These are Thy
Honours!
Alexander Pope
As one by one, at dread Medea's strain,
The sick'ning stars fade off th' ethereal plain; 10
As Argus' eyes by Hermes' wand opprest,
Clos'd one by one to everlasting rest;
Thus at her felt approach, and secret might,
_Art_ after _Art_ goes out, and all is Night.
See skulking _Truth_ to her old cavern fled, 15
Mountains of Casuistry heap'd o'er her head!
_Philosophy_, that lean'd on Heav'n before,
Shrinks to her second cause, and is no more.
_Physic_ of _Metaphysic_ begs defence,
And _Metaphysic_ calls for aid on _Sense_! 20
See _Mystery_ to _Mathematics_ fly!
In vain! they gaze, turn giddy, rave, and die.
_Religion_ blushing veils her sacred fires,
And unawares _Morality_ expires.
For _public_ Flame, nor _private_, dares to shine; 25
Nor _human_ Spark is left, nor Glimpse _divine_!
Lo! thy dread Empire, CHAOS! is restor'd;
Light dies before thy uncreating word;
Thy hand, great Anarch! lets the curtain fall,
And universal Darkness buries All. 30
* * * * *
ON MR. GAY
IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY, 1732
Of Manners gentle, of Affections mild;
In Wit, a Man; Simplicity, a Child:
With native Humour temp'ring virtuous Rage,
Form'd to delight at once and lash the age:
Above Temptation, in a low Estate, 5
And uncorrupted, ev'n among the Great:
A safe Companion, and an easy Friend,
Unblam'd thro' Life, lamented in thy End.
These are Thy Honours! not that here thy Bust
Is mix'd with Heroes, or with Kings thy dust; 10
But that the Worthy and the Good shall say,
Striking their pensive bosoms--_Here_ lies GAY.
* * * * *
NOTES
THE RAPE OF THE LOCK
INTRODUCTION
In 1711 Pope, who had just published his 'Essay on Criticism', was
looking about for new worlds to conquer. A fortunate chance threw in his
way a subject exactly suited to his tastes and powers. He seized upon
it, dashed off his first sketch in less than a fortnight, and published
it anonymously in a 'Miscellany' issued by Lintot in 1712. But the theme
had taken firm root in his mind. Dissatisfied with his first treatment
of it, he determined, against the advice of the best critic of the day,
to recast the work, and lift it from a mere society 'jeu d'esprit' into
an elaborate mock-heroic poem. He did so and won a complete success.
Even yet, however, he was not completely satisfied and from time to time
he added a touch to his work until he finally produced the finished
picture which we know as 'The Rape of the Lock'. As it stands, it is an
almost flawless masterpiece, a brilliant picture and light-hearted
mockery of the gay society of Queen Anne's day, on the whole the most
satisfactory creation of Pope's genius, and, perhaps, the best example
of the mock-heroic in any literature.
The occasion which gave rise to 'The Rape of the Lock' has been so often
related that it requires only a brief restatement. Among the Catholic
families of Queen Anne's day, who formed a little society of their own,
Miss Arabella Fermor was a reigning belle. In a youthful frolic which
overstepped the bounds of propriety Lord Petre, a young nobleman of her
acquaintance, cut off a lock of her hair. The lady was offended, the two
families took up the quarrel, a lasting estrangement, possibly even a
duel, was threatened. At this juncture a common friend of the two
families, a Mr. Caryll, nephew of a well-known Jacobite exile for whom
he is sometimes mistaken, suggested to Pope "to write a poem to make a
jest of it," and so kill the quarrel with laughter.
