The Works of Soame Jenyns ... In Four Volumes. Including Several Pieces Never Before Published. To Which are Prefixed, Short Sketches of the History of the Author's Family, and also of his Life; By Charles Nalson Cole |
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AN ODE. |
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 | The Works of Soame Jenyns |  |
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AN ODE.
Pindarum quisquis studet æmulari.
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I'll combat Nature, interrupt her course,
And baffle all her stated laws by force;
Tear from its bed the deeply-rooted pine,
And hurl it up the craggy mountain's side;
Divert the tempest from its destin'd line,
And stem the torrent of th' impetuous tide;
Teach the dull ox to dance, the ass to play,
And even obstinate Americans t' obey.
And baffle all her stated laws by force;
Tear from its bed the deeply-rooted pine,
And hurl it up the craggy mountain's side;
Divert the tempest from its destin'd line,
And stem the torrent of th' impetuous tide;
Teach the dull ox to dance, the ass to play,
And even obstinate Americans t' obey.
Like some dread Herald, tygers I'll compel
In the same field with stags in peace to dwell:
The rampant lion now erect shall stand,
Now couchant at my feet shall lie deprest;
And if he dares but question my command,
With one strong blow I'll halve him to a crest.
Thus spoke the giant Gogmagog: the sound
Reverberates from all the echoing rocks around.
In the same field with stags in peace to dwell:
The rampant lion now erect shall stand,
Now couchant at my feet shall lie deprest;
And if he dares but question my command,
With one strong blow I'll halve him to a crest.
Thus spoke the giant Gogmagog: the sound
Reverberates from all the echoing rocks around.
Now Morning, rob'd in saffron-colour'd gown,
Her head with pink and pea-green ribbands drest,
Climbs the celestial staircase, and looks down
From out the gilt balcony of the East;
From whence around she sees
The crystal lakes and tufted trees,
The lawns all powder'd o'er with straggling flocks,
The scarce-enlighten'd vales, and high o'er-shadowing rocks.
Her head with pink and pea-green ribbands drest,
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From out the gilt balcony of the East;
From whence around she sees
The crystal lakes and tufted trees,
The lawns all powder'd o'er with straggling flocks,
The scarce-enlighten'd vales, and high o'er-shadowing rocks.
Enamour'd with her newly-dawning charms,
Old Ocean views her with desiring eyes,
And longs once more to clasp her in his arms,
Repenting he had suffer'd her to rise;
Forth from his tumbled bed,
From whence she just had fled,
To the slow, loitering hours he roars amain,
To hasten back the lovely fugitive again.
Old Ocean views her with desiring eyes,
And longs once more to clasp her in his arms,
Repenting he had suffer'd her to rise;
Forth from his tumbled bed,
From whence she just had fled,
To the slow, loitering hours he roars amain,
To hasten back the lovely fugitive again.
Parent of life! refulgent lamp of day!
Without whose genial animating ray
Men, beasts, the teeming earth, and rolling seas,
Courts, camps, and mighty cities, in a trice
Must share one common fate, intensely freeze,
And all become one solid mass of ice;
Ambition wou'd be froze, and Faction numb,
Speeches congeal'd, and orators be dumb.
Without whose genial animating ray
Men, beasts, the teeming earth, and rolling seas,
Courts, camps, and mighty cities, in a trice
Must share one common fate, intensely freeze,
And all become one solid mass of ice;
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Speeches congeal'd, and orators be dumb.
Say, what new worlds and systems you survey!
In circling round your planetary way;
What Beings Saturn's orb inhabit, tell,
Where cold in everlasting triumph reigns;
Or what their frames, who unconsum'd can dwell
In Mercury's red-hot and molten plains;
Say! for most ardently I wish to know,
What bodies can endure eternal fire, or snow!
In circling round your planetary way;
What Beings Saturn's orb inhabit, tell,
Where cold in everlasting triumph reigns;
Or what their frames, who unconsum'd can dwell
In Mercury's red-hot and molten plains;
Say! for most ardently I wish to know,
What bodies can endure eternal fire, or snow!
And thou, sweet Moon! canst tell a softer tale;
To thee the maid, thy likeness, fair and pale,
In pensive contemplation oft applies,
When parted from her lov'd and loving swain,
And looks on you with tear-besprinkled eyes,
And sighs and looks, and looks and sighs again;
Say, for thou know'st what constant hearts endure;
And by thy frequent changes teach the cure.
To thee the maid, thy likeness, fair and pale,
In pensive contemplation oft applies,
When parted from her lov'd and loving swain,
And looks on you with tear-besprinkled eyes,
And sighs and looks, and looks and sighs again;
Say, for thou know'st what constant hearts endure;
And by thy frequent changes teach the cure.
Thy gentle beams the lonely hermit sees,
Gleam thro' the waving branches of the trees,
Which, high-embow'ring, shade his gloomy cell,
Where undisturb'd perpetual silence reigns,
Unless the owl is heard, or distant bell,
Or the wind whistling o'er the furzy plains.
How blest to dwell in this sequester'd spot:
Forgetting parliaments; by them forgot!
Gleam thro' the waving branches of the trees,
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Where undisturb'd perpetual silence reigns,
Unless the owl is heard, or distant bell,
Or the wind whistling o'er the furzy plains.
How blest to dwell in this sequester'd spot:
Forgetting parliaments; by them forgot!
Now lovely Spring her velvet mantle spreads,
And paints with green and gold the flow'ry meads;
Fruit-trees in vast white perriwigs are seen,
Resembling much some antiquated beau,
Which north-east winds, that blow so long and keen,
Powder full oft with gentle flakes of snow;
Soft nightingales their tuneful vigils hold,
And sweetly sing and shake—and shake with cold.
And paints with green and gold the flow'ry meads;
Fruit-trees in vast white perriwigs are seen,
Resembling much some antiquated beau,
Which north-east winds, that blow so long and keen,
Powder full oft with gentle flakes of snow;
Soft nightingales their tuneful vigils hold,
And sweetly sing and shake—and shake with cold.
Summer succeeds; in ev'nings soft and warm,
Thrice-happy lovers saunter arm in arm;
The gay and fair now quit the dusty town,
O'er turnpike-roads incessant chaises sweep,
And whirling, bear their lovely ladings down,
To brace their nerves beneath the briny deep;
There with success each swain his nymph assails,
As birds, they say, are caught—can we but salt their tails.
Thrice-happy lovers saunter arm in arm;
The gay and fair now quit the dusty town,
O'er turnpike-roads incessant chaises sweep,
And whirling, bear their lovely ladings down,
To brace their nerves beneath the briny deep;
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As birds, they say, are caught—can we but salt their tails.
Then Autumn, more serene, if not so bright,
Regales at once our palate, and our sight;
With joy the ruddy orchards we behold,
And of its purple clusters rob the vine;
The spacious fields are cover'd o'er with gold,
Which the glad farmer counts as ready coin:
But disappointment oft his hopes attends—
In tythes and mildews the rich prospect ends.
Regales at once our palate, and our sight;
With joy the ruddy orchards we behold,
And of its purple clusters rob the vine;
The spacious fields are cover'd o'er with gold,
Which the glad farmer counts as ready coin:
But disappointment oft his hopes attends—
In tythes and mildews the rich prospect ends.
Last, Winter comes; decrepit, old, and dull;
Yet has his comforts too—his barns are full;
The social converse, circulating glass,
And chearful fire, are his: to him belong
Th' enlivening dance that warms the chilly lass,
The serious game at whist, and merry song;
Nor wants he beauties—see the sun-beams glow
O'er lakes of crystal ice, and plains of silver snow!
Yet has his comforts too—his barns are full;
The social converse, circulating glass,
And chearful fire, are his: to him belong
Th' enlivening dance that warms the chilly lass,
The serious game at whist, and merry song;
Nor wants he beauties—see the sun-beams glow
O'er lakes of crystal ice, and plains of silver snow!
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Thus roll the seasons o'er Britannia's land,
But none her freeborn-weather can command;
Seasons unlike to those in servile climes,
Which o'er Hispania's or Italia's plains
Dispense, at regular and stated times,
Successive heat and cold, and drought and rains;
Her's scorning, like her sons, to be controul'd,
Breathe heat in winter oft, and oft in summer cold.
But none her freeborn-weather can command;
Seasons unlike to those in servile climes,
Which o'er Hispania's or Italia's plains
Dispense, at regular and stated times,
Successive heat and cold, and drought and rains;
Her's scorning, like her sons, to be controul'd,
Breathe heat in winter oft, and oft in summer cold.
Hail, Liberty, fair Goddess of this isle!
Deign on my verses, and on me, to smile;
Like them unfetter'd by the bonds of sense,
Permit us to enjoy life's transient dream,
To live, and write, without the least pretence
To method, order, meaning, plan, or scheme:
And shield us safe beneath thy guardian wings,
From Law, Religion, Ministers, and Kings.
Deign on my verses, and on me, to smile;
Like them unfetter'd by the bonds of sense,
Permit us to enjoy life's transient dream,
To live, and write, without the least pretence
To method, order, meaning, plan, or scheme:
And shield us safe beneath thy guardian wings,
From Law, Religion, Ministers, and Kings.
| The Works of Soame Jenyns | |