lyrical poems-第3部分

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　insight；　and　grace：　　to　paint　scenes　and　imaginations　as　perfect　organic　wholes；carrying　with　it　the　gift　to　clothe　each　picture；　as　if　by　unerring　instinct；　in　fit　metrical　form；　giving　to　each　its　own　music；　beginning　without　affectation；　and　rounding　off　without　effort；　the　power；　in　a　word；　to　leave　simplicity；　sanity；　and　beauty　as　the　last　impressions　lingering　on　our　minds；　these　gifts　are　at　once　the　true　bequest　of　classicalism；　and　the　reason　why　（until　modern　effort　equals　them）　the　study　of　that　Hellenic　and　Latin　poetry　in　which　these　gifts　are　eminent　above　all　other　literatures　yet　created；　must　be　essential。　　And　it　is　success　in　precisely　these　excellences　which　is　here　claimed　for　Herrick。　　He　is　classical　in　the　great　and　eternal　sense　of　the　phrase：　　and　much　more　so；　probably；　than　he　was　himself　aware　of。　　No　poet　in　fact　is　so　far　from　dwelling　in　a　past　or　foreign　world：　　it　is　the　England；　if　not　of　1648；　at　least　of　his　youth；　in　which　he　lives　and　moves　and　loves：　　his　Bucolics　show　no　trace　of　Sicily：　　his　Anthea　and　Julia　wear　no　'buckles　of　the　purest　gold；'　nor　have　anything　about　them　foreign　to　Middlesex　or　Devon。　　Herrick's　imagination　has　no　far　horizons：　　like　Burns　and　Crabbe　fifty　years　since；　or　Barnes　（that　exquisite　and　neglected　pastoralist　of　fair　Dorset；　perfect　within　his　narrower　range　as　Herrick）　to…day；　it　is　his　own　native　land　only　which　he　sees　and　paints：　　even　the　fairy　world　in　which；　at　whatever　inevitable　interval；　he　is　second　to　Shakespeare；　is　pure　English；　or　rather；　his　elves　live　in　an　elfin　county　of　their　own；　and　are　all　but　severed　from　humanity。　Within　that　greater　circle　of　Shakespeare；　where　Oberon　and　Ariel　and　their　fellows　move；　aiding　or　injuring　mankind；　and　reflecting　human　life　in　a　kind　of　unconscious　parody；　Herrick　cannot　walk：　　and　it　may　have　been　due　to　his　good　sense　and　true　feeling　for　art；　that　here；　where　resemblance　might　have　seemed　probable；　he　borrows　nothing　from　MIDSUMMER　NIGHT'S　DREAM　or　TEMPEST。　　if　we　are　moved　by　the　wider　range　of　Byron's　or　Shelley's　sympathies；　there　is　a　charm；　also；　in　this　sweet　insularity　of　Herrick；　a　narrowness　perhaps；　yet　carrying　with　it　a　healthful　reality　absent　from　the　vapid　and　artificial　'cosmopolitanism'　that　did　such　wrong　on　Goethe's　genius。　　If　he　has　not　the　exotic　blooms　and　strange　odours　which　poets　who　derive　from　literature　show　in　their　conservatories；　Herrick　has　the　fresh　breeze　and　thyme…bed　fragrance　of　open　moorland；　the　grace　and　greenery　of　English　meadows：　　with　Homer　and　Dante；　he　too　shares　the　strength　and　inspiration　which　come　from　touch　of　a　man's　native　soil。

What　has　been　here　sketched　is　not　planned　so　much　as　a　criticism　in　form　on　Herrick's　poetry　as　an　attempt　to　seize　his　relations　to　his　predecessors　and　contemporaries。　　If　we　now　tentatively　inquire　what　place　may　be　assigned　to　him　in　our　literature　at　large；　Herrick　has　no　single　lyric　to　show　equal；　in　pomp　of　music；　brilliancy　of　diction；　or　elevation　of　sentiment　to　some　which　Spenser　before；　Milton　in　his　own　time；　Dryden　and　Gray；　Wordsworth　and　Shelley；　since　have　given　us。　　Nor　has　he；　as　already　noticed；　the　peculiar　finish　and　reserve　（if　the　phrase　may　be　allowed）　traceable；　though　rarely；　in　Ben　Jonson　and　others　of　the　seventeenth　century。　　He　does　not　want　passion；　yet　his　passion　wants　concentration：　　it　is　too　ready；　also；　to　dwell　on　externals：　　imagination　with　him　generally　appears　clothed　in　forms　of　fancy。　　Among　his　contemporaries；　take　Crashaw's　'Wishes'：　　Sir　J。　Beaumont's　elegy　on　his　child　Gervase：　　take　Bishop　King's　'Surrender'：

　　My　once…dear　Love！hapless；　that　I　no　more　　　Must　call　thee　so。　。　。　。　The　rich　affection's　store　　　That　fed　our　hopes；　lies　now　exhaust　and　spent；　　　Like　sums　of　treasure　unto　bankrupts　lent：　　　We　that　did　nothing　study　but　the　way　　　To　love　each　other；　with　which　thoughts　the　day　　　Rose　with　delight　to　us；　and　with　them　set；　　　Must　learn　the　hateful　art；　how　to　forget！　　　Fold　back　our　arms；　take　home　our　fruitless　loves；　　　That　must　new　fortunes　try；　like　turtle　doves　　　Dislodged　from　their　haunts。　We　must　in　tears　　　Unwind　a　love　knit　up　in　many　years。　　　In　this　one　kiss　I　here　surrender　thee　　　Back　to　thyself：　　so　thou　again　art　free：…

take　eight　lines　by　some　old　unknown　Northern　singer：

　　When　I　think　on　the　happy　days　　　I　spent　wi'　you；　my　dearie；　　　And　now　what　lands　between　us　lie；　　　How　can　I　be　but　eerie！

　　How　slow　ye　move；　ye　heavy　hours；　　　As　ye　were　wae　and　weary！　　　It　was　na　sae　ye　glinted　by　　　When　I　was　wi'　my　dearie：

O！　　there　is　an　intensity　here；　a　note　of　passion　beyond　the　deepest　of　Herrick's。　　This　tone　（whether　from　temperament　or　circumstance　or　scheme　of　art）；　is　wanting　to　the　HESPERIDES　and　NOBLE　NUMBERS：　　nor　does　Herrick's　lyre；　sweet　and　varied　as　it　is；　own　that　purple　chord；　that　more　inwoven　harmony；　possessed　by　poets　of　greater　depth　and　splendour；by　Shakespeare　and　Milton　often；　by　Spenser　more　rarely。　　But　if　we　put　aside　these　'greater　gods'　of　song；　with　Sidney；in　the　Editor's　judgment　Herrick's　mastery　（to　use　a　brief　expression）；　both　over　Nature　and　over　Art；　clearly　assigns　to　him　the　first　place　as　lyrical　poet；　in　the　strict　and　pure　sense　of　the　phrase；　among　all　who　flourished　during　the　interval　between　Henry　V　and　a　hundred　years　since。　　Single　pieces　of　equal；　a　few　of　higher；　quality；　we　have；　indeed；　meanwhile　received；　not　only　from　the　master…　singers　who　did　not　confine　themselves　to　the　Lyric；　but　from　many　poetssome　the　unknown　contributors　to　our　early　anthologies；　then　Jonson；　Marvell；　Waller；　Collins；　and　others；　with　whom　we　reach　the　beginning　of　the　wider　sweep　which　lyrical　poetry　has　since　taken。　　Yet；　looking　at　the　whole　work；　not　at　the　selected　jewels；　of　this　great　and　noble　multitude；　Herrick；　as　lyrical　poet　strictly；　offers　us　by　far　the　most　homogeneous；　attractive；　and　varied　treasury。　　No　one　else　among　lyrists　within　the　period　defined；　has　such　unfailing　freshness：　　so　much　variety　within　the　sphere　prescribed　to　himself：　　such　closeness　to　nature；　whether　in　description　or　in　feeling：　　such　easy　fitness　in　language：　　melody　so　unforced　and　delightful。　　His　dull　pages　are　much　less　frequent：　　he　has　more　lines；　in　his　own　phrase；　'born　of　the　royal　blood'：　　the

　　Inflata　rore　non　Achaico　verba

are　rarer　with　him：　　although　superficially　mannered；　nature　is　so　much　nearer　to　him；　that　far　fewer　of　his　pieces　have　lost　vitality　and　interest　through　adherence　to　forms　of　feeling　or　fashions　of　thought　now　obsolete。　　A　Roman　contemporary　is　described　by　the　younger　Pliny　in　words　very　appropriate　to　Herrick：　　who；　in　fact；　if　Greek　in　respect　of　his　method　and　style；　in　the　contents　of　his　poetry　displays　the　'frankness　of　nature　and　vivid　sense　of　life'　which　criticism　assigns　as　marks　of　the　great　Roman　poets。　　FACIT　VERSUS；　QUALES　CATULLUS　AUT　CALVUS。　　QUANTUM　ILLIS　LEPORIS；　DULCEDINIS；　AMARITUDINIS　AMORIS！　INSERIT　SANE；　SED　DATA　OPERA；　MOLLIBUS　LENIBUSQUE　DURIUSCULOS　QUOSDAM；　ET　HOC；　QUASI　CATULLUS　AUT　CALVUS。　　Many　pieces　have　been；　here　refused　admittance；　whether　from　coarseness　of　phrase　or　inferior　value：　　yet　these　are　rarely　defective　in　the　lyrical　art；　which；　throughout　the　writer's　work；　is　so　simple　and　easy　as　almost　to　escape　notice　through　its　very　excellence。　　In　one　word；　Herrick；　in　a　rare　and　special　sense；　is　unique。

To　these　qualities　we　may；　perhaps；　ascribe　the　singular　neglect　which；　so　far　as　we　may　infer；　he　met　with　in　his　own　age；　and　certainly　in　the　century　following。　　For　the　men　of　the　Restoration　period　he　was　too　natural；　too　purely　poetical：　　he　had　not　the　learned　polish；　the　political　allusion；　the　tone　of　the　city；　the　didactic　turn；　which　were　then　and　onwards　demanded　from　poetry。　　In　the　next　age；　no　tradition　consecrated　his　name；　whilst　writers　of　a　hundred　years　before　were　then　too　remote　for　familiarity；　and　not　remote　enough　for　reverence。　　Moving　on　to　our　own　time；　when　some　justice　has　at　length　been　conceded　to　him；　Herrick　has　to　meet　the　great　rivalry　of　the　poets　who；　from　Burns　and　Cowper　to　Tennyson；　have　widened　and　deepened　the　lyrical　sphere；　making　it　at　once　on　the　one　hand　more　intensely　personal；　on　the　other；　more　free　and　picturesque　in　the　range　of　problems　dealt　with：　　whilst　at　the　same　time　new　and　richer　lyrical　forms；　harmonies　more　intricate　and　seven…fold；　have　been　created　by　them；　as　in　Hellas　during　her　golden　age　of　song；　to　embody　ideas　and　emotions　unknown　or　unexpressed　under　Tudors　and　Stuarts。　　To　this　latter　superiority　Herrick　would；　doubtless；　have　bowed；　as　he　bowed　before　Ben　Jonson's　genius。　　'Rural　ditties；'　and　'oaten　flute'　cannot　bear　the　competition　of　the　full　modern　orchestra。　　Yet　this　author　need　not　fear！　　That　exquisite：　　and　lofty　pleasure　which　it　is　the　first　and　the　last　aim　of　all　true　art　to　give；　must；　by　its　own　nature；　be　lasting　also。　　As　the　eyesight　fluctuates；　and　gives　the　advantage　to　different　colours　in　turn；　so　to　the　varying　moods　of　the　mind　the　same　beauty　does　not　always　seem　equally　beautiful。　　Thus　from　the　'purple　light'　of　our　later　poetry　there　are　hours　in　which　we　may　look　to　the　daffodil　and　rose…tints　of　Herrick's　old　Arcadia；　for　refreshment　and　delight。　　And　the　pleasure　which　he　gives　is　as　eminently　wholesome　as　pleasurable。　　Like　the　holy　river　of　Virgil；　to　the　souls　who　drink　of　him；　Herrick　offers　'securos　latices。'　He　is　conspicuously　free　from　many　of　the　maladies　incident　to　his　art。　　Here　is　no　overstrain；　no　spasmodic　cry；　so　wire…drawn　analysis　or　sensational　rhetoric；　no　music　without　sense；　no　mere　second…hand　literary　inspiration；　no　mannered　archaism：above　all；　no　sickly　sweetness；　no　subtle；　unhealthy　affectation。　　Throughout　his　work；　whether　when　it　is　strong；　or　in　the　less　worthy　portions；　sanity；　sincerity；　simplicity；　lucidity；　are　everywhere　the　characteristics　of　Herrick：　　in　these；　not　in　his　pretty　Pagan　masquerade；　he　shows　the　note；the　only　genuine　note；of　Hellenic　descent。　　Hence；　through　whatever　changes　and　fashions　poetry　may　pass；　her　true　lovers　he　is　likely　to　'please　now；　and　please　for　long。'　　His　verse；　in　the　words　of　a　poet　greater　than　himself；　is　of　that　quality　which　'adds　sunlight　to　daylight'；　wh