You brave heroic minds,Worthy your country's name,That honour still pursue,Go and subdue!Whilst loit'ring hindsLurk here at home with shame.
Britons, you stay too long;Quickly aboard bestow you,And with a merry galeSwell your stretch'd sail,With vows as strongAs the winds that blow you!
Your course securely steer,West and by south forth keep;Rocks, lee-shores, nor shoals,When Æolus scowls,You need not fear,So absolute the deep.
And cheerfully at seaSuccess you still enticeTo get the pearl and gold,And ours to holdVirginia,Earth's only paradise!
Where nature hath in storeFowl, venison, and fish,And the fruitful'st soil,Without your toil,Three harvests more,All greater than your wish.
And the ambitious vineCrowns with his purple mass,The cedar reaching highTo kiss the sky,The cypress, pine,And useful sassafras;
To whose the golden ageStill nature's laws doth give;No other cares that tendBut them to defendFrom winter's age,That long there doth not live.
When as the luscious smellOf that delicious land,Above the seas that flows,The clear wind throws,Your hearts to swellApproaching the dear strand.
In kenning of the shore,Thanks to God first given,O you, the happiest men,Be frolic then!Let cannons roarFrighting the wide heaven.
And in regions farSuch heroes bring ye forth,As those from whom we came;And plant our nameUnder that starNot known unto our north.
And, as there plenty growsOf laurel everywhere,Apollo's sacred tree,You may it seeA poet's browsTo crown, that may sing there.
Thy voyages attend,Industrious Hakluyt,Whose reading shall enflameMen to seek fame,And much commendTo after-times thy wit.
