Those but proclaim his style, and disappear; The tithes, his parish freely paid, he took; The country churls, according to their kind Yet of his little he had some to spare, A poorer than himself he would not see. True priests, he said, and preachers of the word, Who, should they steal for want of his relief, Wide was his parish; not contracted close To serve the sick; to succour the distressed: But duly watched his flock, by night and day; The proud he tamed, the penitent he cheered: His preaching much, but more his practice wrougnt That all might see the doctrine which they heard. The prelate, for his holy life he prized; These marks of church and churchmen he designed, And living taught, and dying left behind. The crown he wore was of the pointed thorn: In purple he was crucified, not born. They who contend for place and high degree, Are not his sons, but those of Zebedee. Not but he knew the signs of earthly power Might well become Saint Peter's successor: The holy father holds a double reign, The prince may keep his pomp, the fisher must be plain. Such was the saint; who shone with every grace, Reflecting, Moses like, his Maker's face. God saw his image lively was expressed, By many followed; loved by most; admired by all. Gave, while he taught; and edified the more, He went not with the crowd to see a shrine; He needs no foil, but shines by his own proper light. CHARACTER OF VILLIERS, DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM. (From Absalom and Achitophel.) A man so various that he seemed to be That every man with him was god or devil. In squandering wealth was his peculiar art; He laughed himself from court, then sought relief Thus, wicked but in will, of means bereft, MANKIND. (From All for Love.) Men are but children of a larger growth; Our appetites as apt to change as theirs, And full as craving too, and full as vain; And yet the soul shut up in her dark room, Works all her folly up, and casts it outward ON MILTON. Three poets, in three distant ages born, PRIOR. THE reign of Queen Anne was at one time styled the Augustan age of English literature. It was adorned with the names of Pope, Addison, Swift, and a host of writers of scarcely inferior renown, who introduced into the language a degree of correctness and polish which it had not before received. The writers of that day, however, are not held in as high estimation as they were half a century since. The most distinguished critics of the present century have given a decided preference to the authors preceding the Restoration, as possessing greater boldness, originality, and force. Still, the early part of the eighteenth century must be regarded as the time when the language reached its maturity; and although the authors just named may not stand on the same platform with Shakspeare, Milton, or Spenser, they will ever be considered among the safest models of style, as well as the great storehouse of correct diction. MATTHEW PRIOR, the earliest of the poets usually named as belonging to the era under consideration, was born in 1664, and after a life of much distinction and a great variety of fortune, died in 1721. The most elaborate of his works is a poem entitled "Solomon," from which the following extract is made: (223) |