Page images
PDF
EPUB

Courage.

Pity.

Grief.

Horror.

Warning.

Directing.

Unlike that Hector, who return'd from toils
Of war triumphant in Eacian spoils;

Or him, who made the fainting Greeks retire,
Hurling amidst their fleets the Phrygian fire.
His hair and beard were clotted stiff with gore;
The ghastly wounds he for his country bore,
Now stream'd afresh.

I wept to see the visionary man,

And whilst my trance continu'd, thus began:
O light of Trojans, and support of Troy,
Thy father's champion, and thy country's joy!
O long expected by thy friends! from whence
Art thou so late return'd to our defence?

Alas! what wounds are these? What new disgrace
Deforms the manly honours of thy face?

'The spectre, groaning from his inmost breast,
This warning in these mournful words express'd;
Haste, goddess-born! Escape, by timely flight,
The flames and horrors of this fatal night.
The foes already have possess'd our wall;
Troy nods from high, and totters to her fall.
Enough is paid to Priam's royal name,
Enough to country, and to deathless fame.
If by a mortal arm my father's throne

Could have been sav'd, this arm the feat had done.
Troy now commends to thee her future state,
And gives her gods companions of thy fate.
Under their umbrage2 hope for happier walls,
And follow where thy various fortune calls.

"He said, and brought from forth the sacred choir, The gods, and relics of th' immortal fire.

1 "The spectre," &c. These two lines, and the ghost's speech, are to be spoken in a deep and hollow voice, slowly and solemnly, with little rising or falling.

[2" Umbrage" is here used in its primary sense, namely, shade; protection; auspices.]

8" He said, and," &c. Here the voice resumes its usual key.

Now peals of shouts come thund'ring from afar,
Cries, threats, and loud lament, and mingled war.
The noise approaches, though our palace stood
Aloof streets, embosom'd close with wood;
Louder and louder still, I hear th' alarms
Of human cries distinct, and clashing arms.
Fear broke my slumbers.

I mount the terrace; thence the town survey,
And listen what the swelling sounds convey.
Then Hector's faith was manifestly clear'd;
And Grecian fraud in open light appear'd.
The palace of Deiphobus ascends

In smoky flames, and catches on his friends.
Ucalegon' burns next; the seas are bright

With splendours not their own, and shine with spark-
ling light.

New clamours and new clangours now arise,
The trumpet's voice, with agonizing cries.
With frenzy seiz'd I run to meet th' alarms,
Resolv'd on death, resolv'd to die in arms.
But first to gather friends, with whom t' oppose,
If fortune favour'd, and repel the foes,
By courage rous'd, by love of country fir'd,
With sense of honour and revenge inspir'd.
Pantheus, Apollo's priest, a sacred name,

Had 'scap'd the Grecian swords, and pass'd the flame.
With relics loaded to my doors he fled,

And by the hand his tender grandson led.

Trepidation,

Courage.

Trepidation.

What hope, O Pantheus? Whither can we run? Questioning. Where make a stand? Or what may yet be done? Scarce had I spoke, when Pantheus, with a groan, Troy-is no more! Her glories now are gone.

66

[1"Ucalegon burns next." In imitation of the original, the owner of the house is, by metonymy, put for the house itself.] 2" Troy is no more." Such short periods, comprehending much in few words, may often receive additional force by a short pause between the nominative and the verb.

Grief.

Awe.

Horror.

The fatal day, th' appointed hour is come,
When wrathful Jove's irrevocable doom
Transfers the Trojan state to Grecian hands:
Our city's wrapt in flames; the foe commands.
To sev'ral posts their parties they divide;

Some block the narrow streets; some scour the wide.
The bold they kill; th' unwary they surprise;

Who fights meets death, and death finds him who
flies.

Dryden's Virgil.

Cringing.

Reproof.

Wonder.

XVI.-ASKING, REPROOF, APPROBATION.

A troop came next, who crowns and armour wore,'
And proud defiance in their looks they bore.

"For thee," they cried, "amidst alarms and strife,
We sail'd in tempests down the stream of life;
For thee whole nations fill'd with fire and blood,
And swam to empire through the purple flood.
Those ills we dar'd, thy inspiration own;

What virtue seem'd, was done for thee alone."
"Ambitious fools!" the queen replied and frown'd,
"Be all your deeds in dark oblivion drown'd.
There sleep forgot with mighty tyrants gone;
Your statues moulder'd and your names unknown.”
A sudden cloud straight snatch'd them from my sight,
And each majestic phantom sunk in night.

Then came the smallest tribe I yet had seen;
Plain was their dress, and modest was their mien.

The pupil, if he has not read the " Temple of Fame," (from which this extract is taken,) must be informed of the plot of the poem, viz. The author represents numbers of the pursuers of fame, as repairing, in crowds, to the temple of that goddess, in quest of her approbation, who are differently received by her, according to their respective merits, &c.

2 "Those ills," &c. The meaning of this line (which is not too obvious) is, "Our being guilty of such extravagances, shows how eager we were to obtain a name."

"Great idol of mankind! We neither claim
The praise of merit, nor aspire to fame;
But safe in deserts from th' applause of men,
Would die unheard of, as we liv'd unseen.

'Tis all we beg thee to conceal from sight
Those acts of goodness which themselves requite.
Oh, let us still the secret joy partake,

To follow virtue ev'n for virtue's sake."

Indifference

Delight.

"And live there men who slight immortal fame? Wonder. Who then with incense shall adore our name? But, mortals! know 'tis still our greatest pride

Informing.

Pleasing description.

To blaze those virtues which the good would hide.
Rise, Muses! Rise! Add all your tuneful breath! Exciting.
These must not sleep in darkness and in death.”
She said. 'In air the trembling music floats,
And on the winds triumphant swell the notes;
So soft, though high; so loud, and yet so clear;
Ev'n list'ning angels lean from heav'n to hear.
To farthest shores th' ambrosial spirit flies,
Sweet to the world, and grateful to the skies.
While thus I stood intent to see and hear,

One came, methought, and whisper'd in my ear:

"What could thus high thy rash ambition raise? Questioning

Art thou, fond youth! a candidate for praise?”
'Tis true, said I, not void of hopes I came ;

For who so fond, as youthful bards, of fame?
But few, alas! the casual blessing boast,

So hard to gain, so easy to be lost.

How vain that second life in others' breath,
Th' estate which wits inherit after death!

Ease, health, and life, for this they must resign
(Unsure the tenure, and how vast the fine!)

To be spoken as melodiously as possible.

2" What could thus high," &c., must be spoken with a lower voice than the foregoing.

with reproof

Apology.

Concern,

The great man's curse, without the gains, endure,
Though wretched, flatter'd, and though envied, poor.
All luckless wits their enemies profess'd,

And all successful, jealous friends at best.
Indifference Nor fame I slight, nor for her favours call;
She comes unlook'd for, if she comes at all.
But if the purchase costs so dear a price,

Apprehen- As soothing folly or exalting vice;
sion of evil.

And if the Muse must flatter lawless sway,
And follow still, where fortune leads the way:
Or if no basis bear my rising name,

But the fall'n ruins of another's fame,

Deprecation Then teach me, heav'n, to scorn the guilty bays, Drive from my breast that wretched lust of praise. Unblemish'd let me live, or die unknown;

Oh, grant me honest fame; or grant me none!

Pope.

Sneer, or

XVII. SATIRICAL DESCRIPTION.

'Tis from high life high characters are drawn: mock praise A saint in crape is twice a saint in lawn. A judge is just; a chanc'llor—juster still; A gownman, learn'd; a bishop-what you will; Wise, if a minister; but if a king,

Teaching.

Boasting.

Smooth.
Strut.

Sneak.

More wise, more just, more learn'd, more every thing.
'Tis education forms the common mind;
Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclin’d.
1Boastful and rough, your first son is a squire;
The next a tradesman, meek, and much a liar ;
Tom struts a soldier, open, bold, and brave;
Will sneaks a scriv'ner, an exceeding knave.

1 Though these lines contain descriptions, or characters, they may be expressed with action, almost as if they were speeches. This first line" Boastful and rough," &c., may be spoken with the action of boasting; and so for the rest.

« PreviousContinue »