Could I imp feathers to the wings of time,
Or with as little ease command the sun
To scourge his coursers up heaven's eastern hill.[159]
We may remark in passing that Massinger's best single lines are usually decasyllabic.
It has been remarked by Mr. Swinburne, whose discerning judgment of the Jacobean dramatists has lavished just praise on Massinger's art and style, that in the second act of Sir John Van Olden Barnavelt, “the student will say, ‘This tune goes manly,’ ” and it is remarkable that our poet had formed in 1619 the style which marked him to the end of his life.[160]
An instance of this simple strength may be given from [pg 053] The City Madam, where Luke debates whether he shall agree to the proposition of the pretended Indians:
Luke. Give me leave—(walks aside)
I would not lose this purchase. A grave matron!
And two pure virgins! Umph, I think my sister,
Though proud, was ever honest, and my nieces