New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-03-09

Gather life's roses whilst you may,
To-morrow they'll be lying

Tomorrow they'll be lying.
Bythe-by, while we have this thought Of Her
rick before us, it may amuse our readers to have
us trace out its curious poetic history Wewill
begin with its repeated employment by the poets
Of our own tongue.
First we will place Spenser, as coming closest
to the turn of Herrickss idea and expression,
50 as to be his probable original: IN the Faery
Queen, B. 2, c. u;
Gather therefore the rose, whilst yet is prime;
For comes Age that will her pride leftover:
Gather the rose Of Love whilst yet is time
Whilst loving thou mayst loved be, with equal crime.
Then, in Shakspeare's Veaus and .4d0nts,
we have almost parody:
Make use of time; let not advantage slim: A
Beauty within itself would not be wasted
Fair flowers, that not gathered in their prime,
Rot and consume themselves, in little time.
Next We descend to Milton, little the pre-
decessor of Herrick: In the Cons,,s, he has the
whole thought:
Ifyoulet slip time, like neglected rose,
y wthers on the stalk, with laDguish'd head.
Next arrives, soon after Herrick, Waller; who
expands and deeorates the whole idea:
Go, lovely rose t4
n Tell her that wastes her time and me-
q9 That now she knows F.-Z
When do iken her to thee,
How fair and sweet she seems to be
Tell her, that's young,
Yet shuns to have her graces sped,
That bad she sprung
In places where abide,
sne must have uncommended died.
Small is the worth
o. beauty from the light retired.
Bid her come forth,
Suffer herself to be desired.
AND not SO blush to be admired!
Then die that she s4
The common fate Of all things rare
In thee may see
HOW small part of time they share,
That are so wondrous sweet and fair! #@5
Now, all this is large loan, taken by our
nards out Of Tasso; by Tasso out of Pohtian;
by Politian out of Catullus, whose distinct
marks, almost unchanged, are upon it ALL In
the Gierttsaiemme, XVI, IA, Is, we have al
follows:
Deb mira (egli caut6) spnntar la rosa
5s# BAL verde suo, modesto virginela
Che meSzo aperta ancora mezRo ascosa,
Quanto 81 mostra men, tanto piu bella
Eeeo, poi, nude IL sen, ga baldenzosa
pIspiega eeco, poi, langae; par queIa,
Quella nom par, che dssiata ayanti
fn d mile don2elle mile amanti.
Cost trapassa, al trapassar dun giorno
Della vita mortale IL fore Ell verde
NJ psrche 1ndietro facca april ritorno,
q rnfiore ella mai, nj 81 rinyerde
Sogiiam Ia rosa in sui mattno adorno
y III questo di, che tosto ii seren perde
Gogliam dAmor la rosa amiamo or quando
P4otc
In Politians 0rfso, he bids his pipe tell his
mistress the same persuasive tale, in fewer |
words.
Digit fstoa mia! come via fueae
Gogii ami insieme bellezza isnclla;
digl come il tempo c dietrugge
Ne l'eta persia mai 81 rinoyella:
Bgli che sappi usar forma bella
Che sempre mai non viola.
Finally, here is, from Catullus's Carmen
sanptaafe, the common and obvious original of
80 many;
Ut fos in septs seeratus naseitur hortis
ignotus pecori, nullo convulsus aratro
9uen muleen aura frmat, educat imber;
MUTT ilnm puer muitn optavere puella
Idem cum tenui carptus dedorut nngu
Null ilum pueri, uulle optavere puellm
eievlfgo, dunn intacta manet, dun cara suis est
The Italians have developed the idea of Ca
Julius the English, except Waller, shortened
the Italian expression of that idea, while they
retained its added particulars.