UC-NRLF 
 
 B M IDfi D7fi 
 
 . v^:,~^v. „v 
 
 msimm^ 
 
 ^'J>^Wvy-;i:^;"1' 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 1 ■■ ■ ,v^ . ;m ,--v-^1|-^^-?V 
 
 
 
 /Sii|i»' 
 
 w^ 
 
 :-^ 
 
 ^m^tW'. 
 
 V -^ --;'- :. » V 
 
 . 
 
 
 V'^'v,^ 
 
 |: 
 
 
 •ijafe 
 
 1 
 
 ^v^'"^ '^^vdW-W' 
 
 hi ' y ^ w^ 
 
 i 
 
 ■>''-', \jV\jV , v»v, ■•■' •■; *¥ '/' 
 
 ■.■^"''■.■' t^ ^^ 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 i i 
 
 
 ^yj^r^v: 
 
 
 
 
\amce Ik. fIDoffirt 
 
 :.^??r:?:x<r:/..;7--^^^ - 
 
 N0JI4 
 
 PAULINE FORE MOFFITT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 GENERAL LIBRARY, BERKELEY 
 
 

 ^r^^^m 
 
 
 m^-mm 
 
 WM 
 
 K^- 
 
 
/ . 
 
THE POETICAL WORKS OF 
 
 THOMAS GRAY 
 
 r 
 
 WITH A LIFE BY THE REV. 
 JOHN MITFORD 
 
 LONDON 
 
 GEORGE BELL AND SONS YORK STREET 
 
 COVENT GABDEN 
 
 1876 
 
CHISWICK PRESS I— PRINTED BY WHITTINGHAM AND WILKINS, 
 TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE. 
 
 Ad^ to Lib.- 
 
 GIFT 
 
TRssoo 
 
 Asms 
 
 TO 
 
 SAMUEL ROGERS, ESQ. 
 
 THIS EDITION OF 
 
 GRAY 
 
 IS INSCRIBED 
 
 WITH FEELINGS OF RESPECT AND ESTEEM 
 
 BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 38:1 
 
SONNET. 
 
 A LOXELY Man he was, from whom these lays 
 Flow'd in his cloister'd musings : He in scorn 
 Held them, the unfeeling multitude, who born 
 For deeds of nobler purpose, their ripe days 
 Waste amidst fraud ful industry, to raise 
 Inglorious wealth. — But He, life's studious morn 
 Gave to the Muse, so best might he adorn 
 His thoughtful brow, with never-dying bays. 
 And well the Muse repay 'd him. She hath given 
 An unsubstantial world of richer fee ; 
 High thoughts, unchanging visions, that the leaven 
 Of earth partake not ; — Rich then must he be. 
 Who of this cloudless world, this mortal heaven, 
 Possesseth in his right the Sovereignty. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Memoir of Gray, by the Rcy. J. Mitford 1 
 
 Appendix to the Memoir xciii 
 
 POEMS. 
 
 Ode. On the Spring I 
 
 -Ode. On the Death of a favourite Cat, drowned in a 1 ubof 
 
 Gold Fishes 6 
 
 Ode. On a Distant Prospect of Eton College 10 
 
 Hymn to Adversity l7 
 
 The Progress of Poesy 22 
 
 The Bard 38 
 
 Ode for Music 6] 
 
 The Fatal Sisters 70 
 
 The Vegtam's Kivitha ; or, the Descent of Odin 75 
 
 The Triumphs of Owen 84 
 
 The Death of Hoel 87 
 
 -Sonnet on the Death of Mr. Richard West 90 
 
 Epitaph on Mrs. Jane Clarke 91 
 
 Epitaph on Sir William Williams 93 
 
 —Elegy written in a Country Churchyard 94 
 
 A Long Story jjl 
 
 POSTHUMOUS POEMS AND FRAGMENTS. 
 
 Ode on the Pleasure arising from Vicissitude 120 
 
 Translation of a Passage from Statius 126 
 
 The Fragment of a Tragedy, on the Subject of the Death of 
 
 Agrippina 12S 
 
 Hymn to Ignorance ..^, 140 
 
 The Alliance of Education and Government 143 
 
 Stanzas to Mr. Bentley 153 
 
 Sketch of his own Character, found in one of his Pocket 
 
 Books 155 
 
 Amatory Lines 156 
 
 Song 15r 
 
 lophet. An Epigram 159 
 
 Impromptu, on the Seat of a deceased Nobleman ICl 
 
 -The Candidate ,.,.„,.,, 163 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 • 
 
 EXTRACTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 I'ropertius, Lib. iii. Eleg. v 165 
 
 Propertius, Lib. ii. Eleg. i 167 
 
 Tasso Gerus. Lib. cant, xiv 170 
 
 POEM ATA. 
 
 Hymeneal on the Marriage t His Royal Highness the Prince 
 
 of Wales 173 
 
 Luna Habitabilis 177 
 
 Sapphic Ode: To Mr. West 183 
 
 A.lcaic Fragment 187 
 
 Latin Lines, addressed to Mr. West, from Genoa 188 
 
 Elegiac Verses, occasioned by the sight of the Plains where 
 
 the Battle of Trebia was fought 188 
 
 Carmen ad C. Favonium Zephyriuiim 189 
 
 Fragment of a Latin Poem on the Gaurus 192 
 
 A Farewell to Florence 196 
 
 Imitation of an Italian Sonnet of Signior Abbate Buondel- 
 
 monte 197 
 
 Alcaic Ode 198 
 
 Part of an Heroic Epistle from Sophonisba to Masinissa 200 
 
 De Principiis Cogitandi, Liber Primus 204 
 
 Liber Quartus 216 
 
 Greek Epigram 218 
 
 EXTRACTS. 
 
 Petrarca, Part I. Sonetto 170 219 
 
 From the Anthologia Grasca : 
 
 In Baccha; Furentis Statuam 220 
 
 In Alexandrum, aere effictum 220 
 
 In Mede» Imaginem, Nobile Timomachi Opus 220 
 
 In Niobes Statuam 221 
 
 A Nymph offering a Statue of herself to Venus 221 
 
 In Amorem Dormientem 221 
 
 From a Fragment of Plato 222 
 
 In Fontem Aquae Calidse 222 
 
 " Irrepsisse suas murem," &c 223 
 
 " Hanc tibi Ruhnus mittit," «&c 223 
 
 Ad Amorem usu 
 
THE LIFE OF THOMAS GRAY. 
 
 BY JOHN MITFORD. 
 
 Thomas Gray, the subject of the present narrative, 
 was the fifth child of Mr. Phihp Gray, a respect- 
 able citizen and money-scrivener in London. His 
 grandfather was also a considerable merchant in 
 that place. The maiden name of his mother was 
 Dorothy Antrobus. Thomas was born in Cornhill^ 
 the 26th of December, 1716; and was the only one 
 of twelve children who survived. The rest died in 
 their infancy, from suffocation, produced by a full- 
 ness of blood ; and he owed his life to a memorable 
 instance of the love and courage of his mother, who 
 removed the paroxysm, which attacked him, by 
 opening a vein with her own hand : an instance of 
 affection that seems to have been most tenderly 
 preserved by him through his after life, repaid with 
 care and attention, and remembered when the ob- 
 ject of his filial solicitudes could no longer claim 
 them. Mason informs us, "that Gray seldom men- 
 tioned his mother without a sigh." 
 
 He was educated at Eton, under the protection 
 of Mr. Antrobus, his maternal uncle, who was at 
 b 
 
11 LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 that time assistant to Dr. George, and also a fel- 
 low of Pembroke College, at Cambridge, where 
 Gray was admitted as a pensioner in 1734, in his 
 nineteenth year. I should be unwilling to pass over 
 this period of his life, without mentioning that while 
 at Eton, as well as at Cambridge, he depended for 
 his entire support on the affection and firmness of 
 his mother ; who, when his father had refused all 
 assistance, cheerfully maintained him on the scanty 
 produce of her separate industry. At Eton his 
 friendship with Horace Walpole, and more parti- 
 cularly with Richard West,* commenced. In him 
 he met with one, who, fro*n the goodness of his 
 heart, the sincerity of his friendship, and the ex- 
 cellent cultivation of his mind, was worthy of his 
 warmest attachment. The purity of taste, indeed, 
 as well as the proficiency in literature which the 
 letters of West display, were remarkable at his age ; 
 
 * Richard West was the son of the right honourable 
 Richard West, lord chancellor of Ireland ; who died in 
 1727 or 1728, aged 36 ; and his grandfather, by the mother's 
 side, was Bishop Burnet. His father was the maternal uncle 
 of Glover the poet, and is supposed to be the author of a 
 tragedy called ' Hecuba,' published in 1726. Mason says 
 that, when at school, West's genius was thought to be more 
 brilliant than his friend's. A portrait of the father is in the 
 hall of the Inner Temple, given by Richard Glover. He was 
 appointed Lord Chancellor in the reign of George the First, 
 in 1725. He wrote on Treasons and Bills of Attainder, also 
 on the Manner of Creating Peers. See this last tract highly 
 praised in Quarterly Review, No. Ixxxiv. p. .S03. See 
 King's poem, The Toast, p. 117. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Ill 
 
 and his studious and pensive habits of mind, his 
 uncertain health, and his early and untimely death 
 have all contributed to throw '' a melancholy grace" 
 over the short and interesting narrative of his life. 
 With him, for the period of eight years. Gray en- 
 joyed what the moralist calls " the most virtuous 
 as well as the happiest of all attachments — the wise 
 security of friendship : * Par studiis, aevique mo- 
 dis.' " Latterly, when West's health was declining, 
 and his prospects in life seemed clouded and un- 
 certain, Gray's friendship was affectionate and an- 
 xious, and only terminated by the early death of 
 his friend in his twenty-sixth year. 
 
 When Gray removed to Peter House, Horace 
 Walpole* went to King's College in the same uni- 
 versity, and West to Christ Church at Oxford 
 From this period the life of Gray is conducted by 
 his friend and biographer Mr. Mason, through the 
 
 * In H. Walpole's Works are some letters between West 
 and Walpole at College (vol. iv. p. 411). The intimacy be- 
 tween Gray, Walpole, West, and Asheton, was called the 
 quadruple alliance ; and they passed by the names of Ty- 
 deus, Orosmades, Almanzor, and Plato. Thomas Asheton 
 was afterwards fellow of Eton College, rector of St. Botolph, 
 Bishopsgate Street, and preacher to the Society of Lincoln's 
 Inn. He wrote an answer to a work of Dr. Conyers Mid- 
 dleton. Walpole addressed a poetical epistle from Florence 
 to him. See Gray's Letters ; and Walpole's Works, vol, v. 
 p. 386. Asheton died in 1775. His niece of the same name 
 married Dr. William Cleaver, Bishop of St. Asaph. See an 
 account of him in Sir Egerton Brydges's Restituta, vol. iv, 
 p. 249. 
 
IF LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 medium of his Letters;* concerning- which it may 
 be said, that from the humour, the elegance, and 
 the classical taste displayed in them ; from the al- 
 ternate mixture of serious argument, animated des- 
 cription, just criticism, and playful expression; not- 
 withstanding the incidents of his life were pecu- 
 liarly few in number, nor any of them remarkable, 
 yet a more interesting publication of the kind never 
 appeared in English literature. 
 
 Gray's Letters commence, as I have said, from 
 the time when he left Eton for Cambridge ; but 
 from them it is difficult to trace the line of study 
 which he pursued at College. His letters treat 
 chiefly of his poetry, and other private pursuits ; 
 and he seems to have withdrawn himself entirely 
 from the severity of mathematical studies, and to 
 have confined his inquiries to classical literature, to 
 the acquisition of modern languages, to history, and 
 other branches of w^hat is called polite learning. 
 West describes himself and his friend as walking 
 hand in hand, 
 
 " Through many a flow'ry path and shelly grot, 
 Where Learning lull'd us in her private maze." 
 
 During ^Gray's residence at College, from 1734 
 to September, 1738, his poetical productions were 
 — ' A Copy of Latin Verses,' inserted in the ' Muscb 
 
 * Mason followed the plan of C. Middleton in his Life 
 of Cicero, and of Quirini in his Life of Cardinal Pole. See 
 Fye's Life of Pole, p. 177. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. V 
 
 Etonenses ; another ' On the Marriage of the 
 Prince of Wales ;' and ' A Sapphic Ode to West.' 
 A small part of his ' Translation from Statius,' Mr. 
 Mason has given ; but has withheld a Latin Ver- 
 sion of the ' Care Selve beate of the Pastor Fido, 
 and an English Translation of part of the fourteenth 
 canto of Tasso's ' Gerusalemme Liherata,' which 
 is inserted in the present edition. From September 
 till the following March, Gray resided at his fa- 
 ther's house : but his correspondence with West, 
 who was then with his mother at Epsom, his bio- 
 grapher has thought it unnecessary to insert. 
 
 At the request of Horace Walpole, Gray ac- 
 companied him in his travels through France and 
 Italy, and deferred his intended study of the law. 
 From letters to his friend West, and to his own 
 family, we have an account of his pursuits while 
 abroad. He seems to have been, as we might have 
 expected, a very studious and diligent traA'^eller. 
 His attention was directed to all the works of art 
 that were curious and instructive. Architecture 
 both of Gothic and Grecian origin, painting, and 
 music, were all studied by him. He appears to have 
 applied diligently to the language ; nor did the 
 manners and customs of the inhabitants escape his 
 attention. Like Addison, he compared with the 
 descriptions of ancient authors the modern appear- 
 ance of the countries through which he passed. 
 There are, indeed, few gratifications more exquisite 
 than those which we experience in being able to 
 
VI LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 identify the scenes, and realize the descriptions, 
 which have been long consecrated in the mind by 
 genius and by virtue ; which have supplied the 
 fancy with its earliest images, and are connected in 
 the memory with its most lasting associations. In 
 such moments as these, we appear to be able sud- 
 denly to arrest the progress and lessen the devas- 
 tations of time. We hardly contemplate with regret 
 the ages that have passed in silence and oblivion ; 
 and we behold, for the first time, the fading and 
 faint descriptions of language, stamped with the 
 fresh impressions of reality and truth. The letters 
 which Gray wrote from Italy were not intended for 
 publication, and do not contain a regular account 
 of the observations which he made : but are rather 
 detached and entertaining descriptions, intended for 
 the amusement of his friends at home. Every 
 thing w^hich he thought of importance was com- 
 mitted to his journal. " He catalogued," says Mr. 
 Mason, " and made occasional short remarks on 
 the pictures which he saw. He wrote a minute des- 
 cription of every thing which he saw in his tour 
 from Rome to Naples ; as also of the environs of 
 Rome, Florence, &c. They abound with many un- 
 common remarks, and pertinent classical quota- 
 tions." 
 
 The route chosen by the travellers was one usually 
 taken : — from Paris, through Rheims (where they 
 stayed three months, principally to accustom them- 
 selves to the French language) to Lyons, whence 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Vll 
 
 they took a short excursion to Geneva, over the 
 mountains of Savoy; and by Turin, Genoa, and 
 Bologna to Florence. There they passed the win- 
 ter in the company of Mr. Horace Mann, the envoy 
 at that court.* In March, 1740, Clement the 
 Twelfth, then Pope, died ; and they hastened their 
 journey to Rome, in the hope of seeing the instal- 
 lation of his successor.! That Gray would have 
 wished to have extended his travels, and enlarged 
 his prospect beyond these narrow limits, if he had 
 possessed the power, we know from his subsequent 
 advice to a friend who was commencing his travels : 
 " Tritum viatorum compitum calca, et, cum poteris, 
 desere." And the following passage sketches the 
 outline of an Italian tour, which, I believe, few of 
 our travellers have ever completed : *' I conclude, 
 when the winter is over, and you have seen Rome 
 and Naples, you will strike out of the beaten path 
 of English travellers, and see a little of the coun- 
 try. Throw yourselves into the bosom of the Apen- 
 nine ; survey the horrid lake of Amsanctus ; catch 
 the breezes on the coast of Taranto and Salerno ; 
 expatiate to the very toe of the continent ; perhaps 
 strike over the faro of Messina ; and having mea- 
 sured the gigantic columns of Girgenti and the 
 
 * See Walpole's Works, vol. iv. p. 423. Sir Horace 
 Mann died in 1786 at Florence, where he had resided forty- 
 six years as his Britannic Majesty's minister, at the Court 
 of the Grand Duke. 
 
 t Ibid. p. 440. 
 
Vlll LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 tremendous cavern of Syracusa, refresh yourselves 
 amidst the frag-rant vale of Enna. — Oh! che bel 
 riposo /" 
 
 In May, after a visit to the Frascati and the 
 Cascades of Tivoli, Gray sent his heautiful ' Alcaic 
 Ode' to West. In June he made a short excursion 
 to Naples ; and was charmed with the sceneiy that 
 presented itself in that most delightful climate. He 
 describes the large old fig-trees, the oranges in 
 bloom, the myrtles in every hedge, and the vines 
 hanging in festoons from tree to tree. He must 
 have been among the first English travellers who 
 visited the remains of Herculaneum,* as it was dis- 
 covered only the preceding year ; and he pointed 
 out to his companion, the description in Statius that 
 pictured the latent city : 
 
 " Hsec ego Chalcidicis ad te, Marcelle, sonabam 
 Litoribus, fractas ubi Vesbius egerit iras, 
 
 * Some excavations were made in Herculaneum in 1709 
 by the Prince D'Elbeuf : but thirty years elapsed after the 
 orders given to the Prince to dig no farther, before any 
 more notice was taken of them. In December, 1738, the 
 King of the two Sicilies was at Portici, and gave orders for 
 a prosecution of the subterraneous labours. There was an 
 excavation in the time of the Romans ; and another in 1689. 
 In a letter from H. Walpole to West on this subject (see 
 Walpole's Works, vol. iv. p. 448), dated Naples, June 14, 
 1740, is a passage which shows Mr, Mason's conjecture, that 
 the travellers did not recognise the ancient town of Hercula- 
 neum by name, to be unfounded. H. Walpole calls it by 
 that name in his letter. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. IX 
 
 vEmula Trinacriis volvens incendia flammis. 
 Mira fides ! credetne virum ventura propago, 
 Cum segetes iterum, cum jam haec deserta virebunt, 
 Infra urbes, populosque premi V 
 
 Statii Sylv. IV. iv. 78.* 
 
 At Naples the travellers stayed ten days ; and 
 Gray's next letter to his father, in which he talks 
 of his return to England, is dated again from Flo- 
 rence ; and whence he sent, soon after, his Poem 
 on the ' Gaurus' to West. He remained, however, 
 at that place about eleven months ; and during- this 
 time commenced his Latin poem * De Principiis 
 Cogitandi.' He then set off with Walpole, on the 
 24th of April, for Bologna and Reggio,t at the 
 latter of which towns an unfortunate difference took 
 place between them, and they parted. The exact 
 cause of this quarrel has been passed over by the 
 delicacy of his biographer, because H. Walpole was 
 alive when the Memoirs of Gray were written. The 
 former, however, charged himself with the chief 
 blame ; and lamented that he had not paid more 
 attention and deference to Gray's superior judg- 
 
 * See also Martial. Epig, Lib. iv. Ep. 43, ed. Delph, 
 and the note by Stephens on Statii Sylv. v. 3. 205, p. 155. 
 
 Jamque et flere pio Vesuvina incendia cantu 
 Mens erat, &c. 
 
 t Dr. Johnson has two slight mistakes in his * Life of 
 Gray.' He says that they quarrelled at Florence and parted, 
 instead of Reggio, He says also, that Gray began his poem 
 ' De Principiis Cogitandi ' after his return : but it was com- 
 menced in the winter of 1740, at Florence. 
 
X LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 ment and prudence. In the 'Walpoliana (vol. i. 
 p. 95, art. ex.) is the following passage : ** The 
 quarrel between Gray and me arose from his being 
 too serious a companion. I had just broke loose 
 from the restraint of the University, with as much 
 money as I could spend ; and I was willing to in- 
 dulge myself. Gray was for antiquities, &c. ; 
 whilst I was for perpetual balls and plays ; — the 
 fault was mine." Perhaps the freedom of friend- 
 ship spoke too openly to please : for in a letter from 
 Walpole to Mr. Bentley, some years afterwards, he 
 says : '* I was accustomed to flattery enough when 
 my father was minister : at his fall I lost it all at 
 once : and since that I have lived with Mr. Chute, 
 w^ho is all vehemence ; wdth Mr. Fox, who is all 
 disputation ; with Sir C. Williams, who has no time 
 from flattery, himself; and with Gray, who does 
 not hate to Jind fault with me.''* Whatever w^as 
 the cause of this quarrel, it must have been very 
 serious, if the information is correct which is given 
 in the manuscript of the Rev. W. Cole, a person 
 who appears to have lived in terms of intimacy wdth 
 
 * See Walpole's Works, vol. v. p. 334. In a letter from 
 Gray to Walpole in 1751, is a sentence which seems to point 
 towards this quarrel : " It is a tenet with me, (he says) — 
 a simple one, you will perhaps say, — that if ever two people 
 who love one another come to breaking, it is for want of a 
 timely eclaircissement, a full and precise one, without wit- 
 nesses or mediators, and without reserving one disagreeable 
 circumstance for the mind to brood upon in silence." See 
 Walpole's Works, vol. v. p. 389. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. xi 
 
 Gray during the latter part of his life. " When 
 matters (he says) were made up between Gray and 
 Walpole, and the latter asked Gray to Strawberry 
 Hill, when he came, he without any ceremony told 
 Walpole, that he came to wait on him as civility 
 required, but by no means would he ever be there 
 on the terms of his former filendship, which he had 
 totally cancelled." Such is the account given by 
 Mr. Cole, and which I suppose is worthy of credit : 
 at any rate, it does not seem at all inconsistent with 
 the independence and manly freedom which always 
 accompanied the actions and opinions of Gray.* 
 
 Having thus lost his companion, and, with the 
 separation of friendship, all inducement to remain 
 abroad. Gray went immediately to Venice, and re- 
 turned through Padua and Milan, following almost 
 the same road through France, which he had tra- 
 velled before. If he sent any letters to West on 
 his return, f it was not thought requisite to publish 
 them : those to his father were only accounts of his 
 health and safety. Though he returned to England 
 
 * For a further elucidation of this subject, the reader is 
 referred to the second volume of this Work, p. 174-5, where 
 I have stated what are the supposed causes of the quarrel ; 
 and the terms of the reconciliation will be best learned, from 
 the expressions which Gray uses in his letter to Mr. Whar- 
 ton on this subject. 
 
 t Some letters from Walpole to West, while the former 
 was on his travels with Gray, are in Walpole's Works, vol. 
 iv. p. 419—463. There is one letter from Reggio, May 10th, 
 but not mentioning any quarrel, nor even Gray by name. 
 
XU LIFE Oh GRAY. 
 
 as Speedily and directly as he could, yet he once 
 diverged from his way, between Turin and Lyons, 
 again to contemplate the wild and magnificent sce- 
 nery that surrounded the Grande Chartreuse ; and 
 in the Album of the Fathers he wrote his beautiful 
 ' Alcaic Ode,' which bears strong marks of pro- 
 ceeding from a mind deeply impressed with the 
 solemnity of the situation ; where '* every precipice 
 and cliff was pregnant with religion and poetry."* 
 In two months after the return of Gray in 1741, 
 his father died,t his constitution being worn out by 
 repeated attacks of the gout ; and Gray's filial duty 
 was now solely directed to his mother. To the 
 friend who condoled with Pope on his father's death, 
 he answered in the pious language of Euiyalus, — 
 " Genitrix est mihi," — and Gray, in the like cir- 
 cumstances, assuredly felt no less the pleasure that 
 arose from contributing to preserve the life and 
 happiness of a parent. With a small fortune, which 
 her husband's imprudence had materially impaired, J 
 Mrs. Gray and a maiden sister retired to the house 
 
 • See Letter XI. dated Turin, November 16, 173}. 
 
 t Gray came to town about the 1 st of September, 1741 . 
 His father died on the 6th of November following, at the 
 age of 65. Mason 
 
 t Mr. Philip Gray built a country house at Wanstead, at 
 a very considerable expense, which was sold after his death 
 at £2000 less than its original cost. It was purchased by 
 Alderman Ball, who was still resident in it in 1776. 
 
 Isaac Reed. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Xlll 
 
 of Mrs. Rogers,* another sister, at Stoke, near 
 Windsor : and Gray, thinking his fortune not suf- 
 ficient to enable him to prosecute the study of the 
 law, and yet unwilling to hurt the feelings of his 
 mother, by appearing entirely to forsake his pro- 
 fession, changed or pretended to change the line of 
 study, and went to Cambridge to take his degree 
 in civil law. That in his own mind, however, he 
 had entirely given up all thoughts of his profession, 
 seems to appear from a letter to West : ^' Alas, for 
 one (he says) who has nothing to do but to amuse 
 himself! I believe my amusements are as little 
 amusing as most folks ; but no matter, it makes the 
 hours pass, and is better than kv afxadioi Kal aixov- 
 (TL^ K'ara/3iwvai." 
 
 " But the narrowness of his circumstances," says 
 Mr. Mason, " was not the only thing that dis> 
 tressed him at this period. He had, as we hare seen, 
 lost the friendship of Mr. Walpole abroad. He had 
 also lost much time in his travels ; a loss which 
 application could not easily retrieve, when so severe 
 and laborious a study as that of the Common Law 
 was to be the object of it ; and he well knew that 
 whatever improvement he might have made in this 
 interval, either in taste or science, such improve- 
 ment would stand him in little stead with regard to 
 his present situation and exigencies. This was not 
 
 * Mason describes Mrs. Rogers as the widow of a clergy, 
 man, but Isaac Reed, in a MS. note, has said that he was a 
 gentleman of the law. 
 
XIV LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 all : his other friend, Mr. West, he found on his 
 return oppressed by sickness and a load of family 
 misfortunes. These the sympathizing heart of Mr. 
 Gray made his own. He did all in his power (for 
 he was now with him in London) to soothe the sor- 
 rows of his friend, and try to alleviate them by 
 every office of the purest and most perfect affection : 
 but his cares were vain. The distresses of Mr. 
 West's mind had already too far affected a body 
 from the first weak and delicate." 
 
 West was indeed at this time rapidly declining 
 in health, and had gone into Hertfordshire for the 
 benefit of the air. To him Gray sent part of his 
 Tragedy of ' Agrippina,' then commenced ; and 
 which, Mr. Mason thinks, was suggested by a fa- 
 vourable impression left on his mind from a repre- 
 sentation of the Britannicus of Racine. His friend 
 objected to the length of Agrippina's speech ; and 
 the Fragment is now published, not exactly as 
 Gray left it, but altered by Mr. Mason from the 
 suggestions of West. The plan of this play seems 
 to have been drawn after the model of the plays of 
 Racine ; though it displays perhaps more spirit and 
 genius than ever informed the works of that ele- 
 gant and correct tragedian. Mr. Mason, in a letter 
 to Dr. Beattie, mentions among the Poetry left by 
 Gray, " the opening scene of a tragedy called Agrip- 
 pina, with the first speech of the second, written 
 much in Racine's manner, and with many masterly 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. XV 
 
 strokes."* The language resembles rather that of 
 Rowe or Addison, than of Shakespeare ; though it 
 is more highly wrought, and more closely com- 
 pacted. If finished, it would, I think, have de- 
 lighted the scholar in the closet ; but it is too des- 
 criptive to have pleased upon the stage. Ba<77-a- 
 
 ^ovrat M ol avayvioffTLKoi Kat 7rapa/3aXXo- 
 
 fxevoi, 01 fxey tujv ypa(J)iK<jjy, kv roig ayoicn (TTevot 
 (pairovTaL.f 
 
 Gray now employed himself in the perusal of the 
 ancient authors. He mentions that he was reading 
 Thucydides, Theocritus, and Anacreon. He trans- 
 lated some parts of Propertius with great elegance 
 of language and versification, and selected for his 
 Italian studies the poetry of Petrarch. He wrote 
 an Heroic Epistle in Latin, in imitation of the man- 
 ner of Ovid ; and a Greek Epigram, which he 
 communicated to West : to whom also in the sum- 
 mer, when he retired to his family at Stoke, he sent 
 
 * I have said that Gray kept an attentive eye upon Racine 
 during the composition of his tragedy ; an assertion, I thinK, 
 that the notes will serve to prove : but the learned Mr. Twi- 
 ning, in his notes on Aristotle's Poetics, (p. 385, 4to.) says : 
 *' I have often wondered what it was that could attach Mr. 
 Gray so strongly to a poet whose genius was so little analo- 
 gous to his own. I must confess T cannot, even in the Dra- 
 matic Fragment given us by Mr. Mason, discover any other 
 resemblance to Racine, than in the length of the speeches. 
 The fault, indeed, is Racine's; its beauties are surely of a 
 higher order," &c. 
 
 t Aristotelis Rhetorica, lib. y. cap. xii. 
 
XVI LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 his * Ode to Spring-,' which was written there, but 
 which did not arrive in Hertfordshire till after the 
 death of his beloved friend. * West died only 
 twenty days after he had written the Letter to Gray, 
 which concludes with " Vale, et vive paulisper cum 
 vms." So little (says Mr. Mason) was the ami- 
 able youth then aware of the short time that he 
 himself would be numbered amongst the living. 
 
 I shall here insert a very correct and judicious 
 criticism, on a censure made by Johnson of an 
 expression in Gray's Ode to Spring, by the late 
 
 * West was buried in the chancel of Hatfield church, be- 
 neath a stone, with the following epitaph : " Here heth the 
 body of Richard West, esq. only son of the right honourable 
 Richard West, esq. lord chancellor of Ireland, who died the 
 1st of June, 1742, in the 26th year of his age." West's 
 poems have never been fuU}'^ collected. There is one, * An 
 Ode to jNIary Magdalene,' in Walpole's Works, vol. iv. p. 
 419 : another in Dalr3-mple's Songs, p. 142. In the Euro- 
 pean Magazine for January, 1798, p. 45, is a poem said 
 to be written by him, called ' Damon to Philomel ;' and 
 a Copy of Verses on his Death, supposed to be written by 
 his uncle. Judge Burnet. In Walpole's Works, vol. i. p. 
 204, is a well known epigram which was written by West, 
 ' Time and Thomas Hearne,' which was printed by Mr. 
 Walpole in a paper intended for the ' W^orld,' but not sent, 
 and which is commonly attributed to Swift. It appears also, 
 that part of the tragedy of Pausanias is extant in MS. See 
 the editor's note in Walpole's Works, vol. iv. p. 458 ; also 
 his translation of Tibullus. See Mason's Gray, vol. i. p 
 22. The collection of his poems by Dr. Anderson, in the 
 edition of the British Poets, is very incomplete : and Mr. 
 Alexander Chalmers, in his subsequent edition, has omitted 
 them entirely. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Xvii 
 
 Lord Grenville, a criticism which does credit to 
 his Lordship's learning and taste.* 
 
 ** ' There has of late arisen,' says Johnson, in his 
 Life of Gray, ' a practice of giving to adjectives de- 
 rived from substantives, the termination of parti- 
 ciples : such as the cultured plain, the daisied 
 bank ; but I was sorry to see in the lines of a scholar 
 like Gray, the honied spring.' 
 
 " A scholar, like Johnson, might have remem- 
 bered that mellitus is used by Catullus, Cicero, 
 and Horace, and that honied itself is found both 
 in Shakspeare and in Milton. But to say nothing 
 of the general principles of all language, how could 
 the writer of an English Dictionary be ignorant 
 that the ready conversion of our substantives into 
 verbs, participles, and participial adjectives, is of 
 the very essence of our own tongue, derived to it 
 from its Saxon origin, and a main source of its 
 energy and richness ? 
 
 " 1st. in the instances of verbs and participles, 
 this is too obvious to be dwelt upon for a moment. 
 Such verbs as to plough, to witness, to pity, to 
 ornament, together with the participles regularly 
 formed from them are among the commonest words 
 in our language. Shakspeare, in a ludicrous but 
 expressive phrase, has converted even a proper 
 name into a participle of this description : ' Pe- 
 tpuchio,' he says, ' is kated.' — The epithet of a 
 
 * See Nugse Metricae, by Lord Grenville, privately printed. 
 
XVUl LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 hectoring fellow is a more familiar instance of a 
 participle similarly formed, though strangely dis- 
 torted in its use to express a meaning almost the 
 opposite of its original. 
 
 " 2ndly. These participles of verbs thus derived, 
 like all other participles, when used to denote ha- 
 bitual attributes, pass into adjectives. Winged, 
 feathered, thatched, painted, and innumerable 
 others are indiscriminately used in both these forms, 
 according to the construction of the sentence, and 
 its context. And the transition is so easy, that 
 in many passages it may be doubted to which of 
 these two parts of speech such words should pro- 
 perly be referred. 
 
 " 3rdly. Between these participial adjectives, 
 and those w'hich Johnson condemns, there is the 
 closest analogy. Both are derived from substan- 
 tives ; and both have the termination of partici- 
 ples. The latter, such w^ords for instance, as 
 honied, daisied, tapestried, slippered, and the like, 
 differ from the others only in not being referable 
 to any yet established verb ; but so little material 
 is the difference, that there is hardly one of these 
 cases, in which the corresponding verb might not, 
 if it were wanted, be formed and used, in strict 
 conformity wath the genius of our language. Su- 
 gard is an epithet frequent in our ancient poetry, 
 and its use was properly long anterior to that of 
 the verb, of which it now appears to be a parti- 
 ciple. But that verb has since been fully adopted 
 into our language. We now sugar our cups, as 
 
LIFE OP GRAY. XIX 
 
 freely as our ancestors spiced and drugged them, 
 and no reason can be assigned, why, if such were 
 our practice, we might not also honey them, with 
 equal propriety of speech. 
 
 " 4thly. On the same analogy we form another 
 very numerous and very valuable class of adjectives, 
 compound epithets, derived like the others, from 
 substantives, and like them terminating as parti- 
 ciples, but having prefixed to them the signification 
 of some additional attribute. Such are in common 
 speech, four-footed, open-hearted, short-sighted, 
 good-natured, and the like. In poetry we trace 
 them from the well-envyned franklin of Chaucer, 
 through the most brilliant pages of all his suc- 
 cessors to the present hour. What reader of 
 Shakspeare or Milton needs to be reminded of 
 even-handed, high-flighted, and trumpet-tongued; 
 orof full-voiced, flowery-kirtled, and fiery-wheeled? 
 All these expressive and beautiful combinations, 
 Johnson's canon would banish from our language. 
 
 " His criticism therefore recoils on himself. The 
 poet has followed the usage of his native tongue, 
 and the example of its best masters. The gramma- 
 rian appears unacquainted both with its practice 
 and its principles. The censure serves only to be- 
 tray the evil passions, which in a very powerful and 
 well-intentioned, but very ill-regulated mind, the 
 success of a contemporary had been permitted to 
 excite. 
 
 " The true spirit indeed of this criticism appears 
 with no less force in what almost immediately 
 
XX LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 follows, where Johnson attempts to ridicule a pas- 
 sage which few other men have read without de- 
 light, Gray's beautiful invocation of the Thames, in 
 the Ode on Eton College—' Say, Father Thames,' 
 &c. * This is useless,' he says, ' and puerile.' Father 
 Thames had no better means of ' knowing than 
 himself.' He forgets his own address to the 
 Nile in Rasselas, for a purpose so very similar ; 
 and he expects his readers to forget one of the 
 most affecting passages in Virgil. Father Thames 
 might well know as much of the sports of boys as 
 the ' great Father of Waters ' knew of the discon- 
 tents of men, or the Tiber himself of the obsequies 
 of Marcellus." 
 
 In the autumn of 1742, Gray composed the ode 
 on ' A distant Prospect of Eton College,' and the 
 ' Hymn to Adversity.' The ' Elegy in a Country 
 Church-yard ' was commenced. An affectionate 
 Sonnet in English, and an Apostrophe which opens 
 the fourth book of his poem * De Principiis Cogi- 
 tandi,' (his last composition in Latin verse,) bear 
 strong marks of the sorrow left on his mind from 
 the death of West ; and of the real affection with 
 which he honoured the memory of his worth, and 
 of his talents. 
 
 Mr. Mason thinks that Gray did not finish this 
 poem, on account of the unfavourable reception, or 
 rather neglect, of the Anti-Lucretius * of the Car- 
 
 * This poem had the honour of being corrected by Boi- 
 leau, and altered bv Louis the XlVth. The author was so 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. XXI 
 
 dinal Melchior de Polignac ; a poem which had been 
 long' expected, and appeared about that time. The 
 failure, however, of M. de Polignac's poem may be 
 attributed partly to its length, (for it contains above 
 thirteen thousand verses,) and to a want of suffi- 
 cient variety and digression in the composition. 
 The versification is not always finished and com- 
 pact, and the language has lost much of its elegance 
 in the endeavour to accommodate it with precision 
 to the subject. 
 
 Gray's residence at Cambridge was now conti- 
 nued, not from any partiality to the place where he 
 received his education, but partly from the scanti- 
 ness of his income, and in a great measure, no 
 doubt, for the convenience which its libraries af- 
 forded.* Original composition he almost entirely 
 
 long employed on it, and recited it so often, that many parts 
 were stolen, and inserted in the works of other authors. Le 
 Clerc got a fragment by heart, and published it in one of his 
 literary journals. The cardinal died while his work was un- 
 finished, and before he could add two more books to it against 
 the Deists. See Anecdotes par Grimm, vol. i. p. 455. The 
 line written under Franklin's picture, " Eripuit ccelo fulmen, 
 sceptrumque tyrannis" — is an imitation of one in the Anti- 
 Lucretius, " Eripuitque Jovi fulmen, Phoeboque sagittas," 
 * In a note to the Spital Sermon, p. 117, Dr. Parr says : 
 " After the opportunities which Mr. Gray enjoyed, and of 
 which he doubtless had availed himself, for observing the 
 state of literature and the characters of literary men upon 
 the Continent, he did not merely visit the University, but 
 fixed his chief residence there. And of a choice to which 
 be adhered so steadily and so long, the scantiness of his for- 
 
XXU LTFE OF GRAY. 
 
 neglected ; but his time was so assiduously occu- 
 pied in a reg-ular and studious perusal of the best 
 Greek authors, that in six years he had read all the 
 writers of eminence in that language, digesting and 
 arranging their contents, remarking their pecu- 
 liarities, and noting their corrupt and difficult pas- 
 sages with great accuracy and diligence. In the 
 winter of 1742, he was admitted a bachelor of civil 
 law ; and a short recreation of his studies appears 
 in a ' Fragment of an Address to Ignorance,' which 
 contains a satire on the University where he re- 
 sided,* whose system of education he always dis- 
 liked and ridiculed, and against which he used to 
 
 tune, the love of books, and the easy access he had to them 
 in many libraries, will hardly be considered as the sole mo- 
 tives." Dr. Parr, however, does not assign any other motives 
 that influenced Gray, in his choice of the University for a 
 residence. 
 
 Nee tu credideris urbanae coramoda vitae 
 Quaerere Nasonem, quaerit et ilia tamen. 
 
 Ov. Ep. ex Pont. 1. 8. 29 
 * In p. 117 of the Spital Sermon, Dr. Parr says • " At 
 that very time in which Mr. Gray spoke so contemptuously 
 of Cambridge, that very University abounded in men of 
 erudition and science, with whom the first scholars would 
 not have disdained to converse : and who shall convict me 
 of exaggeration, when I bring forward the names of Bentley, 
 Davies, Asheton— of Jesus : Provost Snape, Middleton, 
 Tunstall the public orator, Baker— of St. John's: Edmund 
 Law, John Taylor, Thomas Johnson, VVaterland, Whaley 
 Cafterwards regius professor of divinity). Smith (the ne- 
 phew of Cotes), afterwards master of Trinity, Roger Long, 
 Colson, the correspondent of Sir Isaac Newton, and Pro- 
 fessor Saundersonl" 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. XXI 11 
 
 speak 80 openly, as to create many enemies. It is 
 plain, from his Letters, that he thought the atten- 
 tion and time bestowed there on mathematical and 
 metaphysical pursuits, would have been more pro- 
 fitably spent in classical studies. There is some re- 
 semblance in the style of this Fragment to part of 
 Pope's Dunciad ; the fourth book of which had ap- 
 peared but a year or two before : and Gray, I 
 should think, had that poem in his mind, when he 
 wrote these lines, to ridicule what he calls " that 
 ineffable Octogrammaton, the power of laziness." 
 In 1744 the difference between Walpole and 
 Gray was adjusted by the interference of a lady 
 who wished well to both parties. The lapse of three 
 years had probably been sufficient, in some degree, 
 to soften down, though not entirely obliterate, the 
 remembrance of supposed injuries on either side ; 
 natural kindness of temper had reassumed its place, 
 and we find their correspondence again proceeding 
 on friendly and familiar terms. About this time 
 Gray became acquainted with Mr. Mason, then a 
 scholar of St. John's College, whose poetical ta- 
 lents he had noticed ; and some of whose poems he 
 revised at the request of a friend. He maintained 
 a correspondence with his intimate and respectable 
 friend. Dr. Wharton, of Durham ; and he seems to 
 have lived on terms of familiarity with the cele- 
 brated Dr. Middleton * whose loss he afterwards 
 
 * Dr. Middleton died the 28th of July, 1750, in the sixty- 
 seventh year of his age, at Hildersham, in Cambridgeshire. 
 
XXiv LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 laments. " I find a friend (he says) so uncommon 
 thing, that I cannot help regretting even an old 
 acquaintance, which is an indifferent likeness of it." 
 
 In the year 1747, the ' Ode to Eton College,' 
 the first production of Gray that appeared in print, 
 was published in folio, by Dodsley. Dr. Warton, 
 in his Essay on Pope, informs us, that '' little no 
 tice was taken of it, on its first publication." 
 
 Walpole wished him to print his own poems with 
 those of his deceased friend West. This, however, 
 he declined, thinking the materials not sufficient : 
 but he complied with another wish of Walpole, in 
 commemorating in an Ode the death of his fa- 
 vourite cat. To this little poem I may be permitted 
 to apply the words of Cicero, when speaking of a 
 w^ork of his own : " Non est enim tale, ut in arte 
 poni possit, quasi ilia Minerva Phidiae ; sed tamen, 
 ut ex eadem officina, exisse appareat."* Soon 
 after this, he sent to Dr. Wharton a part of his 
 poem ' On the Alliance of Education and Govern- 
 ment.' He never pursued this subject much fur- 
 ther. About a hundred lines remain ; and the com- 
 mentary proceeds a little beyond the poem. Mr. 
 Mason thinks that he dropped it from finding some 
 of his best thoughts forestalled by M. de Montes- 
 quieu's L'Esprit des Loix,t which appeared at that 
 
 * Vide Ciceronis Praef. Paradoxa. ed. Olivet, vol. iii. p. 
 356. Paris. 
 
 t Compare Montesquieu, L'Esprit des Loix, liv. xiv. 
 chap. ii. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. XXV 
 
 time : and other reasons, which I have elsewhere 
 stated, probably concurred in inducing him to leave 
 unj&nished, a very fine specimen of a philosophical 
 poem. Some time after, says Mr. Mason, he had 
 thoug-hts of resuming" his plan, and of dedicating 
 his poem by an introductory Ode to M. de Mon- 
 tesquieu ; but that great man's death, which hap- 
 pened in 1755, made him drop his design finally. 
 
 Gray was now forming for his own instruction a 
 Table of Greek Chronology, which extended from 
 the 30th to the 113th Olympiad, a period of 332 
 years ; and which, while it did not exclude public 
 events, was chiefly designed to compare the time 
 of all great men, their writings and transactions. 
 Mr. Mason, who saw this work, says, " that every 
 page was in nine columns : one for the Olympiad, 
 the next for the Archons, the third for the Public 
 Affairs of Greece, the three next for the Philoso- 
 phers, and the three last for Poets, Historians, and 
 Orators."* 
 
 Greek literature about this time seems to have 
 been his constant study. He says in a letter ; " I 
 have read Pausanias and Athenseus all through ; 
 and ^schylus again. I am now in Pindar, and 
 Lysias ; for I take verse and prose together, like 
 bread and cheese." 
 
 In the year 1749, on the death of Mrs. Antro- 
 
 * See Gibbon's Rome, vol. iii. p. 248. A plan similar to 
 this has been executed by Edv. Corsinus, in his ' Fasti At- 
 tici,' four volumes 4to. Florence, 1764. 
 
XXVI LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 bus, his mother was deprived of a sister and affec- 
 tionate companion ; which loss, if we may judge by 
 a letter of Gray, was a most severe affliction. It 
 is not improbable that this circumstance may have 
 turned his thoughts towards finishing his ' Elegy,'* 
 which was commenced some time before. Whether 
 that were the case or not, it now however received 
 his last corrections, was communicated to Walpole, 
 and handed about in manuscript with great ap- 
 plause, among the higher circles of society. It M'as 
 so popular, that when it was printed, Gray ex- 
 pressed his surprise at the rapidity of the sale ; 
 which Mr. Mason attributed, and, I think, justly, 
 to the affecting and pensive cast of the subject. 
 " It spread," he said, " at first, on account of the 
 affecting and pensive cast of the subject, just like 
 Hervey's Meditations on the Tombs. Soon after 
 its publication, I remember sitting with Mr. Gray 
 in his College apartment, he expressed to me his 
 
 * The thought of that fine stanza in the Elegy, especially 
 of the latter lines — 
 
 " Some village-Hampden, that with dauntless breast 
 The little tyrant of his fields withstood ; 
 
 Some mute inglorious JNIilton here may rest, 
 
 Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood" — 
 
 is expressed more briefly in the following passage of 
 Piautus : 
 
 " Ut Scepe summa ingenia in occulto latent. 
 
 Hie qualis imperator, nunc privatus est." 
 
 Captiv. act. iv. sc. 2. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. XXVll 
 
 surprise at the rapidity of its sale. I replied: 
 
 ' Sunt lacrymae rerum, et mentem mortalia tangunt.' 
 
 He paused awhile, and taking his pen, wrote the line 
 on a printed copy of it lying on his table. * This,' 
 said he, 'shall be its future motto.' ' Pity,' cried 
 I, 'that Dr. Young's Night Thoughts have pre- 
 occupied it.' ' So,' replied he, ' indeed it is.' He 
 had more reason to think I had hinted at the true 
 cause of its popularity, when he found how diffe- 
 rent a reception his two odes at first met with."* 
 
 Pathetic composition, which is employed in de- 
 scribing to us our own griefs, or the sufferings of 
 others, makes its way to the heart at once ; it al- 
 ways finds some disposition of the mind favourable 
 to receive it, some passion which cannot resist its 
 power, some feelings which participate in its sor- 
 rows. Much time elapses, before works of elabo- 
 rate structure, of lofty flight, and of learned allu- 
 sion, gain possession of the public mind, and are 
 placed in their proper rank in literature. While 
 the ' Bard' and the * Progress of Poetry' were but 
 little read on their first appearance, Gray received 
 at once the full measure of praise from the ' Elegy :' 
 and perhaps even at this time, the Elegy f is the 
 
 * Mason's Life of Whitehead, p. 84. 
 
 t This Elegy was translated into Latin verse by Messrs. 
 Anstey and Roberts, and not so successfully by Mr. Lloyd. 
 It has been translated also into Greek by Dr. Cooke, of 
 King's College, and published at the end of his edition of 
 
XXviii LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 most popular of all his poems. Dr. Gregoi*y, in a 
 letter to Beattie, says: *' It is a sentiment that very 
 universally prevails, that Poetry is a light kind of 
 reading-, which one takes up only for a little amuse- 
 ment ; and that therefore it should be so perspi- 
 cuous as not to require a second reading. This 
 sentiment would bear hard on some of your best 
 things, and on all Gray's except his ' Church-yard 
 Elegy,' which, he told me, with a good deal of 
 acrimony, owed its popularity entirely to the sub- 
 ject, and that the public would have received it as 
 well if it had been written in prose." And Dr. 
 Beattie, writing to Sir William Forbes, says : " Of 
 all the English poets of this age, Mr. Gray is 
 most admired, and I think with justice ; yet there 
 are comparatively speaking, but a few w^ho know 
 any thing of his, but his ' Church-yard Elegy,' 
 which is by no means the best of his works." This 
 production was the occasion of the author's ac- 
 quaintance with Lady Cobham, who lived in the 
 manor-house at Stoke ; and the way in which it 
 commenced, was described by him in a poem called 
 the ' Long Story.' The Elegy having now ap- 
 
 Aristotle's Poetics. Since that time, it has been translated 
 into the same language by Dr. Norbury, and Mr. Tew of 
 Eton, Mr. Stephen Weston, and Dr. Coote. Its imitators 
 also have been very numerous. The Bard was translated 
 into Latin verse, in 1775. It is said that within the pre 
 cincts of the church of Granchester, about two miles from 
 Cambridge, Gray wrote his Elegy. The Curfew mentioned 
 by the poet was of course the great bell of St. Mary's. V. 
 Gent. Mag. May, 1814, p. 4.53. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. XXIX 
 
 peared in some of the periodical publications and 
 magazines, and having been published with great 
 inaccuracies, Gray requested Walpole to have it 
 printed in a more respectable and accurate manner, 
 by Dodsley, but without the apparent knowledge 
 or approbation of the author. It is to be observed 
 that in the early editions, the Elegy is not printed 
 in stanzas of four lines, but continuously. It is 
 also written in the same manner by Gray in the 
 Pembroke and Wharton manuscripts. By this 
 connected system of metre, the harmony of the 
 poem acquires a fuller compass. Mason adopted 
 it in his four Elegies ; and it has been lately used 
 by Mr. Roscoe in his translation of the Greek 
 poem of Musurus, which Aldus prefixed to his 
 edition of Plato.* 
 
 His thoughts, however, were for a short time 
 called off from poetry, by the illness of his mother ; 
 and he hastened from Cambridge to attend upon 
 her. Finding her better than he expected, he em- 
 ployed himself, during his stay, in superintending 
 an edition of his poems, which was soon after pub- 
 lished, with designs by Mr. Bentley,t the only 
 
 * Some remarks on this Elegy were originally printed by 
 me, and published in the Gentleman's Magazine for April 
 1836.— Ed. 
 
 t Bentley's original drawings are in the library of Straw- 
 berry-Hill. See Wal pole's Works, vol. ii. p. 447 ; and 
 Lett, to G. Montagu, p. 97. Mr. Cumberland, in the 
 Memoirs of his Life, vol. i. p. 33, thinks that he sees "a 
 satire in copper-plate in the etchings of Bentley ; and that 
 
XXK LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 son of the learned Dr. Bentley, and the friend of 
 Walpole ; a person of various and elegant acquire- 
 ments, as well as of very considerable talents. 
 To him Gray addressed a Copy of Verses, highly 
 extolling his powers as a painter. The original 
 drawings in Walpole's possession, Mr. Mason 
 says, are infinitely superior to the prints ; but 
 even with this allowance, the praise must be con- 
 sidered rather friendly than just ; since their merit 
 consists in the grotesque and quaint fancy which 
 marks the designs; in the whimsical manner in 
 which the painter has embellished the images of 
 the poet ; and which, if it were intended to cor- 
 respond to the style of the ' Long Story,' would 
 not be an unsuccessful effort of the sister- art. 
 The tributes, however, which are paid by Friend- 
 ship to Genius, ought not to be sparing or scanty : 
 and Gray might remember the example of Dryden 
 and of Pope, in their complimentary eulogies on 
 Kneller. 
 
 In March 1753, he lost the mother, whom he 
 had so long and so affectionately loved ; and he 
 
 his uncle has completely libelled both his poet and his 
 patron without intending to do so." Mr. Cumberland says, 
 at p. 216 of the same volume, that Gray wrote an elaborate 
 critique on a play of Bentley's writing called ' Philodamus,' 
 which was acted at Covent Garden. For an account of 
 R. Bentley see Brydges' Restituta, vol. iv. p. 364. Scott's 
 Lives of the Novelists, vol. ii. p. 235. Boaden's Life 
 of Mrs. Siddons, i. p. 360. R. Bentlev died Oct. 1782 
 
LIFE OF GRAY, XXXI 
 
 placed over her remains an inscription which 
 strongly marks his piety and sorrow : 
 
 Beside her friend and Sister, 
 
 Here sleep the Remains of 
 
 Dorothy Gray, 
 
 Widow; the careful tender Mother 
 
 Of many Children ; one of whom alone 
 
 Had the Misfortune to survive .her. 
 
 She died INIarch xi. mdccliii. 
 
 Aged Lxxii.* 
 
 It is usually supposed that Gray's ' Ode on the 
 Progress of Poetry' was written in 1755. From 
 a letter to Walpole it appears that it was then 
 finished, excepting a few lines at the end. He 
 mentions his being so unfortunate as to come too 
 late for Mr. Bentley's edition, and talks of inserting 
 it in Dodsley's Collection. In 1754, it is sup- 
 posed that he wrote the Fragment of ' An Ode to 
 Vicissitude,' as it is now called. The idea and 
 some of the lines are taken from Cresset's ' Epitre 
 sur ma Convalescence.' Another Ode was also 
 sketched, which might be called * The Liberty of 
 Genius,' though some of Gray's biographers, for 
 what reasons I am ignorant, have called it ' The 
 
 * The latter part of Gray's epitaph has a strong resem- 
 blance to an inscription on a sepulchral cippus found near 
 the Villa Pelluchi, at Rome, now (I believe) in the British 
 
 Museum. D. M. Dasumiae. Soteridi. Libertae. Optimae. 
 
 et. Conjugi. Sanctissimse. bene. mer. fee. L. Dasumius, 
 Callistus. cum. qua. vixit. An xxxv. sine. ulla. querella. 
 optans. ut. ipsa. sibi. potius. superstes. fuisset. quam. se 
 sibi. superstitem. reliquisset. 
 
XXXll LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 Connection between Genius and Grandeur.' The 
 argument of it, the only part which was ever 
 written, is as follows : " All that men of power can 
 do for men of genius is to leave them at their 
 liberty ; compared to birds that, when confined 
 to a cage, do but regret the loss of their freedom 
 in melancholy strains, and lose the luscious wild- 
 ness and happy luxuriance of their notes, which 
 used to make the woods resound." The supple- 
 ment to this Poem is very inferior to the original, 
 so that we may unite in opinion with an eminent 
 critic, that it is better to leave the unfinished crea- 
 tions of genius in their imperfect form. ' Nobis 
 placet exemplumPriscorum, qui ApelleamVenerem 
 imperfectam maluerunt, quam integram manu ex- 
 tranea.'* Gray, as Walpole remarked, was in- 
 deed ^^ in flower" these last three years. The 
 ' Bard ' was commenced, and part of it commu- 
 nicated to Mr. Stonehewer and Dr. Wharton, 1755. 
 In these letters he for the first time complains of 
 listlessness and depression of spirits, which pre- 
 vented his application to poetry : and from this 
 period we may trace the course of that hereditary 
 disease in his constitution, which embittered in a 
 considerable degree the remainder of his days ; and 
 the fatal strength of which, not even the tem- 
 perance and regularity of a whole life could subdue. 
 In his pocket journal for this year, besides a diary 
 of the weather, and a very accurate calendar of 
 
 * Vide Crruteri not : ad Plautum. vol. i. p. 295, 4to. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. XXXlll 
 
 observations on natural history, he kept a regular 
 account of his health in Latin. By this it appears 
 that his constitution was much enfeebled and im- 
 paired, that alarming- attacks of the gout were per- 
 petually recurring and disordering his frame. He 
 speaks constantly of the sleepless night, and the 
 feverish morning ; and seems seldom to have been 
 free from pain, debility, and disease. Expressions 
 similar to the following, are in almost every page : 
 ' Insomnia crebra, atque expergiscenti surdus qui- 
 dam doloris sensus; frequens etiam in regione sterni 
 oppressio, et cardialgia gravis, fere sempiterna,' 
 
 "The Bard" was for some time left unfinished ; 
 but *' the accident of seeing a blind harper (Mr. 
 Parry) perform on a Welsh harp,* again (he says) 
 put his Ode in motion, and brought it at last to a 
 conclusion. "t This poem appears to have been 
 submitted to the critical opinion of his friends. 
 He mentions a remark upon it by Dr. Hurd ; and 
 he had recourse to the judgement of Mr. Mason, 
 '' whose cavils (Walpole says) almost induced 
 him to destroy his two beautiful and sublime 
 Odes." 
 
 Some time previous to this, Dodsley had pub- 
 lished his Collection of Poems, in three volumes, t 
 
 * For an Account of Parry, see Smith's Life of NoUekens, 
 vol. ii. p. 213. 
 
 t See Walpoliana, vol. i. p. 46. 
 
 X Dodsley published three volumes of this Collection, in 
 1732 : the fourth volume was published in 1755 ; and the 
 d 
 
XXXIV LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 which VValpole sent to Gray. The observations 
 made by the latter, as they were not pubHshed in 
 Mr. Mason's Life, and as it is interesting to read 
 the opinions which he entertained of his poetical 
 contemporaries, I shall extract from the letter to 
 his friend, in as short a compass as I can. 
 
 " To begin, (he says,) with Mr. Tickell : — This 
 is not only a state poem (my ancient aversion), 
 but a state poem on the Peace of Utrecht. If 
 Mr. Pope had wrote a panegyric on it, one could 
 hardly have read him with patience. But this is 
 only a poor short-winded imitator of Addison, who 
 had himself not above three or four notes in poetry ; 
 sweet enough indeed, like those of a German flute, 
 but such as soon tire and satiate the ear with their 
 frequent return. Tickell has added to this a great 
 poverty of sense, and a string of transitions that 
 hardly become a school-boy. However, I forgive 
 him for the sake of his Ballad, which I always 
 thought the prettiest in the world. All there is of 
 Mr. Green here, has been printed before; there is 
 a profusion of wit every where. Reading would 
 have formed his judgment, and harmonized his 
 verse ; for even his wood-notes often break out into 
 strains of real poetry and music. The ' School- 
 Mistress '* is excellent in its kind, and masterly : 
 
 fifth and sixth volumes, which completed the Collection, 
 in 1758. 
 
 * The School-Mistress is by far the best of Shenstone's 
 poems. The variations from the first edition are very curious. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. XXXV 
 
 and * London ' is one of those few imitations that 
 have all the ease and all the spirit of the original. 
 The same man's* Verses at the Opening of Gar- 
 rick's Theatre are far from bad. Mr. Dyer has 
 more of poetry in his imagination, than almost any 
 of our number ; but rough, and injudicious. 1 
 should range Mr. Bramston only a step or two 
 above Dr. King, who is as low in my estimation 
 as in yours. Dr. Evans is a furious madman ; and 
 ' Pre-existence' is nonsense in all her altitudes. 
 Mr. Lyttleton is a gentle elegiac person. f Mr. 
 Nugent sure did not write his own Ode. I like 
 Mr. Whitehead's little poems, (I mean The Ode on 
 a Tent, The Verses to Garrick, and particularly 
 those to Charles Townshend,) better than any thing 
 I had ever seen before of him. I gladly pass over 
 H. Brown and the rest, to come at you. You know 
 I was of the publishing side, and thought your rea- 
 sons against it — none : for though, as Mr. Chute 
 said extremely well, ' the still small voice ' of Poetry 
 
 His writings in prose abound with sound reflection, and 
 knowledge of human nature ; and are written in a neat and 
 unaffected manner, displaying great benevolence of mind, 
 and gentleness of disposition. Mr. Graves (the author of 
 the Spiritual Quixote) wrote a pamphlet, called ' Recollec- 
 tions of some Particulars in the Life of William Shenstone, 
 Esq. &c.' to vindicate his friend from the censure of Dr. 
 Johnson, Gray, and Mason. 
 
 * Dr. Samuel Johnson. See W. S. Landor's Satire on 
 Satirists, p. 14. 
 
 t See Walpole's Noble Authors, vol, i. pr, 549, and War- 
 ton's Pope, vol. iv. 309. 
 
XXXVl LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 was not made to be heard in a crowd, yet Satire will be 
 heard, for all the audience are by nature her friends. 
 
 What shall I say to Mr. Lowth, Mr. Ridley, 
 
 Mr. Rolle, the Rev. Mr. Brown, Seward, &c If I 
 
 say, ' Messieurs ! this is not the thing: write prose, 
 write sermons, write nothing at all,' they will dis- 
 dain me and my advice. Mr. S. Jenyns now and 
 then can write a good line or two, such as these : 
 
 ' Snatch us from all our little sorrows here, 
 Calm every grief, and dry each childish tear.* 
 
 I like Mr. Aston Hervey's Fable ; and an Ode the 
 the last of all, by Mr. Mason ; a new acquaintance 
 of mine, whose Musceus too seems to carry with it 
 the promise at least of something good to come. I 
 was glad to see you distinguished who poor West 
 was before his charming Ode, and called it any 
 thing rather than a Pindaric. The Town is an owl, 
 if it don't like Lady Mary; and I am surprised at 
 it. We here are owls enough to think her Eclogues 
 very bad : but that, I did not wonder at. Our present 
 taste is Sir Thomas Fitzosborne's Letters," &c.* 
 
 In 1756 Gray left Peter-house, where he had 
 resided above twenty years, on account of some in- 
 civilities he met with, which are slightly mentioned 
 in his correspondence. He removed to Pembroke- 
 hall, M'here his most intimate friends resided ; and 
 this he describes, " as an aera in a life so barren 
 of events as his." 
 
 * See Walpole's Works, vol. v. p. 393. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. XXXVll 
 
 In July 1757, he took his Odes to London, to 
 be published. " I found Gray (says H. Walpole) 
 in Town, last week. He brought his two Odes* 
 to be printed. I snatched them out of Dodsley's 
 nands, and they are to be the first-fruits of my 
 press." Although the genius of Gray was now 
 " in its firm and mature age," and though his 
 poetical reputation was deservedly celebrated ; it 
 is plain that these Odes were not favourably re- 
 ceived. '' His friends (he says) write to him, that 
 they do not succeed," and several amusing criti- 
 cisms on them are mentioned in the Letters. Yet 
 there were not wanting some better judges who 
 admired them. They had received the judicious 
 and valuable approbation of Mason and of Hurd ;t 
 and if Gray felt any pleasure in the poem which 
 Garrick wrote in their praise, he must have been 
 yet more gratified, when Warburton, while he be- 
 stowed on them his honest applause, shewed his 
 indignation at those who condemned, without being 
 able to understand them.+ 
 
 * Of these Odes, a thousand copies were printed at 
 Strawberry-Hill. 
 
 t It is, I believe, to Gray that Hurd alludes in the Essay 
 on the Marks of Imitation, as to the "common friend of 
 Mason and himself," who had suggested an imitation of 
 Spenser, by Milton : see vol. iii. p. 48. 
 
 X Gray's Odes were reviewed in the Monthly Review for 
 1757, p. 239. They were also reviewed in the Critical Re- 
 view, vol. iv. p. 167 ; in which the critic mistook the Aio\?jia 
 uoXtti) (the i^olian lyre), for the ^olian harp, the instru- 
 
XXXVlll LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 About ten years before this time, the Odes of 
 Collins* were published, and received with the 
 most unmerited neglect. The public had been so 
 long delighted with the wit and satire of Pope, had 
 formed their taste so much on his manner of ver- 
 sification, and had been so accustomed to dwell 
 upon the neat and pointed style of that finished 
 writer ; that they were but ill prepared to admire the 
 beauties of the lofty and magnificent language, in 
 which Collins arrayed his sublime conceptions ; and 
 which was tasteless to those, who, but a few years 
 before, had received the last book of the Dunciad, 
 from the dying hands of their favourite poet ; and 
 who could not pass from wit, and epigram, and satire, 
 to the bold conceptions, the animated descriptions, 
 and the wild grandeur of lyric poetry. -f- The very 
 
 ment invented by Kircher about 1649 ; and, after being 
 forgotten for a century, discovered by Mr. Oswald. A pas- 
 sage in this Review, suggested to Dr. Johnson an objection 
 of which he made use, in his criticism on Gray ; viz. " Is 
 there not, (says the Critical Review) a trifling impropriety 
 in this line, ' Weave the warp, and weave the woof;' — Is 
 not the warp laid, and the woof afterwards woven 1 Suppose 
 he had written ' Stretch the warp, and weave the woof.' " 
 Compare Johnson's Life of Gray, vol. xi. p. 377, ed. Mur- 
 phy. 
 
 * The Odes of Collins were published in 1746. The 
 open manner in which Goldsmith in his Threnod. Aug. 
 borrowed whole lines and stanzas from Collins, is a strong 
 proof how little ColHns' Poems were then known, 
 
 t See T. Warton's Preface to Milton's Minor Poems, p. 
 1. 10, for a support of this opinion, and Mason's Life of 
 Whitehead, p. 12. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. XXXIX 
 
 w orks which have now raised Gray and Collins to 
 rank as our two greatest lyric poets, were either 
 neg-lected, or ridiculed by their contemporaries ; 
 while, to appreciate the justness of their thoughts, 
 the harmony of their numbers, and the splendid 
 creations of their genius, was left for the more 
 correct decisions of time. 
 
 Those who are really competent judges of the 
 merit of poetry, in any age, are necessarily but 
 few ; the great and general mass of poetical readers 
 are constantly varying among the favourites of the 
 time ; raising with their breath the bubble of that 
 reputation to-day, which they take the same pains 
 to destroy to-morrow. 
 
 Quod dedisti 
 Viventi decus, atque sentienti 
 Rari post cineres habent Poetae.f 
 
 But a poet who receives the praise of an enlight- 
 ened age, may with confidence expect its continu- 
 ance ; if he write, not for the fluctuation of taste, 
 nor the caprice of fashion ; but on his own ex- 
 tended views of nature, on his own confirmed 
 knowledge and experience, and on the solid prin- 
 ciples of the art. He who acquires the admiration 
 of the present time, by addressing himself to their 
 taste, by following their judgment, and by soliciting 
 their applause, may be sure that his productions 
 will be superseded by the favourite rivals of the 
 
 t See Martial. Eleg. Lib. i. 2, 4, and Bentivoglio's Let- 
 ters, p. 144, and Johnson's Life of Cowley, p. 62. 
 
Xl LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 age to come. IlaJc ay 6 yutV ifxe ttuq aKovaeuv (uo)if 
 was the sensible advice of Longinus,* to those, 
 who " with a noble ambition aim at immortality." 
 There is a passage in the Life of Thomson written 
 by his friend, in which he mentions the reason of 
 the discouragement shewn, by some critics of that 
 day, to the poetry of that interesting writer; and 
 which applies equally in the case of Collins and 
 of Gray ; as the same cause that impeded the fa- 
 vourable reception of the Seasons, still constinued 
 to exert its powerful influence. ''The Poem of 
 Winter, (says Mr. Murdoch, who speaks from his 
 own observation,) was no sooner read, than uni- 
 versally admired ; those only excepted, who had 
 not been used to feel, or to look for any thing in 
 poetry beyond a point of satirical or epigrammatic 
 wit ; a smart antithesis richly trimmed with rhyme ; 
 or the softness of an elegiac complaint. To such 
 his manly classical spirit could not readily recom- 
 mend itself; till after a more attentive perusal, 
 they had got the better of their prejudices, and 
 either acquired, or affected a truer taste. A few 
 others stood aloof, merely because they had long 
 before fixed the articles of their poetical creed, and 
 resigned themselves to an absolute despair of ever 
 seeing any thing new and original." From that 
 time, till after the death of Gray, the strong and 
 almost exclusive influence of Pope's versification 
 
 * Vide Longinum Trepi 'Y^/zoOg. Sect. XIV. iii. p. b7. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. xli 
 
 was felt on English poetry. Mason, speaking' of 
 Gray's Hymn or Address to Ignorance, says, — 
 " Many of the lines are so strong, and the general 
 cast of the versification so musical, that I believe 
 it will give the generality of readers a higher opi- 
 nion of his poetical talents, than many of his lyrical 
 productions would have done. I speak of the ge- 
 nerality ; for it is a certain fact, that their taste 
 is founded upon the ten syllable couplet of Drydea 
 and Pope, and of these only." 
 
 In this year Gibber died at an advanced age, 
 and the Laureatship was offered by the Duke of 
 Devonshire, then Lord Ghamberlain, to Gray ; with 
 a remarkable and honourable privilege, to hold it 
 as a mere sinecure. This he respectfully declined ; 
 and some of his reasons for refusing it, he gives 
 in a letter to Mr. Mason: "The office itself (he 
 says) has ahvays humbled the possessor hitherto : 
 — if he were a poor writer, by making him more 
 conspicuous ; and if he were a good one, by setting 
 him at war with the little fry of his own profes- 
 sion ; for there are poets little enough, even to 
 envy a poet-laureat." * 
 
 Upon Gray's refusal, the laurel was accepted 
 by Mr. Whitehead, who joined to very competent 
 talents, what made those talents respectable — mo- 
 desty and worth. Mr. Mason had by him letters 
 of Gray, in which he gave Whitehead's first and 
 
 * See Mason's Life of Whitehead, vol. i. p. 92, and G . 
 Colman's Works", vol. iii. p. 161. 
 
Xlli LIFF OF GRAY. 
 
 second odes great encomiums. To Gibber indeed, 
 he was in every respect infinitely superior : but it 
 is no disgrace to Mr. Whitehead to aflBrm, that 
 to the genius of that poet who succeeded him, 
 we are indebted for the finest productions that have 
 ever ennobled an ofiice, in itself not most friendly 
 to the Muses. Mr. Mason was not quite over- 
 looked on this occasion. " Lord John Cavendish 
 (he says) made an apology to him, ' that being in 
 orders, he was thought less eligible than a lay 
 man.' " A little tinge of that satire which occa- 
 sionally darted its shafts into the world from the 
 retirement of Aston, is now visible in Mr. Mason's 
 narrative,* when he adds, " that he wonders the 
 same privilege, of holding the office as a sinecure, 
 was not offered to Mr. Whitehead ; as the king 
 would readily have dispensed with hearing poetry, 
 for which he had no taste, and music, for which 
 he had no ear."t 
 
 In 1758, Gray describes himself as composing, 
 for his own amusement, the little book which he 
 calls ' A Catalogue of the Antiquities, Houses, &c., 
 in England and Wales ;' and which he drew up 
 on the blank pages of Kitchen's English Atlas. 
 After his death it was printed and distributed by 
 Mr. Mason to his friends. J 
 
 * See INIason's Life of Whitehead, p. 87, and on T. 
 Warton's Lyrical merits, p. 93. 
 
 t See Johnson's Epigram, in his Poems by Park, p. 72. 
 
 X A new edition was printed in 1787 for sale. Mr. Ma- 
 son's was only intended for presents. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. xliil 
 
 About this period, much of his time seems to 
 have been employed in the study of architecture ; 
 in which his proficiency, as indeed in all other 
 branches of learning which he pursued, was accu- 
 rate and deep. Some of his observations on this 
 subject afterwards appeared in Mr. Bentham's 
 History of Ely. In the Gentleman's Magazine 
 for April 1784, a letter from Gray to Mr. Bentham 
 is published, which contains all the information 
 afforded to the latter. It was printed in conse- 
 quence of the circulation of a report, that the whole 
 of the Treatise on Saxon, Norman, and Gothic 
 Architecture, published in the History of Ely, v/as 
 written by Gray.* On the 15th of January 1759, 
 the British Museum was opened to the public ; 
 and Gray went to London to read and transcribe 
 the manuscripts which were collected there from 
 the Harleian and Cottonian libraries. A folio vo- 
 lume of his transcripts was in Mr. Mason's hands : 
 out of which, one paper alone — The speech of Sir 
 Thomas Wyattf before the Privy Council — was 
 published in the second number of Lord Orford's 
 Miscellaneous Antiquities; but, as I understand 
 
 ♦ See Bentham's preface to the History of Ely, (new 
 edit.) p. 13; Selections from the Gentleman's Magazine, 
 vol. ii. p. 249 ; and Nichols's Literary Anecdotes, vol. iii. p. 
 489; and Gentleman's Magazine, vol. liii. p. 37, 138, 301, 
 375 : vol. liv. p. 243. 
 
 t See Chalmers's Life of Sir Thomas Wyatt in the British 
 Poets, vol. ii. p. 363. 
 
Xliv LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 from a note in Dr. Nott's Edition of Lord- Surrey, 
 very imperfectly.* 
 
 He was, as Dr. Johnson observed, but little af- 
 fected by two Odes of Obscurity and Oblivion f 
 written by Messrs. Colman and Lloyd, which then 
 appeared in ridicule of him, and Mr. Mason. The 
 humour of these poems, in my opinion, has been 
 much over-praised. Warburton calls them " two 
 miserable buffoon Odes. "J Like all other pro- 
 ductions of a personal and satirical nature, their 
 subject ensured to them a short period of popula- 
 rity. We know with what avidity those works 
 are perused, which hold up to the derision of the 
 public the peculiarities of genius and learning-. 
 Almost every author of talent, at some time or 
 other, becomes the mark at which ridicule is aimed. 
 In this particular case, the most modest and re- 
 tired habits, as well as the most exalted talents, 
 were dragged out with circumstances of laughter 
 and contempt, by men very inferior to Gray, either 
 in the strictness of their moral character, or in the 
 depth and extent of their literary attainments. Yet, 
 while I think their ridicule was not happy or suc- 
 cessful, I do not see those marks of rancour and 
 malevolence in their design, which so often im- 
 
 * See Nott's Surrey, vol. ii. p. Ixiv. 
 
 t The Ode to Obscurity was directed chiefly against 
 Gray ; that to Oblivion against Mason. See Lloyd's Poems, 
 vol. i. p. 120. 
 
 t See Warburtou's Letters, by Hurd, Let. cxli. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. xlv 
 
 bitter and disgrace the Satires of Churchill ;* 
 which the intemperance of youth, I am afraid, can 
 hardly excuse ; and which must raise constant 
 disgust in those, who read the works of that pow- 
 erful, though unfinished writer. Dr. Warton, in 
 his notes on Pope,t says, " The Odes of Gray 
 were burlesqued by two men of wit and genius ; 
 who, however, once owned to me, that they re- 
 pented of the attempt.'' 
 
 During Gray's residence in London, he became 
 slightly acquainted with the amiable naturalist 
 Mr. Stillingfleet, whose death took place a few 
 months after his own.| At the request of Mr. 
 Montagu, he wrote an * Epitaph on Sir William 
 Williams,' who was killed at the siege of Belleisle. 
 In 1762 the professorship of modern history be- 
 came vacant by the death of Mr. Turner. By the 
 
 * Churchill mentions Gray in the Ghost — " And plain- 
 tive fops debauched by Gray;" — also in the Journey, in 
 which poem Armstrong is satii-ized, in language of unbe- 
 coming and inexcusable asperity. Mrs. Chapone, in a Letter 
 dated 1764, says, — " You keep my genius down continu- 
 ally by throwing cold water on its dying embers ; and ter- 
 rifying my poor muse, as much as Churchill does that of 
 Gray." Chapone's Letters, vol. ii. p. 164, date 1764. 
 
 t See Warton's Pope, vol. i. p. ^S6. See also G. Col- 
 man's Works, vol. i. p. xi. 
 
 X Mr. Benjamin Stillingfleet died December 15, 1771, 
 aged 69. A very pleasing tribute to his memory has lately 
 been paid by the Rev. Mr. Coxe ; by a careful selection 
 from his unpublished Works, and a Life of him, and his 
 literary friends, in three volumes 8vo. 1811. 
 
Xlvi LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 advice of his friends, he applied to Lord Bute for 
 the place, through the medium of Sir Henry Ers- 
 kine. He was refused ; and the professorship was 
 given to Mr. Brocket, the tutor of Sir James 
 Lowther. " And so (says Gray, humorously pass- 
 ing over his disappointment) I have made my 
 fortune like Sir Francis Wronghead." 
 
 In the summer of 1 765, he took a journey into 
 Scotland, to improve his health, which was be- 
 coming more weak and uncertain, as well as to 
 gratify his curiosity with the natural beauties and 
 antiquities of that wild and romantic country. He 
 went through Edinburgh and Perth to Glames- 
 Castle, the residence of Lord Stratbmore, where 
 he stayed some time. Thence he took a short 
 excursion into the Highlands, crossing Perthshire 
 by Loch-Tay, and pursuing the road from Dunkeld 
 to Inverness, as far as the pass of Gillikrankie. 
 Then returning to Dunkeld, he travelled on the 
 Stirling road to Edinburgh. " His account of his 
 journey, (says Dr. Johnson,) so far as it extends, 
 is curious and elegant : for as his comprehension 
 was ample, his curiosity extended to all the works 
 of art, all the appearances of nature, and all the 
 monuments of past events." In Scotland he formed 
 an acquaintance with Dr. Beattie ; who had been 
 the first to welcome him on his arrival in the 
 North, with a testimony of the high admiration in 
 which he held his genius and his character ; and 
 which was truly valuable, because it was the vo- 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. xlvii 
 
 luntary praise of one, who himself possessed the 
 feeling, and power of a poet. I transcribe Dr. 
 Beattie's Letter, from his Life, published by Sir 
 William Forbes : — 
 
 " Mariscbal College of Aberdeen, 
 30th of August, 1765. 
 
 " If I thoug-ht it necessary to offer an apology 
 for venturing to address you in this abrupt manner, 
 I should be very much at a loss how to begin. I 
 might plead my admiration of your genius, and 
 my attachment to your character ; but who is he 
 that could not with truth urge the same excuse 
 for intruding upon your retirement ? I might 
 plead my earnest desire to be personally acquainted 
 with a man, whom I have so long and so passion- 
 ately admired in his writings ; but thousands, of 
 greater consequence than I, are ambitious of the 
 same honour. I, indeed, must either flatter my- 
 self that no apology is necessary, or otherw-ise, I 
 must despair of obtaining w^hat has long been the 
 object of my most ardent wishes. I must for ever 
 forfeit all hopes of seeing you, and conversing 
 with you. 
 
 " It w^as yesterday I received the agreeable 
 news of your being in Scotland, and of your in- 
 tending to visit some parts of it. Will you permit 
 us to hope, that we shall have an opportunity at 
 Aberdeen, of thanking you in person, for the 
 honour you have done to Britain, and to the poetic 
 art, by your inestimable compositions, and of offer- 
 
xlviii LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 ing you all that we have that deserves your accep- 
 tance ; namely, hearts full of esteem, respect and 
 affection ? If you cannot come so far northward, 
 let me at least be acquainted with the place of youi 
 residence, and permitted to wait on you. Forgive, 
 sir, this request: forgive me, if I urge it with 
 earnestness, for indeed it concerns me nearly : and 
 do me the justice to believe, that I am with the 
 most sincere attachment, and most respectful 
 esteem," &c. 
 
 Gray declined the honour which the University 
 of Aberdeen was disposed to confer on him, (of 
 the degree of doctor of laws,) lest it might appear 
 a slight and contempt of his own University, 
 " where (he says) he passed so many easy and 
 happy hours of his life, where he had once lived 
 from choice, and continued to do so from obliga- 
 tion." In one of his conversations with Dr. 
 Beattie,* who expressed himself with less admira- 
 tion of Dryden than Gray thought his due ; he 
 told him, " that if there was any excellence in his 
 own 'numbers, he had learned it wholly from that 
 great poet ; and pressed him with great earnest- 
 ness to study him, as his choice of words and ver- 
 sification was singularly happy and harmonious." 
 — " Remember Diyden, (he also wrote,) and be 
 blind to all his faults. "f 
 
 * See Beattie's Essay on Poetry and Music, 4to. p. 360 
 (note). 
 
 t Mr. Mason, in his Life of Whitehead, p. 17, says 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. xlix 
 
 Part of the summer of 1766 Gray passed in a 
 tour in Kent, and at the house of his friend Mr. 
 Robinson, on the skirts of Barham Down. In a 
 letter in my possession, from Mrs. Robinson to a 
 friend, dated June 2, 1766, she says: " I have 
 met with several interruptions, partly owing to our 
 having- had for almost a fortnight a very agreeable 
 gentleman in the house, whose conversation is both 
 instructive and entertaining ; after what I have 
 said, you will wish to hear his name— 'tis Mr. 
 GU-ay— who is well known for having wrote several 
 pretty elegies ; he is also an acquaintance of your 
 friend Mr. Rycroft," &c.* In 1767 he again left 
 
 " tliat Gray, who admired Dryden almost beyond bounds, 
 used to say of a very juvenile poem of his, in Tonson's 
 Miscellany, written on the Death of Lord Halifax, that 
 it gave not so much as the slightest promise of his future 
 excellency, and seemed to indicate a bad natural ear for 
 versification. I believe Derrick reprinted this poem in 
 his edition of Dryden." There is no poem that I can dis- 
 cover by Dryden on the Death of Lord Halifax ; but I 
 suppose Mr. Mason meant a Poem on the Death of Lord 
 Hastings, (See Scott's Life of Dryden, p. 28.) written 
 when Dryden was only eighteen, and at Westminster 
 School, and which is the first poem in Derrick's Collection; 
 and is also in p. 116 of the first volume of Tonson's Miscel- 
 lany. These lines are certainl}^ most singulaily inharmo- 
 nious, with much of the strained allusion and rough style 
 of Donne. At the end of ' Halifax's Miscellanies,' there is 
 an anonymous poem to his memory, of considerable merit ; 
 but I am not able to say by whom it is written. See also 
 Mason's Works, vol. i. p. 451. 
 
 * See Miss Carter's Letters to ]\Irs. Montagu, vol. i.p.364. 
 e 
 
1 LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 Cambridg-e, and went to the North of Eng-land, 
 on a visit to Dr. Wharton. He had intended a 
 second tour to Scotland, but returned to London 
 without accomplishing his design. At Dr. Beattie's 
 desire, a new edition of his Poems was published 
 by Foulis at Glasgow ; and at the same time 
 Dodsley was also printing them in London. In 
 both these editions, the ' Long Story' was omitted, 
 as the plates from Bentley's designs were worn 
 out: and Gray said, *' that its only use, which 
 was to explain the prints, was gone." Some pieces 
 of Welsh and Norwegian Poetry, written in a 
 bold and original manner,* were inserted in its 
 place : of which the ' Descent of Odin' is undoubt- 
 edly the most valuable, though in many places it 
 is exceedingly obscure. I have mentioned, in the 
 notes to this poem, that Gray translated only that 
 part of it which he found in the Latin version of 
 Bartholinus ; and to this cause much of the obscu- 
 rity is owing. In a letter to Walpolef he says, 
 " As to what you say to me civilly,— that I ought 
 to write more,— I reply in our own words, like 
 the pamphleteer who is going to confute you out 
 of your own mouth ; * What has one to do, when 
 turned of fifty, but really to think of finishing V 
 However, I will be candid, for you seem to be so 
 
 * See Mason's Life of Whitehead, p. 84. See also Dry- 
 den's Miscel). V. vi. p. 387, for a translation that may have 
 turned Gray's thoughts to the Northern Poetry. 
 
 t See Walpole's Works, vol. v. p. 374, Letter viii. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. ll 
 
 with me, and avow to you, that till fourscore and 
 upward, whenever the humour takes me, I will 
 write ; because I like it, and because I like myself 
 better when I do so. If I do not write much, it 
 is because I cannot." — '* Gray," says Walpole, 
 " has added to his Poems three ancient odes from 
 Norway and Wales. The subjects of the two first 
 are g-rand and picturesque, and there is his genuine 
 vein in them ; but they are not interesting, and do 
 not, like his other poems, touch any passion : our 
 human feelings, which he masters at will in his 
 finer pieces, are not here affected. Who can care 
 through what horrors a Runic savage arrived at 
 all the joys and glories they could conceive,— the 
 supreme felicity of boozing ale out of the skull of 
 an enemy in Odin's Hall?"* To his Odes, Gray 
 now found it necessary to add some notes, " Partly 
 (he says) from justice, to acknowledge a debt when 
 I had borrowed anything : partly from ill-temper, 
 just to tell the gentle reader, that Edward the First 
 was not Oliver Cromw^ell, nor Queen Elizabeth 
 the Witch of Endor,"t Walpole in a letter to G. 
 Montagu, says : " You are very particular, I can tell 
 you, in liking Gray's Odes ; but you must remem- 
 ber the age likes Akenside, and did like Thomson, 
 Can the same people like both ? Milton was forced 
 to wait till the world had done admirino- Quarles. 
 
 * See Letter to G. Montagu, p. 405. 
 
 t See Soutliey's Life of Cowper, vol. i. p. 325. 
 
lii LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 Cambridge told nie t'other night, that my Lord 
 Chesterfield had heard Stanly read them as his 
 own, but that must have been a mistake of my 
 Lord's deafness. Cambridge said—-' Perhaps they 
 are Stanly's, and not caring to own them, he gave 
 them to Gray.' I think this would hurt Gray's 
 dignity ten times more than his Poetry not suc- 
 ceeding." 
 
 In 1768 the professorship of modern history 
 again became vacant by the accidental death of 
 Mr. Brocket ; and the Duke of Grafton, then in 
 power, at the request of Mr. Stonehewer, immedi- 
 ately bestowed it upon Gray.* In 1769, on the 
 death of the Duke of Newcastle, f the Duke of 
 Grafton was elected to the chancellorship of the 
 University. His installation took place in the 
 summer; and Gray wrote his fine Ode that was 
 set to music on the occasion : "He thought it 
 better that Gratitude should sing, than Expecta- 
 tion."!: He told Dr. Beattie, " that he considered 
 himself bound in gratitude to the Duke of Grafton, 
 
 * The professorship became vacant on Sunday, and the 
 Duke of Grafton wrote to Gray on the following Wednes- 
 day : see Walpole's Letters, vol. v. p. 137, and Pursuits 
 of Literature, p. 51, and H. Walpole's Letter to Conway, 
 Aug. 9, 1768. 
 
 t The Duke of Newcastle died in Lincoln's Inn Fields, 
 the 17th of November 1768, in the 77th year of his age. 
 
 t Pope told Lord Halifax he would be troublesome ' out 
 of gratitude, not expectation.' v. Johnson's Life of Pope, 
 p. 94. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. IHi 
 
 to write this Ode ; and that he foresa\\ the abuse 
 that would be thrown on him for it, but did not 
 think it worth his while to avoid it." He did not 
 appear to set much value on the poem, for he says, 
 " it cannot last above a single day, or if its exis- 
 tence be prolonged beyond that period, it must be 
 by means of newspaper-parodies, and witless criti- 
 cism." Posterity however has more correctly es- 
 timated this beautiful production, than the author ; 
 it is a very splendid creation raised on an appa- 
 rently barren subject.* 
 
 When this ceremony was past, he went on a 
 tour to the Lakes of Cumberland and Westmore- 
 land. His friend Dr. Wharton, who was to be 
 his companion on the journey, Avas seized with the 
 return of an asthmatic attack on the first day, and 
 went home. To this accident we are indebted for 
 a most elegant and lively journal of his tour, in- 
 tended for his friend's amusement. The style in 
 which these letters are written, is evidently the 
 production of a person thoroughly accustomed to 
 the contemplation of his subject ; it is peculiarly 
 clear, simple and elegant ; and abounds with those 
 picturesque descriptions, which, though they can 
 
 * " Gray," says a writer of very superior talent and taste, 
 ♦' has finely glanced at the bright point in Henry's cha- 
 racter — ' The Majestic Lord '—in that beautiful stanza where 
 he has made the founders of Cambridge pass before out 
 eyes, like shadows over a magic glass." See Hallam's 
 Constitut. Histoiy, vol. i. p. 49. 
 
liv LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 never enable language totally to supply, can at 
 least make it much assist, the local powers of the 
 pencil. ** He that reads his epistolary narrative 
 (says Dr. Johnson) wishes, that to travel, and to 
 tell his travels, had been more of his employment : 
 but it is by staying at home, that we must obtain 
 the ability of travelling with intelligence and im- 
 provement." 
 
 In April 1770 he complains much of a depres- 
 sion of spirits, talks of an intended tour into Wales 
 in the summer, and of meeting his friend Dr. 
 Wharton at Mr. Mason's. In July, however, he 
 was still at Cambridge, and wrote to Dr. Beattie, 
 complaining of illness and pain in his head ; and 
 in this letter, he sent him some criticisms on the 
 first book of the Minstrel, which have since been 
 published.* His tour took place in the autumn : 
 but not a single letter is preserved in Mr. Mason's 
 book on this journey, to any of his correspondents. 
 He wrote no journal, and travelled with Mr. Ni- 
 cholls,t of Blundeston, in SufiFolk, a gentleman of 
 
 * See Forbes's Life of Beattie, vol. i. p. 197, 4to. letter 
 xlv. 
 
 t The taste of INIr. Nicholls enabled him to adorn, in the 
 midst of a flat and unvaried county, and on the bleak 
 eastern shore of England, a little valley, near Lowestoff, with 
 beauties of no ordinary kind. Ov yap ri KaXbg x^P^^' ^^^' 
 ttpiHspoQ. ovS' epcLTOQ, oiog d/jupl ZipLog 'poalg. v. Archi- 
 lochi, Fr. p. 63.ed Liebel. " La villa (says Mr. Mathias) del 
 Sig. Nicholls, detta Blundeston, alia spiaggia Orientale della 
 contra de Suffolk, due miglia lontana dal mare, disposta, ed 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 Iv 
 
 much accomplishment, and who was admitted more 
 than any other person, into intimate and unreserved 
 friendship with Gray. He was I believe the Oc- 
 tavius of the Pursuits of Literature. The sketch 
 of his life was written by Mr. Mathias, in 1809, 
 in the Gent. Mag. and subsequently enlarged. 
 The letters of Gray to Mr. Nicholls, which Mr. 
 Dawson Turner possesses, fully prove the truth of 
 Mr. Mathias's belief—' that with the single ex- 
 ception of Mr. West, Gray was more affectionately 
 attached to him than to any other person.' 
 
 In May 1771 he wrote to Dr. Wharton, just 
 sketching the outlines of his Tour in Wales and 
 some of the adjacent Counties. This is the last 
 letter that remains in Mr. Mason's Collection. He 
 there complains of an incurable cough, of spirits 
 habitually low, and of the uneasiness which the 
 thought of the duties of his professorship gave 
 him, which, after having held nearly three years, 
 Mr. Mason says he had now a determined resolu- 
 tion to resign. He mentions also different plans 
 of amusement and travel, that he had projected ; 
 
 ornata da lui con singolare fantasia, e con giudizio squisito. 
 II Sig. Gray, de' Lirici Britanni Sovrano, vide gia con am- 
 mirazioue, e molto ancora attendea dal genio del disegnatore." 
 See a note in the first volume of ' Aggiunta ai Componimentt 
 Lirici,' &c. p. ii. and xi. But alas ! instead of the " i mo- 
 bili cristalli d'un limpidissimo lago," are we not reminded of 
 
 " Questi valli 
 
 Circondati di stagnant! fiumi 
 Quando cade dal ciel, piu lenta pioggia — " 
 
Ivi LIFE OF GHAY. 
 
 but which unfortunately were not to be accom- 
 plished. Within a few days after the date of this 
 last letter, he removed to London, where his health 
 moro! and more declined. His physician, Dr. 
 Gisborne, advised freer air, and he went to Ken- 
 sington. There he in some degree revived, and 
 returned to Cambridge, intending to go from that 
 place to Old Park, near Durham, the residence of 
 his friend Dr. Wharton.* In the spring of 1769 
 or 1770, his friend Mr. Robinson saw Gray for 
 the last time, in his lodgings in Jermyn Street. 
 He was then ill, and in a state of apparent decay, 
 and low spirits. He expressed regret that he had 
 done so little in literature ; and began to lament, 
 that at last, when he had become easy in his cir- 
 cumstances, he had lost his health. But in this 
 he checked himself, feeling that it was wrong to 
 repine at the decrees of Providence. On the 24th 
 of July, while at dinner in the College hall, he 
 was seized with an attack of the goutf in his sto- 
 mach. The violence of the disease resisted all the 
 powers of medicine : on the 29th he was seized 
 with convulsions, which returned more violently 
 on the 30th ; and he expired in the evening of 
 
 * See H. Stevenson's Works, vol. ii. p. 210. 
 
 t In a letter from Paris, August 11, 1771, H. Walpole 
 says, on hearing the report of Gray's death, — " He called 
 on me, but two or three days before T came hither : he com- 
 plained of being ill, and talked of the gout in his stomach ; 
 but I expected his death no more than my own." 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 Ivii 
 
 that day, in the fifty-fifth year of his age ; sensible 
 almost to the last : aware of his danger, and ex- 
 pressing, says his friend Dr. Brown, no visible 
 concern at the thought ol his approaching death. 
 The care of his funeral devolved on one of his 
 executors Dr. Brown, the president of Pembroke- 
 hall ; who saw him buried, as he desired in his 
 will, by the side of his m.other, in the church-yard 
 of Stoke. His other executor and friend Mr. 
 Mason was at that time absent in a distant part 
 of Yorkshire, and when Dr. Brown wrote to him 
 during Gray's short illness, he says, " as I felt 
 strongly at the time what Tacitus has so well ex- 
 pressed on a similar occasion, I may with propriety 
 use his words : ' Mihi, praeter acerbitatem amici 
 erepti, auget moestitiam, quod adsidere valetudini, 
 fovere deficientem, satiari vultu, complexu non 
 contigit.' "* 
 
 Such was the life of Gray, who, however few 
 
 * In 1778 Mason erected a monument for Gray in West- 
 minster Abbey, with the following inscription, which seems 
 to have this defect, that it is as much appUcable to a mo- 
 nument to INIilton, as to Gray : 
 
 " No more the Grecian muse unrivall'd reigns, 
 
 To Britain let the nations homage pay ; 
 She felt a Homer's fire, in JMilton's strains, 
 A Pindar's rapture in the lyre of Gray." 
 See Mason's Works, vol. i. p. 141. On Penn's Cenotaph to 
 Gray, see Repton's Inquiry into the Changes of Taste in 
 Landscape Gardening, p 71 ; see Roberts's Epistle to C. 
 Anstey on the English Poets, p. 1 10, on the death of Gray 
 
Ivui LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 his works,* must still hold a very distinguished 
 rank among- the English poets, for the excellence 
 of his compositions, and for the splendour of his 
 g-enius. Though the events of his life which I 
 have briefly sketched, are of common occurrence, 
 and offer nothing in themselves to excite great 
 interest in the reader ; yet there is surely some 
 pleasure in contemplating the progress of a virtuous 
 and enlightened mind, early withdrawn from public 
 life to the stillness of the academic cloister ; and 
 confining its pleasures and prospects within the 
 serenity of a studious retirement. Nor is it, I 
 think, without some feelings of admiration, that 
 we reflect on the history of a life so constantly, 
 and unremittingly, devoted to the pursuit of know- 
 ledge, and the general improvement of the mind, 
 for its own sake, and as a final purpose. Motives, 
 which have no honourable connection with litera- 
 ture, are yet often instrumental in increasing it. 
 The pursuit of wealth, of station, or of rank in a 
 profession, is the constant and common incentive 
 to mental exertion ; and is dignified, perhaps not 
 improperly, by the name of honest ambition. Even 
 among those of a nobler nature, the desire of being 
 distinguished in their own, and after-ages, for the 
 
 * " Gray joins to the sublimity of. Milton the elegance 
 and harmony of Pope ; and nothing is wanting, to render 
 him, perhaps, the first poet in the English language, but to 
 have written a little more." — A. Smith's Theory of Moral 
 Sentiments, vol. i. p. 255. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. UX 
 
 endowments of their mind, and the energies of 
 their genius, acts as a perpetual spur towards the 
 increase of their exertions. Much of this feeling 
 does not appear to have existed in the mind of 
 Gray. To him, study seemed to bring all the re- 
 ward he asked, in its own gratification ; and his 
 progress in learning was constant ; even in the 
 absence of those quickening motives, which, in 
 almost all cases, are necessary to preserve men, 
 either from weariness in the toil of original com- 
 position, or from indolence in the acquisition, and 
 arrangement, of the materials of collected know- 
 ledge. That the publications of Gray, however, 
 were so few, is to be attributed, I think, to several 
 causes : — to the natural modesty and reservedness 
 of his disposition ; to the situation of life in which 
 he was placed, without any profession or public 
 duty that might lead his thoughts, and studies in 
 a particular direction ; to his habit of submitting 
 nothing to publication, without bestowing on it that 
 polish and correctness, which demands long and 
 patient attention, and which indeed seems incom- 
 patible with works of any magnitude or number : 
 to the extent and variety of his research ; and to 
 the great temptations to read,* in a place which 
 afforded a ready and almost boundless supply of 
 materials to satisfy him in any branch of know- 
 ledge ; and which would constantly induce him^ 
 
 * Mr. Mason says, that Gray often mentioned to him, 
 that reading was much more agreeahle to him than writing. 
 
Ix LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 to make fresh accessions to his information, and 
 to open new channels of inquiry. *' I shall be 
 happy (says Mr. Mason in a letter to Dr. Beattie) 
 to know that the remaining- books of your ' Min- 
 strel ' are likewise to be published soon. The next 
 best thing-, after instructing the world profitably, 
 is to amuse it innocently. England has lost that 
 man (Gray) who, of all others in it, was best qua- 
 lified for both these purposes ; but who, from early 
 chagrin and disappointment, had imbibed a disin- 
 clination to employ his talents beyond the sphere 
 of self-satisfaction and improvement." 
 
 Of Gray's person, his biographer has given no 
 account: and Lord Orford* has but just men- 
 tioned it. The earliest picture of him, is that which 
 was taken when he was fifteen years of age, by 
 Richardson. It is now in the possession of Mr. 
 Robinson of Cambridge, and by his permission has 
 been engraved. Another portrait was painted by 
 Eckardt, and engraved in the AVorks of Loi-d Or- 
 ford. f It is at Strawberry-Hill, and the design 
 was taken from the Portrait of a Musician, by 
 Vandyck, at the Duke of Grafton's. This print 
 was intended to be prefixed to Bentley's edition 
 of Gray's Odes, with a motto from Lucan, (x. 
 296). 
 
 * See Walpoliana, vol. i. p. 95. 
 
 t See Walpole'a Works, vol. ii. p. 431 436 ; and vol. v. 
 p. 352. 
 
Llt'E Oi' GRAY. Ixi 
 
 " Nec licuit populis pai-vum te, Nile, videre :"* 
 
 but Gray's extreme repugnance to the proposal, 
 obliged his friends to drop it after the engraving 
 was commenced. The print which Mr. Mason 
 placed before his edition of the Life of Gray in 
 quarto, was from a picture by Wilson, drawn after 
 the death of Gray, from his own and Mr. Mason's 
 recollection ; and which is now in the possession 
 of Pembroke-College, by the bequest of Mr. Stone- 
 hewer. The engraving, however, has not pre- 
 served the character of the countenance, and is, 
 on the whole, an unfavourable likeness. It is from 
 this same picture, I understand, that the print pre- 
 fixed to Mr. Mathias's edition is taken. To the 
 edition of the Life in octavo, is prefixed a better 
 resemblance, etched by W. Doughty, f from a 
 drawing by Mr. Mason : and from this outline, 
 two other portraits have proceeded : one by a Mr. 
 Sharpe of Cambridge ; and the other, which is now 
 extremely rare, by the late Mr. Henshaw, a pupil 
 
 * Dr. Warton, in his Notes on Pope (vol. i. p. 
 remarks that Fontenelle had applied the very same line to 
 Newton : and he adds: — " A motto to Mr. Gray's few, but 
 exquisite poems might be from Lucretius, lib. iv. ver 181 
 and 907 ; 
 
 " ' Suavidicis potius quam multis versibus edam, 
 Parvus ut est cycni melior canor ' " 
 
 t See an account of this picture, and of W. Doughty, iu 
 Northcote's Life of Reynolds, p. 232. 
 
Ixii Lir£ OJ GRAY. 
 
 of Bartolozzi's.* In this latter print, a very cor- 
 rect and spirited likeness is preserved. A portrait 
 of Gray, bearing- a resemblance to Mr. Mason's 
 etching, t and painted by Vandergutch, I have seen 
 in the library of Lord Harcourt, at Nuneham. 
 
 The Pohtical opinions of Gray, H. Walpole says 
 he never rightly understood : " sometimes he 
 seemed inclined to the side of authority, and some- 
 times to that of the people."! Mr. Mason has 
 mentioned nothing concerning any singularity in 
 his sentiments about Religion ; and there is, I be- 
 lieve, no passage in his published Letters, either to 
 support, or absolutely to oppose, the assertion made 
 on this subject in the Walpoliana.§ I must confess 
 myself disinclined to believe it, in any degree, upon 
 the authority of a few words, apparently used in 
 conversation, and which afterwards appeared, with- 
 out proof or comment, in an anonymous publica- 
 tion. The personal friends of Gray, who could 
 have cleared up this point, are, I believe all dead : 
 but I cannot find, that, in the place where he so 
 constantly resided, or among those who have en- 
 
 * Dr. Turner, the late Master of Pembroke-Hall, and 
 Dean of Norwich, had two profile shades of Gray, taken 
 •with an instrument for that purpose, by a Mr. Mapletoft, 
 formerly a fellow of that college, one of which conveys a 
 strong resemblance. 
 
 t See Gent. Mag. May, 1814, p. 427. 
 
 X See Walpoliana, vol. 1. p '29, published by ]\Ir. Pin- 
 kerton. 
 
 § Ibid. vol. i. p. 95. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Ixui 
 
 joyed the best opportunities of hearing about his 
 opinions, the shghtest suspicions existed, which 
 could at all confirm the assertion of Walpole. It 
 is a consideration of no small weight, that these 
 supposed opinions of Gray have been delivered on 
 the authority of two writers, neither of them, T be- 
 lieve, favourable to the cause of Christianity.* I 
 shall merely mention, that in a letter to Mr. 
 Mason, t speaking of Rousseau's ' Lettres de la 
 Montague,' he says : '' It is a weak attempt to 
 separate miracles from the 7norality of the Gospel ; 
 the latter he would think, he believes was sent 
 from God, and the former he very explicitly takes 
 for an imposture." In a letter to H. Walpole, | 
 he gives an account of some manuscript writings 
 of Middleton against Waterland, on the doctrine 
 of the Trinity ; but he expresses an approbation 
 of no other part of them than of the style. He 
 tells Dr. Wharton,§ — " Though I do not approve 
 the spirit of his (Middleton's) books ; methinks 
 'tis pity the world should lose so rare a thing as a 
 good writer." Whenever Gray writes to his friends 
 on religious subjects, it is with uncommon serious- 
 ness, warmth, and piety. Even Walpole calls him 
 "a violent enemy of atheists, such as he took Vol- 
 
 * See Johnson's Life of Browne, vol. xii. p. 305, he there 
 speaks the language of wisdom, religion, and humanity, 
 t See Mason's Memoirs, vol. iv. p. 95. 
 X See Walpole's Works, vol. v. p. 391. 
 $ See Mason's Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 124. 
 
IxiV LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 taire and Hume to be." His sentiments on Shaftes- 
 bury and Bolingbroke are well known : and Mr. 
 Mason* has very properly pointed out to the atten- 
 tion of his readers, the scorn and contempt with 
 which he invariably mentions the works of those 
 writers who endeavoured to disseminate the bane- 
 ful doctrines of infidelity. 
 
 — " In conversation, H. Walpole f mentions, 
 that Gray was so circumspect in his usual language, 
 that it seemed unnatural, though it was only pure 
 English." In a letter to G. Montagu he says, '' I 
 agree with you most absolutely in your opinion 
 about Gray : he is the worst company in the world. 
 From a melancholy turn, from living* reclusely, and 
 from a little too much dignity, he never converses 
 easily ; all his words are measured and chosen and 
 formed into sentences. His writings are admirable, 
 he himself is not agreeable :" and in another letter, 
 '' My Lady Ailesbury has been much diverted, and 
 so will you too. Gray is in their neighbourhood. 
 My Lady Carlisle says, he is extremely like me 
 in his manner. They went a party to dine on a cold 
 loaf, and passed the day. Lady A. protests he 
 never opened his lips but once, and then only said, 
 * Yes, my Lady, I believe so.' "| Dr. Beattie 
 
 * See INIason's Memoirs, vol. iv. p. 210 : and Walpo* 
 hana, vol. i. p. 95; and Mathias's Observations, p. 34-6. 
 t See Walpole's Thoughts on Comedy, p. 332. 
 { See Letters to G. Montagu, p. 53, 199. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. IXV 
 
 writes,* '' Gray's letters very much resemble what 
 his conversation was. He had none of the airs of 
 either a scholar or a poet ; and though on those 
 and all other subjects he spoke to me with the ut- 
 most freedom, and without any reserve, he was, in 
 general company, much more silent than one could 
 have wished." And in a letter to Sir William 
 Forbes, he says, — " I am sorry you did not see 
 Mr. Gray on his return : you would have been 
 much pleased with him. Setting aside his merit 
 as a poet, which, however, in my opinion, is greater 
 than any of his contemporaries can boast, in this 
 or any other nation ; I found him possest of the 
 most exact taste, the soundest judgment, and the 
 most extensive learning. He is happy in a singular 
 facility of expression. His conversation abounds 
 in original observations, delivered with no appear- 
 ance of sententious formality, and seeming to arise 
 spontaneously, without study or premeditation. I 
 passed two very agreeable days with him at Glam- 
 mis, and found him as easy in his manners, and 
 as communicative and frank, as I could have 
 wished. "t 
 
 " From my friend, the Rev. Mr. Sparrow, of 
 
 * See Beattie's Letters to Sir W. Forbes, in the ' Life 
 of Dr. Beattie,' voL ii. 4to. p. 321. 
 
 t "I once met Gray the Poet, when I was a boy, at 
 old Mrs. Hamilton Campbell's, in Sackville Street, Picca- 
 dilly. He talked with great reserve, and seeming difficulty." 
 — Clavering's Autobiog. in Metropolitan Mag., No. xiii. 
 p. 157, 1832. 
 
 f 
 
Ixvi LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 Pembroke College, who died at Wajthamstow," 
 (says Mr. Cradock,) *' I obtained at times many- 
 specimens of Gray's peculiar humour. Gray's 
 satire on Lord Holland's seat at King-sgate, was 
 at first denied to be his. When stories were told 
 of Gray by those who knew him, they were thought 
 so unlike, that several were imputed to Dr. John- 
 son, nay, were even printed among the Johnsonia, 
 which Mr. Boswell says, the Doctor was much 
 offended at. I can give one strong instance : Dr. 
 Johnson is made to reply to some impudent man, 
 ' that in that face the north-west wind would have 
 the worst of it.' Now, the truth was this : some 
 friends of mine were educated at Christ's Hospital, 
 and went from thence to Pembroke Hall, in Cam- 
 bridge, where Gray then resided ; one of them was 
 rather a favourite of Gray, but to another he had 
 taken a particular dislike. Standing by the fire in 
 the Hall, the offensive gentleman, who was then 
 curate of Newmarket, thus addressed the celebrated 
 poet : ' Mr. Gray, I have just rode from Newmarket, 
 and never was so cut in my life, the north-west wind 
 was full in my face.' Gray, turning to the Rev. 
 Mr. Sparrow, said, ' I think in that face the north- 
 west wind would have the worst of it.' This I had 
 from Mr. Sparrow. Again, it was the custom at 
 Cambridge, when a book was ordered at a coffee- 
 house, that four subscribers' names should be pre- 
 viously signed. The young men, knowing that Mr. 
 Pigot wished to be particularly thought to be the 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Ixvii 
 
 intimate of Gray, and Mr. Gray equally wished not 
 to be considered as the intimate of Mr. Pigot, so 
 contrived it, that Gray expressed his anger, that 
 wherever he wrote his name, the next v/as erased, 
 and Mr. Pigot's inserted in its stead ; and, accord- 
 ing to his peculiar humour, he said to my friend, 
 ' That man's name wherever I go,piget, he PigoVs 
 me.' This was true, but could not then be cre- 
 dited.' "* 
 
 To record the trifling and minute peculiarities 
 of manners, unless they reflect considerable light 
 upon the character which is delineated, does not 
 seem to be a necessary part of the duty of a bio- 
 grapher. The little and singular habits of beha- 
 viour which are gradually formed in the seclusion 
 of a studious life, are not always viewed in a just 
 light, and without prejudice, by our contemporaries ; 
 and at a distance of time they are necessarily re- 
 presented without those nice, but discriminating 
 touches that belong to them ; and are stripped oi 
 that connection of circumstances, with which they 
 can alone be painted with justness and precision. 
 Some few observations, however, of this nature, 
 made by the friends of Gray, I have placed in this 
 edition, without presuming myself to make any 
 remarks on their correctness : but I have great 
 pleasure in adding a slight sketch of his character, 
 drawn by a contemporary poet, the late translator 
 
 • See Cradock's Alemoirs, vol. iv. p. 226. 
 
Ixviii LIFE OF GRAY 
 
 of iEschyliis.* — '* If there is a writer (says Mr. 
 Potter) who more than others has a claim to be 
 exempted from his [Dr. Johnson's] petulance, Mr. 
 Gray has that claim. His own polished manners 
 restrained him from ever giving- offence to any good 
 man ; his warm and cheerful benevolence endeared 
 him to all his friends ; though he lived long in a 
 college, he lived not sullenly there, but in a liberal 
 intercourse with the wisest and most virtuous men 
 of his time. He was perhaps the most learned 
 man of the age, but his mind never contracted the 
 rust of pedantry. He had too good an understand- 
 ing to neglect that urbanity which renders society 
 pleasing : his conversation was instructing, elegant, 
 and agreeable. Superior knowledge, an exquisite 
 taste in the fine arts, and, above all, purity of 
 morals, and an unaffected reverence for religion, 
 made this excellent person an ornament to society, 
 and an honour to human nature." 
 
 Soon after the death of Gray, a sketch of his 
 character was drawn up by the Rev. Mr. Temple. f 
 
 * See Inquiry into some Passages in Dr. Johnson's Lives 
 of the Poets, particularly his Observations on Lyric Poetry, 
 and the Odes of Gray ; by R. Potter, 4to. 1783. 
 
 t William Johnson Temple, LL. B., of Trinity-Hall, 
 Cambridge, 1766, formerly rector of Mamhead, Devon, to 
 which he was presented by the Earl of Lisbume ; and ex- 
 changed it for St. Gluvias. He published an Essay on the 
 Clergy, their Studies, Recreations, Doctrines, Influence, 
 &c., 1774, 8vo. See Annual Register, 1796, p. 64. He 
 also pubhshed ' Historical and Political Memoirs,' 8vo. ; and 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. IxiX 
 
 This account has been adopted both by Mr. Mason 
 and Dr. Johnson : it was considered by the former 
 to be an impartial summary of its character, and 
 it seems therefore not improper to introduce it into 
 this narrative ; though I must confess that, in my 
 own opinion, it appears to be defective in several 
 material points ; nor is it sketched in that masterly 
 and decisive manner, that leaves a fuller likeness 
 scarcely to be desired. Its prominent defect how- 
 ever is, that it has thrown into the back-ground 
 the peculiar and distinguishing features of the mind 
 of Gray ; — I mean his poetical invention, and hisf 
 rich and splendid imagination ; — while it is too 
 exclusively confined in detailing the produce of his 
 studies, and the extent of his acquired knowledge. 
 Nor is any mention made in this portrait of his 
 mental character, of that talent of humour* which 
 he possessed in a very considerable degree ; and 
 
 ' On the Abuses of Unrestrained Power, an Historical Es- 
 say,' 1778, 8vo. He died August 8, 1796. This character 
 of Gray originally appeared in the London Magazine for 
 March 1772. " I never saw Mr. Gray, hut my old and 
 most intimate friend the Rev. Mr. Temple knew him well ; 
 he knew his foibles, but admired his genius, and esteemed 
 his virtues. I know not if you was acquainted with Mr. 
 Gray. He was so abstracted and singular a man, that I can 
 suppose you and him never to have met." Boswell to Gar- 
 rick, V. Garrick's Corresp. i. 435 ; see also Polwhele's Tra- 
 ditions and Recollections, vol. i. p. 327, where is a Letter by 
 Mr. Temple. 
 
 * See some observations on this subject in Mason's Me- 
 moirs of Gray, vol. iii. p. 127. 
 
IXX LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 which was displayed, both in his conversation, and 
 correspondence. Lord Orford used to assert, ** that 
 Gray never wrote any thing easily, but things of 
 humour;" and added, "that humour was his natural 
 and original turn." Mr. Hey mentions Gray as 
 excelling in delicate and well-bred ridicule.* A 
 late writer (Dr. Campbell) has remarked *' the 
 transcendant excellence of Shakspeare in the pro- 
 vince of humour, as well as in the pathetic ;"t 
 and I have elsewhere had occasion to observe, how 
 strongly the bent of Gray's mind inclined towards 
 this latter quality of composition ; and with what 
 distinguishing features it appears in his poetry. 
 The examples of these two eminent writers whom 
 I have mentioned , appear sufficiently to strengthen 
 the excellent observation made by Mr. D. Stewart, 
 in a note to his Philosophical Essays (p. 584) : 
 ''that a talent for the pathetic, and a talent for 
 humour, are generally united in the same person : 
 wit,'' he observ^es, " is more nearly allied to a 
 taste for the sublime " 
 
 To return, however, to the observations of Mr. 
 Temple :— " Perhaps (he writes) Mr. Gray was 
 the most learned man in Europe : he was equally 
 acquainted with the elegant and profound parts of 
 science, and that, not superficially, but thoroughly. 
 He knew every branch of histoiy both natural and 
 
 * See Hay's Lectures, vol. i. p. 455 ; see Mason on Gray's 
 Humour, vol. iii. p. 127, of his Memoirs. 
 t See ' Pliilosophy of Rlietoric,' vol. i. p. 57. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Ixxi 
 
 civil ; had read all the original historians of Eng- 
 land, France, and Italy ; and was a great anti- 
 quarian. Criticism, metaphysics, morals, politics,* 
 made a principal part of his study. Voyages and 
 Travels of all sorts were his favourite amusements ; 
 and he had a fine taste in painting, prints, archi- 
 tecture, and gardening, t With such a fund of 
 knowledge, his conversation must have been equally 
 
 * How comprehensive the acconut is, which Mr. Temple 
 gives of the studies of Gray, which embraced criticism, me- 
 taphysics, morals, and politics, may be seen by comparing 
 it with the following passage of Hume, as quoted by Mr. 
 D. Stewart in his Life of Reid, p. Ivui. " In these four 
 sciences, of logic, (which is here meant, says Mr. Stewart, 
 as that science which explains the principles and operations 
 of our reasoning faculty, and the nature of our ideas,) mo- 
 rals, criticism, and poHtics, is comprehended almost every 
 thing which it can any way import us to be acquainted with ; 
 or which can tend to the improvement or ornament of the 
 human mind." 
 
 t Mr. Mason says that Gray disclaimed any skill in gar- 
 dening, and held it in little estimation ; declaring himself 
 to be only charmed with the bolder features of unadorned 
 nature. See also in Mason's English Garden, book iii. 25, 
 the speech which he puts into the mouth of Gray, as agree- 
 able to his sentiments : 
 
 *• Sovereign queen ! — 
 
 Behold, and tremble, while thou view'st her state 
 Throned on the heights of Skiddaw : call thy art 
 To build her such a throne ; that art will feel 
 How vain her best pretensions ! trace her march 
 Amid the purple crags of Borrow-dale ; 
 And try like those, to pile thy range of rock, 
 In rude tumultuous chaos !" 
 
Ixxii LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 instructing" and entertaining. But he was also a 
 good man, a man of virtue and humanity. There 
 is no character without some speck, some imper- 
 fection ; and I think the greatest defect in his, was 
 an affectation in dehcacy* or rather effeminacy, 
 and a visible fastidiousness or contempt and disdain 
 of his inferiors in science. He also had in some 
 degree that weakness which disgusted Voltaire so 
 much in Congreve. Though he seemed to value 
 others chiefly according to the progress they had 
 made in knowledge, yet he could not bear to be 
 considered merely as a man of letters : and though 
 without birth, or fortune, or station, his desire was 
 to be looked upon as a private independent gen- 
 tleman, who read for his amusement. Perhaps it 
 may be said. What signifies so much knowledge, 
 when it produced so little ? Is it worth taking so 
 much pains, to leave no memorials but a few poems ? 
 But let it be considered, that Mr. Gray was to 
 
 * Shenstone, in his Essays, (p. 248,) remarks "the de- 
 licacy of Gray's manners :" and the editor of the Censura 
 Literaria says, " I have learned from several who knew him 
 intimately, that the sensibility of Gray was even morbid ; 
 and often very fastidious, and troublesome to his friends. 
 He seemed frequently overwhelmed by the ordinary inter- 
 course, and ordinary affairs of life. Coarse manners, and 
 vulgar, or unrefined sentiments overset him." Vol. v. p. 
 406. — But Mr. Mason says, *' it was rather an affectation 
 in delicacy and effeminacy, than the things themselves : and 
 he chose to put on this appearance chiefly before persons 
 whom he did not wish to please." See Memoirs, vol. iv 
 p. 237 ; see Censura Literaria, vol. vii. p. 396. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Ixxiii 
 
 Others at least innocently employed ; to himself, 
 certainly beneficially. His time passed agreeably; 
 he was every day making some new acquisition in 
 science. His mind was enlarged, his heart soft- 
 ened, his virtue strengthened. The world and 
 mankind were shown to him without a mask ; and 
 he was taught to consider every thing as trifling, 
 and unworthy the attention of a wise man, except 
 the pursuit of knowledge, and practice of virtue, 
 in that state, wherein God has placed us." 
 
 To this account Mr. Mason has added more 
 particularly, from the information of Mr. Tyson,* 
 of Bene't College, that Gray's skill in zoology 
 was extremely accurate. He had not only con- 
 centrated in his Linnaeus, all that other writers 
 had said, but had altered the style of the Swedish 
 naturalist, to classical and elegant Latin. From 
 modern writers he had also illustrated many diffi- 
 cult passages in the zoological treatises of Aristo- 
 tle. His account of English Insects was more 
 perfect than any that had then appeared; and it 
 has lately been mentioned, f " as a circumstance 
 
 * This appears by a note in Nichols's Literary Anecdotes, 
 vol. vii. For an account of Tyson, see Brydges' Kestituta, 
 vol. iv. p. 236-9. I presume that he was the author of 
 " Illuminated MSS. in the Library of Christ. Coll. Camb. 
 1770, 4to." 
 
 t See Shaw's Zoological Lectures, vol. i. p. 3. In the 
 library of the late Rev. George Ashby, of Barrow, was a 
 copy of Linnaeus, 12th edit. 1766, interleaved, in 3 vols. 
 4to. with MS. notes and additions by Gray : with draw- 
 
Ixxiv LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 not generally known, that he translated the Lin- 
 naean Genera, or Characters of Insects, into ele- 
 gant Latin hexameters ; some specimens of which 
 have been preserved by his friends, though they 
 were never intended for publication." Sir. J. 
 Mackintosh very justly observes, in a letter which 
 he addressed to the Bishop of Landaflf : — '* In the 
 beautiful scenery of Bolton Abbey, where I have 
 been since I began this note, I was struck by the 
 recollection of a sort of merit of Gray, which is not 
 generally observed — that he was the first disco- 
 verer of the beauties of nature in England, and 
 has marked out the course of every picturesque 
 journey that can be made in it."* 
 
 Botany, which he studied in early life, under 
 the direction of his uncle, Mr. Antrobus, formed 
 also the amusement and pursuit of his later years. 
 He made frequent experiments on flowers, to 
 mark the mode and progress of their vegetation. 
 " For many of the latter yeare of his life (says 
 Mr. Cole), Gray dedicated his hours to the study 
 of Botany ; in which he was eminently conspi- 
 
 ings of shells, &c. Another copy of Linnaeus, in the same 
 library, included a few Ornithological papers in the hand- 
 writing of Gray, which I now possess ; and which serve 
 as an additional proof of the accuracy and minuteness with 
 which he prosecuted that branch of his studies in natural 
 history.— Since this note was originally written, extracts 
 from these works have been published in the edition of Mr. 
 Mathias. See vol. ii. 548 to 580. 
 * See Life of Sir. J. Mackintosh, vol. ii. p. 427. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Ixxv 
 
 cuous. He had Linnseus's Works interleaved, 
 always before him, when I have accidentally called 
 upon him." His knowledge of architecture has 
 been mentioned before. Mr. Mason says, that while 
 Gray was abroad, he studied the Roman propor- 
 tions both in ancient ruins, and in the works of 
 Palladio. In his later years, he applied himself 
 to Gothic and Saxon architecture, with such in- 
 dustry and sagacity, that he could, at first sight, 
 pronounce on the precise time when any particu- 
 lar part of our cathedrals w^as erected. For this 
 purpose he trusted less to written accounts and 
 books, than to the internal evidence of the build- 
 ings themselves. He invented also several terms 
 of art, the better to explain his meaning on this 
 subject. Of heraldry, to which he applied as a 
 preparatory science, he was a complete master, 
 and left behind him many curious genealogical 
 papers. " After what I have said of Gray, (I 
 use the words of the Rev. Mr. Cole,) in respect 
 to the beauty and elegance of his poetical com- 
 positions, it will hardly be believed, that he con- 
 descended to look into the study of antiquities. 
 Yet he told me that he was deeply read in Dug- 
 dale, Hearne, Spelman, and others of that class ; 
 and that he took as much delight in that study, 
 as ever he did in any other. Indeed, I myself 
 saw many specimens of his industry in his collec- 
 tions from various manuscripts in the British 
 Museum. His collections related chiefly to Eng- 
 
Ixxvi LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 lish history little known, or falsified by our his- 
 torians, and some pedigrees."* His taste in 
 music was excellent, and formed on the study of 
 the great Italian masters who flourished about the 
 time of Pergolesi,t as Marcello, Leo, and Pales- 
 trina; he himself performed upon the harpsichord. 
 And it is said that he sung to his own accompa- 
 niment on that instrument, with great taste, and 
 feeling. :t Vocal music, and that only, was what he 
 chiefly regarded. Gray acquired also great faci- 
 lity and accuracy in the knowledge of painting. 
 When he was in Italy, he drew up a paper con- 
 taining several subjects proper for painting, 
 which he had never seen executed : and aflSxed 
 
 * " You know how out of humour Gray has been about 
 our diverting ourselves with pedigrees, which is at least, 
 as wise as making a serious point of haranguing against 
 the study * * Well, Gray has set himself to compute, and has 
 found out that there must go a million of ancestors in twenty 
 generations, to everybody's composition.'' Walpole's Lett, 
 to G. Montagu, p. 70. 
 
 t Gray was not partial to the music of Handel : but I\Ir. 
 Price (from whom I derive this information) adds, "that he 
 used to speak with wonder of that Chorus in the Oratorio 
 of Jephtha, beginning, — * No more to Ammon's God and 
 King.' " — See 'Essays on the Picturesque,' vol. ii. p. 191, 
 note: ed. 1794, and Cradock's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 125. 
 Mr. R. Nares says, — ' The Oratorio of the Messiah is as 
 perfect a composition of the kind, as the faculties of human 
 nature are capable of producing.' 
 
 J Colein his IMSS. notes, says " Gray latterly played on the 
 pianoforte, and sang to him, but not without solicitation." 
 MS. Note of Bennet, Bishop of Clo'yne. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Ixxvii 
 
 the names* of different masters to each piece, to 
 show which of their pencils he thought would be 
 most proper to treat it, A curious List of Paint- 
 ers, from the Revival of the Art, to the Beginning 
 of the last Century, was also formed by him, 
 with great accuracy and attention. It was pub- 
 lished for the first time, in Mr. Malone's edition 
 of the Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds ;t and has 
 been lately reprinted among the collected produc- 
 tions of Mr. Mason, In his Anecdotes of Paint- 
 ing, H. Walpole owns himself much indebted to 
 Gray, for information both in architecture and 
 painting. J " He condescended to correct (he 
 says) what he never would have condescended to 
 write ;" again " I am come to put my Anecdotes of 
 Painting into the Press. You are one of the few 
 that I expect will be entertained with it. It has 
 wanned Gray's coldness so much, that he is vio- 
 lent about it." And to him was owing the dis- 
 covery of a valuable artist in the reign of Queen 
 Elizabeth, whose name was Theodore Haveus, for 
 some time employed at Caius-College,|| at Cam- 
 
 * See Mason's Memoirs, vol. iv. p. 98. 
 t See Sir J. Reynolds's Works, vol. iii. p. 293; and 
 Mr. Mason's Works, vol. iii. p. 227. 
 
 I See Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting, p. 99 and 141 ; 
 and Letters to G. Montagu, p. 226. 
 
 II " In Caius-College, is a good portrait on board of Dr. 
 Keys (not in profile), undoubtedly original, and dated 
 'iUGS, jetatis suae 53 ; with Latin verses and mottos : and 
 in the same room hangs an old picture, (bad at first, and 
 
Ixxviil LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 bridt^e ; who was at once an architect, sculptor, 
 and painter ; and who possessed that diversity, as 
 well as depth of talent in the arts, which appeared 
 in such extraordinary splendour at the revival 
 of literature, but of which, I believe, we have 
 no instance recorded, in the history of ancient 
 times,* 
 
 To the papers of Gray, the late Mr. Pen- 
 nant owned himself much indebted for many cor- 
 rections and observations on the antiquities of 
 London. t Indeed, the variety and extreme ac- 
 
 now almost effaced by cleaning), of a man in a slashed 
 doublet, dark curled hair, and beard, looking like a fo- 
 reigner, and holding a pair of compasses, and by his side a 
 polyedron, composed of twelve pentagons. This is un- 
 doubtedly Theodore Haveus himself, who, from all these cir- 
 cumstances, seems to have been an architect, sculptor, and 
 painter ; and having worked many years for Dr. Caius and 
 the College, in gratitude left behind him his own picture ' 
 Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting, p. 143, 4to. 
 
 * Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, and Julio Romano were 
 architects and I believe sculptors, as well as painters ; but 
 it was reserved for the genius of Michael Angelo, to add 
 to the most profound knowledge of those arts, the mind 
 and the expression of the poet. When Dr. Warton, in 
 his Essay on Pope (vol. i. p. 157), said that he could not 
 recollect any painters that were good poets, except Salva- 
 tor Rosa, and Charles Vermander, of Mulbrac, in Flan- 
 ders ; he surely did not mean to except the poetry of this 
 most extraordinary man. Pliny, in his Natural History, 
 mentions the names of some ancient artists who were phi- 
 losophers : see lib. XXXV. c. 10, 11. 
 
 + See Pennant's ' London,' p. 62, 4to. Mr. Pennant 
 had the use of an interleaved copy of * Lond'^n and its En- 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Ixxix 
 
 curacy of his studies, even considering the lei- 
 sure which he possessed, is not a little surprising; 
 and though he published little or nothing, his 
 reputation for extensive learning was thoroughly 
 established. Retinuit famam, sine experimento. 
 " Excepting pure mathematics (says Mr. Mason), 
 and the studies dependent on that science, there 
 was hardly any part of human learning in which 
 he had not acquired a competent skill ; in most 
 of them, a consummate mastery." He followed 
 most implicitly the rule, which he so often incul- 
 cated to his friends,* that happiness consists in 
 employment. " To find one's self business (he 
 writes) I am persuaded is the great art of life. 
 I am never so angry as when I hear my acquaint- 
 ance wishing they had been bred to some poking 
 profession, or employed in some office of drudgeiy ; 
 as if it were pleasanter to be at the command of 
 other people, than at one's own ; and as if they 
 could not go, unless they were wound up : yet I 
 know and feel what they mean by this complaint ; 
 it proves that some spirit, something of genius 
 
 virons,' with notes by Mr. Gray, which is in Lord Har- 
 court's possession. The Witch of Woky, a Poem by Dr. 
 Harrington, was published in Percy's Reliques ; it was 
 given to the Public with a note — that it had been altered 
 by the celebrated Gray, author of the Churchyard Elegy. 
 See Annual Biog. and Obituary, 1817, p. 409. 
 
 * See Walpole's Works, vol. v. p. 398, Lett. XI. And 
 Mason's Memoirs, vol. iv. p. 17, Lett. XXV.; and p. 53, 
 Lett. XXXVL, to Dr Wharton. 
 
IXXX LIFE or GRAY. 
 
 (more than common) is required to teach a man 
 how to employ himself. 
 
 With regard to Classical learning, there seems 
 every reason to suppose that he was a profound, 
 as well as an elegant scholar. He thought once, 
 it is said, of publishing an edition of Strabo, and 
 left behind him many copious notes, and curious 
 geographical disquisitions, particularly with res- 
 pect to Persia, and India. He made a selection 
 from the Anthologia Grseca, inserting critical 
 emendations and additional epigrams, besides a 
 copious index.* On Plato (Mr. Mason says) he 
 bestowed indefatigable pains; leaving a quantity 
 of critical and explanatory notes on almost every 
 part of his works. These notes have now been 
 published t in the edition of Mr. Mathias, and 
 they are fully sufficient to shew the respect and 
 attention with which he studied the writings of 
 that great philosopher. They relate chiefly to 
 
 * A Transcript of this work on the Anthologia by Mr. 
 Mathias, was in the possession of IMr. Heber, at the sale 
 of whose Library it was purchased by Mr. Pickering. 
 There is very little original matter m it, consisting of a 
 few translations in Latin verse : but the Selection of the 
 Epigrammata is made with Gray's judgment and fine taste. 
 
 + Some notes on the liov of Plato, by Thomas Gray, 
 were published in the • Musaei Oxoniensis Literarii Con- 
 spectus,' Fasc. ii. p. 39 — 48 ; a publication which was con- 
 ducted by the present Bishop of St. David's, and which 
 consists of three numbers. " Grayii (says the editor) 
 poetae celeberrimi, obser\rationes in Platonis lonem, pro 
 liberalitate su^, mihi describendas benignissime perraisit 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Ixxxi 
 
 antiquity and history ; whether he attended much 
 to verbal criticism, either in the Greek or Latin 
 language, does not appear. I should be inclined 
 to think, that he read the ancient writers, not so 
 much as a critic, but with the more extended, and 
 ampler views of the historian, and the philoso- 
 pher ; and all that was in any way connected with 
 the fine arts, with the poetry, the philosophy, and 
 the history of Greece and Rome, he studied with 
 attention ; and some of the authors whom he pe- 
 rused, could only be relished by one, who pos- 
 sessed an intimate and copious knowledge of the 
 language in which they wrote. How far Mr. 
 Mathias may have consulted the reputation of 
 Gray, in the extracts which he has lately made 
 from the manuscripts at Pembroke, the voice of 
 the public will decide. In the meanwhile, I cannot 
 but observe, that so far as regards the observations 
 on English metre, the remarks on Lydgate, the 
 
 poeta celeberrimus, Gulielmus Mason. Excerptae sunt e 
 spisso volumine Grayii observationum ineditarum in uni- 
 versa Platonis Opera, in Strabonem, et Geographos anti- 
 ques, in vetustissimos Poetas Anglicos, in Ecclesias 
 Cathedrales Angliae, Sec. scriptarum magna eruditione, 
 summa diligentia, raro ingenio et judicio acri, ita ut poeta 
 ille cultissimus in vatum eruditorum numero, una cum 
 Miltono, merito censeri queat. Observationes in lonem 
 quanquam paucae sint, doctrinee ubertatem produnt, et 
 judicii acumen. Ex his, quidem nonnullce de rebus baud 
 obscuris dictae videantur ; pauci tamen homines de aliqu a 
 re adraoneri dedignabuntur, quam sui gratia notatu dignam 
 putavit Grayius." 
 
Ixxxii LIFE or gkay. 
 
 excellent, and highly entertaining analysis of the 
 Aves of Aristophanes, and the Eng-lish and Latin 
 translations, there surely can be but one sentiment 
 of approbation and gratitude. I confess, that if I 
 had been placed in the situation of the editor, I 
 should have hesitated most, as to the propriety of 
 publishing the notes on Aristophanes, and the 
 gfeog-raphical disquisitions on India. 
 
 It is not, I believe, generally known, that Gray 
 assisted Ross* (the editor of the Epistolae Fami- 
 liares of Cicero, with English notes) in an anony- 
 mous pamphlet t which he published against the 
 Criticisms of Markland, on some of the Epistles, 
 
 * See the Selections from the Gentleman's Magazine, 
 vol. iv. p. 392. In the miscellaneous Tracts of Bowyer, 
 4to. are many letters of Markland, shewing great contempt 
 for a person, whose name is not mentioned. — This was 
 Ross. See p. 573, 574, 576, &c. The letters at p. 575, 
 518, dated June 20, 1749, and June 14th, 1756, which 
 speak in severe terms of a book then published, relate, I 
 believe, to Kurd's Horace. 
 
 t The title of this pamphlet is, ' A Dissertation in which 
 the Defence of P. Sylla, ascribed to M. Tullius Cicero, is 
 clearly proved to be spurious, after the manner of Mr. INIark- 
 land ; with some introductory Remarks on other Writings of 
 the Ancients, never before suspected.' It is written in a 
 sarcastic style, against Markland ; but with a display of 
 learning very inferior to that of the excellent scholar against 
 whom it was directed, and in a disposition very dissimilar 
 to the candour and fairness which accompanied the writ- 
 ings of Marklasd. In a MS. note in the first leaf of his 
 copy of Markland, Gray writes : — " This book is written 
 in an ingenious way, but the irony not quite transparent. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Ixxxiii 
 
 and Orations of Cicero. Gray's own copy of Mark- 
 land's Treatise is now before me. The notes which 
 he has written in it, display a familiar knowledge 
 of the structure of the Latin language, and answer 
 some of the objections of that ingenious critic ; 
 who had not then learnt the caution, in verbal cri- 
 ticism and conjectural emendation, which he well 
 knew how to value, Avhen an editor of Euripides.* 
 
 * In 1741, Orator Tunstall (with some assistance from 
 Markland) published his doubts of the authenticity of the 
 letters between Cicero and Brutus ('which Middleton had 
 considered as genuine in his Life of Cicero), in a Latin 
 Dissertation. This Middleton called, " a frivolous, cap- 
 tious, disingenuous piece of criticism ;" answered it in 
 English, and published the disputed epistles with a trans- 
 lation. Upon this, Orator Tunstall in 1744, published his 
 ' Observations on the Epistles, representing several evi- 
 dent marks of forgery in them, in answer to tlie late pre- 
 tences of the Rev. Dr. Conyers Middleton.' Markland, 
 in 1745, published his arguments on the same side of the 
 question, adding a Dissertation on four Orations ascribed 
 to Cicero, viz. 1. Ad Quirites post reditum. 2. Post redi- 
 tum in Senatu. 3. Pro Domo su^, ad Pontifices. 4. De 
 Haruspicum Responsis. This called 'orth the pamphlet 
 from 7? OSS, I believe, in the following year, but the book 
 has no date. This controversy was continued by a ' Disser- 
 tation, in which the Observations of a late Pamphlet on 
 the Writings of the Ancients, after the Manner of Mr. 
 Markland, are clearly answered ; those Passages in Tully 
 corrected, on which some of the Objections are founded; 
 with Amendments of a few Pieces of Criticism in Mr. 
 Markland's Epistola Critica. London, 1746, 8vo.' Ges- 
 ner published some Strictures on Markland in the Comm. 
 Acad. Reg. Getting, t. iii. 223—284 : which Wolf won- 
 ders Markland did not answer ; as he had hlown his pipes 
 
Ixxxiv LIFF OF GRAY. 
 
 In the Latin poems of Gray,* some errors have 
 been pointed out in the notes. One or two of 
 them are evidently mistakes arising from haste ; 
 and the others do not at all derog-ate from the re- 
 putation which he has acquired for his classical 
 attainments, and the elegance and purity of his 
 compositions. Salmasius discovered some mistakes 
 in quantity, among the poems of Milton, when they 
 first appeared ; and Vavassorf detected many in- 
 accuracies in metre and grammar, in the poetical 
 volume published by Beza. The Latin poems of 
 Buchanan, beautiful and classical as they are in 
 their spirit and language, are not without defects 
 both of grammar and of prosody. Indeed some 
 faults!: of this kind are certainly not inexcusable, 
 
 louder than Tunstall. Saxius mistakes Ross's pamphlet 
 for a serious one . and says that he attacks Cicero's Oration 
 pro Sulla " Harduinina pfpne licentia." 
 
 * In the Gentleman's Magazine, 1801, vol. Ixxi. p. 591, 
 is a letter from a Mr. Edmund C. Mason, Sheffield, relat- 
 ing an anecdote of Gray, and containing a Latin poem, 
 which he says, is the production of the poet ; and a Greek 
 translation of it, hy West. This gentleman, however, has 
 not given any account of the authenticity of his manuscript. 
 
 t See Scaligeriana ; art : Barclay and Beza. See Irvine's 
 Lives of the Scottish Poets, v. i. p. 164. 
 
 I Mr. Mason says, " A learned and ingenious person, to 
 whom I communicated the Latin poems after they were 
 printed off, was of opinion that they contain some few 
 expressions not warranted by any good authority ; and 
 that there are one or two false quantities to be found in 
 them. I had once an intention to cancel the pages, and 
 correct the passages objected to, according to my friend's 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. IxXXV 
 
 when composing' in a language not our own. 
 Gray's Latin poetry, however, appears to me to be 
 peculiarly forcible and correct; and formed atten- 
 tively after the best models— Virgil and Lucretius. 
 Dr. Johnson, who was a good judge of the purity of 
 Latin composition (although he did not always 
 himself compose with that classical exactness 
 which may be desired), allowed, " that it were 
 reasonable to wish Gray had prosecuted his de- 
 sign of excelling in Latin poetry ; for though 
 there is at present some embarrassment in his 
 phrase, and some harshness in his lyric numbers, 
 his copiousness of language is such as very few 
 possess ; and his lines, even when imperfect, dis- 
 cover a w]-iter whom practice would have made 
 skilful." If Gray, however, should need any fur- 
 ther defence, it must be observed, that his Latin 
 poems were never intended by him for publica- 
 tion, if we except the two that he wrote at Col- 
 lege; that they were found by his executors 
 among his own papers, or those of his friends, 
 and that they did not receive his last corrections.* 
 
 criticisms ; but, on second thoughts, I deemed it best to 
 let them stand exactly as I found them in the manuscripts. 
 The accurate classical reader will perhaps be best pleased 
 with finding out the faulty passages himself; and his can- 
 dour will easily make the proper allowances for any little mis- 
 takes in verses, which, he will consider, never had the 
 uitthor's last hand." Memoirs, vol. iv. p. 234. 
 
 * The ode written at the Grande Chartreuse perhaps 
 ought also to be excepted. 
 
IxXXvi LIFE OF OllAY. 
 
 1 have never understood tliat his knowledge of 
 modern languages extended beyond the French 
 and Italian : these, however, he studied when he 
 was abroad with considerable diligence, and cul- 
 tivated afterwards, in the leisure which he en- 
 joyed at home. Indeed his acquaintance with the 
 beautiful works of the Tuscan hards, has contri- 
 buted in no small deg:ree, to enrich and adorn 
 many passages of his English poetry : 
 
 " Dum vagus, Ausoaias nupc per umbras. 
 Nunc Britannica per vireta iusit." 
 
 It remains now only to speak of an intended 
 pubHcation in English literature, mentioned by 
 Gray in an advertisement to the Imitation of the 
 Welsh Odes, and which was an ' History of 
 English Poetry.' It appears that Warburton had 
 communicated to Mason a paper of Pope's, con- 
 taining the first sketch of a plan for a work of 
 that nature, and which w^as printed in the Life of 
 Pope by Ruffhead, and subsequently in many 
 other works. 
 
 " Milton (says Dryden in the preface to his 
 Fables) was the poetical son of Spenser, and Mr. 
 Waller of Fairfax ; for we have our lineal descents ' 
 and clans as well as other families." Upon this 
 principle. Pope* drew up his little catalogue of 
 
 * Pope observed to Spence that " Michael Drayton was 
 one of the imitators of Spenser, and Fairfax another. 
 Milton, in his first pieces, is an evident follower of Spen- 
 ser too, in his famous Allegro and Penseroso, and some 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Ixxxvii 
 
 the English poets ;* and Gray was so much 
 pleased with the method of arrangement which 
 Pope had struck out, that on Mr. Mason's agreeing 
 to assist him, he examined and considerably en- 
 larged the plan. He meant in the introduction, 
 to ascertain the Origin of Rhyme ; to give speci- 
 mens of the Proven9al Scaldic, British, and 
 
 others. Carew (a bad Waller^, Waller himself and Lord 
 Lansdown are all of one school ; as Sir John Suckling-, Sir 
 John Minnes, and Prior are of another. Crashaw is a 
 coarse sort of Cowley; he was a follower too of Petrarch 
 and Marino, but most of Marino. He and Cowley were 
 good friends ; and the latter has a good copy of verses on 
 his death. About this pitch were Stanley (the author of 
 the Opinions of Philosophers) ; Randolph, though rather 
 superior; and Sylvester, though rather of a lower form. 
 Cartwright and Bishop Corbet are of this class of poets ; 
 and Ruggle, the author of Counter-Scuffle, might be ad- 
 mitted among them. Herbert is lower than Crashaw, Sir 
 John Beaumont higher, and Donne a good deal so. " 
 [Spence's Anecdotes, quoted in] Malone's Dryden, 
 vol. iv. p. 589. 
 
 * I have placed Pope's Catalogue of the Poets in the 
 Appendix D. (with Gray's Letter on the same subject), 
 with some observations upon it. It is singular that this 
 sketch of Pope's should have been so often printed, without 
 any of the editors, except Mr. Malone, pointing out its 
 mistakes and inaccuracies. It disagrees also, in many 
 points, with the account which he gave to Spence ; printed 
 in the preceding note. I must observe, that this catalogue 
 is printed by Mr. Mathias, in a far more correct manner, 
 than that in which it usually appears. It is published by 
 him from Gray's own hand-writing ; and many of the in- 
 accuracies pointed out by Mr. Malone, are only the blun- 
 ders of printers and transcribers. 
 
IxXXviii LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 Saxon poetry : and when the different sources 
 of English poetry were ascertained, the history 
 was to commence with the school of Chaucer. 
 Mr. Mason collected but few materials for this 
 purpose ; but Gray, besides writing his imitations 
 of Norse and Welsh poetry, made many curious 
 and elaborate disquisitions into the origin of 
 rhyme, and the variety of metre to be found in 
 the ancient poets. He transcribed many passages 
 from Lidgate, from the manuscripts which he 
 found at Cambridge, remarking the beauties and 
 defects of this immediate scholar of Chaucer.* 
 
 About this time, however, T. Warton was en- 
 gaged in a work of the same nature : and Gray, 
 fatigued with the extent of his plan, relinquished 
 his undertaking, and sent a copy of his design 
 to Warton ; of whose abilities, from his observa- 
 tions, on Spenser, Mr. Mason says, he entertained 
 a high opinion. It is well known, that Warton 
 did not adopt this plan ; and gave his reasons for 
 his departure from it, in the preface to his history. 
 Gray died some years before Warton's publication 
 appeared ;t but Mr. Mason mentions it with 
 praise, in a note in the fourth volume of his Me- 
 moirs of Gray, where he calls it, " a work, which, 
 as the author proceeds in it through more enlight- 
 ened periods, will undoubtedly give the world as 
 
 * See Mathias' Edition of Gray, vol. ii. p. 1 to p. 80. 
 t Gray died in July, 1771, and Warton's first volume ap- 
 peared in 1774. 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. Ixxxix 
 
 high an idea of his critical taste, as the present 
 specimen does of his indefatigable researches into 
 antiquity." 
 
 Sir James Mackintosh has given a sketch of 
 Gray's poetical character with his usual tempe- 
 rance of judgment, and delicacy of taste, which 
 may with propriety be introduced, as our narrative 
 is drawing to a close. ' Gray (he Avrites, after 
 some observations on the merits of Goldsmith), 
 was a Poet of a far higher order, and of an almost 
 opposite kind of merit. Of all English Poets he 
 was th e most finish ed artist. He attained the 
 highest degree of splendour of which poetical 
 style seems to be capable. If Virgil and his 
 scholar Racine may be allowed to have united 
 somewhat more ease with their elegance, no other 
 poet approaches Gray in this kind of excellence. 
 The degree of poetical invention diffused over such 
 a style, the balance of taste and offancy necessary 
 to produce it, and the art with which the offensive 
 
 hpldnpss.of iniagpry is pnlisVipd away^ are not in- 
 deed always perceptible to the common reader, 
 nor do they convey to any mind the same species 
 of gratification, which is felt from the perusal of 
 those poems, which seem to be the unpremeditated 
 effusions of enthusiasm. But to the eye of the 
 critic, and more especially to the artist, they af- 
 ford a new kind of pleasure, not incompatible 
 with a distinct perception of the art employed, and 
 somewhat similar to the grand emotions excited 
 
XC LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 by the refleclion on the skill and toil exerted in 
 the construction of a magnificent palace. They 
 can only be classed among the secondary plea- 
 sures of poetry, but they never can exist without 
 a great degree of its higher excellencies. Almost 
 all his poetry w as lyrical — that species which, issu- 
 ing from a mind in the highest state of excitement, 
 requires an intensity of feeling which, for a long 
 composition, the genius of no poet could support. 
 Those who complained of its brevity and rapidity, 
 only confessed their own inability to follow the 
 movements of poetical inspiration.* Of the two 
 grand attributes of the Ode, Dry den had displayed 
 the enthusiasm. Gray exhibited the magnificence. 
 He is also the jon]y:_,m.Qdera-Eiig]ish writer whose 
 Xiatia -Verses deserve general notice, but we must 
 lament that such difficult trifles had diverted its 
 genius from its natural objects. In his Letters he 
 has shewn the descriptive powers of a poet, and 
 in new combinations of generally familiar words. 
 
 * In another place, the same writer observes : — " The 
 obscurity of the Ode on the * Progress of Poetry/ arises 
 from the variety of the subjects, the rapidity of the transi- 
 tions, the boldness of the imagery, and the splendour of 
 the language J to those who are capable of that intense at- 
 tention, which the higher order of poetry requires, and 
 which poetical sensibility always produces, there is no ob- 
 scurity. In the ' Bard' some of these causes of obscurity are 
 lessened ; it is more impassioned and less magnificent, but 
 it has more brevity and abi*uptness. It is a lyric drama, 
 and this structure is a new source of obscurity." 
 
LIFE OF GRAY. XCl 
 
 which he seems to have caught from Madame de 
 Sevigne, (though it must be said he was somewhat 
 quaint) he was eminently happy. It may be added, 
 that he deserves the comparatively trifling- praise of 
 having been the most learned poet* since Milton. "f 
 In the short, and I am afraid, imperfect account 
 which I have now given of the life and character 
 of Gray, I may be permitted, before I close the 
 narrative, to express my own sincere admiration 
 of that splendid genius, that exquisite taste, that 
 profound and extensive erudition, those numerous 
 accomplishments, and those real and unassuming 
 merits, which will preserve for him a very eminent 
 reputation, exclusively of that, which he so justly 
 enjoys in his rank among the English poets. His 
 life, indeed, did not abound with change of inci- 
 dent, or variety of situation ; it was not blessed 
 with the happiness of domestic endearments, nor 
 spent in the bosom of social intercourse ; but it 
 
 * Gray and Mason first detected the imposition of Chat- 
 terton. See Archaeological Epistle to Dean Milles, Stanza xi. 
 It appears that Gray did not admire Hudibras. " Mr. Gray," 
 says Warburton, " has certainly a true taste. I should have 
 read Hudibras with as much indifference as perhaps he 
 did, were it not for a fondness of the transactions of 
 those times, against which it is a satire." — Warburton's 
 Letters, xxxi. p. 290. He appears highly to have praised 
 some of W. Whitehead's poems. See Mason's Life of White- 
 head, p. 40, &c., and he approved H. Walpole's Tragedy of 
 the Mysterious Mother. See Lett, to G. Montagu, p. 406, 
 
 t See Life of Sir J. Mackintosh, vol. ii. p. 172. 
 
XCll LIFE OF GRAY. 
 
 was constantly and contentedly employed in the 
 improvement of the various talents with which he 
 was so highly gifted ; in a sedulous cultivation 
 both of the moral and intellectual powers ; in the 
 study of wisdom, and in the practice of virtue. 
 
 To present his poetry to the public, more cor- 
 rectly than it has yet appeared, has been the design 
 of this edition. And 1 am willing- to hope, that I 
 have made no unacceptable present to the literary 
 world, in enabling them for the first time to read 
 the genuine correspondence of Gray, in an enlarged 
 as well as authentic form. Assuredly, to some, 
 his letters will not be less interesting than his 
 poetry ;* and they will be read by all who are 
 desirous of estimating, not only the variety of his 
 learning, and the richness and playfulness of his 
 fancy, but the excellence of his private character, 
 the genuine goodness of his heart, his sound and 
 serious views of life, and his warm and zealous 
 affection towards his friends. 
 
 * ' I have been reading Gray's Works,' says Cowper, 
 ' and think him sublime I once thought Swift's Let- 
 ters the best that could be written, but I like Gray's better. 
 His humour, or his wit, or whatever it is to be called, is 
 never illnatured or offensive, and yet I think equally poig- 
 nant with the Dean's,' Hayley's Ed. 4to. vol. ii. p. 231. 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 Appendix A. 
 
 THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF 
 THOMAS GRAY. 
 
 Extracted from the Registry of the Prerogative Court of 
 Canterbury' 
 
 In the Name of God. Amen. I Thomas Gray of Pem- 
 broke-Hall in the University of Cambridge, being of sound 
 mind and in good health of body, yet ignorant how long 
 these blessings may be indulged me, do make this my 
 Last Will and Testament in manner and form following. 
 First, I do desire that ray body may be deposited in the 
 vault, made by my late dear mother in the churchyard of 
 Stoke- Pogeis, near Slough in Buckinghamshire, by her re- 
 mains, in a coffin of seasoned oak, neither lined nor covered, 
 and (unless it be very inconvenient) I could wish that one 
 of my executors may see me laid in the grave, and distri- 
 bute among such honest and industrious poor persons in 
 the said parish as he thinks fit, the sum of ten pounds in 
 charity. — Next, I give to George Williamson, esq. my se- 
 cond cousin by the father's side, now of Calcutta in Bengal 
 the sum of five hundred pounds reduced Bank annuities, 
 now standing in my name. 1 give to Anna Lady Goring, 
 also my second cousin b)' the father's side, of the county of 
 Sussex, five hundred pounds reduced Bank annuities, and 
 a pair of large blue and white old Japan china jars. Item, 
 I give to Mary Antrobus of Cambridge, spinster, my second 
 cousin by the mother's side, all that my freehold estate and 
 house in the parish of St. IMichael, Cornhill, London, now 
 let at the yearly rent of sixty-five pounds, and in the occu- 
 pation of iMr, Nortgeth perfumer, provided that she pay, 
 
XCIV APPENDIX. 
 
 out of the said rent, by half-yearly payments, Mrs. Jane 
 Ollifte, my aunt, of Cambridge, widow, tlie sum of twenty 
 pounds per annum during her natural life ; and after the 
 decease of the said Jane OUifFe 1 give the said estate to the 
 said JNIary Antrobus, to have and to hold to her heirs and 
 assigns for ever. Further; I bequeath to the said Mary 
 Antrobus the sum of six hundred pounds new South-sea 
 annuities, now standing in the joint names of Jane Olliffe 
 and Thomas Gray, but charged with the payment of five 
 pounds per annum to Graves Stokely of Stoke-Pogeis, in 
 the county of Bucks, which sura of six hundred pounds, 
 after the decease of the said annuitant, does (by the will cf 
 Anna Rogers my late aunt) belong solely and entirely to 
 me, together with all overplus of interest in the mean-time 
 accruing. Further, if at the time of my decease there shall 
 be any arrear of salary due to me from his Majesty's Trea- 
 sury, I give all such arrears to the said Mary Antrobus. 
 Item, I give to JMrs. Dorothy Comyns of Cambridge, my 
 other second cousin by the mother's side, the sums of six 
 hundred pounds old South-sea annuities, of three hundred 
 pounds four per cent. Bank annuities consolidated, and of 
 two hundred pounds three per cent. Bank annuities conso- 
 lidated, all now standing in my name. I give to Richard 
 Stonehewer, esq. one of his Majesty's Commissioners of 
 Excise, the sum of five hundred pounds reduced Bank an- 
 nuities, and 1 beg his acceptance of one of my diamond 
 rings. I give to Dr. Thomas Wharton, of Old Park in the 
 Bishoprick of Durham, five hundred pounds reduced Bank 
 annuities, and desire him also to accept of one of my diamond 
 rings. I give to my servant, Stephen Hempstead, the sum 
 of fifty pounds reduced Bank annuities, and if he continues 
 in my service to the time of my death I also give him all 
 my wearing-apparel and linen. I give to my two cousins 
 above-mentioned, Mary Antrobus and Dorothy Comyns, all 
 my plate, watches, rings, china-ware, bed-linen and table- 
 linen, and the furniture of my chambers, at Cambridge, not 
 otherwise bequeathed, to be equally and amicably shared 
 between them. I give to the Reverend William jMason, 
 precentor of York, all my books, manuscripts, coins, music 
 printed or written, and papers of all kinds, to preserve or 
 destroy at his own discretion. And after my just debts 
 and the expenses of my funeral are discharged, all the re- 
 sidue of my personal estate, whatsoever, I do hereby give 
 and bequeath to the said Reverend William Mason, and to 
 the Reverend Mr. James Browne, President of Pembroke- 
 
APPENDIX. XCV 
 
 Hall, Cambridge, to be equally divided between them, de- 
 siring them to apply the sum of two hundred pounds to an 
 use of charity concerning which I have already informed 
 them. And 1 do hereby constitute and appoint them, the 
 said William Mason and James Browne, to be joint execu- 
 tors of this my Last Will and Testament. And if any re- 
 lation of mine, or other legatee, shall go about to molest or 
 commence any suit against my said executors in the execu- 
 tion of their office, I do, as far as the law will permit me, 
 hereby revoke and make void all such bequests or legacies 
 as I had given to that person or persons, and give it to be 
 divided between my said executors and residuary legatees, 
 whose integrity and kindness I have so long experienced, 
 and who can best judge of my true intention and meaning. 
 In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal 
 this S5d day of July, 1770. Tno. Gray. 
 
 Signed, sealed, published, and declared by the said Thomas 
 Gray, the testator, as and for his Last Will and Testament, 
 in the presence of us, who in his presence and at his request, 
 and in the presence of each other, have signed our names as 
 ■witnesses hereto. Richard Baker. 
 
 Thomas Wilson. 
 Joseph Turner. 
 
 Proved at London the 12th of August, 1771, before the 
 Worshipful Andrew Goitre Ducarel, Doctor of Laws and 
 Surrogate, by the oaths of the Reverend William Mason, 
 Clerk, Master of Arts, and the Reverend James Browne,* 
 Clerk, Master of Arts, the executors to whom administration 
 was granted, having been first sworn duly to administer. 
 
 John Stevens. ^ 
 
 Henry Stevens. V Deputy Registers. 
 
 Geo, GosTLiNG,jMn.J 
 
 * Mr. Gray used to go with his friend Browne to a read- 
 ing-room in the evening. Browne, who was a very punc- 
 tual man, just before the hour of going, used to get up, walk 
 about the room, and make a bustle with his gown, &c. 
 "Now," says Gray, " Browne is going to strike. ' 
 
XCVl APPENDIX. 
 
 Appendix B. 
 
 The following curious paper I owe to the kindness of Sir 
 Egerton Brydges and liis friend Mr. Haslewood. It was 
 discovered in a volume of manuscript law cases, purchased 
 by the latter gentleman at the sale of the late Isaac Reed's 
 books. It is a case submitted by the mother of Gray to the 
 opinion of an eminent civilian in 1735 ; and it proves, that 
 to the great and single exertions of this admirable woman, 
 Gray was indebted for his education, and consequently for 
 the happiness of his life. The sorrow and the mournful 
 affection with which he dwelt on his mother's memory, 
 serves to shew the deep sense he retained of what she suf- 
 fered, as well as what she did for him. Those who have 
 read the Memoirs of Kirke White in Mr. Southey's Narra- 
 tive, will recognise the similarity of the situation in which 
 the two poets were placed, in their entrance into life ; and 
 they will see, that if maternal love and courage had not 
 stept in, in both cases, their genius and talents would have 
 been lost in the ignorance, or stifled by the selfishness, of 
 those about them. 
 
 CASE. 
 
 " Philip Gray, before his marriage with his wife, (then 
 Dorothy Antrobus, and who was then partner with her 
 sister Mar)' Antrobus,) entered into articles of agreement 
 with the said Dorothy, and Mary, and their brother Robert 
 Antrobus, that the said Dorothy's stock in trade (which 
 was then 240/.) should be employed by the said INIary in 
 the said trade, and that the same, and all profits arising 
 thereby, should be for the sole benefit of the said Dorothy, 
 notwithstanding her intended coverture, and her sole re- 
 ceipts alone a sufiicient discharge to the said Mary and her 
 brother Robert Antrobus, who was made trustee. But in 
 case either the said Philip or Dorothy dies, then the same 
 to be assigned to the survivor. 
 
 " That in pursuance of the said articles, the said Mary, 
 with the assistance of the said Dorothy her sister, hath car- 
 
APPENDIX. XCVll 
 
 ried on the said trade for near thirty years, with tolerable 
 success for the said Dorothy. That she hath been no charge 
 to the said Philip ; and during all the said time, hath not 
 only found herself in all manner of apparel, but also for all 
 her children, to the number of twelve, and most of the fur- 
 niture of his house ; and paying 401. a year for his shop, 
 almost providing every thing for her son, whilst at Eton school, 
 and now he is at Petet'-House at Cambridge. 
 
 " Notwithstanding which, almost ever since he hath been 
 married, he hath used her in the most inhuman manner, by 
 beating, kicking, punching, and with the most vile and 
 abusive language ; that she hath been in the utmost fear 
 and danger of her life, and hath been obliged this last year 
 to quit her bed, and lie with her sister. This she was re- 
 solved, if possible, to bear ; not to leave her shop of trade for 
 the sake of her son, to be able to assist in the maintenance :f him 
 at the University, since his father won't. 
 
 " There is no cause for this usage, unless it be an un- 
 happy jealousy of all mankind in general (her own brother 
 not excepted) ; but no woman deserves, or hath maintained, 
 a more virtuous character : or it is presumed if he can make 
 her sister leave off trade, he thinks he can then come into 
 his wife's money, but the articles are too secure for his vile 
 purposes. 
 
 " He daily threatens he will pursue her with all the ven- 
 geance possible, and will ruin himself to undo her, and his 
 only son ; in order to which he hath given warning to her 
 sister to quit his shop, where they have cari'ied on their 
 trade so successfully, which will be almost their ruin : but 
 he insists she shall go at Midsummer next ; and the said 
 Dorothy, his wife, in necessity must be forced to go along 
 with her, to some other house and shop, to be assisting to 
 her said sister, in the said trade, for her own and son's sup- 
 port. 
 
 " But if she can be quiet, she neither expects or desires 
 any help from him : but he is really so very vile in his na- 
 ture, she hath all the reason to expect most troublesome 
 usage from him that can be thought of. 
 
 QUESTION. 
 
 " What he can, or possibly may do to molest his wife in 
 living with her sister, and assisting in her trade, for the 
 purposes in the said articles ; and which will be the best 
 way for her to conduct herself in this unhappy circumstance, 
 
 li 
 
xrviii appendix. 
 
 if he should any ways be troublesome, or endeavour to force 
 hereto live with him ? And whether the said Dorothy in the 
 lifetime of the said Philip, may not by will, or otherwise, 
 dispose of the interest, or produce, which hath, or may 
 arise, or become due for the said stock as she shall think 
 fit, it being apprehended as part of her separate estate 1" 
 
 ANSWER. 
 
 " If Mrs. Gray should leave her husband's house, and 
 go to live with her sister in any other, to assist her in her 
 trade, her husband may, and probably will call her, by pro- 
 cess in the Ecclesiastical Court, to return home and cohabit 
 with him, which the court will compel her to do, unless she 
 can shew cause to the contrary. She has no other defence 
 in that case, than to make proof, before the court, of such 
 cruelties as may induce the judge to think she cannot live 
 in safety with her husband : then the court will decree for 
 a separation. 
 
 " This is a most unhappy case, and such a one, as I think, 
 if possible, should be referred to, and made up by some 
 common friend ; sentences of separation, by reason of cruelt)' 
 only, being verj' rarely obtained. 
 
 " What the cruelties are which he has used towards her, 
 and what proof she is able to make of them, I am yet a 
 stranger to. She will, as she has hitherto done, bear what 
 she reasonably can, without giving him any provocation to 
 use her ill. If, nevertheless, he forces her out of doors, the 
 most reputable place she can be in, is with her sister. If 
 he will proceed to extremities, and go to law, she will be 
 justified, if she stands upon her defence, rather perhaps than 
 if she was plaintiff in the cause. 
 
 " As no power of making a will is resented to Mrs. Gray, 
 by her marriage settlement, and not only the original stock, 
 but likewise the produce and interest which shall accrue, 
 and be added to it, are settled upon the husband, if he sur- 
 vives his wife ; it is my opinion she has no power to dis- 
 pose of it by will, or otherwise. 
 
 " JOH. AUOLEY " 
 
 " Doctors' Commons, 
 Feb. 9th. 1735.'- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Appendix C. 
 
 Miscellaneous Extracts from the Manuscript Papers of the 
 Rev. William Cole, of Milton in Cambridgeshire, relating 
 to Gray ; now in the British M^iseum. 
 
 I. 
 
 On Tuesday July 30th, 1771, Mr. Essex calling on me, 
 in his way to Ely, told me that Mr. Gray was thought to be 
 dying of the gout in his stomach. I had not heard before 
 that he was ill, th6ugh he had been so for many days. So 
 I sent my servant in the evening to Pembroke-Hall, to 
 enquire after his welfare ; but he was then going off, and 
 no message could be delivered ; and he died that night. 
 He desired to be buried early in the morning at Stoke- 
 Pogeis ;* and accordingly was put in lead, and conveyed 
 from Cambridge on Sunday morning, with a design to rest 
 at Hoddesdon the first night, and Salt-hill on IMonday 
 night, from whence he might be very early on Tuesday 
 morning at Stoke. He made the master of Pembroke (his 
 particular friend) his executor ; who, with his neice An- 
 trobus, Mr. Cummins a merchant of Cambridge, who had 
 married her sister, and a young gentleman of Christ's-Col- 
 lege with whom he was very intimate, went in a mourning- 
 coach after the hearse, to see him put into his grave. He 
 left all his books and IMSS. to his particular friend Mr. 
 Mason, with a desire that he would do with the latter what 
 he thought proper. When he saw all was over with him, 
 he sent an express to his friend Mr. Stonehewer, who 
 immediately came to see him ; and as Dr. Gisborne hap- 
 
 * Gray's tomb is at the end of the chancel, of Stoke- 
 Pogeis church. At Strawberry-Hill there is a drawing by 
 Bacon of Gray's tomb, by moonlight ; given to Lord Or- 
 ford, by Sir Edward Walpole. See Lord Orford's Works, 
 vol. ii. p. 425. Not far from the churchyard is the Ceno- 
 taph erected by Mr. Penn to the memory of Gray from a 
 design, I believe, by the late Mr. W^vatt. 
 
C APPENDIX. 
 
 pened to be with him when the messenger came, he brought 
 him down to Cambridge with him ; which was the more 
 lucky, as Professor Plumptre * had refused to get up, being 
 sent to in the night. But it was too late to do any good : 
 and indeed he had all the assistance of the facultyt besides 
 at Cambridge. It is said, that he has left all his fortune 
 to bis two nieces at Cambridge ; and just before his death, 
 about a month, or thereabout, he liad done a very generous 
 action, for which he was much commended. 
 
 His aunt Ollift'e, an old gentlewoman of Norfolk, had 
 left that county, two or three years, to come and live at 
 Cambridge; and dying about the time I speak of, left him 
 and Mr. Cummins executors and residuary legatees ; but 
 Mr. Gray generously gave up his part to his nieces, one 
 of whom Mrs. OllifFe had taken no notice of, and who 
 wanted it sufficiently. * * * * I ^vas told by Mr. Alder- 
 man Burleigh, the present mayor of Cambridge, that Mr. 
 Gray's father had been an Exchange-broker, but the fortune 
 he had acquired of about 10,000/. was greatly hurt by the 
 fire in Cornhill ; so that Mr. Gray, many years ago, sunk 
 a good part of what was left and purchased an annuity, in 
 order to have a fuller income. 1 have often seen at his 
 chambers, in his ink-stand, a neat pyramidal bloodstone 
 seal, with these arms at the base, viz. :^ a lion rampant, 
 within a bordure engrailed, being those of the name or 
 Gray, and belonged, as he told me, to his father. His 
 mother was in the millinery way of business. His person 
 was small, well put together, and latterly tending to plump- 
 ness. He was all his life remarkably sober and temperate. 
 I think, I heard him say he never was across a horse's 
 back in his life. He gave me a small print or etching of him- 
 self by Mr. Mason, which is extremely like him. 
 
 * Dr. Plumptre certainly refused to get up to attend Gray 
 in his last illness ; but it was to be considered, that he was 
 grown old, and had found it necessary to adopt this rule 
 with all his patients. Ed. 
 
 t Dr. Glynn was Gray's physician at Cambridge, and 
 likewise a very intimate friend. En. 
 
 t Sir Egerton Brj^dges informs me, that Gray's arms are 
 the same as those of Lord Gray of Scotland ; who claimed 
 a relationship with him, (see Mason's Memoirs, vol. iv. 
 lett. .55.) and as the present Earl Grey's. 
 
APPENDIX. CI 
 
 II. 
 
 I am apt to think the characters of Voiture and Mr. 
 Gray were very similar. They were botli little men, very 
 nice and exact in their persons and dress, most lively and 
 agreeable in conversation, except that Mr. Gray was apt to 
 be too satirical, and both of them full of affectation. In 
 Gil Bias, the print of Scipio in the arbour, beginning to 
 tell his own adventures to Gil Bias, Antonio, and Beatrix, 
 was so like the countenance of Mr. Gray, that if he sat for 
 it, it could not be more so. It is in a 12mo edition in four 
 volumes, printed at Amsterdam, chez Herman Vytwerf, 
 1735, in the 4th volume, p. 94.— p. m. It is ten tiiries 
 more like him than his print before Mason's life of him, 
 which is horrible, and makes him a fury. That little one 
 done by Mr. Mason is like him ; and placid Mr. Tyson 
 spoilt the other by altering it. 
 
 III. 
 
 It must have been about the year 1770, that Dr. Farmer 
 and Mr. Gray ever met, to be acquainted together, as 
 about that time I met them at Mr. Oldham's chambers, in 
 Peter-House, to dinner. Before, they had been shy of 
 each other : and though Mr. Farmer was then esteemed 
 one of the most ingenious men in the University, yet Mr. 
 Gray's singular niceness in the choice of his acquaintance 
 made him appear fastidious to a great degree, to all who 
 were not acquainted with his manner. Indeed, there did 
 not seem to be any probability of any great intimacy from 
 the style and manner of each of them. The one a cheerful, 
 companionable, hearty, open, downright man, of no great 
 regard to dress or common forms of behaviour : the other, 
 of a most fastidious and recluse distance of carriage, rather 
 averse to sociability, but of the graver turn ; nice, and ele- 
 gant in his person, dress^ and behaviour, even to a degree 
 of finicalness and effeminacy. So that nothing but their 
 extensive learning and abilities could ever have coalesced 
 two such different men, and both of great value in their 
 own line and walk. They were ever after great friends ; 
 and Dr. Farmer, and all of his acquaintance, had soon after 
 too much reason to lament his loss, and the shortness of 
 their acquaintance. 
 
 IV. 
 Two Latin Epitaphs in the Church of Burnham, in Buck- 
 inghamshire, supposed to be from the pen of Mr. Gray, 
 
m APPENDIX. 
 
 (published from Cole's MSS. in the European Maga- 
 zine.) 
 
 Huic Loco prope adsunt Cineres 
 
 ROBERTI ANTROBUS. 
 
 Vir fuit, si quis unquam fuit, Amicorum amans, 
 
 Et Amicis amandus. 
 
 Ita Ingenio et Doctrina valuit, 
 
 Ut suis Honori fuerit, et aliis Commodo 
 
 Si Mores respicis, Y)robus et humanus. 
 
 Si Animum, semper sibi constans. 
 
 Si Fortunam, plura meruit quam tulit. 
 
 In Memoriam defuncti posuit 
 
 Hoc Maiinor 
 
 Frater l^^^^^^^^^/^"^) J. Rogers. A. D. 1731. 
 I moestissimus J "= 
 
 M. S 
 
 Jonathani Rogers, 
 
 Qui Juris inter Negotia diu versatus, 
 
 Opibus modicis laudabili Industria partis 
 
 Extremos Vitae Annos 
 
 Sibi, Amicis, Deo dicavit. 
 
 Humanitati ejus nihil Otiura detraxit, 
 
 Nihil Integritati Negotia. 
 
 Qusenam bonas Spei justior Causa, 
 
 Quam perpetua Morum Innocentia 
 
 Animus erga Deum reverenter affectus, 
 
 Erga omnes Homines benevole ? 
 
 Vixit Ann. Ixv. Ob. Stoke in Com. Bucks. 
 
 A. D. MDCCXLII. Octob. xxxi. 
 
 Anna, Conjux mcestissima, 
 
 per Annos xxxii. 
 
 Nulla unquam intercedente 
 
 Querimonia 
 
 Omnium Curarum Particeps, 
 
 Hoc M armor 
 
 (Sub quo et suos Cineres juxta condi destinat) 
 
 Pietatis Ofiicium heu ! ultimum, 
 
 P. C. 
 
 V. 
 
 From the Injonnation of Sir Egerton Brydges, K. J, M. P. 
 Among the friends of Gray, was the Rev. William Ro- 
 binson, (third brother of Mrs. Montagu,) of Denton 
 
APPENDIX ciii 
 
 Court, near Canterbury, and rector of Burfield, Berks. He 
 x^as educated at Westminster, and at St. John's College, 
 Cambridge, where he formed a particular intimacy with 
 Gray, who twice* visited him at Denton. He died Dec. 
 1803, aged about seventy-five. Mr. Robinson was an ad- 
 mirable classical scholar, to whose taste Gray paid great 
 deference. He did not consider Mr. Mason as equal to the 
 task of writing Gray's Life; and on that account when 
 Mason (from his knowledge of Mr. R.'s intimacy with 
 Gray) communicated his intention to him, Mr. Robinson 
 declined returning him an answer, which produced a cool- 
 ness between them which was never afterwards made up 
 Mr. Robinson, however, owned that Mason had executed his 
 task better than he had expected. The ' Lines on Lord Hol- 
 land's House at Kingsgate,' were written when on a visit 
 to Mr. Robinson, and found in the drawer of Gray's dres- 
 sing table after he was gone. They were restored to him ; 
 for he had no other copy, and had forgotten them. What 
 was the real ground ot the quarrel between Gray and Wal- 
 pole when abroad, 1 do not know ; but have reason to be- 
 lieve that it was of too deep a nature ever to be eradicated 
 from Gray's bosom ; which I gather from certain expres- 
 sions half dropped to Mr. Robinson. Mr. R. thought 
 Gray not only a great poet, but an exemplary, amiable, and 
 virtuous man. Gray's poem on ' Lord Holland' first ap- 
 peared in the Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xlvii. p. 624, 
 and vol. xlviii. p 88 ; that on ' Jemmy Twitclier,' in vol. 
 Hi. p. 39. 
 
 When he went to court to kiss the king's hand t for his 
 place, he felt a mixture of shyness and pride, which he ex- 
 pressed to one of his intimate friends in terras of strong ill- 
 humour. 
 
 VI. 
 
 The pleasantest morning that I passed at Cambridge, 
 was in company wiih Mr. Gray, and some critics, at the 
 rehearsal of the music for his ode, previous to its grand 
 performance at the Senate House : and I thought that as he 
 
 * See the beautiful description of Kentisb scenery, writ 
 ten on this tour, in Gray's Letters by Mason, 
 t ' What if for nothing once you kist 
 Against the grain, a monarch's fist.' 
 
 Swift's Misc. vol.- v. p. 162. 
 
CIV APPENDIX. 
 
 had so many directions to give, and such nice distinctions 
 to make, it was as well he had to deal witli the pliant Dr. 
 Randall, rather than with some of the able composers in 
 the metropolis. Mr. Gray was not at that time much more 
 comfortable than the Chancellor himself; for the press was 
 teeming with abuse, and a very satirical parody was then 
 preparing, which soon afterwards appeared. His own deli- 
 cious ode must always be admired, yet this envenomed 
 shaft was so pointedly levelled at him, though he affected in 
 his letter to Mason to disregard it, that with his fine feel- 
 ings he was not only annoyed, but very seriously hurt by 
 it." V. Cradock's Mem. p. 107-8. 
 
 From time to time I had treasured up many bon-mots 
 of Gray communicated by Mr. Tyson, and by the former 
 fellow-collegian of Gray, -the Rev. Mr. Sparrow, of Wal- 
 thamstow, who was always attentive to his witty effu- 
 sions. Some few of these have been printed incorrectly, 
 and freely bestowed on others in the Johnsoniana. John- 
 son was highly displeased, that any should be attributed to 
 him, as mentioned by Mr. Davies. When he was publish- 
 ing his life of Gray, I gave him several anecdotes, but he 
 was very anxious as soon as possible to get to the end of 
 his labours. Not long since I received a very kind mes- 
 sage from the Rev. Mr. Bright, Skeffington Hall, Leices- 
 tershire, to inform me that he had wished to deposit with 
 me all the remaining documents and papers of Gray, as 
 bequeathed to him by Mr. Stonehewer, but that he found 
 that they all had been carried off to Rome inadvertently by 
 a learned Editor. If recovered they should certainly be 
 consigned to me.' — Id. p. 1834. 
 
APPENDIX. CV 
 
 Appendix D. 
 
 Memorabilia— from Mr. Bray's notes. See Mrs. Bray's 
 Description of Devonshire, in letters to R. Southey, esq., 
 vol. iii. p. 311. 
 
 Jan. 27, 1807. In a conversation which I had with 
 Mr. Mathias on Italian literature, he informed me that 
 Gray, though so great a poet himself, and an admirer of 
 the poets of Italy, was unacquainted with the works of 
 Guidi, Menzini, Filicaia, &c., and indeed of almost all, 
 that are contained in his * Componimenti Lirici.' He had 
 once in his possession the commonplace book of Gray, and 
 it contained very copious extracts from the Commentary of 
 Crescembini. He told me that he could gratify me with a 
 sight of Gray's hand writing, and fetched from his library 
 a fac-simile, being a kind of commentary in English on 
 Pindar and Aristophanes. It was written remarkably neat 
 and plain, but rather stiff, and bearing evident marks of 
 being written slowly. It had a great resemblance to the 
 Italian mode of writing, every part of the letters being nearly 
 of an equal thickness. He wrote always with a crow-quill. 
 
 Observing no obliterations or erasures, and indeed only 
 one or two interlineations ; I remarked that it must have 
 been a fair copy, and wondered how he could have taken so 
 much pains, unless he had intended it for publication. But 
 Mr. Mathias assured me, that Gray was so averse to pub- 
 lication, that had not a surreptitious copy of his ' Elegy in 
 a Countr)'- Church-yard' appeared, he never would have pub- 
 lished it ; and even when he did, it was without his name. 
 The reason that he was so correct, was that he never com- 
 mitted any thing to paper till he had most maturely con- 
 sidered it before hand. 
 
 Mr. Mathias explained to me how he was so well ac- 
 quainted with these particulars respecting Gray, by inform- 
 ing me that he was most intimate with Mr. Nichols, the 
 familiar friend and executor of Gray, who had lent him the 
 MSS. On my lamenting that they were never made public, 
 he said that it was not for want of his most earnest solicita- 
 tion, but that Mr. Nichols was an old man, and wished even 
 
CVl Al'l'l.NDlX. 
 
 to conceal tnat he was in possession of any such precious 
 reliques, lest he shoiihl be plagued with requests to have 
 them copied, or at least to shew them. He therefore in a 
 manner enjoined me to secrecy, and 1 consequently commit 
 the pleasant memoranda to paper, merely for my own satis- 
 faction, that, on occasional inspection, the pleasure I re- 
 ceived from this conversation may be more firmly brought 
 to my recollection. For the same reason, and as these 
 MSS. are never likely to be made public, I shall enter more 
 at large upon the consideration of them ; at least as much as 
 a cursory inspection during a morning call would pennit. 
 
 As Gray always affixed the date to everything he wrote, 
 which, as Mr. Mathias assured me, was the custom of Pe- 
 trarch, it seems that he wrote his remarks on Pindar at 
 rather an early age. I think the date was 1747. It is 
 very closely written : the Greek characters are remarkably 
 neat. He begins with the date of the composition, and 
 takes into his consideration almost every thing connected 
 with it, both chronologically and historically. The notes of 
 the Scholiasts do not escape him, and he is so minute as to 
 direct his attention to almost every expression. He appears 
 to have reconciled many apparent incongruities, and to have 
 elucidated many difficulties. I the more lament these valu- 
 able annotations remain unpublished, as they would prove 
 that in the opinion of so great a man, the English lan- 
 guage is in every respect adequate to express everything 
 that criticism the most erudite can require. It presented 
 to my eye a most gratifying novelty, to see the union of 
 Greek and English, and to find that they harmonized toge- 
 ther as well as Greek and Latin. 
 
 The remarks on the plays of Aristophanes were so minute, 
 not only expressing where they were written and acted, but 
 when they were revived ; that as Mr. Mathias justly ob- 
 served, ' one would think he was reading the account of 
 some modem comedy, instead of the dramatic composition of 
 about two thousand years old.' Gray also left behind him 
 very copious remarks upon Plato, which had also formerly 
 been in Mr. Mathias's hands, likewise large collections re- 
 specting the customs of the ancients, &c. And so multifa- 
 rious and minute were his investigations, that he directed 
 his attention even to the Supellex, or household furniture of 
 the ancients, collecting together all the passages of the 
 classics that had any reference to the subject. 
 
 Mr. Mathias shewed me likewise many sheets copied by 
 Gray from some Italian author ; also, I believe, an historical 
 composition, and a great many genealogies, of which Gray 
 
APPENDIX. evil 
 
 was particularly fond. On my remarking- that I wished 
 Gray had written less genealogies and more poetry, he in- 
 formed me that the reason he had written so little poetry, 
 was from the great exertion it cost him, (while he made no 
 reserve in composing) in the labour of composition. Mr. 
 Mathias informed me that he had seen the original copy oi 
 Gray's ' Ode on the Progress of Poetry !' that there were not 
 so many alterations as he expected; which was evidently 
 owing to his method of long previous meditation, and that 
 some of the lines were written three or four times over ; 
 and then, what is not always the case with an author, the 
 best is always adopted. 
 
 He said there was nothing of which Gray had not the 
 profoundest knowledge, at least of such subjects as come 
 under the denomination of learning, except mathematics, 
 of which, as well as his friend Mason, he was as completely 
 ignorant, and which he used frequently to lament. He was 
 acquainted with botany, but hardly seems to have paid it 
 the compliment it deserves, when he said he learnt it 
 merely for the sake of sparing himself the trouble of think- 
 ing. ' 
 
 Appendix E. 
 CLASSIFICATION OF THE POETS, 
 
 FORMED BY POrE. 
 
 'See Observ, on the English Poets, by Pope, in Spence's Anecdotes, 
 ed. Malone, p. 81, 145 J 
 
 iERA I. 
 Rymer 2d part, p. 65, 66, 67, 77. Petrarch, 78. Catal. of 
 
 Proven9als. [Poets,] 
 -J g^jjQQj q£ r Chaucer's Visions.* Romaunt of the Rose. 
 Provence \ Pierce Plowman. Tales from Boccace. 
 l^ Gower. 
 
 {Lydgate. 
 T. Occleve. 
 Walter de Mapes. 
 Skelton. 
 
 * Read. Chaucer's Romaunt of the Rose. Visions of 
 Pierce Plowman. [Malone.] 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 J. 
 
 Earl of Surrey. 
 
 Petrarch. < ^'' l^^'^'V Sydney. , , • , , ^ 
 
 I G. Gascoyne. Iranslator of Ariostos Co- 
 t. medy. 
 
 ('Mirror of Magistrates. 
 4. School of J Lord Buckhurst's Induction 
 Dante. ] [Original '" ' "' 
 
 t Model.] 
 
 Gorboduck. — 
 of ffood Tragedy. — Seneca his 
 
 bpencer. 
 
 ^RA II. 
 
 Col. Clout, from the School of Ariosto, and Pe- 
 trarch, translated from Tasso. 
 
 School of 
 Spenser, 
 and from 
 Italian 
 Sonnets. 
 
 W. Brown's Pastorals. 
 
 Ph. Fletcher's Purple Island. Alabaster 
 
 Piscatory Eclogues. 
 ] S. Daniel. 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh. 
 (^Milton's Juvenilia. Heath. Habington. 
 
 Translators f^^^^^'W- 
 
 from Italian. 
 
 School of 
 Donne. 
 
 < Edw. Fairfax. 
 ^Harrington; 
 
 ^Cowley. Davenant. 
 
 Michael Drayton. 
 
 Sir Thomas Overbuiy. 
 
 Randolph. 
 
 Sir John Davis. 
 
 Sir John Beaumont, 
 j Cartwright. 
 I Cleiveland. 
 I Crashaw. 
 I Bishop Corbet. 
 I Lord Falkland. 
 
 Carew, "1 
 
 T. Carey, J 
 
 G. Sandys, in>^ 
 
 his Par. of I 
 
 Job. I 
 
 ^Fairfax, -^ 
 
 in matter 
 
 in versifi- 
 cation, 
 
 ■1 
 
 ^Models to Wal- 
 ler. 
 
 r Sir John Mennis,\ ^ - . , r tt lu 
 iTho.Baynal. ') Originals of Hudibras. 
 
APPENDIX. CIX 
 
 Here are several mistakes. The first paragraph under 
 i?ira II. viz. " Spenser, Col. Clout, from the School of 
 Ariosto, and Petrarch, translated from Tasso," is unintelli- 
 gible. We have no English poem by Alabaster. Golding, 
 I believe, translated nothing from the Italian. Sir John 
 Davies and Drayton wrote nearly as soon as Donne. Ca- 
 rew, and T. Carey, are the same persons ; and Thomas 
 Carew, the person meant, had published nothing vi^hen 
 Waller wrote his first poem. There is no poet of the name 
 cf Baynal. The person meant, I suspect, was Tho. Randal, 
 in which way the name of Randolph the poet was often 
 written in the last century ; and Pope might not have 
 known that Randolph, whom he mentioned before, and Tho. 
 Randal, were the same person. [Malone.]* 
 
 To these observations by Mr. Malone, I shall add, that 
 there does not seem to be any just ground for placing 
 Chaucer in the school of Provence. Mr. Tyrwhitt says, 
 " As to Chaucer's language, 1 have not observed, in any of 
 his writings, a single phrase or word, which has the least 
 appearance of having been fetched by him from the south 
 of the Loire. With respect to the manner and matter of 
 his compositions, till some clear instance of imitation be 
 produced, 1 shall be slow to believe, that in either he ever 
 copied the poets of Provence, with whose works, I appre- 
 hend, he had very little, if any, acquaintance." [Cant. 
 Tales, pref. p. xxxv.] Even T. Warton, in his Emenda- 
 tions and Additions to his second volume [p. 458], says : 
 " I have never affirmed that Chaucer imitated the Pro- 
 venpal bards ; although it is by no means improbable that 
 he might have known their tales." Secondly, Davenant 
 and Drayton can never be placed in the school of Donne.j 
 
 * Randall. — See Llewellyn's Poems, P. A. 5. Randall. 
 Masters, Cartwright— See Dryden's Art of Poetry, i. 242, 
 ' Randall in his Rustic Strains.' See Pref. Poems to 
 Gayton's Chartse Scriptae. Tom. Randall ! 4to. 1645. 
 Bancroft's Essay, 4to. p. 2. T. Randall. See Faithf. 
 Teate's Poems, 1699, p. 1. Randall, and Davenant. Mar- 
 low was spelt Marley, see Peele's Works, ed. Dyce, ii. 140, 
 t Perhaps Pope alluded to Suckling's verses to Dave- 
 nant :- 
 
 Thou hast redeem'd us, Will : — and future Times 
 Shall not account unto the age's crimes 
 Death of fierce Wit. Since the great Lord of it 
 Donne parted hence : no man has ever writ 
 So near him, in his own way. 
 
ex APPENDIX. 
 
 Drayton should be ranked with Spenser ; where indeed 
 Pope, in his conversation with Spence, placed him : and 
 Davenant is a poet who approaches nearer to Sllakspeare, 
 in the beauty of his descriptions, the tenderness of his 
 thoughts, the seriousness of his feeling, and the wildness 
 of his fancy. Cartwright did not imitate Uonne :* and 
 Cleveland is a writer of a very peculiar style, which he 
 formed for himself, " The obtrusion of new words on his 
 hearers (says Dryden) is what the world has blamed in 
 our satirist Cleveland. To express a thing hard, and un- 
 naturally, is his new way of elocution. There is this dif- 
 ference between his Satires and Donne's, that the one gives 
 us deep thoughts in common language, through rough ca- 
 dence ; the other gives us common thoughts in abstruse 
 words." Essay on Dramatic Poesy, p. 63, 64. [See this 
 Catalogue in Mathias's Gray, vol. ii. p. 8.] 
 
 Letter from T. Gray, to Thomas Warlon, in the possession oj 
 
 Al. Chalmers, Esq. See his Life of T. Warton, 
 
 V. British Poets, vol. xviii. p. 80. 
 
 Sir, 
 Our friend, Dr. Hurd, having long ago desired me, in your 
 name to communicate any fragments or sketches of a design, 
 I once had, to give a History of English Poetry, t you may 
 well think me rude or negligent, when you see me hesitat- 
 ing for so many months, before 1 comply with your request , 
 and yet, believe me, few of your friends have been better 
 pleased than I, to find this subject, (surely neither unenter- 
 taining, nor unuseful,) had fallen into hands so likely to do 
 it justice. Few have felt a higher esteem for your talents, 
 your taste, and industry. In truth, the only cause of my 
 delay, has been a sort of diffidence, that would not let me 
 send you anything, so short, so slight, and so imperfect as 
 the few materials I had begun to collect, or the observa- 
 
 * Dryden first called Donne metaphysical. See Warton's 
 Pope, vol. iv. p. 252. 
 
 + See a letter from Thos. Warton to Garrick, June 28, 
 1769, in which he says Gray had once an intention of this 
 sort, (of writing the History of English Poetry), but he 
 dropt it, as you may see by an Advt. to his Norway Odes. 
 See Garrick's Corres. vol. i 355. 
 
APPENDIX. CXI 
 
 tions 1 had made on them. A sketch of the division or ar- 
 rangement of the subject, however, I venture to transcribe ; 
 and would wish to know, whether it corresponds in any thing 
 with your own plan, for I am told your first volume is in 
 the press. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 On the Poetry of the Gallic or Celtic nations, as far back 
 as it can be traced. On that of the Goths, its introduction 
 into these islands by the Saxons and Danes, and its dura- 
 tion. On the origin of rhyme among the Franks, the Sax- 
 ons, and Proven9aux. Some account of the Latin rhyming 
 poetry, from its early origin, down to the fifteenth century. 
 
 Part I. 
 
 On the School of Provence, which rose about the year 
 1100, and was soon followed by the French and Italians. 
 Their heroic poetry, or romances in verse, allegories, fab- 
 liaux, syrvientes, comedies, farces, canzoni, sonnetts, bal- 
 lades, madrigals, seslines, &c. Of their imitators, the 
 French ; and of the first Italian School, commonly called 
 the Sicilian, about the year 1200, brought to perfection by 
 Dante, Petrarch, Boccace, and others. State of poetry in 
 England from the Conquest, 1066, or rather from Henry 
 the Second's time, 1154, to the reign of Edward the 
 Third, 1327. 
 
 Part II. 
 
 On Chaucer, who first introduced the manner of the Pro- 
 ven9aux, improved by the Italians into our country. His 
 character, and merits at large. The diflferent kinds in 
 which he excelled. Gower, Occleve, Lydgate, Hawes 
 Gawen Douglas, Lyndesay, Bellenden, Dunbar, &c. 
 
 Part III. 
 
 Second Italian School, of Ariosto, Tasso, &c., an im- 
 provement on the first, occasioned by the revival of letters, 
 the end of the fifteenth century. The Lyric Poetry of this 
 and the former age, introduced from Italy by Lord Surrey, 
 Sir T. Wyat, Bryan Lord Vaulx, &c. in the beginning of 
 the sixteenth century. 
 
 Part IV. 
 Spenser, his character. Subject of his poem, allegoric 
 and romantic, of Provencal invention : but his manner of 
 
CXll APPENDIX. 
 
 tracinj;' it borrowed from tlie second Italian school. — Dray- 
 ton, Fairfax, Pliineas Fletcher, Golding, Phaer, &c. This 
 school ends in Milton. A third Italian school, full of con- 
 ceit, began in Queen Elizabeth's reign, continued under 
 .lames, and Charles the First, by Donne, Crashaw, Cleve- 
 land ; carried to its height by Cowley, and ending perhaps 
 in Sprat. 
 
 Paut V. 
 School of France, introduced after the Restoration. — 
 Waller, Dryden, Addison, Prior, and Pope, — which has 
 continued to our own times. 
 
 You will observe that my idea was in some measure 
 taken from a scribbled paper of Pope, of which I believe 
 you have a copy. You will also see, I had excluded Dra- 
 matic poetry entirely ; which if you had taken in, it would 
 at least double the bulk and labour of your book. 
 I am, sir, with great esteem. 
 
 Your most humble and obedient servant, 
 Thomas Gray. 
 Pembroke Hall, 
 April 15, 1770. 
 
 Note. There is a most objectionable Classification of 
 the Poets in Dr. J, Warton's Essay on Pope. v. Ded. V. 1. 
 p 12. 
 
ODES. 
 
 I. ON THE SPRING. 
 
 [The original manuscript title given by Gray to this Ode, 
 was ' Noontide.' It appeared for the first time in Dods- 
 ley's Collection, vol. ii. p. 271, under the title of ' Ode.' 
 See Meleager's Ode to Spring, and Jones. Comm. Poes. 
 Asiatics, p. 411. This Ode is formed on Horace's Ode ad 
 Sestium, i. iv. Translated into Latin in Musae Etonens. 
 vol. ii, p. 60.] 
 
 Lo ! where the rosy-bosom'd Hours, 
 
 Fair Venus' train, appear, 
 Disclose the long-expecting flowers, 
 
 And wake the purple year ! 
 
 Notes — Ver. 1. " The Graces, and the rosy-bosom'a 
 Hours." Milton. Comus, v. 984. W. Thorns. Spring, 1007. 
 
 V. 2. So Homer. Hymn, ad Vener, ii. 5 : 
 Tt]V di ^pvffdfiTrvKSg aipai 
 
 As^avr' aairaa'njjQ Trepi 5' afitpora tifiara eaaav. 
 The Hours also are joined with Venus in the Hymn, ad 
 Apollin. V. 194. And Hesiod places them in her train : 
 
 Qpai KaXXiKo/ioi (TTScpov dvOeaiv dapivo'icri. Erg. ver. 75 
 V. 3. "At that soft season when descending showers 
 
 Call forth the greens, and wake the rising flowers." 
 Pope. Temple of Fame, b. i. v. 1. W. — In some editions, 
 " expected" is printed for " expecting." " The flowers that 
 in its womb expecting lie." Dryden. Astraea Redux. Rogers. 
 V. 4. Apuleius. Nuptiis Cupid, et Psyc. vi. p. 427, ed. 
 Oudendorp : " Hares, rosis, et caeteris floribus purpurabant 
 
GRAY S FORMS. 
 
 The Attic warbler pours her throat, s 
 
 Rorponsive to the cuckoo's note, 
 
 The untaught harmony of spring : 
 While, whisp'ring" pleasure as tho}' fly, 
 Cool Zephyrs thro' the clear blue sky 
 
 Their gather'd frag:ranre fling. lo 
 
 Where'er the oak's thick branches stretch 
 
 A broader browner shade, 
 Where'er the rude and moss-g-rown beech 
 
 O'er-canopies the glade, 
 Beside some water's rushy brink is 
 
 With me the Muse shall sit, and think 
 
 Dmnia." Also in the Pervigil. Venpr. v. 13 : " Ipsa gem- 
 mis pnrpiirantem pingit annum floribus." Pope has the 
 same expression in his Past, i. 28 : " And lavish Nature 
 paints the piayle year." " Gales that wake the purple year." 
 Mallet. Zeph\-r. 
 
 V. 5. INIartial. Epig. i. 54 : " Sic ubi multisona fervet 
 sacer Atthide lucus." Also in the Epitaphiura Athenaidos 
 apud Fabrettum, p. 702 : " Cum te, nate, fleo, planctus da- 
 hit Attica Aedoti." And " Jttica volucris." Propert. Il.xvi. 
 6. — Ovid. Halieut. v. 110: "Attica avis verna sub tem- 
 pestate queratus." Add Senecse Here. (Et. v. 200. And 
 Milton. Par. R. iv. 24.5 : "The Attic bird trills her thick- 
 warbled notes." The expression " pours her throat" is 
 from Pope. Essay on Man, iii. 33 : " Is it for thee the linnet 
 pours her throat?" So Ovid.Trist. iii. 12. 8. " IndociHque 
 loquax gutture vernat avis." 
 
 V. 7. — " The hollow Cuckoo sings 
 
 The symphony of Spring." — 
 
 Thorns. Spring. Luhe. 
 
 V. 10, — " Fresh gales and gentle airs 
 
 Whisper'd it to the woods." Par. L. viii. 515. 
 V. Comus. v. 989. and P. L. iv, 327. " Cool zephyr." 
 Luhe. 
 
 V. 12. Milton. Par. L. iv. 246 : " The unpierc'd shade 
 
(At ease reclin'd in rustic state) 
 How vain the ardour of the crowd, 
 How low, how little are the proud, 
 
 How indigent the great ! 
 
 Still is the toiling hand of Care ; 
 
 The panting herds repose : 
 Yet hark, how thro' the peopled air 
 
 Var. V. 19. " How low, how indigent the proud, 
 How little are the great !" 
 So these lines appeared in Dodsley. The variation, as 
 Mason informs us, was subsequently made, to avoid tJie 
 point " little and great." 
 
 imbrownd the noontide bowers." " And breathes a browner 
 horror o'er the woods," Pope. Eloisa, 170. W. — Thomson. 
 Cast, of Ind. i. 38 : " Or Autumn's varied shades imbrown 
 ihe walls." 
 
 V. 13. " A bank o'ercanopied with luscious woodbine." 
 Mids. N. Dr. act ii. so. 2. Gray. 
 
 " The beech shall yield a ceol safe canopy." 
 Fletcher. Purpl. Is. i. v. 30. And T. Warton's note on 
 Milton's Comus, v. 543. 
 
 V. 15. " The rushy-fringed bank." Comus. Luke. 
 V. 22. " Patula pecus omne sub ulmo est," Pers. Sat. 
 iii. 6. W. — But Gray seems to have imitated Pope. Past. 
 ii. 86 : 
 
 " The lowing herds to murmuring brooks retreat, 
 To closer shades the panting flocks remove :" 
 " Jam pastor umbras cum grege languido 
 Rivumque fessus quajrit." Hor. lib. HI. Od. xxix. 21. 
 V. 23. Thomson. Autumn, 836 : " Warn'd of approaching 
 winter, gather'd, play the swallow-people." And Walton. 
 Complete Angler, p. 260 : " Now the wing'd people of the 
 sky shall sing." Add Beaumont. Psyche, st. Ixxxviii. p. 
 46 : " Every tree empeopled was with birds of softest throats ." 
 so Alciphr. Ep. p. 341. drjfiov oXov opvs'ov. and Max. Tjr 
 See Reiske's note, p. 82, 
 
GRAY S POKMS. 
 
 The busy murmur glows ! 
 The insect-youth are on the wing-, 25 
 
 Eager to taste the honied spring, 
 
 And float amid the liquid noon : 
 Some lightly o'er the current skim, 
 Some shew their gayly-gilded trim 
 
 Quick-glancing to the sun. 30 
 
 To Contemplation's sober eye 
 
 Such is the race of Man : 
 And they that creep, and they that fly. 
 
 Shall end where they began. 
 Alike the Busy and the Gay ^ 35 
 
 But flutter thro' life's little day, 
 
 In Fortune's varying colours drest : 
 
 V. 24. Thus Milton. Par. R. iv^. 248 : " The sound of 
 bees' industrious murmur." Wakefield quotes Thomson. 
 Spr. 506 : " Thro' the soft air the busy nations fly." And, 
 649 : " But restless hurry thro' the busy air," Compare 
 also Pope. T. of Fame, 294. 
 
 V. 25. " Some to the sun their insect-wings unfold." 
 Pope. Rape of the Lock, ii. 59. W. This expression may 
 have been suggested by a line in Green's Hermitage, quoted 
 in Gray's Letter to Walpole : (see note at ver. 31.) 
 " From maggot-youth thro' change of state 
 They feel, like us, the turns of fate." 
 
 V. 26. SeeMilton, as quoted by Wakefield : II Pen. 142, 
 Lycid. 140, Sams.Ag. 1066. 
 
 V. 27. " Nare per aestatem liquidam," Georg. iv. 59. 
 Gray. — To which, add Georg. i. 404 ; and JEn. v. 525 ; x. 
 272. " There I suck the liquid air." Milton. Comus, v 
 980. 
 
 V. 30. " Sporting with quick glance, shew to the sun their 
 wav'd coats dropp'd with gold," Par. L. vii. 410. Gray. — 
 See also Pope. Horn, ll.ii.557 ; and Essay on Man, iii. 55. 
 
 V. 31. " While insects from the threshold preach," 
 Green, in the Grotto. Dodsley. Misc. v. p. 161. Gray. — 
 
ODE I. 
 
 Brush'd by the hand of rough Mischance, 
 Or chill'd by Age, then- airy dance 
 They leave, in dust to rest. 
 
 Methinks I hear, in accents low. 
 
 The sportive kind reply : 
 Poor moralist ! and what art thou ? 
 
 A solitary fly ! 
 Thy joys no glittering female meets, 
 No hive hast thou of hoarded sweets, 
 
 No painted plumage to display : 
 On hasty wings thy youth is flown ; 
 Thy sun is set, thy spring is gone — 
 
 We frolic while 'tis May. 
 
 Gray, in a letter to H. Walpole, says : (see Walpole's 
 Works, vol. V. p. 395.) " I send you a bit of a thing for two 
 reasons ; first, because it is one of your favorites, Mr. M . 
 Green ; and next, because I would do justice : the thought 
 on which my second Ode turns, (The Ode to Spring, after- 
 wards placed/rst, by Gray,) is manifestly stole from thence. 
 Not that I knew it at the time, but having seen this many 
 years before ; to be sure it imprinted itself on my memory, 
 and forgetting the author, I took it for my own." Then 
 follows the quotation from Green's Grotto. Wakefield 
 seems to have discovered the original of this stanza in some 
 lines in Thomson. Summer, 342. 
 
 V. 37. " The varied colours run," Thoms. Spring. Luke. 
 
 V. 47. 
 
 " From branch to branch the smaller birds with song 
 Solac'd the woods, and spread their painted wings." 
 Par. L. vii. 438. W. And so Thomson, Spring, 582 : 
 Virg. Georg. iii. 243 ; ^n. iv. b'25 ; Claudian, xv. 3. 
 "Pictisque plumis." Phgedri Fab. iii. v. 18. 
 
 V. 49. UdvQ' akiov dfj/jii cedvKHv. Theocrit. Idyll. 
 i. 102. W. Alexis ap. Stobaeum. lib. cxv. : 'RSt] yap 6 
 (5iog oi'fxbg 'Eairsnav ayn. Plato has the same metapho- 
 
OKAYS I'OK.MH. 
 
 II.* ON THE DEATH OF A FAVOURITE CAT, 
 
 DROWNED IN A TUB OF GOLD FISHES. 
 
 [On a favourite cat called Selima, that fell into a China 
 Tub with gold fishes in it, and was drowned, MS. 
 Wharton. Walpole, after the death of Gray, placed the 
 China Vase on a pedestal at Strawberry Hill, with a few 
 lines of the Ode for its inscription.] 
 
 'TwAS on a lofty vase's side, 
 Where China's gayest art had dy'd 
 
 The azure flowers, that blow ; 
 Demurest of the tabby kind, 
 
 Var. V. 4. In the first edition the order of these lines 
 was reversed : 
 
 " The pensive Selima reclin'd. 
 Demurest of the tabby kind." 
 
 rical expression : r/fieig S'iv SvfffialQ tov (3lov, de Legib. 
 torn. ii. p. 770, ed. Serrani.; and Aristotelis Poetica, 
 cap. 35: kol to yfjoag 'EcrTripap jSiov. Add Catull. ad 
 Lesb. c. 5. v. 5. " Nobis, cum semel occidet brevis lux." 
 Twining, in his translation of the Poetics, together with this 
 line from Gray, has quoted Com. of Err. (lastscer.e) : " Yet 
 hath my night of life some memor}''," see p. lOfi. It is a 
 phrase very common among the old English pcets. — Her- 
 rick has, 
 
 " Sunk is my sight, set is mij sun, 
 And all the loom of life undone." 
 and " My sun begins to set," Rowley's All's lost by Lust, 
 p. 63, 4to. with many others. 
 
 * This Ode first appeared in Dodsley. Col. vol. ii. p. 
 274, with some variations ; only one of which is given by 
 Mason. They are all noticed in this edition, as they 
 occur. 
 
 V. 3. This expression has been accused of redundance 
 
orE Tl. 
 
 The pensive Selima, reclin'd, 
 Gaz'd on the lake below. 
 
 Her conscious tail her joy declar'd ; 
 The fair round face, the snowy beard, 
 
 The velvet of her paws, 
 Her coat, that with the tortoise vies, 
 Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes. 
 
 She saw ; and purr'd applause. 
 
 Still had she gaz'd ; but 'midst the tid( 
 Two angel forms were seen to glide, 
 
 The Genii of the stream ; 
 Their scaly armour's Tyrian hue 
 
 Var. V. 14. First edit. "Two beauteous forms:" a 
 reading that appears to me preferable to the one now in 
 the text. 
 
 by Dr. Johnson and Wakefield. See Todd's Ed. of Comus, 
 p. 139. Gray, however, could have defended it by the 
 usage of the ancient poets. See Ovid Metam. ix. 98 . 
 " Hunc tamen ablati domuit jactura decoris." And Statii 
 Silv. II. V. 30 : " Unius amissi tetigit jactura leonis." 
 Ovid ad Liv. 185 : " Jura silent, mutctque tacent sine vin- 
 dice leges." In Jortin's Tracts, vol. i. p. 269, some ex- 
 amples of such redundant expressions are collected from 
 the Greek and Latin poets. See on this subject also the 
 ^otes of Burmann on Propertius, lib. iv. El. vii. v. 69; on 
 Ovid. Met. ii. 66, and on Poem. Lotichii, lib. i. el. 8. 
 27. In the Prog, of Poesy, I. i. 5 : " Thelaughingy?fiw;erj 
 that round them 6/oiy.'* "Azure flowers," v. Drummond. 
 Maeliades. Luke. 
 
 V. 15. Thomson, in his Spring, v. 100, with etjual 
 beauty, speaking of fish : 
 
 " in whose ample wave 
 
 The little Naiads love to sport at large." 
 
8 GRAY S POEMS. 
 
 Through richest purple to the view 
 Betray'd a golden gleam. 
 
 The hapless nymph with wonder saw : 
 
 A whisker first, and then a claw, 20 
 
 With many an ardent wish, 
 She stretch'd, in vain, to reach the prize. 
 What female heart can gold despise ? 
 
 What Cat's averse to fish ? 
 
 Presumptuous maid ! with looks intent 25 
 Again she stretch'd, again she bent. 
 
 Nor knew the gulf between. 
 (Malignant Fate sat by, and smil'd) 
 The slipp'ry verge her feet beguil'd, 
 
 She tumbled headlong in. ."o 
 
 Var. V. 24. " A foe to fish." First edit. 
 V. 25. Looks] Eyes. MS. 
 
 V. 17. " Aureus ipse ; sed in foliis, qufe plurima circum 
 Fundunturj violae mblucet purpura nigrse." 
 Virg. Georg. iv. 274. W. 
 V. 18. " His shining horns diffus'd a golden gleam," Pope. 
 Winds. For. 331. " And lucid amber casts a golden gleam, ^^ 
 Temp, of Fame, 253. 
 
 V. 42. This proverbial expression was a favourite among 
 the old English poets : 
 
 " But all thing, which that shineth as the gold, 
 Ne is no gold, as I have herd it told." 
 See Chaucer. Chanones Yemannes Tale, v. 16430. Tyr- 
 whitt refers to the Parabola of Alanus de Insulis, quoted 
 by Leyser, Hist. Poet. Med. ^v. 1074 : " Non teneas 
 aurum, totimi quod splendet ut aurum." Among the poems 
 published with Lord Surrey's, p. 226, edit. 1717 : " Not 
 every glist'ri7}g gives the gold, that greedy folk desire." In 
 the Paradise of Dainty Devises, " No Foe to a Flatterer," 
 
ODE II. 
 
 Eight times emerging from the flood 
 She mew'd to evVy wat'ry God, 
 
 Some speedy aid to send. 
 No Dolphin came, no Nereid stirr'd : 
 Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard. 
 
 A fav'rite has no friend ! 
 
 From hence, ye beauties, undeceiv'd, 
 Know, one false step is ne'er retriev'd 
 
 And be with caution bold. 
 Not all that tempts your wand'ring- eyes 
 And heedless hearts is lawful prize, 
 
 Nor all, that glisters, gold. 
 
 Var. V. 35. " nor Harry heard. 
 
 What favourite has a friend?" First edit. 
 V. 40. Strikes, ms. 
 
 p. 60 (reprint), is this line : "But now 1 see all is not gold, 
 that glittereth in the eye." In England's Helicon, p. 194 : 
 " All is not gold, that shineth bright in show." Spenser. 
 F. Queen, ii. 8. 14 : " Yet gold all is not, that doth golden 
 seem." 
 
 " Not every thinge that gives, a gleame and gZittVm^ showe. 
 Is tobe counted go/dindeede, this proverbewell you knowe." 
 Turberville. Answer of a Woman to her Lover, st. iv. 
 " All as they say, that glitters is not gold." 
 
 Dryden. H.and Panther. 
 This poem was written later than the first, third, and 
 fourth Odes, but was arranged by Gray in this place, in his 
 own edition. 
 
]0 G tray's toe:\7s. 
 
 III.* ON A DISTANT PROSPECT OF 
 ETON COLLEGE. 
 
 Av9p<i)7roQ, iKav)) 7rp6<pa<ng eig to cvcrrvxeiv. 
 Menander. Incert. Fragra, ver. 382. ed. Cler. p. S45. 
 
 [See ]Mus3e Etonenses, vol. i. p. 229, and Brit. Bibliogra- 
 pher, vol. ii. p. 214.] 
 
 Ye distant spires, ye antique towers, 
 
 That crown the wat'iy glade, 
 Where grateful Science still adores 
 
 Her Henry's f holy shade ; 
 And ye, that from the stately brow t> 
 
 Of Windsor's heights th' expanse below 
 
 Of grove, of lawn, of mead survey, 
 
 * This, as Mason informs us, was the first English pro- 
 duction of Gray which appeared in print. It was published 
 in folio, in 1747, and appeared again in Dodsley. Col. vol. 
 ii. p. 267, without the name of the author. A Latin poem 
 bv him, On the Prince of Wales's Marriage, had appeared 
 in the Cambridge Collection, in 1736, which is inserted in 
 this edition. 
 
 V. 2. " Haunt the watery glade." — 
 
 Pope. Wind. For. Luke. 
 
 t King Henry the Sixth, founder of the College. 
 
 V. 4. So in the Bard, ii. 3 : " And spare the meek usur- 
 per's holy head." And in Install. Ode, iv. 12 : " the mur- 
 der'd saint." So Rich. III. ac. v. sc. 1 : " Holy King 
 Henry." And act iv. sc. iv : " When holy Henry died." 
 This epithet has a peculiar propriety, as Henry the Sixth, 
 though never canonieed, was regarded as a saint. See Bar- 
 rington on the Statutes, p. 416, and Douce. Illust. of 
 Shakesp. ii. 38. " Yea and holy Henry lying at Windsor. 
 Barclay. Eclog. p. 4. fol 
 
ODF, ITT. ] 1 
 
 Whose turf, whose shade, whose flowers amoiif 
 
 o 
 
 Wanders the hoary Thames along* 
 
 His silver-winding way : lo 
 
 Ah, happy hills ! ah, pleasing shade ! 
 
 Ah, fields belov'd in vain ! 
 Where once my careless childhood stray 'd, 
 
 A stranger yet to pain ! 
 I feel the gales that from ye blow 15 
 
 A momentary bliss bestow, 
 
 As waving fresh their gladsome wing, 
 My weary soul they seem to soothe, 
 And, redolent of joy and youth, 
 
 To breathe a second spring. 20 
 
 Say, father Thames, for thou hast seen 
 
 V. 5. " and now to where 
 
 Majestic Windsor lifts his princely brow.^' 
 
 Thorns. Sum. 1412. W. 
 V. 10. " The vale o£ Th-dvaes fair-winding ?<p." Thonis. 
 Sum. 1417. Fenton in his Ode to Lord Gower, which was 
 praised by Pope and Akenside, had these two lines, iii. 1 : 
 *• Or if invok'd where Thames s fruitful tides 
 Slow thro' the vale in silver volumes play." 
 Spenser, vol. v. p. 87 : " Silver-streaming Thames." 
 V. 15. " L'Aura gentil che rasserena i poggi 
 
 Destando i fior per questo ombroso hosco 
 Al soavesiio spirto riconosco." Petrarca, Son. clxi. 
 V. 19. " And bees their honey redolent of spring," Dry- 
 den's Fable on the Pythag. System. Gray. — " And every 
 field is redolent of spring," L. Welsted's Poems, p. 23. It 
 appears also in the Memoirs of Europe towards the Closi^ 
 of the Eighth Century, by Mrs. Manly, 1716, vol. ii. p. 67 : 
 "The lovely Endimion, redolent of youth." See Todd, in a 
 note to Sams. Agonist. (Milton, vol. iv. p. 410). 
 
 V. 21. This invocation is taken from Green's Grotto: 
 see Dodsley. Col. vol. v. p. 159. 
 
12 gray's poems. 
 
 Full many a sprig^htly raco 
 Disporting" on thy margent green, . 
 
 The paths of pleasure trace ; 
 Who foremost now delight to cleave, 23 
 
 With pliant arm, thy g-lassy wave ? 
 
 The captive linnet which enthral ? 
 What idle progeny succeed 
 To chase the rolling circle's speed. 
 
 Or urge the flying ball ? 30 
 
 While some on earnest business bent 
 
 Their murm'ring labours ply 
 'Gainst graver hours that bring" constraint 
 
 To sweeten liberty : 
 Some bold adventurers disdain ?5 
 
 The limits of their little reign, 
 
 Var. V. 29. " To chase the hoop's elusive speed." ms. 
 
 " Say, father Thames, whose gentle pace 
 Gives leave to view, vrhat beauties grace 
 Your flowery banks, if you have seen." 
 Perhaps both poets thought of Cowley, vol. i. p. 117 : 
 " Ye fields of Cambridge, our dear Cambridge, say. 
 Have you not seen us walking every day." 
 Drvden. An. Mirab. St. ccxxxii. " Old father Thames 
 rais'd up his reverend head." 
 
 V. 23. " By slow Maeander's margent green." Milton 
 Com. 232. W. 
 
 V. 24. "To virtue, in the paths of pleasure trod." Pope. 
 Essay on IMan, iii. 233. 
 
 V.26. "On the glassy wave." Todd. ed. of Comus,p.ll8. 
 V. 27. This expression has been noticed as tautologous. 
 Thomson, on the same subject, uses somewhat redundant 
 language, Spring, 702 : 
 
 " Inhuman caught ; and in the narrow cage 
 From liberty confined and boundless air." 
 
ODE III. 13 
 
 And unknown reg-ions dare descry : 
 Still as they run they look behind, 
 They hear a voice in every wind, 
 
 And snatch a fearful joy. 4o 
 
 Gay hope is theirs by fancy fed, 
 
 Less pleasing when possest ; 
 The tear forgot as soon as shed, 
 
 The sunshine of the breast : 
 Theirs buxom health, of rosy hue, 45 
 
 Wild wit, invention ever new, 
 
 And lively cheer, of vigour born ; 
 The thoughtless day, the easy night. 
 The spirits pure, the slumbers light. 
 
 That fly th' approach of morn. 50 
 
 V. 30. " The senator at cricket urge the ball." 
 
 Pope. Dun. iv. 592. 
 
 V. 37. This line is taken from Cowley. Pindarique Ode 
 ta Hobbes, iv. 7. p. 2523 : " Till unknown regions it des- 
 cries." 
 
 V. 40. " Magnaque post lachrjmias etiamnum gaudia 
 pallent." Stat. Theb. i. 620 : For other expressions of this 
 nature, see Wakefield's note. Add Sil. Ital. xvi. 432, 
 "laetoque pavore." Luhe, 
 
 V, 44. " Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind." Pope. 
 Eloisa, ver. 209. Add Essay on Man, iv. 167, " The soul's 
 calm sunshine.^' 
 
 V. 47. " In either cheeke depeyncten lively cheere," Spen- 
 ser. Hobbinol's Dittie, ver. 33. W. See Milton. Ps.lxxxiv. 
 5. " With joy and gladsome cheer." Luke. 
 
 V. 49. " The temperate sleeps, and spirits light as air." 
 Pope. Im. of Horace, I. 73 ; Hor. Od. ii xi. 7. " facilem- 
 que somnum :" and Par. L. v. 3 : 
 
 " His sleep 
 
 Was airy light, from pure digestion bred. 
 And temperate vapours bland." 
 
14 gray's poems. 
 
 Alas ! regardless of their doom 
 
 The little victims play ; 
 No sense have they of ills to come, 
 
 Nor care beyond to-day : 
 Yet see, how all around 'em wait 
 The ministers of human fate. 
 
 And black Misfortune's baleful train ! 
 Ah, show them where in ambush stand, 
 To sieze their prey, the murth'rous band ! 
 
 Ah, tell them, they are men ! 
 
 These shall the fury Passions tear, 
 
 The vultures of the mind, 
 Disdainful Anger, pallid Fear, 
 
 And Shame that sculks behind ; 
 Or pining Love shall waste their youth. 
 Or Jealousy, with rankling tooth, 
 
 V. 51. " E'en now, regardless of his doom, 
 
 Applauding honour haunts his tomb." 
 Collins. Ode on the Death of Col. Ross, 4th stanza of his 
 first manuscript. 
 
 V. 55. These two lines resemble two in Broome. Odeou 
 Melancholy, p. 28 : 
 
 " While round, stern ministers of fate. 
 Pain, and Disease, and Sorrow wait." 
 And Otway. Alcib. act v. so. 2. p. 84 . " Then enter, ye 
 grim ministers of fate." 
 
 V. 61. " The fury Passions from that flood began." See 
 Pope. Essay on Man, iii. 167. 
 
 V. 63. " Exsanguisque Metus," Stat. Theb. vii. 49. 
 And from him Milton. Quint. Novemb. 148 : " Exsan- 
 guisque Horror." Pers. Sat. iii. v. 115, " Timor albus." 
 V. 66. " But gnawing Jealousy out of their sight, 
 Sitting alone, his bitter lips did bite." 
 
 Spenser. F. Q. vi. 23. 
 
ODE 111, 15 
 
 That inly gnaws the secret heart ; 
 And Envy wan, and faded Care, 
 Grim-visag'd comfortless Despair, 
 
 And Sorrow's piercing dart. 70 
 
 Ambition this shall tempt to rise, 
 
 Then whirl the wretch from high, 
 To bitter Scorn a sacrifice, 
 
 And grinning Infamy. 
 The stings of Falsehood those shall try, 75 
 
 And hard Unkindness' alter'd eye. 
 
 That mocks the tear it forc'd to flow ; 
 And keen Remorse with blood defil'd. 
 And moody Madness laughing wild 
 
 Amid severest woe. so 
 
 Lo ! in the vale of years beneath 
 A griesly troop are seen, 
 
 V. 68. " With praise enough for Envy to look wan." 
 Milton. Son. to Lawes, xaii. 6. W. Par. L. i. 601, " Care 
 sate on his faded cheek." Luke. 
 
 V. 69. Gray has here imitated Shakespeare. Richard 
 III. act i. sc. 1 : " Grim-visag'd War." and Com. of Err. 
 act V. sc. 1 : ** A moody and dull melancholy kinsman to 
 grim and comfortless Despair." Yarrington (Two Trag". in 
 one) " Grim-visag'd despair.'' Todd. 
 
 V. 76. " Affected Kindness with an alter'd face," Dryden. 
 Hind, and Panth. part iii. 
 
 V. 79. " Madness laughing in his ireful mood ;" Drj'^den. 
 Pal. and Arc. (b. ii. p. 43. ed. Aik.) Gray. And so K. 
 Hen. VI. p. 1. act iv. sc. 2: " But rather moody mad." 
 And act iii. sc.^l : " Moody fury." Chaucer. Knyghte's 
 Tale, 1152. 
 
 V. 81. " Declin'd into the vale of years," Othello, act 
 iii, sc. 3 Compare also Yirg. ^n. vi. 275, 
 
16 gray's poems. 
 
 The painful family of Death, 
 
 More hideous than their queen : 
 This racks the joints, this fires the veins, 80 
 That every labouring sinew strains, 
 
 Those in the deeper vitals rage : 
 Lo ! Poverty, to fill the band. 
 That numbs the soul with icy hand, 
 
 And slow-consuming Age. 90 
 
 To each his suff'rings : all are men, 
 
 Condemn'd alike to groan ; 
 The tender for another's pain, 
 
 Th' unfeeling for his own. 
 Yet, ah ! why should they know their fate, gb 
 
 V. 83. " Hate, Fear, and Grief, the family of Pain," 
 Pope. Essay on Man, ii. 118. Dryden, State of Innoc. 
 act V. sc. i : " With all the numerous family of Death." 
 Claudian uses language not dissimilar : Cons. Honor, vi. 
 323 : " Inferno stridentes agmine Morbi." And Juv. Sat. 
 X. 218 : " Circumsedit agmine facto Morborum omne ge- 
 nus." Hor. Od. 1. iii. 30, " Nova febrium terris incubuit 
 cohors." 
 
 V. 84. See T. Warton's INIilt. p. 432, 434, 511. 
 V. 90, " His slow-consuming fires." Shenstone. Love 
 and Honour. 
 
 V. 95. ^Ye meet with the same thought in Milton. Com. 
 ver. 359 : 
 
 " Peace, brother ; be not over-exquisite 
 To cast the fashion of uncertain evils ; 
 For g;rant they be so, while they rest unknown, 
 What need a man forestall his date of grief 7" W. 
 V. 98. Soph. Ajax, v. 555 : ''Ev to) ^povelv yap firjSsv. 
 i]Ci<TTOQ (3ioQ. W. See Kidd's note to Hor. Ep. xi. 2. 140. 
 V. 99. See Prior, (Ep. to Hon. C. Montague, st. ix.) 
 " From ignorance our comfort flows, 
 The only wretched are the wise." — Luke. 
 Add Davenant. Just Italian, p. 32, " Since knowledge is but 
 
ODE III. 17 
 
 Since sorrow never comes too late 
 
 And happiness too swiftly flies ? 
 Thought would destroy their paradise. 
 No more ; — w^here ignorance is bliss, 
 
 'Tis folly to be wise. loo 
 
 HYMN TO ADVERSITY.* 
 
 — Zfjva — 
 
 Tbv (ppoveTv Bporovg odu)- 
 aavra, t(^ TrdQsi fiaQi^v 
 Qkvra kv^'hoq exsiv. 
 
 «scH. AOAM. ver. 181. 
 
 [This Ode, suggested by Dionysius' Ode to Nemesis, v. 
 Aratus. ed Oxford, p, 51, translated by S. Meyrick, in 
 Bell's Fug. Poetry, vol. xviii. p. 161.] 
 
 Daughter of Jove, relentless power, 
 Thou tamer of the human breast. 
 
 sorrow's spy, it is not safe to know." And Dodsley. Old 
 Plays, xi. p. 119: 
 
 — " Ignorance is safe ; 
 I then slept happily ; if knowledge mend me not, 
 Thou hast committed a most cruel sin 
 To wake me into judgment." 
 * This Hymn first appeared in Dodsley. Col. vol. iv. 
 together with the " Elegy in a Country Churchyard ;" and 
 not, as Mason says, with the three foregoing Odes, which 
 wei e published in the second volume. In Mason's edition 
 it is called an Ode ; but the title is now restored, as it was 
 given by the author. The motto from ^schylus is not in 
 Dodsley. 
 
 V. 1. *Ar77, who may be called the goddess of Adversity, 
 
1 8 gray's poems. 
 
 Wliose iron scourge and tort'ring hour 
 
 The bad affright, aftlict the best ! 
 Bound in thy adamantine chain, 
 The proud are taught to taste of pr\in, 
 And purple tyrants vainly groan 
 With pangs unfelt before, unpitied and alone. 
 
 When first thy sire to send on earth 
 Virtue, his darling child, design 'd, 
 
 is said by Homer to be the daughter of Jujtiter: II. r. 91. 
 UpecF^a Cibg S-yyar/jp "Ar/;, i) iravTag aarai. Perhaps, 
 however, Gray only alluded to the passage of .-Eschylus 
 which he quoted, and which describes Affliction as sent by 
 Jupiter for the benefit of man. Potter in his translation 
 has had an eye on Gray. See liis Transl. p. 19. 
 
 V. 2. " Then he, great tamer of all human art," Pope. 
 Dun. i. 163. 
 
 V. 3. "Affliction's iro7z^a(f." Fletcher. Purp. 1 si. ix. 28. 
 
 Ibid. In Wakefield's note, he remarks an impropriety in 
 
 the poet joining to a material image, the " torturing hour." 
 
 li' there be an impropriety in this, it must rest with Milton, 
 
 from whom Gray borrowed the verse : 
 
 " when the scourge 
 
 Inexorably, and the torturing hour, 
 Calls us to penance." Par. Lost, ii. 90. 
 
 But this mode of speech is authorized by ancient and 
 modem poets. In Virgil's description of the lightning which 
 the Cyclopes wrought for Jupiter, ^n. viii. 429. 
 " Tres imbris torti radios, tres nubis aquosae 
 Addiderant, rutili tres ignis, et alitis Austri : 
 Fulgores nunc horrificos, sonitumque, metumque 
 Miscebant," &c. 
 In Par. Lost, x. 297, as the original punctuation stood : 
 " Bound with Gorgonian rigor not to move, 
 And with Asphaltic slime." ' 
 
 ' This punctuation is now altered in most of the editions. 
 The new reading was proposed by Dr. Pearce. 
 
HYMN TO ADVERSITY. 19 
 
 To thee he gave the heav'nly birth, 
 
 And bade to form her infant mind. 
 Stern rugged nui'se ! thy rigid lore 
 With patience many a year she bore : 
 What sorrow was, thou bad'st her know, js 
 
 And from her own she learn'd to melt at others' woe, 
 
 Scar'd at thy frown terrific, fly 
 
 Self-pleasing Folly's idle brood, 
 Wild Laughter, Noise, and thoughtless Joy, 
 
 And leave us leisure to be good. 20 
 
 Light they disperse, and with them go 
 The summer friend, the flatt'ring foe ; 
 
 V. 5. 'AdaixavTivujv decri.i-7jv Iv appr]icTOiQ TrsdaiQ' 
 /Esch. Prom. vi. W., from whom Milton. Par. L. i. 48 : 
 " In adamantine chains, and penal fire." And the expres- 
 sion occurs also in the Works of Spenser, Drunnnond, 
 Fletcher, and Drayton. See Todd's note on INIilton. " In 
 adamantine chains shall Death be bound," Pope. Messiah, 
 ver. 47 ; and lastly, Manil. Astron. lib. i. 921. And Bois- 
 son. on Philost. Heroic, p. 405. 
 
 V. 7. " Till some new tyrant lifts his purple hand,'^ 
 Pope. Two Choruses, ver. 23. Wakefield cites Horace, lib. 
 i. od. XXXV. 12 : " Purpurei metuunt tyranm." Add Tasso. 
 Gier. Lib. c. vii. Luke. 
 
 V. 8. " Strange horror seize thee, and pangs unfelt be- 
 fore." Par. L. ii. 703. 
 
 V. 13. An expression similar to this occurs in Sidney. 
 Arcadia, vol. iii. p. 100 : " 111 fortune, my awful gover- 
 ness." 
 
 V. 16. "Nonignaramali,miserissuccurrere disco." Ltike. 
 
 V. 20. " If we for happiness could leisure find," Kurd's 
 Cowley, vol. i. p. 136 : and the note of the editor. " And 
 know i have not yet the leisure to be good," Oldham. Ode, 
 St. V. vol. i. p. 83. 
 
 V. 22. " For men, like buUerflies, 
 
 Shew not their mealy wings, but to the summer.'' 
 Troil. and Cress. A iii. so. 3 
 
20 r. ray's roK^Nis. 
 
 By vain Prospoiity receiv'd, 
 To her they vow their truth, and arc again believ'd. 
 
 Wisdom in sable garb array 'd, C5 
 
 Immers'd in rapt'rous thought profound, 
 
 And Melancholy, silent maid. 
 
 With leaden eye that loves the ground. 
 
 Still on thy solemn steps attend : 
 
 Warm Charity, the gen'ral friend, 30 
 
 With Justice, to herself severe. 
 And Pity, dropping soft the sadly-pleasing tear. 
 
 Oh ! gently on thy suppliant's head. 
 
 Dread goddess, lay thy chast'ning hand ! 
 Not in thy Gorgon terrors clad, 35 
 
 Also, " The common people swarm like summer Jiies, 
 
 And whither fly the gnats, but to tlie sun." 
 Henrv VI. P. iii. act 2. sc. 9. " Such summer-birds are 
 men !" Tim. of Ath. act iii. sc. 7. But the exact expression 
 is George Herbert's : " fall and flow, like leaves, about me, 
 or like summer-friends, flies of estates and sunshine," Tem- 
 ple, p. 296. And (The W. Devil) v. Dodsley's Old Plays, 
 vol. vi. p. 292. " One summer she." Quarles. Sion'a 
 Fylegies, xix. " Ah, summer friendship with the summer 
 ends." Mr. Rogers quotes Massinger's Maid of Honor, 
 " O summer friendship." Gray seems to have had Horace 
 in hif> mind, lib. I. Od. xxxv. 25. 
 
 V. 25. " O'erlaid with Idack, staid Wisd^rm's hue.' 
 
 II r«Mi.=aer. 16. W, 
 
 V. 28. " With a sad leaden downward cast, 
 Thoujix them on the earth as fast." 
 II Penser. 43. W. " So leaden eyes." Sidney. Astroph. 
 and Stella, Song 7. " And stupid eves that ever loved the 
 ground," Dryden, Cim. and Iphig. v. 57. " Melancholy 
 lifts her heai," Pope. Ode on St. Cec. v. 30. " The sad 
 companion, dnll-eyed MeUincholy" Pericles, act i. sc. 2. 
 And so we read " leaden Contemplation" in Love's Lab 
 
HYMN TO ADVERSITY 
 
 21 
 
 Not circled with the vengeful band 
 (As by the impious thou art seen) 
 With thund'ring" voice, and threat'ning mien, 
 With screaming Horror's fun'ral cry, 
 Despair, and fell Disease, and ghastly Poverty: 40 
 
 Thy form, benign, oh goddess, wear. 
 
 Thy milder influence impart, 
 Thy philosophic train be there 
 
 To soften, not to wound, my heart. 
 The gen'rous spark extinct revive 45 
 
 Teach me to love, and to forgive, 
 Exact my own defects to scan, 
 What others are to feel, and know myself a Man. 
 
 Lost, act iv. sc. 3. In Beaumont. Passionate Madman, 
 act iii. sc. 1 : 
 
 " A look that's fasten'd to the ground, 
 A tongue chain'd up without a sound." 
 V. 31. " To Servants kind, to Friendship clear, 
 To nothing but herself severe." 
 Carew. Poems, p. 87. And 
 
 *' Judge of thyself alone, for none there were 
 Could be so just, or could be so severe." 
 Oldham. Ode on Ben Jonson, p. 71, vol. ii. "Forgiving 
 others, to himself severe," Dryden. Misc. vi 3'22. " The 
 Muses' friend unto himself severe,'' Waller. Poems, p. 149. 
 " Candid to all, hut to himself severe," E. Smith. El. on 
 J. Philips, V. Lintot. Misc. p. 161. 
 
 V. 32. " Ours be the lenient, not unpleasing tear," Thom- 
 son. Mr. Rogers quotes Dryden. Virg. ^n. x. " a sadly- 
 pleasing thought." 
 
 V. 35. " Gorgoneum turpes crinem mutavit in hydros. 
 
 Nunc quoque,ut attonitosfoimidine terreat hostes." 
 Ovid. Met. iv. 801. 
 
 " Horrentem coluhris, vultxique tremendam 
 
 Gorgoneo.'' Val. Flac. vi. 175. 
 
 Milt. Par. L. ii.6ll. "Medusa with Gorsronian terrors." 
 
'22 (i hay's pof.ms. 
 
 THE PROGRESS OF POESY. 
 
 A PINDARIC ODE.* 
 
 [Finished in 1754. Printed together with the Bard, an 
 Ode. Aug. 8, 1737. MS.] 
 
 ^cjvavTa avviToiaiV tg 
 Ak TO irav ipp.i]v'iu)v 
 
 XcItL^BI. PINDAn. OT.. II. V. 152. 
 
 I. 1. 
 Am'ake, iEolian lyre, awake, 
 And give to rapture all thy trembling strings. 
 
 Var. V. 1. "Awake, my lyre : my glory, wake." m3. 
 V. 2. Rapture] Transport, us. 
 
 * When the autlior first published this and the following 
 Ode, he was advised, even by his friends, to subjoin some 
 few explanatory notes ; but had too much respect for the 
 understanding of his readers to take that liberty. Graii. 
 y. 1. " Awake, my glory : awake, lute and harp." 
 David's Psalms. Cray 
 " Awake, awake, my lyre, 
 And tell thy silent master's humble tale." 
 
 Cowley. Ode of David, vol. ii. p. 423. 
 Pindar styles his own poetry, with its musical accompa- 
 niments, AioXlg /xoXtt?), AloXiotg xopCai, AioXiSujv ttvouI 
 avXuiv, .'Eolian song, .^olian strings, the breath of the 
 .iEolian flute. Gray.^ 
 
 The subject and simile, as usual with Pindar, are united. 
 The various sources of poetry, which gives life and lustre 
 to all it touches, are here described ; its quiet majestic pro- 
 gress enriching every subject (otherwise dry and barren) 
 with a pomp of diction and luxuriant harmony of numbers ; 
 
 ' This note was occasioned by a strange mistake of the 
 Critical Reviewers, who supposed the Ode addressed to 
 the •' Harp of. ^.olus." See jNIason. Memoirs, let. 26. 
 sec. 4. J and Crit. Rev. vol. iv. p. 167. And the Literary 
 Yagaz. 1757, p. 422 ; at p. 466 of the same work, is an 
 ("^de to Gray on his Pindaric OJes. 
 
THE PROGRESS OF POESY. 23 
 
 From Helicon's harmonious spring's 
 
 A thousand rills their mazy progress take : 
 The laug-hing- flowers that round them blow, 5 
 
 Drink life and fragrance as they flow. 
 Now the rich stream of music winds along", 
 Deep, majestic, smooth, and strong, 
 
 and its more rapid and irresistible course, when swoln and 
 hurried away by the conflict of tumultuous passions. Gray. 
 V. 3. Thomson has joined the subject and simile in a 
 passage strongly resembling this : 
 
 " In thy full language speaking mighty things. 
 Like a clear torrent close, or else diffus'd 
 A broad majestic stream, and rolling on 
 Thro' all the winding harmony of sound." 
 
 Liberty, ii. 257. 
 And see Quinctil. Inst xii. 10. 61. " At ille qui saxa 
 de^olvat," &c. 
 
 In Huntingford, Apology for his Monostrophics, p. 80 
 referred to by Wakefield, several passages of Pindar are 
 pointed out, to which he supposes that Gray alluded, viz, 
 01. ii. 62. 229. vii. 12. xii. 6. 
 
 V. 4 " The melting voice through mazes running." 
 
 Milt. L' Allegro, 142. Luke. 
 V. 5. " Albaque de viridi riserunt lilia prato," Petron. 
 cap. 127. " Ridenti colocasia fundet acantho," Virg. Eel. 
 iv. 20 ; and Achilles Tatius has the expression, to ttstoXov 
 T(p Z,i<pvpii} yeXa. See Burm. ad Ovid. v. ii. p. 1023. 
 
 V. 6. " Bibant violaria foutem," Virg. Georg. iv. ver. 
 32. W. 
 
 " And mounting in loose robes the skies 
 Shed light and fragrance as shejiies." 
 
 Green. Spleen, v. 79. 
 V. 7. This couplet seems to have been suggested by 
 some lines of Pope. Hor. Epist, IL ii. 171 ; 
 
 " Pour the full tide of eloquence along. 
 Serenely pure, and yet divinely strong." 
 Wakefield refers to Pope. Cecilia, 10 : 
 
 " While in more lengthen'd notes, and slow, 
 The deep majestic solemn organs blow." 
 Dr. Berdmore of the Charter-House, in his pamphlet on 
 Literary Resemblance, p. 16, supposes that Gray hpd 
 Horace in his mind. Od. TIL xxix. 32. 
 
24 
 
 GRAYS POEMS. 
 
 Thro' verdant vales, and Ceres' g-olden reign : 
 Now rollino; down the steep amain, lo 
 
 Headlong-, impetuous, see it pour ; 
 The rocks and nodding groves rebellow to the roar. 
 I. 2. 
 
 Oh ! Sov'reign of the willing soul, 
 Parent of sweet and solemn-breathing aii'S, 
 Enchanting shell ! the sullen Cares 15 
 
 And frantic Passions hear thy soft controul. 
 On Thracia's hills the Lord of War 
 
 Var. V. 11. " With torrent rapture, see it pour." ms. 
 
 V. 9. Shenstone. Inscr. •' Verdant vales and fountains 
 bright." Luke. 
 
 V. 10 *' Immensusque ruit profundo Pindarus ore." 
 
 Hor. Od. iv. 2. 8. 
 
 V. 12. " And rocks the bellowing voice of boiling seas re- 
 sound," Dryden. Virg. Georg. i. " Rocks rebellow to the 
 roar," Pope. Iliad. 
 
 V. 13. Power of harmony to calm the turbulent sallies 
 of the soul. The thoughts are borrowed from the first Py- 
 tliian of Pindar. Gray. 
 
 V. 14. Milton. Comus, 555, " A soft and solemn-breath- 
 ing sound." See Todd's note. 
 
 V. 15. "While sulleii Cares and wither'd Age retreat," 
 Eusden. Court of Venus, p. 101. "Revengeful Cares and 
 sullen Sorrows dwell," Dryden. Virgil, ^n. vi. 247. " Care 
 shuns thy soft approach, and sullen flies away," Dryden. 
 Ceyx, vol. iv. p. 33, the same expression occurs in many 
 other poets, 
 
 V. 17. " The God of War 
 
 Was drawn triumphant on his iron car." 
 
 Dryden, vol. iii. 60. ed. Warton. 
 And Collins in his Ode to Peace, ver. 4 : 
 
 " When War by vultures drawn afar, 
 To Britain bent his iron car." 
 " xMavortia Thrace," Statii Ach. 1. 201, Theb. vii. 34, and 
 " INIars Thracen occupat," Ovid. Ar. Am. ii. ver. 588. Virg 
 ^'En. iii. 35. " Gradivumque patrem Geticis qui praesidet 
 ftrvis." v. Bentl. on Hor. Od i. xxv. 1^. 
 
THE PROGRESS OF POESY. 25 
 
 Has curb'd the fury of his car, 
 
 And dropt his thirsty lance at thy command. 
 
 Perching on the scept'red hand 20 
 
 Of Jove, thy magic lulls the feather'd king* 
 
 With ruffled plumes and flagging wing : 
 
 Quench'd in dark clouds of slumber lie 
 
 The terror of his beak, and lightnings of his eye. 
 
 I. 3. 
 Thee the voice, the dance, obey, «5 
 
 Temper'd to thy warbled lay. 
 
 Var. V. 23. Dark] Black, ms. 
 
 V. 19. " Winn'st from his fatal grasp the spear," 
 
 Collins. Ode to Mercy, ver. 5. 
 
 In the Lusus Poetici of Jortin (Hymn to Harmony, p. 
 45.), published in 1722, is the following couplet, strongly 
 resembling Gray's, and from the same source : 
 
 " Thou mak'st the God of War forsake the field. 
 And drop his lance, and lay aside his shield." 
 See also Ovid. Fasti, iii. v. 1 : " Bellice, depositis clvpeo 
 paulisper et hasta. Mars, ades." Claudiani Praef. in Rufin. 
 lib. ii. " Thirsty blade," Spens. F. Q. i. v. xv. 
 
 V. 20. This is a weak imitation of some beautiful lines 
 in the same ode. Gray. Pyth. i. ver. 10 ; and see D. Stew- 
 art. Philos. Essays, p. 373. For an error in the imagery 
 of this line, see Class. Journ. No. xiii. p. 285. 
 
 V. 21. " Every fowl of tyrant wing, 
 Save the Eus;le feather'd King. 
 
 Shakes. Pass. Pilg. xx. 
 
 V. 22. H. Walpole, in describing the famous Boccapa- 
 dugli eagle, of Greek sculpture, says : " Mr. Gray has drawn 
 the ' flagging wing.' " See Works, vol. ii. p. 463. Philips 
 i^Past. 5.) " She hangs her flagging wings ;'* Luke. Add 
 A. Behn on the D. of Buckingham, v. Works, v. ii. p. 208 
 " Now with their broken notes and flagging wing;" See 
 Wakef. on Virg. Georg. iv. 137 ; G. Steevens quotes Ron- 
 said Ode xxii. ed. 1632, fol. 
 
 V. 25. Power of harmony to produce all the graces of 
 iMOtioii in the body. Gray. 
 
 V. 26. " Tempering tlieir sweetest notes unto thy lay," 
 
2C, GRw's ror.Ms 
 
 O'er I(l;ilia's velvet-green 
 
 The rosy- crowned Loves are seen 
 
 On Cythcrea's day ; 
 
 With antic Sport, and blue-eyed Pleasures, 50 
 
 Frisking light in frolic measures ; 
 
 Now pursuing, now retreating, 
 
 Now in circling troops they meet : 
 To brisk notes in cadence beating, 
 
 Var. V. 30. Sport} Sports, ms. 
 
 V. 34. In cadence] The cadence, ms. 
 
 Fletcher. P. Island, c. ix. s. iii. and Lycidas, 32. Luke. 
 V. 27. " At length a fair and spacious green he spide, 
 Like calmest waters, plain ; like velvet, soft." 
 Fairfax. Tasso, xiii. 38. 
 *' She rears her flowers, and spreads her velvet-green." 
 Young. Love of Fame, Sat. v. p. 128. 
 This expression, it is well known, has met with reprehen- 
 sion from Dr. Johnson ; who appears by his criticism to 
 have supposed it first' introduced by Gray. It was num- 
 bered, however, among the absurd expressions of Pope, by 
 the authors of the Alexundriad, (some of the heroes of the 
 Dunciad,) see p. 288. It occurs in a list of epithets and 
 nouns which Pope had used, and which these authors held 
 up to ridicule. 
 
 V. 30. " I'll charm the air to give a sound. 
 While you perform your antic round." 
 
 Macb. act iv. sc. 1. W. 
 V. 31. " In frishful glee, their frolics play," 
 
 Thoms. Spring. Luke. 
 V. 32. Wakefield refers to Callinmchi Hymn. Dian. 3. 
 and Horn. II. 2. 593. 
 
 V'. 35. Mapf-iapvyaQ ^ridro TrodCJv ^avfxaZs Sk S'v/it^. 
 Hom. Od. e.ser. 265. Gray. 
 " Or rustling turn the maHy-twinkliiig leaves 
 Of aspin tall." Thoms. Spring, 157. W. 
 
 ' Shakespeare has, " Make boot upon the summer's velre. 
 buds," Hen. V. act i. sc 2. 
 
THF. rnOOT^P.SS OF POESY. 27 
 
 Glance their mnny-twinlclinp; fr-et. .-is 
 
 Slow melting strains their Queen 's approach declare* 
 
 Where'er she turns, the Graces homag-e pay. 
 With arms sublime, that float upon the air, 
 
 In g-liding- state she wins her easy way: 
 O'er her warm cheek, and rising bosom, move 40 
 The bloom of young Desire and purple light of Love. 
 
 V. 36. Compare the following stanza of a poem by Bar- 
 ton Booth, in his Life, written in 1718, published 173.'^ : 
 " Now to a slow and melting air she moves, 
 So like in air, in shape, in mien, 
 She passes for the Paphian queen ; 
 The Graces all around her play, 
 The wond'ring gazers die away ; 
 "Whether her eaay body bend, 
 Or her faire bosom heave with sighs ; 
 Whether her graceful arms extpnd, 
 Or gently fall, or slowly rise ; 
 Or returning or advancing, 
 Swimming rornd, or sidelong glancing, 
 Strange force of motion that subdues the soul.'' 
 And Apuleii. Metam. Lib. x. p. 349. ed Delph. 
 
 V. 37. " For wheresoe'er she turn'd her face, they bow'd.'* 
 
 Dryden. Flower and Leaf, v. 191. 
 V.39. " Incessupatuit Dea," Virg. ^n. i. 405. And see 
 Heyne's quotation from P^ustathius. " On all sides round 
 environ'd, wins his way." Par. Lost, ii. 1016. 
 V. 41. Aa/iTTft ^' Ittj TTopcpvphjrri 
 
 n«pfijj(Tt (pCJg ipuiTOQ. 
 
 Phrynicus apud Athenaeum. Gray. 
 
 " ^?(r«e7?que juventae 
 
 Purpnreum, et laetos oculis afflarat honores." 
 Virg. Mn. i. 594. W. Add Ovid. Amor. ii. 1. 38 : " Pur- 
 pureus qufe mihi dictat Amor." And ix. 34 : " Notaque 
 purpureus tela resumit Amor." And Art. Amor. i. 232. 
 Fast. vi. 252." purpurea luce." Dryden. Brit. Rediviva, 
 p. 93 : " Breath'd Honour on his eyes, and his ow7i purple 
 light." Pope. Hor. Od. iv. 1. " Smiling loves, and young 
 desires." Rogers. 
 
28 gray's foems. 
 
 II. 1. 
 
 Man's feeble race what ills await ! 
 Labour, and Penury, the racks of Pain, 
 Disease, and Sorrow's weeping- train, 
 
 And Death, sad refuge from the storms of fate ! 45 
 The fond complaint, my song, disprove, 
 And justify the laws of Jove. 
 Say, has he giv'n in vain the heav'nly Muse ? 
 Night and all her sickly dews, 
 Her spectres wan, and birds of boding cry, 50 
 
 V. 42. To compensate the real and imaginary ills of life, 
 the IMuse was given to mankind by the same Providence 
 that sends the day, bv its cheerful presence, to dispel the 
 gloom and terrors of the night. Gray. 
 
 V. 46. " His fond complaints," Addison. Cato, A. 1, 6. 
 V. 49. Wakefield refers to Milton. Hymn to the Nati- 
 vity, xxvi. and Par. Reg. iv. 419. But a passage in Cow- 
 ley is pointed out by his last editor. Dr. Hurd, as alluded 
 to by Gray, vol. i. p. 195 : 
 
 " Night and her ugly subjects thou dost fright. 
 And Sleep, the lazv owl of night ; 
 Asham'd and fearful to appear, [sphere." 
 
 They skreen their horrid shapes with the black hemi- 
 Thomson. Spring, " Sickly damps." 
 
 V. 50. '• Love not so much the doleful knell 
 And news the boding iiight-birds tell." 
 
 Green. Grotto, 126. 
 " Obscocnique Canes, importunceqiie Volucres 
 Signa dahant." Virg. Georg. i. v. 470. 
 
 " He withers at the heart, and looks as wan 
 As the pale spectre of a murder'd man." 
 
 Dryden. Pal. and Arcite. B. 1. 
 V. 52. " Or seen the morning's well appointed star 
 Come marching up the eastern hills afar." 
 
 Cowley. Gray. 
 The couplet from Cowley has been wrongly quoted by 
 Gray, and so continued by his different editors. It occurs 
 in Brutus, an Ode, stan iv. p. 171. vol. 1. Hurd's ed. • 
 
THE PROGRESS OF POESY. 29 
 
 He gives to range the dreary sky ; 
 
 Till down the eastern cliffs afar [war. 
 
 Hyperion's march they spy, and g-litt'ring shafts ot 
 
 Var. V. 52. 
 
 " Till fierce Hyperion from afar 
 Pours on their scattered rear, his glitt'ring- shafts 
 Hurls at their Jiyhig, [of vrar, 
 
 o'er scatter'd 
 shadowy 
 Till o'er from far 
 
 Hyperion hurls around his." ms. 
 
 ' One would have thought 't had heard the morning crow, 
 Or seen her well-appointed star 
 Come marching up the eastern hills afar." 
 In Gray's Letter to Dr. Wharton, containing a Journal 
 of his Tour to the Lakes, he says: " While I was here, a 
 little shower fell, red clouds came marching up the hills from 
 the east," &c. Mason's ed. 4. p. 175, and Warton's Note 
 on Milton, p. 304. 
 
 V. 53. In Mant's edition of Warton (vol. ii . p. 41), and 
 ni Steevens's note on Hamlet, (act i. sc. 2), it is remarked 
 that all the English poets are guilty of the same false quan- 
 tity, with regard to this word, except Akenside, as quoted 
 by Mant, Hvran to the Naiads, 46 ; and the author of ' Fu- 
 imus Troes' by Steevens. See Dodsley. Old Plays, vii. p. 
 500. The assertions, however, of these learned editors are 
 not correct ; as will appear from the following quotations : 
 " That Hyperion far beyond his bed 
 Doth see our lions ramp, our roses spread." 
 Drummond (of Hawthornd.) Wand. Muses, p. 180. 
 " Then Hyperion's son, pure fount of day. 
 Did to his children the strange tale reveal." 
 
 West. Pindar, 01. viii. 22. p. 65, 
 Gray has used this word again with the same quantity ■ 
 Hymn to Ignorance, v. 12 : "Thrice hath Hyperion roll'd 
 his annual race." ' 
 
 V. 53. " Non radii solis, neque lucida tela diei," Lucret. 
 
 ' The old English Poets (as Jortin remarks) did not re- 
 gard quantity. Spenser has lole, Pylades, Caphareus, 
 Rhoetfean, Amphyon. Gascoyne in his " Ultimum V^ale :" 
 
30 (iRAYS I'OF.MS. 
 
 II. 2. 
 
 In climes beyond the solar road, s* 
 
 Where shaggy forms o'er ice-built mountains roam. 
 The Muse has broke the twilig-ht gloom 
 
 To cheer the shivering native's dull abode. 
 And oft, beneath the od'rous shade 
 Of Chili's boundless forests laid. 
 She deigns to hear the savage youth repeat, 60 
 
 Var. V. 57. Buried natives, ' shivering' in the Marg. MS. 
 Chill abode, ' dull' in the Marg. MS. 
 
 i. 148. vi. 39. Ausonii Mosell. 269: " Luciferique pavent 
 
 letalia tela diei." W . Add Eurip. Phoen. 171. ed. Porson. 
 
 'EuiOiQ '6f.ioia <pK(.yi9u)v 
 
 j3oXai(jlv aeXioo. 
 
 V. 54. Extensive influence of poetic genius over the 
 remotest and most uncivilized nations : its connection with 
 liberty, and the virtues that naturally attend on it. [See 
 the Erse, Norwegian, and Welsh fragments, the Lapland 
 and American songs.] 
 . " Extra anni solisque vias — '' A'irg. ^n. vi. 795. 
 "Tutta lontana dal camin del sole." Petr. Canz. 2. Gray. 
 
 " Out of the solar walk, and heaven's high way," Dry- 
 den. Threnod. August, st. 12. " Inter solisque vias, Arc- 
 tosque latentes." Manil. i. 450. Pope also has this expres- 
 sion : " Far as the solar walk and milky way," Essay on 
 Man, ch. i. 102. Stat. Sylv. iv. 3. 156. "Ultra sidera, flam- 
 meumque solem." 'VisXioio Kt\tv9ovg. Dionys. Geogr.v. 17. 
 
 V. 56. " The nymphs in twilight shade of tangled thickets 
 mourn." Milton. Hymn to Nativ. st. xx. W. 
 
 " Kinde Erato, and wanton Thalia." Turberville in the 
 " Ventrous Lover," stanz. i : 
 
 " If so Leander durst, from Abydon to Sest, 
 To swim to Hero, whom he chose his friend above the rest." 
 Lord Sterline in his " Third Hour," st. xiii. p. 50 ; " Then 
 Pleiades, Arcturus, Orton, all." Id. p. 87 : " Which 
 carrying Orion safely to the shore.'' But Orion has all 
 the syllables doubtful. See Erythra.u, Ind. Virg. art. Orion. 
 Chaijcor and Surrey have Cith^mn. 
 
THE PROGRESS OF POESY, 31 
 
 [n loose numbers wildly sweet, 
 Their feather-cinctur'd chiefs, and dusky loves. 
 Her track, where'er the goddess roves, 
 Glory pursue, and gen'rous Shame, 64 
 
 Th' unconquerable Mind, and freedom's holy flame 
 II. 3. 
 Woods, that wave o'er Delphi's steep, 
 
 V. 59. " Earth was to them a boundless forest wild." 
 
 Thorns. C. of Ind. c. ii. st. xiv. Luke. 
 
 V. 61. "Or sweetest Shakespeare, fancy's child. 
 Warble his native woodnotes wild." 
 Milton. L'Alleg. 133. W. Hor. Od. iv. ii. 12, " Numeris- 
 que fertur lege solutis." 
 
 V. 62. " Girt with feather'd cincture." Par. L. ix. 1116. 
 
 V. 62. " Reap their own fruits, and woo their sable loves." 
 Pope. Winds. For. 410. Gray's epithet, as Dr. Warton 
 remarks, is the more correct. He has used it again : " The 
 dusky people drive before the gale," Frag, on Educ. and 
 Gover. v. 105. 
 
 V. 64. This use of the verb plural^after the first sub- 
 stantive is in Pindar's manner, Nem. x. 91. Pyth. 4. 318. 
 Horn. 11. E. 774. W. " I cannot help remarking (says 
 Dugald Stewart, Philos. of the Human Mind, vol. i. p. 505, 
 8vo.) the effect of the solemn and uniform flow of verse in 
 this exquisite stanza, in retarding the pronunciation of the 
 reader, so as to arrest his attention to every successive pic- 
 ture, till it has time to produce its proper impression." 
 
 V. 65, Akens. PI. of Im. i. 468 : " Love's holy flame." 
 Luke. " The unconquerable mind," is m Hor. Od. ii. 
 1. 22. " Et cuncta terrarura subacta, praeter atrocem animum 
 Catonis," 
 
 V. 66. Progress of Poetry from Greece to Italy, and 
 from Italy to England. Chaucer was not unacquainted 
 with the writings of Dante or of Petrarch. The Earl of 
 Surrey and Sir Thomas Wyatt had travelled in Italy, and 
 formed their taste there. Spenser imitated the Italian 
 writers ; Milton improved on them : but this school ex- 
 pired soon after the Restoration, and a new one arose ou 
 the French model, which has subsisted ever since. Graxi. 
 
 " With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving." 
 
 Milton. Hymn to Nativ. xix W, 
 
32 G hay's roi.Ms. 
 
 Isles, that crown tli' JEge?in deep, 
 
 Fields, that cool Ilissus laves, 
 
 Or where M'deander's amber waves 
 In lingering lab'rinths creep, 70 
 
 How do your tuneful echoes languish, 
 
 Mute, but to the voice of anguish ! 
 Where each old poetic mountain 
 
 Inspiration breath'd around ; 
 Ev'ry shade and hallow'd fountain 75 
 
 Murmur'd deep a solemn sound : 
 
 Var. V. 76. " Murmur'd a celestial sound.'' ms. 
 
 y. 67. So Dionysii Perieg. v. 4: 
 
 kv yap kKi'ivc^ 
 
 Ilaora ^Oo)?^, lirf vrirroQ airtigiroQ IcrrttpaviJjTai. 
 Ovid. INIetam. v. 388 : " Silva coronat aquas." And Seneca 
 (Edip.488 : " Naxos JEg?eo redimita Ponto." And Jortin, 
 in Lusus Poetici, vol. i. p. 4 : 
 
 " Cyclades sparsas ubi Naxos inter 
 Surgit ^geo redimita Ponto." 
 V. 69. " There Susa by Choaspes, amber stream," Par 
 Reg. iii. 288. " Rolls o'er Elysian flow'rs her amber 
 stream," Par. Lost, iii. 359. Callimachi Cer. 29 : 
 
 TO S', uxtt' dXeKTpivov vdbjp, 
 
 £^ dfxapaj^ dvtOve. W. 
 To which add Eurip. Hipp. ver. 741. " Purior electro 
 campum petit amnis," Virg. Georg. iii. 520 
 
 V. 70. " Non secus ac liquidis Phrygiis IMaeandros in 
 arvis Ludit, et ambiguo lapsu refluitque fluitque," Ov. 
 Met. viii. 162. 
 
 V. 71. In the Quarterly Review for July, 1814, p. 314, 
 some lines are quoted from Addison's letter from Italy, 
 containing an idea similar to these of Gray : " Poetic fields 
 encompass me around,'' &c. 
 
 V. 73. " Like that poetic mountain to be hight,'' G. 
 West. Educ. C. 1. Luke. 
 
 V. 75. Virg. Eel. i. 53, " fontes sacros.' Lvke. 
 V. 80. " Servitude that hugs her chain," Ode on the 
 Install. V. W. 
 
THE VROGllESS OF POESY. 33 
 
 Till the sad Nine, in Greece's evil hour, 
 
 Left their Parnassus for the Latian plains. 
 Alike they scorn the pomp of tyrant Power, 
 
 And coward Vice, that revels in her chains, so 
 When Latium had her lofty spirit lost, [coast. 
 They sought, oh Albion ! next thy sea-encircled 
 111. 1. 
 
 Far from the sun and summer-gale, 
 In thy green lap was Nature's Darling laid, 
 What time, where lucid Avon stray 'd, 85 
 
 To him the mighty mother did unveil 
 Her awful face : the dauntless child 
 
 V. 83. " Piu lontan del Ciel," Dante, 11 Inferno, c. ix. 
 V. 84. " Nature's darling." Shakespeare. Gray. — This 
 expression occurs in Cleveland. Poems, p. 31^ ■ 
 *' Here lies within this stony shade, 
 Nature's darling , whom she made 
 Her fairest model, her brief story, 
 In him heaping all her glory." 
 Stat. Theb. iv. 786, " At puer in gremio vernae telluris." 
 " The flowery May, who from her green lap throws 
 The yellow cowslip, and the pale primrose." 
 
 Milton. Son. on May Morn. Gray. 
 V. 85. Senec. Thyest. 129, " gelido flumine lucidus Al- 
 pheos." Luke. 
 
 V. 86. " The mighty mother, and her son who brings 
 The Smithfield muses to the ear of kings." 
 
 Pope. Dune. i. 1. 
 •' A cloud of fogs dilates her awful face." Id. i. 262. W, 
 See also Virg. Georg.i. 466, by Dryden : 
 
 " On the green turf thy careless limbs display. 
 And celebrate the mighty mother's day." 
 V. 87. "Animosusinfans,'"Hor. iii.4. 20. Lu/cc. Wake- 
 field refers to Virg. Eclog. iv. 60 : " Incipe, parve puer, 
 risu cognoscere matrem." And Berdmore, in his Literary 
 Resemblances, p. 40, to the description of the infant Her- 
 cules in Theoc. Idyll, xxiv. 55. But the two lines in Gray 
 
 D 
 
34 c.UAv's ruLMs. 
 
 Stretch'd forth his little arms and smil'd. 
 " This pencil take (she said), whose colours clear 
 Richly paint the vernal year : 90 
 
 Thine too these golden keys, immortal Boy ! 
 This can unlock the gates of joy ; 
 Of horror that, and thrilling fears, 
 Or ope the sacred source of sympathetic tears." 
 III. 2. 
 Nor second He, that rode sublime 96 
 
 Var. V. 93. Horror] Terror, ms. 
 
 are the same as two in Sandys. Ovid, p. 78, ed. 12mo. (see 
 Metam. iv. 515.) 
 
 " the child 
 
 Stretch'd forth its little arms, and on him smil'd." 
 See also CatuUi Ep. Jul. et Manl. c. Ixi. ver. 216. 
 
 " Parvolus 
 
 Matris e gremio suai 
 Porrigens teneras manus, 
 Dulce rideat." 
 V. 89. Milton. P. L. v. 24, " How nature paints her co- 
 lours." Luke. 
 
 V. 91. Similar, perhaps, KaQapav avol^av- 
 ra KXyda (ppevtov 
 
 Eurip. Med. 658. 
 Nature, which favours to the few. 
 
 All art beyond, imparts, 
 To him presented at his birth, 
 
 The key of human hearts. Young. Resig. 
 " Yet some there be, that with due steps aspire 
 To lay their hands upon that golden hey 
 That opes the palace of eternity." Milton. Com. 13. W. 
 V. 92. See Soph. Antig. v. 803. 
 V. 95. Milton. P. L. vi. 771. Gray. 
 V. 97. This alludes to Milton's own picture of himself: 
 
 *• Up led by thee 
 
 Into the Heaven of Heavens, I have presum'd 
 An earthly guest, and drawn empyreal air." 
 
 Par. L. vii. 12, also Eleg v. 15 
 
THE PROGRESS OF I'OESY. 35 
 
 Upon the seraph- wings of Extasy, 
 The secrets of th' abyss to spy. 
 
 He pass'd the flaming bounds of place and time : 
 The living throne, the sapphire blaze, 
 Where angels tremble while they gaze, loo 
 
 He saw ; but, blasted with excess of light, 
 Clos'd his eyes in endless night. 
 Behold, where Dryden's less presumptuous car, 
 Wide o'er the fields of glory bear 
 Two coursers of ethereal race. 
 
 V. 98. " Flammantia moenia mundi," Lucret. i. 74. Gray. 
 See also Stat. Silv. iv. 3. 156 : " Ultra sidera, flammeumque 
 solem." And Cicero de Finibus, ii. 31. Hor. Epist. I. 
 xiv. 9. 
 
 V. 99. " For the spirit of the living creature was in the 
 wheels. And above the firmament that was over their heads, 
 was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sap- 
 pliire stone. This was the appearance of the glory of the 
 Lord." Ezek. i. 20, 26, 28. Gray. — " Ay sang before the 
 saphir-color'd throne," Poem at a solemn Music (Milton), 
 ver. 7. 
 
 " Guiding the fiery-wheeled throne. 
 The cherub Contemplation." 11 Pens. ver. 53 
 •' Whereon a sapphire throne inlaid, with pure 
 Amber, and colours of the showery arch." Par. L. vi. 758. 
 " He on the wings of cherub rode sublime, 
 On the crystalline sky, in sapphire thron'd." Ibid. ver. 771, 
 
 V. 101. " Dark with excess of bright thy skirts appear." 
 Milt. P. L. iii. 380. Luke. 
 
 V. 102. 'O^OaXfjLwv [xev dfiepcre' didov d' i^deiav aoidijv, 
 Hom. Od. 0. ver. 64. Gray. 
 " In aeternam claudunturluminanoctem," Virg. iiiln.x. 746. 
 W. " And closed her lids, at last, in endless night." Dryden. 
 
 V. 103. See Pope, account of Dryden, Ep. I. b. ii. ver. 
 267: 
 
 " Waller was smooth ; but Dryden taught to join 
 The varying verse, the full resounding line, 
 The long majestick march, and energy divine." 
 
 V. 105. " ii^thereal race" is a phrase of Pope, v. Hom. 
 II. xi. 80. 
 
36 gray's poems. 
 
 With necks in thunder cloth'd, and long-resounding 
 111. 3. [pace. 
 
 Hark, his hands the lyre explore ! 
 Bright-eyed Fancy, hov'ring o'er, 
 Scatters from her pictur'd urn 
 Thoughts that breathe, and words that burn, no 
 But ah ! 'tis heard no more — 
 
 Oh ! lyre divine, what daring spirit 
 
 Var. V. 108. Bright-eyed'] Full-plumed, ms. 
 
 V. 106. " Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder"?*' 
 Job. — This verse and the foregoing are meant to express 
 the stately march and sounding energy of Dryden's rhymes. 
 
 Gray. 
 " Currum, geminosque jugales 
 Semine ab aethereo, spirantes naribus ignem." 
 Virg. ^n. vii. 280. W. " The long-resounding course." 
 Thomson. Winter, 77.5, Hymn. 85. 
 
 V. 110. " Words that weep, and tears that speak," Cow- 
 ley, Prophet, vol. i. p. 113. Gray. " Her words burn as 
 fire," Eccles. ix. 10. Rogers. " Oaths are burning words," 
 Dekker. Satirom. p. 65, 4to. 
 
 V. 111. We have had in our language no other odes of 
 the sublime kind, than that of Dryden on St. Cecilia's Day ; 
 for Cowley, who had his merit, yet wanted judgment, style, 
 and harmony, for such a task. That of Pope is not worthy 
 of so great a man. Mr. Mason indeed, of late days, has 
 touched the true chords, and with a masterly hand, in some 
 of his choruses ; above all in the last of Caractacus : 
 
 " Hark ! heard ye not yon footstep dread 1" &c. Gray. 
 
 V. 113. So Elegy, st. xii: " Or ivake to extasj the living 
 lyre." And Lucret. ii. 412 : 
 
 " Ac Musaea mele per chordas organicei quae 
 Mobilibus digitis eipergefacta figurant." 
 And Callimach. Hymn. Del. 312. W. 
 
 V. 114. " They shape his ample pinions swift as darted 
 flame," Young. N. Thoughts. 
 
 V. 115. AioQ TTpog opvixa ^tlov, Olymp. ii. 159. Pin- 
 dar compares himself to that bird, and his enemies to ravens 
 that croak and clamour in vain below, while it pursues its 
 
THE PROGRESS OF POESY. 37 
 
 Wakes tliee now ? Tho' he inherit 
 Nor the pride, nor ample pinion, 
 
 That the Theban eagle bear, 115 
 
 Sailing with supreme dominion 
 
 Thro' the azure deep of air : 
 Yet oft before his infant eyes would run 
 
 Such forms as glitter in the Muse's ray, 
 
 Var. V. 118. 
 
 " Yet when they first were open'd on the day 
 Before his visionary eyes would run." ms. 
 V. 119. Forms] " shapes." ms. 
 
 flight, regardless of their noise. Gray. See Spenser. F. Q. 
 V. iv. 42 : 
 
 ** Like to an eagle in his kingly pride 
 Soaring thro' his wide empire of the aire 
 To weather his brode sailes." 
 Cowley, (i. 166. ed. Hurd.) in his Translation of Hor. Od. 
 ly. ii. calls Pindar " the Theban swan :" 
 
 " Lo ! how the obsequious wind and swelling air 
 The Thehan swan does upward bear." 
 Pope. Temple of Fame, 210, has copied Horace, and yoked 
 four swans to the car of the poet : 
 
 " Four swans sustain a car of silver bright." 
 See also Berdmore, Specimens of Lit. Resemblance, p, 102. 
 V. 117. Eurip. Med. 1294 : tg aiQspog tSdOog. " Cffili 
 fretum," Ennius apud Non Marcell. 3. 92. Lucret. ii.l5l. 
 V. 277 : " Aeris in magnum fertur mare." W. Oppian, 
 KvvTjy. iii. 497 : 
 
 'Hspog v-il/nropoiiTiv iTrnrXioovrri Ks\ev9oiQ. 
 Timon of Athens, act iv. sc. 2. p. 126. ed. Steevens : 
 " Into this sea of air." And Cowley's Poems : " Row 
 thro' the trackless ocean of the air." 
 
 V. 118. See the observation of D. Stewart, Philosophy 
 of the Human Mind, p. 486 : " that Gray, in describing 
 the infantine reveries of poetical genius, has fixed with ex- 
 quisite judgement on that class of our conceptions which 
 are derived from visible objects.'' And see also his Philo- 
 sophical Essays, p. 231. There is a passage in Sir W. 
 'J'emple. Essay on Poetry, vol. iii. p. 402, which has been 
 supposed to have been the origin of this passage. See 
 Gentleman's Mag. vol. Ixi. p. 91. 
 
38 gray's poems. 
 
 With orient hues, unborrovv'd of the sun : 120 
 
 Yet shall he mount, and keep his distant way 
 Beyond the limits of a vulgar fate, 
 Beneath the Good how far — but far above the Great. 
 
 Var. V. 122. " Yet never can he fear a vul^^ar fate." ms. 
 
 THE BARD. 
 
 A PINDARIC ODE. 
 
 [This Ode is founded on a tradition current in Wales, that 
 Edward the First, when he completed the conquest of 
 that country, ordered all the Bards that fell into his 
 hands to he put to death. Gray. (See Barrington on 
 the Statutes, p. 358 ; Jones's Relics, vol. i. p. 38 ; Sa- 
 yer's Essays, p. 20.) 
 
 I. 1. 
 
 '' Ruin seize thee, ruthless King ! 
 Confusion on thy banners Avait ; 
 
 V. 120. Spenser. Hymn : " With much more orient hew." 
 Milt, Par. L. i. 545 : " with orient colours." Ltike. 
 
 V. 123. " Still show how much the good outshone the 
 great." K. Philips, fol. p. 133. 
 
 " I have sometimes thought (says Prof. D. Stewart,) 
 that in the last line of the following passage, Gray had in 
 view the two different effects of words already described ; 
 the effect of some, in awakening the powers of conception 
 and imagination ; and that of others in exciting associated 
 emotions, 
 
 " Hark, his hands the lyre explore ! • 
 Bright-eyed Fancy, hov'ring o'er. 
 Scatters from her pictur'd urn 
 Thoughts that breathe, and words that burn." 
 V. Elem. of the Phil, of the H. Mind, vol. i. p. 507. 
 
 V. 1. Shakes. Hen. VI. 2nd part, act i. sc. 3 : " See 
 ruthless Queen, a hapless father's tears." laihe. 
 
THE BARD. 39 
 
 Tho' fann'd by Conquest's crimson wing, 
 
 They mock the air with idle state. 
 Helm, nor hauberk's twisted mail, 
 Nor e'en thy virtues, Tyrant, shall avail 
 
 To save thy secret soul from nightly fears, 
 
 From Cambria's curse, from Cambria's tears !" 
 Such were the sounds that o'er the crested pride 
 
 Of the first Edward scatter'd wild dismay, lo 
 As down the steep of Snowdon's shaggy side 
 
 V. 2. " Confusion waits." K. John, IV. sc. ult. Rogers. 
 V. 3. " Where the Norweyan banners font the sky, 
 
 And fan our people cold." Macbeth, act i. sc. 2. 
 V. 4. " Mocking tlie air with colours idly spread." 
 
 King John, act v. sc. 1. Gray. 
 V. 5, The hauberk was a texture of steel ringlets, or 
 rings interwoven, forming a coat of mail that sat close to 
 the body, and adapted itself to every motion. Gray. 
 " With helm and hauberk." 
 
 Rob. of Gloucester, vol. i. p. 297. 
 " Hauberks and helms are hew'd with many a wound," 
 Dryden. Pal. and Arcite, lib. iii. v. 1879. Fairfax in his 
 Trans, of Tasso, has joined these words in many places : 
 As canto vii. 38 : " Now at his hebn, now at his hawberk 
 bright." See also p. 193, 199, 299, edition 1624, folio. 
 V. 7. '• Within her secret mind," v. Dryden. ^n. iv. 
 
 Rogers. 
 V. 9. " The crested adder's pride," 
 
 Dryden. Indian Queen. Gray. 
 V. 11. Snowdon was a name given by the Saxons to that 
 mountainous tract which the Welsh themselves call Crai- 
 gian-eryri : it included all the highlands of Caernarvon- 
 shire and Merionethshire, as far east as the river Conway. 
 R. Hygden, speaking of the castle of Conway, built by 
 King Edward the First, says, " Ad ortum amnis Conway 
 ad clivum montis Erery ;" and Matthew of Westminster, 
 (ad ann. 1283) " Apud Aberconway ad pedes montis Snow- 
 donise fecit erigi castrum forte." Gray. 
 
 The epithet " shaggy," applied to " Snowdon's side," is 
 highly appropriate, as I-eland says that great woods clothed 
 
40 Cray's poems. 
 
 He wound with toilsome march his long array. 
 Stout Glo'ster stood aghast in speechless trance : 
 '' To arms !" cried Mortimer, and couch'd his 
 quiv'ring lance. 
 
 I. 2. 
 
 On a rock, whose haughty brow 15 
 
 Frowns o'er cold Conway's foaming flood, 
 
 Robed in the sable garb of woe, 
 With haggard eyes the poet stood ; 
 (Loose his beard, and hoary hair 
 
 the different parts of the mountain in his time : see Itin. v 
 45. Dyer. Ruins of Rome, p. 137 : 
 
 " as Britannia's oaks 
 On jNIerlin's mount, or Snowdons rugged sides, 
 Stand in the clouds." 
 Lycidas, 54, " Nor on the shaggy top of Mona high," v. Par. 
 L. vi. 645. " By the shaggy tops," &c. Todd's note. 
 V. 12. " In long array," Diyden. E. xi. Rogers. 
 V. 13. Gilbert de Clare, surnamed the Red, earl of Glou- 
 cester and Hertford, son-in-law to King Edward. Gray. 
 V. 14. Edmond de Mortimer, Lord of Wig-more. Gray. 
 They both were Lord Marchers, whose lands lay on the 
 borders of Wales, and probably accompanied the king in 
 this expedition. Gray. 
 
 " Hastam quassatque trementem," 
 
 Virg. ^n. xii. 94. Luke. 
 V. 15. Hom. II. Y. ver. 151 : 'Ett' o^pi'crt Ka\\iKo\(!Jvi]Qt 
 And Mosch. Id. ii. 48 : 'Ett' otppvog aiyiaXoXo. Ap. Rhod. 
 i. ver. 178. St. Luke, iv. 29. And Virg. Georg. i. 108 : 
 " Ecce supercilio clivosi tramitis." W. " A huge aspiring 
 rock, whose surly brow," Daniel. Civ. Wars, p. 58. 
 V. 16. " Above the foamy flood," v. Dyer. R. of Rome. 
 
 Luhe. 
 V. 17. " Perpetuo mcerore, et nigra teste senescant," Ju- 
 venal. Sat. X. 245. W. Also Propert. Eleg. IV. vii. 28 : 
 '' Atram quis lacrymis incaluisse togam." Senec. H. Fur. 
 94, " aterqiie luctus sequitur." 
 V. 1 9. The image was taken from a well-known picture 
 of Raphael, representing (he Supreme Being in the vision 
 
THE BARD. 
 
 41 
 
 Stream'd, like a meteor, to the troubled air) 20 
 And v;ith a master's hand, and prophet's fire, 
 Struck the deep sorrows of his lyre. 
 
 " Hark, how each giant-oak, and desert cave^ 
 Sighs to the torrent's awful voice beneath ! 
 O'er thee, oh King ! their hundred arms they 
 
 wave, 25 
 
 Revenge on thee in hoarser murmurs breathe ; 
 Vocal no more, since Cambria's fatal day, 
 To high-born Hoel's harp, or soft Llewellyn's lay. 
 
 of Ezekiel. There are two of these paintings, both believed 
 to be originals, one at Florence, the other in the Duke of 
 Orleans' collection at Paris. Gray. 
 
 V. 20. " Shone like a meteor streaming to the wind." 
 Par. L. i. ver. 535. W. See Todd's note. 
 " The meteors of a troubled heaven," 
 Shakesp. K. Henry IV. pt. i. act i. sc. 1. Luke. 
 Todd mentions a passage very similar to the one in the 
 text : " The circumference of his snowy beard like the 
 streaming rays of a meteor appeared," Persian Tales of Ina- 
 tulla, vol. ii. p. 41. This image is often used metaphori- 
 cally, as Stat. Theb. iii. 332. And see Manil. Astron. i. 
 836. 
 
 Ford, in his Perkin Warbeck, p. 25, ed. Weber: 
 
 " since the heard 
 
 Of this wild comet conjur'd into France." 
 V. 23. " The woods and desart caves." Lycidas. 
 V. 26. " The stream that down the distant rocks hoarse 
 murmuring fell." Thomson. Luke. 
 
 V. 27. See some observations on the poetical and proper 
 use of " vocal," as used by Gray in this place, in Hunting- 
 ford. Apolog. for the Monostr. p. 31. 
 
 V. 28. Hoel is called high-horn, being the son of Owen 
 Gwynedd, prince of North Wales, by Finnog, an Irisli 
 damsel. He was one of his father's generals in his wars 
 against the English, Flemings, and Normans, in South 
 Wales ; and was a famous bard, as liis poems that are ex- 
 tant testify. See Evan. Spec. p. 26, 4to. ; and Jones. 
 Relics, vol, ii. p. 36, where he is called the " Princely 
 
42 
 
 CRAY S rOEMS. 
 
 I. 3. 
 
 " Cold is Cadwallo's tongue, 
 
 That hush'd the stormy main : 
 Brave Urien sleeps upon his craggy bed : 
 
 Mountains, ye mourn in vain 
 
 Modred, whose magic song 
 Made huge Plinlimmon bow his cloud-topt head. 
 
 Bard." Who says that he wrote eight pieces, five of 
 which are translated by him in his interesting publication. 
 The whole are given in Mr. Owen's translation in Mr. 
 Southey's Madoc, vol. ii. p. 162. 
 
 V. 28. In a Poem to Llewellyn, by Einion the son of 
 Guigan, a similar epithet is given to him (p. 22) , " Llew- 
 ellyn is a tender-hearted prince." And in another Poem to 
 him, by Llywarch Brydydd y Moch (p. 32) : " Llewellyn, 
 though in battle he killed with fury, though he burnt like 
 an outrageous fire, yet was a mild prince when the mead 
 horns were distributed." Also in an Ode to him by Lly- 
 gard Gwr (p. 39), he is called " Llewellyn the mild, and 
 prosperous governor of Gwynedd." Llewellyn's ' soft 
 Lay ' is given by Jones in his Relics, vol. ii. p. 64. 
 
 V. 29. Cadwallo and Urien are mentioned by Dr. Evans 
 in his " Dissertatio de Bardis," p. 78, among those bards 
 of whom no works remain. See account of Urien's death 
 in Jones. Relics, i. p. 19. He is celebrated in the Triads, 
 " as one of the three bulls of war." -Taliessin dedicated to 
 him upwards of twelve poems, and wrote an elegy on his 
 death : he was slain by treachery in the year 560. Modred 
 is, I suppose, the famous " Myrddin ab Morvryn," called 
 Merljoi the Wild; a disciple of Taliessin, and bard to the 
 Lord Gwenddolaw ab Ceidiaw. He fought under King 
 Arthur in 542 at the battle of Camlau, and accidentally 
 slew his own nephew. He was reckoned a truer prophet, 
 than his predecessor the great magician INIerdhin Ambrose. 
 See a poem of his called the " Orchard " in Jones. Relics, 
 vol. i. p. 24. I suppose Gray altered the name " euphonise 
 gratia;" as I can nowhere find a bard mentioned of the 
 name of " Modred." 
 
 V. 30. " Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath, 
 That the rude sea grew civil at her song." 
 Mids. N. Dream, act ii sc. 2. W. Add Milt. Comus, 8rt. 
 
THE EARD. 43 
 
 On dreary Arvon's shore they lie, 35 
 
 Smear'd with gore, and ghastly pale : 
 Far, far aloof th' affrighted ravens sail ; 
 
 The famish'd eagle screams, and passes by. 
 Dear lost companions of my tuneful art, 
 
 Dear as the light that visits these sad eyes, 40 
 
 " Who with his soft pipe and smooth dittied song 
 Well knows to still the wild winds when they roar, 
 And hush the waving woods." Luke. 
 
 V. 34. " Cloud-capt towers," Tempest, act iv. sc. 1. W. 
 — Drayton has used this image very poetically in his Poly- 
 Olbion, vol. iii. p. 1126, in the speech of Skedow : 
 
 " But from my glorious height into its depth I pry, 
 
 Great hills far under me, hut as my pages lie ; 
 
 And when my helm of clouds upon my head I take." 
 So in the tragedy of Nero, 1624, p. 27 : " Hebrus stood 
 still, Pangaa hoio'd his head." 
 
 V. 35. The shores of Caernarvonshire opposite the isle 
 of Anglesey. Gray. 
 
 V. 36. "Smear'd uith gore, a ghastly stream." King of 
 France's Daughter : Percy. Reliques, iii. 1 64 ; and Mac- 
 beth, act ii. sc. 2, " Smear the sleepy grooms with blood." 
 
 V. 37. This image may be found in Lucret. vi. ver. 1213. 
 xii. 565. Ovid. Met. vii. 550. Lucan. vi. ver. 625. Stat. 
 Theb. i. ver. 624. Prudent. Steph. 5, 400. It is also in 
 Dryden. Pal. and Arcite, ver. 1142 : 
 
 " The fowl that scent afar the borders fly, 
 
 And shun the bitter blast, and wheel about the sky." 
 
 V. 38. Camden and others observe, that eagles used an- 
 nually to build their aerie among the rocks of Snowdon, 
 which from thence (as some think) were named by the W^elsh 
 Craigian-er)'ri, or the crags of the eagles. At this day (I 
 am told) the highest point of Snowdon is called the Eagle's 
 Nest. That bird is certainly no stranger to this island, as 
 the Scots, and the people of Cumberland, Westmoreland, 
 &c. can testify : it even has built its nest upon the peak oif 
 Derbyshire. [See Willoughby's Oraithol. by Ray.] Gray. 
 " The Tempest sees their strength, and sighs and passes 
 by," V. Swift's Misc. ii. 189. 
 
 V. 40. " As dear to me as are the ruddy drops 
 That visit my sad heart," 
 
 Jul. Cjesar. act ii. sc. 1 Gray, 
 
44 GRAY S POEMS. 
 
 Dear as the ruddy drops that warm my heart, 
 
 Ye died amidst your dying country's cries — 
 No more I weep. They do not sleep. 
 
 On yonder cliffs, a griesly band, 
 I see them sit, they linger yet, 45 
 
 Avengers of their native land : 
 With me in dreadful harmony they join, 
 And weave with bloody hands the tissue of thy line. 
 II. 1. 
 
 " Weave the warp, and weave the woof; 
 The winding sheet of Edward's race. 50 
 
 See Callimach. H. Dian. v. 211. Theocr. Id. cap. 53. 
 Quint. Smyrn. x. 475. Catul. xiv. 1. Virg. ^n. iv. 31. 
 Otway, in liis Venice Preserved, act v. p. 309, was more 
 immediately in Gray's mind : 
 
 " Dear as the vital warmth that feeds my life, 
 Dear as these eyes that weep in fondness o'er thee." 
 In Sydney's Arcadia, vol. ii. p. 415 : " Oh, mother, said 
 Amphialus, speak not of doing them hurt, no more than to 
 mine eyes or my heart, or if I have any thing more dear than 
 eyes or heart unto me." King Lear, act i. sc. 2 : " Dearer 
 than eye-sight." 
 
 V. 42. " And greatly falling with a falling state," Pope. 
 " And couldst not fall, but with thy country's fate," 
 
 Dryden. W, 
 V. 44. I have thought that this image was shadowed by 
 the poet from the following passage of Stat. xi. 420. The 
 third line is almost translated : 
 
 " Ipse quoque Ogygios monstra ad gentilia manes 
 Tartareus rector porta jubet ira reclusa. 
 Montibus iiisidunt patriis, tristique corona 
 Infecere diem, et vinci sua crimina gaudent." 
 " For neither were ye playing on the steep, where your old 
 bards, the famous Druids lie." Lycidas. 
 
 V. 48. See the Norwegian ode (the Fatal Sisters) that 
 follows. Gray. 
 
 V. 49. " No wool to work on, neither ueft nor warp." 
 Swift's Misc. viii. p. 198, ed. Nich. 
 
THE BARD. 45 
 
 Give ample room, and verge enough 
 The characters of hell to trace. 
 Mark the year, and mark the night, 
 When Severn shall re-echo with affright 
 The shrieks of death, thro' Berkley's roof that ring, 
 Shrieks of an agonizing king ! 56 
 
 She-wolf of France, with unrelenting fangs, 
 That tear'st the bowels of thy mangled mate. 
 
 From thee be born, who o'er thy country hangs 
 The scourge of heav'n. What terrors round him wait ! 
 
 V. 51. "I have a soul that like an ample shield 
 
 Can take in all, and verge enough for more." 
 
 Dryden. Sebastian, act i. sc. 1. 
 V. 55. Edward the Second, cruelly butcliered in Berkley 
 Castle. Gray. See Drayton. Barons' Wars, v. Ixvii. 
 " Berkley, whose fair seat hath been famous long. 
 
 Let thy sad echoes shriek a deadly sound 
 To the vast air ; complain his grievous wrong, 
 And keep the blood that issued from his wound." 
 V. 56. This line of Gray is almost in the same words as 
 Hume's description, vol. ii. p. 359 : " The screams with 
 which the agonizing king filled the castle." 
 
 V. 57. Isabel of France, Edward the Second's adulterous 
 queen. Gray. 
 
 This expression is from Shakespeare's Hen. VI. pt. III. 
 act i. sc. 4: " She-wolf of Irance, but worse than wolves 
 of France." Latin writers have used the same language. 
 Apuleius, speaking of the sisters of Psyche : " Perfdce lu- 
 pul(£ nefarias insidiascomparant." And Ausonius, ed. Tollii, 
 p. 23 : " Et mater est vere lupa." Plutarch in Vita Ro- 
 muli, civ. p. 84. ed. Reiske. AOY'IIAS yap UdXovv 'Oi 
 AATINOI TtDv Ts 9?]pi(iJV rag Xvicaivag, kui tojv yvvaiKoJv 
 TiiQ eTaipovcrag, &c. 
 
 V. 59. "This evening from the sun's decline arriv'd. 
 Who tells of some infernal spirit seen." 
 
 P. L. iv. 792. Rogers. 
 V. 60. Triumphs of Edward the Third in France. Gray 
 " Circumque atrae formidinis ora, 
 Iraeque, insidiaeque, Dei comitatus, aguntur." 
 
 Virg. Ai.n. xii. 335. W. 
 
4b GRAVb rOEMb. 
 
 Amazement in liis van, with flight combin'd, 
 And sorrow's faded form, and solitude behind. 
 II. 2. 
 
 " Mighty victor, mighty lord ! 
 Low on his funeral couch he lies ! 
 
 No pitying heart, no eye, aflford 65 
 
 A tear to grace his obsequies. 
 
 Is the sable warrior fled ^ 
 Thy son is gone. He rests among the dead. 
 The swarm, that in thy noontide beam were born ? 
 
 Var. V. 63. Victor] Conqueror, ms. 
 V. 64. His] The. ms. 
 V. 65. No, no,] What, what. ms. 
 V. 69. Hover'd in thy noontide ray. ms. 
 
 V. 61. Cowley has a couplet with similar imagery, vol 
 i. p. 254 : 
 
 " He walks about the perishing nation, 
 Ruin behind him stalks, and empty desolation." 
 And Oldham in his Ode to Homer, stan. iii. 
 
 " Where'er he does his dreadful standard bear, 
 Horror stalks in the van, and slaughter in the rear." 
 " On he went, and in his van confusion and amaze. 
 While horror and aflfright brought up the rear." Swift. 
 V. 62. " Care sat on his faded cheek." V. Milt. P. L. 
 i. 601. 
 
 V. 64. Death of that king, abandoned by his children, 
 and even robbed in his last moments by his courtiers and 
 his mistress. Gray. 
 
 " Lo ! there the mighty warrior lies." Oldham. D. of Saul. 
 \ . 65. The same words, with the same elliptical expres- 
 sion, occur in the Instal. Ode, vi : 
 
 " Thy liberal heart, thy judging eye, 
 The flower unheeded shall descry." 
 On this ellipsis see Jortin. Obs. on Spenser : Tracts, vol. i. 
 p. 91. 
 
 V. 67. Edward the Black Prince, dead some time before 
 his father. Cray. 
 
 " Hence Edward dreadful with his sable shield." 
 
 Prior. Poems, p. 210. 
 
THE BARD. 47 
 
 Gone to salute the rising morn. 70 
 
 Fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows, 
 
 While proudly riding o'er the azure realm 
 In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes ; 
 
 Var. V. 70. Blorn] Day. ms. 
 V. 71. Fair laughs, ^c] 
 " Mirrors* of Saxon truth and loyalty 
 Your helpless, old, expiring master view ! 
 They hear not : scarce religion does supply 
 Her mutter'd requiems, and her holy dew. 
 Yet thou, proud boy, from Pomfret's walls shall send 
 A sigh, and envy oft thy happy grandsire's end." 
 
 " Mirror of ancient faith, in early youth 
 Undaunted worth, inviolable truth." 
 
 Dryd. S. vi. Rogers 
 
 In Peacham's ' Period of Mourning,' 1613, a similar epi- 
 thet is given, but from a different reason : 
 
 " Appeared then in armes a goodly prince 
 0{ swarthy hew, by whom there hung a launce 
 Of wondrous length, preserved ever since ; 
 He overthrew, at Poitiers, John of Fraunce. 
 A dial his device, the stile at one — 
 And this, ' No night, and yet my day is done,' " 
 V. 69. So in Agrippina : 
 
 " around thee call 
 
 The gilded swarm, that wantons in the sunshine 
 Of thy full favour." 
 V. 71, Magnificence of Richard the Second's reign. See 
 Froissard and other contemporary writers. Gray. See M. 
 of Venice, act ii. s. 6. " How like a younker," &c. Spen- 
 ser. Vision of the World's Vanity, " Looking far forth," 
 &c. And Vision of Petrarch, c. ii. " After at sea a tall ship 
 did appear," &c., which passages are too long for transcrip- 
 tion. 
 
 V. 72. •* Coeruleo pollens conjunx Neptunia regno." 
 
 Virg. Cir. 483. Luhe. 
 V. 73. So Pope, Donne. Sat. iv. 230, who has used the 
 same words on the same subject : " Top-gallant he, and she 
 in all her trim.'' 
 
48 gray's i'OEMb. 
 
 Youth on the prow, and Pleasure at the helm ; 
 Regardless of the sweeping- whirlwind's sway, 73 
 That, h ush'd in grim repose, expects his ev'ning prey. 
 II. 3. 
 
 " Fill high the sparkling bowl, 
 The rich repast prepare, 
 
 Reft of a crown, he yet may share the feast : 
 Close by the regal chair so 
 
 " The goodly London in her gallant trim, 
 
 And on her shadow rides in floating gold." 
 
 Dryden. An. Mirab. 151. 
 V. 74. " Ipse gubernabit residens in puppe Cupido," 
 Ov. Heroid. Ep. xv. S!15. And so Petrarch : " E al governo, 
 siede '1 Signor, anzi '1 nimico mio," Son. clvi. 
 
 V. 75. So in his Fragment on Education and Govern- 
 ment, V. 48 : 
 
 " And where the deluge burst with sweepy sway." 
 The expression is from Dryden. See Virg. Georg. i. 483 : 
 
 " And rolling onwards with a sweepy sway." 
 And in Granada, act v. sc. 1 : 
 
 " That whirls along with an impetuous sway, 
 And like chain-shot sweeps all things in the way." 
 And Ov. Met. "Rushing onwards with a sweepy sway." 
 And iEn. vii. "The branches bend before their sweepy sway." 
 V. 76. " So like a lion that unheeded lay, 
 
 Dissembling sleep and watchful to betray, 
 With inward rage he meditates his prey." 
 
 Dryden, Sig. and Guise. 
 " Fermenting tempest brew'd in the grim evening sky." 
 
 Thomson. 
 V. 77. Richard the Second, as we are told by Arch- 
 bishop Scroop and the confederate Lords in their manifesto, 
 by Thomas 'of VValsingham, and all the older writers, was 
 starved to death. The story of his assassination by Sir 
 Piers of Exon is of much later date. Gray. 
 
 For the profusion of Richard IL see Harding. Chron. 
 quoted in the Preface to Mason's Hoccleve, p. 5 ; Daniel. 
 Civil Wars, iii. 87; and Pennant. London, p. 89, 4to. 
 
THE BARD. 49 
 
 Fell Thirst and Famine scowl 
 
 A baleful smile upon their baffled guest. 
 
 Heard ye the din of battle bray, 
 
 Lance to lance, and horse to horse ? 84 
 
 Long years of havock urge their destined course, 
 
 And thro' the kindred squadrons mow their way. 
 
 Var. V. 82. A baleful smile] A smile of horror, ms. 
 
 Dr. Berdmore compares this passage to the following lines 
 of Virgil, ^n. vi. 603 : 
 
 " Lucent genialibus altis 
 Aurea fulcra toris, epul(Bque ante ora parattz 
 Regifico luxu: Furiarum maxima jiixta 
 Adcubat, et manibus prohibet contingere mensas, 
 Exsurgitque facem adtollens, atque intonat ore." 
 V. 79. " Such is the robe that kings must wear. 
 When death has reft their crowns 
 
 Mallet. Will, and Marg. st. 3. W. 
 V. 80. " Regales inter mensas." Virg. Mn. i. 686. 
 " Sate Matilda in the regal chair." Davenport. K. John 
 and Matilda, p. 25, 4to. 
 
 V. 82. 
 " He ceas'd : for both seem'd highly pleas'd ; and Death 
 Grinn'd horrible a ghastly smile." Par. L. ii. 845. W. 
 So Hom. II. E. 212: MeidioMV (SXocrvpolffi TrpocwTracrt. 
 And other examples cited in the note of Newton to the 
 Par. Lost. 
 
 V. 83. R-uinous wars of York and Lancaster. Gray. 
 V. 83. " Arms on armour clashing brayed." 
 
 Milt. Psr. L. vi. 209. Uike. 
 V. 84. " Harry to Harry shall, not horse to horse." Shakes. 
 Hen. IV. pt. i. act iv. sc. i. "Man to man, and horse to 
 horse." Massing. M. of Honor. Rogers. 
 
 V. 86. " Cognatasque acies," Lucan. i. 4. W. — And so 
 in Sidon. ApoUin. xv. 28 : " Cognatam portans aciem." In 
 Dryden. All for Love, act i. we find an expression similar 
 to the text, 
 
 " Mow them out a passage, 
 And entering where the foremost squadrons yield." 
 
50 gray's roEiMs. 
 
 Ye towers of Julius, London's lasting shame, 
 With many a foul and midnight murder fed. 
 
 Revere his consort's faith, his father's fame, 
 And spare the meek usurper's holy head. 90 
 
 Above, below, the rose of snow, 
 
 Twin'd with her blushing foe, we spread : 
 
 Var. V. 87. Ye'} Grim, ms. V. 90. Holy'] Hallow'd. ms. 
 
 V. 87. Henry the Sixth, George Duke of Clarence, 
 Edward the Fifth, Richard Duke of York, &c., believed 
 to be murdered secretly in the Tower of London. The 
 oldest part of that structure is vulgarly attributed to Julius 
 Caisar. Gray. 
 
 V. 89. Margaret of Anjou, a woman of heroic spirit, 
 who struggled hard to save her husband and her crown. 
 
 Gray. 
 Ibid. Henry the Fifth. Gray. 
 
 V. 90. Henry the Sixth, very near being canonized. The 
 line of Lancaster had no right of inheritance to the crown. 
 
 Gray. 
 V. 91. The white and red roses, devices of York and 
 Lancaster. Gray. 
 
 " no, Plantagenet, 
 
 'Tis not for fear, but anger — that thy cheeks 
 Blush for pure shame, to counterfeit our roses." 
 
 Henry VI. pt. i. act ii. sc 4. 
 V. 93. The silver boar' was the badge of Richard the 
 Third ; whence he was usually known in his own time by 
 the name of the Boar. Gray. 
 
 " Nor easier fate the bristled boar is lent." 
 
 ' The crest, or bearing of a warrior (says Scott in his 
 notes to the Lay of the Last Minstrel, p. 300), was often 
 used as a" nom de guerre." Thus Richard III. acquired 
 his well-known epithet, — " the Boar of York." In the vio- 
 lent satire on Cardinal Wolsey, commonly but erroneously 
 imputed to Dr. Bull, the Duke of Buckingham is called the 
 Beautiful Swan ; and the Duke of Norfolk, or Earl of Sur- 
 rey, the White Lion. See Dr. Nott. Surrev. i. p. 302, 304. 
 
THE BARD. .'51 
 
 The bristled boar in infant-gore 
 
 Wallows beneath the thorny shade. 
 
 Now, brothers, bending- o'er the accursed loom, 9,5 
 
 Stamp we our vengeance deep, and ratify his doom. 
 III. 1. 
 *' Edward, lo ! to sudden fate 
 
 (Weave we the woof. The thread is spun.) 
 Half of thy heart we consecrate. 
 
 See.Mirror for Magis. p. 417. Anon. 62, 69, 80. Again, 
 " At Stonie Stratford being upon my way. 
 The bloodie bore my uncle that did aime.'^ 
 Mirror for Magis. p. 740. " The bristled baptist boar," 
 Dryden. The Princes are called the roses : 
 
 " Oh ! noble Edward, from whose royal blood 
 
 Life to their infant bodies nature drew, 
 Thy roses both are cropt e'en ??i the bud." 
 And p. 745, with the same allusion : 
 
 " Why didst thou leave that bore in time t' ensue 
 To spoil those plants that in thy garden grew." 
 See also the Battle of Flodden Field, st. 255 ; and Ford. 
 Perkin Warbeck, act i. so. 1. p. 12. ed. Weber. 
 V. 96. 
 
 " If Fate weave common thread, I'll change the doom, 
 
 And with new purple weave a nobler loom." Dryd. Seb. 
 
 V. 98. " Yet rather let him live, and twine 
 
 His woof of dayes with some thread stolen from mine." 
 
 Cartwright. Poems, p 239. 'Ayafiifivovi ttotixov Vipah'u. 
 
 Tryphiod. v. 409. Nonni. Dion. iv. 244. 
 
 V. 99. Eleanor of Castile died a few years after the con- 
 quest of Wales. The heroic proof she gave of her affection 
 
 And see the Lay of the Last Minstrel, cant, iv. st. xxx ; 
 " Yet hear, quoth Howard, calmly hear. 
 Nor deem my words the words of fear ; 
 For who, in field or foray slack, 
 Saw the Blanche Lion e'er fall back?" 
 And so in Henry VI. part ii. act v. sc. 2. Warwick is called 
 the Bear, from his father's badge, old Neville's crest : 
 " The rampant Bear chained to the ras:s-pd staff." 
 
62 gray's poems. 
 
 (The web is wove. The work is done.) loo 
 
 Stay, oh stay ! nor thus forlorn 
 Leave me unbless'd, unpitied, here to mourn : 
 In yon bright track, that fires the western skies, 
 They melt, they vanish from my eyes. 104 
 
 But oh ! what solemn scenes on Snowdon's height 
 Descending slow their glittering skirts unroll ? 
 Visions of glory, spare my aching sight ! 
 
 Var. V. 101. Tims'] Here. ms. 
 
 V. 102. Me unbless'd, unpitied, here'] Your despairing 
 Caradoc. ms. 
 
 V. 103. Track] Clouds, ms. 
 
 V. 104. Melt] Sink. ms. 
 
 V. 105. Solemn scenes] Scenes of Heaven, ms. 
 
 V. 106. Glittering] Golden, ms. 
 
 for her lord is well known. The monuments of his regret 
 and sorrow for the loss of her, are still to be seen at North- 
 ampton, Gaddington, Waltham, and other places. Gray, 
 
 V. 106. Milt. P. L. xi. 332. " Though but his utmost 
 skirts of glory." Luke. 
 
 V. 107. From Dryden. State of Innocence, act iv. sc, 1 : 
 " Their glory shoots upon my aching sight." 
 
 V. 109. It was the common belief of the Welsh nation, 
 that King Arthur was still alive in Fairyland, and would 
 return again to reign over Britain. 
 
 V. 110. Both Merlin and Taliessin had prophesied, that 
 the Welsh should regain their sovereignty over this island ; 
 which seemed to be accomplished in the house of Tudor. 
 Gray. 
 
 V. 111. " Throngs of knights and barons bold," Milton. 
 L'Alleg. 119. Luke. 
 
 V. 112. " His starry front low rooft beneath the skies," 
 Milton. Ode on the Passion, iii. 18. " Sideribus similes 
 oculos," Ovid. Met. i. 499. " Heu ! ubi siderei vultus," 
 Stat. Theb. v. 613. " Sidereo laeta supercilio," Claud, xv. 
 V. 58 ; and " Sidereos oculos," Manilius Ast. iv. 905 ; and, 
 lastly, " Gli occhi sereni, et le stellanti ciglia,'' Petr. Son. 
 clxvii V. 9, 
 
THE BARD. 53 
 
 Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my soul ! 
 No more our long-lost Arthur we bewail. 109 
 
 All hail, ye genuine kings, Britannia's issue, hail ! 
 III. 2. 
 
 " Girt with many a baron bold 
 Sublime their starry fronts they rear ; 
 
 And gorgeous dames, and statesmen old 
 In bearded majesty, appear. 
 
 In the midst a form divine ! ii5 
 
 Her eye proclaims her of the Briton-line ; 
 
 Var. V. 109, 110, No more our long lost, 8)0.] 
 
 " From Cambria's thousand hills a thousand strains 
 Triumphant tell aloud, another Arthur reigns." ms. 
 V. Ill, 112. Girt with, &;c.] 
 " Youthful knights, and barons bold 
 With dazzling- helm, and horrent spear." jis. 
 
 V. 1 14; It has been remarked that there is an inaccuracy 
 in this expression, as the Bard, whose own beard is com- 
 pared to a meteor, would not be struck with the dignity of 
 the short curled beards of Elizabeth's days. See Selections 
 from Gentleman's Magazine, vol. li. p. 237. 
 
 V. 116. So Peacham, in his ' Period of Mourning,' p. 
 16, speaking of Elizabetli : 
 
 •' Where when I saw that brow, that cheeke, that eye 
 Hee left imprinted in Eliza's face." 
 Wakefield quotes a stanza from Spenser. Hobbinol's Dittie, 
 in praise of Eliza : 
 
 " Tell me, have ye seene her angelike face, 
 
 Like Phoebe fayre 1 
 Her heavenly haveour, her princely grace 
 
 Can you well compare 1 
 The redde rose medled, with the white yfere 
 In either cheek depeincten lively chere ; 
 Her modest eye, 
 Her majesty e, 
 When have you seene the like but there?" 
 England's Helicon, p. 13: and Spenser, ed. Todd, i. 64; 
 and the note of T. Warton. 
 
54 gray's poems. 
 
 Her lion-port, her awe-commanding face, 
 
 Attemper'd sweet to virgin-grace. 
 
 What strings symphonious tremble in the air, 
 
 What strains of vocal ti'ansport round her play. 
 Hear from the grave, great Taliessin, hear ; 121 
 
 They breathe a soul to animate thy clay. 
 Bright Rapture calls, and soaring as she sings. 
 Waves in the eye of heav'n her many-colour'd wings. 
 
 Var. V. 117. Her, her] A, an. us. 
 
 V. 117. Speed, relating an audience given by Queen 
 Elizabeth to Paul Dzialinski, ambassador of Poland, says, 
 •' And thus she, lion-like rising, daunted the malapert 
 orator no less with her stately port and raajestical depor- 
 ture, than with the tartnesse of her princelie checkes." Gray. 
 See Puttenham, Engl. Poesy, iii, c. !24. p. 249, quoted by 
 Dr. Notton Surrey, vol. i. p. 307. See Ellis's Lett, on Engl. 
 Histy. iii, 41, a copy of this speech is in MS, Lansdowne, 
 No. 94 art. 50. 
 
 V. 121. Taliessin, chief of the bards, flourished in the 
 sixth century. His works are still preserved, and his 
 memory held in high veneration among his countrymen. 
 Gray. On his supposed sepulchre, see Wyndham. Tour 
 in Wales, p. 100. 
 
 See Evans. Spec. p. 18, who says, ** Taliessin's poems, 
 on account of their great antiquity, are very obscure." 
 There is a great deal of the Druidical cabala introduced 
 in his works, especially about the transmigration of souls. 
 Evans says that he had fifty of Taliessin's poems ; and 
 that many spurious ones are attributed to him. At p. 56, 
 Evans has translated one of his odes, beginning " Fair 
 Elphin, cease to weep ;" comforting his friend on his bad 
 success in the salmon-fishery. There is a fuller account of 
 him in Jones. Relics, vol. i. p. 18. 21. vol. ii. p. 12, 19, 
 31, 34, where many of his poems are translated ; and Pen- 
 nant's Wales, vol.' ii. p. 316; and Turner's Vind. of the 
 Ancient British Poems, p. 225, 237. 
 
 V. 123. From Congrevft. Ode to Lord Godolphin, st. vi. : 
 " And soars with rapture while she sings." 
 
THE BARD. 55 
 
 III. 3. 
 
 ' The verse adorn ag-ain 125 
 
 Fierce war, and faithful love, 
 And truth severe, by fairy fiction drest. 
 
 In buskin'd measures move 
 Pale grief, and pleasing- pain. 
 With horror, tyrant of the throbbing- breast. 130 
 
 A voice, as of the cherub-choir, 
 Gales from blooming Eden bear ; 
 And distant warblings lessen on my ear. 
 
 V. 124. " It was as glorious as the eye of Heaven." Cow- 
 ley. Add Warton, note to Milton, p. 87. " Interest that 
 waves on party-colour'd wings," Pope. Dune. iv. 538. 
 And, " Colours that change where'er they wave their 
 wings." Rape of the Lock, ii. 68. Wakefield cites the 
 Tempest, act iv. sc. 1 : " Hail, many-colour'd messenger." 
 See Milt. Par, L. vii. 641 : " Wings he wore of many a 
 colour d Plume." 
 
 " Her angel's face 
 As the great eye of Heaven shined bright." 
 
 Spenser. F. Q. cant. iii. 
 Ovid. Met. iv. 228. "Mundi oculus." And Milton. II 
 Pens. ver. 141 : " Hide me from day's garish eye." Par. 
 Lost, b. V. ver. 171 : " Thou sun of this great world, both 
 eye and soul." Shakesp. Rich. II. act iii. sc. 2: "The 
 searching eye of Heaven is hid." 
 
 V 126. " Fierce wars and faithful loves shall moralize 
 my song." Spenser. Proeme to the F. Q. Gray. 
 
 V. 127, " Truth, Wisdom, Sanctitude severe and pure." 
 
 Milt. P. L. iv. 293. Luke. 
 V. 128. Shakespeare. Gray. " Ennobled hath the biis- 
 kined stage." Milt. II Pens. 102. 
 
 V. 129. F. Queen, vi. c. 9. s. x. " With sweet pleasing 
 payne." Dryden Virg. Eel. iii, 171. "Pleasing pains of 
 love." Luke. 
 
 V. 130. " Imaginative woe my throbbing breast inspires." 
 
 Thomson. 
 V. 133. The succession of poets after Milton's time. 
 
 Gray. 
 
66 CillAY'b POEiMS. 
 
 That lost in long- futurity expire. 
 Fond impious man, think st thou yon sanguine cloud, 
 
 Rais'dby thy breath, has quench'd the orb of day ? 
 To-morrow he repairs the golden flood, 
 
 And warms the nations with redoubled ray. 
 Enough for me ; with joy I see 
 
 V. 135. This apostrophe with its imagery seems taken 
 from Vida : 
 
 " Impie, quid furis? 
 
 fene putas posse illustres abscondere coeli 
 A.uricomi flammas, ipsumque extinguere solem 1 
 
 Forsitan humentera nebulam proflare, brevemque 
 Obsessis poteris radiis obtendere nubem. 
 Erumpet lux ; crumpet rutilantilus auris 
 Lampas ; et auriflua face, nubila differet omnia. 
 Vidae Hymnus D. Andreae Apostolo. v. 99. T. i. p. 335. 
 Steevens refers to " Fuimus Troes," acti. sc. 1 : 
 " Think ye the smoky mist 
 Of sun-boil'd seas can stop the eagle's eye ?" 
 but a closer coincidence is in Dekker's Play, " If this be 
 not a good play," &c. p. 73. 
 
 " Thinli*st thou, base lord. 
 
 Because the glorious sun behind black clouds 
 lias awhile hid his beams, he't; darken'd for ever, 
 Eclips'd never more to shine ?" 
 V. 137. " And yet anon repairs his drooping head." Ly- 
 cidas, 169. "So soon repairs her light, trebling her new 
 born raies," Fletcher. Purple Island, vi. 64. " That never 
 could he hope his waning to '>epaire" lb. st. '^0. Add Hor. 
 Od. iv. 7. 13. " Damna tamen coiexes reparant coelestialu- 
 nae." Lucret. v. 733, On the Moon, " Atque alia illius re- 
 parari in parte locoque." Young. N. Thoughts, " A golden 
 flood of endless day." Luke. 
 
 V. 141. There is a passage in theThebaid of Statius, iii. 
 81, similar to this, describing a bard who had survived his 
 companions ; 
 
 " Sed jam nudaverat ensem 
 Magnanimus vates, et nunc trucis ora tyranni. 
 Nunc ferrum aspectans, nunquam tibi sanguinis hujus 
 
THE BAUD. 57 
 
 The dilFrent doom our fates assign. i4o 
 
 Be thine despair, and scept'red care, 
 
 To triumph, and to die, are mine." 
 He spoke, and headlong from the mountain's height 
 Deep in the roaring tide he plunged to endless night.* 
 
 Jus erit, aut magno feries imperdita Tydeo 
 Pectora. Vado equidem exultans, ereptaque fata 
 Insequor, et comites feror expectatus ad umbras. 
 
 Te superis, fratrique. 
 
 Compare also the conclusion of the first Olymp. of Pindar, 
 ver. 184, which Gray seems to have had in his mind : 
 Ei'jj ae re tovtov 
 'Y\pov xpovov Ttartiv, sfjis 
 Te ToaadSe lu/ca^opotg 
 '0[jli\hv. k. r. X. 
 This similarity has apparently struck the author of the late 
 Translations, as I judge by his language : v. R. Heber. 
 Poems, p. 94. 
 
 V. 143. " Medias pneceps tunc fertur in undas," Li^can. 
 ix. 122. " Praeceps aerii specula de montis in undas, De- 
 ferar ; extremum hoc munus morientis habeto," Virg. Eel. 
 viii. 58. 
 
 * The original argument of this ode, as Mr. Gray had 
 set it down in one of the pages of his^ common-place book, 
 was as follows : " The army of Edward I., as they march 
 through a deep valley, (and approach Mount Snowdon, ms.) 
 are suddenly stopped by the appearance of ■ a venerable 
 figure seated on the summit of an inacceseible rock, who, 
 with a voice more than human, reproaches the king with all 
 the misery and desolation (desolation and misery, ms.) which 
 he had brought on his country ; foretells the misfortunes of 
 the Norman race, and with prophetic spirit declares, that 
 all his cruelty shall never extinguish the noble ardour of 
 poetic genius in this island ; and that men shall never be 
 wanting to celebrate true virtue and valour in immortal 
 strains, to expose vice and infamous pleasure, and boldly 
 censure tyranny and oppressioE. His song ended, he pre- 
 
58 gray's poems. 
 
 cipitates himself from the mountain, and is swallowed up by 
 the river that rolls at its foot." 
 
 " Fine (says INIr. Mason) as the conclusion of this ode is 
 at present, I think it would have been still finer, if he could 
 have executed it according to this plan ; but, unhappily for 
 his purpose, instances of English poets were wanting. 
 Spenser had that enchanting flow of verse which was pecu- 
 liarly calculated to celebrate virtue and valour ; but he chose 
 to celebrate them, not literally, but in allegory. Shakespeare, 
 who had talents for every thing, was undoubtedly capable 
 of exposiiig vice and infa7nous pleasure ; and the drama was 
 a proper vehicle for his satire ; but we do not ever find that 
 he professedly made this liis object ; nay, we know that, in 
 one inimitable character, he has so contrived as to make 
 vices of the worst kind, such as cowardice, drunkenness, 
 dishonesty, and lewdness, not only laughable, but almost 
 amiable ; for with all these sins on his head, w-ho can help 
 liking Falstaflf? Milton, of all our great poets, was the only 
 one who boldly ceiisured tyranny and oppression : but he chose 
 to deliver this censure, not in poetry, but in prose. Dryden 
 was a mere court parasite to the most infamous of all courts. 
 Pope, with all his laudable detestation of corruption and 
 bribery, was a Tory ; and Addison, though a Whig, and a 
 fine writer, was unluckily not enough of a poet for his pur- 
 pose. On these considerations Mr. Gray was necessitated 
 to change his plan towards the conclusion : hence we per- 
 ceive, that in the last epode he praises Spenser only /or his 
 allegory, Shakspeare ^'or his powers of moving the passions, and 
 Milton /or his epic excellence. I remember the ode lay un- 
 finished by him for a year or two on this very account ; and 
 I hardly believe that it would ever have had his last hand, 
 but for the circumstance of his hearing Parry play on the 
 Welsh harp at a concert at Cambridge, (see Letter xxv. 
 sect, iv.) which he often declared inspired him with the 
 conclusion. 
 
 " Mr. Smith, the musical composer and worthy pupil of 
 Mr, Handel, had once an idea of setting this ode, and of 
 having it performed by way of serenata or oratorio. A com- 
 mon friend of his and Mr. Gray's interested himself much 
 in this design, and drew out a clear analysis of the ode, 
 that Mr. Smitli might more perfectly understand the poet's 
 meaning. He conversed also witli Mr. Gray on the subject, 
 who gave him an idea for the overture, and marked also 
 some passages in the ode, in order to ascertain which sliould 
 
THE BARD. 59 
 
 be recitative, which air, what kind of air, and how accom- 
 panied. This design was, however, not executed ; and 
 therefore I shall only (in order to give the reader a taste of 
 Mr. Gray's musical feelings) insert in this place what his 
 sentiments were concerning the overture. ' It should be so 
 contrived as to be a proper introduction to the ode ; it might 
 consist of two movements, the first descriptive of the horror 
 and confusion of battle, the last a march grave and majestic, 
 but expressing the exultation and insolent security of con- 
 quest. This movement should be composed entirely of wind 
 instruments, except the kettle-drum heard at intervals. 
 The da capo of it must be suddenly broke in upon, and put 
 to silence by the clang of the harp in a tumultuous rapid 
 movement, joined with the voice, all at once, and not ushered 
 in by any symphony. The harmony may be strengthened 
 by any other stringed instrument; but the harp should 
 every where prevail, and form the continued running ac- 
 companiment, submitting itself to nothing but the voice.' 
 
 " I cannot (adds Mr. Mason) quit this and the preceding 
 ode, without saying a word or two concerning the obscurity 
 which has been imputed to them, and the preference which, 
 in consequence, has been given to his Elegy. It seems as 
 if the persons, who hold this opinion, suppose that every 
 species of poetry ought to be equally clear and intelligible : 
 than which position nothing can be more repugnant to the 
 several specific natures of composition, and to the practice 
 of ancient art. Not to take Pindar and his odes for an ex- 
 ample, (though what I am here defending were written pro- 
 fessedly in imitation of him,) I would ask, are all the writings 
 of Horace, his Epistles, Satires, and Odes, equally perspi- 
 cuous 1 Among his odes, separately considered, are there 
 not remarkable differences of this very kind ? Is the spirit 
 and meaning of that which begins, " Descende coelo, et die, 
 age, tibi^," Ode iv. lib. 3, so readily comprehended as 
 " Persicos odi, puer, apparatus," Ode xxxviii. lib. 1. And 
 is the latter a finer piece of lyrical composition on that ac- 
 count"? Is "Integer vitse, scelerisque purus," Ode xxii. 
 lib. 1, superior to " Pindarum quisquis studet Eemulari,'' 
 Ode ii. lib. 4 ; because it may be understood at the first 
 reading, and the latter not without much study and reflec- 
 tion ? Now between these odes, thus compared, there is 
 surely equal difference in point of perspicuity, as between 
 the Progress of Poesy, and the Prospect of Eton College ; 
 the Ode on the Spring, and the Bard. ' But' say these ob- 
 
60 ci hay's poems. 
 
 jectors, ' tlie end of poetry is universally to please. Obscu- 
 rity, by taking off from our pleasure, destroys that end.' I 
 will grant that if the obscurity be great, constant, and insur- 
 mountable, this is certainly true ; but if it be only found in 
 particular passages, proceeding from the nature of the sub- 
 iect and the very genius of the composition, it does not rob 
 us of our pleasure, but superadds a new one, which arises 
 from conquering a difficulty ; and the pleasure whichaccruea 
 from a difficult passage, when well understood, provided the 
 passage itself be a fine one, is always more permanent than 
 that which we discover at the first glance. The Lyric 
 IMuse, like other fine ladies, requires to be courted, and 
 retains her admirers the longer for not having yielded too 
 readily to their solicitations. This argument, ending as it 
 does in a sort of simile, will, I am persuaded, not only have 
 its force with the intelligent readers (the 2YNKT0I), but 
 also with the men of fashion : as to critics of a lower class, 
 it may be sufficient to transcribe, for their improvement, an 
 unfinished remark, or rather maxim, which I found amongst 
 our author's papers ; and which he probably wrote on oc- 
 casion of the common preference given to his Elegy. " The 
 Gout de comparaison (as Bruyere styles it) is the only taste 
 of ordinary minds. They do not know the specific excel- 
 lence either of an author or a composition : for instance, 
 they do not know that Tibullus spoke the language of nature 
 and love ; that Horace saw the vanities and follies of man- 
 kind with the most penetrating eye, and touched them to 
 the quick ; that Virgil ennobled even the most common 
 images by the graces of a glowing, melodious, and well- 
 adapted expression ; but they do know that Virgil was a 
 better poet than Horace ; and that Horace's Epistles do not 
 run so well as the Elegies of Tibullus.' " 
 
61 
 
 ODE FOR MUSIC. 
 
 (irregular.) 
 
 This Ode was performed in the Senate-House at Cambridge, 
 July, 1, 1769, at the Installation of His Grace Augustus- 
 Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton, Chancellor of the Uni- 
 versity. (This Ode is printed with the divisions adop- 
 ted by the Composer, J3r. Randall, then Professor of 
 Music at Cambridge. On Dr. Burney's disappointment 
 that he did not set this Ode to music, see Miss Bumey's 
 Mem. i. 212 ; and Cradock's Mem. i. p. 107.) 
 
 I. AIR. 
 
 ** Hence, avaunt, ('tis holy ground) 
 
 Comus, and his midnight-crew, 
 And Ignorance with looks profound. 
 
 And dreaming Sloth of pallid hue, 
 Mad Sedition's cry profane, 
 Servitude that hugs her chain. 
 Nor in these consecrated bowers, 
 LetpaintedFlatt'ry hide her serpent-train in flowers. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Nor Envy base, nor creeping Gain, 
 
 V. 1. So Callim. H. in Apoll. ver. 2 : 'Ekclq ^kuq cxttiq 
 aXirpbg. Virg. JEn. vi. 258 : " Procul, O procul este pro- 
 fani." Stat. Sylv. iii. 3 : " Procul hinc, procul ite nocen- 
 tes." Claud. Rap. Pros. i. 3 : " Gressus removete pro- 
 fani.'' 
 
 V. 2, '' Meanwhile welcome joy, and feast, 
 Midnight shout, and revelry. 
 Tipsy dance, and jollity." Milt. Com. 102. W. 
 " Though he and his cursed crew." Milt, Com. 653. 
 V. 7 " Near to her close and consecrated bower," 
 
 Mids. N. Dr. act iii. sc. 2. W. 
 V. 9. " Base Envy withers at another's joy." Thomson. 
 Spring. Also, " Safe pursuits and creeping cares " lA' 
 berty, -p. iv. Lnhe. 
 
62 gray's roF.Ms. 
 
 Dare the Muse's walk to stain, n 
 
 While bright-eyed Science watches round ; 
 Hence, away, 'tis holy ground !" 
 
 II. RECITATIVE. 
 
 From yonder realms of empyrean day 
 
 Bursts on my ear th' indignant lay : 
 There sit the sainted sage, the bard divine, i 
 
 The few, whom genius gave to shine 
 Thro' every unborn age, and undiscover'd clime. 
 
 Rapt in celestial transport they : 
 
 Yet hither oft a glance from high 
 
 They send of tender sympathy ? 
 
 V. 13. " From your empyreal bowers, and from the realms 
 of everlasting day." G. West's Poems. 
 
 V. 15. There sit] Surely a better word than this, " sit," 
 in pronunciation and imagery could have been found. 
 V. 17. "Nations unborn your mighty name shall sound. 
 And worlds applaud that must not yet he foundJ" 
 Pope. Essay on Criticism, 193. W. 
 V. 26. " E'en mitred Rochester would nod the head." 
 Pope. Prol. to the Sat. 143. W. See Warton. Milt. p. 4. 
 V. 27. " To arched walks of twilight groves, 
 
 And shadows brown that Sylvan loves." 
 
 II Penser. 133. W 
 And so Pope, in his Transl. of the Odyssey : " Brown with 
 o'er-arching shades." 
 
 This stanza, supposed to be sung by Milton, is very 
 judiciously written in the metre which he fixed upon for 
 the stanza of his Christmas Hymn : " 'Twas in the winter 
 wild," &c. Mason. 
 
 " Nought have we here but willow-shaded shore, 
 To tell our Grant his banks are left forlore." 
 
 Hall. Sat. b. i. sat. i. 
 V. 30. Wakefield has justly remarked that this stanza is 
 indebted to the following passage in the 11 Pens, of Milton, 
 ver. 61 : 
 
ODE FOR MUSIC. 63 
 
 To bless the place, where on their opening soul 
 
 First the genuine ardour stole. 
 'Twas Milton struck the deep-ton'd shell, 
 And, as the choral warblings round him swell, 
 Meek Newton's self bends from his state sublime 
 And nods his hoary head, and listens to the rhyme. 
 
 III. AIR. 
 
 " Ye brown o'er- arching groves. 
 
 That contemplation loves, 
 Where willowy Camus lingers with delight ! 
 
 Oft at the blush of dawn 30 
 
 I trod your level lawn, 
 Oft woo'd the gleam of Cynthia silver-bright 
 
 " Sweet bird, that shunn'st the noise of folly, 
 
 Most musical, most melancholy ! * 
 V. 31. " In long excursion skims the level lawn." 
 
 Thomson. Spring. Luhe. 
 V. 32. " With silver-bright who moon enamels." 
 
 * Gaw. Douglas, in his Transl. of Virgil, Prolog, to 
 bk. xiii. p. 450, describes the notes of the nightingale as 
 merry : 
 
 " — The mery nyghtyngele Philomene, 
 That on the thorne sat syngand fro the splene, 
 Quhais myrihfull nottis langing for to here," &c. 
 '' Ah ! far unlike the nightingale ! — she sings 
 Unceasing thro' the balmy nights of May ; 
 She sings from love and joy." Thomson, Agamem. p. 63. 
 " Him will I cheare with chanting all this night. 
 And with that word she 'gan to clear her throate : 
 But such a lively song, now by this light, 
 Yet never hearde I such another note." 
 
 Gascoigne. Complaynt of Phyloraene. 
 Mr. Fox has, I think, given no authority but that of Chau- 
 cer, for the merry notes of the nightingale ; see his Letter 
 to T.ord Grey, p, 12 : But see Todd. Tllust. of Gower. 
 
64 gray's roF.Ms. 
 
 In cloisters din». far from the haunts of Folly, 
 With Freedom by my side, and soft-eyed Melan- 
 choly." 
 
 IV. RECITATIVE. 
 
 But hark ! the portals sound , and pacing forth 35 
 
 With solemn steps and slow, 
 High potentates, and dames of royal birth. 
 And mitred fathers in long order go : 
 Great Edward, with the lilies on his brow 
 
 From haughty Gallia torn, 40 
 
 And sad Chatillon, on her bridal morn 
 
 Drummond, son. xii. Luhe. " Their arrow that marched 
 hence so silver-bright.'" K. John. Rogers. 
 
 V. 33. Scared in cloisters dim the superstitious herd." 
 Thomson. Liberty, pt. iii. Ltike. 
 V. 34. " And sensible soft Melancholy," Pope. On a cer- 
 tain Lady at Court, ver. 8. W. V. Pope. Prol. to Satires, 
 V. 286. Luke. 
 
 V. 36. " With wand'ring steps and slow," Par. Lost, b. 
 xii. ver. 648. W.—And Pope. Odys. b. x. ver. 286. Dune, 
 b. iv. ver. 465, as quoted by Mr. Todd. " At every step 
 solemn and slow,'' Thomson. Summer. Luke. 
 
 V. 38. " In long order stand," Dryd. -^n. iii. 533. " In 
 long order come," v. 133. Rogers. 
 
 " Unde omnes longo ordine possit 
 Adversos legere, et venientum discere vultus." 
 
 Virg. ^n. vi. 754. W. 
 V. 39. Edward the Third, who added the fleur de lys of 
 France to the arms of England. He founded Trinity College. 
 See Philips, in " Cyder," ii. 592 : 
 
 " Great Edward thus array'd, 
 With golden L^is his broad shield emboss'd." 
 " Great Edward, and thy greater son, 
 He that the lilies wore, and he that won." Denham. 
 V. 41, Mary de Valentia, countess of Pembroke, daugh- 
 ter of Guy de Chatillon, comte de St. Paul in France ; of 
 whom tradition says, that her husband Audemar de Valen- 
 
ODE FOR MUSIC. 65 
 
 That wept her bleeding Love, and princely Clare, 
 And Anjou's heroine, and the paler rose, 
 The rival of her crown and of her woes, 
 
 And either Henry there, 45 
 
 The murder'd saint, and the majestic lord, 
 That broke the bonds of Rome. 
 (Their tears, their little triumphs o'er, 
 Their human passions now no more, 
 Save Charity, that glows beyond the tomb.) 50 
 
 ACCOMPANIED. 
 
 All that on Granta's fruitful plain 
 Rich streams of regal bounty pour'd. 
 
 tia, earl of Pembroke, was slain at a tournament on the day 
 of his nuptials. She was the foundress of Pembroke Col- 
 lege or Hall, under the name of Aula Marise de Valentia. 
 Gray. But consult a letter to Tyson from Gough in INi- 
 choll. Lit. Anecd. viii. 604. Luke. Fotheringay Castle was 
 her property. 
 
 V. 42. Elizabeth de Burg, countess of Clare, was wife 
 of John de Burg, son and heir of the earl of Ulster, and 
 daughter of Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester, by Joan 
 of Acres, daughter of Edward the First. Hence the poet 
 gives her the epithet oifrincely. She founded Clare Hall. 
 Gray. 
 
 V. 43. Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry the Sixth, foun- 
 dress of Queen's College. The poet has celebrated her 
 conjugal fidelity in " The Bard'' epode 2d, line 13th. 
 
 Elizabeth Widville, wife of Edward the Fourth, hence 
 called the paler rose, as being of the house of York. She 
 added to the foundation of Margaret of Anjou. Gray. 
 
 V. 45. Henry the Sixth and Eighth. The former the 
 founder of King's, the latter the greatest benefactor to Tri- 
 nity College. Gray. 
 
 V. 49. " One human tear shall drop, and be forgiven." 
 Pope. Eloisa, 358. W, 
 
 V. 50. " Charity never faileth," St. Paul, 1 Corinth 
 xiii. 8. W, 
 
66 gray's poems. 
 
 And bad these awful fanes and turrets rise, 
 To hail their Fitzroy's festal morning come ; 
 
 And thus they speak in soft accord 65 
 
 The liquid language of the skies : 
 
 V. QUARTETTO. 
 
 *' What is grandeur, what is power? 
 Heavier toil, superior pain. 
 What the bright reward we gain ? 
 The grateful memory of the good. 6c 
 
 Sweet is the breath of vernal shower. 
 The bee's collected treasures sweet. 
 Sweet music's melting fall, but sweeter yet 
 The still small voice of gratitude." 
 
 V. 56. " Cui Uquidam Pater 
 
 Vocem." Hor. Od. I. xxiv. 3. W. 
 And so Lucret. v. 1378 : " Liquidas voces." And Ovid 
 Amor. I. xiii. 8. 
 
 V. 61. Milton. Ep. on M. of AVinchest. " Shot up from 
 vernal shower." Thomson. Spring, " With vernal showers 
 distent." Luke. 
 
 V. 62. This comparison we find also in Theocr. Id. viii. 
 83 : KpiaGov fieXTrofiEvu) rev UKovefiev, i) [xiXi Xei^tv. And 
 in Calphurn. Eclog. iv. ver. 150. These four verses, as 
 Wakefield remarks, were suggested by Milton's Par. Lost, 
 b. iv. ver. 641 : " Sweet is the breath of mom," &c. : but 
 see also Theocr. Idyll. 3. ver. 33 : 
 
 — ovTi yap vTTVog, 
 Our' tap i^aTTivaq yXvKspwTepov, ovTe fieXirraaig 
 "AvOea, oaaov Ifiiv Muxrai ^iXai. 
 " Opes congestas apium," A. INIarcellini. Hist, xviii. 3. 
 
 V. 63. " And melt away, in a dying, dying fall," Pope. 
 Ode on St. Cecilia. Luke. 
 
 V. 64. " After the fire, a still small voice," 1 Kings xix 
 12. And in a rejected stanza of the Elegy : 
 
 '' Hark how the sacred calm that breathes around 
 Bids every fierce tumultuous passion cease ; 
 
ODE FOR MUSIC. C7 
 
 VI. RECITATIVE. 
 
 Foremost and leaning- from her golden cloud 65 
 
 The venerable Marg-'ret see ! 
 *' Welcome, my noble son, (she cries aloud) 
 
 To this, thy kindred train, and me : 
 Pleas'd in thy lineaments we trace 
 A Tudor's fire, a Beaufort's grace. re 
 
 AIR. 
 
 Thy liberal heart, thy judg-ing- eye. 
 
 The flow'r unheeded shall descry, 
 
 And bid it round heav'n's altars shed 
 
 The fragrance of its blushing head : 
 
 Shall raise from earth the latent gem 76 
 
 To glitter on the diadem. 
 
 In still small accents whisp'ring from the ground 
 A grateful earnest of eternal peace." W. 
 " Now in a still sjnall tone 
 Your dying accents fall.'' Dryd. OEdip. act ii. 
 V. 65. " A voice from midst a golden cloud thus mild was 
 heard." Milt. P. L. vi. 27. Uike. 
 
 V. 66. Countess of Richmond and Derby ; the mother 
 of Henry the Seventh, foundress of St. John's and Christ's 
 Colleges. Gray. 
 
 V. 70. The Countess was a Beaufort, and married to a 
 Tudor : hence the application of this line to the Duke of 
 Grafton, who claims descent from both these families. 
 
 Gray. 
 V. 71. " Dryden alone escaped his judging eye." 
 
 Pope. Prol. to the Sat. 246. 
 Also : " A face untaught to feign, a judging eye." Pope. 
 Epist. to Craggs, p. 289. "A liberal heart and free from 
 gall." Fuller. Abel Red. p. 314. 
 
 V. 72. This allusion to the jiouer and the gem we meet 
 with again in the Elegy. 
 
 V. 73. ♦* Delubra, et aras coslitum," Senec. Agam. v. 
 392. " Cff/oque educitur ara," Sil. Ital. xv. 388. " Ara- 
 que Divorum," Manil. Astr. v. 18. 
 
68 gray's poems. 
 
 VII. RECITATIVE. 
 
 " Lo ! Granta waits to lead her blooming band, 
 
 Not obvious, not obtrusive, she 
 No vulgar praise, no venal incense flings ; 
 
 Nor dares with courtly tongue refin'd so 
 
 Profane thy inborn royalty of mind : 
 
 She reveres herself and thee. 
 With modest pride to grace thy youthful brow. 
 The laureate wreath, that Cecil wore, she brings, 
 
 And to thy just, thy gentle hand, 85 
 
 V. 78. " Not obvious, not obtrusive, but retired," 
 
 Par. L. viii. 504. W. 
 V. 79. " No hireling she, no prostitute for praise," 
 
 Pope. £pist. to Lord. Oxford, v. 36. W. 
 V. 82. TldvTOJV Se fidXicrr aicrxvpto cravTOv, Pythag. 
 Aur. V. 12. W. — And so Galen. " De Curatione Morb. 
 Animi :" 2ii Si aavrbv aidov fidXiffra. 
 
 V. 83. " Yielded with coy submission, modest pride," 
 
 Par. Lost, iv. 310. 
 V. 84. Lord Treasurer Burleigh was chancellor of the 
 University in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Gray. Milt. 
 Son. xvi. 8. " And Worcester's laureate wreath." Luhe. 
 
 V. 85. Par. Lost, b. iv. 308, "gentle sway," from 
 Horace, " lenibus imperils," Epist. I. xviii. 44. W. — But 
 the sentiment, as well as expression, was taken from Dry- 
 den. Thr. August. 284 : 
 
 '• And with a willing hand restores 
 The fasces of the main." 
 Add Milton. Eleg. i. 67 : " Vos etiam Danaae fasces sub- 
 wittjfe nymphae." Luke. " With the submitted fasces of the 
 main." Dryden. Astrfea. Red. 
 V. 88. See Par. Lost, vii. 559. 
 
 V. 89. " Well knows to still the wild waves when they 
 roar." Comus, v. 87. W. " The wild leaves mastered 
 him." Dr}'den. An. Mirabilis. 
 
 V. 92. " Neque altum 
 
 Semper urguendo, neque, dum procellas 
 Cautus horrescis, nimium premendo 
 Littus iniquura." 
 
ODE FOR MUSIC. 09 
 
 Submits the fasces of her sway, 
 While spirits blest above and men below 
 Join with glad voice the loud symphonious lay 
 
 VIII. GRAND CHORUS. 
 
 Thro' the wild waves as they roar, 
 
 With watchful eye and dauntless mien, go 
 
 Thy steady course of honour keep, 
 
 Nor fear the rocks, nor seek the shore : 
 
 The star of Brunswick smiles serene. 
 
 And gilds the horrors of the deep." 
 
 Hor. Od. IT. X. v. 1. W. " Nor let her tempt that deep, 
 nor make the shore." Prior. Ode. 
 
 V. 93. Pope, in his Essay on Criticism, has a similarly 
 beautiful image, v. 645 : 
 
 " The mighty Stag3^rite first left the shore, 
 
 Spread all his sails, and durst the deeps explore ; 
 
 He steer'd securely, and discover'd far. 
 
 Led by the light of the Mceonian star." 
 Young, in his " Universal Passion," Sat. vii. v. 169 ; 
 "And outwatch every star, for Brunswiclis sake." 
 
70 GRAV'S POEMS. 
 
 THE FATAL SISTERS. 
 
 AN ODE. FROM THE NORSE TONGUE. 
 
 To be found in the Orcades of Thormodus Torfieus •, 
 Hafniae, 1697, folio ; and also in liartholinus, p, 617. lib. 
 iii. c. 1. 4to. (The song of the Weird Sisters, translated 
 from the Norwegian, written about 1029. Wharton, ms.) 
 
 Vitt er orpitfyrir valfalli, &;c. 
 
 [n the eleventh century Sigurd, earl of the Orkney Islands, 
 went with a fleet of ships and a considerable body of 
 troops into Ireland, to the assistance of Sictryg with the 
 Silken heard, who was then making war on his father-in- 
 law Brian, king of Dublin : the earl and all his forces 
 were cut to pieces, and Sictryg was in danger of a total 
 defeat ; but the enemy had a greater loss by the death of 
 Brian their king, who fell in the action. On Christmas 
 day (the day of the battle), a native of Caithness in 
 Scotland, of the name of Darrud, saw at a distance a 
 number of persons on horseback riding full speed to- 
 wards a hill, and seeming to enter into it. Curiosity 
 led him to follow them, till looking through an opening 
 in the rocks, he saw twelve gigantic figures resembling 
 women : they were all employed about a loom ; and as 
 they wove, they sung the following dreadful song ; 
 which when they had finished, they tore the web into 
 twelve pieces, and (each taking her portion) galloped six 
 to the north, and as many to the south. These were 
 the Valkyriur, female divinities, Parcfe Militares, ser- 
 vants of Odin (or Woden) in the Gothic mythology. 
 Their name signifies Chusers of the slain. They were 
 mounted on swift horses, with arawn swords in their 
 hands; and in the throng of battle selected such as were 
 destined to slaughter, and conducted them to Valhalla, 
 the hall of Odin, or paradise of the brave ; where they 
 attended the banquet, and served the departed heroes 
 with horns of mead and ale : their numbers are not 
 agreed upon, some authors representing them as six, 
 some as four. See Magni Beronii diss, de Eddis Islan- 
 dicis, p, 145, in ^Elrichs. Dan. et Sued lit. opuscula, 
 vol. i 
 
THE FATAL SISTERS. 71 
 
 Now the storm begins to lower, 
 (Haste, the loom of hell prepare,) 
 
 Iron sleet of arrowy shower 
 Hurtles in the darken'd air, 
 
 Glitt'ring lances are the loom, 
 Where the dusky warp we strain^ 
 
 Weaving many a soldier's doom, 
 Orkney's woe, and Randver's bane 
 
 Var. V. 5. Launces. ms. 
 
 V. 3. 
 
 " How quick they wheel'd, and, flying, behind them shot 
 Sharp sleet of arrowy show'r." Par. Reg. iii, 324. Gray. 
 Avianus has a similar expression : " Ansa pharetratis ini- 
 bribus ista loqui,'' Fab. xli. v. 6. " Sic et imhrem ferreum 
 dicunt, cum volunt multitudinem significare telorum," 
 Lactant. Epitome, c. xi. Virg. ^n. xii. 284 : " Tempestas 
 telorum ac ferreus ingruit imber." Many other examples 
 could be given. 
 
 Thick storms of bullets ran like winter's hail, 
 And shiver'd lances dark the troubled air.'' 
 
 Spanish Trag. Vid. Hawkins. Ant. Drama. 
 V. 4. " The noise of battle hurtled in the air." 
 
 Julius Caesar, act ii. s. 2. Gray. 
 V. 7. In Thomson. Masque of Alfred, p. 126, the weav- 
 ing of the enchanted standard is thus described : 
 
 " 'Tis the same 
 
 Wrought by the sisters of the Danish king, 
 Of furious I var, in a midnight hour. 
 While the sick moon, at their enchanted song 
 Wrapt in pale tempest, labour'd thro' the clouds. 
 The demons of destruction then, (they say,) 
 Were all abroad, and mixing with the woof 
 Their baleful power ; the Sisters even sung, 
 ' Shake, standard, shake, this ruin on our foes ! ' " 
 
72 gray's poems. 
 
 See the griesly texture gTow ! 
 
 ('Tis of human entrails made) lo 
 
 And the weights, that play below, 
 
 Each a gasping warrior's head. 
 
 Shafts for shuttles, dipt in gore, 
 Shoot the trembling cords along. 
 
 Sword, that once a monarch bore, 15 
 
 Keep the tissue close and strong. 
 
 Mista, black terrific maid, 
 
 Sangrida, and Hilda, see, 
 Join the wayward work to aid : 
 
 'Tis the woof of victory. so 
 
 Ere the ruddy sun be set, 
 
 Pikes must shiv^er, javelins sing, 
 
 Blade with clattering buckler meet, 
 Hauberk crash, and helmet ring. 
 
 (Weave the crimson web of war) 25 
 
 Let us go, and let us fly, 
 
 Var. V. 15. Sivord^ Blade, ms. 
 
 V. 17. Mista, black] Sangrida, terrific, ms. 
 
 V. 18. Sangrida and] Mista black, and. ms. 
 
 V. 23. Blade] Sword. W. ms. 
 
 V. 11. Dr. Warton, in his Notes on Pope (vol. ii. p. 
 227), has compared this passage of Gray to some lines in 
 the Thebais of Statins, i. 720, 
 
 V. 17. The names of the Sisters, in the original, are 
 Hilda, Hiorthrimula, Sangrida, and Swipula. 
 
TUB FATAL SISTERS. 73 
 
 Where our friends the conflict share, 
 Where they triumph, where they die. 
 
 As the paths of fate we tread, 
 
 Wading through th' ensanguin'd field, 30 
 Gondula, and Geira, spread 
 
 O'er the youthful king' your shield. 
 
 We the reins to slaughter gi^'e, 
 Ours to kill, and ours to spare : 
 
 Spite of danger he shall live. 35 
 
 (Weave the crimson web of war.) 
 
 Tliey, whom once the desert-beach 
 
 Pent within its bleak domain, 
 Soon their ample sway shall stretch 
 
 O'er the plenty of the plain. 40 
 
 Low the dauntless earl is laid, 
 
 Gor'd with many a gaping wound : 
 
 Fate demands a nobler head ; 
 
 Soon a king shall bite the ground. 
 
 Long his loss shall Eirin weep, 45 
 
 Ne'er again his likeness see ; 
 
 Vai, V. 31. Gondula, and Geira] Gunna, and Gondula. ms. 
 V. 44. Shall] Must. ms. 
 
 V. 40. " Insult the plenty of the vales below." 
 
 Essay on the Alliance, &c. Lxihe. 
 V. 44. (Shall bite the ground) " QvrjTOi oda^ IXov 
 
 dvdag." Horn. 
 
 V. 45. Eirin] Ireland. 
 
74 okay's poems. 
 
 Long her strains in sorrow steep : 
 Strains of immortality ! 
 
 Horror covers all the heath, 
 
 Clouds of carnage blot the sun. 50 
 
 Sisters, weave the web of death ; 
 
 Sisters, cease ; the work is done 
 
 Hail the task, and hail the hands ! 
 
 Songs of joy and triumph sing ! 
 Joy to the victorious bands ; 55 
 
 Triumph to the younger king. 
 
 Mortal, thou that hear'st the tale. 
 
 Learn the tenour of our song. 
 Scotland, thro' each winding vale 
 
 Far and wide the notes prolong. 60 
 
 Var. V. 49. Heath ! ms. 
 V. 50. Blot] Veil. ms. 
 V. 50. Sun ! MS. 
 V. 59. Windivg'] Echoing, ms. 
 
 V. 49. This stanza, as it appears in the original, Mr. 
 Herbert has translated without the insertion or omission of 
 a word : 
 
 " 'Tis horrid now to gaze around, 
 
 While clouds thro' heaven gore-dropping sail ; 
 
 Air must be stain'd with blood of men, 
 
 Ere all our oracles shall fail." 
 
 Select Icelandic Poetry, p. 50. 
 V. 59. This and the following line are not in the origi- 
 nal. Indeed, this poem is not so much a translation, as a 
 loose, though highly-spirited paraphrase ; and, as Herbert 
 observes, inferior to the "Descent of Odin.'' 
 V. 61. "Bear me hence on wheels of speed." 
 
 V. Philips. (Pind. 1. ^n. 3.) 
 
THE FATAL SISTERS. 75 
 
 Sisters, hence with spurs of speed : 
 Each her thundering* faulchion wield ; 
 
 Each bestride her sable steed. 
 Hurry, hurry to the field ! 
 
 V. 61—64. 
 
 " Sisters, hence, 'tis time to ride : 
 
 Now your thundering faulchion wield ; 
 Now your sable steed bestride. 
 
 Hurry, hurry to the field." ms. 
 
 THE VEGTAM'S KIVITHA ; 
 
 OR THE DESCENT OF ODIN.* AN ODE. FROM THE 
 NORSE TONGUE. 
 
 The original is to be found in Saemund's Edda, and in Bar- 
 tholinus, De Causis contemuendae Mortis ; Hafniae, 
 1689, quarto, Lib. III. c. ii. p. 632. (See Warton. Hist, 
 of E. Poetry, vol. i.p. xli. And Warton's Pope, vol. ii. 
 p. 70. •' This Ode, I think with Lord Orford, equal to 
 any of Gray's."] 
 
 Upreis Odinn allda gautr, S)C. 
 
 * This Ode is much more literally translated than the 
 preceding. The original title 1 have restored from Gray's 
 MS. The first five stanzas of this Ode are omitted ; "in 
 which Balder, one of the sons of Odin, was informed that 
 he should soon die. Upon his communication of his dream, 
 the other gods, finding it true, by consulting the oracles, 
 agreed to ward off the approaching danger, and sent Frigga 
 to exact an oath from every thing not to injure Balder. 
 She, however, overlooked the Misletoe, with a branch of 
 which he was afterwards slain by Hoder, at the instigation 
 of Lok. After the execution of this commission, Odin, still 
 
76 okay's poems. 
 
 Uprose the king of men with speed, 
 And saddled straight his coal-black steed 
 Down the yawning steep he rode, 
 That leads to Hela's drear abode. 
 Him the dog. of darkness spied ; 
 His shaggy throat he open'd wide, 
 (While from his jaws, with carnage fill'd, 
 Foam and human gore distill'd :) 
 Hoarse he bays with hideous din, 
 Eyes that glow, and fangs that grin ; 
 And long pursues with fruitless yell, 
 The father of the powerful spell. 
 Onward still his way he takes, 
 
 Var. V. 7. (So ms. Wh.) 
 
 V. 11. Fruitless] Ceaseless, ms. 
 
 alarmed for the life of his son, called another council ; and 
 hearing nothing but divided opinions among the gods, to 
 consult the Prophetess, " he up-rose with speed." Vali, 
 or All, the son of Rinda, afterwards avenged the death of 
 Balder, by slaying Hoder, and is called a " wondrous bov, 
 because he killed his enemy, before he was a day old ; be- 
 fore he had washed his face, combed his hair, or seen one 
 setting-sun." See Herbert's Icelandic Translations, p. 45 ; 
 to which I am indebted for part of this note. And the 
 Edda of Saemund, translated by Cottle. See also the in- 
 troduction to the Descent of Frea, in Sayer. Dramatic 
 Sketches of H. Mythology, 1792. 
 
 V. 1. " When straight uprose the king of men." 
 
 Chapman. Homer. II. xiii. p. 43. 
 
 V. 2. Sleipner was the horse of Odin, which had eight 
 legs. Vide 'Edda. Mason. "And coal black steeds jhome 
 of hellish brood." Spens, F. Q. I. v. xx. Luke. 
 
 V. 4. Vid. Cottle's Edda. " Song of Vafthrudnes," p. 
 29. Note. Niflheliar, the hell of the Gothic nations, 
 consisted of nine worlds, to which were devoted all such 
 
THE vegtam's kivitha. 77 
 
 (The groaning- earth beneath him shakes,) 
 Till full before his fearless eyes 15 
 
 The portals nine of hell arise. 
 
 Right against the eastern gate, 
 By the moss-grown pile he sate ; 
 Where long of yore to sleep was laid 
 The dust of the prophetic maid. 20 
 
 Facing to the northern clime, 
 Thrice he trac'd the Runic rhyme ; 
 Thrice pronounc'd, in accents dread, 
 The thrilling verse that wakes the dead : 
 Till from out the hollow ground 25 
 
 Slowly breath'd a sullen sound 
 
 V. 14. Shakes] Quakes, ms. 
 V. 23. Accents] Murmurs, ms. 
 
 as died of sickness, old age, or by any other means than in 
 battle. Over it presided Hela, the goddess of death. 
 
 Mason. 
 
 Hela, m the Edda, is described with a dreadful coun- 
 tenance, and her body half flesh colour, and half blue. 
 
 Gray. 
 
 V. 5. The Edda gives this dog the name of Managarmar. 
 He fed upon the lives of those that were to die. Mason, 
 
 V. 17. " Right against the eastern gate 
 
 When the great sun begins his state." 
 
 L'AUeg. V. 60. Warton. note. 
 
 V. 22. In a little poem called the " Magic of Odin," 
 (see Bartholinus, p. 641,) Odin says, " If I see a man 
 dead, and hanging aloft on a tree, I engrave Riinic charac- 
 ters so wonderful, that the man immediately descends and 
 converses with me. When I see magicians travelling 
 through the air, I disconcert them with a single look, and 
 force them to abandon their enterprize." 
 
 24. The original word is Valgalldr ; from Voir mortuus, 
 and Galldr incantatio. Gray. 
 
78 gray's poems. 
 
 prophetess. 
 What Ccill unknown, what charms presume 
 To break the quiet of the tomb ? 
 Who thus afflicts my troubled sprite, 
 And drags me from the reahns of night ? 30 
 Lonpr on these mould'rin"- bones have beat 
 The winter's snow, the summer's heat, 
 The drenching dews, and driving rain ! 
 Let me, let me sleep again. 
 Who is he, with voice unblest, 35 
 
 That calls me from the bed of rest ? 
 
 ODIN. 
 
 A traveller, to thee unknown, 
 Is he that calls, a warrior's son. 
 Thou the deeds of light shalt know ; 
 Tell me what is done below, 40 
 
 Var. V. 27. What call unknown'] What voice unknown, ms. 
 V. 29. My troubled] A weary, ms. 
 Y. 35. He] This, ms. 
 
 v. 27. " What power art thou, who from below 
 
 Hast made me rise.'' Dryd. K. Arth. vi. 
 
 V. 33. " Till cold December comes with driving rain." 
 Dr3'den. Virg-. G. i. 301. Luke. 
 
 V. 34. This and the two following verses are not in the 
 original, and therefore Gray probably borrowed them from 
 the Thessalian Incantation in Lucan. Ph. vi. 820 : " Sic 
 postquam fata peregit, stat vultu moestus tacito, moi-temque 
 reposcit." See Quart. Rev. No. xxii. p. 314. " Let me, 
 let me rest." Pope. '• Let me, let me drop my freight." 
 Dryden. Sec. Mag. Rogers. " Let me, let me freeze again 
 to death." Dryden. K. Arth. 
 
 V. 40. Odin was anxious about the fate of his son. Bal- 
 der, who had dreamed he was soon to die. He was killed 
 Dy Odin's other son, Hoder, who was himself slain by 
 Vali, the son of Odin and Rinda, consonant with this pro- 
 phecy. See tte Edda. 
 
THE VEGTAM's KIVITHA. 79 
 
 For whom yon glitt'ring board is spread, 
 Dress'd for whom yon golden bed i 
 
 PROPHETESS. 
 
 Mantling- in the goblet see 
 The pure bev'rage of the bee : 
 O'er it hangs the shield of gold ; « 
 
 'Tis the drink of Balder bold : 
 Balder's head to death is giv'n. 
 Pain can reach the sons of heav'n ! 
 Unwilling I my lips unclose : 
 Leave me, leave me to repose. so 
 
 ODIN. 
 
 Once again my call obey, 
 Prophetess, arise, and say, 
 What dangers Odin's child await. 
 Who the author of his fate ? 
 
 Var. V. 41. Yon'\ The. ms. 
 
 V. 48. Reach] Touch, ms. 
 
 V. 51, 52. Once again, Sec] 
 " Prophetess, my call obey, 
 Once again arise and say." ms. 
 
 V. 42. " Non movet aurea pompa ihori." Prudent, tt. 
 2r. iii. v. iii. " Aurato lecto." Juv. Sat. vi. 
 
 V. 43. " The spiced goblets mantled high," 
 
 T. Warton. Works, ii. 74. 
 
 V. 50. " Quid, oro, me post Lethsea pocula, jam Stygiis 
 paludibus innatantemad momentariae vitae reducitis official 
 Desine i^m, precor, desine, ac me in meam quietem permitte," 
 Apul. Memor. ii. 40. quoted in the Quarterly Rev. No. 
 xxii. p. 314. 
 
 V. 51. Women were looked upon by the Gothic nations 
 as having a peculiar insight into futurity ; and some there 
 were that made profession of magic arts and divination. 
 These travelled round the country, and were received m 
 every house with great respect and honour. Such a wo- 
 man bore the name of Volva Seidkona or Spakona. The 
 
80 gray's poems. 
 
 prophetess. 
 In Hoder's hand the hero's doom ; 55 
 
 His brother sends him to the tomb. 
 Now my weary lips I close : 
 Leave me, leave me to repose. 
 
 ODIN. 
 
 Prophetess, my spell obey, 
 Once again arise, and say, 60 
 
 Who th' avenger of his gnilt. 
 By whom shall Hoder's blood be spilt ? 
 
 PROPHETESS. 
 
 In the caverns of the west, 
 
 Var. V. 59, 60. Prophetess, &c.] 
 
 " Once again my call obey. 
 Prophetess, arise and say." ms. 
 V. 61, 62. Who th' avenger, &c.] These verses are 
 
 transposed in ms. 
 
 dress of Thorbiorga, one of these prophetesses, is described 
 at large in Eirik's Rauda Sogu, (apud Bartholin, lib. i cap. 
 iv. p. 688.) " She had on a blue vest spangled all over 
 with stones, a necklace of glass beads, and a cap made of 
 the skin of a black lamb lined with white cat-skin. She 
 leaned on a staff adorned with brass, with a round head set 
 with stones ; and was girt with an Hunlandish belt, at which 
 hung her pouch full of magical instruments. Her buskins 
 were of rough calf-skin, bound on with thongs studded with 
 knobs of brass, and her gloves of white cat-skin, the fur 
 turned inwards," &c. They were also called Fiolhyngi, or 
 Fiolkunnug, i. e. Multi-scia; and Visindakona, i. e. Oracu- 
 lorum JMulier ; Nornir, i. e. Parcae. Gray. 
 
 V. 58. " When my weaiy lips I close 
 
 And slumber, 'tis without repose." 
 
 N. Tate. Poems, p. 90. 
 
 V. 66. King Harold made (according to the singular 
 custom of his time) a solemn vow never to dip or comb his 
 hair, till he should have extended his sway over the whole 
 country. Herbert. Iceland. Translat. p. 39. In the Dying 
 Song of Asbiorn p. 52 
 
THE VEGTAM S KAVITHA. 81 
 
 By Odin's fierce embrace comprest, 
 
 A wond'rous boy shall Rinda bear, 65 
 
 Who ne'er shall comb his raven-hair, 
 
 Nor wash his visag-e in the stream, 
 
 Nor see the sun's departing beam, 
 
 Till he on Hoder's corse shall smile 
 
 Flaming on the fun'ral pile. 70 
 
 Now my weary lips I close : 
 
 Leave me, leave me to repose. 
 
 ODIN. 
 
 Yet a while my call obey ; 
 Prophetess, awake, and say. 
 What virgins these, in speechless woe, 75 
 
 Var. V. 65. Wond'rous] Giant, ms. 
 V. 74. Awake] Arise, ms. 
 
 " Know, gentle mother, know. 
 
 Thou wilt not comb my Jlowing hair, 
 When summer sweets return, 
 
 In Denmark's vallies, Svanvhide fair !" 
 V. 75. " It is not certain," says Mr. Herbert, " what 
 Odin means by the question concerning the weeping vir- 
 gins ; but it hjas been supposed that it alludes to the embassy 
 afterwards sent by Frigga to try to redeem Balder from the 
 infernal regions, and that Odin betrays his divinity by men- 
 tioning what had not yet happened." Iceland. Translat. p. 
 48, — The object of this embassy was frustrated by the per- 
 fidy of Loke, who having assumed (as was supposed) the 
 shape of an old woman, refused to join in the general peti- 
 tion. *' I Lok (she said) will weep with dry eyes the fu- 
 neral of Balder. Let all things living or dead, weep if they 
 will, but let Hela keep her prey." — After this, Loke hid 
 himself, built a house among the mountains, and made a net. 
 Odin however found out his hiding-place, and the gods as- 
 sembled to take him. He seeing this, burnt his net, and 
 changed himself into a salmon. After some trouble, Thor 
 caught him by the tail, and this is the reason why salmons. 
 
82 gray's poems 
 
 That bend to earth their solemn brow, 
 That their flaxen tresses tear, 
 And snowy veils that float in air ? 
 Tell me whence their sorrows rose : 
 Then I leave thee to repose. 
 
 PROPHETESS. 
 
 Ha ! no traveller art thou, 
 King of men, I know thee now ; 
 Mightiest of a mighty line 
 
 ODIN. 
 
 No boding maid of skill divine 
 
 Var. \.77. That, flaxen] Who, flowing, ms. 
 V. 79. Say from whence, ms. 
 V. 83. The mightiest of the mighty line. ms. 
 
 ever after, have had their tails so fine and thin. They bound 
 him with chains, and suspended the serpent Skada over his 
 head, whose venom falls upon his face drop by drop. His 
 wife Siguna sits by his side, catches the drops as they fall 
 from his face in a basin, which she empties as often as it is 
 filled. He will remain in chains till the end of the world, 
 or as the Icelanders call it, the Twilight of the Gods. To 
 this the prophetess alludes in the last stanza. See Butler. 
 Hor. Bibl. ii. 194. 
 
 V. 76. This and the following verse are not in the Latin 
 translation. 
 
 V. 82. " Great Love ! I know thee now, 
 Eldest of the Gods, art thou." 
 
 Dryden. K. Arth. Rogers. 
 
 V. 86. In the Latin, " mater trium gigantum :" probably 
 Angerbode, who from her name seems to be " no prophetess 
 of good ;" and who bore to Loke, as the Edda says, three 
 children, the wolf Fenris, the great serpent of Midgard, 
 and Hela, all of them called giants in that system of mytho- 
 logy. Mason. Sams. Agon. 1247, " I dread him not, not 
 all his giant brood." Luke. 
 
 V. 88. In the original, this and the three following lines 
 are represented by this couplet : 
 
THE VEGTAm's KAVITHA. 83 
 
 Art thou, nor prophetess of g'ood ; 85 
 
 But mother of the giant brood ! 
 
 PROPHETESS. 
 
 Hie thee hence, and boast at home, 
 That never shall enquirer come 
 To break my iron-sleep again ; 
 Till Lok has burst his tenfold chain ; 90 
 
 Never, till substantial night 
 Has reassum'd her ancient right ; 
 Till wrapt in flames, in ruin hurl'd, 
 Sinks the fabric of the world. 
 
 Var. V. 87. Hie thee, Odin, boast, ms. 
 V. 90. Has] Have. ms. 
 V. 92. Has reassum'd] Reassumes her. ms. 
 
 " Et deorum crepusculum 
 Dissolventes aderint." 
 W. Herbert has published a translation of the introductory 
 lines of this poem, and also much curious information illus- 
 trating several passages in the text. See his Select Iceland 
 Poetry, p. 43. He mentions some little amplifications in 
 Gray, tending to convey notions of the Icelandic mythology, 
 not warranted by the original, as " Coal-black steed ;" Raven- 
 hair ;' " Thrice he trac'd the Runic rhyme ;" " The portals 
 nine of hell •" " Foam and human gore." 
 
 v.- 89. *' x^^i^^^^S VTTVOQ," Hom. " Ferreus somnus," 
 Virg. ^n. xii. 509. " Iron sleep," Dryden. And "An iron 
 slumber shuts my sleeping eyes," Dryden. Georg. iv. 717. 
 
 V. 90. Lok is the evil being, who continues in chains 
 till the twilight of the gods approaches : when he shall break 
 his bonds, the human race, the stars, and sun, shall disap- 
 pear ; the earth sink in the seas, and fire consume the skies : 
 even Odin himself and his kindred deities shall perish. 
 For a further explanation of this mythology, see ' Introd. a 
 I'Hist. de Dannemarc par Mallet,' 1755, quarto ; or rather 
 a translation of it published in 1770, and entitled " Northern 
 Antiquities ;" in which some mistakes in the original are ju- 
 diciously corrected. Mason. 
 
84 gray's poems. 
 
 THE TRIUMPHS OF OWEN.* 
 
 A FRAGMENT. FROM THE WELSH. 
 
 [From Evans. Spec, of the Welsh Poetry, 1764, quarto, p. 
 25, where is a Prose version of this Poem, and p. 127. 
 Owen succeeded his father Griffith app Cynan in the 
 principality of N. Wales, A. D. 1137. This battle waa 
 fought in the year 1157. Jones, Relics, vol. ii, p. 36.] 
 
 Owen's praise demands my song, 
 
 Owen swift, and Owen strong ; 
 
 Fairest flower of Roderic's stem, 
 
 Gwyneth's shield, and Britain's gem. 
 
 He nor heaps his brooded stores, 5 
 
 Nor on all profusely pours ; 
 
 Lord of every regal art, 
 
 Liberal hand, and open heart. 
 
 Compare with this poem, " Hermode's Journey to Hell," 
 in Dr. Percy's Translation of Mallet's Northern Antiquities, 
 vol. ii. p. 149. See Beronii Diss, de Eddis Island, p. 153. 
 Mundi credita iKirvpoiaiQ in qua solem nigrescere, tellurem 
 in mari submersam iri, Stellas de coelo lapsuras, ignem in 
 vetustam orbis molem et fabricam disaevituram, v. Sibyll. 
 Velusp. Stroph. liii. 
 
 * The original W^elsh of the above poem was the compo- 
 sition of Gwalchmai the son of Melir, immediately after 
 Prince Owen Gwynedd had defeated the combined fleets of 
 Iceland, Denmark, and Norway, which had invaded his 
 territory on the coast of Anglesea. There is likewise ano- 
 ther poem which describes this famous battle, written by 
 Prince Howel, the son of Owen Gwynedd ; a literal trans- 
 lation of which may be seen in Jones. Relics, vol. ii. p, 36. 
 In Mason's edition, and in all the subsequent editions, it is 
 
THE TRIUMPHS OF OWEN^. 85 
 
 Big" with hosts of mighty name, 
 Squadrons three against him came ; lo 
 
 This the force of Eirin hiding, 
 Side by side as proudly riding, 
 On her shadow long and gay 
 Lochlin plows the wat'ry way ; 
 There the Norman sails afar 15 
 
 Catch the winds and join the war : 
 Black and huge along they sweep, 
 Burdens of the angry deep. 
 
 Dauntless on his native sands 
 The dragon-son of Mona stands ; 20 
 
 In glitt'ring arms and glory drest, 
 High he rears his ruby crest. 
 There the thund'ring strokes begin, 
 There the press, and there the din ; 
 
 said that Owen succeeded his father, A. D. 1120. The 
 date I have altered, agreeably to the text of Mr. Jones, to 
 A. D. 1137. 
 
 V. 4. Gwyneth'] North Wales. 
 
 V. 8. " With open heart and bounteous hand," 
 
 Swift. Cad. and Van. 
 
 V. 10. "A battle round of squadrons three they shew," 
 Fairfax. Tasso,'xviii. 96. 
 
 V. 13. " And on her shadow rides in floating gold." 
 Diyden. A. Mir. G. Steevens. 
 
 V. 14. Lochlin] Denmark. 
 
 " Watery way," Diyden. JEn. iii. 330. JRogers. 
 
 V. 20. The red dragon is the device of Cadwallader, 
 which all his descendants bore on their banners. Mason. 
 
 V. 23. " It seems (says Dr. Evans, p. 26,) that the fleet 
 landed in some part of the frith of Menai, and that it was a 
 kind of mixt engagement, some fighting from the shore, 
 others from the ships ; and probably the great slaughter was 
 
86 okay's poems. 
 
 Talymalfra's rocky shore «5 
 
 Echoing to the battle's roar. 
 
 Check'd by the torrent-tide of bloody 
 
 Backward Meinai rolls his flood ; 
 
 While, heap'd his master's feet around, 
 
 Prostrate warriors gnaw the ground. 3o 
 
 Where his glowing eye-balls turn, 
 
 Thousand banners round him burn : 
 
 Where he points his purple spear, 
 
 Hasty, hasty rout is there, 
 
 Marking with indignant eye 35 
 
 Fear to stop, and shame to fly. 
 
 There confusion, terror's child, 
 
 Conflict fierce, and ruin wild, 
 
 Agony, that pants for breath, 
 
 Despair and honourable death. 40 
 
 owing to its being low-water, and that they could not sail. 
 This will doubtless remind many of the spirited account 
 delivered by the noblest historian of ancient Greece, of a 
 similar conflict on the shore of Pylus, between the Athe- 
 nians and the Spartans under the gallant Brasidas. Thucyd. 
 Bel, Pelop. lib. iv. cap. 12." 
 
 V. 25. " Tal Moelvre." Jones. 
 
 V. 27. This and the three folbwing lines are not in the 
 former editions, but are now added from the author's MS. 
 
 Maton. 
 
 V. 31. From this line, to the conclusion, the translation 
 is indebted to the genius of Gray, very little of it being in 
 the original, which closes with a sentiment omitted by the 
 translator: "And the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting 
 sword shall be celebrated in a hundred languages, to give 
 bim his merited praise." 
 
87 
 
 THE DEATH OF HOEL. 
 
 AN ODE. SELECTED FROM THE GODODIN.* 
 
 [See S. Turner's V^indication of Ancient British Poems, 
 p. 50. Warton's Engl. Poetry, vol. i. p. Ixiii.] 
 
 Had I but the torrent's might, 
 
 With headlong" rage and wild affright 
 
 Upon De'ira's squadrons hurl'd 
 
 To rush, and sweep them from the world ! 
 
 * Of Aneurin, styled the Monarch of the Bards. He 
 flourished about the time of Taliessin, A. D. 570.* This 
 Ode is extracted from the Gododin. See Evans. Specimens, 
 p. 71 and 75. This Poem is extremely difficult to be un- 
 derstood, being written, if not in the Pictish, at least in a 
 dialect of the Britons, very different from the modern Welsh. 
 See Evans, p. 68-75. 
 
 " Aneurin with the flowing Muse, King of Bards, bro- 
 ther to Gildas Albanius the historian, lived under Mynyd- 
 dawg of Edinburgh, a prince of the North, whose Eurdor- 
 chogion, or warriors wearing the golden torques, three 
 hundred and sixty-three in number, were all slain, except 
 Aneurin and two others, in a battle with the Saxons at 
 Cattraeth, on the eastern coast of Yorkshire. His Gododin, 
 an heroic poem written on that event, is perhaps the oldest 
 and noblest production of that age." Jones. Relics, vol. i. 
 p. 17. — Taliessin composed a poem called ' Cunobiline's 
 Incantation,' in emulation of excelling the Gododin of An- 
 eurin his rival. He accomplished his aim, in the opinion 
 of subsequent bards ; by condensing the prolixity, without 
 losing the ideas, of his opponent. 
 
 V. 3. The kingdom of DeVra included the counties of 
 Yorkshire, Durham, Lancashire, Westmoreland, and Cum- 
 berland. See Jones. Relics, vol. i. p. 17. 
 
 ' Mr. Jones, in his Relics, vol. i. p. 17, says, that An- 
 eurin flourished about A. D. 510. 
 
88 gray's poems. 
 
 Too, too secure in youthful pride, 
 By them, my friend, my Hoel, died, 
 Great Cian's son : of Madoc old 
 He ask'd no heaps of hoarded gold ; 
 Alone in nature's wealth array 'd, 
 He ask'd and had the lovely maid. 
 
 To Cattraeth's vale in glitt'i'ing row 
 Thrice two hundred warriors go : 
 Every warrior's manly neck 
 Chains of regal honour deck, 
 Wreath'd in many a golden link : 
 From the golden cup they drink 
 Nectar that the bees produce, 
 Or the grape's extatic juice. 
 Flush'd with mirth and hope they burn 
 But none from Cattraeth's vale return, 
 
 V. 7. Cian] In Jones. Relics it is spelt ' Kian.' 
 
 V. 11. In the rival poem of Taliessin mentioned before, 
 this circumstance is thus expressed : " Three, and three- 
 score, and three hundred heroes flocked to the variegated 
 banners of Cattraeth ; but of those who hastened from the 
 flowing mead-goblet, save three, returned not. Cynon and 
 Cattraeth with hymns they commemorate, and me for my 
 blood they mutually lament." See Jones. Relics, vol. ii. 
 p. 14. — " The great topic perpetually recurring in the Go- 
 dodin is, that the Britons lost the battle of Cattraeth, and 
 suffered so severely, because they had dmnk their mead too 
 profusely. The passages in the Gododin are numerous on 
 *Hs point." See Sharon Turner's Vindication of the Anc. 
 British Poems, p. .51. 
 
 V. 14. See Sayer's War Song, from the Gaelic, in his 
 Poems, p. 174. 
 
 V. 17. See Fr. Goldsmith. Transl. of Grotius. Joseph 
 Sopbompaneas. p. 9. " Nectar of the Bees," and Euripid. 
 Bacchae. v. 143. 'pel ^e [ifXiaaav vkKrapi. 
 
THE DEATH OF HOEL. 89 
 
 Save Aeron brave, and Conan strong, 
 
 (Bursting through the bloody throng) 
 
 And I, the meanest of them all. 
 
 That live to weep and sing their fall. 24 
 
 Have ye seen the tusky boar,* 
 Or the bull, with sullen roar, 
 On surrounding foes advance ? 
 So Caradoc bore his lance. 
 
 Conan's name,t my lay, rehearse. 
 Build to him the lofty verse. 
 Sacred tribute of the bard. 
 Verse, the hero's sole reward. 
 As the flame's devouring force ; 
 
 V. 20. In tbe Latin translation : " Ex iis autem, qui nimio 
 potu madidi ad bellum properabant, non evasere nisi tres.' 
 
 V. 21. Properly ' Conon,' or, as in the Welsh, * Chynon.' 
 
 V. 23. In the Latin translation : " Et egomet ipse san- 
 guine rubens, aliter ad hoc carmen compingendum non su- 
 perstes fuissem." M. — " Gray has given a kind of senti- 
 mental modesty to his Bard which is quite out of place." 
 Quarterly Beview. 
 
 * This and the following short fragment ought to have 
 appeared among the Posthumous Pieces of Gray ; but it 
 was thought preferable to insert them in tbis place, with 
 the preceding fragment from the Gododin. See Jones. 
 Relics, vol. i. p. 17. 
 
 t In Jones. Relics, vol. i p. 17, it is ' VedeVs namej' 
 and in turning to the original I see ' Rhudd Fedel,' as well 
 as in the Latin translation of Dr. Evans, p. 75. 
 
 V. 2. " He knew, himself to sing and build the lofty 
 rhyme." Milt. Lycidas. Ltike. 
 
90 gray's poems. 
 
 As the whirlwind in its course ; 
 As the thunder's fiery stroke, 
 Glancing on the shiver'd oak ; 
 Did the sword of Conan mow 
 The crimson harvest of the foe. 
 
 SONNET 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF MR. RICHARD WEST. 
 [See W. S. Landori Poemata, p. 186.] 
 
 In vain to me the smiling mornings shine, 
 
 And redd'ning Phoebus lifts his golden fire : 
 The birds in vain their amorous descant join ; 
 
 Or cheerful fields resume their green attire : 
 These ears, alas ! for other notes repine 
 
 A different object do these eyes require : 
 My lonely anguish melts no heart but mine ; 
 
 And in my breast the imperfect joys expire. 
 
 V. 9. " Primosque et extremes metendo stravit humum, 
 sine clade victor." Hor. Od. iv. 14, 31. 
 
 V. 1. Milt. P. L. V. 168, "That crown'st the smiling 
 morn." Luhe. 
 
 V. 2. Lucret. vi. 204, " Devolet in terrain liquidi color 
 aureus igiiis." Luke. 
 
 V. 3. Milt. P. L. iv. 602, " She all night long her amo. 
 rous descant sung." Luke. 
 
 V. 8. " And in my ear the imperfect accent dies." 
 
 Dryden. Ovid. Rogers. 
 
 V. 12. Spens. B. Id. cant. iii. st. 5 : " On these Cupido 
 ■winged armies led, o{ little loves.'" Luke. 
 
 V. 14. A line similar to this occurs in Gibber's Alteration 
 of Richard the Third, act ii. sc. 2 : 
 
SONNET. 91 
 
 Yet morning smiles the busy race to cheer, 9 
 
 And new-born pleasure brings to happier men : 
 
 The fields to all their wonted tribute bear : 
 To warm their little loves the birds complain : 
 
 I fruitless mourn to him that cannot hear, 
 And weep the more, because T weep in vain. 
 
 EPITAPH ON MRS. JANE CLARKE. 
 
 [See Woty's Poetical Calendar, part viii. p. 121. NicoU's 
 Select Poems, vol. vii. p. 331.] 
 
 This lady, the wife of Dr. John Clarke, physician at Ep- 
 som, died April 27, 1757; and was buried in the church 
 of Beckenham, Kent. 
 
 Lo ! where this silent marble weeps, 
 A friend, a wife, a mother sleeps : 
 A heart, within whose sacred cell 
 The peaceful virtues lov'd to dwell. 
 
 " So we must weep, because we weep in vain.'' 
 " Solon, when he wept for his son's death, on one saying 
 
 to him, * Weeping will not help,' answered : Ai avrb dk 
 
 TOVTO daKpvuj, on ovdev civvttu)' ' I weep for that very 
 
 cause, that weeping will not avail.' " See Diog. Laert. 
 
 vol. i. p. 39. ed. Meibomii. It is also told of Augustus. 
 
 See also Fitzgeffry's Life and Death of Sir Francis Drake, 
 
 B. 99. " Oh ! therefore do we plaine. 
 
 And therefore weepe, because we weepe in vaine." 
 
 See also Dodsley's Old Plays, vol. x. p. 139, and Bamfylde's 
 
 Sonnets, p. 6. ed. Park. 
 
 V. 1. " This weeping marble had not ask'd a tear." 
 
 Pope. Epitaph on Ed. D. of Buckingham. And Winds. 
 
 For. " There o'er the martyr- king the marble tveeps," 313. 
 
 " orat teftebile Saxum." Burm. Anthol. Lat. vol. ii. p. 282. 
 
92 gray's poems. 
 
 Affection warm, and faith sincere, 
 
 And soft humanity were there. 
 
 In agony, in death resign'd, 
 
 She felt the wound she left behind, 
 
 Her infant image here below, 
 
 Sits smiling' on a father's woe : 
 
 Whom what awaits, while yet he strays 
 
 Along the lonely vale of days ? 
 
 A pang, to secret sorrow dear ; 
 
 A sigh ; an unavailing tear ; 
 
 Till time shall every grief remove. 
 
 With life, with memoiy, and with love. 
 
 Var. V. 7—10. In agony, &;c.] 
 
 " To hide her cares her only art, 
 Her pleasure, pleasures to impart, 
 In ling'ring pain, in death resign'd, 
 Her latest agony of mind 
 Was felt for him, who could not save 
 His all from an untimely grave." ms. 
 
 V. 6. " And soft humanity that from rebellion fled," 
 Diyden. Thr. Aug. s. xii. '* Bred to the rules of soft hu- 
 vianity," ditto All for Love, act ii. sc. i. " Oh ! soft hu- 
 manity in age beloved," Pope. Epitaph ix. " The soft 
 virtue of humanity," A. Smith. Mor. Sent, v, i. p. 310, 
 
93 
 
 EPITAPH ON SIR WILLIAM WILLIAMS.* 
 
 This Epitaph was written at the request of Mr. Frederick 
 Montagu, who intended to have inscribed it on a monu- 
 ment at Bellisle, at the siege of which Sii- W. Williams 
 was killed, 1761. See Mason's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 73', 
 and vol. iv. p. 76, and H. Walpole's Lett, to G. Mon- 
 tagu, p. 244. See account of Sir W. P. Williams, in 
 Brydges. Restituta, vol. iii. p. 53 ; and in Clubs of Lon- 
 don, vol. ii. p. 13. " In the recklessness of a desponding 
 mind, he approached too near the enemy's sentinels, and 
 was shot through the body." 
 
 " Valiant in arms, courteous and gay in peace, 
 See Williams snatch'd to an untimely tomb." 
 
 Hall Stevenson's Poems, ii. p. 49. 
 
 Here, foremost in the dangerous paths of fame, 
 Young* Williams fought for England's fair re- 
 nown ; 
 
 His mind each Muse, each Grace adorn'd his frame, 
 Nor envy dar'd to view him with a frown. 
 
 * Sir William Peere Williams, hart, a captain in Bur- 
 goyne's dragoons. 
 
 V. 3. EtVtKfv ivfTTiijg 7rLvvr6(ppovog, ijv 6 fitXixpoQ 
 i]<TKT)<rev Movffiov, dfifxiya Kal Xapinov. 
 
 Sophoc. Epit. ed. Brunck. vol. i. p. 10. 
 Tbv MbSaaiQ (piXov dvdpa, rbv ov 'Nv/xcpaia-iv direxOr]. 
 Theocr. Idyll, a. 141. 
 I recollect also the same expression in Gregory Nazianzen's 
 Epitaph on Euphomius. ovtoq bv di xapireg yiovaaig 
 doaav. 
 
 " A thousand Graces round her person play, 
 And all the Muses mark'd hev fancy's way." 
 
 A. Hill. Poems, vol. iii. p. 60. 
 
94 gray's poems. 
 
 At Aix, his voluntary sword he drew, 5 
 
 There first in blood his infant honour seal'd ; 
 
 From fortune, pleasure, science, love, he flew, 
 And scorn'd repose when Britain took the field. 
 
 With eyes of flame, and cool undaunted breast, 
 Victor he stood on Bellisle's rocky steeps — 10 
 
 Ah, gallant youth ! this marble tells the rest. 
 Where melancholy friendship bends, and weeps. 
 
 ELEGY WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY 
 CHURCH-Y'ARD. 
 
 The manuscript variations in this poem, in the Wharton 
 papers, agree generally with those published by Mr. Ma- 
 thias, vol. i. p. 65, in his edition of Gray's Works. See 
 Barrington on the Statutes, p. 154. British Bibliog. vol. 
 iii. p. viii. 
 
 The curfew tolls the knell of parting- day. 
 The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea, 
 
 The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, 
 And leaves the world to darkness and to me. 
 
 V. 5. Sir William Williams, in the expedition to Aix, 
 was on board the JMagnanime with Lord Howe ; and was 
 deputed to receive the capitulation. This expression has 
 been adopted by Scott : 
 
 " Since riding side by side, our hand 
 First drew the voluntary brand." 
 
 Marmion, Introd. to Cant. iv. 
 
 V. 1. " squilla di lontano 
 
 Che paia '1 giorno pianger, che si muore." 
 
 Dante, Purgat. 1. 8. Gray. 
 
ELJL&Y. 95 
 
 Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight, 
 And all the air a solemn stillness holds, 6 
 
 Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight, 
 And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds ; 
 
 Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tow'r, 
 Var. V. 8. And] Or. ms. M. and W. 
 
 " The curfew tolls ! — the knell of parting day." 
 So I read, says Dr. Warton, Notes on Pope, vol. i. p. 82. 
 Dryden has a line resembling this : 
 
 " That tolls the knell of their departed sense." 
 bee Prol. to Troilus and Cressida, ver. 22. And not dis- 
 similar is Shakes. Henry IV. pt. ii. act i. sc. 2 : 
 
 " a sullen bell 
 
 Remember'd knolling a departed friend.'' 
 V. 2. In the Diosem. of Aratus, this picture is drawn 
 similar to that of the English poet, ver. 387 : 
 
 "H 6' ore fxvKrjOjxolo ittp'ntXuoi dyepuJVTai 
 'Ep'x^ofisvai (TTaOnovde. (Soeg fiovXvaiov a>priv, 
 ^KvQpal Xeifxojvbg ttoquq kui j3ovto<Tioio. 
 And so Dionys. in his Perieg. ver. 190 : 
 
 Keivoig d' ovrrore TtpirvoQ aKovtrai qXkoq afid^r}g, 
 Ov Se fSoojv fivKii9[xbg eg avXiov £p%o/i£vawv. 
 See also Horn. Odyss. xvii. 170, pointed out by Wakefield. 
 Add Petrarch, " Veggio la sera, i buoi tornare sciolte, de le 
 campagne e de solcate colli." 
 
 V. 3. Spens. F. Q. b. vi. st. 7. c. 39 : 
 
 '' And now she was upon the weary way." Luke. 
 
 V. 4. A similar expression occurs in Petrarch, p. 124 : 
 
 " Quando '1 sol bagna in mar 1' aurato cerco, 
 
 E 'I aer nostro, e la mia mente imbruna." 
 
 " Has paid his debt to justice and to me." Dryd. Ovid. 
 
 Rogers " E lascia il Mundo al Foscombra." Ariosto. Rogers. 
 
 V. 7. " Ere the bat hath flown 
 
 His cloister'd flight ; ere, to black Hecate's summons. 
 The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hum 
 Hath rung night's yawning peal." Macb. act iii. sc. 2. 
 And so Collins, in his Ode to Evening: : 
 
96 gray's poems. 
 
 The moping owl does to the moon complain lo 
 Of such as, vvand'ring- near her secret bow'r, 
 Molest her ancient solitary reign. 
 
 Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, 
 Where heaves the turf in many a mould 'ring heap, 
 
 Each in his narrow cell for ever laid, is 
 
 The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. 
 
 " Or where the beetle winds 
 His small, but sullen horn ; 
 As oft he rises midst the twilight path, 
 Against the pilgrim borne in heedless hum." W. 
 V. 10. The '• ignavus bubo" of Ovid. Met. v. 550. TLo 
 two following passages might supply the images in the 
 Elegy: 
 
 " Assiduous in his bower the wailing owl 
 Plies his sad song." Thoms. Winter, 114. 
 
 And " the wailing owl 
 
 Screams solitary to the mournful moon." 
 
 Mallett. Excursion, p. 244. 
 V. 12. " Desertaque regna pastorum," Virg. Georg. iii. 
 476. W. 
 
 V. 13. De Lille, in his " Jardins," has imitated these 
 stanzas of the Elegy, cant. iv. p. 86. 
 
 V. 14. " Those graves with bending osier bound. 
 That nameless heave the crumbled ground." 
 
 Parnell. Night Piece, 29. W. 
 V. 15. See Hor. Od. i. iv. 17 : " Domus exilis Plutonia." 
 The word domus, which answers to our poet's cell, is often 
 in Latin authors put for sepulchnim ; as may be seen by re- 
 ferring to Burmann's Petronius, cap, 71 ; and Markland's 
 Statins, p. 255 : the reason of which is given in Barthelemy. 
 Travels in Italy, p. 349. 
 V. 17. " And e'er the odorous breath of morn," 
 
 Arcades, ver. 56 
 " In Eden, on the humid flowers that breath'd 
 Their morning incense." Par. Lost, b. ix. 192. W. 
 And so Pope. Messiah, ver. 24 : 
 
 " With all the incense of the breathing spring." 
 V. 18. " Mane jam clarum reserat fenestras, 
 
ELEGY. 97 
 
 The breezy call of incense-breathing morn, 
 The swallow twitt'ring from the straw-built shed 
 
 The cock's shrill clarion, or the echoing- horn, 
 No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed. 
 
 For them no more the blazing* hearth shall burn. 
 Or busy housewife ply her evening care ; 22 
 
 Var. V. 19. Or] And. us. M. and W. 
 
 Jam strepit nidis vigilax hirundo." 
 
 Auson. ed Tollii, p. 94. 
 Hesiod gives the swallow a very appropriate epithet ; 
 Xt^iSujv 6p9poy6ri' Epy. 567. Wakefield quotes Thomson. 
 Autumn, ver. 835. " The swallow-people ; — there they 
 twitter cheerful." " Evandrum ex humili tecto lux suscitat 
 alma, et matutini volucrum sub culmine cantus." v. Virg. 
 ^n. viii. 455. 
 
 V. 19. " When chanticleer with clarion shrili recalls 
 The tardy day." Philips. Cyder, i. 753. 
 
 Wakefield cites Par. Lost, b, vii. 443 : 
 
 " The crested coch, whose clarion sounds 
 The silent hours." 
 And Hamlet, act i. sc. 1. L'Allegro, ver. 53. To which 
 add Quarles. Argalus and Parthenia, p. 22 : 
 " I slept not, till the early bugle-horn 
 Of chaunticlere had summon'd in the morn." 
 Thomas Kyd has also joined the two images (England's 
 Parnassus, p. 325) : 
 
 '' The cheerful coch, the sad night's trumpeter, 
 
 Wayting upon the rising of the sunne. 
 The wandering swallow with her broken song." 
 V^ 21. Compare Apoll. Rhod. iv. 1062. 
 
 " Nam jam non domus accipiet te laeta, neque uxor 
 Optima, nee dulces occurrent oscula nati 
 Praeripere." Lucretius, iii. 907. 
 
 Horace has added to the picture an image copied by Grav r 
 " Quod si pudica mulier, in partem juvet 
 Domum, atque dulces liberos. 
 
98 GRAY S POEMS. 
 
 No children run to lisp their sire's return. 
 Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share. 
 
 Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield, «5 
 
 Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke : 
 
 How jocund did they drive their team afield ! 
 How bo w'd the woods beneath their sturdy stroke ! 
 
 Let not ambition mock their useful toil, 
 
 Their homely joys, and destiny obscure ; so 
 
 Var. V. 24. Or] Nor. ms. W. 
 
 V. 25. Sickle] Sickles, ms. W. 
 
 Sacrum et vetustis exstruat lignis focum 
 Lassi sub adventum viri." 
 See also Thomson. Winter, 311 : 
 
 " In vain for him the officious wife prepares 
 The fire fair-blazing, and the vestment warm : 
 In vain his little children, peeping out 
 Into the mingling storm, demand their sire 
 With tears of artless innocence." 
 V. 24. " Interea dulces pendent circum oscula nati.' 
 Virg. Georg. ii. v. 523. W 
 So Dryden, ed. Warton, vol. ii. p. 565 : 
 
 " Whose little arms about thy legs are cast, 
 And climbing for a kiss prevent their mother's haste.'' 
 See also Thomson. Liberty, iii. 171, and Ovid. Heroid. Ep. 
 viii. 93. Horn. II. E. 408. 
 
 V. 26. " 'Tis mine to tame the stubborn glebe." 
 
 Gay. Fabl. p. ii. xv. Luke. 
 V. 27. "He drove afield." Lycidas, 27. W. Add 
 Dryden. Virg. Eclog. ii. 38. " With me to drive afield." 
 Luke. " To drive afield by mom the fattening ewes." 
 A. Philips. 
 
 V. 28. " But to the roote bent his sturdie stroake, 
 
 And made many woundes in the waste o^ke.' 
 Spenser. February. W. See also Dryden. Georg. iii. 639. 
 " Labour him with many a sturdy stroke." 
 V. 33. '• Very like,'' says the editor, (in a note to the 
 
ELEGf. 99 
 
 Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile 
 The short and simple annals of the poor. 
 
 The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r, 
 
 And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave. 
 
 Await alike th' inevitable hour. 33 
 
 The paths of g-lory lead but to the grave. 
 
 Nor you, ye proud, impute to these the fault. 
 If memory o'er their tomb no trophies raise, 
 
 Var. V. 35. Await] Awaits, ms. M. and W. 
 
 V. 37, 38. " Forgive, ye proud, th' involuntary fault, 
 If memory to these no trophies raise." 
 MS. M. and W. 
 
 following passage of Cowley,) " in the expression as well 
 as sentiment, to that fine stanza in Gray's Elegy, vol. ii. p. 
 213, Kurd's ed. 
 
 " * Beauty, and strength, and wit, and wealth, and power. 
 
 Have their short flourishing hour ; 
 And love to see themselves, and smile. 
 And joy in their pre-eminence a while ; 
 
 E'en so in the same land 
 Poor weeds, rich corn, gay flowers together stand. 
 Alas ! Death mows down all with an impartial hand.' " 
 Gray's stanza is, however, chiefly indebted to some verses 
 in his friend West's Monody on Queen Caroline : 
 " Ah me ! what boots us all our boasted power. 
 
 Our golden treasure, and our purple state ; 
 They cannot ward the inevitable hour. 
 Nor stay the fearful violence of fate." 
 
 Dodsley. Misc. ii. 279. 
 V. 36. In Kippis. Biographia Britannica, vol. iv. p. 429, 
 in the Life of Crashaw, written by Hayley, it is said that 
 this line is " literally translated from the Latin prose of 
 Bartholinus in his Danish Antiquities." See Hagthorpe. 
 Poems, p. 47. " Glory doth thousands to the grave betray." 
 
 V. 39. " the roof o' the chamber 
 
 With golden cherubims is fretted.' 
 
 Cymbel. act ii. sc. 4. W. 
 
100 gray's poems. 
 
 Wherethrough the long-drawn aile and fretted vault 
 The pealing anthem swells the note of praise. 40 
 
 Can storied urn, or animated bust, 
 
 Back to its mansion call the fleeting- breath ? 
 
 Can honour's voice provoke the silent dust, 
 Or flatt'ry soothe the dull cold ear of death ? 
 
 Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid 45 
 
 Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire ; 
 
 Hands, that the rod of empire might hare sway'd, 
 Or wak'd to extasy the living lyre. 
 
 Var. V. 47. Rod] Reins, ms. M. 
 
 " This majestical roof fretted with golden fire." 
 
 Hamlet, act ii. sc. 2. 
 V. 40. " There let the "pealing organ blow, 
 To the full-voiced quire below. 
 In service high, and anthem clear." 
 
 11 Pens. 163. W. 
 V. 41. " Heroes in animated marble frown," Temple of 
 Fame, 73. W. add Virg. ^n. vi. 849. " vivos ducent de 
 marmore vultus." Luke. 
 
 V. 43. " But when our country's cause provokes to arms." 
 
 Pope. Ode. 
 V. 44. " And sleep in dull cold marble." 
 
 Hen. VIII. act iii. sc. 2. 
 
 V. 47. " Sunt mihi quas possint sceptra deceremanus," 
 
 Ovid. Ep. V. ver. 86. " Proud names that once the reins 
 
 of empire held," Tickell. Poem to E.of Warwick, ver. 37. 
 
 V. 48. " Waken raptures high," Par. Lost, iii. 369. And 
 
 Lucret. ii. 412 : " Mobilibus digitis expergefacta figurant." 
 
 " Begin the song, and strike the living lyre." Cowley. 
 
 And Pope. Winds. For. 281 : 
 
 " where Cowley strung 
 
 His living harp, and lofty Denham sung." W. 
 V. 50. " Rich with the spoils of nature." 
 
 Brown. Rel. Med. p. 27. 
 
ELEGY. 101 
 
 But knowledge to their eyes her ample page 
 Rich with the spoils of time did ne'er unroll ; 50 
 
 Chill penury repress'd their noble rage, 
 And froze the genial current of the soul. 
 
 Full many a gem of purest ray sei'ene 
 
 The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear : 
 
 Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, 55 
 And waste its sweetness on the desert air. 
 
 Some village Hampden, that, with dauntless breast, 
 
 V. 51. " So just thy skill, so regular my rage." 
 
 Pope to Jervas. 
 " Be justly warn'd with your own native rage." 
 
 Pope. Prol. to Cato, 43. W. 
 And, " How hard the task ! how rare the godlike rage." 
 Tickell. Prol. (Steele. Misc. p. 70.) 
 V. 53. " That like to rich and various gems inlay 
 The unadorned bosom of the deep." 
 
 Comus, ver. 22. 
 And see Young. " Ocean," st. xxiv. 
 
 " There is many a rich stone laid up in the bowells of 
 the earth, many a fair pearle in the bosome of the sea, that 
 never was seene, nor never shall bee." Bishop Hall. 
 Contemplations, 1. vi. p. 872. See Quart. Rev. No. xxii. 
 p. 314. ad Fr. Barberini Poem. p. 148. Mdpyapa TroWa 
 (iaOvQ (TvyKpinrTSi KVjwaci tcovtoq. and see T. Warton. 
 Milton, p. 234. 
 
 V. 54. "A<pavTa KevQfxCJvog ^d9r]. Lycophr. Cass. 1277 
 
 Mathias, 
 V. 55. " Like roses that in deserts bloom and die." 
 Pope. Rape of the Lock, iv. 157. W. 
 Also Chamberlayne. Pharonida, part ii.b. iv. p. 94: 
 " Like beauteous flowers which va>nly waste their scent 
 Of odors in unhaunted deserts." 
 And Young. Univ. Passion, Sat. v. p. 128 : 
 " In distant wilds, by human eyes unseen, 
 She rears her flow'rs, and spreads her velvet green ; 
 
102 gray's poems. 
 
 The little tyrant of his fields withstood, 
 Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest, 59 
 Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood. 
 
 Th' applause of list'ning senates to command, 
 The threats of pain and ruin to despise. 
 
 To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land. 
 
 And read their history in a nation's eyes, 
 
 Their lot forbad : nor circumscrib'd alone 65 
 
 Their growing virtues, but their crimes confin'd ; 
 
 Var. V. 58. Fields] Lands, erased in ms. M. 
 
 Pure gurgling rills the lonely desert trace. 
 And waste their music on the savage race." 
 Add Philip. Thule . 
 
 " Like woodland flowers, which paint the desert glades, 
 And waste their sweets in iinfrequented shades." 
 For the expression " desert air," Wakefield refers to Pin- 
 dar. 01. i. 10: Ep//juac ^i aiOspog. Also Fragm. Incert. 
 cxvi. " Howl'd out into the desert air." INIacbeth, act iv. 
 sc. 3. Rogers. 
 
 V. 58. " With open freedom little tyrants rag'd." 
 
 Thorns. Winter. Luke. 
 " The tyrants of villages." Johnson. Debates, i. 2C8. 
 V. 59. So Philips, in his animated and eloquent preface 
 to his Theatrum Poetarum, p. xiv. ed. Brydges : " Even 
 the very names of some who having perhaps been compa- 
 rable to Homer for heroic poesy, or to Euripides for tra- 
 gedy ; yet nevertheless sleep inglonous in the crowd of the 
 forgotten vulgar.'' 
 
 V. 60. Edwards, the author of " The Canons of Criti- 
 cism," here added the two following stanzas, to supply 
 what he deemed a defect in the poem : 
 
 " Some lovely fair, whose unaff"ected charms 
 Shone with attraction to herself unknown ; 
 Whose beauty might have bless'd a monarch's arms. 
 Whose virtue cast a lustre on a throne. 
 
ELEGY. 
 
 103 
 
 Forbad to wade thro' slaughter to a throne, 
 And shut the gates of mercy on mankind, 
 
 The struggling pangs of conscious truth to hide, 
 To quench the blushes of ingenuous shame, 70 
 
 Or heap the shrine of luxury and pride 
 With incense kindled at the Muse's flame 
 
 Var. V. 68. And] Or. ms. M. and W. 
 V. 71. Shriiie] Shrines, ms. W. 
 V. 72. After this verse, in Gray's first MS. of the poem, 
 were the four following stanzas : 
 
 " The thoughtless world to majesty may bow, 
 Exalt the brave, and idolize success ; 
 
 " That humble beauty warm'd an honest heart. 
 And cheer'd the labours of a faithful spouse ; 
 That virtue form'd for every decent part, 
 
 The healthful offspring that adorn'd their house." 
 V. 61. " Tho' wondering senates hung on all he spoke." 
 
 Pope. Mor. Essays, i. 184. 
 V. 63. " To scatter blessings o'er the British land." 
 
 Tickell. 
 " Is scattering plenty over all the land.'' 
 
 Behn. Epilogue. 
 V. 64. " For in their eyes I read a soldier's love." 
 
 Beau, and Fletch, vi. 135. Rogers. 
 V. 67. " And swam to empire thro' the purple flood. 
 Temple of Fame, 347. W. 
 V. 68. " The gates of mercy shall be all shut up," Hen, 
 V. act iii. sc. 3. Also in Hen. VI. part iii : " Open thy 
 gate of mercy , gracious Lord." And so says an obscure poet : 
 " His humble eyes, sighs, cries, and bruised breast, 
 Forc'd ope the gates of mercy, gave him rest." 
 Nath. Richards. Poems, Sacred and Satyrical, 12mo. 1641. 
 p. 145. " Lsetitiae 7anua clausa meae est," Ovid. Pont. 
 ii. 7. 38. 
 
 V. 70. " Quench your blushes," Wint. Tale, act W. 
 ec. 3. Rogers. 
 
104 GRAY*S POEMS. 
 
 Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, 
 Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray ; 
 
 Along the cool sequester'd vale of life 75 
 
 They kept the noiseless tenour of their way. 
 
 But more to innocence their safety owe, 
 
 Than pow'r or genius e'er conspir'd to bless 
 
 " And thou who, mindful of th' unhonour'd dead, 
 Dost in these notes their artless tale relate, 
 
 By night and lonely contemplation led 
 To wander in the gloomy walks of fate : 
 
 " Hark! how the sacred calm, that breathes around, 
 Bids ever)' fierce tumultuous passion cease ; 
 
 In still small accents whisp'ring from the ground, 
 A grateful earnest of eternal peace. 
 
 " No more, with reason and thyself at strife, 
 Give anxious cares and endless wishes room ; 
 
 But through the cool sequester'd vale of life 
 Pursue the silent tenour of thy doom." 
 
 And here the poem was originally intended to conclude, 
 before the happy idea of the hoary-headed swain, &c. sug- 
 gested itself to him. Mason thinks the third of these re- 
 iected stanzas equal to any in the whole elegy. 
 
 V. 73. " Far from the madding wordling's hoarse dis- 
 cords." Drummond. Rogers. 
 
 V. 75. " Foe to loud praise, and friend to learned ease. 
 Content with science, in the vale of peace." 
 
 Pope. Ep. to Fenton, 6. W. 
 " Mollia per placidam delectant otia vitam." 
 
 Manil. Astr. iv. 512. 
 V. 87. " Dias in luminis oras," Lucretius, i. 23. IT 
 " E lascio mesta I'aure soave della vita e i giorni," Tasso 
 G. L. c. ix. St. xxxiii. 
 
 V. 88. So Petrarch. Tr. I'Amore, iv. ver. ult. 
 
 " Che '1 pie va innanzi, e 1' occhio torna indietro." 
 Wakefield quotes a passage in the Alcestis of Euripides, 
 ver. 201 . 
 
ELEGY. 106 
 
 Yet ev'n these bones from insult to protect 
 Some frail memorial still erected nig-h, 
 
 With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture 
 deck'd, 
 Implores the passing tribute of a sigh. bo 
 
 Their name, their years, spelt by th' unletter'd Muse 
 The place of fame and elegy supply : 
 
 And many a holy text around she strews, 
 That teach the rustic moralist to die. 
 
 For who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey, 85 
 
 This pleasing anxious being e'er resign'd, 
 
 Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day, 
 Nor cast one longing ling'ring look behind ? 
 
 On some fond breast the parting soul relies, 
 Some pious drops the closing eye requires ; go 
 
 Var. V. 82. Elegy] Epitaph, m^. M. 
 
 V. 89. So Drayton in bis «' Moses," p. 1564. vol. W. 
 ed. 1753 : 
 
 " It is some comfort to a wretch to die, 
 
 (If there be comfort in the way of death) 
 To have some friend, or kind alliance by 
 To he officious at the parting breath." 
 V. 90. '♦ piae lacrimse." Ovid. Trist. iv. 3. 41. 
 " No friend's complaint, no kind domestic tear 
 Pleas'd thy pale ghost, or grac'd thy mournful bier ; 
 By foreign hands thy dying eyes were clos'd." 
 
 Pope. Elegy, 81. 
 And, " Then from his closing eyes thy form shall part." v. 80. 
 And so Solon, ver. 5. ed. Brunck. : 
 
 Mrjd' kfxoi aKkavaroQ SfdvaTog {jloXoi, dWd <pi\oiai 
 KaXX^iTTOJjut ^avujv aXyea Kai (TTovaxdQ- W. 
 
106 gray's poems. 
 
 E'en from the tomb the voice of nature cries, 
 E'en in our ashes live their wonted fires. 
 
 For thee, who, mindful of th' unhonour'd dead. 
 Dost in these lines their artless tale relate ; 
 
 If chance, by lonely contemplation led, 95 
 
 Some kindred spirit shall enquire thy fate, — 
 
 Haply some hoary-headed swain may say, 
 " Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn 
 
 Brushing with h^sty steps the dews away. 
 
 To meet the sun upon the upland lawn. 100 
 
 Var. V. 92. E'en, live] And, glow. ms. M. and W. 
 
 V. 92. " Awake and faithful to her wonted fires." 
 First and second editions. 
 
 V. 91. Some lines in the Anthologia Latina, p. 600. Ep. 
 cliii. hare a strong resemblance to those in the text : 
 " Crede mihi vires aliquas natura sepulchris 
 Adtribuit, tumulos vindicat umbra suos." 
 So also Auson. (Parentalia), ed. Tollii, p. 109: 
 " Gaudent compositi cineres sua nomina dici. 
 V. 92. " Ch' i veggio nel pensier, dolce mio fuoco, 
 Fredda una lingua, e due begli occhi chiusi 
 Rimaner doppo noi pien di faville.'' 
 
 Petr. Son. clxix. Gi'ay. 
 " Yet in oxu* ashen cold, is fire yreken." 
 
 Chaucer. Reve. Prol. ver. 3880. 
 " Quamvis in cinerem corpus mutaverit ignis, 
 Sentiet officium moesta favilla pium." 
 
 Ovid. Trist. iii. 3. 83. 
 " Interea cave, sis nos adspemata sepultos, 
 Non nihil ad verum conscia terra sapit." 
 
 Propert. ii. 13. 41. 
 Wakefield cites Pope. Ep. to M. Blount, ver 72 : 
 " By this e'en now they live, e'en now they charm. 
 Their wit still sparkling, and their Jiame still warm" 
 V. 98. " The nice morn on the Indian steep 
 From her cabin'd loophole peep." 
 
 Comus, 140. see Todd. note. 
 
ELEGY. 107 
 
 " There at the foot of yonder nodding heech, 
 That wreathes its old fantastic roots so high, 
 
 His listless length at noontide would he stretch, 
 And pore upon the brook that babbles by. 104 
 
 Var. V. 100. 
 
 •' On the high brow of yonder hanging lawn." 
 After which, in his first MS., followed this stanza: 
 " Him have we seen the greenwood side along, 
 
 W hile o'er the heath we hied, our labour done. 
 Oft as the woodlark pip'd her farewell song, 
 With wistful eyes pursue the setting sun." 
 " I rather wonder (says Mason) that he rejected this 
 stanza, as it not only has the same sort of Doric delicacy 
 which charms us peculiarly in this part of the poem, but also 
 completes the account of his whole day : whereas, this eve- 
 ning scene being omitted, we have only his morning walk, 
 and his noon-tide repose." 
 
 V. 99. " From off the ground, each morn, 
 
 We brush mellifluous dews." Par. Lost. v. 429. 
 So also Arcades, ver. 50 : 
 
 " And from the boughs bi'ush off the evil dew." 
 
 Add Tempest, act i. sc. 4. 
 V. 100. So Petrarch, 
 
 " Re degli altri, superbo, altero fiume 
 Che 'n contril sol, quando e ne mena il giorno." 
 And Tasso, in his Sonnet to Camoens : 
 •' Vasco, te cui felice ardite antenne 
 Incontro al sol che ne riporta il giorno," &c. 
 And in another Sonnet : 
 
 " Come va innanzi a I' altro sol V aurora," &c. 
 V. 100. " Ere the high lawns appeared 
 
 Under the opening eyelids of the morn." 
 
 Lycidas, 25. W. 
 V. 102. Spenser. R. of Rome, s. xxviii. 
 " Shewing her wreathed rootes and naked armes." Luke. 
 V. 103. " His goodly length stretched on a lily bed." 
 Spens. B. Ida, c. 3. s. 2. Luke. 
 V. 104. " Unde loquaces lymphce. desiliunt tuae." 
 
 Hor. Od. iii. 13. 15. 
 " He lay along 
 Under an oak, whose antique root peep'd out. 
 
108 gray's poems. 
 
 " Hard by yon wool, now smiling as in scorn, 
 Mutt'ring his wayward fancies he would rove ; 
 
 Now drooping, woful-wan, like one forlorn, 
 Or craz'd with care, or cross'd in hopeless love. 
 
 ** One morn I miss'd him on the custom'd hill, 
 Along the heath, and near his fav'rite tree ; no 
 
 Another came ; nor yet beside the rill, 
 
 Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood was he : 
 
 " The next, with dirges due in sad array 
 
 Var. V. 106. He would] Would be. ms. M. and W. 
 V. 109. On] From. ms. M. 
 
 Upon the brook, that brawls along this wood." 
 
 As You Like It, act ii. sc. 1. W. 
 V. 105. " Yet at my parting sweetly did she smile 
 In scorn." Shakespeare. Sonnets. 
 
 *' smylynge halfe in scarne 
 
 At our foly," Skelton. Prol. to the Bouge of Courte, p. 59. 
 " It makes me smile in scorn." App. and Virg. (Old Plays, 
 vol. V. p. 363.) " Laughing in scorn." Massinger. B. 
 Lover. Rogers. INIilt. P. L. iv. 903. " Disdainfully half 
 smiling." 
 
 V. 107. " For pale and wanne he was, alas ! the while 
 May seeme be lov^d or else some care hetooke." 
 Spenser. January, 8. W. 
 V. 109. " Simul assueta sidetque sub ulmo." 
 
 Milt. Ep. Damonis. G. Steevens. 
 V. 114. " In the church-way paths to glide." 
 
 Mids. N. Dr. act v. sc. 2. W. 
 V. 115. " Tell, (for you can,) what is it to be wise." 
 Pope. Ep. iv. 260, W. 
 " And steal (for you can steal) celestial fire." Young. 
 " Scrutare tu causas (potes enim.)" Plin. Ep. iv. 30. 
 * " Before the Epitaph," says Mason, " Gray originally 
 inserted a very beautiful stanza, which was printed in some 
 of the first editions, but afterwards omitted, because he 
 thought that it was too long a parenthesis in this place. The 
 
ELEGY. 109 
 
 Slow through the church-way path we saw him 
 borne : — 
 Approach and read (for thou can'st read) the lay 
 Grav'd on the stone beneath yon aged thorn." 
 
 THE EPITAPH.* 
 
 Here rests his head upon the lap of earth 
 A youth, to fortune and to fame unknown: 
 
 Fair science frown'd not on his humble birth, 
 And melancholy mark'd him for her own. 
 
 Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere, 
 
 lines however are, in themselves, exquisitely fine, and de- 
 mand preservation : 
 
 " ' There scatter'd oft, the earliest of the year, 
 
 By hands unseen are show'rs of violets found ; 
 The redbreast loves to build and warble there, 
 >And little footsteps lightly print the ground.' " 
 
 V. 117. " How glad would lay me down, 
 
 As in my mother's lap." Par. Lost, x. 777. 
 
 Also Spens. F. Qu. V. 7. 9 : 
 
 " On their mother earth's dear lap did lie." 
 
 *' Redditur enim terrse corpus, et ita locatum ac situm 
 quasi operimento mains obducetur." Cicero de Legibus, ii. 
 22. Lucr. i. 291. " gremium matris terrai.'' 
 
 I cannot help adding to this note, the short and pathetic 
 sentence of Plin. Hist. Nat. ii. 63. " Nam terra no vissime 
 complexa gremio jam a reliqud naturd abnegatos, turn maxime, 
 ut mater, operit." 
 
 V. 119. *• Quern tu, Melpomene, semel 
 
 Nascentem placido lumine videris." 
 
 Hor. Od. iv. 3. 1. W. 
 V. 121. " Large was his soul, as large a soul as e'er 
 Submitted to inform a body here." 
 
 Cowley, vol. i. p. 119. 
 " A passage which," says the editor, " Gray seemed to have 
 had his eye on." 
 
no gray's POEiMS. 
 
 Heaven did a recompense as largely send : 
 He gave to mis'ry (all he had) a tear, 
 
 He gain'd from heav'n ('twas all he wish'd) a 
 friend. 
 
 No farther seek his merits to disclose, i<2b 
 
 Or draw his frailties from their dread abode, 
 
 (There they alike in trembling hope repose,) 
 The bosom of his Father and his God. 
 
 V. 123. •' Has lacrymas memori quas ictus amore, fundo 
 quod possum." Lucr. ii. 27. " His fame ('tis all the dead 
 can have) shall live." Pope. Horn. xvi. 556. 
 
 V. 127. " paventosa speme," Petr. Son. cxiv. 
 
 Gray, 
 " Spe trepido," Lucan. vii. 297. W. And Mallet: 
 •' With trembling tenderness of hope and fear." 
 
 Funeral Hymn, ver. 473. 
 " Divided here twixt trembling hope and fear." 
 
 Beaum. Psyche, c. xv. 314. 
 Hooker has defined ' hope' to be a " trembling expectation 
 of things far removed," Eccl. Pol. B. I. cited in Quart. 
 Rev. No. xxii. p. 315. 
 
 In the Gentleman's Magaz. vol. lii. p. 20, it is asserted 
 that Gray's Elegy was taken from Collins's Ode to Evening; 
 while in the Monthly Rev. vol. liii. p. 102, it is said to be 
 indebted to an Elegy by Gay. I see, however, no reason 
 for assenting to these opinions. The passages from ' Celio 
 Magno/ produced in the Edinb. Rev. vol. v. p. 51, are 
 very curious, and form an interesting comparison. It is 
 well known how much the Italian poet Pignotti is indebted 
 to the works of Gray : some passages would have been 
 given, but the editor was unwilling to increase the number 
 of the notes, already perhaps occupying too much space. 
 
Ill 
 
 A LONG STORY.* 
 
 [See Mason's JNIernoirs, vol. iii. p. 130, and Pennant's Life, 
 p. 23.] 
 
 Gray's Elegy in a Country Church-yard, previous to its 
 publication, was handed about in manuscript j and had 
 amongst other admirers the Lady Cobham, who resided 
 at the mansion-house at Stoke Pogeis. The performance 
 inducing her to wish for the author's acquaintance, her 
 relation. Miss Speed, and Lady Schaub, then at her 
 house, undertook to eflfect it. These two ladies waited 
 upon the author at his aunt's solitary habitation, where 
 he at that time resided ; and not finding him at home, 
 they left a card behind them. Mr. Gray, surprised at 
 such a compliment, returned the visit. And as the be- 
 ginning of this acquaintance bore some appearance of 
 romance, he soon after gave a humorous account of it in 
 the following copy of verses, which he entitled " A Long 
 Story." Printed in 1753 with Mr. Bentley's designs, 
 and repeated in a second edition, ms. 
 
 In Britain's isle, no matter where, 
 An ancient pile of building stands : 
 
 The Hunting-dons and Hattons there 
 Employ'd the pow'r of fairy hands 
 
 * This Poem was rejected by Gray in the Collection 
 published by himself; and though published afterwards by 
 Mason in his Memoirs of Gray, he placed it amongst the 
 Letters, together with the Posthumous Pieces ; not think- 
 ing himself authorized to insert among the Poems, what 
 the author had rejected. 
 
 V. 2. The mansion-house at Stoke-Pogeis, then in the 
 possession of Viscountess Cobham. The house formerly 
 belonged to the earls of Huntingdon and the family of 
 Hatton. Mason. Sir Edmond Coke's mansion at Stoke- 
 Pogeis, now the seat of Mr. Penn, was the scene of Gray's 
 Long Story. The antique chimneys have been allowed to 
 
112 GIUV'S rOEiMS. 
 
 To raise the ceiling-'s fretted height, t 
 
 Each pannel in achievements clothing, 
 
 Rich windows that exclude the light, 
 And passages, that lead to nothing. 
 
 Full oft within the spacious walls, 
 
 When he had fifty winters o'er him, lo 
 
 My grave Lord-Keeper led the brawls ; 
 
 The seals and maces danc'd before him. 
 
 His bushy beard, and shoe-strings green. 
 His high-crown'd hat, and satin doublet, 
 
 Mov'd the stout heart of England's queen, 15 
 
 Though Pope and Spaniard could not trouble it. 
 
 What, in the very first beginning ! 
 
 Shame of the versifying tribe ! 
 Your hist'ry whither are you spinning ! 
 
 Can you do nothing but describe ? 20 
 
 A house there is (and that's enough) 
 From whence one fatal morning issues 
 
 remain as vestiges of the Poet's fancy, and a column with 
 a statue of Coke marks the former abode of its illustrious 
 inhabitant. D'Israeli. Cur. of Lit. (New Ser.) i. 482. Coke 
 married Lady Hatton, relict of Sir William Hatton, sister 
 of Lord Burlington. 
 
 V. 7. " And storied windows richly dight, 
 
 Casting a dim religious light. U Pens. 159. 
 And Pope. Eloisa, 142 : 
 
 " Where awful arches make a noonday night, 
 And the dim windows shed a solemn light." W. 
 V. 11. Sir Christopher Hatton, promoted by Queen Eliza- 
 beth for his graceful person and fine dancing. Gray. See 
 Hume's England, vol. v. p. 330. Naunton's Fragmenta Re- 
 
A LOTfG STORY. 113 
 
 A brace of warriors, not in buff, 
 
 But rustlino- in their silks and tissues. 
 
 The first came cap-a-pee from France, S5 
 
 Her conqu'ring destiny fulfilUng', 
 Whom meaner beauties eye askance, 
 
 And vainly ape her art of killing. 
 
 The other amazon kind heav'n 
 
 Had arm'd with spirit, wit, and satire ; 3o 
 
 But Cobham had the polish giv'n, 
 
 And tipp'd her arrows with good-nature. 
 
 To celebrate her eyes, her air — 
 
 Coarse panegyrics would but tease her ; 
 
 Melissa is her " nom de guerre." 35 
 
 Alas, who would not wish to please her ! 
 
 With bonnet blue and capuchine, 
 
 And aprons long, they hid their armour ; 
 
 And veil'd their weapons, bright and keen. 
 
 In pity to the country farmer. 40 
 
 galia, and Ocklandi Elizabetha. m i. BarringtoD on the 
 Statutes, p. 405. 
 
 V. 11. Brawls were a sort of French figure-dance, then 
 in vogue. See England's Helicon, p. lOl ; Browne's 
 Poems, vol. iii. p. 149, ed. Thompson ; and the note by 
 Steevens to Love's Lab. Lost, act iii. sc. 1 . And so Ben 
 Jonson, in a Masque, vol. vi. p. 27, ed Whalley : 
 " And thence did A'^enus learn to lead 
 The Idalian brawls." 
 But see more particularly Marston. Malcontent, act ir. so. 
 2, where it is described : 
 
 ** We have forgot the brawl," &c. 
 
 See Dodsley. Old Plays, vol. ii. p, 210. 
 I 
 
114 gray's poems. 
 
 Fame, in tlie shape of Mr. P — t, 
 (By this time all the parish know it) 
 
 Had told that thereabouts there lurk'd 
 A wicked imp they call a poet : 
 
 Who prowl'd the country far and near, « 
 
 Bewitch'd the children of the peasants. 
 
 Dried up the cows, and lam'd the deer. 
 
 And suck'd the eg'gs, and kill'd the pheasants. 
 
 My lady heard their joint petition, 
 
 Swore by her coronet and ermine, 6o 
 
 She'd issue out her high commission 
 
 To rid the manor of such vermin. 
 
 The heroines undertook the task, 
 
 Thro' lanes unknown, o'er stiles they ventur'd, 
 
 V. 41. It has been said, that this gentleman, a neighbour 
 and acquaintance of Gray's in the country, was much dis- 
 pleased with the liberty here taken with his name : yet, 
 surely, without any great reason. Mason. Mr, Robert Purt 
 was Fellow of King's Coll. Cant. 1738. A. B. 1742. A. M. 
 1746. was an assistant at Eton school, tutor to Lord Balti. 
 more's son there, and afterwards to the Duke of Bridge- 
 water ; in 1749 he was presented to the rectory of Settrington 
 in Yorkshire, which he held with Dorrington in the same 
 county, he died inAp. 1752 of the Small Pox. Isaac Reed. 
 V. 51. Henry the Fourth, in the fourth year of his reign, 
 issued out the following commission against this species of 
 vermin : — " And it is enacted, that no master-rimour, min- 
 strel, or other vagabond, be in any wise sustained in the 
 land of Wales, to make commoiths, or gatherings upon the 
 people there." — " Vagabond, ' says Ritson, " was a title to 
 which the profession had been long accustomed." 
 
 " Beggars they are with one consent. 
 
 And rogues by act of parliament." 
 
 Pref. to Anc. Songs, p. xi. 
 
A LONG STORY. 115 
 
 Rapp'd at the door, nor stay'd to ask, 65 
 
 But bounce into the parlour enter'd. 
 
 The trembling family they daunt, 
 
 They flirt, they sing, they laugh, they tattle, 
 Rummage his mother, pinch his aunt. 
 
 And up stairs in a whirlwind rattle : 60 
 
 Each hole and cupboard they explore, 
 Each creek and cranny of his chamber, 
 
 Run hurry-scurry round the floor. 
 And o'er the bed and tester clamber ; 
 
 Into the drawers and china pry, 65 
 
 Papers and books, a huge imbroglio ! 
 
 Under a tea-cup he might lie, 
 
 Or creased, like dogs-ears, in a folio. 
 
 There are still stronger Scotch statutes against them, some 
 condemning them and " such like fules" to lose their ears, 
 and others their lives. By a law of Elizabeth, the English 
 minstrels were pronounced " rogues, vagabonds, and sturdy 
 beggars," xxxix. Eliz. c. 4. s. 2. See Ritson's Engl. Songs, 
 1. liii. Barrington on the Statutes, p. 360. Dodsley. Old 
 Plays, xii. p. 361. Strutt. Sports and Pastimes, p. 182— 
 196. Puttenham. Art of Engl. Poesie. (1589) Lib. ii. 
 c. 9. 
 
 V. 67. There is a very great similarity between the style 
 'of part of this poem, and Prior. Tale of the ' Dove :' as for 
 instance in the following stanzas, which Gray, T think, must 
 have had in his mind at the time : 
 
 " With one great peal they rap the door, 
 
 Like footmen on a visiting day : 
 Folks at her house at such an hour. 
 
 Lord ! what will all the neighbours say 1 
 
 » * » » * 
 
 " Her keys he takes, her door unlocks, 
 Thro' wardrobe, and thro' closet bounces, 
 
116 gray's poems 
 
 On the first marching of the troops, 
 
 The Muses, hopeless of liis pardon, 70 
 
 Convey 'd him underneath their hoops 
 
 To a small closet in the garden. 
 
 So rumour says : (who will, believe.) 
 
 But that they left the door ajar, 
 Where, safe and laughing in his sleeve, 75 
 
 He heard the distant din of war. 
 
 Short was his joy. He little knew 
 
 The pow'r of magic was no fable ; 
 Out of the window, wisk, they flew. 
 
 But left a spell upon the table. so 
 
 The words too eager to unriddle. 
 
 The poet felt a strange disorder ; 
 Transparent bird-lime form'd the middle, 
 
 And chains invisible the border. 
 
 So cunning was the apparatus, 85 
 
 The powerful pot-hooks did so move him, 
 
 That, will he, nill he, to the great house 
 He w^ent, as if the devil drove him. 
 
 Yet on his way (no sign of grace. 
 For folks in fear are apt to pray) 
 
 Peeps into every claest and box, 
 
 Turns all her furbelows and flounces. 
 
 *• I marvel much, she smiling said, 
 
 90 
 
A LONG STORY. 117 
 
 To Phoebus he preferr'd his case, 
 
 And begg'd his aid that dreadful day. 
 
 The godhead would have back'd his quarrel ; 
 
 But with a blush, on recollection, 
 Own'd that his quiver and his laurel 95 
 
 'Gainst four such eyes were no protection. 
 
 The court was sate, the culprit there, 
 
 Forth from their gloomy mansions creeping", 
 
 The lady Janes and Joans repair. 
 
 And from the g-allery stand peeping ; loo 
 
 Such as in silence of the night 
 
 Come (sweep) along some winding entry, 
 (Styack has often seen the sight) 
 
 Or at the chapel-door stand sentry : 
 
 In peaked hoods and mantles tarnish'd, los 
 
 Sour visages, enough to scare ye. 
 High dames of honour once, that garnish'd 
 
 The drawing-room of fierce Queen Mary. 
 
 The peeress comes. The audience stare, 
 
 And doff their hats with due submission : 110 
 
 She curtsies, as she takes lier chair, 
 To all the people of condition. 
 
 Your poultry cannot yet be found : 
 Lies he in yonder slipper dead, 
 Or may be in the tea-pot drown'd.' 
 V. 103. Styack] The housekeeper. G. 
 
1 ] 8 gray's poems. 
 
 The bard, with many an artful fib, 
 
 Had in imagination fenc'd him, 
 Disprov'd the arguments of Squib, us 
 
 And all that Groom could urge against him. 
 
 But soon his rhetoric forsook him, 
 When he the solemn hall had seen ; 
 
 A sudden fit of ague shook him. 
 
 He stood as mute as poor Macleane. iso 
 
 Yet something he was heard to mutter, 
 ** How in the park beneath an old tree, 
 
 (Without design to hurt the butter, 
 Or any malice to the poultry,) 
 
 " He once or twice had penn'd a sonnet ; 125 
 
 Yet hop'd, that he might save his bacon : 
 
 Numbers would give their oaths upon it, 
 He ne'er was for a conj'rer taken." 
 
 Var. V. 116. Might, ms. 
 
 V. 115. Squib] Groom of the chamber. G. 
 
 James Squibb, was the son of Dr. Arthur Squibb, the 
 descendant of an ancient and respectable family, whose 
 pedigree is traced in the herald's visitations of Dorsetshire, 
 to John Squibb of Whitchurch in that county, in the 17th 
 Edw. IV. 1477. Dr. Squibb matriculated at Oxford in 
 1656, took his degree of M.A. in November, 1662, was 
 chaplain to Colonel Bellasis's regiment about 1685, and 
 died in 1697. As he was in distressed circumstances 
 towards the end of his life, his son, James Squibb, was left 
 almost destitute, and was consequently apprenticed to an 
 upholder in 17J2. In that situation he attracted the notice 
 
A LONG STOR 119 
 
 The ghostly prudes with hagged face 
 
 Already had condemn'd the sinner. i3o 
 
 My lady rose, and with a grace — 
 
 She smil'd, and bid him come to dinner. 
 
 '* Jesu-Maria ! Madam Bridget, 
 
 Why, what can the Viscountess mean ?" 
 
 (Cried the square-hoods in woful fidget) 135 
 
 " The times are alter 'd quite and clean ! 
 
 " Decorum's turn'd to mere civility ; 
 
 Her air and all her manners show it. 
 Commend me to her affability ! 
 
 Speak to a commoner and poet !" 340 
 
 [Here five hundred stanzas are lost.] 
 
 And so God save our noble king, 
 
 And guard us from long-winded lubbers. 
 
 That to eternity would sing. 
 
 And keep my lady from her rubbers. 
 
 of Lord Cobham, in whose service he continued for many 
 years, and died at Stowe, in June, 1762. His son, James 
 Squibb, who settled in Saville Row, London, was grand- 
 father of George James Squibb, Esq. of Orchard Street, 
 Portman Square, who is the present representative of this 
 branch of the family. Nicolas. 
 
 V. 116. Groom] The steward. G. 
 
 V. 120. Maclcane] A famous highwajTnan hanged the 
 week before. G. 
 
 See a Sequel to the Long Story in Hakewill's History of 
 Windsor, by John Penn, Esq. and a farther Sequel to that, 
 by the late Laureate, H. J. Pye, Esq. 
 
120 GRAY S POEMS. 
 
 POSTHUMOUS POEMS AND 
 FRAGMENTS. 
 
 ODE ON THE PLEASURE ARISING FROM 
 VICISSITUDE. 
 
 Left unfinished by Gra)--. With additions by Mason, 
 distinguished by inverted commas. (I have read some- 
 thing that Mason has done in finishing a half written ode 
 of Gray. I find he will never get the better of that 
 glare of colouring, ' that dazzling blaze of song,' an ex- 
 pression of his own, and ridiculous enough, which dis- 
 figures half his writings. V. Langhome's Lett, to H. 
 More, i. 23.) See Musae Etonenses, ii. p. 176. 
 
 Now the golden morn aloft 
 
 Waves her dew-bespang-led wing-, 
 
 V. 1. Sophocl. Antig. v. 103, xpt^o'«'«CajU£p«CiSXf^apov; 
 and Dyer. Fleece, lib. iii. " Grey dawn appears, the golden 
 morn ascends." Luke. 
 
 V. 3. " Vermeil cheek," see Milton. Comus, v. 749. 
 
 Lnke. 
 V. 4. " Rorifera mulcens aura, Zephyrus vemas evocat 
 herbas." Senec. Hipp. i. 11. Liike. 
 
 V. 8. " Half rob'd appears the hawthorn hedge, 
 Or to the distant eye displays 
 Weakly green its budding sprays." 
 
 Warton. First of April, i. 180. 
 See Mant's note on the passage. Add Buchan. Psalm xxiii. 
 p. S6. " QuEe Veris teneri pingit amoenitas." 
 
 V. 9. " Hinc nova proles, 
 
 Artuhus hifirmis teneras lasciva per herbas 
 Ludit." Lucret. i. 260. 
 
ODE. 121 
 
 With vermeil cheek and whisper soft 
 
 She wooes the tardy spring*: 
 Till April starts, and calls around * 
 
 The sleeping fragrance from the ground ; 
 And lightly o'er the living scene 
 Scatters his freshest, tenderest green. 
 
 New-born flocks, in rustic dance, 
 
 Frisking ply their feeble feet ; 10 
 
 Forgetful of their wintry trance 
 
 The birds his presence greet : 
 But chief, the sky-lark warbles high 
 His trembling thrilling extasy ; 
 And, lessening from the dazzled sight, 15 
 
 Melts into air and liquid light. 
 
 Rise, my soul ! on wings of fire, 
 Rise the rapt'rous choir among ; 
 
 " O'er the broad downs a novel race, 
 Frisk the lambs with faltering pace." 
 
 T. Warton, i. 185. 
 V. 17. Mason informs us, that he has heard Gray say, 
 that Cresset's " Epitre a ma Soeur" gave him the first idea 
 of this ode ; and whoever, he sa)-s, compares it with the 
 French poem, will find some slight traits of resemblance, 
 but chiefly in the author's seventh stanza. The following 
 lines seem to have been in Gray's remembrance at this 
 place : 
 
 •' Men ame, trop long tems fletrie 
 Va de nouveau s'epanouir ; 
 Et loin de toute reverie 
 
 Voltiger avec le Zephire, 
 Occupe tout entier du soin du plaisir d'etre," &c. 
 Lucret. v. 282, " liquidi fons luminis." Milt. P. L. vii. 
 362, " drink the liquid light.'' Luke. 
 
122 gray's roEMs. 
 
 Hark ! 'tis nature strikes the lyre, 
 
 And leads the gen'ral song : 20 
 
 * Warm let the lyric transport flow, 
 Warm as the ray that bids it glow ; ' 
 And animates the vernal grove 
 With health, with harmony, and love.' 
 
 Yesterday the sullen year 25 
 
 Saw the snowy whirlwind fly ; 
 Mute was the music of the air. 
 
 The herd stood drooping by : 
 Their raptures now that wildly flow, 
 ISo yesterday nor morrow know ; so 
 
 Tis man alone that joy descries 
 With forward, and reverted eyes. 
 
 Smiles on past misfortune's brow 
 Soft reflection's hand can trace ; 
 
 V. 25. Milt. Son. xx. 3. " Help waste a sullen day.' 
 
 Luhe. 
 V. 31. " Sure he that made us with such large discourse 
 Looking before and after." Hamlet, act iv. sc. 4. 
 " Imperat, ante videt, perpendit, praecavit, infit." 
 
 Prudent, p 374. ed Delph. 
 V. 41. " Where Pleasure's roses void of serpents grow." 
 
 Thomson. C. of Ind. c. ii. st. Ivii. Liihe. 
 V. 43. Dr. Warton refers to Pope. Essay on Man, ii, 
 270. 
 
 " See some strange comfort every state attend, 
 And pride bestow'd on all, a common friend : 
 See some fit passion every age supply : 
 Hope travels on, nor quits us till we die." 
 See Casimir Od. : 
 
 •* Alterno redeunt choro 
 Risus et gemitus, et madidis prope 
 
ODE. 123 
 
 And o'er the cheek of sorrow throw 35 
 
 A melancholy grace ; 
 While hope prolongs our happier hour, 
 Or deepest shades, that dimly lower 
 And blacken round our weary way, 
 Gilds with a gleam of distant day. 4/) 
 
 Still, where rosy pleasure leads, 
 
 See a kindred grief pursue ; 
 Behind the steps that misery treads, 
 
 Approaching comfort view : 
 The hues of bliss more brightly glow, iS 
 
 Chastis'd by sabler tints of woe ; 
 And blended form, with artful strife, 
 The strength and harmony of life. 
 
 See the wretch, that long has tost 
 
 On the thorny bed of pain, 50 
 
 Sicci cum lacrymis joci 
 
 Nascuntur mediis gaudia luctibus." 
 
 V. 45. " Here sweet, or strong, may every colour flow ; 
 Here let the pencil warm, the colours glow ; 
 Of light and shade provoke the noble strife, 
 And wake each striking feature into life." 
 
 Brown. Essay on Satire, ii. 358 
 V. 49. " O ! jours de la convalescence ' 
 Jours d'une pure volupte : 
 C'est une nouvelle naissance, 
 Un rayon d'immortalite. 
 Quel feu ! tous les plaisirs ont vole dans mon ame, 
 
 J 'adore avec transport le celeste flambeau ^ 
 Tout m'int^resse, tout m' enfl^me — 
 Pour moi, I'univers est nouveau. 
 
 Les plus simples objects ; le chante d'un Fauvette, 
 
124 guay's poems. 
 
 At. length repair his vigour lost, 
 And breathe and walk again : 
 The meanest floweret of the vale, 
 The simplest note that swells the gale, 
 The common sun, the air, the skies, 66 
 
 To him are opening paradise. 
 
 Humble quiet builds her cell, 
 
 Near the source whence pleasure flows ; 
 She eyes the clear crystalline well, 
 
 And tastes it as it goes. 60 
 
 '■ While' far below the ' madding' crowd 
 ' Rush headlong to the dangerous flood,* 
 Where broad and turbulent it sweeps, 
 * And' perish in the boundless deeps. 
 
 Mark where indolence and pride, 63 
 
 * Sooth'd by flattery's tinkling sound,' 
 
 Go, softly rolling, side by side, 
 Their dull but daily round : 
 
 ' To these, if Hebe's self should bring 
 
 Le matin d'un beau jour, la verdure des bois. 
 
 La fraicheur d'une violette ; 
 Milles spectacles, qu'autrefois 
 On voyoit avec nonchalance, 
 Transportent aujourd'hui, presentent des appas 
 
 Inconnus d 1' indifference, 
 Et que la foule ne voit pas." Cresset, torn. i. p. 145. 
 V. 55. " Communemque prius, ceu lumina soils." Ovid. 
 Met. i. 135. " Nee solem proprium natura, nee aera fecit.'' 
 Ovid. Met. vi. 350. " Ne lucem, quoque hanc quae com- 
 munis est." Cicero. " Sol omnibus lucet." Pet. Arb. c. 
 100. " Communis cunctis viventibus aura.'' Prudent. Sym. 
 ii. 86. " The common benefit of vital air." Dr^'den. 
 
ODE. 125 
 
 The purest cup from pleasure's spring", 70 
 
 Say, can they taste the flavour high 
 Of sober, simple, genuine joy ? 
 
 * Mark ambition's march sublime 
 
 Up to power's meridian height ; 
 While pale-eyed envy sees him climb, 75 
 
 And sickens at the sight. 
 Phantoms of danger, death, and dread, 
 Float hourly round ambition's head ; 
 While spleen, within his rival's breast, 
 Sits brooding on her scorpion nest. so 
 
 * Happier he, the peasant, far. 
 
 From the pangs of passion free. 
 That breathes the keen yet wholesome air 
 
 Of rugged penury. 
 He, when his morning task is done, 85 
 
 Can slumber in the noontide sun ; 
 And hie him home, at evening's close, 
 To sweet repast, and calm repose. 
 
 V. 56. " Balm from open'd Paradise." v. Fairfax. Tasso, 
 iv. 75. Lithe. " And Paradise was open'd in the wild.' 
 Pope. " And paradise was open'd in his face." Dryden. 
 Absalom, ed. Derrick, vol. i. p. 116. 
 V. 59. So Milton accents the word : 
 
 " On the crystfflline sky, in sapphire thron'd." 
 
 Par. Lost, b. vi. ver 772. 
 V. 65. " Tout s'^mousse dans I'habitude ; 
 L'amour s'endort sans volupte ; 
 Las des mSmes plaisirs, las de leur multitude, 
 Le sentiment n'est plus flatte." 
 
126 gray's POKMS. 
 
 ' He, unconscious whence the bliss, 
 
 Feels, and owns in carols rude, yo 
 
 That all the circling joys are his, 
 
 Of dear Vicissitude. 
 From toil he wins his spirits light. 
 From busy day the peaceful night ; 
 Rich, from the very want of wealth, 95 
 
 In heaven's best treasures, peace and health.' 
 
 TRANSLATION OF A PASSAGE FROM 
 STATIUS.* 
 
 THEB. LIB. VI. VER. 704 — 724. 
 
 Third in the labours of the disc came on. 
 With sturdy step and slow, Hippomedon ; 
 Artful and strong he pois'd the well-known weight, 
 By Phlegyas warn'd, and fir'd by Mnestheus' fate, 
 That to avoid, and this to emulate. 5 
 
 His vigorous arm he tried before he flung, 
 Brac'd all his nerves, and every sinew strung ; 
 Then, with a tempest's whirl, and wary eye, 
 Pursu'd his cast, and hurl'd the orb on high ; 
 
 * This translation, written at the age of twenty, which 
 Gray sent to West, consisted of ahout a hundred and ten 
 lines. Mason selected twenty-seven lines, which he pub- 
 lished, as Gray's first attempt at English verse ; and to 
 show how much he had imbibed of Dryden's spirited manner 
 at that earlv period of his life. See the memoirs, vol. ii. 
 p. 12. 
 
TRANSLATION FROM STATIUS. 127 
 
 The orb on hig-h tenacious of its course, lo 
 
 True to the mighty arm that gave it force, 
 Far overleaps all bound, and joys to see 
 Its ancient lord secure of victory. 
 The theatre's green height and woody wall 
 Tremble ere it precipitates its fall ; 15 
 
 The ponderous mass sinks in the cleaving ground, 
 While vales and woods and echoing Tiills rebound. 
 As when from -Etna's smoking summit broke, 
 The eyeless Cyclops heav'd the craggy rock ; 
 Where Ocean frets beneath the dashing oar, 20 
 And parting surges round the vessel roar ; 
 'Twas there he aim'd the meditated harm. 
 And scarce Ulysses scap'd his giant arm. 
 A tiger's pride the victor bore away, 
 With native spots and artful labour gay, 25 
 
 A shining border round the margin roll'd, 
 And calm'd the terrors of his claws in gold. 
 
 Cambridge, May, 8, 1736 
 
 V. 12. V. Milt. P. L. iv. 181, " At one slight bound 
 high overleap'd all bound." Luke. 
 
 V. 14. V. Milt. P. L. iv. 140, " As the ranks ascend shade 
 above shade, a woody theatre of stateliest view." Luke. 
 
128 gray's poems. 
 
 THE FRAGMENT OF A TRAGEDY, 
 
 DESIGNED BY MR. GRAY ON THE SUBJECT OF THE 
 
 DEATH OF AGRIPPINA.* 
 
 " The Britannicus of Racine, I knovr, was one of Gray's 
 most favourite plays ; and the admirable manner in which 
 1 have heard him say that he saw it represented at Paris, 
 seems to have led him to choose the death of Agrippina 
 for his first and only effort in the drama. The execution 
 of it also, as far as it goes, is so very much m Racine's 
 taste, that I suspect, if that great poet had oeen born an 
 Englishman, he would have written precisely in the same 
 style and manner. However, as there is at present in this 
 nation a general prejudice against declamatory plays, I agree 
 with a learned friend, who perused the manuscript, that 
 this fragment will be little relished by the many ; yet the 
 admirable strokes of nature and character with which it 
 abounds, and the majesty of its diction, prevent me from 
 withholding from the few, who I expect will relish it, so 
 great a curiosity (to call it nothing more) as part of a tra- 
 gedy written by Gray. These persons well know, that till 
 style and sentiment be a little more regarded, mere action 
 and passion will never secure reputation to the author, 
 whatever they may do to the actor. It is the business of 
 the one ' to strut and fret his hour upon the stage ;' and if 
 he frets and struts enough, he is sure to find his reward in 
 the plaudit of an upper gallery ; but the other ought to have 
 some regard to the cooler judgment of the closet : for I will 
 be bold to say that if Shakespeare himself had not written a 
 multitude of passages which please there as much as they 
 do on the stage, his reputation would not stand so univer- 
 sally high as it does at present. Many of these passages, 
 to the shame of our theatrical taste, are omitted constantly 
 in the representation : but I say not this from conviction 
 that the mode of writing, which Gray pursued, is the best 
 
 * See Tacitus's Annals, book xiii. xiv. Mason. 
 
AGRIPPINA. 129 
 
 for dramatic purposes. I think myself, what I have as- 
 serted elsewhere,* that a medium between the French and 
 English taste would be preferable to either ; and yet this 
 medium, if hit with the greatest nicety, would fail of success 
 on our theatre, and that for a very obvious reason. Actors 
 (I speak of the troop collectively) must all learn to speak 
 as well as act, in order to do justice to such a drama. 
 
 '' But let me hasten to give the reader what little insight 
 1 can into Gray's plan, as I find and select it from two de- 
 tached papers. The Title and Dramatis Personae are as 
 follow." (See Mason. Life of Gray, vol. iii. p. 8.) 
 
 AGRIPPINA, A TRAGEDY. 
 
 [It appears that Lord Hervey left in ms. a tragedy of 
 Agrippina, in rhymed verse, see Walpole's Noble Authors, 
 p. 453. There is a tragedy of Agrippina by Lohenstein, 
 see Resume de 1' Hist. Allemande par A. L. Veimars, 
 p. 271. See Gibber's Lives of the Poets, vol. ii. p. 8.] 
 
 DRAMATIS PERSOKiE. 
 
 - Agrippina, the Empress-mother. 
 Nero, the Emperor. 
 
 Poppff.A, believed to be in love with Otho. 
 Otho, a young man of quality, in love with Popp-T-a. 
 Seneca, the Emperor's Preceptor. 
 Anicetus, Captain of the Guards. 
 Demetrius, the Cynic, friend to Seneca. 
 Aceronia, Confidant to Agrippina. 
 
 Scene — The Emperor s villa at Baice. 
 
 "The argument drawn out by him, in these two papers, 
 under the idea of a plot and under-plot, I shall here unite ; 
 as it will tend to show that the action itself was possessed 
 of sufficient unity. 
 
 " The drama opens with the indignation of Agrippina, at 
 receiving her son's orders from Anicetus to remove from 
 Bai?e, and to have her guard taken from her. At this time 
 
 * See Letters prefixed to Elfrida, particularly Letter II 
 
 K 
 
130 gray's poems. 
 
 Otho having conveyed Popp?Da from the house of her hus- 
 band Ihifus Crispinus, brings her to Baiaj, where he means 
 to conceal her among the crowd ; or, if his fraud is disco- 
 vered, to have recourse to the Emperor's authority ; but, 
 knowing the lawless temper of Nero, he determines not to 
 have recourse to that expedient but on the utmost necessity. 
 In the mean time he commits her to the care of Anicetus, 
 whom he takes to be his friend, and in whose age he thinks 
 he may safely confide. Nero is not yet come to Baiae : but 
 Seneca, whom he sends before him, informs Agrippina of 
 the accusation concerning Rubellius Plancus, and desires 
 her to clear herself, which she does briefly : but demands 
 to see her son, who, on his arrival, acquits her of all suspi- 
 cion, and restores her to her honours. In the mean while, 
 Anicetus, to whose care Poppsea had been intrusted by 
 Otho, contrives the following plot to ruin Agrippina: he 
 betrays his trust to Otho, and brings Nero as it were by 
 chance, to the sight of the beautiful Poppaea ; the Emperor 
 is immediately struck with her charms, and she, by a feigned 
 resistance, increases his passion : though, in reality, she is 
 from the first dazzled with the prospect of empire, and 
 forgets Otho : she therefore joins with Anicetus in his de- 
 sign of ruining Agrippina, soon perceiving that it will be 
 for her interest. Otho hearing that the Emperor had seen 
 Poppaea, is much enraged ; but not knowing that this in- 
 terview was obtained through the treachery of Anicetus, is 
 readily persuaded by him to see Agrippina in secret, and 
 acquaint her with his fears that her son Nero would marry 
 Poppaea. Agrippina, to support her own power, and to 
 wean the Emperor from the love of Poppaea, gives Otho 
 encouragement, and promises to support him. Anicetus 
 secretly introduces Nero to hear their discourse •, who re- 
 solves immediately on his mother's death, and, by Anicetus's 
 means, to destroy her by drowning. A solemn feast, in 
 honour of their reconciliation, is to be made ; after which 
 she being to go by sea to Bauli, the ship is so contrived as 
 to sink or crush her ; she escapes by accident, and returns 
 to Baiae. In this interval Otho has an interview with 
 Poppaea ; and being duped a second time by Anicetus and 
 her, determines to fly with her into Greece, by means of a 
 vessel which is to be furnished by Anicetus ; but he, pre- 
 tending to remove Poppaea on board in the night, conveys 
 her to Nero's apartment: she then encourages and deter- 
 mines Nero to banish Otho, and finish the horrid deed he 
 had attempted on his mother. Anicetus undertakes to ex- 
 ecute his resolves ; and, under pretence of a plot upon the 
 
AGRTPPINA. 131 
 
 Emperor's life, is sent with a guard to murder Agrippina, 
 who is still at Baiae in imminent fear, and irresolute how 
 to conduct herself. The account of her death, and the Em- 
 peror's horror and fruitless remorse, finishes the drama. 
 
 Masov. 
 
 ACT I. Scene I. 
 
 AGRIPPINA. ACERONIA. 
 
 Agrip. 'Tis well, begone ! your errand is per- 
 form'd, [Speaks as to Anicetus entering. 
 The message needs no comment. Tell your master, 
 His mother shall obey him. Say you saw her 
 Yielding- due reverence to his high command : 
 Alone, unguarded and without a lictor, 6 
 
 As fits the daughter of Germanicus. 
 Say, she retir'd to Antium ; there to tend 
 Her household cares, a woman's best employment. 
 What if you add, how she turn'd pale and trembled : 
 You think, you spied a tear stand in her eye, lo 
 And would have dropp'd, but that her pride restrain'd 
 (Go ! you can paint it well) 'twill profit you, [it? 
 And please the stripling. Yet 'twould dash his joy 
 To hear the spirit of Britannicus 
 Yet walks on earth : at least there are who know 
 Without a spell to raise, and bid it fire 16 
 
 A thousand haughty hearts, unus'd to shake 
 When a boy frowns, nor to be lured with smiles 
 To taste of hollow kindness, or partake 
 
 V. 19. So in the Britannicus of Racine, act iv. so. 2, 
 A grippina says : 
 
 " Vous §tes un ingrat, vous le futes toujours. 
 
 Des vos plus jeunes ans, mes soins et mes tendresses 
 
 N'ont arrach6 de vous, que defeintes caresses." 
 
132 (; hay's poems. 
 
 His hospitable board : they are aware co 
 
 Of th' unpledg'd bowl, they love not aconite. 
 
 AcFR. He's gone : and much I hope these walls 
 And the mute air are privy to your passion, [alone 
 Forgive your servant's fears, who sees the danger 
 Which fierce resentment cannot fail to raise 25 
 In haughty youth, and irritated power. 
 
 Agrip. And dost thou talk to me, to me of dan- 
 Of haughty youth and irritated power, [ger, 
 
 To her that gave it being, her that arm'd 
 This painted Jove, and taught his novice hand 30 
 To aim the forked bolt ; while he stood trembling, 
 Scar'd at the sound, and dazzled with its brightness ? 
 
 'Tis like, thou hast forgot, when yet a stranger 
 To adoration, to the grateful steam 
 Of flattery's incense, and obsequious vows .35 
 
 From voluntary realms, a puny boy, 
 Deck'd with no other lustre, than the blood 
 Of Agrippina's race, he liv'd unknown 
 To fame, or fortune ; haply eyed at distance 
 Some edileship, ambitious of the power 40 
 
 To judge of weights and measures ; scarcely dar'd 
 On expectation's strongest wing to soar 
 
 V. 29. 
 
 " II m^le avec I'orgueil qu'il a pris dans leur sang, 
 La fierte'des Nerons, qu'il pnisa dans monfianc." 
 
 Britannicus, act i. sc. 1. 
 V. 38. So Elegy (Epitaph) : " A youth, to fortune and 
 to fame unhiown." 
 V. 45. 
 ' Ce jour, ce triste jour, frappe encor ma memoire ; 
 Oil ]\6ron fut lui-m^me thhui de sa gloire." 
 
 Britannicus, act i. sc. 1, 
 
AGRIPPINA. 133 
 
 High as the consulate, that empty shade 
 Of long'-forgotten liberty : when I 44 
 
 Oped his young eye to bear the blaze of greatness ; 
 Shew'd him where empire tower'd, and bade him 
 
 strike 
 The noble quarry. Gods ! then was the time 
 To shrink from danger ; fear might then have worn 
 The mask of prudence ; but a heart like mine, 
 A heart that glows with the pure Julian fire, so 
 If bright ambition from her craggy seat 
 Display the radiant prize, will mount undaunted, 
 Gain the rough heights, and grasp the dangerous 
 honour. [steps, 
 
 Acer. Through various life I have pursued your 
 Have seen your soul, and wonder'd at its daring: 
 Hence rise my fears. Nor am I yet to learn 56 
 How vast the debt of gratitude which Nero 
 To such a mother owes ; the world, you gave him, 
 Suffices not to pay the obligation. 
 
 I well remember too (for I was present) 6o 
 
 When in a secret and dead hour of night, 
 Due sacrifice perform'd with barb'rous rites 
 Of mutter'd charms, and solemn invocation, 
 You bade the Magi call the dreadful powers, 
 
 ' Hasc (exclamat) mihi pro tanto 
 Munere reddis prjemia, gnate ? 
 Hac sum, fateor, digna carina 
 Quae te genui, quae tibi lucem 
 Atque imperium, nomenque dedi 
 Caesaris, amens." 
 Agrippina's Speech in Seneca's Octavia, ver 333. 
 V. 64. On Nero's Magical studies, consult Plinii. Nat. 
 Hist. lib. XXX. cap. 5. 
 
134 GRAY'S POEMS. 
 
 That read futurity, to know the fate 65 
 
 Impending o'er your son : their answer was, 
 If the son reign, the mother perishes. 
 Perish (you cried) the mother ! reign the son ! 
 He reigns, the rest is heav'n's ; who oft has bade, 
 Ev'n when its will seem'd wrote in lines of blood, 70 
 Th' unthought event disclose a whiter meaning. 
 Think too how oft in weak and sickly minds 
 The sweets of kindness lavishly indulg'd 
 Rankle to gall ; and benefits too great 
 To be repaid, sit heavy on the soul, 75 
 
 As unrequited wrongs. The willing homage 
 Of prostrate Rome, the senate's joint applause, 
 The riches of the earth, the train of pleasures 
 That wait on youth, and arbitrary sway : 
 These were your gift, and with them you bestow'd 80 
 The very power he has to be ungrateful. [tion 
 Agrip. *Thus ever grave and undisturb'd reflec- 
 Pours its cool dictates in the madding ear 
 Of rage, and thinks to quench the fire it feels not. 
 Say'st thou I must be cautious, must be silent, 85 
 And tremble at the phantom I have raised ? 
 Carry to him thy timid counsels. He 
 Perchance may heed 'em : tell him too, that one 
 Who had such liberal power to give, may still 
 
 * In Gray's MS. Agrippina's was one continued speech 
 from this line to the end of the scene. Mr. Mason informs 
 us, that he has altered it to the state in which it now stands. 
 
 V. 91. " Et c'est trop respecter 1' ouvrage de mes 
 mains." Britannicus, act iii. sc. 3. 
 
 V. 98. " And silken dalliance in the wardrobe lies." 
 Hen. V. act ii. Chor. Rogers. 
 
AGRIPPINA. 135 
 
 With equal power resume that gift, and raise go 
 A tempest that shall shake her own creation 
 To its original atoms — tell me ! say 
 This mighty emperor, this dreaded hero, 
 Has he beheld the glittering front of war ? 
 Knows his soft ear the trumpet's thrilling voice, 95 
 And outcry of the battle ? Have his limbs 
 Sweat under iron harness ? Is he not 
 The silken son of dalliance, nurs'd in ease 
 And pleasure's flow'ry lap ? — Rubellius lives, 
 And Sylla has his friends, though school'd by fear 
 To bow the supple knee, and court the times loi 
 With shows of fair obeisance ; and a call. 
 Like mine, might serve belike to wake pretensions 
 Drowsier than theirs, who boast the genuine blood 
 Of our imperial house. [passion, 
 
 Acer. Did I not wish to check this dangerous 
 I might remind my mistress that her nod 
 Can rouse eight hardy legions, wont to stem 
 With stubborn nerves the tide, and face the rigour 
 Of bleak Germania's snows. Four, not less brave. 
 That in Armenia quell the Parthian force in 
 
 Under the warlike Corbulo, by you 
 Mark'd for their leader : these, by ties confirm'd, 
 Of old respect and gratitude, are yours. 
 Surely the Masians too, and those of Egypt, i is 
 
 V. 99. V. Senecae Octav. 437. Nero enters, " Parage im- 
 perata, mitte qui Platiti mihi, Sullaeque caesi referat abscis- 
 sum caput," i. e. Plauti Rubellii. 
 
 V. 110. But Tacitus says: " Sed Corbuloni plus molis 
 adversus ignaviam militum, quam contra perfidiam hostium, 
 erat." v, Annales, xiii. 35. 
 
136 gray's poems. 
 
 Have not forg-ot your sire : the eye of Rome, 
 And the Praetorian camp have long rever'd 
 With custom'd av^re, the daughter, sister, wife, 
 And mother of their Caesars. 
 
 Agrip. Ha ! by Juno, 
 
 It bears a noble semblance. On this base i2( 
 My great revenge shall rise ; or say we sound 
 The trump of liberty ; there will not want, 
 Even in the servile senate, ears to own 
 Her spirit-stirring voice ; Soranus there. 
 And Cassius ; Vetus too, and Thrasea, 125 
 
 Minds of the antique cast, rough, stubborn souls, 
 That struggle with the yoke. How shall the spark 
 Unquenchable, that glows within their breasts, 
 Blaze into freedom, when the idle herd 
 (Slaves from the womb, created but to stare, 130 
 And bellow in the Circus) yet will start, 
 And shake 'em at the name of liberty. 
 Stung by a senseless word, a vain tradition, 
 As there were magic in it ? Wrinkled beldams 
 Teach it their grandchildren, as somewhat rare isi 
 That anciently appear'd, but when, extends 
 
 V. 118. 
 
 " Et moi, qui sur le trone ai suivi mes ancetres, 
 Moi, Jille, femme, soeur, et mere de vos maitres." 
 
 Britannicus, act i. sc :i, 
 V. 124. " The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife." 
 Othello, act iii. sc. 3. 
 
 '« the spirit-stirring form 
 
 Of Caesar, raptur'd with the charms of rule." Dyer. Rome. 
 V. 147. " The swarm that in thy noontide beam were 
 born." Bard. 
 
 V. 148. "Hi rectores'imperatoria; juventae, et pari in 
 
AGRIPPINA. 137 
 
 Beyond their chronicle — oh ! 'tis a cause 
 To arm the hand of childhood, and rebrace 
 The slacken'd sinews of time-wearied age. 
 
 Yes, we may meet, ungrateful boy, we may ! 140 
 Again the buried Genius of old Rome 
 Shall from the dust uprear his reverend head, 
 Rous'd by the shout of millions : there before 
 His high tribunal thou and I appear. 
 Let majesty sit on thy awful brow, 145 
 
 And lighten from thy eye : around thee call 
 The gilded swarm that wantons in the sunshine 
 Of thy full favour ; Seneca be there 
 In gorgeous phrase of labour'd eloquence 
 To dress thy plea, and Burrhus strengthen it 150 
 With his plain soldier's oath, and honest seeming. 
 Against thee, liberty and Agrippina : 
 The world, the prize ; and fair befall the victors. 
 
 But soft ! why do 1 waste the fruitless hours 
 In threats unexecuted ? Haste thee, fly 155 
 
 These hated walls that seem to mock my shame, 
 And cast me forth in duty to their lord. 
 
 Acer. 'Tis time to go, the sun is high advanc'd, 
 
 societate potentiae, Concordes, diversS, arte, ex aequo polle- 
 bant. Burrus militaribus curis, et severitate morum : Se- 
 neca praeceptis eloquentiae, et comitate honesta." Taciti 
 Annales, xiii. c. 2. 
 
 V. 149. See Senecae Octav. v. 377., 
 
 V. 150. So in the speech of Burrhus in the Britannicus 
 of Racine, act i. sc. 2 : 
 
 " Je repondrai, madaine ; avec la liberty 
 D'un soldat, que sait mal farder la verite." 
 And again, act i. sc. 2 ; 
 " Burrhus pour le mensonge, eut toujours trop d'horreur." 
 
138 gray's poems. 
 
 And, ere mid-day, Nero will corne to Baiae. 
 
 Agrip. My thought aches at him; not the basilisk 
 More deadly to the sight, than is to me 
 The cool injurious eye of frozen kindness. 
 I will not meet its poison. Let him feel 
 Before he sees me. 
 
 Acer. Why then stays my sovereign, 
 
 Where he so soon may — 
 
 Agrip. Yes, I will be gone, i65 
 
 But not to Antium — all shall be confess'd, 
 Whate'er the frivolous tongue of giddy fame 
 Has spread among the crowd ; things, that but 
 
 whisper'd 
 Have arch'd the hearer's brow, and riveted 
 His eyes in fearful extasy : no matter 170 
 
 What ; so't be strange, and dreadful. — Sorceries, 
 Assassinations, poisonings — the deeper 
 My guilt, the blacker his in.gratitude. 
 
 And you, ye manes of ambition's victims, 
 Enshrined Claudius, with the pitied ghosts 175 
 Of the Syllani, doom'd to early death, 
 (Ye unavailing horrors, fruitless crimes !) 
 
 V. 169. " Whom have I hurt? has poet yet or peer 
 
 Lost the arch'd eyebrow, or Parnassian sneer V 
 Pope. Prol. to the Satires, ver. 95. 
 " To arch the brows which on them gaz'd." 
 
 V. Marvell. Poems, i. 45. 
 V. 172. " Pour rendre sa puissance, et la v6tre odieuses, 
 J' avourai les rumeurs les plus injurieuses, 
 Je confesserai tout, exils, assassinats, 
 Poison mfeme." Britannicus, act iii. sc. 3. 
 
 See also Taciti Annales, lib. xiii. c. 15. 
 
 V. 176. " Pr6 facinus ingens ! foeminai est munus datus 
 
AGRIPPINA. 139 
 
 If from the realms of night my voice ye hear, 
 
 In lieu of penitence, and vain remorse, 
 
 Accept my vengeance. Though by me ye bled, 
 
 He was the cause. My love, my fears for him, 
 
 Dried the soft springs of pity in my heart. 
 
 And froze them up with deadly cruelty. 
 
 Yet if your injur'd shades demand my fate, 
 
 If murder cries for murder, blood for blood, las 
 
 Let me not fall alone ; but crush his pride, 
 
 And sink the traitor in his mother's ruin. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene II. otho, popp^a. 
 
 Otho. Thus far we're safe. Thanks to the rosy 
 Of amorous thefts : and had her wanton son [queen 
 Lent us his wings, we could not have beguil'd 190 
 With more elusive speed the dazzled sight 
 Of wakeful jealousy. Be gay securely ; 
 Dispel, my fair, with smiles, the tim'rous cloud 
 That hangs on thy clear brow. So Helen look'd, 
 So her white neck reclin'd, so was she borne 195 
 
 Silanus, et cruore foedavit suo 
 Patrios Penates, criminis ficti reus." 
 
 Senecae Octavia, ver. 148. 
 And see Taciti Annales, xii. c. 3, 4. 
 
 V. 195. " Obstipum caput et tereti cervice reflexum." 
 Cic. de Nat. Deor. ii. 42. 
 " Et caput inflexd lentum cervice recumbit 
 Marmored." Virgilii Ciris. 449. 
 
 " Nived cervice reclinis 
 Mollitur ipsa." Manil. Astron. 5. v. 555. 
 
 This particular beauty is also given to Helen by Constantine 
 
140 GRAY b POEMS. 
 
 By the young- Trojan to his gilded bark 196 
 
 With fond reluctance, yielding- modesty, 
 And oft reverted eye, as if she knew not 
 Whether she fear'd, or wish'd to be pursued. 
 
 HYMN TO IGNORANCE. 
 
 A FRAGMENT. 
 
 [See ]Mason's Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 75. Supposed to be 
 written about tbe year 1742, when Gray returned to 
 Cambridge.] 
 
 Hail, horrors, hail ! ye ever gloomy bowers. 
 Ye gothic fanes, and antiquated towers. 
 Where rushy Camus' slowly-winding flood 
 Perpetual draws his humid train of mud : 
 
 Manasses, in bis " Annales," (see Meursii Opera, vol. vii. 
 
 p. syo) : 
 
 Atipij fiuKpa KaraXiVKOQ, Wev ijxii0ovpyr]9')) 
 KvKvoyevij rrjv evotttov 'EXsvrjv ■)(Qi]^dTiZ,uv. 
 And so also in the Antehomerica of Tzetzes, ed. Jacobs, p. 
 115 (though the passage is corrupted). 
 
 " That soft cheek springing to the marble neck, 
 Which bends aside in vain." 
 
 Akenside. PI. of Imag. b. i. p. 112. ed. Park. 
 V. 197. See Milton. Par. L. iv. 310 : 
 
 " Yielded with coy submission, modest pride, 
 And sweet, reluctant amorous delay. Luke. 
 V. 1. " Hail, horrors, hail !" Milton." Par. L. i. 205. 
 V. 3. " Jam nee arundiferum mihi cura revisere Cainum," 
 Miltoni Eleg. i. 11. and 89. ''juncosas Cami remeare palu- 
 des.'' Luke, 
 
HYMN TO IGNORANCE. 141 
 
 Glad I revisit thy neglected reign, 5 
 
 Oh take me to thy peaceful shade again. 
 
 But chiefly thee, whose influence breathed from high 
 
 Augments the native darkness of the sky ; 
 
 Ah, ignorance"! soft salutary power ! 
 
 Prostrate with filial reverence I adore. lo 
 
 Thrice hath Hyperion roll'd his annual race. 
 
 Since weeping I forsook thy fond embrace. 
 
 Oh say, successful dost thou still oppose 
 
 Thy leaden segis 'gainst our ancient foes ? 
 
 Still stretch, tenacious of thy right divine, is 
 
 The massy sceptre o'er thy slumb'ring line ? 
 
 And dews Lethean through the land dispense 
 
 To steep in slumbers each benighted sense ? 
 
 If any spark of wit's delusive ray 
 
 Break out, and flash a momentary day, 20 
 
 With damp, cold touch forbid it to aspire, 
 
 And huddle up in fogs the dang'rous fire. 
 
 Oh say — she hears me not, but, careless grown, 
 Lethargic nods upon her ebon throne. 
 
 V. 4. " Where rivers now 
 
 Stream, and perpetual draw their humid train." 
 
 Milton. Par. Lost, vii. 310. 
 V. 14. " To hatch a new Saturnian age of lead." 
 
 Pope. Dunciad, i. 28. 
 And so in the speech of Ignorance in " Henry and Miner- 
 va," by I. B. 1729 (one among the poetical pieces bound 
 up by Pope in his library, and now in my possession) : 
 " Myself behind this ample shield of lead, 
 Will to the field my daring squadrons head." 
 V. 17. '■ Let Fancy still my sense in Lethe steep." 
 
 Shakesp. T. Night, act iv. sc. 1. Luke. 
 
 V. 22. " Here Ignorance in steel was ann'd, and there 
 
 Cloath'd in a cowl, dissembled fast and pray'r; 
 
142 G»RAY*S POEMS. 
 
 Goddess ! awake, arise ! alas, my fears ! «f 
 
 Can powers immortal feel the force of years ? 
 Not thus of old, with ensigns wide unfurl'd, 
 She rode triumphant o'er the vanquish'd world ; 
 Fierce nations own'd her unresisted might, 
 And all was ignorance, and all was night. 30 
 
 Oh ! sacred age ! Oh ! times for ever lost ! 
 (The schoolman's glory, and the churchman's boast.) 
 For ever gone — yet still to fancy new, 
 Her rapid wings the transient scene pursue, 
 And bring the buried ages back to view. 35 
 
 High on her car, behold the grandam ride 
 Like old Sesostris with barbaric pride ; 
 * * * a team of harness'd monarchs bend 
 
 Against my sway her pious hand stretch'd out, 
 And fencd with double fogs her idiot rout." 
 
 Henry and Minerva. 
 And so in the Dunciad, b. i. ver. 80 : 
 
 " All these, and more, the cloud-compelling queen 
 Beholds thro' fogs that magnify the scene." 
 V. 25. *' Awake, arise, or be for ever fallen !" 
 
 Milt. P. L. i. 330. Luke. 
 V. 37. " Sesostris-like, such charioteers as these 
 
 May drive six harness'd monarchs if they please.' 
 Young. Love of Fame, Sat. v. 
 " High on his car, Sesostris struck my view. 
 Whom sceptred slaves in golden harness drew." 
 Pope. T. of Fame. Luke. 
 And so S. Philips. Blenheim, v. 16 : 
 
 " As curst Sesostris, proud Egyptian king. 
 That monarchs harness'd to his chariot yok'd." 
 
143 
 
 THE ALLIANCE OF 
 
 EDUCATION AND GOVERNMENT. 
 
 A FRAGMENT.* 
 
 [See Mason's Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 99 ; and Musae Etonenses, 
 vol. ii. p. 152.] 
 
 ESSAY I. 
 
 UoTay', u) 'ya9s' rdv yap aoidav 
 
 OvTi ira elg Atdav ye rbv iKXeXdOovra (pvXaEelg. 
 Theocritus, Id. I. 63. 
 
 As sickly plants betray a niggard earth, 
 Whose barren bosom starves her generous birth, 
 Nor genial warmth, nor genial juice retains, 
 Their roots to feed, and fill their verdant veins : 
 And as in climes, where winter holds his reign, 5 
 The soil, though fertile, will not teem in vain, 
 Forbids her gems to swell, her shades to rise, 
 Nor trusts her blossoms to the churlish skies : 
 Var. V. 2. Barren] Flinty, ms. 
 
 * In a note to his Roman History, Gibbon says : " In- 
 stead of compiling tables of chronology and natural history, 
 why did not Mr. Gray apply the powers of his genius to 
 finish the philosophic poem of which he has left such 
 an exquisite specimen!" Vol. iii. p. "248. 4to. — Would it 
 not have been more philosophical in Gibbon to have la- 
 mented the situation in which Gray was placed ; which 
 ■spas not only not favourable to the cultivation of poetry, but 
 which naturally directed his thoughts to those learned in- 
 quiries, that formed the amusement or business of all around 
 himl 
 
144 gray's poems 
 
 So draw mankind in vain the vital airs, 
 
 Unform'd, unfriended, by those kindly cares, lo 
 
 That health and vigour to the soul impart, [heart : 
 
 Spread the young- thought, and warm the opening" 
 
 So fond instruction on the growing powers 
 
 Of nature idly lavishes her stores, 
 
 If equal justice with unclouded face 15 
 
 Smile not indulgent on the rising race. 
 
 And scatter with a free, though frugal hand. 
 
 Light golden showers of plenty o'er the land : 
 
 But tyranny has fix'd her empire there. 
 
 To check their tender hopes with chilling fear, 20 
 
 And blast the blooming promise of the year. 
 
 This spacious animated scene survey. 
 From where the rolling orb, that gives the day, 
 His sable sons with nearer course surrounds 
 To either pole, and life's remotest bounds, 25 
 
 How rude so e'er th' exterior form we find, 
 Howe'er opinion tinge the varied mind, 
 Alike to all, the kind, impartial heav'n 
 
 Var. V. 19. But tyranny has] Gloomy sway have. ms. 
 V. 21. Blooming] Vernal, ms. 
 
 V. 9. *' Yitales auras carpis," Virg. ^n. i. o87, Luke. 
 V. 14. " And lavish nature laughs and throws her stores 
 around," Dryden. Virgil, vii. 76. Luke. 
 
 V. 21. " JDestroy the promise of the youthful year," 
 
 Pope. Vert, and Pomona, 108. Luke. 
 V. 36. " On mutual wants, build mutual happiness." 
 
 Pope. Ep.iii. 112. 
 V. 47. " Bellica nubes," Claudiani Laus Seren. 196. 
 
 Luke. 
 V. 48. So Claudian calls it, Bell. Getico, 641, " Cim- 
 brica tempestas." Pope. Hom. Od. 5, 303, *' And next a 
 
EDUCATION AND GOVERNMENT. 145 
 
 Tlie sparks of truth and happiness has giv'n : 
 With sense to feel, with memory to retain, 30 
 
 They follow pleasure, and they fly from pain ; 
 Their judgment mends the plan their fancy draws. 
 The event presages, and explores the cause ; 
 The soft returns of gratitude they know, 
 By fraud elude, by force repel the foe ; 35 
 
 While mutual wishes, mutual woes endear 
 The social smile, the sympathetic tear. 
 
 Say, then, through ages by what fate confin'd 
 To diflferent climes seem different souls assign'd ? 
 Here measur'd laws and philosophic ease 40 
 
 Fix, and improve the polish'd arts of peace ; 
 There industry and gain their vigils keep. 
 Command the winds, and tame th' unwilling deep : 
 Here force and hardy deeds of blood prevail ; 
 There languid pleasure sighs in every gale. 45 
 Oft o'er the trembling nations from afar 
 Has Scythia breath'd the living cloud of war; 
 And, where the deluge burst, with sweepy sway 
 Their arms, their kings, their gods were roll'd away. 
 As oft have issued, host impelling host, 50 
 
 wedge to drive with sweepy sway." See note on Bard, 
 V. 75. 
 
 V. 50. So Thomson. Liberty, iv. 803 : 
 
 " Hence many a people, fierce with freedom, rush'd 
 From the rude iron regions of the North 
 To Libyan deserts, swann protruding swarm." 
 And Winter, 840 : 
 
 " Drove martial horde on horde, with dreadful sweep 
 Resistless rushing o'er the enfeebled South." 
 V. 51. So Pope. Dunciad, iii. 89 : 
 
 " The North by myriack pours her mighty sons." 
 
146 gray's poems. 
 
 The blue-eyed myriads from the Baltic coast. 
 The prostrate south to the destroyer yields 
 Her boasted titles, and her golden fields : 
 With grim delight the brood of winter view 
 A brighter day, and heav'ns of azure hue ; 55 
 
 Scent the new fragrance of the breathing rose, 
 And quaff the pendent vintage as it grows. 
 Proud of the yoke, and pliant to the rod, 
 Why yet does Asia dread a monarch's nod, 
 While European freedom still withstands 60 
 
 Th' encroaching tide that drowns her lessening 
 And sees far off, with an indignant groan, [lands; 
 Her native plains, and empires once her own ? 
 Can opener skies and suns of fiercer flame 
 O'erpower the fire, that animates our frame ; 65 
 As lamps, that shed at eve a cheerful ray, 
 Fade and expire beneath the eye of day ? 
 Need we the influence of the northern star 
 To string our nerves and steel our hearts to war ? 
 And, where the face of nature laughs around, 70 
 
 Var. V. 55. Heav'ns] Skies, ms. 
 V. 56. Scent] Catch, ms. 
 
 " The fair complexion of the blue-eyed warriors of Germany 
 formed a singular contrast with the swarthy or olive hue, 
 which is derived from the neighbourhood of the torrid zone." 
 Gibbon. Rom. Hist. iii. 337. Ausonius gives them this 
 distinguished feature : " Oculos ccerula, flava comas," De 
 Bissula. 17. p. 341. ed. Tollii. " Cozrula quis stupuit Ger- 
 mani lumiiia," Juv. Sat. xiii. 164. 
 
 V. 54. " Mirantur nemora et rorantes Sole racemos." 
 Statins, v. Plin. Nat. H. 1. xiii. c. ii. 1. 
 
 V. 56. Milton. Arcades. 32, " And ye, ye breathing roses 
 of the wood." Luke. 
 
EDUCATION AND GOVERNMENT. 147 
 
 Must sick'ning virtue fly the tainted ground ? 
 Unmanly thought ! what seasons can control, 
 What fancied zone can circumscribe the soul, 
 Who, conscious of the source from whence she 
 By reason's light, on resolution's wings, [springs, 
 Spite of her frail companion, dauntless goes 
 O'er Libya's deserts and through Zembla's snows? 
 She bids each slumb'ring energy awake. 
 Another touch, another temper take. 
 Suspends th' inferior laws that rule our clay : so 
 The stubborn elements confess her sway ; 
 Their little wants, their low desires, refine, 
 And raise the mortal to a height divine. 
 
 Not but the human fabric from the birth 
 imbibes a flavour of its parent earth : 85 
 
 As various tracts enforce a various toil. 
 The manners speak the idiom of their soil. 
 An iron-race the mountain-cliffs maintain. 
 Foes to the gentler genius of the plain : 
 For where unwearied sinews must be found 90 
 With side-long plough to quell the flinty ground. 
 To turn the torrent's swift-descending flood. 
 
 V. 57. Claudian in his poem De Bello Getico, ver. 504, 
 makes the Gothic warriors mention the vines of Italy : 
 " Quid palmitis uher Etrusci," &c. " £t dulces rapuit de 
 coUibus uvas," Statii Silv. ii. ; and " Carpite de plenis 
 pendentes vitibus uvas," Ovid. Am. i. x. 55. " Pendet vin- 
 demia," Virg. Georg. ii. 89. 
 
 V. 66. " And as these mighty tapers disappear. 
 
 When day's bright lord ascends our hemisphere." 
 Dryd. Rel. Laici. Rogers. 
 V. 91. " And side-long lays the glebe." 
 
 Thomson. Spring. Luke. 
 
148 gray's poems. 
 
 To brave the savage rushing from the wood, 
 What wonder if to patient valour train'd, 94 
 
 They guard with spirit, what by strength they gain'd? 
 And while their rocky ramparts round they see, 
 The rough abode of want and liberty, 
 (As lawless force from confidence will grow) 
 Insult the plenty of the vales below ? 99 
 
 What wonder, in the sultry climes, that spread 
 Where Nile redundant o'er his summer-bed 
 From his broad bosom life and verdure flings, 
 And broods o'er Egypt with his wat'ry wings. 
 If with advent'rous oar and ready sail 
 The dusky people drive before the gale ; 105 
 
 " Or drives bis venturous ploughshare to the steep. 
 Or seeks the den, where snow-tracks mark the way, 
 And drags the struggHng savage into day." 
 
 Goldsmith. Traveller. 
 V. 101. " Gaudet aquis, quas ipsa vehit Niloque redun- 
 dant." Claudiani Nilus, ver. 7. " The hroad redundant 
 Nile." Young. Busiris, act v. sc. 1. 
 
 V. 103. " On the watery calm 
 
 His brooding wings the Spirit of God outspread." 
 Milt. P. L. vii. 235. 
 " O'er which he kindly spreads his spacious wing, 
 And hatches plenty for th' ensuing spring." 
 
 Denham. Cooper's Hill. W. 
 V. 105. " Cepheam hie Mer'dan, fuscaque regna canat," 
 Propert. iv. vi. 78. " Fuscis ^Egyptus alumnis," ii. xxiv. 
 15. 
 
 " Jam proprior tellusque natans ^gyptia Nilo ; 
 Lenius irriguis infuscat corpora campis." 
 
 Manil. iv. 727. 
 And so Dryden's version of Virg. Georg. iv. 409, pointed 
 out by Wakefield : 
 
 ** And where in pomp the sun-burnt people ride 
 On painted barges o'er the teeming tide." 
 V. Martial. Ep. iv. 42. " Mareotide fusca." " Spread the 
 
EDUCATION AND GOVERNMENT. 149 
 
 Or on frail floats to neighb'ring cities ride, 
 That rise and glitter o'er the ambient tide 
 
 [The following couplet, which was intended to have been 
 introduced in the poem on the Alliance of Education and 
 Government, is much too beautiful to be lost. Mason, 
 vol. iii. p. 114.] 
 
 When love could teach a monarch to be wise,* 
 And gospel-light first dawn'd from Builen's ej^es. 
 
 Var. V. 106. NeighbWingl Distant, ms. 
 
 thin oar, and catch the driving gale." Pope. Ess. on Man, 
 iii. 178. See GifFord's Juvenal. Sat. xv. 175. p. 460. 
 
 V. 106. Lucan will explain the meaning of the frail 
 float: 
 
 " Sic cum tenet omnia Nilus, 
 
 Conseritur hihula Memphitis cymba papyro." 
 
 Pharsal. iv. 135. 
 But Gilpin gives another explanation in his Western Tour, 
 see p. 34. Add Brown's Travels in Africa, p. 66. 4to. Ar- 
 buthnot on Coins, p. 215, 4to. Denon. Trav. ii. p. 224. 
 
 * The last couplet of this poem : " When love could 
 teach," &c. has been imitated by H. Walpole, in an inscrip- 
 tion on a Gothic column to Queen Katharine ; but with a 
 loss of the metaphorical beauty in the original : 
 
 " From Katharine's wrongs a nation's bliss was spread, 
 
 And Luther's light, from Henry's lawless bed." 
 " If (says Dryden) Conscience had any part in moving the 
 king to sue for a divorce, she had taken a long nap of almost 
 twenty years together before she was awakened; and, per- 
 haps, had slept on till doomsday, if Anne Boleyn, or some 
 other fair lady, had not given her a jog : so the satisfying 
 of an inordinate passion cannot be denied to have had a 
 great share at least in the production of that schism which 
 led the very way to our pretended Reformation," Drj'den, 
 ed. Malone, vol. iii. p. 522. 
 
GRAY S POEMS. 
 
 COMMENTARY. 
 
 The author's subject being (as we have seen) The necessary 
 alliance between a good form of government and a good mode 
 of education, in order to produce the happiness of mankind, the 
 Poem opens with two similes ; an uncommon kind of ex- 
 ordium : but which I suppose the poet intentionally chose, 
 to intimate the analogical method he meant to pursue in his 
 subsequent reasonings. 1st, He asserts that men without 
 education are like sickly plants in a cold or barren soil, 
 (line 1 to 5, and 8 to 12 ;) and, 2dly, he compares them, 
 when unblest with a just and well -regulated government, 
 to plants that will not blossom or bear fruit in an unkindly 
 and inclement air (1. 5 to 9, and 1. 13 to 22). Having 
 thus laid down the two propositions he means to prove, he 
 begins by examining into the characteristics which (taking 
 a general view of mankind) all men have in common one 
 with another (1. 22 to 39) ; they covet pleasure and avoid 
 pain (1, 31) ; they feel gratitude for benefits (1. 34) ; they 
 desire to avenge wrongs, which they effect either by force 
 or cunning (1. 35) ; they are linked to each other by their 
 common feelings, and participate in sorrow and in joy (1. 
 36, 37). If then all the human species agree in so many 
 moral particulars, whence arises the diversity of national 
 characters 1 This question the poet puts at line 38, and di- 
 lates upon to 1. 64. Why, says he, have some nations 
 shewn a propensity to commerce and industry ; others to 
 war and rapine ; others to ease and pleasure ? (1. 42 to 46). 
 Why have the northern people overspread, in all ages, and 
 prevailed over the southern 1 (1. 46 to 58). Why has Asia 
 been, time out of mind, the seat of despotism, and Europe 
 that of freedom 1 (1. 59 to 64). Are we from these in- 
 stances to imagine men necessarily enslaved to the incon- 
 veniences of the climate where they were born 1 (1. 64 to 
 72). Or are we not rather to suppose there is a natural 
 strength in the human mind, that is able to vanquish and 
 breakthrough them ? (1. 72 to 84). It is confest, however, 
 that men receive an early tincture from the situation they 
 are placed in, and the climate which produces them (1. 84 
 to 88). Thus the inhabitants of the mountains, inured to 
 labour and patience, are naturally trained to war (1. 88 to 
 96) ; while those of the plain are more open to any attack, 
 
EDUCATION AND GOVERNMENT. 151 
 
 and softened by ease and plenty (1. 96 to 99). Again, the 
 Egyptians, from the nature of their situation, might be the 
 inventors of home navigation, from a necessity of keeping 
 up an intercourse between their towns during the inun- 
 dation of the Nile (1. 99 to ***). Those persons would 
 naturally have the first turn to commerce, who inhabited a 
 barren coast like the Tyrians, and were persecuted by some 
 neighbouring tyrant ; or were drove to take refuge on some 
 shoals, like the Venetian and Hollander ; their discovery 
 of some rich island, in the infancy of the world, described. 
 The Tartar hardened to war by his rigorous climate and 
 pastoral life, and by his disputes for water and herbage in 
 a country without land-marks, as also by skirmishes between 
 his rival clans, was consequently fitted to conquer his rich 
 southern neighbours, whom ease and luxury had enervated : 
 yet this is no proof that liberty and valour may not exist in 
 southern climes, since the Syrians and Carthaginians gave 
 noble instances of both ; and the Arabians carried their 
 conquests as far as the Tartars. Rome also (for many cen- 
 turies) repulsed those very nations, which, when she grew 
 weak, at length demolished t her extensive empire.**** 
 
 t The reader will perceive that the Commentary goes 
 further than the text. The reason for which is, that the 
 Editor found it so on the paper from which he formed that 
 comment ; and as the thoughts seemed to be those which 
 Gray would have next graced with the harmony of his num- 
 bers, he held it best to give them in continuation. There 
 are other maxims on different papers, all apparently relating 
 to the same subject, which are too excellent to be lost ; 
 these therefore (as the place in which he meant to employ 
 them cannot be ascertained) I shall subjoin to this note, 
 under the title of detached Sentiments : 
 
 " Man is a creature not capable of cultivating his mind 
 but in society, and in that only where he ia not a slave to 
 the necessities of life. 
 
 " Want is the mother of the inferior arts, but Ease that 
 of the finer; as eloquence, policy, morality, poetry, sculp- 
 ture, painting, architecture, which are the improvements of 
 the former. 
 
 " The climate inclines some nations to contemplation and 
 pleasure; others to hardship, action, and war; but not so 
 as to incapacitate the former for courage and discipline, or 
 the latter for civility, politeness, and works of genius. 
 
152 gray's roEMS. 
 
 " It is the proper work of education and government 
 united to redress the faults that arise from the soil and air. 
 
 '* The principal drift of education should be to make men 
 think in the northern climates, and act in the southern. 
 
 " The different steps and degrees of education may he 
 compared to the artificer's operations upon marble ; it is one 
 thing to dig it out of the quarry, and another to square it, to 
 give it gloss and lustre, call forth every beautiful spot and 
 vein, shape it into a column, or animate it into a statue. 
 
 " To a native of free and happy governments his country 
 is always dear ; 
 
 ' He loves his old hereditary trees :' (Cowley) 
 while the subject of a tyrant has no country j he is therefore 
 selfish and base-minded ; he has no family, no posterity, no 
 desire of fame ; or, if he has, of one that turns not on its 
 proper object. 
 
 " Any nation that wants public spirit, neglects education, 
 ridicules the desire of fame, and even of virtue and reason, 
 must be ill governed. 
 
 " Commerce changes entirely the fate and genius of na- 
 tions, by communicating arts and opinions, circulating 
 money, and introducing the materials of luxury ; she first 
 opens and polishes the mind, then corrupts and enervates 
 both that and the body, 
 
 " Those invasions of effeminate southern nations by the 
 warlike northern people, seem (in spite of all the terror, 
 mischief, and ignorance which they brought with them) to 
 be necessary evils •, in order to revive the spirit of mankind, 
 softened and broken by the arts of commerce, to restore 
 them to their native liberty and equality, and to give them 
 again the power of supporting danger and hardship ; so a 
 comet, with all the horrors that attend it as it passes through 
 our system, brings a supply of warmth and light to the sun, 
 and of moisture to the air. 
 
 " The doctrine of Epicurus is ever ruinous to society ; it 
 had its rise when Greece was declining, and perhaps has- 
 tened its dissolution, as also thai of Rome ; it is now pro- 
 pagated in France and in England, and seems likely to pro- 
 duce the same effect in both. 
 
 " One principal characteristic of vice in the present age 
 is the contempt of fame. 
 
 " Many are the uses of good fame to a generous mind : 
 it extends our existence and example into future ages ; con- 
 tinues and propagates virtue, which otherwise would be as 
 short-lived as our frame ; and prevents the prevalence of 
 
EDUCATION AND GOVERNMENT. 163 
 
 vice in a generation more corrupt even than our own. It 
 is impossible to conquer that natural desire we have of being 
 remembered ; even criminal ambition and avarice, the most 
 selfish of all passions, would wish to leave a name behind 
 them." 
 
 Thus, with all the attention that a connoisseur in paint- 
 ing employs in collecting every slight outline as well as 
 finished drawing which led to the completion of some ca- 
 pital picture, I have endeavoured to preserve every frag- 
 ment of this great poetical design. It surely deserved this 
 care, as it was one of the noblest which Mr. Gray ever at- 
 tempted ; and also, as far as he carried it into execution, 
 the most exquisitely finished. That he carried it no further 
 is, and must ever be, a most sensible loss to the republic of 
 letters. Mason. 
 
 STANZAS TO MR. BENTLEY. 
 
 A FRAGMENT. 
 
 [See Mason's Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 148.] 
 
 These were in compliment to Bentley, who drew a set of 
 designs for Gray's poems, particularly a head-piece to the 
 Long Story. The original drawings are in the library 
 at Strawberry Hill. See H. Walpole's Works, vol. ii. 
 p. 447. 
 
 In silent gaze the tuneful choir among-, 
 
 Half pleas'd, half blushing-, let the Muse admire, 
 
 While Bentley leads her sister- art along, 
 And bids the pencil answer to the lyre. 
 
 V. 3. So Pope. Epist. to Jervas, 13 : 
 
 " Smit with the love of sister-arts we came ; 
 And met congenial, mingling flame with flame." 
 
 V. Dryden to Kneller, " Our arts are sisters," " Long time 
 
 the sister-arts in iron sleep." 
 
154 GRAY S POKMS. 
 
 See, in their course, each transitory thought i 
 Fix'd by his touch a lasting essence take ; 
 
 Each dream, in fancy's airy colouring- wrought 
 To local symmetry and life awake ! 
 
 The tardy rhymes that us'd to linger on, 
 
 To censure cold, and negligent of fame, lo 
 
 In swifter measures animated run, 
 
 And catch a lustre from his genuine flame. 
 
 Ah ! could they catch his strength, his easy grace, 
 His quick creation, his unerring line ; 
 
 The energy of Pope they might efl"ace, 15 
 
 And Dryden's harmony submit to mine. 
 
 But not to one in this benighted age 
 
 Is that diviner inspiration giv'n, 
 That burns in Shakespeare's or in Milton's page, 
 
 The pomp and prodigality of heav'n. 
 
 20 
 
 As when conspiring in the diamond's blaze, 
 The meaner gems that singly charm the sight. 
 
 V. 7. " Thence endless streams of fair ideas flow, 
 Strike on the sketch, or in the picture glow." 
 Pope. Epist. to Jervas, ver. 42. 
 V. 8. " When life awakes and dawns at every line." 
 Pope. Ep. to Jervas, v. 4. See also Kidd's note to Hor. 
 A. P. V. 66, from Plato. 
 
 V. 20. " Heaven that but once was prodigal hefore, 
 
 To Shakspear gave as much, she could not give 
 
 him more." Dryden to Congreve. Luke. 
 
 t The words within the inverted commas were supplied 
 
 by Mason, a comer of the old manuscript copy being 
 
 torn : with all due respect to his memory, T do not consider 
 
 that he has been successful in the selection of the few words 
 
STANZAS TO MR. BENTLEY. 155 
 
 Together dart their intermingled rays, 
 And dazzle with a luxury of light. 
 
 Enough for me, if to some feeling breast 25 
 
 My lines a secret sympathy * impart ;' 
 
 And as their pleasing influence ' flows confest,' 
 A sigh of soft reflection ' heaves the heart. 'f 
 
 SKETCH OF HIS OWN CHARACTER. 
 
 WRITTEN IN 1761, AND FOUND IN ONE OF HIS 
 POCKET-BOOKS. 
 
 Too poor for a bribe, and too proud to importune ; 
 He had not the method of making a fortune : 
 Could love, and could hate, so was thought somewhat 
 odd; 
 
 which he has added to supply the imperfect lines : my own 
 opinion is, that Gray had in his mind Dryden's Epistle to 
 Kneller, from which he partly took his expi-essions : under 
 the shelter of that supposition, I shall venture to give ano- 
 ther reading : 
 
 Enough for me, if to some feeling breast 
 My lines a secret sympathy ' convey ;' 
 And as their pleasing influence * is exprest,' 
 A sigh of soft reflection ' dies away.' 
 V. 1. This is similar to a passage in one of Swift's let- 
 ters to Gay, speaking of poets : "I have been considering 
 why poets have such ill success in making their court. They 
 are too libertine to haunt ante-chambers, too poor to bribe 
 porters, and too proud to cringe to second-hand favourites in 
 a great family." See Pope. Works, xi. 36. ed. Warton. 
 
156 gray's poems 
 
 No very great wit, he believed in a God : 
 A post or a pension he did not desire, 5 
 
 But left church and state to Charles Townshend 
 and Squire. 
 
 AMATORY LINES. 
 
 The following Lines by Gray first appeared in Warton's * 
 edition of Pope, vol. i. p, 285. 
 
 With beauty, with pleasure surrounded, to lan- 
 guish — 
 
 To weep without knowing the cause of my anguish : 
 
 To start from short slumbers, and wish for the 
 morning — 
 
 To close my dull eyes when I see it returning ; 
 
 V. 4. " I pay my debts, believe, and say my prayers." 
 Pope. Prol. to Satires, ver. 268. 
 V. 6. Squire'] At that time Fellow of St. John's College, 
 Cambridge, and afterwards Bishop of St. David's. Dr. S. 
 Squire died 1766, see Nicholl. Poems, vol. vii. p. 231. 
 Bishop Warburton one day met Dean Tucker, who said 
 that he hoped his Lordship liked his situation at Gloucester, 
 on which the sarcastic Bishop replied, that never bishoprick 
 was so bedeaned, for that his predecessor Dr. Squire had 
 made religion his trade, and that he Dr. Tucker had made 
 trade his religion. See Cradock. Mem. iv. 335. 
 
 Perhaps these lines of Gray gave a hint to Goldsmith for 
 his Character of Burke in the * Retaliation :' 
 
 * Tho' equal to all things, for all things unfit, 
 Too nice for a statesman, too proud for a wit ; 
 For a patriot too cool, for a drudge, disobedient, 
 And too fond of the right, to pursue the expedient.' 
 * As Dr. Warton has here favoured us with some manu- 
 script lines by Gray, it will be a species of poetical justice 
 
AMATORY LINES. 157 
 
 Sighs sudden and frequent, looks ever dejected — 
 Words that steal from my tongue, by no meaning 
 connected ! [me ? 
 
 Ah ! say, fellow-swains, how these symptoms befell 
 They smile, but reply not— Sure Delia will tell me ! 
 
 SONG.* 
 
 Thyrsis, when we parted, swore 
 Ere the spring he would return — 
 
 Var. V. 1. Thyrsis, when we parted] In Mr. Park's edition, 
 for "when we parted," it is printed "when he left me." 
 And for " Ere the spring-," " In the spring." 
 
 to give the reader some lines from a manuscript of Dr. 
 Warton, which he intended to insert in his Ode to Fancy, 
 and which are placed within the inverted commas ; 
 
 In converse while methinks I rove 
 
 With Spenser through a fairy grove, 
 
 ' Or seem by powerful Dante led 
 
 To the dark chambers of the dead, 
 
 Or to the ^3^ towers where pine 
 
 The sons of famish'd Ugoline ; 
 
 Or by the Tuscan wizard's power 
 
 Am wafted to Alcina's bower' 
 
 Till suddenly, &c. 
 And after the couplet — 
 
 On which thou lov'st to sit at eve, 
 
 Musing o'er thy darling's grave — 
 Add, from the MS.— 
 
 ' To whom came trooping at thy call 
 
 Thy spirits from their airy hall, 
 
 From sea and earth, from heaven and hell, 
 
 Stern Hecate, and sweet Ariel.' 
 * Written at the request of Miss Speed, to an old air of 
 
158 gray's poems. 
 
 Ah ! what means yon violet flower ! 
 
 And the bud that decks the thorn ! 
 'Twas the lark that upward sprung ! 5 
 
 'Twas the nightingale that sung I 
 
 Idle notes ! untimely green ! 
 
 Why this unavailing haste ? 
 Western gales and skies serene 
 
 Speak not always winter past. 10 
 
 Cease, my doubts, my fears to move, 
 
 Spare the honour of my love. 
 
 [This Song is in this edition printed from the copy asjit 
 appears in H. Walpole's Letters to the Countess of Ailes- 
 bury. See his Works, vol. v. p. 561.] 
 
 Var. V. 3. Yon violet flower] In Mr. Park's edition " the 
 opening flower ." 
 V. 5. 'Twas the lark] In JNIr, Park's edition, this and 
 
 the following' line are transposed. 
 V. 8. Why this] In Mr. Park's edition, "why such." 
 V. 9. Western, due] In Mr. Park's edition, these lines 
 are printed thus : 
 
 " Gentle gales and sky serene 
 Prove not always winter past." 
 
 Geminiani : — the thought from the French. This and the 
 preceding Poem were presented by Miss Speed, then Coun- 
 tess de Viry, to the Rev. Mr. Leman, of Suffolk, while on 
 a visit at her castle in Savoy, where she died in 1783. 
 Admiral Sir T. Duckworth, whose father was vicar of Stoke 
 from 1756 to 1794, remembers Gray and Miss Speed at that 
 place. Gray left Stoke about the"^year 1758, on the death 
 of his aunt IMrs. Rogers : when his acquaintance with 
 Miss Speed probably closed. 
 
159 
 
 Thus Tophet look'd; so g:rinn'd the brawling fiend, 
 Whilst frighted prelates bow'd and call'd him friend. 
 
160 GRAY b POEMS. 
 
 Our mother-church, with half-averted sig-ht, 
 Blush'd as she bless'd her griesly proselyte ; 
 Hosannas rung through hell's tremendous borders, 
 And Satan's self had thoughts of taking orders. * 
 
 * The Rev. Henry Etough, of Cambridge University, the 
 person satirized, was as remarkable for the eccentricities 
 of his character, as for his personal appearance. Mr. Tyson, 
 of Bene't College, made an etching of his head, and pre- 
 sented it to Gray, who embellished it with the above lines. 
 Information respecting Mr. Etough, (who was rector of 
 Therfield, Herts, and of Colmworth, Bedfordshire, and pa- 
 tronized by Sir Robert Walpole,) may be found in the 
 Gentleman's Magaz. vol. Ivi. p. 25. 281 ; and in Nichols's 
 Literary Anecdotes of the xviiith Century, vol. viii. p. 261, 
 and Brydges' Restituta, vol. iv. p. 246, and Polwhele's 
 Recollect, i. 212. " Etough was originally a Jew, but re- 
 nounced his religion for the sake of a valuable living. To 
 understand the second line, it is necessary to inform you, 
 that Tophet kept the conscience of the minister." See Ne- 
 ville. Imit. of Horace, p. 59. " The slanderous pests, the 
 Etoughs of the age." See an account of Dr. Etough in 
 Coxe's Life of Sir R. Walpole, vol. i. p. xxvi. " Etough 
 was a man of great research and eager curiosity, replete 
 with prejudice, but idolizing Sir R. Walpole, &c." 
 
161 
 
 IMPROMPTU, 
 
 SUGGESTED BY A VIEW, IN 1766, OF THE SEAT AND 
 
 RUINS OF A DECEASED NOBLEMAN, AT 
 
 KINGSGATE, KENT.* 
 
 Written at Denton in the spring of 1766. See Nichols' 
 Select Poems, vol. vii. p. 350, and W. S. Landori Poe- 
 mata, p. 196.] 
 
 Old, and abandon'd by each venal friend, 
 Here H d form'd the pious resolution 
 
 To smuggle a few years, and strive to mend 
 A broken character and constitution. 4 
 
 On this congenial spot he fix'd his choice ; 
 
 Earl Goodwin trembled for his neighbouring 
 sand ; 
 Here sea-gulls scream, and cormorants rejoice, 
 
 And mariners, though shipwreck'd, dread to land. 
 
 Here reign the blustering North and* blighting East, 
 No tree is heard to whisper, bird to sing ; 10 
 
 Var. V. 2. Form'd'] Took. ms. V. 3. A] Some. m8. 
 
 V. 9. Dread] Fear. Nichols. 
 
 * Dallaway, in his Anecdotes of the Arts, p. 385, says, 
 that this house was built by Ix»rd Holland as a correct 
 imitation of Cicero's Formian villa, at Baiae, under the 
 superintendence of Sir Thomas Wynne, Bart, afterwards 
 Lord Newborough. See Gent. Mag vol. Ixxvii. p. 1116. 
 
 M 
 
162 gray's poems. 
 
 Yet Nature could not furnish out the feast, 
 Art he invokes new horrors still to bring. 
 
 Here mouldering fanes and battlements arise, 
 Turrets and arches nodding to their fall. 
 
 Unpeopled monast'ries delude our eyes, i5 
 
 And mimic desolation covers all. 
 
 *' Ah!" said the sighing- peer, ^'hadB — te been true. 
 Nor M — 's, R — 's, B — 's friendship vain, 
 
 Far better scenes than these had blest our view, 
 And realiz'd the beauties which we feign : 20 
 
 "■ Purg'd by the SAvord, and purified by fire, 
 Then had we seen proud London's hated walls ; 
 
 Owls would have hooted in St. Peter's choir, 
 And foxes stunk and litter'd in St. Paul's." 
 
 Var. V. 11. Could] Cannot, ms. 
 
 V. 12. Horrors'] Terrors. Nich. 
 
 V. 13. Here] Now. ms. 
 
 V. 14. Turrets and arches] Arches and turrets, ms. 
 
 V. 15. Monasteries, our] Palaces, his. ais. 
 
 V. 17. B—te] Bute. ms. 
 
 V. 18. M—'s, R—'s, B—'s] Shelburne's, Rigby's, 
 
 Calcraft's. ms. 
 Nor C — 's, nor B — d's promises been vain. Nich. 
 V. 19. Better] Other, ms. Grac'd our view. N. 
 V. 20. Beauties which] Ruins that. ms. Horrors 
 
 which. N. 
 Y.21. Purijied] Beautified, ms. 
 V. 23. Would] Might. MS. Should. N. 
 
 V. 18. These initials stand for " Mungo's, Rigby's, Brad- 
 shaw's." See Heroic Epistle, v. 95 ; and Verses by Lord 
 Holland in returning from Italy, 1767, in Asylum for Fug. 
 Pieces, ii. p. 10 : 
 
 '* But, Rigbi^, what did I for thee endure. 
 
163 
 
 THE CANDIDATE: 
 
 OR, THE CAMBRIDGE COURTSHIP.* 
 
 [See character of Lord Sandwich in " Chrysal." See Scott's 
 Lives of the Novelists, i. p. 169 ; Davies. Biog. and 
 Lit. Anecdotes ; Churchill's Verses on Lord Sandwich 
 in Candidate and Duellist ; " From his youth upwards," 
 &c. Cradock's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 117. 148. vol. iv. p. 
 163. 223 ; Miss Hawkins's Anecdotes, p. 239; Bell's Fu- 
 gitive Poetry, v. xvi. p. 93. 172 ; Wilkes. Letters, i. p. 
 211. ii. p. 220; Walpole. Letters to Lord Hertford, p. 51— 
 65. 102. by which it appears that Warburton had dedi- 
 cated his Sermons to Lord Sandwich, but expunged his 
 name for Pitt's. I have seen *' A letter of advice from Al- 
 ma Mater to her beloved son, Jemmy Twitcher, 1764."] 
 
 When sly Jemmy Twitcher had smug-g'd up his 
 
 face, 
 With a lick of court white-wash, and pious grimace, 
 A wooing he went, where three sisters of old 
 In harmless society guttle and scold. 4 
 
 *' Lord ! sister," says Physic to Law, " I declare, 
 Such a sheep'biting look, such a pick-pocket aii- ! 
 Not I for the Indies : — You know I'm no prude, — 
 But his nose is a shame, — and his eyes are so lewd ! 
 
 Thy serpent's tooth admitted of no lure : 
 Shelburne and Calcraft ! O ! the holy band 
 See, see, with Gower caballing where they stand," &c. 
 * These verses were written a short time previous to the 
 election of a high-steward of the University of Cambridge, 
 for which office the noble lord alluded to (Lord Sandwich) 
 made an active canvass. 
 
 V. 8. Nose'] In all editions printed by mistake " Name." 
 
164 gray's poems. 
 
 Then he shambles and straddles so oddly — I fear — 
 
 No — at our time of life 'twould be silly, my dear." 
 
 " I don't know," says Law, " butmethinks for his 
 
 look, 11 
 
 'Tis just like the picture in Rochester's book; 
 Then his character, Phyzzy, — his morals — his 
 
 life— 
 When she died, I can't tell, but he once had a wife. 
 They say he's no Christian, loves drinking and 
 
 w g., 15 
 
 And all the town rings of his swearing and roaring I 
 His lyingand filching, and Newgate-bird tricks; — 
 Not I — for a coronet, chariot and six." 
 
 Divinity heard, between waking and dozing, 
 Her sisters denying, and Jemmy proposing : cc 
 From table she rose, and with bumper in hand, 
 She strok'd up her belly, and strok'd down her 
 
 band — 
 *' What a pother is here about wenching and roaring ! 
 
 Why, David lov'd catches, and Solomon w g: 
 
 Did not Israel filch from th' Egyptians of old es 
 Their jewels of silver and jewels of gold ? 
 The prophet of Bethel, we read, told a lie ; 
 He drinks — so did Noah ; — he swears — so do I : 
 
 V. 9. " That babe of grace 
 
 Who ne'er before at sermon show'd bis face. 
 
 See Jemmy Twitcher shambles." ■ 
 
 Heroic Epistle, 125, note. 
 See Hurd. Obs. on this word, in Cradock. Memoirs, vol. i. 
 117; and Anecdote, p. 164. 
 
 V. 16. But see Cradock. Memoirs, vol. iv. i66. 
 
EXTRACTS. 165 
 
 To reject him for such peccadillos, were odd ; 
 Besides, he repents — for he talks about G** — 
 
 [To Jemmy] 
 * Never hang down your head, you poor penitent elf, 
 Come buss me — I'll be Mrs. Twitcher myself.'" 
 
 [The concluding couplet is too gross to give. Ed.] 
 " From recollection I am sure Lord Sandwich was aware 
 of Gray, for about the time he offered himself as high 
 steward, contrary to his usual maxim of not seeing an 
 enemy on public occasions, he once said to me, " I have 
 my private reasons for knowing his absolute inveteracy." 
 Cradock. iv. 223. 
 
 EXTRACTS. 
 
 PROPERTIUS, LIB. III. ELEG. V. v. 19. 
 
 " Me juvat in prima coluisse Helicona juventS," &c. 
 IMITATED. 
 
 Long as of youth the joyous hours remain, 
 
 Me may Castalia's sweet recess detain, 
 
 Fast by the umbrageous vale lull'd to repose, 
 
 Where Aganippe warbles as it flows ; 
 
 Or roused by sprightly sounds from out the trance, 
 
 I'd in the ring knit hands, and join the Muses' dance. 
 
 Give me to send the laughing bowl around, 
 
 My soul in Bacchus' pleasing fetters bound ; 
 
 Let on this head unfading flowers reside, 
 
 There bloom the vernal rose's earliest pride ; lo 
 
166 gray's poems 
 
 And when, our flames commission'd to destroy, 
 Age step 'twixt Love and me, and intercept the joy; 
 When my changed head these locks no more shall 
 And all its jetty honours turn to snow ; [know, 
 Then let me rightly spell of Nature's ways ; 13 
 To Providence, to Him my thoughts I'd raise, 
 Who taught this vast machine its steadfast laws, 
 That first, eternal, universal cause ; "i^^ 
 
 Search to what regions yonder star retires. 
 That monthly waning hides her paly fires, 20 
 
 And whence, anew revived, with silver light 
 Relumes her crescent orb to cheer the dreary night : 
 How rising winds the face of ocean sweep. 
 Where lie the eternal fountains of the deep. 
 And whence the cloudy magazines maintain C5 
 Their wintry war, or pour the autumnal rain ; 
 How flames perhaps, with dire confusion hurl'd, 
 Shall sink this beauteous fabrick of the world ; 
 What colours paint the vivid arch of Jove ; 
 What wondrous force the solid earth can move, 
 When Pindus' self approaching ruin dreads, 
 Shakes all his pines, and bows his hundred heads ; 
 Why does yon orb, so exquisitely bright, 
 Obscure his radiance in a short-liv'd night ; 
 Whence the Seven-Sisters' congregated fires, 3i 
 And what Bootes' lazy waggon tires ; 
 How the rude surge its sandy bounds control ; 
 Who measured out the year, and bade the seasons 
 
 roll; 
 If realms beneath those fabled torments know. 
 Pangs without respite, fires that ever glow, +0 
 
EXTRACTS. 167 
 
 Earth's monster brood stretch'd on their iron bed, 
 The hissing terrors round Alecto's head, 
 Scarce to nine acres Tityus' bulk confined, 
 The triple dog that scares the shadowy kind, 
 All angry heaven inflicts, or hell can feel, 45 
 
 The pendent rock, Ixion's whirling wheel. 
 Famine at feasts, or thirst amid the stream ; 
 Or are our fears the enthusiast's empty dream, 
 And all the scenes, that hurt the grave's repose, 
 But pictured horror and poetic woes. 50 
 
 These soft inglorious joys my hours engage ; 
 Be love my youth's pursuit, and science crown my 
 age. 
 
 * 1738. ^t. 22. 
 
 PROPERTIUS, LIB. II. ELEG. I. v. 17. 
 
 " Quod mihi si tantum, Maecenas, fata dedissent," &c. 
 
 Yet would the tyrant Love permit me raise 
 My feeble voice, to sound the victor's praise. 
 To paint the hero's toil, the ranks of war, 
 The laurell'd triumph and the sculptured car ; 
 No giant race, no tumult of the skies, s 
 
 No mountain-structures in my verse should rise,' 
 Nor tale of Thebes, nor Ilium there should be, 
 Nor how the Persian trod the indignant sea ; 
 Not Marius' Cimbrian wreaths would I relate, 
 Nor lofty Carthage struggling with her fate. 10 
 Here should Augustus great in arms appear, 
 
168 gray's poems. 
 
 And tliou Mecaenas, be my second care ; 
 Here Mutina from flames and famine free, 
 And there the ensanguined wave of Sicily, 
 And scepter'd Alexandria's captive shore, i5 
 
 And sad Philippi, red with Roman gore ; 
 Tlien, while the vaulted skies loud ios rend, 
 In golden chains should loaded monarchs bend, 
 And hoary Nile with pensive aspect seem 
 To mourn the glories of his sevenfold stream, 20 
 While prows, that late in fierce encounter met, 
 Move through the sacred way and vainly threat, 
 Thee too the Muse should consecrate to fame, 
 And with her garlands weave thy ever- faithful name. 
 
 But nor Callimachus' enervate strain 25 
 
 May tell of Jove, and Phlegra's blasted plain ; 
 Nor I with unaccustomed vigour trace 
 Back to its source divine the Julian race. 
 Sailors to tell of winds and seas delight. 
 The shepherd of his flocks, the soldier of the fight, 
 \ milder warfare I in verse display ; 
 Each in his proper art should waste the day : 
 Nor thou my gentle calling disapprove. 
 To die is glorious in the bed of Love. 
 
 Happy the youth, and not unknown to fame, 35 
 Whose heart has never felt a second flame. 
 Oh, might that envied happiness be mine ! 
 To Cynthia all my wishes I confine ; 
 Or if, alas ! it be my fate to try 
 Another love, the quicker let me die : 40 
 
 But she, the mistress of my faithful breast, 
 Has oft the charms of constancy confest, 
 
EXTRACTS. 169 
 
 Condemns her fickle sex's fond mistake, 
 And hates the tale of Troy for Helen's sake. 
 Me from myself the soft enchantress stole ; 45 
 Ah ! let her ever my desires control, 
 Or if I fall the victim of her scorn. 
 From her loved door may my pale corse be borne. 
 The power of herbs can other harms remove, 
 And find a cure for every ill, but love. 50 
 
 The Lemnian's hurt Machaon could repair, 
 Heal the slow chief, and send again to war ; 
 To Chiron Phoenix owed his long'-lost sight, 
 And Phoebus' son recall'd Androgeon to the light. 
 Here arts are vain, e'en magic here must fail, 53 
 The powerful mixture and the midnight spell ; 
 The hand that can my captive heart release. 
 And to this bosom give its wonted peace. 
 May the long thirst of Tantalus allay. 
 Or drive the infernal vulture from his prey. 60 
 For ills unseen what remedy is found ? 
 Or who can probe the undiscover'd wound ? 
 The bed avails not, nor the leech's care. 
 Nor changing skies can hurt, nor sultry air. 
 'Tis hard th' elusive symptoms to explore : 65 
 
 To-day the lover walks, to-morrow is no more ; 
 A train of mourning friends attend his pall. 
 And wonder at the sudden funeral. [claim. 
 
 When then the fates that breath they gave shall 
 And the short marble but preserve a name, 70 
 
 A little verse my all that shall remain ; 
 Thy passing courser's slacken'd speed restrain ; 
 (Thou envied honour of thy poet's days, 
 
170 GRAVS POEMS. 
 
 Of all our youth the ambition and the praise !) 
 Then to my quiet urn awhile draw near, 73 
 
 And say, while o'er that place you drop the tear, 
 Love and the fair were of his youth the pride ; 
 He lived, while she was kind ; and when she 
 frown'd, he died. 
 
 April, 1742. JEt. 26. 
 
 TASSO GERUS. LIB. CANT. XIV. ST. 32. 
 
 " Preset commiato, e si 'I desio gli sprona," &c. 
 
 Dismiss'd at length, they break through all delay 
 To tempt the dangers of the doubtful way ; 
 And first to Ascalon their steps they bend, 
 Whose walls along the neighbouring sea extend, 
 Nor yet in prospect rose the distant shore ; 5 
 
 Scarce the hoarse waves from far were heard to roar, 
 When thwart the road a river roll'd its flood 
 Tempestuous, and all further course withstood ; 
 The torrent stream his ancient bounds disdains, 
 Swoll'n with new force, and late-descending rains. 
 Irresolute they stand ; when lo, appears 
 The wondrous Sage : vigorous he seem'd in years, 
 Awful his mien, low as his feet there flows 
 A vestment unadorn'd, though white as new-fall'n 
 
 snows ; 
 Against the stream the waves secure he trod, 15 
 His head a chaplet bore, his hand a rod. 
 
 As on the Rhine, when Boreas' fury reigns, 
 
EXTRACTS 171 
 
 And winter binds the floods in icy chains, 
 Swift shoots the village-maid in rustic play 
 Smooth, without step, adown the shining way, eo 
 Fearless in long- excursion loves to glide. 
 And sports and wantons o'er the frozen tide. 
 
 So mov'd the Seer, but on no harden'd plain ; 
 The river boil'd beneath, and rush'd toward the 
 
 main. 
 Where fix'd in wonder stood the warlike pair, 25 
 His course he turn'd, and thus relieved their care : 
 
 '' Vast, oh my friends, and difficult the toil 
 To seek your hero in a distant soil ! 
 No common helps, no common guide ye need. 
 Art it requires, and more than winged speed. .30 
 What length of sea remains, what various lands, 
 Oceans unknown, inhospitable sands ! 
 For adverse fate the captive chief has hurl'd 
 Beyond the confines of our narrow world : 
 Great things and full of wonder in your ears 33 
 I shall unfold ; but first dismiss your fears ; 
 Nor doubt with me to tread the downward road 
 That to the grotto leads, my dark abode." 
 
 Scarce had he said, before the warriors' eyes 
 When mountain-high the waves disparted rise ; 40 
 The flood on either hand its billows rears. 
 And in the midst a spacious arch appears. 
 Their hands he seized, and down the steep he led 
 Beneath the obedient river's inmost bed ; 
 The watery glimmerings of a fainter day 45 
 
 Discover'd half, and half conceal'd their way ; 
 As when athwart the dusky woods by night 
 
172 gray's poems. 
 
 The uncertain crescent g-leams a sickly light 
 Throug-h subterraneous passages they went, 
 Earth's inmost cells, and caves of deep descent ;5() 
 Of many a flood they view'd the secret source, 
 The birth of rivers rising to their course, 
 Whate'er with copious train its channel fills, 
 Floats into lakes, and bubbles into rills ; 
 The Po was there to see, Danubius' bed, 55 
 
 Euphrates' fount, and Nile's mysterious head. 
 Further they pass, where ripening minerals flow, 
 And embryon metals undigested glow. 
 Sulphureous veins and living silver shine. 
 Which soon the parent sun's warm powers refine, 
 In one rich mass unite the precious store. 
 The parts combine and harden into ore : 
 Here gems break through the night with glittering 
 
 beam. 
 And paint the margin of the costly stream, 
 All stones of lustre shoot their vivid ray, 65 
 
 And mix attemper'd in a various day ; 
 Here the soft emerald smiles of verdant hue. 
 And rubies flame, with sapphire's heavenly blue. 
 The diamond there attracts the wondrous sight. 
 Proud of its thousand dies and luxury of light. 
 
 1738. /Et. 22. 
 
173 
 
 POEMATA. 
 
 HYMENEAL 
 
 ON THE MARRIAGE OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS 
 THE PRINCE OF WALES. 
 
 iGNARiE nostrum mentes, et inertia corda, 
 Dum curas regum, et sortem miseramur iniquam, 
 Quae solio affixit, vetuitque calescere flamma 
 Dulci, quae dono divum, gratissima serpit 4 
 
 Viscera per, moUesque animis lene implicat aestus ; 
 Nee teneros sensus, Veneris nee praemia norunt, 
 Eloquiumve oeuli, aut faeunda silentia linguae : 
 Seilicet ignorant lacrymas, saevosque dolores, 
 Dura rudimenta, et violentae exordia flammae ; 
 
 * Printed in the Cambridge Collection, 1736, fol. In 
 this Collection is also a Latin Copy of Hendecasyllables, 
 by Horace Walpole ; a short Copy by Thomas Ashton, the 
 friend of Walpole, &c. ; and there are some Greek Verses 
 by Richard Dawes, the author of ' Miscellanea Critica.' 
 
 V. 1. " Heu, vatum ignarse mentes !" Virg. J£n. iv. 65. 
 " Teucrum mirantur inertia corda," JEn. ix. 55. 
 
 V. 2. " Sortemque animo miseratus iniquam," JEn. vi. 
 332. 
 
 V. 4. " Dono divum gratissima serpit," ^n. ii. 269. 
 
 V. 6. " Nee dulces natos, Veneris nee praemia noris ?" 
 ^n. iv. 33. 
 
 V. 7. Vide Hor. Od. iv. i. S5. And Pope. Homer, b. 
 xiv. ver. 252 : 
 
 " Silence that spoke, and eloquence of eyes." 
 And Fairfax. Tasso, iv. 85 : 
 
 '' Dumb eloquence, persuading more than speech." 
 
174 gray's poems. 
 
 Scilicet ignorant, quae flumine tinxit amaro lo 
 
 Tela Venus, caecique armamentaria Divi, 
 Irasque,insidiasque,et taciturn sub pectore vulnus ; 
 Namque sub ingressu, primoque in limine Amoris 
 Luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae ; 
 Intus habent dulces Risus, et Gratia sedem, is 
 Et roseis resupina toris, roseo ore Voluptas : 
 Regibus hue faciles aditus ; communia spernunt 
 Ostia, jamque expers duris custodibus istis 
 Panditur accessus, penetraliaque intima Templi. 
 
 Tuque Oh ! Angliacis, Princeps, spes optima 
 regnis, 30 
 
 Ne tantum, ne finge metum : quid imagine captus 
 Haeres, et mentem pictura pascis inani ? 
 Umbram miraris : nee longum tempus, et ipsa 
 Ibit in amplexus, thalamosque ornabiLovantes. 
 Ille tamen tabulisinhians longum haurit amorem, 25 
 Affatu fruitur tacito, auseultatque tacentem 
 
 V. 10. " Bis Jiumine corpora tinguat," Ovid. Met. xii. 
 413. 
 
 V. 11. " Quidquid habent telorum armamentaria cceH," 
 Juv. Sat. xiii. 83. 
 
 V. 12. This line, which is unmetrical, is so printed in 
 the Cambridge Collection ; and in Park's edition, without 
 remark. The fault is probably in the author, and not in the 
 printer ; as the line is composed of two hemistichs of Vir- 
 gil ; JEn. xii. 336, " Iraeque, Insidiaeque, Dei comitatus, 
 aguntur ;" and ^n. iv. 67, " Taciturn vivit sub pectore 
 vulnus." Or perhaps a line is omitted, which should in- 
 tervene. 
 
 V. 14. This line is from Virgil, ^n. vi. 274 : 
 " Luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curas." 
 
 V. 18. " Quos dura premit custodia matrum," Hor. Ep. 
 i. i. 22. 
 
MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. 175 
 
 Immemor artificis calami, risumque, ruboremque 
 Aspicit in fucis, pictaeque in virginis ore : «8 
 
 Tanta Venus potuit ; tantus tenet error amantes. 
 
 Nascere, magna Dies,quasese Augusta Britanno 
 Committat Pelag'o, patriamque relinquat amoenam ; 
 Cujus in adventum jam nunc tria regna secundos 
 Attolli in plausus, dulcique accensa furore 
 Incipiunt agitare modos, et carmina dicunt : 
 Ipse animo sedenim juvenis comitatur euntem 35 
 Explorat ventos, atque auribus aera captat, 
 Atque auras, atque astra vocat crudelia ; pectus 
 Intentum exultat, surgitque arrecta cupido ; 
 Incusat spes a^gra fretum, solitoque videtur 
 Latior effundi pontus, fluctusque morantes. 40 
 
 Nascere, Lux major, qua sese Augusta Britanno 
 Committat juveni totam, propriamque dicabit ; 
 
 V. 22. " Atque animum pictura pascit inani," ^n. i. 
 464. 
 
 V. 23. " Nee longum tempus et ingens," &c. Yirg. 
 Georg;. ii. 80. 
 
 V. 30. " Magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo," 
 Virg. Eel. iv. 5. 
 
 V. 31. " Commisit pelago ratem," Hor. Od. i. iii. 11. 
 
 V. 33. " Subitoque accensa furore," ^n. iv. 697. 
 
 V. 35. " Virura qui sic comitatur euntem '?"^n. vi. 863. 
 
 V. S6. This line is from Virgil, 2En, iii. 514 : 
 " Explorat ventos, atque auribus aera captat." 
 
 V. 57. From Virg. Georg. iv. 495 : " Crudelia retro Fata 
 ocant." 2En. v. 138 : " Laudumque arrecta cupido." 
 
 V. 41. " Nascere, praeque diem veniens age, Lucifer, 
 almum," Virg. Eel. viii. 118. 
 
 V. 42. " Connubio jungam stabili, propriamque dicabo," 
 Virg, ^n. i. 73. 
 
176 GRAY*S POEMS. 
 
 At citius (precor) Oh ! cedas melioribus astris ; 
 Nox finem pompae, finemque imponere curis 
 Possit, et in thalamos furtim deducere nuptam ; 45 
 Sufficiat requiemque viris, et amantibus umbras : 
 Adsit Hymen, et subridens cum matre Cupido 
 Accedant, stei'nantquetoros,ig*nemque ministrent ; 
 Ilicet haud pictae incandescit imagine formse 
 Ulterius juvenis, verumque agnoscit amorem. so 
 
 Sculptile sicut ebur, faciemque arsisse venustam 
 Pygmaliona canunt : ante banc suspiria ducit, 
 Alloquiturque amens, flammamque et vulnera nar- 
 
 rat ; 
 Implorata Venus jussit cum vivere signum, 54 
 
 Foemineam inspirans animam ; quae gaudia surg'unt, 
 Audiit ut primae nascentia murmura linguae, 
 Luctari in vitam, et paulatim volvere ocellos 
 
 V. 44. So in Gray's Epistle from Sophonisba : 
 
 " Pompae finis erat. Tota vix nocte quievi." 
 V. 46. On the position of the ' que,' see Burman. Virgil, 
 ^u. vi. 395. 
 
 V. 47. " Pro Venus, et tener^ volucer cum matre Cu- 
 pido," Ov. Met. ix. 481. 
 
 V. 50. " Veros exponit amores," Ovid. Met. x. 439. 
 " Veros parce profitemur amores," Ovid. Art. Am. ii. 639. 
 V. 51. is from Ovid. Met. x. 247 : 
 " Interea niveum mira feliciter arte 
 Sculpit ebur ; formamque dedit, qua foemina nasci 
 Nulla potest : operisque sui concepit amorem : 
 Virginis est verae facies, quam vivere credas ; 
 Et, si non obstet reverentia, velle moveri : 
 Ars adeo latet arte sua. Miratur, et haurit 
 Pectore Pygmalion simulati corporis ignes." 
 V. 56. " Sed parvae murmura linguae," Ov. Met, xii. 49 
 V. 59. " Excipis amplexu, feliciaque oscula jungis," Ov- 
 
MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. 177 
 
 Sedulus, aspexitque nova splendescere flamma ; 
 Corripit amplexu vivam, jamque oscula jungit 
 Acria confestim, recipitque rapitque ; prions 60 
 Immemor ardoris, Nymphseque oblitus ebuniese. 
 Tho. Gray. Pet. Coll. 
 
 LUNA HABITABILIS.* 
 
 DuM Nox rorantes, non incomitata per auras 
 Urget equos, tacitoque inducit sidera lapsu ; 
 Ultima, sed nulli soror inficianda sororum, 
 Hue mihi, Musa ; tibi patet alti janua coeli, 
 Astra vides, nee te numeri, nee nomina fallunt. 5 
 Hue mihi^ Diva veni ; dulce est peraperta serena 
 Vere frui liquid© , campoque errare silenti ; 
 
 Ep. xviii. 101. And Met. x. 256 : " Oscula dat, reddique 
 putat; loquiturque tenetque." 
 
 V. 61. " Sit conjux opto, (non ausus, eburnea virgo, 
 
 Dicere Pygmalion,) similis mea, dixit, eburneae." 
 Ov. Met. X. 275. 
 * This copy of verses was written by desire of the Col- 
 lege, in 1737. It has never been printed, but in the " Musse 
 Etonenses," vol. ii. p. 107 ; and has not there the name 
 of the author. It is referred to in Mason's Memoirs ; a 
 copy of verses on the subject, " Planetae sunt habitabiles," 
 is in the same work. See also in V. Bourne's Poems, p. 
 261, 4to. 
 
 V. 2. " Tacito lapsu," Claudian, xxii. 430. And xxxi. 
 40 : " Tacito defluxit fistula lapsu." 
 V. 4. " Noctes atque dies patet atri janua Ditis," 
 
 Virg. ^n. vi. 127. 
 
 V. 7. ** Ver inde serenum 
 
 Protinus, et liquidi clementior aura favoni," 
 
 Claudian, i 272 
 
178 gray's poems. 
 
 Vere frui dulce est ; modo tu dignata petentem 
 Sis comes, et mecum gelida spatiere sub umbra. 9 
 Scilicet hos orbes, coeli haec decora alta putandum 
 
 est, 
 Noctis opes, nobis tantum lucere ; virumque 
 Ostentari oculis, nostras laquearia terras, 
 Ingentes scenas, vastique aulaea theatri ? 
 Oh ! quis me pennis sethrae super ardua sistet 
 Mirantem, propiusque dabit convexa tueri ; 15 
 
 Teque adeo, unde fluens reficit lux mollior arva 
 Pallidiorque dies, tristes solata tenebras ? 
 • Sic ego, subridens Dea sic ingressa vicissim : 
 Non pennis opus hie, supera ut simul ilia petamus: 
 Disce, Puer, potius coelo deducere Lunam ; 20 
 Neu crede ad magicas te invitum accingier artes, 
 Thessalicosve modos ; ipsam descendere Phoeben 
 Conspicies novus Endymion ; seque offeret ultrb 
 
 And Virg. Georg. i. 43: 
 
 ♦' Vere novo, gelidus canis cum montibus humor 
 Liquitur." 
 V. 13. " Vel scena ut versis discedat frontibus ; utque 
 Purpurea intexti tollant auUa Britanni." 
 
 Virg. Georg. iii. 24. 
 V. 14. This and the following line are from Virg. Georg. 
 ii. 489; and ^n. iv. 451. 
 
 V. 20. " Disce, puer," ^n. xii. 435. " Yel coelo pos- 
 sunt deducere lunam," Eclog. viii. 69. 
 
 V. 21. " Magicas invitam adcingier artes," ^n. iv. 493 
 V. 22. " Quae sidera excantata voce Thessala 
 
 Lunamque coelo deripit." Hor. Epod. v. 45. 
 V . 24. This line is from Virgil, ^n. ii. 773 : 
 
 " Visa mihi ante oculos, et not^ major imago." 
 V. 29. " Ingrediturque solo, et caput inter nubila condit," 
 
 Virg. iEn. iv. 177. 
 
LUNA HABITABILIS. 179 
 
 Visa tibi ante oculos, et nota major imago. 
 
 Quinteteadmoveas (tumuli super aggerespectas), 
 Compositum tubulo ; simul imum invade canalem 
 Sic intenta acie, coeli simul alta patescent 
 Atria ; jamque, ausus Lunaria visere regna, 
 Ingrediere solo, et caput inter nubila condes. 29 
 
 Ecce autem ! vitri se in vertice sistere Phoeben 
 Cernis, et Oceanum, et crebris Freta consita terris 
 Panditur ille atram faciem caligine condens 
 Sublustri ; refugitque oculos, fallitque tuentem ; 
 Integram Solis lucem quippe haurit aperto at 
 
 Fluctu avidus radiorum, et longos imbibit ignes : 
 Verum his, quse, maculis variata nitentibus, auro 
 Coerula discernunt, celso sese insula dorso 
 Plurima protrudit, prsetentaque littora saxis ; 
 Liberior datur his quoniam natura, minusque 
 
 V. 31. " Et crebris legimus freta consita terris," 
 
 Virg. ^n. iii. 127. 
 
 V. 35. There is no authority in Latin poetry for the use 
 of the word " imbibit" in this sense. It is a word unusual 
 in poetry, though twice found in Lucretius (iii. 1010, and 
 vi. 71) : but it is there used in another construction : as 
 " Imbibit petere," i. e. " Induxit in animum petere." There 
 is a note on this word in Mureti Var. Lectiones, lib. i. cap. 
 6. (In Gesner's Thesaurus, and Havercamp's Lucretius, 
 the reference to Muretus is wrong, 1. cap. 5.) The word 
 which Gray should have used, is " bibit." See ^n. i.749 : 
 xi. 804 : Georg. ii. 506. &c. " Lympha bibit solem." 
 Sid. Apoll. xi. 12. See the notes of the commentators, on 
 Gratii Cyneg. 60. Bunn. Poet. Lat. Minor, vol. i. p. 60. 
 
 V. 38. This word is unusual in Latin poetry. It may 
 be defended on the authority of Lucretius, iv. 247 : " Ex- 
 templo protrudit, agitque aera:" — where, however, some 
 manuscripts read " procudit." 
 
 V, 39. " NaUira videtur 
 
 Libei-a ." Lucret. ii. 1090 
 
180 gray's poems. 
 
 Lumen depascunt liquidum ; sed tela diei 4o 
 
 Detorquent, retroque docent se vertere flammas. 
 
 Hinc long-OS videas tractus, terrasque jacentes 
 Ordine candenti, et claros se attollere montes ; 
 Montes queis Rhodope assurgat, quibus Ossa nivali 
 Vertice : turn scopulis infra pendentibus antra 45 
 Nigrescunt clivorum umbra, nemorumque tenebris. 
 Non rores illi, aut desunt sua nubila mundo ; 
 Nonfrigusgelidum,atqueherbis gratissimus imber; 
 His quoque nota ardet picto Thaumantias arcu, 
 Os roseum Aurorse, propriique crepuscula cceli. 50 
 
 Et dubitas tantum certis cultoribus orbem 
 Destitui ? exercent agros, sua moenia condunt 
 Hi quoque, vel Martem invadunt, curantque trium- 
 Victores : sunt hie etiam sua praemia laudi ; [phos 
 His metus, atque amor, et mentem mortalia tan- 
 gunt, 55 
 
 Quin, uti nos oculis jam nunc ju vat ire per arva, 
 Lucentesque plagas Lunae, pontumque profundum ; 
 Idem illos etiam ardor agit, cum se aureus effert 
 Sub sudum globus, et terrarum ingentior orbis ; 
 
 V. 40. " Lucida tela diei," Lucret. i. 148. " Luciferi- 
 que pavent letalia tela diei,'' Ausonii Mosell. 260. 
 
 V. 45. " Fronte sub adversa scopulis pendentibus an- 
 trum," Virg. ^n. i. 166. 
 
 V. 48. " Quum ros in tenera pecori gratissimus herba," 
 
 Virg. Eclog. viii. 15. 
 V. 49. " Roseo Thaumantias ore locuta est," Virg. -^n. 
 ix. 5. " In terram pictos delapsa per areas," Ov. Met. xiv. 
 838. 
 
 V. 53. *' Invadunt Martem clypeis," ^n. xii. 712. 
 
 V. 54. " Sunt hie etiam sua praemia laudi, 
 
 Suntlacrymai rerum, et mentem mortalia tangunt." 
 
 ^n. i. 461. 
 V 56. Scaliger, like Gray, uses the final vowel in ' uti 
 
LUNA HABITABILIS. 181 
 
 Scilicet omne Eequor turn lustrant, scilicet omnem 60 
 Tellurem, g-entesque polo sub utroque jacentes ; 
 Et quidam sestivi indefessus ad aetheris ignes 
 Pervigilat, noctem exercens, coelumque fatigat ; 
 Jam Galli apparent, jam se Germania late 
 Tollit, et albescens pater Apenninus ad auras ; 6r> 
 Jam tandem in Borean, en ! parvulus Anglia nsevus 
 (Quanquam aliis longe fulgentior) extulit oras ; 
 Formosum extemplo lumen, maculamque nitentem 
 Invisunt crebri Proceres, serumque tuendo ; 
 Haerent, certatimque suo cognomine signant : 70 
 Forsitan et Lunae longinquus in orbe Tyrannus 
 Se dominum vocat, et nostra se jactat in aula. 
 Terras possim alias propiori sole calentes 
 Narrare, atque alias, jubaris queis parcior usus, 
 Lunarum chorus, et tenuis penuria Phoebi ; 75 
 Ni, meditans eadem haec audaci evolvere cantu, 
 Jam pulset citharam soror, et praeludia tentet. 
 
 Non tamenhas proprias laudes, nee facta silebo 
 Jampridem in fatis, patriseque oracula famae. 
 Tempus erit, sursum totos contendere coetus so 
 
 sliort ; and a sbort vowel at the end of the first form of the 
 Elegiac verse. V. Bibl. Parriana, p. 322. 
 
 V. 63, " Et quidam seros hiberni ad luminis ignes 
 
 Pervigilat." Virg. Georg. i. 292. 
 
 V. 65. " Vertice se attollens pater Apenninus ad auras," 
 
 JEn. xii. 703. 
 
 V. 72. " Ilia se jactat in aula," JEn. i. 140. 
 
 V. 75. So Virgil, Georg. i. 424 : " Lunasque sequentes." 
 
 V. 75. This expression " Penuria Phcebi" is not, I be- 
 lieve, warranted by the authority of any of the Latin poets. 
 There would have been less objection, if the plain term, 
 instead of the figurative, had been used. 
 
 V. 79. " Esse quoque in fatis reminiscitur," Ov. Met. 
 i. 256. 
 
182 G hay's poems. 
 
 Quo cerncs longo excursu, primosque colonos 
 Migrare in lunam, et notos mutare Penates : 
 Dum stupet obtutu tacito vetus incola, longeque 
 Insolitas explorat aves, classemque volantem. 
 Ut quondam ignotum marmor, camposque na- 
 tantes 85 
 
 Tranavit Zephyros visens, nova regna, Columbus ; 
 Litora mirantur circum, mirantur et undae 
 Inclusas acies feno, turmasque biformes, 
 Monstraque foeta armis, et non imitabile fulmen. 
 Foedera mox icta, et gemini commercia mundi, 90 
 Agminaque assueto g-lomerata sub aethere cerno. 
 Anglia, quae pelagi jamdudum torquet habenas, 
 Exercetque frequens ventos, atque imperat undae ; 
 Aeris attoUet fasces, veteresque triumphos 
 Hue etiam feret, et victis dominabitur auris. 95 
 
 V. 83. " Obtutu tacito stetit," JEn. xii. 666. 
 
 V. 84. " Innumerae comitantur aves, stipantque volan- 
 tem," Claud. Phoenix, 76. 
 
 V. 85. '• Campique natantes," Georg. iii. 198. 
 
 V. 89. " Foeta armis," J2n. ii. 238. " Non imitabile 
 fulmen," ^n. vi. 590. 
 
 V. 90. " Geminoque facis commercia mundo." Claud, 
 xxxiii. 90. 
 
 V. 92. " ^quoreas habenas," Claud, viii. 422. 
 
 V. 95. " Servitio premet, ac victis dominabitur Argis," 
 
 A'AU i. 285. 
 
183 
 
 SAPPHIC ODE: TO MR. WEST.* 
 
 See Mason's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 42 ; on a version ofGray's 
 Latin Odes by Green, in English, see H. Walpole's 
 Letters to Cole, p. 116.] 
 
 Barbaras sedes aditure mecum 
 Quas Eris semper fovet inquieta, 
 Lis ubi late sonat, et togatum 
 
 jEstuat agmen ; 
 
 Dulcius quanto, patulis sub ulmi 5 
 
 Hospitae ramis temere jacentem 
 
 * Mason considered this as the first original production 
 of Gray's Muse ; the two former poems being imposed as 
 exercises, by the College. 
 
 V. 1. Comp. Hor. Od. ii. vi. 1 : " Septimi, Gades adi- 
 ture mecum," &c. Luke. 
 
 V. 3. " Lis nunquam, toga rara," Martial. Ep. x. 47. 
 V. 4. So Claudian, xi. 24 : 
 
 " Quot trstuantes ancipiti gradu 
 Furtiva carpent oscula Na'ides." 
 V. 5. " Platanus ... patulis est diflfusa ramis," Cic. de 
 Oratore, Lib. I. cap. vii. " Hospita umbra," Ovid. Trist. 
 Ill, iii. 64. Hor. Od. ii. iii. 9. 
 
 V. 6. There is no authority for the last syllable of " te- 
 mere*' being made long. See Burmanni. Anth. Lat. vol.ii. 
 458, and Class. Journal, No. xviii. p. 340. Yet Casimir Sar- 
 bievus has erred in the quantity of this word, as well as 
 Gray : 
 
 " Te sibilantis lenior halitus 
 Perflabit £uri ; me juvet interim 
 Collum reclinasse ; et virenti 
 Sic temere jacuisse ripa." Ad Testudinem 
 And Cowley (Solitudo) " Hie jaciens vestris temere sub 
 
184 gray's poems. 
 
 Sic libris horas, tenuique inertes 
 
 Fallere Musa? 
 
 Ssepe enim curis vagor expedita 
 Mente ; dum, blandam meditans Camaenam, 
 Vix malo rori, meminive serse u 
 
 Cedere nocti ; 
 
 Et, pedes quo me rapiunt, in omni 
 Colle Parnassum videor videre 
 Fertilem sylvae, gelidamque in omni 15 
 
 Fonte Aganippen. 
 
 Risit et Ver me, facilesque Nymphae 
 Nare captantem, nee ineleganti, 
 Mane quicquid de violis eundo 
 
 Surripit aura : 20 
 
 ^ 
 
 umbris." LowthOde ad om. Puellam. " Ducit aquas te- 
 mere sequentes." Carmin. Quadrig, ii. 81. " Defessus 
 temere se." See Woty's Poet. Calendar, Part xii. p. 34. In 
 Horace, Virgil, and Ovid the final syllable of this word is 
 always elided. — A friend observed, that the last syllable 
 of temere is made long in the ' Gradus' on the authority of 
 Tertullian : " Immemor ille Dei temere committere ^-^^e." 
 It is hardl)-^ necessary to observe that the authority of Ter- 
 tullian on a question of a doubtful quantity would not be 
 esteemed sufl&cient. The last syllable of feme?-e being a/u^oi/s 
 elided by Virgil, Horace, and Ovid, sufficiently shows their 
 opinion to have been, that it was short ; and therefore that 
 it could not be used in Hexameter verse, without length- 
 ening its final syllable by elision. See Menagiana, vol. iii. 
 p. 418. (Hor. Od. ii. xi. 13, " Pinu jacentes sic temere." 
 
 Luke.) 
 V. 7. " Tenui deducta poemata filo," Hor. Ep. II. i. 225. 
 " Graciles Musas," Propert, Eleg. II. x. 3. Virg. Eclog 
 i. 2. Hor. S. ii. 6, 61, " Nunc veterum libris, nunc somno 
 et inertihis horis." Luke. 
 
SAPPHIC ODE. 185 
 
 Me reclinatum teneram per herbam ; 
 Qua leves cursus aqua cunque ducit, 
 Et moras dulci strepitu lapillo 
 
 Nectit in omni. 
 
 Hse novo nostrum fere pectus anno 25 
 
 Simplices curse tenuere, caelum 
 Quamdiu sudum explicuit Favoni 
 Purior hora : 
 
 Otia et campos nee adhuc relinquo. 
 
 Nee magis Phoebo Clytie fidelis ; 30 
 
 (Ingruant venti licet, et senescat 
 
 Mollior aestas.) 
 
 Namque, seu, lastos hominum labores 
 
 V. 9. " ultra 
 
 Terminum, curis vagor expeditis." 
 Hor. Od. I. xxii. 10. Virg-. Eclog. viii. 88, " Nee serae 
 meminit decedere nocti." Ltihe. 
 
 V. 13, 14. "I, pedes quo te rapiunt," Hor. Od. iii. xi. 
 49. " Videre magnos jam videor duces,'' Od. ii. i. 21. 
 
 V. 17. " Sed faciles nymphse risere," Virg. Eclog. iii. 9. 
 
 V. 18. Virg. Georg. i. 376, " Patulis captavit naribus 
 auras." 
 
 V. 19. On the Caesura post alterum pedem, see Fabricius 
 on the Metres of Seneca. 
 
 V. 21. Virg. Eclog. viii. l.*?, " Cum ros in tenera pecori 
 gratissimus herba," Luke. 
 
 V, 22. " Levis cursu," Virg. JEn. xii. 489. " Cursus 
 ducebat," ^n. v. 667. 
 
 V. 23. Hor. Od. iv. 37, " Dulcem quae strepitum. Fieri, 
 temperas." Liike. 
 
 V. 26. " Cosli in regione seren& 
 
 Per sudum rutilare vident." Virg. Mn. viii. 528. 
 
 V. 30. See Ov. Metam. iv. 234. 264. 
 
 V. 31. " Senescit ager," Ovid. Art. Am. iii. 82., ex 
 
186 gray's poems. 
 
 Prataque et montes recreante curru 
 Purpura tractus oriens Eoos jj 
 
 Vestit, et auro ; 
 
 Sedulus servo veneratus orbem 
 Prodigum splendoris ; amoeniori 
 Sive dilectam meditatur ig-ne 
 
 Pingere Calpen ; 40 
 
 Usque dum, fulgore magis magis jam 
 Languido circum, variata nubes 
 Labitur furtim, viridisque in umbras 
 Scena recessit. 
 
 O ego felix, vice si (nee unquam 45 
 
 Surgerem rursus) simili cadentem 
 Parca me lenis sineret quieto 
 
 Fallere Letho ! 
 
 Pont. I. iv. 14. " Molles anni," Ovid. Ep. iii. 3. Tristia, 
 iv. 43. " MoUior aestas," Virg. Georg. i. 312. 
 
 V. 34. V. Lucret. v, 402, " Solque * * recreavit cuncta 
 gubernans." Luke. 
 
 V. 41. See Tate in the Class. Journ. No. ix. p. 120, 
 " Horace makes the division after the 5th, 6th, or 7th foot, 
 never after the 3rd, as the Moderns do." 
 
 V. 45. The last syllable of ego is short, and so used by 
 the best writers ; nor will the example of Ausonius, or an 
 instance or two of its being found long in Plautus and Ca- 
 tullus, authorize a modern poet in this license. See the 
 note by Heinsius on Ovid. Ep. xiii. 135, vol. i. p. 180, and 
 Burmann on Propertii Eleg. I. viii. 41. " Recte Heinsius, 
 qui nunquam a Nasone, p. 93, ^^4, 733, hujus voculae ult> 
 mam produci notat ; et falsos esse illos qui ab uUo Augustei 
 aevi poeta id factum contendunt, dicit ad Albinov. Epiced. 
 Drusi. X. 193." See also Vossius de Arte Grammatics, lib. 
 
SAPPHIC ODE, ]87 
 
 Multa flagranti radiisque cincto 
 Integris ah ! quam nihil inviderem, 
 Cum Dei ardentes medius quadrigas 
 
 Sentit Olympus. 
 
 ALCAIC FRAGMENT. 
 
 [See Mason's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 43. 
 
 O LACRYMARUM fons,* teuero sacros 
 Ducentium ortus ex animo ; quater 
 Felix ! in imo qui scatentem 
 Pectore te, pia Nympha, sensit. 
 
 ii. cap. 27. Drakenborch in his note on Sil. Italicus xvii. 
 358, p. 865, (where the last syllable of ego is long,) relies 
 on the authorities produced by Vossius ; and thinks that it 
 may be lengthened, ev^en without the power of the caesura. 
 
 V. 47. See Stewart's IMoral Philosophy, vol. iii. p. 201. 
 
 V. 48. " Natus moriensque fefellit," Hor. Ep. I. xvii. 10. 
 
 V. 49. Mason has improperly accented this word, as if 
 it were an adverb (multa). All the other editions have fol- 
 lowed him. It is the " nomen pro adverbio," as Hor. Od. 
 iv. ii. 25. 
 
 v. 52. Virg. ^n. x. 206, "Phoebe medium pulsabat 
 Olympum." Luke. 
 
 * So Sophocles, Antigone, ver. 803 : 
 
 t(T;y;ftv 
 
 8' OVK In TTTjydg diivafxai SaKpvcJV 
 V. Chariton, ed, Dorville, p. 5, and Chrysostom in laud 
 Pauli ed. Hemsterh, p. xxvi. kui Trrjydt; SaKpvojv ij (pui. 
 
188 GRAY'S POEMS. 
 
 LATIN LINES 
 
 ADDRESSED TO MR. WEST, FROM GENOA, 
 
 [See Mason's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 94.] 
 
 HoRRiDOS tractus, Boreseque linquens 
 Regna Taurini fera, mollioremf 
 Advehor brumam, Genuseque amantes 
 Litora soles. 
 
 ELEGIAC VERSES, 
 
 OCCASIONED BY THE SIGHT OF THE PLAINS WHERE 
 THE BATTLE OF TREBIA WAS FOUGHT. 
 
 [See Mason's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 104.] 
 
 Qua Treble glaucas salices intersecat unda, 
 
 Arvaque Romanis nobilitata mails. 
 Visus adhuc amnis veteri de clade rubere, 
 
 t So in the Sapphic Ode, " Mollior aestas." Ovid in his 
 Epist. ex Ponto, i. ii. 62 : " Litora mollia." 
 
 V. 1. I do not know on what authority Gray has used 
 the word " Trehie" with the final e. The word which is 
 used in the Classic authors is Trebia, TpsjSiag. See Sil. 
 Ital. iv. 661, xi. 140, &c. saepe. Lucan, ii. 46. Livy, xxi. 
 c. 48. Pliny, N. H. 3. 20, &c. Claudian, xxiv. 145. 
 Manilius, iv. 661. — It is most probable that Gray thought 
 that the final syllable of Trebia could not be lengthened ; 
 therefore used the word Trebie, as Libya, Libya. But in 
 
ELEGIAC VERSES. 189 
 
 Et suspirantes ducere moestus aquas ; 
 Maurorumque ala, et nigree increbescere turmae, 
 Et pulsa Ausonidum lipa sonare fuga. 
 
 CARMEN AD C. FAVONIUM ZEPHYRINUM.* 
 
 [See Mason's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 120.] 
 
 Mater rosarum, cui tenerae vig-ent 
 Auroe Favoni, cui Venus it comes 
 
 Ovid the words, Leda, Rhea, Hyhla, Phaedra, Andromeda, 
 Amalthea, &c. lengthen the final syllable. " Mittit Hy- 
 permnestra de tot modo fratribus uni," Ov. Ep. xiv. 1. In 
 Propertius, ii. xi.o. the a in Electra is long- ; also in Ovid. 
 Fast. iv. l?"?. See on this point D'Orville. Misc. Obs. ii. 
 202, and Burmann. notes to Anthol. Latin, i. 215. ii. 78. 
 Jortin. Tracts, vol. ii. 421. Burmann. Propert. iv. 7. 6S. 
 p. 844. In the Here. Fur. of Seneca, 203 : " Megarapar- 
 vum comitata gregem." Gray therefore would have had 
 sufficient authority for the use of Trebia in this place. So 
 Sil. Italicus, iv. 661, describing the appearance of Trebia : 
 " Turn madidos crines, et glaucaXfronde revinctum 
 Attollit cum voce caput." 
 Virg. Georg. iv. 182 : " Et glaucas salices." Luke. 
 V. 5. Sil. Ital. describes the army of Hannibal, iii. 407- 
 " Talia Sidonius per campos agmina ductor 
 Pulvere nigr antes raptat." 
 * Written by Gray immediately after his journey to 
 Frascati and the cascades of Tivoli, which he had described 
 in a preceding letter to his friend West, 
 
 V. 1. " Et reserata viget genitalis aura Favoni," 
 
 Lucret. i. 2. 
 
 J When the epithet glauca is applied to the foliage of a 
 tree, and the tree itself not particularized, as in the passage 
 of Sil. Italicus ; we must refer it to the " salix," the " po- 
 pulus," or the " oliva ;" according to situation, and other 
 circumstances ; as " Caeruleus" is generally applied to the 
 Pine, Fir, and Cypress. 
 
190 gray's poems. 
 
 Lasciva, Nymphaiiim choreis 
 Et volucium celebiata cantu ! 
 Die, non inertem fallere qua diem 
 Amat sub umbra, seu sinit aureum 
 Dormire plectrum, seu retentat 
 Pierio Zephyrinus antro 
 Furore dulci plenus, et immemor 
 Reptantis inter frigora Tusculi 
 Umbrosa, vel colles Amici 
 Palladiae superantis Albae. 
 Dilecta Fauno, et capripedum choris 
 Pineta, testor vos, Anio minax 
 Quaecunque per clivos volutus 
 Prsecipiti tremefecit amne, 
 
 V. 6. " Et te sonantem plenius aureo, 
 
 Alcaee, plectro." Hor. Od. ii. xiii. 26. 
 
 V. 8. " Pierio recreatis antro," Hor. Od. iii. iv. 40. 
 
 V. 14. " £t praeceps Anio, ac Tiburui lucus," Hor. Od. 
 i. vii. 13. " Preceps Anien,'' Stat. Silv. i. v. 25. 
 
 V. 20. In Mason's, and all the subsequent editions, the 
 word " Naiasin,'' is here placed ; which would make the 
 line unmetrical. Gray indeed might have written " Naiasin 
 gemin&sse rupes." But the word" Naides" in the following 
 line, which has also the same error in the editions as the 
 former word, would make an objection to that reading. I 
 have therefore restored the metre, by reading " Naisin"and 
 " Naides." See Gronovius on Senecae Hippol. 778. Jor- 
 tin. Tracts, vol. i. p. 321. 
 
 V. 20. See Propert. i. xx. 12 : " Non miner Ausonius 
 est amor ah ! Dryasin." And i. xx. 32 : " Ah ! dolor ibat 
 Hylas, ibat Hamadrj'asin." And Ov. Art. Am. iii. 672. 
 See Burmann. note to Ovid, Ep. xiii. 137. and Trist. v. 5. 
 43. V. Lotichii. Poem. i. p. 226. ed Burm. and Burm. 
 Anthol. Lat. vol. ii. p. 508. Burm. ad Virg. Eclog. x. 10. 
 Salmasii Ling. Helen, p. 142. 
 
 V. 23. In this, the following, and the last stanza, the 
 third line of the Alcaic stanza ends with two dissyllables ; 
 
AD. C. FAVONIUM ZEPHYRINUM. 191 
 
 lUius altum Tibur, et ^sulee 
 Audisse sylvas nomen amabiles, 
 Illius et gratas Latinis 
 
 Naisin ing-eminasse rupes ; 20 
 
 Nam me Latinse Naides uvida 
 Videre ripa, qua niveas levi 
 Tam ssepe lavit rore plumas 
 Dulce canens Venusinus ales ; 
 Mirum ! canenti conticuit nemus, 25 
 
 Sacrique fontes, et retinent adhuc 
 (Sic Musa jussit) saxa molles 
 Docta modos, veteresque lauri. 
 Mirare nee tu me citharae rudem 
 Claudis laborantem numeris : loca no 
 
 which can he defended hut by very few examples of Horace. 
 See the Jictitious ode, lib. i. 40. ad Lihrum suum, (puhlished 
 hy Villoison in Long. Past.) v. 11. " Huic ara stahit, fama 
 cantu." Another error in this verse is, the absence of the 
 accent on the fifth or sixth syllahle. 
 
 V. 26. " Kpyvrjs Upbv poov," ApoU. Rhod. i. 1208. 
 iv. 134. Theocr. Idyll, ii. 1. 69. " Ad aqua: lene caput 
 sacra," Hor. Od. i. i. 22. " Nee sacros pollue fontes,' 
 Ovid. Metam. ii. 464. " Fonte sacro," Virg. iEn. vii. 84. 
 and Jortin's remarks on Spenser, vol. i. p. 63. 
 
 V. 30. This is the only instance in this ode in which 
 Gray has not conformed to the rule of the " divisio versfls 
 post quintam syllabam." In the other Alcaic Ode on the 
 Chartreuse, there is also one instance similar to this : 
 " Per invias rupes, fera per juga.'' 
 
 The practice of Horace certainly seems to authorize this 
 rule. Three exceptions are to be found : Od. lib. i. xxxvii. 
 5, i. xxxvii. 14, and Od. iv. xiv. 16. I do not know that 
 there are any more ; of course, the case of an elided syllable 
 being excepted. 
 
 V. 31. In Horace there are but nine instances of an 
 amphibrachys, as " Amoena," beginning the third line of the 
 Alcaic stanza. As the places where it occurs in that poet 
 
192 gray's poems. 
 
 Amoena, jiicundumque ver in- 
 compositum docuere carmen ; 
 Haerent sub omni nam folio nigri 
 Phoebea luci (credite) somnia, 
 Argutiusque et lympha et aurae 
 Nescio quid solito loquuntur. 
 
 FRAGMENT OF A LATIN POEM* ON THE 
 GAURUS. 
 
 [See Mason's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 145.] 
 
 Nec procul infelix se tollit in sethera Gaurus, 
 Prospiciens vitreum lugenti vertice pontum : 
 Tristior ille diu, et veteri desuetus oliva 
 Gaurus, pampineseque eheu jam nescius umbrse ; 
 
 have not, I believe, been ever pointed out, I will set them 
 down here, to save any trouble to those desirous of seeing 
 them: i. xvii. 7, i. xxix. 7, i. xxxv. 15, i. xxxvii. 15, ii. 
 iii. 3, ii. xvii. 3, ii. xx. ll.iii. iii. 71,iii. xxix. 11. 
 
 V. 31 , 32. There is no instance in Horace of a broken word 
 ending the third line of the Alcaic stanza, or, indeed, of its 
 being used at all ; and therefore it must be considered, as 
 not defended by authority ; though it may be found ending 
 the third line of the Sapphic stanza, in Horace, i. xxv. 11, 
 i. ii. 19, ii. xvi. 7, iii. xxvii. 60, but, I believe, that no 
 example even of this can be found in the Sapphics of 
 Seneca. It ends the first line, in Hor. Od. iv. ii. 1, and 
 the second line in ii. ii. 18, and iv. ii. 22, in which latter 
 passage it is to be observed, that the " divisio vocis" takes 
 place in two successive lines. 
 
 V. 3S. " Quam sedem Somnia vulg6 
 
 Vana tenere ferunt, foliisque sub omnibus haerent." 
 Virg;. ^u. vi. 283. 
 
THE GAURUS. 193 
 
 Horrendi tam sseva premit vicinia mentis, 5 
 
 Attonitumque urget latus, exuritque ferentem. 
 Nam fama est olim, media dum rura silebant 
 Nocte, Deo victa, et molli perfusa quiete, 
 Infremuisse sequor ponti, auditamque per omnes 
 Late tellurem surdum immugire cavernas : lo 
 
 Quo sonitu nemora alta tremunt: tremit excita tuto 
 Parthenopsea sinu, flammantisque ora Vesevi. 
 At siibito se aperire solum, vastosque recessus 
 Pandere sub pedibus, nigraque voragine fauces ; 
 Turn piceas cinerum glomerare sub eethere nubes 
 Vorticibus rapidis, ardentique imbre procellam. 16 
 Prsecipites fugere ferse, perque avia longe 
 Sylvarum fugit pastor, juga per deserta. 
 Ah, miser ! increpitans ssepe alta voce per umbram 
 Nequicquam natos, creditque audire sequentes. £0 
 
 * Sent by Gray to his friend West, with a reference to 
 Sandys's Travels, book iv. pag-. 275, 277, and 278, A trans- 
 lation of this poem may be seen in the Gent. Mag. for 
 July, 1775. 
 
 V. 2. " Vitreo ponto," Hor. Od. iv. ii. 3. " Vitrea 
 unda," Virg. JEn. vii. 759. Georg. iv. 350. 
 
 V. 4. " Bacchei vinetamadentia Gauri," Statii Silv. iii. 
 V. 99. " Icario nemorosus palmite Gaurus," Silv. iii. 
 i. 147. 
 
 V. 5. " Vicinia Persidis urget," Georg. iv. 290. "Pam- 
 pineas invidit collibus umbras," Virg. Ec. vii. 58. 
 
 V. 9. " Tmmania ponti sequora," Lucret. vi. 624. 
 
 V. 10. " Curvisque immugiit ^Etna cavernis." 
 
 ^n. iii. 674. 
 
 V. 11. " Turn sonitu Prochyta alta tremit." 
 
 Virg. ^n. ix. 715. Luke. 
 
 V. 15. " Picea crassam caligine nubem," Virg. Georg. 
 ii. 309. " Vorago, pestiferas aperit fauces," ^n. vii. 569. 
 
 V. 17. "Terra tremit : fugere ferae," Virg. Georg. i. 330. 
 
 O 
 
194 GRAY S POEMS. 
 
 Atque ille excelso rupis de vertice solus 
 Respectans notasque domos, et dulcia regna, 
 Nil usquam videt infelix praBter mare tristi 
 Lumine percussum, et pallentes sulphure campos 
 Fumumque, flammasque, rotataque turbine saxa. 
 Quin ubi detonuit fragor, et lux reddita ccbIo ; 
 Msestos confluere agricolas, passuque videres 
 Tandem iterum timido deserta requirere tecta : 
 Sperantes, si forte oculis, si forte darentur 
 Uxorum cineres, miserorumve ossa parentum 30 
 (Tenuia, sed tanti saltem solatia luctus) 
 Una collig-ere et justa componere in urna. 
 Uxorum nusquam cineres, nusquam ossa parentum 
 (Spem miseram !) assuetosve Lares, aut rura vide- 
 Quippe ubi planities campi diffusa jacebat ; [bunt. 
 Mons novus : ille supercilium, frontemque favilla 
 
 v. 24. " turn longo limite sulcus 
 
 Dat lucem, et late circum loca sulphure fumant.'' 
 
 Virg. .^n.ii. 698. 
 And, " Sulphurei cum per juga consita Gauri," Ausonii 
 Mosell. p. 387. ed. Tollii. " Anhelantem coelesti sulfure 
 campum," v, Stat. Theb. xi. 17. 
 
 V. 25. In the modern Latin poetry, this license of length- 
 ening the " que," before the mute and liquid, even with the 
 power of the caesura, ought to be avoided, as it is supported 
 by so few examples. See Virg. ^n. vii. 186. Georg. i. 
 164. And see also ^n. iii. 91. Ov. Met. v. 484, and 
 Class. Journal, No. xxi. p. 174, xxii. 364. 
 
 V. 26. This is not a common expression in Latin poetry. 
 Val. Flaccus has, " Dum detonet ira :" iv. 294. See also 
 Quintilian (Gesn. xii. ix. 4) : " Cum ilia dicendi vitiosa 
 jactatio inter plau sores sero detonuit." Petron. Sat. c. xvii. 
 p. 37. Sed. ApoUin. c. xiv. 24. 
 
 V. 31. See Virg. Georg. i. 397: "Tenuia nee lanse," 
 &c. — ii. 121 : " Depectant tenuia Seres." Lucret. iv. 
 747. And Terent. Maur. ver. 474. 
 
THE GAURUS. 195 
 
 Incanum ostentans, ambustis cautibus, aequor 
 Subjectum, strag-emque siiam, msesta arva, minaci 
 Despicit imperio, soloque in littore reg-nat. 39 
 
 Hinc infame loci nomen, multosque per annos 
 fmmemor antiquse laudis, nescire labores 
 Vomeris, et nullo tellus revirescere cultu. 
 Non avium colles, non carmine matutino 
 Pastorum resonare ; adeo undique dirus habebat 
 Informes late horror agros saltusque vacantes. 45 
 Ssepius et longe detorquens navita proram 
 Monstrabat digito littus, ssevseque revolvens 
 Funera narrabat noctis, veteremque ruinam. 
 
 Montis adhuc facies manet hirta atque aspera 
 saxis r 49 
 
 Sed furor extinctus jamdudum, et flamma quievit, 
 
 V. 31. " Solatia luctus 
 
 Exigua ingentis misero sed debita patri." 
 
 iEn. xi. 62. 
 V. 32. I should conceive the proper phrase to be " Col- 
 ligere in unum/' and not tma. Virg. Eel. vii. 2 : " Com- 
 pulerantque greges Corydon et Thyrsis in unum." Cicero 
 de Inventione, i. 56 : " Colligere et conferre in unum." 
 Again, " Militibus in unum conductis." And Philip, ix. : 
 •' Si omnes juris consulti in unum conferantur." Ovidii 
 Met. iii. 715. See the note on Ovid. Metam. xiii. 910. 
 
 V.33. " Alas! 
 
 Nor wife, nor children more shall he behold, 
 Nor friends, nor sacred home." 
 
 Thomson. Winter, 315. 
 V. 41. " Res antiquae laudis,'' Virg. Georg. ii. 174. 
 V. 43. " Matutini cantus," ^n. viii. 456. Par. Lost, 
 V. 7. 
 
 V. 45. " Longe saltus, lateque vacantes." 
 
 Virg. Georg. iii. 476, Luke. 
 V. 47. " Indice monstraret digito," Hor. Sat. ii. viii 
 26. And Pers. i. 28. 
 
196 gray's poems. 
 
 Quae nascenti aderat ; seu forte bitiiminis atri 
 Defluxere olim rivi, atque effoeta lacuna 
 Pabula sufficere ardori, viresque recusat ; 
 Sive in visceribus meditans incendiajam nunc 
 (Horrendum) arcanis g-lomerat genti esse futurae 
 Exitio, sparsos tacitusque recolligit ig-nes. sG 
 
 Raro per clivos baud secius ordine vidi 
 Canescentem oleam : longum post tempus amicti 
 Vite virent tumuli ; patriamque revisere gaudens 
 Baccbus in assuetis tenerum caput exerit arvis 60 
 Vix tandem, infidoque audet se credere coelo. 
 
 A FAREWELL TO FLORENCE. 
 
 [See Mason's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 157.] 
 
 * * Oh Fsesulse amoena 
 Frigoribus juga, nee nimium spirantibus auris ! 
 Alma quibus Tusci Pallas decus Apennini 
 
 V. 56. " Sparsosque recolligit ignes," Lucan. i. 157. 
 " Dum tacitas vires, et flammam colligit ignis," Sil. Ital. 
 iv. 307 ; and Virg. Georg. i. 427. The position of " que" 
 is wrong. See note to Burm. Ovid. Metam. xiv. 30; but 
 also consult Class. Journal. No. xxii. p. 22. 
 
 V. 58. " Foetum canentis olivte," Ov. Met. vi. 81. 
 
 V. 60. " Jam modo coeruleo nitidum caput exsere ponto," 
 Ov. Met. xiii. 838. And Fast. i. 458. 
 
 V. 61. " Pennis ausus se credere coelo," Virg. ^n. vi. 
 15. 
 
 V. 1. In Sil. Ital. Pun. viii. 478, the second syllable of 
 this vrord is short : " Faesula, et antiquus Romanis moenibus 
 horror." Polybius also (lib. ii. cap. 9,) writes ^ai(To\a. 
 in other authors, as Appian. Civ Bell.ii c.2. Dion, xxxvii. 
 
A FAREWELL TO FLORENCE. 197 
 
 Esse dedit, glaucaque sua canescere sylva ! 
 Non eg'o vos posthac Ami de valle videbo 5 
 
 Porticibus circum, et candenti cincta corona 
 Villarum longe nitido consurgere dorso, 
 Antiquamve iEdem, et veteres praeferre Cupressus 
 Mirabor, tectisque super pendentia tecta. 
 
 IMITATION OF AN ITALIAN SONNET 
 
 OF SIGNIOR ABBATE BUONDELMONTE. 
 [See Mason's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 158.] 
 
 Spesso Amor sotto la forma 
 D'amista ride, e s'asconde : 
 Poi si mischia, e si confonde 
 Con lo sdegno, e col rancor. 
 In Pietade ei si trasforma ; 
 Par trastullo, e par dispetto ; 
 
 it is written $i(row\ai, which appears to be the more ancient 
 orthography. See Cluver. Ital. Antiq. vol. i. p. 509. 
 V. 5. " Non ego vos posthac, viridi projectus in antro, 
 Dumosa pendere procul de rupe videbo." 
 
 Virg. Eel. i, 76. 
 V. 7. " Conspicitur nitidis fundata pecunia villis," Hor. 
 Ep. i. XV. 46. " Superni villa candens Tusculi," Epod. i. 
 29. " Candida qua geminas ostendunt ciilmina turres," 
 Propert. Eleg. iii. xvi. 3. " Nitidos lares," Martial. Ep. 
 i. 71. 2. 
 
 V. 8. '* Prseferimus manibus vittas," ^n. vii. 237. 
 V. 9. " Talia despectant longo per coerula tractu 
 Pendentes saxis instanti culmine, vitla." 
 
 Ausonii Mosell. ver. 283. 
 And •' Culmina villarum pendentihus edita ripis." v. 20. 
 
198 gray's poems. 
 
 Ma nel suo diverse aspetto 
 Sempr' egli, e 1' istesso Amor. 
 
 LusiT amicitiae interdum velatus amictu, i 
 
 Et bene composita veste fefellit Amor. 
 
 Mox irae assumpsit cultus, faciemque minanlem, 
 Inque odium versus, versus et in lacrymas : 
 
 Ludentem fug-e, nee lacrymanti, aut crede fiirenti ; 
 Idem est dissimili semper in ore Deus. 6 
 
 ALCAIC ODE,* 
 
 WRITTEN IN THE ALBUM OF THE GRANDE CHAR- 
 TREUSE, IN DAUPHINY, AUGUST 1741. 
 
 [See Mason's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 160, and W. S. Landori 
 Poemata, p. 195. An imitation of this ode appeared by 
 Mr. Seward in Europ. Mag. 1791, and it is translated in 
 E. Cartwright's Poems, 1803, p. 91.] 
 
 Oh Tu, severi Religio loci, 
 Quocunque gaudes nomine (non leve 
 Nativa nam certe fluenta 
 
 V. 1. " Intrat amicitias nomine, tectus Amor,'" 
 
 Ov-id. Ar. Am. i. 720. 
 " Ut mihi praetextje pudor exvelatus amictu," 
 Propert. iii. xxiii. 3. 
 V. 2. " At me composite pace fefellit amor," Propert. 
 El. ii. ii. 6. " Cum bene compositis," Manil. iv. 5S. 
 V. 5. So Moschus, Idyll, i. 25 : 
 
 K^v TTor' iSrjg KXaiovra, (pvXdanio firj at TrXavrjny. 
 K^v yeXdo, TV viv 'i\Kt, Kai r]v iOsXy at (piKacrai 
 ^tvye. 
 Tliis little poem has been translated into English verse b; 
 
ALCAIC ODE. 199 
 
 Numen habet, veteresque sylvas ; 
 Praesentiorem et conspicimus Deum 5 
 
 Per invias rupes, fera per juga, 
 Clivosque prseruptos, sonantes 
 
 [nter aquas, nemorumque nocteni ; 
 Quam si repostus sub trabe citrea 
 
 Mr. Walpole ; see his Works, vol. iv. p. 454 ; and also by 
 the author of " The Pleasures of Memory :" see Rogers's 
 Poems, p. 165. 
 
 * In Heron's [Pinkerton] " Letters of Literature," p. 
 299, is a translation of this ode ; and after that, a most ex- 
 traordinary assertion, which I wish the author of that book 
 had not given me an opportunity of producing : as, to say 
 no worse, it is eiToneous in every instance. " This ex- 
 quisite ode," says he, " is by no means in the Alcaic measure, 
 which Mr. Gray seems to have intended it for. The Alcaic 
 measure, as used by Horace, consists of six feet, or twelve 
 syllables, in the two first lines ; three feet and a half, or 
 seven syllables, in the third ; and four feet, or eight syl- 
 lables, in the fourth. ' Truly, Master Holofernes, the 
 epithets are sweetly varied, like a scholar at the least,' ' 
 (Love's Labour's Lost). And yet I am afraid that this in- 
 genious commentator has not experienced how true is the 
 admonition given by the Moorish grammarian : 
 
 " Quid sit litera, quid duae, 
 
 Junctae quid sibi syllabje. 
 
 Dumos inter, et aspera 
 
 Scruposis sequimur vadis. 
 
 Fronte exile negotium 
 
 Et dignum pueris putes. 
 
 Aggressis labor arduus 
 
 iSJec tractabile pondus est.'' 
 
 Terent. Maur. Praef. 6. ed Brissajo. 
 V. 2. " Neque enim leve nomen Amatve," -^n. vii. 581. 
 V. Cas. Sarb. Carm. p. 216. ed Barbou. 
 
 V. 6. This verse would be reckoned faulty, from the 
 absence of the caesura in its right place. See the note to 
 the " Carmen ad Favonium," ver. 30. 
 
 V. 8. " Veteris sub nocte cupressi," Val. Flac. i. 774. 
 " Nox propria luco est," Senecae Thyestes, ver. 678. 
 
200 gray's poems. 
 
 Fulgeret auro, et Phidiaca manu) 
 Salve vocanti rite, fesso et 
 Da placidam juveni quietem. 
 Quod si invidendis sedibus, et frui 
 Fortuna sacra leg-e silentii 
 
 Vetat volentem, me resorbens 
 In medios violenta fluctus : 
 Saltern remoto des, Pater, angulo 
 Horas senectae ducere liberas ; 
 Tutumque vulgari tumultu 
 Surripias, hominumque curis. 
 
 PART OF AN HEROIC EPISTLE 
 FROM SOPHONISBA TO MASINISSA. 
 
 See Mason's Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 46, " I thank him (Ma- 
 son) for one, thinking; as I do, nianv of the lines fully 
 equal to Ovid's." ilS. note of Bennett, Bishop of 
 Cloyne.] 
 
 Egregium accipio promissi Munus amoris, 
 Inque manu mortem, jam fruitura, fero : 
 
 " Each tree whose thick and spreading growth hath made 
 Rather a night between the boughs than shade." 
 
 Davenant. v. Dryden. Misc. vi. 318. 
 V. 9. " Ponit marmoream sub irabe citrea,'' 
 
 Hot. Od. iv. i. 20. 
 V. 10. " Phidiaca manu," Martial, vi. 73. x. 89. 
 V. 11. " Mihi cumque salve 
 
 Rite vocanti." Hor. Ode i. xxxii. 15. 
 V. 14. " Utrumque sacro digna silentio," Hor. Od. ii. 
 xiii. 29. " Resorbens," Hor. Od. ii. vii. 15. 
 
AN HEROIC EPISTLE. 201 
 
 Atque utinam citius mandasses, lace vel una ; 
 
 Transieram Stygios non inhonesta lacus. 
 Victoris nee passa toros, nova nupta, mariti, 5 
 
 Nee fueram fastus, Roma superba, tuos. 
 Scilicet hsec partem tibi, Masinissa, triumphi 
 
 Detractam, haec pompae jura minora suas 
 Imputat, atque uxor quod non tua pressa catenis, 
 
 Objecta et saevse plausibus orbis eo : 10 
 
 Quin tu pro tantis cepisti praemia factis, 
 
 Magnum Romanse pignus amicitise ! 
 Scipiadae excuses, oro, si, tardius utar 
 
 Munere. Non nimium vivere, crede, velim. 14 
 Parva mora est, breve sed tempus mea fama requirit : 
 
 Detinet haec animam cura suprema meam. 
 
 V. 4. " Quamvis ista mihi mors est inhonesta futura, 
 
 Mors inhonesta quidem." Propert. El. ii. vii. 89. 
 
 V. 5. " Virgineo nullum corpore passa virum," Ovid. 
 Fast. V. 146. Virg. Georg. iii. 60. 
 
 V. 7. In Mason's edition it is spelt ' Massinissa ;' which, 
 however, will only partially correct the quantity ; as the 
 second syllable will still be short. See Ovid. Fast. vi. 
 769 : " Postera lux melior, superat Masinissa Syphacem.'' 
 And Sil. Ital. xvi. 117 : 
 
 " Cultuque Aeneadum nomen Masinissa superbum." 
 
 That * Masinissa' is the right orthography, see Draken- 
 borch's note on Sil. Italicus-, Gronovius on Livy, lib. xxv. 
 c. xxxiv. 11 ; Vorstius on Val. Max. i. i. 31. Tortellius, 
 in his Grammatical Commentaries, under the word ' Masa- 
 nissa,' says, ' Non enim primum aliquo pacto duplicari 
 potuit: ut ignari quidam syllabarum voluerunt." See also 
 Noltenii Lexicon, vol. i. p. 112. Cellarii Orthog. Lat. i. 
 p. 285. 
 
 V. 12. " I liber absentis pignus amicitife," 
 
 Martial, ix. cii. 
 
 V. 15. *• Parva mora est," Ovid. Met, i. 671. Ep. ii. 
 144. 
 
202 gray's poems. 
 
 Quae patriae prodesse mese Regina ferebar, 
 
 Inter Elisaeas gloria prima nurus, 
 Ne videar flammae nimis indulsisse secundae, 
 
 Vel nimis hostiles extimuisse manus. 20 
 
 Fortunam atque annos liceat revocare priores, 
 
 Gaudiaque heu ! quantis nostra repensa malis. 
 Primitiasne tuas meministi atque arma Syphacis 
 
 Fusa, et per Tyrias ducta trophaea vias ? 
 (Laudis at antiquae forsan meminisse pigebit, 25 
 
 Quodque decus quondam causa ruboris erit.) 
 Tempus ego certe memini, felicia Poenis 
 
 Quo te non puduit solvere vota deis ; 
 Mceniaque intrantem vidi : longo agmine duxit 
 
 Turba salutantum, purpureique patres. iv 
 
 Foeminea ante omnes longe admiratur euntem 
 
 V. 18. See Sil. Italicu^. ii. 239 ; vi. 346 ; xiv. '257. 
 
 V. 20. " Pallet, et hostiles credit adesse ma)ins," Ov. 
 Fast. ii. 468. 
 
 V. 21. " Non annis revocare tuis," Ov, Met. vii. 177. 
 
 V. 26. " Aut ubi cessaras, caiua ruboris eram," 
 
 Ov. Trist. iii. vii. 26. 
 
 V. 27. Here the last syllable of ego is again made long. 
 See the note to the Sapphic Ode to West, ver. 43, p. 230. 
 1 have only to add to that note, that ego is said to be found 
 with this quantity in the ' Dirse Catonis,' ver. 156 ; but 
 which line is thus given by Wernsdorf, vol. iii. p. 19: 
 
 " Ausus egon' primus custos violare pudores?" 
 and by all the other editors prior to him. See Pithaii 
 Catul. p. 219. Scaligeri Collect, p. 61. Boxhornii Poet. 
 Sat. p. 117. Burmanni Authol. ii. 674 ; but erroneously : 
 see Bentley's Canon, Heavt. Terentii, act v. sc. 1. and 
 Clas. Joum. No. Ixii. p. 352. 
 
 V. 30. " Turba salutantum," Claudian. iii. 213, p. 30. 
 ed. Gesn. Virgil. Georg. ii. 462. 
 
 V. 31. "Omnia fxmineis quare dilecta cntervis," Mar- 
 tial, xi. 48. " Venit in exsequias tota catervameas," Prop, 
 iv. xi. 68, And " aspectu haesit," Virg. Aln. iii. 597. 
 
AN HEROIC EPISTLE. 203 
 
 Haeiet et aspectu tota caterva tuo. 
 Jam flexi, regale decus, per colla capilli, 
 
 Jam decet ardenti fuscus in ore color ! 
 Commendat frontis generosa modestia formam, 35 
 
 Seque cupit laudi surripuisse suae. 
 Prima genas tenui signat vix flore juventas, 
 
 Et dextrse soli credimus esse virum. 
 Dum faciles gradiens oculos per singula jactas, 
 
 (Seu rexit casus lumina, sive Venus) 40 
 
 In me (vel certe visum est) con versa morari 
 
 Sensi ; virgineus perculit ora pudor. 
 Nescio quid vultum molle spirare tuendo, 
 
 Credideramque tuos lentius ire pedes. 
 Quserebam, juxta sequalis si dignior esset, 45 
 
 Quae poterat visus detinuisse tuos : 
 Nulla fuit circum aequalis quae dignior esset, 
 
 V. 34. " Et enivafusco grata colore Venus," Ov. Amor, 
 ii. 440. And Propert. El. ii. xix. 78. 
 
 V. 35. Ov. Medicam. ver. 1 . " Quae faciem commendat 
 cura." And ad Liv. 259. 
 
 V. 37. " Ora puer prima signans intonsvi juventa," Virg. 
 .i:n. ix. 181. Also Ovid. Met. xiii. 754. Virg. ^n. vii. 
 162. viii. 160. 
 
 V. 39. " Facilesque oculos fert omnia circum," Virg. 
 .En. viii. 310. 
 
 V. 40. *' Ad fratrem casu lumina flexa tulit," Ov. Trist. 
 iii. ix. 22. 
 
 V. 43. Gray has in this instance preserved a metrical 
 canon, vi'hich has been broken through by many of the mo- 
 dern Latin poets : — repeatedly by Milton, Addison, Bu- 
 chanan, and T. Warton. See the Classical Journal, 1. 71. 
 283, xxi. 174.xxii. 364. and Barthius and Burman on Ne- 
 mesian Eclog. ii. 32. see Poet. Lat. Minor, vol. i. p. 570. 
 and Dawes. Misc. Grit. ed. Kidd, p. 3. 
 
 V. 46. " Sjepe oculos etiam detinuisse tuos," Ov. Trist. 
 n. 520. 
 
204 GUAVS POEMS. 
 
 Asseruitque decus conscia forma suum. 
 Pompae finis erat. Tota vix nocte quievi, 
 
 Sin premat invitae lumina victa sopor, io 
 
 Somnus habet pompas, eademque recursat imago; 
 
 Atque iteruni hesterno munere victor ades.f 
 
 DIDACTIC POEM UNFIXISHED : 
 ENTITLED, 
 
 DE PRINCIPIIS COGITANDl. 
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. AD FAVONIUM. 
 
 [See Mason's Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 55.] 
 
 Unde Animus scire incipiat ; quibus inchoet orsa 
 Principiis seriem rerum, tenuemque catenam 
 Mnemosyne : Ratio unde rudi sub pectore tardum 
 Augeat imperium ; et primum mortalibus segris 
 
 V. 49. " Infelix, totd quicumque qniescere node,'' Ovid. 
 Amor. ii. 9. 39. 
 
 V. 50. " Lumina cum placido victa sopore jacent," Ov. 
 Ep. xvi. 100. 
 
 t Ellis, in his Historical Sketch of English Poetry, (p. 
 224,) thinks that the description of the entry of Troilus 
 into Troy, in Chaucer's romance of Troilus and Creseida, 
 suggested to Gray some very beautiful lines in this Epistle : 
 " Jam flexi, regale decus," &c. (See Chaucer, b. xi. st. 83. 
 fol. 151. ed. 1602.) 
 
 " This Troilus sat on his baye steed. 
 
 All armed, save his head, full richely^" &c. 
 
 V. 4. Virg. Georg. i. 237, "Mortalibus aegris," and 
 Lucret. vi. 1. Luke. 
 
DE PRINCIPIIS COGITANDI. 205 
 
 Ira, Dolor, Metus, et Curae nascantur inanes, 5 
 Hinc canere aggredior. Nee dedignare canentem, 
 O decus ! Ang-liacae certe O lux altera g-entis ! 
 Si qua primus iter monstras, vestigia conor 
 Signare incerta, tremulaque insistere planta. 
 Quin potius due ipse (potes namque omnia) sanctum 
 Ad limen (si rite adeo, si pectore puro,) n 
 
 Obscuroe reserans Naturae ingentia claustra. 
 Tu caecas rerum causas, fontemque severum 
 Pande, Pater; tibi enim, tibi, verimagne Saeerdos, 
 Corda patent hominum, atque altae penetralia 
 
 Mentis. 15 
 
 Tuque aures adhibe vacuas, facilesque, Favoni, 
 (Quod tibi crescit opus) simplex nee despice carmen, 
 Nee vatem : non ilia leves primordia motus, 
 Quanquam parva, dabunt. Laetum vel amabile 
 
 quicquid [auras, 
 
 Usquam oritur, trahit hinc ortum ; nee surgit ad 
 Quin ea conspirent simul, eventusque seeundent. 
 
 V. 5. Virg. Georg. iv. 345, " Curam Clymene narrabat 
 inanem.*' Luke. 
 
 V. 7. " Magn-te spes altera Romae/' Virg. ^En. xii. 168. 
 This apostrophe is addressed to ' Locke.' 
 
 V. 9. "Tremulis possunt insistere plantis," Juv. Sat. 
 vi. 96. 
 
 V. 12. Natures, primus portarum claustra cupiret," 
 Lucret. i. 72. " Csecas causas," Ibid. iii. 317. Virg. .^n. 
 vii. 15, " portarum ingentia claustra." Luke. 
 
 V. 13. " Amnemque severum," Virg. ^n. vi. 374. And 
 Georg. iii. 7 ; Amnemque severum Cocyti metuet." 
 
 V. 15. " Mentis penetralia nudat," Claud. Rap. Pros, 
 i. 213. 
 
 V. 16. " Faciles habuit aures," Quintil. Inst. Orat. vi. v. 
 p, 576. *' Vacuas aures adhibe," Lucret. i. 45. 
 
 V. 21. " Eventusque secundet," Virg. Georg, iv. 397. 
 
206 gray's poems. 
 
 Hinc variae vitai artes, ac mollior usus, 
 Dulce et aniicitise vinclum : Sapientia dia 
 Hinc roseum accendit lumen, vultuque sereno 
 Humanas aperit mentes, nova gaudia monstrans 
 Deformesque fugat cnras, vanosque timores : 
 Scilicet et rerum crescit pulcherrima Virtus. 
 Ilia etiam, quae te (mirum) noctesque diesque 
 Assidue fovet inspirans, linguamque sequentem 
 Temperat in numeros, atque horas mulcet inertes ; 
 Aurea non alia se jactat orig-ine Musa. 31 
 
 Principio, ut magnum fcedus Natuia creatiix 
 Firmavit, tardis jussitque inolescere membris 
 Sublimes animas ; tenebroso in carcere partem 
 Noluit setheream longo torpere veterno : 35 
 
 Nee per se proprium passa exercere vigorem est, 
 Ne socise molis conjunctos sperneret artus, 
 Ponderis oblita, et coelestis conscia flammae. 
 
 V. 24. " Rubens accendit lumina Vesper," Virg. Georg. 
 i. 251. 
 
 V. 26. Hor. Epod. xiii. 18, " Deformis aegrimoniae." 
 
 Luke. 
 V. 27. " Scilicet et rerum facta est pulcherrima Roma,'^ 
 Georg. ii. 534. 
 
 V. 31. " At non Venus aurea contra," Virg. ^n. x. 16. 
 " Qui nunc te fruitur credulus aurea," Hor. Od. i. v. 9. 
 V. 32. " Rerum natura creatrix," Lucret. i. 623. 
 V. 33. See note at p. 176, on the position of " que," and 
 Burraan on Antholog. Lat. vol. i. p. 607. 
 
 V. 35. " Nee torpere gravi passus sua regna veterno,' 
 Virg. Georg. i. 124. 
 
 V. 45. " Sequenti concita plaga," Lucret. iv. 189. " Ex- 
 ternis plagis,'' Ibid. ii. 1140. 
 
 V 48 " Stetit unus in arcem 
 
 Erectus capitis." Manil. Astron. iv. 905. 
 
 " Penitusque supremum, 
 
 In cerebrum." Claud, xviii. 52. 
 
DE PRINCIPIIS COGITANDI. 207 
 
 Idcircb innumero ductu tremere undique fibras 
 Nervorum instituit : turn toto corpore misceus 40 
 Implicuit late ramos, et sensile textum, 
 Implevitque humore suo (seu lympha vocanda, 
 Sive aura est) tenuis certe, atque levissima quaedam 
 Vis versatur agens, parvosque infusa canales 
 Perfluit ; assidue externis quae concita plagis, 4.5 
 Mobilis, incussique fidelis nuntia motus, 
 Hinc inde accensa contage relabitur usque 
 Ad superas hominis sedes, arcemque cerebri. 
 Namque illic posuit solium, et sua templa sacravit 
 Mens animi : banc circum coeunt, densoque feruntur 
 Agmine notitise, simulacraque tenuia rerum : 
 Ecce autem naturse ingens aperitur imago 
 Immensae, variique patent coramercia mundi. 
 Ac uti longinquis descendunt montibus amnes 
 
 V. Macrob. S. Scipionis, i. p. 46. v. Gronovii Not. Apuleii 
 Apolog. " Verticem hominis velat arcem et regiam." Co- 
 ripp. de Laud. Justini. ii. 190. Claudiani Cons. Honor, iv. 
 " Summa capitis pendavit in arce." Sid. Apoll. v. 239, 
 " Arce cerebri." Prudent. Ham. 312, " Mediaque ex arce 
 cerebri," and many other examples. Roscommon has the 
 " Caverns of the Brain," on Poetry, v. 27, and see Sprat. 
 I'lague of Athens, st. 11. 
 
 " Turn vapor ipsam, 
 
 Corporis arcem flammis urit.'' Senecae CEdip. 185. 
 
 See also Shakespeare : " And his pure brain. 
 
 Which some suppose the soul's frail dwelling-house." 
 K. John, act v. sc. 7. 
 And see ver. 135 of this poem. 
 V. 51. So Luoret. iii. 244 : 
 
 •' Qua nee mobilius quidquam neque tenuius exstat." 
 And Virg. Georg. i. 398 : 
 
 " Tenuia nee lanae per coelum vellera ferri." 
 V. 51. " Rerum simulachra ferantur," Lucret. iv. 165. 
 " Geminoque facis commercia mundo," Claud, xxxiii. 91. 
 
208 gray's poems. 
 
 Velivolus Tamisis, flaventisque Indus arenae, 55 
 Euphratesque, Tagusque, et opimo flumine Gauges, 
 Undas quisque suas volvens, cursuque sonoro 
 In mare prorumpunt : hos magno acclinis in antro 
 Excipit Oceanus, natorumque ordine longo 
 Dona recognoscit venientum, ultroque serenat 60 
 Cseruleam faciem, et diffuse marmore ridet. 
 Haud aliter species properant se inferre novelise 
 Certatim menti, atque aditus quino agmine com- 
 plent. 
 Primas tactus agit partes, primusque minutae 
 Laxat iter caecum turbse, recipitque ruentem. 65 
 Non idem huic modus est, qui fratribus : amplius ille 
 Imperium affectat senior, penitusque medullis, 
 Visceribusque habitat totis, pellisque recentem 
 Funditur in telam, et late per stamina vivit. 
 Necdum etiam matris puer eluctatus ab alvo 70 
 Multiplices solvit tunicas, et vincula rupit ; 
 Sopitus molli somno, tepidoque liquore 
 Circumfusus adhuc : tactus tamen aura lacessit 
 
 V. 59. " Te tuus Oceanus natali gurgite lassum Excipit," 
 Claud, vii. 176. 
 
 V. 60. " Dona recognoscit populorum," Virg. JEn. viii. 
 721. 
 
 V. 61. " DifFuso lumine ridet," Lucret. iii. 22. 
 
 V. 69. So Pope. Essay on Man, i. 217 : 
 " The spider's touch, so exquisitely fine, 
 Feels at each thread, and lives along the line." 
 
 V. 70. •' Turn porro puer. — Nixibusex alvo matris natura 
 profudit," Lucret. v. 223. "Cumveteres ponunt tunicas," 
 Ibid. iv. 56. 
 
 V. 80. " CnYiidisqueamplectiturvlnis, Ovid. Met. xi. 63. 
 
 V. 81. " Nam siraul ac species patefacta est verna diei !" 
 Lucret. i. x. 
 
DE PRINCIPllS COGITANDI. 209 
 
 Jamdudum levior sensus, animamque reclusit. 74 
 Idquemagis simul. ac solitum blandumque calorem 
 Frigore mutavit coeli, quod verberat acri 
 Impete inassuetos artus : turn ssevior adstat 
 Humanaeque comes vitae Dolor excipit ; ille 
 Cunctantem frustra et tremulo rnulta ore querentem 
 Corripit invadens, ferreisque amplectitur ulnis. so 
 Turn species primum patefacta est Candida Lucis 
 (Usque vices adeb Natura bonique, malique, 
 Exaequat, justaque manu sua damna rependit) 
 Turn primum, ignotosque bibunt nova lumina soles. 
 Carmine quo, Dea, te dicam, gratissima coeli 8.5 
 Progenies, ortumque tuum ; gemmantia rore 
 Ut per prata levi lustras, et iloribus halans 
 Purpureum Veris gremium, scenamque virentem 
 Pingis, et umbriferos colles, et caerula regna ? 
 Gratia te, Venerisque Lepos, et mille Colorum, 90 
 Formarumque chorus sequitur, motusque decentes. 
 At caput invisum Stygiis Nox atra tenebris 
 
 V. 84. " Editus ex utero cctcus nova lumina sensit, 
 Et stupet ignotum se meruisse diem." 
 
 Claud, xcix. 10. 
 
 V. 85. " Dignissima coeli, 
 
 Progenies." Achill. Statii, ii. 372. 
 
 V. 86. Lucret. ii. 319, " Invitant herbee gemmantes rore 
 recenti." Luke. 
 
 V. 87. Virg, Georg. iv. 109, " Croceis halantes Jiorihns 
 horti.'' Luke. 
 
 V. 88. " Hie ver purpureum," Virg. Eclog. ix. 41. 
 V. 89. " Umbriferura nemus," Lucret. vi. 703. •' Coe- 
 ruleo regno," Virg. Ciris. 483. 
 
 V. 91. " Quove color '? decens 
 
 Quo motus?" Hor. Od. iv. xiii. 17. 
 
 V. 92. " Invisum hoc detrude caput sub Tartara," JEn . 
 ix. 476. Stygiis tenebris," Georg. iii. 551. 
 
 P 
 
210 GRAY S POEMS. 
 
 Abdidit, horrendaeque simul Formidinis ora, 
 Pervigilesque aestusCurarum,atque anxius Angor . 
 Undique laetitia florent mortalia corda, 95 
 
 Punis et arridet largis fulg'oribus ^ther. 
 
 Omnia nee tu ideo invalidae se pandere Menti 
 (Quippe nimis teneros posset vis tanta diei 
 Perturbare, et inexpertos confundere visus) 
 Nee capere infantes animos, neu cernere eredas 100 
 Tarn variam molem, et mirae spectacula lucis : 
 Neseio qua tamen hsee ociilos dulcedine parvos 
 Splendida pereussit novitas, traxitque sequentes ; 
 Nonne videmus enim, latis inserta fenestris 
 Sicubi se Phoebi dispergant aurea tela, 105 
 
 Sive lucernarum rutilus colluxerit ardor, 
 Extemplo hue obverti aciem, quae fixa repertos 
 Haurit inexpletum radios, fruiturque tuendo. 
 
 Altior huie verb sensu, majorque videtur 
 Addita, Judicioque arete connexa potestas, no 
 Quod simul atque aetas volventibus auxerit annis, 
 Haec simul, assiduo depascens omnia visu, 
 
 V. 93. " Subit horrida mentem formido,'' Sil. Ital. x. 
 544 ; Lucret. vi. 253. " Curarum fluctuat festu," Virg. 
 ^n. viii. 19. xii. 335. 
 
 V. 94. Lucret. iii. 1006, " Exest anxius angor." Liihe, 
 
 V. 96. " Improvise vibratus ab ^there fulgor," Virg. 
 ^n. viii. 524. 
 
 V 102. " Neseio qua prseter solitum dulcedine laeti," 
 Virg. Georg. i. 413. 
 
 V. 104. " Plena per insertas ftmdebat luna fenestras," 
 Virg. ^n. iii. 152. 
 
 V. 105. " Lucida tela diei," Lucret. i. 128. 
 
 V. 108. " Expleri mentem nequit, ardescitque tuendo," 
 Virg. ^n. i. 713. 
 
 V. 113. " Tantum series, juncturaque ■pallet," Herat. Art. 
 
DE FKINCiPllS COGITANDI. 211 
 
 Perspiciet, vis quanta loci, quid polleat ordo, 
 Juncturae quis honos, ut res accendere rebus 
 Lumina conjurant inter se, et mutua fulgent. 115 
 
 Nee minor in g-eminis viget auribus insita virtus, 
 Nee tantum in curvis quae pervigil excubet antris 
 Hinc atque hinc (ubi Vox tremefeeerit ostia pulsu 
 Aeriis inveeta rotis) longeque recurset : 
 Seilicet Eloquio haec sonitus, haee fulminis alas, 
 Et muleere dedit dictis et tollere corda, 120 
 
 Verbaque metiri numeris, versuque ligare 
 Repperit, et quiequid discant Libethrides undae, 
 Calliope quoties, quoties Pater ipse canendi 
 Evolvat liquidum carmen, calamove loquenti 125 
 Inspiret dulces animas, digitisque figuret. 
 
 At medias fauces, et ling\ae humentia templa 
 Gustus habet, qua se insinuet jucunda saporum 
 Luxuries, dona Autumni, Bacchique voluptas. 
 
 Naribus interea consedit odora hominum vis, iso 
 Docta leves captare auras, Panchaia quales 
 
 Poet. 24S. " Ita res accendent lumina rebus," Lucret. i. 
 1110. 
 
 V. 115. On this use of the indicative, ' conjurant,' ' ful- 
 gent,' for the subjunctive mood, see Parr's Letter to Dr. 
 Gabell, in- the Class. Journ. Lxxix. Sept. 1829, p. 45, and 
 Parr's Correspond, vol. i. p. 476. 
 
 V. 119. " Puniceis inveeta rotis," Virg-. ^5iLn. xii. 77. 
 
 V. 122. "Nee numeris nectere verba jnv^t," Ovid. Pont, 
 ii. 30. 
 
 V. 123. " Nymphaj, noster amor, Libethrides," Virg. 
 Eclog. vii. 21. Pomp. Mela, ii. 3. 
 
 V. 126. " Mobilibus digitis exiper ge facta Jigurant," 
 
 Lucret. ii. 412. 
 
 V. 128. " Jucundos sapores," TibuU. i. vii. 35. 
 
 V. 130. " Odora canura vis," Lucret. vi. 778. Virg. 
 ^n. iv. 132. 
 
212 gray's poems. 
 
 Vere novo exhalat, Floreeve quod oscula fragrant, 
 Roscida, cum Zephyri furtim sub vesperis hora 
 Respondet votis, moUemque aspirat amorem. 
 
 Tot portas altae capitis circumdedit arci i.^.i 
 
 Alma Parens, sensusque vias per membra reclusit ; 
 Haud solas : namque intus agit vivata facultas, 
 Qua sese explorat, contemplatusque repente 
 Ipse suas animus vires, momentaque cernit. 
 Quid velit, aut possit, cupiat, fugiatve, vicissim 
 Percipit imperio gaudens ; neque corpora fallunt 
 Morigera ad celeres actus, ac numina mentis. 
 
 Qualis Hamadryadum quondam si forte sororum 
 Una, novos peragrans saltus, et devia rura ; 
 (Atque illam in viridi suadet procumbere ripa 
 Fontis pura quies, et opaci frigoris umbra) 
 Dum prona in latices speculi de margine pendet. 
 Mirata est subitam venienti occurrere Nympham : 
 Mox eosdem, quos ipsa, artus, eadem ora gerentem 
 Una inferre gradus, una succedere sylvse 150 
 
 Aspicit alludens ; seseque agnoscit in undis. 
 Sic sensu interno rerum simulacra suarum 
 
 V. 132. Compare Par. Lost, b. v. 16: "Then with 
 voice, mild as when Zephyrus on Flora breathes." Virg. 
 Georg. i. 43, "Vere novo gelidus canis cum montibus 
 humor." Ltike. 
 
 V. 134. " Votis respondet avari," Georg. i. 47. " Di- 
 vinum adspirat amorem," Virg. JEn. viii. 373. 
 
 V. 137. " Vivata potestas," Lucret. iii. 410. 557. 680. 
 V. 139. 
 
 " Aiiimus vario labefactus vulnere nutat 
 
 Hue levis, atque illuc ; momentaque sumit utroque." 
 Ovid. Met. X. 375. 
 144. " Mater virideis saltus orbata peragrans." 
 
 Lucret. ii. 355. Luke 
 
DE PRINCIPIIS COGITANDI. 213 
 
 xMens ciet, et proprios observat conscia vultus. 
 Nee verb simplex ratio, aut jus omnibus unum 
 Constat imag-inibus. Sunt quae bina ostia norunt; 
 Has privos servant aditus ; sine legibus illae 
 Passim, qua data porta, ruunt, animoque propin- 
 
 quant. 
 Respice, cui a cunis tristes extinxit ocellos, 
 Sseva et in eternas mersit natura tenebras : 
 Illi ignota dies lucet, vernusque colorum 160 
 
 Offusus nitor est, et vivae gratia formse. 
 Corporis at filum, et motus, spatiumque, locique 
 Intervalla datur certo dignoscere tactu : [plex, 
 Quandoquidem his iter ambiguum est, et janua du- 
 Exclusseque oculis species irrumpere tendunt 165 
 Per digitos. Atqui solis concessa potestas 
 Luminibus blandse est radios immittere lucis. 
 
 Undique proporrb sociis, quacunque patescit 
 Notitiae campus, mistse lasciva feruntur 
 Turba voluptatis comites, formaeque dolorum 170 
 Terribiles visu, et porta glomerantur in omni. 
 Nee vario minus introitu magnum ingruit Illud, 
 
 V. 147. " Lympharum in speculo," Phaedrus, i. iv. 3. 
 
 V, 149. The same synaeresis is found in Propert. iv. 
 vii. 7 . 
 
 " Eosdem habuit secum, quibus est elata capillos." 
 And, " Eosdem oculos ; lateri vestis adusta fuit." 
 
 V. 154. " Nee ratio solis simplex," Lucret. v. 613. " Con- 
 stat imago,'' iv. 108. " Privas aures," iv. 570. 
 
 V. 157. Virg. ^n. i. 83. " Qua data porta ruunt." 
 
 Luke. 
 
 V. 161. " Ea gratia forrasB," Ovid. Met. vii. 44. 
 
 V. 167. " Radios inter quasi rumpere lucis," Lucret. v 
 288. " Radiis ardentem lucis," Virg. ^n. vii. 142. 
 
 V. 171. " Terribiles visu format," iEn. vi. 277. 
 
214 gray's poems. 
 
 Quo facere et fungi, quo res existere circum 
 Quamque sibi proprio cum corpore scimus, et ire 
 Ordine, perpetuoque per sevum flumine labi. 175 
 
 Nunc age quo valeat pacto, qua sensilis arte 
 Affectare viam, atque animi tentare latebras 
 Materies (dictis aures adverte faventes) 
 Exsequar. Imprimis spatii quam multa per aequor 
 Millia multigenis pandant se corpora seclis, 180 
 Expende. Haud unum invenies, quod mente licebit 
 Amplecti, nedum proprius deprendere sensu, 
 Molis egens certae, aut solido sine robore, cujus 
 Denique mobilitas linquit, texturave partes, 
 Ulla nee orarum circumcaesura coercet. 
 
 V. 173. " Ax. facere, et fungi sine corpore nulla potestas," 
 
 Lucret. i. 444. 
 V. 175. " Perpehio possint csvi labentia tractu," 
 
 Lucret. v. 1215. 
 V. 177. " Viamque adfectat Olympo," Georg. iv. 562. 
 " Tentare latebras/' ALn. ii. 38. 
 
 V. 185. " Extima membrorum circumcasura coercet,** 
 
 Lucret. iv. 651 . 
 
 V. 189. " Solem quis dicere falsum 
 
 Audeat." Virg. Georg. i. 463. 
 
 V. 190. " At si tantula pars oculi media ilia peresa est, 
 Incolumis quamvis alioqui splendidus orbis." 
 Lucret. iii. 415. 
 V. 191. " Densior hinc soboles," Virg. Georg. iii. 308. 
 V. 192. " Quae feriunt oculoriim acies, visumque laces- 
 sant/' Lucret. iv. 329. 
 
 V. 193. " Nare bibis." Is this expression warranted 
 by the authority of any of the Latin poets'? Horace has 
 "' Bibit aure," Od. ii. xiii.32.; and Statius,in Ach. ii. 120, 
 " Aure bibentem." " Naso videt," Plautius. See Martini. 
 Var. Lect. p. 10. Shakespeare transfers the same word to 
 sight : " And with mine eyes I'll drink the words you send," 
 Cymbel. act i. sc. 2. And Thomson. Spring, 106: " Or 
 taste the smell of dairy.'' " Elapsusque cavd fingitur mire 
 lapis," Ov. Art. Am. i. 432. 
 
DE PRINCIPIIS COGITANDI. 215 
 
 Hsec conjuncta adeo tota compage fatetur 
 Mundus, et extremo clamant in limine rerum, 
 (Si rebus datur extremum) primordia. Firmat 
 Hsec eadem tactus (tactum quis dicere falsam 
 Aiideat ?) hsec oculi nee lucid us arguit orbis. 190 
 
 Inde potestatum enasci densissima proles ; 
 Nam quodcunque ferit visum, tangive laborat, 
 Quicquid nare bibis, vel concava concipit auris, 
 Quicquid lingua sapit, credas hoc omne, necesse est 
 Ponderibus, textu, discursu, mole, ligura 195 
 
 Particulas prsestare leves, et semina rerum. 
 Nunc oculos igitur pascunt, et luce ministra 
 Fulgere cuncta vides, spargique coloribus orbem, 
 
 V. 196. " Multorum semina rerum," Lucret. ii. 676. 
 
 Luke. 
 
 V. 197. " Oculos qui pascere possunt," Lucr. ii. 419. 
 
 Luke. 
 " Consulit ardentes radios, et luce magistra," 
 
 Claud. Cons. Honor, vi. 7. 
 
 V. 198. " Grammatici veteres notaverunt a Virgilio et 
 antiquioribus poetis, stridere in tertia conjugatione cum 
 aliis verbis, ut fervere, fulgere esse usitatum ; a Lucano 
 autem, et Static, et ejus fetatis poetis in secunda." Vide 
 Priscian. Col. 837. 866. 893. Dousam. ad Lucil. lib. ix. 
 p. 119. N. Marcell. voce •' fulgere," ed Mercer. Coripp. 
 Laud. Justini.. iii. 257. Virg. Georg. iv. 262. ^n. iv. 689. 
 vii. 334. xii. 691. Lucan. ii. 250. vi. 179. ed. Oudendorp. 
 Gesner, in a note to Claudian de Cons. Stilich. iii. 142, 
 " Siculas obsident urbes," sa}^s, " Obsidere terti^ conjuga- 
 tione, nee optimos refugisse docent Thesauri nostri." It 
 was on the authorit}' of the use of these verbs in the third 
 conjugation, that Vossius in his treatise " De Arte Gram- 
 matica," (lib. ii. p. 90), attempted to defend respondere in 
 the well-known passage of Manilius, lib. v. 753, and that 
 Scaliger and Bronkhusius read "Jam canis setas mea ca- 
 neret annis." v. Propert. El. ii. 14. 7. 
 
216 gray's poems. 
 
 Dum de sole tiahunt alias, aliasque siiperne 
 Detorquent, retroque docent se vertere flammas. • 
 Nunc trepido inter se fervent corpiiscula pulsu, 
 Ut tremor sethera per magnum, lateque natantes 
 Aurarum fluctus avidi vibrantia claustra 
 Auditus queat allabi, sonitumque propaget.- 
 Cominus interdum non ullo interprete per se 20s 
 Nervorum invadunt teneras quatientia fibras, 
 Sensiferumque urgent ultro per viscera motum. 
 
 LIBER QUARTUS 
 
 Hactenus baud segnis Naturse arcana retexi 
 Musarum interpres, primusque Britanna per arva 
 Romano liquidum deduxi flumine rivum. 
 Cum Tu opere in medio, spes tanti et causa laboris, 
 
 V. 200. " Faciunt ignem se vertere in auras," 
 
 Lucret. i. 7P3. 
 V. 207. " Sensiferos motiis quae dedit prima per artus," 
 Lucret. iii. 246. and ill. 937. " Longe ah sensiferis primordia 
 motibus errant." 
 
 v. 2. See Lucret. i. 95 ; iv. 5. And Columella de Cult. 
 Hort. 435 ; 
 
 " Qui primus veteres ausus recludere fontes, 
 Ascraeum cecinit Romana per oppida carmen." 
 Virg. Georg. ii. 175. And, iii. 12: 
 
 " Aonio rediens deducam vertice Musas." 
 And see note to Ennius, ed. Hesselii. p. 10. 
 
 V. 8. " Languescent lumina morte," CatuU. Ixiv. 188 
 " Vultus amatos," Ov. Fast. vi. 579. 
 
LIBER QUARTUS. 217 
 
 Linquis, et seternam fati te condis in umbram ! 5 
 Vidi egomet duro graviter concussa dolore 
 Pectora, in alterius non unquam lenta dolorem ; 
 Et languere oculos vidi, et pallescere amantem 
 Vultum, quo nunquam Pietas nisi rara, Fidesque, 
 Altus amor Veri, et purum spiiabat Honestum. lo 
 Visa tamen tardi demum inclementia morbi 
 Cessare est, reducemque iterum roseo ore Salutem 
 Speravi, atque una tecum, dilecte Favoni ! 
 Credulus heu long-os, ut quondam, fallere Soles : 
 Heu spes nequicquam dulces, atque irrita vota ! is 
 Heu maestos Soles, sine te quos ducere flendo 
 Per desideria, et questus jam cog-or inanes ! 
 
 At Tu, sancta anima, et nostri non indiga luctus, 
 Stellanti templo, sincerique setheris igne, 
 Unde orta es, fruere ; atque 6 si secura, nee ultra 
 Mortalis, notos olim miserata labores 
 Respectes, tenuesque vacet cog-noscere curas ; 
 Humanam si fort^ alta de sede procellam 
 
 V. 9. " IncoiTVLiptA Jides, nudaque Veritas," 
 
 Hor, Od. i. xxiv. 7. 
 V. 11. " Rapit inclementia mortis," Virg. Georg. iii. 68. 
 
 Luke. 
 V. 14. " Tecum etenimlongos memini consumere soles," 
 
 Pers. Sat. v. 41. Virg. Eclog. ix. 51. 
 V. 17. " Questiis ad nubila rumpit i/ianes," Claud, xxxv. 
 249. " Questu volvebat inani," Ciris. v. 401. 
 
 V. 18. "Sancta ad vos anima," Virg. ^n. xii. 648. 
 
 " Opisque baud indiga nostrae," Georg. ii. 428. 
 V. 21. " Oh! sola infandos Trojae miserata labores!" 
 ^n. 1. 597. "' Tenuisque piget cognoscere curas," Georg. 
 i. 177. 
 
 V. 21, " Si quid pietas antiqua labores 
 
 Respicit bumanos." JEn. v. 688. 
 
218 gray's poems. 
 
 Contemplere, metiis, stimulosque ciipidinis acres, 
 Gaudiaque et gemitus, parvoque in corde tumultum 
 Irarum ingentem, et ssevos sub pectore fluctus ; 
 Respice et has lacrymas, memori quae ictus amore 
 Fundo ; quod possum, juxta lugere sepulchrum 
 Dum juvat, et mutae vana haec jactare favillap. 29 
 
 GREEK EPIGRAM. 
 
 [See Mason's Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 45.] 
 
 'A^ofxevog TroXvdrjpci' lKr}(^6\ov akaoc avaffaag, 
 Tdc hivag TefxivT) \d~£ Kvvaye ^edg, 
 
 Movvoi ap' EvBa kvvojv i^adewy Kkayyevmv vXayjjiOij 
 'Avra-^^Elg Nu/Li^dr aypoTEpdv KsXado). 
 
 V. 24. " Et stimulos acres sub pectore vertit," 
 
 ^n. ix. 718. 
 V. 29 "Taliaque illacrymans muf <e Jacc verhafavUlce,'' 
 Propert. Eleg. ii. i. 77. 
 
219 
 
 EXTRACTS. 
 
 PETRARCA PART I. SONETTO 170. 
 
 ** Lasso ch' i' ardo, ed altri non mel crede ;" &c. 
 
 IMITATED.* 
 
 Uror, io ; veros at nemo credidet ig-nes : 
 
 Qiiin credunt omnes ; dura sed ilia negat, 
 Ilia negat, soli volumus cui posse probare ; 
 
 Quin videt, et visos improba dissimulat. 4 
 
 Ah, durissima mi, sed et, ah, pulcherrima rerum ! 
 
 Nonne animam in misera, Cynthia, fronte vides ? 
 Omnibus ilia pia est ; et, si non fata vetassent, 
 
 Tarn long-as mentem flecteret ad lacrymas. 
 Sed tamen has lacrymas, hunc tu, quem spreveris, 
 ig-nem, 
 
 Carminaque auctori non bene culta suo, lo 
 
 Turba futurorum non ignorabit amantum : 
 
 Nos duo, cumque erimus parvus uterque cinis, 
 Jamque faces, eheu ! oculorum, et frigida lingua, 
 
 Hae sine luce jacent, immemor ilia loqui ; 
 Infelix musa aeternos spirabit amores, is 
 
 Ardebitque urna multa favilla mea. 
 
 * Great judgment is evinced in the imitation of this son- 
 net in elegiac Propertian verse, and the substitution of the 
 name of Cynthia, for the Laura of Petrarch, gives it an air 
 of originality in the Latin language, and marks that pro- 
 priety which distinguislies every composition of Mr. Gray. 
 
 Mason. 
 
220 GRA^ S POEMS. 
 
 Mr. Gray paid very particular attention to the Anthologia 
 Graeca, and he enriched an interleaved edition of it (by 
 Henry Stephens in 1566) with copious notes, with parallel 
 passages from various authors, and with some conjectural 
 emendations of the text. He translated, or imitated, a few 
 of the epigrams, and as the editor thinks that the reader 
 may not be displeased with the terse, elegant, and animated 
 manner in which Mr. Gray transfused their spirit into the 
 Latin language, he is presented with a specimen. 
 
 FROM THE ANTHOLOGIA GRiECA. 
 
 EDIT. HEN. STEPH. 1566. 
 
 IN BACCHJE FURENTIS STATUAM.^ 
 
 Credite, non viva est Maenas ; non spirat imago : 
 Artificis rabiem miscuit aere manus. 
 
 in alexandrum, jere effictum.2 
 
 Quantum audet, Lysippe, manus tua ! surgit in aere 
 Spiritus, atque oculis bellicus ignis adest: 
 
 Spectate hos vultus, miserisque ignoscite Persis : 
 Quid mirum, imbelles si leo sparsit oves ? 
 
 in medeyE imaginem, nobile timomachi opus."* 
 
 En ubi Medeaa varius dolor aestuat ore, 
 
 Jamque animum nati, jamque maritus, habent ! 
 
 > Anthol. p. 296. » lb. p. 314. ^ lb. p. 317. 
 
EXTRACTS. 221 
 
 Succenset, miseret, medio exardescit amore, 
 Dum furor inque oculo gutta minante tremit. 
 
 Cernisadhuc dubiam; quidenim? licet impia matris 
 Colchidos, at non sit dextera Timomachi. 
 
 IN NIOBES STATUAM.* 
 
 Fecerat e viva lapidem me Jupiter ; at me 
 Praxiteles vivam reddidit e lapide. 
 
 A -NYMPH OFFERING A STATUE OF HERSELF 
 TO VENUS. 
 
 Te tibi, sancta, fero nudam ; formosius ipsa 
 Cum tibi, quod ferrem, te, Dea, nil habui. 
 
 IN AMOREM D0RMIENTEM.5 
 
 DocTE puer vigiles mortalibus addere curas, 
 Anne potest in te somnus habere locum ? 
 
 Laxi juxta arcus, et fax suspensa quiescit, 
 
 Dormit et in pharetra clausa sagitta sua ; 
 
 Longe mater abest ; longe Cythereia turba : 
 Veriim ausint alii te prope ferre pedem, 
 
 Non ego ; nam metui valde, mihi, perfide, quiddam 
 Forsan et in somnis lie meditere mali. 
 
 * Anthol. p. 315. 
 
 * lb. p. 332. Catullianam illam spirat mollitiem. Gray, 
 
222 GRAY S POEMS. 
 
 FROM A FRAGMENT* OF PLATO.^ 
 
 Itur in Idalios tractus, felicia regna, 
 
 Fundit iibi densam myrtea sylva comam, 
 Intus Amor teneram visus spirare qiiietem, 
 
 Dum roseo roseos imprimit ore toros ; 
 Sublimem procul a ramis pendere pharetratn, 
 
 Et de lang-uidula spicula lapsa manii, 
 Vidimus, et risu molli diducta labella 
 
 Murmure quae assiduo pervolitabat apis. 
 
 IN FONTEM AQVJE CALIDit.7 
 
 Sub platanis puer Idalius prope fliiminis undam 
 
 Dormiit, in ripa. deposuitque facem. 
 Tempus adest, sociae, Nympharum audentior una, 
 
 Tempus adest, ultra quid dubitamus ? ait. 
 Ilicet incurrit, pestem ut divumque hominumque 
 
 Lampada collectis exanimaret aquis : 
 Demens ! nam nequiit saevam restinguere flammam 
 
 Nympha, sed ipsa ignes traxit, et inde calet. 
 
 9Irrepsisse suas murem videt Argus in sedes, 
 Atque ait, heus, a me nunquid, amice, velis ? 
 
 llle autem ridens, metuas nihil, inquit ; apud te, 
 O bone, non epulas, hospitium petimus. 
 
 * " Elegantissimum hercle fragmentum, quod sic Latin e 
 nostro modo adumbravimus " Gray. 
 
 ^ The second of the name, Anthol. p. 332. 
 ^ Anthol. p. 354. ^ lb. p. 186. 
 
EXTRACTS. 223 
 
 'oHanc tibi Rufinus mittit, Rodoclea, coronam, 
 Has tibi decerpens texerat ipse rosas ; 
 
 Est viola, est anemone, est suave-rubens hyacyn- 
 Mistaque Narcisso lutea caltha suo : [thus, 
 
 Sume ; sed aspiciens, ah, fidere desine formae ; 
 Qui pinxit, brevis est, sertaque teque, color. 
 
 AD AMOREM.l- 
 
 Paulisper vigiles, oro, compesce dolores, 
 
 Respue nee musae supplicis aure preces ; 
 Oro brevem lacrymis veniam, requiemque furori : 
 
 Ah, ego non possum vulnera tanta pati ! 
 Intima flamma, vides, miseros depascitur artus, 
 
 Surgit et extremis spiritus in labiis : 
 Quod si tarn tenuem cordi est exsolvere vitam, 
 
 Stabit in opprobrium sculpta querela tuum. 
 Juro perque faces istas, arcumque sonantem, 
 
 Spiculaque hoc unum figere docta jecur ; 
 Heu fuge crudelem puerum, saevasque sagittas ! 
 
 Huic fuit exitii causa, viator, Amor. 
 
 '» Anthol. p. 474. " lb. p. 452. 
 
 THE END. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 -»lNnv"i7MHi 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ NOV 15 195: 
 
 ' 
 
 » ; ^ , . 
 
 
 \^' 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 r 
 
 ^ o^ 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 LD 21A-50m-8,'57 
 (C8481sl0)476B 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 RENEWALS ONLY— TEL. NO. 642-3405 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 j^l0S19691i 
 
 Rw:c?^;vED 
 
 •V.h\ 
 
 -xrr 
 
 l2'biJ ■ K ») 
 
 '-OAN DEPT , 
 
 fviA^' ? 1973 6 5 
 
 ouv/e" 7 m3 
 
 REC'DLD MAY 
 
 
 -w 
 
 3ECD CIRC DB 
 
 14 73-1PM6 3 
 
 m 
 
 M AR 3 '^^ 1 
 
 SV-9-44qQ4 
 
 
 1 2 '78 
 
 NOV 6198S 
 
 LD 21A-40m-2,'69 
 (J6057b10)476 — A-32 
 
 General Library 
 University of Calif oro 
 
 Berkeley 
 
 i^» 
 
 rWB 
 
GENERAL LIBRARY -U.C. BERKELEY 
 
 iiiiiiiiiiii 
 
 BDDD7DM3S7 
 
 
 
 -A 
 
^M' 
 
 ^|!W 
 
 
 
 
 - v./ ^ 
 
 
 "^ C/ ''' 
 
 ^:^^ 
 ?^^ 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 • ^ V' ^ • 
 
 fe^^ 
 
 i^M^ 
 
 m 
 
 «Ww 
 
 ^BSl 
 
 ^liW 
 
 'c: 
 
 ^.^■: 
 
 ^^m 
 
 
 
 ^' ■:,',' vw 
 
 ^W.;-. 
 
 ^iii«i^i 
 
 ^yiM 
 
 ^ J 1- ^ W V ^ Vfe W ' ^ i ' ■ V V ^ ' 
 
 ^.iJ^ii*