Page:Pastorals Epistles Odes (1748).djvu/131



The Poet praises Hiero ''for his justice, his wisdom, and his skill in musick. He likewise celebrates the horse that won the race, and the place where the Olympick Games were performed. From the place (namely Peloponnesus) he takes an occasion of digressing to the known fable of Tantalus and Pelops; whence, returning to Hiero, he sets forth the felicity of the Olympian Victors. Then be concludes by praying to the gods, to preserve the glory and dignity of Hiero, admonishing him to moderation of mind, in his high station, and, lastly, glories in his own excellency in compositions of this kind''.

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