FIRST NEMÆAN ODE.
133
"And thou, O isle!" said he, "for ever thrive,
"And keep the value of our gift alive!
"As Heaven with stars, so let
"The country thick with towns be set,
"And numberless as stars!
"Let all the towns be then
"Replenish'd thick with men,
"Wise in peace, and bold in wars!
"Of thousand glorious towns the nation,
"Of thousand glorious men each town a constellation!
"Nor let their warlike laurel scorn
"With the Olympick olive to be worn,
"Whose gentler honours do so well the brows of peace adorn!"
"And keep the value of our gift alive!
"As Heaven with stars, so let
"The country thick with towns be set,
"And numberless as stars!
"Let all the towns be then
"Replenish'd thick with men,
"Wise in peace, and bold in wars!
"Of thousand glorious towns the nation,
"Of thousand glorious men each town a constellation!
"Nor let their warlike laurel scorn
"With the Olympick olive to be worn,
"Whose gentler honours do so well the brows of peace adorn!"
Go to great Syracuse, my Muse, and wait
At Chromius' hospitable gate;
'T will open wide to let thee in,
When thy lyre's voice shall but begin;
Joy, plenty, and free welcome, dwells within.
The Tyrian beds thou shalt find ready drest,
The ivory table crowded with a feast:
The table which is free for every guest,
No doubt will thee admit,
And feast more upon thee, than thou on it.
Chromius and thou art met aright,
For, as by nature thou dost write,
So he by nature loves, and does by nature fight.
At Chromius' hospitable gate;
'T will open wide to let thee in,
When thy lyre's voice shall but begin;
Joy, plenty, and free welcome, dwells within.
The Tyrian beds thou shalt find ready drest,
The ivory table crowded with a feast:
The table which is free for every guest,
No doubt will thee admit,
And feast more upon thee, than thou on it.
Chromius and thou art met aright,
For, as by nature thou dost write,
So he by nature loves, and does by nature fight.
