Rough Sketches of Bath, and Other Poems By Thomas Bayly ... Fifth Edition, with Additions |
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IMITATION OF HORACE;
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 | Rough Sketches of Bath, and Other Poems |  |
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IMITATION OF HORACE;
BOOK I. ODE XI.
“Tu ne quæsieris scire (nefas) quem mihi quem tibi.”
Oh! seek not (what none are permitted to see)
How long life shall linger with you or with me;
Believe not in those who the future explain,
And calculate moments of pleasure and pain.
Life is stormy—but why should we lengthen the list,
By thinking of storms which may never exist?
Far wiser are those who, with fortitude blest,
Though prepared for the worst can still hope for the best;
If years should be added to those that are past,
Or if this which is fleeting should number your last,—
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But let not life's dawning embitter its close;
E'en now whilst I'm speaking the moments decay,
And since thus in succession they wither away,
Seize the joys of the present—'tis folly to borrow
One pang from the ills that may happen to-morrow.
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