[Page 100]

The Inconstant.

A Paraphrase on the XV. Epod of Horace.

1 PRecisely I remember All, 'twas Night,
2 Calm Skye, and the full Moon shone bright,
3 When first you Swore, that bleating Flocks shou'd feed
4 With Wolves, nor other Keepers need;
5 That boistrous Winds husht in Eternal sleep,
6 Shou'd cease to Revel on the Deep;
7 You Vow'd that these, and Prodigies more strange
8 Shou'd fall e're your fixt Heart cou'd change.
9 Yet (Woman-like) to your new Fav'rite now,
10 Unswear as oft as you did Vow!
11 Ah! if I cou'd (and sure if half a man,
12 Or some what less than half, I can)
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13 Cou'd I in just Resentment quit your Chain,
14 And with more caution chuse again;
15 Nymph, you'd Repent my wrongs, when flying Fame
16 Shou'd publish to your grief and shame,
17 How your wrong'd Swain had found a Nymph more True
18 And equal in her Charms to You.
19 But Treach'rous Rival, you that reap my Toils,
20 And Pride your self in my stoln spoils,
21 Shou'd Fates and Stars Adopt you for their own,
22 And show'r their richest Blessings down,
23 Nought shou'd secure you from the sure Praesage
24 Of an Offended Poet's Rage.
25 The time shall come (and to inhance your sear,
26 Know, Wretch, that fatal time is near)
27 When you shall perish by th' Inconstancy
28 Of Her that first learnt breach of Faith from thee;
29 Whilst from the safe shore your sad wreck I see.

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About this text

Title (in Source Edition): The Inconstant. A Paraphrase on the XV. Epod of Horace.
Author: Nahum Tate
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Source edition

Tate, Nahum, c. 1652-1715. Poems by N. Tate. London: Printed by T.M. for Benj. Tooke ..., 1677, pp. 100-101. [15],133p. (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Harding C 2953].)

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