John Dryden - Delphi Poets Series

by John Dryden

Eve. You have yourself your kindness overpaid;

  He ceases to oblige, who can upbraid.

  Adam. On women’s virtue, who too much rely,

  To boundless will give boundless liberty.

  Restraint you will not brook; but think it hard

  Your prudence is not trusted as your guard:

  And, to yourselves so left, if ill ensues,

  You first our weak indulgence will accuse.

  Curst be that hour,

  When, sated with my single happiness,

  I chose a partner, to controul my bliss!

  Who wants that reason which her will should sway,

  And knows but just enough to disobey.

  Eve. Better with brutes my humble lot had gone;

  Of reason void, accountable for none:

  The unhappiest of creation is a wife,

  Made lowest, in the highest rank of life:

  Her fellow’s slave; to know, and not to chuse:

  Curst with that reason she must never use.

  Adam. Add, that she’s proud, fantastic, apt to change,

  Restless at home, and ever prone to range:

  With shows delighted, and so vain is she,

  She’ll meet the devil, rather than not see.

  Our wise Creator, for his choirs divine,

  Peopled his heaven with souls all masculine. —

  Ah! why must man from woman take his birth?

  Why was this sin of nature made on earth?

  This fair defect, this helpless aid, called wife;

  The bending crutch of a decrepid life?

  Posterity no pairs from you shall find,

  But such as by mistake of love are joined:

  The worthiest men their wishes ne’er shall gain;

  But see the slaves they scorn their loves obtain.

  Blind appetite shall your wild fancies rule;

  False to desert, and faithful to a fool. [Turns in anger from her, and is going off.

  Eve. Unkind! wilt thou forsake me, in distress, [Kneeling.

  For that which now is past me to redress?

  I have misdone, and I endure the smart,

  Loth to acknowledge, but more loth to part.

  The blame be mine; you warned, and I refused:

  What would you more? I have myself accused.

  Was plighted faith so weakly sealed above,

  That, for one error, I must lose your love?

  Had you so erred, I should have been more kind,

  Than to add pain to an afflicted mind.

  Adam. You’re grown much humbler than you were before;

  I pardon you; but see my face no more.

  Eve. Vain pardon, which includes a greater ill;

  Be still displeased, but let me see you still.

  Without your much-loved sight I cannot live;

  You more than kill me, if you so forgive.

  The beasts, since we are fallen, their lords despise;

  And, passing, look at me with glaring eyes:

  Must I then wander helpless, and alone?

  You’ll pity me, too late, when I am gone.

  Adam. Your penitence does my compassion move;

  As you deserve it, I may give my love.

  Eve. On me, alone, let heaven’s displeasure fall;

  You merit none, and I deserve it all.

  Adam. You all heaven’s wrath! how could you bear a part,

  Who bore not mine, but with a bleeding heart?

  I was too stubborn, thus to make you sue;

  Forgive me — I am more in fault than you.

  Return to me, and to my love return;

  And, both offending, for each other mourn.

  Enter Raphael.

  Raph. Of sin to warn thee I before was sent;

  For sin, I now pronounce thy punishment:

  Yet that much lighter than thy crimes require;

  Th’ All-good does not his creatures’ death desire:

  Justice must punish the rebellious deed;

  Yet punish so, as pity shall exceed.

  Adam. I neither can dispute his will, nor dare:

  Death will dismiss me from my future care,

  And lay me softly in my native dust,

  To pay the forfeit of ill-managed trust.

  Eve. Why seek you death? consider, ere you speak,

  The laws were hard, the power to keep them, weak.

  Did we solicit heaven to mould our clay?

  From darkness to produce us to the day?

  Did we concur to life, or chuse to be?

  Was it our will which formed, or was it He?

  Since ’twas his choice, not ours, which placed us here,

  The laws we did not chuse why should we bear?

  Adam. Seek not, in vain, our Maker to accuse;

  Terms were proposed; power left us to refuse.

  The good we have enjoyed from heaven’s free will,

  And shall we murmur to endure the ill?

  Should we a rebel son’s excuse receive,

  Because he was begot without his leave?

  Heaven’s right in us is more: first, formed to serve;

  The good, we merit not; the ill, deserve.

  Raph. Death is deferred, and penitence has room

  To mitigate, if not reverse the doom:

  But, for your crime, the Eternal does ordain

  In Eden you no longer shall remain.

  Hence, to the lower world, you are exiled;

  This place with crimes shall be no more defiled.

  Eve. Must we this blissful paradise forego?

  Raph. Your lot must be where thorns and thistles grow,

  Unhid, as balm and spices did at first;

  For man, the earth, of which he was, is cursed.

  By thy own toil procured, thou food shalt eat;[To Adam.

  And know no plenty, but from painful sweat.

  She, by a curse, of future wives abhorred,

  Shall pay obedience to her lawful lord;

  And he shall rule, and she in thraldom live,

  Desiring more of love than man can give.

  Adam. Heaven is all mercy; labour I would chuse;

  And could sustain this paradise to lose:

  The bliss, but not the place: Here, could I say,

  Heaven’s winged messenger did pass the day;

  Under this pine the glorious angel staid:

  Then, show my wondering progeny the shade.

  In woods and lawns, where-e’er thou didst appear,

  Each place some monument of thee should bear.

  I, with green turfs, would grateful altars raise,

  And heaven, with gums, and offered incense, praise.

  Raph. Where-e’er thou art, He is; the Eternal Mind

  Acts through all places; is to none confined:

  Fills ocean, earth, and air, and all above,

  And through the universal mass does move.

  Thou canst be no where distant: Yet this place

  Had been thy kingly seat, and here thy race,

  From all the ends of peopled earth had come

  To reverence thee, and see their native home.

  Immortal, then; now sickness, care, and age,

  And war, and luxury’s more direful rage,

  Thy crimes have brought, to shorten mortal breath,

  With all the numerous family of death.

  Eve. My spirits faint, while I these ills foreknow,

  And find myself the sad occasion too.

  But what is death?

  Raph. In vision thou shalt see his griesly face,

  The king of terrors, raging in thy face.

  That, while in future fate thou shar’st thy part,

  A kind remorse, for sin, may seize thy heart.

  The Scene shifts, and discovers deaths of several sorts. A Battle at Land, and a Naval Fight.

  Adam. O wretched offspring! O unhappy state

  Of all mankind, by me betrayed to fate!

  Born, through my crime, to be offende
rs first;

  And, for those sins they could not shun, accurst.

  Eve. Why is life forced on man, who, might he chuse,

  Would not accept what he with pain must lose?

  Unknowing, he receives it; and when, known,

  He thinks it his, and values it, ’tis gone.

  Raph. Behold of every age; ripe manhood see,

  Decrepid years, and helpless infancy:

  Those who, by lingering sickness, lose their breath;

  And those who, by despair, suborn their death:

  See yon mad fools, who for some trivial right,

  For love, or for mistaken honour, fight:

  See those, more mad, who throw their lives away

  In needless wars; the stakes which monarchs lay,

  When for each other’s provinces they play.

  Then, as if earth too narrow were for fate,

  On open seas their quarrels they debate:

  In hollow wood they floating armies bear;

  And force imprisoned winds to bring them near.

  Eve. Who would the miseries of man foreknow?

  Not knowing, we but share our part of woe:

  Now, we the fate of future ages bear,

  And, ere their birth, behold our dead appear.

  Adam. The deaths, thou show’st, are forced and full of strife,

  Cast headlong from the precipice of life.

  Is there no smooth descent? no painless way

  Of kindly mixing with our native clay?

  Raph. There is; but rarely shall that path be trod,

  Which, without horror, leads to death’s abode.

  Some few, by temperance taught, approaching slow,

  To distant fate by easy journies go:

  Gently they lay them down, as evening sheep

  On their own woolly fleeces softly sleep.

  Adam. So noiseless would I live, such death to find;

  Like timely fruit, not shaken by the wind,

  But ripely dropping from the sapless bough,

  And, dying, nothing to myself would owe.

  Eve. Thus, daily changing, with a duller taste

  Of lessening joys, I, by degrees, would waste:

  Still quitting ground, by unperceived decay,

  And steal myself from life, and melt away.

  Raph. Death you have seen: Now see your race revive,

  How happy they in deathless pleasures live;

  Far more than I can show, or you can see,

  Shall crown the blest with immortality.

  Here a Heaven descends, full of Angels, and blessed Spirits, with soft Music, a Song and Chorus.

  Adam. O goodness infinite! whose heavenly will

  Can so much good produce from so much ill!

  Happy their state!

  Pure, and unchanged, and needing no defence

  From sins, as did my frailer innocence.

  Their joy sincere, and with no sorrow mixt:

  Eternity stands permanent and fixt,

  And wheels no longer on the poles of time;

  Secure from fate, and more secure from crime.

  Eve. Ravished with joy, I can but half repent

  The sin, which heaven makes happy in the event.

  Raph. Thus armed, meet firmly your approaching ill;

  For see, the guards, from yon’ far eastern hill,

  Already move, nor longer stay afford;

  High in the air they wave the flaming sword,

  Your signal to depart; now down amain

  They drive, and glide, like meteors, through the plain.

  Adam. Then farewell all; I will indulgent be

  To my own ease, and not look back to see.

  When what we love we ne’er must meet again,

  To lose the thought is to remove the pain.

  Eve. Farewell, you happy shades!

  Where angels first should practise hymns, and string

  Their tuneful harps, when they to heaven would sing.

  Farewell, you flowers, whose buds, with early care,

  I watched, and to the chearful sun did rear:

  Who now shall bind your stems? or, when you fall,

  With fountain streams your fainting souls recal?

  A long farewell to thee, my nuptial bower,

  Adorned with every fair and fragrant flower!

  And last, farewell, farewell my place of birth!

  I go to wander in the lower earth,

  As distant as I can; for, dispossest,

  Farthest from what I once enjoyed, is best.

  Raph. The rising winds urge the tempestuous air;

  And on their wings deformed winter bear:

  The beasts already feel the change; and hence

  They fly to deeper coverts, for defence:

  The feebler herd before the stronger run;

  For now the war of nature is begun:

  But, part you hence in peace, and, having mourned your sin,

  For outward Eden lost, find Paradise within.[Exeunt.

  ALL FOR LOVE

  OR, THE WORLD WELL LOST

  This heroic drama was written in 1677 and is widely regarded as Dryden’s dramatic masterpiece. Composed in blank verse, it is an acknowledged imitation of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, focusing on the last hours of the protagonists. The original 1677 production by the King’s Company starred Charles Hart as Marc Antony and Elizabeth Boutell as Cleopatra, with Michael Mohun as Ventidius and Katherine Corey as Octavia. The play was revived at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in February, 1704, with Betterton as Antony, Mrs. Barry as Cleopatra, Wilks as Dolabella, and Mrs. Bracegirdle as Octavia; at Drury Lane in December 1718, with Booth as Antony, Mrs. Oldfield as Cleopatra, and Mrs. Porter as Octavia.

  Dryden dedicated All For Love to the leader of the anti-French movement at court, Thomas Osborne, Lord Treasurer and Earl of Danby. The Dedication critiques Whiggery and “republican” politics, or political practices which strove to continue the Reformation in England. The Dedication also critiques the aggressive and intolerant Anglicanism present in England. Danby was himself prejudiced against Catholics. This prejudice led to his opposition of Charles II’s alliances with the Catholic French. When the Dedication was published in 1678, Danby was at a difficult point in his career. Shortly before the fall of Ghent to Louis XIV’s forces, and the signing of a peace treaty at Nimeguen between Holland and France, Danby was attempting to arrange an unpopular Anglo-Dutch alliance against the French. Using his Dedication, Dryden took advantage of this political turmoil by attempting to befriend Danby, one of the most powerful members of the Cabinet. There were many potential benefits for Dryden’s decision to dedicate his play to Danbury. One reason for Dryden’s choice was the economic advantages he incurred. As treasurer, Danbury had the opportunity to monetarily reward underpaid poets. Danbury paid Dryden his full salary as poet laureate from 1673-77 even though the treasury was heavily depleted at the time. However, Dryden’s choice of dedicatee also allowed him to highlight the political, as well as romantic, follies within the play. Dryden uses the Dedication to advise Danby to adopt a more moderate political stance. Additionally, Dryden uses the Dedication to demonstrate the similarities between his patron’s life and the characters in All for Love.

  The Dedication was written in the winter of 1678, at a time when Danby was voicing his opposition to King Charles’ affections for both French and Catholic subjects. Danby was given the position of treasurer following the forced resignation of Thomas Clifford in 1673. He immediately tried to convince King Charles to reinstate a nationalistic line of politics, which had proven beneficial for England from 1669-71. Danby and his ally Lauderdale attempted to shift the King’s support from foreign to native advisors. They met in October 1674, for the first of what would become a series of meetings with Anglican bishops to prepare for the Parliamentary session in the spring of 1675. The religious leaders agreed with Danby’s anti-Catholic sentiments, stating that the laws against popery and dissent would prove satisfactory if t
hey were enforced. Danby then convinced a hesitant King Charles to both revoke the preaching licenses given to dissenters in 1672 and more strictly reinforce the laws against Catholics. Dryden was opposed to Danby’s avid support for policies such as these, which severely limited the rights of non-Protestants living in England. He was able to foresee the potentially negative impact that such exclusionary policies may present for Danby’s political career. Dryden therefore uses the Dedication to advise Danby to adopt a more moderate viewpoint.

  Despite his expected opposition, in 1676 Danby was made aware of a secret treaty between Charles and Louis XIV. The document bound the two monarchs to convene for discussion before either country could sign treaties with the States General of Holland. Danby attempted to nullify the treaty, despite having helped negotiate its conditions. However, while trying to nullify the treaty, Danby was attempting to negotiate French bribes for himself. Despite Danby’s seemingly conflicted dealings with the French, in 1677 he became more aggressive in his anti-French and anti-Catholic political stance. Danby felt his calls for war would win him the support of the Opposition members of Parliament, increase Britain’s commercial concessions from Spain and the Netherlands, and situate Charles as a renowned Protestant King, able to salvage Europe from Catholic influences and King Louis. King Charles however began to grow displeased with Danby’s anti-French sentiments because they interfered with both his efforts to increase sympathy for Catholics in England and his desire to collect French bribes.

  With his Dedication, Dryden attempts to restore Danby and King Charles’ relationship. To achieve this goal, Dryden uses biographical information about his patron to highlight the noble aspects of Danby’s career. In the Dedication, Dryden discusses how Danby managed to bring order to the chaotic treasury department he inherited. While Dryden does celebrate Danby’s character strengths, he also uses the Dedication to offer Danby advice, demonstrating his own authority at being able to advise the Lord Treasurer. For example, Dryden critiques Danby’s habit of conforming to the pressures of his inferiors and surrendering some of his political aspirations in the name of bureaucracy.

  The biographical information Dryden provides, not only serves to advise Danby, but also accentuates his similarities to characters in All for Love. Danby was elected to office because of his reputation for being an independent thinker, not easily swayed by the majority. However, by the time Dryden composed the Dedication, Danby’s only independent policies focused on efforts to increase anti-Catholic and anti-French sentiments. Dryden offers a solution to Danby’s political struggles. He suggests that were Danby to assume a position between king and servant, he would no longer be subjected to the conflict between independence and political duty. In other words, Dryden recommends in the Dedication that Danby replicate the king’s behavior without overstepping his authority, while maintaining a connection with the British subjects without compromising his status. By advocating moderation, Dryden also effectually demonstrates his support for King Charles’ policies of tolerance within government and the church, condemning Danby’s aggressive anti-French and anti-Catholic sentiments. Dryden also portrays the benefits of political moderation in the plot and character dynamic of his play All for Love. Within the play, the more reasonable, moderate and compassionate character of Dollabella is ultimately a more valuable advisor for Antony than the militant and aggressive Ventidius. Dryden combines his own political philosophies with character portrayals and the plot line from his play All for Love in order to provide his patron, the Lord Treasurer with advice.