Collective Works of the late Dr. Sayers; to which have been prefixed some biographic particulars by W. Taylor

Front matter

COLLECTIVE WORKS OF THE LATE DR. SAYERS. yd d ' '////>"?.' ■ /y A //../ 37. COLLECTIVE WORKS OF THE LATE DR. SAYERS; TO WHICH HAVE BEEN PREFIXED SOME BIOGRAPHIC PARTICULARS BY W. TAYLOR OF NORWICH. XORW1VH: PRiNTED BY MATCHETT AND STEVENSON, MARKET-PLACE 1823. SOME BIOGRAPHIC PARTICULARS OF THE LATE DR. SAYERS. — «H>Ht_- _______ HE late Dr. Savers, nearly two years before his decease, asked back of me all our early cor respondence, which I had affectionately preserved. Occasionally to retrace in memory the incidents and controversies of former years was of value to me, and I expressed a reluctance to resign it. He then stated, with solemnity, that he felt his health seriously declining ; that he disliked the modern practice of printing unim portant remains of literary men, and that it would be a satisfaction for him personally to de stroy all those of his manuscript effusions, to the publication of which he was become averse.

I b was willing to undertake, that no letters io my possession should appear in print ; but he observed, that whatever remained extant, however safe while in the custody of friendship, was liable hereafter to be violated by the executors of another generation. Accordingly I sorted over my hoard of correspondence, and carried to him, in successive lots, all his own letters. The series began in 1775, and extended until 1790, since which year we have both been habi tually resident in Norwich, and were seldom separated long enough to feel much the want of epistolary intercourse. Dr. Sayers died on the 6th August, 1817, having bequeathed to me all his papers. Not even a se lection from his own Letters has been found among them ; and it is now only from vague recollection that I can give any account of his earlier intel lectual pursuits.

The manuscripts, however, in clude some unpublished poetry and prose care fully transcribed, as if for the press ; and some notices plainly intended to facilitate a correctly dated biography; such as the register of his baptism, particulars of his family, tickets of his college lectures, a list of his minuter publications, and some other memorandums. But the bulk of these written remains consists of innumerable de tached hints, on separate scraps of paper, which suggest variations, suppressions, and corrections in the received text, or notes, of his Poems and Disquisitions. With these few vouchers before me, which shall as much as possible be employed in the words of Dr. Sayers, I proceed to record chiefly such circumstances of his life as are connected with his literary history : he died so young, his acquaintance are still so mingled in the living world, that to attempt the admixture of much personal anecdote might seem an inroad on the sacredness of domestic privacy.

Preface

To the Fourth Edition of Dramatic Sketches of Northern Mythology. iiMONG the variety of Mythological systems which have contributed, at different periods, to decorate the poetry of England, it is much to be lamented that we should discover only the faintest traces of the splendid and sublime religion of our Northern ancestors. Mr. Gray is the only one among our more celebrated poets who has deigned to notice the sacred fables of the Goths: he has selected from them skilfully, though spar ingly; and even the small portion of them, which he has chosen to introduce into his writings, has well repaid his attention, by

PREFACE.

. giving to some of his more popular performances both grandeur and novelty. It is certain, however, that the most magnificent features of Scandinavian superstition have hitherto been chiefly concealed in the Eddas and Sagas of the North, or have appeared only in the tragedies of Klopstock and a few other pieces, little known, except among the Germans and Danes, to whom they owe their existence.* This being the case, I am tempted to publish the following Sketches, with a view of giving some slight idea of the neglected beauties of the Gothic religion, * Although the above assertions, which I have per mitted to remain, as pointing out the motives for the original publication of this work, were, I believe, at the time they were written (in 1789), nearly accurate ; yet it will not be improper to observe, that they do not equally apply at the present day, when the knowledge of the Gothic Mythology, and the use of it in poetical compositions, have been much promoted by the pro ductions of several living authors of great merit.

PREFACE.

. and of recommending a freer introduction of its imagery into the poetry of the English nation. It is evident that to pieces of this kind, explanatory notes must be absolutely neces sary ; and such were consequently introduced into the earliest edition of this little work. Since the period of its first publica tion, I have, at various times, as my inclination or reading prompted me, added to the notes originally inserted; and if, in these additions, I should occasionally have wan dered into an investigation of more circumstances and minutia, than may be deemed interesting, I have no other apology to offer for myself than that common infirmity of mind, which so readily permits us to mag nify into importance the trifles of a favourite pursuit. THE DESCENT OF FREA, A MASQUE. xupa oe /xiv xx axoXuei BlON. B