Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 8.djvu/216

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NOTES AND QUERIES, [9* s. vm. SEPT. 7, 1901.

such a bitter lampoon on a man who had never offended him, and who was then living in quiet retirement in his native place 1 Why should he nourish rancour in his heart 1 He could not consider himself as one of " the robbed," to use his own phrase, for it has not been shown that Shakespeare ever appro- priated anything of his. It is clear that the epigram was directed against some other playwright.

'The Poetaster' was acted in 1601. We know it was written in fifteen weeks and under what circumstances. But MR. THORPE quotes from the prologue "Are there no players here? no poet apes'?" and again, " Base detractors and illiterate apes," for the purpose of making us believe that Shake- speare was the biggest baboon among them. This is very unfortunate, for I hold that ' The Poetaster ' contains the first of the eulogies passed on Shakespeare by his great con- temporary. On reading that powerful comedy one naturally inquires if he is not described in it. What attentive reader will not acknowledge that he is represented in the character of Virgil ? Horace (Ben Jonson himself), being asked by Caesar what he thought of the poet's learning, replies : His learning savours not the school-like gloss, That most consists in echoing words and terms, And soonest wins a man an empty name ; Nor any long or far-fetched circumstance Wrapp d in the curious generalities of arts ; But a direct and analytic sum Of all the worth and first effects of arts. And for his poesy, 'tis so ramm'd with life That it shall gather strength of life with being, And live hereafter more admired than now.

Act V. sc. i.

These prophetic words can only refer to one man and that man is Shakespeare. The burden of them is repeated in the noble lines now to be found in Underwoods/ of which 1 will only quote one :

He was not of an age, but for all time ! The same affectionate feeling for "gentle Shakespeare," the "sweet swan of Avon," the star of poets," is apparent in paragraph Ixiv. of the Discoveries,' probably written before the poem just mentioned. What language can be more sincere than this ? " I loved the man and do honour his memory on this side idolatry as much as any."

Why should we attempt to "perturb" the mighty ghost of him whose body has lain in ie grave for well-nigh three hundred years? We do it wrong being so majestical, lo offer it the show of violence lor it is, as the air, invulnerable, And our vain blows malicious mockery. JOHN T. CURRY.

POEM BY DR. JOSEPH BEAUMONT (9 th S. viii. 142). In answer to MR. HEBB, I beg to say that I did not publish the poem of ' Love's Mysterie' without satisfying myself that it is not included in Dr. Grosart's edition of Beaumont's works. Grosart had no unpub- lished manuscript materials in his hands ; he simply reprinted the * Psyche,' and such other poems as were published at Cambridge in 1749. I am, of course, very pleased to see 'Love's Mysterie ' enshrined in the pages of ' N. & Q.,' and shall be very glad if it awakens a desire for the publication of the whole of the un printed poems which are now in my possession.

In my Catalogue No. 95 I printed another poem of Beaumont's besides the one which MR. HEBB refers to. This is called ' The World,' and, curiously enough, I overlooked the fact that this had been printed both by the editor of the Cambridge edition and by Dr. Grosart. However, the first editor of it had omitted the last stanza, so that its repub- lication was not altogether without justifica- tion. The first editor, I may mention here, took great liberties with the few poems which he published. In many cases the poems as he prints them are shorn of nearly one-half of their proper length. Of course the poems in Dr. Grosart's edition are equally imperfect, since he had no means of supplying the first editor's omissions.

I dare say your readers will not be dis- pleased to see another specimen of Beau- mont's poetry. The following poem is now first published :

ONCE AND EVER.

Sure Love is nothing less than Love, If it immortal doth not prove : Yet mighty LOVE to justifie Himself to be himself did dy.

Sweet mystery which thus can be

Immortal by Mortalitie ! LOVE dy'd indeed, but by that Art Struck Death itself through Death's own heart. LOVE dy'd ; but rose again to prove That though LOVE dy's, still LOVE is LOVE.

Thus gains the glorious Phoenix by

His sweet death, Immortality. never then let the foule shame Of Change blott Love's eternal name ; Nor fancy that in Love thou wert With LOVE if from his love thou start :

But since LOVE liv'd and dy'd for thee

Learn what thy love to LOVE must be.

Beaumont as a poet was certainly much too diffuse, and studied too little the art of selection. But that he was a true poet no one can doubt who will devote a little time to his writings. I shall be glad if I am able to do something to make him better known than he is at present. BERTRAM DOBELL.