EPISTLE XIII. To Vinnius Asella.
He requires of Vinnius that in presenting his books to
Augustus he wou'd have a due respect to the timing and decency of doing it.
Just as the whole direction stands,
By frequent and by full commands,
Upon your setting out reveal'd,
Deliver up these volumes seal'd,
To Cæsar—that is—shou'd you find,
He's well, in spirits and inclin'd
To ask for trifles of this kind.
Lest zealous for my works and me
You shou'd be thought to make too free,
And bring an odium, if you press
With ill-advis'd officiousness.
But if my budget gall your back,
Rather demolish all the pack,
Than on the pavement rudely throw
Before Augustus, when you go,
To bring a jest in the event,
Upon your Asinine descent,
And be the talk of all the town—
Use your best efforts up and down,
Through sloughs and rivers, dale and hill,
And when your purpose you fulfil,
Thus bear the parcel, lest, perchance,
You with my volume shou'd advance
As country boobies hug a lamb,
Or Pyrrhia, after many a dram,
Stol'n yarn, or routed from his nap,
The drunken cit his fudling-cap.
Lest by a blunder you shou'd say,
How much you sweated all the way
In bringing verse, which may succeed
To make great Cæsar hear and read.
Intreated by the poet's pray'r,
Proceed—good-bye—be well aware,
Lest you shou'd stumble with your load,
And break my orders on the road.
