Southey--have seen their poetry cast into shade by the popularity of
their own prose. The poems of both will live, and have justice done them
by posterity. "Madoc" was many years ago recommended to me by one of the
most able, and most candid, of our living authors. I read it with much
interest. "The Curse of Kehama" is full of high and wild poetry; and
"Roderick, the last of the Goths" gives a noble picture of deep
penitence and of devoted patriotism. You will hardly read any ten lines
of the longer poems of Sir Walter Scott, without meeting with some
striking beauty of expression or of sentiment.
I am afraid, however, that the English poets, both those of former times
and those of the present day, have been, in great measure, superseded,
among you young Oxonians, by Lord Byron. In almost every
under-graduate's room that I happen to enter, _he_ seems to have taken
possession. Lord Byron, as a poet, has certainly many transcendant
merits,--merits which are peculiarly fascinating to young men. The
interest which I,--which _every one_,--naturally must feel in the moral
and intellectual habits and pursuits of such an important portion of the
community, makes me deeply lament the noble poet's excessive popularity
among you. I am perfectly aware, that by the following remarks I shall
expose myself to the indignation of some men, and, possibly, to the
contempt of others: but I feel that my opinion on this subject is not
taken up on slight grounds; and I _must say my say_.
The publication of Lord Byron's life and correspondence has contributed,
a good deal, to divest him of that mystery, which hung about him, and in
which he himself so much delighted; and has brought him down rather
more to the level of ordinary mortals. They show him to us as a man
possessed of splendid talents, of extensive and various attainments, and
of the _seeds_ of many noble and generous qualities; but as a man
actuated by ungovernable passions, and by an overweening opinion of his
own superiority to all other mortals. _Self_, whether intellectual or
sensual, seems to have been the idol that he worshipped. _His own_
antient family, _his own_ talents, _his own_ attainments, _his own_
whims, _his own_ passions, _his own_ excesses, seem all to have
furnished food for his vanity, because they were _his own_.
I acknowledge that, in all the circumstances of his _bringing up_, he
was singularly unfortunate. His early destitution, the character and
habits of his mother, the neglect of his noble relations, the venal
praises of his parasites and dependents, all acted upon his character
with pernicious influence.
"Untaught in youth his heart to tame,
His springs of life were poison'd."
He was sensitively alive to all the beauties and the sublimities of
external nature, and had a most penetrating insight into the complicated
feelings, and the various workings of the human heart, with all its
passions and affections; consequently, he abounds in passages of great
beauty, and of singular strength and power. The gratification derived
from the perusal of such passages, however, to a man at least who really
believes himself to be an immortal and a responsible being, is but a
poor compensation for the moral effects of many of his poems, his
_later_ poems more especially[155:1]. They too often appear to breathe a
spirit of engrossing selfishness; a spirit of captious and gloomy
scepticism,--scepticism extending, not only to revelation, but to the
primary truths of what is called natural religion, and even the most
acknowledged bonds of moral obligation. The tendency of his writings is
to make you dissatisfied with almost every thing, and every body in this
world, and at the same time to unfit you for the world to come; indeed,
to make you doubt, whether the idea of a world to come is not altogether
a mere delusion.
Lord Byron particularly excels in describing female loveliness, and the
effect which such loveliness produces upon the ardent temperament of
youth. In fact, the feeling within themselves so much that responds to
these descriptions, is one great cause of the popularity of Lord Byron
among young people. The sensations to which I allude, however, are of
themselves but too importunate. It is most unwise to excite them,--to
give them additional energy,--by the perusal of the high-wrought and
glowing descriptions of this poet of the passions.
I had heard much of Don Juan, and felt some curiosity to read it; but I
was aware of the manner in which bold and flippant ribaldry sometimes
takes hold of the mind, even when shocked at it. I knew well, that human
nature has in itself but too much of passion and sensuality, without
needing any additional stimulus. I was unwilling "to soil my mind" when
I could avoid it. For my own sake, I was unwilling to see the most
destructive vices treated as mere matter of jest, and the most awful
truths of religion introduced in connexion with ludicrous images, and
spoken of in the language of mockery. However much our judgment may
disapprove of these things, yet the ludicrous passages and images are
too apt to stick by us, even when we most wish to shake them off.
A book was advertised, called "The Beauties of Don Juan, including those
passages only which are calculated to extend the real fame of Lord
Byron." The editor acknowledges that the poem itself, from the unpruned
luxuriance of the author's powers, "has remained a sealed
volume"--certainly it _ought_ to be a _sealed volume_--"to the fairest
portion of the community." This _expurgate_ selection, however, though
it contains many passages of great beauty, is a book which I should be
sorry indeed to place in the hands of any young lady; and one against
which I would _forewarn_ every young man, who is not prepared to run the
risk of sacrificing, at the shrine of genius, Christian faith, and
Christian soberness, and Christian purity.
The description of the shipwreck had been spoken of as particularly
fine. I read it. Not long since several accounts of actual shipwrecks
and disasters at sea were published[159:1]. Some of these accounts, are
among the most interesting and edifying narratives, that I am acquainted
with. They abound in instances of heroic courage, of unshaken endurance,
of a noble disregard of self, of the warmest benevolence, and of the
most exalted piety. Don Juan seems to have taken a wayward pleasure in
culling from these narratives the most distressing and painful facts,
and then mixing them up in doggrel verse, with ludicrous images and
ludicrous rhymes; the main _wit_ often consisting in some unexpected
absurdity of sound or cadence.
One of the most dreadful consequences of shipwreck is, when a remnant of
the crew, cast off in an open boat, are reduced, by extremity of
hunger, to determine by lot, which of them shall first be made the food
of his companions. Even in such calamity, this perverse and bitter
spirit contrives to find matter for merriment. He laughed in himself
when he wrote the stanzas, and tries to make his readers laugh; though
they must feel indignant with themselves if they give way to the
impulse.
I conclude my letter with two sayings of Bishop Horne's. "He who
sacrifices religion to wit, like the people mentioned by Ælian, worships
a fly, and offers up an ox to it." Again; "Sir Peter Lely made it a
rule, never to look at a bad picture, having found, by experience,
that, whenever he did so, his pencil took a tint from it. Apply this to
bad books and bad company."
However brilliant the talents of a writer may be, yet, if a book has a
tendency to produce a bad effect upon the moral habits of the mind, that
book is a _bad_ book.
"When I behold a genius bright and base,
Of tow'ring talents, and terrestrial aims;
Methinks I see, as thrown from her high sphere,
The glorious fragments of a soul immortal,
With rubbish mixt, and glitt'ring in the dust."
I remain,
My dear Nephew,
Your affectionate Uncle.
FOOTNOTES:
[147:1] Rev. Hugh James Rose.
[155:1] Childe Harold and the _four_ first tales (I am speaking only of
the larger works) are most free from objection, at the same time that
they are the most beautiful and interesting.
[159:1] The Loss of the Kent, and Narratives of the Shipwrecks of the
Lady Hobart packet, the Cabalva, &c. &c.
PRAYERS
_A Prayer before Study._
(FROM DR. JOHNSON.)
Almighty God, in whose hands are all the powers of man; who givest
understanding and takest it away; who, as it seemeth good unto thee,
enlightenest the thoughts of the simple, and darkenest the meditations
of the wise, be present with me in my studies and inquiries.
Grant, O Lord, that I may not lavish away the life which thou hast given
me on useless trifles, nor waste it in vain searches after things which
thou hast hidden from me.
Enable me, by thy Holy Spirit, so to shun sloth and negligence, that
every day may discharge part of the task which thou hast allotted me;
and so further with thy help that labour which, without thy help, must
be ineffectual, that I may obtain in all my undertakings such success as
will most promote thy glory, and the salvation of my own soul, for the
sake of Jesus Christ.
_Prayer after Time unprofitably spent._
(FROM DR. JOHNSON.)
O Lord, in whose hands are life and death; by whose power I am
sustained, and by whose mercy I am spared, look down upon me with pity.
Forgive me, that I have this day neglected the duty which thou hast
assigned to it, and suffered the hours, of which I must give account, to
pass away without any endeavour to accomplish thy will, or to promote my
own salvation. Make me to remember, O God, that every day is thy gift,
and ought to be used according to thy command. Grant me, therefore, so
to repent of my negligence, that I may obtain mercy from thee, and pass
the time which thou shalt yet allow me in diligent performance of thy
commands, through Jesus Christ. _Amen._
_Prayer for Temperance._
(FROM BISHOP JEREMY TAYLOR.)
O Almighty God and gracious Father of men and angels, who openest thy
hand and fillest all things living with plenty; and hast provided for
thy servant sufficient to satisfy all my needs: teach me to use thy
creatures soberly and temperately, that I may not with loads of meat and
drink make the temptations of my enemy to prevail upon me, or my spirit
unapt for the performance of my duty, or my body healthless, or my
affections sensual and unholy. O my God, never suffer that the blessings
which thou givest me may minister either to sin or sickness, but to
health, and holiness, and thanksgiving; that in the strength of thy
provision I may cheerfully, and actively, and diligently serve thee;
that I may worthily feast at thy table here, and be accounted worthy,
through thy grace, to be admitted to thy table hereafter, through Jesus
Christ, our Mediator and Redeemer. _Amen._
_Prayer for the right government of the tongue._
O God, watch over me this day for good; and grant that I may so keep
the door of my mouth that I may not speak unadvisedly with my lips.
Preserve me from offending with my tongue either against charity or
purity. Let me not be guilty of foolish and immodest talking and
jesting, of evil-speaking or censoriousness, or of any other of the many
sins of the tongue. Grant that all my conversation may be such as
becometh one who professes to be the servant and disciple of thy beloved
Son, in whose name I beseech thee to hear my prayers.