 |
 | An imitation of the sixth satire of the second book of Horace |  |
75
THE SECOND SATIRE OF THE FIRST BOOK OF HORACE
SOBER ADVICE From HORACE
[_]
Ambubajarum collegia, pharmacopolae,
Mendici, mimae, balatrones; hoc genus omne
Maestum ac sollicitum est cantoris morte Tigelli:
Quippe Benignus erat ------
Mendici, mimae, balatrones; hoc genus omne
Maestum ac sollicitum est cantoris morte Tigelli:
Quippe Benignus erat ------
Pimps, Poets, Wits, Lord Fanny's, Lady Mary's,
And all the Court in Tears, and half the Town,
Lament dear charming Oldfield, dead and gone!
Engaging Oldfield! who, with Grace and Ease,
Could joyn the Arts, to ruin, and to please.
Not so, who of Ten Thousand gull'd her Knight,
Then ask'd Ten Thousand for a second Night:
The Gallant too, to whom she pay'd it down,
Liv'd to refuse that Mistress half a Crown.
Then ask'd Ten Thousand for a second Night:
The Gallant too, to whom she pay'd it down,
Liv'd to refuse that Mistress half a Crown.
Con. Philips cries, “A sneaking Dog I hate.”
That's all three Lovers have for their Estate!
“Treat on, treat on,” is her eternal Note,
And Lands and Tenements go down her Throat.
Some damn the Jade, and some the Cullies blame,
But not Sir H---t, for he does the same.
That's all three Lovers have for their Estate!
“Treat on, treat on,” is her eternal Note,
And Lands and Tenements go down her Throat.
Some damn the Jade, and some the Cullies blame,
But not Sir H---t, for he does the same.
[_]
Fufidius vappae famam timet ac nebulonis,
Dives agris, dives positis in fenore nummis.
Quinas hic capiti mercedes exsecat; atque
Quanto perditior quisque est, tanto acrius urguet.
Nomina sectatur, modo sumta veste virili
Sub patribus duris, tironum. Maxime, quis non,
Juppiter, exclamat, simul atque audivit? “At in se
“Pro quaestu sumtum facit hic.” Vix credere possis
Quam sibi non sit amicus: ita ut Pater ille, Terenti
Fabula quem miserum gnato vixisse fugato
Inducit, non se pejus cruciaverit atque hic.
Dives agris, dives positis in fenore nummis.
Quinas hic capiti mercedes exsecat; atque
Quanto perditior quisque est, tanto acrius urguet.
Nomina sectatur, modo sumta veste virili
Sub patribus duris, tironum. Maxime, quis non,
Juppiter, exclamat, simul atque audivit? “At in se
“Pro quaestu sumtum facit hic.” Vix credere possis
Quam sibi non sit amicus: ita ut Pater ille, Terenti
Fabula quem miserum gnato vixisse fugato
Inducit, non se pejus cruciaverit atque hic.
77
For Int'rest, ten per Cent. her constant Rate is;
Her Body? hopeful Heirs may have it gratis.
She turns her very Sister to a Job,
And, in the Happy Minute, picks your Fob:
Yet starves herself, so little her own Friend,
And thirsts and hungers only at one End:
A Self-Tormentor, worse than (in the Play)
The Wretch, whose Av'rice drove his Son away.
[_]
Si quis nunc quaerat, Quo res haec pertinet? Illuc:
Dum vitant stulti vitia, in contraria currunt.
Malchinus tunicis demissis ambulat: est qui
Inguen ad obscaenum subductis usque facetus:
Pastillos Rufillus olet, Gargonius hircum.
Nil medium est. sunt qui nolint tetigisse, nisi illas,
Quarum subsuta talos tegat instita veste:
Contra alius nullam, nisi olente in fornice stantem.
Dum vitant stulti vitia, in contraria currunt.
Malchinus tunicis demissis ambulat: est qui
Inguen ad obscaenum subductis usque facetus:
Pastillos Rufillus olet, Gargonius hircum.
Nil medium est. sunt qui nolint tetigisse, nisi illas,
Quarum subsuta talos tegat instita veste:
Contra alius nullam, nisi olente in fornice stantem.
“Women and Fools are always in Extreme.
Rufa's at either end a Common-Shoar,
Sweet Moll and Jack are Civet-Cat and Boar:
Nothing in Nature is so lewd as Peg,
Yet, for the World, she would not shew her Leg!
79
Spreads her Fore-Buttocks to the Navel bare.
But diff'rent Taste in diff'rent Men prevails,
And one is fired by Heads, and one by Tails;
Some feel no Flames but at the Court or Ball,
And others hunt white Aprons in the Mall.
My Lord of L---n, chancing to remark
A noted Dean much busy'd in the Park,
“Proceed (he cry'd) proceed, my Reverend Brother,
“'Tis Fornicatio simplex, and no other:
“Better than lust for Boys, with Pope and Turk,
“Or others Spouses, like my Lord of ---
A noted Dean much busy'd in the Park,
“Proceed (he cry'd) proceed, my Reverend Brother,
“'Tis Fornicatio simplex, and no other:
“Better than lust for Boys, with Pope and Turk,
“Or others Spouses, like my Lord of ---
May no such Praise (cries J---s) e'er be mine!
J---s, who bows at Hi---sb---w's hoary Shrine.
J---s, who bows at Hi---sb---w's hoary Shrine.
[_]
Audire est operae pretium, procedere recte
Qui moechos non voltis, ut omni parte laborent;
Utque illis multo corrupta dolore voluptas,
Atque haec rara, cadat dura inter saepe pericla.
Hic se praecipitem tecto dedit: ille flagellis
Ad mortem caesus: fugiens hic decidet acrem
Praedonum in turbam: dedit hic pro corpore nummos:
Hunc perminxerunt calones; quin etiam illud
Accidit, ut cuidam testis, caudamque salacem
Demeterent ferro. jure omnes. Galba negabat.
Qui moechos non voltis, ut omni parte laborent;
Utque illis multo corrupta dolore voluptas,
Atque haec rara, cadat dura inter saepe pericla.
Hic se praecipitem tecto dedit: ille flagellis
Ad mortem caesus: fugiens hic decidet acrem
Praedonum in turbam: dedit hic pro corpore nummos:
Hunc perminxerunt calones; quin etiam illud
Accidit, ut cuidam testis, caudamque salacem
Demeterent ferro. jure omnes. Galba negabat.
Till ev'ry Cuckold-maker's flea'd alive;
Attend, while I their Miseries explain,
And pity Men of Pleasure still in Pain!
Survey the Pangs they bear, the Risques they run,
Where the most lucky are but last undone.
See wretched Monsieur flies to save his Throat,
And quits his Mistress, Money, Ring, and Note!
81
By worthier Footmen pist upon and whipt!
Plunder'd by Thieves, or Lawyers which is worse,
One bleeds in Person, and one bleeds in Purse;
This meets a Blanket, and that meets a Cudgel—
And all applaud the Justice—All, but Budgel.
[_]
Tutior at quanto merx est in classe secunda!
Libertinarum dico: Sallustius in qua
Non minus insanit, quam qui moechatur. at hic si,
Qua res, qua ratio sauderet, quaque modeste
Munifico esse licet, vellet bonus atque benignus
Esse; daret quantum satis esset, nec sibi damno
Dedecorique foret. verum hoc se amplectitur uno,
Hoc amat & laudat: Matronam nullam ego tango.
Libertinarum dico: Sallustius in qua
Non minus insanit, quam qui moechatur. at hic si,
Qua res, qua ratio sauderet, quaque modeste
Munifico esse licet, vellet bonus atque benignus
Esse; daret quantum satis esset, nec sibi damno
Dedecorique foret. verum hoc se amplectitur uno,
Hoc amat & laudat: Matronam nullam ego tango.
Who trades in Frigates of the second Rate?
And yet some Care of S---st should be had,
Nothing so mean for which he can't run mad;
His Wit confirms him but a Slave the more,
And makes a Princess whom he found a Whore.
The Youth might save much Trouble and Expence,
Were he a Dupe of only common Sense.
But here's his point; A Wench (he cries) for me!
“I never touch a Dame of Quality.
[_]
Ut quondam Marsaeus amator Originis, ille
Qui patrium mimae donat fundumque laremque,
Nil fuerit mi, inquit, cum uxoribus umquam alienis.
Verum est cum mimis, est cum meretricibus: unde
Fama malum gravius, quam res, trahit. an tibi abunde
Personam satis est, non illud, quicquid ubique
Officit, evitare? bonam deperdere famam,
Rem patris oblimare, malum est ubicumque. quid inter
Est in matrona, ancilla, peccesne togata?
Qui patrium mimae donat fundumque laremque,
Nil fuerit mi, inquit, cum uxoribus umquam alienis.
Verum est cum mimis, est cum meretricibus: unde
Fama malum gravius, quam res, trahit. an tibi abunde
Personam satis est, non illud, quicquid ubique
Officit, evitare? bonam deperdere famam,
Rem patris oblimare, malum est ubicumque. quid inter
Est in matrona, ancilla, peccesne togata?
He courts the whole Personæ Dramatis:
He too can say, “With Wives I never sin.”
But Singing-Girls and Mimicks draw him in.
Sure, worthy Sir, the Diff'rence is not great,
With whom you lose your Credit and Estate?
This, or that Person, what avails to shun?
What's wrong is wrong, wherever it be done:
83
Destroy'd alike with Strumpet, Maid, or Wife.
What push'd poor Ellis on th'Imperial Whore?
'Twas but to be where Charles had been before.
The fatal Steel unjustly was apply'd,
When not his Lust offended, but his Pride:
Too hard a Penance for defeated Sin,
Himself shut out, and Jacob Hall let in.
'Twas but to be where Charles had been before.
The fatal Steel unjustly was apply'd,
When not his Lust offended, but his Pride:
Too hard a Penance for defeated Sin,
Himself shut out, and Jacob Hall let in.
Suppose that honest Part that rules us all,
Should rise, and say—“Sir Robert! or Sir Paul!
“Did I demand, in my most vig'rous hour,
“A Thing descended from the Conqueror?
“Or when my pulse beat highest, ask for any
“Such Nicety, as Lady or Lord Fanny?—
What would you answer? Could you have the Face,
When the poor Suff'rer humbly mourn'd his Case,
To cry “You weep the Favours of her Grace?
Should rise, and say—“Sir Robert! or Sir Paul!
“Did I demand, in my most vig'rous hour,
“A Thing descended from the Conqueror?
“Or when my pulse beat highest, ask for any
“Such Nicety, as Lady or Lord Fanny?—
What would you answer? Could you have the Face,
When the poor Suff'rer humbly mourn'd his Case,
To cry “You weep the Favours of her Grace?
[_]
At quanto meliora monet, pugnantiaque istis
Dives opis natura suae! tu si modo recte
Dispensare velis, ac non fugienda petendis
Inmiscere.
—Tuo vitio, rerumne labores,
Nil referre putas? quare, ne poeniteat te,
Desine matronas sectarier: unde laboris
Plus haurire mali est, quam ex re decerpere fructus.
Dives opis natura suae! tu si modo recte
Dispensare velis, ac non fugienda petendis
Inmiscere.
—Tuo vitio, rerumne labores,
Nil referre putas? quare, ne poeniteat te,
Desine matronas sectarier: unde laboris
Plus haurire mali est, quam ex re decerpere fructus.
And giv'n enough for Man, enough for Beast?
But Man corrupt, perverse in all his ways,
In search of Vanities from Nature strays:
Yea, tho' the Blessing's more than he can use,
Shuns the permitted, the forbid pursues!
Weigh well the Cause from whence these Evils spring,
'Tis in thyself, and not in God's good Thing:
Then, lest Repentence punish such a Life,
85
[_]
Nec magis huic, inter niveos viridisque lapillos
Sit licet, o Cerinthe, tuo tenerum est femur, aut crus
Rectius: atque etiam melius persaepe togatae est.
Adde huc, quod mercem sine fucis gestat; aperte
Quod venale habet, ostendit; neque si quid honesti est
Jactat habetque palam, quaerit quo turpia celet.
Regibus hic mos est, ubi equos mercantur; opertos
Inspiciunt: ne si facies, ut saepe, decora
Molli fulta pede est; emtorem ducat hiantem,
Quod pulchrae clunes, breve quod caput, ardua cervix.
Hoc illi recte. Tu corporis optima Lyncei
Contemplare occulis; Hypsaea caecior, illa
Quae mala sunt, spectas. O crus, o brachia! verum
Depugis, nasuta, brevi latere, ac pede longo est.
Sit licet, o Cerinthe, tuo tenerum est femur, aut crus
Rectius: atque etiam melius persaepe togatae est.
Adde huc, quod mercem sine fucis gestat; aperte
Quod venale habet, ostendit; neque si quid honesti est
Jactat habetque palam, quaerit quo turpia celet.
Regibus hic mos est, ubi equos mercantur; opertos
Inspiciunt: ne si facies, ut saepe, decora
Molli fulta pede est; emtorem ducat hiantem,
Quod pulchrae clunes, breve quod caput, ardua cervix.
Hoc illi recte. Tu corporis optima Lyncei
Contemplare occulis; Hypsaea caecior, illa
Quae mala sunt, spectas. O crus, o brachia! verum
Depugis, nasuta, brevi latere, ac pede longo est.
Or plumper Thigh, than lurk in humble Crape:
And secondly, how innocent a Belle
Is she who shows what Ware she has to sell;
Not Lady-like, displays a milk-white Breast,
And hides in sacred Sluttishness the rest.
Our ancient Kings (and sure those Kings were wise,
Who judg'd themselves, and saw with their own Eyes)
A War-horse never for the Service chose,
But ey'd him round, and stript off all the Cloaths;
For well they knew, proud Trappings serve to hide
A heavy Chest, thick Neck, or heaving Side.
But Fools are ready Chaps, agog to buy,
Let but a comely Fore-hand strike the Eye:
No Eagle sharper, every Charm to find,
To all defects, Ty---y not so blind:
Goose-rump'd, Hawk-nos'd, Swan-footed, is my Dear?
They'l praise her Elbow, Heel, or Tip o'th' Ear.
Who judg'd themselves, and saw with their own Eyes)
A War-horse never for the Service chose,
But ey'd him round, and stript off all the Cloaths;
For well they knew, proud Trappings serve to hide
A heavy Chest, thick Neck, or heaving Side.
But Fools are ready Chaps, agog to buy,
Let but a comely Fore-hand strike the Eye:
No Eagle sharper, every Charm to find,
To all defects, Ty---y not so blind:
Goose-rump'd, Hawk-nos'd, Swan-footed, is my Dear?
They'l praise her Elbow, Heel, or Tip o'th' Ear.
[_]
Matronae, praeter faciem, nil cernere possis;
Caetera, ni Catia est, demissia veste tegentis.
Si interdicta petes, vallo circumdata, (nam te
Hoc facit insanum) multae tibi tum officient res;
Custodes, lectica, ciniflones, parasitae;
Ad talos stola demissa, & circumdata palla:
Plurima, quae invideant pure adparere tibi rem.
Altera nil obstat: Cois tibi pene videre est
Ut nudam; ne crure malo, ne sit pede turpi:
Metiri possis oculo latus. an tibi mavis
Insidias fieri, pretiumque avellier, ante
Quam mercem ostendi?
Caetera, ni Catia est, demissia veste tegentis.
Si interdicta petes, vallo circumdata, (nam te
Hoc facit insanum) multae tibi tum officient res;
Custodes, lectica, ciniflones, parasitae;
Ad talos stola demissa, & circumdata palla:
Plurima, quae invideant pure adparere tibi rem.
Altera nil obstat: Cois tibi pene videre est
Ut nudam; ne crure malo, ne sit pede turpi:
Metiri possis oculo latus. an tibi mavis
Insidias fieri, pretiumque avellier, ante
Quam mercem ostendi?
(For none but Lady M--- shows the Rest)
But if to Charms more latent you pretend,
What Lines encompass, and what Works defend!
Dangers on Dangers! obstacles by dozens!
Spies, Guardians, Guests, old Women, Aunts, and Cozens!
87
Stays will obstruct above, and Hoops below,
And if the Dame says yes, the Dress says no.
Not thus at N---dh---m's; your judicious Eye
May measure there the Breast, the Hip, the Thigh!
And will you run to Perils, Sword, and Law,
All for a Thing you ne're so much as saw?
[_]
------ Leporem venator ut alta
In nive sectetur, positum sic tangere nolit:
Cantat, & adponit, meus est amor huic similis: nam
Transvolat in medio posita, & fugientia captat.
Hiscine versiculis speras tibi posse dolores,
Atque aestus, curasque gravis e pectore tolli?
Nonne, cupidinibus statuat natura modum quem,
Quid latura, sibi quid sit dolitura negatum,
Quaerere plus prodest; & inane abscindere soldo?
Num, tibi cum faucis urit sitis, aurea quaeris
Pocula? num esuriens fastidis omnia praeter
Pavonem, rhombumque? tument tibi cum inguina, num, si
Ancilla aut verna est praesto puer, impetus in quem
Continuo fiat, malis tentigine rumpi?
Non ego: namque parabilem amo venerem, facilemque.
In nive sectetur, positum sic tangere nolit:
Cantat, & adponit, meus est amor huic similis: nam
Transvolat in medio posita, & fugientia captat.
Hiscine versiculis speras tibi posse dolores,
Atque aestus, curasque gravis e pectore tolli?
Nonne, cupidinibus statuat natura modum quem,
Quid latura, sibi quid sit dolitura negatum,
Quaerere plus prodest; & inane abscindere soldo?
Num, tibi cum faucis urit sitis, aurea quaeris
Pocula? num esuriens fastidis omnia praeter
Pavonem, rhombumque? tument tibi cum inguina, num, si
Ancilla aut verna est praesto puer, impetus in quem
Continuo fiat, malis tentigine rumpi?
Non ego: namque parabilem amo venerem, facilemque.
“The little Scut he so pursu'd before,
“Love follows flying Game (as Sucklyn sings)
“And 'tis for that the wanton Boy has Wings.”
Why let him Sing—but when you're in the Wrong,
Think ye to cure the Mischief with a Song?
Has Nature set no bounds to wild Desire?
No Sense to guide, no Reason to enquire,
What solid Happiness, what empty Pride?
And what is best indulg'd, or best deny'd?
If neither Gems adorn, nor Silver tip
The flowing Bowl, will you not wet your Lip?
When sharp with Hunger, scorn you to be fed,
Except on Pea-Chicks, at the Bedford-head?
Or, when a tight, neat Girl, will serve the Turn,
In errant Pride continue stiff, and burn?
I'm a plain Man, whose Maxim is profest,
“The Thing at hand is of all Things the best.
[_]
Illam, Post paullo, Sed pluris, Si exierit vir,
Gallis: Hanc, Philodemus ait sibi, quae neque magno
Stet pretio; nec cunctetur, cum est jussa venire.
Candida rectaque sit; munda hactenus, ut neque longa,
Nec magis alba velit, quam det natura, videri.
Haec, ubi supposuit dextro corpus mihi laevum,
Ilia & Egeria est: do nomen quodlibet illi.
Nec vereor, ne, dum futuo, vir rure recurrat;
Janua frangatur; latret canis; undique magno
Pulsa domus strepitu resonet: ne pallida lecto
Desiliat mulier; miseram se conscia clamet;
Cruribus haec metuat, doti haec deprensa, egomet mi.
Discincta tunica fugiendum est, ac pede nudo;
Ne nummi pereant, aut puga, aut denique fama.
Deprendi miserum est: Fabio vel judice vincam.
Gallis: Hanc, Philodemus ait sibi, quae neque magno
Stet pretio; nec cunctetur, cum est jussa venire.
Candida rectaque sit; munda hactenus, ut neque longa,
Nec magis alba velit, quam det natura, videri.
Haec, ubi supposuit dextro corpus mihi laevum,
Ilia & Egeria est: do nomen quodlibet illi.
Nec vereor, ne, dum futuo, vir rure recurrat;
Janua frangatur; latret canis; undique magno
Pulsa domus strepitu resonet: ne pallida lecto
Desiliat mulier; miseram se conscia clamet;
Cruribus haec metuat, doti haec deprensa, egomet mi.
Discincta tunica fugiendum est, ac pede nudo;
Ne nummi pereant, aut puga, aut denique fama.
Deprendi miserum est: Fabio vel judice vincam.
Whose Word is If, Perhaps, and By-and-By,
Z---ds! let some Eunuch or Platonic take—
89
Who asks no more (right reasonable Peer)
Than not to wait too long, nor pay too dear.
Give me a willing Nymph! 'tis all I care,
Extremely clean, and tolerably fair,
Her Shape her own, whatever Shape she have,
And just that White and Red which Nature gave.
Her I transported touch, transported view,
And call her Angel! Goddess! Montague!
No furious Husband thunders at the Door;
No barking Dog, no Household in a Roar;
From gleaming Swords no shrieking Women run;
No wretched Wife cries out, Undone! Undone!
Seiz'd in the Fact, and in her Cuckold's Pow'r,
She kneels, she weeps, and worse! resigns her Dow'r.
Me, naked me, to Posts, to Pumps they draw,
To Shame eternal, or eternal Law.
Oh Love! be deep Tranquility my Luck!
No Mistress H---ysh---m near, no Lady B---ck!
For, to be taken, is the Dev'll in Hell;
This Truth, let L---l, J---ys, O---w tell.
FINIS
147
THE FIRST ODE OF THE FOURTH BOOK OF HORACE.
151
To Venus.
[_]
Inter missa Venus diu
Rursus bella moves? parce precor, precor!
Non sum qualis eram, bonæ
Sub regno Cynaræ: Desine, dulcium
Mater sæva Cupidinum,
Circa lustra decem flectere mollibus
Jam durum imperiis: abi
Quo blandæ juvenum te revocant preces.
Tempestiviùs in domo
Paulli, purpureis ales oloribus,
Comessabere Maximi,
Si torrere jecur quæris idoneum.
Namque et nobilis & decens,
Et pro solicitis non tacitus reis,
Et centum puer artium,
Latè signa feret militiæ tuæ.
Et quandoque potentior
Largis muneribus riserit æmuli,
Albanos prope te lacus
Ponet marmoream, sub trabe citrea.
Rursus bella moves? parce precor, precor!
Non sum qualis eram, bonæ
Sub regno Cynaræ: Desine, dulcium
Mater sæva Cupidinum,
Circa lustra decem flectere mollibus
Jam durum imperiis: abi
Quo blandæ juvenum te revocant preces.
Tempestiviùs in domo
Paulli, purpureis ales oloribus,
Comessabere Maximi,
Si torrere jecur quæris idoneum.
Namque et nobilis & decens,
Et pro solicitis non tacitus reis,
Et centum puer artium,
Latè signa feret militiæ tuæ.
Et quandoque potentior
Largis muneribus riserit æmuli,
Albanos prope te lacus
Ponet marmoream, sub trabe citrea.
Ah spare me, Venus! let me, let me rest!
I am not now, alas! the man
As in the gentle Reign of My Queen Anne.
Ah sound no more thy soft alarms,
Nor circle sober fifty with thy Charms.
Mother too fierce of dear Desires!
Turn, turn to willing Hearts your wanton fires.
To Number five direct your Doves,
There spread round Murray all your blooming Loves;
Noble and young, who strikes the heart
With every sprightly, every decent part;
Equal, the injur'd to defend,
To charm the Mistress, or to fix the Friend.
He, with a hundred Arts refin'd,
Shall stretch thy Conquests over half the kind:
To him each Rival shall submit,
Make but his riches equal to his Wit.
Then shall thy Form the Marble grace,
(Thy Græcian Form) and Chloe lend the Face:
His House, embosom'd in the Grove,
Sacred to social Life and social Love,
Shall glitter o'er the pendent green,
Where Thames reflects the visionary Scene.
[_]
Illic plurima naribus
Duces thura; lyræque & Berecynthiæ
Delectabere tibiæ
Mistis carminibus, non sine fistulâ.
Illic bis pueri die
Numen cum teneris virginibus tuum
Laudantes, pede candido
In morem Salium ter quatient humum.
Me nec femina, nec puer
Jam, nec spes animi credula mutui,
Nec certare juvat mero:
Nec vincire novis tempora floribus.
—Sed cur, heu! Ligurine, cur
Manat rara meas lacryma per genas?
Cur facunda parum decoro
Inter verba cadit lingua silentio?
Nocturnis te ego somniis
Jam capium teneo: jam volucrem sequor
Te, per gramina Martii
Campi, te per aquas, dure, volubiles.
Duces thura; lyræque & Berecynthiæ
Delectabere tibiæ
Mistis carminibus, non sine fistulâ.
Illic bis pueri die
Numen cum teneris virginibus tuum
Laudantes, pede candido
In morem Salium ter quatient humum.
Me nec femina, nec puer
Jam, nec spes animi credula mutui,
Nec certare juvat mero:
Nec vincire novis tempora floribus.
—Sed cur, heu! Ligurine, cur
Manat rara meas lacryma per genas?
Cur facunda parum decoro
Inter verba cadit lingua silentio?
Nocturnis te ego somniis
Jam capium teneo: jam volucrem sequor
Te, per gramina Martii
Campi, te per aquas, dure, volubiles.
Shall call the smiling Loves, and young Desires;
There, every Grace and Muse shall throng,
153
There, Youths and Nymphs, in consort gay,
Shall hail the rising, close the parting day.
With me, alas! those joys are o'er;
For me, the vernal Garlands bloom no more.
Adieu! fond hope of mutual fire,
The still-believing, still-renew'd desire;
Adieu! the heart-expanding bowl,
And all the kind Deceivers of the soul!
—But why? ah tell me, ah too dear!
Steals down my cheek th'involuntary Tear?
Why words so flowing, thoughts so free,
Stop, or turn nonsense at one glance of Thee?
Thee, drest in Fancy's airy beam,
Absent I follow thro' th'extended Dream,
Now, now I seize, I clasp thy charms,
And now you burst, (ah cruel!) from my arms,
And swiftly shoot along the Mall,
Or softly glide by the Canal,
Now shown by Cynthia's silver Ray,
And now, on rolling Waters snatch'd away.
155
PART OF THE NINTH ODE OF THE FOURTH BOOK OF HORACE.
159
[_]
Ne forte credas interitura, quæ
Longe sonantem natus ad Aufidum
Non ante vulgatas per artes
Verba loquor socianda chordis;
Longe sonantem natus ad Aufidum
Non ante vulgatas per artes
Verba loquor socianda chordis;
Which sounds the Silver Thames along,
Taught on the Wings of Truth, to fly
Above the reach of vulgar Song;
Tho' daring Milton sits Sublime,
In Spencer native Muses play;
Nor yet shall Waller yield to time,
Nor pensive Cowley's moral Lay.
In Spencer native Muses play;
Nor yet shall Waller yield to time,
Nor pensive Cowley's moral Lay.
Sages and Chiefs long since had birth
E're Cæsar was, or Newton nam'd,
These rais'd new Empires o'er the Earth,
And Those new Heav'ns and Systems fram'd;
E're Cæsar was, or Newton nam'd,
These rais'd new Empires o'er the Earth,
And Those new Heav'ns and Systems fram'd;
Vain was the chief's and sage's pride
They had no Poet and they dyd!
In vain they schem'd, in vain they bled
They had no Poet and are dead!
They had no Poet and they dyd!
In vain they schem'd, in vain they bled
They had no Poet and are dead!
265
THE SEVENTH EPISTLE OF THE FIRST BOOK OF HORACE
Imitated in the Manner of Dr. Swift
269
[_]
Quinque dies tibi pollicitus me rure futurum,
Sextilem totum mendax desideror. Atqui
Si me vivere vis sanum recteque valentem,
Quam mihi das ægro, dabis ægrotare timenti,
Mæcenas, veniam; dum ficus prima calorque
Designatorem decorat lictoribus atris;
Dum pueris omnis pater & matercula pallet;
Officiosaque sedulitas, & opella forensis
Adducit febres, & testamenta resignat.
Sextilem totum mendax desideror. Atqui
Si me vivere vis sanum recteque valentem,
Quam mihi das ægro, dabis ægrotare timenti,
Mæcenas, veniam; dum ficus prima calorque
Designatorem decorat lictoribus atris;
Dum pueris omnis pater & matercula pallet;
Officiosaque sedulitas, & opella forensis
Adducit febres, & testamenta resignat.
I would be with you, June the third;
Chang'd it to August, and (in short)
Have kept it—as you do at Court.
You humour me when I am sick,
Why not when I am splenatick?
In town, what Objects could I meet?
The shops shut up in every street,
And Fun'rals black'ning all the Doors,
And yet more melancholy Whores:
And what a dust in ev'ry place!
And a thin Court that wants your Face,
And Fevers raging up and down,
And W* and H* both in town!
“The Dog-days are no more the case.”
'Tis true, but Winter comes apace:
Then southward let your Bard retire,
Hold out some months 'twixt Sun and Fire,
And you shall see, the first warm Weather,
Me and the Butterflies together.
'Tis true, but Winter comes apace:
Then southward let your Bard retire,
Hold out some months 'twixt Sun and Fire,
And you shall see, the first warm Weather,
Me and the Butterflies together.
[_]
Non quo more pyris vesci Calaber jubet hospes,
Tu me fecisti locupletem: “Vescere sodes.
Jam satis est. “At tu quantum vis tolle. Benigne.
“Non invisa feres pueris munuscula parvis.
Tam teneor dono quam si dimittar onustus.
“Tu libet: hæc porcis hodie comedenda relinques.
Prodigus & stultus donat quæ spernit & odit:
Hæc seges ingratos tulit, & feret omnibus annis.
Vir bonus & sapiens dignis ait esse paratus;
Nec tamen ignorat quid distent æra lupinis.
Tu me fecisti locupletem: “Vescere sodes.
Jam satis est. “At tu quantum vis tolle. Benigne.
“Non invisa feres pueris munuscula parvis.
Tam teneor dono quam si dimittar onustus.
“Tu libet: hæc porcis hodie comedenda relinques.
Prodigus & stultus donat quæ spernit & odit:
Hæc seges ingratos tulit, & feret omnibus annis.
Vir bonus & sapiens dignis ait esse paratus;
Nec tamen ignorat quid distent æra lupinis.
'Tis with Distinction you bestow;
And not to every one that comes,
Just as a Scotsman does his Plumbs.
“Pray take them, Sir,—Enough's a Feast:
“Eat some, and pocket up the rest—”
271
“No Sir, you'll leave them to the Hogs.”
Thus Fools with Compliments besiege ye,
Contriving never to oblige ye.
Scatter your Favours on a Fop,
Ingratitude's the certain crop;
And 'tis but just, I'll tell you wherefore,
You give the things you never care for.
A wise man always is or should
Be mighty ready to do good;
But makes a diff'rence in his thought
Betwixt a Guinea and a Groat.
Now this I'll say, you'll find in me
A safe Companion, and a free;
But if you'd have me always near—
A word, pray, in your Honour's ear.
I hope it is your Resolution
To give me back my Constitution!
The sprightly Wit, the lively Eye,
Th'engaging Smile, the Gaiety,
That laugh'd down many a Summer's Sun,
And kept you up so oft till one;
And all that voluntary Vein,
As when Belinda rais'd my Strain.
A safe Companion, and a free;
But if you'd have me always near—
A word, pray, in your Honour's ear.
I hope it is your Resolution
To give me back my Constitution!
The sprightly Wit, the lively Eye,
Th'engaging Smile, the Gaiety,
That laugh'd down many a Summer's Sun,
And kept you up so oft till one;
And all that voluntary Vein,
As when Belinda rais'd my Strain.
A Weasel once made shift to slink
In at a Corn-loft thro' a Chink;
But having amply stuff'd his skin,
Cou'd not get out as he got in:
Which one belonging to the House
('Twas not a Man, it was a Mouse)
Observing, cry'd, “You scape not so,
“Lean as you came, Sir, you must go.”
In at a Corn-loft thro' a Chink;
But having amply stuff'd his skin,
Cou'd not get out as he got in:
Which one belonging to the House
('Twas not a Man, it was a Mouse)
Observing, cry'd, “You scape not so,
273
[_]
Hac ego si compellor imagine, cuncta resigno:
Nec somnum plebis laudo, satur altilium, nec
Otia divitiis Arabum liberrima muto.
Sæpe verecundum laudâsti; rexque paterque
Audisti coram; nec verbo parcius absens:
Inspice si possum donata reponere lætus.
Parvum parva decent: mihi jam non regia Roma,
Sed vacuum Tibur placet, aut imbelle Tarentum.
Strenuus & fortis rebusque Philippus agendis, &c.
Nec somnum plebis laudo, satur altilium, nec
Otia divitiis Arabum liberrima muto.
Sæpe verecundum laudâsti; rexque paterque
Audisti coram; nec verbo parcius absens:
Inspice si possum donata reponere lætus.
Parvum parva decent: mihi jam non regia Roma,
Sed vacuum Tibur placet, aut imbelle Tarentum.
Strenuus & fortis rebusque Philippus agendis, &c.
I'm no such Beast, nor his Relation;
Nor one that Temperance advance,
Cramm'd to the throat with Ortolans:
Extremely ready to resign
All that may make me none of mine.
South-sea Subscriptions take who please,
Leave me but Liberty and Ease.
'Twas what I said to Craggs and Child,
Who prais'd my Modesty, and smil'd.
Give me, I cry'd, (enough for me)
My Bread, and Independency!
So bought an Annual Rent or two.
And liv'd—just as you see I do;
Near fifty, and without a Wife,
I trust that sinking Fund, my Life.
Can I retrench? Yes, mighty well,
Shrink back to my Paternal Cell,
A little House, with Trees a-row,
And like its Master, very low,
There dy'd my Father, no man's Debtor,
And there I'll die, nor worse nor better.
To set this matter full before you,
Our old Friend Swift will tell his Story.
“Harley, the Nation's great Support,”—
But you may read it, I stop short.
Our old Friend Swift will tell his Story.
“Harley, the Nation's great Support,”—
But you may read it, I stop short.
329
ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND FORTY.
A POEM.
332
O wretched B---, jealous now of all,
What God, what mortal, shall prevent thy fall?
Turn, turn thy eyes from wicked men in place,
And see what succour from the Patriot Race.
C---, his own proud dupe, thinks Monarchs things
Made just for him, as other fools for Kings;
Controls, decides, insults thee every hour,
And antedates the hatred due to Pow'r.
What God, what mortal, shall prevent thy fall?
Turn, turn thy eyes from wicked men in place,
And see what succour from the Patriot Race.
C---, his own proud dupe, thinks Monarchs things
Made just for him, as other fools for Kings;
Controls, decides, insults thee every hour,
And antedates the hatred due to Pow'r.
Thro' Clouds of Passion P---'s views are clear,
He foams a Patriot to subside a Peer;
Impatient sees his country bought and sold,
And damns the market where he takes no gold.
He foams a Patriot to subside a Peer;
Impatient sees his country bought and sold,
And damns the market where he takes no gold.
Grave, righteous S--- joggs on till, past belief,
He finds himself companion with a thief.
He finds himself companion with a thief.
To purge and let thee blood, with fire and sword,
Is all the help stern S--- wou'd afford.
Is all the help stern S--- wou'd afford.
That those who bind and rob thee, would not kill,
Good C--- hopes, and candidly sits still.
Good C--- hopes, and candidly sits still.
Of Ch---s W--- who speaks at all,
No more than of Sir Har---y or Sir P---.
Whose names once up, they thought it was not wrong
To lie in bed, but sure they lay too long.
333
Whose names once up, they thought it was not wrong
To lie in bed, but sure they lay too long.
G---r, C---m, B---t, pay thee due regards,
Unless the ladies bid them mind their cards. with wit that must
And C---d who speaks so well and writes,
Whom (saving W.) every S. harper bites,
Whose wit and must needs equally provoke one,
Finds thee, at best, the butt to crack his joke on.
Unless the ladies bid them mind their cards. with wit that must
And C---d who speaks so well and writes,
Whom (saving W.) every S. harper bites,
Whose wit and must needs equally provoke one,
Finds thee, at best, the butt to crack his joke on.
As for the rest, each winter up they run,
And all are clear, that something must be done.
Then urg'd by C---t, or by C---t stopt,
Inflam'd by P---, or by P--- dropt;
They follow rev'rently each wond'rous wight,
Amaz'd that one can read, that one can write:
So geese to gander prone obedience keep,
Hiss if he hiss, and if he slumber, sleep.
Till having done whate'er was fit or fine,
Utter'd a speech, and ask'd their friends to dine;
Each hurries back to his paternal ground,
Content but for five shillings in the pound,
Yearly defeated, yearly hopes they give,
And all agree, Sir Robert cannot live.
And all are clear, that something must be done.
Then urg'd by C---t, or by C---t stopt,
Inflam'd by P---, or by P--- dropt;
They follow rev'rently each wond'rous wight,
Amaz'd that one can read, that one can write:
334
Hiss if he hiss, and if he slumber, sleep.
Till having done whate'er was fit or fine,
Utter'd a speech, and ask'd their friends to dine;
Each hurries back to his paternal ground,
Content but for five shillings in the pound,
Yearly defeated, yearly hopes they give,
And all agree, Sir Robert cannot live.
Rise, rise, great W--- fated to appear,
Spite of thyself a glorious minister!
Speak the loud language Princes ...
And treat with half the ...
At length to B--- kind, as to thy ...
Espouse the nation, you ...
Spite of thyself a glorious minister!
Speak the loud language Princes ...
And treat with half the ...
At length to B--- kind, as to thy ...
Espouse the nation, you ...
What can thy H ...
Dress in Dutch ...
Tho' still he travels on no bad pretence,
To shew ...
Dress in Dutch ...
Tho' still he travels on no bad pretence,
To shew ...
Or those foul copies of thy face and tongue,
Veracious W--- and frontless Young;
Sagacious Bub, so late a friend, and there
So late a foe, yet more sagacious H---?
Hervey and Hervey's school, F--- H---y, H---n,
Yea, moral Ebor, or religious Winton.
How! what can O---w, what can D---
The wisdom of the one and other chair,
N--- laugh, or D---s sager
Or thy dread truncheon M.'s mighty peer?
What help from J---s opiates canst thou draw
Or H---k's quibbles voted into law?
Veracious W--- and frontless Young;
Sagacious Bub, so late a friend, and there
335
Hervey and Hervey's school, F--- H---y, H---n,
Yea, moral Ebor, or religious Winton.
How! what can O---w, what can D---
The wisdom of the one and other chair,
N--- laugh, or D---s sager
Or thy dread truncheon M.'s mighty peer?
What help from J---s opiates canst thou draw
Or H---k's quibbles voted into law?
C. that Roman in his nose alone,
Who hears all causes, B---, but thy own,
Or those proud fools whom nature, rank, and fate
Made fit companions for the Sword of State.
Who hears all causes, B---, but thy own,
Or those proud fools whom nature, rank, and fate
Made fit companions for the Sword of State.
336
Can the light packhorse, or the heavy steer,
The sowzing Prelate, or the sweating Peer,
Drag out with all its dirt and all its weight,
The lumb'ring carriage of thy broken State?
Alas! the people curse, the carman swears,
The drivers quarrel, and the master stares.
The sowzing Prelate, or the sweating Peer,
Drag out with all its dirt and all its weight,
The lumb'ring carriage of thy broken State?
Alas! the people curse, the carman swears,
The drivers quarrel, and the master stares.
The plague is on thee, Britain, and who tries
To save thee in th'infectious office dies.
The first firm P---y soon resign'd his breath,
Brave S---w lov'd thee, and was ly'd to death.
Good M---m---t's fate tore P---th from thy side,
And thy last sigh was heard when W---m died.
To save thee in th'infectious office dies.
The first firm P---y soon resign'd his breath,
Brave S---w lov'd thee, and was ly'd to death.
Good M---m---t's fate tore P---th from thy side,
And thy last sigh was heard when W---m died.
Thy Nobles Sl---s, thy Se---s bought with gold,
Thy Clergy perjur'd, thy whole People sold.
An atheist![illustration](https://iiif.lib.virginia.edu/iiif/uva-lib:465963/full/!1600,1600/0/default.jpg")
a
![illustration](https://iiif.lib.virginia.edu/iiif/uva-lib:465964/full/!1600,1600/0/default.jpg")
's ad ...
Blotch thee all o'er, and sink ...
Thy Clergy perjur'd, thy whole People sold.
An atheist
a
's ad ...337
Alas! on one alone our all relies,
Let him be honest, and he must be wise,
Let him no trifler from his [OMITTED] school,
Nor like his ... still a ...
Be but a man! unministered, alone,
And free at once the Senate and the Throne;
Esteem the public love his best supply,
A![illustration](https://iiif.lib.virginia.edu/iiif/uva-lib:465965/full/!1600,1600/0/default.jpg")
's true glory his integrity;
Rich with his ... in his ... strong,
Affect no conquest, but endure no wrong.
Whatever his religion or his blood,
His public virtue makes his title good.
Europe's just balance and our own may stand,
And one man's honesty redeem the land.
Let him be honest, and he must be wise,
Let him no trifler from his [OMITTED] school,
Nor like his ... still a ...
Be but a man! unministered, alone,
And free at once the Senate and the Throne;
Esteem the public love his best supply,
A
's true glory his integrity;
Rich with his ... in his ... strong,
Affect no conquest, but endure no wrong.
Whatever his religion or his blood,
His public virtue makes his title good.
Europe's just balance and our own may stand,
And one man's honesty redeem the land.
| An imitation of the sixth satire of the second book of Horace | |