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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard
+(1751) and The Eton College Manuscript, by Thomas Gray
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard (1751) and The Eton College Manuscript
+
+Author: Thomas Gray
+
+Release Date: March 18, 2005 [EBook #15409]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN ELEGY WROTE IN A COUNTRY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Starner, Diane Monico and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+The Augustan Reprint Society
+
+
+
+THOMAS GRAY
+
+_An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard_
+
+(1751)
+
+and
+
+_The Eton College Manuscript_
+
+
+
+With an Introduction by
+
+George Sherburn
+
+
+Publication Number 31
+
+
+Los Angeles
+Williams Andrews Clark Memorial Library
+University of California
+1951
+
+
+
+
+GENERAL EDITORS
+
+H. RICHARD ARCHER, _Clark Memorial Library_
+RICHARD C. BOYS, _University of Michigan_
+JOHN LOFTIS, _University of California, Los Angeles_
+
+
+ASSISTANT EDITOR
+
+W. EARL BRITTON, _University of Michigan_
+
+
+ADVISORY EDITORS
+
+EMMETT L. AVERY, _State College of Washington_
+BENJAMIN BOYCE, _Duke University_
+LOUIS I. BREDVOLD, _University of Michigan_
+CLEANTH BROOKS, _Yale University_
+JAMES L. CLIFFORD, _Columbia University_
+ARTHUR FRIEDMAN, _University of Chicago_
+EDWARD NILES HOOKER, _University of California, Los Angeles_
+LOUIS A. LANDA, _Princeton University_
+SAMUEL H. MONK, _University of Minnesota_
+ERNEST MOSSNER, _University of Texas_
+JAMES SUTHERLAND, _University College, London_
+H.T. SWEDENBERG, JR., _University of California, Los Angeles_
+
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+To some the eighteenth-century definition of proper poetic matter is
+unacceptable; but to any who believe that true poetry may (if not
+"must") consist in "what oft was thought but ne'er so well expressed,"
+Gray's "Churchyard" is a majestic achievement--perhaps (accepting the
+definition offered) the supreme achievement of its century. Its
+success, so the great critic of its day thought, lay in its appeal to
+"the common reader"; and though no friend of Gray's other work, Dr.
+Johnson went on to commend the "Elegy" as abounding "with images which
+find a mirrour in every mind and with sentiments to which every bosom
+returns an echo." Universality, clarity, incisive lapidary
+diction--these qualities may be somewhat staled in praise of the
+"classical" style, yet it is precisely in these traits that the
+"Elegy" proves most nobly. The artificial figures of rhetorical
+arrangement that are so omnipresent in the antitheses, chiasmuses,
+parallelisms, etc., of Pope and his school are in Gray's best
+quatrains unobtrusive or even infrequent.
+
+Often in the art of the period an affectation of simplicity covers and
+reveals by turns a great thirst for ingenuity. Swift's prose is a fair
+example; in the "Tale of a Tub" and even in "Gulliver" at first sight
+there seems to appear only an honest and simple directness; but pry
+beneath the surface statements, or allow yourself to be dazzled by
+their coruscations of meaning, and you immediately see you are
+watching a stylistic prestidigitator. The later, more orderly dignity
+of Dr. Johnson's exquisitely chosen diction is likewise ingeniously
+studied and self-conscious. When Gray soared into the somewhat turgid
+pindaric tradition of his day, he too was slaking a thirst for
+rhetorical complexities. But in the "Elegy" we have none of that. Nor
+do we have artifices like the "chaste Eve" or the "meek-eyed maiden"
+apostrophized in Collins and Joseph Warton. For Gray the hour when the
+sky turns from opal to dusk leaves one not "breathless with
+adoration," but moved calmly to placid reflection tuned to drowsy
+tinklings or to a moping owl. It endures no contortions of image or of
+verse. It registers the sensations of the hour and the reflections
+appropriate to it--simply.
+
+It is not difficult to be clear--so we are told by some who habitually
+fail of that quality--if you have nothing subtle to say. And it has
+been urged on high authority in our day that there is nothing really
+"fine" in Gray's "Churchyard." However conscious Gray was in limiting
+his address to "the common reader," we may be certain he was not
+writing to the obtuse, the illiterate or the insensitive. He was to
+create an evocation of evening: the evening of a day and the
+approaching night of life. The poem was not to be perplexed by doubt;
+it ends on a note of "trembling hope"--but on "hope." There are
+perhaps better evocations of similar moods, but not of this precise
+mood. Shakespeare's poignant Sonnet LXXIII ("That time of year"),
+which suggests no hope, may be one. Blake's "Nurse's Song" is, in
+contrast, subtly tinged with modernistic disillusion:
+
+ When the voices of children are heard on the green
+ And whisp'rings are in the dale,
+ The days of my youth rise fresh in my mind,
+ My face turns green and pale.
+
+ Then come home, my children, the sun is gone down,
+ And the dews of night arise;
+ Your spring & your day are wasted in play,
+ And your winter and night in disguise.
+
+Here, too, are no tremblings of hope, no sound confidence in the
+"average" man, such as Gray surprisingly glimpses. One begins to
+suspect that it is more necessary to be subtle in evocations of
+despair than in those of hope, even if the hope is tremulous. The mood
+Gray sought required no obvious subtlety. The nearest approach to Gray
+(found in Catullus) may likewise be said to be deficient in overtones;
+but it also comes home to the heart of everyman:
+
+ o quid solutis est beatius curis,
+ cum mens onus reponit, ac peregrino
+ labore fessi venimus larem ad nostrum
+ desideratoque acquiescimus lecto!
+
+These simple lines convey what Gray's ploughman is achieving for one
+evening, but not what the rude forefathers have achieved for eternity.
+From the ploughman and the simple annals of the poor the poem diverges
+to reproach the proud and great for their disregard of undistinguished
+merit, and moves on to praise of the sequestered life, and to an
+epitaph applicable either to a "poeta ignotus" or to Gray himself. The
+epitaph with its trembling hope transforms the poem into something
+like a personal yet universal requiem; and for one villager--perhaps
+for himself--Gray seems to murmur through the gathering darkness: "et
+lux perpetua luceat ei." Although in this epitaph we may seem to be
+concerned with an individual, we do well to note that the youth to
+fortune and fame unknown, whose great "bounty" was only a tear, is as
+completely anonymous as the ploughman or the rude forefathers.
+
+The somber aspects of evening are perhaps more steadily preserved by
+Gray than by his contemporaries. From Milton to Joseph Warton all
+poets had made their ploughman unwearied as (to quote Warton):
+
+ He jocund whistles thro' the twilight groves.
+
+With Gray all this blithe whistling stopped together. Evening poems by
+Dyer, Warton, and Collins had tended to be "pretty," but here again
+Gray resisted temptation and regretfully omitted a stanza designed to
+precede immediately the epitaph:
+
+ There scatter'd oft, the earliest of ye Year
+ By hands unseen, are Show'rs of Violets found;
+ The Red-breast loves to build & warble there,
+ And little Footsteps lightly print the Ground.
+
+With similar critical tact Gray realized that one might have too much
+of stately moral reflections unmixed with drama. Possibly such an
+idea determined him in discarding four noble quatrains with which he
+first designed to end his poem. After line 72 in the manuscript now in
+Eton College appeared these stanzas:
+
+ The thoughtless World to Majesty may bow
+ Exalt the brave, & idolize Success
+ But more to Innocence their Safety owe
+ Than Power & Genius e'er conspired to bless
+
+ And thou, who mindful of the unhonour'd Dead
+ Dost in these Notes their artless Tale relate
+ By Night & lonely Contemplation led
+ To linger in the gloomy Walks of Fate
+
+ Hark how the sacred Calm, that broods around
+ Bids ev'ry fierce tumultuous Passion cease
+ In still small Accents, whisp'ring from the Ground
+ A grateful Earnest of eternal Peace
+
+ No more with Reason & thyself at Strife
+ Give anxious Cares & endless Wishes room
+ But thro the cool sequester'd Vale of Life
+ Pursue the silent Tenour of thy Doom.
+
+"And here," comments Mason, "the Poem was originally intended to
+conclude, before the happy idea of the hoary-headed Swain, &c.
+suggested itself to him." To reconstitute the poem with this original
+ending gives an interesting structure. The first three quatrains evoke
+the fall of darkness; four stanzas follow presenting the rude
+forefathers in their narrow graves; eleven quatrains follow in
+reproach of Ambition, Grandeur, Pride, et al., for failure to realize
+the high merit of humility. Then after line 72 of the final version
+would come these four rejected stanzas, continuing the reproach of
+"the thoughtless world," and turning all too briefly to one who could
+"their artless tale relate," and to the calm that then breathes around
+tumultuous passion and speaks of eternal peace--and "the silent tenor
+of thy doom."
+
+That would give a simpler structure; and one may argue whether turning
+back from the thoughtless world to praise again the "cool sequester'd
+vale of life" and then appending "the happy idea of the hoary-headed
+swain, &c." does really improve the poem structurally. Its method is,
+however, more acceptable in that now the reflections are imbedded in
+"drama" (or at least in narrative), and the total effect is more
+pleasing to present-day readers since we escape, or seem to escape,
+from the cool universality of humble life to a focus on an individual
+grief. To end on a grim note of generalized "doom," would have given
+the poem a temporary success such as it deserved; and it must be
+acknowledged that the knell-like sound of "No more ... No more" (lines
+20, 21) echoed and re-echoed for decades through the imaginations of
+gloom-fed poets. But Gray, although an undoubted "graveyard" poet, is
+no mere graveyard poet: he stands above and apart from the lot of
+them, and he was not content to end despondently in a descending
+gloom. His, as he told West, in a celebrated letter, was a "white
+melancholy, or rather leucocholy"; and he wrote of "lachrymae rerum"
+rather than of private mordant sorrows.
+
+The poem is couched in universals: Gray writes in "a" country
+churchyard, and the actual Stoke Poges, dear and lovely as it
+doubtless was to Gray, clings to the fame of the poem almost by
+accident. And yet, by a sort of paradox, this "universal" poem in its
+setting and mood is completely English. One could go too far from home
+for examples of distinction--for the polar stars of the rude
+forefathers--just as one could err by excess of "commonplace"
+reflections. Some such idea encouraged Gray to modify his fifteenth
+quatrain, which in the Eton MS reads (the first line has partly
+perished from folding of the paper):
+
+ Some [Village] Cato [who] with dauntless Breast
+ The little Tyrant of his Fields withstood;
+ Some mute inglorious Tully here may rest;
+ Some Caesar, guiltless of his Country's Blood.
+
+The substitution of English names is an obvious attempt to bring truth
+closer to the souls of his readers by use of "domestica facta" and the
+avoidance of school-boy learning.
+
+All these changes illustrate the quality of Gray's curious felicity.
+His assault on the reader's sensibilities was organized and careful:
+here is no sign of that contradiction in terms, "unpremeditated art."
+He probably did not work on the poem so long as historians have said
+he did, but he scanted neither time nor attention. Mason thought the
+poem begun and perhaps finished in 1742, and he connected its
+somberness with Gray's great sorrow over the death of his close friend
+Richard West. All this seems more than doubtful: to Dr. Thomas
+Wharton in September 1746 Gray mentioned recently composing "a few
+autumnal verses," and there is no real evidence of work on the poem
+before this time. Walpole evidently inclined to 1746 as the date of
+commencement, and it may be pointed out that Mason himself is not so
+sure of 1742 as have been his Victorian successors. All he says is, "I
+am inclined to believe that the Elegy ... was begun, if not concluded,
+at this time [1742] also." Gray's reputation for extreme leisurely
+composition depends largely on the "inclination" to believe that the
+"Elegy" was begun in 1742 and on a later remark by Walpole concerning
+Gray's project for a History of Poetry. In a letter of 5 May 1761
+Walpole joked to Montagu saying that Gray, "if he rides Pegasus at his
+usual foot-pace, will finish the first page two years hence." Not
+really so slow as this remark suggests, Gray finally sent his "Elegy"
+to Walpole in June of 1750, and in December he sent perhaps an earlier
+form of the poem to Dr. Wharton. Naturally delighted with the
+perfected utterance of this finely chiseled work, these two friends
+passed it about in manuscript, and allowed copies to be taken.
+
+Publication, normally abhorrent to Gray, thus became inevitable,
+though apparently not contemplated by Gray himself. The private
+success of the poem was greater than he had anticipated, and in
+February of 1751 he was horrified to receive a letter from the editor
+of a young and undistinguished periodical, "The Magazine of
+Magazines," who planned to print forthwith the "ingenious poem,
+call'd Reflections in a Country-Churchyard." Gray hastily wrote to
+Walpole (11 February), insisting that he should "make Dodsley print it
+immediately" from Walpole's copy, without Gray's name, but with good
+paper and letter. He prescribed the titlepage as well as other
+details, and within four days Dodsley had the poem in print, and
+anticipated the piratical "Magazine" by one day. But the "Magazine"
+named Gray as the author, and success without anonymity was the fate
+of the "Elegy." Edition followed edition, and the poem was almost from
+birth an international classic.
+
+One of the author's prescriptions for publication concerned the verse
+form. He told Walpole that Dodsley must "print it without any Interval
+between the Stanza's, because the Sense is in some Places continued
+beyond them." In the Egerton MS Gray had written the poem with no
+breaks to set off quatrains, but in the earlier MS (Eton College),
+where the poem is entitled, "Stanza's, wrote in a Country
+Church-Yard," the quatrains are spaced in normal fashion. The
+injunction shows Gray's sensitiveness as to metrical form. He had
+called the poem an Elegy only after urging by Mason, and he possibly
+doubted if his metre was "soft" enough for true elegy. The metre
+hitherto had not been common in elegies, though James Hammond's "Love
+Elegies" (1743) had used it and won acclaim. But the heroic
+(hendecasyllabic) quatrain was regarded in general as too lofty,
+stately, cool, for elegy. For the universal aspect of Gray's lament,
+however, it was highly apt as compared with the less majestic
+octosyllabic line, hitherto normal in this genre. For years after
+Gray's great success, however, most elegies, if in quatrain form,
+followed Gray's quatrain in manner, whether or not their subjects
+demanded the stately line.
+
+The reasons why Gray is almost a poet of only one poem are not far to
+seek. He did not covet applause, and apart from melancholy his own
+emotions were too private to be published. In the "Elegy" he is true
+to himself and to the spirit of his age--perhaps of most ages. When he
+sought for material outside of his own experience, he went curiously
+to books, and was captivated by the "récherché." He was also caught by
+the rising cult of sublimity in his two great pindaric odes, and by
+the cult of the picturesque in his flirtations with Scandinavian
+materials. In these later poems he broadened the field of poetic
+material notably; but in them he hardly deepened the imaginative or
+emotional tone: his manner, rather, became elaborate and theatrical.
+The "Elegy" is the language of the heart sincerely perfected.
+
+The poem has pleased many and pleased long--throughout two centuries.
+In part it works through "pleasing melancholy"; in part it appeals to
+innumerable humble readers conscious of their own unheralded merit.
+Inevitably, since the industrial revolution, modernist critics have
+tended to stress its appeal to class consciousness. This appeal, real
+though it is, can be overemphasized. The rude forefathers are not
+primarily presented as underprivileged. Though poverty-stricken and
+ignorant, they are happy in family life and jocund in the field.
+"Nature is nature wherever placed," as the intellectuals of Gray's
+time loved to say, and the powers of the village fathers, potentially,
+equal the greatest; their virtue is contentment. They neither want nor
+need "storied urn or animated bust." If they are unappreciated by
+Ambition, Grandeur, Pride, et al., the lack of appreciation is due to
+a corruption of values. The value commended in the "Elegy" is that of
+the simple life, which alone is rational and virtuous--it is the life
+according to nature. Sophisticated living, Gray implies in the stanza
+that once ended the poem, finds man at war with himself and with
+reason; but the cool sequestered path--its goal identical with that of
+the paths of Glory--finds man at peace with himself and with reason.
+The theme was not new before Gray made it peculiarly his own, and it
+has become somewhat hackneyed in the last two hundred years; but the
+fact that it is seldom unheard in any decade testifies to its
+permanency of appeal, and the fact that it was "ne'er so well
+express'd" as in the "Elegy" justifies our love for that poem.
+
+George Sherburn
+Harvard University
+
+
+
+
+A NOTE ON THE TEXTS
+
+
+The first edition of the "Elegy" is here reproduced from a copy in the
+William Andrews Clark Memorial Library.
+
+By permission of the Provost and Fellows of Eton College, the
+manuscript preserved in the library of Eton College is also
+reproduced. This manuscript once belonged to Gray's friend,
+biographer, and editor, William Mason. In spite of its dimness, due to
+creases in the paper and to the fact that the ink shows through from
+the other side of the paper, this manuscript is chosen for
+reproduction because it preserves the quatrains discarded before
+printing the poem, and has other interesting variants in text. Two
+other MSS of the poem in Gray's hand are known to exist. One is
+preserved in the British Museum (Egerton 2400, ff. 45-6) and the other
+is the copy made by Gray in Volume II of his Commonplace Books. This,
+is appropriately preserved in the library of Pembroke College,
+Cambridge. Sir William Fraser bequeathed to Eton College the MS there
+found, which in certain editions of the poem is called "the Fraser
+manuscript."
+
+
+
+
+AN
+
+ELEGY
+
+WROTE IN A
+
+Country Church Yard.
+
+
+
+_LONDON:_
+
+Printed for R. DODSLEY in _Pall-mall_;
+
+And sold by M. COOPER in _Pater-noster-Row_. 1751.
+
+[Price Six-pence.]
+
+
+
+
+Advertisement.
+
+
+ _The following_ POEM _came into my Hands by Accident, if the
+ general Approbation with which this little Piece has been
+ spread, may be call'd by so slight a Term as Accident. It is
+ this Approbation which makes it unnecessary for me to make
+ any Apology but to the Author: As he cannot but feel some
+ Satisfaction in having pleas'd so many Readers already, I
+ flatter myself he will forgive my communicating that
+ Pleasure to many more._
+
+The _EDITOR_
+
+
+
+
+AN
+
+ELEGY, _&c._
+
+
+ The _Curfeu_ tolls the Knell of parting Day,
+ The lowing Herd winds slowly o'er the Lea,
+ The Plow-man homeward plods his weary Way,
+ And leaves the World to Darkness, and to me.
+ Now fades the glimmering Landscape on the Sight,
+ And all the Air a solemn Stillness holds;
+ Save where the Beetle wheels his droning Flight,
+ And drowsy Tinklings lull the distant Folds.
+ Save that from yonder Ivy-mantled Tow'r
+ The mopeing Owl does to the Moon complain
+ Of such, as wand'ring near her sacred Bow'r,
+ Molest her ancient solitary Reign.
+ Beneath those rugged Elms, that Yew-Tree's Shade,
+ Where heaves the Turf in many a mould'ring Heap,
+ Each in his narrow Cell for ever laid,
+ The rude Forefathers of the Hamlet sleep.
+ The breezy Call of Incense-breathing Morn,
+ The Swallow twitt'ring from the Straw-built Shed,
+ The Cock's shrill Clarion, or the ecchoing Horn,
+ No more shall wake them from their lowly Bed.
+ For them no more the blazing Hearth shall burn,
+ Or busy Houswife ply her Evening Care:
+ No Children run to lisp their Sire's Return,
+ Or climb his Knees the envied Kiss to share.
+ Oft did the Harvest to their Sickle yield,
+ Their Furrow oft the stubborn Glebe has broke;
+ How jocund did they they drive their Team afield!
+ How bow'd the Woods beneath their sturdy Stroke!
+ Let not Ambition mock their useful Toil,
+ Their homely Joys and Destiny obscure;
+ Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful Smile,
+ The short and simple Annals of the Poor.
+ The Boast of Heraldry, the Pomp of Pow'r,
+ And all that Beauty, all that Wealth e'er gave,
+ Awaits alike th' inevitable Hour.
+ The Paths of Glory lead but to the Grave.
+ Forgive, ye Proud, th' involuntary Fault,
+ If Memory to these no Trophies raise,
+ Where thro' the long-drawn Isle and fretted Vault
+ The pealing Anthem swells the Note of Praise.
+ Can storied Urn or animated Bust
+ Back to its Mansion call the fleeting Breath?
+ Can Honour's Voice provoke the silent Dust,
+ Or Flatt'ry sooth the dull cold Ear of Death!
+ Perhaps in this neglected Spot is laid
+ Some Heart once pregnant with celestial Fire,
+ Hands that the Reins of Empire might have sway'd,
+ Or wak'd to Extacy the living Lyre.
+ But Knowledge to their Eyes her ample Page
+ Rich with the Spoils of Time did ne'er unroll;
+ Chill Penury repress'd their noble Rage,
+ And froze the genial Current of the Soul.
+ Full many a Gem of purest Ray serene,
+ The dark unfathom'd Caves of Ocean bear:
+ Full many a Flower is born to blush unseen,
+ And waste its Sweetness on the desart Air.
+ Some Village-_Hampden_ that with dauntless Breast
+ The little Tyrant of his Fields withstood;
+ Some mute inglorious _Milton_ here may rest,
+ Some _Cromwell_ guiltless of his Country's Blood.
+ Th' Applause of list'ning Senates to command,
+ The Threats of Pain and Ruin to despise,
+ To scatter Plenty o'er a smiling Land,
+ And read their Hist'ry in a Nation's Eyes
+ Their Lot forbad: nor circumscrib'd alone
+ Their growing Virtues, but their Crimes confin'd;
+ Forbad to wade through Slaughter to a Throne,
+ And shut the Gates of Mercy on Mankind,
+ The struggling Pangs of conscious Truth to hide,
+ To quench the Blushes of ingenuous Shame,
+ Or heap the Shrine of Luxury and Pride
+ With Incense, kindled at the Muse's Flame.
+ Far from the madding Crowd's ignoble Strife,
+ Their sober Wishes never learn'd to stray;
+ Along the cool sequester'd Vale of Life
+ They kept the noiseless Tenor of their Way.
+ Yet ev'n these Bones from Insult to protect
+ Some frail Memorial still erected nigh,
+ With uncouth Rhimes and shapeless Sculpture deck'd,
+ Implores the passing Tribute of a Sigh.
+ Their Name, their Years, spelt by th' unlettered Muse,
+ The Place of Fame and Elegy supply:
+ And many a holy Text around she strews,
+ That teach the rustic Moralist to dye.
+ For who to dumb Forgetfulness a Prey,
+ This pleasing anxious Being e'er resign'd,
+ Left the warm Precincts of the chearful Day,
+ Nor cast one longing ling'ring Look behind!
+ On some fond Breast the parting Soul relies,
+ Some pious Drops the closing Eye requires;
+ Ev'n from the Tomb the Voice of Nature cries
+ Awake, and faithful to her wonted Fires.
+ For thee, who mindful of th' unhonour'd Dead
+ Dost in these Lines their artless Tale relate;
+ If chance, by lonely Contemplation led,
+ Some hidden Spirit shall inquire thy Fate,
+ Haply some hoary-headed Swain may say,
+ 'Oft have we seen him at the Peep of Dawn
+ 'Brushing with hasty Steps the Dews away
+ 'To meet the Sun upon the upland Lawn.
+ 'There at the Foot of yonder nodding Beech
+ 'That wreathes its old fantastic Roots so high,
+ 'His listless Length at Noontide wou'd he stretch,
+ 'And pore upon the Brook that babbles by.
+ 'Hard by yon Wood, now frowning as in Scorn,
+ 'Mutt'ring his wayward Fancies he wou'd rove,
+ 'Now drooping, woeful wan, like one forlorn,
+ 'Or craz'd with Care, or cross'd in hopeless Love.
+ 'One Morn I miss'd him on the custom'd Hill,
+ 'Along the Heath, and near his fav'rite Tree;
+ 'Another came; nor yet beside the Rill,
+ 'Nor up the Lawn, nor at the Wood was he.
+ 'The next with Dirges due in sad Array
+ 'Slow thro' the Church-way Path we saw him born.
+ 'Approach and read (for thou can'st read) the Lay,
+ 'Grav'd on the Stone beneath yon aged Thorn.
+
+
+ The EPITAPH.
+
+ _Here rests his Head upon the Lap of Earth
+ A Youth to Fortune and to Fame unknown:
+ Fair Science frown'd not on his humble Birth,
+ And Melancholy mark'd him for her own.
+ Large was his Bounty, and his Soul sincere,
+ Heav'n did a Recompense as largely send:
+ He gave to Mis'ry all he had, a Tear:
+ He gain'd from Heav'n ('twas all he wish'd) a Friend
+ No farther seek his Merits to disclose,
+ Or draw his Frailties from their dread Abode,
+ (There they alike in trembling Hope repose)
+ The Bosom of his Father and his God._
+
+
+FINIS.
+
+
+
+
+PUBLICATIONS OF THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY
+
+FIRST YEAR (1946-47)
+
+Numbers 1-4 out of print.
+
+5. Samuel Wesley's _Epistle to a Friend Concerning Poetry_ (1700) and
+_Essay on Heroic Poetry_ (1693).
+
+6. _Representation of the Impiety and Immorality of the Stage_ (1704) and
+_Some Thoughts Concerning the Stage_ (1704).
+
+SECOND YEAR (1947-1948)
+
+7. John Gay's _The Present State of Wit_ (1711); and a section on Wit from
+_The English Theophrastus_ (1702).
+
+8. Rapin's _De Carmine Pastorali_, translated by Creech (1684).
+
+9. T. Hanmer's (?) _Some Remarks on the Tragedy of Hamlet_ (1736).
+
+10. Corbyn Morris' _Essay towards Fixing the True Standards of Wit,
+etc._ (1744).
+
+11. Thomas Purney's _Discourse on the Pastoral_ (1717).
+
+12. Essays on the Stage, selected, with an Introduction by Joseph Wood
+Krutch.
+
+THIRD YEAR (1948-1949)
+
+13. Sir John Falstaff (pseud.), _The Theatre_ (1720).
+
+14. Edward Moore's _The Gamester_ (1753).
+
+15. John Oldmixon's _Reflections on Dr. Swift's Letter to Harley_
+(1712); and Arthur Mainwaring's _The British Academy_ (1712).
+
+16. Nevil Payne's _Fatal Jealousy_ (1673).
+
+17. Nicholas Rowe's _Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespeare_
+(1709).
+
+18. "Of Genius," in _The Occasional Paper_, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719);
+and Aaron Hill's Preface to _The Creation_ (1720).
+
+FOURTH YEAR (1949-1950)
+
+19. Susanna Centlivre's _The Busie Body_ (1709).
+
+20. Lewis Theobold's _Preface to The Works of Shakespeare_ (1734).
+
+21. _Critical Remarks on Sir Charles Grandison, Clarissa, and Pamela_
+(1754).
+
+22. Samuel Johnson's _The Vanity of Human Wishes_ (1749) and Two _Rambler_
+papers (1750).
+
+23. John Dryden's _His Majesties Declaration Defended_ (1681).
+
+24. Pierre Nicole's _An Essay on True and Apparent Beauty in Which
+from Settled Principles is Rendered the Grounds for Choosing and
+Rejecting Epigrams_, translated by J.V. Cunningham.
+
+FIFTH YEAR (1950-51)
+
+25. Thomas Baker's _The Fine Lady's Airs_ (1709).
+
+26. Charles Macklin's _The Man of the World_ (1792).
+
+27. Frances Reynolds' _An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Taste,
+and of the Origin of Our Ideas of Beauty, etc._ (1785).
+
+28. John Evelyn's _An Apologie for the Royal Party_ (1659); and _A
+Panegyric to Charles the Second_ (1661).
+
+29. Daniel Defoe's _A Vindication of the Press_ (1718).
+
+30. Essays on Taste from John Gilbert Cooper's _Letters Concerning
+Taste_, 3rd edition (1757), & John Armstrong's _Miscellanies_ (1770).
+
+
+
+
+William Andrews Clark Memorial Library: University of California
+
+THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY
+
+_General Editors_
+
+H. RICHARD ARCHER
+ William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
+
+R.C. BOYS
+ University of Michigan
+
+E.N. HOOKER
+ University of California, Los Angeles
+
+JOHN LOFTIS
+ University of California, Los Angeles
+
+The Society exists to make available inexpensive reprints (usually
+facsimile reproductions) of rare seventeenth and eighteenth century
+works. The editorial policy of the Society continues unchanged. As in
+the past, the editors welcome suggestions concerning publications. All
+income of the Society is devoted to defraying cost of publication and
+mailing.
+
+All correspondence concerning subscriptions in the United States and
+Canada should be addressed to the William Andrews Clark Memorial
+Library, 2205 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles 18, California.
+Correspondence concerning editorial matters may be addressed to any of
+the general editors. The membership fee is $3.00 a year for
+subscribers in the United States and Canada and 15/-for subscribers in
+Great Britain and Europe. British and European subscribers should
+address B.H. Blackwell, Broad Street, Oxford, England.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Publications for the sixth year [1951-1952],
+
+(At least six items, most of them from the following list, will be
+reprinted.)
+
+
+THOMAS GRAY: _An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard_ (1751).
+Introduction by George Sherburn.
+
+JAMES BOSWELL, ANDREW ERSKINE, and GEORGE DEMPSTER: _Critical
+Strictures on the New Tragedy of Elvira_ (1763). Introduction by
+Frederick A. Pottle.
+
+_An Essay on the New Species of Writing Founded by Mr. Fielding_
+(1751). Introduction by James A. Work.
+
+HENRY GALLY: _A Critical Essay on Characteristic Writing_ (1725).
+Introduction by Alexander Chorney.
+
+[JOHN PHILLIPS]: _Satyr Against Hypocrits_ (1655). Introduction by
+Leon Howard.
+
+_Prefaces to Fiction._ Selected and with an Introduction by Benjamin
+Boyce.
+
+THOMAS TYERS: _A Biographical Sketch of Dr. Samuel Johnson_ ([1785]).
+Introduction by Gerald Dennis Meyer.
+
+
+Publications for the first five years (with the exception of NOS. 1-4,
+which are out of print) are available at the rate of $3.00 a year.
+Prices for individual numbers may be obtained by writing to the
+Society.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY
+_WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY_
+2205 WEST ADAMS BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES 18, CALIFORNIA
+
+Make check or money order payable to THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
+CALIFORNIA.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The Eton College Manuscript, Page 1]
+
+[Illustration: The Eton College Manuscript, Page 2]
+
+[Illustration: The Eton College Manuscript, Page 3]
+
+[Illustration: The Eton College Manuscript, Page 4]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church
+Yard (1751) and The Eton College Manuscript, by Thomas Gray
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN ELEGY WROTE IN A COUNTRY ***
+
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard
+(1751) and The Eton College Manuscript, by Thomas Gray
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard (1751) and The Eton College Manuscript
+
+Author: Thomas Gray
+
+Release Date: March 18, 2005 [EBook #15409]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN ELEGY WROTE IN A COUNTRY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Starner, Diane Monico and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 95%;" />
+
+
+<h1>The Augustan Reprint Society<br /><br /><br /><br /></h1>
+
+
+
+<h4>THOMAS GRAY</h4>
+
+<h4><i>An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard</i></h4>
+
+<h4>(1751)</h4>
+
+<h4>and</h4>
+
+<h4><i>The Eton College Manuscript</i><br /><br /><br /><br /></h4>
+
+
+
+<p class="center">With an Introduction by</p>
+
+<h4>George Sherburn<br /><br /><br /></h4>
+
+
+<p class="center">Publication Number 31<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+
+<p class="center">
+Los Angeles<br />
+Williams Andrews Clark Memorial Library<br />
+University of California<br />
+1951<br /></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 95%;" />
+
+
+<p class="center">
+GENERAL EDITORS</p>
+
+<p class="center">H. RICHARD ARCHER, <i>Clark Memorial Library</i><br />
+RICHARD C. BOYS, <i>University of Michigan</i><br />
+JOHN LOFTIS, <i>University of California, Los Angeles</i><br /></p>
+
+
+<p class="center">ASSISTANT EDITOR</p>
+
+<p class="center">W. EARL BRITTON, <i>University of Michigan</i><br /></p>
+
+
+<p class="center">ADVISORY EDITORS</p>
+
+<p class="center">EMMETT L. AVERY, <i>State College of Washington</i><br />
+BENJAMIN BOYCE, <i>Duke University</i><br />
+LOUIS I. BREDVOLD, <i>University of Michigan</i><br />
+CLEANTH BROOKS, <i>Yale University</i><br />
+JAMES L. CLIFFORD, <i>Columbia University</i><br />
+ARTHUR FRIEDMAN, <i>University of Chicago</i><br />
+EDWARD NILES HOOKER, <i>University of California, Los Angeles</i><br />
+LOUIS A. LANDA, <i>Princeton University</i><br />
+SAMUEL H. MONK, <i>University of Minnesota</i><br />
+ERNEST MOSSNER, <i>University of Texas</i><br />
+JAMES SUTHERLAND, <i>University College, London</i><br />
+H.T. SWEDENBERG, JR., <i>University of California, Los Angeles</i><br />
+</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 95%;" />
+
+
+<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->
+<div class="toc">
+ <a href="#INTRODUCTION"><b>INTRODUCTION</b></a><br />
+ <a href="#A_NOTE_ON_THE_TEXTS"><b>A NOTE ON THE TEXTS</b></a><br />
+ <a href="#AN"><b>AN ELEGY WROTE IN A COUNTRY CHURCH YARD.</b></a><br />
+ <a href="#Advertisement"><b>ADVERTISEMENT</b></a><br />
+ <a href="#AN_ELEGY"><b>AN ELEGY <i>&amp;c.</i></b></a><br />
+ <a href="#PUBLICATIONS_OF_THE_AUGUSTAN_REPRINT_SOCIETY"><b>PUBLICATIONS OF THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY</b></a><br />
+ <a href="#image001_th"><b>The Eton College Manuscript image 001</b></a><br />
+ <a href="#image002_th"><b>The Eton College Manuscript image 002</b></a><br />
+ <a href="#image003_th"><b>The Eton College Manuscript image 003</b></a><br />
+ <a href="#image004_th"><b>The Eton College Manuscript image 004</b></a><br />
+</div>
+<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 95%;" />
+<h2><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION" />INTRODUCTION</h2>
+
+
+<p>To some the eighteenth-century definition of proper
+poetic matter is unacceptable; but to any who believe that
+true poetry may (if not &quot;must&quot;) consist in &quot;what oft was
+thought but ne'er so well expressed,&quot; Gray's &quot;Churchyard&quot;
+is a majestic achievement&mdash;perhaps (accepting the definition
+offered) the supreme achievement of its century. Its
+success, so the great critic of its day thought, lay in its
+appeal to &quot;the common reader&quot;; and though no friend of
+Gray's other work, Dr. Johnson went on to commend the &quot;Elegy&quot;
+as abounding &quot;with images which find a mirrour in every
+mind and with sentiments to which every bosom returns an
+echo.&quot; Universality, clarity, incisive lapidary diction&mdash;these
+qualities may be somewhat staled in praise of the
+&quot;classical&quot; style, yet it is precisely in these traits that
+the &quot;Elegy&quot; proves most nobly. The artificial figures of
+rhetorical arrangement that are so omnipresent in the antitheses,
+chiasmuses, parallelisms, etc., of Pope and his
+school are in Gray's best quatrains unobtrusive or even infrequent.</p>
+
+<p>Often in the art of the period an affectation of simplicity
+covers and reveals by turns a great thirst for ingenuity.
+Swift's prose is a fair example; in the &quot;Tale of a
+Tub&quot; and even in &quot;Gulliver&quot; at first sight there seems to
+appear only an honest and simple directness; but pry beneath
+the surface statements, or allow yourself to be dazzled by
+their coruscations of meaning, and you immediately see you
+are watching a stylistic prestidigitator. The later, more
+orderly dignity of Dr. Johnson's exquisitely chosen diction
+is likewise ingeniously studied and self-conscious. When
+Gray soared into the somewhat turgid pindaric tradition of
+his day, he too was slaking a thirst for rhetorical complexities.
+But in the &quot;Elegy&quot; we have none of that. Nor
+do we have artifices like the &quot;chaste Eve&quot; or the &quot;meek-eyed
+maiden&quot; apostrophized in Collins and Joseph Warton.
+For Gray the hour when the sky turns from opal to dusk
+leaves one not &quot;breathless with adoration,&quot; but moved calmly
+to placid reflection tuned to drowsy tinklings or to a moping
+owl. It endures no contortions of image or of verse.
+It registers the sensations of the hour and the reflections
+appropriate to it&mdash;simply.</p>
+
+<p>It is not difficult to be clear&mdash;so we are told by some
+who habitually fail of that quality&mdash;if you have nothing
+subtle to say. And it has been urged on high authority in
+our day that there is nothing really &quot;fine&quot; in Gray's &quot;Churchyard.&quot;
+However conscious Gray was in limiting his address
+to &quot;the common reader,&quot; we may be certain he was not writing
+to the obtuse, the illiterate or the insensitive. He was
+to create an evocation of evening: the evening of a day and
+the approaching night of life. The poem was not to be perplexed
+by doubt; it ends on a note of &quot;trembling hope&quot;&mdash;but
+on &quot;hope.&quot; There are perhaps better evocations of similar
+moods, but not of this precise mood. Shakespeare's poignant
+Sonnet LXXIII (&quot;That time of year&quot;), which suggests no hope,
+may be one. Blake's &quot;Nurse's Song&quot; is, in contrast, subtly
+tinged with modernistic disillusion:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span>When the voices of children are heard on the green<br /></span>
+<span>And whisp'rings are in the dale,<br /></span>
+<span>The days of my youth rise fresh in my mind,<br /></span>
+<span>My face turns green and pale.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span>Then come home, my children, the sun is gone down,<br /></span>
+<span>And the dews of night arise;<br /></span>
+<span>Your spring &amp; your day are wasted in play,<br /></span>
+<span>And your winter and night in disguise.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Here, too, are no tremblings of hope, no sound confidence in
+the &quot;average&quot; man, such as Gray surprisingly glimpses. One
+begins to suspect that it is more necessary to be subtle in
+evocations of despair than in those of hope, even if the
+hope is tremulous. The mood Gray sought required no obvious
+subtlety. The nearest approach to Gray (found in Catullus)
+may likewise be said to be deficient in overtones; but it
+also comes home to the heart of everyman:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span>o quid solutis est beatius curis,<br /></span>
+<span>cum mens onus reponit, ac peregrino<br /></span>
+<span>labore fessi venimus larem ad nostrum<br /></span>
+<span>desideratoque acquiescimus lecto!<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>These simple lines convey what Gray's ploughman is achieving
+for one evening, but not what the rude forefathers have
+achieved for eternity. From the ploughman and the simple
+annals of the poor the poem diverges to reproach the proud
+and great for their disregard of undistinguished merit, and
+moves on to praise of the sequestered life, and to an
+epitaph applicable either to a &quot;poeta ignotus&quot; or to Gray
+himself. The epitaph with its trembling hope transforms
+the poem into something like a personal yet universal
+requiem; and for one villager&mdash;perhaps for himself&mdash;Gray
+seems to murmur through the gathering darkness: &quot;et lux
+perpetua luceat ei.&quot; Although in this epitaph we may seem
+to be concerned with an individual, we do well to note that
+the youth to fortune and fame unknown, whose great &quot;bounty&quot;
+was only a tear, is as completely anonymous as the ploughman
+or the rude forefathers.</p>
+
+<p>The somber aspects of evening are perhaps more steadily
+preserved by Gray than by his contemporaries. From Milton
+to Joseph Warton all poets had made their ploughman
+unwearied as (to quote Warton):</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span>He jocund whistles thro' the twilight groves.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>With Gray all this blithe whistling stopped together.
+Evening poems by Dyer, Warton, and Collins had tended to
+be &quot;pretty,&quot; but here again Gray resisted temptation and
+regretfully omitted a stanza designed to precede immediately
+the epitaph:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span>There scatter'd oft, the earliest of ye Year<br /></span>
+<span>By hands unseen, are Show'rs of Violets found;<br /></span>
+<span>The Red-breast loves to build &amp; warble there,<br /></span>
+<span>And little Footsteps lightly print the Ground.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>With similar critical tact Gray realized that one might
+have too much of stately moral reflections unmixed with
+drama. Possibly such an idea determined him in discarding
+four noble quatrains with which he first designed to end
+his poem. After line 72 in the manuscript now in Eton
+College appeared these stanzas:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span>The thoughtless World to Majesty may bow<br /></span>
+<span>Exalt the brave, &amp; idolize Success<br /></span>
+<span>But more to Innocence their Safety owe<br /></span>
+<span>Than Power &amp; Genius e'er conspired to bless<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span>And thou, who mindful of the unhonour'd Dead<br /></span>
+<span>Dost in these Notes their artless Tale relate<br /></span>
+<span>By Night &amp; lonely Contemplation led<br /></span>
+<span>To linger in the gloomy Walks of Fate<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span>Hark how the sacred Calm, that broods around<br /></span>
+<span>Bids ev'ry fierce tumultuous Passion cease<br /></span>
+<span>In still small Accents, whisp'ring from the Ground<br /></span>
+<span>A grateful Earnest of eternal Peace<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span>No more with Reason &amp; thyself at Strife<br /></span>
+<span>Give anxious Cares &amp; endless Wishes room<br /></span>
+<span>But thro the cool sequester'd Vale of Life<br /></span>
+<span>Pursue the silent Tenour of thy Doom.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>&quot;And here,&quot; comments Mason, &quot;the Poem was originally intended
+to conclude, before the happy idea of the hoary-headed
+Swain, &amp;c. suggested itself to him.&quot; To reconstitute
+the poem with this original ending gives an interesting
+structure. The first three quatrains evoke the fall of
+darkness; four stanzas follow presenting the rude forefathers
+in their narrow graves; eleven quatrains follow in
+reproach of Ambition, Grandeur, Pride, et al., for failure
+to realize the high merit of humility. Then after line 72
+of the final version would come these four rejected stanzas,
+continuing the reproach of &quot;the thoughtless world,&quot; and
+turning all too briefly to one who could &quot;their artless
+tale relate,&quot; and to the calm that then breathes around
+tumultuous passion and speaks of eternal peace&mdash;and &quot;the
+silent tenor of thy doom.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>That would give a simpler structure; and one may argue
+whether turning back from the thoughtless world to praise
+again the &quot;cool sequester'd vale of life&quot; and then appending
+&quot;the happy idea of the hoary-headed swain, &amp;c.&quot; does
+really improve the poem structurally. Its method is, however,
+more acceptable in that now the reflections are imbedded
+in &quot;drama&quot; (or at least in narrative), and the total
+effect is more pleasing to present-day readers since we
+escape, or seem to escape, from the cool universality of
+humble life to a focus on an individual grief. To end on
+a grim note of generalized &quot;doom,&quot; would have given the
+poem a temporary success such as it deserved; and it must
+be acknowledged that the knell-like sound of &quot;No more ... No
+more&quot; (lines 20, 21) echoed and re-echoed for decades
+through the imaginations of gloom-fed poets. But Gray,
+although an undoubted &quot;graveyard&quot; poet, is no mere graveyard
+poet: he stands above and apart from the lot of them,
+and he was not content to end despondently in a descending
+gloom. His, as he told West, in a celebrated letter, was
+a &quot;white melancholy, or rather leucocholy&quot;; and he wrote
+of &quot;lachrymae rerum&quot; rather than of private mordant
+sorrows.</p>
+
+<p>The poem is couched in universals: Gray writes in &quot;a&quot;
+country churchyard, and the actual Stoke Poges, dear and
+lovely as it doubtless was to Gray, clings to the fame of
+the poem almost by accident. And yet, by a sort of paradox,
+this &quot;universal&quot; poem in its setting and mood is completely
+English. One could go too far from home for examples of
+distinction&mdash;for the polar stars of the rude forefathers&mdash;just
+as one could err by excess of &quot;commonplace&quot; reflections.
+Some such idea encouraged Gray to modify his fifteenth
+quatrain, which in the Eton MS reads (the first line
+has partly perished from folding of the paper):</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span>Some [Village] Cato [who] with dauntless Breast<br /></span>
+<span>The little Tyrant of his Fields withstood;<br /></span>
+<span>Some mute inglorious Tully here may rest;<br /></span>
+<span>Some Caesar, guiltless of his Country's Blood.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The substitution of English names is an obvious attempt to
+bring truth closer to the souls of his readers by use of
+&quot;domestica facta&quot; and the avoidance of school-boy learning.</p>
+
+<p>All these changes illustrate the quality of Gray's
+curious felicity. His assault on the reader's sensibilities
+was organized and careful: here is no sign of that contradiction
+in terms, &quot;unpremeditated art.&quot; He probably did not
+work on the poem so long as historians have said he did, but
+he scanted neither time nor attention. Mason thought the
+poem begun and perhaps finished in 1742, and he connected
+its somberness with Gray's great sorrow over the death of
+his close friend Richard West. All this seems more than
+doubtful: to Dr. Thomas Wharton in September 1746 Gray
+mentioned recently composing &quot;a few autumnal verses,&quot; and
+there is no real evidence of work on the poem before this
+time. Walpole evidently inclined to 1746 as the date of
+commencement, and it may be pointed out that Mason himself
+is not so sure of 1742 as have been his Victorian successors.
+All he says is, &quot;I am inclined to believe that the
+Elegy ... was begun, if not concluded, at this time [1742]
+also.&quot; Gray's reputation for extreme leisurely composition
+depends largely on the &quot;inclination&quot; to believe that the
+&quot;Elegy&quot; was begun in 1742 and on a later remark by Walpole
+concerning Gray's project for a History of Poetry. In a
+letter of 5 May 1761 Walpole joked to Montagu saying that
+Gray, &quot;if he rides Pegasus at his usual foot-pace, will
+finish the first page two years hence.&quot; Not really so
+slow as this remark suggests, Gray finally sent his &quot;Elegy&quot; to
+Walpole in June of 1750, and in December he sent perhaps
+an earlier form of the poem to Dr. Wharton. Naturally delighted
+with the perfected utterance of this finely chiseled
+work, these two friends passed it about in manuscript,
+and allowed copies to be taken.</p>
+
+<p>Publication, normally abhorrent to Gray, thus became
+inevitable, though apparently not contemplated by Gray himself.
+The private success of the poem was greater than he
+had anticipated, and in February of 1751 he was horrified
+to receive a letter from the editor of a young and undistinguished
+periodical, &quot;The Magazine of Magazines,&quot; who
+planned to print forthwith the &quot;ingenious poem, call'd
+Reflections in a Country-Churchyard.&quot; Gray hastily wrote
+to Walpole (11 February), insisting that he should &quot;make
+Dodsley print it immediately&quot; from Walpole's copy, without
+Gray's name, but with good paper and letter. He prescribed
+the titlepage as well as other details, and within four
+days Dodsley had the poem in print, and anticipated the
+piratical &quot;Magazine&quot; by one day. But the &quot;Magazine&quot; named
+Gray as the author, and success without anonymity was the
+fate of the &quot;Elegy.&quot; Edition followed edition, and the poem
+was almost from birth an international classic.</p>
+
+<p>One of the author's prescriptions for publication concerned
+the verse form. He told Walpole that Dodsley must
+&quot;print it without any Interval between the Stanza's, because
+the Sense is in some Places continued beyond them.&quot;
+In the Egerton MS Gray had written the poem with no breaks
+to set off quatrains, but in the earlier MS (Eton College),
+where the poem is entitled, &quot;Stanza's, wrote in a Country
+Church-Yard,&quot; the quatrains are spaced in normal fashion.
+The injunction shows Gray's sensitiveness as to metrical
+form. He had called the poem an Elegy only after urging by
+Mason, and he possibly doubted if his metre was &quot;soft&quot;
+enough for true elegy. The metre hitherto had not been
+common in elegies, though James Hammond's &quot;Love Elegies&quot;
+(1743) had used it and won acclaim. But the heroic
+(hendecasyllabic) quatrain was regarded in general as too
+lofty, stately, cool, for elegy. For the universal aspect
+of Gray's lament, however, it was highly apt as compared
+with the less majestic octosyllabic line, hitherto normal
+in this genre. For years after Gray's great success, however,
+most elegies, if in quatrain form, followed Gray's
+quatrain in manner, whether or not their subjects demanded
+the stately line.</p>
+
+<p>The reasons why Gray is almost a poet of only one poem
+are not far to seek. He did not covet applause, and apart
+from melancholy his own emotions were too private to be
+published. In the &quot;Elegy&quot; he is true to himself and to the
+spirit of his age&mdash;perhaps of most ages. When he sought
+for material outside of his own experience, he went curiously
+to books, and was captivated by the &quot;r&eacute;cherch&eacute;.&quot; He was
+also caught by the rising cult of sublimity in his two great
+pindaric odes, and by the cult of the picturesque in his
+flirtations with Scandinavian materials. In these later
+poems he broadened the field of poetic material notably;
+but in them he hardly deepened the imaginative or emotional
+tone: his manner, rather, became elaborate and theatrical.
+The &quot;Elegy&quot; is the language of the heart sincerely perfected.</p>
+
+<p>The poem has pleased many and pleased long&mdash;throughout
+two centuries. In part it works through &quot;pleasing melancholy&quot;;
+in part it appeals to innumerable humble readers
+conscious of their own unheralded merit. Inevitably, since
+the industrial revolution, modernist critics have tended to
+stress its appeal to class consciousness. This appeal,
+real though it is, can be overemphasized. The rude forefathers
+are not primarily presented as underprivileged.
+Though poverty-stricken and ignorant, they are happy in
+family life and jocund in the field. &quot;Nature is nature
+wherever placed,&quot; as the intellectuals of Gray's time loved
+to say, and the powers of the village fathers, potentially,
+equal the greatest; their virtue is contentment. They
+neither want nor need &quot;storied urn or animated bust.&quot; If
+they are unappreciated by Ambition, Grandeur, Pride, et al.,
+the lack of appreciation is due to a corruption of values.
+The value commended in the &quot;Elegy&quot; is that of the simple
+life, which alone is rational and virtuous&mdash;it is the life
+according to nature. Sophisticated living, Gray implies in
+the stanza that once ended the poem, finds man at war with
+himself and with reason; but the cool sequestered path&mdash;its
+goal identical with that of the paths of Glory&mdash;finds man
+at peace with himself and with reason. The theme was not
+new before Gray made it peculiarly his own, and it has become
+somewhat hackneyed in the last two hundred years; but
+the fact that it is seldom unheard in any decade testifies
+to its permanency of appeal, and the fact that it was &quot;ne'er
+so well express'd&quot; as in the &quot;Elegy&quot; justifies our love for
+that poem.</p>
+
+<p class="citation">
+George Sherburn<br />
+Harvard University<br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 95%;" />
+<h2><a name="A_NOTE_ON_THE_TEXTS" id="A_NOTE_ON_THE_TEXTS" />A NOTE ON THE TEXTS</h2>
+
+
+<p>The first edition of the &quot;Elegy&quot; is here reproduced
+from a copy in the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library.</p>
+
+<p>By permission of the Provost and Fellows of Eton College,
+the manuscript preserved in the library of Eton College is
+also reproduced. This manuscript once belonged to Gray's
+friend, biographer, and editor, William Mason. In spite of
+its dimness, due to creases in the paper and to the fact
+that the ink shows through from the other side of the paper,
+this manuscript is chosen for reproduction because it preserves
+the quatrains discarded before printing the poem,
+and has other interesting variants in text. Two other MSS
+of the poem in Gray's hand are known to exist. One is preserved
+in the British Museum (Egerton 2400, ff. 45-6) and
+the other is the copy made by Gray in Volume II of his
+Commonplace Books. This, is appropriately preserved in the
+library of Pembroke College, Cambridge. Sir William Fraser
+bequeathed to Eton College the MS there found, which in
+certain editions of the poem is called &quot;the Fraser manuscript.&quot;</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 95%;" />
+<h3><a name="AN" id="AN" />AN</h3>
+
+<h2>ELEGY</h2>
+
+<h4>WROTE IN A</h4>
+
+<h2>Country Church Yard.</h2>
+
+<hr style="width: 33%;" />
+
+<p class="center"><i>LONDON:</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><small>Printed for R. DODSLEY in <i>Pall-mall</i>;</small></p>
+
+<p class="center"><small>And sold by M. COOPER in <i>Pater-noster-Row</i>. 1751.</small></p>
+
+<p class="center"><small>[Price Six-pence.]</small></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 95%;" />
+<h2><a name="Advertisement" id="Advertisement" />Advertisement.</h2>
+
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><i>The following</i> POEM <i>came into my Hands by Accident,
+if the general Approbation with which this little Piece
+has been spread, may be call'd by so slight a Term as Accident.
+It is this Approbation which makes it unnecessary for
+me to make any Apology but to the Author: As he cannot
+but feel some Satisfaction in having pleas'd so many Readers
+already, I flatter myself he will forgive my communicating
+that Pleasure to many more.</i></p>
+
+<p class="citation">
+ The <i>EDITOR</i><br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 95%;" />
+<h3><a name="AN_ELEGY" id="AN_ELEGY" />AN</h3>
+
+<h2>ELEGY, <i>&amp;c.</i></h2>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">The <i>Curfeu</i> tolls the Knell of parting Day,<br /></span>
+<span>The lowing Herd winds slowly o'er the Lea,<br /></span>
+<span>The Plow-man homeward plods his weary Way,<br /></span>
+<span>And leaves the World to Darkness, and to me.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Now fades the glimmering Landscape on the Sight,<br /></span>
+<span>And all the Air a solemn Stillness holds;<br /></span>
+<span>Save where the Beetle wheels his droning Flight,<br /></span>
+<span>And drowsy Tinklings lull the distant Folds.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Save that from yonder Ivy-mantled Tow'r<br /></span>
+<span>The mopeing Owl does to the Moon complain<br /></span>
+<span>Of such, as wand'ring near her sacred Bow'r,<br /></span>
+<span>Molest her ancient solitary Reign.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Beneath those rugged Elms, that Yew-Tree's Shade,<br /></span>
+<span>Where heaves the Turf in many a mould'ring Heap,<br /></span>
+<span>Each in his narrow Cell for ever laid,<br /></span>
+<span>The rude Forefathers of the Hamlet sleep.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The breezy Call of Incense-breathing Morn,<br /></span>
+<span>The Swallow twitt'ring from the Straw-built Shed,<br /></span>
+<span>The Cock's shrill Clarion, or the ecchoing Horn,<br /></span>
+<span>No more shall wake them from their lowly Bed.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">For them no more the blazing Hearth shall burn,<br /></span>
+<span>Or busy Houswife ply her Evening Care:<br /></span>
+<span>No Children run to lisp their Sire's Return,<br /></span>
+<span>Or climb his Knees the envied Kiss to share.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Oft did the Harvest to their Sickle yield,<br /></span>
+<span>Their Furrow oft the stubborn Glebe has broke;<br /></span>
+<span>How jocund did they they drive their Team afield!<br /></span>
+<span>How bow'd the Woods beneath their sturdy Stroke!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Let not Ambition mock their useful Toil,<br /></span>
+<span>Their homely Joys and Destiny obscure;<br /></span>
+<span>Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful Smile,<br /></span>
+<span>The short and simple Annals of the Poor.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The Boast of Heraldry, the Pomp of Pow'r,<br /></span>
+<span>And all that Beauty, all that Wealth e'er gave,<br /></span>
+<span>Awaits alike th' inevitable Hour.<br /></span>
+<span>The Paths of Glory lead but to the Grave.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Forgive, ye Proud, th' involuntary Fault,<br /></span>
+<span>If Memory to these no Trophies raise,<br /></span>
+<span>Where thro' the long-drawn Isle and fretted Vault<br /></span>
+<span>The pealing Anthem swells the Note of Praise.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Can storied Urn or animated Bust<br /></span>
+<span>Back to its Mansion call the fleeting Breath?<br /></span>
+<span>Can Honour's Voice provoke the silent Dust,<br /></span>
+<span>Or Flatt'ry sooth the dull cold Ear of Death!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Perhaps in this neglected Spot is laid<br /></span>
+<span>Some Heart once pregnant with celestial Fire,<br /></span>
+<span>Hands that the Reins of Empire might have sway'd,<br /></span>
+<span>Or wak'd to Extacy the living Lyre.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">But Knowledge to their Eyes her ample Page<br /></span>
+<span>Rich with the Spoils of Time did ne'er unroll;<br /></span>
+<span>Chill Penury repress'd their noble Rage,<br /></span>
+<span>And froze the genial Current of the Soul.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Full many a Gem of purest Ray serene,<br /></span>
+<span>The dark unfathom'd Caves of Ocean bear:<br /></span>
+<span>Full many a Flower is born to blush unseen,<br /></span>
+<span>And waste its Sweetness on the desart Air.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Some Village-<i>Hampden</i> that with dauntless Breast<br /></span>
+<span>The little Tyrant of his Fields withstood;<br /></span>
+<span>Some mute inglorious <i>Milton</i> here may rest,<br /></span>
+<span>Some <i>Cromwell</i> guiltless of his Country's Blood.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Th' Applause of list'ning Senates to command,<br /></span>
+<span>The Threats of Pain and Ruin to despise,<br /></span>
+<span>To scatter Plenty o'er a smiling Land,<br /></span>
+<span>And read their Hist'ry in a Nation's Eyes<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Their Lot forbad: nor circumscrib'd alone<br /></span>
+<span>Their growing Virtues, but their Crimes confin'd;<br /></span>
+<span>Forbad to wade through Slaughter to a Throne,<br /></span>
+<span>And shut the Gates of Mercy on Mankind,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The struggling Pangs of conscious Truth to hide,<br /></span>
+<span>To quench the Blushes of ingenuous Shame,<br /></span>
+<span>Or heap the Shrine of Luxury and Pride<br /></span>
+<span>With Incense, kindled at the Muse's Flame.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Far from the madding Crowd's ignoble Strife,<br /></span>
+<span>Their sober Wishes never learn'd to stray;<br /></span>
+<span>Along the cool sequester'd Vale of Life<br /></span>
+<span>They kept the noiseless Tenor of their Way.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Yet ev'n these Bones from Insult to protect<br /></span>
+<span>Some frail Memorial still erected nigh,<br /></span>
+<span>With uncouth Rhimes and shapeless Sculpture deck'd,<br /></span>
+<span>Implores the passing Tribute of a Sigh.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Their Name, their Years, spelt by th' unlettered Muse,<br /></span>
+<span>The Place of Fame and Elegy supply:<br /></span>
+<span>And many a holy Text around she strews,<br /></span>
+<span>That teach the rustic Moralist to dye.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">For who to dumb Forgetfulness a Prey,<br /></span>
+<span>This pleasing anxious Being e'er resign'd,<br /></span>
+<span>Left the warm Precincts of the chearful Day,<br /></span>
+<span>Nor cast one longing ling'ring Look behind!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">On some fond Breast the parting Soul relies,<br /></span>
+<span>Some pious Drops the closing Eye requires;<br /></span>
+<span>Ev'n from the Tomb the Voice of Nature cries<br /></span>
+<span>Awake, and faithful to her wonted Fires.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">For thee, who mindful of th' unhonour'd Dead<br /></span>
+<span>Dost in these Lines their artless Tale relate;<br /></span>
+<span>If chance, by lonely Contemplation led,<br /></span>
+<span>Some hidden Spirit shall inquire thy Fate,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Haply some hoary-headed Swain may say,<br /></span>
+<span>'Oft have we seen him at the Peep of Dawn<br /></span>
+<span>'Brushing with hasty Steps the Dews away<br /></span>
+<span>'To meet the Sun upon the upland Lawn.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">'There at the Foot of yonder nodding Beech<br /></span>
+<span>'That wreathes its old fantastic Roots so high,<br /></span>
+<span>'His listless Length at Noontide wou'd he stretch,<br /></span>
+<span>'And pore upon the Brook that babbles by.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">'Hard by yon Wood, now frowning as in Scorn,<br /></span>
+<span>'Mutt'ring his wayward Fancies he wou'd rove,<br /></span>
+<span>'Now drooping, woeful wan, like one forlorn,<br /></span>
+<span>'Or craz'd with Care, or cross'd in hopeless Love.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">'One Morn I miss'd him on the custom'd Hill,<br /></span>
+<span>'Along the Heath, and near his fav'rite Tree;<br /></span>
+<span>'Another came; nor yet beside the Rill,<br /></span>
+<span>'Nor up the Lawn, nor at the Wood was he.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">'The next with Dirges due in sad Array<br /></span>
+<span>'Slow thro' the Church-way Path we saw him born.<br /></span>
+<span>'Approach and read (for thou can'st read) the Lay,<br /></span>
+<span>'Grav'd on the Stone beneath yon aged Thorn.<br /><br /><br /></span>
+</div>
+
+<span class="i4">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The EPITAPH.<br /><br /></span>
+
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><i>Here rests his Head upon the Lap of Earth</i><br /></span>
+<span><i>A Youth to Fortune and to Fame unknown:</i><br /></span>
+<span><i>Fair Science frown'd not on his humble Birth,</i><br /></span>
+<span><i>And Melancholy mark'd him for her own.</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i2"><i>Large was his Bounty, and his Soul sincere,</i><br /></span>
+<span><i>Heav'n did a Recompense as largely send:</i><br /></span>
+<span><i>He gave to Mis'ry all he had, a Tear:</i><br /></span>
+<span><i>He gain'd from Heav'n ('twas all he wish'd) a Friend</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i2"><i>No farther seek his Merits to disclose,</i><br /></span>
+<span><i>Or draw his Frailties from their dread Abode,</i><br /></span>
+<span><i>(There they alike in trembling Hope repose)</i><br /></span>
+<span><i>The Bosom of his Father and his God.</i><br /></span>
+</div>
+
+
+<span class="i4">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>FINIS.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 95%;" />
+<h3><a name="PUBLICATIONS_OF_THE_AUGUSTAN_REPRINT_SOCIETY" id="PUBLICATIONS_OF_THE_AUGUSTAN_REPRINT_SOCIETY" />PUBLICATIONS OF THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY</h3>
+
+<p>
+FIRST YEAR (1946-47)<br />
+<br />
+Numbers 1-4 out of print.<br />
+<br />
+5. Samuel Wesley's <i>Epistle to a Friend Concerning Poetry</i> (1700) and <i>Essay on
+Heroic Poetry</i> (1693).<br />
+<br />
+6. <i>Representation of the Impiety and Immorality of the Stage</i> (1704) and
+<i>Some Thoughts Concerning the Stage</i> (1704).<br />
+<br />
+SECOND YEAR (1947-1948)<br />
+<br />
+7. John Gay's <i>The Present State of Wit</i> (1711); and a section on Wit from
+<i>The English Theophrastus</i> (1702).<br />
+<br />
+8. Rapin's <i>De Carmine Pastorali</i>, translated by Creech (1684).<br />
+<br />
+9. T. Hanmer's (?) <i>Some Remarks on the Tragedy of Hamlet</i> (1736).<br />
+<br />
+10. Corbyn Morris' <i>Essay towards Fixing the True Standards of Wit, etc.</i> (1744).<br />
+<br />
+11. Thomas Purney's <i>Discourse on the Pastoral</i> (1717).<br />
+<br />
+12. Essays on the Stage, selected, with an Introduction by Joseph Wood Krutch.<br />
+<br />
+THIRD YEAR (1948-1949)<br />
+<br />
+13. Sir John Falstaff (pseud.), <i>The Theatre</i> (1720).<br />
+<br />
+14. Edward Moore's <i>The Gamester</i> (1753).<br />
+<br />
+15. John Oldmixon's <i>Reflections on Dr. Swift's Letter to Harley</i> (1712); and
+Arthur Mainwaring's <i>The British Academy</i> (1712).<br />
+<br />
+16. Nevil Payne's <i>Fatal Jealousy</i> (1673).<br />
+<br />
+17. Nicholas Rowe's <i>Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespeare</i>
+(1709).<br />
+<br />
+18. &quot;Of Genius,&quot; in <i>The Occasional Paper</i>, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719); and Aaron
+Hill's Preface to <i>The Creation</i> (1720).<br />
+<br />
+FOURTH YEAR (1949-1950)<br />
+<br />
+19. Susanna Centlivre's <i>The Busie Body</i> (1709).<br />
+<br />
+20. Lewis Theobold's <i>Preface to The Works of Shakespeare</i> (1734).<br />
+<br />
+21. <i>Critical Remarks on Sir Charles Grandison, Clarissa, and Pamela</i> (1754).<br />
+<br />
+22. Samuel Johnson's <i>The Vanity of Human Wishes</i> (1749) and Two <i>Rambler</i>
+papers (1750).<br />
+<br />
+23. John Dryden's <i>His Majesties Declaration Defended</i> (1681).<br />
+<br />
+24. Pierre Nicole's <i>An Essay on True and Apparent Beauty in Which from Settled
+Principles is Rendered the Grounds for Choosing and Rejecting Epigrams</i>,
+translated by J.V. Cunningham.<br />
+<br />
+FIFTH YEAR (1950-51)<br />
+<br />
+25. Thomas Baker's <i>The Fine Lady's Airs</i> (1709).<br />
+<br />
+26. Charles Macklin's <i>The Man of the World</i> (1792).<br />
+<br />
+27. Frances Reynolds' <i>An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Taste, and of
+the Origin of Our Ideas of Beauty, etc.</i> (1785).<br />
+<br />
+28. John Evelyn's <i>An Apologie for the Royal Party</i> (1659); and <i>A Panegyric
+to Charles the Second</i> (1661).<br />
+<br />
+29. Daniel Defoe's <i>A Vindication of the Press</i> (1718).<br />
+<br />
+30. Essays on Taste from John Gilbert Cooper's <i>Letters Concerning Taste</i>, 3rd
+edition (1757), &amp; John Armstrong's <i>Miscellanies</i> (1770).<br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h3><a name="William_Andrews_Clark_Memorial_Library_University_of_California" id="William_Andrews_Clark_Memorial_Library_University_of_California" />William Andrews Clark Memorial Library: University of California</h3>
+
+<h2>THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY</h2>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='center'></td><td align='center'><i>General Editors</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>H. RICHARD ARCHER<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;William Andrews Clark Memorial Library</td><td align='center'></td><td align='left'>E.N. HOOKER<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;University of California, Los Angeles</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>R.C. BOYS<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;University of Michigan</td><td align='center'></td><td align='left'>JOHN LOFTIS<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;University of California, Los Angeles</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<p>The Society exists to make available inexpensive reprints (usually facsimile reproductions) of rare
+seventeenth and eighteenth century works. The editorial policy of the Society continues unchanged. As
+in the past, the editors welcome suggestions concerning publications. All income of the Society is devoted
+to defraying cost of publication and mailing.</p>
+
+<p>All correspondence concerning subscriptions in the United States and Canada should be addressed to the
+William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 2205 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles 18, California. Correspondence
+concerning editorial matters may be addressed to any of the general editors. The membership fee is
+$3.00 a year for subscribers in the United States and Canada and 15/-for subscribers in Great Britain and
+Europe. British and European subscribers should address B.H. Blackwell, Broad Street, Oxford, England.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 33%;' />
+
+<p class="center">Publications for the sixth year [1951-1952],</p>
+
+<p class="center">(At least six items, most of them from the following list, will be reprinted.)</p>
+
+
+<p>THOMAS GRAY: <i>An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard</i> (1751). Introduction by George Sherburn.</p>
+
+<p>JAMES BOSWELL, ANDREW ERSKINE, and GEORGE DEMPSTER: <i>Critical Strictures on the New Tragedy of
+ Elvira</i> (1763). Introduction by Frederick A. Pottle.</p>
+
+<p><i>An Essay on the New Species of Writing Founded by Mr. Fielding</i> (1751). Introduction by James A. Work.</p>
+
+<p>HENRY GALLY: <i>A Critical Essay on Characteristic Writing</i> (1725). Introduction by Alexander Chorney.</p>
+
+<p>[JOHN PHILLIPS]: <i>Satyr Against Hypocrits</i> (1655). Introduction by Leon Howard.</p>
+
+<p><i>Prefaces to Fiction.</i> Selected and with an Introduction by Benjamin Boyce.</p>
+
+<p>THOMAS TYERS: <i>A Biographical Sketch of Dr. Samuel Johnson</i> ([1785]). Introduction by Gerald Dennis Meyer.</p>
+
+
+<p>Publications for the first five years (with the exception of NOS. 1-4, which are out of print) are available at
+the rate of $3.00 a year. Prices for individual numbers may be obtained by writing to the Society.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 33%;' />
+
+<p class="center">
+THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY<br />
+<small><i>WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY</i></small><br />
+<small>2205 WEST ADAMS BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES 18, CALIFORNIA</small><br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><small>Make check or money order payable to THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.</small></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;">
+<a id="image001_th" name="image001_th"></a>
+<a href="./images/image001.jpg">
+<img src="images/image001_th.jpg" width="380" height="450"
+ alt="The Eton College Manuscript image 001."
+ title="The Eton College Manuscript image 001." /></a>
+<span class="caption">The Eton College Manuscript image 001.<br />(Click image for larger view.)</span>
+</div><p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;">
+<a id="image002_th" name="image002_th"></a>
+<a href="./images/image002.jpg">
+<img src="images/image002_th.jpg" width="380" height="450"
+ alt="The Eton College Manuscript image 002."
+ title="The Eton College Manuscript image 002." /></a>
+<span class="caption">The Eton College Manuscript image 002.<br />(Click image for larger view.)</span>
+</div><p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;">
+<a id="image003_th" name="image003_th"></a>
+<a href="./images/image003.jpg">
+<img src="images/image003_th.jpg" width="380" height="450"
+ alt="The Eton College Manuscript image 003."
+ title="The Eton College Manuscript image 003." /></a>
+<span class="caption">The Eton College Manuscript image 003.<br />(Click image for larger view.)</span>
+</div><p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;">
+<a id="image004_th" name="image004_th"></a>
+<a href="./images/image004.jpg">
+<img src="images/image004_th.jpg" width="380" height="450"
+ alt="The Eton College Manuscript image 004."
+ title="The Eton College Manuscript image 004." /></a>
+<span class="caption">The Eton College Manuscript image 004.<br />(Click image for larger view.)</span>
+</div><p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church
+Yard (1751) and The Eton College Manuscript, by Thomas Gray
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN ELEGY WROTE IN A COUNTRY ***
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard
+(1751) and The Eton College Manuscript, by Thomas Gray
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard (1751) and The Eton College Manuscript
+
+Author: Thomas Gray
+
+Release Date: March 18, 2005 [EBook #15409]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN ELEGY WROTE IN A COUNTRY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Starner, Diane Monico and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+The Augustan Reprint Society
+
+
+
+THOMAS GRAY
+
+_An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard_
+
+(1751)
+
+and
+
+_The Eton College Manuscript_
+
+
+
+With an Introduction by
+
+George Sherburn
+
+
+Publication Number 31
+
+
+Los Angeles
+Williams Andrews Clark Memorial Library
+University of California
+1951
+
+
+
+
+GENERAL EDITORS
+
+H. RICHARD ARCHER, _Clark Memorial Library_
+RICHARD C. BOYS, _University of Michigan_
+JOHN LOFTIS, _University of California, Los Angeles_
+
+
+ASSISTANT EDITOR
+
+W. EARL BRITTON, _University of Michigan_
+
+
+ADVISORY EDITORS
+
+EMMETT L. AVERY, _State College of Washington_
+BENJAMIN BOYCE, _Duke University_
+LOUIS I. BREDVOLD, _University of Michigan_
+CLEANTH BROOKS, _Yale University_
+JAMES L. CLIFFORD, _Columbia University_
+ARTHUR FRIEDMAN, _University of Chicago_
+EDWARD NILES HOOKER, _University of California, Los Angeles_
+LOUIS A. LANDA, _Princeton University_
+SAMUEL H. MONK, _University of Minnesota_
+ERNEST MOSSNER, _University of Texas_
+JAMES SUTHERLAND, _University College, London_
+H.T. SWEDENBERG, JR., _University of California, Los Angeles_
+
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+To some the eighteenth-century definition of proper poetic matter is
+unacceptable; but to any who believe that true poetry may (if not
+"must") consist in "what oft was thought but ne'er so well expressed,"
+Gray's "Churchyard" is a majestic achievement--perhaps (accepting the
+definition offered) the supreme achievement of its century. Its
+success, so the great critic of its day thought, lay in its appeal to
+"the common reader"; and though no friend of Gray's other work, Dr.
+Johnson went on to commend the "Elegy" as abounding "with images which
+find a mirrour in every mind and with sentiments to which every bosom
+returns an echo." Universality, clarity, incisive lapidary
+diction--these qualities may be somewhat staled in praise of the
+"classical" style, yet it is precisely in these traits that the
+"Elegy" proves most nobly. The artificial figures of rhetorical
+arrangement that are so omnipresent in the antitheses, chiasmuses,
+parallelisms, etc., of Pope and his school are in Gray's best
+quatrains unobtrusive or even infrequent.
+
+Often in the art of the period an affectation of simplicity covers and
+reveals by turns a great thirst for ingenuity. Swift's prose is a fair
+example; in the "Tale of a Tub" and even in "Gulliver" at first sight
+there seems to appear only an honest and simple directness; but pry
+beneath the surface statements, or allow yourself to be dazzled by
+their coruscations of meaning, and you immediately see you are
+watching a stylistic prestidigitator. The later, more orderly dignity
+of Dr. Johnson's exquisitely chosen diction is likewise ingeniously
+studied and self-conscious. When Gray soared into the somewhat turgid
+pindaric tradition of his day, he too was slaking a thirst for
+rhetorical complexities. But in the "Elegy" we have none of that. Nor
+do we have artifices like the "chaste Eve" or the "meek-eyed maiden"
+apostrophized in Collins and Joseph Warton. For Gray the hour when the
+sky turns from opal to dusk leaves one not "breathless with
+adoration," but moved calmly to placid reflection tuned to drowsy
+tinklings or to a moping owl. It endures no contortions of image or of
+verse. It registers the sensations of the hour and the reflections
+appropriate to it--simply.
+
+It is not difficult to be clear--so we are told by some who habitually
+fail of that quality--if you have nothing subtle to say. And it has
+been urged on high authority in our day that there is nothing really
+"fine" in Gray's "Churchyard." However conscious Gray was in limiting
+his address to "the common reader," we may be certain he was not
+writing to the obtuse, the illiterate or the insensitive. He was to
+create an evocation of evening: the evening of a day and the
+approaching night of life. The poem was not to be perplexed by doubt;
+it ends on a note of "trembling hope"--but on "hope." There are
+perhaps better evocations of similar moods, but not of this precise
+mood. Shakespeare's poignant Sonnet LXXIII ("That time of year"),
+which suggests no hope, may be one. Blake's "Nurse's Song" is, in
+contrast, subtly tinged with modernistic disillusion:
+
+ When the voices of children are heard on the green
+ And whisp'rings are in the dale,
+ The days of my youth rise fresh in my mind,
+ My face turns green and pale.
+
+ Then come home, my children, the sun is gone down,
+ And the dews of night arise;
+ Your spring & your day are wasted in play,
+ And your winter and night in disguise.
+
+Here, too, are no tremblings of hope, no sound confidence in the
+"average" man, such as Gray surprisingly glimpses. One begins to
+suspect that it is more necessary to be subtle in evocations of
+despair than in those of hope, even if the hope is tremulous. The mood
+Gray sought required no obvious subtlety. The nearest approach to Gray
+(found in Catullus) may likewise be said to be deficient in overtones;
+but it also comes home to the heart of everyman:
+
+ o quid solutis est beatius curis,
+ cum mens onus reponit, ac peregrino
+ labore fessi venimus larem ad nostrum
+ desideratoque acquiescimus lecto!
+
+These simple lines convey what Gray's ploughman is achieving for one
+evening, but not what the rude forefathers have achieved for eternity.
+From the ploughman and the simple annals of the poor the poem diverges
+to reproach the proud and great for their disregard of undistinguished
+merit, and moves on to praise of the sequestered life, and to an
+epitaph applicable either to a "poeta ignotus" or to Gray himself. The
+epitaph with its trembling hope transforms the poem into something
+like a personal yet universal requiem; and for one villager--perhaps
+for himself--Gray seems to murmur through the gathering darkness: "et
+lux perpetua luceat ei." Although in this epitaph we may seem to be
+concerned with an individual, we do well to note that the youth to
+fortune and fame unknown, whose great "bounty" was only a tear, is as
+completely anonymous as the ploughman or the rude forefathers.
+
+The somber aspects of evening are perhaps more steadily preserved by
+Gray than by his contemporaries. From Milton to Joseph Warton all
+poets had made their ploughman unwearied as (to quote Warton):
+
+ He jocund whistles thro' the twilight groves.
+
+With Gray all this blithe whistling stopped together. Evening poems by
+Dyer, Warton, and Collins had tended to be "pretty," but here again
+Gray resisted temptation and regretfully omitted a stanza designed to
+precede immediately the epitaph:
+
+ There scatter'd oft, the earliest of ye Year
+ By hands unseen, are Show'rs of Violets found;
+ The Red-breast loves to build & warble there,
+ And little Footsteps lightly print the Ground.
+
+With similar critical tact Gray realized that one might have too much
+of stately moral reflections unmixed with drama. Possibly such an
+idea determined him in discarding four noble quatrains with which he
+first designed to end his poem. After line 72 in the manuscript now in
+Eton College appeared these stanzas:
+
+ The thoughtless World to Majesty may bow
+ Exalt the brave, & idolize Success
+ But more to Innocence their Safety owe
+ Than Power & Genius e'er conspired to bless
+
+ And thou, who mindful of the unhonour'd Dead
+ Dost in these Notes their artless Tale relate
+ By Night & lonely Contemplation led
+ To linger in the gloomy Walks of Fate
+
+ Hark how the sacred Calm, that broods around
+ Bids ev'ry fierce tumultuous Passion cease
+ In still small Accents, whisp'ring from the Ground
+ A grateful Earnest of eternal Peace
+
+ No more with Reason & thyself at Strife
+ Give anxious Cares & endless Wishes room
+ But thro the cool sequester'd Vale of Life
+ Pursue the silent Tenour of thy Doom.
+
+"And here," comments Mason, "the Poem was originally intended to
+conclude, before the happy idea of the hoary-headed Swain, &c.
+suggested itself to him." To reconstitute the poem with this original
+ending gives an interesting structure. The first three quatrains evoke
+the fall of darkness; four stanzas follow presenting the rude
+forefathers in their narrow graves; eleven quatrains follow in
+reproach of Ambition, Grandeur, Pride, et al., for failure to realize
+the high merit of humility. Then after line 72 of the final version
+would come these four rejected stanzas, continuing the reproach of
+"the thoughtless world," and turning all too briefly to one who could
+"their artless tale relate," and to the calm that then breathes around
+tumultuous passion and speaks of eternal peace--and "the silent tenor
+of thy doom."
+
+That would give a simpler structure; and one may argue whether turning
+back from the thoughtless world to praise again the "cool sequester'd
+vale of life" and then appending "the happy idea of the hoary-headed
+swain, &c." does really improve the poem structurally. Its method is,
+however, more acceptable in that now the reflections are imbedded in
+"drama" (or at least in narrative), and the total effect is more
+pleasing to present-day readers since we escape, or seem to escape,
+from the cool universality of humble life to a focus on an individual
+grief. To end on a grim note of generalized "doom," would have given
+the poem a temporary success such as it deserved; and it must be
+acknowledged that the knell-like sound of "No more ... No more" (lines
+20, 21) echoed and re-echoed for decades through the imaginations of
+gloom-fed poets. But Gray, although an undoubted "graveyard" poet, is
+no mere graveyard poet: he stands above and apart from the lot of
+them, and he was not content to end despondently in a descending
+gloom. His, as he told West, in a celebrated letter, was a "white
+melancholy, or rather leucocholy"; and he wrote of "lachrymae rerum"
+rather than of private mordant sorrows.
+
+The poem is couched in universals: Gray writes in "a" country
+churchyard, and the actual Stoke Poges, dear and lovely as it
+doubtless was to Gray, clings to the fame of the poem almost by
+accident. And yet, by a sort of paradox, this "universal" poem in its
+setting and mood is completely English. One could go too far from home
+for examples of distinction--for the polar stars of the rude
+forefathers--just as one could err by excess of "commonplace"
+reflections. Some such idea encouraged Gray to modify his fifteenth
+quatrain, which in the Eton MS reads (the first line has partly
+perished from folding of the paper):
+
+ Some [Village] Cato [who] with dauntless Breast
+ The little Tyrant of his Fields withstood;
+ Some mute inglorious Tully here may rest;
+ Some Caesar, guiltless of his Country's Blood.
+
+The substitution of English names is an obvious attempt to bring truth
+closer to the souls of his readers by use of "domestica facta" and the
+avoidance of school-boy learning.
+
+All these changes illustrate the quality of Gray's curious felicity.
+His assault on the reader's sensibilities was organized and careful:
+here is no sign of that contradiction in terms, "unpremeditated art."
+He probably did not work on the poem so long as historians have said
+he did, but he scanted neither time nor attention. Mason thought the
+poem begun and perhaps finished in 1742, and he connected its
+somberness with Gray's great sorrow over the death of his close friend
+Richard West. All this seems more than doubtful: to Dr. Thomas
+Wharton in September 1746 Gray mentioned recently composing "a few
+autumnal verses," and there is no real evidence of work on the poem
+before this time. Walpole evidently inclined to 1746 as the date of
+commencement, and it may be pointed out that Mason himself is not so
+sure of 1742 as have been his Victorian successors. All he says is, "I
+am inclined to believe that the Elegy ... was begun, if not concluded,
+at this time [1742] also." Gray's reputation for extreme leisurely
+composition depends largely on the "inclination" to believe that the
+"Elegy" was begun in 1742 and on a later remark by Walpole concerning
+Gray's project for a History of Poetry. In a letter of 5 May 1761
+Walpole joked to Montagu saying that Gray, "if he rides Pegasus at his
+usual foot-pace, will finish the first page two years hence." Not
+really so slow as this remark suggests, Gray finally sent his "Elegy"
+to Walpole in June of 1750, and in December he sent perhaps an earlier
+form of the poem to Dr. Wharton. Naturally delighted with the
+perfected utterance of this finely chiseled work, these two friends
+passed it about in manuscript, and allowed copies to be taken.
+
+Publication, normally abhorrent to Gray, thus became inevitable,
+though apparently not contemplated by Gray himself. The private
+success of the poem was greater than he had anticipated, and in
+February of 1751 he was horrified to receive a letter from the editor
+of a young and undistinguished periodical, "The Magazine of
+Magazines," who planned to print forthwith the "ingenious poem,
+call'd Reflections in a Country-Churchyard." Gray hastily wrote to
+Walpole (11 February), insisting that he should "make Dodsley print it
+immediately" from Walpole's copy, without Gray's name, but with good
+paper and letter. He prescribed the titlepage as well as other
+details, and within four days Dodsley had the poem in print, and
+anticipated the piratical "Magazine" by one day. But the "Magazine"
+named Gray as the author, and success without anonymity was the fate
+of the "Elegy." Edition followed edition, and the poem was almost from
+birth an international classic.
+
+One of the author's prescriptions for publication concerned the verse
+form. He told Walpole that Dodsley must "print it without any Interval
+between the Stanza's, because the Sense is in some Places continued
+beyond them." In the Egerton MS Gray had written the poem with no
+breaks to set off quatrains, but in the earlier MS (Eton College),
+where the poem is entitled, "Stanza's, wrote in a Country
+Church-Yard," the quatrains are spaced in normal fashion. The
+injunction shows Gray's sensitiveness as to metrical form. He had
+called the poem an Elegy only after urging by Mason, and he possibly
+doubted if his metre was "soft" enough for true elegy. The metre
+hitherto had not been common in elegies, though James Hammond's "Love
+Elegies" (1743) had used it and won acclaim. But the heroic
+(hendecasyllabic) quatrain was regarded in general as too lofty,
+stately, cool, for elegy. For the universal aspect of Gray's lament,
+however, it was highly apt as compared with the less majestic
+octosyllabic line, hitherto normal in this genre. For years after
+Gray's great success, however, most elegies, if in quatrain form,
+followed Gray's quatrain in manner, whether or not their subjects
+demanded the stately line.
+
+The reasons why Gray is almost a poet of only one poem are not far to
+seek. He did not covet applause, and apart from melancholy his own
+emotions were too private to be published. In the "Elegy" he is true
+to himself and to the spirit of his age--perhaps of most ages. When he
+sought for material outside of his own experience, he went curiously
+to books, and was captivated by the "recherche." He was also caught by
+the rising cult of sublimity in his two great pindaric odes, and by
+the cult of the picturesque in his flirtations with Scandinavian
+materials. In these later poems he broadened the field of poetic
+material notably; but in them he hardly deepened the imaginative or
+emotional tone: his manner, rather, became elaborate and theatrical.
+The "Elegy" is the language of the heart sincerely perfected.
+
+The poem has pleased many and pleased long--throughout two centuries.
+In part it works through "pleasing melancholy"; in part it appeals to
+innumerable humble readers conscious of their own unheralded merit.
+Inevitably, since the industrial revolution, modernist critics have
+tended to stress its appeal to class consciousness. This appeal, real
+though it is, can be overemphasized. The rude forefathers are not
+primarily presented as underprivileged. Though poverty-stricken and
+ignorant, they are happy in family life and jocund in the field.
+"Nature is nature wherever placed," as the intellectuals of Gray's
+time loved to say, and the powers of the village fathers, potentially,
+equal the greatest; their virtue is contentment. They neither want nor
+need "storied urn or animated bust." If they are unappreciated by
+Ambition, Grandeur, Pride, et al., the lack of appreciation is due to
+a corruption of values. The value commended in the "Elegy" is that of
+the simple life, which alone is rational and virtuous--it is the life
+according to nature. Sophisticated living, Gray implies in the stanza
+that once ended the poem, finds man at war with himself and with
+reason; but the cool sequestered path--its goal identical with that of
+the paths of Glory--finds man at peace with himself and with reason.
+The theme was not new before Gray made it peculiarly his own, and it
+has become somewhat hackneyed in the last two hundred years; but the
+fact that it is seldom unheard in any decade testifies to its
+permanency of appeal, and the fact that it was "ne'er so well
+express'd" as in the "Elegy" justifies our love for that poem.
+
+George Sherburn
+Harvard University
+
+
+
+
+A NOTE ON THE TEXTS
+
+
+The first edition of the "Elegy" is here reproduced from a copy in the
+William Andrews Clark Memorial Library.
+
+By permission of the Provost and Fellows of Eton College, the
+manuscript preserved in the library of Eton College is also
+reproduced. This manuscript once belonged to Gray's friend,
+biographer, and editor, William Mason. In spite of its dimness, due to
+creases in the paper and to the fact that the ink shows through from
+the other side of the paper, this manuscript is chosen for
+reproduction because it preserves the quatrains discarded before
+printing the poem, and has other interesting variants in text. Two
+other MSS of the poem in Gray's hand are known to exist. One is
+preserved in the British Museum (Egerton 2400, ff. 45-6) and the other
+is the copy made by Gray in Volume II of his Commonplace Books. This,
+is appropriately preserved in the library of Pembroke College,
+Cambridge. Sir William Fraser bequeathed to Eton College the MS there
+found, which in certain editions of the poem is called "the Fraser
+manuscript."
+
+
+
+
+AN
+
+ELEGY
+
+WROTE IN A
+
+Country Church Yard.
+
+
+
+_LONDON:_
+
+Printed for R. DODSLEY in _Pall-mall_;
+
+And sold by M. COOPER in _Pater-noster-Row_. 1751.
+
+[Price Six-pence.]
+
+
+
+
+Advertisement.
+
+
+ _The following_ POEM _came into my Hands by Accident, if the
+ general Approbation with which this little Piece has been
+ spread, may be call'd by so slight a Term as Accident. It is
+ this Approbation which makes it unnecessary for me to make
+ any Apology but to the Author: As he cannot but feel some
+ Satisfaction in having pleas'd so many Readers already, I
+ flatter myself he will forgive my communicating that
+ Pleasure to many more._
+
+The _EDITOR_
+
+
+
+
+AN
+
+ELEGY, _&c._
+
+
+ The _Curfeu_ tolls the Knell of parting Day,
+ The lowing Herd winds slowly o'er the Lea,
+ The Plow-man homeward plods his weary Way,
+ And leaves the World to Darkness, and to me.
+ Now fades the glimmering Landscape on the Sight,
+ And all the Air a solemn Stillness holds;
+ Save where the Beetle wheels his droning Flight,
+ And drowsy Tinklings lull the distant Folds.
+ Save that from yonder Ivy-mantled Tow'r
+ The mopeing Owl does to the Moon complain
+ Of such, as wand'ring near her sacred Bow'r,
+ Molest her ancient solitary Reign.
+ Beneath those rugged Elms, that Yew-Tree's Shade,
+ Where heaves the Turf in many a mould'ring Heap,
+ Each in his narrow Cell for ever laid,
+ The rude Forefathers of the Hamlet sleep.
+ The breezy Call of Incense-breathing Morn,
+ The Swallow twitt'ring from the Straw-built Shed,
+ The Cock's shrill Clarion, or the ecchoing Horn,
+ No more shall wake them from their lowly Bed.
+ For them no more the blazing Hearth shall burn,
+ Or busy Houswife ply her Evening Care:
+ No Children run to lisp their Sire's Return,
+ Or climb his Knees the envied Kiss to share.
+ Oft did the Harvest to their Sickle yield,
+ Their Furrow oft the stubborn Glebe has broke;
+ How jocund did they they drive their Team afield!
+ How bow'd the Woods beneath their sturdy Stroke!
+ Let not Ambition mock their useful Toil,
+ Their homely Joys and Destiny obscure;
+ Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful Smile,
+ The short and simple Annals of the Poor.
+ The Boast of Heraldry, the Pomp of Pow'r,
+ And all that Beauty, all that Wealth e'er gave,
+ Awaits alike th' inevitable Hour.
+ The Paths of Glory lead but to the Grave.
+ Forgive, ye Proud, th' involuntary Fault,
+ If Memory to these no Trophies raise,
+ Where thro' the long-drawn Isle and fretted Vault
+ The pealing Anthem swells the Note of Praise.
+ Can storied Urn or animated Bust
+ Back to its Mansion call the fleeting Breath?
+ Can Honour's Voice provoke the silent Dust,
+ Or Flatt'ry sooth the dull cold Ear of Death!
+ Perhaps in this neglected Spot is laid
+ Some Heart once pregnant with celestial Fire,
+ Hands that the Reins of Empire might have sway'd,
+ Or wak'd to Extacy the living Lyre.
+ But Knowledge to their Eyes her ample Page
+ Rich with the Spoils of Time did ne'er unroll;
+ Chill Penury repress'd their noble Rage,
+ And froze the genial Current of the Soul.
+ Full many a Gem of purest Ray serene,
+ The dark unfathom'd Caves of Ocean bear:
+ Full many a Flower is born to blush unseen,
+ And waste its Sweetness on the desart Air.
+ Some Village-_Hampden_ that with dauntless Breast
+ The little Tyrant of his Fields withstood;
+ Some mute inglorious _Milton_ here may rest,
+ Some _Cromwell_ guiltless of his Country's Blood.
+ Th' Applause of list'ning Senates to command,
+ The Threats of Pain and Ruin to despise,
+ To scatter Plenty o'er a smiling Land,
+ And read their Hist'ry in a Nation's Eyes
+ Their Lot forbad: nor circumscrib'd alone
+ Their growing Virtues, but their Crimes confin'd;
+ Forbad to wade through Slaughter to a Throne,
+ And shut the Gates of Mercy on Mankind,
+ The struggling Pangs of conscious Truth to hide,
+ To quench the Blushes of ingenuous Shame,
+ Or heap the Shrine of Luxury and Pride
+ With Incense, kindled at the Muse's Flame.
+ Far from the madding Crowd's ignoble Strife,
+ Their sober Wishes never learn'd to stray;
+ Along the cool sequester'd Vale of Life
+ They kept the noiseless Tenor of their Way.
+ Yet ev'n these Bones from Insult to protect
+ Some frail Memorial still erected nigh,
+ With uncouth Rhimes and shapeless Sculpture deck'd,
+ Implores the passing Tribute of a Sigh.
+ Their Name, their Years, spelt by th' unlettered Muse,
+ The Place of Fame and Elegy supply:
+ And many a holy Text around she strews,
+ That teach the rustic Moralist to dye.
+ For who to dumb Forgetfulness a Prey,
+ This pleasing anxious Being e'er resign'd,
+ Left the warm Precincts of the chearful Day,
+ Nor cast one longing ling'ring Look behind!
+ On some fond Breast the parting Soul relies,
+ Some pious Drops the closing Eye requires;
+ Ev'n from the Tomb the Voice of Nature cries
+ Awake, and faithful to her wonted Fires.
+ For thee, who mindful of th' unhonour'd Dead
+ Dost in these Lines their artless Tale relate;
+ If chance, by lonely Contemplation led,
+ Some hidden Spirit shall inquire thy Fate,
+ Haply some hoary-headed Swain may say,
+ 'Oft have we seen him at the Peep of Dawn
+ 'Brushing with hasty Steps the Dews away
+ 'To meet the Sun upon the upland Lawn.
+ 'There at the Foot of yonder nodding Beech
+ 'That wreathes its old fantastic Roots so high,
+ 'His listless Length at Noontide wou'd he stretch,
+ 'And pore upon the Brook that babbles by.
+ 'Hard by yon Wood, now frowning as in Scorn,
+ 'Mutt'ring his wayward Fancies he wou'd rove,
+ 'Now drooping, woeful wan, like one forlorn,
+ 'Or craz'd with Care, or cross'd in hopeless Love.
+ 'One Morn I miss'd him on the custom'd Hill,
+ 'Along the Heath, and near his fav'rite Tree;
+ 'Another came; nor yet beside the Rill,
+ 'Nor up the Lawn, nor at the Wood was he.
+ 'The next with Dirges due in sad Array
+ 'Slow thro' the Church-way Path we saw him born.
+ 'Approach and read (for thou can'st read) the Lay,
+ 'Grav'd on the Stone beneath yon aged Thorn.
+
+
+ The EPITAPH.
+
+ _Here rests his Head upon the Lap of Earth
+ A Youth to Fortune and to Fame unknown:
+ Fair Science frown'd not on his humble Birth,
+ And Melancholy mark'd him for her own.
+ Large was his Bounty, and his Soul sincere,
+ Heav'n did a Recompense as largely send:
+ He gave to Mis'ry all he had, a Tear:
+ He gain'd from Heav'n ('twas all he wish'd) a Friend
+ No farther seek his Merits to disclose,
+ Or draw his Frailties from their dread Abode,
+ (There they alike in trembling Hope repose)
+ The Bosom of his Father and his God._
+
+
+FINIS.
+
+
+
+
+PUBLICATIONS OF THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY
+
+FIRST YEAR (1946-47)
+
+Numbers 1-4 out of print.
+
+5. Samuel Wesley's _Epistle to a Friend Concerning Poetry_ (1700) and
+_Essay on Heroic Poetry_ (1693).
+
+6. _Representation of the Impiety and Immorality of the Stage_ (1704) and
+_Some Thoughts Concerning the Stage_ (1704).
+
+SECOND YEAR (1947-1948)
+
+7. John Gay's _The Present State of Wit_ (1711); and a section on Wit from
+_The English Theophrastus_ (1702).
+
+8. Rapin's _De Carmine Pastorali_, translated by Creech (1684).
+
+9. T. Hanmer's (?) _Some Remarks on the Tragedy of Hamlet_ (1736).
+
+10. Corbyn Morris' _Essay towards Fixing the True Standards of Wit,
+etc._ (1744).
+
+11. Thomas Purney's _Discourse on the Pastoral_ (1717).
+
+12. Essays on the Stage, selected, with an Introduction by Joseph Wood
+Krutch.
+
+THIRD YEAR (1948-1949)
+
+13. Sir John Falstaff (pseud.), _The Theatre_ (1720).
+
+14. Edward Moore's _The Gamester_ (1753).
+
+15. John Oldmixon's _Reflections on Dr. Swift's Letter to Harley_
+(1712); and Arthur Mainwaring's _The British Academy_ (1712).
+
+16. Nevil Payne's _Fatal Jealousy_ (1673).
+
+17. Nicholas Rowe's _Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespeare_
+(1709).
+
+18. "Of Genius," in _The Occasional Paper_, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719);
+and Aaron Hill's Preface to _The Creation_ (1720).
+
+FOURTH YEAR (1949-1950)
+
+19. Susanna Centlivre's _The Busie Body_ (1709).
+
+20. Lewis Theobold's _Preface to The Works of Shakespeare_ (1734).
+
+21. _Critical Remarks on Sir Charles Grandison, Clarissa, and Pamela_
+(1754).
+
+22. Samuel Johnson's _The Vanity of Human Wishes_ (1749) and Two _Rambler_
+papers (1750).
+
+23. John Dryden's _His Majesties Declaration Defended_ (1681).
+
+24. Pierre Nicole's _An Essay on True and Apparent Beauty in Which
+from Settled Principles is Rendered the Grounds for Choosing and
+Rejecting Epigrams_, translated by J.V. Cunningham.
+
+FIFTH YEAR (1950-51)
+
+25. Thomas Baker's _The Fine Lady's Airs_ (1709).
+
+26. Charles Macklin's _The Man of the World_ (1792).
+
+27. Frances Reynolds' _An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Taste,
+and of the Origin of Our Ideas of Beauty, etc._ (1785).
+
+28. John Evelyn's _An Apologie for the Royal Party_ (1659); and _A
+Panegyric to Charles the Second_ (1661).
+
+29. Daniel Defoe's _A Vindication of the Press_ (1718).
+
+30. Essays on Taste from John Gilbert Cooper's _Letters Concerning
+Taste_, 3rd edition (1757), & John Armstrong's _Miscellanies_ (1770).
+
+
+
+
+William Andrews Clark Memorial Library: University of California
+
+THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY
+
+_General Editors_
+
+H. RICHARD ARCHER
+ William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
+
+R.C. BOYS
+ University of Michigan
+
+E.N. HOOKER
+ University of California, Los Angeles
+
+JOHN LOFTIS
+ University of California, Los Angeles
+
+The Society exists to make available inexpensive reprints (usually
+facsimile reproductions) of rare seventeenth and eighteenth century
+works. The editorial policy of the Society continues unchanged. As in
+the past, the editors welcome suggestions concerning publications. All
+income of the Society is devoted to defraying cost of publication and
+mailing.
+
+All correspondence concerning subscriptions in the United States and
+Canada should be addressed to the William Andrews Clark Memorial
+Library, 2205 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles 18, California.
+Correspondence concerning editorial matters may be addressed to any of
+the general editors. The membership fee is $3.00 a year for
+subscribers in the United States and Canada and 15/-for subscribers in
+Great Britain and Europe. British and European subscribers should
+address B.H. Blackwell, Broad Street, Oxford, England.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Publications for the sixth year [1951-1952],
+
+(At least six items, most of them from the following list, will be
+reprinted.)
+
+
+THOMAS GRAY: _An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard_ (1751).
+Introduction by George Sherburn.
+
+JAMES BOSWELL, ANDREW ERSKINE, and GEORGE DEMPSTER: _Critical
+Strictures on the New Tragedy of Elvira_ (1763). Introduction by
+Frederick A. Pottle.
+
+_An Essay on the New Species of Writing Founded by Mr. Fielding_
+(1751). Introduction by James A. Work.
+
+HENRY GALLY: _A Critical Essay on Characteristic Writing_ (1725).
+Introduction by Alexander Chorney.
+
+[JOHN PHILLIPS]: _Satyr Against Hypocrits_ (1655). Introduction by
+Leon Howard.
+
+_Prefaces to Fiction._ Selected and with an Introduction by Benjamin
+Boyce.
+
+THOMAS TYERS: _A Biographical Sketch of Dr. Samuel Johnson_ ([1785]).
+Introduction by Gerald Dennis Meyer.
+
+
+Publications for the first five years (with the exception of NOS. 1-4,
+which are out of print) are available at the rate of $3.00 a year.
+Prices for individual numbers may be obtained by writing to the
+Society.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY
+_WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY_
+2205 WEST ADAMS BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES 18, CALIFORNIA
+
+Make check or money order payable to THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
+CALIFORNIA.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The Eton College Manuscript, Page 1]
+
+[Illustration: The Eton College Manuscript, Page 2]
+
+[Illustration: The Eton College Manuscript, Page 3]
+
+[Illustration: The Eton College Manuscript, Page 4]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church
+Yard (1751) and The Eton College Manuscript, by Thomas Gray
+
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