Religio Laici
| Author | John Dryden |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Religious poem |
| Publisher | Jacob Tonson |
Publication date | 1682 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
Religio Laici, Or A Layman's Faith (1682) is a poem by John Dryden, published as a premise to his subsequent The Hind and the Panther (1687), a final outcome of his conversion to Roman Catholicism.[1]
The poet argues for the credibility of the Christian religion and against Deism, and for the Anglican Church against that of Rome.[2]
Excerpt
These are the last couplets of the poem (vv. 451-455):[3]
- Thus have I made my own opinions clear:
- Yet neither praise expect, nor censure fear:
- And this unpolish'd, rugged verse, I chose;
- fittest for discourse, and nearest prose:
- For, while from sacred truth I do not swerve,
- Tom Sternhold's, or Tom Shadwell's rhymes will serve.[4]
Notes
- ↑ Complete facsimile in Googlebooks. Cf. also facsimile reproduction of 1682 ed., J. Dryden, Religio Laici, Or, a Laymans Faith a Poem. (1682), EEBO Editions (2010).
- ↑ S. N. Zwicker, The Cambridge Companion to John Dryden, Cambridge University Press (2004).
- ↑ As extracted from "The Poetical Works of John Dryden, Volume 1 by John Dryden", Project Gutenberg, in the public domain.
- ↑ English courtier Thomas Sternhold (1500–1549) was the principal author of the first English metrical version of the Psalms, originally attached to the Prayer-Book and which first appeared in 1549. Their popularity was due more to the subject matter than to their poetic style. Thomas Shadwell (1642-1692) was an English poet and playwright who was appointed poet laureate in 1689. Cf. also Luminarium on John Dryden's poems.
External links
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