Laurel · James Beattie · The Minstrel and Other Poems

On (Written in 1765.)

James Beattie (1735–1803) · 1771–1774

iambic pentameter · heroic couplets · 146 lines · from The Minstrel and Other Poems

Bufo, begone! with thee may Faction's fire,That hatch'd thy salamander-fame, expire.Fame, dirty idol of the brainless crowd,What half-made moon-calf can mistake for good!Since shared by knaves of high and low degree;Cromwell and Cataline: Guido Faux, and thee.By nature uninspired, untaught by art;With not one thought that breathes the feeling heart,With not one offering vow'd to Virtue's shrine,With not one pure unprostituted line;Alike debauch'd in body, soul, and lays;--For pension'd censure, and for pension'd praise,For ribaldry, for libels, lewdness, lies,For blasphemy of all the good and wise:Coarse violence in coarser doggrel writ,Which bawling blackguards spell'd, and took for wit:For conscience, honour, slighted, spurn'd, o'erthrown:--Lo! Bufo shines the minion of renown.Is this the land that boasts a Milton's fire,And magic Spenser's wildly warbling lyre?The land that owns the omnipotence of song,When Shakspeare whirls the throbbing heart along?The land, where Pope, with energy divine,In one strong blaze bade wit and fancy shine:Whose verse, by truth in virtue's triumph born,Gave knaves to infamy, and fools to scorn;Yet pure in manners, and in thought refined,Whose life and lays adorn'd and bless'd mankind?Is this the land, where Gray's unlabour'd artSoothes, melts, alarms, and ravishes the heart:While the lone wanderer's sweet complainings flowIn simple majesty of manly woe:Or while, sublime, on eagle pinion driven,He soars Pindaric heights, and sails the waste of Heaven?Is this the land, o'er Shenstone's recent urn,Where all the Loves and gentler Graces mourn?And where, to crown the hoary bard of night,The Muses and the Virtues all unite?Is this the land where Akenside displaysThe bold yet temperate flame of ancient days?Like the rapt sage, in genius as in theme,Whose hallow'd strain renown'd Illyssus' stream:Or him, the indignant bard, whose patriot ire,Sublime in vengeance, smote the dreadful lyre:For truth, for liberty, for virtue warm,Whose mighty song unnerved a tyrant's arm,Hush'd the rude roar of discord, rage, and lust,And spurn'd licentious demagogues to dust.Is this the queen of realms? the glorious isle,Britannia, blest in Heaven's indulgent smile?Guardian of truth, and patroness of art,Nurse of the undaunted soul, and generous heart!Where, from a base unthankful world exiled,Freedom exults to roam the careless wild:Where taste to science every charm supplies,And genius soars unbounded to the skies?And shall a Bufo's most polluted nameStain her bright tablet of untainted fame?Shall his disgraceful name with theirs be join'd,Who wish'd and wrought the welfare of their kind?His name, accurst, who, leagued with---- and Hell,Labour'd to rouse, with rude and murderous yell,Discord the fiend, to toss rebellion's brand,To whelm in rage and woe a guiltless land:To frustrate wisdom's, virtue's noblest plan,And triumph in the miseries of man.Drivelling and dull, when crawls the reptile Muse,Swoln from the sty, and rankling from the stews,With envy, spleen, and pestilence replete,And gorged with dust she lick'd from Treason's feet:Who once, like Satan, raised to Heaven her sight,But turn'd abhorrent from the hated light:--O'er such a Muse shall wreaths of glory bloom?No--shame and execration be her doom.Hard-fated Bufo, could not dulness saveThy soul from sin, from infamy thy grave?Blackmore and Quarles, those blockheads of renown,Lavish'd their ink, but never harm'd the town.Though this, thy brother in discordant song,Harass'd the ear, and cramp'd the labouring tongue:And that, like thee, taught staggering prose to stand,And limp on stilts of rhyme around the land.Harmless they dozed a scribbling life away,And yawning nations own'd the innoxious lay,But from thy graceless, rude, and beastly brain,What fury breathed the incendiary strain?Did hate to vice exasperate thy style?No--Bufo match'd the vilest of the vile.Yet blazon'd was his verse with Virtue's name--Thus prudes look down to hide their want of shame:Thus hypocrites to truth, and fools to sense,And fops to taste, have sometimes made pretence:Thus thieves and gamesters swear by honour's laws:Thus pension-hunters bawl "their country's cause:"Thus furious Teague for moderation raved,And own'd his soul to liberty enslaved.Nor yet, though thousand cits admire thy rage,Though less of fool than felon marks thy page:Nor yet, though here and there one lonely sparkOf wit half brightens through the involving dark,To show the gloom more hideous for the foil,But not repay the drudging reader's toil;(For who for one poor pearl of clouded rayThrough Alpine dunghills delves his desperate way?Did genius to thy verse such bane impart?No. 'Twas the demon of thy venom'd heart,(Thy heart with rancour's quintessence endued).And the blind zeal of a misjudging crowd.Thus from rank soil a poison'd mushroom sprung,Nursling obscene of mildew and of dung:By Heaven design'd on its own native spotHarmless to enlarge its bloated bulk, and rot.But gluttony the abortive nuisance saw;It roused his ravenous, undiscerning maw:Gulp'd down the tasteless throat, the mess abhorr'dShot fiery influence round the maddening board.O had thy verse been impotent as dull,Nor spoke the rancorous heart, but lumpish scull;Had mobs distinguish'd, they who howl'd thy fame,The icicle from the pure diamond's flame,From fancy's soul thy gross imbruted sense,From dauntless truth thy shameless insolence,From elegance confusion's monstrous mass,And from the lion's spoils the skulking ass,From rapture's strain the drawling doggrel line,From warbling seraphim the grunting swine;With gluttons, dunces, rakes, thy name had slept,Nor o'er her sullied fame Britannia wept:Nor had the Muse, with honest zeal possess'd,To avenge her country, by thy name disgraced,Raised this bold strain for virtue, truth, mankind,And thy fell shade to infamy resign'd.When frailty leads astray the soul sincere,Let mercy shed the soft and manly tear.When to the grave descends the sensual sot,Unnamed, unnoticed, let his carrion rot.When paltry rogues, by stealth, deceit, or force,Hazard their necks, ambitious of your purse:For such the hangman wreaths his trusty gin,And let the gallows expiate their sin.But when a ruffian, whose portentous crimes,Like plagues and earthquakes terrify the times,Triumphs through life, from legal judgment free,For Hell may hatch what law could ne'er foresee:Sacred from vengeance shall his memory rest?--Judas, though dead, though damn'd, we still detest.

Words in this poem 62

bufo n.: A genus of Amphibia including various species of toads. [L. bufo a toad.]
idol n.: An image or representation of anything. [OE. idole, F. idole, L. idolum, fr. Gr. Wit, and cf. Eidolon.]
brainless a.: Without understanding; silly; thougthless; witless.
ribaldry n.: The talk of a ribald; low, vulgar language; indecency; obscenity; lewdness; -- now chiefly applied to indecent language, but formerly, as by Chaucer, also to indecent acts or conduct. [OE. ribaldrie, ribaudrie, OF. ribalderie, ribauderie.]
conscience n.: Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
honour n.: Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
omnipotence n.: The state of being omnipotent; almighty power; hence, one who is omnipotent; the Deity. [L. omnipotentia: cf.F. omnipotence.]
bade: A form of the pat tense of Bid.
lone n.: A lane. See Loanin.
pinion n.: A moth of the genus Lithophane, as L. antennata, whose larva bores large holes in young peaches and apples.
pindaric a.: Of or pertaining to Pindar, the Greek lyric poet; after the style and manner of Pindar; as, Pindaric odes. [L. Pindaricus, Gr. Pindarus) Pindar: cf. F. pindarique.]
hoary a.: White or whitish."The hoary willows."
rapt n.: An ecstasy; a trance. Bp. Morton. [From F. rapt abduction, rape, L. raptus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to transport; or fr. E. rapt, a. See Rapt, a., and Rapid.]
indignant a.: Affected with indignation; wrathful; passionate; irate; feeling wrath, as when a person is exasperated by unworthy or unjust treatment, by a mean action, or by a degrading accusation. [L. indignans, -antis, p. pr. of indignari to be indignant, disdain. See Indign.]
dreadful a.: Full of dread or terror; fearful.
lust v. i.: To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
glorious a.: Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
isle v. t.: To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
britannia n.: A white-metal alloy of tin, antimony, bismuth, copper, etc. It somewhat resembles silver, and isused for table ware. Called also Britannia metal. [From L. Britannia Great Britain.]
patroness n.: A female patron or helper. [Cf. F. patronnesse.]
undaunted a.: Not daunted; not subdued or depressed by fear.
generous a.: Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
shall v. i.: To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
accurst p. p.: Doomed to destruction or misery; cursed; hence, bad enough to be under the curse; execrable; detestable; exceedingly hateful; -- as, an accursed deed.
whelm v. t.: To cover with water or other fluid; to cover by immersion in something that envelops on all sides; to overwhelm; to ingulf.
guiltless a.: Free from guilt; innocent.
swoln: Contraction of Swollen, p. p.
replete a.: Filled again; completely filled; full; charged; abounding. [L. repletus, p. p. of replere to fill again, fill up; pref. re- re- + plere to fill, akin to plenus full: cf. F. replet corpulent. See Plenty, Replenish.]
gorged a.: Having a gorge or throat.
abhorrent a.: Abhorring; detesting; having or showing abhorrence; loathing; hence, strongly opposed to; as, abhorrent thoughts. [L. abhorens, -rentis, p. pr. of abhorrere.]
labouring a.: That labors; performing labor; esp., performing coarse, heavy work, not requiring skill also, set apart for labor; as, laboring days.
scribbling n.: The act or process of carding coarsely. Scribbing machine, the machine used for the first carding of wool or other fiber; -- called also scribbler. [See 1st Scribble.]
innoxious a.: Free from hurtful qualities or effects; harmless. [L. innoxius. See In- not, and Noxious.]
graceless a.: Wanting in grace or excellence; departed from, or deprived of, divine grace; hence, depraved; corrupt.
beastly a.: Pertaining to, or having the form, nature, or habits of, a beast.
exasperate a.: Exasperated; imbittered. [L. exasperatus, p. p. of exsasperare to roughen, exasperate; ex out (intens.) + asperare to make rough, asper rough. See Asperity.]
pretence n.: The act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension. [LL. praetensus, for L. praetentus, p. p. of praetendere. See Pretend, and cf. Tension.]
bawl v. i.: To cry out with a loud, full sound; to cry with vehemence, as in calling or exultation; to shout; to vociferate. [Icel. baula to low, bellow, as a cow; akin to Sw. böla; cf. AS bellan, G. bellen to bark, E. bellow, bull.]
teague n.: An Irishman; -- a term used in contempt. Johnson. [Cf. W. taeog, taeawg, adj., rustic, rude, n., a vassal, villain, pleasant, clown, Ir. th rural, boorish.]
admire v. t.: To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
desperate a.: Without hope; given to despair; hopeless. [L. desperatus, p. p. of desperare. See Despair, and cf. Desperado.]
bane v. t.: To be the bane of; to ruin. Fuller.
quintessence n.: The fifth or last and highest essence or power in a natural body. [F., fr. L. quinta essentia fifth essence. See Quint, and Essence.]
nursling n.: One who, or that which, is nursed; an infant; a fondling. [Nurse + -ling.]
mildew n.: A growth of minute powdery or webby fungi, whitish or of different colors, found on various diseased or decaying substances. [AS. meledeáw; akin to OHG. militou, G. mehlthau, mehltau; prob. orig. meaning, honeydew; cf. Goth. milip honey. See Mellifluous, and Dew.]
gluttony n.: Excess in eating; extravagant indulgence of the appetite for food; voracity. [OE. glotonie, OF. glotonie, gloutonnie.]
undiscerning n.: Want of discernment. Spectator.
spoke n.: The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
rancorous a.: Full of rancor; evincing, or caused by, rancor; deeply malignant; implacably spiteful or malicious; intensely virulent. [OF. rancuros.]
lumpish a.: Like a lump; inert; gross; heavy; dull; spiritless.
scull n.: A shoal of fish. [See 1st School.]
icicle n.: A pendent, and usually conical, mass of ice, formed by freezing of dripping water; as, the icicles on the eaves of a house. [OE. isikel, AS. isgicel; is ice + gicel icicle; akin to Icel. jökull; cf. Gael. eigh ice, Ir. aigh.]
dauntless a.: Incapable of being daunted; undaunted; bold; fearless; intrepid.
insolence n.: The quality of being unusual or novel. [F. insolence, L. insolentia. See Insolent.]
drawling n.: The act of speaking with a drawl; a drawl.
seraphim n.: The Hebrew plural of Seraph. Cf. Cherubim.
frailty n.: The condition quality of being frail, physically, mentally, or morally, frailness; infirmity; weakness of resolution; liableness to be deceived or seduced. [OE. frelete, freilte, OF. fraileté, fr. L. fragilitas. See Frail, a., and cf. Fragility.]
stealth n.: The act of stealing; theft. [OE. staple. See Steal, v. t.]
portentous a.: Of the nature of a portent; containing portents; foreschadowing, esp. foreschadowing ill; ominous. [L. portentosus.]
terrify v. t.: To make terrible. [L. terrere to frighten + -fy: cf. F. terrifier, L. terrificare. See Terrific, and -fy.]
foresee v. i.: To have or exercise foresight.
detest v. t.: To witness against; to denounce; to condemn. [L. detestare, detestatum, and detestari, to curse while calling a deity to witness, to execrate, detest; de + testari to be a witness, testify, testis a witness]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

On (Written in 1765.) is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Beattie, Blair, and Falconer With Lives, Critical Dissertations, and Explanatory Notes, Project Gutenberg ebook #8695; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: James Beattie, On (Written in 1765.), in The Minstrel and Other Poems (1771–1774), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beattie-minstrel/on-written-in-1765.html, id L09609.

Form and metre

On (Written in 1765.) is 146 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 82% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 6% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.

Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.

Rhyme words, stanza by stanza

The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.

1 ----AABBCCDDEEFFGG--HHIIJJKKLLMMNNN-OOPPQQRR--SSTTUUVVWWXX--YYZZaabbccddeeffgg--hhiijjkkll----mmnnooppqqrr--ssttuuvvwwxxyyzzAABB--CCDD----EEFFGGHH fire · expire · crowd · good · degree^A · thee^A · art^B · heart^B · shrine^C · line^C · lays^D · praise^D · lies^E · wise^E · writ^F · wit^F · o'erthrown^G · renown^G · fire · lyre · song^H · along^H · divine^I · shine^I · born^J · scorn^J · refined^K · mankind^K · art^L · heart^L · flow^M · woe^M · driven^N · heaven^N · urn^N · mourn · night^O · unite^O · displays^P · days^P · theme^Q · stream^Q · ire^R · lyre^R · warm · arm · lust^S · dust^S · isle^T · smile^T · art^U · heart^U · exiled^V · wild^V · supplies^W · skies^W · name^X · fame^X · join'd · kind · hell^Y · yell^Y · brand^Z · land^Z · plan^a · man^a · muse^b · stews^b · replete^c · feet^c · sight^d · light^d · bloom^e · doom^e · save^f · grave^f · renown^g · town^g · song · tongue · stand^h · land^h · awayⁱ · layⁱ · brain^j · strain^j · style^k · vile^k · name^l · shame^l · sense · pretence · laws · cause · raved^m · enslaved^m · rageⁿ · pageⁿ · spark^o · dark^o · foil^p · toil^p · ray^q · way^q · impart^r · heart^r · endued · crowd · sprung^s · dung^s · spot^t · rot^t · saw^u · maw^u · abhorr'd^v · board^v · dull^w · scull^w · fame^x · flame^x · sense^y · insolence^y · mass^z · ass^z · line^A · swine^A · slept^B · wept^B · possess'd · disgraced · mankind^C · resign'd^C · sincere^D · tear^D · sot · rot · force · purse · gin^E · sin^E · crimes^F · times^F · free^G · foresee^G · rest^H · detest^H

Scansion, line by line

Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
Bufo, begone! with thee may Faction's fire,	11	/˘˘/···/˘/˘
That hatch'd thy salamander-fame, expire.	10	····˘/˘·˘/
Fame, dirty idol of the brainless crowd,	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
What half-made moon-calf can mistake for good!	10	······˘/··
Since shared by knaves of high and low degree;	10	········˘/
Cromwell and Cataline: Guido Faux, and thee.	11	/˘····/˘···
By nature uninspired, untaught by art;	10	·/˘·˘/····
With not one thought that breathes the feeling heart,	10	·······/˘·
With not one offering vow'd to Virtue's shrine,	10	···/˘··/˘·
With not one pure unprostituted line;	10	··········
Alike debauch'd in body, soul, and lays;--	10	˘/···/˘···
For pension'd censure, and for pension'd praise,	10	···/˘·····
For ribaldry, for libels, lewdness, lies,	10	·/˘˘·/˘···
For blasphemy of all the good and wise:	10	·/˘˘······
Coarse violence in coarser doggrel writ,	10	·/˘˘·/˘/˘·
Which bawling blackguards spell'd, and took for wit:	10	·/˘·······
For conscience, honour, slighted, spurn'd, o'erthrown:--	10	·/˘/˘/˘···
Lo! Bufo shines the minion of renown.	10	·/˘··/˘·˘/
Is this the land that boasts a Milton's fire,	11	·······/˘/˘
And magic Spenser's wildly warbling lyre?	10	·/˘/˘/˘/˘·
The land that owns the omnipotence of song,	10	·····˘/˘··
When Shakspeare whirls the throbbing heart along?	10	·····/˘·˘/
The land, where Pope, with energy divine,	10	·····/˘˘˘/
In one strong blaze bade wit and fancy shine:	10	·······/˘·
Whose verse, by truth in virtue's triumph born,	10	·····/˘/˘·
Gave knaves to infamy, and fools to scorn;	10	···/˘˘····
Yet pure in manners, and in thought refined,	10	···/˘···˘/
Whose life and lays adorn'd and bless'd mankind?	10	····˘/··//
Is this the land, where Gray's unlabour'd art	10	··········
Soothes, melts, alarms, and ravishes the heart:	10	··˘/······
While the lone wanderer's sweet complainings flow	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
In simple majesty of manly woe:	10	·/˘/˘˘·/˘·
Or while, sublime, on eagle pinion driven,	11	··˘/·/˘/˘/˘
He soars Pindaric heights, and sails the waste of Heaven?	12	··˘/˘······/
Is this the land, o'er Shenstone's recent urn,	10	·······/˘·
Where all the Loves and gentler Graces mourn?	10	·····/˘/˘·
And where, to crown the hoary bard of night,	10	·····/˘···
The Muses and the Virtues all unite?	10	·/˘··/˘·/·
Is this the land where Akenside displays	10	········˘/
The bold yet temperate flame of ancient days?	10	···/˘··/˘·
Like the rapt sage, in genius as in theme,	10	·····/˘···
Whose hallow'd strain renown'd Illyssus' stream:	10	·/˘·˘/····
Or him, the indignant bard, whose patriot ire,	11	···˘/˘··/˘·
Sublime in vengeance, smote the dreadful lyre:	10	˘/·/˘··/˘·
For truth, for liberty, for virtue warm,	10	···/˘˘·/˘·
Whose mighty song unnerved a tyrant's arm,	10	·/˘·˘/·/˘·
Hush'd the rude roar of discord, rage, and lust,	10	·····/˘···
And spurn'd licentious demagogues to dust.	10	··˘/˘/˘···
Is this the queen of realms? the glorious isle,	10	·······/˘·
Britannia, blest in Heaven's indulgent smile?	11	˘/˘··/˘˘/˘·
Guardian of truth, and patroness of art,	10	/˘···/˘˘··
Nurse of the undaunted soul, and generous heart!	11	···˘/˘··/˘·
Where, from a base unthankful world exiled,	10	········/·
Freedom exults to roam the careless wild:	10	/˘˘/···/˘·
Where taste to science every charm supplies,	10	···/˘/˘·˘/
And genius soars unbounded to the skies?	10	·/˘·˘/˘···
And shall a Bufo's most polluted name	10	······˘/˘·
Stain her bright tablet of untainted fame?	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
Shall his disgraceful name with theirs be join'd,	10	··˘/˘·····
Who wish'd and wrought the welfare of their kind?	10	·····/····
His name, accurst, who, leagued with---- and Hell,	10	······˘···
Labour'd to rouse, with rude and murderous yell,	10	·······/˘·
Discord the fiend, to toss rebellion's brand,	10	/˘····˘/˘·
To whelm in rage and woe a guiltless land:	10	·······/˘·
To frustrate wisdom's, virtue's noblest plan,	10	·/·/˘/˘/˘·
And triumph in the miseries of man.	10	·/˘··/˘˘··
Drivelling and dull, when crawls the reptile Muse,	10	/˘·····/˘·
Swoln from the sty, and rankling from the stews,	10	·····/˘···
With envy, spleen, and pestilence replete,	10	·/˘··/˘˘˘/
And gorged with dust she lick'd from Treason's feet:	10	·······/˘·
Who once, like Satan, raised to Heaven her sight,	10	···/˘··/··
But turn'd abhorrent from the hated light:--	10	··˘/˘··/˘·
O'er such a Muse shall wreaths of glory bloom?	10	·······/˘·
No--shame and execration be her doom.	10	··········
Hard-fated Bufo, could not dulness save	10	·/˘/˘·····
Thy soul from sin, from infamy thy grave?	10	·····/˘˘··
Blackmore and Quarles, those blockheads of renown,	10	/˘···/··˘/
Lavish'd their ink, but never harm'd the town.	10	/˘···/˘···
Though this, thy brother in discordant song,	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
Harass'd the ear, and cramp'd the labouring tongue:	10	˘/·····/˘·
And that, like thee, taught staggering prose to stand,	10	·····/˘···
And limp on stilts of rhyme around the land.	10	··········
Harmless they dozed a scribbling life away,	10	/˘···/˘·˘/
And yawning nations own'd the innoxious lay,	11	·/˘/˘··˘/˘·
But from thy graceless, rude, and beastly brain,	10	···/˘··/˘·
What fury breathed the incendiary strain?	10	·/˘··˘/˘˘·
Did hate to vice exasperate thy style?	10	····˘/˘···
No--Bufo match'd the vilest of the vile.	10	·/˘·······
Yet blazon'd was his verse with Virtue's name--	10	·······/˘·
Thus prudes look down to hide their want of shame:	10	··········
Thus hypocrites to truth, and fools to sense,	10	·/˘·······
And fops to taste, have sometimes made pretence:	10	·····˘/···
Thus thieves and gamesters swear by honour's laws:	11	········/˘·
Thus pension-hunters bawl "their country's cause:"	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
Thus furious Teague for moderation raved,	10	·/˘···˘/˘·
And own'd his soul to liberty enslaved.	10	·····/˘˘˘/
Nor yet, though thousand cits admire thy rage,	10	···/˘·˘/··
Though less of fool than felon marks thy page:	10	·····/˘···
Nor yet, though here and there one lonely spark	10	·······/˘·
Of wit half brightens through the involving dark,	11	···/˘··˘/˘·
To show the gloom more hideous for the foil,	10	·····/˘···
But not repay the drudging reader's toil;	10	··˘/·/˘/˘·
(For who for one poor pearl of clouded ray	10	·······/˘·
Through Alpine dunghills delves his desperate way?	10	·/·····/˘·
Did genius to thy verse such bane impart?	10	·/˘·····˘/
No. 'Twas the demon of thy venom'd heart,	10	···/˘·····
(Thy heart with rancour's quintessence endued).	10	···/˘˘/˘˘/
And the blind zeal of a misjudging crowd.	10	······˘/˘·
Thus from rank soil a poison'd mushroom sprung,	10	·····/˘/˘·
Nursling obscene of mildew and of dung:	10	/˘˘/·/····
By Heaven design'd on its own native spot	10	·/˘/···/˘·
Harmless to enlarge its bloated bulk, and rot.	11	/˘·˘/·/˘···
But gluttony the abortive nuisance saw;	10	·/˘·˘/˘/˘·
It roused his ravenous, undiscerning maw:	10	···/˘·····
Gulp'd down the tasteless throat, the mess abhorr'd	10	···/˘···˘/
Shot fiery influence round the maddening board.	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
O had thy verse been impotent as dull,	10	·····/˘˘··
Nor spoke the rancorous heart, but lumpish scull;	10	···/˘··/˘·
Had mobs distinguish'd, they who howl'd thy fame,	10	··˘/˘·····
The icicle from the pure diamond's flame,	10	·/˘˘···/˘·
From fancy's soul thy gross imbruted sense,	10	·/˘·······
From dauntless truth thy shameless insolence,	10	·/˘··/˘/˘˘
From elegance confusion's monstrous mass,	10	·/˘˘˘/˘/˘·
And from the lion's spoils the skulking ass,	10	···/˘··/˘·
From rapture's strain the drawling doggrel line,	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
From warbling seraphim the grunting swine;	10	·/˘/˘˘·/˘·
With gluttons, dunces, rakes, thy name had slept,	9	·/˘······
Nor o'er her sullied fame Britannia wept:	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
Nor had the Muse, with honest zeal possess'd,	10	·····/˘·˘/
To avenge her country, by thy name disgraced,	11	·˘/·/˘···˘/
Raised this bold strain for virtue, truth, mankind,	10	·····/˘·//
And thy fell shade to infamy resign'd.	10	·····/˘˘˘/
When frailty leads astray the soul sincere,	10	·/˘·˘/··˘/
Let mercy shed the soft and manly tear.	10	·/˘····/˘·
When to the grave descends the sensual sot,	10	····˘/·/˘·
Unnamed, unnoticed, let his carrion rot.	10	˘/˘/˘··/˘·
When paltry rogues, by stealth, deceit, or force,	10	·/˘···˘/··
Hazard their necks, ambitious of your purse:	10	/˘··˘/˘···
For such the hangman wreaths his trusty gin,	10	···/˘··/˘·
And let the gallows expiate their sin.	10	···/˘/˘···
But when a ruffian, whose portentous crimes,	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
Like plagues and earthquakes terrify the times,	10	···/·/˘···
Triumphs through life, from legal judgment free,	10	/˘···/˘/˘·
For Hell may hatch what law could ne'er foresee:	10	········˘/
Sacred from vengeance shall his memory rest?--	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
Judas, though dead, though damn'd, we still detest.	10	/˘······˘/

Notes from the edition 4

Beattie's own notes to The Minstrel (Project Gutenberg #8695).

Line 37 'Hoary bard of night:' Dr Young.
Line 41 'Rapt sage:' Pluto.
Line 43 'Indignant bard:' Alceus; see Akenside's 'Ode on Lyric Poetry.'
Line 61 Wilkes.

The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.

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The Minstrel and Other Poems