IMITATED.

TO L. BOLINGBROKE.

5

ST. JOHN, whofe love indulg'd my labours paft,
Matures my prefent, and fhall bound my laft!
Why will you break the fabbath of my days?
Now fick alike of envy and of praise.
Public too long, ah! let me hide my age;
See modeft 2 Cibber now has left the ftage:
Our generals now, 3 retir'd to their eftates,
Hang their old trophies o'er the garden gates,
In life's cool ev'ning fatiate of applaufe,
Nor 4 fond of bleeding e'en in Brunfwick's caufe.
5 A voice there is, that whifpers in my ear,
('Tis Reafon's voice, which fometimes one can hear,)
Friend Pope! be prudent; let your 6 Mufe take
"And never gallop Pegasus to death;

10

[breath,

"Left stiff and ftately, void of fire or force,
"You limp, like Blackmore, on a Lord Mayor's horse.
Farewell then 7 verfe, and love, and ev'ry toy,
The rhymes and rattles of the man or boy;
What right, what true, what fit, we justly call,
Let this be all my care-for this is all:

To lay this 9 harvest up, and hoard with hafte
What ev'ry day will want, and moft the last.

HOR. LIB. I. EPIST. I.

PRIMA dicte mihi, fummo dicende camena

20

Spectatum fatis, et donatum jam rude, quæris, Mæcenas, iterum antique me includere ludo. Non eadem eft ætas, non mens. 2 Vejanius, armis 3 Herculis ad poftem fixis, latet abditus agro, Ne populum 4 extrema toties exoret arena. 5 Eft mihi purgatam crebo qui perfonet aurem ; Solve 6 fenefcentem mature fanus equum, ne Peccet ad extremum ridendus, et ilia ducat. Nunc itaque et 7 verfus et cætera ludicra pono; Quid verum atque decens, curo et rogo, et omnis in

hoc fum:

Condo, et compono, quæ mox depromere poffim,

But afk not to what doctors I apply?

Sworn to no mafter, of no fect am I:

As drives the ftorm, at any door I knock,

23

.And houfe with Montaigne now, or now with Locke.
Sometimes a 3 patriot, active in debate,

Mix with the world, and battle for the state;
Free as young Lyttleton her cause pursue,
Still true to virtue, 4 and as warm as true:
Sometimes with Ariftippus or St. Paul,
Indulge my candour, and grow all to all;
Back to my 5 native moderation flide,
And win my way by yielding to the tide.

Long as to him who works for debt the day,
Long as the night to her whofe love's away,
Long as the year's dull circle seems to run
When the brifk minor pants for twenty-one;
So flow 7 th' unprofitable moments roll,
That lock up all the functions of my foul;
That keep me from myself, and still delay
Life's inftant bus'nefs to a future day;
That talk which, as we follow or defpife,
The eldeft is a fool, the youngest wife;
Which done, the poorest can no wants endure;
And which, not done, the richest must be poor.

*

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35

40

45

Ac ne forte roges quo me duce, quo lare tuter:
Nullius addictus jurare in verba magiftri,
2 Quo me cunque rapit tempeftas, deferor hofpes.
Nunc agilis fio, et merfor 3 civilibus undis,
Virtutis veræ cuftos, 4 rigidufque fatelles;
Nunc in Ariftippi 5 furtim præcepta relabor,
Et mihi res, non me rebus, fubjungere conor.
6 Ut nox longa, quibus mentitur amica, diefque
Longa videtur opus debentibus; ut piger annus
Pupillis, quos dura premit cuftodia matrum:
Sic mihi tarda 7 fluunt ingrataque tempora, quæ fpem
Confiliumque morantur agendi gnaviter 8 id, quod
que pauperibus prodeft, locupletibus æque,
Eque neglectum pueris fenibufque nocebit.

* Omnis Aristippum decuit color, et ftatus, et res F.

Late as it is, I put myself to school,
And feel fome 2 comfort not to be a fool.

3 Weak tho' I am of limb, and fhort of fight,
Far from a lynx, and not a giant quite,
I'll do what Mead and Chefelden advise,
To keep these limbs, and to preferve these eyes.
Not to 4 go back is fomewhat to advance,
And men must walk at least before they dance.

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Say, does thy 5 blood rebel, thy bofom move With wretched av'rice, or as wretched love? Know there are words and fpells which can controul, 6 Between the fits, this fever of the foul;

Know there are rhymes which, 7 fresh and fresh apply'd, Will cure the arrant'ft puppy of his pride.

8

Be furious, envious, flothful, mad, or drunk,

9 Slave to a wife, or vaffal to a punk,

A Switz, a High-Dutch or a Low-Dutch 10 bear;
All that we afk is but a patient ear.

II 'Tis the firft virtue vices to abhor,
And the first wifdom to be fool no more:
But to the world no 12 bugbear is fo great
As want of figure and a fmall eftate.

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65

1 Reftat, ut his ego me ipfe regem 2 folerque elementis: 3 Non poffis oculo quantum contendere Lynceus ; Non tamen idcirco contemnas lippus inungi: Nec, quia defperes in victi membra Glyconis, Nodofa corpus nolis prohibere chiragra. Eft quodam prodire 4 tenus, fi non datur ultra. 5 Fervet avaritia, miferoque cupidine pectus? Sunt verba et voces, quibus hunc lenire dolorem Poffis, et magnam morbi deponere partem. Laudis amore tumes? funt 7 certa piacula, quæ te Ter pure lecto poterunt recreare libello.

8 Invidus, iracundus, iners, vinofus, 9 amator; Nemo 10 adeo ferus eft, ut non mitefcere poffit, Si modo culturæ patientem commodet aurem.

11 Virtus eft, vitium fugere; et fapientia prima, Stultitia caruiffe. vides; quæ 12 maxima credis

VOL. II.

G

To either India fee the merchant fly,

Scar'd at the Spectre of pale Poverty!
See him with pains of body, pangs of foul,
Burn thro' the tropic, freeze beneath the pole !
Wilt thou do nothing for a nobler end,
Nothing to make Philofophy thy friend?
To ftop thy foolish views, thy long defires,
Andeafe thy heart of all that it admires?

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75

2 Here Wildom calls, 3 Seek Virtue firft, be bold! "As gold to filver virtue is to goid."

80

There London's voice, 4" Get money, money ftill!
"And then let Virtue follow if the will."
This, this the faving doctrine preach'd to all,
From 5 low St. James's up to high St. Paul;
From him whofe 6 quills ftand quiver'd at his ear,
To him who notches fticks at Westminster.

Barnard in 7 fpirit, fenfe, and truth, abounds; 85 "Pray then what wants he?" Fourfcore thousand A penfion, or fuch harness for a flave

[pounds;

As Bug now has, and Dorimont would have.
Barnard, thou art a Cit, with all thy worth;
But Bug and D*1, Their Honours! and fo forth.

Effe mala, exiguum, cenfum, turpemque repulfam,
Quanto devites animi capitifque labore,

Impiger extremos curris mercator ad Indos,
Per mare pauperiem fugiens, per faxa, per ignes:
Ne cures ea, quæ ftulte miraris et optas,
Difcere, et audire, et meliori credere non vis?
Quis circum pagos et circum compita pugnax
Magna coronari contemnat Olympia, cui fpes,
Cui fit conditio dulci fine pulvere palmæ ?

3 Vilius argentum eft auro, virtutibus aurum. "40 cives, cives! quærenda pecunia primum eft; "Virtus poft nummos:" hæc 5 Janus fummus ab imo Perdocet; hæc recinunt juvenes dictata fenefque, 6 Lævo fufpenfi loculos tabulamque lacerto. Si quadringentis fex feptem millia defunt; Eft 7 animus tibi, funt mores, et lingua, fidefque : Plebs eris. at pueri ludentes, Rexeris, aiunt,

Yet ev'ry child another fong will fing, "Virtue, brave boys! 'tis virtue makes a king." True confcious honour is to feel no fin;

He's arm'd without that's innocent within:

91

Be this thy fcreen, and this thy wall of brafs; 95
Compar'd to this a minifter's an afs.

2 And fay, to which fhall our applause belong,
This new court-jargon, or the good old fong?"
The modern language of corrupted peers,
Or what was fpoke at 3 Creffy or Poitiers?

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105

4 Who counfels beft? who whispers," Be but great,
"With praife or infamy leave that to Fate;
"Get place and wealth, if poffible with grace;
"If not, by any means get wealth and place.'
For what? to have a 5 box where eunuchs fing,
And foremost in the circle eye a king.
Or he who bids thee face with fteady view
Proud Fortune, and look fhallow Greatnefs thro',
And 7 while he bids thee fets th' example too?
If 8 fuch a doctrine, in St. James's air,
Should chance to make the well drefs'd rabble ftare;
If honeft S**z take scandal at a spark
That lefs admires the 9 Palace than the Park;
Faith I fhall give the answer 10 Reynard gave;
"I cannot like, dread Sir! your royal cave;

Si recte facies. hic murus aheneus efto,
Nil confcire fibi, nulla pallefcere culpa.
2 Rofcia, dic fodes, melior lex, an puerorum
Nænia, quæ regnum recte facientibus offert,
Et maribus 3 Curiis, et decantata Camillis?
4 Ifne tibi melius fuadet, qui " Rem facias, rem,
"Si poflis recte; fi non, quocunque modo rem;"
Ut 5 propius fpectes lacrymoia poëmata Puppî:
An qui fortunæ te refponiare fuperbæ

6

Liberum et erectum 7 præfens hortatur, et aptat?
8 Quod fi me populus Romanus forte roget, cur
Non, ut 9 porticibus, fic judiciis fruar iifdem,
Nec fequar aut fugiam, quæ diligit ipfe vel odit ;
Olim quod 10 vulpes ægroto cauta leoni

}

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