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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| I. | ODE I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| XXXIV. |
 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
111
ODE I.
Fain wou'd I, in lofty Verse,
Hero's godlike Acts rehearse,
Fain wou'd I a Subject chuse
Worthy of the noblest Muse,
Grecian Chiefs, or Theban Woes
Which from civil Discord 'rose,
But the Strings and Lyre approve
Nought but Softness, nought but Love.
Hero's godlike Acts rehearse,
Fain wou'd I a Subject chuse
Worthy of the noblest Muse,
Grecian Chiefs, or Theban Woes
Which from civil Discord 'rose,
112
Nought but Softness, nought but Love.
Once, I chang'd the Strings and Lyre,
Which wou'd nought but Love inspire,
Strove to sing in loftier Lays,
Many a matchless Hero's Praise,
Toils Herculean, far-renown'd,
With immortal Honours crown'd;
Vain Attempt! for ev'ry String
Echoes Love to all I sing.
Which wou'd nought but Love inspire,
Strove to sing in loftier Lays,
Many a matchless Hero's Praise,
Toils Herculean, far-renown'd,
With immortal Honours crown'd;
Vain Attempt! for ev'ry String
Echoes Love to all I sing.
Farewel Heroes,—ne'er shall I
Such exalted Subjects try,
Ever tender be my Lay,
Ever soft, and ever gay,
Since the Strings alone approve
Soothing Sounds, and Sounds of Love.
Such exalted Subjects try,
Ever tender be my Lay,
Ever soft, and ever gay,
113
Soothing Sounds, and Sounds of Love.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |