[Page 283]

Horace Lib. I. Epist. IX. Septimius, Claudi, nimirum intelligit unus, Quanti me facias: &c. Imitated.

To the Right Honorable Mr. HARLEY.

1 Dear Dick, how e'er it comes into his Head,
2 Believes, as firmly as He does his Creed,
3 That You and I, Sir, are extremely great;
4 Tho' I plain Mat, You Minister of State.
[Page 284]
5 One Word from Me, without all doubt, He says,
6 Wou'd fix his Fortune in some little Place.
7 Thus better than My self, it seems, He knows,
8 How far my Interest with my Patron goes;
9 And answering all Objections I can make,
10 Still plunges deeper in his dear Mistake.
11 From this wild Fancy, Sir, there may proceed
12 One wilder yet, which I foresee, and dread;
13 That I, in Fact, a real Interest have,
14 Which to my own Advantage I wou'd save,
15 And, with the usual Courtier's Trick, intend
16 To serve My self, forgetful of my Friend.
17 To shun this Censure, I all Shame lay by;
18 And make my Reason with his Will comply;
19 Hoping, for my Excuse, 'twill be confest,
20 That of two Evils I have chose the least.
21 So, Sir, with this Epistolary Scroll,
22 Receive the Partner of my inmost Soul:
23 Him you will find in Letters, and in Laws
24 Not unexpert, firm to his Country's Cause,
25 Warm in the Glorious Interest You pursue,
26 And, in one Word, a Good Man and a True.

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Title (in Source Edition): Horace Lib. I. Epist. IX. Septimius, Claudi, nimirum intelligit unus, Quanti me facias: &c. Imitated. To the Right Honorable Mr. HARLEY.
Author: Matthew Prior
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Genres: imitation

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Prior, Matthew, 1664-1721. Poems on Several Occasions [English poems only]. London: Printed for JACOB TONSON at Shakespear's-Head over against Katharine-Street in the Strand, and JOHN BARBER upon Lambeth-Hill. MDCCXVIII., 1718, pp. 283-284. [42],506,[6]p.: ill.; 2°. (ESTC T075639) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [H 6.8 Art.].)

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Typography, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been cautiously modernized. The source of the text is given and all significant editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. 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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