The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw Volume I Part 43

Line 4, in HARLEIAN MS. 6917-18 reads, as I have adopted, 'thy' for 'the.'

Line 5, ib. 'on yond faire.'

" 7, ib. 'Unfold thy front and then....'

" 9, instile is = instill, used in Latinate sense of drop into or upon: HARLEIAN MS., as before, is 'enstile.'

Line 14, HARLEIAN MS., as before, 'thy' for 'her.'

" 16, ib. 'these.'

" 17-18, ib.

... 'and disclose ... the new-born rose.'

See our Essay for critical remarks. G.

TO THE MORNING:

SATISFACTION FOR SLEEPE.[77]

What succour can I hope my Muse shall send 1 Whose drowsinesse hath wrong'd the Muses' friend?

What hope, Aurora, to propitiate thee, Vnlesse the Muse sing my apologie?

O in that morning of my shame! when I 5 Lay folded up in Sleepe's captivity, How at the sight did'st thou draw back thine eyes, Into thy modest veyle? how didst thou rise Twice dy'd in thine owne blushes! and did'st run To draw the curtaines, and awake the sun! 10 Who, rowzing his ill.u.s.trious tresses, came, And seeing the loath'd object, hid for shame His head in thy faire bosome, and still hides Mee from his patronage; I pray, he chides: And pointing to dull Morpheus, bids me take 15 My owne Apollo, try if I can make His Lethe be my Helicon: and see If Morpheus have a Muse to wait on mee.

Hence 'tis, my humble fancie finds no wings, No nimble rapture starts to Heaven, and brings 20 Enthusiasticke flames, such as can give Marrow to my plumpe genius, make it live Drest in the glorious madnesse of a Muse, Whose feet can walke the milky way, and chuse Her starry throne; whose holy heats can warme 25 The grave, and hold up an exalted arme To lift me from my lazy vrne, to climbe Vpon the stooped shoulders of old Time, And trace Eternity--But all is dead, All these delicious hopes are buried 30 In the deepe wrinckles of his angry brow, Where Mercy cannot find them: but O thou Bright lady of the Morne! pitty doth lye So warme in thy soft brest, it cannot dye.

Have mercy then, and when he next shall rise 35 O meet the angry G.o.d, invade his eyes, And stroake his radiant cheekes; one timely kisse Will kill his anger, and revive my blisse.

So to the treasure of thy pearly deaw, Thrice will I pay three teares, to show how true 40 My griefe is; so my wakefull lay shall knocke At th' orientall gates, and duly mocke The early larkes' shrill orizons, to be An anthem at the Daye's nativitie.

And the same rosie-finger'd hand of thine, 45 That shuts Night's dying eyes, shall open mine.

But thou, faint G.o.d of Sleepe, forget that I Was ever known to be thy votary.

No more my pillow shall thine altar be, Nor will I offer any more to thee 50 My selfe a melting sacrifice; I'me borne Againe a fresh child of the buxome Morne, Heire of the sun's first beames. Why threat'st thou so?

Why dost thou shake thy leaden scepter? goe, Bestow thy poppy upon wakefull Woe, 55 Sicknesse, and Sorrow, whose pale lidds ne're know Thy downie finger; dwell upon their eyes, Shut in their teares: shut out their miseries.

NOTES AND ILl.u.s.tRATIONS.

In 1646, line 1, for 'shall' reads 'will:' ib. in HARLEIAN MS. as before, 'my' for 'the Muse;' which I adopt here, but not in next line: line 9, ib. 'thy:' line 11, ill.u.s.trious is = l.u.s.trous, radiant: HARLEIAN MS. as before, line 19, 'this my humble:' line 20, 1646 misprints 'raptures:' line 27, 1670 has 'and climb:' line 28, 1646 has 'stooped'

for 'stooping' of 1648; infinitely superior, and therefore adopted: 1670 misprints 'stopped:' the SANCROFT MS. has 'stooping:' line 45, HARLEIAN MS. as before, 'thy altar.' Further: in the SANCROFT MS. this poem is headed 'Ad Auroram Somnolentiae expiatio. R. CR.,' and it supplies these various readings: line 1, 'will:' line 7, 'call back:' line 16, 'my' for 'mine;' line 20-21, 'winge' and 'bringe:' line 40, 'treasures:' other orthographic differences only. See Essay, as in last poem. G.

LOVE'S HOROSCOPE.[78]

Love, brave Vertue's younger brother, 1 Erst hath made my heart a mother; Shee consults the conscious spheares To calculate her young son's yeares.

Shee askes, if sad, or saving powers, 5 Gave omen to his infant howers; Shee askes each starre that then stood by, If poore Love shall live or dy.

Ah, my heart, is that the way?

Are these the beames that rule thy day? 10 Thou know'st a face in whose each looke, Beauty layes ope Love's fortune-booke; On whose faire revolutions wait The obsequious motions of man's fate: Ah, my heart, her eyes, and shee, 15 Have taught thee new astrologie.

How e're Love's native houres were set, What ever starry synod met, 'Tis in the mercy of her eye, If poore Love shall live or dye. 20

If those sharpe rayes putting on Points of death, bid Love be gon: (Though the Heavens in counsell sate To crowne an uncontrouled fate, Though their best aspects twin'd upon 25 The kindest constellation, Cast amorous glances on his birth, And whisper'd the confederate Earth To pave his pathes with all the good, That warmes the bed of youth and blood) 30 Love hath no plea against her eye: Beauty frownes, and Love must dye.

But if her milder influence move, And gild the hopes of humble Love: (Though Heaven's inauspicious eye 35 Lay blacke on Love's nativitie; Though every diamond in Love's crowne Fixt his forehead to a frowne:) Her eye, a strong appeale can giue, Beauty smiles, and Love shall live. 40 O, if Love shall live, O, where But in her eye, or in her eare, In her brest, or in her breath, Shall I hide poore Love from Death?

For in the life ought else can give, 45 Love shall dye, although he live.

Or, if Love shall dye, O, where But in her eye, or in her eare, In her breath, or in her breast, Shall I build his funerall nest? 50 While Love shall thus entombed lye, Love shall live, although he dye.

NOTES AND ILl.u.s.tRATIONS.

In line 16 the heavens are the planets. To 'crown' his fate is to invest it with regal power, and so place it beyond control. It is doubtful whether 'uncontrouled' expresses that state or result of crowning, or whether the clause is hyperbolical, and means to put further beyond control an already uncontrolled fate. 'Twin'd' seems a strange word to use, but refers, I presume, to the apparently irregular and winding-like motions of the planets through the constellations until they result in the favourable aspects mentioned. According to astrology, the beneficence or maleficence of the planetary aspects varies with the nature of the constellation in which they occur. HENRY VAUGHAN, Silurist, uses 'wind' very much as CRASHAW uses 'twin'd:' see _s.v._ in our edition.

In line 14 we have accepted the reading 'man's' for 'Loves' from the SANCROFT MS.

A SONG:

OUT OF THE ITALIAN.[79]

To thy lover Deere, discover That sweet blush of thine that shameth --When those roses It discloses-- All the flowers that Nature nameth.

In free ayre, Flow thy haire; That no more Summer's best dresses, Bee beholden For their golden Locks, to Phoebus' flaming tresses.

O deliver Love his quiver; From thy eyes he shoots his arrowes: Where Apollo Cannot follow: Featherd with his mother's sparrowes.

O envy not --That we dye not-- Those deere lips whose doore encloses All the Graces In their places, Brother pearles, and sister roses.

From these treasures Of ripe pleasures One bright smile to cleere the weather.

Earth and Heaven Thus made even, Both will be good friends together.

The aire does wooe thee, Winds cling to thee; Might a word once fly from out thee, Storme and thunder Would sit under, And keepe silence round about thee.

But if Nature's Common creatures, So deare glories dare not borrow: Yet thy beauty Owes a duty, To my loving, lingring sorrow,

When to end mee Death shall send mee All his terrors to affright mee: Thine eyes' Graces Gild their faces, And those terrors shall delight mee.

When my dying Life is flying, Those sweet aires that often slew mee Shall revive mee, Or reprive mee, And to many deaths renew mee.