What found of brazen wheels, what thunder, scare, And ftun the reader with the din of war! With fear my spirits and my blood retire, To fee the feraphs funk in clouds of fire; But when, with eager fteps, from hence I rife, Oh had the Poet ne'er profan'd his pen, To varnish o'er the guilt of faithless men ; But now, my Muse, a fofter strain rehearse, Thy verfe, harmonious bard, and flatt'ring song, Oh Oh had thy Muse not come an age too soon, What scenes of death and horror had we view'd, Rules whofe deep sense and heav'nly numbers fhow Nor, Denham, muft we e'er forget thy ftrains, Grown old in rhime, but charming ev'n in years. The fweeteft numbers, and the fittest words. She forms her voice, she moves our fmiles or tears. If fatire or heroic ftrains she writes, Her hero pleases, and her fatire bites. From her no harfh unartful numbers fall, How How might we fear our English poetry, That long has flourish'd, fhou'd decay with thee; I'm tir'd with rhiming, and wou'd fain give o'er, For wit, for humour, and for judgment fam'd; In numbers fuch as Dorfet's self might use. His verfe, and writes in loofe familiar ftrains; How Naffau's godlike acts adorn his lines, We fee his army fet in just array, And Boyn's dy'd waves run purple to the fea. Nor Simois chok'd with men, and arms, and blood; Nor rapid Xanthus' celebrated flood, Shall longer be the Poet's highest themes, Tho' gods and heroes fought promifcuous in their streams. But now, to Naffau's fecret councils rais'd, He aids the hero, whom before he prais'd. I've I've done at length; and now, dear friend, receive The last poor prefent that my Muse can give. I leave the arts of poetry and verfe To them that practise them with more fuccefs. LETTERA LETTERA SCRITTA D'ITALIA AL MOLTO ONORABILE CARLO Conte HALIFAX. Dal Signore GIUSEPPE ADDISON, l'Anno MDCCI. In Verfi Inglesi. E TRADOTTA IN VERSI TOSCANI. * Salve magna parens frugum Saturnia tellus, MEN ENTRE, Signor, l'ombre villefche attragonvi, Non piu, ch' a fuoi ingrati figli piaccia U la dolce ftagion, e'l vago clima Fanno, che voftra quiete in verfi io turbi. *By the Abbot Anton, Maria Salvini Greek profeffor at Flerence. Ovunque |