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[Page 83]TO THE REVEREND WILLIAM PETERS, LL.B. *
[Page 85]
STANZAS ON PAINTING.
TO THE REVEREND WILLIAM PETERS, LL.B. ** A panegyric in prose from a feeble pen on the wonderful powers of Mr. Peter's pencil would be a vain attempt. Perhaps it may be equally vain to attempt doing justice to the exquisite amiability of that worthy gentleman's heart, and the very refined elegance of his manners. He was most sincerely beloved, and respected, by Mr. Monke Berkeley, who, in a letter introducing Mr. P. to his father, Dr. B. says, Pope has given his true character in few words: “The noblest work of God.”Mr. P. painted a picture of his friend, which was by Mr. B. presented to his mother. It is, by some of the best judges of painting, supposed to be the finest portrait ever produced by any pencil, ancient or modern. It preserves that wonderful depth of thought, and that exquisite benevolence which so strongly animated the countenance of Mr. M. B. The letter to Mrs. B. which accompanied the picture, proves that Mr. Peters wields his pen almost as ably as he does his pencil.
1 WHEN first in Greece the Arts were young,
2 And Muses wild rude numbers sung,
3 That pow'r of Genius dawn'd on earth,
4 Which o'er the tablet's polish'd face
5 The lines of Art began to trace,
6 'Twas Beauty gave it birth.
[Page 84]
7 When Persian charms Apelles drew,
8 The force of Beauty then he knew.
9 Now see the Youth unconscious gaze;
10 Now see the lifeless tablet bear
11 The graces of the living Fair,
12 And Love's bright passion blaze.
13 Obedient now to Painting's call,
14 The Passions come attendant all:
15 Now Joy supreme, now deep Despair,
16 Alternate fill the glowing scene;
17 Now Madness wild, now Grief serene,
18 Now Vengeance rages there.
19 How drear the scenes that Rosa chose!
20 His pictur'd fields no bloom disclose;
21 Nought but the dark and dreary pine,
22 Or rocks immense of height sublime,
23 Coaeval they with hoary Time,
24 The marks of Pow'r Divine.
25 But who thy glowing scenes can view,
26 And crown thee, Claude, with honour due?
27 Or who the sacred source can trace,
28 Whence Raphael stole the spark divine
29 That through his forms is seen to shine?
30 Or Rubens caught his grace?
31 When Peters bids the canvas glow
32 With shapes but little known below,
33 O! say, when cherub'd forms divine
34 In all their native glory shine;
35 Say, where the bounds of magic Art?
36 Genius, though station'd here below,
37 No sublunary bounds will know,
38 Like Peters still 'twill seek its theme,
39 Beyond pale Cynthia's quivering beam,
40 And charm the feeling heart.
About this text
Author: George Monck Berkeley
Themes:
art; painting
Genres:
address
Text view / Document view
Source edition
Berkeley, George Monck, 1763-1793. Poems: by the late George-Monck Berkeley, Esq. ... With a preface by the editor, consisting of some anecdotes of Mr. Monck Berkeley and several of his friends. London: printed by J. Nichols; and sold by Messrs. Leigh and Sotheby; Mr. Edwards; Mr. Cooke, Oxford; Mr. Todd, York; Messrs. Simmons and Co.; Messrs. Flackton, Marrable, and Claris; and Mr. Bristow, Canterbury, 1797, pp. 83-85. viii,DCXXXII,212p.,plate: port.; 4⁰. (ESTC T142950; OTA K111746.000) (Page images digitized by the University of California Libraries.)
Editorial principles
The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.
Other works by George Monck Berkeley
- ADDRESS TO THE SHADE OF SHAKSPEARE. ON MRS. B—'S VISITING HIS TOMB IN COMPANY WITH THE WRITER OF THESE LINES, AUGUST 13, 1787. ()
- ADDRESS TO THE WINDS. SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN BY A LADY DURING THE ABSENCE OF HER LOVER. ()
- THE AUTHOR. TO ARTHUR MURPHY, ESQ. ()
- THE BANKS OF ALMOND. (VIDE PENNANT'S TOUR.) ()
- THE BIRTH OF BLISS. TO THE HONOURABLE GEORGE LESLIE, SON OF THE EARL OF LEVEN, &c. ()
- ELEGIAC BALLAD. TO HENRY M'KENZIE ESQ. ()
- AN ELEGY ON THE DEATH of MISS M—s. ()
- ELEGY TO THE MEMORY OF LADY JANE GRAY AND MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. TO JUDITH LADY LAURIE. ()
- ELEGY. TO ALMERIA. ()
- EPITAPH ON AN UNFORTUNATE LADY. TO THE REV. GEORGE GLEIG, A.M. ()
- EPITAPH ON G. R. BERKELEY, ESQ. TO MRS. GEORGE BERKELEY, HIS MOTHER. ()
- EVENING, A PASTORAL. TO HENRY GRIMSTON, ESQ. OF YORKSHIRE. ()
- THE FAIRIES. TO MISS GRIMSTON, YOUNGEST SISTER OF THOMAS GRIMSTON, ESQ. OF GRIMSTON, YORKSHIRE. ()
- FAREWELL STANZAS ON LEAVING COOKHAM, IN THE SPRING OF THE YEAR, 1781, WHEN MR. B. WAS NOT QUITE EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD, TWO YEARS AFTER HE LEFT ETON-SCHOOL. ()
- THE IMMORTALITY OF VIRTUE. TO MRS. FRINSHAM. ()
- IMPROMPTU, ON HEARING, AS HE WAS RISING IN THE MORNING, OF THE DEATH OF THE REV. JOHN DUNCOMBE, M.A. INSCRIBED TO MRS. DUNCOMBE, OF CANTERBURY. ()
- INSCRIPTION FOR A GOTHIC NICHE LINED WITH IVY, IN THE GARDEN OF DR. BERKELEY'S PREBENDAL HOUSE IN THE OAKS AT CANTERBURY, WHERE MR. BERKELEY USED TO SIT AND READ GREEK. THE LADIES OF THE FAMILY NAMED IT “THE GREEK SEAT.” ()
- INSCRIPTION FOR THE FRONT OF SINGLETON ABBEY. TO MISS MALTHUS'S, THE BELOVED, THE RESPECTED FRIENDS OF HIS EARLY YOUTH. ()
- INVOCATION TO CUPID. TO FREDERICK REYNOLDS, ESQ. ()
- INVOCATION TO OBLIVION. TO ROBERT MERRY, ESQ. ()
- LUCY, OR THE BANKS OF AVON. WRITTEN AT THE AGE OF SEVENTEEN, AND NEVER MEANT BY MR. B. FOR THE PUBLIC EYE. ()
- THE MAIDS OF MORVEN, AN ELEGIAC ODE. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE MARY VISCOUNTESS RUTHVEN, DAUGHTER OF THE EXCELLENT EARL AND COUNTESS OF LEVEN AND MELVIL. ()
- ODE TO CONSCIENCE. TO MRS. YEARSLEY. ()
- ODE TO GENIUS. TO THE REV. WILLIAM MASON, A.M. PRECENTOR OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF YORK. ()
- ODE TO LOVE. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LADY DUDLEY AND WARD. ()
- ODE TO TRAGEDY. TO MRS. SIDDONS. ()
- THE POWER OF LOVE. TO ROBERT BERKELEY, ESQ. JUNIOR, OF SPETCHLEY PARK, WORCESTERSHIRE. ()
- PROLOGUE TO BONDS WITHOUT JUDGEMENT, OR THE LOVES OF BENGAL. ()
- PROLOGUE, SPOKEN BY THE AUTHOR, ON OPENING THE NEW THEATRE AT BLENHEIM, OCTOBER 1787. TO THEIR GRACES THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH. ()
- THE RAPE OF THE WIG. WRITTEN IN THE YEAR 1782. ()
- RUMORA; OR, THE MAID OF RAASA. ()
- SONG. SUNG BY A CHORUS OF PEASANTS. ()
- SONG. TO ALMERIA. ()
- STANZAS WRITTEN AT THE TOMB OF SHAKSPEARE. ()
- TO A NIGHTINGALE IN CLIFDEN WOOD. TO MRS. D. MONCK, OF COOKHAM. ()
- TO MIRANDA, ON HER DETERMINING TO ASSUME THE VEIL. ()
- TO MIRANDA, ON THE DEATH OF HER BROTHER-IN-LAW THE EARL OF L—. ()
- TO MIRANDA. ()
- TO MISS — OF DUBLIN, ON THE DEATH OF HER MOTHER. ()
- VERSES ON MRS. BILLINGTON'S APPEARANCE AT OXFORD. TO THOMAS BARRETT LENNARD, ESQ. ()
- VERSES ON SEEING THE TRAGEDY OF THE REGENT. TO BERTIE GREATHEAD, ESQ. ()
- VERSES ON THE DUTCHESS OF RUTLAND'S PREFERRING MR. PETERS. TO GEORGE ATKINSON, M.D. ()
- THE VIRGIN'S MIDNIGHT HYMN, SUPPOSED TO BE SUNG BY A CHORUS OF NUNS AT BRUSSELS, IN THE YEAR 1786, WHEN THE AUTHOR WAS THERE. INSCRIBED TO THE HON. MISS MOLESWORTHS, DAUGHTERS OF LORD MOLESWORTH, AND TO MISS HORNES, DAUGHTERS OF THE BISHOP OF NORWICH. ()