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. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| XXXIV. |
To Varus.
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 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
136
To Varus.
In the Country.
Nil ego contulerim jucundo sanus Amico.
Tho' here confin'd to Noise and Care,
To thick, impure, Bœotian Air,
Tho' here no Scenes delight the Eye,
Or give the Fancy Wings to fly;
Yet, when I read thy perfect Lines,
Where all Poetic Beauty shines,
Where Thought sublime, and Taste polite,
And Wit and Elegance unite,
The raptur'd Muse attempts to sing,
And tunes for thee the trembling String.
To thick, impure, Bœotian Air,
Tho' here no Scenes delight the Eye,
Or give the Fancy Wings to fly;
Yet, when I read thy perfect Lines,
Where all Poetic Beauty shines,
Where Thought sublime, and Taste polite,
And Wit and Elegance unite,
The raptur'd Muse attempts to sing,
And tunes for thee the trembling String.
137
You, Varus, in so sweet a Strain,
Describe the blissful rural Scene,
That while I read, with ravish'd Eyes
I see a new Creation rise,
Of Hills, or Lawns, or verdant Vales,
Or Groves, soft-waving with the Gales,
I seem to tread enchanted Ground,
And see all Nature smile around.
Describe the blissful rural Scene,
That while I read, with ravish'd Eyes
I see a new Creation rise,
Of Hills, or Lawns, or verdant Vales,
Or Groves, soft-waving with the Gales,
I seem to tread enchanted Ground,
And see all Nature smile around.
Charm'd with the Song—, methinks with thee
The mazy-running Stream I see,
Or haunt the Woods or Groves to hear
The wing'd Creation charm the Ear,
Or laid on primros'd Banks along
Enamour'd, hear thy sweeter Song,
And thro' th' Exalted numbers trace
All Milton's Strength, and Maro's grace.
The mazy-running Stream I see,
Or haunt the Woods or Groves to hear
The wing'd Creation charm the Ear,
Or laid on primros'd Banks along
Enamour'd, hear thy sweeter Song,
138
All Milton's Strength, and Maro's grace.
What Joy, O Friendship! do we find
In thee, to raise the human Mind!
Friendship's the noblest Bliss we know
That virtuous Souls can taste below,
The sacred, social, tender Tye
Of Souls immortaliz'd on high:
It makes our Pleasures more sincere,
Divides, and lessens ev'ry Care,
Forbids the burden'd Heart to sigh,
And wipes the Tear from Sorrow's Eye,
Makes Solitudes and Desarts please,
And sooths the Soul a thousand Ways.
In thee, to raise the human Mind!
Friendship's the noblest Bliss we know
That virtuous Souls can taste below,
The sacred, social, tender Tye
Of Souls immortaliz'd on high:
It makes our Pleasures more sincere,
Divides, and lessens ev'ry Care,
Forbids the burden'd Heart to sigh,
And wipes the Tear from Sorrow's Eye,
Makes Solitudes and Desarts please,
And sooths the Soul a thousand Ways.
139
Judicious Varus! form'd to shine
In Arts refin'd, and Lays divine!
You imitate those Bards so well,
In whose blest Strains the Muses dwell,
Whom Fame hath hymn'd in ev'ry Clime,
Whose Works deride the Teeth of Time,
That whatsoe'er in them we praise,
Transplanted, blossoms in thy Lays.
In Arts refin'd, and Lays divine!
You imitate those Bards so well,
In whose blest Strains the Muses dwell,
Whom Fame hath hymn'd in ev'ry Clime,
Whose Works deride the Teeth of Time,
That whatsoe'er in them we praise,
Transplanted, blossoms in thy Lays.
Thus while the Bee, with chymic Pow'r,
Extracts the Sweets of ev'ry Flow'r,
Refining ev'ry purest Part,
And blending all with nicest Art,
Those various Sweets in him we find
Improv'd, collected, and combin'd.
Extracts the Sweets of ev'ry Flow'r,
Refining ev'ry purest Part,
And blending all with nicest Art,
Those various Sweets in him we find
Improv'd, collected, and combin'd.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |