Imatges de pàgina
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m derentwillen u. s. w.

428

Whilst many nymphs, that vow'd chaste life to keep, Came tripping by; but in her maiden hand

The fairest votary took up that fire

Which many legions of true hearts had warm'd:
And so the general of hot desire

Was, sleeping, by a virgin hand disarm'd.
This brand she quenched in a cool well by,
Which from Love's fire took heat perpetual,
Growing a bath, and healthful remedy
For men diseas'd; but I, my mistress' thrall,
Came there for cure, and this by that I prove,
Love's fire heats water, water cools not love.

426) Die Q. druckt eye für I, von Sewell verbessert. etrennt sad distemper'd. 428) eye in der Q., in der Ausg. von 1640 verbessert. andelt denselben Stoff in etwas veränderter Fassung.

427) Die meisten Hgg. lesen

Das folgende Sonett be

A LOVER'S COMPLAINT.

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1) to re-word wiederholen.

Her hair, nor loose, nor tied in formal plat,
Proclaim'd in her a careless hand of pride; 10
For some, untuck'd, descended her sheav'd" hat,
Hanging her pale and pined cheek beside;
Some in her threaden fillet still did bide,
And, true to bondage, would not break from thenc
Though slackly braided in loose negligence.

A thousand favours from a maund 12 she drew
Of amber, crystal, and of beaded 13 jet,
Which one by one she in a river threw,
Upon whose weeping margent she was set;
Like usury, applying wet to wet,

Or monarchs' hands, that let not bounty fall
Where want cries some, 14 but where excess begs all

Of folded schedules 15 had she many a one,
Which she perus'd, sigh'd, tore, and gave the flood;
Crack'd many a ring of posied gold and bone,
Bidding them find their sepulchres in mud;
Found yet more letters sadly penn'd in blood,
With sleided silk feat and affectedly
Enswath'd, and seal'd to curious secrecy.

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These often bath'd she in her fluxive eyes, "
And often kiss'd, and often 'gan 18 to tear;
Cried, 0 false blood, thou register of lies,
What unapproved witness dost thou bear!

Ink would have seem'd more black and damned here.
This said, in top of rage the lines she rents,
Big discontent so breaking their contents. 19

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Sh. hat das Wort auch in Hamlet (A. 3, Sc. 4). 2) sistering vale = das benachbarte Thal, das Thal, das sich gleichsam schwesterlich dem Hügel anschliesst. to sister als Verban kommt sonst nur in Pericles (A. 5, Prolog) vor. 3) laid scil. laid myself verändern manche Hgg. willkürbiri in lay. 4) Wie die Seufzer und Thränen des Mädchens mit Wind und Regen verglichen werden, so ihre Person selbst mit der Welt, über welche dieser Sturm dahinfährt. 5) done abgethan, ist synonym mit spent. 6) D Alter mit seiner runzelichten und verschrumpften Haut bildet ein Fenstergitter, durch welches die ehemalige Schönheit hindurchblickt. So in Cymbeline (A. 2, Sc. 4) let her beauty || Look through a casement i allure false hearts, || And be false with them. 7) napkin Tüchlein, Taschentuch, worin künstlerische fundene Figuren (conceited characters) gestickt waren. 8) to launder ==waschen: sie wasch die Stickerei de seidenen Tachs in dem Salzwasser, welches der damit gewürzte Jammer zu Thränen geballt oder gebildet hatte. - Die Zusammenstellung von brine = tears und to season ist Sh. sehr geläufig. 9) Das Bild ist von dem Auffahren eines Geschützes entlehnt. 10) Eine Hand, die sich um Prunk nicht kümmerte. 11) sheared = DUS Stroh verfertigt. 12) maund : Handkorb. 13) bedded in der Q., was Malone erklärt: set in some kind of metal. Indess sind gewiss mit beaded jet Kügelchen von Gagat, die eine Schnur bilden, gemeint.—of amber etc. bezieht sich auf favours Liebesgeschenke, Andenken. 14) cries some erklärt Dyce richtig: cries for some Andere Hgg. fassen some als Ausruf und drucken cries some". 15) folded schedules sind hier die Liebesbriefe. 16) sleided silk = aufgemachte Seide. — feat adverbial zierlich, geschickt. affectedly angelegentlich 17) fluxive eyes Augen, die sich in Thränen auflösen. 18) 'gan scil. began ist Malone's Emendation für gave (gaue) der Q. 19) Wortspiel zwischen discontent und contents = der Inhalt der Briefe. 20) rufle=

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His qualities were beauteous as his form,

For maiden-tongu'd he was, and thereof free; 81
Yet, if men mov'd him, was he such a storm
As oft 'twixt May and April is to see,

When winds breathe sweet, unruly though they be.
His rudeness 80, with his authoriz'd youth,
Did livery 32 falseness in a pride of truth.

Well could he ride, and often men would say,
That horse his mettle from his rider takes:
Proud of subjection, noble by the sway,

What rounds, what bounds, what course, what stop he
makes!<<

And controversy hence a question takes,
Whether the horse by him became his deed,
Or he his manage by the well-doing steed. 33

But quickly on this side the verdict went:
His real habitude gave life and grace
To appertainings and to ornament,
Accomplish'd in himself, not in his case:
All aids, themselves made fairer by their place,
Came for additions, yet their purpos'd trim
Piec'd not his grace, but were all grac'd by him.

So on the tip of his subduing tongue
All kind of arguments and question deep,
All replication prompt, and reason strong,
For his advantage still did wake and sleep:
To make the weeper laugh, the laugher weep,
He had the dialect and different skill,
Catching all passions in his craft of will:

That he did in the general bosom 35 reign
Of young, of old, and sexes both enchanted,
To dwell with him in thoughts, or to remain
In personal duty, following where he haunted: 36
Consents bewitch'd, ere he desire, have granted,
And dialogu'd for him what he would say,
Ask'd their own wills, and made their wills obey.

Many there were that did his picture get,
To serve their eyes, and in it put their mind;
Like fools that in the imagination set
The goodly objects which abroad they find

Of lands and mansions, theirs in thought assign'd;
And labouring in moe pleasures to bestow them,
Than the true gouty landlord which doth owe them.

Lärm, Getreibe. 21) Er hatte die Stunden beobachtet, wie sie in raschem Fluge dahineilten. 22) afflicted fancy trauernde Liebe. Áls solche wird hier das Mädchen selbst personificirt. 23) Er kommt sachte von dem benachbarten Hügel herab, indem er sich dabei auf seinen festen, harten Knotenstock stützt. 24) of one verbesserte Tyrwhitt das O one der Q., was Gildon O! one las. 25) place: Wohnsitz. 26) Steevens erklärt diesen seltsam ausgedrückten Satz: things pleasant to be done will easily find people enough to do them. — Vielleicht ist we'll für will zu lesen. 27) sawn für sown, wie Boswell plausibler erklärt, als Malone mit seen. Für largeness thinks schlägt Lettsom large, methinks vor. 28) Der Dichter scheint hier dem Phönix besonders feine Flaumfedern zuzuschreiben. 29) termless = wofür der Ausdruck fehlt: die unbeschreibliche Haut, deren Nacktheit das Gewebe übertraf, welches sie zu tragen schien. - web geht auf unshorn velvet, womit der erste Flaum am Kinn gemeint ist. Eben darauf bezieht sich das folgende that cost = Pracht: doch zeigte sich sein Angesicht sehr kostbar durch diesen prächtigen Schmuck, durch diesen Aufwand. 30) nice wählerisch, schwer von Entschluss: man wusste nicht, ob sein Gesicht sich mit diesem zarten Flaum besser ausnehme, oder ohne ihn. 31) Er sprach mädchenhaft und gewandt. - thereof steht, als ob maiden-tongue statt maidentongued vorhergegangen wäre. 32) Sein rauhes Wesen, bei seiner dazu berechtigten Jugend, kleidete so die Falschheit in den Glanz der Wahrheit. 33) Die Streitfrage, ob dem Pferde seine Leistungen vermöge des Reiters so gut anständen, oder dem Reiter seine Reitkunst vermöge des gut manœuvrirenden Pferdes. 34) came verbessert Sewell das can der Q. 35) general bosom = Herz des Volkes, Jedermanns Brust. 36) to haunt =

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So many have, that never touch'd his hand,
Sweetly suppos'd them mistress of his heart.
My woful self, that did in freedom stand,
And was my own fee-simple (not in part), 37
What with his art in youth, and youth in art,
Threw my affections in his charmed power,
Reserv'd the stalk, and gave him all my flower.

Yet did I not, as some my equals did,
Demand of him, nor, being desired, yielded;
Finding myself in honour so forbid,
With safest distance 1 mine honour shielded.
Experience for me many bulwarks builded
Of proofs new-bleeding, which remain'd the foil
Of this false jewel, and his amorous spoil.

But, ah! who ever shunn'd by precedent
The destin'd ill she must herself assay?
Or forc'd examples, 'gainst her own content,
To put the by-pass'd perils in her way?
Counsel may stop awhile what will not stay;
For when we rage, advice is often seen
By blunting us to make our wits more keen.

Nor gives it satisfaction to our blood, 38
That we must curb it upon others' proof;
To be forbod the sweets that seem so good,
For fear of harms that preach in our behoof.
O appetite, from judgment stand aloof!
The one a palate hath that needs will taste,
Though Reason weep, and cry, »It is thy last.<«<

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Love made them not: with acture" they may be,
Where neither party is nor true nor kind:
They sought their shame that so their shame did find,
And so much less of shame in me remains,
By how much of me their reproach contains.

Among the many that mine eyes have seen,
Not one whose flame my heart so much as warm'd,
Or my affection put to the smallest teen,
Or any of my leisures ever charm'd:
Harm have I done to them, but ne'er was harm'd;
Kept hearts in liveries, but mine own was free,
And reign'd, commanding in his monarchy.

Look here, what tributes wounded fancies ❝ sent me,
Of paled pearls, and rubies red as blood;
Figuring that they their passions likewise lent me
Of grief and blushes, aptly understood
In bloodless white and the encrimson'd mood;
Effects of terror and dear modesty,
Encamp'd in hearts, but fighting outwardly.

And, lo! behold these talents 46 of their hair,
With twisted metal amorously impleach'd,
I have receiv'd from many a several fair
(Their kind acceptance weepingly beseech'd),
With the annexions of fair gems enrich'd,
And deep-brain'd sonnets, that did amplify
Each stone's dear nature, worth, and quality.

The diamond, why, 't was beautiful and hard,
Whereto his invis'd 47 properties did tend;
The deep-green emerald, in whose fresh regard
Weak sights their sickly radiance do amend;
The heaven-hued sapphire, and the opal blend
With objects manifold: each several stone,
With wit well blazon'd, smil'd, or made some moan.

Lo! all these trophies of affections hot,
Of pensiv'd and subdued desires the tender,
Nature hath charg'd me that I hoard them not,
But yield them up where I myself must render;
That is, to you, my origin and ender:
For these, of force, must your oblations be,
Since I their altar, you enpatron me. 49

O! then advance of yours that phraseless 50 hand,
Whose white weighs down the airy scale of praise;
Take all these similes to your own command,
Hallow'd with sighs that burning lungs did raise;

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ab- und zugehen, verkehren. 37) Ich, die ich mir selbst in ausschliesslichem Besitze angehörte und mit Keinen theilte. 38) blood das Blut als Sitz der Leidenschaft. Zwei Zeilen weiter hat die Q. forbod, die Ausg. 1640 forbid. 39) Staunton vermuthet For, father, I could say etc. 40) Ich kannte die Proben und B spiele seiner schnöden Verführungskunst. 41) Ich wusste, dass Liebesschwüre immer Kuppler waren zur fleckung der Unschuld. 42) Malone hält thought für das Substantiv und setzt demgemäss ein Comma dahinte Es ist offenbar das Präteritum, dem vorhergehenden heard, saw, knew coordinirt: ich hielt seine Schriftzüge Worte für blosse Verstellung und für unächte Erzeugnisse seines falschen Herzens. 48) Die Q. hat vow, wahrscheinlich irrthümlich wiederholt aus dem vorhergehenden holy vows. woo setzte Dyce, nach einer Conjectur Capell's, zuerst in den Text. 44) Das seltsame acture, das sonst nirgendwo vorkommt, hält Malone fir synonym mit action, obgleich auch so die Stelle einen höchst gezwungenen Sinn giebt. — Vielleicht schrieb der Dichter enactures für with acture. 45) Vgl. oben Anm. 22. 46) talents Sachen von Werth und Gewicht. Er meint das in Gold gefasste Haargeflecht der Geliebten. 47) invised hält Malone für synonym mit invisibl Möglicherweise ist das sonst nicht vorkommende Wort aus inward verdruckt. 48) Jedem dieser Steine wurde in den beigefügten sinnreichen Gedichten eine heitere oder melancholische Deutung gegeben. 40) Da ich der Altar bin, auf dem diese Gaben dargebracht wurden, und da Ihr meine Patronin werdet. 50) Vgl. oben Anm. 27.

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What me, your minister, for you obeys,
Works under you; and to your audit comes
Their distract parcels in combined sums.

Lo! this device was sent me from a nun,
Or sister 51 sanctified, of holiest note;
Which late her noble suit in court did shun,
Whose rarest havings made the blossoms dote: 52
For she was sought by spirits of richest coat, 63
But kept cold distance, and did thence remove,
To spend her living in eternal love.

But 0, my sweet! what labour is 't to leave

The thing we have not, mastering what not strives?
Paling 54 the place which did no form receive;
Playing patient sports in unconstrained gyves?
She that her fame so to herself contrives,
The scars of battle scapeth by the flight,
And makes her absence valiant, not her might.

0, pardon me, in that my boast is true!
The accident which brought me to her eye,
Upon the moment did her force subdue,
And now she would the caged cloister fly;
Religious love put out religion's eye:
Not to be tempted, would she be immur'd, 55
And now, to tempt all, liberty procur'd.

How mighty then you are, O, hear me tell!
The broken bosoms that to me belong
Have emptied all their fountains in my well,
And mine I pour your ocean all among:

I strong o'er them, and you o'er me being strong,
Must for your victory us all congest,

As compound love to physic your cold breast.

My parts had power to charm a sacred nun, 56
Who, disciplin'd, ay, dieted in grace,
Believ'd her eyes, when they to assail begun,
All vows and consecrations giving place.
O most potential love! vow, bond, nor space,
In thee hath neither sting, knot, nor confine,
For thou art all, and all things else are thine.

When thou impressest, what are precepts worth
Of stale example? When thou wilt inflame,

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How coldly those impediments stand forth
Of wealth, of filial fear, law, kindred, fame!
Love's arms are peace," 57 'gainst rule, 'gainst sense,
'gainst shame;

And sweetens, in the suffering pangs it bears,
The aloes of all forces, shocks, and fears.

Now, all these hearts that do on mine depend,
Feeling it break, with bleeding groans they pine,
And supplicant their sighs to you extend,
To leave the battery that you make 'gainst mine,
Lending soft audience to my sweet design,
And credent soul to that strong-bonded oath,
That shall prefer and undertake my troth.<<

This said, his watery eyes he did dismount,
Whose sights till then were levell'd on my face; 58
Each cheek a river running from a fount
With brinish current downward flow'd apace.
0, how the channel to the stream gave grace!
Who glaz'd with crystal gate the glowing roses
That flame through water which their hue encloses. 59

O father, what a hell of witchcraft lies
In the small orb of one particular tear!
But with the inundation of the eyes
What rocky heart to water will not wear?
What breast so cold that is not warmed here?
O cleft effect! 60 cold modesty, hot wrath,
Both fire from hence and chill extincture hath!

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51) Malone vermuthete a sister. 52) blossoms erklärt Malone, in Beziehung auf das vorhergehende noble suit in court = adlige Bewerber am Hofe, mit the flower of the young nobility. — havings, eigentlich Besitzungen, scheint hier Begabung, Eigenschaften, zu sein. 53) coat für coat of arms = Wappenrock. 54) paling setzt Malone für playing der Q., das irrthümlich aus der folgenden Zeile in den Text gerathen ist. Staunton vermuthet filling dafür, und Lettsom schlägt vor: Salving the place which did no harm receive. 55) enur'd in der Q., die in der folgenden Zeile procure liest. 56) Für nun hat die Q. sun, was manche Hgg. beibehalten. - In der folgenden Zeile hat die Q. in verschiedenen Exemplaren I died und I dieted, wofür Malone and dieted setzte: eine heilige Nonne, die in der Frömmigkeit geübt, ja damit genährt war. 57) Wenn die Lesart der Q. richtig ist, so muss love's arms mit 'gainst rule etc. verbunden werden. - Malone vermuthet love's arms are proof, und Dyce love arms our peace. Zu dem folgenden sweetens ist aus love's arms bloss love als Subject zu suppliren. 58) Auch hier ist das Bild von einem Geschütz entlehnt (vgl. oben Anm. 9). 59) Die Wangen werden mit glühenden Rosen, und die darüber hinströmenden Thränen mit einer Thür von Krystall davor verglichen. - Malone fasst das substantivische gate als veraltetes Präteritum von to get, und das verbale flame als das substantivische. Er interpungirt: Who, glaz'd with crystal, gate the glowing roses That flame etc. 60) or cleft effect in der Q., von Gildon verbessert. cleft effect zwiefache, einander widersprechende Wirkung. 81) sober guards ehrbare Zurückhaltung. civil fears Scheu. 62) Ich zeige mich ihm eben so aufgelöst in Thränen, wie er sich mir zeigt. 63) cautel : Chicane. 64) sounding in der Q. to sound und to swound sind alte Formen für to swoon. So hat die Q. am Schlusse dieser Strophe and sound at tragic shows. 65) hail, wofür Malone il

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