Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A34834
|
Verses, written upon several occasions by Abraham Cowley.
|
Cowley, Abraham, 1618-1667.
|
1663
(1663)
|
Wing C6694; ESTC R1522
|
22,938
|
66
|
1. NOw Blessings on you all ye peacefull Starrs VVhich meet at last so kindly and dispence Your universal gentle Influence To calm the stormy World and still the rage of Warrs Nor whilst around the Continent Pleni potentiary Beams ye sent Did your Pacifick Lights disdain In their large Treaty to contain The VVorld apart o're which do reign Your seven fair Brethren of great Charles his Wane No Star amongst ye all did I beleeve Such vigorous assistance give As that which thirty years ago At Charls his Birth did in despight Of the proud Sun's Meridian Light His future Glories and this Year foreshow No lesse effects than these we may Be assur'd of from that powerfull Ray VVhich could out-face the Sun and overcome the Day 2. Auspicious Star again arise And take thy Noon-tide station in the skies Again all Heaven prodigiously adorn For loe thy Charls again is Born He then was Born with and to Pain With and to Ioy he 's born again And wisely for this second Birth By which thou certain wert to bless The Land with full and flourishing Happiness Thou mad'st of that fair Month thy choice In which Heaven Air and Sea and Earth And all that 's in them all does smile and does rejoyce 'T was a right Season and the very Ground Ought with a face of Paradise to be found Than when we were to entertain Felicity and Innocence again 3. Shall we again good Heaven that Blessed Pair behold Which the abused People fondly sold For the bright Fruit of the Forbidden Tree By seeking all like gods to be Will Peace her Halcyon Nest venture to build Upon a Shore with Shipwracks fill'd And trust that Sea where she can hardly say Sh' has known these twenty years one calmy day Ah! mild and gaulless Dove Which dost the pure and candid Dwellings love Canst thou in Albion still delight Still canst thou think it White Will ever fair Religion appear In these deformed Ruins will she clear Th' Augaean Stables of her Churches here Will Iustice hazard to be seen Where a High Court of Iustice e're has been Will not the Tragique Scene And Bradshaw's bloody Ghost affright her there Her who should never fear Then may White-hall for Charls his Seat be fit If Iustice shall endure at VVestminster to sit 4. Of all me thinks we least should see The chearfull looks again of Liberty That Name of Crumwell which does freshly still The Curses of so many sufferers fill Is still enough to make her stay And jealous for a while remain Lest as a Tempest carried him away Some Hurican should bring him back again Or she might justlier be afraid Lest that great Serpent which was all a Tayl And in his poys'nous folds whole Nations Prisoners made Should a third time perhaps prevail To joyn again and with worse sting arise As it had done when cut in pieces twice Return return ye Sacred Fower And dread your perisht Enemies no more Your fears are causeless all and vain VVhilst you return in Charls his train For God does Him that He might You restore Nor shall the world him only call Defender of the Faith but of ye All. 5. Along with you Plenty and Riches go VVith a full Tide to every Port they flow VVith a warm fruitfull wind o're all the Country blow Honour does as ye march her Trumpet sound The Arts encompass you around And against all Alarms of Fear Safety it self brings up the Rear And in the head of this Angelique band Lo how the Goodly Prince at last does stand O righteous God! on his own happy Land 'T is Happy now which could with so much ease Recover from so desperate a Disease A various complicated Ill VVhos 's every Symptome was enough to kill In which one part of Three Frenzey possest And Lethargy the rest 'T is Happy which no Bleeding does indure A Surfet of such Blood to cure 'T is Happy which beholds the Flame In which by hostile hands it ought to burn Or that which if from Heaven it came It did but well deserve all into Bonfire turn 6. We fear'd and almost toucht the black degree Of instant Expectation That the three dreadfull Angels we Of Famine Sword and Plague should here establisht see God's great Triumvirate of Desolation To scourge and to destroy the sinfull Nation Justly might Heav'n Protectors such as those And such Commitees for their Safety impose Upon a Land which scarsely Better Chose We fear'd that the Fanatique VVar Which men against God's Houses did declare Would from th' Almighty Enemy bring down A sure destruction on our Own We read th' Instructive Histories which tell Of all those endless mischiefs that befell The Sacred Town which God had lov'd so well After that fatal Curse had once been said His Blood be upon ours and on our Childrens head We knew though there a greater Blood was spilt 'T was scarcely done with greater Guilt We know those miseries did befall Whilst they rebell'd against that Prince whom all The rest of Mankind did the Love and Ioy of Mankind call 7. Already was the shaken Nation Into a wild and deform'd Chaos brought And it was hasting on we thought Even to the last of Ills Annihilation When in the midst of this confused Night Loe the blest Spirit mov'd and there was Light For in the glorous General 's previous Ray We saw a new created Day VVe by it saw though yet in Mists it shone The beauteous VVork of Order moving on VVhere are the men who bragg'd that God did bless And with the marks of good success Signe his allowance of their wickedness Vain men who thought the Divine Power to find In the fierce Thunder and the violent VVind God came not till the storm was past In the still voice of Peace he came at last ' The cruell business of Destruction May by the Claws of the great Fiend be done Here here we see th' Almighty's hand indeed Both by the Beauty of the VVork we see 't and by the Speed 8. He who had seen the noble Brittish Heir Even in that ill disadvantageous Light VVith which misfortunes strive t' abuse our sight He who had seen him in his Clowd so bright He who had seen the double Pair Of Brothers heavenly good and Sisters heavenly fair Might have perceiv'd me thinks with ease But wicked men see only what they please That God had no intent t' extinguish quite The pious King 's eclipsed Right He who had seen how by the power Divine All the young Branches of this Royal Line Did in their fire without consuming shine How through a rough Red sea they had been led By VVonders guarded and by VVonders fed How many yeares of trouble and distress They'd wandred in their fatal VVilderness And yet did never murmur or repine Might me-thinks plainly understand That after all these conquer'd Tryals past Th' Almighty Mercy would at last Conduct them with a strong un-erring hand To their own Promis'd
quick and fierce Gold through Doors and walls did peirce And as that works sometimes upon the sword Melted the Maiden-head away Even in the secret scabbard where it lay The Prudent Macedonian King To blow up Towns a Golden Mine did spring He broke through Gates with this Petar 'T is the great Art of peace the Engine 't is of war And Fleets and Armies follow it afar The Ensign 't is at Land and 't is the Seaman's Star 3. Let all the VVorld slave to this Tyrant be Creature to this disguised Deitie Yet it shall never conquer me A Guard of Virtues will not let it pass And wisdom is a Tower of stronger brass The Muses Lawrel round my Temples spread 'T does from this Lightnings force secure my head Nor will I lift it up so high As in the violent Meteors way to lye VVealth for its power doe we honour and adore The things we hate ill Fate and Death have more 4. From Towns and Courts Camps of the Rich and Great The vast Xerxean Army I retreat And to the small Laconick forces fly VVhich hold the straights of Poverty Sellars and Granaries in vain we fill VVith all the bounteous Summers store If the mind thirst and hunger still The poor rich man's emphatically poor Slaves to the things we too much prize VVe Masters grow of all that we despise 5. A field of Corn a Fountain and a Wood Is all the Wealth by Nature understood The Monarch on whom fertil Nile bestowes All which that grateful Earth can bear Deceives himself if he suppose That more than this falls to his share Whatever an Estate does beyond this afford Is not a rent paid to the Lord But is a tax illegal and unjust Exacted from it by the Tyrant Lust. Much will alwayes wanting be To him who much desires Thrice happy He To whom the wise indulgency of Heaven VVith sparing hand but just enough has given The Complaint 1. IN a deep Vision 's intellectual scene Beneath a Bow'r for sorrow made Th' uncomfortable shade Of the black Yew's unlucky green Mixt with the mourning Willow's careful gray Where Reverend Cham cuts out his Famous way The Melancholy Cowley lay And Lo a Muse appear'd to ' his closed sight The Muses oft in Lands of Vision play Bodied arrayed and seen by an internal Light A golden Harp with silver strings she bore A wondrous Hieroglyphick Robe she wore In which all Colours and all figures were That Nature or that fancy can create That Art can never imitate And with loose Pride it wanton'd in the Air. In such a Dress in such a well-cloath'd Dream She us'd of old near fair Ismenus Stream Pindar her Theban Favourite to meet A Crown was on her Head and wings were on her Feet 2. She touch'd him with her Harp and rais'd him from the Ground The shaken strings Melodiously Resound Art thou return'd at last said she To this forsaken place and me Thou Prodigal who didst so loosely waste Of all thy Youthful years the good Estate Art thou return'd here to repent too late And gather husks of Learning up at last Now the Rich Harvest time of Life is past And Winter marches on so fast But when I meant t' adopt Thee for my Son And did as learn'd a Portion assign As ever any of the mighty Nine Had to their dearest Children done When I resolv'd t' exalt thy ' anointed Name Among the Spiritual Lords of peaceful Fame Thou Changling thou bewitcht with noise and show Wouldst into Courts and Cities from me go Wouldst see the World abroad and have a share In all the follies and the Tumults there Thou would'st forsooth be something in a State And business thou would'st find and would'st Create Business the frivolous pretence Of humane Lusts to shake off Innocence Business the grave impertinence Business the thing which I of all things hate Business the contradiction of thy Fate 3. Go Renegado cast up thy Account And see to what Amount Thy foolish gains by quitting me The sale of Knowledge Fame and Liberty The fruits of thy unlearn'd Apostacy Thou thought'st if once the publick storm were past All thy remaining Life should sun-shine be Behold the publick storm is spent at last The Soveraign is tost at Sea no more And thou with all the Noble Companie Art got at last to shore But whilst thy fellow Voyagers I see All marcht up to possess the promis'd Land Thou still alone alas dost gaping stand Upon the naked Beach upon the Barren Sand. 4. As a fair morning of the blessed spring After a tedious stormy night Such was the glorious Entry of our King Enriching moysture drop'd on every thing Plenty he sow'd below and cast about him light But then alas to thee alone One of Old Gideons Miracles was shown For every Tree and every Herb around With Pearly dew was crown'd And upon all the quickned ground The Fruitful seed of Heaven did brooding lye And nothing but the Muses Fleece was dry It did all other Threats surpass When God to his own People said The Men whom through long wandrings he had led That he would give them ev'n a Heaven of Brass They look'd up to that Heaven in vain That Bounteous Heaven which God did not restrain Upon the most unjust to shine and Rain 5. The Rachel for which twice seven years and more Thou didst with Faith and Labour serve And didst if Faith and labour can deserve Though she contracted was to thee Giv'n to another thou didst see Giv'n to another who had store Of fairer and of Richer Wives before And not a Leah left thy recompence to be Go on twice seven years more thy fortune try Twice seven years more God in his bounty may Give thee to fling away Into the Courts deceitful Lottery But think how likely 't is that thou With the dull work of thy unwieldy Plough Shouldst in a hard and Barren season thrive Shouldst even able be to live Thou to whose share so little bread did fall In the miraculous year when Manna rain'd on all 6. Thus spake the Muse and spake it with a smile That seem'd at once to pity and revile And to her thus raising his thoughtful head The Melancholy Cowley said Ah wanton foe dost thou upbraid The Ills which thou thy self hast made When in the Cradle innocent I lay Thou wicked Spirit stole'st me away And my abused Soul didst bear Into thy new found Worlds I know not where Thy Golden Indies in the Air And ever since I strive in vain My ravisht Freedom to regain Still I Rebell still thou dost Reign Lo still in verse against thee I complain There is a sort of stubborn Weeds Which if the Earth but once it ever breeds No wholsom Herb can near them thrive No useful Plant can keep alive The foolish sports I did on thee bestow Make all my Art and Labour fruitless now Where once such Fairies dance no grass doth ever grow 7. When my new mind had no infusion known Thou gav'st so deep a tincture of thine own That ever since I vainly try To wash away th' inherent dye Long work perhaps may spoil thy Colours quite But never will reduce the native white To all the Ports of Honour and of gain I often stear my course in vain Thy Gale comes cross and drives me back again Thou slack'nest all my Nerves of Industry By making them so oft to be The tinckling strings of thy loose minstrelsie Who ever this Worlds happiness would see Must as entirely cast off thee As they who only Heaven desire Do from the World retire This was my Errour This my gross mistake My self a demy-votary to make Thus with Saphira and her Husbands fate A fault which I like them am taught too late For all that I gave up I nothing gain And perish for the part which I retain 8. Teach me not then O thou fallacious Muse The Court and better King t' accuse The Heaven under which I live is fair The fertile soil will a full Harvest bear Thine thine is all the Barrenness if thou Mak'st me sit still and sing when I should plough When I but think how many a tedious year Our patient Soveraign did attend His long misfortunes fatal end How chearfully and how exempt from fear On the great Sovereigns will he did depend I ought to be accurs'd if I refuse To wait on his O thou fallacious Muse Kings have long hands they say and though I be So distant they may reach at length to me However of all Princes thou Shouldst not reproach Rewards for being small or slow Thou who rewardest but with popular breath And that too after death FINIS * The Star that appeared at Noon the day of the King's Birth just as the King his Father was riding to St. Pauls to give thanks to God for that Blessing