by John Dryden
To reward your faithful Swain.
Chloe, laughing at his crying, 15
Told him, that he lov’d in vain:
Kiss me, dear, before my dying;
Kiss me once, and ease my pain!
4
Chloe, laughing at his crying,
Told him that he lov’d in vain; 20
But repenting, and complying,
When he kiss’d, she kiss’d again:
Kiss’d him up, before his dying;
Kiss’d him up, and eas’d his pain.
The Fair Stranger
A Song
1
HAPPY and free, securely blest,
No Beauty could disturb my Rest;
My am’rous Heart was in Despair,
To find a new victorious Fair:
2
Till you, descending on our Plains, 5
With foreign Force renew my Chains;
Where now you rule without Controul,
The mighty Sov’reign of my Soul.
3
Your Smiles have more of conqu’ring Charm
Than all your Native Country’s Arms: 10
Their Troops we can expel with Ease,
Who vanquish only when we please.
4
But in your Eyes, oh, there’s the Spell!
Who can see them, and not rebel?
You make us Captives by your Stay, 15
Yet kill us if you go away.
A Song (“Fair, sweet and young, receive a prize”)
I
FAIR, sweet and young, receive a prize
Reserv’d for your Victorious Eyes:
From Crowds, whom at your Feet you see,
O pity, and distinguish me;
As I from thousand Beauties more 5
Distinguish you, and only you adore.
II
Your Face for Conquest was design’d,
Your ev’ry Motion charms my Mind;
Angels, when you your Silence break,
Forget their Hymns to hear you speak; 10
But when at once they hear and view,
Are loath to mount, and long to stay with you.
III
No Graces can your Form improve,
But all are lost, unless you love;
While that sweet Passion you disdain, 15
Your Veil and Beauty are in vain.
In pity then prevent my Fate,
For after dying all Reprieves too late.
A Song (“High State and Honours to others impart”)
HIGH State and Honours to others impart,
But give me your Heart:
That Treasure, that Treasure alone,
I beg for my own.
So gentle a Love, so fervent a Fire, 5
My Soul does inspire.
That Treasure, that Treasure alone,
I beg for my own.
Your Love let me crave,
Give me in Possessing 10
So matchless a Blessing;
That Empire is all I wou’d have.
Love’s my Petition,
All my Ambition;
If e’er you discover 15
So faithful a Lover,
So real a Flame,
I’ll die, I’ll die,
So give up my Game.
The Secular Masque
Enter JANUS.
Janus. Chronos, Chronos, mend thy Pace:
An hundred Times the rowling Sun
Around the Radiant Belt has run
In his revolving Race.
Behold, behold, the Goal in sight; 5
Spread thy Fans, and wing thy flight.
Enter CHRONOS, with a Scythe in his Hand and a great Globe on his Back, which he sets down at his entrance.
Chronos. Weary, weary of my weight,
Let me, let me drop my Freight,
And leave the World behind.
I could not bear, 10
Another Year,
The Load of Human-kind.
Enter MOMUS, Laughing.
Momus. Ha! ha! ha! Ha! ha! ha! well hast thou done
To lay down thy Pack,
And lighten thy Back. 15
The World was a Fool, e’er since it begun,
And since neither Janus, nor Chronos, nor I
Can hinder the Crimes
Or mend the bad Times,
’Tis better to Laugh than to Cry. 20
Co. of all 3. ’Tis better to Laugh than to Cry.
Janus. Since Momus comes to laugh below,
Old Time begin the Show,
That he may see, in every Scene,
What Changes in this Age have been. 25
Chronos. Then Goddess of the Silver Bow begin.
Horns, or Hunting-Musique within.
Enter DIANA.
Diana. With Horns and with Hounds I waken the Day,
And hye to my Woodland walks away:
I tuck up my Robe, and am buskined soon,
And tye to my Forehead a wexing Moon. 30
I course the fleet Stagg, unkennel the Fox,
And chase the wild Goats or’e summets of Rocks,
With shouting and hooting we pierce thro’ the Sky;
And Eccho turns Hunter, and doubles the Cry.
Cho. of all. With shouting and hooting we pierce through the Skie, 35
And Eccho turns Hunter, and doubles the Cry.
Janus. Then our Age was in it’s Prime:
Chronos. Free from Rage.
Diana. And free from Crime.
Momus. A very Merry, Dancing, Drinking,
Laughing, Quaffing, and unthinking Time. 40
Cho. of all. Then our Age was in it’s Prime,
Free from Rage, and free from Crime,
A very Merry, Dancing, Drinking,
Laughing, Quaffing, and unthinking Time.
[Dance of Diana’s attendants.
Enter MARS.
Mars. Inspire the Vocal Brass, Inspire; 45
The World is past its Infant Age:
Arms and Honour,
Arms and Honour,
Set the Martial Mind on Fire,
And kindle Manly Rage. 50
Mars has lookt the Sky to Red;
And Peace, the Lazy Good, is fled.
Plenty, Peace, and Pleasure fly;
The Sprightly Green
In Woodland-Walks no more is seen; 55
The Sprightly Green has drunk the Tyrian Dye.
Cho. of all. Plenty, Peace, &c.
Mars. Sound the Trumpet, Beat the Drum;
Through all the World around,
Sound a Reveille, Sound, Sound, 60
The Warrior God is come.
Cho. of all. Sound the Trumpet, &c.
Momus. Thy Sword within the Scabbard keep,
And let Mankind agree;
Better the World were fast asleep, 65
Than kept awake by Thee.
The Fools are only thinner,
With all our Cost and Care;
But neither side a winner,
For Things are as they were. 70
Cho. of all. The Fools are only, &c.
Enter VENUS.
Venus. Calms appear, when Storms are past;
Love will have his Hour at last:
Nature is my kindly Care;
Mars destroys, and I repair; 75
Take me, take me, while you may,
Venus comes not ev’ry Day.
Cho. of all. Take her, take her, &c.
Chronos. The World was then so light,
I scarcely felt the Weight; 80
Joy rul’d the Day, and Love the Night.
But since the Queen of Pleasure left the Ground,
I faint, I lag,
And feebly drag
The pond’rous Orb around. 85
Momus. All, all of a piece throughout:
Pointing to Diana. Thy Chase had a Beast in View;
Pointing to Mars. Thy Wars brought nothing about;
Pointing to Venus. Thy Lovers
were all untrue.
Janus. ’Tis well an Old Age is out. 90
Chro. And time to begin a New.
Cho. of all. All, all of a piece throughout:
Thy Chase had a Beast in View;
Thy Wars brought nothing about;
Thy Lovers were all untrue. 95
’Tis well an Old Age is out,
And time to begin a New.
Dance of Huntsmen, Nymphs, Warriours, and Lovers.
FINIS
Song of a Scholar and his Mistress
who, being Cross’d by their Friends, fell Mad for one another; and now first meet in Bedlam.
[Musick within.]
[The Lovers enter at Opposite Doors, each held by a Keeper.]
Phillis. Look, look, I see — I see my Love appear:
’Tis he— ’Tis he alone;
For like him there is none:
’Tis the dear, dear Man, ’tis thee, Dear.
Amyntas. Hark! the Winds War; 5
The foamy Waves roar;
I see a Ship afar,
Tossing and Tossing, and making to the Shoar:
But what’s that I View,
So Radiant of Hue, 10
St. Hermo, St. Hermo, that sits upon the Sails?
Ah! No, no, no.
St. Hermo never, never shone so bright;
’Tis Phillis, only Phillis can shoot so fair a Light;
’Tis Phillis, ’tis Phillis that saves the Ship alone, 15
For all the Winds are hushed, and the Storm is overblown.
Phillis. Let me go, let me run, let me fly to his Arms.
Amyntas. If all the Fates combine,
And all the Furies join,
I’ll force my way to Phillis, and break through the Charms.
[Here they break from their Keepers; run to each other, and embrace.] 20
Phillis. Shall I Marry the Man I love?
And shall I conclude my Pains?
Now blest be the Powers above,
I feel the Blood bound in my Veins;
With a lively Leap it began to move, 25
And the Vapours leave my Brains.
Amyntas. Body join’d to Body, and Heart join’d to Heart;
To make sure of the Cure;
Go call the Man in Black, to mumble o’re his part.
Phillis. But suppose he should stay … 30
Amyntas. At worst, if he delay;
’Tis a Work must be done;
We’ll borrow but a Day,
And the better the sooner begun.
CHORUS of Both.
At worst, if he delay, &c.
[They run out together hand in hand. 3
FABLES ANCIENT AND MODERN
Published in 1700, this collection of translations of classical and medieval poetry, interspersed with some of Dryden’s own works, appeared two months before the poet’s death. After the deposition of his patron James II in 1688, Dryden had turned to translation to provide himself with a steady income. Dryden’s education at the Westminster School had provided him with an excellent grounding in translation, which was a conventional exercise at the time.
Dryden aimed to increase the English people’s literary reputation by appropriating the greatest traditions in literature and developing them into new genres. The English public were eager recipients of his translations and saw them as connecting English literature with the great works of the past. The Fables were greatly admired throughout the 18th century and their form and versification were later imitated by the Romantic poets, including John Keats in Lamia.
John Dryden by Godfrey Kneller, 1698
CONTENTS
Fables Ancient and Modern: Preface
To her Grace the Dutchess of Ormond
Palamon and Arcite: or the Knight’s Tale. Book I
Palamon and Arcite: or the Knight’s Tale. Book II
Palamon and Arcite: or the Knight’s Tale. Book III
The Cock and the Fox, or the Tale of the Nun’s Priest
The Flower and the Leaf; or, The Lady in the Arbour
The Wife of Bath her Tale
The Character of a Good Parson
Sigismonda and Guiscardo
Theodore and Honoria
Cymon and Iphigenia
To his Grace the Duke of Ormond: Dedication and Preface
MY LORD, — Some Estates are held in England by paying a Fine at the change of every Lord: I have enjoy’d the Patronage of your Family, from the time of your excellent Grandfather to this present Day. I have dedicated the Lives of Plutarch to the first Duke; and have celebrated the Memory of your Heroick Father. Tho’ I am very short of the Age of Nestor, yet I have liv’d to a third Generation of your House; and by your Grace’s Favour am admitted still to hold from you by the same Tenure. 1
I am not vain enough to boast that I have deserv’d the value of so Illustrious a Line; but my Fortune is the greater, that for three Descents they have been pleas’d to distinguish my Poems from those of other Men, and have accordingly made me their peculiar Care. May it be permitted me to say, That as your Grandfather and Father were cherish’d and adorn’d with Honours by two successive Monarchs, so I have been esteem’d and patronis’d by the Grandfather, the Father, and the Son, descended from one of the most Ancient, most Conspicuous, and most Deserving Families in Europe. 2
’Tis true, that by delaying the Payment of my last Fine, when it was due by your Grace’s Accession to the Titles and Patrimonies of your House, I may seem in rigour of Law to have made a forfeiture of my Claim; yet my Heart has always been devoted to your Service; and since you have been graciously pleas’d, by your permission of this Address, to accept the tender of my Duty, ’tis not yet too late to lay these Poems at your Feet. 3
The World is sensible that you worthily succeed not only to the Honours of your Ancestors, but also to their Virtues. The long Chain of Magnanimity, Courage, easiness of Access, and desire of doing Good, even to the Prejudice of your Fortune, is so far from being broken in your Grace, that the precious Metal yet runs pure to the newest Link of it: which I will not call the last, because I hope and pray it may descend to late Posterity: And your flourishing Youth, and that of your excellent Dutchess, are happy Omens of my Wish. 4
’Tis observ’d by Livy and by others, That some of the noblest Roman Families retain’d a resemblance of their Ancestry, not only in their Shapes and Features, but also in their Manners, their Qualities, and the distinguishing Characters of their Minds: Some Lines were noted for a stern, rigid Virtue, salvage, haughty, parcimonious, and unpopular: Others were more sweet, and affable; made of a more pliant Past, humble, courteous, and obliging; studious of doing charitable Offices, and diffusive of the Goods which they enjoy’d. The last of these is the proper and indelible Character of your Grace’s Family. God Almighty has endu’d you with a Softness, a Beneficence, an attractive Behaviour winning on the Hearts of others; and so sensible of their Misery, that the Wounds of Fortune seem not inflicted on them, but on your self. You are so ready to redress, that you almost prevent their Wishes, and always exceed their Expectations: As if what was yours, was not your own, and not given you to possess, but to bestow on wanting Merit. But this is a Topick which I must cast in Shades, lest I offend your Modesty, which is so far from being ostentatious of the Good you do, that it blushes even to have it known: And therefore I must leave you to the Satisfaction and Testimony of your own Conscience, which, though it be a silent Panegyrick, is yet the best. 5
You are so easy of Access that Poplicola was not more, whose Doors were open’d on the Outside to save the people even the common Civility of asking entrance; where all were equally admitted; where nothing that was reasonable was deny’d, where Misfortune was a powerful Recommendation, and where (I can scarce forbear saying) that Want it self was a powerful Mediator, and was next to Merit. 6
The History of Peru assures us, That their Inca’s, above all their Titles, esteem’d that the highest, which called them Lovers of the Poor: A Name more glorious than the
Felix, Pius, and Augustus of the Roman Emperors; which were Epithets of Flattery, deserv’d by few of them; and not running in a Blood like the perpetual Gentleness and inherent Goodness of the Ormond Family. 7
Gold, as it is the purest, so it is the softest and most ductile of all Metals: Iron, which is the hardest, gathers Rust, corrodes its self; and is therefore subject to Corruption: It was never intended for Coins and Medals, or to bear the Faces and Inscriptions of the Great. Indeed ’tis fit for Armour, to bear off Insults, and preserve the Wearer in the Day of Battle; but the Danger once repell’d, it is laid aside by the Brave, as a Garment too rough for civil Conversation; a necessary Guard in War, but too harsh and cumbersome in Peace, and which keeps off the embraces of a more human Life. 8
For this reason, my Lord, though you have Courage in a heroical Degree, yet I ascribe it to you but as your second Attribute: Mercy, Beneficence, and Compassion, claim Precedence, as they are first in the divine Nature. An intrepid Courage, which is inherent in your Grace, is at best but a Holiday-kind of Virtue, to be seldom exercis’d, and never but in Cases of Necessity; Affability, Mildness, Tenderness, and a Word, which I would fain bring back to its original Signification of Virtue, I mean good Nature, are of daily use: They are the Bread of Mankind and Staff of Life: Neither Sighs, nor Tears, nor Groans, nor Curses of the vanquish’d follow Acts of Compassion, and of Charity: But a sincere Pleasure and Serenity of Mind, in him who performs an Action of Mercy, which cannot suffer the Misfortunes of another, without redress; lest they should bring a kind of Contagion along with them, and pollute the Happiness which he enjoys. 9
Yet since the perverse Tempers of Mankind, since Oppression on one side, and Ambition on the other, are sometimes the unavoidable Occasions of War; that Courage, that Magnanimity, and Resolution, which is born with you, cannot be too much commended: And here it grieves me that I am scanted in the pleasure of dwelling on many of your Actions: But [Greek] is an Expression which Tully often uses, when he would do what he dares not, and fears the Censure of the Romans. 10
I have sometimes been forc’d to amplify on others; but here, where the Subject is so fruitful that the Harvest overcomes the Reaper, I am shorten’d by my Chain, and can only see what is forbidden me to reach: Since it is not permitted me to commend you according to the extent of my Wishes, and much less is it in my Power to make my Commendations equal to your Merits. 11