Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ON THE REBUILDING OF LONDON, by JEREMIAH WELLS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ON THE REBUILDING OF LONDON, by                    
First Line: What a devouring fire but t'other day
Last Line: And heavens obliged while he is implor'd.
Subject(s): London Fire (1666); Great Fire Of 1666


1.

What a Devouring Fire but t'other day
Th[r]ough thy Inhabitants scorch'd bowels ran!
A fiercer now did on thy Buildings prey,
To end that Ruine which the First Began.

2.

Strange kind of Chain by which your Fates were ti'd
That the same End should against both conspire!
Both by so neer a Sympathy alli'd,
The City felt the Plague, the Men the Fire.

3.

What were the Trophies of triumphant Fate
By frequent Tombs in the Ch:yards was shown:
But all those thick-set Monu'ments which so late
Were Other's Sepulchers are now their Own.

4.

Thus Heav'n, like an incens'd Besieger, staid,
But when no Summons brought th' besieged down,
Both were together in like ruine laid,
He kill'd th' Inhabitants, then burnt the Town.

5.

But as those Citi'zens by the Pest'lence slain,
With fresh supplies quickly recruited were;
The Houses shall as fast return again,
And to their wonted Stations soon repair.

6.

So the World's fabrick, which by slow degrees
Increases for so many ages space,
The fatal fire shall in a moment seize,
That thence a far more Glorious may take place.

7.

Mean while shall Pilgrims from around repair
With devout sadness to bewaile thy Urn;
So Martyr's Tombs with Zeal frequented are,
And therefore Holy, 'cause they once did Burn.

8.

Thy pettier Buildings by the flames eras'd,
Churches and Palaces are onely shown:
By what strange ene'my canst thou be defac'd,
When what Destroys thee, adds to thy Renown?

9.

We view thy Ruines with a Sad Delight,
Made Now far more illustrious then Before;
For then thy Lustre had attain'd that height,
'Twas onely Ruine that could make it More.

10.

But thy great King these Ruines does resent,
Contrives Thee Greater, and by doing that,
(So like are Kings to him they represent)
His mighty Word Commanding does Create.

11.

The fair Idea's in th' Almighty mind
So pleas'd him when the World was to be made,
And after that great Model was design'd,
The work was Perfected by being Said.

12.

Ah mighty Monarch, what vast summs we owe,
First to thy Piety, next to thy Care!
Thy Weeping only Stopt the raging Foe,
And now thy only Speaking does Repair.

13.

What Seas of water on the flames were spent
(As if't were Wildfire) did enrage it more.
One Tear of Thine made Heav'n it self relent,
And weep for Comp'any in a gentle show'r.

14.

Nor didst thou only Pity, but Retreive;
(A Kings Compassion does a Cure afford)
So the World's Saviour did for Laz'arus grieve,
And Wept the loss of what he soon Restor'd.

15.

That Ship, which by the stately Port she bore
Had made her Builders known Without their Name,
The Cities Representative Before,
In it's Rebuilding shall be More the same.

16.

Hither shall eager Workmen ev'ry day
Repair from all the quarters of the Land;
Nor would they grumble should they want their pay,
Or ask more Guerdon then their Kings Command.

17.

But here so bountiful a Lord they find,
That such a surplusage is added more,
As after payment equal to their mind
Exceeds the wages they receiv'd before.

18.

That for which others under hatches serve,
Nor count it dear at seven years slavery,
These have it first Conferr'd, and then Deserve,
And during all their 'Prentiship are Free.

19.

This noble City, though in Ashes laid,
Shews she can be beholden yet to none:
She lately free of all the Rest was made,
Now makes all Others Freemen of her Own.

20.

So did Rome's Glory with her Freedom goe
Beyond the Confines of the City gate:
So shall thy Freedom scatter'd to and fro,
Become as Universal as 'tis Great.

21.

Our Nation, happy under such a King,
Shall need no Penalty or rigid Law;
Our Israelites shall freely Double bring
Their Tale of Brick without their wonted Straw.

22.

The willing Earth shall yield her softer mould
To be Twice hardned, by the Sun and Fire:
Then shall She grow by her past Burnings Bold,
And Dare the Flames she did before Desire.

23.

The aged Oak, whose head's grown now so tall
T' o'relooke the younger Striplings of the Wood,
Seeing thy need of it shall freely fall,
Glad of its Fate, and in it's Ruine Proud.

24.

Oak, sacred unto Us on ev'ry hand,
To whom it does so many bene'fits bring;
It builds our Navies, and adorns our Land,
Restores our City, and preserves our King.

25.

Those larger streets, through which Processions pass,
Now more enlarg'd, it will be hard to say
Whether those Triumphs add a greater grace
Unto the Streets, or to the Triumphs They.

26.

Such Princes as were never here before,
And to our King on Embassies resort,
Shall eagerly alight at eve'ry door,
Thinking each House no meaner then a Court.

27.

Balconies jutting from the stately front
Shall stand alike both to be Seen and See;
And if at any' time there a Triumph want,
They shall each Others statelier Prospect be.

28.

Continu'd Penthouses 'gainst Rain and Sun
Shall be a pleasing Shelter and a Shade;
To these delightful Sanctua'ries we run,
When Heat annoys us, or when Storms invade.

29.

More sumptuous Buildings in Retirement plac'd
Are the' Emblem of the wary Citie's trade;
Their Streets and Shops much better lin'd then fac'd,
Costly without, but richlier inlaid.

30.

But if in lesser Streets we bend our mind
Down to the prospect of some meaner things;
Subjection we ev'n in our Buildings find,
All are not made for Courts, no more then Kings.

31.

Yet these delight us with their comely grace,
And are contented at their meaner fate;
Not stately, trim and brave, yet in their place
As Useful as the rest, though not so Great.

32.

The lesser Alleys, slender, straight, and long,
At once both In and Out o'th' City dwell:
These find a Wildernesse amidst a Throng,
And in a pop'lous City make a Cell.

33.

These imitate ('midst Company, Alone,)
The statelier Retirements of the Great:
So Peasants in a Cottage find a Throne,
And hug th' Invention of their fancy'd State.

34.

Like little Riv'lets scatter'd to and fro,
To larger Streams they swiftly cut their way:
Those to the Largest do as swiftly go;
So Rivers onely at the Ocean stay.

35.

The Buildings thus shall uniformly stand,
Each diff'rent magn'tude in a divers Sphere:
Such Uniformi'ty does our King command,
And Sectaries Themselves shall Love it Here.

36.

So shall the City thank her cruel fate,
And bless those flames that did their help afford:
Counting even Desolation no dear rate,
Glad to be Ruin'd So to be Restord.

37.

Those places thought unworthy of the Fire
Shall their own kinder Destiny bemoan:
And London to that glory shall aspire,
To be all Others Envy, and its Own.

38.

The Merchants wept when the Exchange did burn,
As when they hear some rich Ship's cast away:
But now shall see her to their joy return
More richly Fraught to recompence her Stay.

39.

Ladies, that hither come, and dart out rayes
Which steal the Eyes of following Crouds away,
Shall now Forget Themselves, and wondring Gaze
At what's almost as beautifull as They.

40.

Kings, which share ever most in publick woe,
And here indur'd the keenest edge of Fate,
Shall In Effigie be Recalled too,
Like Exil'd Monarchs, in far Greater State.

41.

But ah, was none so Loyal, or so Brave,
To snatch, great Sir, Your Statue from the Flame?
Or (Anti-Scoev'ola) 'cause it could not Save,
Burning his Hand, to 'immortalize his Name?

42.

Forgive't against your Picture, as Before,
Your Self being so forsook; and to repay,
This also we'l more Gloriously Restore,
And make Another Coronation-Day.

43.

Though Guildhall then, like some young Gallant shows,
Which on his Back his whole Estate does bear;
Her Inside Greater Riches shall inclose,
Within more Wealthy then Without she's Fair.

44.

The City thus made by it's Ruine Great,
Her Temples shall advance their stately crest;
So after the Creation was compleat,
The Sabbath's made to Sanctify the rest.

45.

These by the flames are to just Number brought,
But were, alas, worse ruined before;
So like the Forms of Worship in them taught:
'Twas hard to say which of the Two were More.

46.

Now both by their Abridgment Larger made,
They being Fewer more Divine appear;
Our pious Monarch not their Number weigh'd,
But, like the Deity, look'd how Good they were.

47.

'Mong these revives the Mother of them all,
Glad to behold her Little ones restor'd:
Rebounding higher from her fatall fall,
Her Finish'd Ruine scarce to be deplor'd.

48.

Long did she stand, and many a shock indure
From En'mies Malice, Fire, and inbred Age;
Oft did her pious Sons desire the Cure,
But Their Endeavours vain, as T'others Rage.

49.

Now in despight of the devouring Flame,
Which ha's done more then boldest Traytors durst,
She shall as much outvye her former fame
As the Last Temple did exceed the First.

50.

Hither shall best Artificers be sent,
Their pious Zeal improving of their Skill;
Such to the building of the Temple went,
Whom the Almighty did with Knowledge fill.

51.

But were her Heav'nly quire first built alone,
It would both Orpheus and Amphion be,
Finding her Self and th' Other Temples Stone,
And sum'ning in for every House a Tree.

52.

The Thames, which daily to the Sea did roam,
'Till by his angry waves beat back again,
Shall gazing here for ever stay at home,
Nor care to mingle waters with the Main.

53.

That Thames, which lately bent his wrinckled brow,
And fiercely roar'd when he perceiv'd the Foe,
Now tossing up his angry head, and now
With Indignation throwing it as low.

54.

So have I seen some Bull enrag'd with heat,
Which with loud roares the groaning Air did wound,
The empty mind [wind?] with his curl'd head did beat,
Then with his horns did pierce thy yeilding ground.

55.

That Thames shall now the swelling Ocean meet,
And though his Navy like a City stand,
Shall show a City Statelier then a Fleet,
And boast a nobler Navy on the Land.

56.

The eager Ocean quickly shall lay down
His angry Saltnesse and tempestuous Brow,
And crouding to do homage to the Town,
The Billows shall Each Other overflow.

57.

But lest too hotly they pursue their bliss,
The indanger'd Citizens must raise their shore;
Else the rude Waves would Smother as they Kiss,
And do more damage then the Fire before.

58.

So London fenc'd by her great Monarch's care,
The gazing Streams may innocently glide:
So Jove and Coesar do the Empire share,
While Each sets limits to the swelling Tide.

59.

Nor shall Waves be Themselves their Onely weight,
Vast shoales of Ships shall daily hither passe:
And Fleets from distant Countries richly fraight,
Such num'rous Fleets as only Ours surpasse.

60.

Here breaking bulk shall willing Merchants stay,
Discharge their Cargo, and put off their Ware;
Their Traffick in their Eyes they bear away,
Nor for more Precious Merchandizes care.

61.

So with rich Gifts, drawn thither by the sound
Of Sol'omon's Glories, travell'd Sheba's Queen:
So in Exchange as rich a Prize she found,
As if she'Enjoy'd what she had only Seen.

62.

But 'cause bold Time, subjecting all to Fate,
Does Things & their Remembrance too deface;
Our's, like the World's Fire, shall out-live Time's date,
In lofty Pillars of eternall Brasse.

63.

Pillars, like those which aged Seth did set
To tell the World there was an Old Before:
And Brasse, like that where different Metals met
In Corinth's Ashes made a new-found Ore.

64.

Such Trophees Victors reare, lest rusty Age
Do, with their Steel, eat out their Conquest's date:
Thus Double Wars victoriously they wage,
First vanquishing their Foe, and then their Fate.

65.

Thus London's Ruines are immortall made:
And that Her self eternally may stand,
By Fasts and Prayers is her Basis laid
Much surer on our Knees, then by our Hand.

66.

Hence by unerring Augury we know
The Future Glory of our Town restor'd:
Safe is that Building whose Foundation's Low,
And Heavens Obliged while he is Implor'd.





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