And I by instinct sure can tell The lover's mark-I know it well; ODE LVI.—ON HIS OLD AGE.2 ALAS! my youth, my joys have fled, Henceforth, unhappy! doom'd to know O! how my soul with horror shrinks3 Versed only in the rougher arts of war, No fields they wound, nor urge the shining share; Till warlike sweat has earn'd the short repast. 1 The eyes, the windows of the soul, are notorious tell-tales of what is passing within. 2 It is supposed by many that the five following odes were not written by Anacreon; but as Barnes admits them into his edition, and they are given in most other translations, it was thought proper to insert them here. 3 Let the reader contrast this exclamation of the despairing heathen philosopher with the exulting language of Paul the aged' when ready to be offered, and the time of his departure at hand. Of Pluto's dark and dreary cave, When Death's cold hand has closed these eyes, In darkness and in dust must I, ODE LVII.-THAT MODERATION ENHANCES ENJOYMENT. HASTE; haste thee, boy, and bring the bowl, To quench this fever of the soul; The copious stream with skill combine, Add ten parts water, five of wine ;1 1 Hesiod, with all the minuteness of narrative old age,' gives many directions to be observed in the summer season. Among the rest, in book ii., he thus advises us : With Byblian wine the rural feast be crown'd, Three parts of water, let the bowl go round.-Cooke. 2 The Scythians were particularly remarkable for their intemperance in drinking, and for quarrelling in their cups. Of Pluto's dark and dreary cave, In darkness and in dust must I, ODE LVII.-THAT MODERATION ENHANCES ENJOYMENT. HASTE; haste thee, boy, and bring the bowl, To quench this fever of the soul; The copious stream with skill combine, Add ten parts water, five of wine ;1 O cease, my friends, for shame, give o'er 1 Hesiod, with all the minuteness of narrative old age,' gives many directions to be observed in the summer season. Among the rest, in book ii., he thus advises us : With Byblian wine the rural feast be crown'd, Three parts of water, let the bowl go round.-Cooke. 2 The Scythians were particularly remarkable for their intemperance in drinking, and for quarrelling in their cups. ODE LVIII.-LOVE IN THE HEART. As once, amidst the rosy bowers, ODE LIX.-ON HIMSELF.2 METHOUGHT, in sleep's delightful trance, The tuneful Teian, skill'd to sing 1 This ode is by some ascribed to Julian, a king of Egypt, who wrote several other elegant little pieces. Being supposed to possess much beauty, it is given in most translations of Anacreon, and is consequently inserted here. 2 In the Vatican copy this is placed as the first of Anacreon's odes. By many it is thought that he was not the author, because he himself is the subject of it. Barnes endeavors to prove that he was, by a reference to the ninth ode, in which Anacreon makes mention of himself, and to similar instances of poets introducing their names in their works. |