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Perfection, if't hathever been attayned,
In Gunners Art, this Author hathit gayned,
By Study and Experiences, and he
The Fruite of all his Paynes hathoffered Thee,
A Present well befitting this our Age,
When all the World is but a Martiall Stage:
Let sweeter Studies lull a sleepe and please
Men, who presume security, but these
Thy Labors practizd, shall more safely guard
Those that foresee the Danger, th'other bar'd
This benefite: Wee Soldiers doe imbrace
This Rare and usefull Worke, and o're the face
Of all the World, let thy Fames Echo sound,
More then that roaring Engin, and redound
To th'Honor of our Nation, that thy Paynes
Transcends all former, and their glory staines.
In Gunners Art, this Author hathit gayned,
By Study and Experiences, and he
The Fruite of all his Paynes hathoffered Thee,
A Present well befitting this our Age,
When all the World is but a Martiall Stage:
Let sweeter Studies lull a sleepe and please
Men, who presume security, but these
Thy Labors practizd, shall more safely guard
Those that foresee the Danger, th'other bar'd
This benefite: Wee Soldiers doe imbrace
This Rare and usefull Worke, and o're the face
Of all the World, let thy Fames Echo sound,
More then that roaring Engin, and redound
To th'Honor of our Nation, that thy Paynes
Transcends all former, and their glory staines.
Captaine John Smith,
Hungariensis.
Hungariensis.
Note that the apostrophe in "if't," line 1, is missing in the British
Library copy, but not in a few others consulted. For further comments, see
Philip L. Barbour, "Two 'Unknown' Poems by Captain John Smith,"
Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, LXXV (1967), 157–158.
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