The resurrection. A poem: Written by Mr. Addison. — Resurrectio delineata ad altare col. Magd. Oxon. English and Latin

Table of contents

- [frontispiece]

- [titlepage]

- THE PREFACE.

- RESURRECTIO DELINEATA Ad Altare Col. Magd. Oxon.

- THE RESURRECTION A POEM.

- BOOKS lately Printed for E. CURLL.

La Vergne inn. E Kirkall Sculp.

THE RESURRECTION. A POEM.

Written by Mr. ADDISON.

Venient citò Saecula, cum jam

Socius Calor ossa revisat,

Animataque Sanguine vivo

Habitacula pristina gestet.

Prud.

LONDON: Printed for E. CURLL in Fleet-street. 1718. Price Six Pence.

THE PREFACE.

THE following Lines are esteemed by the best Judges to be the finest Sketch of the Resurrection, that any Age or Language hath produced: Nor do their only Excellence consist in being an accurate Poem; but also in being an exact Copy of the Painter's[*]Original upon the Altar in Magdalen College; but so much improved with all the strongest Figures and most lively Embellishments of a poetical Description, that the Reader receives a double Satisfaction in seeing the two Sister-Arts so useful to each other in borrowing mutual Helps, and mutual Advantages.

It is, indeed, wonderful to find in the narrow Compass of so few Pages all the most dreadful Circumstances of that last terrible Crisis of Time: The Poem is a beautiful and succinct Epitome of all that hath or can ever be said on that important Subject; the very Text, which the ingenious Mr. Young hath so largely and elegantly paraphras'd upon in his excellent Poem on the LAST DAY.

Mr. Addison is to be distinguish'd thro' all his Performances both Latin and English, (and in his Latin, particularly in the following one, and that on the Peace of Riswick), by the strength of his Images, and by a forcible and unaffected vivacity of Expression, which none of our Moderns have attain'd to in so much Perfection; and which is very rarely to be met with even in any of the Antients since Virgil and Horace.

Having mention'd Mr. Addison, I cannot avoid congratulating my Country on his Preferment to one of her greatest Civil Employments; nor forbear observing how happy we are in a KING, who hath shown the World that he will distribute his Favours amongst those only, whom Merit and Virtue shall recommend to his Service.

With what uncommon Lustre must that Man appear to Posterity, who is not only the best Writer and most candid Patron of the Age he lives in; but also the finest Gentleman, the sincerest Friend, the most affectionate Husband, the most accomplish'd Statesman, and the most exemplary Christian? Under every one of these Views Mr. Addison gains the Esteem and Admiration even of the bitterest Enemies to that Cause which he so warmly espouses; of the most furious Partisans and the most prejudic'd of Mankind.

I must forbear to enlarge any farther on the Character of that truly great and good Man, lest I draw upon my self the imputation of a Flatterer, by relating what all the World (except himself only) will allow to be the severest Truth.

I shall make no excuse for offering the following Poem to the World in an English DRESS, and under all the Disadvantages of an imperfect Translation. I have often read it in the Original with the greatest Pleasure and Satisfaction; and I hope it will need no Apology to be willing to communicate so useful and sublime an Entertainment, in the best manner I can, to those of my Fellow-Subjects who are not qualify'd to read it in the Latin Original.

Notes

*
Old Fuller.
↵

RESURRECTIO DELINEATA Ad Altare Col. Magd. Oxon.

EGregios fuci tractus, calamique labores,

Surgentesque hominum formas, ardentiaque ora

Judicis, & simulacra modis pallentia miris

Terribilem visu pompam, Tu Carmine Musa

Pande novo, vatique sacros accende furores.

Olim Planitiem (quam nunc foecunda Colorum

Insignit Pictura) inhonesto & simplice cultu

Vestiit albedo, sed nè rima ulla priorem

Agnoscat faciem, mox fundamenta futurae

Substravit Pictor tabulae, humoremque sequacem

Per muros traxit; velamine moenia crasso

Squallent obducta, & rudioribus illita fucis.

Utque (polo nondum stellis fulgentibus apto)

Nè spatio moles immensa dehiscat inani,

Per cava coelorum, & convexa patentia latè

Hinc atque hinc interfusus fluitaverat Aether;

Mox radiante novum torrebat lumine mundum

Titan, & pallens alienos mitiùs ignes

Cynthia vibrabat; crebris nunc consitus astris

Scintillare polus, nunc fulgor Lacteus omne

Diffluere in Coelum, longoque albescere tractu.

Sic, operis postquam lusit primordia Pictor,

Dum sordet paries, nullumque fatetur Apellem,

Cautius exercet calamos, atque arte tenacem

Confundit viscum, succosque attemperat, omnes

Inducit tandem formas; apparet ubique

Mutà cohors, & Picturarum vulgus inane.

Aligeris muri vacat ora suprema Ministris,

Sparsaque per totam Coelestis turba Tabellam

Raucos inspirat lituos, buccasque tumentes

Inflat, & attonitum replet clangoribus orbem.

Defunctis sonus auditur, tabulamque per imam

Picta gravescit humus, terris emergit apertis

Progenies rediviva, & plurima surgit imago.

Sic, dum foecundis Cadmus dat semina sulcis,

Terra tumet praegnans, animataque gleba laborat,

Luxuriatur ager segete spirante, calescit

Omne solum, crescitque virorum prodiga messis.

Jam pulvis varias terrae dispersa per oras,

Sive inter venas teneri concreta metalli,

Sensim diriguit, seu sese immiscuit herbis,

Explicita est; molem rursùs coalescit in unam

Divisum funus, sparsos prior alligat artus

Junctura, aptanturque iterum coeuntia membra.

Hic nondum specie perfecta refurgit imago,

Vultum truncata, atque inhonesto vulnere nares

Manca, & adhuc deest informi de Corpore multum▪

Paulatim in rigidum hic vita insinuata cadaver

Motu aegro vix dum redivivos erigit artus.

Inficit his horror vultus, & imagine tota

Fusa per attonitam pallet formido figuram.

Detrahe quin oculos Spectator, & ora nitentem

Si poterint perferre diem, medium inspice murum,

Qua sedet orta Deo proles, Deus ipse, sereno

Lumine persusus, radiisque inspersus acutis.

Circùm tranquillae funduntur tempora flammae,

Regius ore vigor spirat, nitet Ignis ocellis,

Plurimaque effulget Majestas Numine toto.

Quantùm dissimilis, quantum o! mutatus ab illo,

Qui peccata luit cruciatus non sua, vitam

Quando luctantem cunctata morte trahebat!

Sed frustrà voluit defunctum Golgotha numen

Condere, dum victa fatorum lege triumphans

Nativum petiit coelum, & super aethera vectus

Despexit Lunam exiguam, Solemque minorem.

Jam latus effossum; & palmas ostendit utrasque,

Vulnusque infixum pede, clavorumque recepta

Signa, & transacti quondam vestigia ferri.

Umbrae huc felices tendunt, numerosaque coelos

Turba petunt, atque immortalia dona capessunt.

Matres, & longae nunc reddita Corpora vitae

Infantum, Juvenes, Pueri, innuptaeque Puellae

Stant circum, atque avidos jubar immortale bibentes

Affigunt oculos in Numine; Laudibus aether

Intonat, & laeto ridet Coelum omne triumpho.

His Amor impatiens conceptaque gaudia mentem

Funditus exagitant, imoque in pectore fervent.

Non aequè exultat flagranti corde Sibylla,

Hospite cum tumet incluso, & praecordia fentit

Mota Dei stimulis, nimioque calentia Phoebo.

Quis tamen ille novus perstringit lumina fulgor?

Quam Mitra effigiem distinxit Pictor, honesto

Surgentem è tumulo, Alatoque Satellite fultam?

Agnosco faciem, vultu latet alter in illo

Wainfletus, sic ille oculos, sic ora ferebat:

Eheu quando animi par invenietur Imago!

Quando alium similem virtus habitura! —

Irati innocuas securus Numinis iras

Aspicit, impavidosque in Judice figit ocellos.

Quin age, & horrentem commixtis Igne tenebris

Jam videas scenam, multo hic stagnantia suco

Moenia flagrantem liquefacto Sulphure rivum

Fingunt, & falsus tanta arte accenditur Ignis,

Ut toti metuas tabulae, ne flamma per omne

Livida serpat opus, tenuesque absumpta recedat

Pictura in cineres, propriis peritura favillis.

Huc turba infelix agitur, turpisque videri

Infrendet dentes, & rugis contrahit ora.

Vindex à tergo implacabile saevit, & ensem

Fulmineum vibrans acie flagrante scelestos

Jam Paradiseis iterum depellit ab oris.

Heu! quid agat tristis? quò se coelestibus iris

Subtrahat? o! quantum vellet nunc aethere in alto

Virtutem colere! at tandem suspiria ducit

Nequicquam, & sero in lacrymas effunditur; obstant

Sortes non revocandae, & inexorabile Numen.

Quàm varias aperit veneres Pictura! periti

Quot calami legimus vestigia! quanta colorum

Gratia se profert! tales non discolor Iris

Ostendat, vario cum lumine floridus imber

Rore nitet toto, & gutta scintillat in omni.

O fuci nitor, o pulchri durate Colores!

Nec, Pictura, tuae languescat gloria formae,

Dum lucem videas, qualem exprimis ipsa, supremam▪

Jo. Addison,
è Coll. Magd. 1699.

THE RESURRECTION A POEM.

THE Pencil's glowing Lines and vast Command,

And Mankind rising from the Painter's Hand,

The awful Judge array'd in beamy Light,

And Spectres trembling at the dreadful sight,

To sing, O! Muse, the pious Bard inspire,

And waken in his Breast the Sacred Fire.

The hallow'd Field, a bare white Wall of late,

Now cloath'd in gaudy Colours, shines in State;

And lest some little Interval confess

It's ancient simple Form, and homely Dress,

The skilful Artist laid o'er every Part,

The first Foundation of his future Art,

O'er the wide Frame his ductile Colours led,

And with thick Daubings all the Wall o'erspread.

As e'er you spangling Orbs were hung on high,

Lest one great Blank should yawn thro' boundless Sky,

Thro' the wide heavenly Arch, and trackless Road

In Azure volumes the pure Aether flow'd;

The Sun at length burns out, intensely bright,

And the pale Crescent sheds her borrow'd Light;

With thick-sown Stars the radiant Pole is crown'd,

Of milky Glories a long Tract is found,

O'erflows, and whitens all the Heav'ns around.

So when the Groundwork of the Piece was laid,

Nor yet the Painter had his Art display'd,

With slower Hand, and Pencil more divine

He blends each Colour, heightens ev'ry Line,

Till various Forms the breathing Picture wears,

And a mute Groupè of Images appears.

Celestial Guards the topmost height attend,

And Crouds of Angels o'er the Wall descend;

With their big Cheeks the deaf'ning Clarions wind,

Whose dreadful Clangors startle all Mankind;

Ev'n the Dead hear; the Lab'ring Graves Conceive,

And the swoln Clod in Picture seems to heave:

Ten thousand Worlds revive to better Skies,

And from their Tombs the thronging Coarses rise.

So when fam'd Cadmus sow'd the fruitful Field,

With pregnant Throws the quicken'd Furrow swell'd;

From the warm Soil sprung up a warlike Train,

And Human harvests cover'd all the Plain.

And now from ev'ry Corner of the Earth

The scatter'd Dust is call'd to second Birth;

Whether in Mines it form'd the rip'ning Mass,

Or humbly mix'd, and flourish'd in the Grass:

The sever'd Body now unites again,

And kindred Atoms rally into Men;

The various Joynts resume their ancient Seats,

And ev'ry Limb its former Task repeats.

Here an imperfect Form returns to Light,

Not half renew'd, dishonest to the Sight;

Maim'd of his Nose appears his blotted Face,

And scarce the Image of a Man we trace:

Here by Degrees infus'd, the vital Ray

Gives the first Motion to the panting Clay:

Here on the guilty Brow pale Horrors glare,

And all the Figure labours with Despair.

From Scenes like these now turn thy wond'ring Sight,

And, if thou can'st withstand such Floods of Light,

Look! where thy SAVIOUR fills the middle Space;

The Godhead op'ning in his awful Face;

See! what mild Beams their gracious Influence shed,

And how the pointed Radiance crowns his Head!

Around his Temples lambent Glories shine,

And on his Brow sits Majesty Divine;

His Eye-balls lighten the Celestial Fires,

And ev'ry Grace to Speak the God conspires.

How chang'd from him, who came to be Betray'd,

And who for Man the precious Ransom paid!

Who did on Earth such arduous Toils sustain,

And patient bore an irksom Life of Pain:

But Death and Hell subdu'd, the Deity

Ascends Triumphant to his native Sky;

And rising far above th' Aethereal Height,

The Sun and Moon diminish'd to his Sight.

And now to View he bare'd his bleeding side,

And his pierc'd Hands and Feet, in Crimson dy'd;

Still did the Nails the recent Scars reveal,

And bloody Tracks of the transfixing Steel.

Hither in Crouds the Blessed shape their Flight,

And throng the Mansions of Immortal Light;

The fruitful Matron and the spotless Maid,

And Infants, with a longer Life repaid,

Stand round; and drinking in Celestial Rays,

On their REDEEMER fix with ardent Gaze,

And all the Heav'ns resound with Hymns of Praise.

Each Bosom Kindles with Seraphic Joy,

And conscious Raptures all the Soul employ.

Not equal Raptures swell the Sybil's Breast,

When by the inmate Deity possess'd;

When Phoebus the Prophetic Maid inspires,

And her Limbs tremble with convulsive Fires.

But whence this sudden Blaze of dazling Light!

What Mitred Brow is that, which greets my Sight?

Forth from a stately Tomb he lifts his Head,

And to the Skies on Angels Wings is sped.

I know the Form— alike the Look and Mien,

Another [*] WAINFLET in his Face is seen:

When will, alas! such spotless Worth be found?

When will a Mind with equal Virtues crown'd?

Fearless he sees almighty Vengeance rise,

And fixes on his GOD his guiltless Eyes.

But now far different Scenes our Wonder claim,

Horrent with Darkness and Malignant Flame▪

〈1 page missing〉

The labour'd Wall delusive Picture hides

And liquid Sulphur rolls in burning Tides;

So Strong, so fierce, the painted Flames arise,

The pale Spectator views them with surprize;

Believes the blazing Wall indeed to burn,

And fears the Frame should into Ashes turn.

Hither in ghastly Crouds the Guilty haste,

Obscene with Horrour and with shame defac'd;

With haggard Looks the gloomy Fiends appear,

They gnash their foamy Teeth, and frown severe.

A stern Avenger, with relentless Mind,

Waving a flamy Faulchion, stalks behind;

With which, as once from Paradise he drove,

He drives the Sinner from the Joys above.

What shall he do forlorn? or whither fly,

To shun the Ken of an All-seeing Eye?

What would he give amongst the Just to shine,

And fall before Omnipotence Divine?

But oh! too late in Sighs he vents his Woe,

Too late his Eyes with gushing Tears o'erflow!

Vain are his Sighs and fruitless are his Tears,

Vengeance and Justice stop th' Almighty's Ears.

See! with what various Charms the Piece is fraught,

And with what pregnant Marks of Judgment wrought!

With how much Grace the living Colours glow!

Not brighter Colours paint the watry Bow;

When the fresh Show'rs her various Lustre share,

And ev'ry Drop with Spangles decks the Air.

O! may the Painter's Labours never fade,

Nor wastful Time their shining Charms invade,

'Till the first Dawn of that Eternal Light,

Which by his fruitful Pencil shines so Bright.

FINIS.

Notes

*
William Wainflet, Bishop of Winchester. He was the Founder of Magdalen College, and the Hall adjoining.
↵

BOOKS lately Printed for E. CURLL.

- I. THE Artful Wife, a Comedy. Price 1 s.

- II. The Poetical Works of Nicolas Rowe, Esq Pr. 4 s.

- III. Esther Queen of Persia. A Poem in Four Books. By Mr. Henley. Pr. 1 s. 6 d.

- IV. Boileau's Lutrin: and his Art of Poetry. Adorn'd with Cuts. Pr. 2 s. 6 d.

- V. The Poetical Works of the late Earl of Halifax. To which is prefix'd his Lordship's Life, including the History of his Times, and a Character of his Writings, by Mr. Addison. Pr. 5 s.

- VI. Letters, Poems, and Tales, Amorous, Satyrical and Gallant, which pass'd between Dr. Swift, Mrs. Long, the Lady Mary Chambers, Lady Betty Cromwell, Sir William Wyvil. Col. Codrington, and other Persons of Distinction. Pr. 2 s.

- VII. Mr. Dennis' Remarks upon Mr. Pope's Translation of Homer. Pr. 1 s. 6 d.

- VIII. The Confederates. A Farce. By Mr. Joseph Gay, Pr. 1 s.

- IX. The Hoop-Petticoat: An Heroi-Comical Poem. By Mr. Joseph Gay. Pr. 1 s.

- X. The Art of Dress. An Heroi-Comical Poem. Pr. 1 s.

- XI. The Rape of the Smock. An Heroi-Comical Poem. Pr. 1 s.

- XII. Mr. Pomfret's Poems, Pr. 2 s.

- XIII. Mr. Young's Poem on the Last Day. The Third Edition corrected throughout, and very much improv'd. Adorn'd with three curious Cuts. 12o Pr. 1 s.

- XIV. The History of the Lady Jane Gray. A Poem in two Books. By Mr. Young. Adorn'd with Cuts. 8o. Pr. 1 s.

- XV. Mac-Dermot: Or, The Irish-Fortune-Hunter. A Poem in Six Cantos. Pr. 1 s.

- XVI. Pope's Miscellany, &c. in Two Parts, Compleat. Price 1 s.

- XVII. The Rape of the Bucket: An Heroi-Comical Poem. 8o. Pr. 1 s. 6 d.

- XVIII. A Second Collection of Poems. By Matthew Prior, Esq 8o. Pr. 1 s.

- XIX. Mr. Philips's Poems. Pr. 1 s.

- XX. Mr. Reynardson's Poems. Pr. 1 s.

- XXI. Mr. Sewell's Poems. Pr. 1 s. 6 d.

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Title statement

The resurrection. A poem: Written by Mr. Addison.

Resurrectio delineata ad altare col. Magd. Oxon. English and Latin

Addison, Joseph, 1672-1719.

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http://ota.ox.ac.uk/id/3428

ID [isbn10]

1106004272

ID [isbn13]

9781106004277

ID [TCP]

K008178.000

ID [BIBNO]

CW3310220527

ID [ECLL]

0129101500

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Source

— The resurrection. A poem: Written by Mr. Addison., Resurrectio delineata ad altare col. Magd. Oxon. English and Latin, Addison, Joseph, 1672-1719.. xii,8,17-21,[1]p.,plate ; 8⁰. London :: printed for E. Curll,. 1718.. [The Latin text by Addison is followed by an English translation attributed to Nicholas Amhurst.] [Text continuous despite pagination.] [Reproduction of original from the Harvard University Houghton Library.] [Foxon, A204] [English Short Title Catalog, ESTCN13275.] [Electronic data. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale, 2003. Page image (PNG). Digitized image of the microfilm version produced in Woodbridge, CT by Research Publications, 1982-2002 (later known as Primary Source Microfilm, an imprint of the Gale Group).]

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