To Mr. GARRICK, on his erecting a Temple and Statue to SHAKESPEAR. Richard Berenger Alexander Huber Editor Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
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Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive
Taylor Institution Library St Giles' Oxford OX1 3NA UK info@eighteenthcenturypoetry.org https://www.eighteenthcenturypoetry.org/
Oxford This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. T131163 K104099.006 Dodsley, Robert, 1703-1764. A Collection of Poems in Six Volumes. By Several Hands. Vol. VI. London printed by J. Hughs, for R. and J. Dodsley 1763 [1st ed. 1758] pp. 273-275. 6v.: music; 8⁰.

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To Mr. GARRICK , on his erecting a Temple and Statue to SHAKESPEAR . By the Same . — Viridi in campo signum de marmore ponant Propter aquam , tardis ingens ubi flexibus errat Thamesis ; et multâ praetexit arundine ripas ; In medio mihi SHAKESPEAR erit , templumque tenebit . VIRGIL . WHERE yonder trees rise high in cheerful air , Where yonder banks eternal verdure wear , And opening flow'rs diffusing sweets around Paint with their vivid hues the happy ground ; While Thames majestic rolls the meads between , And with his silver current crowns the scene ; There GARRICK , satiate of well-earn'd applause , From crowds , and shouting theatres withdraws : There courts the Muse , turns o'er th' instructive page , And meditates new triumphs for the stage . Thine , SHAKESPEAR , chief — for thou must ever shine His pride , his boast , unequal'd and divine . There too thy vot'ry to thy merit just , Hath rais'd the dome , and plac'd the honour'd bust , Bidding the pile to future times proclaim His veneration for thy mighty name . A place more fit his zeal could never find Than this fair spot , an emblem of thy mind — As hill and dale there charm the wond'ring eye , Such sweet variety thy scenes supply — Like the tall trees sublime thy genius tow'rs , Sprightly thy fancy , as the opening flow'rs , While copious as the tide Thames pours along , Flow the sweet numbers of thy heav'nly song , Serenely pure , and yet divinely strong — Look down , great shade , with pride this tribute see , The hand that pays it makes it worthy thee — As fam'd Apelles was allow'd alone To paint the form august of Philip's son , None but a GARRICK can , O bard divine ! Lay a fit offering on thy hallow'd shrine . To speak thy worth is his peculiar boast , He best can tell it , for he feels it most . Blest bard ! thy fame thro' ev'ry age shall grow , Till nature cease to charm , or Thames to flow . Thou too , with him , whose fame thy talents raise , Shalt share our wonder , and divide our praise ; Blended with his thy merits rise to view , And half thy SHAKESPEAR'S fame to thee is due : Unless the actor with the bard conspire , How impotent his strength , how faint his fire ! One boasts the mine , one brings the gold to light , And the muse triumphs in the actor's might ; Too weak to give her own conceptions birth , Till all-expressive action call them forth . Thus the sweet pipe , mute in itself , no sound Sends forth , nor breathes its pleasing notes around ; But if some swain with happy skill endu'd , Inspire with animating breath the wood , Wak'd into voice , it pours its tuneful strains , And harmony divine enchants the plains . Quod spiro , et placeo , si placeo tuum est — HOR.