The idylliums of Moschus and Bion Translated from the Greek. With annotations. To which is prefixed, An Account of their Lives; with some Remarks on their Works; and some Observations upon Pastoral. By Mr. Cooke |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
Idyllium V.
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| VI. |
| VII. |
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 | The idylliums of Moschus and Bion |  |
87
Idyllium V.
[If Glory, whilst I live, attends my Lays]
If Glory, whilst I live, attends my Lays,Before the fatal Hour I merit Praise.
If 'tis my Fate to sing, but sing in vain,
And no Applause rewards the Poet's Strain;
Why should I strive by Song to please again?
If 'tis the Will of Jove, and such our Fate,
To change the present for a future State;
If Heav'n is just to all our Pains below,
An Age of Joy succeeds this World of Woe.
But if the Pow'rs assign one Life to Man,
To all, and that contracted to a Span;
Why all this Trouble, why our needless Cares,
In this short Journey of uncertain Years?
In Search of Wealth, Labour, and Arts, we try;
There's no eluding Fate, we yet must die.
Certain we all forget we're Mortals born;
The Thread's but drawn, wound up, and cut, we're gone.
| The idylliums of Moschus and Bion | |