a ^HIBRA ^2 .VS * ^ j THE MISCELLANEOUS WORKS O F JOHN DRYDEN, Efq; CONTAIN" ING ALL HIS ORIGINAL POEMS, TALES, AND TRANSLATIONS, Now firft Collected and Pul lifted together IN FOUR VOLUMES. WITH EXPLANATORY NOTES AND OB S E RV ATIONS, ALSO AN ACCOUNT OF His LIFE AND WRITINGS. VOLUME THE FIRST. LONDON: Printed for J. and R. T o N s o N, in the Strand. MDCCLXd T o HIS G R A C''E The DUKE of NEWCASTLE MY LORD, IF I prefume to addrefs to your Grace thefe Mifcellanies of one of our greateft Englifh poets, now firft collected and illuftrated with Notes ; perhaps the acknowledged eminence of the author may apologife for the inconfiderablenefs of the editor. To whom can thefe poems be more properly infcribed than to fuch a patron as Dryden himfelf would have chofen; a nobleman of the firft diftindion, known to love polite learn- ing becaufe he underftands and taftes it \ i r and eminent for his candour, no leis than his difcernment ? A" 2 s*'-'* <--, iv DEDICATION. Had the writer I here introduce to your Grace been, for the honour of Great Britain, ftill alive, what a noble field would have been now open to his genius, for exerting all its powers, in celebrating your long and unwearied application to public bufinefs, that zeal and fidelity with which you have acquitted yourfelf in the fervice of one of the beft of kings ! Then, my lord, the juft praifes of our country- men under your Grace's adminiftration, had been touched by a pen adequate to their worth. The memorable year feven- teen hundred and fifty-nine, would have fhone with diftinguifhed luftre to lateft pofterity, in his profe and verfe equally, for he was equally a mafter of both. The defeat of a numerous French army by a handful of Britons on the plains of Minden ! All the plans our enemies DEDICATION. v had formed for attacking and diftrefling our fettlements in the Eaft- Indies, baf- fled and difappointed ! Senegal and Goree torn from them in Africa ! Guadaloupe in the Weft-Indies become a Britifli co- lony ! Louisbotirg taken ! And by the important reduction of Quebec, all North America laid open to our arms ! The fleets of France twice beaten in the Me- diterranean ! and the ruin of her Marine compleated upon the Ocean ! Almoft all thefe are the events of one year, un- der a miniftry in which your Grace acts fo illuftrious a part. Had we then a Dryden among us, to what heights muft the fubjecl: have raifed fuch a writer ? With what fublimity of thought and ex- preflion, with what happy elegance and variety of harmony would fuch a writer have adorned his fubjecl:? Inferior authors can only look up to this fummit of Par- A 3 vi DEDICATION. naffus, without even the vain hope of being able to reach it ; but my utmoft ambition will be gratified, if this public dedication to your Grace of fo noble a poet's remains may be, if not approved, at leaft forgiven, and admitted as a mark of the inviolable refpect and attachment with which I have the honour to fub- fcribe myfelf, MY LORD, Your GRACE'S moft humble and obedient Servant* London, Feb. 20, 1760. Samuel Derrick. ADVERTISEMENT i CONCERNING THIS EDITION O F D R Y D E N's WORKS. WHILE editions of Chaucer, Spencer, Shakefpear, Milton, and many writers of a much inferior clafs, have been prefented to the world complete, is it not furprifing that Dry- den, equal in alrnoft every refpecl to all of them, fcarcely inferior to any, has remained till now a fingle folitary exception ? The thin folio of his poetical works printed in 1701, was extremely imperfect -, and the two volumes in twelves, publifhed in 1742, were far from being fuffi- ciently comprehenfive. To remedy thefe defects, and to unite the whole of his original poems and tranflations (the plays and his Virgil excepted) has been the bufmefs of the prefent editor. As the former of thefe confift of fatires, politics, and private hif- tory, which in a few years would become al- moft unintelligible, the occafions of them being removed to fuch vaft diftance, he has ad- ded notes in every place that feemed to demand them, which, while they illuftrate the text, he has endeavoured to make as entertaining as truth, the invariable guide of his inquiry, would admit. A 4 viii ADVERTISEMENT. Over feme parTages, indeed, time has let fall a: veil of obfcurity, which his utmoft induftry has not been able to penetrate. In his fearch he was fully convinced, that he could not be too fpeedy in rendering this fignal fervice to one of the greateft writers that ever adorned thefe kingdoms ; as the people heft ac- quainted with the tranfaclions, to which moft of his pieces relate, are alinoft all deceafed, confe- quently the materials for fuch a work are daily diminiming ; fo that fhortly thefe inimitable writings muft have remained wholly without a key. He mould think himfelf ungrateful did he not here acknowledge, that he owes much to the communication of David Mallet, Efq; whofe polite writings are an ornament to the age ; to the learned and accurate Dr. Birch, fecretary to the Royal Society ; and to the candour and in- genuity of the reverend Mr. Walter Harte, one of the canons of Windfor. He begs leave to .obferve to the inquiring cri- tic, that he has no where prefumed to enter the lids with his author as a difputant; neither has lie exhaufted his paper in tedioully praiiing or impertinently cenfuringhim. Such a proceeding he would look upon as an infult to the under- ftanding of his readers j by prefcribing bounds to their judgment, like the virtucfo who infilled that no body could fee well but through his glafs.. He has confined himfelf meerly to the explain- ADVERTISEMENT. ix ing what relates principally to the author, his friends and enemies ; the fituations of times, and occafions of writing ; neither does he pre- tend to burthen the reader's attention with heaps of quotations from learned authors. Some re- markable imitations he has indeed pointed out ; and for the reft, he leaves the reader to employ his own application j which may perhaps be thought on both fides moft eligible. The editor was a good deal difappointed at not being able, with all his induftry, to obtain any erTential materials relating to our author's life or his works, though he applied to the pre- fent Sir John Dryden, through the means of a friend, who has a confiderable fortune in his neighbourhood. He alfo addrefled himfelf on this head in perfon to a defcendant of our poet's, near Berkley-fquare ; but cannot fay he met with any information that gave him fatisfaction. He has with his utmoft care been able only to recover two of Dryden's manufcript letters, one to Wilmot, Earl of Rochefter ; the other to Mrs. Thomas, otherwife known by the name of Fair Corinnaj and for thefe there did not appear any proper place in thefe four volumes. It has been laid that many of his letters are in the hands of one of the Saville family ; if the report be true, it is to be hoped that the poffelTor will be public-ipiritecl enough to com- municate iuch a treafure to the world, as, from the fpeciniens we have by us, we are perfusded x A D V E R T I S E M E N T. a collection of his letters would be the moil agreeable that ever came from the prefs ; and the bequeathing them to pofterity would make the memory of the donor immortal. In the arranging of the larger of our author's original pieces, we have paid a flridt regard to the times in which they were written ; begin- ning firfh with the earlieft. The dedication of the Annus Mirabilis to the city of London, is added from the firit edition of that poem in 410; and we have given the entire fecond part of Ab- falom and Achitophel, though a good deal of it was v/ritten by Tate, becaufe the whole nar- ration is rendered thereby more perfect and uni- form. We have alfo reprinted Soam's translation of the Art of Poetry, asDryden had a very con- fiderable hand in it, and permitted his name to be inferted in the title-page in his own life- time. We have been very exact in arranging the epiftles according to chronological order, which was never done before, and have retained that to Julian, becaufe we find it in the fixth volume of the Miicellanies ; and therefore, though we have not the higheil opinion of its value, we can- not fuppofe it to be an impofition. We have paid the fame regard to the elegies and epitaphs, two of v/hic-h are not in the edition of 1742 ; neither are the firfl fong in this collection, en- tituled the Fair Stranger,nor the Secular Mafque, nor yet the prologue to the Miftakes ; the epi- logue to the Hufband his own Cuckold, and the prologue and epilogue to the Pilgrim. The ADVERTISEMENT. xi prologues and epilogues are, as nearly as we could prove, here printed in their order of time; and for the dates of many of them we are par- ticularly obliged to Mr. Garrick, who with great civility gave us the ufe of his fine collection of old 4to plays. The third volume of this edition may now, more properly than ever, be called Dryden's Fables, as it contains fuch of the Tales of Chaucer as he has modernized ; his tranflations from Boccace, and fuch of the Metamorphofes as he tranflated : all difpofed in their refpedlive places. We were a good deal mortified to find ourfelves obliged to run part of the latter into our fourth volume, otherwife our third would have iwelled beyond all fize ; and this we had the more reafon to lament, as it broke in upon the uniformity which we flattered ourfelves we mould have been able in this edition to pre- ferve. At the fame time, for reafons of a fimi- lar nature, we were under a neceffity of adding the tranflations from Theocritus, Lucretius, and Horace, to the end of the fecond volume. In our fourth volume we have added the elegy of the fecond book of Ovid's Amours and Dryden's fine dedication of Juvenal, to- gether with fuch of the fatires as he tranflated, and the whole of his Perfius, none of them in the edition of 1742. Thus we think we have collected all his loofe pieces ; and if this edition mould meet that en- couragement from the public, which the merits xii ADVERTISEMENT. of fuch an author deferve, and which by our labour we have endeavoured to awaken, we (hall reprint his Virgil and his Plays in the fame iize, which will make up a complete and uniform fet of his works. No body, we hope, will blame us for leaving out in this edition moft of the complimentary copies of verfes prefixed to our author's works : they were few of them worth preferving ; but it was the cuftom of the times for every man who was fuppofed capable of writing, to furnim his friend with fuch a prefent, on his printing any thing; and the publication of them, indifcri- minately, was obferved, becaufe they were moftly folicited. THE L I F E O F JOHN DRYDEN, E% DRYDEN's univerfal genius, his firmly eftablifhed reputation, and the glory his memory muft always reflect upon the nation that gave him birth, make us ardently wiih for a more accurate life of him than any which has hitherto ap- peared : nor will, we hope, the learned writers of the Biographica Britannica, nor thofe of the General Dic- tionary, be offended with us for thinking, that, even affer their labours, fomething farther may be done. That we are furnifhed with fome new materials, the judicious reader will eafily perceive : where thefe are wanting, we have endeavoured to be more clear, by being lefs diffufive, and by avoiding as much as pof- fible that variety of notes, into which they feem by their plan to have been neceffarily led. The Drydens are a reputable and wealthy family, fettled at Canons- Amby in Northamptonmire ; the chief of which, Erafmus, was by letters patent of James I. dated in November 1619, advanced to the dignity of a Baronet. He intermarried with the daughter of William Wilkes, Efq-, of Hodnel, in Warwickfhire -, and Erafmus Dryden, of Tichmarih, in the county of Northampton, Efq-, the third fon of this marriage, had for his eldelt born and heir, by Mary the daughter of John Pickering, D. D. rector of Aldwincle, John, whole life we are now about to write. xiv T H E L I F E OF John Dryden was born at Aldwincle, near Oundle, Auguflthe gth, 1631, and on his father's death came into pofieffion of an eflate of 200 /. per ann. He is faid to have been bred an anabaptifb, and this may in fome meafure excufe the praifes he has beftowed on Oliver. It redounds to a man's honour to fee his er- rors, and renounce them : there cannot be a ftronger proof of judgment and integrity, and we have no reafon to doubt Dryden's being afterwards zealouily attached to the Stuart's family, through duty as well as gratitude. He was bred at Weftminfter-fchool, under the great Doctor Eufby, being entered a king's fcholar : while here he wrote the poem on lord Haftings's death, which is the firft in this collection, and tranflated the Third Satire of Perfius, for a Thurfday night's exer- cife. The latter is much the better performance , and it is not unlikely that he retouched it before he per- mitted it to be published. He fays, he believes he left feveral other poetical exercifes in the hands of his learned preceptor. In 1650 he was elected thence a fcholar of Trinity-college, Cambridge. His heroic ftanzas on the death of the Lord Protector, appeared in 1658 -, and on the reftoration he publifhed a poem called Aftrea Redux ; with another on king Charles the Second's Coronation. On New-year's day 1662, he prefented a poem to lord chancellor Hyde ; and the fame year wrote a loofe fatire on the Dutch, the firft twenty-four lines of which he afterwards prefixed as a prologue to his play of Amboina, with an addi- tion of the ten laft lines. The conclufion of this fatire beginning- I'o one well-lorn tti affront is worfe^ &c. introduced by four new lines, ferve here as an epi- logue. "His firft play was a comedy called the Wild Gallant, the plot of which, he fays, was not originally his own. It was but ccoly received, and this convinced him, that for a firft attempt in dramatic poetry, co- JOHN DRYDEN, Efq ; xv medy, which is the moft difficult part of it, was a bold one. I fuppofe it might have been exhibited in 1663; as his fccond performance of this kind, being a tragi-comedy intitled the Rival Ladies, was broup-ht out m 1664, and publifhed with a dedication to ?he great Roger earl of Orrery in which he ftands forth as an advocate for writing plays in rhyme. Here he obferves, that before the days of Shakefpear, lord Buckhurft had written a play in rhyme, entituled, Queen Gorboduc, whereas it was King Gorboduc, the compofition blank verfe ; and only the two laft ads were written by that eminent nobleman ; the author of the three firft afts being one Mr. Thomas Norton Thefe are overfights, in which Langbaine, who mifTes no opportunity of ufmg our author with afperitv, triumphs prodigioufly. His arguments were contro- verted by Sir Robert Howard, in a preface to a vo- lume containing forne dramatic pieces ; and defended by him in his eflay on Dramatic Poefy, which was printed in 1668. A reply to this defence appeared before Sir Robert's Duke of Lerma, and an anfwer to it is prefixed to our author's Indian Emperor believe the difpute dropp'd , in keepine up of which Dryden was notfo much to blame, asLani bane in his lives of the Dramatic Poets would fain mfmuate ; for Sir Robert was certainly the ao-o-reflbr The gentleman laft mentioned affifced our author in writing a tragedy called the Indian Queen, which was adted wirh applaufe in j66 5 . In the fummerof this year he prefented the dutchefs of York with a copy of verfes on the fignal victory gained by the duke her hufband over the Hollanders at fea, and on her grace's journey into the north. His fourth play, called the tragedy of the Indian tmperor, or the Conqueft of Mexico by the Spa- niards, being the fequel of the Indian Queen, was exhibited in October 1667, and met with prodigi- ous fucceis. It is written in heroic verfe or rhyme xri THE LIFE OF and dedicated to the dutchefs of Monmouth and Buccleugh. Sir William D'Avenant joined with Dryden in al- tering Shakefpear's Tempeft. It was prefented, with the additional name of the Inchanted Ifland, at the duke's theatre in 1667, as appears from the epilogue, and greatly approved of. We are informed in the preface, that the humour of the failors was of Sir William's writing , and that he invented the character of Hippolito, who never faw a woman, to match with Miranda in Shakefpear's Temped, who never faw a man. Sir William D'Avenant dying in April 1668, our author fucceeded him as poet-laureat and hiftorio- grapher to the king. An Evening's Love, or the Mock Aft rologer, a co- medy, was exhibited at the theatre royal in 1671, and dedicated to the romantic writing duke of Newcaitle ; before it we find a preface, in which the author dif- courfes upon comedy and farce, and their diiference ; paffes fome ftrictures upon Beri. Jonfon, and then proceeds to defe-nd poets in plagiarifm and imitation, when made to good purpole. His arguments on this head are candid and judicious. It was in this me- morable year, that the duke of Buckingham fati- rizcd him fo fevcrcly in the play of the Rehearial, under the name of Bayes : this character was origi- nally called Bilboa, and intended for Sir Robert Howard ; but the knight was deprived of the com- pliment by the breaking out of the plague, whereby the exhibition of the piece, which was finifhed in 1665, was prevented. It muft be owned, the ridi- cule is in many places juft and linking, though Mr." Diyden affects to treat it with great contempt, par- ticularly in the dedication of his tranflations from Juvenal and Pern" us to the earl of Dorict, fee vcl iv, of this edit. p. 163, near the bottom. Thepiaysof our author ridiculed in this whim Heal performance, are, the Wild Gallant 3 Tyrannic Love ; the Conqueft of JOHN DRYDEN, Efq-, xvii Grenada, both parts ; Marriage A-la-Mo-Je ; and Love in a Nunn-ry. Tyrannic Love, or the Royal Martyr, is written in rhyme, and dedicated to the duke of Monmouth. We are told in the preface that it was finifhed in feven weeks, with an intention " to prove, againft the ene- " mies of the ftage, that patterns of piety decently " reprefented and equally removed from the extremes " of fuperftition and prophanenefs, may be of excel- " lent ufe to fecond the precepts of religion." The plot of this tragedy being the martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, is taken from Herodian and other hiftorians. To the firft part of the Conqueft of Grenada, there is prefixed an eflay on Heroic Plays ; and the fecond part is followed by a defence of the epilogue, or an eflay on the Dramatic Poetry of the preceding age, in which epilogue he is fevere upon Ben. Jon- fon. Theie two plays were attacked by one Richard Leigh, an actor of the duke of York's company, in a pamphlet, entitled, 4t A Cenfure of the Rota of " Mr. Dryden's Conqueft of Grenada." This was anfwered by " The friendly Vindication of Mr.Dry- *< den from the cenfure of the Rota. Canib. 1 673, 410. " Mr. Dryden vindicated, in anfwer to the Friendly " Vindication, &c. Lond.4to. 1673. A Defcription of " the Academy of the Athenian Virtuoli, 4to. Lond. " 1673." It was alfo abufed in 1674 by Elkanah Settle, in a 4to pamphlet, entitled, " Notes and Jn- " terpretations on the Emprefs of Morocco, rev i fed, " with fome few erratas to be printed inftead of the " poftlcript, with the next edition of the Conqueft " of Grenada ;" and I fancy this is the fame pamphlet mentioned in the Biographia Britannia,under the name of " Reflections on feveral of Mr. Dryden's pJays, " particularly on the firft and fecond parts of the " Conqueft of Grenada, by E, Settle, gent. Lond " 1687, 4 to." VOL. I. b XV111 ' Settle's Empreis of Morocco was performed at the duke's theatre in 1^73, and publilhed afterwards with cuts. Some exprefiions in the preface having made Dryden very angry, he publilhed a 4to pamphlet, called " Notes and Obfervations on the Emprefs of " Morocco, or fome few erratas to be printed in- " ftead of the fculptures with the fecond edition of " the play." In this piece he has treated Settle with a good deal of fcurrility, and the latter has not failed to return it, in his reply above mentioned. Dryden was fenfible that both parts of the Conqueft of Grenada lay very open to cenfure -, for in the pre- face to the Spanifh Fryar, written fome years after, he lays, " I remember fome verfes of my own Almanfor " cry vengeance upon me for their extravagance ; " all I can fay for thofe paflages, which are, I hope, cc not many, is that I knew they were bad enough to " pleafe even when I writ them." Here we fee he charges his failings upon the depraved tafte of the age, and will not admit them to be laid to the account of his own judgment. Lord Lanfdown thus feconds him in his efiay con- cerning unnatural Flights in Poetry. " Dryden himfelf, to pleafe a frantic age, " Was forc'd to let his judgment ftoop to rage j " To a wild audience he conform'd his voice, " Comply'd by cuftom, but not err'd by choice, " Deem then the people's, not the writer's fin, " Almanfor's rage, and rants of Maximin. " That fury fpent ; in each laborious piece " He vies for fame with antient Rome and Greece." Marriage A-la-mode is a tragi-comedy, or rather a play made up of two actions , the one ferious, the other comic, and not fo ftrongly interwoven, but that they may eafily be taken afunder, without much da- mage being done to either. It is dedicated to the witty earl of Rocheiler, who I fuppofe, made an ade- J O H N D R Y D E N, Ef qi quate return for the compliment, as I have by me a manufcript letter of our author's to that nobleman, written ieemingly about this time, which I take, from the tenor of it, to have ariien from fuch an oc- cafion. The Affignation, or Love in a Nunnery, a comedy, didnotfucceedin thereprefentation; andthepoet,in his dedication of it to Sir Charles Sedley, fays, he knows not whether to charge the mifcarriage to the number of his enemies, or the defects of the performance. We have mentioned together the plays laid hold of by the author of the Rehearfal ; and, as nearly as we could collect, have difpofed them in the order in which they were acted ; for they were not printed in that order. If Sir Martin Marr-all, another comedy of our author's, did not appear before the Affigna- tion, it came out at much the fame time, as may be gathered from the prologue to a play of Ravenfcroft's called the Carelefs Lovers, in which mention is made of both theie pieces having met with no very kind reception. In 1673, our author's thirteenth play was exhibited at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane : it was enti- tuled Amboina, or the Cruelties of the Dutch to the Englifh Merchants, a tragedy ; and publilhed with a dedication to Lord Clifford of Chudleigh. Though written in a month, it fucceeded well on the ftage, the fubject being very popular, as we were then at war with Holland. In 1675 he introduced a comedy to the ftage, called the Miftaken Hufband. It was not his own, though it has been attributed to him ; but he pro- tected it as an orphan, and embellimed it with one fcene and an epilogue. Aureng-Zebe, a tragedy, came out in 1676. The fcene lies at Agra in the Eail-Indies, and is found- ed on a true llory related by feveral hiitorians, and told at large by Tavernier in his voyages. It is writ- ten in rhyme ; and in the dedication to the Earl of ; , b 2 xx THELIFEOF Mulgrave, it is faid that King Charles not only pre- ferred it to all the other dramatic works of our poet, but even had fome hand in adjufting the contrivance of it. The State of Innocence, or the Fall of Man, an opera, taken from Paradife Loft, was publifhed in 1 678, but never acted. Many beautiful pafiages are here tranfplanted from thatexcellentpoem, and thrown into rhyme. Nat. Lee has prefixed to it a commendato- ry copy of verfes, in which he pays fome compliments to Dryden, at the expence of the immortal Milton : " But thefe," fays our author very juftly in his Apo- logy for heroic poetry and poetic licence, prefixed to this piece, " ought rather to be efteemed the effect of " Mr. Lee's love than his deliberate and fober judg- " ment." It is preceded by a dedication to the duchefs of York, through which runs a moft deli- cate ftrain of flattery. All for Love, or the World well loft, a tragedy, appeared the fame year i and Dryden himfelf, in the preface to his tranflation of Frefnoy's Art of Painting, tells us " it is the only thing in the dramatic way which " he ever wrote to pleafe himfelf." He was particu- larly fond of the fine fcene in the firft act between Anthony and Ventidius. This play is on all hands allowed to be his beft : he has ftridtly regarded the unities of time, place, and action -, and has attempt- ed, more than once, to break a lance with Shakefpear (whofe Anthony and Cleopatra is on the fame fubject) particularly in the famous defcripticn of the queen of Egypt's failing down the Cydnus. Her galley down the fifoer Cydmts^ &c. How he has fucceeded, we mail not here take uport us to decide : in his ftile he profeffes to have imitat- ed that prince of the drama, and on that account he has difmcumbered himfelf of rhyme ; not that he condemns that way of writing, which he fo long uled, but becaufe he looks upon blank verfe to be more to his purpofe. JOHN D R Y D E N, Efq; xxi In 1679 Nat. Lee, and he in conjunction, produced a play called Oedipus, and Langbaine fets it down as one of the bed tragedies we have: the contrivance and difpofition of the fcenery with the firft and third acts, were entirely our author's, Leejuftly claims the reft. The preface is a critique upon Corneille, the fa- ther of the French ftage, who had previoufly hand- led the fame ftory. Two other of his plays appeared in the fame year, viz. Secret Love, or the Maiden Queen ; and Troi- lus and Creflida, or Truth found too late. The lat- ter is an alteration from Shakefpear, to whofe me- mory much deference is paid in the preface. The beginning of this winter, a poem was printed, called an Effay on Satire, in which SirWilliam Scroggs, lord chief juftice of the King's Bench, Willmot earl of Rochefter, the dutchefs of Portfmouth, and feve- ral other remarkable perfonages, were treated with great freedom. Lord Mulgrave and our author wrote it in conjunction, though the nobleman was ambitious enough to endeavour to engrofs the honour of it to himfelf. On account of this performance it is thought that Rochefter or the dutchefs hired fome ruffians, to revenge their quarrel upon the laureat, which gave rife to the following paragraph in a news-paper of thofe days, called Dome/lie Intelligence, or News from both City and Country^ numbered 49, dated Tuefday^ December 23, 1679. " On the i8th inftant in the evening, Mr. Dry- " den, the great poet, was fet upon in Rofe-ftreet, " Covent-garden, by three perfons who called him " rogue and fon of a whore, knocked him down and " dangerously wounded him : but upon his crying " out murder, they made their efcape : it is conceiv- " ed they had their pay before hand, and defigned " not to rob him, but to execute on him fome " feminine if not popijh vengeance." In No. 50 of the fame paper, dated Friday -, September 26, 1679, we find this advertifement. b 3 xxii THE LIFE OF " Whereas on Thurfday the i8th of this inftant, " in the evening, Mr. John Dryden was afiaulted " and wounded in Rofe-ftreet, Covent-garden, by di- xxxii T HE LIFE O F In his perfonal character Dryden was perfectly amiable , he was modeft even to diffidence -, in friend- fiiip and generofity he was exceeded by ncne : no man had ftronger feelings for the diitrefles of human nature, or greater propenfity to alleviate them ; and to this noble turn of mind, the difficulties which he had to ftruggle with in life, and of which we often find him complaining, were probably moftly owing. His temper was mild, open, unfufpecting, and for- giving. He was very eafy of accefs, and perfectly pleafing in his carriage. As his knowledge was great, and his memory ftrongly retentive , fo were his de- iires of communicating inflruction, to flich young writers as thought fit to confult him, extenfive ; yet in his manner there was fomething fo peculiarly agreeable that it doubled the obligation. He was himfelf always open to a conviction of error, and thankful for the remonitrance. Among the many enemies who attacked his morals, bifnop Burnet calls him a monfter of impurities of all forts ; in anfwer to which lord Lanfdown allures us, " That he was the very reverie of all this, and that " all his acquaintance could vouch his being a man " of regular life and unfpotted converfation." No body will be doubtful whether to fide with the peer fpiritual or temporal, who remembers the diipute between the former and our author, which we have difcuffed in our notes. He has been accuied as a time-ferver and an hy- pocrite in religion, becaufe it was his fortune at a particular fealbn to conform to one partronifed at court ; but this charge muft fall to the ground on recollecting that he always continued therein firm and unmaken, though he might have gained confiderably by recanting after the revolution, and his writings on that head carry with them the ftrongeft marks of fm- cerity. Perhaps before he declared himfelf a Roman Catholic, he had no iettled form of religion j and his Religio J O H N D R Y D E N, Efq; Religio Laici is not a defence of any particular feet of Chriftianity, fo much as of Chriftianity in general. What a prodigious field for admiration opens upon us in contemplating our author as a poet ! Here, in whatever light we view him, he is fure always to excel; and if univerfality of genius gives a title to pre- eminence, perhaps we mail be fcarcely excufed for admitting any to rank above him. In elegy he was plaintive and tender ; in panegyric he had the art of throwing a luftre round a character that funk all its imperfections. In fatire he was ftrong, bold, pene- trating, and fevere ; in didactic or controverfial writ- ing, concife, clear, and perfuafive. His epiftles arc familiar, eafy, and entertaining. His prologues and epilogues abound with wit, pleafantry, and often excellent traces of criticifm. In his fongs the thoughts appear new ; the phrafeology unconftrained ; and^the cbnclufions pointed. His odes are ftrong, forceful, foaring, and fublime , the numbers are happily varied, the harmony is inimitable, and the whole feem to breathe the fpirit of infpiration. Laftly, in his dramatic writings, which are many, there is a great variety ; his characters are often fine- ly marked, and the pafllons well wrought up ; yet he deals more in the fublime than the pathos ;' and his tragedies are rather written from the head thai} the heart. In comedy, however, he is facetious and full of humour. Father Dominic is one of the bed characters on our ftage. In this fpecies of writing, he certainly failed moil: but his failings are eafily pardoned when we confider, that he wrote his plays in a hurry ; that he was for fome time obliged to furnifh the ftage with a certain number yearly ; and that he never had leifure fufficient to polim and correct up to the ftandard of his genius. It was noc his fortune at any time to be able to ufe the Nonum prematur in annum. Yet his imperfections, likefpots in the fun. can never dimimm his luftre j and had he never written more VOL, I. c xxxiv THE LIFE OF, &c. than All for Love, or the Spanifh Friar, thefe would have been fufficient to fecure him an elevated place among dramatic writers. In profe he was equally excellent, his words were always happily chofen, his periods round and flowing, his meaning clear, his arguments fupported with maf- terly elocution, and his conclufions well deduced. In his prefaces, indeed, we find him fometimes a deferter, and oppofing his own arguments in a manner to which Dryden only was equal ; he has appeared un- anfwerable till he anfwered himfelf. Here he con- fefies that he was much obliged to archbilhop Til- lotfon, who was, he lays, the original from whom he copied. Impartiality will allow then that he often outgoes his mailer, and that none of our writers ex- cel him. His profe never deviates into blank verfe; and disjoint his verfe as you will, it is impoffible to reduce it to prole. " Its eflence, (fays Con- greve, in the dedication of his dramatic works to his grace the Duke of Newcaftle) " like that " of pure gold cannot be deftroyed." And Garth, in his preface to the Metamorphofes, juftly remarks, " that when he fleals from others" (for he has been accufed of plagiarifm) "it is no other wife than like " thofe who iteal beggars children only to cloath " them the better." In a word, his fancy was always vigorous, his ima- gination fertile, his fentiments are fpirited, his lan- guage is elegant, and his verification fmooth and graceful ; he was copious in invention ; in tran- flation he gives the fpirit of his author. To the laft he maintained all his excellencies, and loft nothing of his ilrength. Mr. Pope beautifully obferves, " That his fire like the fun's (hone cleareft towards " its fetting :" nay, the fame great poet allures us, " He never would have attempted to tranflate Homer " had Dryden completed that work." Mr. D R Y DEN. On Mr. DRYD EN's RELIGIO LAICI. By the Earl of ROSCOMMON. BE gone, you flaves, you idle vermin go, Fly from the fcourges, and your matter know ; Let free, impartial, men from Dryden learn Myfterious fecrets, of a high concern, And weighty truths, folid convincing fenfe, Explain'd by unaffected eloquence. What can you (Reverend Levi) here take ill ? Men ftill had faults, and men will have them ftill ; He that hath none, and lives as angels do, Muft be an angel -, but what's that to you ? While mighty Lewis find the pope too great, And dreads the yoke of his impofing feat, Our fects a more tyrannic pow'r afllime, And would for fcorpions change the rods of Rome ; That church detain'd the legacy divine , Fanatics call the pearls of heav'n to fwine : C 2 VERSES in Pralfe of Mr. What then have thinking honed men to do, But chufe a mean between th'ufurping two ? Nor can th'JEgyptian patriarch blame thy mufe> Which for his firmnefs does his heat excufe ; Whatever councils have approv'd his creed, The preface fure was his own act and deed. Our church will have that preface read you'll fay : 'Tis true : but fo me will th* Apocrypha , And fuch as can believe them, freely may. But did that God (fo little underftood) Whofe darling attribute is being good, From the dark womb of the rude chaos bring Such, various creatures and make man their king, Yet leave his favourite man, his chiefeft care, More wretched than the vileft infects are ? O ! how much happier and more fafe are they ? If helplefs millions mull be doom'd a prey 2To yelling furies, and for ever burn In that fad place from whence is no return, For unbelief in one they never knew, Or for not doing what they could not do ! The very fiends know for what crime they fell, And fo do all their followers that rebel : If then a blind, well-meaning, Indian ftray, Shall the great gulph be fhew'd him for the way ? For better ends our kind Redeemer dy'd, Or the fain angels room will be but ill fupply'd. That Chrift, who at the great deciding day, (For he declares what he refolves to fay) VERSES in Praife of Mr, DRYDEN. Will damn the goats for their ill-natur'd faults, And lave the meep for actions, not for thoughts, Hath too much mercy to fend men to hell, For humble charity, and hoping well. To what flupidity are zealots g^own, Whofe inhumanity, profufely fliown I In damning crowds of fouls, may damn their own, J I'll erratleaft on the fecurer fide, A convert free from malice and from pride. To my Friend Mr. JOHN DRYDEX, on his feveral excellent Tranflations of the ancient Poets. By G. GRANVILLE, Lord LANSDOWNE. ~i*T AS flow'rs, tranfplanted from a fouthern Iky, But hardly bear, or in the raifing die , Miffing their native fun, at beft retain But a faint odour, and furvive with pain : Thus ancient wit, in modern numbers taught, -j Wanting the warmth with which its author wrote, s Is a dead image, and a fenfelefs draught. J While we transfufe, the nimble fpirit files, Efcapes unfeen, evaporates, and dies. Who then to copy Roman wit defire, Mall imitate with Roman force and fire, c V VERSES in Pralfe of Mr. DRYDEN* In elegance of ftyle and phrafe the fame, And in the fparkling genius, and the flame. "Whence we conclude from thy tranflated fong, So j uft, fofmooth, fo foft, and yet fo ftrong, Cceleftial poet ! foul of harmony ! That ev'ry genius was reviv'd in thee. Thy trumpet founds, the dead are rais'd to light, Never to die, and take to heav'n their flight -, Deck'd in thy verfe, as clad with rays they mine, All glorified, immortal, and divine. As Britain in rich foil abounding wide, Fumim'd for ufe, for luxury, and pride, Yet fpreads her wanton fails on ev'ry fhore For foreign wealth, infatiate ftill of more ; To her own wool the fiiks of Afia joins, And to her plenteous harvefts India's mines ; So Dryden, not contented with the fame Of his own works, tho' an immortal name, To lands remote fends forth his learned mufe, The nobleft feeds of foreign wit to choofe : Feaftingour fenfe fo many various ways, Say, is't thy bounty, or thy thirft of praife ? That by comparing others, all might fee, VTho mod excel, are yet excell'd by thee. VERSES in Praife of Mr. DRYDEN. To Mr. DRYDEN, by Jo. ADDISON, Efq; HOW long, great poet, (hall thy facredlays Provoke our wonder, and tranfcend our praife ! Can neither injuries of time, or age, Damp thy poetick heat, and quench thy rage ? Not Ib thy Ovid in his exile wrote ; Grief chill'd his breaft, and check'd his rifing thought Penfive and lad, his drooping mule betrays The Roman genius in its laft decays. Prevailing warmth has flill thy mind pofleft, And fecond youth is kindled in thy breaft. Thou mak'ft the beauties of the Romans known, And England boafts of riches not her own : Thy lines have heighten'd Virgil's majefty, And Horace wonders at himfelf in thee. Thou teacheft Perfius to inform our ide In fhioother numbers, and a clearer ftyle : And Juvenal, inftrufted in thy page, Edges his fatire, and improves his rage. Thy copy cafts a fairer light on all, And flill outfhines the bright original. Now Ovid boafts th' advantage of thy fong, And tells his ftory in the Britim tongue -, Thy charming verfe, and fair tranflations mow HOW thy own laurel firft began to grow ; How wild Lycaon, chang'd by angry Gods, And frighted at himfelf, ran howling thro' the wood?. V E R S E S -in Praife bf Mr. DRYDEN. O may'ft thou ftill the noble tale prolong, Nor age, nor ficknefs interrupt thy fong : Then may we wond'ring read, how human limbs Have water'd kingdoms, and dilTolv'd in {beams, Of thpfe rich fruits that on the fertile mould Turn'd yellow by degrees, and ripen'd into gold : How fome in feathers, or a ragged hide, Have liv'd a fecond life, and different natures try'd, Then will thy Ovid, thus transform'd, reveal A nobler change than he himfelf can tell. Mag. Coll. Oxon. June 2, 1693. From Mr. A D D I S O N ' s Account of the ENGLISH POETS. BUT fee where artful Dryden next appears, Grown old in rhyme, but charming ev'n in years. Great Dryden next ! whofe tuneful mufe affords The fweeteft numbers and the fitteft words. Whether in comic founds, or tragick airs She forms her voice, me moves our fmiles and tears, If fatire or heroic {trains me writes, Her hero pleafes, and her fatire bites. From her no harm, unartful numbers fall, She wears all drefles, and me charms in all : How might we fear our Engliih poetry, That long has fiourifh'd, mould decay in thee j. V E R S S in Praife of Mr. DRYDEN. Did not the mufes other hope appear, Harmonious Congreve, and forbid our fear ! Congreve ! whole fancy's unexhaufted flore Has given already much, and promis'd more. Congreve mail ftill preferve thy fame alive, And Dryden's mufe mail in his friend furvive. On ALEXANDER'S FEAST: Or, The POWER of MUSICK. An ODE. From Mr. POPE'S ESSAY on CRITICISM, 1. 376. TIE AR how Timotheus' vary'd lays furprjze, A And bid alternate pafiions fall and rife ! While, at each change, the fon of Libyan Jove Now burns with glory, and then melts with love j Now his fierce eyes with fparkling fury glow, Now fighs fteal out, and tears begin to flow. Perfians and Greeks like turns of nature found, And the world's victor flood fubdu'd by found. The pow'r of Mufick all our hearts allow, And what Timotheus was is Dryden now. VERSES in Praife of Mr. DRYDEN. CHARACTER of DRYDEN, From an ODE of G R A Y ' s. 'Ehold, where Dryden's lefs prefumptuous car, Wide o'er the fields of glory bear : Two courfers of ethereal race, With necks in thunder cloath'd, and long-refounding pace. Hark, his hands the lyre explore ! Bright-ey'd Fancy hov'ring o'er, Scatters from her pictur'd urn, Thoughts that breathe, and words that burn. But, ah! 'tis heard no more Oh ! lyre divine, what daring fpirit Wakes thee now ? though he inherit Nor the pride, nor ample pinion, That the Theban eagle bear, Sailing with fupreme dominion Through the azure deep of air : Yet oft before his infant eyes would run Such forms, as glitter in the mufe's ray With orient hues, unborrow'd of the fun : Yet (hall he mount, and keep his diftant way Beyond the limits of a vulgar fate Beneath the good how far -but far above the great. THE CONTENTS O F T H E FIRST VOLUME. UPON the death of Lord Haftings Page i Heroic flanzas on the death of Oliver Crom- well ... . j Aftrxa Redux, a poem on the Reftoration of King Charles II. - - 16 A Panegyric on the Coronation of Charles II. 3 1 An Addrefs to Lord Chancellor Hyde 37 Satire on the Dutch 44. To her royal highnefs the Dutchefs, on the me. morable Vidtory gained by the Duke over the Hollanders, June 3, 1665, and on her Journey into the North - - 47 Annus Mirabilis : The Year of Wonders, 1666 CONTENTS. EfTay upon Satire. By Mr. Dryden and the Earl of Mulgrave 137 Abfalom and Achitophel, Part I. 155 Ditto, Part II. 199 The Medal, a Satire againft Sedition 247 Religio Laid, or a Layman's Faith 275 The Art of Poetry, by Mr. Dryden and Sir William Soame 317 Threnodia Auguftalis, a funeral pindarick Poem, to the Memory of Charles II. 365 Veni Creator Spiritus, paraphrafed - 386 Upon the DEATH of LORD HASTINGS. MUST noble Haftings immaturely die, The honour of his ancient family, Beauty and learning thus together meet, To bring a winding for a wedding-meet ? Muft virtue prove death's harbinger ? muft me. With him expiring, feel mortality ? , Is death, fin's wages, grace's now ? mail art Make us more learned, only to depart ? VOL. J. B 2 UPON THE DEATH OF If merit be difeafe ; if virtue death ; To be good, not to be j who'd then bequeath Himfelf to difcipline ? who'd not efteem Labour a crime ? ftudy felf-murther deem ? Our noble youth now have pretence to be Dunces fecurely, ignorant healthfully. Rarelinguift whofe worth fpeaks itfelf, whofe praife, Tho not his own, all tongues befides do raife : Than whom great Alexander may feem lefs ; Who conquer'd men, but not their languages. In his mouth nations fpake; his tongue might be Interpreter to Greece, France, Italy. His native foil was the four parts o'th' earth ; All Europe was too narrow for his birth. A young apoflle ; and with rev'rence may I fpeak it infpir'd with gift of tongues, as they, Nature gave him a child, what men in vain Oft ftrive, by art though further'd, to obtain. His body was an orb, his fublime foul Did move on virtue's, and on learning's pole : Whofe reg'lar motions better to our view, Than Archimedes' fphere, the heavens did mew Graces and virtues, languages and arts, Beauty and learning, fill'd up all the parts. LORD HASTINGS. 3 Heav'n's gifts, which do like falling ftars appear Scatter'd in others ; all, as in their fphere, Were fix'd, conglobate in his foul ; and thence Shone thro his body, with fweet influence -, Letting their glories fo on each limb fall, The whole frame render'd was celeftial. Come, learned Ptolemy, and tryal make, If thou this hero's altitude can'ft take : But that tranfcends thy fkill ; thrice happy all, Could we but prove thus aftronomical. Liv'dTycho now, ftruckwith this ray which mone More bright i'th'morn', than others beam at noon, He'd take his aftrolabe, and feek out here What new ftar 'twas did gild our hemifphere. Replenifh'd then with fuch rare gifts as thefe, Where was room left for fuch a foul difeafe ? The nation's fin hath drawn that veil, which fhrouds Our day-fpring in fo fad benighting clouds, Heaven would no longer trufl its pledge ; but thus Recall'd it ; rapt its Ganymede from us. Was there no milder way but the fmall-pox, The very filthinefs of Pandora's box ? So many fpots, like naves on Venus' foil, One jewel fet off with fo many a foil j B 2 4 UPON THE DEATH OF Blifters with pride fwell'd, which through's flefh did fprout Like rofe-buds, ftuck i' th' lilly-fkin about. Each little pimple had a tear in it, To wail the fault its rifmg did commit : Which, rebel-like, with it's own lord at ftrife, Thus made an infurreclion 'gainft his life. Or were thefe gems fent to adorn his fkin, The cab'net of a richer foul within ? No comet need foretel his change drew on, Whofe corps might feem a conftellation. O ! had he dy'd of old, how great a ftrife Had been, who from his death mould draw their life ? Who mould, by one rich draught, become whate'er Seneca, Cato, Numa, Casfar, were ? Learn'd, virtuous, pious, great j and have by this An univerfal metempfychofis. Muft all thefe aged fires in one funeral Expire ? all die in one fo young, fo fmall ? Who, had he liv'd his life out, his great fame Had fwol'n 'bove any Greek or Roman name. But hafty winter, with one blaft, hath brought The hopes of autumn, fummer, fpring, to nought. LORD HASTINGS. 5 Thus fades the oak i'th'fprig, i'th' blade the corn ; Thus without young, this Phcenix dies, new-born. Muft then old three-legg'd grey-beards with their gout, Catarrhs, rheums, aches, live three ages out ? Time's offals, only fit for th' hofpital ! Or to hang antiquaries rooms withal ! Muft drunkards, lechers, fpent with finning, live With fuch helps as broths, poffets, phyfic give ? None live, but fuch as mould die ? mall we meet With none but ghoftly fathers in the ftreet ? Grief makes me rail j forrow will force its way ; And mow'rs of tears tempeftuous fighs beft lay. The tongue may fail -, but overflowing eyes Will weep out lafting ftreams of elegies. But thou, O virgin-widow, left alone, Now thy beloved, heaven-ravifh'd fpoufe is gone, Whofe fkilful lire in vain ftrove to apply Med'cines, when thy balm was no remedy, With greater than platonic love, O wed His foul, tho not his body, to thy bed : Let that make thee a mother ; bring thou forth Th' ideas of his virtue, knowledge, worth j Tranfcribe th' original in new copies ; give Haftings o'th'better part: fo mall he live B 3 6 UPON THE DEATH, &c. In's nobler half j and the great grandfire be Of an heroic divine progeny : An iflue, which t'eternity mall laft, Yet but th' irradiations which he cafl. Erect no maufoleums : for his beft Monument is his fpoufe's marble breaft, HEROIC STANZAS OLIVER CROMWELL, Written after his FUNERAL. I. AND now 'tis time ; for their officious haft e, Who would before have borne him to the fky , Like eager Romans, ere all rites were pad, Did let too foon the facred eagle fly. B 4 8 ON THE DEATH OF II. Tho our beft notes are treafon to his fame, Join'd with the loud applaufe of public voice ; Since heaven, what praife we offer to his name, Hath render'd too authentic by its choice. III. Tho in his praife no arts can liberal be, Since they, whofe mufes have the higheft flown, Add not to his immortal memory, But do an aft of friendlhip to their own : IV. Yet 'tis our duty, and our intereft too, Such monuments as we can build to raife ; Left all the world prevent what we mould do, And claim a title in him by their praife. V. How mail I then begin, or where conclude, To draw a fame fo truly circular ? For in a round what order can be fhew'd, Where all the parts fo equal perfect are ? VI. His grandeur he deriv'd from heav'n alone ; For he was great ere fortune made him fo : And wars, like mifts that rife againft the fun, Made him but greater feem, not greater grow. OLIVER CROMWELL. 9 VII. No borrow'd bays his temples did adorn, But to our crown he did frefh jewels bring ; Nor was his virtue poilbn'd foon as born, With the too early thoughts of being king. VIII. Fortune, that eafy miftrefs to the young, But to her ancient fervants coy and hard, Him at that age her favourites rank'd among, When me her beft-lov'd Pompey did difcard. IX. He private mark'd the fault of others fway. And fet as fea-marks for himfelf to mun : Not like ram monarchs, who their youth betray By acts their age too late would wilh undone. X. And yet dominion was not his defign ; We owe that blefling, not to him, butheav'n, Which to fair acts unfought rewards did join ; Rewards, that lefs to him than us were given. XL Our former chiefs, like fticklers of the war, Firft fought t' inflame the parties, then to poife : The quarrel lov'd, but did the caufe abhor j And did not flrike to hurt, but make a noife. jo ON THE DEATH OF XII. War, our confumption, was their gainful trade : We inward bled,whilfl they prolong'd our pain; " He fought to end our fighting, and eflay'd To {launch the blood by breathing of the vein, XIII. Swift and refiftlefs through the land he part, Like that bold Greek who did the Eaft fubdue, And made to battles fuch heroic hafte, As if on wings of victory he flew. XIV. He fought fecure of fortune as of fame : Still by new maps, the ifl and might be mewn, Of conquefts, which heftrew'd where-e'er hecame, Thick as the galaxy with ftars is fown. XV. His palms, tho under weights they did not ftand, Still thriv'd ; no winter could his laurels fade : Heav'n in his portrait fhew'd a workman's hand, And drew it perfect, yet without a made. XVI. Peace was the prize of all his toil and care, Which war had banifh'd, and did now reftore : jBologna's walls thus mounted in the air, To feat themfelves more furely than before. OLIVER CROMWELL. 11 XVII. Her fafety refcu'd Ireland to him owes -, And treacherous Scotland to no intereft true, Yet bleft that fate which did his arms difpofe Her land to civilize, as to fubdue. XVIII. Nor was he like thofe ftars which only mine, When to pale mariners they ftorms portend : He had his calmer influence, and his mien Did love and majefty together blead. XIX. J Tis true, his count'nance did imprint an awe ; And naturally all fouls to his did bow, As wands of divination downward draw, And point to beds where fov'reign gold doth grow, XX. When paft all off 'rings to Feretrian Jove, HeMarsdepos'd, and arms to gowns made yield* Succefsful councils did him foon approve As fit for clofe intrigues, as open field. XXI. To fuppliant Holland he vouchfaf d a peace, Our once bold rival of the Britifh main, Now tamely glad her unjuft claim to ceafe, And buy our friendfhip with her idol, gain. 12 ON THE DEATH OF XXII. Fame of th'afTerted fea through Europe blown, Made France and Spain ambitious of his love j Each knew that fide mutt conquer he would own; And for him fiercely, as for empire, ftrove. XXIIL No foonerwasthe Frenchman's caufe embrac'd, Than the light Monfieur the grave Don out- weigh'd : His fortune turn'd the fcale where'er 'twas cart ; Tho Indian mines were in the other laid. XXIV. When abfent, yet we conquer'd in his right : For tho fome meaner artifl's fkill were fhown In mingling colours, or in placing light ; Yet Hill the fair defignment was his own. XXV. For from all tempers he could fervice draw ; The worth of each, with its alloy, he knew, And, as the confident of nature, faw How fhe complexions did divide and brew. XXVI. Or he their fingle virtues did furvey, By intuition in his own large breafl, Where all the rich ideas of them lay, That were the rule and meafure to the reft. OLIVER CROMWELL. 13 XXVII. When fuch heroic virtue heaven fets out, The ftars, like commons, fullenly obey ; Becaufe it drains them when it comes about, And therefore is a tax they feldom pay. XXVIII. From this high fpring our foreign conquefts flow, Which yet more glorious triumphs do portend ; Since their commencement to his arms they owe, If fprings as high as fountains may afcend. XXIX, He made us free-men of the continent, Whom nature did like captives treat before ; To nobler preys the Englifh lion fent, And taught him firft in Belgian walks to roar. XXX. That old unqueftion'd pirate of the land, ProudRome with dread the fate of Dunkirkheard; And trembling wifh'd behind more Alps to ftand, Altho an Alexander were her guard. XXXI. By his command we boldly crofs'd the line, And bravely fought where fouthern ftars arife ; We trac'd the far-fetch'd gold unto the mine, And that which brib'd our fathers made our prize. i 4 ON THE DEATH OF XXXII. Such was our prince j yet own'd a foul above The higheft acts it could produce to mow : Thus poor mechanic arts in public move, Whilft the deep fecrets beyond practice go. XXXIII. Nor dy'd he when his ebbing fame went lefs, But when frem laurels courted him to live : He feem'd but to prevent fome new fuccefs, As if above what triumphs earth could give. XXXIV. His lateft victories ftill thickeft came, As, near the center, motion doth increafe ; 'Till he, prefs'd down by his own weighty name, Did, like the veftal, under fpoils deceafe. XXXV. But firft the ocean as a tribute fent The giant prince of all her watry herd ; And th'ifle, when her protecting genius went, Upon his obfequies loud fighs conferr'd. XXXVI. No civil broils have fmce his death arofe, But faction now by habit does obey ; And wars have that reipect for his repofe, As winds for halcyons, when they breed at fea. OLIVER CROMWELL. XXXVII. His afhes in a peaceful urn {hall reft, His name a great example ftands, to mow How ftrangely high endeavours may be bleft, Where piety and valour jointly go. 16 A POEM on the happy RESTORATION and RETURN of His Sacred Majefty CHARLES the Second, 1660. Jam redit & virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna. VIRG. 'fhe loft great age foretold by f acred rhimes Renews it's finiftfd courfe ; Saturnian times Roll round again. NOW with a general peace the world was bleft, While our's, a world divided from the reft, A dreadful quiet felt, and worfer far Than arms, a fullen interval of war : Thus when black clouds draw down the lab'ring fides, Ere yet abroad the winged thunder flies, An horrid ftillnefs firft invades the ear, And in that filence we the tempeft fear. Th' ambitious Swede, like reftlefs billows toft, On this hand gaining what on that he loft, Though in his life he blood and ruin breath'd, To his now guidelefs kingdom peace bequeath'd. And A STRjE A REDUX. 17 And heaven, that feem'd regardlefs of our fate, For France and Spain did miracles create j Such mortal quarrels to compofe in peace As nature bred, and intereft did increafe. We iigh'd to hear the fair Iberian bride Muft grow a lily to the lily's fide, While our crofs ftars deny'd us Charles' bed, Whom our firft flames and virgin love did wed. For his long abfence church and ftate did groan ; Madnefs the pulpit, faction feiz'd the throne : Experienc'd age in deep defpair was loft, To fee the rebel thrive, the loyal croft : Youth that with joys had unacquainted been, Envy'd gray hairs that once good days had feen : We thought our fires, not with their own content, Had ere we came to age pur portion fpent, Nor could our nobles hope their bold attempt Who ruin'd crowns would coronets exempt : For when by their defigning leaders taught Toftrikeatpow'r which for themfelves they fought, The vulgar, gull'd into rebellion, arm'd j Their blood to action by the prize was warm'd. The facred purple then and fcarlet gown, Like fanguine dye, to elephants was (hewn. VOL. I. C 1 8 AST R^A REDUX. Thus when the bold Typhoeus fcal'd the fky, And forc'd great Jove from his own heav'n to fly, (What king, what crown from treafon's reach is free 5 If Jove and Heav'n can violated be?) The lefTer gods, that (har'd his profperous ftate, All fuffer'd in the exil'd Thunderer's fate. The rabble now fuch freedom did enjoy, As winds at fea, that ufe it to deilroy : Blind as the Cyclop, and as wild as he, They own'd a lawlefs favage liberty, Like that our painted anceftors fo priz'd, Ere empire's arts their breads had civiliz'd. How great were then our Charles' woes, who thus Was forc'd to fuffer for himfelf and us ! He, tofs'd by fate, and hurry'd up and down, Heir to his father's forroWs, with his crown, Could tafte no fweets of youth's denied age j But found his life too true a pilgrimage. Unconquer'd yet in that forlorn eflate, His manly courage overcame his fate. His wounds he took, like Romans, on his breaft, Which by his virtue were with laurels dreft. As fouls reach heav'n while yet in bodies pent, So did he live above his banifhment. ASTR^EA REDUX. 19 That fun, which we beheld with cozen'd eyes Within the water, mov'd along the fides. How eafy 'tis, when deftiny proves kind, With full-fpread fails to run before the wind I But thofe that 'gainft ftiff gales laveering go, Muft be at once refolv'd and fkilful too. He would not, like foft Otho, hope prevent, But ftay'd and fuffer'd fortune to repent. Thefe virtues Galba in a ftranger fought, And Pifo to adopted empire brought. How mall I then my doubtful thoughts exprefs, That muft his fufferings both regret and blefs ? For when his early valour Heav'n had croft j And all at Worc'fter but the honour loft ; Forc'd into exile from his rightful throne, He made all countries where he came his own $ And viewing monarchs' fecret arts of fway, A royal factor for his kingdoms lay. Thus banifh'd David fpent abroad his time, When to be God's anointed was his crime ; And when reftor'd, made his proud neighbours ru Thofe choice remarks he from his travels drew. Nor is he only by afflictions mown To conquer others realms, but rule his own : C2 20 ASTR^A REDUX. Recovering hardly what he loft before, His right endears it much; his purchafe more. Inur'd to fuffer ere he came to reign, No ra(h procedure will his actions ftain : To bulinefs ripen'd by digeftive thought, His future rule is into method brought : As they, who firft proportion underftand, With eafy practice reach a mailer's hand. Well might the ancient poets then confer On night the honour'd name of Counfeller, Since ftruck with rays of profperous fortune blind, We light alone in dark afflictions find. In fuch adverfities to fcepters train'd, The name of Great his famous grandfire gain'd : Who yet a king alone in name and right, With hunger, cold, and angry Jove did fight; Shock'd by a cov'nanting league's vaft pow'rs, As holy and as catholic as our's : > Till fortune's fruitlefs fpite had made it known, Her blows not fhook but riveted his throne. Some lazy ages, loft in fleep and eafe, No action leave to bury chronicles : Such, whofe fupine felicity but makes In ftory chafms, in epocha miftakes ; ASTR^EA REDUX. 21 O'er whomTime gently (hakes his wings of down, 'Till with his filent fickle they are mown. Such is not Charles' too too active age, Which, govern'd by the wild diftemper'd rage Of fome black ftar infecting all the skies, Made him at his own cofl like Adam wife. Tremble ye nations, which fecure before, Laugh'd at thofe arms that 'gainft our felves we bore; Rouz'd by the lafh of his own ftubborn tail, Our lion now will foreign foes affail. With alga who the facred altar (trews ? To all the fea gods Charles an ofPring owes : A bull to thee, Portunus, mall be flain, A lamb to you, ye tempefts of the main : For thofe loud ftorms that did againft him roar, Have caft his fhipwreck'd veflel on the more. Yet as wife artifts mix their colours fo, That by degrees they from each other go ; Black fteals unheeded from the neighb'ring white? Without offending the well-cozen'd fight : So on us ftole our bleffed change ; while we Th' effect did feel, but fcarce the manner fee. Frofts that conftrain the ground, and birth deny To flow'rs that in its womb expecting lie, 22 ASTR^A REDUX. Do feldom their ufurping povv'r withdraw, But raging floods purfue their hafty thaw. Our thaw was mild, the cold not chas'd away, But loft in kindly heat of lengthned day. Heaven would no bargain for its blemngs drive, But what we could not pay for, freely give. The Prince of peace would like himfelf confer A gift unhop'd, without the price of war : Yet, as he knew his bleffing's worth, took care, That we mould know it by repeated pray'r ; Which ftorm'd the skies, and ravim'd Charles from thence, As heav'n itfelf is took by violence. Booth's forward valour only ferv'd to mow, He durft that duty pay we all did owe : Th' attempt was fair ; but heav'n's prefixed hour Not come : fo like the watchful traveller That by the moon's mifbken light did rife, Lay down again, and clos'd his weary eyes.. 'Twas Monk, whom Providence defign'd to loofe Thofe real bonds falfe freedom did impofe. The bleffed faints, that watch'd this turning fcene, Did from their ftars with joyful wonder lean, To fee fmall clues draw vafteft weights along, Not in their bulk but in their order ftrong, ASTR^A REDUX. 23 Thus pencils can by one flight touch reftore Smiles to that changed face that wept before. With eafe fuch fond chimaeras we purfue, As fancy frames for fancy to fubdue : But when ourfelves to action we betake, It muns the mint like gold that chemifts make. How hard was then his tafk ! at once to be What in the body natural we fee? Man's architect diftinctly did ordain The charge of mufcles, nerves, and of the brain, Through viewlefs conduits fpirits to difpenfe ; The fprings of motion from the feat of fenfe. 'Twas not the hafty product of a day, But the well-ripen'd fruit of wife delay. He, like a patient angler, ere he ftrook, Would let him play a while upon the hook. Our healthful food the ftomach labours thus, At firft embracing what it ftraight doth crufh. Wife leaches will not vain receipts obtrude, While growing pains pronounce the humours crude : Deaf to complaints they wait upon the ill, 'Till fome fafe crilis authorize their fkilh C 4 24 ASTR^EA REDUX. Nor could his ats too clofe a vizard wear, To Tcape their eyes whom guilt had taught to fear, And guard with caution that polluted neft, Whence legion twice before was difpoffeft : Once facred houfe j which when they enter'd in, They thought the place could fanctify a fin j Like thofe that vainly hop'd kind heav'n would wink, While to excefs on martyrs tombs they drink; And as devouter Turks firft warn their fouls To part, before they tafte forbidden bowls : So thefe, when their black crimes they went about, Firft timely charm'd their ufelefs confcience out. Religion's name againft itfelf was made j The fhadow ferv'd the fubftance to invade : Like zealous millions, they did care pretend Of fouls in mew, but made the gold their end. Th' incenfed pow'rs beheld with fcorn from high An heaven fo far diftant from the fky, Which durft, with horfes hoofs that beat the ground, And martial brafs, bely the thunder's found. 'Twas hence at length juft vengeance thought itfit To fpeed their ruin by their impious wit. Thus Sforza, curs'd with a too fertile brain, Loft by his wiles the pow'r his wit did gain. ASTR^EA REDUX. 25 Henceforth their fougue muft fpend at lefTer rate, Than in its- flames to wrap a nation's fate. SufTer'd to live, they are like Helots fet, A virtuous mame within us to beget. For by example moft we finn'd before, And glafs-like clearnefs mix'd with frailty bore. But fince reform'd by what we did amifs, We by our fuff 'rings learn to prize our blifs : Like early lovers, whofe unpractis'd hearts Were long the may-game of malicious arts, When once they find their Jealoufies were vain, With double heat renew their fires again. 'Twas this produc'd the joy that hurry'd o'er Such fwarms of Englim to the neighb'ring more, To fetch that prize, by which Batavia made So rich amends for our impoverifh'd trade. Oh had you feen from Schevelin's barren more, (Crowded with troops, and barren now no more,) Afflicted Holland to his farewell bring True forrow, Holland to regret a king ! While waiting him his royal fleet did ride, And willing winds to their lower'd fails deny'd. The wav'ring ftreamers, flags, and ftandards out, The merry feamen's rude but chearful mout ; 26 ASTR^A REDUX. And laft the cannons voice that fhook the fkies, " And, as it fares in fudden ecftafies, At once bereft us both of ears and eyes. The Nafeby, now no longer England's fhame, But better to be loft in Charles' name, (Like fome unequal bride in nobler meets) Receives her lord : the joyful London meets The princely York, himfelf alone a freight ; The Swift-fure groans beneath great Glofter's weight : Secure as when the halcyon breeds, with thefe, He that was born to drown might crofs the feas. Heav'n could not own a Providence, and take The wealth three nations ventur'd at a flake. The fame indulgence Charles his voyage blefs'd, Which in his right had miracles confefs'd. The winds that never moderation knew, Afraid to blow too much, too faintly blew 3 Or out of breath with joy, could not enlarge Their ftraightned lungs, or confciousof their charge. The Britifh Amphytrite, fmooth and clear, In richer azure never did appear ; Proud her returning prince to entertain With the fubmitted fafces of the main. AND ASTR^A REDUX. 27 AND welcome now, great monarch, to your own ; Behold th' approaching clifts of Albion : It is no longer motion cheats your view, As you meet it, the land approacheih you. The land returns, and, in the white it wears, The marks of penitence and forrow bears. But you, whofe goodnefs your defcent doth mew, Your heav'nly parentage and earthly too ; By that fame mildnefs, which your father's crown 'efore did ravifh, mail fecure your own. Not tied to rules of policy, you find Revenge lefs fweet than a forgiving mind. Thus, when th' almighty would to Mofes give fight of all he could behold and live ; voice before his entry did proclaim .ong-fufTering, goodnefs, mercy, in his name. r our pow'r tojuftice doth fubmit yourcaufe, r our goodnefs only is above the laws ; r hofe rigid letter, while pronounc'd by you, Is fofter made. So winds that tempefts brew, "henthroughArabian groves they take their flight, [ade wanton with rich odours, lofe their fpite. 28 ASTR^A REDUX. And as thofe lees, that trouble it, refine The agitated foul of generous wine : So tears of joy, for your returning, fpilt ; Work out, and expiate our former guilt. Methinks I fee thofe crouds on Dover's flrand, Who, in their hafte to welcome you to land, Chok'd up the beach with their ftill growing jftore, And made a wilder torrent on the more : While, fpurr'd with eager thoughts of paft de- light, Thofe, who had feen you, court a fecond fight ; Preventing ftill your fteps, and making hafle To meet you often wherefoe'er you paft. How mall I fpeak of that triumphant day, When you renew'd th' expiring pomp of May ! (A month that owns an intereft in your name : You and the flow'rs are its peculiar claim.) That ftar that at .your birth fhone outfo bright, It ftain'd the duller fun's meridian light, Did once again its potent fires renew, Guiding our eyes to find and wormip you. And now Time's whiter feries is begun, Which in foft centuries mall fmoothly run : ASTR^EA REDUX. 29 Thole clouds, that overcaft your morn, {hall fly, Difpell'd to fartheft corners of the fky. Our nation with united intereft bleft, Not now content to poize, fhall fway the reft. Abroad your empire fhall no limits know, But, like the fea, in boundlefs circles flow. Your much-lov'd fleet fhall, with a wide command, Befiege the petty monarchs of the land : ' And as old Time his offspring fwallow'd down, Our ocean in its depths all feas fhall drown. Their wealthy trade from pirate's rapine free, Our merchants fhall no more adventurers be: Nor in the fartheft eaft thofe dangers fear, Which humble Holland muft difTemble here. Spain to your gift alone her Indies owes ; For what the pow'rful takes not he beftows : And France, that did an exile's prefence fear, May juftly apprehend you ftill too near. At home the hateful names of parties ceafe, And factious fouls are wearied into peace. Thedifcontented now are only they, Whofe crimes before did your juft caufe betray : Of thofe your edicts fome reclaim from fin, But moft your life and bleft example win. 3 o ASTR^EA REDUX. Oh happy prince, whom heav'n hath taught the way By paying vows to have more vows to pay ! Oh happy age ! Oh times like thofe alone, By fate referv'd for great Aguftus' throne ! When the joint growth of arms and arts forefhew The world a monarch, and that monarch you* [ 3' 1 To His S A C R E D MAJESTY. A PANEG YRIC O N H I S CORONATION. IN that wild deluge where the world was drown'd, When life and fin one common tomb had found, The firft fmall profpeft of a rifing hill With various notes of joy the ark did fill : Yet when that flood in its own depths was drown'd^ It left behind it falfe and flipp'ry ground ; And the more folemn pomp was ftill deferr'd, 'Till new-born nature in frefh looks appear'd, Thus, royal fir, to fee you landed here, r as caufe enough of triumph for a year : For would your care thofe glorious joys repeat, 'Till they at once might be fecure and great : 'Till your kind beams, by their continu'd flay, Had warm'd the ground,andcaH'd the damps away^ Such vapours, while your pow'rful influence dries, "hen foqneft vaniih when they higheft rife. 32 ON THE CORONATION OF Had greater hafte thefe facred rites prepar'd, Some guilty months had in your triumphs fhar'd : But this untainted year is all your own 5 Your glories may without our crimes be mown. We had not yet exhaufted all our {lore, When you refrefh'd our joys by adding more : As heaven, of old, difpens'd celeftial dew, You gave us manna, and frill give us new. Now our fad ruins are remov'd from fight, The feafon too comes fraught with new delight : Time feems not now beneath his years to ftoop, Nor do his wings with fickly feathers droop : Soft weftern winds waft o'er the gaudy fpring, And open'd fcenes of flowers and bloffoms bring, To grace this happy day, while you appear, Not king of us alone, but of the year. All eyes you draw, and with the eyes the heart : Of your own pomp your felf the greateft part : Loud fhouts the nation's happinefs proclaim, And heav'n this day is feafted with your name. Your cavalcade the fair fpectators view, From their high {landings, yet look up to you. From your brave train each fingles out a prey, And longs to date a conqueft from your day. KING-CHARLES II. 33 Now charg'd with bleffings while you feek repofe, Officious flumbers hafte your eyes to clofe ; And glorious dreams ftand ready to reftore The pleafmg fhapes of all you faw before. Next to the facred temple you are led, Where waits a crown for your more facred head: How juftly from the church that crown is due, Preferv'd from ruin, and refror'd by you ! The grateful choir their harmony employ, Not to make greater, but more folemn joy. Wrapt foft and warm your name is fent on high. As flames do on the wings of incenfe fly : Mufic herfelf is loft, in vain me brings Her choiceft notes to praife the beft of kings : Her melting flrains in you a tomb have found, And lie like bees in their own fweetnefs drown'd. He that brought peace, all difcord could atone, His name is mufic of itfelf alone. Now while the facred oil anoints your head, And fragrant fcents, begun from you, are fpread Through the large dome 5 thepeople's joyful found, Sent back, is ftill preferv'd in hallow'd ground ; Which in one bleffing mix'd defcends on you j As heightned fpirits fall in richer dew. VOL. I. D 34 ON THE CORONATION OF Not that our wifhes do increafe your ft ore, Full of your felf you can admit no more : We add not to your glory, but employ Our time, like angels, in expreffing joy. Nor is it duty, or our hopes alone, Create that joy, but full fruition : We know thofe bleffings, which we muft poffefs, And judge of future by paft happinefs. No promife can oblige a prince fo much * Still to be good, as long to have been fuch. A noble emulation heats your breaft, And your own fame now robs you of your reft. Good adlions ftill muft be maintain'd with good, As bodies nourim'd with refembling food. You have already quench'd fedition's brand ; And zeal, which burnt it, only warms the land. The jealous feds, that dare not truft their caufe So far from their own will as to the laws, You for their umpire and their fynod take, And their appeal alone to Casfar make. Kind heav'n fo rare a temper did provide, That guilt repenting might in it confide. Among our crimes oblivion may be fet : But 'tis our king's perfection to forget, K I N G C H A R L E S II. 35 Virtues unknown to thefe rough northern climes From milder heav 'n s you bring without their crimes. Your calmnefs does no after-ftorms provide, Nor feeming patience mortal anger hide. When empire firft from families did fpring, Then every father govern'd as a king : But you, that are a fovereign prince, allay Imperial power with your paternal fway. From thofe great cares when eafe yourfoul unbends, Your pleafures are defign'd to noble ends ? Born to command the miftrefs of the feas, Yourthoughtsthemfelvesinthatblueempirepleafe, Hither in fummer evenings you repair To tafle the fraicheur of the purer air : Undaunted here you ride, when winter raves, r ith Casfar's heart that rofe above the waves. More I could fing, but fear my numbers ftays -, Fo loyal fubjed: dares that courage praife. [n ftately frigates moft delight you find, iere well-drawn battles fire your martial mind. r hat to your cares we owe, is learnt from hence, r hen even your pleafures ferve for our defence. Beyond your court flows in th' admitted tide, Where in new depths the wondering fifties glide : D 2 36 ON THE CORONATION, &c. Here in a royal bed. the waters fleep j When tir'd at fea, within this bay they creep. Here the miflruftful fowl no harm fufpects, So fafe are all things which our king protects. From your lov'd Thames a bleffing yet is due, Second alone to that it brought in you ; A queen, near whofe chafte womb, ordain'd by fate, The fouls of kings unborn for bodies wait. It was your love before made difcord ceafe : Your love is deftin'd to your country's peace. Both Indies, rivals in your bed, provide With gold or jewels to adorn your bride. This to a mighty king prefents rich ore, While that with incenfe does a god implore. Two kingdoms wait your doom, and, as youchoofe, This mufr, receive a crown, or that muft lofe. Thus from your royal oak, like Jove's of old, Are anfwers fought, and deftiriies foretold : Propitious oracles are begg'd with vows, And crowns that grow upon the facred boughs. Your fubjects, while you weigh the nation's fate, Sufpend to both their doubtful love or hate : Chufe only, fir, that fo they may poflefs With their own peace their children's happinefs. TO THE LORD-CHANCELLOR HYDE. Prefented on NEW-YEAR'S-DAY, 1662. MY LORD, WHILE flattering crouds officioufly appear To give themfelves, not you, an happy year; And by the greatnefs of their prefents prove How much they hope, but not how well they love; 38 To THE LORD-CHANCELLOR HYDE. The Mufes, who your early courtship boaft, Though now your flames are with their beauty loft, Yet watch their time, that, if you have forgot They were your miftrefTes, the world may not : Decay'd by time and wars, they only prove Their former beauty by your former love ; And now prefent, as ancient ladies do, That courted long, at length are forc'd to woo. For ftill they look on you with fuch kind eyes, As thofe that fee the church's fovereign rife ; From their own order chofe, in whofe high ftate, They think themfelves the fecond choice of fate. When our great monarch into exile went, Wit and religion fuffer'd banifhment. Thus once, when Troy was wrap'd in fire and fmoke, The helplefs gods their burning mrines forfook ; They with the vanquim'd prince and party go, And leave their temples empty to the foe. At length the Mufes ftand, reftor'd again To that great charge which nature did ordain j And their lov'd Druids feem reviv'd by fate, While you difpenfe the laws, and guide the ftate. The nation's foul, our monarch, does difpenfe, Through you, to us his vital influence $ To THE LORD-CHANCELLOR HYDE. 39 You are the channel, where thofe fpirits flow } And work them higher, as to us they go. In open profpe<5t nothing bounds our eyej Until the earth feems join'd unto the fky : So in this hemifphere our utmofr. view Is only bounded by our king and you : Our fight is limited where you are join'd, And beyond that no farther heav'n can find. So well your virtues do with his agree^ That, though your orbs of diff'rent greatnefs be/ Yet both are for each other's ufe difpos'd, His to inclofe, and yours to be inclos'd. Nor could another in your room have been* Except an emptinefs had come between. Well may he then to you his cares impart, And mare his burden where he mares his heart* In you his deep flill wakes j his pleafures find Their (hare of bus'nefs in your laboring mind. So when the weary fun his place refigns, [e leaves his light, and by reflection mines. Juftice, that fits and frowns where public laws Exclude foft mercy from a private caufe, In your tribunal moft her felf does pleafe ; There only fmiles becaufes me lives at eafe 3 D 4 40 To THE LORD-CHANCELLOR HYDE. And,like young David, finds her ftrength the more, When difmcumber'd from thofe arms me wore. Heaven would our royal mailer mould exceed Moft in that virtue, which we moft did need -, And his mild father (who too late did find All mercy vain but what with pow'r was join'd) His fatal goodnefs left to fitter times, Not to incrcafe, but to abfolve, our crimes : But when the heir of this vaft treafure knew How large a legacy was left to you, (Too great for any fubject to retain) He wifely ty'd it to the crown again : Yet, paffing through your hands, it gathers more, As flreams, thro mines, bear tincture of their ore. While emperic politicians ufe deceit, Hide what they give, and cure but by a cheat ; You boldly (hew that {kill which they pretend, And work by means as noble as your end : Which mould you veil, we might unwind the clue, As men do nature, till we came to you. And as the Indies were not found, before Thofe rich perfumes, which, from the happy fhore, The winds upon their balmy wings convey 'd, Whofe guilty fweetnefs firft their wodd ketray'd ; To THE LORD-CHANCELLOR HYDE. 41 So by your counfels we are brought to view A rich and undiicovet'd world in you. By you our monarch does that fame afTure, Which kings muft have or cannot live fecure : For profp'rous princes gain their fubjecls heart, Who love that praife in which themfelves have part. By you he fits thofe fubjects to obey, As heaven's eternal monarch does convey His pow'r unfeen, and man, to his deiigns By his bright minifters the ftars, inclines. Our fetting fun, from his declining feat, Shot beams of kindnefs on you, not of heat : And, when his love was bounded in a few, That were unhappy that they might be true, Made you the favorite of his laft fad times, That is a fufFrer in his fubjects crimes : Thus thofe firft favours you receiv'd, were fent, Like heav'ns rewards in earthly punimment. Yet fortune, confcious of your deftiny, E'en then took care to lay you foftly by ; And wrap'd your fate among her precious things, Kept frefh to be unfolded with your king's. Shewn all at once you dazzled fo our eyes, As new-born Pallas did the gods furprize : 42 To THE LORD-CHANCELLOR HYDE. When, fpringing forth from Jove's new-clofing wound, She ftruck the warlike fpear into the ground - 9 Which fprouting leaves did fuddenly inclofe, And peaceful olives maded as they rofe. How ftrangely active are the arts of peace, Whofe reftlefs motions lefs than wars do ceafe ' Peace is not freed from labour but from noife j And war more force, but not more pains employs: Such is the mighty fwiftnefs of your mind, That, like the earth, it leaves our fenfe behind, While you fo fmoothly turn and rowl our fphere, That rapid motion does but reft appear. For, as in nature's fwiftnefs, with the throng Of flying orbs while ours is born along, All feems at reft to the deluded eye, Mov'd by the foul of the fame harmony, So, carry 'd on by your unwearied care, We reft in peace, and yet in motion mare. Let envy then thofe crimes within you fee, From which the happy never muft be free -, Envy, that does with mifery refide, The joy and the revenge of ruin'd pride. Think it not hard, if at fo cheap a rate You can fecure the conftancy of fate, To THE LoRD'-CHANCELLOR HvDE, 43 Whofe kindnefs fent what does their malice feem, By lefTer ills the greater to redeem. Nor can we this weak fhow'r a tempefl call, But drops of heat, that in the fun-mine fall. You have already weary 'd fortune fo, She cannot farther be your friend or foe ; But lits all breathlefs, and admires to feel A fate fo weighty, that it flops our wheel. In all things elfe above our humble fate, Your equal mind yet fwells not into ftate, But, like fome mountain in thofe happy ifles, Where in perpetual fpring young nature fmiles, Your greatnefs mews : no horror to affright, But trees for {hade, and flowers to court the fight: Sometimes the hill fubmits itfelf a while In fmall defcents, which do its height beguile ; And fometimes mounts, but fo as billows play, Whofe rife not hinders but makes fhort our way. Your brow, which does no fear of thunder know, Sees rowling tempefts vainly beat below j And, like Olympus' top, the impreflion wears Of love and friendfhip writ in former years. Yet, unimpair'd with labors, or with time, Your age but feems to a new youth to climb, 44 To THE LORD-CHANCELLOR HYDE. Thus heav'nly bodies do our time beget, And meafure change, but mare no part of it. And flill it mall without a weight increafe, Like this new-year, whofe motions never ceafe. For fince the glorious courfe you have begun Is led by Charles, as that is by the fun, It muft both weightlefs and immortal prove, Becaufe the centre of it is above. <$xgx$i$pc$x&f^ SATIRE ON THE DUTCH. Written in the YEAR 1662. AS needy gallants, in the fcrivener's hands, Court the rich knaves that gripe their mort- gag'd lands ; The firft fat buck of all the feafon's fent, And keeper takes no fee in compliment ; The dotage of fome Englishmen is fuch, To fawn on thofe, who ruin them, the Dutch. Thev mall have all, rather than make a war j With thofe, who of the fame religion are. 2 SATIRE ON THE DUTCH. 45 The Straits, theGuiney-trade, the herrings too; Nay, to keep friendship, they fhall pickle you. Some are refolv'd not to find out the cheat, But, cuckold-like, love them that do the feat. What injuries foe'er upon us fall, Yet ftill the fame religion anfwers all. Religion wheedled us to civil war, Drew Engliih blood, and Dutchmen's now wou'd fpare. Be gull'd no longer ; for you'll find it true, They have no more religion, faith ! than you. Intereft's the god they wormip in their ftate, And we, I take it, have not much of that. Well monarchies may own religion's name, But ftates are atheifts in their very frame. They mare a fin ; and fuch proportions fall, That, like a ftink, 'tis nothing to them all. Think on their rapine, falmood, cruelty, And that what once they were, they ftill wou'd be. To one well-born th' affront is worfe and more, When he's abus'd and baffl'd by a boor. With an ill grace the Dutch their mifchiefs do ; They've both ill nature and ill manners too. Well may they boaft themfelves an ancient nation; For they were bred ere manners were in famion : 46 SATIRE ON THE DUTCH. And their new commonwealth has fet them free Only from honour and civility. Venetians do not more uncouthly ride, Than did their lubber flate mankind beftride. Their fway became 'em with as ill a mien, As their own paunches fwell above their chin. Yet is their empire no true growth but humour, And only two kings touch can cure the tumour. As Cato, fruits of Afric did difplay ; Let us before our eyes their Indies lay : All loyal Englifh will like him conclude ; JLet Casfar live, and Carthage be fubdu'd. To Her ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUTCHES S, Q $ THE Memorable VICTORY gained by the DUKE over the HOLLANDERS, June the 3d, 1665. AND ON Her JOURNEY afterwards into the NORTH. MADAM, WHEN, for our fakes, your hero you refign'd To fwelling feas, and every faithlefs wind j When you released his courage, and fet free A valour fatal to the enemy ; 48 To THE DUTCHESS OF YoRK. You lodg'd your country's cares within your breaft (The manfion where foft love mould only reft :) And, ere our foes abroad were overcome, The nobleft conqueft you had gain'd at home. Ah, what concerns did both your fouls divide ! Your honour gave us what your love deny'd : And 'twas for him much caller to fubdue Thofe foes he fought with, than to part from you. That glorious day, which two fuch navies faw. As each unmatch'd might to the world give law. Neptune, yet doubtful whom he mould obey, Held to them both the trident of the fea : The winds were hufh'd, the waves in ranks were caft, As awfully as when God's people paft : Thofe, yet uncertain on whofe fails to blow, Thefe, where the wealth of nations ought to flow. Then with the duke your highnefs rul'd the day : While all the brave did his command obey, The fair and pious under you did pray. How powerful are chafte vows ! the wind and tide You brib'd to combat on the Englifh fide. Thus to your much-lov'd lord you did convey An unknown fuccour, fent the nearefl way. New To THE DUTCHESS OF YoRK. 49 New vigour to his wearied arms you brought, (So Mofes was upheld while Ifrael fought) While, from afar, we heard the cannon play, Like diftant thunder on a miny day. For abfent friends we were afham'd to fear, When we conlider'd what you ventur'd there. Ships, men, and arms, our country might reftore, But fuch a leader could fupply no more. With generous thoughts of conqueft he did burn, Yet fought not more to vanquiih than return. Fortune and victory he did purfue, To bring them as his flaves to wait on you. Thus beauty ravim'd the rewards of fame, And the fair triumph'd when the brave o'ercame. Then, as you meant to fpread another way By land your conquefts, far as his by fea, Leaving our fouthern clime, you march'd along The flubborn North, ten thoufand Cupids ftrong. Like commons the nobility refort, In crowding heaps, to fill your moving court : To welcome your approach the vulgar run, Like fome new envoy from the diftant fun, And country beauties by their lovers go, tteffing themfelves, and wondering at the {how. VOL. I. E 50 To THE DUTCHESS OF YoRK. So when the new-born Phoenix firfl is feen, Her feather'd fubjects all adore their queen, And while fhe makes her progrefs through the Eaft, From every grove her numerous train's increaft : Each Poet of the air her glory tings, And round him the pleas'd audience clap their wings. ANNUS MIRABILIS: THE 1666, AN HISTORICAL POEM. E 2 [S3] TO THE . METROPOLIS of GREAT-BRITAIN, The molt RENOWNED and late FLOURISHING CITY of LONDON, In its REPRESENTATIVES The LORD-MAYOR and Court of ALDERMEN, the SHERIFFS, and COMMON-COUNCIL of it. AS perhaps I am the firft who ever prefented a work of this nature to the metropolis of any nation ; fo it is likewife confonant to juftice, that he who was to give the firft example of fuch a dedication mould begin it with that city, which has fet a pattern to all others of true loyalty, in- vincible courage, and unfhaken conftancy. Other cities have been praifed for the fame virtues, but I am much deceived if any have fo dearly pur_ chafed their reputation j their fame has been won them by cheaper trials than an expensive, though neceflary war, a confuming peftilence, and a more confuming fire. To fubmit yourfelves with 54 THE DEDICATION TO that humility to the judgments of heaven, and at the fame time to raife yourfelves with that vi- gor above all human enemies ; to be combated at once from above, and from below, to be ftruck down and to triumph : I know not whether fuch trials have been ever paralleled in any nation : the refolution and fucceffes of them never can be. Never had prince or people more mutual reafon to love each other, if fuffering for each other can endear affection. You have come to- gether a pair of matchlefs lovers, through many difficulties -, he, through a long exile, various traverfes of fortune, and the interpoiition of many rivals, who violently ravifhed and with-held you from him : and certainly you have had your {hare in fufferings. But Providence has caft upon you want of trade, that you might appear boun- tiful to your country's neceflities ; and the reft of your afflictions are not more the effects of God's difpleafure (frequent examples of them having been in the reign of the moft excellent princes) than occafions for the manifefting of your chri- ftian and civil virtues. To you therefore this Year of Wonders is juftly dedicated, becaufe you have made it fo. You, who are to ftand a won- THE CITY OF LONDON. 55 der to all years and ages j and, who have built yourfelves an immortal monument on your own ruins. You are now a Phoenix in her afhes, and, as far as humanity can approach, a great em- blem of the fuffering Deity : but heaven never made fo much piety and virtue to leave it mifer- able. I have heard, indeed, of fome virtuous perfons who have ended unfortunately, but never of any virtuous nation : Providence is engaged too deeply, when the caufe becomes fo general > and I cannot imagine it has refolved the ruin of that people at home, which it has blefled abroad with fuch fucceffes. I am therefore to conclude, that your fufTerings are at an end ; and that one part of my poem has not been more an hiftory of your deftruction, than the other a prophecy of your reftoration. The accomplishment of which happinefs, as it is the wim of all true Englimmen, fo is it by none more pafllonately defired, than by, The greater! of your admirers, And moft humble of your fervants, JOHN DRYDEN. A N ACCOUNT OF THE ENSUING P O E M, In a LETTER to the Hon. Sir R O B E R T HOWARD. Si R, I AM fo many ways obliged to .you, and fo little able to return your favours, that, like thofe who owe too much, I can only live by get- ting farther into your debt. You have not only been careful of my fortune, which was the effect of your noblenefs, but you have been folicitous of my reputation, "which is that of your kindnefs. It is not long fince I gave you the trouble of pe- ruiing a play for me, and now, inftead of an ac- knowledgment, I have given you a greater, in the correction of a poem. But fmce you are to bear this perfecution, I will at leafl give you the A L E T T E R, &c. 57 encouragement of a martyr ; you could never fuffer in a nobler caufe. For I have chofen the moft heroic fubject, which any poet could defire : I have taken upon me to defcribe the motives, the beginning, progrefs, and fuccefles, of a moft juft and neceflary war; in it, the care, manage- ment, and prudence of our king; the conduct and valour of a royal admiral, and of two in- comparable generals ; the invincible courage of our captains and feamen ; and three glorious vic- tories, the refult of all. After this, I have, in the Fire, the moft deplorable, but withal the greateft, argument that can be imagined : the de- ftrudion being fo fwift, fo fudden, fo vaft and miferable, as nothing can parallel in ftory. The former part of this poem, relating to the war, is but a due expiation for my not ferving my king and country in it. All gentlemen are almoft obliged to it : and I know no reafon we mould give that advantage to the commonalty of England, to be foremoft in brave actions, which the nobles of France would never fuffer in their peafants. I mould not have written this but to a perfon, who has been ever forward to appear in all employ- ments, whither his honour and generofity have 58 A LETTER TO called him. The latter part of my poem, which defcribes the Fire, I owe, firft to the piety and fa- therly affection of our monarch to his fuffering fubjects ; and, in the fecond place, to the courage, loyalty, and magnanimity of the city j both which were fo confpicuous, that I have wanted words to celebrate them as they deferve. I have called my poem Hiftorical, not Epic, though both the ac- tions and actors are as much heroic as any poem can contain. But fince the action is not properly one, nor that accomplimed in the laft fucceffes, I have judged it too bold a title for a few ftanzas, which are little more in number than a tingle Iliad, or the lono-eft of the ./Eneids. For this o reafon (I mean not of length, but broken action, tied too feverely to the laws of hiftory) I am apt to agree with thofe, who rank Lucan, rather among hiftorians in verfe, than Epic poets : in whole room, if I am not deceived, Silius Italicus, though a worfe writer, may more juftly be ad- mitted. I have chofen to write my poem in quatrains, or flanzas of four in alternate rhyme, . becaufe I have ever judged them more noble, and of greater dignity, both for the found and num- ber, than any other verfe in ufe amongft us; in S I R R. H O W A R D. 59 which I am fure I have your approbation. The learned languages have certainly a great advan- tage of us, in not being tied to the flavery of any rhyme j and were lefs conftrained in the quantity of every fyllable, which they might vary with fpondees or dactyls, befides fo many other helps of grammatical figures, for the lengthen- ing or abbreviation of them, than the modern are in the clofe of that one fyllable, which often con- fines, and more often corrupts, the fenfe of all the reft. But in this neceffity of our rhymes, I have always found the couplet verfe mod eafy, though not fo proper for this occafion : for there the work is fooner at an end, every two lines con- cluding the labour of the poet j but in quatrains he is to carry it farther on, and not only fo, but to bear along in his head the troublefome fenfe of four lines together. For thofe, who write cor- rectly in this kind, muft needs acknowlege, that the laft line of the ftanza is to be confidered in the compofition of the firft. Neither can we give our felves the liberty of making any part of a verfe for the fake of rhyme, or concluding with a word which is not current Engiifh, or ufing the variety of female rhymes ; all which our fathers 60 ALETTERTO pracYifed : and for the female rhymes, they are flill in ufe amongft other nations j with the Italian in every line, with the Spaniard promifcuoufly, with the French alternately ; as thofe who have read the Alarique, the Pucelle, or any of their later poems, will agree with me. And befides this, they write in Alexandrins, or verfes of fix feet ; fuch as amongft us is the old translation of Ho- mer by Chapman : all which, by lengthning of their chain, makes the fphere of their activity the larger. I have dwelt too long upon the choice of my ftanza, which you may remember is much better defended in the preface to Gondi- bert ; and therefore I will haften to acquaint you with my endeavours in the writing. In general I will only fay, I have never yet feen the defcrip- tion of any naval fight in the proper terms which are ufed at fea : and iflhere be any fuch, in another language, as that of Lucan in the third of his Pharfalia, yet I could not avail myfelf of it in the Englifh ; the terms of art in every tongue bearing more of the idiom of it than any other words. We hear indeed among our poets, of the thundering of guns, the fmoke, the difor- der, and the ilaughter j but all thefe are common S I R R. H O W A R D. 61 notions. And certainly, as thofe, who, in a lo- gical difpute keep in general terms, would hide a fallacy; fo thofe, who do it in any poetical defcription, would veil their ignorance. Defcripfas fervare vices oper unique color es, Cur ego, ft nequeo ignoroque, Poet a falutor ? \ For my own part, if I had little knowledge of the fea, yet I have thought it no fhame to learn : and if I have made fome few miftakes, 'tis only, as you can bear me witnefs, becaufe I have wanted opportunity to correct them j the whole poem being firffc written, and now fent you from a place, where I have not fo much as the con- verfe of any feaman. Yet though the trouble I had in writing it was great, it was more than recompenfed by the pleafure. I found myfelf fo warm in celebrating the praifes of military men, two fuch especially as the prince and ge- neral, that it is no wonder if they infpired me with thoughts above my ordinary level. And I am well fatisfted, that, as they are incomparably the beft fubject I ever had, excepting only the royal family, fo alfo, that this I have written of 62 A LETTER TO them is much better than what I have performed on any other. J have been forced to help out other arguments ; but this has been bountiful to me : they have been low and barren of praife, and I have exalted them, and made them fruit- ful ; but here Omnta fponte fua reddlt juftijfi- ma tellus. I have had a large, a fair, and a pleafant field ; fo fertile, that without my cul- tivating, it has given me two harvefts in a fum- mer, and in both opprefied the reaper. All other greatnefs in fubje&s is only counterfeit : it will not endure the teft of danger ; "the greatnefs of arms is only real : other greatnefs burdens a na- tion with its weight ; this fupports it with its ftrength. And as it is the happinefs of the age, fo it is the peculiar goodnefs of the beft of kings, that we may praife his fubjec"ts without offending him. Doubtlefs it proceeds from a juft confi- dence of his own virtue, which the luflre of no other can be fo great as to darken in him; for the good or the valiant are never fafely praifed under a bad or a degenerate prince. But to return from this digreffion to a farther account of my poem j I muft crave leave to tell you, that as I have en- deavoured to adorn it with noble thoughts, fo S I R R. H O VV A R D. 63 much more to exprefs thofe thoughts with elocu- tion. The competition of all poems is, or ought to be, of wit ; and wit in the poet, or wit- writing (if you will give me leave to ufe a fchool-dii- tinction) is no other than the faculty of imagi- nation in the writer, which, like a nimble fpaniel, beats ever and ranges through the field of me- mory, 'till it fprings the quarry it hunted after : or, without metaphor, which fearches over all the memory for the fpecies or ideas of thofe things which it defigns to reprefent. Wit writ- ten is that which is well defined, the happy re- fult of thought, or product of imagination. But to proceed from wit, in the general notion of it, to the proper wit of an heroic or hiftorical poem; I judge it chiefly to confift in the delightful ima- ging of perfons, actions, paiiions, or things. 'Tis not the jerk or fting of an epigram, nor the feem- ing contradiction of a poor antithefis (the delight of an ill-judging audience in a play of rhyme) nor the gingle of a more poor Paranomafia; nei- ther is it fo much the morality of a grave fen- tence, affected by Lucan, but more fparingly ufed by Virgil ; but it is fome lively and apt de- fcription, drafted in fuch colours of fpeech, that 64 A LETTER TO it fets before your eyes the abfent object, as per- fectly, and more delightfully than nature. So then the firft happinefs of the poet's imagination is properly invention or finding of the thought ; the fecond is fancy, or the variation, deriving or moulding of that thought as the judgment repre- fents it proper to the fuhject ; the third is elocu- tion, or the art of cloathing and adorning that thought, fo found and varied, in apt, figniricant, and founding words : the quicknefs of the ima- gination is feen in the invention, the fertility in the fancy, and the accuracy in the expreffion. For the two firfr. of thefej Ovid is famous amongft the poets j for the latter, Virgil. Ovid images more often the movements and affections of the mind, either combating between two contrary paflions, or extremely difcompofed by one. His words therefore are the leaft part of his care j for he pictures nature in diforder, with which the iludy and choice of words is inconfiftent. This is the proper wit of dialogue or difcpurfe, and confequently of the drama, where all that is faid is to be fuppofed the effect of fudden thought ; which, though it excludes not the quicknefs of wit in repartees, yet admits not a too curious election S I R R. H O W A R D. 65 ele&ion of words, too frequent allufions, or ufe of tropes, or in fine any thing that {hews re- motenefs of thought or labour in the writer. On the other fide, Virgil fpeaks not fo often to us in the perfon of another, like Ovid, but in his own : he relates almoft all things as from himfelf, and thereby gains more liberty than the other, to ex- prefs his thoughts with all the graces of elocu- tion, to write more figuratively, and to confefs as well the labour as the force of his imagina- tion. Though he defcribes his Dido well and naturally, in the violence of her pafiions, yet he muft yield in that to the Myrrha, the Biblis, the Althaea, of Ovid j for as great an admirer of him as I am, J muft acknowledge, that if I fee not more of their fouls than I fee of Dido's, at leaft I have a greater concernment for them : and that convinces me, that Ovid has touched thofe tender ftrokes more delicately than Virgil could. But when a&ion or perfbns are to be defcribed, when any fuch image is to be fet before us, how bold, how mafterly are the ftrokes of Virgil ! We fee the objects he prefents us with in their native figures, in their proper motions ; but fo VOL. I. F 66 ALETTERTO we fee them, as our own eyes could never have beheld them ib beautiful in themfelves. We fee the foul of the poet, like that univerfal one of which he fpeaks, informing and moving through all his pictures : ^lotamque infufa per artm Me?2S agitat molem> & magnofe corf ore mifceJ. Webeholdhimembellifliinghisimages } ashemake& Venus breathing beauty upon her fon Jumenque jiruenta Purpureutriy ? l&tos oculis affldrat honores : Quale manus addunt Ebori decus, aut ubi Argentum Pariufve lapis drcundatur auro. See his Tempeft, his Funeral Sports, his Com- bat of Turnus and ./Eneas : and in his Georgics, which I efteem the divineft part of all his writings, the Plague, the Country, the Battle of the Bulls, the Labour of the Bees, and thofe many other excellent images of nature, moft of which are neither great in themfelves, nor have any natural ornament to bear them up : but the words where- with he defcribes them are fo excellent, that it SIR R. HOWARD. 67 might be well applied to him, which was faid by Ovid, Materlam fuperabat opus : the very found of his words has often fomewhat that is connatu- ral to the fubject ; and while we read him, we fit, as in a play, beholding the fcenes of what he reprefents. To perform this, he made fre- quent ufe of tropes, which you know change the nature of a known word, by applying it to fome other fignification ; and this is it which Horace means in his epiflle to the Pifo's : Dixeris egregle^ notum Jt callida verbum Reddiderit junttura novum But I am fenfible I have prefumed too far to entertain you with a rude difcourfe of that art, which you both know fo well, and put into prac- tice with fo much happinefs. Yet before 1 leave Virgil, I muft own the vanity to tell you, and by you the world, that he has been my matter ii\ this poem : I have followed him every where, I know not with what fuccefs, but I am fure with diligence enough : my images are many of them copied from him, and the reft are imitations of F 2 68 A LETTER TO him. My expreffions alfo are as near as the idi- oms of the two languages would admit of in tranflation. And this, fir, I have done with that boldnefs, for which I will ftand accountable to any of our little critics, who, perhaps, are no better acquainted with him than I am. Upon your firft perufal of this poem, you have taken notice of fome words, which I have innovated (if it be too bold forme to fay refined) upon his Latin -, which, as I offer not to introduce into Englifh profe, fo I hope they are neither impro- per, nor altogether inelegant in verfe ; and, in this, Horace will again defend me. Et nova, fift 'aque nuper, habebunt verba Jidem, Jt fonte cadunt^ farce detorta ----- - The inference is exceeding plain : for if a Ro- man oet might have liberty to coin a word, fup- pofing only that it was derived from the Greek, was put into a Latin termination, and that he ufed this liberty but feldom, and with modefty ; how much more juflly may I challenge that pri- vilege to do it with the fame prerequifites, from the beft and moil judicious of Latin writers ? In SIR R. H O W A R D. 69 fome places, where either the fancy or the words were his, or any other's, I have noted it in the margin, that I might not feem a plagiary ; in others I have neglected it, to avoid as well te- dioufnefs, as the affectation of doing it too often. Such defcriptions or images well wrought, which I promife not for mine, are, as I have faid, the adequate delight of heroic poefy > for they beget admiration, which is its proper object; as the images of the burlefque, which is contrary to this, by the fame reafon beget laughter : for the one mews nature beautified, as in the picture of a fair woman, which we all admire ; the other fhews her deformed, as in that of a lazar, or of a fool with diftorted face and antique geftures, at which we cannot forbear to laugh, becaufe it is a deviation from nature. But though the fame images ferve equally for the Epic poefy, and for the hiftoric and panegyric, which are branches of it, yet a feveral fort of fculpture is to be ufed in them. If fome of them are to be like thofe of Juvenal, St antes in curribus JEmiliani, heroes drawn in their triumphal chariots, and in their full proportion ; others are to be like that of Vir- F 3 70 ALETTERTO gil, Spirantia mollius ' but feem'd the laborer of the year ; EachCwaxing moo)i fupply'd her watery ftore, TcCfwejl thofe tide, which from the line did bear < ^-^^ Their brim-full vefTels to the Belgian fhore. 5- Thus, mighty in her mips, flood Carthage long, And fwept the riches of the world from far ; Yet ftoop'd to Rome, lefs wealthy, but more flrong: And this may prove our fecond Punic war. 6. What peace can be, where both to one pretend ? (But they more diligent, and we more ftrong) Or if a peace, it foon muft have an end j For they would grow too powerful were it long. jt4A* and all divine with gold, 294. Already laboring with a mighty fate, She ihakes th,e rubbifh from her mounting brow, And feems to have renew'd her charter's date, Which heaven will to the death of time allow* 295. More great than human now, and more auguft, Now deified me from her fires does rife ; Her widening flreets on new foundations truft, And opening into larger parts me flies. 296. Before {he like fome mepherdefs did (how, Who fat to bathe her by a river's fide ; Not anfwering to her fame, but rude and low. Nor taught the beauteous arts of modern pride, 297. NOW like a maiden queen (he will behold. From her high turrets, hourly fuitors come : TJie Eaft with incenfe, and the Weft with gold, Will ftand like fuppliants tq receive her doorn ANNUS MIRABILIS. 135 298. The filver Thames, her own domeftic flood, Shall bear her veflels like a fvveeping train ; And often wind, as of his miftrefs proud, With longing eyes to meet her face again. 299. The wealthy Tagus, and the wealthier Rhine, The glory of their towns no more mall boaft, And Seyne, that would with Belgian rivers join, Shall find her luftre ftain'd, and traffic loft. 300. The venturous merchant who defign'd more far, And touches on our hofpitable more, Charm'd with the fplendor of this northern ftar, Shall here unlade him, and depart no more. 301. Our powerful navy mall no longer meet, The wealth of France or Holland to invade : The beauty of this town without a fleet, From all the world mall vindicate her trade. 302. And while this fam'd emporium we prepare, The Britim ocean mall fuch triumphs boaft, That thofe, who now difdain our trade to mare, Shall rob like pirates on our wealthy coaft, K 4 136 ANNUS MIRABILIS. 33- Already we have conquer'd half the war, And the lefs dangerous part is left behind : Our trouble now is but to make them dare, And not fo great to vanquifh as to find. 34- Thus to the eaftern wealth through ftorms we go, But now, the Cape once doubled, fear no more ; A conftant trade-wind will fecurely blow, And gently lay us on the fpicy more. [ 137 1 A N ESSAY- UPON SATIRE. By Mr. DRYDEN, and the Earl of MULGRAVE. HO W dull, and how infenfible a bead Is man, who yet would lord it o'er the reft? Philofophers and poets vainly ftrove In every age the lumpifh mafs to move : But thofe were pedants, when compar'dwith thefe; Who know not only to inftruct but pleafe. Poets alone found the delightful way, Myfterious morals gently to convey In charming numbers ; fo that as men grew Pleas'd with their poems ; they grew wifer too. Satire has always fhone among the reft, And is the boldeft way, if not the beft, To tell men freely of their fouleft faults ; To laugh at their vain deeds, and vainer thoughts. In fatire too the wife took different ways, To each deferving its peculiar praife. Some did all folly with juft fharpnefs blame, Whilft others laugh'dandfcorn'd them into fhame. 138 ESSAY UPON SATIRE. But of thefe two, the laft fucceeded beft, As men aim righteft when they moot in jeft. Yet, if we may prefume to blame our guides, And cenfure thofe, who cenfure all befides j In other things they juftly are preferr'd ; In this alone methinks the ancients err'd ; Againft the grofleft follies they declaim ; Hard they purfue, but hunt ignoble game. Nothing is eafier than fuch blots to hit, And 'tis the talent of each vulgar wit : Befides 'tis labor loft ; for who would preach Morals to Armftrong, or dull Aflon teach ? *Tis being devout at play, wife at a ball, Or bringing wit and friendfhip to Whitehall. But with fharp eyes thofe nicer faults to find, Which lie obfcurely in the wifeft mind j That little fpeck which all the reft does fpoil, To wafli off that would be a noble toil j Beyond the loofe writ libels of this age, Or the forc'd fcenes of our declining ftage j Above all cenfure too, each little wit Will be fo glad to fee the greater hit j Who judging better, though concern'd the rnoft, Of fuch correction will have caufe to boaft, i ESSAY UPON SATIRE. 139 In fuch a fatire all would feek a (hare, And every fool will fancy he is there. Old ftory-tellers too muft pine and die, To fee their antiquated wit laid by ; kike her, who mifs'd her name in a lampoon, And grieved to find herfelf decay'd fo foon. No common coxcomb muft be mention'd here : Not the dull train of dancing fparks appear ; Nor fluttering officers who never fight -, Of fuch a wretched rabble who would write ? Much lefs half wits: that's more againft our rules $ For they are fops, the other are but fools. Who would not be as filly as Dunbar ? As dull as Monmouth, rather than Sir Carr ? The cunning courtier mould be flighted too, Who with dull knavery makes fo much ado ; Till the mrewd fool, by thriving too too fail, Like ^Efop^s fox becomes a prey at laft. Nor mall the royal miftrefles be nam'd, Too ugly, or too eafy to be blam'd j With whom each rhiming foolkeepsfuch a pother, They are as common that way as the other : Yet faunteringCharles between his beaftly brace, Meets with difTembling ftill in either place, humor, or a painted face. -4. brace, 1 * I I 4 o ESSAY UPON SATIRE. In loyal libels we have often told him, How one has jilted him, the other fold him : How that affects to laugh, how this to weep - y But who can rail fo long as he can fleep ? Was ever prince by two at once mifled, Falfe, fooUfh, old, ill-natur'd, and ill-bred ? Earnely and Aylefbury, with all that race Of buiy blockheads, mall have here no place ; At council fet as foils on Dorfet's fcore, To make that great falfe jewel mine the more ; Who all that while was thought exceeding wife, Only for taking pains and telling lies. JBut there's no meddling with fuch naufeous men ; Their .very names have tired my lazy pen : *Tis time to quit their company, and chufe Some fitter fubjecl: for a {harper mufe. Firft, let's behold the merrieft man alive Againfl his carelefs genius vainly ftrive ; Quit his dear eafe, fome deep defign to lay, 'Gainfl a fet time, and then forget the day : Yet he will laugh at his beft friends, and be Jufl as good company as Nokes and Lee. But when he aims at reafon or at rule, He turns himfelf the beft to ridicule, 2 ESSAY UPON SATIRE, 141 Let him at bufinefs ne'er fo earned fit, Shew him but mirth, and bait that mirth with wit j That fhadow of a jeft /hall be enjoy 'd, Though he left all mankind to be deftroy'd. So cat transform'd fat gravely and demure, Till moufe appear 'd, and thought himfelf fecure; But foon the lady had him in her eye, And from her friend did juft as oddly fly. Reaching above our nature does no good ; We muft fall back to our old flem and blood $ As by our little Machiavel we find That nimbleft creature of the bufy kind, His limbs are crippled, and his body fhakes ; Yet his hard mind which all this buftle makes, No pity of its poor companion takes. What gravity can hold from laughing out, To fee him drag his feeble legs about, Like hounds ill-coupled? Jowlerlugs him flill Through hedges, ditches, and through all that's ill, *T were crime in any man but him alone, To ufe a body fo, though 'tis one's own : Yet this falfe comfort never gives him o'er, That whilft he creeps his vigorous thoughts can foar : Alas ! that foaring to thofe few that know, Js but a bufy groveling here below. H2 ESSAY UPON SATIRE. So men in rapture think they mount the fky, Whilft on the ground th'intranced wretches lie : So modern fops have fancied they could fly. As the new earl with parts deferving praife, And wit enough to laugh at his own ways j Yet lofes all foft days and fenfual nights, Kind nature checks, and kinder fortune flights ; Striving againfl his quiet all he can, For the fine notion of a bufy man. And what is that at beft, but one, whofe mind Is made to tire himfelf and all mankind ? For Ireland he would go ; faith, let him reign ; For if fome odd fantaftic lord would fain Carry in trunks, and all my drudgery do, I'll not only pay him, but admire him too. But is there any other beaft that lives, Who his own harm fo wittingly contrives ? Will any dog that has his teeth and ftones, Refmedly leave his bitches and his bones, To turn a wheel ? and bark to be employ'd, While Venus is by rival dogs enjoy'd ? Yet this fond man, to get a ftatefman's name, Forfeits his friends, his freedom, and his fame. Tho fatire nicely writ with humor flings But thofe who merit praife in other things j ESSAY UPON SATIRE. 143 Yet we muft needs this one exception make, And break our rules for folly Tropos fake 3 Who was too much defpis'd to be accus'd, And therefore fcarce deferves to be abus'd ; Rais'd only by his mercenary tongue, For railing fmoothly, and for reafoning wrong. As boys on holy-days let loofe to play, Lay waggifh traps for girls that pals that way 5 Then fhout to fee in dirt and deep diftrefs Some filly cit in her flower'd foolifh drefs : So have I mighty fatisfaclion found, To fee his tinfel reafon on the ground : To fee the florid fool defpis'd, and know it, By ibme who fcarce have words enough to mow it: For fenfe fits filent, and condemns for weaker The linner, nay fometimes the wittieit fpeaker : But 'tis prodigious fo much eloquence Should be acquired by fuch little fenfe ; For words and wit did anciently agree, And Tully was no fool, though this man be : At bar abufive, on the bench unable, Knave on the woolfack, fop at council-table. Thefe are the grievances of fuch fools as would Be rather wife than honeft, great than good. Some other kind of wits muft be made known. Whofe harmlefs errors hurt themfelves alone ; 144 ESSAY UPON SATIRE. Excefs of luxury they think can pleafe, And lazinefs call loving of their eafe : To live difTolv'd in pleafures ftill they feign, Tho their whole life's but intermitting pain : So much of furfeits, head-aches, claps are feen, We fcarce perceive the little time between : Well-meaning men who make this grofs miftake* And pleafure lofe only for pleafure's fake ; Each pleafure has its price, and when we pay Too much of pain, we fquander life away, Thus Dorfet, purring like a thoughtful cat, Married, but wifer pufs ne'er thought of that : And firft he worried her with railing rhime, Like Pembroke's maftives at his kindeft time - t Then for one night fold all his flavifh life, A teeming widow, but a barren wife j Swell'd by contact of fuch a fulfom toad, He lugg'd about the matrimonial load ; Till fortune, blindly kind as well as he, Has ill reftor'd him to his liberty ; Which he would ufe in his old fneaking way, Drinking all night and dozing all the day ; Dull as Ned -Howard, whom his brifker times Had fam'd for dulnefs in malicious rhimes. Mul ve ESSAY UPON SATIRE, 145 Mulgrave had much ado to fcape the {hare, Though learn'd in all thofe arts that cheat the fair : For after all his vulgar marriage-mocks, With beauty dazzled, Numps was in the flocks > Deluded parents dry'd their weeping eyes, To fee him catch his tartar for his prize : Th' impatient town waited the wifh'a-for change, And cukolds fmil'd in hopes of fweet revenge j Till Petworth plot made us with fcrrow fee, As his eftate, his perfon too was free : Him no foft thoughts, no gratitude could move ; To gold he fled from beauty and from love - t Yet failing there he keeps his freedom ftill, Forc'd to live happily again ft his will : 'Tis not his fault, if too much wealth and pow'r Break not his boafted quiet every hour. And little Sid. for fimile renown'd, Pleafure has always fought but never found : Though all his thoughts on wine and women fall, His are fo bad, fure he ne'er thinks at all. The flefh he lives upon is rank and ftrong, His meat and miftrefTes are kept too long, But fure we all miftake this pious man, Who mortifies his perfon all he can : VOL, I. L 146 ESSAY UPON SATIRE, What we uncharitably take for fin, Are only rules of this odd capuchin ; For never hermit under grave pretence, Has liv'd more contrary to common fenfe ; And 'tis a miracle we may fuppofe, No naftinefs offends his fkilful nofe ; Which from all ftink can with peculiar art Extract perfume and elTence from a f t : Expecting fupper is his great delight ; He toils all day but to be drunk at night : Then o'er his cups this night-bird chirping fits, Till he takes Hewet and Jack Hall for wits. Rochefter I defpife for want of wit, Though thought to have a tail and cloven feet ; For while he mifchief means to all mankind, Himfelf alone the ill effects does find : And fo like witches juftly fuffers fhame, Whofe harmlefs malice is fo much the fame. Falfe are his words, affected is his wit ; So often he does aim, fo feldom hit ; To every face he cringes while he fpeaks, But when the back is turn'd the head he breaks : Mean in each action, lewd in every limb, Manners themfelves are mifchievous in him : A proof that chance alone makes every creaturej A very Killigrew without good nature. ESSAY UPON SATIRE. 147 For what a Beflus has he always liv'd, And his own kickings notably contriv'd ? For, there's the folly that's flill mixt with fear, Cowards more blows than any hero bear ; Of fighting fparks fome may their pleafures fay, But 'tis a bolder thing to run away : The world may well forgive him all his ill, For every fault does prove his penance ftill : Falfly he falls into fome dangerous noofe, And then as meanly labors to get loofe j A life fo infamous is better quitting, Spent in bafe injury and low fubmitting. I'd like to have left out his poetry ; Forgot by all almoft as well as me. Sometimes he has ibme humor, never wit, And if it rarely, very rarely, hit, 'Tis under fo much nafty rubbim laid, To find it out's the cinderwoman's trade -, Who for the wretched remnants of a fire, Muft toil all day in ames and in mire. So lewdly dull his idle works appear, The wretched texts deferve no comments here j Where one poor thought fometimes, left all alone, For a whole page of dulnefs muft atone. L 2 148 ESSAY UPON SATIRE. How vain a thing is man, and how unwife ? E'en he, who would himfelf the moft defpife ? I, who fo wife and humble feem to be, Now my own vanity and pride can't fee. While the world's nonfenfe is fo fharply fhewn, We pull down others but to raife our own ; That we may angels feem, we paint them elves, And are but fatires to fet up ourfelves. I, who have all this while been finding fault, E'en with my mafter, who firft fatire taught ; And did by that defcribe the tafk fo hard, It feems ftupendous and above reward ; Now labor with unequal force to climb That lofty hill, unreach'd by former time : 'Tis juft that I Ihould to the bottom fall, Learn to write well, or not to write at all. ABSALOM AND ACHITOPHEL. PART I. T O T H E READER. v | MS not my intention to make an apology A for my poem : fome will think it needs no excufe, and others will receive none. The deiign I am fure is honeft : but he who draws his pen for one party, muft expect to make ene- mies of the other. For wit and fool are confe- quents of Whig and Tory j and every man is a 'knave or an afs to the contrary fide. There is a treafury of merits in the Fanatic church, as well as in the Popifh , and a pennyworth to be had of faintfhip, honefty, and poetry, for the lewd, the factious, and the blockheads : but the longefl chapter in Deuteronomy has not curfes enough for an Anti-Bromingham. My comfort is, their manifeft prejudice to my caufe will render their judgment of lefs authority againft me. Yet if a poem have genius, it will force its own recep- tion in the world. For there's a fweetnefs in good verfe, which tickles even while it hurts : and no man can be heartily angry with him who pleafes him againft his will. The commenda- tion of adverfaries is the greateft triumph of a writer, becaufe it nevr comes unlefs extorted. L 4 152 TO THE READER. But I can be fatisfied on more eafy terms : if I happen to pleafe the more moderate fort, I mall be fure of an honeft party, and, in all probabi- lity, of the beft judges : for the leaft concerned are commonly the leaft corrupt. And I confefs I have laid in for tliofe, by rebating the fatire, where juftice would allow it, from carrying too fharp an edge. They who can criticife fo weakly, as to Imagine I have done my word, may be con- vinced at their own coil that I can write feverely, with more eafc than I can gently. I have but laughed at fome men's follies, when I could have declaimed againft their vices : and other men's virtues I have commended, as freely as I have taxed their crimes. And now, if you are a ma- licious reader, I expect you mould return upon me that I affect to be thought more impartial than I am : but if men are not to be judged by their profeffions, God forgive you commonwealth's- men for profefling fo plaufibly for the govern- ment. You cannot be fo unconfcionable as to charge me for not fubfcribing my name ; for that would reflect too grofly upon your own party, who never dare, though they have the advantage of a jury to fecure them. If you like not my poem, the fault may pombly be in my writing ; though 'tis hard for an author to judge againft TO THE READER. 153 himfelf. But more probably 'tis in your morals, which cannot bear the truth of it. The violent on both fides will condemn the character of Ab- falom, as either too favorably or too hardly drawn. But they are not the violent whom I defire to pleafe. The fault on the right hand is to exte- nuate, palliate, and indulge > and to confefs freely, I have endeavoured to commit it. Befides the refpect which I owe his birth, I have a greater for his heroic virtues j and David himfelf could not be more tender of the young man's life, than I would be of his reputation. But fince the moft excellent natures are always the moft eafy, and, as being fuch, are the fooneft perverted by ill counfels, efpecially when baited with fame and glory ; 'tis no more a wonder that he withftood not the temptations of Achitophel, than it was for Adam not to have refifted the two devils, the ferpent and the woman. The conclufion of the ftory I purpofely forbore to profecute, becaufe I could not obtain from myfelf to mew Abfalom unfortunate. The frame of it was cut out but for a picture to the wafte ; and if the draught be fo far true, 'tis as much as I defigned. Were I the inventor, who am only the hifto- rian, I fliould certainly conclude the piece, with 154 TO THE READER. the reconcilement of Abfalom to David. And who knows but this may come to pafs ? Things were not brought to an extremity where I left the ftory : there feems yet to be room left for a com- pofure > hereafter there may be only for pity. I have not fo much as an uncharitable wifh againft Achitophel, but am content to be accufed of a good-natured error, and to hope with Origen> that the devil himfelf may at laft be faved. For which reafon, in this poem, he is neither brought to fet his houfe in order, nor to difpofe of his perfon afterwards as he in wifdom fliall think fit. God is infinitely merciful ; and his vicegerent is only not fo, becaufe he is not infinite. The true end of fatire is the amendment of vices by correction. And he, who writes ho- neilly, is no more an enemy to the offender, than the phyfician to the patient, when he prefcribes harfh remedies to an inveterate difeafe j for thofe are only in order to prevent the chirurgeon's work of an Enfe refcindendum, which I wim not to my very enemies. To conclude all ; if the body politic have any analogy to the natural, in my weak judgment, an act of oblivion were as ne- ceflary in a hot diftemper'd ftate, as an opiate would be in a raging fever. ABSALOM AND ACHIT'OPHEL. T N pious times ere prieftcraft did begin, Before polygamy was made a fin 3 When man on many multiply'd his kind, Ere one to one was curfedly confin'd ; When nature prompted, and no law deny'd Yomifcuous ufe of concubine and bride ; "hen Ifrael's monarch after heaven's own heart, His vigorous warmth did varioufly impart 156 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL; To wives and flaves j and wide as his command, Scattered his Maker's image through the land. Michal, of royal blood, the crown did wear ; A foil ungrateful to the tiller's care : Not fo the reft ; for feveral mothers bore To god-like David feveral fons before. But fmce like flaves his bed they did afcend, No true fucceffion could their feed attend. Of all the numerous progeny was none So beautiful, fo brave, as Abfalom; Whether infpir'd by fome diviner luft, His father got him with a greater guft : Or that his confcious deftiny made way, By manly beauty to imperial fway. Early in foreign fields he won renown, With kings and ftates ally'd to Ifrael's crown : In peace the thoughts of war he could remove, And feem'd as he were only born for love. Whate'er he did, was done with ib much eafe. In him alone 'twas natural to pleafe : His motions all accompany'd with grace ; And paradife was open'd in his face. With fecret joy indulgent David view'd His youthful image in his foa renew'd : To all his wimes nothing he deny'd j And made the charming Annabel his bride. ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 157 What faults he had, for who from faults is free ? His father could not, or he would not fee. Some warm excefTes which the law forbore, Were conftru'd youth that purg'd by boiling o'er And Amnon's murder by a fpecious name, Was call'd a juft revenge for injur'd fame. Thus prais'd and lov'd, the noble youth remain'd, While David undifturb'd in Sion reign'd. But life can never be fincerely bleft : Heaven punifhes the bad, and proves the beft. The Jews, a headflrong, moody, murmuring race, Asevertry'd th' extent and ftretch of grace j God's pamper'd people, whom debauch'd with cafe, No king could govern, nor no God could pleafe -, Gods they had try'd of every fhape and fize, That godfmiths could produce, or priefts devife : Thefe Adam-wits too fortunately free, Began to dream they wanted liberty ; And when no rule, no precedent was found, Of men, by laws lefs circumfcrib'd and bound j They led their wild defires to woods and caves, And thought that all but favages were flaves. They who, when Saul was dead, without a blow, Made foolifli Ifhbolheth the crown forego ; 258 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. Who banim'd David did from Hebron bring, And with a general fhout proclaim'd him king : Thofe very Jews, who at their very beft, Their humor more than loyalty expreft, Now wonder'd why fo long they had obey'd An idol monarch, which their hands had made Thought they might ruin him they could create, Or melt him to that golden calf a ftate. But thefe were random bolts : no form'd defign, Nor interefl made the factious crowd to join : The fober part of Ifrael, free from ftain, Well knew the value of a peaceful reign j And looking backward with a wife affright, Saw feams of wounds dimoneft to the fight : In contemplation of whofe ugly fears, They curft the memory of civil wars. The moderate fort of men thus qualify'd, Inclin'd the balance to the better fide ; And David's mildnefs manag'd it fo well, The bad found no occaiion to rebel. But when to fin our bias'd nature leans, The careful devil is ftill at hand with means 3 And providently pimps for ill defires : The good old caufe reviv'd a plot requires. Plots true or falfe are neceffary things, To raife up commonwealths, and ruin kings. ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 159 Th' inhabitants of old Jerufalem Were Jebufites ; the town fo call'd from them ; And theirs the native right But when the chofen people grew more flrong. The rightful caufe at length became the wrong ; And every lofs the men of Jebus bore, They ftill were thought God's enemies the more. Thus worn or weaken'd, well or ill content, Submit they muft to David's government : Impoverifh'd and depriv'd of all command, Their taxes doubled as they loft their land ; And what was harder yet to flefh and blood, Their gods difgrac'd, and burnt like common wood. This fet the heathen prieilhood in a flame ; For priefts of all religions are the fame. Of whatfoe'er defcent their godhead be, Stock, ftone, or other homely pedigree, In his defence his fervants are as bold. As if he had been born of beaten gold. The Jewifh rabbins, though their enemies, In this conclude them honeft men and wife : For 'twas their duty all the learned think, T' efpoufe his caufe, by whom they eat and drink. From hence began that plot, the nation's curfe, Bad in itfelf, but reprefented worfe ; 160 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. Rais'd in extremes, and in extremes decry 'd ; With oaths affirm'd, with dying vows deny'd ; Not weigh'd nor winnow'd by the multitude ; But fwallow'd in the mafs, unchew'd and crude. Some truth there was, but dafh'd and brew'd with lies, To pleafe the fools, and puzzle all the wife. Succeeding times did equal folly call, Believing nothing, or believing all. Th' Egyptian rites the Jebufites embrac'd j Where gods were recommended by their tafte. Such favory deities muft needs be good, As ferv'd at once for worfhip and for food. By force they could not introduce thefe gods ; For ten to one in former days was odds. So fraud was us'd, the facrificer's trade : Fools are more hard to conquer than perfuade. Their bufy teachers mingled with the Jews, And rak'd for converts even the court and ftews : Which Hebrew priefts the more unkindly took, Becaufe the fleece accompanies the flock. Some thought they God's anointed meant to flay By guns, invented fince full many a day : Our author fwears it not j but who can know How far the devil and Jebufites may go ? This ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 161 This plot, which fail'd for want of common fenfe. Had yet a deep and dangerous confequence : For as when raging fevers boil the blood, The {landing lake foon floats into a flood, And every hoftile humor, which before Slept quiet in its channels, bubbles o'er , So feveral factions from this firft ferment, Work up to foam and threat the government. Some by their friends, more by themfelves thought wife, Oppos'd the power to which they could not rife. Some had in courts been great, and thrown from thence, Like fiends were harden'd in impenitence. Some, by their monarch's fatal mercy, grown From pardon'd rebels kinfmen to the throne. Were rais'd in power and public office high; Strong bands, if bands ungrateful men could ti Of thefe the falfe Achitophel was firft ; A name to all fucceeding ages curft : For clofe defigns, and crooked counfels fit $ Sagacious, bold, and turbulent of wit j RelHefs, unfix'd in principles and place ; In pow'r unpleas'd, impatient of difgracc : VOL, J. M '162 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL'; A fiery foul, which working out its way, Fretted the pigmy-body to decay, And o'er-inform'd the tenement of clay. A daring pilot in extremity ; Pleas'dwith the danger when the waves went high, He fought the ftorms ; but for a calm unfit, Would fteer too nigh the fands to boaft his wit. Great wits are fure to madnefs near ally'd, And thin partitions do their bounds divide ; Elfe why mould he with wealth and honor bleft, Refufe his age the needful hours of reft ? Punifh a body which he could not pleafe ; Bankrupt of life, yet prodigal of eafe ? And all to leave what with his toil he won, To that unfeather'd two-legg'd thing, a fon j Got, while his foul did huddled notions try j And born a {hapelefs lump, like anarchy. In friendmip falfe, implacable in hate ; Refolv'd to ruin', or to rule the ftate. To compafs this the triple bond he broke -, The pillars of the public fafety fhook ; And fitted Ifrael for a foreign yoke : Then feiz'd with fear, yet ftill affecting fame, Ufurp'd a patriot's all-atoning name. So eafy ftill it proves in factious times, With public zeal to cancel private crimes. i ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 163 How fafe is treafon, and how facred ill, Where none can fin againft the people's will ? Where crowdscan wink, and no offence be known, Since in another's guilt they find their own ? Yet fame deferv'd no enemy can grudge ; The ftatefman we abhor, but praife the judge. In Ifrael's courts ne'er fat an Abethdin With more difcerning eyes, or hands more clean, Unbrib'd, unfought, the wretched to redrefs -, Swift of difpatch, and eafy of accefs. Oh ! had he been content to ferve the crown, With virtues only proper to the gown 3 Or had the ranknefs of the foil been freed From Cockle, that opprefs'd the noble feed j David for him his tuneful harp had fining, And heaven had wanted one immortal fong. But wild ambition loves to flide, not ftand, And fortune's ice prefers to virtue's land. Achitophel grown weary to poflefs A lawful fame, and lazy happinefs, Difdain'd the golden fruit to gather free, And lent the crowd his arm to make the tree. Now, manifeft of crimes contriv'd long fince, He ftood at bold defiance with his prince j M 2 164 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL^ Held up the buckler of the people's caufe Againft the crown, and fculk'd behind the laws. The wim'd occafion of the plot he takes ; Some circumftances finds, but more he makes. By buzzing emifTaries fills the ears Of liftening crowds with jealoufies and fears Of arbitrary counfels brought to light, And proves the king himfelf a Jebufite. Weak arguments ! which yet he knew full well, Were ftrong with people eafy to rebel. For govern'd by the moon, the giddy Jews Tread the fame track when me the prime renews ; And once in twenty years their fcribes record, By natural inflincl: they change their lord. Achitophel ftill wants a chief, and none Was found fo fit as warlike Abfalom. Not that he wiih'd his greatnefs to create, For politicians neither love nor hate : But, for he knew his title not allow'd, Would keep him ftill depending on the crowd: That kingly pow'r, thus ebbing out, might be Drawn to the dregs of a democracy. Him he attempts with ftudied arts to pleafe, And flieds his venom in fuch words as thefe. Aufpicious prince, at whofe nativity Some royal planet rul'd the fouthern fky ; ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 165 Thy longing country's darling and defire ; Their cloudy pillar and their guardian fire : Their fecond Mofes, whofe extended wand Divides the feas, and (hews the promis'd land : Whofe dawning day in every diftant age, Has exercis'd the facred prophet's rage : The people's prayer, the glad diviner's theme, The young men's vilion, and theold men's dream ! Thee, Saviour, thee the nation's vows confefs, And never fatisfy'd with feeing, blefs : Swift unbefpoken pomps thy fteps proclaim, And ftammering babes are taught to lifp thy name. How long wilt thou the general joy detain, Starve and defraud the people of thy reign ; Content ingloriouily to pafs thy days, Like one of virtue's fools that feed on praife 5 'Till thy frem glories which now mine fo bright, Grow ftale, and tarnim with our daily fight ? Believe me, royal youth, thy fruit muft be Or gather'd ripe, or rot upon the tree. Heaven has to all allotted, foon or late, Some lucky revolution of their fate : Whofe motions if we watch and guide with Ikill, For human good depends on human will, M 3 i66 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. Our fortune rolls as from a fmooth defcent, And from the firft impreffion takes the bent: But if unfeiz'd (he glides away like wind, And leaves repenting folly far behind. Now, now fhe meets you with a glorious prize, And fpreads her locks before you as fhe flies. Had thus old David, from whofe loins you fpring, Not dar'd when fortune call'd him to be king, At Gath an exile he might flill remain, And heaven's anointing oil had been in vain. Let his fuccefsful youth your hopes engage j But fhun th' example of declining age : Behold him fetting in his weftern Ikies, The fhadows lengthening as the vapors rife. He is not now, as when on Jordan's fand The joyful people throng'd to fee him land, Covering the beach and blackening alltheftrand ; But like the prince of angels, from his height Comes tumbling downward with diminim'd light: Betray'd by one poor plot to public fcorn : Our only bleffing fince his curft return : Thofe heaps of people which one fheaf did bind, Blown off and fcatter'd by a puff of wind. What ftrength can he to your defigns oppofe, Naked of friends and round befet with foes ? ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 167 If Pharaoh's doubtful fuccor he mould ufe, A foreign aid would more incenfe the Jews : Proud Egypt would diflembled friendfhip bring ; Foment the war but not fupport the king : Nor would the royal party e'er unite With Pharaoh's arms to affift the Jebufite j Or if they mould, their intereft foon would break, And with fuch odious aid make David weak. All forts of men by my fuccefsful arts, Abhorring kings, eftrange their v alter'd hearts From David's rule : and 'tis their general cry, Religion, commonwealth, and liberty. If you, as champion of the public good, Add to their arms a chief of royal blood, What may not Ifrael hope, and what applaufe Might fuch a general gain by fuch a caufe ? Not barren praife alone, that gaudy flow'r Fair only to the fight, but folid power : And nobler is a limited command, Given by the love of all your native land, Than a fucceffive title, long and dark, Drawn from the mouldy rolls of Noah's ark. What cannot praife efFed: in mighty minds, When flattery fooths, and when ambition blinds ? M 4 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL; Defire of power, on earth a vicious weed, Yet fprung from high is of celeftial feed : In God 'tis glory 5 and when men afpire, 'Tis but a fpark too much of heavenly fire. The ambitious youth too covetous of fame, Too full of angel's metal in his frame, Unwarily was led from virtue's ways, Made drunk with honor, and debauch 'd with praife. Half loath, and half confenting to the ill, For royal blood within him ftruggled ftill, He thus reply 'd. And what pretence have I To take up arms for public liberty ? My father governs with unqueftion'd right -, The faith's defender, and mankind's delight ; Good, gracious, juft, obfervant of the laws ; And heaven by wonders has efpous'd his caufe. Whom has he wrong'd in all his peaceful reign ? Who fues for juftice to his throne in vain ? What millions has he pardon'd of his foes,, Whom juft revenge did to his wrath expofe ? Mild, eafy, humble, ftudious of our good j Inclin'd to mercy, and averfe from blood. If mildnefs ill with ftubborn Ifrael fuit, His crime is God's beloved attribute. ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 169 What could he gain his people to betray, Or change his right for arbitrary fway ? Let haughty Pharaoh curfe with fuch a reign His fruitful Nile, and yoke a fervile train. If David's rule Jerufalem difpleafe, The dog-liar heats their brains to this difeafe. Why then mould I, encouraging the bad, Turn rebel and run popularly mad ? Were he a tyrant, who by lawlefs might Opprefs'd the Jews, and rais'd the Jebulite, Well might I mourn ; but nature's holy bands Would curb my fpirits and reflrain my hands : The people might affert their liberty ; But what was right in them were crime in me. His favor leaves me nothing to require, Prevents my wimes, and out-runs defire ; What more can I expect while David lives ? All but his kingly diadem he gives : And that But here he paus'd j then fighing, faid Is juftly deftin'd for a worthier head. For when my father from his toils fhall reft, And late augment the number of the bleft, His lawful irTue mall the throne afcend, Or the collateral line, where that mall end. His brother, tho opprefs'd with vulgar fpite, Yet dauntlefs, and fecure of native right, 170 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. Of every royal virtue ftands pqffeft j Still dear to all the braveft and the beft. His courage foes, his friends his truth proclaim j His loyalty the king, the world his fame. His mercy e'en th' offending crowd will find ; For fure he comes of a forgiving kind. Why fhould I then repine at heaven's decree, Which gives me no pretence to royalty ? Yet oh that fate propitioufly inclin'd, Had rais'd my birth, or had debas'd my mind ; To my large foul not all her treafure lept, And then betray'd it to a mean defcent ! I find, I find my mounting fpirits bold, And David's part difdains my mother's mould. Why am I fcanted by a niggard birth ? My foul difclaims the kindred of her earth ; And made for empire whifpers me within, Defire of greatnefs is a god-like fin. Him daggering fo, when hell's dire agent found, Whilefainting virtue fcarce maintain'd her ground, He pours frefh forces in, and thus replies : Th' eternal God, fupremely good and wife, Imparts not thefe prodigious gifts in vain : What wonders are referv'd to blefs your reign ? Againft your will your arguments have mown, Such virtue's only given to guide a throne. ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 171 Not that your father's mildnefs I contemn ; Eat manly force becomes the diadem. 'Tis true he grants the people all they crave ; And more perhaps, than fubjects ought to have : For lavim grants fuppofe a monarch tame, And more his goodnefs than his wit proclaim. But when mould people ftrive their bonds to break, If not when kings are negligent or weak ? Let him give on 'till he can give no more, The thrifty fanhedrim mail keep him poor ; And every fhekel, which he can receive, Shall coft a limb of his prerogative. To ply him with new plots mail be my care -,] Or plunge him deep in fome expenfive war ; Which when his treafure can no more fupply, He muft, with the remains of kingfhip, buy His faithful friends, our jealoufies and fears Call Jebufites, and Pharaoh's penfioners ; Whom when our fury from his aid has torn, He fhall be naked left to public fcorn. The next fuccefibr, whom I fear and hate, My arts have made obnoxious to the flate ; Turn'd all his virtues to his overthrow, And gain'd our elders to pronounce a foe. I 172 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. His right, for fums of necefTary gold, Shall firft be pawn'd, and afterwards be fold j 'Till time fhall ever-wanting David draw, To pafs your doubtful title into law ; If not, the people have a right fupreme To make their kings ; for kings are made for them. All empire is no more than power in truft, Which, when refumed, can be no longer juft. Succeffion, for the general good defign'd, In its own wrong a nation cannot bind : If altering that the people can relieve, Better one naffer than a nation grieve. The Jews well know their pow'r : ere Saul they chofe, God was their king, and God they durft depofe. Urge now your piety, your filial name, A father's right, and fear of future fame ; The public good, that univerfal call, To which e'en heav'n fubmitted, anfwers all. Nor let his love enchant your generous mind -, 'Tis nature's trick to propagate her kind. Our fond begetters, who would never die, Love but themfelves in their pofterity. Or let his kindnefs by th' effects be try'd, Or let him lay his vain pretence afide. ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 173 God faid, he lov'd your father ; could he bring A better proof, than to anoint him king ? It furely fhew'd he lov'd the mepherd well, Who gave fo fair a flock as Ifrael. Would David have you thought his darling fon ? What means he then to alienate the crown ? The name of godly he may blufh to bear : Is't after God's own heart to cheat his heir ? He to his brother gives fupreme command, To you a legacy of barren land ; Perhaps th' old harp, on which he thrums his lays, Or fome dull Hebrew ballad in your praife. Then the next heir, a prince fevere and wife, Already looks on you with jealous eyes ; Sees through the thin difguifes of your arts, And marks your progrefs in the people's hearts j Though now his mighty foul its grief contains : He meditates revenge who leaft complains ; And like a lion, (lumbering in the way, Or fleep diflembling, while he waits his prey, His fearlefs foes within his diftance draws, Conftrains his roaring, and contracts his paws $ 'Till at the laft his time for fury found, He (hoots with fudden vengeance from the ground - 9 174 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. The proftrate vulgar pafles o'er and fpares, But wMi a lordly rage his hunters tears. Your cafe no tame expedients will afford : Refolve on death, or conqueft by the fword, Which for no lefs a ftake than life you draw -, And felf-defence is nature's eldeft law. Leave the warm people no conlidering time : For then rebellion may be thought a crime. Avail your felf of what occafion gives, But try your title while your father lives : And that your arms may have a fair pretence, Proclaim you take them in the king's defence; Whofe facred life each minute would expofe To plots, from feeming friends, and fecret foes. And who can found the depth of David's foul ? Perhaps his fear his kindnefs may controul. He fears his brother, tho' he loves his fon, For plighted vows too late to be undone. If fo, by force he wifhes to be gain'd : Like women's lechery to feem conftrain'd. Doubt not : but, when he moft affects the frown> Commit a pleafing rape upon the crown. Secure his perfon to fecure your caufe : They who poffefs the prince poffefs the laws, ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 175 He faid, and this advice above the reft, With Abfalom's mild nature fuited beft ; Unblam'd of life, ambition fet afide, Not ftain'd with cruelty, nor puft with pride. How happy had he been, if deftiny Had higher plac'd his birth, or not fo high ! His kingly virtues might have claim'd a throne, And bleft all other countries but his own. But charming greatnefs lince fo few refufe, 'Tis jufter to lament him than accufe. Strong were his hopes a rival to remove, With blandifhments to gain the public love : To head the faction while their zeal was hot, And popularly profecute the plot. To further this, Achitophel unites The malcontents of all the Ifraelites : Whofe differing parties he could wifely join, For feveral ends, to ferve the fame delign. The beft, and of the princes fome were fuch, Who thought the power of monarchy too much ; Miftaken men, and patriots in their hearts ; Not wicked, but feduc'd by impious arts. By thefe the fprings of property were bent, And wound fo high, they crack'd the government. The next for intereft fought to embroil the ftate, To fell their duty at a dearer rate ; 176 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. And make their Jewifh markets of the throne 3 Pretending public good to ferve- their own. Others thought kings an ufelefs heavy load, Who coft too much, and did too little good. Thefe were for laying honeft David by, On principles of pure good husbandry. With them join'd all th'haranguers of the throng* That thought to get preferment by the tongue. Who follow next a double danger bring, Not only hating David, but the king ; The Solymsan rout j well vers'd of old, In godly faction, and in treafon bold ; Cowring and quaking at a conqueror's fword, But lofty to a lawful prince reftor'd ; Saw with difdain an Ethnic plot begun, And fcorn'd by Jebufites to be outdone. Hot Levites headed thefe ; who pull'd before From th' ark, which in the judges days they bore, Refum'd their cant, and with a zealous cry, Purfu'd their old belov'd theocracy : Where fanhedrim and prieft enflav'd the nation, And juflified their fpoils by infpiration : For \vho fo fit to reign as Aaron's race, If once dominion they could found in grace ? Thefe led the pack ; tho not of fureft fcent, Yet deepeft mouth'd againft the government. ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 177 A numerous hoft of dreaming faints fucceed, Of the true old enthufiaftic breed : 'Gainft form and order they their power employ, Nothing to build, and all things to deftroy. But far more numerous was the herd of fuch, Who think too little, and who talk too much. Thefe out of mere inftinc~t, they knew not why, Ador'd their fathers God and property ; And by the fame blind benefit of fate, The devil and the Jebulite did hate : Born to be fav'd, even in their own delpite, Becaufe they could not help believing right. Such were the tools : but a whole Hydra more Remains of fprouting heads too long to fcore. Some of their chiefs were princes of the land ; In the firft rank of thefe did Zimri ftand : A man fo various, that he feem'd to be Not one, but all mankind's epitome : Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong > Was every thing by ftarts, and nothing long ; But, in the courfe of one revolving moon, Was chymift, fidler, ftatefman, and buffoon : Then all for women, painting, rhiming, drinking, Befides ten thoufand freaks that dy'd in thinking. VOL. I. N 178 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. Bleft madman, who could every hour employ, With fomething new to wim, or to enjoy ! Railing and praifing were his ufual themes ; And both, to ihew his judgment, in extremes: So over violent, or over civil, That every man with him was God or Devil. In fquandering wealth was his peculiar art : Nothing went unrewarded but defert. Beggar'd by fools, whom ftill he found too late $ He had his jeft, and they had his eftate. He laugh'd himielf from court ; then fought relief By forming parties, but could ne'er be chief: For fpite of him the weight of bufmefs fell On Abfalom, and wife Achitophel : Thus, wicked but in will, of means bereft, He left not faction, but of that was left. Titles and names 'twere tedious to rehearfe Of lords, below the dignity of verfe. Wits, warriors, commonwealths-men, were the beft: Kind huibands, and mere nobles, all the reft. And therefore, in the name of dulnefs, be The well-hung Balaam and cold Caleb free : And canting Nadab let oblivion damn, Who made new porrige for the pafchal lamb. 179 Let friendship's holy band fome names afTure ; Some their own worth, and fome let fcorn fecure. Nor mall the rafcal rabble here have place, Whom kings no titles gave, and God no grace : Not bull-fac'd Jonas, who could ftatutes draw To mean rebellion, and make treafon law. But he, tho bad, is follow'd.by a worfe, The wretch who heaven's anointed dar'd to curfe j Shimei, whofe youth did early promife bring Of zeal to God and hatred to his king ; Did wifely from expenfive lins refrain, And never broke the fabbath but for gain : Nor ever was he known an oath to vent, Or curfe unlefs againft the government. Thus heaping wealth, by the moft ready way Among the Jews, which was to cheat and pray ; The city to reward his pious hate Againft his matter, chofe him magiftrate. His hand a vafe of juftice did uphold -, His neck was loaded with a chain of gold. Puring his office treafon was no crime j The fons of Belial had a glorious time : For Shimei, tho not prodigal of pelf, Yet lov'd his wicked neighbor as himfelf, N 2 180 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL, When two or three were gathered to declaim Againft the monarch of Jerufalem, Shimei was always in the midft of them : And if they curs'd the king when he was by, Would rather curfe than break good company. If any durft his factious friends accufe, lie pack'd a jury of diflenting Jews ; Whofe fellow-feeling in the godly caufe Would free the fuffering faint from human laws. For laws are only made to punifli thofe Who ferve the king, and to protect his foes. If any leifure time he had from power, Becaufe 'tis fin to rnifemploy an hour : His bufmefs was, by writing to perfuade, That kings were ulelefs and a clog to trade : And that his noble ilyle he might refine, No Rechabite more fhun'd the fumes of wine. Chafte were his cellars, and his ihrieval board The grofsnefs of a city feaft abhorr'd : His cooks with long difufe their trade forgot 3 Cool was his kitchen, tho his brains were hot. Such frugal virtue malice may accufe j But fure 'twas neceflary to the Jews : For towns, once burnt, fuch magiftrates require As dare not tempt God's providence by fire. 3 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 181 With fpiritual food he fed his fervants well, But free from flefn that made the Jews rebel : And Mofes' laws he held in more account, For forty days of fafting in the mount. To fpeak the reft who better are forgot, Would tire a well-breath'd witnefs of the plot. Yet Corah, thou malt from oblivion pafs ; Erect thyfelf, thou monumental brafs, High as the ferpent of thy metal made, While nations ftand fecure beneath thy {hade. What, tho his birth were bafe, yet comets rife From earthly vapors ere they mine in fkies. Prodigious actions may as well be done By weaver's ilTue, as by prince's fon. *r This arch-atteftor for the public good By that one deed ennobles all his blood. Who ever aik'd the witnefTes high race, Whofe oath with martyrdom did Stephen grace ? Ours was a Levite, and as times went then, His tribe were God Almighty's gentlemen. Sunk were his eyes, his voice was harfh and loud, Sure figns he neither choleric was, nor proud : His long chin prov'd his wit ; his faint-like grace A church vermillion, and a Mofes' face. His memory miraculoufly great, Could plots, exceeding man's belief, repeat ^ 182 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEI; Which therefore cannot be accounted lies, For human wit could never fuch devife. Some future truths are mingled in his book ; But where the witnefs fail'd the prophet fpoke : Some things like viiionary flight appear -, The fpirit caught him up the Lord knows where 5 And gave him his rabinical degree. Unknown to foreign univerfity. His judgment yet his memory did excel ; Which picc'd his wonderous evidence fo well, And fuited to the temper of the times, Then groaning under jebufitic crimes. Let Ifrael's foes fufpect his heavenly call, And rafhly judge his writ apocryphal ; Our laws for fuch affronts have forfeits made : He takes his life who takes away his trade. Were I myfelf in witnefs Corah's place, The wretch who did me fuch a dire difgrace, Should whet my memory, tho once forgot, To make him an appendix of my plot. His zeal to heaven made him his prince defpife, And load his perfon with indignities. But zeal peculiar privilege affords, Indulging latitude to deeds and words : And Corah might for Agag's murder call, In terms as coarfe as Samuel us'd to Saul. ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 183 What others in his evidence did join, The beft that could be had for love or coin, In Corah's own predicament will fall : For witnefs is a common name to all. Surrounded thus with friends of every fort, * Deluded Abfalom forfakes the court : Impatient of high hopes, urg'd with renown, And fir'd with near pofTeffion of a crown. Th' admiring crowd are dazzled with furprize, And on his goodly perfon feed their eyes. His joy conceal'd he fets himfelf to mow ; On each fide bowing popularly low : His looks, his geftures, and his words he frames, And with familiar eafe repeats their names. Thus form'd by nature, furnifh'd out with arts, He glides unfelt into their fecret hearts. Then with a kind compaffionating look, And fighs, befpeaking pity ere he fpoke, Few words he faid ; but eafy thofe and fit, More flow than hybla-drops, and far more fweet. I mourn, my countrymen, your loft eftate ; Tho far unable to prevent your fate : Behold a banifh'd man for your dear caufe Expos'd a prey to arbitrary laws ! N 4 i 184 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL." Yet oh ! that I alone could be undone, Cut off from empire, and no more a fon ! Now all your liberties a ipoil are made ; Egypt and Tyrus intercept your trade, And Jebufit.es your facred rites invade. My father, whom with reverence yet I name, Charm'd into eafe, is carelefs of his fame ; And brib'd with petty fums of foreign gold, Is grown in Bathfheba's embraces old ; Exalts his enemies, his friends deftroys ; And all his power againft himfelf employs. He gives, and let him give, my right away : But why mould he his own and yours betray ? He, only he, can make the nation bleed, And he alone from my revenge is freed. Take then my tears, with that he wip'd his eyes, 'Tis all the aid my prefent power fupplies : No court-informer can thefe arms accufe j Thefe arms may fons againft their fathers ufe ; And 'tis my wifh, the next fucceflbr's reign May make no other Ifraelite complain. Youth, beauty, graceful action feldom fail j But common interefl always will prevail ; And pity never ceafes to be mown To him who makes the people's wrongs his own. ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 185 The crowd that ftill believe their kings opprefs, With lifted hands their young Meffiah blefs : Who now begins his progrefs to ordain With chariots, horfemen, and a numerous train : From eaft to weft his glories he difplays, And, like the fun, the promis'd land furveys. Fame runs before him as the morning-ftar, And mouts of joy falute him from afar : Each houfe receives him as a guardian god, And confecrates the place of his abode. But hofpitable treats did moft commend Wife Iflachar, his wealthy weftern friend. This moving court that caught the people's eyes, And feem'd but pomp, did other ends difguife : Achitophel had form'd it, with intent To found the depths, and fathom where it went, The people's hearts, diftinguifh friends from foes ; And try their ftrength before they came to blows. Yet all was color'd with a fmooth pretence Of fpecious love, and duty to their prince. Religion, and redrefs of grievances, Two names that always cheat, and always pleafe, Are often urg'd ; and good king David's life Endanger'd by a brother and a wife. Thus in a pageant mew a plot is made ; And peace itfelf is war in mafquerade. A B s A L O'M and A c H I T o p H E L. Oh foolifh Ifrael ! never warn'd by ill ! Still the fame bait, and circumvented flill ! Did ever men forfake their prefent eafe, In midft of health imagine a difeafe ; Take pains contingent mifchiefs to forefee, Make heirs for monarchs, and for God decree ? What mall we think ? Can people give away, Both for themfelves and fons, their native fway ? Then they are left defencelefs to the fword Of each unbounded, arbitrary lord : And laws are vain, by which we right enjoy, If kings unqueftion'd can thofe laws deftroy. Yet if the crowd be judge of fit and juft, And kings are only officers in truft, Then this refuming covenant was declar'd When kings were made, or is for ever barr'd. If thofe who gave the fcepter could not tie By their own deed their own pofterity, How then cou'd Adam bind his future race ? How cou'd his forfeit on mankind take place ? Or how cou'd heavenly juft ice damn us all, Who ne'er confented to our father's fall ? Then kings are flaves to thofe whom they command, And tenants to their people's Heafure fland. Add, that the power for property allow'd Is mifchievoufly feated in the crowd : ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 187 For who can be fecure of private right, If fovereign fway may be difiblv'd by might ? Nor is the people's judgment always true : The moft may err as grofly as the few ? And faultlefs kings run down by common cry, For vice, oppreffion, and for tyranny. What ftandard is there in a fickle rout, Which, flowing to the mark, runs fatter out ? Nor only crowds but fanhedrims may be Infected with this public lunacy, And mare the madnefs of rebellious times, To murder monarchs for imagin'd crimes. If they may give and take whene'er they pleafe, Not kings alone, the Godhead's images, But government itfelf at length muft fall To nature's ftate, where all have right to all. Yet, grant our lords the people kings can make, What prudent men a fettled throne would make ? For whatfoe'er their fufferings were before, That change they covet makes them fufTer more. All other errors but difturb a ftate ; But innovation is the blow of fate. If ancient fabrics nod, and threat to fall, To patch their flaws, and buttrefs up the wall, Thus far 'tis duty : but here fix the mark - t For all beyond it is to touch the ark. i88 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. To change foundations, caft the frame anew, Is work for rebels, who bafe ends purfue ; At once divine and human laws controul, And mend the parts by ruin of the whole. The tampering world is fubject to this curfe, To phyfic their difeafe into a worfe. Now what relief can righteous David bring ? How fatal 'tis to be too good a king ! Friends he has few; fo high the madnefs grows > Who dare be fuch muft be the people's foes. Yet fome there were, e'en in the worft of days ; Some let me name, and naming is to praife. In this fhort file Barzillai firft appears j Barzillai, crown'd with honor and with years. Long fince, the riiing rebels he withftood In regions wafte beyond the Jordan's flood : Unfortunately brave to buoy the flate ; But finking underneath his matter's fate : In exile with his godlike prince he mourn'd -, For him he fuffer'd, and with him return'd. The court he practis'd, not the courtier's art : Large was his wealth, but larger was his heart. Which well the nobleft objects knew to choofe, The fighting warrior, and recording mufe. His bed could once a fruitful ifTue boaft ; Now more than half a father's name is loft, ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 189 His eldeft hope, with every grace adorn'd, By me, fo heaven will have it, always mourn'd, And always honour'd,fnatch'd in manhood'sprime By unequal fates, and providence's crime : Yet not before the goal of honor won, All parts fulfili'd of fubjecl: and of fon : Swift was the race, but mort the time to run. Oh narrow circle, but of power divine, Scanted in fpace, but perfect in thy line ! By fea, by land, thy matchlefs worth was known, Arms thy delight, and war was all thy own : Thy force infus'd the fainting Tyrians prop'd ; And haughty Pharaoh found his fortune ftop'd. Oh ancient honor ! Oh unconquer'd hand, Whom foes unpunifh'd never cou'd withftand ! But Ifrael was unworthy of his name : Short is the date of all immoderate fame. It looks as heaven our ruin had defign'd, And durft not truft thy fortune and thy mind. Now, free from earth, thy difencumber'd foul Mounts up, and leaves behind the clouds and ftarry pole: From thence thy kindred legions mayftthou bring, To aid the guardian angel of thy king. Here flop, my mufe, here ceafe thy painful flight : No pinions can purfue immortal height : 190 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. Tell good Barzillai thou canft fing no more, And tell thy foul (lie mould have fled before : Or fled {he with his life, and left this verfe ( To hang on her departed patron's hearfe ? Now take thy fteepy flight from heav'n, and fee If thou canft find on earth another he : Another he would be too hard to find ; See then whom thou canft fee not far behind. Zadoc the prieft, whom,(hunning pow'r and place, His lowly mind advanc'd to David's grace. With him the Sagan of Jerufalem, Of hofpitable foul, and noble ftem ; Him of the weftern dome, whole weighty fenfe Flows in fit words and heavenly eloquence. The prophets fons, by fuch example led, To learning and to loyalty were bred : For colleges on bounteous kings depend, And never rebel was to arts a friend. To thefe fucceed the pillars of the laws j Who beft can plead, and beft can judge a caufe. Next them a train of loyal peers afcend j Sharp-judging Adriel, the mufes friend, Himfelf a mufe : in fanhedrims debate True to his prince, but not a flave of ftate : Whom David's love with honors did adorn, That from his difobedient fon were torn. ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 191 Jotham of piercing wit, and pregnant thought ; Endued by nature, and by learning taught, To move aflemblies, who but only try'd The worfe a-while, then chofe the better fide : Nor chofe alone, but turn'd the balance too ; So much the weight of one brave man can do. Humai, the friend of David in diftrefs j In public ftorms of manly ftedfaftnefs : By foreign treaties he inform'd his youth, And join'd experience to his native truth, His frugal care fupply'd the wanting throne ; Frugal for that, but bounteous of his own : 'Tis eafy conduct when exchequers flow ; But hard the tafk to manage well the low : For fovereign power is too deprefs'd or high, When kings are forc'd to fell, or crowds to buy. Indulge one labour more, my weary mufe, For Amiel : who can Amiel's praife refufe ? Of ancient race by birth, but nobler yet In his own worth, and without title great : The fanhedrim long time as chief he rul'd, Their reafon guided, and their paiTion cool'd : So dextrous was he in the crown's'defence, So form'd to fpeak a loyal nation's fenfe, That, as their band was Ifrael's tribes in fmall, So fit was he to reprefent them all. 192 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. Now ra flier charioteers the feat afcend, Whofe loofe careers his fteady fkill commend : They, like th' unequal ruler of the day, Mifguide the feafons, and miftake the way ; While he withdrawn at their mad labors fmiles, And fafe enjoys the fabbath of his toils. Thefe were the chief, a fmall but faithful band"} Of worthies, in the breach who dar'd to ftand, I- And tempt th' united fury of the land, J With grief they view'd fuch powerful engines bent, To batter down the lawful government. A numerous faction, with pretended frights, In fanhedrims to plume the regal rights j The true fuccefibr from the court remov'd ; The plot, by hireling witneiTes, improv'd. Thefe ills they faw, and, as their duty bound, They mew'd the king the danger of the wound 3 That no conceffions from the throne wou'd pleafe, But lenitives fomented the difeafe : That Abfalom, ambitious of the crown, Was made the lure to draw the people down : That falfe Achitophel's pernicious hate Had turn'd the plot to ruin church andflate : The council violent, the rabble worfe : That Shimei taught Jerufalem to curfe. With ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 193 With all thefe loads of injuries oppreft, And long revolving in his careful bread The event of things, at laft his patience tir'd, Thus, from his royal throne, by heaven infpir'd, The god-like David fpoke ; with awful fear His train their Maker in their matter hear. Thus long have I by native mercy fway'd, My wrongs dhTembled, my revenge delay'd : So willing to forgive the offending age j So much the father did the king affuage. But now fo far my clemency they flight, The offenders queftion my forgiving right, That one was made for many, they contend j But 'tis to rule ; for that's a monarch's end. They call my tendernefs of blood, my fear : Tho manly tempers can the longeft bear. Yet fince they will divert my native courfe, 'Tis time to mew I am not good by force. Thofe heap'd affronts that haughty fubjecls bring, Are burdens for a camel, not a king. Kings are the public pillars of the ft ate, Born to fuftain and prop the nation's weight : If my young Sampfon will pretend a call To (hake the column, let him (hare the fall : VOL. I. O 194 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. But oh, that yet he would repent and live ! . How eafy 'tis for parents to forgive ! With how few tears a pardon might be won From nature, pleading for a darling fon ! Poor, pitied youth, by my paternal care, Rais'd up to all the height his frame could bear I Had God ordain'd his fate for empire born, He would have given his foul another turn : Gull'd with a patriot's name, whofe modern fenfe Is one that would by law fupplant his prince - 9 The people's brave, the politician's tool j Never was patriot yet, but was a fool. Whence comes it, that religion and the laws Should more be Abfalom's than David's caufe ? His old inftructor ere he loft his place, Was never thought indu'd with fo much grace. Good heavens, how faction can a patriot paint ! My rebel ever proves my people's faint. Would they impofe an heir upon the throne, Let fanhedrims be taught to give their own. A king's at leaft a part of government -, And mine as requiiite as their confent : Without my leave a future king to chufe, Infers a right the prefent to depofe. True, they petition me to approve their choice : But Efau's hands fuit ill with Jacob's voice. ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 195 My pious fubjedts for my fafety pray 5 Which to fecure they take my power away. From plots and treafons heaven preferve my years, But fave me moft from my petitioners. Unfatiate as the barren womb or grave j God cannot grant fo much as they can crave. What then is left, but with a jealous eye To guard the fmall remains of royalty ? The law fliall ftill direct my peaceful fway, And the fame law teach rebels to obey : Votes mail no more eftablim'd power controul, Such votes as make a part exceed the whole. No groundlefs clamors mail my friends remove, Nor crowds have power to punifh ere they prove ; For Gods and god-like kings their care exprefs, Still to defend their fervants in diftrefs. Oh, that my power to faving were confin'd ! Why am I forc'd, like heaven, againft my mind, To make examples of another kind ? Muft I at length the fword of juftice draw ? Oh curft effects of neceffary law ! How ill my fear they by my mercy fcan ! Beware the fury of a patient man. Law they require, let law then mew her face j They could not be content to look on grace, O 2 ig6 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL, Her hinder parts, but with a daring eye To tempt the terror of her front and die. By their own arts 'tis righteoufly decreed, Thofe dire artificers of death fhall bleed. Againft themfelves their witnefTes will fwear, 'Till viper-like their mother plot they tear $ And fuck for nutriment that bloody gore, Which was their principle of life before. Their Belial with their Beelzebub will fight : Thus on my foes, my foes mall do me right. Nor doubt th' event : for factious crowds engage, In their firft onfet, all their brutal rage. Then let 'em take an unrefifted courfe : Retire, and traverfe, and delude their force : But when they ftand all breathlefs, urge the fight, And rife upon them with redoubled might : For lawful power is flill fuperior found ; When long driv'n back at length it ftands the ground. He faid : Th' Almighty nodding gave confent 3 And peals of thunder ihook the firmament. Henceforth a feries of new time began, The mighty years in long proceffion ran : Once more the god-like David was reftor'd, And willing nations knew their lawful lord. ABSALOM AND PART II. T O T H E READER. TN the year 1680 Mr. Dryden undertook the ** poem of Abfalom and Achitophel, upon the defire of king Charles the fecond. The perfor- mance was applauded by every one ; and feveral perfons preffing him to write a fecond part, he, upon declining it himfelf, fpoke to Mr. Tate to write one, and gave him his advice in the direction of it ; and that part beginning with VOL. I. 226 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. They grudge God's tythes, how therefore mall they yield An idol full pofTeffion of the field ? Grant fuch a prince enthron'd, we muft confefs The people's fufferings than that monarch's lefs, Who muft to hard conditions ftill be bound, And for his quiet with the crowd compound 5 Or mould his thoughts to tyranny incline, Where are the means to compafs the defign ? Our crown's revenues are too fliort a ftore, And jealous fanhedrims would give no more. As vain our fears of Egypt's potent aid, Not fo has Pharaoh learnt ambition's trade, Nor ever with fuch meafures can comply, As mock the common rules of policy j None dread like him the growth of Ifrael's king, And he alone fufficient aids can bring; Who knows that prince to Egypt can give law, That on our ftubborn tribes his yoke could draw, At fuch profound expence he has not ftood, Nor dy'd for this his hands fo deep in blood ; Would ne'er thro wrong and right his progrefs take, Grudge his own reft, and keep the world awake, To fix a lawlefs prince on Judah's throne, Firft to invade our rights, and then his own ; ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 227 His dear-gain'd conquefts cheaply to defpoil, And reap the harveftof his crimes and toil. We grant his wealth vaft as our ocean's fand, And curfe its fatal influence on our land, Which our brib'd Jews fo numeroufly partake, That even an hofl his penfioners would make ; From thefe deceivers our divisions fpring, Our weaknefs, and the growth of Egypt's king ; Thefe with pretended friendship to the ftate, Our crowd's fufpicion of their prince create, Both pleas'd and frighten'd with the fpecious cry, To guard their facred rights and property 3 To ruin, thus the chofen flock are fold, While wolves are ta'en for guardians of the fold ; Seduc'd by thefe we groundlefly complain, And loath the manna of a gentle reign : Thus our forefathers crooked paths are trod, We truft our prince no more than they their God. But all in vain our reafoning prophets preach, To thofe whom fad experience ne'er could teach, Who can commence new broils in bleeding fears, And frelli remembrance of inteftine wars $ When the fame houfhold mortal foes did yield, And brothers flain'd with brothers blood the field; 228 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. When fons curft fteel the fathers gore did ftain, And mothers mourn'd for fons by fathers flain ! When thick as Egypt's locufts on the fand, Our tribes lay flaughter'd thro the promis'd land, Whofe few furvivors with worfe fate remain, To drag the bondage of a tyrant's reign : Which fcene of woes, unknowing we renew, And madly, even thofe ills we fear, purfue ; While Pharaoh laughs at our domeftic broils, And fafely crowds his tents with nations fpoils. Yet our fierce fanhedrim in reftlefs rage, Againft our abfent heroe ftill engage, And chiefly urge, fuch did their frenzy prove. The only fuit their prince forbids to move, Which till obtained they ceafe affairs of ftate, And real dangers wave for groundlefs hate. Long David's patience waits relief to bring, With all the indulgence of a lawful king, Expecting till the troubled waves would ceafc, But found the raging billows ftill increafe. The crowd, whofe infolence forbearance fwells, While he forgives too far, almoft rebels. At laft his deep refentments filence broke, Th' imperial palace fhook, while thus he fpoke, Then Juftice wake, and Rigor take her time, For lo ! our mercy is become our crime. ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 229 While halting Punifliment her ftroke delays, Our fovereign right, heaven's facred truft, decays? For whofe fupporteven fubjects intereft calls, Wo ! to that kingdom where the monarch falls. That prince who yields the leaft of regal fway, So far his people's freedom does betray. Right lives by law, and law fubfifts by power ; Difarm the mepherd, wolves the flock devour. Hard lot of empire o'er a ftubborn race, Which heaven itfelf in vain has try'd with grace ! When will our reafon's long-charm'd eyes unclofe* And Ifrael judge between her friends and foes ? When mall we fee expir'd deceivers fway, And credit what our God and monarchs fay ? DifTembled patriots brib'd with Egypt's gold, Even fanhedrims in blind obedience hold ; Thofe patriots falfhood in their actions fee, And judge by the pernicious fruit the tree j If ought for which fo loudly they declaim, Religion, laws, and freedom, were their aim j Our fenates in due methods they had led, To avoid thofe mifchiefs which they feem'd to dread ; But firft e'er yet they propt the finking ftate, To impeach and charge, as urg'd by private hate ; Q3 230 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. Proves that they ne'er believ'd the fears they preft, But barbaroufly deftroy'd the nation's reft ! O ! whither will ungovern'd fenates drive, And to what bounds licentious votes arrive ? When their injuftice we are prefs'd to fhare, The monarch urg'd to exclude the lawful heir; Are princes thus diftinguim'd from the crowd, And this the privilege of royal blood ? But grant we fhould confirm the wrongs they prefs, His fufferings yet were than the people's lefs ; Condemn'd for life the murdering fword to wield, And on their heirs entail a bloody field : Thus madly their own freedom they betray, And for th' oppremon which they fear make way ; Succemon fix'd by heaven, the kingdom's bar, Which once diflblv'd, admits the flood of war; Wade, rapine, fpoil, without th' afTault begin, And our mad tribes fupplant the fence within. Since then their good they will not underftand, 'Tis time to take the monarch's power in hand ; Authority and force to join with {kill, Andfave the lunatics againfl their will. The fame rough means that fwage the crowd, appeafe Our fenates raging with the crowd's difeafe. ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 231 Henceforth unbiafs'd meafures let them draw From no falfe glofs, but genuine text of law j Nor urge thofe crimes upon religion's fcore, Themfelves fo much in Jebuiites abhor. Whom laws convict, and only they, {hall bleed, Nor pharifees by pharifees be freed. Impartial juftice from our throne mall mower, All mail have right, and we our fov'reign power. He faid, th' attendants heard with awful joy, And glad prefages their fix'd thoughts employ j From Hebron now the fuffering heir return'd, A realm that long with civil difcord mourn'd ; Till his approach, like fome arriving God, Compos'd and heal'd the place of his abode j The deluge check'd that to Judea fpread, And ftop'd fedition at the fountain's head. Thus in forgiving David's paths he drives, And chas'd from Ifrael, Ifrael's peace contrives. The field confefs'd his power in arms before, And feas proclaim'd his triumphs to the more ; As nobly has his fway in Hebron mown, How fit to inherit godlike David's throne. Thro Sion's ftreets his glad arrival's fpread, And confcious faction mrinks her fnaky head $ 232 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. His train their fufFerings think o'erpaid to fee The crowds applaufe with virtue once agree. Succefs charms all, but zeal for worth diflreft A virtue proper to the brave and beft ; 'Mongft whom was Jothran, Jothran always bent To ferve the crown, and loyal by defccnt, Whole conftancy fo firm, and conduct juft, Deferv'd at once two royal matters truft ; Who Tyre's proud arms had manfully withflood On feas, and gather'd laurels from the flood ; Of learning yet, no portion was deny'd, Friend to the inufes and the mufes pride. Nor can Benaiah's worth forgotten lie, Of fleddy foul when public ftorms were high ; Whofe conduct while the Moor fierce onfets made, Secur'd at once our honor and our trade. Such were the chiefs who moil his fuff 'rings mourn'd, And view'd with iilent joy the prince return'd 3 While thofe that fought his abfence to betray, Prefs firft their naufeous falfe refpects to pay ; Him Hill the officious hypocrites moleft, And with malicious duty break his reft. While real tranfports thus his friends employ, And foes are loud in their diffembled joy, 2 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 233 His triumphs ib refoundcd far and near, Mifs'd not his young ambitious rival's ear ; And as when joyful hunters clam'rous train, Some flumb'ring lyon wakes in Moab's plain, Who oft had forc'd the bold aflailants yield, And fcatter'd his purfuers thro the field, Difdaining, furls his mane and tears the ground, His eyes enflaming all the defart round, With roar of feas directs his chafers way, Provokes from far, and dares them to the fray ; Such rage ftorm'd now in Abfalom's fierce breaft Such indignation his fir'd eyesconfeft; Where now was the inftructor of his pride ? Slept the old pilot in fo rough a tide ? Whofe wiles had from the happy more betray'd, And thus onmelvesthe cred'lous youth con vey'd; In deep revolving thoughts he weighs his ftate, Secure of craft, nor doubts to baffle fate, At leaft, if his ftorm'd bark muft go adrift, To baulk his charge, and for himfelf to mift, In which his dextrous wit had oft been mown, And in the wreck of kingdoms fav'd his own ; But now with more than common danger preft, Of various refolutions ftands pofTeft, Perceives the crowd's unftable zeal decay, Left their recanting chief the caufe betray, 234 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. Who on a father's grace his hopes may ground, And for his pardon with their heads compound. Him therefore e'er his fortune flip her time, The ftatefman plots t' engage in fome bold crime Paft pardon, whether to attempt his bed, Or threat with open arms the royal head/ Or other daring method, and unjuft, That may confirm him in the people's truft. But failing thus t' enfnare him, nor fecure How long his foil'd ambition may endure, Plots next to lay him by as paft his date, And try fome new pretender's luckier fate ; Whofe hopes with equal toil he would purfue, Nor cares what claimers crown'd, except the true. Wake Abfalom, approaching ruin fhun, And fee, O fee, for whom thou art undone ! How are thy honors and thy fame betray 'd, The property of defp'rate villains made ? Loft power and confcious fears their crimes create, And guilt in them was little lefs than fate ; But why fhouldft thou from every grievance free, Forfake thy vineyards for their ftormy fea ? For thee did Canaan's milk and honey flow, Love drefs'd thy bowers, and laurels fought thy brow, ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 235 Preferment, wealth and powerthy vafTals were, And of a monarch all things but the care. Oh mould our crimes again that curfe draw down, And rebel-arms once more attempt the crown, Sure ruin waits unhappy Abfalom, Alike by conqueft or defeat undone j Who could relentlefs fee fuch youth and charms, Expire with wretched fate in impious arms ? A prince fo form'd with earth's and heaven's applaufe, To triumph o'er crown'd heads in David's caufe : X Or grant him victor, ftill his hopes muft fail, Who conquering would not for himfelf prevail ; The faction whom he trufts for future fway, Him and the public would alike betray ; Amongft themfelves divide the captive ftate, And found their hydra-empire in his fate ! Thus having beat the clouds with painful flight, The pity'd youth with fcepters in his fight ; So have their cruel politics decreed, Muft by that crew that made him guilty, bleed ! For could their pride brook any prince's fway, Whom but mild David would they chufe to obey ? Who once at fuch a gentle reign repine, The fall of monarchy itfelf delign ; 236 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. From hate to that their reformations fpring, And David not their grievance, but the king. Seiz'd now with panic fear the faction lies, Left this clear truth ftrike Abfalom's charm'd eyes, Left he perceive from long enchantment free, What all befide the flatter'd youth muft fee. But whate'er doubts his troubled bofom fwell, Fair carriage ftill became Achitophel. Who now an envious feftival enftals, And to furvey their ftrength the faction calls, Which fraud, religious worfhip too muft gild - 3 Eut oh how weakly does fedition build ? For lo ! the royal mandate iffues forth, Darning at once their treafon, zeal, and mirth \ So have I feen difaftrous chance invade, Where careful emmits had their forage laid, Whether fierce Vulcan's rage the furzy plain Had feiz'd, engendred by fome carelefs fwain ; Or fwelling Neptune lawlefs inroads made, And to their cell of ftore his flood convey 'd ; The commonwealth broke up, diftracted go, And in wild hafte their loaded mates o'erthrow: Even fo our fcatter'd guefts confufedly meet, With boil'd 3 bak'd, roaft, all juftling intheftreet; ABSALOM and ACIIITOPHEL. 237 Dejecting all, and ruefully difmay'd, For ihekel without treat, or treafon paid. Sedition's dark eclipfe now fainter {hows, More bright each hour the royal planet grows, Of force the clouds of envy to difperfe, In kind conjunction of affifting ftars. Here, laboring mufe, thole glorious chiefs relate, That turn'd the doubtful fcale of David's fate j The reft of that illuftrious band rehearfe, Immortaliz'd in laurel'd Afaph's verfe : Hard tafk ! yet will not I thy flight recal, View heaven, and then enjoy thy glorious fall. Firft write Bezaliel, whofe illuftrious name Foreftals our praife, and gives his poet fame. The Kenites rocky province his command, A barren limb of fertile Canaan's land ; Which for its generous natives yet could be Held worthy fuch a prefident as he ! Bezaliel with each grace and virtue fraught, Serene his looks j ferene his life and thought, On whom fo largely nature heap'd her ftore, There fcarce remain'd for arts to give him more ! To aid the crown and ftate his greateft zeal, His fecond care that fervice to conceal ; Of dues obfervant, firm to every truft, And to the needy always more than juft. 238 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL* Who truth from fpecious falfhood can divide, Has all the gownfmens fkill without their pride 5 Thus crown'd with worth from heights of honor won, Sees all his glories copied in his fon, Whofe forward fame mould every mufe engage : Whofe youth boafts fkill deny'd to other's age. Men, manners, language, books of noblefl kind, Already are the conqueft of his mind. Whofe loyalty before its date was prime ; Nor waited the dull courfe of rolling time : The monfter faction early he difmay'd, And David's caufe long fince confefs'd his aid. Brave Abdael o'er the prophet's fchool was plac'd j Abdael with all his father's virtue grac'd ; A hero, who while ftars look'd wond'ring down, Without one Hebrew's blood refior'dthe crown. That praife was his -, what therefore did remain For following chiefs, but boldly to maintain That crown reftor'd and in this rank of fame, Brave Abdael with the firfr. a place muft claim. Proceed illuftrious, happy chief, proceed, Forefeize the garlands for thy brow decreed, While th' infpir'd tribe attend with noblefl ftrain To regiiter the glories thou {halt gain : ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL.~ 239 For fure the dew mall Gilboah's hills forfake, And Jordan mix his ftream with Sodom's lake ; Or feas retir'd their fecret ilores difclofe, And to the fun their fcaly brood expofe, Or fwell'd above the clifts their billows raife, Before the mufes leave their patron's praife. Eliab our next labor does invite, And hard the tafk to do Eliab right : Long with the royal wanderer he rov'd, And firm in all the turns of fortune prov'd ! Such ancient fervice and defert fo large, Well claim'd the royal houfhold for his charge. His age with only one mild heirefs bleft, In all the bloom of fmiling nature dreft, And bleft again to fee his flower ally'd To David's flock, and made young Othniel's bride ! The bright reftorer of his father's youth, Devoted to a fon's and fubj eel's truth : Refolv'd to bear that prize of duty home, So bravely fought, while fought by Abfalom. A prince ! the illuftrious planet of thy birth, And thy more powerful virtue guard thy worth ; That no Achitophel thy ruin boaft ; Ifrael too much in one fuch wreck has loft. 240 ABSALOM and ACH.ITOPHEL.' Even envy muft confent to Helen's worth, Whofe foul, tho Egypt glories in his birth, Could for our captive-ark its zeal retain, And Pharaoh's altars in their pomp difdain : To flight his gods was fmall , with nobler pride, He all the allurements of his court defy'd. Whom profit nor-example could betray, But Ifrael's friend, and true to David's fway. What acts of favor in his province fall, On merit he confers, and freely all. Our lift of nobles next let Amri grace, Whofe merits claim'd the Abethdins high place j Who with a loyalty that did excel, Brought all th' endowments of Achitophel. Sincere was Amri, and not only knew, But Ifrael's fanctions into practice drew j Our laws, that did a boundlefs ocean feem, Were coafted all, and fathom'd all by him. No rabbin fpeaks like him their myftic fenfe, Sojuft, and with fuch charms of eloquence : To whom the double bleffing does belong, With Mofes' infpiration, Aaron's tongue. Than Sheva nonemore loyal zeal have mown, Wakeful as Judah's lion for the crown, Who ABSALOM and AcniToPtifcL. 241 Who for that caufe ftill combats in his age, For which his youth with danger did engage. In vain our factious priefts the cant revive ; In vain feditious fcribes with libel ftrive T' enflame the crowd j while he with watchful eye Obferves, and fhoots their treafons as they fly; Their weekly frauds his keen replies detect ; He undeceives more fail than they infect. So Mofes when the peft on legions prey'd, Advanc'd his fignal and the plague was ftay'd. Once more my fainting mufe thy pinions try, And ftrength's exhaufted ftore let love fupply. What tribute, Afaph, mail we render thee ? We'll crown thee with a wreath from thy own tree ! Thy laurel grove no envy's flafh can blaft j The fong of Afaph mall for ever laft. With wonder late pofterity mall dwell On Abfalom and falfe Achitophel : Thy ftrains {hall be our flumbering prophets dream, And when our Sion virgins fing their theme - } Our jubilees lhall with thy verfe be grac'd, The fong of Afaph mall for ever laft. VOL. I. R 242 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. How fierce his fatyrloos'd; reftrain'd,how tame ; How tender of th' offending young man's fame ! How well his worth, and brave adventures flil'd - y Juil to his virtues, to his error mild. No page of thine that fears the ftricteft view, But teems with juft reproof, or praife as due j Not Eden could a fairer profped: yield, All paradife without one barren field : Whofe wit the cenfure of his foes has paft, The fong of Afaph mall for ever laft. What praife for fuch rich ftrains mail we allow ? What jufl rewards the grateful crown beftow ? While bees in fiow'rs rejoice, and flow'rs in dew, While ftars and fountains to their courfe are true ; While Judah's throne, and Sion's rock ftand fail, The fong of Afaph and the fame mall laft. Still Hebron's honour'd happy foil retains Our royal heroes beauteous dear remains j Who now fails off with winds nor wifhes flack, To bring his fufferings' bright companion back. But e'er fuch tranfport can our fenfe employ, A bitter grief muft poifon half our joy ; Nor can our coafts reftor'd thcfe bleffings fee Without a bribe to envious deftiny ! ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 243 Curs'd Sodom's doom for ever fix the tide Where by inglorious chance the valiant dy'd. Give not infulting Afkalon to know, Nor let Gath's daughters triumph in our woe ! No failor with the news fwell Egypt's pride, By what inglorious fate our valiant dy'd ! Weep Arnon ! Jordan weep thy fountains dry, While Sion's rock dhTolves for a fupply. Calm were the elements, night's filence deep, The waves fcarce murm'ring, and the winds afleepj Yet fate for ruin takes fo ftill an hour, And treacherous fands the princely bark devour j Then death unworthy feiz'd a gen'rous race, To virtue's fcandal, and the ftars difgrace ! Oh ! had th' indulgent pow'rs vouchfaf 'd to yield, Inftead of faithlefs Shelves, a lifted field ; A lifted field of heaven's and David's foes, Fierce as the troops that did his youth oppofe, Each life had on his flaughter'd heap retir'd, Not tamely, and unconqu'ring thus expir'd : But deftiny is now their only foe, And dying even o'er that they triumph too j R 2 344 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. With loud laft breaths their matter's fcapc applaud, Of whom kind force cou'd fcarce the fates defraud ; Who for fuch followers loft, O matchlefs mind ! At his own fafety now almoft repin'd i Say, royal Sir, by all your fame in arms, Your praife in peace, and by Urania's charms j If all your fuff'rings paft fo nearly preft, Or pierc'd with half fo painful grief your breaft ? Thus fome diviner mufe her heroe forms, Not footh'd with foft delights, but toft in ftorms. Nor ftrecht on rofes in the myrtle grove, Nor crowns his days with mirth, his nights with love, But far remov'd in thund'ring camps is found, His (lumbers fliort, his bed the herblefs ground : In tafks of danger always feen the firft, Feeds from the hedge, and flakes with ice his thirft. Long muft his patience -ftrive with fortune's rage, And long oppoiingGods themfelves engage, Muft fee his country flame, his friends deftroy'd, Before the promis'd empire be enjoy'd : ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 245 Such toil of fate muft build a man of fame, And fuchj to Ifrael's crown, the god-like David came. What fudden beams difpel the clouds fo faft ! Whofe drenching rains laid all our vineyards vvafte ? The fpring fo far behind her courfe delay 'd, On th' inftant is in all her bloom array'd ; The winds breathe low, the element ferene ; Yet mark what motion in the waves is feen ! Thronging and bufy as Hyblaean fwarms, Or ftraggled foldiers fummon'd to their arms. See where the princely bark in loofeft pride, With all her guardian fleet, adorns the tide! High on her deck the royal lovers ftand, Our crimes to pardon e'er they touch'd our land. Welcome to Ifrael and to David's bread: ! Here all your toils, here all your fufFrings reft. This year did Ziloah rule Jerufalem, And boldly all fedition's Syrtes ftem, Howe'er incumber'd with a viler pair Than Ziph or Shimei to afTift the chair j Yet Ziloah's loyal labours fo prevail'd That faction at the next election fail'd, R 3 246 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. When ev'n the common cry didjuftice found, And merit by the multitude was crown'd : With David then was Ifrael's peace reftor'd, Crowds mourn'd their error, and obey'd their lord. K E Y T O ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. Abdaal, Abctbdln, .Abfalom, Achitopbel, Adr'iel, Amid, Amri, Annabel, Afapb, -r- Balaam, Balaak, Barzillai, Batljbeba, Benalab, Ben Jocbanan, Caleb, Cerab, David, ENERAL Monk, Duke of Alfae- marie. The Name given, thro this Poem, to a Lord-Chancellor in general. Duke of Monmouth. The Earl of Shaftefbury, Earl of Mulgrave. Sir Edmundbury Godfrey. Mr. Seymour, Speaker of the Hajfe of Commons. Sir Heneage Finch, Earl of Winchelfea, and Lord-Chancellor. Duchefsof Monmouth. Sir William Waller. J A Character drawn by Tate for Dryden, in the fecond Part of this Poem. Earl of Huntingdon. Barnet. Duke of Ormond. Ducr .fs of Portfmouth. General Sackville. Rev. Mr. Samuel Johnfon. Duke of Beaufort. Lord Grey. Dr. Gates. Charles II. KEY to ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. Elkanah Settle. France. Sir Henry Bennet, Earl of Arlington. The Popifh-PJot. Egypt, - Eliab, - Ethnic-Plot, Gatb, Hebron, Hebrew PrieJIs, Htlon, Hujbai, Jebufites, Jews, Jonas, Jotbran, IJhbofl)etb> IJfachar, Judas, - Ijhban, Mepbibojbetb, Mckal, Rabjheka, Sanbedrim, Saul, >' The Land of Exile, more particularly Bruflels, where King Charles IL Jong refided. Scotland. The Church of England Clergy. Earl of Feverfham. Hyde, Earl of Rochefter. Papifts. London. Engli/h. Sir William Jones. Dover. Marquis of Hallifax. Lord Dartmouth. Richard Cromwell. England. Thomas Thynne, Efq; Mr. Fergufon, a canting Teacher, Sir Robert Clayton. Pordage. Queen Catharine. Lord Howard of Efcrick. Shad well. Forbes. King of France. Sir Thomas Player. Dr. Compton, Bifhop of London* Parliament. Oliver Cromwell. KEY to ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. Sheriff Bethel. Sir Roger Leftrange, London Rebels. Holland. Jack Hall. Sancroft, Archbifhop of Canterbury. A Member of the Houfe of Commons. Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. Sir John Moor. ** THE SATIRE AGAINST SEDITION. EPISTLE T O T H E WHIGS. FOR to whom can 1 dedicate this poem, with fo much juftice as to you ? 'Tis the repre- fentation of your own hero: 'tis the pidture drawn at length, which you admire and prize fo much in little. None of your ornaments are wanting ; neither the landfcape of your Tower, nor the rifing fun j nor the Anno Domini of your new fovereign's coronation. This mufl needs be a grateful undertaking to your whole party : efpe- cially to thofe who have not been fo happy as to purchafe the original. I hear the graver has made a good market of it : all his kings are bought up already ; or the value of the remain- der fo inhanced j that many a poor Polander who would be glad to worfhip the image, is not able to go to the coil of him : but muft be content to 250 EPISTLE TO THE WHIGS. fee him here. I mud confefs I am no great artift j but fign-poft painting will ferve the turn to re- member a friend by ; efpecially when better is not to be had. Yet for your comfort the linea- ments are true : and though he fat not five times to me, as he did to B. yet I have confulted hif- tory j as the Italian painters do, when they would draw a Nero or a Caligula ; though they have not feen the man, they can help their imagina- tion by a ftatue of him, and find out the coloring from Suetonius and Tacitus. Truth is, you might have fpared one fide of your Medal : the head would be feen to more advantage if it were placed on a fpike of the Tower, a little nearer to the fun -, which would then break out to better purpofe. You tell us in your preface to the No-proteftant Plot, that you mall be forced hereafter to leave off your modefty : I fuppofe you mean that little which is left you ; for it was worn to rags when you put out this Medal. Never was there prac- tifed fuch a piece of ^notorious impudence in the face of an eftablimed government.. I believe when he is dead you will wear him in thumb- rings, as the Turks did Scanderbeg ; as if there 2 EPISTLE TO THE WHIGS. 251 were virtue in his bones to preferve you againft monarchy. Yet all this while you pretend not only zeal for the public good, but a due venera- tion for the perfon of the king. But all men who can fee an inch before them, may eafily de- tect thofe grofs falacies. That it is neceflary for men in your circumftances to pretend both, is granted you ; for without them there could be no ground to raife a faction. But I would aik you one civil queftion, what right has any man among you, or any alTociation of men, to come nearer to you, who, out of parliament, cannot be confidered in a public capacity, 1 to meet as you daily do in factious clubs, to vilify the go- vernment in your difcourfes, and to libel it in all your writings ? Who made you judges in Ifrael ? Or how is it confident with your zeal for the pu- blic welfare, to promote fedition ? Does your de- finition of loyal, which is to ferve the king ac- cording to the laws, allow you the licence of traducing the executive power with which you own he is inverted ? You complain that his ma- jefty has loft the love and confidence of his people; and by your very urging it, you endeavour what in you lies to make him lofe them. All good 252 EPISTLE TOTHS WHIGS. fubjects abhor the thought of arbitrary power, whether it be in one or many : if you were the patriots you would feem, you would not at this rate incenfe the multitude to affume it ; for no fober man can fear it, either from the king's dif- pofition or his practice ; or even where you would odioufly lay it, from his minifters. Give us leave to enjoy the government and benefit of laws under which we were born, and which we defire to tranfmit to our poflerity. You are not the truftees of the public liberty : and if you have not right to petition in a crowd, much lefs have you to in- termeddle in the management of affairs ; or to arraign what you do not like j which in effect is every thing that is done by the king and council. Can you imagine that any reafonable man will believe you refped: the perfon of his majeily, when 'tis apparent that your feditious pamphlets are fluffed with particular reflections on him ? If you have the confidence to deny this, it is eafy to be evinced from a thoufand paffages, which I only forbear to quote, becaufe I deiire they fhould die and be forgotten. I have perufed many of your papers ; and to (how you that I have, the third part of your No-proteftant Plot is much of it EPISTLE TO THE WHIGS. 253 ftolen from your dead author's pamphlet, called the Growth of Popery j as manifestly as Milton's Defence of the Englifh People is from Buchanan De jure regni apud Scotos : or your firft Covenant and new Aflbciation from the holy league of the French Guifards. Any one who reads Davila, may trace your practices all along. There were the fame pretences for reformation and loyalty, the fame afperfions of the king, and the fame grounds of a rebellion. I know not whether you will take the hiftorian's word, who fays it was re- ported, that Poltrot a Hugonot murdered Francis duke of Guife, by the mitigations of Theodore Beza, or that it was a Hugonot minifter, other- wife called a Prefbyterian, for our church ab- hors fo devilifh a tenet, who firft writ a treatife of the lawfulnefs of depofing and murdering kings of a different perfuafion in religion : but I am able to prove, from the doctrine of Calvin, and prin- ciples of Buchanan, that they fet the people above the magiflrate j which, if I miftake not is your own fundamental, and which carries your loyalty no farther than your liking. When a vote of the houfe of commons goes on your lide, you are as ready to obferve it as if it were pafled into a law ; 254 EPISTLE TO THE WHIGS. but wl-en you are pinched with any former, and yet unrepealed ad: of parliament, you declare that in fome cafes you will not be obliged by it. The paflage is in the fame third part of the No-pro- teftant Plot ; and is too plain to be denied. The late copy of your intended afTociation, you neither wholly juftify nor condemn; but as the papifts, when they are unoppos'd, fly out into all the pa- geantries of worfhip j but in times of war, when they are hard prefied by arguments, lie clofe in- trench *d behind the Council of Trent : fo now, when your affairs are in a low condition, you dare not pretend that to be a legal combination, but whenfoever you are afloat, I doubt not but it will be maintained and juftified to purpofe. For in- deed there is nothing to defend it but the fword : 'tis the proper time to fay any thing when men have all things in their power. In the mean time, you would fain be nibbling at a parallel betwixt this ailbciation, and that in the time of queen Elizabeth. But there is this fmall difference betwixt them, that the ends of the one are direclly oppofite to the other : one with the queen's approbation and conjunction, as head of it -, the other without either the content EPISTLE TO THE WHIGS. 255 or knowledge of the king, againft whofe autho- rity it is manifeftly dengned. Therefore you do well to have recourfe to your lafl evafion, that it was contrived by your enemies, and (hufned into the papers that were feized ; which yet you fee the nation is not fo eafy to believe as your own jury ; but the matter is not difficult, to find twelve men in Newgate who would acquit a malefactor. I have one only favour to denre of you at part- ing, that when you think of anfwering this poem, you would employ the fame pens againft it, who have combated with fo much fuccefs againft Ab- falom and Achitophel : for then you may affure yourfelves of a clear victory, without the leaft reply. Rail at me abundantly ; and, not to break a cuftom, do it without wit : by this method you will gain a confiderable point, which is wholly to wave the anfwer of my arguments. Never own the bottom of your principles, for fear they mould be treafon. Fall feverely on the mifcarriages of government ; for if fcandal be not allowed, you are no freeborn fubjects. If God has not blefTed you with the talent of rhimmg, make ufe of my poor flock and welcome : lift your verfes run upon my feet : and for the utmoft refuge of notorious 256 EPISTLE TO THE WHIGS, blockheads, reduced to the laft extremity of fenfe, turn my own lines upon me, and in utter defpair of your own fatyr, make me fatyrize myfelf. Some of you have been driven to this bay already ; but, above all the reft, commend me to the non- conformift parfon, who writ the Whip and Key. I am afraid it is not read fo much as the piece defer ves, becaufe the bookfeller is every week crying help at the end of his Gazette, to get it ofF. You fee I am charitable enough to do him o a kindnefs, that it may be publifhed as well as printed ; and that fo much fkill in Hebrew deri- vations may not lie for wafte-paper in the mop. Yet I half fufpect he went no farther for his learn- ing, than the index of Hebrew names and ety- mologies, which is printed at the end of fome Englifli bibles. If Achitophel fignify the brother of a fool, the author of that poem will pafs with his readers for the next of kin. And perhaps it is the relation that makes the kindnefs. What- ever the verfes are, buy them up I befeech you out of pity ; for I hear the conventicle is (hut up, and the brother of Achitophel out of fervice. 3 Now EPISTLE TO THE WHIGS. 257 Now footmen you know have the generality to make a purfe for a member of their fociety, who has had his livery pulled over his ears : and even proteftant focks are bought up among you> out of veneration to the name. A dhTenter in poetry from fenfe and Englifh will make as good a proteftant rhymer, as a dhTenter from the church of England a proteftant parfon. Befides, if you encourage a young beginner, who knows but he may elevate his ftile a little above the vulgar epi- thets of prophane, and fawcy Jack, and atheiftic fcribler, with which he treats me, when the fit -of enthufiafm is ftrong upon him : by which well- mannered and charitable expreflions I was certain of his feet before I knew his name. What would you have more of a man ? He has damned me in your caufe from Genefis to the Revelations : and has half the texts of both the Teftaments againft me, if you will be fo civil to yourfelves as to take him for your interpreter ; and not to take them for Irim witnefles. After all, perhaps you will tell me, that you retained him only for the opening of your caufe, and that your main lawyer is yet behind. Now if it fo happen he S 258 EPISTLE TO THE WHIGS. meet with no more reply than his predeceflbrs, you may either conclude that I truft to the good- nefs of my caufe, or fear my adverfary, or dif- dain him, or what you pleafe, for the fhort of it- is 3 it is indifferent to your humble fervant, what- ever your party fays or thinks of him. THE MEDAL. OF all our antic fights and pageantry, Which Englifli ideots run in crowds to fee, The Polifh Medal bears the prize alone : A monfler, more the favourite of the town Than either fairs or theatres have mown. Never did art fo well with nature ftrive ; Nor ever idol feemed fo much alive : So like the man ; fo golden to the fight, So bafe within, fo counterfeit and light. One fide is fill'd with title and with face ; And, left the king fhould want a regal place, S 2 260 T H E M E D A L; On the reverfe, a tower the town furveys ; O'er which our mounting fun his beams difplays. The word, pronounc'd aloud by fhrieval voice, Lastamur, which, in Polifh, is rejoice. The day, month, year, to the great act arejoin'd : And a new canting holiday defign'd. Five days he fat, for every caft and look ; Four more than God to finim Adam took. But who can tell what effence angels are, Or how long heaven was making Lucifer ? Oh, could the ftile that copy'd every grace, And plough'd fuch furrows for an eunuch face, Could it have form'd his ever-changing will, The various piece had tir'd the graver's Ikill ! A martial hero firft, with early care, Blown, like a pigmy by the winds, to war. A beardlefs chief, a rebel, e'er a man : So young his hatred to his prince began. Next this, how wildly will ambition fleer ! A vermin wriggling in the ufurper's ear. Bartering his venal wit for fums of gold, He caft himfelf into the faint-like mould 5 Groan'd, figh'd and pray'd, while godlinefs was gain, The lowdeft bagpipe of the fqueaking train* THE MEDAL: 261 But, as 'tis hard to cheat a juggler's eyes, His open lewdnefs he cou'd ne'er difguife. There fplit the faint : for hypocritic zeal Allows no fins but thofe it can conceal. Whoring to fcandal gives too large a fcope : Saints muft not trade j but they may interlope. The ungodly principle was all the fame ; But a grofs cheat betrays his partner's game. Befides their p ace was formal, grave, and flack ; His nimble wit outran the heavy pack. Yet ftill he found his fortune at a flay -, Whole droves of blockheads choaking up his way They took, but not rewarded, his advice , Villain and wit exacl: a double price. Power was his aim : but thrown from that pretence, The wretch turn'd loyal in his own defence j And malice reconcil'd him to his prince. Him, in the anguifli of his foul he ferv'd ; Rewarded fafter ftill than he deferv'd. Behold him now exalted into truft; His counfel's oft convenient, feldom jufl. Even in the moft lincere advice he gave He had a grudging ftill to be a knave. S 3 262 T H E M E D A L. The frauds he learn'd in his fanatic years Made him uneafy in his lawful gears. At beft as little honeft as he could, And like white witches mifchievouily good. To his firft bias longingly he leans > And rather would be great by wicked means. Thus fram'd for ill, he loos'd our triple hold -, Advice unfafe, precipitous, and bold. From hence thofe tears ! that ilium of our woe ! Who helps a powerful friend, fore-arms a foe. What wonder if the waves prevail fo far When he cut down the banks that made the bar? Seas follow but their nature to invade j But he by art our native flrength betray'd. So Sampfon to his foe his force confeft j And to be morn, lay {lumbering on her breafl. But when this fatal counfel, found too late, Expos'd its author to the public hate ; When his juft fovereign, by no impious way Could be feduc'd to arbitrary fway ; Forfaken of that hope he fhifts his fail, Drives down the current with a pop'lar gale j And mews the fiend confefs'd without a veil. He preaches to the crowd that power is lent, But not convey 'd to kingly government ; T H E M E D A L. 263 That claims fucceffive bear no binding force, That coronation oaths are things of courfe 5 Maintains the multitude can never err j And fets the people in the papal chair. The reafon's obvious ; intereft never lies ; "J The moft have ftill their intereft in their eyes ; V The power is always theirs, and power is ever wife. J Almighty crowd, thou morteneft all difpute, Power is thy eflence ; wit thy attribute ! Nor faith nor reafon make thee at a ftay, Thou leapft o'er all eternal truths in thy pindaric way ! Athens no doubt did righteoufly decide, When Phocion and when Socrates were try'd ; As righteoufly they did thofe dooms repent ; Still they were wife whatever way they went, Crowds err not, tho to both extremes they run ; To kill the father, and recal the fon. Some thinkthe fools were moft as times went then, But now the world's o'erftock'd with prudent men. The common cry is even religion's teft, The Turk's is at Conftantinople beft -, Idols in India j popery at Rome ; And our own wormip only true at home. And true, but for the time 'tis hard to know How long ,we pleafe it {hall continue fo. 264 This fide to-day, and that to-morrow burns 5 So all are God-a'mighties in their turns. A tempting doctrine, plaufible and new ; What fools our fathers were, if this be true ! Who to deftroy the feeds of civil war, Inherent right in monarchs did declare : And that a lawful power might never ceafe, Secur'd fucceffion to fecure our peace. Thus property and fovereign fway, at laft In equal balances were juftly caft: But this new Jehu fpurs the hot-mouth'd horfe ; Inftructs the beaft to know his native force ; To take the bit between his teeth and fly To the next headlong fteep of anarchy. Too happy England, if our good we knew, Would we poiTefs the freedom we purfue ? The laviih government can give no more : Yet we repine, and plenty makes us poor. God try'd us once; our rebel-fathers fought, He glutted them with all the power they fought : Till malter'd by their own ufurping brave, The free-born fubje<5r. funk into a Have. We loath our manna, and we long for quails ; Ah, what is man when his own wifli prevails ! How rafh, how fwift to plunge himfelf in ill ? Proud of his power, and boundlefs in his will ! THE M E D A L. 265 That kings can do no wrong we muft believe j None can they do, and muft they all receive ? Help heaven ! or fadly we fhall fee an hour, When neither wrong nor right are in their power - Already they have loft their heft defence, The benefit of laws which they difpenfe. No juftice to their righteous caufe allow'd ; But baffled by an arbitrary crowd. And medals grav'd their conqueft to record, The ftamp and coin of their adopted lord. The man who laugh'd but once, to fee an afs Mumbling to make the crofs-grain'd thirties pafs; Might laugh again to fee a jury chew The prickles of unpalatable law. The witneffes, that leech- like liv'd on blood, Sucking for them was med'cinally good ; But- when they faften'd on their fefter'd fore, Then juftice and religion they forfwore ; Their maiden oaths debauch'd into a whore. Thus men are rais'd by factions, and decry'd ; And rogue and faint diftinguiflVd by their fide. They rack even fcripture to confefs their caufe, And plead a call to preach in fpight of laws. But that's no news to the poor injur'd page, It has been us'd as ill in every age : 3 266 T H E M E D A L. And is conftrain'd with patience all to take, For what defence can Greek and Hebrew make ? Happy who can this talking trumpet feize ; They make it fpeak whatever fenfe they pleafe ! 'Twas fram'd at firft our oracle to enquire; But fince our feels in prophecy grow higher, The textinfpires not therrijbut they the textinfpire._ London, then great emporium of our ifle, thou too bounteous, thou too fruitful Nile ! How mall I praife or curfe to thy defert ? Or feparate thy found from thy corrupted part ? 1 call'd thee Nile - f the parallel will ftand : Thy tides of wealth o'erflow tlie fatten'd land ; Yet monfters from thy large increafe we find, Engender'd on the fame thou leav'ft behind. Sedition has not wholly feiz'd on thee, Thy nobler parts are from infection free. Of Ifrael's tribes thou haft a numerous band, But ftill the Canaanite is in the land. Thy military chiefs are brave and true ; Nor are thy difmchanted burghers few. The head is loyal which thy heart commands, But what's a head with two fuch gouty hands ? The wife and wealthy love the fureft way, And are content to thrive and to obey. I T H E M E D A L. 267 But wifdom is to floth too great a (lave ; None are fo bufy as the fool and knave. Thofe let me curfej what vengeance will they urge, Whofe ordures neither plague nor fire can purge ? Nor fharp experience can to duty bring, Nor angry heaven, nor a forgiving king ! In gofpel-phrafe their chapmen they betray ; Their mops are dens, the buyer is their prey. The knack of trades is living on the fpoil ; They boaft even when each other they beguile. Cuftoms to fteal is fuch a trivial thing, That 'tis their charter to defraud their king. All hands unite of every jarring fed: ; They cheat the country firft, and then infect. They for God's caufe their monarchs dare dethrone, And they'll be fure to make his caufe their own. Whether the plotting jefuit, lay'd the plan Of murdering kings, or the French puritan, Our facrilegious fedls their guides outgo, And kings and kingly power would murder too. What means their traiterous combination lefs, Too plain to evade, too fhameful to confefs. But treafon is not own'd when 'tis defcry'd j Succefsful crimes alone are juftify'd. 268 T H E M E D A L. The men who no confpiracy would find Who doubts ? but had it taken, they had join'd, Join'd in a mutual covenant of defence ; At firfl without, at laft againft their prince. If fovereign right by fovereign power they fcan, The fame bold maxim holds in God and man : God were not fafe, his thunder could they mun He mould be forc'd to crown another fon. Thus when the heir was from the vineyard thrown, The rich pofferTion was the murderer's own. In vain to fophiftry they have recourfe : By proving their's no plot, they prove 'tis worfe; Unmafk'd rebellion, and audacious force : Which tho not actual, yet all eyes may fee 'Tis working in the immediate power to be 3 For from pretended grievances they rife, Firft to diflike, and after to defpife. Then cyclop-like in human fleili to deal, Chop up a minifter at every meal : Perhaps not wholly to melt down the king ; But clip his regal rights within the ring. From thence to afTume the power of peace and war j And eafe him by degrees of public care. T H E M E D A L. 269 Yet to confult his dignity and fame, He mould have leave to exercife the name ; And hold the cards while commons play'd the game. For what can power give more than food and drink, To live at eafe, and not be bound to think ? Thefe are the cooler methods of their crime, But their hot zealots think 'tis lofs of time j On utmofl bounds of loyalty they ftand, And grin and whet like a Croatian band ; That waits impatient for the laft command. Thus outlaws open villainy maintain, They fteal not, but in fquadrons fcour the plain : And if their power the paflengers fubdue, The moft have right, the wrong is in the few. Such impious axioms foolifhly they mow, For in fome foils republics will not grow : Our temperate ifle will no extremes fuftain, Of popular fway or arbitrary reign : But Hides between them both into the beft, Secure in freedom, in a monarch bleft, And tho the climate vex'd with various winds, Works thro our yielding bodies on our minds. The wholefome tempeft purges what it breeds, To recommend the calmnefs that fucceeds. 270 T H E M E D A L. 'But thou, the pander of the people's hearts, O crooked foul, and ferpentine in arts, Whofe blandiftiments a loyal land have whor'd, And broke the bonds {he plighted to her lord ; What curfes on thy blafted name will fall ! Which age to age their legacy fhall call ; For all muft curfe the woes that muft defcend I on all. J Religion thou haft none : thy Mercury Has pafs'd thro every feel, or theirs through thee. But what thou giveft, that venom ftill remains > And the pox'd nation feels thee in their brains. What elfe infpires the tongues and fwells the breafts Of all thy bellowing renegado priefts, That preach up thee for God; difpenfethy laws; And with thy ftum ferment their fainting caufe ? Frem fumes of madnefs raife ; and toil and fweat To make the formidable cripple great. Yet mould thy crimes fucceed, fhould lawlefs power Compafs thofe ends thy greedy hopes devour, Thy canting friends thy mortal foes would be, Thy God and theirs will never long agree ; For thine, if thou haft any, muft be one That lets the world and human-kind alone : T H E M E D A L. 271 A jolly god, that pafles hours too well To promife heaven, or threaten us with hell. That unconcern'd can at rebellion lit, And wink at crimes he did himfelf commit. A tyrant theirs; the heaven their priefthood paints A conventicle of gloomy fullen faints ; A heaven like Bedlam, flovenly and fad ; Fore-doom'd for fouls, with falfe religion, mad. Without a viiion poets can forefhow What all but fools by common fenfe may know : If true fucceflion from our ifle mould fail, And crowds profane with impious arms prevail, Not thou, nor thofe thy factious arts engage Shall reap that harveft of rebellious rage, With which thou flattereft thy decrepid age. The fwelling poifon of the-feveral fects, Which wanting vent, the nation's health infects, Shall burft its bag ; and fighting out their way The various venoms on each other prey. The preibyter puff'd up with fpiritual pride, Shall on the necks of the lewd nobles ride : His brethren damn, the civil power defyj And parcel out republic prelacy. But mort mail be his reign : his rigid yoke And tyrant power will puny fects provoke ; 272 T H E M E D A L. And frogs and toads, and all the tadpole train Will croak to heaven for help, from this devouring crane. The cut- throat fword and clamorous gown mail jar, In maring their ill-gotten fpoils of war : Chiefs mail be grudg'd the part which they! pretend ; Lords envy lords, and friends with every friend j About their impious merit mail contend. Thefurly commons mall refpect deny, And juftle peerage out with property. Their general either ihall his truft betray, And force the crowd to arbitrary fway - f Or they fufpectin^ his ambitious aim, In hate of kin^s mall caft anew the frame ; o * And thruft outCollatine that bore their name. Thus inborn broils the factions would engage, Or wars of exil'd heirs, or foreign rage, Till halting vengeance overtook our age : And our wild labors wearied into reft, Reclin'd us on a rightful monarch's breaft. -Pudet hcec opprobria, vo&z's Ef did potuiffe, 6? non potuifje refelli. RELI- O R, A LAYMAN'S FAITH. An EPISTLE. VOL. I. THE PREFACE. A Poem with fo bold a title, and a name pre- fixed from which the handling of fo fe- rious a fubjedt would not be expected, may rea- fonably oblige the author to fay fomewhat in de- fence, both of himfelf and of his undertaking. In the firft place, if it be objected to me that be- ing a layman, I ought not to have concerned my- felf with fpeculations, which belong to the pro- feffion of divinity ; I could anfwer, that perhaps laymen, with equal advantages of parts and know- lege, are not the moft incompetent judges of facred things j but in the due fenfe of my own weak- nefs and want of learning I plead not this : I pretend not to make myfelf a judge of faith in others, but only to make a confeffion of my own. I lay no unhallowed hand upon the ark, but wait on it with the reverence that becomes me at a di- tance. In the next place I will ingenuoufly con- fefs, that the helps I have ufed in this fmall trea- tife, were many of them taken from the works of our own reverend divines of the church of England ; fo that the weapons with which I combat irreli- T 2 276 PREFACE, gion, are already confecrated ; tho I fuppofe they , may be taken down as lawfully as the fword of Goliah was by David, when they are to be em- ployed for the common caufe againft the enemies of piety. I intend not by this to intitle them to any of my errors, which, yet I hope are only thofe of chanty to mankind ; and fuch as my own charity has caufed me to commit, that of others may more eafily excufe. Being naturally inclined to fcepticifm in philofophy, I have no reafon to impofe my opinions in a fubjed: which is above it ; but whatever they are, I fubmit them with all reverence to my mother church, account- ing them no further mine, than as they are au- thorifed, or at leaft uncondemned by her. And, indeed, to lecure myfelf on this fide, I have ufed the necefTary precaution of fhewing this paper before it was publifhed to a judicious and learned friend, a man indefatigably zealous in the fervice of the church and ftate ; and whofe writings have highly deferved of both. He was pleafed to ap- prove the body of the difcourfe, and I hope he is more my friend than to do it out of complai- fance : it is true he had too good a tafte to like it all j and amcngftfome other faults recommended to my fecond view, w r hat I have written perhaps PREFACE. 277 too boldly on St. Athanafius, which he advifed me wholly to omit. I am fenfible enough that I had done more prudently to have followed his opinion : but then I could not have fatisfied my- felf that I had done honeftly not to have written what was my own. It has always been my thought, that heathens who never did, nor with- out miracle could, hear of the name of Chrift, were yet in a pofiibility of falvation. Neither will it enter eafily into my belief, that before the coming of our Saviour the whole world, except- ing only the Jewifh nation, mould lie under the inevitable necemty of everlafting punimment, for want of that revelation, which was confined to fo fmall a fpot of ground as that of Palefline., Among the fons of Noah we read of one only who was accurfed j and if a bleffing in the ripe- nefs of time was referved for Japhet (of whofe progeny we are) it feems unaccountable to me, why fo many generations of the fame offspring, as preceded our Saviour in the flefh, mould be all involved in one common condemnation, and yet that their pofterity mould be intitled to the hopes of falvation : as if a bill of exclufion had palled only on the fathers, which debarred not the fons from their fucceffion. Or that fo many ages had P R E F A C E. been delivered over to hell, and fo many referved for heaven, and that the devil had the firft choice, and God the next. Truly I am apt to think, that the revealed religion which was taught by Noah to all his Tons, might continue for fome ages in the whole poflerity. That afterwards it was in- cluded wholly in the family of Sem is maaifeffj but when the progenies of Cham and Japhet fwarmed into colonies, and thofe colonies were fubdivided into many others : in procefs of time their defcendants loft by little and little the pri- mitive and purer rites of divine wormip, retaining only the notion of one deity ; to which fucceed- ing generations added others : for men took their degrees in thofe ages from conquerors to gods. Revelation being thus eclipfed to almoft all man- kind, the light of nature as the next in dignity was fubftituted -, and that is it which St. Paul concludes to be the rule of the heathens, and by which they are hereafter to be judged. If my fuppofition be true, then the confequence which I have afTumed in my poem may be alfo true ; namely, that Deifm, or the principles of natural wormip, are only the faint remnants or dying flames of revealed religion in the pofterity of Noah : and that our modern philofophers, nay PREFACE. 279 and fome of our philofophifmg divines have too much exalted the faculties of our fouls, when they have maintained that hy their force, man- kind has been able to find out that there is one fupreme agent or intellectual being which we call God : that praife and prayer are his due worfhip - y and the reft of thofe deducements, which I am confident are the remote effects of revelation, and unattainable by our difcourfe, I mean as fimply confidered, and without the benefit of divine il- lumination. So that we have not lifted up our- felves to God, by the weak pinions of our reafon, but he has been pleafed to defcend to us ; and what Socrates faid of him, what Plato writ, and the reft of the. heathen philofophers of feveral nations, is all no more than the twilight of reve- lation, after the fun of it was fet in the race of Noah. That there is fomething above us, fome principle of motion, our reafon can apprehend, tho it cannot difcover what it is by its own virtue. And indeed 'tis very improbable, that we, who by the ftrength of our faculties cannot enter into the knowlege of any Being, not fo much as of our own, mould be able to find out by them, that fupreme nature, which we cannot otherwife de- fine than by faying it is infinite 5 as if infinite 280 PREFACE. were definable, or infinity a fubject for our narrow underftanding. They who would prove religion by reafon, do but weaken the caufe which they endeavour to fupport: it is to take away the pillars from our faith, and to prop it only with a twig ; it is to defign a tower like that of Babel, which if it were pomble, as it is not, to reach heaven, would come to nothing by the confufion of the workmen. For every man is building a feveral way ; impotently conceited of his own model and his own materials : reafon is always ftriving, and always at a lofs ; and of neceflity it muft fo come to pafs, while it is exercifed about that which is not its proper object. Let us be content at lafl to know God by his own methods ; at leaft, fo much of him as he is pleafed to reveal to us in the facred fcriptures : to apprehend them to be the word of God is all our reafon has to do ; for all beyond it is the work of faith, which is the feal of heaven imprefTed upon our human underftanding. And now for what concerns the holy bifhop Athanafius, the preface of whofe creed feems in- confiftent with my opinion ; which is, that hea- thens may poffibly be faved : in the firft place I defire it may be confidered that it is the preface only, not the creed itfelf, which, till I am better PREFACE. 281 informed, is of too hard a digeftion for my cha- rity. 'Tis not that I am ignorant how many fe- veral texts of fcripture feemingly fupport that caufe j but neither am I ignorant how all thofe texts may receive a kinder, and mor^ mollified in- terpretation. Every man who is read in church hiftory, knows that belief was drawn up after a long conteftation. with Arius, concerning the di- vinity of our bleiTed Saviour, and his being one fubftance with the father ; and that thus com- piled it was fent abroad among the chriftian churches, as a kind of teft, which whofoever took was looked on as an orthodox believer. It is manifeft from hence, that the heathen part of the empire was not concerned in it j for it's buiinefs was not to diftinguim betwixt Pagans and Chri r ftians, but betwixt Heretics and true Believers. This, well confidered, takes off the heavy weight of cenfure, which I would willingly avoid from fo venerable a man ; for if this proportion, c who- foever will be faved,' be retrained only to thofe to whom it was intended, and for whom it was compofed, I mean the Chrklians ; then the ana- thema reaches not the Heathens, who had never heard of Chrift, and were nothing interefted in that difpute. After all I am far from blaming 282 PREFACE. even that prefatory addition to the creed, and as far from cavilling at the continuation of it in the liturgy of the church, where on the days ap- pointed it is publicly read : for I fuppofe there is the fame reafon for it now, in oppofition to the Socinians, as there was then againfl the Arians > the one being a Herefy, which feems to have been refined out of the other; and with how much more plaufibility of reafon it combats our religion, with fo much more caution it ought to be avoided: therefore the prudence of our church is to be com- mended, whichhas interpofed her authority for the recommendation of this creed. Yet to fuch as are grounded in the true belief, thofe explanatory creeds, the Nicene and this of Athanafius might perhaps be fpared -, for what is fupernatural, will always be a myflery in fpight of expofition , and for my own part, the plain apoftles creed is moil fuitable to my weak understanding, as the fim- pleft diet is the moft eafy of digeftion. I have dweltlongeron this fubject than I intend- ed, and longer than perhaps I ought ; for having laid down, as my foundation, that the fcripture is a rule; thatin all things needful tofalvation itisclear, fufficient, and ordained by God Almighty for that purpofe, I have left myfelf no right to interpret PREFACE. 283 obfcure places, fuch as concern 'the poflibility of eternal happinefs to heathens : becaufe whatfoever is obfcure is concluded not neceffary to be known. But, by afferting the fcripture to be the canon of our faith, I have unavoidably created to myfelf two forts of enemies : the papifts indeed, more directly, becaufe they have kept the fcripture from us what they could ; and have referved to them- felves a right of interpreting what they have de- livered under the pretence of infallibility : and the fanatics more collaterally, becaufe they have af- fumed what amounts to an infallibility, in the pri- vate fpirit: and have detorted thofe texts of fcrip- ture which are not neceffary to falvation, to the damnable ufes of fedition, difturbance and de- ftruction of the civil government. To begin with thepapifts. and to fpeak freely, I think them the lefs dangerous, at leaft in appearance to our pre- fent ftate, for not only the penal laws are in force againftthem, and their number is contemptible ; but alfo their peers and commons are excluded from parliament, and confequently thofe laws in no probability of being repealed. A general and uninterrupted plot of their clergy, ever fince the reformation, I fuppofe all proteffonts believe ; for it is not reafonable to think but that fo many of 284 PREFACE. their orders, as were outed from their fat pof- feffions, would endeavour a re-entrance againft thofe whom they account heretics. As for the late defign, Mr. Coleman's letters, for ought I know, are the bell evidence 5 and what they dif- cover, without wire-drawing their fenfe, or ma- licious glofTes, all men of reafon conclude credible. If there be any thing more than this required of in .., I muft believe it as well as I am able, in fpLht of the witnefTes, and out of a decent conformity to the votes of parliament j for I fup- pofe the fanatics will not allow the private fpirit in this cafe. Here the infallibility is at leaft in one part of the government - y and our underflandings as well as our wills are reprefented. But to re- turn to the roman catholics, how can we be fe- cure from the practice of jefuited papifls in that religion ? For not two or three of that order, as fome of them would impofe upon us, but almofl the whole body of them are of opinion, that their infallible mader has a right over kings, not only in fpirituals but temporals. Not to name Mari- ana, Bellarmine, Emanuel Sa, Molina, Santare, Simancha, and at Jeaft twenty others of foreign countries; we can produce of our own nation, Cam- pian, and Doleman or Parfons, befides many are PREFACE. 285 named whom I have not read, who all of them, atteft this doctrine, that the pope can depofe and give away the right of any fovereign prince, fi vet pauliim deflexerit, if he mail never fo little warp : but if he once comes to be excommunicated, then the bond of obedience is taken off from fubjects; and they may and ought to drive him like an- other Nebuchadnezzar, ex homimim Cbriftianorum Dominatu, from exercifing dominion over Chri- tians ; and to this they are bound by virtue of di- vine precept, and by all the ties of confciencc under no lefs penalty than damnation. If they anfwer me, as a learned priefc has lately written, that this doctrine of the jefuits is not defide -, and that confequently they are not obliged by it, they muft pardon me, if I think they have laid no- thing to the purpofe ; for it is a maxim in their church, where points of faith are not decided, and that doctors are of contrary opinions, they may follow which part they pleafe ; but more fafely the moft received and moft authorized. And their champion Bellarmine has told the world, in his apology, that the king of England is a vaf- fal to the pope, ratlone dire ft i Domini, and that he holds in villanage of his Roman landlord. Which is no new claim put in for England. Our 286 PREFACE. chronicles are his authentic witnefies, that king John was depofed by the fame plea, and Philip Auguflus admitted tenant. And which makes the more for Bellarmine, the French king was again ejected when our king fubmitted to the church, and the crown was received under the fordid condition of a vaiTala^e. o It is not fufficient for the more moderate and well-meaning papifls, of which I doubt not there are many, to produce the evidences of their loy- alty to the late king, and to declare their inno- cency in this plot : I will grant their behaviour in the firft, to have been as loyal and as brave as they defire ; and will be willing to hold them ex- cufed as to the fecond, I mean when it comes to my turn, and after my betters j for it is a mad- nefs to be fober alone, while the nation continues drunk : but that faying of their father Cref. is ftill running in my head, that they may be dif- penfed with in their obedience to an heretic prince, while the neceffity of the times (hall oblige them to it : for that, as another of them tells us, is only the effect of chriftian prudence \ but when once they {hall get power to (hake him off, an heretic is no lawful king, and confequently to rife againfl liim is no rebellion. I mould be glad, therefore, PREFACE. 287 that they would follow the advice which was charitably given them by a reverend prelate of our church ; namely, that they would join in a public act of difowning and detefling thofe je- fuitic principles ; and fubfcribe to all doctrines which deny the pope's authority of depofmg kings, and releafingfubjectsfrom their oath of allegiance: to which I mould think they might eafily be in- duced, if it be true that this prefent pope has condemned the doctrine of king-killing, a thefis of the jefuits maintained, amongft others, ex cathe- dra, as they call it, or in open confiftory. Leaving them therefore in fo fair a way, if they pleafe themfelves, of fatisfying all reafon- able men of their fincerity and good meaning to the government, I fhall make bold to confider that other extreme of our religion, I mean the fanatics, or fchifmatics, of the Englifli church. Since the Bible has been tranflated into our tongue, they have ufed it fo, as if their bufinefs was not to be faved but to be damned by its contents. If we confider only them, better had it been for the . Englim nation, that it had Hill remained in the original Greek and Hebrew, or at leaft in the honeft Latin of St. Jerome, than that feveral texts in it fhould have been prevaricated to the de- 288 P R E F A C E. ftruction of that government, which put it into fo ungrateful hands. How many herefies the firft tranflation of Tin- dal produced in few years, let my lord Herbert's hiftory of Henry the Eighth inform you ; info- much, that for the grofs errors in it, and the great mifchiefs it occafioned, a fentence palled on the nrft edition of the Bible, too fhameful almofl to be repeated. After the mort reign of Edward the Sixth, who had continued to carry on the re- formation on other principles than it was begun, every one knows that not only the chief pro- moters of that work, but many others, whofe confciences would not difpenfe with popery, were forced, for fear of perfecution, to change climates : from whence returning at the beginning of queen Elizabeth's reign, many of them who had been in France, and at Geneva, brought back the rigid opinions and imperious difcipline of Calvin, to graft upon our reformation. Which, though they cunningly concealed at nrft, as well know- ing how naufeoufly that drug would go down in a lawful monarchy, which was prefcribed for a rebellious commonwealth, yet they always kept it in referve ; and were never wanting to them- felves either in court or parliament, when either i they PREFACE. 289 they had any profpecl of a numerous party of fa- natic members of the one, or the encouragement of any favourite in the other, whofe covetoufnefs was gaping at the patrimony of the church. They who will confult the works of our venerable Hooker, or the account of his life, or more par- ticularly the letter written to him on this fubjecl:, by George Cranmer, may fee by what gradations they proceeded ; from the diflike of cap and fur- plice, the very next ftep was admonitions to the parliament againft the whole government eccle- fiaftical : then came out volumes in Englim and Latin in defence of their tenets : and immediately practices were fet on foot to erect their difcipline without authority. Thofe not fucceeding, fatire and railing was the next: and Martin Mar- prelate, the Marvel of thofe times, was the firft preiby- terian fcribler, who fanclified libels and fcurrility to the ufe of the good old caufe. Which was done, fays my author, upon this account ; that their ferious treatifes having been fully anfwered and refuted, they might compafs by railing what they had loft by reafoning ; and, vyhen their caufe was funk in court and parliament, they might at leaft hedge in a ftake amongft the rabble : for tQ VOL. I. U 290 PREFACE. their ignorance all things are wit which are abu- five i but if church and ftate were made the theme, then the doctoral degree of wit was to be taken at Billingfgate : even the rnoft faintlike of the party, though they durft not excufe this con- "tempt and villifying of the government, yet were pleafed, and grinned at it with a pious fmile j and called it a judgment of God againft the hierarchy. Thus feclaries, we may fee, were -born with teeth, foul-mouthed and fcurrilous from their infancy : and if fpiritual pride, venom, vio- lence, contempt of fuperiors, and flander, had been the marks of orthodox belief; the prefbytery and the reft of our fchifmatics, which are their ipawn, were always the moft vifible church in the chriilian world. It is true, the government was too ftrong at that time for a rebellion j but to fhew what pro- ficiency they had made in Calvin's fchool, even then their mouths watered at it : for two of their gifted brotherhood, Hacket and Coppinger, as the ftory tells us, got up into a peafe-cart and harangued the people, to difpofe them to an in- furredtion, and to eftablifh their difcipline by force : fo that however it comes about, that now celebrate queen Elizabeth's birth-night, as PREFACE. 291 that of their faint and patronefs ; yet then they were for doing the work of the Lord by arms againft her j and in all probability they wanted but a fanatic lord mayor and two fherifYs of their party, to have compaffed it. Our venerable Hooker, after many admoni- tions which he had given them, towards the end of his preface, breaks out into this prophetic fpeech. " There is in every one of thefe confiderations A frozen ftyle that neither ebbs nor flows,. Inftead of pleafing makes us gape and doze. Thofe tedious authors are efteem'd by none Who tire us, humming the fame heavy; tone. 320 THE ART OF POETRY* Happy who in his verfe can gently fteer^ From grave to light ; from pleafant to fevere j His works will be admir'd where-ever found, And oft with buyers will be compafs'd round. In all you write be neither low nor vile : The meaneft theme may have a proper flyle. The dull burlefque appear'd with impudence, And pleas'd by novelty in fpite of fenfe. All, except trivial points, grew out of date ; Parnaffus fpoke the cant of Billingfgate : Boundlefs and mad, diforder'd rhyme was feen : Difguis'd Apollo chang'd to Harlequin. This plague which firft in country towns began s Cities and kingdoms quickly over-ran ; The dulleft fcribblers fome admirers found, And the Mock Temper! was a while renown'd ; But this low fluff the town at lafl defpis'd, And fcorn'd the folly that they once had priz'd ; Diftinguifh'd dull from natural and plain, And left the villages to Fleckno's reign. Let not fo mean a ftyle your mufe debafe > But learn from Butler the buffooning grace : And let burlefque in ballads be employ 'd > Yet noify bombafl carefully avoid, Nor Nor think to raife, tho on Pharfalia's plain, Amidft the Eclogue makes the trumpet found : Pan flies alarm'd into the neighboring woods, And frighted nymphs dive down into the floods. Oppos'd to this another, low in ftyle, Makes fhepherds Ipeak a language bafe and vile : His writings, flat and heavy, without found, Kiffing the earth, and creeping on the ground ; You'd fwear that Randal in his ruftic ftrains, Again was quavering to the country fwains. And changing without care of found or drefs, Strephon and Phyllis, into Torn and Befs. 'Twixt thefe extremes 'tis hard to keep the rightj For guides take Virgil, and read Theocrite : Be their juft writings by the Gods infpir'd, Your conftant pattern practis'd and admir'd. By them alone you'll eafily comprehend How poets, without mame, may condefcend To iing of gardens, fields, of flow'rs, and fruit> To flir up fhepherds, and to tune the flute ; Of love's rewards to tell the happy hour, Daphne a tree, NarcifTus made a flower* Y4 328 THE ART OF POETRYV And by what means the Eclogue yet has power To make the woods worthy a conqueror : This of their writings is the grace and flight ; Their riiings lofty, yet not out of fight. ELEGY. The Elegy that loves a mournful ftyle, With unbound hair weeps at a funeral pile, It paints the lovers torments and delights, A miftrefs fktterSj threatens and invites : But well thefe raptures if you'll make us fee, You muffc know love as well as poetry. I hate thofe lukewarm authors, whofe forc'd fire In a cold ftyle defcribe a hot defire, That figh by rule, and raging in cold blood Their fluggim mufe whip to an amorous mood : Their feign'd tranfports appear but flat and vain j They always figh, and always hug their chain, Adore their prifon, and their fufferings blefs, Make fenfe and reafon quarrel as they pleafe. 'Twas not of old in this affected tone, That fmooth Tibullus made his amorous moan 3 Nor Ovid, when inftru&ed from above, By nature's rules he taught the art of love. The heart in Elegies forms the difcourfe. THE ART OF POETRY. 329 ODE. The Ode is bolder, and has greater force. Mounting to heaven in her ambitious flight, Amongft the Gods and heroes takes delight ; Of Pifa's wreftlers tells the finewy force, And (ings the dufty conqueror's glorious courfe : To Simois' ftreams does fierce Achilles bring, And makes the Ganges bow to Britain's king. Sometimes {he flies like an induflrious bee, And robs the flowers by nature's chemiftry, Defcribes the mepherd's dances, feafts, and blifs, And boails from Phyllis to furprife a kifs, When gently me refifts with feign'd remorfe, That what fhe grants may feem to be by force : Her generous ftyle at random oft will part, And by a brave diforder mows her art. Unlike thofe fearful poets, whofe cold rhyme In all their raptures keep exacteft time, That fing th' illuftrious hero's mighty praife (Lean writers !) by the terms of weeks and days ; And dare not from leafl circumftances part, But take all towns by ftricteft rules of art : Apollo drives thofe fops from his abode -, And fome have fajd that once the humorous god 330 THE A R T OF P O E T R . Y. Refolving all fuch fcribblers to confound, For the fliort Sonnet order 'd this ftrict bound : Set rules for the juft meafure, and the time, The eafy running and alternate rhyme ; But above all, thofe licences deny'd Which in thefe writings the lame fenfe fupply'd; Forbad an ufelefs line fhould find a place, Or a repeated word appear with grace. A faultlefs Sonnet, finim'd thus, would be Worth tedious volumes of loofe poetry. A hundred fcribbling authors without ground, Believe they have this only phoenix found : When yet th' exacteft fcarce have two or three, Among whole tomes from faults and cenfure free. The reft but little read, regarded lefs, Are fhovell'd to the paftry from the prefs. doting the fenfe within the meafur'd time, *Tis hard to fit the reafon to the rhyme. EPIGRAM. The Epigram with little art compos'd, Is one good fentence in a diftich clos'd. Thefe points that by Italians firft were priz'd, Our ancient authors knew not, or defpis'd : The vulgar dazled with their glaring light, To their falfe pleafures quickly they invite i THE ART OF POETRY. 331 But public favor fo increas'd their pride, They overwhelm'd ParnafTus with their tide. The Madrigal at firft was overcome, And the proud Sonnet fell by the fame doom ; With thefe grave Tragedy adorn'd her flights, And mournful Elegy her funeral rites : A hero never fail'd them on the ftage, Without his point a lover durft not rage j The amorous fhepherds took more care to prove True to his point, than faithful to their love. Each word like Janus had a double face : And profe, as well as verfe, allow'd it place : The lawyer with conceits adorn'd his fpeech, The parfon without quibbling could not preach. At lafl affronted reafon look'd about, And from all ferious matters fhut them out t Declar'd that none mould ufe them without fhame, Except a Scattering in the Epigram ; Provided that by art, and in due time They turn'd upon the thought, and not the rhyme. Thus in all parts diforders did abate : Yet quibblers in the court had leave to prate ; Infipid jefters, and unpleafant fools, A corporation of dull punning drolls. 'Tis not, but that fometimes a dextrous mule May with advantage a turn'd fenfe abufe, 332 THE ART OF POETRY. And on a word may trifle with addrefs ; But above all avoid the fond excefs ; And think not, when yourverfe and fenfe are lame, With a dull point to tag your Epigram. Each poem his perfection has apart ; The Britifh round in plainnefs fhows his art. The Ballad, tho the pride of ancient time, Has often nothing but his humorous rhyme ; The Madrigal may fofter paffions move, And breathe the tender ecftafies of love. Deiire to fhow itfelf, and not to wrong, Arm'd Virtue firft with Satire in its tongue. SATIRE. Lucilius was the man who, bravely bold> To Roman vices did this mirror hold, Protected humble goodnefs from reproach, Show'd worth on foot, and rafcals in the coach. Horace his pleafing wit to this did add, And none uncenfur'd could be fool or mad : Unhappy was that wretch, whofe name might be Squar'd to the rules of their {harp poetry. Perfius obfcure, but full of fenfe and wit, Affected brevity in all he writ : And Juvenal, learned as thofc times could be. Too far did ilretch his (harp hyperbole j THE ART OF POETRY. 333 Tho horrid truths thro all his labours mine, In what he writes there's fomething of divine, Whether he blames the Caprean debauch, Or of Sejanus' fall tells the approach, Or that he makes the trembling fenate come To the ftern tyrant to receive their doom ; Or Roman vice in coarfeft habits mews, And paints an emprefs reeking from the flews : In all he writes appears a noble fire ; To follow fuch a matter then defire. Chaucer alone, fix'd on this folid bafe, In his old fryle conferves a modern grace : Too happy, if the freedom of his rhimes Offended not the method of our times. The Latin writers decency neglect ; But modern authors challenge our refpect, And at immodeft writings take offence, If clean expreflion cover not the fenfe. I love (harp Satire, from obfcenenefs free ;, Not impudence that preaches modefty : OurEnglifh, who in malice never fail, Hence in lampoons and libels learn to rail ; Pleaflint detraction, that by finginggoes From mouth to mouth, and as it marches grows : Our freedom in our poetry we fee, That child of joy begot by liberty. 334 THE ART OF POETRY. But, vain blafphemer, tremble when you chufc God for the fubject of your impious mufe : Atlaft, thofe jefts which libertines invent, Bring the lewd author to juft punifhment. Even in a fong there muft be art and fenfe ; Yet fometimes we have ieen that wine, or chance, Have warm'd cold brains, and given dull writers mettle, And furnifh'd out a fcene for Mr. Settle. But for one lucky hit, that made thee pleafe, Let not thy folly grow to a difeafe, Nor think thyfelf a wit 5 for in our age If a warm fancy does fome fop engage, He neither eats nor fleeps till he has writ, But plagues the world with his adulterate wit. Nay 'tis a wonder, if in his dire rage, He prints not his dull follies for the ftage ; And in the front of all his fenfelefs plays, Makes David Logan crown his head with bayes. THE ART OF POETRY. 335 TRAGEDY. THERE'S not amonfter bred beneath the fky But well-difpos'd by art, may pleafe the eye: A curious workman by his ikill divine, From an ill object makes a good defign. Thus to delight us, Tragedy, in tears For Oedipus, provokes our hopes and fears : For parricide Oreftes afks relief $ And to encreafe our pleafure caufes grief. You then that in this noble art would rife, Come ; and in lofty verfe difpute the prize. Would you upon the ftage acquire renown, And for your judges fummon all the town ? Would you your works for ever fhould remain, And after ages pafl be fought again ? In all you write, obferve with care and art To move the paffions, and incline the heart, If in a labor'd act, the pleaiing rage Cannot our hopes and fears by turns engage, Nor in our mind a feeling pity raife ; In- vain with learned fcenes you fill your plays : 336 THE ART OF POETRY. Your cold difcourfe can never move the mind Of a ftern critic, naturally unkind ; Who juftly tir'd with your pedantic flight, Or falls afleep, or cenfures all you write. The fecret is, attention firft to gain ; To move our minds, and then to entertain : That from the very opening of the fcenes, The firfl may {how us what the author means, I'm tir'd to fee an actor on the ftage, That knows not whether he's to laugh or rage > Who, an intrigue unravelling in vain, Inftead of pleafmg keeps my mind in pain. I'd rather much the naufeous dunce mould fay Downright, my name is Hector in the play ; Than with a mafs of miracles, ill-join'd, Confound my ears and not inftruct my mind. The fubjecYs never foon enough exprefl ; Your place of action mufl be fix'd, and reft. A Spanish poet may v/ith good event, In one's day's fpace whole ages reprefent ; There oft the hero of a wandering ftage Begins a child, and ends the play of age : But we that are by reafon's rules confin'd, Will, that with art the poem be defign'd, That THE ART OF POETRY. 337 That unity of action, time, and place, Keep the ftage full, and all our labors grace. Write not what cannot be with eafe conceiv'd ; Some truths may be too ftrong to be belie v'd. A foolifh wonder cannot entertain : My mind's not mov'd if your difcourfe be vain. You may relate what would offend the eye : Seeing, indeed, would better fatisfy ; But there are objects that a curious art Hides from the eyes, yet offers to the heart. The mind is moft agreeably furpris'd, When a well- woven fubject, long difguis'd, You on a fudden artfully unfold, And give the whole another face and mould. At firft the Tragedy was void of art ; A fong ; where each man danc'd and fung his part. And of God Bacchus roaring out the praife, Sought a good vintage for their jolly days : Then wine and joy were feen in each man's eyes, And a fat goat was the beft finger's prize. Thefpis was firft, who, all befmear'd with lee, Began this pleafure for pofterity : And with his carted a&ors, and a fong, Amus'd the people as he pafs'd along. VOL, I. Z 338 THE ART OF POETRY. Next ./Efchylus the different perfons plac'd, And with a better mafk his players grac'd : Upon a theatre his verfe exprefs'd, And fhow'd his hero with a bufkin drefs'd. Then Sophocles, the genius of his age, Increas'd the pomp and beauty of the ftage a Ingag'd the chorus fong in every part, And polifh'd rugged verfe by rules of art : He in the Greek did thofe perfections gain, Which the weak Latin never could attain, Our pious fathers, in their prieft-rid age, As impious and prophane, abhorr'd the ftage : A troop of filly pilgrims, as 'tis faid, Foplifhly zealous, fcandalouily play'd, Inftead of heroes, and of love's complaints, The angels, God, the virgin, and the faints. At laft, right reafon did his laws reveal, And mow'd the folly of their ill-plac'd zeal, Silenc'd thofe nonconformifts of the age, And rais'd the lawful heroes of the ftage : Only the Athenian mafk was laid afide, And chorus by the mufic was fupply'd. Ingenious love, inventive in new arts, Mingled in plays, and quickly touch'd our hearts : This paffion never could refinance find, But knows the fhorteft pafTage to the mind. THE ART OF POETRY. 339 Paint then, I'm pleas'd my hero be in love 5 But let him not like a tame fhepherd move ; Let not Achilles be like Thyrfis feen, Or for a. Cyrus mow an Artamen ; That ftruggling oft his paflions we may find, The frailty, not the virtue of his mind. Of romance heroes fhun the low defign ; Yet to great hearts fome human frailties join ; Achilles mufl with Homer's heat engage j For an affront I'm pleas'd to fee him rage. Thofe little failings in your hero's heart Show that of man and nature he has part : To leave known rules you cannot be allow'd \ Make Agamemnon covetous and proud, ./Eneas in religious rites auftere, Keep to each man his proper character. Of countries and of times the humors know j From different climates different cuftoms grow: And ftrive to fliun their fault who vainly drefs An antique hero like fome modern afs $ Who make old Romans like our Engliih move. Show Cato fparkifh, or make Brutus love. In a romance thofe errors arc excus'd : There 'tis enough that, reading, we're amus'd : Z 2 ' 1 ght. J 340 THE ART OF POETRY. Rules too fevere would there be ufelefs found ; Buttheftri6t fcene muft have ajufter bound : Exact decorum we muft always find. If then you form fome hero in your mind, Be fure your image with itfelf agree j For what he firft appears, he ftill muft be, Affected wits will naturally incline To paint their figures by their own defign : Your bully poets, bully heroes write : Chapman in Buffy D'Ambois took delight, And thought perfection was to huff and fight. Wife nature by variety does pleafe ; Cloath differing paflions in a differing drefs : Bold anger, in rough haughty words appears; Sorrow is humble, and diffolves in tears. Make not your Hecuba with fury rage, And mow a ranting grief upon the ftage; Or tell in vain how the rough Tanais bore His fevenfold waters to the Euxine more : Thefe fwoln exprefiions, this affected noifc, Shows like fome pedant that declaims to boys. In forrow you muft fofter methods keep ; And to excite our tears yourfelf muft weep. Thofe noify words with which ill plays abound, Come not from hearts that are in fadnefs dro wn'd. THE ART OF POETAY. 341 The theatre for a young poet's rhimes Is a bold venture in our knowing times : An author cannot eafily purchafe fame ; Critics are always apt to hifs, and blame t You may be judg'd by every afs in town, The privilege is bought for half a crown. To pleafe, you muft a hundred changes try ; Sometimes be humble, then muft foar on high : In noble thoughts muft every where abound, Be eafy, pleafant, folid, and profound : To thefe you muft furprifing touches join, And mow us a new wonder in each line ; That all, in a juft method well-defign'd, May leave a ftrong impreffion in the mind. Thefe are the arts that tragedy maintain : The EPIC. But the Heroic claims a loftier ftrain. In the narration of fome great defign, Invention, art, and fable, all muft join : Here fiction muft employ its utmoft grace $ All muft afTume a body, mind, and face : Each virtue a divinity is feen ; Prudence is Pallas, beauty Paphos* quecni 342 THE ART OF POETRY. 'Tis not a cloud from whence fwift lightnings fly 3 But Jupiter, that thunders from the fky : Nor a rough ftorm that gives the failor pain j But angry Neptune plowing up the main : Echo's no more an empty airy found ; But a fair nymph that weeps her lover drown'd. Thus in the endlefs treafure of his mind, The poet does a thoufand figures find, Around the work his ornaments he pours, And ftrows with laviih hand his opening flowers, 'Tis not a wonder if a tempefl bore The Trojan fleet againft the Libyan more ; From faithlefs fortune this is no furprize, For every day 'tis common to our eyes > But angry Juno, that me might deftroy, And overwhelm the reft of ruin'd Troy : That ^Eolus with the fierce goddefs join'd, Open'd the hollow prifons of the wind ; Till angry Neptune looking o'er the main, Rebukes the tempeft, calms the waves again, Their veiTels from the dangerous quickfands fteers; Thefe are the fprings that move our hopes and \ fears ; Without thefe ornaments before our eyes, TlVunfmew'd poem languifhes and dies : 2 THE ART OF POETRY. 343 Your poet in his art will always fail, And tell you but a dull inlipid tale. In vain have our miftaken authors try'd To lay thefe ancient ornaments afide, Thinking our God, and prophets that he fent, Might act like thofe the poets did invent, To fright poor readers in each line with hell^ And talk of Satan, Afhtaroth, and Bel ; The myfteries which Chriftians muft believe, Difdain fuch fhifting pageants to receive : The gofpel offers nothing to our thoughts But penitence, or punifhment for faults 3 And mingling falmoods with thofe myfleries, Would make our facred truths appear like lies. Befides, what pleafure can it be to hear The howlings of repining Lucifer, Whofe rage at your imagin'd hero flies, And oft with God himfelf difputes the prize ? TafTo you'll fay has done it with applaufe ? It is not here I mean to judge his caufe : Yet tho our age has fo extoll'd his name, His works had never gain'd immortal fame, If holy Godfrey in his ecftalies Had only conquer'd Satan on his knees; Z 4 344 TH E ART OF POETRY. If Tancred and Armida's pleafing form Did not his melancholy theme adorn. 'Tis not, that chriftian poems ought to be Fill'd with the fictions of idolatry ; But in a common fubject to reject The gods, and heathen ornaments neglect ; To banifh Tritons who the feas invade, To take Pan's whittle, or the fates degrade, To hinder Charon in his leaky boat To pafs the fhepherd with the man of note, Is with vain fcruples to difturb your mind, And fearch perfection you can never find : As well they may forbid us to prefent Prudence or juftice for an ornament, To paint old Janus with his front of brafs, And take from time his fcythe, his wings and glafs. And every where as 'twere idolatry, Banifli defcriptions from our poetry. Leave them their pious follies to purfue ; But let our reafon fuch vain fears fubdue : And let us not, amongft our vanities, >Of the true God create a God of lies, In fable we a thoufand pleafures fee, And the fmooth names feem made for poetry ; THE ART OP POETRY. 345 As Hedor, Alexander, Helen, Phyllis, UlyfTes, Agamemnon, and Achilles : In fuch a crowd, the poet were to blame To chufe king Chilperic for his hero's name. Sometimes the name being well or ill apply'd, Will the whole fortune of your work decide. Would you your reader never fhould be tir'd ? Chufe fome great hero, fit to be admir'd, In courage fignal, and in virtue bright, Let e'en his very failings give delight ; Let his great actions our attention bind, Like Caefar, or like Scipio, frame his mind, And not like Oedipus his perjur'd race ; A common conqueror is a theme too bafe. Chufe not your tale of accidents too full ; Too much variety may make it dull : Achilles' rage alone, when wrought with fkill, Abundantly does a whole Iliad fill. Be your narrations lively, fhort, and fmart -, In your defcriptions mow your nobleft art : There 'tis your poetry may be employ'd ; Yet you muft trivial accidents avoid. Nor imitate that fool, who, to defcribe The wondrous marches of the chofen tribe, 4 Plac'd on the fides to fee their armies pafs, The fifhes flaring thto the liquid glafs ; 346 THE ART OF POETRY. Defcrib'd a child, who with his little hand, Pick'd up the fhining pebbles from the fand. Such objects are too mean to ftayour fight; Allow your work a juft and nobler flight. Be your beginning plain ; and take good heed Too foon you mount not on the airy fleed; Nor tell your reader in a thund'ring verfe, cc I ling the conqueror of the univerfe." What can an author after this produce ? The laboring mountain muft bring forth a moufe. Much better are we pleas'd with his addrefs, Who, without making fuch vaft promifes, Says, in an eafier ftyle and plainer fenfe, * c I fing the combats of that pious prince