P. 122, I. 119. Cowper, was born in 1774. P. 123, 1. 156. Spencer Cowper, youngest son of Lord Chancellor 1713, became Dean of Durham in 1746, and died in Miss Bridget is described from Hogarth's "Morning." P. 124, 1. 212. Geta, the slave's name in the Phormio of Terence: and so used generally for a servant. P. 126, 1. 298. "That never" 1782, 1786; "who never" 1787 and later editions. P. 127, 1. 358. Rev. Dr. Conyers, of Helmsley, one of the three clergymen consulted by Cowper and Mrs. Unwin as to where they should settle in 1767. P. 128, 1. 378. William, second Earl of Dartmouth, patron of the living of Olney, a friend of Newton and a conspicuous figure in the Evangelical movement. He had been at Westminster School with Cowper. P. 128, 1. 378. "That wears" 1782-1786; "who wears" 1787 and later. P. 130, 1. 504. P. 131, 1. 543. P. 137, 1. 230. "Who insults," from 1787 onwards. "Who slights," from 1787. A reminiscence, of course, of the famous passage in the sixth Aeneid, lines 847 et seq. P. 141, ll. 376-389. The Test Act, passed in the reign of Charles II. and not repealed till that of George IV., provided that all persons holding any office should take the oath of supremacy, should subscribe a declaration against transubstantiation, and should publicly receive the sacrament according to the rites of the Church of England. The Bishop who toiled to cleanse the stain was Warburton, who wrote an essay on "the necessity of a Test Act." P. 141, ll. 389-412. These lines were a later insertion of Cowper's to replace some lines attacking Roman Catholics, which, however, were already printed and are to be found in some copies of the 1782 edition. See the letters to Newton, November 27 and December 4, 1781, from which it is satisfactory to be able to conclude that Newton agreed with Cowper in his desire to expunge the uncharitable passage. With Cowper friendship always disarmed criticism, and it has generally been assumed, as, for instance, by Southey and Mr. Wright, that it was his friendship with the Roman Catholic Throckmortons that led him to strike out "the offensive passage," as he himself calls it. But this is a mistake. In the letters mentioning his decision to strike out the lines he says nothing of the Throckmortons; and the fact is that he did not know them till some years later. His first volume of poems was published in 1782, and his first meeting with the Throckmorton family appears to have taken place in 1784. See the letter of May 10, 1784. The letters of August 24, 1786, and September 24, 1786, show that even then the acquaintance was but just beginning. This passage omitted was as follows: "Hast thou admitted with a blind fond trust, Their souls to Heaven, and cursed them as they went? And execrates above all other lies, The lie that claps a lock on mercy's plan, Away with charity that soothes a lie, And thrusts the truth with scorn and anger by ! Grant them the rights of men, and while they cease P. 141, 1. 414. "Sins" 1786. But "sin," the 1782 reading, reappears in 1787 and subsequent editions and is plainly right, though Southey gives "sins." P. 141, l. 422. Jude, in whose epistle, verse 7, these words occur. P. 142, l. 466. All the earlier editions, 1782-1788, place a comma after "truth," thus making "sublime" an epithet, not of "truth," but of "England borne upon the wings of truth." Their authority is small in matters of punctuation, but I am inclined to think there is here no need for the alteration made in the later editions. Bruce, who usually gives the textual variations, does not mention this; like other editors he prints "truth sublime." P. 142, 1. 467. 1782-1788, "island spot"; 1793, and later, "island, spot." "Rolling chords" 1788 and later; and so Bruce, while Southey and Bell give "tolling,” the original reading. P. 143, 1. 500. Bruce, and Bell. P. 145, 1. 605. 1788. Bruce prints P. 146, 1. 623. P. 146, 1. 624. 66 Awaking" 1788 and later; followed by Benham, "One hour" earlier editions; "an hour" first in "one hour" without note. "Or spare" 1793 and later. The common punctuation makes nonsense of this passage by placing commas after "tide" and "freely." P. 146, 1. 638. Milton, Paradise Lost, iv. 642 :— "Pleasant the sun When first on this delightful land he spreads P. 146, 1. 662. P. 151, 1. 116. P. 152, l. 163. it appears both in P. 153, l. 205. Cowper owed his P. 156, 1. 357. Southey and Benham strangely change to "trembled." "With every good" 1793 and later, followed by Bruce. "Wings" 1794 and later: an evident mistake, though Southey and Bell. Bruce rightly gives “wing.” Cotton, the physician to whose skill and humanity recovery from his first attack of insanity. The earlier editions place the comma after "sips," and this seems right, though their authority in matters of punctuation is very small. P. 157, 1. 401. "Dealings" 1793 and later. Leuconomus is a Greek version of the name of Whitefield, the great preacher. P. 163, 1. 718. "Lightning" 1787 and later. Either may be right, as "play" is probably governed by "if," the apodosis not beginning till "the thunder." I have inserted a semicolon after "away" as the point seems to be that if there is a storm, the storm seems sent to accompany his doom. P. 164, 1. 742. Cf. Paradise Lost, v. 153. It is one of many Miltonic reminiscences. Cf. Charity, 263, 435, 446; Retirement, 87; to give a few specimens to which many might be added. P. 164, 1. 750. "Who share" 1787 and later. P. 165. Charity, 8. "Or felt" 1793 and later. P. 166, 11. 39-56. The sovereign of the country conquered by Cortez, the Mexican Emperor Montezuma, died of an accidental wound, and not by execution. On the other hand, if Cowper was thinking of Pizarro, whom he does not mention, there is still a difficulty, for Charles V., and not Philip II., was on the throne of Spain, when Pizarro put Atahualpa to death. Nor was Philip ever Emperor. James Cook, the great and humane sailor and discoverer, was born in 1728, and murdered by natives of Owhy hee in 1779. P. 170, 1. 253. John Thornton, 1720-1790, a munificent merchant who gave away £2000 or £3000 a year. He allowed Newton £200 a year for hospitality, and doubled the allowance when Cowper took refuge in Newton's house. See the poem to his memory, page 476. P. 170, 1. 255. "Has seen," as given by some of the editors, may be an improvement, but it has no authority. The original editions from 17821794 all give "hath." P. 171, 1. 296. John Howard, who gave his life to the reform of prisons, and died of fever in the Crimea in 1790. His statue stands under the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. P. 174, 1. 435. Southey compares Paradise Lost, v. 285:— And shook his plumes, that heavenly fragrance filled P. 174, l. 446. Cf. Paradise Lost, iv. 156 : "Gentle gales Fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole Those balmy spoils." P. 174, 1. 454. "Her sister's" 1793, 1794. And so Benham, Bell, and Bruce (who gives no note). Southey, as usual, follows the earlier texts, and gives "a sister's." P. 175, 1. 469. Brief is still used in Norfolk in this sense. A small farmer who has lost a cow, or had some other special misfortune, will get the rector to state his case on a "brief," that is a sheet of paper which he can carry round the parish for subscriptions. The collection is no longer made in church, so far as I know. P. 178, l. 601. “Accomplishment" 1787 and later, and so Bell; Bruce prints "accomplishments." P. 178, 1. 636. "Subject sake" 1782, and so Southey and Benham; corrected to "subjects" 1793. Bruce gives "subject' sake." P. 179, 1. 36. "Christian praise" 1782-1787. "Christian's" 1788 and later; and so Benham, Bruce, and Bell. Southey gives "Christian." P. 181. In the earlier editions up to 1788 " Soph" is printed as an abbreviation "Soph." Later "Soph," and so the editors, except Southey. P. 183, 1. 220. The original editions italicise them. P. 184, 1. 245. With this denunciation of tobacco, contrast the charming lines in its praise addressed to the Rev. William Bull (page 428). Cowper's heart could always get the better of his head, and his general condemnations always admit exceptions for those whom he loved. Bishops in general might be lazy and useless, but not his friend Bishop Bagot; Deans as a rule worldly, but not Dean Cowper; College Dons triflers or topers, but not the poet's brother; and so William Unwin was to be excused for being a pluralist, and William Bull praised for his inseparable pipe. Who would wish away the affectionate poet's most human inconsistencies? P. 184, 1. 250. "Trifles" 1782-87; "triflers" 1788 and later. And so Southey, Bruce, Bell, and Benham. This seems one of the few cases where the later editions are right. P. 186, 1. 332. All the editions 1782-1794 read "its"; later editions have substituted "tis." So Southey, Bell, Bruce, Benham. 66 P. 186, 1. 355. "Tried " appears in 1793. And so Bell. But "tied," as given 1782-1788, is certainly right. And so Benham, Bruce, and Southey. P. 187, 1. 385. "And if" 1793, 1794. P. 187, 1. 387. The original texts give "an happy." But this is substantially a question between modern spelling and that of the eighteenth century. P. 188, 1. 434. "Adds the birth" 1782, 1786; "aids" from 1787. Southey "adds"; Bruce, Bell, Benham "aids." “Adds" seems right because the idea is that of completion not that of assistance. P. 189, 1. 505. It is curious that, many years before Cowper wrote this beautiful passage, we find him saying, in a letter to Lady Hesketh (August 1, 1765) that he had been intimate with a "man of fine taste" who had confessed that "though he could not subscribe to the truth of Christianity itself, yet he never could read St. Luke's account of our Saviour's appearance to the two disciples going to Emmaus without being wonderfully affected by it, and he thought that if the stamp of divinity was anywhere to be found in Scripture, it was strongly marked and visibly impressed in that passage." Evidently the story is one that had always made a special impression on Cowper himself with the result that he has here achieved one of the very few successful poetic paraphrases of a passage from the Bible. P. 190, 1. 556. P. 191, l. 569. "Is guarded" first appears in 1793. P. 193, 1. 660. "Our own" 1782-1788; "your own" from 1793. Bruce gives our own" without comment. 66 P. 198. For Retirement, the best of the eight satires, see Introduction, p. xxxvi. P. 200, 1. 69. "Helmed heads" 1782, 1786; "helmet" from 1787; and so Bruce, Benham, Bell. P. 200, 1. 87. Cf. Paradise Lost, v. 153, already imitated in Hope, 742. P. 200, 1. 106. "Whatever is" 1782, 1786; "what is" 1787, 178. Then, as this left the line two syllables short, "on earth what is' was printed in 1793. Southey and Bell follow 1782; Bruce and Benham 1793 P. 204, 1. 279. Heberden was Cowper's friend and physician in his London days. P. 206, 11. 365-480. Sir George Trevelyan quotes some lines from this passage in his delightful Early History of Charles James Fox (vii. 289), and speaks of the retired statesman as "perhaps the most powerfully drawn of all Cowper's characters.” He suggests that these may be the verses which Cowper told Unwin he had "finished, and polished, and touched and retouched with the utmost care" writing only a dozen lines in a morning instead of his usual task of sixty, and justly adds "O si sic omnia." But Cowper does not seem to refer to any particular passage (see the letter to Unwin, October 6, 1781); he is speaking of his general method of work. And the letter of September 18, 1781, which contains the remark about sometimes doing only a dozen lines a day, does not at all allege a higher standard as the cause of the reduced production, but seems to imply a diminished power of invention. P. 208, 1. 461. "Nor happiness" 1782-1788; "No happiness" 1793. |