Perfons of the Tragedy. Cato. Lucius a Senator. Sempronius a Senator. Juba, Prince of Numidia. Syphax, General of the Numidians, Decius, Amballador from Caefar. Mutiners, Guards etc. Marcia, Daughter to Cato. Lucia, Daughter to Lucius. To wake the foul by tender ftrokes of art; To raife the genius, and to mend the heart; To make mankind in confcious virtue bold;. Live o'er each fcene, and be what they behold; For this the Tragic Mufe first trod the stage, Commanding, tears to ftream thro' eve ry age, Tyrants no more t their favage nature kept, Anl foes to virtue wonder'd, how they In pitying love we but our weakness fhow, And wild ambition well deferves it's woe. Here tears fhall flow from a more gen'rous' caufe Such tears as patriots fhed for dying laws. He bids yours breafts with ancient ardor rife, And calls forth Roman drops from Britifh eyes. Virtue confeft in human fhape, he draws What Plato thought and godlike Cato was. No common object to your fight displays, But what with pleasure heav'n it self furveys A brave man struggling in the storms of fate And greatly falling with a falling State. While Cato gives his little fenate laws What bofom, beats not in his country's caufe? 401 Who fees him act, but envies ev'ry deed? Who hears him groan, and does not T wish to bleed? Ev'n when proud Caefar, 'midft trium phal cars, The } The fpoils of nations and the wars, pomp of Ignobly vain and impotently great, Show'd Rome her Cato's figure, drawn f in ftate, As her dead father's rev'rend image past, The pomp was darken'd, and the day o'ercaft The triumpho ceas'd Tears gush'd from every eye The world's great victor paft unheeded by; Her laft good man dejected Rome ad. or'd And honour'd Caefar's lefs than Cato's I fword. Brittains attend )! Be worth, like this, approv'd, And fhow, you have the virtue to be mov'd. With honeft fcorn the first fam'd Cato view'd Rome 1) Pope hatte gesetzt, wie Warburton anmerkt, arife! allein Addifon aus Bedenklichkeit, man könnte vielleicht dies arife als Aufmunterung zu Unruhen ansehen, fetzte attend |