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A30403
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Two books of elegies in imitation of the first books of Ovid de Tristibus, with part of the third to which is added verses upon several occasions with some translations out of the Latin and Greek poets / by Thomas Ball.
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Ball, Thomas.
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1697
(1697)
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Wing B585; ESTC R28342
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45,440
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169
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your Skill Caesar is good and will forgive an Ill For mine 's a Crime because he thinks so still The Great and Valiant is the Generous Foe He scorns what little petty Conquerors do His Honour prompts him by a better Law The Fault once own'd he soon Forgives the Crime And ne'er upbraids till he 's provok'd again So fiercest Lions tho' their Power great Pardon the Weak when Prostrate at their Feet Such an Acknowledgment decides the Fray And this is certainly the nobler way But Wolves and Bears of an inferiour Race Always the same are fierce in every Place They no Submission take but seize their Prey And rudely bear the trembling Beast away Who was e'er Rougher than Achilles was Yet Dardanus his Griefs took so much Place His VVrongs was read in Fierce Achilles Face Such thoughts as these make me expect Relief That Heav'n will one day mitigate my Grief Had I bin conscious of some Mighty Fault I durst not then so much as this have Thought Had I in VVine profan'd great Caesar's Name Manag'd reflectingly so good a Theme Had I bin Treacherous I shou'd desire to dye Rather than live with so much infamy But for beholding what I cou'd not shun Banish'd for what my Eyes have only done Is hard and yet for this I 'm Banish'd Rome Now what I ask is you wou'd intercede If Liberty is never to be had Pray my Removal from this horrid Place And I 'le rest satissy'd my Friend with this ELEGY VI. To Perilla GO to Perhilla Letter hasty Go Tell her of e'ery Circumstance you know You 'll find her Waiting by her Mother stand List'ning and Running at the least Command What e'er she 's doing of tell her of me She 'll leave it all and quickly follow thee A thousand times she 'll ask you how I do Whether I 'm melancholly still or No Whether my Health e'ent injur'd by my Fate And I grown old and bend beneath the Weight To all she says make her this short Reply I live but live impatiently to Dye Tell her the Mases are my Care again And all the Pleasure that I have's in them And while you talk ask her be sure why she Busy'd in other Studies left her Poetry She had a sort of Right by Birth to plead Her Father's Wit has always bin allow'd 'T was very hard shou'd Children only live Entitl'd to Diseases that their Parents have Sometimes a Fathers Wit 's a happy Share A Promising Portion in the meanest Heir When Nature in Perilla prov'd her Care And Form'd her Perfect as the Nicest are When every Stroak Foretold a certain Reign And Pregnant Wit early deserv'd a Name 'T was then I brought her to the sacred Spring And gave her to the Nine a grateful Offering They soon inspir'd with Art and Thought And all her Lines were Smooth as she were Taught None than Perilla more sublimely Flew Yet never lost her Rules severely True If Charming Lesbia sung a nobler Song Lesbia with Pains had Read the Muses long Perilla in her Infant Age writ strong Often with Pray'rs I blest th' Auspicious Sign Kist the young Girl in all her Actions Mine Often I wonder'd at the mighty Pow'r A Tale I 'ad heard but never knew before Thus was my thoughts Rais d to a vast Height To see my Darling Care Perhilla Great When strait some angry God his Thunder threw And striking me he struck Perilla too No sooner was my Banishment Decreed But my great hopes were in a Moment dead Perilla all her Books aside had laid What tho' by Reading I 'm unfortunate You may expect my Dear a better Fate Beauty 't is true you have a wondrous Share But Beauty Child tho' every Parent 's care Shines but a while and then will Disappear But Ladies that have Wit and Beauty too May boast more Slaves than Richest Tyrants do Nay when Time has Plough'd the lovely Face And all Perilla's thousand Charms decrease Her Eyes less sprightly and her Lips less red Ner Nose her Cheeks look nothing as they did Her Wit shall still a mighty Empire know And all Mankind shall to Perilla Bow Let this my Dear make you assume your Pen And read with care your Authors o'er again And Bless the World with th' Issue of your Brain FINIS VERSES UPON Several Occasions WITH SOME Translations Out of the Latin and Greek Poets By the same Author LONDON Printed for Richard Cumberland 1697. VERSES UPON Several Occasions ODE 3. Horace Lib. 1. To VIRGIL Taking a Voyage to Athens MAy Venus happily Conduct my Friend And Helen's Brothers shining Stars defend May Aeolus whose Voice the Winds obey Make thee his Care and still the Raging Sea Chain in his Den each Wind but what you want And like a God Protect and Storms prevent And you Fond Ship proud of your Burthen now Sail with more care than usually you do Safely convey him to the Attick Lands The best of Poets and the best of Friends In this you will Preserve my better Half My Virgil Dearer to me than my self His Heart was more than Brass who first durst go And visit distant Shoars as we do now Safe in a Ship the Floting Monsters see And be no more Concern'd i' th' Deep than they Caress the Watery People as they come And smile as tho' some Common thing he'ad done In vain the Prudent Deities divide Confine Mankind by an impetuous Tide While Impious Ships can Cross the Roughest Seas In spite of all the Force of Waves and Skies Nothing 's so Mad that foolish Man won't do Courting Forbidden Ills because they 're so Prometheus long ago begun the Way Stealing Jove's Fire to Animate his Clay But soon the God persu'd him with his Pow'r Sent him Diseases never known before While Death mov'd slowly in a lazy Pace Ages Man liv'd and good and happy was But now his Life 's Contracted to a Span Scarce sooner is he Born than he is gone His Sin made jealous Heav'n snatch him hence With hasty Death confound his Arrogance Fond Daedalus with Wings must needs go Try To Cut the Air and reach the Liquid Sky A Pow'r which Nature's wiser Laws deny Thro' Hell below the Fierce Alcides Ran A Place where none one wou'd 'ave thought wou'd gone Grown Gyants in Impiety we swell And Brave the Gods that wou'd at quiet dwell Nay Jove Assault in his Imperial Throne Uneasy if he lays his Thunder down ODE 5. lib. 1. To Pyrrha WHat Youth unskill'd in Pyrrha's Wanton Art Offers his Love and gives thee all his Heart With Choice Perfumes like a drest amorous Beau Courts Charming Pyrrha as I us'd to do Knocks at thy Door and fears to be deny'd Loving his Pyrrha more than all beside For whom do you those Flowing Locks prepare Careless yet finer than the nicest are When time shall show him what his Pyrrha is How will he Curse his Fond mistaken Bliss When he ne'er us'd to swelling Seas before Looks back and sees the dear
beheld The Grecian Horse with chosen Soldiers fill'd Like Trojans then tho' much in number less My Family their Griefs in Cries express My Wife while standing leaning on my Neck Mixt with her Tears her last dear Words she spoke We must not part I 'll know thy latest Care Shall Ovid suffer and his Wife not share A Passenger i' th' very Ship I 'll go The same far Land shall both our Sorrows know Love forces me and Caesar's Anger you Thus did she talk and sigh despair and groan Repeat again what just before she'ad done Till at the last with Hair disorder'd all Wild as my Griefs my Face a Funeral With much adoe I spoke the last Farewell They say for now no more her Form I saw Half dead she fell when I resolv'd to go With all the Instances of Horror seen Dissolv'd in Tears careless deform'd unclean Her Limbs the Gods with such Exactness made Like common Blood upon the Ground were laid Limbs that the Gods had often stood to view Form'd by their own and as exactly true Thus tho' distracted still she often pray'd Again she wou'd recall the Words she said Weep her Penates with her Husband fled Then as she 'd seen me Tears run down so fast Spread on a Pile and breathing out my last One while her Death she fondly wou'd expect Again she 'd live but only in respect She 'd live to serve her Ovid in his Cares And may she live live long to ease my Fears Now the Ionian Sea all rough we plough Not as the Merchants but as Strangers do Men that are forc'd unwillingly to go Bless me what boyst'rous strange unheard of Winds Blackens the Sea and shakes the quicker Sands A Daring Wave that undistinguisht flys Profane assaults the very Deities As tho' because upon our Ship they 're made The Gods no other place had ever had No never thunder'd from their blest Abode The Pilot's Horror in his face we view No hopes of gaining any Port he knew As when a resty Horse a weak man rides With care a while the Pamper'd Beast he guides But when he can no more his mouth command He throws the Rains and rides him to a stand Just so our Pilot did our Vessel guide 'Till all too little for the Waves and Tide Then like the Horseman let 's her drive apace Without the Rains with which she guided was And if the God that Thunders from his Den Had not chain'd up an Awkward Wind again Much worse we'ad far'd for back we went Half to the Place from whence Augustus sent Which made me Pray with earnest Accents too The Gods wou'd hear me that Augustus knew Heare me I cry for once forgive my Crime One Jove's enough to Thunder at a time Snatch my Departing Life from Gaping Death Give me the Priviledge a while to Breath And if your Power can reverse my Doom Let Caesar smile and I again see Rome ELEGY IV. To his Friend that had been serviceable to him in his Misfortunes Towards the latter end of the Elegy he compares his Sufferings with Ulysses's but makes 'em much greater MY better self whose Friendships run so high My very Life 's a Debt my Friend to thee Well I remember the sad time when you Officious in the Service you cou'd do Advis'd me kindly and would often Sigh And argue still when I resolv'd to dye You know to whom I speak I need not name This Sign implies as much as Letters can Here in the close Recesses of my Soul I keep each Circumstance entirely whole And when Pale Death shall summon me away The latest Instance of the Time I stay I 'll breath your Praise and his commands obey For so much kindness may the Gods bestow More than you ask all that the Happy'st know My Fortune still be proud to serve you well Dispence her best nothing of what I feel But had not Winds detain'd me on the Sea Then I 'ad known less much less perhaps of thee Fam'd Pirithous ne'r knew his Theseus Faith Till his last Act had hurry'd him to Death When Theseus do's to deepest shades descend And dares the Furies that detain his Friend Nor had great Pylades his Friendships shown Had his Orestes never Dangers known Had not the Rutili Eury'lus slain No Story of his Nisus wou'd remain As Gold refin'd by Fire is purer far So Friends by being try'd more certain are While Fortune drops her use of Wings and stays Always appearing in an easie Dress Airy yet constant when less free still good While thus her Fav'rite's lifted by the Croud Happy he lives the general Applause All is admired that he says or does Friends are so many that he only fears He shall be less his own and too much theirs When Fortune jealous of her Constancy Assumes her Wings and shows that she can fly Vain were his Fears of all the flatt'ring Crew Not one my Friend that stays or loves like you Regardless as a Man unknown he goes And he that cring'd but yesterday scarce bows This from th' Unfortunate I early drew But little thought that I shou'd prove it true Not four I 'ad left that wou'd my Dangers share Th' other not mine they Fortune's were Let this ye Pious few Compassion move Assist nor be afraid my Friends to love No angry Being will believe you sin Or from his Heav'n curse your good Design Caesar he lov'd in Enemies a Soul like this Nor can it please him in his Subjects less My Case is better too no Plots I 've laid My Folly only has my ease betray'd Then Pray those Guardians that our Earth attend They'd Punish less when we their Pow'r offend If any one wou'd know my present Grief It 's so Prodigious it is past Belief The Stars are than my Wrongs in number less Nor can the Attoms that i' th' Sun encrease Distinctly all the wond'rous Tale express So strange so terrible the thousands seem They 're more than e're the Melancholy Dream Part tho' uppermost are yet supprest And never must go farther than my Breast Ye Poets that Vlysses wrongs recite Instead of his your Ovid's Suff'rings write 'T is true he spent a certain Term of Years And wandring bent beneath some Cares Between Dulichium and Troy he steer'd This was no Distance to be so much fear'd But we in widest Seas so far from Home Must fail where Stars are seen before unknown He always had a faithful certain Band A happy number at his sole Command So much I differ from Vlysses here That of the many I han't one so near An Exile from a pleasant Country sent Had it been Ithaca I 'd been content Dulichium had scarce been Punishment But Rome from Rome is more than Banishment From seven Hills she views remotest Lands Awful with so much Majesty the stands That highest Gods have made her their Retreat And Rome next Heaven sure 's the sweetest Seat Vlysses Body long inur'd to war Knew nothing of the Ills the weaker