Henry James Pye (1745-1813) was a poet, and the MP for Berkshire from 1784 to 1790. On his retirement from the Commons, Pye's loyalty to the then Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger was rewarded with the position of Poet Laureate. As laureate, Pye dutifully wrote odes for the New Year and the King's birthday every year, as well as patriotic poems on the subject of Britain's war with France. This book is a manuscript copy written in a contemporary hand of his poem 'Carmen Seculare'. The title is copied from a poem written by the classical poet Horace, and translates from Latin as 'Secular Hymn' or 'Song of the Ages'. Pye's ode was written in 1800 and celebrates Britain's military prowess, while hoping for peace in the new century.