Religion (Ignorance and Impiety the Iawaked spirit of the most-knowing and divine HOMER calls, to attendance of our Heroical Prince, the most honoured and uncorrupted hero, the EARL OF PE

BROKE, &C.

ABOVE all others may your honour shine, As, past all others, your ingenuous

beams

Exhale into your grace the form divine Of godlike learning; whose exiled

streams

Of sacred virtue. Now the barbarous

witch,

oul Ignorance, sits charming of them back To their first fountain, in the great and rich; hough our great Sovereign counter-check her charms,

Who in all learning reigns so past example,

et (with her) Turkish policy puts on arms, To raze all knowledge in man's Christian Temple.

u following yet our king, your guard redouble:

re are those streams that these times cannot trouble.

VIII.

THE RIGHT GRACIOUS ILLUSTRATOR OF VIRTUE, AND WORTHY OF THE FAVOUR ROYAL, THE EARL

OF MONTGOMERY.

HERE runs a blood, fair Earl, through your clear veins

That well entitles you to all things noble, hich still the living Sydneian soul maintains,

And your name's ancient noblesse doth redouble;

or which I needs must tender to your graces

This noblest work of man, as made your right:

ad though Ignoblesse all such works defaces

As tend to learning and the soul's delight, et since the sacred Pen doth testify That Wisdom (which is Learning's natural birth)

the clear mirror of God's Majesty And image of his goodness here in earth, you the daughter wish, respect the mother;

ne cannot be obtain'd without the other.

IX.

TO THE MOST LEARNED AND NOBLE
CONCLUDER OF THE WAR'S ART,
AND THE MUSES', THE LORD
L'ISLE, ETC.

he first prescriber and concluder of both, divine HOMER, in all observation presents both.

TOR let my pains here

afford

g-honour'd

Lord,

Fail of your ancient nobly-good respec

*The later editions read "to stand close."

As being a Grecian, puts on English arms And to the hardy natures in these clime Strikes up his high and spiritful alarms, That they may clear earth of those im pious crimes,

Whose conquest, though most faintly a apply,

203

Your youth hath won the mastery of your mind,

It is so rare in blood so high as yours
To entertain the humble skill of truth,
And put a virtuous end to all your powers,
That th' honour Age asks we give you
in youth.

As HOMER sings of his Antilochus, The parallel of you in every kind,

Valiant, and mild, and most ingenious. Go on in virtue, after death and grow, And shine like Leda's twins, my Lord and you.

Ever most humbly and faithfully devoted to you, and all the rare patrons of divine Homer, GEO. CHAPMAN.

XVII.

To our ENGLISH ATHENIA, chaste Arbitress of Virtue and Learning, THE LADY ARABELLA, revived HOMER submits cause of renewing her former conference with his original spirit, and prays her judicial grace to his English conversion.

WHAT to the learn'd Athenia can be given, As offering, fitter than this Fount of Learning,

Of Wisdom, Fortitude, all gifts of heaven? That, by them both the height, breadth, depth, discerning

Of this divine soul, when of old he lived, Like his great Pallas leading through

his wars,

Her fair hand, through his spirit, thus revived,

May lead the reader, show his commentors,

All that have turn'd him into any tongue; And judge if ours reveal not mysteries That others never knew, since never sung,

Not in opinion, but that satisfies. Grace then, great Lady, his so gracious Muse,

And to his whole work his whole spirit infuse.