Page:Vida's Art of Poetry.djvu/30

For him their tears the watry sisters shed,
Who lov'd him living, and deplor'd him dead.
The furious pedant to restrain his rage,
Should mark the example of a former age;
How fierce Alcides, warm'd with youthful ire,
Dash'd on his master's front his vocal lyre.
But yet, ye youths, confess your master's sway,
And their commands implicitly obey.

Whoever then this arduous task pursues,
To form the bard, and cultivate the muse,
Let him by softer means, and milder ways,
Warm his ambition with the love of praise;
Soon as his precepts shall have won his heart,
And fann'd the rising fire in every part,
Light is the task; - - - -for then the eager boy
Pursues the voluntary toil with joy;
Disdains th' inglorious indolence of rest,
And feeds th' immortal ardor in his breast.

And here the common practice of the schools
By known experience justifies my rules,

The