Note 49 — Chapter IV · AGE OF DECLINE.
Reading edition
Hadrian was for the most part a patron of literary men, and himself spoke and wrote with eloquence. Pope’s paraphrase has made familiar his verse addressed to his soul:—
“Ah! fleeting spirit! wandering fire, That long hast warmed my tender breast, Must thou no more this frame inspire, No more a pleasing, cheerful guest? Whither, ah! whither art thou flying? To what dark undiscovered shore? Thou seem’st all trembling, shivering, dying, And wit and humor are no more.”