Odes on Various Subjects By Joseph Warton ... The second edition |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. | ODE VI. Against DESPAIR.
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| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
 | Odes on Various Subjects |  |
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ODE VI. Against DESPAIR.
Farewell thou dimpled cherub Joy,
Thou rose-crown'd, ever-smiling boy,
Wont thy sister Hope to lead
To dance along the primrose mead!
No more, bereft of happy hours,
I seek thy lute-resounding bow'rs,
But to yon' ruin'd tower repair,
To meet the god of Groans, Despair;
Who, on that ivy-darken'd ground,
Still takes at eve his silent round,
Or sits yon' new-made grave beside,
Where lies a frantic suicide:
While lab'ring sighs my heart-strings break,
Thus to the sullen power I speak:
Thou rose-crown'd, ever-smiling boy,
Wont thy sister Hope to lead
To dance along the primrose mead!
No more, bereft of happy hours,
I seek thy lute-resounding bow'rs,
But to yon' ruin'd tower repair,
To meet the god of Groans, Despair;
Who, on that ivy-darken'd ground,
Still takes at eve his silent round,
Or sits yon' new-made grave beside,
Where lies a frantic suicide:
While lab'ring sighs my heart-strings break,
Thus to the sullen power I speak:
“Haste with thy poison'd dagger, haste,
“To pierce this sorrow-laden breast!
“Or lead me at the dead of night,
“To some sea-beat mountain's height,
“Whence with headlong haste I'll leap
“To the dark bosom of the deep;
“Or shew me far from human eye,
“Some cave to muse in, starve and die,
“No weeping friend or brother near,
“My last, fond, fault'ring words to hear!
“To pierce this sorrow-laden breast!
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“To some sea-beat mountain's height,
“Whence with headlong haste I'll leap
“To the dark bosom of the deep;
“Or shew me far from human eye,
“Some cave to muse in, starve and die,
“No weeping friend or brother near,
“My last, fond, fault'ring words to hear!
'Twas thus with weight of woes opprest,
I sought to ease my bruised breast;
When straight more gloomy grew the shade,
And lo! a tall majestic maid!
Her limbs, not delicately fair,
Robust, and of a martial air;
She bore of steel a polish'd shield,
Where highly-sculptur'd I beheld
Th'Athenian martyr smiling stand,
The baleful goblet in his hand;
Sparkled her eyes with lively flame,
And Patience was the Seraph's name;
Sternly she look'd, and stern began—
“Thy sorrows cease, complaining man,
“Rouze thy weak soul, appease thy moan,
“Soon are the clouds of sadness gone;
“Tho' now in Grief's dark groves you walk,
“Where griesly fiends around you stalk,
“Beyond, a blissful city lies,
“Far from whose gates each anguish flies:
“Take thou this shield, which once of yore
“Ulysses and Alcides wore,
“And which in later days I gave
“To Regulus and Raleigh brave,
“In exile or in dungeon drear
“Their mighty minds could banish fear;
“Thy heart no tenfold woes shall feel,
“'Twas Virtue temper'd the rough steel,
“And, by her heavenly fingers wrought,
“To me the precious present brought.
I sought to ease my bruised breast;
When straight more gloomy grew the shade,
And lo! a tall majestic maid!
Her limbs, not delicately fair,
Robust, and of a martial air;
She bore of steel a polish'd shield,
Where highly-sculptur'd I beheld
Th'Athenian martyr smiling stand,
The baleful goblet in his hand;
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And Patience was the Seraph's name;
Sternly she look'd, and stern began—
“Thy sorrows cease, complaining man,
“Rouze thy weak soul, appease thy moan,
“Soon are the clouds of sadness gone;
“Tho' now in Grief's dark groves you walk,
“Where griesly fiends around you stalk,
“Beyond, a blissful city lies,
“Far from whose gates each anguish flies:
“Take thou this shield, which once of yore
“Ulysses and Alcides wore,
“And which in later days I gave
“To Regulus and Raleigh brave,
“In exile or in dungeon drear
“Their mighty minds could banish fear;
“Thy heart no tenfold woes shall feel,
“'Twas Virtue temper'd the rough steel,
“And, by her heavenly fingers wrought,
“To me the precious present brought.
| Odes on Various Subjects | |