Sivut kuvina
PDF
ePub

Then wisely plead, to me they meant no hurt,

But 'twas my guest at whom they threw the dirt? Sure, if I spare the minister, no rules

Of honour bind me, not to maul his tools;

Sure, if they cannot cut, it may be said

His saws are toothless, and his hatchet's lead.

It anger'd TURENNE, once upon a day, To see a footman kick'd that took his

pay:

But when he heard th' affront the fellow gave,
Knew one a man of honour, one a knave;

The prudent gen'ral turn'd it to a jest,

146

150

And begg'd, he'd take the pains to kick the rest: 155 Which not at present having time to do

[you? F. Hold, Sir! for God's sake, where's th' affront to Against your worship when had S―k * writ? Or P-ge pour'd forth the torrent of his wit? Or grant the bard whose distich all commend [In pow'r a servant, out of pow'r a friend] To W-let guilty of same venial sin ; What's that to you who ne'er was out nor in?

160

165

The priest whose flattery be-dropt the crown, How hurt he you? he only stain❜d the gown. And how did, pray, the florid youth offend, Whose speech you took, and gave it to a friend? P. Faith,

VER. 159. Or P-ge] Judge Page, who is said to have treated delinquents too roughly.

VER. 164. The priest, &c.] Meaning Dr. Alured Clarke, who wrote a panegyric on Queen Caroline.

[blocks in formation]

P. Faith, it imports not much from whom it came; Whoever borrow'd, could not be to blame,

Since the whole house did afterwards the same.

170

Let courtly wits to wits afford supply,

As hog to hog in huts of Westphaly;

If one through nature's bounty or his lord's,
Has what the frugal dirty soil affords,

From him the next receives it, thick or thin,

175

As pure a mess almost as it came in ;

The blessed benefit, not there confin'd,

Drops to the third, who nuzzles close behind;

From tail to mouth, they feed and they carouse:
The last full fairly gives it to the house.

180

F. This filthy simile, this beastly line Quite turns my stomach

P. So does flatt'ry mine;

And all your courtly civet-cats can vent,

Perfume to you, to me is excrement.

But hear me further-Japhet, 'tis agreed,

185

Writ not, and Chartres scarce could write or read;
In all the courts of Pindus guiltless quite;

But
pens can forge, my friend, that cannot write;
And must no egg in Japhet's face be thrown,
Because the deed he forg'd was not my own?

190

Must

VER. 166. florid youth] Lord Hervey, alluding to his painting himself.

VER. 185 in the MS.

I grant it, Sir; and further, 'tis agreed,
Japhet writ not, and Chartres scarce could read.

[blocks in formation]

Must never patriot then declaim at gin,
Unless, good man! he has been fairly in?
No zealous pastor blame a failing spouse,
Without a staring reason on his brows?
And each blasphemer quite escape the rod,
Because the insult's not on man, but God?

Ask you what provocation I have had?
The strong antipathy of good to bad.
When truth or virtue an affront endures,

195

Th' affront is mine, my friend, and should be yours. Mine, as a foe profess'd to false pretence,

Who think a coxcomb's honour like his sense;

Mine, as a friend to ev'ry worthy mind;
And mine as man, who feel for all mankind.

F. You're strangely proud.

201

P. So proud, I am no slave:

So impudent, I own myself no knave:

So odd, my country's ruin makes me grave.
Yes, I am proud; I must be proud to see
Men not afraid of God, afraid of me :
Safe from the bar, the pulpit, and the throne,
Yet touch'd and sham'd by ridicule alone.

O sacred weapon! left for truth's defence,

Sole dread of folly, vice, and insolence!

To all but Heav'n-directed hands deny'd,

206

210

The Muse may give thee, but the Gods must guide: Rev'rent I touch thee! but with honest zeal;

To rouse the watchmen of the public weal,

12

216

Το

To virtue's work provoke the tardy Hall,
And goad the prelate slumb'ring in his stall.
Ye tinsel insects! whom a court maintains,
That counts your beauties only by your stains,
Spin all your cobwebs o'er the eye of day!
The MUSE's wing shall brush you all away:

220

All his Grace preaches, all his Lordship sings, 224 All that makes saints of queens, and gods of kings. All, all but truth, drops dead-born from the press, Like the last Gazette, or the last address.

231

When black ambition stains a public cause,
A monarch's sword when mad vain-glory draws,
Not Waller's wreath can hide the nation's scar,
Nor Boileau turn the feather to a star.
Not so, when diadem'd with rays divine,
Touch'd with the flame that breaks from Virtue's
Her priestess muse forbids the good to die,
And opes the temple of eternity.

There, other trophies deck the truly brave,
Than such as Anstis casts into the grave;

[shrine,

235

After ver. 227 in the MS.

Far

Where's now the star that lighted Charles to rise?
With that which follow'd Julius to the skies.

Angels, that watch'd the royal oak so well,
How chanc'd ye nod, when luckless Sorel fell?
Hence, lying miracles! reduc'd so low

As to the regal touch, and papal toe;
Hence haughty Edgar's title to the main,

Britain's to France, and thine to India, Spain !

VER. 228. When black ambition, &c.] The case of Cromwell in the civil war of England; and (ver. 229.) of Louis XIV, in his conquest of the Low Countries.

Far other stars than * and ** wear,

240

And may descend to Mordington from STAIR;
(Such as on HOUGH's unsully'd mitre shine,
Or beam, good DIGBY, from a heart like thine ;)
envy
howl, while Heav'n's whole chorus sings,
And bark at honour not conferr'd by kings;

Let

Let flatt'ry sick'ning see the incense rise,

Sweet to the world, and grateful to the skies : 245
Truth guards the poet, sanctifies the line,
And makes immortal, verse as mean as mine.
Yes, the last pen for freedom let me draw,
When truth stands trembling on the edge of law;
Here, last of Britons! let your names be read; 250
Are none, none living? let me praise the dead,
And for that cause which made your fathers shine,
Fall by the votes of their degen'rate line.

F. Alas! alas! pray end what you began,
And write next winter more Essays on Man.

255

VER. 237. Anstis] The chief Herald at Arms. It is the custom at the funeral of great peers, to cast into the grave the broken staves and ensigns of honour.

VER. 238. For other stars than * and ** wear,] That is, Kent and Grafton.

VER. 239. STAIR;] John Dalrymple Earl of Stair, Knight of the Thistle, served in all the wars under the Duke of Marlborough; and afterwards as Embassador in France.

VER. 240, 241. HOUGH and DIGBY] Dr. John Hough, Bishop of Worcester; and the Lord Digby. The one an assertor of the Church of England, in opposition to the false measures of King James II. The other as firmly attached to the cause of that King. Both acting out of principle, and equally men of honour and virtue. Ver. 255 in the MS.

Quit, quit these themes and write Essays on Man.

« EdellinenJatka »