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r

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To Mr. MURRAY.

OT to admire, is all the Art I know,

To make men happy, and to keep them fo." (Plain Truth, dear MURRAY, needs no flow'rs of speech,

So take it in the very words of Creech.)

b This Vault of Air, this congregated Ball, Self-center'd Sun, and Stars that rife and fall, There are, my Friend! whofe philofophic eyes Look thro', and truft the Ruler with his fkies, To him commit the hour, the day, the year, And view this dreadful All without a fear.

NOTES.

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ΙΟ

fons. But this change being confidered as an object of admiration, his imitator has judiciously expreffed it in the more fublime figurative terms of

"Stars that rife and fall,

by whofe courses the seasons are marked and distinguished. VER. 8.trust the Ruler with his fkies,

To him commit the bour,] Our Author, in these imitations, has been all along careful to correct the loofe morals, and abfurd theology of his Original.

4

VER. 10. And view this dreadful all without a fear.] He has added this idea to his text; and it greatly heightens

Imbuti fpectent. d quid cenfes, munera terrae ?
Quid, maris extremos Arabas ditantis et Indos?
Ludicra, quid, f plaufus, et amici dona Quiritis?
Quo fpectanda modo, & quo fenfu credis et ore?
h Qui timet his adverfa, fere miratur eodem
Quo cupiens pacto: pavor eft utrobique moleftus:
Improvifa fimul fpecies exterret utrumque :

i Gaudeat, an doleat; cupiat, metuatne; quid ad rem, Si, quidquid vidit melius pejufve fua fpe,

Defixis oculis, animoque et corpore torpet?

k Infani fapiens nomen ferat, aequus iniqui¿

Ultra quam fatis eft, virtutem fi petat ipfam.

NOTES.

the dignity of the whole thought. He gives it the appellation of a dreadful All, because the immenfity of God's creation, which modern philosophy has fo infinitely enlarged, is apt to affect narrow minds, who measure the divine comprehenfion by their own, with dreadful fufpicions of man's being overlooked in this dark and narrower corner of existence, by a Governor occupied and bufied with greater matters.

VER. 21. In either cafe, believe me, we admire ;] i. e. These objects, in either cafe, affect us, as objects unknown

Admire we then what & Earth's low entrails hold,
Arabian shores, or Indian feas infold

;

}

All the mad trade of e Fools and Slaves for Gold?
Orf Popularity? or Stars and Strings?

The Mob's applauses, or the gifts of Kings?
Say with what 8 eyes we ought at Courts to gaze,
And pay the Great our homage of Amaze?

If weak the a pleasure that from thefe can fpring, The fear to want them is as weak a thing: Whether we dread, or whether we defire,

In either cafe, believe me, we admire ;

Whether we i joy or grieve, the same the curse,
Surpriz❜d at better, or furpriz'd at worse.

Thus good or bad, to one extreme betray

15

20

Th' unbalanc'd Mind, and snatch the Man away; 25
For Virtue's felf may too much zeal be had;
The worst of Madmen is a Saint run mad.

NOTES.

affect the mind; and confequently betray us into false judgments.

VER. 22. Whether we joy or grieve, the fame the curfe, Surpriz'd at better, or furpriz'd at worse.] The elegance of this is fuperior to the Original. The curfe is the fame (says he) whether we joy or grieve. Why fo? Becaufe, in either cafe, the man is furprized, hurried off, and led away captive.

(The good or bad to one extreme betray

Th' unbalanc'd Mind, and snatch the Man away.) This happy advantage of the imitation over the Original arifes from the ambiguity of the word furprize.

VER. 27. The worst of Madmen is a Saint run mad.] Because when men are carried away by their paffions, as all

nunc, argentum et marmor m vetus, aeraque et

artes

Sufpice: cum gemmis m Tyrios mirare colores :

Gaude, quod fpectant oculi te o mille loquentem:

Gnavus P mane forum, et vefpertinus pete tectum;

¶ Ne plus frumenti dotalibus emetat agris

Mutus, et (indignum; quod fit pejoribus ortus)

Hic tibi fit potius, quam tu mirabilis illi.

Quicquid fub terra eft, in apricum proferet aetas ;

NOTES.

madmen are, he, who has joined the caufe of God to his own, muft needs do the moft mifchief; as this union gives him additional vigour in the purfuit of his extravagances.

·VER. 30. Procure a TASTE to double the furprize.] This is one of thofe fuperior touches that moft enoble a perfect piece. He speaks here of falfe taste, as appears by his directions how to get it; and how to use it when got. Procure a tafle, fays he. That is, of the Virtuofi; whofe fcience you are to buy for that purpose: for true taste, which is

1 Go then, and if you can, admire the state Of beaming diamonds, and reflected Plate Procure a TASTE to double the furprize,

e;

And gaze on Parian Charms with learned eyes: Be ftruck with bright Brocade, or Tyrian Dye, Our Birth-day Nobles' fplendid Livery.

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35

If not fo pleas'd, at Council-board rejoice,
To fee their Judgments hang upon thy Voice;
From P morn to night, at Senate, Rolls, and Hall,
Plead much, read more, dine late, or not at all.
But wherefore all this labour, all this ftrife?
For 1 Fame, for Riches, for a noble Wife?
Shall One whom Nature, Learning, Birth, confpir'd
To form, not to admire but be admir'd,

Sigh, while his Chloe blind to Wit and Worth
Weds the rich Dulness of fome Son of earth?

S

Yet Time ennobles, or degrades each Line;

41

It brighten❜d CRAGGS's, and may darken thine: 45

NOTES.

from nature, comes of 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 furprize. And this a falfe tafle will always do; there being none fo given to raptures as the Virtuofo Tribe: whereas the man of true tafte finds but few things to approve; and those, he approves with moderation.

VER. 44. Yet Time ennobles, or degrades each Line; It brighten'd Craggs's, and may darken thine:] One of the noblest houses in Europe.-The Original is,

"Quicquid fub terra eft, in apricum proferet aetas; "Defodiet, condetque nitentia.