[Page 52]
Part of an Elegy of Tibullus, translated.
(Divitias alius fulvo sibi congerat Auro.) 1729-30.
1 LET others heap of wealth a shining store,
2 And much possessing labour still for more;
3 Let them, disquieted with dire alarms,
4 Aspire to win a dang'rous fame in arms:
5 Me tranquil poverty shall lull to rest,
6 Humbly secure and indolently blest;
7 Warm'd by the blaze of my own cheerful hearth,
8 I'll waste the wintry hours in social mirth;
9 In summer pleas'd attend to harvest toils,
10 In autumn press the vineyard's purple spoils,
11 And oft to Delia in my bosom bear
12 Some kid, or lamb that wants its mother's care:
13 With her I'll celebrate each gladsome day,
14 When swains their sportive rites to Bacchus pay:
[Page 53]15 With her new milk on Pales' altar pour,
16 And deck with ripen'd fruits Pomona's bow'r.
17 At night how soothing wou'd it be to hear,
18 Shelter'd and warm, the tempest whistling near;
19 And while my charmer in my arms I strain,
20 Slumber assisted by the beating rain!
21 Ah! how much happier, than the fool who braves
22 In search of wealth the black tempestuous waves!
23 While I, contented with my little store,
24 In tedious voyage seek no distant shore,
25 But idle lolling on some shady seat,
26 Near cooling fountains shun the dog-star's heat;
27 For what reward so rich cou'd Fortune give
28 That I by absence shou'd my Delia grieve?
29 Let great Messalla shine in martial toils,
30 And grace his palace with triumphal spoils;
31 Me beauty holds in strong, tho' gentle chains,
32 Far from tumultuous war and dusty plains.
33 With thee, my love, to pass my tranquil days,
34 How would I slight ambition's painful praise!
35 How would I joy with thee, my love, to yoke
36 The ox, and feed my solitary flock!
37 On thy soft breast might I but lean my head,
38 How downy shou'd I think the woodland bed!
39 The wretch who sleeps not by his fair one's side,
40 Detests the gilded couch's useless pride,
41 Nor knows his weary, weeping eyes to close,
42 Tho' murm'ring rills invite him to repose.
[Page 54]43 Hard was his heart, who thee, my fair, cou'd leave
44 For all the honours prosp'rous War can give;
45 Tho' through the vanquish'd east he spread his fame,
46 And Parthian tyrants tremble at his name;
47 Tho' bright in arms, while hosts around him bleed,
48 With martial pride he press'd his foaming steed.
49 No pomps like these my humble vows require;
50 I ask, in thy embraces to expire:
51 Thee may my closing eyes in death behold!
52 Thee may my fault'ring hand yet strive to hold!
53 Then, Delia, then thy heart will melt in woe,
54 Then o'er my breathless clay thy tears will flow;
55 Thy tears will flow, for gentle is thy mind,
56 Nor dost thou think it weakness to be kind.
57 With thee each youth and tender maid shall join
58 In grief, and mix their friendly sighs with thine;
59 But ah! my Delia, I conjure thee spare
60 Thy heaving breasts and loose dishevell'd hair:
61 Wound not thy form; lest on th' Elysian coast
62 Thy anguish shou'd disturb my peaceful ghost.
63 But now nor death, nor parting should employ
64 Our sprightly thought, or damp our bridal joy:
65 We'll live, my Delia, and from life remove
66 All care, all bus'ness, but delightful Love.
67 Old age in vain those pleasures wou'd retrieve,
68 Which youth alone can taste, alone can give;
69 Then let us snatch the moment to be blest,
70 This hour is Love's — be Fortune's all the rest.
About this text
Title (in Source Edition): Part of an Elegy of Tibullus, translated. (Divitias alius fulvo sibi congerat Auro.) 1729-30.
Themes:
love; money; wealth
Genres:
heroic couplet; imitation; translation; paraphrase
References:
DMI 22315
Text view / Document view
Source edition
Dodsley, Robert, 1703-1764. A Collection of Poems in Six Volumes. By Several Hands. Vol. II. London: printed by J. Hughs, for R. and J. Dodsley, 1763 [1st ed. 1758], pp. 52-54. 6v.: music; 8⁰. (ESTC T131163; OTA K104099.002) (Page images digitized by the Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive from a copy in the archive's library.)
Editorial principles
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.
Other works by George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton
- ADVICE to a LADY. ()
- BLENHEIM. Written at the University of Oxford in the Year 1727. ()
- DAMON and DELIA. In Imitation of Horace and Lydia. Written in the Year 1732. ()
- EPIGRAM. ()
- An Epistle to Mr. POPE. From Rome, 1730. ()
- An Irregular ODE written at Wickham, in 1746. To the Same. ()
- ODE, in Imitation of Pastor Fido. (O Primavera Gioventu del Anno.) Written Abroad in 1729. ()
- A Prayer to Venus in her Temple at Stowe. To the Same. ()
- THE PROGRESS of LOVE. IN Four ECLOGUES. ()
- SOLILOQUY Of a BEAUTY in the Country. Written at Eton School. ()
- SONG. Written in the Year 1732. ()
- SONG. Written in the Year 1732. ()
- SONG. Written in the Year 1733. ()
- To Miss LUCY F— ()
- To Mr. POYNTZ, Ambassador at the Congress of Soissons, in the Year 1728. Written at Paris. ()
- To Mr. West at Wickham. Written in the Year 1740. ()
- To my Lord — In the Year 1730. From Worcestershire. ()
- To the Memory of the same LADY, A MONODY. A. D. 1747. ()
- TO THE Reverend Dr. AYSCOUGH at Oxford. Written from Paris in the Year 1728. ()
- To the same with a New Watch. ()
- To the Same, with Hammond's Elegies. ()
- To the Same. ()
- To the Same. ()
- To the Same. ()
- To the Same. ()
- To the Same. On her pleading want of Time. ()
- VERSES Making Part of an EPITAPH on the same LADY. ()
- VERSES to be written under a Picture of Mr. POYNTZ. ()
- Written at Mr. Pope's House at Twickenham, which he had lent to Mrs. G—lle. In August 1735. ()