A Poetical Translation of the works of Horace With the Original Text, and Critical Notes collected from his best Latin and French Commentators. By the Revd Mr. Philip Francis...The third edition |
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Ode XIII.
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 | A Poetical Translation of the works of Horace |  |
175
Ode XIII.
[Whoever rais'd and planted Thee]
Whoever rais'd and planted Thee,
Unlucky and pernicious Tree,
In Hour accurs'd with impious Hand
(Thou Bane and Scandal of my Land)
Well may I think the Parricide
In Father's Blood his Soul had dyed,
Or plung'd his Dagger in the Breast
Of his deep-slumbering, midnight Guest,
Or temper'd every baleful Juice,
Which poisonous Colchian Glebes produce,
Or if a blacker Crime be known,
That Crime the Wretch had made his own,
Who on my harmless Grounds and me
Bestow'd Thee, luckless, falling Tree.
Unlucky and pernicious Tree,
In Hour accurs'd with impious Hand
(Thou Bane and Scandal of my Land)
Well may I think the Parricide
In Father's Blood his Soul had dyed,
Or plung'd his Dagger in the Breast
Of his deep-slumbering, midnight Guest,
177
Which poisonous Colchian Glebes produce,
Or if a blacker Crime be known,
That Crime the Wretch had made his own,
Who on my harmless Grounds and me
Bestow'd Thee, luckless, falling Tree.
While Dangers hourly round us rise
No Caution guards us from Surprize.
All other Deaths the Sailor dares,
Who yet the raging Ocean fears;
The Parthian views with deep Dismay,
The Roman Chains and firm Array;
The Roman dreads the Parthian's Speed,
His flying War and backward Reed;
While Death, unheeded, sweeps away
The World, his everlasting Prey.
No Caution guards us from Surprize.
All other Deaths the Sailor dares,
Who yet the raging Ocean fears;
The Parthian views with deep Dismay,
The Roman Chains and firm Array;
The Roman dreads the Parthian's Speed,
His flying War and backward Reed;
While Death, unheeded, sweeps away
The World, his everlasting Prey.
How near was I those dreary Plains
Where Pluto's auburn Consort reigns,
Where awful sits the Judge of Hell,
Where pious Spirits blissful dwell,
Where Sappho in melodious Strains
Of cruel Calumny complains,
Alcæus strikes the golden Strings,
And Seas, and War, and Exile sings?
Thus while they strike the various Lyre
The Ghosts the sacred Sounds admire;
But when Alcæus lifts the Strain
To Deeds of War and Tyrants slain,
In thicker Crouds the shadowy Throng
Drink deeper down the martial Song.
What Wonder? When with bending Ears
The Dog of Hell astonish'd hears,
And, in the Furies Hair entwin'd,
The Snakes with chearful Horrour wind,
While charm'd by the melodious Strain
The tortur'd Ghosts forget their Pain,
Nor Lyon's Rage, nor Lynx's Flight,
Orion's raptur'd Soul delight.
Where Pluto's auburn Consort reigns,
Where awful sits the Judge of Hell,
Where pious Spirits blissful dwell,
Where Sappho in melodious Strains
Of cruel Calumny complains,
Alcæus strikes the golden Strings,
And Seas, and War, and Exile sings?
179
The Ghosts the sacred Sounds admire;
But when Alcæus lifts the Strain
To Deeds of War and Tyrants slain,
In thicker Crouds the shadowy Throng
Drink deeper down the martial Song.
What Wonder? When with bending Ears
The Dog of Hell astonish'd hears,
And, in the Furies Hair entwin'd,
The Snakes with chearful Horrour wind,
While charm'd by the melodious Strain
The tortur'd Ghosts forget their Pain,
Nor Lyon's Rage, nor Lynx's Flight,
Orion's raptur'd Soul delight.
| A Poetical Translation of the works of Horace | |