fufHcient to run out into beautiful and diverting
digreffiotis (as it is generally thought) , unlefs they
are brought in aptly, and are fomething of a piece
with the main defign of the Georgic : for they
ought to have a t^mote alliance at lead to the fub-
jed, that fo the whole poem may be more uniform
and agreeable in all its parts. We fhould never
quite lofe fight of the country, though we are
fometimes entertained with a dillant profpetfl of it.
Of this nature are Virgil's defcription of the ori-
ginal of Agriculture, of the fruitfulnefs of Italy,
of a country life, and the like ; which are not
brought in by force, but naturally rife out of the
principal argument and defign of the poem. I
know no one digreffion in the Georgics that may
feem to contradi6t this obfervation, bcfides that in
the latter end of the firil book, where the Poet
launches out into a difcourfe of the battle of Phar-
falia, and the actions of Auguftus : but it is worth
while to confider how admirably he has turned the
courfe of his narration into its proper channel, and
made his hufbandman concerned even in what re-
lates to the battle, in thofe inimitable lines ;
<< Scilicet et tempos veniet, cum finibus illis
*' Agricola incurvo terrain molitus aratro,
** Exefa inveniet fcabra rubigine pila :
*' Aut gravibus raftris galeas pulfabit inane;,
" Grandiaque effoflis mirabltur ofla fepulchris."
And afterwards, fpeaking of Auguftus's actions,
he dill remembers that Agriculture ought to be
fome way hinted at throughout the whole poem.
VOL. XXX, F
iid AN ESSAY ON
*' -Non uUus aratro
« Dlgnus honos : fqualent abdudlis arva colonis :
*' Et curvjE rigidum falces conflantur in enfem.'"
We now come to a fryle which is proper to a
Georgic ; and indeed this is the part on which the
Poet mull lay out all his ftrength, that his words
may be warm and glowing, and that every thing
he defcribes may immediately prefent itfelf, and
rife up to tlie reader's view. He ought in parti-
cular to be careful of not letting his fubjedl debafe
his ftyle, and betray him into a meannefs of ex-
piiiirion ; but every where to keep up his verfe in
all the pom.p of numbers, and dignity of words.
I think nothing which is a phrafe or faying in
common talk Ihould be admitted into a ferious
Poem : becaufe it takes off from the folemnity of
the expreflion, and gives it too great a turn of fa-
miliarity : much lefs ought the low phrafes and
terms of art, that are adapted to hufbandry, have
any place in fuch a work as the Georgic, which is
not to appear in the natural fmiplicity and naked-
nefs of its fubjedl, but in the pleafantefl drefs that
poetry can bellow on it. Thus Virgil, to deviate
from the common form of words, Vv'ould not make
ufe of temj)oye but Jy^ere in his lirll verfe; and
every where elfe abounds with Metaphors, Gras-
cifms, and Circumlocutions, to give his verfe the
greater pomp, and preferve it from fmking into a
plebeian ftyle. And herein confiits Virgil's mafter-
piece, who has not only excelled all other Poets,
but even himfelf in the language of his Georgics ;
V I R G I L's G E O R G I C S. 2ir
where we receive more ftrong and lively ideas of
things from his words, than we could have done
from the objefts themfelves : and find our ima-
ginations more afFeCled by his defcriptions, than
they would have been by the very fight of what
he defcribes.
I fhall now, after this fhort fcheme of rules,
confider the different fuccefs that Hefiod and Vir-
gil have met with in this kind of poetry, which
may give us fome further notion of the excellence
of the Georgics. To begin with Hefiod ; if we
may guefs at his charafter from his writings, he
had much more of the hufbandman than the Poet
in his temper : he was wonderfully grave, difcreet,
and frugal, he lived altogether in the country, and
was probably for his great prudence the oracle of
the whole neighbourhood. Thefe principles of
good huibandry ran through his works, and di-
refted him to the choice of tillage and merchan-
dize, for the fubjed of that which is the mod ce-
lebrated of them. He is every where bent on in-
ftrudlion, avoids all manner of digreffions, and
does not ftir out of the field once in the whole
Georgic. His method in defcribing month after
month, with its proper feafons and employments,
is too grave and fimple ; it takes oiF from the fur-
prize and variety of the Poem, and makes the
whole look but like a modern almanack in verfe.
The reader is carried through a courfe of weather;
and may before-hand guefs whether he is to meet
p 2
aia ANESSAYON
with fnovv or rain, clouds or funfhine, in the next
defcription. His defcriptions indeed have abun-
dance of nature in them, but then it is nature in
her fimplicity and undrefs. Thus when he fpeaks
of January, " The wild beafts," fays he, " run
" Ihivering through the woods with their heads
*' Hooping to the ground, and their tails clapt be-
** tween their legs ; the goats and oxen are almoft
*' flead with cold ; but it is not fo bad with the
** fheep, becaufe they have a thick coat of wool
*' about them. The old men too are bitterly
** pinched with the weather ; but the young girls
*' feel nothing of it, who fit at home with their
*' mothers by a warm fire-fide." Thus does the
old gentleman give himfelf up to a loofe kind of
tattle, rather than endeavour after a jufl poetical
defcription. Nor has he Ihewn more of art or
judgment in the precepts he has given us ; which
are fown fo very thick, that they clog the Poem
too much, and are often fo minute and full of cir-
cumftances, that they weaken and unnerve his
verfe. But, after all, we are beholden to him for
the firft rough iketch of a Georgic : where we
may ilill difcover fomething venerable in the an-
tiquenefs of the work ; but if we would fee the
defign enlarged, the figures reformed, the colour-
ing laid on, and the whole piece finilhed, we mull
cxpecl it from a greater mailer's hand.
Virgil has drawn out the rules of tillage and
planting into two Books, which Hefiod has dif-
V I R G I L's G E O R G I C S. strj
patched in half a one ; but has fo raifed the natu-
ral rudenefs and fimplicity of his fubjedt, with fuch
a fignificancy of expreflion, fuch a pomp of verfe,
fuch variety of tranfitions, and fuch a folemn air
in his reflexions, that, if we look on both Poets
together, we fee in one the plainnefs of a down-
right countryman ; and in the other, fomething of
ruflic majefty, like that of a Roman dictator at the
plough-tail. He delivers the meaneft of his pre-
cepts with a kind of grandeur ; he breaks the clods
and toffes the dung about with an air of graceful-
nefs. His prognoftications of the weather are
taken out of Aratus, where we may fee how judi-
cioufly he has picked out thofe that are moft pro-
per for his hufhandman's obfervation ; how he has
enforced the expreffion, and heightened the images
which he found in the original.
The Second Book has more wit in it, and a
greater boldnefs in its metaphors, than any of the
reft. The Poet, with great beauty, applies obli-
vion, ignorance, wonder, defire, and the like, to
his trees. The lafl Georgic has indeed as many
metaphors, but not (o daring as this ; for human
thoughts and paflions may be more naturally
afcribed to a bee, than to an inanimate plant.
He who reads over the pleafures of a country
life, as they are defcribed by Virgil in the latter
end of this Book, can fcarce be of Virgil's mind
^n preferring even the life of a philofopher to it.
P 3
»i4 ANESSAYON
We may, I think, read the Poet's clime in his
defcription, for he feems to have been in a fweat
at the writing of it :
a — O quis me gelidis fub montibus Haemi-
« Siftat, et ingenti ramorum protegat umbra !"
and is every where mentioning, among his chief
pleafures, the coolnefs of his fhades and rivers,
vales and grottoes, v/hich a more Northern Poet
would have omitted for the defcription of a funny
hill, and fire -fide.
The Third Georgia feems to be the moft la-
boured of them all ; there is a wonderful vigour
and fpirit in the defcription of the horfe and cha-
riot-race. The force of love is reprefented in
noble inftances, and very fublime expreffions. The
Scythian winter-piece appears fo very cold and
bleak to the eye, that a man can fcarce look on it
without Ihivering. The murrain at the end has
all the expreffivenefs that words can give. It was
here that the Poet ftrained hard to out-do Lucre-
tius in the defcription of his plague ; and if the
reader would fee what fuccefs he had, he may find
it at large in Scaliger.
But Virgil feems no where fo well pleafed, as
when he is got among his bees in the Fourth
Georgic : and ennobles the actions of fo trivial a
creature, with metaphors drawn from the moft im-
portant concerns of mankind. His verfes are not
in a greater noife and hurry in the battles of
/Eneas and Turnus, than in the engagement o(
V I R G I L's G E O R G I G S. 215
two fvvarms. And as in his ^neis he compares
the labours of his Trojans to thofe of bees and
pifmires, here he compares the labours of the
bees to thofe of the Cyclops. In fhort, the laft
Georgic was a good prelude to the ^neis ; and
very well fhewed what the Poet could do in the
defcription of what was really great, by his de-
fcribing the mock-grandeur of an infeft with fo
good a grace. There is more pleafantnefs in the
little platform of a garden, which he gives us
about the middle of this Book, than in all the
fpacious walks and water-works of Rapin. The
fpeech of Proteus at the end can never be enough
admired, and was indeed very fit to conclude fo
divine a work.
After this particular account of the beauties in
the Georgics, I ihould in the next place endeavour
to point out its imperfedions, if it has any. But
though I think there are fome few parts in it that
are not fo beautiful as the reft, I Ihall not prefume
to name them ; as rather fufpefting my own judg-
ment, than I can believe a fault to be in that Poem,
which lay fo long under Virgil's corre6lion, and
had his laft hand put to it. The firft Georgic vva:.
probably burlefqued in the author's lifetime ; for
we ftill find in the fcholiafts a verfe that ridicules
part of a line tranftated from Hefiod, *' Nudus
'' ara, fere nudus" — And we may cafily gucfs at
the judgment of this extraordinary critic, whoever
he was, from his cenfuring this particular precept,
p 4
2x6 AN ESSAY ON VIRGIL'j GEORGICS.
We may be fure Virgil would not have tranflated
it from Hefiod, had he not difcovered feme beauty
in it ; and indeed the beauty of it is what I have
before obferved to be frequently met with in Vir-
gil, the delivering the precept fo indiredly, and
fmgling out the particular circumftance of fowing
and plowing naked, to fuggefl: to us that thefe
employments are proper only in the hot feafon of
the year.
I fhall not here compare the ftyle of the Georgics
with that of Lucretius, which the reader may fee
already done in the preface to the fecond volume
of Mifcellany Poems * ; but fhall conclude this
Poem to be the moft complete, elaborate, and fi-
nifhed piece of all antiquity. The ^neis indeed
is of a nobler kind, but the Georgic is more per-
fect in its kind. The JEneis has a greater variety
of beauties in it, but thofe of the Georgic are more
exquifite. In (hort, the Georgic has all the per-
fedion that can be expefted in a poem written by
the greateft Poet in the flower of his age, when
his invention was ready, his imagination warm, his
judgment fettled, and all his faculties in their fuU
vigour and maturity.
* The Colleftion publifhed by Mr. Dryden.
[ 217 ]
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS<
TO SIR GODFREY KNELLER,
ON HIS PICTURE OF THE KING.
TT" N E L L E R , With filcncc and furprlze
We fee Britannia's monarch rife,
A godlike form, by thee difplay'd
In all the force of light and fhade j
And, aw'd by thy delufive hand.
As in the prefence chamber ftand.
The magic of thy art calls forth
His fecret foul and hidden worth.
His probity and mildnefs {hows,
His care of friends, and fcorn of foes :
In every flroke, in every line.
Does fome exalted virtue fhine.
And Albion's happinefs we trace
Through all the features of his face.
O may I live to hail the day.
When the glad nation {hall furvey
Their fovereign, through his wide command,
PalTmg in progrefs o'er the land !
Each heart {hall bend, and every voice
In loud applauding fhouts rejoice,
Whilil all his gracious afped praife.
And crowds grow loyal as they gaze.
aiS A D D I S O N's P O E M S.
The image on the medal plac'd.
With its bright round of titles grac'd.
And ftampt on Britifh coins fhall live.
To richefl ores the value give.
Or, wrought within the curious mold.
Shape and adorn the running gold.
To bear this form, the genial fun
Has daily fmce his courfe begun
Rejoic'd the metal to refine.
And ripen'd the Peruvian mine.
Thou, Kneller, long with noble pride.
The foremofl: of thy art, haft vy'd
With nature in a generous ftrife.
And touch'd the canvas into life.
Thy pencil has, by monarchs fought.
From reign to reign in ermine wrought.
And, in the robes of ftate array'd.
The kings of half an age difplay'd.
Here fvvarthy Charles appears, and there
His brother with dejected air :
Triumphant NafTau here we find.
And with him bright Maria join'd ;
There Anna, great as when {he fent
Her armies through the continent.
Ere yet her Hero was difgrac'd :
O may fam'd Brunfwick be the laft,
(Though heaven fhould with my wiih agree^
And long preferve thy art in thee)
The laft, the happieft Britifti king.
Whom thou fhalt paint, or I fhall fmg !
TO SIR GODFREY KNELLER. 219
Wife Phidias thus, his fkill to prove.
Through many a god advanc'd to Jove,
And taught the polifht rocks to (hine
With airs and lineaments divine ;
Till Greece, amaz'd, and half-afraid,
Th' affembled deities furvey'd.
Great Pan, who wont to chace the fair.
And lov'd the fpreading oak, was there ;
Old Saturn too with upcaft eyes
Beheld his abdicated Ikies ;
And mighty Mars, for war renown'd,
In adamantine armour frown'd ;
By him the childlefs goddefs rofe,
Minerva, lludious to compofe
Her twilled threads ; the web Ihe ftrung.
And o'er a loom of marble hung :
Thetis, the troubled ocean's queen,
Match'd with a mortal, next was feen.
Reclining on a funeral urn.
Her Ihort-liv'd darling fon to mourn.
The laft was he, whofe thunder flew
The Titan-race, a rebel crew.
That from a hundred hills ally'd
In impious leagues their king defy'd.
This wonder of the fculptor's hand
Produc'd, his art was at a fland :
For who would hope new fame to raife.
Or rilk his well-eil-ablifli'd praife.
That, his high genius to approve.
Had drawn a George, or carv'd a Jove,^
ADDISON 's POEMS.
PROLOGUE
T O
SMITH'S PH^DRA AND HIPPOLITUS.
SPOKEN BY MR. WILKS.
T ONG has a race of heroes filPd the ftage.
That rant by note, and through the gamut rage;
In fongs and airs exprefs their martial fire.
Combat in trills, and in a fugue expire :
While, lull'd by found, and undifturb'd by wit.
Calm and ferene you indolently fit.
And, from the dull fatigue of thinking free.
Hear the facetious fiddles repartee :
Our home-fpun authors mull forfake the field.
And Shakefpeare to the foft Scarletti yield.
To your new tafte the poet of this day
Was by a friend advis'd to form his play ;
Had Valentini, mufically coy,
Shunn'd Phaedra's arms, and fcorn'd theprofFer'd joy:
It had not mov'd your wonder to have feen
An eunuch fly from an enamour'd queen :
How would it pleafe, fhould Ihe in Englilh fpeak.
And could Hippolitus reply in Greek !
But he, a llranger to your modifh way.
By your old rules muft fiand or fall to-day.
And hopes you will your foreign tafte command.
To bear, for once, with what you underftand.
C 221 ]
PROLOGUE
T O
STEELE'S TENDER HUSBAND,
T N the firft rife and infancy of farce.
When fools were many, and when plays were fcarce.
The raw unpracftis'd authors could, with eafe,
A young and unexperienc'd audience pleafe :
No fingle charafter had e'er been fnown.
But the whole herd of fops was all their own ;
Rich in originals, they fet to view.
In every piece, a coxcomb that was new.
But now our Britifh theatre can boafl
Drolls of all kinds, a vaft unthinking hoft 1
Fruitful of folly and of vice, it Ihows
Cuckolds, and cits, and bawds, and pimps, and beaux j
Rough country knights are found of every fhire ;
Of every fafhion gentle fops appear ;
And punks of different charafters we meet.
As frequent on the ftage as in the pit.
Our modern wits are forc'd to pick and cull.
And here and there by chance glean up a fool ;
Long ere they find the neceffary fpark.
They fearch the town, and beat about the Park,
To all his moft frequented haunts refort.
Oft dog him to the ring, and oft to court ;
22a A D D I S O N's POEMS.
As love of pleafure or of place invites ;
And fometimes catch him taking fnuiF at White's.
Howe'er, to do you right, the prefent age
Breeds very hopeful monllers for the ftage ;
That fcorn the paths their dull forefathers trod.
And won't be blockheads in the common road.
Do but furvey this crowded houfe to-night :
Here 's ftill encouragement for thofe that write.
Our author, to divert his friends to-day.
Stocks with variety of fools his play ;
And that there may be fomething gay and new.
Two ladies-errant has expos'd to view;
The firft a damfel, travell'd in romance;
The t'other more reiin'd, fhe comes from France :
Refcue, like courteous knights, the nymph from
danger.
And kindly treat, like well-bred men, the Ilranger.
[ 223 ]
EPILOGUE
T O
LANSDOV/NE's BRITISH ENCHANTERS,
"VTT HEN Orpheus tun'd his lyre with pleafing wocj
Rivers forgot to run, and winds to blow.
While liflening forefts cover'd, as he play'd.
The foft mufician in a moving fnade.
That this night's ftrains the fame fuccefs may find.
The force of mufic is to mufic jcin'd :
Where founding firings and artful voices fail.
The charming rod and mutter'd fpells prevail.
Let fage Urganda wave the circling wand
On barren mountains, or a wafle of fand ;
The defert fmiles ; the woods begin to grow.
The birds to warble, and the fprings to fiow.
The fame dull fights in the fame landfkip mixt.
Scenes of flill life, and points for ever fix*d,
A tedious pleafure on the mind beflow.
And pall the fenfe with one continued fhow ;
But, as our two magicians try their fkill.
The vifion varies, though the place flands IHII;
While the fame fpot its gaudy form renews.
Shifting the profpeft to a thoufand views.
Thus (without unity of place tranfgrefl)
Th' enchanter turns the critic to a jefl.
But howfoe'cr, to pleafe your wandering eyes.
Bright objecls difappear and brighter rife :
There's none can make amends for loft delight.
While from that circle we divert your fight.
224 A D D I S O N's P O E M S.
AN ODE FOR ST. CECILIA's DAY.
SET TO MUSIC BY MR. DANIEL PURCELL.
PERFORMED AT OXFORD 1699.
I.
â– pREFARE the hallow'd Ilrain, my Mufe,
Thy fofteft founds and fweeteft numbers chufe ;
The bright Cecilia's praife rehearfe.
In warbling words, and gliding verfe.
That fmoothly run into a fong.
And gently die away, and melt upon the tongue.
II.
Firft let the fprightly violin
The joyful melody begin.
And none of all her firings be mute>
While the Iharp found and fhriller lay
In fweet harmonious notes decay,
Soften'd and m.ellow'd by the flute.
* ** The flute that fweetly can complain,,
" Diflblve the frozen nymph's difdain ;
*' Panting fympathy impart,
*' Till flie partake her lover's fmart,"
CHORUS.
III.
Next, let the folemn organ join
Religious airs, and llrains divine,
* The four laft lines of the fecond and third flanzas were
added by Mr. Tate.
A N O D F. -g-aj
Such as may lift us to the fkies.
And fet all heaven before our eyes :
*' Such as may lift us to the (kies ;
" So far at lead till they
*' Defcend with kind furprize,
*' And meet our pious harmony half-way «"
IV.
Let then the trumpet's piercing found
Our ravifh'd ears with pleafure wound:
The foul o'er-powering with delight.
As, with a quick uncommon ray,
A ftreak of lightning clears the day.
And flalhes on the fight.
Let echo too perform her part, '
Prolonging every note with art.
And in a low expiring drain
Play all the concert o'er again,
V.
Such were the tuneful notes that hung
On bright Cecilia's charming tongue :
Notes that facred heats infpir'd.
And with religious ardour fir'd :
The love-fick youth, that long fupprefs'd
His fmother'd paffion in his breaft.
No fooner heard the warbling dame.
But, by the fecret influence turn'd.
He felt a new diviner flame.
And with devotion burn'd.
VOL. XXX, Q
C26 A D i:)^! S O N 's P O 1 M S.
With ravifh'd foul, and looks amaz'd.
Upon her beauteous face he gaz'd ;
Nor made his amorous complaint :
In vain her eyes his heart had charm'd.
Her heavenly voice her eyes difarm'd.
And thang'd the lover to a faint.
G R AN D CHORUS*
VL
And now the choir compleat rejoices.
With trembling firings and melting voices.
The tuneful ferment rifes high.
And works with mingled melody ;
Quick divifions run their rounds,
A thoufand trills and quivering founds
In airy circles o*er us fly.
Till, wafted by a gentle breeze.
They faint and languilh by degrees.
And at a diftance die.
£ 227 3
AN ODE.
I.
tr\ H E fpacious firmament on high.
With all the blue ethereal iky.
And fpangled heavens, a fhining frame.
Their great original proclaim.
Th' unweary'd fun, from day to day.
Does his Creator's power difplay ;
And publifhes, to every land.
The work of an Almighty hand.
II.
Soon as the evening fhades prevail.
The moon takes up the wonderous tale y
And nightly, to the liftening earth.
Repeats the flory of her birth :
Whilft all the ftars that round her burn.
And all the planets, in their turn.
Confirm the tidings as they roll.
And fpread the truth from pole to pole.
III.
What though, in folemn filence, all
Move round the dark terreftrial ball ;
What though, no real voice, nor found,
Amidft their radiant orbs be- found :
In Reafon's ear they all rejoice.
And utter forth a glorious voice ;
For ever fmging as they Ihine,
The hand that made us is divine.
tzZ A D D I S O N 's P O E M S.
AN HYMN.
I.
TTTHEN all thy mercies, O my God,
My rifing foul furveys ;
Tranfported with the view, I 'm loll
In wonder, love, and praife.
II.
O how fhall words with equal warmth
The gratitude declare.
That glows within my ravifh'd heart !
But thou canft read it there.
III.
Thy Providence my life fuilain'd.
And all my wants redrefl ;
When in the filent womb I lay.
And hung upon the breaft.
IV.
To all my weak complaints and cries.
Thy mercy lent an ear,
Ere yet my feeble thoughts had learnt
To form themfelves in prayer.
V.
Unnumber'd ccm.forts to my foul
Thy tender care beilcw'd.
Before my infant heart conceiv'd
From whence thefe comforts ftov\-'d.
AN HYMN,
VI.
When in the flippery paths of youth
With heedlefs Iteps I ran.
Thine arm unfeen convey 'd me fafe.
And led me up to man.
VII.
Through hidden dangers, toils, and death,
It gently clear*d my way ;
And through the pleafmg fnares of vice.
More to be fear'd than they.
VIII.
When worn with ficknefs, oft haft thou
With health renew'd my face ;
And when in fins and forrows funk,
Reviv'd my foul with grace.
IX.
Thy bounteous hand with worldly blifs
Has made my cup run o'er.
And in a kind and faithful friend
Has doubled all my ftore.
X.
^er\ thoufand thoufand precious gifts
My daily thanks employ ;
Nor is the leaft a chearful heart.
That taftes thofe gifts with joy.
XI.
Through every period of m.y life.
Thy goodnefs I '11 purfue ;
And after death, in diftant worlds.
The glorious theme renew.
0.3
•3d ADDISON 's POEMS.
XII.
When Nature fails, and day and night
Divide thy works no more.
My ever-grateful heart, O Lord,
Thy mercy fhall adore.
XIII.
Through all eternity to thee,
A joyful fong I '11 raife ;
For, oh ! eternity 's too Ihort,
To utter all thy praife.
AN ODE.
I.
TT w are thy fervants bleft, O Lord I
How fure is their defence !
Eternal wifdom is their guide.
Their help Omnipotence.
II.
In foreign realms, and lands remote.
Supported by thy care.
Through burning climes I pafs'd unhurt|
And breath'd in tainted air.
III.
Thy mercy fweeten'd every foil.
Made every region pleafe ;
The hoary Alpine-hills it warmM,
And fmooth'd the Tyrrhene feas*
ANODE. ajt
IV.
Think, O my foul, devoutly think.
How, with affrighted eyes.