The Third Volume of the Works of Mr. William Congreve containing Poems upon Several Occasions |
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| A PINDARIQUE ODE, Humbly Offer'd to the QUEEN,
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 | The Third Volume of the Works of Mr. William Congreve |  |
A PINDARIQUE ODE, Humbly Offer'd to the QUEEN,
On the Victorious Progress of Her MAJESTY's Arms, under the Conduct of the Duke of Marlborough.
To which is prefix'd, A Discourse on the Pindarique Ode.
Carmina fingo.
Hor. Ode 2. L. 4.
I.
Daughter of Memory, Immortal Muse,Calliope; what Poet wilt thou chuse
Of ANNA's Name to Sing?
To whom wilt thou thy Fire impart,
Thy Lyre, thy Voice, and tuneful Art;
Whom raise Sublime on thy Ætherial Wing,
And Consecrate with Dews of thy Castalian Spring?
II.
Without thy Aid, the most aspiring MindMust flag beneath, to narrow Flights confin'd,
Striving to rise in vain:
Nor e'er can hope with equal Lays
To celebrate bright Virtue's Praise.
Thy Aid obtain'd, even I, the humblest Swain,
May climb Pierian Heights, and quit the lowly Plain.
III.
High in the Starry Orb is hung,And next Alcides Guardian Arm,
That
Orpheus was said to be the Son of the Muse Calliope. The Poetical Fiction of the Harp of Orpheus is this. Mercury, the same Day that he was born of Maja in Cyllene, a Mountain of Arcadia, found a living Tortoise, which he carried home with him to his Cradle, and immediately compos'd a Harp of the Shell. A little after he stole the Oxen of Apollo; this caus'd some Difference between the Deities, but the Matter being referr'd to Jupiter, he order'd Mercury to return the Oxen to the right Owner; on this there follow'd not only a Reconciliation but Friendship, and Apollo expressing an extream Pleasure at the Invention of the Harp, Mercury bestow'd it on him as a Pledge of his future Friendship. Of this Homer, in his Hymn to Mercury, speaks at large. Afterwards Apollo inventing another Instrument call'd the Cithara, gave the Lyra to Orpheus. The Muses, after the Death of Orpheus, Translated his Harp into Heav'n, where it became a Constellation, and is plac'd between the Knee and Left Arm of Engonasis or Hercules.
Who Woods, and Rocks, and Winds, cou'd Charm,
That Harp which on Cyllenes shady Hill,
When first the Vocal Shell was found,
With more than Mortal Skill
Inventer Hermes taught to sound.
Hermes on bright Latona's Son,
By sweet Persuasion won,
The wond'rous Work bestow'd;
Latona's Son, to thine
Indulgent, gave the Gift Divine:
A God the Gift, a God th'Invention show'd.
I.
To that high-sounding Lyre I tune my Strains;A lower Note his lofty Song disdains
The Lyre is struck! the Sounds I hear!
O Muse, propitious to my Pray'r!
O well known Sounds! O Melody, the same
That kindled Mantuan Fire, and rais'd Mæonian Flame!
II.
Nor are these Sounds to British Bards unknown,Or sparingly reveal'd to one alone:
Witness sweet Spencer's Lays:
And witness that Immortal Song,
As Spencer sweet, as Milton strong,
Which humble Boyn o'er Tiber's Flood cou'd raise,
And mighty William Sing, with well-proportion'd Praise.
III.
Rise, Fair Augusta, lift thy Head,With Golden Tow'rs thy Front adorn;
Come forth, as comes from Tithon's Bed
With chearful Ray the ruddy Morn.
Thy lovely Form, and fresh reviving State,
In Crystal Flood of Thames survey;
Bless Anna's most Auspicious Sway.
While distant Realms and neighb'ring Lands,
Arm'd Troops and hostile Bands
On ev'ry Side molest,
Thy happier Clime is Free,
Fair Capital of Liberty!
And Plenty knows, and Days of Halcyon Rest.
I.
As Britain's Isle, when old vex'd Ocean roars;Unshaken sees against her Silver Shoars
His foaming Billows beat;
So Britain's QUEEN, amidst the Jars
And Tumults of a World in Wars,
Fix'd on the Base of Her well-founded State,
Serene and safe Looks down, nor feels the Shocks of Fate.
II.
But Greatest Souls, tho' blest with sweet Repose,Are soonest touch'd with Sense of others Woes.
To Mercy and soft Pity prone,
And mov'd with Sorrows not her own,
Has all her Peace and downy Rest resign'd,
To wake for Common Good, and succour Human-kind.
III.
Fly, Tyranny, no more be knownWithin Europa's blissful Bound;
Far as th'unhabitable Zone
Fly ev'ry hospitable Ground.
To horrid Zembla's Frozen Realms repair,
There with the baleful Beldam, Night,
Unpeopl'd Empire share,
And rob those Lands of Legal Right.
For now is come the promis'd Hour,
When Justice shall have Pow'r;
Justice to Earth restor'd!
Again Astrea Reigns!
ANNA Her equal Scale maintains,
And Marlbrô weilds Her sure deciding Sword.
I.
Now, coud'st thou soar, my Muse, to Sing the ManIn Heights sublime, as when the Mantuan Swan
Her tow'ring Pinions spread;
Thou should'st of Marlbrô Sing, whose Hand
Unerring from his QUEEN's Command,
Far as the
Lucan in his Third Book, V. 202. gives it the indefinite Epithete of Multifidi Istri. But Ovid, Trist. 2. Solus ad ingressus missus Septemplicis Istri. And Sidonius Apollinaris gives it the same Epithete, on the like Occasion with this Ode, when in his Panegyrick to Majorianus Cæsar, he tells him,
Augustus potuit, rigidum Septemplicis Istri
Agmen in arma rapis—
The Ancient Geographers differ'd very much in their Account of the Rise of this River; so that on a double account the same Epithets may be appropriated to it which are usual to the Nile.
To save th'Imperial State, Her hardy Britons led.
II.
Nor there thy Song should end; tho' all the NineMight well their Harps and Heav'nly Voices join
To Sing that Glorious Day,
When Bold Bavaria fled the Field,
And Veteran Gauls unus'd to yield,
On Blenheim's Plain imploring Mercy lay;
And Spoils and Trophies won, perplex'd the Victors way.
III.
But cou'd thy Voice of Blenheim Sing,And with Success that Song pursue;
To keep the Victor still in view?
For as the Sun ne'er stops his radiant Flight,
Nor Sets, but with impartial Ray
To all who want his Light
Alternately transfers the Day:
So in the Glorious Round of Fame,
Great Marlbrô, still the same,
Incessant runs his Course;
To Climes remote, and near,
His Conqu'ring Arms by turns appear,
And Universal is his Aid and Force.
I.
Attempt not to proceed, unwary Muse,For O! what Notes, what Numbers cou'dst thou chuse,
Tho' in all Numbers skill'd;
To Sing the Hero's matchless Deed,
Which
Belgia need not only be strictly understood of the Seven Provinces, call'd Belgium Fœderatum, by the Distinction made in the Time of Phil. 2. but may also be interpreted with respect to that which was anciently call'd Belgium, comprehending the lower Germany, in regard of the great Consequences attending such a Victory.
To Sing Ramillia's Day! to which must yield
Cannæ's Illustrious Fight, and Fam'd Pharsalia's Field.
II.
In the short Course of a Diurnal Sun,Behold the Work of many Ages done!
What Verse such Worth can Raise?
Lustre and Life, the Poet's Art
To middle Virtue may impart;
But Deeds sublime, exalted high like These,
Transcend his utmost Flight; and mock his distant Praise.
III.
Still wou'd the willing Muse aspire,With Transport still her Strains prolong;
But Fear unstrings the trembling Lyre,
And Admiration stops her Song.
Go on, Great Chief, in ANNA's Cause proceed;
Nor sheath the Terrors of thy Sword,
'Till Europe thou hast freed,
And Universal Peace restor'd.
This mighty Work when thou shalt End,
Equal Rewards attend,
Of Value far above
Thy Trophies and thy Spoils;
Thy QUEEN's just Favour, and thy Country's Love.
| The Third Volume of the Works of Mr. William Congreve | |