AN HYMNE

OF HEAVENLY LOVE.

LOVE, lift me up upon thy golden wings From this base world unto thy heavens hight, Where I may fee those admirable things Which there thou workeft by thy foveraine might,

Farre above feeble reach of earthly fight, That I thereof an heavenly Hymne may fing Unto the God of Love, high heavens King.

5

* See the fixth canto of the third Book of the F. Q. efpecially the fecond, and the thirty-fecond, ftanzas; which, with his Hymnes of Heavenly Love and Heavenly Beauty, are evident proofs of Spenfer's attachment to the Platonick School. The notions of his friend, Sir P. Sidney, who, with many others of that age, had a strong Platonick caft, perhaps contributed not a little to fix Spenfer's choice on the fubject of the Hymnes. Take Sir Philip's own words in his Defence of Poefie: That lyrical kind of fongs and fonnets-which-how well it might be employed, and with how heavenly fruits both in publicke and private, in finging the praifes of the Immortal Beauty."

66

T. WARTON.

Perhaps Boethius fuggefted feveral expreffions to Spenfer in regard to the notion of univerfal Love. Boethius was much ftudied in Spenfer's time. Queen Elizabeth translated part of his works. See Welwood's Memoirs, p. 15. I must not omit to mention that Spenfer's mafter, Chaucer, in his Knights Tale, particularly notices the Platonick and "Faire Chaine of Love." TODD.

Ver. 1. Love, lift me up &c.] ver. 76 to the end of the ftanza.

Compare the Hymne of Love,
TODD.

Many lewd layes (ah! woe is me the more!)
In praise of that mad fit which fooles call Love,
I have in th' heat of youth made heretofore, 10
That in light wits did loose affection move;
But all thofe follies now I do reprove,
And turned have the tenor of my ftring,
The heavenly prayfes of true Love to fing.

15

And ye that wont with greedy vaine desire
To reade my fault, and, wondring at my flame,
Το warme your felves at my wide fparckling fire,
Sith now that heat is quenched, quench my
blame,

And in her ashes flirowd my dying shame;
For who my paffed follies now purfewes,
Beginnes his
owne, and my old fault renewes.

20

BEFORE THIS WORLDS GREAT FRAME,

in which al things

Are now containd, found any being-place,

Ere flitting Time could

Ver. 13.

wag his eyas wings

turned] It would be more agreeable to the context to read tuned. TODD.

Ver. 22. Before this worlds great frame, &c.] The following Hymn contains a remarkable mixture of the Chriftian and Platonick doctrines and expreffions. This, however, was not uncommon among our writers in Spenfer's time. At a period very little later, the fame ftudy appears to have excited great attention abroad. See a moft elaborate and curious work, entitled "Chriftianæ Theologiæ cum Platonica Comparatio, &c. Bononiæ, 1627." fol. TODD.

Ver. 24.

eyas] Unfledged, as in TODD.

E. Q. i. xi. 34. Where fee Mr. Church's note.

About that mightie bound which doth embrace The rolling spheres, and parts their houres by space,

26

That High Eternall Powre, which now doth move In all these things, mov'd in it felfe by love.

30

It lovd it felfe, because it felfe was faire;
(For fair is lov'd ;) and of it felf begot
Like to it felfe his eldest Sonne and Heire,
Eternall, pure, and voide of finfull blot,
The firstling of His ioy, in whom no iot
Of loves diflike or pride was to be found,
Whom He therefore with equall honour crownd.

34

With Him he raignd, before all time prescribed, In endleffe glorie and immortall might, Together with that Third from them derived, Moft wife, moft holy, moft almightie Spright! Whofe kingdomes throne no thoughts of earthly wight

40

Can comprehend, much leffe my trembling verfe

With equall words can hope it to reherse.

Yet, O most bleffed Spirit! pure lampe of light,
Eternall spring of grace and wifedom trew,
Vouchfafe to shed into my barren spright
Some little drop of thy celeftiall dew,

45

That may my rymes with sweet infufe embrew, And give me words equall unto my thought, To tell the marveiles by thy mercie wrought.

Yet being pregnant still with powrefull grace,
And full of fruitfull Love, that loves to get 51
Things like himselfe, and to enlarge his race,
His fecond brood, though not of powre fo great,
Yet full of beautie, next He did beget,
An infinite increase of angels bright,
All gliftring glorious in their Makers light.

55

To them the heavens illimitable hight (Not this round heaven, which we from hence behold,

Adornd with thousand lamps of burning light,
And with ten thousand gemmes of fhyning gold,)
He gave as their inheritance to hold,

That they might ferve Him in eternall blis,
And be partakers of thofe ioyes of His.

There they in their trinall triplicities

61

About Him wait, and on His will depend, 65

Ver. 47.
Ver. 60.

Milton's " gems

infufe] Infufion. TODD. gemmes] See the note on

of Heaven," Par. L. B. iv. 649, edit. 1801. TODD.

Ver. 64. There they in their trinall triplicities &c.] See F. Q. i. xii. 39, ii. ix. 22. Dante and Taffo divide the orders of Angels into fimilar diftinctions. Our old English poets

Either with nimble wings to cut the skies, When He them on His meffages doth fend, Or on His owne dread prefence to attend, Where they behold the glorie of His light, And caroll hymnes of love both day and night.

Both day, and night, is unto them all one; 71
For He His beames doth unto them extend,
That darkneffe there appeareth never none;
Ne hath their day, ne hath their bliffe, an end,
But there their termeleffe time in pleasure spend;
Ne ever fhould their happineffe decay,
Had not they dar'd their Lord to disobay.

76

But pride, impatient of long resting peace,
Did puffe them up with greedy bold ambition,
That they gan caft their ftate how to increase
Above the fortune of their first condition,
And fit in Gods own feat without commiffion:
The brightest angel, even the child of Light,
Drew millions more against their God to fight.

Th' Almighty, feeing their fo bold affay,
Kindled the flame of His confuming yre,

81

85

comment upon this threefold economy with apparent fatisfaction. See the notes on Milton's Par. L. B. v. 750. edit. 1801.

termeleffe]

TODD.

Ver. 75. Unlimited. The laft edition of Spenfer ftrangely reads tameless. TODD.