L^i^Jl^M wm^:i ' J^^BaHBRH I^^I^^^^H & l^li 1 ''^ K ll IfijffiSill^^^^^^l Wm li^^l^^^^^B^^BHR ' w. "^^ ,^ J^J II THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES ,u Lyra Anglicana: OR, Poetry, and its EngliJJj Reprefejitathes. a 3^ot\\\. IN FOUR PARTS. BY B. COURTENAY GIDLKY ■^ ^-^^ '■ fJllCi.j',, f LONDON: IMPRINTED AT THE GRESHAM PRESS BY J. UNWIN. 1856. TO THE REV. G. F. W. MORTIMER, D.D., HEAD MASTER OF THE CITY OF LONDON SCHOOL, Cf)io Poem IS 13EDICATED, WITH THE SINCEREST REGARD AND GRATITUDE OF HIS LATE PUPIL, B. COURTENAY GIDLEY. Carpenter Club, 18/// December, I 856. 816655 CONTENTS. Introdud:ion vii Part I. — Thought i „ II. — Language 25 „ III. — Poetry 47 „ IV. — Englifh Poetry and Poets 69 Alphabetical Lift of Poets 97 Introduition, r F Thought developed, and the gentler kind Of Reafon's workings in the human mind ; Thofe foft exprellions that the bread infpire, The welcome ftrains of great Apollo's lyre ; Thoughts which the Mufes graved with iron ftyle,* To lull the fenfes, and the heart beguile From Sorrow's gloom to Hope's enlivening ray, From Folly's night to Wifdom's dawning day : The wide expanfion of the foul in verfe. In thefe afpiring numbers I rehearfe. What but the logic of the idiot mind, The narrowed reafon of the low-born hind. * The Jlylus was the pen with which the Roimn.s iifed to write on tables of wax, and being always carried about with them, was probably the origin of the ftiletto among the Italians. viii IntrodiiBion. Could dare deny the ever potent charm Of high-fouled Poefy ? which can difarm Contention's brow of its unhallowed frown, And calm the vengeance-feeking fpirit down. Greece, the proud mother of poetic lore. With Rome, her pupil, wakes the fong no more ; And though the Bards, whom Anglia's lays inflame. Their fyftem copy, and enjoy their fame ; Still Anghan bofoms beat with fervour high. To hear the tones of native Poefy. Defcend, then. Heavenly Mufe, my tongue infpire To hymn thy praifes ; while my tuneful lyre Shall thrill refponfive to the meafured ftrain. And liftening worlds take up the glad refrain. Thought. B ANALYSIS. The origin of Thought — Its comprehenfiveners and illimitability — Its requirements — The eye the medium through which ideas of external obje6ls are conveyed to the mind — The mifery of being blind — The eye the index of the feelings — Continued operation of Thought during deep — The various workings of Thought, as obferved in Memory and Anticipa- tion ; alfo in the paffions of Hope, Fear, and Hatred — Avarice and Contentment compared — The exhibition of Thought in Love and Joy — The pleafures of refleftion on the works of Nature — Sorrow confidered, and also Faith, by the exercife of which. Thought is rendered immortal. Thought. " Sun'ey the globe, each ruder reahii explore, From Realbn's fainteft ray to Newton foar. What different fpheres to human blifs affigned ! What flow gradations in the fcale of mind ! Yet mark in each thefe myftic wonders wrought. Oh mark the fleeplefs energies of Thought ! " — Rogers. HERE is a fpring whofe waters fpurn control, Whofe fource lies deep in the immortal foul, Whofe fwelling tide no channell'd limit knows. Ever increafing as it onward flows : Now 'neath the (hade of overhanging trees, j Now cuts the plain, and courts the fragrant breeze ; B 2 'Thought. Through placid glens in fluggifh filence creeps, Or headlong o'er impeding barriers leaps ; Frefh motive force acquires at every bend, Till ocean's depths its mad progreflions end. lO That fpring is Thought — which, rifing in the mind, Exiftence gains, and takes a form defined ; And fed by Wifdom's ever-foftering ftream. Confinement fpurns — and, like an April gleam, Shoots from the cloud that ftayed its bright career, 1 5 And fpreads, enlivening, through the moiftened air. More vi^ide its circuit than the meteor's path, The foaring eagle lefs of freedom hath ; No laws reftridl, no cumbrous fetters bind The wild imagination of the mind ; 20 Nor hold within the bounds of time or fpace Thought's magic flight : with more than lightning pace It fpeeds its way far o'er the furging tide, . And hearts are joined, though rolling feas divide. But Thought requires a ftimulus beyond 25 Its own inventions, and will quick refpond, In glowing tones, to Nature's fimple ftrains Of tacit eloquence, or Art's proud gains j The vaft productions of the Omnifcient will. Or fame-crowned labours, fruits of human fkill. 30 Thofe tender orbs, that give the crowning grace To man's bold front, and gentler woman's face — Thought. The cryftal windows* of the hidden mind — Shed light o'er feelings otherwife confined In dark obfcurity :t Creation's page 35 Had been no text-book for the mufing fage, In which to read the greatnefs of His fway Who moulded earth's proportions in a day, Had He not bleffed him with the gift of fight, To know and feel that all He does is right. ' 40 How fad his lot from whom has been withheld This precious boon ! whofe breaft has never fwelled With grateful feelings for the fun's bright beams ; Who hears of oceans, and of rippling ftreams. Of mountains, valleys, villages, and towns, 45 Of golden meadows, and uncultured downs ; Yet are thefe fictions, blolToms never blown. Scenes which his clouded vifion has not known : * Tennyfon compares the mouth to the door, and the eyes to the windows of the body ; and in fpeaking of a corpfe as a " deferted houfe," says — " Clofe the door, the (liutters clofe, Or through the windows we fhall fee The nakednefs and vacancy Of the dark deferted houfe." f " It is the foul that fees ; the outward eyes Prefent the object, but the mind defcries." — Crabbe. 6 Thought, Imagination found, for Reafon fought, And Fancy feated on the throne of Thought ! 50 Yet has the eye another ufe befide Infl:ru6ling Mind how fares the world outfide : It is an index of the fecret foul, And fhows the rapid thoughts' fucceilive roll — * In love fo foft, in wonder wide dilate, 5 5 In pride half clofed, in mufings fixed, fedate, Beaming in hope, and radiant with delight. While difappointment drives it back in night, Contrail in anger, upturned in defpair, But dull in idiocy — a vacant flare. 60 Thus every feature of the viewlefs mind A quick tranflation in the eye will find. When, tired of light, the lids furrendering clofe. And Morpheus wraps the limbs in fweet repofe. Still Thought maintains its ever refllefs fway,t 65 And Fancy freely wends her fitful way ; * " I love thee ! I have gazed into thine eyes Deep as are the depths of dark blue ocean. And feen bright noble thoughts within arife. And ifllie forth in angel-like emotion." — R. GiDNEY. o \ " What, though awhile the languid frame's opprefled, And every wearied fenfe lies funk in reft, Conclude not hence the bufy fpirit fled. The mind extingui(hed, and its funflions dead ; Thotl;: «< Yes, Love indeed is light from Heaven, A fpark of that immortal fire, With angels fhared, by Alia given. To lift from earth our low defire." — Byron, The Giaour. -j- " Omnia vincit amor J et noscedamusamori." — Virgil, Pajloral 10. " Love firft invented verfe, and formed the rhyme. The motion meafured, harmonifed the chime ; To liberal a6ls enlarged the narrow-fouled, Softened the fierce, and made the coward bold." — Dryden. J CampbelPs " Pleafures of Hope." C 1 8 Thought. When Beauty lifts the veil whofe woof conceals Youth's ripening charms, and modeftly reveals To eyes enraptured the developed flower Of Nature's lovelinefs ; with fudden power, 260 Awakened Thought a new emotion feels, A magic influence o'er the fenfes fteals ; And Mind, held captive by the gentle chain — As ferpents oft their fpell-bound prey detain — Ina6live refts, while Thought, compelled to rove 265 In narrowed limits, owns the power of Love.* Yet is this Love ? I'd rather name it Luft, A foullefs paffion — fruit of mortal duft ; The frenzied fever of the eye-taught fenfe, Whofe heat more fober reafon would condenfe. 270 True Love, like Faith, owes not its power to fight. But fervent, foul-fprung, pierces e'en the night Of fightlefs mortals. If it were confined To outward form, regardlefs of the mind. And faw in Beauty a more potent charm 275 Than depth of reafon, Love would never warm The heart of him, whofe eyes are doomed to hide In midnight darknefs all the bright noontide. * " Love ! — What a volume in a word, an ocean in a tear, A feventh heaven in a glance, a whirlwind in a figh. The lightning in a touch, a millcnium in a moment ! " — Tupper. Thought. 1 9 But this is not that Love which fhall endure Through Life's extent, for deeper and more pure 280 Is that which owns refpe£l its fountain fource, Beneath the furface, fecret in its courfe ; When mind to mind, by Thought united, clings. And each partakes the good the other brings, Liice uncut gems, may bear a rough outfide, 285 While pricelefs treafures in the heart refide, Increafed by union j for the one fupplies The other's lackings : bound by thefe llrong ties. Hearts may indeed acknowledge Love's foft fway, And cheer each other through life's defert way.* 290 When Thought in looking forward feels no fear, In retrofpeclion fees no pidture drear ; When confcience ftings not, and the guilelefs breaft Can boaft a calm and lin-untainted reft — Oh, that is Joy ! the Heaven-implanted blifs 295 Of brighter worlds, by far too pure for this ! Away with that vain dogma that would find A fatisfa<3:ion for the thirfty mind * " It is a ftaff Will help you marvelloufly on your way ; And when you ftumble in the path will aid ; And when your feet grow weary will uphold ; And will in many ways aflift you." — Gidney. C 2 20 'Thought. At fin's dark fount, and gall-infe6led ftreams, The mifnamed joys of earth's inebriate dreams. 300 Huihed be the voice that falfely would afcribe The source of happinefs to that vaft tribe Of toil-earned pleafures, flames of phantom fire, That lure their flaves into deftrucSlion's mire. UnfuUied Joy owes not its noble birth 305 To fuch bafe means; the advocates of earth Can never find, within their narrowed fphere, A painlefs pleafure ;* for, in conftant fear Of difappointment, feeking vain delight, They toil by day, and fleeplefs mufe by night. 310 Reflection, ftriving to divine the caufe Of earth's phenomena — how Nature's laws Produce, continue, harmonife, and blend Her complications in one ufeful end; How years revolve, and feafons varying change 315 The garb of earth ; how, o'er the fea's wide range, The feathered tribes in Autumn wend their way. And homeward hie to greet Spring's opening day ; ^< " Falfe glozing pleafures ; cafks of happinefs ; Foolifli night-fires ; women's and children's wifhes j Chafes in arras ; gilded emptlnefs j Shadows well mounted 5 dreams In a career; Embroidered lies ; nothing between two dishes ; — Thefe are the pleafures here." — Geo. Herbert. Thought. 2 1 How ftorms arife, and Heaven's deep ordnance roll In echoing majefly from pole to pole — 320 The mind that dwells on fubje6ls fuch as thefe, Shall in them find what will infl:ru6l and pleafe ;* For trueft pleafure fprings from Nature's themes, Whofe page with frefh allurements ever teems, And bears the mind diftracfling cares above, 325 To cull the fweets in Contemplation's grove. And when the eye of Faith difpels the gloom That fpreads its mantle o'er the filent tomb. And buoyed by Hope, on Truth's unfwerving bafe, Difcerns the obje£ls of Almighty grace ; 330 Then Thought, awakened, knows completeft joy, Freed from the drofs of earth's impure alloy. How fad the contrail ! when expires the flame Of Hope and Blifs, and but the empty name Unmeaning ftands ; while fmouldering to decay 335 The lifelefs embers of enjoyment's day, O'erwhelmed in death by Sorrow's threatening tide. Let loofe the ftreams that cheering Hope had dried. When, at the fummons of Omnifcient fway, A well-loved fpirit fpeeds its Heaven- ward way, 340 • " The foul, fed and fattened on the thoughts and things around it, Groweth to perfeiRion, full of fruit, the fruit of foreign feeds." TUPPER. 2 2 Thought. And leaves a vacuum in AfFeftion's heart, To fill that fpace is Griefs unwelcome part.* Misfortune's frowns, and crime's repented wrongs Supply the whip of Sorrow with its thongs ; While fcalding tears fuffufe the drooping eye, 345 And echo hears the oft-repeated figh ; Yet troubles oft are blellings in difguife,t In mercy ordered, to divert our eyes And thoughts from earth and its alluring dreams. To fix our gaze on thofe life-giving ftreams 35° Of cleanfing grace that iflue from above. The hallowed fount of mediatorial love. Thus Thought we trace through all its varied forms. And mark its impulfe ; how in Love it warms. In Fear defponds, in Hope makes hearts grow ftrong, 355 And ruling Confcience warns the foul of wrong. Sweet Memory owes to Thought its greateft gain. And foul-fprung Pleafure only knows not pain. * " Oh ! grief, beyond all other griefs, when fate Firft leaves the young heart lone and delblate In the wide world, without that only tie For which it loved to live, or feared to die." — Lalla Rookh. \ " Yet oft affliflion purifies the mind. Kind benefits oft flow from means unkind." Savage, The Wanderer. Thought. 2 3 Defpair, and Envy, Sorrow, Hate, and Pride, Are all but channels for Thought's ebbmg tide, 360 While Chriftian graces, like the fun's bright beams, Abforb its efTence, and releafe its ftreams. And, chief of all, is that unwavering Truft Which bears the foul beyond corruption's duft, And lifts the veil from earth's reftridled fight, 365 To glimpfe the glories of unfading light, The.ever-rifing, never-fetting ray. That cheers the regions of eternal day! That fteadfaft Faith which meafures with its eye The unborn Future, whofe ena6i:ments lie 370 Involved in myftery, fealed from faithlefs ken, The Heaven-ward guide for fallen, but ranfomed men, Forefhadows, faintly. Heaven's unbounded life. Undying death, and Hell's unceafing ftrife. By means of Faith, Thought gains a wider fphere, 375 And brings the fcenes of diftant epochs near; Not bafed on fight, nor fed from Fancy's ftore. But taught by God His greatnefs to adore ; Though fown on earth, yet formed by His decree In Heaven to bloom when Time fhall ceafe to be. 380 Part M. ?^ Language. ANALYSIS. Thought without Language produces no external efFeft — The power of the Tongue — The value of Speech made apparent in the communi- cation to others of Sorrow or Joy, which are thereby alleviated or heightened — Of the gift of Oratory — Its efFeft on the lifteners more particularly evidenced when two of oppofite opinions addrefs an audience in turn — The various ufes to which Language is applied, as noticed in Pralfe, Flattery, Reproof, Satire, Scandal, Slander, and Prayer — The wreSchednefs of the Dumb and Deaf alleviated by the ability to convey ideas in writing — Writing, a mod valuable invention, as (hown by the various advantages refulting from the ufe of it — The progreflion of Language, as in the Greek and Latin ; with a fketch of the gradual formation of the Englifli Language, and Its eftablilhment under its prefent form. Language. " Speech is the golden hai-veft that followeth the flowering of thought ; Spirit may mingle with fpirit, but fenfe requireth a fynibol ; And fpeech is the body of a thought, without which it were not feen." " The pen of a ready writer, whereunto fhall it be likened ? Afk of the fcholar, he fhall know, — to the chains that bind a Proteus; Afk of the poet, he fhall fay, — to the fun, the lamp of Heaven ; A(k of thy neighbour, he can anfwer, — to the friend that telleth my thought." " It fixeth, expoundeth, and difleminateth fentiment ; Chaining up a thought, clearing it of myftery, and fending It bright into the world." — Tupper. HOUGHT, unexprefl'ed, is but as Thought unborn To minds external — as the wifhed-for morn, Ere gloomy night has yet refigned her fway To brighter fcenes of full developed day — 2 8 Language. Till Language robes it in a form defined, 5 And bears its import to the liftening mind. The Tongue is but a lever poifed with care On learning's fulcrum ; on its end doth bear The tripled force of Thought's deprefling weight, Whofe ftrength, or weaknefs, makes men fmall or great. lO This force applied, if placed with ftudious art. May roufe the mind and gain the liftener's heart ; Draw forth the tear, or caufe the joyous fmile, And Love's bright beams from Anger's cloud beguile. Doth Sorrow greet thee, or a load of care 1 5 Opprefs thy bofom till thou fcarce canft bear The heavy burthen on thy weary mind, Whofe ftruggling wings the chains of trouble bind ?* Seek, then, thy friend, on whofe confentient breaft Thy aching brow may find a welcome reft ; 20 Reveal to him the fource of all thy Grief; Thus fhare thy burthen, and obtain relief, f A true-named friend, when told thy piteous tale. Will feel thy Sorrows, and thy Grief bewail ; * " Strangulat inclufus dolor, atque exasftuat intus ; Cogitur et vires multiplicare fuas." Ecloga Ovidiana. \ " Tout mortel se foulage a parler de fes maux." Andre Chenier. Language. 29 Then every grievance will appear his own,* 25 And many an ill himfelf hath never known Seem fo familiar, that the trial, though great, Shared by his care, will fall with lefTened weight On thy fad fpirit, till a hopeful ray Shews the^worn heart a brighter coming day. 30 So, kindlier Deity, if Fortune fmile. And Sorrow hide her vifage for awhile. Thine overflowing heart a vent require. To eafe its fulnefs, and the ftrong defire To tell thy Joy in fome confiding ear, 35 Whofe difmal path thy heart-fprung glee may cheer ; Hafte to thy friend, who bore with thee thy woe. And fhare with him the blifs that greets thee now : Participation gives an added zeft To every pleafure, and is doubly bleft, 40 In that it binds, with every ftrongeft tie. The hearts of friends in fondeft fy mpathy.f * " Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur." — Enmus. " Idem velle, atque idem nolle — ea demum firma amicltia est." Sallust's Catilina. ■\ " Quid dulcius, quam habere, cuicum omnia audeas sic loqui ut tecum ? Qu^is effet tantus fi-u6lus in profperis rebus, nifi haberes qui illis aeque ac tu ipfe gauderet ? Adversas vero ferre difficile elTet iine eo, qui illas gravlus etiam, quam tu, ferret." — CiCERO, De Amicilia. 30 Language. He who hath ftored his brain from wifdom's page, And learnt to blend the Speaker with the fage, Can mount the roftrum, and, with ready fkill, 45 Control men's hearts, and turn them at his will ;* Diftrefs he pi6lures, and draws forth the tear ; He warns of danger, and awakens fear; Or dwells on glory ; then their pulfes beat In fwifter meafures : if anon he treat 50 Of honour, country, an ambitious foe. The nation's flower of chivalry laid low — Their bofoms fwell with patriotic zeal. Each word, each fentence, as he fpeaks, they feel ;t His voice the match to light the fmouldering fire 55 Of thirfty vengeance, and indignant ire. The theme he changes, tells a tale of love. How conftant trials afFe6lion's value prove, The diftant journey, and the deadly ftrife, Hellena's fears for bold Auguftus' life ; 60 Her chiding fire, who deems the youth's defcent Of meaner blood than fhould with his be blent. * " Has Heaven more envied favour to beftow Than fenfe, and eloquence that fenfe to Ihew ?" — S. Rogers, Bath. f " Thou turned the key of their love, bending their affeftions to thy purpofe, And all, in fympathy with thee, tremble with tumultuous emotions." TUPPER. Language. 3 1 While yet the maiden, faithful to her vow, Can dare the frown that gathers on his brow ; And though a high-born lordling feeks her hand 65 Yet, nobly conftant, makes a dauntlefs ftand — With anxious filence they each fcene attend, And, fcarcely breathing, wait the doubtful end. The power of Eloquence we beft may learn, When adverfe minds addrefs the mafs in turn ; 70 The firft who fpeaks may advocate a caufe, Enhance its obje6ls, and by all the laws Of ftri6left logic prop the well-built frame Of fubtle argument, to urge his claim ; The liftening concourfe, thinking but as one, 75 Embrace his views, and fo his talk is done. But if a fecond, with perfuafive art. His rival's plan difTeiling, part by part, Difplay the feeming folly of the fcheme — " A frail chimera," and " a lifelefs dream" — 80 The tables turn, the vacillating crowd. Like marfli-fprung withies, are as fimply bowed ; Whichever way the wind may chance to fet. They with it bend, and former will forget.* * This efFeft is admirably portrayed by Shakefpeare, in the conflicting fpeeches of Biutus and Antony over the body of Caefar, See Julius Ca/ar, Ad III., Scene 3. 3 2 Language, But trace we Language through its varied ftreams, 85 That give a fubftance to Thought's fhadowy dreams, The forms of Speech, refultant from the need Of further blellings than thofe yet decreed ; Reproof's corredlions. Love's endearing tones, The fongs of Gladnefs, and Misfortune's groans, 90 The fecret Slander, that deflroys a name. And friendly Praife, that ftimulates to Fame.* When man, with honeft purpofe ftrives to fill His chofen ftation, and improves the (kill By Heaven advanced, nor like the fluggard hind 95 Immures in folly his ill-furnifhed mind ; E'en though in this he but God's law obeys. Yet who'll deny how fweet the voice of Praise ? f The drowning man, who beats with eager hand The threat'ning wave, and gafps to gain the land ; 100 The while he feels that if his flrength fhould fail, Death is his portion ; ftill, above the gale ''<- " Praife a wife man, and fpeed him on his way." — Tupper. f " The love of praife, howe'er concealed by art. Reigns more or lefs, and glows in every heart : The proud, to gain it, toils on toils endure j The modeft Ihun it, but to make it fure ; Ctr globes and fceptres, now on thrones it fwells. Now trims the midnight lamp in college cells." Dr. Young, Lo've of Fame. Language. 3 3 He hears the voices of expedbant friends Cheering him on ; encouraged he extends His weakening arms, and, rifing o'er the furge, 105 Lifts to the winds that yet may wail his dirge \ Another cheer, another ftrain for hfe. And death or fafety ends the anxious Pcrife. Why toils the ftatefman through the fleeplefs night ? Why feeks the chief the thickeft of the fight ? 110 Why rifles the failor, on the rolling wave, The hfe that cofts him many a pang to fave ?' Ambition's dream, the love of human fame,* The thirft for greatnefs, and a titled name; Thefe are the fcrews that, turned by Fortune's hand, 1 1 5 Can move the minds of thoufands at command ; And Tyro's toil through learning's arduous ways Knows nought more fweet than Philo's valued pralfe. But Adulation is the gift of fools, By fools accepted ;t it annuls the rules 120 * " For this, conquerors, regicides, and rebels have dared their perilous crimes. In all men, from the monarch to the menial, lurkcth lull; of fame." — Tupper. " Timely-given praife is even better than the merited rebuke of cenfure." — Ibid. \ "The world is full of fools ; and fycophancy liveth on the foolilh." Ibid. D 34 Language. Of merit's recompence, and worth's reward ; And folly gains the praife, from mind debarred. When, chained in mifery, the cringing flave Would gain oppreflion's ear, and humbly crave Extended largefs — when the debtor feels 125 Increafnig claims retard his eager heels. And bind his freedom ; then he takes the oil Of fmooth-tongued Flattery, which, e'en though it foil The ufer's fingers, blinds his patron's eyes,* Whofe felf to felf feems robed in nobler guife, 1 30 While giving gracious audience to the prayer Of mock fubje6lion, that, with zealous care, Affefts to honour, while but fcorn it feels. Applauding virtues pra6lice ne'er reveals. Deferved Reproof, that from AfFeftion fprings, 135 Is better far than Flattery's hidden ftings. The eye of Love dete6ls the lurking ill, And gently chides, yet, chiding, loveth ftill. It grieves to fee the firft increafing fpot. Which, if unchecked, may prove the faddeft blot 140 On honour's mantle, and, with loving pain Obferving, fpeaks, and, fpeaking, moves the ftain. " Show me a popular man ; I can tell thee the fecret of his power : He hath foothed them with glozing words, lulling their ears with flattery." — Tupper. Language. 3 5 When Love avails not, Juftice' fterner hand, With life and death, the flaves of its command, Makes known the rigour of the Law's decree, 14.5 And feals the a£t that fets a fpirit free. But if the tongue, to meaner ufe inclined. Lets loofw the thoughts of Anger's tainted mind, The bitter curfe of Hatred's loathfome breath. Recoiling wounds, and works its author's death. 150 The keeneft arrow fhot from rhetoric's bow Is well-aimed Satire, which, with feeming fhow Of fatisfailion, heaps derifion's gibes On folly's altar, and, moil: grave, afcribes To flothful ignorance wifdom's greateft deeds, 155 Or fweetefl: perfumes to the rankeft weeds ; And fain would find new beauties to admire In withering age, unwarmed by amorous fire. But, moft degrading to the power of Speech Is coward Scandal, that would loudly preach 160 To fo-called friends its unreferved efteem. But in their abfence make their faults its theme \ And, not regarding Truth's moft facred bound. Invent, and vary, as the tale goes round.* * " Rolling and furging as a fea, that upturned flood of faces Hailcnetli, with its million tongues, to fpread the wondrous t:Ue. TUPPER. D 2 3 6 Language. The prating goflips at the alehoufe bar 165 Would guide a fenate, or condu6l a war ; Illiterate clowns, who, though they feem to be The very lords of Europe's deftiny, Yet condefcend their neighbour's faults to view Through Scandal's microfcope.* If any new 170 Or unknown traveller ftay awhile to reft ^Vithin their village, mark they how he's dreft, Obferve his manners, feek to know his name, His occupation, and from whence he came ; Conjedlure freely of his age, and ftate ; 175 One boldly ventures to affirm he's great ; Another differs, and would call it pride ; While one, their vain furmifmgs to decide, Pretends, with much of myftery, to know More of his bufinefs than he cares to fhew. 180 From Scandal follows Slander, at whofe fight The face of Truth is veiled ; like ftealthy night, It imperceptibly creeps on our reft. And marks our weaknefs ; then, in fidlion dreft, It fcatters freely to believing ears 185 The fabrication, by imputing fears * " Below mc there is the village, and looks now quiet and firiali ; And yet bubbles o'er like a city, with goffip, fcandal, and Ipite; And Jack, on his alehoufe bench, has as many lies as a Czar." Tennyson, Maud. Language'. 37 To men of daring ; a6ts of impious fhame To thofe who glory in a fpotlefs name ; In Love's warm, breaft fows Jealoufy's rank feed ; Makes many a heart through bafe injuftice bleed ; 190 And, not content with caufing human ftrife, Imputes mutation to the Lord of Life. The nobleft effort of the tongue is Praise, And Prayer its holieft office ; for it fways Jehovah's mind to grant the needed boon, 195 And gains the fuppliant accefs to His throne : Not that vain utterance of foullefs founds. That mock lip-worfhip which fo much abounds 'Mong fo-called Chriftians, whofe religion feems A vain hypocrify — deception's dreams. 200 But Prayer, to be effe6live, muft be real ; The foul itfelf infpire the thoughts with zeal ; Which, foaring high on Faith's expanding wing. May reach the Spirit of the Heavenly King ; Yet move Him not from His prejudged decree, 205 Nor make His fiat vary ; for 'tis He Who, ever prone repentant man to fpare, The want engenders, and fuggefts the Prayer.* * " So then, God is true, and yet He hath not changed : It is He that fendeth the petition, to anfwer it according to his will," TUPPER. 3 8 Language. Thus, holy incenfe, fhowered from above, The foftened dew-drops of eternal Love,* 2I0 Sink in the heart, till warmed by heavenly grace, Their fweeteft perfumes fill celeftial fpace, And fwiftly rife, with Supplication's theme, Back to the prefence of the Great Supreme ; Who, ready, grants the promifed bleflings claimed, 215 And hears the Prayer Himfelf at firft had framed. The Hindoo flaves the power of Vifhnu fmg, And Allah reigns the blinded Moflem's king ; The dark-fouled Magi feek the Sun's bright rays, And falling proflrate yield him borrowed praife. 220 But thefe are phantoms — fpirit-killing flames — Gods, whofe exiflence dwells but in their names ; Whofe ears are deaf to the fincereft Prayer To lighten Sorrow or avert Defpair. On furer grounds the Chriftian's hope is built; 225 He knows a fount to cleanfe his foul from guilt; He knows the means that fount's pure ftream to fhare. Is but to take the (lender key of Prayer, * " Prayer — the Church's banquet ; angel's age ; God's breath in man, returning to his birth ; The foul In paraphrafe; heart in pilgrimage j The ChriUlan plummet, founding Heaven and earth." Geo. Herbert. Language. 39 And turn the bolts that fix the maflive door Of pent-up Mercy,* which will forthwith pour 230 Its grateful tide of confolations fweet, To make his foul for Heaven's acceptance meet. AfflicSled Mutus feels the glowing thought,! The ftriking truths by Nature's volume taught ; His bofom fwells, his pulfes fwifter beat, 235 As feathered choirs chant forth their anthems fweet : He longs to tell the Joy he filent feels, Or wail the Sorrow that his heart conceals ; The rifmg accents tremble on his tongue, But yet efcape not ; he has never fung 240 The fong of freedom, or the lay of love. Nor learnt the power of melody to prove. More fad the deaf, who fees the lightning flafh, But cannot hear the thunder's echoing crafh ; Though to the rifmg fun the lark may fing 245 His loudeft carols, on untiring wing. * " Prayer is the golden key that can open the wicket of Mercy." TUPPER. f " There be who can think within themfelves, and the fire burneth at their heart, And eloquence waiteth at their lips, yet they fpeak not with their tongue." — Ibid. 40 LanmaQ-e He might as well, with his melodious tones, Have waked the echoes at the fartheft zones. The voice of kindnefs he can never hear, With friendly chat his lonelier hours to cheer; 250 Earth all is foundlefs ; and, without a roar, The ftorm-lafhed ocean beats the fhingly fhore ! Through thefe we fee, in all its pricelefs worth, The greateft gift vouchfafed to lower earth — The power of fixing, in fy mbolic form, 25 c The varied thoughts which man's proud bofom warm. The deaf can hear, the dumb a voice can find,* To eafe the want, or fulnefs of their mind ; For he who writes may feelings oft reveal, His lips would elfe in unborn life conceal ; 260 And he who reads^ e'en though but dead to found, May yet in Wifdom's coftliefl gifts abound. The life-long toils of philofophic zeal Would be but loft, and none their bleffings feel. Save thofe who lived coeval with the Sage, 26? And with him gleaned from Nature's opening page ; Unlefs the thoughts thus heaped in Memory's ftore Be graved in cyphers of undying lore, * " O precious compenfation to the dumb, to write his wants and wifhes ! O dear amends to the ftammering tongue, to pen his burning thoughts !" — TUPPER. Language. 4 ^ That after-ages may his labours fcan,* Improve the fcience, and revere the man.f 270 How hard the talk to ftore the infant mind With goodly wares of learning's various kind ; Did Wifdom's life on Memory's flrength depend, Tradition's nurfling, doomed thus to defcend, From ftep to ftep, the genealogic fcale — 275 Invention's fport when fadls of knowledge fail. Or how could friends, whofe duties caufe a breach To fever kindly intercourfe, e'er reach Each other's fpirits, fave by tranfcript Thought, Conveyed in figns neceflity has taught ? 280 Where were the might of editorial fway, Whofe fmgle thought a thoufand wills obey ? Or where of Bibliophilus the zeal, Ambrofial fweets from ancient lore to fteal ? Where were the immortality of fame, 285 The deathlefs glory of a lauded name. If Language fpoke but to the ear alone. And written Speech were ftill a thing unknown ? Or how, when Death's forefhadowings caft a gloom O'er Life's laft hours — a preface to the tomb — 290 * " So the mind that was among us, in its writings is embalmed." TXJPPER. f " Serit arbores, quae alter! faeculo profint." — Statius. 42 Language. And niggard Dives feeks, with jealous care, His goods to apportion, and bequeaths his heir — A recklefs fpendthrift — but a pittance fmall, Who ne'er had doubted his poflefling all ; Can he be certain that his will (hall find 295 Its due fulfilment, if he do not bind By witneffed deed — fecured, in cleared phrafe ■ Of legal forefight, from each likely phafe Of difcontent that may perchance arife — The legatees of this his hoarded prize ? 300 So thus, though Speaking ferves our prefent need, Expreflive founds, which cuftom hath agreed — Yet, to record the annals of the Paft, And over future dynafties to caft The fpirit of the Prefent, and difFufe 305 The increafing ftores of learning, we muft ufe More lafting means ; 'tis written Speech conveys To prefent minds the adts of bygone days \ And prefent words in future epochs live. Robed in that truth the pen alone can give. 310 The ftore of Language, like a fpreading tree. With time increafes ; helplefs infancy Can fcarce lifp forth the little wants it feels. While plaintive fobbings form its chief appeals ; With years advancing. Thought more adlive grows, 315 And Speech in ftreams of richer fulnefs flows, La?2s:uas:e. 'guage. 43 Till youth progrelling learns, with ripened age, The deepeft terms in Wifdom's ftudied page. 'Tis To with nations : ere refinement's day Has chafed the night of Ignorance away, 320 The ill-clad ferfs, who hunt the flying herds, Have fcarce more need of clothing than of words ; But when the dawn of opening fcience breaks Through Folly's gloom, and fleeping Reafon wakes; When conquering heroes, 'neath the yoke of v/ar, 325 Bring in the wealth of kingdoms from afar; Increafed dominion gives a wider range For Art's progreflion, and the love of change. Innate in man, Invention's aid requires. To feed Ambition's unappeafed defires.* 330 When firft Deucalion on ParnafTus flood, Refcued from Lethe, and the Stygian flood ;t * " Semper infinita, infatiabilis eft.'" — Sallust's Catilina. ■\ " Hujus temporibus (b.c. 1522) aquarum eluvies majorem partem populopjm Grajciae abfumpfit. Supert'uerunt, quos refugia montium receperunt, aut ad regem Theflalise Deucalionem ratibus eve6ti funt ; a quo propterea genus hominum conditum dicitur.'" JusTiNus, Lib. 7., Cap. 6. " Quo tempore primum Deucalion vacuum lapides ja6lavit in orbem ; Unde homines nati — durum genus." — Virgil, Georgic 1. Hyglnus fays, Deucalion faved his life by taking refuge on the top of Mount .^tna in Sicily. 44 Language. With gentle Pyrrha bent his fteps to earth, And cured, by means moft wondrous, human dearth; Achaia's voice was but the jargon rude 335 Of naked favage and of helot crude ; Till other people, forced by war's decree, Or lured by commerce o'er the furging fea j More verfed in fcience, and refined in art, Could Learning's hght to Hellas' gloom impart. 340 'Twas then the fon of Grecia's glowing clime Could rife in thought to Reafon's courts fublime. And, feeking words to unload his fwelling mind, A more advanced nomenclature could find. As Rome her fcroll of rifing fame unfurled, 345 To wield her fceptre o'er a trembling world ; Her language grew at firft a babbling ftream, At length a fea convulfed with freedom's theme ; Till when ftie fang the foul-infpiring lay Of patriot zeal and unrefifted fway, 350 'Twas in that tongue with which her bold commands Were thundered forth upon the fubjeit lands. 'Twas fo with Britain, who can proudly boaft Her voice refounds from each remoteft coaft ; On whofe domains the fun-beams never fet, 355 Whofe word may be Earth's ruling diilate yet. When Caefar's galleys fought our native land. And Roman foot-prints firft imprefled her fand, Latiguage. 4^ The lords of Britain were but free-born flaves, Whofe regal caftles were the mountain caves ; 360 Though- free in body, yet in Speech and Thought The flaves of Ignorance 5 v/ho, by ferfdom, bought A greater freedom J for their foreign lords With varying fpeech increafed the ftore of words. Till Britain's language, like an inland fea, 365 From confluent ftreams acquired fufficiency. Jutes, Angles, Saxons, Britons, Danes combined. By blending tongues, to form a fpeech refined : Then Norman William left his Gallic throne. To make our fields of waving gold his own; 370 And merged the foftnefs of that warmer clime. To give the whole a fentiment fublime. Long did the fturdy " Saxon churls" rebel Againft this inroad, and their bofoms fwell With righteous wrath at the unheard-of wrong, 375 W^hich bid them to forget their mother tongue.* But native pride was greater than to bow To proud ufurpers, or one claim allow Which fhould diminifli its anceftral right, Or fell its freedom to a foreign might ; 380 * " The Saxon language, however degraded, Hill continued to main- tain its ground, an generally fpoken, and even employed in works of" information and amufement, for at Icaft a century after the Norman conqueft." — Dr. Johnson. 46 Language. Till cuftom, Nature's fecond-felf, difpelled The gathering clouds, and rifing difcord quelled. And thus defcent, with claffic fprigs entwined, Expreflive force with euphony combined,* Britannia's voice is loud in Juftice' caufe, 385 And rules impartially by Freedom's laws ; The laft to wake the fl umbering fiend of ftrife, The firft to give a vanquifhed brother life:t And long may Britons boatt, both old and young, The free enjoyment of their mother-tongue ; 390 Be this their motto — that though wars increafe, The voice of Britain is the voice of Peace ! *".... England, dear old England ! Who dare her honour mar ? She'd rather bind a broken heart, Than break a heart in war." — Caper N. \ " Let foreign nations of their language boaft, What fine variety each tongue affords ; I like our language, as our men and coaft : Who cannot drefs it well, want wit, not words." Geo. Herbert. Part Hh r Poetry. ANALYSIS. Invocation to Apollo — Profe and Poetry contrafted — The Poetry of rural, and of human nature — Poetry defined — Formations of Metre — The diftinftion between Strefs and Accent — Rhyme explained — The caufes which led to the production of Poetry, and its progrefiion — The various fpecies of Poetry, as Paftoral, Defcriptive and Romantic, Dida6lic and Satiric — Of the Styles of Writing — The Power and Glory of Poetry, and its value in the fervice of Religion. Poetry. " Poetry Is the honey of all flowers, the quintefllVnce of all fciences, the marrow of all wits, and the very phrafe of Angels." — John Nash. " Of all thofe arts in which the wife excel. Nature's chief mafter-piece is writing well ; No writing lifts exalted man fo high, As facred and foul-moving Poefy : No kind of work requires fo nice a touch ; And, if well finiflied, nothing fhines fo much." John Sheffield, Duke of Eiickinghamjliire. ESCEND, ye fplrits* of poetic lore! Lend me your wings, that I may fafely foar To giddy heights of Apollonian fong, And fleer my courfe the Mufe's groves among. * " The godlike few, Who to the enraptured heart, and ear, and eye. Teach beauty, virtue, truth, and love, and melody." BEATTit's Minjlrel ^o Poetry. Thou for whofe birth, and for vvhofe mother's need, 5 The fea-born ifle of Delos reared its head ; Thou for whofe death the jaws of Python gaped, But who through Neptune's timely aid efcaped; Infpire my Lay, and guide my ready quill, To tell thy greatnefs, and declare thy fkill \ 10 That power by which the Delphic Sybil fwayed The minds of thofe who at thy altar prayed ;* That fkill which taught Achaia's claflic lyre. And fanned the flame of Rome's poetic fire ;t Whofe birth was hailed with Time's firfl: dawning ray, 15 Whofe life fhall ceafe but with its clofing day. The vaft conceptions of the human mind. In language robed, are of a two-fold kind : Laws, Hiftory, Logic, does the one comprifej Truths unadorned, and facSls without difguife j 20 The voice of Science, and the dire decree Of ftern-eyed Juftice, beft with Prose agree : But when our breaft a gentler theme infpires. The paffions, feelings, fentiments, defires. * " Templum autem Apollinis Delphis pofitum eit in monte Parnaffo, in rupe undlque impendente." — JusTiNUS, Lib. 24, Cap. 6. f " Phoebus artem Canninis, nomenque dedit Poetae." — Horat,, Lib, 4, Car. 6. Poetry. 5 1 The flights of Fancy, Hope's aerial dreams, 25 The purer tributes to Life's turbid ftreams ; 'Tis then the need of Poesy we find, To clothe the thoughts that fill the fwellino; mind In ftated meafures, with melodious eafe. The hp5;ri: to foften, and the ear to pleafe. 30 Poetic thought, emerging from the foul On foaring pinions, fpurns the mean control Of vulgar fpeech, and feeks a wider range Of choice expreffions, and a pleafing change. To vary that monotony verbofe, 35 The foremoft feature of immetric Profe. Profe is a pi6ture wherein much is fliade ; Faint are its lights, and oft its colours fade ; But when the fun of Poefy has Ihed Its radiance o'er it, all its gloom has fled ; 40 And hght and eafy melody diffufe A charm refiftlefs o'er the gentle Mufe. Poetry appears on every hand to fnine. The needful eflence of that vaft defigri Which formed the earth, and blefled with life and light 45 The death-like ftillnefs of Chaotic night. When Nature's glories firft were fully ripe. Ere Pan awoke the echoes with his pipe. Or fwains, reclining, tuned the flender reed In fylvan fhadows, or on funny mead, 50 5 2 52 Poetry. In every feature of created life, The whifpering zephyr, or the ftorm's rude ftrife, The glow of Summer or the Winter's cold, The opening bloflbms Spring's firft hours unfold. The mellowed tints of Autumn's fhort'ning day, 55 The breeze that bears the withered leaves away ; On all thefe fcenes might Thought untutored dwell. And favage bofoms with emotion fwell. It needed not to them the treafured ftore Of book-worm's learning, or logician's lore, 60 To fee and feel the harmonies that bind Creation's parts : the portals of the mind, The vifual orbs, admit the grateful light Of Nature's glories, ever frefli and bright ; And Thought, awakened, fpreading forth its wings, 65 Imagination from its fl umber fprings, And Fancy lends her foftering aid to free The captive Mufe of unflcilled Poefy.* " Nor let it faith exceed, That Nature forms a ruftic tafte fo nice." — Beattie. " Format enim Natura prius nos intus ad omnem Fortunarum habitum ; juvat aut impellat ad iram j Aut ad humum mserore gravi deducit, et angit : Poll efFert animi motus interprete lingua." HORAT., Z)f Arte Poetica. Poetry. 5 3 Take but one drop from Time's progreffive ftream, One circling day ; when Morning breaks the dream 70 Of numbering earth, and far o'er diftant hills Aurora's glance the tears of Night difpels ; As, one by one, the ftars retreating fmile A fhori ""adieu" to {lumber for awhile; Awakened choirs in fylvan fanes unite, 75 And hymn an ode of welcome to the light. The gay-plumed cock, proud herald of the morn, Conducts the Anthem's burden in his turn, While lowing herds and bleating flocks prolong. And fwell the chorus of this opening Song.* 80 The day advances ; high in Heaven's vaft arch The Sun's bright fteeds purfue their ceafelefs march ; I'he earth is ftirlefs, fave the foliate trees Which, harp-like, moan, refpondent to the breeze; And ftreamlets dancing o'er their pebbly way, 85 Scatter above their light prifmatic fpray : f * " But who the melodies of morn can tell ? The wild brook babbling down the mountain fide ; The lowing herd." — Beattie. t " The only found Of leaves and fuming rills, Aurora's fan — and the ftirill matin fong Of birds on every bough." — Paradife Lojl. 54 Poetry. The waving fields, v/ith. golden harvefts rife, Vie with the light that killed them into life ; The emerald meads, with rainbow tints abound, And ftrew their fragrance o'er the fmiling ground.* 90 As day declines, and twilight's hour draws near, Dame Nature's offspring for repofe prepare ; And Sol, defcending to the fartheft weft. In Ocean's billows feeks his fabled reft — That heavenly mirror, bofomed in the earth, 95 In whofe clear depths the ftars have fecond birth, And finny nations, in unnumbered fhoals, Throng its vaft labyrinth of coral halls — High over head the Night's fair crefcent Queen Sheds her pale radiance o'er the peaceful fcene. lOO In all this harmony there's more than ftiow. More than the eye of Senfe alone can know ; 'Tis Nature's book fpread open to our view, Each page is wifdom, and each thought is new ; The parts comprifing one harmonious whole, 105 Infpire with trueft Poetry the foul. * " But mighty Nature bounds as from her birth, The fun is in the heavens, and life on earth j Flowers in the valley, fplendour in the beam j Health in the gale, and frefhnels in the ftream." Byron, Lara. Poetry. 55 Or turn from Nature, and confider Man, His frame examine, and its ufes fcan ; Death's conftant aim, and vile corruption's prey, A mould'ring tenement of earth-formed clay, no Which yet contains, though free from its control, A deathlcfs fpirit — an immortal foul; The foul ordains, the body, ferf-like, yields. And owns the power which Thought's bright fceptre wields. What wondrous fkill, what vaftnefs of defign, 115 That formed each part, and planned each flender line, Bones, veins and arteries, mufcles, joints and nerves. All have their ufe, and each fome end fubferves : The eye, the index of the hidden mind, Joins with the ear increafing ilore to find ; 120 The tongue, the thought in fitting fpeech arrays. And thus its import to the world conveys. Though fhrewd Invention gave to Poefy birth, Yet this, like other children of the earth. Was naked born, and therefore muft be clad 125 In garments formed the mortal eye to glad : Enlivening Fancy, penetrating Wit, Language feledled for the fubjeil fit,* * " Non fatis eft pulchra efle poemata : dulcia funto, Et quocunque volent, animum auditoris agunto." HoRAT., De Arte Poetica. * 5 6 Poetry. A Mind well ufed to reafon and refle6t, Genius to write, and Judgment to corre6l ; 130 The words well ftrung, in Metre fmooth and free, Melodious all, is perfeft Poefy. Concerning Metre, I might juftly fhew The rules by which the words in order flow ; Syllabic length, of meafure the defign, 135 How many feet compofe the various line ; The Iambus, Trochee, Spondee, Pyrrhic, thefe Are DiiTyllabic ;* while, the tafte to pleafe, And form a fcale to admit the freer ufe Of words and phrafes, elfe by law exclufe, 14.O We have the Anapaefl:, and Dactyl Mete, Amphi- and Tri-brach, Trifyllabic feet.f Iambi, ftrung together in a line Of various length, to pleafe the heavenly Nine, * Diflyllabic feet are thus exprefled : — Iambus, u — as avert, revenge. Trochee, - >j as diftant, dainty. Spondee, - - as unwell, bright ray. Pyrrhic, w ^ Form L9-100m-9,'52(A3105)444 UNIVERSITY 01 il^ 3 1158 00655 26 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000378 214 1