Page:Catullus, Tibullus and Propertius.djvu/81

Rh of his noble race, as well as meet to hand it on. The natural wishes follow:—

The next lines of the original are so prettily turned by Mr Cranstoun, that we forbear for the nonce to tax the charming version of Martin:—

Of parallels and imitations of this happy thought and aspiration, there is abundant choice. Theodore Martin's taste selects a graceful and expanded fancy of Herrick from his "Hesperides;" while Dunlop, in his 'History of Roman Literature,' quotes the following almost literal reproduction out of an epithalamium on the marriage of Lord Spencer by Sir William Jones, who pronounced Catullus's picture worthy the pencil of Domenichino:—