fight, and then, if they can, part the combatants." [SAINTSBURY.] 48. To stanch the blood by breathing of the vein. The separate edition reads stench. On the meaning of breathing, cf. 336, 65; 473, 700. "This passage, which seems to imply nothing further than that Cromwell conducted the war so as to push it to a conclusion, was afterwards invidiously interpreted by Dryden's enemies as containing an explicit approbation of the execution of Charles I." [SCOTT.] 55. Of conquests. Christie construes this with thick, and compares thick of bars (755, 230). This seems a better interpretation than, following Saintsbury, to "take of with maps, and construe thick as an adverb with strew'd." 56. Is sown. The separate edition reads are sown. This variant indicates that the separate edition is the older; Dryden later corrected his slip of grammar. 57. His palms, etc. Professor E. S. Parsons, in Modern Language Notes, xix. 47-49, gives for the first time a satisfactory explanation of this line. The idea that the palm, if loaded with heavy weights, does not give way, but grows with new vigor, is well known. In 1648-49 there had appeared a famous book, the Eikon Basilike, which was supposed to be by King Charles I, and to contain a "pourtraicture" of him "in his solitudes and sufferings." The frontispiece of this "represents Charles I in his royal robes, kneeling, looking upward toward the heavenly crown, soon to be his. From a cloud in the background a beam of light shines out and rests on the king's head, . . . and two palms are disclosed, carrying heavy weights, with the motto: Crescit sub Pondere Virtus." Cromwell's palms, though, unlike those of Charles, under weights they did not stand, still thrived. Cf. 17, 151. 60. And drew, etc. Dryden's poems contain several references to the technique of painting: v. 6, 94-96; 8, 125-128; 414, 41–44; 7412, 44-49. 63. Bologna's walls, etc. During the siege of Bologna in 1512, according to a story told by Guicciardini, a mine was laid beneath a portion of the wall on which stood a chapel of the Virgin. When the mine was fired, the wall was blown into the air, so that through the breach the assailants could see the defenders, but a moment later it returned to its former place, as if it had never been moved. 66. Treacherous Scotland. The epithet probably refers rather to the general shifting course of the Scots during the Civil War than to any particular event. 71. Influence. mien. Influence is here used in its astrological sense, of the influence of the stars on human affairs. Mien is spelled mine in the Three Poems text, mien in the separate edition; perhaps the former spelling should be retained here, to mark the rhyme. 77, 78. When past, etc. These two lines are here punctuated as in the separate edition of 1659; the Three Poems text omits the comma after Jove, and has commas after depos'd and yield. SS. and C. insert a comma after when, thereby making depos'd the verb of a subordinate clause. This certainly gives a better sense, but the change does not seem quite necessary. Feretrian Jove. Pheretrian in the separate edition. To Jupiter Feretrius there were consecrated only the spolia opima, which were won but three times in Roman history. Dryden writes as if all spoils of war were offered to that divinity. As Christie points out, Dryden was apparently fond of the phrase, introducing it, without warrant from the Latin, into his translations of Juvenal and Virgil: v. 350, 208; 609, 1187. 84. Her idol, gain. Dryden loses no opportunity for expressing his hostility to the Dutch: see, for example, 233, 1140-1147. 6, 90. Mounsire. The separate edition reads Monsieur. 91. Where it was. Where e'er 't was in the separate edition. 100. Complexions. The complexion, or temperament, was supposed to be determined by the mixture in the body of the four humors, blood, phlegm, choler, and melancholy. 103. Ideas. Cf. n. 2, 97. 113. He made us freemen, etc. "The poet alludes to the exertions of the six thousand British auxiliaries whom Cromwell sent to join Marshal Turenne in Flanders. The English were made freemen of the continent by the cession of Dunkirk." [SCOTT.] 118. Heard. So the separate edition; the Three Poems text reads har'd, which perhaps should have been retained in the present edition. 120. Alexander. Alexander VII, pope from 1655 to 1667. "The thunder of his guns (those of Admiral Blake, cruising in the Mediterranean], every Puritan believed, would be heard in the castle of St. Angelo, and Rome itself would have to bow to the greatness of Cromwell." J. R. GREEN, Short History of the English People, ch. viii, § 10. 121. By his command, etc. "A powerful army and squadron were sent by Cromwell, 1654, under the command of Penn and Venables, to attack San Domingo. The main design misgave: they took, however, the island of Jamaica, whose importance long remained unknown; for, notwithstanding the manner in which Dryden has glossed over these operations in the West Indies, they were at the time universally considered as having been unfortunate." [SCOTT.] 136. Under spoils decease "Tarpeia, the virgin who betrayed a gate of Rome to the Sabines, demanded, in recompense, what they wore on their left arms, meaning their golden bracelets. But the Sabines, detesting her treachery, or not disposed to gratify her avarice, chose to understand that her request related to their bucklers, and flung them upon her in such numbers as to kill her." SCOTT. 137. But first, etc. Professor Firth (in Notes and Queries, series VII. v. 404) well illustrates this stanza by a quotation from James Heath's Flagellum, 1663, p. 205: "It pleased God to call him to an account of all that mischief he had perpetrated; ushering his end with a great whale, some three months before, on the second of June, that came up as far as Greenwich, and was there killed, and more immediately by a terrible storm of wind, the prognostic that the great Leviathan of men, that tempest and overthrow of government, was now going to his own place." 7, 144. Halcyons. Cf. 10, 236; 845, 495, n. ASTREA REDUX. This title means Justice Brought Back. On the coming of the Iron Age, Astræa, the virgin Goddess of Justice, is fabled to have fled from earth to heaven: v. 335, 28; 3462 (n. 4); 389, 191; 462, 671, 672; 630, 425-432. Dryden's idea is that with the restoration of Charles, the Golden Age, when Saturn reigned, has been again established. His motto (VIRGIL, Eclogues, iv. 6; cf. 428, 5-8) means: "Now too the Virgin returns, and the reign of Saturn returns." On the title-pages of both the 1660 and the 1688 editions the poet's name is spelled Driden. 2. A world divided from the rest. Dryden borrows the thought from Virgil: v. 422, 89, 90. 7. An horrid stillness first invades the ear. This line was much ridiculed by the wits of the time. Scott quotes a couplet parodying it: A horrid silence does invade my eye, While not one sound of voice from you I spy. 9. Th' ambitious Swede, etc. "The royal line of Sweden has produced more heroic and chivalrous monarchs than any dynasty of Europe. The gallant Charles X, who is here mentioned, did not degenerate from his warlike stem. He was a nephew of the great Gustavus Adolphus; and, like him, was continually engaged in war, particularly against Poland and Austria. He died at Gothenburg in 1660, and the peace of Sweden was soon afterwards restored by the treaty of Copenhagen." Scott. 13. And Heaven, etc. By the treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 peace was concluded between France and Spain. The union was cemented by the marriage of Louis XIV to the Infanta Maria Theresa, on June 9, 1660, soon after this poem was written. 35. The sacred purple, etc. The sacred purple refers, as Christie indicates, to the Bishops, and the scarlet gown to the Peers. "The sight of them animated the people to such senseless fury as elephants, and many other animals, are said to show upon seeing any object of a red color." [SCOTT.] 37. Typhoeus. The giant who for a time expelled Jupiter from heaven, but was later overcome by him and imprisoned beneath Mount Etna: v. 651, 969-972. In the passage just cited the name appears, in accordance with the reading of the early editions, as Typhæus. 41. The lesser gods, etc. After the execution of Charles I, the House of Commons proceeded (1649) to abolish the House of Lords and to take the name of Parliament for itself. 45. The Cyclops. Polyphemus, who was blinded by Ulysses. Dryden has translated from Ovid one story in regard to him: v. 403–406. 8, 57. His wounds, etc. "It is surely unnecessary to point out to the reader the confusion of metaphor, where virtue is said to dress the wounds of Charles with laurels; the impertinent antithesis of finding light alone in dark afflictions (1. 96); and the extravagance of representing the winds that wafted Charles as out of breath with joy (1. 244)." [SCOTT.] 67. Soft Otho, etc. The Roman emperor Galba, who reigned a. d. 68, 69, refused to make Otho his successor, on account of the latter's effeminate life, and adopted Piso as the heir to the throne. Otho then gained power by a revolt, but, after ruling only three months, was defeated by Vitellius at Brixellum, and slew himself. 74. And all at Worc'ster but the honor lost. "This is in imitation of the famous phrase which Francis I of France is said to have written to his mother after the battle of Pavia: Madam, all is lost except our honor.' That of Charles II certainly was not lost at Worcester. He gave many marks of personal courage, and was only hurried off the field by the torrent of fugitives." [SCOTT.] 94. On Night, etc. "That night brings counsel' is a well-nigh universal sentiment." [SAINTSBURY.] 98. His famous grandsire. "Henry IV of France, maternal grandfather of Charles II." SCOTT. 101. A Covenanting League's vast pow'rs. Cf. 154, 155. There is a reference to the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643. 106. Chronicles. For the rhyme, cf. 208, 414; 215, 37. 108. Epoches. Three syllables, as is indicated by the spelling epoche's in the editions of 1660 and 1688. 117. Rous'd by the lash, etc. In illustration of this passage Professor W. A. Neilson of Harvard University kindly sends the following quotation: "By the tayle the boldnesse & heart of the Lyon is knowen, for when . the Lion is wroth, first he beateth the Earthe with his Tayle, and afterwarde, as the wrath increaseth, he smiteth and beateth his owne backe." Batman uppon Bartholome, London, 1582; lib. xviii, cap. 65. 121. Portunus. Portunus, the Roman god of harbors, was invoked to secure a safe return from a voyage: cf. 582, 314, 315; 750, 48-50. 125. Yet as, etc. Cf. n. 5, 60. 9, 144. As heav'n, etc. v. Matthew xi. 12. 145. Booth's forward valor. After the death of Cromwell, Sir George Booth rose in Cheshire for Charles II, but was speedily defeated by General Lambert. 150. Lay. The grammatical subject of this verb is not clear. 151. Monk. General George Monk, the com mander of the English forces in Scotland. He took a prominent part in the restoration of Charles II. 154. Did, etc. Cf. 774, 442. 162. It shuns, etc. "It is said, believe who list, that the ingenious Mr. Robert Boyle invented a metal which had all the properties of gold except malleability." ScoTT. 163. How hard, etc. The passage is far from clear: Dryden's style is not yet fully developed. Monk's task is explained in ll. 167, 168. In the natural body this is the charge of three distinct organs, muscles, nerves, and brain. The 1660 edition has no pause after see (1. 164); the 1688 edition has a semi-colon. Christie rightly restored the original punctuation. 182. Whence Legion twice before was dispossess'd. This alludes to Cromwell's dispersing the Rump Parliament, April, 1653, and Lambert's similar act, October, 1659. 195. Th' incensed, etc. v. 604, 788-803. 201. Sforza. Lodovico Sforza (1451-1508) made himself Duke of Milan by the murder of his nephew. After a series of successful intrigues, he was finally captured by the French, and died in captivity. 205. Suffer'd to live, etc. Many prominent Puritans were deprived of the right to hold any public office. "Thus disqualified, the poet compares these republicans to the Spartan slaves, made drunk to excite the contempt of the youth for that degrading vice. By the bye, Dryden's kinsman, Sir Gilbert Pickering, was among the persons so incapacitated." [SCOTT.] 10, 211-214. Like. . renew. This construction is supported by the authority of some good writers both before and after Dryden. 219. Scheveline's. "A small village near the Hague, at which Charles embarked on his joyful voyage." SCOTT. Now called Scheveningen. 230. The Naseby. "After dinner the king and duke altered the name of some of the ships, viz., the Naseby into Charles." Pepys' Diary, May 23, 1660. 235. Gloc'ster's. Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1639-60), fourth son of Charles I. 236. Secure, etc. Cf. 7, 144; 845, 495, n. 249. Submitted fasces. The fasces, a bundle of rods surrounding an ax, were the symbol of office of the highest Roman magistrates, showing their power both to flog and to put to death. Valerius Poplicola, consul in the first year of the city, when accused of ambition, defended himself before the people, Livy relates, with lowered fasces (submissis fascibus, whence Dryden's submitted), as a sign of submission to their superior power. Cf. 31, 199, n; 3121, 27-30; 7382, 1 f. 251. Th' approaching cliffs. "The civility of such inanimate objects, according to the poets of this reign, was truly wonderful, considering their present insensibility." [SCOTT.] 262. Thus, when, etc. v. Exodus xxxiii. 20-23; xxxiv. 5-7. 267. Your goodness only is above the laws. Charles II pressed the Act of Indemnity upon the House of Lords in the most earnest terms. 284. How shall I speak, etc. "Charles II was born on May 29, 1630; and upon the same day of the same month, 1660, made his triumphal entry into London." [SCOTT.] 11, 288. That star, etc. "There was a star visible on Charles's birthday, May 29, 1630, a circumstance much dwelt on by his party during the civil wars. Lilly, the astrologer, assures us it was nothing more than the planet Venus, which is sometimes visible in the daytime." [SCOTT.) Cf. 29, 69–72. 292. Time's whiter series. The use of white in the sense of fortunate is, as Christie indicates, a Latinism. On the line, cf. 29, 71, n; 122, 1028. 305. Our merchants, etc. The reference is to the commercial rivalry of England and Holland in the East: cf. 28, 1-4; 71. Prol. and Epil. 310. France. In June, 1654, owing to negotiations for an alliance between Louis XIV and Cromwell, Charles II left France. His presence there was dangerous only because it might be displeasing to Cromwell. 316. Your edicts, etc. This refers, as Professor Firth shows, to a proclamation by the king against vicious persons, including Cavaliers who by their riotous lives disgraced the cause they defended, issued on May 30, 1660, the day after his entrance into London. See Somers Tracts, vii. 423-425. 16. Samson's riddle. v. Judges xiv. 5-18. 26. Rete mirabile. "A network of blood vessels in the basis of the brain of quadrupeds." R. HOOPER, Medical Dictionary. 12, 31. No atoms, etc. A reference to the atomic theory, as set forth by Lucretius. 37. Carry weight. To be handicapped by carrying an extra burden. 68. Achilles. According to Statius, Thetis, the mother of Achilles, disguised her son as a maiden, hoping that in this way he might escape being sent to the Trojan War, where she knew he was fated to be slain. - Statius's bad poetry was a favorite object of attack for the critics of Dryden's time. 96. Rufus'. Verginius Rufus, who, in the reign of Nero, put down the rebellion of Vindex in Gaul, and later more than once resisted the attempts of his soldiers to make him emperor. He is said to have composed for himself the epitaph quoted in the margin: "Here lies Rufus, who once, defeating Vindex, upheld the empire, not for his own sake, but for his country's." 104. Geniture. "The author speaks the language of astrology, in which geniture signifies nativity, horoscope." [SCOTT.] According to Malone (I, 1, 45) Howard's book was entered on the Stationers' Register April 16, 1660, so that it must have appeared at about the time of the king's return. 13, 18. Some guilty months. In Dryden's time the year was reckoned as beginning March 25. Had Charles II been crowned before March 25, 1661, the two months (March 25-May 25, 1660) immediately preceding his return from exile would have been included in the year of his coronation. 14, 70. Fruition. For the rhyme, cf. 2, 66, n. 79. Sedition's. The 1688 edition reads seditious, probably a mere misprint. 81. The jealous sects, etc. "The conferences held at Savoy House, in April, 1661, betwixt the Presbyterians and the bishops, excited hopes that these two powerful divisions of the Protestant Church might be reconciled to each other. The Quakers, Anabaptists, and other inferior sects, applied, by petitions and humble addresses, to the king, to be permitted to worship God according to their consciences. Thus the whole modeling of ecclesiastical matters seemed to be in the hands of the king." [SCOTT.] The Nonconformists relied on the king's promises in his Declaration from Breda, which he proved unable to fulfil. 104. With Caesar's heart. Plutarch relates that Cæsar encouraged a timorous ship captain with the words: "Go on, my friend, and fear nothing; you carry Cæsar and his fortune in your boat." 107. In stately frigates, etc. Charles II had an amateur's interest and delight in shipbuilding and seamanship. 111. Beyond your court, etc. "By the improvements made by Charles II on St. James's Park there was a connection made with the river." [SCOTT.] 115. The mistrustful fowl. "The canal in St. James's Park formed a decoy for water-fowl, with which it was stocked." [SCOTT.] 127. Two kingdoms, etc. Portugal had revolted from Spain in 1640, but its independence was not secure. It received valuable aid from an alliance with England, confirmed by the marriage of Charles II to Catharine of Braganza, daughter to the King of Portugal. This marriage had been favored by France, but opposed by Spain. Spain and Portugal are then the two nations to which Dryden refers. 129. Your Royal Oak. "This is in allusion to a device exhibited over the triumphal arch through which the king passed on the day of his coronation. Behind a picture of the king appeared the Royal Oak, bearing crowns and scepters, instead of acorns, . . . as designing its reward for the shelter it afforded his Majesty after the fight at Worcester.'" [SCOTT.] The Royal Oak was that in which Charles once concealed himself, thereby escaping capture, after the battle of Worcester in 1651. 15, 5. The Muses, etc. In his youth Hyde was intimate with the most famous literary men of his time, but he was apparently never himself a writer of verse. 14. As those that see, etc. The Cardinals. 53. Young David, etc. v. 1 Samuel xvii. 38, 39. 16, 81. Their subjects'. Their subjects in 1688 edition; the 1662 text reads the instead of their. 106. War's. Wars in editions of 1662 and 1688. 119. Envy, etc. Clarendon's enemies finally triumphed, and secured his banishment in 1667. He died in exile at Rouen in 1674. 139. Sometimes the hill, etc. Christie calla attention to the following passage in Denham's Cooper's Hill, which was probably in Dryden's mind: Windsor the next... above the valley swells A pleasure and a rev'rence from the sight. 17, 151. Without a weight. Cf. 5, 57, n. TO MY HONOR'D FRIEND, DR. CHARLETON. This poem is signed John Driden in both issues of 1663. 3. The Stagirite. Aristotle. 7. Until 't was bought. So both issues of 1663; the 1704 text reads Till it was bought. 181, 13. Men, who. So 1663 text, without imprimatur, and 1704 text; the 1663 text, with imprimatur, reads men, that. 22. Th' English are not the least. The 1663 text, with imprimatur, reads, The English are not least; the 1704 text reads, Our nation 's not the least. 25. Gilbert. William Gilbert (1540-1603), physician to Queen Elizabeth, wrote a treatise on the magnet, the first great physical book published in England. 27. Boyle. "The Hon. Robert Boyle (1627-91), who so laudably distinguished his name by his experimental researches, was a son of the great Earl of Cork. He was about this time actively engaged in the formation of the Royal Society. His great brother was Roger, Lord Broghill (1621-79), poet and politician, created upon the Restoration Earl of Orrery, to whom Dryden dedicated The Rival Ladies." [SCOTT.] Cf. B. S. xix. 31. Harvey. "William Harvey (1578–1657), the famous discoverer of the circulation of the blood. His last treatise was published in 1651, at the request of Dr. George Ent, a learned physician, mentioned by Dryden in the next line." [SCOTT.] 182, 50. Joy'd with. So the 1663 text, without imprimatur, and the 1704 text; the 1663 text, with imprimatur, reads Chose by. 52. Rule. So the 1663 text, without imprimatur, and the 1704 text; the 1663 text, with imprimatur, reads sway. 53. These ruins, etc. Charleton, in his dedication of Chorea Gigantum to Charles II, alludes to a visit which the king paid to Stonehenge immediately after the defeat of his army at Worcester in 1651. 54. Then when from Wor'ster's fatal field he fled. So both issues of 1663; the 1704 text reads, When he from Wor'ster's fatal battle fled. 55. Royal. So the 1663 text, without imprimatur, and the 1704 text; the 1663 text, with imprimatur, reads kingly. 13. First Astrol. Dryden by his frequent refer 1 ences to astrology shows his interest in the science. A passage in one of his letters shows that he had faith in it: v. Malone, I, 2, 57; SS. xviii. 134; cf. 50, 1165, n; 758, 500, n. 191, 15. Half an hour after three, etc. This indicates the hour at which plays began at the time this comedy was first acted. 26. The ascendant's. The heavens were divided, by six great circles passing through the north and south poles of the horizon, into twelve houses, of which the first, or ascendant, lay just above the eastern horizon. As the houses were numbered downwards, the twelfth lay just above the first. In 1. 36 Dryden puns on the double meaning of house. 28. Denote. The form of the verb is affected by the plural idea in the preceding clauses. 37. Peregrine. "Situated in a part of the zodiac where it has none of its essential dignities." N. E. D. 38. One continued song. This is probably, as Malone says, a reference to Davenant's Siege of Rhodes, a semi-operatic play, which had been acted with great success at the Duke's Theater in 1661. The Wild Gallant was presented at the rival house, the Theater Royal. 43. A Spanish plot. v. B. S. xviii, xix. 192, 55. Mistakes. A reference, as Malone points out, to the mistakes of Teg, an Irish servant in The Committee, a comedy by Sir Robert Howard, Dryden's brother-in-law. 23. Leander. The lover of Hero, drowned in swimming the Hellespont. 0, 9. Cato's virtue, etc. The reference is to Lucan's famous line: Victrix causa deis placuit sed victa Catoni. (Pharsalia, i. 128.) "The conquering cause pleased the gods; but the conquered cause, Cato." As Scott remarks, there is "little propriety in comparing the influence of the royal mistress to the virtue of Cato." PROLOGUE TO THE RIVAL LADIES. The two editions of 1664 may be distinguished by the fact that one, "printed by W. W.," lacks the prose preface and has no author's name on the title-page. The other, "printed by T. N.," includes the prose preface, and is said to be by John Driden, Esquire. 211, 11. Habits, dances, etc. This is probably a reference to The Siege of Rhodes: cf. n. 19, 38. 34. All slighted maids. There is a possible reference to The Slighted Maid, a comedy by Sir Robert Stapylton, acted and published in 1663. 7-9. Our prologue... beast. These lines are found only in the first edition. 2 (Epil.). Sends me. So all editions from 1667 to 1686; editions from 1692 to 1701 read sends you. 221, 8. Who write. So all editions except the first, which reads, That write. 20. To damn the Dutch. Hostilities had broken out between England and Holland in 1664. 222, 5. Which would too fast. So all editions except the first, which reads, that does too fast. 22. ANNUS MIRABILIS. The first Latin motto is taken (with a change of order) from Pliny, Epist. x. 33, and means: "It matters much whether the occasion demands, or whether men wish to extend their power." The second is Eneid, ii. 363; cf. 542, 490. In the 1667 edition occurs a note To the Readers: " Notwithstanding the diligence which has been us'd in my absence, some faults have escap'd the press: and I have so many of my own to answer for, that I am not willing to be charg'd with those of the printer. I have only noted the grossest of them, not such as by false stops have confounded the sense, but such as by mistaken words have corrupted it." This is followed by a list of errata. In the following notes the readings of the 1667 edition (in octavo) are marked O, due account being taken of the list of errata; those of the 1688 edition (in quarto) are marked Q. Insignificant variations are not recorded: in general O has the spellings then, show, latter; Q has than, shew, later. 231, 3. It is. O reads is it. 232. Sir Robert Howard. v. B. S. xvii. This letter is dated from Charlton in Wiltshire, the residence of the Earl of Berkshire, Sir Robert Howard's father. The play to which Dryden refers (1. 9 of Account) is probably Secret Love. 24, 12. Nobless. That is, the nobility. O reads noblesse, which perhaps should have been retained in the text. 34. Lucan. Lucan (39?-65) wrote his Pharsalia on the war between Cæsar and Pompey: Silius Italicus, of about the same date, wrote his Punica on the second Punic war. 242, 9. Female rhymes. Rhymes in which an unaccented syllable follows the rhyming syllable, as twenty: plenty. 13. Alarique Pucelle. By Georges de Scudéry (1601-67), on the conquest of Rome by Alaric; and by Chapelain (1595-1674), on Joan of Arc. Cf. 4912, 5-9. 17. Chapman. Chapman's Iliad is really in verses of seven feet and his Odyssey in verses of five feet. 22. Gondibert. An epic poem by Sir William Davenant, in the same stanza as Annus Mirabilis, published in 1651. In the present essay Dryden draws some material from Davenant's preface to Gondibert, and from the Answer to it by Thomas Hobbes, the philosopher. What he borrows he improves, by expressing it in his own terse and elegant style. |