Sic cum transierint mei
Nullo cum strepitu dies,
Plebeius moriar senex-
Illi mors gravis incubat
Qui, notus nimis omnibus
Ignotus moritur sibi.
ADDRESSED TO MAJOR POPHAM, OF THE OLD ARMY.
THUS, when my days have passed away,
From tumult free and vain display,
Brief earthly fame content to fly,
Like thee, dear Major, may I die.
For death stalks grim and threatening on
Toward him who hath the laurel won,
And known to all the world beside,
To know himself hath too much pride.
Actæ non alio rege puertiæ
WRITTEN AT THE ORDINATION OF THE GEN. THEO. SEMINARY.
WE'LL remember the time,
When, in youth's happy prime,
The same grave professor ruled us all;
And when our deacon's gown,
The same day o'er the town,
Each wore, like his coffin's funeral pall.
THE CONCLUSION OF THE GEORGICS.
THUS Proteus sung; and forthwith, at one bound,
Plunged from the rock into the foaming wave.
Not so Cyrene:-thus she willing spoke,
And calmed the anxious feelings of her son.
"O son, now cease your cares; this is the cause
Of all you suffer; 'tis for this the Nymphs,
With whom she led the dance in secret groves,
Your bees pursue with fell destructive rage.
Now offer gifts, as suppliants seeking peace,
And venerate the placid Nymphs. Your vows
Their pardon will obtain, and soothe their ire.
How you shall supplicate, I first will show :-
Four bulls of beauteous form, who, on the tops
Of green Lycæus feed, shall claim thy search;
And join with these as many cows, whose necks
Are yet untouched. Where lofty stand their groves,
The temples of these goddesses, there raise
Four altars for their victims, and then pour
The sacred blood; and then returning straight,
Their bodies leave within the leafy grove.
When to the minstrel Orpheus thou shalt bring
An offering of lethæán poppies, while
Eurydice propitious, thou shalt thank
With victim of the tender herd, and sheep
Of ebon hue: then seek the grove once more.”
Without delay his mother's high command
Young Aristæus piously obeyed;
Approached the temples; raised the altars four ;
Four bulls of beauteous form that on the tops
Of green Lycæus fed; then claimed his search;
He joined with these as many cows, whose necks
Were yet untouched, as by Cyrene taught.
Waiting, until the ninth Aurora beamed,
Then to the minstrel Orpheus he brought
A sacrifice, and sought the grove once more.
But here a wondrous prodigy behold!
Lo! swarming through the animal remains
Young bees were murmuring, and broke forth in clouds
To taste the fragrant air; and on the top
Of neighboring tree they gathered soon their host,
And hung like clustering grapes upon the stem.
Thus, of the culture of the fields, of herds,
Of trees and plants, O Cæsar, have I sung,
While thou hast thundered o'er Euphrates' flood,
The hero of the war, and conquering all,
Hast given thy laws to willing nations round,
And trod the path to high Olympian fame.
Meanwhile thy Virgil far retired, hath dwelt
In sweet Parthenope's retreat, and there
Hath passed his days in poetry and peace ;
Thy Virgil, who once tuned the shepherd's reed,
And bold in youth, dared sing thee with thy pipe,
O Tityrus, reclined in beachen shade.
THE OPENING OF THE FIRST SCENE
Enter the Nurse of Medea's Children.
OH! that the Argo swift had never sailed
To Colchos' coast, and the Symplegades!
Oh! that the lofty pine had never fallen
In Pelion's grove; nor heroes held the oar
Ploughing the deep, to seek the golden fleece !
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