For Ceres, who the veil undrew, That screen'd her mysteries from his view, Propitious this kind truth reveal'd, That woman close besieg'd will yield. Old Hesiod too his native shade Love touch'd his harp, love tun'd his tongue, And love's put out religion's fire. Homer, of all past bards the prime, And wand'ring to the desart isle, On whose parch'd sands no seasons smile, Mimnermus tun'd his am'rous lay, Nanno his theme, and youth his guest. Antimachus with tender art To Colophon the minstrel came, Alcæus strung his sounding lyre, And smote it with a hand of fire, To Sappho, fondest of the fair, Chaunting the loud and lofty air. Whilst old Anacreon, wet with wine, And crown'd with wreaths of Lesbian vine, To his unnatural minion sung Ditties that put to blush the young. Ev'n Sophocles, whose honey'd lore Rivals the bee's delicious store, Chorus'd the praise of wine and love, Choicest of all the gifts of Jove. Euripides, whose tragic breast Philoxenus, by wood-nymphs bred Philotas too in Battis' praise The mortified abstemious sage, Earth, planets, seas and heav'n above, And trembling drags his conqueror's car, Ev'n Socrates, whose moral mind Sage Aristippus by right rule A little before the time that Pisistratus established his tyranny at Athens, the people of Greece had distinguished certain of their most eminent sages by the denomination of the Seven Wise Men. This flattering pre-eminence seems to have been distributed with more attention to the separate claims of the different states, than to the particular pretensions of the persons, who composed this celebrated junto: if any one community had affected to monopolize the prerogative of wisdom, others would hardly have subscribed their assent to so partial a distribution; and yet when such distinguished characters as Pythagoras, Anacharsis the Scythian, Mison, Pherecydes, Epimenides, and Pisistratus himself, were excluded, or at best rated only as wisemen-extraordinary, many of their admirers complained of the exclusion, and insisted on their being rated in the list; hence arises a difficulty in determining the precise number of the principals: the To Sappho, fondest of the fair, Chaunting the loud and lofty air. Whilst old Anacreon, wet with wine, And crown'd with wreaths of Lesbian vine, To his unnatural minion sung Ditties that put to blush the young. Ev'n Sophocles, whose honey'd lore Rivals the bee's delicious store, Chorus'd the praise of wine and love, Choicest of all the gifts of Jove. Euripides, whose tragic breast No yielding fair one ever prest, At length in his obdurate heart Felt love's revengeful rankling dart, Thro' Macedon with furious joy Panting he chas'd the pathic boy; "Till vengeance met him in the way, And blood-hounds made the bard their prey. Philoxenus, by wood-nymphs bred Philotas too in Battis' praise The mortified abstemious sage, Scal'd the wide globe from pole to pole, Earth, planets, seas and heav'n above, And trembling drags his conqueror's car, And wisdom stoop'd to beauty's charms. Ev'n Socrates, whose moral mind Sage Aristippus by right rule A little before the time that Pisistratus established his tyranny at Athens, the people of Greece had distinguished certain of their most eminent sages by the denomination of the Seven Wise Men. This flattering pre-eminence seems to have been distributed with more attention to the separate claims of the different states, than to the particular pretensions of the persons, who composed this celebrated junto: if any one community had affected to monopolize the prerogative of wisdom, others would hardly have subscribed their assent to so partial a distribution; and yet when such distinguished cha racters as Pythagoras, Anacharsis the Scythian, Mison, Pherecydes, Epimenides, and Pisistratus himself, were excluded, or at best rated only as wisenen-extraordinary, many of their admirers complained of the exclusion, and insisted on their being rated in the list; hence arises a difficulty in deter mining the precise number of the principals: the |