\ ,/ -J:?*-: <'^S%|yM \^ \ p^ «p^ \ ^ / t - - - * .^'"^ '•i % \ 'J^ N r r ,! \ ' 4i c ; THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES FREDERIC THOMAS BLANCHARD ENDOWMENT FUND % >.v PHILOTOXI ARDEN.E; THE WOODMEN OF ARDEN; A L A T I N POEM: By JOHN MORFITT, Esq. Barrister at Law. WITH A TRANSLATION in Blank Verse; Another in Rhyme; ATTEMPTED IN THE MANNER OF DRTDEN, And dedicated (by Permiffion) to the Right H onourab le the COUNTESS OF AYLESFORD: AND An ESSAY on the Superiority of Dryden's Verfification over that of Pope and of the Moderns ; By JOSEPH WESTON. Waller was fmooth, but Dryden taught to join The varying Verfe — the full refounding Line — The long., majejlic March — and Energy Divine! Pope. BIRMINGHAM: PRINTED BY M. SWINNEY, FOR THE AUTHORS; AND SOLD. BY G. G. J. & J. ROBINSON, LONDON FLETCHER, OXFORD; AND MERRILL, CAMBRIDGE. ( entecen nt ^tationetiei' mil ) ^555 ADVERTISEMENT. The following Lines were written merely for the Amufe- ment of a private Circle ; but, an ingenious Friend having honoured them with a double Verfion, I hereby fubmit them to the Eye of the Public : in Hopes that any Languor in the Original will be atoned for by the Spirit of the Tranflations, and the judicious Criticifm contained in the manly Effay that accompanies them. Should they tend, in the leaft Degree, to promote the truly Britifh Exercife of Archery, the Author's moft fanguine Expedations will be anfwered. The Landfcape defcribed in the Opening fhews that they were written in a Summer Month, and the Scene is laid in the Forest of Arden, near Packington-Hall, the Seat of the Right Honourable the Earl of Aylesford. -— - . Birmingham, Dec. 15, 1788. B 764427 PHILOTOXI ARDENT. J U R G I A rauca Fori valeant ! Fraus aulica flexo Poplite, Magnatum pulverulenta Cohoi^I Urbe, nee invideo, vivant, vigeantque! remotum Me procul a Strepitu rofcida Rura teiient. Fulminet in Verrem Cicero fine More Britannus, Et vehemens inflet Foxius^ Ore boans. Hie fecura Quies, quae n>e mihi multa dolentem Reddidit ; aegro Animo fola Medela, Quies. Nefcio quid leviter meditanti condere Soles Hie licet, et Flacci fallere More Diem. Mollis THE WOODMEN OF ARDEN. They march like Scythians, with their pliant Bows. Theoc. Farewell, hoarfe Quarrels of the Bar ! The Fraud Of Courts, with ever-bending Knee, and all The dully Cohort of the Great, farewell ! Still let them live, ftill flourifh, in the City, By me unenvied ; me, whom — far remote From Noife — the Country, bright with Dew, detains. Let Britifh Cicero thunder againft Verres, All Decency difdaining ; and let Fox, Vehement Fox, prefs after, bellowing loud ! Here Quiet reigns ; who me, long loft in Grief, Has to myfelf reftor d : here reigns fecure. Quiet ! Sole Medicine to a Mind difeas'd ! Here 'tis allowed me, wrapt in Meditation, (On what I know not) to deceive the Day, And bury Suns, as Flaccus did before me. Here ( ^ ) Mollis adefl; Somnus, quern nil nifi Paffer iniquus Difcutit, aut Zephyrus Murmura grata ciens. Ulmea ftat Series, quse magna protegat Umbra, Languida dum nimio Sole Cicada crepat. Herbae quam redolent ficcas ! vix vifa fub albis Nubibus, exercet Carmen Alauda fuum. Omnia funt Cordi : Mihi funt jucundus Apollo, Largaque flillantes Attica Mella Libri. Nee, Digbcee^ procul tua Teda Volumine curvo Coerula dant Fumum confpicuique Lares. Pulvere non fordes, Vir confultiffime, do6lo, Sed Charites tecum, et compta Minerva fedent. Atria confurgunt fublimibus alta Columnis, Quae prope, Dux Nemorum, Fincius ipfe colit. Stirpe Decus repetens praeclara, clarior Ipfe, Cui Rura arrident Capripidefque Chori. Haecce ( 7 ) Here Is foft Sleep, that Nothing but the Sparrow, Th' unlucky Sparrow, or the murmuring Zephyr, Can violate. — There ftands an elmy Row, Which may proteft me by abundant Shade, What Time the Grafshopper, all faint with Heat, Chirps languidly. How fweet the Hay ! Scarce feen In the white Clouds, the Lark purfues his Song. All — all is well ! Smiling Apollo mine — And Books, diftilling Stores of Attic Honey ! Nor afar off, O ^ Digby^ from thy Roofs Of Azure Hue, and thy confpicuous Lares, Arifes Smoke, in many a wreathed Volume. Thou art not fordid, moft accompli fli'd Lawyer, With Duft of fqualid Learning ; but with thee Refide the Graces, and Minerva dreft ! At Hand, on Columns awfully fublime. Grand rife the Halls which ^ Finch himfelf mhabits — The Captain of the Groves ; renewing ftill The Honours of a moft illuftrious Race, Himfelf yet more illuftrious : in whofe Eye The Country fmiles, and | Cloven-footed Choir. * Wriothefly Digby, of Meriden, Efq. t The Earl of Aylesfoid. X Strldly, Goat- f ootid Chohz; viz. Pan, Sylvanus, and the other rural Deities. C Thefe { 8 ) Hascce arclet fapiens, et " aperto Vivere Voto"* {ii'.i Ui ■ 'i- "'ii' ■ Otiaque, Exemplo Ccefaris^ alma fequi. Circiter Hunc Juvenum certat pharetrata Gaterva, Torquet ct adduda. Gnoffia Tela Manu: Tela verenda quidem, qiieis ^tv'it Gallia fra6la, Lilia dum rofeo tinda Cruore rubent. Lauriger Edvardus^ pennato Marte timendiis, Hoftica CreJJiaci Millia flravit Humi. En! ubi gramineis ingens patet Area Campis, Agmina Sylvicolce Nobilis Arma parant. ^ Fallor ? an Auriculis modo ftridet Arundo volucris ? Fervet Opus ; fervet dulcis Honoris Amor. Strenuus intendit Nervum Molandus ; honeftos r Agnofco Vultus, Herculeafque Manus. * The Earl of Aylesford's Motto. Nec ( 9 ) Thefe Things he, fapiqnt, loves ; to live- with Wiflies Open as Day, and (Imitating Cafar) Jf-# 6^ Hinc paret, et ftabiles, et fine Fraude, "Roias, Nobilitate Pares Anibo, Vktiitibus ^fifibo/^^o^ Quos habetifl rofea Q^^TO^d^ l^'fis.^pgj^jpj Vivite fblicg?^^'€pnir^^Clotia tiSitis!-^^" "^^^ Conjuge fat Conjux dignus uterque fuoJ| ^y Nee minus, Alkcl^, fi .quid ^^^rtoa G^fofeif^, Vos quibus in Studiisi:Ph^bus uterque,fa<^e$ ^ Semper Honos Vefter, Philotoxi, crefcet iii Horas, Dum Nemus Ardence, Vere tepente, viret. ( 15 ) Hence may the painted Fair unlearn her Cheeks To violate ; and, fafely, hence procure Rofes — both lafling and devoid of Guile. Both equal in Nobility, and both In Virtues equal, whom rejoicing Love Holds in a rofy Chain, ftill happy live ! Still live — the Glory of a fmking Nation ! ^^ Confort of Confort worthy ! And no lefs, Ye Train of Followers — if the Mufe^s Breath Can aught avail — Ye, on whofe generous Studies, Propitious, either Phoebus fmiles ! Each Hour, Ye Philotoxites, fhall your Fame increafe, While green grow Ardens Groves, by genial Spring I ^^^^r^^'^!:>^'^-^'^<><><^ ^ ^o M I M u o o v^/ n' 1. >*0'*^*0^^.' 000'0'000^^^<^0'^00 THE WOODMEN OF ARDEN: POEM. -^•^(>^<>'<)^<><;^<)kmmmk;?'-^^ THE WOODMEN OF ARDEN; A P O E M: ( ATTEMPTED IN THE MANNER OF DRTDEN J From the Latin of JOHN MORFITT, Esq. WITH An ESSAY on the Superiority of Dryden's Verfification over that of Pope and of the Moderns ; By JOSEPH WESTON. Waller was fmooth, but D r y d e n taught to join The varying Verfe — the full refounding Line — The long, majejlic March — and Energv Divine! Pope, la o ^ ^ i^V\^ ^f>'^»' 15^ TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE COUNTESS OF AYLESFORD. MADAM, VV ERE I to purfue the beaten Path of Dedication^ I Jhould not mifs Jo favourable an Opportunity of expatiating on the inviting Topicks ^BiRTH, Rank, Beauty, Talents, and Accomplishments; but ill Jliould I dejerve the enviable Privilege which I have obtained — of prefixing to this Page fo illustrious a Name — were I capable of taking the Advantage of your Ladyjhif s Condefcenfion to violate the Delicacy of your Feelings, Nor would I wifli^ by an unneceffary Difcuffion of a SubjeEl on which only one P erf on can poffibly need Information^ to leave an Opening for general Anirnad- verfion ; for — though to draw humble Merits from the chilling Shade of Obfcurity^ into the cheering SunJIiine of public Favour^ might be to do effential Service to Mankind ( vi ) .Mankind- — ajfuredl)\ to make a formal Blazon of *G'ii A c E s arid ^Virtues which have fo long attraBed universal Attention would be jiflly confidered by the World as a viof impertinent Work of Supererogation. > ■■■.■■■■ m . ,. If^Mn^^^aElnefs borderjij.^ ^\^^'^^ii^M^\Mpi^^^fi^'^ to ham been the ObjeB of the vR^cEmNGi Tranjla- tion, tUe^To l l o w i n g one may boafl^ Madam, of having aimed at a nobler Mark; and happy fhall I he^ if^ in attempting to imitate the paraphraftic and uneauaL but generous and daring Manner of the im^(X[jf(^^ D r y d e n, I fJiall be found to have Mught^ even the fmallef Portion of a Spirit fo i'fR XrW^' DIVINE !— ^«^t^^v;', ) n J srirnlBsb / have the Honour to be^ . mov£ii With, the mofl lively Gratitude^ MS-r«"f o't ^-Jflorrrrn M A D A M^ Your Ladyfhip's mof obedient^ noin^ j^^^ d^jjQl^d Servant^ J. 7frj/im PREFACE. waaoB TO negled the modern Stile of Verfificatlon — to over- look even that vv^hich Pope introduced — arid, pro- fefTedly, to copy from the old-fafliioned Model of Drvden — will excite fome Degree of Surprize among thofe who take for granted that Poetic Diction has, fince his Time, received confiderable Improvement. — But, to confefs the Truth, I cannot help thinking that En gli s h Rhyme was brought by that wonderful Man to the Acme it^f Perfec- tion ; and that it has been, for many Years, gradually declining from good to indifferent — and from indifferent to BAD, I am not unaware that a Sentiment fo unfavourable to mojl of my Contemporaries, and fo oppofite to Prejudices long received and obftinately retained, will, probably, be conlidered as the rafli and romantic Affertion of a vain- and prefumptuous Innovator, and be treated with all the Severity ufually exercifed againft Notions which are looked B upon ( vlli ) T^pon. as heterodox. — But fuch Severity; would be flagrant Injuftice. — Ttie Opinion which I have expffe'f^edife^fiiieither cii6t'atea by vanity nor prompted by an Affe6fcation of Sin- gularity ; but is, in Fa61;, the Refult of much Re^e6lion and of very minute Invefligation. cjjbaq ms I ?'^d3jjoT To,(rq'Jutece ^to theSu^d'a'woald beU Stt^^^^ \-__tt> afVo^LPME,; 'bii't^ be unneceffary to prove ^hat I have, not hazarded fo hold a Declaration on flidit a^' '"'■^■\ - ' '^--'r' ' -''':-'■■ •- : :'3i:>v ^- ' - .Grounds : and that, while I end^vour to convince my Reader, I am, at leaft, convinced thyjelf, 'L^^c, -.'1 " The Poetry of D r y d e n, though allowed to be, in fi'lj^y^/,^^ CO RR ECT, ENERGETIC, and H A R M O MI O U S, 'Is alfo lafd to be /o;)ieif?m^j' '^cajieless,- l ang^jid, atid i? R OS A I c ; in Fine, (to ufe his own Words, wheti fpeaking ' of M I L T o N,) he is charged with having " Fiais among *' his E lev actions J" — They who bring the Charge ufually accompany if Wlffia'A' Exclamation of "how unfortunate ** Was the ^oor Man, whofe Neceflities comptlled him to " precipitate his Works to the Prefs in/o imfinijhed a State ! " ' " I f r . i. I _ . Iwill adimit the JamC'e' of the Aca/Jation^ but wave, as entirely unneceffary, the Apology. — Poor he certainly was — to ( ^ \ — to tlid fte^^tcffjiig I N F A,^i Ygpfjthe Age which he fo fplendldlyfjaiQ^i^ecl ; but hifj, poverty has little to dc).|Wi't}i ihe Quefljiion in Debate. — ^any of his Lines /eem, ;tis 'Wkiofeflfe^e'M^T^teH his l^ 'Touches; but thbfe^^ia^^ Touches;' I'M p^Tfuaded, Were ii'dt hajlily NEGttcrtD— hni 'delih^erateiy'T)\k\'t^. His intuitive Judgment, doubt- lefs, fugiggg^^ that,,5ill Things, figure httt hj<:^(^w?^k\soK.; and that even Excellence, undiverfified, muft, , at length, 'fatigue. He, UVereBr'e, 'JiMiied his Stile occ^ow^^-— to burft upon- 'his Kea:'der With the greater Spkndour, when the Subje6l demanded aLOFTiERLAY, But Kow '^ecyMFe {his Suppolition tb hh Remark ^ ^refpe6ling IVTi l'ton— ^-Which feettis to imply that no'FL*)vTS h^Jkould be-.admitted among.the,g.;j-^j,ATioNs ?— ^Very'^eafily. gxwl^Stfckdinefs ^itd Gonfiftfinr.y wiere, by no Means, Charac- jsfjlerimcs 'of the Do^ltiries' which 'D r y d e^ ' promulgated, in *liis numerous Prefaces';'-— Doctrines wliich he varied, with- out much Scruple, as Times or Circumft^pce^;chiiige4-,:'aiid, in the prefent Cafe, Dread of M i l t o n's fuperiour Genius, arid' Dete'ftation of liis pofitical PrinciJ)Ies, might, Teafona- biy, be fuppoled fomewhat to pervert his natural Gande>6r, and fomewhat to bias his ''Wdti^t^^Jf^partia^^}?. The ( ^ ) The Poetry of P o p e, though lefs enriched by classical KNOWLfe%GE, and lefs illumined by VIVID Imagination, appears, however, at Jirjl fight, to greater Advantage than Tnk'of Dryden; as it is, certainly, moreMaborately 'cSrre^, and more mechanically regular — more delicately polijhed, and more fyftematically dignified. — But are thefe really Advantages ? — Let us examine. Does the Ikilful Pai nt e r bring all his Figures forward on the Canvas, and beftow the laft Hand upon every Part of the Pi6lure ? Does the Musician cloy the Ear with an eternal Suc- ceflion of harmonious Sounds, uncontrafted by the dire but '^eceflary Difcords ? Does the Ornament of the Stage lavifh Emphafis, Expreffion, Attitude, and A6lion upon every Line of every Sentence ? Does the Beauty of a Birth-Night concentrate all her Jewels (unrelieved by Interftices of black Velvet) in one intolerableBlaze? Would ( « J Wo^Wll^eif ACE OF CR'E^T(^,9fffa^p^^,r,moj^e.lp.yeIy.\\;pre it — inftead of " rifing Into Inequalities, diverfified by the ^'^.varledi- Exuberance of abundant Vegetation"-ritq,^xl^]l^it |?i?L^im^e^itrable " Velvet La\y^, fliaven ,by^;^j^e %^{^^. Why then mufl Poetry adopt a prepofterous Plan of Equalifatlon which hqr,,§jSTER ,Mp^&,E s reje6l ^yyith Scorn , — and afpire to an inaginary Perfe6lion, alike unknown^ to Nature and to Art? .^j^,;Xl[ie,Q}^eft^pr^^fpjems to \i^ j^^fo fraall a Gon]^f^afs^ and to be fo eafy of Determination, that one feels inc^ped to en- quire how fo abfurd a Notion could poffibly gain a Footing, and maintain its Ground, in an Age fo poliflied and enlight* )^ed as to have acquired the Title of Augustan ? — Great Events, 'tis certain, arife fometimes from very trivial Gaufes; but never, furely, was fo important a Revolution in the Par- najjian Realms produced by Means fo utterly contemptible ! ,, :When Dry den's Sun was fet, darting its * brighteft Ray at its Departure, Pope vv^s j^eginning tjo dawn on t|ie poetical Hemifphere. — A young Man of lively Talents, with * Dryden's inimitable Ode is faid to have been his laft Produdion. G a pecu- ( xii ) a peculiar " Knack at Rhyming,*" could not fail to attra6b the Notice of many would-be Mec(Enafes ; among others, one Walsh undertook to ufher this rifing Genius into the World : he did more ; he affected to point out a Way, by which his Pupil fhould furpafs all who had gone before him. — "Mr. Pope, (faid he) there is one Path as yet entirely "untrodden — the Path of CorreBnefs : Dryden was a " great Poet — but he had not Leifure to be correal. — Seize " the glorious Opportunity; fupply the Deficiency, and " be immortal !" In an evil Hour did the ambitious young Bard hearken to the fatal Advice of " knowing Walfh" (as he fomewhere calls him) ; and, hoping to fupply this fuppofed Deficiency, he began to labour^ and Jiiffen, and polijh^ and refine: 'till, having difcarded whatever feemed looje, or languid^ or harjh, or profaic, his Verfe flowed in one equal, fmooth, mellifluous Stream ; marked by an almofi: total Want of that Variety of Paufe, Accent, Cadence, and DI6lion, fo eminently confpicuous in his incomparable PredecefTor, and fo abfolutely effential to the Harmony of true Poetry. The Thought is fo feldom fufFered to ftray beyond the Bounds of the Couplet, and fo frequently wire-drawn merely to end with ( 5^iii ) xii'ith it — one Part of a Line fo exa could have been adduced. — 'Tis rpleafaht to fijiid the good Do6bor appealing to the -Pjraaite oiffiAi Na^ibH, ag^ihft #hafe Decifions he has, on fo nfiariy Occafions, protefled ; and 'tis equally pleafant to find him bringing forward, as an Inftance of D r y d e n's Neglfgenc6y- a Line, which — far harmonic Energy — has not a Superiour ! — I would defy even the melodious Voice, and matchlefs Judgment, of aSEwARo — with all her known Partiality fot Popg-— to convey riiore Fafcination into her Favourite's fineft Line than that dlready pofTefTes which is the Objtea c^f Di*. Jb ri'iii s ON '^ Gehfure ; Cenfure— which will, probably, be confidered as of lid ^ery great Importance, when proceeding from one who cannot, reafonably, be fuppofed to have fludied with any extraordinary Attention that ( xvlli ) that Species of Verfe which (for aught that appears to the contrary) he never attempted to fabricate: — fince — in his WHOLE Works — it would be as arduous a Talk to find an Alexandrine — as an immoral Exprc.[fion! Nor will an Advocate for Variety, who treats even the high Authority of P o p e with fo Httle Ceremony, be expe6l- ed to pay much Deference to the mere gratis dictum of his flavifh Imitator! An Imitator fo i/gry flavifh^ — though equal to his Original in Smoothness, and ft/periour, perhaps, in Strength — that his colle6led Poems, aboundine in every Excellence but o?ie, afford only three Triplets, and a folitary Inftance of the Senfe overflowing the Coupfet, to ter- minate in the Beginning of the third Line : and yet a Remark, which accompanies a Quotation from the Hind and the Panther^ evinces that he was far from infenfible of the latter Beauty. ■T ■'?» ;• ' ' :•! I, alfo, will quote the exquifite Lines in Queftion ; that they, who have fo haftily afferted that Pope heightened " the Magic of that Verfification" which he acknowledged to have learned from Dr y d en, may repent at Leifure. . '* A Milk- ( xix ) " A Milk-white Hind, immortal and unchang'd, •' Fed on the Lawns, and in the Forest rang'.d; * ' Without UNSPOTTED, INNOCENT withlTl, •' She/^ar'^ no D ANG E R, for fhe jtwca; no Sin., "Yet had fheoft been cha^'dwith Horns and Hounds, *' And Scythian Sliafts ; and many winged Wounds *', Aim'd at her Heart; was often forc'd to fly, *' And* pp qm'j) to Death, though f a t e d tw^ to die." V Thefe Lines are lofty, elegant, and mufical, notwithjlcmduig ",^,tl:jeIntprruption of the Pa us e, of which the Effeiy MO u s Terms — and Execution muft be the i ne vit able Confequence of Condemnation I ExPedeHti.cvi.ZMl Reader, if thou likeft this Sample, (given to thee from Memory, but faithful, atleaft, to the ''friendly Meaning" J Middle Row, in Hot BO-EN, may, perchance, furnifh thee with the tirAe/e deledable Dialogue, between the City Mouse and the Country Mouse! ■' i'- E Who, ( ^^ ) Who,' on reading this judicious Obfervation, will not wonder that the Remarker imitated only once what he thus profefTes to admire ? — But Wonder will fubfide, on recol- leftins that the Period when T o hnson formed that Stile which aftonifhed even Pope himfelf, by its Similitude to his 0K7Z, was precifely the Period when the latter, having crufhed all Oppofition, reigned sole Dictator over the Commonwealth of Rhyme : — a Poem, therefore, con- ftru6t;ed on any other Principles than thofe which he had eftablifhed, might reafonably have defpaired of a favourable Reception from the Public. But, to return to the Alexandrine. — " It invariably requires {fays Johnson) a Break at the Jixth Syllable." — Did not the whole Tenour of a Life, fpent in the uniform Praftice of almofl: every Chriftian Virtue, forbid the Suppo- fition— I fliould imagine that the weak Attempt to fupport this flrange AfTertion by ftrange Authority betrayed a Con- fcioufnefs oflnabiHty to fupport it by Reafon. — But Reason, it muft be allowed, is not fully competent to decide the Difpute ; for, though the Regulation of the Serifs belongs entirely to the Judgment, that of the Sound is more pecu- liarly the Province of the Ear. — Pope's Deficiency in the latter Refpe6l was notorious ; his Indifference to Mu s i c is upon ( xxi ) upon Record : and I am inclined to believe that the Critic bore, in that Particular, no very diftant Refemblance to the Poet, i' The following Examples will prove that the Break in the Alexandrine ought not to be invariably at the fixth Syllable ; but that its EfFe61: may be every way as powerful when it is placed at the feve?ith. " And with paternal Thunder — vindicates his Throne." " And, like another Helen — fi r'd another Tr o y." Dr y D E N. The Action, defcribed in each of thefe Examples, being referved for the Syllable immediately Jucceeding the P a u s e, ftrikes with added Force; and the fo?iorous Rolling of the former, (which fo fingularly echoes to the Sense,) would not have been increafed, had the Line — with the Formality of a Pair of folding Doors — opened exa&Iy in the Mi dole. Perhaps the Alexandrine ought generally to hi?ige on the fixth Syllable ; and it w^ill commonly be found that, provided that Syllable be grave and the next acute, the Break may be made at either of them, with equal Propriety : — but even this Rule is not invariable; for Inftances may ( ' XXlI ) may be pl-oduced, where the Cuflom (hke that of the Danish Usurper) "is more honoured in the Breach than " the Objervancer " Vift Ruiiis cSrafe Jl5ng --- rent from thg fmoking Walls." D R Y D E N. " Which, like a wSunded Snake — drags its flSw Length along." Pope. Stark bUnd muft that Reader be, who is not ftruck with the pdtiirejque Verfification of both thefe Lines ; to which the Inverfion of the ufual Mode of accenting the seventh and EIGHTH Syllables contributes, in no inferiour Degree. But why muft the Paufe be confined to either of the Sylla- bles in Debate ? — And why muft only one Paufe be admitted? *— My next Quotation will fhew that, by deviating from the cuftomary Method, one third more Sense may ; be com- prifed within as narrow a Compafs — without fuftaining any Inconvenience from Want of Elbow-room. *' Still cheerful : ever conftant to his Call ; " By M A tiY follow' d — lov'd by most — admit' d by all ! *' D R Y D E N. And why muft Lines of fourteen Syllables be excluded ? — Their Effe61;, when Jparingly and JkilfuUy introduced, is confiderable — admirably calculated as they are to exprefs NuM B E R and D u RAT I ON. ••What ( xxiii ) " What Help from Art's Endeavours can we b^ve? " Gibbons but gueffes, nor is Jure to fave : " But Maurus fweeps whole Parl/kh — and peoples every Grzvt." Dr rocN " Thy Mother well deferves that fliort Delight, " The naufeous Qualms of ten long Months — and T r a v a i l to requite." Dryden's Virgil. Whoever attends to the accenting of the fixth, feventh, and eighth Syllables, in each Example, will find additional Rea- fon to admire the Genius and the Tafte which could raife imitative Harmony to fo exalted an Height ; for the Rapidity of medical Devaftation in the One, and the Tedioufnefs of lingering Indifpofition in the Other, are as forcibly conveyed to the Ear^ by the artful Conftruftion of the Measure, as they are faithfully pourtrayed to the Mind^ by the appropriative Energy of the Expression. To multiply Inftances would be fuperfluous ; enough has been faid, I truft, clearly to demonftrate what many have fuppofed to be incapable of Demonftration — viz. that Pope is not infallible, nor his Biographer invulnerable. If this fhould feem the Language of Exultation, let It be remembered that it is, likewlfe, the Language of Convidtion ; F and — ( xxlv ) and — ^to reprefs the gathering Sneer, which an IntrodvUion fo difproportionate to the Size of the Poem may tempt — let ill-natured Criticism be informed, that to juftify the Stile of the following Tranflation is but a Jubordlnate Obje6l : my principal Defign, in this prefatory Essay, being to feize an apt Occafion — unexpe6ledly prefented — of co-ope- rating with thqfe who fo meritorioufly endeavour to reftore ?to Drydenical Purity that Pi erian Spring which Pope corrupted, and which his more daring Imitators have poisoned!. With Regard to my own Verjificatiofi, I muft acknowledge, that, however excellent a Mark I may have fet In View, I have not the Vanity to fuppofe that my Succefs has kept Pace with my Exertions. — Whoever tries the Experiment which I have tried will find that to attempt Is not to execute; and that It Is more eafy to admire than to emulate.^ — Yet, rewarded for my Labour by the Confcloufnefs of having endeavoured well, I fhall not blufh. If reminded of the vaft DIfparlty between the M o d e l and the Cop y. — That Cop y — Imper- fe6t as it is — would have been ftill more imperfe^l, had I fele6led a M o d e l of lefs dlflingullhed Eminence ; and, had I not. In Imitation of my great Master, diverfified my Stile — varied ihtV A.vi se. Accent, and Cadence — and ( XXV ) — - and abundantly befpangled my Verfe with T Rri p l e t s and with Alexandrines — my Performance would have appeared before the awful Tribunal of the Public with Hill greater Diffidence — as it would, indubitably, have preferred ftill /2?/;?2i^/er Claims to Par DON or to Pra IS E. An Examination of the refpe6live Merits of a literal and of a liberal Verfion is not neceffary ; it may not, however, be improper to remark that, among the Few who have feen the Tranflations in Manufcript, some, whofe Opinions I have been accuftomed to revere, have given a Preference to the Blank Verfe ; a Circumftance which (though it furprijed me) has induced me to publifh both: with the pleafing Expe6lation of accommodating different Tafles. , j If, after all, I fhall be thought, in the following Trans- lation, to have departed rather too widely from the beau- tiful Original, and Ihall be found — in the Glow of Com- pofition, or in the Ardour of Friendfhip — fometimes to have interpolated an Idea, and fometimes to have expanded d.Charadler — it fhould be confidered, in Extenuation, that Poetry, like Ether, is a very fubtile and volatile Spirit; which, (as Sir John D e n h a m has finely exprefTed it,) *'in pouring from one Language to another, evaporates:" and ( xxvl ) •^, and that, " if a new Spirit be not added in the Transfufion^ ** little more than a Capid mortmim will remain." That my weak Efforts toward undeceiving the deluded dmirersof Pope will prove, in any Degree, fuccefsful, I dare not promife to rayfelf. — But fpeedy and effe6lual (I am perfuaded) will be the Converjion of all thofe Advocates for a clofe Translation who fhall perufe Miss Seward's jpoft en.cl).anting Amplification of Horace's noble Ode; inferted in the Gentleman's Magazine for 06lober laft : — where the British Poetess towers as much above the Roma N Bard — ^as fhe is acknowledged to do above moft of her own Nation, in Beauty^ Affability^ GmmSi Tajie, Btne- z;o/e«C(?-^"and Filial Piety! ^^ - A I ^n\A fU^'lf '-' JJom:)>l 'T./r i cijiovv liJiv. THE H WOODMEN OF AR 13 ElST. t .'■ Adieu, hoarfe Brawlers of th' opprobrious Bar, Who wage of Words the never-ending 'War ! — The flattering Knee — the folemn Farce of State — And all the dufty Cohort of the Great! Nurs'd in the City^ let them live and reign ; I cannot envy what I 77iujl disdain! Remote from courtly Craft, and legal Noife, Mine are the Country's calmer — purer Joys. Let Britain s greater Cicero ftill proclaim, With Voice of Thunder, and with Words of Flame, That Verres reeks with plunder'd Asia's Gore — And furious Fox re-bellow to the Roar! A Her ( 2 ) ■j He/J^diTraiiq^^^^^^^^ long loft, I find; Potent— welitt^thitlefs Griefs convuls'd mvMind — lVIyTho%flts, like Oil on fwelling Waves, ^tofelm : Tranquiilit,y ! The Soul's celeftial Balm ! *Tis mine to do w^at Horace Jelf has dfiff^i—^^- mo { Beguile the Day, and, ^trifling down the Sdn, 3ink, with his fetting peam, in lov'd Repdfe, Soft, downy Sleep, that no Difturbance knows, Save when the roguifli Spa5rroW twitters nigh-, Or murmuring Zephyr heaves a pafTing Sigh, Yon Row of Elms, umDrageoiis, from the H^eat Of blazing Noon may yield a kind Retreat; While the parch'd Grafshoppb5r, his little Throat Diftending, chii*ps his Maint with feeble Note. How fweetiy redolent the new-mown Hay ! How fweetiy ttills the Lark his liquid Lay, As, fi^lt-uniebn, we fnow-w4iite Clouds among, He foars-*— the Envy of the plumy Throng! My ( 3 ) My Heart's at Eafe! New Joys, my. Bofoi», Jill ! For niii^e the God who rulcs)^ti^.4omm ,HilU And Boo4iSv: which Atti^yilpney plentei^^lJ^^difti^I/ AtHa^i^d^ O Pig BY, to Cerulean Skies, From |lgofs^pci^afl,^^|pkal ^^ Impelled ^h^^Lans. that coa§>icuous Ihlne ; j Thofc Roofs — thofe hafpitable Kooh — ar^e thin^ i Thou Cknament of 'Lawl No fordid Run Of ca^^er'd Learning ean ihy Mind cncruft ; Nor fcorn ftie Graces^ unadorn'd, to reft With Thee; nor Pallas— to Advantage dreft! ' ■ ■ ■ ■ - '-VO,^., - . • op:" yQ On f illaTS that deride corroding Timei Yon beauteous^.Manfion rears its Head fublime! Tliere H e whom Art reveres, whom Science loves— Aylesford refides ; the, Captain of the X^roves : Boaft of the brighteft Race — ^himfelf more bright*^ Whom Sylvan Scenes and Sylvan Gods delight ! fl * Him ( 4 ) H I M Heav'n has giv n, and Wifdom taught to prize, The Wifh' that fcorns the Meannefs of Difguife, And Tranfports that from heart-felt Leifure fpring — With Dignity enjoy'd — while copying from his King! Around their Chief a well-feleded Band Of quiver'd Youths, impatient, take their Stand, ;> And Scythian Shafts dired — with firm, retraEiedW-dind,} O facred Shafts, renown'd in Britifh Songs ! Ye fwift Avengers of a Nation's Wrongs ! Proud G Au L has wept your Wounds in many a Flood, While her ftain'd LiHes blufli'd with rofy Blood ; When hoftile Thoufands funk on Crcjfy's Plain, By laurell'd E d w ar d's winged Weapons flain I » ij-. Behold ! On the green Lawn, expanding wide. An Area, vaft .'—And lo •' With generous Pride, (The Hunter's- Garb belies the Soldier's Air,) The 7idhle Woodman s Troops their Arms prepare ! Do I, then, hear — or only feem to hear — The flying Arrow whizzing in my Ear ? The (y5,J :, The'Qcmtefl glows ; eaeh glowing Facp-jd^pji^y§L .. j How,;^rdent the Defire of honied PraifeJ .,.^Yj. z^ Yon Archer flrains the String ; his maal)^^(^^^pY/ His Arm Herculean, and ingenuous Face, Proclaim him Moland ! — There (of virfciaous Fame) IsAji^'BVLLE Y, who quaffs the plea0nt Tam e;0 Tam^ — who, of ^n/?/^ AugmentatioRwproudvnA Rolls his united Streams, and roars hisrjfby aloud} The Bard bears Arms, wj^ip, Avon^s B^nks along, Sooths liftening.A^(2?^i5,\^i^ttLhis mourrjfyl Song; Skill'd — or to freeze the Soul with frantj^^ f'ears-j Or melt admiring Myriads into Tears, r, .^ There Har TO pp, ^%^;z^/y fplendid, Ihines; Dig BY — in whom each focial Charm combines- — With Honours yet unfated, pants for more : And adds a greener Laurel to his StordLffXn^* With Footftep firm as his undaunted Breaft, ^ Exulting York, diftinguiflVd from the Reft, [ Difplays the Corneous Glory. -^ on his verdant Veft; j B The { 6 ) The f'our-fold D i l k i a n Band like Cynthia s Horns Bend their elaftic Bows ; — What Grace adorns Each Fofhn Fraternal! — How iinpaffion'd fpeaks Tht Tyrian Tide along their glowing Cheeks ! Bree, whofe mild Manners match his Mind, is there ; To whom the Patron-God^ with golden Hair, His lucid Weapons not difdains to lend : ^ Bree ! Skill 'd with Genius tempering Tajle to blend! > By every Mufe befriended ! Every Mufe's Friend ! j Numbers innumerable conceal the Plain ; For who each Flower, within the wide Domain Of Ar D en's woody Wild, that drinks the Day — In hoarfe — and everlafting Song — would painfully difplay ? Bleft, bleft is He — pre-eminently bleft, On whom propitious Phoebus fliines confeft ; Whofe Shaft, unerring, ravifli'd Crouds behold Wing its triumphant Way, and ftrike the gleaming Gold I Clapping ( 7 ) Clapping her Pinions, Viaoryfwift defqends, . And bloodlefs Trophies— guiltlefs Palmsr^extends. Aloft the Conqueror fits, with Glory crowi^'d ! Lord of the Feaft, he deals the Goblet round ;^ His Charge with ev n a Grecian Stridnefs plies : And whio reje&j the fparkling Beverage — Jlies. - But WHO, with Form fo fair, and Air fo bland, And Eyes that win— that dazzle — that command — > Aims tiny Arrows with a fnowy Hand ? Does, then, Diana train her bufkin'd Maids ? Or does the Tenant of th' Idalian Shades T' enad the Amazon her Skill employ. And wield the Arms of her all-conqu 'ring Boy ? No. — Nor the Virgin-Huntrefs of the Groves, Nor the bright Queen of all the laughing Loves, So radiant fmiles, or fo majeftic moves : J By Step appropriate — Sweetnefs all her own — And Dignity Divine — the genuine T h y n n e is known ! Thy ( 8 ) Thy lovely Spoufe, thou Prince of Archers, tries Weapons far lefs dejlnidive than her Eyes I The generous Sport purfue ! Be Health thy Care ! The grateful Toil (thou faireft of the Fair!) Shall give thy Cheeks with livelier Bloom to glow^ ; With Bloom that Art's pale Victim ne'er fiiall know : Till, viewing Thee, the poor, repentant Maid | Unlearns to feign— relies on Natures Aid — - > And guilelefs Rofes gains— too permanent to fadel^i Equal ahke in Virtue and in Birth — Worthy — and confcious of your mutual Worth — Whom Love, rejoicing, binds with flowery Band — The Grace — \ht G l o r y of a fmking Land — Live ever bleft! — And you — ye following Train Of Philotoxites — if not fondly vain The Mufe — if either Phoebus Life can give — Shall ever happy — ever honour'd — live ; Increafmg Fame increafing Hours fhall bring, While blows o'er Arden's Groves the genial Breath of Spring ! •■■#■ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 'C'U^^ MAY 10 1967 INTERUBRARY LOAINS APR 2 6 1967 TWREt WEEKS FKOM CATC OF. RKtlH m l\9€l Form L9-100ni-9,'52(A3105)414 i "M II II II i1 ■M 11! 'Ill 007 596 629 D 000 851889 6 ^•1 -1* * ^m -\ ^ ) \ 'V } <■ )L, •«■•♦' ^ J ''/■ ■V * '"-^Kk %,^ m / ■*^ *.-