No More Learning

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? 64 , Scanning.
Though ne'er to rich*, we scorn the elf
Whose only praise is sordid pelf.
* Never to ricA. --Some modern grammarians condemn
phrases of this kind, as improper, and, in their stead, recom-
mend Ever so I would very cheerfully subscribe to their
opinion, if I only could understand the latter phrase, so as to
extract from it a satisfactory meaning: but that, I own, is a task
which exceeds ray abilities. For example: "It is a fine day;
will you take a walk f"--" No: if it were EVER SO fine a day,
I would not go out. "--To discover the meaning of this reply, I
first consider that Ever signifies Always; and then I understand
it thus--" If it were ALWAYS [from the present moment
to the end of time] as fine a day as it now is, I would not go
out this day. "--Surely this cannot be what is intended by thos*
who use or recommend the phrase: they cannot mean that my
walking or not walking this day shall depend on the state of the
weather ten thousand years hence, and that, in the interim, we
are to have no nights, but, all along, one un-interrupted fine
day ! Yet such is the only meaning that I can discover in the
sentence. --But what means Never so ? On examination, it will
prove to be a beautiful phrase, and pregnant with energetic
sense. It is, in fact, an elliptic expression, as the French Non-
pareil, and the well-known English None such. --When, for ex-
ample, we say, of a lady, that " She is a none such," we cer-
tainly do not mean that she is A NONE, or A NOBODY, such
as some other lady, whose name is charitably suppressed; but
that she is a woman so good, so fair, (or whatever else may be
her praise) that none such [none equal to her in that respect]
can be found. Let us, in like manner, supply the ellipsis in the
phrase, Never so fine. " If this day were fine to such degree,
that NEVER SO FINE a day has smiled from the heavens,
1 would not go out. "--This simple and obvious interpretation
gives us good and satisfactory sense, perfectly according with the
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65
Each heart, in suff'ring virtue's cause,
Shall swell amid the loud applause.
For thee shall bud the purple vine,
For thee her sparkling juice refine.
invariable import of the phrase Never to. . . ,, as used by the best
writers of past days, and, among others, by our translators
of the Bible, who have more than once employed it. Hence it
appears that we may, with equal propriety, and equally strong
significancy, use the expression, " Were the NEVER so fair,'
as " Sfie is a NONE-SUCH;" which latter, I believe, no'gram-
marian has yet ventured to change into One-such; though the
innovation might be attempted on equally good [or bad] grounds
in this case as in the former, since Never so, and None-such are
twin phrases, which must stand or fall together. In fact, Never
so fair is, as nearly as possible, equivalent to None so fair, and
None-such to Never such; the negative producing, in both
cases alike, the effect of asserting that the world has not [or ne-
ver] yet possessed her equal. --A nearly similar idea of unpa-
ralleled, and, as it were, exclusively superlative excess, was evi-
dently intended to be conveyed by the antiquated form," who
but. . . . ? as in the following passage of Dryden--
Who now but Arcite mourns his bitter fate ?
i. e. " Who can now be at all said to mourn, in comparison with
Arcite? --What grief could ever equal his? --Never so poignant
grief was felt by human being. ''--In like manner we are to un-
derstand these two other passages of the same poet--
Who now but Palamon exults with joy ?
Who now laments but Palamon, compell'd
No more to try the fortune of the field ?
See the note on " Exceeding" and " Exceedingly," page 38.
v3
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? 66 Scanning.
To him the joyous hours I owe,
That Bath's enchanting scenes bestow.
With joy I hear the solemn sound,
Which midnight echoes waft around.
The pilot warns, with sail and oar
To shun the much-suspected shore.
From nature too I take my rule,
To shun contempt and ridicule.
How soft the chain, the bond how sweet,
Where merit, virtue, wisdom, meet!
The man alone is truly great, >>
Who knows to conquer adverse fate.
The louring clouds portend a show'r :
With hasty steps I quit the bow'r.
The angry storm in thunder roars,
And sounding billows lash the shores.
Through woods and wilds, we vagrant roam,
And never reach our destin'd home.
s
With mingled roar, resounds the wood:
Their teeth, their claws, distil with blood.
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Adieu, ye flow'rs, so sweet and fair,
That droop for want of Myra's care.
To humbler strains, ye Nine, descend,
And greet my poor sequester'd friend.
With awe we view thy placid form.
Serene amid the raging storm.
A day as welcome, sure, to you,
As any day you ever knew.
While Ev'ning sheds her balmy dews,
I court the chaste inspiring Muse.
A cheerless waste before me lay,
Where, wand'ring, soon L lost my way.
When life's the stake for which we play,
Our lesser * int'rests all give way.
* Letter and Worser are condemned by many grammarians,
as barbarisms; and it must be owned, that, at first sight, they
might naturally enough be considered as such. But, on more
miuute examination, I humbly conceive, with all due deference
to the learning and judgement of those grammarians, that the
words may be defended. Our language is universally allowed
to be of German origin : and, on tracing the family likeness be-
tween the features of the present English and those of the Ger-
man which gave it birth, it appears to me that the expressions in
question are perfectly legitimate, and entitled to respect, or at
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? 68 Scanning.
The fox, with prowling fearful mien,
At ev'ning pac'd the dewy green.
My musing solemn way I took,
Where craggy rocks a stream o'erlook.
Mistaken* fair! thy plaints give o'er,
Nor ever wish for tempting ore ;
For gold too often proves the bait,
By which we purchase scorn and hate.
least to indulgence, as venerable reliques of antiquity. The
termination ER is not here a comparative termination, any more
than in Sell-er, Bvy-er,6tc. It has no reference whatever to
comparison ; and, to this day, the Germans add it, for the mas-
culine gender, to the adjective in the abstract, as Gut, good--FAn
guter tuann, a good man (not a better man); in which cases, it
produces an effect not very dissimilar to that which it produces
on verbs; that is to say, as ER, added to a verb (Sell, Seller),
designates a man who does what the verb imports, so ER, added
to an adjective, designates a man who is what the adjective sig-
nifies. This application, however, is not confined to man alone,
but extends to every masculine noun. --And be it observed, that
Lesser and Worser are not the only examples of that Germaniim
which have survived the various changes of language in this
island, since we see the old adjective Yond still retaining the syl-
labic addition ER in Yonder, where no comparison is intended.
Some philologists may be disposed to view in the same light the
adjective Nether, from the antique Ne. th or Neath [Low], which
we still retain in Beneath [Be-lozo] : but, as Nether will, in most
cases, admit (though not absolutely require) a comparative inter-
pretation, I leave it to the decision of others.
* Mistaken. --Some grammarians have condemned this ex-
pression, though approved by all our best and most accurate
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And what avails the voice of fame,
The laurel'd bust, the deathless name,
The only meed the poet gains,
For all his sorrows, all his pains ?
writers, and, in its stead, have recommended Mistaking. But
this Mistaking quite alters the sense, and would, in many cases,
produce the assertion of a falsehood: e. gr. " He thought the
law could not reach his crimes: yet he was hanged for them. "
Here a mistaken man was hanged, but not a mistaking man :
for he was under no mistake at the time of execution; his pre-
vious trial and condemnation having completely removed his patt
mistake respecting the law. --Further, if Mistaken (actively and
adjectively used) is to be banished from our language, what is
to become of Sworn, Drunken, Fallen, Grown, Rotten, Swollen,
and some other participles, used in the same manner, and with
acknowledged propriety ? Must we convert a sworn appraiser
into a swearing appraiser, i. e. an appraiser addicted to swear-
ing? --a fallen tower into a falling tower, i. e. now falling,
though it has fallen several centuries ago ? --a drunken man into
a drinking man, i. e. a man now drinking, though perfectly
sober, and drinking pure water? a grown man into a growing
nan, i. e. a youth or boy of any age or size, growing up to
manhood, but not yet arrived at his full growth? --a rotten tree
into a rotting tree, perhaps only just beginning to rot, instead of
being completely rotten throughout? My readers, I presume,
will hardly vote for these preposterous innovations, but wish to
retain the good old forms, Sworn, Fallen, Drunken, fyc. Toge-
ther with them, let us also retain Mistaken, and, both m writing
and in speaking, congratulate ourselves on having a few such very
convenient participles of the past tense active, as Come, Gone,
Risen, Sprung, &c. Every classical scholar justly admires the
beauty, the harmony, the conciseness, the perspicuity, result-
ing from the active participles of the past tenses in the Greek
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? 70 Scanning.
A rosy smile o'erspreads her face :
Her mien assumes a softer grace :
She waves her snowy hand ; and, see !
My gentle lyre, she points to thee.
She lakes, she tunes my trembling lyre;
And, swelling, lo ! the notes aspire.
She strikes the chords; and, all around,
The list'ning Echoes drink the sound.
Pure Iambic vtrses of ten syllables, or five feet,
having the accent uniformly placed on the second,
fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth syllables, as
a sud-l-den blush | mflames | the wa-l-vmg sky,
and now | tbe cnm-i-son cur-l-tams 6-l-pen rly
Again, my Muse, expand thy feeble wing,
And wake, with bolder touch, the trembling string.
If e'er with wreaths I hung thy . sacred fane,
Or fed the flames with fat of oxen slain.
The cross so strong a red, it sheds a stain,
Where'er it floats, on earth and sea and main.
language, and regrets tout the Latin has so few of them. Let
nott/i, who have still fewer, consent to diminish oar number,
and thus reduce ourselves to the necessity of an aukward peri-
phrase, to express an idea which we can now conveniently com-
prise in a single word. --In the preceding remarks, I have used
the term active, merely in opposition to passive, without re-
garding the distinction (unnecessary in this place) between trans-
itive and intransitive verbs.
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He rose, and saw the field deform'd with blood,
An empty space, where late the coursers stood.
With these, of old, to toils of battle bred,
In early youth my hardy days I led.
There want not chiefs in such a cause to fight;
And Jove himself shall guard a monarch's right.
The fleet in view, he twang'd his deadly bow;
And hissing flew the feather'd fates below.
Th' assembly seated--rising o'er the rest,
Achilles thus the king of men address'd.
To honor Thetis' son he bends his care,
And plunge the Greeks in all the woes of war.
The army thus in sacred rites engag'd,
Atrides still with deep resentment rag'd.
A prophet then, inspir'd by heav'n, arose,
And points the crime, and thence derives the woes
So short a space the light of heav'n to view !
So short a space, and fill'd with sorrow too!
At this, the sire embrac'd the maid again,
So sadly lost, so lately sought in vain.
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? 72 Scanning.
While thus, with arms devoutly lais'd in air,
And solemn voice, the priest directs his pray'r. . . .
She said ; and, sighing, thus the god replies,
Who rolls the thunder o'er the vaulted skies.
Thy boundless will, for me, remains in force;
And all thy counsels take the destin'd course.
The thund'rer spoke; nor durst the queen reply :
A rev'reni horror sileuc'd all the sky.
Apollo tun'd the lyre ; the Muses, round,
With voice alternate aid the silver sound.
She'll lead thee on to seek a deathless name,
And snatch the wreath which binds the brow of Fame.
The Muse astonish'd drops her feeble lyre ;
And baffled art gives way to nature's fire.
Aghast she started back, and shook with pain,
As rising breezes curl the trembling main.
The tale of woe no longer strikes the ear;
And ev'ry eye is dried from ev'ry tear.
The pow'r, that bids all cares and troubles cease,
Will kindly crown our future days with peace.
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? Scanning. 75
His sire's exploits he now with wonder hears:
The monstrous tales indulge his greedy ears.
She thus in hasty words her grief confess'd,
While Lucy strove to soothe her troubled breast.
Their splendid domes and busy streets declare
Their firmest fort, a king's parental care.
A man he was to all the country dear,
And passing rich * with forty pounds a year.
Iambic verses of eight syllables--in other respects,
pure Iambics-L- but containing examples of synaresis,
marked in Italic character.
Reclaim'd, the wild licenftous youth
Confess'd the potent voice of truth.
Beneath an aged oak reclin'd,
The various scenes engross'd my mind.
I saw thy youthful mind expand,
And still the spark of genius fann'd.
He bids the piteous tale of woe
In tender cadence sadly flow.
* Tossing rich. --On the syntax of this passage from Gold
smith, and of similar phrases, see the note in pageS8.
O-
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? 74 Scanning.
Amid the endless ills of life,
The stings of care, the storms of strife,
In all the anxious hours of grief,
My soul anticipates relief.
Content to court the cooling glade,
Inhale the breeze, enjoy the shade. . . .
No anxious vigils here I keep;
No dreams of gold distract my sleep.
Superior worth your rank requires:
For that, mankind reveres your sires.
Prepare the way; your banners spread;
Around ambrosia/ odors shed.
Thy breath inspires the poet's song,
The patriot's free, unbiass'd tongue.
The dewy leaves luxurious shed
Their balmy essence o'er his head.
Where'er I go, I play my part,
And bring a social, jovial heart.
I know, as false thy prospects glare,
As flits the meteor through the air.
Th' electric flame of glory runs
Impetuous through her hardy sons.
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Iambic verses of ten syllables -- in other respects,
pure Iambics -- but containing examples of synaresis,
marked in Italic character.
Above the bounding billows swift they flew,
Till now the Grecian camp appear'd in vjtew.
Destruction hangs o'er yon devoted wall;
And nodding Vion waits th' impending fall.
The youths with wine the, copious goblets crown'd,
And, pleas'd, dispens'd the flowing bowls around.
To heap the shores with copious death, and bring
Thje Greeks to know the curse of such a king.
Terresfn'o/ Jove, whose pealing thunders roll
From realm to realm, from pole to utmost pole.
A Madhouse.
Amid those gall'ries drear, those doleful cells,
The unrelenting despot, Meni'ry, dwells. . . .
'Insatiate Fury clanks his pond'rous chains :
Suspicious AvVice counts ideal gains
While maddest Murder waits the sword to draw,
And Ostentation flaunts in robes of straw.
No more the neck invidious kerchiefs shade;
The waist no more the tyrant stays invade.
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But, goddess, thou thy suppliant son attend :
To high Olympus! shining court ascend.
A zone, heyond the thought of angels bright,
Around him, like the zodiac, sheds its light.
This echoing voice will rend the yielding air :
" For judgement, judgement, sons of men, prepare! "
Heroic champions caught the clarion's call, ,
And throng'd the feast in Edward's banner'd hall.
Iambic verses of eight syllables, with a mixture of
other feet besides the Iambus, as pointed out in the
<< KEYM
1
I court the Muse, and mark the day
Steal, calm and undisturb'd, away.
When shall I have the pow'r to bless,
And raise up merit in distress ?
3
See Peace, with all her rural train,
Health, Plenty, Joy, return again.
4
Peace and content would bless each day,
The hours serenely glide away. . . .
5
Not all the world can now impart
A chajm to glad my drooping heart.
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<5
Wrest from vindictive Rage bis prey:
Destroy Oppression's iron sway.
%
He now feels wants unknown before,
Wants still increasing with his store*
Cowards are cruel: but the brave
Love mercy, and delight to save,
9
The spring, that gave her blossoms birth,
Tore them for ever from the earth.
10
The noble palms of conquest crown
The godlike victor with renown.
11
Hast thou old Greece and Rome surveyed;
And the vast sense of Plato weigb'd i
12 , . . .
Lord ! in thy sure protection bless'd,
Submissive will I ever rest.
13
I mark his true, his faithful way,.
And, in my service, copy Tray.
14
Shall Britain, on her native strand,
Shrink from a foe's inferior hand i?
155
Thus ev'ry object of creation
Can furnish hints to Contemplation
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Amd, from the most minate and mean,
A virtuous mind can morals glean.
16
Heedless of int'rest, many an boar*
He loses in the myrtle bow'r.
17
Yon tow'ring oak, extending wide,
Provokes destruction by its pride.
18
Teach me to bless my lowly lot,
Confin'd to this paternal cot.
19
The gentle Zephyrs, as they fly,
On balmy wings, shall bear a sigh.
se
Each youth of martiai hope shall feel
True valour's animating zeal.
21
Who dwells in yonder little cot,
And envies not the monarch's lot ?
22
She softly breathes," Ah ! sigh no more:
" Thy Nelson gains th' Elysian shore. "
23
See, rushing from the farm and fold,
Her sons in glory's lists enroll'd.
24
O Goddess! yet assert thy claim,
Anci vindicate thy injur'd name.
25
More fatal than the Siren's song
* Ste the remarks on " Many a," in page 52.
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The crafty flatt'rer's wily tongue.
26
Some love the clash of hostile arms,
The trumpet's clang, the camp's alarms.
27
Here faithful mem'ry may review
The scenes that time can ne'er renew.
28
Once time is past, we call in vain.
No tears can bring it back again.
29
Wanton in Sol's meridian ray,
Sip nectar from each bloomy sprays
30
Thy glitt'ring pinions charm mine eyes,
Stain'd with bright beauty's brilliant dies.
31
The thought would mar thy present joy,
Mix with thy bliss a base alloy
32
Though blest with friends, with youth, and health,
And all the gay parade of wealth
33
The records of departed worth
To noblest sentiments eive birth.
34
Down in the green sequesier'd shade,
The streamlet pours its clear cascade.
35
Posscss'd of all the charms that grace
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The brightest of the female race.
36
I find in thee a tender friend,
In thee a patron to defend.
37
In ev'ry clime, from pole to pole,
Where wind can blow or billow roll,
Britannia's barks the coast explore,
Waft science, peace, and plenty o'er*
Improving and improv'd, they'd. leara
New charms in wisdom to discern.
30,
You cherish feelings too refin'd,
For him who mingles with mankind.
40
He rises from his sleepless bed,
His soul convuls'd with secret dread;
41
His income regularly spent,
He scarcely sayes to pay his rent
43
A temper affable and kind,
A noble and a gen'rous mind.
1 43. ?
Although L long have rack'd my brains,,
I've nought but labor for my pains.
44
In terrors clad, thy foes suiround,
And hurl thy turrets to the ground*
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43 . . f-
Nor blasting envy's tainted gale
Pollutes the pleasures of the vale.
46
She's prompt to shed the pitying tear,
To Mercy and to Virtue dear.
47
A coach and four, to take the air,
Besides a chariot, and a chair.
4&
His head was silver'd o'er with age;
And long experience made him sage.
In summer's beat and water's cold,
He fed his flock, and penn'd the fold.
His hours in cheerful labor flew,
Nor envy nor ambition knew.
His wisdom and his honest fame
Through all the country rais'd his name
49
The shepherd modestly replied:
I ne'er the paths of learning tried;
Nor have I roam'd to foreign parts,
To read mankind, their laws, and arts. . ,.
Who by that search shall wiser grow,
When we ourselves can never know ?
50
The prostrate game a lion spies,
And on the greedy tyrant flies.
51
So shines his light before mankind,
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His actions prove his honest mind.
52
He never needs the screen of lies,
His inward bosom to disguise.