 | Miscellanies (1785) |  |
20
XIII.
The noble Coriolanus was the fourth,
Whose very shade look'd martial—firm he strode,
And thus with Roman dignity exclaim'd,
In honour of the Dead:
Whose very shade look'd martial—firm he strode,
And thus with Roman dignity exclaim'd,
In honour of the Dead:
“My fame like thine
“Demands an equal voice, an equal tongue:
“All eyes spoke of thee, and the bleared sights
“Were spectacled to see thee—the veil'd dames
“Commit the wave of white and damask, in
“Their nicely gauded cheeks, to th' wanton spoil
“Of Phœbus' burning kisses: such a pother,
“As if that whatsoever God had tun'd thy throat
“Were slyly crept into thy human powers,
“To give thee grace and posture. Oft, great shade!
“The dumb men throng'd to see thee, and the blind
“To hear thee speak. To thee have Nobles bended,
“As to Jove's Satue; and the Commons made
“A shower and thunder with their caps and shouts
“As ne'er were seen the like.”—The soldier pass'd.
“Demands an equal voice, an equal tongue:
“All eyes spoke of thee, and the bleared sights
“Were spectacled to see thee—the veil'd dames
“Commit the wave of white and damask, in
“Their nicely gauded cheeks, to th' wanton spoil
“Of Phœbus' burning kisses: such a pother,
“As if that whatsoever God had tun'd thy throat
“Were slyly crept into thy human powers,
“To give thee grace and posture. Oft, great shade!
“The dumb men throng'd to see thee, and the blind
“To hear thee speak. To thee have Nobles bended,
“As to Jove's Satue; and the Commons made
“A shower and thunder with their caps and shouts
“As ne'er were seen the like.”—The soldier pass'd.
| Miscellanies (1785) | |