was, and is, a man of great
learning
and
sharpness of wit as any man.
sharpness of wit as any man.
Marvell - Poems
" And Burnet
tells us, that he " withdrew from the town, and
ceased writii>g for some years. "
Of this greatest work of Marvell's singular
genius it is difficult, even if we had space for it,
to present the reader with any considerable ex-
tracts. The allusions are oflen so obscure — the
wit of one page is so dependent on that of an-
other — the humour and pleasantry are so continu-
ous — ^and the character of the work, from its very
nature, is so excursive, that its merits can be
fully appreciated only on a regular perusal. We
regret to say, also, that there are other reasons
which render any very lengthened citations un-
desirable. The work has faults which would, in
innumerable cases, disguise its real merit from
modern readers, or rather deter them from giving
it a reading altogether. It is characterized by
much of the coarseness which was so prevalent
in that age, and from which Marvell was by no
means free ; though, as we shall endeavour here-
after to show, his spirit was far from partaking
of the malevolence of ordinary satirists.
Yet the reader must not infer that the only, or
even the chief, merit of the Rehearsal Transprosed
consists in wit and banter. Not only is there
amidst all its ludicrous levities, " a vehemence of
solemn reproof, and an eloquence of invective, that
Digitized by VjOOQIC
NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR. XXXV
awes one with the spirit of a modem Junius;"*
but there are many passages of very powerful
reasoning, in advocacy of truths then but ill under-
stood, and of rights which had been shamefully
violated.
Perhaps the most interesting passages of the
work are those in which Marvell refers to his
great friend, John Milton. Parker, with his cus-
tomary malignity, had insinuated that the poet,
who was then living in cautious retirement, might
have been the author of the Rehearsal — appa-
rently with the view of turning the indignation
of government upon the illustrious recluse. Mar-
vell had always entertained towards Milton a
feeling of reverence akin to idolatry, and this
stroke of deliberate malice was more than he
could bear. He generously hastened to throw his
shield over his aged and prostrate patron.
** J. M.
was, and is, a man of great learning and
sharpness of wit as any man. It was his misfortune,
living in a tumultuous time, to be tossed on the wrong
side, and he writ, flagrante BeUo, certain dangerous
treatises of no other nature than that which I men-
tioned to you writ by your own father, only with this
difference, that your father's, which I have by me, was
written with the same design, but with much less wit
or judgment. At his Majesty's happy return, J. M.
did partake, even as you yourself did, of his regal
clemency, and has ever since lived in a most retired
* D^Israeli.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
XXXVl NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR.
silence. It was after that, I well remember it, that
being one day at his house, I there first met you ac-
cidentally. But there it was, when you, as I told you,
wandered up and down Moorfields, astrologizing on
the duration of his Majesty's government, that you
frc((uentcd J. M. incessantly, and haunted his house
day by day. What discourses you there used he is
too generous to remember. "
About three years after the publication of the
second part of the Behears<dy Marvell's chival-
rous love of justice impelled him again to draw
the sword. In 1675, Dr. Croft, Bishop of Here-
ford, had published a work entitled " The Naked
Truth, or the true state of the Primitive Church,
by a humble Moderator. " It enjoined on all
religious parties the unwelcome duties of forbear-
ance and charity; but as it especially exposed
the danger and folly of enforcing a minute uni-
formity, it could not be suffered to pass unchal-
lenged in that age of high church intolerance.
tells us, that he " withdrew from the town, and
ceased writii>g for some years. "
Of this greatest work of Marvell's singular
genius it is difficult, even if we had space for it,
to present the reader with any considerable ex-
tracts. The allusions are oflen so obscure — the
wit of one page is so dependent on that of an-
other — the humour and pleasantry are so continu-
ous — ^and the character of the work, from its very
nature, is so excursive, that its merits can be
fully appreciated only on a regular perusal. We
regret to say, also, that there are other reasons
which render any very lengthened citations un-
desirable. The work has faults which would, in
innumerable cases, disguise its real merit from
modern readers, or rather deter them from giving
it a reading altogether. It is characterized by
much of the coarseness which was so prevalent
in that age, and from which Marvell was by no
means free ; though, as we shall endeavour here-
after to show, his spirit was far from partaking
of the malevolence of ordinary satirists.
Yet the reader must not infer that the only, or
even the chief, merit of the Rehearsal Transprosed
consists in wit and banter. Not only is there
amidst all its ludicrous levities, " a vehemence of
solemn reproof, and an eloquence of invective, that
Digitized by VjOOQIC
NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR. XXXV
awes one with the spirit of a modem Junius;"*
but there are many passages of very powerful
reasoning, in advocacy of truths then but ill under-
stood, and of rights which had been shamefully
violated.
Perhaps the most interesting passages of the
work are those in which Marvell refers to his
great friend, John Milton. Parker, with his cus-
tomary malignity, had insinuated that the poet,
who was then living in cautious retirement, might
have been the author of the Rehearsal — appa-
rently with the view of turning the indignation
of government upon the illustrious recluse. Mar-
vell had always entertained towards Milton a
feeling of reverence akin to idolatry, and this
stroke of deliberate malice was more than he
could bear. He generously hastened to throw his
shield over his aged and prostrate patron.
** J. M.
was, and is, a man of great learning and
sharpness of wit as any man. It was his misfortune,
living in a tumultuous time, to be tossed on the wrong
side, and he writ, flagrante BeUo, certain dangerous
treatises of no other nature than that which I men-
tioned to you writ by your own father, only with this
difference, that your father's, which I have by me, was
written with the same design, but with much less wit
or judgment. At his Majesty's happy return, J. M.
did partake, even as you yourself did, of his regal
clemency, and has ever since lived in a most retired
* D^Israeli.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
XXXVl NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR.
silence. It was after that, I well remember it, that
being one day at his house, I there first met you ac-
cidentally. But there it was, when you, as I told you,
wandered up and down Moorfields, astrologizing on
the duration of his Majesty's government, that you
frc((uentcd J. M. incessantly, and haunted his house
day by day. What discourses you there used he is
too generous to remember. "
About three years after the publication of the
second part of the Behears<dy Marvell's chival-
rous love of justice impelled him again to draw
the sword. In 1675, Dr. Croft, Bishop of Here-
ford, had published a work entitled " The Naked
Truth, or the true state of the Primitive Church,
by a humble Moderator. " It enjoined on all
religious parties the unwelcome duties of forbear-
ance and charity; but as it especially exposed
the danger and folly of enforcing a minute uni-
formity, it could not be suffered to pass unchal-
lenged in that age of high church intolerance.
