Poems on Several Occasions ... To which is added, the Plague of Wealth, Occasion'd By the Author's receiving fifty Pounds from his Excellency the Lord Carteret, for the foremention'd Ode. With several Poems not in the Dublin Edition. By Matthew Pilkington. Revised by the Reverend Dr. Swift |
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An Ode to LYCIDAS.
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 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
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An Ode to LYCIDAS.
I
Why, Lycidas, shou'd Man be vainIf bounteous Heav'n hath made him great,
Why look with insolent Disdain,
On those undeck't with Wealth and State?
II
Can splendid Robes, or Beds of Down,Or costly Gems to deck the Hair,
Can all the Glories of a Crown
Give Health, or smooth the Brow of Care?
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III
The scepter'd Prince, the burden'd Slave,The Humble and the Haughty die,
The Poor, the Rich, the Base, the Brave,
In Dust without Distinction lie.
IV
Go, search the Tombs where Monarchs rest,Who once the richest Glories wore,
Fled is that Grandeur they possest,
And all their Greatness is no more.
V
So glides the Meteor thro' the Sky,And sweeps along a gilded Train,
But when its short-liv'd Beauties die,
Dissolves to common Air again.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |