The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift/Volume 7/Horace, Book II. Ode I.
HORACE, B. II. ODE I. PARAPHRASED.
ADDRESSED TO RICHARD STEELE, ESQ. 1714.
"En qui promittit, cives, urbem sibi curæ,
Imperium fore, & Italiam, & delubra deorum."
Hor. I. Sat. vi. 34.
DICK, thou'rt resolv'd, as I am told,
Some strange arcana to unfold,
And, with the help of Buckley's pen,
To vamp the good old cause again:
Which thou (such Burnet's shrewd advice is)5
Must furbish up, and nickname Crisis.
Thou pompously wilt let us know
What all the world knew long ago,
(E'er since sir William Gore was mayor,
And Harley fill'd the commons' chair)10
That we a German prince must own,
When Anne for Heaven resigns her throne.
But, more than that, thou'lt keep a rout
With — who is in — and who is out;
Thou'lt rail devoutly at the peace,15
And all its secret causes trace,
The bucket-play 'twixt whigs and tories,
Their ups and downs, with fifty stories
Of tricks the lord of Oxford knows,
And errours of our plenipoes.20
Thou'lt tell of leagues among the great,
Portending ruin to our state;
And of that dreadful coup d'eclat,
Which has afforded thee much chat.
The queen, forsooth (despotick), gave25
Twelve coronets without thy leave!
A breach of liberty, 'tis own'd,
For which no heads have yet aton'd!
Believe me, what thou'st undertaken
May bring in jeopardy thy bacon;30
For madmen, children, wits, and fools,
Should never meddle with edg'd tools.
But, since thou'rt got into the fire,
And canst not easily retire,
Thou must no longer deal in farce,35
Nor pump to cobble wicked verse;
Until thou shalt have eas'd thy conscience,
Of spleen, of politicks, and nonsense;
And, when thou'st bid adieu to cares,
And settled Europe's grand affairs,40
'Twill then, perhaps, be worth thy while
For Drury Lane to shape thy style:
"To make a pair of jolly fellows,
The son and father, join to tell us,
How sons may safely disobey,45
And fathers never should say nay;
By which wise conduct they grow friends
At last — and so the story ends[1]."
When first I knew thee, Dick, thou wert
Renown'd for skill in Faustus' art[2];50
Which made thy closet much frequented
By buxom lasses — some repented
Their luckless choice of husbands — others,
Impatient to be like their mothers,
Receiv'd from thee profound directions55
How best to settle their affections.
Thus thou, a friend to the distress'd,
Didst in thy calling do thy best.
But now the Senate (if things hit
And thou at Stockbridge wert not bit)60
Must feel thy eloquence and fire,
Approve thy schemes, thy wit admire,
Thee with immortal honours crown,
While, patriot-like, thou'lt strut and frown.
What though by enemies 'tis said,65
The laurel, which adorns thy head,
Must one day come in competition,
By virtue of some sly petition:
Yet mum for that; hope still the best,
Nor let such cares disturb thy rest.70
Methinks I hear thee loud as trumpet,
As bagpipe shrill, or oyster-strumpet;
Methinks I see thee, spruce and fine,
With coat embroider'd richly shine,
And dazzle all the idol faces,75
As through the hall thy worship paces;
(Though this I speak but at a venture,
Supposing thou hast tick with Hunter)
Methinks I see a black-guard rout
Attend thy coach, and hear them shout80
In approbation of thy tongue,
Which (in their style) is purely hung.
Now! now you carry all before you!
Nor dares one Jacobite or Tory
Pretend to answer one syl-lable,85
Except the matchless hero Abel[3].
What though her highness and her spouse,
In Antwerp[4] keep a frugal house,
Yet, not forgetful of a friend,
They'll soon enable thee to spend,90
If to Macartney[5] thou wilt toast,
And to his pious patron's ghost.
Now manfully thou'lt run a tilt
"On popes, for all the blood they've spilt,
For massacres, and racks, and flames,95
For lands enrich'd by crimson streams,
For inquisitions taught by Spain,
Of which the Christian world complain."
Dick, we agree — all's true thou'st said,
As that my Muse is yet a maid.100
But, if I may with freedom talk,
All this is foreign to thy walk:
Thy genius has perhaps a knack
At trudging in a beaten track,
But is for state affairs as fit105
As mine for politicks and wit.
Then let us both in time grow wise,
Nor higher than our talents rise;
To some snug cellar let's repair
From duns and debts, and drown our care;110
Now quaff of honest ale a quart,
Now venture at a pint of port;
With which inspir'd, we'll club each night
Some tender sonnet to indite,
And with Tom D'Urfey, Philips, Dennis,115
Immortalize our Dolls and Jennys.
- ↑ This is said to be a plot of a comedy with which Mr. Steele has long threatened the town. Swift. — In some particulars it would apply to "The Conscious Lovers.'
- ↑ There were some tolerable grounds for this reflection. Mr. Steele had actually a laboratory at Poplar.
- ↑ Abel Roper.
- ↑ Where the duke of Marlborough then resided.
- ↑ General Macartney, who killed duke Hamilton.