 | The odes, epodes and Carmen Seculare of Horace (1719) |  |
ODE XX. To Mæcenas.
On new uncommon Pinions born,
To nobler heights I rise;
My former Shape and Residence I scorn,
I kick the subject Earth, and mount the upper Skies.
To nobler heights I rise;
My former Shape and Residence I scorn,
I kick the subject Earth, and mount the upper Skies.
My high Descent and Birth I boast;
These earthy Dregs defie:
I'll not be banish'd to the Stygian Coast,
Nor own the Pow'r of Fate, nor condescend to die.
These earthy Dregs defie:
I'll not be banish'd to the Stygian Coast,
Nor own the Pow'r of Fate, nor condescend to die.
Chang'd to a Swan in Milk-white Down,
I feel my Legs grow light:
My Arms and Shoulders put new Feathers on;
I clap my New-born Wings, and urge th' impetuous Flight.
I feel my Legs grow light:
My Arms and Shoulders put new Feathers on;
I clap my New-born Wings, and urge th' impetuous Flight.
Like Icarus I float in Air;
Thence with a curious Eye,
Survey the Hellespontick Straights from far,
And whence the North begins, and where the Syrtes lye.
Thence with a curious Eye,
Survey the Hellespontick Straights from far,
And whence the North begins, and where the Syrtes lye.
From Colchis and Gelonia's Shore,
I pass to Realms unknown;
To Dacia, priding in her warlike Pow'r,
Thence to the rough Iberian, and the rapid Rhone.
I pass to Realms unknown;
To Dacia, priding in her warlike Pow'r,
Thence to the rough Iberian, and the rapid Rhone.
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Say not, I dy'd; nor shed a Tear,
Nor round my Ashes mourn,
Nor of my needless Obsequies take care;
All Pomp and State is lost upon an empty Urn.
Nor round my Ashes mourn,
Nor of my needless Obsequies take care;
All Pomp and State is lost upon an empty Urn.
| The odes, epodes and Carmen Seculare of Horace (1719) | |