 | Heroick Love |  |
PROLOGUE. By Henry St. Johns, Esq;
How
hard's the Poet's task, in these our days,
Who such dull Pallates is condemn'd to please,
As Damn all Sense, and only Fustian praise:
Charm'd with Heroick Non-sense, lofty strains,
Not with the Writers, but the Players pains,
And by the Actors Lungs, judge of the Poet's Brains.
Who such dull Pallates is condemn'd to please,
As Damn all Sense, and only Fustian praise:
Charm'd with Heroick Non-sense, lofty strains,
Not with the Writers, but the Players pains,
And by the Actors Lungs, judge of the Poet's Brains.
Let Scribling Judges, who your Pleasures serve,
Live by your Smiles, or by your Anger starve,
To please you in your vain Fantastick way,
Renounce their Judgment, to secure their Pay:
By written Laws, our Author would be try'd,
And writes as if Athenians should decide,
With Horace and the Stagyrite for Guide.
Applause is welcome, but too dearly bought,
Should we give up one rule, those mighty Masters taught.
Yet some, methinks, I here and there descry
Who may with Ancient Rome and Athens vye;
To whose Tribunal, we submit with Joy:
To them, and only them; for not to wrong ye
'Twould be a shame to please the most among ye.
Live by your Smiles, or by your Anger starve,
To please you in your vain Fantastick way,
Renounce their Judgment, to secure their Pay:
By written Laws, our Author would be try'd,
And writes as if Athenians should decide,
With Horace and the Stagyrite for Guide.
Applause is welcome, but too dearly bought,
Should we give up one rule, those mighty Masters taught.
Yet some, methinks, I here and there descry
Who may with Ancient Rome and Athens vye;
To whose Tribunal, we submit with Joy:
To them, and only them; for not to wrong ye
'Twould be a shame to please the most among ye.
Chiefly the softer Sex, he hopes to move,
Those tender Judges of Heroick Love:
To that bright Circle, he resigns his Cause,
And if they Smile, he asks no more Applause.
Those tender Judges of Heroick Love:
To that bright Circle, he resigns his Cause,
And if they Smile, he asks no more Applause.
| Heroick Love | |