Classic Poem

Rise! said the Muse , and bid adieu
To Worldly Thoughts! My Flight pursue!
When once resolv'd to follow me,
Far happier thy Life shall be,
Than his, who, on a peaceful Throne,
Beholds extended Realms his own;
Who boasts of Triumphs , and detains
His trembling Enemies in Chains:
For him shou'd rich Pactolus flow,
No Bliss like thine he e'er shall know.
I'll bear thee on my Wings on high
Thro' the bright Wonders of the Sky,
'Midst Crouds of Worlds , and form thy Ears,
To reach the Music of the Spheres .
From thence with rapid Flight we'll go,
And fathom all the Depths below;
See all that Pluto 's Kingdom yields,
And tread the blest Elysian Fields
With Heroes and the Bards of old,
Of whom such wond'rous Things are told:
Charon his Bark will not refuse,
Or Cerberus oppose the Muse ,
We then may visit Neptune 's Court,
Behold the Nymphs , and Tritons sport;
Make Proteus hidden Truths disclose;
And pluck the Coral , as it grows.
Or, weary'd with our hasty Flight,
We'll seek some Promontory 's Height,
Whence we may view the Ocean smile;
Or with a Storm the Ship beguile,
While his big Waves run Mountain high,
And lift the Pinnace to the Sky.
Here, while the Winds and Billows roar,
Secure, this Elemental War
To restless Mortals we'll compare,
Who, in Ambition 's Tempest toss'd,
Insatiate, labour , 'till they're lost .
But now shou'd rising Stars invite,
And Phaebe glad the silent Night,
We'll haunt the Plains, where may be seen
The Fairy Revels on the Green.
Or if the Sun enforce his Ray,
In cooling Shades we'll lose the Day,
Where Dryads, Satyrs, Fauns resort,
And Pan receives his Rustic Court .
When Bacchus , still his Poet 's Friend,
His mystic Fury deigns to lend,
Here often in thy sacred Trance
The Forest shall appear to dance;
The Thracian Hills thou'lt fancy nigh,
And frantic Maenads rushing by.
Th' Enthusiastic Madness stay'd,
In Slumbers, thou shalt be convey'd
To Helicon 's inspiring Rill,
Where thou may'st bathe , and drink thy Fill,
Hear all the Muses in a Quire,
And Phaebus , with his golden Lyre ,
While Venus , and the Graces meet,
Our charming Numbers to repeat,
Or, Hand in Hand, in measur'd Rounds ,
Dance to our soft, melodious Sounds .
Thus wilt thou live, from Danger free,
Happy with Cloi , and with me ,
While Mars on troubled Europe frowns,
And Victory prepares her Crowns .