[Page 22]

The Author answers his Friend, who blames him for not singing, when desired, he contradict the Third Satyr of Horace, beginning with Omnibus hoc vitium est Cantoribus inter Amicos, &c. He defends Tigellius, and proves that Horace had no actual Skill in Vocal Musick.

1 IF this strange Vice in all good Singers were,
2 As the admir'd Horace does declare,
3 That when desir'd, tho bless'd with Health and Ease
4 Their choicest Friends they still deny to please,
5 Yet if unask'd shall rudely Sing so long,
6 To tire 'em quite with each repeated Song:
7 I strongly then should take his Satyr's part,
8 Lash the Performers, and despise their Art.
9 But having studied long enough to be
10 A little knowing in that quality:
[Page 23]
11 I soon perceiv'd when I his Version met
12 'Twas more from Prejudice, than Judgment writ.
13 And Horace was in his Reproof more free,
14 Because Tigellius was his Enemy,
15 Whose resty Vice must bear this fierce Assault
16 Whilst all the rest are lash'd for one man's Fault.
17 Satyr should never take from Malice aid,
18 For with due Reverence to Horace paid,
19 Who rails at Faults through personal prejudice,
20 Shews more his own, than shames another's Vice;
21 Tigellius, as his Character is plain,
22 Was of a Humour most absurd and vain,
23 Fantastick in his Garb, unsettled in his Brain.
24 And if (as once great
* 'Tis reported of him, that Augustus once earnestly desiring him to sing, was deny'd.
Cesar he deny'd
25 When ask'd to Sing) 'twere the effect of Pride:
26 Lictors and Fasces should have bluntly taught
27 The Fool to know th' Obedience that he ought.
[Page 24]
28 But if Augustus his Commands did lay
29 When th' Genius was not able to obey;
30 As oft with Singers it will happen so,
31 According as their Joys or Troubles grow;
32 'Twas no Offence then to excuse his Art,
33 The Soul untun'd makes discord in each part.
34 And Monarchs can no more give vocal Breath
35 Than they can hinder when Fate summons, death:
36 Though kind Complyance Singers ought to use,
37 They often have just Reasons to refuse;
38 A pleasure lov'd by one, is lik'd by more,
39 Suppose, Sir, I have Sung too much before,
40 Made my self hoarse, and even rack'd my Throat
41 To please some Friend, with some fine treble Note;
42 Chance does me then to you and others bring,
43 The second Complement, is prithee sing;
44 I swear I — Can't, can't say you, that's find sport;
45 But all good Singers are so hard to Court:
46 Come, come, you must, here's Ladies beg, not I
47 What Soul so dull as Beauty can deny?
[Page 25]
48 To make excuse then, modestly I tell
49 How hoarse I am, with what that day befell,
50 'Tis all in vain, you rail, I'm thought a Clown,
51 And Omnibus hoc victium knocks me down.
52 I often have, ('tis true) to sing deny'd,
53 But not through resty Vanity, or Pride;
54 But that perhaps I had been tir'd before,
55 Untun'd and ill, not able to sing more,
56 Or that an hour of Infelicity
57 Has rob'd my Soul of usual Harmony;
58 Yet all's the same th' old Saw is still repeated,
59 You Singers long to be so much intreated,
60 Though at that time to me no Joy could fall
61 Greater, than not to have been ask'd at all;
62 Th' Harmonious Soul must have her Humour free,
63 Consent of parts still makes best Harmony.
64 We read the Iewish Captives could not Sing
65 In a strange Land, rul'd by a Foreign King;
66 Contentment the melodious Chord controuls,
67 And Tunes the Diapason of our Souls:
[Page 26]
68 What makes a Cobler Chirp a pleasant part
69 At his hard Labour, but a merry Heart;
70 He sings when ask'd, or bluntly else denies,
71 According to his share of Grief or Joys.
72 Thus the same Accidents to us befall,
73 And that which tun'd the Cobler tunes us all;
74 But if against our Will we thrash out Songs,
75 For singing then is Thrashing to the Lungs;
76 The blast of airy Praise we dearer get,
77 Than Peasants do their Bread, with toil and sweat
78 To sleep at your command is the same thing,
79 As when y'are ill or vext in mind to sing,
80 And though Performance ne'r so easie show,
81 As it has Charms it has Vexations too,
82 And th' Singers Plague 'tis none but Singers know.
83 How often have I heard th' unskilful say,
84 Had I a Voice by Heaven I'd sing all day;
85 But with that Science had he been endow'd,
86 And was to sing, when ask'd, or be thought proud,
[Page 27]
87 When weary, hoarse, or vext, not to deny,
88 But at all Seasons with all Friends comply,
89 He'd then blame Horace full as much as I;
90 Whose want of Knowledge in the Vocal Art
91 Made him lash all, for one man's mean desert:
92 For had he the Fatigue of Songsters known,
93 And judg'd their Inconvenience by his own;
94 Tigellius only had Correction met,
95 And Omnibus hoc vitium ne'r been writ.

Text

  • TEI/XML (XML - 385K / ZIP - 29K) / ECPA schema (RNC - 357K / ZIP - 73K)
  • Plain text [excluding paratexts] (TXT - 4.2K / ZIP - 2.3K)

Facsimile (Source Edition)

(Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Harding C 1197 (1)].)

Images

PDF

All Images (PDF - 5.8M)

About this text

Title (in Source Edition): The Author answers his Friend, who blames him for not singing, when desired, he contradict the Third Satyr of Horace, beginning with Omnibus hoc vitium est Cantoribus inter Amicos, &c. He defends Tigellius, and proves that Horace had no actual Skill in Vocal Musick.
Author: Thomas D'Urfey
Themes:
Genres: answer/reply

Text view / Document view

Source edition

D'Urfey, Thomas, 1653-1723. New poems, consisting of satyrs, elegies, and odes together with a choice collection of the newest court songs set to musick by the best masters of the age / all written by Mr. D'Urfey. London: Printed for J. Bullord ... and A. Roper ..., 1690, pp. 22-27. [16],207,[1]p. (ESTC R17889) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Harding C 1197 (1)].)

Editorial principles

Typography, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been cautiously modernized. The source of the text is given and all significant editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. This ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

Other works by Thomas D'Urfey