 | A collection of letters and state papers |  |
693
[The tragick muse full twice a thousand years]
The tragick muse full twice a thousand years,
In lofty scenes has rais'd our hopes and fears;
By unexpected turns she gives surprise,
New joys she gives, then fils with tears our eyes;
A war of passions in their breasts they feel
As the muse fires, who have not hearts of Steel.
In lofty scenes has rais'd our hopes and fears;
By unexpected turns she gives surprise,
New joys she gives, then fils with tears our eyes;
A war of passions in their breasts they feel
As the muse fires, who have not hearts of Steel.
Old Aschilus in tragick numbers bold,
The griefs of mortals, and immortals, told;
He leaving nature and terrestial plains,
Sung Joves revenge, and bound a God in chains.
The griefs of mortals, and immortals, told;
He leaving nature and terrestial plains,
Sung Joves revenge, and bound a God in chains.
Next Sophocles majestick in his rage,
To admiration charms a knowing age;
In all the pomp of words he greatly sings,
The wreck of empires and the woes of Kings.
To admiration charms a knowing age;
In all the pomp of words he greatly sings,
The wreck of empires and the woes of Kings.
Euripides sententious and serene,
Bright tho' not blazing, grac'd the tragick scene;
Proud Rome that gather'd of old greece their store,
Compar'd with her, in tragedy was poor;
In Nero's reign the moralizing sage
Drew but faint lines of the Greecian page.
Bright tho' not blazing, grac'd the tragick scene;
Proud Rome that gather'd of old greece their store,
Compar'd with her, in tragedy was poor;
In Nero's reign the moralizing sage
Drew but faint lines of the Greecian page.
694
To these succeeds a race of monkish days,
In which no learned bard was crown'd with bays;
One dismal cent'ry to another yeilds,
No sound is heard but the loud clash of shields;
Hums, Goths and Sandals, from the northern clime,
Swarm on the Earth, and fright the land of rhime;
Mute are the nine, virtue and learning sleep
Whilst war and zeal their wakeful vigils keep.
In which no learned bard was crown'd with bays;
One dismal cent'ry to another yeilds,
No sound is heard but the loud clash of shields;
Hums, Goths and Sandals, from the northern clime,
Swarm on the Earth, and fright the land of rhime;
Mute are the nine, virtue and learning sleep
Whilst war and zeal their wakeful vigils keep.
At length the tragick muse again appears,
And gives the promise of successful years;
Britain and France the sacred influence feel,
From Shakespear, Fletcher, and the great Corneile.
And gives the promise of successful years;
Britain and France the sacred influence feel,
From Shakespear, Fletcher, and the great Corneile.
Their bright examples other bards inspire,
And emulous of fame, their bosoms fire;
In virtue's cause the sons of verse engage,
And most instructing, most they charm the age.
And emulous of fame, their bosoms fire;
In virtue's cause the sons of verse engage,
And most instructing, most they charm the age.
This night our bard the glorious tract persues,
New to the Stage he courts the tragick muse;
By an invented tale, a tale of love,
Without the guilt of blood, he strives to move;
To their own peace he shews the parents blind,
Who disunite the hearts which love has join'd;
With candour he intreats you to attend
And hopes your favour, as he's virtues friend.
New to the Stage he courts the tragick muse;
By an invented tale, a tale of love,
Without the guilt of blood, he strives to move;
To their own peace he shews the parents blind,
Who disunite the hearts which love has join'd;
With candour he intreats you to attend
And hopes your favour, as he's virtues friend.
June, 1731.
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