A beauty of that clear and sparkling light,
Would make a day of night,

And turn the blackest sorrows to bright joys;
Whose odorous breath destroys

All taste of bitterness, and makes the air
As sweet as she is fair.

A body so harmoniously composed,
As if nature disclosed

All her best symmetry in that one feature!
O, so divine a creature,

Who could be false to? chiefly, when he knows
How only she bestows

The wealthy treasure of her love on him;
Making his fortunes swim

In the full flood of her admired perfection?
What savage, brute affection,

Would not be fearful to offend a dame
Of this excelling frame?

Much more a noble, and right generous mind,
To virtuous moods inclin'd,

That knows the weight of guilt;1 he will refrain
From thoughts of such a strain,

And to his sense object this sentence ever,

"Man may securely sin, but safely never."

1 That knows the weight of guilt, &c.] This is from Seneca, the tragedian :

Quid pæna presens consciæ mentis pavor,
Animusque culpa plenus, et semet timens:
Scelus aliqua tutum, nulla securum tulit.

XII.

EPISTLE

TO ELIZABETH COUNTESS OF RUTLAND.2

MADAM,

HILST that for which all virtue now is sold,
And almost every vice, almighty gold,

W

That which, to boot with hell, is thought
worth heaven

And for it, life, conscience, yea souls are given,
Toils, by grave custom, up and down the court,
To every squire, or groom, that will report
Well or ill, only all the following year,

Just to the weight their this day's presents bear;
While it makes huishers serviceable men,
And some one apteth to be trusted then,
Though never after; whiles it gains the voice
Of some grand peer, whose air doth make rejoice
The fool that gave it; who will want and weep,
When his proud patron's favours are asleep;
While thus it buys great grace, and hunts poor fame;
Runs between man and man; 'tween dame and dame;
Solders crack'd friendship; makes love last a day;
Or perhaps less: whilst gold bears all this sway,
I, that have none to send you, send you verse.
A present which, if elder writs rehearse

The truth of times, was once of more esteem,
Than this our gilt, nor golden age can deem,
When gold was made no weapon to cut throats,
Or put to flight Astrea, when her ingòts

2 Elizabeth countess of Rutland.] The lady to whom the 79th epigram is addressed, daughter of sir Philip Sidney, and wife of Roger Manners, fifth earl of Rutland. She died before the appearance of this volume, as did her husband.

Were yet unfound, and better placed in earth,3
Than here, to give pride fame, and peasants birth.
But let this dross carry what price it will
With noble ignorants, and let them still
Turn upon scorned verse their quarter-face :
With you, I know, my offering will find grace.
For what a sin 'gainst your great father's spirit,
Were it to think, that you should not inherit
His love unto the Muses, when his skill
Almost you have, or may have when you will?
Wherein wise nature you a dowry gave,
Worth an estate, treble to that you have.
Beauty I know is good, and blood is more;
Riches thought most; but, madam, think what

store

The world hath seen, which all these had in trust, And now lie lost in their forgotten dust.

It is the Muse alone, can raise to heaven,

And at her strong arm's end, hold up, and even,
The souls she loves. Those other glorious notes,
Inscribed in touch or marble, or the coats
Painted, or carv'd upon our great men's tombs,
Or in their windows, do but prove the wombs

That bred them, graves: when they were born they

died,

That had no muse to make their fame abide.
How many equal with the Argive queen,

Have beauty known, yet none so famous seen?
Achilles was not first, that valiant was,

Or, in an army's head, that lock'd in brass

Were yet unfound, and better placed in earth, &c.]

"Aurum irrepertum et sic melius situm
Cum terra celet, spernere fortior

Quàm cogere humanos in usus

Omne sacrum rapiente dextra."

HOR.

Gave killing strokes. There were brave men before
Ajax, or Idomen, or all the store

That Homer brought to Troy; yet none so live,
Because they lack'd the sacred pen could give
Like life unto them. Who heav'd Hercules
Unto the stars, or the Tyndarides ?
Who placed Jason's Argo in the sky,
Or set bright Ariadne's crown so high?
Who made a lamp of Berenice's hair,
Or lifted Cassiopeia in her chair,

But only poets, rapt with rage divine?

And such, or my hopes fail, shall make you shine.
You, and that other star, that purest light,

Of all Lucina's train, Lucy the bright;"

Ajax, or Idomen.] The sentiment is from Horace, lib. iv. 9.
Vixere fortes ante Agamemnona

Multi; sed omnes illacrymabiles
Urgentur, ignotique longa

Nocte, carent quia vate sacro.

You, and that other star, that purest light

WHAL.

Of all Lucina's train, Lucy the bright.] This, I presume, was Lucy countess of Bedford, to whom our author hath addressed some epigrams, and who was particularly celebrated by Dr. Donne. If what follows in the succeeding lines must be applied to him, one would imagine some little misunderstanding was then subsisting between him and the poet; though from the verses which Donne and Jonson have mutually wrote to each other, it appears there was always a very friendly correspondence between them. WHAL.

No doubt of it: but Whalley is mistaken in the person here meant, who is not Donne but Daniel. There is no necessity for wantonly stirring up new enmities, since Jonson is already charged with more than he ever felt; and it is certain that he was at this time, and continued to the end of his life, the affectionate friend and admirer of Donne.

That there was no cordiality between our poet and Daniel seems probable, and he here gives the reason of it. Daniel "envied " him. A little retrospect into his history may shew, perhaps, that the assertion (setting aside the undoubted veracity of Jonson) has nothing improbable in it. Daniel was born in 1562. At the age

Than which a nobler heaven itself knows not;
Who, though she have a better verser got,

of seventeen he was admitted a commoner of Magdalen Hall, Oxford, where he continued three years. In 1582 he came to London, and was recommended to the court through the interest of his brother-in-law, "the resolute John Florio." On the death of Spenser, in 1599, he succeeded to the Laureatship; in other words, he became the court poet, and as such, was called on to furnish the complimentary poems, pageants, masques, &c., incidental to the situation. He seems, therefore, not unnaturally, to have experienced some uneasiness when, soon after the accession of James I., Jonson was called upon to prepare the Masques of that gay period. This appears to be the very head and front of our poet's offending, unless it be added, that though he always thought and called Daniel a good and honest man," he entertained no very lofty opinion of his style of poetry.

Daniel, however, numbered among his friends and patrons, the most distinguished characters of both sexes; and it appears that he was not wanting in remonstrating against the attempt to supersede him, nor in using the interest which his talents and virtues had procured, to be permitted to resume what he probably considered as the duties of his office. In the dedication of the Vision of the Twelve Goddesses, 1604, to the countess of Bedford, he expresses his thankfulness "for her preferring him to the queen, for this employment." The dedication is, in itself, sufficiently captious and querulous, and seems pointed, in some measure, at our poet. He was also called on to assist in the solemnity of creating Henry, prince of Wales; when he wrote the masque or rather pageant of Tethys Festival.*

But Daniel's spirits were wounded, and he could not apparently brook the rising favour of his younger competitor. About a year

* I take the earliest opportunity of correcting a mistake respecting this "Solemnitie." It is stated, vol. vii. p. 148, that the Masque of Oberon was performed before the prince on the 5th of June, 1610. I have since been enabled to ascertain, by the kindness of Mr. Cohen, that the masque performed on that day was the Tethys of Daniel, to which therefore the description of the Master of the Ceremonies must be referred. The Masque of Oberon was probably presented, as it is printed, after the Barriers, on the sixth day, or Thursday. The machinery of Tethys was furnished by Inigo Jones, and the accompaniments must have been very splendid. The poet's part was the least important, and consisted of little more than some pretty songs.