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TO MY INGENIOUS FRIEND MR. WILLIAN FAITHORNE, ON HIS BOOK OF DRAWING, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Should I attempt an elogy, or frame
Last Line: From dull oblivion, and a gaping grave.
Subject(s): Engraving & Engravers; Faithorne, William (1616-1691)


SHOULD I attempt an elogy, or frame
A paper-structure to secure thy name,
The lightning of one censure, one stern frown
Might quickly hazard that, and thy renown.
But this thy book prevents that fruitless pain.
One line speaks purelier thee, than my best strain.
Those mysteries (once like the spiteful mould,
Which bars the greedy Spaniard from his gold)
Thou dost unfold in every friendly page,
Kind to the present, and succeeding age.
That hand, whose curious art prolongs the date
Of frail mortality, and baffles Fate
With brass and steel, can surely potent be,
To rear a lasting monument for thee:
For my part I prefer (to guard the dead)
A copper-plate beyond a sheet of lead.
So long as brass, so long as books endure,
So long as neat-wrought pieces, thou'rt secure.
A [Faithorne sculpsit] is a charm can save
From dull oblivion, and a gaping grave.





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