Translations and Poems Written on Several Subjects [by Samuel Boyse] |
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VERSES occasioned by the Death of
His Grace
The Duke of Marlborough. |
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 | Translations and Poems Written on Several Subjects |  |
73
VERSES occasioned by the Death of His Grace The Duke of Marlborough.
Decus addite Divis.
Virg.
Virg.
At length the Fate's severe Decree is made,
And Nature's noblest Debt at length is paid:
Illustrious Shade! could the fond Muse express,
The mournful Nation's or her own Distress;
Thy weeping Britons, while thy Worth they view,
Should yield the Tribute to thy Virtues due.
And Nature's noblest Debt at length is paid:
Illustrious Shade! could the fond Muse express,
The mournful Nation's or her own Distress;
Thy weeping Britons, while thy Worth they view,
Should yield the Tribute to thy Virtues due.
In vain we paint thee with imperfect Lays,
Thy glorious Deeds disdain the Arts of Praise;
None durst the arduous Task attempt but one,
For Churchill's Fame requir'd an Addison:
His Numbers set thee in the justest Light,
As you were born to conquer, he to write;
In Valour and in Wit alike you shar'd,
The greatest Hero, the sublimest Bard.
So when Augustus rul'd the Roman State,
In peaceful Arts, and mild Dominion great;
Heav'n rais'd a Virgil to record his Praise,
And send his Glory down to future Days.
Thy glorious Deeds disdain the Arts of Praise;
None durst the arduous Task attempt but one,
For Churchill's Fame requir'd an Addison:
74
As you were born to conquer, he to write;
In Valour and in Wit alike you shar'd,
The greatest Hero, the sublimest Bard.
So when Augustus rul'd the Roman State,
In peaceful Arts, and mild Dominion great;
Heav'n rais'd a Virgil to record his Praise,
And send his Glory down to future Days.
Thy Name, O Marlborough, shall foreverlive,
And dear to Albion Ages hence survive;
To latest Times thy Glory shall be known,
Britons unborn recount thy Triumphs won,
And in her grateful Annals shalt thou stand
The foremost Hero of thy Freeborn Land!
And dear to Albion Ages hence survive;
To latest Times thy Glory shall be known,
Britons unborn recount thy Triumphs won,
And in her grateful Annals shalt thou stand
The foremost Hero of thy Freeborn Land!
Thee too Germania her Deliv'rer owns
Who sav'd from Ruin her devoted Towns;
By Foes opprest, and by her Friends betray'd,
She pensive look'd around for timely Aid;
Her awful Father saw his sinking States,
A Prey to Rapine, and to hostile Fates;
With Grief beheld the Victor-Flames arise,
And heard his poor despairing People's Cries;
When from afar — lo he beheld thee come,
The great Supporter of his falling Throne:
With Joy he mark'd thy Arm victorious go,
And pour Destruction on a faithless Foe;
On Blenheim's Plain with ample Vengeance pay,
The barbarous Rage of many a fatal Day;
On lawless Gallia large Reprisals make,
For Liberty's and injur'd Europe's Sake;
While thou by grateful Cæsar was decreed,
Prince of that Empire which thy Arms had freed.
Who sav'd from Ruin her devoted Towns;
By Foes opprest, and by her Friends betray'd,
She pensive look'd around for timely Aid;
75
A Prey to Rapine, and to hostile Fates;
With Grief beheld the Victor-Flames arise,
And heard his poor despairing People's Cries;
When from afar — lo he beheld thee come,
The great Supporter of his falling Throne:
With Joy he mark'd thy Arm victorious go,
And pour Destruction on a faithless Foe;
On Blenheim's Plain with ample Vengeance pay,
The barbarous Rage of many a fatal Day;
On lawless Gallia large Reprisals make,
For Liberty's and injur'd Europe's Sake;
While thou by grateful Cæsar was decreed,
Prince of that Empire which thy Arms had freed.
Those Arms his Scourge did haughty Louis see,
And found the English Prowess rise in thee,
What Wonders his great Ancestors of old,
Of Nevill had or gallant Talbot told,
Of Captive Kings that wore the Britisb Chain,
Or Agencourt's or Cressy's fatal Plain,
In thee their noblest Acts out match'd he view'd,
His Armies conquer'd, and his Pride subdu'd;
While like another greater Henry thou,
New Trophies ravish'd from his fading Brow,
And by successive Triumphs bravely won,
Eclips'd the Lustre of his boasted Sun
And shew'd th' immortal Man could be o'ercome,
Till sunk with Grief, and loaded with Disgrace
He sought a Refuge in the Arts of Peace.
And found the English Prowess rise in thee,
What Wonders his great Ancestors of old,
Of Nevill had or gallant Talbot told,
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Or Agencourt's or Cressy's fatal Plain,
In thee their noblest Acts out match'd he view'd,
His Armies conquer'd, and his Pride subdu'd;
While like another greater Henry thou,
New Trophies ravish'd from his fading Brow,
And by successive Triumphs bravely won,
Eclips'd the Lustre of his boasted Sun
And shew'd th' immortal Man could be o'ercome,
Till sunk with Grief, and loaded with Disgrace
He sought a Refuge in the Arts of Peace.
Here would the Muse o'er Mem'ry draw a Veil,
And tender all her Country's Faults conceal;
That could alas, too negligent of Worth,
Behold thee go a Victor-Exile forth;
Till safe returning with her awful Lord,
With thee she saw her Liberty restor'd;
The first great Favours of his Reign to share,
In Peace belov'd, and honour'd as in War.
And tender all her Country's Faults conceal;
That could alas, too negligent of Worth,
Behold thee go a Victor-Exile forth;
Till safe returning with her awful Lord,
With thee she saw her Liberty restor'd;
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In Peace belov'd, and honour'd as in War.
Within the sacred Tomb repos'd in Peace,
The restless Malice of thy Foes shall cease;
And after-Days that read thy glorious Name,
Do ample Justice to the Hero's Fame;
To their admiring Sons thy Actions teach,
Actions their Language shall but faintly reach;
Till by the great Example fir'd, they breathe,
The Love of Liberty and Scorn of Death.
The restless Malice of thy Foes shall cease;
And after-Days that read thy glorious Name,
Do ample Justice to the Hero's Fame;
To their admiring Sons thy Actions teach,
Actions their Language shall but faintly reach;
Till by the great Example fir'd, they breathe,
The Love of Liberty and Scorn of Death.
So the fam'd Hero
of immortal Greece,
The Scourge of Tyrants and the Friend of Peace;
In Life by Men neglected saw his Name,
Till Death secur'd his everlasting Fame:
And by his Loss (his Virtues understood)
Th' exalted Mortal rose into a God!
The Scourge of Tyrants and the Friend of Peace;
In Life by Men neglected saw his Name,
Till Death secur'd his everlasting Fame:
And by his Loss (his Virtues understood)
Th' exalted Mortal rose into a God!
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