Classic Poem

To his Cask .

I.

H AIL , gentle Cask , whose venerable Head
With hoary Down and ancient Dust o'er-spread,
Proclaims, that since the Vine first brought Thee forth
Old age has added to thy Worth.
Whether the sprightly Juice thou dost contain,
Thy Vot'ries will to Wit and Love,
Or senseless Noise and Lewdness move,
Or Sleep, the Cure of these and ev'ry other Pain.

II.

Since to some Day propitious and great,
Justly at first thou was design'd by Fate;
This Day, the happiest of thy many Years,
With thee I will forget my Cares:
To my C ORVINUS ' Health thou shalt go round,
(Since thou art ripen'd for to Day,
And longer Age would bring Decay)
Till ev'ry anx'ous Thought in the rich Stream be drown'd.

III.

To thee my Friend his Roughness shall submit,
And S OCRATES himself a while forget.
Thus when old C ATO would sometimes unbend
The rugged Stiffness of his Mind,
Stern and severe, the Stoic quaff'd his Bowl,
His frozen Virtue felt the Charm,
And soon grew pleas'd, and soon grew warm,
And bless'd the sprightly Pow'r that chear'd his gloomy Soul.

IV.

With kind Constraint Ill-nature thou dost bend,
And mould the snarling Cynic to a Friend.
The Sage reserv'd, and fam'd for Gravity,
Finds all he knows summ'd up in thee,
And by thy Pow'r unlock'd, grows easy, gay, and free.
The Swain, who did some credulous Nymph persuade
To grant him all, inspir'd by thee,
Devotes her to his Vanity,
And to his Fellow-Fops toasts the abandon'd Maid.

V.

The Wretch who press'd beneath a Load of Cares,
And lab'ring with continual Woes, despairs.
If thy kind Warmth does his chill'd Sense invade,
From Earth he rears his drooping Head,
Reviv'd by thee, he ceases now to mourn;
His flying Cares give way to Haste,
And to the God resign his Breast,
Where Hopes of better Days, and better Things return.

VI.

The lab'ring Hind, who with hard Toil and Pains,
Amidst his Wants, a wretched Life maintains;
If thy rich Juice his homely Supper crown,
Hot with thy Fires, and bolder grown,
Of Kings, and of their arbitrary Pow'r,
And how by impious Arms they reign,
Fiercely he talks with rude Disdain,
And vows to be a Slave, to be a Wretch no more.

VII.

Fair Queen of Love, and thou great God of Wine,
Hear ev'ry Grace, and all ye Pow'rs divine,
All that to Mirth and Friendship do incline,
Crown this-auspicious Cask, and happy Night,
With all Things that can give Delight;
Be ev'ry Care and anxious Thought away;
Ye Tapers still be bright and clear,
Rival the Moon, and each pale Star,
Your Beams shall yield to none, but his who brings the Day.