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to every battery; Thus do we come unto thy marble room; To eccho from the musick of thy tombe。 May we dare speak thee dead; that wouldest be In thy remove only not such as we? No wonder; the advance is from us hid; Earth could not lift thee higher then it did! And thou; that didst grow up so ever nigh; Art but now gone to immortality! So near to where thou art; thou here didst dwell; The change to thee is less perceptible。 Thy but unably…comprehending clay; To what could not be circumscrib'd; gave way; And the more spacious tennant to return; Crack'd (in the two restrain'd estate) its urn。 That is but left to a successive trust; The soul's first buried in his bodies dust。 Thou more thy self; now thou art less confin'd; Art not concern'd in what is left behind; While we sustain the losse that thou art gone; Un…essenc'd in the separation; And he that weeps thy funerall; in one Is pious to the widdow'd nation。 And under what (now) covert must I sing; Secure as if beneath a cherub's wing; When thou hast tane thy flight hence; and art nigh In place to some related hierarchie; Where a bright wreath of glories doth but set Upon thy head an equal coronet; And thou; above our humble converse gon; Canst but be reach'd by contemplation。 Our lutes (as thine was touch'd) were vocall by; And thence receiv'd the soul by sympathy; That did above the threds inspiring creep; And with soft whispers broke the am'rous sleep; Which now no more (mov'd with the sweet surprise) Awake into delicious rapsodies; But with their silent mistress do comply; And fast in undisturbed slumbers lye。 How from thy first ascent thou didst disperse A blushing warmth throughout the universe; While near the morns Lucasta's fires did glow; And to the earth a purer dawn did throw。 We ever saw thee in the roll of fame Advancing thy already deathless name; And though it could but be above its fate; Thou would'st; however; super…errogate。 Now as in Venice; when the wanton State Before a Spaniard spread their crowded plate; He made it the sage business of his eye To find the root of the wild treasury; So learn't from that exchequer but the more To rate his masters vegetable ore。 Thus when the Greek and Latin muse we read; As but the cold inscriptions of the dead; We to advantage then admired thee; Who did'st live on still with thy poesie; And in our proud enjoyments never knew The end of the unruly wealth that grew。 But now we have the last dear ingots gain'd; And the free vein (however rich) is drein'd; Though what thou hast bequeathed us; no space Of this worlds span of time shall ere embrace。 But as who sometimes knew not to conclude Upon the waters strange vicissitude; Did to the ocean himself commit; That it might comprehend what could not it; So we in our endeavours must out…done Be swallowed up within thy Helicon。 Thou; who art layd up in thy precious cave; And from the hollow spaces of thy grave; We still may mourn in tune; but must alone Hereafter hope to quaver out a grone; No more the chirping sonnets with shrill notes Must henceforth volley from our treble throtes; But each sad accent must be humour'd well To the deep solemn organ of thy cell。 Why should some rude hand carve thy sacred stone; And there incise a cheap inscription? When we can shed the tribute of our tears So long; till the relenting marble wears; Which shall such order in their cadence keep; That they a native epitaph shall weep; Untill each letter spelt distinctly lyes; Cut by the mystick droppings of our eyes。 El。 Revett。
Original has THE BUT。
Original has OW。
I have already pointed out; that the author of these truly wretched lines was probably the same person; on whose MORAL AND DIVINE POEMS Lovelace has some verses in the LUCASTA。 The poems of E。 R。 appear to be lost; which; unless they were far superior to the present specimen; cannot be regarded as a great calamity。
AN ELEGIE。
Me thinks; when kings; prophets; and poets dye; We should not bid men weep; nor ask them why; But the great loss should by instinct impair The nations; like a pestilential ayr; And in a moment men should feel the cramp Of grief; like persons poyson'd with a damp。 All things in nature should their death deplore; And the sun look less lovely than before; The fixed stars should change their constant spaces; And comets cast abroad their flagrant faces。 Yet still we see princes and poets fall Without their proper pomp of funerall; Men look about; as if they nere had known The poets lawrell or the princes crown; Lovelace hath long been dead; and he can be Oblig'd to no man for an elegie。 Are you all turn'd to silence; or did he Retain the only sap of poesie; That kept all branches living? must his fall Set an eternal period upon all? So when a spring…tide doth begin to fly From the green shoar; each neighbouring creek grows dry。 But why do I so pettishly detract An age that is so perfect; so exact? In all things excellent; it is a fame Or glory to deceased Lovelace name: For he is weak in wit; who doth deprave Anothers worth to make his own seem brave; And this was not his aim: nor is it mine。 I now conceive the scope of their designe; Which is with one consent to bring and burn Contributary incence on his urn; Where each mans love and fancy shall be try'd; As when great Johnson or brave Shakespear dyed。 Wits must unite: for ignorance; we see; Hath got a great train of artillerie: Yet neither shall nor can it blast the fame And honour of deceased Lovelace name; Whose own LUCASTA can support his credit Amongst all such who knowingly have read it; But who that praise can by desert discusse Due to those poems that are posthumous? And if the last conceptions are the best; Those by degrees do much transcend the rest; So full; so fluent; that they richly sute With Orpheus lire; or with Anacreons lute; And he shall melt his wing; that shall aspire To reach a fancy or one accent higher。 Holland and France have known his nobler parts; And found him excellent in arms and arts。 To sum up all; few men of fame but know; He was TAM MARTI; QUAM MERCURIO。
Burning。
Original has WE。
A fine image!
The motto originally employed by George Gascoigne; who; like Lovelace; wielded both the sword and the pen。
TO HIS NOBLE FRIEND CAPT。 DUDLEY LOVELACE UPON HIS EDITION OF HIS BROTHERS POEMS。
Thy pious hand; planting fraternal bayes; Deserving is of most egregious praise; Since 'tis the organ doth to us convey From a descended sun so bright a ray。 Clear spirit! how much we are bound to thee For this so great a liberalitie; The truer worth of which by much exceeds The western wealth; which such contention breeds! Like the Infusing…God; from the well…head Of poesie you have besprinkled Our brows with holy drops; the very last; Which from your Brother's happy pen were cast: Yet as the last; the best; such matchlesse skill From his divine alembick did distill。 Your honour'd Brother in the Elyzian shade Will joy to know himself a laureat made By your religious care; and that his urn Doth him on earth immortal life return。 Your self you h