Evening star., 1925-06-10

speaking people have treasured
Through the centuries, taking its place
with the immortal actions and words
OF John Paul Jones, Decatur, Archie
Butt and a host of others.
| Sidney, whom Taine describes as "a
great lord and a man of action accom-
Iplished in every kind of culture" was
born in 1854, dying in the Netherlands
in 1886. Ben Jonson was 13 years
old at the time of his heroic end
Sir Philip became q great favorite
with Queen Elizabeth, who thought Sc
much of this ornament of her court
itradition hath 1t, that she refused tc
aid him to become King of Poland, tc
which position he could have been
elected in one of those changeful
crises for which that kingdom has
been noted.
He was a Jewel of the court" such
| a sparkling one, indeed, that the Queen
simply refused to back him in his
project with good hard coin of the
realm. One wonders about that old
Queen. She certainly had a strange
hold on her day and ase-how much
of 1t was reality how much the faWn
| ing praise of eourtiers?
Taine gives an interesting anecdotf
lin his History of English Litera
ture'o to show the '.go.getter' spirit
OF Philip Sidney. He says that this
warrior poet wrote TO his fathers sec
retary: Mr.. MOlineux, il ever know
you to do so much as read any letter ]
write to my father, without his com
mandment or my consent will thrust
my dagger into you"
This was the customer who wrote
the Arcadia" famous but practically
! neverread romance, one of the very
| first of its kind, @ strange hodge -podgs
of adventures, marvellous happenings
poetry and what-not. am afraid Si-
Philip would look a long time for &
publisher today.
Perhaps that is not exactly fair, fo
If Sidney lived today he would chang,
his style to meet the demands OF tn,
twentieth century. and his Arcadia
would be a tale filled with airplane
instead OF dragons, flappers instead o
: shepherdesses.
/ His Defense of Poesie" and hi
! sonnetS "Astropifel and Stella" ar
still recalled in all histories of Eng
Lit" as students delight to call it,
| His conclusion to the former worl
will interest all modern lovers @
verse: $50 that since the excellencie
of poetry may bee SO easily and IS,
| JubLE dflu L1c 1O%-cTeeD
ing objections so soone troddei
downe, it not being an Art of lyes
but of true doctrine; not of effeni
nateness, but of notable stirring O
courage; not of abusing mans wit
but of strengthening mans wit; no
banished. but honoured by Plato; le
us rather plant more Laure1s for t,
lingarland the Poets heads than SUI
fer the ill-savoursd breath of suci
wrong speakers, once to blow upol
the cleare springs of Poesie."
Sir Sidney was a 'he-man" if ther,
4 ever was one, ready to attack s 90
with 800. and lose his life. as he did
yet equally ready to do battle agains
those who declared poetry only TO
women.
Whoever his Stella was, he though
a great deal of her. Listen to him
Stella. soveraigne of my Joy
Stella. Stare of heaynnIy hre,
Stella. ioad-sfRrre Of desire.
| Stella, in whose shining eyes
Are the igfas of Cupid skiee
| Stella. whose voice when it speakes
| senses all asunder breakes:
| Stella, whose voice when II singeth,
| Angels to acquaintance bringeth.
! He ends, however, by transmitting
his love to spiritual heights, saying
Leave me, o Love, which reaches
but to dust, and thou my minde as
pire to higher things"
Ben Jonson and Philip Sidney--s,
unlike, yet SO alike as poets and fight
iers. Let US honor their memory.