O gracious God! How far have we
Profaned thy heav'nly gift of poesy!
Made prostitute and profligate the Muse,
Debas'd to each obscene and impious use,
Whose harmony was first ordain'd above
For tongues of angels, and for hymns of love!
This
short book collects selections from the works of the poet-laureate of
the Restoration, John Dryden. Dryden, who saw the beginning of the
Restoration and its end, typifies the era, embodying its charming wit
and skeptical irenicism. Also in keeping with his time, and despite his
own distaste for "enthusiasm", Dryden wrote with more energy than
control, for his
Passion's too fierce to be in fetters bound.
Dryden's
output includes comic pieces for the stage, poetic satires, love poems,
elegies, and religious works, all of which are represented here.
Unfortunately, the short length does not satisfy, but promises further
pleasures for those who accept the invitation
To seek repose in the cool shades of wit
And, from the sweet retreat, with joy survey
What rests, and what is conquer'd, of the way.
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