Horace: Book II. Ode 9

Samuel Johnson 1709 (Lichfield) – 1784 (London)



Clouds do not always veil the skies,
Nor showers immerse the verdant plain;
Nor do the billows always rise,
Or storms afflict the ruffled main.

Nor, Valgius, on the Armenian shores
Do the chain'd waters always freeze;
Not always furious Boreas roars,
Or bends with violent force the trees.

But you are ever drown'd in tears,
For Mystes dead you ever mourn;
No setting Sol can ease your cares,
But find you sad at his return.

The wise experienced Grecian sage
Mourn'd not Antilochus so long;
Nor did King Priam's hoary age
So much lament his slaughter'd son.

Leave off, at length, these woman's sighs,
Augustus' number'd trophies sing,
To whom all nations tribute bring.

Niphates rolls an humbler wave,
At length th' undaunted Scythian yields,
Content to live the Roman slave,
And scarce forsakes his native fields.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

44 sec read
87

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD EXEX FXFX AGG HIHI
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 800
Words 140
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 4

Samuel Johnson

The Reverend Doctor Samuel Johnson was a clergyman, educator, and philosopher in colonial British North America. more…

All Samuel Johnson poems | Samuel Johnson Books

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