The Christian Scholar :: :: University of Virginia Library

The Christian Scholar

By the Author of "The Cathedral" [i.e. Isaac Williams]

Williams, Isaac (1802-1865)

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II. OVID'S EPISTLES.

I loved the Ovidian turn and skill-wrought line,
Well suited to the boyish mind and ear;—
In such good Herman Hugo could insphere
His Angels, and with wisdom most divine
In guise of wingèd Childhood intertwine
Thoughts worthy for Angelic ears to hear
Yet growing sense in Boyhood, while yet clear
From sins that darken spirit, would repine
O'er those impassion'd lays of Heathen love,
In sorrow and surprise, as fain to ask
The wisdom of Instructors, Why this task
So redolent of evil? lights they wake
Are more like gleams upon a Stygian lake,
Than of that innocence which dwells above.

His “Pia Desideria,” a collection of Latin Poems, in very elegant Ovidian lines; the illustrations of which introduce guardian Angels as little children, in a manner well suited to the character of the verse.