The Poetical Remains of the late Dr. John Leyden with Memoirs of his Life, by the Rev. James Morton |
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ODE TO VIRTUE,
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 | The Poetical Remains of the late Dr. John Leyden |  |
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ODE TO VIRTUE,
IMITATED FROM THE GREEK OF ARISTOTLE.
Stern Virtue, unappall'd by toil,
To mortal man the noblest prize!
For thee the chiefs of Albion's soil
By envied death to glory rise.
Inspir'd by thee, their souls disdain
Intolerable toil and pain,
Beneath the noontide's sultry star:
When fell Mahrattas, on the fervid plain,
Bend fainting o'er each fervid courser's mane,
They rush impetuous to the charge of war.
To mortal man the noblest prize!
For thee the chiefs of Albion's soil
By envied death to glory rise.
Inspir'd by thee, their souls disdain
Intolerable toil and pain,
Beneath the noontide's sultry star:
When fell Mahrattas, on the fervid plain,
Bend fainting o'er each fervid courser's mane,
They rush impetuous to the charge of war.
For thee the sons of Albion bore
Woes that no mortal tongue can tell;
For thee, on India's dusky shore
They nobly fought and proudly fell.
For thee, brave Frazer sunk below;—
For him no more the sunbeams glow;
Yet lives his worth on India's strand;
And long on Albion's shore the warrior's fame
To future ages shall bequeath his name,
The pride, the glory of his native land.
Woes that no mortal tongue can tell;
For thee, on India's dusky shore
They nobly fought and proudly fell.
207
For him no more the sunbeams glow;
Yet lives his worth on India's strand;
And long on Albion's shore the warrior's fame
To future ages shall bequeath his name,
The pride, the glory of his native land.
| The Poetical Remains of the late Dr. John Leyden | |