Posthumous Works of Dr. George Sewell ... To which are added Poems on Several Occasions, Published in his Life-Time |
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Upon Mr. Addisons's CATO.
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 | Posthumous Works of Dr. George Sewell |  |
15
Upon Mr. Addisons's CATO.
Long had the Tragic Muse forgot to Weep,
By modern Operas quite lull'd a-sleep:
No Matter what the Lines, the Voice was clear,
Thus Sense was sacrific'd to please the Ear.
At last, One Wit stood up in our Defence,
And dar'd (O Impudence!) to publish—Sense.
By modern Operas quite lull'd a-sleep:
No Matter what the Lines, the Voice was clear,
Thus Sense was sacrific'd to please the Ear.
At last, One Wit stood up in our Defence,
And dar'd (O Impudence!) to publish—Sense.
Soon then as next the just Tragedian spoke,
The Ladies sigh'd again, the Beaus awoke.
Those Heads that us'd most indolent to move
To Sing-song, Ballad, and Sonata Love,
Began their bury'd Senses to explore,
And found they now had Passions as before:
The Power of Nature in their Bosoms felt,
In Spite of Prejudice compell'd to melt.
The Ladies sigh'd again, the Beaus awoke.
Those Heads that us'd most indolent to move
To Sing-song, Ballad, and Sonata Love,
Began their bury'd Senses to explore,
And found they now had Passions as before:
The Power of Nature in their Bosoms felt,
In Spite of Prejudice compell'd to melt.
16
When Cato's firm, all Hope of Succour past,
Holding his stubborn Virtue to the last,
I view, with Joy and conscious Transport fir'd,
The Soul of Rome in one Great Man retir'd:
In Him, as if She by Confinement gain'd,
Her Pow'rs and Energy are higher strain'd,
Than when in Crowds of Senators She reign'd!
Cato well scorn'd the Life that Cæsar gave,
When Fear and Weakness only bid him save:
But when a Virtue, like his own, revives
The Hero's constancy—with Joy he lives.
Holding his stubborn Virtue to the last,
I view, with Joy and conscious Transport fir'd,
The Soul of Rome in one Great Man retir'd:
In Him, as if She by Confinement gain'd,
Her Pow'rs and Energy are higher strain'd,
Than when in Crowds of Senators She reign'd!
Cato well scorn'd the Life that Cæsar gave,
When Fear and Weakness only bid him save:
But when a Virtue, like his own, revives
The Hero's constancy—with Joy he lives.
Observe the Justness of the Poet's Thoughts,
Whose smallest Excellence is Want of Faults:
Without affected Pomp and Noise he warms,
Without the gaudy Dress of Beauty charms.
Love, the old Subject of the Buskin'd Muse,
Returns, but such as Roman Virgins use.
A Virtuous Love, chastis'd by purest Thought,
Not from the Fancy, but from Nature wrought.
Whose smallest Excellence is Want of Faults:
Without affected Pomp and Noise he warms,
Without the gaudy Dress of Beauty charms.
Love, the old Subject of the Buskin'd Muse,
Returns, but such as Roman Virgins use.
A Virtuous Love, chastis'd by purest Thought,
Not from the Fancy, but from Nature wrought.
17
Britons, with lessen'd Wonder, now behold
Your former Wits, and all your Bards of Old:
Johnson out-vy'd in his own Way confess,
And own that Shakespear's self now pleases less.
While Phœbus binds the Laurel on his Brow,
Rise up, ye Muses, and ye Poets Bow:
Superiour Worth with Admiration greet,
And place him nearest to his Phœbus Seat.
Your former Wits, and all your Bards of Old:
Johnson out-vy'd in his own Way confess,
And own that Shakespear's self now pleases less.
While Phœbus binds the Laurel on his Brow,
Rise up, ye Muses, and ye Poets Bow:
Superiour Worth with Admiration greet,
And place him nearest to his Phœbus Seat.
| Posthumous Works of Dr. George Sewell | |