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Poem
July 8, 1775
The Virginia Gazette
Richmond, Williamsburg, Richmond County, Virginia
What is this article about?
A meditative poem on the universality of death, which spares no one—from princes to the beautiful—quoting Horace and concluding with a call for the soul to ascend to eternal heavenly joys beyond mortality.
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OCR Quality
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Full Text
POETS CORNER.
On DEATH.
Pallida mors æquo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas
HOR.
TREMENDOUS host
Regumque turris.
Thy dreadful summons mortals must obey!
For, all around, thy swift sharp-pointed darts
Are shot, unerring, at our mortal hearts,
And wound with equal aim! The strong, the gay,
Are, in the prime of manhood, snatch'd away.
The Prince, who fill'd a bright imperial throne,
And, clad with native lustre, proudly shone;
To whom his subjects all obedient prov'd,
At once protected, honour'd, and beloved;
Yet all their power could not their Monarch save,
From Death, who lodg'd him in the silent grave!
Bright beauty falls by Death's resistless power,
And youth is faded like a with'ring flow'r;
The fair, who's irresistible in charms,
Must yield submissive to his icy arms;
See! how the lustre of her eyes decay,
And from her cheeks the roses fade away.
Relentless Death! ah! spare her lovely bloom!
Alas! the tyrant sinks her to the tomb.
Struck with these thoughts, I smote my breast, and said:
"Since all must view the regions of the dead,
"Mount, O! my soul! o'er all terrestrial things,
"And soar aloft, where pleasure ever springs;
"With sacred ardour, seek the heavenly shore,
"Where joys forever bloom, and Death shall be no more."
On DEATH.
Pallida mors æquo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas
HOR.
TREMENDOUS host
Regumque turris.
Thy dreadful summons mortals must obey!
For, all around, thy swift sharp-pointed darts
Are shot, unerring, at our mortal hearts,
And wound with equal aim! The strong, the gay,
Are, in the prime of manhood, snatch'd away.
The Prince, who fill'd a bright imperial throne,
And, clad with native lustre, proudly shone;
To whom his subjects all obedient prov'd,
At once protected, honour'd, and beloved;
Yet all their power could not their Monarch save,
From Death, who lodg'd him in the silent grave!
Bright beauty falls by Death's resistless power,
And youth is faded like a with'ring flow'r;
The fair, who's irresistible in charms,
Must yield submissive to his icy arms;
See! how the lustre of her eyes decay,
And from her cheeks the roses fade away.
Relentless Death! ah! spare her lovely bloom!
Alas! the tyrant sinks her to the tomb.
Struck with these thoughts, I smote my breast, and said:
"Since all must view the regions of the dead,
"Mount, O! my soul! o'er all terrestrial things,
"And soar aloft, where pleasure ever springs;
"With sacred ardour, seek the heavenly shore,
"Where joys forever bloom, and Death shall be no more."
What sub-type of article is it?
Elegy
Ode
What themes does it cover?
Death Mourning
Religious Faith
What keywords are associated?
Death
Mortality
Prince
Beauty
Soul
Heaven
Horace
Poem Details
Title
On Death.
Form / Style
Rhymed Couplets
Key Lines
Pallida Mors æquo Pulsat Pede Pauperum Tabernas Hor.
Thy Dreadful Summons Mortals Must Obey!
Relentless Death! Ah! Spare Her Lovely Bloom! Alas! The Tyrant Sinks Her To The Tomb.
"Mount, O! My Soul! O'er All Terrestrial Things, "And Soar Aloft, Where Pleasure Ever Springs;