 | The odes, epodes and Carmen Seculare of Horace (1719) |  |
The Secular ODE of Horace.
Queen of the Groves! and God of Day!
Long blest, and ever to be blest;
O hear us, whilst our Vows we pay,
And celebrate the solemn Feast.
Long blest, and ever to be blest;
O hear us, whilst our Vows we pay,
And celebrate the solemn Feast.
Our Boys and Virgins, chaste and young,
For so the Sibyls have ordain'd,
Shall to the Gods begin a Song;
The Gods, the Guardians of our Land.
For so the Sibyls have ordain'd,
Shall to the Gods begin a Song;
The Gods, the Guardians of our Land.
May Sol, whose late and early Rays
Are ever Bright and ever New,
In all the Climates he surveys,
No greater State, nor Empire view.
Are ever Bright and ever New,
In all the Climates he surveys,
No greater State, nor Empire view.
Goddess of Births! protect our Dames,
And crown their Pains with lovely Sons;
Thee we invoke by all the Names,
The sacred Names thy Godhead owns.
And crown their Pains with lovely Sons;
Thee we invoke by all the Names,
The sacred Names thy Godhead owns.
Give us a Race mature and strong,
And all those sacred Statutes bless,
That guard the Nuptial Bed from wrong,
And crown the State with fair Increase.
And all those sacred Statutes bless,
That guard the Nuptial Bed from wrong,
And crown the State with fair Increase.
137
Thus when the Age comes round again,
Our Songs, and Sports, and solemn Rites,
The crowding Romans shall detain,
Three glorious Days, and happy Nights.
Our Songs, and Sports, and solemn Rites,
The crowding Romans shall detain,
Three glorious Days, and happy Nights.
The fatal Sisters! who presage
Th' Events of Things with sure Fore-cast,
With Blessings crown the coming Age,
And make it happy as the past.
Th' Events of Things with sure Fore-cast,
With Blessings crown the coming Age,
And make it happy as the past.
Let Fruits and Flocks the Year adorn,
Ceres her yellow Garlands wear;
No noxious Vapours hurt the Corn,
Nor taint the Streams, nor blast the Air.
Ceres her yellow Garlands wear;
No noxious Vapours hurt the Corn,
Nor taint the Streams, nor blast the Air.
Phœbus! no more in Arms delight,
But let our Youths their Vows obtain:
And thou, fair Empress of the Night,
O, Luna! hear our Virgin Train.
But let our Youths their Vows obtain:
And thou, fair Empress of the Night,
O, Luna! hear our Virgin Train.
Rome by your Godlike Conduct rose,
When to Etruria's happy Shore,
The Trojans, rescu'd from their Foes,
Their Gods, their Laws, and Empire bore.
When to Etruria's happy Shore,
The Trojans, rescu'd from their Foes,
Their Gods, their Laws, and Empire bore.
Through Flames, and Toils by Sea and Land,
Their Great Æneas led them on,
And taught his Phrygians to command
A People greater than their own.
Their Great Æneas led them on,
And taught his Phrygians to command
A People greater than their own.
The Gods! with Virtue bless the Young,
Secure the Old from Toil and Care;
Protect our State, our Race prolong,
And make us rich, and great in War.
Secure the Old from Toil and Care;
Protect our State, our Race prolong,
And make us rich, and great in War.
Listen, ye Pow'rs! when Cæsar prays,
Whilst Heifers at the Altar bleed;
Cæsar his suppliant Foes shall raise,
And his victorious Arms succeed.
Whilst Heifers at the Altar bleed;
Cæsar his suppliant Foes shall raise,
And his victorious Arms succeed.
138
By Sea and Land the vanquish'd Mede
Shall humble to the Roman Pow'r;
The Scythian shall the Senate dread,
And Latian Laws confine the Moor.
Shall humble to the Roman Pow'r;
The Scythian shall the Senate dread,
And Latian Laws confine the Moor.
Now Honour, Chastity, and Peace,
Virtue, and banish'd Faith return;
Now Plenty broods a fair Increase,
And fills with Flow'rs her fragrant Horn.
Virtue, and banish'd Faith return;
Now Plenty broods a fair Increase,
And fills with Flow'rs her fragrant Horn.
Phœbus by Auguries renown'd,
To whom the Muses owe their Art,
Still makes the sickly Hale and Sound,
And does the healing Balm impart.
To whom the Muses owe their Art,
Still makes the sickly Hale and Sound,
And does the healing Balm impart.
If he beholds, with equal Eyes,
The Roman State, and Latian Force;
Another happy Age shall rise,
And still grow better in its Course.
The Roman State, and Latian Force;
Another happy Age shall rise,
And still grow better in its Course.
Of sacred Hills and Shrines possess'd,
Diana shall in Smiles descend,
And listen to the solemn Priest,
And to our prostrate Youths attend.
Diana shall in Smiles descend,
And listen to the solemn Priest,
And to our prostrate Youths attend.
Whilst all the Gods and mighty Jove
Assent to what the Chorus prays;
Their Songs shall charm the Pow'rs above,
With Phœbus and Apollo's Praise.
Assent to what the Chorus prays;
Their Songs shall charm the Pow'rs above,
With Phœbus and Apollo's Praise.
| The odes, epodes and Carmen Seculare of Horace (1719) | |