He was born in Wales; the old Roman name of the country conferring upon
him the appellation "Silurist"--for in those days local pride and
affection claimed the honor of the bard, as the poet himself first
gathered strength from the home, earth and sky which concentrated rather
than circumscribed his genius. His family was of good old lineage,
breathing freely for generations in the upper atmosphere of life, warmed
and cheered in a genial sunlight of prosperity. It could stir, too, at the
call of patriotism, and send soldiers, as it did, to bite the heroic dust
at Agincourt. Another time brought other duties. The poet came into the
world in the early part of the seventeenth century, when the great
awakening of thought and English intellect was to be followed by stirring
action. He was not, indeed, to bear any great part in the senate or the
field; but all noble spirits were moved by the issues of the time. To some
the voice of the age brought hope and energy; to others, a not ignoble
submission. It was perhaps as great a thing to suffer with the Royal
Martyr, with all the burning life and traditions of England in the
throbbing heart, as to rise from the ruins into the cold ether where the
stern soul of Milton could wing its way in self-reliant calmness.
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