 | The first epistle of the second book of Horace, imitated |  |
Edward and Henry, now the Boast of Fame,
And virtuous Alfred, a more sacred Name,
After a Life of gen'rous Toils endur'd,
The Gaul subdu'd, or Property secur'd,
Ambition humbled, mighty Cities storm'd,
Or Laws establish'd, and the World reform'd;
Clos'd their long Glories with a sigh, to find
Th'unwilling Gratitude of base mankind!
All human Virtue to its latest breath
Finds Envy never conquer'd, but by Death.
The great Alcides, ev'ry Labour past,
Had still this Monster to subdue at last.
Sure fate of all, beneath whose rising ray
Each Star of meaner merit fades away;
Oppress'd we feel the Beam directly beat,
Those Suns of Glory please not till they set.
And virtuous Alfred, a more sacred Name,
2
The Gaul subdu'd, or Property secur'd,
Ambition humbled, mighty Cities storm'd,
Or Laws establish'd, and the World reform'd;
Clos'd their long Glories with a sigh, to find
Th'unwilling Gratitude of base mankind!
All human Virtue to its latest breath
Finds Envy never conquer'd, but by Death.
The great Alcides, ev'ry Labour past,
Had still this Monster to subdue at last.
Sure fate of all, beneath whose rising ray
Each Star of meaner merit fades away;
Oppress'd we feel the Beam directly beat,
Those Suns of Glory please not till they set.
| The first epistle of the second book of Horace, imitated | |