18
I question then, O Muse, in love divine,
Where that immortal Spirit*[1] may abide,
That in his just vocation of this world,
With favour of the King, maintain'd the sway
Of jurisprudence in this triple realm?
Well known to thee: that, in his aged thought,
With Homer and great Danté did converse,
And sweet Euripides, whose mournful song
Flows in his numbers, like the silver Po,
In weeping tribute to the Adrian sea[2].
For since the stars have shed discursive light,
With favour, on our globe, no greater mind
E'er sat in judgement on the thoughts of men,
Or brought its noble faculties to bear
With more advantage on the publick weal:
In thought, in word, in action ever just:
Shield of the Poor; and, rising for his King,
Th' upright defender of His awful throne.
Where that immortal Spirit*[1] may abide,
That in his just vocation of this world,
With favour of the King, maintain'd the sway
Of jurisprudence in this triple realm?
Well known to thee: that, in his aged thought,
With Homer and great Danté did converse,
And sweet Euripides, whose mournful song
Flows in his numbers, like the silver Po,
In weeping tribute to the Adrian sea[2].
For since the stars have shed discursive light,
With favour, on our globe, no greater mind
E'er sat in judgement on the thoughts of men,
Or brought its noble faculties to bear
With more advantage on the publick weal:
In thought, in word, in action ever just:
Shield of the Poor; and, rising for his King,
Th' upright defender of His awful throne.
- ↑ Edward, Lord Thurlow, Chancellor of England.
- ↑ This alludes to the Chorus, translated by the late Lord Thurlow, from Euripides; which is printed at the end of this Poem.
