George Crabbe: Poems, Volume 1 (of 3) - George Crabbe

Dedication:

p. [88], l. 2. Henry-Richard.
p. [89], l. 5. judgement.
l. 10. have taught.

Preface:

p. [90], l. 11. enquiry.
l. 27. judgement.
p. [91], l. 23. among.
l. 32. as Mr Boswell (since Lord Auchinleck) has told.
p. [92], l. 7. suspence.
p. [93], l. 2, my friends.
l. 5. judgement.
l. 9. blameable.
p. [94], l. 13. such opinion.
l. 18. Charles-James.
l. 28. criticizing.
l. 36. judgement.
p. [95], l. 12. judgement.
l. 15. Lope de Vega.
l. 22. an high degree.
l. 26. Lope de Vega.
p. [96], l. 20. judgement.
l. 26. in a beneficed clergyman.
p. [97], l. 23. Baptisms.
l. 31. enquiry.
p. [98], l. 25. judgement.
l. 26. intitled.
p. [99], l. 8. judgement.
l. 14. or the exultation.

[THE LIBRARY.] Variants in edition of 1781 (first edition).

l. 16. for wo: woe.
l. 22. prevail.
l. 28. her old.
instead of ll. 51-54:
Come then, and entering view this spacious scene,
This sacred dome, this noble magazine;
l. 57. asswage.
instead of ll. 63-178:
In this selection, which the human mind
With care has made; for Glory has design'd,
All should be perfect; or at least appear
From falshood, vanity, and passion clear:
But man's best efforts taste of man, and show
The poor and troubled source from whence they flow;
His very triumphs his defeats must speak,
And ev'n his wisdom serves to prove him weak.
Fashion, though Folly's child, and guide of fools,
Rules e'en the wisest, and in Learning rules;
From courts and crowds to Wisdom's seat she goes,
And reigns triumphant o'er her mother's foes:
Yon Folios, once the darlings of the mode,
Now lie neglected like the birth-day ode;
There Learning, stuff'd with maxims trite though sage,
Makes Indigestion yawn at every page;
Chain'd like Prometheus, lo! the mighty train
Brave Time's fell tooth, and live and die again;
And now the scorn of men and now the pride,
The sires respect them, and the sons deride.
l. 183. every note and every comment.
l. 197. is.
l. 200. your judges are your rivals.
instead of ll. 201-322:
}
But ne'er, discourag'd, fair attempts lay by,
}
For Reason views them with approving eye,
}
And Candour yields what cavillers deny.
She sees the struggles of the soul to steer
Through clouds and darkness, which surround us here,
And, though the long research has ne'er prevail'd,
Applauds the trial and forgets it fail'd.
followed by ll. 105—140 of the text; then continuing:
Wits, Bards and Idlers fill a tatter'd row;
And the vile Vulgar lie disdain'd below.
Amid these works, on which the eager eye
Delights to fix, or glides reluctant by
Where all combin'd their decent pomp display,
Where shall we first our early offering pay?
To thee Philosophy! to thee, the light,
The guide of mortals through their mental night,
By whom the world in all its views is shown,
Our guide through Nature's works, and in our own;
}
Who place in order Being's wondrous chain,
}
Save where those puzzling, stubborn links remain,
}
By art divine involv'd, which man can ne'er explain.
These are thy volumes; and in these we look,
As abstracts drawn from Nature's larger book;
Here first describ'd the humble glebe appears,
Unconscious of the gaudy robe it wears;
All that the earth's profound recesses hide,
And all that roll beneath the raging tide;
The sullen gem that yet disdains to shine,
And all the ductile matter of the mine.
Next to the vegetable tribes they lead,
Whose fruitful beds o'er every balmy meed
Teem with new life, and hills, and vales, and groves,
Feed the still flame, and nurse the silent loves;
Which, when the Spring calls forth their genial power
Swell with the seed, and flourish in the flower:
There, with the husband-slaves, in royal pride,
Queens, like the Amazons of old, reside;
There, like the Turk, the lordly husband lives,
And joy to all the gay seraglio gives;
There, in the secret chambers, veil'd from sight,
A bashful tribe in hidden flames delight;
There, in the open day, and gaily deck'd,
The bolder brides their distant lords expect;
Who with the wings of love instinctive rise,
And on prolific winds each ardent bridegroom flies.
Next are that tribe whom life and sense inform,
The torpid beetle, and the shrinking worm;
And insects, proud to spread their brilliant wing,
To catch the fostering sunbeams of the spring;
That feather'd race, which late from winter fled,
To dream an half-existence with the dead;
Who now, returning from their six months' sleep,
Dip their black pinions in the slumbering deep;
Where, feeling life from stronger beams of day,
The scaly myriads of the ocean play.
Then led by Art through Nature's maze, we trace
The sullen people of the savage race;
And see a favourite tribe mankind attend,
And in the fawning follower find the friend.
l. 346. virtues seek.
l. 390. subtle.
l. 408. a song.
l. 410. did ne'er
l. 422. Abridgements.
l. 431. cries.
instead of l. 432:
Ere laws arose, ere tyrants bade them rise;
l. 435. no tumults.
instead of ll. 441-2:
Bound by no tyes but those by nature made,
Virtue was law, and gifts prevented trade.
l. 444. chearless.
instead of l. 454:
Taught by some conquering friends who came as foes.
l. 477. Primæval.
After l. 478:
Now turn from these, to view yon ampler space,
There rests a sacred, grave and solemn race;
There the devout an awful station keep,
Vigils advise and yet dispose to sleep;
}
There might they long in lasting peace abide
}
But controversial authors lie beside,
}
Who friend from friend and sire from son divide:
Endless disputes around the world they cause
Creating now, and now controuling laws.
followed by ll. 223-266 of the text, with the ensuing variations:
ll. 237-244:
Calvin grows gentle in this silent coast,
Nor finds a single heretic to roast:
Here, their fierce rage subdu'd, and lost their pride
The Pope and Luther slumber side by side:
l. 245. whom the Church's.
l. 248. Crumbs.
ll. 249-256 omitted.
instead of l. 257:
And let them lie—for lo! yon gaudy frames.
l. 259. dread.
l. 260. sparks of Grace.
l. 265. prophane, or impiously.
l. 537. What tho' neglect has shed.
l. 550. dæmons.
l. 555. strait.
l. 578. tipling.
l. 595. fancy'd.

[THE VILLAGE.] Variants in edition of 1783 (first edition).

[Book I.]

Synopsis of contents omitted.
l. 5. forms.
instead of ll. 7-8:
Fled are those times, if e'er such times were seen,
When rustic poets prais'd their native green;
l. 18. echo's.
l. 31. one chief cause.
instead of ll. 33-35:
They ask no thought, require no deep design,
But swell the song and liquefy the line;
The gentle lover takes the rural strain.
l. 40. gazes.
l. 59. sooth.
l. 76. And the wild tare clings round.
instead of ll. 99-100:
And foil'd beneath the young Ulysses fell;
When peals of praise the merry mischief tell?
l. 107. Or, yielding part (when equal knaves contest).
l. 108. for the rest.
l. 118. their's.
after l. 143:
Like him to make the plenteous harvest grow,
And yet not share the plenty they bestow;
l. 153. as luxury.
instead of ll. 166-7:
Or will you urge their homely, plenteous fare,
Healthy and plain and still the poor man's share?
instead of l. 171:
As you who envy would disdain to touch.
l. 183. its own.
l. 189. straitest.
l. 197. And urge the efforts.
l. 204. rouz'd.
l. 219. Slow in their gifts, but.
l. 223. woe.
l. 265. is all.
l. 271. Nor wipes.
l. 273. Nor promise.
l. 295. mutely hastens to the grave.
instead of ll. 312-13:
Sure in his shot his game he seldom mist,
And seldom fail'd to win his game at whist;
l. 325. oh! Death.
l. 327. farmer gets.

THE VILLAGE.