Her influence taught the Phrygian sage A tyrant master's wanton rage With settled smiles to meet : Inured to toil and bitter bread, He bowed his meek submitted head, But thou, O Nymph retired and coy! In what brown hamlet dost thou joy To tell thy tender tale? The lowliest children of the ground, O say And lily of the vale. what soft propitious hour I best may choose to hail thy power, And court thy gentle sway? When Autumn, friendly to the Muse, Shall thy own modest tints diffuse, And shed thy milder day. When Eve, her dewy star beneath, Thy balmy spirit loves to breathe, And every storm is laid ;— If such an hour was e'er thy choice, Oft let me hear thy soothing voice Low whispering through the shade. O WISDOM! if thy soft controul Can soothe the sickness of the soul, Can bid the warring passions cease, But if thou com'st with frown austere, To nurse the brood of Care and Fear; To bid our sweetest passions die, And leave us in their room a sigh; O if thine aspect stern have power To wither each poor transient flower That cheers this pilgrimage of woe, And dry the springs whence hope should flow;— Wisdom! thine empire I disclaim, Thou empty boast of pompous name! In gloomy shade of cloisters dwell, But never haunt my cheerful cell. Hail to Pleasure's frolic train! Hail to Fancy's golden reign! Then, though wise I may not be, The wise themselves shall envy me. THE ORIGIN OF SONG-WRITING*. Illic indocto primum se exercuit arcu; Hei mihi quam doctas nunc habet ille manus! TIBUL. WHEN Cupid, wanton boy! was young, And hid his bow in wreaths of flowers; Or pierced some fond unguarded heart With now and then a random dart : But heroes scorned the idle boy, And love was but a shepherd's toy. * Addressed to the Author of Essays on Song-Writing. |