'For when you breathe, the air in order moves, 'Hence is her prattling daughter Echo born, The airy pavement with her feet to wear; 'And thou sweet Music, Dancing's only life, 'Lastly, where keep the Winds their revelry, Their violent turnings, and wild whirling hays', 'If then fire, air, wand'ring and fixed lights But for your eyes perceive not all they see, 'For lo the Sea that fleets about the Land, 'Sometimes his proud green waves in order set, Which, when they have with many kisses wet, And to make known his courtly love the more, 'Only the Earth doth stand for ever still, Her rocks remove not, nor her mountains meet, Yet though the Earth is ever steadfast seen, 'For those blue veins that through her body spread, And still their dance begets a murmur sweet, [From Hymnes of Astraea, in Acrosticke Verse.] Earth now is green, and heaven is blue, Sweet young sun-beams do subdue B lasts are mild, and seas are calm, Reserve (sweet Spring) this Nymph of ours, Green garlands never wasting : In her shall last our state's fair Spring, As long as Heaven is lasting. TO THE NIGHTINGALE. E very night from even to morn, But Nightingale, sith you delight Royal Astraea makes our day E ternal with her beams, nor may TO THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER. E ach month hath praise in some degrec; But neither for thy corn nor wine Renown'd art thou (sweet month) for this, JOHN DONNE. [BORN 1573, in London; his mother being a descendant of Sir Thomas More. He studied both at Oxford and Cambridge, and also at Lincoln's Inn; travelled in Italy and Spain, and returned perfect in their languages.' He was afterwards in the service of Lord Chancellor Ellesmere and others, and in 1610 was persuaded by James I 'to enter into sacred orders.' In 1621 the king made him Dean of St. Paul's, and he held other benefices. He died in 1631. Izaak Walton's celebrated Life was prefixed to his Eighty Sermons, fol,, 1640; and this Life asserts that 'most of his poems were written before the twentieth year of his age.' The Poems were collected and first published posthumously in 1633: but Harl. MS. 5110 (British Museum), is entitled, 'Jhon Dunne his Satyres anno domini 1593.'] Donne's contemporary reputation as a poet, and still more as a preacher, was immense; and a glance at his works would suffice to show that he did not deserve the contempt with which he was subsequently treated. But yet his chief interest is that he was the principal founder of a school which especially expressed and represented a certain bad taste of his day. Of his genius there can be no question; but it was perversely directed. One may almost invert Jonson's famous panegyric on Shakespeare, and say that Donne was not for all time but for an age. To this school Dr. Johnson has given the title of the Metaphysical; and for this title there is something to be said. 'Donne,' says Dryden, 'affects the metaphysics not only in his Satires, but in his amorous verses where Nature only should reign, and perplexes the minds of the fair sex with nice speculations of philosophy when he should engage their hearts and entertain them with the softnesses of love.' Thus he often ponders over the mystery of love, and is exercised by subtle questions as to its nature, origin, endurance. But a yet more notable distinction of this school than its philosophising, shallow or deep, is what may be called its fantasticality, its quaint wit, elaborate ingenuity, far-fetched allusiveness; and it might better be called the Ingenious, or |