William Julius Mickle, 1775 (1735-1788)
When Heaven decreed to soothe the feuds that tore
The wolf-eyed barons, whose unletter’d rage
Spurn’d the fair muse, Heaven bade on Avon’s shore
A Shakespeare rise, and soothe the barbarous age:
A Shakespeare rose; the barbarous heats assuage.
At distance due how many bards attend!
Enlarged and liberal from the narrow cage
Of blinded zeal, new manners wide extend,
And o’er the generous breast the dews of heaven descend.
Introduction to The Lusiad, or the Discovery of India. An Epic Poem. Translated, 1775.