Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A59339
|
Reflections on several of Mr. Dryden's plays particularly the first and second part of The conquest of Granado / by E. Settle.
|
Settle, Elkanah, 1648-1724.
|
1687
(1687)
|
Wing S2714; ESTC R25143
|
101,648
|
102
|
Alexanders Army which was call'd a Flying Army for his expedition in over-running Asia and yet as I take it there 's no Record of Alexanders running away from an Enemy But now the Martial Pageants which I took to be Ships are a flying Army Our Fleet is sunk already and turn'd into an Army Is it so A very pretty kind of Notes his Legerdemain Order and Harmony in each appear In each In what In the flying Army the Waves the Masque or the floating Field And how many things do all these amount to but Water and Ships If he can make any more of them 't is the first time I took him for a Conjurer Their lofty Bulks the foaming Billows bear Now the Ships are Buoy'd up agen Hocus agen It is no great news to us in England that Water bears Ships 'T is well he tells us he believes so for by the shallowness of his reason hitherto a little matter would make him believe any thing In state they move and on the Waves rebound To rebound on the Waves is to leap up from the water into the Air. He 's at Descriptions agen But by the way let me ask him if Leaping off the Waves be rebounding on them As if they danced to their own Trumpets sound Merry Ships to cut Capers as they Sail. Why that Ships may do if they are such Creatures as this fresh Water Souldier believes they are that have Legs and Hands that can put off their Caps and make Legs as he says Granada p. 49. Benzayda Death with our meeting Planets danced above I am afraid to make Planets nay Death too such merry grigs as to cut Capers and turne Dancers is a little Burlesque whatever Ships may be fancied to do By Winds inspired with lively Grace they roul Ships never Roul but in Calms I judged that in Calms they had lain still Either he takes all seasons to be Calms or Storms and so fresh Gales are Calms with him or else he believes that Ships have really those Souls which Hametalhaz alludes to if in still water without help of Wind or Tide they can Roul of themselves As if that Breath and motion lent â— Soul. Here he makes the effect produce the cause whereas it is a Soul that lends Breath and motion he makes Breath and motion lend a Soul as if sight could lend Eyes if so then sight must be before Eyes Now why the Soul is the cause of Breath and motion I believe he cannot resolve us for 't is much disputed whether the Soul be any thing else but Breath and motion viz. in Irrational Creatures all senses being made by a flux or motion of Spirits through several Organs to the Brain And so the Soul is but a notion or term of Art used to signifie that Breath and motion And if Don Critick makes this learned Discant that the cause is prior natura than the effect by his own argument Things are before Names and by his rules of priority Breath and motion cause a Soul. And with that Soul they seem taught Duty too Here this Soul is lent by instruction they are taught a Soul and with it taught Duty Why taught a Soul what does the Pronoun that point to but the â—ont Soul in the foregoing Line Their Top-sails lower'd their heads with Reverence bow As if they would their Generals worth enhance From him by instinct taught Allegiance The Ship learns by instinct that is it learns from another by having it naturally of it self Why it learns from another Let the question be answered out of the Authors words by what taught Allegiance By instinct From whom From him viz. the General and then pray examine the reception of instinct and find this Line Non-sence dear heart and eris mihi magnus Apollo though Instinct in all cases be what a man has naturally in himself yet that instinct never produces actions but from some circumstance or cause extra hominem For example some men have an antipathy against a Cat and by instinct though they see her not shall tremble and sweat or the like when they come near her and though by nature they have this Antipathy yet 't is from the presence of the Cat that instinct operates they would not tremble were she not there If the Poets Ships which he by his As if in the first Line only fancies of e'm not affirms of e'm for the affirmative would be Non-sence Instinct and Allegiance being inconsistent with inanimate Creatures If his Ships I say are fancied to have a Sympathy with their General and by instinct can express their Allegiance when he expresses his certainly though their supposed innate Virtue of expressing their Allegiance be in themselves yet the Power of expressing it is from him For if he did not express His they could not exercise their Sympathetick quality and express Theirs with him But perhaps he 'll find fault with the English and tell us to say That such a thing is taught to do this or that by instinct does not please him But as for that let it pass If he be so hard to please he is not worth the humouring Whilst the loud Cannons eccho from the shore Their flaming Breaths salute you Emperour From their deep mouths he does your Glory sing He sings his Glory and with their mouths that is the Cannons Mouths Which is like its fellows Non-sence For no man can sing with another mans mouth Therefore not with a Cannons mouth a very Poetical reason I hope the modest Commentatour will tell us as he tells the Poet he studied this Non-sense with another mans Brains that here he had the help of the Brethren for no less then a Triumviri of Poets could have produced so weighty a With Thunder and with Lightning greets his King. But two Lines since he call'd it salute an Emperour and thus these mannerly Ships salute an Emperour but greet a King and in saluting he says they but flash in the Pan only If Cannons were so well bred in his Metaphor as only to flash in the Pan I dare lay an even wager that Mr. Dryden durst venture to Sea. But when Greet's the word then the Thunder and Lightning comes I observe which is very often obâ—ected through the Play he finds fault that in a Scene or a Speech the Poet uses the words Monarch King Prince Soveraign Emperour and all for the same person another time Destiny Fate and Providence for the same thing as here salute and greet and this forsooth is impardonable I believe he means to bring Poetry to the rules of the Law and having once spoke of a King we must cry at next occasion to name him the aforesaid or abovenamed King party to these presents I wonder where the excellency of a tongue would be which lies in the copiousness of words to express the same thing by if this Confinement were imposed on itsâ— freest subject Poetry But I find he has clearly design'd the Authors overthrow and being