Page:An Essay on Translated Verse - Roscommon (1684).djvu/32

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Hail mighty MARO! may that Sacred Name,
Kindle my Breast with thy cælestial Flame;
Sublime Ideas, and apt Words infuse.
The Muse instruct my Voice, and Thou inspire the Muse!

What I have instanc'd only in the best,
Is, in proportion true of All the rest.
Take pains the genuine Meaning to explore,
There Sweat, there Strain, tug the laborious Oar:
Search ev'ry Comment, that your Care can find,
Some here, some there, may hit the Poets Mind;
Yet be not blindly guided by the Throng;
Which has been, and is often in the Wrong.
When Things appear unnatural or hard,
Consult your Author, with Himself compar'd;
Who knows what Blessing Phœbus may bestow,
And future Ages to your labour owe?

Such