THE IMMORTALITY OF VERSE (ODES, IV, 9)

by: Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65-8 B.C.)

      EST you should think that verse shall die,
      Which sounds the silver Thames along,
      Taught on the wings of truth to fly
      Above the reach of vulgar song;
       
      Though daring Milton sits sublime,
      In Spenser native Muses play;
      Nor yet shall Waller yield to time,
      Nor pensive Cowley's mortal lay.
       
      Sages and chiefs long since had birth
      Ere Caesar was, or Newton named;
      These raised new empires o'er the earth,
      And those, new heavens and systems framed.
      Vain was the chief's, the sage's pride!
      They had no poet, and they died.
      In vain they schemed, in vain they bled!
      They had no poet, and are dead.

This English translation of "The Immortality of Verse" was composed by Alexander Pope (1688-1744).

MORE POEMS BY HORACE

RELATED WEBSITES

  • Horace - A biography of the Roman philosopher and dramatic critic Quintus Horatius Flaccus.
  • Horace: Bibliography - A bibliography of the works of Quintus Horatius Flaccus; includes a list of critical and biographical resources.
  • Latin Dramatic Criticism - An overview of dramatic criticism as it developed during the Roman Empire.
  • The Maxims of Horace - An overview of the Roman critic's rules for dramatic construction.
  • Purchase books by Horace

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