 | The Poems of St. George Tucker of Williamsburg, Virginia 1752-1827 |  |
Ode IV
To a Would-be Great Man
Jonathan defendeth the great Defender;—magnifieth and exalteth his works, and confesseth his own littleness of understanding.
“Certat tergeminis tollere honoribus.”
Hor.
Hor.
Daddy Vice, Daddy Vice,
The drift of your fine publication:
As sure as a gun,
The thing was just done
To secure you—a pretty high station.
The drift of your fine publication:
As sure as a gun,
The thing was just done
To secure you—a pretty high station.
91
Defenses you call
To knock down our wall,
And batter the states to the ground, sir,
So thick were your shot,
And so hell-fire hot,
They've scarce a whole bone to be found, sir.
To knock down our wall,
And batter the states to the ground, sir,
So thick were your shot,
And so hell-fire hot,
They've scarce a whole bone to be found, sir.
When you tell us of kings
And such pretty things,
Good mercy! how brilliant your page is!
So bright in each line,
I vow now you'll shine
Like a glowworm, to all future ages.
And such pretty things,
Good mercy! how brilliant your page is!
So bright in each line,
I vow now you'll shine
Like a glowworm, to all future ages.
When you handle your balance,
So vast are your talents
Like Atlas your wonderful strength is,
You know ev'ry state
To a barleycorn's weight,
For your steelyeard the continent's length is.
So vast are your talents
Like Atlas your wonderful strength is,
You know ev'ry state
To a barleycorn's weight,
For your steelyeard the continent's length is.
On Davila's page
Your discourses so sage,
Democratical numbskulls bepuzzle
With arguments tough,
As white leather or buff,
The Republican bulldogs to muzzle
Your discourses so sage,
Democratical numbskulls bepuzzle
With arguments tough,
As white leather or buff,
The Republican bulldogs to muzzle
'Tis labor in vain
Your senses to strain
Our brains any longer to muddle;
Like Colossus, you stride
O'er our noddles so wide,
We look up like frogs in a puddle.
Your senses to strain
Our brains any longer to muddle;
Like Colossus, you stride
O'er our noddles so wide,
We look up like frogs in a puddle.
June 19, 1793
| The Poems of St. George Tucker of Williamsburg, Virginia 1752-1827 | |