Their adverse breasts with tusks oblique they wound, But first contracted, that if ever found
With grunts and groans the forest rings around : By day or night upon th’Athenian ground,
So fought the knights, and fighting must abide, His head should pay the forfeit; see return'd
will Fate an umpire sends their difference to decide. The perjur'd knight, his oath and honor scorn'd.
The power that ministers to God's decrees, For this is he, who, with a borrow'd name
And executes on Earth what Heaven foresees, And proffer'd service, to thy palace came,
Callid Providence, or Chance, or Fatal Sway, (way. Now callid Philostratus : retain'd by thee,
Comes with resistless force, and finds or makes her A traitor trusted, and in high degree,
Nor kings, nor nations, nor united power,

Aspiring to the bed of beauteous Emily.
One moment can retard th' appointed hour. My part remains; from Thebes my birth I own,
And some one day, some wondrous chance appears, And call myself th' unhappy Palamon.
Which happen'd not in centuries of years : Think me not like that man; since no disgrace
For sure, whate'er we mortals hate, or love, Can force me to renounce the honor of my race.
Or hope, or fear, depends on powers above; Know me for what I am: I broke my chain,
They move our appetites to good or ill,

Nor promis'd I thy prisoner to remain :
And by foresight necessitate the will.

The love of liberty with life is given,
In Theseus this appears; whose youthful joy And life itself th' inferior gift of Heaven.
Was beasts of chase in forests to destroy.

Thus without crime I fled; but farther know, This gentle knight, inspir'd by jolly May,

I with this Arcite am thy mortal foe : Forsook his easy couch at early day,

Then give me death, since I thy life pursue ; And to the wood and wilds pursued his way. For safeguard of thyself, death is my due. Beside him rode Hippolita the queen,

More wouldst thou know? I love bright Emily, And Emily attir'd in lively green,

And for her sake and in her sight will die : With horns, and hounds, and all the tuneful cry, But kill my rival too; for he no less To hunt a royal hart within the covert nigh: Deserves; and I thy righteous doom will bless, And as he follow'd Mars before, so now

Assur'd that what I lose, he never shall possess. He serves the goddess of the silver bow.

To this replied the stern Athenian prince, The way that Theseus took was to the wood And sourly smil'd: “In owning your offence, Where the two knights in cruel battle slood : You judge yourself; and I but keep record The lawn on which they fought, th' appointed place in place of law, while you pronounce the word. In which th' uncoupled hounds began the chase. Take your desert, the death you have decreed; Thither forth-right he rode to rouse the prey, I seal your doom, and ratify the deed : That, shaded by the fern, in harbor lay;

By Mars, the patron of my arms, you die." And, thence dislodg’d, was wont to leave the wood, He said ; dumb Sorrow seiz'd the standers-by. For open fields, and cross the crystal flood. The queen above the rest, by nature good, Approach'd, and looking underneath the Sun, (The pattern form'd of perfect womanhood) He saw proud Arcite, and fierce Palamon,

For tender pity wept: when she began, In mortal battle doubling blow on blow,

Through the bright quire th' infectious virtue ran Like lightning flam'd their falchions to and fro, All dropt their tears, ev'n the contended maid, And shot a dreadful gleam: so strong they strook, And thus among themselves they softly said: 'There seein'd less force requir'd to sell an oak: “What eyes can suffer this unworthy sight! He gaz'd with wonder on their equal might, Two youths of royal blood, renown'd in fight, Look'd eager on, but knew not either knight: The mastership of Heaven in face and mind, Resolv'd to learn, he spurr'd his fiery steed And lovers, far beyond their faithless kind : With goring rowels to provoke his speed.

See their wide streaming wounds; they neither came The minute ended that began the race,

For pride of empire, nor desire of fame; So soon he was betwixt them on the place ; Kings for kingdoms, madmen for applause; And with his sword unsheath'd, on pain of life But love for love alone; that crowns the lover's Commands both combatants to cease their strife :

cause." Then with imperious tone pursues his threat: This thought, which ever bribes the beauteous kind,

What are you? why in arms together met? Such pity wrought in every lady's mind,
How dares your pride presume against my laws, They left their steeds, and prostrate on the place,
As in a listed field to fight your cause ?

From the fierce king implor'd th' offenders grace. Unask'd the royal grant; no marshal by,

He paus'd a while, stood silent in his mood As knightly rites require; nor judge to try ?" (For yet his rage was boiling in his blood); Then Palamon, with scarce recover'd breath, But soon his tender mind th' impression felt, Thus hasty spoke: “We both deserve the death, (As softest metals are not slow to melt, And both would die ; for look the world around, And pity soonest runs in softest minds): A pair so wretched is not to be found :

Then reasons with himself; and first he finds Our life's a load ; cncumber'd with the charge, His passion cast a mist before his sense, We long to set th' imprison'd soul at large. And either made, or magnified th'offence. Now, as thou art a sovereign judge, decrce “Offence! of what? 10 whom? who judg'd tho The rightful doom of death to him and me,

cause ? Let neither find thy grace, for grace is cruelty. The prisoner freed himself by Nature's laws: Me first, o kill me first; and cure my woe; Born free, he sought his right: the man he freed Then sheathe the sword of Justice on my foe : Was perjur’d, but his love excus'd the deed." Or kill him first; for when his name is heard, Thus pondering, he look'd under with his eyes, He foremost will receive his due reward.

And saw the women's tears, and heard their cries Arcite of Thebes is he; thy mortal foe :

Which mov'd compassion more; he shook his head, On whom thy grace did liberty bestow;

And, softly sighing, to himself he said;

a

“Curse on th' un pardoning prince, whom tears And grace his arms so far in equal fight, can draw

From out the bars to force his opposite, To no remorse ; who rules by lions' law;

Or kill, or make him recreant on the plain, And deaf to prayers, by no submission bow'd, The prize of valor and of love shall gain ; Rends all alike; the penitent, and proud." The vanquish'd party shall their claim release, At this, with look serene, he rais'd his head; And the long jars conclude in lasting peace. Reason resum'd her place, and Passion fled : The charge be mine t'adorn the chosen ground, Then thus aloud he spoke : “ The power of Love, The theatre of war, for champions so renown'd; In Earth, and seas, and air, and Heaven above, And take the patron's place of either knight, Rules, unresisted, with an awful nod;

With eyes impartial to behold the fight; By daily miracles declar'd a god :

And Heaven of me so judge, as I shall judge aright. He blinds the wise, gives eye-sight to the blind ; If both are satisfied with this accord, And moulds and stamps anew the lover's mind. Swear by the laws of knighthood on my sword." Behold that Arcite, and this Palamon,

Who now but Palamon exults with joy ? Freed from my fetters, and in safety gone, And ravish'd Arcite seems to touch the sky: What hinder'd either in their native soil

The whole assembled troop was pleas'd as well, At ease to reap the harvest of their toil;

Extol th' award, and on their knees they fell
But Love, their lord, did otherwise ordain, To bless the gracious king. The knights, with leave
And brought them in their own despite again, Departing from the place, his last commands receive;
To suffer death deserv'd; for well they know, On Emily with equal ardor look,
'Tis in my power, and I their deadly foe; And from her eyes their inspiration took :
The proverb holds, that to be wise and love, From thence to Thebes' old walls pursue their way,
Is hardly granted to the gods above.

Each to provide his champions for the day.
See how the madmen bleed ; behold the gains It might be deemd, on our historian's part,
With which their master, Love, rewards their pains; Or too much irgligence or want of art,
For seven long years, on duty every day,

If he forgot the vast magnificence
Lo their obedience, and their monarch's pay:

of royal Theseus, and his large expense.
Yet, as in duty bound, they serve him on; He first inclos’d for lists a level ground,
And, ask the fools, they think it wisely done ; The whole circumference a mile around;
Nor ease, nor wealth, nor life itself regard, The form was circular; and all without
For 'tis their maxim, love is love's reward.

A trench was sunk, to moat the place about.
This is not all; the fair for whom they strove Within, an amphitheatre appear'd,
Nor knew before, nor could suspect their love, Rais'd in degrees, to sixty paces rear'd;
Nor thought, when she beheld the fight from far, That when a man was plac'd in one degree,
Her beauty was th’occasion of the war.

Height was allow'd for him above to see.
But sure a general doom on man is past,

Eastward was built a gate of marble white; And all are fools and lovers, first or last:

The like adorn'd the western opposite. This both by others and myself I know,

A nobler object than this fabric was, For I have serv'd their sovereign long ago;

Rome never saw: nor of so vast a space : on have been caught within the winding train For, rich with spoils of many a conquer'd land, Of female snares, and felt the lover's pain, (strain. All arts and artists Theseus could command : And learn'd how far the god can human hearts con- Who sold for hire, or wrought for better fame, To this remembrance, and the prayers of those The master-painters, and the carvers, came. Who for th' offending warriors interpose,

So rose within the compass of the year
I give their forfeit lives; on this accord,

An age's work, a glorious theatre.
To do me homage as their sovereign lord ; Then o'er its eastern gate was rais'd, above,
And as my vassals, to their utmost might,

A temple, sacred to the queen of love ;
Assist my person, and assert my right.”

An altar stood below; on either hand This freely sworn, the knights their grace obtain'd. A priest with roses crown'd, who held a myrtle wand. Then thus the king his secret thoughts explain'd :

The dome of Mars was on the gate oppos'd, “ If wealth, or honor, or a royal race,

And on the north a turret was inclos'd
Or each, or all, may win a lady's grace,

Within the wall, of alabaster white,
Then either of you knights may well deserve And crimson coral, for the queen of night,
A princess born; and such is she you serve; Who takes in sylvan sports her chaste delight.
For Emily is sister to the crown,

Within these oratories might you see
And but too well to both her beauty known: Rich carvings, portraitures, and imagery :
But should you combat till you both were dead, Where every figure to the life express'd
Two lovers cannot share a single bed :

The godhead's power to whom it was address'd. As therefore both are equal in degree,

In Venus' temple on the sides were seen The lot of both be left to Destiny.

The broken slumbers of enamour'd men, Now hear th'award, and happy may it prove Prayers, that even spoke, and pity seem'd to call, To her, and him who best deserves her love! And issuing sighs, that smok'd along the wall, Depart from hence in peace, and free as air, Complaints, and hot desires, the lover's Hell, Search the wide world, and where you please repair; And scalding tears, that wore a channel where they But on the day when this returning Sun To the same point through every sign has run, And all around were nuptial bonds, the ties Then each of you his hundred knights shall bring, of love's assurance, and a train of lies ; In royal lists, to fight before the king;

That, made in lust, conclude in perjuries. And then the knight, whom Fate or happy Chance Beauty, and Youth, and Wealth, and Luxury, Shall with his friends to victory advance,

And sprightly Hope, and short-enduring Joy;

fell :

And sorceries to raise th' infernal powers,

Thence issued such a blast, and hollow roar, And sigils, fram'd in planetary hours :

As threaten'd from the hinge to heave the door ; Expense, and Afterthought, and idle Care, In through that door, a northern light there shone ; And Doubts of motley hue, and dark Despair; "Twas all it had, for windows there were none; Suspicions, and fantastical Surmise,

The gate was adamant, eternal frame ! And Jealousy suffus'd, with jaundice in her eyes, Which, hew'd by Mars himself, from Indian quarries Discoloring all she view'd, in tawny dress’d,

came, Down-look'd, and with a cuckoo on her fis The labor of a god; and all along Oppos'd to her, on l'other side advance

Tough iron plates were clench'd to make it strong. The costly feast, the carol, and the dance, A tun about was every pillar there; Minstrels, and music, poetry, and play,

A polish'd mirror shone not half so clear.
And balls by nights, and tournaments by day. There saw I how the secret felon wrought,
All these were painted on the wall, and more: And Treason laboring in the traitor's thought :
With acts and monuments of times before: And midwife Time the ripen'd plot to murder
And others added by prophetic doom,

brought.
And lovers yet unborn, and loves to come: There the red Anger dar'd the pallid Fear;
For there th' Idalian mount, and Citheron, Next stood Hypocrisy, with holy leer,
The court of Venus was in colors drawn: Soft smiling, and demurely looking down,
Before the palace-gate, in careless dress,

But hid the dagger underneath the gown:
And loose array, sat portress Idleness :

Th'assassinating wise, the household fiend, There, by the fount, Narcissus pin’d alone : And, far the blackest there, the traitor-friend. There Samson was; with wiser Solomon,

On t'other side there stood Destruction bare, And all the mighty names by love undone. Unpunish'd Rapine, and a waste of war. Medea's charms were there, Circean feasts, Contest, with sharpen'd knives, in cloisters drawn, With bowls that turn'd enamour'd youth to beasts. And all with blood bespread the holy lawn. Here might be seen, that beauty, wealth, and wit, Loud menaces were heard, and foul Disgrace, And prowess, to the power of love submit: And bawling Infamy, in language base : [place. The spreading snare for all mankind is laid; Till sense was lost in sound, and Silence fled the And lovers all betray, and are betray'd.

The slayer of himself yet saw I there, The goddess' self some noble hand had wrought; The gore congeal'd was clotted in his hair: Smiling she seemd, and full of pleasing thought: With eyes half clos'd, and gaping mouth, he lay, From ocean as she first began to rise,

And grim, as when he breath'd his sudden soul And smooth'd the ruffled seas and clear'd the skies,

away.
She trod the brine, all bare below the breast, In midst of all the dome, Misfortune sate,
And the green waves but ill conceald the rest ; And gloomy Discontent, and fell Debate,
A lute she held ; and on her head was seen And Madness laughing in his ireful mood ;
A wreath of roses red, and myrtles green ;

And arm'd Complaint on Theft; and cries of Blood. Her turtles sann'd the buxom air above;

There was the murder'd corpse, in covert laid, And, by his mother, stood an infant Love,

And violent Death in thousand shapes display'd ; With wings unfledg'd; his eyes were banded The city to the soldiers' rage resignd; o'er;

Successless wars, and Poverty behind ; His hands a bow, his back a quiver bore, Ships burnt in fight, or forc'd on rocky shores, Supplied with arrows bright and keen, a deadly store. And the rash hunter strangled by the boars : But in the dome of mighty Mars the red

The new-born babe by nurses overlaid ; With different figures all the sides were spread ; And the cook caught within the raging fire he made. This teinple, less in form, with equal grace, All ills of Mars's nature, flame and steel; Was imitative of the first in Thrace:

The gasping charioteer, beneath the wheel For that cold region was the lov'd abode

Of his own car; the ruin'd house, that falls And sovereign mansion of the warrior god. And intercepts her lord betwixt the walls : The landscape was a forest wide and bare, The whole division, that to Mars pertains, Where neither beast, nor human kind repair; All trades of death, that deal in steel for gains, The fowl, that scent afar, the borders fly,

Were there : the butcher, armorer, and smith, And shun the biler blast, and wheel about the sky. Who forges sharpen'ä falchions, or the scythe. A cake of scurf lies baking on the ground,

The scarlet Conquest on a tower was plac d. And prickly stubs, instead of trees, are found ;

With shouts, and soldiers' acclamations grac'd : Or woods with knots and knares deform'd and old ; A pointed sword hung threatening o'er his head, Headless the most, and hideous to behold: Sustain'd but by a slender twine of thread. A rattling teinpest through the branches went, There saw I Mars's ides, the Capitol, That stripp'd them bare, and one sole way they bent. The seer in vain foretelling Cæsar's fall; Heaven froze above, severe, the clouds congeal, The last triumvirs, and the wars they move, And through the crystal vault appear'd the standing And Antony, who lost the world for love. hail.

These, and a thousand more, the fane adorn; Such was the face without; a mountain stood Their fates were painted, ere the men were born, Threatening from high, and overlook’d the wood: All copied from the Heavens, and ruling force Beneath the lowering brow, and on a bent, Of the red star, in his revolving course. The temple stood of Mars armipotent:

The form of Mars high on a chariot stood, The frame of burnis'i'd steel, that cast a glare All sheath'd in arms, and gruffly look'd the god : From far, and seem'd to thaw the freezing air. Two geomantic figures were display'd A straight long entry to the temple led,

Above his head, a warrior and a maid ; Blind with high walls, and Horror over-head: One when direct, and one when retrograde.

ame:

Tird with deformities of death, I haste

There breathes not scarce a man on British ground To the third temple of Diana chaste.

(An isle for love and arms of old renown'd) A sylvan scene with various greens was drawn, But would have sold his life to purchase fame, Shades on the sides, and on the midst a lawn: To Palamon or Arcite sent his nam The silver Cynthia, with her nymphs around, And had the land selected of the best, Pursued the flying deer, the woods with horns re- Half had come hence, and let the world provide the sound :

rest. Calisto there stood manifest of shame,

A hundred knights with Palamon there came, And, turn'd a bear, the northern star became : Approv'd in fight, and men of mighty name; Her son was next, and, by peculiar grace, Their arms were several, as their nations were, In the cold circle held the second place : But furnish'd all alike with sword and spear. The stag Acteon in the stream had spied

Some wore coat armor, imitating scale; The naked huntress, and, for seeing, died :

And next their skins were stubborn shirts of mail. His hounds, unknowing of his change, pursue Some wore a breast-plate and a light juppon, The chase, and their mistaken master slew. Their horses cloth'd with rich caparison : Peneian Daphne too was there to see,

Some for defence would leathern bucklers use, A pollo's love before, and now his tree:

Of folded hides; and others shields of pruce. Th' adjoining fane th' assembled Greeks express’d, One hung a pole-ax at his saddle-bow, And hunting of the Caledonian beast.

And one a heavy mace to shun the foe. Oenides' valor, and his envied prize;

One for his legs and knees provided well, The fatal power of Atalanta's eyes;

With jambeaux arm’d, and double plates of steel. Diana's vengeance on the victor shown,

This on his helmet wore a lady's glove, The murderess mother, and consuming son; And that a sleeve embroider'd by his love. The Volscian queen extended on the plain; With Palamon, above the rest in place, The treason punish'd, and the traitor slain. Lycurgus came, the surly king of Thrace; The reșt were various huntings, well design'd, Black was his beard, and manly was his face ; And savage beasts destroy'd, of every kind. The balls of his broad eyes roll'd in his head, The graceful goddess was array'd in green; And glar'd betwixt a yellow and a red : About her feet were little beagles seen,

He look'd a lion with a gloomy stare, That watch'd with upward eyes the motions of their And o'er his eyebrows hung his matted hair : queen.

Big-bon'd, and large of limbs, with sinews strong, Her legs were buskin'd, and the left before; Broad-shoulder'd, and his arms were round and long. In act to shoot, a silver bow she bore,

Four milk-white bulls (the, Thracian use of old) And at her back a painted quiver wore.

Were yok'd to draw his car of burnish'd gold. She trod a wexing moon, that soon would wane, Upright he stood, and bore alost his shield, And drinking borrow'd light, be filled again; Conspicuous from afar, and overlook'd the field. With downcast eyes, as seeming to survey

His surcoat was a bear-skin on his back; The dark dominions, her alternate sway.

His hair hung long behind, and glossy raven black. Before her stood a woman in her throes,

His ample forehead bore a coronet, And call'd Lucina's aid, her burden to disclose. With sparkling diamonds and with rubies set: All these the painter drew with such command, Ten brace, and more, of greyhounds, snowy fair, That Nature snatch'd the pencil from his hand, And tall as stags, ran loose, and cours'd around his Asham’d and angry that his art could feign

chair, And mend the tortures of a mother's pain. A match for pards in flight, in grappling for the bear: Theseus beheld the fanes of every god,

With golden muzzles all their mouths were bound, And thought his mighty cost was well bestow'd. And collars of the same their necks surround. So princes now their poets should regard ; Thus through the fields Lycurgus took his way: But few can write, and fewer can reward. His hundred knights attend in pomp and proud The theatre thus rais'd, the lists inclos'd,

array. And all with vast magnificence dispos’d,

To match this monarch, with strong Arcite came We leave the monarch pleas'd, and haste to bring Emetrius, king of Inde, a mighty name, The knights to combat; and their arms to sing. On a bay courser, goodly to behold,

The trappings of his horse adorn'd with barbarous Book III.

gold,

Not Mars bestrode a steed with greater grnce ; The day approach'd when Fortune should decide His surcoat o'er his arms was cloth of Thrace, Th' important enterprise, and give the bride; Adorn'd with pearls, all orient, round, and great; For now, the rivals round the world had sought, His saddle was of gold, with emeralds set. And each his rival, well appointed, brought. His shoulders large, a mantle did attire, The nations, far and near, contend in choice, With rubies thick, and sparkling as the fire : And send the flower of war by public voice; His amber-color'd locks in ringlets run, That after, or before, were never known

With graceful negligence, and shone against the Sun. Such chiefs, as each an army seem'd alone : His nose was aquiline, his eyes were blue, Beside the champions, all of high degree, Ruddy his lips, and fresh and fair his hue : Who knighthood lov’d, and deeds of chivalry, Some sprinkled freckles on his face were seen, Throng'd to the lists, and envied to behold Whose dusk set off the whiteness of the skin : The names of others, not their own, enroll’d. His awful presence did the crowd surprise, Nor seems it strange; for every noble knight Nor durst the rash spectator meet his eyes, Who loves the fair, and is endu'd with might, Eyes that confess'd him born for kingly sway, In such a quarrel would be proud to fight. So fierce, they flash'd intolerable day.

a

His age in Nature's youthful prime appear'd, Alas! I have not words to tell my grief;
And just began to bloom his yellow beard. To vent my sorrow, would be some relief;
Whene'er he spoke, his voice was heard around, Light sufferings give us leisure to complain ;
Loud as a trumpet, with a silver sound :

We groan, but cannot speak, in greater pain.
A laurel wreath'd his temples, fresh and green ; O goddess, tell thyself what I would say,
And myrtle sprigs, the marks of love, were mix'd Thou know'st it, and I feel too much to pray.
between.

So grant my suit, as I enforce my might, Upon his fist he bore, for his delight,

In love to be thy champion, and thy knight;
An eagle well reclaim'd, and lily white,

A servant to thy sex, a slave to thee,
His hundred knights attend him to the war, A foe profest to barren chastity.
All arm'd for battle ; save their heads were bare. Nor ask I fame nor honor of the field,
Words and devices blaz'd on every shield, Nor choose I more to vanquish than to yield:
And pleasing was the terror of the field.

In my divine Emilia make me blest,
For kings, and dukes, and barons you might see, Let Fate, or partial Chance, dispose the rest ;
Like sparkling stars, though different in degree, Find thou the manner, and the means prepare;
All for th' increase of arms, and love of chivalry. Possession, more than conquest, is my care.
Before the king tame leopards led the way, Mars is the warrior's god ; in him it lies,
And troops of lions innocently play.

On whom he favors to confer the prize ;
So Bacchus through the conquer'd Indies rode, With smiling aspect you serenely move
And beasts in gambols frisk'd before the honest god. In your fifth orb, and rule the realm of love.
In this array the war of either side

The Fates but only spin the coarser clue,
Through Athens pass'd with military pride. The finest of the wool is left for you.
At prime, they enter'd on the Sunday morn; Spare me but one small portion of the twine,
Rich tapestry spread the streets, and flowers the And let the sisters cut below your line :
posts adorn.

The rest among the rubbish may they sweep, The town was all a jubilee of feasts ;

Or add it to the yarn of some old miser's heap. So Theseus will’d, in honor of his guests ; But, if you this ambitious prayer deny, Himself with open arms the king embrac'd, (A wish, I grant, beyond mortality) Then all the rest in their degrees were grac'd. Then let me sink beneath proud Arcite's arms, No harbinger was needful for a night,

And, I once dead, let him possess her charms." For every house was proud to lodge a knight. Thus ended he; then, with observance due, I pass the royal treat, nor must relate

The sacred incense on her altar threw : The gifts bestow'd, nor how the champions sate ; The curling smoke mounts heavy from the fires ; Who first, or last, or how the knights address'd At length it catches flame, and in a blaze expires; Their vows, or who was fairest at the feast; At once the gracious goddess gave the sign, Whose voice, whose graceful dance, did most sur. Her statue shook, and trembled all the shrine : prise ;

Pleas'd Palamon the tardy omen took : Soft amorous sighs, and silent love of eyes. For, since the flames pursu'd the trailing smoke, The rivals call my Muse another way,

He knew his boon was granted ; but the day To sing their vigils for th' ensuing day.

To distance driven, and joy adjourn'd with long "Twas ebbing darkness, past the noon of night,

delay. And Phospher, on the confines of the light,

Now Morn with rosy light had streak'd the sky, Promis'd the Sun, ere day began to spring ; Up rose the Sun, and up rose Emily ; The tuneful lark already stretch'd her wing, [sing : Address'd her early steps to Cynthia's fane, And, flickering on her nest, made short essays to In state attended by her maiden train, When wakeful Palamon, preventing day,

Who bore the vests that holy rites require, Took, to the royal lists, his early way,

Incense, and odorous gums, and cover'd fire. To Venus at her fane, in her own house, to pray. The plenteous horns with pleasant mead they crown, There, falling on his knees before her shrine, Nor wanted aught besides in honor of the Moon. He thus implor'd with prayers her power divine. Now while the temple smok'd with hallow'd steam, “Creator Venus, genial power of love,

They wash the virgin in a living stream: The bliss of men below, and gods above! The secret ceremonies I conceal, Beneath the sliding Sun thou runn'st thy race, Uncouth, perhaps unlawful, to reveal: Dost fairest shine, and best become thy place. But such they were as pagan use requir'd, For thee the winds their eastern blasts forbear, Perform’d by women when the men retir'd, Thy month reveals the spring, and opens all the year. Whose eyes profane their chaste mysterious rites Thee, Goddess, thee the storms of winter fly, Might turn to scandal, or obscene delights. Earth smiles with flowers renewing, laughs the sky, Well-meaners think no harm ; but for the rest, And birds to lays of love their tuneful notes apply. Things sacred they pervert, and silence is the best. For thee the lion lothes the taste of blood, Her shining hair, uncomb'd, was loosely spread, And roaring hunts his female through the wood : A crown of mastless oak adorn'd her head : For thee the bulls rebeilow through the

groves,

When to the shrine approach'd, the spotless maid And tempt the stream, and snuff their absent loves. Had kindling fires on either altar laid, 'Tis thine, whale'er is pleasant, good, or fair: (The rites were such as were observ'd of old, All nature is thy province, life thy care ; By Statius in his Theban story told,) Thou mad'st the world, and dost the world repair. Then kneeling with her hands across her breast, Thou gladder of the mount of Cytheron, Thus lowly she preferr'd her chaste request. Increase of Jove, companion of the Sun;

"O goddess, haunter of the woodland green, If e'er Adonis touch'd thy tender heart,

To whom both Heaven and Earth and seas are seen; Have pity, goddess, for thou know'st the smart. Queen of the nether skies, where half the year