A COMPARISON.1 THE lapse of time and rivers is the same, And a wide ocean swallows both at last. A difference strikes, at length, the musing heart: Cowper. THE MESSIAH.3 A SACRED ECLOGUE. YE nymphs of Solyma! begin the song: 6 (1) A similar thought is found in the piece entitled the "Thames" (see p. 9), but there it is merely suggested, here it is amply developed. (2) Nobler mind-the soil of the mind, which is far nobler and more important than that of the land. (3) "The idea of uniting the sacred prophecies and grand imagery of Isaiah with the mysterious visions and pomp of numbers in the Pollio of Virgil, thereby combining both sacred truth and heathen mythology, in predicting the coming of the Messiah, is one of the happiest subjects for producing emotions of sublimity that ever occurred to the mind of a poet."-Roscoe. (4) Solyma-same as Salem, supposed to be the ancient name of Jerusalem. (5) Sublimer-i. e. than those required by common subjects. A comparative sometimes, in English as well as in Latin, has the force of an emphatic positive; "sublimer" therefore means, truly sublime. (6) Mount Pindus, in Thessaly, and Aonia, a district of Boeotia, are celebrated as "haunts of the muses." This fanciful designation thus arises :-the lovely scenery of many parts of Greece suggested beautiful conceptions to the minds of the poets, who, in their turn, personified the influences which thus affected themselves, and gave them the name of muses. Hence, the muses are said to inspire the poet-that is, to sing his song to him-while he merely wrote it down. (7) O Thou, &c.-i. e. the classic muses of Greece are unequal to such a subject, and, therefore, do Thou, &c. ! Rapt into future times, the bard' begun : Peace o'er the world her olive wand extend, ! (1) The bard-i. e. Isaiah, or the poet supposed to be endowed from above with the same inspiration. (3) Isaiah xlv. 8. (4) Isaiah xxv. 4. (2) Isaiah xi. 1. (5) Returning Justice-Astrea, the goddess of justice, according to the fable, left the earth in the iron age, being unable to endure the sinfulness of mankind; in this new golden age she will return. See also Isaiah ix. 7. (6) Carmel's flowery top-" The good qualities of the soil of Carmel," says a modern traveller, "are apparent from the fact that many odoriferous plants and flowers, as hyacinths, jonquils, tazettos, anemonies, &c., grow wild upon the mountain." (7) Isaiah xl. 3, 4 (8) Hear him, &c.-so striking an expression that it were to be wished that the next four lines had been omitted, as they only tamely repeat the same idea. G A COMPARISON.1 THE lapse of time and rivers is the same, And a wide ocean swallows both at last. A difference strikes, at length, the musing heart: Cowper. YE nymphs of Solyma! begin the song: (1) A similar thought is found in the piece entitled the "Thames" (see p. 9), but there it is merely suggested, here it is amply developed. (2) Nobler mind-the soil of the mind, which is far nobler and more important than that of the land. (3) "The idea of uniting the sacred prophecies and grand imagery of Isaiah with the mysterious visions and pomp of numbers in the Pollio of Virgil, thereby combining both sacred truth and heathen mythology, in predicting the coming of the Messiah, is one of the happiest subjects for producing emotions of sublimity that ever occurred to the mind of a poet."-Roscoe. (4) Solyma-same as Salem, supposed to be the ancient name of Jerusalem. (5) Sublimer-i.e. than those required by common subjects. A comparative sometimes, in English as well as in Latin, has the force of an emphatic positive; "sublimer" therefore means, truly sublime. (6) Mount Pindus, in Thessaly, and Aonia, a district of Boeotia, are celebrated as "haunts of the muses." This fanciful designation thus arises :--the lovely scenery of many parts of Greece suggested beautiful conceptions to the minds of the poets, who, in their turn, personified the influences which thus affected themselves, and gave them the name of muses. Hence, the muses are said to inspire the poet-that is, to sing his song to him-while he merely wrote it down. (7) O Thou, &c.-i. e. the classic muses of Greece are unequal to such a subject, and, therefore, do Thou, &c. On rifted rocks, the dragon's late abodes, 3 To leafless shrubs the flowering palms succeed, The lambs with wolves shall grace the verdant mead, Rise, crowned with light, Imperial Salem rise !7 And seeds of gold in Ophir's mountains glow. (1) Isaiah xxxv. 1, 7. (2) Bulrush-The prefix bul, for bull, is augmentative—a bulrush is a large rush. "Horse" is used in the same manner, see note 3, page 76. It may be remarked that the Greeks employed the corresponding words, Bous and O, in a similar way; thus the epithet ẞowπic, ox-eyed, applied by Homer to Juno and others, means, having large and beautiful eyes. (4) Isaiah xi. 6, 7, 8. (3) Isaiah xli. 19; lv. 13. (5) Isaiah lxv. 25. (6) Basilisk-from the Greek Baoliokog, a little king-a serpent with a crest, which was fancifully thought like a crown. Some think the spectaclesnake of India is the species intended. A glance from the basilisk's eyes was vulgarly said to be fatal. (7) Isaiah lx. 1. (8) Towery-may either mean literally fortified with towers, or figuratively, rising like a tower; lofty. (9) Isaiah Ix. 4. (10) Isaiah lx. 3. (11) Sabæan-Sabæa was a district of Arabia Felix, noted for its frankincense, myrrh, balsam, &c. It is supposed to be the Sheba of Scripture. See heaven its sparkling portals wide display, The seas shall waste, the skies in smoke decay, Pope. SONNET; ON FIRST LOOKING INTO CHAPMAN'S HOMER.2 MUCH have I travelled in the realms of gold, (1) Isaiah li. 6; liv. 10. (2) The pleased surprise of one, who, after exploring many fields of literature, discovered Homer, is here described with much felicity both of conception and phraseology-but Chapman after all is only a dim reflection of the noble features of the original. |