John Dryden

“ His shatter'd Sails with Rigging to restore:
And willing Pines ascend his broken Masts,
Whose lofty heads rise higher than before.
66.
Streight to the Dutch he turns his dreadful Prow,
More fierce th'important Quarrel to decide:
Like Swans, in long array his vessels shew,
Whose creasts advancing, do the waves divide.
67.
They charge, re-charge, and all along the Sea
They drive, and squander the huge Belgian Fleet. ”

“ Never had Prince or People more mutual reason to love each other, if suffering for each other can indear affection. You have come together a pair of matchless Lovers, through many difficulties; He, through a long Exile, various traverses of Fortune, and the interposition of many Rivals, who violently ravish'd and with-held You from Him: And certainly you have had your share in sufferings. But Providence has cast upon you want of Trade, that you might appear bountiful to your Country's necessities ”

“ Fierce was the Fight on the proud Belgians side,
For Honour, which they seldom sought before:
But now they by their own vain Boasts were ti'd,
And forc'd, at least in shew, to prize it more.
190.
But sharp remembrance on the English part,
And shame of being match'd by such a Foe,
Rouze conscious Virtue up in every heart,
(w) Possunt, quia posse videntur. Virg. (w) And seeming to be stronger makes them so.
191.
Nor long the Belgians could that Fleet sustain,
Which did two Gen'rals fates, and Cæsar's bear:
Each several Ship a Victory did gain,
As Rupert or as Albemarle were there. ”

“ Whom Heav'n has chose to fight for such a Prize.
76.
If number English courages could quell,
We should at first have shun'd, not met, our Foes;
Whose numerous Sails the fearful only tell:
Courage from hearts, and not from numbers grows.
77.
He said; nor needed more to say: with hast
To their known Stations chearfully they go:
And all at once, disdaining to be last,
Solicite every Gale to meet the Foe.
78.
Nor did th'encouraged Belgians long delay,
But, bold in others, not themselves, they stood:
So thick, our navy scarce could steer their way,
But seem'd to wander in a moving wood. ”

“ That Country which would, else, the Foe maintain.
245.
The Powder blows up all before the Fire:
Th' amazed flames stand gather'd on a heap;
And from the precipices-brink retire,
Afraid to venture on so large a leap.
246.
Thus fighting Fires a while themselves consume,
But streight, like Turks forc'd on to win or die:
They first lay tender Bridges of their fume,
And o're the Breach in unctuous vapours flie. ”

“ Find him disowning of a Burbon foe,
And him detesting a Batavian Fleet.
202.
Now on their Coasts our conquering Navy rides,
Way-lays their Merchants, and their Land besets:
Each day, new Wealth without their Care provides,
They lie asleep with Prizes in their Nets.
203.
So, close behind some Promontory lie
The huge Leviathans t'attend their Prey:
And give no Chace, but swallow in the Frie,
Which through their gaping Jaws mistake the way. ”

“ With full spread Sails his eager Navy steers,
And every Ship in swift proportion grows.
106.
The anxious Prince had heard the Cannon long,
And from that length of time dire Omens drew
Of English over-match'd, and Dutch too strong,
Who never fought three days but to persue. ”

“ On the other side, Virgil speaks not so often to us in the person of another, like Ovid, but in his own, he relates almost all things as from himself, and thereby gains more liberty than the other, to express his thoughts with all the graces of elocution, to write more figuratively, and to confess as well the labour as the force of his Imagination. ”

“ The later part of my Poem, which describes the Fire, I owe first to the Piety and Fatherly Affection of our Monarch to his suffering Subjects; and, in the second place, to the Courage, Loyalty, and Magnanimity of the City; both which were so conspicuous, that I have wanted words to celebrate them as they deserve. I have called my Poem Historical, not Epick, though both the Actions and Actors are as much Heroick, as any Poem can contain. ”

“ Born, Cæsar-like, to write and act great Deeds:
Impatient to revenge his fatal Shot,
His right hand doubly to his left succeeds.
176.
Thousands were there in darker fame that dwell,
Whose Deeds some nobler Poem shall adorn:
And, though to me unknown, they, sure, fought well,
Whom Rupert led, and who were British born. ”

“ To submit yourselves with that humility to the Judgments of Heaven, and at the same time to raise yourselves with that vigour above all human Enemies; to be combated at once from above and from below, to be struck down and to triumph, I know not whether such Trials have been ever parallel'd in any Nation, the resolution and successes of them never can be. ”

“ Now pass'd, on either side they nimbly tack,
Both strive to intercept and guide the wind:
And, in its eye, more closely they come back
To finish all the Deaths they left behind.
59.
ON high-rais'd Decks the haughty Belgians ride,
Beneath whose Shade our humble Frigats go:
Such port the Elephant bears, and so defi'd
By the Rhinocero's her unequal foe.
60.
And as the Built, so different is the Fight;
Their mounting Shot is on our Sails design'd:
Deep in their Hulls our deadly Bullets light,
And through the yielding Planks a passage find. ”

“ Other Cities have been prais'd for the same Virtues, but I am much deceiv'd if any have so dearly purchas'd, their Reputation; their Fame has been won them by cheaper trials than an expensive, though necessary, War, a consuming Pestilence, and a more consuming Fire. ”

“ But Heaven never made so much Piety and Virtue to leave it miserable, I have heard indeed of some virtuous Persons who have ended unfortunately, but never of any virtuous Nation: Providence is engag'd too deeply, when the Cause becomes so general. ”

“ I beg from you the greatest favour you can confer upon an absent person, since I repose upon your management what is dearest to me, my Fame and Reputation; and therefore I hope it will stir you up to make my Poem fairer by many of your blots ”

“ So looks our monarch on this early Fight,
Th' essay, and rudiments of great Success:
Which all-maturing time must bring to light,
While he, like Heav'n, does each days labour bless.
141.
Heaven ended not the first or second day,
Yet each was perfect to the work design'd:
God and Kings work, when they their work survey,
A passive aptness in all Subjects find.
142.
In burden'd Vessels, first, with speedy care,
His plenteous stores do season'd Timber send:
His Majesty repairs the Fleet. ”

“ He wades the Streets, and streight he reaches cross,
And plays his longing Flames on th' other side.
234.
At first they warm, then scorch, and then they take;
Now with long Necks from side to side they feed:
At length, grown strong, their Mother-fire forsake,
And a new Colony of Flames succeed. ”

“ You, who are to stand a wonder to all Years and Ages; and, who have built yourselves an Immortal Monument on your own Ruins. You are now a Phœnix in her ashes, and, as far as Humanity can approach, a great Emblem of the suffering Deity. ”

“ The two bold Champions of each Countries right:
Their Eyes describe the lists as they come near,
And draw the lines of Death before they fight.
188.
The distance judg'd for Shot of every size,
The Linstocks touch, the pond'rous Ball expires:
The vig'rous Sea-man every Port-hole plies,
And adds his Heart to every Gun he fires. ”

“ Like falling Cæsar, decently to die.
89.
Yet Pity did his manly Spirit move
To see those perish who so well had fought:
And generously, with his despair he strove,
Resolv'd to live till he their safety wrought.
90.
Let other Muses write his prosp'rous fate,
Of conquer'd Nations tell, and Kings restored:
But mine shall sing of his eclips'd estate,
Which, like the Sun's, more wonders does afford.
91.
He drew his mighty Frigats all before,
On which the Foe his fruitless Force employes:
His weak ones deep into his Reer he bore,
Remote from Guns as Sick-men from the Noise. ”

“ The quickness of the Imagination is seen in the Invention, the fertility in the Fancy, and the accuracy in the Expression. For the two first of these, Ovid is famous among the Poets, for the later Virgil. Ovid images more often the movements and affections of the mind, either combating between two contrary passions, or extreamly discompos'd by one: His words therefore are the least part of his care, for he pictures Nature in disorder, with which the study and choice of words is inconsistent. ”

“ Where the false Tides skim or'e the cover'd Land,
And Sea-men with dissembled Depths betray.
114.
The wily Dutch, who, like fall'n Angels, fear'd
This new Messia's coming, there did wait,
And round the verge their braving Vessels steer'd,
To tempt his Courage with so fair a Bait.
115.
But he, unmov'd, contemns their idle threat,
Secure of Fame when e're he please to fight:
His cold Experience tempers all his heat,
And inbred worth doth boasting Valour slight. ”

“ Than all the Conquests former Kings did gain.
81.
The mighty Ghosts of our great Harries rose,
And armed Edwards look'd, with anxious eyes,
To see this Fleet among unequal Foes,
By which fate promis'd them their Charles should rise.
82.
Meantime the Belgians tack upon our Reer,
And raking Chase-guns through our Sterns they send
Close by, their Fire-ships, like Jackals, appear,
Who on their Lions for the Prey attend.
83.
Silent in smoke of Cannons they come on:
(Such Vapours once did fiery Cacus hide,)
In these the height of pleas'd Revenge is shewn,
Who burn contented by anothers side. ”

“ This is the proper wit of Dialogue or Discourse, and, consequently, of the Drama, where all that is said is to be suppos'd the effect of sudden thought; which, though it excludes not the quickness of Wit in repartees, yet admits not a too curious election of words, too frequent allusions, or use of tropes, or, in fine, any thing that shews remoteness of thought, or labour, in the Writer. ”

“ War declar'd by France.And threatning France, plac'd like a painted Jove,
Kept idle Thunder in his lifted hand.
40.
That Eunuch Guardian of rich Hollands trade,
Who envies us what he wants pow'r t'enjoy!
Whose noiseful valour does no Foe invade,
And weak assistance will his Friends destroy.
41.
Offended that we fought without his leave,
He takes this time his secret Hate to shew:
Which Charles does with a mind so calm receive
As one that neither seeks, nor shuns his Foe.
42.
With France, to aid the Dutch, the Danes unite:
France as their Tyrant, Denmark as their Slave. ”

“ They make that warmth in others they expect:
Their Valour works like Bodies on a glass,
And does its Image on their men project.
54.
Our Fleet divides, and straight the Dutch appear,
In number, and a fam'd Commander, bold:
Duke of Albemarl's Battel, first day. The Narrow Seas can scarce their Navy bear,
Or crowded Vessels can their Soldiers hold.
55.
The Duke, less numerous, but in Courage more,
On wings of all the winds to Combat flies:
His murdering Guns a loud Defiance roar,
And bloody Crosses on his Flag-staffs rise.
56.
Both furl their Sails, and strip them for the Fight ”

“ Behold two Nations then, ingag'd so far,
That each seven years the Fit must shake each Land:
Where France will side to weaken us by War,
Who only can his vast Designs withstand.
8.
(c) Th' Iberian, the Spaniard.See how he feeds th' (c) Iberian with delays,
To render us his timely Friendship vain;
And while his secret Soul on Flanders preys,
He rocks the Cradle of the Babe of Spain. ”

“ Such descriptions or images well-wrought, which I promise not for mine, are, as I have said, the adequate delight of heroic poesy; for they beget admiration, which is its proper object; as the images of the burlesque, which is contrary to this, by the same reason beget laughter: for the one shows nature beautified, as in the picture of a fair woman, which we all admire ”

“ Beyond the Year, and out of Heav'ns high-way,
They make discoveries where they see no Sun.
161.
But what so long in vain, and yet unknown,
By poor man-kinds benighted Wit is sought:
Shall in this Age to Britain first be shewn,
And hence be to admiring Nations taught.
162.
The Ebbs of Tides, and their mysterious Flow,
We, as Arts Elements shall understand:
And as by Line upon the Ocean go,
Whose Paths shall be familiar as the Land.
163.
(t) By a more exact measure of Longitude. (t) Instruct'd Ships shall sail to quick Commerce ”

“ For those who write correctly in this kind, must needs acknowledge, that the last line of the Stanza is to be consider'd in the composition of the first. Neither can we give our selves the liberty of making any part of a Verse for the sake of Rhyme, or concluding with a word which is not currant English, or using the variety of Female Rhymes, all which our Fathers practised ”

“ Like distant Thunder on a shiny day.
For absent Friends we were asham'd to fear,
When we consider'd what.you ventur'd there.
Ships, Men and Arms, our Country might restore,
But such a Leader could supply no more. ”

“ The Dutch, too well his mighty Conduct knew,
And matchless Courage since the former Fight;
Whose Navy like a stiff-stretch'd cord did shew,
Till he bore in, and bent them into flight.
122.
The Wind he shares while half their Fleet offends
His open side, and high above him shews:
Upon the rest at pleasure he descends,
And, doubly harm'd he double harms bestows.
123.
Behind the Gen'ral mends his weary Pace,
And sullenly to his Revenge he sails:
(p) So glides, &c. from Virgil. Quum medii nexus, extremæque agmina caudæ solvuntur; tardofque trahit finis ultimus orbes, &c. ”