while I sing this matchless Morn Who through various Climes has run And with the greatest skill has gather'd thence Paintings Elixir and true Quintessence Here a soft gentle Stroke may rise And there a bolder may surprize Thus Dearest Friend you see How we are outdone by thee In our own Calling Poetry Even Words and Metaphors you must impart They all are borrow'd from the Storehouse of thy Art IV. Zeuxes Apelles and those mighty Names That swell so big the mouth of Fame For many Ages did retain The Universal Painting Reign Courted and lov'd by all with wonder view'd By dull Antiquities admiring Crowd But their poor Images were wont to wear Their Pointers this a Dog and that Bear They ne'er cou'd higher than a Landskip rise Which at first sight might pleasingly surprize The foolish Birds I think we read were caught And to their painted Berries brought Alas my Friend hadst thou but liv'd The Painters Mighty Self had been deceiv'd But these to Titian and Angelo Their Sovereign Empire did forego And Painting still was in its stripling Age Till Lely and Vandike did mount the Stage And when these Prophets went at Death's great Call They let their Mantle on thee fall And with the same they did impart A double Portion of their Spirit and Art V. But stay here Friendship 's Sacred Name In my bold Song an equal share does claim What! Can my overweaning Muse The Mighty Ryley's Praise refuse Ryley the second Glory of our Age The Darling of the Court the Town and Stage Ryley by Heaven sent By way of an experiment To show the World how feeble Natures part May be outdone by her great Scholar Art Upon the weight of these two Columns lye Paintings Universal Monarchy The Gyants War describ'd upon a Shield Was all Antiquity cou'd yield Or Gods that on their painted Poops did pass Viewing themselves within the liquid Glass A timorous Age that crept along the Sand But never durst lose sight of Land But thou my Friend didst boldly out to Sea And thy own Pilot too wilt be And scorn'st to sneak to servile Arts and Rules Made to fetter Dastard Souls VI. With such a glowing Warmth as I pass by Thy Pictures strike my cheated Eye They seem to move and nod and speak And into violent passions break That for the time to come Painting no more shall be an Art that 's dumb Whatever skill or cost The famous Raphael's Pieces boast Now to oblivion and contempt they 're damn'd And into Corners and dark Entries cram'd But thy Great Fame as some good Pictures do Which best appear when far remov'd from view With After-times shall still maintain its light And at an Ages distance shine more bright VII Methinks I in thy wondrous Art adore Something that looks like a Creating Pow'r For when this World 's great Draught and well wrought Piece Of Air and Earth and Seas Was fashion'd by the Thunderer's hand All things at first did mixt and huddled stand All things together lay in Nature's tiring Room The Water and the Fire both struggled in onâ— Womb Gold things with hot and moist with dry Did undistinguish'd ly When by a touch of their Great Makers Art The jarring Seeds of things did freely part They humbly did retire without complaint And out there leapt this World's most beauteoâ— Piece of Paint So o'er the Chaos of a gloomy Ground Oft have I seen thy nimble Pencil move And here a Hill the sight wou'd bound And here wou'd peep a Floud and there a Grove And straight a glorious Heaven wou'd arise Spangled and stuck with starry Eyes And here a beauteous Nymph her head wou'd reer With Eyes so killing Mien so wondrous rare That though some foolish Men may call This lovely Creature Shadow all Yet here I vow with fam'd Pygmalion If I must go a wooing For Shadows of thy doing I 'd some of Nature's Substances disown VIII Philosophy this Notion clears That the pale Moon two Faces wears With one she looks at us they say Which radiant is and bright The other's always turn'd away And hid in thickest Night But if the Picture of thy well-fraught Mind I regularly draw my Friend There must no Shade be there at all Nothing that we may darkness call Thou like the Sun art a full Globe of Light Shining in every part throughout the whole most bright Adorn'd with every Artful Grace that can Make up an Illustrious Man Painting the Jewel is I own Which in thy Ring of Arts is set and shown But though in this thou dost excel Yet other things beside thy Praises tell A Sword as well as Pencil thou canst wield And dare to tread as well as paint a Field His Hand which with such gentle Strokes you saw But now that beauteous Woman shape and draw Can rougher grown with as unerring Art Its Passage force to a bold Rival's heart His Courage equal to his Fancy's shown Both with as vigorous heat do burn If once provoke't his Pencils Rod thrown down Into a Serpent he can turn IX And since all Strokes and Lines we find Humbly to wait at thy Command As readily obey thy hand As that the motions of thy Mind Prethee go on My best beloved Song And tell thy humble Masters just desire The God of Wit will still thy Strains inspire Ah gentle Artist when thou tak'st in hand The cruel Mistress of my heart Which like my Soul within me stands Is all in all and all in every Part Dress her in charms of choicest white and red And show the World what ne'er has been In all past Ages heard or seen That thou canst draw a perfect Maidenhead The Face with interfering Circles fill'd Like Nature's Alphabet does stand In every Letter thou art skill'd Though darkly writ by Nature's hand By each small Track and winding Line The temper of the Soul thou canst Divine As if Dame Nature thou hadst stood and view'd Whilst She complexions did divide and brew So by my Sylvia's features thou canst guess My eternal wo or bliss By these perhaps thou'lt find Whether she ever will prove kind As your rich Mines have oft been found By the bare surface of the Ground But gentle Artist in her eyes Let none of that fierce Lightning rise All sweet and charming let her be That without fear I her lov'd face may see Let no frowns on the Copy fall Whatever may be seen in the Original And then to thy great Name and greater Art I 'll bow And She shall by thy hand immortal grow Her Image Time nor Fate shall e'er devour So small is Death's so great the Painter's power A POEM ON Mr L'Estrange In magnis voluisse sat est I. A Task too vast for any living Mortal Wight Oh cou'd we call back from the shades again Great Oldham Cowley or Immortal Ben Those happy Bards might something worthy thee indite And though these three to our assistance came With all their rich and shining Eloquence With all the
Whisper it to each Country where you come As through your Stormy Empire you do roam But to the Aegyptian Court Be sure ye strait resort And There proclaim aloud the killing Sound That Pharaoh and his Host are drown'd Ye Erythraean Waves whene're ye joyn The Seas that run beyond the Line If they enquire from whence these Spoyls you bear What makes your Waves twice dy'd in red appear Tell 'em Proud Aegypt's King with all his Luxury Within your watry Grave entomb'd does lie And tell 'em Tho' a Thousand Shores they wash And as many Countries pass There no Heathen Idols are Who can with Israel's God compare Ye Fields of Zoan say for you have been Of Heavenly Wonders the unhappy Scene Can all your numerous Stock of Gods afford One who dare stand before the Lord When on your Cattle He a Murrain sent Among the meaner Herd the adored Heifer went When the ripe Corn and Fruits did blasted lie With them your Garden Gods did hang their Heads and die When Nile was turn'd to Blood and putrid Gore Your Sacred Crocodile came forth and dy'd upon the Shore But let not injur'd Nile complain The same Almighty Rod again Which did his Waters paint has dy'd the Neighboring Main V. 'T was then continued he his tuneful Song When our Army march'd along The Travelling Flame before us did appear The never-failing Cloud fell in the Rear The Queen of Heaven wonder'd still by Night To see a Fire below so Glorious Fierce and Bright The Sun himself surpriz'd as much by Day That with his Rays he ne'r could chase this Cloud away At the first Sight of the Mysterious Rod As if they 'd spy'd the Finger of a God The Waters loos'd their close Embrace Crowding back with furious Haste Into the secret Paths our Host did move Paths so full of Mystery That the Heavenly Host above Were surpriz'd as much as We. For the Stars cou'd never guess Why in the Ocean's polish'd Glass They cou'd no longer see their Face After our Troops the Pharian Tyrant bent With violent Haste blaspheming as he went In vain you try ye Slaves to shun your Fate Or fly my just provoked Hate I fear no longer now your God Nor the damn'd Sorcerer's Conjuring Rod. More the bold Monster wou'd have said and worse But a fierce bidden Wave came on and stop't thâ— foolish Curse VI. In Aegypt's Sky now let sad Clouds appear Tho' they were ne'r before seen there Now howl ye beastly Pharian Deities And echo thro' Heaven's Vault your hideous Cries Now hang again ye Garden Gods your Head For He the mighty He that made you so is dead O'er trembling Edom too and Moab let the Sound And even to Canaan's Land rebound Let Jordan now back to his Fountain run For what was here begun Said the great Inspired Seer Shall again be acted there His Waves at God's Command shall make a stand And open too a Path for Israel's Sacred Band. THE SONG OF DEBORAH Paraphras'd I. NOW breath We warlike Mates good Fortune bids us pause See the hoarse Trumpets threatning Voice be drown'd See it no more the Neighboring Valleys wound In softer peaceful Strains we'll Anthems sound To the Great Name that did espouse our Righteous Cause Israel a Captive now no longer shall be said Ah! Blessed Israel raise thy ransom'd Head Sisera's no more his Soul is with his Army fled Proud Midian now has clear'd the mighty Score That has been running up this Twenty Suns and more The vast Arrears of Rapine Death and Spoil One Day has paid this black Day 's memorable Foil There Hecatombs to Shades below are gone And there for injured Hebrew Ghosts atone Ye Midian Slaves go and this Victory tell Our Fathers dy'd and said Revenge us as they fell The Cries of Brothers Husbands Children slain For this Avenging Light did long complain I saw their Blessed Spirits hover o're These Plains which once had drunk their Sacre Gore They smil'd to see Proud Jabin fall To see us deal round Death to All They lean'd their subtle Organs down to catch thâ— Steam Which in great Mists from Midianitish Blood diâ— Stream II. God and your Arms be prais'd Ah! foolish I Thus to Purloin from Heaven a Victory For Oh! Ye Powers above what Mortal may Share in the Glory of this Day Our little meager trembling Host Look't like a wild disorder'd Rout of Ghosts No Thou Great God alone thy Power did'st exert It was thy Arm Thou both the Sword and Buckler wert Baruck and I can lay no Claim To this mighty Work of Fame May I thy humble Prophetess still counted be The Deity 's great Lieutenant He. Hear this ye Kings ye Earthly Gods Who of your Numbers boast Your Armed Towns and well-appointed Hosts 'Twixt Heaven and You see here the mighty Odds. The Almighty from Above does see How wondrous careful and sollicitous you be He sees your Men like busie Emmets crawl Over the Mole-hill of this Earthly Ball He sits and with a scornful Smile surveys it all Your very Chariots fail in a Retreat Jabin's proud General had Numbers of Scores in sturdy Iron clad And yet was forc'd to owe his Safety to his Feet III. With it this frightful Day such dire Confusion bore As when thro' Idumea's Hilly Coast Amram's great Son led the Beloved Host Our Army came behind and Terror march'd before Fame hasted strait and all around Threw the astonishing Sound Into their Towns she flew and scatter'd there Blind Terror deaf Disorder helpless Fear Edom cou'd now it self no more command But wish'd surrounded with more Hills to stand Thus 't was of old on smoaking Sinah's Head With such Amazement was it over-spread When the Great Law first took its Birth And Heaven convers'd with Earth God and his Creature in Conjunction sate Familiarly did debate Man 's ravish'd Opticks feasted on the Sight Divine Which way we know no more than how the Soul and Body joyn When first upon the Mountain's Top The Eternal King came down The shuffling Clouds to make Him room Together rush't and hence loud Storms did come By Smoak and vaporous Heat the Lightning fed Stood like a short-liv'd Glory roâ—nd his Head At every Word the list'ning Thunder roar'd aloud And in dire Accents told it to the trembling Crowd Such Sights upon its Plains the Heavens ne'r did know Since the bold Sons of Light here met their Overthrow Such was the dismal Scene of this Black Day As Sion shook as Edom trembled then so now did they IV. Moses at first our Captive-Neck did free From curs'd Aegyptian Slavery But He and his Commission dy'd And Joshua's Sword the Active Rod supply'd And what He did we have been taught And how he Wonders wrought From East to West his Conquering Arms he threw And did even Humane Thought out-go An Age or more his Fame secur'd our Peace To That we ow'd our very Bread and Ease In after Days God did some well-fram'd Spirits raise Othniel Ehud
and great Shamgar's Arm Defended Israel's Flock from Harm The bordering Tyrant's Force they did rebate And for a while kept off the Bolts of angry Fate For ever live for ever let recorded stand The Illustrious Acts of Shamgar's Hand Quitting his Plow unarm'd he took his Course Where lay Encamp't all the Philistian Force His Hand a peaceful Goad did bear A Tool unpractic'd in the Art of War With this he rul'd his Beasts with the same Goad he scar'd And drove before him the whole Pagan Herd And when he had the Heavenly Call obey'd He hasten'd to his plain unfinish'd Trade But still our fetter'd Land her Griefs bemoan'd And still beneath inglorious Bondage groan'd This struggling shew'd she had some Courage left Of Life and Spirits not yet quite bereft And that Alas was all That we these few and vain Attempts could call As when Diseases do our Body take Nature some Help wou'd fain afford Some weak Essays she 's wont to make To throw her Rider off and cast the painful Load Such was the Temper of our baffled Power It serv'd to shew our Weakness more And this was all we gain'd hereby To change our Masters not our Misery Like some poor Bark which just has scap't a Wreck And after finds a Pirate seizing on her Deck V. Oh can we can we without Blushes name Our memorable Shame When Palestine the wretched Palestine was grown Like one besieged Town Tho' business call'd we ne're durst look abroad The straggling Canaanite beset the common Road. The Merchant's Camel and the Peasant's Team Thro' unknown Paths and Hills were wont to climb Thro' Woods by Wild Beast's Dens they took their painful way To escape Men less Merciful than they The Villager his Herds to lonesome Caves did drive And there on equal Terms was forc'd to live Every thing wore the face of War And we at Home close Prisoners were Like a young Infant of his Friends bereft And to accursed Guardians left It s poor defenceless Innocence is torn To every one a Prey to every one a Scorn Thus Israel mourn'd her Fate 'till I arose Whom All-wise Heaven for this high Task did choose Leaving my Palm-tree Shade an humble Seat From Misery and Noise a blest Retreat I fixt her giddy State so long abus'd And by proud Jabin's Iron Scepter bruis'd I thro' her dying Parts new Life and Soul infus'd VI. But yet 't was strange Religion stood And ' scap't the Universal Flood 'T was passing strange maugre this noisy Rout War shou'd make Men more Devout They who alone did worship but one God before Now only they all Gods adore Before their Conquerors they fall And next upon their Conqueror's Gods they call Curs'd Fate That made 'em at one Stroke forego Their Soul and Body too To the grim Baal and horned Ashtaroth And all the foppish Pageantry Of black Idolatry They pour their faithless Souls and Prayers forth Plain must the Object of their Worship be They scorn to kneel to any Deity But what they may both feel and see No more to that Vnutterable Name they pray That led 'em with a Mighty Hand Thro' the wild Desarts parched Sands And scatter'd slaughter'd Nations in their way Their Father's Courage and their Father's God Joshua's fell Sword and Moses's sacred Rod Are now forgot can now no more Impression make They want new Miracles to buoy their sinking Faith To Hazor the proud Jabin's Seat they bend As to the Mother-Church and there their Offerings send They fetch'd the old cast Gods of all the Country round They worshipp'd all that cou'd be made or found And Deities were bought and sold Like other Ware like Spices Balm and Gold VII Thus the offended Monarch of the Skies From Pagan Altars saw their Incense rise Their Worship tender'd at a Foreign Shrine In cursed Moloch's Fane their Offerings shine And cou'd no longer hold but with a Parent 's Care Took up the Rod and did for War prepare To bring the Truant Israel to an humble Sence Of Duty and Allegiance Commissions strait were issued out To all the willing Nations round about We in our Walls by leaguering Troops were barr'd They at our very Gates kept Guard We treated were just like a common Foe For he that fights ' gainst Heaven must be so Mark't out by Heaven for Ruin thus we lay And learnt too late Alas the right Way how to Pray The frighted Pleader left the Bar At the grim Approach of War The awful Judge who Justice doth dispence Within our Gates was often forced thence He often stop't a Cause To hear the Trumpet 's threatning Noise In our saint Breasts a chilling Fear there reign'd Of Blood our Veins of Arms our Magazines were drain'd We cou'd not boast a Sword or serviceable Pike Bondage had canker'd o'er our Souls and Arms alike Accouter'd so our Troops for Fight prepare As when a ravenous Wolf is near And with his well-known Sound alarms The Villagers and calls to Arms. The affrighted Swains came out and on the Hills appear Some Goads some Flails and Plow-shares bear Some Axes knotted Clubs and Darts With all those rude and innocent Arts With which our plain Fore-Fathers armed went 'Fore Death ingenious grown worse Engines did invent VIII For ever bless'd and sure they blessed are For Heaven will ratifie my prayer Those glorious Chiefs who bore the heat Of this days toil and sweat When God and injur'd Israels wrongs obterg'd In Honors Bed they rather chose to lye Than tamely and ingloriously dye Than wait the Stone the Gout or Fevers lingring siege In that great Roll of Warriors which is hurl'd By babling Fame around the World What place so e're Of Moses shall or Joshua hear In the same rank these Worthies shall appear In each black wound their glutted swords did give As in well written Lines their Deathless Names shall live Fame will to after times show 'em without a blot Nor shall unworthy Deborah and Baruc be forgot Now we from Blood and War have got a full Release Say who reaps not the fruits of Peace The universal good By all is own'd is understood Speak you who Head our Tribes and bear a Princes Train Your Scarlet Honors cannot now complain Of a double dye and stain No more your Sons as Guards are forc'd to wait Upon the Tyrants State Your beauteous Daughters now no more are fain to be Slaves to his Pride and Luxurie What ever Earth or Air or Seas afford Now your well spread Tables load Before your very Water in great charges stood We once were forc'd to buy it with our Blood In vain through secret Sands the Chymist Nature strain'd And for our use the Ocean drain'd Our Wells and Springs were at the Conquerors will And at a distance thus they strove to kill IX All things are chang'd and wear a different face The frighted Judge resumes his wonted place And War no more does Property deface The labouring Peasant on his Team does wait Nor