The Works, In Verse and Prose, of Leonard Welsted ... Now First Collected. With Historical Notes, And Biographical Memoirs of the Author, by John Nichols |
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HORACE, BOOK I. ODE I.
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 | The Works, In Verse and Prose, of Leonard Welsted |  |
HORACE, BOOK I. ODE I.
To the Right Honourable George Dodington.
I
Descended from old British sires!Great Dodington, to kings allied;
My Patron thou! my laurel's pride;
There are, whom thirst of fame inspires.
II
To win the lordly Grecian prize;And the proud dust, and wheels, that roll,
Swift as the lightning, round the goal,
Uplift Earth's Sovereigns to the skies:
III
These struggle, with ambitious pains,To be by wavering crowds ador'd;
Those, in their granaries, uphoard
The harvests mow'd on Libya's plains:
IV
While others, pleas'd with rural arts,Manure their own paternal fields;
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Persuade them, with desponding hearts,
V
To cross in ships th' Ægean seas:The Merchant, when the south-west blast,
With surges struggling, drives the mast,
Most happy calls a life of ease;
VI
Most happy his sweet native air!Yet, straight, he hastens to reform
His vessel, shatter'd in the storm;
Ill-nurtur'd poverty to bear!
VII
There are, who quaff, throughout the day,Old Massic wine, or careless laid
Beneath the wilding-apple's shade,
Or where the rising fountains play:
VIII
And many be, whom camps delight,Who in the rife's, and clarion's voice,
The symphony of war, rejoice,
And battles, that fond mothers fright:
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IX
The Hunter bears bleak cold, and wet,Unmindful of his lovely spouse;
Whether the stag the beagles rouze,
Or the wild boar has broke the net:
X
To thee the ivy crown belongs;For thee alike and Phœbus wove!
Thee, Dodington, the gelid grove,
And the light nymphs, and Druid-throngs,
XI
Shall o'er the vulgar greatly blaze;If Clio not restrain the lyre,
Nor she, that does the flute inspire,
Refuse the Lesbian note to rase:
XII
I too the golden harp, my pride,And fair distinction, fain would claim;
Give me a Lyric Poet's name,
And I'll look down on all beside.
| The Works, In Verse and Prose, of Leonard Welsted | |