Medulla Poetarum Romanorum Or, the Most Beautiful and Instructive Passages of the Roman Poets. Being a Collection, (Disposed under proper Heads,) Of such Descriptions, Allusions, Comparisons, Characters, and Sentiments, as may best serve to shew the Religion, Learning, Politicks, Arts, Customs, Opinions, Manners, and Circumstances of the Antients. With Translations of the same in English Verse. By Mr. Henry Baker |
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| The Four Ages of the WORLD. |
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 | Medulla Poetarum Romanorum |  |
The Four Ages of the WORLD.
The Golden Age. First Age.
The
Golden Age was first: when Man yet new,
No Rule but uncorrupted Reason knew:
And, with a native Bent, did Good pursue.
Unforc'd by Punishment, un-aw'd by Fear,
His Words were simple, and his Soul sincere.
Needless was written Law, where none oppress'd;
The Law of Man was written in his Breast.
No suppliant Crowds before the Judge appear'd,
No Court erected yet, nor Cause was heard:
But all was safe, for Conscience was their Guard.
The Mountain Pine, unfell'd, securely stood,
Nor chang'd for distant Seas her native Wood.
Then Mortals, unambitious, knew no more
Than the short Prospect of their native Shore.
No Walls were yet: nor Fence, nor Moat, nor Mound:
Nor Drum was heard, nor Trumpet's warlike Sound:
Nor Sword, nor Helm was made: in calm Content,
And downy Peace, their Lives these happy People spen.
No Rule but uncorrupted Reason knew:
And, with a native Bent, did Good pursue.
Unforc'd by Punishment, un-aw'd by Fear,
His Words were simple, and his Soul sincere.
Needless was written Law, where none oppress'd;
The Law of Man was written in his Breast.
No suppliant Crowds before the Judge appear'd,
No Court erected yet, nor Cause was heard:
But all was safe, for Conscience was their Guard.
The Mountain Pine, unfell'd, securely stood,
Nor chang'd for distant Seas her native Wood.
Then Mortals, unambitious, knew no more
Than the short Prospect of their native Shore.
No Walls were yet: nor Fence, nor Moat, nor Mound:
Nor Drum was heard, nor Trumpet's warlike Sound:
Nor Sword, nor Helm was made: in calm Content,
And downy Peace, their Lives these happy People spen.
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The teeming Earth yet guiltless of the Plow,
And unprovok'd, did fruitful Stores allow:
Content with Food, which Nature freely bred,
On Wildings, and on Strawberries they fed:
Cornels and Bramble Berries gave the rest,
And fallen Acorns furnish'd out a Feast.
On Flow'rs unsown soft Zephyr spread his Wing,
And Time itself was one eternal Spring.
In following Years, the bearded Corn ensu'd,
From Earth untill'd, nor was that Earth renew'd.
Streams, then, of Milk, and Streams of Nectar flow'd,
And yellow Honey sweating Oaks bestow'd.—
Then Men were hard, as hard as parent Stones,
And unprovok'd, did fruitful Stores allow:
Content with Food, which Nature freely bred,
On Wildings, and on Strawberries they fed:
Cornels and Bramble Berries gave the rest,
And fallen Acorns furnish'd out a Feast.
On Flow'rs unsown soft Zephyr spread his Wing,
And Time itself was one eternal Spring.
In following Years, the bearded Corn ensu'd,
From Earth untill'd, nor was that Earth renew'd.
Streams, then, of Milk, and Streams of Nectar flow'd,
And yellow Honey sweating Oaks bestow'd.—
And built on bigger and on firmer Bones:
The Nerves that join'd their Limbs were tough and strong,
Their Life was healthy, and their Age was long.
No Colds, nor Heats, nor dire Diseases bred
By dainty Dishes, multiply'd the Dead:
But rolling Years long found them in their Prime,
And, like the Brutes, in Search of Food they spent their Time.
No brawny Plowman then had learn'd to tare
The Earth's firm Surface with the crooked Share:
None prun'd old Branches from the Trees that grew,
Or dug the fruitful Ground for planting new:
But all were well contented with the Store
Sun, Rain, and Earth bestow'd, and wish'd no more.
In Woods they liv'd, on Acorns chiefly fed,
And such wild Berries as in Winter, red,
Become mature: the youthful World then gave
Of these abundance more than now we have;
And various Fruits beside did then produce,
Amply sufficient for poor Mortals' Use.—
—Then none resign'd
Their Lives to Seas, or Wishes to the Wind:
Confin'd their Search: they knew themselves alone,
And thought That only worthy to be known.—
That ancient Time, we call the Golden-Age,
Was happy: when Earth's Fruits, and wholsom Herbs,
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His Lips polluted.—Safely thro' the Air
The Bird then wing'd his Way: then o'er the Plains
The Hare securely wander'd, void of Fear:
Nor did his Confidence the Fish betray,
Or guileful Hooks ensnare.—All, then, sincere,
And unsuspicious, perfect Peace enjoy'd.—
Those Woods were first the Seat of Sylvan Pow'rs,
Of Nymphs, and Fawns, and savage Men, who took
Their Birth from Trunks of Trees, and stubborn Oak:
Nor Laws they knew, nor Manners, nor the Care
Of lab'ring Oxen, nor the shining Share:
Nor Arts of Gain, nor what they gain'd to spare.
Their Exercise the Chace: the running Flood
Supply'd their Thirst: The Trees supply'd their Food.
Then Saturn came, who fled the Pow'r of Jove,
Robb'd of his Realms, and banish'd from above.
The Men dispersed on Hills, to Towns he brought:
And Laws ordain'd, and civil Customs taught.
With his mild Empire Peace and Plenty came,
And hence the Golden Times deriv'd their Name.—
Thus Saturn flourished in an Age of Gold,
On Earth: nor Mortals yet had heard th' Alarms
Of Trumpets, nor the sputt'ring of the Steel
On Anvils form'd, and hammer'd into Swords.—
How happy liv'd Mankind in Saturn's Days!
E'er tiresom Journeys mark'd out tedious Ways:
No Ship then ventur'd on the azure Main,
Or spread its Sails the speeding Winds to gain:
To Coasts unknown then none a Voyage made,
Or stor'd their Vessels with a foreign Trade.
No sturdy Bull as yet had wore the Yoke,
No Horse with Bit and Bridle yet was broke.
No Doors their Houses had: and in their Grounds
No Stone was fix'd, to mark each Tenant's Bounds.
Oaks Honey gave, and of their own Accord
The Ewes with swelling Dugs their Milk afford.
Armies, nor Rage, nor Wars, as yet were found,
Nor yet the cruel Smith had Weapons forg'd to wound.—
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Silver Age.
But when good Saturn, banish'd from above,
Was driv'n to Hell, the World was under Jove.
Succeeding Times a Silver Age behold,
Excelling Brass, but more excell'd by Gold.
Then Summer, Winter, Autumn did appear:
And Spring was but a Season of the Year.
The Sun his annual Course obliquely made,
Good Days contracted, and enlarg'd the bad.
Then glow'd the Air with sultry Heats, the Wind
Began with Ice and Snow the Rains to bind.
Mortals to Houses then for Shelter fled:
Caves were their Houses, or an Osier-Shed.
Then Furrows for the quick'ning Grain were broke,
And Oxen labour'd first beneath the Yoke.—
Was driv'n to Hell, the World was under Jove.
Succeeding Times a Silver Age behold,
Excelling Brass, but more excell'd by Gold.
Then Summer, Winter, Autumn did appear:
And Spring was but a Season of the Year.
The Sun his annual Course obliquely made,
Good Days contracted, and enlarg'd the bad.
Then glow'd the Air with sultry Heats, the Wind
Began with Ice and Snow the Rains to bind.
Mortals to Houses then for Shelter fled:
Caves were their Houses, or an Osier-Shed.
Then Furrows for the quick'ning Grain were broke,
And Oxen labour'd first beneath the Yoke.—
E'er Jove was King no Hinds subdu'd the Glebe:
Nor lawful was it held to sever Lands,
Or mark their Bounds: in common all Things lay:
And Earth without Compulsion yielded Food.—
He baneful Poyson to fell Serpents gave:
Commanded Wolves to prowl, the Sea to toss:
From Trees the Honey shook: conceal'd the Fire:
And all in Streams repress'd the running Wine:
That Want by Thought might strike out various Arts,
Gradual; in Furrows seek the Blade of Corn:
And by Collision from the Veins of Flint
Extund the latent Fire.—Then Rivers first
Felt hollow'd Timber: the sea-faring Crew
Then first gave Names and Numbers to the Stars,
The Pleïads, Hyads, and the northern Bear.
'Twas then invented to intangle Beasts
In Toils, and Fowls in Bird-lime to deceive:
And with stanch Hounds the Thicket to inclose.
One with his Casting-net, lanch'd on the deep,
Beats the broad River: from the deeper Sea
Another drags along his dropping Twine.
Then rigid Iron, and the grating Saw,
(With Wedges, first, the splitting Wood they riv'd)
Then various Arts ensu'd.—
Nor lawful was it held to sever Lands,
Or mark their Bounds: in common all Things lay:
And Earth without Compulsion yielded Food.—
He baneful Poyson to fell Serpents gave:
Commanded Wolves to prowl, the Sea to toss:
From Trees the Honey shook: conceal'd the Fire:
And all in Streams repress'd the running Wine:
That Want by Thought might strike out various Arts,
Gradual; in Furrows seek the Blade of Corn:
And by Collision from the Veins of Flint
Extund the latent Fire.—Then Rivers first
Felt hollow'd Timber: the sea-faring Crew
Then first gave Names and Numbers to the Stars,
The Pleïads, Hyads, and the northern Bear.
'Twas then invented to intangle Beasts
In Toils, and Fowls in Bird-lime to deceive:
And with stanch Hounds the Thicket to inclose.
One with his Casting-net, lanch'd on the deep,
Beats the broad River: from the deeper Sea
Another drags along his dropping Twine.
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(With Wedges, first, the splitting Wood they riv'd)
Then various Arts ensu'd.—
Brazen Age.
Third in Succession came the Brazen Age:A warlike Offspring, prompt to bloody Rage,
But yet not impious.—
Iron Age.
—Hard Steel succeeded then,
And stubborn as the Metal were the Men.
Truth, Modesty, and Shame, the World forsook;
Fraud, Avarice, and Force, their Places took.
Then Sails were spread to ev'ry Wind that blew,
Raw were the Sailors, and the Depths were new:
Trees that long rooted on the Mountains stood,
Now bounded o'er the deep unpractis'd Flood.
And stubborn as the Metal were the Men.
Truth, Modesty, and Shame, the World forsook;
Fraud, Avarice, and Force, their Places took.
Then Sails were spread to ev'ry Wind that blew,
Raw were the Sailors, and the Depths were new:
Trees that long rooted on the Mountains stood,
Now bounded o'er the deep unpractis'd Flood.
Then Land-marks limited to each his Right:
For all before was common as the Light.
Nor was the Ground alone required to bear
Her annual Income to the crooked Share,
But greedy Mortals, rummaging her Store,
Digg'd from her Entrails first the precious Oar,
Which next to Hell the prudent Gods had laid:
And that alluring Ill to Sight display'd.
Then cursed Steel, and more accursed Gold,
Gave Mischief Birth, and made that Mischief bold:
The fatal Parents they of new Alarms,
Give Birth to War, and fill the World with Arms.
Now Men are broken loose from moral Bands,
And brandish'd Weapons glitter in their Hands.
No Rights of Hospitality remain:
The Guest by him who harbour'd him is slain.
The Son-in-law pursues the Father's Life,
Brothers with their own Brothers are at Strife,
The Wife her Husband murders, he the Wife:
The Stepdame Poyson for the Son prepares,
The Son inquires into his Father's Years:
Duty and Piety expiring lye,
And Justice, last of all, soars to her native Sky,
Leaving the Earth defil'd with Blood and Cruelty.
For all before was common as the Light.
Nor was the Ground alone required to bear
Her annual Income to the crooked Share,
But greedy Mortals, rummaging her Store,
Digg'd from her Entrails first the precious Oar,
Which next to Hell the prudent Gods had laid:
And that alluring Ill to Sight display'd.
Then cursed Steel, and more accursed Gold,
Gave Mischief Birth, and made that Mischief bold:
The fatal Parents they of new Alarms,
Give Birth to War, and fill the World with Arms.
Now Men are broken loose from moral Bands,
And brandish'd Weapons glitter in their Hands.
No Rights of Hospitality remain:
The Guest by him who harbour'd him is slain.
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Brothers with their own Brothers are at Strife,
The Wife her Husband murders, he the Wife:
The Stepdame Poyson for the Son prepares,
The Son inquires into his Father's Years:
Duty and Piety expiring lye,
And Justice, last of all, soars to her native Sky,
Leaving the Earth defil'd with Blood and Cruelty.
| Medulla Poetarum Romanorum | |