POEMS
ON
Affairs
of
State
:
FROM
The
Time
of
Oliver
Cromwell
,
to
the
Abdication
of
K.
James
the
Second
.
Written
by
the
greatest
Wits
of
the
Age.
VIZ.
-
Duke
of
Buckingham
,
-
Earl
of
Rochester
,
-
Lord
Bu
—
st
,
-
Sir
John
Denham
,
-
Andrew
Marvell
,
Esq
-
Mr.
Milton
,
-
Mr.
Dryden
,
-
Mr.
Sprat
,
-
Mr.
Waller
.
-
Mr.
Ayloffe
,
&c.
With
some
Miscellany
Poems
by
the
same
:
Most
whereof
never
before
Printed
.
Now
carefully
examined
with
the
Originals
,
and
Published
without
any
Castration
.
Printed
in
the
Year
1697.
THE
PREFACE
.
THE
common
aim
of
Prefaces
to
prepossess
the
Reader
in
favour
of
the
Book
,
is
here
wholly
useless
;
for
what
is
now
publish'd
is
none
of
the
trifling
Performances
of
the
Age
,
that
are
yet
to
make
their
fortune
,
but
a
Collection
of
those
vaulable
Pieces
,
which
several
great
Men
have
produc'd
,
no
less
inspir'd
by
the
injur'd
Genius
of
their
Country
,
than
by
the
Muses
.
They
are
of
Establish'd
Fame
,
and
already
receiv'd
,
and
allow'd
the
best
Patriots
,
as
well
as
Poets
.
I
am
sensible
,
that
should
we
consult
our
superficial
Hypocriticks
,
they
would
often
be
apt
to
arraign
the
Numbers
;
for
there
are
a
sort
of
Men
,
who
having
little
other
merit
,
than
a
happy
chime
,
would
fain
fix
the
Excellence
of
Poetry
in
the
smoothness
of
the
Versification
,
allowing
but
little
to
the
more
Essential
Qualities
of
a
Poet
,
great
Images
,
good
Sense
,
&c.
Nay
they
have
so
blind
a
Passion
for
what
they
Excell
in
,
that
they
will
exclude
all
variety
of
Numbers
from
English
Poetry
,
when
they
allow
none
but
Iambics
,
which
must
by
an
identy
of
sound
bring
a
very
unpleasing
satiety
upon
the
Reader
.
I
must
own
that
I
am
of
opinion
that
a
great
many
rough
Cadencies
that
are
to
be
found
in
these
Poems
,
and
in
the
admirable
Paradise
Lost
,
are
so
far
from
Faults
that
they
are
Beauties
,
and
contribute
by
their
variety
to
the
prolonging
the
pleasure
of
the
Readers
.
But
I
have
unawares
faln
into
this
Digression
,
which
requires
more
time
and
room
than
I
have
here
to
allow
to
set
to
it
,
in
that
just
Light
it
requires
.
I
shall
return
to
the
following
Poems
,
writ
by
Mr.
Milton
,
Mr.
Marvell
,
&c.
which
will
shew
us
,
that
there
is
no
where
a
greater
Spirit
of
Liberty
to
be
found
,
than
in
those
who
are
Poets
;
Homer
,
Aristophanes
,
and
most
of
the
inspired
Tribe
have
shewed
it
;
and
Catullus
in
the
midst
of
Caesar's
Triumphs
attack'd
the
Vices
of
that
great
Man
,
and
expos'd
'em
to
lessen
that
Popularity
and
Power
he
was
gaining
among
the
Roman
People
,
which
he
saw
would
be
turn'd
to
the
destruction
of
the
Liberty
of
Rome
.
Quis
hoc
potest
videre
,
quis
potest
pati
,
&c.
And
Pulchre
convenit
improbis
cinaedis
Mamurrae
,
,
Pathicoque
,
Caesarique
.
And
again
Nil
nimium
studeo
Caesar
tibi
velle
placere
,
&c.
But
it
would
be
endless
to
quote
all
the
Liberties
the
Poets
have
of
old
taken
with
Ill
men
,
whose
Power
had
aw'd
others
to
a
servile
Flattery
;
the
succeeding
Tyrants
have
not
been
able
to
suppress
the
numerous
Instances
we
have
yet
of
it
.
We
have
therefore
reason
to
hope
that
no
Englishman
that
is
a
true
lover
of
his
Countries
Good
and
Glory
,
can
be
displeased
at
the
publishing
a
Collection
,
the
design
of
each
of
which
was
to
remove
those
pernicious
Principles
which
lead
us
directly
to
Slavery
;
to
promote
a
Publick
and
Generous
Spirit
,
which
was
then
almost
a
shame
to
the
Possessor
,
if
not
a
certain
Ruine
.
I
believe
were
a
man
of
equal
Ability
and
unbyass'd
Temper
to
make
a
just
Comparison
,
some
of
the
following
Authors
might
claim
perhaps
an
equal
share
with
many
of
the
most
celebrated
of
the
Romans
or
Greeks
.
I
know
in
a
Nation
so
factious
as
this
,
where
the
preposterous
Principles
of
Slavery
are
run
into
a
point
of
Conscience
and
Honour
,
and
yet
hold
abundance
in
unseasonable
and
monstrous
Divisions
,
it
would
be
a
task
that
must
disoblige
too
many
to
undertake
.
But
when
all
Europe
is
engag'd
to
destroy
that
tyrannick
Power
,
the
mismanagement
of
those
Times
,
and
the
selfish
evil
Designs
of
a
corrupt
Court
had
given
Rise
to
,
it
cannot
be
thought
unseasonable
to
publish
so
just
an
Account
of
the
true
sourse
of
all
our
present
Mischiefs
;
which
will
be
evidently
found
in
the
following
Poems
,
for
from
them
we
may
collect
a
just
and
secret
History
of
the
former
Times
.
And
looking
backward
with
a
wise
Affright
,
See
Seams
of
Wounds
dishonest
to
the
Sight
.
Oh
that
we
cou'd
yet
learn
,
under
this
Auspicious
Government
founded
on
Liberty
,
the
generous
principles
of
the
Publick
Good
!
Sure
th●s
Consort
of
Divine
Amphions
will
charm
the
distracted
pieces
of
the
publick
Building
into
one
noble
and
regular
Pile
to
be
the
wonder
,
as
well
as
safeguard
of
Europe
.
This
being
the
aim
of
this
present
Publication
,
it
must
be
extremely
approv'd
by
all
true
Patriots
,
all
lovers
of
the
general
Good
of
Mankind
,
and
in
that
most
certainly
of
their
own
particular
.
Omnes
profecto
liberi
libentius
Sumus
,
quam
servimus
.
Take
off
the
gawdy
veil
of
Slavery
,
and
she
will
appear
so
frightfull
and
deform'd
that
all
would
abhorr
her
:
For
all
Mankind
naturally
preferr
Liberty
to
Slavery
.
'T
is
true
some
few
of
these
Poems
were
printed
before
in
loose
Papers
,
but
so
mangled
that
the
persons
that
wrote
them
would
hardly
have
known
,
much
less
have
owned
them
;
which
put
a
Person
on
examining
them
by
the
Originals
or
best
Copies
,
and
they
are
here
published
without
any
Castration
,
with
many
curious
Miscellaneous
Poems
of
the
same
great
Men
,
which
never
before
see
the
Light
.