The Works of John Hall-Stevenson ... Corrected and Enlarged. With Several Original Poems, Now First Printed, and Explanatory Notes. In Three Volumes |
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BOOK III. ODE III. |
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The Works of John Hall-Stevenson | ||
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BOOK III. ODE III.
To THOMAS SCROOPE, Esq.
Remember, friend, to shun excess,
Ill suited to a life so frail and short;
Let no perplexing care oppress,
No giddy joy to insolence transport.
Ill suited to a life so frail and short;
Let no perplexing care oppress,
No giddy joy to insolence transport.
Whether, to gloomy thoughts resign'd,
By drops, like sullen thaws, hours melt away,
Or the gay sun-shine of the mind
Fills all the soul with intellectual day.
By drops, like sullen thaws, hours melt away,
Or the gay sun-shine of the mind
Fills all the soul with intellectual day.
Whether, in social bowers, you ply
The festive bowl, or, by some dimpling stream,
Indulge the sentimental sigh,
At life's absurd, inexplicable dream:
The festive bowl, or, by some dimpling stream,
Indulge the sentimental sigh,
At life's absurd, inexplicable dream:
Let wine and elegance unite,
Their choicest blessings largely to dispense;
Quicken desire, improve delight,
And give the sweetest feelings to the sense.
Their choicest blessings largely to dispense;
Quicken desire, improve delight,
And give the sweetest feelings to the sense.
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Whilst fate the present bliss bestows,
Catch the important moment, ere 'tis pass'd,
Fleeting and pleasant as the short-liv'd rose,
Exhaling fragrance to the last.
Catch the important moment, ere 'tis pass'd,
Fleeting and pleasant as the short-liv'd rose,
Exhaling fragrance to the last.
Those groves you view with looks so tender,
Those flow'ring shrubs, rear'd with a parent's care,
You must relinquish and surrender
To the capricious fancy of your heir.
Those flow'ring shrubs, rear'd with a parent's care,
You must relinquish and surrender
To the capricious fancy of your heir.
Nor boots it, whether poor or rich,
Whether you are nobly born or meanly bred;
Whether you drop your being in a ditch,
Or leave it lingering in a bed.
Whether you are nobly born or meanly bred;
Whether you drop your being in a ditch,
Or leave it lingering in a bed.
For, soon or late, the fatal urn
Shall issue forth our last relentless doom;
To exile sent, without return,
To endless rest, and an eternal tomb.
Shall issue forth our last relentless doom;
To exile sent, without return,
To endless rest, and an eternal tomb.
The Works of John Hall-Stevenson | ||