The purple island : a poem / by Phineas Fletcher ; with the critical remarks of the late Henry Headley, and a biographical sketch by William Jaques.

  • Phineas Fletcher
Date:
1816
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The purple island : a poem / by Phineas Fletcher ; with the critical remarks of the late Henry Headley, and a biographical sketch by William Jaques. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Great Prince of shepherds ! than thy heavens more high, Low as our earth, here serving, ruling there ; Who taught’st our death to live, thy life to die ; Who, when we broke thy bonds, our bonds wouldst bear; Who reignedst in thy Heaven, yet felt’st our Hell ; Who(God)bought’stman, whomman (tho’God’s) did sell, Who in our flesh, our graves, and worse, our hearts wouldst dwell: XXXII. Great Prince of shepherds ! thou who late didst deign To lodge thyself within this wretched breast; Most wretched breast, such guest to entertain, Yet oh most happy lodge in such a guest ! Thou First and Last, inspire thy sacred skill ; Guide thou my hand, grace thou my artless quill; So shall I first begin, so last shall end thy will- XXXIII. Hark then, ah, hark ! ye gentle shepherd crew ; An isle I fain would sing, an island fair ; A place too seldom view’d, yet still in view; Near as ourselves, yet farthest from our care ; Which we by leaving find, by seeking lost; A foreign home ; a strange, tlio’ native coast; Most obvious to all, yet most unknown to most. XXXIV. Coeval with the world in her nativity ; Which tho’ it now hath passed thro’ many ages, And still retains a natural proclivity To ruin, compass’d with a thousand rages Of foe-men’s spite, which still this island tosses ; Yet ever grows more prosp’rous by her crosses, By with’ring, springing fresh, and rich by often losses. C
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