7)519 
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 University of California 
 
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 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below 
 
 Form L-9-10(» -3,'27 

 
 A NT 
 
 ODE. 
 
 PINDARUM QUISQUIS STUDET JEMULARI, 
 
 * 
 
 
 LONDON: 
 PRINTED FOR J. DODSLEY, PALL-MALL. 
 
 M.DCC.LXXX. 
 
 [ Price i s. 6 d. ]

 
 3H-J 
 
 T O 
 
 THE EARL OF CARLISLE, 
 
 MY LORD, 
 
 Beg leave to prefent to your Lordfhip, the following 
 Ode ; for at whofe fhrine can it be offered with more 
 propriety, than at your Lordfhip's, whofe tafte for Poetry, 
 as well as for every other part of polite Literature, is fb 
 juftly, and fb univerfally acknowledged ? Your Lordfhip 
 has yourfelf made no inconfiderable figure in the Lyric; 
 but I will not fb much flatter you, even in a Dedication, 
 as to affirm, that you have perfectly fucceeded. I allow, 
 that the very few pieces with which you have favoured 
 the public, are as elegant and beautiful as any in our 
 language : I own, that in every one of them there are 
 juPl conception, lively imagination, correct expreffion, and 
 clear connection ; but I know your Lordiliip's goodnefs 
 
 will
 
 [ iv ] 
 
 will pardon me, when I prefume to affert, that all thefe 
 excellencies are utterly repugnant to the noble frenzy, and 
 fublime obfeurity of the Ode - 3 both which are fufficiently 
 vifible in this, which I have here the honour to lay be- 
 fore your Lordfhip, and which I take to be a model of 
 perfection : My obligations perhaps, may make me par- 
 tial to its merits. As to the publication of it, I am in- 
 debted for this opportunity of aiTuring your Lordfhip that 
 I am, 
 
 MY LORD, 
 
 Your Lordfhip's moft devoted and 
 
 obedient humble Servant, 
 
 The EDITOR. 
 
 PREFACE,
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 P | ^HE following Ode was found in the cabinet of a 
 ■*• late celebrated writer ; and is efteemed, by the beft 
 judges, to be the mod perfect compofition of the kind that 
 is any where to be met with amongft the productions of 
 the numerous lyric poets of modern times. 
 
 That learned and judicious critic, Dr. Jofeph Trap, in his 
 PrceleSiiones Foetkcz, thus defcribes the moft excellent com- 
 pofers of lyric Poems or Odes. " Conceptus omnium ar- 
 lC dentiflimi ; a vulgaribus cogitatis remotiffimi ; metho- 
 u dum fugere videntur ; tranfitiones afTe&ant, qua? nulla 
 " arte fieri videntur, nihilo licet plus artis infit. Sententi- 
 " arum nexus & copulas negligere amant ; modo abrupto 6c 
 " improvifo poema incipiunt, & finiunt ; & furore quodam 
 lt uiitatis legibus 8c regulis fuperiore, ab hoc ad illud de- 
 " volant, nulla loquendi formulis venia vel obtenta prius, 
 " aut petita." Which, for the benefit of Ladies and Gen- 
 tlemen, I thus tranflate : cC Their conceptions are the moft 
 
 IC daring
 
 C vi ] 
 
 u daring and moft remote from all vulgar ideas, or corn- 
 " mon fenfe ; they feem to fly from all method ; they 
 " affect tranfitions, which appear to be void of all art, 
 tc though in them there is a great deal ; they are fond 
 c< of neglecting all connections ; they begin and end 
 iC their poem in a manner abrupt, fudden, and unexpected ; 
 " and with a madnefs fuperior to all the laws and rules of 
 u writing, dafh about from one thing to another, without 
 * { obtaining pardon, or even condefcending to aftc it." 
 Thefe rules have been obferved with great diligence, and 
 fome fuccefs, by moft of the writers of modern Odes; but 
 have never been adhered to with that happy exactnefs, as 
 in the piece which is now before us 9 It begins in a manner 
 the moft abrupt and unexpected, and ends as abruptly as 
 it begins. It opens with a moft fublime fpeech of a 
 Giant, fuppofed to have run mad from fome difappoint- 
 ment in ambition or love ; and this, in conformity to the 
 ftricteft laws of criticifm, and the example of our moft 
 admired writers of Odes, is fo artificially contrived, that the 
 reader, however fagacious he may be, cannot poftibly dis- 
 cover, before he arrives at the end of the fecond ftanza, 
 whether it is the fpeech of the Giant or the Poet, or any 
 
 fpeech at all. 
 
 The
 
 [ vii ] 
 
 The tranfition from the Giant's fpeech, to that beautiful 
 defcription of the Morning, is truly Pindaric ; the fudden 
 apoftrophe to the Sun, is perfectly fublime ; and that to 
 the Moon no lefs tender and pathetic : the defcriptions 
 of the Four Seafons are wonderfully picturefque, and are 
 not, as ufual, copies drawn from the fcenery of Italian 
 groves, and the plains of Arcadia, but true originals, taken 
 on the fpot in Old England, and formed of ideas intirely 
 new. And the addrefs to Liberty, which concludes this 
 admirable Ode, is far fuperior to any thing of that kind, 
 with which, we are fo frequently entertained by our moil 
 admired poets ; as it is more expreiTive of the true fcnfe 
 and fpirit of an Englifhrnan. 
 
 Juft and lively pictures are the very effence of an Ode, 
 as well as of an Auction- room > whether there are any 
 proper places to hang them in or not ; and fuch there 
 are in the narrow compafs of this little piece, of every 
 thing that is great and beautiful in Nature ; of the 
 morning riling from the ocean ; of the fun, the moon, 
 and the planetary fyftem ; of a giant and a hermit ; of 
 woods, rocks, and mountains^ and the feafons of the re- 
 volving year : and in all thefe, the images are fo intirely 
 5 new,
 
 [ m ] 
 
 new, the tranfitions fo fudden and unexpected, fo void of 
 all apparent art, yet not without much of that which is 
 quite invifible ; the thoughts are fo fublime, fo diftant 
 from all vulgar ideas, or common fenfe, that the judicious 
 reader will fcarcely find in it a fingle deviation from the 
 fcverefl: laws of juft criticifm ; and if he can perufe this 
 incomparable work without an enthufiaftic admiration, he 
 ought to conclude, that whatever delight he may receive 
 from poetry of other kinds, he is one of thofe unfortunate 
 genius's who have no tafte for that moft fublime fpecies of 
 it, the Ode. 
 
 ODE,
 
 ODE. 
 
 r, LL combat Nature, interrupt her courfe, 
 ■*• And baffle all her ftated laws by force ; 
 Tear from its bed the deeply-rooted pine, 
 
 And hurl it up the craggy mountain's fide ; 
 Divert the tempeft from its deftin'd line, 
 
 And ftem the torrent ofth' impetuous tide 5 
 Teach the dull ox to dance, the afs to play, 
 And even obftinate Americans t* obey. . 
 
 B Like
 
 ( io ) 
 
 Like fbme dread Herald, tygers 111 compell 
 In the fame field with ftags in peace to dwell : 
 The rampant lion now ere£l fhall ftand, 
 
 Now couchant at my feet fhall lye depreft ; 
 And if he dares but queftion my command, 
 
 With one ftrong blow I'll halve him to a crefi 
 Thus fpoke the giant Gogmagog : the found 
 Reverberates from all the echoing rocks around. 
 
 Now Morning, rob'd in faffron-colour'd gown, 
 
 Her head with pink and pea-green ribbands dreft 5; 
 Climbs the celeftial ftaircafe, and looks down 
 From out the gilt balcony of the Eaft ;. 
 From whence around fhe fees 
 The cryftal lakes and tufted trees, 
 The lawns all powder'd o'er with ftraggling flocks, 
 Thefcarce enlighten'd vales, and high o'er-ihadowing rocks. 
 
 Enamour'd
 
 Enamour'd with her newly-dawning charms, 
 Old Ocean views her with defiring eyes, 
 And longs once more to clafp her in his arms, 
 Repenting he had fuffer'd her to rile ; 
 Forth from his tumbled bed, 
 From whence fhe juft had fled, 
 To the flow, loitering hours he roars amain, 
 To haften back the lovely fugitive again. 
 
 Parent of life ! refulgent lamp of day ! 
 
 Without whofe genial animating ray 
 
 Men, beafts, the teeming earth, and rolling feas, 
 
 Courts, camps, and mighty cities, in a trice 
 Muft fhare one common fate, intenfely freeze, 
 
 And all become one iblid mafs of ice ; 
 Ambition wou'd be froze, and Fa&ion numb, 
 Speeches congeal'd, and Orators be dumb. 
 
 B 2 Say
 
 ( n i) 
 
 Say, what new worlds and fyftems you furvey ! 
 In circling round your planetary way ; 
 What Beings Saturn's orb inhabit, tell, 
 
 Where cold in everlafting triumph reigns ; 
 Or what their frames, who unconfiim'd can dwell 
 
 In Mercury's red-hot and molten plains^ 
 Say ! for moft ardently I wifh to know, 
 What bodies can endure eternal fire, or fnow ! 
 
 And thou, fweet Moon! canft tell a fbfter tale ; 
 To thee the Maid, thy likenefs, fair and pale, 
 In penfive contemplation oft applies, 
 
 When parted from her lov'd and loving Swain* 
 And looks on you with tear-befprinkled eyes, 
 
 And fighs and looks, and looks and fighs again ; 
 Say, for thou know'ft what conftant hearts endure; 
 And by thy frequent changes teach the cure. 
 
 Thy
 
 ( '3 ) 
 
 Thy gentle beams the lonely hermit fees, 
 Gleam thro' the waving branches of the trees, 
 Which, high-embow 'ring, fhade his gloomy cell, 
 
 Where undifturb'd perpetual filence reigns, 
 Unlefs the owl is heard, or diftant bell, 
 
 Or the wind whittling o'er the furzy plains. 
 How bleft to dwell in this fequefter'd fpot : 
 Forgetting parliaments ; by them forgot 1 . 
 
 Now lovely Spring her velvet mantle Ipreads, 
 And paints with green and gold the flow'ry meads ; 
 Fruit-trees in vaft white perriwigs are feen, 
 
 Refembling much fome antiquated beau, 
 Which North-eaft winds, that blow fo long and keen, 
 
 Powder full oft with gentle fleaks of fnow ; 
 Soft Nightingales their tuneful vigils hold, 
 And fweetly fing and fhake and lhake with cold. 
 
 Summe
 
 ( 14 ) 
 
 Summer fucceeds -> in ev'nings foft and warm, , 
 Thrice-happy lovers faunter arm in arm ; 
 The gay and fair now quit the dufty town, 
 
 O'er turnpike-roads inceffant chaifes fweep, 
 And whirling, bear their lovely ladings down, 
 
 To brace their nerves beneath the briny deep ; 
 There with fuccefs each fwain his nymph affails, 
 As birds, they fay, are caught — can we but fait their tails. 
 
 Then Autumn, more ferene, if not fo bright, 
 Regales at once our palate, and our fight ; 
 With joy the ruddy orchards we behold, 
 
 And of its purple clufters rob the vine ; 
 The fpacious fields are cover'd o'er with gold, 
 
 Which the glad farmer counts as ready coin j 
 But difappointment oft his hopes attends— 
 In tythes and mildews the rich profpeft ends. 
 
 Laft,
 
 ( *5 ) 
 
 Laft, Winter comes ; decrepit, old, and dull ; 
 Yet has his comforts too— -his barns are full ; 
 The fbcial converfe, circulating glafs, 
 
 And chearful fire, are his : to him belong 
 Th' enlivening dance that warms the chilly lafs, 
 
 The ferious game at whift, and merry fbng ; 
 Nor wants he beauties — fee the Sun-beams glow - 
 O'er lakes of cryftal ice, and plains of filver fhow ! 
 
 Thus roll the feafbns o'er Britannia's land, 
 But none her freeborn-weather can command ; 
 Seafons unlike to thofe in fervile climes, 
 
 Which o'er Hiipania's or Italia's plains 
 Dilpenfe, at regular and ftated times, 
 
 Succeffive heat and cold, and drought and rains ; 
 Her's fcorning, like her fbns, to be controul'd, 
 Breathe heat in Winter oft, and oft in Summer cold. 
 
 Hail
 
 ( i6 ) 
 
 Hail, Liberty, fair Goddefs of this ifle '. 
 Deign on my verfes, and on me, to fmile; 
 Like them unfetter'd by the bonds of fenfe, 
 Permit us to enjoy life's tranfient dream, 
 To live, and write, without the leaft pretence 
 
 To method, order, meaning, plan, or fcheme ; 
 And fhield us fafe beneath thy guardian wings, 
 From Law, Religion, Minifters, and Kings. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 8 2297
 
 D 000 001 053 8 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
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