The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw Volume I Part 36

The ioyes which we intire should wed 15 Come deflour'd-virgins to our bed.

Good fortunes without gain imported be Such mighty custom's paid to thee For ioy, like wine kep't close, doth better tast; If it take air before, his spirits wast. 20

Hope, Fortun's cheating lottery, Where for one prize, an hundred blankes there be.

Fond anchor, Hope! who tak'st thine aime so farr That still or short or wide thine arrows are; Thinne empty cloud which th' ey deceiues 25 With shapes that our own fancy giues.

A cloud which gilt and painted now appeares But must drop presently in teares: When thy false beames o're reason's light preuail, By _ignes fatvi_ for North starres we sail. 30

Brother of Fear, more gaily clad, The merryer fool o' th' two, yet quite as mad.

Sire of Repentance, child of fond desire That blow'st the chymick's and the louer's fire.

Still leading them insensibly on 35 With the strong witchcraft of 'anon.'

By thee the one does changing nature, through Her endlesse labyrinths pursue; And th' other chases woman; while she goes More wayes and turnes then hunted Nature knowes. 40

M. COWLEY.

NOTES AND ILl.u.s.tRATIONS.

In all the editions save that of 1652 the respective portions of COWLEY and CRASHAW are alternated as Question and Answer, after a fas.h.i.+on of the day exemplified by _Pembroke_ and RUDYARD and others. The heading in 1646, 1648 and 1670 accordingly is 'On Hope, by way of Question and Answer, between A. COWLEY and R. CRASHAW.'

_Various readings from 1646 edition._

Line 3, 'and' for 'or,' and 'doth' for 'does.'

" 7, 'Fates' for 'starres:' but as Fate occurs in line 4, 'starres' seems preferable.

Line 9, 'ends' for 'end.'

" 18, 'so' for 'such.'

" 19, 'doth' for 'does;' adopted.

" 20, 'its' for 'his;' the personification warrants 'his.'

" 25. All the other editions misread

'Thine empty cloud, the eye it selfe deceives.'

There can be no question that 'thinne' not 'thine' was the poet's word.

Cf. CRASHAW'S reference in his Answer. TURNBULL perpetuates the error.

Line 30, 'not' for 'for.'

" 33, 's.h.i.+eld' in all the editions save 1652 by mistake.

" 34, 'blows' and 'chymicks' for 'chymick;' the latter adopted.

Line 37, as in line 19.

" 38, spelled 'laborinths.'

In our Essay see critical remarks showing that COWLEY and CRASHAW revised their respective portions. It seems to have escaped notice that COWLEY himself wrote another poem '_For_ Hope,' as his former was '_Against_ Hope.' See it in our Study of Crashaw's Life and Poetry. G.

M. CRASHAW'S ANSWER FOR HOPE.[58]

Dear Hope! Earth's dowry, and Heaun's debt! 1 The ent.i.ty of things that are not yet.

Subtlest, but surest beeing! thou by whom Our nothing has a definition!

Substantiall shade! whose sweet allay 5 Blends both the noones of Night and Day: Fates cannot find out a capacity Of hurting thee.

From thee their lean dilemma, with blunt horn, Shrinkes, as the sick moon from the wholsome morn. 10

Rich hope! Loue's legacy, vnder lock Of Faith! still spending, and still growing stock!

Our crown-land lyes aboue, yet each meal brings A seemly portion for the sonnes of kings.

Nor will the virgin ioyes we wed 15 Come lesse vnbroken to our bed, Because that from the bridall cheek of Blisse Thou steal'st vs down a distant kisse.

Hope's chast stealth harmes no more Ioye's maidenhead Then spousal rites preiudge the marriage bed. 20 Fair hope! Our earlyer Heau'n! by thee Young Time is taster to Eternity: Thy generous wine with age growes strong, not sowre, Nor does it kill thy fruit, to smell thy flowre.

Thy golden, growing head neuer hangs down 25 Till in the lappe of Loue's full noone It falls; and dyes! O no, it melts away As doth the dawn into the Day: As lumpes of sugar loose themselues, and twine Their subtile essence with the soul of wine. 30

Fortune? alas, aboue the World's low warres Hope walks; and kickes the curld heads of conspiring starres.

Her keel cutts not the waues where these winds stirr, Fortune's whole lottery is one blank to her.

Her shafts and shee, fly farre above, 35 And forage in the fields of light and love.

Sweet Hope! kind cheat! fair fallacy! by thee We are not where nor what we be, But what and where we would be. Thus art thou Our absent presence, and our future now. 40

Faith's sister! nurse of fair desire!

Fear's antidote! a wise and well-stay'd fire!

Temper 'twixt chill Despair, and torrid Ioy!

Queen regent in yonge Loue's minority!

Though the vext chymick vainly chases 45 His fugitiue gold through all her faces; Though Loue's more feirce, more fruitlesse, fires a.s.say: One face more fugitiue then all they; True Hope's a glorious huntresse, and her chase, The G.o.d of Nature in the feilds of grace. 50

NOTES.

_Various readings from 1646 edition._

Line 2, 'things' for 'those;' adopted. But in HARLEIAN MS. 6917-18, it is 'those.' As this MS. supplies in poems onward various excellent readings (_e.g._ 'Wishes'), it may be noted that the Collection came from Lord Somers' Library of MSS., and is accordingly authoritative.

Lines 5-6 read

'Faire cloud of fire, both shade and light Our life in death, our day in night.'

Our text (1652) seems finer and deeper, and to put the thought with more concinnity.

Line 9, 'thinne' for 'lean.'

" 10, 'like' for 'as.'

" 11, 'Rich hope' dropped in all the other editions; but as it is parallel with the 'dear Hope' and 'fair Hope' of the preceding and succeeding stanzas, I have restored the words.

The line reads elsewhere,