Tag Archives: tetrameter couplets

William Dingley, “Upon a Bee Entomb’d in Amber”

Leave a reply

[WILLIAM DINGLEY]

“Upon a BEE Entomb’d in Amber.”

 

Behold this happy Insect’s Tomb,
Not sweet, but precious Honey-comb:
You’d think the Bee had brought it forth,
Alike in Colour, and in Worth.
Which to the view does represent,                                                     5
A Murderer, and Monument.
I thought ‘twas Niobe alone,
Whom Moisture harden’d into Stone:
But now the weeping Gem I see,
Transforms at once it self and Bee:                                                    10
Since to Beholders each does seem,
The Gem a Bee, the Bee a Gem.
The Pyramids in Egypt’s Land,
Astonishment from all command:
Yet, happy insect, happy thou,                                                             15
A lesser, but a better Show;
The Pyramids would envy me,
Should I be thus Entomb’d like thee.
Thou with Medusa may’st compare,
Whose Viperous enchanted Hair,                                                         20
Turn’d all Spectators into Stone,
Conquest and Trophy both in one;
But thou excellest her in this,
Thy self at once Medusa is,
Thy self the Metamorphosis.                                                                  25
Nature has chang’d her usual course,
But for the Better not the Worse;
While Jewels sprout from Poplar-Trees,
These bring forth Jewels, Jewels Bees.
Thus whilst the Bee through Amber shone,                                         30
With borrow’d Lustre, not her own,
The Sight so dazling did appear,
You’d think both Bees, both Jewels were.
The Golden Beast, like Bacchus Crown,
Translated to th’Ethereal Throne,                                                           35
Does, as it were, refin’d appear,
Transform’d from Gold into a Star:
Congeal’d it lies in sparkling Gem,
You’d swear ‘twas froze to Death in Flame.
Entangled there it self does shew,                                                         40
A Labyrinth, and Monster too.
What Freeman would not pay that Fee
Which Prisoners give for Liberty,
To share in this Captivity.
The little Debtor (she, you know,                                                   45
To Amber does this Yellow owe)
Thither as to her Prison came,
Her Debt and Prison both the same.
A worthy, honourable Cheat!
Whose very Fetters made her Great:                                                    50
For while she mute in Thraldome lies,
Her buzzing Fame much swifter flies.
Tho’ she confin’d, to us may seem,
Within the Limits of a Gem,
She’s in effect, by being thus,                                                                  55
Extended through the Universe:
And by her forc’d, yet willing stay,
Debar’d from Flying, flies away.
Whose Hive, not long since, Thatcht we saw,
Like Rome’s old Capitol, with Straw;                                                        60
She now in nobler Structure dwells,
Which Rome’s new Capitol excells.
Thou worthy Nurse of mighty Jove,
Supreme o’re all the Gods above;
Tell me, thou Insect, tell me why,                                                            65
When Harlots mounted to the Sky,
He did not thus thy Pains repay,
Deserving Heaven more than they?
But lo! I see thy proud Disdain
Has rendred Deifying vain.                                                                       70
So rich, so glorious they Attire,
A radiant, not a burning Fire;
That all those Lamps which grace the Sky,
Are seen Unenvy’d by thy Eye.
‘Twere Injury to fix thee there,                                                                 75
A brighter Constellation here.
Such is the dazling Garb she wears,
Such Honour from the Garb she bears,
That tho’ her Jove be cloath’d with Rays
Immortal, and immortal Praise;                                                               80
‘Tis doubtful which does most confer,
The Bee on Jove, or Jove on her:
While she her self does represent,
As if to give the God, she meant,
Honour, instead of Nutriment.                                                                 85
Proud Animal! ‘tis mere Self-love,
Which makes thee like Narcissus prove;
Who view’d, himself in Chrystal Streams,
And, as he view’d, thence gather’d Flames:
In liquid Gum you clearer shine,                                                               90
Others to Envy you incline,
Whilst you your self for Love repine.
True Looking-glass, wherein we view,
Not only Form, but Matter too.
The Eyes, which view this glorious Bee,                                                   95
Are held almost as fast as she:
For while they gaze, in one, they view
Artificer, and Image too.
‘Twas heedlessness this Artist taught,
Exact the Figure, yet not wrought;                                                             100
Whom like Sejanus here we see,
Too truly slain in Effigy.
Fair Phaethusa (Stories shew)
A Poplar-tree by Weeping grew;
Weeping (Oh! had it sooner came)                                                             105
Enough to quench her Brother’s Flame.
Hence first distill’d the precious Juice,
And Trees the Amber did produce;
From whence a three-fold Change we see,
From humane Shape sproughts up a Tree,                                               110
Thence came forth Gum, and thence a Bee.
A Bee, which thus you may divide,
Object of Pity, and of Pride:
It Sister does, and Brother seem,
It Weeps like her, it Shines like him;                                                           115
In both their Fates does Sympathize,
At once bewails the Dead, and Dies.
Virgin, too like the Crocodile!
Whose treach’rous Tears to Snares beguile,
Thy Weeping’s, by Experience known,                                                        120
More Envious now than Pitteous grown.
Thy Tears, which first made thee a Tree,
And now again transform the Bee,
Harden themselves, and that, like Thee.
See how from Good, ariseth Ill!                                                                    125
While they bewail the Slain, they Kill.
But why, against th’ industrious Bee,
Do Trees exert such Cruelty?
She little thinking e’re to yield,
Securely Plunder’d all the Field;                                                                    130
For which she now in Chains must stay,
Chains richer than her former Prey.
Flowers, too weak to captive Bees,
Assistance crave from neighbour Trees;
Till they that were opprest before,                                                              135
Retort the Dammage once they bore:
But Oh! tis thus, they add the more,
And, to deprive, increase the Store.
The cruel Nero, who (says Fame)
Rome doubly Dy’d in Blood and Flame,                                                       140
Erected no such noble Throne;
No, tho’ he built a Golden One,
As that wherein this Tyrant shone.
Most radiant, most illustrious Bee,
I’ll to the Phoenix liken thee,                                                                        145
In Death as rare, as bright as She;
Tho’ She to Phoebus owe his Night,
Extinguish’d by the Beams of Light;
Tho’ thou a distant Fate dost bear,
Drown’d in the Deluge of a Tear.                                                                150
Thy waxen Wings the Fate has fought,
Which those of Icarus once brought;
The cause whereby (as Stories tell)
So High he soar’d, so Deep he fell.
Yet thee much Happier I esteem,                                                              155
Not over-whelm’d, tho’ drown’d like him:
Thou more conspicuous dost appear
Than others above Water are,
Thy very Cov’ring makes thee clear.
Thou need’st not signalize thy Grave,                                                       160
With any specious Epitaph,
Thy Corps is so transparent seen
In Golden Characters within.
Thus Death, which never grants Reprieve,
Is here made Life’s Preservative.                                                               165
The dark Recesses of the Tomb,
Become a pleasant, lightsome Room.
Th’unnatural, but honest Grave,
From a Devourer, chang’d to save;
In Justice does its Debt repay,                                                                    170
And give the Life it takes away.
Thy Dipping Thetis has out-done,
Who strove to Eternize her Son;
Bathing him in the Stygian Lake,
That he might ne’re of Styx partake.                                                         175
Thou that effectually dost gain,
For which she Dipt, but dipt in vain.
The Bee with Hercules compare,
Her lustre may with Aeta’s share;
But not consume, not wasted be,                                                             180
And so gain Immortality.
Eternal Insect! who would grieve
To Dye like thee, like thee to Live?
Jove is a Mortal thought by some,
‘Cause ancient Creet can shew his Tomb;                                                185
Oh! were he Bury’d there like thee,
His Tomb would prove him Deity.

NOTES:

Title Amber “A yellowish translucent fossil resin. It is used for ornaments; burns with an agreeable odor; often entombs the bodies of insects” (OED).

7 Niobe In Greek mythology, her children were killed by Apollo and Artemis. She was so overwhelmed with grief that the gods turned her weeping form into a rock on Mount Sipylus (Encyclopædia Britannica).

11 Beholder “One who beholds, a watcher, looker on, spectator” (OED).

13 Pyramids in Egypt’s Land “Focal points of enormous funerary complexes constructed for the burials of Egyptian kings. In the classical tradition, pyramids have been constructed primarily as tombs, often in conscious emulation of Egyptian Precedent” (The Classical Tradition).

19 Medusa In Greek mythology, was changed by Athena to have snakes for hair and turn anyone who looked at her into stone (The Columbia Encyclopedia).

25 Metamorphosis “The action of process of changing in form, shape, or substance; transformation by supernatural means” (OED).

28 Jewels sprout from Poplar-Trees When Phaethon died, his sisters, the Heliades, wept and were turned into poplar trees and their tears into amber (Dictionary of Classical Mythology).

34 The Golden Beast The bee, but also an allusion to Midas, who was granted a wish from Bacchus to have everything he touches turn to gold (The Classical Tradition); Bacchus Also known as Dionysus in Greek mythology. The god of wine, mystic ecstasy, and the theater (The Classical Tradition).

35 Ethereal “Of or relating to heave, God, or the gods; heavenly, celestial” (OED).

41 Labyrinth, and Monster In Greek mythology, the monster is that of the Minotaur, composed of a man’s body and bull’s head, birthed from Pasiphae. The Labyrinth is the Cretan Labyrinth created by Daedalus to store the Minotaur in (Dictionary of Classical Mythology).

45 little Debtor The bee.

47 Thither “To or towards that place” (OED).

50 Fetters “A chain or shackle for the feet; a bond, shackle” (OED).

51 Thraldome “The state or condition of being a thrall; bondage, servitude; captivity” (OED).

59 Thatcht “Covered or roofed with thatch;” that is “straw, reeds, palm-leaves, etc., laid so as to protect from the weather” (OED).

62 new Capitol Possible reference to the reconstruction of the Capital building done by Michelangelo in the 16th century (The Columbia Encyclopedia).

63 Nurse In Greek mythology, Amaltheia was a she-goat who nursed an infant Zeus (Dictionary of Classical Mythology); Jove Another name for the supreme god of Roman mythology, Jupiter; also known as Zeus in Greek mythology. Determined course of human affairs and made known the future through signs in the heavens, flight of birds, and other means; lord of heaven and bringer of light (Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable).

66 Harlots Likely a reference to Harpies; in Greek myth made of feathers, bronze, and flesh and had women’s faces, vulture’s bodies, and bronze talons (Bloomsbury Dictionary of Myth).

87 Narcissus In Greek mythology, famously beautiful boy who fell in love with his own reflection in the water and thus died of his infatuation (The Classical Tradition).

92 repine “To feel or express discontent or dissatisfaction; to grumble, complain” (OED).

101 Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus (20 BC-AD31), Roman soldier and statesman; according to Juvenal, after Sejanus’s fall from power and execution his statuary was destroyed (Satire 10).  Possibly also a reference to Senjanus His Fall (1603), a satirical tragedy by Ben Jonson. In the play, Sejanus is driven by extreme ambition and attempts to occupy the Roman throne, exploiting the emperor Tiberius, but is eventually torn to pieces by the Roman mob (The Bloomsbury Dictionary of English Literature).

102 slain in Effigy “A likeness, portrait, or image; to inflict upon an image the semblance of the punishment which the original is considered to have deserved” (OED).

103 Phaethusa In Greek mythology, one of Helio’s daughters born from his mistress Neaera (Dictionary of Classical Mythology). See note 28.

118 Crocodile The phrase “crocodile tears” is meant as false or hypocritical tears (A Dictionary of Literary Symbols). “Was said to weep, either to allure a man for the purpose of devouring him, or while devouring him” (OED).

139 Nero (37AD-86AD), Roman emperor who turned to debauchery, extravagance, and tyranny. During his reign, two-thirds of Rome was destroyed by fire (Chambers Biographical Dictionary).

142 Golden One Palace, also known as Domus Aurea, built by Nero after the fire. The palace was notoriously grand and novel (The Classical Tradition).

145 Phoenix “In classical mythology: a bird resembling an eagle but with sumptuous red and gold plumage, which was said to live for five or six hundred years before burning itself to ashes on a funeral pyre ignited by the sun and fanned by its own wings, only to rise from its ashes with renewed youth to live through another such cycle” (OED).

147 Phoebus “Apollo as the god of light or of the sun; the sun personified” (OED).

152 Icarus In Greek myth, was the son of Daedalus who invented wings made out of wax and feathers. Icarus flew with these wings towards the sun and the heat loosened the wax and caused him to fall and drown in the ocean (Bloomsbury Dictionary of Myth).

161 specious “Fair or pleasing to the eye or sight; beautiful, handsome, lovely” (OED); Epitaph “An inscription upon a tomb; a brief composition characterizing a deceased person” (OED).

162 Corps Corpse.

172 Thetis Daughter of Nereus in Greek myth, was a beautiful sea-nymph who the Fates said would bear a son greater than his father (Bloomsbury Dictionary of Myth).

173 her Son The Greek hero, Achilles born from the sea-nymph Thetis and was half human from his father Peleus. Thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him into the River Styx (Dictionary of Classical Mythology).

174 Stygian Lake “Pertaining to the river Styx” (OED).

175 Styx “A river of the lower world or Hades, over which the shades of the departed were ferried by Charon, and by which the gods swore their most solemn oaths” (OED).

180 Hercules “A celebrated hero of Greek and Roman mythology, who after death was ranked among the gods and received divine honors. He is represented as possessed of prodigious strength” (OED).

181 Aeta Archaic spelling of “Oeta” referring to Mt. Oeta in central Greece, the location of the funeral pyre for Heracles in Greek myth (also known as Hercules) (Dictionary of Classical Mythology).

185 Creet The Greek island, Crete.

Source: Poems on Several Occasions. Originals, and Translations ([London?], 1694), pp. 9-17. [Google Books]

Edited by Kasside Sahagun-Escalante

Hannah More, “The Plum-Cakes; or The Farmer and His Three Sons”

Leave a reply

HANNAH MORE

 “The Plum-Cakes; or The Farmer and His Three Sons”

 

A farmer who some wealth possessed,
With three fine boys was also blessed;
The lads were healthy, stout, and young,
And neither wanted sense nor tongue.
Tom, Will, and Jack, like other boys,                                                       5
Lov’d tops and marbles, sport and toys.
The father scouted that false plan,
That money only makes the man;
But, to the best of his discerning,
Was bent on giving them good learning.                                               10
He was a man of observation,
No scholar, yet had penetration;
So with due care a school he sought,
Where his young sons might well be taught.
Quoth he, “I know not which rehearses                                                 15
Most properly his themes or verses,
Yet I can do a father’s part,
And school the temper, mind, and heart;
The natural bent of each I’ll know,
And trifles best that bent may show.”                                                     20

‘Twas just before the closing year,
When Christmas holidays were near,
The farmer call’d to see his boys,
And ask how each his time employs.
Quoth Will, “There’s father, boys, without;                                             25
He’s brought us something good, no doubt.”
The father sees their merry faces,
With joy beholds them and embraces:
“Come, boys, of home you’ll have your fill.”
“Yes, Christmas now is near,” says Will;                                                  30
“‘Tis just twelve days – these notches see,
My notches with the days agree.”
“Well,” said the sire, “again I’ll come,
And gladly fetch my brave boys home;
You two the dappled mare shall ride,                                                    35
Jack mount the pony by my side.
Meantime, my lads, I’ve brought you here,
No provision of good cheer.”
Then from his pocket straight he takes
A vast profusion of plum-cakes;                                                              40
He counts them out a plenteous store,
No boy shall have or less or more:
Twelve cakes he gives to each dear son,
When each expected only one;
And then, with many a kind expression,                                               45
He leaves them to their own discretion:
Resolv’d to mark the use each made
Of what he to their hands convey’d.

The twelve days past, he comes once more,
And brings the horses to the door;                                                        50
The boys with rapture see appear
The pony and the dappled mare;
Each moment now an hour they count,
And crack their whips, and long to mount.
As with the boys his ride he takes,                                                          55
He asks the history of the cakes.
Says Will, “Dear father, life is short,
So I resolv’d to make quick sport;
The cakes were all so nice and sweet,
I thought I’d have one jolly treat.                                                            60
‘Why should I balk,’ said I, ‘my taste?
I’ll make at once a hearty feast.’
So, snugly by myself I fed,
When every boy was gone to bed;
I gorg’d them all, both paste and plum,                                                65
And did not waste a single crumb:
Indeed they made me, to my sorrow,
As sick as death upon the morrow;
This made me mourn my rich repast,
And wish I had not fed so fast.”                                                              70
Quoth Jack, “I was not such a dunce,
To eat my quantum up at once;
And though the boys all long’d to clutch ‘em,
I would not let a creature touch ‘em;
Nor, though the whole were in my power,                                           75
Would I myself one cake devour.
Thanks to the use of keys and locks,
They’re all now snug within my box;
The mischief is, by hoarding long,
They’re grown so mouldy and so strong,                                             80
I find they won’t be fit to eat,
And I have lost my father’s treat.”

“Well, Tom,” the anxious parent cries
“How did you manage?” Tom replies,
“I shunned each wide extreme to take,                                               85
To glut my maw, or hoard my cake;
I thought each day its wants would have,
And appetite again might crave.
Twelve school-days still my notches counted,
To twelve my father’s cakes amounted;                                              90
So every day I took out one,
But never ate my cake alone;
With every needy boy I shared,
And more than half I always spared.
One every day, ‘twixt self and friend,                                                   95
Has brought my dozen to an end.
My last remaining cake to-day
I would not touch, but gave away;
A boy was sick, and scarce could eat,
To him it proved a welcome treat.                                                       100
Jack called me spendthrift, not to save;
Will dubbed me fool, because I gave;
But when our last day came I smiled,
For Will’s were gone, and Jack’s were spoiled.
Not hoarding much, nor eating fast,                                                   105
I served a needy friend at last.”
These tales the father’s thoughts employ:
“By these,” said he, “I know each boy.
Yet Jack, who hoarded what he had,
The world will call a frugal lad;                                                              110
And selfish, gormandizing Will,
Will meet with friends and favorers still;
While moderate Tom, so wise and cool,
The mad and vain will deem a fool;
But I his sober plan approve,                                                                 115
And Tom has gained his father’s love.”

APPLICATION.

So when our day of life is past,
And all are fairly judged at last,
The miser and the sensual find
How each misused the gifts assigned;                                                120
While he who wisely spends and gives,
To the true ends of living lives.
‘Tis self-denying moderation
Gains the great Father’s approbation.

NOTES:

Title First published anonymously, under the same title, in 1796; “signed at the end: Z., i.e. Hannah More” (ESTC, T42504).

31 notches A groove or incision made into a wooden stick to track the passing of days.

40 plum-cake “A cake containing raisins, currants, and often orange peel and other candied fruits” (OED).

61 balk “To waste or throw away a good chance” (OED).

69 repast “Food, nourishment; supply of food” (OED).

71 dunce “One who shows no capacity for learning” (OED).

72 quantum “The actual amount or quantity of something present, available, etc.” (OED).

86 glut “To overload or surfeit with food” (OED); maw “The mouth of a greedy person” (OED).

95 ‘twixt “Betwixt; archaic form of ‘between’” (OED).

101 spendthrift “One who spends profusely” (OED).

111 gormandizing “To eat like a glutton; to feed voraciously” (OED).

Source: Cheap Repository Tracts: Entertaining, Moral, and Religious, vol. I (New York, 1840?) pp. 99-103.

Edited by Jessica M. Fuentes

Clara Reeve, “To my Friend Mrs. ——, On Her Holding an Argument in Favour of the Natural Equality of Both the Sexes”

Leave a reply

[CLARA REEVE]

“To my Friend Mrs.——,
On Her Holding an Argument in Favour of the Natural Equality of Both the Sexes.
Written in the Year MDCCLVI.”

 

Silence best serves to disapprove
False reasoning in those we love.
Tho’ t’other day I held my tongue,
I thought you greatly in the wrong;
How could you so unfairly try’d                                                                   5
With no one present to decide,
Argue the best, that woman can
Pretend to triumph o’er a man?
I once was half of your opinion,
But now subscribe to their dominion.                                                        10
The same unchanging law that fixes,
Eternal difference of sexes,
Has for the wisest ends assign’d
Due bounds to either sex’s mind.
Your heart with argument elated,                                                                15
Thinks both were equal when created,
And holds its own imagination,
That all depends on cultivation:
But to speak plainly, in reality
I don’t believe in this equality,                                                                        20
But think that partial heav’n design’d,
To them the more capacious mind;
And that their brains, dame Nature’s college,
And best receptacles for knowledge.
Lend me my friend a while your hand,                                                          25
I’ll lead you over classic land,
To hear what sages fam’d of old
On this nice subject shall unfold.
Thus much may serve for introduction,
Leading to pleasure and instruction.                                                              30

Not every one can write that chuses,
But those invited by the Muses:
These are nine wit-inspiring lasses,
Who dwell about the hill Parnassus.
Their patron whom they serve and follow,                                                      35
A beardless youth—the Greek Apollo—
Still lovely, active, young, and gay,
He drives the chariot of the day,
Teaches these girls polite behaviours,
For which they grant him certain favours:                                                        40
(But modest ones you may be sure,
For they are virgins chaste and pure.)
He leads their concerts, which they fill
With wond’rous harmony and skill;
For he’s the prince of all musicians,                                                                      45
Beside the greatest of physicians.
He finds them music for their frolics,
And cures their head-achs, nerves, and cholics.

From out the side of this fam’d mountain,
Rises a wit-inspiring fountain;                                                                                  50
Which murmurs music as it plays,
Laurels its banks produce and bays.
Here all the scholars drink their fill,
And then attempt to climb the hill;
(But first from trees the boughs they take,                                                           55
And garlands for their heads they make;
Whose strange effects, to us a wonder,
Secure them from the power of thunder:)
With pain and care they clamber up,
And very rarely gain the top:                                                                                     60                               But if they reach the Muses seat,
They have assign’d them a retreat.
Apollo’s self records their name,
And gives it to the charge of Fame;
Who first displays to earth and sky,                                                                         65
Then folds it up and lays it by,
In her immortal library.
Now comes our case.—The ancients tell us,
These nymphs were always fond of fellows;
For by their records it is clear,                                                                                   70
Few women ever have been there.
Not that it contradicts their laws,
But they assign the following cause;
The sacred Heliconian spring,
Of which old poets sweetly sing:                                                                                75
(Tho’ modern writers only flout it,
Alledging they can do without it)
Produces very strange effects,
On the weak brains of our soft sex;
Works worse vagaries in the fancy,                                                                             80
Then Holland’s gin, or royal Nancy.
In short, to what you will compare it,
Few women’s heads have strength to bear it.
See some with strong and lively fancies,
Write essays, novels, and romances.                                                                          85
Others by serious cares and pains,
With politics o’erset their brains.
Children, some call themselves of Phoebus,
By virtue of a pun, or rebus.
Some much affect the strain satyric,                                                                           90
And others all for panegyric.
In all, and each of these you find,
Strong markings of the female mind,
Still superficial, light and various;
Loose, unconnected, and precarious:                                                                          95
Life and vivacity I grant,
But weight and energy they want;
That strength that fills the manly page,
And bids it live to future age.

Now as it oft hath been evinc’d,                                                                             100
We do not love to be convinc’d;
So if conviction give you grief,
Restriction may afford relief.
Exceptions to all gen’ral rules,
Are still allow’d of in the schools:                                                                                    105
And Phoebus’s favours to the fair
Are not impossible, tho’ rare.
In Fame’s great library, we’re told,
Some female names there are enroll’d;
Matrons of Greece, other of Rome,                                                                                  110
And some, to please you, nearer home:
Moderns there are, France brags of many,
And England shews as good as any.
See our Orinda swell the page,
Carter, and Lenox grace this age;                                                                                       115
But leaving these consign’d to Fame,
Lusus Naturae is their name.
As some among the men we find,
Effeminate in form and mind;
Some women masculine are seen                                                                                      120
In mind, behavior, and in mien:
For Nature seldom kindly mixes,
The qualities of both the sexes.
These instances are sometimes quoted,
As owls are shown, but to be hooted.                                                                                 125
Dare now to ope your eyes and see,
These truths exemplified in me.
What tho’ while yet an infant young,
The numbers trembled on my tongue;
As youth advanc’d, I dar’d aspire,                                                                                          130
And trembling struck the heavenly lyre.
What by my talents have I gained?
By those I lov’d to be disdain’d,
By some despis’d, by others fear’d,
Envy’d by fools, by witlings jeer’d.                                                                                           135
See what success my labours crown’d,
By birds and beasts alike disown’d.
Those talents that were once my pride,
I find it requisite to hide;
For what in man is most respected,                                                                                       140
In woman’s form shall be rejected.
Thus have I prov’d to demonstration,
The fallacy of your oration.
(You need not let the fellows know it,
They’ll praise the wit, but damn the poet.)                                                                            145
The point illustrated, my friend,
Brings my long story to its end.
When you have read it o’er at leisure,
Keep it—or burn it—at your pleasure.

NOTES:

Title Mrs. The addressee of this poem, Mrs. ——, is unknown, although the volume is dedicated to a “Mrs. Stratford.”

22 capacious “Able to hold much; roomy, spacious, wide” used here to mean men have “larger” intellectual capacity (OED).

32 Muses The nine Greek goddesses of “poetry, philosophy, and inspiration” (Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization).

 34 Parnassus “Mount Parnassus,” regarded as the “source of literary, esp. poetic, inspiration” (OED).

 36 Apollo Greek god of “poetry and music, the sun, and medicine” (OCCC).

 48 nerves “Disordered or heightened sensitivity; anxiety, fearfulness, tension, nervousness”; cholics Short for “melancholic,” referring to a state of “sadness or depression” (OED).

 49 fam’d mountain Parnassus [see line 34].

52 Laurels “To adorn with the leaves of the bay tree, which signified victory or poetic distinction” (OED).

 74 Heliconian “Mt. Helicon” was another home for the Muses, the “Vale of the Muses” (OCCC).

 80 vagaries “Wandering or devious journeys” (OED); fancy “Imagination” (OED).

 81 Holland’s gin Also known as “geneva or genever, a grain spirit from Belgium or the Netherlands flavored with juniper”; Nancy “Nants brandy or Nants wine,” produced in the Nantes region of France (OED).

 88 Phoebus Apollo [see line 36].

89 rebus A representation of a word using “pictures or symbols” (OED).

 90 satyric Archaic spelling of “satiric.”

 91 panegyric “Writing meant to praise a person or thing” (OED).

 96 vivacity “Intellectual or mental animation, acuteness, or vigour” (OED).

 105 still Originally “still’d,” likely printer’s error.

 114 Orinda Katherine Phillips (1631-1664), poet and translator of two plays, wrote under the alias “Orinda” in her letters.

115 Carter Elizabeth Carter (1717-1806), famed translator and poet, would translate the works of Epictetus from Greek in 1758; Lenox Charlotte Lennox (1730-1804), author of The Female Quixote (1752).

117 lusus naturae Latin for “a freak of nature” (OED).

 120 mien “Look or manner” (OED).

 131 lyre A lyre is the favored instrument of Apollo (OCCC).

135 witlings Someone who pretends to be “more clever” than they are (OED).

 139 Reeve would revise her earlier views on women’s writing in her prefatory “Address to the Reader” published in this volume: “I formerly believed…my sex was an insuperable objection [to writing] …but now am convinced of the mistake, by daily examples to the contrary,” and she offers the collection as a “general apology” (xi).

143 fallacy “falsehood” (OED).

 Source: Original Poems on Several Occasions (London, 1769), pp. 4-11. [Google Books]

 Edited by: John Paul Castillo

John Bennet, “The Fortune-Teller”

Leave a reply

JOHN BENNET

“The Fortune-Teller”

 

One Whitsuntide, when merry glee
Proclaim’d each blooming rustic free;
When nymphs and swains, in circling bands,
At sound of tabor join’d their hands
In nimble dance, with sprightly mien,                                                                                    5
Beneath the bower on the green:
Methought the golden age reviv’d,
So harmless were the sports contriv’d.

But ah! how soon the scene was chang’d,
When from these rural joys they rang’d.                                                                               10
For at the place th’ Egyptian crew
Came for lucrative interview;
Among the tribe a buxom lass,
Who daily wonders brought to pass.
Yet pedling first was their pretence,                                                                                       15
To learn if any had the sense
Their hocus pocus to elude,
If not to tell the multitude;
One of their tribe, both deaf and dumb,
Reveal’d past, present, and to come.                                                                                      20

The scheme succeeds; such numbers flock,
Made Christian-Faith a laughing stock!
Made it appear that Satan hath
His eye fix’d on implicit faith.
Now to his oracle they press,                                                                                                   25
And hope in vain for happiness.

The Sybil seated in grimace,
Her vot’ries come with anxious-face;
They write the sum of their demand,
And wishing at her alter stand.                                                                                                30
One for a husband gives her fee,
Who’s soon to be the happy she;
Not so another can be blest,
Till two long years have broke her rest;
But still a second fee retains,                                                                                                   35
And years to months a change regains:
She threatens some and some collogues,
And proves too many w—s and r—s.

She to the matrimonial slate
In order reads their certain fate;                                                                                              40
Bids the dull husband straight provide
For th’ issue of his teeming bride:
Assures the barren of success,
That children shall their ages bless.

A brother seeks a brother lost,                                                                                         45
In prison strong confin’d and crost;
But tho’ he roams on foreign strand,
He soon shall see his native land.

Another offers at her shrine,
Who’s promis’d treasures from the mine:                                                                              50
Could but his partner have such bliss,
Her pilfer’d goods she would not miss.

A mother ardently requires
An answer kind to her desires:
A long-lost daughter was the theme,                                                                                       55
And she receives a golden dream.

Good God! that mortals e’er should strive
In hidden secrets thus to dive:
Would they regard thy sacred text,
Impostors could not have pretext                                                                                            60
Unwary people to delude,
Or on thy attributes intrude.

They still kept on their impious trade,
And ev’ry day fresh vot’ries made;
Till vengeance bid Astrea rise:                                                                                                   65
Despair then seiz’d their baleful eyes.
Their utmost skill now at the stake,
The deaf and dumb could hear and speak,
And from her shrine in haste withdrew;
Shame and confusion with her flew.                                                                                        70

Demetrius found his gains were gone;
Diana fled; her witchcrafts done.
He then betray’d one of the crew,
The darling pelf yet still his view.
Virtue rejoic’d to see the stroke,                                                                                               75
That vice itself the charm had broke:
Astrea’s orders were obey’d,
And th’ hag to prison was convey’d.

Th’ infernal tribe now sad distrest,
Detractor’s council was a jest;                                                                                                   80
Who finding that fair virtue’s cause
Was well defended by just laws;
To give such vile adherents play,
His canker’d heart no more could say;
Thus added to lost reason, loss of pay.                                                                                   85

NOTES:

1 Whitsuntide “The church season of Pentecost,” a festival occurring on the seventh Sunday after Easter in the Christian tradition (OED).

2 rustic “A person living in the countryside; a peasant” (OED).

3 nymph “A beautiful young woman” (OED); swain “A country gallant or lover” (OED).

4 tabor A drum (OED).

5 mien “The look … manner, or conduct of a person, as showing character, mood, etc.” (OED).

6 bower “A place closed in or overarched with branches of trees, shrubs, or other plants (OED).

11 place “Woodstock” [Author’s Note].

27 Sybil “A prophetess; a fortune-teller, a witch” (OED).

28 vot’ries “A devout worshipper” (OED).

37 collogues “To prevail upon or influence … to coax” (OED).

38 w–s and r–s Likely to be understood as “whores and rogues.”

42 teeming “Child-bearing” (OED).

46 crost “Thwarted” (OED).

52 pilfer’d “Stolen” (OED).

65 Astrea Astraea, Greek goddess of justice (Dixon-Kennedy, Encyclopedia of Greco-Roman Mythology, 52).

66 baleful “Unhappy … miserable” (OED).

71 Demetrius A biblical figure who falsely worshipped the Roman goddess Diana, causing him to incite a riot against the Apostle Paul (OCB).

72 Diana Roman goddess of hunting, wilderness, and animals (Dixon-Kennedy, Encyclopedia of Greco-Roman Mythology, 52).

74 pelf “Stolen good[s]” (OED).

84 canker’d “Infected with evil; corrupt, depraved (OED).

Source: Poems on Several Occasions (London, 1774), pp. 17-22. [Google Books]

Edited by Alex Pittel

 

[John Norris], “The Rainbow. A Fable”

Leave a reply

[JOHN NORRIS]

“The Rainbow. A Fable”

—Nimium ne crede Colori.—Virg.

 

An age there was, some authors teach,
When all things were endu’d with speech;
Nor plant, nor bird, nor fish, nor brute,
Nor thing inanimate was mute:
Their converse taught—or these men lie—                                      5
Better than books, morality.
One grain more faith afford me now,
I ask but one more grain, I vow,
Speech on mere visions to bestow.
Then you’ll believe, that truth I tell,                                                    10
That what I now relate befell.
Calm was the day, the sky was clear,
Save that a light cloud here and there,
Floating amid the azure plain,
Promis’d some gentle show’rs of rain;                                              15
Tho’ Men are faithless, Clouds are true,
As by the sequel soon I’ll shew.
Sol from the zenith now departed,
Eastward his rays obliquely darted,
The clouds, late glories of the day,                                                     20
By western winds are borne away,
Till to the east each vapour blown,
In lucid show’rs came gently down.
Now full oppos’d to Phoebus’ rays,
Iris her vivid tints displays;                                                                   25
A wat’ry mirror spread below,
To her own eyes her beauties shew.
I scarce can think Narcissus ey’d
Reflected beauty with such pride;
Or modern belle for birth-night dress’d,                                           30
Raptures so exquisite express’d.
Some time enamour’d o’er the lake
She hung, then—thus she spake.
“Say, in Creation’s ample bound,
Where can there such a form be found?                                           35
How fine that curve! how bright those rays!
Oh I could here for ever gaze;
See, see, resplendent circles rise,
Each above each, of various dyes!
Mark that first ring of sanguine light!                                                40
Beam’d ever ruby half so bright?
Or can the flaming topaz vie
With that next stream of golden dye?
Where was that em’rald ever seen
Whose rays could rival yonder green?                                               45
Or where’s that sapphire’s azure hue,
Can emulate it’s neighb’ring blue?
See! purple terminates my bow:
Boast amethysts so bright a glow?”
Thus to each charm she gave its due,                                         50
Nay more—but that is—entre nous,
Exhaustless seem’d the copious theme,
For where’s the end of self-esteem?
She finding still for praise pretence,
From vanity drew eloquence:                                                               55
When in the midst of her career,
Behold her glories disappear.
See her late boasted tints decay,
And vanish into air away,
Like spectres at th’ approach of day.                                                   60
On things too transient hangs their fate,
For them to hope a lasting date,
The fallen rain has clear’d the skies,
And lo! the short-liv’d phantom dies.
My application’s brief and plain,                                                           65
Beauty’s the Rainbow, Youth’s the Rain.

NOTES:

Author  The poem is signed “Eugenio.”  A reviewer of this volume of The Annual Register identifies the author as “John Norris, Esq, who was a student at Temple and fellow at Caius College in Cambridge” (The Critical Review: Or, Annals of Literature, Volume 13. London: 1762, p. 486).

Epigraph Nimium ne crede Colori.—Virg. From the Latin poet’s pastoral poem, Eclogues II. Trans. “Trust not too much to colour, beauteous boy” (classics.mit.edu).

17 sequel In reference to “Clouds” at line 16.

18 Sol “The sun (personified)” (OED); zenith “The point of the horizon at which a heavenly body rises” (OED).

24 Phoebus’  The sun personified as Apollo as the god of light or of the sun.

25 Iris “The goddess who acted as the messenger of the gods, and was held to display as her sign, or appear as, the rainbow; hence, allusively, a messenger” (OED).

28 Narcissus “[The name of] a beautiful youth who fell in love with his own reflection in water and pined to death” (OED).

51 entre nous “Between ourselves; in private” (OED).

56 career “The height of a person’s activity” (OED).

Source: The Annual Register (London, 1762), pp. 256-57.

Edited by Karen Peña

Mary Barber, “An Unanswerable Apology for the Rich”

Leave a reply

[MARY BARBER]

“An Unanswerable Apology for the Rich”

 

All-bounteous Heav’n, Castalio cries,
With bended Knees, and lifted Eyes,
When shall I have the Pow’r to bless,
And raise up Merit in Distress?

How do our Hearts deceive us here!                                           5
He gets ten thousand Pounds a Year.
With this the pious Youth is able
To build, and plant, and keep a Table.
But then the Poor he must not treat:
Who asks the Wretch, that wants to eat?                                           10
Alas! to ease their Woes he wishes;
But cannot live without Ten Dishes:
Tho’ Six would serve as well, ’tis true;
But one must live, as others do.
He now feels Wants unknown before,                                                15
Wants still increasing with his Store.
The good Castalio must provide
Brocade, and Jewels, for his Bride.
Her Toilet shines with Plate emboss’d;
What Sums her Lace and Linen cost!                                                   20
The Cloaths that must his Person grace,
Shine with Embroidery, and Lace.
The costly Pride of Persian Looms,
And Guido’s Paintings, grace his Rooms.
His Wealth Castalio will not waste;                                                       25
But must have ev’ry thing in Taste.
He’s an OEconomist confest;
But what he buys, must be the best:
For common Use a Set of Plate;
Old China, when he dines in State;                                                      30
A Coach and Six, to take the Air;
Besides a Chariot, and a Chair.
All these important Calls supply’d,
Calls of Necessity, not Pride,
His Income’s regularly spent;                                                                35
He scarcely saves to pay his Rent.
No Man alive would do more Good,
Or give more freely, if he cou’d.
He grieves, whene’er the Wretched sue;
But what can poor Castalio do?                                                             40

Would Heav’n but send ten thousand more,
He’d give –– just as he did before.

NOTES:

1 Castalio Identity untraced; Barber’s pseudonym suggests a male form of “Castilian,” characteristic of the spring Castalia, sacred in antiquity to Apollo and the Muses as a source of poetic inspiration (OED).

10 Wretch “An unfortunate or unhappy person” (OED).

18 Brocade “A rich fabric with a raised pattern, typically with gold or silver thread” (OED).

23 Persian Looms Expensive textiles imported from areas that belonged to the Persian Empire, or modern day Iran.

24 Guido’s paintings Probably a reference to Guido Reni (1575-1642), a prolific Italian Baroque painter whose works were popular in eighteenth-century England. Charles I, for example, had more paintings by Reni than any other artist in his collection. (England and the Italian Renaissance).

27 OEconomist Archaic spelling of economist.

30 China “Household tableware or other objects made from China or a similar material” (OED).

31 A Coach and Six “A carriage drawn by six horses” (OED).

32 Chariot “A stately or triumphal carriage” (OED); Chair “An enclosed chair for conveying one person, carried between horizontal poles by two porters” (OED).

39 sue “Appeal formally to a person for something” (OED).

Source: Poems on Several Occasions (London, 1735), pp. 17-19. [Google Books]

 Edited by Nikolas Refanidis

 

Nathaniel Evans, “A Riddle”

Leave a reply

NATHANIEL EVANS

“A Riddle”

 

Barrcado’d with white bone,
Lab’ring under many a groan,
Curtain’d in my room with red,
And smoothly laid in crimson bed;
‘Tis I dissolve the stony heart,                                                              5
And comfort’s balmy joys impart;
‘Tis I can rule the wav’ring croud,
Or tame the haughty and the proud;
‘Tis I o’er beauty oft prevail,
That queen of life’s capricious vale;                                                   10
‘Tis I can fire the warrior’s soul,
Or passion’s giddy voice control;
Senates have felt my lordly sway,
And kings my magic pow’r obey;
‘Tis I, so garrulously gay,                                                                      15
That rouze the dames whose heads are grey;
Gilded o’er with truth and lies,
Under many a mixt disguise,
I dress to cheat unpractis’d youth,
With falsehood’s garb for honest truth;                                             20
XANTHIPPE bold, in dead of night,
Taught SOCRATES to own my might!

Strange enchantress, motely creature,
Oddest prodigy of nature!
As raging billows, now I’m wild,                                                          25
And now as warbling fountains mild;
Now religion’s laws proclaiming,
And now the good and just defaming;
Now cementing patriotism,
And now in church provoking schism.                                               30
Enough, O muse!– kind reason cries,
The man who has this monster dies!

Expound my riddle, if you’re able,
For ‘twas this confounded BABEL!

NOTES:

6 balmy “Delicately and deliciously fragrant” (OED).

10 capricious “Characterized by play of wit or fancy; humorous, fantastic, ‘conceited’” (OED).

15 garrulously “Given to much talking; fond of indulging in talk or chatter; loquacious, talkative” (OED).

16 rouze “To tussle with (a person) in a sexual or flirtatious manner” (OED).

17 Gilded “To cover entirely or partially with a thin layer of gold, either laid on in the form of gold-leaf or applied by other processes” (OED).

20 Garb-“Grace, elegance, stylishness of manners or appearance” (OED).

21 Xanthippe (435 BCE- ???) “Athenian wife of Socrates whose name, thanks to the philosopher’s disciples, has for centuries been a byword for a sharp-tongued shrew” (Encyclopedia.com).

22 Socrates (469-399 BCE) “Greek philosopher whose way of life, character, and thought exerted a profound influence on ancient and modern philosophy” (Encyclopedia Brittanica).

31 Muse The source of poetic inspiration.

34 Babel Another name for the ancient city of Babylon; a reference here to the Biblical story in Genesis 11:1-9 that describes the human race united under one language building the city and tower, but God intervenes to “confuse their language so they will not understand each other” (11:6), thus destroying the city and dispersing humanity around the world speaking different languages (OCB).

Source: Poems on Several Occasions (Philadelphia, 1759), pp. 19-20. [Google Books]

Edited by Ben Niden-Preis

John Gay, “Fable IV: The Eagle, and the Assembly of Animals”

Leave a reply

JOHN GAY

 “Fable IV: The Eagle, and the Assembly of Animals”

 

As Jupiter’s all-seeing eye
Survey’d the worlds beneath the sky,
From this small speck of earth were sent
Murmurs and sounds of discontent;
For ev’ry thing alive complain’d                                                                               5
That he the hardest life sustain’d.
Jove calls his Eagle. At the word
Before him stands the royal bird.
The bird, obedient, from heav’n’s height
Downward directs his rapid flight;                                                                           10
Then cited ev’ry living thing,
To hear the mandates of his king.
Ungrateful creatures, whence arise
These murmurs which offend the skies;
Why this disorder? say the cause:                                                                             15
For just are Jove’s eternal laws.
Let each his discontent reveal.
To yon sour dog I first appeal.
Hard is my lot, the Hound replies.
On what fleet nerves the greyhound flies!                                                                 20
While I, with weary step and slow,
O’er plains, and vales, and mountains, go;
The morning sees my chase begun,
Nor ends it till the setting sun.
When, says the Greyhound, I pursue,                                                                   25
My game is lost, or caught in view,
Beyond my sight the prey’s secure:
The hound is slow, but always sure.
And, had I his sagacious scent,
Jove ne’er had heard my discontent.                                                                              30
The Lion crav’d the fox’s art;
The Fox, the lion’s force and heart;
The Cock implor’d the pigeon’s flight,
Whose wings were rapid, strong, and light;
The Pigeon strength of wing despis’d,                                                                             35
And the cock’s matchless valour priz’d:
The Fishes wish’d to graze the plain,
The Beasts to skim beneath the main.
Thus, envious of another’s fate,
Each blam’d the partial hand of Fate.                                                                               40
The bird of heav’n then cry’d aloud—
Jove bids disperse the murm’ring crowd:
The God rejects your idle pray’rs.
Would ye, rebellious mutineers,
Entirely change your name and nature,                                                                           45
And be the very envy’d creature?
What, silent all, and none consent!
Be happy then, and learn content.
Nor imitate the restless mind,
And proud ambition, of mankind.                                                                                       50

NOTES:

1 Jupiter “The supreme deity of the ancient Romans, corresponding to the Greek Zeus; the ruler of gods and men, and the god of the heavens, whose weapon was the thunderbolt” (OED).

 7 Jove “A poetical equivalent of Jupiter, name of the highest deity of the ancient Romans” (OED); Eagle “It is said that the Eagle only is never smitten with Lightning; and therefore it is judged that she serveth Jupiter as his Armour-bearer” (Pliny’s Natural History, Book X, Chapter III).

8 the royal bird A reference to the eagle which “served as Jupiter’s personal messenger” (Asuni, Michele. “Jupiter and Eagle.” Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum).

29 sagacious “Acute in perception, esp. by the sense of smell” (OED).

38 skim To move “lightly along or close to a surface” (OED); main “The open sea” (OED).

41 bird of heav’n Another reference to Jupiter’s eagle.

44 mutineers People “who [revolt] against or openly [resist] the authority of a superior or a governing body” (OED).

SOURCE: Fables (London, 1793), pp. 21-24. [J. Paul Leonard Library]

Edited by Sara Contreras

Matthew Prior, “The Cameleon”

Leave a reply

MATTHEW PRIOR

“The Cameleon”

As the Cameleon, who is known
To have no Colours of his own;
But borrows from his Neighbour’s Hue
His White, or Black; his Green, or Blue;
And struts as much in ready Light,                                             5
Which Credit gives him upon Sight,
As if the Rain-bow were in Tail
Settl’d on him, and his Heirs Male.
So the young Squire, when first he comes
From Country School to Will’s or Tom’s;                                     10
And equally (G–d knows) is fit
To be a Statesman, or a Wit:
Without one Notion of his own,
He saunters wildly up and down,
‘Till some Acquaintance, good or bad,                                       15
Takes notice of a staring Lad;
Admits him in amongst the Gang:
They jest, reply, dispute, harangue;
He acts and talks, as they befriend him:
Smear’d with the Colours, which they lend him.                       20

Thus, meerly as his Fortune chances,
His Merit or his Vice advances.

If haply he the Sect pursues,
That read and comment upon News;
He takes up their mysterious Face;                                              25
He drinks his Coffee without Lace:
This Week his mimic Tongue runs o’er
What they have said the Week before;
His Wisdom sets all Europe right,
And teaches Marlb’rough when to fight.                                      30

Or, if it be his Fate to meet
With Folks who have more Wealth than Wit:
He loves cheap Port, and double Bub,
And settles in the Hum Drum Club.
He learns how stocks with fall or rise;                                         35
Holds Poverty the greatest Vice:
Thinks Wit the Bane of Conversation;
And says that Learning spoils a Nation.

But, if at first he minds his Hits,
And drinks Champaine among the Wits:                                      40
Five deep he toasts the tow’ring Lasses;
Repeats you Verses writ on Glasses:
Is in the Chair; prescribes the Law;
And lyes with Those he never saw.

NOTES:

1 Cameleon “An inconstant or variable person” (OED).

9 Squire “A young man of good birth attendant upon a knight” (OED).

10 Will’s or Tom’s Most likely common names of local pubs or coffeehouses.

18 jest “To tell a tale, to recite a romance” (OED); harangue “To make an address or speech to an assembly” (OED).

23 Sect A class “or kind of persons” (OED).

26 Coffee without Lace The epithet applied to tea or coffee that has not been mixed with some kind of spirit; “Mr. Nisby is of opinion that laced coffee is bad for the head” –Spectator No. 317 (Dinsdale, A Glossary of Provincial Words Used in Teesdale, 76).

30 Marlb’rough John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722). He is considered one of England’s greatest generals after leading the British and allied armies to key victories over Louis XIV of France at Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), and Oudenaarde (1708) (Konstam, Marlborough, 4).

33 double Bub “A slang word for drink, esp. strong beer” (OED).

34 Hum Drum “Lacking variety; of a routine character” (OED).

Source: Poems on Several Occasions (London 1718) pp. 177-179. [Google Books]

Edited by Jane Matchak

Mary Barber, “Written from Dublin to a Lady in the Country”

Leave a reply

[MARY BARBER]

“Written from Dublin to a Lady in the Country”

 

A Wretch in smoaky Dublin pent,
Who rarely sees the Firmament,
You graciously invite, to view
The Sun’s enliv’ning Rays with you;
To change the Town for flow’ry Meads,                                             5
And sing beneath the sylvan Shades.

YOU’RE kind in vain —It will not be —
Retirement was deny’d to me;
Doom’d by inexorable Fate,
To pass thro’ crouded Scenes I hate.                                                   10
O with what Joy could I survey
The rising, glorious source of Day!
Attend the Shepherd’s fleecy Care
Transported with the vernal Air;
Behold the Meadow’s painted Pride,                                                   15
Or see the limped Waters glide;
Survey the distant, shaded Hills,
And, penfive, hear the murm’ring Rills,

THRO’ your Versailles with Pleasure rove,
Admire the Gardens, and the Grove;                                                    20
See Nature’s bounteous Hand adorn
The blushing Peach, and the blooming Thorn;
Beheld the Birds distend their Throats,
And hear their wild, melodious Notes,

DELIGHTED, thro’ your Pastures roam,                                          25
Or see the Kine come lowing home;
Whose od’rous Breaths a Joy impart,
That sooths the Sense, and glads the Heart;
With pleasure view the frothing Pails
And silent hear the creaking Rails;                                                         30
See whistling Hinds attend their Ploughs,
Who never hear of broken Vows;
Where no Ambition to be great,
E’er taught the Nymph, or Swain, Deceit.

THUS thro’ the Day, delighted run;                                                 35
Then raptur’d view the setting Sun;
The rich, diffusive God behold,
On distant Mountains pouring Gold,
Gilding the beauteous, rising Spire,
While Crystal Windows glow with Fire;                                                  40
Gaze, till he quit the Western Skies,
And long to see his Sister rise;
Prefer the silent, Silver moon
To the too radiant, noisy Noon.

OR Northward turn, with new Delight,                                            45
To mark what Triumphs wait the Night;
When Shepherds think the Heav’ns foreshow
Some dire Commotions here below;
When Light the human Form assumes,
And Champions meet with nodding Plumes,                                       50
With Silver Streamers, wide unfurl’d
And gleaming Spears amaze the World.

THENCE to the higher Heav’ns I soar,
And the great Architect adore ;
Behold what Worlds are hung in Air,                                                     55
And view ten thousand Empires there;
Then prostate to Jehovah fall,
Who into Being spake them all.

NOTES:

 1 pent “Another term for ‘pent-up’” (OED).

2 Firmament “The heavens or the sky” (OED).

6 Sylvan “Consisting of or associated with woods; wooded” (OED).

9 inexorable “Impossible to stop or prevent” (OED).

14 vernal “Of, in, or appropriate to spring” (OED).

19 Versailles A royal palace that began construction in 1661 and completed in 1715. It was the palace of the French monarch Louis XIV and it was a symbol of absolute monarchy.

 26 Kine “Cows collectively” (OED).

31 Hinds Farm laborers.

34 Swain “A country youth” (OED).

51 unfurl’d “Make or become spread out from a rolled or folded state, especially in order to be open to the wind.” (OED)

57 Jehovah “A form of the Hebrew name of God used in some translations of the Bible” (OED).

 Source: Poems on Several Occasions (London, 1735), pp. 101-104.

 Edited by Natasha Forsberg