Horace in London Consisting of imitations of the first two books of the odes of Horace. By the authors of the rejected addresses, or the new theatrum poetarum [Horace and James Smith] |
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| III. | ODE III. PHILOSOPHIC ENJOYMENT.
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 | Horace in London |  |
119
ODE III. PHILOSOPHIC ENJOYMENT.
Æquam memento rebus in arduis.
To H. R.—Esq.
When Fortune, fickle jade's unkind,
Preserve the philosophic mind,
That dignifies it's bearer;
And when the goddess opes her hand,
Receive her purse, but scorn the band
That blinds its subject wearer.
Preserve the philosophic mind,
That dignifies it's bearer;
And when the goddess opes her hand,
Receive her purse, but scorn the band
That blinds its subject wearer.
Whether condemn'd, by fate's decree,
To toil in town, and learn, like me,
Economy from Rumford;
Or bless'd in all that you desire,
Living, as now, a jovial squire,
In luxury and comfort.
To toil in town, and learn, like me,
Economy from Rumford;
Or bless'd in all that you desire,
Living, as now, a jovial squire,
In luxury and comfort.
120
In Windsor's green romantic glades,
The “Monarch's and the Muses” shades,
By silver Thames reclining,
Unfetter'd now your mind may soar,
On Aganippe's hallow'd shore,
The muse's wreath entwining.
The “Monarch's and the Muses” shades,
By silver Thames reclining,
Unfetter'd now your mind may soar,
On Aganippe's hallow'd shore,
The muse's wreath entwining.
Quaff, while you may, your choicest wine,
Let beauty and the muse combine
To crown your classic leisure;
Snatch what the fickle fates supply,
Enjoy the roses 'ere they die,
And give a loose to pleasure.
Let beauty and the muse combine
To crown your classic leisure;
Snatch what the fickle fates supply,
Enjoy the roses 'ere they die,
And give a loose to pleasure.
Death pays no deference to name,
Peasant or Prince 'tis all the same;
Unsparing king of terror,
His warrant cannot be delay'd,
Nor his proceedings quash'd or stay'd
By any writ of error.
Peasant or Prince 'tis all the same;
Unsparing king of terror,
His warrant cannot be delay'd,
Nor his proceedings quash'd or stay'd
By any writ of error.
121
Your heir, perchance, when you're removed,
Improving on what you improved,
To give his taste expansion,
May fell your groves, implant the lawn,
And with a newer grace adorn
Your metamorphosed mansion.
Improving on what you improved,
To give his taste expansion,
May fell your groves, implant the lawn,
And with a newer grace adorn
Your metamorphosed mansion.
Grim Cerberus at random snaps;
Life is a stage laid out in traps,
A pantomimic vision;
Some live to see the curtain drop,
And down some prematurely pop,
Like Banquo's apparition.
Life is a stage laid out in traps,
A pantomimic vision;
Some live to see the curtain drop,
And down some prematurely pop,
Like Banquo's apparition.
| Horace in London | |