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Article ANECDOTES OF DR. GOLDSMITH. ← Page 7 of 8 →
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Anecdotes Of Dr. Goldsmith.
' ^ Here rests , from the caves of the world and his pen , A Poet whose like we shall scarce meet again ; Who though form'd in an age when corruption ranhig ! i And Folly alone seerrt'd with Folly to vie ; When Genius with traffic too commonly train'd , Recounted her merits by what she had gain'd , Yet spurn'd at those walks of debasement and pelf . And in Poverty's spite dar'd think for himself .
Thus freed from those fetters the Muses oft bind , He wrote from the heart to the hearts of mankind ; And such was the prevalent force of his song , Sex , ages , and parties , he drew in a throng . ° The Lovers— 'twas theirs to esteem and commend . For his Hermit had proved him their tutor and friend . The Statesman , his politic passions on fire , Acknowledged from the charms of his l
repose yre . The Moralist too had a feel for his rhymes , For his Essays were curbs on the rage of the times . Nay , the Critic , allschool'd in grammatical sense , Who look'd in the glow of description for tense , Reform ' d as he read , fell a dupe to his art , And confess'd by his eyes what he felt at his heart . Yet bless'd with oriinal like these
g powers , His principal forte was on paper to please ; Like a fleet-footed hunter , tho' first in the chace , On the road of plain sense he oft slacken'd his pace , Whilst Dub . css and Cunning , by whipping and goring , Their hard-footed hackneys paraded before him . Compounded likewise of ' such primitive parts , That his manners alone would have gain'd him hearts
our , Ko simple in truth , so ingenuously land , So ready to feel for the wants of mankind ; Yet praise but an author of popular quill , This flux of Philanthropy quickly stood still ; Transform'd from himself , he grew meanly severe , And rail'd at those talents he ought not to fear .
Such then were his foibles ; but though they were such . As shadow'd the picture a little too much , The style was all graceful , expressive ,- and grand , And the whole the result of a masterly hand . Then hear me , blest Spirit ! now seated aboye , Where all isbeatitude , concord and love , If e ' er thy regards were bestow'd on mankind , TIIYML-SE AS A LEGACY LEAVE US ij
BEHIND , I ask it by proxy for Letters and Fame , As the pride of our heart and the old English name , I demand it as such for Virtue and Truth , As the solace of Age , and the guide of our Youth . Consider what Poets surround us—how dull ! From Minstrelsy B to Rosamond H—11 . " Consider what K ys enervate the stage ; Consider what cks
K may poison the age ; O ! protect us from such , nor ' let it be said , That in GOLDSMITH the last British poet lies-dead . The following was written impromptu on the evening of his death i " In an age where genius and learning are . too generally sacrificed to ihe purposes of ambition and avarice , it is the consolation of Virtue , as
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Anecdotes Of Dr. Goldsmith.
' ^ Here rests , from the caves of the world and his pen , A Poet whose like we shall scarce meet again ; Who though form'd in an age when corruption ranhig ! i And Folly alone seerrt'd with Folly to vie ; When Genius with traffic too commonly train'd , Recounted her merits by what she had gain'd , Yet spurn'd at those walks of debasement and pelf . And in Poverty's spite dar'd think for himself .
Thus freed from those fetters the Muses oft bind , He wrote from the heart to the hearts of mankind ; And such was the prevalent force of his song , Sex , ages , and parties , he drew in a throng . ° The Lovers— 'twas theirs to esteem and commend . For his Hermit had proved him their tutor and friend . The Statesman , his politic passions on fire , Acknowledged from the charms of his l
repose yre . The Moralist too had a feel for his rhymes , For his Essays were curbs on the rage of the times . Nay , the Critic , allschool'd in grammatical sense , Who look'd in the glow of description for tense , Reform ' d as he read , fell a dupe to his art , And confess'd by his eyes what he felt at his heart . Yet bless'd with oriinal like these
g powers , His principal forte was on paper to please ; Like a fleet-footed hunter , tho' first in the chace , On the road of plain sense he oft slacken'd his pace , Whilst Dub . css and Cunning , by whipping and goring , Their hard-footed hackneys paraded before him . Compounded likewise of ' such primitive parts , That his manners alone would have gain'd him hearts
our , Ko simple in truth , so ingenuously land , So ready to feel for the wants of mankind ; Yet praise but an author of popular quill , This flux of Philanthropy quickly stood still ; Transform'd from himself , he grew meanly severe , And rail'd at those talents he ought not to fear .
Such then were his foibles ; but though they were such . As shadow'd the picture a little too much , The style was all graceful , expressive ,- and grand , And the whole the result of a masterly hand . Then hear me , blest Spirit ! now seated aboye , Where all isbeatitude , concord and love , If e ' er thy regards were bestow'd on mankind , TIIYML-SE AS A LEGACY LEAVE US ij
BEHIND , I ask it by proxy for Letters and Fame , As the pride of our heart and the old English name , I demand it as such for Virtue and Truth , As the solace of Age , and the guide of our Youth . Consider what Poets surround us—how dull ! From Minstrelsy B to Rosamond H—11 . " Consider what K ys enervate the stage ; Consider what cks
K may poison the age ; O ! protect us from such , nor ' let it be said , That in GOLDSMITH the last British poet lies-dead . The following was written impromptu on the evening of his death i " In an age where genius and learning are . too generally sacrificed to ihe purposes of ambition and avarice , it is the consolation of Virtue , as