66 EPISTLE VI. TO MR. MURRAY. Nor to admire, is all the Art I know, “To make men happy, and to keep them so." (Plain Truth, dear MURRAY, needs no flow'rs of speech, So take it in the very words of Creech.) bThis Vault of Air, this congregated Ball, Self-center'd Sun, and Stars that rise and fall, EPISTOLA VI. NIL admirari, prope res est una, Numici, Solaque quae possit facere et servare beatum. bHunc solem, et stellas, et decedentia certis NOTES. 5 Ver. 3. dear MURRAY,] This piece is the most finished of all his imitations, and executed in the high manner the Italian Painters call con amore. By which they mean, the exertion of that principle, which puts the faculties on the stretch, and produces the supreme degree of excellence. For the Poet had all the warmth of affection for the great Lawyer to whom it is addressed; and, indeed, no man ever more deserved to have a Poet for his friend. In the obtaining of which, as neither Vanity, Party, nor Fear, had any share; so he supported his title to it by all the offices of true Friendship. Ver. 4. Creech.] From whose translation of Horace the two first lines are taken. Ver. 6. Stars that rise and fall,] The original is, decedentia certis Tempora momentis, which words simply and literally signify the change of seasons. But this change being considered as an object of admiration, his imitator has judiciously expressed it in the more sublime figurative terms of Stars that rise and fall; by whose courses the seasons are marked and distinguished There are, my Friend! whose philosophic eyes Admire we then what dEarth's low entrails hold, All the mad trade of eFools and Slaves for Gold? If weak the pleasure that from these can spring, Tempora momentis, sunt qui formidine nulla hQui timet his adversa, fere miratur eodem Quo cupiens pacto: pavor est utrobique molestus: Improvisa simul species exterret utrumque: 10 15 20 ¡Gaudeat, an doleat; cupiat, metuatne; quid ad rem, NOTES. Ver. 8. trust the Ruler with his skies-To him commit the hour,] Our Author, in these imitations, has been all along careful to correct the loose morals, and absurd divinity of his Original. Ver. 22. Whether we joy or grieve, the same the curse, The elegance of this is superior to the Original. The curse is the same (says he) whether we joy or grieve. Why so? Because in either case, the man is surprized, hurried off, and led away captive. (The Thus good or bad, to one extreme betray Th' unbalanc'd Mind, and snatch the Man away; And gaze on "Parian Charms with learned eyes: Si, quidquid vidit melius pejusve sua spe, Defixis oculis, animoque et corpore torpet? *Insani sapiens nomen ferat, aequus iniqui ; Ultra quam satis est, virtutem si petat ipsam. 1I nunc, argentum et marmor mvetus, aeraque et artes Suspice: cum gemmis "Tyrios mirare colores: Gaude, quod spectant oculite mille loquentem : 25 30 35 NOTES, (The good or bad to one extreme betray Th' unbalanc'd Mind, and snatch the Man away.) This happy advantage, in the imitation, arises from the ambiguity of the word surprize. Ver. 30. Procure a TASTE to double the surprize.] This is one of those superior touches that most ennoble a perfect piece. He speaks here of false taste, as appears by his directions how to get it, and how to use it when got. Procure a taste, says he. That is, of the Virtuosi; whose science you are to buy for that purpose; for true taste, which is from nature, comes itself. And how are you to use it? Not to cure you of that bane of life, admiration, but to raise and inflame it, by doubling your surprize. And this a false taste will always do, there being none so given to raptures as the Virtuoso Tribe; whereas, the Man of true Taste finds but few things to approve; and those he approves with moderation. From morn to night, at Senate, Rolls, and Hall, Shall One whom Nature, Learning, Birth conspir'd To form, not to admire but be admir'd, 41 Sigh, while his Chloe, blind to Wit and Worth, Weds the rich Dulness of some Son of earth? Gnavus pmane forum, et vespertinus pete tectum; 45 50 NOTES. Ver. 53. TULLY, HYDE!] Equal to either, in the ministry of his prefession. In this indeed, the parallel fails: TULLY'S brightest talents were frequently tarnished by Vanity and Fear; and HYDE's most virtuous purposes perverted and defeated by superstitious notions Concerning the divine origin of Government, and the unlimited obedience of the people. w Rack'd with Sciatics, martyr'd with the Stone, Will any mortal let himself alone? See Ward by batter'd Beaus invited over, Be virtuous, and be happy for your pains. y But art thou one, whom new opinions sway, One who believes as Tindal leads the way, Who Virtue and a Church alike disowns, 55 61 65 Thinks that but words, and this but brick and stones? Is wealth thy passion? Hence! from Pole to Pole, Prevent the greedy, and out-bid the bold: wSi latus aut rens morbo tentantur acuto, y virtutem verba putes, et Z Lucum ligna ? cave ne portus occupet alter: Mille talenta rotundentur, totidem altera, porro et 75 |