Part 28

While yet a child, I chanced to stray, And in a desert sleeping lay; The savage race withdrew, nor dared To touch the muses' future bard; But Cytherea's gentle dove Myrtles and bays around me spread, And crowned your infant poet's head Sacred to music and to love.--POPE.

In addition to these passages, he had in his mind Hor. Epist. lib. i. 19, quoted by Wakefield:

Temperat Archilochi Musam pede mascula Sappho, Temperat Alcæus.]

And thou whose rival tow'rs invade the skies.

Methoughte that she was so lite That the length of a cubite Was longer than she seemed to be; But thus soon in a while she, Herself tho wonderly straight, That with her feet she carthe reight, And with her head she touched heaven.--POPE.]

Cui quot sunt corpore plumæ, Tot vigiles oculi subter, mirabile dictu, Tot lunguæ, totidem ora sonant, tot subrigit auris.]

I heard about her throne y-sung That all the palays walles rung; So sung the mighty Muse, she That cleped is Calliope, And her eighte sisters eke.--POPE.

Pope should have continued the extract; for his next four lines were prompted by the succeeding four in Chaucer:

And evermore eternally They sing of Fame as tho heard I; "Heried be thou and thy name Goddess of renown or fame."

"Heried" means praised.]

I heard a noise approchen blive, That fared as bees done in a hive, Against their time of out flying; Right such a manere murmering, For all the world it seemed me. Tho gan I look about and see That there came entring into th' hall, A right great company withal; And that of sundry regions, Of all kind of conditions, &c.--POPE.]

About the boughs an airy nation flew Thick as the humming bees that hunt the golden dew: The winged army roams the field around, The rivers and the rocks remurmer to the sound.--WAKEFIELD.

He was assisted by another passage in Dryden's Flower and Leaf:

Thick as the college of the bees in May, When swarming o'er the dusky fields they fly, Now to the flow'rs, and intercept the sky.]

And some of them she granted sone, And some she warned well and fair, And some she granted the contrair-- Right as her sister dame Fortune Is wont to serven in commune.--POPE.

Chaucer and Pope describe Fame as bestowing reputation upon some, and traducing others, when their deserts were equal, but neither Pope nor Chaucer touch upon the truth that the same person is commonly both lauded and denounced. This is finely expressed by Milton, Samson Agonistes, ver. 971:--

Fame if not double-faced is double-mouthed, And with contrary blast proclaims most deeds; On both his wings, one black, the other white, Bears greatest names in his wild aery flight.]

They hadde good fame each deserved Although they were diversely served.

Besides the passage in Chaucer, Pope evidently recalled Creech's translation of Juvenal, Sat. xiii. 132.

ev'ry age relates That equal crimes have met unequal fates; That sins alike, unlike rewards have found, And whilst this villain's crucified the other's crowned.]

Tho came the thirde companye, And gan up to the dees to hye, And down on knees they fell anone, And saiden: We ben everichone Folke that han full truely Deserved fame rightfully, And prayen you it might be knowe Right as it is, and forthe blowe. I grant, quoth she, for now me list That your good works shall be wist. And yet ye shall have better loos, Right in despite of all your foos, Than worthy is, and that anone. Let now (quoth she) thy trumpe gone-- And certes all the breath that went Out of his trumpes mouthe smel'd As men a pot of baume held Among a basket full of roses.--POPE.]

In comely rank call ev'ry merit forth, Imprint on ev'ry act its standard worth.]

Therewithal there came anone Another huge companye, Of good folke-- What did this Eolus, but he Took out his black trump of brass, That fouler than the devil was: And gan this trumpe for to blowe, As all the world should overthrowe. Throughout every regione Went this foule trumpes soune, As swift as pellet out of gunne, When fire is in the powder runne. And such a smoke gan oute wende, Out of the foule trumpes ende, &c.--POPE.]

Within stood heroes, who through loud alarms, In bloody fields pursued renown in arms.

I saw anone the fifth route, That to this lady gan loute, And down on knees anone to fall, And to her they besoughten all, To hiden their good workes eke, And said, they yeven not a leke For no fame ne such renowne; For they for contemplacyoune, And Goddes love hadde ywrought, Ne of fame would they ought.--POPE.]

What, quoth she, and be ye wood? And wene ye for to do good, And for to have of it no fame? Have ye despite to have my name? Nay, ye shall lien everichone: Blowe they trump, and that anone (Quoth she) thou Eolus yhote, And ring these folkes works be note, That all the world may of it hear; And he gan blow their loos so cleare, In his golden clarioune, Through the world went the soune, All so kenely, and eke so soft, That their fame was blowen aloft.--POPE.

Pope makes everybody obtain fame who seeks to avoid it, which is absurd. Chaucer keeps to truth. The first company came,

And saiden, Certes, lady bright, We have done well with all out might, But we ne kepen have for fame, Hide our workes and our name.