Thy worth and skill exempts thee from the throng, With praise enough for envy to look wan; 6 compofition to one of the airs, of this piece, which gained unufual and exceffive applaufe, Lawes is faid to be the first who introduced the Italian ftyle of mufic into England. In the Preface, he fays he had formerly compofed airs to Italian and Spanish words: and, allowing the Italians to be the chief mafters of the mufical art, concludes that England has produced as able muficians as any country of Europe, and cenfures the prevailing fondness for Italian words. To this Preface, among others, are prefixed Waller's verses abovementioned, and two copies by Edward and John Philips, Milton's nephews. Befides his Pfalms, printed for Moseley in 1648, and to which this SONNET is prefixed, he compofed tunes to Sandys's admirable PARAPHRASE on the Pfalms, published in folio, in 1653. Wood fays, that he had feen a poem written by fir W. Raleigh, "which had a mufi"cal compofition of two parts fet to it by the incomparable artist "Henry Lawes." ATHEN. OXON. ii. p. 441. num. 510. More of Lawes's works are in the Treasury of Mufick, 1669. And in the Mufical Companion, 1662. And in other collections of that age. See Notes on COMUS, v.86.201.230.231.494. Cromwell's ufurpation put an end to Masks and mufic: and Lawes, being difpoffeffed of his appointments, chiefly employed that gloomy period in teaching a few young ladies to fing. His irreproachable life, ingenuous deportment,and liberal connections, had raised even the credit of his profeffion. Wood fays that his great benefactors during his fufferings for the royal caufe in the rebellion and afterwards, were the ladies Alice and Mary the earl of Bridgewater's daughters. MSS. Muf. AsнM. D.17. 4to. p.115. In the year 1660, he was reftored to his places and practice; and had the happiness to compofe the coronation-anthem for the exiled monarch. He died in 1662, and was buried in Weftminster-abbey. Of all the panegyrics which he received from his contemporaries, Milton's must be allowed to be the most honourable. And Milton's praife is likely to be founded on truth. Milton was himself a skilful performer on the organ, and a judge of mufic: and even after the murther of the king, at a time when the royalists were univerfally perfecuted or discountenanced by the predominant faction, he continued his friendship for Lawes, whofe attachments and principles had been trongly on the fide of the royal caufe. Lawes's brother William was killed in 1645 at the fiege of Chefter: and it is faid, that the king wore a private mourning for his death. Of William's feparate works, there are two bulky manufcript volumes in score, for various inftruments, in the Mufic School at Oxford. In one of them, I know not if with any of Henry's intermixed, are his original compofitions for Masks performed before the king and at the Inns of Court. In Xx 2 the To after age thou shalt be writ the man, That with smooth air could'st humour best our tongue. Thou honour'st verse, and verse must lend her wing To honour thee, the priest of Phoebus quire, 10 That tun'ft their happiest lines in hymn, or story. Dante shall give fame leave to fet thee higher Than his Cafella, whom he woo'd to fing Met in the milder fhades of purgatory. the fame fchool, is an original portrait of his brother Henry. In the houfe of Mr. Elderton, an attorney, at Salisbury, there is a portrait on board of Henry Lawes, marked with his name, and "ætat. fuæ "26, 1622." It is not ill painted: the face and ruff in tolerable preservation, the drapery, a cloak, much injured. 4. Committing fhort and long.] COMMITTING is a Latinifm. II. — Or ftory.] "The story of Ariadne fet by him to music.” This a note in the margin of this fonnet, as it ftands prefixed to "Choice Pfalms put into mufick by Henry and William Lawes, Lond. "for H. Mofeley 1648." The infcription is there, "To my friend "Mr. HENRY LAWES." In the ninth line, is the true reading lend, as in the manufcript, for "fend her wing," as in the edition 1673. 14. Than his Cafella, &c.] Dante, on his arrival in Purgatory fees a veffel approaching the fhore, freighted with fouls under the conduct of an angel, to be cleanfed from their fins and made fit for Paradife. When they are difembarked, the poet recognizes in the croud his old friend Cafella the mufician. The interview is ftrikingly ima gined, and in the courfe of an affectionate dialogue, the poet requefts a foothing air; and Cafella fings, with the most ravishing sweetness, Dante's fecond CANZONE. CONVIT. p.116. vol. iv. P.i.Ven. 1758. 4to. It begins, Amor, che nella mente mi ragiona. See Dante's PURGATOR. C.ii.v.111. The Italian commentators on the paffage fay, that Cafella, Dante's friend, was a musician of distinguished excellence. He must have died a little before the year 1300. In the Vatican library is a Ballatella, or Madrigal, infcribed Lemmo da Pifioja, e Cafella diede il Suono. That is, Lemmo da Pistoja wrote the words, which were fet to mufic by Cafella. Num. 3214. f. 149. Crefcimbeni XIV. On the religious memory of Mrs. CATHARINE THOMSON*, my chriftian friend, deceafed 16 Decem. 1646. When faith and love, which parted from thee never, Had ripen'd thy juft foul to dwell with God, Meekly thou didst resign this earthly load Of death, call'd life; which us from life doth fever. Crefcimbeni mentions an antient manufcript Ballatella, with Dante's words and his friend Scochetti's mufic. Infcribed Parole di Dante, e Suono di Scochetti. IST. VOLG. Poɛs. p. 409. From many parts of his writings, Dante appears to have been a judge and a lover of mufic. This is not the only circumstance in which Milton refembled Dante. By milder fhades, our author means, fhades comparatively much less horrible than those which Dante defcribes in the INFERNO. Peck fuppofes, that Milton, from his acquaintance with this Mrs. Thomson and Thomas Ellwood, was a quaker. Milton was certainly of that profeffion, or general principle, in which all fectarists agree, a departure from eftablishment; and there was at least one common cause in which all concurred who deferted the church, whether quakers, anabaptifts, or Brownifts. In the PARADISE REGAINED, however, a poein fuppofed to have been written at the fuggeftion of Ellwood, there is a paffage which may feem to favour this notion. B. iv. 288. He who receives 'Light from above, from the fountain of light, No other doctrine needs, though granted true. And if ever a quaker indulges himself in the vanities of English poetry, the PARADISE REGAINED is his favourite claffic. Be this as it may, one is furprised to find that Milton fhould have been fo intimately connected with Ellwood. The early life of Eilwood exhibits the exact progrefs of an enthufiaft. Having been a profligate youth, and often whipped at fchool twice a day, he was fuddenly converted by accidentally hearing a quaker's fermon. He then had the felicity of following the steps of faint Paul, in fuffering bonds and imprisonment. But thefe flight evils did not reach the fpiritual man. He found the horrours of a gaol to be green and flowery paftures, refreshed with the fountains of grace. He confoled himtelf, as Shakespeare fays, Thy works and alms and all thy good endevor 5 Stay'd not behind, nor in the grave were trod; But, as Faith pointed with her golden rod, Follow'd thee up to joy and bliss for ever. Love led them on, and Faith who knew them best Thy hand-maids, clad them o'er with purple beams And azure wings, that up they flew fo dreft, 11 fays, with a jnuff in a dungeon. The hiftory of his defultory life written by himself, and from which I collect thefe anecdotes, is filled with idle rambles and adventures, foolish scraps of poetry both religious and fatirical, and fanatical opinions. The bett and most curious part of the book is the defcription of Bridewell and Newgate, then the ufual receptacles of preaching apprentices, and frequently more full of faints than felons. He is a voluminous controversialist. He wrote DAVIDEIS, a long English poem. In the Preface of which he declares, that he has avoided "lofty language, angels, fpirits, demons, "&c." p. xiii. edit. Lond. 1712. Thefe trappings were too pompous for the fimplicity of a quaker's poetry. Milton was fond of Ellwood's converfation. See his LIFE, p. 136. Lond. 1714. 8vo. 6. Stay'd not behind, nor in the grave were trod.] "Nor in the grave "were trod," is a beautiful periphrafis for "good deeds forgotten, at "her death," and a happy improvement of the original line in the manufcript, Strait follow'd thee the path that faints have trod. 7. But as Faith pointed with her golden rod.] Perhaps from the golden reed in the Apocalypfe. Which he mentions in CH. GOVERNM. B. i. ch. i. "The golden furveying reed [of the Saints] marks out and "meatures every quarter and circuit of the New Jerufalem." PROSEWORKS, Vol. i. 41. See alfo p. 44. 10. Clad them o'er with purple beams And azure wings, that up they flew fo dreft, &c.] This is like the thought of the perfonification and afcent of the Prayers of Adam and Eve, a fiction from Ariosto and Taffo, PARAD. L. B. xi. 14. To heaven their prayers Flew up, nor mifs'd their way, by envious winds In And spake the truth of thee on glorious themes Before the Judge, who thenceforth bid thee rest And drink thy fill of pure immortal streams. XV. To the Lord General FAIRFAX *. Fairfax, whose name in arms through Europe rings, Filling each mouth with envy or with praise, In the REVELATIONS, an angel offers incenfe with the prayers of the faints upon the golden altar. Ch. viii. 4. See alfo Spenfer, F. Q. i. x. 51. Of Mercy. Thou doeft the praiers of the righteous feed Prefent before the maieftie divine. 14. And drink thy fill of pure immortal ftreams.] So in the EPITAPH. DAMON. V. 206. Æthereos haurit latices, et gaudia potat Ore facro. The allufion is to the waters of life, and more particularly to Ps. xxxvi. 8, 9. "Thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy plea"fures, for with thee is the well of life." On this fcriptural idea, which is enlarged with the decorations of Italian fancy, Milton feems to have founded his feast of the angels, PARAD. L. B. v. 632. Where they "quaff immortality and Joy, &c." For obvious political reasons this Sonnet, the two following, and the twenty fecond, were not inferted in the edition 1673. They were first printed at the end of Philips's Life of Milton prefixed to the English verfion of his public Letters, 1694. They are quoted by Toland in his Life of Milton, 1698. Tonfon omitted them in his editions of 1695, 1705. But, growing lefs offenfive by time, they appear in his edition of 1713. The Cambridge manufcript happily corrects many of their vitiated readings. They were the favourites of the republicans long after the restoration: it was fome confolation to an exterminated party, to have fuch good poetry remaining on their fide of the question. These four Sonnets, being frequently transcribed, or repeated from memory, became extremely incorrect: their faults were implicitly preferved by Tonfon, and afterwards continued without examination by Tickell and Fenton. And1 |