The poems of George Daniel ... From the original mss. in the British Museum: Hitherto unprinted. Edited, with introduction, notes, and illustrations, portrait, &c. By the Rev. Alexander B. Grosart: In four volumes |
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III, IV. |
The poems of George Daniel | ||
104
Proportion.
Man, (Screen'd, by Flesh and Blood, and wrapt withinTh' impenetrable Curtaine of his Skin),
How shall wee pourtray out? what antique Qvill,
Or famous Moderne, boasts of such a Skill?
Not great Apelles, nor fam'd Titian
Had anie Colour for the inward Man:
Much Celebrated Angelo could give
Life to his worke almost, in perspective;
And our late honoured Vandike may raise
Himselfe a Trophie, from another's Face;
But this exceeds their Cunning; all wee know
Of this, rests in our Selves, & what wee owe
Vnto Philosophie; whose gentle hand
Can put aside the vaile; and then wee Stand
Naked and plaine;
As in the outward face, and all the parts
Exterior. Each severall imparts
A diverse ffeature; & noe two can bee
Soe like in Face, such Twinns in Symmetrie,
But a discerning Eye may eas'ly find
A difference. Soe is it in the Mind;
105
(As in the Bodie Naturall), his pitch
Is limited, and not one Inch can adde
In Stature, to the measure that he had;
Nor Change his Face to a Complexion
Fairer then that which Nature made his owne.
Soe is the diverse Face of Reason; and
The vnderstanding, cannot put a hand,
Beyond that Reine.
It now appeares, as plainly to my Eye,
The Mind and Intellectuall Phisniomie,
As the Corporeall Shape; and I perceive
The same Discordances which wee conceive
In all exterior formes; and Each man best
Suits with his proper owne. Can I divest
My Swartie Hewe? and put vpon my face
A better Tincture? or new features place
Where the old were imperfect? Neither may
I put away my Reason, though it Stray
And be a Monster to another's Eyes!
Yet knitt soe Close vnto my ffaculties
It cannot part; noe more, then heat from fire;—
A Qvalitie Inherent and Entire:
It is the Same,
In vnderstanding, given severallie
To the proportion; & shall therefore I
Despise my selfe? because my Stature is
Perhaps an Inch or Cubit below his.
106
That thing, with Ease, which I with all my Stretch
Cannot attaine. There is a height beyond
His vtmost. Man, is all of Pigmey kind;
And though our Giant vnderstandings reare
Themselves on Tiptoes, to the wishéd Sphere,
How are they lesse then Nothing? & his leape
Is but to fall againe; whilst others reape
A larger Harvest, with a lesser Toyle.
But noe man has the Stocke; noe Inke, nor oyle,
Can bring a Name,
Beyond his Circumscribéd Power. Wee All
Have proper Motions; and they rise, to fall
Vnpittied, who adventure on a path
Of soe much ruine, as noe lesse then Death
Attends each Step. Yet man, in Time, be wise;
Bee thy owne Mirror; See Deformities
As well as Beauties; and correct them there,
With as much Diligence, and as great Care,
As in a glass, thy face, should'st thou perceive
A Spott, to lessen Beautie. 'Tis, beleive,
More worth thy Care, to rectifye this part
Then all thy Face; Bee happie, as thou art;
That is, Bee pleaséd with thy owne; and See
Some Creatures Creepe, as well as others Flee.
The poems of George Daniel | ||