ODEXII.— A PRAYER FOR AUGUSTUS .
“Quem virum aut heroa.”
Aria —“Sublime was the warning.”
Name. Clio, the man! or the god..—for whose sake
The lyre, or the clarion, loud echoes shall wake
On thy favourite hill, or in Helicon's grove?….
Whence forests have followed the wizard of Thrace,
When rivers enraptured suspended their race,
When the ears were vouchsafed to the obdurate oak,
And the blasts of mount Hæmus bowed down to the yoke
Of the magical minestrel, grandson of Jove..
First to Him raise the song! whose parental control
Men and gods feel alike; whom the waves, as they roll—
Whom the earth, and the stars, and the seasons obey,
Unapproached in his godhead; majestic alone,
Though Pallas may stand on the steps of his throne,
Though huntress Diana may challenge a shrine,
And worship be due to the god of the vine,
And to archer Apollo, bright giver of day!
Shall we next sing Alcides? or Leda's twin-lights—
Him the Horseman, or him whom the Cestus delights?
Both shining aloft, by the seaman adored;
(For he kens that their rising the clouds can dispel,
Dash the foam from the rock, and the hurricane quell.)—
Of Romulus next shall the claim be allowed?
Of Numa the peaceful? of Tarquin the proud?
Of Cato, whose fall hath ennobled his sword?
Shall Scaurus, shall Regulus fruitlessly crave
Honour due? shall the Consul, who prodigal gave
His life-blood on Cannæ's disastrous plain?—
Camillus? or he whom a king could not tempt?
Stern Poverty's children, unfashioned, unkempt.—
The fame of Marcellus grows yet in the shade,
But the meteor of Julius beams over his head,
Like the moon that outshines all the stars in her train:
Great Deity, guardian of men! unto whom
We commend, in Augustus, the fortunes of Rome,
Reign FOR EVER ! but guard his subordinate throne.
Be it his—of the Parthian each inroad to check;
Of the Indian, in triumph, to trample the neck;
To rule all the nations of earth;—be it Jove's
To exterminate guilt from the god's hallowed groves,
Be the bolt and the chariot of thunder THINE own!
“Quem virum aut heroa.”
Aria —“Sublime was the warning.”
Name. Clio, the man! or the god..—for whose sake
The lyre, or the clarion, loud echoes shall wake
On thy favourite hill, or in Helicon's grove?….
Whence forests have followed the wizard of Thrace,
When rivers enraptured suspended their race,
When the ears were vouchsafed to the obdurate oak,
And the blasts of mount Hæmus bowed down to the yoke
Of the magical minestrel, grandson of Jove..
First to Him raise the song! whose parental control
Men and gods feel alike; whom the waves, as they roll—
Whom the earth, and the stars, and the seasons obey,
Unapproached in his godhead; majestic alone,
Though Pallas may stand on the steps of his throne,
Though huntress Diana may challenge a shrine,
And worship be due to the god of the vine,
And to archer Apollo, bright giver of day!
Shall we next sing Alcides? or Leda's twin-lights—
Him the Horseman, or him whom the Cestus delights?
Both shining aloft, by the seaman adored;
(For he kens that their rising the clouds can dispel,
Dash the foam from the rock, and the hurricane quell.)—
Of Romulus next shall the claim be allowed?
Of Numa the peaceful? of Tarquin the proud?
Of Cato, whose fall hath ennobled his sword?
Shall Scaurus, shall Regulus fruitlessly crave
Honour due? shall the Consul, who prodigal gave
His life-blood on Cannæ's disastrous plain?—
Camillus? or he whom a king could not tempt?
Stern Poverty's children, unfashioned, unkempt.—
The fame of Marcellus grows yet in the shade,
But the meteor of Julius beams over his head,
Like the moon that outshines all the stars in her train:
Great Deity, guardian of men! unto whom
We commend, in Augustus, the fortunes of Rome,
Reign FOR EVER ! but guard his subordinate throne.
Be it his—of the Parthian each inroad to check;
Of the Indian, in triumph, to trample the neck;
To rule all the nations of earth;—be it Jove's
To exterminate guilt from the god's hallowed groves,
Be the bolt and the chariot of thunder THINE own!