New-York tribune., 1868-08-27
Npw-yoRK DAILY TRIBUNE THURSDAY. AUGUST 27 1868

muses. making sacred mount Of their tears 9t iheg
icf levin, Cor fbat the twOtOpt mount divine,
aud prrlaus this is too far-fetched = IeauiIs, if
should vs. ~ not he willing 10 allow that IT. ~ ti,os b;s
So many p0cts of his time and oil c'tIIeI d I'm,
ov., bel ,ed Sr,enspr among them-he aIoNeu lini @
self the freedom of this OF HellcOn lo ~ ~ ~ H.
which however it may be found iaul' iasf Lo d.
score of neglect of cassicallJy' C'in & ,na,,. v,e
fDdd an the core of poeticaiuess. Beside may may We
moi set of the weil-ch0sen ephGt 81 lii ohont
plied TO HelicOn. against the u99Vo ILot ar least
Which "a much dust has been raisedi nut ~ ~ i' -
shows both learning and poetry. ~ ~ nag Iy, VI,
marked before leaving tins 0cta. 10. & ~ as bad
chelsea objects to the Collocallon t,s n II were
grammar But. we have said oe,,2iiT, ,,2iiTt,iHi - opfbor
fiat would be no argument against Nitou a-uti -
shin for he is careless Of grammar We IinSt III tia
Der that 1t was far from being rs L nrenosions ~
os we have i and with regard 10 tne PIcP9sstlolI1
especially, the usage OF old times NJ oS hloI1te
ittsity from ours but governor pS ~ IL
cris and narficipIes with their following pftp0sl-
tions is not yet everywhere agreed upon bh'' lso
this 60 MtOn's grammar was 100 i'oSo io' "' "
OU'0 '' gfiis1 ThiiE not oG'i reader. me less bes
Sleeping I'm tins narrow Cai
Than II my ashes did he ma
Under some stately pyramid
liza rich tomb makes happy theh'
That Bee was happier inr th3h men
Who busy ia the thylny NOod
Was fcttcrCd by the golden HOou
Which from the m9cr-WeepiinE 'foo
DistillCth down so pleuteousiy5
For 80 this little wanton III .
A tomb whose beauty might compare
with CeOpatra's sepulchrc.'
The last two lines of the first qnatran strongly
rocslI two lines in Millions Eptaph on Shakespeare,
which Cleveland says, was the frst OF Mlltohs
pieces that was published since they first appeared
among other recOmnendatOry verses preiXed To tne
folio edition of ShHkeSpearcs plays IN 1852 but with
out Millions name or initials. We shall see, little
further on that thnSe same verses Is contained
sentiment borrowed from the same source 10 which
we owe the fancy of the Bee in Amber in this new
found Epaph; the coincidence OF the two verbal re-
scmblances the same poem has NOT thus l We De-
leve been pointed out 1t Is, at least worth nothH
The lines in the Epaph that recall those III the
Epitaph on Shakespeare are:
or that his haliowed reliques should be hid
Under starry pointing pyramid"
Here beside tie rhyme, we have tho word "Telques'
used in the fourth line Of the new Epaph. but only
used in one other place by Milton PARADISE Lost, l
The pretty fancy of the Bee is almost direct
deriug of an Epigram of Martial. Book ~. ep 51
"Ilcutbus Heiiadum rams dun ypeia rtpL
FuXit IN Obstauem suciua gutta icTani
OuR dun miratur WDcui sc rore tenerl,
Concrete ricuit viucta rcpcnte gclu.
Ne tiH rCcili Ulaeeas. Cleopatra scpulcro,
V.peias tumuO n0bilore Jacet"
But in Martial 10 is viper, ana not bee, VINO rs
caught i'm the drop Gf amber change which Mil
ton made for the sake OF poetry IT. ais0 10 DC
noticed, rs was first pointed ont by iIot Morley,
that from this same epIgrlm Milton borrowed the
Thought coutaled ia he closing line OF the epliaph
~" " And 80 sepGlclred in such pomp dostns
That Bings Tor such tomb. would wish % die"
Here also We have the word sepuchrcd, when
ia AL It's roots is rare one with Milton lie uses H.
emf form 'sepulcheredN y "scpulChTe,' "sepulchTes"
and "scpulchral' Thus ind in the two Epltaphs,
two words employed, "reiiques" ana sePuichre"
rarely used by Milton and use made, III each. of the
same Epigran OF Martial, beside that each contains
the same rhyme, " hid " and pyramid. lt would
Seem that these condolences could hardly be acCi-
dental, but we arc aware that they may be- as well
used 10 subStanate charge Of forgery or plagiarism
as q claim OF authenticity.
Next to the word "ilclcon" perhaps the word
"thymy" has rOused as much argument as any IN
the poem. The question ~. can thyme grow IN a
wood and if ID cannot, would Milton have character
lied wood by that adlecuYel LORD Ninchllsaa mas
the honor of first picking this flaw and, though
Shakespeare is remembered to have said or sung.
"Iknow bank where the wild thyme grows"
which bank the stage dlrec ton shows 10 have been IN
wood; and though Milton himself makes 1t grow IN
forest places
With wild thyme and the gaddlng vine o.crgrOwn -
vet these are mere nicTences and thus faI botan
ist nor herbalist has come to Millions aid against
these skin for-skin critics. But, in truth are they
not too exactng IN demanding botanical accuracy Of
man who did not know better than 70 write
G9Tggs ~ tsa i.f.S f Tss5STag ss55ae or tho Vn''
Seeing" as T. w tTgles, July ~ remarks, that
n and eatns sgS % %s 2@ no aSe the and
knew but little Of plants and flowers. He wrote his
carly poems in the country II IS truc but. although
the impression they make upon us Is that they are
written by lover Of nature detailed examination
shows little mi lute observation and few character
stic touches of description. We believe that II s IN
the second volume of Modern Painters that Mr.. Rus
kin so skilfuy dIssects the epithets applied 20 the
flowers. m Iycilas. and shows how wanting they
BESIDE there Is q sense, and II is the ono that we
took for Millions when inst read this Epltaph,
by accepting which il seems 20 us that we gain
good deal for the poetry OF the INES ana by winch
Milton is made free OF the charge Of naccuracy. We
understood the poets meaning 20 be, that the Bee
was busy in the thyme, which 20 him. IN proport on
10 his size was a wood. This thyme stood near the
Amber-dr0pping trees and the gum. distilng down,
imprisoned both the thyme and the little Bee busted
among IT'S branches In one royal tomb. Perhaps.
however, tins may DO considered too pretty Tor
Milton.
Lord Winchsea objects that amber is a rare sub
stance and that therefore, Milton would never have
said IL was distilled down "plcntcOusly" But cor
respondent reminds him that IL necessary that
the amber should be the precious kind, since there
are other gums of the nature and called by the
same name, which do exist in large quantities
(neither is the precious amber so rare as the Larl
would have as Think and IN which ties and straws,
and bits OF moss are continually found Imprisoned.
Yet, ns If one bunder on the same word were not
enough. the luckless nObleman complains that Mil
ton would never have used the word "penteousy'
In anv case moi knowing that he does use 1t Para
disc Lost W. 1872 where also 1t closes line and TO
which pienteously
Tho waters generated by their knds'
"In nthis little bed my dust
hClrtain'd round here ntrust;
While my pure and nobler part
Lies entOmbd IN every heart"
Here, again, tho skeptcal Earl is bothered with
the grammar OF more pure and nobler" But, as
Mr.. Morley acutely observes, Any reader may, by
tral OF other possible methOus OF expression as
cover for himself that the best emphasis Is obtained
by repeating and varying the form that expresses
the souls eAatatiOn; so varying 1t as also tc give
simple force 10 the word 'prre which il a charac-
tersto epthet more frequent IN the works of Milton
than believe in those of any other English poetD
As for the QuatTain itself it may DO well to remark
that the thought contained in i is precisely the cen
tra thought Of the Epitaph on Shakespeare, that
we have the striking coincidence OF the occurrence,
in both poems, Of the same idea borrowed from
another poet but turned. and exalted in the turn
ing as To lead from the cODCet of " fly in am
Der" the inspiring thought that the dead may hnd
a glorious sepuchTe IN the memory OF those who