 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
115
The DOG:
A MILTONICK Fragment.
Thee, Sister, gladly would my Verse provoke,
Nor other Meed expect I, than to wake
Thy Strain melodious; while without or Rhyme
Or haply Reason, unexperienc'd Lays,
And unapprov'd, unless when sung by Thee,
Audacious I attempt, and rise to sing
A Dog; if Dog aright he may be term'd,
Who scarcely more, I ween, in Shape resembles
The vulgar barking Animals on Earth,
Than Sirius or than Procyon, heav'nly Stars.
Nor other Meed expect I, than to wake
Thy Strain melodious; while without or Rhyme
Or haply Reason, unexperienc'd Lays,
And unapprov'd, unless when sung by Thee,
Audacious I attempt, and rise to sing
A Dog; if Dog aright he may be term'd,
Who scarcely more, I ween, in Shape resembles
The vulgar barking Animals on Earth,
Than Sirius or than Procyon, heav'nly Stars.
Say first, whoe'er can say, what Clime produc'd,
What Sire begot, this admirable Form,
Uncouth, prodigious; lately curst, but now
Thrice blest! the Subject of Heroick Song?
Or Dutch low-built and squat, or slimmer Dane,
Four-footed Wit, with roguy Visage sly:
Or nobler Kinds, too near, alas! extinct,
The Irish Greyhound or the English Mastiff;
Or fav'rite Brood of Charles, discerning King,
T'espy Perfection or in Beast or Man!
Or rather else from Parentage unknown,
Like Antient Heroes sprung from Mother Earth,
The general Mother Earth, without a Sire;
For Sires beget their Like, and propagate
Their Kinds; but like to Him was never found.
What Sire begot, this admirable Form,
Uncouth, prodigious; lately curst, but now
Thrice blest! the Subject of Heroick Song?
Or Dutch low-built and squat, or slimmer Dane,
Four-footed Wit, with roguy Visage sly:
Or nobler Kinds, too near, alas! extinct,
The Irish Greyhound or the English Mastiff;
Or fav'rite Brood of Charles, discerning King,
T'espy Perfection or in Beast or Man!
Or rather else from Parentage unknown,
Like Antient Heroes sprung from Mother Earth,
The general Mother Earth, without a Sire;
For Sires beget their Like, and propagate
Their Kinds; but like to Him was never found.
116
His Colours strange, what mortal Painter's Hand.
With all his Lights and Shadings can express!
Inexplicably grisly! But his Tail,
Oh! had'st Thou seen his Tail, the matchless Shape
Th' identick Shape thy Fancy would retain,
Engraven in eternal Characters,
While Memory holds its Empire in the Brain:
A Line like which not Archimedes old
In yielding Sand e'er trac'd, nor greater Skill
Of modern Newton e'er has yet on Slate
'Midst Figures Curve or Rectilinear drawn:
Transverse, disjointed from the sacred Bone,
It stood, as nought of kindred to the Parts
Posterior whence it grew, or rather seem'd
T' adhere not native there: So Misletoe
Seems only grafted on its Parent Oak:
Nor uniform the Length; part dangling lithe,
Part horizontal stiff, tho' not so stiff
As Tail of Memphian Crocodile full-grown.
[OMITTED]
With all his Lights and Shadings can express!
Inexplicably grisly! But his Tail,
Oh! had'st Thou seen his Tail, the matchless Shape
Th' identick Shape thy Fancy would retain,
Engraven in eternal Characters,
While Memory holds its Empire in the Brain:
A Line like which not Archimedes old
In yielding Sand e'er trac'd, nor greater Skill
Of modern Newton e'er has yet on Slate
'Midst Figures Curve or Rectilinear drawn:
Transverse, disjointed from the sacred Bone,
It stood, as nought of kindred to the Parts
Posterior whence it grew, or rather seem'd
T' adhere not native there: So Misletoe
Seems only grafted on its Parent Oak:
Nor uniform the Length; part dangling lithe,
Part horizontal stiff, tho' not so stiff
As Tail of Memphian Crocodile full-grown.
Learn hence, Thou two-legg'd Animal call'd Man
Or haughty Stoick boasting Apathy,
Or grunting Swine of Epicurus' Herd;
Or Cynick Churl, that proud of causeless Snarl,
Unworthily usurp'st the Name of Dog;
Learn from my lofty moralizing Song,
A grateful Sense of Benefits receiv'd,
An humble Rev'rence of superior Pow'r.
Or haughty Stoick boasting Apathy,
Or grunting Swine of Epicurus' Herd;
Or Cynick Churl, that proud of causeless Snarl,
Unworthily usurp'st the Name of Dog;
Learn from my lofty moralizing Song,
A grateful Sense of Benefits receiv'd,
An humble Rev'rence of superior Pow'r.
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