The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw Volume I Part 51

What heau'n-intreated heart is this 1 Stands trembling at the gate of blisse?

Holds fast the door, yet dares not venture Fairly to open it, and enter.

Whose definition is a doubt 5 'Twixt life and death, 'twixt in and out.

Say, lingring Fair! why comes the birth Of your brave soul so slowly forth?

Plead your pretences (O you strong In weaknes!) why you choose so long 10 In labor of your selfe to ly, Nor daring quite to liue nor dy?

Ah! linger not, lou'd soul! a slow And late consent was a long no; Who grants at last, long time try'd 15 And did his best to haue deny'd: What magick bolts, what mystick barres Maintain the will in these strange warres?

What fatall yet fantastick, bands Keep the free heart from its own hands? 20 So when the year takes cold, we see Poor waters their own prisoners be: Fetter'd and lockt vp they ly In a sad selfe-captivity.

The astonisht nymphs their flood's strange fate deplore, 25 To see themselues their own seuerer sh.o.r.e.

Thou that alone canst thaw this cold, And fetch the heart from its strong-hold; Allmighty Love! end this long warr, And of a meteor make a starr. 30 O fix this fair Indefinite!

And 'mongst Thy shafts of soueraign light Choose out that sure decisiue dart Which has the key of this close heart, Knowes all the corners of't, and can controul 35 The self-shutt cabinet of an vnsearcht soul.

O let it be at last, Loue's hour!

Raise this tall trophee of Thy powre; Come once the conquering way; not to confute But kill this rebell-word 'irresolute,' 40 That so, in spite of all this peeuish strength Of weaknes, she may write 'resolv'd' at length.

Vnfold at length, vnfold fair flowre And vse the season of Loue's showre!

Meet His well-meaning wounds, wise heart, 45 And hast to drink the wholsome dart.

That healing shaft, which Heaun till now Hath in Loue's quiuer hid for you.

O dart of Loue! arrow of light!

O happy you, if it hitt right! 50 It must not fall in vain, it must Not mark the dry, regardless dust.

Fair one, it is your fate; and brings aeternal worlds upon its wings.

Meet it with wide-spread armes, and see 55 Its seat your soul's iust center be.

Disband dull feares; giue faith the day; To saue your life, kill your delay.

It is Loue's seege, and sure to be Your triumph, though His victory. 60 'Tis cowardise that keeps this feild And want of courage not to yeild.

Yeild then, O yeild, that Loue may win The fort at last, and let life in.

Yeild quickly, lest perhaps you proue 65 Death's prey, before the prize of Loue.

This fort of your faire selfe, if't be not won, He is repulst indeed; but you are vndone.

END OF VOL. I.

LONDON: ROBSON AND SONS, PRINTERS, PANCRAS ROAD, N.W.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] TURNBULL in line 19 misprints 'Diseased his ...' making nonsense.

Disease is = dis-ease, discompose, as used by PHINEAS FLETCHER: cf. vol.

iii. p. 194 et alibi.

[2] TURNBULL again misprints in line 3 'But' for 'Best,' once more making nonsense.

[3] Edition of 1834, p. 295; of 1839, vol. i. p. 301. TURNBULL adds not one iota to our knowledge, and repeats all WILLMOTT'S erroneous dates, &c.

[4] The present eminent Head of 'Charterhouse,' Dr. HAIG-BROWN, strove to find earlier doc.u.ments in vain for me.

[5] As before, vol. ii. p. 302.

[6] I feel disposed to think that it must have been some other RICHARD CRASHAW, albeit attendance at both Universities was not uncommon. WOOD'S words are, that he was 'incorporated' in 1641 at Oxford; and his authority 'the private observation of a certain Master of Arts, that was this year living in the University;' and he adds, 'afterwards he was Master of Arts, in which degree it is probable he was incorporated'

(Fasti, _s. n._).

[7] I owe very hearty thanks to my good friend Mr. W. Aldis Wright, M.A., Trinity College, Cambridge, and to the Masters and other authorities of Pembroke and Peterhouse, for unfailing attention to my inquiries and the most zealous aid throughout.

[8] My 'doc.u.ment' was an extract from an old Register of the Church. I lent it to the late Mr. ROBERT BELL (who intended to include CRASHAW in his 'Poets'), and somehow it got astray. My priest-correspondent at Loretto was dead when I applied for another copy, and the Register has disappeared. Of the fact, however, that CRASHAW died in 1650 there can be no doubt.

[9] Life of COWLEY, in Lives of the Poets.

[10] Works, vol. i. (1707) pp. 44-7. Line 3 by a strange oversight is misprinted in all the editions I have seen 'The hard, and rarest....' I accept WILLMOTT'S correction.

[11] Query, the legal term 'seized' = taken possession of? So VAUGHAN, Silurist,

'O give it ful obedience, that so _seiz'd_ Of all I have, I may not move thy wrath' (i. 154),

and

'Thou so long _seiz'd_ of my heart' (ib. p. 289). G.

[12] = Iamblichus, the celebrated Neo-Platonic philosopher, author of {peri Pythagorou haireseus}, concerning the Philosophy of Pythagoras. G.

[13] Cf. poem on Lessius, lines 18 and 38. G.

[14] See our Memorial-Introduction and Essay, for remarks on HERBERT'S relation to CRASHAW. G.

[15] '_Seven shares and a halfe._' The same phrase occurs in Ben Jonson's _Poetaster_. The player whom Captain Tucca bullied and fleeced, was one of Henslowe's company, as shown by Tucca's stinging taunt that they had 'fortune and the good year on their side;' the facts being that the Fortune theatre had just been built, and that the year had been an exceptionally bad one with the hitherto prosperous players. To call attention tacitly to the allusion 'fortune' is, in the original editions, printed in italics. Various other players having been mimicked, ridiculed, and reviled, Tucca then bids farewell to his new acquaintance with--'commend me to seven shares and a half;' a remark which by its position seems to point to the chief men of the company.

But a great part of the office of a manager like Henslowe was, as exhibited in Henslowe's own Diary, just such as is depreciatingly described in our text. He had various dramatic authors, poetasters, and others in his pay and debt. Hence as the Poetaster was written in 1601, and this preface in 1646, it may be concluded, that 'seven shares and a half' was the established proportion taken by, and therefore a theatrical cant name for, the Manager. It follows also that as the Player was one of Henslowe's company, the seven shares and a half alluded to by Jonson was Henslowe himself, from whom he had seceded, and with whom he had probably quarrelled. The question, however, yet remains open, whether seven shares and a half was the proportion received by a manager, or that taken by a proprietor-manager, such as Henslowe was.

Malone has conjectured that Henslowe drew fifteen shares; if so, the other seven and a half may have been as rent, and out of one of the two halves may have come the general expenses of the house. G.

[16] '_Sixpenny soule, a suburb sinner._' This was the ordinary town courtesan, who, eschewing the penny and twopenny rabble of the pit and gallery, frequented the cheapest of the better-cla.s.s seats, or main body of the house. G.

[17] = swollen. G.

[18] = as taught by Lessius, whose praise CRASHAW sang. See the Poem in its place in the 'Delights.' G.

[19] = drinkers of Canary (wine)? G.

[20] On the authors.h.i.+p of this Preface see our Preface. G.

[21] This couplet appeared first in 1648 edition of the 'Steps to the Temple;' but it properly belongs to the engraving in 'Carmen Deo Nostro'

of 1652, which is reproduced in our ill.u.s.trated 4to edition. G.

[22] 'The Weeper' appeared originally in the 'Steps' of 1646 (pp. 1-5): was reprinted in editions of 1648 (pp. 1-6), 1652 (pp. 85-92), 1670 (pp.

1-5). For reasons stated in our Preface, our text follows that of 1652; but see Notes and Ill.u.s.trations at close of the poem for details of various readings, &c. &c., and our Essay for critical remarks on it from POPE to DR. GEORGE MACDONALD. G.

[23] Appeared originally in 'Steps' of 1648 (pp. 7-9): reprinted in 1652 and 1670. As before, our text is that of 1652 (pp. 55-61); but see Notes and Ill.u.s.trations at close. The ill.u.s.tration, engraved by MESAGER, is reproduced in our ill.u.s.trated quarto edition. G.

[24] Appeared originally in 'Steps' of 1646 (pp. 6-7): reprinted in 1648 (pp. 9-11) and 1670 editions. As it does not appear in 'Carmen Deo Nostro,' &c. (1652), our text follows that of 1648; but see Notes and Ill.u.s.trations at close of the poem. G.

[25] Most of 'The Office of the Holy Crosse' appeared in the 'Steps' of 1648, but in a fragmentary form. First came a piece 'Upon our B.

Saviour's Pa.s.sion,' which included all the Hymns. Then 'the Antiphona,'

which was the last so called here; then 'the Recommendation of the precedent Hymn;' then 'a Prayer;' and lastly, 'Christ's Victory,'

including three other of the verses, called 'the Antiphona.' Our text is from 'Carmen Deo Nostro' &c. of 1652, as before (pp. 31-48)--the engraving in which is reproduced in our ill.u.s.trated quarto edition. See Notes and Ill.u.s.trations at close of this composition. G.