human
Mr. St. John, afterwards Lord Bolingbroke, happening to pay a morning visit to Dryden, whom he always respected, found him in an unusual agitation of spirits, even to a trembling. On inquiring the cause, 'I have been up all night,' replied the old bard. 'My musical friends made me promise to write them an ode for their feast of St. Cecilia. I have been so struck with the subject which occurred to me, that I could not leave it till I had completed it. Here it is, finished at one sitting.' And immediately he showed him the ode.
gpt
Alexander's Feast; or, the Power of Music,
human
Let old Timotheus yield the prize, Or both divide the crown; He raised a mortal to the skies, She drew an angel down.
gpt
The Ode on St. Cecilia's Day. Dryden himself told Tonson that he thought with the town that this ode was the best of all his poetry; and he said to a young flatterer at Will's, with honest pride--
human
You are right, young gentleman; a nobler never was produced, nor ever will.