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-
<c verfe men unknown. If any perfon fhall make difco-
" very of the faid offenders to the faid Mr. Dryden, or
" to any juftice of peace for the liberty of Weftmin-
tv fter, he fhall not only receive fifty pounds, which
" is depofited in the hands of Mr. Blanchard, gold-
" fmith, next door to Temple-bar, for the faid pur-
<c pofe i but if the difcoverer himfelf be one of the
" actors, he fhall have fifty pounds, without letting
" his name 'be known, or receiving the leaft trouble
" by profecution." This advertifement was, on the
ad of January following purfued by another : viz.
" Whereas there has been printed of late an ad-
" vertifement about the difcovery of thole who af-
" faulted Mr. Dryden, with promife of pardon and
" reward to the difcoverer : for his farther encourage-
" ment, this is to give notice, that if the faid difco-
" verer fhall make known the perfon, who incited
" him to that unlawful action , not only the difcove-
" rer himfelf, but any of thofe who committed the
" fact, fhall be freed from all manner of profecution."
Notwithftanding thefe repeated advertifements, both
the contrivers and perpetrators of this illicit attack
remained always a iecreti but both Rochefter and
the before mentioned Duchefs were fhrewdly fufpected
to be at the bottom of it.
His comedy called Limberham, or the Kind
Keeper, was acted thrice in 1680 : but was
thought rather too particular than too loofe ; the
age not being fo fqueamifh as to diflike it on the latter
account only. Limberham was applied by the people
to the Earl of Lauderdale, who was neither the
youngeft nor the moft virtuous of men , and this was
the true reafon of its being difcontinued : Dryden
liked the play himfelf. He alfo, about this time,
publifhed a tranflation of Ovid's Epiftles into Englifh
verfe, two of which and the preface were of his own
JOHN D R Y D E N, Efqj xxiii
compofition : His Spanifh Friar, or the Double Dii-
covery, was the product of the following year.
This is an admirable tragi-comedy ; the ierious part
of which is beautifully tender and interefting , and
the comic abounds with infinity of wit and humour,
yet he fomewhere profeffes a uiflike to it. But that
which eftablifhed his reputation upon the moil folid
bafis was the poem of Abfalom and Achitophel, in
which he characterise! the court of King Charles the
Second, in the moft lively terms ; and what added
to the force of his fatire or panegyric, was, through
the whole, his firm adherence to truth. It went
through feveral editions j and complimentary poems
were poured in upon the editor, addrefied to the un-
known author, fome of them figned by the greateft
wits of the times.
The character of Zimri, in this celebrated fatire,
was, without a key, univerfally given to the profli-
gate duke of Buckingham, for whom it was meant.
Our author, when firfl attacked by his grace, had
given him no offence, but that of pofTefTing a genius
fuperior, a genius that like the fun among the ftars,
fhone out with a fplendor that eclipfed entirely the
mob of wits which marked the reign of Charles
the Second. The firft edition of the Medal or Satire
agairrft Sedition, was alfo publifhed about this time.
It is a fevere fatire upon the Whigs. His Religio
Laici, many tenets of which clam with thofeof theHind
and Panther, was the product of the following year.
In 1683 a play called the Duke of Guife, written
by our author and Nat. Lee in conjunction, was
acted by his maiefty's fervants, not without being
ftrongly oppofed by the Whigs, who found a likenefs
in many parts of it between the Dukes of Monmouth
and Guife. The nrftfcerie of the fourth act, in which
Guife appears as returned to Paris againft the king's
pofitive command, which exactly correfponded with a
limilar action of Monmouth's, afforded room for
b 4.
:xl lo s-j . . JV
xxiv THE LIFE OF
the remark, (but we are told in the Vindication, &c.)
that it was written twenty years before ; fo that, unlcfs
Dryden had been endued with a fpirit of prophecy,
he could not have meant it as a reflection upon that
unfortunate prince.
A pamphlet was written againft this tragedy by one
Thomas Hunt, entituled, A Defence of the Charter
and municipal Rights of the City of London, &c.
which the faid Hunt fuppofes herein condemned,
and the magistrates already hung in effigy. 1 have
alfo before me a virulent attack upon it, in three
meets, 410. called, .'--ome Reflections on the pretend-
ed Parallel in the Play of the Duke of Guife, in the
compofing of which Shadwell was fuppofed to have
been concerned.
To ail thefe, the Vindication of the Duke of
Guife, which is generally printed after it, was pub-
limed by way of anfwer. Here we are told that the
Duke of Guife was our author's firft piece, written
foon after the Reiteration, as the faireit way which
the act of indemnity left of expofmg the rife of the
grand rebellion, or inter- regnum. It did not then
appear, becaufe condemned by a few friends in pri-
vate, as unfit for the ftage. It was again taken
in hand, in compliance with the defire of Nat.
Lee, with whom Dryden had promifed to join in a
fecond dramatic venture, in confequence of the fuc-
cefs of Oedipus. Mr. Lee wrote two thirds of it,
and our author the reft : viz. the firft fcene of the
firft act, the whole fourth act, and half, or rather
more, of the fifth.
In the year i68.j, he p* biilhed Maimbourg's Hif-
tory of the League, tran;.ated from the French, by
the king's efpecial defire, on account of the plain pa-
rallel fubfifting between the troubles of France and
England. His next piece was Threnodia Auguftalis,
a poem, facred to the memory of the king. It ap-
peared in the year 1685, as did an opera of his, en-
tituled, Albion and Albanius, acted at the Queen's
JOHN DRYDEN, Efq-, xxv
Theatre in Dorfet-garden , the fubjecl: "is wholly alle-
gorical : the man on the pedeflal,with a lean pale face,
and ferpents fucking poifon from his fides, is fuppofed
to be intended for Shaftefbury corrupting the princi-
ples of his followers.
James the Second, on his accefiion, having im-
prudently enough caufed to be published two papers,
faid to be found in the flrong box of the late king,
and one left by the duchefs of York, both being a
fort of Vindication of fome tenets of the Roman
Catholic Church, they were anfwered by the very in-
genious Dr. Stillingfieet : to whom our author, now
a profeired papift, made a reply which he calls, A
Defence of the Papers written by thz late King, of blejfal
Memory ', and duckefs of Tork^ agalnft the Anfwer mads
to them. This pamphlet contains 126 pages, befides
the title and preface, and came out in 1686. BY
COMMAND. The Hind and Panther, with which our
fecond volume begins, appeared in 1687 , the birth of
a prince in 1688 occafioned a poem on that head ;
and his tranflation of the Life of St. Francis Xavier,
from the French of Bouhors, came out alfo this year.
He, had been about this time employed in tran-
flating Varilla's Hiftory of Herefies, but laid the de-
fign afide ; and this Dr. Burnet tells us he was induc-
ed to do, becaufe he (the Dr.) had publimed re-
flexions on the work, that quite deftroyed the cre-
dit of the author. He was diirniiied from the office
of poet-laureat at the revolution, and its being con-
ferred on Tom Shadwell, was a more fenfible mortifi-
cation to him than his difmifnon : this gave rife to his
beautiful fatire of Mac Flecnoe, the firft edition of
which bears date 1689. His penfion was generouily
continued to him by the munificent Earl of Dorfet,
who was lord-chamberlain to King William, out of
his own private purfe , and grateful mention is made
cf our author's obligations to that elegant nobleman
in the dedication of the Satires of Juvenal and
Perfms.
XXVI
The tragedy of Don Sebaftian was exhibited at the
Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane, anno 1690 , but being
infirpportably long, was curtailed even after the firil
night's performance. The dedication of this per-
formance to Sydney, Earl of Leicefler, is a remark-
ably fine piece of writing.
Amphytrion, or, theTwo Socias, a comedy, found-
ed on Plautus and Moliere, was prefented the fame
year ; as was alfo the dramatic opera of King Arthur,
or, the Britifli Worthy : and both were received with
very high applaufe.
In 1692, he gave his excellent tragedy of Cleome-
nes to the ftage, and dedicated the copy of it to
Laurence, Earl of Rochefter, fecond fon to the great
Earl of Clarendon. The tranflation of Juvenal, in
which he had a confiderable mare : and that of Per-
fius, which was entirely his own, were firil publifhed
in 1693. Jn the dedication, which is a long and
beautiful difcourfe to the Earl of Dorfet, he lays down
a plan, according to which he intended to have creel-
ed an epic poem, and which Sir Richard Blackmore
carried into execution in his poem of King Arthur.
Dryden exprefles the utmoil contempt both for the
piece and the man. His laft dramatic piece is a tragi-
comedy, called Love-Triumphant, or, Nature will
prevail, which is dedicated to James, earl of Saliibury,
and was prefented in 1 694.
In 1 695 our author publifhed a tranflation intoprofe
ofDu Frefnoy's celebrated Latin Poem on the Art of
Painting -, to which he has prefixed a long preface,
in which there is a parallel of poetry and painting.
At this time he was engaged in tranilating all Vir-
gil's works : they did not make their appearance till
1697 j and though greatly admired, paiTed not with-
out being feverely cenfured. " But none, (fays Pope)
" criticifed upon them ib fairly as Milbourne ; who at
" the fame time that he abufed his tranflation, did
" Mr. Dryden the juftice to print his own, which was
" intolerable." 2
J O H N D R Y D E N, Efq ; xxvii
The laft capital work which he executed, was his
Fables, collected from Homer, Ovid, Boccace, and
Chaucer, for which old Jacob Tonfon gave him down
250 guineas ; and there being fomething very fingu-
lar in the inftrument that paffed between the bard
and the bookfeller on this account, we have tran-
fcribed it from the original now in Mr. Tonfon's
hands, as a piece both entertaining and curious.
" " Do hereby promife to pay John Dryden, Efq;
" X or order, on the 25th of March, 1699, the liim
" of two hundred and fifty guineas, in confideration
<e of ten thoufand verfes, which the faid John Dry-
" den, Efq-, is to deliver to me Jacob Tonfon, when
* c finimed, whereof feven thoufand five hundred verfes
" more or lefs, are already in the faid Jacob Ton-r
" fon's pofTeflion. And I do hereby farther promife
" and engage myfelf to make up the faid fum of two
" hundred and fifty guineas, three hundred pounds
" fterling to the faid John Dryden, Efq; his execu-
" tors, adminiftrators, or affigns, at the beginning of
" the fecond impreflion of the faid ten thoufand
" verfes.
" In witnefs whereof I have hereunto fet my hand
* c and feal this twentieth day of March 1 69 .
" JACOB TONSON.
Sealed and delivered, being
firft ftampt, purfuant to
the a6ts of parliament for
that purpofe, in the pre-
fence of
BEN. PORTLOCK.
WILL, CONCREVE.
xxviil THE LIFE OF
March 24th. 1698.
" FJ Eceived then of Mr. Jacob Tonibn, the fum
" JLv of two hundred fixty-eight pounds fifteen
ct ihillings, in purfuancc of an agreement for ten
" thoufand verfes, to be delivered by me to the faid
" Jacob Tonfon, whereof I have already delivered to
tc him about feven thoufand five hundred, more or
" lefs , he the faid Jacob Tonfon being obliged to
tc make up the forefayd fum of 4 687. 15 s. od. three
" hundred pounds, at the beginning of the fecond
*' impreffion of the forefayd ten thoufand verfes.
" 1 fay received by me
"JOHN DRYDEN.
Witnefs, CHARLES DHYDEN.
250 Guineas at \L is.6d.--is-- 268/. i$s. vd.
This was a very confiderable price for poetry in thofe
days -, and, together with the bookfeller's fpecifying
barely the number of lines, without reftricting them
either to fubject or revife, fhew that our author's re-
putation was in very high efteem.
To complete the number of lines, he inferted the
epiftle to his coufm John Dryden of Chefterton, for
\vhich that gentleman made him a prefent of 500^.
and his ode for St. Cecilia's day, entituled Alexander's
Feaft, which is unanimoufly allowed to be the moft
finifhed poetical performance in our, or perhaps, in
any other modern language. Mr. W. Moyle, who
wrote the efTays, ufed to fay, " That it. was compofed
" for the Cicilian concert, and that our author
" for the uie of it received 4O/." This volume was
introduced into the world with a poetical addrefs to
the dutchefs of Ormond, who rewarded the poet with
a bill of 500 /. as I have been credibly informed by
one of his collateral defendants.
In a manufcript letter to Jacob Tonfon, now under
my eye, our author fpeaks thus of his Alexander's
Feaft : " I am glad to hear from all hands, that my
J O H N D R Y D E N, Efq; xxi*
c< ode is efteemed the beft of all my poetry, by all-
41 the town : I thought fomyfelf when I writ it -, but
" being old, 1 diftruiled my own judgment. I hope
" it has done you fervice, and will do you more."
Befides what we have here enumerated, our author
publifhed a vafl variety of other poems both tran-
flations and originals, all which will be found in thi.i
edition of his works. He alfo wrote in profe a pre-
face to Walfli's dialogue concerning women, and the
Lives of Plutarch and Lucian, prefixed to the tranf-
lation of their refpe&ive works by feveral hands ; and
alfo that of Polybius, before a tranflation of that hif-
torian by Sir Harry Sheers. The fame gentleman
publifiied a Tacitus, the firft book of which was done
by our author; and other things were paffed upon the
world for his which really belonged to onej ohnDavies,
a writer of thofe days, who encouraged the miftake, in
which to be fure he found his advantage, by printing
in the title-page only the initial letters of his namr,
which might be equally applied to Dryden and Davies.
Our author married the lady Elizabeth Howard, a
daughter of the earl of Berkfhire, and lifter to Sir Ro-
bert Howard, the honorable colonel Philip Howard,
and to Edward Howard Elq; author of the Britilh
Princes. She furvived him feveral years; and by her
he left three fons ; Charles, who was drowned fwim-
ming acrofs the Thames at Windfor, in his twenty-
eighth year ; John, who wrote a play called the
Hufband his own Cuckold, and who died in the
pope's houfhold, being one of his guard ; Henry
Erafmus, who was in prieft's orders, and lived to in-
herit the family title.
There was fomething fuperftitious in Dryden's cha-
racter ; for he calculated the nativity of his lew
Charles, who was his favorite ; and found that he
fhould be in danger of death every ieventh year. The
event verified the prediction. He had three very
narrow efcapes at tfce asras foretold ; the fourth acci-
dent was fatal. 6
XXX
This great poet died of a mortification in his foot, at
his houie in Gerrard's ftreet, Soho, on the firft of May,
1701, agedfeventy : and when he firft felt the pain,
pronounced it to be the ftroke of death. Dr. Sprat
bifhop of Rochefter requefled that his lady would
order the body to be interred in Weftminfter-abbey,
and he would remit the fees for opening the ground,
Sec. which cume to upwards of forty pounds. Lord
Hallifax alfo undertook the expence of his funeral,
and ordered a velvet hearfe with eighteen mourning
coaches to attend for that purpole.
The proceftion was now beginning to move for-
ward, when Lord Jeffries, fon to the famous chancellor,
chancing to pafs by with fome revelling companions,
fwore that fo great a poet mould not be thus privately
buried ; but that he would undertake it in a manner
much more fplendid, and more worthy of fuch a ce-
lebrated character. He even intruded with this de-
claration upon the privacy of lady Elizabeth ; but me
rejected the offer, and actually iwooned at his extraor-
dinary procedure. He then went down ftairs ; and,
pretending that her ladyfhip had confented, ordered
the body to one Ruflel's, an undertaker in Cheap-
fide, where it lay for fome time, without his taking any
further notice of it ; and when folicited about it, he
pleaded ignorance and a drunken frolic. Thus the
body lay above-ground near three weeks ; when, with
her ladyfhip's leave, Dr. Garth had it removed to the
College of Phyficians, where ^a lubfcription being
made to defray the burial-expences, the Dr. pro-
nounced a fine Latin oration in praife of the de-
ceaied. His remains were then conveyed to the ab-
bey, with a long train of coaches, and interred in a
confufed diforderiy manner : for the bifhop, difgufted
at the affront put upon him, as he fuppoled, by my
lady before, when he attended with the choir, the
abbey being lighted up, declined afiifting; and it
has been confidently afferted, that fo little was de-
corum attended to, a Weftminfter fcholar fung an
ode of Horace over the grave.
JOHN DRYDEN, Efq-,
Mr. Charles Dryden challenged the lord who had
deported himfelf thus meanly ; but he^ to avoid worfe
confequences, left town thereupon, and afterwards
the kingdom. The Earl of Hallifax, influenced by
the fame reafon that prevented Dr. Sprat from attend-
ing the funeral, no longer thought of laying out
five hundred pounds, as he had at firft intended, in
a monument to the memory of our poet , but
Sheffield, duke of Buckingham, at length iet up his
buft in the Abbey with this infcription :
J. DRYDEN
Natm Aug, 9. 1 63 i .
Mortuus Maii i. 1701.
Johannes Sheffield Dux Buckinghamienfis fecit.
He took the hint of fo doing from this line, relating
to Dryden, in Pope's epitaph on Rowe.
Beneath a rude and namelefs Jlone he lien.
And his grace originally intended for the monumen-
tal infcription, theie two lines :
7 'his Sheffield raised : the f acred duft below
Was DRYUEN once ; the reft who does not knew.
Tom Brown, in a pamphlet, entituled, " The lats
*' Converts expofed, or, the Reafons of Mr. Bayes'
u changing his Religion," infinuates, that Dryden-
follicited to be ordained in the Proteftant church,
but was refilled ; and that he alfo mifcarried in at-
tempting to be appointed to the provoftfhip of
Eton-College, near Windfor. Langbaine alfo bears
teftimony to this ; but I dare fay the reputation of
thefe witneffes will have but little weight with the
judicious reader, who cannot but fee that this great
man's enemies fpared no opportunities of ftriving to
make him ridiculous ; and if truth failed, they feldom
fcrupled having recourfe to invention. Envy is a vice
peculiar ta little minds, and falfity its beft fupport.
no;>
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 <zra : there is fomewhat
more of foftnefs and tendernefs to be fhewn in
them. You will foon find I write not this with~
out concern. Some, who have feen a paper of
verfes, which I wrote laft year to her Highnefs
the Dutchefs, have accufed them of that only
thing I could defend in them. They faid, I did
bumi Jerpere, that I wanted not only height of
fancy, but dignity of words, to fet it off. I might
well anfwer with that of Horace, Nunc non erat
his locus j I knew I addreffed them to a lady, and
accordingly I affected the foftnefs of exprcflicn,
and the fmoothnefs of meafure, rather than the
height of thought ; and in what I did endeavour,
it is no vanity to fay I have fucceeded. I deteft
arrogance ; but there is fome difference betwixt
that and a jufl defence. But I will not farther
bribe your candor, or the reader's. . I leave them
to fpeak for me ; and, if they can, to make out
that character, not pretending to a greater, which
J have given them.
And now, fir, 'tis time I mould relieve you
from the tedious length of this account. You
have better and more profitable employment for
your hours, and I wrong the public to detain yoij
S I R R. H O W A R D. 71
longer. In conclufion, I muft leave my poem
to you with all its faults, which I hope to find
fewer in the printing by your emendations. I
know you are not of the number of thofe, of
whom the younger Pliny fpeaks ; Nee funt pa-
rum mukiy qui car per e amicos fuos judicium <vccant :
I am rather too fecure of you on that fide. Your
candor in pardoning my errors may make you
more remifs in correcting them ; if you will not
withal confider that they come into the world
with your approbation, and through your hands.
I beg from you the greateft favour you can con-
fer upon an abfent perfon, fince J repofe upon
your management what is deareft to me, my
fame and reputation ; and therefore I hope it
will itir you up to make my poem fairer by many
of your blots $ if not, you know the flory of the
gamefter who married the rich man's daughter,
and when her father denied the portion, chriftened
all the children by his firname, that if, in con-
clufion, they muft beg, they mould do fo by one
name, as well as by the other. But fince the
reproach of my faults will light on you, tis but
reafon I mould do you that juflice to the readers,
F 4
72 A L E T T E R, Sec.
to let them know, that, if there be any thing
tolerable in this poem, they owe the argument to
your choice, the writing to your encouragement,
the correction to your judgment, and the care of
it to your friendfhip, to which he muft ever ac-
knowlege himfelf to owe all things, who is,
SIR,
The moft obedient, and moil
Faithful of your fervants,
From Charlton in Wilt/hire,
Nov. 10^ 1666.
JOHN DRYDEN,
ANNUS MIRABILIS:
THE
YEAR OF WONDERS,
1666.
IN thriving arts long time had Holland grown,
Crouching at home and cruel when abroad
Scarce leaving us the means to claim our own ;
Our king they courted, and our merchants
aw'd.
74 ANNUS MIRABILIS.
circularly flow,
\ X if }(
Stopp'd in their channels, found its freedon/loftr^
-
Thither the wealth of all the world did go,
And feem',. but fhipwreck'd on fo bafe a coaft.
3-
For them alone the heavens had kindly heat ;
In eaflern quarries ripening precious dew :
For them the Idumaean balm did fweat,
And in hot Ceilon fpicy forefts grew.
, 4 '
j/ L j L/1 The^uj>' 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* <V*^
v
ANN US MIRABILIS. 75
7-
Behold two nations then, engag'd fo far,
That each feven years the fit muft (hake each
land :
Where France will fide to weaken us by war,
Who only can his vaft defigns withfland.
8.
See how he feeds th' Iberian with delays,
To render us his timely friendmip vain :
And while his fecret foul on Flanders preys,
He rocks the cradle of the babe of Spain.
9-
Such deep defigns of empire does he lay
O'er them, whofecaufehe feems to take inhand;
And prudently would make them lords at fea,
To whom with eafe he can give laws by land.
10.
This faw our king; and long within his bread
His penfive counfels balanc'd to and fro :
He griev'd the land he freed mould be opprefs'd,
And he lefs for it than ufurpers do.
Ji.
His generous mind the fair ideas drew
Of fame and honour, which in dangers lay;
Where wealth, like fruit on precipices, grew,
Not to be gathered but by birds of prey.
76 ANNUS MIRABILIS,
12.
The lofs and gain each fatally were great ;
And ftill his fubjed:s call'd aloud for war :
But peaceful kings, o'er martial people fet,
Each other's poize and counterbalance are.
'3-
He firft furvey'd the charge with careful eyes,
Which none but mighty monarchs could main-
tain -,
Yetjudg'd, like vapours that from limbecs rife,
It would in richer mowers defcend again.
14,
At length refolv'd t' aiTert the watery ball,
He in himfelf did whole Armadoes bring :
Him aged feamen might their mailer call,
And chufe for general, were he not their king.
J 5-
It feems as every iliip their fovereign knows,
His awful fummons they fo foon obey j
So hear the fcaly herd when Proteus blows,
And fo to pafture follow through the fea.
16.
To fee this fleet upon the ocean move,
Angels drew wide the curtains of the ikies.;
And heaven, as if there wanted lights above,
For tapers made two glaring comets rife.
A N N U S M I R A B I L I S. 77
J 7-
Whether they undtuous exhalations are,
Fir'd by the fun, or feeming fo alone :
Or each fome more remote and flippery ftar,
Which lofes footing when to mortals fhewn.
18.
Or one, that bright companion of the fun,
Whofe glorious afpect feal'd our new-born king;
And now, a round of greater years begun,
New influence from his walks of light did
bring.
19.
Victorious York did firft with fam'd fuccefs,
To his known valour make the Dutch give
place :
Thus heaven our monarch's fortune did confefs,
Beginning conqueft from his royal race.
20.
But fince it was decreed, aufpicious king,
In Britain's right that thou mouldfl wed the
main,
Heav'n, as a gage, would caft fome precious thing,
And therefore doom'd that Lawfon mould be
flain. 2
78 ANNUS MIRABILIS*
21.
Lawfon amongft the foremoft met his fate,
Whom fea-green Sirens from the rocks la-
ment :
Thus as an offering for the Grecian ftate,
He firft was kill'd who firil to battle went*
22.
Their chief blown up in air, not waves, expir'd,
To which his pride prefum'd to give the law :
The Dutch confefs'd heaven prefent, and re-
tir'd,
And all was Britain the wide ocean faw*
2 3-
*To neareft ports their fhatter'd mips repair,
Where by our dreadful cannon they lay aw'd :
So reverently men quit the open air,
Where thunder fpeaks the angry gods abroad.
24*
And now approach'd their fleet from India
fraught,
With all the riches of the rifing fun :
And precious fand from fouthern climates
brought,
The fatal regions where the war begun.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 7 g
2 5-
Like hunted caftors, confcious of their ftore,
Their way-laid wealth to Norway's coafts they
bring :
There firft the North's cold bofom fpices bore,
And winter brooded on the eaflern fpring.
26.
By the rich fcent we found our perfum'd prey,
Which, flank'd with rocks, did clofe in c6vert
lie:
And round about their murdering cannon lay,
At once to threaten and invite the eye.
27.
Fiercer than cannon, and than rocks more hard,
The Englifh undertake the unequal war :
Seven mips alone, by which the port is barr'd,
Beliege the Indies, and all Denmark dare.
28.
Thefe fight like hufbands, but like lovers thofe :
Thefe fain would keep, and thofe more fain
enjoy :
And to fuch height their frantic paffion grows,
That what both love, both hazard to de-
flroy.
So ANNUS MIRABILIS.
29.
Amidft whole heaps of fpioes lights a ball,
And now their odours arm'd againft them fly :
Some precioufly by matter'd porcelain fall,
And fome by aromatic fplinters die.
3-
And though by tempefts of the prize bereft,
In heaven's inclemency fome eafe we find : .
Our foes we vanquifh'd by our valour left,
And only yielded to the feas and wind.
3 1 -
Nor wholly loft we fo deferv'd a prey ;
For ftorms repenting part of it reftor'd :
Which as a tribute from the Baltic fea,
The Britim ocean fent her mighty lord.
3 2 -
Go mortals now and vex yourfelves in vain
For wealth, which fo uncertainly muft come :
When what was brought fo far, and with fuch pain,
Was only kept to lofe it nearer home.
33-
The fon, who twice three months on th' ocean toft,
Prepar'd to tell what he had pafs'd before,
Now fees in Englifh mips the Holland coaft,
And parents arms, in vain, ftretch'd from the fhore.
This
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 81
34-
This careful hufband had been long awayj
Whom his chafte wife and little children mourn $
Who on their fingers learn'd to tell the day
On which their father promis'd to return.
35-
Such are the proud defigns of human-kind,
And fo we fuffer fhipwreck every where !
Alas, what port can fuch a pilot find,
Who in the night of fate mutt blindly fleer !
36.
The undiftinguifh'd feeds of good and ill,
Heaven in his bofom from our knowlege hides:
And draws them in contempt of human {kill,
Which oft for friends miffoken foes provides.
37-
Let Munfter's prelate ever be accurft,
In whom we feek the German faith in vain :
Alas, that he fliould teach the Englifh firft,
That fraud and avarice in the church could reign!
38.
Happy, who never truft a {hanger's will, '
Whofe friendship's in his intereft underftood !
Since money given but tempts him to be ill,
When pow'r is too remote to make him good.
VOL. I. G
82 ANNUS MIRABILIS.
39-
Till now, alone the mighty nations ftrove j
The reft, at gaze, without the lifts did ftand :
And threatning France, plac'd like a painted Jove,
Kept idle thunder in his lifted hand.
40.
That eunuch guardian of rich Holland's trade,
Who envies us what he wants paw'r t'enjoy ;
Whofe noifeful valour does no foe invade,
And weak am" fiance will his friends deftroy.
41.
Offended that we fought without his leave,
He takes this time his fecret hate to mew :
Which Charles does with a mind fo calm receive,
As one that neither feeks nor muns his foe.
42.
With France, to aid the Dutch, the Danes unite :
France as their tyrant, Denmark as their flave.
But when with one three nations join to fight,
They filently confefs that one more brave.
43-.
Lewis had chas'd the En glim from his more ?
But Charles the 'French as fubjects does invite:
Would heaven for each fome Solomon reftore,
Who, by their mercy, may decide their right.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 83
44.
Were fubjects fo but only by their choice,
And not from birth did forc'd dominion take,
Our prince alone would have the public voice j
And all his neighbours realms would defcrts make.
45-
He without fear a dangerous war purfues,
Which without ramnefs he began before :
As honour made him firft the danger chufe,
So ftill he makes it good on virtue's fcore.
4 6.
The doubled charge his fubjects love fupplies,
Who in that bounty to themfelves are kind :
So glad Egyptians fee their Nilus rife,
And in his plenty their abundance find.
47-
With equal pow'r he does two chiefs create,
Two fuch as each feem'd worthieft when alone;
Each able to fuftain a nation's fate,
Since both had found a greater in their own.
4 8.
Both great in courage, conduct, and in fame,
Yet neither envious of the other's praife ;
Their duty, faith, and int'refl too the fame,
Like mighty partners equally they raife.
G 2
49-
The prince long time had courted fortune's love,
But once poflefs'd did abfolutely reign :
Thus with their Amazons the heroes ftrove,
And conquer 'd firfi: thofe beauties they would
gain.
5-
The duke beheld, like Scipio, with difdain,
That Carthage, which he ruin'd, rife once more;
And mook aloft the the fafces of the main,
To fright thofe flaves with what they felt before.
5 1 -
Together to the watery camp they hafte,-
Whom matrons parTing to their children fhew :
Infants firfl vows for them to heaven are caft,
And future people blefs them as they go.
5 2 -
With them no riotous pomp, nor Afian train,
To infect a navy with their gaudy fears ;
To make flow fights, and victories but vain :
But war feverely like itfelf appears.
53-
Diffufive of themfelves, where'er they pafs,
They make that warmth in others they expect:
Their valour works like bodies on a glafs,
And does its image on their men project.
ANN US MIRABILI3. 85
54-
Our fleet divides, and ftraight the Dutch appear,
In number, and a fam'd commander, bold ;
The narrow feas can fcarce their navy bear,
Or crowded veflels can their foldiers hold.
55-
The Duke, lefs numerous, but in courage more,
On wings of all the winds to combat flies :
His murdering guns a loud defiance roar,
And bloody crofTes on his flag-ftafFs rife.
56.
Both furl their fails, and flrip them for the fight ;
Their folded meets difmifs the ufelefs air :
Th'Elean plains could boaft no nobler fight,
When ftruggling champions did their bodies
bare.
57-
Born each by other in a diftant line,
The fea-built forts in dreadful order move :
So vaft the noife, as if not fleets did join,
But lands unfix'd, and floating nations ftrove.
5 8.
Now pafs'd, on either fide they nimbly tack ;
Both ftrive to intercept and guide the wind :
And, in its eye, more clofely they come back,
To finim all the deaths they left behind.
G 3
86 ANN US MIRABILIS.
59-
On high-rais'd decks the haughty Belgians ride,
Beneath whofe {hade our humble frigates go :
Such port the elephant bears, and fo defy'd
By the rhinoceros her unequal foe.
60.
And as the built, fo difF'rent is the fight ;
Their mounting (hot is on our fails defign'd :
Deep in their hulls our deadly bullets light,
And through the yielding planks a palfage find.
6 1.
Our dreaded admiral from far they threat,
Whofe batter'd rigging their whole war re-
ceives:
All bare, like fome old oak which tempefts beat,
He ftands, and fees below his fcatter'd leaves.
62.
Heroes of old, when wounded, fhelter fought ;
But he who meets all danger with difdain,
E'en in their face his fliip to anchor brought,
And fleeple-high flood propt upon the main.
63-
At this excefs of courage, all amaz'd,
The foremoft of his foes awhile withdraw :
With fuch refpedt in enter'd Rome they gaz'd,
Who on high chairs the god-like fathers faw.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 87
64.
And now, as where Patroclus' body lay,
Here Trojan chiefs advanc'd, and there the
Greek j
Ours o'er the Duke their pious wings difplay,
And theirs the nobleft fpoils of Britain feek.
6 5 .
Mean-time his bufy mariners he haftes,
His fhatter'd fails with rigging to reftore ;
And willing pines afcend his broken mafts,
Whofe lofty heads rife higher than before.
66.
Straight to the Dutch he turns his dreadful prow,
More fierce th' important quarrel to decide :
Like fwans, in long array his vefTels {how,
Whofe crefts advancing do the waves divide.
67- .:.-;-
They charge, recharge, and all along the fea
They drive, and fquander the huge Belgian fleet*
Berkley alone, who neareft danger lay,
Did a like fate with loft Creufa meet.
68.
The night comes on, we eager to purfue
The combat {till, and they amam'd' to leave :
Till the laft ftreaks of dying day withdrew,
And doubtful moon-light did our rage deceive.
88 ANN US MIRABILIS.
69.
In the Englifh fleet each (hip refounds with joy,
And loud applaufe of their great leader's fame :
Jn fiery dreams the Dutch they flill deftroy,
And flumbering fmile at the imagin'd flame.
70.
Not fo the Holland fleet, who tired and done,
Stretch'd on their decks like weary oxen lie :
Faint fweats all down their mighty members run 3
Vaft bulks which little fouls but ill fupply,
7 1 -
In dreams they fearful precipices tread :
Or fhipwreck'd, labor to fome diftant more ;
Or in dark churches walk among the dead \
They wake with horror, and dare fleep no more,
72.
The morn they look on with unwilling eyes,
Till from their main-top joyful news they hear
Of mips, which by their mould bring new fupplies,
And in their colours Belgian lions bear.
73-
Our watchful general had difcern'd from far
This mighty fuccour, which made glad the foe:
fie figh'd, but like a father of the war,
His face fpake hope, while deep his forrows
flow.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 89
74-
His wounded men he firfl fends off to fhore,
Never till now unwilling to obey :
They, not their wounds, but want of flrength
deplore,
And think them l^appy who with him can flay,
75-
Then to the reft, Rejoice, faid he, to-day ;
In you the fortune of Great-Britain lies :
Among fo brave a people, you are they
Whom heaven has chofe to fight for fuch a prize.
7 6.
If number Englifh courages could quell,
We mould at firft have fhun'd, not met our foes;
Whofe numerous fails the fearful only tell :
Courage from hearts and not from numbers grows,
77-
He faid, nor needed more to fay : with hafle
To their known flations chearfully they go $
And all at once, difdaining to be lafl,
Solicit every gale to meet the foe.
, 78 '
Nor did the encourag'd Belgians long delay,
But bold in others, not themfelves, they flood ;
So thick, our navy fcarce could fleer their way,
But feem'd to wander in a moving wood.
90 AjN N U S M I R A B I L I S.
79-
Our little fleet was now engag'd fo far,
That, like the fword-fifhin thewhale they fought:
The combat only feem'd a civil war,
Till through their bowels we our paffage wrought.
80.
Never had valor, no not ours, before
Done ought like this upon the land or main,
Where not to be o'ercome was to do more
Than all the conquefts former kings did gain.
81.
The mighty ghofls of our great Harries rofe,
And armed Edwards look'd with anxious eyes,
To fee this fleet among unequal foes,
By which fate promis'd them their Charles
fhould rife.
82.
Mean-time the Belgians tack upon our rear,
And raking chafe-guns through our items they
fend :
Clofe by their fire-fhips, like jackals, appear.
Who on their lions for the prey attend.
83-
Silent in fmoke of cannon they come on :
Such vapours once did fiery Cacus hide :
In thefe the height of pleas'd revenge is (hewn,
Who burn contented by another's fide.
ANNUS MIR.ABILIS. 91
_8 4 .
Sometimes from fighting fquadrons of each fleet,
Deceiv'd themfelves, or to preferve fome friend,
Two grapling ./Etnas on the ocean meet,
And Englifh fires with Belgian flames contend.
8 5 .
Now at each tack our little fleet grows lefs ;
And like maim'd fowl, fwim lagging on the
main :
Their greater lofs their numbers fcarce confefs,
While they lofe cheaper than the Englifh gain.
86.
Have you not feen, when whittled from the fift,
Some falcon ftoops at what her eye deflgn'd,
And with her eagernefs the quarry mifs'd,
Straight flies at check, and clips it down the
wind ?
8 7 .
The daftard crow that to the wood made wing,
And fees the groves no fhelter can afford,
With her loud kaws her craven kind does bring,
Who fafe in numbers cuff the noble bird.
88.
Among the Dutch thus Albemarle did fare :
He could not conquer, and difdain'd to fly ;
Paft hope of fafety, 'twas his lateft care,
Like falling Caefar, decently to die.
92 ANNUS MIRABILIS.
89.
Yet pity did his manly fpirit move,
To fee thofe perifh who fo well had fought j
And generoufly with his defpair he ftrove,
Refolv'd to live till he their fafety wrought.
90.
Let other mufes write his profperous fate,
Of conquer'd nations tell, and kings reflor'd ;
But mine {hall fmg of his eclips'd eftate,
Which, like the fun's, more wonders does afford*
91.
He drew his mighty frigates all before,
On which the foe his fruitlefs force employs :
His weak ones deep into his rear he bore
Remote from guns, as fick men from the noife.
92.
His fiery cannon did their paflage guide,
And following fmoke obfcur'd them from the
foe :
Thus Ifrael fafe from the Egyptian's pride,
By flaming pillars, and by clouds did go.
93-
Elfewhere the Belgian force we did defeat,
But here our courages did theirs fubdue :
So Xenophon once led that fam'd retreat,
Which firft the Afian empire overthrew.
ANN US MIRABILIS, 93
94.
The foe approach'd j and one for his bold fin
Was funk; as he that touch'd the ark was flain :
The wild waves mafter'd him and fuck'dhim in,
And fmiling eddies dimpled on the main.
95-
This feen, the reft at awful diftance flood :
As if they had been there as fervants fet
To flay, or to go on, as he thought good,
And not purfue but wait on his retreat*
96.
So Libyan huntfmen, on fome fandy plain,
From fhady coverts rouz'd, the lion chace :
The kingly beaft roars out with loud difdain,
And ilowly moves, unknowing to give place.
97-
But if fome one approach to dare his force,
He fwings his tail, and fwiftly turns him round;
With one paw feizes on his trembling horfe,
And with the other tears him to the ground,
9 8.
Amidft thefe toils fucceeds the balmy night ;
Now himng waters the quench'd guns reftore ;
And weary waves withdrawing from the fight,
Lie lull'd and panting on the filent more.
94 ANN US MIRABILIS.
99-
The moon fhone clear on the becalmed flood,
Where while her beamslike glittering filver play,
Upon the deck our careful general flood,
And deeply mus'd on the fucceeding day.
100.
That happy fun, faid he, will rife again,
Who twice victorious did our navy fee :
And I alone muft view him rife in vain,
Without one ray of all his flar for me.
101.
Yet like an Englim general will I die,
And all the ocean make my fpacious grave :
Women and cowards on the land may lie ;
The fea's a tomb that's proper for the brave.
J02.
Reftlefs he pafs'd the remnant of the night,
Till the frefh air proclaim'd the morning nigh:
And burning (hips, the martyrs of the fight,
With paler fires beheld the eaftern fky.
103.
But now his ftores of ammunition fpent,
His naked valour is his only guard :
Rare thunders are from his dumb cannon fent,
And folitary guns are fcarcely heard.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 95
104.
Thus far had fortune power, he forc'd to flay,
Nor longer durfl with virtue be at flrife :
This as a ranfom Albemarle did pay,
For all the glories of fo great a life.
105.
For now brave Rupert from afar appears,
Whofe waving flreamers the glad general knows:
With full fpread fails his eager navy fleers,
And every (hip in fwift proportion grows.
106.
The anxious prince had heard the cannon long,
And from that length of time dire omens drew
Of Englim overmatch'd, and Dutch too flrong,
Who never fought three days, but to purfue.
107.
Then, as an eagle, who with pious care
Was beating widely on the wing for prey,
To her now filent eiry does repair,
And finds her callow infants forc'd away :
1 08.
Stung with her love, me floops upon the plain,
The broken air loud whittling as me flies :
She flops and liftens, and moots forth again,
And guides her pinions by her young ones cries.
96 ANNUS MIRABILIS.
109.
With fuch kind paflion haftes the prince to fio-ht^
And fpreads his flying canvafs to the found :
Him, whom no danger were he there could frightj
Now abfent every little noife can wound.
I 10*
As in a drought the thirfty creatures cry,
And gape upon the gather'd clouds for rain - y
And firft the martlet meets it in the iky,
And with wet wings joys all the feather'd train*
TII.
With fuch glad hearts did our defpairing men
Salute the appearance of the prince's fleet :
And each ambitioufly would claim the ken,
That with firft eyes did diftant fafety meet*
112.
The Dutch, who came like greedy hinds before^
To reap the harveft their ripe ears did yield,
Now look like thofe, when rolling thunders roar,
And fheets of lightning blaft the {landing field.
IJ 3-
Full in the prince's paflage, hills of fand,
And dangerous flats in fecret ambum lay,
Where the falfe tides fkim o'er the cov-er'd land,
And feamen with difTembled depths betray.
i The
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 97
114.
The wily Dutch, who like fall'n angels fear'd
This new Meffiah's coming, there did wait,
And round the verge their braving veflels fteer'd,
To tempt his courage with fo fair a bait.
115.
But he unmov'd contemns their idle threat,
Secure of fame whene'er he pleafe to fight :
His cold experience tempers all his heat,
And inbred worth doth boafting valor flight.
1 1 6.
Heroic virtue did his actions guide,
And he the fubftance not the appearance chofe :
To refcue one fuch friend he took more pride.
Than to deftroy whole thoufands of fuch foes*
117.
But when approach'd, in ftricT: embraces bound,
Rupert and Albemarle together grow :
He joys to have his friend in fafety found,
Which he to none but to that friend would owe.
118.
The chearful foldiers, with new ftores fupply'd,
Now long to execute their fpleenful will $
And in revenge for thofe three days they try'd,
Wifh one, like Jofhua's, when the fun ftood fiilL
VOL. I, H
98 ANNUS MI&ABILIS.
119.
Thus reinforc'd, againft the adverfe fleet,
Still doubling ours, brave Rupert leads the way:
With the firfl bl times of the morn they meet,
And bring night back upon the new-born day.
I2O.
His prefence foon blows up the kindling fight,
And his loud guns fpeak thick like angry men :
It feem'd as flaughter had been breath'd all night,
And death new pointed his dull dart agen.
121.
The Dutch too well his mighty conduct knew,
And matchlefs courage, fince the former fight:
Whofe navy like a frifF-ftretch'd cord did mew,
Till he bore in and bent them into flight.
122.
The wind he mares, while half their fleet offends
His open fide, and high above him mows :
Upon the reft at pleafure he defcends,
And doubly harm'd he double harms beftows.
123.
Behind the general mends his weary pace,
And fullenly to his revenge he fails :
So glides fome trodden ferpent on the grafs,
And long behind his wounded volume trails.
ANNUS MIRABILIS,
99
124.
The increafing found is born to either (Lore,
And for their flakes the throwing nations fear :
Their paffions double with the cannons roar,
And with warm wifhes each man combats there.
125.
Ply'd thick and clofe as when the fight begun,
Their huge unwieldy navy waftes away :
So ficken waining moons too near the fun,
And blunt their crefcents on the edge of day.
126.
And now reduc'd on equal terms to fight,
Their mips like wailed patrimonies fhow -,
Where the thin fcattering trees admit the light,
And fhun each other's fhadows as they grow.
127.
The warlike prince had fever 'd from the reft
Two giant mips, the pride of all the main ;
Which with his one fo vigoroufly he prefs'd,
And flew fo home they could not rife again.
128.
Already batter'd, by his lee they lay,
In vain upon the pafling winds they call :
The pafling winds through their torn canvafs play,
And flagging fails on heartlefs failors fall.
H 2
ico ANNUS MIRABILIS.
129.
Their open'd fides receive a gloomy light,
Dreadful as day let into fhades below :
Without grim death rides barefac'd in their fight,
And urges entering billows as they flow.
130.
When one dire mot, the laft they could fupply,
Clofe by the board the prince's main-maft bore :
All three now helplefs by each other lie,
And this offends not, and thofe fear no more,
J 3'-
So have I feen fome fearful hare maintain
A courfe, till tired before the dog me lay :
Who ftretch'd behind her pants upon the plain,
Paft power to kill, as me to get away.
132,
With his loll'd tongue he faintly licks his prey $
His warm breath blows her flix up as me lies
She trembling creeps upon the ground away,
And looks back to him with befeeching eyes.
The prince unjuftly does his flars accufe,
Which hinder'd him to pufh his fortune on ;
For what they to his courage did refufe,
By mortal valor never muft be done.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 101
134-
This lucky hour the wife Batavian takes,
And warns his tatter'd fleet to follow home :
Proud to have fo got off with equal flakes,
Where 'twas a triumph not to be o'ercome.
'35-
The general's force as kept alive by fight,
Now not oppos'd no longer can purfue :
Lafting 'till heaven had done his courage right ;
When he had conquer'd he his weaknefs knew.
136.
He cafts a frown on the departing foe,
And lighs to fee him quit the watery field :
His flern fix'd eyes no fatisfadtion fhow,
For all the glories which the fight did yield.
J 37-
Though as when fiends did miracles avow^
He flands confefs'd e'en by the boaftful Dutch:
He only does his conqueft difavow,
And thinks too little what they found too much,
138.
Return'd, he with the fleet refolv'd to flay ;
No tender thoughts of home his heart divide ;
Domeflic joys and cares he puts away ;
For realms are houmolds which the great muft
guide ,
102 ANNUS MIRABILIS.
As thofe who unripe veins in mines explore,
On the rich bed again the warm turf lay,
Till time digefts the yet imperfect ore,
And know it will be gold another day :
140.
So looks our monarch on this early fight,
Th' efTay and rudiments of great fuccefs :
Which all-maturing time mufh bring to light,
While he like heaven does each day's labor blefs.
141.
Heaven ended not the firft or fecond day,
Yet each was perfect to the work defign'd :
God and kings work, when they their work furvey,
A paffive aptnefs in all fubjects find.
142.
In burden'd veffels firft with fpeedy care,
His plenteous ftores do feafon'd timber fend :
Thither the brawny carpenters repair,
And as the furgeons of maim'd mips attend.
143-
With cord and canvafs from rich Hamburgh fent,
His navies molted wings he imps .once more :
Tall Norway fir, their mafts in battle, fpent,
And Englifh oak, fprung leaks and planks,
reftore.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 103
H4-
All hands employ 'd the royal work grows warm :
Like laboring bees on a long fummer's day,
Some found the trumpet for the reft to fwarm,
And fome on bells of tafted lillies play.
145.
With glewy wax fome new foundations lay
Of virgin-combs which from the roof are
hung:
Some arm'd within doors upon duty flay,
Or tend the fick, or educate the young.
146.
So here fome pick out bullets from the fides,
Some drive old okum through each feam and
rift :
Their left hand does the calking iron guide,
The rattling mallet with the right they lift.
147.
With boiling pitch another near at hand,
From friendly Sweden brought, ' the feams in-
ftops :
Which well paid o'er, the fait fea waves with-
ftand,
And fhakes them from the rifing beak in drops.
H 4
104 ANNUS MIRABILIS.
148.
Some the gall'd ropes with dawby marline bind,
Or fear-cloth mafts with ftrong tarpawling
coats :
To try new mrouds one mounts into the wind,
And one below their eafe or flifFnefs notes.
149.
Our careful monarch ftands in perfon by,
His new-caft cannons firmnefs to explore :
The ftrength of big-corn'd powder loves to try,
And ball and cartrige forts for every bore.
150.
Each day brings frefh fupplies of arms and men,
And fhips which all lafl winter were abroad ;
And fuch as fitted fince the fight had been,
Or new from ftocks, were fallen into the road.
151.
The goodly London in her gallant trim,
The Phoenix, daughter of the vanifli'd old,
Like a rich bride does to the ocean fwim,
And on her fhadow rides in floating gold.
152.
Her flag aloft fpread ruffling to the wind,
And fangiune fbreamers feem the flood to fire :-
The weaver charm'd with what his loom defign'd,
Goes on to fea, and knows not to retire.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 105
*S3-
With roomy decks, her guns of mighty ftrength,
Whofe low-laid mouths each mounting billow
laves :
Deep in her draught, and warlike in her length,
She feems a fea-wafp flying on the waves.
154.
This martial prefent, pioufly deiign'd,
The loyal city give their beft-lov'd king :
And with a bounty ample as the wind,
Built, fitted and maintain'd, to aid him bring
155-
By viewing nature, nature's handmaid, art
Makes mighty things from fmall beginnings grow:
Thus fimes firft to {hipping did impart,
Their tail the rudder, and their head the prow.
156.
Some log perhaps upon the waters fwam,
An ufelefs drift, which rudely cut within,
And hollow'd firft a floating trough became,
And crofs fome rivulet paflage did begin.
J 57-
In (hipping fuch as this, the Irifh kern,
And untaught Indian on the ftream did glide :
ire fharp-keel'd boats to ftem the flood did learn,
Or fin-like oars did fpread from either fide.
ie6 A N N U S M I R A B I L I S.
158.
Add but a fail, and Saturn fo appear'd,
When from loft empire he to exile went,
And with the golden age to Tyber fteer'd,
Where coin and commerce firfl he did invent.
J 59 .
Rude as their mips was navigation then ;
No ufeful compafs or meridian known ;
CoafKng, they kept the land within their ken,
And knew no North but when the Pole-ftar
mone.
160.
Of all who fince have us'd the open fea,
Than the bold Englim none more fame have won:
Beyond the year, and out of heaven's high way,
They make difcoveries where they fee no fun.
161.
But what fo long in vain, and yet unknown,
By poor mankind's benighted wit is fought,
Shall in this age to Britain firft be mown,
And hence be to admiring nations taught.
362.
The ebbs of tides and their myfterious flow,
We, as arts elements, mall underftand,
And as by line upon the ocean go,
Whofe paths .(hall be familiar as the land.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 107
163.
Inftru&ed mips mall fail to quick commerce,
By which remoteft regions are ally'd j
Which makes one city of the univerfe;
Where fome may gain, and all may be fupply'd.
164.
Then we upon our globe's laft verge mall go,
And view the ocean leaning on the fky :
From thence our rolling neighbors we mall know,
And on the lunar world fecurely pry.
i6 5 .
This I foretel from your aufpicious care,
Who great in fearch of God and nature grow ;
Who beft your wife creator's praife declare,
Since beft to praife his works is beft to know.
166.
O truly royal ! who behold the law
And rule of beings in your maker's mind :
And thence, like limbecs, rich ideas draw,
To fit the levell'd ufe of human-kind.
167.
But firft the toils of war we muft endure,
And from the injurious Dutch redeem the feas.
War makes the valiant of his right fecure,
And gives up fraud to be chaftis'd with eafe.
i68.
Already were the Belgians on our coaft,
Whofe fleet more mighty every day became
By late fuccefs, which they did falfly boaft,
And now by firft appearing feem'd to claim.
169.
Defigning, fubtle, diligent and clofe,
They knew to manage war with wife delay :
Yet all thofe arts their vanity did crofs,
And by their pride their prudence did betray.
170.'
JS T or ftaid the Englifh long j but well fupply'd,
Appear as numerous as the infulting foe :
The combat now by courage muft be try'd,
And the fuccefs the braver nation (how,
171.
There was the Plymouth fquadron now come in,
Which in the Straights laft winter was abroad ;
Which twice on Bifcay's working bay had been.
And on the midland fea the French had aw'd.
172.
Old expert Allen, loyal all along,
Fam'd for his action on the Smyrna fleet :
And Holmes, whofe name mall live in epic fong,
While murk numbers, or while verfe has feet.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 109
'73-
Holmes, the Achates of the general's fight;
Who firft bewitch'd our eyes with Guinea gold:
As once old Cato in the Roman fight
The tempting fruits of Afric did unfold.
174.
With him went Sprag, as bountiful as brave,
Whom his high courage to command had
brought :
Harman, who did the twice-fir'd Harry fave,
And in his burning fhip undaunted fought.
Young Hollis on a mufe by Mars begot,
Born, Caefar like, to write and act great deeds :
Impatient to revenge his fatal mot,
His right hand doubly to his left fucceeds.
176.
Thoufands were there in darker fame that dwell,
Whofe deeds fome nobler poem mall adorn :
And though to me unknown, they fure fought well,
Whom Rupert led, and who were Britifh born.
177.
Of every fize an hundred fighting fail :
So vaft the navy now at anchor rides,
That underneath it the prefs'd waters fail,
And with its weight it moulders off the tides.
no
178.
Now anchors weigh'd the feamen mout fo mrill,
That heaven and earth and the wide ocean rings :
A breeze from weftward waits their fails to fill,
And refls in thofe high beds his downy wings.
179.
The wary Dutch this gathering ftorm forefaw,
And durft not bide it on the Englifh coaft :
Behind their treacherous fhallows they withdraw,
And there lay fnares to catch the Britifti hoft.
1 80.
So the falfe fpider, when her nets are fpread,
Deep ambum'd in her filent den does lie :
And feels far off the trembling of her thread,
Whofe filmy cord mould bind the ftrugglingfly,
1 8 1.
Then if at laft me find him faft befet,
She iffues forth and runs along her loom :
She joys to touch the captive in her net,
And drag the little wretch in triumph home.
182.
The Belgians hop'd, that with diforder'd hafte,
Our deep-cut keels upon the fands might run :
Or if with caution leifurely were paft,
Their numerous grofs might charge us one by
one.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. in
183.
But with a fore-wind puming them above,
And fwelling tide that heav'd them from below,
O'er the blind flats our warlike fquadrons move,
And with fpread fails to welcome battle go.
184.
It feem'd as there the Britifh Neptune flood,
With all his hofts of waters at command,
Beneath them to fubmit the officious flood ;
And with his trident mov'd them off the fand.
To the pale foes they fuddenly draw near,
And fummon them to unexpected fight :
They ftart like murderers when ghofts appear,
And draw their curtains in the dead of night.
186.
Now van to van the foremoft fquadrons meet,
The midmoft battles haftning up behind :
Who view far off the ftorm of falling fleet,
And hear their thunder rattling in the wind.
At length the adverfe admirals appear ;
The two bold champions of each country's
right :
Their eyes defcribe the lifts as they come near,
And draw the lines of death before they fight.
ii2 ANNUS MIRABILIS,
188.
The diftance judg'd for mot of every fize,
The linftocs touch, the ponderous ball expires :
The vigorous feaman every port-hole plies,
And adds his heart to every gun he fires !
189.
Fierce was the fight on the proud Belgians fide^
For honor, which they feldom fought before :
But now they by their own vain boafls were ty'd,
And forc'd at leaft in mew to prize it more.
190.
But fharp remembrance on the Englifh part,
And mame of being match'd by fuch a foe,
Rouze confcious virtue up in every heart,
And feeming to be ftronger makes them fo.
191.
Nor long the Belgians could that fleet fuftain,
Which did two generals fates, and Caefar's bear :
Each feveral fhip a victory did gain,
As Rupert or as Albemarle were there.
192.
Their batter'd admiral too foon withdrew,
Unthank'd by ours for his unfinim'd fight :
But he the minds of his Dutch mafters knew,
Who call'd that providence which we call'd
flight. i
ANN US MIRABILIS. 113
'93-
Never did men more joyfully obey,
Or fooner underftood the lign to fly :
With fuch alacrity they bore away,
As if to praife them, all the ftates flood by.
194.
O famous leader of the Belgian fleet,
Thy monument infcrib'd fuch praife fhall wear,
As Varro timely flying once did meet,
Becaufe he did not of his Rome defpair.
195.
Behold that navy, which a while before,
Provok'd the tardy Englifh clofe to fight ;
Now draw their beaten vefTels clofe to more,
As larks lie dar'd to fhun the hobbies flight.
196.
Whoe'er would Englifh monuments furvey,
In other records may our courage know :
But let them hide the ftory of this day,
Whofe fame was blemim'd by too bafe a foe.
197.
Or if too bufily they will enquire
Into a victory, which we difdain ;
Then let them know the Belgians did retire
Before the patron faint of injur'd Spain.
VOL. I. I
ii 4 ANNUS MIRABILIS,
198.
Repenting England this revengeful day
To Philip's manes did an offering bring :
England, which firft by leading them aftray,
Hatch'd up rebellion to deftroy her king.
199.
Our fathers bent their baneful induftry,
To check a monarchy that flowly grew ;
But did not France or Holland's fate forefee,
Whofe rifmg power to fwift dominion flew.
200.
In fortune's empire blindly thus we go,
And wander after pathlefs deftiny -,
Whofe dark reforts fince prudence cannot know,
In vain it would provide for what mall be.
201.
But whate'er Englifh to the blefs'd mall go,
And the fourth Harry or nrft Orange meet ;
Find him difowning of a Bourbon foe.
And him detefting a Batavian fleet.
202.
Ndw on their coafts our conquering navy rides,
Waylays their merchants, and their land befets;
Each day new wealth without their care provides 5
They lie afleep with prizes in their nets.
I
ANN US MIRABILIS. 115
203.
So clofe behind fome promontory lie
The huge leviathans to attend their prey ;
And give no chace, but fwallow in the frie,
Which through their gaping jaws miftake the
way.
204.
Nor was this all : in ports and roads remote,
Deflructive fires among whole fleets we fend $
Triumphant flames upon the water float,
And out bound mips at home their voyage end.
205.
Thofe various fquadrons varioufly defign'd,
Each veflel freighted with a feveral load,
Each fquadron waiting for a feveral wind,
All find but one, to burn them in the road.
206.
Some bound for Guiney golden fand to find,
Bore all the gauds the fimple natives wear :
Some for the pride of Turkifh courts defign'd,
For folded turbants fineft Holland bear.
207.
Some Englifh wool vex'd in a Belgian loom,
And into cloth of fpungy foftnefs made,
Did into France or colder Denmark doom,
To ruin with worfe ware our ftaple trade.
I 2
ii6 ANN US MIRABILIS,
208.
Our greedy feamen rummage every hold,
Smile on the booty of each wealthier cheft ;
And as thepriefts who with their gods make bold,
Take what they like, and facrifice the reft.
209.
But ah ! how infincere are all our joys !
Which fent from heaven, like lightning make
no flay :
Their palling tafle the journey's length deftroys,
Or grief fent poft o'ertakes them on the way.
210.
Swell'd with our late fuccefles on the foe,
WhichFrance and Holland wanted power to crofs,
We urge an unfeen fate to lay us low,
And feed their envious eyes with Englifh lofs.
21 I.
Each element his dread command obeys,
Who makes or ruins with a fmile or frown ;
Who, as by one he did our nation raife,
So now he with another pulls us down.
212.
Yet London, emprefs of the northern clime,
By an high fate thou greatly didft expire ;
Great as the world's, which, at the death of time
Muft fall, and rife a nobler frame by fire.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 117
213.
As when fome dire ufurper heaven provides,
To fcourge his country with a lawlefs fway ;
His birth perhaps fome petty village hides,
And fets his cradle out of fortune's way.
214:
Till fully ripe his fwelling fate breaks out,
And hurries him to mighty mifchiefs on :
His prince furpriz'd at firft no ill could doubt,
And wants the pow'r to meet it when 'tis known.
215.
Such was the rife of this prodigious fire,
Which in mean buildings firft obfcurely bred,
From thence did foon to open ftreets afpire,
And ftraight to palaces and temples fpread.
216.
The diligence of trades and noifeful gain,
And luxury more late, afleep were laid :
All was the night's j and in her filent reign
No found the reft of nature did invade.
217.
In this deep quiet from what fource unknown,
Thofe feeds of fire their fatal birth difclofe ;
And firft few fcattering fparks about were blown,
Big with the flames that to our ruin rofe.
13
Ii8 ANNUS MIRABILIS.
218.
Then in fome clofe-pent room it crept along,
And fmouldering as it went, in filence fed ;
Till th' infant monfter, with devouring ftrong,
Walk'd boldly upright with exalted head.
219.
Now like fome rich or mighty murderer.
Too great for prifon, which he breaks with goldj
Who fremer for new mifchiefs does appear,
And dares the world to tax him with the old ;
220.
So fcapes th'infulting fire his narrow jail,
And makes fmall outlets into open air :
There the fierce winds his tender force arTail,
And beat him downward to his firft repair,
221.
The winds like crafty courtezans with-held
His flames from burning, but to blow them
more :
And every frem attempt he is repell'd
With faint denials weaker than before,
222,
And now no longer letted of his prey,
He leaps up at it with enrag'd defire :
Q'erlooks the neighbors with a wide furvey,
And nods at every houfe his threatning fire.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 119
223.
The ghofts of traitors from the bridge defcend,
With bold fanatic fpectres to rejoice :
About the fire into a dance they bend,
And fing their fabbath notes with feeble voice.
224.
Our guardian angel faw them where they fate
Above the palace of our fl umbering king :
He figh'd, abandoning his charge to fate,
And drooping, oft look'd back upon the wing.
225.
At length the crackling noife and dreadful blaze
Call'd up fome waking lover to the fight ;
And long it was ere he the reft could raife,
Whofe heavy eyelids yet were full of night.
226.
The next to danger, hot purfu'd by fate,
Half-cloth'd, half-naked, haflily retire :
And frighted mothers ftrike their breafts too late,
For helplefs infants left amidft the fire.
227.
Their cries foon waken all the dwellers near 5
Now murmuring noifes rife in every ftreet :
The more remote run ftumbling with their fear,
And in the dark men juftle as they meet.
14
120 ANN US MIRABILIS.
228.
So weary bees in little cells repofe j
But if night-robbers lift the well-ftor'd hive,
An humming through their waxen city grows,
And out upon each other's wings they drive.
229.
Now ftreets grow throng'd and bufy as by day :
Some run for buckets to the hallow'd quire :
Some cut the pipes, and fome the engines play ;
And fome more bold mount ladders to the fire.
230.
In vain : for from the Eaft a Belgian wind
His hoftile breath through the dry rafters fent ;
The flames impell'd foon left their foes. behind,
And forward with a wanton fury went.
V,
231.
A key of fire ran all along the more,
And lighten'd all the river with a blaze :
The waken'd tides began again to roar,
And wondering fim in Ihining waters gaze.
232.
Old father Thames rais'd up his reverend head,
But fear'd the fate of Simois would return :
Deep in his ooze he fought his fedgy bed,
And fhrunk his waters back into his urn.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 121
233-
The lire, mean-time, walks in a broader grofs ;
To either hand his wings he opens wide :
He wades the ftreets, and ilraight he reaches
crofs,
And plays his longing flames on th' other fide.
234-
At firft they warm, then fcorch, and then they
take j
Now with long necks from fide to fide they feed :
At length grown ftrong their mother-fire forfake,
And a new colony of flames fucceed.
235-
To every nobler portion of the town
The curling billows roll their reftlefs tide :
In parties now they ftraggle up and down,
As armies unoppos'd for prey divide.
236.
One mighty fquadron with a fide-wind fped,
Through narrow lanes his cumber'd fire does
hafte,
By powerful charms of gold and filver led,
The Lombard bankers and the Change to
wafle.
122 ANNUS MIRABILIS.
2 37 :
Another backward to the Tower would go,
And flowly eats his way againft the wind :
But the main body of the marching foe
Againft th' imperial palace is defign'd.
238.
Now day appears, and with the day the king,
Whofe early care had robb'd him of his reft :
Far off the cracks of falling houfes ring,
And fhrieks of fubjecls pierce his tender breaft,
2 39-
Near as he draws, thick harbingers of fmoke
With gloomy pillars cover all the place - y
Whofe little intervals of night are broke
By fparks, that drive againft his facred face.
240.
More than his guards his forrows made him known,
Andpious tears which down his cheeks did fhow'r:
The wretched in his grief forgot their own j
So much the pity of a king has pow'r.
241.
He wept the flames of what he lov'd fo well,
And what fo well had merited his love :
For never prince in grace did more excel,
Or royal city more in duty ftrove.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 123
242.
Nor with an idle care did he behold :
Subjects may grieve, but monarchsmuft redrefs;
He dinars the fearful and commends the bold,
And makes defpairers hope for good fuccefs.
243-
Himfelf directs what firft is to be done,
And orders all the fuccours which they bring:
The helpful and the good about him run,
And form an army worthy fuch a king.
244.
He fees the dire contagion fpread fo fail,
That where it feizes all relief is vain :
And therefore muft unwillingly lay wafte
That country, which would elfe the foe main-
tain.
245.
The powder blows up all before the fire :
Th' amazed flames ftand gathered on a heap ;
And from the precipice's brink retire,
Afraid to venture on fo large a leap.
246.
Thus fighting fires a while themfelves confume,
But ftraight like Turks forc'd on to win or die x
'hey firft lay tender bridges of their fume,
And o'er the breach in unctuous vapors fly.
124 ANNUS MIRABILIS.
247.
Part flay for pafTage, 'till a gufl of wind
Ships o'er their forces in a fhining meet :
Part creeping under ground their journey blind,
And climbing from below their fellows meet.
248.
Thus to fome defert plain, or old wood-fide,
Dire ni^ht-ha^s come from far to dance their
o o
round ;
And o'er broad rivers on their fiends they ride,
Or fweep in clouds above the blafted ground.
249.
!Nb help avails : for hydra-like, the fire
Lifts up his hundred heads to aim his way :
And fcarce the wealthy can one half retire,
Before he rumes in to fhare the prey.
250.
The rich grow fuppliant,and the poor grow proud:
Thofe offer mighty gain, and thefe afk more :
So void of pity is th' ignoble crowd,
When others ruin may increafe their ftore.
251.
As thofe who live by mores with joy behold
Some wealthy veliel fplit or flranded nigh ;
And from the rocks leap down for fhipwreck'd gold,
And feek the tempefts which the others fly :
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 125
252.
So thefe but wait the owners laft defpair,
And what's permitted to the flames invade ;
E'en from their jaws they hungry morfels. tear,
And on their backs the fpoils of Vulcan lade.
2 53-
The days were all in this loft labor fpent ;
And when the weary king gave place to night,
His beams he to his royal brother lent,
And fo mone ftill in his reflective light.
254.
Night came, but without darknefs or repole,
A difmal picture of the general doom ;
Where fouls diffracted when the trumpet blows,
And half unready with their bodies come.
2 55-
Thofe who have homes, when home they do
repair,
To a laft lodging call their wandering friends :
Their {hort uneafy fleeps are broke with care,
To look how near their own deftruction tends.
256.
Thofe who have none, fit round where once it was,
And with full eyes each wonted room require :
Haunting the yet warm allies of the place,
As murder'd men walk where they did expire.
126 ANNUS MIRABILIS.
257.
Some flir up coals and watch the veftal fire,
Others in vain from fight of ruin run -,
And while through burning lab'rinths they retire,
With loathing eyes repeat what they would mun*
258.
The moft in fields like herded beails lie down,
To dews obnoxious on the grafly floor ;
And while their babes in fleep their forrows drown,
Sad parents watch the remnants of their ftore.
259-
While by the motion of the flames they guefs
What ftreets are burning now, and what are
near,
An infant waking to the paps would prefs,
And meets, inftead of milk, a falling tear.
260.
No thought caneafethembuttheirfovereign's care,
Whofe praife th' afflicted as their comfort ling ;
E'en thofe, whom want might drive to juft defpair,
Think life a blefiing under fuch a king.
261.
Mean-time he fadly fuffers in their grief,
Out-weeps an hermit, and out-prays a faint :
All the long night he ftudies their relief,
How they may be fupply'd, and he may want.
ANN US MIRABILIS. 127
262.
O God, faid he, thou patron of my days,
Guide of my youth in exile and diftrefs !
Who me unfriended brought'ft by wond'rousways,
The kingdom of my fathers to poffefs :
263.
Be thou my judge, with what unwearied care
I fmce have labor'd for my people's good ;
To bind the bruifes of a civil war.
And flop the ifTues of their wafting blood.
264.
Thou who haft taught me to forgive the ill,
And recompenfe as friends, the good milled 5
If mercy be a precept of thy will,
Return that mercy on thy fervant's head.
265.
Or if my heedlefs youth has ftep'd aftray,
Too foon forgetful of thy gracious hand ;
On me alone thy juft difpleafure lay,
But take thy judgments from thismourningland.
266.
We all have finn'd, and thou haft laid us low,
As humble earth from whence at firft we came :
Like flying (hades before the clouds we fliew,
And mrink like parchment in confuming flame-
128 ANNUS MIRABILIS.
267.
O let it be enough what thou haft done ;
When fpotted deaths ran arm'd through ev'ry
ftreet,
With poifon'd darts which not the good could
fhun,
The fpeedy could out-fly, or valiant meet.
268.
The living few, and frequent funerals then,
Proclaim'd thy wrath on this forfaken place :
And now thofe few who are return'd agen,
Thy fearching judgments to their dwellings
trace.
. 269.
O pafs not, Lord, an abfolute decree,
Or bind thy fentence unconditional :
But in thy fentence our remorfe forefee,
And in that forefight this thy doom recal.
270.
Thy threatnings, Lord, as thine thou may'ft re-
voke:
But if immutable and fix'd they ftand,
Continue ftill thyfelf to give the ftroke,
And let not foreign foes opprefs thy land.
2 -Th*
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 129
271.
Th'Eternal heard, and from the heavenly quire
Chofe out the cherub with the flaming fword ;
And bad him fwiftly drive th' approaching fire
From where our naval magazines were flor'd.
272.
The blefled minifter his wings difplay'd,
And like a mooting ftar he cleft the night :
He charg'd the flames, and thofe that difobey'd
He lafh'd to duty with his fword of light.
2 73-
The fugitive flames chaftis'd went forth to prey
On pious ftru&ures, by our fathers rear'd j
By which to heaven they did affect the way,
Ere faith in churchmen without works was
heard.
274.
The wanting orphans faw with watery eyes,
Their founders charity in dud laid low j
And fent to God their ever-anfwer'd cries,
For he protects the poor, who made them fo.
VOL. I. K
2 75-
Nor could thy fabric, Paul's, defend thec long,
Tho thou wert facred to thy Maker's praife :
Though made immortal by a poet's fong;
And poets fongs the Theban walls could raife.
276.
The daring flames peep'd in, and faw from far
The awful beauties of the facred quire :
But fince it was prophan'd by civil war,
Heaven thought it fit to have it purg'd by
fire.
277.
Now down the narrow ftreets it fwiftly came,
And widely opening did on both fides prey :
This benefit we fadly owe the flame,
If only ruin mufl enlarge our way.
278.
And now four days the fun had feen our woes :
Four nights the moon beheld th'inceffant
fire:
It feem'd as if the ftars more fickly rofe,
And farther from the feverim north retire.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. ijt
279.
In th' empyrean heaven, the blefs'd abode,
The thrones and the dominions proftrate lie,
Not daring to behold their angry God 3
And an hum'd filence damps the tuneful iky,
280.
At length th' Almighty caft a pitying eye,
And mercy foftly touch'd his melting breaft i
He faw the town's one half in rubbifh lie,
And eager flames drive on to florrn the reft,
281.
An hollow cryftal pyramid he takes,
*
In firmamental waters dipt above ;
Of it a broad extinguimer he makes,
And hoods the flames that to their quarry drove..
282.
The vanquifh'd fires withdraw from everyplace,
Or full with feeding fink into a fleep :
Each houmold genius mews again his face,
And from the hearths the little lares creep*
283.
Our king this more than natural change beholds ;
With fober joy his heart and eyes abound :
To the All-good his lifted hands he folds,
And thanks him low on his redeemed ground.
K 2
ANNUS MIRABILIS.
284.
As when fharp frofts had long conftrain'd the
earth,
A kindly thaw unlocks it with cold rain ;
And firfl the tender blade peeps up to birth,
And ftraight the green fields laugh with prov
mis'd grain :
285.
By fnch degrees the fpreading gladnefs grew
In every heart which fear had froze before :
The {landing ftreets with fo much joy they
view,
That with lefs grief the perifli'd they deplore.
286.
The father of the people open'd wide
His ftores, and all the poor with plenty fed :
Thus God's anointed God's own place fupply'd,
And fill'd the empty with his daily bread.
287.
This royal bounty brought its own reward,
And in their minds fo deep did print the
fenfe j
That if their ruins fadly they regard,
'Tis but with fear the fight might drive him
thence.
ANNUS MIRABILIS. 133
288.
But fo may he live long, that town to fway,
Which by his aufpice they will nobler make,
As he will hatch their afhes by his flay,
And not their humble ruins now forfake.
289.
They have not loft their loyalty by fire ;
Nor is their courage or their wealth fo low,
That from his wars they poorly would retire,
Or beg the pity of a vanquifh'd foe.
290.
Not with more conftancy the Jews, of old
By Cyrus from rewarded exile lent,
Their royal city did in duft behold,
Or with more vigor to rebuild it went.
291.
The utmoft malice of the ftars is paft,
And two dire comets, which have fcourg'd the
town,
In their own plague and fire have breath'd the laft,
Or dimly in their finking fockets frown.
292.
Now frequent trines the happier lights among,
And high-rais'd Jove, from his dark prifon freed,
Thofe weights took off that on his planet hung,
Will glorioufly the new-laid works fucceed.
ANNUS MIRABILIS.
2 93-
Methinks already from this chymic flame,
I fee a city of more precious mold :
Rich as the town which gives the Indies name,
With filver-pav'4> 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
<c Next thefe, a troop of bufy fpirits prefs,"
and ending with
" To talk like Doeg, and to write like thee."
containing near two hundred verfes, were intirely
Mr. Dryden's compoiitions, beiides fome touches
in ether places.
ABSALOM
AND
ACHITOPHEL.
SINCE men likebeafts each other's prey were
made,
Since trade began, and priefthood grew a trade,
Since realms were form'd, none fure fo curft as
thofe
That madly their own happinefs oppofe ;
There heaven itfelf and god-like kings, in vain
Shower down the manna of a gentle reign j
2oo ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL.
While pamper'd crowds to mad fedition run,
And monarchs by indulgence are undone.
Thus David's clemency was fatal grown,
While wealthy fadion aw'd the wanting throne.
For now their fovereign's orders to contemn
Was held the charter of Jerufalem,
His rights to invade, his tributes to refufe,
A privilege peculiar to the Jews ;
As if from heav'nly call this licence fell,
And Jacob's feed were chofen to rebel !
Achitophel with triumph fees his Crimes
Thus fuited to the madnefs of the times ;
And Abfalom, to make his hopes fucceed,
Of flattering charms no longer ftands in need j -
While fond of change, tho ne'er fo dearly bought,
Our tribes outflrip the youth's ambitious thought;
His fwifteft hopes with fwifter homage meet,
And crowd their fervile necks beneath his feet.
Thus to his aid while preffing tides repair,
He mounts and fpreads his ftfeamers in the air.
The charms of empire might his youth miflead,
Eut what can our befotted Ifrael plead ?
Sway'd by a monarch, whofe ferene command
Seems half the bkffing of our promis'd land.
Whofe only grievance is excefs ,of eafe ;
Freedom our pain, and plenty our difeafel
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 201
Yet as all folly Would lay claim to fenfe,
And wickednefs ne'er wanted a pretence,
With arguments they'd make their treafon good,
And righteous David's felf with (landers load :
That arts of foreign fway he did affect,
And guilty Jebufites from law protect,
Whofe very chiefs, convict, were never freed,
Nay we have feen their facrificers bleed !
Accufers infamy is urg'd in vain,
While in the bounds of fenfe they did contain,
But foon they launcht into the unfathom'd tide,
And in the depths they knew difdain'd to ride.
For probable difcoveries to difpenfe,
Was thought below a penfion'd evidence ;
Mere truth was dull, nor fuited with the port
Of pamper'd Corah when advanc'd to court.
No lefs than wonders now they will impofe,
And projects void of grace or fenfe difclofe.
Such was the change on pious Michal brought,
Michal that ne'er was cruel even in thought,
The beft of queens, and moft obedient wife,
Impeach'd of curft defigns on David's life !
His life, the theme of her eternal prayer,
'Tis fcarce fo much his guardian angels care.
Not fummer morns fuch mildnefs can difclofe,
The Hermon lilly, nor the Sharon rofe.
202
Neglecting each vain pomp of majefty,
Tranfported Michal feeds her thoughts on high.
She lives with angels, and as angels do,
Quits heaven fometimes to blefs the world below.
Where, cherimt by her bounties plenteous fpring,
Reviving widows fmile, and orphans fing.
Oh I when rebellious Ifrael's crimes at height,
Are threatned with her Lord's approaching fate,
The piety of Michal then remain
In heaven's remembrance, and prolong his reign.
Lefs defolation did the pert purfue,
That from Dan's limits to Beermeba flew,
Lefs fatal the repeated wars of Tyre,
And lefs Jerufalem's avenging fire.
With gentler terror thefe our ftate o'er-ran,
Than iince our evidencing days began !
On every cheek a pale confufion fat,
Continu'd fear beyond the worfl of fate !
Truft was no more, art, fcience, ufelefs made,
All occupations loft but Corah's trade.
Mean while a guard on modefl Corah wait,
If not for fafety, needful yet for ftate.
Well might he deem each peer and prince his Have,
And lord it o'er the tribes which he could fave :
Even vice in him was virtue what fad fate
But for his honefty had feiz'd our flate ?
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 203
And with what tyranny had we been curft,
Had Corah never prov'd a villain firft ?
T'have told his knowlege of the intrigue in grofs,
Had been, alas, to our deponent's lofs :
The travell'd Levite had the experience got,
To hufband well, and make the beft of 's plot ;
And therefore like an evidence of ikill,
With wife referves fecur'd his penfion (till ;
Nor quite of future po^ver himfelf bereft,
But limbos large for unbelievers left.
And now his writ fuch reverence had got,
'Twas worfe than plotting to fufpecl: his plot.
Some were fo well convinc'd, they made no doubt
Themfelves to help the founder'd fwearers out.
Some had their fenfe impos'd on by their fear,
But more for intereft fake believe and fwear :
Even to that height with fome the frenzy grew,
They rag'd to find their danger not prove true.
Yet, than all thefe a viler crew remain,
Who with Achitophel the cry maintain - t
Not urg'd by fear, nor thro mifguided fenfe,
Blind zeal and ftarving need had fome pretence,
But for the good old caufe that did excite
The original rebels wiles, revenge and fpight.
Thefe raife the plot to have the fcandal thrown
Upon the bright fuccefTor of the crown,
204 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL.
Whofe virtue with fuch wrongs they had purfu'd,
As feem'd all hope of pardon to exclude.
Thus, while on private ends their zeal is built,
The cheated crowd applaud and (hare their guilt.
Such practices as thefe, too grofs to lie
Long unobferv'd by each difcerning eye,
The more judicious Ifraelites unfpell'd,
Tho ftill the charm the giddy rabble held,
Ev'n Abfalom amidft the dazzling beams
Of empire, and ambition's flattering dreams,
Perceives the plot, too foul to be excus'd,
To aid deiigns, no lefs pernicious, us'd.
And, filial fenfe yet ftriving in his breaft,
Thus to Achitophel his doubts expreft,
Why are my thoughts upon a crown employ 'd,
Which once obtain'd can be but half enjoy'd ?
Not ib when virtue did my arms require,
And to my father's wars I flew intire.
My regal power how will my foes refent,
When I myfelf have fcarce my own confent ?
Give me a fon's unblemim'd truth again,
Or quench the fparks of duty that remain.
How flight to force a throne that legions guard
The talk to me j to prove unjuft, how hard !
And if th' imagin'd guilt thus wound my thought,
What will it when the tragic fcene is wrought ?
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 205
Dire war muft firft be coajur'd from below,
The realm we'd rule we firft muft overthrow ;
And when the civil furies are on wing
That blind and undiftinguim'd (laughters fling, !
Who knows what impious chance may reach the j
king ? j
Oh ! rather let me perifh in the ftrife,
Than have my crown the price of David's life !
Or if the tempeft of the war he ftand,
In peace, fome vile officious villain's hand
His foul's anointed temple may invade,
Or preft by clamorous crowds, my felf be made
His murtherer ; rebellious crowds, whofe guilt
Shall dread his vengeance till his blood be fpilt.
Which if my filial tendernefs oppofe,
Since to the empire by their arms I rofe,
Thofe very arms on me {hall be employ'd,
A new ufurper crown'd, and I deftroy'd :
The fame pretence of public good will hold,
And new Achitophels be found as bold
To urge the needful change, perhaps the old. _
He faid. The ftatefman with a fmile replies,
A fmile that did his rifing fpleen difguife,
My thoughts prefum'd our labors at an end,
And are we ftill with confcience to contend ?
i
206 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL*
Whofe want in kings, as needful is allow'd,
As 'tis for them to find it in the crowd.
Far in the doubtful paflage you are gone,
And only can be fafe by preffing on.
The crown's true heir, a prince fevere and wife,
Has view'd your motions long with jealous eyes :
Your perfon's charms, your more prevailing arts,
And mark'd your progrefs in the people's hearts,
Whofe patience is th' effect of ftinted power,
But treafures vengeance for the fatal hour,
And if remote the peril he can bring,
Your prefent danger's greater from the king.
Let not a parent's name deceive your fenfe,
^
Nor trufh the father in a jealous prince !
Your trivial faults if he could fo refent,
To doom you little lefs than banimment,
What rage muft your prefumption fmce infpire ?
Againfl his orders your return from Tyre ?
Nor only fo, but with a pomp more high,
And open court of popularity,
The factious tribes And this reproof from thee ?
The prince replies, O flatefman's winding fkill,
They firft condemn that firft advis'd the ill !
Illufirioiis youth, return'd Achitophel,
Mifconflrue not the words that mean you well.
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 207
The courfe you fleer I worthy blame conclude,
But 'tis becaufe you leave it unpurfu'd.
A monarch's crown with fate furrounded lies,
Who reach, lay hold on death that mifs the prize.
Did you for this expofe yourfelf to mow,
And to the crowd bow popularly low !
For this your glorious progrefs next ordain,
With chariots, horfemen, and a numerous train.
With fame before you like the morning ftar,
And mouts of joy faluting from afar ?
Oh from the heights you've reach'd but take a view,
Scarce leading Lucifer could fall like you !
And muft I here my fhipwreck'd arts bemoan ?
Have I for this fo oft made Ifrael groan ?
Your fmgle intereft with the nation weigh'd,
And turn'd the fcale where your deilres were laid!
Even when at helm a courfe fo dangerous mov'd
To land your hopes as my removal prov'd.
I not difpute, the royal youth replies,
The known perfection of your policies,
Nor in Achitophel yet grudge or blame,
The privilege that ftatefmen ever claim ;
Who private intereft never- yet purfu'd,
But ftill pretended 'twas for other's good :
What politician yet e'er fcap'd his fate,
Who faving his own neck not fav'd the ftate ?
2o8 ABSALOM and AcniTopHEt.
From hence on ev'ry hum'rous wind thatveer'd,
With fhifted fails a feveral courfe you fteer'd.
What from a fway did David e'er purfue,
That fecm'd like abfbiute, but fprungfrom you?
Who at your inftance quafht each penal law,
That kept difTenting factious Jews in awe ;
And who fufpends fixt laws, may abrogate,
That done, form new, and fo enilave the {rate.
Even property, whofe champion now you ftand,
And feem for this the idol of the land,
Did ne'er fuftain fuch violence before,
As when your counfel fhut the royal ftore ;
Advice, that ruin to whole tribes procur'd,
But fecret kept till your own banks fecur'd.
Recount with this the tripple cov'nant broke,
And Ifrael fitted for a foreign yoke ;
Nor here your counfels fatal progrefs ftaid,
But fent our levied powers to Pharaoh's aid.
Hence Tyre and Ifrael, low in ruins laid,
And Egypt once their fcorn, their common terror
made.
Even yet of fuch a feafon can we dream,
When royal rights you made your darling theme.
For power unlimited could reafons draw,
And place prerogative above the law j
Which
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 209
Which on your fall from office grew unjuft,
The laws made king, the king a flave in truft :
Whom with ftate-craft, to intereft only true 3
You now accufe of ills contriv'd by you.
To this hell's agent royal youth, fix here,
Let intereft be the ftar by which you fteer.
Hence to repofe your truft in me was wife,
Whofe intereft moft in your advancement lies.
A tye fo firm as always will avail,
When friendfhip, nature, and religion fail j
On our's the fafety of the crowd depends,
Secure the crowd, and we obtain our ends,
Whom I will caufe fo far our guilt to mare,
Till they are made our champions by their fear,
What oppofition can your rival bring,
While fanhedrims are jealous of the king ?
His ftrength as yet in David's friendship lies,
And what can David's felf without fupplies ?
Who with exclufive bills muft now difpenfe,
Debar the heir, or ftarve in his defence.
Conditions which our elders ne'er will quit,
And David's juftice never can admit.
Or forc'd by wants his brother to betray,
To your ambition next he clears the way;
VOL. I. P
2io ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL.
For if fucceffion once to nought they bring,
Their next advance removes the prefent king :
Perfifting elfe his fenates to diffolve,
In equal hazard (hall his reign involve.
Our tribes, whom Pharaoh's power fo much alarms,
Shall rife without their prince t'oppofe his arms ;
Nor boots it on what caufe at firft they join,
Their troops once up, are tools for our defign.
At leaft fuch fubtle covenants (hall be made,
Till peace itfelf is war in mafquerade.
Affociations of myfterious fenfe,
Again(t, but feeming for, the king's defence ;
Ev'n on their courts of juflice fetters draw,
And from our agents muzzle up their law.
By which a conqueft if we fail to make,
*Tis a drawn game at worft, and we fecure our flake,
He faid, and for the dire fuccefs depends
On various feds, by common guilt made friends,
Whofe heads, though ne'er fo difFring in their
creed,
I'th* point of treafon yet were well agreed.
Amongft thefe, extorting Imban firil appears,
Purfu'd by a meager troop of bankrupt heirs.
Bleft times when Imban, he whofe occupation
So long has been to cheat, reforms the nation!
2
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 211
Imban of conference fuited to his trade,
As good a faint as ufurer ever made.
Yet Mammon has not fo engroft him quite,
But Belial lays as large a claim of fpight ;
Who, for thofe pardons from his prince he draws,
Returns reproaches, and cries up the caufe. v
That year in which the city he did fway,
He left rebellion in a hopeful way.
Yet his ambition once was found fo bold,
To offer talents of extorted gold ;
Could David's wants have fo been brib'd, to mame
And fcandalize our peerage with his name - f
For which, his dear fedition he'd forfwear,
And e'en turn loyal to be made a peer.
Next him, let railing Rabflieka have place,
So full of zeal he has no need of grace ;
A faint that can both flefh and fpirit ufe,
Alike haunt conventicles and the flews :
Of whom the queftion difficult appears,
If moft i' th' preachers or the bawds arrears.
What caution cou'd appear too much in him
That keeps the treafure of Jerufalem !
Let David's brother but approach the town,
Double our guards, he cries, we are undone.
P 2
212 ABSALOM and A c n i T o p H E L.
Protefting that he dares not fleep in's bed
Left he fliou'd rife next morn without his head,
" Next thefe, a troop of bufy fpirits prefs,
Of little- fortunes, and of confcience lefs j
With them the tribe, whofe luxury had drain'd
Their, banks, in former fequeftrations gain'd;
Who rich and great by pail rebellions grew,
And long to fifh the troubled ftreams anew.
Some future hopes, fome prefent payment
draws,
To fell their confcience and efpoufe the caufe.
Such fiipends thofe vile hirelings beft befit,
Priefts without grace, and poets without wit.
Shall that falfe Hebronite efcape our curfe,
Judas that keeps the rebels penfion-purfe j
Judas that pays the treafon-writer's fee,
Judas that well deferves his namefake's tree ;
Who at; Jerufalem's own gates creels
His college for a nurfery of fects.
Young prophets with an early care fecures,
And with the dung of his own arts manures.
What have the men of Hebron here to do ?
What part in Ifrael's promis'd land have you !
Here Phaleg the lay-Hebronite is come,
'Caufe like the reft he c.ou'd not live at home ,
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL.' 213.
Who from his own pofTeffions cou'd not drain
An omer even of Hebronitifh grain,
Here ftruts it like a patriot, and talks high
Of injur'd fubjects, alter'd property :
An emblem of that buzzing infect juft,
That mounts the wheel, and thinks fhe raifes
. duft.
Can dry bones live ? or fkeletons produce
The vital warmth of cuckoldizing juice ?
Slim Phaleg could, and at the table fed,
Return'd the grateful product to the bed.
A waiting-man to trav'ling nobles chofe,
He his own laws wou'd faucily impofe,
'Till baftinado'd back again he went,
To learn thofe manners he to teach was fent.
Chafliz'd he ought to have retreated home,
But he reads politics to Abfalom.
For never Hebronite, tho kick'd and fcorn'd,
To his own country willingly return'd.
But leaving famifli'd Phaleg to be fed,
And to talk treafon for his daily bread,
Let Hebron, nay let hell produce a man
So made for mifchief as Ben-Jochanan,
A Jew of humble parentage was he,
By trade a Levite, tho of low degree :
PS
214 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL*
His pride no higher than the desk afpir'd,
But for the drudgery of priefts was hir'd
To read and pray in linen ephod brave,
And pick up fingle fhekels from the grave.
Married at laft, but finding charge come fafter,
He could not live by God, butchang'd his mafter:
Infpir'd by want, was made a factious tool,
They got a villain, and we loft a fool.
Still violent, whatever caufe he took,
But moft againft the party he forfook.
For renegadoes, who ne'er turn by halves,
Are bound in confcience to be double knaves.
So this profe-prophet took moft monftrous pains,
To let his mafters fee he earn'd his gains.
But as the devil owes all his imps a fhame,
He chofe the apoftate for his proper theme ;
With little pains he made the picture true,
And from reflexion took the rogue he drew.
A wondrous work, to prove the Jewim nation
In every age a murmuring generation ;
To trace 'em from their infancy of finning,
And mew 'em factious from their firft beginning.
To prove they could rebel, and rail, and mock,
Much to the credit of the chofen flock ;
A ftrong authority which muft convince,
That faints own no allegiance to their prince.
ASSALOM and A en i TOP H EL. 215
As, 'tis a leading-card to make a whore,
To prove her mother had turn'd up before.
But, tell me, did the drunken patriarch blefs
The fon that fhew'd his father's nakednefs ?
Such thanks the prefent church thy pen will give,
Which proves rebellion was fo primitive.
Muft ancient failings be examples made ?
Then murtherers from Cain may learn their trade.
As thou the heathen and the faint haft drawn,
Methinks th' apoftate was the better man :
And thy hot father, waving my refpecl,
Not of a mother- church but of a feet.
And fuch he needs muft be of thy inditing,
This comes of drinking afles milk and writing,
If Balack mould be call'd to leave his place,
As profit is the loudeft call of grace,
His temple difpoffefs'd of one, would be
Replenim'd with feven devils more by thee.
Levi, thou art a load, I'll lay thee down,
And (hew rebellion bare, without a gown $
Poor Haves in metre, dull and addfe-pated,
Who rhime below ev'n David's pfalms tranflated,
Some in my fpeedy pace I muft out-run,
As lame Mephibofheth the wifard's fon :
2i6 ABSALOM and A CHI T OP H EL;
To make quick way I'll leap o'er heavy blocks^
Shun rotten Uzza as I would the pox ;
And batten Og and Doeg to rehearfe,
Two fools that crutch their feeble fenfe on verfe j
Who by my mufe to all fucceeding times,
Shall live in fpight of their own dogrel rhimes.
Doeg, tho without knowing how or why,
Made ftill a blund'ring kind of melody 3
Spurr'd boldly on, and dalh'd thro thick and thin,
Through fenfe and nonfenfe, never out nor in ;
Free from all meaning, whether good or bad,
And in one word, heroically mad :
He was too warm on picking- work to dwell,
But fagotted his notions as they fell,
And if they rhim'd and rattl'd, all was well,
Spiteful he is not, tho he wrote a fatyr,
For ftill there goes fome thinking to ill-nature :
He needs no more than birds and beafts to think,
All his occafions are to eat and drink.
If he call rogue and rafcal from a garrat,
He means you no more mifchief than a parrat :
The words for friend and foe alike were made,
To fetter 'em in verfe is all his trade.
For almonds he'll cry whore to his own mother :
And call young Abfalom king David's brother.
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 217
Let him be gallows-free by my confent,
And nothing fuffer fince he nothing meant ;
Hanging fuppofes human foul and reafon,
This animal's below committing treafon :
Shall he be hang'd who never could rebel ?
That's a preferment for Achitophel.
The woman that committed buggary,
Was rightly fentenc'd by the law to die ;
But 'twas hard fate that to the gallows led
The dog that never heard the ftatute read.
Railing in other men may be a crime,
But ought to pafs for mere inftinct in him :
Inftinct he follows and no farther knows,
For to write verfe with him is to tranfprofe.
'Twere pity treafon at his door to lay,
Who makes heaven's gate a lock to its own key :
Let him rail on, let his invective mufe
Have four and twenty letters to abufe,
Which, if he jumbles to one line of fenfe,
Indict him of a capital offence.
In fire-works give him leave to vent his fpight,
Thofe are the only ferpents he can write ;
The height of his ambition is, we know,
But to be mailer of a puppet-mow,
On that one flagehis works may yet appear,
And a month's harvefl keeps him all the year.
6i8 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL.
Now flop your nofes, readers, all and fome,
For here's a tun of mid night- work to come,
Og from a treafon-tavern rowling home.
Round as a globe, and liquor'd every chink,
Goodly and great he fails behind his link ;
With all this bulk there's nothing loft in Og,
For every inch that is not fool is rogue :
A monftrous mafs of foul corrupted matter,
As all the devils had fpew'd to make the batter,
When wine has giv'n him courage to blafpheme,
He curfes God, but God before curft him -,
And if man could have reafon, none has more,
That made his paunch fo rich and him fo poor.
With wealth he was not trufled, for heav'nknew
What 'twas of old to pamper up a Jew ;
To what would he on quail and pheafant fwell,
That even on tripe and carrion could rebel ?
But tho heaven made him poor, with rever'nce
ipeaking,
He never was a poet of God's making ;
The midwife laid her hand on his thick fkull,
With this prophetic bleffing be thou dull ;
Drink, fwear and roar, forbear no lewd delight
Fit for thy bulk, do any thing but write :
Thou art of lafting make, like thoughtlefs men,
A flrong nativity but for the pen ;
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHKL. 219
Eat opium, mingle arfenic in thy drink,
Still thou mayft live, avoiding pen and ink.
I fee, I fee, 'tis counfel given in vain,
For treafon botcht in rhime will be thy bane,
Rhime is the rock on which thou art to wreck,
'Tis fatal to thy fame and to thy neck :
Why mould thy metre good king David blaft ?
A pfalm of his will furely be thy laft.
Dar'ft thou prefume in verfe to meet thy foes,
Thou whom the penny pamphlet foil'd in profe ?
Doeg, whom God for mankind's mirth has made,.
O'er-tops thy talent in thy very trade ;
Doeg to thee, thy paintings are fo coarfe,
A poet is, tho he's the poet's horfe.
A double noofe thou on thy neck doft pull
For writing treafon, and for writing dull ;
To die for faction is a common evil,
But to be hang'd for nonfenfe is the devil :
Hadft thou the glories of thy king exprefr,
Thy praifes had been fatyr at the beft ;
But thou in clumfy verfe, unlickt, unpointed,
Haft fhamfully defy'd the Lord's anointed :
I will not rake the dunghill of thy crimes,
For who would read thy life that reads thy rhymes ?
But of king David's foes, be this the doom,
May all be like the young man Abfalom j
220 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL.
And for my foes may this their bleffing be,
To talk like Doeg, and to write like thee."
Achitophel each rank, degree, and age,
For various ends neglects not to engage ;
The wife and rich for purfe and counfel brought,
The fools and beggars for their number fought :
Who yet not only on the town depends,
For even in court the faction had its friends ;
Thefe thought the places they poffeft too fmall,
And in their hearts wimt court and king to fall :
Whofe names the mufedifdaining, holds i'th' dark,
Thruft in the villain herd without a mark ;
With parafites and libel-fpawning imps,
Intriguing fops, dull jeflers, and worfe pimps.
Difdain the rafcal rabble to purfue,
Their fet cabals are yet a viler crew 5
See where inyolv'd in common fmoak they fit ;
Some for our mirth, fome for our fatyr fit :
Thefe gloomy, thoughtful, and on mifchief bent,
While thofe for mere good fellowship frequent
Th' appointed club, can let fedition pafs,
Senfe, nonfenfe, any thing to employ the glafs ;
And who believe in their dull honeft hearts,
The reft' talk treafon but to mew their parts ;
Who ne'er had wit or will for mifchief yet,
But pleas'd to be reputed of a fet.
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHTL. 221
But in the facred annals of our plot,
Induftrious AROD never be forgot:
The labours of this midnight-magiftrate,
May vie with Corah's to preferve the flate.
In fearch of arms he fail'd not to lay hold
On war's moft powerful dang'rous weapon, gold.
And laft, to take from Jebufites all odds,
Their altars pillag'd, ftole their very gods ;
Oft would he cry, when treafure he furpriz'd,
'Tis Baalifh gold in David's coin difguis'd.
Which to his houfe with richer reliques came,
While lumber idols only fed the flame :
For our wife rabble ne'er took pains t' enquire,
What 'twas he burnt, fo 't made a rouling fire.
With which our elder was enricht no more
Than falfe Gehazi with the Syrian's ftore ;
So poor, ' that when our chufing-tribes were met,
Ev'n for his (linking votes he ran in debt ;
For meat the wicked, and as authors think,
The faints he chous'd for his electing drink j
Thus ev'ry fhift and fubtle method paft,
And all to be no Zaken at the laft.
Now, rais'd on Tyre's faid ruins, Pharaoh's pride
Soar'd high, his legions threatning far and wide j
As when a batt'ring ftorm ingendred high,
By winds upheld, hangs hov'ring in the fky,
222 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL,
Is gaz'd upon by ev'ry trembling fwain,
This for his vineyard fears, and that his grain ;
For blooming plants, andflow'rs new opening, thefe
For lambs yean'd lately, and far-lab'ring bees :
To guard his ftock each to the gods does call,
Uncertain where the fire-charg'd clouds will fall .:
Ev'n fo the doubtful nations watch his arms,
With terror each expecting his alarms.
Where, Judah, where was now thy lyon's roar ?
Thou only couldft the captive lands reftore ;
But thou, with inbred broils and faction preft,
From Egypt need'ft a guardian with the reft.
Thy prince from fanhedrims no truft allow'd,
Too much the reprefenters of the crowd,
Who for their own defence give no fupply,
But what the crown's prerogatives muft buy :
As if their monarch's rights to violate
More needful were, than to preferve the ftate-I
From prefent dangers they divert their care,
And all their fears are of the royal heir ;
Whom now the reigning malice of his fees,
Unjudg'd would fentence, and e'er crown'd depofc-
Religion the pretence, but their decree
To bar his reign, whate'er his faith fhall be !
By fanhedrims and clam'rous crowds thus preft,
What paffions rent the righteous David's bread f
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 223
Who knows not how t' oppofe or to comply,
Unjuft to grant and dangerous to deny !
How near in this dark juncture Ifrael's fate,
Whofe peace one fole expedient could create,
Which yet the extreameft virtue did require,
Even of that prince whofe downfal theyconlpire!
His abfence David does with tears advife
To appeafe their rage. Undaunted he complies ;
Thus he who prodigal of blood and eafe,
A royal life expos'd to winds and feas,
At once contending with the waves and fire,
And heading danger in the wars of Tyre,
Inglorious now forfakes his native fand,
And like an exile quits the- promis'd land !
Our monarch fcarce from preffing tears refrains,
And painfully his royal ftate maintains,
Who now embracing on the extreameft more
Almoft revokes what he injoin'd before :
Concludes at laft more truft to be allow'd
To ftorms and feas than to the raging crowd !
Forbear, ram mufe, the parting fcene to draw,
With filence charm'd as deep as their's that faw '
Not only our attending nobles weep,
But hardy failors fwell with tears the deep !
The tide reftrain'd her courfe^ and more amaz'd,
The twin-ftars on the royal brothers gaz'd :
224 ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL;
While this fole fear
Does trouble to our fuffering hero bring,
Left next the popular rage opprefs the king !
Thus parting, each for the other's danger griev'dj
The {bore the king, and feas the prince receiv'd.
Go, injur'dhero, while propitious gales,
Soft as thy confort's breath, infpire thy fails - f
(Well may fhe truft her beauties on a flood,
Where thy triumphant fleets fo oft have rode !
Safe on thy breaft reclin'd her reft be deep,
Rock'd like a Nereid by the waves aileep 5
While happieft dreams her fancy entertain,
And to Elyfian fields convert the main !
Go, injur'd hero, while the mores of Tyre
At thy approach fo filent mail admire,
Who on thy thunder ftill their thoughts employ,
And greet thy landing with a trembling joy.
On heroes thus the prophet's fate is thrown,
Admir'd by every nation but their own ;
Yet while our factious Jews his worth deny,
Their aking confcience gives their tongue the lie.
Even in the worft of men the nobleft parts
Confefs him, and he triumphs in their hearts,
Whom to his king the beft refpecls commend
Of fubject, foldier, kinfman, prince and friend -,
All
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. 225
All facred names of moft divine efleem,
And to perfection all fuftain'd by him,
Wife, juft, and conftant, courtly without art,
Swift to difcern and to reward defert ;
No hour of his in fruitlefs eafe deftroy'd,
But on the noblefl: fubjects frill employ'd :
Whofe fleddy foul ne'er learnt to feparate
Between his monarch's intereft and the ftate,
But heaps thofe bleflings on the royal head,
Which he well knows rnufl be on fubjects med.
On what pretence could then the vulgar rage
Againft his worth, and native rights engage ?
Religious fears their argument are made,
Religious fears his facred rights invade !
Of future fuperftition they complain,
And jebufitic worfhip in his reign :
With fuch alarms his foes the crowd deceive,
With dangers fright which not themfelves believe.
Since nothing can our facred rites remove,
Whate'er the faith of the fuccefTor prove :
Our Jews their ark mall undifturb'd retain,
At leaft while their religion is their gain,
Who know by old experience Baal's commands
Not only claim'd their confcience but their lands >
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
<c moft juft caufe to fear, left our haftinefs to
" embrace a thing of fo perilous confequence,
<c meaning the prefbyterian difcipline, mould
." caufe pofterity to feel thofe evils, which as yet
<f are more eafy for us to prevent, than they would
" be for them to remedy."
How fatally this Caflandra has foretold we
know too well by fad experience : the feeds were
fown in the time of queen Elizabeth, the bloody har-
veft ripened in thereignof kingCharles theMartyr :
and becaufe all the {heaves could not be carried
off without medding fome of the loofe grains,
another crop is too like to follow ; nay, I fear it
is unavoidable if the conventiclers be permitted
to fcatter,
U 2
292 P R E F A C E.
A man may be fuffered to quote an adverfary
to our religion, when he fpeaks truth : and it is
the oblervation of Maimbourg, in his Hiflory of
Calvin ifm, that wherever that difcipline was
planted and embraced, rebellion, civil war, and
mifery, attended it. And how indeed mould it
happen otherwife ? Reformation of church and
flate has always been the ground of our diviiions
in England. While we were papifts, our holy
father rid us, by pretending authority out of the
fcriptures to depofe princes ; when we fhook off
his authority, the fectaries furnifhed themfelves
with the fame weapons j and out of the fame
magazine, the Bible : fo that the fcriptures, which
are in themfelves the greateft fecurity of gover-
nors, as commanding exprcfs obedience to them,
are now turned to their deflrudtion ; and never
fince the reformation, has there wanted a text of
their interpreting to authorize a rebel. And it is
to be noted by the way, that the doctrines of
king-killing and depofmg, which have been taken
up only by the worft party of the papifts, the
moft frontlefs flatterers of the pope's authority,
have been efpoufed, defended, and are ftill main-
tained by the whole body of nonconformists and
PREFACE.' 293
republicans. It is but dubbing themfelves the
people of God, which it is the intereft of their
preachers to tell them they are, and their own
intereft to believe j and after that, they cannot
dip into the Bible, but one text or another will
turn up for their purpofe : if they are under per-
fecution, as they call it, then that is a mark of
their election ; if they flourim, then God works
miracles for their deliverance, and the faints are
to pofTefs the earth.
They may think themfelves to be too roughly
handled in this paper j but J who know heft how
far I could have gone on this fubject, muft be
bold to tell them they are fpared : tho at the fame
time I am not ignorant that they interpret the
mildnefs of a writer to them, as they do the
mercy of the government ; in the one they think
it fear, and conclude it weaknefs in the other.
The beft way for them to confute me is, as I be-
j
fore advifed the Papifts, to difclaim their princi-
ples and renounce their practices. We fhall all
be glad to think them true Englishmen when
they obey the king, and true Proteftants when
they conform to the church-difcipline.
It remains that I acquaint the reader, that thefe
verfes were written for an ingenious young gen-
294 PREFACE;
tlemari my friend, upon his tranflation of The'
critical hiftory of the old teftament, compofed by
the learned father Simon : the verfe's therefore
are addreiTed to the tranflator of that work, and
the ftyle of them is, what it ought to be, epifto-
lary.
If any one be fo lamentable a critic as to re-
quire the fmoothnefs, the numbers, and the turn
of heroic poetry in this poem ; I muft tell him,
that if he has not read Horace, I have ftudied
him, and hope the ftyle of his epiftles is not ill
imitated here. The expreffions of a poem de-
figned purely for inftruc~tion, ought to be plain
and natural, and yet majeftic : for here the poet
is prefumed to be a kind of lawgiver, and thofe
three qualities which I have named, are proper to
the legiilative ftyle. The florid, elevated and
figurative way is for the paffions ; for love and
hatred, fear and anger, are begotten in the foul,
by mewing their objects out of their true propor-
tion, either greater than the life or lefs : but in-
ftrudion is to be given by mewing them what
they naturally are. A man is to be cheated into
paffion, but to be reafoned into truth.
RELIGIO LAIC I.
An EPISTLE.
JM as the borrow'd beams of moon and ftars
To lonely, weary, wandering travellers,
Is reafon to the foul : and as on high ,
Thofe rolling fires difcover but the fky,
Not light us here ; fo reafon's glimmering ray
Was lent, not to affure our doubtful way,
But guide us upward to a better day.
And as thofe nightly tapers difappear
When day's bright lord afcends our hemifphere ;
So pale grows reafon at religion's fight ;
So dies, and fo diflblves in fupernatural light.
Some few, whofe lamp fhone brighter, have been
led
From caufe to caufe, to nature's fecret head ;
And found that one firft principle muft be :
But what, or who, that univerfal He;
Whether fome foul incompaffing this ball
Unmade, unmov'd ; yet making, moving all;
Or various atoms, interfering dance,
Leap'd into form, the noble work of chance ;
U 4
296 RELIGIO LAIC I.
Or this great all was from eternity j
Not even the Stagirite himfelf could fee j
And Epicurus guefs'd as well as he :
As blindly grop'd they for a future ftate ;
As rafhly judg'd of providence and fate :
But leaft of all could their endeavours find
What moft concern'd the good of human kind :
For happinefs was never to be found 5
But vanifh'd from them like enchanted ground.
One thought content the good to be enjoy 'd :
This every little accident deftroy'd :
The wifer madmen did for virtue toil :
A thorny, or at beft a barren foil :
In pleafure fome their glutton fouls would jfteepH
But found their line too fhort, the well too deep; I
And leaky velTels which no blifs could keep. J
Thus anxious thoughts in endlefs circles roll,
Without a centre where to fix the foul :
In this wild maze their vain endeavours end :
How can the lefs the greater comprehend ?
Or finite reafon reach Infinity?
For what could fathom God were more than He.
The Deift thinks he ftands on firmer ground ;
Cries *V X - 2 ^ e mighty fecret's found :
God is that fpring of good j fupreme, and beft j
We made to ferve, and in that fervice bleft,
RELIGIO LAIC I. 297
If fo, fome rules of worship muft be given,
Diftributed alike to all by heaven :
Elfe God were partial, and to fome deny'd
The means his juflice mould for all provide.
This general worfhip is to praife and pray :
One part to borrow bleffings, one to pay :
And when frail nature flides into offence,
The facrifice for crimes is penitence.
Yet fince the effects of providence, we find
Are varioufly difpens'd to human kind ;
That vice triumphs, and virtue fuffers here,
tw
A brand that fovereign juftice cannot bear ;
Our reafon prompts us to a future ftate :
The laft appeal from fortune and from fate :
Where God's all-righteous ways will be declar'd ;
The bad meet punimment, the good reward.
Thus man by his own ftrength to heaven would
foar :
And would not be oblig'd to God for more.
Vain wretched creature, how art thou mifled
To think thy wit thefe god-like notions bred !
Thefc truths are not the product of thy mind,
But dropt from heaven, and of a nobler kind.
Reveal'd religion firft inform'd thy fight,
And reafon faw not till faith fprung the light.
298 RELIG 10 LAICL
Hence all thy natural worfhip takes the fource :
'Tis revelation what thou think'ft difcourfe.
Elfe how cqm'ft thou to fee thefe truths fo clear,
Which fo obfcure to Heathens did appear ?
Not Plato thefe, nor Ariftotle found :
Nor he vvhofe wifdom oracles renown'd.
Haft thou a wit fo deep, or fo fublime,
Or canft thou lower dive, or higher climb ?
Canft thou by reafon more of godhead know
Than Plutarch, Seneca, or Cicero ?
Thofe giant wits in happier ages born,
When arms and arts did Greece and Rome adorn,
Knew no fuch fyftem : no fuch piles could raife
Of natural worfhip, built on prayer and praife
To one fole God.
Nor did remorfe to expiate fin prefcribe :
But flew their fellow-creatures for a bribe :
The guiltlefs victim groan'd for their offence -,
And cruelty and blood was penitence.
If fheep and oxen could atone for men,
Ah 1 at how cheap a rate the rich might fin !
And great oppreffors might heaven's wrath beguile,
By offering his own creatures for a fpoil !
Dar'fl thou, poor worm, offend Infinity ?
And muft the terms of peace be given by thee ?
2
RELIGIO LAIC I. 299
Then thou art Juftice in the laft appeal ;
Thy eafy God inftruclis thee to rebel :
And like a king remote, and weak, muft take
What fatisfaction thou art pleas'd to make.
But if there be a power too juft and ftrong,
To wink at crimes, and bear unpunifh'd wrong;
Look humbly upward, fee his will difclofe
The forfeit firft, and then the fine impofe :
A mulft thy poverty could never pay,
Had not eternal wifdom found the way :
And with celeftial wealth fupply'd thy (lore :
Hisjuflice makes the fine, his mercy quits the fcore.
See God defcending in thy human frame ;
Th' offended fuffering in th' offender's name :
All thy mifdeeds to him imputed fee,
And all his righteoufnefs devolv'd on thee.
For granting we have fm'd, and that th' offence
Of man, is made againft Omnipotence,
Some price that bears proportion muft be paid ;
And infinite with infinite be weigh'd.
See then the Deift loft : remorfe for vice,
Not paid ; or paid, inadequate in price :
What farther means can reafon now diredl:,
Or what relief from human wit expecl: ?
That mews us fick ; and fadly are we fure
Still to be fick, till heaven reveal the cure :
300 R E L I G I O L A I C I.
If then heaven's will muft needs be underftood,
Which muft, if we want cure, and heaven be
good,
Let all records of will reveal'd be mown ;
With fcripture all in equal balance thrown.
And our one facred book will be that one.
Proof needs not here, for whether we compare
That impious, idle, fuperftitious ware
Of rites, 'luftrations, offerings, which before,
In various ages, various countries bore,
With chriftian faith and virtues, we mall find
None anfwering the great ends of human kind
But this one rule of life, that mews us beft
How God may be appeas'd, and mortals bleft.
Whether from length of time its worth we
draw,
The word is fcarce more ancient than the law :
Heaven's early care prefcrib'd for every age ;
Firft, in the foul, and after, in the page,
Or, whether more abftractedly we look,
Or on the writers, or the written book,
Whence, but from heaven, could men unlkilled in
arts,
In feveral ages born, in feveral parts,
Weave fuch agreeing truths ? or how, or why
Should all confpire to cheat us with a lye ?
RELIGIO LAICI. 301
Unafk'd their pains, ungrateful their advice,
Starving their gain, and martyrdom their price.
If on the book itfelf we caft our view,
Concurrent heathens prove the ftory true :
The doctrine, miracles j which muft convince,
For heav'nin them appeals to human fenfe :
And though they prove not, they confirm the
caufe,
When what is taught agrees with nature's laws.
Then for the ftile, majeftic and divine,
t fpeaks no lefs than God in every line :
Commanding words ; whofe force is ftill the fame
As the firft fiat that produc'd our frame.
All faiths befide, or did by arms afcend ;
Or fenfe indulg'd has made mankind their friend *
This only doctrine does our lufts oppofe :
Unfed by nature's foil, in which it grows ;
Crofs to our interefts, curbing fenfe, and iin ;
Opprefs'd without, and undermin'd within,
It thrives thro pain ; it's own tormentors tires ;
And with a ftubborn patience ftill afpires.
To what can reafon fuch effects afiign
Tranfcending nature, but to laws divine ?
Which in that facred volume are contain'd ;
Sufficient, clear, and for that ufe ordain'd ;
302 RE LIGIO LA ICI.
But flay : the deift here will urge anew.
No fupernatural worfhip can be true :
Becaufe a general law is that alone
Which muft to all, and every where be known :
A flile fo large as not this book can claim
Nor ought that bears revealed religion's name.
'Tis faid the found of a Meffiah's birth
Js gone thro all the habitable earth :
But ftill that text muft be confin'd alone
To what was then inhabited, and known :
And what provifion could from thence accrue
To Indian fouls, and worlds difcover'd new ?
In other parts it helps, that ages part,
The fcriptures there were known, and were
embrac'd,
Till fin fpread once again the ihades of night :
What's that to thefe who never faw the light ?
Of all objections this indeed is chief
To ftartle reafon, ftagger frail belief :
We.grant, 'tis true, that heaven from human fenfe
Has hid the fecrets paths of providence :
But boundlefs wifdom, boundlefs mercy, may
Find even for thofe bewildred fouls, a way :
If from his nature foes may pity claim,
more may {traogers who ne'er heard his name.
RELIGIO LA 1C I. 303
And tho no name be for falvation known,
But that of his eternal fons alone ;
Who knows how far tranfcending goodnefs can
Extend the merits of that fon to man ?
Who knows what reafons may his mercy lead;
Or ignorance invincible may plead ?
Not only charity bids hope the beft,
But more the great apoftle has exprefl :
That if the Gentiks, whom no law infpir'd,
By nature did what was by law requir'd ;
They, who the written rule had never known,
Were to themfelves both rule and law alone :
To nature's plain indictment they mall plead ;
And by their confcience be condemn'd or freed.
Moft righteous doom ! becaufe a rule reveal'd
Is none to thofe from whom it was conceal'd.
Then thofe who follow'd reafon's dictates right;
Liv'd up, and lifted high their natural light ;
With Socrates may fee their Maker's face,
While thoufand rubric- martyrs want a place.
Nor does it baulk my charity, to find
Th' Egyptian bimop of another mind :
For though his creed eternal truth contains,
'Tis hard for man to doom to endlefs pains
All who believ'd not all, his zeal requir'd -,
"Unlefs he firft could prove he was infpir'd.
304 RELIG 10 LAICL
Then let us either think he meant to fay
This faith, where publifh'd, was the only way j
Or elfe conclude that Arius to confute,
The good old man too eager in difpute,
Flew high ; and as his chriftian fury rofe
Damn'd all for heretics who durft oppofe.
Thus far my charity this path has try'd;
A much unfkilful, but well meaning guide :
Yet what they are, ev'n thefe crude thoughts were
bred
By reading that which better thou haft read.
Thy matchlefs author's work : which thou, my
friend,
By well tranflating better doft commend :
Thofe youthful hours which, of thy equals moil
In toys have fquander'd, or in vice have loft,
Thofe hours haft thou to nobler ufe employ'd 3
And the fevere delights of truth enjoy 'd.
Witnefs this weighty book, in which appears
The crabbed toil of many thoughtful years,
Spent by thy author, in the lifting care
Of rabbins old fophifticated ware
From gold divine ; which he who well can fort
May afterwards make algebra a fport.
RE LIG 10 LA 1C I. 305
A treafure, which if country-curates buy,
They Junius, and Tremellius may defy :
Save pains in various readings, and tranflations ;
And withoutHebrew make moftlearn'dquotations^
A work fo full with various learning fraught,
So nicely pondred, yet fo ftrongly wrought,
As nature's height and arts laft hand requir'd :
As much as man cou'd compafs, uninfpir'd.
Where we may fee what errors have been made
Both in the copiers and tranilators trade :
How Jewifh, Popifh, interefts have prevail'd,
And where infallibility has fail'd.
For fome, who have his fecret meaning guefs'd,
Have found our author not too much a prieft :
For famion-fake he feems to have recourfe
To pope, and councils, and traditions force :
But he that old traditions could fubdue,
Could not but find the weaknefs of the new :
If fcripture, though deriv'd from heavenly birth,
Has been but careleily preferv'd on earth j
If" God's own people, who of God before
Knew what we know, and had been promis'd more,
In fuller terms, of heaven's amfting care,
And who did neither time nor ftudy fpare
VOL. I. X
306 RELIGIO LA 1C I.
To keep this book untainted, unperplext,
Let in grofs errors to corrupt the text,
Omitted paragraphs, embroil'd the fenfe,
With vain traditions ftopt the gaping fence,
Which every common hand pull'd up with eafe :
What fafety from fuch brufh wood-helps as thefe ?
If written words from time are not fecur'd,
How can we think have oral founds endur'd ?
Which thus tranfmitted, if one mouth has fail'd,
Immortal lyes on ages are intail'd :
And that fome fuch have been, is prov'd too plain ;
If we confider intereft, church, and gain.
O but fays one, tradition fet fide,
Where can we hope for an unerring guide ?
For fmce th' original fcripture has been loft,
All copies difagreeing, maim'd the moft,
Or chriftian faith can have no certain ground,
Or truth in church-tradition muft be found.
Such an omnifcient church we wifh indeed ;
'Twere worth both Teftaments; cafl in the
Creed :
But if this mother be a guide fo fure,
As can all doubts refolve, all truth fecure,
Then her infallibility, as well
Where copies are corrupt or lame, can tell ;
2
RELIGIO LAICI. 307
Reftore loft canon with as little pains,
As truly explicate what ftill remains :
Which yet no council dare pretend to do ;
Unlefs like Efdras they could write it new :
Strange confidence ftill to interpret true,
Yet not be fure that all they have explain'd,
Is in the bleft original contain'd.
More fafe, and much more modeft 'tis, to fay
God would not leave mankind without a way ;
And that the fcriptures, tho not every where
Free from corruption, or intire, or clear,
Are uncorrupt, fufficient, clear, intire,
In all things which our needful faith require.
If others in the fame glafs better fee,
'Tis for themfelves they look, but not for me :
For my falvation muft its doom receive,
Not from what others but what I believe.
Muft all tradition then be fet afide ?
This to affirm were ignorance or pride. .
Are there not many points, fome needful fure
To faving faith, that fcripture leaves obfcure ?
Which every fed: will wreft a feveral way,
For what one feet interprets, all fects may :
X 2
308 RELIGIO LAIC I.
We hold, and fay we prove from fcripture plain,
That Chrift is God ; the bold Socinian
From the fame fcripture urges he's but man.
Now what appeal can end th' important fuit ;
Both parts talk loudly, but the rule is mute?
Shall I ipeak plain, and in a nation free
Affume an honeft layman's liberty ?
I think, according to my little (kill,
To my own mother-church fubmitting fr.il!,
That many have been fav'd, and many may,
Who never heard this queftion brought in play*
Th' unlettered Ghriflian who believes in grofs.
Plods on to heaven j and ne'er is at a lofs :
For the ftreight-gate would be made flreighter yet,
Were none admitted there but men of wit.
The few by nature form'd, with learning fraught,
Born to inftrucT: as others to be taught,
Muft ftudy well the facred page ; and fee
Which doctrine, this or that, does beft agree-
With the whole tenor of the work divine :
And plainlieft points to heaven's reveal'd defign :
Which expofition flows from genuine fenfe ;
And which is forc'd by wit and eloquence.
Not that tradition's parts are ufelefs here :
When general, old, difinterefted and clear:
HELIGIO LAIC I. 309
That ancient fathers thus expound the page,
Gives truth the reverend majefty of age ;
Confirms its force by bideing every teft j
For beft authorities next rules, are beft.
And ftill the nearer to the fpring we go
More limpid, more unfoil'd the waters flow.
Thus firft traditions were a proof alone ;
Could we be certain fuch they were, fo known :
But fmce fome flaws in long defcent may be,
They make not truth but probability,
ven Arius and Pelagius durft provoke
To what the centuries preceding fpoke.
Such difference is there in an oft-told tale :
But truth by its own fmews will prevail,
Tradition written therefore more commends
Authority, than what from voice defcends ;
And this, as perfect as its kind can be,
Rolls down to us the facred hiftory ;
Which from the univerfal church receiv'd,
Is try'd, and after, for itfelf believ'd.
The partial Papifts would infer from hence
Their church, in laft refort, mould judge the
fenfe.
But firft they would affume with wond'rous art,
Themfelves to be the whole, who are but part
X 3
310 RELIGIO LAICL
Of that vafl frame the church; yet grant
were /
The handers down, can they from thence infer
A right t' interpret ? or would they alone
Who brought the prefent, claim it for their own ?
The book's a common largefs to mankind ;
Not more for them than every man delign'd :
The welcome news is in the letter found ;
The carrier's not commirlion'd to expound.
It fpeaks itfelf, and what it does contain,
In all things needful to be known is plain.
In times o'ergrown with ruft and ignorance,
A gainful trade their clergy did advance :
When want of learning kept the laymen low,
And none but priefts were authoriz'd to know :
When what fmall knowlege was, in them did
dwell ;
And he a God who could but read and fpell ;
Then mother church did mightily prevail :
She parcell'd out the Bible by retail :
But frill expounded what me fold or gave ;
To keep it in her power to damn and fave :
Scripture was fcarce, and as the market went,
Poor laymen took falvation on content $
As needy men take money good or bad :
God's word they had not, but the prieft's they had
RELIGIO LAIC I. 511
Yet whatever falfe conveyances they made,
The lawyer Hill was certain to be paid.
In thofe dark times they learn'd their knack fo
well,
That by long ufe they grew infallible :
At 1 aft a knowing age began t' enquire
If they the book, or that did them infpire :
And making narrower fearch they found, tho late,
That what they thought the prieft's, was their
eftate :
Taught by the will produc'd, the written word,
How long they had been cheated on record.
Then every man who faw the title fair,
Claim'd a child's part, and put in for a mare :
Confulted foberly his private good ;
And fav'd himfelf as cheap as e'er he could.
'Tis true, my friend, and far be flattery hence,
This good had full as bad a confequence :
The book thus put in every vulgar hand,
Which each prefum'd he beft could underftand,
The common rule was made the common prey j
And at the mercy of the rabble lay.
The tender page with horny fifts was gall'd ;
And he was gifted moft that loudeft baul'd :
X 4
3 i2 RELIGIO LAICI.
The fpirit gave the doctoral degree :
An4 every member of a company
Was of his trade, and of the Bible free.
Plain truths enough for needful ufe they found $
But men would jftill be itching to expound :
Each was ambitious of trT obfcureft place,
No meafure ta'en from knowlege, all from,
grace,
Study and pains were now no more their care ;
Texts were explain'd by fading and by prayer :
This was the fruit the private fpirit brought j
Occafion'd by great zeal and little thought.
While crouds unlearn'd with rude devotion
warm,
About the facred viands buz and fwarm.
The fly-blown text creates a crawling brood ;
And turns to maggots what was meant for food,
A thoufand daily feds rife up and die ;
A thpufand more the perifh'd race fupply :
So all we make of heaven's difcover'd will,
Is not to have it, or to ufe it ill.
The danger's much the fame j on feveral melves
If others wreck us, or we wreck ourfelves.
What then remains, but waving each extreme,
The tides of ignorance and pride to ftem ?
RELIGIO LAICI. 313
Neither fo rich a treafure to forego ;
Nor proudly feek beyond our power to know :
Faith is not built on difquifitions vain ;
The things we mult believe are few and plain ;
But lince men will believe more than they
need ;
.And every man will make himfelf a creed :
In doubtful queftions 'tis the fafeft way
To learn what unfufpecled antients fay :
For 'tis not likely we mould higher foar
Jn fearch of heaven, than all the church before :
Nor can we be deceiv'd, unlefs we fee
The fcripture and the fathers difagree.
If after all they ftand fufpe&ed ftill,
For no man's faith depends upon his will ;
'Tis fome relief, that points not clearly known a
Without much hazard may be let alone :
And after hearing what our church can fay,
Jf ftill our reafon runs another way,
That private reafon 'tis more juft to curb,
Than by difputes the public peace difturb.
For points obfcure are of fmall ufe to learn ;
Put common quiet is mankind's concern.
Thus have I made my own opinions clear :
Yet neither praife expect, nor cenfure fear :
3H RELIGIO LAICI.
And this unpolifli'd rugged verfe I chofe ;
As fittefl for difcourfe, and nearefl profe :
For while from facred truth I do not fwerve,
Tom Sternhold'Sj or Tom Shadwell's rhymes will
ferve.
THE
ART
O F
POETRY.
ADVERTISEMENT.
THIS tranflation of monfieur Boileau's Art
of Poetry was made in the year 1680, by
Sir 'William Soame of Suffolk, Baronet ; who
being very intimately acquainted with Mr. Dry^
den, defired his revifal of it. I faw the manu^
fjript lie in Mr. Dryden's hands for above fix
months, who made very confiderable alterations
in it, particularly the beginning of the fourth
Canto : and it being his opinion that it would be
better to apply the poem to Englim writers, than
keep to the French names, as it was firft tran-
fiatect, Sir William defired he would take the
pains to make that alteration j and accordingly
that was entirely done by Mr. Dryden.
The poem was firil: publifhed in the year 1683 ;
Sir William was after fent ambaflador to Conftan-
tinople, in the reign of king James, but died in
the voyage.
J-T.
CANTO I.
RASH author, 'tis a vain prefumptuous
To undertake the facred art of rhyme 3
If at thy birth the ftars that nil 'd thy fenfe
Shone not with a poetic influence ;
In thy ftrait genius thou wilt ftill be bound.
Find Phoebus deaf, and Pegafus imfound.
You then that burn with the defire to try
The dangerous courfe of charming poetry j
Forbear in fruitlefs verfe to lofe your time,
Or take for genius the defire of rhyme :
Fear the allurements of a fpecious bait,
And well confider your own force and weight.
Nature abounds in wits of every kind,
And for each author can a talent find :
One may in verfe defcribe an amorous flame,
Another flbarpen a fhort epigram :
Waller a hero's mighty acts extol,
Spencer fing Rofalind in paftoral :
But authors that themfelves too much efteem,
Lofe their own genius, and miftake their theme
Thus in times pad Dubartas vainly writ,
Allaying facred truth with trifling wit,
318 THE ART OF POETRY;
Impertinently, and without delight,
Defcrib'd the Ifraelites triumphant flight,
And following Mofes o'er the fandy plain,
Perifh'd with Pharaoh in th' Arabian main.
Whate'er you write of pleafant or fublime,
Always let fenfe accompany your rhyme :
Falfely they feem each other to oppofe ;
Rhyme muft be made with reafon's laws to clofe :
And when to conquer her you bend your force,
The mind will triumph in the noble courfe ;
To reafon's yoke me quickly will incline,
Which, far from hurting, renders her divine :
But if neglected will as eafily ftray,
And mailer reafon which (he mould obey.
Love reafon then ; and let whate'er you write
Borrow from her its beauty, force, and light.
Mod writers mounted on a refty mufe,
Extravagant and fenfelefs objects chufe ;
They think they err, if in their verfe .they fall
On any thought that's plain or natural :
Fly this excefs ; and let Italians be
Vain authors of falfe glitt'ring poetry.
All ought to aim at fenfe ; but mod in vain
Strive the hard pafs and flippery path to gain :
You drown, if to the right or left you ftray j
Reafon to go has often but one way.
THE ART OF POETRY. 319
Sometimes an author fond of his own thought,
Purfues its object till it's over- wrought :
If he defcribes a houfe, he mews the face,
And after walks you round from place to place 5
Here is a vifta, there the doors unfold,
Balconies here are balluftred with gold ;
Then counts the rounds and ovals in the halls,
" The feftoons, freezes, and the aftragals :"
Tir'd with his tedious pomp away I run,
And fkip o'er twenty pages to be gone.
Of fuch defcriptions the vain folly fee,
And mun their barren fuperfluity.
All that is needlefs carefully avoid 5
The mind once fatisfy'd is quickly cloy'd :
He cannot write who knows not to give o'er ;
To mend one fault he makes a hundred more :
A verfe was weak, you turn it, much too ftrong,
And grow obfcure for fear you mould be long.
Some are not gaudy but are flat and dry j
Not to be low, another foars too high.
Would you of eyery one deferve the praife ?
In writing vary your difcourfe and phrafe >
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,
<c Millions of mourning mountains of the flain :"
Nor with Dubartas bridle up the floods,
And perriwig with wool the baldpate woods.
Chufe a juft ftyle ; be grave without conftraint,
Great without pride, and lovely without paint :
Write what your reader may be pleas'd to hear j
And for the meafure have a careful ear.
On eafy numbers fix your happy choice ;
Of jarring founds avoid the odious noife :
The fulleft verfe and the moft labor'd fenfe,
Difpleafe us, if the ear once take offence.
Our ancient verfe, as homely as the times,
Was rude, unmeafur'd, only tagg'd with rhimes ;
Number and cadence that have fmce been fhown,
To thofe unpoliih'd writers were unknown.
Fairfax was he, who, in that darker age,
By his juft rules reftrain'd poetic rage ;
Spencer did next in Paftorals excel,
And taught the noble art of writing well :
To ftricter rules the ftanza did reftrain,
And found for poetry a richer vein.
Then D'Avenant came ; who, with a new-found
art,
Chang'd all, fpoil'd all, and had his way a-part :
VOL. I. Y
THE ART OF POETRY,
His haughty inufe all others did defpife,
And thought in triumph to bear off the prize,
'Till the fharp-fighted critics of the times
In their Mock-Gondibert expos'd his rhimes ;
The laurels he pretended did refufe,
And dam'd the hopes of his afpiring mufe.
This headftrong writer falling from on high,
Made following authors take lefs liberty.
Waller came laft, but was the nrft whofe art
Juft weight and meafure did to verfe impart ;
That of a well-pi ac'd word could teach the force,
.And mew'd for poetry a nobler courfe :
His happy genius did our tongue refine,
And eafy words with pleafing numbers join :
His verfes to good method did apply,
And chang'd hard difcord to foft harmony.
Allown'd his laws j which long approv'd and try'd,
To prefent authors now may be a guide.
Tread boldly in his fteps, fecure from fear,
And be, like him, in your expreffions clear.
If in your verfe you drag, and fenfe delay,
My patience tires, my fancy goes aftray j
And from your vain difcourfe I turn my mindy
Nor fearch an author troublefome to find.
There is a kind of writer pleas'd with found,
WhofefuiUan head with clouds is compafs'd round,
THE ART OP POETRY. 323
No reafon can difperfe them with its light :
Learn then to think ere you pretend to write.
As your idea's clear, or elfe obfcure,
The expreffion follows perfect or impure :
What we conceive with eafe we can exprefs ;
Words to the notions flow with readinefs.
Obferve the language well in all you write,
And fwerve not from it in your loftieft flight.
The fmootheft verfe and the exacted fenfc
Difpleafe us, if ill Englifh give offence :
A barbarous phrafe no reader can approve ;
Nor bombaft, noife, or affectation love.
In fhort, without pure language, what you write
Can never yield us profit or delight.
Take time for thinking j never work in hafte ;
And value not yourfelf for writing fart.
A rapid poem with fuch fury writ,
Shews want of judgment, not abounding wit.
More pleas'd we are to fee a river lead
His gentle ftreams along a flowery mead,
Than from high banks to hear loud torrents
roar,
With foamy waters on a muddy more.
Gently make hafte, of labor not afraid j
A hundred times confider what you've (aid :
Y 2
THE A RT OF P O E T R Y.
Polifh, repolifti, every color lay,
And fometimes add, but oftener take away.
'Tis not enough when fwarming faults are writ,
That here and there are fcatter'd fparks of wit ;
Each objecT: mull be fix'd in the due place,
And differing parts have correfponding grace :
Till by a curious art difpos'd, we find
One perfect whole, of all the pieces join'd.
Keep to your fubject clofe in all you fay j
Nor for a founding fentence ever flray.
The public cenfure for your writings fear,
And to yourfelf be critic moft fevere.
Fantaflic wits their darling follies love ;
But find you faithful friends that will reprove,
That on your works may look with careful eyes,
And of your faults be zealous enemies :
Lay by an author's pride and vanity,
And from a friend a flatterer defcry,
Who feems to like, but means not what he fays :
Embrace true counfel, but fufpect falfe praife.
A fycophant will every thing admire :
Each verfe, each fentence fets his foul on fire :
All is divine ! there's not a word amifs !
He llrakcs with joy, and weeps with tend ernefs,
He overpow'rs you with his mighty praife.
Truth never moves in thofe impetuous ways :
THE ART OF POETRY. 325
A faithful friend is careful of your fame,
And freely will your heedlefs errors blame ;
He cannot pardon a neglected line,
But verfe to rule and order will confine.
Reprove of words the too-affedted found j
Here the fenfe flags, and your expreffion's round,
Your fancy tires, and your difcourfe grows vain,
Your terms improper make them them juft and
plain.
Thus 'tis a faithful friend will freedom ufe ;
But authors, partial to their darling mufe,
Think to protect it they have juft pretence,
And at your friendly counfel take offence.
Said you of this, that the expreflion's flat ?
Your fervant, fir, you muft excufe me that,
He anfwers you. This word has here no grace,
Pray leave it out : That, fir, 's the propereft place*
This turn I like not : 'Tis approv'd by all.
Thus, refolute not from one fault to fall,
If there's a fyllable of which you doubt,
'Tis a fure reafon not to blot it out.
Yet ftill he fays you may his faults confute.
And ovec him your power is abfolute :
But of his feign'd humility take heed ;
'Tis a bait laid to make you hear him read.
r 3
326 THE ART OF POETRY.
And when he leaves you happy in his mufe,
Jleftlefs he runs fome other to abufe,
And often finds ; for in our fcribbling times
No fool can want a fot to praife his rhymes :
The flatteft work has ever in the court,
Met with fome zealous afs for its fupport :
And in all times a forward fcribbling fop
Has found fome greater fool to cry him up.
CANTO II.
AS a fair nymph, when fifing from her bed,
With fparkling diamonds drefles not her
head,
But without gold, or pearl, or coftly fcents,
Gathers from neighboring fields her ornaments :
Such, lovely in its drefs, but plain withal.
Ought to appear a perfect Paftoral :
Its humble method nothing has of fierce,
But hates the rattling of a lofty verfe :
There native beauty pleafes, and excites,
And never with harm founds the ear affrights*
THE ART OF POETRY. 327
But in this ftyle a poet often fpent,
In rage throws by his rural inftrument,
And vainly, when diforder'd thoughts abound >
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
<c Who from the Phrygian coaft his armies bore,
<c And landed firffc on the Lavinian fhore."
His opening mufe fets not the world on fire,
And yet performs more than we can require :
Quickly you'll hear him celebrate the fame,
And future glory of the Roman name ;
Of Styx and Acheron defcribe the floods,
And Caefar's wand'ring in th' Elyfian woods :
With figures numberlefs his ftory grace,
A%d every thing in beauteous colors trace.
At once you may be pleating and fublime :
1 hate a heavy melancholy rhim.e :
THE ART OF POETRY. 347
I'd rather read Orlando's comic tale,
Than a dull author always fciff and ftale,
Who thinks himfelf dimonor'd in his ftyle,
If on his works the graces do but fmile.
'Tis faid, that Homer, matchlefs in his art,
Stole Venus' girdle to engage the heart :
His works indeed van: treafures do unfold,
And whatfoe'er he touches turns to gold :
All in his hands new beauty does acquire j
He always pleafes, and can never tire.
A -happy warmth he every where may boafl;
Nor is he in too long digreffions loft :
His verfes without rule a method find,
-a
And of themfelves appear in order join'd :
All without trouble anfwers his intent j
Each fyllable is tending to th' event.
Let his example your endeavours raife :
To love his writings is a kind of praife.
A poem, where we all perfections find,
Is not the work of a fantaftic mind:
There muft be care, and time, and fkill, and pains j
Not the firft heat of unexperienc'd brains.
Yet fometimes artlefs poets, when the rage
Of a warm fancy does their minds engage,
PufPd with vain pride, prefume they underftand,
And boldly take the trumpet in their hand;
34 B THE ATT OF POETRT.
Their fuftian mufe each accident confounds ;
Nor can {he fly, but rife by leaps and bounds,
Till their fmall flock of learning quickly fpent,
Their poem dies for want of nourishment.
In vain mankind the hot-brain'd fool decries,
No branding cenfures can unveil his eyes j
With impudence the laurel they invade,
Refolv'd to like the monfters they have made.
Virgil, compar'd to them, is flat and dry -,
And Homer underftood not poetry :
Againft their merit if this age rebel,
To future times for juftice they appeal.
But waiting till mankind mall do them right,
And bring their works triumphantly to light -,
Neglected heaps we in bye-corners lay,
Where they become to worms and moths a prey ;
Forgot, in dufl and cobwebs let them reft,
Whilfl we return from whence we firft digreft.
The great fuccefs which tragic writers found,
In Athens firft the comedy renown'd,
Th' abufive Grecian there, by pleafmg ways,
Difpers'd his natural malice in his plays :
Wifdom and virtue, honor, wit, and fenfe,
Were fubject to buffooning infolence :
Poets were publicly approved, and fought,
That vice extoll'd, and virtue fet at nought j
THE A R T OF P O E T R Y. 349
A Socrates himfelf in that loofe age,
Was made the paftime of a fcoffing ftage.
At laft the public took in hand the caufe,
And cur'd this madnefs by the power of laws ;
Forbad at any time, or any place,
To name the perfon, or defcribe the face.
The ftage its ancient fury thus let fall,
And comedy diverted without gall :
By mild reproofs recover'd minds difeas'd,
AncT fparing perfons innocently pleas'd.
Each one was nicely (hewn in this new glafs,
And fmil'd to think he was not meant the afs :
A mifer oft would laugh at firft, to find
A faithful draught of his own fordid mind - 9
And fops were with fuch care and cunning writ,
They lik'd the piece for which themfelves did fit.
You then that would the comic laurels wear,
To ftudy nature be your only care :
Whoe'er knows man, and by a curious art
Difcerns the hidden fecrets of the heart 5
He who obferves, and naturally can paint
The jealous fool, the fawning fycophant,
A fober wit, an enterprifing afs,
A humorous Otter, or a Hudibras ;
May fafely in thofe noble lifts engage,
And make them aft and fpeak upon the ftage.
350 THE ART OF POETRY.
Strive to be natural in all you write,
And paint with colors that may pleafe the fight,
Nature in various figures does abound ;
And in each mind are different humors found :
A glance, a touch, difcovers to the wife ;
But every man has not 'difcerning eyes.
All-changing time does alfo change the mind ;
And different ages different pleafures find :
Youth, hot and furious, cannot brook delay,
By flattering vice is eafily led away ;
Vain in difcourfe, inconftant in defire,
In cenfure, rafh ; in pleafures, all on fire.
The manly age does fteadier thoughts enjoy ;
Power and ambition do his foul employ :
Againfl the turns of fate he fets his mind ;
And by the part the future hopes to find.
Decrepid age ftill adding to his ftores,
For others heaps the treafure he adores,
In all his actions keeps a frozen pace ;
Paft times extols, the prefent to debafe :
Incapable of pleafures youth abufe,
In others blames what age does him refufe.
Your actors muft by reafon be control'd j
Let young men fpeaklike young, old men like old:
Obferve the town, and ftudy well the court 5
For thither various characters refort :
THE ART OF POETRY, 351
Thus 'twas great Johnfon purchas'd his renown,
And in his art had born away the crown ;
If, lefs deiirous of the people's praife,
He had not with low farce debas'd his plays ;
Mixing dull buffoonry with wit refin'd,
And Harlequin with noble Terence join'd.
When in the Fox I fee the tortois hift,
I lofe the author of the Alchemift.
The comic wit, born with a fmiling air,
Muft tragic grief and pompous verfe forbear ;
Yet may he not, as on a market-place,
With baudy jufts amufe the populace :
With well-bred converfation you muft pleafe,
And your intrigue unravell'd be with eafe :
Your action ftill fhould reafon's rules obey,
Nor in an empty fcene may lofe its way.
Your humble flyle muft fometimes gently rife ;
And your difcourfe fententious be, and wife :
The paffions muft to nature be confin'd;
And fcenes to fcenes with artful weaving join'd.
Your wit muft not unfeafonably play j
But follow bus'nefs, never lead the way.
Obferve how Terence does this error mun j
A careful father chides his amorous fon :
Then fee that fon, whom no advice can move,
Forget thofe orders, and purfue his love :
352 THE ART OF POETRY.
"Tis not a well-drawn picture we difcover :
'Tis a true fon, a father, and a lover.
I like an author that reforms the age ;
And keeps the right decorum of the ftage ;
That always pleafes by juft reafon's rule :
But for a tedious droll, a quibbling fool,
Who with low naufeous baudry fills his plays >
Let him be gone, and on two treflels raife
Some Smithfield ftage, where he may aft his
pranks,
And make Jack-Puddings fpeak to mountebanks.
CANTO IV.
IN Florence dwelt a doctor of renown,
The fcourge of God, and terror of the town,
Who all the cant of phyfic had by heart,
And never murder'd but by rules of art.
The public mifchief was his private gain j
Children their flaughter'd parents fought in vain :
A brother here his poifon'd brother wept ;
Some bloodlefs dy'd, and fome by opium flept.
Colds,
THE ART OF POETRY. 353
Colds, at his prefence, would to frenzies turn ;
And agues, like malignant fevers, burn.
Hated, at laft, his practice gives him o'er ;
One friend, unkill'd by drugs, of all his ftore,
In his new country-houfe affords him place 5
'Twas a rich abbot, and a building afs :
Here firft the doctor's talent came in play,
He feems infpir'd, and talks like Wren or May :
Of this new portico condemns the face,
And turns the entrance to a better place ;
Deligns the ftair-cafe at the other end,
His friend approves, does for his mafon fend.
He comes ; the doctor's arguments prevail.
In mort, to finim this our humorous tale,
He Galen's dangerous fcience does reject,
And from ill doctor turns good architect.
In this example we may have our part :
Rather be mafon, 'tis a ufeful art !
Than a dull poet ; for that trade accurft,
Admits no mean betwixt the beft and word.
In other fciences, without difgrace,
A candidate may fill a fecond place ;
But poetry no medium can admit,
No reader fuffers an indifferent wit :
VOL. I. A a
354 THE ART OF POETRY,
The ruin'd ftationers againft him haul,
And Herringman degrades him from his ftalL
Burlefque, at leaft our laughter may excite :
But a cold writer never can delight.
The Counter-Scuffle has more wit and art,
Than the ftiff formal flyle of Gondibert.
Be not affected with that empty praife
Which your vain flatterers will fometimes raife,
And when you read, with ecftafy will fay,
" The finifli'd piece ! the admirable play 1"
Which, when expos'd to cenfure and to light,
Cannot endure a critic's piercing fight.
A hundred authors fates have been foretold,
And Shadwell's works are printed, but not fold.
Hear all the world ; confider every thought ;
A fool by chance may (tumble on a fault :
Yet, when Apollo does your mufe infpire,
Be not impatient to expofe your fire ;
Nor imitate the Settles of our times,
Thofe tuneful readers of their own dull rhimes.
Who feize on all th' acquaintance they can meet,
And flop the paffengers that walk the itreet :
There is no fanctuary you can chufe
For a defence from their purfuing mufe.
I've faid before, be patient when they blame - f
To alter for the better is no fhame.
THE ART OF POETRY. 355
Yet yield not to a fool's impertinence :
Sometimes conceited fceptics void of fenfe,
By their falfe taite condemn fome finifh'd part,
And blame the noblefr, flights of wit and art,
In vain their fond opinions you deride,
With their lov'd follies they are fatisfy'd ;
And their weak judgment, void of fenfe and light,
Thinks nothing can efcape their feeble fight :
Theirdangerouscounfelsdo not cure, but wound;")
To (him the ftorm they run your verfe aground, >
And thinking to efcape a rock, are drown'd. J
Chufe a fure judge to cenfure what you write,
Whofe reafon leads, andknowlege gives you. light,
Whofe fteady hand will prove your faithful guide,
And touch the darling follies you would hide :
He, in your doubts, will carefully advife,
And clear the mift before your feeble eyes.
'Tis he will tell you, to what noble height
A generous mufe may fometimes take her flight ;
When too much fetter'd with the rules of art,
May from her ftricter bounds and limits part:
But fuch a perfedl: judge is hard .to fee,
And every rhimer knows not poetry ;
Nay fome there are for writing verfe extoll'd,
Who know not Lucan's drofs from Virgil's gold.
A a 2
356 THE ART OF POETRY.
Would you in this great art acquire renown ?
Authors obferve the rules I here lay down.
In prudent lefTons every where abound ;
With pleafant join the ufeful and the found :
A fober reader a vain tale will flight ;
He feeks as well inftruction as delight.
Let all your thoughts to virtue be confin'd,
Still offering nobler figures to our mind :
I like not thofe loofe writers, who employ
Their guilty mufe, good manners to deftroy ;
Who with falfe colors frill deceive our eyes,
And fhow us vice drefs'd in a fair difguife.
Yet do I not their fullen mufe approve,
Who from all modeft writings banifh love ;
That ftript the play-houfe of its chief intrigue,
And make a murderer of Roderigue :
The lighted love, if decently expreft,
Will raife no vitious motions in our breaft.
Dido in vain may weep, and afk relief;
I blame her folly, whilft I mare her grief.
A virtuous author, in his charming art,
To pleafe the fenfe needs not corrupt the heart :
His heat will never caufe a guilty fire :
To follow virtue then be your defire,
In vain your art and vigor are expreft ;
The cbfcene expreflion mows the infected
M TP 1 Tr
Ui t,ull
THE ART OF POETRY. 357
But above all bafe jealoufies avoid,
In which detracting poets are employ 'd.
A noble wit dares liberally commend ;
And fcorns to grudge at his deferving frjend.
Bafe rivals, who true wit and merit hate,
Caballing ilill againft it with the great,
Malicioufly afpire to gain renown,
By ftanding up, and pulling others down.
Never debafe yourfelf by treacherous ways,
Nor by fuch abject methods feek for praife :
Let not your only bufinefs be to be write ;
Be virtuous, juft, and in your friends delight,
'Tis not enough your poems be admir'd -,
But ftrive your converfation be deiir'd :
J
Write for immortal fame -, nor ever chufe
Gold for the object of a generous mufe.
I know a noble wit may, without crime,
Receive a lawful tribute for his time :
Yet I abhor thofe writers, who defpife
Their honor \ and alone their profits prize ;
Who their Apollo bafely will degrade,
And of a noble fcience make a trade.
Before kind reafon did her light difplay,
And government taught mortals to obey, ,
A a
358 THE ART OF POETRY.
'Men, like wild bead?, did nature's laws purfue,
They fed on herbs, and drink from rivers drew ;
Their brutal force, on luft and rapine bent,
Committed murder without punifhment :
Reafon at laft by her all-conquering arts,
Reduc'd thefe favages, and tun'd their hearts ;
Mankind from bogs, and woods, and caverns calls,
And towns and cities fortifies with walls :
Thus fear of juflice made proud rapine ceafe,
And fhelter'd innocence by laws and peace.
Thefe benefits from poets we receiv'd,
From whence are rais'dthofe fictions fincebeliev'd,
That Orpheus, by his foft harmonious ftrains,
Tam'd the fierce tigers of the Thracian plains $
Amphion's notes, by their melodious powers,
Drew rocks and woods, and rais'd the Theban
towers :
Thefe miracles from numbers did arife :
Since which, in verfe heaven taught his myfteries,
And by a prieft, poflefs'd with rage divine,
Apollo fpoke from his prophetic Hirine.
Soon after Homer the old heroes prais'd,
And noble minds by great examples rais'd ;
Then Hefiod did his Grecian fwains incline
To till the fields, and prune the bounteous vine.
i
THE ART OF POETRY. 359
Thus ufeful rules were by the poets aid,
In eafy numbers to rude men convey 'd,
And pleafingly their precepts did impart ;
Firft charm'd the ear, and then engag'd the heart:
The mufes thus their reputation rais'd,
And with juft gratitude in Greece were prais'd.
With pleafure mortals did their wonders fee,
And facrific'd to their divinity ;
But want, at laft, bafe flattery entertain'd,
And old ParnafTus with this vice was ftain'd :
Defire of gain dazzling the poets eyes,
Their works were fill'd with fulfome flatteries.
Thus needy wits a vile revenue made,
And verfe became a mercenary trade.
Debafe not with fo mean a vice thy art :
If gold mull be the idol of thy heart,
Fly, fly th' unfruitful Heliconian ftrand,
Thofe flreams are not inrich'd with golden fand :
Great wits, as well as warriors, only gain
Laurels and honors for their toil and pain :
But what ? an author cannot live on fame,
Or pay a reckoning with a lofty name :
A poet to whom fortune is unkind,
Who when he goes to bed has hardly din'd ;
Aa 4
360 THE ART OF POETRY.
Takes little pleafure in ParnafTus' dreams,
Or relidies the Heliconian ftreams.
Horace had eafe and plenty when he writ,
And free from cares for money or for meat,
Did not expect his dinner from his wit.
'Tis true ; but verie is cherifh'd by the great,
And now none famim who deferve to eat :
What can we fear, when virtue, arts, and fenfe,
Receive the ftars propitious influence ;
When a fharp-fighted prince, by early grants
Rewards your merits, and prevents your wants ?
Sing then his glory, celebrate his fame ;
Your nobleft theme is his immortal name.
Let mighty Spencer raife his reverend head,
Cowly and Denham ftart up from the dead 5
Waller his age renew, and offerings bring,
Our monarch's praife let bright-ey'd virgins fing ;
Let Dryden with new rules our ftage refine,
And his great models form by this defign :
But where's a fecond Virgil, to rehearfe
Our hero's glories in his epic verfe ?
What Orpheus fing his triumphs o'er the main,
And make the hills and forefts move again 5
Shew his bold fleet on the Batavian more,
And Holland trembling as his cannons roar ;
2
THE ART OF POETRY. 361
Paint Europe's ballance in his fteady hand,
Whilft the two worlds in expectation ftand
Of peace or war, that wait on his command ?
But as I fpeak new glories ftrike my eyes,
Glories, which heaven itfelf does give, and prize,
BlefUngs of peace ; that with their milder rays
Adorn his reign, and bring Saturnian days :
Now let rebellion, difcord, vice, and rage,
That have in patriots forms debauch'd our age,
Vanim with all the minifters of hell :
His rays their poifonous vapors mall difpel : '
J Tis he alone our fafety did create,
His own firm foul fecur'd the nation's fate,
Oppos'd to all the Bout'feaus of the ftate.
Authors for him your great endeavours raife ;
The loftieft numbers will but reach his praife.
For me, whofe verfe in fatire has been bred,
And never durft heroic meafures tread ;
Yet you mail fee me, in that famous field,
With eyes and voice, my beft afliftance yield :
Offer your lefTons, that my infant mufe
Learnt, when me Horace for her guide did chufe:
Second your zeal with wifhes, heart, and eyes,
And afar off hold up the glorious prize.
But pardon too, if zealous for the right,
A drift obferver of each noble flight,
i
362 THE ART OF POETRY.
From the fine gold I feparate the allay,
And mow how hafty writers fometimes flray :
Apter to blame, than knowing how to mend ;
A fharp, but yet a neceffary friend.
THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS:
A
FUNERAL PINDARIC POEM, facred to the
happy Memory of King CHARLES II.
I.
THUS long my grief has kept me dumb :
Sure there's a lethargy in mighty woe,
Tears ftand congeal'd, and cannot flow ;
And the fad foul retires into her inmoft room:
Tears, for a ftroke forefeen, afford relief;
But, unprovided for a fudden blow,
Like Niobe we marble grow ;
And petrify with grief.
364 THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS.
Our Britim heaven was all ferene,
No threatning cloud was nigh,
Not the leaft wrinkle to deform the iky ;
We liv'd as unconcern'd and happily
As the firfl age in nature's golden fcene -,
Supine arnidft our flowing {lore,
We flept fecurely, and we dreamt of more :
When fuddenly the thunder-clap was heard,
It took us unprepar'd and out of guard,
Already loft before we fear'd.
Th' amazing news of Charles at once were fpreacU
At once the general voice declar'd,
" Our gracious prince was dead.'*
No ficknefs know before, no flow difeafe,
To foften grief by juft degrees :
But like an hurricane on Indian feas,
The tempeft rofe ;
An unexpected burft of woes :
With fcarce a breathing fpace betwixt,
This now becalro'd, and periming the next.
As if great Atlas from his height
Should fink beneath his heavenly weight,
And with a mighty flaw, the flaming wall
As once it fhall,
Should gape immenfe, and rufhing down, o'er-
whelm this nether ball ,
THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS. 365
So fvvift and fo furprifing was our fear :
Out Atlas fell indeed ; but Hercules was near.
II.
His pious brother, fure the befl
Who ever bore that name,
Was newly rifen from his reft,
And with a fervent flame,
His ufual morning vows had juft addreft
For his dear fovereign's health ;
And hop'd to have them heard,
In long increafe of years,
In honor, fame, and wealth :
Guiltlefs of greatnefs thus he always pray'd,
Nor knew nor wim'd thofe vows he made,
On his own head mould be repay'd.
Soon asth'ill-omen'd rumor reach'd his ear,
111 news is wing'd with fate, and flies apace,
Who can defcribe th' amazement of his face !
Horror in all his pomp was there,
Mute and magnificent without a tear :
And then the hero firft was feen to fear.
Half unarray'd he ran to his relief,
So hafty and fo artlefs was his grief :
366 THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS.
Approaching greatnefs met him with her
charms
Of power and future flate ;
But look'd fo ghaftly in a brother's fate,
He fhook her from his arms.
Arriv'd within the mournful room, he faw
A wild diftraclion, void of awe,
And arbitrary grief unbounded by a law.
*
God's image, God's anointed lay
Without motion, pulfe, or breath,
A fenfelefs lump of facred clay,
An image now of death.
Amidft his fad attendants groans and cries,
The lines of that ador'd forgiving face,
Diftorted from their native grace ;
An iron flumber fat on his majeftic eyes.
The pious duke Forbear, audacious mufe,
No terms thy feeble art can ufe
Are able to adorn fo vaft a woe :
The grief of all the reft like fubjecli-grief did
mow,
His like a fovereign did tranfcend ;
No wife, no brother, fuch a grief could know,
Nor any name but friend.
THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS. 367
III.
O wondrous changes of a fatal fcene,
Still varying to the laft !
Heaven, tho its hard decree was part,
Seem'd pointing to a gracious turn agen :
And death's uplifted arm arrefted in its hafte.
Heaven half repented of the doom,
And almoft griev'd it had forefeen,
What by forefight it will'd eternally to come.
Mercy above did hourly plead
For her refemblance here below ;
And mild fomvenefs intercede
D
To flop the coming blow.
New miracles approach'd th'etherial throne,
Such as his wondrous life had oft and lately
known,
And urg'd that (till they might be mown.
On earth his pious brother pray'd and vow'd,
Renouncing greatnefs at fo dear a rate,
Himfelf defending what he could,
From all the glories of his future fate.
With him th' innumerable crowd,
Of armed prayers
Knock'd at the gates of heaven, and knock'd
aloud i
The firft well-meaning rude petitioners.
368 THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS.
All for his life affail'd the throne,
All would have brib'd the ikies by offering up
their own.
So great a throng not heaven itfelf could bar j
'Twas almoft born by force as in the giants' war.
The prayers, at leaft, for his reprieve were heard 5
His death, like Hezekiah's, was deferr'd :
Againft the fun the fhadow went ;
Five days, thole live degrees, were lent
To form our patience and prepare th' event.
The fecond caufes took the fwift command,
The medicinal head, the ready hand,
All eager to perform their part ;
All but eternal doom was conquer'd by their art :
Once more the fleeting foul came back
T' infpire the mortal frame ;
And in the body took a doubtful ftand,
Doubtful and hovering like expiring flame,
That mounts and falls by turns, and trembles o'er
the brand.
IV.
The joyful mort-liv'd news foon fpread around,
Took the fame train, the fame impetuous bound :
The drooping town in fmiles again was dreft,
Gladnefs in every face expreft,
Their eyes before their tongues confeft.
THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS. 369
Men met each other with erected look,
The fteps were higher that they took>
Friends to congratulate their friends made hafte .
>
And long inveterate foes faluted as they paft :
Above the reft heroic James appear'd
Exalted more, becaufe he more had fear'd :
His manly heart, whofe noble pride
Was ftill above
DifTembled hate or varnifh'd love,
Its more than common tranfport could not hide j
But like an eagre rode in triumph o'er the tide.
Thus, in alternate courfe,
The tyrant paffions, hope and fear,
Did in extremes appear,
And flam'd upon the foul with equal force*
Thus, at half ebb, a rolling fea
Returns and wins upon the more;
The watry herd, affrighted at the roar,
Reft on their fins awhile, and ftay,
Then backward take their wondring way i
The prophet wonders more than they,
At prodigies but rarely feen before,
And cries a king muft fall, or kingdoms change
their fway.
VOL. I. B b
370 THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS,
Such were our counter-tides at land, and fo
Prefaging of the fatal blow,
In their prodigious ebb and flow.
The royal foul, that- like the laboring moon,
By charms of art was hurried down,
Forc'd with regret to leave her native fphere,
Came but a while on liking here :
Soon weary of the painful ftrife,
And made but faint effays of life :
An evening light
Soon fhut in night ;
A ftrong diftemper, and a weak relief,
Short intervals of joy, and long returns of grief.
V.
The fons of art all medicines try'd,
And every noble remedy apply 'd ,
With emulation each effay'd
His utmoft fkill, nay more they pray'd :
Never was lofing game with better conduct play'd.
Death never won a ftake with greater toil,
Nor e'er was fate fo near a foil :
But like a fortrefs on a rock,
The impregnable difeafe their vain attempts did
mock ;
They min'd it near, they batter'd from afar
With all the cannon of the medicinal war - 9
THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS. 371
No gentle means could be eflay'd,
Twas beyond parly when the fiege was laid :
Th' extremefl ways they firfr. ordain,
Prefcribing fuch intolerable pain,
As none but Casfar could fuftain :
Undaunted Csefar underwent
The malice of their art, nor bent
Beneath whate'er their pious rigor could invent :
In five fuch days he fuffer'd more
Than any fufTer'd in his reign before ;
More, infinitely more, than he,
Againfl the worn: of rebels, could decree,
A traitor or twice pardon'd enemy.
Now art was tir'd without fuccefs,
No racks conld make the ftubborn malady confefs.
The vain infurancers of life,
And he who mofr. perform'd and promis'd lefs,
Even Short himfelf forfook the unequal ftrife.
Death and defpair was in their looks,
No longer they confult their memories or books ;
Like helplefs friends, who view from more
The laboring mip, and hear the tempeft roar 5
So flood they with their arms acrofs ;
Not to afiift, but to deplore
Th' inevitable lofs.
Bfc 2
372 THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS.
VI.
Death was denounc'd j that frightful found
Which ev'n the beft oan hardly bear,
He took the fummons void of fear ;
And unconcern'dly caft his eyes around ;
As if to find and dare the griefly challenger.
What death could do he lately try'd,
When in four days he more than dy'd.
The fame affurance all his words did grace ;
The fame majeftic mildnefs held its place :
Nor loft the monarch in his dying face.
Intrepid, pious, merciful, and brave,
He look'd as when he conquer'd and forgave,
VII.
As if fome angel had been fent
To lengthen out his government,
And to foretel as many years again,
As he had number'd in his happy reign,
So chearfully he took the doom
Of his departing breath ;
Nor fhrunk nor ftept afide for death ;
But with unalter'd pace kept on -,
Providing for events to come,
When he refign'd the throne.
Still he maintain'd his kingly ftate $
And grew familiar with his fate.
THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS. 373
Kind, good, and gracious, to the laft,
On all he lov'd before his dying beams he caft :
Oh truly good, and truly great,
For glorious as he rofe benignly fo he fet !
All that on earth he held moft dear,
He recommended to his care,
To whom both heaven,
The right had given
And his own love bequeath'd fupreme command:
He took and preft that ever loyal hand,
Which could in peace fecure his reign,
Which could in wars his power maintain,
That hand on which no plighted vows were ever
vain.
Well, for fo great a truft he chofe
A prince who never difobey'd :
Not when the moil fevere commands were laid ;
Nor want, nor exile with his duty weigh'd :
A prince on whom, if heaven its eyes could clofe,
The welfare of the world it fafely might repofe.
VIII.
That king who liv'd to God's own heart,
Yet lefs ferenely died than he :
Charles left behind no harm decree
For fchoolmen with laborious art
To falve from cruelty :
374 THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS.
Thofe, for whom love could no excufes frame,
He gracioufly forgot to name.
Thus far my mufe, tho rudely, has defign'd
Some faint refemblance of his godlike mind :
But neither pen nor pencil can exprefs
The parting brothers' tendernefs:
Tho that's a term too mean and low ;
The bleft above a kinder word may know :
But what they did, and what they faid,
The monarch who triumphant went,
The militant who ftaid,
Like painters, when their heightning arts are fpent 3
I caft into a made.
That all-forgiving king,
The type of him above,
That inexhaufted fpring
Of clemency and love j
Himfelf to Irs next felf accus'd,
And afk'd that pardon which he ne'er refus'd :
For faults not his, for guilt and crimes
Of godlefs men, and of rebellious times :
For an hard exile, kindly meant,
When 'his ungrateful country fent
Their beft Camillus into banimment :
And forc'd their fovereign's act, they could not
his confent. i
THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS. 375
Oh how much rather had that injur'd chief
Repeated all his fufferings paft !
Than hear a pardon begg'd at laft,
Which giv'n could give the dying no relief:
He bent, he funk beneath his grief:
His dauntlefs heart would fain have held
From weeping, but his eyes rebell'd.
Perhaps die godlike hero in his breaft
Difdain'd, or was afham'd to (how
So weak, fo womanim a woe,
Which yet the brother and the friend fo plen-
teoufly confeft.
IX.
Amidft that filent (hower, the royal mind
An eafy pafTage found,
And left its facred earth behind :
Nor murmuring groan expreft, nor laboring
found,
Nor any leaft tumultuous breath ;
Calm was his life, and quiet was his death.
Soft as thofe gentle whifpers were,
In which th' Almighty did appear j
By the ftill voice the prophet knew him there.
Bb 4
376 THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS.
That peace which made thy profperous reign to
mine,
That peace thou leaver! to thy imperial line,
That peace, oh happy made, be ever thine !
X.
For all thofe joys thy reftoration brought,
For all the miracles it wrought,
For all the healing balm thy mercy pour'd
Into the nations' bleeding wound,
And care that after kept it found,
For numerous bleffings yearly mower'd,
And property with plenty crown'd j
For freedom, ftill maintain'd alive,
Freedom which in no other land will thrive,
Freedom, an Englifh fubjecYs fole prerogative,
Without whofe charms even peace would be
But a dull quiet flavery :
For thefe and more, accept our pious praife ;
'Tis all the fubfidy
The prefent age can raife,
The reft is charg'd on late poftenty.
Poflerity is charg'd the more,
Becaufe the large abounding flore
To them and to their heirs, is ftill entail'd by
thee.
tHRENODIA AUGUSTALIS. 377
Succemon of a long defcent
Which chaftely in the channels ran,
And from our demi-gods began,
Equal almoft to time in its extent,
Thro hazards numberlefs and great,
Thou haft deriv'd this mighty blemng down,
And fixt the faireft gem that decks th'imperial
crown :
Not faction, when it fhook thy regal feat,
Not fenates, infolently loud,
Thofe echoes of athoughtlefs croud,
Not foreign or domeftic treachery,
Could warp thy foul to their unjuft decree.
So much thy foes thy manly mind miftook,
Who judg'd it by the mildnefs of thy look :
Like a well-temper'd fword it bent at will 5
But kept the native toughnefs of the fteel.
XL
Be true, O Clio, to thy hero's name !
But draw him ftrictly fo,
That all who view, the piece may know >
He needs no trappings of fictitious fame :
The load's too weighty : thou may 'ft chufe
Some parts of praife, and fome refufe :
Write, that his annals may be thought more lavifli
than the mufe.
378 THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS.
In fcanty truth thou haft confm'd
The virtues of a royal mind,
Forgiving, bounteous, humble, juft, and kind :
His converfation, wit, and parts,
His knowlege in the nobleft ufeful arts,
Were fuch, dead authors could not give ;
But habitudes of thofe who live ;
Who, lighting him, did greater lights receive :
He drain' d from all, and all they knew ;
His apprehenlion quick, his judgment true :
That the moft learn'd, with mame, confefs
His knowlege more, his reading only lefs.
XII.
Amidft the peaceful triumphs of his reign,
What wonder if the kindly beams he fhed
Reviv'd the drooping arts again,
If fcience rais'd her head,
And foft humanity that from rebellion fled :
Our ifle, indeed, too fruitful was before ;
But all uncultivated lay
Out of the folar walk and heaven's high way ;
With rank Geneva weeds run o'er,
And cockle, at the heft, amidft the corn it bore
The royal hufbandman appear 'd,
And plough'd, and fow'd, and till'd,
THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS. 379
The thorns he rooted out, the rubbifh clear'd,
And bleft the obedient field.
When ftrait a double harveft rofe ;
Such as the fwarthy Indian mows j
Or happier climates near the line,
Or paradife manur'd, and dreft by hands divine.
XIII.
As when the new-born phoenix takes his way,
His rich paternal regions to furvey,
Of airy chorifters a numerous train
Attend his wondrous progrefs o'er the plain j
So, rifing from his father's urn,
So glorious did our Charles return >
The officious mufes came along,
A gay harmonious quire like angels ever young :
The mufe that mourns him now his happy
triumph fung,
Even they could thrive in his aufpicious reign ;
And fuch a plenteous crop they bore
Of pureft and well winow'd grain,
As Britain never knew before.
Tho little was their hire, and light their gain,
Yet fomewhat to their mare he threw >
Fed from his hand they fung and flew,
Like birds of paradife that liv'd on morning
dew.
3 So THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS.
Oh never let their lays his name forget !
The pen (ion of a prince's praife is great.
Live then, thou great encourager of arts,
Live ever in our thankful hearts ;
Live bled above, almoft invok'd below $
Live and receive this pious vow,
Our patron once, our guardian angel now.
Thou Fabius of a finking ftate,
Who didft by wife delays divert our fate,
When faction like a tempeft rofe,
In death's moft hideous form,
Then art to rage thou didft oppofe,
To weather out the ftorm :
Not quitting thy fupreme command,
Thou heldft the rudder with a fleady hand,
Till fafely on the more the bark did land :
The bark that all our bleffings brought,
Charg'd with thyfelf and James, a doubly royal
fraught.
XIV.
Oh frail eftate of human things,
And flippery hopes below !
Now to our coil your emptinefs we know,
For 'tis a lefTon dearly bought,
AfTurance here is never to be fought.
The bcft, and beft belov'd of kings,
THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS. 381
And befl deferving to be fo,
When fcarce he had efcap'd the fatal blow
Of faction and confpiracy,
Death did his promis'd hopes deftroy :
He toil'd, he gain'd, but liv'd not to enjoy.
What mitts of Providence are thefe
Thro which we cannot fee !
So faints, by fupernatural power fet free,
Are left at laft in martyrdom to die j
Such is the end of oft repeated miracles.
Forgive me, heaven, that impious thought,
'Twas grief for Charles, to madnefs wrought,
That queftion'd thy fupreme decree !
Thou didft his gracious reign prolong,
Even in thy faints and angels wrong,
His fellow-citizens of immortality :
For twelve long years of exile, born,
Twice twelve we number'd fince his bleft return
So ftrictly wer't thou juft to pay,
Even to the driblet of a day.
Yet ftill we murmur, and complain,
The quails and manna mould no longer rain j
Thofe miracles 'twas needlefs to renew ;
The chofen flock has now the promis'd land in
view.
382 THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS.
XV.
A warlike prince afcends the regal ftate,
A prince long exercis'd by fate :
Long may he keep, tho he obtains it late.
Heroes, in heaven's peculiar mold are caft,
They and their poets are not form'd in hafte ;
Man was the firft in God's defign, and man was
made the laft.
Falfe heroes, made by flattery fo,
Heaven can ftrike out, like fparkles, at a blow *,
But ere a prince is to perfection brought,
He cofts Omnipotence a fecond thought.
With toil and fweat,
With hardning cld, and forming heat,
The cyclops did their flrokes repeat,
Before the impenetrable mield was wrought.
It looks as if the Maker would not own
The noble work for his,
Before 'twas try'd and found a matter-piece.
XVI.
View then a monarch ripen'd for a throne.
Alcides thus his race began,
O'er infancy he fwiftly ran j
The future God at firfl was more than man :
THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS. 383
Dangers and toils, and Juno's hate
Even o'er his cradle lay in wait ;
And there he grappled firft with fate :
In his young hands the hilling fnakes he preft,
So early was the Deity confeft ;
Thus by degrees he rofe to Jove's imperial feat j
Thus difficulties prove a foul legitimately great.
Like his, our hero's infancy was try'd ;
Betimes the furies did their fnakes provide $
And to his infant arms oppofe
His father's rebels, and his brother's foes 9
The more oppreft the higher frill he rofe :
Thofe were the preludes of his fate,
That form'd his manhood, to Subdue
The hydra of the many-headed hifiing crew.
XVII.
As after Numa's peaceful reign,
The martial Ancus did the fccpter wield,
Furbifh'd the rufty fword again,
Refum'd the long-forgotten mield,
And led the Latins to the dufty field ;
So James the drowfy genius wakes
Of Britain long entranc'd in charms,
ReftirF and flumbring on its arms :
'Tis rous'd,. and with a new-ftrung nerve, the
fpear already makes.
384 THRENODIA AUGUSTALI&
No neighing of the warrior fteeds,
No drum, or louder trumpet, needs
To infpire the coward, warm the cold,
His voice, his fole appearance makes them bold.
Gaul and Batavia dread th' impending blow -,
Too well the vigor of that arm they know j
They lick theduftandcrouch beneath theirfatal foe,
Long may they fear this awful prince,
And not provoke his lingring fword j
Peace is their only fure defence,
Their beft fecurity his word :
In all the changes of his doubtful ftate,
His truth, like heaven's, was kept inviolate,
For him to promife is to make it fate.
His valor can triumph o'er land and main ;
With broken oaths his fame he will not {lain ;
With conqueft bafely bought, and with inglorious
gain.
XVIII.
For once, O heaven, unfold thy adamantine book;
And let his wondring fenate fee,
If not thy firm immutable decree,
At leaft the fecond page of ftrong contingency -,
Such as confifts with wills, originally free :
Let them with glad amazement look
On what their happinefs may be :
THRENODIAAUGUSTALIS. 385
Let them not ftill be obflinately blind,
Still to divert the good thou haft dclign'd,
Or with malignant penury,
To ftarve the royal virtues of his mind.
Faith is a chriftian's and a fubjecYs teft,
Oh give them to believe, and they are furely bltft.
They do ; and with a diflant view I fee
Th' amended vows of Englifh loyalty.
And all beyond that object, there appears
The long retinue of a profperous reign,
A feries of fuccefsful years,
IB orderly array, a martial, manly train.
Behold ev'n the remoter mores,
A conquering navy proudly fpread j
The Britiih cannon formidably roars,
While flatting from his oozy bed,
Th' afTerted ocean rears his reverend head j
To view and recognize his ancient lord again :
And with a willing hand, reftores
The fafces of the main.
VOL. I. Cc YEN I
I ( 386 )
VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS,
Paraphrafed.
CREATOR fplrit, by whofe aid
The world's foundations fifft were laid,
Come viiit ev'ry pious mind ;
Come pour thy joys on human kind ;
From fin and forrow fet us free,
And make thy temples worthy thee,
O fource of uncreated light*
The father's promifed Paraclete !
Thrice holy fount, thrice holy fire,
Our hearts with heavenly love infpire 3
Come, and thy facred unction bring
To fanclify us, while we ling.
Plenteous of grace, defcend from high,
Rich in thy fev'nfold energy !
Thou ftrength of his Almighty hand,
Whofe pow'r does heav'n and earth command.
Proceeding fpirit, our defence,
Who do'fl the gifts of tongues difpenfe,
And crown'ft thy gift with eloquence !
Refine and purge our earthly parts ;
But, oh, inflame and fire our hearts !
Our frailtks help, our vice controul,
Submit the fenfes to the foul 5
VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS. 387
And when rebellious they are grown,
Then lay thy hand, and hold 'em down.
Chace from our minds th' infernal foe,
And peace, the fruit of love, beftow j
And left our feet mould ftep aftray,
Protect and guide us in the way.
Make us eternal truths receive,
And practife all that we believe :
Give us thyfelf, that we may fee
The Father, and the Son, by thee.
Immortal honour, endlefs fame,
Attend th' Almighty Father's name :
The Saviour Son be glorify 'd,
Who for loft man's redemption dy'd :
And equal adoration be,
Eternal Paraclete, to thee.
E tt D of VOL. I.
NOTES
AND
OBSERVATIONS
O N
Mr. DRYDEN's ?OEMS.
VOL. I.
NOTES,
A Poem on the Death of Lord HASTINGS. Written
in 164.9.
THERE is fome fancy in this poem, but many of the lines
are very bad, and the images too grofs both in defign and
expreflion to have efcaped our author in his riper years. How-
ever, he was not quite eighteen when he wrote it ; and, by reprint-
ing it, the reader may trace the progrefs of that genius which af-
terwards arrived at fuch fublimity. The nobleman herein la-
mented, was ftiled Henry Lord Haftings, fon to Ferdinand Earl
of Huntingdon. He died before his father in 1649, being then
in his twentieth year. He had from nature and education, a moft
amiable difpofition, a ftrong judgment, and fo refined a talte,
fhat, according to Collins's Peerage, not lefs than ninety-eigh,t
elegies were compofed on his death.
-Arcbimede? fpbere the heavens did Jke*w.
A fetnous geometrician, who was killed at the taking of Syra-
cufe, in the 54zd year of Rome/ by a common foldier, tho
Marcellus, the Roman general, had given a ftricl order to fave
him. The murderer indeed did not know him. He made a
glafs fphere, wherein the motions of the heavenly bodies were
wonderfully defcribed, which furnifhed Claudian with occafion for
an epigram, beginning Jupiter in par*vo, &c.
Come learned Ptolemy, Sec.
Claudius Ptolemeus, a celebrated mathematician, flourifhed under
the reign of M. Aurelius Antoninus, and was by the Greeks fir-
named the Divine. His aftronomical and geographical works
were the admiration of many ages ; and his fyftem of the world,
in the centre of which was placed the earth, was generally adopt-
ed, till exploded by that of Copernicus in the fixteenth century.
Iv NOTES,
Z/<z;V Tycho no-iv, &c.
Tycho-Brahe, a Danilh gentleman of the firfl quality, fa-
mous for his fklll in aftronomy, chymifiry, and medicine. He
Jived in the fixteenth century, and died at Prague in 1 60 1 , aged
fifty-feven, of a retention of urine. He formed a new fyftem of
the world, which is -ingenious, tho' in no great efteem.
Heaven, &c.
" rapt its Ganymede from us.
Jupiter having afiumed the figure of an eagle for that purpofe,
bore Ganymede, the fon of Tros king of Troy, to heaven upon
his wings, where he made him his cup-bearer; and, according to
Ovid, indulged for him an unnatural flame.
So many fpots like n&ves, &c.
N^eves is derived from the Latin word ntevus, which may fig-
nify a natural blemim. Mr. Johnfon does not give it a place in
his dictionary.
An ur.iverfal metempfychojls.
Metempfychofis is the do&rine of the tranfmigration of the
fame foul tl ro various bodies, adopted by Pythagoras from the
JJramins of India, who maintain it even at this day. Either
Dryden was ignorant of the proper pronunciation of the word
metempfjcbc/is, or he chofe to accent it wrongly for the fake of a
bad verfe. J would rather prefer the latter conjecture.
Thus without young, this phoenix dies, new-lorn.
Naturalifls fay that there never lives more than one phoenix-,
which having reached a period of either five or fix hundred years,
builds itfelf a neft of aromatic gums, in which it is confumed by
the fun. The moderns difbelieve its exiftence; but the antients
in many places fpeak of it very ferioufly, particularly Ovid in
the fifteenth book of his Metamorphofes, which our author has
beautifully tranflated.
HEROIC STANZAS, confecrated to the Memory of his
Higbnefs OLIVER CROMWELL, 1658.
AS Dryden is faid to have been the fon of a committee man,
we have reafon to fuppofe that he was educated in republican
principles, and confequently that he really revered the memory
of Cromwell as much as he appears to do in thefe verfes. He was
afterwards indeed a zealous loyalift, but whether from confcien-
NOTES. v
tious principles, or temporary views, is a point which we fhall
not now difcufs. Waller, Locke the philofopher, and Spratt, af-
terwards bifhop of Rochefter, wrote verfes on the fame occafion,
all which may be found in the State Poems, and in Dryden's
Mifcellanies ; fo that our author was not fmgular in this
compliment.
Like eager Romans, &c.
It was ufual to conceal an eagle on the top of the funeral pile,
deftined to receive the dead body of the Roman imperator. When
the pile was fet on fire, the bird was fet at liberty, and mounting
into the air, was fuppofed by the common people to carry with it
to heaven the foul of the deceafed. We find a full account of
this ceremony in the fourth book of Herodian.
When Jhe her befl-lo'v'd Pompey did difcard.
The meaning of this ftanza appears at firft a little obfcure ;
and we conceive it to be this : " That fortune befriended Pompey
" when young, but as he advanced in years forfook him; where-
" as, me fcarcely feemed to notice Cromwell, till he arrived at
*' that age in which me abandoned the gallant Roman."
Like that bold Greek who did the Eaft fubdue.
Alexander the Great.
Thick at the galaxy ivitb Jlars is fo-ivti.
Manilius, in his firft book, recites the various opinions of antl
quity concerning the milky-way, and proceeds thus,
Nee mihi celanda ejl famee <vulgata, &c.
It is alfo mentioned by Ovid in the firft book of the Meta-
mor. 1. 169, &c. as the high road to Jupiter's palace.
EJi 'via fublimisy caelo, &C.
Bologna's 'walls thus mounted in the air
To J'eat themfel-ues more furely than before,
It is faid that at the fiege of Bologna in 1512, a mine blew
up that part of the wall of the church of Sanfta Maria del Bara-
cano, on which ftood a miraculous image of the blefied Virgin.
Tho it was carried fo high, that both armies could fee one an-
other thro the breach, yet it fell again exaftly into its place, fo
that it was impoflible to fee where it had been feparated.
a 3
vi NOTES,
Nor -was he like thofe jiars that, &c.
There are certain lambent flames, or ignes fatul, that dance
about the marts and rigging of mips, which were formerly thought
to portend good weather, if two of them appeared together ; if
only one, bad was to be expected. They are called by the Spa-
niards St. Hermi or St. Telmi. The Italians give J:hem the names
of St. Peter and St. Nicholas ; and they were more particularly
known to the antients under the denomination of Caftor and
Pollux.
As wands of di'vination, &C,
The divining wand was a- forked piece of hazel about a foot
and an half long, as thick as one's finger, which being held in
cquilibre on the back of the hand, and carried very gently, in-
clined itfelf towards the earth by force of fympathy, in cafe of
a mine or treafure being in that part hidden. There; are other
ways of carrying it, and various ufes, which we have not re-
marked, to which it may be applied. All thefe are at large fet
forth in a work printed at Amfterdam, 1613, intitled La Phyjique
Occulte, ou traite de la baguette diinnatoire.
When paft all offerings, &c.
Romulus having defeated the Caenienfes, who were allies of the
incenfed Sabines, dedicated the fpoils of his victory in a temple,
which he for that purpofe erefted, to Feretrian Jove, Feretrio
Jo'vi. The epithet is either derived from ferre to bear, as the
plunder of a war was always borne hither in procefilon ; or
from ferire to facrificc, the Romans generally facrificing to Fe-
retrian Jove, before they marched out againil their enemies.
To fuppJiant Holland, &C.
War was commenced againft Holland in the year 1652, on ac-
count of the Dutch refufmg to lower their topfails by way of fa-
lute to the Britifh navy. It was haftcned on by other circum-
ftances, fuch as the aft of navigation, &c. but in the courfe of
it, the commerce of the republic of Holland was confiderably
injured, fo that they fued for peace in very fubmiffive terms.
It was at length granted them in 1654, on their con fen ting to
compliment our flag; to abandon the regal intcreft, to which they
were fuppofed to be well affected ; and to lay down a large fum
of money r by way of indemnifying the nation for herlofles.
NOT E S. vil
JV<? fooner nuai the Frenchman's) &C.
The treaty of alliance which Cromwell entered into with France
againft the Spaniards, proved of the greateft fervice to that crown,
fmce by it Cromwell furnifhed thereto fix thoufand men, who
behaved always very gallantly, and turned the balance in its favor.
When fuch heroic 'virtue, &C.
Drydn here elegantly attributes Cromwell's fuccefles, and the
glory reaped under him by the Britifh arms, to the many great
virtues wherewith heaven had endowed him. Virtues," fays he,
fufficiently ftrong to influence in his favour even oppofing ftars,
" which obeyed with reluctance, like the common people when
" taxed."
He made us fretmen, &C.
We may be faid to have been made freemen of the Continent by
the taking of Dunkirk, which was wrefted from the Spaniards by
the united forces of France and England, and delivered up to the
latter in the beginning of 1658.
Altho 1 an Alexander, &C.
At this time Alexander VII. fat in the papal chair*
By hif command ine boldly, &C;
Our author feems not to have duly weighed the occafion of this
compliment^ fmce our arms certainly did not crofs the line during
the protectorfhip. What is here then referred to, muft be the de-
figns which Oliver entertained, of conquering the beftpartof th
Spanifh Weft-Indies. To which end he fitted out a powerful fleet
under the direction of Penn, on board of which he embarked the
largeft body of land-forces ever feen in America. They mifcarried
in the main part of their defign, yet they made themfelves mafter*
of Jamaica, a moft valuable acquifitiony which has ever fince re-
mained annexed to the Britifh crown.
he, prefs'd down by bis onan --weighty name t
Did, like the <vejtal under Jpoih deceafe.
The Sabines being at war with the Romans, found means to
furprize the citadel by corrupting Tarpeia the commandant's
daughter, to open to them a poftern-gate ; and when they were
entered, they threw their bucklers upon and fmothered her. It
is faid they had confented, at her own requeft, to give her what'
they had upon their arms, their left arms being alfo adornwi
a 4
tlii NOTES.
with magnificent bracelets ; and thus they pretended to perform
their promife.
But frft the ocean as a tribute fent,
The giant prince of all her ivatry herd.
Cromwell died on Friday September 3d, 1658, a day remark-
able for being the anniverfaries of his victories at Worcefter and
Dunbar, as alfo for one of the moft dreadful tempefts that had
ever happened in the memory of man. On the preceding Monday,
being the 3oth of Auguft, there raged a more violent ftorm than
had been known in this kingdom for twenty years before. When,
Wood tells us, it was certainly believed by the vulgar, that the
Devil, with whom Oliver had made a compaft, having fummoned
him to another world, he craved a reprieve of the fiend till Fri-
day, and gave bond for his appearance. This is but a forry pun,
the bond here meant being Dennis Bond, a great partizan of the
Prote&or's, who. died that day.
As 'Winds for halcyons, Sec,
The halcyon is faid to pitch its neft upon the furface of the
fea, and there to hatch its young, when a continued calm pre-
vails. Plutarch, who afferts this ftory, as faft, tells us, that he
has feen feveral of this bird's neils, formed like boats, and cu-
rioufly conftru&ed of fifh-bones. Many naturalifts confirm the
veracity of this account, and the curious Sir Thomas Brown ad-
mits it as a truth.
ASTREA REDUX. A Poem on the happy Reft oration and
Return of his facred Majefty CHARLES II. 1660.
ASTREA REDUX, or the Return of Juftice, may be very
properly applied to the aera of the king's reftoration, fince
now the nation was freed from the factions that had fo long dif-
tra&ed, and threatened her with anarchy and deftruclion ; while
law, order, and fubordination began to flow once again quietly
in their antient and proper channels.
An horrid ftillnefs firft invades the ear,
And in that Jilence ive the tempejl fear.
This diftich was laid hold of by the wits of the times, and
among others by Capt. Alexander Radcliff in his news from
Hell, who ridicules it thus :
" Laureta, who was both learn'd and florid,
' ' Was damn'd long fmce for Jilence horrid:
NOTES. ix
" Nor had there been fuch clutter made,
" But that this Jilence did invade :
" Invade! and fo't might well, that's clear.-
" But what did it invade ? an ear"
The ambitious Swede, &C.
Charles X. named alfo Guftavus, and nephew to the great
Guftavus Adolphus, a man of an excellent education, trained to
arms, in which he delighted, and well beloved by the people,
fucceeded to the crown of Sweden at the age of twenty-eight
years, the famous Queen Chriftina having abdicated in his fa-
vor. This happened in 1654, and the Poliih ambaflador at
Stockholm protefting againft his fuccefllon, was told by the queen,
" That her coufin could prove his right to the Swedifh crown by
" thirty thoufand witneffes." A war fucceeded between Poland
and Sweden, in which Charles was for the moft part fuccefsful,
having in the courfe of it alfo, the different powers of Auftria,
France, the republics of England and Holland, to contend with.
He died of a fever at Gottenburgh in 1660, having reigned ten
years, and leaving behind him the character of a very able com-
mander. The peace of Sweden was reftored a few months after
his death by the treaties of Copenhagen and Oliva.
We /igWd to hear the fair Iberian bride,
Muft grow a lilly to the lil/y's Jide, &c.
In the year 1659, Cromwell being dead, a peace was con-
cluded between Spain and France, in which the marriage with the
Infanta of Spain, was agreed upon ; and tho Charles II. was
there in perfon, little or no regard was paid to his intereft. The
poet in this, and part of the following page laments, that almoft
every State but that of England mould be reftored to eafe. Swe-
den, fays he, obtained a peace by the death of her ambitious mo-
narch. The feuds between France and Spain were miraculoufly
terminated, and their friendfhip cemented by a marriage. But
for our parts heaven till ftill continued to deny us the reftoration
of our king, for which all ranks of people groaned- j and we
feemed as it were abandoned by providence.
The facred purple then and fcarlet gown.
Like f anguine die to elephants was fawn.
Such a general anarchy prevailed at this time, that no autho-
rity could avail againft the headftrong commonality. Thefacred
purple and fcarlet gown, fays the poet, oppofed againft their
jc' NOTES.
progrefs, had no more effeft than if they had been fhewn to ait
elephant.
Thus 'when the bold Tjphczus, &C.
See the giant's war, in the firft book of Ovid's Metamorphofis.
Blind as the Cjclap, &C.
Polyphemus, of whom may be found a beautiful defcription in
the third book of the ./Eneid.
As fouls reach heaven, while, &c.
This line alludes to the extafies affeled by fome viilonaries.
But tlofe that 'gaiujt Jlijf gales la-veering go.
To laveer, is a naval term derived from the Danifh, and figni-
fies to change the direction often in a courfe.
Bailey, Johnfon's Did.
And all at Worc'JJer^ &C.
At the battle of Worcefter, which was fcu'ght near the city of
that name on the 3d of September, 1651, the king's army was
totally routed. He made his efcape meanly difguifed, and was
feveral times near falling into the hands of the rebels.
Thus veaaflfd Da<vid, &c.
For explanation of thefe lines, fee the firft of Samuel from the
i6th to the z6th chapter.
Well might the antient poets then confer^
On night the honored name of counfellor.
Night is by feveral antient authors called ccunfellor, on account
of its llillnefs and folemnity.
The name of great his famous grand/ire gairfd.
Charles II. was grandfon by the mother's fide to Henry IV.
of France-
With Alga nvho the facred, &C.
Ending with Jhore.
Thefe lines refer to the ceremonies ufed by fuch heathens as
efcaped from fhipwreck, to which the king's variety of fortu'ne
is not inelegantly compared. Alga Marina, or fea-weed, was gene--
rally ftrewed about the altar, and a lamb facrificcd to the winds*
NOTES. xt
Portunuswas a fea god, to whom a temple was erefted at the
mouth of the Tyber. He is fometimes called Portumnus, fome-
times Palzemon. PortUnalia, of Portumnalia, otherwife Orum,
was a feftival inftituted in honor of him. He is mentioned in
the fifth book of the JEneid, v. 271.
Booth's forward valour, &c.
In 1659, Sir George Booth afiembled a considerable body of
men for the king's fervice in Chefhire, and pofleffed himfelf of
Chefter, Chick-caftle, and feveral other places, being joined by
the Earl of Derby, Lord Kilmurray, Sir Thomas Middle-ton,
Major-general Egerton, with other loyal gentleme'n, who en-
countering with Lambert, general of the parliament's forces were
entirely routed at Winnington-bridge, near Northwich in Che->
fliire, and moft of the principal people made prifoners,
'T-was Monk, &C.
General George Monk had the command of the parliaments
army in Scotland at the death of Cromwell, whofe fon Richard
he caufed to be proclaimed Prote&or, in compliance with their
order. He Ihortly after marched with his forces towards London,
where he managed matters fo well as to bring about the reftora-
tion of the king, without the leaft bloodfhed ; for which good
fervice he honored him with the order of the garter, created him
Duke of Albemarle, &c. &c. on account of his being defcended
on the mother's fide from Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Albemarle
and Warwick.
In 1666 he was united with the Duke of York, in command of
the fleet that was fent againft the Dutch. A dropfy carried him
out of the world on the 3d day of January, 1679, aged feventy-
one years. His air was majeftic, his countenance grave ; he was
equal in his proceedings ; folid, and intrepid in his condudl. He
kept the army under Uriel difciplinc, and fet a noble example
of virtue to his foldiers, being an enemy to drunkennefs, blaf-
phemy, and incontinence.
// Jhuns tkc mint like gold, &c.
That great philofopher and chymift, the Hon. Robert Boyle
made an artificial metal, which had all the properties of gold but
its malleability. The gold of chymills may very properly be faid
to fhun the mint, fmce all their endeavors to make it have been
ineffectual.
xli N O T E S.
IFlfe leaches will not, &c.
Leach is ufed by Spenfer to fignify a phyfician, and the word
was commonly taken in the fame fenfe even when Dryden wrote
this poem.
Nor could his afls tea dofe a vizard, &c.
. Monk concealed his intentions of forwarding the king's refto-
ration fo well, that till he had fixed it in a proper channel, fcarcely
any body knew his defign. Nay, " his conduct was fo myfterious
" that one would be apt to think he had not yet determined in
*' what manner he mould aft. The partizans of the king took
" it for granted, that he fecretly favored the royal caufe ; and
" upon that fuppofition fent his own brother, who was a clergy-
" man and a loyalift, with propofals in favor of his ibvereign ;
" but he declined treating on the fubjedT:, and behaved towards
" his brother with impenetrable relerve and feeming indif-
" ference."
Whence legion twice before --was dtfpofleffd,
The long parliament fearing the ambition of Cromwell, at-
tempted taking away his fupport by dhToiving the army, refufing
at the fame time to difperfe and call a new parliament as they
had promifed. This difpofition induced the Protector to haftea
to the houfe on the tenth of April, 1653, attended by three
hundred foldiers, whom he ported at the door and in the lobby.
Then entering with violent marks of indignation in his coun-
tenance, he told his friend St. John he was come to do that, which,
to his great grief of foul, the lord had impofed upon him.
After having fat fome time to hear the debates, the fpeaker be-
ing about to put the queftion, he fuddenly rufe up, and in the
moft opprobrious terms reviled them f jr tl.cir ambition, tyranny,
'extortion, and robbery of the public; and indeed the complaints
of the public juflified thefe accufations. After this torrent of
general obloquy, he flampecl upon the floor, and the foldiers en-,
tered the houfe, then addreffing himfelf to the members, " Get
" y u g ne " feid ne > " gi ye piace to honeft men ; you are no
" longer a parliament ; I tell you, you are no longer a parlia-
" ment, the Lord has done with you." Sir Karry Vane rifmg
up to remonftrate againft this outrage, Cromwell eydaimed,.
" Oh ! Sir Harry Vane ! Sir Harry Vane ! the Lord deliver me
" from Sir Harry Vane 1" He took hold of Martin by the cloak,
faying, " Thou art a whoremonger." Another he reproached as-
an adulterer; a third as a drunkard; and a fourth as an extor-
NOTES. xiii
tipner. " It is you," added he, " that have forced me upon
" this : I have fought the Lord night and day, that he would ra-
" ther flay me than put me upon this work." Pointing to the
mace, he bade a foidier take away that bauble : he turned out all
the members, ordered the door to be locked, and putting the
key in his pocket, retired to his lodgings in Whitehall. Thus by
one daring exploit, which he atchieved without bloodfhed or cla-
mour, the new republic was abolifhed, and the whole power of
three kingdoms, civil and military, united in his perfon.
The houfe was thus once difpoflefled of legion, and about
(even months before his death he diflblved his third parliament,
with as much heat and indignation as he did the long one, on ac-
oount of divifions fubfifting between the upper and lower houfes,
which boded him no good. He knew that many of the mem-
bers had entered fecretly into meafures for the king's reftoration,
and breeding disturbances in the nation : " And fince fuch,"
faid he, " are your proceedings, I think it is high time to put
" an end to your fitting : I therefore declare this parliament
" dhTolved, and God be the judge between you and me." Se-
veral of the members anfwered, " Amen."
It was alfo thro Cromwell's art that his fecond parliament was
diflblved, it bore the name of Praife-God Barebones, a praying lea-
ther-feller, who was one of the members.
Whih to excefs en martyr's tomb, &c.
This paflage fcems to allude to the extravagancies that are
often committed by the vulgar Roman Catholics upon their pil-
grimaging to the tombs of Saints, where, after having performed
the itated devotions, they too often launch into the moil blame-
able excefles, as if they imagined they had now fully expiated
their former offences, and were at liberty to begin a new reck-
oning.
as de*uouter Turks, &C.
The Khoran having prohibited the ufe of wine, when a Turk
has a mind to indulge himfelf with the juice of the grape, he
warns his foul to retire to fome fafe corner of his body, where it
may be fecured from the contamination, and confequently not
liable to the punifliment.
Which durji <witb horfe*s hoof, &C.
Salmoneus afpiring at the power of a divinity, erefted a bridge
of brafs, over which the rattling of his chariot and horfes caufcd
XIV
NOTES.
a found not unlike thunder. Jupiter flruck him dead -with light-
ning for his infolencc. jEn. 6th.
Thus Sforza curs' 'd --with a too fertih brain,
Lo/i by bis idles the po*u?r bis --wit did gain.
Lewis Sforza, a fubtle politician, and one of the moft intriguing
men in the world, was left guardian to his nephew John Galeas
Sforza, heir of Milan, for whom he contracted a marriage with
Isabella of Arragon, but falling in love with the bride the mo-
ment he faw her, endeavoured to procure her for himfelf. It
Is faid, that he contrived a magical girdle for his nephew, to
prevent him from confummating. His endeavors were ineffectual.
John had two children, by his wife, a fon and a daughter, but
died by the treachery of his uncle, who having adminiltered him
a flow poifon ; caufed himfelf to be proclaimed Duke of Milan,
and perfecuted the widow and her children with the fevereft fpirit
of vengeance. In 1499 he was driven from his dukedom, which
he had enjoyed only feven years, by Lewis the XUth of France,
into whofe hands being betrayed he was carried prifoner to France,
where he died in confinement, A. D. 1508.
See Guiccardini, &c. &C.
Henceforth tbcir fcugus mnftj'pend at lejjer rate,
Fougue is a word feme times ufed by thofe who venture upon
gallicifms, for the mettle and fire of a horle.
They are like Helots, &c.
The Spartans to deter their youth from intemperance, expofed
their flaves whom they called Helots, intoxicated with liquor, as
public objefts of derifion. They were called Helots from Helos,
a Laconian town, which being taken by the Spartans, they made
all the inhabitants prifoners of. war, and reduced them to the
condition of flaves.
Oh had you fen from Schevelin's, &C.
Schevelin is a village about a mile from the Hague, at which
Charles II. embarked for England at his reiteration,
The Nafeby now no longer, &c.
The battle of Nafeby, which was fought on the I4th of June,
1645, was the n:in of King Charles I. The fliip in which Charles.
II. returned fro;r> exile bore the fame name.
NOTES. xv
The S-wiftfure groans beneath great Glower's 'weight.
Henry of Oatlands, Duke of Glocefter, and third fon of King
Charles the Martyr, landed at Dover with his brother in 1660,
and died of the fmall-pox on the I3th of September following.
' He was a prince of an amiable character, and tenderly be-
*' loved by the king, who feemed more afflifted by his death,
' than by any other incident of his whole life."
Thus 'when th* Almighty would to Mofes give, &c.
Deuteronomy, chap, xxxii. ver. 51, 52, 53.
And as old time his offspring, &c.
Days, months, and years, may juftly be called the children of
Time, which he daily produces, and as conftantly devours.
And France that did an exile's, Sec.
We have already mentioned the king's having been obliged to
quit France, on account of the. treaties entered into between
Cromwell and that crown.
To his Sacred Majefty. A Panegyric on Ms Coronation.
CHARLES II. was in the thirtieth year of his age, when
he took pofieffion of the throne. He had taken pains in
cultivating his underftanding ; he underftood mechanics and
fhipbuilding, was well acquainted with the hiftory and politics of
the moft remarkable ftates in Europe; he poffeffed a natural
fund of humor and vivacity, together with the moft infinuating
addrefs, and the power of pleating in converfation : he was a
latitudinarian in religion, carelefs, indolent, and extremely ad-
dicted to pleafure. The people, partly in imitation of the kind's
jovial difpofition, and partly from the nature of the human
mind, fo apt to be hurried from one extreme to another, gave a
loofe to intemperance, and the whole kingdom was filled with
riot and excefs.
As heaven of old, &c.
Exodus, chap. xvi. ver. 14.
Your pleasures are dcfigrfdto noble ends.
The king often diverted himfelf on the water, was very fond
of naval affairs, of overlooking the conftrudtion of his own vef-
Jels, and made excellent models of mips.
xvi
NOTES.
To take the fraicheur of the, &c.
Fraicheur, a French word, fignifying coolnels.
With Cafar's heart that rofe t Sec.
Caefar, when in fome danger on board Ihip, obferving the
mariners affrighted, bade them remember they carried C&far and
his fortune.
T-ivo kingdoms wait your doom, &c.
Both the crowns of Spain and Portugal courted the alliance of
Charles 11. by offering him their refpeftive daughters ; and for
this reafon Dryden tells us, that hoth the Indies are rivals in his
led; Spain being poffeiTed of large dominions in the Weft, and
Portugal having made fome wealthy acquifitions in the Eaft.
Charles gave the preference to the Infanta of Portugal, and thus,
fays our author, fecured to her family a crown which they muft
have otherwife loft : for had he married into Spain, he would
have fo ftrengthened the Spanilh monarchy, as to have endan-
gered the independency of Portugal; and thus Spain is confidered
as lofmg a crown, and Portugal as receiving one from the hands
of our king. I cannot help obferving here, that Dryden is as
obfcure in the latter part of this poem, as the oracles of which
he makes mention. As to the fouls of unborn kings, which he
introduces, attending about the queen's chafte womb, none of
them thought fit to enter it, for fhe died without iflue.
'To the Lord Chancellor HYDE, prefented on New-
Tear's-Day, 1662.
Y7DWARD Earl of Clarendon, to whom this poem is ad-
*-' dreffed, having followed the fortune of the king, was ap-
pointed fecretary of ftate at Bruges, and conftituted lord high-
chancellor of England on the demife of Sir Richard Lane. He
was confirmed in this laft poft at the reftoration, when he was
alfo chofen chancellor of the univerfity of Oxford, in the room
of the Duke of Somerfet, and created Baron Hindon, Vifcount
Cornbury, and Earl of Clarendon.
He was too honeft for a court ; his plain dealing and inte-
grity ruined him ; the king, abandoned to pleafure, was impatient
of admonition, and Hyde was not fparing of it : this paved the
way for his difgrace. He was profecuted with great acrimony
by the Earl of Briftol, who impeached him in the houfe of Peers :
finding his party too weak to fupport him, he retired to Rouen,
i where
NOTES.' xvii
where he died in 1674. He is faid to have been concerned in
felling Dunkirk to the Frenth. He was an able lawyer, a great
Itatefman, and an elegant writer.
The beliefs gods their burning faints forfook.
" Excefiere ovnnes adytis arifq; reliclis
" Dii, quibus imperium hoc iletcrat." ANEID. 2d.
And like young David, &C.
Samuel, book I. chap. xvii. ver. 38 and 39.
as the Indies were not found, before
Thnfc rich perfumes, which from the happy jhore,
The winds upon their balmy wings conveyed.
The air of the eaftern world is always impregnated with the finer
particles, and native fpirits of thofe vegetables that grow upon
the furface of the earth. Thus while we fail along ths coafts of
thofe countries that abound with aromatic plants and trees, we
are regaled with their odoriferous exhalations, even at a great
diftance from the fliore.
Our fctting fun from his declining feat,
Shot beams of kindnefs on you, not of heat.
This paffage relates to the terms of intimacy that fubfifted
between Charles I. and Lord Clarendon.
A Satire upon the Dutch. Written in the Tear 1 662.
SINCE this poem was printed off, we were not at a little fur-
prized to find it no more than a prologue a little altered, pre-
fixed to our author's tragedy of Amboyna, and placed with
the title it new bears, among his poems : however, former edi-
tors of Mr. Dryden's works, particularly they who published
the collection of them in two izmo volumes, 1743, led us into
this error, as did the authors of the Biographia Britannica in their
life of our author.
Venetians do not more uncovthly ride.
Horfes are almoft ufelefs in Venice from its fituation, there
being canals in every ftreet, fo that it cannot be thought the Ve-
netians are expert jockeys : befides, " To ride as badly as a
grandee of Venice," is become a proverb all over Italy.
VOL. I. b
xviii NOTES.
j4s Cafo did cf Afrlc fruits difplaj
Lei us before our eyes their Indies lay ;
j4ll loyal Englijh will like him conclude
Let Cfffar li<ve t and Carthage be fubdued.
The occafion of the third punic war, which ended in the ab-
folute deftruclion of Carthage, was the republic's having quar-
relled with and been defeated by MaffinifTa, king of Numidia,
who being allied to Rome, they had reafon to fear her refent-
ment, to deprecate which they fent thither two folemn embaflies,
and banimed Asdrubal and Cathalon, the two generals, who had
commanded their defeated forces. Such a fituation of affairs
occafioned the holding of feveral councils, in all which Cato
flrongly urged a war, ftimulated thereto by the pride, luxury,
riches, and growing power of Carthage.
One day as he harrangued to this effecl, he is faid to have
taken fome fine figs from his breaft, and flung them on the table,
the fize and beauty of which having attracted the eyes of the fe-
jjatovs, " They are of Carthage," cried he, " only three days
" old ; we require no longer time to face this afpiring enemy."
And ever after when this point chanced to be in debate, he con-
cluded Ins fpeeches with the very laft words of this poem, Let
Carthage befubdited, " delenda eft Carthago." This fentence was
alfo ufed by the Earl of Shaftefbury in 1673, when in parlia-
ment he enforced the continuance of the war againft Holland.
"To her Royal Highnefs the Dutchefs, on the memoralle
VittGry gained by the Duke over the Hollanders, June
3, 1665 i and on her Journey afterwards into the
THE lady, to whom our author addrefles this poem, was
daughter to the great Earl of Clarendon. The Duke of
York had been Ibme time married to her, before the affair was
known either to the king his brother, or to her father. She
died in March, 1671, leaving ifme one fbn, named Edgar, and
three daughters, Katherine, Mary and Ann. The two latter lived
to fit on the Britifh throne; the two i.,rmer furvived their mo-
ther but a Ihort time. Biihop Burnet tclli us, that me was a
voiuan of- knowledge and penetration, friendly and generous ;
Lut fevcre in ner refentmftnts.
i battle hf I d began on the 30 of June early in the
morning ; the Duke of York himfelf engaging Admiral Opdaio,
N - O T E S. xix
the Dutch commander in chief, yard and yard-arm, until the
latter was, with his fhip and crew, blown up. A complete vic-
tory enfued, which, had it been properly followed, might at one
blow have finifhed the war. Eighteen Dutch fhips were taken
in this action, and fourteen funk, befides feveral others which
were either burnt or blown up. We made two thoufand three
hundred prifoners, among whom were thirteen commanders, and
killed fix thoufand of the enemy, with the lofs only of a forty
giin-mip and two hundred and fifty men ; our wounded were
three hundred and forty. Two medals were ftruck in honor of
his royal highnefs's fuccefs, imprefTed on one fide with his buft,
properly accoutered and infcribed ; the reverfe reprefenting a
naval engagement.
ANNUS MIRABILIS : 'The Tear of Wonder s^ 1666.
\
The Dedication to the City of London.
THIS dedication has been left out in all editions of the poem,
but the firft. To me there appears in it an honeft un-
feigned warmth and a love for the king, which compenfates for
any thing that may have dropped from our author's pen in his
verfes on Cromwell's death ; however, we fubmit this opinion
under correction to the judicious reader.
I have ckojln to -ivrite my poem in quatrains, or ftanzas cf four
lines in alternate rhymes, as being more noble than any other 'vsrft
in life among fl us.
Dryden certainly foon changed his opinion, fince he never after
praftifed the manner of verification he has here praifed : but we
fhall find it always his way to affure us, that his prefent mode of
writing is beil:. Confcious of his own importance, he foared
above controul ; and when he compofed a poem, he fet it up as
a ftandard of imitation, deducing from it rules of criticifm, the
practice of which he endeavoured to inforce, till either thro in-
tereft or fancy he was induced to change his opiniorrr
Temtfle rhymes, &c.
By femall rhymes our author means fuch words as end with '
mute, as dove, belle, noble j which e was often founded by fbme
old writers to fill up the meafure of the line, otherwife theverfe
had halted.
b 2
*:t NOTES.
Alaric, the Pucelh, &C.
Thefe are two celebrated French poems ; the latter was written
by Chaplaine, and treats of the exploits of the famous Joan of
Orleans. The fubject of the former is the Canqueft of Rome,
by Alaric the Goth. It is the performance of Monf. de Scudery.
The prince and the general, Sec.
Prince Rupert, and General Monk Duke of Albemarle, who
commanded in the expeditions celebrated in the following poem.
Thecompcfilionof all poems ought to be of wit , &c.
Dryden ufes the word wit here in a much more ex ten five fenfe
than is given to it at prefent ; and his definition of it, viz. " That
" it is the 'happy refult of thought, or product of imagination,"
feems vague and indeterminate, being applicable to every ope-
ration of the mind exercifed upon every object of art or fcience.
But the truth is, that wit, at the time of our author's writing,
was ufed in its antient and original acceptation, whereby it em-
braced all the ideas that concur to the forming perfection of
writing. Such as good fcnfe, judgment, conception, fublimity,
and even genius ; if the laft is not however rather the parent of
wit, than wit itfelf, and they are all but different mcdes of wit,
as it was formerly ufed. Of later years, a cuitom fidt adopted
by irony, has reduced the word to a much more narrow and con-
fined fignification ; for example, to fay that Homer and Virgil
were witty poets, Demofthenes a witty orator, Shakefptar a witty
dramatic author, would lay one open to the charge of derogating
from their merit ; yet undoubtedly that term, taken in its pure
" and abfolute fenfe, may ftill be applied to them very properly ;
and more fo, as our language furnifhes no equivalent ; for fubli-
mity, judgment, genius, nature, Sec. &rc. are rather the con-
ftituents of the thing than the thing itfelf.
By wit, in its prefent general acceptance, is underftood a lively
imagination that breaks out in a quick turn of thought, exclud-
ing the ideas of labor and fhidy; that is not over-nice in adhering
to the rules even of common fenfe, for common fenfe will always
jhmd theteftof examination, which wit cannot at all times; be-
caufe its productions feem "calculated rather to dazzle than en-
lighten, are more brilliant than folid. its irregular flames mock
or elude the inquififion of judgment, which never can forgive it
that want of proiniety, fo frequently its concomitant, and per-
haps its greatefr. eflential. A fpccies of writing or talking thus
defectively, having long, in common currency, ufurped the place,
NOTES. xxi
are at length in full poffefllon of the name, to the exclufion of
that only true wit, of which Dryden here fpeaks. He gives us
another definition of wit in the firft line of his preface to Al-
bion and Albanius.
A poor paranomajja, &rC.
A figure in rhetoric, in which by the change of a letter feveral
things are alluded to.
A paper of <vcrfes, &c.
They immediately precede this epiftle, and were before printed
here, but it was thought better to remove them to a more proper
ftation.
I wrong the public to detain you longer, Sec.
Imitation of
. in publica commoda peccem
Si longo fermone morer tua tempora.
Her. Lib. ii. Epift. i.
ANNUS MIRABILIS : or, the Tear of Wonders, 1666.
Poem.
In eajlern quarries , &C.
It is a notion with fome people, that precious ftqnes are drops
of dew, condenfed and hardened by the warmth of the fun, or
by fubterranean fires.
For them the Idumean l>alm, &c.
Idumea is a country in Palefline, famous for palm trees : it lies
between Egypt and Arabia Petrea, being divided from Judea b)
Mount Seir.
And in hot Ceilon, &C.
Ceilou is an aland in the Eaft Indies, two hundred and fifty
miles long and two hundred broad.
The fun lut feem'd, Sic.
It is the opinion of many, that the great heap of waters under
the line is deprefied into tides by the moon towards the poles.
b 3
NOTES,
See bow he feeds tb* Iberian <witb delays,
To render us bis timely friend/hip <vain,
And labile his fecret foul on Flanders prey^.
Pie rocks the cradle of the babe of Spain.
Iberia is a name given to Spain ; and the Iberian here men-
tioned is the King of Spain. France had, for a long time, looked
with an eye of defire upon the Spanifh. Netherlands, and only
waited the death of the King of Spain, who was very infirm, to
fcize upon them. Count d'Eftrades, who was one of the ableft
ininifters of his time, tells us., in his memoirs, that part of them
were to be divided between France and Holland, and the reft
creeled into a republic united to the ftates general, as the Grifons
are to the Swifs. It was to no purpofe that King Charles ftrove
t ^ open the eyes of the Spaniard $ he was quite blind to the policy
of .France,
So bears tbe fcaly herd when Proteus Hows.
Proteus, the fon of Neptune, foretimes called Ceruleus.
That bright companion of the fun^
Wbofe glorious afpeSl Jeal'd our new-born year.
A ne'.v ftar appeared in the open day about the time of King
Charles the fecond's birth ; a fad which Lilly the famous aftro-
noiner denied, affirming it to be only the planet Venus, which
may be often feen by day-light, as has been experienced by all
c :rious people again in 1757.
: two glaring takers rife.
A comet was feen firft on the fourteenth of December, 16.64,
which laited almoll three months ; and another the fixth of April,
1665, which was vifible to us fourteen days.
Appendix to Skei burn's tranf,. of Manilius, p. 211.
yificricus Tcrk, &c.
Sec our account of this battle in our note on the verfes to the
Dutchefs of York.
J.nd t'jti-rfore doomed, &c.
Sir John Lawfon was born at Hull of but mean parentage,
and bred to the fea ; he was for fome time employed in the mer-
N O T E S. xxui
chant's fervice, which he left for that of the parliament, in which
he loon got a fhip, and afterwards carried a flag under Monk :
with him he co-operated in the reftoration of the king ; for which
good reafon he received the honor of knighthood at the Hague.
He zealoufly fupported our claim to the fovereignty of the fea,
and quarrelled with de Ruyter, the Dutch admiral, for being
backward in acknowleging it; an accident that partly occafioned
the Dutch war. In the action here celebrated he was rear-admi-
ral of the red, and acted immediately under his royal highnefs.
His death was occafioned by a mufket-ball, that wounded him in
the knee, and he was not taken proper care of. We find him.
characterifed honeft, brave, loyal, and one of the mofl expe-
rienced feamen of his time.
Nor wholly loji ive, &c t
The Dutch fhips on their return home being feparated by a
ftorm, the rear and vice-admirals of the Eaft-India fleet, with
four men of war, were taken by fiveEnglifh frigates. Soon after
four men of war, two firefhips, and thirty other merchantmen,
being driven out of their ccurfe, joined our fleet inftead of their
own, and were all taken. Thefe things happened in 1665.
Such are the proud tie/tgfis of human
And fo we Juffer Jhipwreck every -.vhere !
Sibene calculum ponas, ubiq; fit naufragium, f> e t. Arb.
Let Mun/ter's prelate, &c.
The famous Bernard Vanghalen, biftiop of Munfter, excited
by Charles, marched twenty thoufand men into the province of
Overyflel, under the dominion of the republic of Holland, where
he committed great outrages, acting rather like a captain of ban-
ditti than the leader of an army. However, we rnuft allow he
had fome excufe for this conduct, when it is remembered that
Charles neglected to make him the promifed remittances. On
which account alfo he was forced to clap up a peace, without
giving us notice of his intention ; apd to. this he was alfo ftill
more obliged by a confederacy againft him of the princes of the
Empire, headed by the elector of Brandenburgh, influenced by
xxiv NOTES.
France, for which he was by no means a match. By this treaty
we were left fmgly to contend with France, Denmark, and Hol-
land, all which powers were then our foes. It was figned at
Cieves, before Sir William Temple could reach Bruffels. For on
the firft notice of fuch an affair being on the carpet, that able
ftatefman was fent abroad, to make good the payments due to
the bifhop, and prevent his abandoning our intereft.
In <whom c we feek the German faith in tiain.
Nitllos mart ahum fide aut armis ante Germanos e//e, is a character
given of them by Tacitus. " In valor and fidelity no nation ean
" outdo the Germans."
Lewis had cbafd the Englijb from his Jbore ;
But Charles the French as fubjefis does incite.
The French king's charge to the Englilh tP withdraw from his
territories was pofltive and general : whereas, in the king of Eng-
land's declaration of vVar againft France, we find the following
claufe :
" That all fuch of the French and Dutch nations remaining
" in the king's dominions, as Ihould demean themfelves dutifully,
" without correfponding with the enemy, fhould be fafe in their
" perfons and eftares, and free from all moleftation or trouble.
" And further, his majefty declared, that if any of the French
" or Low-Country fubj efts, upon any reafon mould come into his
" kingdom, they mould be protected in their perfons and eftate ;
*' and especially thofe of the reformed religion, whofe intereft
*' he would always particularly adopt."
So glad Egyptians fee, &C.
This fimile is introduced with great propriety ; for as the land
of F.gypt owes its fertility to the Nile's overflowing, fo does the
king owe to his people the fupplies enabling him to fupport his
dignity, cany on war, &c. Lewis XIV. imagined, that at this time
a fpirit of difienfion reigned among the Englifh, which would pre-
vent them from granting to his majefty the neceffary fubfidies.
And the French ambaflador had been heard to exprefs himfelf at
Oxford, in words to that effeft, which Lord Hollis took notice of,
in his memorial to the French king, testifying his fovereign's de-
fire of being upon good terms with that monarch. " Neither of
" the houfes," fays he, " will fuffer any thing to be wanting, that
4
NOTES. xxv
" may contribute to the nation's glory or the intereft of my
" mafter : nay, rather than notfupport thefe two material points,
" they will give him three-fourths of what they are worth ; and
" if the refidue be barely fufficient to fubfift them, they will
" be fatisfied."
The parliament voted foon after one million eight hundred
thoufand pounds to the king for carrying on the war.
With equal power he does two chiefs create,
Two fuck, &c.
Prince Rupert and the duke of Albemarle. For an account and
character of the latter, fee our notes upon Aftrea Redux ; the for-
mer was fon of Frederic, Eleftor Palatine of the Rhine, by Eliz-
abeth, daughter of our King James. He entered the fervice of
his uncle Charles I. in 1642, to whom he was extremely ufeful,
giving many noble proofs of conduct and bravery. The fame
year that the king was beheaded he retired to France, where he
was received according to his great deferts. Charles II. being
reftored, made him an admiral, and he did vaft injury to the
Dutch traffic. This great man died in 1682, being fixty-three
years old, leaving behind him the character of a brave officer, of
au experienced chymift, and excellent philofopher. To him
we owe the invention of fcraping in metzotinto. He was
a tall mambling figure of a man, hard-featured, and four-look-
ing : no man could be more civil, nor more rude : he was feldom
known to be civil at a proper time ; and was often civil when
his rudenefs would have been excufable : yet he was honeft and
well-meaning : he fell in love, when far advanced in years, with
one Mrs. Hewes, an aftrefs, an incident that afforded much
diverfion to the merry court ; and by her he left one daughter
called Princefs Rupertina, who married with General How.
And future people &Iefs, &C.
Examina infantium, futurufq; populus.
Plin. jfun. in paneg. adTraj.
But lands unfix* d and floating nations Jlrove.
Credas innare revulfas Cyclades.
And as fee built
Built, is a naval term, fignifying the make of a ihip.
xxvi NOTES.
no ! w as where Patroclus' bndy lay
Here Trojan chie/s, advanced, and there the Greeks.
The contention between the Greeks and Trojans for the dead
body of Patroclus, is to be found in the feventecath book of
Homer.
Berkley alone, &c,
Among other renwkabte paffages in this engagement, the
undaunted resolution of vice-admiral Berkley was particularly
admired. He had many men killed on board him, and tho no
longer able to make refinance, yet would obftinately continue
the fight, refufing quarter to the latt. Being at length, mot in
the throat w'.th a mufket-ball, he retired to his cabbin, where,
ftretching him felt" on a great table, he expired; and in that pof-
ture did the enemy, who afterwards took the ftiip, find the body
co/ered with blood.
Did a like fate nvith loft Crsufa Jhare.
./Eneas, while Troy was in a flame, bore off his father Anchi-
fcs on his back, and his fon lulus in his hand : his wife Creufa
following, was divided from him in the confufion as he was near
the city gate, nor did ever after fee her, as he tells Queen Dido
hi the fecond book of the Eneid, ver. 736, &c.
His face fpake hope while deep his forrotvs fiovj.
Spem vultu fimulat, premit alto corde dolorem. Firjr.
Such vapors once did fiery Cacus hide.
Caeus, the fon of Vulcan, is fabled to have reigned king of a
province in Spain, where his tyranny roufing the refentment of
Hercules, he was by the latter attacked and totally defeated, ef-
caping only with fifty followers to a cave in the fide of a fteep
mountain, which could be approached but by a narrow paffage,
admitting only one man abreaft. Here being clofely pent up,
and in want of provifions, Cacus, by his art, taught his people
to vomit fire and fmoak, under cover of which they retreated
thro the midft of their enemies, who imagined that thefe pheno-
mena were the eifefts of a tempelr.
Have you not feen nuhev, <vakijfJt^ c.
When a falcon lofrs fight of its -quarry, or the game at which
v: j- ftt, and flies at fomething cife, it is faid to fly at check.
NOTES.
With her loud haws her craven-kind does tiring.
Craven fignifies coward or daftard.
Like falling Cafar, decently to die.
C/sfar, after having for fome time nobly oppofed the confpira-
tors, when he perceived his well-beloved Brutus ftrike, wrapped
himfelf up in his robe, and finking down at the foot of Pom-
pey's pillar, expired.
Thus Ifrael fafe from the Egyptians, See.
Exodus, ch. xiij. ver. 21, 22, and Numbers, ch. ix. ver. 15*
16, 17.
So Xenophon cnce led, &c.
Xenophon was an Athenian general ; of his famous retreat
under Cyrus the younger, he has left us an admirably well-writ-
ten hiftory, being as renowned in the characters of an hiftorian
and a philbfopher, as that of a foldier. We have an elegant
tranflation of it by Mr. Spelman.
And ' Jkfwly moves unkntnvinjr, &c,
Veftigio retro improperata refert. Vug* '
And weary waves withdrawing, Sec.
Nec trucibus fiuviis idem fonus : occidit horror
Equoris, antennis maria acclinata quiefcunt. Stat. Syfa.
Ytt like an Er.glijh general <vjill I die,
And all the ocean make my fpacious grave ;
Women and cowards on the I and may lie,
The feu's a tomb that's proper for the brave.
This fpeech contains nearly the fame words that the Duke of
Albemarle fpoke in a council the evening before the battle, in
which he fought with amazing intrepidity, and all that deter-
mined refignation here implied.
The chearful foldier s
In revenge far thofe three days they trfd,
ffie, like Jejbuefi, ivhen the fun Jtaod JiilL
Jofhua, chap. x. rer. 13.
xxviu
NOTES.
So glides fame trodden ferpent, &C.
Cum medii nexus extremaq; agmina cauda;
Solvuntur, tardofq; trahit fmus ultimus orbes.
Virg. Georg. lib. 3.
And like a wounded fnake drags its flow length along.
Pope.
Where 'tivas a triumph not to Be overcome.
Quos opimus
Fallere et effugere triumphus eft. Hor. lib. 4. od. 4.
Some tbe gatr d ropes with dawly marline bind.
Davjly is a bad word ; g/e<wy or vifeous would have done better.
Long wreaths of unrwifted ropes dipped in pitch, and bound
faft round the cable, by way of guard, are called marline. A
tarfa-iu'ivg is a piece of canvafs fmeared with tar.
Stanza 155, &c.
A digreflion concerning (hipping and navigation.
The Irijb kern, &C.
Kern fignifies a clown or peafant. In Spencer it is uied for
a foot-foldier.
Add but a fail, and Saturn fo appear V,
When from lojl empire he to exile -juenf.
Saturn being driven out of Crete by his fon Jupiter, who
tifurped his throne, fled into Italy by fea, where he civilized the
people, taught them the advantages of commerce, and the ufe
of coin. From him the land was called Saturnia and Latium j
the latter name is derived from Latias.
Inde diu genti manjit Saturnia namea :
Diftu fuit Latium terra, latent e Deo. Ov. Faft. lib. 3,
The name Saturnia thence this land did bear,
And Latium too, becaufe he foelter'd there.
Navigation muft indeed have been very rude at the time of
Saturn's making this voyage.
Coo/ling they kept the land, &c.
Thofe who firft ventured upon the liquid element, made their
efiay in fhaltaw waters, without trufting themfelves out of fight
of fhore, till from being accuflomed to the deceitful furface,
NOTES. xxlx
they acquired courage ; and induced by frequent and fnccefsful
trials, they boldly launched into the main ocean. Clauuian
mentions this procefs in his poem tie Raptu Proferpin*.
Itwetita Jecmt primus qui na<ve prbfundum t
Et rudibus retnis folicita e vit i &c.
1 60, &C.
Our author now proceeds to praife the improvements made by
his countrymen in the arts of navigation, longitude, &c. their
progrefs
Beyond ike year, and out of "ktcevei? 'j high way.
Extra anni, folifque vias ; ?*?
And then takes an opportunity to compliment the royal fo-
ciety in fianzas 165, 166, as it owed its foundation to Charles
II. and was 'now but in its infancy.
Stanza 167, &c.
Another fea-fight with the Dutch.
" Both fleets were foon refitted; and De Ruyter was ordered
*' to put to fea, to join the duke de Beaufort with the French
" fquadron. On the twenty-fourth day of July he fell in with
" the Englifh fleet, commanded by prince Rupert and the duke
" ofAlbemarle: it amounted to above one hundred fail, while
" that of the ftates did not exceed eighty-eight thips of war and
" nineteen firefhips. The battle began near the mouth of the
*' Thames, and was fought with equal rage and emulation. Sir
*' Thomas Allen, vice-admiral of the white, defeated the van of
" the enemy, and three of their inferior admirals were (lain. In
" the mean time Sir Jeremy Smith, vice-admiral of the blue, was
" worlted by Van Tromp, who followed the chace fo far that he
" was entirely feparated from the center. DeRuytfr being over-
" pov/ered by numbers, fuftained the engagement till night with
" difficulty ; and was next day attacked by the whole force of
" the Englifh navy. He bore the (hock with unfhaken refolu-
" tion, and gained more glory by his retreat than the Englifh ac-
" quired by their victory. They followed him to the coaft of
" Flufhing, and then failed in queft of Tromp, whom they de-
" fcried near Harwich ; but, in fpite of all their efforts, he re-
" treated with very little lofs, to the Texel. He was of the Orange
" faftion, and fuppofed to have deferted De Ruyter from motives
' of animofity. Thr; admiral having complained of his conduct,
" he was put under arreft, and his commiffion beftowed upon
xxx N O T E S s
' another officer. The duke of Albemarle detached Holmes^
'* with a fquadron, to infult the coaft of Holland. In the road
" of Vlye he burned a great number of veflels, and two fhips
, " of war appointed for their convoy : then he made a defcent
" upon the ifland of Schelling, and reduced the town of Bran-
" daris to afties. After this expedition, the Englifli fleet took
" their flat ion near the Ifle of Wight, to hinder the junftion of
" the French and Dutch fquadrons, while De Ruyter anchored in
" the road of St. John, near Boulogne. There he was r<:ken
" dangeroufly ill of a contagious difternper, which had made ter-
" rible havock among the feamen ; and the dates thought pro-
' per to recal him to Holland. The duke of Beaufort, thinking
" they were ftfll in the neighbourhoed of Boulogne, failed up the
" channel as far as Dieppe, and then directed his courfe to the
coaft of Britanny, without fuffering the leaft moleftation from
" the Englifli."
Old expert Allen, &c.
Sir Thomas Allen was admiral of the white.
Holmes the Achates of the, Sec.
Sir Robert Holmes wns rear-admiral of the white, called the
Achates from his eagernefs to fupport the general. Achates was
the faithful companion of ^Eneas. For an illuftration of the two
laft lines of this ftanza, fee our notes to the Satire on the Dutch.
With him iuent Spragge, &c.
Sir Edward Spragge ferved under Sir Jeremiah Smith, who car-
ried the blue flag : he was drowned pafling from one fhip to
another, in a fight with VanTromp, on the eleventh of Auguft,
1672, bearing the character of a gallant officer, and an accom-
pliihed gentleman.
Hat-man, who did the tixlce-jir^d, &C.
Thefe two lines cannot be more properly explained, than by
the following extract from the London Gazette of the fourth of
June, 1666.
" Alborough, June a. This day is come in hither the Henry,
" Captain Harman, commander, who parted from the fleer,
*' much difabled, at nine o'clock laft night, having had the luck it
" feems to have a great part of the Dutch fleet upon her fmgly,
4 ' which file fupported bravely, and forced her way quite thro
" them, tho not without much damage, which the enemy rinding,
" endeavored to clap a firelhip upon her, but Ihe nimbly ilruck
NOTES.
*' him oi?; after which comes up one of their admirals, and faf-
' tened a fecond firefhip, with which fhe grappled long, but at
" laft took fire in one of her quarters, which yet (he happily
" quenched. After this a third fi-efhip was laid on her, which
" difabled as fhe was, (he fo mauled with her chace-pieces, that
" me cut fnort her main-yard, and fo efcaped him. She had ic-
" veralof her men killed and wounded ; amongft thci'-j latter is
" the captain himfelf, but it is hoped without danger. The
." fleet is in a very good condition, not one of our vellels having
" been taken."
Stanza I '' 5 .
Capt. Hollis, of the Antelope flu'p of war, loft a hand in this
memorable fight : to his writings I confefs myfelf a rtranger. I
believe it is the fame perfon who commanded the Cambridge un-
der the name of Sir Fretchville Holiis, in 1672, when he was
killed in another fea-fight with the Dutch.
Neptune
Jf'iih his trident foo^'d them off" the f and,
Lcvat ipfe tridenti, et vaftas aperit fyrtes.
And feeming to be ftronger makes themfo.
PoITunt, quia pofie videntur.
As Varro timely fying once, &c.
Terentius Varro being defeated by Hannibal at Cannrr, wrote
to the fenate that he did not however defpair of the republic ; in
confequence of which the fenate voted him thanks. " Quia.
" de republicanon defperaffet." See the 23d book of Liiy.
the Belgians did retire
Before the patron faint of injured Spain.
This victory was completed on the twenty-fifth day of July,
a day facred to St. James the great, patron of Spain, which na-
tion our author calls injured, inafmuch the Hollanders had re-
belled againft King Philip II. being aided by Queen Elizabeth :
and the next (tanza refers to this tranfaftion, for which the poet
fuppofes us now to have atoned. The monarchy mentioned in
the iggth ftanza is Spain, with which Queen Elizabeth had been,
long at variance, when, in our author's opinion, we overlooked
the growing power of France and Holland, which merited much
more our attention.
xxxu
NOTES.
Stanza 204, &C.
This and the five following ftanzas celebrate Sir Robert Holmes*"
having burned the Dutch rieet at Uly, as related in our note pn
ftanza 167.
Stanza 209.
The reft of this poem defcribes the fire of London, and com-
memorates the noble behavior of the king and his brother, during
the time of the conflagration.
than didft expire
Great as the world, which at the death of time,
Mitft fall, and rife a nobler frame ly fire.
..-In fatis reminifcitur, affore tempus
Quo mare, quo tellus, correptaq; regia cceli
Ardeat, &c. Ovid. Metamor.
the fire-
/mouldering as it
To fmoulder, fignifies to burn without vent.
....... no longer letted of Us prey.
To lett, is an old Englifh word ufed in the place of, to hinder.
Thus Hamlet, when with-held by his friends from following his
father's ghoft, cries out,
" Away, I fay' -unhand me, gentlemen
" By heaven I'll make a ghoft of him that lefts me."
Shakefpear.
__ firf -
Lighted d all the river with a bla^.e.
- Sigcca igni freta lata rclucent.
Virg. ^En. Lib. II.
-- Thames --
-- feared the fate of Simris.
Simois, a river running by Troy, which in the conflagration
of that unfortunate city, may be iuppcfed to have been affefted
bv the tire.
n
fc
N O f E Si jcxxiu
But freight like Turks forced on, &c*
The Turks are not only predeftinarians, but they alfo believe
that every man, who dies fighting againft unbelievers, for fo they
call all who differ from them in religion, goes directly to Para-
tiife. Thefe tenets often encourage thole to fight who have no
great ftomachs to it; andj in this fenfe, they may be faid to b
forced on.
The fugitive f.cmts chaftis*d, went forth to pry
On pious Jtruifures by our fathers rear'dy
By itfbich to heaven they did ajfeci the way.
Ere faith in churchmen without works --was heard.
This pafTage is a farcafm upon thofe who reduce all principles
of religion to the fingle article of faith, which, according to fume,
is fufficient for falvation, exclufive of every other tenet*
Nor could thy fabrif, Paul's^ defend thte long.
Mr. Waller addrefles a poem to King Charles I. upon that
monarch's repairing the old cathedral of St. Paul's. Sir John
Denham has beftowed fdme verfes on the fame fubjeft, in the be-
ginning of his Cooper's Hill.
The fathtr of the people opened wide
His fares, and all the poor with plenty fed*
The poor people that were burned out, built huts and flieds of
boards for Ihelter in Moorfields, and other outlets of the city ;
and the king was often feen among them, enquiring into their
wants, and doing every thing in his power to comfort them. He
moreover ordered the juftices of the peace to fee them fupplied
with food, and to be careful of preventing foreftallers from taking
advantage of their diftrefles ; befides whidh he commanded, that
the bifcuits, and other provifions, laid up in the Tower for the
ufe of his army and navy, fhould be carried out and diftributed
among them. Enjoying fuch benefits from his royal prefence,
we are not to wonder at the citizens begging him not to leave
them, when it was fuppofed he was going into the country*
Vidtftanza 288.
Not "Mtb more conflancy y tht Jew; of eld
By Cyrus, from rewarded exile fent \
Their royal city did in dufl behold,
Or with mere 'vigor to rebuild it <werit*
Cyrus the Great, king of Perfia, having taken Sabylon, by
turning the courfc of the river Euphrates, laid the foundation ef
Voi.. I- c
XXXIV
N O T E S.
the Perfian monarchy, and fet the Jews at liberty after a captivity
of leventy years. On their return home, they let about rebuild-
ing the city and temple of Jerufalem.
Kciv frequent trixes the happier lights among.
The word trine is applied to a triangular conjunction of planets,
in which they are fuppofed, by aftrolegers, to be eminently be-
nign : and fuch an afpedt, our author prophecies, mall fucceed to
the ill ftars that have lately prefided over us.
Methinks already from this, Sec.
* London foon rofe more beautiful from its alhes. The king-,
f by a ftretch of the prerogative power, regulated the plans of
the new ftreets, fo as to render them more fpacious and conve-
' nient than thofe which had been burned ; and he prohibited
' the ufe of lath and timber, as materials for the conftruction of
*' the houfes. The narrownefs. of the ftreets had not only fub-
jected them to cafualties of this nature, but alfo prevented st
free circulation of air, which, being impregnated with animal
vapours, was apt to putrify, and produce infectious diftempers,
infomuch that London was fcarce ever free from a contagion ;
whereas, no fuch cliftemper has appeared fince the city was re-
built.
" 'The fire of London was faid to be the effect of malicious de-
" fign, and variously imputed to the Roman catholics and the
*' republicans, as the ft ream of prejudice happened to run ; tho*
" it does not appear how fuch a fcheme could contribute to the
" intereft of either party. The populace generally exclaimed '
" againft the catholics as the authors of this conflagration. The
*' parliament appointed a committee to make a fevere fcrutiny on
' this fubjcdt, but nothing appeared to the prejudice of the Pa-
' pifts ; yet the mifchief is charged upon them, in the infcriptiort
* ' engraved on the pillar that was erected as a monument of this
-' calamity." Smollett's Hifl. of England.
Which Mr. Pope fays,
" Like a tall bully lifts its head, and lie*.'*
" the Cape CKCC doubled, fear no nitre :
A conjlant trade-wind will Jtcitrely blow.
Sailors generally imagine themfelves out of danger on an EaAV-
'India voyage, when they double the Cape of Good -Hope, becaufe
"thR they get into the trade-winds, or monfoons, that always
blow in a certain direction.
NOTES.
Before we difmifs the notes upon this poem, we muft obferve,
that we have found it inferior to all Dryden's fubfequent works :
his images are, in many places, low, even to burlefque. For ex-
ample, Can any thing be meaner than his introducing God putting
out the fire of London with an extinguifher ? or, his defcription.
of the mips repairing in port ? Nay, in his fimilies there are
fome good fpecimens of the bathos ; yet his poetical genius,
every now and then, breaks out with fuch force, as to pay us with
intereft for our foregoing toil. The courfe of bis bunted hare, flanza
131, 132, makes ample amends for the murthering cannon that
fyeak thick like angry men ; and his eagle in her fight ', flanza 107,
covers a multitude of imperfections.
An Effay en Satire.
THIS piece was written in 1679, anc ^ handed about in ma-
nufcript fome time before it made its appearance in print.
It is fuppofed to have occafioned the beating Mr. Dryden re-
ceived in Rofe-ftreet, Covent-Garden, of which we have taken
notice in his life. The earl of Mulgrave's name has been always
joined with Dryden's, as concerned in the compofition; and that
nobleman fomewhere takes notice, that Dryden
Was praifd and beaten for Mother's rhymes.
It is not improbable, that Rochefter*s character was drawn by
his lordfhip, who held him in high contempt, after his behaving in
a very daftardly manner when he challenged him. How, indeed,
Lord Mulgrave came to fubfcribe to fo difagreeable a picture of
himfelf, is hard to divine.
'
Morals to drmftrong or dull A Jl on teach?
Sir Thomas Armftrong had been knighted by King Charles II.
for fome fervices received from him during the proteftorfhip, he
having been fent over to his majefty, when in Holland, with a fum.
of money, raifed among fome of his faithful fubje&s, for his
royal ufe. He afterwards bore a lieutenant-colonel's cbmmiflion
in the firft troop of horfe-guards, and was appointed gentleman
of horfe to the king. Being a man of a loofe immoral character ;
and of no fixed principles, either in religion or politics, he
joined in the Ryehoufe-Plot, and then efcaped into Holland. Five
hundred pounds were offered as a reward for taking him. Lewis
C 2
NOTES.
XIV. out of compliment to King Charles, offered five hundred
pounds to any one who fhould fecure him in the dominions of
France. He was at length feized at Leyden, brought over to
England, and condemned to die by Judge Jcfferies, who treated
him in a very unbecoming manner.
Bifhop Burnet obferves,, that he died with great meeknefs and
refignation, exprefiing a hearty repentance for his paft profligate
life. King Charles, about the time of Sir Thomas's execution,
told feveral people, that he had been lately aflured Sir Thomas
had been fuborned by Cromwell, to take away his life when he
waited on him in Holland, but he found no opportunity of per-
petrating his crime ; for failing in which, the Protector imprifoned
him on his return home. Tho this ftory came from a royal
mouth, few people believed it ; yet it is certain, that Cromwell
kept him a year in prifon.
He was hanged at Tyburn on the twentieth of June, 1684:
his head was fixed upon Weftminfter-Hall, between thofe of
Cromwell and Bradfhaw, and his quarters upon Temple-Bar,
Aldgate, Alderfgate, and the town-wall of Stafford. It is faid
he was a native of Nimeguen, a city of Guelderland, and would
have claimed from the fiates-general the protection of a native,
if he had not been carried away as foon as he was arrefted.
I find in Wood's Fafti, mention made of one James Afton, a
divine, of whom no more is faid than that he was a zealous loy-
aliit, and about this time well beneficed. It is not unlikely,
that it is the fame perfbn whom we find here celebrated fordull-
nefs ; for, had he excelled in any thing elfe, Wood would not
have failed to remark it.
Who <u>culd not be as Jllly as Dunlar,
As dull as Monmoutk rather than Sir Ca r r.
There was a Lord Vifcount Dunbar, and a colonel' of the
fame name, about this time at court ; but to which to apply this
character I cannot tell, as I never met with any of their private
hiftory.
Monmouth is faid to have been brave, foft, gentle, and fin-
cere, open to thegrofleft adulation, and rtrongly addicted to his
pleasures : he was, upon the whole, a man of very weak parts,
graceful in his perlbn, and of air endearing placid deportment.
See our notes upon Akfalom and AMtophel.
Sir Carr Scrope is the third perfon in this verfe : he was the
fon of Sir Adrian Scrope, a Lincolnshire knight, and bred at
Oxford, where he took a matter's degree in 1664; and in 1666
fee was created a baronet. He was intimate with, the molt ceic-
i
N O T B $#
brated genuifes of King Charles's court, had a very pretty turn
for poetry, and was certainly fomething more than a half-wit.
His tranflation of Sappho to Pliaon, among the epiftles of Ovid,
is in fome eftimation ; and many loofe fatires, handed about in
manufcript, were fet down to his account. He is mentioned thus
in the firft vol. of State Poems, p. zoo,
" Sir Carr, that knight of wither'd face,
' Who, for reverfion of a poet's place,
" Waits on Melpomene, and fooths her grace.
' That angry mifs alone he ftrives to pleafe,
' For fear the reft mould teach him wit and eafc r
And make him quit his lov'd laborious walks,
" When fad or filent o'er the room he ftalks
" And ftrives to write as wifely as he talks."
And again, in the third vol. part I. p. 148,
. no man can compare
" For carriage, youth, and beauty, with Sir Carr,'*
He died at his houfe in St. MartinVfields, Weftmiufter, in the
latter end of the year 1680.
Nor Jhall the royal mijlrejfes IK nam'd,
About the time of the writing this poem, the king, if we
may rely upon Bifhop Burnet's authority, divided all his fpate
time between the Dutchefsof Portfmouth and Nell Gwin.
Ernely and Ailejbury t ivitb all that racf
Of bitjy blockheads, Jball haw here no place t
At council jet as foils on Danly's fcore.
Sir John Ernely was bred to the law : he was chancellor of the
exchequer in the year 1686, and made one of the lords commif-
(ioners of the treafury, in the room of the lord-treafurer Hyde,
Earl of Rochefter.
Robert, the firft Earl of Ailefbury, was the fon of Thomas
Bruce, Earl of Elgin in Scotland, and created by King Charles
Lord Bruce in England. In 1685 he fucceeded the Earl of Ar-
lington as lord-chamberlain of the king's houihold, and died a
few months afterwards. Wood gives him the character of a man
of learning, a benefaftor to the clergy, a great antiquarian, and
&ys he was well (killed in the hiftory of his own country.
c \
*
iiorn tub xijiw s^milni <W -U ,3:->;owJ K tem~\j ** ad
fc O T E S.
Thomas, Earl of Danby, anceftor to the prefent Duke of
Leeds, came out of Yorkfhire, and was very zealous in forward-
ing the reftoration ; for which fpccial fervice he was made trea-
furer of the navy, then a privy-counfellor, and in 1673, lord
high-treafurer of England. He enjoyed a great (hare of the
royal favor, which, perhaps, promoted his being impeached by
the commons for monopoly and mifmanagement : he was par-
doned by the king, which occafioned much difcontent ; was zea-
lous in procuring a match between the Prince of Orange and
Lady Mary, afterwards King and Queen of England; a principal
adlorinthe revolution, and chairman of that committee of the
whole houfe, which, on King James's flight, voted an abdica-
tion, and advanced William to the throne ; wherefore he was
made prefident of the council ; and raifed to the dignity of Mar-
quis of Carmarthen and Duke of Leeds, about three years af-
terwards. He died in the year 1712, aged eighty-one.
Firft let's lekold the merrieft man alive.
This character is fo ftrongly and fo juftly marked, that it is
impoflible to miftake its being intended for Anthony Afhley
Cooper, Earl of Shaftefbury : " A man of little fteadinefs, but
" fuch uncommon talents, that he acquired great weight with
" every party he efpoufed : he was turbulent, reftlefs, ambi-
" tious, fubtle, and enterprifing: he had conquered all fenfe of
" fhame, was reftrained by no fears, and influenced by no prin-
" ciples." Smollett's Hij}.
In the firft vol. of the State Poems, p. 140, he is mentioned
thus :
" A little bobtail'd lord, urchin of (late,
" A praife-god-bare-bone peer, whom all men hate ;
*' Amphibious animal half fool, half knave."
as Nokes and Lee.
Thefe were two celebrated comedians in Charles the lid's
reign.
So Cat transformed, &C.
Alluding to the fable of a cat's being turned into a woman, at
the interceflion of a young man that loved it ; but forgetting
herfelf Jhe ran after a moufe, and was reduced to her priftine
ihape.
NOTE S.
Tbt new tar I v;ith parts dejir-ving praife,
And ivit enough to laugh at hn own ways,
Yet lofet all, &c.
This character was well known to be drawn for Arthur Earl of
Eflex, fon to the Lord Capel, who was put to death by the regi-
cides ; but wherefore he (hould be called the nciv earl, I cannot
fee, fince we find in Collins's Peerage, that he was created Earl
of Eflex in the year 1661, eighteen years before the publication
of this piece. He was very fond of the lieutenancy of Ireland,
which he had held from July 1672,10 1677 ; and though the
Duke of Ormond was much fitter for that important poft, a
being better acquainted with the genius and polity of the na-
tion, and more agreeable to the people ; yet he did every thing
m his power to undermine that nobleman, with a view of again
obtaining his government. He afterwards oppofed the court,
piqued perhaps becaufe he was not gratified in all his defires, and
perhaps from the republican principles, which he feemed to che-
rifh, tho fo different from thofe of his unfortunate father.
- He was taken into cuftody and committed to the Tower, for
being concerned in the Ryehoufe-Plot ; and he was found in his
apartment there, with his throat cut from ear to ear, on the very
morning of Lord Ruflell's execution.
Lord Eflex was a man of indifferent abilities, but what the
world calls cunning; his education had been neglected in the
civil wars, but he had a fmattering of Latin, knew fomethingof
mathematics, and had a little knowledge of the law ; he afpired
at being fomething greater than either nature or education had
fitted him for, and his difappointment perhaps gave him an at-
trabilarious fournefs, that ended in fuicide, for which he was a
profeffed advocate.
-for- flly Tropo? fake.
Sir William Scroggs is meant by Tropos. He was lord chief
juftice of the King's Bench, and a violent profecutor of the per^
ions fuppofed to be concerned in the Popifli plot : but when he
found that Shaftesbury had, in reality, no intereft at court, he
quitted that party, and acted as much as poflibly he could againft
it. This occafioned an accufation to be preferred againft him by
Dates and Bedloe, but it was never fupported, his weight not be-
ing thought worth removing. He was refolute and penetrating,
had a good deal of wit, and fpoke fluently and boldly ; but he
eften over-reached himfelf by being warm. He feems not t
*! NOTES.
have been a man of rmvrh eftimation ; and Roger North, in his
Examen, fays, his courfe of life was fcandalous.
Thus Dorfet purring like t &C.
Charles Earl of Dorfet, about this time forty years of age, was
one of the beft bred men of his time. He was a lord of the
bed-chamber, andfent feveral times with compliments, or on Ihort
embaflies, to France, for the king could not bear to be long
without him : he was a moft munificent patron ; learning and
genius were fureof his protection; and when our author was de-
prived of the bayes, he allowed him the laureat's annual ftipend,
out of his own private purfe. Arthur Manwaring, Mr. Prior,
and many other men of abilities, owed to him their being ad-
vanced and provided for. Nor was he lefs brave than polite and
learned ; for he attended the Duke of York as a volunteer in the
firft Dutch war; and by his coolnefs, courage and conduct (hewed,
himfelf a worthy reprefentative of his many illuftrious anceftors.
The night before the famous battle, in which the Dutch admiral
Qpdam was blown up, he made a celebrated fong, with th$
greateft compofure, beginning,
Yo you fair ladies nonu at land t
We men at fea indite t &c.
No man had more eafe or good-humor ; his converfation wai
refined and fprightly : he had ftudied books and men deeply, and
to good purpofe : he was an excellent critic, and good poet,
with a ftrong turn to fatire, for which he is thus highly compli-
jnented in the State Poems, vol. I. p. 200.
" Dorfet writes fatire too, and writes fo weft,
' O great Apollo ! let him ftill rebel.
" Pardon a mufe which does, like his, excel,
" Pardon a mufe which does, with art, fupport
" Some drowfy wit in our unthinking court."
He wrote with feverity, but that feverity was always juflly
pointed ; and Lord Rochefter calls him,
" The befl good man, with the worft-natur'd mufe."
His firft wife the Countefs-Dowager of Falmouth, had proved;
* barren wife. Of her having been a teeming <wido-i>j I am igno-
rant. His fecond wife, whom he married in 1685, was daughter
\o the Earl of Northampton, and mother to the prefent Duke of
NOTES. xB
Dorfet. He was principally concerned in bringing about the
revolution ; was lord-chamberlain to King William and Queerv
Mary ; chofen a knight of the garter in 1691, and feveral times
appointed one of the regents, when the affairs of Europe de-
manded the abfence of the king. He died at Bath in 1706, aged
fixty-nine, lamented by every clafs of people, and the moft op-r
pofite parties. Mr. Pope gives him thefe lines :
" Dorfet, the grace of courts, the mufe's pride,
Patron of arts, and judge of nature, dy'd."
Dull as Ned Howard, e wbom bis brifcer
Had fanid for dullnefs in malicious rhymes.
Edward Howard, Efq; a gentleman of the Berkshire family,
eonfequently related to Sir Robert Howard. He wrote four plays,
called, i ft. The Man of Newmarket, a comedy, zd. Six Days
Adventure; or, The New Utopia, a comedy. 3d. TheUfurper,
a tragedy. 4th. Women's Conqueft, a tragi-comedy : but none
of them fucceeded on the ftage, nor procured him any reputa-
tion. He alfo published an Epic poem, called The Britifh Princes,
for which he was feverely ridiculed by all the wits of his age :
Lord Rochefter, Lord Dorfet, Mr. Waller, the Duke of Buck-
ingham, Dr. Spratt, Lord Vaughan, publiflied lampoons upon
it, moft of them printed in the fix volumes of Mifcellanics pur>r
lifhed by Dryden.
Mulgrarvt bad much ado to '/cafe the fnare,
We mall fpeak of Lord Mulgrave elfewhere.
jlnd little Sid. for finale renown' d,
Pleafure has always fought but never found,
This Sidney, brother of Algernoon Sidney and the Earl of
Leicefter, was rather a man of pleafure than of bufinefs ; his
talents were great, but his indolence was greater ; his appear-
ance was graceful ; he was a favorite with the ladies, had a turn
for intrigue, and was of a difpofition exa&ly fitted to Charles's
court, eafy, affable, and infinuating ; free from any guile, and
a friend to mankind. In 1679 he went envoy to the Hague,
where he contracted an intimacy with the Prince of Orange,
whofe friends he heartily affifted in raifing him to the throne,
being himfelf a mefienger from England to Holland upon that
very bufinefs in 1688. He was raifed to the dignity of Lord
Sidney, and Earl of Rumney, in 1688 ; declared fecretary of
ftate, matter of the ordnance, and lord-lie utcnaat of Ireland in
xlS N O T IT S,
1689 ; and was removed from the latter poft in 1693, it being
thought that he held the reins of power with too flack a hand.
Till be lake Hewit and Jack Hall for wits.
Sir George Hewit, a man of quality, famous for gallantry, and
often named in the State Poems. Sir George Etherege intended
for him the celebrated character of Sir Fopling Flutter.
" Scarce will there greater grief pierce every heart,
" Should Sir George Hewit, or Sir Carr, depart.
Had it not better been, than thus to roam,
' To flay and tie the cravat-ftring at home ;
To lirut, look big, make Pantaloon, and fwear,
' With Hewit, dammee, there's no aftion there."
State Poems, Vol. 1. L I c c.
j j
The above lines are addrefled by Rochefter to Lord Mulgrave,
when bound for Tangier.
Jack Hall, a courtier, whom I take to be the fame with Uzz-a
in the fecond part of Abfalomand Achitophel, is thus mentioned
in the State Poems, vol. II. p. 135.
" Jack Hall left town,
' But firft writ fomething he dare own>
*' Of prologue lawfully begotten,
' And full nine months maturely thought on :
' Born with hard labor, and much pain,
" Oufely was Dr. Chamberlain.
" At length from ftuff and rubbifti pick'd,
As bear's cubs into fhape arelick'd,
When Wharton, Etherege, and Soame,
To give it their laft ftrokes were come,
Thole critics differ'd in their doom.
Yet Swan fays, he admir'd it 'fcap'd,
Since 'twas Jack Hall's, without being clapp'd.
Swan was a notorious punfter.
Rochefter I defpife, &:C.
Wilmot, Earl of Rochefter, was naturally modeft, till the court
corrupted him. His wit had in it a brightnefs, to which few
could ever arrive. He gave himfelf up to all forts of extrava-
<rance, and to the wildeft fioHcs that a wanton wit could devife.
He went about the itreets as a beggar; made love as a porter;
let up aftage as an Italian mountebank} was, for fome years, at-
NOTES. xliil
tvays drunk, ever doing mifchief. The king loved his company
for the diverfion it afforded, better than his perfon ; and there
was no love loft between them. He took his revenges in many
libels : he found out a footman that knew all the court, whom
he furnilhed with a red coat and a mufket, as a centinel, and kept
him all the winter long every night, at the doors of fuch ladies as
he fufpefted of intrigues. In the court a centinel is little minded,
and is believed to be ported by a captain of the guards to hinder
a combat ; fo this man faw who walked about, and vifited at for-
bidden hours. By this means Lord Rochefter made many difco-
veries ; and when he was well furnifhed with materials, he ufed
to retire into the country for a month or two to write libels.
Once, being drunk, he intended to give the king a libel that
he had wrote on fome ladies ; but, by a miftake, he gave him one
written on himfelf, which brought him for that time into dif-
grace. He fell into an ill habit of body, and in fcveral fits of
ficknefs he had deep remorfes, for he was guilty of much impiety,
and of great immoralities ; but as he recovered he threw thefe off,
and returned again to his former ill courfes.
This is the account given of Lord Rochefter by Bifhop Burnet,
who attended him in his illnefs ; and who fays, he is fure he
would have continued to live a regular religious life, in cafe he
had furvived.
He had ferved as a volunteer in the Dutch war, and behaved
with fuch undaunted refolution, that it can fcarcely be reconciled
to his daftardly conduct afterwards in private life ; for it is certain,
that he was not only capable of fatirizing in the fevereft manner,
but of fuftainingthe due reward of his abufe without refentment;
fo that he is faid to have
His own kickings notably contrived.
And we can only reconcile thefe contradictions in conduct, by
remembering his uninterrupted courfe of riot and debauchery,
which had enervated all mental as well as corporeal faculties, and
eradicated every virtue j befides, it is a juft obfervation, that no
two things can be more oppofite, than one and the fame man at
different times. He envied Dryden's great fuccefs, while he ac-
knowledged his fuperior abilities, and fupported Crown againft
him, whom he forfook, and oppofed with equal virulence, when
his Conqueft of Jerufalem procured him fome reputation. This
is one reafon for his being introduced here, in a light fo very un-
yleafing, tho not untrue ; for the picture refembles him in every
thing but want of wit, which is a mifreprefentation. As he was
xlir N O T E a
one of the lewdeft writers of his time, feveral collections of ol>
fcene poems, many of which he never faw, have been publifhed
under his name.
He was looked upon to be mafter of fo much infinuation, that
no woman was feen talking to him three times, without lofmg her
reputation ; and if he did not make himfelf mafter of her per-
fon, he fcrupled not fcandalizing her to the world, Indeed, in
his latter days it was only talk ; for his debaucheries had difabled
him from action, and his inability was univerfally known.
A very Killigre-iiu without good nature,
Thomas Killigrew, of whom we hear daily fo many pleafant
ftories related, had good natural parts, but no regular education.
He was brother to Sir William Killigrew, vice-chamberlain to
King Charles the lid's queen ; had been fome time page of ho-
nor to King Charles I. and was, after the reftoration, many years
mafter of the revels, and groom of the chamber to King Charles
II. in whofe exile he (hared, being his refident at Venice in 1651,
During his travels abroad he wrote feveral plays, none of which
are much talked of. His itch of writing, and his charafler as a
wit and companion, occafioned this diftich from Sir John Den-
ham :
" Had*Cowley ne'er fpoke, Killigrew ne'er writ,
" Combin'd in one they'd made a matchlefs wit."
The fame knight wrote a ballad on him.
Killigrew was a moft facetious companion ; his wit was lively
and fpirited ; and he had a manner of faying the bittereft things,
without provoking refentment ; he tickled you while he made
you fmart, and you overlooked the pain, charmed by the plea-
fure. He died at Whitehall in March 1682, aged feventy-one,
bewailed by his friends, and truly wept for by the poor.
For ^what a EeJJus has he always
Befius is a remarkable cowardly character in Beaumont an4
Fletcher.
AB SALOM
NOTES. xl*
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL.
A POEM, publijhed 1681.
The Ocf a/ton of it explained*
THE Earl of Shaftefbury Teemed bent upon the ruin of tht
Duke of York. It was moftly thro his influence in both
houfes, that thofe infamous witnefles, Gates, Tongue, Bedloe,
&c. were fo ftrenuoufly encouraged, and the Popiih plot, if not
fchemed by him, was at leaft by him cherimed and fupported. He
had been heard to fay with fome exultation, / ivcn't pretend to
pronounce ixhc ftarted the game, but I am fare 1 have had the full
bunting. Ar this day that plot appears, to impartial and difcern-
ing eyes, to have been a forgery contrived to inflame the minds
of the people againft Popery, a religion now profefled by the
duke, that the bill for excluding him from the throne, might meet
Tvith more countenance and greater certainty of fuccefs ; and it
went very near having the defired effeft.
The indifcreet zeal, and imprudent conduft of the Roman Ca-
tholics, for fome time paft, had given too much room for fufpi-
<ion ; they having often ppenly, and in defiance of the eftabliftied
laws of the kingdom, fhewn a thorough contempt for the efta-
blimed religion of their country, propagated as much aspoflible
their own tenets, loudly triumphed in their progrefs, and daily
acquifition of profelytes among all ranks of people, without the
leaft fecrecy or caution. Hence was the nation ripe for alarm ;
When given, it fpread like wild fire; and the Duke of York, as
head of the party at which it was aimed, was obliged to withdraw
to Bruflels to avoid the impending ftorm.
The king being fome time after taken ill, produced his high -
nefs's fudden return, before his enemies and thofe in the oppor
fition to the court-meafures, could provide for his reception ; fo
that their fchemes were thus for a while difconcerted. Leaft his
prefence might revive commotion, he returned again to BiufTeis,
and was then permitted (previously) to retire to Scotland, hav-
ing received the ftrongeft affurances of his brother's arTecVion and
irefolution to fecure him and his heirs the fucceflion. He had
before this the fatisfaftion of feeing the turbulent Earl of Shaftes-
bury removed from his feat and precedence in the privy-council,
as Well as all lharc in the miniftry - t and now prevailed to have the
xhi NOTES.
Duke of Monmouth difmifled from all his ports, and fent into
Holland.
Shaftefbury's views were to lift Monmouth to the throne, whofe
weaknefles he knew he could fo effectually manage, as to have the
reins of government in that cafe in his own hands. Monmouth
was the eldeft of the king's fons, by whom he was tenderly be-
loved. His mother was one Mrs. Lucy Walters, otherwife Bar-
low, a Pembrokeshire woman, who bore him at Rotterdam in
3649, and between whom and his majefty it was artfully re-
ported, there had paffed a contract of marriage. This report
was narrowly examined into, and proved falfe, to the full fatisfac-
tion of the privy-council, and of the people in general, tho
Shaftefbury did all in his power to fupport andeftablifh a belief of
its reality. (The youth was educated at Paris under the queeri-
inother, and brought over to England in 1662: foon after which
time he was created Duke of Orkney in Scotland, and Monmouth
in England, or rather Wales ; chofen a knight of the garter ;
appointed matter of horfe to his majefty, general of the land-
forces, colonel of the life-guard of horfe, lord-lieutenant of the
eaft-riding of Yorkmire, governor of Kingfton-upon-Hull, chief
juftice in eyre on the fouth of the river Trent ; lord-chamber-
lain of Scotland, and Duke of Buccleugh, in right of his wife,
who was daughter and heirefs to a noble and wealthy earl, bearing
that name jjbut he loft all thofe places of honour and fortune,
together with his royal father's favour, by the infinuation and art
of Shaftelbury, who poifoned him with illegal and ambitions no-
tions, that ended in his deftruclion.
The partizans of this earl, and other malecontents, had long
pointed out his grace as a proper fucceflbr to the crown, inftead
of the Duke of York, in cafe of the king's demife; and he be-
gan to believe that he had a real right to be fo. At the inftiga-
tion of his old friend Shaftefbury, he returned to England with-
out his father's confent, who would not fee him; and, inftead
of obeying the royal mandate to retire again, he and Shaftefbury
jointly made a pompous parade thro feveral counties in the Weft
and North of England, fcattcring the feeds of difcord and dif-
affection ; fo that their defigns feemsd to he levelled againft the
government, and a tcmpeft was gathering at a diftance, not un-
like that which fwept the royal martyr from his throne and life.
Many people, who would not otherwife have taken part with the
court, fliuddering when they looked back upon the fcenes of
anarchy and confufion, that had followed that melancholy cata-
ilrophe, in order to prevent the return of a fimilar ftorm,
attached themfelves to the king and the Duke of York ; an,d the
latter returned to court, where he kept hii ground.
NOTES. xlrH
The kingdom was now in a high fermentation ; the murmurs
of each party broke out into altercation, and declamatory abufe.
E\ery day produced new libels and difloyal pamphlets. To an-
fwer and expofe them, their partizans and abettors, fcveral au-
thors were retained by authority, Dut none came up to the pur-
pofe fo well as Sir Roger L'cftrange, in the Obfervator ; and the
poet laureat, in the poem under infpe&ion, the elegance and fe-
verity of which raifed his character prodigioufly, and fhewed the
proceedings of Shaftefbury and his followers in a moft fevere
light. Thefe writings, according to Echard, in a great mea-
fure ftemmed the tide of a popular current, that might have
otherwife immerfed the nation in ruin. His grace the Duke of
Monmouth, afterwards engaged in the Ryehoufe-Plot, and a re-
ward was offered for the taking him, both by his father and Lewis
XIV. whether in England or France. He obtained his pardon,
both of the king and duke, by two very fubmiffive, nay abject,
letters ; and being admitted to the royal prefence, feemed ex-
tremely forry for his paft offences, confeffed his having engaged
in a defign for feizing the king's guards, and changing the govern-
ment, but denied having any knowledge of a fcheme for aflafii-
oating either his father or uncle, which it feems was fet on foot by
ih" interior miniflers of this confpiracy.
Prefuming, however, upon the king's paternal affe&ion, he
foon recanted his confeflion, and conforted with his old follow-
ers ; fo that the king forbid him the court, and he retired to Hol-
land, from whence he returned in 1685, raifed a rebellion againft
his uncle then on the throne, caufed himfelf to be proclaimed
king, and being defeated and taken prifoner, was beheaded on
Tower-Hill in his thirty-fixth year.
.
To the Reader.
For wit and fool are confequtnts of Whig and Tory.
It was now that the party-diiHn&ions of Whig and Tory were
firlt adopted ; the courtiers were deridingly compared to the Irilh
banditti, who were called Tories; and they likened their oppo-
nents to Whigs, a denomination of reproach, formerly given the
Scotch covenanters, who were fuppofed to live on a poor kind of
buttermilk fo called. Thefe names ftill diftinguifli contending
parties in England, tho ftrangely varied from their original ap-
plication.
1 ABSALOM
xiviii NOTES*
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL. Parti,
THIS poem is faid to be one 6f the moft perfect allegorical
pieces that our language ever produced. It is carried on
thro the v/hole with equal ftrength and propriety. The veil is
no where laid afide. There is ajurt fimilarity in the characters,
which are exactly pourtrayed ; the lineaments are well copied j
the colouring is lively ; the groupings fhew the hand of a matter,
and may ferve to convince us, that Mr. Dryden knew his own
power, when he aflerted, that he found it eafier to write feverely
than gently. Many editions of this poem were fold in a very
fhort time : the name of the author was, for fome time, a fecret*
and the real merits of it were allowed, even by the enemies of
the caufe it was meant to afiift. Dr. William Coward, a phyfi-
ciari of Merton college, Oxford, publifhed a Latin tranflation of
it in 1682 ; as did alfo the celebrated Dr. Francis Atterbury, af-
terwards bifhop of Rochefter. A piece of fuch reputation and
fervice to a particular party, Could not appear without much cen-
fure, and many anfwers; among the moll remarkable of which
we may reckon Azariah and Huftiai ; and Abfalom fenior, or
Achitophel tranfprofed ; a poem, dedicated to the Tories, as this
was to the Whigs. Here the fatire is transferred to the Duke of
York ; and from the four following lines in the fecond part
of Abfalom and Achitophel, v/e are to fuppofe, that Elkanah
Settle was the author of it, to whom alfo the othex piece is
attributed,
Injllr.fl be follows, and no farther knows,
For to tut ite <veift 'with him is to tr an fprofe.
'Twert petty treafon at bis doer to lay,
Who makei heaven's lock a door to its own key*
Wood tells us, that the Duke of Buckingham printed a loofe
fheet of paper foon after the publication of this poem, intirled,
Reflections upon it, which contain nothing material* and were
fold very dear. The application of the ftory of Abfalom to this
part of King Charles the lid's reign, was firft made by a cler-
gyman in the pulpit, and his fermon was printed with the title
of Abfalom and Achitophel.
NOTES.
Jhefe Adam-wits, &c.
Perfons difcontenred in happy circumftances are not unluckily
called Adam-witSj from a remembrance of Adam's weaknefs in
Paradii'e, who, aiming at being happier than the happieft, by
perfuafioa of Eve, eat of the forbidden fruit, and thereby for-
teired the divine favour, and was excluded the garden of Eden.
th fatfejcktopbel
A name to all fucceeding ages curft,
was Sir Anthony Aftiley Cooper, railed to the degree of a ba-
t-on at the reftoration, and afterwards created Earl of Sliafteflniry.
His firlt remarkable appearance was in the royal intereft, 1642,
being then in his twenty-fSrft year. Ho loon deferred it in dif-
gult, and joined the parliament, cutting a notable figure during
the interregnum, there being nothing of any confluence trari;'-
aded, but what he had a hand in, the king's death excepted, of
which he kept clear. He conceived a difiike to Cromwell, ou
being refufed one of his daughters ; and tho' he had before ftruck
in wkh all his mcafures, he ::ow endeavoured to throw many dif-
ficulties in his way, but with fo much caution, that he was r.ot
called to any account for fo doing.
Being nourifhed by variety, and fond 6r change, and having at tha
fame time always an eye to his own advantage, he affnted, privately,
Sir George Booth's dcfigns in the Weft, in behalf of the king, whic;i
he denied with folemn imprecations, when charged therewith by
the Rump parliament. At the reftoration, in which he aided, he
was one of the twelve members that were lent on that occ:\nV:i
to compliment the king at the Hague, when his wit and vivacity
recommended him to much notice. It was at this time he received
a hurt in his ivde, by being overturned in a chaife, which was
attended with bad confcquences, being fome years after cut for it,
an iflue remained open. H'n enemies thence took occafion to ridi-
cule him, by calling him Tapiki. Independent of politics, we
have no great room to think highly of his moral character ;
for King Charles, in one of his focial hours, told him, " Shaftes-
" bury, I believe you are one of the wickedeft fellow s in the
" kingdom." " Of a fubjeft, Sir," anfwered he fmartly, " it
* ! may be." In 1672 he was removed from the exchequer, of
which he was chancellor and under- treafurer, to be one of the
five commifiicners appointed to execute the office of lord-high
chancellor of England. He was alfo one of the privy-council,
and a member of that famous, cabal which engrolVcd the king's
mire confidence.
A VOL. 1. 4
1 NOTES.
the triple bond he broke.
In the year 1667 a triple alliance was entered into between
England, Sweden, and Holland, which was diflblved by the fe-
cond Dutch war, to which, and a clofer connection with France,
Lord Shaftesbury contributed his advice, and thereby
fitted Ifrael for a foreign yoke.
The remaining lines allude to his having changed his opinion,
when he found it unpopular, as we have obferved above, dowiv
to
Yet fame deferred no enemy can grudge,
The Statefman <we abhor, but praife the judge.
With all his failings it is on every hand allowed, that the bu-
fmefs of the chancery was never tranfacted with more care and
exaftnefs, than when Lord Shaftesbury prefided in that court.
His expedition was unparalelled ; he made it his ftudy to bring
matters to a fpeedy ifiue ; and his fpeeches from the bench were
fo Itrong and conclufive, fo fraught with knowledge, and Ib hap-
pily expreffed, that his meaning was plain to the moft indifferent
conception. The poet mews himfelf truly impartial, in thus
rendering him his due; and, like a maiterly painter, he has
thereby thrown a ftrong light over a piece that cannot be viewed
to great advantage, nor placed in a clear fituation.
He had in his younger days been of Lincoln's-Inn, where he
ftudied the law with great attention ; but his paternal inheritance
was fo confiderable, that he thought the practice of it fuperfluous,
except in this elevated ftation, the dignity of which he carefully
and judicioufly preferved. He proceeded every day from Exeter-
houfe in the Strand, where he then lived, with vaft folemniry, to
Wefhninfter ; for he faid the credit of all great offices mould be
maintained wilrh ftate and ceremony. He altered nothing of his
common garb, while he was lord-chancellor, only added an afh-
colored gown, thrown over his cloaths, richly laced with gold.
How amiable does the character, drawn of him in the paflage now
before us, reprefent him ? and who, without grief, can fee it fo
unhappily contrafted in almoft all the reft of his life?
Zimri
A man fo various, that he feemed to be
Not one, but all mankind's epitome,
Was drawn for George Villiers, who fucceeded to the title of
Duke of Buckingham, on the death of his father, who was mur-
NOTES. li
dered by Felton. " He had Tome wit, great vivacity, was the mi-
* nifter of riot, the (lave of intemperance, a pretended atheift, with-
" out honor, principle, ceconomy, or difcrerion." He had a fine per-
fon, and the women deemed him handfome; he was capricious and
farcaftic ; fung well ; told a ftory very facetioufly ; mimicked the
failings of others admirably, and poflefled ftrong powers for ri-
dicule ; verfified with eafe : but knew all his accomplifhments, and
foiled them by his intolerable vanity. He had fhared in the king's
exile, and coming into pofleflion of more than 20,000!. per an-
num, at the reftoration, was a great favorite. In it>66it was dif-
covered, that he had endeavored to ftir up fuch of the people that
were ill-difpofed to the government, becaufe he had been refufed
the truft of prefident of the North. In the following year he made
his peace at court, and became a member of the cabal, which was
made up of five minifters, in whom alone the king for fome
time confided, and who led him into meafures that were produc-
tive of all the uneafmefs he afterwards fuftained. In 1675 he be-
came a favorer of the nonconformifts ; and in the affairs of the
Popifh plot, and bill of exclufion, ftuck clofe to Shaftesbury,
and, with all his ftrength and influence, oppofed the court. Hav-
ing at length fquandered away almoft all his immenfe fortune,
\vith the acquifition of an infamous character, he departed this
life in 1687, lamented by nobody, according to Wood, at his
houfe in Yorkfhire : but Pope fays, he died in the utmoft mifery,
in a remote inn in Yorkfhire, having run thro a fortune of 50,000!.
a year, and been poiTefled of fome of the higheft ports in the
kingdom.
" In the worft inn's worft room, with mat half hung,
' The floors of plaifter, and the walls of dung ;
" On once a flock-bed, but repaired with rtraw,
*' With tape-tied curtains, never meant to draw,
" The george and garter dangling from that bed,
*' Where tawdry yellow ftrove with dirty red ;
" Great Villiers lies, alas ! how chang'd from him,
" That life of pleafure, and that foul of whim.
" Gallant and gay, in Cliefden's proud alcove,
" The bow'r of wanton Shrewsbury, and love ;
" Or juft as gay at council, in a ring,
" Of mimick'd ftatefmen, and a merry king,
" No wit to flatter left, of all his ftore !
" No fool to laugh at which he valu'd more.
" There viftor of his health, of fortune, friends,
** And fame j this lord of ufelefs thoufands ends."
d 2
fii NOTES.
His grace vras the author of feveral pieces of entertainment,
but particularly the Rehearlai ; the Bayes of which he intended
for Dryden, who has fully avenged himfelf in the chai after of
Zimri, with this advantage, that the picture is an exact refem-
blance.
Therefore in tie name of dullnefs be
T/.'e uteli-hung Balaam^ and cold Caleb, frse*
And canting Nadab let obliiiion damn.
Who made ne-iv porridge for the pafcbal lamb.
Balaam, the Earl of Huntingdon ; Caleb, Lord Grey of Werk ;
and Nadab, Lord Howard of Efcrick.
The Earl of Huntingdon was one of thofe who^ in peribn,
prefented a bill of indictment to the grand jury of Middlefex,
againft the Duke of York as a Popifh recufant.
Ford, Lord Grey of Werk, was ftrongly attached to the Duke
of Monmouth, a zealous promoter of Lord Shaftesbury's mea-
fures, and a conftant opponent of the court. He was a fmooth
talker, polfeffed of a large eftate, both which accomplifhments
gave him influence among the people. Being concerned in the
Ryehoufe-plot, he was arrefted, and examined before the privy-
council, who ordered him to the Tower ; but when the meffen-
ger, who had the care of him, brought him thither, the gates
were (hut, it being late, and they could not get in ; fo that they
fpeat the whole night together, and drank pretty freely. In the
morning they came to the Tower again very early, the doors not
being as yet opened ; and his keeper, who was very drunk, falling
afleep, he turned down towards the wharf, and taking oars, got
off to Holland. Here he joined his old friend Monmouth, whom
he contributed to fpirit up to the rebellion in the enfuing reign,
that brought that unhappy nobleman to the block.
The Duke is faid to have relied much upon him to very Httl
purpofe ; for he was charged with having made a poor and cow-
ardly figure at Sedgemore, where he headed the duke's cavalry,
which was, by his daftardly behaviour, thrown into confufion,
and the king's forces obtained a complete victory. Lord Grey
was taken at Hoitbridge in a Ihepherd's habit ; and the duke
himfelf was foon sfter feized in a ditch, difguifed like a peafant,
with a few peafe in his pocket ; neither of them behaved with
compofure or equanimity, and both were brought prifoners to-
gether to London. Monmouth's fate has been already taken no-
tice of; but Lord Grey's life was faved by a proper application of
ffcvtral fums vf money, Lord Rochefter having touched 16000!.
He was, beiidcs, mean enough to cpnfefs every thing that he
N O T E 3. JiH
felative to Monmouth, or his defigns, and even appeared as an
evidence againft feveral perfons : however, he had before flip u-
lated r-.u their lives.
Lord Howard was bred up in republican principles; he was a
profefied enemy to monarchical government, iluck fall to all
Shattefbury's leciitious undertakings, and was very adive in pro-
moting riots, and oppofing the Tory intereft in the city. He had
been committed to the 1 ower, for endeavoring to periuade Fitz-
harris, who was tried for being concerned in a feditious libel, to
accufe the king, queen, and duke, of fome defigr.s againft the
people's liberty ; and was actually engaged fo far in the Rye-
houie-plor, as to have liftened to a fc'oeme propofed for murder-
ing the king. Lord Ruffel, and fome other men of honor, l:;.ked
in this confpiracy, knew of nothing but a defign of fecuring his
royal perfon, till fuch time as they fhould have obtained tV'.-in
him, a certainty of the fupport and firm eftabliftimerit of t!ie
Proteftant religion, which thefe patriots, not without reafon, fup-
pofed to be in fome danger.
A warrant being iffued out againft him on this account, he was
found hid in a chimney in his own houfe, and when dragged
down, behaved in the moft contemptible manner, bewailing his
misfortune with tears, promifing to reveal every thing he knew ;
and he kept his word., being ufeii as a witnefi agaiuft the good
Lord Ruffel, and many other people in great eltimation : nor
did the fucceeciing reign excufe his being Itiil called upon to do
their dirty work, a drudgery of which he complained in, heavy
terms.
bull-fa? d Jonas
Sir William Jones, a very great lawyer, raifcd by his own me-
rit to the poft of attorney-general of .England, which he, in a
ihort time, refigned, being of a rough cynical difpofition, con-
fequently unfit for a court, gurnet fays, he refilled the great
feal. He entered into the warmeft meafures againft the royal in-
tereft, fupported the bill of exclusion with great firength of ar-
gument, and feems to have been a morofe well-meaning man j
deeply fkiiled in the laws of his country ; a good Proteftant, pur-
fuing violent meafures thro the fears of the prevalence of Pope-
ry, and influenced by people of more coolnefs, depth, and pene-
tration than himfelf.
S':itnei, *wbofe. youth did 'early prcmlfe bring
Of zeal to God, and haired to />/; king.
Shimei, Slingfby Bethel, Efq; by poll chofen one of the fheriffs
for the city of London, on Midfummer-day 1 6do, was a zealous
liv NOTES.
fanatic, and had been formerly one of the committee of fafety ;
however, to render himfelf fit for his office, he received the fa-
crament, and renounced the covenant, but not his factious prin-
ciples. Burnet calls him a man of knowledge, and fays he wrote
a learned book about the intereft of princes ; but that his mife-
rable way of living, and miferly difpofition was very prejudicial
to his party, and rendered him difagreeable to every body.
When the king, as ufual in fuch cafes, had changed Lord Stafford's
fentence from hanging to beheading, he officioufly and impudently
petitioned the houfe of commons, to know whether fuch a right
was vefted in the king ? And he and his colleague, Henry Cor-
nifh, tampered with Fitz-Harris, while in Newgate, about intro-
ducing the names of the king, the queen, or the duke, as con-
cerned in the Popifh plot; and promifmg him, in cafe he could
only trump up a formal ftory to that purpofe, not only his life
but reftitution of his eftate, which had been forfeited in the Irifb,
rebellion : for Fitz-Harris was an Irifh Roman Catholic.
Cornifh was a plain-fpoken honeft republican, who temporized
for the good of his party : he was unjuftly accufed in 1685 of
high-treafon, and hurried out of the world without being allowed
time fufficient to prepare for his defence, for he was tried, con-
demned, and executed in a week ; but King James was fhortly
after fo well convinced of his innocence, that he reftored his eftate
to his family, and condemned the two witnefles that had appeared
againft him, Colonel Rumfey, and Goodenough the attorney, to
perpetual imprifonment.
TCet Corab tbou ft) alt from oblivion pajs.
Corah, Titus Gates was fon of an Anabaptift ribbon-weaver,
who, abandoning his mop for the bibie, became a preacher, and
was appointed chaplain to one of Cromwell's regiments in Scot-
land. AUer the reformation he conformed to the church, and
obtained the living of Haftings in Suffex, but loft it upon adopt-
ing his old principles. He was the principal witnefs in the Popifh
plot, and for his good fervices lodged, at the public expence, in
Whitehall, with a guard for the protection of his perfon, and 3
handfome ftipend for his maintenance : but when the tide of po-
pular credulity began to fiacken, and his real character gained
ground, he was turned out of his lodging, deprived of his guard,
and of his allowance. In the beginning of King James's reign
he was inciiftcd for perjury at the court of King's Bench, and con-
victed upon the evidence of more than fixty reputable witneffes,
nine of whom were Proteftants ; whereupon he was fen fenced to
pay a fine of 2000 marks, to be fcourged by the hangman twice
in three days, to ftand in the pillory, annually, in different parts
NOTES. Ir
of London and Weftminfter, and be imprifoned for life. He
was fcourged with unheard-of feverity, yet furvived to obtain his
liberty, and a penfion of 400!. per annum, in the fucceed-
ing reign, when, tho he did his utmoft to have his fentence re-
verfed, and brought his writ of error, for that purpofe, in the
houfe of peers, it was found impoUible to exculpate him, or to
reftore him to the capacity of being an evidence in any court.
Burnet himfelf, who was no friend to any of the tranfaftions
preceding the revolution, fpeaks of him as an infamous villain,
nor to be credited; and fays, that he told him, he had entered
among the jefuits only to betray them, which God and his holy
angels would witnefs ; and that he would have their blood.
And Corab might for Agag's murder call.
Agag, Sir Edmondbury Godfrey, a juftice of peace, before
whom Gates had made his firlt depofition, and who was, foon
after, found murdered in a ditch near Primrofe-hill, on the road
to Hampitead, his fword being run quite thro his body, without
any effulion of blood. This was done, as it was fuppofed, with a
view to make people think he had murdered himfelf ; whereas, in
tad, his death was occaftoned by ftrangling, a broad livid mark
being plain round his neck, which was broken, and his breaft
bruifed in feveral places, as if he had been kneeled or trampled
upon. His gloves and cane lay near him, his fhoes were clean,
and his money untouched. It is very furprifing, that his mur-
derers were nex r er difcovered, tho Bedloe, an infamous wretched
incendiary, {wore the crime againlt two or three innocent people,
who fuffered death. The Earl of Shafresbury took prodigious
pains to force fome unhappy perfons to fwear it upon the Papifls,
offering them 500 1. reward, in cafe they acquiefced ; and me-
nacing them in the fevereft manner, if they refufed. He threat-
ened one Mrs. Mary Gibbons, a relation of Sir Godfrey's, that
me mould be worried to death s , as dogs worry cats, unlefsihe con-
feffed, that Sir John Banks, Mr. Pepys, and Mr. De Puy, knew
fomething of the murder : by his rude behaviour the woman was
thrown into fits, and her life endangered ; he labored hard to induce
the two men who firil found the corpfe, to lay the murder upon
Come great Roman Catholic; but tho they were both in meancir-
eumftances, he could not pervert their honefty. Nor had he more
fuccefs with Francis Carrol, an honeft common hackney coachman,
whom fome of his cmilfaries accufed of having carried the corpfe
in his coach, to the place in which it was found. This poor man
was confined in Newgate near two months, loaded with irons, en-
<u
Ivi NOTES.
elofcd in ?. dungeon, the noifomenefg of winch was contagious
and actually kept from Thurfday to Sunday without victuals, in
fuch n-.ifery, that he begged hard for a knife to end a wretched
life, which he faid he would rather forfeit than ftain his foul with
perjury. He was at length difmiffed, after having given proofs
cf iriLej riiy. that would have done honor to the mcft refined un-
cerftanding.
The inconfiftencies and contradictions of the witnefles, who
pretended to know the circumftances of Sir Godfrey's death, fuffi-r
cicntly acquit the different perfons who fufrered upon their terti-
mcny. Perhaps he was difpatched in reality by fome zealous Pa-
pift, who feared that Oates's information might be prejudicial to
the Catholic intereit, and that the juftice might be hereafter fum-
moned as a fecondary evidence ; or may be, it was perpetrated
by the contrivers and inventors of the Popifh plot, to throw the
greater odium on the court, and the party they meant to ruin : if
fo, they fucceeded to admiration.
" Sir Edmondbury Godfrey was a man of a very good charac-
" ter, of a referved melancholy turn of mind, an enemy to all
" perfecution, and rather a protector than profecutor of Nonccn-
" formifts. He had, with reluctance, received Oates's informa-
" tion. As to the report that prevailed of his having been mur-
*' dered by the Papifts, becaufe their violent enemy, it was with-
" out any manner of foundation, for he was upon good terms
" with the party in general. It has been affirmed, that he hanged
" himfell in his own houfe, and that his two brothers, who were
' his next heJrs, had the body conveyed abroad, and the fvvord
" run thro it, that fo it might be thought he was affaflinated, and
" the crown thereby prevented from feizing on his effects."
Burnet, Eclard, Smollett.
In terms as coctrje as Samuel u^d to Saul.
Af-er the prophet had anointed Saul King of Ifrael, he com-
r. ancied liim to go down toGiigal, and therewc.it for him fevcn
days ; at the end of which time he promifed to come ana ailift
him in facrifking to the Lord. But Samuel not coming fo focn
as Saul expected, he proceeded to the offerings by hi.Tifelf ; and
had fcarcely made an end, when the prophet appeared, and,
checked him in very fevere terms, for having tranfgrdTed his or-
der, and thereby difpleafed the Lord. Thou baft Jwte Jfcelfjhfy, faid.
he, thy kingdom fhallnci continue, becm-fe then bajl net ktpi that ibfricif
tlx Loi (I toi/ti/u.ndid tbte. Sam. B. J. ch. xiii. v. 13, 14, <?:c.
NOTES. Ivii
f be admiring croud are dazzled --with fur prize,
And en his goodly per/on fttd tbtir eyes.
Here the poet defcribes the tour taken by the Duke of Mon <
mouth after his return from Holland, without the king's leave,
and with the advice of Shaftefbury, to whofe councils he had fa-
tally refigned himfelf. This progrefs, he juftly obferves, tho
couched under the notion of its being made for hunting, and the
diverfions of the country, was, in reality, to try how the people
flood affecled ; whether the fufpicions againfl the queen and the
Duke of York were fufficienrly inculcated, to give Monmouth
an opportunity of mounting the throne, in cafe of the king's
death ; and his ambition he difguifed under the fpecious pre-
tences of his being the king's lawful fon, whofe right was fup-
prelfed to make way for an uncle's ufurpation ; of his being the
avowed champion of the Proteftant religion, and the only cue of
the royal family, who had the courage openly to declare himfelf
an enemy to Popery and flavery.
With regard to the make and outward graces of Monmouth's
perfon (fays Grammont) nature never formed a man more com-
plete. Every feature of his face had a peculiar delicacy, and al-
together exhibited a countenance beautiful, without effeminacy,
manly, yet not robuft. His body was finely formed ; he was ex-
tremely agile, fenced admirably, and was one of the bcft horfe-
rnen of his time ; but he had a foul very unequal to fuch a tene-
ment. He had no fentiments of his own ; his voice was plealing ;
his manner of expreffmg himfelf captivating ; but thefe accom-
plimments were ufed only to deliver the thoughts and words of
other people. He was ram in his undertakings ; irrefolute and
uncertain in the execution ; abjedc and cowering in difirefs : he
begged his life of James II. with tears in his eyes. That monarch
treated his forrow (lightly ; the queen infulteci it. When he found
he had no hopes of life, he aimrr.ed an air of philofoy.hic calm*
nefs, and met death with indifference. He was brave in the field,
f;it for the diftrefles of humanity, was kind to his inferiors, and
naturally very generous. N\ ith thef? virtues he might have proved
a friend to his country, and a pillar of the throne, had fortune
thrown him into the hands of honeft men ; for his ruin was ow-
ing to his connexions, not to himfelf.
But bofpitaile treats d:d moft commend
Wife Ijjadjar, bis vjtabky ^juefiern friend.
. lifcchar, the celebrated Thomas Thynne, Efq; commonly called
T<!m of Ten-Thoufand, alluding to his wealth. He had been
formerly a favorite with the Duke of York 3 but had new changed
IvilJ NOTES.
fides, and openly declared againft him. He received Monmouth
at his country feat with prodigious fplendor, entertaining him and
all his train with true Britifh hofpitality. King Charles having
prorogued the parliament in 1679, to prevent their further pro-
ceeding againft his hrother, whofe interelt was therein oppofed
with great heat and animofity, Mr. Thynne was one of thofe
who petitioned the king for its meeting as foon as poflible, who
anfwered him very angrily, and bade him meddle with his own
matters. He was foon after fhot in his coach, as he palled thro
Pall-mall, by fomeperfons hired by Count Coningfmark, a Ger-
man nobleman, that had made preienfions to the fole heirefs of
the Earl of Northumberland, to whom Mr. Thynne had been
lately married.
Oh ! foolijh Ifrael, never ivarn'd by ill.
Here follow fome arguments in defence of kingly government,
which are faid to be very ftrong, and have been much admired.
Barxillai croivn'divith honor and-ivitb years.
Barzillai, James Butler, Duke, Marquis, and Earl of Ormond,
Earl of Oflbry and Brecknock, &c. a duke both in England and
Ireland. In his younger days
the rijing rebels he witbftcod,
In regions ivajfe beyond the 'Jordan's food.
And adhered zealoufly to the intereft of his fovereign Charles
I. in Ireland, where, being chief of a noble, antienr, and wealthy
family, his power and influence were, as long as podible, exerted
againlt the arms of Cromwell. But being at length obliged to
yield to the neceffity of the times, he quitted that kingdom, and
accompanied King Charles II. in his exile. After the i eilorution,
he was at one and the fame time lord lieutenant of Ireland, itew-
ard of the houfhold, groom of the ftole, and privy-counieilor for
the three kingdoms. Perhaps no man was ever better beloved, and
no man defer ved it better : he was liberal, brave, loyal, arid fin cere ;
a friend to the conititution, and a prore&or of the Proterrants.
On this account he was no favorite in the fucceeding reign, and
died in retirement, without ppft or employment, July 1688, aged
fevenry-nine.
Hit eldeft hnpe with every grace adorn V.
Thomas Earl of Oflbry, Baron Burler of More-Park by writ,
tldelt fern of the afbrcfuid duke, and one of the moft gallant no-
NOTES. lix
noblemen of his time. He behaved with great bravery in the
firlt Dutch war, under Sir Edward Spragg; and in the fecond
was rear-admiral of the blue. He was a courageous warrior, a
prudent counsellor, a dutiful fon, a kind friend, a liberal patron,
and a generous man. He died univerfally lamented in
Thy force infos' d the fainting Tynan's propped,
And haughty Pharaoh found his fortune Jiopp'd.
Lord Oflbry having married a Dutch lady, lived fome time in
Holland, and was of fignal fervice in preventing the progrefs of
the French arms, by his knowledge and advice.
Zadoch the priejl, &C.
Dr. Bancroft, Archbimop of Canterbury, who, at the time of
the revolution, refufing to take the oaths, was fuperfeded by the
famous Dr. Tillotfbn, and died in 1693. Burnet tells us, that he
was folemn in deportment, peevilh in temper, cold in the pulpit,
and referved in company ; but on the other hand, he was very
learned, extremely loyal, and thought of fome confequence among
the lories. He was advanced from the deanery of St. Paul's, thro
the intereft of the Duke of York, who liked him from his being
attached to fome monadic inftitutions, fuch as the celibacy of the
clergy ; and from his being of an abfiracted fedentary turn*
which would prevent him from oppofing the defigns conceived by
his royal highnefs againft the eftablifhed church, which it was
certainly his intention to overturn.
- the Sagan of Jerufalem,
Of hoj'pitable foul, and noble Jlem.
Pr. Henry Compton, youngeft fon to the Earl of Northamp-
ton, was preferred to the fee of London, upon the death of Dr.
Humphry Henchman, in the year 1675. He had carried arms in
his younger years ; and when he quitted the fword for the caffock,
was upwards of thirty years old. He was a weak pofitive man,
but good-natured and generous, entirely devoted to the fervice of
the Earl of Danby ; not very learned, but a ftrong Protelianr, a
violent oppofer of thePapilts, a careful bifhop, andtho but upon
indifferent terms with the Duke of York, a loyal fubjecl. To him
was, for fome time, given the care of the two princefles, Mary
and Ann, in whom he grounded the principles of the Proteftant
religion. In King James the lid's time he was fufpended, ab offi-
cio, for refufing to filence Dr. Sharp, who had preached a fermon
pot approved by the court.
t* NOTES.
Him of the tueflern dome.
Dr. Dolben, Bifhop of Rochefter, and Dean of Wefhninfter, an
eafy, good-natured, modeft, fpirited, eloquent, and learned man.
In 1683 he was ralfed to the fee of York : he bore arms againft
the parliament in King Charles the Ift's reign, who made him a
major. When that monarch's affairs were ruined, he returned to
Oxford, purfued his iludies, and entered into orders,
Sharp judging Adriel, tie muffs friend,
Himfetf a mufe >
John Sheffield, Bail of Mulgrave, &c. a good foldier, an able
Tmnifter, an elegant writer, a nobleman of beautiful perfon and
fineaddrefs. He ferved with great reputation, as a volunteer, in
the fkft and fecond Dutch wars ; was promoted to the command
of a fecond-rate ftiip of war, and foon after quitted the fea for
the land-fervice, being made colonel of a regiment, and knight
of the garter. He offered to head a body of troops lent to de-
fend Tangier, then befieged by the Moors, and was faid to have
been purpofely put on board a leaky veflel, that was fuppofed
unable logo thro the voyage, becaufe he had the bcldnefs to af-
pireat courting Lady Anne, afterwards Queen of England. King
Charles was thought privy to the contrivance, which, if true,
was apiece of mean revenge, unworthy of a monarch. Tho his
lordfhip was informed of the danger, he fcorned to decline it, but
happily made the voyage in fafety ; and was brought home by
Admiral Herbert in a much better veflel. Notwithftanding the
peril to which he knew himfelf expofed on his way to Tangier,
he wrote a poem, the verfification of which was fo eafy, and the
fentiments fo tender, one would rather imagine that it had been
penned in the bowers of love and retirement, than on a ftormy
lea in a rotten fhip.
He ferved Charles II. with fidelity and honor ; oppofing fuch
meafures as he thought wrong, without joining with parties
that feemed to ftudy rather to make their king difcontenr-
ed, than their country happy. He purfued the fame conduct
in the following reign, when, being prelTed hard to profefs
the Roman Catholic religion, he faid, " It was with fovne diffi-
'* culty he had brought himfelf to believe that God had created the
* world, man, &c. but he could never perfuade himfelf, that man
had a relative power, and could make God," alluding to tran-
fubftantiation. Tho he was no friend to the revolution, King Wil-
liam made him Marquis of Normanby, with a pt:nfion of 3000).
a year. Queen Anne, with whcm he was in great favor, created
2
NOTES. 1*1
him Duke of Buckingham, entrufled him with fome confideraWe
employments ; and he was one of her Tory miniirry. He died
in the year 1 7 20, aged feventy, at Buckingham-houfe in St. James's
Park, an edifice which he had ereftcd himfelf. The front motta
of it,
Sic fiti /tftanfur laret,
occafioned the following farcafm :
Happily hous'd thefe lares are,
To feed on viftoes, and from air ;
To dine with Humfrey's duke each day,
And gaze their fuppcr-time away.
Would Ceres bring her * fheaf of corn,
'Twould better Sheffield-houfe adorn ;
To which, if Bacchus grapes would bring,
Then might the lares laugh and fing.
Pope, Prior, Lanfdown, and Rofcommon, have alfo born*
teftimony to his grace's genius, tafte, and erudition, of all which
his works are a living proof. Great pains have been taken to re-
move from his character the imputation of avarice ; but to thi*
pafiion he was certainly a flave : it grew upon him with age, and
led him into many mean actions. He was a ftranger to the tie*
of kindred, capable of facrincing every thing to his private ad-
vantage, and a latitudinarian in religion. With Charles, of whofc
focial hours he was a fharer, he fcofFed at revelation ; with James,
whofe weaknefs he indulged, he aliiftcd at mafs ; with William,
with whom he did not chufe to break, he was a Calvinift ; and
with good Queen Anne, whom he highly refpe&ed, he was a.
Proteftant.
j'otharn, of fitrciwg ivif, and pregnant tJjwgbt,
Jotham, the gay, the gallant Sir George Savillc, Vifcount,
Far!, and Marquis of Haljifax, who, tho generally in favor with
tlieking, had fometimes oppofed the meafures of the court. He
at firft voted for the bill of exclufion, then iided with thofe who
were for limitations, afterwards propofed expedients, and was
fhortly after upon very good terms with the duke. He was a mem-
ber of King William's firft privy-council, but retiring upon fome
difgulr, entered into all the Tory meafures. H-- had great viva-
city, a ready wit, a farcanic turn, more imagination than judg-
ment, more genius than application, and yet was uneafy out of
* Hisgrace'i arms.
Ixii NOTES.
employment. He preferred a jeft to every confideration, and fa-
ther than lofe one that occurred, would turn his own arguments
into ridicule. He was fociable, friendly, and good-natuied, but
untteady. Some maxims, and a character of Charles II. written
by him, were publifhed three or four years ago, and met with
general approbation. He aftefted to defpife titles, yet was fond
of them, and left a very large fortune to his family.
Hufoai, the friend of Dcwid, in diftrefs.
Laurence Hyde, fecond Ion to Edward the great Earl of Claren-
don, was advanced to the earldom of Rocheiter, and made treafurer
in 1682, but removed from the treafury in 1684, to the office of
prefident of the council, a port of more rank but lefs advantage,
which gave the lively Marquis of Halifax: occafion to fay, that "he
had heard of many people being kicked down ft-airs, but the Earl
" of Rochefter was the firft he had ever known kicked up." He
was incorrupt, fmcere, warm, and violent ; writ well, but not a
graceful fpeaker, tho fmooth and plaufible. He defended his fa-
ther in the houfe of commons with ttrength of argument, and
power of elocution, that mewed him matter of great abilities ;
and yet with fo much decency and difcretion, as not to embroil
himfelfwith his opponents. Thro the whole of King Charles's
reign, he deported himfelf with fo much real fidelity to his matter,
and fuch prudence, that he was not particularly pointed at, or
ridiculed by any party.
By foreign treaties be inforttid bis youth.
In 1676 he went on an embaffy to Poland, was one of the ple-
nipotentiaries at the treaty of Nimeguen, and afterwards ambaf-
fador in Holland, where he acquitted himfelf with honor. He
was ftrongly againft the bill of exclufion.
B
i , 'who can AmicY 3 pralfe refufe?
Mr. afterwards Sir Edward Seymour, was an elder branch of
the Somerfet family, and grandfather to the prefent duke. He
vigoroufty fupported the Duke of York's right to the fucceffion,
and had been formerly fpeaker of the houfe of commons, being
the boldeft orator that ever filled the chair, and one of theproudeft
commoners in England. He was intimately acquainted with all
the bnfinefs of the houfe, and knew every individual member fo
exactly, that with one glance of his eye, he could prognofticate
the fate of every motion.
NOTES.
While he withdrawn
f a f e Mjojs the fabbath of his toils.
When this poem was written, Mr. Seymour had been for feme
time out of the chair, which the commons would not permit him
to refign, tho he earneftly defired it on account of his health,
and the king declared, that he had other employments for
him, in which nobody could be more ufeful ; fo that the parlia-
ment was prorogued; and when they met again, which was in
two days, they agreed to nominate Mr. Serjeant Gregory their
fpeaker.
Their witnej/es agalnfl thsmfelves will fwear.
Alluding to the inconfiftencies and contradictions of Dr. Oates,
Capt. Bedloe, and other witnefies, made ufe of to fupport the credit
4ji the Fopiih plot.
The SECOND PART of
ABSALOM and ACHITOPHEL,
Partly written by Mr. TATE.
AS Mr. Dryden not only fupervifed, but alfo wrote fome of
this fecond part of Ablalom and Achitophel ; and as the
whole together forms an Epic poem, giving an account of the
divifions, both in court and city, from 1678 to 1682, in which
year this was firft publillied in folio, it has been thought proper
to here reprint it. Tho Dryden compoled not the whole,
yet there are marks of his correction fcattered every where thro
it, and thofe who will be at the pains to compare it with Tate's
other writings, will not hefitate to agree with us, when we fay it
is far beyond any of them.
Mlchal
The beji of queens, andmojt obedient ivife,
Impeach d of cuf?# Jefijrnton David's life.
r J J T
Michal, Queen Catharine, wife to King Charles II. Her being
a Papift was fufficient toexpofe her to Oates and his confederates,
who accufed her of having entered into a confpiracy again!! her
hulband's life, at the inftigation of the Popiih clergy : however,
Ixir NOTES.
King Charles treated their teftimony upon this point with the
contempt it deferved, and fwore by his Maker, none of their
arts or perjuries fhould give her any uneafinefs. Had he not
here exerted unfhaken refolution, they would have abfolutely
brought her to the bar, and, not improbably, taken away her
life. There was no villainy to which they were unequal. The
queen was finely fhaped, but not very handfome ; her deport-
ment was majeftic, her addrefs eafy. She was good-natured, af-
fable, and lively : her converfatiort was pleafing, and her judg-
ment ftrong.
Mean while a guard on modcjl Cor ab wait t
See our note upon Corah.
'T-ivas ivorfe than plotti:i% to fufpeSl his plot.
The tide of prejudice ran fo ftrongly in favor of Oates and fh-e
other witneffes, after the death of Sir Godfrey, that to fpeak flight-
ingly of them, or their depofition, was as much as a man's life
was worth ; and even the king himfelf, who faw the trick from
the beginning, did not dare to fpeak his fentiments freely. He
did his utmoft to keep as private as poillble fuch difcoveries of the
fuppofed plot, as were communicated to him, the intention 1 of
which his perfpicuiry foon canvafied ; and he was very angry
when Lord Danby, without his leave, laid them before the par-
liament j " Now, (faid he) you have laid the foundation of your
" own ruin ; and of much perplexity for me." The fequel
p* - ovetl his majefty a prophet.
He at your injlar.cc qitxftfd each penal law.
Sufpending the penal laws, and granting liberty of confclence,
was owing to the advice of our Achitophel ; and was an affair ot
dangerous tendency, as being one great ftep towards enflaviug
the ftate. Thro his counfel alfo the king
JJ.nit the royal J? ore t
Or the exchequer, in the beginning of 1672, he being in great
want of money : a trarrfudHon that occafioned much confufion,
for there being thereby a ftagnation of all public payments, the
banks alfo Hopped ; but the king having allured the bankers and
merchants, that the prefent deficiencies, mould be foon made
good, matters flowed again in their proper channel; tho it was
a itrerch of power not eafily forgotten or digefted. The reit of
this fpcsx.: has bee,n before diffidently explained.
NOTES. IXT
of myjterious fevfe.
This pafiage is explained in our note on the Medal.
1 extorting IJhban firft appears,
Pnrfiid by a meagre band of bankrupt heirs.
Sir Robert Clayton, an alderman of the city, and one of its
members, who remarkably oppofed the court. Tho he was very
avaritious, he had offered a large fnm to be made a peer; and
thofe who confider the king's wants will believe with me, he
was forry the alderman's money was not tangible.
railing
Sir Thomas Player, one of the city reprefentatives in parlia-
ment; a factious blundering malecontent ; one of the chief fup-
ports of the Whigs in the city ; declared enemy of the Duke of
York, and ftrongly for the bill of exclufion. When he was re-
chofen in 1680-1, together with Sir Robert Clayton, Thomas
Pilkington, and William Love, Efqrs. many of the Whig citi-
zen?, in Common-hall avTembled, drew up and prefented to him
and them an extraordinary paper, " giving them thanks for their
" former good fervices ; more efpecially for their zeal in pro-
" moting the bill for excluding the Duke of York from the fuc-
" ceflion, and recommending, that they would ftill literally pur-
" fue the fame meafures, and grant no fupplies to the crown, till
" they faw themfelves effectually fecured from Popery and arbi-
" trary power." And in purfuit of thefe meafures, thefubfcrib-
ing perfons promifed to ftand by them with their lives and for-
tunes.
Indeed, addrefles of the fame nature were forwarded to their
reprefentatives from many other parts of the kingdom, which
gave great uneafmds to the court, and occafioned thefe lines put
into Achitophel's mouth, p. 209.
' 'what can Da-vid's felf without fupplies ?
Who 'with exclujtw bills mujl no*w difpenfe^
Debar the heir, or Jlarve in his defence.
Shall that <vile Hebronite efcape our curfe.
Robert Fergufon, a Scotch independent preacher, fubtle, plau
fible, bold, and daring; had for many years preached and writ
againft the government with great animofity ; had weight among
tne Whigs in the city, and was a very proper inftrument to ftir up
fedition. Shaftefburyknew his excellencies, made ufe of them by
VOL. I 4 e
fevi NOTES.
confiding in him, and he contributed much to the fuccefs of h&
defigns.
Fergufon was one of the main fprings that animated the Rye-
houfe-plot, for which he was outlawed both in England and
France, a reward of five hundred piftoles being offered for taking
him. He had openly approved of the confpirarors' intention to
murder the king and his brother ; and a day being appointc-. ; '>?'
that parricide, which fome of the affaflins objected to as being
Sunday, he told them, "The fanftity of the deed lifted the
fan&ity of the day." He was defcriued thus remarkably : " A
tall thin man, dark brown hair, a great Romai> role, thin
' jawed, heat in, his face, fpeaks in the Scotch tone, a fliarp-
piercing eye, (loops a little in the fhoulders, hath a fhuffling
gate that differs from all men, wears Iris perriwig down al-
moft over his eyes, and about forty-five years of age." He
efcaped to Holland, returned with Monmouth in 1685, had the
good luck again t<& fecure his retreat, and was rewarded with a
good poft on the revolution : but being of a turbulent uneafy
difpofition, he turned tail, became a ftrenuous advocate for Jaco-
bitifm both in the reigns of King William and Queen Anne; ap-
peared more than once a champion for the banilhed king, and
engaged in fchemes for his reftoration.
Who at Jerusalem's own gates erecii
Has college for a nurfe*y of ftcls.
Fergufon had a chapel near Moorfields, in which he preached
to as great multitudes as now follow Whitefield.
to
Let Hebron^ nay t let bell produce a man,
So made for mijcbief, as Ben Jocbanan,
Ben Jochanan, the Rev. Mr. Samuel Johnfbn, chaphin to the
Earl of Bedford^ No fooner was he entered into that nobleman's
family, than he became a violent declaimer in the pulpit, againft
the fears of Popery and the Duke of York ; between whom and
Julian the apoftate, he drew an artful parallel, under the name of
the life of the latter. This book made a great noife ; the author
was tried for it, as being a fcandalous and feditious libel, for
which he v/as fentenced to pay five hundred marks, and to find
fureties for his good behaviour, during thefpace of one year.
In the following reign he was tried for having endeavored to>
alienate the aifeftions of the foldiery, and inflame the minds ot
rhe king's fubjefts aga'mft him, in a loofe flieet of paper, called
An Addrefs to the Proteftants in King James's Army, carefully
difperfed abroad ; for which he was condemned to ftand thre*
tr O T E 8 Ixvli
times in the pillory, to pay five hundred marks, and to be whip,
pcd from Newgate to Tyburn. Before his punifhmerit he was
degraded from his ecclefiaftical functions in the chapter-houfe of
St. Paul's; and the latter part of his fentence was mildly inflift-
ed. He was a man of undaunted fpirit, violent in party, and
zealoufly attached to the Proteiiant religion. He was a good
fcholar, well verfed in the oriental languages, an excellent di-
vine ; his morals were pure, his talents lively, and he led a very
fvbsr life.
Doeg, tifo without knolving bow, or <ivby t
Made ft ill a blundering kind of melody ;
Spurred boldly on, and daftfd thro thick andlkiri.
Thro fenfe and nonjenfei neitlxr out nor in.
Doeg, a character intended for Mr. Elkanah Settle, called the
City-Poet, becaufe he had a falary for writing a poem, annually^
on my lord-mayor's day. He was bred at Oxford, tho his pa-
rentage was but mean, and having a knack for dramatic writing,
produced fome plays with fuccefs, which many critics fay, (hew
him worthy of the extraordinary pifture here drawn of him.
However, He had incurred Mr. Dryden's difpleafure by writing
for the Whigs, in whoTe fervice he was very zealous, having pub-
limed a pamphlet againft the Duke of York, called The Cha-
rafter of a Popifh Siicceflbrj and anfwered both Mr. Dryden's
Abfalom, and his Medal. Finding that he did not get fo much by
this party as he expefted, he abjured their principles, and pro-
fefled himfelf; both in writing and difcourfe, a Tory, with as
little fuccefs as he had met with when a Whig. His circum-
ftances, in the latter part of his life, were but indifferent ; for*
almoft his only maintenance was, annually, writing drolls for
Bartholomew and Southwark fairs, and contriving the machinery^
Pope fays, he exhibited at thefe places in a green dragon of his
own contriving. See the Dunciad, B. III.
Og-, from a treafon-tavern rolling home.
Og, Thomas Shadwell, Efq; of whom we fhall fpeak iri our
notes upon Mac-Flecfcnoe.
But in the facred annals of our plot^
Induftrious Arod never be forgot.
Arod, Sir William Waller, fon to him who had done fo much
iervice to the long parliament. He upheld theexclufion-bill with
all his might, and took every opportunity of (hewing his hatred
NOTE &
to Popery, by feeking out and ciifperfing the Papifts, when aJTem-
bled to celebrate divine fervice in their way. To which, if he was
not much mifreprefented, he was ftimulated rather in hopes of
fpoil, their altars being generally rich, than out of refpedl to his
country, or love for religion.
all to be no Zaken at the lajl.
At the chufing a new parliament in the beginning of the year
1679, Sir William had, to no purpofe, endeavored to get himfelf
chofen into the houfe ; and the publicans, who trufted him
at this time in fuch entertainments as he ordered, found it diffi-
cult to get their money from him.
NC--V raised on Tyres fad ruins, Pharaotts pride
Soar* d high,
The fuccefs of Lewis theXIV's arms, particularly in Holland,
%endered him formidable all over Europe ; while England, who
has it fo much in her power to command refpeft, was fcarcely re-
garded. Weakened by domeftic difputes, her king always want-
ing money, and oppofed and kept bare by her parliament, her
mediation was of no confequence, and me had little or no influ-
ence abroad.
His abfence David does 'with tears advife.
This alludes to the Duke of York's quitting the court, and re-
tiring to Bruflels, and afterwards to Scotland.
nobly has his f~a.~ay in Hebron Jkone.-
When the Duke of York returned from Scotland, in the begin-
ning of 1682, the murmurs againlt him feerned to have, in a
good meafure, llibfided, He had fhewn himfeif fo well inclined
to fupport the reformed religion in that kingdom, that he was
thanked for it by feven bifliops, in an addrefs which was publifh&d,
to the fatisfaftion of all ranks of people ; and the citizens of
London, particularly, treated him on that account withvaft ref-
peft.
....... yothran always bent
To ferve the crown, and loyal by defcent.
Jothran, the Lord Dartmouth, a nobleman of great honefty y
*ho, tho inviolably attached to the Duke of York, had always
the courage to tell him freely when he difliked any of his pro-
ceedings.;, and his highnefs was difcreet enough to take his
ientation* as they were meant.
NOTES. Ixix
Nor can Benafah'i worth forgotten lie.
Benaiah, Colonel, afterwards General Sackviile, a gentleman
of tried courage, and known good fenfe : he was of the Dorfet
family ; had fl-rved at Tangier with reputation ; and on ac-
count of his having expreflcd a difbelicf of the Popilh plot, was
expelled the hoafe of commons, and committed to the Tower.
He obtained his liberty, rank, and command, in a very fliort
.time, but not his feat in the houfe.
- AchilopM
r/bo, bo-iv an envious feftivel enjials.
And to fnr-vey their Jlrength the faction calls.
The Duke of York being invited to dine at Merchant Taylor's
Hall with the company of artillery, of which he was captain-gene-
ral, on April 2 i, 1682, tickets were difperfed in oppofiiion to, and
contempt of, this meeting; inviting the nobility, gentry, and
citizens, who wiflied well to the Proteftant religion, ro convene
the fame day at St. Michael's church, Cornhiil, and thence pro-
ceed to dine at Haberdafliers-Hall : but this aflbdation was
flopped by an order of council,
lo ! the rcjal mandate twites forth.
The fubftance of which was, that the power of appointing
public days of fads and thankfgivings being vcfted in the crown,
a particular meeting, pretended to that tnd, and advertifed to be
held on the 2ift of April, 1682, at St. Michael's, Cornhiil, muft
he of a feditious tendency, as not having the royal fanfticn ; and
therefore the lord-mayor and aldermen of London are, at their
peril, ordered to hinder it, as an unlawful aflemLly.
Firfl write Bezalial
Bezalial, the Marquis of Worcefter, created Duke of Beau-
fort in 1682, a nobleman of great worth and honor, who had al-
ways taken part with the king, aud one of thofe, whom the com-
mons in 1680, prayed his majefty to remove from about hisper-
fon, as being a favorer of Popery.
See all his glories copied in his fen.
Charles Somerfet, Lord Herbert of Ragland in Monmouth-
fliire, who, according to Wood, was entered of Chrift church,
Oxford, and took his degree as a mafter of arts in 1681.
xx NOTES.
Abdael, ivztb all bis father's virtues
Abdael, the Duke of Albemarle, fon to the brave
Monk, and prefident of Wales. He was liberal and loyal, ancl
a leading man among the friends of the king and the duke, oa
which account he was feverely lligmatized by the Whig writers,
Jn 1687 he was fent abroad governor of Jamaica, where he
died,
- ? hard the tajk to do EJiau n ,.'.
Eliab, Sir Henry v ,e -net, Earl of Arlington, had fliaredinthe
Icing's banjfhment; and in the beginning of this reign was his
refident in Spain : from whence returning in 1662, he was made
fecretary of flare, and became a member of the cabal. He was
a man of moderate capacity. neither remarkable for virtue or
vice ; he always meant well, b;:t wanted integrity, or refokition,
to oppofc the advice uf his colleagues, tho he knew it wrong.
He had acquirer 1 an a'r of gravity in Spain that did not fit eafy
upon him ; and it was rendered, in feme rneafure, ridiculous, by
a black patch whjcji covered a fear on his nofe. The king owed
his conversion to Popery, when alr~"d, to' his influence, for
which Lord Colpepper \ hreatened him feverely ; andBennet, who
\vas not the moft daring man alive, remained abroad till that
nobleman's death. It might have been by chance, but he had,
e:,emies who called it fear. He was proud, flow, but folid, and
hid the art of humoring the king better than any body. He favv
the ill confeqnence of his majefty's favoring Popery after the re-
ftoradon, and, during his adminiftration, made the oppofingita
nutxim ; yet he had been formerly of that religion, and was re-.
penciled to it on his death-bed.
Well claimed the royal hcuJJicld for bis care.
The Earl of Arlington was now a knight of the garter, and
Reward of the houfhcld, which port he enjoyed in the fucceeding
yeign a ihorttime, dying in 1685.
fits age -.'///> only one mild heirejs llr/>,
OtbrieFt bride.
Othnel, Henry Duke of Grafron, one of the king's natural
fons, begotten upon the body of the Dutchefs of Cleveland. She
was averfe to his marrying Lord Arlington's daughter, tho a con-
fiderab,le heirefs. I have feen a letter from her to lord-treafurer
Danby, dated from Paris, (I think in 1675) thanking him for
his care in endeavoring to prevent this match. It is iu her o'.vn
hand-writing.
NOTES.
This Duke of Grafton fbon joined the Prince of Orange at the
revolution, and was killed at the fiege of Cork, in the year 1690.
He had great natural bravery, was very fincere, but rough as the
fea, of which he was fond, and whereon, had he lived, he pro-
miied to make a gallant figure.
Even cxvy atujl confent to Helotfs *wortb.
Helon, the Earl of Feverfham, a Frenchman by birth, and
nephew to Marefchal Turenne : he was honeft, brave, and good-
aarured, but precipitate and injudicious.
To flight bis gods ivas fmall ; nuitk nobler pr'ulc,
He all t/S allurements of his court defyd.
His lord (hip profefTed himfelfa Proteftanr, tho Burner fays there
was reafon to fufpecl his finceriry. Affe&ion for King Charles JI.
who really efteemed him, made him prefer England to his own
country, where he had great intereft, and might have expefted
to be nobly provided for,
Our lift of nobles next let Amri graft.
Amri, Sir Heneage Finch, configured lord -keeper of the great
feal, on Shaftefbury's difmiffion, and foon after advanced to a
peerage and the chancellorship. He was a zealous Protef-
tanr, and yet conducted himfelf with fuch fteadinels and inte-
grity, as to give offence to no party ; which was a little furpri-
fing, as he held this important ftation at a time, when party-
feuds raged with unlicenced fury. His abilities were very great;
he was judicious, eloquent, and induftrious, an able lawyer, and
a ftatefman, endued with ftrong veracity and inflexible integrity.
Than Sbeva, none more loyal -zeal have Jfoe-ivx,
Wakeful as 'Jndah' > 3 lion for the cronvn.
Sheva, Sir Roger L'Eftrange, a ftrong champion for the Tories
many years, known not only by the Obfervator, publifhed twice a
week, and mentioned by us before, but by many other pam-
phlets and books, a lift of which may be found in the General Dic-
tionary.
He was descended of a very good family in Norfolk, and early
in arms for King Charles I. when being taken prifoner by the
parliament, he was condemned to be hanged, but luckily ef-
caped, and was knighted for his writings by James II. His ftile
was mean and crabbed, his humor low, but he was matter of
fquie argument.
e 4
Jxxii NOTES.
Still Hebron's honor V happy foil retains,
Our. royal heroes beauteous dear remains, &c.
The duke feeming to have now got the better of his enemies,
the Popifti plot having loft its credit, and the fears of Popery
greatly fubficied, he embarked for Scotland ia the Glofte'r
yatch on the 3d of May, to bring up his family ; but here
A bitter grief mift poifon half bis jcy.
For early in the morning on the 5th, ftie ftruck upon a fand-
bank, and foon went to the bottom, carrying with her one hun-
dred and thirty ftout men, feyeral ypung people of quality, and
many of the duke's fervants, who
With loud laft breath their majter's 'fcape applaud.
For fo well was he beloved, that it is fdd, even when they faw
themfelves finking without hope of relief, they exprefled their joy
st beholding their mailer fafe. And he was highly complimented
for his refolution, calmnefs and humanity, on this melancholy
occafion, in which he fcemcd lefs felicitous for hhr.felf than any
other perlbn.
See where the princely bark in loofejl pri.i'e,
With all her guardian fleet adorns the tide,
High on her deck the > oyal lovers jland, &c.
Having fettled the government of Scotland, the Duke of York,
with his dutchefs and houftiold, returned to England, arriving
fafelyin the Gun-fleet on the 26th of May. They were met at Erif
by the king and court, whom they accompanied by water toWhite-
hall, being faluted, as they came up, by the Tower guns, and by
all the Ihips in the river. From Whitehall they went to Ariing-
ton-houfe in the Park, where they were fumptuoufly entertained;
and his royal highnefs received the congratulations of the city on
his happy efcape and return, and London and Weltminfter blazed
with bonfires, and ecchoed with rejoicing for this happy event,
'this year did Zilcab rule Jcrufalem.
Sir John Moor, a Tory, was lord-mayor of London in 1682 :
his fheriffs were Thomas Pilkington, Efq; one of the members
for the city, and Mr. Samuel Shute, both ftaunch Whigs. But
the year following, the city was entirely governed by perfons
agreeable: to the court, viz. Sir William Pritchard, lord-mayor,
Dudley North, and Francis Rich, Efqrs. fheriffs, tho they didno.t
carry their elections without gre^t oppcfition.
N GTE S. Ixxur
T H E MEDAL.
A Salire againft Sedition.
SHAFTESBURY had, for fome time part, harrafled the
king with implacable malice, whereby his majefty's refent-
ment wasfo much heightened, that it was refolved, either by fair
or foul means, to take him off. No fums were fpared in feeking
to procure and fuborn fufilcient evidences againft this nobleman,
to prove high-treafon upon him, and bring him to the fcaffbld.
Jt was pracYifing his own arts upon him. A bill of indict-
ment was exhibited againft him at the Old Baily, on the 24th of
November, 1681 ; the lord mayor, the court of aldermen, and
all the judges attending. The witnefles were examined in open
court, and fwore to fuch incredible circumftances, as mail have
invalidated their teftimony, tho they had not been already branded
as perjured villains. One of the ftrongeft proofs againft his lordf
ihip was a draught of an aflbciation * found among his papers,
which might be conftrued into treafon, the general purport of it
being " to lay the king under fuch reftri&ions as fhould reduce
" him to a cypher ; and not only to exclude the Duke of York
" from the fucceflion, but aflerting his title robe pretended; and
" propofing to purfue him even to death, when he returned to
" England, in cafe he perfifted to make that title good."
This aflbciation was not in his hand-writing ; neither could it
be proved, that he had ever communicated the fcheme to any
body, or approved of any projeft of the like nature. However,
it was happy for his lordihip, that the two fherifFs were entirely
in the Whig intereft. Thefe were Shute and Fiikington, who took
care to pack a proper jury, and they returned the bill ignora-
mus : a circurnftance fo agreeable to the multitude did not pals
without prodigious acclamations ; the city rung with rejoicing,
and, to perpetuate the memory of ir, a medal was caft, with
Lord Shaftelbury's head on one fide. It was anfwered by Settle,
under the title of The. Medal r ever fed. I have another anfwer to it by
me, printed in folio in 1682, called The loyal Medal vindicated ; it
is a fpiritlefs poor performance, and t< e author of it, to ufe Dry-
den's words, p. 257 of this volume, " proves himfelf a diflenter
44 in poetry, from fenfe and Englilh."
: , : s
* See the top of page Ix, v.
kxir NOTES.
EPISTLE to the W H I G S.
T N anfwer to this piece, the author of the Loyal Medal I'indi-
*' cttted, has prefented us with an Epijlle to the Tories, whom he
terms dijloyal; but will not allow the denomination of Tory to
Dryden, whofe political genius he imagines, it is impolfible to
appropriare more to King Charles than to Cromwell.
No Pr defiant plot. Sec.
A folio pamphlet with this title, vindicating Lord Shaftefbury
from being concerned in any plotting defign againfl the king, was
published in two parts, the firft in 1681, the fecond, jn 1682.
Wood fays, that the general report was, that they were written
by the earl himfelf, or that, at leatt, he found the materials ;
and his fervant, who put it into the printer's hands, was com-
jnitted to prifon.
The third part of your no Prole ft ant plot is Jlohn from your dead
author's growth of Popery, Sec.
This third part, printed in quarto, was fuppofed to be written
by Fergufon, under my lord's eye. It reflects on the proceedings
againft him in the points of high treafon, whereof he flood ac-
cufed ; and flrives to depreciate the characters of the witnefles, by
painting them in the moft odious colors. The Growth of Popery
was written by Mr. Marvel, who published it a little before his
cjeath, which happened in 1678. A fecond part of it was writ-
ten by Mr. Fergufon abovementioned; for which, and other fedi-
tious practices, his body was demanded of the States of Hol-
land, he being then at Brill, but refufcd ; tho Sir Thomas Arm-
ftrong had been given up by them a little before. This is the
fame man who was concerned in the Ryehoufe-plot ; and it is
remarkable, that when the fecretary of ftate was giving out or-
ders for the feizing the reft of the confpirators, he privately bade
the mcffenger to let Fergufon efcape.
,orfw you would fain be Kibbling at a parallel betvsten this
affectation, and that in tie time of Queen Elizabeth.
- When England, in the fixteenth century, was fuppofed in dan-
ger from the dcfigns of Spain, the principal people, with tho
Queen at their head, entered into an affociation for the defence
of their country, and of the Proteftant religion, againft Popery,
invafion, and innovation.
N 6 T E S. Ixxr
Therefore you do -it-/// to have rccourfe to your laft pvafion, &c.
The friends of the Earl of Shaftefbury infmuatecl every where,
that the draught of that aflbciation which was fald to be found
amaighis papers, was put there by the perfon whofeizec! them,
to advance' the credit of the Tories, and give greater weight to
the court charge.
. . the brother of Achitophel out of fervice.
George Cooper, Efq; brother to the Earl of Shaftelbury, was
married to a daughter of Alderman Oldfield; and, being fettled in
the city, became a great man among the Whig? and Fanatics.
The MEDAL.
Tims freutld for ill, be loot d tie triple bld.
OUR breaking the alliance with Holland and Sweden, was.
owing to the Earl of Shaftefbury's advice, as well as the
limiting up the exchequer, and the tolerating of liberty of con-
fcUnce. Meafures extremely unpopular.
But when this fatal connfel, found too late
Exposed its author to the public hate,
he Jhifts his fail.
It would be doing great injuftice to the memory of Lord
Shaftesbury, if we did not give an abftraft of the reafons of his
fudden defection from the king's party.
His lordfhip had gone heartily into the defign of the refrora-
tion, and afterwards zealoufly promoted all the court-meafures. ;
many of which, particularly the three juft mentioned, were very
much oppofed by the parliament, to whom, however, he faith-
fully promifed to make them agreeable, provided his majefty
would ftand by him with refolution, and wait with patience the
effec~l of his machinations. The king afiured him that he would ;
but being wearied out by the obftinance of the commons, who,
before they granted the fupplies, infilled upon a redrefs of griev-
ances, among which was numbered the declaration for indul-
gence, he promifed them that every thing they defired fhouldbe
complied with. This refolutlon was fpontaneous ; it threatened
the minifters, by whofe advice he had acted. Shaftcfbury faw
this ; he was convinced that he had been laboring for a monarch,
who wanted refolutjon to fupp.ort hiiyfelfi and therefore it was
U-xvi NOTE S.
not to be fuppofed he would Packer his minivers : bcfidcs, he had
broke his royal word, and for that reafon was not to be relied
upon. Shaftcsbury had alfo introduced anew cuftom with regard
to the electing members, whereby the court had it more than ever
in its power to chufe thofe that were moil in its intereft. This
method was voted illegal, and ftill hung over the head of the chan-
cellor ; fo that, to fecure his own fafcry, which he found had no
protelor but himfclf, he changed fides ail at once. The king's refo-
lation to rccal his declaration was not made till late at night ;
nor was it till after, that Shaftesbury hid down to himfelf apian
of proceeding. The very next morning the man, who had fo
lately interefted himfelf in every point that the king wanted to
carry; who had with fo much emotion and eloquence voted for
th: destruction of Holland, dtl&ida eft Canker-) this very man
appeared at the head of the oppofits party, inveighing againfr.
Popery and arbitrary power, the war with Holland, which he had
before fo rtrongly recommended, and the alliance with France.
The court was attoniftied at fofuaden a change, and the majority
of the parliament was infinitely pleafed. Impartiality will cer-
tainly allow, that Lord Shaftesbury had reafon for acting thus :
we have taken a view of the reft of his conduct in other places,
and leave the reader to form his own judgment upon the whole.
The bead is loyal t which thy heart ccmmahds ;
But wkafs a head -<.'.: f/j t-ivo fitch gouty hands.
Alluding to the lord-mayor and the two fnerifts : the former
Sir John Mcor, being a Tory ; the latter Shute and Pilkington,
fanatics and Whigs.
PREFACE to the RELIGIO L AICI.
1 have written perhaps lea btLi'y on Sf. Athcinafnny &c.
ST. Athanafius lived in the fourth century : he was patriarch
of Alexandria ; his life was a continual warfare with the
Arians, and other heretics. To fecure himfelf from their rage, he
fpeat fix years in the bofom of a defert. It would be impeiti-
nent here to recite his creed : it is fufficiently known to all chri-
ftians, as well as the many violent difputes it has occafioned,
which are even at this day kept on foot with great animofity.
Arias diiTcnted from the Catholic church, in his manner of ex-
plaining the doarine of the Trinity. He boldly avowed his prin-
ciples in the midft of the firit general council held at Nice, con-
NOTE S. Ixvii
lifting of three hundred and eighteen bishops. He held, that
God the Son was inf. 'trier to Gcd the Father, as not having exifledfrofit
eternity : that God the Father had not teen always Gcd the Father ,
becaufe, at a certain time, he had created God the S;a : that all things
being created cf nothing, Gcd the Sen ~j^as created out of nothing; he
nvas therefore the ivcrk cf his Fatkr, being by nature liable to change.
Thefe tenets were then condemned, and Arius exiled : his parti-
sans and followers had intereft enough to procure a reversion of
this fentence : he returned under powerful protestors, and the he-
refy, of which he was the author, fpreiui with rapidity. He is faid
to have died in ConitxntiaopJe, eafmg nature, by voiding his
inteitines.
Arius was a good ftholar, and an excellent logician ; his man-
ners mild ?.!: infmuating; his eloquence fbrceable and peifua-
iive ; his deportment grave and rr.odeft. Under a veil of pietv,
virtue, and zeal for religion, (fays Moreri) he concealed a vi> lent
ambition, an inordinate ddire of glory : his talents enabled him
not only to impofe on the v.enk, but alfo influenced princes to
become his protectors ; ecclcilaftics and prelates to adopt his
opinions, and fupport them even in the pulpit.
TheSocinian herefy, which adds to and explains that of Arius,
was framed by Ltlius Socinus, a gentleman of a noble family in
Sienna. This deftrine was enlarged, improved, and published
about the latter end of the fixteenth century, by his nephew Fauf-
tus, into whofe hands his papers fell. The folloxvers of this fec-
lary teach the vxrjhipping cf cne Gcd -without dijlixSicn cf perfons. ;
the Holy Gbift they Jay is only the Almighty po-^tr uf Gcd ; and that
Jefus Chrijl had no being before the incarnaticn, nvbich they allow to
have- been immaculate, thro tht operation rf that Almighty po-iver ; that
Jefus Chrijl is, however* the Son of God by adoption, principally bc-
tauje a man born cf a virgin; and that he is God by participation
having power both in heaven and earth.
They deny the redemption by the Son of God, and reduce
the divine miffion to Jefus Chrift's having fecured falvation to man,
by teaching him feme noble truths, fuppqrtiag his doftrine by he-
roic examples, and fealing it with his blood.
Not to name Mariana, Ecllamine, &c.
All Jefuits and controverfial writers in the Rojr.an Catholic
church.
Tic fii-Jl tranfiation. cf Tyr.dal, &c.
William Tyndal, a zealous Lutheran, fmiPncc! a tranflation of the
New Tsftament in 1527, and aftewards one cf the foe books of
NOTES.
Mofes,wlrh prefatory expofitionSi Tliey w>ere piiblillted in England, 1
but lupprefled> and the fale and reading of them prohibited, amid
1546, by an adl of parliament, as being erroneous, and contri-
buting to turn people's heads A tranflation of the Bible made
under the eye of the convocation was by the fame aft per-
mitted to be tifed by noblemen, gentlemen, and merchants; but
forbidden to mechanics and bitjlairdmen. The publication of it was
alfo ordered to bd made without any preface, comment, or expo-
iition.
Tyndal was put to death as an incendiary in Flanders, by
fome agents of Henry VIII. be.iog firft ifrangled, and then
burned.
Hackett and Copinger^ &c.
Hackett was a man of fome learning ; he had much of the
fcriptnre by heart, and made himfelf for fome time remarkable
by preaching in an enthufiaftic ftrain. In 1591 he made a great
parade of fanctity* pretended to divine infpiration, and vifions
from God. He was highly extolled by fome Calvinift minirters,
particularly by Copinger and Arthington, who, in Cheapfide, pro-
claimed him a greater prophet than Mofes, or St. John the Bap-
tift ; nay, that he was Chrift himfelf come to judge the work! ;
and that they were his aflifting prophets, one ftiling himfelf ftie
prophet of mercy, the other of judgment. Hackett was fried,
coimfted, and hanged, p/erfifting with hi:, laft breath in' the rhoft
horrid blafphemies. Arthington publifhed a recantation of his
errors, in which he erprefies great contrition; and Copinger
ftarved himfelf to death in prifon. ,
Thoje <v-erft.s nucr<e vjrittert for aft ingenious young gentleman, &c.
The fon of the celebrate'd John Hambden. He was in the
Ryehoufe-plot, and -fined 15,000!. which was remitted at the
revolution ; but whether or no the tranflation here mentioned
was ever pubHfhed, J cannot tell. Father Richard Simon wasao-
oratorian prieft, we 11 verfed in the oriental languages : he pub-
limed befides the work here mentioned, a critical hiftory of the
New Teftament ; pnd a new tranilation of it, whiih was cen-
furcd by Cardinal de Noailles, archbifliop of Paris, and oppofed
by the famous bifhop of Meaux, Boffuet. He was reckoned act"
able divine, and c-ne of the beft critics of the laft age.
NOTES. IxxJx
!
RELIGIO LAIC I.
-him .
-
An Epiftle addrefjed to JOHN HAMBDEN, Efq\
AS I have not hitherto taken upon me, either to point out
the beauties of ruy author, or expatiate on his defefts ; to
diftinguifh which I fuppofe the reader's judgment to be fufficienr,
it is not to be expected, i^hat either in my review of this poem, or
the Hind and Panther, I (hall enter the lifts as a difputant with
Dryden ; or that I (hall prefume to confirm or condemn his ar-
guments. Such a tafk is not, I think, my duty ; my inclina-
tions do not lead me to it ; and it would, moreover, engrofs
more time and paper than is confident with my plan. It only
remains for me to obferve, that the author of the Religio Laici,
and the author of the Hind and Panther, differ in feveral places,
and often contradict one another : thefe pafTages we mall endea-
vor to compare, when we come to the poem lall-mentioned.
Nor does it baulk my charity to find y &e.
Many people have thought the creed of Athanafius fevere :
they have counted that bifhop uncharitable and enthtiftaftic ; but
they mould remember, that to oppofe the weight and fubtilty of
Arius, it was necefiary for him to be warm, forceable, minute*
and fometimes harfli.
We have here a reafonable excufe for him ^ and it is not un-
likely, that the pafiage was foftened before publication, out of
compliment to the gentleman, mentioned in the preface, as ad-
vifing it to be entirely omitted
They Jitnius and Tremdlius may defy, &C.
Francis Junius, and Emanuel Tremellius, two Calvinift mini-
fters, who, in the fixteenth century, joined in tranflating the
Bible from Hebrew into Latin. The latter tranflared the New
Teftament from the Syriac, and father Simon criticifes on him;
in. a mafterly manner. They both left weighty com-ments on the.
Ltxx NOTES.
The ART of POETRY.
THIS poem is faid to be * Boileau's mafterpiece, and was ad-
mired, not only for the ftrength and arrangement of the
precepts, but alfo for the author's great knowledge and tarte ; the
beauty of his verfification, and ufefulnefs of the deiign. His
enemies accufed him of having only tranflated Horace ; and
what they intended as a reflection, turns out an eulogium : for
he has imitated or tranflated him in very few places. Mr. Pope,
who was well acquainted with Boileau's merits, to whom he was
fometimes obliged, fpeaks thus of him in his Efiay on Criticifm :
" But critic learning fiourifh'd moft in France :
" The rules, a nation born to ferve, obeys,
" And Boileau ilill in right of Horace fways."
As this tranflation is to be found in the fourth volume of Mif-
cellanies, publifhed by Tonfon in Dryden's life-time, to hava
omitted it here would have been very unfair.
CANTO I.
Our author, in this canto, lays down general rules for poetry,
which have tins excellency, that they are proper alfo to be ap-
plied in other fpecies of writing.
If at thy birth the Ji^rs, c.
Pocta nafcitur non fit: a genius for poetry, according to Horace,
muft be innate. The rule will hold good in every other art or
fcience.
Tu nibilinvita dices, faclefae Minerva.
Hor. de Ar. Po. v. 385.
And will conjider your o vjn force, & c .
" Sumite materiam veftris, quifcribitis, sequam
" Viribus ; et verfate diu, quid ferre recufent,
" Quid valeant, humeri." Hor. de Ar. Pd. i>. 38. ,
* Nicholas Boileau, Defpreaux's father, was a lawyer. He
himfelf attempted the fame ftudy, and afterwards applied himfelf
to divinity, but was difgufted with both. Lewis XIV. who ef-
teemed him highly, gave him many marks of his favor, and he'
made money of his works. His death happened at Paris, anno
1711, being then feventy-nVe years old.
" Be
NOTE!
n Be fure yourfelf, and your own reach, to know,
" How far your genius, tafte, and learning go :
" Launch not beyond your depth, but bedifcreet."
Pope's E/.onCrii*
Thus in tifnepaji Dubartas, &C.
Dubartas, a voluminous French author of the fixteenth cen-
tiiry. Among other of his works, we find that one Mr. John
Sylveftefj in the reign of James I. tranflared the following :
The Six Days Work of the Creation ; praifed by Ben Jonfon,
but Dryden had a mean opinion of it. The Triumph of
Faith ; the Ark ; Babylon. Thefe two are, I fuppofe, in this
place alluded to; Jonas, the Fathers, Eden, &c. Dubartas
was a Hugonot, of a noble family : he commanded a trodp of
horfe in the fervice of the King of Navarre, afterwards Henry
the Great, by whom he was entrufted with the management of
his affairs at different times, in England, Scotland, and Den-
mark.
Always let fenfe accompany, &C'.
" 'Tis not enough no harmnefs give offende,
" The found muft leem an eccho to the fenfe.
Pope's EJf. on Crit.
If be defcribes a houfe, &C.
Scuderi, in his poem of Alaric, lays out above three, hundred
lines, in tedioufly defcribing, in a palace,
The fejloons, freezes, and the aftragal.
A piece of carved work, reprefenting a wreath or garland, is
called a fejtoon. The^/Jws^feparates the architrave from thectfr-
riice ; and the ring at the top or bottom of a column, is called art
aJlragaL They are here named on account of their rriinutenefs^
to expofe an author's dwelling upon a fubjecl till it becomes
\vcarifome.
Happy who in his <verfe t &C.
" Omne tulit punlum, qui mifcuit utlle dulci,
" Ledtorem deledlando, pariterq; movendo, &c<"
Hor. de Ar. Pe. <v. 342.
And the Mock-Tempeft was a while renowrtd.
The Temped being revived at the duke's theatre in 1675, a
farce called The Mock-Tempeft, or the Inchanted Cattle, was
VOL. I. f
Ixxxfi NOTES.
brought out at the theatre royal. It was purpofely written in a
bmlefque ftile, and defigned to draw people from the reprefen-
tation of the Tempeft, which was greatly followed. Itisfofcur- '
rilous a piece, that when it was got up on the Dublin ftage, rnoft
of the perfons of fafhion quitted the houfe before the firft fcene
was ended. The name of the author was Thomas Duffett ; he
dealt in remnants of luxury, as well as rags of ParnavTus, being
a millener in the New Exchange, and is fnppofed to be the man-
millener in a comedy much followed in that age, entitled, Tom
EiTence, written by Mr. Rawlins, principal engraver of the Mint,
both in the reigns of Charles I. and II.
And Itft the 'villages to Flecknois reign.
That is, to the reign of dullnefs. We (hall have farther oc-
cafion to fpeak of Flecknoe, when we come to the inimitable fa-
tire diftinguifhed by that name.
Millions of mourning mountains of tbejlain.
" De mourans et des morts cent Montagnes plaintives."
BtebettfTrad. de Lucain.
Can any thing be more abfurd or bombaftic, than a mourning
mountain ?
The fttllefi <verfe and the moft, &c.
" Quamvis enim fuaves, gravefq; fententiae, tamen fiincondi-
* tis verbis efferuntur, offendent aures, quarum eft judicium fu-
" perbifiimum. Cic. ad Brut.
Fairfax --was be, ivlo in that darker age.
Edmund Fairfax flourimcd in the time of Charles I. He tran-
flated Godfrey of Bulloign, from the Italian of Taflb, into al-
ternate verfe : and his tranflation is even at this time efteemed a
very noble production. Mr. Thiresby tells us, there are ftill
fome original manufcripts of this incomparable poet preferved in
the library of the church of Leeds.
Then Davenant came, &c.
Sir William Davenant was fon to a vintner in Oxford, whole
houfe was often vifited by Shakefpear ; rather, fay fome, for the
fake of the handfome landlady, than the good wine. It is faid,
that the father of our ftage encouraged' him much, by praifing
fome of his boyifh pieces. He was entered of Lincoln-college at
the age of fixteen, and was entertained fuccefiively in the families
of the Dutchefs of Richmond and Lord Brook. He fucceeded :
NOTES. Ixxxiii
Ben Jonfon, anno 1637, as poet-laurear, and enjoyed the poft
during the reigns of Charles I. and II. He wrote nineteen dra-
matic performances, by which he got a good deal of money.
Having ereclcd a theatre in little Lincoln's Inn-Fields, and for it
obtained a patent, he there firft exhibited opera? ; and his im-
provement of fcenery being much admired v drew the town to him :
the other houfe bearing before that the preference, as having the
beft performers. He had been knighted by King Charles I. in
1643, and made general of the ordnance by the Marquis of New -
caftle. He wrote his heroic poem, called Gondibert, in France,
whither he had retired after the battle of Worcefter, and died in
1668, being fixty-three years old. He is buried in Weftminfter-
Abbey, with this epitaph under his buft, imitative of Ben Jonfon's:
O rare Sir William Davenant !
Waller came loft, &c.
Edmund Waller, Efq; the bn of a very eminent Iwycr, who
dying when he was young, left him with a patrimony of 3500 I.
per annum, to the care of a mother, who fpared no pains in his
education. From Eton college, where he remained for feme time,
he was removed to King's college, Cambridge. Being a lad of
extraordinary fhining parts, he was chofen to reprcfent Agmon-
defham in the laft parliament of James I. being then only feven-
teen years old. He was carefled by the beft and wittitii people
of his time, and was fined in the fum of 1 0,000 1. and then ba-
mmed, under the ufiirpation of Cromwell, for being concerned in
fome things that tended to promote the royal intereft. Charles
II. was very fond of him ; and indeed he was univerfally ad-
mired for the elegance of his manners, his delicacy of tafte, and
elevated genius. He was the firft perfon who refined our lan-
guage, adorning it with all the fmoothnefs of verification, and
variety of harmony, that we at preient can boaft of ; for to him
we certainly owe as much as the French do to Cardinal Richlieu
and the whole academy.
But find your faithful friends, &C.
" Truft not yourfelf ; but your defedls to know,
" Make ufe of every friend, &c. Pope.
Yet ft ill be fays you may, &C.
*' Et verum, inquis, amo: Verum mini dicite de me."
Per/. Sat. I.
f 2 I
Jxxxiv N O T T E S.
Qninault, a poet of fome reputation, is levelled at here, who
fought the friendfhip of Boileati, after he had been treated by him
with ieverity in his fa tires. " This man, Boileau ufed to fay, has
f f reconciled himfelf to me, and vilits me often to talk of his
'* own poetry ; but he never takes an opportunity to fay a word
f of mine."'
CANTO II.
In this and the following canto, we find adivifion and examina-
tion of the different fpecies of poetry ; among which paftoral
juflly leads the way, as being certainly the moil antient.
Youd Jkvear that Randal, Sec.
Mr. Samuel Johnfon thinks, that this mould be Randolph, Ben
Johnfon's adopted fon, who wrote fome paftorals. In the origi-
nal mention is made in this place of Pierre Ronfaid, a poet of
he fixteenth century, in great efreem with Keivy II. Francis
H. Henry III. and Charles the IXth, Kings of France. He
wrote eclogues, in which he puerilized the names of Henry and
Charles, both of them his fovereigns, into Henriot and Carlin ;
he called Catherine de Medicis familiarly Catin, &c.
A fault lefs fen fist, &c.
The provincial poets ufed to wander from town to town, and
court to court, finging or reciting verfes : they are by fome fup-
pofed to have given Petrarch the hint of writing thofe beautiful
fonnets which he has left us.
The lawyer -Mith conceit adcrrfd, &c.
Eloquence was but in an indifferent flare in the beginning
of the fevenreenth century, but rather worfe in France than
among us. Both the pnlj.it and bar were abufed with Greek and
Latin quotations incelfantly made, and often not to the purpofe.
Thefe gave way to quirks, quibbles, quaint conceits, and other
pieces of falfe wit. No man contributed more to deftroy thofe
innovations upon tafte than Boileau.
SATIRE.
Our author has difcourfed largely and learnedly upon this fpe-
cies of poetical writing in his dedication of Juvenal, to which we
refer the reader.
NOTES. Ixxxv
JJorace his pleajing ivit to this, &c.
'* Omne vafer vitium ricienti fiaccus amico
" Tangit, et admiffus circuin pi^cordia ludit,
*' Caliidusexcuflb populum fui^endcre naib." Perf. Sat. I.
Makes David Lagan, C\.c.
A noted engraver.
CANTO III.
TRAGEDY.
There's not a mcnfter Ired, &c.
This fimile is borrowed from Ariftotle, who fays, " Nothing
* { pleafes mankind fo much as imitation : therefore we are fond
' of painting ; altho it may exhibit the moft hideous objects, the
' originals of which we fhould abhor. The more perfect the
' imitation, (continues he) the greater the fatisfaclion ; but this
' fatisfaclion arifes from reafon and comparifon, not from the ac-
' tual beauty of the original copied. It is the (kill cf the artift
' that communicates the pleafure."
See AriJ}. Poetic, ch. iv. and en Rbct. 1. i. ch. xi. pref. 28.
. tragedy in tears
For Oedipus, pro<vskes our hopes, and fears :
For parricide Ore/fes ajks relief, &C.
I believe the CEdipus of Sophocles, and the Oreftes of Euripi-
des, were meant here by the tranflator as well as the author.
However, there is a note in all the editions that Ihave feen of this
poem, that gives the mention of QEdipus as a compliment to Dry-
den from Sir William Soames.
A SpanijJj poet may, &c.
Lopez de Vega, a famous Spanifh poet, has left behind him a
great number of plays, deemed mafterpieces of genius, tho void
of regularity. His Valentine and Orfon are born in the firffc
aft, and well advanced in years in the laft. Shakcfpear has been
guilty of fome funilar overfights ; for example, in his Winter's
Tale. Kis Othello too is tranfported by the fhifting of a fcene
from Venice to Cyprus. He often carries us by the fame ma-
chine, in the famefpace from England to France and back again.
His Hamlet makes a fi_a -voyage.
But iae that are by reafon j i rules, &c.
What our author fays here of the rules proper fop tragedy, with
its rife and progrefs, he owes to Ariftotle, Horace, and Diog.Lacr-
Ixxxvi NOTES.
tius's life of Solon. To refer to the particular paffages, would
take up too much ti;ne.
A trcbp cffjly pilgrims, &c.
In the fifteenth century all the ftories of the Old and New Tef-
tament were played by way of fnews in France, England, &c. firft
in churches, where, under the name of myftenes, they were
incorporated with the divine fervico, and afterwards in pnbiic
theatres ; but at length thefe exhibitions were fuppreffed as fcan-
dalous to religion.
Or for a Cyrus flew, &c.
Artamen, the name given to Cyrus, in Madam Scudcry's fa-
mous romance of Cyrus.
Chapenan in Eujfy D'jfmbois, &c.
Dryden burned a copy of this play annually, to the memory of
Ben Jonfon. Ses preface to Spanijb Fryar.
Make net your Hecuba, &c.
Boileau had an eye here upon the Troas of Seneca, in the firft
fcene of which, Hecuba oddly repeats this line ; Septena tanain ora
fandentem bibit. The French is, Par fept benches /' Euxitie recoil le
lanais. I muft own the Englifh tranilation of it does not pleafc
rne, " Or tell in vain, c."
To cbufe King Cbilperic for bii hero, c.
In the original it isCkiltkbiwid, the chief perfonage of a French
heroic poem, called Lei Sarrazins cbajftz de France, by Sieur de
St. Garde, who, in return for this raillery, published La drfence
des beaux efprits, in which Boileau is treated with great ill manners.
Nor imitate that fool, c.
Monf. St. Amanr, in his poem intitled Moife Sauve, brings the
fhes to their windows to fee the Jews crofs the Red Sea.
" Et la, dit il, pres des ramparts, que Toil peut tranfpercer,
^'-Lespoiffons ebahis le regardent pafTer."
Be your beginning plain, &c.
The following precept is taken from Horace's Art of Poetry,
wide from 136 to 146. Boileau, inftead of Horace's Fortunam
Priami, &c. draws hjs example from Scuderi ; the firft line of
whofe Alaric is,
" Je chante le vainqueur de vainqueurs dela terre."
He who earth's conquerors fubdu'd I fing.
And where Horace tranflates Homer's beginning of the Iliad, as
NOTES. Ixxxvii
a fpecimen of fimplicity, our author fubftirutes the fidl lines of
the JEneid, as more generally known, and confequently more en-
forcing.
PJ rather read Orlando, &C.
Orlando Furiofo, a celebrated poem, written by Ariofto, who
is therefore by fbme preferred to Taffo. We have two tranfla-
tions of it; one done by Sir John Harrington, in the latter end of
Queen Elizabeth's reign ; the other by William Huggins, Efq;
a gentleman remarkable for his (kill in the Italian poetry, and his
love for polite learning: the latter is infinitely more perfect, and
certainly the beft book we have to give a true knowledge of the
Italian tongue, and help to form a fine tafte.
Homer, mat chiefs in bis art,
Stole fenus's girdle, &c.
One of the fineft fiftions in all the Iliad, is Juno's borrowing
from Venus her zone, that me might be the more fully enabled to
bring Jupiter into her own meafures.
' In this was ev'ry art, and ev'ry charm,
To win the wifeft, and thecoldell warm ;
Fond love, the gentle vow, the gay defire,
The kind deceit, the ftill reviving fire,
Perfuafive fpeech, and more perfuafive fighs,
Silence that fpoke, and eloquence of eyes."
Pope's Horn. B. XIV,
And--wha.tfoeer be touches, Sec.
The thought feems to be taken from Ovid's Metamorphofes.
See the ftory of Midas.
" Quicqirid contigero fulvum vertaturin aurum."
Yet fometimes artlefs poets, Sec.
The fatire here is levelled at Defmarets, who published a trea-
tife, to prove the French poets were every way fuperior to the
Greek and Roman ; and, tofupport his argument, he drew a com-
parifon between fome of the fineftpaflages in Virgil, and fome fa-
vourite lines in his own poem, called Clovis. To which he gave
the preference is not a queftion ; but he had firft taken care to
tell us, that the aftion of the Iliad was neither noble nor heroic ; that
the fubjeft was defective, &c. that Virgil wanted genius ; that his
narrations, characters, fentiments, and comparifons, abound with
faults ; that he fins againft probability, decorum, and judgment,
&c. &c. but his own works had every perfection.
And Socrates himfelf, &C.
This great philofopher was publicly ridiculed by name on the
i at Athens, by Ariftophanes, in his comedy of the Clouds.
.Hi NO T E S.
To name people upon the theatre, to affume their refemblancej
or affeft their manner, by us called taxing off] was afterwards, by
different ordinances, forbid by the Athenian magiftrates.
A humorous Otter, &c.
A character in Ben Jonfon's Silent V/oman.
Youth hot and furious, Sec.
The characters of youth, manhood, and old age* as here de-
fcribed, are taken from Horace, and Louis XIV. was fo fond of
the paflage, that he made the author repeat it over to him twice.
Horace gives us the character of childhood, which Boileau ju-
dicioufly omits, as incapable of cutting any great figure in an epic
poem.
A careful father, &c.
The example is drawn from Terence, particularly in his Heau-
tontimorumenos, At I. Scene I. Clitiphon fpeaks thus of his fa-
ther Chremes' advice :
" Abftutus ! nx ille haud fcit, quam mihi nunc furdo narret
fabuiam, magis nunc me amicse dicta ftimulant."
CANTO IV*
Talks like a Wren and May.
Sir Chriitopher Wren, and Mr.- May, were two of the king's
architects ; the former- planned St. Paul's, St. Stephen Wai-
brook, &c. &c.
Tbefe benefits from poets -tue, c.
See the original of this paflage in the Art of Poetry, line 391.
" Silveftres homines facer, &c. &c."
New let rebellion, &c. c.
The rumor of plots was now pretty well fubfided ; Shaftesbury,
the foul of difcontent, who had, under the appearancepof a pa-
triot, concealed the moft nefarious views, was dead ; anuyharles,
in this laft year of his reign, enjoyed fome little eapBJand fatis
aftion. 1 1\\
Opposite all the Boutefeus, &C. j\\
Boutefeu fignifies an incendiary ; a WOK! <nat I think might
have been here ufed as well.
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