A hymn to harmony: written in honour of St. Cecilia's day, M DCC I. By Mr. Congreve. Set to musick by Mr. John Eccles, ...

A HYMN TO HARMONY, In HONOUR of St. CECILIA's Day. MDCCI.

[1]

I.O Harmony, to thee we ſing,
To thee the grateful Tribute bring
Of Sacred Verſe, and ſweet reſounding Lays;
Thy Aid invoking while thy Pow'r we praiſe.
All Hail to thee
All-pow'rful Harmony!
Wiſe Nature owns thy undiſputed Sway,
Her wond'rous Works reſigning to thy Care;
The Planetary Orbs thy Rule obey,
And tuneful roll, unerring in their way,
Thy Voice informing each melodious Sphere.
[2]CHORUS.All Hail to thee
All-pow'rful Harmony!

II.Thy Voice, O Harmony, with awful Sound
Could penetrate th' Abyſs profound,
Explore the Realms of ancient Night,
And ſearch the living Source of unborn Light.
Confuſion heard thy Voice and fled,
And Chaos deeper plung'd his vanquiſh'd Head.
Then didſt thou, Harmony, give birth
To this fair form of Heav'n and Earth;
Then all thoſe Shining Worlds above
In Myſtick Dance began to move
Around the radiant Sphere of Central Fire,
A never ceaſing, never ſilent Choir.
CHORUS.Confuſion heard thy Voice and fled,
And Chaos deeper plung'd his vanquiſh'd Head.

III.Thou only, Goddeſs, firſt could'ſt tell
The mighty Charms in Numbers found;
[3] And didſt to Heav'nly Minds reveal
The ſecret force of tuneful Sound.
When firſt Cyllenius form'd the Lyre,
Thou didſt the God inſpire;
When firſt the vocal Shell he ſtrung,
To which the Muſes ſung:
Then firſt the Muſes ſung; melodious Strains Apollo plaid,
And Muſick firſt begun by thy auſpicious Aid.
Hark, hark, again Urania ſings!
Again Apollo ſtrikes the trembling Strings!
And ſee, the liſt'ning Deities around
Attend inſatiate, and devour the Sound.
CHORUS.Hark, hark, again Urania ſings!
Again Apollo ſtrikes the trembling Strings!
And ſee, the liſt'ning Deities around
Attend inſatiate, and devour the Sound.

IV.Deſcend Urania, Heav'nly Fair,
To the relief of this afflicted World repair;
See how with various Woes oppreſt,
The wretched Race of Men is worn;
Conſum'd with cares, with doubts diſtreſt
Or by conflicting Paſſions torn.
[4] Reaſon in vain employs her Aid,
The furious Will on Fancy waits;
While Reaſon ſtill by Hopes or Fears betray'd,
Too late advances or too ſoon retreats.
Muſick alone with ſuddain Charms can bind
The wand'ring Senſe, and calm the troubled Mind.
CHORUS.Muſick alone with ſuddain Charms can bind
The wand'ring Senſe, and calm the troubled Mind.

V.Begin the pow'rful Song, yee Sacred Nine,
Your Inſtruments and Voices join;
Harmony, Peace, and ſweet Deſire
In ev'ry Breaſt inſpire.
Revive the melancholy drooping Heart,
And ſoft Repoſe to reſtleſs Thoughts impart.
Appeaſe the wrathful Mind,
To dire Revenge and Death inclin'd:
With balmy Sounds his boiling Blood aſſwage,
And melt to mild Remorſe his burning Rage.
'Tis done; and now tumultuous Paſſions ceaſe;
And all is huſht, and all is Peace.
The weary World with welcome Eaſe is bleſt,
By Muſick lull'd to pleaſing Reſt.
[5]CHORUS.'Tis done; and now tumultuous Paſſions ceaſe;
And all is huſht, and all is Peace.
The weary World with welcome Eaſe is bleſt,
By Muſick lull'd to pleaſing Reſt.

VI.Ah, ſweet Repoſe, too ſoon expiring!
Ah, fooliſh Man, new Toils requiring!
Curs'd Ambition, Strife purſuing,
Wakes the World to War and Ruin.
See, ſee, the Battle is prepar'd!
Behold the Hero comes!
Loud Trumpets with ſhrill Fifes are heard,
And hoarſe reſounding Drums.
War, with diſcordant Notes and jarring Noiſe,
The Harmony of Peace deſtroys.
CHORUS.War, with diſcordant Notes and jarring Noiſe,
The Harmony of Peace deſtroys.

VII.See the forſaken fair, with ſtreaming Eyes
Her parting Lover mourn;
[6] She weeps, ſhe ſighs, deſpairs and dies,
And watchful waſtes the lonely livelong Nights,
Bewailing paſt Delights
That may no more, no never more return.
O ſooth her Cares
With ſofteſt, ſweeteſt Airs,
'Till Victory and Peace reſtore
Her faithful Lover to her tender Breaſt,
Within her folding Arms to reſt,
Thence never to be parted more,
No never to be parted more.
CHORUS.Let Victory and Peace reſtore
Her faithful Lover to her tender Breaſt,
Within her folding Arms to reſt,
Thence never to be parted more,
No never to be parted more.

VIII.Enough, Urania, heav'nly fair,
Now to thy Native Skies repair,
And rule again the Starry Sphere;
Cecilia comes, with holy Rapture fill'd,
To eaſe the World of Care.
[7] Cecilia, more than all the Muſes skill'd!
Phoebus himſelf to her muſt yield,
And at her Feet lay down
His Golden Harp and Lawrel Crown;
The ſoft enervate Lyre is drown'd
In the deep Organ's more majeſtick Sound.
In peals the ſwelling Notes aſcend the Skies;
Perpetual Breath the ſwelling Notes ſupplies,
And laſting as her Name,
Who form'd the tuneful Frame,
Th' immortal Muſick never dies.
Grand CHORUS.Cecilia, more than all the Muſes skill'd!
Phoebus himſelf to her muſt yield,
And at her Feet lay down
His Golden Harp and Lawrel Crown;
The ſoft enervate Lyre is drown'd
In the deep Organ's more majeſtick Sound.
In peals the ſwelling Notes aſcend the Skies;
Perpetual Breath the ſwelling Notes ſupplies,
And laſting as her Name,
Who form'd the tuneful Frame,
Th' immortal Muſick never dies.

FINIS.

Appendix A Books Printed for Jacob Tonſon at Grays-Inn Gate.

[]

THE Works of the late Famous Mr. John Dryden, in Four Vo⯑lumes in Folio; Containing all his Comedies, Tragedies and O⯑peras, with his Original Poems and Tranſlations.
The Satyrs of Decimus Junius Juvenalis, Tranſlated into Engliſh Verſe. By Mr. Dryden, and ſeveral other Eminent Hands; together with the Satyrs of Aulus Perſeus Flaccus, made Engliſh by Mr. Dryden, with Explanatory Notes at the end of each Satyr: To which is prefixed a Diſcourſe concerning the Original and Progreſs of Satyr, Dedicated to the Right Honourable Charles Earl of Dorſet, &c. By Mr. Dryden.
The Works of Mr. Abraham Cowley, conſiſting of thoſe which were formerly Printed, and thoſe which he deſigned for the Preſs; now Pub⯑liſhed out of the Author's Original Copies. To this Edition are added the Cutter of Coalman Street, and ſeveral Commendatory Copies of Ver⯑ſes on the Author, by Perſons of Honour. The Ninth Edition.
A Hymn to the Light of the World. With a ſhort Deſcription of the Cartons of Raphael Urbin, in the Gallery at Hampton-Court.
Double Dealer, Love for Love, Mourning Bride, and Way of the World; all Written by Mr. Congreve.
The Chriſtian Hero, an Argument proving that no Principles but thoſe of Religion are ſufficient to make a Great Man. The Second Edi⯑tion; to which is added, an Argument, proving that true Greatneſs of Mind can be maintain'd by none but Chriſtian Principles.
The Funeral, or Grief A-la-mode, a Comedy; as it is Acted at the Theatre Royal in Drury-Lane, by Her Majeſties Servants. Both Writ⯑ten by Captain Steele.
Tamerlane, a Tragedy, as it is Acted at the New Theatre in Little Lin⯑colns-Inn-Fields. Written by Mr. Rowe.
The Falſe Friend, a Comedy, as it is Acted at the Theatre Royal, by Her Majeſties Servants.
A General Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtory from the Nativity of our Bleſſed Sa⯑viour to the firſt Eſtabliſhment of Chriſtianity by Human Laws, under the Emperour Conſtantine the Great; containing the Space of about 313 Years: With ſo much of the Jewiſh and Roman Hiſtory as is neceſſary and convenient to illuſtrate the Work. To which is added, A large Chronological Table of all the Roman and Eccleſiaſtical Affairs, inclu⯑ded in the ſame Period of Time. By Lawrence Echard, A. M. Preben⯑dary of Lincoln, and Chaplain to the Right Reverend James, Lord Bi⯑ſhop of that Dioceſe.
Several Orations of Demoſthenes, to encourage the Athenians to op⯑poſe the Exorbitant Power of Philip of Macedon. Engliſh'd from the Greek by ſeveral Hands. To which is prefix'd the Hiſtorical Preface of Monſieur Tourreil.
Tully's Five Books de Finibus; or, concerning the laſt Object of De⯑ſire and Averſion. Done into Engliſh by S. P. Gent. Revis'd and com⯑par'd with the Original, with a Recommendatory Preface; by Jeremy Collier, M. A. Together with an Apology for the Philoſophical Wri⯑tings of Cicero, in a Letter to the Tranſlator: By Mr. Henry Dodwell.

LATELY PUBLISH'D.

OBſervationes quaedam Medico-practicae & Phyſiologicae; inter quas aliquanto ſuſi⯑ùs agitur. De Aſthmate & Hydrophobia. Quarum etiam Decem ultimis ſubji⯑ciuntur Adminiſtrationes totidem Corporum morbis quorum Tituli Obſervationibus iis praefiguntur affectorum Anatomicae, cum particulari, & non ante obſervata. De Cordis in Embryone Vaſorum ſtructura, & ſanguinis juxta eam circuitu Diſſertatione. Autore Hum. Ridley, M. D. Coll. Reg. Med. Lond. Soc.