XVII.
O hear a suppliant heart, all crush't And crumbled into contrite dust. My hope, my fear! my Iudge, my Freind! Take charge of me, and of my end.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
In st. vi. line 4, 'then' is = than, on which cf. our PHINEAS FLETCHER, as before: in st. xvi. line 1, '_Ite_' = 'go ye' of the Vulgate. 1670, st. ii. line 3, misprints 'these' for 'those:' st. viii. line 3, 'And Thou would'st be,' _i.e._ didst will to be,--not merely wished to be, but carried out Thy intent. G.
CHARITAS NIMIA, OR THE DEAR BARGAIN.[55]
Lord, what is man? why should he coste Thee 1 So dear? what had his ruin lost Thee? Lord, what is man? that thou hast ouerbought So much a thing of nought?
Loue is too kind, I see; and can 5 Make but a simple merchant-man. 'Twas for such sorry merchandise, Bold painters haue putt out his eyes.
Alas, sweet Lord, what wer't to Thee If there were no such wormes as we? 10 Heau'n ne're the lesse still Heau'n would be, Should mankind dwell In the deep Hell: What haue his woes to doe with Thee?
Let him goe weep 15 O're his own wounds; Seraphims will not sleep Nor spheares let fall their faithfull rounds. Still would the youthfull spirits sing; And still Thy spatious palace ring; 20 Still would those beauteous ministers of light Burn all as bright.
And bow their flaming heads before Thee: Still thrones and dominations would adore Thee; Still would those euer-wakefull sons of fire 25 Keep warm Thy prayse Both nights and dayes, And teach Thy lou'd name to their noble lyre.
Let froward dust then doe it's kind; And giue it self for sport to the proud wind. 30 Why should a peice of peeuish clay plead shares In the aeternity of Thy old cares? Why shouldst Thou bow Thy awfull brest to see What mine own madnesses haue done with me?
Should not the king still keepe his throne 35 Because some desperate fool's vndone? Or will the World's illustrious eyes Weep for euery worm that dyes.
Will the gallant sun E're the lesse glorious run? 40 Will he hang down his golden head Or e're the sooner seek his Western bed, Because some foolish fly Growes wanton, and will dy?
If I were lost in misery, 45 What was it to Thy Heaun and Thee? What was it to Thy pretious blood If my foul heart call'd for a floud?
What if my faithlesse soul and I Would needs fall in 50 With guilt and sin; What did the Lamb, that He should dy? What did the Lamb, that He should need, When the wolf sins, Himself to bleed?
If my base lust, 55 Bargain'd with Death and well-beseeming dust: Why should the white Lamb's bosom write The purple name Of my sin's shame? 60 Why should His vnstaind brest make good My blushes with His Own heart-blood?
O my Saviovr, make me see How dearly Thou hast payd for me, That lost again my life may proue, 65 As then in death, so now in loue.
S. MARIA MAIOR.
Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi, qui pascitur inter lilia. _Cant._ ii.
THE HIMN, O GLORIOSA DOMINA.[56]
Hail, most high, most humble one! 1 Aboue the world, below thy Son; Whose blush the moon beauteously marres And staines the timerous light of stares. He that made all things, had not done 5 Till He had made Himself thy Son: The whole World's host would be thy guest And board Himself at thy rich brest. O boundles hospitality! The Feast of all things feeds on thee. 10 The first Eue, mother of our Fall, E're she bore any one, slew all. Of her vnkind gift might we haue Th' inheritance of a hasty grave: Quick-burye'd in the wanton tomb 15 Of one forbidden bitt; Had not a better frvit forbidden it. Had not thy healthfull womb The World's new eastern window bin, And giuen vs heau'n again, in giuing Him. 20 Thine was the rosy dawn, that spring the Day Which renders all the starres she stole away. Let then the aged World be wise, and all Proue nobly here vnnaturall; 'Tis gratitude to forgett that other 25 And call the maiden Eue their mother. Yee redeem'd nations farr and near, Applaud your happy selues in her; (All you to whom this loue belongs) And keep't aliue with lasting songs. 30 Let hearts and lippes speak lowd; and say Hail, door of life: and sourse of Day! The door was shut, the fountain seal'd; Yet Light was seen and Life reueal'd. The door was shut, yet let in day, 35 The fountain seal'd, yet life found way. Glory to Thee, great virgin's Son In bosom of Thy Father's blisse. The same to Thee, sweet Spirit be done; As euer shall be, was, and is. Amen. 40
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
The heading in 1648 is simply 'The Virgin-Mother:' in 1670 it is 'The Hymn, O Gloriosa Domina.'
Line 2, 1648 reads 'the Son.'
" 10, our text (1652) misprints 'the' for 'thee.'
Line 21, I follow here the text of 1648. 1652 reads
'Thine was the rosy dawn that sprung the day.'
and this is repeated in 1670 and, of course, by TURNBULL.
Line 26, 1648 has 'your' for 'their.'
" 35 is inadvertently dropped in our text (1652), though the succeeding line (with which it rhymes) appears. I restore it. 1670 also drops it; and so again TURNBULL!
Lines 43-44, 'Because some foolish fly.' This metaphorical allusion to the Fall and its results (as described by MILTON and others) is founded on the dying of various insects after begetting their kind. G.
HOPE.[57]
Hope, whose weak beeing ruin'd is 1 Alike if it succeed or if it misse! Whom ill and good doth equally confound, And both the hornes of Fate's dilemma wound. Vain shadow; that dost vanish quite 5 Both at full noon and perfect night! The starres haue not a possibility Of blessing thee. If thinges then from their end we happy call, 'Tis Hope is the most hopelesse thing of all. 10
Hope, thou bold taster of delight! Who in stead of doing so, deuourst it quite. Thou bringst vs an estate, yet leau'st vs poor By clogging it with legacyes before. The ioyes which we intire should wed 15 Come deflour'd-virgins to our bed. Good fortunes without gain imported be Such mighty custom's paid to thee For ioy, like wine kep't close, doth better tast; If it take air before, his spirits wast. 20
Hope, Fortun's cheating lottery, Where for one prize, an hundred blankes there be. Fond anchor, Hope! who tak'st thine aime so farr That still or short or wide thine arrows are; Thinne empty cloud which th' ey deceiues 25 With shapes that our own fancy giues. A cloud which gilt and painted now appeares But must drop presently in teares: When thy false beames o're reason's light preuail, By _ignes fatvi_ for North starres we sail. 30
Brother of Fear, more gaily clad, The merryer fool o' th' two, yet quite as mad. Sire of Repentance, child of fond desire That blow'st the chymick's and the louer's fire. Still leading them insensibly on 35 With the strong witchcraft of 'anon.' By thee the one does changing nature, through Her endlesse labyrinths pursue; And th' other chases woman; while she goes More wayes and turnes then hunted Nature knowes. 40
M. COWLEY.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
In all the editions save that of 1652 the respective portions of COWLEY and CRASHAW are alternated as Question and Answer, after a fashion of the day exemplified by _Pembroke_ and RUDYARD and others. The heading in 1646, 1648 and 1670 accordingly is 'On Hope, by way of Question and Answer, between A. COWLEY and R. CRASHAW.'
_Various readings from 1646 edition._
Line 3, 'and' for 'or,' and 'doth' for 'does.'
" 7, 'Fates' for 'starres:' but as Fate occurs in line 4, 'starres' seems preferable.
Line 9, 'ends' for 'end.'
" 18, 'so' for 'such.'
" 19, 'doth' for 'does;' adopted.
" 20, 'its' for 'his;' the personification warrants 'his.'
" 25. All the other editions misread
'Thine empty cloud, the eye it selfe deceives.'
There can be no question that 'thinne' not 'thine' was the poet's word. Cf. CRASHAW'S reference in his Answer. TURNBULL perpetuates the error.
Line 30, 'not' for 'for.'
" 33, 'shield' in all the editions save 1652 by mistake.
" 34, 'blows' and 'chymicks' for 'chymick;' the latter adopted.
Line 37, as in line 19.
" 38, spelled 'laborinths.'
In our Essay see critical remarks showing that COWLEY and CRASHAW revised their respective portions. It seems to have escaped notice that COWLEY himself wrote another poem '_For_ Hope,' as his former was '_Against_ Hope.' See it in our Study of Crashaw's Life and Poetry. G.
M. CRASHAW'S ANSWER FOR HOPE.[58]
Dear Hope! Earth's dowry, and Heaun's debt! 1 The entity of things that are not yet. Subtlest, but surest beeing! thou by whom Our nothing has a definition! Substantiall shade! whose sweet allay 5 Blends both the noones of Night and Day: Fates cannot find out a capacity Of hurting thee. From thee their lean dilemma, with blunt horn, Shrinkes, as the sick moon from the wholsome morn. 10
Rich hope! Loue's legacy, vnder lock Of Faith! still spending, and still growing stock! Our crown-land lyes aboue, yet each meal brings A seemly portion for the sonnes of kings. Nor will the virgin ioyes we wed 15 Come lesse vnbroken to our bed, Because that from the bridall cheek of Blisse Thou steal'st vs down a distant kisse. Hope's chast stealth harmes no more Ioye's maidenhead Then spousal rites preiudge the marriage bed. 20 Fair hope! Our earlyer Heau'n! by thee Young Time is taster to Eternity: Thy generous wine with age growes strong, not sowre, Nor does it kill thy fruit, to smell thy flowre. Thy golden, growing head neuer hangs down 25 Till in the lappe of Loue's full noone It falls; and dyes! O no, it melts away As doth the dawn into the Day: As lumpes of sugar loose themselues, and twine Their subtile essence with the soul of wine. 30
Fortune? alas, aboue the World's low warres Hope walks; and kickes the curld heads of conspiring starres. Her keel cutts not the waues where these winds stirr, Fortune's whole lottery is one blank to her. Her shafts and shee, fly farre above, 35 And forage in the fields of light and love. Sweet Hope! kind cheat! fair fallacy! by thee We are not where nor what we be, But what and where we would be. Thus art thou Our absent presence, and our future now. 40
Faith's sister! nurse of fair desire! Fear's antidote! a wise and well-stay'd fire! Temper 'twixt chill Despair, and torrid Ioy! Queen regent in yonge Loue's minority! Though the vext chymick vainly chases 45 His fugitiue gold through all her faces; Though Loue's more feirce, more fruitlesse, fires assay: One face more fugitiue then all they; True Hope's a glorious huntresse, and her chase, The God of Nature in the feilds of grace. 50
NOTES.
_Various readings from 1646 edition._
Line 2, 'things' for 'those;' adopted. But in HARLEIAN MS. 6917-18, it is 'those.' As this MS. supplies in poems onward various excellent readings (_e.g._ 'Wishes'), it may be noted that the Collection came from Lord Somers' Library of MSS., and is accordingly authoritative.
Lines 5-6 read
'Faire cloud of fire, both shade and light Our life in death, our day in night.'
Our text (1652) seems finer and deeper, and to put the thought with more concinnity.
Line 9, 'thinne' for 'lean.'
" 10, 'like' for 'as.'
" 11, 'Rich hope' dropped in all the other editions; but as it is parallel with the 'dear Hope' and 'fair Hope' of the preceding and succeeding stanzas, I have restored the words. The line reads elsewhere,
'Thou art Love's Legacie under lock'
and the next,
'Of Faith: the steward of our growing stock.'
Line 13, 'crown-lands lye.'
" 18, 'Thou thus steal'st downe a distant kisse.'
" 19, 'Hope's chaste kisse wrongs.'...
" 24, 'Nor need wee.'...
" 25, 'growing' is dropped.
" 28, 'doth' for 'does;' adopted.
" 30, 'subtile' for 'supple;' adopted: but in HARLEIAN MS. as before, it is 'supple.'
Lines 31-32. This couplet is oddly misprinted in all the other editions,
'Fortune, alas, above the world's law warres, Hope kicks the curld'....
In 1670 there is a capital L to Law: but 'low' yields the evident meaning intended. Alas is = exclamation simply, not in our present limitation of it to sorrow. See Epitaph of HERRYS onward, lines 49-52.
Line 33, 'our' for 'these;' the latter necessary in its relation to 'low' not 'law,' the 'winds' being those of the 'warres' of our world.
Line 34, 'And Fate's' for 'Fortune's.'
" 35-36 dropped by our text (1652) inadvertently.
" 36, 'or' for 'nor.'
" 45, 'And' for 'Though.'
" 47, 'huntresse' for 'hunter;' adopted.
" 48, 'field' for 'fields.'
" 49. I prefer 'huntresse' of 1646, 1648 and 1670, to 'hunter' of our text (1652). G.
=Sacred Poetry.=