The Works of Hildebrand Jacob ... Containing Poems on Various Subjects, and Occasions; With the Fatal Constancy, a Tragedy; and Several Pieces in Prose. The Greatest Part Never Before Publish'd |
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THE
Muse's Invitation;
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 | The Works of Hildebrand Jacob |  |
1
THE Muse's Invitation;
A POEM.
Musis amicus, tristitiam, & metus
Tradam protervis in mare Creticum
Portare ventis—
Horat.
Tradam protervis in mare Creticum
Portare ventis—
Horat.
3
Rise! said the Muse, and bid adieu
To Worldly Thoughts! My Flight pursue!
When once resolv'd to follow me,
Far happier thy Life shall be,
Than his, who, on a Peaceful Throne,
Beholds extended Realms his own;
Who boasts of Triumphs, and detains
His trembling Enemies in Chains:
For him shou'd rich Pactolus flow,
No Bliss like thine he e'er shall know.
To Worldly Thoughts! My Flight pursue!
When once resolv'd to follow me,
Far happier thy Life shall be,
Than his, who, on a Peaceful Throne,
Beholds extended Realms his own;
Who boasts of Triumphs, and detains
His trembling Enemies in Chains:
For him shou'd rich Pactolus flow,
No Bliss like thine he e'er shall know.
4
I'll bear thee on my Wings on high
Thro' the bright Wonders of the Sky,
'Midst Crouds of Worlds, and form thy Ears,
To reach the Music of the Spheres.
Thro' the bright Wonders of the Sky,
'Midst Crouds of Worlds, and form thy Ears,
To reach the Music of the Spheres.
From thence with rapid Flight we'll go,
And fathom all the Depths below;
See all that Pluto's Kingdom yields,
And tread the blest Elysian Fields
With Heroes and the Bards of old,
Of whom such wond'rous Things are told:
Charon his Bark will not refuse,
Or Cerberus oppose the Muse.
And fathom all the Depths below;
See all that Pluto's Kingdom yields,
And tread the blest Elysian Fields
With Heroes and the Bards of old,
Of whom such wond'rous Things are told:
Charon his Bark will not refuse,
Or Cerberus oppose the Muse.
We then may visit Neptune's Court,
Behold the Nymphs, and Tritons sport;
Make Proteus hidden Truths disclose;
And pluck the Coral, as it grows.
Behold the Nymphs, and Tritons sport;
Make Proteus hidden Truths disclose;
And pluck the Coral, as it grows.
Or, weary'd with our hasty Flight,
We'll seek some Promontory's Height,
Whence we may view the Ocean smile;
Or with a Storm the Ship beguile,
While his big Waves run Mountain high,
And lift the Pinnace to the Sky.
Here, while the Winds and Billows roar,
Secure, this Elemental War
To restless Mortals we'll compare,
Who, in Ambition's Tempest toss'd,
Insatiate, labour, 'till they're lost.
We'll seek some Promontory's Height,
Whence we may view the Ocean smile;
Or with a Storm the Ship beguile,
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And lift the Pinnace to the Sky.
Here, while the Winds and Billows roar,
Secure, this Elemental War
To restless Mortals we'll compare,
Who, in Ambition's Tempest toss'd,
Insatiate, labour, 'till they're lost.
But now shou'd rising Stars invite,
And Phœbe glad the silent Night,
We'll haunt the Plains, where may be seen
The Fairy Revels on the Green.
And Phœbe glad the silent Night,
We'll haunt the Plains, where may be seen
The Fairy Revels on the Green.
Or if the Sun enforce his Ray,
In cooling Shades we'll lose the Day,
Where Dryads, Satyrs, Fauns resort,
And Pan receives his Rustic Court.
When Bacchus, still the Poet's Friend,
His mystic Fury deigns to lend,
Here often in thy sacred Trance
The Forest shall appear to dance;
The Thracian Hills thou'lt fancy nigh,
And frantic Mænads rushing by.
In cooling Shades we'll lose the Day,
Where Dryads, Satyrs, Fauns resort,
And Pan receives his Rustic Court.
When Bacchus, still the Poet's Friend,
His mystic Fury deigns to lend,
Here often in thy sacred Trance
The Forest shall appear to dance;
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And frantic Mænads rushing by.
Th' Enthusiastic Madness stay'd,
In Slumbers, thou shalt be convey'd
To Helicon's inspiring Rill,
Where thou may'st bathe, and drink thy Fill,
Hear all the Muses in a Quire,
And Phœbus, with his golden Lyre,
While Venus, and the Graces meet,
Our charming Numbers to repeat,
Or, Hand in Hand, in measur'd Rounds,
Dance to our soft, melodious Sounds.
In Slumbers, thou shalt be convey'd
To Helicon's inspiring Rill,
Where thou may'st bathe, and drink thy Fill,
Hear all the Muses in a Quire,
And Phœbus, with his golden Lyre,
While Venus, and the Graces meet,
Our charming Numbers to repeat,
Or, Hand in Hand, in measur'd Rounds,
Dance to our soft, melodious Sounds.
Thus wilt thou live, from Danger free,
Happy with Cloë, and with me,
While Mars on troubled Europe frowns,
And Victory prepares her Crowns.
Happy with Cloë, and with me,
While Mars on troubled Europe frowns,
And Victory prepares her Crowns.
| The Works of Hildebrand Jacob | |