The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw Volume II Part 75

That actor in the play, who, looking down When he should cry 'O heaven!' was thought a clown And guilty of a solecism, might have Applause for such an action o'er this grave.

Here lies a piece of Heaven; and Heaven one day Will send the best in heaven to fetch't away.'

(Hunt's edition, p. 30.)

[35] The 'conceit' is found in Vida's Christiad, lib. ii. 431, iii. 984: also in a Hymn of St. Ambrose. Cf. too Psalm lxvii. 16. Victor Hugo has adapted it as follows: 'Here is a whimsical explanation of the miracle of the wedding at Cana in Galilee:

La nymphe de ces eaux apercut Jesus-Christ, Et son pudique front de rougeur se couvrit.'

The nymph of these waters perceived Jesus Christ, And her modest brow was dyed with shame.

(Victor Hugo: a Life, 1863, i. 269). Whence the brilliant Frenchman fetched his 'whimsical explanation' is not doubtful. In the last line of Crashaw's epigram the reading in Poemata Anglorum Latina is

'Vidit et erubuit nympha pudica Deum.'

'Lympha' is inferior, and a (mis)reading for 'nympha.'

[36] From _Prolusiones_ of Strada.

[37] Gifford here has one of his many singular notes, because he could think of no other meaning than 'merriment' for 'mirth,' which, as 'joy'

or 'gladness,' is quite in place, and indeed accurately descriptive of the combined gladness and sadness of the pathetic contest.

[38] Professor M'Carthy, who finds the influence of Crashaw in Sh.e.l.ley, has suggested one line from the 'Suspicion' as a motto for Hood's 'Song of the Shirt,' viz. in st. xliii.

'They p.r.i.c.k a bleeding heart at every st.i.tch.'

(N. and Q. 2d S. v. 449-52.)

[39] I place here a copy of the doc.u.ment that had gone astray (Vol. I.

p. x.x.xv.): 'It results from a Papal Bull dated 24th April 1649, that Richard Crashaw, an Englishman, was admitted to a benefice ('Beneficiato') of the Basilica-Church of our Lady of Loreto, through strong interest in his favour by Cardinal Pallotta, then Protector of the so-called Holy House of Loreto, and in whose service Richard Crashaw was. But as it appears from another Bull dated 25th August 1649, that a successor was named to Richard Crashaw, it is evident that he was a Beneficiary in Loreto for only about three months--too short a time to furnish sufficient materials for the ill.u.s.tration of his biography.--N.B. A Beneficiary in ecclesiastical hierarchy is a grade under a Canon, and his duty in church is more a.s.siduous than that of the Canon; but it is not necessary to be a Beneficiary before becoming a Canon.'

[40] See our Essay for notice of Lany. G.

[41] See our Essay in the present volume for notices of Lany. G.

[42] Perhaps a virgin-priestess being dedicated is intended. G.

[43] Balaami asinus. CR.

[44] By a singular misprint Barksdale thus reads:

'The thief which bless'd upon the Cross with Me,' &c. G.

[45] Barksdale thus renders the first couplet:

'Magdalen! thou prevent'st the morning light; =antic.i.p.atest But thy Sun was already in thy sight.' G.

[46] Phil. i. 23, t?? ?p????a? ???? e?? t? ??a??sa?.

[47] Barksdale, as before, thus renders the latter couplet:

'All things subside by their own weight: I think Thy lightness only, Peter, makes thee sink.'

[48] Christi scilicet. C. [The reference is to a runaway slave, whose punishment would be crucifixion. G.]

[49] Barksdale, as before, thus renders the latter couplet:

'After so many miracles done well, He that believes not is a miracle.'

[50] Query: Is there a punning-play on Judas' 'All Hail' (_i.e._ All Hallow) before the Betrayal? G.

[51] Cf. Crashaw's own hitherto unpublished poem, amplifying the epigram, in 'Airelles,' vol. i. pp. 185-6. G.

[52] Barksdale, as before, thus renders the closing couplet:

'Thou receiv'st and receiv'st not Christ; for He Comes not into thy house, but into thee.'

[53] Barksdale, as before, translates the last couplet thus:

'Enough! I have seen, have seen my Saviour: Beside Thee, Christ, I would see nothing more.'

[54] Joan. vii. 46.

[55] Cf. our vol. i. pp. 50-1. G.

[56] See vol. i. pp. 47-8, for Crashaw's own poem enlarging the epigram. G.

[57] Barksdale thus renders the latter couplet:

'That Saul was blind, I will not say: Sure Saul was _captus lumine_.'

[58] Ver. 24. Non enim mortua est puella, sed dormit. CR.

[59] For Crashaw's own full rendering of this epigram, see our vol. i.

pp. 48-9. G.

[60] Barksdale thus renders one couplet:

'See, O my guests, a Deity is here: The chast nymph saw a G.o.d, and blusht for fear.'

For Dryden's and others, see our Essay in this volume. G.

[61] Barksdale, as before, thus renders the last couplet:

'To see Christ was first in my desire: Next, having seen Thee, forthwith to expire.'

[62] Barksdale, as before, inserts an anonymous epigram on the same subject as _supra_, being the only one not by Crashaw in the volume. It is as follows: '40. Mulier Canaanitis. Matt. 15. _Femina tam fortis, &c._

'O woman, how great is that faith of thine!

_Fides_ more than a grammar's feminine.'