 | Poems (1749) |  |
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HORACE. BOOK III. ODE III.
IMITATED.
Justum & tenacem propositi virum, &c.
I
The man that's resolute and just,Firm to his principles and trust,
Nor hopes nor fears can blind;
No passions his designs controul.
Not love, that tyrant of the soul,
Can shake his steddy mind.
II
Nor parties for revenge engag'd,Nor threat'nings of a court enrag'd,
Nor storms where fleets despair:
Nor thunder pointed at his head;
The shatter'd world may strike him dead,
Not touch his soul with fear.
III
From this the Grecian glory rose,By this the Romans aw'd their foes:
Of this their poets sing.
These were the paths their heroes trod,
These acts made Hercules a god;
And great Nassau a king.
IV
Firm on the rowling deck he stood,Unmov'd, beheld the breaking flood,
With black'ning storms combin'd:
Virtue, he cry'd, will force his way;
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Not alter our design.
V
The men whom selfish hopes enflame,Or vanity allures to fame,
May be to fears betray'd:
But here a church for succour flies,
Insulted law expiring lies,
And loudly calls for aid.
VI
Yes, Britons, yes, with ardent zeal,I come, the wounded heart to heal,
The wounded hand to bind:
See tools of arbitrary sway,
And priests, like locusts, scout away
Before the western wind.
VII
Law shall again her force resume;Religion, clear'd from clouds of Rome,
With brighter rays advance.
The British fleet shall rule the deep,
The British youth as rous'd from sleep,
Strike terror into France.
VIII
Nor shall these promises of fateBe limited to my short date:
When I from cares withdraw
Still shall the British scepter stand,
Still flourish in a female hand,
And to mankind give law.
IX
She shall domestic foes unite;Monarchs beneath her flags shall fight,
Whole armies drag her chain:
She shall lost Italy restore,
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And give a king to Spain.
X
But know, these promises are giv'n,These great rewards imperial heav'n
Does on these terms decree;
That strictly punishing mens faults,
You let their consciences and thoughts
Rest absolutely free.
XI
Let no false politicks confine,In narrow bounds, your vast design
To make mankind unite;
Nor think it a sufficient cause
To punish men by penal laws,
For not believing right.
XII
Rome, whose blind zeal destroys mankind;Rome's sons shall your compassion find,
Who ne'er compassion knew.
By nobler actions theirs condemn:
For what has been reproach'd in them,
Can ne'er be prais'd in you.
XIII
These subjects suit not with the lyre;Muse! to what height dost thou aspire;
Pretending to rehearse
The thoughts of gods, and godlike kings.
Cease, cease to lessen lofty things
By mean ignoble verse.
| Poems (1749) | |