Translations and Poems :: :: University of Virginia Library

With panting Heart and trembling Knees,
Each Object round distrustful sees;
Whether the Leaves the Breezes shake,
Or the green Lizard stirs the Brake!

IV

Then, Sylvia! stop your needless Flight,
I wear no hostile Form to fright;

But only seek my Pains to show
To thee, fair Cause of all my Woe!

V

Then quit a-while your Mother's Side,
To which too long you have been ty'd;
'Tis more than Time to change the Scene,
For Sylvia,—now you're past Fifteen!

Book I. Ode XXVI.

Imitated.

Be gone! ye vain distracting Fears,
I to the Winds resign my Cares,
A Poet should be gay!
Haste then, the flow'ry Chaplet twine,
Fill out, profuse, the generous Wine,
And drive all Pain away!

Let others idly rack their Brain,
With Doubts of France, or Fears from Spain,
Or foreign Jars or Leagues;
To artful Statesmen and their Tools,
That motley Pack of Knaves and Fools,
I leave their own Intrigues.

What is it, Friend, to you or me,
If Carlos reign in Italy,
Or stay at Seville's Court?
Or if cross'd Statesmen in Disgrace,
Still rail with Spite at those in Place,
Tho' ne'er the better for't.

Where some fair spreading Chesnut grows,
And near a murm'ring Fountain flows,
Give me Repose to find!
There with their own celestial Fire,
Let all the Nine my Breast inspire;
And raise my ravish'd Mind!

Then should the Lyre resound thy Praise,
And consecrate its fav'rite Lays
To thee, the Muse's Friend:
Immortaliz'd by these, thy Fame
Should, with their happy Master's Name,
To latest Days descend!

Book I. Ode XXXI.

Translated.

I

While humbly offering at thy Shrine,
I pour the consecrated Wine;
Of thee, bright God of Verse and Day!
What shall thy suppliant Poet pray?

II

I ask not all the Golden Stores,
That wave on rich Sardinia's Shores;
Nor yet the Flocks, a countless Train!
That tread Calabria's verdant Plain.

III

I ask no Heaps of glitt'ring Coin,
Nor Diamonds brought from India's Mine;
Nor yet the Plenty Heav'n bestows,
Where softly winding Lyris flows:

IV

Let the toil'd Merchant yearly stray,
Thro' every Land and every Sea;

And led by Fate in search of Gain,
Explore the Earth, and tempt the Main.

V

Grant me this Wish—a Country Farm,
Where all is fair, and clean, and warm;
The neighb'ring Woods shall yield me Fire,
My Garden feed, my Flocks attire.

VI

And, Phoebus! to confirm me blest,
Still grant me Health those Joys to taste!
And still with Health, let there be join'd
An honest Heart, and chearful Mind.

VII

Then to compleat thy Bard's Desire,
Give me to touch thy sacred Lyre!
Still let the Nine inspire my Lay,
And help to sooth all Care away!

VIII

Untroubled thus, serenely clear,
The Evening of my Life shall wear;
Till Death unfear'd, unheeded come,
And lay me peaceful in the Tomb!

Book I. Ode XXXVIII.

Translated.

I

Away! my Boy, 'tis needless Toil,
I hate your Essences and Oil,
And all th' enervate Train!
Leave the nice Flow'r, th' Autumnal Rose,
Of Myrtle Twigs the Wreath compose,
Both beautiful and plain.

II

With this, beneath the friendly Shade,
Surround thy careless Master's Head,
And then adorn thy own:
The fragrant Plant shall gaily shine,
Shall aid the generous Joys of Wine,
And form a grateful Crown!

Book III. Ode XXVI.

Imitated.

Late unconfin'd, as fleeting Air,
I gaily rov'd amongst the Fair;
And in my yielding Heart
As sov'reign Beauty gave the Law,
From every lovely Face I saw,
Receiv'd the pleasing Dart!

But now, fair Venus! Queen divine!
I hang beside thy honour'd Shrine
The consecrated Lyre!
No more thy charming Wars I prove,
No more the powerful Joys of Love
My feeble Breast can fire!

Yet, Venus! e're thy faithful Slave
Thy Altars quit, thy Service leave;
Let him one Grace implore!
Let stubborn Cælia own thy Sway,
Make her imperious Heart obey!
My Vows shall ask no more! —

Book IV. Ode V.

Imitated.

To the KING. During his Majesty's Stay at Helvoetsluys.

I

Too long, great Monarch! has Britannia's Isle
Persisted sad thy Absence to deplore;
Long miss'd the Sun-shine of thy Royal Smile,
Long wish'd that every Gale might waft thee o'er;
Oh! then no longer let the Nation mourn,
Delay'd the Blessings of thy hop'd Return.

II

Just to our Vows, auspicious speed thy Way,
O Prince belov'd, those kindly Beams restore,
That rule thy Subjects with the gentlest Sway,
And make all Hearts confess thy sovereign Pow'r:
As after Winter blooming Nature springs,
So after Absence shines the Best of Kings.

III

Impatient for thy Sight, across the Main,
Eastward, to wat'ry Belgia's shadowy Coast,
Long has Britannia cast her Eyes in vain,
And griev'd each favourable Wind she lost!
Eager to thee to pay her grateful Vow,
From whom her numerous Blessings constant flow.

IV

For safe the Lab'rer tills the peaceful Plain,
Secure the future Harvest is his own;
The Merchant spreads his Riches o'er the Main,
And pays his chearful Tribute to thy Throne:
And public Faith and joyful Commerce join,
To mark this Golden Age of Britain, thine.

V

Ev'n when thy genial Warmth was felt no more,
When Britain mourn'd, her great Defender gone;
Thy Carolina's soft angelic Power
Supply'd the Absence of thy stronger Sun:
And bless'd we found beneath her guardian Sway,
The Sweets of Peace's soft-continued Day.

VI

Justice maintain'd, and regulated Law,
Freedom at Home, and Safety all around,
From thy acknowledg'd Reign their Source shall draw;
By these thy Name shall be with Glory crown'd:
And future Days that best these Gifts shall see,
Shall point their grateful Eyes to Heav'n and Thee.

VII

Protected thus beneath thy watchful Care,
What People like thy own, great George, is bless'd!
Nothing but for that precious Life we fear,
Lest Fate should rob us of the Bliss possess'd:
Nor potent Gaul we dread, nor haughty Spain;
While thou art safe, they waste their Threats in vain.

VIII

While the glad Artisans, and chearful Swains,
As o'er their native Land they cast their Eye,
Behold her crowded Ports and smiling Plains,
How do their Bosoms swell with honest Joy!
How do they daily wish their King restor'd,
And to his Safety crown the friendly Board!

IX

For this, when free, the social Bowl runs o'er,
Dispelling Fraud and Care from every Heart;
Thy Health, of gracious Heav'n, we first implore,
And speak thy Praise untaught by servile Art:
For this we point the sparkling Glass, and join
Nassau's and great Eliza's Names to thine.

X

Long live, illustrious Prince, our just Delight,
Thy Britain's Shield, the Darling of Mankind!
May Heaven indulgent soon restore thy Sight,
May Britain long thy happy Presence find;
And to thy Godlike Race devolve the Power
To bless this Land, till Time shall be no more!

Book IV. Ode II.

Part Imitated.

I

Who strives, my Friend, with fruitless Toil,
To rise to Prior's matchless Style,
But makes his Folly known:
He, like a first-rate Star sublime,
Shines in a Sphere, where none can climb,
And draws his Light from none!

II

Or like some River swell'd with Rain,
That swift-descending o'er the Plain,
Impetuous shapes its Course;
So his inimitable Lays
Still charm the Heart a thousand Ways,
With irresistless Force!

III

Whether he make his glorious Theme,
Immortal Nassau's godlike Name;
Or pleas'd in Windsor's Groves,

Attunes his Lyre to gentler Sounds,
And with his Notes assembles round
The Graces and the Loves!

IV

Or whether Love his Strains inspire,
To sing the constant Henry's Fire!
Or paint the Nut-brown Fair:
Like the white Swan's expiring Strain,
So soft the dying Notes complain,
And charm the list'ning Ear!

V

Aw'd as his Beauties I explore,
With distant Reverence I adore,
The Bard's exalted Height:
Like the laborious Bee I rove,
And o'er the Field, or thro' the Grove,
Obscurely wing my Flight.—