Page:Pastorals Epistles Odes (1748).djvu/108

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ODES.
The ungifted tribe in meter pass away, Oblivion's sport, the poets of a day. 40
VI. What laws shall o'er the Ode preside? In vain would art presume to guide   The chariot-wheels of praise,  When fancy, driving, ranges free, 44 Fresh flowers selecting like the bee,   And regularly strays, While nature does, disdaining aids of skill, The mind with thought, the ears with numbers, fill. 48
VII. As when the Theban hymns divine  Make proud Olympian victors shine   In an eternal blaze,  The varying measures, ever new, 52 Unbeaten tracks of fame pursue,   While through the glorious maze The poet leads his heroes to renown, And weaves in verse a never-fading crown. 56

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