..
A_nd after!_
Whatever we may say of the indebtedness of things like these to the
letter of the ancient poet, we must acknowledge them all alike as
examples of the dynamic power of Horace.
_ii_. CREATION
But there are other examples whose character as literary creation is
still farther beyond question. Such a one, to mention one brilliant
specimen in prose, is the letter of Andrew Lang to Horace. In verse,
Austin Dobson again affords one of the happiest examples:
TO Q.H.F.
"H_oratius Flaccus_, B.C. 8,"
T_here's not a doubt about the date_,--
Y_ou're dead and buried_:
A_s you observed, the seasons roll_;
A_nd 'cross the Styx full many a soul_
H_as Charon ferried_,
S_ince, mourned of men and Muses nine_,
T_hey laid you on the Esquiline_.
A_nd that was centuries ago!_
Y_ou'd think we'd learned enough, I know_,
T_o help refine us_,
S_ince last you trod the Sacred Street_,
A_nd tacked from mortal fear to meet_
T_he bore Crispinus_;
O_r, by your cold Digentia, set_
T_he web of winter birding-net_.
O_urs is so far-advanced an age!_
S_ensation tales, a classic stage_,
C_ommodious villas!_
W_e boast high art, an Albert Hall_,
A_ustralian meats, and men who call_
T_heir sires gorillas!_
W_e have a thousand things, you see_,
N_ot dreamt in your philosophy_.
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