Poems on Several Occasions By J. Robertson |
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A PROLOGUE,
Spoken at the Opening the New Theatre in Hull, October 3, 1768.
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 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
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A PROLOGUE, Spoken at the Opening the New Theatre in Hull, October 3, 1768.
To check the Growth of Folly o'er the Mind,
To banish Vice and to reform Mankind,
The Muse descended from her native Skies,
And bad—her fav'rite Gift—the Stage arise:
In Greece and Italy, those happy Climes,
For Arts and Wisdom known to latest Times,
Her Mirror with Success the Muse display'd,
And Virtue's Precepts happily convey'd.—
But when with Gothic Ignorance o'erspread,
Fair Liberty and Learning droop'd their Head,
With them the Muse to Heav'n resum'd her Flight,
And all was Darkness and Chaotic Night;
Her Banners Superstition wide display'd,
And Ignorance with leaden Sceptre sway'd.—
Some Ages past, bright Liberty again,
With Learning, Truth, and Science in her Train,
From Heav'n returning, beam'd her sunny Head,
And Superstition's Night-Owls trembling fled;
Then, Nature's Boast, great Shakespeare, and a Throng
Of Heav'n-inspir'd pour'd forth th' inchanting Song;
And all that Italy and Greece cou'd boast,
Were doubly shed on Britain's happy Coast.
To banish Vice and to reform Mankind,
The Muse descended from her native Skies,
And bad—her fav'rite Gift—the Stage arise:
In Greece and Italy, those happy Climes,
For Arts and Wisdom known to latest Times,
Her Mirror with Success the Muse display'd,
And Virtue's Precepts happily convey'd.—
But when with Gothic Ignorance o'erspread,
Fair Liberty and Learning droop'd their Head,
With them the Muse to Heav'n resum'd her Flight,
And all was Darkness and Chaotic Night;
Her Banners Superstition wide display'd,
And Ignorance with leaden Sceptre sway'd.—
Some Ages past, bright Liberty again,
With Learning, Truth, and Science in her Train,
From Heav'n returning, beam'd her sunny Head,
And Superstition's Night-Owls trembling fled;
Then, Nature's Boast, great Shakespeare, and a Throng
Of Heav'n-inspir'd pour'd forth th' inchanting Song;
And all that Italy and Greece cou'd boast,
Were doubly shed on Britain's happy Coast.
“In HULL, that favour'd Soil whence Marvel sprung,
“Where, Heav'n-inspir'd, her native Mason sung,”
Thus to her Levites did the Muse declare,
(We Players, be it known, her Levites are)
“In this lov'd Spot, she cry'd, a Temple raise
“Sacred to Phoebus, and the Muses Lays;
“With Elegance and Splendor let it shine,
“The Stage my Altar, and each Scene a Shrine;
“Here oft the Muse shall bid each Passion rise,
“Whilst every feeling Breast shall sympathise;
“Here Tragedy in all her Pomp of Woe,
“Shall teach the gen'rous heart-sprung Tear to flow;
“Here Comedy shall use her utmost Art
“To banish Rainbow-Folly from the Heart;—
“By Proxy cur'd, Men shall grow cheaply wise,
“And their own Faults, in others stamp'd, despise.”—
“Where, Heav'n-inspir'd, her native Mason sung,”
273
(We Players, be it known, her Levites are)
“In this lov'd Spot, she cry'd, a Temple raise
“Sacred to Phoebus, and the Muses Lays;
“With Elegance and Splendor let it shine,
“The Stage my Altar, and each Scene a Shrine;
“Here oft the Muse shall bid each Passion rise,
“Whilst every feeling Breast shall sympathise;
“Here Tragedy in all her Pomp of Woe,
“Shall teach the gen'rous heart-sprung Tear to flow;
“Here Comedy shall use her utmost Art
“To banish Rainbow-Folly from the Heart;—
“By Proxy cur'd, Men shall grow cheaply wise,
“And their own Faults, in others stamp'd, despise.”—
Obedient to the Muses high Commands,
Behold the rising Temple graceful stands;
Our Manager no Merit claims as due;
The Pow'r to raise the Temple—sprung from You:—
The many, many Favours you have shown,
Grateful he owns, and will for ever own:—
If this Attempt to Please, your Sanction gains,
He's more than overpaid for all his Pains.
Behold the rising Temple graceful stands;
Our Manager no Merit claims as due;
The Pow'r to raise the Temple—sprung from You:—
The many, many Favours you have shown,
Grateful he owns, and will for ever own:—
If this Attempt to Please, your Sanction gains,
He's more than overpaid for all his Pains.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |