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STANZAS ON PAINTING.

TO THE REVEREND WILLIAM PETERS, LL.B.
* A panegyric in prose from a feeble pen on the wonderful powers of Mr. Peter's pencil would be a vain attempt. Perhaps it may be equally vain to attempt doing justice to the exquisite amiability of that worthy gentleman's heart, and the very refined elegance of his manners. He was most sincerely beloved, and respected, by Mr. Monke Berkeley, who, in a letter introducing Mr. P. to his father, Dr. B. says, Pope has given his true character in few words: The noblest work of God.Mr. P. painted a picture of his friend, which was by Mr. B. presented to his mother. It is, by some of the best judges of painting, supposed to be the finest portrait ever produced by any pencil, ancient or modern. It preserves that wonderful depth of thought, and that exquisite benevolence which so strongly animated the countenance of Mr. M. B. The letter to Mrs. B. which accompanied the picture, proves that Mr. Peters wields his pen almost as ably as he does his pencil.

1 WHEN first in Greece the Arts were young,
2 And Muses wild rude numbers sung,
3 That pow'r of Genius dawn'd on earth,
4 Which o'er the tablet's polish'd face
5 The lines of Art began to trace,
6 'Twas Beauty gave it birth.
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7 When Persian charms Apelles drew,
8 The force of Beauty then he knew.
9 Now see the Youth unconscious gaze;
10 Now see the lifeless tablet bear
11 The graces of the living Fair,
12 And Love's bright passion blaze.
13 Obedient now to Painting's call,
14 The Passions come attendant all:
15 Now Joy supreme, now deep Despair,
16 Alternate fill the glowing scene;
17 Now Madness wild, now Grief serene,
18 Now Vengeance rages there.
19 How drear the scenes that Rosa chose!
20 His pictur'd fields no bloom disclose;
21 Nought but the dark and dreary pine,
22 Or rocks immense of height sublime,
23 Coaeval they with hoary Time,
24 The marks of Pow'r Divine.
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25 But who thy glowing scenes can view,
26 And crown thee, Claude, with honour due?
27 Or who the sacred source can trace,
28 Whence Raphael stole the spark divine
29 That through his forms is seen to shine?
30 Or Rubens caught his grace?
31 When Peters bids the canvas glow
32 With shapes but little known below,
33 O! say, when cherub'd forms divine
34 In all their native glory shine;
35 Say, where the bounds of magic Art?
36 Genius, though station'd here below,
37 No sublunary bounds will know,
38 Like Peters still 'twill seek its theme,
39 Beyond pale Cynthia's quivering beam,
40 And charm the feeling heart.

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Title (in Source Edition): STANZAS ON PAINTING. TO THE REVEREND WILLIAM PETERS, LL.B.
Themes: art; painting
Genres: address

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Berkeley, George Monck, 1763-1793. Poems: by the late George-Monck Berkeley, Esq. ... With a preface by the editor, consisting of some anecdotes of Mr. Monck Berkeley and several of his friends. London: printed by J. Nichols; and sold by Messrs. Leigh and Sotheby; Mr. Edwards; Mr. Cooke, Oxford; Mr. Todd, York; Messrs. Simmons and Co.; Messrs. Flackton, Marrable, and Claris; and Mr. Bristow, Canterbury, 1797, pp. 83-85. viii,DCXXXII,212p.,plate: port.; 4⁰. (ESTC T142950; OTA K111746.000) (Page images digitized by the University of California Libraries.)

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The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

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