The Powers of the Pen A poem addressed to John Curre ... By E. Lloyd ... The second edition, with large additions |
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 | The Powers of the Pen |  |
But let the Muse, to Candour true,
Give Johnson what is Johnson's Due—
When with unsparing Hand he shed
A Cloud of Faults on Shakespear's Head,
He with a Master's Skill unfurl'd
Some folded Beauties to the World;
Remov'd the Veil which Time had drawn,
And gave him with new Day to dawn;
With skilful Hand expung'd the Blot
Rais'd from the Unities forgot,
Obscurity of Sense he clears,
But does not understand his Tears.
Thus with his Faults his Merits mix,
That Candour knows not where to fix,
But binds the Thorns up with the Rose,
And blots the Praise which she bestows.
Give Johnson what is Johnson's Due—
When with unsparing Hand he shed
A Cloud of Faults on Shakespear's Head,
He with a Master's Skill unfurl'd
Some folded Beauties to the World;
Remov'd the Veil which Time had drawn,
And gave him with new Day to dawn;
With skilful Hand expung'd the Blot
Rais'd from the Unities forgot,
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But does not understand his Tears.
Thus with his Faults his Merits mix,
That Candour knows not where to fix,
But binds the Thorns up with the Rose,
And blots the Praise which she bestows.
| The Powers of the Pen | |