SUMMER. A POEM. By JAMES THOMSON. Jam clarus Occultum Andromeda Pater Sole Dies referente siccos. Jam Pater Umbras cum Grege languido, Dumeta Sylvani: caretque HOR. LONDON: J. Millan, at Locke's Head in New-Street, the upper End of the Hay-Market. MDCCXVII. Price 1 s. 6 d. To the Right Honourable Mr. Dodington, 1) One of the Lords of His Majesty's Treasury, etc. Sir, It is not my Purpose, in this Address, to run into the common Tract of Dedicators, and attempt a Panegyric which would prove ungrateful to You, too arduous for Me, and superfluous with Regard to the World. To You it would prove ungrateful, since there is a certain generous Delicacy in Men of the most distinguished Merit, disposing Them to avoid those Praises They so powerfully attract. And when I consider that a Character, in which the Vertues, the Graces, and the Muses join their Influence, as much exceeds the Expression of the most elegant and judicious Pen, as the finish'd Beauty does the Representation of the Pencil, I have the best Reasons for declining such an arduous Undertaking. As, indeed, it would be superfluous in itself; for what Reader need to be told of those great Abilities in the Management of public Affairs, and those amiable Accomplishments in private Life, which You so eminently possess. The general Voice is loud in the Praise of so many Vertues, tho' Posterity alone will do Them Justice. But may You, Sir, live long to illustrate your own Fame by your own 1) This epistolary dedication is found only in the editions prior to the subscription quarto of 1730. In the quarto, and in some of the later editions, the following short dedication appears on the titlepage: Summer. Inscribed to the Right Honourable Mr. Dodington. Your Example has recommended Poetry, with the greatest Grace, to the Admiration of Those, who are engag'd in the highest and most active Scenes of Life: and this, tho' confessedly the least considerable of those exalted Qualities that dignify your Character, must be particularly pleasing to One, whose only Hope of being introduced to your Regard is thro' the Recommendation of an Art in which You are a Master. — But I forget what I have been declaring above, and must therefore turn my Eyes to the following Sheets. I am not ignorant that, when offered to your Perusal, they are put into the Hands of one of the finest, and consequently the most indulgent Judges of the Age: but as there is no Mediocrity in Poetry, so there should be no Limits to its Ambition. — I venture directly on the Tryal of my Fame. If what I here present You has any Merit to gain your Approbation, I am not afraid of its Success; and if it fails of your Notice, I give it up to its just Fate. This Advantage at least I secure to myself, an Occasion of thus publickly declaring that I am, with the profoundest Veneration, Sir, Your most devoted, humble Servant James Thomson. The Argument.1) The subject proposed. Invocation. Address to Mr. Dodington. An introductory reflection on the motion of the heavenly bodies; whence the succession of the Seasons. As the face of nature in this season is almost uniform, the progress of the poem is a description of a summer's day. Morning. A view of the sun rising.2) Hymn to the sun. Forenoon. Rural prospects.") Summer insects described. *) Noon-day. A woodland retreat. A groupe of flocks and herds.) A solemn grove. How it affects a contemplative mind.") Transition to the prospect of a well-cultivated country; which introduces a panegyric on Great Britain. A digression on foreign summers. Storm of thunder and lightning. A tale. The storm over; a serene afternoon. Bathing. Sun set. Sun set. Evening. The whole concluding with the Praise of Philosophy. 1) Appears for the first time in the quarto of 1730. The following variations occur in the editions of 1744 and 1746: 2) Summer's Day. The Dawn. Sun-rising. 3) "Rural prospects" omitted 4) describ'd. Hay-making. Sheep-shearing. Noon-day. ) Groupe of Herds and Flocks. 6) Mind. A Cataract, and rude Scene. View of Summer in the torrid Zone. Storm of Thunder and Lightning. A Tale. The Storm over, a serene Afternoon. Bathing. Hour of walking. Transition to the Prospect etc. as above down to "Great Britain". Sun-set. Evening. Night. Summer Meteors. The whole concluding etc. |