Tag Archives: mythology

Ann Yearsley, “On Mrs. Montagu”

ANN YEARSLEY

“On Mrs. MONTAGU”

Why boast, O arrogant, imperious man,
Perfection so exclusive? are thy powers
Nearer approaching Deity? can’st thou solve
Questions which Infinity propounds,
Soar nobler flights, or dare immortal deeds, 5
Unknown to woman, if she greatly dares
To use the powers assign’d her? Active strength,
The boast of animals, is clearly thine;
By this upheld, thou think’st the lesson rare
That female virtues teach; and poor the height 10
Which female wit obtains. The theme unfolds
Its ample maze, for MONTAGU befriends
The puzzled thought, and, blazing in the eye
Of boldest Opposition, strait presents
The soul’s best energies, her keenest powers, 15
Clear, vigorous, enlighten’d; with firm wing
Swift she o’ertakes his Muse, which spread afar
Its brightest glories in the days of yore;
Lo! where she, mounting, spurns the stedfast earth,
And, sailing on the cloud of science, bears 20
The banner of Perfection. —————-
Ask GALLIA’S mimic sons how strong her powers,
Whom, flush’d with plunder from her SHAKESPEARE’S page,
She swift detects amid their dark retreats;
(Horrid as CACUS in their thievish dens) 25
Regains the trophies, bears in triumph back
The pilfer’d glories to wond’ring world.
So STELLA boasts, from her tale I learn’d;
With pride she told it, I with rapture heard.

O, MONTAGU! forgive me, if I sing 30
Thy wisdom temper’d with the milder ray
Of soft humanity, and kindness bland:
So wide its influence, that the bright beams
Reach the low vale where mists of ignorance lodge,
Strike on the innate spark which lay immers’d, 35
Thick clogg’d, and almost quench’d in total night —
On me it fell, and cheer’d my joyless heart.

Unwelcome is the first bright dawn of light
To the dark soul; impatient, she rejects,
And fain wou’d push the heavenly stranger back; 40
She loaths the cranny which admits the day;
Confus’d, afraid of the intruding guest;
Disturb’d, unwilling to receive the beam,
Which to herself her native darkness shews.

The effort rude to quench the cheering flame 45
Was mine, and e’en on STELLA cou’d I gaze
With sullen envy, and admiring pride,
Till, doubly rous’d by MONTAGU, the pair
Conspire to clear my dull, imprison’d sense,
And chase the mists which dimm’d my visual beam. 50

Oft as I trod my native wilds alone,
Strong gusts of thought wou’d rise, but rise to die;
The portals of swelling soul, ne’er op’d
By liberal converse, rude ideas strove
Awhile for vent, but found it not, and died. 55
Thus rust the Mind’s best powers. Yon starry orbs,
Majestic ocean, flowery vales, gay groves,
Eye-wasting lawns, and Heaven-attempting hills,
Which bound th’ horizon, and which curb the view;
All those, with beauteous imagery, awak’d 60
My ravish’d soul to extacy untaught,
To all the transport the rapt sense can bear;
But all expir’d, for want of powers to speak;
All perish’d in the mind as soon as born,
Eras’d more quick than cyphers on the shore, 65
O’er which the cruel waves, unheedful, roll.

Such timid rapture as young EDWIN seiz’d,
When his lone footsteps on the Sage obtrude,
Whose noble precept charm’d his wond’ring ear,
Such rapture fill’d LACTILLA’S vacant soul, 70
When the bright Moralist, in softness drest,
Opes all the glories of the mental world,
Deigns to direct the infant thought, to prune
The budding sentiment, uprear the stalk
Of feeble fancy, bid idea live, 75
Woo the abstracted spirit from its cares,
And gently guide her to the scenes of peace.
Mine was that balm, and mine the grateful heart,
Which breathes its thanks in rough, but timid strains.

NOTES:

Title Montagu Elizabeth Montagu (1718-1800), literary critic, writer, and patron of the arts. She was a founding member of the Bluestockings, a group of intellectual women formed in the mid-eighteenth century (Britannica).

17 Muse “The inspiration of poetry or song” (OED).

19 spurns “To reject with contempt or disdain” (OED).

22 GALLIA’S mimic sons Ancient Latin word for France; a reference to French critics (OED).

23 SHAKESPEARE’S page A reference to Montagu’s most important work, An Essay on the Writing and Genius of Shakespear (1769).

25 CACUS Three-headed, fire-breathing Roman diety killed by Hercules in his own cave after stealing cattle (Britannica).

28 STELLA Yearsley’s poetic name for Hannah More (1745-1833), a poet, playwright, and member of the Bluestocking circle. She became Yearsley’s most energetic patron until their falling out in 1787.

61 extacy “An exalted state of feeling which engrosses the mind to the exclusion of thought” (OED).

67 young EDWIN “See the Minstrel” [Author’s Note]. Edwin is the young poet of James Beattie’s (1785-1803) popular two-part poem The Minstrel (1771/1774). One of the characters he encounters is a philosopher or “Sage” figure.

70 LACTILLA “The Author” [Author’s Note]. Yearsley’s poetic name for herself.

71 bright Moralist Most likely a reference to Elizabeth Montagu.

SOURCE: Poems, on Several Occasions (London, 1785), pp. 101-106. [Google Books]

Edited by Chloe Moody

Anne Finch, “Cupid and Folly”

ANNE FINCH

“Cupid and Folly”
Imitated from the FRENCH

Cupid, ere depriv’d of Sight,
Young and apt for all Delight,
Met with Folly on the way,
As Idle, and as fond of Play.
In gay Sports the time they pass;                                                                   5
Now run, now wrestle on the Grass;
Their painted Wings then nimbly ply,
And ev’ry way for Mast’ry try:
‘Till a Contest do’s arise,
Who has won th’ appointed Prize.                                                                 10
Gentle Love refers the Case
To the next, that comes in Place;
Trusting to his flatt’ring Wiles,
And softens the Dispute with Smiles.
But Folly, who no Temper knows,                                                                  15
Words pursues with hotter Blows:
‘Till the Eyes of Love were lost,
Which has such Pain to Mortals cost.
Venus hears his mournful Crys,
And repeats ‘em, in the Skys, 20
To Jupiter in Council set,
With Peers for the Occasion met;
In her Arms the Boy she bears,
Bathing him in falling Tears;
And whilst his want of Eyes is shown,                                                            25
Secures the Judges by her Own.
Folly to the Board must come,
And hear the Tryal and the Doom;
Which Cytherea loudly prays
May be as heavy as the Case: 30
Which, when All was justly weigh’d,
Cupid’s Wings now useless made,
That a Staff, his Feet must guide,
Which wou’d still be apt to slide;
This Decree at last was read, 35
That Love by Folly shou’d be lead.

NOTES:

1 Cupid “Roman god of love” (Britannica), often rendered in iconography as blindfolded or blind.

3 Folly “Foolishness…unwise conduct” (OED).

19 Venus Roman goddess of love, mother of Cupid (Britannica).

21 Jupiter Roman god of the sky (Britannica).

29 Cytherea Another name for Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.

SOURCE: Poems on Several Occasions (London, 1714), pp. 135-136. [HathiTrust]

Edited by Hannah Heiden

Anonymous, “On Solitude”

ANONYMOUS

“On Solitude”

Hail, modest Solitude, instructive maid,
Still to thy vot’ry, still vouchsafe thine aid
Still imp my soul with meditation’s wings,
And lead me far from modern trifling things.
Before my view bid ages past unfold, 5
And let me mingle with the great of old.
With kings and heroes, saints and sages stray,
And let their converse cheat the devious way.
Behold, already to my joyful eyes,
From various realms the mighty shades arise; 10
Who once the bulwark of their country stood,
And, to be great, determin’d to be good.
Great too in crimes another race I view,
For all was great that former ages knew.
In Aristides just see Athens’ pride; 15
See the brave Theban, who at Leuctra dy’d.
With him th’ unweary’d partner of his wars,
Looks up elate and glories in his fears.
There moves the father of the Grecian state,
Whose name Thermopylae hath snatch’d from fate; 20
And yet an endless train to these succeeds,
The chief who conquers and the sage who bleeds,
Rome’s awful names now crowd upon my mind,
Her first great Brutus, glory of mankind,
The voice of nature dying in his ear, 25
The voice of Rome alone he knew to hear;
There leans Horatius on his darling boy,
And smiles superior with a Roman joy,
The Fabii, Decii, see, and o’er the rest,
Great Cato tow’rs, the wisest and the best, 30
Cato, the last of Romans, and the pride,
Cato, who never err’d, but when he dy’d.
Behind the sons of glorious mischief press,
Whose deeds can plead no merit but success;
Young Ammon, Caesar, there with gesture proud, 35
Drink the mad plaudit of the ruin’d crowd.
But who are these of later times, I ween,
Of equal worth that crowd the shifting scene?
My soul presaging knows the kindred line,
Ye Henrys, Edwards, yes, I call ye mine. 40
Each look, each smile, some pleasing thought conveys,
Of tyrants humbled on victorious days,
When Edward, Henry, and his son appears,
I start to Cressy, Agincourt, Poictiers,
And later yet, behold a virgin sway 45
Fair Albion’s sceptre, and the world obey,
Yet, yet, one more, a mother, wife, and queen,
O’er vanquish’d nations looks with placid mien,
Imperial Anna; yes, thy name shall stand,
The grace, the pride, the glory of our land, 50
Not Rome, nor Greece, nor antient times disdain,
To mix their honours with great Anna’s reign.
Thrice happy, Britain! if thy favour’d throne,
Still in a monarch had a parent known,
No wretch, who bold perverse and haughty still 55
Made his will law, and not our laws his will.
Yet let no murmurs rise, since heav’n presides,
Since all our fortunes boundless wisdom guides:
As guilt uncheck’d would call for burning rain,
Or bid some deluge drown the world again, 60
Tyrant’s must rise, the nation’s iron rod,
The scourge of vengeance in the hand of God.
Thus good and bad by turns appear to view,
The bad how many, and the good how few:
But tyrants soon in penal chains shall groan, 65
And injur’d kings possess a lasting throne.

NOTES:

2 vot’ry Votary, “a devoted or zealous worshipper” (OED); vouchsafe “Confer or bestow” (OED).

15 Aristides just Aristides the Just (fl. 5th century BC), an Athenian statesman, general, and founder of the Delian League” (Britannica).

16 the brave Theban, who at Leuctra dy’d Probably a reference to Epaminondas, a “Theban statesman” who defeated Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra “and made Thebes the most powerful state in Greece.” However, Epaminondas did not die at Leuctra, but at Mantineia years later (Britannica).

19 the father of the Grecian state Probably a reference to Leonidas I (d. 480 BC), a Spartan king who led a “stand against the Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae” (Britannica).

24 Brutus Lucius Junius Brutus (fl. 600-551 BC) was a “semilegendary figure” believed “to have founded the Roman Republic” (Britannica).

27 Horatius Horatius Cocles (6th century or legendary hero) who “defended the Sublician bridge (in Rome) against … the entire Etruscan army” (Britannica).

29 Fabii, Decii Ancient Roman patrician and plebeian families, famous for their patriotic courage and sacrifice (Britannica).

30 Great Cato Marcus Porcius Cato (95-46 BC), a Roman senator “who tried to preserve the Roman republic against power seekers, in particular Julius Caesar” (Britannica).

35 Ammon “Egyptian diety who was revered as king of the gods” (Britannica); Caesar Possible reference to Roman dictator Caius Julius Caesar, though the word can also refer to all Roman emperors “down to the fall of Constantinople” (OED).

36 plaudit “Applause,” or “any emphatic expression of approval” (OED).

37 ween “To think, surmise, suppose” (OED).

39 presaging “To foretell; to predict, forecast” (OED).

40 Henrys, Edwards Likely a general reference to the past kings of England. At the time of this poem’s publication, fourteen English monarchs had borne the name Henry or Edward (Historic UK).

43 Edward Edward III (1312-1377, reigned from 1327, began the Hundred Years’ War and oversaw English victories at Crecy and Poitiers; Henry, and his son appears Most likely references Henry IV (1367-1413), reigned from 1399, and Henry V (1386-1422), reigned from 1413, defeated the French at Agincourt and would have succeeded to the French throne had he not died prematurely of dysentery (Historic UK).

44 Cressy, Agincourt, Poictiers Battles between English and French forces during the Hundred Years’ War that resulted in English victories (Britannica).

45 behold a virgin sway Reference to Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), reigned from 1558, known as the “Virgin Queen” (Britannica).

46 Albion’s “Originally: the island of Britain. Later: the nation of Britain or England, often with reference to past times, or to a romanticized concept of the nation” (OED).

49 Imperial Anna Queen Anne (1665-1714), reigned from 1702; she was “the last Stuart Monarch” (Britannica).

59 burning rain Biblical reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah from the Book of Genesis: “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (King James Bible, Genesis 19:24).

60 some deluge drown the world again Reference to “the biblical account of the Deluge” from the Book of Genesis, in which God destroys the world with a catastrophic flood (Britannica).

SOURCE: The Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. 24 (March 1754), pp. 135-136. [Google Books]

Edited by Ethan Rappeport

Phillis Wheatley, “On Recollection”

PHILLIS WHEATLEY

“On Recollection”

MNEME begin. Inspire, ye sacred nine,
Your vent’rous Afric in her great design.
Mneme, immortal pow’r, I trace thy spring:
Assist my strains, while I thy glories sing:
The acts of long departed years, by thee 5
Recover’d, in due order rang’d we see:
Thy pow’r the long-forgotten calls from night,
That sweetly plays before the fancy’s sight.

Mneme in our nocturnal visions pours
The ample treasure of her secret stores; 10
Swift from above she wings her silent flight
Through Phoebe’s realms, fair regent of the night;
And, in her pomp of images display’d,
To the high-raptur’d poet gives her aid,
Through the unbounded regions of the mind, 15
Diffusing light celestial and refin’d.
The heav’nly phantom paints the actions done
By ev’ry tribe beneath the rolling sun.

Mneme, enthron’d within the human breast,
Has vice condemn’d, and ev’ry virtue blest. 20
How sweet the sound when we her plaudit hear?
Sweeter than music to the ravish’d ear,
Sweeter than Maro’s entertaining strains
Resounding through his groves, and hills, and plains.
But how is Mneme dreaded by the race, 25
Who scorn her warnings, and despise her grace?
By her unveil’d each horrid crime appears,
Her awful hand a cup of wormwood bears.
Days, years, misspent, O what a hell of woe!
Hers the worst tortures that our souls can know. 30

Now eighteen years their destin’d course have run,
In fast succession round the central sun.
How did the follies of that period pass
Unnotic’d, but behold them writ in brass!
In Recollection see them fresh return, 35
And sure ‘tis mine to be asham’d, and mourn.

O Virtue, smiling in immortal green,
Do thou exert thy pow’r, and change the scene;
Be thine employ to guide my future days,
And mine to pay the tribute of my praise. 40

Of Recollection such the pow’r enthron’d
In ev’ry breast, and thus her pow’r is own’d.
The wretch, who dar’d the vengeance of the skies,
At last awakes in horror and surprize,
By her alarm’d, he sees impending fate, 45
He howls in anguish, and repents too late.
But O! what peace, what joys are hers t’ impart
To ev’ry holy, ev’ry upright heart!
Thrice blest the man, who, in her sacred shrine,
Feels himself shelter’d from the wrath of divine! 50

NOTES:

1 Mneme The muse of memory; sacred nine The nine muses of Greek mythology.

8 fancy Poetic imagination.

12 Phoebe In Greek mythology, “she was identified with the moon” (Britannica).

21 plaudit “An expression of praise or approval” (OED).

23 Maro Publius Vergilius Maro, or Virgil (70 BCE-19 BCE), “Roman poet best known for his national epic, The Aenied” (Britannica).

28 wormwood “An emblem or type of what is bitter and grievous to the soul” (OED).

SOURCE: Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (London, 1773), pp. 62-64.
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/GLC06154.pdf

Edited by Markesha Grant

Aphra Behn, “The Dream. A Song”

APHRA BEHN

“The Dream. A Song”

I.
The Grove was gloomy all around,
Murm’ring the Streams did pass,
Where fond Astrea laid her down
Upon a Bed of Grass.

I slept and saw a piteous sight, 5
Cupid a weeping lay,
Till both his little Stars of Light
Had wept themselves away.

II.
Methought I ask’d him why he cry’d,
My Pity led me on: 10
All sighing the sad Boy reply’d,
Alas I am undone!

As I beneath yon Myrtles lay,
Down by Diana’s Springs,
Amyntas stole my Bow away, 15
And Pinion’d both my Wings.

III.
Alas ! cry’d I, ‘twas then thy Darts
Wherewith he wounded me:
Thou Mighty Deity of Hearts,
He stole his Pow’r from thee. 20

Revenge thee, if a God thou be,
Upon the Amorous Swain;
I’ll set thy Wings at Liberty,
And thou shalt fly again.

IV.
And for this Service on my Part, 25
All I implore of thee,
Is, That thou’t wound Amyntas Heart,
And make him die for me.

His Silken Fetters I Unty’d,
And the gay Wings display’d; 30
Which gently fann’d, he mounts and cry’d,
Farewel fond easie Maid.

V.
At this I blush’d, and angry grew
I should a God believe;
And waking found my Dream too true; 35
Alas I was a Slave.

NOTES:

3 Astrea “Goddess of justice and virtue” (Dictionary of Classical Mythology). Also Behn’s poetic name for herself.

6 Cupid “God of love” (OED).

13 Myrtles “Various evergreen shrubs or small trees” (OED).

14 Diana “Goddess of wild animals and the hunt” (Britannica).

15 Amyntas Here a pastoral name for a swain.

16 Pinion’d “Clipped wings” (OED).

22 Swain “Country lover” (OED).

29 Fetters Restraints (OED).

SOURCE: Poems upon Several Occasions: With A Voyage to the Island of Love (London 1684), pp. 78-80. [Google Books]

Edited by Madina Tutakhil

Michael Bruce, “Anacreontic: To a Wasp”

MICHAEL BRUCE

“Anacreontic: To a Wasp”

The following is a ludicrous imitation of the usual Anacreontics; the spirit of composing which was raging, a few years ago, among all the sweet singers of GREAT BRITAIN.

WINGED wand’rer of the sky!
Inhabitant of heav’n high!
Dreadful with thy dragon tail,
Hydra-head, and coat of mail!
Why dost thou my peace molest? 5
Why dost thou disturb my rest?
When in May the meads are seen,
Sweet enamel! white and green;
And the gardens, and the bow’rs,
And the forests, and the flow’rs, 10
Don their robes of curious dye,
Fine confusion to the eye!
Did I —— chase thee in thy flight?
Did I —— put thee in a fright?
Did I —— spoil thy treasure hid? 15
Never—never—never—did.
Envious nothing! pray beware;
Tempt mine anger, if you dare.
Trust not in thy strength of wing;
Trust not in thy length of sting. 20
Heav’n nor earth shall thee defend;
I thy buzzing soon will end.
Take my counsel, while you may;
Devil take you, if you stay.
Wilt—thou—dare—my—face—to—wound?— 25
Thus, I fell thee to the ground.
Down amongst the dead men, now
Thou shalt forget thou ere wast thou.
Anacreontic Bards beneath,
Thus shall wail thee after death. 30

CHORUS OF ELYSIAN BARDS.

“ A Wasp, for a wonder,
To paradise under
Descends: see! he wanders
By STYX’S meanders! 35
Behold, how he glows,
Amidst RHODOPE’S snows!
He sweats, in a trice,
In the regions of ice!
Lo! he cools, by GOD’S ire, 40
Amidst brimstone and fire!
He goes to our king,
And he shows him his sting.
(God PLUTO loves satire,
As women love attire; ) 45
Our king sets him free,
Like fam’d EURIDICE.
Thus a Wasp could prevail
O’er the Devil and hell,
A conquest both hard and laborious! 50
Tho’ hell had fast bound him,
And the Devil did confound him,
Yet his sting and his wing were victorious.”

NOTES:

Title: Anacreontic “A poem written in the metre or style of the ancient Greek poet Anacreon (c. 570-c. 495 B.C.), esp. one on the theme of love or wine” (OED).

3 dragon tail A stinger.

4 Hydra-head In Greek legend, “a gigantic water-snake-like monster with nine heads” (Britannica); mail Armor.

7 meads Meadows.

8 enamel “Applied to any smooth and lustrous surface-colouring…esp. to verdure or flowers on the ground” (OED).

9 bow’rs A shady place.

31 ELYSIAN BARDS Alluding to “the supposed state or abode of the blessed after death in Greek mythology” (OED).

35 STYX In Greek mythology, the River Styx flows through the underworld.

37 RHODOPE A mountain range in Southeastern Europe that extends into Greece.

38 in a trice ”A very brief period” (OED).

40 ire “Wrath” (OED).

41 brimstone and fire A biblical description of Hell.

44 PLUTO Roman God of the dead.

47 EURIDICE The wife of Orpheus; a mythical figure who nearly made it out of the underworld.

SOURCE: Poems on Several Occasions (Edinburgh, 1782), pp. 63-66. [HathiTrust]

Edited by Louis Denson

“L.R.,” “Ode to Venus”

“L.R.”

“Ode to Venus”

On seeing the Estate of Gretna-Green advertised for Sale in the News-papers of the Day.

When Horace pray’d thee, Queen of Love,
To quit in haste thy Cyprian grove,
And seek his Fair-one’s roof,
The paltry smoke her incense threw,
And message trite to all thy crew, 5
Had kept thee well aloof.

A juster plea, a menac’d wrong,
Unvarnish’d by the Poet’s song,
Demands thy instant aid;
Quick let the doves their wings prepare, 10
Cupid alone attend thy car,
And speed to Gretna’s shade.

To Gretna speed; your strongest hold
Plutus attacks with arms of gold,
And thinks the fortress won; 15
But Hymen your approach will meet,
For only there he’s wont to meet
The Mother and her Son.

Fear not yon dotard’s sooty face,
His blacken’d hands, his hobbling pace, 20
‘Tis not thy spouse, sweet dame!
From nets of steel our smith abstains;
Fetters of silk, and rosy chains,
His gentler labours frame.

But Christie lifts his hammer high; 25
Oh! swiftly, swiftly, Goddess, fly,
And vindicate your claim!
So Gretna’s priest shall chaunt your praise,
And frequent pairs enraptur’d raise
A column to your fame. 30

NOTES:

Title Venus Roman goddess of beauty and love (OED).

Subtitle Gretna Green A Scottish village that became a popular destination for English couples looking to elope after Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act (1753) was brought into force in England. The Newcastle Courant, for example, carried an advertisement for the “Sale of Gretna” by auction (No. 6354, 21 July 1798).

1 Horace Roman lyric poet (65-8 BCE), whose ode addressed to Venus (Odes, IV.1) is being paraphrased in this stanza.

2 Cyprian Of Cyprus, “an island in the eastern Mediterranean, famous in ancient times for the worship of Aphrodite or Venus” (OED).

4 paltry “Very small or meagre” (OED).

5 trite “Worn out by constant use or repetition” (OED).

7 juster “Well-founded; justifiable” (OED); menac’d “Threatened” (OED).

8 Unvarnish’d “Not covered” (OED).

11 Cupid Roman god of love, son of Mercury and Venus (OED).

14 Plutus Greek God of abundance or wealth (Britannica).

16 Hymen God of marriage in Greek and Roman mythology (OED).

19 dotard “An old person” (OED); sooty face “At Gretna Green the marriage ceremony was usually performed by the blacksmith” (Britannica).

23 Fetters Figuratively, a restraint (OED).

25 Christie James Christie (1730-1803), a Scottish auctioneer who founded the auction house Christie’s in London, England.

28 chaunt “A repeated rhythmic phrase” (OED).

SOURCE: The Gentleman’s Magazine (August 1798), p. 707. [J. Paul Leonard Library]

Edited by Jhadeeja Shahida Vaz

Henry James Pye, “The Snow-Drop”

HENRY JAMES PYE

“The Snow-Drop”

Hail earliest of the opening flowers!
Fair Harbinger of vernal hours!
Who dar’st unveil each silken fold
Ere SOL dispels the wintry cold,
And with thy silver leaves display’d 5
Spread lustre through the dreary glade.—-
What though no fragrance like the rose
Tincturing the ZEPHYR as it blows,
Thy humble flowers from earth exhale
To scent the pinions of the gale; 10
What though no hues of gaudy dye
Strike with their dazzling charms the eye,
Nor does thy sober foliage shew
Each blended tint of IRIS’ bow;
Yet in thy meek unsullied grace 15
Imagination’s eye shall trace
The glowing blossoms that appear
Proudly to paint the vernal year,
And smiling MAIA’s blushing dyes,
And jocund Summer’s cloudless skies, 20
And Autumn’s labors which succeed
To bid the purple vintage bleed,
Our hopes anticipating see
Led on in radiant train by thee.

NOTES:

3 dar’st Dares.

4 Ere Before; SOL Sun.

8 Tincturing “Tinge; imbue” (OED); ZEPHYR In Greek Mythology, “the god of the west wind” (OED).

10 pinions Wings (OED).

14 IRIS’ bow “In Greek mythology, the personification of the rainbow” (Britannica).

19 MAIA “In Roman Mythology, a goddess of fertility and of the Spring” (OED).

SOURCE: Poems on Various Subjects. Vol. I (London, 1787), pp. 39-40. [Google Books]

Edited by Jiyun An

John Ogilvie, “Jupiter and the Clown. A Fable”

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JOHN OGILVIE

“Jupiter and the Clown. A Fable”

Envy! thou Fiend, whose venomed sting
Still points to Fame’s aspiring wing;
Whose breath, blue sulphur’s blasting steam,
Whose eye the basilisk’s lightning-gleam;
Say, through the dun ile’s solemn round, 5
Where Death’s dread foot-step prints the ground,
Lovest thou to haunt the yawning tomb,
And crush fallen Grandeur’s dusty plume?
Or, where the wild Hyaena’s yell
Rings thro’ the hermit’s cavern’d cell, 10
Moves thy black wing its devious flight?
(The wing that bloats the cheek of Night)
There oft beneath some hoary wall
Thy stings are dipt in scorpion’s gall;
Thence whizzing springs the forky dart, 15
And spreads its poison to the heart.

Hence all th’ unnumber’d cares of life,
Hence malice, fury, rapine, strife;
Hence all exclaim on partial fate;
Hence pale Revenge, and stern Debate; 20
Hence man (to every passion prone)
Sees much, loves all;—but hates his own.

Now, Delia, should the chance to know
Some trifling fool, —perhaps—a beau,
The fair at once implores the skies, 25
With glowing cheeks and sparkling eyes;
O, hear your Votary’s earnest prayer,
Ye guardian angels of the fair!
Make but this charming creature prove
A victim to the power of love: 30
‘Tis this, Ye Gods, I would implore!
And grant but this;— I ask no more.

The prayer is heard (what power delays
To grant her suit when Delia prays!)
The beau is caught, he swears, and bows, 35
Protests, and snuffs, and sweats, and vows
By all the oaths the fool can swear,
That never creature was so fair:
Then adds a thousand more, to tell
That never mortal loved so well. 40

The prize is gain’d—the pleasure o’er;
Lace, bag, and snuff-box charm no more:
No bosom feels the killing smart,
No side-long glance betrays the heart,
No fan conceals a rival’s fears, 45
No cheek is stain’d with spiteful tears.
On new delights her passions fix,
A court perhaps, or coach and six,
She wants a ball, and justly vain,
Admires a title,—or a cane. 50

But ere our reader’s patience fail,
‘Tis time we now begin our tale.

An honest Farmer, old and sage,
(Sure wisdom still attends on age)
One morning rose, when all was fair, 55
And joyous breathed the scented air.
Waked by the Zephyr’s tepid wing,
Aurora, fragrant as the Spring,
Rose from her couch, the busy Hours
Stole from their crimson-curtain’d bowers; 60
Loose was her robe of saffron hue,
Her locks diffused ambrosial dew;
The sky’s broad gates at once unfold,
The light cloud flames with cinctured gold;
The woodland gleams, the silver stream 65
Waves to the broad sun’s fluttering beam;
The feather’d people sing their love,
And music rings along the grove.

Elate, the happy clown surveyed
The field wide-opening thro’ the shade; 70
The green ears rustling to the gale
Shot thro’ to thin night’s ruffled veil;
Slow rose to sight the new-born day,
Slow crept the lingering shades away,
‘Till o’er the broad hill’s summit dun 75
Obliquely glanc’d the mounting sun;
And all-illumed with rushing light,
The swelling landskip burst to sight.

As the fond Mother’s panting breast
Throbs o’er her infant hush’d to rest, 80
Warm in his little hut, the boy
Flutters elate with rising joy;
As by her gentle pressure sway’d,
Swings soft and slow the sleepy bed;
Wild Fancy whispers in her ear, 85
She whirls away the rolling year!
Youth, manhood comes! she marks afar
A robe, a mitre, or a f—r!
Her heart leaps quick! elate with pride!
Each prude’s insulting dress outvyed! 90
Each neighbour’s booby son, unseen,
Gnaws the pale lip with fruitless spleen!
Sudden she starts! some rival dress’d,
Swims in the loosely-floating vest,
Her bosom heaves a sullen groan:—- 95
Ah! was that charming suit my own!

Such joy ( soon check’d with killing smart)
Shot thro’ the swain’s exulting heart;
He hears the reaper’s sprightly song:
The rustling sickle sweeps along; 100
His barns with swelling sheaves are stored,
Gay Plenty crowns the festive board;
He cries in triumph, with a smile,
“For hopes like these who would not toil,
That neither flatter, nor beguile?” 105
Just as he spoke the word,—behold
A gaudy thing, o’erlaid with gold,
Came fluttering by!—so nicely clad,
With powder’d wig, and laced brocade;
So gay, so rich (though strange to tell!) 110
No butterfly look’d half so well.

Struck with the glittering vest he wore,
The clown’s rude eye-ball stared him o’er;
Sly Envy mark’d the secret snare,
The pick’d a chosen dart with care; 115
Of power to edge the quickest pain;—-
Then plunged it reeking in his brain.
Inflamed with fury and surprize,
Red Anger flashes from his eyes
“Must I (he cryed and scratch’d his head) 120
Supply this prattling thing with bread?
Must Farmers sweat, and wear their cloaths,
To furnish equipage for beaux?
We, Drudges doom’d to ceaseless toil,
For others tear the stubborn soil, 125
Our thoughts suspense and fears inflame,
Wretched and curs’d beyond a name;
While these amid’ the balmy bower,
Spend in soft ease the fleeting hour;—-
How fine they look! what charms they show, 130
Ah! would to heav’n I was a Beau!”

Soft Pity touch’d th’ Almighty Sire:
Jove heard, and granted his desire.
At once his furrow’d brow was smooth,
In all the blooming pride of youth; 135
His hair in wavy ringlets flow’d,
His cheek with fine vermilion glow’d;
Not like our modern pigmy race,
With wither’d limbs, and meagre face,
But plump and pruce he’d match’d a score; 140
Such were the Beaux in days of yore.
Gay pleasure danc’d in every limb,
He skimm’d along with airy swim;
The God, propitious to his prayer,
Gave the soft look, and graceful air; 145
But wrapt in his dreams of bliss, the Fool
Forgot his pocket, and his soul.

When thus transform’d, our glittering Beau
Surveyed himself from top to toe,
Stuck at the change with vast surprize, 150
He stares, and scarce believed his eyes.
But when he found that all was sure,
He cock’d his hat, and frown’d, and swore;
Applauded by the wondering throng,
The sullen Heroe strode along: 155
And while the swains in rude amaze
Mark his high port with stupid gaze,
Like Jove with solemn pace he trod,
And deign’d—, yet scarcely deign’d,—to nod.

But now to town he takes his way, 160
And sees the court, the park, the play;
Attends the Fair, admir’d by all,
Leads the gay dance, and rules the ball.
“Heav’ns! what a shape! fair Daphne cries,
How fine his mien! how bright his eyes!” 165
Thus all admire the charms they see,
His cane that dangled at his knee,
His box and hat they view together,—
Some prais’d the paint, and some the feather;
No english taylor’s clumsy fist 170
E’er match’d the sleeve that graced his wrist;
The lace,—from Brussels last;— by chance
He pick’d the brilliant up in France.
His coat so trim! so neat his shoe!
His limbs so shaped to strut, or— bow! 175
Fashion, you’d swear, to show her power,
Had left dear Paris half an hour.

But, ah! with grief the muse proceeds:
What power can mend the vulgar’s deeds!
One night a coachman set him down, 180
Then rudely ask’d him— half a crown.

He search’d his pocket;—what a curse?
His pocket held—an empty purse!
What should he do!—all aid withdrawn!
Cane, box, and watch, were sent to pawn; 185
His brilliant too (‘t had vex’d a saint)
Gained a few crowns—and cent per cent!
No friend his money can afford:
He gamed,—a sharper swept the board.

Then scorn’d by all,—in deep despair, 190
To Jove once more he made his prayer,
And begg’d the God to ease his pain,
And give him back his plough again.

NOTES:

Title Jupiter “The supreme deity of the ancient Romans” (OED); Clown “A countryman, rustic” (OED).

4 basilisk “A fabulous reptile;…ancient authors stated that its hissing drove away all other serpents, and that its breath, and even its look, was fatal” (OED).

5 dun ile’s [Unable to trace.]

18 rapine “The act or practice of seizing and taking away by force the property of others; plunder” (OED).

27 Votary “A person who has dedicated himself or herself to religious service by taking vows; a monk or nun” (OED).

35 beau “Suitor of a lady,” but also “a man who gives particular, or excessive, attention to dress” (OED).

57 Zephyr “A gentle, mild wind or breeze” (OED).

58 Aurora “The (Roman) goddess of dawn, represented as rising with rosy fingers from the saffron-coloured bed of Tithonus” (OED).

64 cinctured “Girdled” (OED).

88 mitre “The headdress of a priest” (OED); f–r Likely “fur,” “worn as a mark of office or state” (OED).

123 equipage for beaux Articles of dress and ornament for young men (OED).

133 Jove “A poetical equivalent of Jupiter…the highest deity of the ancient Romans” (OED)

143 swim “The smooth gliding movement of the body” (OED).

147 pocket “Any small bag or pouch worn on the person” (OED).

173 brilliant “A diamond of the finest cut” (OED).

187 cent per cent “Profit” (OED).

189 sharper “A fraudulent gamester, a cheat” (OED).

SOURCE: A Collection of Poems on Several Subjects (London, 1762), pp. 120-28. [Google Books]

Edited by Jordan Young

John Gay, “Panthea. An Elegy”

Poetical Scavenger

An Annotated Digital Miscellany of Eighteenth-Century Poems

Tag Archives: mythology

Ann Yearsley, “On Mrs. Montagu”

Anne Finch, “Cupid and Folly”

Anonymous, “On Solitude”

Phillis Wheatley, “On Recollection”

Aphra Behn, “The Dream. A Song”

Michael Bruce, “Anacreontic: To a Wasp”

“L.R.,” “Ode to Venus”

Henry James Pye, “The Snow-Drop”

John Ogilvie, “Jupiter and the Clown. A Fable”

John Gay, “Panthea. An Elegy”