Ode To the Right Honourable the Earl of Northumberland On his being appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Presented on the birth-day of Lord Warkworth. With some other Pieces. By Christopher Smart |
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 | Ode To the Right Honourable the Earl of Northumberland |  |
Quod verum atque decens curo ------
Hor.
Hor.
13
TO THE Honourable Mrs. DRAPER.
Noble, lovely, and judicious,
Making worth thy aim and prize,
Hear the verse the muse officious
Now presents thee to revise.
Making worth thy aim and prize,
Hear the verse the muse officious
Now presents thee to revise.
Thine is exquisite discernment,
Zealous for thy country's cause
Thou hast heap'd the best preferment
On the prince of all applause.
Zealous for thy country's cause
Thou hast heap'd the best preferment
On the prince of all applause.
Thus I greet thee at a distance,
Checking love by learning awe;
Grandeur gives the muse assistance,
And the lighter thoughts withdraw.
Checking love by learning awe;
Grandeur gives the muse assistance,
And the lighter thoughts withdraw.
14
All ideas are untainted
When we think on heav'nly things;
Cherubs without sex are painted,
Form'd alone of heads and wings.
When we think on heav'nly things;
Cherubs without sex are painted,
Form'd alone of heads and wings.
When of Cherubs we conjecture,
'Tis because we dwell on thee;
Looks and life thou art a lecture
On th'angelical degree.
'Tis because we dwell on thee;
Looks and life thou art a lecture
On th'angelical degree.
Take the laurel for thy frontlet,
On thy breast the myrtles place,
For young Draper wears the gauntlet
Of all chivalry and grace.
On thy breast the myrtles place,
For young Draper wears the gauntlet
Of all chivalry and grace.
15
On being asked by Colonel Hall to make Verses upon Kingsley at Minden.
I.
This task of me why dost thou crave?
Thyself ingenious, learn'd, and brave,
And equal to th'immortal theme!
The scenes that you beheld display,
And draw the picture of the day
With which thy great ideas teem.
Thyself ingenious, learn'd, and brave,
And equal to th'immortal theme!
The scenes that you beheld display,
And draw the picture of the day
With which thy great ideas teem.
But if like me you are at fault,
Nor can your utmost thought exalt,
But needs must do the subject wrong;
Then let us both at once confess
Our meanness, and the man address
Who soars above our song.
Nor can your utmost thought exalt,
But needs must do the subject wrong;
Then let us both at once confess
Our meanness, and the man address
Who soars above our song.
16
II.
“O heart-allow'd, by conscience prais'd,
“As the vast envy thou hast rais'd,
“Such is the terror of thine arm:
“The Muses and the Arts have join'd
“The grudging silence of mankind,
And our weak hands thy deeds disarm.
“As the vast envy thou hast rais'd,
“Such is the terror of thine arm:
“The Muses and the Arts have join'd
“The grudging silence of mankind,
And our weak hands thy deeds disarm.
“Say, Leader of the glorious few,
“What can impoverish'd fancy do
“On paper, canvas, or on stone?
“Thy work so great, thy name so bright,
“That GOD himself with all his might
“Must give th'applause alone.”
“What can impoverish'd fancy do
“On paper, canvas, or on stone?
“Thy work so great, thy name so bright,
“That GOD himself with all his might
“Must give th'applause alone.”
17
ON A BED OF GUERNSEY LILIES.
Written in September 1763.
I
Ye beauties! O how great the sumOf sweetness that ye bring;
On what a charity ye come
To bless the latter spring!
How kind the visit that ye pay,
Like strangers on a rainy day,
When heartiness despair'd of guests:
No neighbour's praise your pride alarms,
No rival flow'r surveys your charms,
Or heightens, or contests!
18
II
Lo, thro' her works gay nature grievesHow brief she is and frail,
As ever o'er the falling leaves
Autumnal winds prevail.
Yet still the philosophic mind
Consolatory food can find,
And hope her anchorage maintain:
We never are deserted quite;
'Tis by succession of delight
That love supports his reign.
EPITAPH on the Late Duke of ARGYLE.
To Death's grim shades let meaner spirits fly,Here rests John Campbell, who shall never die.
19
ΕΠΙΚΤΗΤΟΣ.
IMITATED.
By birth a servant, and in body maim'd;By want a beggar;—worth, to beg asham'd:
Hardships like these to certain bliss commend;
For hence I boast immortal God my friend.
EPIGRAMMA SANNAZARII.
20
20
TRANSLATED.
When in the Adriatic Neptune sawFair Venice stand, and give all ocean law;
Now Jove (he cried) the tow'rs of Mars compare,
And Rome's eternal bulwarks, if you dare:
If Tiber beats the main declare the odds,
Whose the mean craft of man, and which the plan of Gods.
SONG.
Where shall Cælia fly for shelter,
In what secret grove or cave?
Sighs and sonnets sent to melt her
From the young, the gay, the brave.
Tho' with prudish airs she starch her,
Still she longs, and still she burns;
Cupid shoots like Hayman's archer,
Wheresoe'er the damsel turns.
In what secret grove or cave?
Sighs and sonnets sent to melt her
From the young, the gay, the brave.
Tho' with prudish airs she starch her,
Still she longs, and still she burns;
Cupid shoots like Hayman's archer,
Wheresoe'er the damsel turns.
21
Virtue, wit, good sense, and beauty,
If discretion guide us not,
Sometimes are the ruffian's booty,
Sometimes are the booby's lot:
Now they're purchas'd by the trader,
Now commanded by the peer;
Now some subtle mean invader
Wins the heart, or gains the ear.
If discretion guide us not,
Sometimes are the ruffian's booty,
Sometimes are the booby's lot:
Now they're purchas'd by the trader,
Now commanded by the peer;
Now some subtle mean invader
Wins the heart, or gains the ear.
O discretion, thou'rt a jewel,
Or our grand-mammas mistake;
Stinting flame by baiting fewel,
Always careful and awake!
Wou'd you keep your pearls from tramplers,
Weigh the licence, weigh the banns:
Mark my song upon your samplers,
Wear it on your knots and fans.
Or our grand-mammas mistake;
Stinting flame by baiting fewel,
Always careful and awake!
Wou'd you keep your pearls from tramplers,
Weigh the licence, weigh the banns:
Mark my song upon your samplers,
Wear it on your knots and fans.
| Ode To the Right Honourable the Earl of Northumberland | |