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ODE AT THE INSTALLATION OF HIS GRACE AUGUSTUS HENRY FITZROY, DUKE OF GRAFTON, CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY.

JULY 1, MDCCLXIX.

BY MR. GRAY.
AIR.
1 "HENCE, avaunt, ('tis holy ground)
2 " Comus, and his midnight-crew,
3 "And Ignorance with looks profound,
4 " And dreaming Sloth of pallid hue,
5 "Mad Sedition's cry profane,
6 " Servitude that hugs her chain,
7 "Nor in these consecrated bowers
8 " Let painted Flattery hide her serpent train in flowers.
CHORUS.
9 "Nor Envy base, nor creeping Gain
10 " Dare the Muse's walk to slain,
11 "While bright-ey'd Science watches round:
12 " Hence, away, 'tis holy ground! "
RECITATIVE.
13 From yonder realms of empyrean day
14 Bursts on my ear th' indignant lay:
15 There sit the sainted Sage, the Bard divine,
16 The Few, whom Genius gave to shine
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17 Through every unborn age, and undiscovered clime.
(accomp.)
18 Rapt in celestial transport they,
19 Yet hither oft a glance from high
20 They send of tender sympathy
21 To bless the place, where on their opening soul
22 First the genuine ardor stole.
23 'Twas Milton struck the deep-toned shell,
24 And, as the choral warblings round him swell,
25 Meek Newton's self bends from his state sublime,
26 And nods his hoary head, and listens to the rhyme.
AIR
27 "Ye brown o'er-arching groves,
28 " That Contemplation loves,
29 "Where willowy Camus lingers with delight!
30 " Oft at the blush of dawn
31 "I trod your level lawn,
32 " Oft woo'd the gleam of Cynthia silver-bright
33 "In cloisters dim, far from the haunts of Folly,
34 " With Freedom by my side, and soft-ey'd Melancholy.
RECITATIVE.
35 But hark! the portals sound, and pacing forth
36 With solemn steps and slow,
37 High Potentates and Dames of royal birth
38 And mitred Fathers in long order go:
39 Great Edward
d Edward III. gave the old foundation of Trinity College.
with the lillies on his brow
40 From haughty Gallia torn,
41 And sad Chatillon,
e Founded Pembroke Hall. She married an earl of Pembroke, who was killed in a tournament on his wedding-day.
on her bridal morn
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42 That wept her bleeding love, and princely Clare
f Founded Clare Hall. Her father the earl of Glocester married a daughter of Edward I.
,
43 And Anjou's Heroine
g Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI. foundress of Queen's College.
, and the paler Rose
h Elizabeth Wodeville, wife of Edward IV. augmented and improved the last mentioned college.
,
44 The rival of her crown, and of her woes,
45 And either Henry there,
46 The murther'd Saint
i Henry VI. founder of King's College.
, and the majestic Lord
k Henry VIII. enrich d and enlarged Trinity College.
47 That broke the bonds of Rome.
(accomp.)
48 (Their tears, their little triumphs o'er,
49 Their human passions now no more,
50 Save Charity, that glows beyond the tomb)
51 All that on Granta's fruitful plain
52 Rich streams of regal bounty pour'd,
53 And bad these aweful fanes and turrets rise,
54 To hail their Fitzroy's festal morning come;
55 And thus they speak in soft accord
56 The liquid language of the skies.
QUARTETTO.
57 "What is Grandeur, what is Power?
58 " Heavier toil, superior pain.
59 "What the bright reward we gain?
60 " The grateful memory of the Good.
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61 "Sweet is the breath of vernal shower,
62 " The bee's collected treasures sweet,
63 "Sweet music's melting fall, but sweeter yet
64 " The still small voice of Gratitude.
RECITATIVE.
65 Foremost and leaning from her golden cloud
66 The venerable Margaret see!
67 "Welcome, my noble son, (she cries aloud)
68 " To this, thy kindred train, and me:
69 "Pleas'd in thy lineaments we trace
70 " A Tudor's fire
l The bloods of the Stuarts and of the Tudors were united by the marriage of a King of Scotland to a daughter of Henry VII.
, a Beaufort's
m The father of the last named king, married the daughter of Beaufort Duke of Somerset.
grace.
AIR.
71 "Thy liberal heart, thy judging eye,
72 " The flower unheeded shall descry,
73 "And bid it round heaven's altars shed
74 " The fragrance of its blushing head:
75 "Shall raise from earth the latent gem
76 " To glitter on the diadem.
RECITATIVE.
77 "Lo, Granta waits to lead her blooming band,
78 " Not obvious, not obtrusive, she
79 "No vulgar praise, no venal incense flings;
80 " Nor dares with courtly tongue refin'd
81 "Profane thy inborn royalty of mind:
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82 " She reveres herself and thee.
83 "With modest pride to grace thy youthful brow
84 " The laureate wreath that Cecil wore she brings,
85 "And to thy just, thy gentle hand
86 " Submits the fasces of her sway,
87 "While spirits blest above and men below
88 " Join with glad voice the loud symphonious lay.
GRAND CHORUS.
89 "Thro' the wild waves as they roar,
90 " With watchful eye and dauntless mien
91 "Thy steady course of honour keep,
92 " Nor fear the rocks, nor seek the shore:
93 "The star of Brunswick smiles serene,
94 " And gilds the horrors of the deep.

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Title (in Source Edition): ODE AT THE INSTALLATION OF HIS GRACE AUGUSTUS HENRY FITZROY, DUKE OF GRAFTON, CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY. JULY 1, MDCCLXIX.
Author: Thomas Gray
Themes: places; education
Genres: ode
References: DMI 32560

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Pearch, G. A collection of poems in four volumes. By several hands. Vol. III. [The second edition]. London: printed for G. Pearch, 1770, pp. 93-97. 4v. ; 8⁰. (ESTC T116245; DMI 1136; OTA K093079.003) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [(OC) 280 o.790].)

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The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

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