Thy form benign, oh Goddess, wear, Thy milder influence impart, Thy philofophic train be there To foften, not to wound my heart, Exact my own defects to scan, What others are to feel; and know myself a man. THE THE PROGRESS OF POESY, A PINDARIC ODE, φωνάντα συνελοῖσιν ἐς Δὲ τὸ πᾶν ἑρμηνέων Χαζίζει. PINDAR, Olymph. II. ADVERTISEMENT. When the author firft publifhed this and the following ode, he was advised, even by his friends, to fubjoin fome few explanatory notes; but had too much refpect for the understanding of his readers to take that liberty. THE PROGRESS OF POESY. A PINDARIC ODE. I. I. AWAKE, Æolian lyre, awake *, And give to rapture all thy trembling ftrings. From Helicon's harmonious fprings A thousand rills their mazy progress take : The * Awake, my glory: awake, lute aud harp. David's Pfalms. Pindar styles his own poetry, with its mufical accompany ments, Αἰολὲς μολπή, ̓Αιίλιδες χορδαὶ, Αἰολίδων πνοαι αυλῶν. #olian fong, Æolian ftrings, the breath of the Æolian flute. The subject and fimile, as ufual with Pindar, are here united. The various fources of poetry, which gives life and luftre to all it touches, are here described; as well in its quiet majestic progress® enriching every subject (otherwise dry and barren) with all the pomp The laughing flowers, that round them blow, Now the rich stream of mufic winds along, Tho' verdant vales, and Ceres' golden reign: Headlong, impetuous, fee it pour : The rocks and nodding groves rebellow to the roar. I. 2. Oh! Sovereign of the willing foul, And frantic Paffions, hear thy foft controul. pomp of diction, and luxuriant harmony of numbers; as in its more rapid and irrefiftible courfe, when fwoln and hurried away by the conflict of tumultuous paffions. * Power of harmony to calm the turbulent paffion's of the foul. The thoughts are borrowed from the first Pythian of Pindar. On |