The sound of her lament shall, rising o'er To sense and suffering, though the vain may scoff, Is not as once it shone o'er thee, forgive! A softer glimpse; some stars shine through thy night, The gay, the learn'd, the generous, and the brave, A noble one to them, but not to thee-- The being-and even yet he may be born-- By fresh barbarians, on thy brow replaced; Yet through this centuried eclipse of woe And make it broader; the same brilliant sky Which cheers the birds to song shall bid them glow, And raise their notes as natural and high; Tuneful shall be their numbers; they shall sing And look in the sun's face with eagle's gaze, The harlotry of genius, which, like beauty, And looks on prostitution as a duty. He who once enters in a tyrant's hall (3) (1) Alexander of Parma, Spinola, Pescara, Eugene of Savoy, Montecuccoli. (2) Columbus, Americus Vesputins, Sebastian Cabot. (3) A verse from the Greek tragedians, with which Pom As guest is slave, his thoughts become a booty, And the first day which sees the chain enthral A captive, sees his half of manhood gone—(4) The soul's emasculation saddens all His spirit; thus the bard too near the throne Quails from his inspiration, bound to please,— How servile is the task to please alone! To smooth the verse to suit his sovereign's ease And royal leisure, nor too much prolong Aught save his eulogy, and find, and seize, Or force, or forge fit argument of song! [trebles, Thus trammell'd, thus condemn'd to Flattery's He toils through all, still trembling to be wrong: For fear some noble thoughts, like heavenly rebels, Should rise up in high-treason to his brain, He sings, as the Athenian spoke, with pebbles In's mouth, lest truth should stammer through his But out of the long file of sonneteers There shall be some who will not sing in vain, And he, their prince, shall rank among my peers, (5) And love shall be his torment; but his grief Shall make an immortality of tears, And Italy shall hail him as the chief [strain. Of poet-lovers, and his higher song The banks of Po, two greater still than he; Flutter her lovely pinions o'er his theme, And Art itself seem into Nature wrought By the transparency of his bright dream.— The second, of a tenderer, sadder mood, Shall pour his soul out o'er Jerusalem; He, too, shall sing of arms and Christian blood Shed where Christ bled for man; and his high harp Shall, by the willow over Jordan's flood, Revive a song of Sion, and the sharp Conflict, and final triumph of the brave And pious, and the strife of hell to warp Their hearts from their great purpose, until wave The red-cross banners where the first red cross Was crimson'd from his veins who died to save, Shall be his sacred argument; the loss Of years, of favour, freedom, even of fame Contested for a time, while the smooth gloss Of courts would slide o'er his forgotten name, And call captivity a kindness, meant To shield him from insanity or shame: Such shall be his meet guerdon! who was sent To be Christ's laureate-they reward him well! Florence dooms me but death or banishment, Ferrara him a pittance and a cell: Harder to bear and less deserved, for I Had stung the factions which I strove to quell; But this meek man, who with a lover's eye Will look on earth and heaven, and who will deig To embalm with his celestial flattery To the kind world, which scarce will yield a tear, A beritage enriching all who breathe With the wealth of a genuine poet's soul, Through her Olympiads two such names, though one Feeling of that which is, and fancy of That which should be, to such a recompense Back to their native mansion, soon they find Succumbs to long infection, and despair, And when at length the winged wanderers stoop, Were prouder than more dazzling fame unbless'd; Whose splendour from the black abyss is flung, A temporary torturing flame is wrung, Shines for a night of terror, then repels Its fire back to the hell from whence it sprung, The hell which in its entrails ever dwells. CANTO IV. Y are poets who have never penn'd "Why is it necessary to adopt the invidious and too mon practice of weighing the transcendent talents of rost and Tasso in opposite, and as it were contending, s? Reader! if you have already had the delight of persing the last production of Lord Byron's muse, how you have admired those exquisitely beautiful and affecting portraitures of the two matchless poets which acade the third canto of the Prophecy of Dante! We bere see them contrasted without such invidious comparior depreciation of the one to exalt the other; and characterised in numbers, style, and sentiment, so wonderfully Latesque, that-mastering our uncongenial language, and They felt, and loved, and died, but would not lend Of passion, and their frailties link'd to fame, For what is poesy but to create And be the new Prometheus of new men, Than aught less than the Homeric page may bear; Break no commandment, for high heaven is there Of poesy, which peoples but the air With thought and beings of our thought reflected, Faints o'er the labour unapproved--Alas! Art shall resume and equal even the sway Ye shall be taught by Ruin to revive And temples, loftier than the old temples, give Such as all flesh shall flock to kneel in: ne'er As this, to which all nations shall repair, The daring charge to raise it shall be given, Whom all arts shall acknowledge as their lord, (3) habitual modes of thought as well as expression-they seem (3) "If," says Sir Joshua Reynolds, "the high admiration and esteem in which Michael Angelo has been held by all nations, and in all ages, should be put to the account of prejudice, it must still be granted that those prejudices could not have been entertained without a cause: the ground of our prejudice then becomes the source of our admiration. But from whatever it proceeds, or whatever it is called, it will not, I hope, be thought presumptuous in me to appear His chisel bid the Hebrew, (1) at whose word The Ghibelline, who traversed the three realms Amidst the clash of swords, and clang of helms, The age which I anticipate, no less Shall be the Age of Beauty, and while whelms Calamity the nations with distress, The genius of my country shall arise, A cedar towering o'er the wilderness, Lovely in all its branches to all eyes, Fragrant as fair, and recognised afar, Wafting its native incense through the skies. Sovereigns shall pause amidst their sport of war, Wean'd for an hour from blood, to turn and gaze On canvass or on stone; and they who mar All beauty upon earth, compell'd to praise, Shall feel the power of that which they destroy; in the train, I cannot say of his imitators, but of his admirers. I have taken another course, one more suited to my abilities, and to the taste of the times in which I live. Yet, however unequal I feel myself to that attempt, were I now to begin the world again, I would tread in the steps of that great master. To kiss the hem of his garment, to catch the slightest of his perfections, would be glory and distinction enough for an ambitious man." Sir Joshua Reynolds's Discourses, vol ii., p. 216.-L. E. (1) The statue of Moses, on the monument of Julius II. "And who is he that, shaped in sculptured stone, But had they raised this awe-commanding form, (2) The Last Judgment, in the Sistine Chapel.-["It is obvious, throughout Michael Angelo's works, that the poetical mind of Dante influenced his feelings. The demons in the Last Judgment, with all their mixed and various passions, may find a prototype in La Divina Commedia. The figures rising from the grave mark his study of· L'Inferno e il Purgatorio; and the subject of the Brazen Serpent, in the Sistine Chapel, must remind every reader of canto xxv. dell' Inferno, where the flying serpents, the writhings and contortions of the human body from envenomed wounds, are described with pathos and horror; and the execution of Haman, in the opposite angle of the same ceiling, is doubtless designed from these lines,— 'Poi piovve dentro all' alta fantasia And Art's mistaken gratitude shall raise To tyrants who but take her for a toy Emblems and monuments, and prostitute Her charms to pontiffs proud, (4) who but employ The man of genius as the meanest brute To bear a burthen, and to serve a need, To sell his labours, and his soul to boot. Who toils for nations may be poor indeed, But free; who sweats for monarchs is no more Than the gilt chamberlain, who, clothed and fee'd Stands sleek and slavish, bowing at his door. Oh, Power, that rulest and inspirest! how Is it that they on earth, whose earthly power Is likest thine in heaven in outward show, Least like to thee in attributes divine, Tread on the universal necks that bow, And then assure us that their rights are thine? And how is it that they, the sons of fame, Whose inspiration seems to them to shine From high, they whom the nations oftest name, Must pass their days in penury or pain, Or step to grandeur through the paths of shame, And wear a deeper brand and gaudier chain? Or if their destiny be born aloof Nella sua vista, e cotal si moria. Ester sua sposa, e 'l giusto Mardochen, Che fu al dire ed al far cosi 'ntero.""" Duppa-LE! (3) I bave read somewhere (if I do not err, for I can recollect where,) that Dante was so great a favourite Michael Angelo's, that he had designed the whole of Divina Commedia; but that the volume containing the studies was lost by sea.-{" Michael Angelo's copy of Dant says Duppa, "was a large folio, with Landino's commer ary; and upon the broad margin of the leaves he designe with a pen and ink, all the interesting subjects. This h was possessed by Antonio Montauti, a sculptor and archit of Florence, who, being appointed architect to St. Peter removed to Rome, and shipped his effects at Leghorn Civita Vecchia, among which was this edition of Dante: the voyage the vessel foundered at sea, and it was a tunately lost in the wreck."-L. E.] (4) See the treatment of Michael Angelo by Julias and his neglect by Leo X.-[Julius II. was no sooner se on the papal throne than he was surrounded by men of nius, and Michael Angelo was among the first invited to court. The Pope had a personal attachment to him. conversed with him upon every subject, as well as sculpti with familiarity and friendship; and, that he might him frequently, and with perfect convenience, caused a vered bridge to be made from the Vatican palace to study, to enable him to pass at all times without b observed. On paying his visit one morning, Michael gelo was rudely interrupted by the person in waiting, said, "I have an order not to let you enter." Mi felt with indignation this unmerited disgrace, and, in warmth of resentment, desired him to tell the Pope, " that time forward, if his Holiness should want him should have to seek him in another place." On his re home, he ordered his servants to sell the furniture T house to the Jews, and to follow him to Florence. Him the same evening, took post, and arrived at Pogg castle, in Tuscany, before he rested. The Pope despa five couriers, with orders to conduct him back: but he not overtaken until he was in a foreign state. A reett ation was, however, a few months after, effected at Bo through the mediation of the gonfaloniere. As Michae gelo entered the presence chamber, the Pope gave hi askance look of displeasure, and after a short pause sa him, "In the stead of your coming to us, you seem to expected that we should wait upon you." Michael A replied, with submission, that his error arose from too ily feeling a disgrace that he was unconscious of mer and hoped his Holiness would pardon what was past. Pope thereupon gave him his benediction, and restored to his friendship. The whole reign of Leo X. was a in the life of Michael Angelo. Duppa.-L. E.] From lowliness, or tempted thence in vain, In their own souls sustain a harder proof, The inner war of passions deep and fierce? Florence! when thy harsh sentence razed my roof, I loved thee; but the vengeance of my verse, The hate of injuries which every year Makes greater, and accumulates my curse, Shall live, outliving all thou holdest dear, Thy pride, thy wealth, thy freedom, and even that, The most infernal of all evils here, The sway of petty tyrants in a state; For such sway is not limited to kings, Which make men hate themselves, and one another, (I) In his Convito, Dante speaks of his banishment, and the poverty and distress which attended it, in very affecting terms:-"Alas!" said he, “had it pleased the Dispenser of the Universe that the occasion of this excuse had never existed; that neither others had committed wrong against me, nor I suffered unjustly; suffered, I say, the punishment of exile and of poverty; since it was the pleasure of the citi rens of that fairest and most renowned daughter of Rome, Floreace, to cast me forth out of her sweet bosom, in which I had my birth and nourishment, even to the ripeness of my age, and in which, with her good-will, I desire, with all my heart, to rest this wearied spirit of mine, and to terminate the time allotted to me on earth. Wandering over almost every part, to which this our language extends, I have gone about like a mendicant, showing against my will the wound with which fortune has smitten me, and which is often imputed to his ill-deserving on whom it is inflicted. I have, indeed, been a vessel without sail and without steerage, carried about to divers ports, and roads, and shores, by the dry wind that springs out of sad poverty, and have appeared before the eyes of many who, perhaps, from some report that had reached them, had imagined me of a different form; in whose sight not only my person was disparaged, but every action of mine became of less value, as well those already performed, as those which yet remained for me to attempt."-L. E. (2) About the year 1316, the friends of Dante succeeded in obtaining his restoration to his country and his possesBons, on condition that he should pay a certain sum of money, and, entering a church, there avow himself guilty, and ask pardon of the republic. The following was his answer, on this occasion, to one of his kinsmen:-" From your letter, which I received with due respect and affection, I observe how much you have at heart my restoration to my country. I am bound to you the more gratefully, that an exile rarely finds a friend. But, after mature consideration, I must, by my answer, disappoint the wishes of some little minds; and I confide in the judgment to which your impartiality and prudence will lead you. Your nephew and mine has written to me, what indeed had been mentioned by many other friends, that, by a decree concerning the eules, I am allowed to return to Florence, provided I pay a certain sum of money, and submit to the humiliation of asking and receiving absolution: wherein, my father, I see two propositions that are ridiculous and impertinent. I speak of the impertinence of those who mention such conditions to me: for in your letter, dictated by judgment and discretion, there is no such thing. Is such an invitation to return to his country glorious for Dante, after suffering in exile almost fifteen years? Is it thus, then, they would recompense innocence which all the world knows, and the labour and fatigue of unremitting study? Far from the man who is familiar with philosophy be the senseless baseness of Who has the whole world for a dungeon strong, Seas, mountains, and the horizon's verge for bars, Which shut him from the sole small spot of earth Where whatsoe'er his fate-he still were hers, His country's, and might die where he had birth— Florence! when this lone spirit shall return To kindred spirits, thou wilt feel my worth, And seek to honour with an empty urn The ashes thou shalt ne'er obtain (2)-Alas! "What have I done to thee, my people?" (3) Stern Are all thy dealings, but in this they pass The limits of man's common malice, for Raised by thy will, all thine in peace or war, a tear, And make them own the Prophet in his tomb. (4) a heart of earth, that could do like a little sciolist, and imitate the infamy of some others, by offering himself up as it were in chains. Far from the man who cries aloud for justice this compromise, by his money, with his persecutors! No, my father, this is not the way that shall lead me back to my country. But I shall return with hasty steps, if you or any other can open to me a way that shall not derogate from the fame and honour of Dante; but if by no such way Florence can be entered, then Florence I shall never enter. What! shall I not every where enjoy the sight of the sun and stars? and may I not seek and contemplate, in every corner of the earth under the canopy of heaven, consoling and delightful truth, without first rendering myself inglorious, nay infamous, to the people and republic of Florence? Bread, I hope, will not fail me." Yet he continued to experience "How salt the savour is of others' bread, His countrymen persecuted even his memory: he was excommunicated after death by the Pope.-L. E. (3) "E scrisse più volte non solamente a particolari cittadini del reggimento, ma ancora al popolo, e intra l' altre una epistola assai lunga che comincia: Popule mi, quid feci tibi?'"-Vita di Dante, scritta da Lionardo Aretino. (4) Dante died at Ravenna in 1321, in the palace of his patron, Guido Novello da Polenta, who testified his sorrow and respect by the sumptuousness of his obsequies, and by giving orders to erect a monument, which he did not live to complete. His countrymen showed, too late, that they knew the value of what they had lost. At the beginning of the next century, they entreated that the mortal remains of their illustrious citizen might be restored to them, and deposited among the tombs of their fathers. But the people of Ravenna were unwilling to part with the sad and honourable memorial of their own hospitality. No better success attended the subsequent negotiations of the Florentines for the same purpose, though renewed under the auspices of Leo X., and conducted through the powerful mediation of Michael Angelo. Never did any poem rise so suddenly into notice, after the death of its author, as the Divina Commedia. About the year 1350, Giovanni Visconti, Archbishop of Milan, selected six of the most learned men in Italy.-two divines, two philosophers, and two Florentines,-and gave them in charge to contribute their joint endeavours towards the compilation of an ample comment, a copy of which is preserved in the Laurentian library. At Florence, a public lecture was founded for the purpose of explaining a poem, which was at the same time the boast and the disgrace of the city. The decree for this institution was passed in 1373; and in that year Boccaccio was appointed, with a salary of a hundred florins, to deliver lectures in one of the churches Is it over? Tra. Ink. Nor will be this hour. But the benches are cramm'd, like a garden in flower, With the pride of our belles, who have made it the fashion; [passion" So, instead of "beaux arts," we may say "la belle For learning, which lately has taken the lead in The world, and set all the fine gentlemen reading. Tra. I know it too well, and have worn out my patience With studying to study your new publications. There's Vamp, Scamp, and Mouthy, and Wordswords and Co. (2) With their damnable Ink. Hold, my good friend, do you know Whom you speak to? Tra. Right well, boy, and so does "the Row:"(3) You're an author-a poet on the first of their poets. The example of Florence was speedily followed by Bologna, Pisa, Piacenza, and Venice. It is only within a few years, that the merits of this great and original poet were attended to and made known in this country. And this seems to be owing to a translation of the very pathetic story of Count Ugolino; to the judicious and spirited summary given of this poem in the 31st section of the History of English Poetry; and to Mr. Hayley's translations of the three cantos of the Inferno. "Dante believed," says Ugo Foscolo, "that, by his sufferings on earth, he atoned for the errors of humanity Ma la bontà divina ha si gran braccia, Hath goodness infinite, that it receives And he seems to address Heaven in the attitude of a worshipper, rather than a suppliant. Being convinced that Man is then truly happy when he freely exercises all his energies,' he walked through the world with an assured step, 'keeping his vigils ' So that nor night nor slumber with close stealth He collected the opinions, the follies, the vicissitudes, the miseries, and the passions that agitate mankind; and left behind him a monument which, while it humbles us by the representation of our own wretchedness, should make us glory that we partake of the same nature with such a man, and encourage us to make the best use of our fleeting existence."-L. E. (1) This trifle, which Lord Byron has himself designated as "a mere buffoonery, never meant for publication," was written in 1820, and first appeared in The Liberal. The personal allusions in which it abounds are, for the most Can stand tamely in silence, to hear you decry Excuse me: I meant no offence To the Nine; though the number who make some pretence To their favours is such--But, the subject to drop, That it is, as the phrase goes, extremely “refreshing.” Ink. Very true; 'tis so soft And so cooling-they use it a little too oft; And the papers have got it at last-but no matter. So they've cut up our friend then? Tra. Not left him a tatterNot a rag of his present or past reputation, part, sufficiently intelligible; and, with a few exceptions, so good-humoured, that the parties concerned may be e pected to join in the laugh. "About the year 1781, it was much the fashion for several ladies to have evening assemblies, where the fair sex might participate in conversation with literary and ingenious men, animated by a desire to please. These societies were denominated Blue-stocking Clubs; the origin of which title being little known, it may be worth while to relate it. One of the most eminent members of those societies, when they first commenced, was Mr. Stillingfleet, whose dress was remarkably grave, and in particular it was observed that he wore blue stockings. Such was the excellence of his conversation, and his absence was felt as so great a loss, that it used to be said, We can do nothing without the blue-stockings,' and thus by degrees the title was established." Croker's Boswell, vol. iv. p. 489. Sir William Forbes, in his Life of Dr. Beattie, says, that a foreigner of distinction hearing the expression, translated it literally Bas Bleu,' by which these meetings came to be distinguished. Miss Hannah More, who was herself s member, has written a poem with the title of Bas Bleu, in allusion to this mistake of the foreigner, in which she ha characterised most of the eminent personages of which i was composed.”—L. E (2) See the stanzas on Messrs. Wordsworth and Southey in Don Juan.-L. E. (3) Paternoster-row-long and still celebrated as a very bazaar of booksellers. Sir Walter Scott "hitches int rhyme" one of the most important firms—that "Of Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, (4) This cant phrase was first used in the Edinburgh Re view-probably by Mr. Jeffrey.-L. E. |