Contents
-BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
John Donne (1572–1631). The Poems of John Donne. 1896.
Appendix E. Ignatius his Conclave
IN or about 1611 Donne published, both in English and Latin, a prose satire on the Jesuits, and especially on their founder, Ignatius Loyola. The Latin Ignatii Conclave is undated, but it seems from internal evidence to have closely followed the Pseudo Martyr of 1610. The English Ignatius his Conclave is dated 1611. In this the scraps of Latin verse which appear in the other version are translated, and I therefore give the renderings here, with their originals.
(1)“Aversa facie Janum referre,”Resemble Janus with a diverse face (p. 1).
(2)“Animula, vagula, blandula,Comes hospesque corporis.”My little wandering sportful soul,Guest and companion of my body (p. 2).
(3)“Operoso tramite scandensAethereum montem, tangens vicinia solis,Hymnos ad Phoebi plectrum modulatur alauda;Compressis velis, tandem ut remearet, alarum;Tam subito recidit, ut saxum segnius iisset.”The lark by busy and laborious waysHaving climbed up th’ eternal hill doth raiseHis hymns to Phoebus’ harp, and striking thenHis sails, his wings, doth fall down back again,So suddenly that one may safely say,A stone came lazily, that came that way (p. 3).
(4)“tanto fragore boatuque,Ut nec sulphureus pulvis, quo tota BritannaInsula per nimbos Lunam volitasset ad imam,Si cum substratus Camerae conceperat ignem,Aequando fremeret nostro fragore boatuque.”With so great noise and horror,That had that powder taken fire, by whichAll the isle of Britain had flown to the moon,It had not equalled this noise and horror (p. 40).
(5)“Parsque minor tantum tota valet integra tantum.”That the least piece which thence doth fall,Will do one as much good as all (p. 46).
(6)[Videram] “Aut plumam aut paleam quae fluminis innatat ori,Cum ventum ad pontem fuerit, qua fornice transitAngusto flumen, rejici tumideque repelli;Duxerat at postquam choreas atque orbibus undaLuserat, a liquidis laqueis et faucibus haustaFluminis in gremium tandem cedit, reditumqueDesperat spectator scenae.”[I had … observed] Feathers or straws swim on the water’s face,Brought to the bridge, where through a narrrow placeThe water passes, thrown back and delayed:And having danced a while and nimbly playedUpon the watery circles, then have beenBy the stream’s liquid snares and jaws sucked inAnd sunk into the womb of that swollen bourne,Leave the beholder desperate of return (p. 91).
(7)“Qualis hesterno madefacta rore,Et novo tandem tepefacta sole,Excutit somnum, tremulam coronamErigit herba,Quae prius languens, recidens, recurva,Osculum terrae dederat, iubarqueDenegatum tam diu nunc refulgensSolis anhelat.”As a flower wet with last night’s dew, and thenWarm’d with the new sun, doth shake off againAll drowsiness, and raise his trembling crownWhich crookedly did languish and stoop downTo kiss the earth and panted now to findThese beams return’d, which had not long time shined (p. 142).
I have been unable to identify any of the Latin passages, except the second, which is of course the first of the well-known lines attributed to the Emperor Hadrian. Possibly the rest, which do not always scan, are of Donne’s own writing.
