"On the 3. of September, 1651"
By Philips Katherine

Transcription, correction, editorial commentary, and markup by Staff and Research Assistants at The University of Virginia, John O'Brien, Sara Brunstetter, Rachel Retica
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Sources

London : Printed by J.M. for H. Herringman, 1667This text is based on transcriptions created by the Early English Books Online Texts Creation Partnership, a library-based project directed by the University of Michigan and Oxford University. Their digital text was produced from the 1667 edition, published by Henry Herringman in London in 1667, three years after Philips's death, but with the collaboration of her late husband. We have also consulted The Collected Works of Katherine Philips, edited by Patrick Thomas (Essex: Stump Cross Books, 1990), which takes Philips's manuscript versions of her poems as its copytext. Annotations have been provided by faculty and students at the University of Virginia. For a full description of this object, see its ESTC entry.

Editorial Statements

Research informing these annotations draws on publicly-accessible resources, with links provided where possible. Annotations have also included common knowledge, defined as information that can be found in multiple reliable sources. If you notice an error in these annotations, please contact lic.open.anthology@gmail.com.

Original spelling and capitalization is retained, though the long s has been silently modernized and ligatured forms are not encoded.

Hyphenation has not been retained, except where necessary for the sense of the word.

Page breaks have been retained. Catchwords, signatures, and running headers have not. Where pages break in the middle of a word, the complete word has been indicated prior to the page beginning.

Materials have been transcribed from and checked against first editions, where possible. See the Sources section.

Citation

Philips, Katherine. "On the 3. of September, 1651". Poems by the most deservedly admired Mrs. Katherine Philips, the matchless Orinda; to which is added Monsieur Corneille's Pompey & Horace, tragedies; with several other translations out of French, Printed by J.M. for H. Herringman, 1667 , pp 13-14 . Literature in Context: An Open Anthology. http://anthology.lib.virginia.edu/work/Philips/philips-3-september. Accessed: 2024-12-31T04:24:07.256Z

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13 On the 3. of September, 1651SeptemberSeptemberOn September 3rd, 1651, Oliver Cromwell and his men defeated Charles II and the Royalists in the battle of Worcester, the last major battle of the English Civil War. 1As when the glorious MagazineMagazineMagazineA storehouse or repository. In military use, a storeroom for arms and explosives (Oxford English Dictionary). of Light 2Approches to his Canopy of Night 3He with the new splendour clothes his dying Rays, 4And double brightness to his Beams conveys; 5And (as to braveBraveBrave To defy (Oxford English Dictionary). and checkCheckCheckto stop sharply (Oxford English Dictionary) his ending fate) 6Puts on his highest look in's lowest state, 14 7Drest in such terrour as to make us all 8Be Anti-PersiansAnti-PersiansAnti-PersiansPersians had the reputation of being sun-worshippers. Anti-Persians, therefore, would be anti-sun, depicted here as though they were rooting for it to set (Encyclopedia Britannica). and adore his Fall; 9Then quits the world depriving it of Day, 10While Every Herb and Plant does droop away: 11So when our gasping English Royalty 12Perceiv'd her PeriodPeriodPeriodAn end, a conclusion; the point of completion of a process (OED). was now drawing nigh, 13She summons her whole strength to give one blow, 14To raise her self, or pull down others too. 15Big with revenge and hope she now spake more 16Of terror than in many months before; 17And musters her Attendants, or to save 18Her from, or else attend her to, the Grave: 19Yet but enjoy'd the miserable fate 20Of setting Majesty, to die in State. 21Unhappy Kings, who cannot keep a Throne, 22Nor be so fortunate to fall alone! 23Their weight sinks others: Pompey could not flyPompey,PompeyPompey, a Roman statesman and general, was a popular figure in literature for his spectacular fall from power. After Caesar defeated him in the Battle of Pharsalus, concluding the civil war, Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was assassinated by Lucius Septimius, his former colleague. 24But half the World must bear him company; 25And captiv'd SampsonSampsonSampsonIn the Bible, Sampson ("man of the sun"), a Judge of the ancient Israelites and blessed with superhuman strength, was taken captive and tortured by the Philistines after Delilah betrayed him. He took his revenge during a well-attended sacrifice, when he was summoned to give a performance and instead destroyed the temple's columns, killing himself and all of the Philistines within. could not life conclude, 26Unless attended with a multitude. 27Who'd trust to greatness now, whose food is airnAir,nAirWho survives on nothing or who has false hope. 28Whose ruine sudden, and whose end despair? 29Who would presume upon his Glorious Birth, 30Or quarrel for a spacious share of Earth 31That sees such DiademsDiademsDiademsCrowns (Oxford English Dictionary). become so cheap, 32And Heros tumble in a common heap? 33Oh give me Vertue then, which sums up all, 34And firmly stands when Crowns and Scepters fall.

Footnotes