It is not
at all certain, however, that this poem is addressed to Anne More,
and in any case Donne would probably have disguised the details.
at all certain, however, that this poem is addressed to Anne More,
and in any case Donne would probably have disguised the details.
John Donne
ii. 1-7.
Non ego nobilium sedeo studiosus equorum;
Cui tamen ipsa faves, vincat ut ille precor.
Ut loquerer tecum veni tecumque sederem,
Ne tibi non notus, quem facis, esset amor.
Tu cursum spectas, ego te; spectemus uterque
Quod iuvat, atque oculos pascat uterque suos.
O, cuicumque faves, felix agitator equorum!
PAGE =111=. ELEGIE XVI.
A careful study of the textual notes to this poem will show that there
is a considerable difference between the text of this poem as given
for the first time in _1635_, and that of the majority of the MSS. It
is very difficult, however, to decide between them as the differences
are not generally such as to suggest that one reading is necessarily
right, the other wrong. The chief variants are these: 7 'parents' and
'fathers'. Here I fancy the 'parents' of the MSS. is right, and that
'fathers' in the editions and in a late MS. like _O'F_ is due to the
identification of Donne's mistress with his wife. Only the father of
Anne More was alive at the time of their first acquaintance.
It is not
at all certain, however, that this poem is addressed to Anne More,
and in any case Donne would probably have disguised the details. The
change of 'parents' to 'fathers' is more likely than the opposite.
In l. 12 'wayes' (edd. ) and 'meanes' (MSS. ) are practically
indistinguishable; nor is there much to choose between the two
versions of l. 18: 'My soule from other lands to thee shall soare'
(edd. ) and 'From other lands my soule towards thee shall soare'
(MSS. ). In each case the version of the editions is slightly the
better. In l. 28, on the other hand, I have adopted 'mindes' without
hesitation although here the MSS. vary. There is no question of
changing the mind, but there is of changing the mind's habit, of
adopting a boy's cast of thought and manner: as Rosalind says,
and in my heart
Lie there what hidden woman's fear there will,
We'll have a swashing and a martial outside,
As many other mannish cowards have
That do outface it with their semblances.
_As You Like It_, I. iii.
