 | Ximenes |  |
THE PROLOGUE; Written by the Authour.
Exalted virtue on our stage appears,
To-night; and owes more majesty to years;
May it your plaudits win, if not your tears!
To-night; and owes more majesty to years;
May it your plaudits win, if not your tears!
Sure all who hear me, have perused the reign
Of the famed lord of Germany, and Spain.
But who regrets not a recording page,
Zealous for Charles, neglectful of the sage?
Where, of the tyrant a full-length we see;
And, Ximenes! a miniature of thee!
Of the famed lord of Germany, and Spain.
But who regrets not a recording page,
Zealous for Charles, neglectful of the sage?
Where, of the tyrant a full-length we see;
And, Ximenes! a miniature of thee!
Tutored by time, and watchful to repress
A muse, once prone to juvenile excess;
Ardent to praise, and tender to condemn,
We leave grave history to it's prudent phlegm;
Yet say, what poet would not rather sing
The generous regent, than the gloomy king?
A muse, once prone to juvenile excess;
Ardent to praise, and tender to condemn,
We leave grave history to it's prudent phlegm;
Yet say, what poet would not rather sing
The generous regent, than the gloomy king?
Our venerable hero's life you'll find
Of strain harmonious with a British mind;
By genius taught, three hundred years ago,
To lawless power a persevering foe,
At length, he broke the despot's Gothick chain,
And introduced humanity to Spain;
For her, vindictive hosts he oft defied,
The fierce resentment of Castilian pride;
For her, a tear oft stealing, with a sigh,
Suffused the language of a speaking eye;
Her cause gave spirit to his latest breath,
And turned attention from the shaft of death.
Of strain harmonious with a British mind;
By genius taught, three hundred years ago,
To lawless power a persevering foe,
At length, he broke the despot's Gothick chain,
And introduced humanity to Spain;
For her, vindictive hosts he oft defied,
The fierce resentment of Castilian pride;
For her, a tear oft stealing, with a sigh,
Suffused the language of a speaking eye;
Her cause gave spirit to his latest breath,
And turned attention from the shaft of death.
Since then to you, respectful in his aim,
By noble means our bard aspires to fame;
Hither no sing-song, trifling object brings,
Of you unworthy, and Castalian springs;
Requests your leave to plead a generous cause,
The patronage of arts, and equal laws;
Religion, freed from every priestly guile,
And beaming, with her own celestial smile;
Since he presents no common tragick theme,
Enlarged by wild imagination's dream;
But wishes, for awhile, the soul distressed
With woes that stung a dying patriot's breast;
Woos you, from tricks to wean your eye, your ear,
To feel, to think, to reason, while you hear;
With his exertions let your zeal conspire;
And with the British, aid the poet's fire;
Assert the taste of a superiour age;
And to old dignity restore the stage.
By noble means our bard aspires to fame;
Of you unworthy, and Castalian springs;
Requests your leave to plead a generous cause,
The patronage of arts, and equal laws;
Religion, freed from every priestly guile,
And beaming, with her own celestial smile;
Since he presents no common tragick theme,
Enlarged by wild imagination's dream;
But wishes, for awhile, the soul distressed
With woes that stung a dying patriot's breast;
Woos you, from tricks to wean your eye, your ear,
To feel, to think, to reason, while you hear;
With his exertions let your zeal conspire;
And with the British, aid the poet's fire;
Assert the taste of a superiour age;
And to old dignity restore the stage.
Then shall our authour boast a new renown,
A mitre friendly to his laurel crown;
The church's lights, that still, with distant rays,
Like his Arcturus, viewed his cheerless days,
Shall see the rigour of their frozen reign
Contrasted with the splendid warmth of Spain;
Struck with the rare example, they shall own
A strong prelatick influence, long unknown,
A Christian glory from Toledo's throne!
A mitre friendly to his laurel crown;
The church's lights, that still, with distant rays,
Like his Arcturus, viewed his cheerless days,
Shall see the rigour of their frozen reign
Contrasted with the splendid warmth of Spain;
Struck with the rare example, they shall own
A strong prelatick influence, long unknown,
A Christian glory from Toledo's throne!
| Ximenes | |