With lenient balm, may Ob'ron hence
To fairy land be driv'n;
With ev'ry herb that blunts the sense Mankind receiv'd from heav'n.
"Oh! if my sov reign Author please, Far be it from my fate,
To live, unblest, in torpid ease,
And slumber on in state.
Each tender tie of life defied
Whence social pleasures spring,
Unmov'd with all the world beside,
A solitary thing-"
Some Alpine mountain, wrapt in snow,
Thus braves the whirling blast, Eternal winter doom'd to know, No genial spring to taste.
In vain warm suns their influence shed, The zephyrs sport in vain,
He rears, unchang'd, his barren head, Whilst beauty decks the plain.
What tho' in scaly armour drest,
Indifference may repel
The shafts of wo-in such a breast
No joy can ever dwell.
"Tis woven in the world's great plan,
And fix'd by heav'n's decree,
That all the true delights of man
Should spring from Sympathy.
'Tis nature bids, and whilst the laws Of nature we retain,
Our self-approving bosom draws
A pleasure from its pain.
Thus grief itself has comforts dear,
The sordid never know;
An ecstasy attends the tear,
When virtue bids it flow.
For, when it streams from that pure source
No bribes the heart can win,
To check, or alter from its course.
The luxury within.
Peace to the phlegm of sullen elves,
Who, if from labour eas'd,
Extend no care beyond themselves,
Unpleasing and unpleas'd.
Let no low thought suggest the pray`r,
Oh! grant, kind heav'n, to me,
Long as I draw ethereal air,
Where'er the heavenly nymph is seen,
With lustre-beaming eye,
A train, attendant on their queen, (Her rosy chorus) fly.
The jocund Loves in Hymen's band,
With torches ever bright,
And gen'rous Friendship hand in hand
With Pity's wat'ry sight.
The gentler virtues too are join'd,
In youth immortal warm,
The soft relations, which, combin'd,
Give life her ev'ry charm.
The arts come smiling in the close,
And lend celestial fire,
The marble breathes, the canvass glows,
The muses sweep the lyre.
"Still may my melting bosom cleave
To suff'rings not my own,
And still the sigh responsive heave,
Where'er is heard a groan.
S▷ Pity shall take Virtue's part,
Her natural ally,
And fashioning my soften'd heart,
Prepare it for the sky."
This artless vow may heav'n receive,
And you, fond maid, approve :
So may your guiding angel give
Whate'er you wish or love.
So may the rosy-finger'd hours
Lead on the various year,
And ev'ry joy, which now is yours,
Extend a larger sphere.
And suns to come, as round they wheel
Your golden moments bless,
With all a tender heart can feel,
Or lively fancy guess.
ÆNEID, BOOK VIII. LINE 18.
THUS Italy was moved-nor did the chief,
Eneas, in his mind less tumult feel.
On every side his anxious thought he turns,
Restless, unfit, not knowing what to choose.
And as a cistern that in brim of brass
Confines the crystal flood, if chance the sun
Smile on it, or the moon's resplendent orb,
The quiv'ring light now flashes on the walls,
Now leaps uncertain to the vaulted roof:
Such were the wav'ring motions of his mind.
'Twas night-and weary nature sunk to rest,
The birds, the bleating flocks were heard no more.
At length, on the cold ground, beneath the damp
And dewy vaults, fast by the river's brink,
The Father of his country sought repose.
When lo! among the spreading poplar boughs,
Forth from his pleasant stream, propitious rose
The god of Tiber: clear transparent gauze
Infolds his loins, his brows with reeds are crown'd :
And these his gracious words to sooth his care:
"Heaven-born, who bring'st our kindred home again
Rescued, and giv'st eternity to Troy,
Long have Laurentum and the Latian plains
Expected thee; behold thy fix'd abode.
Fear not the threats of war, the storm is pass'd,
The gods appeas'd. For proof that what thou hear'st Is no vain forgery or delusive dream,
Beneath the grove that borders my green bank,
A milk-white swine, with thirty milk-white young,
Shall greet thy wond'ring eyes. Mark well the place,
For 'tis thy place of rest: there end thy toils :
There, thrice ten years claps'd, fair Alba's walls
Shall rise, fair Alba, by Ascanius' hand.
Thus shall it be-now listen, while I teach
The means t' accomplish these events at hand.
Th' Arcadians here, a race from Pallas sprung,
Following Evander's standard and his fate,
High on these mountains, a well chosen spot,
Have built a city, for their Grandsire's sake,
Named Pallanteum. These, perpetual war
Wage with the Latians: join'd in faithful league
And arms confed'rate, add them to your camp.
Myself, between my winding banks, will speed
Your well-oar'd barks to stein th' opposing tide.•
Rise, goddess-born, arise; and with the first
Declining stars, seek Juno in thy pray'r,
And vanquish all her wrath with suppliant vows.
When conquest crowns thee, then remember Mc.
I am the Tiber, whose cerulean stream
Ileav'n favours; I with copious flood divide
These grassy banks, and cleave the fruitful meads.
My mansion, This-and lofty cities crown
My fountain-head"-He spoke and sought the deep,
And plung'd his form beneath the closing floed.
Æneas at the morning dawn awoke,
And rising, with uplifted eye beheld
The orient sun, then dipp'd his palms, and scoop'd
The brimming stream, and thus address'd the skies;
"Ye nymphs, Laurentian nymphs, who feed the source
Of many a stream, and thou, with thy bless'd flood,
O Tiber, hear, accept me, and afford,
At length afford, a shelter from my woes.
Where'er in secret cavern under ground,
Thy waters sleep, where'er they spring to light,
Since thou hast pity for a wretch like me,
My off'rings and my vows shall wait thee still.
Great horned Father of Hesperian floods,
Be gracious now and ratify thy word."
He said, and chose two gallies from his fleet,
Fits them with oars, and clothes the crew in arms,
When lo! astonishing and pleasing sight,
The milk-white dam, with her unspotted brood,
Lay stretch'd upon the bank, beneath the grove.
To thee, the pious Prince, Juno, to thee
Devotes them all, all on thine altar bleed.
That live-long night old Tiber smooth'd his flood,
And so restrain'd it, that it seem'd to stand
Motionless as a pool, or silent lake,
That not a billow might resist their oars.
With cheerful sound of exhortation soon
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