Virgil, Eclogue 7
MELIBEUS, CORYDON, THYRSIS .
Melibeus.
Beneath an oak that whisper'd with the wind,
Lay D APHNIS , once in solitude reclin'd,
Whilst C ORYDON and T HYRSIS both repair,
To join their shaggy herds and fleecy care.
The lovely youths are both arcadian swains,
Both us'd alike to chaunt their sylvan strains.
Thither the father of my goat had stroll'd,
Whilst I secur'd my myrtles from the cold;
I saw the shepherd D APHNIS in the shade,
He saw me too, and thus with transport said: —
O comely youth, haste, hither bend thy way,
Thy kids and goats are safe, lo, here they stay!
Sit down by me, and spend the mid-day hour,
Beneath the covert of this cooling bow'r,
There Mincius thro' the valley murm'ring glides,
The slender reeds adorn its winding sides,
Thither thy steers will come to taste the brook,
And bees fly humming round the sacred oak.
What could I do? — A LCIPPE was from home,
Nor P HILLIS to attend my lambs had come;
All business I postpon'd with dull delay,
To hear the shepherds sing their rustic lay;
They then began to chaunt alternate strains;
For so the muses had inspir'd the swains.
Corydon.
Baeotian nymphs inspire my raptur'd breast,
With strains like those which Codrus still possess'd,
Who next Apollo sang, or let my lute
Hang o'er the sacred pine, for ever mute.
Thyrsis.
Arcadian swains my brow with ivy bind,
Till Codrus' guts may be with envy twin'd,
Or if he praise, with bacear rub my brow,
To shield me from those ills which may ensue.
Corydon.
O Delia, Mican now thy shrine adorns,
With the boar's head and stag's wide spreading horns,
If this were mine, thy image should be made,
Of marble stone, with purple buskins clad.
Thyrsis.
O Priapus, thou guardian god, receive
This early gift of milk and cakes I give,
Thy image now is stone, but if my fold
Increase, e'er long it shall be made of gold.
Corydon.
O Galataea, goddess most snblime,
White as the swan, sweet as the mountain thyme,
Strait as the poplar, as the bole erect,
Come charm my bosom, and my soul inspect,
Come when my flocks at night shall homeward stray,
And crown the midnight feast, and morn delay.
Thyrsis.
Let me appear as abject in thy eyes,
As wreck that on the rocks deserted lies,
Or meagre and deform'd as him who chews,
Sardinian herbs, his gaping chops to close;
Let this deformity afflict thy swain,
If thy departure shall not give me pain,
Hence from the fields deny the flocks of meat,
Your strait mouth'd master has no power to eat.
Corydon.
Ye mossy rills, and sleep, thou source of dreams,
Ye tow'ring trees that shade those limpid streams,
From summer's scorching heat my flock defend,
Already do the grapes their branches bend.
Thyrsis.
Fresh heaps of fuel on our tires are stow'd,
And spreading fires illuminate the wood,
We fear no more the storm which us involves,
Then streams their banks, or lambs are free'd by wolves.
Corydon.
The ripening chesnuts now the branches load,
And fruit and berries on the earth are strow'd,
Here lavish nature round profusely pours,
Upon the fertile earth her plenteous stores;
But if Alexis should forsake this plain,
Soon shall the scorching sun those channels drain.
Thyrsis.
The parched grass and corn in tufts are knit,
Nor can the wither'd vines their buds emit;
But if fair Phillis once more bless the plain,
Nature shall resume her wonted grace again.
Corydon.
Alcides near the poplar tree appears,
Whilst the yet greener bays Apollo wears:
Beneath the vine is jolly Bacchus laid,
Whilst Venus singles out the myrtle shade;
With hazle, Phillis doth her hair adorn,
Nor bays, nor myrtle wreaths by her are worn,
But if she chuse that common wreath to wear,
Nor bays, nor myrtles, shall with her's compare.
Thyrsis.
The lofty ash, most beautious of the plain,
Pines garden grace, and poplars by the main,
But if fair Lycidas will hear my prayer,
And oft to these deserted plains repair,
To him the lofty ash yield on the plain,
And garden pines and poplars by the main.
Melibeus.
Fresh in my mind these verses I retain,
When conquer'd T HYRSIS did contend in vain,
Young C ORYDON , I say, unvanquish'd reigns,
Without a rival, Glory of those Plains.
Melibeus.
Beneath an oak that whisper'd with the wind,
Lay D APHNIS , once in solitude reclin'd,
Whilst C ORYDON and T HYRSIS both repair,
To join their shaggy herds and fleecy care.
The lovely youths are both arcadian swains,
Both us'd alike to chaunt their sylvan strains.
Thither the father of my goat had stroll'd,
Whilst I secur'd my myrtles from the cold;
I saw the shepherd D APHNIS in the shade,
He saw me too, and thus with transport said: —
O comely youth, haste, hither bend thy way,
Thy kids and goats are safe, lo, here they stay!
Sit down by me, and spend the mid-day hour,
Beneath the covert of this cooling bow'r,
There Mincius thro' the valley murm'ring glides,
The slender reeds adorn its winding sides,
Thither thy steers will come to taste the brook,
And bees fly humming round the sacred oak.
What could I do? — A LCIPPE was from home,
Nor P HILLIS to attend my lambs had come;
All business I postpon'd with dull delay,
To hear the shepherds sing their rustic lay;
They then began to chaunt alternate strains;
For so the muses had inspir'd the swains.
Corydon.
Baeotian nymphs inspire my raptur'd breast,
With strains like those which Codrus still possess'd,
Who next Apollo sang, or let my lute
Hang o'er the sacred pine, for ever mute.
Thyrsis.
Arcadian swains my brow with ivy bind,
Till Codrus' guts may be with envy twin'd,
Or if he praise, with bacear rub my brow,
To shield me from those ills which may ensue.
Corydon.
O Delia, Mican now thy shrine adorns,
With the boar's head and stag's wide spreading horns,
If this were mine, thy image should be made,
Of marble stone, with purple buskins clad.
Thyrsis.
O Priapus, thou guardian god, receive
This early gift of milk and cakes I give,
Thy image now is stone, but if my fold
Increase, e'er long it shall be made of gold.
Corydon.
O Galataea, goddess most snblime,
White as the swan, sweet as the mountain thyme,
Strait as the poplar, as the bole erect,
Come charm my bosom, and my soul inspect,
Come when my flocks at night shall homeward stray,
And crown the midnight feast, and morn delay.
Thyrsis.
Let me appear as abject in thy eyes,
As wreck that on the rocks deserted lies,
Or meagre and deform'd as him who chews,
Sardinian herbs, his gaping chops to close;
Let this deformity afflict thy swain,
If thy departure shall not give me pain,
Hence from the fields deny the flocks of meat,
Your strait mouth'd master has no power to eat.
Corydon.
Ye mossy rills, and sleep, thou source of dreams,
Ye tow'ring trees that shade those limpid streams,
From summer's scorching heat my flock defend,
Already do the grapes their branches bend.
Thyrsis.
Fresh heaps of fuel on our tires are stow'd,
And spreading fires illuminate the wood,
We fear no more the storm which us involves,
Then streams their banks, or lambs are free'd by wolves.
Corydon.
The ripening chesnuts now the branches load,
And fruit and berries on the earth are strow'd,
Here lavish nature round profusely pours,
Upon the fertile earth her plenteous stores;
But if Alexis should forsake this plain,
Soon shall the scorching sun those channels drain.
Thyrsis.
The parched grass and corn in tufts are knit,
Nor can the wither'd vines their buds emit;
But if fair Phillis once more bless the plain,
Nature shall resume her wonted grace again.
Corydon.
Alcides near the poplar tree appears,
Whilst the yet greener bays Apollo wears:
Beneath the vine is jolly Bacchus laid,
Whilst Venus singles out the myrtle shade;
With hazle, Phillis doth her hair adorn,
Nor bays, nor myrtle wreaths by her are worn,
But if she chuse that common wreath to wear,
Nor bays, nor myrtles, shall with her's compare.
Thyrsis.
The lofty ash, most beautious of the plain,
Pines garden grace, and poplars by the main,
But if fair Lycidas will hear my prayer,
And oft to these deserted plains repair,
To him the lofty ash yield on the plain,
And garden pines and poplars by the main.
Melibeus.
Fresh in my mind these verses I retain,
When conquer'd T HYRSIS did contend in vain,
Young C ORYDON , I say, unvanquish'd reigns,
Without a rival, Glory of those Plains.
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