The Works of Peter Pindar [i.e. John Wolcot] ... With a Copious Index. To which is prefixed Some Account of his Life. In Four Volumes |
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| V. | ODE V. |
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 | The Works of Peter Pindar [i.e. John Wolcot] |  |
ODE V.
At opposition, lo! the soul demurs
At such the royal mind revolts;
Hates it as much as sticks the cats and curs,
Or curbs, and whips, and spurs, high-mettled colts.
At such the royal mind revolts;
Hates it as much as sticks the cats and curs,
Or curbs, and whips, and spurs, high-mettled colts.
Too well I know that you the great despise;
Molehills, instead of mountains, in your eyes:
'Tis wrong!
I often rev'rence Grandeur in my song.
Molehills, instead of mountains, in your eyes:
'Tis wrong!
I often rev'rence Grandeur in my song.
Go, sirs, to court upon a gala day:
Soon as the soldiers cry aloud, ‘Make way!’
How gloriously the courtiers strut it by,
In gorgeous clothes of silk and gold,
With such an elevated front, and bold,
With such state-consequence in either eye;
Soon as the soldiers cry aloud, ‘Make way!’
How gloriously the courtiers strut it by,
In gorgeous clothes of silk and gold,
With such an elevated front, and bold,
With such state-consequence in either eye;
So much above the ground on which they strut,
So stiff, so stake-like, all the pompous pack,
As though Dame Nature had forgot to put
The joints of manners to the neck and back.
So stiff, so stake-like, all the pompous pack,
As though Dame Nature had forgot to put
The joints of manners to the neck and back.
O glorious sight! this no one dares deny:
And lo! I'd lay considerable odds,
That man who ne'er divinities did spy,
Would really take them for a pack of gods!
And lo! I'd lay considerable odds,
That man who ne'er divinities did spy,
Would really take them for a pack of gods!
Grant that the great are ignorant—what then!
Still they are folks of worship—still great men;
Though flogg'd through schools, and banish'd from a college,
Although not one inch broad their minds, I ween:
The utmost boundary of all their knowledge,
The Game-act and John Nichol's Magazine.
Still they are folks of worship—still great men;
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Although not one inch broad their minds, I ween:
The utmost boundary of all their knowledge,
The Game-act and John Nichol's Magazine.
Still men of worship, must they all appear
Beings we little people should revere!
'Tis nat'ral to revere the folk on high;
To rev'rence, lo! our infancies are led!
Well do I recollect how oft my eye
Ador'd the kings and queens of gingerbread:
Beings we little people should revere!
'Tis nat'ral to revere the folk on high;
To rev'rence, lo! our infancies are led!
Well do I recollect how oft my eye
Ador'd the kings and queens of gingerbread:
King David, Solomon, and that brave queen
Who rode so far to see, and to be seen:
Though hungry as a hound, with pence in store,
When in their glory on the stalls I met 'em;
Though longing to devour them o'er and o'er,
I deem'd it sacrilege to eat 'em!
Who rode so far to see, and to be seen:
Though hungry as a hound, with pence in store,
When in their glory on the stalls I met 'em;
Though longing to devour them o'er and o'er,
I deem'd it sacrilege to eat 'em!
| The Works of Peter Pindar [i.e. John Wolcot] | |