Page:Odes and Carmen Saeculare.djvu/101

 Blest in the present, look not forth On ills beyond, but soothe each bitter With slow, calm smile. No suns on earth Unclouded glitter. Achilles' light was quench'd at noon; A long decay Tithonus minish'd; My hours, it may be, yet will run When yours are finish'd. For you Sicilian heifers low, Bleat countless flocks; for you are neighing Proud coursers; Afric purples glow For your arraying With double dyes; a small domain, The soul that breathed in Grecian harping, My portion these; and high disdain Of ribald carping.

HY rend my heart with that sad sigh? It cannot please the gods or me That you, Mæcenas, first should die, My pillar of prosperity. Ah! should I lose one half my soul Untimely, can the other stay Behind it? Life that is not whole, Is that as sweet? The self-same day