Poetical Works of Akenside by Akenside, Mark, 1721-1770, Gilfillan, George, 1813-1878

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Book I. Argument.

Book Ii. Argument.

Book Iii. Argument.

Endnote E. Endnote F.

Endnote R. Endnote S.

Endnote Gg.

Book Ii. 1765. Argument.

Ode Iii. To A Friend, Unsuccessful In Love.

Ode Iv. Affected Indifference. To The Same. Ode V. Against Suspicion.

Ode Vi. Hymn To Cheerfulness.

Ode X. To The Muse. Ode Xi. On Love. To A Friend.

Ode Xii. To Sir Francis Henry Drake, Baronet.

Ode Xvi. To Caleb Hardinge, M. D. Ode Xvii. On A Sermon Against Glory. 1747.

Ode Ii. To Sleep.

Ode Iii. To The Cuckoo. Ode Iv. I.-1.

Ode Xi. To The Country Gentlemen Of England. 1758.

Ode Xii.

* * * * * Notes. Book First. Ode Xviii, Stanza Ii.-2. Stanza Ii.-3.

* * * * *

Note I. Note J.

Vii. The Wood Nymph. Viii. Ix. An Epistle To Curio. [1]

The Virtuoso. In Imitation Op Spenser's Style And Stanza.

Ambition And Content. A Fable.

The Poet. A Rhapsody.

A British Philippic.

Hymn To Science.

Love. An Elegy.

To Cordelia. July 1740. Song. End Of Akenside's Poetical Works.

Turn then thy labours to the servile crowd,
Entice the wary, and control the proud;
Make the sad miser his best gains forego,
The solemn statesman sigh to be a beau, 120
The bold coquette with fondest passion burn,
The Bacchanalian o'er his bottle mourn;
And that chief glory of thy power maintain,
'To poise ambition in a female brain.'
Be these thy triumphs; but no more presume
That my rebellious heart will yield thee room:
I know thy puny force, thy simple wiles;
I break triumphant through thy flimsy toils;
I see thy dying lamp's last languid glow,
Thy arrows blunted and unbraced thy bow. 130
I feel diviner fires my breast inflame,
To active science, and ingenuous fame;
Resume the paths my earliest choice began,
And lose, with pride, the lover in the man.

TO CORDELIA.

JULY 1740.

1 From pompous life's dull masquerade,
From Pride's pursuits, and Passion's war,
Far, my Cordelia, very far,
To thee and me may Heaven assign
The silent pleasures of the shade,
The joys of peace, unenvied, though divine!2 Safe in the calm embowering grove,
As thy own lovely brow serene;
Behold the world's fantastic scene!
What low pursuits employ the great,
What tinsel things their wishes move,
The forms of Fashion, and the toys of State.3 In vain are all Contentment's charms,
Her placid mien, her cheerful eye,
For look, Cordelia, how they fly!
Allured by Power, Applause, or Gain,
They fly her kind protecting arms;
Ah, blind to pleasure, and in love with pain!4 Turn, and indulge a fairer view,
Smile on the joys which here conspire;
O joys harmonious as my lyre!
O prospect of enchanting things,
As ever slumbering poet knew,
When Love and Fancy wrapt him in their wings!5 Here, no rude storm of Passion blows,
But Sports and Smiles, and Virtues play,
Cheer'd by Affection's purest ray;
The air still breathes Contentment's balm,
And the clear stream of Pleasure flows
For ever active, yet for ever calm.

SONG.

1 The shape alone let others prize,
The features of the fair;
I look for spirit in her eyes,
And meaning in her air;2 A damask cheek, an ivory arm,
Shall ne'er my wishes win:
Give me an animated form,
That speaks a mind within;3 A face where awful honour shines,
Where sense and sweetness move,
And angel innocence refines
The tenderness of love.4 These are the soul of Beauty's frame;
Without whose vital aid,
Unfinish'd all her features seem,
And all her roses dead.5 But, ah! where both their charms unite,
How perfect is the view,
With every image of delight,
With graces ever new:6 Of power to charm the greatest woe,
The wildest rage control,
Diffusing mildness o'er the brow,
And rapture through the soul.7 Their power but faintly to express,
All language must despair;
But go, behold Arpasia's face,
And read it perfect there.

END OF AKENSIDE'S POETICAL WORKS.

End of Project Gutenberg's Poetical Works of Akenside, by Mark Akenside