FOOTNOTES:

FOOTNOTES:[1]The scene of this Pastoral by the river side, suitable to the heat of the season: the time noon.—Pope.[2]Dr. Samuel Garth, author of the Dispensary, was one of the first friends of the author, whose acquaintance with him began at fourteen or fifteen. Their friendship continued from the year 1703 to 1718, which was that of his death.—Pope.He was a man of the sweetest disposition, amiable manners, and universal benevolence. All parties, at a time when party violence was at a great height, joined in praising and loving him. One of the most exquisite pieces of wit ever written by Addison, is a defence of Garth against the Examiner, 1710. It is unfortunate that this second Pastoral, the worst of the four, should be inscribed to the best judge of all Pope's four friends to whom they were addressed.—Warton.[3]This was one of the passages submitted to Walsh. "Objection," remarks Pope, "against the parenthesis,he seeks no better name. Quære. Would it be anything better to say,A shepherd's boy, who sung for love, not fame, etc.Or,A shepherd's boy, who fed an amorous flame.Quære, which of all these is the best, or are none of them good." Walsh preferred the parenthesis in the text. "It is Spenser's way," he said, "and I think better than the others."[4]Spenser's Shepherd's Calendar:A shepherd boy (no better do him call)Led forth his flock.—Bowles.Pope's second Pastoral is an ostensible imitation of Spenser's first eclogue, which is devoted to a lover's complaint, but though Pope has echoed some of the sentiments of Spenser, and appropriated an occasional line, his style has little resemblance to that of his model.[5]"An inaccurate word," says Warton, "instead of Thames;" and rendered confusing by the fact that there is a real river Thame, which is a tributary of the Thames. Milton has used the same licence, and speaks of the "royal towered Thame" in his lines on the English rivers.[6]Originally thus in the MS.:There to the winds Headrigg plained his hapless love,And Amaryllis filled the vocal grove.—Warburton.[7]Dryden's Theodore and Honoria:The winds within the quiv'ring branches played,And dancing trees a mournful music made.—Wakefield.[8]Ver. 1, 2, 3, 4, were thus printed in the first edition:A faithful swain, whom Love had taught to sing,Bewailed his fate beside a silver spring;Where gentle Thames his winding waters leadsThrough verdant forests, and through flow'ry meads.—Pope.[9]Dryden's Virg. Ecl. viii. 3:To which the savage lynxes list'ning stood;The rivers stood on heaps, and stopped the running flood.Milton, Comus, 494:Thyrsis, whose artful strains have oft delayedThe puddling brook to hear his madrigal.—Wakefield.Garth, in his Dispensary, canto iv., says that, when Prior sings,The banks of Rhine a pleased attention show,And silver Sequana forgets to flow.[10]Milton, Comus:That dumb things shall be moved to sympathise.—Steevens.In the tears of Amaryllis for Amyntas, Congreve says of the tigers and wolves, thatThey dumb distress and new compassion show.[11]Virg. Ecl. vii. 60:Jupiter et læto descendet plurimus imbri.—Pope.In the original manuscript the couplet was slightly different:Relenting Naïads wept in ev'ry bow'r,And Jove consented in a silent show'r.Pope. "Objection, that the Naïads weeping in bowers is not so proper, being water nymphs, and that the wordconsentedis doubted by some to whom I have shown these verses. Alteration:The Naïads wept in ev'ry wat'ry bow'r,And Jove relented in a silent show'r.Quære. Which of these do you like best?" Walsh. "The first. Upon second thoughts I think the second is best." Pope ended by adopting the first line of the second version, and the second line of the first.[12]This is taken from Virg. Ecl. viii. 12.—Wakefield.Dryden's translation, ver. 17:Amidst thy laurels let this ivy twine,Thine was my earliest muse.Ivy, with the Romans, was the emblem of literary success, and the laurel crown was worn by a victorious general at a triumph. As Pollio, to whom Virgil addressed his eighth eclogue, was both a conqueror and a poet, the double garland allotted to him was appropriate, but there was no fitness in the application of the passage to Garth.[13]A harsh line, and a false and affected thought.—Bowles.[14]Virg. Ecl. x. 8.Non canimus surdis: respondent omnia sylvæ.—Pope.Ogilby's translation of the verse in Virgil:Nor to the deaf do we our numbers sing,Since woods, in answ'ring us, with echoes ring.—Wakefield.[15]A line out of Spenser's Epithalamion.—Pope.[16]A line unworthy our author, containing a false and trivial thought; as is also the 22nd line.—Warton.[17]Pope says his merit in these Pastorals is his copying from the ancients. Can anything like this, and other conceits, be found in the natural and unaffected language of Virgil? No such thing. But what do we find in Dryden's imitation of Virgil, Ecl. ii. 13:The creaking locusts with my voice conspire,They fried with heat, and I with fierce desire.This is Virgil's:Sole sub ardenti resonant arbusta cicadis.And Pope had the imitation in his eye, not the original.—Bowles.[18]So Virgil says of Sirius, or the dog-star, Geor. ii. 353:hiulca siti findit Canis æstifer arva."Gassendi has well remarked," says Arnauld in his Logic, "that nothing could be less probable than the notion that the dog-star is the cause of the extraordinary heat which prevails in what are called the dog days, because as Sirius is on the other side of the equator, the effects of the star should be greatest at the places where it is most perpendicular, whereas the dog days here are the winter season there. Whence the inhabitants of those countries have much more reason to believe that the dog-star brings cold than we have to believe that it causes heat."[19]The Shepherd's Calendar of Spenser:Such rage as winter's reigneth in my heart.[20]Virg. Ecl. x. 9, out of Theocritus:Quæ nemora, aut qui vos saltus habuere, puellæNaïades, indigno cum Gallus amore periret?Nam neque Parnassi vobis juga, nam neque Pindi,Ulla moram fecere, neque Aoniæ Aganippe.—Pope.Ogilby's translation:Say, Naïades, where were you, in what grove,Or lawn, when Gallus fell by ill-matched love.—Wakefield.[21]Addison's Campaign:Or where the Seine her flow'ry fields divides,Or where the Loire through winding vineyards glides.—Wakefield.Pope wrote at random. The Cam does not divide vales, but runs, or rather creeps, through one of the flattest districts in England.[22]Oft in the crystal spring I cast a view,And equalled Hylas, if the glass be true;But since those graces meet my eyes no more, shun, etc.Virgil again (Ecl. ii. 25), from the Cyclops of Theocritus:nuper me in littore vidi,Cum placidum ventis staret mare; non ego Daphnim,Judice te, metuam, si nunquam fallit imago.—Pope.In his first version, which is closer to Virgil than the second, Pope had in his mind Dryden's translation, Ecl. ii. 33:and if the glass be true,With Daphnis I may vie.[23]Milton, Penseroso, ver. 172:And every herb that sips the dew.—Wakefield.[24]This is an obvious imitation of those trite lines in Ovid, Met. i. 522:herbarum subjecta potentia nobis.Hei mihi, quod nullis amor est medicabilis herbis;Nec prosunt domino, quæ prosunt omnibus, artes.—Wakefield.Dryden's translation:What herbs and simples growIn fields and forests, all their pow'rs I know.To cure the pains of love no plant avails,And his own physic the physician fails.It is remarkable that the imitation in the text of some of the most hacknied lines in classical literature, should be one of four passages quoted by Ruffhead, to prove that all the images in Pope's Pastorals had not been borrowed from preceding poets.[25]The only faulty rhymes,careandshear, perhaps in these poems, where the versification is in general so exact and correct.—Warton.[26]The scene is laid upon the banks of the Thames, and "mountain" is a term inapplicable to any of the neighbouring hills. Pope was too intent upon copying Virgil to pay much regard to the characteristics of the English landscape.[27]It is not easy to conceive a more harsh and clashing line than this. There is the same imagery in Theocritus (Idyll viii. 55), but it is made more striking by the circumstances and picturesque accompaniments, as well as by the extraordinary effect of the lines adapted to the subject.—Bowles.[28]The name taken by Spenser in his Eclogues, where his mistress is celebrated under that of Rosalinda.—Pope.[29]Virg. Ecl. ii. 36:Est mihi disparibus septem compacta cicutisFistula, Damœtas dono mihi quam dedit olim,Et dixit moriens, Te nunc habet ista secundum.—Pope.Pope's couplet originally ran thus:Of slender reeds a tuneful flute I have.The tuneful flute which dying Colin gave."Objection," he says to Walsh, "that the first line is too much transposed from the natural order of the words, and that the rhyme is inharmonious." He subjoined the couplet in the text, and asked, "Which of these is best?" to which Walsh replies, "The second."[30]Dr. Johnson says, "that every intelligent reader sickens at the mention of the crook and the pipe, the sheep and the kids." This appears to be an unjust and harsh condemnation of all pastoral poetry.—Warton.Surely Dr. Johnson's decrying the affected introduction of "crook and pipe," &c., into English pastorals, is not a condemnation of all pastoral poetry. Dr. Johnson certainly could not very highly relish this species of poetry, witness his harsh criticisms on Milton's exquisite Lycidas; but we almost forgive his severity on several genuine pieces of poetic excellence, when we consider that he has done a service to truth and nature in speaking with a proper and dignified contempt for such trite puerilities.—Bowles.[31]Virg. Ecl. i. 5:Formosam resonare doces Amaryllida silvas.—Wakefield.[32]Imitated from Virg. Ecl. vii. 24:Hic arguta sacra pendebit fistula pinu.—Wakefield.Dryden's translation:The praise of artful numbers I resign,And hang my harp upon the sacred pine.[33]This thought is formed on one in Theocritus iii. 12, and our poet had before him Dryden's translation of that Idyllium:Some god transform me by his heav'nly pow'r,E'en to a bee to buzz within your bow'r.—Wakefield.Warton prefers the image of Theocritus, as more wild, more delicate, and more uncommon. It is natural for a lover to wish that he might be anything that could come near to his lady. But we more naturally desire to be that which she fondles and caresses, than to be that which she avoids, at least would neglect. The superior delicacy of Theocritus I cannot discover, nor can indeed find, that either in the one or the other image there is any want of delicacy.—Johnson.Pope had at first written:Some pitying god permit me to be madeThe bird that sings beneath thy myrtle shade.He submitted this couplet and the emendation in the text to Walsh, and said, "The epithetcaptiveseems necessary to explain the thought, on account ofthose kissesin the last line [of the paragraph]. Quære. If these be better than the other?" Walsh. "The second are the best, for it is not enough topermityou to be made, but to make you."[34]Virg. Ecl. ix. 33:me quoque dicuntVatem pastores.—Wakefield.[35]Milton's Lycidas, ver. 34:Rough satyrs danced.Dryden's Virgil, Ecl. vi. 42:He raised his voice, and soon a num'rous throngOf tripping satyrs crowded to the song.Pan was the god of shepherds, the inventor of the pastoral pipe of reeds, and himself a skilful musician. "The ancient images," says Archbishop Whately, "represent him as partly in the human form, and partly in that of a goat, with horns and cloven hoofs. And hence it is that, by a kind of tradition, we often see, even at this day, representations of Satan in this form. For the early christians seem to have thought that it was he whom the pagans adored under the name of Pan."[36]Spenser's Elegy on the death of Sir P. Sidney:Come forth, ye nymphs, forsake your wat'ry bowers,Forsake your mossy caves.[37]Spenser's Astrophel:And many a nymph both of the wood and brook,Soon as his oaten pipe began to shrill,Both chrystal wells, and shady groves forsookTo hear the charms of his enchanting skill;And brought him presents, flow'rs if it were prime,Or mellow fruit if it were harvest time.[38]From the Shepherd's Calendar of Spenser:His clownish gifts and courtsies I disdain,His kids, his cracknels, and his early fruit;Ah, foolish Hobbinol, thy gifts been vain,Colin them gives to Hobbinol again.[39]Virg. Ecl. ii. 60:habitarunt dii quoque sylvas.Ecl. x. 18:Et formosus oves ad flumina pavit Adonis.—Pope.Dryden's translation of the first line isThe gods to live in woods have left the skies.The second line he expanded into a couplet:Along the streams, his flock Adonis led,And yet the queen of beauty blest his bed.This last verse has nothing answering to it in Virgil, but it suggested ver. 63 of the pastoral to Pope, who copied Dryden, and not the original.[40]This is formed from Virg. Ecl. ii. 10:rapido fessis messoribus æstu.The reapers tired with sultry heats.—Ogilby.—Wakefield.[41]He had in his mind Virg. Ecl. iii. 93:Frigidus, O pueri, fugite hinc! latet anguis in herba.—Wakefield.[42]I think these two lines would not have passed without animadversion in any of our great schools.—Warton.Another couplet followed in the manuscript:Here Tereus mourns, and Itys tells his pain,Of Progne they, and I of you complain.The horrible mythological story of Progne killing her son Itys, and serving up his flesh to her husband Tereus out of revenge for his violence to her sister Philomela, had no connection with the plaintive sighs of a love-sick swain for an absent mistress. The inappropriateness of the allusion was no doubt the reason why Pope omitted the couplet.[43]Virg. Ecl. vii. 45:Muscosi fontes—mossy fountains.—Wakefield.[44]This thought occurs in several authors. Persius, Sat. ii. 39,Quicquid calcaverit hic, rosa fiat.Butler finely ridicules this trite fancy of the poets:Where'er you tread your foot shall setThe primrose and the violet.—Wakefield.[45]The six lines from ver. 71 to ver. 76 stood thus in the original manuscript:Oh, deign to grace our happy rural seats,Our mossy fountains, and our green retreats;While you your presence to the groves deny,Our flowers are faded, and our brooks are dry;Though with'ring herbs lay dying on the plain,At your return they shall be green again.The two last couplets were copied from Dryden's Virg. Ecl. vii. 77:But if Alexis from our mountains fly,Ev'n running rivers leave their channels dry.And ver. 81:But, if returning Phyllis bless the plain,The grass revives, the woods are green again.In Pope's next version, the four lines "While you, &c.," ran as follows:Winds, where you walk, shall gently fan the glade,Or,Where'er you walk fresh gales shall fan the glade,Trees, where you sit, shall crowd into a shade,Flow'rs where you tread in painted pride shall rise,Or,Where'er you tread the purple flow'rs shall rise,And all things flourish where you turn your eyes!Walsh preferred the second form of the passage to the original draught; and of the variations in the second form he preferred the lines beginning "Where'er you walk," and "Where'er you tread."[46]He had in view Virg. Ecl. x. 43:hic ipso tecum consumerer ævo.—Wakefield.[47]Your praise the tuneful birds to heav'n shall bear,And list'ning wolves grow milder as they hear.So the verses were originally written. But the author, young as he was, soon found the absurdity which Spenser himself overlooked, of introducing wolves into England.—Pope.There was no absurdity upon the principle of Pope, that the scene of pastorals was to be laid in the golden age, which could not be supposed to be subsequent to the reign of Edward I. when wolves still existed in this island. They lingered in Scotland in the reign of Charles II., and in Ireland in the reign of Queen Anne.[48]Virg. Ecl. iii. 73:Partem aliquam, venti, Divum referatis ad aures.—Pope.[49]In place of this couplet and the next, the original MS. had these lines:Such magic music dwells within your name,The voice of Orpheus no such pow'r could claim;Had you then lived, when he the forests drew,The trees and Orpheus both had followed you.[50]This verse is debased by the worddance. But he followed Dryden in Ecl. iii. 69:Where Orpheus on his lyre laments his love,With beasts encompassed, and a dancing grove.—Wakefield.[51]Lucan vi. 473:de rupe pependitAbscissa fixus torrens; amnisque cucurritNon qua pronus erat.Streams have run back at murmurs of her tongue,And torrents from the rock suspended hung. Rowe.—Steevens."The lineAnd headlong streams," says Ruffhead, "surely presents a new image and a bold one too." Bold indeed! Pope has carried the idea into extravagance when he makes the stream not only "listening," but "hang listening in its headlong fall." An idea of this sort will only bear just touching; the mind then does not perceive its violence; if it be brought before the eyes too minutely, it becomes almost ridiculous.—Bowles.[52]In the MS.:But see the southing sun displays his beams,See Tityrus leads his herd to silver streams.[53]Virg. Ecl. ii. 68:Me tamen urit amor, quis enim modus adsit amori?—Pope.He had Dryden's translation of the passage in Virgil before him:Cool breezes now the raging heats remove:Ah, cruel heav'n, that made no cure for love.—Wakefield.[54]The phrase "where his journey ends" is mean and prosaic, nor by any means adequately conveys the sentiment required, which is this,—The sun grows milder by degrees, and is at length extinguished in the ocean, but my flames know neither abatement nor intermission.—Wakefield.[55]Variation:Me love inflames, nor will his fires allay.—Pope.[56]This is certainly the poorest of Pope's pastorals, and it has many false thoughts and conceits. But the ingenuous and candid critic will always bear in mind the early age at which they were written, and the false taste of Cowley at that time prevalent.—Bowles.

[1]The scene of this Pastoral by the river side, suitable to the heat of the season: the time noon.—Pope.

[2]Dr. Samuel Garth, author of the Dispensary, was one of the first friends of the author, whose acquaintance with him began at fourteen or fifteen. Their friendship continued from the year 1703 to 1718, which was that of his death.—Pope.He was a man of the sweetest disposition, amiable manners, and universal benevolence. All parties, at a time when party violence was at a great height, joined in praising and loving him. One of the most exquisite pieces of wit ever written by Addison, is a defence of Garth against the Examiner, 1710. It is unfortunate that this second Pastoral, the worst of the four, should be inscribed to the best judge of all Pope's four friends to whom they were addressed.—Warton.

He was a man of the sweetest disposition, amiable manners, and universal benevolence. All parties, at a time when party violence was at a great height, joined in praising and loving him. One of the most exquisite pieces of wit ever written by Addison, is a defence of Garth against the Examiner, 1710. It is unfortunate that this second Pastoral, the worst of the four, should be inscribed to the best judge of all Pope's four friends to whom they were addressed.—Warton.

[3]This was one of the passages submitted to Walsh. "Objection," remarks Pope, "against the parenthesis,he seeks no better name. Quære. Would it be anything better to say,A shepherd's boy, who sung for love, not fame, etc.Or,A shepherd's boy, who fed an amorous flame.Quære, which of all these is the best, or are none of them good." Walsh preferred the parenthesis in the text. "It is Spenser's way," he said, "and I think better than the others."

[3]This was one of the passages submitted to Walsh. "Objection," remarks Pope, "against the parenthesis,he seeks no better name. Quære. Would it be anything better to say,

A shepherd's boy, who sung for love, not fame, etc.

Or,

A shepherd's boy, who fed an amorous flame.

Quære, which of all these is the best, or are none of them good." Walsh preferred the parenthesis in the text. "It is Spenser's way," he said, "and I think better than the others."

[4]Spenser's Shepherd's Calendar:A shepherd boy (no better do him call)Led forth his flock.—Bowles.Pope's second Pastoral is an ostensible imitation of Spenser's first eclogue, which is devoted to a lover's complaint, but though Pope has echoed some of the sentiments of Spenser, and appropriated an occasional line, his style has little resemblance to that of his model.

[4]Spenser's Shepherd's Calendar:

A shepherd boy (no better do him call)Led forth his flock.—Bowles.

Pope's second Pastoral is an ostensible imitation of Spenser's first eclogue, which is devoted to a lover's complaint, but though Pope has echoed some of the sentiments of Spenser, and appropriated an occasional line, his style has little resemblance to that of his model.

[5]"An inaccurate word," says Warton, "instead of Thames;" and rendered confusing by the fact that there is a real river Thame, which is a tributary of the Thames. Milton has used the same licence, and speaks of the "royal towered Thame" in his lines on the English rivers.

[6]Originally thus in the MS.:There to the winds Headrigg plained his hapless love,And Amaryllis filled the vocal grove.—Warburton.

[6]Originally thus in the MS.:

There to the winds Headrigg plained his hapless love,And Amaryllis filled the vocal grove.—Warburton.

[7]Dryden's Theodore and Honoria:The winds within the quiv'ring branches played,And dancing trees a mournful music made.—Wakefield.

[7]Dryden's Theodore and Honoria:

The winds within the quiv'ring branches played,And dancing trees a mournful music made.—Wakefield.

[8]Ver. 1, 2, 3, 4, were thus printed in the first edition:A faithful swain, whom Love had taught to sing,Bewailed his fate beside a silver spring;Where gentle Thames his winding waters leadsThrough verdant forests, and through flow'ry meads.—Pope.

[8]Ver. 1, 2, 3, 4, were thus printed in the first edition:

A faithful swain, whom Love had taught to sing,Bewailed his fate beside a silver spring;Where gentle Thames his winding waters leadsThrough verdant forests, and through flow'ry meads.—Pope.

[9]Dryden's Virg. Ecl. viii. 3:To which the savage lynxes list'ning stood;The rivers stood on heaps, and stopped the running flood.Milton, Comus, 494:Thyrsis, whose artful strains have oft delayedThe puddling brook to hear his madrigal.—Wakefield.Garth, in his Dispensary, canto iv., says that, when Prior sings,The banks of Rhine a pleased attention show,And silver Sequana forgets to flow.

[9]Dryden's Virg. Ecl. viii. 3:

To which the savage lynxes list'ning stood;The rivers stood on heaps, and stopped the running flood.

Milton, Comus, 494:

Thyrsis, whose artful strains have oft delayedThe puddling brook to hear his madrigal.—Wakefield.

Garth, in his Dispensary, canto iv., says that, when Prior sings,

The banks of Rhine a pleased attention show,And silver Sequana forgets to flow.

[10]Milton, Comus:That dumb things shall be moved to sympathise.—Steevens.In the tears of Amaryllis for Amyntas, Congreve says of the tigers and wolves, thatThey dumb distress and new compassion show.

[10]Milton, Comus:

That dumb things shall be moved to sympathise.—Steevens.

In the tears of Amaryllis for Amyntas, Congreve says of the tigers and wolves, that

They dumb distress and new compassion show.

[11]Virg. Ecl. vii. 60:Jupiter et læto descendet plurimus imbri.—Pope.In the original manuscript the couplet was slightly different:Relenting Naïads wept in ev'ry bow'r,And Jove consented in a silent show'r.Pope. "Objection, that the Naïads weeping in bowers is not so proper, being water nymphs, and that the wordconsentedis doubted by some to whom I have shown these verses. Alteration:The Naïads wept in ev'ry wat'ry bow'r,And Jove relented in a silent show'r.Quære. Which of these do you like best?" Walsh. "The first. Upon second thoughts I think the second is best." Pope ended by adopting the first line of the second version, and the second line of the first.

[11]Virg. Ecl. vii. 60:

Jupiter et læto descendet plurimus imbri.—Pope.

In the original manuscript the couplet was slightly different:

Relenting Naïads wept in ev'ry bow'r,And Jove consented in a silent show'r.

Pope. "Objection, that the Naïads weeping in bowers is not so proper, being water nymphs, and that the wordconsentedis doubted by some to whom I have shown these verses. Alteration:

The Naïads wept in ev'ry wat'ry bow'r,And Jove relented in a silent show'r.

Quære. Which of these do you like best?" Walsh. "The first. Upon second thoughts I think the second is best." Pope ended by adopting the first line of the second version, and the second line of the first.

[12]This is taken from Virg. Ecl. viii. 12.—Wakefield.Dryden's translation, ver. 17:Amidst thy laurels let this ivy twine,Thine was my earliest muse.Ivy, with the Romans, was the emblem of literary success, and the laurel crown was worn by a victorious general at a triumph. As Pollio, to whom Virgil addressed his eighth eclogue, was both a conqueror and a poet, the double garland allotted to him was appropriate, but there was no fitness in the application of the passage to Garth.

[12]This is taken from Virg. Ecl. viii. 12.—Wakefield.

Dryden's translation, ver. 17:

Amidst thy laurels let this ivy twine,Thine was my earliest muse.

Ivy, with the Romans, was the emblem of literary success, and the laurel crown was worn by a victorious general at a triumph. As Pollio, to whom Virgil addressed his eighth eclogue, was both a conqueror and a poet, the double garland allotted to him was appropriate, but there was no fitness in the application of the passage to Garth.

[13]A harsh line, and a false and affected thought.—Bowles.

[14]Virg. Ecl. x. 8.Non canimus surdis: respondent omnia sylvæ.—Pope.Ogilby's translation of the verse in Virgil:Nor to the deaf do we our numbers sing,Since woods, in answ'ring us, with echoes ring.—Wakefield.

[14]Virg. Ecl. x. 8.

Non canimus surdis: respondent omnia sylvæ.—Pope.

Ogilby's translation of the verse in Virgil:

Nor to the deaf do we our numbers sing,Since woods, in answ'ring us, with echoes ring.—Wakefield.

[15]A line out of Spenser's Epithalamion.—Pope.

[16]A line unworthy our author, containing a false and trivial thought; as is also the 22nd line.—Warton.

[17]Pope says his merit in these Pastorals is his copying from the ancients. Can anything like this, and other conceits, be found in the natural and unaffected language of Virgil? No such thing. But what do we find in Dryden's imitation of Virgil, Ecl. ii. 13:The creaking locusts with my voice conspire,They fried with heat, and I with fierce desire.This is Virgil's:Sole sub ardenti resonant arbusta cicadis.And Pope had the imitation in his eye, not the original.—Bowles.

The creaking locusts with my voice conspire,They fried with heat, and I with fierce desire.

This is Virgil's:

Sole sub ardenti resonant arbusta cicadis.

And Pope had the imitation in his eye, not the original.—Bowles.

[18]So Virgil says of Sirius, or the dog-star, Geor. ii. 353:hiulca siti findit Canis æstifer arva."Gassendi has well remarked," says Arnauld in his Logic, "that nothing could be less probable than the notion that the dog-star is the cause of the extraordinary heat which prevails in what are called the dog days, because as Sirius is on the other side of the equator, the effects of the star should be greatest at the places where it is most perpendicular, whereas the dog days here are the winter season there. Whence the inhabitants of those countries have much more reason to believe that the dog-star brings cold than we have to believe that it causes heat."

[18]So Virgil says of Sirius, or the dog-star, Geor. ii. 353:

hiulca siti findit Canis æstifer arva.

"Gassendi has well remarked," says Arnauld in his Logic, "that nothing could be less probable than the notion that the dog-star is the cause of the extraordinary heat which prevails in what are called the dog days, because as Sirius is on the other side of the equator, the effects of the star should be greatest at the places where it is most perpendicular, whereas the dog days here are the winter season there. Whence the inhabitants of those countries have much more reason to believe that the dog-star brings cold than we have to believe that it causes heat."

[19]The Shepherd's Calendar of Spenser:Such rage as winter's reigneth in my heart.

[19]The Shepherd's Calendar of Spenser:

Such rage as winter's reigneth in my heart.

[20]Virg. Ecl. x. 9, out of Theocritus:Quæ nemora, aut qui vos saltus habuere, puellæNaïades, indigno cum Gallus amore periret?Nam neque Parnassi vobis juga, nam neque Pindi,Ulla moram fecere, neque Aoniæ Aganippe.—Pope.Ogilby's translation:Say, Naïades, where were you, in what grove,Or lawn, when Gallus fell by ill-matched love.—Wakefield.

[20]Virg. Ecl. x. 9, out of Theocritus:

Quæ nemora, aut qui vos saltus habuere, puellæNaïades, indigno cum Gallus amore periret?Nam neque Parnassi vobis juga, nam neque Pindi,Ulla moram fecere, neque Aoniæ Aganippe.—Pope.

Ogilby's translation:

Say, Naïades, where were you, in what grove,Or lawn, when Gallus fell by ill-matched love.—Wakefield.

[21]Addison's Campaign:Or where the Seine her flow'ry fields divides,Or where the Loire through winding vineyards glides.—Wakefield.Pope wrote at random. The Cam does not divide vales, but runs, or rather creeps, through one of the flattest districts in England.

[21]Addison's Campaign:

Or where the Seine her flow'ry fields divides,Or where the Loire through winding vineyards glides.—Wakefield.

Pope wrote at random. The Cam does not divide vales, but runs, or rather creeps, through one of the flattest districts in England.

[22]Oft in the crystal spring I cast a view,And equalled Hylas, if the glass be true;But since those graces meet my eyes no more, shun, etc.Virgil again (Ecl. ii. 25), from the Cyclops of Theocritus:nuper me in littore vidi,Cum placidum ventis staret mare; non ego Daphnim,Judice te, metuam, si nunquam fallit imago.—Pope.In his first version, which is closer to Virgil than the second, Pope had in his mind Dryden's translation, Ecl. ii. 33:and if the glass be true,With Daphnis I may vie.

[22]

Oft in the crystal spring I cast a view,And equalled Hylas, if the glass be true;But since those graces meet my eyes no more, shun, etc.

Virgil again (Ecl. ii. 25), from the Cyclops of Theocritus:

nuper me in littore vidi,Cum placidum ventis staret mare; non ego Daphnim,Judice te, metuam, si nunquam fallit imago.—Pope.

In his first version, which is closer to Virgil than the second, Pope had in his mind Dryden's translation, Ecl. ii. 33:

and if the glass be true,With Daphnis I may vie.

[23]Milton, Penseroso, ver. 172:And every herb that sips the dew.—Wakefield.

[23]Milton, Penseroso, ver. 172:

And every herb that sips the dew.—Wakefield.

[24]This is an obvious imitation of those trite lines in Ovid, Met. i. 522:herbarum subjecta potentia nobis.Hei mihi, quod nullis amor est medicabilis herbis;Nec prosunt domino, quæ prosunt omnibus, artes.—Wakefield.Dryden's translation:What herbs and simples growIn fields and forests, all their pow'rs I know.To cure the pains of love no plant avails,And his own physic the physician fails.It is remarkable that the imitation in the text of some of the most hacknied lines in classical literature, should be one of four passages quoted by Ruffhead, to prove that all the images in Pope's Pastorals had not been borrowed from preceding poets.

[24]This is an obvious imitation of those trite lines in Ovid, Met. i. 522:

herbarum subjecta potentia nobis.Hei mihi, quod nullis amor est medicabilis herbis;Nec prosunt domino, quæ prosunt omnibus, artes.—Wakefield.

Dryden's translation:

What herbs and simples growIn fields and forests, all their pow'rs I know.To cure the pains of love no plant avails,And his own physic the physician fails.

It is remarkable that the imitation in the text of some of the most hacknied lines in classical literature, should be one of four passages quoted by Ruffhead, to prove that all the images in Pope's Pastorals had not been borrowed from preceding poets.

[25]The only faulty rhymes,careandshear, perhaps in these poems, where the versification is in general so exact and correct.—Warton.

[26]The scene is laid upon the banks of the Thames, and "mountain" is a term inapplicable to any of the neighbouring hills. Pope was too intent upon copying Virgil to pay much regard to the characteristics of the English landscape.

[27]It is not easy to conceive a more harsh and clashing line than this. There is the same imagery in Theocritus (Idyll viii. 55), but it is made more striking by the circumstances and picturesque accompaniments, as well as by the extraordinary effect of the lines adapted to the subject.—Bowles.

[28]The name taken by Spenser in his Eclogues, where his mistress is celebrated under that of Rosalinda.—Pope.

[29]Virg. Ecl. ii. 36:Est mihi disparibus septem compacta cicutisFistula, Damœtas dono mihi quam dedit olim,Et dixit moriens, Te nunc habet ista secundum.—Pope.Pope's couplet originally ran thus:Of slender reeds a tuneful flute I have.The tuneful flute which dying Colin gave."Objection," he says to Walsh, "that the first line is too much transposed from the natural order of the words, and that the rhyme is inharmonious." He subjoined the couplet in the text, and asked, "Which of these is best?" to which Walsh replies, "The second."

[29]Virg. Ecl. ii. 36:

Est mihi disparibus septem compacta cicutisFistula, Damœtas dono mihi quam dedit olim,Et dixit moriens, Te nunc habet ista secundum.—Pope.

Pope's couplet originally ran thus:

Of slender reeds a tuneful flute I have.The tuneful flute which dying Colin gave.

"Objection," he says to Walsh, "that the first line is too much transposed from the natural order of the words, and that the rhyme is inharmonious." He subjoined the couplet in the text, and asked, "Which of these is best?" to which Walsh replies, "The second."

[30]Dr. Johnson says, "that every intelligent reader sickens at the mention of the crook and the pipe, the sheep and the kids." This appears to be an unjust and harsh condemnation of all pastoral poetry.—Warton.Surely Dr. Johnson's decrying the affected introduction of "crook and pipe," &c., into English pastorals, is not a condemnation of all pastoral poetry. Dr. Johnson certainly could not very highly relish this species of poetry, witness his harsh criticisms on Milton's exquisite Lycidas; but we almost forgive his severity on several genuine pieces of poetic excellence, when we consider that he has done a service to truth and nature in speaking with a proper and dignified contempt for such trite puerilities.—Bowles.

Surely Dr. Johnson's decrying the affected introduction of "crook and pipe," &c., into English pastorals, is not a condemnation of all pastoral poetry. Dr. Johnson certainly could not very highly relish this species of poetry, witness his harsh criticisms on Milton's exquisite Lycidas; but we almost forgive his severity on several genuine pieces of poetic excellence, when we consider that he has done a service to truth and nature in speaking with a proper and dignified contempt for such trite puerilities.—Bowles.

[31]Virg. Ecl. i. 5:Formosam resonare doces Amaryllida silvas.—Wakefield.

[31]Virg. Ecl. i. 5:

Formosam resonare doces Amaryllida silvas.—Wakefield.

[32]Imitated from Virg. Ecl. vii. 24:Hic arguta sacra pendebit fistula pinu.—Wakefield.Dryden's translation:The praise of artful numbers I resign,And hang my harp upon the sacred pine.

[32]Imitated from Virg. Ecl. vii. 24:

Hic arguta sacra pendebit fistula pinu.—Wakefield.

Dryden's translation:

The praise of artful numbers I resign,And hang my harp upon the sacred pine.

[33]This thought is formed on one in Theocritus iii. 12, and our poet had before him Dryden's translation of that Idyllium:Some god transform me by his heav'nly pow'r,E'en to a bee to buzz within your bow'r.—Wakefield.Warton prefers the image of Theocritus, as more wild, more delicate, and more uncommon. It is natural for a lover to wish that he might be anything that could come near to his lady. But we more naturally desire to be that which she fondles and caresses, than to be that which she avoids, at least would neglect. The superior delicacy of Theocritus I cannot discover, nor can indeed find, that either in the one or the other image there is any want of delicacy.—Johnson.Pope had at first written:Some pitying god permit me to be madeThe bird that sings beneath thy myrtle shade.He submitted this couplet and the emendation in the text to Walsh, and said, "The epithetcaptiveseems necessary to explain the thought, on account ofthose kissesin the last line [of the paragraph]. Quære. If these be better than the other?" Walsh. "The second are the best, for it is not enough topermityou to be made, but to make you."

[33]This thought is formed on one in Theocritus iii. 12, and our poet had before him Dryden's translation of that Idyllium:

Some god transform me by his heav'nly pow'r,E'en to a bee to buzz within your bow'r.—Wakefield.

Warton prefers the image of Theocritus, as more wild, more delicate, and more uncommon. It is natural for a lover to wish that he might be anything that could come near to his lady. But we more naturally desire to be that which she fondles and caresses, than to be that which she avoids, at least would neglect. The superior delicacy of Theocritus I cannot discover, nor can indeed find, that either in the one or the other image there is any want of delicacy.—Johnson.

Pope had at first written:

Some pitying god permit me to be madeThe bird that sings beneath thy myrtle shade.

He submitted this couplet and the emendation in the text to Walsh, and said, "The epithetcaptiveseems necessary to explain the thought, on account ofthose kissesin the last line [of the paragraph]. Quære. If these be better than the other?" Walsh. "The second are the best, for it is not enough topermityou to be made, but to make you."

[34]Virg. Ecl. ix. 33:me quoque dicuntVatem pastores.—Wakefield.

[34]Virg. Ecl. ix. 33:

me quoque dicuntVatem pastores.—Wakefield.

[35]Milton's Lycidas, ver. 34:Rough satyrs danced.Dryden's Virgil, Ecl. vi. 42:He raised his voice, and soon a num'rous throngOf tripping satyrs crowded to the song.Pan was the god of shepherds, the inventor of the pastoral pipe of reeds, and himself a skilful musician. "The ancient images," says Archbishop Whately, "represent him as partly in the human form, and partly in that of a goat, with horns and cloven hoofs. And hence it is that, by a kind of tradition, we often see, even at this day, representations of Satan in this form. For the early christians seem to have thought that it was he whom the pagans adored under the name of Pan."

[35]Milton's Lycidas, ver. 34:

Rough satyrs danced.

Dryden's Virgil, Ecl. vi. 42:

He raised his voice, and soon a num'rous throngOf tripping satyrs crowded to the song.

Pan was the god of shepherds, the inventor of the pastoral pipe of reeds, and himself a skilful musician. "The ancient images," says Archbishop Whately, "represent him as partly in the human form, and partly in that of a goat, with horns and cloven hoofs. And hence it is that, by a kind of tradition, we often see, even at this day, representations of Satan in this form. For the early christians seem to have thought that it was he whom the pagans adored under the name of Pan."

[36]Spenser's Elegy on the death of Sir P. Sidney:Come forth, ye nymphs, forsake your wat'ry bowers,Forsake your mossy caves.

[36]Spenser's Elegy on the death of Sir P. Sidney:

Come forth, ye nymphs, forsake your wat'ry bowers,Forsake your mossy caves.

[37]Spenser's Astrophel:And many a nymph both of the wood and brook,Soon as his oaten pipe began to shrill,Both chrystal wells, and shady groves forsookTo hear the charms of his enchanting skill;And brought him presents, flow'rs if it were prime,Or mellow fruit if it were harvest time.

[37]Spenser's Astrophel:

And many a nymph both of the wood and brook,Soon as his oaten pipe began to shrill,Both chrystal wells, and shady groves forsookTo hear the charms of his enchanting skill;And brought him presents, flow'rs if it were prime,Or mellow fruit if it were harvest time.

[38]From the Shepherd's Calendar of Spenser:His clownish gifts and courtsies I disdain,His kids, his cracknels, and his early fruit;Ah, foolish Hobbinol, thy gifts been vain,Colin them gives to Hobbinol again.

[38]From the Shepherd's Calendar of Spenser:

His clownish gifts and courtsies I disdain,His kids, his cracknels, and his early fruit;Ah, foolish Hobbinol, thy gifts been vain,Colin them gives to Hobbinol again.

[39]Virg. Ecl. ii. 60:habitarunt dii quoque sylvas.Ecl. x. 18:Et formosus oves ad flumina pavit Adonis.—Pope.Dryden's translation of the first line isThe gods to live in woods have left the skies.The second line he expanded into a couplet:Along the streams, his flock Adonis led,And yet the queen of beauty blest his bed.This last verse has nothing answering to it in Virgil, but it suggested ver. 63 of the pastoral to Pope, who copied Dryden, and not the original.

[39]Virg. Ecl. ii. 60:

habitarunt dii quoque sylvas.

Ecl. x. 18:

Et formosus oves ad flumina pavit Adonis.—Pope.

Dryden's translation of the first line is

The gods to live in woods have left the skies.

The second line he expanded into a couplet:

Along the streams, his flock Adonis led,And yet the queen of beauty blest his bed.

This last verse has nothing answering to it in Virgil, but it suggested ver. 63 of the pastoral to Pope, who copied Dryden, and not the original.

[40]This is formed from Virg. Ecl. ii. 10:rapido fessis messoribus æstu.The reapers tired with sultry heats.—Ogilby.—Wakefield.

[40]This is formed from Virg. Ecl. ii. 10:

rapido fessis messoribus æstu.The reapers tired with sultry heats.—Ogilby.—Wakefield.

[41]He had in his mind Virg. Ecl. iii. 93:Frigidus, O pueri, fugite hinc! latet anguis in herba.—Wakefield.

[41]He had in his mind Virg. Ecl. iii. 93:

Frigidus, O pueri, fugite hinc! latet anguis in herba.—Wakefield.

[42]I think these two lines would not have passed without animadversion in any of our great schools.—Warton.Another couplet followed in the manuscript:Here Tereus mourns, and Itys tells his pain,Of Progne they, and I of you complain.The horrible mythological story of Progne killing her son Itys, and serving up his flesh to her husband Tereus out of revenge for his violence to her sister Philomela, had no connection with the plaintive sighs of a love-sick swain for an absent mistress. The inappropriateness of the allusion was no doubt the reason why Pope omitted the couplet.

[42]I think these two lines would not have passed without animadversion in any of our great schools.—Warton.

Another couplet followed in the manuscript:

Here Tereus mourns, and Itys tells his pain,Of Progne they, and I of you complain.

The horrible mythological story of Progne killing her son Itys, and serving up his flesh to her husband Tereus out of revenge for his violence to her sister Philomela, had no connection with the plaintive sighs of a love-sick swain for an absent mistress. The inappropriateness of the allusion was no doubt the reason why Pope omitted the couplet.

[43]Virg. Ecl. vii. 45:Muscosi fontes—mossy fountains.—Wakefield.

[43]Virg. Ecl. vii. 45:

Muscosi fontes—mossy fountains.—Wakefield.

[44]This thought occurs in several authors. Persius, Sat. ii. 39,Quicquid calcaverit hic, rosa fiat.Butler finely ridicules this trite fancy of the poets:Where'er you tread your foot shall setThe primrose and the violet.—Wakefield.

[44]This thought occurs in several authors. Persius, Sat. ii. 39,

Quicquid calcaverit hic, rosa fiat.

Butler finely ridicules this trite fancy of the poets:

Where'er you tread your foot shall setThe primrose and the violet.—Wakefield.

[45]The six lines from ver. 71 to ver. 76 stood thus in the original manuscript:Oh, deign to grace our happy rural seats,Our mossy fountains, and our green retreats;While you your presence to the groves deny,Our flowers are faded, and our brooks are dry;Though with'ring herbs lay dying on the plain,At your return they shall be green again.The two last couplets were copied from Dryden's Virg. Ecl. vii. 77:But if Alexis from our mountains fly,Ev'n running rivers leave their channels dry.And ver. 81:But, if returning Phyllis bless the plain,The grass revives, the woods are green again.In Pope's next version, the four lines "While you, &c.," ran as follows:Winds, where you walk, shall gently fan the glade,Or,Where'er you walk fresh gales shall fan the glade,Trees, where you sit, shall crowd into a shade,Flow'rs where you tread in painted pride shall rise,Or,Where'er you tread the purple flow'rs shall rise,And all things flourish where you turn your eyes!Walsh preferred the second form of the passage to the original draught; and of the variations in the second form he preferred the lines beginning "Where'er you walk," and "Where'er you tread."

[45]The six lines from ver. 71 to ver. 76 stood thus in the original manuscript:

Oh, deign to grace our happy rural seats,Our mossy fountains, and our green retreats;While you your presence to the groves deny,Our flowers are faded, and our brooks are dry;Though with'ring herbs lay dying on the plain,At your return they shall be green again.

The two last couplets were copied from Dryden's Virg. Ecl. vii. 77:

But if Alexis from our mountains fly,Ev'n running rivers leave their channels dry.

And ver. 81:

But, if returning Phyllis bless the plain,The grass revives, the woods are green again.

In Pope's next version, the four lines "While you, &c.," ran as follows:

Winds, where you walk, shall gently fan the glade,

Or,

Where'er you walk fresh gales shall fan the glade,Trees, where you sit, shall crowd into a shade,Flow'rs where you tread in painted pride shall rise,

Or,

Where'er you tread the purple flow'rs shall rise,And all things flourish where you turn your eyes!

Walsh preferred the second form of the passage to the original draught; and of the variations in the second form he preferred the lines beginning "Where'er you walk," and "Where'er you tread."

[46]He had in view Virg. Ecl. x. 43:hic ipso tecum consumerer ævo.—Wakefield.

[46]He had in view Virg. Ecl. x. 43:

hic ipso tecum consumerer ævo.—Wakefield.

[47]Your praise the tuneful birds to heav'n shall bear,And list'ning wolves grow milder as they hear.So the verses were originally written. But the author, young as he was, soon found the absurdity which Spenser himself overlooked, of introducing wolves into England.—Pope.There was no absurdity upon the principle of Pope, that the scene of pastorals was to be laid in the golden age, which could not be supposed to be subsequent to the reign of Edward I. when wolves still existed in this island. They lingered in Scotland in the reign of Charles II., and in Ireland in the reign of Queen Anne.

[47]

Your praise the tuneful birds to heav'n shall bear,And list'ning wolves grow milder as they hear.

So the verses were originally written. But the author, young as he was, soon found the absurdity which Spenser himself overlooked, of introducing wolves into England.—Pope.

There was no absurdity upon the principle of Pope, that the scene of pastorals was to be laid in the golden age, which could not be supposed to be subsequent to the reign of Edward I. when wolves still existed in this island. They lingered in Scotland in the reign of Charles II., and in Ireland in the reign of Queen Anne.

[48]Virg. Ecl. iii. 73:Partem aliquam, venti, Divum referatis ad aures.—Pope.

[48]Virg. Ecl. iii. 73:

Partem aliquam, venti, Divum referatis ad aures.—Pope.

[49]In place of this couplet and the next, the original MS. had these lines:Such magic music dwells within your name,The voice of Orpheus no such pow'r could claim;Had you then lived, when he the forests drew,The trees and Orpheus both had followed you.

[49]In place of this couplet and the next, the original MS. had these lines:

Such magic music dwells within your name,The voice of Orpheus no such pow'r could claim;Had you then lived, when he the forests drew,The trees and Orpheus both had followed you.

[50]This verse is debased by the worddance. But he followed Dryden in Ecl. iii. 69:Where Orpheus on his lyre laments his love,With beasts encompassed, and a dancing grove.—Wakefield.

[50]This verse is debased by the worddance. But he followed Dryden in Ecl. iii. 69:

Where Orpheus on his lyre laments his love,With beasts encompassed, and a dancing grove.—Wakefield.

[51]Lucan vi. 473:de rupe pependitAbscissa fixus torrens; amnisque cucurritNon qua pronus erat.Streams have run back at murmurs of her tongue,And torrents from the rock suspended hung. Rowe.—Steevens."The lineAnd headlong streams," says Ruffhead, "surely presents a new image and a bold one too." Bold indeed! Pope has carried the idea into extravagance when he makes the stream not only "listening," but "hang listening in its headlong fall." An idea of this sort will only bear just touching; the mind then does not perceive its violence; if it be brought before the eyes too minutely, it becomes almost ridiculous.—Bowles.

[51]Lucan vi. 473:

de rupe pependitAbscissa fixus torrens; amnisque cucurritNon qua pronus erat.Streams have run back at murmurs of her tongue,And torrents from the rock suspended hung. Rowe.—Steevens.

"The lineAnd headlong streams," says Ruffhead, "surely presents a new image and a bold one too." Bold indeed! Pope has carried the idea into extravagance when he makes the stream not only "listening," but "hang listening in its headlong fall." An idea of this sort will only bear just touching; the mind then does not perceive its violence; if it be brought before the eyes too minutely, it becomes almost ridiculous.—Bowles.

[52]In the MS.:But see the southing sun displays his beams,See Tityrus leads his herd to silver streams.

[52]In the MS.:

But see the southing sun displays his beams,See Tityrus leads his herd to silver streams.

[53]Virg. Ecl. ii. 68:Me tamen urit amor, quis enim modus adsit amori?—Pope.He had Dryden's translation of the passage in Virgil before him:Cool breezes now the raging heats remove:Ah, cruel heav'n, that made no cure for love.—Wakefield.

[53]Virg. Ecl. ii. 68:

Me tamen urit amor, quis enim modus adsit amori?—Pope.

He had Dryden's translation of the passage in Virgil before him:

Cool breezes now the raging heats remove:Ah, cruel heav'n, that made no cure for love.—Wakefield.

[54]The phrase "where his journey ends" is mean and prosaic, nor by any means adequately conveys the sentiment required, which is this,—The sun grows milder by degrees, and is at length extinguished in the ocean, but my flames know neither abatement nor intermission.—Wakefield.

[55]Variation:Me love inflames, nor will his fires allay.—Pope.

[55]Variation:

Me love inflames, nor will his fires allay.—Pope.

[56]This is certainly the poorest of Pope's pastorals, and it has many false thoughts and conceits. But the ingenuous and candid critic will always bear in mind the early age at which they were written, and the false taste of Cowley at that time prevalent.—Bowles.

Beneath the shade a spreading beech displays,[3]Hylas and Ægon sung their rural lays;This mourned a faithless, that an absent love,[4]And Delia's name and Doris' filled the grove.[5]Ye Mantuan nymphs, your sacred succour bring;5Hylas and Ægon's rural lays I sing.Thou,[6]whom the nine, with Plautus' wit inspire,The art of Terence, and Menander's fire;Whose sense instructs us,[7]and whose humour charms,Whose judgment sways us, and whose spirit[8]warms!10Oh, skilled in nature![9]see the hearts of swains,Their artless passions, and their tender pains.[10]Now setting Phœbus shone serenely bright,And fleecy clouds were streaked with purple light;When tuneful Hylas with melodious moan,15Taught rocks to weep, and made the mountains groan.[11]Go, gentle gales, and bear my sighs away![12]To Delia's ear the tender notes convey.As some sad turtle[13]his lost love deploresAnd with deep murmurs fills the sounding shores;20Thus, far from Delia, to the winds I mourn,Alike unheard, unpitied, and forlorn.Go, gentle gales, and bear my sighs along!For her, the feathered quires neglect their song:For her, the limes their pleasing shades deny;25For her, the lilies hang their heads and die.Ye flow'rs that droop, forsaken by the spring,Ye birds that, left by summer, cease to sing,Ye trees that fade when autumn-heats remove,Say, is not absence death to those who love?[14]30Go, gentle gales, and bear my sighs away!Cursed be the fields that cause my Delia's stay;Fade ev'ry blossom, wither ev'ry tree,[15]Die ev'ry flower, and perish all but she.What have I said? where'er my Delia flies,35Let spring attend, and sudden flow'rs arise;Let op'ning roses knotted oaks adorn,[16]And liquid amber drop from ev'ry thorn.Go, gentle gales, and bear my sighs along!The birds shall cease to tune their ev'ning song,40The winds to breathe, the waving woods to move,And streams to murmur, ere I cease to love.[17]Not bubbling fountains to the thirsty swain,[18]Not balmy sleep to lab'rers faint with pain,[19]Not show'rs to larks, or sunshine to the bee,45Are half so charming as thy sight to me.[20]Go, gentle gales, and bear my sighs away!Come, Delia, come; ah, why this long delay?Through rocks and caves the name of Delia sounds,Delia, each cave and echoing rock rebounds.50Ye pow'rs, what pleasing frenzy soothes my mind!Do lovers dream, or is my Delia kind?[21]She comes, my Delia comes!—Now cease my lay,[22]And cease, ye gales, to bear my sighs away!Next Ægon sung, while Windsor groves admired;55Rehearse, ye muses, what yourselves inspired.Resound, ye hills, resound my mournful strain!Of perjured Doris, dying I complain:[23]Here, where the mountains, less'ning as they rise,Lose the low vales, and steal into the skies:60While lab'ring oxen, spent with toil and heat,In their loose traces from the field retreat:[24]While curling smokes from village tops are seen,And the fleet shades glide o'er the dusky green.[25]Resound, ye hills, resound my mournful lay!65Beneath yon poplar oft we passed the day:Oft on the rind I carved her am'rous vows,[26]While she with garlands hung the bending boughs:The garlands fade, the vows are worn away;So dies her love, and so my hopes decay.70Resound, ye hills, resound my mournful strain!Now bright Arcturus[27]glads the teeming grain,Now golden fruits on loaded branches shine,And grateful clusters swell with floods of wine;[28]Now blushing berries paint the yellow grove;75Just Gods! shall all things yield returns but love?Resound, ye hills, resound my mournful lay!The shepherds cry, "Thy flocks are left a prey"—Ah! what avails it me, the flocks to keep,Who lost my heart while I preserved my sheep?80Pan came, and asked, what magic caused my smart,[29]Or what ill eyes[30]malignant glances dart?[31]What eyes but hers, alas, have pow'r to move![32]And is there magic but what dwells in love!Resound, ye hills, resound my mournful strains;85I'll fly from shepherds, flocks, and flow'ry plains,From shepherds, flocks, and plains, I may remove,Forsake mankind, and all the world—but love!I know thee, Love! on foreign mountains bred,[33]Wolves gave thee suck, and savage tigers fed.[34]90Thou wert from Ætna's burning entrails torn,Got by fierce whirlwinds, and in thunder born![35]Resound, ye hills, resound my mournful lay!Farewell, ye woods, adieu the light of day!One leap from yonder cliff shall end my pains,[36]95No more, ye hills, no more resound my strains!Thus sung the shepherds till th' approach of night,The skies yet blushing with departing light,[37]When falling dews with spangles decked the glade,And the low sun had lengthened ev'ry shade.[38]100

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