Mark Akenside

Occasion'd by the Insults of the Spaniards, and the present Preparations for War, 1738. Whence this unwonted Transport in my Breast? Why glow my Thoughts, and whither would the Muse

The Shape alone let others prize, The Features of the Fair; I look for Spirit in her Eyes,

Yes; you contemn the perjur'd maid Who all your favorite hopes betray'd: Nor, though her heart should home return,

Oh fly! 'tis dire Suspicion's mien; And, meditating plagues unseen, The sorceress hither bends:

While yet the world was young, and men were few, Nor lurking fraud, nor tyrant rapine knew, In virtue rude, the gaudy arts they scorn'd,

If rightly tuneful bards decide, If it be fix'd in Love's decrees, That Beauty ought not to be tried

What's Female Beauty, but an Art divine, Through which the Mind's all gentle Graces shine? They like the Sun irradiate all between;

Thou, who the verdant plain dost traverse here While Thames among his willows from thy view Retires; O stranger, stay thee, and the scene

To me, whom in their lays the shepherds call Actaea, daughter of the neighbouring stream, This cave belongs. The fig-tree and the vine,

Such was old Chaucer. such the placid mien Of him who first with harmony inform'd The language of our fathers. Here he dwelt

A Dialogue: Addressed to a young Lady. Friendship: In vain thy lawless Fires contend with mine,

How thick the shades of evening close! How pale the sky with weight of snows! Haste, light the tapers, urge the fire,

Science! thou fair effusive ray From the great source of mental day, Free, generous, and refin'd!

ARGUMENT. The Nymphs, who preside over springs and rivulets, are addressed at day-break, in honor of their several functions, and of the relations which they bear to the natural and to the moral world. Their origin is deduced from the first allegorical deities, or powers of nature; according to the doctrine of the old mythological poets, concerning the generation of the gods and the rise of things. They are then successively considered, as giving motion to the air and exciting summer-breezes; as nourishing and beautifying the vegetable creation; as contributing to the fullness of navigable rivers, and consequently to the maintenance of commerce; and by that means, to the maritime part of military power. Next is represented their favourable influence upon health, when assisted by rural exercise: which introduces their connection with the art of physic, and the happy effects of mineral medicinal springs. Lastly, they are celebrated for the friendship which the Muses bear them, and for the true inspiration which temperance only can receive: in opposition to the enthusiasm of the more licentious poets. O'er yonder eastern hill the twilight pale

If rightly tuneful bards decide, If it be fix'd in love's decrees, That beauty ought not to be tried

Too much my heart of Beauty's power hath known, Too long to Love hath reason left her throne; Too long my genius mourn'd his myrtle chain,

Me tho' in life's sequester'd vale The Almighty sire ordain'd to dwell, Remote from glory's toilsome ways,

O youths and virgins: o declining eld: O pale misfortune's slaves: o ye who dwell Unknown with humble quiet; ye who wait

If, yet regardful of your native land, Old Shakespeare's tongue you deign to understand, Lo, from the blissful bowers where heaven rewards

On yonder verdant hilloc laid, Where oaks and elms, a friendly shade, O'erlook the falling stream,

The radiant ruler of the year At length his wintry goal attains; Soon to reverse the long career,

Thou silent power, whose welcome sway Charms every anxious thought away; In whose divine oblivion drown'd,

O rustic herald of the spring, At length in yonder woody vale Fast by the brook i hear thee sing;

I How oft shall i survey This humble roof, the lawn, the greenwood shade,

Whither did my fancy stray? By what magic drawn away Have I left my studious theme?

Thrice hath the spring beheld thy faded fame Since I exulting grasp'd the tuneful shell: Eager through endless years to sound thy name,

Come then, tell me, sage divine, Is it an offence to own That our bosoms e'er incline

Thou, heedless Albion, what, alas, the while Dost thou presume? O inexpert in arms, Yet vain of freedom, how dost thou beguile,

Of all the springs within the mind Which prompt her steps in fortune's maze, From none more pleasing aid we find

Come then, tell me, sage divine, Is it an offense to own That our bosoms e'er incline

Meek honor, female shame, O! whither, sweetest offspring of the sky, From Albion dost thou fly;

I Farewell to Leyden's lonely bound, The Belgian Muse's sober seat;

No, foolish youth, To virtuous fame If now thy early hopes be vow'd, If true ambition's nobler flame

I Once more I join the Thespian choir, And taste the inspiring fount again:

Thy verdant scenes, O Goulder's hill, Once more I seek, a languid guest: With throbbing temples and with burden'd breast

Not for themselves did human kind Contrive the parts by heaven assign'd On life's wide scene to play:

What, then, is taste but those internal powers, Active and strong, and feeling alive To each fine impulse? a discerning sense

Away! away! Tempt me no more, insidious Love: Thy soothing sway

To-night retired, the queen of heaven With young Endymion stays; And now to Hesper it is given

BOOK I With what attractive charms this goodly frame Of Nature touches the consenting hearts

With what attractive charms this goodly frame Of nature touches the consenting hearts Of mortal men; and what the pleasing stores

With what inchantment nature's goodly scene Attracts the sense of mortals; how the mind For its own eye doth objects nobler still

THE ARGUMENT. The subject proposed. Dedication. The ideas of the supreme being, the exemplars of all things. The variety of constitution in the minds of men; with its final cause. The general character of a fine imagination. All the immediate pleasures of the human imagination proceed either from greatness or beauty in external objects. The pleasure from greatness; with its final cause. The natural connection of beauty with truth and good. The different orders of beauty in different objects. The infinite and all-comprehending form of beauty, which belongs to the divine mind. The partial and artificial forms of beauty, which belong to inferior intellectual beings. The origin and general conduct of beauty in man. The subordination of local beauties to the beauty of the universe. Conclusion.

One effort more, one cheerful sally more, Our destin'd course will finish. and in peace Then, for an offering sacred to the powers

THE GENERAL ARGUMENT. The pleasures of the imagination proceed either from natural objects, as from a flourishing grove, a clear and murmuring fountain, a calm sea by moon-light; or from works of art, such as a noble edifice, a musical tune, a statue, a picture, a poem. In treating of these pleasures, we must begin with the former class; they being original to the other; and nothing more being necessary, in order to explain them, than a view of our natural inclination toward greatness and beauty, and of those appearances, in the world around us, to which that inclination is adapted. This is the subject of the first book of the following poem. But the pleasures which we receive from the elegant arts, from music, sculpture, painting, and poetry, are much more various and complicated. In them (besides greatness and beauty, or forms proper to the imagination) we find interwoven frequent representations of truth, of virtue and vice, of circumstances proper to move us with laughter, or to excite in us pity, fear, and the other passions. These moral and intellectual objects are described in the second book; to which the third properly belongs as an episode, though too large to have been included in it. With the above-mentioned causes of pleasure, which are universal in the course of human life and appertain to our higher faculties, many others do generally concur, more limited in their operation, or of an inferior origin: such are the novelty of objects, the association of ideas, affections of the bodily senses, influences of education, national habits, and the like. To illustrate these, and from the whole to determine the character of a perfect taste, is the argument of the fourth book. Hitherto the pleasures of the imagination belong to the human species in general. But there are certain particular men whose imagination is endowed with powers, and susceptible of pleasures, which the generality of mankind never participate. these are the men of genius, destined by nature to excel in one or other of the arts already mentioned. It is proposed therefore, in the last place, to delineate that genius which in some degree appears common to them all; yet with a more peculiar consideration of poetry: inasmuch as poetry is the most extensive of those arts, the most philosophical, and the most useful.

THE GENERAL ARGUMENT. The pleasures of the imagination proceed either from natural objects, as from a flourishing grove, a clear and murmuring fountain, a calm sea by moon-light; or from works of art, such as a noble edifice, a musical tune, a statue, a picture, a poem. In treating of these pleasures, we must begin with the former class; they being original to the other; and nothing more being necessary, in order to explain them, than a view of our natural inclination toward greatness and beauty, and of those appearances, in the world around us, to which that inclination is adapted. This is the subject of the first book of the following poem. But the pleasures which we receive from the elegant arts, from music, sculpture, painting, and poetry, are much more various and complicated. In them (besides greatness and beauty, or forms proper to the imagination) we find interwoven frequent representations of truth, of virtue and vice, of circumstances proper to move us with laughter, or to excite in us pity, fear, and the other passions. These moral and intellectual objects are described in the second book; to which the third properly belongs as an episode, though too large to have been included in it. With the above-mentioned causes of pleasure, which are universal in the course of human life and appertain to our higher faculties, many others do generally concur, more limited in their operation, or of an inferior origin: such are the novelty of objects, the association of ideas, affections of the bodily senses, influences of education, national habits, and the like. To illustrate these, and from the whole to determine the character of a perfect taste, is the argument of the fourth book. Hitherto the pleasures of the imagination belong to the human species in general. But there are certain particular men whose imagination is endowed with powers, and susceptible of pleasures, which the generality of mankind never participate. these are the men of genius, destined by nature to excel in one or other of the arts already mentioned. It is proposed therefore, in the last place, to delineate that genius which in some degree appears common to them all; yet with a more peculiar consideration of poetry: inasmuch as poetry is the most extensive of those arts, the most philosophical, and the most useful.

When shall the laurel and the vocal string Resume their honours? When shall we behold The tuneful tongue, the Prometh'an hand

Thus far of beauty and the pleasing forms Which man's untutor'd fancy, from the scenes Imperfect of this ever-changing world,

THE ARGUMENT. Introduction to this more difficult part of the subject. Of truth and its three classes, matter of fact, experimental or scientifical truth, (contradistinguished from opinion) and universal truth: which last is either metaphysical or geometrical, either purely intellectual or perfectly abstracted. On the power of discerning truth depends that of acting with the view of an end; a circumstance essential to virtue. Of virtue, considered in the divine mind as a perpetual and universal beneficence. Of human virtue, considered as a system of particular sentiments and actions, suitable to the design of providence and the condition of man; to whom it constitutes the chief good and the first beauty. Of vice and its origin. Of ridicule: its general nature and final cause. Of the passions; particularly of those which relate to evil natural or moral, and which are generally accounted painful, though not always unattended with pleasure.

ARGUMENT OF THE SECOND BOOK. The separation of the works of imagination from philosophy, the cause of their abuse among the moderns. Prospect of their re-union under the influence of public liberty. Enumeration of accidental pleasures, which increase the effect of objects delightful to the imagination. The pleasures of sense. Particular circumstances of the mind. Discovery of truth. Perception of contrivance and design. Emotion of the passions. All the natural passions partake of a pleasing sensation; with the final cause of this constitution illustrated by an allegorical vision, and exemplified in sorrow, pity, terror, and indignation.

What tongue then may explain the various fate Which reigns o'er earth? or who to mortal eyes Illustrate this perplexing labyrinth

What tongue then may explain the various fate Which reigns o'er earth? or who to mortal eyes Illustrate this perplexing labyrinth

ARGUMENT OF THE THIRD BOOK. Pleasure in observing the tempers and manners of men, even where vicious or absurd. The origin of vice, from false representations of the fancy, producing false opinions concerning good and evil. Inquiry into ridicule. The general sources of ridicule in the minds and characters of men, enumerated. Final cause of the sense of ridicule. The resemblance of certain aspects of inanimate things to the sensations and properties of the mind. The operations of the mind in the production of the works of imagination, described. The secondary pleasure from imitation. The benevolent order of the world illustrated in the arbitrary connexion of these pleasures with the objects which excite them. The nature and conduct of taste. Concluding with an account of the natural and moral advantages resulting from a sensible and well-formed imagination.

ARGUMENT OF THE THIRD BOOK. Pleasure in observing the tempers and manners of men, even where vicious or absurd. The origin of vice, from false representations of the fancy, producing false opinions concerning good and evil. Inquiry into ridicule. The general sources of ridicule in the minds and characters of men, enumerated. Final cause of the sense of ridicule. The resemblance of certain aspects of inanimate things to the sensations and properties of the mind. The operations of the mind in the production of the works of imagination, described. The secondary pleasure from imitation. The benevolent order of the world illustrated in the arbitrary connexion of these pleasures with the objects which excite them. The nature and conduct of taste. Concluding with an account of the natural and moral advantages resulting from a sensible and well-formed imagination.

Of all the various lots around the ball, Which fate to man distributes, absolute; Avert, ye gods! that of the Muse's son,

Whilom by silver Thames's gentle stream, In London town there dwelt a subtile wight; A wight of mickle wealth, and mickle fame,

Approach in silence. 'tis no vulgar tale Which I, the Dryad of this hoary oak, Pronounce to mortal ears. The second age

Indeed, my Phaedra, if to find That wealth can female wishes gain Had e'er disturb'd your thoughtful mind,

With sordid floods the wintry Urn Hath stain'd fair Richmond's level green: Her naked hill the Dryads mourn,

From pompous life's dull masquerade, From Pride's pursuits, and Passion's war, Far, my Cordelia, very far,

Behold; the Balance in the sky Swift on the wintry scale inclines: To earthy caves the Dryads fly,

The men renown'd as chiefs of human race, And born to lead in counsels or in arms, Have seldom turn'd their feet from glory's chace

Whither is Europe's ancient spirit fled? Where are those valiant tenants of her shore, Who from the warrior bow the strong dart sped,

To-night retir'd the queen of heaven With young Endymion stays: And now to Hesper is it given

Say, Townshend, what can London boast To pay thee for the pleasures lost, The health to-day resign'd,

Queen of my songs, harmonious maid, Ah why hast thou withdrawn thy aid? Ah why forsaken thus my breast

I The wise and great of every clime, Through all the spacious walks of Time,

I For toils which patriots have endur'd, For treason quell'd and laws secur'd,

Believe me, Edwards, to restrain The license of a railer's tongue Is what but seldom men obtain

Attend to Chaulieu's wanton lyre; While, fluent as the sky-lark sings When first the morn allures it's wings,

Whoe'er thou art whose path in summer lies Through yonder village, turn thee where the grove Of branching oaks a rural palace old

Ye powers unseen, to whom, the bards of Greece Erected altars; ye who to the mind More lofty views unfold, and prompt the heart