So kids and whelps their fires and dams express :
And so the great I meafur'd by the lefs.

But country towns, compar'd with her, appear
Like fhrubs when lofty cypreffes are near.

35

MEL. What great occafion call'd you hence to Rome! TIT. Freedom, which came at length, though flow

to come :

Nor did my fearch of liberty begin,

Till my black hairs were chang'd upon my chin.
Nor Amarillis would vouchfafe a look,
Till Galatea's meaner bonds I broke.
Till then a helpless, hopeless, homely fwain,
I fought not freedom, nor afpir'd to gain :
Though many a victim from my folds was bought,
And many a cheese to country markets brought,
Yet all the little that I got, I spent,

And ftill return'd as empty as I went.

40

45

MEL. We ftood amaz'd to fee your mistress mourn; Unknowing that she pin'd for your return : We wonder'd why he kept her fruit fo long,

50

For whom fo late th' ungather'd apples hung;
But now the wonder ceafes, fince I fee

She kept them only, Tityrus, for thee.

55

For thee the bubbling springs appear'd to mourn,
And whispering pines made vows for thy return.
TIT. What fhould I do, while here I was en-

chain'd,

No glimpse of god-like liberty remain’d;
Nor could I hope in any place but there,
To find a god fo prefent to my prayer.
C 4

'There

There first the youth of heav'nly birth I view'd,
For whom our monthly victims are renew’d.
He heard my vows, and graciously decreed

My grounds to be restor'd, my former flocks to feed. MEL. O fortunate old man! whofe farm remains For you fufficient, and requites your pains :

65

Though rushes overspread the neighbouring plains.
Though here the marshy grounds approach your fields,
And there the foil a ftony harveft yields,

Your teeming ewes fhall no ftrange meadows try,
Nor fear a rott from tainted company.

Behold yon bordering fence of fallow trees

70

Is fraught with flowers, the flowers are fraught with

bees:

The bufy bees with a foft murmuring strain
Invite to gentle sleep the labouring swain.

While from the neighbouring rock, with rural fongs75
The pruner's voice the pleafing dream prolongs;
Stock-doves and turtles tell their amorous pain,
And, from the lofty elms, of love complain.

80

TIT. Th' inhabitants of feas and skies fhall change, And fish on fhore, and ftags in air fhall range, The banish'd Parthian dwell on Arar's brink, And the blue German fhall the Tigris drink : Ere I, forfaking gratitude and truth,

Forget the figure of that godlike youth.

MEL. But we must beg our bread in climes unknown, Beneath the fcorching or the freezing zone.

And fome to far Oaxis fhall be fold;

Or try the Libyan heat, or Scythian cold.

The

The rest among the Britons be confin'd;
A race of men from all the world disjoin'd.
O must the wretched exiles ever mourn,
Nor after length of rolling years return?
Are we condemn'd by fate's unjust decree,
No more our houses and our homes to fee?
Or fhall we mount again the rural throne,

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95

And rule the country kingdoms, once our own!
Did we for these barbarians plant and fow,

On these, on these, our happy fields bestow?

Good heaven, what dire effects from civil discord flow!
Now let me graff my pears, and prune the vine; 100
The fruit is theirs, the labour only mine.

Farewel my pastures, my paternal stock;
My fruitful fields, and my more fruitful flock !
No more, my goats, fhall I behold

105

you climb The steepy cliffs, or crop the flowery thyme! No more extended in the grot below, Shall fee you browfing on the mountain's brow The prickly fhrubs; and after on the bare, Lean down the deep abyfs, and hang in air. No more my sheep fhall fip the morning dew; No more my fong shall please the rural crew : Adieu, my tuneful pipe! and all the world adieu! TIT. This night, at least, with me forget your care; Chefnuts and curds and cream shall be your fare: The carpet-ground shall be with leaves o'erfpread; 115 And boughs fhall weave a covering for your For fee yon funny hill the shade extends : And curling smoke from cottages afcends.

head.

THE

THE

SECOND PASTORAL.

O R,

ALEXIS.

THE ARGUMENT.

The commentators can by no means agree on the perfon of Alexis, but are all of opinion that fome beautiful youth is meant by him, to whom Virgil here makes love in Corydon's language and fimplicity. His way of courtship is wholly pastoral: he complains of the boy's coynefs; recommends himfelf for his beauty and skill in piping; invites the youth into the country, where he promises him the diverfions of the place, with a fuitable prefent of nuts and apples but when he finds nothing will prevail, he refolves to quit his troublesome amour, and betake himself again to his former business.

:

YOUNG Corydon, th' unhappy fhepherd fwain,
The fair Alexis lov'd, but lov'd in vain :

And underneath the beechen fhade, alone,
Thus to the woods and mountains made his moan.

15

Is this, unkind Alexis, my reward,
And must I die unpitied, and unheard?
Now the green lizard in the grove is laid,
The fheep enjoy the coolnefs of the fhade;

5

And Theftylis wild thyme and garlick beats
For harvest hinds, o'erspent with toil and heats : 10
While in the fcorching fun I trace in vain
Thy flying footsteps o'er the burning plain,
The creaking locufts with my voice conspire,
They fry with heat, and I with fierce defire.
How much more eafy was it to sustain
Proud Amarillis and her haughty reign,
The fcorns of young Menalcas, once my care,
Though he was black, and thou art heavenly fair.
Truft not too much to that enchanting face;

Beauty's a charm, but foon the charm will pass : 20
White lilies lie neglected on the plain,

While dusky hyacinths for use remain.

My paffion is thy fcorn: nor wilt thou know
What wealth I have, what gifts I can bestow :
What ftores my dairies and my folds contain;
A thousand lambs that wander on the plain :
New milk that all the winter never fails,
And all the fummer overflows the pails :
Amphion fung not fweeter to his herd,

25

When fummon'd ftones the Theban turrets rear'd. 30
Nor am I fo deform'd; for late I ftood

Upon the margin of the briny flood:

The winds were ftill, and if the glass be true,

With Daphnis I may vie, though judg'd by you.

O leave