Then danced around, o'ercome with glee, He spread his wings-away he flew And cried, my gentle host, adieu ! My bow indeed is sound, the dart Is safely lodged within your heart. The above piece contains an agreeable and beautiful fiction; somewhat similar to the fable of the serpent and labourer. It has furnished a model for Bernard, in his Ballet Les Surprises de l'Amour, Troisieme entree, sc. iv., and has been excellently paraphrased by La Fontaine. Of this delightful ode, even the snarling De Pauw says, Odarium mellitum et vere elegans, and Longepierre calls it one of Anacreon's most ingenious and delicate productions. The humid moisture pressed with care. It was not unusual for the ancients to use a tautologous epithet by way of encreasing the power of an idea. Thus, Tibullus liquida nat tibi lenter aqua; we also read of a flaming flame and of a burning fiery furnace. ON HIMSELF. ODE IV. Beneath the myrtle's pleasant shade, I'll cheer in choicest wine the hours! The god of Love shall be my slave; For as the chariot rolls away, So life's swift course is quickly run; Then mingling with their kindred clay, Our bones dissolve and we are done. Then why on tombs rich unguents pour, While yet I live with flowers of soul, And varied braids my temples crown; Pour out the cup that can controul All cares that sink the spirits down. And ever in the genial hour The spoil of fragrant roses bring Thus mighty Love! before I find My cares shall to the winds be sped! Sometimes, he says, these Dr. Girdlestone supposes that the first lines of this ode, refer to the common luxury of Eastern nations, of having a sort of vegetable tent erected in the midst of some beautiful shrubbery, on the banks of a river or stream. shrubs are so enclosed, that they may be said to breathe their fragrance beneath the couch. The sides of these tents are made of braids of different shrubs, which are daily renewed for the winds to blow through them; and when the winds are too hot, water poured on the outside leaves, renders the breeze through delightfully cooling, as the Doctor himself has often experienced, when encamped in India. For as the chariot rolls away, &c. Seneca in his Hercules Furens has something of the same sentiment-(ver. 177.) Properat cursu, Vita citato, volucrique die, Rota præcipitis vertitur anni. And Horace (lib. ii., od. v.)— Jam te sequetur: (currit enim ferox Ætas; et illi, quos tibi demserit Apponet annos.) The effusions or libations which were poured on the tombs of the dead, called by the Greeks Choas, are here alluded to by the poet. ANACREON has given his reason for designating these as useless; and Pub. Syrus has said— Mortuo qui mittit munus nil dat illi, adimit sibi. And the Evangelist Why were those superfluities not rather sold, and the price given to the poor? For further particulars relative to the obsequies of the ancients, consult Potter's Antiquities, and the Greek and Latin Poets passim. Pour out the cup that can controul All cares that sink the spirits down. Thus Horace, Vino pellite curas, lib. i., od. vii. Dissipat Evius curas edaces, lib. ii., od. iv. and Curam Lyæo solvere, Epod. ix., v. 47. AN EULOGY ON THE ROSE. ODE V. The blushing Rose, the flower of Love, in garlands let us twine, Around old father Bacchus, the gay jolly God of wine! Then fitting to our temples bright its beauteous-petalled flowers, Let's laugh as they, and drink away life's dull and careful hours. Oh, Rose! thou art most excellent-oh, Rose! thou child of Spring, Delightful to the gods are all the scents thy breathings fling: And thee Cythera's darling boy upon his forehead places, When in the mazy dance he meets in concert with the Graces. Then oh! crown, oh! crown me quickly, and I will strike the lyre, And when adorn'd with rosy wreaths I'll join the merry choir: |