The Sun.
London, England, 1823-11-08 00:00:00

CHRISTOPHER SMART.

( From the Kentish Gazelle.)
(No. IL)
To prove that CIinISTOPIIER SMART Wits a post of the first
order, I gave suite selections from his divine poems, in your
Paper of Friday, and with the same view,' I now off'er two
other pi
ssages from his poem on the" Eternity of the Supreme
Being.' These will, I confidently hope, convince the public,
that the poet is worthy of their highest consideration, and that
his works should be found in the library of every admirer of
English literature. The following recapitulation of the pe-
rishing of those objects, the passing away of which, into empty
nothingness, appeared to the writer as the grandest effect of the
world's destruction. I will not venture to criticise; but I may
safely say the concluding lines must be placed amonst his hap.
piest efforts.
But tho' the earth shall to the centre perish,
Nor leave behind e'en chaos ; the' the air
With all the elements must pass away,
Vain as an ideet's dream ; tins' the huge rocks,
That brandish the tall cedars on their tops,
With humbler vales must to perdition yield ;
Tho' the gilt Sun, and silver-tressed Moon
With all her bright retinue, must be lost;
Yet THOU, GREAT rATIIER of the world, surviv'et •
Eternal, as thou wert : yet still survives
The soul of man immortal, perfect now,
And candidate thr unexepiring joys.
For sublimity of thought, and grandeur of expression, the
next extract surely stands pre-eminent, and 1 envy not that
man his understanding, or his heart, who' can read this pas.
tinge without feeling the most awful sentiments of which our
nature is susceptible. •
He comes ! He comes ! the awful trump I hear,
The flaming sword's intolerable blaze
I see ! He comes ! th' Archangel from above.
" Arise, ye tenants of the silent grave,
" Awake incorruptible and arise :
" From east to west, from the Antarctic pole
" To regions Hyperboreari, all ye sons,
" Ye sons of Adam, and ye heirs of Heaven—
" Arise, ye tenants of the silent grave,
" Awake incorruptible and arise."
About the year 17re4, the pecuniary embarrassments of Smart,
acting upon an imagination unusually warm, pro uced tern-
porary derangement, the most melancholy visitation to which
. d
humanity is subject ; and the paroxysms werCso violent as to
render confinement absolutely necessary. Upon the first ap-
pearance of this dreadful malady, to the honour of Dr. Samuel
Johnson be it recorded, that he wrote several papers for a pe-
riodical publication, in which poor Smart was concerned, to
entitle him to a sham of the profits, anti thus aided by the ge.
nerosity of other friends, were the Poet and his family sup-
ported, and secured from want. The authenticity of this anec-
dote may be relied on,and I am more anxioustomalte it known
as I do not find it mentioned by boy of the Doctor's biogra-
phers. While Smart was confined, anti tarefunificept from any
thing calculated to excite his sensitive mind's, he composed a
'poem, which he called, a Song to David, and the Means, of
writing being tas it was considered properly) eernoeed,
lie wrote his production on the wall of his root°, with
the ring of a key ; and, this extraordinary piece remain.
ed unknown until his happy restoration to reason. This
poem though containing proofs of the author's aliena-
tion of mind, abounds in the most beautiful poetical ima-
gery, and While it proves beyond a doubt, the religious
enthusiasm of the writer, indicates that the muses constantly
occupied his thoughts. I shallnot describe the argument of
the poem, but content myself with giving a few of its stanzas'.
It is proper to add, that some of Smart's friends doubted his
having written it, because he did not 7publish it with hie•other
works, but the fact of its being his is beyond dispute ; indeed,
I have one of the first 4to. editions, printed far the author in
um, by Fletcher, at the Oxforel•Theetre,•in St. Paul's Church.
yard : it opens thus :
Oh Thou, that sit'st upon a throne,
With harp of high majestic tone,
To praise the king of kings;
And voice of heav'n-aseending swell,
Which, while its deeper notes excell,
Clear, as a clarion, rings ;
To bless each valley, grove and coast,
And charm the cherubs to the.post,
Of gratitude in throngs ;
ATnodkeseenp,dtltiheedlayeasrotno
Zhlison a'escomuonutn, mount,
With dances and with songs :
0 servant of Ood's holiest charge, •
The Minister of praise at large,
'Which thou may's neerrreceive ;
From thy blest mansion hail and hear,
From topmost eminence appear
To this the wreath I weave.
The song of God—the mighty source
Of all chino... Abe stupenusforce
On which all strength depenthr;
whose
eyes,
From whose right amt, beneatho
All period, Dow's, apd enterprise
•
Commences, reigns, and ends,
This last stanza transcends all praise of mine, and therefore
I shall now dismiss the subject for the present, leaving your
readers to form their own conclusions. My next paper will fur-
nish further remarks on his other writings.
Margate, 6th Oct. 1823.