Exiguam; late populus cubitalis oberrat. Instant à tergo volucres, lacerantque trahuntque Immites, certa gentem extirpare nefandam.
Sic Pygmæa domus multos dominata per annos, Tot bellis defuncta, gruum tot læta triumphis, Funditus interiit: nempe exitus omnia tandem Certus regna manet, sunt certi denique fines, Quos ultra transire nefas: sic corruit olim Assyria imperium, sic magnæ Persidis imis Sedibus eversum est, et majus utroque Latinum. Elysii valles nunc agmine lustrat jnani,
Et veterum heroum miscetur grandibus umbris. Plebs parva: aut, si quid fidei mereatur anilis Fabula, pastores per noctis opaca pusillas Sæpe vident umbras, Pygmæos corpore cassos. Dum secura gruum, et veteres oblita labores, Lætitiæ penitus vacat, indulgetque choreis, Angustosque terit calles, viridesque per orbes Turba levis salit, et lemurum cognomine gaudet.
DELINEATA AD ALTARE COL. MAGD. OXON. EGREGIOS fuci tractus, calamique labores, Surgentesque hominum formas, ardentiaque ora Judicis, et simulachra modis pallentia miris, Terribilem visu pompam, tn carmine Musa Pande novo, vatique sacros accende furores. Olim planitiem (quam nunc fœcunda colorum Insignit pietura) inhonesto et simplice cultu Vestit albedo, sed ne rima ulla priorem Agnoscat faciem, mox fundamenta futuræ Substravit pictor tabulæ, humoremque sequacem Per muros traxit; velamine moenia crasso Squalient obducta, et rudioribus illita fucis.
Utque (polo nondum stellis fulgentibus apto) Ne spatio moles immensa dehiscat inani, Per cava cœlorum, et convexa patientia late Hine atque hinc interfusus fluitaverat æther; Mox radiante novum torrebat lumine mundum Titan, et pallens alienos mitius ignes Cynthia vibrabat; crebris nune consitus astris Scintillare polus, nunc fulgor Lacteus omne Diffluere in cœlum, longoque albescere tractu
Sic, operis postquam lusit primordia pictor, Dum sordet paries, nuliumque fatetur Apellem, Cautius exercet calamos, atque arte tenacem Confundit viscum, succosque attemperat, omnes Inducit tandem formas; apparet ubique Muta cohors, et picturarum vulgus inane.
Aligeris muri vacat ora suprema ministris, Sparsaque per totam cœlestis turba tabellam Raucos inspirat lituos, buccasque tumentes Inflat, et attonitum replet clangoribus orbem. Defunctis sonus auditur, tabulamque per imam Picta gravescit humus, terris emergit apertis Progenies rediviva, et plurima surgit imago.
Sic, dum fæcandis Cadmus dat semina sulcis, Terra tumet prægnans, animataque gleba laborat, Luxuriatur ager segete spirante, calescit Omne solum, crescitque virorum prodiga messis. Jam pulvis varias terræ dispersa per oras,. Sive inter venas teneri concreta metalli, Sensim diriguit, seu sese immiscuit herbis, Explicita est; molem rursus coalescit in unam Divisum funus, sparsos prior alligat artus Junctura, aptanturque iterum coeuntia membra. His nondum specie perfecta resurgit imago,
Vultum trancata, atque inhonesto vulnere nares Manca, et adhuc deest informi décorpore multum. Paulatim in rigidum hic vita insinuata cadaver Motu ægro vix dum redivivos erigit artus. Inficit his horror vultus, et imagine tota Fusa per attonitam pallet formido figuram. Detrahe quin oculos spectator, et, ora niten-
Si poterint perferre diem, medium inspice murum, Qua sedet orta Deo proles, Deus ipse, sereno Lumine perfusus, radiisque inspersus acutis. Circum tranquillæ funduntur tempora flammæ, * Regius ore vigor spirat, nitet ignis ocellis, Plurimaque effulget majestas numine toto. Quantum dissimilis, quantum o! mutatus ab illo, Qui peccata luit cruciatus non sua, vitam Quando lactantem cunctata morte trahebat! Sed frustra voluit defunctum Golgotha numen Condere, dum victa fatorum lege triumphans Nativum petiit coelum, et super æthera vectus Despexit lunam exiguam, solemque minorem.
Jam latus effossum, et palmas ostendit utrasque, Vulnusque infixum pede, clavorumque recepta Signa, et transacti quondam vestigia ferri. Umbræ huc felices tendunt, numerosaque cœlos Turba petunt, atque immortalia dona capessunt. Matres, et longæ nunc reddita corpora vitæ Infantum, juvenes, pueri, innuptæque puellæ [tes Stant circum, atque avidos jubar immortale biben- Affigunt oculos in numine: laudibus æther Intonat, et læto ridet cœlum omne triumpho. His amor impatiens conceptaque gaudia mentem Funditus exagitant, imoque in pectore fervent. Non æque exultat flagranti corde Sibylla, Hospite cum tumet incluso, et præcordia sentit. Mota Dei stimulis, nimioque calentia Phœbo.
Quis tamen ille novus perstringit lumina fulgor? Quam Mitra effigiem distinxit pictor, honesto Surgentem è tumulo, alatoque satellite fultam? Agnosco faciem, vultu latet alter in illo
Wainfletus, sic ille oculos, sic ora ferebat: Eheu quando animi par invenietur imago! Quando alium similem virtus habitura!- Irati innocuas securus numinis iras Aspicit, impavidosque in judice figit ocellos.
Quin age, et horrentem commixtis igne tenebris Jam videas scenam; multo hic stagnantia fuco Moenia flagrantem liquefacto sulphure rivum Fingunt, et falsus tanta arte accenditur ignis, Ut toti metuas tabulæ, ne flamma per omne Livida serpat opus, tenuesque absumpta recedat Pictura in cineres, propriis peritura favillis. Huc turba infelix agitur, turpisque videri Infreudet dentes, et rugis contrahit ora. Vindex à tergo implacabile sævit, et ensem Fulmineum vibrans acie flagrante scelestos Jam Paradiseis iterum depellit ab oris. Heu! quid agat tristis? Quo se cœlestibus iris Subtrahat? O! quantum vellet nunc æthere in alto Virtutem colere! at tandem suspiria ducit Nequicquam, et sero in lacrymas effunditur; obstant
Sortes non revocandæ, et inexorabile numen.
Quam varias aperit veneres pictura! periti Quot calami legimus vestigia! quanta colorum Gratia se profert! tales non discolor Iris Ostendat, vario cum lumine floridus imber
Rore nitet toto, et gutta scintillat in omni. O fuci nitor, O pulchri durate colores! Nec, pictura, tuæ languescat gloria formæ, [mam. Dum lucem videas, qualem exprimis ipsa, supre.
Hic ubi graminea in latum sese explicat æquor Planities, vacuoque ingens patet area campo, Cum solem nondum fumantia prata fatentur Exortum, et tumidæ pendent in gramine guttæ, Improba falx noctis parva incrementa prioris Desecat, exiguam radens a cespite messem: Tum motu assiduo saxum versatile terram Deprimit extantem, et surgentes atterit herbas, Lignea percurrunt vernantem turba palæstram Uncta, nitens oleo, formæ quibus esse rotundæ Artificis ferrum dederat, faciiisque moveri. Ne tamen offendant incauti errore globorum, Quæque suis incisa notis stat sphæra; sed unus Hanc vult, quæ infuso multum inclinata metallo Vertitur in gyros, et iniquo tramite currit; Quin alii diversa placet, quam parcius urget Plumbea vis, motuque sinit procedere recto. Postquam ideo in partes turbam distinxerat æquas
Consilium, aut sors; quisque suis accingitur armis. Evolat orbiculus, qua cursum meta futurum Designat; jactique legens vestigia, primam, Qui certamen init, sphæram demittit, at illa Leniter effusa, exiguum quod ducit in orbem, Radit iter, donec sensim primo impete fesso Subsistat: subito globus emicat alter et alter.
Mox ubi funduntur late agmina crebra minorem Sparsa per orbiculum, stipantque frequentia metam, Atque negant faciles aditus; jam cautius exit, Et leviter sese insinuat revolubile lignum. At si forte globum, qui misit, spectat inertem Serpere, et impressum subito languescere motum, Pone urget sphæræ vestigia, et anxius instat, Objurgatque moras, currentique imminet orbi. Atque ut segnis honos dextræ servetur, iniquam Incusat terram, ac surgentem in marmore nodum.
Nec risus tacuere, globus cum volvitur actus Infami jactu, aut nimium vestigia plumbum Allicit, et sphæram à recto, trahit insita virtus. Tum qui projecit, strepitus effundit inanes, Et, variam in speciem distorto corpore, falsos Increpat errores, et dat convitia ligno. Sphæra sed, irarum temnens ludibria, cœptum Pergit iter, nullisque movetur surda querelis.
Illa tamen laudes summumque meretur honorem, Quæ non dirumpit cursum, absistitque moveri, Donec turbam inter crebram dilapsa supremum Perfecit stadium, et metæ inclinata recumbit. Hostis at hærentem orbiculo detrudere sphæram Certat, luminibusque viam signantibus omnes Intendit vires, et missile fortiter urget: Evolat adducto non segnis sphæra lacerto.
Haud ita prosiliens Elëo carcere pernix, Auriga invehitur, cum raptus ab axe citato Currentesque domos videt, et fugientia tecta.
Si tamen in duros, obstructa satellite multo, Impingat socios, confundatque orbibus orbes; Tum fervet bilis, fortunam damnat acerbam, Atque deos atque astra vocat crudelia-
Si vero incursus faciles, aditumque patentem Inveniat, partoque hostis spolietur honore:
Turba fremit confusa, sonisque frequentibus, euge, Exclamant socii; plausu strepit omne viretum, Interea fessos inimico Sirius astro Corripit, et salsas exudant corpora guttas; Lenia jam Zephyri spirantes frigora, ut umbræ Captantur, vultuque fluens abstergitur humor.
AD D.D. HANNES, INSIGNISSIMUM MEDICUM ET, POETAM.
O qui canoro blandius Orpheo Vocale ducis carmen, et exitu Feliciore luctuosis
Sæpe animam revocas ab umbris, Jam seu solutos in numerum pedes Cogis, vel ægrum et vix animæ tenax Corpus tueris, seu cadaver
Luminibus penetras acutis; Opus relinquens eripe te moræ, Frontemque curis solicitam explica, Scyphumque jucundus require
Purpureo gravidum Lyæo. Nunc plena magni pocula postules Memor Wilhelmi, nunc moveat sitim Minister ingens, imperique
Presidium haud leve, Montacutus, Omitte tandem triste negotium Gravesque curas, heu niinium plus!" Nec cæteros cautus mederi
Ipse tuam minuas salutem, Frustra cruorem pulsibus incitis Ebullientem pollice comprimis,
Attentus explorare venam
Quæ febris exagitet tumentem: Frustra liquores quot chemica expedit Fornax, et error sanguinis, et vigor lunatus herbis te fatigant: Serius aut citius sepulchro Debemur omnes, vitaque deseret Expulsa morbis corpus inhospitum Lentumque deflubunt nepotes (Relliquias anima) cadaver." Manes videbis tu quoque fabulas Quos pauciores fecerit ars tua; Suumque victorem vicissim Subjiciet libitina victrix. Decurrit illi vita beatior Quicunque lucem non nimis anxius Reddit molestam, urgetque curas Sponte sua satis ingruentes; Et quem dierum lene fluentium Delectat ordo, vitaque mutuis Felix amicis, gaudiisque Innocuis bene temperata.
MACHINE GESTICULANTES,
ANGLICE A PUPPET-SHOW.
Crura ligat pedibus, humerisque accommodat armos,
Et membris membra aptat, et artubus infui Tunc habiles addit trochleas, quibus arte puti Versat onus, molique manu famulatus iner. Sufficit occultos motus, vocemque ministrat His structa auxiliis jam machina tota peritos Ostendit sulcos, duri et vestigia ferri: Hinc salit, atque agili se sublevat incita motu,
Undique congressi permissa sedilia complent, Nec confusus louos; nummo subsellia cedunt Diverso, et varii ad pretium stat copia scamni. Tandem ubi subtrahitur velamen, lumina passim Angustos penetrant aditus, qua plurima visum Fila secant, ne, cum vacuo datur ore fenestra, Pervia fraus pateat: mox stridula turba penates. Ingreditur pictos, et mania squallido fuco. Hic humiles inter scenas, angustaque claustra, Quicquid agunt homines, concursus, bella, trium-Vocesque emittit tenues, et non sua verba, Ludit in exiguo plebecula parva theatro.
Sed præter reliquos incidit homunc o rauca Voce strepens; major subnectit fibula vestem, Et referunt vivos errantia lumina motus;
In ventrem tumet immodicum; pone eminet ingens A tergo gibbus; Pygmæum territat agmen Major, et immanem miratur turba gigantem. Hie magna fretus mole, imparibusque lacertis Contisus, gracili jactat convitia vulgo,
Et crebro solvit, lepidum caput, ora cachinno. Quanquam res agitur solenni seria pompa, Spernit sollicitum intractabilis ille tumultum, Et risu importunus adest, atque omnia turbat. Nec raro invadit molles, pictamque protervo Ore petit nympham, invitoque dat oscula ligno. Sed conitum vulgus diversis membra fatigant Ludis, et vario lascivit mobile saltu.
Sæpe etiam gemmis rutila, et spectabilis auro, Lignea gens prodit, nitidisque superbit in ostris. Nam, quoties festam celebrat sub imagine lucem, Ordine composito nympharum incedit honestum Agmen, et exigui proceres, parvique quirites. Pygmæos credat positis mitescere bellis, Jamque, infensa gruum temnentes prælia, tutos Indulgere jocis, tenerisque vacare choreis.
Tales, cum medio labuntur. sidera cœlo, Parvi subsiliunt lemures, populusque pusillus Festivos, rediens sua per vestigia, gyros Ducit, et angustum crebro pede pulsitat orbem. Mane patent gressus; hic succos terra feraces Concipit, in multam pubentia gramiua surgunt Luxuriem, tencrisque virescit circulus herbis.
At non tranquillas nulla abdunt nubila luces, Sæpe gravi surgunt bella, horrida bella tumultu. Arma cient truculenta cohors,placidamque quietem Dirumpunt pugnæ; usque adeo insincera voluptas Omnibus, et mista castigant gaudia curæ. Jam gladii, tubulique ingesto sulphure fœti Protensæque hastæ, fulgentiaque arma, minæque Telorum ingentes subeunt; dant claustra fragorem Horrendum, ruptæ stridente bitumine chartæ Confusos reddunt crepitus, et sibila miscent. Sternitur omne solum pereuntibus; undique cæsæ Apparent turma, civilis crimina belli.
Sed postquam insanus pugnæ deferbuit æstus, Exuerintque truces animos, jam marte fugato, Diversas repetunt artes, curasque priores. Nec raro prisci heroes, quos pagina sacra Suggerit, atque olim peperit felicior ætas, Hic parva redeunt specie. Cano ordine cernas Antiquos prodire, agmen venerabile, patres. Rugis sulcantur vultus, prolixaque barbæ Canities mento pendet: sic tarda senectus Tithonum minuit, cum moles tota cicadam Induit, in gracilem sensim collecta figuram.
Nunc tamen unde genus ducat, quæ dextra latentes Suppeditet vires, quem poscat turba moveutem, Expediam. Truncos opifex et inutile lignum Cogit in humanas species, et robove natam Progeniem telo efformat, nexuque tenaci
AD INSIGNISSIMUM VIRUM D. THO.
SACRE THEORIÆ TELLURIS AUCTOREM.
NON usitatum carminis alitem, Burnette, poscis, non humiles modos: Vulgare plectrum, languidæque Respuis officium camœnae. Tu mixta rerum semina couscius, Molemque cernis dissociabilem,
Terrainque concretam, et latentem Oceanum gremio capaci : Dum veritatem quærere pertinax Ignota pandis, sollicitus parum
Ucunque stet commune vulgi
Arbitrium et popularis error. Auditur ingens continuo fragor, Illapsa tellus lubrica deserit
Fundamina, et compage fracta
Suppositas gravis urget undas. Impulsus erumpit medius liquor, Terras aquarum effusa licentia
Claudit vicissim; has inter orbæ Relliquiæ fluitant prioris. Nunc et recluso carcere lucidam Balana spectat solis imaginem, Stellasque miratur nutantes,
Et tremulæ siniulacra lunæ. Quæ pompa vocum non imitabilis! Qualis calescit spiritus ingenî!
Ut tollis undas! ut frementem Diluvii reprimis tumultum ! Quis tam valenti pectore ferreus Ut non tremiscens et timido pede Incedat, orbis dolosi
Detegis instabiles ruinas? Quin hæc cadentum fragmina montium Natura vultum sumere simplicem
Coget refingens, in priorem
Mox iterum reditura formam. Nimbis rubentem sulphureis Jovem Cernas; ut udis sævit atrox hyems Incendiis, commune mundo Et populis meditata bustum! Nudus liquentes plorat Athos nives, Et mox liquescens ipse adamantinum Fundit cacumen, dum per imas Saxa fluunt resoluta valles. Jamque alta cœli mænia corruunt, Et vestra tanden pagina (proh nefas!) Burnette, vestra augebit ignes,
Heu socio perituro mundo. Mox aqua tellus, mox subitus viror Ubique rident: En teretem globum! En læta vernantes Favoni
Famina, perpetuosque fores!
O pectus ingens! O animum gravem Mundi capacem! si bonus auguror, Te, nostra quo tellus superbit, Accipiet renovata civem.
TRANSLATIONS.
HORACE, BOOK III. ODE III.
No more does Hector's force the Trojans shield, That drove whole armies back, and singly clear'd the field.
"My vengeance sated, I at length resign To Mars his offspring of the Trojau line: Advanc'd to godhead let him rise,
And take his station in the skies: There entertain his ravish'd sight With scenes of glory, fields of light: Quaff with the gods immortal wine, And see adoring nations crowd his shrine. "The thin remains of Troy's afflicted host, And flourish on a foreign coast;
Augustus had a design to rebuild Troy and make it the metropolis of the Roman empire, having closeted several senators on the project: Ho-In distant realms may seats unenvy'd find,
race is supposed to have written the following
THE man resolv'd and steady to his trust, Inflexible to ili, and obstinately just, May the rude rabble's insolence despise, Their senseless clamours and tumultuous cries; The tyrant's fierceness he beguiles,
And the stern brow, and the harsh voice defies, And with superior greatness smiles.
Not the rough whirlwind, that deforms Adria's black gulf, and vexes it with storms, The stubborn virtue of his soul can move; Nor the red arm of angry Jove, That flings the thunder from the sky, And gives it rage to roar, and strength to fly. Should the whole frame of nature round him In ruin and confusion huri'd,
He, unconcern'd, would hear the mighty crack, And stand secure amidst a falling world.
Such were the godlike arts that led
Bright Pollux to the blest abodes; Such did for great Alcides plead, And gain'd a place among the gods;
Where now Augustus, mix'd with heroes, lies, And to his lips the nectar bowl applies: His ruddy lips the purple tincture show, And with immortal stains divinely glow.
By arts like these did young Lyæus rise: His tigers drew him to the skies; Wild from the desert and unbroke, In vain they foam'd, in vain they star'd, In vain their eyes with fury glar'd; [yoke. He tam'd them to the lash and bent them to the Such were the paths that Rome's great founder trod,
When in a whirlwind snatch'd on high, He shook off dull mortality,
And lost the monarch in the god.
Bright Juno then her awful silence broke, And thus th' assembled deities bespoke.
"Troy," says the goddess," perjur'd Troy has felt The dire effects of her proud tyrant's guilt; The towering pile, and soft abodes, Wall'd by the hand of servile gods, Now spreads its ruins all around, And lies inglorious on the ground. An umpire partial and unjust, And a lewd woman's impious lust,
Lay heavy on her head, and sunk her to the dust. "Since false Laomedon's tyrannic sway, That durst defraud th' immortals of their pay, Her guardian gods renoune'd their patronage, Nor would the fierce invading foe repel; To my resentment, and Minerva's rage, The guilty king and the whole people fell. And now the long-protracted wars are o'er, The soft adulterer shines no more;
But far be Rome from Troy disjoin'd,
Remov'd by seas, from the disastrous shore, May endless billows rise between, and storms un- number'd roar.
"Still let the curst detested place Where Priam lies, and Priam's faithless race, Be cover'd o'er with weeds, and hid in grass. There let the wanton flocks unguarded stray, Or, while the lonely shepherd sings, Amidst the mighty ruins play, And frisk upon the tombs of kings.
"May tigers there, and all the savage kind, Sad solitary haunts and deserts find;
In gloomy vaults, and nooks of palaces, May th' unmolested lioness
Her brinded whelps securely lay,
Or, coucht, in dreadful slumbers waste the day. "While Troy in heaps of ruins lies, Rome and the Roman capitol shall rise;
Th' illustrious exiles unconfin'd
Shall triumph far and near, and rule mankind.
"In vain the sea's intruding tide
Europe from Afric shall divide, And part the sever'd world in two:
Through Afric's sands their triumphs they shall And the long train of victories pursue
To Nile's yet undiscover'd head.
"Riches the hardy soldiers shall despise, And look on gold with undesiring eyes, Nor the disbowel'd earth explore
In search of the forbidden ore; Those glittering ills, conceal'd within the mine, Shall lie untouch'd, and innocently shine. To the last bounds that nature sets, The piercing colds and sultry heats, The godlike race shall spread their arms, Now fill the polar circle with alarms, Till storms and tempests their pursuits confine; Now sweat for conquest underneath the line. "This only law the victor shall restrain, On these conditions shall he reign: If none his guilty hand employ
To build again a second Troy,
If none the rash design pursue,
Nor tempt the vergeance of the gods anew. "A curse there cleaves to the devoted place, That shall the new foundations rase; Greece shall in mutual leagues conspire To storm the rising town with fire, And at their armies head myself will show What Juno, urg'd to all her rage, can do.
"Thrice should Apollo's self the city raise, And line it round with walls of brass; Thrice should my favourite Greeks his works con. found,
And hew the shining fabric to the ground:
Thrice should her captive dames to Greece return, And their dead sons and slaughter'd husbands
But hold, my Muse, forbear thy towering flight, Nor bring the secrets of the gods to light: In vain would thy presumptuous verse Th' immortal rhetoric rehearse;
The mighty strains, in lyric numbers bound, Forget their majesty and lose their sound.
FROM OVID DE FASTIS, LIB. III. EL. 1. Blanda quies victis furtim subrepit ocellis, &c. As the fair vestal to the fountain came, (Let none be startled at a vestal's name) Tir'd with the walk, she laid her down to rest, And to the winds expos'd her glowing breast, To take the freshness of the morning-air, And gather'd in a knot her flowing hair; While thus she rested, on her arm reclin'd, The hoary willows waving with the wind, And feather'd choirs that warbled in the shade, And purling streams that through the meadow stray'd,
In drowsy murmurs full'd the gentle maid. The god of war beheld the virgin lie, The god beheld her with a lover's eye; And by so tempting an occasion press'd,
The beauteous maid, whom he beheld, possess'd; Conceiving as she slept, her fruitful womb Swell'd with the founder of immortal Rome.
OVID'S METAMORPHOSES. BOOK II.
*****. THE STORY OF PHAETON.
THE Sun's bright palace, on high columns rais'd, With burnish'd gold and flaming jewels blaz'd; The folding gates diffus'd a silver light, And with a milder gleam refresh'd the sight;, Of polish'd ivory was the covering wrought: The matter vied not with the sculptor's thought, For in the portal was displayed on high (The work of Vulcan) a fictitious sky; A waving sea th' inferior earth embrac'd, And gods and goddesses the waters grac'd. Ægeon here a mighty whale bestrode; Triton, and Proteus (the deceiving god), With Doris here were carv'd, and all her train, Some loosely swimming in the figur'd main, Whilst some on rocks their drooping hair divide, And some on fishes through the waters glide; Though various features did the sisters grace, A sister's likeness was in every face.
On earth a different landscape courts the eyes, Men, towns, and beasts, in distant prospects rise, And nymphs, and streams, and woods, and rural deities.
O'er all, the Heaven's refulgent image shines; On either gate were six engraven signs.
Here Phaeton, still gaining on th' ascent, To his suspected father's palace went, Till pressing forward through the bright abode, He saw at distance the illustrious god: He saw at distance, or the dazzling light Had flash'd too strongly on his aking sight,
The god sits high, exalted on a throne Of blazing gems, with purple garments on; The hours in order rang'd on either hand, And days, and months, and years, and ages, stand. Here Spring appears with flowery chaplets bound; Here Summer in her wheaten garland crown'd; Here Autumn the rich trodden grapes besmear; And hoary Winter shivers in the rear.
Phoebus beheld the youth from off his throne; That eye, which looks on, all, was fix'd on one. He saw the boy's confusion in his face, Surpris'd at all the wonders of the place; And cries aloud, "What wants my son? For know My son thou art, and I must call thee so." "Light of the world," the trembling youth replies,
Illustrious parent! since you don't despise The parent's name, some certain token give, That I may Clymenè's proud boast believe, Nor longer under false reproaches grieve."
The tender sire was touch'd with what he said, And flung the blaze of glories from his dead, And bid the youth advance: My son," said he, "Come to thy father's arms for Clymene Has told thee, true; a parent's name Lown, And deem thee worthy to be call'd my son. As a sure proof, make some request, and 1, Whate'er it be, with that request comply; By Styx I swear, whose waves are hid in night, And roll impervious to my piercing sight."
The youth, transported, asks without delay, To guide the Sun's bright chariot for a day. The god repented of the oath he took, For anguish thrice his radiant head he shook: "My son," says he "some other proof require; Rash was my promise, rash is thy desire.
I'd fain deny this wish which thou hast made, Or, what I can't deny, would fain dissuade. Too vast and hazardous the task appears, Nor suited to thy strength, nor to thy years. Thy lot is mortal, but thy wishes fly Beyond the province of mortality: There is not one of all the gods that dares (However skill'd in other great affairs) To mount the burning axle-tree, but I; Not Jove himself, the ruler of the sky, That hurls the three-fork'd thunder from above, Dares try his strength; yet who so strong as Jove? The steeds climb up the first ascent with pain; And when the middle firmament they gain, If downwards from the Heavens my head I bow, And see the earth and ocean hang below, Ev'n 1 am seiz'd with horrour and affright, And my own heart misgives me at the sight. A mighty downfall steeps the evening stage, And steady reins must curb the horses' rage. Tethys herself has fear'd to see me driven Down headlong from the precipice of Heaven. Besides, consider what impetuous force Turns stars and planets in a different course: I steer against their motions; nor am 1 Borne back by all the current of the sky. But how could you resist the orbs that roll Io adverse whirls, and stem the rapid pole? But you perhaps may hope for pleasing woods, And stately domes, and cities fill'd with gods; While through a thousand snares your progress lies,
Where forms of starry monsters stock the skies: For, should you hit the doubtful way aright, The Bull with stooping horns stands opposite;
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