And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by, We few, we happy few! we band of Brothers Shall think themselves accursed, they were not here; Enter Salisbury.... Sal. My Sovereign Lord, bestow yourself with speed; King. All things are ready, if our Minds be so. West. Perish the man whose mind is backward now! Without more help, might fight this battle out! -- no (a) Be he e'er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition matter how low his rank in life, how mean his birth, the act of his fighting this day, against such odds, shall raise him to the rank of a Gentleman. (b) And hold their manhoods cheap and think bat little of the feats they have performed, when contrasted with this day's achievements: manhood is here indicative of the deed which may have been done; and cheap means valueless, insignificant, too trifling to be mentioned. -- (c) The French are bravely in their battles set bravely splendidly, ostentatiously; battles divisions; battles set set in battlethus, the forces of the enemy array, prepared for action, for ouset; are splendidly arranged. (d) Which likes me better this phraseology is obsolete in England, though heard daily in this country; owing, I conceive, to the old but bad custom of permitting Students in the language to Translate before they have acquired a sufficient knowledge of the Tongue. That, it was once customary, the following passages bear testimony Or lips he laid on thing that liked them best Should be his prey. 發 SPENCER. He shall dwell where it liketh him best. Deuteronomy. There let them learn, as likes them, to despise.. God and Messiah. LECTURE VI. An Examination of Compositions in Verse. DRYDEN and POPE in Parallelism. Pope professed to have learned his Poetry from Dryden, whom, whenever an opportunity was presented, he praised through his whole life with unvaried liberality; and perhaps his character may receive some illustration, if he be compared with his master. Integrity of understanding and nicety of discernment were not allotted in a less proportion to Dryden than to Pope. The rectitude of Dryden's mind was sufficiently shown by the dismission of his poetical prejudices, and the rejection of unnatural thoughts and rugged numbers. But Dryden never desired to apply all the judgement that he had. He wrote, and professed to write, merely for the people; and when he pleased others he contented himself. He spent no time in struggles to rouse latent powers; he never attempted to make that better which was already good, nor, often, to mend what he must have known to be faulty. He wrote, as he tells us, with very little consideration; when occasion or necessity called upon him, he poured out what the present moment happened to supply, and, when once it had passed the press, ejected it from his mind; for, when he had no pecuniary interest he had no further solicitude. 9 Pope was not content to satisfy; he desired to excel, and therefore always endeavoured to do his best he did not court the 'candor, but dared the judgement, of his reader; andy expecting no indulgence from others, he showed none to himself. He examined lines and words with minute and punctilious observation, and retouched every part with indefatigable diligence, till he had left nothing to be forgiven. Pope had, perhaps, the judgement of Dryden; but Dryden certainly wanted the diligence of Pope. " In acquired knowledge, the superiority must be allowed to Dryden, whose education was more scholastic, and who, before he became an author, had been allowed more time for study, with better means of information. His mind has a larger range, and he collects his images and illustrations from a more extensive circumference of science. Dryden knew more of man in his general nature, and Pope in his local manners. The notions of Dryden were formed by comprehensive speculation, and those of Pope by minute attention. There is more dignity in the knowledge of Dryden, and more certainty in that of Pope. Poetry was not the sole praise of either: for both excelled likewise in Prose; but Pope did not borrow his Prose from his predecessor. The style of Dryden is capricious and varied; that of Pope is cautious and uniform. Dryden obeys the motion of his own mind; Pope constrains his mind to his own rules of composition. Dryden is sometimes vehement and rapid; Pope is always smooth, uniform, and gentle. Dryden's page is a natural field, rising into inequalities, and diversified by the varied exuberance of abundant vegetation; Pope's is a velvet lawn, shaven by the sythe, and levelled by the roller... Of genius that power which constitutes a Poet, that quality without which judgement is cold, and knowledge is inert; that energy which collects, combines, amplifies, and animates; the superiority must, with some hesitation, be allowed to Dryden, It is not to be inferred, that of this poetical vigor Pope had only a little, because Dryden had more, for every other writer since Milton must give place to Pope; and even of Dryden it must be said; that if he has brighter Paragraphs, he has not better Poems. Dryden's performances were always hasty, either excited by some external occasion, or extorted by domestic necessity; he composed without consideration, and published without correction. What his mind could supply at call, or gather in one excursion, was all that he gave. The dilatory caution of Pope enabled him to condense his sentiments, to multiply his images, and to accumulate all that Study might produce, or Chance might supply. If the flights of Dryden, therefore, are higher, Pope contine nes longer on the wing. If of Dryden's fire the blaze is brighter, of Pope's the heat is more regular and constant, Dryden often surpasses expectation, and Pope never fails below it. Dryden is read with frequent astonishment, and Pope with perpetual delight. This Parallel will, I hope, when it is well considered, be found just; and if the reader should suspect me, as I suspect myself, of some partial fondness for the memory of Dryden, let him not too hastily condemn me; for meditation and inquiry may, perhaps, show him the reasonableness of my determination. An Ode in honor of St. Cecilia's-Day. Aloft, in aweful state, On his imperial throne: His valiant peers were placed around; The lovely Thäis by his side Sat, like a blooming eastern bride, None but the brave, None but the brave, None but the brave deserve the Fair. Timotheus, placed on high, Amid the tuneful quire, With flying fingers touched the lyre; The song, began from Jove, When he to fair Olympia pressed, of the world. The listening crowd admire the lofty sound; A present Deity! the vaulted roofs rebound: The monarch hears; And seems to shake the spheres. The praise of Bacchus, then the sweet musician sung; The jolly god in triumph comes- He shows his honest face. Now give the hautboys breath he comes! he comes! Sweet the pleasure; Sweet is pleasure after pain. Soothed with the sound, the king grew vain; Fought all his battles o'er again; And thrice he routed all his foes; and thrice he slew the slain. The master saw the madness 'rise His glowing cheeks, his ardent eyes; He sung Darius, great and good, Fallen! fallen! fallen! fallen! Fallen from his high estate By those his former bounty fed, t On the bare earth exposed he lies, With not a friend to close his eyes. With downcast look the joyless Victor sate, The various turns of fate below; |