Selected quad for the lemma: life_n
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A44428
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The history of love a poem in a letter to a lady / by Mr. Charles Hopkins.
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Hopkins, Charles, 1664?-1700?; Ovid, 43 B.C.-17 or 18 A.D. Metamorphoses. English. Selections. 1695.
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1695
(1695)
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Wing H2724; ESTC R36004
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30,155
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146
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THE History of Love A POEM IN A LETTER TO A LADY THE HISTORY OF LOVE A POEM IN A Letter to a Lady By Mr. CHARLES HOPKINS Est quoque Carminibus meritas celebrare Puellas Dos mea Ovid. Utinam modo dicere possem Carmina digna dea certè est dea carmina digna Ibid. LONDON Printed by J. Dawks for Jacob Tonson at the Judges Head near the Inner-Temple-Gate in Fleetstreet M DC XC V. To Her GRACE THE DUTCHESS OF GRAFTON Madam BEauty as it is both the Theme and Inspirer of Poetry so it ought to be the Patroness too and a Poem of Love should in Justice be sacred to none but the lovelyest it would therefore be adoring a false Deity should I offer up this at any Shrine but Yours As it is the best I can do and writ on the most pleasing Subject I was resolv'd to lay it at the Feet of the most Beautiful and had I been my self at a loss where to fix the Universal Opinion of the World would have directed me and pointed out your Grace for the Patroness while the Poem shall last and a Poem of Love ought to last longer than any other succeeding Ages shall read that your Grace was the Ornament of this Age. 'T is an innocent and harmless Ambition in Poets whose only design in all they do is the pleasing others and in doing that please themselves best and as Beauty is the chief Object they bend their Studies to delight all Poets ought to aspire to please your Grace in particular That Ambition is the best Excuse I can make for my presumption in this Dedication since I am unknown to your Grace and perhaps even unheard of yet but what is my Crime is at the same time my Plea for Pardon or rather it is my Merit The Athenians when they Dedicated an Altar to the unknown God shew'd more Devotion and directed their Devotion to a truer Deity than when they Adored the many they knew That I might be sure of something Acceptable in this Offering and not fail to Delight in a Poem of Love where all ought to be delightful I have taken all the most moving tender Things that Ovid and Tibullus said to their Mistresses to say to Mine nor will I allow it to be a Theft since I doubt not as it was their Love that inspir'd them with those Thoughts Mine would have infus'd the same into me and no man that thinks naturally of Love can avoid running into the same Thoughts with them I have borrow'd the Examples to every Passion from those Stories which I thought the most pleasing in Ovid where certainly the most pleasing were to be met with Some few places in every Story I have Translated but for the most part I have only kept him in View I have gone on with him and left him where I thought it proper and by that means have avoided the Absurdities of his Metamorphoses save only that of Pigmalion's Statue but that was a Metamorphoses that pleas'd me It was a delightful Surprize to see Life breath'd into an inanimate Beauty as it would be a killing Affliction to see it taken away from one already animated It would occasion as much Joy and Wonder to have a Dutchess of GRAFTON made by Art if Art could do it as it would cause Consternation to have the Gods unmake one But those Miracles of Art are now ceas'd and none but the Heavenly Artist could have Drawn You who has Drawn You so that he has left the Painter and the Poet at a loss to Copy You. As to the Succcess of this POEM I hope I am secure since it is Sacred in general to the Fair Sex and committed in particular to the Protection of the Fairest if they are once pleas'd who will dare to find fault or disoblige them by disliking what they approve Under the shelter of your Graces Patronage I shall stand like Aeneas guarded by the Goddess of Love and no Diomedes shall be found as desperate as the first to Wound me thro' You. Thus as all Dedicating Poets who write more to raise their own Reputation than their Patrons I have taken the most effectual means to Establish mine and doubt not to make a strong Party since every Lover will defend what is sacred to the Lovely Your Graces most Devoted most Humble Servant Charles Hopkins THE History of Love A POEM IN A LETTER TO A LADY The HISTORY OF LOVE A POEM In a Letter to a LADY YE Woods and Wilds serene and blest retreats At once the Lovers and the Muses seats To you I fly to You ye sacred groves To tell my wondrous tale of wond'rous Loves Thee Delia thee shall every Shepherd sing With thy dear name the neighbouring Woods shall ring No Name but thine shall on their Barks be found With none but thine shall ecchoing Hills resound My Verse thy matchless Beautyes shall proclaim Till thine outrivals Sacharissa's Fame My Verse shall make thee live while Woods shall grow While Stars shall shine and while the Seas shall flow While there remains alive a tender Maid Or Amorous Youth or Love-sick Swain to read Others may artfully the Passions move In me alone 't is natural to love While the World sees me write in such a strain As shows I only feel what others feign Thou darling of my Youth my Life's delight By day my Vision and my Dream by Night Thou who alone dost all my Thoughts infuse And art at once my Mistress and my Muse. Inspir'd from thee flows every sacred line Thine is the Poetry the Poet thine Thy Service shall my only business be And all my life employ'd in pleasing thee Crown'd with my Songs of thee each day shall move And every listning Sun hear nought but Love With flowing numbers every page shall roll Where as you read my Verse receive my Soul Should Sense and Wit and Art refuse to join In all I write and fail my great design Yet with such Passion shall my Lines be crown'd And so much softness in my Poem found Such moving tenderness the World shall see Love could have been describ'd by none but me Let Dryden from his works with Justice claim Immortal Praise I from my Sacred Flame Draw all my Glory challenge all my Fame Believe me Delia Lovers have their Wars And Cupid has his Camp as well as Mars That Age which suits a Soldier best will prove The fittest for the sharp Fatigues of Love None but Young Men the toils of War can bear None but Young Men can serve and please the fair Youth with the Foe maintains the vig'rous fight Youth gives the longing Maid the full delight On either hand like hardship it sustains Great are Souldiers great the Lovers pains Th' event of War no Gen'ral can foreknow And that alas of Love is doubtful too In various Fields whatever Chance shall fall The Souldier must resolve to bear it all With the like constancy must Lovers wait Enduring bad and hoping
view me view me with your usual look Would you unkind from these Embraces break Is Glory grown so strong or I so weak Glory is not your only Call I fear You go to meet some other Mistress there Go then ingrateful tho' from me you fly You 'll never meet with one so fond as I. But some Camp Mistress lavish of her Charms Devoted to a Thousand Rival Arms. Then will you think when she is common grown On Deidamia who was all your own Thus will I chasp thee to my panting Breast And thus detain thee to my Bosom press't And while I fold thee thus and thus dispense These Kisses to restore thy wand'ring sense What dismal sound of War shall snatch thee hence What tho'the Gods have order'd you should go Or Greece return inglorious from her Foe Have not the self same cruel Gods decreed That if you went you should as surely Bleed Then since your Fate is destin'd to be such Ah! think can any Troy be worth so much Let Greece what e're she please for Vengeance give Secure at home shall my Achilles live Troy built by Heavenly hands may stand or fall You never shall obey the fatal call Your Deidamia swears you shall not go Life would be dear to you if she were so If not your own at least my safety prize For with Achilles Deidamia dyes All this and more the lovely mournful Maid Told the sad Youth who Sigh'd at all she said Yet would he not his resolution break Where all his Fame and Honour lay at stake Now would he think on Arms but when he gave A side-long glance on her he was to leave Then his tumultuous Thoughts began to jar And Love and Glory held a doubtful War Till with a deep-drawn Sigh and mighty course Of Tears which nothing else but Love could force To the Dear Maid he turns his wat'ry eyes And to her sad Discourse as sad replyes Thou late best Blessing of my Joyful Heart Now grown my grief since I must now depart Behold the Pangs I bear look up and see How much I grieve to go and comfort me Curse on that cunning Traytor 's smooth deceit VVhose craft has made me to my ruin great Curse on that Artifice by which I fell Curse on these hands for wielding Swords so well Tho'I should ne'r so fit for Battel prove All my Ambition's to be fit for Love In his soft VVars I would my Life beguile VVith thee contend in the transporting toil Ravish'd to read my Triumph in thy smile Boldly I 'd strive yet ev'n when Conquering yield To thee the glory of the Bloodless Field VVith liquid Fires melt thy rich Beautyes down Rifle thy Wealth yet give thee all my own So should our Wars be Rapture and Delight But now I 'm summon'd to another Fight 'T is not my fault that I am forc'd away But when my Honour calls I must obey Durst I not Death and every Danger brave I were not worthy of the Bliss I have More hazards than another would I meet Only to lay more Lawrels at your feet Oh! do not fear that I should faithless prove For You my only Life have all my Love The thought of You shall help me to subdue I 'le conquer faster to return to You. But if my Honours should be laid in Dust And I must fall as Heaven has said I must Ev'n in my Death my only grief will be That I for ever shall be snatch'd from thee That that alone occasions all my Fears Shakes my resolves and melts me into Tears My beating Heart pants to thee as I speak And wishes rather than depart to break Feel how it trembles with a Panick fright Sure it will never fail me thus in Fight I cannot longer hold this fond Discourse For now the Trumpets Sound our sad Divorce Sound every Trumpet there beat every Drum Use all your Charms to make Achilles come Farewel alas I have not time to tell How wondrous loath I part once more farewell Remember me as I 'll remember you Like me be constant and like me be true Gods I shall ne'r be gone Adieu adieu Adieu Absence Happy that Am'rous Youth whose Mistress hears His swelling Sighs and sees his falling Tears What Savage Maid her Pity can deny A breaking Heart and a still streaming Eye Absent alas he spends them all in vain While the Dear Cause is ignorant of his pain Yet wretched as he is he might be blest Would he himself contribute to his rest Would he resolve to struggle thro' the Net And but a while endeavour to forget But his Mad Thoughts run ev'ry passage o're And anxious Memory makes his Passion more Perplexing Memory that renews the Scene Of his past Cares and keeps him still in pain Keeps a poor Wretch perpetually opprest And never lets unhappy Lovers rest Le ts them no Pangs no cruel Sufferings lose But heaps their past upon their present Woes Such was Leanders Memory when remov'd And sunder'd by the Seas from all he lov'd The gather'd Winds had wrought the Tempest high Toss'd up the Ocean and obscur'd the Sky And at this time with an impetuous sway Pour'd forth their Forces and possess'd the Sea When the Bold Youth stood raging on the Beach To view the much lov'd Coast he could not reach His restless eyes ran all the distance o're And from afar discern'd his Hero's Tower Thrice Naked in the Waves his Skill he try'd And strove as he was us'd to stem the Tide But tumbling Billows threatned present wrack And rising up against him dash'd him back Then like a gallant Soldier forc'd to go Full of brave Wrath from a prevailing Foe Again to Town he makes his sad resort To see what Ships would loosen from the Port. Finding but one durst Launch into the Seas He writes a Letter fill'd with Words like these LEANDER'S Epistle to HERO In Imitation of Part of that OF OVID. REad this yet be not troubled when you read Your Lover comes not in his Letters stead On you all Health all Happiness attend Which I would much much rather bring than send But now those envious Storms obstruct my way And only this bold Bark durst put to Sea I too had come had not my Parents Spyes Stood by to watch me with suspicious eyes How many tedious days and nights are past Since I was suffer'd to behold you last Ye spightful Gods and Goddesses who keep Your wat'ry Courts within the spacious deep Why at this time are all the Winds broke forth Why swell the Seas beneath the furious North. 'T is Summer now when all should be serene The Sky's unclouded undisturb'd the Main Winter is yet unwilling to appear But you invert the Seasons of the Year Yet let me once attain the wish'd for Beach Out of the now Malicious Neptune's reach Then blow ye Winds ye troubled Billows roar Roll on your angry VVaves and lash the Shore Ruffle the Seas drive the Tempestuous Air Be one continued Storm to