FOOTNOTES:

FOOTNOTES:[1]Our author's friendship with this gentleman commenced at very unequal years; he was under sixteen, but Sir William above sixty, and had lately resigned his employment of secretary of state to King William.—Pope.This amiable old man, who had been a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and doctor of civil law, was sent by Charles II. judge advocate to Tangier, and afterwards in a public character to Florence, to Turin, to Paris; and by James II. ambassador to Constantinople; to which city he went through the continent on foot. He was afterwards a lord of the treasury, and secretary of state, with the Duke of Shrewsbury, which office he resigned 1697, and retiring to East Hampstead, died there in December, 1716, aged seventy-seven. Nothing of his writing remains but an elegant character of Archbishop Dolben.—Warton.Pope says that Sir William Trumbull had "lately" resigned his office at the period of their acquaintance, but seven years had elapsed after the date of Sir William's retirement, before Pope had reached the age of sixteen.[2]Prima Syracusio dignata est ludere versu,Nostra nec erubuit sylvas habitare Thalia.Ecl. vi. 1.This is the general exordium and opening of the Pastorals, in imitation of the sixth of Virgil, which some have therefore not improbably thought to have been the first originally. In the beginnings of the other three Pastorals, he imitates expressly those which now stand first of the three chief poets in this kind, Spenser, Virgil, Theocritus.A shepherd's boy (he seeks no better name)—Beneath the shade a spreading beech displays,—Thyrsis, the Music of that murm'ring Spring,—are manifestly imitations of"—A shepherd's boy (no better do him call).""—Tityre, tu patulæ recubans sub tegmine fagi.""—Ἁδὑ τι ψιθὑρισμα και ἁ πιτυς, αιτολε, τηνα"—Pope.[3]Pope not only imitated the lines he quotes from Virgil, but, as Wakefield points out, was also indebted to Dryden's translation of them.I first transferred to Rome Sicilian strains:Nor blushed the Doric muse to dwell on Mantuan plains.Originally Pope had written,First in these fields I sing the sylvan strains,Nor blush to sport in Windsor's peaceful plains.Upon this he says to Walsh, "Objection that the letter is hunted too much—sing the sylvan—peaceful plains—and that the wordsingis used two lines afterwards,Sicilian muses sing." He proposed to read "try" in the place of "sing;" "happy" instead of "peaceful," and adds, "Quære. Iftrybe not properer in relation tofirst, as we first attempt a thing; and more modest? and ifhappybe not more thanpeaceful?" Walsh replies, "Tryis better thansing.Happydoes not sound right, the first syllable being short. Perhaps you may find a better word thanpeacefulasflow'ry." Pope rejected all three epithets, and substituted "blissful."[4]Evidently imitated from Spenser's Prothalamion:Sweet Thames run softly till I end my song.—Wakefield.[5]Because Theocritus, the father of Pastoral Poetry, was a Sicilian.—Professor Martyn.[6]Paradise Regained, ii. 27:Where winds with reeds and osiers whisp'ring play.Dryden, Theodore and Honoria:The winds within the quiv'ring branches played.—Wakefield.[7]Roscommon's Essay on Translated Verse:And Albion's rocks repeat his rural song.—Wakefield.The term "Albion's cliffs," which is usually appropriated to the steeps that bound the sea-shore, is applied by Pope to the hills about Windsor.[8]The expression in this verse is philosophically just. True wisdom is the knowledge of ourselves, which terminates in a conviction of our absolute insignificancy with respect to God, and our relative inferiority in many instances to the accomplishments of our own species: and power is encompassed with such a multiplicity of dangerous temptations as to be almost incompatible with virtue. A passage in Lucan, viii. 493, is very apposite:exeat aulaQui vult esse pius. Virtus et summa potestasNon coëunt.He who would spotless live from courts must go:No union power supreme and virtue know.—Wakefield.[9]Waller, The Maid's Tragedy Altered:Happy is she that from the world retires,And carries with her what the world admires.—Wilkes.[10]Sir W. Trumbull was born in Windsor-forest, to which he retreated after he had resigned the post of secretary of state of King William III.—Pope.The address to Trumbull was not in the original manuscript which passed through his hands, and the lines were probably added when the Pastorals were prepared for the press. "Little Pope," wrote Sir William to the Rev. Ralph Bridges on May 2, 1709, "was here two days ago, always full of poetry and services to Mr. Bridges. I saw in the advertisement, after he was gone, the Miscellany is published, or publishing, by Jacob Tonson, wherein are his Pastorals, and which is worse, I am told one of them is inscribed to my worship." A more inappropriate panegyric could not have been devised than to pretend that Trumbull was among poets what the nightingale was among birds. The retired statesman had a true taste for literature, but his efforts as a versifier had been limited to a dozen lines translated from Martial.[11]Warton observes that the nightingale does not sing till the other birds are at rest. This is a mistake; the nightingale sings by day as well as at night, but the expressions "to rest removes" and "forsaken groves" give an idea of evening, in which case there would be certainly an error in making the thrush "chant" after the nightingale. As to the thrush being "charmed to silence" at any time by the nightingale, and the "aërial audience" applauding, it is allowable as a fanciful allusion, perhaps, though the circumstance is contrary to nature and fact.—Bowles.[12]Concanen, in a pamphlet called A Supplement to the Profound, objected to the use of an image borrowed from the theatre, and Pope, in vindication of his line, has written "Dryden" in the margin, alluding doubtless to a couplet in Dryden's verses to the Duchess of York:Each poet of the air her glory singsAnd round him the pleased audience clap their wings.Every one must feel the image to be burlesque, and even Dryden's authority cannot recommend it.[13]The scene of this Pastoral a valley, the time the morning. It stood originally thus,Daphnis and Strephon to the shades retired,Both warmed by love, and by the muse inspired,Fresh as the morn, and as the season fair,In flow'ry vales they fed their fleecy care;And while Aurora gilds the mountain's side,Thus Daphnis spoke, and Strephon thus replied.—Pope.There was in the manuscript a still earlier, and perhaps better, version of the first two lines:Daphnis and Strephon led their flocks along,Both famed for love and both renowned in song.They were however borrowed from Lycon, an Eclogue, in the fifth part of Tonson's Miscellany:Strephon and Damon's flocks together fed,Both famed for wit, and famed for beauty both.Wakefield points out that the opening verse of the couplet, as it stands in the text, was indebted to Congreve's Tears of Amaryllis for Amyntas:When woolly flocks their bleating cries renew,And from their fleecy sides first shake the silver dew.[14]The epithet "whitening" most happily describes the progressive effect of the light.—Wakefield.[15]Dryden's Palamon and Arcite:Fresh as the month, and as the morning fair.—Wakefield.[16]From Virgil, Ecl. vii. 20:Hos Corydon, illos referebat in ordine Thyrsis.—Wakefield.[17]Milton's first sonnet:O! nightingale, that on yon bloomy sprayWarblest at eve!—Wakefield.[18]Congreve's Tears of Amaryllis for Amyntas:When grateful birds prepare their thanks to pay,And warble hymns to hail the dawning day.—Wakefield.[19]Waller's Chloris and Hylas:Hylas, oh Hylas! why sit we muteNow that each bird saluteth the spring.—Wakefield.Concanen having commented in the Supplement to the Profound upon the impropriety "of making an English clown call a well-known bird by a classical name," Pope wrote in the margin, "Spenser and Ph." The remainder of the second name has been cut off by the binder. Pope's memory deceived him if A. Philips was meant, for the nightingale is not once called Philomela in his Pastorals.[20]Phosphor was the Greek name for the planet Venus when she appeared as a morning star.[21]Purple is here used in the Latin sense of the brightest, most vivid colouring in general, not of that specific tint so called.—Warburton.[22]Dryden in his Cock and Fox:See, my dear!How lavish nature has adorned the year.—Wakefield.[23]In the manuscript this verse ranThere the pale primrose and the vi'let glow,which was evidently borrowed from a line in Dryden's Cock and Fox, quoted by Wakefield:How the pale primrose and the vi'let spring.The first edition of the Pastorals hadHere on green banks the blushing vi'lets glow,and this reading was retained till the edition of Warburton. It probably at last occurred to the poet that as people do not blush blue or purple, the epithet "blushing" was inapplicable to the violet.[24]"Breathing" means breathing odours, and Wakefield quotes Paradise Lost, ii. 244:his altar breathesAmbrosial odours and ambrosial flowers.[25]Pope rarely mentions flowers without being guilty of some mistake as to the seasons they blow in. Who ever saw roses, crocuses, and violets in bloom at the same time?—Steevens.[26]The first reading was,And his own image from the bank surveys.—Pope.Pope submitted the reading in the note, and that in the text to Walsh, and asked which was the best. Walsh preferred the text.[27]Lenta quibus torno facili superaddita vitis,Diffusos edera vestit pallente corymbos. Virg.—Pope.[28]Variation:And clusters lurk beneath the curling vines.—Pope.Dryden's Virgil, Eclogues:The grapes in clusters lurk beneath the vines.—Bowles.[29]Dryden, Æn. viii. 830:And Roman triumphs rising on the gold.—Wakefield.[30]The subject of these Pastorals engraven on the bowl is not without its propriety. The Shepherd's hesitation at the name of the zodiac imitates that in Virgil, Ecl. iii. 40:et quis fuit alter,Descripsit radio totum qui gentibus orbem?—Pope.Creech's translation of Eclogue iii.:And showed the various seasons of the year.Pope also drew upon Dryden's version of the passage:Two figures on the sides embossed appear,Conon, and what's his name who made the sphere,And showed the seasons of the sliding year?Virgil's commentators cannot agree upon the name which the shepherd had forgotten, but they unite in commending the stroke of nature which represents a rustic poet as unable to recall the name of a man of science.[31]Dryden, Georg. i. 328.And cross their limits cut a sloping way,Which the twelve signs in beauteous order sway.—Wakefield.[32]Literally from Virgil, Ecl. iii. 59:Alternis dicetis: amant alterna Camœnæ,Et nunc omnis ager, nunc omnis parturit arbos,Nunc frondent sylvæ, nunc formosissimus annus.—Pope.Creech's translation:playBy turns, for verse the muses love by turns.The usage was for the second speaker to imitate the idea started by the first, and endeavour to outdo him in his vaunt. All the speeches throughout the contest consisted of the same number of lines. In the third eclogue of Virgil we have two rivals and an umpire. One of the antagonists stakes a carved bowl, the other a cow; and the final effort of each poet is to propound a riddle, upon which the umpire interposes, and declares that the candidates are equal in merit. Pope keeps close to his original.[33]Dryden, Ecl. x. 11.And echo, from the vales, the tuneful voice rebound.—Wakefield.[34]In place of this couplet the original manuscript read,Ye fountain nymphs, propitious to the swain,Now grant me Phœbus', or Alexis' strain.Pope imitated Virgil, Ecl. vii. 21:Mihi carmen,Quale meo Codro, concedite: proxima PhœbiVersibus ille facit.[35]George Granville, afterwards Lord Lansdowne, known for his poems, most of which he composed very young, and proposed Waller as his model.—Pope.[36]Virgil, Ecl. iii. 86:Pascite taurum,Qui cornu petat, et pedibus jam spargat arenam.—Pope.Dryden, Æn. ix. 859:A snow-white steer before thy altar led:And dares the fight, and spurns the yellow sands.—Wakefield.The second line of the couplet in the text ran thus in the original manuscript:With butting horns, and heels that spurn the sand.This also was from Dryden, Ecl. iii. 135:With spurning heels, and with a butting head.[37]Originally thus in the manuscript:Pan, let my numbers equal Strephon's lays,Of Parian stone thy statue will I raise;But if I conquer and augment my fold,Thy Parian statue shall be changed to gold.—Warburton.This he formed on Dryden's Vir. Ecl. vii. 45:Thy statue then of Parian stone shall stand;But if the falling lambs increase my fold,Thy marble statue shall be turned to gold.—Wakefield.[38]Pope had at first written,The lovely Chloris beckons from the plain,Then hides in shades from her deluded swain."Objection," he says, in the paper he submitted to Walsh, "thathideswithout the accusativeherselfis not good English, and thatfrom her deluded swainis needless. Alteration:The wanton Chloris beckons from the plain,Then, hid in shades, eludes her eager swain.Quære. Ifwantonbe more significant thanlovely; ifeludesbe properer in this case thandeluded; ifeagerbe an expressive epithet to the swain who searches for his mistress?"Walsh. "Wantonapplied to a woman is equivocal, and therefore not proper.Eludesis properer thandeluded.Eageris very well."[39]He owes this thought to Horace, Ode i. 9, 21.—Wakefield.Or rather to the version of Dryden, since the lines of Pope have a closer resemblance to the translation than to the original:The laugh that guides thee to the mark,When the kind nymph would coyness feign,And hides but to be found again.[40]Imitation of Virgil, Ecl. iii. 64:Malo me Galatea petit, lasciva puella,Et fugit ad salices, et se cupit ante videri.—Pope.He probably consulted Creech's translation of the passage in Virgil:Sly Galatea drives me o'er the green,And apples throws, then hides, yet would be seen.—Wakefield.[41]Dryden's Don Sebastian;A brisk Arabian girl came tripping by;Passing, she cast at him a sidelong glance,And looked behind, in hopes to be pursued.—Steevens.[42]A very trifling and false conceit.—Warton.[43]In place of the next speech of Strephon, and the reply of Daphnis, the dialogue continued thus in the original manuscript:STREPHON.Go, flow'ry wreath, and let my Silvia know,Compared to thine how bright her beauties show;Then die; and dying, teach the lovely maidHow soon the brightest beauties are decayed.DAPHNIS.Go, tuneful bird, that pleased the woods so long,Of Amaryllis learn a sweeter song;To heav'n arising then her notes convey,For heav'n alone is worthy such a lay.The speech of Strephon is an echo of Waller's well-known song:Go, lovely rose,Tell her that wastes her time and me,That now she knowsWhen I resemble her to thee,How sweet and fair she seems to be.Then die, that sheThe common fate of all things rareMay read in thee;How small a part of time they share,That are so wondrous sweet and fair.The speech of Daphnis is from Dryden's Virgil, Ecl. iii. 113:Winds, on your wings to heav'n her accents bear,Such words as heav'n alone is fit to hear.[44]It stood thus at first:Let rich Iberia golden fleeces boast,Her purple wool the proud Assyrian coast,Blest Thames's shores, &c.—Pope.[45]It is evident from the mention of the "golden sands" of Pactolus, and the "amber" of the poplars in connection with the Thames, that he had in view Denham's description in Cooper's Hill:Though with those streams he no resemblance hold,Whose foam is amber, and their gravel gold.—Wakefield.The sisters of Phæton, according to the classical fable, were, upon the death of their brother, turned into poplars on the banks of the Po, and the tears which dropt from these trees were said to be converted into amber.[46]This couplet is a palpable imitation of Virgil, Ecl. vii. 67:Sæpius at si me, Lycida formose, revisas,Fraxinus in silvis cedet tibi, pinus in hortis.—Wakefield.The entire speech is a parody of the lines quoted by Wakefield, and of the lines which immediately precede them in Virgil's Eclogue. The passage omitted by Wakefield is thus translated in vol. i. of Tonson's Miscellany:Bacchus the vine, the laurel Phœbus loves;Fair Venus cherishes the myrtle groves;Phyllis the hazel loves, while Phyllis loves that tree,Myrtles and laurels of less fame shall be.[47]Virg. Ecl. vii. 57:Aret ager, vitio moriens sitit aëris herba [&c.]Phyllidis adventu nostræ nemus omne virebit.—Pope.[48]These verses were thus at first:All nature mourns, the birds their songs deny,Nor wasted brooks the thirsty flow'rs supply;If Delia smile, the flow'rs begin to spring,The brooks to murmur, and the birds to sing.—Pope.Wakefield remarks that the last couplet of the original version, which is but slightly modified in the text, was closely imitated from Addison's Epilogue to the British Enchanters:The desert smiles, the woods begin to grow,The birds to warble, and the springs to flow.[49]Dryden, Ecl. vii. 76:And lavish nature laughs.[50]Pope had at first written,If Sylvia smiles she brightens all the shore,The sun's outshined, and nature charms no more.This he submitted to Walsh. Pope. "Quære, whether to say the sun is outshined be too bold and hyperbolical?" Walsh. "For pastoral it is." Pope. "If it should be softened withseems? Do you approve any of these alterations?If Sylvia smile, she brightens all the shore,{ All nature seems outshined, and charms no more.{ Light seems outshined, and nature charms no more.{ And vanquished nature seems to shine no more.Quære, which of these three?" Walsh. "The last of these three I like best."[51]Cowley, Davideis, iii. 553:Hot as ripe noon, sweet as the blooming day,Like July furious, but more fair than May.—Wakefield.[52]An allusion to the royal oak, in which Charles II. had been hid from the pursuit after the battle of Worcester.—Pope.This wretched pun on the word "bears" is called "dextrous" by Wakefield, but Warton says that it is "one of the most trifling and puerile conceits" in all Pope's works, and is only exceeded in badness by the riddle "which follows of the thistle and the lily."[53]The contraction "I'll," which often occurs in these pastorals, is familiar and undignified.—Wakefield.[54]It was thus in the manuscript:Nay, tell me first what region canst thou findIn which by thistles lilies are outshined?If all thy skill can make the meaning known,The prize, the victor's prize, shall be thy own.—Wakefield.Pope submitted the first two lines to Walsh in conjunction with the version in the text. "Quære, which of these couplets is better expressed, and better numbers? and whether it is better here to usethistleorthistles,lilyorlilies, singular or plural? The epithetmore happyrefers to something going before." Walsh. "The second couplet [the text] is best; and singular, I think better than plural."[55]Alludes to the device of the Scots' monarchs, the thistle, worn by Queen Anne; and to the arms of France, thefleur de lys. The two riddles are in imitation of those in Virg. Ecl. iii. 106:Dic quibus in terris inscripti nomina regumNascantur flores, et Phyllida solus habeto.—Pope.Thus translated by Dryden;Nay, tell me first in what new region springsA flow'r that bears inscribed the names of kings;And thou shalt gain a present as divineAs Phœbus' self, for Phyllis shall be thine.Either the commentators on Virgil have not hit upon the true solution of his riddles, or they are not at all superior to the parody of Pope.[56]This is from Virg. Ecl. iii. 109:Et vitula tu dignus, et hic.—Wakefield.[57]Originally:The turf with country dainties shall be spread,And trees with twining branches shade your head.—Pope.[58]The Pleiades rose with the sun in April, and the poet ascribes the April showers to their influence.

[1]Our author's friendship with this gentleman commenced at very unequal years; he was under sixteen, but Sir William above sixty, and had lately resigned his employment of secretary of state to King William.—Pope.This amiable old man, who had been a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and doctor of civil law, was sent by Charles II. judge advocate to Tangier, and afterwards in a public character to Florence, to Turin, to Paris; and by James II. ambassador to Constantinople; to which city he went through the continent on foot. He was afterwards a lord of the treasury, and secretary of state, with the Duke of Shrewsbury, which office he resigned 1697, and retiring to East Hampstead, died there in December, 1716, aged seventy-seven. Nothing of his writing remains but an elegant character of Archbishop Dolben.—Warton.Pope says that Sir William Trumbull had "lately" resigned his office at the period of their acquaintance, but seven years had elapsed after the date of Sir William's retirement, before Pope had reached the age of sixteen.

This amiable old man, who had been a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and doctor of civil law, was sent by Charles II. judge advocate to Tangier, and afterwards in a public character to Florence, to Turin, to Paris; and by James II. ambassador to Constantinople; to which city he went through the continent on foot. He was afterwards a lord of the treasury, and secretary of state, with the Duke of Shrewsbury, which office he resigned 1697, and retiring to East Hampstead, died there in December, 1716, aged seventy-seven. Nothing of his writing remains but an elegant character of Archbishop Dolben.—Warton.

Pope says that Sir William Trumbull had "lately" resigned his office at the period of their acquaintance, but seven years had elapsed after the date of Sir William's retirement, before Pope had reached the age of sixteen.

[2]Prima Syracusio dignata est ludere versu,Nostra nec erubuit sylvas habitare Thalia.Ecl. vi. 1.This is the general exordium and opening of the Pastorals, in imitation of the sixth of Virgil, which some have therefore not improbably thought to have been the first originally. In the beginnings of the other three Pastorals, he imitates expressly those which now stand first of the three chief poets in this kind, Spenser, Virgil, Theocritus.A shepherd's boy (he seeks no better name)—Beneath the shade a spreading beech displays,—Thyrsis, the Music of that murm'ring Spring,—are manifestly imitations of"—A shepherd's boy (no better do him call).""—Tityre, tu patulæ recubans sub tegmine fagi.""—Ἁδὑ τι ψιθὑρισμα και ἁ πιτυς, αιτολε, τηνα"—Pope.

[2]

Prima Syracusio dignata est ludere versu,Nostra nec erubuit sylvas habitare Thalia.Ecl. vi. 1.

This is the general exordium and opening of the Pastorals, in imitation of the sixth of Virgil, which some have therefore not improbably thought to have been the first originally. In the beginnings of the other three Pastorals, he imitates expressly those which now stand first of the three chief poets in this kind, Spenser, Virgil, Theocritus.

A shepherd's boy (he seeks no better name)—Beneath the shade a spreading beech displays,—Thyrsis, the Music of that murm'ring Spring,—

are manifestly imitations of

"—A shepherd's boy (no better do him call).""—Tityre, tu patulæ recubans sub tegmine fagi.""—Ἁδὑ τι ψιθὑρισμα και ἁ πιτυς, αιτολε, τηνα"—Pope.

[3]Pope not only imitated the lines he quotes from Virgil, but, as Wakefield points out, was also indebted to Dryden's translation of them.I first transferred to Rome Sicilian strains:Nor blushed the Doric muse to dwell on Mantuan plains.Originally Pope had written,First in these fields I sing the sylvan strains,Nor blush to sport in Windsor's peaceful plains.Upon this he says to Walsh, "Objection that the letter is hunted too much—sing the sylvan—peaceful plains—and that the wordsingis used two lines afterwards,Sicilian muses sing." He proposed to read "try" in the place of "sing;" "happy" instead of "peaceful," and adds, "Quære. Iftrybe not properer in relation tofirst, as we first attempt a thing; and more modest? and ifhappybe not more thanpeaceful?" Walsh replies, "Tryis better thansing.Happydoes not sound right, the first syllable being short. Perhaps you may find a better word thanpeacefulasflow'ry." Pope rejected all three epithets, and substituted "blissful."

[3]Pope not only imitated the lines he quotes from Virgil, but, as Wakefield points out, was also indebted to Dryden's translation of them.

I first transferred to Rome Sicilian strains:Nor blushed the Doric muse to dwell on Mantuan plains.

Originally Pope had written,

First in these fields I sing the sylvan strains,Nor blush to sport in Windsor's peaceful plains.

Upon this he says to Walsh, "Objection that the letter is hunted too much—sing the sylvan—peaceful plains—and that the wordsingis used two lines afterwards,Sicilian muses sing." He proposed to read "try" in the place of "sing;" "happy" instead of "peaceful," and adds, "Quære. Iftrybe not properer in relation tofirst, as we first attempt a thing; and more modest? and ifhappybe not more thanpeaceful?" Walsh replies, "Tryis better thansing.Happydoes not sound right, the first syllable being short. Perhaps you may find a better word thanpeacefulasflow'ry." Pope rejected all three epithets, and substituted "blissful."

[4]Evidently imitated from Spenser's Prothalamion:Sweet Thames run softly till I end my song.—Wakefield.

[4]Evidently imitated from Spenser's Prothalamion:

Sweet Thames run softly till I end my song.—Wakefield.

[5]Because Theocritus, the father of Pastoral Poetry, was a Sicilian.—Professor Martyn.

[6]Paradise Regained, ii. 27:Where winds with reeds and osiers whisp'ring play.Dryden, Theodore and Honoria:The winds within the quiv'ring branches played.—Wakefield.

[6]Paradise Regained, ii. 27:

Where winds with reeds and osiers whisp'ring play.

Dryden, Theodore and Honoria:

The winds within the quiv'ring branches played.—Wakefield.

[7]Roscommon's Essay on Translated Verse:And Albion's rocks repeat his rural song.—Wakefield.The term "Albion's cliffs," which is usually appropriated to the steeps that bound the sea-shore, is applied by Pope to the hills about Windsor.

[7]Roscommon's Essay on Translated Verse:

And Albion's rocks repeat his rural song.—Wakefield.

The term "Albion's cliffs," which is usually appropriated to the steeps that bound the sea-shore, is applied by Pope to the hills about Windsor.

[8]The expression in this verse is philosophically just. True wisdom is the knowledge of ourselves, which terminates in a conviction of our absolute insignificancy with respect to God, and our relative inferiority in many instances to the accomplishments of our own species: and power is encompassed with such a multiplicity of dangerous temptations as to be almost incompatible with virtue. A passage in Lucan, viii. 493, is very apposite:exeat aulaQui vult esse pius. Virtus et summa potestasNon coëunt.He who would spotless live from courts must go:No union power supreme and virtue know.—Wakefield.

exeat aulaQui vult esse pius. Virtus et summa potestasNon coëunt.He who would spotless live from courts must go:No union power supreme and virtue know.—Wakefield.

[9]Waller, The Maid's Tragedy Altered:Happy is she that from the world retires,And carries with her what the world admires.—Wilkes.

[9]Waller, The Maid's Tragedy Altered:

Happy is she that from the world retires,And carries with her what the world admires.—Wilkes.

[10]Sir W. Trumbull was born in Windsor-forest, to which he retreated after he had resigned the post of secretary of state of King William III.—Pope.The address to Trumbull was not in the original manuscript which passed through his hands, and the lines were probably added when the Pastorals were prepared for the press. "Little Pope," wrote Sir William to the Rev. Ralph Bridges on May 2, 1709, "was here two days ago, always full of poetry and services to Mr. Bridges. I saw in the advertisement, after he was gone, the Miscellany is published, or publishing, by Jacob Tonson, wherein are his Pastorals, and which is worse, I am told one of them is inscribed to my worship." A more inappropriate panegyric could not have been devised than to pretend that Trumbull was among poets what the nightingale was among birds. The retired statesman had a true taste for literature, but his efforts as a versifier had been limited to a dozen lines translated from Martial.

[10]Sir W. Trumbull was born in Windsor-forest, to which he retreated after he had resigned the post of secretary of state of King William III.—Pope.

The address to Trumbull was not in the original manuscript which passed through his hands, and the lines were probably added when the Pastorals were prepared for the press. "Little Pope," wrote Sir William to the Rev. Ralph Bridges on May 2, 1709, "was here two days ago, always full of poetry and services to Mr. Bridges. I saw in the advertisement, after he was gone, the Miscellany is published, or publishing, by Jacob Tonson, wherein are his Pastorals, and which is worse, I am told one of them is inscribed to my worship." A more inappropriate panegyric could not have been devised than to pretend that Trumbull was among poets what the nightingale was among birds. The retired statesman had a true taste for literature, but his efforts as a versifier had been limited to a dozen lines translated from Martial.

[11]Warton observes that the nightingale does not sing till the other birds are at rest. This is a mistake; the nightingale sings by day as well as at night, but the expressions "to rest removes" and "forsaken groves" give an idea of evening, in which case there would be certainly an error in making the thrush "chant" after the nightingale. As to the thrush being "charmed to silence" at any time by the nightingale, and the "aërial audience" applauding, it is allowable as a fanciful allusion, perhaps, though the circumstance is contrary to nature and fact.—Bowles.

[12]Concanen, in a pamphlet called A Supplement to the Profound, objected to the use of an image borrowed from the theatre, and Pope, in vindication of his line, has written "Dryden" in the margin, alluding doubtless to a couplet in Dryden's verses to the Duchess of York:Each poet of the air her glory singsAnd round him the pleased audience clap their wings.Every one must feel the image to be burlesque, and even Dryden's authority cannot recommend it.

Each poet of the air her glory singsAnd round him the pleased audience clap their wings.

Every one must feel the image to be burlesque, and even Dryden's authority cannot recommend it.

[13]The scene of this Pastoral a valley, the time the morning. It stood originally thus,Daphnis and Strephon to the shades retired,Both warmed by love, and by the muse inspired,Fresh as the morn, and as the season fair,In flow'ry vales they fed their fleecy care;And while Aurora gilds the mountain's side,Thus Daphnis spoke, and Strephon thus replied.—Pope.There was in the manuscript a still earlier, and perhaps better, version of the first two lines:Daphnis and Strephon led their flocks along,Both famed for love and both renowned in song.They were however borrowed from Lycon, an Eclogue, in the fifth part of Tonson's Miscellany:Strephon and Damon's flocks together fed,Both famed for wit, and famed for beauty both.Wakefield points out that the opening verse of the couplet, as it stands in the text, was indebted to Congreve's Tears of Amaryllis for Amyntas:When woolly flocks their bleating cries renew,And from their fleecy sides first shake the silver dew.

[13]The scene of this Pastoral a valley, the time the morning. It stood originally thus,

Daphnis and Strephon to the shades retired,Both warmed by love, and by the muse inspired,Fresh as the morn, and as the season fair,In flow'ry vales they fed their fleecy care;And while Aurora gilds the mountain's side,Thus Daphnis spoke, and Strephon thus replied.—Pope.

There was in the manuscript a still earlier, and perhaps better, version of the first two lines:

Daphnis and Strephon led their flocks along,Both famed for love and both renowned in song.

They were however borrowed from Lycon, an Eclogue, in the fifth part of Tonson's Miscellany:

Strephon and Damon's flocks together fed,Both famed for wit, and famed for beauty both.

Wakefield points out that the opening verse of the couplet, as it stands in the text, was indebted to Congreve's Tears of Amaryllis for Amyntas:

When woolly flocks their bleating cries renew,And from their fleecy sides first shake the silver dew.

[14]The epithet "whitening" most happily describes the progressive effect of the light.—Wakefield.

[15]Dryden's Palamon and Arcite:Fresh as the month, and as the morning fair.—Wakefield.

[15]Dryden's Palamon and Arcite:

Fresh as the month, and as the morning fair.—Wakefield.

[16]From Virgil, Ecl. vii. 20:Hos Corydon, illos referebat in ordine Thyrsis.—Wakefield.

[16]From Virgil, Ecl. vii. 20:

Hos Corydon, illos referebat in ordine Thyrsis.—Wakefield.

[17]Milton's first sonnet:O! nightingale, that on yon bloomy sprayWarblest at eve!—Wakefield.

[17]Milton's first sonnet:

O! nightingale, that on yon bloomy sprayWarblest at eve!—Wakefield.

[18]Congreve's Tears of Amaryllis for Amyntas:When grateful birds prepare their thanks to pay,And warble hymns to hail the dawning day.—Wakefield.

[18]Congreve's Tears of Amaryllis for Amyntas:

When grateful birds prepare their thanks to pay,And warble hymns to hail the dawning day.—Wakefield.

[19]Waller's Chloris and Hylas:Hylas, oh Hylas! why sit we muteNow that each bird saluteth the spring.—Wakefield.Concanen having commented in the Supplement to the Profound upon the impropriety "of making an English clown call a well-known bird by a classical name," Pope wrote in the margin, "Spenser and Ph." The remainder of the second name has been cut off by the binder. Pope's memory deceived him if A. Philips was meant, for the nightingale is not once called Philomela in his Pastorals.

[19]Waller's Chloris and Hylas:

Hylas, oh Hylas! why sit we muteNow that each bird saluteth the spring.—Wakefield.

Concanen having commented in the Supplement to the Profound upon the impropriety "of making an English clown call a well-known bird by a classical name," Pope wrote in the margin, "Spenser and Ph." The remainder of the second name has been cut off by the binder. Pope's memory deceived him if A. Philips was meant, for the nightingale is not once called Philomela in his Pastorals.

[20]Phosphor was the Greek name for the planet Venus when she appeared as a morning star.

[21]Purple is here used in the Latin sense of the brightest, most vivid colouring in general, not of that specific tint so called.—Warburton.

[22]Dryden in his Cock and Fox:See, my dear!How lavish nature has adorned the year.—Wakefield.

[22]Dryden in his Cock and Fox:

See, my dear!How lavish nature has adorned the year.—Wakefield.

[23]In the manuscript this verse ranThere the pale primrose and the vi'let glow,which was evidently borrowed from a line in Dryden's Cock and Fox, quoted by Wakefield:How the pale primrose and the vi'let spring.The first edition of the Pastorals hadHere on green banks the blushing vi'lets glow,and this reading was retained till the edition of Warburton. It probably at last occurred to the poet that as people do not blush blue or purple, the epithet "blushing" was inapplicable to the violet.

[23]In the manuscript this verse ran

There the pale primrose and the vi'let glow,

which was evidently borrowed from a line in Dryden's Cock and Fox, quoted by Wakefield:

How the pale primrose and the vi'let spring.

The first edition of the Pastorals had

Here on green banks the blushing vi'lets glow,

and this reading was retained till the edition of Warburton. It probably at last occurred to the poet that as people do not blush blue or purple, the epithet "blushing" was inapplicable to the violet.

[24]"Breathing" means breathing odours, and Wakefield quotes Paradise Lost, ii. 244:his altar breathesAmbrosial odours and ambrosial flowers.

[24]"Breathing" means breathing odours, and Wakefield quotes Paradise Lost, ii. 244:

his altar breathesAmbrosial odours and ambrosial flowers.

[25]Pope rarely mentions flowers without being guilty of some mistake as to the seasons they blow in. Who ever saw roses, crocuses, and violets in bloom at the same time?—Steevens.

[26]The first reading was,And his own image from the bank surveys.—Pope.Pope submitted the reading in the note, and that in the text to Walsh, and asked which was the best. Walsh preferred the text.

[26]The first reading was,

And his own image from the bank surveys.—Pope.

Pope submitted the reading in the note, and that in the text to Walsh, and asked which was the best. Walsh preferred the text.

[27]Lenta quibus torno facili superaddita vitis,Diffusos edera vestit pallente corymbos. Virg.—Pope.

[27]

Lenta quibus torno facili superaddita vitis,Diffusos edera vestit pallente corymbos. Virg.—Pope.

[28]Variation:And clusters lurk beneath the curling vines.—Pope.Dryden's Virgil, Eclogues:The grapes in clusters lurk beneath the vines.—Bowles.

[28]Variation:

And clusters lurk beneath the curling vines.—Pope.

Dryden's Virgil, Eclogues:

The grapes in clusters lurk beneath the vines.—Bowles.

[29]Dryden, Æn. viii. 830:And Roman triumphs rising on the gold.—Wakefield.

[29]Dryden, Æn. viii. 830:

And Roman triumphs rising on the gold.—Wakefield.

[30]The subject of these Pastorals engraven on the bowl is not without its propriety. The Shepherd's hesitation at the name of the zodiac imitates that in Virgil, Ecl. iii. 40:et quis fuit alter,Descripsit radio totum qui gentibus orbem?—Pope.Creech's translation of Eclogue iii.:And showed the various seasons of the year.Pope also drew upon Dryden's version of the passage:Two figures on the sides embossed appear,Conon, and what's his name who made the sphere,And showed the seasons of the sliding year?Virgil's commentators cannot agree upon the name which the shepherd had forgotten, but they unite in commending the stroke of nature which represents a rustic poet as unable to recall the name of a man of science.

[30]The subject of these Pastorals engraven on the bowl is not without its propriety. The Shepherd's hesitation at the name of the zodiac imitates that in Virgil, Ecl. iii. 40:

et quis fuit alter,Descripsit radio totum qui gentibus orbem?—Pope.

Creech's translation of Eclogue iii.:

And showed the various seasons of the year.

Pope also drew upon Dryden's version of the passage:

Two figures on the sides embossed appear,Conon, and what's his name who made the sphere,And showed the seasons of the sliding year?

Virgil's commentators cannot agree upon the name which the shepherd had forgotten, but they unite in commending the stroke of nature which represents a rustic poet as unable to recall the name of a man of science.

[31]Dryden, Georg. i. 328.And cross their limits cut a sloping way,Which the twelve signs in beauteous order sway.—Wakefield.

[31]Dryden, Georg. i. 328.

And cross their limits cut a sloping way,Which the twelve signs in beauteous order sway.—Wakefield.

[32]Literally from Virgil, Ecl. iii. 59:Alternis dicetis: amant alterna Camœnæ,Et nunc omnis ager, nunc omnis parturit arbos,Nunc frondent sylvæ, nunc formosissimus annus.—Pope.Creech's translation:playBy turns, for verse the muses love by turns.The usage was for the second speaker to imitate the idea started by the first, and endeavour to outdo him in his vaunt. All the speeches throughout the contest consisted of the same number of lines. In the third eclogue of Virgil we have two rivals and an umpire. One of the antagonists stakes a carved bowl, the other a cow; and the final effort of each poet is to propound a riddle, upon which the umpire interposes, and declares that the candidates are equal in merit. Pope keeps close to his original.

[32]Literally from Virgil, Ecl. iii. 59:

Alternis dicetis: amant alterna Camœnæ,Et nunc omnis ager, nunc omnis parturit arbos,Nunc frondent sylvæ, nunc formosissimus annus.—Pope.

Creech's translation:

playBy turns, for verse the muses love by turns.

The usage was for the second speaker to imitate the idea started by the first, and endeavour to outdo him in his vaunt. All the speeches throughout the contest consisted of the same number of lines. In the third eclogue of Virgil we have two rivals and an umpire. One of the antagonists stakes a carved bowl, the other a cow; and the final effort of each poet is to propound a riddle, upon which the umpire interposes, and declares that the candidates are equal in merit. Pope keeps close to his original.

[33]Dryden, Ecl. x. 11.And echo, from the vales, the tuneful voice rebound.—Wakefield.

[33]Dryden, Ecl. x. 11.

And echo, from the vales, the tuneful voice rebound.—Wakefield.

[34]In place of this couplet the original manuscript read,Ye fountain nymphs, propitious to the swain,Now grant me Phœbus', or Alexis' strain.Pope imitated Virgil, Ecl. vii. 21:Mihi carmen,Quale meo Codro, concedite: proxima PhœbiVersibus ille facit.

[34]In place of this couplet the original manuscript read,

Ye fountain nymphs, propitious to the swain,Now grant me Phœbus', or Alexis' strain.

Pope imitated Virgil, Ecl. vii. 21:

Mihi carmen,Quale meo Codro, concedite: proxima PhœbiVersibus ille facit.

[35]George Granville, afterwards Lord Lansdowne, known for his poems, most of which he composed very young, and proposed Waller as his model.—Pope.

[36]Virgil, Ecl. iii. 86:Pascite taurum,Qui cornu petat, et pedibus jam spargat arenam.—Pope.Dryden, Æn. ix. 859:A snow-white steer before thy altar led:And dares the fight, and spurns the yellow sands.—Wakefield.The second line of the couplet in the text ran thus in the original manuscript:With butting horns, and heels that spurn the sand.This also was from Dryden, Ecl. iii. 135:With spurning heels, and with a butting head.

[36]Virgil, Ecl. iii. 86:

Pascite taurum,Qui cornu petat, et pedibus jam spargat arenam.—Pope.

Dryden, Æn. ix. 859:

A snow-white steer before thy altar led:And dares the fight, and spurns the yellow sands.—Wakefield.

The second line of the couplet in the text ran thus in the original manuscript:

With butting horns, and heels that spurn the sand.

This also was from Dryden, Ecl. iii. 135:

With spurning heels, and with a butting head.

[37]Originally thus in the manuscript:Pan, let my numbers equal Strephon's lays,Of Parian stone thy statue will I raise;But if I conquer and augment my fold,Thy Parian statue shall be changed to gold.—Warburton.This he formed on Dryden's Vir. Ecl. vii. 45:Thy statue then of Parian stone shall stand;But if the falling lambs increase my fold,Thy marble statue shall be turned to gold.—Wakefield.

[37]Originally thus in the manuscript:

Pan, let my numbers equal Strephon's lays,Of Parian stone thy statue will I raise;But if I conquer and augment my fold,Thy Parian statue shall be changed to gold.—Warburton.

This he formed on Dryden's Vir. Ecl. vii. 45:

Thy statue then of Parian stone shall stand;But if the falling lambs increase my fold,Thy marble statue shall be turned to gold.—Wakefield.

[38]Pope had at first written,The lovely Chloris beckons from the plain,Then hides in shades from her deluded swain."Objection," he says, in the paper he submitted to Walsh, "thathideswithout the accusativeherselfis not good English, and thatfrom her deluded swainis needless. Alteration:The wanton Chloris beckons from the plain,Then, hid in shades, eludes her eager swain.Quære. Ifwantonbe more significant thanlovely; ifeludesbe properer in this case thandeluded; ifeagerbe an expressive epithet to the swain who searches for his mistress?"Walsh. "Wantonapplied to a woman is equivocal, and therefore not proper.Eludesis properer thandeluded.Eageris very well."

[38]Pope had at first written,

The lovely Chloris beckons from the plain,Then hides in shades from her deluded swain.

"Objection," he says, in the paper he submitted to Walsh, "thathideswithout the accusativeherselfis not good English, and thatfrom her deluded swainis needless. Alteration:

The wanton Chloris beckons from the plain,Then, hid in shades, eludes her eager swain.

Quære. Ifwantonbe more significant thanlovely; ifeludesbe properer in this case thandeluded; ifeagerbe an expressive epithet to the swain who searches for his mistress?"

Walsh. "Wantonapplied to a woman is equivocal, and therefore not proper.Eludesis properer thandeluded.Eageris very well."

[39]He owes this thought to Horace, Ode i. 9, 21.—Wakefield.Or rather to the version of Dryden, since the lines of Pope have a closer resemblance to the translation than to the original:The laugh that guides thee to the mark,When the kind nymph would coyness feign,And hides but to be found again.

[39]He owes this thought to Horace, Ode i. 9, 21.—Wakefield.

Or rather to the version of Dryden, since the lines of Pope have a closer resemblance to the translation than to the original:

The laugh that guides thee to the mark,When the kind nymph would coyness feign,And hides but to be found again.

[40]Imitation of Virgil, Ecl. iii. 64:Malo me Galatea petit, lasciva puella,Et fugit ad salices, et se cupit ante videri.—Pope.He probably consulted Creech's translation of the passage in Virgil:Sly Galatea drives me o'er the green,And apples throws, then hides, yet would be seen.—Wakefield.

[40]Imitation of Virgil, Ecl. iii. 64:

Malo me Galatea petit, lasciva puella,Et fugit ad salices, et se cupit ante videri.—Pope.

He probably consulted Creech's translation of the passage in Virgil:

Sly Galatea drives me o'er the green,And apples throws, then hides, yet would be seen.—Wakefield.

[41]Dryden's Don Sebastian;A brisk Arabian girl came tripping by;Passing, she cast at him a sidelong glance,And looked behind, in hopes to be pursued.—Steevens.

[41]Dryden's Don Sebastian;

A brisk Arabian girl came tripping by;Passing, she cast at him a sidelong glance,And looked behind, in hopes to be pursued.—Steevens.

[42]A very trifling and false conceit.—Warton.

[43]In place of the next speech of Strephon, and the reply of Daphnis, the dialogue continued thus in the original manuscript:STREPHON.Go, flow'ry wreath, and let my Silvia know,Compared to thine how bright her beauties show;Then die; and dying, teach the lovely maidHow soon the brightest beauties are decayed.DAPHNIS.Go, tuneful bird, that pleased the woods so long,Of Amaryllis learn a sweeter song;To heav'n arising then her notes convey,For heav'n alone is worthy such a lay.The speech of Strephon is an echo of Waller's well-known song:Go, lovely rose,Tell her that wastes her time and me,That now she knowsWhen I resemble her to thee,How sweet and fair she seems to be.Then die, that sheThe common fate of all things rareMay read in thee;How small a part of time they share,That are so wondrous sweet and fair.The speech of Daphnis is from Dryden's Virgil, Ecl. iii. 113:Winds, on your wings to heav'n her accents bear,Such words as heav'n alone is fit to hear.

[43]In place of the next speech of Strephon, and the reply of Daphnis, the dialogue continued thus in the original manuscript:

STREPHON.Go, flow'ry wreath, and let my Silvia know,Compared to thine how bright her beauties show;Then die; and dying, teach the lovely maidHow soon the brightest beauties are decayed.DAPHNIS.Go, tuneful bird, that pleased the woods so long,Of Amaryllis learn a sweeter song;To heav'n arising then her notes convey,For heav'n alone is worthy such a lay.

The speech of Strephon is an echo of Waller's well-known song:

Go, lovely rose,Tell her that wastes her time and me,That now she knowsWhen I resemble her to thee,How sweet and fair she seems to be.Then die, that sheThe common fate of all things rareMay read in thee;How small a part of time they share,That are so wondrous sweet and fair.

The speech of Daphnis is from Dryden's Virgil, Ecl. iii. 113:

Winds, on your wings to heav'n her accents bear,Such words as heav'n alone is fit to hear.

[44]It stood thus at first:Let rich Iberia golden fleeces boast,Her purple wool the proud Assyrian coast,Blest Thames's shores, &c.—Pope.

[44]It stood thus at first:

Let rich Iberia golden fleeces boast,Her purple wool the proud Assyrian coast,Blest Thames's shores, &c.—Pope.

[45]It is evident from the mention of the "golden sands" of Pactolus, and the "amber" of the poplars in connection with the Thames, that he had in view Denham's description in Cooper's Hill:Though with those streams he no resemblance hold,Whose foam is amber, and their gravel gold.—Wakefield.The sisters of Phæton, according to the classical fable, were, upon the death of their brother, turned into poplars on the banks of the Po, and the tears which dropt from these trees were said to be converted into amber.

[45]It is evident from the mention of the "golden sands" of Pactolus, and the "amber" of the poplars in connection with the Thames, that he had in view Denham's description in Cooper's Hill:

Though with those streams he no resemblance hold,Whose foam is amber, and their gravel gold.—Wakefield.

The sisters of Phæton, according to the classical fable, were, upon the death of their brother, turned into poplars on the banks of the Po, and the tears which dropt from these trees were said to be converted into amber.

[46]This couplet is a palpable imitation of Virgil, Ecl. vii. 67:Sæpius at si me, Lycida formose, revisas,Fraxinus in silvis cedet tibi, pinus in hortis.—Wakefield.The entire speech is a parody of the lines quoted by Wakefield, and of the lines which immediately precede them in Virgil's Eclogue. The passage omitted by Wakefield is thus translated in vol. i. of Tonson's Miscellany:Bacchus the vine, the laurel Phœbus loves;Fair Venus cherishes the myrtle groves;Phyllis the hazel loves, while Phyllis loves that tree,Myrtles and laurels of less fame shall be.

[46]This couplet is a palpable imitation of Virgil, Ecl. vii. 67:

Sæpius at si me, Lycida formose, revisas,Fraxinus in silvis cedet tibi, pinus in hortis.—Wakefield.

The entire speech is a parody of the lines quoted by Wakefield, and of the lines which immediately precede them in Virgil's Eclogue. The passage omitted by Wakefield is thus translated in vol. i. of Tonson's Miscellany:

Bacchus the vine, the laurel Phœbus loves;Fair Venus cherishes the myrtle groves;Phyllis the hazel loves, while Phyllis loves that tree,Myrtles and laurels of less fame shall be.

[47]Virg. Ecl. vii. 57:Aret ager, vitio moriens sitit aëris herba [&c.]Phyllidis adventu nostræ nemus omne virebit.—Pope.

[47]Virg. Ecl. vii. 57:

Aret ager, vitio moriens sitit aëris herba [&c.]Phyllidis adventu nostræ nemus omne virebit.—Pope.

[48]These verses were thus at first:All nature mourns, the birds their songs deny,Nor wasted brooks the thirsty flow'rs supply;If Delia smile, the flow'rs begin to spring,The brooks to murmur, and the birds to sing.—Pope.Wakefield remarks that the last couplet of the original version, which is but slightly modified in the text, was closely imitated from Addison's Epilogue to the British Enchanters:The desert smiles, the woods begin to grow,The birds to warble, and the springs to flow.

[48]These verses were thus at first:

All nature mourns, the birds their songs deny,Nor wasted brooks the thirsty flow'rs supply;If Delia smile, the flow'rs begin to spring,The brooks to murmur, and the birds to sing.—Pope.

Wakefield remarks that the last couplet of the original version, which is but slightly modified in the text, was closely imitated from Addison's Epilogue to the British Enchanters:

The desert smiles, the woods begin to grow,The birds to warble, and the springs to flow.

[49]Dryden, Ecl. vii. 76:And lavish nature laughs.

[49]Dryden, Ecl. vii. 76:

And lavish nature laughs.

[50]Pope had at first written,If Sylvia smiles she brightens all the shore,The sun's outshined, and nature charms no more.This he submitted to Walsh. Pope. "Quære, whether to say the sun is outshined be too bold and hyperbolical?" Walsh. "For pastoral it is." Pope. "If it should be softened withseems? Do you approve any of these alterations?If Sylvia smile, she brightens all the shore,{ All nature seems outshined, and charms no more.{ Light seems outshined, and nature charms no more.{ And vanquished nature seems to shine no more.Quære, which of these three?" Walsh. "The last of these three I like best."

[50]Pope had at first written,

If Sylvia smiles she brightens all the shore,The sun's outshined, and nature charms no more.

This he submitted to Walsh. Pope. "Quære, whether to say the sun is outshined be too bold and hyperbolical?" Walsh. "For pastoral it is." Pope. "If it should be softened withseems? Do you approve any of these alterations?

If Sylvia smile, she brightens all the shore,{ All nature seems outshined, and charms no more.{ Light seems outshined, and nature charms no more.{ And vanquished nature seems to shine no more.

Quære, which of these three?" Walsh. "The last of these three I like best."

[51]Cowley, Davideis, iii. 553:Hot as ripe noon, sweet as the blooming day,Like July furious, but more fair than May.—Wakefield.

[51]Cowley, Davideis, iii. 553:

Hot as ripe noon, sweet as the blooming day,Like July furious, but more fair than May.—Wakefield.

[52]An allusion to the royal oak, in which Charles II. had been hid from the pursuit after the battle of Worcester.—Pope.This wretched pun on the word "bears" is called "dextrous" by Wakefield, but Warton says that it is "one of the most trifling and puerile conceits" in all Pope's works, and is only exceeded in badness by the riddle "which follows of the thistle and the lily."

[52]An allusion to the royal oak, in which Charles II. had been hid from the pursuit after the battle of Worcester.—Pope.

This wretched pun on the word "bears" is called "dextrous" by Wakefield, but Warton says that it is "one of the most trifling and puerile conceits" in all Pope's works, and is only exceeded in badness by the riddle "which follows of the thistle and the lily."

[53]The contraction "I'll," which often occurs in these pastorals, is familiar and undignified.—Wakefield.

[54]It was thus in the manuscript:Nay, tell me first what region canst thou findIn which by thistles lilies are outshined?If all thy skill can make the meaning known,The prize, the victor's prize, shall be thy own.—Wakefield.Pope submitted the first two lines to Walsh in conjunction with the version in the text. "Quære, which of these couplets is better expressed, and better numbers? and whether it is better here to usethistleorthistles,lilyorlilies, singular or plural? The epithetmore happyrefers to something going before." Walsh. "The second couplet [the text] is best; and singular, I think better than plural."

[54]It was thus in the manuscript:

Nay, tell me first what region canst thou findIn which by thistles lilies are outshined?If all thy skill can make the meaning known,The prize, the victor's prize, shall be thy own.—Wakefield.

Pope submitted the first two lines to Walsh in conjunction with the version in the text. "Quære, which of these couplets is better expressed, and better numbers? and whether it is better here to usethistleorthistles,lilyorlilies, singular or plural? The epithetmore happyrefers to something going before." Walsh. "The second couplet [the text] is best; and singular, I think better than plural."

[55]Alludes to the device of the Scots' monarchs, the thistle, worn by Queen Anne; and to the arms of France, thefleur de lys. The two riddles are in imitation of those in Virg. Ecl. iii. 106:Dic quibus in terris inscripti nomina regumNascantur flores, et Phyllida solus habeto.—Pope.Thus translated by Dryden;Nay, tell me first in what new region springsA flow'r that bears inscribed the names of kings;And thou shalt gain a present as divineAs Phœbus' self, for Phyllis shall be thine.Either the commentators on Virgil have not hit upon the true solution of his riddles, or they are not at all superior to the parody of Pope.

[55]Alludes to the device of the Scots' monarchs, the thistle, worn by Queen Anne; and to the arms of France, thefleur de lys. The two riddles are in imitation of those in Virg. Ecl. iii. 106:

Dic quibus in terris inscripti nomina regumNascantur flores, et Phyllida solus habeto.—Pope.

Thus translated by Dryden;

Nay, tell me first in what new region springsA flow'r that bears inscribed the names of kings;And thou shalt gain a present as divineAs Phœbus' self, for Phyllis shall be thine.

Either the commentators on Virgil have not hit upon the true solution of his riddles, or they are not at all superior to the parody of Pope.

[56]This is from Virg. Ecl. iii. 109:Et vitula tu dignus, et hic.—Wakefield.

[56]This is from Virg. Ecl. iii. 109:

Et vitula tu dignus, et hic.—Wakefield.

[57]Originally:The turf with country dainties shall be spread,And trees with twining branches shade your head.—Pope.

[57]Originally:

The turf with country dainties shall be spread,And trees with twining branches shade your head.—Pope.

[58]The Pleiades rose with the sun in April, and the poet ascribes the April showers to their influence.

A shepherd's boy (he seeks no better name)[3]Led forth his flocks[4]along the silver Thame,[5]Where dancing sun-beams on the waters played,[6]And verdant alders formed a quiv'ring[7]shade;[8]Soft as he mourned, the streams forgot to flow,[9]5The flocks around a dumb compassion show,[10]The Naïads wept in ev'ry wat'ry bow'r,And Jove consented in a silent show'r.[11]Accept, OGarth! the muse's early lays,That adds this wreath of ivy to thy bays;[12]10Hear what from love unpractised hearts endure,From love, the sole disease thou canst not cure.Ye shady beeches, and ye cooling streams,Defence from Phœbus', not from Cupid's beams,[13]To you I mourn; nor to the deaf I sing,[14]15"The woods shall answer, and their echo ring."[15]The hills and rocks attend my doleful lay,Why art thou prouder and more hard than they?[16]The bleating sheep with my complaints agree,They parched with heat, and I inflamed by thee.[17]20The sultry Sirius burns the thirsty plains,[18]While in thy heart eternal winter reigns.[19]Where stray ye, muses, in what lawn or grove,[20]While your Alexis pines in hopeless love?In those fair fields where sacred Isis glides,25Or else where Cam his winding vales divides?[21]As in the crystal stream I view my face,[22]Fresh rising blushes paint the wat'ry glass;But since those graces please thy eyes no more,I shun the fountains which I sought before.30Once I was skilled in ev'ry herb that grew,And ev'ry plant that drinks the morning dew;[23]Ah wretched shepherd, what avails thy art,To cure thy lambs, but not to heal thy heart![24]Let other swains attend the rural care,35Feed fairer flocks, or richer fleeces shear:[25]But nigh yon' mountain[26]let me tune my lays,Embrace my love, and bind my brows with bays.[27]That flute is mine which Colin's[28]tuneful breathInspired when living, and bequeathed in death:[29]40He said; Alexis, take this pipe,[30]the sameThat taught the groves my Rosalinda's name:[31]But now the reeds shall hang on yonder tree,[32]For ever silent, since despised by thee.Oh! were I made by some transforming pow'r45The captive bird that sings within thy bow'r![33]Then might my voice thy list'ning ears employ,And I those kisses he receives enjoy.And yet my numbers please the rural throng,[34]Rough satyrs dance, and Pan applauds the song:[35]50The nymphs, forsaking ev'ry cave and spring,[36]Their early fruit, and milk-white turtles bring![37]Each am'rous nymph prefers her gifts in vain,On you their gifts are all bestowed again.[38]For you the swains their fairest flow'rs design,55And in one garland all their beauties join;Accept the wreath which you deserve alone,In whom all beauties are comprised in one.See what delights in sylvan scenes appear!Descending gods have found Elysium here.[39]60In woods bright Venus with Adonis strayed;And chaste Diana haunts the forest-shade.Come, lovely nymph, and bless the silent hours,When swains from shearing seek their nightly bow'rs;When weary reapers quit the sultry field,[40]65And crowned with corn their thanks to Ceres yield.This harmless grove no lurking viper hides,[41]But in my breast the serpent love abides.[42]Here bees from blossoms sip the rosy dew,But your Alexis knows no sweets but you.70O deign to visit our forsaken seats,The mossy fountains, and the green retreats![43]Where'er you walk, cool gales shall fan the glade;Trees, where you sit, shall crowd into a shade;Where'er you tread, the blushing flow'rs shall rise,[44]75And all things flourish where you turn your eyes.[45]O! how I long with you to pass my days,[46]Invoke the muses, and resound your praise!Your praise the birds shall chant in ev'ry grove,[47]And winds shall waft it to the pow'rs above.[48]80But would you sing, and rival Orpheus' strain,[49]The wond'ring forests soon should dance[50]again,The moving mountains hear the pow'rful call,And headlong streams hang list'ning in their fall.[51]But see, the shepherds shun the noon-day heat,85The lowing herds to murm'ring brooks retreat,[52]To closer shades the panting flocks remove;Ye gods! and is there no relief for love?[53]But soon the sun with milder rays descendsTo the cool ocean, where his journey ends:[54]90On me love's fiercer flames for ever prey,[55]By night he scorches, as he burns by day.[56]

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