 | The odes, epodes and Carmen Seculare of Horace (1719) |  |
110
ODE XIII. To Lyce.
Lyce
, at length my Pray'rs prevail,
And you grow old, decay'd and stale;
Yet still to Youth and Love pretend,
And drink, and wanton without End.
And you grow old, decay'd and stale;
Yet still to Youth and Love pretend,
And drink, and wanton without End.
Your Voice is crack'd and cannot charm,
Or keep a drunken Lover warm;
For Love takes wing and seeks the Young,
The blooming Cheek, and silver Tongue.
Or keep a drunken Lover warm;
For Love takes wing and seeks the Young,
The blooming Cheek, and silver Tongue.
He basks in brighter, warmer Eyes,
Your fading wither'd Beauty flies,
Your yellow Teeth, and wrinkled Brow,
Where Time has shed his hoary Snow.
Your fading wither'd Beauty flies,
Your yellow Teeth, and wrinkled Brow,
Where Time has shed his hoary Snow.
Though in rich Gems, and Silks you dress,
And study all the Arts to please;
The faithful Annals will bely
Your poor affected Gallantry.
And study all the Arts to please;
The faithful Annals will bely
Your poor affected Gallantry.
Where is that Bloom, that Beauty gone,
That Mien, which made all Hearts your own?
That Grace, that did my Soul betray,
And stole me from myself away?
That Mien, which made all Hearts your own?
That Grace, that did my Soul betray,
And stole me from myself away?
No Nymph, but Cynara, could shew
A Face, a Shape, an Air like you;
But Cynara, in all her Pride
Of Beauty, and of Conquest, dy'd:
A Face, a Shape, an Air like you;
But Cynara, in all her Pride
Of Beauty, and of Conquest, dy'd:
You, by Old Age, the Fates beguile;
The laughing Youths look on and smile,
To see the Torch in Smoak expire,
That once set every Breast on Fire.
The laughing Youths look on and smile,
To see the Torch in Smoak expire,
That once set every Breast on Fire.
| The odes, epodes and Carmen Seculare of Horace (1719) | |