Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ODES X, 2, by QUINTUS HORATIUS FLACCUS



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ODES X, 2, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: If o'er life's sea your bark you'd safely guide
Last Line: Learn wisely to contract the swelling sail.
Alternate Author Name(s): Horace
Subject(s): Fate; Life; Sea; Storms; Wisdom; Destiny; Ocean


IF o'er life's sea your bark you'd safely guide,
Trust not the surges of its stormy tide;
And while you dread the tempest's horrid roar,
Avoid those shoals, which threaten from the shore.

The happy few, who choose the golden mean,
Free from the tattered garb, the cell obscene,
From all the world's gay pageantry aloof,
Spurn the rich trappings of the envied roof.

The stately ship, which cuts the glassy wave,
Is oftener tossed than skiffs, when tempests rave:
The tower, whose lofty brow sustains the sky,
With greater ruin tumbles from on high:
The lightning's bolt, with forky vengeance red,
Vents its first fury on the mountain's head.

The mind, where Wisdom deigns her genial light,
Led by the star of Hope in adverse night,
Fortune's gay sunshine never can elate --
Dauntless, prepared to meet the frowns of Fate.

'Tis Jove who bids the dashing tempest swell,
And the bright sun the stormy clouds dispel.
If o'er your paths clouds now should cast a gloom,
Soon will the scene in brighter prospects bloom:
Apollo does not always strike the lyre,
Nor bid the arrow from his bow aspire.

When raging grief and poverty appear,
Strengthen thy sickening heart, and banish fear.
When you are wafted by a prosperous gale,
Learn wisely to contract the swelling sail.





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