A Pindaric poem to the Reverend Doctor Burnet on the honour he did me of enquiring after me and my muse by Mrs. A. Behn. Behn, Aphra, 1640-1689. 1689 Approx. 6 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 5 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-01 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A27311 Wing B1754 ESTC R5178 13083752 ocm 13083752 97272 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A27311) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 97272) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 408:6) A Pindaric poem to the Reverend Doctor Burnet on the honour he did me of enquiring after me and my muse by Mrs. A. Behn. Behn, Aphra, 1640-1689. Burnet, Gilbert, 1643-1715. 8 p. Printed for R. Bentley, and are to be sold by Richard Baldwin ..., London : 1689. Reproduction of original in Bodleian Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng 2002-06 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2002-08 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2002-09 Emma (Leeson) Huber Sampled and proofread 2002-09 Emma (Leeson) Huber Text and markup reviewed and edited 2002-10 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A PINDARIC POEM TO THE Reverend Doctor Burnet , ON THE Honour he did me of Enquiring after me and my MUSE . By Mrs. A. BEHN . LONDON , Printed for R. Bentley , and are to be sold by Richard Baldwin in the Old Baily . 1689. A PINDARIC POEM . ( 1 ) WHEN Old Rome's Candidates aspir'd to Fame , And did the Peoples Suffrages obtain For some great Consul , or a Caesar's Name ; The Victor was not half so Pleas'd and Vain , As I , when given the Honour of your Choice , And Preference had in that one single Voice ; That Voice , from whence Immortal Wit still flows ; Wit that at once is Solemn all and Sweet , Where Noblest Eloquence and Judgment shows The Inspiring Mind Illustrious , Rich , and Great ; A Mind that can inform your wond'rous Pen In all that 's Perfect and Sublime : And with an Art beyond the Wit of Men , On what e're Theam , on what e're great Design , It carries a Commanding Force , like that of Writ Divine . ( 2 ) With Pow'rful Reasoning drest in finest Sence , A thousand ways my Soul you can Invade , And spight of my Opinions weak Defence , Against my Will , you Conquer and Perswade . Your Language soft as Love , betrays the Heart , And at each Period fixes a Resistless Dart , While the fond Listner , like a Maid undone , Inspir'd with Tenderness she fears to own ; In vain essays her Freedom to Regain : The fine Ideas in her Soul remain , And Please , and Charm , even while they Grieve and Pain ( 3 ) But yet how well this Praise can Recompense For all the welcome Wounds ( before ) you'd given ! Scarce any thing but You and Heaven Such Grateful Bounties can dispense , As that Eternity of Life can give ; So fam'd by you my Verse Eternally shall live : Till now , my careless Muse no higher strove T' inlarge her Glory , and extend her Wings ; Than underneath Parnassus Grove , To Sing of Shepherds , and their humble Love ; But never durst , like Cowly , tune her Strings , To sing of Heroes and of Kings . But since by an Authority Divine , She is allow'd a more exalted Thought ; She will be valu'd now as Currant Coyn , Whose Stamp alone gives it the Estimate , Tho' out of an inferiour Metal wrought . ( 4 ) But oh ! if from your Praise I feel A Joy that has no Parallel ! VVhat must I suffer when I cannot pay Your Goodness , your own generous way ? And make my stubborn Muse your Just Commands obey . My Muse that would endeavour fain to glide VVith the fair prosperous Gale , and the full driving Tide But Loyalty Commands with Pious Force , That stops me in the thriving Course , The Brieze that wafts the Crowding Nations o're , Leaves me unpity'd far behind On the Forsaken Barren Shore , To Sigh with Echo , and the Murmuring Wind ; VVhile all the Inviting Prospect I survey , VVith Melancholy Eyes I view the Plains , Where all I see is Ravishing and Gay , And all I hear is Mirth in loudest Strains ; Thus while the Chosen Seed possess the Promis'd Land , I like the Excluded Prophet stand , The Fruitful Happy Soil can only see , But am forbid by Fates Decree To share the Triumph of the joyful Victory . ( 5 ) 'T is to your Pen , Great Sir , the Nation owes For all the Good this Mighty Change has wrought ; 'T was that the wondrous Method did dispose , E're the vast Work was to Perfection brought . Oh Strange effect of a Seraphick Quill ! That can by unperceptable degrees Change every Notion , every Principle To any Form , its Great Dictator please : The Sword a Feeble Pow'r , compar'd to That , And to the Nobler Pen subordinate ; And of less use in Bravest turns of State : While that to Blood and Slaughter has recourse , This Conquers Hearts with soft prevailing Force : So when the wiser Greeks o'recame their Foes , It was not by the Barbarous Force of Blows . When a long Ten Years Fatal VVar had fail'd , VVith luckier Wisdom they at last assail'd , VVisdom and Counsel which alone prevail'd . Not all their Numbers the Fam'd Town could win , 'T was Nobler Stratagem that let the Conquerour in ( 6 ) Tho' I the VVond'rous Change deplore , That makes me Useless and Forlorn , Yet I the great Design adore , Tho' Ruin'd in the Universal Turn . Nor can my Indigence and Lost Repose , Those Meager Furies that surround me close , Convert my Sense and Reason more To this Unpresidented Enterprise , Than that a Man so Great , so Learn'd , so Wise , The Brave Atchievement Owns and nobly Justifies . 'T is you , Great Sir , alone , by Heaven preserv'd , Whose Conduct has so well the Nation serv'd , 'T is you that to Posterity shall give This Ages Wonders , and its History . And Great NASSAV shall in your Annals live To all Futurity : Your Pen shall more Immortalize his Name , Than even his Own Renown'd and Celebrated Fame . FINIS .