Life And Letters Of John Gay (1685-1732), Author of "The Beggar's Opera"Melville, Lewis
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Life And Letters Of John Gay (1685-1732), Author of "The Beggar's Opera"
Melville, Lewis
Authors, English -- 18th century -- Biography; Gay, John, 1685-1732
but, since an author should not praise one publisher at the expense of
another, he has already had a kindly word for that more celebrated
publisher, Jacob Tonson--"Jacob's mighty name." It may be mentioned in
passing that Gay's "Poems on Several Occasions" bear the joint imprint
of Lintott and Tonson. Gay waxed eloquent in these verses, when
writing of the other contributors to the _Miscellany_, and bestowed
praise upon his brother-poets in no measured quantity:--
Where Buckingham will condescend to give
That honour'd piece to distant times must live;
When noble Sheffield strikes the trembling strings,
The little loves rejoice and clap their wings.
Anacreon lives, they cry, th' harmonious swain }
Retunes the lyre, and tries his wonted strain, }
'Tis he,--our lost Anacreon lives again. }
But when th' illustrious poet soars above
The sportive revels of the god of love,
Like Maro's muse he takes a loftier flight,
And towers beyond the wond'ring Cupid's sight.
If thou wouldst have thy volume stand the test,
And of all others be reputed best,
Let Congreve teach the list'ning groves to mourn,
As when he wept o'er fair Pastora's urn.[12]
Let Prior's muse with soft'ning accents move,
Soft as the strain of constant Emma's love:
Or let his fancy choose some jovial theme.
As when he told Hans Carvel's jealous dream;
Prior th' admiring reader entertains,
With Chaucer's humour, and with Spenser's strains.[13]
Waller in Granville lives; when Mira sings
With Waller's hands he strikes the sounding strings.
With sprightly turns his noble genius shines,
And manly sense adorns his easy lines.
On Addison's sweet lays attention waits,
And silence guards the place while he repeats;
His muse alike on ev'ry subject charms,
Whether she paints the god of love, or arms:
In him pathetic Ovid sings again,
And Homer's "Iliad" shines in his "Campaign."
Whenever Garth shall raise his sprightly song,
Sense flows in easy numbers from his tongue;
Great Phoebus in his learned son we see,
Alike in physic, as in poetry.
When Pope's harmonious muse with pleasure roves,
Amidst the plains, the murm'ring streams and groves.
Attentive Echo, pleased to hear his songs,
Thro' the glad shade each warbling note prolongs;
His various numbers charm our ravish'd ears, }
His steady judgment far out-shoots his years, }
And early in the youth the god appears. }
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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