeare.
B a mc
C 4 )
me a wifii to be acquainted with it; and> a few months after, I had an opportunity of gratifying my curiofity. In paffing through Southampton I purcliafed, for three JhilUngSj the folio edition ; a little worm-eaten indeed, and caret titulo. I did not, I confefs, at the moment feel raptures equal to thofe of Mr. Shandy, when he firft became poffeflbr oi Brufcambille; and, on my firft looking into it, I was fo little captivated, that, I fufpeft, had I been going home, I Ihould have configned it to repofe undifturbed in a corner of my book-room. I carried, however, my new purchafe with me into my autumn quar- ters, at Lymington ; where, as the fine air, and beautiful fcenery of the country, lead to amufements out of doors, it is lefs neceflary for the libraries of the place to ht farther provided^ than with light /ummer- readingy for the fultry hour, the rainy day, or the occafional confinement of a flight cotd, caught by too late an excurfion on the water. Here, as winter drew on, I , . .': - .: was
(5 )
was occafionally driven to look deeper Into my worm-eaten folio; and I found it cpevij^ preiiUm. It foon fully caught my attention ; and I value it much above its price, for the pleafurc and gratification which it afforded me.*— —To make fome extra<5ls from it, (not without a view to Milton,) was my w^rf/Vm^?/ occupation of the month of November, in laft year. I'hefe are now before me ; and, to fay fomething to you from them on the book itfelf, and the probability of our great poet's early acquaintance with it, and pre- dilection for it, fhall be my employment of the fame returning feafon.
o
The folio edition of Sylvefter's Du Bar* taswas publiflied in 162 1 ; when Milton was juft at the age of thirteen. It was accompanied with highly encomiaftic tef- timonials of its merit from the Laiidati Viri of the times ; as Ben Jonfon, Da- niel, Davis of Hereford, Hall afterwards B 3 Bifhop
Bifhop of Exeter, Vicars, and others *. I would fuppofe that Milton, who was an early "f* and paflionate reader, became ac- quainted with this edition of Sylvefter's Du Bartas on its firft publication ; and that he then perufed it with the avidity of a young poetical mind ; hence, perhaps,
Smit with the love of sacred song.-
I ana not, indeed, without an opinion,
* Drayton dedicated h'.s Miracles of Moses to S/lvcfter and Du Bartas.
SalluA, td ihf e, and Sylvefter thy friend,
J . Comes my Mgh poem peaceably and chafte ;
Your hallowM labours humhly to attend,
That wicckful Time fha!l not have power to waftc.
f Milton tells us himfelf, that, from his twelfth year, he was fo paffionately fond of reading, as hardly ever to retire from his books to bed before ;midnight y which laid the foundation of his blind-' nefs. — " Pater me puerulum humaniorum literaruni /' ftudiis deftinavit 5 quas ita avide arritui, ut,
*' AB ANNO ^TATIS DUODECIMO, vix UUqUam
*' ante mcdiam no6lem a lucubrationibus difcedc- f rem 5 quae prima pculorum pernicies fuit, Sec.'* . : ::i , Defensio Secunda.
that
( 1 )
-that the : true ori^A: of Par Axiis e Lost
1% in this refpcdl, to. be. traced primarily ^o Sylvester's Du Bartas; . and .1 would precifely reverfc Dr. Farmer's ob- fcrv'ation, by fuppoling, that ** this led to *' Milton's great poem;" not ,only by •awakening his paffion for facred poefy, but by: abfolutely furnifhing . what Dr. Johnfon, in his preface to Lauder's Pam- phlet, terms the PRIMA STAMINA of Pa- radise Lost. This idea occurred to me, before I had obferved by whom the book, in queflion was printed* And it certainly corroborated it, when I found it recorded, at the, end of the book, to have been ** printed by Humfrey Lownes, dwelling on ^' Bread'flreet-hill *." At this time Mil- ton was actually living with his father in .Bread-ftreet ; and it is very poffible that
* Humfrey Ldwncs, printer and flationer, dwelt at the Star, on Bread-ftrect-hill, from the year i6i$. 'His predecclTor in the houfe was Peter Short, prin- ter 5 among the books printed by whom, as noticed by Ames, is, " 159S, Part of Dii Bartais Di'vinc " IFceks, tranjlated by JoJJiua Syheflcrr
B 4 his
( ^ )
iibi iarly love t)f Books made .him' ra firis qiient .'viifibt to hii ncighbourmhe printer, ivho/: £vom <lm ^ddrefs' to the reader ^'^
o;,^* TbciddreftisaafoMcJwsr; r /v! ,;:'.::;:v: .1
/Jicrugh . ito hatig before ihh do^re 5 k : nmic -^bt^ .thily dftdr tb die preient age, to jx^fl^ity,, : / 1 -do not therefore go about to apologize for this work, or to commend it : it fliall fpeak for itfelf louder than tJlhferS'*' frieli^lhip'dK'ehi^)^'/ ^l only advfertife toy t«feader,' totj'^hee the •deatli'of the 'ftuthor,'^if st ^{l.it be fafe to fay thofc men arc deffd^' y/ho' icrcr furvivc in then: living' monuments,) J have.carc- jfully fetched togethej* all the difpcrfed iffue of that 'divine wit, as thofe \yhichare well worthy to live *^iikc brethren) ttrgether xni'der 6ne fair roof, that ^ay b^tli ' ch^lenge . time- nrid ^itwoar, it.- 1 >durft «ot c^ceal'the harmlefs fancies of his inoffenfi^x; youth, which Jiimfelf had devoted to iikncc and forgetful nefs. It is fo much the more glory to that worthy ipirit, that.ihe, who was, fo happy in tliofcyOuthful firains> would yet turn and confine Jiis pen to none but holy and religions ditties. I>ct the prefent -and future times enjoy fo j>roiitable and pleaiinga work^ and, at once honour ;thc author, and tliank the editor, ■ ' . . . ^
t ;-: \ appears
( 9 )
^ppcafs to have been a man of a poctlcaj tafte ; and who, as fuch, was probably much ftruck with our young poet's early attention to books, and his other indica- tions Of- genius; / f, - > :;:''. :
I have never feen Du Bartas*s poems in their original French. They have been much condemned by fomc critics ; and it has been faid ** on ne trouve dans fes *' ouvrages ni invention ni genie poeti- ^* que/' The ftyle of them has alfo been cenfurcd as ampoule. By others they have been as much applauded and approved *• It is probable that Milton, before he wTote hi^ great poem, had feen them in the ori- ginal ; but this is a very immaterial con- (ideration. To the EngUJ}:> Du Bartas wc pertainly imijt trace him, in fomc of
* Guliclmas Sallufiius Do Bartas, pocmate Galileo de Creations Mutidi cdito, tantum fibi glo- rij» concWit, ut intra quinque et fcx annos tricics ,,cditio rediutcgraii necclTe haberct.
HOFMAN-.
V i his
. ■;■: -, ''"^ ( to ))
his carlieft poetry; -a3 well ^is in '^his
• The En^fijb Du Bartas reads with a high fpirit of orijginality * ; cind I am
>; * The tcflimony of Btn^ JonliOti's Ef^cofiaJLr Vtrfes may here well be adduced. ^ • .' .
^;v': h' -r ■. i ET I G R A M,.-: n v;d ri.:[,
-il.to ^' v|. ; ToMr. Jofliua Sylvefter. y;:-':;o *'
» ' ^ J.
' If to admire were to comment!, my pralfc ' ''»^ ^. Might then both thcp, thy woik, and merit raife | . "^ .
But as it is, (the child of ijnprance, . ,
'' And utter ftranger to all airs of France,) '
V ' ' '- How can I fpcak of il»y great pains but err ? - • - ^ ' J*- , Since they can only judge, that can confer. - j [
Behold ! the rcv'rcnd fhaJe of Bartas ftands *' ^ Before my thought, and in thy right coro^mands, ' ' '-. ' / » *f That to the world I puhMlh for him thiF, . ; ; L
- ^ A " Bprraf doth with thy Englilh now were his.". So well in that are l»is inventions wrought, As ^/j will now. he the /r<»/?/74//c»rt thought J •,t *. . Thine the original \ and France (hall boaft ^ '•. -r JJo more the maiden glories ihc has loft, . . *[
>:,[. \\ 1. . , .^' JONION,
Ben JoDfon indeed, in n gcnernl ccnftifcof the poets of his time, (recorded from his converfation
by
( " )
fully perfuaded, that it ftrongly canght tlie willing attention of the young poet.
Nothing can be farther from my inten- tion than to infinuate that Milton was a plagiarift, or fervile imitator ; but I con- ceive, that, having read tliefe facred poems of verj'' high merit, at the imme- diate age when his own mind was juft be- ginning to teem with poetry, he retained
by Drummond of Hawthomden,) fays, ** Sylvcf- *' tcr's tranflation of Du Bartas was not well done; '* but he wrote his verfes, before he underftood to ** confer. By which we may undcrlland Jonfcn ccnfuring the exadnefs of the tranflation : which he jnufl have done on the report of others, c's his vcrfes confcfs that he did not underftand the origi- nal. The poetry of SylvcHcr (which is my obje6k) Hands unimpeached.
Drummond hirafelf commends Sylvcftcr's tranf- lation of Du Bartas's Judith as excellent, and fpeaks of *' his happy tranllations in fundry places equal- " ling the original.'* Drummond is great autho- rity; efpccially for that age. — The *wo>ks of Drum^ moml were publiihcd in 1656, with a pref;icc by Iv.hvard Phillips the nephew of Milton.
numbcrlcfs
( f^ )
•numbcrkfe droughts, paflages, and ^cx- prefllons therein, fo deeply in his mind, that they hung inherently on his imagina- -tion,:and became, as it were, naturaiiTied th^re. Hence many of them were after- wards infcnfibly tranfufed into his own icompolitions. — In common converfation we, imperceptibly to ourfelvcs^ adopt the patticular phrafeology or tone of voice of tho'fc perfons whom we peculiarly admire ; and we frequently catch their charac- ttriftic manners, without meaning in any refpeft to copy them, or being at all aware of any obfervable refemblance be- tween us. — From Milton's frequent adop- tion of Sylvefter's language, I fimilarly infer his having been much €onvcrfant with it, and his carneft admiration of his poetry.
' Du Bartas's principal poem, intitled
*Dats AND Weeks, was well calculated,
both from lis plan. ixnd execittion^ to attacli
the attention of Milton. — Having for its
>" ■ : . arojument
argument the moQ: Treighty and iirtr-> rcfting fubjcAs of fcripture hiftory; — commencing with the Creation and the Fall ; proceeding-, as the poet marks his plan, through the types of the Law. and Jcivijh Hijlory^ to the completion of them in the MeJJias ^^—VlvA meaning, (had he lived to complete his fubjcdl,) to have wound up all in the eternal happincfs of the Heave7ily Sabbath'; — decorated and enriched with every ornament of claflic literature and fcicntific knowledge, not without collateral aid from the gothic ages and legendary talcs; — how could it fail to ftrikc a young mind, ardently difpofcd to learning, poetry, and dcvo- tion ?
Tlic verfification of our tranf!ator». J<7- fhua Sylvefter^^ has in it^ itmuft be con- feffed, numerous highly obfolctc and vul- garifed expreffions ; frequent difcordant and difgufting rhymes ; and, very often, a moftoffcnfive jingle of adjundl rhyming, :. : :: or
' (M4: y
or Similarly founding words *. It has alfo .
♦ I cite a few inflanccs. , • ; .
,- Cfofjns ihe roch to rpck, ■ ' ^ . ,
p. I.
Of z\l thote rwuntafHs mounting io the (k\c$, -' p. 54*
•, Th* other by Tours Charles Marulf martyr'd (o,
.That ncrcr fince could Afric army fliow.
The ugly ^Mr ^f4f< to his high renown 5 Scv'n (hining ftars, . i j
p. 296. ^
The.fca ©^V, ai *4/</,— — —
• p. 3<>**
J?W| bawling prlefts,
P-4«3- f A bntndtefs, groundlefsf (en,
p.44«- A/mootUr/00/Ur, e'en our own felf love,— —
P-444- ■' • each ajjauhfalt tears
Draws from mine eyes,— — -
p. 4x3.
I add one more y
0 LOT I alas ! <vhat A// haft thou cledl I
p. 309. ' r ^/
which cannot but remind us of Milton s
O Eve! in evil hour thou did'ft give car. To that falfe worm, &c.— , Pai.Loit. ix. loiSy.
'- a - fomc
C xs- )
fomcpaflages fa highly bombaftic *, as to be moft completely ludicrous. In fpitc \ of all this, his language is at times admi- rably condenfed, and it abounds in paf- fages which, I conceive, cannot but re- claim our moft unbounded admiration; and which, I firmly believe, made a for-, cible appeal to the jSnely-tuncd car of Milton. :••••:,..■ <•. .: '.: I:..; :
* Drydcn, in the Tmif/lation of BoHean's Art OP Poetry, 'with his appUcation 6/ ii te En^lijb JVri^. ten, cautioning againlt BvmbaJ!, produa^ an ani- ncnt inflaiice of // from Sylveftcr's Du Bartas. -
Kor, with Du Bartas " bridle up the floodj," . * And " feriiuig ivith wool th€ hnUpaU woods**
1 fliould obfen-e, that Bolleau doe* not mcn^ tion Du Bartas at all in his original poem. The Vcrfe, here feledted from Sjlveilcr by Drj'djsn, •well deferves tlie dcrifion, to which he holds it up. He has alfo uitroduced Du Bartas himfelf in ni!Other part of the poem ; where, I may perhaps find occafion to Ihew, he has xct done it very ju- diciouHy.
Tlic
( i6 ))
; Th<5 carlieft' |5ieces of poetical compo^'l fition, publiftied by the autkor of Para- dife Loft, are his veriificatioii of; the 114th and 136th Pfalms, written when he was only fifteen', in which Mr.Warton has pointed out (tvtTdl fcre/hewiftgx of fu-. ture poetical eminence. The archetypes of feveral of thefe, (or at leaft fomething that materially contributed towards them,) I fancied that I found in Sylvefter's Du Bartas ; the folio edition of which had been publifhed by Humfrey Lownes, only two years before. This induced me to- make the experiment, how far I could trace Milton, in thefe and fome others of his early poems, to the publication of his neighbour. ...
• The refult of that experiment I now
fubmit to your better judgement. I
muft apprife you that the paflages, which I cite as parallel, or in fome refpeft llri- kingly fimilar, muft not be expeiSVed all
to
( 17 )
^to have equal force. Some, I tliink, will fpeak for themfelves with ftrong claims ; others with lefs powerful ones. On the whole, they may jointly go near to prove the point, which I have fancied myfelf able to fliew.
PSALM CXIV.
S. . 'froth'hecurkd'^l
This epithet, (a bold effort for a poet of fifteen,) I mean only in general to attribute to the compound epithets of Syl- .vefter. Thefe, I believe, have been cen- furcd * ; but he has ufed many of a very
fine
* Dr. Warton, (in a note on Pope's Imltathn of Horace, 2 Ep. ii. 167,) gives (he fubftance of a converfation between Pope and the Rev. Mr, Wal- ter Hartc, xefpedling the reviving obfolcte words in-poetry,— Among, other things it is obferved.
( 1$ )
fine efFed :' and to fome of them I fhalJ poflibly endeavour to draw your attention. Many 'of thefe I fufpe6t to have been not a little relifhed by Milton, on his firft
V ; .>',.:■ ; . . . ..; . .:. reading
"~ Compound EpUJiets firll came into their great " vogue about the year 1598. Shakefpeare and '^ Ben Jonfon both ridiculed the- immoderate ufc *' of them, in their prologues to Troilus anit '* Cressida, and to Every Man in his Y\v- " MOUR. fiy lilie above prologue it. appears, that *' Bombafi grew fafhionable about the lame ycra; *' The author of Hicronimo firft led up the dance. •' Then came the bold and felf-fufficicnt tranflator •^ of Du Bartas ; who broke down all the fibod- *' gate$ of the true llrciim of eloquence^ (which *' formerly preferved its river clear, within due •* bounds, and full to its banks,) and, like the ** rat in the low-country* dikesy mifchievoufly, or
♦^ wantonly, deluged the whole land." 1 can-
not but obferve on this pafTagc, that Ben Jonfon' certainly did not confider Sylvefter as offending in point of bombftll and immoderate ufe of compound epithets) or he would fcarcely have complimented hii work con amon, as lie has done in the verfcs vhich I have exhibited in a preceding ripte,-^ It may be remarked, alfo, that a poet muft .,., . \ ' ♦ have
< h )
t-eading Sylvcfter. Perliaps he was joindy indebted to Sylvefter and to Homer, for his primary predilection for compound epithets ; which fo eminently diftinguifh and elevate his poetry. • «
The river Jordan is fimilarty charac- terifed by Sylvefter ; where there is a rc- femblance alfo to the preceding verfe of Milton^s pfalm J
Clear Jordan's fclf, in his dry ozicr bdd, • Bluftiiiig for fhorae, was fain to hide his kbad.
jiave no fmall degree of merit, alid no common J)owers, who could be confidcred as materially in- flrumcntal in giving quite a new caft and cha- J-a6tcr to our national poctr)'. I confidcr Sylvcder to have had a richly-abundant frream of poetic language, perhaps, not always fufHciently retrained-, and often rather turbid j but it flov/ed at times with much dignity. Flood-gates belong to artificial navigations; while rivers, fufHciently wide and deep, neither have them, nor need them.
* My references arc to \h6 pages, in the folio edi- tion of 1621 : where is printed Hudfon's Tranfla^ .1 . c 2 tion
7 1 .1. y or darts clear Jireams recoil^ , • ^ • * " t
I'As afainthojl that hath receivd the foil ^ , "
y To recoil is frequent with Sylvefter fof to retire; and without implying any par- ticular impetus. Foil, for defeat, is alfo very common with him. In the following paf- fage they both meet ;
Ay Satan aims our conftant fahh to FOIL, ^ -But God doth feal it, never to recoil, p. 537*
II. The btgh huge'hellied mountahts — ]
.' I always thought huge-hellied a lingu- lar epithet for the young poet to apply to mountains ; and I have not been with- out expe6tations of finding an inftance of
•tion of Du Bartas's Judith'^ from which I alfo cite parallel paflages, without partlcularifing them. *— It is not by any mcauf my objc<5l to jfbcw the exa^ proportion of Milton's obligations to Syl- veftcr, or Hudfon, or indeed to Da Bartas j but his. general obligation to Lownes's publication^ iu folio, of what is commonly termed Sylvejlers Du Bartas : but .which includes other poems of Syl- .Tefler,^a$ well as Hudfon's Vcrfion of ihQ yudith,^
i: i; i . it
( « )•
it in Sylvefter. I can, however, prefent you with fomething very like it, from tliat quarter : >
Mofcs by faith, heard by the God of power, . Compels THE mountains' BURLY SIDES to Ihakc, Commands the earth to rent, to yawn and quake.
.14. Why turned Jordan ttfvSrd his cryjial fount ains?'\
And TOW*RD THE CRYSTAL OP HIS DOUBLE SOURCE
. Compelled Jordan to retreat his courfc.
p. 49*
16. that ever ivas, and tiyjliall laj!^
In the very opening of Sylvefter's Du Bartas, ay^ as here, is the reduplication o(ever;
Clear fire for ever liath not air cmbrac'd. Nor air for ay environ'd waters vaft. p. 2.
And, in the conclufion of one of the Parts, the people are called upon to
-praifc and pray
Th' Almighty-most, whofe mercy lasts for ay,
p. 408.
C3 y/7,
: jfy, for every is indeed nioft frequent in Sylveftcr; and is to be found in fomo energetic paflages: /^ • •
■ y -*■ where an immortal Mdy
In blifsful beauty fiourtfheth for ay. .p. 4^^
-his high name as far
Miglit AY refound as fun-burnt Zanzabar.
. Trerhble therefore, O tyrants, tremble ay. Poor worms of earth, proud allies, duft and clay \
P*3j8*
From Indian fhorc to where the fun doth fall > Or from the climate of the northern blaft Unto that place where fummer ay poth last.
Jy, for ever^ is not often to be found in Milton's other poems ; at leaft not in his later ones *, But I conceive that he had at this time no fmall predilection for this lince - difcarded monofyllable :
* It is however u(cd with good effect, Pjenseroso, ver.48 J and, Vcrfes at a solemn music, ver. 7.
othcrvvifcJ
C *5 >
othervvife hic would not have ufcd it in this fine chara6lcrifation of the Eternal Being, and again in the choral tribute of praifc, which forms the burthen of the enfuing 136th Pfalm;
For his mercies ay indure, EvEE. faitliful, EVER fore."
' G/^, as an epithet for water, is not unfrequcnt in Sylvcftcr's Du Bartas. Pre- vious to the dcfcription of the creation of land and water, tlie Deity is invoked as
—king of graffy^ and of glassy phips, p. 47.
17. Ihat glqffy Jloods O'om ru^fJ rocks can cruflj^ And makcfoft rills from fiay Jllnt-Jloncs gujh^
' The fimilar rhyme occurs in Sylveftcr^s defcription of rain ;
Whether the upper cloud's moift heavinefs JDoth with his weight the under cloud opprcfi ; And fo one humour doth another crush, 'JTill to the ground their liquid pearls do 0U5H.
p. 30.
c 4 Gujh
G/f^ indeed is fcriptural. ' In the Pfal- mift's reference to this miracle>of Mofes bringing the water out of the rock, it is particularly faid to gu/h out. Pfalm Ixxviii. ver. 17. — cv, ver. 40. See alfo Ifaiah, xlviii. a I. And to this we might attri- bute the young poet's gujhing rill. — At the fame time Sylvefler not only limilarly dc- fcribes this miraculous produciVion' of wa- ter, when, on. Mofes' ftriking the rock with his rjod, ,...'..-.
-with rapid ruiTi
Out of the flone a plenteous flream dotb gush ;.
p. 368.
but he had alfo, in other places, fhewed his young reader the' fine poetical and exprcffive efFe6l of the word giijlo, in de- scribing the impetuous Jiowing of water. He thus powerfully defcribes the fnow melting and flowing in torrents ;
-do\vii the water leaps.
On every fide it foams, it roars, it rufhcs. And through the (Icep and flony hills it gushes.
.( as )
and, in his little Du Bartas, fpeak- ing of man as the lord of the creation ;
For him the rocks a thoufand rivers gush j Here rolling brooks, there filvcr torrents rulh.
• ' P' 775-
In this pfahii, Milton's firft-avowcd poetical attempt, the ftyle of verfification, (being heroic rhime, which he has not often attempted,) feems to have been adopted from Sylvcfter. Two years after, when he wrote his Verses ox the Death of a fair Infant, he was pal- pably become acquainted with- Spenfer ; who is there liis model. Hence I fuppofc the priority of liis acquaintance with SyU vejler's Du Bartas \ which I wouM.con- fider as his primary attachment *,
* I might carry my hypothejls, of Milton's pri- mary acquaintance \^\\\\ Sjlvefier' s Du linrtas, to an earlier date, than I have yet fuppofedj as, fincft. the above was written and fcnt to the prei's, I find that the 4to edition, in 1613, was alfo printed hj Hnmfrey Lownes. Milton was then only fivcy/iars old, at the moft.
■ PSALM
."'/ ■ PSALM 'CXXXVI."/' '*''
^ . jp. ■ the goldtn^trejfcd funl\
^ Mr. Warton particularly notices this exprefllon as highly poetical^ I cannot avoid referring it to Sylvelier*;5 Du Bartas; where the fun is not only dcfcribed
• With goldek tresses and attraftivc grace, but it is alfo faid ;
• Scarce did the glorious Governor of Day per Memphis yet ms oolden tress difplay.
35. The IiomeJ moon t9jhirtc hy night,']
The moon is feveral times termed by Sylvefter, *^ Nighty's horned queen ;"
* 'Under night's horned gueen. p. 40.
how f©a doth ebb and fiovv. As th* HORNED avEEN doth either flirink or grow, „ p, 82.
34. her
( ^7 )
This expreflion is alfo admired by Mrl Warton as very poetical. But Sylveftcr bad before termed the flars
-thofe BRIGHT SPANGLES tliat thc hcavcni adorn. p. 13.
And
— ^Thc twinkling spangles of the firmament.
p. 72.
He has alfo
—heaven's staa-spangled canopy. p. 43.
And
——tl»© BRIGHT STAR*SPANGLBD TCglonS. P.X43.
He befpangksy indeed, the ftars upon various other occafions.
37. ' his tlmndet'clafping hanJ^
This fine epithet is juftly admired by Mr. Warton. It is much fupcrior to any attempts, in Sylvefter's Du Bartas, fimilarly to charadlcrife *^ the glorious God, that I . . , «< makcth
: ; < ^8 )
^* makcth the thunder ;'* but poffibly not without obligations to them*. Mankind, for inftance, are there termed
vaflals only of the Thunder-thrower j—
P- 959- and the Deity is ftylcd
—the immortal^ mighty Thunder-dartkr 5 •
: " .... . ■ ... . . . :P-7-
aiid we have, —the only-TiiuNDRRixG hand of God. p. 46.
38. Smote the frft'born of Egypt lanit!]
— — — flain by the angel's hand
Among the elder heirs of Egypt x«AfifD. p. 703.
' ^1, jind in ^fpight of Pharaoh fell, • '
He brought from thence his Ifrael,']
In Sylvefter's Du Bartas, Pharaoh is jfimilarly defcribed as/^//, or cruel ;
' So Ifrael, fearing again to feci .; Pharaoh's fell hands, who hunts him at the heel. — p. 361.
1. ■'. . "^ . Where
( 2^ )
Where' alfo the Miltonic rlivmc ' frc- qucntly occurs ;
■ ■ ■ • — thofe proud tyrants vell, ' ' * ^ Tliofe bloody foes of mourning Israel', p. 357,
-^ — --tlirough the Tandy horrcfr -! -
. Of avail dcfart, * ^ ^ * •: .• T'
Of thiril and hunger, and of ferpents FELL, . He by the hand condu6ted Israel.. ^ , P»377»
-what tempeft fell
Beats on the head of hannlcfs Israel ! p. 438,
And finally doth punifli tyra.vts fell, ^j- Willi their own fwords, to fa vc his Israel,
p. 478.
' I could refer you to various other in-
ftances. ^Thefe, indeed, arc mere mi-
nutia^ hardly worth our notice ; but a number of fuch, in addition to more palpable • obligations, may contribute to prove my point.
( 3° )
45* ^^^ ruddy 'wavei be cleft in tvotfine, . ; > *. Of the Etythraanmaht^
His dreadful voicc> to fave his antient fhcep, t)id CLEAVE the bottom of xa* Erythrean*^
, - DEEl*, p, 48.
This paflage ^lone feems nearly fuf- ficient to fix on Milton an acquaintance \vitli, and recolletflion cff, Sylvcfter^s Dii Bartas ; efpecially as I can alfo refer his *' RUDDY waves'" of the Erythraean, or Red Sea, to the fame fource ;
-along the fandy fliore,
AVhere the Erjthfcan kuddy billows roar.
* Sylvef^er is habitually ncgllgriit of Latin quantities. Thus he writes Euphrates, (which./ believe Spenfcr has likewife done,) Niphutcs, Cin- cinnutusj and here Erythrcnn indead of p>ythrlcan. He is not, however, uniform in his fnlfc quanti- ties. Though he fometimes writes Idrimi;an, 0*T- ris> Orton ; at other times he reflores them to ihcir clafllcal quantity. : . s^. But
( 31 )
5i» But full foon they did devhur , ■ _ _ , ^ T/^tf tawny king vsitb all hi s power. 1
Thus exaftly, and with the fame fine cfFeA, Sylvefter; > - -, ;
But contrary the Red" Sea did bEvouit Tub barr'rous tyrant with his mioh'tt POWER, . ^ ' P« 704*
65. HefoiVdhold Seon^ y -'-^ •. ^ '^
Tofoily for /^ ^^^^/, is perfeiSly Sylvef-
; }
' Shall FOIL the ?agan', and free Ifrael. p. 415.
giants FoiL*D in (logic fight. p. 430.
Subdueth Soba > foils the Moabitc.^ ibid.
I foil'd your troops ■ p. 519.
C6, the Jlmmorcan eta/ip']
Anwiorean^ for Amortte^ is of the fame fchool. The Amoritcs flying before Jofliua are termed,
-the Ammorean hare.
FoiVd with the fear of his victorious war. p, 295.
And as a large and mighty-limbed ftccd,
c ; . : - ...■ . - :•■ p.98.
yo. his wtr^hardy crc^WT-^ / \i • ■ .1 >
Senacharib's proud over-darxno host, • That threaten d Heaven, and *gain{l the earth did boaft. ,.. . . p. 17.
Bg, Let us therefore n^arhhforth^ ^\ .^
A, Thus alfb Sylvefter j .; V. : *. ; : . \\ \ ~. • :
O Father? grant I fweetly warble for^ph . Unto our feed the world*s renowned birth, p. i,
94. Ahtive the reach of mortal eye^
. This is admired by Mr, Warton, as a very poetical exprcflion ; and fo it is. But Sylvefter had before fpoken of
-all that is, or may fii? sEEr/
By mortal eye under Night's horned Queen.:
p. 4o»
ANNO
( 23 )
, • ANNO yETATIS XVII. '
ON THE DEATH OF A FAIR INFAXT> DYING OP A COUGH,
8, flfjfg ^im Aquih, his charioteer.
By hoi ft you 5 rape tl/ Athenian damfel got^
In Sylvefter's Du Bartas, Scytliia is dc- fcribed with allufion to the fame mytho- logic ftory j
. the cold frozen Scythla,
Too often klfs*d by th* husband op ORYTirrA,
p. 25.
To which we might refer the ^' kifs of ^^ winter^' in the preceding ftanza.
Milton's making Aquilo the Atiiomedon of winter, may alfo be attributed to the fame fource ;
The flilv'ring coachman with his icy fnow Dares not the forcA of Phoenicia flrow : p. 104.
D 12. — M'
( 34 )
13. tJj infamous hkt,']
Infamous is thus accented by Sylvcftcr ; I believe uniformly.
Fly then thofc monders, and give no ncccfs
To men in famous for their wickednefs : p. 444*
A fink of filth, where ay th* infumosest,
Mofl bold and bufy, arc cfleenaed befl : p, 403.
"15. ■ Icy-pearled ear]
Ice-pearl is ufed for hail by Sylvefter more than once;
The incenfed hand of Heaven's Almighty King Never more thick doth flippVy ice-peahls fling ; ; . • M.' . ^ p. 3x0.
The bounding balls of ice-pearl flipp*ry ihining ;
p. 1096,
20. ifjlth his cold hind tmbraceJ\
Pierc'd with the glance of a kind cruel eye> —
p. 116.
»!• Unhoused
( 35,)^
a I. tlnhous A tijy virgin foul^ — ]
Wc bave the fame cxpreflion in Syl- vcftcr's Funeral Elegy on the Wife of M. D.niU;
For her own father Nature had unhous'd, hxi^Methrk had her mother rc-efpous'd. p.ii68.
ANNO iETATIS XIX. A VACATION EXERCISE.
^, ■■ dumbjilatce — ^]
Tlirough all the world dumb silence doth dif- till, P-i3«
19. Not thofe nev)-f angled toys , and trimming flight.
Which takes our late fantajilcs "with delight,']
•
In Sylvcfter's Du Bartas it is faid, that Sir Thomas More and Sir Nicholas Bacon firft improved the Englilh language, and
V 2 weaned
( 3<5 >
Our infant phrafe, till then but homely nurfl. And fchildiih toys j and, rudencfs chacing
thence, . : * - '
To civil knowledge join*d fweet eloqtience.
p. 265.
And^ a little before, the change of Ian* guages is afcribcd, among other caufes, to the fabrications, or new-fanglings, of *' fame-thirfling wits."
Or clfe becaufe fanrtfj-thlrfting wits, who toll In golden terms to trick their gracious flyle. With NEW-FOUND beauties prank each circum- ftance, &c. &:c. p. 2^1.
2p. Tet I had rather, if 1 tuere fo ehtfe,
Thyfervlcf in fome graver fubje^ ufe :^-^~ Such wb^'e the deep tranfpjrted mind may font
* Move the iiuhfeling poles , and at Heavens door Look ift, and fee each blefsful Deity y
How he before the thunderous throne doth lie, 'Lifining to lohat un/horne Apollo ftngs . y^ tl) touch of golden iviresy ixjhiie Hehe hrlngt "■■" Immortal Ne^ar to her Jiinglyf re I
* ' IThtn pajjlrtg thro thefpheres of nijatehful fre, - *
• j^nd mify regions of 'wide air next under, . <•
And hills of f now and kfts of piled thunder,
•■ • M(y
( 37 )
"'" . May tdl at Itit^th how grecn^ey^/l Nfpfune raver,
, : . . In Heaven s aefiaiice mufi'n g all bis ^vavcs',
. . TAcn yfng afjecret thingi that came to pa/s,
. . IV/ten I el Jam Nature in her crcdU w<x/.]
f
I have often thought, that thefe were not exaftly the onghial ideas of a poet, anno at aits 19: even though that poet
was Milton. 1 beg you to compare the
following mental e>:curfion^ inlo the ele- mentary and . celeftial regions, of the fa- crcd poet, with wliom I fuppofc Milton to have made an early acquaintance.
And though our foul live as imprlfoii'd here la our frail ilclli, and buried, 25 it were, ,
In a dnrk tomb j yet at one flight /lie flics From Calpc to Imau , from th' ^arth to flues. Much fwiftcr than the chariot of the fun, -
, Which in a day about the world doth run. For foraciimcs, lcavin<^ thcfc bafc (limy heaps,- With chearful fpring above tlie clouds llic leaps. Glides through the air, and there ihe learns to
know The original of wind, and air, and fnow, OriightJiing, thunder, blazing flnrs,/ and florm'!?. Of rain and ice, and grange exhaled forms.
( -.38 j) ■. /^/
• . By th* air's deep ftcps ihe boldly climbs aloft To the world's chambers j Heaven flic vifits oA> Stage after ftage ; flie markelh all the fphercs. And all th* harmonious various courfe of theirs : With fure account, and certain compaflts,
. She counts the ftars, and metes their didances, And diif 'ring paces ; and, as if llie found No obje6t fair enough in all this round,
' She mounts above the world's cxtremefl wall. Far, far beyond all things corporeal ; , . .
Where flie beholds her Maker face to face, ' His frowns of Juflice, and his Imiles of Grace, The faithful zeal, the chaneand foberport,
' And facred pomp of the Ccklbal Court, p. 153,
Let the fobereft admirer of Milton and of true poetry judge, M fuch a pafThgc was not likely to captivate the attention of the young poet ! — Milton has, in fa(5l, comprefled Du Bartas's defcription ; only reverling the order of it, 2iVia heathenifwg^ with fome fine claflical touches, the OAVjLtTT/a iMjjiCijoc of his predeccfTor.
Had not this pafTage precluded the ne- ccflity of looking farther, we might have referred Milton, in fome part of the above
i citation.
( 39 )
citation, to the encomlaftic verfcs of Bifliop Hall, prefixed to the Englifli Da Bartas ; which, on account of their nierlt, I am not forry to bring forward to your notice.
To Mr. JOSHUA SYLVESTER,
OF HIS
BARTAS
METAPHRASED, '
I dare confcfs 5 of Mufcs more than nine. Nor lift, nor can I en\y none but ihinc. She, drench'd nlonc in Sions facred fprlng. Her Maker's praife hath fwcelly chofc to fing. And rcachcth neareft th' Angela's notes above 5 Nor lifts to fing or talcs, or wars, or love. One while I find her, in her nimble flight. Cutting the brazen fphcrcs of Heaven bright; Tlicncc ftraigliL ftie glides, before I be aware, Throviv,h the three regions of the liquid air : Thence, ruftiing down tliro' Nature's Clofet- ' door.
She ranfacks all her Grandame*s feeret ftore ; And, diving to the darknefs of the deep. Sees there v,hat '\vealth the ^vaves In prifon kcc^ : .' ju 4 And,
( 40 )
An€l, Nvfcpt /he fees above, below, between, : ' She flicws and fiugs to others* cars and cyne *•
35 . viliere the (feep tr.anf ported mind may foar
Above the txheeting ^oks, and at Heavens dcor Look irty C*J*r. ^r.] -
I muft here alfo requefl* you to compare the following pafihgc in Du Bartas's Ura- nia, or Hf.aver7ly Mufe\ a poem highly- congenial to the immediate poetical caft of Milton's mind ;
'* I am Urania/* then aloud £aid fhe,
"Who human-kind ABOVE the poles transport. Teaching their hands to touch, and eyes to fee
TheiNTJpR-COURSEOF THE CeLESTI AL CoURT."
Sylvest, Du Bart. p. 526.
* I fubjoln the remainder of thefe verfes, as a material teftimonial of the allowed high merit of Jofliua Sylvefier.
. TJ8 true, thy Mufe nnothcr's ftcps «3oih prcfs ; The more*8 her pain, nor is \\<x praifc the lefs. Frcei?om gires fcopc unto the roving thought; Which by rcftraint is curbM. Who wonders ought, *' ' ' That feel unfttterM walk, both far and fal!,
^Vhich pent in chains muft want their cuftom'd liaAc ? : Thou follivv 'it B.^rtas'6 Jiviner Aran, And fing'ft his numbers in his n?tiv« vein : ^^ . Bart AS W3S fome French angd, girt witli bays; , * . And ihou a Baa t as art, in Englifli lays.
2^^ 1 f/jc thuiuVrcus ilnnc'^ ^
Dr. Jortin would here read *^ the thun» *^ d^rers throne ;" not being acquainted with the adjedlive tlrund^cus. But Dr, Newton obfervcs, that '* he ihhiis he lias *^ feen the word thunSrcus in other old '^ authors; though he cannot recolleft ^^ wjicre." jNIr. Warton notices the word, as *^ more in Milton's manner than thun^ *^ direr i^r and as ** conveying a new '* and a ftronger idea." He alfo illuf- trates it by JlumU'rous from Jlnmber^ Par. Loft. X. 702 ; but he gives no inftance of thunderous from our older poets, with whom he was fo converfant. — I find it ufed in a fine pafTIige of Sylvefter : where Goliah, v.hcn flain by David, is com- pared, in falling, to a wall or tower, of a befiegcd city, under-worked by miners;
Till at the length, rufiilng with tuukd'rou*
roar. It ope a breach to the hardy conqueror, p. 42a.
'. 41. Ai2
\
4f . An^ imjly regions tf roUe air next under, And hills of/novj and lofts ofjdled th under. ^
-the mountains ftrangely deep
.,' Thofe heaven-climb ladders, labyrinths of won- der. Cellars of wind, and shops op sulphry thun- der,
: Where ftoi-my tempcfts have their ugly birth 5
Mr. Warton, in his note on tliis part of tlieVACATlON Exercise, obferves, " there •' \% fcmcthing like it in Sylvefter's Du ^'^ Bartas, Job, p. 944, of the edition ** 1621." — The page which he refers to, in Job Triumphant, has only two lines, that have any material refcm- blance ;
Plaft thou the treafures of the fnow furvcy'd ? Or feen the ilorc-houfe of my hail uplaid ?
. The pafTage is a fine one : and I wilh it })ad induced Mn Warton, to have looked more deeply into the volume.
• . '. The
( 43 )
' The fame page has other * paflagcs, that might have attached the talleful cu* riofity of my miich-rcfpc6lcd friend. Bur, when he publiflied his valuable edition of Milton's 7^'^"^^^'<^» I^^ ^^'-"^5 cenainly little rxquainted with Syhcjler's Dii Bartas -{- ; and the reference to it, which I have juft noticed, was probably fuggefled by Mr.
Bowles,
* I could indancc ihc following :
Haft thou jonc ilown info tlie fei itfclf ? WalkM in the bottom ? fcarchcJ cv'ry fhelf ? SurvcyM it'5 Tprins' ? or h-vvc the s-itcs of death B en opcnM to tlicc, and the doois beneath Death's ghaftly (hauV.vs ?
Which is the way wIkjc U)vcly l!g!tt t'o*!) t!well ?
And, as for tbrkncfs, wliere hath (he her cell ?
Canit thou reft rain the plcaf^nt influlng
Of ?ldadc\y the u(htrs of the Spt ing ?
Or cai'ft thou loofc Orkn^i icy baodf,
Wlio rules the Winter with his chiil commands ?
Wilt thou command the clouds, and Rain rt^all fall ? * Will Li^ht ninjj come, and anfwcr, at thy cal' ?
, f In the pofthumous edition of Mr. Wnrton'i Milton, there are indeed references not unfrc- quently to Sylvcflcr s Du Bartas ; but it is fcldoni noticed, that Milton Jiad any material oUigations to
it.
X 44 )
Bowles, who fupplicd him with others to that work, Dryden*s citation from Syl- ycftcr, in tlie Ajit op For-XKY "^y Jias poffibly prevented many readers of taftc from ever looking into his Du Bartas ; ;iad it muft be owned, that in mod pages they would meet with fometiung to con- firm the impreffion. To find his brilliant pafFages, we cerraitily have often to pafs through a quantity oijiercorcceous and dif- gufling matter*
55. 'Trent ^ ivhofprendi
Hi: thirty arms along th" indented meads,"]
■ Sylvefter to Du Bartas*s Catalogue, of the mofl fomous rivers in the world, adds,
it. Tiic fiiio ^ptLiTd'^^Cf wliich I have cited in p. .38, js there referred to, and fix verfes of it ;ire cited ; but cokljy, and witiiout any admiratioa of it. I had not fccn the fccond edition of Warton's Milton, fjncc my acquaintance \vith Sylveftcr's Du Bartas^ till this fliect was abfolutely in the prefH.
* See cote, p. 15, rcfpe^ling Dryden^ &c.
* . — -filvcr
( 45 )
' filver Medw.Ty, v.hich doth c!ccp i:^i^e^t
The flovv'ky meadows of my native Ke*ii ',
p. 50.
and lie apoflrophifcs the
vales with hundred brcoks indbkted j
ON THE MORNING OF CHRIST'S NATIVITY.
COMPOSED iC2().
3. Of *we^(ltd maUl and vtrgm nnther horn ,2
That Mary (IkiII at onck be maid a.vd mo- ther, p. 17,
J4» ■' a clarhfome hof/t cf mortal cUy,']
The humours caufcd in this house or clay,—
p. i8> jp, the funs team ^]
-—the suN*s proud-trampling team
p.34- The sun, to fliun tJiis tracjlc fight, apace
Turn*d back uis team^ p. 226.
21. —— :r/^e
( 46 )
^I. i. the fpctn^UiI hojl hep ntjatch in fquadroni bright^
-before mine eyes
Heaven's glorious host in nimble sauA- DROKS flics. p. 13.
33. Had df^d her gaudy irim^
Doff'd mourning weeds, and decked it pafling fine. p. 12,
95. As never nvas by mortal frtger J! ruck ; , Divintdy-twa rb'ed 1 'oice Ayifiuring thejlrlnged notfe,']
Suffer, at lead, to my fad dying voice
My doleful FINGERS to confort their noise:
p. jor.
13 1. ' your nine-fold harmony^ '
Ilcr nine-fold voice did cboicely imitate Th* harmonious mufic of Heaven's nlmbln ; dance, p. 526.
140. ■ 'peering day, ^
A mountain top, that ovcr-PERRS the plain,—
p. 252.
ij^z. inn
( 47 )
14^* 7/^// dcwn return to men^ OrVd in a rainbo<w
7hrond in ceh'Jlial Shfen^ •
JVith radiant feet :he tijfud clouds doranf^ecnng^
We might, I think, conjcclure, tliat' this defcription is from feme picture ; and to Sylvcfter's Tranflation of Du Bartas's Triumph of Faith there is a Frontifpicce, that miglit have furniflied it. The fubjccSt is from Rcvelat. ii. ver. lo. Be thou faithful unto death ; and I zvtll give thee a crown of life. The dcfign is, Chrift defccnding to judgment, and the faith- ful appearing before the jxiigmcnt feat of Cbrijly (Romans, xiv. lo,) and receiving their rewards.
The judge is fcated, ^* amidfl a blaze '* of light," on a fmall rainbow ; and is completely encircled by another *^ orbi- ** cular," or rather oval one. Under him arc fomc wreathed, or ^^ tiflucd,'' clouds ; which he may be imagined in the aft of propelling, or ^* diredling with his feet/*
Juft
Jufl: beneath llicfe clouds, a large rainbow extends over tlie Holy City ; in front of ^vhich the dead arc fccn rifing out of their graves^
In the midft of tbefc, a little raifcd above the level of tlic ground, lie the vjoriales exuvi.^ of Queen Elizabeth. The body is in robes of flate, with her rufF on the neck : her head refts on two pil- lows, laced and ornamented with taffcls ; and a globe is at her feet. On the ground, befide her, lie a crown, fcepter, and fword of ftate. At the fame time, her Spirit is fecn above kneeling before the Judge ; and receiving from him the crown of life. She is kneeling juft before . his right hand, with her hair loofcly .flowing, habited in a \vhite robe ; and is attended by four virgins fimilarly habited, bearing in their hands their lamps burning. — ^— This is indeed belide my immediate purpofe ; which w\as only to notice, what particularly illuftrates Milton's defcription. 4 But
( 4? )
But this circumftance makes the print cu- rious; and gives reafon to imagine, -that it was likely to have attradled the atten- tion of a young obfervant mind *• "
172. Swindles thefcaly horror of his folded tatl."]
A lion is defcribcd in, Sylvefter's Du Bartas,
— — swiNDGiNG, with his flne^vy train, • Sometimes his fides, fometimes the dudy plain,—
I might refer to the fame fource, for other conftitucnt parts of this fine Mil- tonic line. — Among the meteorotis ap- pearances of the aerial region, the poet defcribes a dragon with a voluminous fiery tail;
Here a fierce dragon folded all in fire 5 p.33«*
and he terms the defert, through which the Lord conducSled the Ifraclites,
^ This print is alfo in the 4(0 edition c^fi^i^.
. J E the
{ p )
-;;'; ":'nct c:"i the'sAwov horror ') -'Ir-l 1::cx
183. w^ TwVtf ^nueepln^ heard, and hud lament )\
To pearly tears mournings and fad laments ;
■ - '- :■ \;- '' '■'-;. ■• ;• '• ■ ■; ' ^ 439-
-deep /Ighs and fvveet laments, p. 435.
200. mooned JlJJjtaroth'^
: . Tbe; KooNY il^ndardft of proud Ottoman, p. jp.
202. -^/r^ w//^ /^/^r*i hoJyJInne^
, .•-.- — all illufter'd wit,li light's radiant shine,—
p. I2» ■
■ ' in Wifdom's radient shine,——-
p.448.
223. ■ ' his dujhy eyn 5 — ]
E'^n for ey^s is frequent with Sylvcftcr ; as is Ucn for iceth^ and /r^^« for trees.
THE
< si )
' '.;:,THE PASSION. i-
^4, T/ieleaves/IjouUflllhe Macktvhereon Itoritey Jlnd letter 3 iv^ere mj tears have 'wajlid a v)aK* • . "" niJJi nxibite,']
Mr. Warton, who juftly brnnds tlil? idea as *^ child ifli," points out the fourcc of it» ^^ Conceits/' fays he, *' were now *^ not cpnfined to words only. Mr. Stcc- *^ A'cns has a volume of elegies, in which ^* the paper, in all the title-pages, is ^^ black, and the letters white. Every ^^ intermediate leaf is alfo black." — But it happens that I can, in this inftancc, refer you to the ivanniJJj white tears of Jolhua Sylvefter, im.printed on a black leafy by Humfrcy Lowncs. Aftually inter fcnben- dum *', I happen to have become pof- feflcd of the quarto edition of Sylvcftefs Du Bartas, printed by H. Lownes, in- 1O13 ; prefixed to which is the third ^di-
* Slticc tbe iird fl^eet was printed off.
E 2 tiao
( 50
tion of Sylvefter's Funeral Elegy on Prince Henrj^, moft curioufly, decorated with emblems of mortality. There are two title-pages ; or leaves. The firft con- tains, in a white page, (the back of which is black,) the date of the year and the name of the printer, together with a Star, the Jign of his houfe, as a central orna- ment^ :inftead of a title. This page is fup- ported by four eredl figures^ two on each fide. One is a corpfe in a winding fheet, which is colledled at the head and feet in a knot or taffel ; but fo as to leave three parts of the face vilible. The other three figures are deaths ; or fkeletons. I know not exadlly which to denominate them; as they have none of the ufual infgnia of "the Grim Tyrant : and yet they are mark- ed by an air of cbaradervLndi vitality^ that is very fi:riking. You would remark in the drawing fome ignorance of anatomy ; but the attitudes of the figures, and the cxprefilon of the countenances, have much merit. The fecond leaf is black
on
( 53 )
on both fides ; the title-page is of a deeper black than the other black pages ; and the letters in which the title is printed are now exa6lly of a wannijlo white. Some allowance muft be made for time ; but I conceive they were never of a clear white. I muft not omit to mention, that the title is *' LACHRYMiE Lachrymarum, or *^ THE Spirit of TearSj diftilled for ** the untimely Death, &c. &c." The- Elegy itfelf, which conlifts of eleven pages, has the back of each leaf black, with the royal arms upon it, in the fame wan white ; and the fides of the printed pages are decorated, or fupported, in the fame manner as the firft-mentioned title- page : except, that, in four pages, the corpfe in the winding- fheet is omitted, and a fourth ossEA LARVA is fubftituted in its place *• Of thefe ojfca larva there are,
* Turn qiioque fadorum veniam memor umbra tuorum, Infequar ct vultus offea larva tuos.
Ovid. Ibis. 144,
B3 in
(( 54 )
m the whole, nine or ten different figures;, which are defigned with material variations. Some are ftanding among a heap of human Ikulls and bones, which rife quite up to their middle; fome have a fmaller quan- tity, only up to their knees ; and others are i^cn pede lilero on a plain unincum- bered ground. Some are drawn varioufly enprofil; in fome, the figure is exhibited. par Jerriere; in others, it is prefented di^ rcffywhh the countenance /w//, and grimly' expreflive. Some of tiicfe latter materi-' ally fer\'e to illuftiate. Mil tons
Crinn'd hombly n ghafrly fmik,-
. / Par, Lost, ii, 846,
*^ The Grim Feature," in more than one inftance, expreffes a high degree of delight, through its charafteriftic ghaft- linefs-: which is admirably prefcrvcd. The publication is curious ; and would not fail to- attract the attention of any perfon. 1 have trefpaffed on your patience, by this defer ipti on of it, from a wilh to Ihew,
how
( 55 )
how impoffiblc it was for it not to imprefs
a young and curious mind. -Milton was
only five years old, when this 4to edition of Sylvefter's Du Battos was publifhcd*— Poflibly Milton's father and Lownes were in habits of intimacy ; and books, printed by the one, foon found their way to the houfc of the other ; and there made a part of the library, which furnilhed young Milton with his earlieft reading. — I might hence fuggeft an earlier date for Milton's firft acquaintance with Sylvefter's Du Bartas, than I had at firft done ; and I might, not unfoundedly perhaps, con- jedlure it to have been one of the firft books of poetry, (if not the very firft,) which he pcri'/ed. — At all events you will, I think, allow, that the wannifli white letters, produced by the tears of the mourner on the black leaves of his lu- gubrious p^ge, arc the Lacbryma Lachry marum of Sylvefter, from the prefs of Lownes ; a circumftancc, that cannot but ilrcngthen my general bypothefis. : ... :
/ • . E 4 41. V.'tre
( 56 )
' 41 • fher^d^th my fotd in holy vijiohjiti * .!
In pfTtJive trance, and anguijii, and etjlaticjit !\ ,
And yetfar higher is this holy pit,. ' ' **. '^■' When, ■■■ from flefh cares jacquit, ' / ! , " i
The wakeful foul itfelf ' afTembling fo" ,. ! / i ; w / f
All felfly dies, — — • - .:
But above all that's the divinest trance. When the foul's eye beholds God's countenance.
p. 178;
•ECSTA8IED m a HOLY TRANCE ;— •
- AT A SOLEMN MUSIC. '
17. I'hat toe on earth ipJfh undl/cording nfoice j - ; May rightly anfwer that melodious 7toife\ v ^ ' f Ai once we did^ till dif proportion d Sin .-
Jarrd againjl Nature's chime, and with harjh din Broke the fair mufic that all creatures ?nade - . . To their great Lordywhofe love their motion fiuay d .• • In perfcfl diapajouy ivhiljl they flood
In firjl obedience and their Jl ate of good,"]
. The FURIES, or iiid. Part of the ift.
Pay of the ii d. Week, of Sylvcfler's Du
. . * Bartas^
( 57 )
Bartas, defcribes the fatal confequences of the Fall. The Argument of it opens thus :
,'.'•■■ "i ' •;,'.,> , ••
The world's transform'd from what it was at firH;
For Adam's fm all creatures clfc accurfd ;
Their harmony distuned by his jar :
Ypt all again concent, to make him war 5 &c
p. 20I«
where the two laft lines may Illuftrate a preceding verfe in this finely -con- ccived, and exquifitely « finifhed, little poem ; . ,
That UNDISTURBED foHg of purC CONCENT,—
The Book itfelf, after an invocation, thus begins ;
Ere that our fire, (O too too proudly bafc !) ^ Turn'd tail to God, and to the fiend his face. This mighty world did fccm an inflrument True-flrung, wcll-tun'd, and handled excellent} • Whofe fymphony rcfoundcd, fwcctly ilirill, '»
The Almighty*i praifc, >
While
C 5^ )j
. .AVbilc man fcrv'd God, the world fcrv'd ^/w; the 'live And lifclefs creatures rcemcd all to ft five In fvvect accord) the bafe with high rejoic'd. The hot with cold, the folid with the moifl;
• And innocent Af!ro-a did combine • All with the madic of a Love Bivxkk, "
For th* hidden ]ovc that now a days doth bold •The fleel and loadftone, Hyrlrarglre and gold. Is but a fpark and fliadow of that love, •^Vhlch {It the firit in etery thing did mm-e, . "NW.n the rnrtb's Mufcs with harmonious found : To HcaTcus fwect miifick humbly did rcfound, \ But Adam, being chief of all the firings Of this large lute, oVr-rcachcil, quickly brings * All out of tunc ; and now, for melody Of warbling charms, it yells fo hlclcoiiny, That it adrigbts fell Enyon'^y who turnioilH
* To raifc again old (^\\\xcs* untiqtic broils*, p. 202.
I muft rcqucft you licrc to make fomc allowance for the Jly I us Enniant J^cuU.
'■ , ♦* Tkc fame a» IklJona, fiftrr to Mars, «tnd God- dcfs of Battle. CloJJary i9 ijyhef.er. Sec JVIiiton's ivth. EirEOY, ver. 75*, , . ^ t- '/ ' I might
(; 59 )
I might obferve to you, tliat ** Phan-- ^' t(^fyr ver. 5, ** l^oife' for Mufic, ver. 1 8, and *^ Viapafon^'' ver. 23, fimihrly ufcd, are all to be found in Sylvcftcr. At prcfent I Iiaften to the two delightful poems of L'Allegro and II PEysjs- Koso : in each of which I Ihall point out an obUgation, or two, to my worm- e^ten volume.
^ssst
i . ; •;•>
L^ALLEGRO.
/ ..)
JO. dark Cimmtrian defer t^ ■ j v » '
Mr. Warton, having obfcrvcd that ^* Cimmerian darknefs was a common al- ** lufion in the poetry then written and " ftudied," cites inftanccs from Shake- fpeare, Fletcher, and Spenfcr. It is alfo, frequent in Sylvefter; , ,j
The
{ 6o. )'
- The fad black horror of CiMMiBniAN mifts,— '
.':.f . ' : • ■:.': -• ■ p..;.-
r I bllndlgnorance '• i;: ; '^^
Groping about in fuch Cimmerian nights^ —
i.;,, V - ,^, . . ^ P 27*-
From a Cimmerian dark deep dungeon,—
• P-43> . Man's eyes are fcaled up with Cimmerian mifl.
; '■ . P-52/-
I u thou God Jefs fair andfree^
In Sylvefter's Du Bartas, it is faid, God created the Angels,
-immortal, innocent.
Good, FAIR, and I'R ICE J P* '4«
^J» Hajfe iltee,t^ymph, and bnttg vjith thee yrjl and youthful Jollity ; 1 Sjfip^>f*f(^ Cranks, and 'wanton Utiles,
* "Nodi and Becks and ivreathed Smiles, ) •
Such as hang on Ihbts cheek, ^c^ £:/r.]
Pray juft caft your eye on Du Bartas*s groupe of attendants on the ** laughter^'
•* /()i;/;?g-" goddefs ; • "
I
^ ' - Fair
'( r6i )
^ ' Fair clainty VchuSi— — ^ — '" ■ V' ■ . ' , ' . . • *, AVhora wanton Dalliance, Dancing, and Delight, Smiles, vitty Wiles, Youtls Love, and Beauty
bright, ^VilIl foft blind Cupids e^•ermorc confort. p. Su
45. T/jen to come, tn/prffofjbrronv, ^ ' <■ 1. y/W af my ivinJoTV bU ^ood'?ftorrow.'] *.'.'' '
, Bifliop Newton takes occaflon, from this paffage, to admit, witli Drydcn, that ** rhyjue was not Mi lion's talcrtt.'' ** Se- ^^ veral things," he obferves, *^ arc faid *' by Milton, which would not have been *^ faid, but for the fake of the rhyme -T and he particularly refers to the [^ in ^^ fpUc of forrovj^'' in this place; whlcli he intimates to be, what wc ufcd to call at fchool a hotchy a mere expletive, foifted in fro carminis ufu. You and I, (who have a higher opinion of iM'.Itc^n's talent for rhime,) fhould not, I be- lieve, eafily accede to this accufation againft him, — I had once fuppofcd it in- tended ftrongly to characSlerife the cn-
]ivcnin2:
( ^a )
livening efFcft of the lark's matih fohg, ■fo as to difpel at once any forrows of the preceding night ; and poflibly with a re- collection of the Pfalmifl's, Sorrow may endure for a night ; but joy cometh in the morning. Pfalm xxx. 5, — But I tliink you will agree with me, that we muft, in this inftance, look only to Sylvefter's Du Bartas : where the Poet is defcribing the happinefs of him, who leads a country life;
The cheerful birds, chirping him sweet good
MORROW,
With Nature's niufic do beguile his sorrow. • ■ ' ^ : • p. 70*
50. imie the coci, (ffc.
Stoutly firuts his dames before^ 1
Ev'n as a peacock •
' To woo his miflrer:*, strutting stately bt
HER, Sec. &C. p. 76;
.. y8. Meadows trim njohh (iaijies pied, 1
Trim is no unfrequent epithet for mea- dows in Sylvefter : '
:- •^:,' ,. —the
'< % )
V. i.v;;m^ ^^ the flowers that paint the fields so
TRIM. p. 4S.
The eternal verdure, and the trim raosfFxr Of plenteous pallures,— — p. ^op,
P/>J, for variegated, is alfo Sylvefirian.--^ Moft readers, I fufpctfl, have applied /^/V</ to the daifies thcmfelvcs ; and I confefs, that I attributed Milton's '' pied daifies'' to Shakefpeare's , •
DAISIES PIED and violets blue.
in the fong, at the end of As you lik:r IT. But we may as well underftand his meadows to have been variegated with dailies; as are thofe in Sylveftefs Dix Bartas:
In May rns meads are not fo pied with FLOWERS. p. 974.
Where, in his defcription of Eden, we have the fame idea ;
"With thoufand Mcs he motleys all tlic meaifs,
p. 171.
-A Ficd
( ^4 )
^,. Pied is there alfo applied . to flowers thenifelves ;
?i'. }
|
•^Is, |
like |
PIED POSIES, |
diverfe dies and order. |
||
|
P- |
1 80; |
||||
|
ss. |
«.— . |
f^helrfax |
^Wy dinner — , |
•; , ->ii |
Of herbs and other ccuntry meffes, ■ ^
Which the neat -handed Fhyllis drej/es,"]
Sylvefter defcribes the fruits of the Gar- den of Eden, yielding
• More wholefome food than all the messes^ That now taftc-curious wanton plenty dresses.
p. 171.
p^, I the jocund relecks Jound,"] . .
The rebeck y as Mr. Warton has ' no- ticed in the fecond edition of his Milton, is mentioned, by Sylvefter, as an inflru- ment with firings of catgut ;
But wiery cymbals. Rebecks* sinews twin'd. Sweet virginals, and cornet's curled wind.
•*• ' p. 2.31.
( 65 )
.' 95 • ^^ ffiany a youth, and' many a maid, ' .'-, [ .J , Dancings Cl/c] . - -•! ; ' U
I think I have fcen it fomcwhere ob- ferved, that this line much exprefles' the bounding of a dance* I will beg you to compare the feftive dance of Solomon's Courtiers, mafked as Heathen Deities, in the revels celebrating his nuptials ;
. Here MANY A Pho&bus, and here many a Mufc,— Here many a Juno, many a Pallas here,
. Here many a Venus, and Diana clear. Here many a Iiorned Satyr, many a Pan, Here Wood-Nymphs, Flood-Nymphs, many a Fairy Fawn, ....
. With lully frifks and lively hounds, &c. &c. p.v459t
• 125. nere let Hymen of t appear
r Infoffron robe, ] * '
Mr. Warton exhibits feveral inftances of our old poets' introducing Hymen in *' his faffron coat/' Sylveftcr gives him rohes of that colour :
In safpp.on robes and all his folemn rites, Thricc-facred Hymen fiiall wiih fmlling chear •t Unite in one two loving Turtles dear,
F And
( 66 )
And chain with hoij cliarms their willing hands, Whofc hearts arc linked in Love's eternal bands.
p. 121$,
jjx. Then t9 the viell'trod fioge amn»1
I have formerly thought the *' anorC^ In this place a feeble expletive, or rather an intolerably aukward botch ; and felt in- clined to apply to it Biftiop Newton*s ob-^ jecftions to verfe 45. — But I begin to fuf- peft, that it is not without its efFc(?l ia quick tranfitions of defcription : at leaft I am in a great djegree reconciled to it, from fome paflages in Sylvefter's Du Bar- tas. — ^At prefent I wni only juft lay before you, from thcncey' the various thearful Paradifiacal delights of Adam in a ftate of Innocence ;
Here he beneath a fragfant hedge rcpofes, Full of all kindi* of fwcet all-coloured rofes j Anon he walketh in a level lane, On cither fide bcfct with iliady plane j— ^ ' Anon he ftalketh, with an caf/ ftridc. By fomc clear river's lily-paved iide;--^-
. Mufing
m )
idu6iig Airo» through cAokcd wAlk^ kc wandcfi, • , Roiind-winding ririgs, And intricate mcahdcn ji—
/;;(?;a Is a moft frcquont word with Syl- vcftcr ; perhaps more repeatedly ufed by him than any other, if we except izy For ever.-^Miltdn has uled inoh with good effect in his greater poems* Pak. Lost. i, 549. Par. Reg. i. 304,
j^C. foft Lydtan airs.
Married to immortal verfe,']
This expreflion, of marrying words and mulic, is moft abundant in Sylvcfter's Du Bartas. Thus, whcfc the birds in Pilradifc arc defcribed accompanying with their fongs the hymns of the Angels ;
Where thoufand forts of birds both night zvA
day. Marrying their sweet tunes to tkb Ak*.
gels* lays^ Sung Adam's blifs^ and their great IVIakcr's pralfc.
p. X72.
r 2 And,
( «8 )
And, where the Ifraelitcs are. rejoicing after having paffed through the Red Sea; ♦
They Mp and dance, and marrtino all their
^^ • ' VOICES • .
To timbrels, haut-boys, and loud comets* noifcs, , Make all the fhores rcfound, and all the coafts, Witli the ihrill praijfcs of the Lord of Hofts.
And again;
But, when to the mufic choice '"^ f !
Of thofe nimble joints flie marries
The echo of her angel-voice, *■ Then the praife and prize flie carries, ^ ■ ' •.'Both from Orpheus and Am'phion, ./Shaming Linus and Arion.^ . , , ^ p. x2'o5«
. ■ r . ■ ■ *
-/:<!.. i;'i"i O'l- .Ju ^- '■'."> ■ i' ■^>i vr* ■■ i
I '.'»
* -, A * « - • r I li
(69: )
IL PENSEROSO- '
X. Hence vain deluding joys, t^c^^-^
Among the various works, which com- pofc the folio edition of Sylvefter's Da Bartas, (as it is commonly called,) are the Trophies and Tragedy of Henry THE Great, tranflatcd from the French of Piere Mathicw. The part termed the Tragedy, which defcribes the death of the King, opens witli the following ex- clamation ;
Hence, hence, false pleasures^ momentary
J0Y8 !
Mock us no more with your xlluding
toys! A.flrange mifhap, hatched in hell below. Has plung'd us all in dcepcft gulf of wocj Taught us that all world's hopes as dreams
DO FLY, &C. • p. 1084.
-* • ^3 C. And
C IP )
6. And fancia fond 'With gaudy Jhafti ftjfefs^. As thick and numbefUfs As the gay moats that^ pfopU the fun^heams^ Or Ukejt hovringdreamSyiifeJ]
Here we muft, beyond all qucftion, re- fer to the following dcfcription of dreams,
in Du Bartas's Cave of Sleep ;
• - "* • • . ,. '
Confufedlj about the filent bed.
Fantastic swarms of dreams there ho*
VERED, . *
GiVRBN, REt>, AND yELi;.OW, TA^WNY, BLACK, AND BXV,E 5
They make no noifc bu^t tight refemble may Th' unnumber'd moats that in the sun*
BEAMS rLAY) p.Jlfii
Where, aftcrwdrds,
The OAUDY fwarm of dreams is put to Jflight.
Mr. Warton alfo, in the fecond edition of his Milton, pofltivel)r refers the ima- gery in this part of the Pcnferpfo to Pu ]?artas*s Cave of Sleep, . .
( 71 )
a s, ■ I thpu art higher far defcended •— • /iw'
. 31. >■ penfivc Nun^ devout and pure,
Sober ^ Ji t ad fajl^ and demure^ — •— •»
Ccme^ hut keep thy nmntedfiate.
With cvenjlep^ and mufn^ gait^
Jlnd looks commereing nxjtth thejkies^ Cs^rJ
Some of thefc traits^ in Milton's ^^ Pen* ** five Nun/* might be referred to the following pcrfonification of Wifdom ;
Lafl Wifdom coroc swith sober co.untsnanc* 5 To the Heavenly bowers her oft aloft t* advance. The light Marauqucs* * winglefs wings flie has ;
fler GESTURE COOL, as COMELY GRAVE HER
rACE,-^ ^ P-447*
Where ihe is defcribed ;
Ay, like herfcif } and ihe doth always trace Not only the same tath, but the same pace. f P» 448.
* The Mamuque, or Bird of Paradife> as de- fcribed in the Fiftli Day of the Firft Week ; . where it is faid>
IVmiUft tbcy fly 5 and yet their flight exten<2f, TiU with their flight their unknown life's date endf,
P* »o^»
. J . F4 And
( 7» )
And'flie is likcwifc charailerifcd - — - ^
- a HIGH-DESCENDED Quccn.' ' p<449«
43 • Jf^t^i dtfyd Itadcn dovjmxjardcaft . / > Thou fix them on the earth asfajl-^., ,;
Du Bartas's G^^;w^/ry is dcfcribcd , That fallow-fac^d^ fad^ (looping nymph; whofc
EYE Still ON THE GROUND iS FIXED 8TEDFASTLY J
p. 289.
66. On the dry fmooth-JJiaven green^ ..]!.•
Smootb-JbavcTiy for new-jnowriy is ufed by Sylvefter : he is defcribing. a, luminous fummer meteor,
. : "• '■': ■■'■ ' ' •:; j'-' • ' 7.'
Seeming amidft the new-shav*n fields to light.
p. 432.
97. gorgeous tragedy
' Jnfceptir d fall come fiweeping hy\\
The conftellation Virgo is reprefented in Sylvefter's Du Bartas,
SWEEPING Heaven's azure globe With stately train of her bright golden robe 5 p. 77.
•■■'- ;■ ido
(.73 )
• ;'I- do not. mean, materially: to^ refer the ** fcepter'd pall" of Milton to a fine nfc . of the fame epithet in Sylvefter. I beg, however, to cite it.— Mofcs is reprefented,
. Arm*d with his wand, whcrcv/ith he was to quell The scepter'd pride of many an Infidel j
p.965.
By the by ! Had not Gray read Sylvef- ter's Du Bartas ? And has he not fomc obligations to this paflligc, for two fine images in his. fublime Ode? .
Such were the founds, that ocr the crested
r PRIDE . ' •
Of the firll Edward Ifcatter'd wild difmay, .^ :> , Bard. St* i. i^
' Be thine defpair, and scepter'd care,— ' :/ . Ibid.iii.je
In his other Ode, he has alfo tlic Eagle, ' . ' • \
Perching on the scepter'o hand
Of Jovc^ ■ — . }
... Progress of Poetry, St. u 2.
^ '^l Where
( 74 )
Where his fortunate tranflation of Pin- >dar*s . ■. ■ •;,..'^. /;. .. :/; . . . •; •
•' ' Pyth. Odei. lo.
might folely have fupplicd his *' fceptcr'd *^ care-/* and his ** crcftcd pride" he has hinifelf attributed to Dryden*s
-CRPSTEP Adder's pride^— ^
Indian Queek.
That you may not think me indecently flippant, in my ready iniputation of imita- tion, from very flight grounds, on a man of fuch abundant and elevated genius as Gray, I muft obfcrve to you, that I have other reafons for fuppofing him to have enriched his compofitions from my old folio. His intended Hiftory of Englifh Poetry, you know, made his acquaintance with it a neceflary talk. — But to the point! No part of his noble ode has, I believe, been more generally and juftly admired, than his defcription of the defolation of ... , ... France
( 75 ) '
France by tlie vidlories of Edward the Black Prince; .
•what terrors round him wait !
Amazement in his van, with flight combln'd. And Sorrow's faded form and Solitude behind !
But how fhall we acquit this of mate- rial obligations to Sylvefter's Du Bartas ? After a fine perfonification of War, it is there faid ;
J^BAK and Destaiii, Flight and Pxsoi^i;^^;^
coaft. With hafty march, bepoile her rurd*rou(
HOST;
And Sorrow, Poverty, and Desolatiost, Follow her army's bloody transmiora-- TxoN. p. ao;,
I conceive, that Gray could not Jook ^ylth attention into Sylvcfter's Du Bartas^^ without carrying off in his mind many poetical images and expreffions. Lcould bring more proofs of this, were it not be* •^de my prefent purpofe.
99. PrffcHttn^
{ 1^ )
' 99* ^Py^fintihg TkeheSy or FeUfs line^ '- v ' ". :> r : v Or the tale of Troy divine J] • ^/- [ I : .: \ '±
For the fubjedts of tragedy, Du Bartas had before fuggefted -v
tyrants' bloody geds Of Thebes, Mycenae, or proud Ilion. ^
s
Sylvefter has, ^^ the buskin'd mufe," but only in the fenfe of hftj^ and not meaning particularly to diflinguifli the Mufe of Tragedy ; . .
Leaving therefore his war's difcourfc to thofc, . Whofe buskin'd muse Bellona's march out- goes,— p. 10(55.
J, 111 » Titus night oft fee me in thy pale carreer J\
^yPale carreer*' is the moon's courfe,
trhe. night of the poet's penfive man is a
moon light night ; and what had been faid,
from ver. 77, muft: be underftopd in a
great degree parenthetical. ^ /. \ V. Carreer y
( 77 )
Carreer i for the courfe of-the fun, moon, and planets, is the regular word of Sylvefter ;
• the fun s bright eye,
Car REEKING daily once about the iky — p. \u
' thy brave fteeds {lood (IIIU
.Ir\ full CARREER flopping iliy whirling wheel.
p. 90*
When we can flop th' accuflomcd carreer Of Heaven's bright charnplon^ mounted /on the dawn, p. ii;$.
Where alfo the moon is not only termed the. :•... J- .. ^^.. ..-,. p , .. ■ • 'T
PALE Queen of Night, - p. 149,
but flie is likewife reprefented driving
her PALE COURSERS- p. SS.
•which may corroborate a reading, Par. Lost, i. 786, fuggcfted by Mr. Capcl Loft, of courfers for courjc.
♦ .. 'T , ' 123. '^iricleJ
( 78 )
^ricVdy for gorgeoujly drejl, is ufed by Sylvefter in his tranflation of Du Bartas*s Judith ; where the herolrlfe, ornamented for her purpbfe, is defcribed,
So brave a galkint^ trick'd and trimmed io,
p. 986.
X4I. ■■ ilays gartjk tye^
Dat*s glorious "L^t,^^ — i— ^^ p. 84,
IJ7. ' . the high.embonved reofi]
Thus, refpe(5Ung Solomon's Temple ; And what huge (Irchgth of hanging vaults
EMBOWD
• • f
Bears fuch a \Veight above \ht v^'ingcd doud.
p. 465.
ARCADES,
' . J
( 79 ) ^ " ;^ A RCA DBS.
25 Juno dares not give her oddsy ' . * IVIjo had thought this elime had held AdutyfounparalleVd7'\ j ^
When a literary lady, of your acquain<» taficc,' once aflced Dr. Johnfon, ^* why *' Milton, who could write {o fublimcly ** on other occafions, produced fuch poor *^ fonnets ^ T his anfvver was, ** Ma*- ** dam ! Milton Could cut a Coloflus out ** of a rock, but he could not carve " a head upon a cherrj^-ftone/' The fame colojfal critic has alfo predicated of
* It remains to he Jlje-vjed, tliat Milton's fonnets *' are poor j** as well as that fonnct-writing is a mere knacli, the *' cherry-ftone-carving of poetry.** Several of Milton's fonnets would contradidt both thcfc ideas : but, although he has dignified theni with fublime thoughts, and numbers highly poetic, there is, it mud be allowed, frequently a want of that nicer and more artificial finiftiing, which i$ juflly required in fiiort compofitions.
Milton,
( 8o )
Milton, that " he never learned the art " of doing little things with grace ;" and that ^^ he was a liorif who had no fkill in ** dandling the ^/V."— The Miltonic mufc indeed was little accuftomed ^
' DIonsco fub antro
Su<erere modes leviorc plc6lro | ' '-,■ n
neither was ihe any ways calculated for the legerete of common fong writing. The three principal fongs in Comus, although Dr. Johnfon has cenfured the didlion of them as harfh, are exquifitcly beautiful ; but they are not common fongs, and the fubje(?ls of them are in fa6l majoris pleElri. Milton's fong on May Day has been juftly ad- mired ; as the greateft part of it well dc- fcrv'es. Lord Monboddo, in fome ob- fervations with which he favoured me, rc- fpedling Milton's rhyming vcrfe, fays it is the pretticft little poem in our lan- guage : but I confcfs that, to my car, it clofcs in a manner rather flat and infipid. The conclufion of the two laft fongs, in
this
( ax )
this ENf EHtAiKMEKl", is'pcrfcftly vapid and ipiritlcfs ; -. •!:'•;, : . . .; . .,.•;
Sdch a rural 'queen,
All Atcadia hath not fecn. '' '• ' - • ' ' ' * ' '■-'■' * •' ■ ^ ^ ,■?,;. ,: ^ . -.:» ■■:• .. ,. I am tempted to fay with Defdemona^ '^ O moll lame and impotent conclulion !" This jfirft fong is alfo rather ftlfF through- out, and by no means fortunate in' its con* clufion ; cfpccially where, in comparing the lady patroncfs to the heathen deities, he borrows the langiiagc of a Newmarket jocky : • '•• •' •■•■ •"• '.♦ '• •
Juno dares not ^tve her e^lri > \i\
The fame thought has been much better managed by Sylvcflcr, in a mafquc fon- net to Queen Anne, confort of James I. Old Jofliua was certainly not a cherry^ Jlonc-earving poet : at leaft he did himfclf no credit, by his attempts in the minutitc of poetry. I do not, indeed, prefent him to you as the lion of poets ; but I think you will agree with mc, that, in the fol- G lowing
lowing. foTig, he ," dandies' his kid'* not unflcilfully ; and with much grace, for .the age in which he wrote. Btn Jonfon'? MASQUES are now before me ; and I do not, at this moment, ftumble upon any
thing thcre^ by any means fo plcafing*
. : ; ..: .'■ ..:.,^; ■ ;'.. . : >. ' ''
JIiC;We,.hic we, fiftcr feirics ! • ^ ,,..^
Dead our comfort, deep our care i«, ' . . "VVhilc wc mifs our miftrcfs* gracc'j * •' ' , ' - * ] 1 In 'the mirror of whofc face • i '. ' • • ' ' Majcfty-atidmildnefs meet, ; »'-;;";: r! :/i
Stately finning, fmiling fweet : - ; ,. ,;
In whofe bofom Ay repofe *cm ' ': ' * .Si ):: •. j I
All the honours of Diana : - Say who faw/ our Glory, Anna ?- ' ' ' ' ^ '- ' T -(. w :■.•. :. :.i ;: r.i ,. ' ■ .C Vvi l." :r.'ri
This way, this way, Grace did guide her 5 , ,
Coui lo rich a jewel hide her,
^' So unfcen, that none can fay, ** - *'
-. '. .. Whether 4hc is gone this way ? :. . .5 I'l:
} ;. Or doth Envy make you mum ? .-, . ' ',->
; Or hath wonder llruck you dumb ? , ',
"' * Here's our miftrefs ! ' ' -•' *''*' ' ' '.
( 83 )
lo, fairies! we have found her; Dance we, rapt with joy, around her !
III. Hail, all hall, O Queen of Graces ! ^yho^e afpc6t aufpicious chafes * *
All our fears and cares away,
Clearing all with chcarful ray j Whom wliocvcr never faw Knows not Virtue's love nor law I
Bounty's prcfcncc.
Beauty's plcafance ! • ' ?. . '
Model and divine idea, _ . ,
Botli of Pallas and Aflrea ! , : \ » . . , , , .;^
• ■ ■• IV. : ■ •- '''-:'-■'''■■
Welcome, welcome, Phenix royal! . Wills and walls tliec echo loyal j i *■■:
In all Faerie is not found
A more happy piece of ground. Than your prcfcnce makctli here } Where, together with your phcere ^, ' • -^
All we widi you, . / •
And your iiTuc, V .
With all joys of Grace internal, ,
Outward Glory and eternal.
* Companion, confort, lover*
0 2 ^ Thh
( H )
This little poem you will not find m the folio • edition of i6ai. It firft ap- peared among the Pnjlbumi, (or, verfes of Sylveiler never before publilhed,) at the end of the fecond folio edition, 1633 ; which I have only juft now fcen. As I do not mean to fuppofe any obligations to this fong, on the part of Milton, it is nccdlefs to enquire, whether the Arcades was then written *. But I mull obferve to you, that thefc Pojlhumiy or at Icaft fomeofthem, were, I fufpe6t, known to Milton in the year 1625. Tliey were probably communicated to H, Lownes, after the appearance of his edition of 1 62 1 -j". In 1625 Milton wrote his little
poem
* The Arcades ^ras probably written In 1633.
f The fecond folio edition ^as printed, in i^jj, by Robert Young J who probably fucceedcj to tlie prefs of Humfrey Lownes, as the plates and orna- ments of Lownes's 4to and folio edition arc re- tained in this. There is alfo, at the end of the pojlhii/tiOHs ionwcXSy a plate, reprefenting probably die lign of Young's houle. The dcdgn is, two * hand.
( 85 y
poem On the Death op a faiH !*•
FANT ; which opens beautifully;
hands holding an anchor, with a fnake twined round it ; and it is fupportcd on one fide by Lownrs*s f^ar, or fign, and on the other by Peter Short's flar. Though the fign of thcfe two printer^ was equally a Jlar^ yet Lownes adopted a very different finr from his prcdcccfibr. The fign of Peter Short is a bible open, held by a hand in the iTiiddlcofa very bright fiar with twenty radii, of which eight arc tortuous, and twelve arc dirc^ ; and the motto round it is, Et v/que tid mdfes Veritas tua, Lownes's 'l\^x\ was a fiar, fingly, witli twelve radiations, fix tortuous and fix diredl; arid bi^ motto is, Os homini fiihlime dedit, Thc/orwer fiar is prefixed to fix elegies on the death of Prince Hcnr)', in i6ij, printed at the Bread-ftrcet Hill prefs ; and the letters P. S. under it, indicate it to liave been Peter Short's fign. To the fame elegies is prefixed a poetical addrcfs to the reader, figned II. L. (/. e* Humfrey Lownes,) and R. S. (proba- bly Rachael or Rebecca Short, the widow of his predecefil>r). Lownes's («y» ^ar is prefixed to Syl- vcfi:er's Funeral Elegy on the Prince, printed the fame year; and the letters H and D, on each fide of it, indicate it to. have been orirloally the fign of Henry Denham, a printer of eminence at. the Star in Pater Noflcr Row about the year X5<J4.
^ G 3 O Faired
( 86 )
' O Faircft Flower, no fooner blown but blafted ! ) Sweet filken Primrofc, fading timeleflly ! Summer's chief honour, if thou hadft outlawed
; Bleak Winter's force,
Amongft Sylyefter's Pojlhumi^ is an Elegy on Dame Helen Branch, which thus laments her children, who died young ;
But all thefe joys, alas! but little lasted. All thefe fair blossoms were untimely blasted; —
Surely here is fomething more than bare coincidence!
a6. Stay, gentle Sivaim, for^ though in this difguife^ I fee bright honour /par kle thro y cur eyes,']
Thus, fpeaking of Solomon malked ;
But yet, whate'er he do or can dcvife, . Disguised glory shineth in his eyes *.
P-459-
* * This firailarlty is noticed by Mr. Todd, in his much-enriched edition of Comus. Part i. p. 32.
i.:/ ! . . , .- 63. To
( 87 )
• 6^. T^ f^Jf celeftial Syrens harmony ' ' ^ ' *f hat Jit up9n the rJne infcl(ieei/jf>heres^
For, as they fay, for fupcrintendant there, The fuprcmc voice placed i>r evzry sphere A Syren sweet 5 that from Heaven's har-
MOKY
Inferior things might learn bed melody, p. 301.
I need not point out to your car, that the rythm of the fccond verfc of this paf- fagc is frequent with Milton. It is, in- deed, one of thofe, which Bcntlcy would have propofcd to amend by reading
' The voice fupreme,-
^^, I the nhte'infoUtd /pheres^
Of Du Bartas's Urania it is faid,
>
Her NiNE-FOtD voice did choicely imitate Th* harmonious mufic of Heaven's nimble dance. • p. 526.
72. — the heavenly tune^ 'which none can hear^ Of human mold^ ivith grofs unpurged ear,']
In Sylvefter's Du Bartas, being purged from fajjion is a necelfary qualification for : • 04 being
( §8 )
being admitted to the chorus of the hea- venly mufes, and of the Syretis ef the Sphere^ The poet addrefles the Deity,
Father of light ! fountain of learned art } Now, DOW, or never, ptrnoE my purcft p^irt !•— That, purg'd from passion, thy divine addrefs May guide me thro** Heaven's glifl'ring palnccs j Wjiere happily my dear Urania s grace, And'iier fair fiflers, I may all embrace 5
Apd THE MELODIOUS SyREXS OP THE SpHRRES,
Chi^rmipg r^y fenfes with tjiofc fweeta of theirs,
p. a8$f. 84. Mw Jmooth enamell\i gre^n^
Mr. Warton fays, that he had " fuppofed • ^^ modern poetry to have been originally *^ obliged to Milton for the epithet en-^ '^ ameird in rural defcription." But. it occurs, as he has obferved, repeatedly in Sylveftcr's Du Bartas ;
Th' enamell'd meads p. 208.
Jud in the midfl of this enam?:ll'd vale, p. 262.
Th* enamel'p vallics,, whexe the liquid glafSf • Of filvcr brooks in curled flreams do pafs,
( 8^ )
, . . . . ^
In the defcription of Eden we have - suN^mooF arbors——* p. 17**
G O M U S.
I J. iJiat golden hy^ . /,^^
That opes the palace of eternity^
The bleffed God jfcall, with his ket5 ojr
GRACE, ' .
Open Heaven's store-house to thy happy race. p. 375-*
20. ' '/ty/jr/ high and nether Jne^
Both upper Jove's and nether's divcrfc thrones 5 . . p. looj*
tl6. 'wa*vering morrice^^
The tiOYifco^ or old mooriili dance, is mentioned in Sylvcfter's Du Bartas ;
Here
( 90 )
Here Wood-KympJis, Flood-Nymphs, &e/ 0'- With lufty friiks and lively bounds bring in . Th* anfifttr, MORisco, or the mattachine, p 459.
^^1, > when the dragon ifjonm
Of Stygian darkncfs fpets her thichft gloom,']
The commentators on Milton, before Mr. Warton, were not at all aware that ff^etj (or /pits is of the old fchool of poefy. If Mr. Warton had been acquainted with my old folio, he would probably have cited,
Maugrc the deluge that Rome's dragon spet,
• p. 60,
Spet for fpii is very common with Sylvefter ; and more efpecially refpefting dragons, and all the ferpent kind :
With befony fell fcrpents round befct.
Lift up their heads, and fall to hifs and spet,
p. 62. Into tt ferpent it did wholly change ; Crawling before the king, and all along Spetting and hilling with his forked tongue.
Which inflantly turn into ferpents too,
HiiTing and spetting, — • ibid,
' "• 145. The
( 91 )
145. The measure.] '* " ' • . '•
. The following paflage will illuflrate Mr. Todd's explanation of *^ the meafure/' as *^ a court dance of a ftately turn." . The poet is reprcfenting the revels at Solo- mon's nuptials.
Of all the fports Til oncly choofc one meafurc. One STATELY MASK, compob'd of fage fvvcct
pleafurc, A dance fo chaftc, fo facred, and fo grave.
P'459*
^ 207. ''■'-'^eallifj^flapesanfiheck'mngjhadovjsiiire. And atry tongues , that /yllable mens names Onfands andJJjores, end defer: *wilderneffes*'\
This tradition, as Mr. Warton has ob- ferved, is in Sylvefter's Du Bartas ;
• the dcfert Op, where ofl
By ftrange Phantafmas pafTcngcrs are fcoft.
p. 274.
2 14. Thou hovering Angel, girt vjtth gel Jen tMngsJl
I furcly know the chepjbims do hover • With FLAMING WINGS,— — p. 241.
219. — tf
( 9^ y
J ip. ■ a gii firming guardian'^'] ■ rC * ; :
Glijlr*ing is the Sylveftrian epithet, cha- raileriftic of celeftial radiance :
Thou glorious guide of Heaven's flar-oLXSTR*iyo motion ! p. i.
May guide rac through Heaven's glistr'iko palaces, p. 286.
• tlie Angel-
No fooner cntefd, but the radiant /l/ine Of *s glist'ring wings, and of his glorious eyn. As light as noon makes the dark houl-c of night.
' p. 316.
330. Snveet Echo^ fweeteft nymph, that liv[fi uvften WUhtn thy avy fi:el}^ ByJlfTsXj'Mean.'iersmargentgVeen^ Aiid in the violet-onbroider d vale ^ ^c»'\
-Air's daughter Echo!——- p. i;i.
Loud her bugle-horn line blew 5 " Babbling Echo, voice or valiit.s. Airy elf exemft feom view. With the foreft mufic dallies;—— p. i2Jo.
.. /'. 2i2. By
( 93 )
2 J 2. By Jlovj Meander* s margeni ^een^ . —on Ccdron's margekt greenly oat ;—
059. fell Chary hJis-^]
1*hroi:g!i FELL Charybdis, and falfc Syrtcs*
ap7, ^heir port was ffnre than humatt^
A MORE TiiAV HUMAN knowkdgc beautifies His princely anions ; ■ p. 449.
And richly arm'd in more than human amis j—
p. 508. 30 1 • the plighted clouds.'-^
Mr. Warton fays he does not remember the word plighted m any other writer. — But, in Sylveftcr's Du Bartas, Elijah is de- fcribed^
fmiting Jordan with his plighted cloak;—
where *^ plighted*' is folded^ i.e. colleSled together by cojuprejjing in the hand. — Mr. Warton fuppofcs, that flighted^ in this •paflagc of Milton, means braided 01 em-
broidcrci\
( 94 )
ho'idered ; biit I conceive it to have li- terally the meaning of plighted, ox plaited^ and to be merely intended to defignate the triple flails y folds y or rows of colour in •the rainbow. v , «.
331. Unmuffle^ ye faint Jlars — \
Mr. Warton, to ihew that muffle was at that time a poetical word, having cited the ufe of it iii Drayton and Browne, cx- liibits alfo the following paflagc from Syl- vcftcr's Du Bartas;
While night's black MUFFLEa hoodeth up the Ikies. p. T^S,
Had he looked a little ifarther into the book, he might have, found inftanccs more in point, and not fo nearly border- ing on the ludicrous. For inftance ;
The fable fumes of hell's infernal vault Muffled the face of that profound abyfs. p, 7.
A night of clouds muffled their brows about ;
p. 44*
As when the muffled Heavens have wept
amain, p. 48.
Alablc
i 95 )
A fable air fo muffles tIp die iky; p. j^gxm
And (peaking of the moon, ,i '
If then her brows be muffled \vlth a frown, —
335. In double night ofHarknefs and ofjbades \\ DouBLE-NXGHTED in dark error, — , p. xi77.
This paflagc from Sylveftcr is in one of his Spectacles ; fhort poems of an epi- grammatic fomi, and highly moral or reli- gious caft. Tiiey are intitlcd, Pcrfpco five SpcElacles^ of efpecial Ufe to difcern the World's Vanity y Levity^ and Brevity. As a fpccimen, I will beg to prefcnt you not only with tlic one in qucftion, but its counterpart alio. ,
•;•. * , . ' Dies. » . >
Now the day, the fun's bright fon, * ' * • New-awake begins difoovcr, ' ' Mountain tops new-gilded over, • • \Vith bin ruddy rays thereon : That, mcthinks, fliould make us think ; . Of that true eternal morning, . • : •
When no night (liall be returnln,<^, ' AVhcn both Heaven and earth fhall ihrink. ' ' -' N6X.
( 9V>
>i,. -^ ;*:/■■'•.■ Nox. " '' • ■''■• --'^.-* A .
AVhcn the nighfs black curtain fprcad ^^ , Hides the day and light bereaveth, ' Then my wak'ning thought conccivcth %| Other night, more dark, more dread ; * There where wordlings, wilful-blind,
Loatli inflru6lion, leave light's mirror, ' • ^ . Doublc-nightcd in dark- error ; ; . « . ., i.
Quenching inborn light of mind.
242. ■ Cyno/ure^-'] " . , . .
-I neglected to obferve to you, where -this word is ufed ia the Allegro, that lit occurs in a paffage of Sylvefter ; which :I conceive is not unworthy your atten- tion. .
'^' As iron, touched by the Adamant's cffcA, ' ' To the north pole doth ever point dired ; So the foul, touch'd once by tlie fecrct power Of a true lively faith, looks every hour To the bright lanip> which ferves for Cynosurb To all that fail upon the fea obfurc, ?• ij^*
S53' ^^rhapsfomc cold hank Is her boljlcr woiy.]
This kind of verfe, (where the fecond and third feet, hang/po^idees^ completely
break
( 97 ) •
break the Iambic rythm,) is not unfrc- qucnt with Milton : and it is upon many occafions highly pleafing to my car, Verfes of this rythm are moft abundant in Syl- Vcfter ; and they are fometimes forcibly il- luftratcd by a verfe immediately following of a highly mufical caft, or peculiarly fo- Borous efFeft. The following palfage is, in fome degree, an inftance ;
Another certifies his refurrc^lion Unto the women, whofe faith's imperfc6lioii Snppos'd HIS COLD ;nMBs XX the Grave were bound,
UnTILL TH* ArCK-AnCEL's LOFTY TRUMP SHOULD SOUND* p. I7.
Thefe obfervations, on the mere rythm of verfe, would to many pcrfons appear fuperfluoufly minute : when addrcflcd to you, they are
421. clad in complete fieel,']
The following pafHige may tend to
corroborate Mr. Warton's obfer ration,
11 that
( 98 ;).
that *^ this was a common expreflion for .*^ being armed from head to foot." The Poet is defcribing a challenger in a combat;
Who arms himfelf fo complete every way. That the defendant, in the heat of fight. Finds no part open for his blade to light.
p. 120,
where you will obferve the accentuation cdmplele. In the Paradife Loft it is uni- formly complete.
If complete is in a certain degree techni- cal for full armour, may we not fimi- larly underftand Shakefpeare*s ,. ;
armorers accomplishing the knights,
in the eminently fine chorus in his Henry Vth ?
^22. a quiver* ti Nymph — ]
In Sylvefter's Du Bartas, Diana is enti- tled, from the q\^S\c^\ pbaretratay :•
• fair Latona*s auiVER'D darling dear ;
495 — "
( 99 r
Mr. Warton fcems to think madrigal technical, rather than poetical ; and fup- pofes, that it had a reference to the ma- drigals compofed by Lawes. But it is a word of much poetical efFedl. Da Bar- tas^s Urania, fpeaking of her fifter Mufes, fays,
I grant, my learned fillers warble fine. And ravifli millions with their madrigals.
561, tooJi in flratns that might create afanl
Under the ribs of Death, ^^\
It has been propofed to read, took In drains might recreate a foul,— ^
In Sylvcfter's Du Bartas we have a paf- fage non prorfus alientm ;
O cordial word ! O comfortable breath ! Reviving souls, ev':^ in the gates ot 1>EATH> V*1^7*
M 2 Co^, Harfiu
( 100 )
605. Harpies and Hy fir as, all the monfirous/orms^ Twixt Afiica and Inde,-'^']
Harpies and Hydras y as Mr. Warton obfer^^s, are a combination in an enume- ration of monfters, in Du Bartas ; -
'* The ngly Gorgons, and the Sphinxes fell, ; Hydras and Harpies^ gan to jawn and yell; : p. 206.
Where alfo I might, perhaps, refer you, for the region twixt Africa and Ind;
From Araby, from Inde> to Apric shore^ — if not for the monfters themfelves ;
-feme monster
Kew-broDght from Afric or from Inde;«—
p. 992.
- 6^6^ Jnd yet more med*cnal is it, than that Moly, Which Hermes once to *wife Ulyffcs gave ;]
In Du Bartas*s Eden, where the tree of life is addreffed by the poet,
O holy pecrlefs, rich, prefervative !
\-sv-. .* .: .J. ' L :: it
( xoi )
It IS enquired, what the fruit of it was ; whether .
Or holy Nc6tar, Sec.
Or blell Ambrofia, Gods* immortal fare ?
Or elfe the rich fruit of the garden rare, &c.
(i, c* of the Hefpcrides*} Or PRETIOUS MOLY WHICH JoVE*S PURSUIVAN, WtNC-FOOTED HePwMES, EaOUGHT TO TU' ItH\<-
CAN ?
to which is added, (feeComus, 675, in/ray)
Or elfe Nepantiie, enemy to sadness. Repelling sorrow, and repealing glad- ness * ? p. 174.
I need not obfervc to you, that this Is exadlly Milton's mode of decorating fcrip- ture hiftory, with illuftration from ClafSc Fable and Heathen Mythology.
639. -' of fov reign ufe
^Gainjl all enchantments,'^^
I fhould hardly have detained you with the citation of a paffage, in which this
* Repealing J i,e, recalling.
H 3 virtue
( 102 )
Virtue IS attributed by Du Bartas to the herb Jngelica ; but that I fancy Sylvef- ter's verfification of the two firft lines has much of that ^* moUUies^'' which per- vades every part of the Comus. ..
The enchanting airs of Syrens* blandiflimcnts. Contagious air ingendering pellilence. Infect not thofe, that in their mouths have ta'en Angelica,- p. 62.
641* ghofily furie: apparition — ]
It has been propofed by Peck, ior furies to read fairies. But, as Mr. Todd ob- ferves, *^ ghaftly furies is a combination *^ in Sylvefter's Du Bartas ;"
Three ghastly furies 3 Sicknefs, War, and Dearth. P- soi.
^53* hhcursdcrenjJl
Thus, in Sylvefler's Du Bartas, fpcak- ing of the fallen angels ;
This CURSJSD CREW, with pride and fury fraught,
p. 14.
( 103 )
yj4. hejludtl nxslth JlarS'-^ ' r '-
In vain hath God (lor'd Heaven with glidring STUDS, p. 92.
Ev*n from the gilt studs of the fiimament,
p. 149-
753. Lwe-damng eye^-^
Whofo beholJs her fwect love-darting eyes,
p. 399-'
759' f^lf^ rules pranli d in rcfifans garh^
Tranhcd is ufed more than once, by Sylveftcr, for meretricious decoration of perfon. It is, fomctimes, applied by him to ftylc of language. Speaking of afTedled writers, he fays;
In golden terms they trick their gracious flyle. With new-found beauties prank each circum- ilance,— p. 261.
He alfo fpeaks of a
plain^rRAxic'D flylC| ■■■ ■ » p. 265, H 4 809. —//-'#
( 104 )
Cop- ■ the lees .\^ ^
And fettlings ef a melancholy Blood ;]
The pure red part, amid the mafs of blood, ■ The fanguine air commands j the cluttcd mud, Sunk down in lees, earth's melancholt fhews : P* 2i«
$6l« ■ ■ ■ trattjlucent — ]
Mr. Warton fays, he always thought this epithet had been firft ufed by Mil- ton, till he met with it in Brathwaite's Love's Labyrinth, printed in 1615. But it is frequent in Sylvcller ; where, how- ever, it is written iralucenty and tralucing :
the gliflring tent Of the TRALUCING ficry element. p. 27.
A foul TRALUCENT in an open breafl, p. 591.
From thy bright tralucent eyes : p. 611.
S6^» The loofc train of thy amher^dropping hair,']
Mr. Warton fuppofes amber to relate to the colour of Sabrina's hair ; and obfcrves, that ^^ amber locks' 2jt given to the fun
more
( 105 )
more than once in Sylvcfter*s Du Bartas. But, in this place, ainber is ambcrgrcecc, rich ointment or perfume ; and what i% here faid, is equivalent to ^
Dropping odours, ver. io5.
Solomon*s bride is, iimilarly, defcribed by Du Bartas, at their nuptials ;
-adorn'd down to her very heels
With her pair hair, whence jftill sweet dew
DISTILLS) p* 4^2»
Where alfo, in the Epithalamium ad- drefied to her, it is faid,
what odours thy fwect trefles yield!
What AMiJER-GREECE, what incenfc brcath'ft thou out ! p. 463.
I might refer you alfo to Sylveflefs Woodman's Bear, (probably a juvenile performance,) where he is defcribing the beauty of his miftrefs ;
Locks, like flreams of LiauiD ambsr^ Smooth do%\Ti-dangling,— — — . p. 1204.
88(5. -^from
( io6 )
535, - 1 from thy eoral-pavtn hetl,"]
Du Baftas*s River Jordan is lodged in a large cave of beaten glafs,
Whofc waved cicllng, with exceeding co(^, The Nymphs his daughters rarely had imbofl With pearls and rubies, and ivlay'd the rcfl With nacre * checks, and coral of the bcfl.
930. Nor ixjet OSloher^s torrent flood
7Jjy niQlten cryflalfill *vjith 7;iuJ,]
' dirty mudds
* Defil*d the crystal of fmooth-fliding floods.
p. 171. p^o. ■ without Auch or nod^']
Buchy for obcifance, is ufed in Sylvcf- tcr's Du Bartas ; and without any comic fcnfe :
Then to her lady having made a duck, p. 821. 978* Where day never Jljuts his cyc^
We have this expreffion in Sylvefter's
Du Bartas; where he is fpeaking of the*
obfcuration of the Sun, at the time of the
Crucifixion :
* Mother of pearl, ■ .... What
( 107 )
What could'ft ihou do M^, tlian tlij'felf diflionoiTT, O chief of PJancts, thy great Lord to honour ? Than, at his death, a mourning robe to M'car, &:c. And, at high noon, shut thy i-air zyl, to
flum A fight, whofe fight did Hell ^vIth horror flun?*
p.Sp.
992. Iris there 'With humiil lonju
Waters the oiVrous hanks , that hlorm riQ'vjers of more ftihi^Ud hue, Than hir purjletlfcarf canJJwj)'^
This beautiful pafTagc is not, perhaps, without its obligations to the following :
Never mine eyes, in plcafant fpring, behold The violet's purple, guildcd marygold, ^c.2cc. But tliat in ihcni the Painter I adniire, Wlio in more colours doth the fields attire, * Than frelh Auroras ro fy checks difplay, . ; When in tlic eafl ihc ufliers a fair day; Or I u is' kow, wincir, bended ik the skt, T5oDEs FRUITFUL DKws, whcn as the fields be dry. p. 60.
The rainbow Is afterwards defcrlbcd, A femlcirclc of a hundred hues 5 p. 247.
( io8 )
995' ^ purped fearful
*^ Purfled" is embroidered with various colours. In Sylvcfter's Du Bartas, a jaf- pir flone is defcribed ;
PuRFi^ED with veins, p. 180.
98 • Bedicf hyacinth and rofes,
IVhere young Jldonis oft repofes*^
In Da Bartas's Eden, where the happi- ncfs of Adam in Paradifc is defcribed, it is faid of him ;
Here underneath a fragrant hedge reposes, Full of all kinds of fwcet all-colour'd roses 5
p. 180, 10 15. » the boivd nxjelkin^-l
In Heaven's bow*d arches, and the elements,
p. 149. 2020. She can teach you how to climb Higher than thefphecry chime. '\
To climb up into Heaven is a fcriptural cxpreflion. It is applied, by Sylvefter, to Grace, Virtue, and Faith.
. ' O Grace,
( 109 )
O Grace, whereby men climb the Heavevlt stair! p. 5S8«
For facrcd Virtue climbs fo hard and high, - That fcarccly can I her deep fteps dcfcry,
p. XI20,
But to CLIMB Heaven' what ladder can fuf-
fice us ? Faith. p. 1175.
L Y C I D A S.
• ivy never ftre^
■ imniortal bays
Never unleav*d, ■ ■ p. 70.
Ijj,, _ ^fome meloillous fear^']
I cannot forbear here referring to the Elegy on Dame Helen Branch, which I have already noticed, among the Po/l^ humi Sylvejlricnfcs : where, I muft obfcrvc to you, it is entitled Monodia. The Monodijl there calls upon the two Univcr-
fities
( no ) '
fitics for a LuHus Academicus on the death of their bencfaftor :
You Springs of Art, Eyes of this noble realm ! Cambridge and Oxford, lend your learned tears! p. 641. Ed. i633.
The firft line of which paflagc will, I •am fure, remind you of Milton's defcrip- tion of Athens^ in his Paradise Re- GAI^^Ii:D : : •• V -^
Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence,-- — . iv. 240,
a 5. ■ the opening eyelUh of the morn,"]
This image is fcrlptural. Wc fmd it, as a marginal reading of our Eng- ]ifli Bible, for the dawning of the mornin^y Job. iii. 9 ; and in Trcmcllius's Latin Bi- ble, printed in 1585, the paflage is ren- dered, ne vidljjtt palpeeras auroras:; where, in a note, it is obferved to h^mc- taphora ah €o qui exper%ifcitur et palpebras at!(>llit, quocum Aurora poetice comparci' iur. Moft. poetical tranflations of the
Book
( XII )
Book of Job have been careful to retain this flower of divine poefy. Quarlcs has it, in his Job Militant. But Sylvefter, I believe, may claim the priority of tranf- ferring it into Englifh poetry, in his Job Triumphant:
May it no more fee th* eye-lids of the morn- ing^ — p. 899.
56. ^y me ! 1 fondly dream, tdc!\
I muft again beg to refer you to the Monody on Dame Helen Branch ;
No flrcngth, no courngc can Dcatli*s coming (la/j No wealth can wage him, and no wit prevent him j No lovely beauty can at all relent him : Agalnfl Ilorn Death no virtue can avail j Ay me! that Death o'er Virtue fliould prevail !
73 . the fair guerdon tohen nve hope tojlnd^
Lo here the guerdon op his glorious pains,
your wit-gracing fkill . Wears, in itfelf, itfelfs rich ouerdon Hill,
p. 73* 86. Smooth"
; ( II* )
S6. Smwtijlidtng Mincius'^1
— ^ the cryftal of SMOOTii-stiDiNO floodi,
p, 171.
104. His mantle hairy and his bonnet fedgei\
The river Jordan Is defcribed, in Syl- Teller's Du Bartas, as an
aged flood laid on his mofTy bed. And pcnfivc leaning his flag-shaggy head,
p. 383.
Where fag-Jhaggy perfectly compre- hends the *' fedge bonnet" of the Aca- demic Elegiaft. It is alfo faid of this aged flood or river God,
About his loins a rush-belt wears he deep,
p. 384.
1 10. The golden opes^ ^c,1
To what has been obferved, by Mr. Warton and others, refpedling the two keys of St. Peter, and the metals fcverally afcribed to them by Milton, I have to ^dd, that, where Nature is finely perfoni-
fied
( "3 y
. ficd by Du Bartas, file is diftinguiflied by a Golden Key ;
" down hy her fide (he wear^
Agoldex ket, wherewith fhe lettcth forth, And locketh up, the treafures of the earth.
no, f/:e Iron Jliuts amiiin^
Amain is more than once iimilarly ufed by Sylvefter, for zviib vehemence. Thus, where Sicknefs is dcfcribed as one of the Furies, that after the Fall were pern:iitted to wage war againft mankind;
i Then this fierce monflcr mufiers in her train Fell foldiers, charR;hig poor mankind aMaix. . ! . P- 2cS.
I J 2. ■ ■ ihe ttread voice is pap,
Thatjhrunk thy Jlr earns ; — ]
May we not refer ** dread voice"^ to a paffage, which I have once before cited to you ? *
His dueadfitl voice, to favc his antient fhcep^ t)id cleave the bottom of th* Er^threan deep,
I And
( 114 )
And to the cryftal of his double fourcc Compelled Jordan to retreat his courfe. p. 4S,
^0 Jhrinhj I muft obfcrye, is ufcd by Sylvefter, as a verb aftiye, with much Miltonic effedl. The moon is termed,
the filver-fronted flar. That fwells and shrinks the seas,—— p. 51.
155. fl^i/mrets of a thmf and hues ^
Noah looks up, and in the air he views Afemicircle of a hundred hues 5 p«H7'
1^5. "johere the miU whifiers ufe\
I do not reeolledl to have met with ** ^/* precifely in this fenfe, any where but in Sylvefter ; where Urania is repre- fented exciting Du Bartas to the ftudy of heaven-born poefy.
Dive day and night in the paftalian fount ; Dwell upon Homer and the Mantuan mufc; Climb night and day the double -topped mount, "Where the Pierian learned- maidens use.
. ' p. 527,
i I '., ■ ' ^ J36. — the
( "5 )
X3^« /Zg mtid "joJtifpcrs ■
The dream's mild murmur as it gently guflics, iSx. Andtulpe the tears for emerfrom his fyfs^
I need not tell you> this is fcriptural. (ifaiah xxy. 8. Revelat. vii. 17. xxi. 4.) But it is well ufed by Sylvefter, with refpedl to fpecch as the vehicle of con- fplation:
By Ihce we Svipe the tears of wopul eyes,
p. 123.
And again, in his defcription of the New Jerufalem ;
Where {hall no more be wallings, woes, or cries j
For God shall wipe all tears from \7eep-
INO eyes. P- 521*
'^V-
t.a SONNET,
|
'( ^II6 ) |
|
|
SONNET, |
*0 |
ON HIS BEING ARRIVED TO THE
V AGE OP xixiir. ' '
' U How/ocn hath time, the/idtJe thief cf youth,
StcVn on his loing my tbree-antl-tiventieth year ! ' My hajling days fly on Viitbfull career^ Butmylatefpriugno hud nor blo^omJlicv3th.'\
I tliink I have heard you particularly admire the opening of this fonnet. Let me beg you to compare the following moral refledtion on the Spring, from Syl- vefler's Spectacles :
When youtliful Spring tlic earth in green hath dreft, ' "When trees with leaves and blofToms them revcfl,. Their flowers, white, red, blue, yellow. Betoken fruits to follow ) But worldings, tho' they flourifli in their prime. Nor bud, nor bear, nor bring forth fruit in time y Their health, wealth, wit, mifwaftcd, Arc but as bloflbms blafled. p. 1178.
/■■- -■.: ■^■;:. ■'■. SONNET/
( "7 )
|
t' :-.'' ■."- ... •-A/.-.v, |
|
|
'so N NET, ■ |
,' •«* |
|
•■ '■'•'[ I .••. : . TO ■ ■ •""'■ " |
f/.'T |
|
Sir' he N R Y V A N E. ' |
..i» i ■ .1 |
I, Fanejiouniirtyears^ hut hfage eounfel old t] , ,
IfaaC IN YKARS YOUNG, but l.V WISDOM GROWN. P- 3i^«
•'^ - '• S O N N E T/ • ^^ :—
TO THE
Lord General CROMWELL.
I. Crom*wtIi, our chief of men, 'who through a cleu(t^ Kot ofiuar only, hut detraflioni rude, .1 ' '
Quidcd by faith and mat chiefs fortitude^ 7o peace and truth thy glorious ivay haft plough* d^ ' Atid on the r.ech of crov:ncd fortune proud Jla/l rfaf V God's trophies y and his nvork purfuedy IVhile Darfvoen fir earn wjttb blood of Scots bnbrzUdy And Dtinhar field refounds thy praifcs loud, . . J'u! IFarcefers laureat <wrcatk, Tct much remains 13 To
( m8. ) [
To conquer J! ill ; pence hath her vi Tories No lefs reno'wnd than nvar y ]
Thus much of this fonnet is, I believe generally, admired as a mpft dignified, energetic, addrefs from a great poet to a MAN, not only whom he conjjdered as GREAT, but who unqueftionably was fo.
• I will beg you to compare Jofliua Syl- yefter*s verfion of
DU PARTA,SV ift SONNET,
'■TO ■
HENRY IV. OF FRANCE.
Henry ! triumphant tho' thou wort in war> Though fate and fprtitudc conf^ir'd thy glory, Though thy Icnft conili^s well defervc a flory. Though .Mars'8^fnmc by thine bo darkcn'd far. Though from thy cradle, infant conqueror, Thy martial proofs have dimm'd Alcides* praife. And though with garlands of vi6lorious bays. Thy royal temples richly crowned are^
( m' )
. Y^Xi matchlefs prince, ftought hall th?>u' wrought 's- ■ fo glorious , —
As tills unlook'd-for happy peace aclrair d, .. Whereby thyfclf art of thyfelf viiStorlous :
, . . . *• r
I much fear, my dear Sir, that I may have fatigued you by my too abundant citation, of fuppofed parallel, or in fome rcfpcfts fun'ilar, parages from Milton's Juvenilia and Sylveflcr's Du Bahtas, and other pcems. — I fubmlt them to your accurate and taftcful judgment. — rutile and irrelevant J as fome of them may ap- pear finglj confidercd, when taken aho- gethcr, I cannot but think, they go near to evince, that the author of Paradise Lost had made an early acquaintance with his predeccffor in Sacred Poetry. This might be ftrongly corroborated, and' a much larger extent of obhgation miglit be pointed out from various parts of hlo two great Poems ;
Sod NUNC non era t his locus,-
I .L I (hall
( 120 )
I fliall conclude the prcfcnt fpeculation, (which I hope j^ou will not think totally unfounded,) by endeavouring to fhcw you from the beauty and fublimity of many paflages in Sylvefter's Tranflation of Du Bartas's Weeks, that it is, in fa6l, a work very likely to have engrofled no fmall fhare of Milton's attention, and, in many places, no common degree of his young poetic admiration. Here I fhall lay before you paflages broken, as well as conne6led ; compound epithets of efFe6l ; elevated, or apparently highly-original phrafes ; — la ihort, whatever I felt^ or fancied^ was likely, in any Ihape, to have ftruck either the ear, or the imagination, of the young poetical reader. I muft apprize you, that I have, in fome few infl:ances, omitted or altered a fingle higlily obfolete or offen- iively jingling word, where it feemed to raife difguft to a paflage of otherwife fine efFedl ; and v;ith which it was not materi- ally connected . This being premifed, I proceed. In the viodern phrafe of our hodi-
ernal
( I^I )
irml Book -Makers, to prcfcnt you with
THE * ' /
BEAUTIES
• OP
SYLVESTER'S DU BARTAS.
THE
riRST DAY OF THE FIRST WEEK;
THE C H A O S.
Before all time, nil matter, form, and place, God all in all, and all in God it was: Immutable, immortal, infinite, Incomprehenfible, all fpirit *, all light,
* Sylvencr almoft always %xyes fihii as a monofyI!ablc j which Milton alio very frequently doct.
All
( i^i )
■V
A^l Ma5<iflyv all felf-omnrpotcnt/ V )(.*.i
Invifiblc, impaflivc, excellent,
pure, \vife, juft, good, God reign'd alone
Thou fcoffing Atheift! that cn^tilYed
What weighty work bh mind was buficd on Eternally, before the world begun, (Since fuch deep wifdom and omnipotence Kought'worfc befits^ than floth or negligence,) Know, Bold blafpherner, know, tliaf first he
built A HELL topunifh the prefumptuous guilt Of thofe ungodly, whole proud fenfe dares cite. And cenfure too, his wifdom infinite.
Climb they that lift the battlements of Heaven^ 'And \vith the whirl-wind of ambitioii driven, Eeyond the world's wall let thofe eagles iiy And gaze upon the Sun of Majefty.
As SOL, without -defcending from the fl;y, CroNvnsthc fair Spring with painted bravery; —
^ * It He He * ft * f: H: *
So all obedient to/?// plcafiu'c mrtgesi
Vv'ho, ALWAYS' Os'E, hij? purpoft: ucvcr changes.
■ the immortal, mighty Thunder-darter.
As
( 1*3 )
'As yet no flo\^crs with odours earth re viv*^, Ko fcaly flioals yet in the waters (liv*d -, Kor any birds, witli warmbling harmony. Were born as yet thro* the tranlparcnt iky.
The drcadfal darknr fs of the MemphitifiS ^, The fad bhick horror of Cimmerian miils. The fable fumes of Hell's Infernal vault, Or if aught darker In the world be thought, Muilled the face of that profound abyfs,
Though the great I^eader, who in dreadful awe " Upon Mount Horeb learn'd tli* eternal Law, Had not nifurd us that God's facred power In fix days built this univcrfal bower f , Reafon itfelf would overthrow the grounds Of thofe new worlds, that fond Lcuclppus founds.
Hence, vain aftrologers ! nor dare to fcek
In Heaven's black darkncfs for the fecret things
Seal'd in the calkct of the King of Kings I
• The Egyptians j called by Sylvcder more frequently T^Jemm
fhlanff Mttnf.hitetf of McmphfJIu
f Bower is ufcd by SylvcHcr commonly for manfion, or ^wcllinj place. Ttuis alfo Milton j
Then in hafte her bow ik flic IcavcJ. Allio. 87-
Then,
( iH' )
Then, then, good Lord, fhall thy dear Son dcfccnd^ In complete glory from the glift'ring (ky j Millions of Angels flir»ll about him fly ; •' " Mercy and Juflice, marching fide by fide, ♦ ^' Shall his divine triumphant chariot guide, Whofe wheels fhall iliine with light'nings round
about, Andbeamsof glory widely blazing out, • •
Thofe that were loaden with proud marble
tombs, Thofe that were fwallow'd in wild monflers"
wombs, Thofe that the fea had fwiird, thofe that thcflafiics Of ruddy flames have burned all to allies. Awaked all fliall rife, and all reveft * The flefli and bones which they at fird poflefsM. All Hiall appear, and hear, before the throne Of God, (tlie Judge without exception,) The final fcntencc, founding joy or tcrrofj^ Of everlafting happinefs or horror, '
O Father of the Light ! of wifdom fountain ! Out of the bulk of that confufed mountain f, What fhould, or what could, ilTue {ii;{i but light ? "Without it, beauty were no beauty night.
* I rather wonder Milton has not ndopfcvl a word of fuch condcnfuig eff:€l, a& tevrj?, . I believe it is uftd by Spcpfcr.
In
( 125 )
in Vnin Timanthes had his Cyclops dra^Ti,
lu vain Farrhafus counterfeited lawn.
In vain A^elhs Venus had begun, .
Zeuxis Penclcpe ', if that the fun
To make thena feen had never Hiewn his fplcnJor:
In vain, in vain, had been thofc works of wonder.
The Ephefian Temple , and high Pbarlan TVayrr,
And Carian tomh, trophies of wealth and powers
In vain had they been builded every one.
By ScopnSy Sojlrates, ?cl\^ Ctefphon^
Had a]l been wrapped up from all human fight
lu th* obfcnie - mantle of eternal ni<;ht.
No fooner faid he " Be there light/* but, lo! The formlefs lump to perfc6l form 'gan grow, ' And, all illuftred with Light*s radiant Ihinc, DofT'd mourning weeds, and dcck'd it paJUn^ fine.
All-hail pure Lamp, bright, facrcd, and ex*
celling, Sorrow and care, darknefs and dread repelling! Thou world's great taper ! wicked men's jul^
terror! Mother of truth ! true beauty's only mirror !
* J^HIton, in one pbce in his Paradise Lost, fin!i!ar!f accents obfciir* on the firft fylUtlo j but 1 believe onl/ in one place. See B. ii» iji.
G<;d's
I
( ia5 )
tJod's clxlcft dauglitcr ! O how thou atl full Of grace and gooducfs ! O how beautiful !
But yet, bccaufe all pleafures wax unpleaCint If, without paufe, wc Hill poflcfs them prefcnt. And none can right difcern the fwects of peace^ That have not felt war's crud biUernefs, The All's ArciIitect alternately decreed That night the day, and day fliould night fuccced*
The night IS ihe, that all bur travails cafeth. Buries our cares, a hd all our griefs appcafeth : The.ttight is I3i6, tliat, with her fable wing In gloomy darkncfs hufhing every thing. Through all the world dumb filence doth diflill-^ O night ! thou pulleft the proud malk away, "With which vain a6lors, in this world's great play^ By day difguife thcmfclvcs. No diilcrcnce Thou makTt between the Pcafant and the Prince, The Poor and Rich, the Prlfoncr and the Judge, The Foul and Fair, the Mafter and the Dnidge, The Fool and Wife, Barharian and the Greek j For night's black mantle covers all alike.
He, that, condemn'd for fome notorious vice. Seeks in the mine the baits of avarice. Or fwelting at the furnice lineth bright Our foul's dire fulphur, refleth yet at night. . He, that Hill ftooping tugs againft the tide The laden barge along a river's fide, _ ..- With
( 1^7 )
AVUli the tlay'i; toilfomc labour wcnry quite. Upon bis pallet rcileth yet at night. He, that, in fummcr, in cxtremcfl heat. Scorched all clay in his own fcalding fwcat. Shaves y.-jth keen fcythc the glory and deligH Of motley meadows, reftcth yet at night j And in the arms of balmy fleep foregoes All former troubles, and all former woes. Only the learned Sifters' facred minions *, While filcnt night under her fable pinions Folds all the world, with painlefs pain they trca^ A facred patlj that to the Heavens doth lead. And highei: than the Heavens their readers raifc Upon the \vh)gs of their immortal lays,
Evfi now I liflen*d for the clock to chime Hay's latcd h.our; that for a little time The night might eafe my labours : but I fee As yet Aurora has fcarce fmil'd on mc. My work ft ill grov/s; and tiow before mine eyes Heaven's glorious hoft in nimble fquadrons files.
Whether, dh day^ God made you Angels bright. Under the name of Heaven, or of the Light j Whether you, after y were In the luftaut boxix With thofe bright fpangles that ihe Hcavfn5 adorn 5
* The favourites of the Mufcs.
Or
( 1^8 )
Or* wiiethcr you derive your high dejfccrit Long time before the world and firmament^ I argue not } fincc curious fearch pcrchancd is riot fo fafe as humble ignorance. One thing is certain ; the Omnipotent ' Created you immortal, innocent.
Good, fair, and free-
But, cv'n as thofc, whom Princes' favours oft Above the red have rais*d and fet aloft. Are oft the fird, that, without caufe or reafon. Attempt rebellion, and do pra6\ifc treafon 5 Ev*n fo, fome legions of thefe lofty fj)irit8. Envying the glory of their Maker's merits, Confpir'd together, drove againfl the flrcara. To ufurp his fccpter and his diadem. But He, whofe hands do never light'nings lack Proud facrilcgious mutineers to wreck, Hurl'd them in the air, or in fome lower cell : For, where God is not, every where is Hell.
This curfcd crew, with pride and fury fraught. Of us at lead have this advantage got. That by experience they can truly tell How far it is from highed Heaven to Hell ; For by a proud leap they have ta'n tlie mcafurc. When headlong thence they tumbled in dif- plcafure* ' '
.'• / For^
( 1^9 )
For, ever fincc, agalnfl the King of Heaven The Apostate Pjiince of Da&kness AiU hath ftrivenj :
With wanton glance of beauty's burning ty
J Ik fnares hot youth in fcnfualityj
With gold's bright lullre he doth age entice
To idolize detefted avarice^
With grace of princes, Nylth their pomp and flate.
Ambitious fpirits he doth intoxicate.
-Night's black Monarch-
Nor have thefc fiends the bridle on their neck To run at randoiTi, without curb or check ; To abufe the earth, and all the world to blind. And tyrannife our body and our mind. God holds them chain'd in fetters of his power. That, without leave, one minute of an hour They cannot range. It was by his permiHion, The Ljtng Spirit train'd Ahab to perdition : Arm'd ^yitli God's facrcd pafs-port, he did try Jull, humble Job's renowned conflancy.—- — But the only Lord, fometimes to make a trial Of finneft faith, fometimes with error's vial To drench the fouls whom errors folc delight.
Lets loofe thefc Furies. -^ —
Mean time the unfpotted Spirits, who nor intend To mount too high, nor yet too low defccnd, — K With
( ^30 )
With willing fpccd thjcy every moment go '
Where'er the breath of divine grace doth blow.— For God no fooner hath his pleafure fpoken. Or bow'd his hcad> .or given fome other token,. Oralmoft thought on an, exploit, wherein . The miniflry of Angels fhall be feen, : ..
But thefe quick Polls * with ready expedition Fly to accomplifli their divine commillion.— — One follows Agar in her pilgrimage. And with fvveet comforts doth her cares affwagej Another guideth Ifiiac*s mighty hoft ; Another Jacob on th' Idumean f coaft j In Nazareth another, rapt with joy. Tells that a Virgin fliall bring forth a Boy ;— Another (pad all hope!) doth prc-avcrr The birth of John, Christ's lioly ITakbingeh j Some in the dcfcrt tcndcr'd confolation, When Jesus flrove with Satan's ftrong temp- tation ; One, in the garden, in his agonies, Cheers up his fears in that great enterprifc ; '} Another certifies his Refurre6lion Unto the women, whofe faith's imperfe6lion
« ^_ thoufands at his bidding fpccd,
And POST o'er land and ocean without reft.
Mihon's Sonnet, on his BLiNDVxsf.
f I have already noticed Sylvcftcr's habitual negtedt of quantity. Sec p. 30,
Suppos'd
( 131 )
Suppos'd his cold limbs in the grave were bound. Until the Arch- Angel's lofty trump fhould found.
Then Hczekiah, as a prudent princcf' Poifing the danger of thefe fad events, His fubjefts' thrall, his city's woful flames. His children's death, the rape of noble dames. The malTacre of infants and of eld. His royal fclf with force refiftlefs quell'd, Humbled in fnck-cloth and in afhcs, cries For aid to God, the God of Victokies *•
♦ My extra6\» from ihit firft book !inve excsedcd in quan- tity what I intended. But ! could not bring myfcif to omltji fmgle line of the Defcrij>tion of Night. The Tranfition from thence to the Creation of Angels ftmck me at poetical and VfeM managed ; and ll»e Fall of tlie rebellious Angels, together with the Miniftry of tiiofc who " ftood unlhakcn," was all too much comiciHctl with my immediate objc^, for mc to pafi them by.
K a SECOND
SECOND DAY;
Clear fonrcc of learning ! Soiil of th' univerfe ! Since thou art pleas'd tx) choofe my humble verfe
To iing thy. praifes,
Rid thou my paflage, and make clear my way From all incumbrance ! Shine upon this dat!
' a burning fever
Quickens the pulfc, — — »^ '-^—
And on the tables of our troubled brain Fantafticly with various pencil vain Doth countcrfait as many forms, or moe *, Than ever Nature, Art, or Chance could fliow^
•the AU-creator,-
As when we fee Aurora pafling gay AVith opals paint the cieling of Catliay f ,-
* More ; Vox 'Ennhnt JetculL t The eaftcrn flcy.
For
( m )
For cv*n to-morrow will tlic Lord divicle, With the right hand of his omnipotence, Thcfc yet confus'd and mingled elcracnti. And lib'rally the fliaggy earth adorn \Vitli woods, ^nd buds of ttnit, of flowcfs, and com..
Of winged clouds tlie wide inconftant houfc, Th' unfcttled kingdom of fwift Molus ;*
From Eafl to Wed, and from the Weft returning To th* honor'd cradle of the rofcal morning.
So Ihe l\ViA coachmdri, 'Vvhofe bright-fiilhittg hair Doth ev'ry day gild either hemifphere,V TvVo foflsof vapoufs by his heat exJmk^y From floating deeps and from the flow'ry ddei.
But, if the vapour bravely dares adventure Up to th* eternal feat of ihiv'ring winter, Thdfmall, thin humour by the cold is prcft Into a cloud 5 which wanders Eall and Wefl Upon the wind's wings, till in drops of J-jain It falls into it's parent's lap again : Whether fome boift'rous winds, with ftormy puff, Juftling the winds with mutual counterbuiF,
K 3 Do
( 134 )
Do break their brittle fides
Whether fomernilder gale, with fighing breath
Shaking their tent, their tears diflevercth
Above the walls of winter's icy bower,-
But heark ! what hear I in the Heavens ? Me-
thinks The world's wall fhakes, and it's foundation
ihrinks: '
Th* air flames with fire, while the loud-roaring
thunder Bards forth aniain, and rends the clouds afunder.—r The ocean boils for fear j the fifh do deena The fea too fliallow fafe to fhclter them 5 The earth doth fhake j the ihepherd in the fiel4 . In hollow rock himfelf can hardly fliield 5 Th' affrighted Heavens open -, and in the vale Qf Acheron grim Pluto's felf looks pale *. ;, , ,
■ the vulgar with affright
Behold at once three chariots of the light f ;
* I have vcntorcd on a little tranfpofition In this cxtra^. f He had, in the firft book, fimilarly charafterizcd the fun.
The suk'5 BiMOHT CHARIOT, that enUghtens all,
p.ii.
''"".•"" ' ^ ' . , . ' 'And
( ^3S )
And in the •welkin, on night's gloomy throne. Tremble to view more fhining moons than one.
By that tower-tearing ftroak, I Tindcrftand The undaunted flrcngth of the Divine right hand j When I behold the light*nings ia the ikies, Methinks I fee the Almighty's glorious eyes 5 And when in Heaven I view the rainbow bent, I hold it for a pledge and argument. That never more fliall univerfal floods Prefume to mount above the tops of v/oods. Which hoary Atlas in the clouds doth lildc. Or on the crown of Caucafus which ride. , ,
Jews ! no more Jews, no more of Abraham fons !-* Say what you thought ! what thought you, when
fo long A flaming fword over your temple hung. But that tlie Lord would, .with a mighty arm. The righteous vengeance of his wrath perform. On you and yours: and, what the plague did
leave. The infatiate gorge of famine fhould bereave ?
All cry aloud, that the Talk's fwarming hoft Should pitch his proud moons on the Gcnoan coafl.
K 4 O frantic
C 136 )
O frantic France ! i^rhydoft tholi not hiaUc uft Of wak'nlng fign«> wJb^reby the Hcavchs Induce Thee to repentancei ~Canft thou fearlefs gaze, Ev'n night by night, on that prodigious blaze> That hairy comet, that long-Urea mi ng flar *, AVhich threatens earth with famine, plague, and . •. war? ,•,•.., • ..■'," '
Th' empyreM palace, where th' eternal trcafures Of Neftar flow, where everlafling plcafures Are heaped up, and an immortal May , In blifsful beauty flourKheth for ay ) Where the great God his glorious fellion holds, Environ'd round wilh feraphims and foules -Bought with his precious blood, whofe glorious
flight ' •
Soar*d, above earth, to Heaven's bled region
bright.
I lee not why mart's reafon fhould >Vithfland, Or not believe, that he, whofe powerful hand Bay'd up the Red Sea with a double wall. That Ifrael's hofl might Tcape Egyptian thrall,
♦ The famous coriict of 1577. This marks thb time \Vh«n this book was written by Du Baitas. He was then ascd 34.
.\c- ,: Could
( hf )
Could ][JroJi ris fure fo many ^aves on high * Above the Hctlvtn's fiar-fjpanglcd canopy.
The eternal builder of this beauteous frame,—
■ inlbntly the Lord
Down to the jColiak dungeon fpccds— *-^ There muzzled clofe cloud-chacing Boreas, And let Joofe Aufler and his low'ring race ; Who foon fet forward, witli a dropping wing> Upon their beard for ev'r}' haii' a fpring ; A night of clouds mufHed their brows about, < Their wattled locks gnih ^U with rivers out. While with fierce hQnds> wringing thick clouds
afunder. They fend forth lightning, tempefl, rain, and
thunder. Brooks> lakes, and floods, rivers and foaming
torrents, Suddenly fwell ; and theijr confufed curreht!^ Lofing thtir old bounds, break a nearer '^^'ay, Rufliing fit once impetuous to the fca :
Earth Ihakcs with fear - ■■ ■
And thou thyfclf, O Heaven, did'fl fet wide ope. Through all tlie marflies in thy fpacious cope,
♦ The writers above the firmament.— From hence the poet takes occafion to conclude this book witli a defcription of the flood, as arifing from ihc conflux of i!ic upper and lower waters.
All
I
( 138 )
AH thy large flulccs, thy vafl feas to flied /^ In fuddea fpouts on thy proud (ifter's head; • Whofe aw-lefs, law-lefs, ihame-lefs life abhorr*d. Only delighted to refifl the Lord. . . . •
Th* cartli flirinks and finks ; now ocean hath no Hiore, And rivers run to fwell the fca no more j •
Thcmfelves arc fcas j th' innumerable ftreams Of fandry names, dcriv'd from fundry reahns. Make now but one great fea 5 the world itfelf Is nothing now but one great {landing gulph, Whofe fsvelling furgcs drive to mix &c.— And for mankind j imagine fomc got up * To an high mountain's over-hanging top 5 ' Some to a tower, feme to a cedar tree. Whence round about a world of deaths they fee 5 I5ut, wherefoever their pale fears afpire For hope of fafety, ocean furgeth liigher.
Safely, meantime, the facrtd Jhij> did float On the proud fhoulders of that boundlefs moat ; Though raafl-lefs, oar-lefs, and from harbour far, gccurej for God her flccrfman was and liar.
THE
( ^39: ),
THE THIRD DAY;
THE SEA AND EARTH.
O KINO of grafly and of gla fly plains! .
Whofe powerful breath, at tliy dread will, con- drains
The deep foundations of the Hills to fiiake.
And Sea's fait billows Heaven's high vault to rake -,
I the All-Monarch's bounteous Majed/ Commanded Neptune flraight to marflial forth •Jiis floods apart, and to unfold the earth jf—
On one fide hills Iioar'd with eternal fnows,-*
Never mine eyes in pleafant fpring behold The azure flax, the guildcd marigold, •The violcfs puq)le, the fweet rofe's flammel. The lily's fnow, the panfy's bright enamel ; But that in them the Painter I admire, V/ho in more colour? doth the flclds attire.
Than
C 4e>^ )
Than fair Aurora's rofy cheeks difplay. When in the eaft fhe ufhers a fair day.
The Almighty voice, which built this mighty
• ball, - '• Still, dill rebounds and echoes over all j— —
Within the deep folds of her fruitful lap.
So boundlefs mines of treafure earth doth wrap.
That th* hlitlgty hflhds bt htimdtl avjlflce
Cahnot exhatrft \Vith labour bt devicfe. •
For they be more than there be ftur^ Iti fefcaven.
Or (lormy blllfr^d in the beeart driven.
Or tiarfes of cbrh iti Autufrtrt in the field*.
Or favage beads upon a thoufahd hills.
Or fifhes diving in the filvcr floods,
Ot fcatter'd leavei in winter in the wocids,-
All hail, fail- Earth ! ht^ttt bf toWh^ and tbvftHl Fair, firm, and fruitful, various, patient, fweet ! Sumptuoully cloathed in a mantle meet Of mingled colours, lac'd about with floods. And all-embroider'd with frclh-blooming buds !
The chearful birds, chirjMng hira fwfeet gobd-
morro\Vs,
With Nature's mufic do begiiile his forrbws.
Teaching the fragrant forcfts> day by day, '
Th6 Jiapafon of their heavenly lay.
• The
TJic ftref^^i's pild murmur^ a« it gently gufbc^^ His healthy limbs in qviet A^nibcr hyifhes.
-. .-■■.■■," tlicn he ftlj-s betiipc,
To walk the roquntaiinj, or the flow*r>' mr^iU V Impearl'd with tears, that fwcet Aurora fixeds#
't^riff^vvm?
THE FOURTH PAT;
THE HEAVENS, SUN, MOON, Sec,
But, if conjcdurc may extend above
To that great orb, whofc moving all doth move >-
' Heaven's azure coafts,-
» bright Apollo's glory beaming car.
I not believe, that the Arch- Archltc^, With all thefe fires the heavenly arches deck'd, Onely for iliew j and with thefe glittVing {hields, To amaze poor fliepherds watching iji the fields, I not believe, that the lead fiower which pranks Our garden borders, or our common banks.
And
( i4i )
And the leaft (lone^ that in her wanning lap Our mother earth doth covetoufly wrap, '
Hath fomc peculiar virtue of its own ; And that the glorious liars of Heaven have none.
i from Hell
Alc6lo loofes all her furies fell 5
Grim, lean-fac d Famine, foul infe6lious Plague,
Blood-thirlly War, andTreafon, hateful hag.
— rwith cloudy horror of their wrathful frown, Thrcat'ning again tlie guilty world to drown ^-
Not that, as Stoick, I intend to tye. With iron chains of ftrong neceflity. The Eternal's hands.
Life of the world ! Lamp of the univerfc ! Heaven's richell Gem ! O teach mc how my verfe
May beft begin thy praife I
To fing how rifing from the Indian wave' Thou fccm'fl, O Titan, like a bridegroom brave. Who from his chamber early iflUing out, In rich array with rareft gems about,
Widi
( U3 )
With pleafant countenance and \txe\y flicc. With golden trcfles, and attradivc grace. Cheers at his corning all the youthful throng, Tl^at for his i>rcfcnce carncftly did lonj;, BlcHlng the day, and, with delightful glcc, . Siiiging aloud his Epitbalamy,
Thou, glorious cliampion, in thy heavenly race, Kunneil fo fwift, wc fcarcc conceive thy pacej Nor comprehend, how fitly thou doTi guide Through the fourth Heaven tliy flaniiug courfcrs* pride.
• the fun's proud-trampling team,—
■ the moon's pale courfers—
• the fwarthy Moors,
That fweating toil on Guinea's wealthy niorcs;—
» forcHs, glo<;my black,
Wondcr'd to fee their mighty fliades go back.
THE
■ ( '44 ).
THE riFTH PAY; ; : ^■^ THE FISHES AND FOWLES.
LjitoNiJif lamps, Gondu6ling diverfe wap. About the world, fucceffivc nights and days ! Parents of winged time ! O haftc your cars. And, paffing fwiftly the oppofed bars Of Eaft and Weft, with your returning ray Th* imperfedt world make older by a day.
• the liquid maqfion of Hyperion—
And thou, Eternal Father, at whofe wink The wrathful ocean's fwelllng pride doth fink. And ftubborn ftorms of bellowing wind arc dumb. Their wide mouths ftopp*d, and their wild pi^ nions numb ! . . *
Great Sov'reisrn of the feas ! — —
When on the furges I perceive from far The Ore, Whale, Whirlpool, or huge Phyfcter, Methinks I fee the wandering ifle again, Ortygian Delos, floating on the main >
And.
( I M5 . ) ;
And, M'hen in combat Uicfe fcU monftcrs crol^, Mefeenis fo^^Qtempcfl all the fe^ doth tofb.
And you, ye Fifties, who for rtcrcatjoti, ...' ~ Or for your fecd'8 fecurer propagation,. ,
At times do change your ordinary dwelling. Say, what Chaldeoia, learn'd in fortune-telling. Or Hcdvcu-taught prophet, your fit. time doth flicw r . *
What herald's trumpet, fomiaons you to go ?
— the pride of Greece, Tha't faird to Colclios for the golden fleece ;
No more than doUi the oak, which in the wood Unmov'd hath thoufaixl tcmpcfts* rage withflood. Spreading as many mally roots below. As mighty arms above the ground do grow.
O thou, Almighty! who, mankind to wreck. Of thoufand fcas oncfca didll whilom make. And yet didft fave from th* univerfiil doom One facrcd houfliold, that in time to come. From age to age, ihould fing thy glorious praifc ! Look down, O Lord, from thy fupernal rays 3 Look down, ahis ! upon a wretched man, llalf-tomb'd already in the ocean ! ^ -^ t' I Irrcwith '
( 146 )^
Hcrtwith the fcas their roaring tagc refiraln/ And ilraight the cloudy welkin clears again j -
-^Gold, the dire bane of our fcduced foul.— O odious poifon ! for the which we dive To Pluto's dark den 5 for the which wc rive •
Our mother earth 5— —
For which, beyond rich Taproban, we roll Through thoufand feas, to feck another pole !
• care-charming llcep.
There the fair Peacock, beautifully brave. Wheeling his ftarry train, in pomp difplays His glorious eyes to Phoebus* golden rays.
■ not far from thence
Where love-blind //irroV haplefs diligence, ' Inilead of Love's lamp,lighted Death's cold brand> To waft Lcanders naked limbs to land. / • *
Confuming fever wanly did difplace The rofc-niix*d lilies in her lovely face^
• A
tHE
( H7 )
THE SIXTH DAY;
THE BEASTS AND MAN.
' __ to anchor in the port, • •' Where Death's pale horrors never do refort.
Almighty Father ! guide their Guide along ! And jiour upon my faint unfluent tongue The Aveeteft honey of th' Hyajtthian fount. Which freflily purleth from the Mufcs* mount !
My blood congeals, my rudden-fwelling breaft Can hardly breathe, with chilling cold opprell ; My hair doth dare, my bones for fear do fliakc ; My colour changes, my fad heart doth quake ^ And round about Death's image, ghaflly grim. Before my eyes already fccms to fwim.
Before that Adam did revolt from thee. And railily taftcd the forbidden tree. He lived King of Eden, and his brow Was never blank*d with pallid fear as now ;
L 3 But
:( »48 )
But ficrccft beads would, at his word or bcck^ Bow to bis yoak their felf-obedient neck.
In deeped perils Wifdom fhineth prime ; Through thoufand deaths true Valour fceks ta
climb. Well-knowing, Conqucft yields but little honour. If bloody Danger do not wait upon her.
—— to the firmament Raife the proud turrets of his battlement j—
■ the fuprcmc> peerlefs, Archited,—
Admir*d Artift, Archite6t divine,
Perfe6t and peerlefs, in all works of thine !
By thee we flop the flubborn mutinies Of our rebellious fledi, whofe reftlefs treafon Strives to dif-throne, and to dif-fceptre rcafon. By thee our fouls with Heaven have converfation> By thee we calm th* Almighty's indignation. When faithful fighs from our fouls* centre fly Up to the bright thro;ie of his Majedy*
Since fird the J^jrd the world's foundations laidj Since Phcebus, fird ))is ^olcjc^i Jocks difplay'd,
And
( U9 )
And hi3 pale Sifter from his beaming light Borrowed Iier fplendour to adotn the night.
who guided with thy hnnd
The Day's bright chariot, and the Nightly brand !
• from thence
He took a rib, wliich rarely he refin d.
And thereof made the mother of mankind ;
Graving fo lively on the living bone
All Adam's beauties, that, but Iiardly, one
Could have the lover from his love defcried.
Or known tlie bridegroom from his gentle bride j
Saving that flie had a nyjre fmiling eye,
A fmoothcr chin, a cheek of purer dye,
A fainter voice, a more enticing face,
A deeper trcfs, a more delighting g.*ace.
O bleffcd bond ! O happy marriage * ! 'Twixt Chrift and us which union c'.oth prefagc ! • O chafteft Friendfliip, whofe pure llames impart Two fouls in one, two hearts within one heart !
* I am aware of ibe <Ji fad vantage, under which this addrefs to chaftc connubial love vrill be rc^d by thofc, to whofe recollec- tion cannot but recur Milion't
Hail wedded love, ^c. Uc, Pai. Lost, IV. 750. They will be pleafcd, however, to fee how a Virgil ha$im« proved and decorated the primary thought of an Ennjus.
I. 5 O holy
((150 ),
O holy knot, in Eden indituted,
Not in this earth with blood and wrong polluted !
O facrcd covenant, which the finlefs Son
Of tlie blefl Virgin, when he firfl begun
To publifli proofs of his dread power divine.
By turning water into perfed wine.
At leflcr Cana^ in a wondrous manner.
Did with his prcfence fandify and honour !
By thy dear favour *, after okvc deccafe. We leave behind oiir living images ; Change war to peacC) in kindred multiply. And in our children live eternally.— Por now the Lord commands the happy pair * With chafle embraces to repleniili fair, Th' unpeopled earth ; that, while the world en- dures. Here might fucceed their living portraitures,
^ ♦ Through the dear might of him who wa1k*U the wave5,~ Lycidas, ^73.
THE
( 151 ) THE SEVENTH DAY;
'th;E SABBATH, .! \.
L/NE while he fees, how th' ample fca doth tafce The liquid hommage of each otiier lake *.
Not that I mean to feign an idle God, That lulks f in Heaven, nor ever looks abroad j Blind to our fervice, deaf unto .our fighes. That crowns not virtue, and correds not vices '•
* A pagan idol, voidof power and pity, A fleeping dormoufe, a dead Deity.
For, though alas ! fometimes I cannot fhun - But fome profane thoughts in my mind will run, I never think on God, but I conceive "(Whence cordial comfort Chriftian fouls receive)
* As t (hall have to exli'ibU in thi$ book fomc tolerably con- ncAcU paffagcs icfpcfting the Power naU Providence of the Dc» i^y, I Ihould not have iniroduceJ this alune cooplct, but that the harmony and beautiful tffc6t of the fccond line peculiarly ftruck xne. What follows, in this book, is rather marked ty a mt-
<enUut flainnefu > ' • .^
f To lufiy is /o h€ inddtnt^ Ougiijh*
L 4 In
{< 15^' )
In him care, council, jiifticc, mercy, might. To punilh wrongs and patronifc the right.
God is not fitting in regnrdlefs (late,— Content to have made, by his great word, to move So many radiant ftars as Ihinc above, And on each thing, with his own hand, to draw The (tiered text of an eternal law j Then, bofoming his hand, lo let them Aide, 'With reins at will, where'er that law may guide,
God is the foul, the life, tlic ftrength, the fmew, That quickens, rnove«, and makes tliis frame con-
tinuo : :
God*s the main fpring, that maketh every way, . All the fraall wheels of this great engine play : God's the flrong Mas, wjiofe unftirinking jdioul-
ders Hav^ been, and ftill are, Heaven's huge glol:)e5* . . uphpMerSf ..; . < . ' . • .;;
T^isjxigh behefl Heaven's courfc doth never bi;cak ; The floating water waiteth at his beck ;
, ' • • • ,
. The eartli is his > and there is nothing found, • In all thefc kingdoms, but is mov'd each hour . With fecrct. touch of his eternal power.
God is tlie Judge, who keeps continual feflions Jn every place, to punifh all tranfgrenions j— -
Himlelf
i 153- )
Himfolf \s Judge, Jury, * and Wltnefs fco, Well-knowing what we all think, fpeak, or do j He rounds the deeped of the double heart> Searcheth the reins, and fifteth cvVy part j He fees all fecrcts, and liis Lynx-like eye. Ere it be thought, doth cv*ry thought dcfcry.
Howc*cr it fecnistliat human tliingji oft (lido Unbrldcdly with fo uncerurin tide, That, in llie ocean of event!* fo many, The HANDOpGonis fcarccly fecn of any j Who ratlicr deem that giddy Fortune guidcth All that beneath the filver moon betideth 5 Yet art thou ever juft, O God, tho' I Cannot always thy judgments' depth defcry. Unable to pervade the great defign Of thy dread councils, facred and divine* O how it grieves mc ! how am I amazed. That they, whofe faith, like glift'ring ftars, hath
blaz*d Ev*n in the darked niglit, fhould ftlll object, Againfl a do(5lrine of lo fwcet clfccl, That *'Oft, alas ! witli weeping eyes they fee Th' migodly man in mofl profpcrity, Cloatlicd in puq)lc, crown'dwitli diadems. Swaying bright fceptres, hoarding gold and gcms^ Crouch'd to, and courted, with all kind affection. As privilcdg'd by Heaven's divine protc£lion."
Know
Know th^n tliat God, (to th* end he be not ' ; thought ' .
A po>ver-kfs Judge,) here icourgeth many a
.fault; And many a crime here leaves unpunifhed, • i That guilty man may his laft judgment dread. ■'• Juftly \\c credit that God's hand composed An in fix days; and that he then rcpos'd. By his example giving us bchcft. On tijc sjUviiNTH DAY for evermore to red. • '
Now tlie chief end this precept aims at is. To quench in us the flames of covetize * ; Tliat, while we reft from all prophaner arts, God'$ fpirit may work in our retiring hearts, That, treading down all earthly cogitations, . Our thoughts may mount to heavenly meditations.
; ' For, by th* Almighty, tliis great holy day Was not ordaln'd to dance, to malk, and play ; To flng in flotli, and languifli in delights, 'And loofe the reins to raging appetites ; To j:urn God's feafls to filthy Lupercals, To frantic Oi'gics, and fond Saturnals ; To dazzle eyes witli Pride's vain-glorious fj)len- dour,^~-
■ L* CcVctoufncf5, LuH, Cuphh* , , ,
. ■:''■■ ' As
*A« th* irrcligion of loofe times hath fince Chang'd the prime church's chafler innocence.
. He would this Sabbath fliould a figure be Of the blcfl Sabbath of Eternity. The one, as legal, heeds but outward things j The other reft to foul and body bring* 5 The one a day endures ; the ollicr's fate Eternity fhall not exterminate ; Shadows the one, th* other dolli trutli include; 7'his (lands in freedom, that in fervitu'Ic ; •With cloudy cares one's m.ufTlcd up fomcwiiiles. The other's face is wrapp'd in pleafing fmllcs.— 'Tis the grand Jubilee, tlie Fcnft of Feads, Sabbath of Sabbaths, endlcfs Reft of Rcfts ; Which, with our Prophets, and Apoftlcj zealcnss. The conftant Martyrs, and our Chridlan fellows; God's faitliful fervant»;, and his chofen (heep. Ere long we hope in Heaven s bleft realms to kcqp.
Scc'ft thou thofe Stars we wrongly v/and* ring call ? Tho' diverfc ways they dance about this ball. Yet evermore t^icir manyfold career Follows the courfc of the firft -moving fphcrc: This teachcth tlicc, tliat, though thine own dcfircs Be oppofitc to what Heaven's will requires. Thou- dill niufl llrlvc to A)llow, nil thy days, God, tlic riRfcT MOVER, in Ilis holy ways.
Tie
( ii6 ).
The Moon, whofe fplcndonr from her Brother
fprings, ^laj by example bid thee vail thy wings * ; For thou, no lefs than the pale Qaccn of Nigfits, Borrow'fl al] goodnefs from the Pkince of
Lights.
The Sea, which fomctimes down to Hell is driven. And fometimcs heaves a frothy mount to Heaven, Yet never breaks the bounds of htr precinff. Wherein the Lord her boiftVous arms hath link'd, Inflnifteth thee, that neither tyrant's rage. Ambition's winds, nor golden valTalage Of Avarice, nor any love or fear. From God*s commands fhould make thee fhrink a hair.
Nor IS there aught in our dear niother found. But pithily fome virtue doth propound. O let the noble, rich, wife, valiant. Become as bafe, poor, f^iint, and ignorant ? Olet them Icam, (the fields when Autumn iliears,) Humility among the bearded earcs -, Which fiill, the fuller of the fiowVy grain. Bend down tlie more their humble heads again ;
♦ Mumble ibyfclf ; lower ihy fllsht.
N And
(' 157 )
And ay, U\9 llgbtcr and the Icfs their dorc. They lift.aJoft their chafly crells the more.
Canft tliou the fccret fyropathy behold Betwixt the bright Sun and tlic Marj'gold, And not confidcr, that we mull no leis Follow in life the Sun of Righteousness ?
As Iron, toucli'd by th* Adamant's efi'e^l, • To the North pole doth ever point dire6V, So tiie Soul, touched once by the fecret pow^r Of a true lively faitli, looks evVy hour To the bright Lamp, which ferves for Cynofure I'o all that fail upon Life's fca obfcurc.
The ifl: DAY of the ad WE^JiK; ADAM.
fART THE virst; EDEN.
c
Grant me the (lory of thy Church to fmg. And gclls of Kings 5 the total let mc bring . * :i
From
( ^58 )
From thy firfl Sabbath to man's fatal tomb. My ftilc extending to the day of doom.
Ye Pagan poets, who audacionily ■' '■
Have fought to dark the ever memory
Of God's great works ! from henceforth dill be
dumb Your fabled praifes of Elyfium*, Which by this goodly model you have wrought. Through deaf tradition that your Fathers taught ; For the Almighty made his blifsful bowers Better, indeed, than you have feigned yours.
The all-clafping Hcavens,-
•p- the cryflal of fmooth-fliding floods.
Yet, oycr-curious, quedion not the fitc, Where God did plant this garden of delight; Whether beneath the equino6ViaI line. Or on a mountain near Latona*s iliinc. Nigh Babylon, or in the radiant Eafl ; Humbly content tliee, that thou know'fl at lead. That that rare plenteous, pleafant, happy thing, p Whereof tlf Almighty made our grandfire King, Was a choice foil, thro* which did roaring Hide Swift Gilion, Piflion, and rich Tigris* tide.
With
With that fair flream, whofc filvcr waves do Ws Tlic monarch towers of proud Semiramis. ■
' tlie thunder-dartcr-
Nor tWnk that Mofes paints, fan taftlc- wife,
A myftic talc of feigned Paradifc, —
Ideal Adam's food fantaflical.
His fm fuppos'd, his pain poetical :
Such allegories fervc for flicker fit
To curious ideots of erroneous wit. '•'
Time, whofe flippery wlicel dolh plaj
In Imman caufcs with incondant fway.
No, noneof tliefe; tliefe arc but forgcric?. Mere toycs and tales and dreams, deceit and li<^; But thou art true, altho' our fliallow fenfc May honour more, than found tlilne excellence.
Mankind was then a tlioufand fold more wife Than now 5 blind error Irad not blear d his eyes With m'.f^sj
- Heaven-prompted Prophcts-
Now Heaven's eternal, all-forefeeing, King—
vet
«*-r-yet is it much admir'd Of rarcl^ me^ij and ftines among them bright, Like glift'ring liars thro* gloomy lliades of night.
When the Sours eye beholds God's countenance j As when St. Paul on his dear Mafter's wings Was rapt alive up to eternal things, And he, that Avhilora, for the chofeu flock. Made walls of waters, waters of a rock.^
— Heaven s great Archite6l-— — »- Glorioufly compafs*d with the blefled legions, !rhat reign above the azure fpangled regions.
Take all the refl, I bid thee ; but I vow By th* un-nam*d name, whereto all knees do bow. And by the keen darts of my kindled ire, More fiercely burning than confuming fire. That, of the Fruit of Knowledge if thou fecxl. Death, dreadful Death, Hiall plague thee and thy feed.
Or caft me headlong from fome mountain ftecp Down to tlie whirling bottom of tlic deep.
And, yet not trending Sin's falfe mazy mcafure;;, Sails on fmooth fiirgcs of a fca of pleafures.
By
( »6i )
By fome clear river's lily -paved fide,
Whofe fand*s pure gold, whofe pebbles pretious
gems. And liquid filver all the curling ftreams 3—
Then up and down a forefl thick he paceth ; Which, felfly op'ning in his prefence, *bafeth Her trembling trefTes* never-fading fpring. In humble, homage to her mighty King,
But feed thou not, my Mufc, thou trcad'ft the
fariie ■ Too curious path thou dofl in others blame ? And flriv'fl in vain to paint this work of choice; The which no human fpirit, hand, nor voice. Can once conceive, lefs pourtray, lead exprefs. All overwhelmed in gulphs fo bottomlefs ?
If the fly malice of the ferpent hated, Caufing tlieir fall, had not delird their kin. And unborn feed, with leprofy of fin.
So the world's foul fliould in our foul infpirc Th* eternal force of an eternal fire.
• Man*s proud apollacy 5—
M PART
(( I?*; )l
PART THE SECOND;
THE IMPOSTURE;
O WHO fliall lend me light and nimble wings —
That in a moment, bbldly-daring, I *
From Heaven to Hell> from Hell to Heaven may
fly?— What fpell fhall charm the attentive Readet*s
fenfe ? What fouSt jihall fill my voice with eloquence ?
Ah ! thou, my God, cv'n. thou, my foul re- fining • . In holy Faith's pure furnace clearly fliining, ^ Shalt make my hap far to furmount my hope, Inftrudt my fpirit, and give my tongue free fcope: Thou bounteous in my bold attempts fiialt grace
mc. And in the rank of holicfl poets place me 5 And frankly grant, tliat, foaring through the (ky. Upborne on Eaglfe's pennons, I may Ay.—
,: • While
( i63 ) '
While Adam bathes in thefe felicities, Hell's Prince, fly parent of revolt and lies. Feels a peftiferous bufy fwarming neft Of never-dying dragons in his breaft y ■ ■■■ While, above all, hate, pride, and envious
SPITE,
With ceafelefs tortures vex him dny and night. The /latt! he bears to God, who hath him driven Juftly for ever from the glittering Heaven, To dwell in darknefs of a fulphry cloud: — l^liQ. proud firjire to have in his fubjc(5lion Mankind cnchain'd in gywQ^ of fin's infcftipn: The envious heart-break to behold yet fl\inc In Adam's face God's image all divine.
Which he had loft :
Thefe barb'roiis tyrants of his treach'rpus will Spur on his courfc, his rage redoubling ftiU. •
The dragon, then, man's fortrefs to furprifc^ Follows fomc Captain's martial policies j Who, ere too near an adverfe place he pitcli. The fituatlon marks, and founds the ditch; With his eye's lev(5:l the fteep wall he metes. Surveys tlie flank, his camp in order fets 5 And then approaching batters fierce the fide. Which Art and Nature lead have fortified : So this old foldicr, having marked rife The firfl-born pair's yet danger-dreadlcfs life,
M 2 Mounting
((1^4 ):
Mounting his cJanhoris, cunningly aflaults ':■' The part he finds in evident defaults. Namely, poor woraan, wavVing, weak, unwifc. Light, credulous, ■ ■ '
" Eve, fecond honour of this univerfe ! Is 't true, I pray, a jealous God pcrverfc Stri^ly forbids to you and all your race AU the fair fruits thcfc filvcr brooks embrace. To you bequeathed, and by you polleft, Day after day, by your own labour drcft ?'*
With breath of thefc fwcct words the wily
fnake A polfon'd air infpired, as he fpake. In Eve's frail brcaH; who thus replies:— '^O
know (Whoe'er thou art, but thy kind care doth fhcw A gentle friend,) that all the fruits and flowers This garden yields are in our hands and powers. Except alone that goodly tree divine. Which in the midH of this green ground doth
fliine 5 The all-good God (alas ! I wot not why) Forbad us touch that tree, on pain to die." —She ceasM -, already brooding in her heart A growing wifh, that fliall her weal, fubvert.
As a falfe lover, that thick fnarcs hath laid T* entrap the honour of a fair young maid.
If
( 1^5 )
If fhe (though little) 11 (l*ning car affords' ''^
To his fwect, courting, dccp-affe^^cd wordi, ■ >
Feels fome alTwaging of his ardent flame.
And foothes himfelf with hopes to win his game 5
While, rapt with joy, he on this point pcrfids,
''That parleying city never longrefifts :"'
Kv'n fo the fcrpcnt
Perceiving Eve his flattVing glozc digcft.
He profccutes, and jocund doth not reft — —
''No, Fair,*' quoth he, " believe hot, that the
care, God hath from fpoiling death mankind to fparc. Makes him forbid you, on fuch ftridt condition. This purcd, faircft, rareft fruit's fruition !— A double fear, an envy and a hate. His jealous heart for ever cruciate ! Since the fufpe6lcd virtue of this tree Shall foon difperfc the cloud of idiocy, ' That dims your eyes j and, further, make you
fccm, Excelling us, Gods equal ev'n to him. O world's rare glory! reach thy happy
hand ! Reach, reach, I fay ; why dod thou (lop or
fland ? , .. . .
Begin thy blils, and do not fear the threat Of an uncertain God-head, only great •
M 3 Throtigh
( 1^ )
Through fc)f-aw*d zeal : put on the gltil'rlng pall OfimiDortality<<'. .i
. , ^^ A novice thief, who in a clofct fpies AhcapofgolcUhatonatablelies, . , < ;• Fearful, And trembling, twice or thrice extends. And twice or thrice retires, his iingersVends j
And yet again returns, the booty takes 3
Ev'n fo dotli E've (liew, by like fearful fafliions. The doubtful combat of contending paflionsj
', She would,, ilie fliould not> fad, jglad, comes,
and goes; — >
, JButi ah:! at laft fhe railily touchetli it; ; • »
And, having touch'd, tafles tlie forbidden bit.
Then, as a man, that from a lofty clift, ., Or fteepy mountain, dotli defcend too fwift, . If chance he Humble, catches at^ii limb Of feme dear klnfman walking next to him. And falling headlong, drags along his friend To an untimely, fad, and fuddcn end;
* I Ihink the taftcful xcaJcr may be ftruck with this fine con- clnfion of Ihc cxtr.idl, which I have here given from the temp* tcr's fpccch. VVere I not fiifpicious of a little editorial partiality, I fhou!J apprctiare It as a genuine poctictl cxpreffion of the fineft cfftfft, and worthy of any age of poefy.
Indeed the whole of the fpeccli is wclUimagined, and finely
condciifcd. It muft be admitted that Milton has obligations to ir.
. T Our
( 16; )
Our mother, fullinj^, hnles her fpoufcanoii Down to tlic gulph of pitchy Acheron : For to the wlOi'd fruits beautiful af][>eft. Its nectar taflc, and wonderful effect. Cunningly adding lier fwect-fmlling glances, Pcrfuafivc fpcech, and cliarmlng countenances. She fo prevails, that her blind Lord at lad A morlcl of the fatal fruit doth taftc.
Now fuddcnly wide open feel they might, Seal'.d for their good, their mind and body's fight -, 'But tlic fad foul hath loll: the charadler. And facrcd image tliat did honour her : The wretched body, full of fliarae and forrow. To cloath it's nakednefs is forc'd to borrow The tree's broad leaves, whereof they aprons
frame. From Heaven's fair eye to hide their filthy fhame. Alas, fond deathlings ! Think you, filly fouls. The fight, whicli fwiftly through Earth's folid
centres, As through a cryfial globe tranfparent, enters. Cannot tranfpiercc your leaves ? Or do you ween, Cov'ri ng your (liame, fo to conceal your fin ? Or that, a part thus clouded, all might lie Safe from the fcarcli of Heaven's all-fceing eye?—
As yc^ man's troubled dull intelligence Had of his fault but a confufcd fcnfe ;—
>t 4 When
( 168 )
When now the Lord, within the garden fair Moving betimes a fupernatural air. Which nnddfl tlie trees pafTing with breath divine . Brings of his prcfence the undoubted fjgn, •
Awakes their lethargy ■ —
Now more and more making their pride to fear • The frowning vifage of their Judge fevere. While, for new refuge in more fecret harbors. They feck the dark iliade of Ihefe tufting arbors.
". Adam !" quoth God with thund'ring majefty, " Where art thou, wretch ? What do'fl tliou ?—
Anfwer me. Thy God and Fatlicr j from whofe hand thy health Thou hold'll, tJiine honour and abundant wealth."
At this fad fummons, woful man refembles The bearded rulh, that in the river trembles : His rofy cheeks are chang'd to eartliy hue ; His fainting body drops with icy dew 5 His tear-drown*d eyes a night of clouds bedims; About his ears a buzzing horror fwlms; His tott'ring knees with fecblenefs arc humble; Hiis fault*ring feet beneath him filde and (Iam- bic ,- He hath no more his free bold fiatcly port. But downcalt looks, in fearful flavl/li fort. Now nought of Adam doth in Adam rcfl j He feels his fd-uics paln'd, his foul opprcAj
A con-
( 169 )
A confus'd hod of violent paflions jar j His flelh and fpirlt lire in continual war; No more, through confciencc of his fatal error. He hears or fees th' Almighty, but with terror j And anfwcrs loth, as with a tongue diftraught, ConfcHing thus his fear, but not his fault,
'^ O Lord, thy voice, thy dreadful voice hath made Me fearful hide roe in this covert fhadc ; For, naked as I ara, O Lord of might, J dare not come before tliinc awful fight/'
'* Naked ?'* quoth God, " O faithlefs rcnc*
gate ! Apoftatc pagan! who hath told thee that ? Whence fprings thy iliaaie ? What makes thee
thus to run From ll)ade to ihade, my prefence ftill to fliun ? Haft thou not tailed of that facrcd tree. Whereof, on pain of death, I warned thee ?"
" O righteous God !" quotli AJam, '* I am free From this offence. The wife thou gaveft nic. For my companion and my comforter. She made me eat tliat deadly meat with her."
''And thou/' quoth Gud, '" O thou faJfc treach'rous bride ! W!)y with thyfclf haft thou f;duc*d thy guide r";
" Lord !'•
<\i70' );
" Lord !*' anfwcrs Eve, '* the fcrpent did entice
My fimplc frailty to this fmful vi^e/* < . r
Hereon, tjie Almighty with jufl indignation Pronouucetli tlivu their dreadful condemnation. " Tliou curfed ferpent ! fountain of all ill ! Thou fhalt be hateful 'mongfl all creatures dill. jGrovling in dujft, of dull tliou ay Hialt feed ; I *11 kindle war between the woman's feed And thy fell race ; her*s on the head lliall ding Thine j thine again her's in tlic heel ihall (ling.
*f Rebel to me ! and to thy kindred curft ? Falfc to thy hulband ! to.thyfclf the word ! Hope not thy fruit fo eafily (o bring forth As now thou flay'il it. ' Hencefortli every birth Shall torture thee ■ »
'* And thou,difloyal, which haflhearken'd more To a wanton fondling than my facred lore ! Henceforth the fweat fliall bubble on thy brow. Thy hands ihall bhfter, and thy back iliall bow j •Henceforth the earth Ihall i'eel in her th' effect Of the doom thunder'd *gainfl thy foul dcfc6l ; In dead of fweet fruits, which die fc)dy yields Sccd-lefs and art-lefs over all thy fields, Witli, thorns and burs Ihall briftlc up Iut bread ; -Kor henceforth ihalt thou tade the fwcets of red. Till ruthlefs Death, by his extreme d pain. Thy dud-born body turn to dud iigain." ■ . .. '' Hence !'•
^ ^7^. )
*' Hence," quoth the Lord, " hence, hence, accurfcd race. Out of my garden ! Quick avoid tlie pb^^ ; Tills beauteous place, pride of this "univcrfc, A houfe unwortliy mafters To peryerfe."
Imagine now the bitter agonies And lukc-warm ri\"crs guihing down the c\t$ Of our firfi: parents out of Eden driven. Of pardon hopelefs, by the hand of Heaven j '^ While the Almighty fet before the door Of th' holy park a feraphim that bore A wjrving fword tremendous, Ihlning bright, ! Like flaming comet in the midii of night *.
♦ The fclc^lions from this book arc, in general, made not fo much for their pocitcjd merit, ^5 to fticw Dm Bartis's mirjier of tlefcrjbing the TiMPTATiov and FALL.
Paffbges more pociical mi^ht have bcco produce*!.
PART
( n^ )
PART THE THIRD;
* " THE FURIES. '
This fca I fall, tliis troubled air I fip, " ' Arc notthe firft week's glorious workmanfliip^ This wretched round is not the goodly globe Th' eternal trimm'd with fuch a various robc} 'Tis but a dungeon and a dreadful cave, '
Of that firfl world the miferablc grave.
. Now mortal Adam, monarch here beneatli. Erring draws all into the paths of death > '< •
And on rough fens, as a blind pilot rafh, Againft the rock of Heav*n\s juft wrath doth dafh The world's great veflell, failing erft at cafe. With gentle gales, fccure on quiet fcas.— *" Before his fall, which v/ay foever roli'd. His wo^'ring eyes God ev'ry v/here behold ; In Heaven, in Earth, in Ocean, and in Air, He fees, and feels, and finds him every where, ijiut, (ince his fin, the woful wretch finds none—
INIountaiH
(173 )
Mountain or valley, fea-gatc, fhore; or haven, But beai*s his Death's doom openly ingravcn 5 In brief, the whole fcope this round centre hath. Is now a ftore-Iioufe of Heaven's righteous wrath. Rebellious Adam, from his God revolting. Finds his once-fubjcfts *gain(l himfclf infulting; The troubled fea, the air with tempefts driven, Thorn-bri filed earth, a fad and lowering Heavea,
The greedy ocean, breaking wonted bounds, Ufurps his hcards, his wealthy ifles and towns*
Once happy we did rule the fcaly legions, That dumbly dwell in water s frorray regions 5 The feathcr'd fongders, and the (lubborn droves. That haunt the defarts and the fhady groves;
But now, alas!, through our iirft parent's fall. They of our llaves are grown our tyrants all. Sail we the fea ? The dread Leviathan Turns upfi de-down the boiling ocean. And, on a fudden, fadly doth entomb Our floating caftle in deep Thetis' womb. Go we by land ? How many loathfome fwarms Of fpeckled polfons, with pefliferous arras, hi every corner arabuih'd clofely lurk. With fecret bands our fudden bane to work! Befides the Lion and the Leopard, Boar^ Bcare, and Wolfe, to death purfuc us hard ;
And,
({174 )^
Apd, jealous vcrigcrs of the wrongs dmne, ' In pieces tear their Sov'rcign*s finful line.
• What hideous fight ! what horror-boding (hrnvs! Alas ! what yells ! what howls ! what thund'rlng
• throws !
"What fpells have charm'd you from your dread- ful den Of darkeft Hell, monfters abhorred of men ? O Night's black daughters ! grim-fac'd Furies fad! Stern Pluto's pods ! what brings you here fo mad? O feels not man a world of woful terrors, Befides your goaring wounds and ghaftly horrors? Sofoon as God from Eden Adam dravc To live in this earth, (rather in the grave, Where reign a thoufand deaths,) he fummorl'd up.
With thund'ring call, the damned crew, thatfup
Of fulphry Styx, and fiery Phlegethon,
Bloody Cocytus, muddy Acheron.
Come fnake-trefs'd fyfters ! come ye difmal elves !
Ceafe now to curfe and cruciate yourfelves !
Come, leave the horror of your houfes pale !
Come, hither bring your foul, black, baneful gall!
Let lack of work no more, from henceforth, fear you !
Man by his fin a hundred Hells doth rear you.
This eccho made whole Hell to tremble troubled 5
The drowfy night her deep dark horrors doubled.
And
(r 175 )■
, And fuddenly Avemus' gulph did fwlm r
With rofin, pitch, and briradone, to the brim ; While the fierce Gorgonsand the Sphinxes fell. Hydras and Harpies, 'gan to yawn and yell.— Now the three lifters, the three hideous Rages^ 'Mid thoufand Horrns rulli from th* infernal
ftages ^ Furious they rowl their adamantine cars. O'er th* ever-ihaking ninefold Hcely bar*
. Of th' Stygian bridge
Having aftain'd to our calm hav'n of light* With fwifter courfe than Boreas* nimble flight. All fly at man, all, with invetVate llrife. Who mofl may torture his deteiled life.
Here firft comes Dearth, the lively form of I)eath, Still yawning wide, with loathfom (linking breath. With hollow eyes, with meagre cheeks and chin. With fiiarp lean bones, piercing her fable (kin : Heir empty bowels may be plainly fpy'd Clear thro' the wrinkles of her withcr*d hide :
Infatialc Ore ! that ev*n at one rcpafl
Almoft all creatures in the world would wade!
With greedy gorge to fill her mOnllrous maw !—
Next marchcth War, the midrcfs of enormity. Mother of mifchief, raonllcr of deformity:
Law5,
C 176^ )
Laws, manners; arts> flic breaks, flie mars/ flie
chaccs J Blood, tears, bowVs, tow'rs, {\\e fpllls, fwills,
burns, and razes ;.i,' Her brazen feet Ihake all the earth afunder, Her mouth 's a fire-brand, and her voice a thunderj Her looks are light*nings, every glance a flafli —
Fear and Defpair, Flight and Diforder, coafl . With hafly march before her raurd'rous hofl; ' Sack, Sacrilege, Impifnity, anff^Kkk, Are flill ftern conforts by her barbVous fide ; While Sorrow, Poverty, and Defolatlon, Follow her army's bloody tranfmlgration.
The other Fury * next man*s life aflfails
With thoufand weapons, fooner felt than fecn 5 Where weakefl, ilrongcfl; fraught with deadly
teen ; Blind, crooked, crippled, maimed, deaf, and mad. Cold-burning, blifler'd, melancholy, fad 5 Many-nam'd poifon, minlfter of death, Wliich from us creeps, but to us gallopeth !
Againfl tlie body all thefe champions flout Strive 5 fome within, and other fome without :—
♦ Sickness,
But
{ ^77 ) ■
But lo fonr Captains far more fierce, and eager. That on all fidci the Ibu) itlelf beleaguer 1
Sorrow's firfl leader of this furiom crowd; Mufilcd all over in a fable cloud j Old before age, anii6\ed night and day, • /
Her flicc with wrinkles warped ev'ry way | **
Creeping in corners, where ilie fits and vies Sighs from her heart, tears from her big-fwolrt
eyes J Accompanied with fclf-confuming Care, Witli weeping Pity, Thought, and mad Defpair.
The feeond Captain is cxcefilve Joy 5— — . She hath in conduct falfe vain-glorious Vaunting, Bold, foothing, fliamdcfs, loud, injurious, taunt- ing 5 The winged giant, lofty-Haring Pride, That in the clouds her braving crefl doth hide 5 And many others, like the empty bubbles. That rife, when rain the liquid cryilal troublet.
The third is blood-Icfs, henrt-lcr<j, witlcfs Fkar, Like Afpin tree, ftill trembling cvry where ; She leads black Terror, and bafe-clownini Shame j And drowfy Sloth, that counterfciteth lame, With fnail-like motion meafuring the ground. Having her arms in willing fetters bound. And thou. Desire, whom nor the firmament, Nor air, nor earthy nor ocean, can content !
N Thou
(178 )i
Thou art the fourth ; and under thy command Thou bring*ft to field a rough unruly band : ; •. Firfl fccret-burning mighty-fvvoln Ambition, Pent in no limits, plcas'd with no condition, ' Whom Epicurus' itiany worlds fiifRcc not, •' * Whofe furious third of proud-afpiring dies not, ' Whofe hands, tninfportcd with fantaftic pafiion, Grafp painted fccptrcs in imagination 5
Then Avarice ■
The more her wealth, the more her wrctchcdnefsj Whofe foul bafe fingers in each dunghill pore. Starving, like Tantalus, in midfl of itore j Then boiling Wrath, Hern, cruel, fwift, and rafli. That like a bear her teeth do grind and gnafii ; VVhofc hair doth ftarclikc briflled Porcupine, Who fomctimcs rowls her ghaflly-glowlng cync. And fomctimcs on the ground doth fix'dly glance. Now bleak, then bloody in her countenance.
Now if, but like the light'ning In the iky, Thefe furious pafTions fwiftly paifed by. The fear were lefs 5 but ah ! too oft they leave Keen flings behind in, fouls which they deceive. Alas ! how thefe (far worfc than death) difeafei Exceed each ficknefs wliich our body fcizes ! Thofe make us open war, and by their fpight Give to the patient many a wholcfome liglit. Whereby the Doftor, guefllng at our grief, Not fcldom finds furo means for our relief;
•; ; • Hut,
( 179 )
But, for the ills which rule our intellect,— — They reft unknown, or rather felf-qonceard ; For foul-fick patients care not to be hcaVd.
PART THE FOURTH;
THE IIANDY-CllAFTS.
• a coat Co rare.
That it refcmblcs Nature's mantle fair, • — - -
When in the fun, in pomp all glifl'ring,
She fcems with fmiles to woo tlic gaudy fprlng.
- bright Olympus' flarry canopy.
Rcin-fcarching God, thought-founding Judge, —
— a grove. Upon the verdure of whofc virgin boughs Bird had not pcrch'd, nor ever bead did brpuzc.
Think not to Tcape the ftorm of vengeance dread. That hangs already o'er thy hateful head !
N a A burn-
{' i8o )
A bnrning mountain, from hU fiery vein. An iron river rolls along the plain,
'■'''' -• .. i..! UV)
— • Echo rings 'Mid rocky concaves of the babbling vales. And bubbling rivers roll'd by gentle gales.
• our thought's internal eye.
With thee at once the threefold times do fly, And but a moment lafls eternity.
• azure-gilded Heaven's pavillion fair*
Th* ctcrnaj Sabbath's cndlefs feflival.
Lo, how he labours to endure the light. Which in th' arch essence ihineth glorious bright!
From thefe profane and foul embraces fprung A cruel bropd, feeding on blood and wrong y Pdl giants ftrange, of haughty hand and mind. Plagues of the world, and fcourges of mankind.
Thk
( i8i )
Thb ad DAY op the ad WEEK;
■"' i .'■ ■ NOAH. ::XV-'
PART THl first; THB ARK.
As fome young river,-
From barren rocks firft drop by drop proceeding, Soon, towards the fea, the more he flees his fourcc. With growing flream? (Ircngthcns his gliding
courfe, RoUs^ roars, and foams, raging with rcftlcfs mo- tion. And proudly fcorns the grcatnefs of the ocean.
Wifhing already to dif-thronc th' Etersj al,—
The heavy hand of the high Thunderer.
— I conceive aright Th* Almxghty-most to be mofl infinite; That th' ONELY ESSENCE fccls not in his mind The furious tempcfls of fell paflions* wind;
N s That>
< 182 )
That, movelefs, all he moves ; that with one
thought He can build Heaven^ and buildcd bring to
nought 5 That his high throne's inclos*d in glorious fire. Pad our approach 5' that our faint foul doth tire. Our fpirit grows fpiritlefs, when it feeks, by
fcnfc. To found his infinite Omnipotence. I furcly know the cherubims do hover. With flaming wings, his flarry face to cover : None fees the Great, the .Almighty, Holy One, fiut pafTmg-by, and by the back alone : , To us his elTence is inexplicable, ....
Wond'roushis ways, his name un-utterable.
For in'the Heavens, above all reach of ours, God dwells immur'd in diamanliuc.tow:crs.
— O Heaven's frefli fans * !— — O you, my heralds, and my harbingers ! '.'
My nimble pods, and fpccdy mcflcngcrs ! Mine arms, my fmcws, and my eagles fwift, . That thro' the air my rolling chariot lift, When from my mouth in judly-kindled Ire Fly fulph'ry flames, and hot confuming fire,
♦ God add re Ifcs the wind?. • •'
\ ' .' When,
( i83 )
When, With my lightening fccptre's dreadful
wonder, - * • ;
I mufter horror, darkncfs, clouds and thunder ! Wnke, rife, and run j and drink thefe waters dry, That hills and dales have hidden from the iky.
Th* ^olian croud obeys his mighty call ; The furly furges of tlie waters fiill 5 The fca retrcateth y ■ ■ . .
— • hopc-chear'd Noali
now offers up in zealous wife
The peaceful fcent of fwcet burnt-facrificc ;
And fends withall, above tlie ilarry pole,
Tlicfe winged figlis from a religious foul. . ^
«' World-fliaking Father! AVinds' King! Caltri-
ing fcas ! With mild afpc^t behold us ! Lord, appcafc Thine anger's temped, ' —
And bound for ever in their anticnt caves Thefe fiormy feas' deep world-devouring waves !"
The weeping woods of liappy Araby,-
I,et the pearly morn. The radiant noon, and rheumy evening, fee His neck fiill yoked with captivity !
N 4 PART
PART THE SECOND;
.■;'* BABYLON. ; 'r
Enthronis'd thus, the tyrant 'gan clcvife
To perpetrate a thoufand cruelties -,
Boldly Aibverting, for his appetite,
God's, Man's, and Nature's triple facrcd right.
Arife betimes, . while tli* opal-coloured mom In golden pomp doth May-day's door adorn 5 Arife, and hear the difTrent voices fwcet Of painted fongfters. In the groves that greet Their gentle mates, each in his phrafe and faiblon Utt'ring in various f^rains his tender paflion.
• the foreft-haunting beards—
• the All-forming voice-
Cold^winged Morphcus-
Whcrc May flill reigns, and rofe-crown'd Ze-
phyrus.
( i85 )
His Hcavcn-tuncd harp fhall ftlH rcfound. While the bright Day-ftar rides his glorious round.
Sweet-number'd Homer" Clcar-ftyl'd Herodotus —
. — — choIce-term*d Petrarch, in deep palTion* graced,—
The fluent feigner of Orlando s cnoT, »
PART THE THIRD; ■ THE COLONIES.
"What bright-bro\^Ti clond fhall in the day pro- ted mc ? What fiery pillar fhall by night dire6l me Towards each people's primer re fi device /—
•-I— — the
( i86 )
-r*^ the fpicy 'morning,—-
Where (lately Ob, the King of rivers, roars.
And Niniveh, more famous than the refl. Above them rais'd her many-tower'd crcft :—
-where Titan's evening fplendor fank ;-
And tow'rds where Phoebus doth each morning
wake, • - .. .
With Aeiel ocean, and the Crtw/on Lah *. '' '
— Sceptcr*d Elam-
The pine-plough'd fea,-
Such was the Goth, who whilom, ifluing forth From the cold frozen iflands of the North,
Encamp'd by Fijlula ;—
He with vi6lorious arms Sclan>onia gains. The Tranfylvmjiau and ftdacch'um plains.
with eyes of faith they faw
Th' invifible Mellias in the Law.
* The yTlthiopian cccan and Red Sea.
The
( i87 )
The fons of tlicfc, like flowing waters, fprcad O'er all tlic country, which is bordered By Chief el river ;
Then, pafling Sr/7o/ {Irnlglits, they pitch tlieir fold In vales otRbodopc ; and plongh the plains. Where great Danubius near his death complains.
With the far-flowing filver EupbraUs,'^^
To pearl'd Aurora's latfron-colour'd bed.
— the fliore. Where tli* azure feas of M^z^lan do roar. .
That from cold Scythia his high name as far Might ay refound as fun-burnt Za*:'%nlar.
" ' ' ' ' PART
( ^88 )
PART THE FOURTH;
. THE COLUMNES. /
Much like a rock amid the ocean M, Seeming great Neptune's furl/ pride to threat.
Upon Oblivion's dull and fcnfclefs lap,-
That pallid-fac'd, fad, (looping Nympb^ whofc eye Still on the ground is fixed ftcdfaftl/.
Law of that law, which did the world crc6l I
A filvcr crefcent wears /je * for a crown, A hairy comet to her heels hangs down. Brows Ihntely bent in mild majcflic wife, Beneath the fame two carbuncles for eyes. An azure mantle waving at her back Witli two bright clafps buckled about her neck; From her right flioulder floping all athwart her A watchet fcarf, or broad embroidered garter,
♦ AlTRONOMV,
Flourijfh'd
( i89 )
Ilourife'd with beads of fundiy jdiapes, and each With gUfl'ring flars imboft and powdcr'd rich. And then for wings the golden plumes: ihc wean Of tliat proud bird which ftarry rowels bears.
■ ■■ that fair chariot flamhig bravely bright, Which, like a wliirlwind, in it's fwift career Rapt up the 'Ibcjhite > ; O
His Satan-taming fon, whofc crofs abate* * Th* eternal hinges of tlv infernal gates.
— having witli patience pad Such dreadful oceans, and fuch deferts vafl. Such gloomy forcfls, craggy rocks and deep. Wide-yawning gulphs,and hideous dungeons deep.
The all-enlight'nlng glorious firmament.
Day's princely planet,
While mild-cy'd Mercy dcalcth from his hand The fulphry plagues prepared for linful man.
* From the French tihMttrt^ to hcAt dvwn \ ufcd tn IhU fcnfe, X bclicTC; by DryUcn.
The
t 190 )■
.The 3d DAY op the id WEEK; •^" ABRAHAM. ' -
PART THE FIRST 5 THE VOCATION^— '
Th' iron-footed courfers, lufly, fredi, and light. With loud proud neighings for the combat call.
While tlie thick arrows fliowV on either fide, An iron-cloud Heaven s angry face doth hide»
Go, pay to Pluto, Prince of Acheron, That tribute tliou deny'il unto thy own.
.— thy habit and tliy tongue, ' ' '
Thine arms, and niore thy coiirngc, yet fo young, Shew that in Sodom's wanton walls accUrfl ' Thou wcrt not born, nor in Gomorrha nurfl.
Sleep Jlowly harncfs'd his dull bears nnon j And in a noifclcirt coach, nil darkly dight, Takes with him Sihtncc, Drowrmcr^, and Night j TJiV air tliickcns where he gocH — The wolf in woods lies down, the ox i' lirmcad, T'h* Ore under water ) and on beds of down
Men
( ^91 ) '
Men llrctch their limbs, —_ -. • •'
The nightingale, perch'd on the tender fprin^ Of fwecteft hawthorn, Lings her drowfy wing 5
llie fwallow 's Clent, — •
111' ycugh moves no more, the afp doth ccnfe to
ihake, - .' • " ' - " * '
Pines bow their heads, and fecrh fome rclt to take.
Mcthinks already on our gliftVing'creAs Tlie glorious garland of tlie conqueft refls.
Youth paints his clieck wiih rofc' and lilies* dies, A lovely lightening fparkles in his eyes j So that his gallant port, and graceful voice, Conlirm tlie faintcft, iiiakc tlic fad rejoice.
— his gliltVing flilcld, Whofe glorious fplendor darts a dreadful light.
Death and Defpair, Horror and Fury, fight Under tliine enfigns in tlic dll'nud night.
Mclchifedcc, God's facrcd ininider. And King of Salem, eomcs to greet liim there, Blelling his bllfs j and thus willv zealous cry ricrcc» devout Heaven's ilarful canopy. *' IJled be the I/)rd, that with his hand doth roll The radiant orbs that turn about the pr>lc ! ' ' . ^Vho
( 19^ )
Who rules the anions of all human kind With full command ! who with a blaft of wind Razes tlic rocks, ahd rends the proudeft hills. Dries up the ocean, and the empty fills ! Blcfl be the grd God of great Abraham I From age to age extolled be his name ! ^ Let cvVy place to him high altars build. And every altar with his praifc be fill'd ! His praifc above the welkin ever ring As loud, or louder than his angels dug !"— ——
So from the fea to the Enphratean fourcc. And ev*n from Ban to 'Nilus cryflal courfe, Hings his renown !
)
To the dry defert's fandy horror hied,-
llencc, hence the high and mighty Prince fliall
fpring, Sin*s, Death's, and Hell's eternal taming King > The facrcd founder of man's fov'rcign blifs,—
A fimplc Spirit, the glittVing child of light,—
Where folemn nuptials of the Lamb are held ; Where angels bright, and fouls that have cxccll'd, . All clad in white fing th' Epithalamy, Caroufing ne6lar of eternity.
. PART
( *93 )
PART THE SECONDj
■• ■- ' THE FATHERS. V y*
— — the voice which made all things. Which fccptVcth Ihcpherds, or uncrowncth Kings.
So Abraham, at thcfe fharp-foundlng words. Seized at once with wonder, grief, and fright. Is well nigh finking in eternal night ; Death's afh-pale image in his eyes doth fwim, A chilling ice Olivers thro' every limb. Flat on the ground hlmfclf he grovling throws, A hundred times his colour comes and goes j From all his body a cold dew doth drop, His fpcech doth fail, and all his fcnfcs flop.
Th' eternal pillar of all verity,——
Sometimes by his eternal felf he fwcars,-— -
The fable night dillodg*d, '
.. . i '. O Othou
( m )
O thou Ethereal palace Chryflallinc! Shut up for ever all thy gates of grace Againft my foul !
-H--";- T,Hy:M
The glorious fun of rtghteoufnefs— —
Who iliall the mount-uiis bruize, with iron mace,
Hule Heaven and £arth, and the infernal place.
. Uie IhuadVing voice of God^ —
.1.. V .-.Ij -• . ^ > .vr-iU^ri .
PART THE THIRD; .
^'-'■■'^ THE LAW/ ^'- ■•; •'^••' \
.' . • ' • ^-~. that ftecpeft monnt, Whofe fnowy (liouldcrs with their ftony pride Eternally do Spain from France divldft. •
:;,— ^ the conqueror of Hell, * •*'
The twlcc-born King, ——
Who dead fhalUive again,— ~— " 'J : ;(i /'
. '» O '^ Alovcl/
( i9i )
AJmrly babe^ whofc {miles iinplor d the aid And gentle pity of the royal maid 5 '• Love and the graces, fbtc and majcfty, Appcar'd about his infant face to fiy 5 And on his head feeniM, as it were, to ihlnc . Prefageful rays of fomcthing more divine.
Bafc of tills univerfej uniting chain Of til* elements j the wifdom fov' reign ; Fountain of goodncfs -, evcr-ihining light 5 . Perfcaiy blell 5 tlie One, the Good, the Right.
My facred ears are tired with the nolfe Of thy poor brethren's juft-complaiaing voice > They Ve groan*d, alas! and panted, all too lon^. Under that t}Tant*s unrelenting wrong.
O feven-horn'd Nile ! O hundred-pointed plain !
O city o. die Sun, O Thebes, and tliou
Renowned Pliaros ! do you all not bow
To us alone ? Arc you not only ours ?
Ours at our beck ? Then to what other powers
Owes your great Pliaraoh homage or refpc6t ?
Or by what Lord to be controU'd and check'd ?
Now Onmipotcncc At Egypt flioots it*s fhaft of pcflilencc ;— —
•' ■■" ___________
i.' .. 02 -—-the
( 196 )
':. 'i v'^ i j. .,,' ^ the river's roaring pride '.
Is dried tip, ■ « I ' '
Then the TMRicE sacrkd brings a fable cloud Of horned locuds, — •
Death, ghaftly Death, triumphcth * every where.
•Great King, no more bay, with thy wilfalnefs. His ^\Tath*s dread torrent ! He is King of Kings,—* And> in his fight, the greatell of you all A"e but as moats that in the fun do fall.
Nile's ftubborn monarch (lately drawn upon A curious chariot, chacM with pearl and flone.
By two proud courfers, ■"- ■ —
Curfeth the Heavens, the Air, the Wind, and
Waves, And, urging his purfuit, blafphcmes and braves : Here a Iiuge billow on his targe doth fplit } Then comes a bigger, and a bigger yet, I'o fecond thefe : the Sea grows ghaftly great; Yet floutly (lill he thus doth dare and threat. *' Bafe juggler, ihink'ft thou with tJiy hcllifli
charms Thou fhalt prevail againft our puiflant arms ?—
* Thus accented by Milton, trlumphrth : Set Pas. LofT, L it3.—-iii. 33S.— xii. 452.
Aa4
(' T9r y
And thou, proud tralt'rous fca, hbw darefl thou Falfcly confpirc 'gainft thine own Kcptunc now ? Dar'ft thou prcfunic 'giunll us to rile and roar? I charge thee, ccafe ! Be dill, and rage no more! Or I fliall clip thine arms in marble (locks And yoak thy fiiouldcrs with a bridge of rocks." Here at the ocean more than ever f wells,- ■■- And a black pillow, that aloft doth float. With {{\\i and fand Hops his blafphemous throat. What now betides the tyrant ? Water now Hath rc^ft his neck^ his chin, his check, his eyes,
his brow. His front, his fore-top: now there*s nothing feen. But his proud arm fliaking his falchion keen ; Wherewith lie fccms, in fpite of Heaven and Hell, To fjght with Death, and menace Ifrael ♦•
Eternal
* Agtinft this paHTase, I wottld hope Drydcn diJ not meaii 10 point hU fatirc, where, fptakins of thofc authors,
• who thenofctvc$too much crtccm.
Lofe their own z^iiius auU roiflake their theme,
he inftanccs Du Bartw ;
Thus in times paft Du Bart At vainly writ, Allaying facrcd truth with trifling wit ; Impcrthicntly, and without delight, Defciib'd the Ifwclitcs* triumphant fliglit, And, following Mofes o'er the fanJy pLtin, f crifh'd with Pharaoh in th* Arabian main.
03 I believe
Eternal iffuc of eternal Sire! Deep wifdom of the Father t*-*"
I bcltevc ihf generality of readers woxM very oppofitely chara«5lerife Du Bartas's tlefcription of the tieath of Pharaoh. It is evidently given con amore, and con fftrlto.
Bat I muft obferviB, that Dryden probably never read Sylvef- tcr's Du Bartas, after he was capable of judging of it. When lie was a boy he read it i as he himfelf has told us in the pre- face to his 5paui(h Friar. At that time his favourite padage was Ihc very one which ho has iyx^\y gibUtedin the Art or Po- iTiy, as a warning to bombaftic poets. " I remember," fays he, «< when I was a boy, I thousht the inimitable Spenfcr a iheanpoet, in coroparifoh of ^ylvefter's Du Bartas ; and 1 was rapt into ecftacy, when I read ihefc lines j
Now when the Winter's keener breath began, • To cryflallize the Baltic ocean ; To glaze the lakes, to bridle up the floods, And periwig with fuow the bald-pate woods."
" I am much deceived," adds he, " if this be not abomlna. ble fuftian.*' I will venture to fay, Milton, at ii years old, could have told him as much. This is not one of tlw {valfagc?, which I -fuppofu to have caught Milton when a boy, and to have ]\ung on his mind afttr.— If in his ahminnhle fujiinn Dryden in- cludes the *' bridling up the flood5," he (honid let the Roman poet have his Ihare of the merit, by attributing it to the -
curfus TRjENARiT aquarurti.
The paflage from Sylvefter (which I have already cKhibited in a note, p. 15.) is in p. 223, of the folio Sylveft. Du Bartas, edit. 1621.
' O Ifrad,
( -199 )
O Ifracl, feed thou in this table pure, In tliis fair glafs, tliy Saviour's pourtraiturc j The Sou of God^ Mrllias promifed, ,,] ; • The facred Seed, to bruife tlie Serpent's head 5 The glorious Prince, whofe fceptre ever iliincs, Whofc kingdom's fcope the Heaven of Heaven
confines ? Then, when he Ihall, to liglit thy finful load. Put manhood on, dis-know him not for God.^
Where th* Everlasting GoD,ingloriousx^'ondcr, With dreadful voice his fearful Law did thunder.
Nymph-prompted Numa,-
Redoubled liglit'nings dazzle th' Hebrews* eyes, Cloud-fund'rlng thunder roars through earth and Ikies.
I am Jehovah, I, witli mighty hand, Brought thee from bondage out of Eg>'pt land.
But fmce in Horeb tub higu-thukd'iuno ost Pronouuc'd his Law, >— — ,
— wherever, to defcry, Th* all-fearching Sun doUi call his flaming eye.
04 PART
.PART THE FOURTH:;
■.•. 1. i.. u THE CAPTAINS, V: '•>. : /
■ .^ ./ •: ■.'...:: ■ ■ ■ ■■'>
Hail lioly Jordan, and you blcfifcd torrents Of the pure waters j of whofe cryftal currents So manj' faints have fipp'd ! O walls, that reft Fair monuments of many a fitmous guell ! O Hills, O Dales, O Fields, fo flow'ry fweet. Where Angels oft have fet their facred feet !
So have I feen a cloud-crown'd hill fome time,. Torn from a greater by the wade of time, —
The fight grows fierce, and winged Vidory, Shaking her laurels, rufli'd confufedly
Into the midft ^— — —
Aujler the while from neighb'ring mountains arms A hundred winters and a hundred ftorms. With huge great hail-fliot, driving fiercely fell In the ftern vifage of the infidel.
Beam of th* Eternal ! O all-feeing Sun !
all-
all-hiding night,-
Thc day-rcduclng chariot of the fan,—
>— — — no where flunes the regal diadem. But, comct-likc, it bodes all vice extreme*
Democracy is as a toiled fliip.
Void bo til of Pole and Pilot, in Uic deep.
• fhunning thefe extremities.
Let us make choice of men upright and wife j Of fuch whofe virtue doth the land adorn j Of fuch whom Fortune hath made noble bom ; Of fuch as Wealth hath rais'd above the pitch Of tir abjc(fl vulgar j and to the hands of fuch, (Suchasforwifdom, wealth, and birth, cxcelJ,) Let us commit the rule of Ifracl : But ever from the facred helm exclude The turbulent, bafc, moody multitude ! — — — AVho more firm and fit At careful (Icrn of Policy to fit. Than fuch as in the fliip moH venture bear ? Such as their own wreck with the State's wreck
fear ? Such as, content, and having much to lofe, Lv'a death itfelf, rather than change, would
choofc ?
In
( ^^^ )
In brirf the fceptcr Ari{l()cmtikc,
And Fcople-Uvay, have this default alike ;
That neither of them can l?e j)crmanent
I'or want of Union,
J'ntMoNAUCHY in as a goodly (lation,
Biiilt fkil fully upon a furc foundation :
A c]ulct houfc*, \vhcrcin, as principal,
One Fatlicr is obcy'd and fn'v'd of nil ;
A well-appointed Hn'p, when danger V near, •
Where many mafters flrivc not wlio fliall ftecr.
'Tis better bear the youth-flips of a King, I' th' Jaw fomih fault; i' th' Court fome blemilliing. Than to fill all with blood-floods of debate, v \Vhilc, \.o refer m, you but defwm the fl^te. , ;
One cannot, without danger, flir a ftone In a great building's old foundation : Thyficians thus feck rather to fupport, ' ^ With order'd diet, and in gentle fort, ^.
A feeble body, tlio' in f.clcly plight, ITian with flrong nicdichies to deflroy it quite **
♦ Some of t^cfe l»ft p.iffsfiff ota cUc»!, more fnt" ft»c poll- lica! axioms t!icy coixain, ih.m \\it muy liijli dcgicc of poetical Bicrit*
Thk
(: *03 )
l.-i s' f'-, % r-r
The 4th DAY of ad WEEK; DAVID;
tXKT'rUt FIRST 5 THE TROPHIES.
JlIeroic force and princely form withall Honour the fccpter of courageous Saul ; Succef-? confirms it ; for the power Divine Tames by his hand th* outrageous Philifline. Edom and Moab, — :— —
Nor lead, behind my bright triumphal car. So many nations vanquiHied in war.
Give me tlie laurel, not of war, but peace j Or civic garland of green oaken boughs. Thrice three times wreathed about my glorious brows. . .
Flight, Fear, and Death, his ghaftly (leps attend,
A moving
C ^04 )
A moving rock, vhofc looks do terrify
Ev n bis own hod > whofc march doth fecit' to
. • make • • . ; ' ' ; , ^ ' ^ The mountain tops of Succoih* felf to fhakc.
Where is thy fwcaty dnft ? thy fun-burnt fears ? The glorious marks of foldiers train d in wars ?
Such as in life, fuch in his death he feemsf For cv'n in death he curfcs and blafphemcs, ,
She grows. more ghaftly, and more ghoft-like
grim J— ^ ^
Eternal Shades ! Infernal Deities !
Death, Horrors, Terrors, Silence, Obfequies,
Daemons, Daemons, difpatch;
From difraal darkncfs of your deep abyfs,— ^
'Totfy, whofe picafure is
To bathe in feas of Heavenly myfleries,. Her chaflcft feathers in that flream (hall dip.
. 'Oft in fair fiowere the baneful ferpent deeps :•—
; .-, . ' Her
( ao5 ')
Her fparkling eye is like the morning ftar 5---
7b'ou finn'dft in fccrct, but Sol'« bluHiing eye Shall be tlie witnefs of their villainy. —
PART THE SECOND;
.\ : THE MAGNIFICENCE... ^
■7 ;."i .' ■ :':
1\.N0W that hiS eye can {^y, in ev'ry part, *^Thc darkcll clofcts of the mazy licart. '
With an obfervant mind the courfc furvey Of Night's dim taper, and the torch of Daj.
— he In fpirit fees. While his fenfe flecps, the God of Majellie«, The Lord of Hofts ; who, crown*d with radiant
fiamcs, OSerK him choice of thefe four lovely damc«.
Firll
JFird Glory, fliaking in her hand a pike fr*-— Among the flitrs her flatdy head flie rears, A fllver trumpet by her fide (lie wears 5 Her fwelling robes, of tiHue palling price, ' ^ * All flory-wrought with bloody vi«5torics,-. • '■ Triumphs, and Tropliics, Arclics, Crowns, and
Rings J While at her feet there figh a thoufand Kings.—
Next her comes Wealth, in trcafurcs rich bedight j— , Tlie glitt'ring HviiY, which doth about Iier fold. Is rough with rubies, iViH' with beaten gold 5 With eitlicr hand from hollow Itcancs ^^' flie pours Facfolia7t furges and ArgoUan ihowers.
Then chcarful Health j whofc brow no wrin-v kle.bcars, ., , ..^_ . ; . .' ..,, ■ Whofe cheek no palencfs, in whofe eye no. tears ; — — — — ,^ — ]ier feemly train Mirth, Exercife, and Temperance, fuHain.
■ ■ , •. ..... . ■ : : '. • .',,,.;. V/
-Lafl Wisdom comes J— — *■■' ». - i
She 's God*s own mirrour, flie 'a a light whofc
glance Springs from the lightening of his countenance y She's raildefl Heaven's mofl facred influence; Never decays her beauty's excellence y' • *
• UriiS| ot Vaics. . ^t/Mt is ftooe, '; ; /
Aye
■\ ;'\:- :■ ( 207 ) .
Aye like herfelfj and (Lc dath al\\'a>*s trace f Not only tlie fame patli, but ihc fame pace.
Having bclield their braiUte.5> bright. Hie Prince Seems rapt alnxidy cv'n to Heaven ironi licncc; Sees a whole Pxlcn round about hitn tliinc. And, 'nildll To many bcnclits divine. Doubts uhich to clioofc ; — — /* • -^ •'
Happy fecms He, of count'els hcnrdjt pofleft j — For whom alone a whole rich Country yields The Corn and Wine of it's abundant fu-lds j . Who I)oall< foft Sncafii yellow jpoil^i, the gcnw And precious ftoncs of tlie /h^/nan flrcnniij ^ • The mines of Opliify i\\ Kntuhiion fruits, S(tl;<ean o^Qw:^, and rich 7jrian \\\\U,^ '' ' '.
Let mc for ever from her facrcd lip ' / Th* ambroiial Nard, and rofcal Ne£lar fip.
A more than human knowledge beautifies His princely actions •——.—. —
What burning wings the lightening rides upon j What curb the ocean in his bounds doth keep ) What power Night*s princcfs beams upon the deep.
The cyc-^o!d eagle— — —
See how a number of this wanton fry ^ r; Do fondly chaee the gaudy butterfiy. ;
The fumptuous pride of mafly pyramids.
♦ He 1$ dcfcrihiog the (ports of the Loves.— Mr. Warton*« ^Jmired dcfcriptlon of Lcifure, inlVisODE on ths approach or SuMMiR, (hews that a century and a half make no great difference in the genius and fancy of true poets :
Xeifure, that thro* the balmy Iky
ChACEI A CRIMSOK butterfly: * ' ' ' '
Mr. Warton, who in that ode is eminently a poet, was ccr* tiinly very little acquainted with Sylvcftcr's Du Bariaj.
.*' ■}u^.^f
PART
i^ART THE THlRDi
■i? H E S C H IS M.
f;
A If ! fee vre hot, fome feck the like in Francd* ? With mgefiil fwords of civil variance. To fliare the facrcd Gaulian diadem ? To ftrlp the Lilies from their native (1cm ? . And, as It were, to cantonife the flate, . \Vhofe law did aw imperial Rhine of late ; Tiber and Ibcr too j and under whom Ev'n niver Jordan's captive floods did foani?
in Azii's aid fights th* arm omnipotent, (Which iliakes the Heavens^ rakes Hills; and
Rocks doth rent,) Againft black Zerah*s over-daring boaft^ That with dread deluge of a million hod O'crflow'd all juda ; and with fury fell . Tranfported Afric Into Ifracl. f^
And Aza now, beholding th' Ammonite^ . TIic Idiuiia;an, and proud Moabite,
* The pocr, fpcaklng m Wm own perfon, l.imcnts the vio- lence of civil war then diflra(5ting tils country. Da Bjrtas wu a zcaluus pariifan of Henry IV.
. P In
( 2IO )
In battle rang'd, caus*d all his hoft to ling This fong aloud ; them thus encouraging.
*'Come on, my hearts! Let*s cheerly to the charge. Having for Captain, for defence, and targe. That mighty power, to whom the raging fea Hath heretofore in foaming pride giv'n way; Who, with a figh,
Can call the North, Eaft, South, and Weft to- gether; Who, at his beck, or with a wink, commands Millions of millions of bright-winged bands ; Who, with a breath, brings in an inftant under The proudeft powers j whofe arrows are the
THUNDER. ?
Thefbite Elijah •
Zephyr Is mute, and not a breatli is felt,-
■ the true, wife, wondrous -
Omnipotent, vi6torious, glorious, God :—
If the blue Sea, and winged Firmament, The all-bearing Earth, and ftormful Element, ^■.' if Heaven, Air, Sea, and Land,
And all in all, and all in every one. By his own finger be fuftain'd alone j— —
Amid
■'.■:--^ "'■■>■ ;■■■•:.■'
Amid the air tumultuous Satan rowls.
And not the Saints, the happy heav'nly fouls :
For Christ, his fleOi transfigured and divine.
Mounted above the arches crydalline ;
And where Christ is, from pain and pallion free.
There, after death, ihaD all his chofcn be.
Elijah therefore climbs th' empyreal pole 5— •
This Jewry knows ; a foil, fomctime at leaft. Sole Paradlfe of/all the proudcfl Eafl j— .
• pallid Fear, wild-Haring, fbiv'ring Hag,-
Clafhlng of arms, rattl'ing of iron cars,-
The King of Winds calls home his churlifh train. And Amphitritc fmooths her front again 2 Air's cloudy robe returns to cryftai clear, . : - And fmiling Heaven's bright torches rc-appear.
God reaches out his hand, unfolds his frowns, i)ifa'rms Iiis arm of Thunder, briiifing crowns. Bows gracioufly his glorious fiaming creft, . ,; And mildly grants, at th* inllant, their requcft.
pa PART
(( '-ztz ))
:>:/fc*» '.:'i";,:.i[ vr.^r.j; '-Jl .: ,:..:c; -ij ^w t,-/-.
--i ^[oq lio-: -'f'.;) '/; • .::i, » ■.-:.>!•:•::>;•; iii^ii:!
TH^bJ6od-gaiix*d^fceptet .lafls,,not long,' we
know 5 ...
♦. The tlironc. of tjrrants totters to and fro. ,
Through the ttin.air the winged fhaft doth.fing#
ji*;"Unp^*d in fun-lhine^ unappnlVd, in {Iprms^-r-*
His fdrafe he bears about, both far. and nigh, • ^On th© wide whig5 of Immortality^ . / , ' . -.^
I tliinc ,cye i
Pierceth to Hell, and ev,*n from Heaven beholds Thetdumbeff thoughts in our hearts inmoU foldsv
Thou art the Lord, th* Invincible alone. The all-feeing God, the cver-lalling one ;
And
( ^}3t >;
And whofo dares him 'gain (I thy powers. oppofc. Is but a blaft which roaring Boreas blows, , '.Weening to tear the Alps off at the foot^ . Or cloud-prop Athos from his ma fly root; Wiio but mis-fpeaks of thee, he fpits at Heaven^ And his pwn fplttle in his face is driven.
^ ■ ' Know you not, here bcncatli, . * • . ? '* ' \Vc always fail unto the port of Death ?. ' -- • "^^ That Deatli *s the end of all our florins and flrlfc; ] The fweet beginning of Immortal Life ?.
JLord, what are wc ? or what is our dcferving ? That to confirm our faith, fo prone to fwerving, , Thou deign 'il to fliake Heaven's folid orbs j^pl
bright. And to diforder Nature's order quite ?•
Yc hony-dropping hills," wc erd frequented ! ' Ye mllk-ful vales, with hundred brook's indented! Delicious gardens of dear Ifracl I HiUs! Gardens! Vales! wc bid ypu all farewell.
Turn therefore, turn your bloody blades on mc) Put let tliefc harmlcls little ones go free ! O ftain not with the blood of innocents Th* immortal trophies of your great altents !
( 414 )
So ever may the RiphSan mountains quale ' Under your feet ! 'fo ever may you make South, Eaft, and Weft, your own ! On cv'ry coafl So ay victorious march your glorioTU hoft * !
* I am fortunate in being able to clofe my extra^s with a paffage of fuch fine cffcft. I might have exhibited the laft line among the energetic palTages, where ay is ufed for ever by Sylvefter, (fee p. 21) ; hue I purpofcly rcfcrvcd it for this place, that I might " leave the reader" of tlicfe Extra^ " con la " hoc€a dolcc"
The tfy, in my opinion, is no disfigurement of the paffage. It it true, vetuflaum rMet^ bu& we Hiali fcarcely quarrel with this "umhrm et color juafi opac^e vetufath**
Hcrt - Bartas*8 poem ends. Of his propofed plan, there remained to be written, three more Days j vix, Zsdechias, Messias, and Thb Eternal Sabbath ; with their fub* divifions. '< Of thcfe," v/e arc told by the printer of the Englifii Da Barta*, «* Death, preventing our No»ti Poit, hath dc- •' privcd «•*•
I WISH
( 215 )
I WISH you may have had rcfolution to proceed fo far with me : but my Ex- tracts have fwellcd, under my hand, beyond my intention, although I have omitted many pafTages that, in my opi- nion, well deferved to be brought for- wards. It is probable alfo, that I have inferted others, which to you may appear feeble^ and fuch as might better have been kept back : but they firuck me at the time, and, on a hafty retrofpcdl, I feel unwilling to withdraw any of them.
And now, my dear Sir, what think you of my OLD POET, v/hom, before it is long, w^e Ihall be entitled to ftyle op THE Antepenultimate Century*? I do not afk you to concede to mc, that his poetry is of that abfolutely perfedl . kind, which deferves to be held out as- a model to all fucceeding ages. But, '
* Jofluia Sylvcdcr was born in 15635 and he publilhed his Version of part of Du Bartas's Weeks in 1598.
? 4 I be-
. ... ; -v. r (rai6 ) .;
I believe, you will agree with me, that^ in many of thofe paiFages which I have '• produced, it far furpaflcs, jn the vivida viSf every thing on fcriptural fubjeils that • ]iad preceded it in our language; and that it was calculated to cjcvatc the fom of Sacred Pocfy. At the time of its pub-' Jication, we know, it produced much ef- fect *. If we cannot affert that it confti- '• tutes its author the o zs-avv of poets, Vv'c n^ay at Icaft fay, that it has wherewithal], even in this age of faflidupus cprrc(flncfr,, to ftrike every mind, in which arc the . genuine feeds of Poetry ; and, at the time
^ That the 4to' edition of 1613 %vas the /fcon/^ edition, appears , from Lownes's addrcfs to the j-cader, prefixed to Hudfop's Judith j \yhich, he fays,. was added, " to make ihtfecotid edition more ^'complete/*' I have noticed the fc con d folio edi^ tion, printed by Robert Young, in 1633, fte p. 84. ' ^,To have pafTed through, in thirty years, two 4to and two folio editions, is a proof of tlie popularity of Sylvefter's Du Eartas. Such a falc is not now, J J^elicvc, very common : at that time it was very
^- ' whe]R
when it appeared, muft have operated ^ forcibly on a young reader of this predi-"* (camcnt.- — -Such, I cannot but perfuadc iTiyfelf, was the elFedl of Sylvefter's Du Bartas on Milton ; wliofe ''early acquaint- ^* ance with it, and predilcftion for it,*' * It has been my objc6l to Ihew. It con^ • tains, indeed, more material puima sta- ' MiNA of the Paradise Lost, tlian, as I believe, any other book whatever : and viy hypothcfts is, that it pofitively laid the fir Ji ft one of that '' monumentum cere pe-
*' rennius." That Arthur for a time
predominated in Milton's mind over his, ' at length- preferred, facred fubje<5l, was probably owing to the advice of Manfo *, " and the track of reading into which he ' had then got. How fiir the adamo of Andreini, or the Scena Tragica d* • Adamo ed Eva' of Troilus Lancetta, as pointed out by Mr, Hayley, — or any of
^ Sec Mr. Unyley's highly judicloufj, and well- fupporlcd, CoNjLCTURRs on the Qkioik of the Faradise Lost, p. 254.
the
■■■; ; (aiS::) . ,, '^- -V:
-the Italian Poems on fiich fubjec^s, no- ticed by Mr. Walker *, — contributed to revive his predi!e6lion for Sacred Poefy, it is befide my purpofe to enquire. If he was materially caught by any of thefe, it fervcd, I Conceive, only to renew a pri- viary imprejjlon made on his mind by Syl- veftcr's Du Bartas : although the Ita- lian dramas might induce liim then to meditate his divine poem in a dramatic form. It is, indeed, juftly obfcrved by Jvlr. Warton, on the very fine pafTage, ver. 33, of the Vacation Exercise, written when Milton was only nineteen^ *^ that it contains ftrong indications of a *^young mind anticipating the fubjedl of
** Paradife Loft-"' Cowley found him- :
felf to be a poet, or, as he himfelf tells us, ** was made one -f*," by the delight he took in Spcnfer's Fairy Queen, " which
* In his very intcrcfting and fpirited Historx- CAL Memoir on Italian Tragedy. — See p. 172 j and Appendix, xxxii.
f ElTay xi, of myself.
( ai9 )
** was wont to lay in his mothcr*s apart- ^* ment ;" and which he had read all over, before he was twelve years old. That Dryden v/as, in fome degree, limilarly indebted to Cowley, we may collcdl from his denominating him ^' the darling of ** my youth,, the famous Cowley */' Pope, at a little more than eight years of age, was initiated in poetry by the perufal of Ogilby's Homer, and Sandys*s Ovid ; and to the latter he has himfelf intimated obligations, where he declares, in his notes to the Iliad, ^* that Englifli ^^ poetry owes much of its prefent beauty
^^ to the tranflations of Sandys." The
rudimcnta petica of our great poet I fup- pofe fimilarly to have been Sylvester's Du Barta5; which, I conceive, not only elicited the firft fparks of poetic fire from the pubefcent genius of Milton, but in^ duced him, from that time, to devote
* Dedication of his Translations from Jir-
TENAL.
himfelf
himfclf principally to Sacred Poefy, an4 to felecSl UKANiA for his immediate Mufe,
I magno pcrculjius amore.
: Such was the idea that flafhed on my mind from the hilenial evidence of my worm-eaten folio, combined with the sera' of its publication. When I afterwards found that it was printed on Bread-Jlreet-^ billy and that I had to place the incunabula'^ of Sylvester's du Bartas, a^d of* Milton, almoft on the fame fpor, my by^ pothefis began to affume a degree of plan-! lability, which emboldened me to lay ir before you. In proceeding fo to do, when' I had reafon further to trace Milton, onj good conjectural grounds, tp Lownes'^^^ prcfs, on another occafion '-^^ I felt my- felf advancing beyond the region of mere frobability, . v < •• //.,. ,; ^ -. !
I wifhed ftill more to have eftabllHied my ground ; by afcertaining the relative
* Sec page ^\i fupra.
•'■ •'"^••'- fituatioa
( a^I )
iitua'tion of Milton's houfe^. the Spread Ragle in Brcad-ftrcet, nnd the houfe of the printer, the St^r on Bread-ftreet-hill. Here, however, all local inveftigation v/as -completely precluded by the .fire of Lon- rdon;.in which, it is particularly > men- tioned by Wood,, that Milton's houfe w^as .burned: and, not knowing where to go for any recorded information rcfpeiling its particular lite, I could only refort to . conjectures highly imaginary'^, for.pla-
.' * I have fometiraes felt an inclination to con- jefture, that Milton's houfe Hood in a part of Bread- ilrcct, fo near the browof the hill, that from the vppcr rooms he had a good view of tiic river.— Irt his firjl ELEOY, \vritten to his friend Dcodate, on 'till* very fpot, he particularly defcribes the Thames »(\vhen the tide is fiowing in, and near the full height) wafliing the houfcs on the Bankfide;
Me tenet urbs, aiFLui quam Thamcfis alluxt UNoi.
What if \vc fuppofe tlie Tliames actually in his tiew/when he v/rotc this? In this cafe/he mu(! 'have been a very near neighbour to Lownes; as • Bread-ilrcet-hill is a very iliort ftrcct.
Ging
angth^ Spread Eagle as near as might be to Bread'Jlreet-bilU
But a material circumftance flill re- mains to be confidered ; which may ei- ther completely demolifli the drift of this -part of my argument, or preclude the neceflity of laying any material ftrefs upon it.
In the time of Milton s childhood, prox- imity of fituation was by no means cer- tain to produce neighbourly intercourfe. The fpirit of Party, which was engen- dered in the preceding century, was now rapidly advancing to its height ; and an 'irreconcileable rigidity of opinion began to prevail on each fide. Where perfons agreed in their principles and tenets, this ferved to approximate the diftant, and fraternife the unrelated : where their fun- damental dodlrines were adverfe, this was fufficient to eftrange the neareft^ and to diflblve all ;^ the
, ( ^n )
' '*'' the charities
Of Father, Son, and Brother.——
Congruity of fentiment has at all times formed a principal chain of conne6lion ; and a contrariety of it has frequently been an infurmountable barrier of reparation. —In arguing, therefore, on the proba- bility of neighbourly intercourfey it will be right to afcertain a congruity of principles^ before we build much on abfolutc conti- guity of fituation. — If I can lliew this union of opinions in the prefent initance ; and if I can extend it beyond the printer of the work in queftion, and the family and connexions of my fuppofed reader of it, both to its originab author and its tranflator; — I fhall confider my point eftablifhe'd, in as high a degree as the* diftance of time, and the circumftancc of . the cafe, will admit.
It
It nppcars, from Wood's account bt Jofhua Sylvcfter *^ that he underwent
perfccutlon,
• ♦ Wood's account of Sylvcflcr is annexed to thnt t)f George Chapman, and is as follows : — " Contem- porary with this worthy poet, was another, ^ojhua Sylvejier\ iifually called by the poets of his time
' Silver-tongued Sylveflcn Whether he received any academical education, (having had his mufe kindly
./oflered by his uncle, William Plumb, Kfq.) I cannot fay. In his manly years, he is reported to have been a merchant-adventurer. Queen Elizabeth had a great refpe<St for him j King James I. had a greater j and
' Prince Henry greateft of all j who valued him fo
.much, that he made him his firfl poet peniioncr. He was much renowned by his virtuous fame ; and, by thofe of his profellion, and fuch as admired poe- try, eflcemed a Saint on earth, a true Nathaniel, a Chrifiian Ifraelite. They tell us farther, that he was very pious and fobcr ; religious in himfelf and family; and courageous to withfland adverf.ty : alfo
.. Iliathe was adorned with tlic gift of tongues, French,
. Spanifli, Dutch, Italian, and Latin. But this mull be known, that he, taking too much liberty upon him to corre6l the vices of the times, as George Wither and Jo. Vicars, poets, afterwards did, fuf- fered feveral times feme trouble j and thereupon it
- -was^ as I prefume^ tliat his Step-'dame country did un- gratefully
V { ^^5 )
pcrfecutroii for the rigidity of his opK nloris ; and at laft was driven' :to expa- triate. Wood, indeed, claffcs him with the poets George Wither and Jo; Vicars.
.- :-:.;;?;: -,^:.::. The
gratefully cajl him offy and became mojl. utikind to him. He liath Iran flu ted from French into EngliJJi tlic Z>/- 'viue Jfeelis and Works ^ niDtth a complete CoUe^ion of all the other moji Mightftd IVorh of ^yill. dc Sallufle SieuT du Bartas. At length tlils ciTuiicnt poet, Jodiua Sylvefter (a name \vorthily dear to the age be lived in) died at ^ridJlehurgh^ in Zealand, on the 28th of September, i6j8, aged 55." — Athb.v. OxoN'. vol. J. p. 594.
\Vc may farther collect, from his poems, that he was a native of Kent; and was educated under the learned Hadrlanus Saravia, at Southampton fchool, from the age of nine to twelve j and that thir^ wa;j all the edueation he had. In oncof his poems, he acknowledges his obligations to Dr. Saravia, with all the aflc6\loii of Milton for his firft preceptor, Thomas Young : and he regrets much that lie nci- tlicr went to Oxford nor Cambridge, nor followed his refpec^cd mailer to Leydenj where Saravia was invited, a few years after, to fill the divinity cliair. From the following verfes, it might be fuppofed that bis mader had recommended DuBartas*g poems Q to
The lattefy one :df the. mofl violent Pa-' ritans of the tiilie, was his moft zealous admirer ; :and wrote an highly encomiaftic elegy on hi^ death,, with all the ardour of cnthufiaflic affecSlion.
, Sylvefter had alfo complimented Vicars in a copy of encomiaftic verfcs, prefixed to his tranilation of Dr. Herringc's Latin Pbemy on the Powder Flot, entitled, Mis-
to his ftudious perufal: though what is faid may only mean, that his inftru6lions qualified him tO' tranflate them.
. ; •— — MY Saiavia, to vvhofc fcvVcnd naiTic
Mine owes the honour of Du Bartas's fame. '. .From th* ample ciftcrns of his fen of Ikill
Suck*d I my fuccor, and flight (hallow rill j '' TIm! little ali I can, and all I couW, •'• • In three poor years, at three times three years old.
'< His love and labours aptcd fo my wir, „ j,^;
. . Ihat, when Urania after rapted it,
Through Heaven's ftronj woilcinf, weaknefs did pfodnce Leaves of delight and fruit of facrcd ufe ; . Which, had my mufe t* our cither Athens flown, Or follow *d him, had been much more mine own.
p. ij6S. Funeral EtHOY ON Maroarkt HiiL*
ti - chief's-
ckiEp's Mystery, or Tkeason's Ma^- TEHPiECE; publifhcd in 1617. He like-* wife wrote a poem acldreiTed, with many fymptoms of zealous attachment, to Arch- bifnop Abbot, who, Ncale fays, ^' was at the head of the doftrinal Puritans:'' and he has ereftcd to the fame prelate *, in the manner of the axes^ ivinges^ and eg^s, of fome of the Greek minor poets, a poeiicql fjllm\ in which he celebrates him ^/ for conftant ftanding on right's weak lide^ againft the tide of wrong -{-/' Joihua Syl- vefter, it appears then, was a zealons Puritan % : and hence we might account ... for*
* P. 888. Ed. 1621.
t Another patron and particular friend of Jod Sylvcflcr was Anthony ikicon, (elder brother to \\\c Lord Chnncellor,) who, in his travc.lc, bad redded fomc time at Geneva, in tlic houfc of the cele- brated Theodore Beza, the coDeagnc of Cnlvin.— * llcza had the grcateft cftccm for Mr. Bcicx?n ; and dedicated his Meditations to Lady Bacon, his niotiier.
X The Court of Prince l-icnxy, it may be ob^
ferved, was Puritanic. Kis favourite chaplain wjs
Jofcph Plall/ia tlic next reign Bifl^op of Exeter ;
a a who.
( 228 )
for hi5 devoting himfelf to tranflating the poems of Du Bartas*, who was a rigid
Calvifiijl.
who, though he wrote afterwards (Irongly in de- fence of Eplfcopacy, Avas at this time a favourer of Puritanifm. See the Chara6ler of P, Henry, in Neale's Hijlory of the Puritans,
* Guillaume de Salufle Da Bartas defcended from a noble family of Gafcony; his faliier \\i% Treafurer of France. He quitted the Roman Ca- tholic Religion; and attached himfelf to Hcnr}' IV. then king of Navarre 5 by whom he was employee! at the courts of Denmark, England, and Scotland. To the latter he was fcnt with a view of bringing about a marriage between Henry's filler and our James I. His manners- and talents fcem to liavc recommended him to the particular favour of James, who wifhed to have detained him in his fervice; but he was too flrongly attached .to Iiis own maf- ter. He was no Icfs famous as a foldi^*r, thar ns a poet. He was with Henry at the battle of Ivry, which he has celebrated ; but did not live to> fee him on the throne of France, as lie died the fame; year, aged 45. — ^The famous French poet Ronfanl, on reading his Firjl IVccky or the Creation, wii3 fo much charmed with it, that he fcnt Iiim a gold pen, with a complimentary n^f-lfagc, tliat *' he had done more in one v/crk; than Ronfard hunfelf in
his
( 2^9 )
CalvinJfi, The two editions of Sylvef-
tcr's Da Bartas were, I believe, the grcatell works that ifTucd from the Bread-ftreet- hill prefs : and they are edited fo perfe<5lly CQ71 amore^y that we can fcarcely doubt the principles of Humfrey Lownes, the printer and publiflier. At the very time when the folio edition of i6ai was publlfhcd, the domeflic preceptor of young Milton was the Rev. Thomas Young; from whofc known principles \ (for which he was obliged two years after to leave England) Mr. Warton has juftly inferred the puri- tanifm of his employer, the father of Milr ton %. Here then we cannot but fup-
his whole life.'*— -Du Bartas was, as he telh vis^ In the preface to his Juitith, *' tlic firft .pcrfoii " ill France, who, in a jud poem, had treated in " his tongue of facrcd tilings.** SylvcH. Du Bart. £d. 1621, p. 6SS'
•'<• See tlie printer's addrcft?, p. %fupra9
'\ Milton defcribes him,
■ ■ » ■■■ Knixoyx. cbnu PI8TATIS honore.
El. iv. 17* % Sec Warton's Milton -, note on El.iv. ver. i.
03 pofc,
( ^3o )
pofe^'^that congfuity of principles, prox- imity of fituation, a,nd a literary difpofi- tioHy in each party, iGombined to produce not xti^reily acquaint a^fce, but moft proba- bly ;/;f^r/6 intimacy y htV^ccn old Milton and Hua^freyXownes. This might have led to the preceptor (hip of Young : or that .circumftance might have primari- ly caiifedth^ acquaintance of the two neighbours j pr .ultimately have ftrength- eoed the confraternity between them. It 15. .ppffible, that, Young himfclf fupcr- intended the .publication of the folio edi- tion/oj Sylvefler's/Du Bartas, in i6zr, and;jthat:he corre(9:ed the proofs *• and thus the Iheets from the prefs might find their way to Milton's houfe. ' The book itfelf'alfo was very likely, on its pub- lication,, to. have been much read in Mil- ton's family ; where it might retain a place in the parlour window, as the Fairy §^i€cn
*^ It'is w^ll edited; particularly in point of punc- ti.iktion.
'■',■'. " ' ' .. ,. did
Sd in that of Cowley's mother, and, be- ing firhilarly always in the way, might be frequently in the h?.nds of the young reader of the family. But it fecms to me highly probable, that Young himfelf put the book into the hands of his pupil ; and perhaps, in the ' courfe of, his ledlurcs, pointed out to him the eminent beauties of the greater poem. And to this we might refer (and not to *^ a firft acquaint- ance with the claflics only ='^'') Milton's grateful aclcnowledgemcnt of his beloved and refpecled preceptor's primary inftruc- tion and initiation of him in the, divine myfleries of facred poefy :.-/', . . ,
Primus ego Aonios illo pr;eeunte, recdTus Liiflrabam, et bifidi sacra vi ret AJuglj , PIcriolque haufi latlces^ Clioquc favente,
Caflalio fparfi Ixta tcr ora mero. El-iv,
He taught rae firifl tli' Aoriiaa fliades to tread. And roam ParnafTus' hallow'd height 5 'twas he.
My youthful flcps with guiding hand who led Totlie pure lirairis of sacred poesy.' ** '
* As fuggcflcd by Mr. Warton.> note on El. m ver. X.
04 Upon
• - Upon the whole, from th'e internal evl-* dence of the book itfelf, combined with all the additional circumftances which I have been enabled to lay before you, I think you will admit ^- Milton's early acquaintance with Sylvester's du Bar- TAS, and his predilection for it:"— let
me add, *' his obligations to it." By
cbl'igations, as I have already intimated, I certainly do not* mean fuch, as in any re- fpe6l detra6l from his genius and talents; but fuch as render them more confpicu- ous, by marking the finenefs of his pene- tration, and the accuracy of his judge- ment. Neither do I merely point to its immediately fuggefting (which I have no doubt it did) the " argumentum in- gens" of his fublime poem ; but I look to obligations of a higher and more gene- ral kind. I cannot but conlider Sylvef- ter's Du Bartas as having primarily taught Milton, (what he was €xquifitely framed to learn, and what was, at that time, very little underllood,) that *V Sacred J Poetry
/ ( ^33 ) '
Poetry ^vas capable of affuming the moft elevated tone ; and that, while nei- ther Calliope, nor Clio, could afpirc to the divine fublimity of Uhania, the Heavenly Mufc in reality united, with her own native dignity^ x\\t fujeetncfs of the ONE, and the pozvers of the other/'
In- fubmitting thcfe canjlderaiions to your better judgement, I^cannot omit tlie op- portunity, which it affords me, thus pub- lickly to afTure you of the very lincere refpedl, and truly grateful regard, with which I have the pleafure to be,
Dear Sir,
Your obliged and faithful friend,
CHARLES DUNSTER,
■(' ''r*
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( ^35 )
POSTSCRIPT,
1 BELIEVE we might trace firong tiiarks of a congenial dilpofition in Mil- ton and Du Bartas: at Icaft we cannot but obferve much refemblancc in their peculiar devotion of themfclves to Sacred Poetry. The latter has a very plcafing poem on this fubjedt ; which reads with a high fpirit of originality in the lan- guage of Jofhua Sylvefter. I cannot re^ lift the inclination I feel to lay the greater part of it before you ; as it breathes fo exa6lly the fenrimcnts, which Milton felt liimfelf^. What I fliall prefent to you,
. ' " is
* We mny compare Milton*$ account of his own Literary Projcdts as they fcem (imilarly to have pjre/Tcd in cyiwx)ctition on hU mind 5 and tlierc to
have
( ^36 )
is about three- fourths of the poem in my folio. I have, in a few inftances, made
fome
have fubmittftd to the pre-eminence of Sncred P'yXry, *' Time ferves not now, and perhaps I might fcem too profufc, to give any certain account of what the mind at home, in the fpacious circuits of her mu- fing, hatli liberty to propofe to hcrfelf, though of highcft hope, and hardcft attempting ,• ivhcther that Epic form, whereof the two poems of Homer, and ihofe otlier two of Virgil and TafTo, are a dif- fitfcy and tlie book of Job a hrief model 5 or "Jihether the rules of Aridotlc are herein to be (Iridlly kept, or Nature to be followed ; — --or njjhfthcr ihofc dra- matic conAitutions, wherein Sophocles and Euripides reign, iliall be found more doftrinal and exemplary to a nation ;-' — or, if occafion ihall lead, to imitate tJiofe magnific odes and hymns, wherein Pindarus and Callimachus are in mofl things worchy. But tliofc frequent fongs, throughout tlic Law and Pro- phets, beyond all thefe, not in tlieir divine argu- ment alone, but in the very critical art of compoli- tion, may be eafily made appear over all the kinds of lyric poefy to be incomparable. Thefe abilities are the infpired gift of God, — and arc of power, to inbreed and cherifh in a great people the feeds of Tirtue and public civility 5 to allay the perturbations of the mind, and fet the affei-tions in right tune j to
celebrate
( ^37 )
for/5 immaterial alterations : but thcfc arc merely for tlie purpofc of covering a few highly obfolete exprcflions ; or to form a connection, where I have omit- ted feme flanzas. Vv'here I expcft you principally to admire, I have been an exrM ira7ifcriber\'
/;cl(;bratc in glorious and lofty hymns the throne alid cqulpp.ge of God's Ahnii;htinrls, and what he works, and what lie fuiTers to be wrought wuh higli proNidcnor in Iii» Chuicli; to fing vi<^orions agonic^ of Martyrs and of Saints, tlic deeds and trluinjihs of juit and pious nations doing valiantly, through faitli, jigai nit the enemies of Chrift ; to deplore the gene- ral relaj>4es of kingdoms and dates from jufiiec and" GocVs true worfliip : laftjy, wliatfoever in Religion is holy and fublime, in Virtue aniiable or grave, all thefc things with a folid and treatable f«)oothnef> to point out and deferibe j t<\aehing over tl)c wliolc book of fandlity and virtue throiigh all t!rc inftances of examj)!e;^ with fueli delight, that whereas rlw l^nhs of honefiy and good life app'/ar now rxigged and dirlioult, though tliry be indeed ealy and pica- fant, ihc-y will tiien a])pear to all men ealy and plea- fant^^hougli they were rugged and difficult indeed.'* hitvoJui-'tion to the Second IJookor'TiJE Reajjun' of
ClfUnCil GgViiR.NMEN"T.
U1<.\NIA.
a. ;^.j'v
( 238 )
■'•_ U'R AN I, A, . 1
THE HEAVENLY ..MUSE.
Scarce had the April of mine flgc begun,
• When brave defire, t' immortalize my namc> Did make me oft red and repaft to Ihun,
In curious projeft of fome learned frame :
But, (as a pilgrim^ at th' approach of night. If chance crofs-ways diverging meet his view, Arrefts his courfe ftudious to find the right, V . .And doubts and ponders which he fliall purfuc^)'
Among the many flow'ry paths that lead
• Up to the mount, where, with green bays
Apollo
• Crowns happy numbers with immortal meed,
I ftood conius'd and doubtful which to follow ',
V ^39 )
One wjille r fought t^ic Orerciati, fccnc to drcfs - In French ddgulO; j in lufiicr (lyle anon* . T' hnbmc our fliigc with t^Tants* bloody gc{b , Of Theh^ii JMyccn^, and proud JUott \ j . ,.,
Anon to confecratc my country's ftory,
I woo'd the aid of the Aonian band ; . * i*
Studious to fmg triumphant Gallia*s glory,- ;
^•Extending, y/idc the limits of her land; , :. .• ^
Anon I thought the frolic fon to frng \ ■_ y J Of wanton Vcausj and the bitter fwcct, That.too much love to the bcft v/its doth brm^ : Tliemcfor my nature^ and mine age, too meet!
* I vvinieil to have dt*d this and the two following; flanraif, as inftanccs of Sylvcft(.*r*8 ufc of thft word an9n in tranft- lions of dcfcriptiwi, (fee p. 66) ; but I rcfcrvcJ tticm /or this place. — I*cjl;nps th'S imrTicJI.itc palfngc was in Milton's mind, w!icn he leads his clicaiful raaa a!i «/ once to the theatre,
Then to the well-trod (^ajc ano.v,— , ' "
f As r have jt'.f^ fvippofcd this ft.mzri to \\vjc been In Mil- ton's mind in fpcakins of rcprcfcntations of comedy; it niif be fuppofed alfo to have conirlbutcd to his divlfion of the fub* Jcfts of Grecian Trajiedy on two occafions.
Seu mosrct fclopcia dom\>s, feu nobilis Hi, Ecu luit incf ftcs aula Crcontis avos. El. i. 45.
Prefeniins Thebct or Pclops line,
Or the tale of Troy divine. Tt nsxrojo, 99.
While
While to and fro tlnis tofTed by ambltiolli ' i'f^> Yet unrcfolvcd' of my courfe, I rove, -• ''
1.0 fuddcnly a facred npparltion ! ' •- ■ '•
Some daughter, think 1, of fupernal Jove; " ' " ^
Angelical her gellure and her gait, ■ %\
Divinely fwcct her fpeech and countenance j ' ^ Her nine-fold voice did ch(nccly imitate ''
TJi' harmonious niufieof Ilcavcii's nimble dancfw
Upon her I»rnd a j^dorlous diadem, ^
Seven-double folded, moving diverfly j >''^ And on each fold fparklcd a precious gem, ■'
Obli(iuely turning o'er her head on high. - •• -
' An azure mantle on her back flic wore, , r . ' With ardefs art. In orderly diforder j riourifli'd, rtnd fill'd with ihoufand lampg,'-aml more, - ' • ; - ■'
Her facred beauty to illuArate further. *'' >''v
Here llnmcs the /jnrp, there fliinc the tender /w/wi^. litre CharUi^s luah, there twinkling P/£'/W((r/j . Here the bright balance , there the {xXsxv fmr, ,
Widi radiant liars in number numberlcf-j.
" I am UaANu/* then aloud fa id flie,
-*' Who human-kind above the poles tranfport.
In that bled region giving them to fee
The intercourle of the Celellial Court. / ^
'' ■ ■ i Ic[uln*
( H^- )
I qulntcfocncc the foul, and make the poet^'f^ . Himfclf fnrpadlng in divhic di fcourfc, ,■..'. ^ To draw tho dcafcft by the chr& unto it, To quicken doxies, and Hop the ocean's courfc'
I grant, my learned fifters wrtrblc fine, ' r i:
And mvifli millions with tlicir madrigals j .» !
But all no Icfs inferior unto mine, ;. • / *
Than gccfe to fyrcns, pics to nightlngalct, l
Then talce nic, IUktai, to condm't thy pen! Soar up to Ikavenl there fmg th* Almighty'*
pralfe! And, tuning now the ^^-//ean harp again, - • '^. Gain thee the garland of eternal bays.
. I cannot grieflef:^ fee my Hdcrs* wrongs. Aiding bnfc lovers in deceitful fcignings, Prompting forg'd lighs^faife tcar.s, and fjithy rung's, Lafcivious iliewsand counterfeit coniplainings.
Alas ! I cannot with dry eyes behold Our holy fongs fold and profaned tlius .To grace the gracclefs j pralfing, all too bold^ • Nero, Calioula, and CommoJus*
J.
But mod I mourn to fee rare vcrfc applied Againd the author of fwect compofition ; I cannot brook to fee Heaven's King <it^ti B/ his own foldicrs, with his own munition.
I^ Man'i
And if aught precious in-' this life he rcJlcli> ' • ' - • •Tis Heaven's high bounty does the blcfTing yield. And God himlelf i\\t Delphia?t fongs doth teacli.
Each art \% Jcarn'd by art : but pojsiy '
Is a mere heavenly gift; nnd none cnn taflc' ''' The dews tliat.dro])' from Phhlur plc:nt<?-dulty/ * If 8 ACHED FittJE Iiavo not his bread embras'd ^.
Tlielice;'ti$, that mnny^ great phllofoj^hers, • ' ' '* Deep-learned clerks, in profe mod eloquchty ' ' Labour in vain to make a graceful vcrfe,' Which the young novice frames mod' excel Icnlt,
Thence 'tis, .that erd tlie poor Mcsonlan bard, . Though .madcr, means, and his own eyes he
milTcs, ' • •' •
,By old arid new is for his verfe preferred, c'^' Chanting Achilles flout and wife Ulji/fes,' '^' •
Thence 'tis, that OwV cannot fpeak in pi'ofc ; - Thence *tis, that David, iliepherd turned poet," So foon dotli learn my fongs -, and youths compofe After our art, before indeed «hey know it.
Dive day and night in the CaJlaUan fount; • - '♦ Dwell upon Homer and th(* Mantuctn nwx^c ; / Climb day and night the double-topped mount,' Where the Pierian learned tnaidens ufe. •♦. " . -
• From the French tmhrafir, to fct on fire.
Take
...... ( ^ )
Take time enough ! cboofe feat and feafon fih. To makc'^good verfc ! 'at bed advantage 'place thdc! Yet worth/ fruit thou Hialt not reap of It, . > ; 'For all thy toll^ unlcfs Urania grace thee. -' - V '
For out o^ man man mud' himfclf ndvnrick, • ■ ' ' That hi bIclVpocfy afph'CB to ilihic, . . i^ ... J And, e(:l\af'u:(l as in u holy trance, > [' /''*; .^ ^ Into our.hands hhffrtJJve part rc/ign, !' ' n';'
As human fury oft d<igradcs a man t ) .1 , > .; • i'^rlovy n mnn, (o dhintftiry makes hir.j •» ^ '.... More than himfclf; and facrcd phrcnzjr then. Above the hcavcn*sbnght flamingarches takes him*
And thence It Is, divlneft poets bring .; > *• " * So fwcet, fo learned, nnd folafiing numbers, »' Whci'e Heaven's and Nature's fecret works the/
fmg. Scorning tile power of Fate's eternal flumbcxs. ,
Since tlicrefore vcrfes' have from Heaven their
O rarcR fj)lrits ! why, ever j>ronc \o fcorning, ^ Profanely wreft you 'giiinft Heaven*.** glorious King Thefc facrcd gifts, glv'n for your life's adornrng. ?
Shall your ungrateful pens be always waiting, • As fervants to i\.t flefli, and fiaves to fm ? ' ' Will you your volumes ever more be freighting With di'cams and fables, idle fame to win ?
R a Still
Still will you comment oh edch common ^oty^ * And, fpidcr-like, "weave idle webs of folly.?: . . O ihall i never hear, you iing the glory' -..r • >'/' Of God, the Great, the Good, the Jufl/the Holy ?
WifeP/zz/e^did from his republic banlfh v.-. ./* Safe poetallers that, with vitious verfe, ••• ,•■' Corrupted manners, making virtue vaniili;. ,a The wicked worfe; and even the good pe.rvcrfe :
Not Ihofe that confecrate their graceful phrafcs. To grave-fwect matters ; fingiug now the praife Of juftefl Jove J anon from error's mazes : Warning the thoughtlefs, calling back the flrays.
The chain of verfe v/as' at the firft invented *.
To handle only facrcd myflcries ■. <■'[ >V/ith!.more refpciSl 5 and nothing elfe wai:
chanted, "For ages after, in fuch pocfies . • . : : , • ,;> :•';
"So'jdid my Davi^ to the trembling firings - -;> Of his high harp refound the only God 5 So meek-fourd Mo/n to Jehovah fings :,_ ; i o
; Jacob's dcliv'rance from i^ EgyptUm rod.. .| : ; . :^-
- ■' -i. . - ^ ■■'".• .. 'T. ,. ;• -^i: \^
So Deborah VivA JucVith in the camp.
So Job Tiw^ Jccmy^ witli cares opprcfs'd, / '; . •
In tuneful verfcs, of a various (lamp, /, '* .'
/^Tjf^v J'^vc - -,.' '^r'hs (liyinelv-fweet exprcfs*d.f\v
{ H5 ) ■
5?o tir antlcnt voice in DoJon worfluped^ - '
So E/cuInplus, Ammottj and the fair
And famous 'Sibyls fpaVe and propheficd
In vcrfe : in verfc the prlcft prelerr'd his prayer.
So Orpheus, Linus t and HrfoJus^
(Of whom the fir ft charm'd flocks and floncs, His
' faid,) '• •';*,,"
In facrcd numbers erft, to profit us, ' ' - Secrets divine of deepcft Ikill convcyM,
You that afpirc to wear the laurel crown! Is't pollible a loftier flrain to take, "
Than his high pralfe who makes the Heavens go
round, . r
The mountains tremble, and dark Hell to quakjc ?
' I^afe argument a "bafe flyle ever yields. While flrains fublime a lofty fubje(5l ralfes > Prompting grave llately words, itfclf it gilds. And crowns the autlior's pen with wortlneft praifos.
If tlicn you would furvive yourfclves fo gladly. Follow not liim who iDurn'd, to purcliafe fame, Diana's temple; neither him that madly. To get renown, the brazen bull did frame*
Great works,-*tis tfue, prcferve the mcmor}- Of thofe that make tlicm j die Maufohan toml> flakes Artemififif Scopas, Timothy, iJvje to this day^ and Hill to time to corac.
sj Ttjcn
( '^46 V
Then fincc tlicfc great and goodl/ monuments Can make their makers after death abide, Altho' themfelves have vaniilied long fmce. By the confuming power of time dellroy- d :. .
0 tliink, I pray you, how much greater gioxy
, Shall you attain, when your fublimer flrairis . ^ Shall rife to celebrate th' Almighty's flory ; And hymn tji* Eternal JL.ordj, on high that rcjgns.
1 know youH anfwer that the antient fi6lions Are your fong's ejfence\ and that cv*ry fable.
Ay breeding others, makes by their commixtions To vulgar ears your verfe more admirable.
But what may be more admirable found ' Than faith*s clfedlls ? Or what doth more control! Wit's curious pride ? Or witli more force con- found The proud prefumptions of the human foul ?
rd rather fing the To w'r of -fftf^'/(?« ' •
Than thofe tlirce mountains, that in frantic mood The giants pil'd to pull Jove from his throne ^ And Noafis rather than Deucalion s flood.
rd rather fing the fudden fliapc-depriving Of AJfurs monarch, than th* Arcndlan lord ; ^ And the ^fM^7«/^« iL/7z«fr/// reviving, ^ .^s
Than valiant Thefeus fon to Efe rcHor'd. \,, ,
,■■■■'■ ' . ;^ "' "''' "' One
(' $-47- ) •
Qnevalnly doth ddight^tliclr ears wlio hear it,. The other profits in abundant mcafurc;. '; . V And on}/ lie tjiclavircr^ crown <,lqth0icrlt,i ^ • Who wif^ily. mingles profit witli his pleafure. - '
Abandon tjien tJicfe old wjvcfi'. talc? nnd tov?/' Leave tlic young wanton who the bl;n4 Qbij(i^/ Who only vacant, idle hearts annoys :.t' Henceforth no n:iore- profane tlie facred rnufcs. .
But all in vain, in vain, alas ! I plain me: Some fubtle adders, to cfcapc my charming,*". Stop their dull ears; fomc epicures difdain rnc, , Mock my reproofs, and fcorn ray zealous vi'arnln^.
f Altho' this age of happy wits have florc. Scarce one I fee but wantonly profane? . Jlis native powVs, and, fcorning Heaven's blcJl lore, . »
To Fiinui praife devotes his fliamelcfs i^rains. J
But thou, my darling, wliom, before thy birth. The facred Nine, that fip th* immortal fprlng Of Pegafusy predeftin'd to fct fortli Th* Almighty's glory, and Jiis praife to fing !
Altho* thcfe fuhje6ls feem a barren foil, Wliich fined wits have left for fallow fields. Yet do thou never from tlils talk recoil j For what is rarell greatefl glory yields,
Falut
r.aint not, my Sallust, though fell envy bark' At the bright rifing of tliy fair renown 5 Fear not her malice y for thy living work, '' Jn ^ite of her, ihall not be trodden down.
With condant (lep that facred path purfuc. Which Heaven-bkft fpirits alone are form'd to
trace 5 -And thine fhall be the mede to merit due, Among bed wits to have the worthiefl place/*,.
With thefe fwect accents, grac'd in utterance, "" Urania, holding in her maiden hand .'Ji glorious crown, rapt up in facred tranfc My foul devoted to her high command. . , ..
Since when, that love alone my heart hath fir*d, : Since when, that wind alone my fails Irath fpread 5 O happy ! might I touch that crown dcfir'd ! Thrice happy ! miglit it deck my honored head !
( H9 )
ERRATA.
34» 1. S. /or c^r read czT. yi, 10. /oi' come rraJ comes. 3 1. 3* ^^^^ comma ofier queen, Z i8. 10. for Du Bartas's rcati thz.
2 16. X2. for falViduous reaJ faflldlous^
( ^i^^ }
A T,.A ;[ p:
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