Thus Voiture's early care *) ftill fhone the
fame,
And Montaufier was only changed in name:
By this ev'n now they live, ev'n now they charm,
Their wit ftill fparkling, and their flames ftill warm.
Now crown'd with myrtle on th' Elysian coaft,
Amid thofe lovers joys his gentle ghoft;
Pleas'd while with fmiles his happy lines you view,
And finds a fairer Rambouillet in you.
The brighteft eyes of France infpir'd his Mufe;
The brighteft eyes of Britain now perufe;
And dead, as living, 'tis our author's pride
Still to charm thofe who charm the world befide,
*) Mademoiselle Paulet.
S. B. L. S. 33. 414. Man findet zwölf poetische Episteln unter seinen vermischten Gedichten, die stellenweise viel Verdienst haben, ob sie gleich im Ganzen etwas zu kalt und einförmig sind. Folgende ist eine der besten.
On a Mifcellany of Poems.
Ipfa varietate tentamus efficere, vt alia aliis, quaedam fortaffe omnibus placeant.
As when fome fkilful cook, to please each
gueft,
Would in one mixture comprehend a Feast,
With due proportion and judicious care
He fills his difh with diff'rent forts of fare,
Fif hes and fowls delicioufly unite,
To feaft at once the tafte, the smell, and fight:
So, Bernard! muft a Mifcellany be
Compounded of all kinds of poetry;
The Mufe's olio, which all taftes may fit,
And treat each reader with his darling wit.
Wouldst thou for Miscellanies raise thy fame,
And bravely rival Jacob's mighty name,
Let all the Mufes in the piece confpire;
The lyric Bard muft ftrike th' harmonious lyre;
Heroic ftrains must here and there be found,
And nervous sense be fung in lofty found:
Let Elegy in moving numbers flow,
And fill fome pages with melodious woe;
Let not your am'rous fongs too num'rous prove,
Nor glut thy, reader with abundant love:
Gay. Satire muft interfere, whofe pointed rage
May lafh the madness of a vicious age;
Satire, the Muse that never fails to hit,
For if there's fcandal, to be sure there's wit.
Tire not our patience with Pindaric lays,
Thole fwell the piece, but very rarely please;
Let fhort-breath'd Epigram its force confine,
And strike at follies in a fingle line:
Translations fhould throughout the work be fown,
And Homer's goldlike Mufe be made our own:
Horace in useful numbers fhould be fung,
And Virgil's thoughts adorn the Britifh tongue:
Let Ovid tell Corinna's hard difdain,
And at her door in melting notes complain:
His tender accents pitying virgins move,
And charm the lift'ning ear with tales of love.
Let ev'ry claffic in the volume fhine,
And each contribute to the great defign:
Thro' various fubjects let the reader range,
And raife his fancy with a grateful change;
Variety's the fource of joy below,
From whence ftill frefh-revolving pleasures flow.
In books and love the mind one end pursues,
And only change th' expiring flame renews.
Where Buckingham will condefcend to give,
That honour'd piece to diftant times muft live:
When noble Sheffield ftrikes the trembling ftrings,
The little Loves rejoice, and clap their wings:
Anacreon lives, they cry: th' harmonious fwain.
Retunes the lyre, and tries his wonted ftrain;
'Tis he! Our loft Anacreon lives again.
But when th' illuftrious poet foars above
The fportive revels of the God of Love,
Like Maro's Mufe he takes a loftier flight,
And tow'rs beyond the wond'ring Cupid's fight.
If thou wouldst have thy volume ftand the teft,
And of all others be reputed best,
Let Congreve teach the lift'ning groves to mourn,
As when he wept o'er fair Paftora's urn.
Let Prior's Mufe with foft'ning accents
Soft as the ftrains of conftant Emma's love;
Or let his fancy chufe fome jovial theme,
As when he told Hans Carvel's jealous dream:
Prior th' admiring reader entertains
With Chaucer's humour, and with Spenfer's
ftrains.
Waller in Granville lives: when Mira fings,
With Waller's hand he strikes the founding ftrings;
With fprightly turns his noble genius shines,
And manly fenfe adorns his eafy lines.
On Addison's sweet lays Attention waits,
And Silence guards the place while he repeats;
His Mufe alike on ev'ry subject charms,
Whether she paints the god of Love or Arms:
In him pathetic Ovid fings again,
And Homer's Iliad fhines in his Campaign.
Whenever Garth fhall raise his fprightly
fong,
Senfe flows in eafy numbers from his tongue;
Great Phoebus in his learned fon we fee,
Alike in phyfic as in poetry.
When Pope's harmonious Mufe with pleasure
Amidft the plains, the murm'ring ftreams and gro
Attentive Echo pleas'd to hear his fongs.
Thro' the glad fhade each warbling note prolongs;
His various numbers charm our ravifh'd ears,
His fteady judgment far outfhoots his years,
And early in the youth the god appears.
From thefe fuccessful bards collect thy ftrains,
And praise with profit fhall reward thy pains:
Then, while calves'-leather binding bears the fway,
And fheep-fkin to its fleeker glofs' gives way,
While neat old Elzevir is reckon'd better
Then Pirate Hill's brown fheets and fcurvy letter,
While print-admirers careful Aldus chufe
Before John Morphew, or the weekly news,
So long fhall live thy praise in books of Fame,
And Tonfon yield to Lintott's lofty name.
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