Page:Odes on several subjects - Akenside (1745).djvu/46

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ODE VIII.

Why sounds not mine harmonious as thy own,
When all the virgin-deities above
With Venus and with Juno move
In concert round thy list'ning father's throne?

Thee too, protectress of my lays,
Elate with whose majestic call
Above the soft Italian's praise,
Above the slavish wreaths of Gaul,
I dare from impious thrones reclaim,
And wanton sloth's luxurious charms,
The honours of a poet's name
To [1]Ashley's wisdom, or to Hamden's arms,
Thee, Freedom, I rejoin, and bless thy genuine flame,

Great citizen of Albion! Thee
Heroic Valour still attends,
And useful Science pleas'd to see
How Art her studious toil extends.

While
  1. The Earl of Shaftesbury.