Chapter 18

Careless! bring your apprehension along with you.

CONGREVE.

If I have written a sentence, or a word, that can bear a captious or unreasonable construction, I earnestly intreat a more lenient interpretation. When a man feels acutely, he may perhaps speak at times more pointedly than he ought; yet, in the present instance, I am conscious of no sentiment which I could wish to alter.

BISHOPJEBB.

νὴ τὸν Ποσειδῶ, καὶ λέγει γ᾽, ἅπερ λέγει,δίκαια πάντα, κοὐδὲν αὐτῶν ψεύδεται.ARISTOPHANES.

Will you be true?TRO. Who, I? alas, it is my vice, my fault.While others fish with craft for great opinion,I with great truth catch mere simplicity.Whilst some with cunning gild their copper crowns,With truth and plainness I do wear mine bare.Fear not my truth; the moral of my witIs—‘plain and true;’ there's all the reach of it.SHAKESPEARE.

—come augel che pria s'avventa e temeStassi fra i rami paventoso e soloMirando questo ed or quell' altro colle;Cosi mi levo e mi ritengo insieme,L'ale aguzzando al mio dubbioso volo.GIUSTO DE' CONTI.

Whosoever be reader hereof maie take it by reason for a riche and a newe labour; and speciallie princes and governours of the common wealth, and ministers of justice, with other. Also the common people eche of theim maie fynd the labour conveniente to their estate. And herein is conteigned certaine right highe and profounde sentences, and holsome counsaylles, and mervaillous devyses agaynste the encumbraunce of fortune; and ryght swete consolacions for theim that are overthrowen by fortune. Finally it is good to them that digeste it, and thanke God that hath given such grace to the Auctour in gevyng us example of vertuous livyng, with hye and salutary doctrynes, and marvailous instructions of perfectness.—A ryght precious meale is the sentences of this boke; but fynally the sauce of the saied swete style moveth the appetyte. Many bookes there be of substanciall meates, but they bee so rude and so unsavery, and the style of so small grace, that the first morcell is lothsome and noyfull; and of suche bookes foloweth to lye hole and sounde in lybraries; but I trust this will not. Of trouth great prayse is due to the auctour of his travayle.

LORDBERNERS.

The current that with gentle murmur glides,Thou know'st, being stopp'd, impatiently doth rage;But when his fair course is not hindered,He makes sweet music with the enamel'd stones,Giving a gentle kiss to every sedgeHe overtaketh in his pilgrimage;And so by many winding nooks he strays,With willing sport, to the wild ocean.Then let me go, and hinder not my course;I'll be as patient as a gentle stream,And make a pastime of each weary step,Till the last step have brought me to my rest.SHAKESPEARE.

Sith you have long time drawn the weeds of my wit and fed yourselves with the cockle of my conceits, I have at last made you gleaners of my harvest, and partakers of my experience.—Here shall you find the style varying according to the matter, suitable to the style, and all of these aimed to profit. If the title make you suspect, compare it with the matter, it will answer you; if the matter, apply it with the censures of the learned, they will countenance the same; of the handling I repent me not, for I had rather you should condemn me for default in rhetorick, than commend my style and lament my judgement. Thus resolved both of the matter, and satisfied in my method, I leave the whole to your judgements; which, if they be not depraved with envy, will be bettered in knowledge, and if not carried away with opinion, will receive much profit.

THOMASLODGE.

This good Wine I present, needs no Ivy-bush. They that taste thereof shall feel the fruit to their best content, and better understanding. The learned shall meet with matter to refresh their memories; the younger students, a directory to fashion their discourse; the weakest capacity, matter of wit, worth and admiration.

T. L. D. M. P's. Epistle Prefatoryto the Learned Summarie uponthe famous Poem of Williamof Salust, Lord of BARTAS.

This fellow pecks up wit, as pigeon's pease,And utters it again when Jove doth please;He is wit's pedlar, and retails his wares.LOVE'SLABOURLOST.

Imagination thro' the trickOf Doctors, often makes us sick;And why, let any sophist tell,May it not likewise make us well!CHURCHILL.

His mind fastensOn twenty several objects, which confoundDeep sense with folly.WEBSTER.

It is a crown unto a gentle breast,To impart the pleasure of his flowing mind,(Whose sprightly motion never taketh rest)To one whose bosom he doth open find.THOMASSCOTT.

—Be prepared to hear:And since you know you cannot see yourselfSo well as by reflection, I, your glass,Will modestly discover to yourselfThat of yourself which you yet know not of.SHAKESPEARE.

And whereas in my expression I am very plain and downright, and in my teaching part seem to tautologize, it should be considered, (and whoever has been a teacher will remember) that the learners must be plainly dealt with, and must have several times renewed unto them the same thing.—Therefore I have chosen so to do in several places, because I had rather (in such cases) speak three words too many, than one syllable too few.

THOMASMACE.

Lire et repasser souventSur Athenes et sur Rome,C'est dequoy faire un Sçavant,Mais, non pas un habile homme.Meditez incessamment,Devorez livre apres livre,D'est en vivant seulementQue vous apprendrez à vivre.Avant qu'en sçavoir les loix,La clarté nous est ravie:Il faudroit vivre deux foisPour bien conduire sa vie.DECHARLEVAL.

If we could hit on't, gallants, there are dueCertain respects from writers, and from you.PROLOGUE TO THEADVENTURES OFFIVEHOURS.

—Here you have a piece so subtly writMen must have wit themselves to find the wit.EPILOGUE TO THEADVENTURES OFFIVEHOURS.

All puddings have two ends, and most short sayingsTwo handles to their meaning.LORDDIGBY.

Reader, Now I send thee like a Bee to gather honey out of flowers and weeds; every garden is furnished with either, and so is ours. Read and meditate; thy profit shall be little in any book, unless thou read alone, and unless thou read all and record after.

HENRYSMITH.

The most famous of the Pyramids was that of Hermes.—Through each door of this Pyramid was an entrance into seven apartments, called by the names of the Planets. In each of them was a golden Statue. The biggest was in the apartment of Osiris, or the Sun. It had a book upon its forehead, and its hand upon its mouth. Upon the outside of the Book was written this inscription.I must be read in a profound silence.

TRAVELS OFCYRUS.

—Facio ego ut solent, qui quanto plus aliquem mirantur et explicare volunt quod sentiunt, eo minus id assequuntur quod volunt, ut quamquam magnum aliquid animo concipiunt, verba tamen desint, et moliri potius quàm dicere potuisse videantur.

HERMOLAUSBARBARUSJO. PICOMIRANDULÆ.

Nihil mihi potest esse beatius quam scire; discendum verò ut sciamus. Ego quidem sapientiæ ambitum, tanquam animi nostri ærarium quoddam semper judicavi, id quod communia commentationum nostrarum vectigalia inferenda censeo, sed proba; unde sibi suum quisque in usum sumat sine invidia atque simultate.

J. C. SCALIGER.

Feliz yerba es la yedra, si se enramaA un muro altivo, á quien no alcanza el corteDe la envidia; puer queda con su altura,El mas vistoso, y ella mas segura.BALBUENA, ELBERNARDO.

—en poco tiempo te he dicholo que passò en mucho tiempo.CALDERON, ELMAESTRO DEDANZAR.

I'll range the plenteous intellectual field,And gather every thought of sovereign powerTo chase the moral maladies of man;Thoughts which may bear transplanting to the skies,Nor wholly wither there where Seraphs sing,Refined, exalted,—not annull'd—in heaven.YOUNG.

Let every man enjoy his whim;What's he to me, or I to him.CHURCHILL.

And whereas I may seem too smart or satyrical in some particular places, I do not at all repent me, as thinking what is said to such ill-deserving persons much too little.

THOMASMACE.

—Play the fool with wits,'Gainst fools be guarded, 'tis a certain ruleWits are safe things; there's danger in a fool.CHURCHILL.

And in this thought they find a kind of ease,Bearing their own misfortune on the backOf such as have before endured the like.RICHARDII.

Our life indeed has bitterness enoughTo change a loving nature into gall:Experience sews coarse patches on the stuffWhose texture was originally allSmooth as the rose-leaf's, and whose hues were brightAs are the colours of the weeping cloudWhen the sun smiles upon its tears.MRS. LENOXCONYNGHAM.

Thus much we know, eternal bliss and pure,By God's unfailing promise, is secureTo them who their appointed lot endureMeekly, striving to fulfil,In humble hopefulness, God's will.MRS. LENOXCONYNGHAM.

I thowt how hard it is to denyeA ladye's preyer, wych after the ententOf the poete is a myghty comaundement;Wherfore me thoht as in this caasThat my wyt war lakkyd bettyr it wasThat my wyl, and therfore to doMy ladyes preyer I assentyd to.OSBERNBOKENAM.

Al peco de los añoslo eminente se rinde;que à lo facil del tiempono ay conquista dificil.CALDERON.

We only meet on earthThat we may know how sad it is to part:And sad indeed it were, if in the heartThere were no store reserved against a dearth,No calm Elysium for departed Mirth,Haunted by gentle shadows of past pleasure,Where the sweet folly, the light-footed measure,And graver trifles of the shining hearthLive in their own dear image.HARTLEYCOLERIDGE.

Sweet are the thoughts that smother from conceit:For when I come and sit me down to rest,My chair presents a throne of majesty;And when I set my bonnet on my head,Methinks I fit my forehead for a crown;And when I take a truncheon in my fist,A sceptre then comes tumbling in my thoughts.ROBERTGREENE.

Quandquam verò hoc mihi non polliceri possum, me ubique veritatem quam sectatus sum, assecutum esse; sed potius eo fine ea proposui, ut et alios ad veritatis investigationem invitarem: tamen ut rectè Galenus habet, τολμητέον τε καὶ ξητητεὸν τὸ ἀληθὲς, εἰ γὰρ καὶ μὴ τύχομεν αὐτοῦ πάντως, δήπου πλησιέστερον ἢ νῦν ἐσμὲν ἀφιζόμεθα. Audendum est, et veritas investiganda, quam etiamsi non assequamur, omnino tamen propius quam nunc sumus, ad eam perveniemus. Quo verò ego animo ad scribendum accessi, eo ut alii ad legendum accedant, opto.

SENNERTUS.

I do confess the imperfect performance. Yet I must take the boldness to say, I have not miscarried in the whole; for the mechanical part of it is regular. That I may say with as little vanity, as a builder may say he has built a house according to the model laid down before him, or a gardener that he has set his flowers in a knot of such or such a figure.

CONGREVE.

As wheresoever these leaves fall, the root is in my heart, so shall they have ever true impressions thereof. Thus much information is in very leaves, that they can tell what the Tree is; and these can tell you I am a friend and an honest man.

DONNE.

On ne recognoistroit les monts, sans les valees;Et les tailles encor artistement mesleesEn œuvre mosaÿque, ont, pour plus grand beauté,Divers prix, divers teint, diverse quantité.Dieu veuille qu'en mes chants la plus insigne tacheSemble le moucheron qu'une pucelle attacheA sa face neigeuse, et que bien peu d'erreursDonnent lustre aux beaux traicts de mes hautes fureurs.DUBARTAS, LAMAGNIFICENCE.

Hills were not seen but for the vales betwixt;The deep indentings artificial mixtAmid mosaicks, for mere ornament,Have prizes, sizes and dyes different.And, Oh, God grant, the greatest spot you spyIn all my frame, may be but as the fly,Which on her ruff, (whiter than whitest snows)To whiten white, the fairest virgin sows,(Or like the velvet on her brow, or likeThe dunker mole on Venus' dainty cheek,)And that a few faults may but lustre bringTo my high furies where I sweetest sing.SYLVESTER.

Be as capricious and sick-brained as ignorance and malice can make thee, here thou art rectified; or be as healthful as the inward calm of an honest heart, learning, and temper can state thy disposition, yet this book may be thy fortunate concernment and companion.

SHIRLEY.

Humble and meek befitteth men of years,Behold my cell, built in a silent shade,Holding content for poverty and peace,And in my lodge is fealty and faith,Labour and love united in one league.I want not, for my mind affordeth wealth,I know not envy, for I climb not high;Thus do I live, and thus I mean to die.ROBERTGREENE.

The events of to-day make us look forward to what will happen to-morrow; those of yesterday carry our views into another world.

DANBY.

Mine earnest intent is as much to profit as to please,non tam ut populo placerem, quam ut populum juvarem:and these my writings shall take, I hope like gilded pills, which are so composed as well to tempt the appetite and deceive the palate, as to help and medicinally work upon the whole body. My lines shall not only recreate, but rectify the mind.

BURTON.

—Sit thou a patient looker on;Judge not the play, before the play is done,Her plot has many changes; every daySpeaks a new scene, the last act crowns the play.QUARLES.

Lord, if thy gracious bounty please to fillThe floor of my desires, and teach me skillTo dress and chuse the corn, take those the chaff that will.QUARLES.

Je n'ay pas plus faict mon livre, que mon livre m'a faict,—livre consubstantiel à son autheur.

MONTAIGNE.

—se le parole che usa lo scrittore portan seco un poco, non dirà di difficultà, ma d'acutezza recondita, et non cosi nota, come quelle che si dicono parlando ordinariamente, danno una certa maggior auttorità alla scrittura, et fanno che il lettore va piu ritenuto, et sopra di se, et meglio considera, et si diletta dell' ingegno et dottrina di chi scrive; et col buon giudicio affaticandosi un poco gusta quel piacere, che s'ha nel conseguir le cose difficili. Et se l'ignorantia di chi legge è tanta, che non posse superar quella difficultà, non è la colpa dello scrittore.

CASTIGLIONE, ILCORTIGIANO.

Certo estava eu que o Doutor sabia de tudo o que disse, nao só os termos e fundamentos, mas acuda o mas difficultoza, e substancial;—mas o praticar dellas de modo, que eu as entendesse, he graça de seu saber, e naõ sufficiencia do meu ingenho.

FRANCISCORODRIGUESLOBO.

Sir, Our greatest business is more in our power than the least, and we may be surer to meet in Heaven than in any place upon earth; and whilst we are distant here, we may meet as often as we list in God's presence, by soliciting in our prayers for one another.

DONNE.

Or ti riman, Lettor, sovra 'l tuo banco,Dietro pensando a ciò che si preliba,S'esser vuoi lieto assai prima che stanco.Messo t'ho innanzi; omai per te li ciba;Che a se ritorce tutta la mia curaQuella materia ond'io son fatto scriba.DANTE.

I have been often told that nobody now would read any thing that was plain and true;—that was accounted dull work, except one mixed something of the sublime, prodigious, monstrous, or incredible; and then they would read the one for the sake of the other.—So rather than not be read, I have put in a proportionable little of the monstrous. If any thing be found fault with, it is possible I may explain and add.

HUTCHINSON.

Who seeketh in thee for profit and gainOf excellent matter soon shall attain.T. H.

Pay me like for like; give me good thoughts for great studies; and at leastwise shew me this courtly courtesy to afford me good words, which cost you nothing, for serious thoughts hatched up with much consideration. Thus commending my deserts to the learned, and committing my labour to the instruction of the ignorant, I bid you all heartily farewell.

LAZARUSPIOT.

Even at this time, when I humbly thank God, I ask and have his comfort of sadder meditations, I do not condemn in myself that I have given my wit such evaporations as these.

DONNE.

Gentle Reader—for if thou art fond of such works as these, thou are like to be the Gentleman and the Scholar—I take upon me to advertise thee that the Printer of THEDOCTOR, &C. is William Nicol of the Shakspeare Press—the long tried Friend of the lamented Southey, and of their mutual Friend, the late Grosvenor Bedford, of Her Majesty's Exchequer—

Felices animæ, et quales neque candidioresTerra tulit!

The Sonnet following, Gentle Reader, I do thee to wit, is the composition of the above kind hearted and benevolent William Nicol—and I wish it to be printed, because on Grosvenor Bedford's last short visit to Southey in 1836, he expressed himself much pleased with it. May be, if thou art fond of the gentle craft, it may please thee too, and so I wish thee heartily farewell!

Who wrote THEDOCTOR? Who's the scribe unknown?—Time may discover, when the grave has closedIts earthy jaws o'er us, who now are posedTo father that which greatest pen might own;Learning diffuse, quaint humour, lively wit,Satire severe and bold, or covert, sly,Turning within itself the mental eyeTo fancies strange that round its orbit flit,Unknown to others and by self scarce seen;Teaching, in sweetest English, England's plan,—When England was herself, her laurels green—Honour to God and charity to man:Who wrote the Doctor? her best Son, I ween,Whether his works, or his fair life you scan.

THEEDITOR.

W. NICOL, 60 PALL-MALL.

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