Perhaps ev'n Britain's utmost shore See arts her savage sons control, And Athens rising near the pole! Till some new tyrant lifts his purple hand, Antistrophe 2. Ye gods! what justice rules the ball! In every age, in every state! Still, when the lust of tyrant power succeeds, Some Athens perishes, some Tully bleeds.. CHORUS OF YOUTHS AND VIRGINS. Semichorus. OH tyrant love! hast thou possest The prudent, learn'd, and virtuous breast? Wisdom and wit in vain reclaim, And arts but soften us to feel thy flame. Chorus. Love's purer flames the gods approve; Brutus for absent Porcia sighs, And sterner Cassius melts at Junia's eyes. What is loose love? a transient gust, Semichorus. Oh source of every social tye What tender passions take their turns, Chorus. Hence, guilty joys, distastes, surmises; Fires that scorch, yet dare not shine: Sacred Hymen! these are thine.. ODE ON SOLITUDE. Written when the Author was about twelve HAPPY the man, whose wish and care A few paternal acres bound, Content to breathe his native air, In his own ground. Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread, Whose flocks supply him with attire; Whose trees in summer yield him shade, Blest, who can unconcern'dly find Hours, days, and years, slide soft away, In health of body, peace of mind, Quiet by day: Sound sleep by night; study and ease, Thus let me live, unseen, unknown; Thus unlamented let me die, Steal from the world, and not a stone Tell where I lie. ODE. The dying Christian to his Soul. VITAL spark of heavenly flame! Quit, oh quit, this mortal frame: Trembling, hoping, lingering, flying, Oh the pain, the bliss of dying! Cease, fond nature, cease thy strife, Hark! they whisper; angels say, The world recedes; it disappears! AN ESSAY ON CRITICISM. Written in the Year 1709. PART I. Introduction. That it is as great a fault to judge ill, as to write ill, and a more dangerous one to the public, ver. 1. That a true taste is as rare to be found as a true genius, ver. 9 to 18. That most men are born with some taste, but spoiled by false education, ver. 10 to 25. The multitude of critics, and causes of them, ver. 26 to 45. That we are to study our own taste, and know the limits of it, ver. 46 to 67. Nature the best guide of judgement, ver. 68 to 87. Improved by art and rules, which are but methodized nature, ver. 88. Rules derived from the practice of ancient poets, ver. 88 to 110. That therefore the ancients are necessary to be studied by a critic, particularly Homer and Virgil, ver. 120 to 138. Of licences, and the use of them by the ancients, ver. 140 to 180. Reverence due to the ancients, and praise of them, ver. 181, &c. TIS IS hard to say, if greater want of skill |