258,
where "profane" is only equivalent to uninitiated.
where "profane" is only equivalent to uninitiated.
Robert Herrick - Hesperide and Noble Numbers
_ v.
; but parallels from the classic
poets could be multiplied indefinitely.
_The God unshorn_ of l. 2 is from Hor. I. _Od_. xxi. 2: Intonsum pueri
dicite Cynthium.
181. _A dialogue between Horace and Lydia. _ Hor. III. _Od. _ ix.
_Ramsey. _ Organist of Trinity College, Cambridge, 1628-1634. Some of his
music still exists in MS.
185. _An Ode to Master Endymion Porter, upon his brother's death. _
Endymion Porter is said to have had an only brother, Giles, who died in
the king's service at Oxford, _i. e. _, between 1642 and 1646, and it has
been taken for granted that this ode refers to his death. The
supposition is possibly right, but if so, the ode, despite its beauty,
is so gratingly and extraordinarily selfish that we may wonder if the
dead brother is not the William Herrick of the next poem. The first
verse is, of course, a soliloquy of Herrick's, not, as Dr. Grosart
suggests, addressed to him by Porter. Dr. Nott again parallels Catullus,
_Carm_. v.
186. _To his dying brother, Master William Herrick. _ According to Dr.
Grosart and Mr. Hazlitt the poet had an elder brother, William,
baptized at St. Vedast's, Foster Lane, Nov. 24, 1585 (he must have been
born some months earlier, if this date be right, for his sister Martha
was baptized in the following January), and alive in 1629, when he acted
as one of the executors of his mother's will. But, it is said, there was
also another brother named William, born in 1593, after his father's
death, "at Harry Campion's house at Hampton". I have not been able to
find the authority for this last statement, which, as it asserts the
co-existence of two brothers, of the same name, is certainly surprising.
According to Dr. Grosart, it is the younger William who "died young" and
was addressed in this poem, but I must own to feeling some doubt in the
matter.
193. _The Lily in a Crystal. _ The poem may be taken as an expansion of
Martial, VIII. lxviii. 5-8:--
Condita perspicuâ vivit vindemia gemmâ
Et tegitur felix, nec tamen uva latet:
Femineum lucet sic per bombycina corpus,
Calculus in nitidâ sic numeratur aquâ.
197. _The Welcome to Sack. _ Two MSS. at the British Museum (Harl. 6931
and Add. 19,268) contain copies of this important poem. These copies
differ considerably from the printed version, are proved by small
variations to be independent of each other, and at the same time agree
in all important points. We may conclude, therefore, that they represent
an earlier version of the poem, subsequently revised by Herrick before
the issue of _Hesperides_. In the subjoined copy, in which the two MSS.
are corrected from each other, italics show the variations, asterisks
mark lines omitted in _Hesperides_, and a dagger the absence of lines
subsequently added.
"So _swift_ streams meet, so springs with gladder smiles
Meet after long divorcement _made by_ isles:
When love (the child of likeness) urgeth on
Their crystal _waters_ to an union.
So meet stol'n kisses when the moonie _night_
Calls forth fierce lovers to their wisht _delight_:
So kings and queens meet, when desire convinces
All thoughts, _save those that tend to_ getting princes.
As I meet thee, Soul of my life and fame!
Eternal Lamp of Love, whose radiant flame
Out-_darts_ the heaven's Osiris; and thy _gems
Darken_ the splendour of his mid-day beams.
Welcome, O welcome, my illustrious spouse!
Welcome as are the ends unto my vows:
_Nay_, far more welcome than the happy soil
The sea-scourged merchant, after all his toil,
Salutes with tears of joy, when fires _display_
The _smoking_ chimneys of his Ithaca.
Where hast thou been so long from my embraces,
Poor pitied exile? Tell me, did thy Graces
Fly discontented hence, and for a time
_Choose rather for_ to bless _some_ other clime?
†*_Oh, then, not longer let my sweet defer
*Her buxom smiles from me, her worshipper! _
Why _have those amber_ looks, the which have been
Time-past so fragrant, sickly now _call'd_ in
Like a dull twilight? Tell me, *_hath my soul
*Prophaned in speech or done an act that is foul
*Against thy purer essence? _ _For that_ fault
I'll expiate with sulphur, hair and salt:
And with the crystal humour of the spring
Purge hence the guilt, and kill _the_ quarrelling.
_Wilt_ thou not smile, _nor_ tell me what's amiss?
Have I been cold to hug thee, too remiss,
Too temperate in embracing? Tell me, has desire
To-thee-ward died in the embers, and no fire
Left in _the_ raked-up _ashes_, as a mark
To testify the glowing of a spark?
†_I must_ confess I left thee, and appeal
'Twas done by me more to _increase_ my zeal,
And double my affection[†]; as do those
Whose love grows more inflamed by being _froze_.
But to forsake thee, [†] could there _ever_ be
A thought of such-like possibility?
When _all the world may know that vines_ shall lack
Grapes, before Herrick _leave_ Canary sack.
*_Sack is my life, my leaven, salt to all
*My dearest dainties, nay, 'tis the principal
*Fire unto all my functions, gives me blood,
*An active spirit, full marrow, and, what is good,_
_Sack makes_ me _sprightful, airy_ to be borne,
Like Iphyclus, upon the tops of corn.
_Sack makes_ me nimble, as the wingèd hours,
To dance and caper _o'er the tops_ of flowers,
And ride the sunbeams. Can there be a thing
Under the _cope of heaven_ that can bring
More _joy_ unto my _soul_, or can present
My Genius with a fuller blandishment?
Illustrious Idol! _Can_ the Egyptians seek
Help from the garlick, onion and the leek,
And pay no vows to thee, who _art the_ best
God, and far more _transcending_ than the rest?
Had Cassius, that weak water-drinker, known
Thee in _the_ Vine, or had but tasted one
Small chalice of thy _nectar, he, even_ he
As the wise Cato had approved of thee.
Had not Jove's son, the _rash_ Tyrinthian swain
(Invited to the Thesbian banquet), ta'ne
Full goblets of thy [†] blood; his *_lustful_ sprite
_Had not_ kept heat for fifty maids that night.
†As Queens meet Queens, _so let sack come to_ me
_Or_ as Cleopatra _unto_ Anthonie,
When her high _visage_ did at once present
To the Triumvir love and wonderment.
Swell up my _feeble sinews_, let my blood
†Fill each part full of fire,* _let all my good_
_Parts be encouraged_, active to do
What thy commanding soul shall put _me_ to,
And till I turn apostate to thy love,
Which here I vow to serve, _never_ remove
Thy _blessing_ from me; but Apollo's curse
Blast _all mine_ actions; or, a thing that's worse,
When these circumstants _have the fate_ to see
The time _when_ I prevaricate from thee,
Call me the Son of Beer, and then confine
Me to the tap, the toast, the turf; let wine
Ne'er shine upon me; _let_ my _verses_ all
_Haste_ to a sudden death and funeral:
And last, _dear Spouse, when I thee_ disavow,
_May ne'er_ prophetic Daphne crown my brow. "
Certainly this manuscript version is in every way inferior to that
printed in the _Hesperides_, and Herrick must be reckoned among the
poets who are able to revise their own work.
_The smoky chimneys of his Ithaca. _ Ovid, I. _de Ponto_, ix. 265:--
Non dubia est Ithaci prudentia sed tamen optat
Fumum de patriis posse videre focis.
_Upon the tops of corn. _ Virgil (_Æn. _ vii. 808-9) uses the same
comparison of Camilla: Illa vel intactae segetis per summa volaret
Gramina, nec teneras cursu laesisset aristas.
_Could the Egyptians seek Help from the garlick, onion and the leek. _
Cp. Numbers xi. 5, and Juv. , xi. 9-11.
_Cassius, that weak water-drinker. _ Not, as Dr. Grosart queries:
"Cassius Iatrosophista, or Cassius Felix? " but C. Cassius Longinus, the
murderer of Cæsar. Cp. Montaigne, II. 2, and Seneca, _Ep. _ 83: "Cassius
totâ vitâ aquam bibit" there quoted.
201. _To trust to good verses. _ Carminibus confide bonis. Ovid, _Am. _
III. ix. 39.
_The Golden Pomp is come. _ Aurea pompa venit, Ovid, _Am. _ III. ii. 44.
"Now reigns the rose" (nunc regnat rosa) is a common phrase in Martial
and elsewhere. For the "Arabian dew," cp. Ovid, _Sappho to Phaon_, 98:
Arabo noster rore capillus olet.
_A text . . . Behold Tibullus lies. _ Jacet ecce Tibullus: Vix manet e
tanto parva quod urna capit. Ovid, _Am. _ III. ix. 39.
203. _Lips Tongueless. _ Dr. Nott parallels Catullus, _Carm. _ lii.
(lv. ):--
Si linguam clauso tenes in ore,
Fructus projicies amoris omnes:
Verbosa gaudet Venus loquela.
208. _Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. _ Set to music by William Lawes in
Playford's second book of "Ayres," 1652. Printed in _Witts Recreations_,
1654, with the variants: "Gather _your_ Rosebuds" in l. 1; l. 4, _may_
for _will_; l. 6, _he is getting_ for _he's a-getting_; l. 8, _nearer to
his setting_ for _nearer he's to setting_. The opening lines are from
Ausonius, ccclxi. 49, 50 (quoted by Burton, _Anat. Mel. _ III. 2, 5 §
5):--
Collige, virgo, rosas, dum flos novus, et nova pubes,
Et memor esto aevum sic properare tuum:
cp. also l. 43:--
Quam longa una dies, ætas tam longa rosarum.
209. _Has not whence to sink at all. _ Seneca, _Ep. _ xx. : Redige te ad
parva ex quibus cadere non possis. Cp. Alain Delisle: Qui decumbit humi
non habet unde cadat.
211. _His poetry his pillar. _ A variation upon the Horatian theme:--
"Exegi monumentum aere perennius
Regalique situ pyramidum altius".
(III. _Od. _ xxx. )
212. _What though the sea be calm. _ Almost literally translated from
Seneca, _Ep. _ iv. : Noli huic tranquillitati confidere: momento mare
evertitur: eodem die ubi luserunt navigia sorbentur.
213. _At noon of day was seen a silver star. _ "King Charles the First
went to St. Paul's Church the 30th day of May, 1630, to give praise for
the birth of his son, attended with all his Peers and a most royal
Train, where a bright star appeared at High Noon in the sight of all. "
(_Stella Meridiana_, 1661. )
213. _And all most sweet, yet all less sweet than he. _ It is
characteristic of Herrick that in his _Noble Numbers_ ("The New-Year's
Gift") he repeats this line, applying it to Christ.
_The swiftest grace is best. _ Ὠκεῖαι χάριτες γλυκερώτεραι. Anth. Pal. x.
30.
214. _Know thy when. _ So in _The Star-song_ Herrick sings: "Thou canst
clear All doubts and manifest the where".
219. _Lord Bernard Stewart_, fourth son of Esme, third Duke of Lennox,
and himself created Earl of Lichfield by Charles I. He commanded the
king's troop of guards, and was killed at the battle of Rowton Heath,
outside Chester, Sept. 24, 1645.
Clarendon (_History of the Rebellion_, ix. 19) thus records his death
and character: "Here fell many gentlemen and officers of name, with the
brave Earl of Litchfield, who was the third brother of that illustrious
family that sacrificed his life in this quarrel. He was a very faultless
young man, of a most gentle, courteous, and affable nature, and of a
spirit and courage invincible; whose loss all men lamented, and the king
bore it with extraordinary grief. "
_Trentall. _ Properly a set of thirty masses for the repose of a dead
man's soul. Here and elsewhere Herrick uses the word as an equivalent
for dirge, but Sidney distinguished them: "Let dirige be sung and
trentalls rightly read. For love is dead," etc. "Hence, hence profane,"
is the Latin, _procul o procul este profani_ of Virg. _Æn. _ vi.
258,
where "profane" is only equivalent to uninitiated.
223. _The Fairy Temple. _ For a brief note on Herrick's fairy poems, see
Appendix. On the dedication to Mr. John Merrifield, Counsellor-at-Law,
Dr. Grosart remarks: "Nothing seems to be now known of Merrifield. It is
just possible that--as throughout the poem--the name was an invented
one, 'Merry Field'. " But the records of the Inner Temple show that the
Merrifields were a legal family from Woolmiston, near Crewkerne,
Somersetshire. John (son of Richard) Merrifield, the father, was
admitted to the Inner Temple in 1581, and John, the son, in 1611. This
latter must be Herrick's Counsellor. He rose to be a Master of the Bench
in 1638 and Sergeant-at-Law in 1660. He died October, 1666, aged 75, at
Crewkerne. On the other hand, it can hardly be doubted that Dr. Grosart
is right in regarding the names of the fairy saints as quite imaginary.
He nevertheless suggests SS. Titus, Neot, Idus, Ida, Fridian or
Fridolin, Trypho, Felan and Felix as the possible prototypes of "Saint
_Tit_, Saint _Nit_, Saint _Is_," etc. It should be noted that "Tit and
Nit" occur with "Wap and Win" and other obviously made-up names, in
Drayton's _Nymphidia_.
229. _Upon Cupid. _ Taken from Anacreon, 5 [59].
Στέφος πλέκων ποθ' εὗρον
ἐν τοῖς ῥόδοις Ἔρωτα·
καὶ τῶν πτερῶν κατασχών
ἐβάπτισ' εἰς τὸν οἶνον·
λαβὼν δ' ἔπινον αὐτόν,
καὶ νῦν ἔσω μελῶν μου
πτεροῖσι γαργαλίζει.
234. _Care will make a face. _ Ovid, _Ar. Am. _ iii. 105: Cura dabit
faciem, facies neglecta peribit.
235. _Upon Himself. _ Printed in _Witts Recreations_, 1654, under the
title: _On an old Batchelor_, and with the variants, _married_ for
_wedded_, l. 3, _one_ for _a_ in l. 4, and _Rather than mend me, blind
me quite_ in l. 6.
238. _To the Rose. _ Printed in _Witts Recreations_, 1654, with the
variants _peevish_ for _flowing_ in l. 4, _say, if she frets, that I
have bonds_ in l. 6, _that can tame although not kill_ in l. 10, and
_now_ for _thus_ in l. 11. The opening couplet is from Martial, VII.
lxxxix. :--
I, felix rosa, mollibusque sertis
Nostri cinge comas Apollinaris.
241. _Upon a painted Gentlewoman. _ Printed in _Witts Recreations_, 1650,
under the title, _On a painted madame_.
250. _Mildmay, Earl of Westmoreland. _ See Note to 112. According to the
date of the earl's succession, this poem must have been written after
1628.
253. _He that will not love_, etc. Ovid, _Rem. Am. _ 15, 16:--
Si quis male fert indignae regna puellae,
Ne pereat nostrae sentiat artis opem.
_How she is her own least part. _ _Ib. _ 344: Pars minima est ipsa puella
sui, quoted by Bacon, Burton, Lyly, and Montaigne.
Printed in _Witts Recreations_, 1654, with the variants, '_freezing_
colds and _fiery_ heats,' and 'and how she is _in every_ part'.
256. _Had Lesbia_, etc. See Catullus, _Carm_. iii.
260. _How violets came blue. _ Printed in _Witts Recreations_, 1654, as
_How the violets came blue_. The first two lines read:--
"The violets, as poets tell,
With Venus wrangling went".
Other variants are _did_ for _sho'd_ in l. 3; _Girl_ for _Girls_; _you_
for _ye_; _do_ for _dare_.
264. _That verse_, etc. Herrick repeats this assurance in a different
context in the second of his _Noble Numbers_, _His Prayer for
Absolution_.
269. _The Gods to Kings the judgment give to sway. _ From Tacitus, _Ann. _
vi. 8 (M. Terentius to Tiberius): Tibi summum rerum judicium dii dedere;
nobis obsequi gloria relicta est.
270. _He that may sin, sins least. _ Ovid, _Amor. _ III. iv. 9, 10:--
Cui peccare licet, peccat minus: ipsa potestas
Semina nequitiae languidiora facit.
271. _Upon a maid that died the day she was married. _ Cp. Meleager,
Anth. Pal. vii. 182:
Οὐ γάμον ἀλλ' Ἀίδαν ἐπινυμφίδιον Κλεαρίστα
δέξατο παρθενίας ἅμματα λυομένα·
Ἄρτι γὰρ ἑσπέριοι νύμφας ἐπὶ δικλίσιν ἄχευν
λωτοί, καὶ θαλάμων ἐπλαταγεῦντο θύραι·
Ἠῷοι δ' ὀλολυγμὸν ἀνέκραγον, ἐκ δ' Ὑμέναιος
σιγαθεὶς γοερὸν φθέγμα μεθαρμόσατο,
Αἱ δ' αὐταὶ καὶ φέγγος ἐδᾳδούχουν παρὰ παστῷ
πεῦκαι καὶ φθιμένᾳ νέρθεν ἔφαινον ὁδόν.
278. _To his Household Gods. _ Obviously written at the time of his
ejection from his living.
283. _A Nuptial Song on Sir Clipseby Crew. _ Of this Epithalamium
(written in 1625 for the marriage of Sir Clipseby Crew, knighted by
James I. at Theobald's in 1620, with Jane, daughter of Sir John
Pulteney), two manuscript versions, substantially agreeing, are
preserved at the British Museum (Harl. MS. 6917, and Add. 25, 303).
Seven verses are transcribed in these manuscripts which Herrick
afterwards saw fit to omit, and almost every verse contains variants of
importance. It is impossible to convey the effect of the earlier version
by a mere collation, and I therefore transcribe it in full, despite its
length. As before, variants and additions are printed in italics. The
numbers in brackets are those of the later version, as given in
_Hesperides_. The marginal readings are variants of Add. 25, 303, from
the Harleian manuscript.
1 [1].
"What's that we see from far? the spring of Day
Bloom'd from the East, or fair _enamell'd_ May
Blown out of April; or some new
Star fill'd with glory to our view,
Reaching at Heaven,
To add a nobler Planet to the seven?
Say or do we not descry
Some Goddess in a Cloud of Tiffany
To move, or rather the
Emerg_ing_ Venus from the sea?
2 [2].
"'Tis she! 'tis she! or else some more Divine
Enlightened substance; mark how from the shrine
Of holy Saints she paces on
_Throwing about_ Vermilion
And Amber: spice-
ing the chafte-air with fumes of Paradise.
Then come on, come on, and yield
A savour like unto a blessed field,
When the bedabbled morn
Washes the golden ears of corn.
3.
"_Lead on fair paranymphs, the while her eyes,
Guilty of somewhat, ripe the strawberries
And cherries in her cheeks, there's cream
Already spilt, her rays must gleam
Gently thereon,
And so beget lust and temptation
To surfeit and to hunger.
Help on her pace; and, though she lag, yet stir
Her homewards; well she knows
Her heart's at home, howe'er she goes. _
4 [3].
"See where she comes; and smell how all the street
Breathes Vine-yards and Pomegranates: O how sweet,
As a fir'd Altar, is each stone
_Spirting forth_ pounded Cinnamon.
The Phœnix nest,
Built up of odours, burneth in her breast.
Who _would not then_ consume
His soul to _ashes_ in that rich perfume? [ash-heaps
Bestroking Fate the while
He burns to embers on the Pile.
5 [4].
"Hymen, O Hymen! tread the sacred _round_ [ground
Shew thy white feet, and head with Marjoram crowned:
Mount up thy flames, and let thy Torch
Display _thy_ Bridegroom in the porch
In his desires
More towering, more _besparkling_ than thy fires: [disparkling
Shew her how his eyes do turn
And roll about, and in their motions burn
Their balls to cinders: haste
Or, _like a firebrand_, he will waste.
6.
"_See how he waves his hand, and through his eyes
Shoots forth his jealous soul, for to surprise
And ravish you his Bride, do you
Not now perceive the soul of C[lipseby] C[rew],
Your mayden knight,
With kisses to inspire
You with his just and holy ire. _
7 [5].
"_If so, glide through the ranks of Virgins_, pass
The Showers of Roses, lucky four-leaved grass:
The while the cloud of younglings sing,
And drown _you_ with a flowery spring:
While some repeat
Your praise, and bless you, sprinkling you with Wheat,
While that others do divine,
'Blest is the Bride on whom the Sun doth shine';
And thousands gladly wish
You multiply as _do the_ fish.
8.
"_Why then go forward, sweet Auspicious Bride,
And come upon your Bridegroom like a Tide
Bearing down Time before you; hye
Swell, mix, and loose your souls; imply
Like streams which flow
Encurled together, and no difference show
In their [most] silver waters; run
Into your selves like wool together spun.
Or blend so as the sight
Of two makes one Hermaphrodite. _
9 [6].
"And, beauteous Bride, we do confess _you_ are wise
_On drawing_ forth _those_ bashful jealousies [doling
In love's name, do so; and a price
Set on yourself by being nice.
But yet take heed
What now you seem be not the same indeed,
And turn Apostat_a_: Love will
Part of the way be met, or sit stone still;
On them, and though _y'are slow
In going_ yet, howsoever go.
10.
"_How long, soft Bride, shall your dear C[lipseby] make
Love to your welcome with the mystic cake,
How long, oh pardon, shall the house
And the smooth Handmaids pay their vows
With oil and wine
For your approach, yet see their Altars pine?
How long shall the page to please
You stand for to surrender up the keys
Of the glad house? Come, come,
Or Lar will freeze to death at home. _
11.
"_Welcome at last unto the Threshold, Time
Throned in a saffron evening, seems to chime
All in, kiss and so enter. If
A prayer must be said, be brief,
The easy Gods
For such neglect have only myrtle rods
To stroke, not strike; fear you
Not more, mild Nymph, than they would have you do;
But dread that you do more offend
In that you do begin than end. _
12 [7].
"And now y'are entered, see the coddled cook
Runs from his Torrid Zone to pry and look
And bless his dainty mistress; see
_How_ th' aged point out: 'This is she
Who now must sway
_Us_ (_and God_ shield her) with her yea and nay,'
And the smirk Butler thinks it
Sin in _his_ nap'ry not t' express his wit;
Each striving to devise
Some gin wherewith to catch _her_ eyes.
13.
"_What though your laden Altar now has won
The credit from the table of the Sun
For earth and sea; this cost
On you is altogether lost
Because you feed
Not on the flesh of beasts, but on the seed
Of contemplation: your,
Your eyes are they, wherewith you draw the pure
Elixir to the mind
Which sees the body fed, yet pined. _
14 [14].
"If _you must needs_ for ceremonie's sake
Bless a sack posset, Luck go with _you_, take
The night charm quickly; you have spells
And magic for to end, and Hells
To pass, but such
And of such torture as no _God_ would grutch
To live therein for ever: fry,
_Aye_ and consume, and grow again to die,
And live, and in that case
Love the _damnation_ of _that_ place. [the
15 [8].
"To Bed, to Bed, _sweet_ Turtles now, and write
This the shortest day,† this the longest night
_And_ yet too short for you; 'tis we
Who count this night as long as three,
Lying alone
_Hearing_ the clock _go_ Ten, Eleven, Twelve, One:
Quickly, quickly then prepare.
And let the young men and the Bridemaids share
Your garters, and their joints
Encircle with the Bridegroom's points.
16 [9].
"By the Bride's eyes, and by the teeming life
Of her green hopes, we charge you that no strife,
_Further_ than _virtue lends_, gets place
Among _you catching at_ her Lace.
Oh, do not fall
Foul in these noble pastimes, lest you call
Discord in, and so divide
The _gentle_ Bridegroom and the _fragrous_ Bride,
Which Love forefend: but spoken
Be't to your praise: 'No peace was broken'.
17[10].
"Strip her of spring-time, tender whimpering maids,
Now Autumn's come, when all _those_ flowery aids
Of her delays must end, dispose
That Lady-smock, that pansy and that Rose
Neatly apart;
But for prick-madam, and for gentle-heart,
And soft maiden-blush, the Bride
Makes holy these, all others lay aside:
Then strip her, or unto her
Let him come who dares undo her.
18 [11].
"And to enchant _you_ more, _view_ everywhere [ye
About the roof a Syren in a sphere,
As we think, singing to the din
Of many a warbling cherubin:
_List, oh list! _ how
_Even heaven gives up his soul between you_ now, [ye
_Mark how_ thousand Cupids fly
To light their Tapers at the Bride's bright eye;
To bed, or her they'll tire,
Were she an element of fire.
19 [12].
"And to your more bewitching, see the proud
Plump bed bear up, and _rising_ like a cloud,
Tempting _thee, too, too_ modest; can
You see it brussle like a swan
And you be cold
To meet it, when it woos and seems to fold
The arms to hug _you_? throw, throw
Yourselves into _that main, in the full_ flow
Of _the_ white pride, and drown
The _stars_ with you in floods of down.
20 [13].
"_You see 'tis_ ready, and the maze of love
Looks for the treaders; everywhere is wove
Wit and new mystery, read and
Put in practice, to understand
And know each wile,
Each Hieroglyphic of a kiss or smile;
And do it _in_ the full, reach
High in your own conceipts, and _rather_ teach
Nature and Art one more
_Sport_ than they ever knew before.
21.
To the Maidens:]
"_And now y' have wept enough, depart; yon stars [the
Begin to pink, as weary that the wars
Know so long Treaties; beat the Drum
Aloft, and like two armies, come
And guild the field,
Fight bravely for the flame of mankind, yield
Not to this, or that assault,
For that would prove more Heresy than fault
In combatants to fly
'Fore this or that hath got the victory. _
22 [15].
"But since it must be done, despatch and sew
Up in a sheet your Bride, and what if so
It be with _rib of Rock and_ Brass,
_Yea_ tower her up, as Danae was, [ye
Think you that this,
Or Hell itself, a powerful Bulwark is?
I tell _you_ no; but like a [ye
Bold bolt of thunder he will make his way,
And rend the cloud, and throw
The sheet about, like flakes of snow.
23 [16].
"All now is hushed in silence: Midwife-moon
With all her Owl-ey'd issue begs a boon
Which you must grant; that's entrance with
Which extract, all we † call pith
And quintessence
Of Planetary bodies; so commence,
All fair constellations
Looking upon _you_ that _the_ Nations
Springing from to such Fires
May blaze the virtue of their Sires. "
--R. HERRICK.
The variants in this version are not very important; one of the most
noteworthy, _round_ for _ground_, in stanza 5 [4], was overlooked by Dr.
Grosart in his collation. Of the seven stanzas subsequently omitted
several are of great beauty. There are few happier images in Herrick
than that of _Time throned in a saffron evening_ in stanza 11. It is
only when the earlier version is read as a whole that Herrick's taste
in omitting is vindicated. Each stanza is good in itself, but in the
MSS. the poem drags from excessive length, and the reduction of its
twenty-three stanzas to sixteen greatly improves it.
286. _Ever full of pensive fear. _ Ovid, _Heroid. _ i. 12: Res est
solliciti plena timoris amor.
287. _Reverence to riches. _ Perhaps from Tacit. _Ann. _ ii. 33: Neque in
familia et argento quæque ad usum parantur nimium aliquid aut modicum,
nisi ex fortuna possidentis.
288. _Who forms a godhead. _ From Martial, VIII. xxiv. 5:--
Qui fingit sacros auro vel marmore vultus
Non facit ille deos: qui rogat, ille facit.
290. _The eyes be first that conquered are.
poets could be multiplied indefinitely.
_The God unshorn_ of l. 2 is from Hor. I. _Od_. xxi. 2: Intonsum pueri
dicite Cynthium.
181. _A dialogue between Horace and Lydia. _ Hor. III. _Od. _ ix.
_Ramsey. _ Organist of Trinity College, Cambridge, 1628-1634. Some of his
music still exists in MS.
185. _An Ode to Master Endymion Porter, upon his brother's death. _
Endymion Porter is said to have had an only brother, Giles, who died in
the king's service at Oxford, _i. e. _, between 1642 and 1646, and it has
been taken for granted that this ode refers to his death. The
supposition is possibly right, but if so, the ode, despite its beauty,
is so gratingly and extraordinarily selfish that we may wonder if the
dead brother is not the William Herrick of the next poem. The first
verse is, of course, a soliloquy of Herrick's, not, as Dr. Grosart
suggests, addressed to him by Porter. Dr. Nott again parallels Catullus,
_Carm_. v.
186. _To his dying brother, Master William Herrick. _ According to Dr.
Grosart and Mr. Hazlitt the poet had an elder brother, William,
baptized at St. Vedast's, Foster Lane, Nov. 24, 1585 (he must have been
born some months earlier, if this date be right, for his sister Martha
was baptized in the following January), and alive in 1629, when he acted
as one of the executors of his mother's will. But, it is said, there was
also another brother named William, born in 1593, after his father's
death, "at Harry Campion's house at Hampton". I have not been able to
find the authority for this last statement, which, as it asserts the
co-existence of two brothers, of the same name, is certainly surprising.
According to Dr. Grosart, it is the younger William who "died young" and
was addressed in this poem, but I must own to feeling some doubt in the
matter.
193. _The Lily in a Crystal. _ The poem may be taken as an expansion of
Martial, VIII. lxviii. 5-8:--
Condita perspicuâ vivit vindemia gemmâ
Et tegitur felix, nec tamen uva latet:
Femineum lucet sic per bombycina corpus,
Calculus in nitidâ sic numeratur aquâ.
197. _The Welcome to Sack. _ Two MSS. at the British Museum (Harl. 6931
and Add. 19,268) contain copies of this important poem. These copies
differ considerably from the printed version, are proved by small
variations to be independent of each other, and at the same time agree
in all important points. We may conclude, therefore, that they represent
an earlier version of the poem, subsequently revised by Herrick before
the issue of _Hesperides_. In the subjoined copy, in which the two MSS.
are corrected from each other, italics show the variations, asterisks
mark lines omitted in _Hesperides_, and a dagger the absence of lines
subsequently added.
"So _swift_ streams meet, so springs with gladder smiles
Meet after long divorcement _made by_ isles:
When love (the child of likeness) urgeth on
Their crystal _waters_ to an union.
So meet stol'n kisses when the moonie _night_
Calls forth fierce lovers to their wisht _delight_:
So kings and queens meet, when desire convinces
All thoughts, _save those that tend to_ getting princes.
As I meet thee, Soul of my life and fame!
Eternal Lamp of Love, whose radiant flame
Out-_darts_ the heaven's Osiris; and thy _gems
Darken_ the splendour of his mid-day beams.
Welcome, O welcome, my illustrious spouse!
Welcome as are the ends unto my vows:
_Nay_, far more welcome than the happy soil
The sea-scourged merchant, after all his toil,
Salutes with tears of joy, when fires _display_
The _smoking_ chimneys of his Ithaca.
Where hast thou been so long from my embraces,
Poor pitied exile? Tell me, did thy Graces
Fly discontented hence, and for a time
_Choose rather for_ to bless _some_ other clime?
†*_Oh, then, not longer let my sweet defer
*Her buxom smiles from me, her worshipper! _
Why _have those amber_ looks, the which have been
Time-past so fragrant, sickly now _call'd_ in
Like a dull twilight? Tell me, *_hath my soul
*Prophaned in speech or done an act that is foul
*Against thy purer essence? _ _For that_ fault
I'll expiate with sulphur, hair and salt:
And with the crystal humour of the spring
Purge hence the guilt, and kill _the_ quarrelling.
_Wilt_ thou not smile, _nor_ tell me what's amiss?
Have I been cold to hug thee, too remiss,
Too temperate in embracing? Tell me, has desire
To-thee-ward died in the embers, and no fire
Left in _the_ raked-up _ashes_, as a mark
To testify the glowing of a spark?
†_I must_ confess I left thee, and appeal
'Twas done by me more to _increase_ my zeal,
And double my affection[†]; as do those
Whose love grows more inflamed by being _froze_.
But to forsake thee, [†] could there _ever_ be
A thought of such-like possibility?
When _all the world may know that vines_ shall lack
Grapes, before Herrick _leave_ Canary sack.
*_Sack is my life, my leaven, salt to all
*My dearest dainties, nay, 'tis the principal
*Fire unto all my functions, gives me blood,
*An active spirit, full marrow, and, what is good,_
_Sack makes_ me _sprightful, airy_ to be borne,
Like Iphyclus, upon the tops of corn.
_Sack makes_ me nimble, as the wingèd hours,
To dance and caper _o'er the tops_ of flowers,
And ride the sunbeams. Can there be a thing
Under the _cope of heaven_ that can bring
More _joy_ unto my _soul_, or can present
My Genius with a fuller blandishment?
Illustrious Idol! _Can_ the Egyptians seek
Help from the garlick, onion and the leek,
And pay no vows to thee, who _art the_ best
God, and far more _transcending_ than the rest?
Had Cassius, that weak water-drinker, known
Thee in _the_ Vine, or had but tasted one
Small chalice of thy _nectar, he, even_ he
As the wise Cato had approved of thee.
Had not Jove's son, the _rash_ Tyrinthian swain
(Invited to the Thesbian banquet), ta'ne
Full goblets of thy [†] blood; his *_lustful_ sprite
_Had not_ kept heat for fifty maids that night.
†As Queens meet Queens, _so let sack come to_ me
_Or_ as Cleopatra _unto_ Anthonie,
When her high _visage_ did at once present
To the Triumvir love and wonderment.
Swell up my _feeble sinews_, let my blood
†Fill each part full of fire,* _let all my good_
_Parts be encouraged_, active to do
What thy commanding soul shall put _me_ to,
And till I turn apostate to thy love,
Which here I vow to serve, _never_ remove
Thy _blessing_ from me; but Apollo's curse
Blast _all mine_ actions; or, a thing that's worse,
When these circumstants _have the fate_ to see
The time _when_ I prevaricate from thee,
Call me the Son of Beer, and then confine
Me to the tap, the toast, the turf; let wine
Ne'er shine upon me; _let_ my _verses_ all
_Haste_ to a sudden death and funeral:
And last, _dear Spouse, when I thee_ disavow,
_May ne'er_ prophetic Daphne crown my brow. "
Certainly this manuscript version is in every way inferior to that
printed in the _Hesperides_, and Herrick must be reckoned among the
poets who are able to revise their own work.
_The smoky chimneys of his Ithaca. _ Ovid, I. _de Ponto_, ix. 265:--
Non dubia est Ithaci prudentia sed tamen optat
Fumum de patriis posse videre focis.
_Upon the tops of corn. _ Virgil (_Æn. _ vii. 808-9) uses the same
comparison of Camilla: Illa vel intactae segetis per summa volaret
Gramina, nec teneras cursu laesisset aristas.
_Could the Egyptians seek Help from the garlick, onion and the leek. _
Cp. Numbers xi. 5, and Juv. , xi. 9-11.
_Cassius, that weak water-drinker. _ Not, as Dr. Grosart queries:
"Cassius Iatrosophista, or Cassius Felix? " but C. Cassius Longinus, the
murderer of Cæsar. Cp. Montaigne, II. 2, and Seneca, _Ep. _ 83: "Cassius
totâ vitâ aquam bibit" there quoted.
201. _To trust to good verses. _ Carminibus confide bonis. Ovid, _Am. _
III. ix. 39.
_The Golden Pomp is come. _ Aurea pompa venit, Ovid, _Am. _ III. ii. 44.
"Now reigns the rose" (nunc regnat rosa) is a common phrase in Martial
and elsewhere. For the "Arabian dew," cp. Ovid, _Sappho to Phaon_, 98:
Arabo noster rore capillus olet.
_A text . . . Behold Tibullus lies. _ Jacet ecce Tibullus: Vix manet e
tanto parva quod urna capit. Ovid, _Am. _ III. ix. 39.
203. _Lips Tongueless. _ Dr. Nott parallels Catullus, _Carm. _ lii.
(lv. ):--
Si linguam clauso tenes in ore,
Fructus projicies amoris omnes:
Verbosa gaudet Venus loquela.
208. _Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. _ Set to music by William Lawes in
Playford's second book of "Ayres," 1652. Printed in _Witts Recreations_,
1654, with the variants: "Gather _your_ Rosebuds" in l. 1; l. 4, _may_
for _will_; l. 6, _he is getting_ for _he's a-getting_; l. 8, _nearer to
his setting_ for _nearer he's to setting_. The opening lines are from
Ausonius, ccclxi. 49, 50 (quoted by Burton, _Anat. Mel. _ III. 2, 5 §
5):--
Collige, virgo, rosas, dum flos novus, et nova pubes,
Et memor esto aevum sic properare tuum:
cp. also l. 43:--
Quam longa una dies, ætas tam longa rosarum.
209. _Has not whence to sink at all. _ Seneca, _Ep. _ xx. : Redige te ad
parva ex quibus cadere non possis. Cp. Alain Delisle: Qui decumbit humi
non habet unde cadat.
211. _His poetry his pillar. _ A variation upon the Horatian theme:--
"Exegi monumentum aere perennius
Regalique situ pyramidum altius".
(III. _Od. _ xxx. )
212. _What though the sea be calm. _ Almost literally translated from
Seneca, _Ep. _ iv. : Noli huic tranquillitati confidere: momento mare
evertitur: eodem die ubi luserunt navigia sorbentur.
213. _At noon of day was seen a silver star. _ "King Charles the First
went to St. Paul's Church the 30th day of May, 1630, to give praise for
the birth of his son, attended with all his Peers and a most royal
Train, where a bright star appeared at High Noon in the sight of all. "
(_Stella Meridiana_, 1661. )
213. _And all most sweet, yet all less sweet than he. _ It is
characteristic of Herrick that in his _Noble Numbers_ ("The New-Year's
Gift") he repeats this line, applying it to Christ.
_The swiftest grace is best. _ Ὠκεῖαι χάριτες γλυκερώτεραι. Anth. Pal. x.
30.
214. _Know thy when. _ So in _The Star-song_ Herrick sings: "Thou canst
clear All doubts and manifest the where".
219. _Lord Bernard Stewart_, fourth son of Esme, third Duke of Lennox,
and himself created Earl of Lichfield by Charles I. He commanded the
king's troop of guards, and was killed at the battle of Rowton Heath,
outside Chester, Sept. 24, 1645.
Clarendon (_History of the Rebellion_, ix. 19) thus records his death
and character: "Here fell many gentlemen and officers of name, with the
brave Earl of Litchfield, who was the third brother of that illustrious
family that sacrificed his life in this quarrel. He was a very faultless
young man, of a most gentle, courteous, and affable nature, and of a
spirit and courage invincible; whose loss all men lamented, and the king
bore it with extraordinary grief. "
_Trentall. _ Properly a set of thirty masses for the repose of a dead
man's soul. Here and elsewhere Herrick uses the word as an equivalent
for dirge, but Sidney distinguished them: "Let dirige be sung and
trentalls rightly read. For love is dead," etc. "Hence, hence profane,"
is the Latin, _procul o procul este profani_ of Virg. _Æn. _ vi.
258,
where "profane" is only equivalent to uninitiated.
223. _The Fairy Temple. _ For a brief note on Herrick's fairy poems, see
Appendix. On the dedication to Mr. John Merrifield, Counsellor-at-Law,
Dr. Grosart remarks: "Nothing seems to be now known of Merrifield. It is
just possible that--as throughout the poem--the name was an invented
one, 'Merry Field'. " But the records of the Inner Temple show that the
Merrifields were a legal family from Woolmiston, near Crewkerne,
Somersetshire. John (son of Richard) Merrifield, the father, was
admitted to the Inner Temple in 1581, and John, the son, in 1611. This
latter must be Herrick's Counsellor. He rose to be a Master of the Bench
in 1638 and Sergeant-at-Law in 1660. He died October, 1666, aged 75, at
Crewkerne. On the other hand, it can hardly be doubted that Dr. Grosart
is right in regarding the names of the fairy saints as quite imaginary.
He nevertheless suggests SS. Titus, Neot, Idus, Ida, Fridian or
Fridolin, Trypho, Felan and Felix as the possible prototypes of "Saint
_Tit_, Saint _Nit_, Saint _Is_," etc. It should be noted that "Tit and
Nit" occur with "Wap and Win" and other obviously made-up names, in
Drayton's _Nymphidia_.
229. _Upon Cupid. _ Taken from Anacreon, 5 [59].
Στέφος πλέκων ποθ' εὗρον
ἐν τοῖς ῥόδοις Ἔρωτα·
καὶ τῶν πτερῶν κατασχών
ἐβάπτισ' εἰς τὸν οἶνον·
λαβὼν δ' ἔπινον αὐτόν,
καὶ νῦν ἔσω μελῶν μου
πτεροῖσι γαργαλίζει.
234. _Care will make a face. _ Ovid, _Ar. Am. _ iii. 105: Cura dabit
faciem, facies neglecta peribit.
235. _Upon Himself. _ Printed in _Witts Recreations_, 1654, under the
title: _On an old Batchelor_, and with the variants, _married_ for
_wedded_, l. 3, _one_ for _a_ in l. 4, and _Rather than mend me, blind
me quite_ in l. 6.
238. _To the Rose. _ Printed in _Witts Recreations_, 1654, with the
variants _peevish_ for _flowing_ in l. 4, _say, if she frets, that I
have bonds_ in l. 6, _that can tame although not kill_ in l. 10, and
_now_ for _thus_ in l. 11. The opening couplet is from Martial, VII.
lxxxix. :--
I, felix rosa, mollibusque sertis
Nostri cinge comas Apollinaris.
241. _Upon a painted Gentlewoman. _ Printed in _Witts Recreations_, 1650,
under the title, _On a painted madame_.
250. _Mildmay, Earl of Westmoreland. _ See Note to 112. According to the
date of the earl's succession, this poem must have been written after
1628.
253. _He that will not love_, etc. Ovid, _Rem. Am. _ 15, 16:--
Si quis male fert indignae regna puellae,
Ne pereat nostrae sentiat artis opem.
_How she is her own least part. _ _Ib. _ 344: Pars minima est ipsa puella
sui, quoted by Bacon, Burton, Lyly, and Montaigne.
Printed in _Witts Recreations_, 1654, with the variants, '_freezing_
colds and _fiery_ heats,' and 'and how she is _in every_ part'.
256. _Had Lesbia_, etc. See Catullus, _Carm_. iii.
260. _How violets came blue. _ Printed in _Witts Recreations_, 1654, as
_How the violets came blue_. The first two lines read:--
"The violets, as poets tell,
With Venus wrangling went".
Other variants are _did_ for _sho'd_ in l. 3; _Girl_ for _Girls_; _you_
for _ye_; _do_ for _dare_.
264. _That verse_, etc. Herrick repeats this assurance in a different
context in the second of his _Noble Numbers_, _His Prayer for
Absolution_.
269. _The Gods to Kings the judgment give to sway. _ From Tacitus, _Ann. _
vi. 8 (M. Terentius to Tiberius): Tibi summum rerum judicium dii dedere;
nobis obsequi gloria relicta est.
270. _He that may sin, sins least. _ Ovid, _Amor. _ III. iv. 9, 10:--
Cui peccare licet, peccat minus: ipsa potestas
Semina nequitiae languidiora facit.
271. _Upon a maid that died the day she was married. _ Cp. Meleager,
Anth. Pal. vii. 182:
Οὐ γάμον ἀλλ' Ἀίδαν ἐπινυμφίδιον Κλεαρίστα
δέξατο παρθενίας ἅμματα λυομένα·
Ἄρτι γὰρ ἑσπέριοι νύμφας ἐπὶ δικλίσιν ἄχευν
λωτοί, καὶ θαλάμων ἐπλαταγεῦντο θύραι·
Ἠῷοι δ' ὀλολυγμὸν ἀνέκραγον, ἐκ δ' Ὑμέναιος
σιγαθεὶς γοερὸν φθέγμα μεθαρμόσατο,
Αἱ δ' αὐταὶ καὶ φέγγος ἐδᾳδούχουν παρὰ παστῷ
πεῦκαι καὶ φθιμένᾳ νέρθεν ἔφαινον ὁδόν.
278. _To his Household Gods. _ Obviously written at the time of his
ejection from his living.
283. _A Nuptial Song on Sir Clipseby Crew. _ Of this Epithalamium
(written in 1625 for the marriage of Sir Clipseby Crew, knighted by
James I. at Theobald's in 1620, with Jane, daughter of Sir John
Pulteney), two manuscript versions, substantially agreeing, are
preserved at the British Museum (Harl. MS. 6917, and Add. 25, 303).
Seven verses are transcribed in these manuscripts which Herrick
afterwards saw fit to omit, and almost every verse contains variants of
importance. It is impossible to convey the effect of the earlier version
by a mere collation, and I therefore transcribe it in full, despite its
length. As before, variants and additions are printed in italics. The
numbers in brackets are those of the later version, as given in
_Hesperides_. The marginal readings are variants of Add. 25, 303, from
the Harleian manuscript.
1 [1].
"What's that we see from far? the spring of Day
Bloom'd from the East, or fair _enamell'd_ May
Blown out of April; or some new
Star fill'd with glory to our view,
Reaching at Heaven,
To add a nobler Planet to the seven?
Say or do we not descry
Some Goddess in a Cloud of Tiffany
To move, or rather the
Emerg_ing_ Venus from the sea?
2 [2].
"'Tis she! 'tis she! or else some more Divine
Enlightened substance; mark how from the shrine
Of holy Saints she paces on
_Throwing about_ Vermilion
And Amber: spice-
ing the chafte-air with fumes of Paradise.
Then come on, come on, and yield
A savour like unto a blessed field,
When the bedabbled morn
Washes the golden ears of corn.
3.
"_Lead on fair paranymphs, the while her eyes,
Guilty of somewhat, ripe the strawberries
And cherries in her cheeks, there's cream
Already spilt, her rays must gleam
Gently thereon,
And so beget lust and temptation
To surfeit and to hunger.
Help on her pace; and, though she lag, yet stir
Her homewards; well she knows
Her heart's at home, howe'er she goes. _
4 [3].
"See where she comes; and smell how all the street
Breathes Vine-yards and Pomegranates: O how sweet,
As a fir'd Altar, is each stone
_Spirting forth_ pounded Cinnamon.
The Phœnix nest,
Built up of odours, burneth in her breast.
Who _would not then_ consume
His soul to _ashes_ in that rich perfume? [ash-heaps
Bestroking Fate the while
He burns to embers on the Pile.
5 [4].
"Hymen, O Hymen! tread the sacred _round_ [ground
Shew thy white feet, and head with Marjoram crowned:
Mount up thy flames, and let thy Torch
Display _thy_ Bridegroom in the porch
In his desires
More towering, more _besparkling_ than thy fires: [disparkling
Shew her how his eyes do turn
And roll about, and in their motions burn
Their balls to cinders: haste
Or, _like a firebrand_, he will waste.
6.
"_See how he waves his hand, and through his eyes
Shoots forth his jealous soul, for to surprise
And ravish you his Bride, do you
Not now perceive the soul of C[lipseby] C[rew],
Your mayden knight,
With kisses to inspire
You with his just and holy ire. _
7 [5].
"_If so, glide through the ranks of Virgins_, pass
The Showers of Roses, lucky four-leaved grass:
The while the cloud of younglings sing,
And drown _you_ with a flowery spring:
While some repeat
Your praise, and bless you, sprinkling you with Wheat,
While that others do divine,
'Blest is the Bride on whom the Sun doth shine';
And thousands gladly wish
You multiply as _do the_ fish.
8.
"_Why then go forward, sweet Auspicious Bride,
And come upon your Bridegroom like a Tide
Bearing down Time before you; hye
Swell, mix, and loose your souls; imply
Like streams which flow
Encurled together, and no difference show
In their [most] silver waters; run
Into your selves like wool together spun.
Or blend so as the sight
Of two makes one Hermaphrodite. _
9 [6].
"And, beauteous Bride, we do confess _you_ are wise
_On drawing_ forth _those_ bashful jealousies [doling
In love's name, do so; and a price
Set on yourself by being nice.
But yet take heed
What now you seem be not the same indeed,
And turn Apostat_a_: Love will
Part of the way be met, or sit stone still;
On them, and though _y'are slow
In going_ yet, howsoever go.
10.
"_How long, soft Bride, shall your dear C[lipseby] make
Love to your welcome with the mystic cake,
How long, oh pardon, shall the house
And the smooth Handmaids pay their vows
With oil and wine
For your approach, yet see their Altars pine?
How long shall the page to please
You stand for to surrender up the keys
Of the glad house? Come, come,
Or Lar will freeze to death at home. _
11.
"_Welcome at last unto the Threshold, Time
Throned in a saffron evening, seems to chime
All in, kiss and so enter. If
A prayer must be said, be brief,
The easy Gods
For such neglect have only myrtle rods
To stroke, not strike; fear you
Not more, mild Nymph, than they would have you do;
But dread that you do more offend
In that you do begin than end. _
12 [7].
"And now y'are entered, see the coddled cook
Runs from his Torrid Zone to pry and look
And bless his dainty mistress; see
_How_ th' aged point out: 'This is she
Who now must sway
_Us_ (_and God_ shield her) with her yea and nay,'
And the smirk Butler thinks it
Sin in _his_ nap'ry not t' express his wit;
Each striving to devise
Some gin wherewith to catch _her_ eyes.
13.
"_What though your laden Altar now has won
The credit from the table of the Sun
For earth and sea; this cost
On you is altogether lost
Because you feed
Not on the flesh of beasts, but on the seed
Of contemplation: your,
Your eyes are they, wherewith you draw the pure
Elixir to the mind
Which sees the body fed, yet pined. _
14 [14].
"If _you must needs_ for ceremonie's sake
Bless a sack posset, Luck go with _you_, take
The night charm quickly; you have spells
And magic for to end, and Hells
To pass, but such
And of such torture as no _God_ would grutch
To live therein for ever: fry,
_Aye_ and consume, and grow again to die,
And live, and in that case
Love the _damnation_ of _that_ place. [the
15 [8].
"To Bed, to Bed, _sweet_ Turtles now, and write
This the shortest day,† this the longest night
_And_ yet too short for you; 'tis we
Who count this night as long as three,
Lying alone
_Hearing_ the clock _go_ Ten, Eleven, Twelve, One:
Quickly, quickly then prepare.
And let the young men and the Bridemaids share
Your garters, and their joints
Encircle with the Bridegroom's points.
16 [9].
"By the Bride's eyes, and by the teeming life
Of her green hopes, we charge you that no strife,
_Further_ than _virtue lends_, gets place
Among _you catching at_ her Lace.
Oh, do not fall
Foul in these noble pastimes, lest you call
Discord in, and so divide
The _gentle_ Bridegroom and the _fragrous_ Bride,
Which Love forefend: but spoken
Be't to your praise: 'No peace was broken'.
17[10].
"Strip her of spring-time, tender whimpering maids,
Now Autumn's come, when all _those_ flowery aids
Of her delays must end, dispose
That Lady-smock, that pansy and that Rose
Neatly apart;
But for prick-madam, and for gentle-heart,
And soft maiden-blush, the Bride
Makes holy these, all others lay aside:
Then strip her, or unto her
Let him come who dares undo her.
18 [11].
"And to enchant _you_ more, _view_ everywhere [ye
About the roof a Syren in a sphere,
As we think, singing to the din
Of many a warbling cherubin:
_List, oh list! _ how
_Even heaven gives up his soul between you_ now, [ye
_Mark how_ thousand Cupids fly
To light their Tapers at the Bride's bright eye;
To bed, or her they'll tire,
Were she an element of fire.
19 [12].
"And to your more bewitching, see the proud
Plump bed bear up, and _rising_ like a cloud,
Tempting _thee, too, too_ modest; can
You see it brussle like a swan
And you be cold
To meet it, when it woos and seems to fold
The arms to hug _you_? throw, throw
Yourselves into _that main, in the full_ flow
Of _the_ white pride, and drown
The _stars_ with you in floods of down.
20 [13].
"_You see 'tis_ ready, and the maze of love
Looks for the treaders; everywhere is wove
Wit and new mystery, read and
Put in practice, to understand
And know each wile,
Each Hieroglyphic of a kiss or smile;
And do it _in_ the full, reach
High in your own conceipts, and _rather_ teach
Nature and Art one more
_Sport_ than they ever knew before.
21.
To the Maidens:]
"_And now y' have wept enough, depart; yon stars [the
Begin to pink, as weary that the wars
Know so long Treaties; beat the Drum
Aloft, and like two armies, come
And guild the field,
Fight bravely for the flame of mankind, yield
Not to this, or that assault,
For that would prove more Heresy than fault
In combatants to fly
'Fore this or that hath got the victory. _
22 [15].
"But since it must be done, despatch and sew
Up in a sheet your Bride, and what if so
It be with _rib of Rock and_ Brass,
_Yea_ tower her up, as Danae was, [ye
Think you that this,
Or Hell itself, a powerful Bulwark is?
I tell _you_ no; but like a [ye
Bold bolt of thunder he will make his way,
And rend the cloud, and throw
The sheet about, like flakes of snow.
23 [16].
"All now is hushed in silence: Midwife-moon
With all her Owl-ey'd issue begs a boon
Which you must grant; that's entrance with
Which extract, all we † call pith
And quintessence
Of Planetary bodies; so commence,
All fair constellations
Looking upon _you_ that _the_ Nations
Springing from to such Fires
May blaze the virtue of their Sires. "
--R. HERRICK.
The variants in this version are not very important; one of the most
noteworthy, _round_ for _ground_, in stanza 5 [4], was overlooked by Dr.
Grosart in his collation. Of the seven stanzas subsequently omitted
several are of great beauty. There are few happier images in Herrick
than that of _Time throned in a saffron evening_ in stanza 11. It is
only when the earlier version is read as a whole that Herrick's taste
in omitting is vindicated. Each stanza is good in itself, but in the
MSS. the poem drags from excessive length, and the reduction of its
twenty-three stanzas to sixteen greatly improves it.
286. _Ever full of pensive fear. _ Ovid, _Heroid. _ i. 12: Res est
solliciti plena timoris amor.
287. _Reverence to riches. _ Perhaps from Tacit. _Ann. _ ii. 33: Neque in
familia et argento quæque ad usum parantur nimium aliquid aut modicum,
nisi ex fortuna possidentis.
288. _Who forms a godhead. _ From Martial, VIII. xxiv. 5:--
Qui fingit sacros auro vel marmore vultus
Non facit ille deos: qui rogat, ille facit.
290. _The eyes be first that conquered are.
