Two Famous _Latins_[6] our bright Tongue adorn,
And a new _Virgil_[7] is in _England_ born.
An _Æneid_ to translate, and make a new,
Are Tasks of equal Labour to pursue.

[6] _Lucretius_ and _Manilius_.

[7] Mr. _Dryden's_ _Virgil_.

For tho' th' Invention of a Godlike Mind
Excels the Works of Nature, and Mankind;
Yet a well-languag'd Version will require
An equal _Genius_, and as strong a Fire.
These claim at once our Study and our Praise,
Fam'd for the Dignity of Sense and Phrase.
These gainful to the Stationer, shall stand
At _Paul's_ or _Cornhill_, _Fleetstreet_ or the _Strand_.
Shall wander far and near, and cross the Seas,
An Ornament to _Foreign Libraries_.

Hail, Glorious Titles! who have been my _Theme_!
O could I write so well as I esteem!
From her low Nest my humble Soul shou'd rise
As a young _Phoenix_ out of Ashes flies
Above what _France_ or _Italy_ can shew,
The Celebrated _Tasso_, or _Boileau_.

Come You, where'er you be, who seek to find
Something to pleasure, and instruct your Mind:
If, when retir'd from Bus'ness, or from Men,