Neglected Genius A Poem. Illustrating the Untimely And Unfortunate Fate Of Many British Poets; From the Period of Henry the Eighth to the Aera of the Unfortunate Chatterton. Containing Imitations of their Different Styles, &c. &c. By W. H. Ireland |
 |
George Lillo.
|
|
|
|
 | Neglected Genius |  |
31
George Lillo.
When genius plants the aromatic flow'r,
The lowly born diffuse its dazzling pow'r;
The titled race bright fancy scarce adorns,
The wild rose blooming 'midst the hedge's thorns;
The muses ne'er respect to persons own,
The structure of the human mind their throne;
As tow'ring eagle free, that builds its nest,
They twine plebeian brows with blooming crest;
Nurture in common men the inborn flame,
Ennobling poverty with lustrous fame.
Trace o'er the annals of this nether world,
Widely, O genius! be thy flag unfurl'd;
The floating banner this stern fact must show,
Promiscuous minds dispense thy genial glow;
From Homer downwards fancy's envied bays
Have crown'd the meek where shone the muse's rays:
Such prov'd the origin of Lillo's strain,
Who aim'd at pathos, nor essay'd in vain;
His scenic art the tender thoughts control,
His plaintive eloquence subdues the soul;
Each tale by pure simplicity impress'd,
Awakes soft sympathy in ev'ry breast;
Critics in vain may cavil at his lays,
Censure is hush'd by universal praise:
So while the mimic art sounds forth his worth,
The mind of Lillo claims Parnassian birth.
The lowly born diffuse its dazzling pow'r;
The titled race bright fancy scarce adorns,
The wild rose blooming 'midst the hedge's thorns;
The muses ne'er respect to persons own,
The structure of the human mind their throne;
As tow'ring eagle free, that builds its nest,
They twine plebeian brows with blooming crest;
Nurture in common men the inborn flame,
Ennobling poverty with lustrous fame.
Trace o'er the annals of this nether world,
Widely, O genius! be thy flag unfurl'd;
32
Promiscuous minds dispense thy genial glow;
From Homer downwards fancy's envied bays
Have crown'd the meek where shone the muse's rays:
Such prov'd the origin of Lillo's strain,
Who aim'd at pathos, nor essay'd in vain;
His scenic art the tender thoughts control,
His plaintive eloquence subdues the soul;
Each tale by pure simplicity impress'd,
Awakes soft sympathy in ev'ry breast;
Critics in vain may cavil at his lays,
Censure is hush'd by universal praise:
So while the mimic art sounds forth his worth,
The mind of Lillo claims Parnassian birth.
Still thou, sweet bard, wast doom'd distress to share,
And swell this record of the sons of care:—
Yet why these sorrows shou'd my muse relate,
When one more classic has enroll'd thy fate?
'Twas Hammond's task in mournful minstrelsy
To trace thy worth, and weep thy misery;
'Twas his to damp thine urn with pity's tear,
And bid the well-earn'd laurel shade thy bier.
And swell this record of the sons of care:—
Yet why these sorrows shou'd my muse relate,
When one more classic has enroll'd thy fate?
33
To trace thy worth, and weep thy misery;
'Twas his to damp thine urn with pity's tear,
And bid the well-earn'd laurel shade thy bier.
| Neglected Genius | |