Page:The Complete Poetical Works of John Milton.djvu/377

 ELEGIES AND EPIGRAMS

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��Aspice, Phoebe; tibi faciles hortantur

amores,

Mellitasque movent flamina verna preces; Ciunamea Zephyrus leve plaudit odorifer

ala;

Blanditiasque tibi ferre videntur aves. 70 Nee sine dote tuos temeraria quaerit amores

Terra, nee optatos poscit egena toros; Alma salutifenun medicos tibi gramen in

usus

Prsebet, et hinc titulos adjuvat ipsa tuos.

Qu6d si te pretium, si te fulgentiatangunt

Munera (muneribus ssepe coemptus

amor), Ilia tibi ostentat quascunque sub sequore

vasto,

Et superinjeetis montibus, abdit opes. Ah ! quoties, cum tu clivoso fessus Olympo In vespertinas prsecipitaris aquas, 80

"Cur te," inqtiit, "cursu languentem,

Phcebe, diurno

Hesperiis recipit cserula mater aquis ? Quid tibi cum Tethy ? quid cum Tartes-

side lyuipha ?

Dia quid immundo perluis ora salo ? Frigora, Phcebe, mea melius captabis in

umbra;

Hue ades; ardentes imbue rore comas. Mollior egelida veniet tibi somnus in herba;

Hue ades, et gremio lumina pone meo. Qukque jaces circum mulcebit lene susur-

rans,

Aura per humentes corpora f usa rosas. 90 Nee me (crede mihi) terrent Semeleia fata,

Nee Phaetonteo fumidus axis equo ; Cum tu, Phcebe, tuo sapientius uteris igni, Hue ades, et gremio lumina pone meo." Sic Tellus lasciva suos suspirat amores;

Matris in exemplum csetera turba ruunt. Nuiic etenim toto currit vagus orbe Cu-

pido,

Languentesque fovet solis ab igne faces. Insonuere novis lethalia cornua nervis,

Triste micant ferro tela corusca novo. 100 Jamque vel invictam tentat superasse Di-

anam,

Quseque sedet sacro Vesta pudica foco. Ipsa senescentem reparat Venus annua for-

mam,

Atque iteruni tepido creditur orta mari. Marmoreas juvenes clamant Hymencee per

urbes;

Littus io Hymen et cava saxa sonant. Cultior ille veuit, tunicaque decentior apta; Puniceum redolet vest ; ,s odora erocum.

��Tsenariau Dis. Look hither, Apollo; will- ing love awaits thee; the spring winds are full of honeyed supplication. Odorous Zephyr lightly claps his cinnamon-scented wings, and the very birds seem to bear thee blandishments. Nor does Earth, over- bold, come empty-handed to seek the bri- dals of her longing. She brings thee medi- cinable herbs, whereby she may help thy fame as healer. If riches, if shining gifts, will win thee (and love is still purchased with gifts), she lays before thee all the treasures hidden under the mighty sea or under the roots of the hills. Ah, ever and again, when thou, wearied by the steep sky, hast cast thyself into the vesperine waters, she cries, " Oh, why ! Apollo, must it be the cerulean ocean-mother who receives thee when thou comest to the west weary from thy day's course ? What is Tethys to thee ? What to thee the Hesperian tide ? Why wilt thou bathe thy divine face in im- pure brine ? A better coolness, Apollo, thou rnayst find in my shade. Come hither, and lay thy glories in my breast. Where thou liest a breeze will soothe with gentle sibillations our bodies strewn with dewy roses. Believe me, I fear not Semele's fate ; I fear not thy chariot, nor thy smok- ing sun-steeds. If thou wilt use thy fires right wisely, Apollo, come hither, and lay thy glories in my breast ! "

Thus amorously breathes the wanton Earth, and all the rout of her children fol- low headlong after her example. For now over the whole world Cupid wanders, and at the fire of the sun rekindles his torch. On the lethal horns of his bow sounds a new string; new tips shine baleful on his bright arrows. Now he attempts to con- quer even unconquered Diana, even the pure Vestal as she aits by the sacred hearth. Venus now purges all signs of age from her form, and seems once more just risen from the warm sea. Through the marble walls of cities the young men cry Hymence / the shores and hollow rocks give back the cry Io, Hymen ! Hymen himself comes seemlier-garbed in a new tunic, breathing I fragrance from his crocus vest. In crowds

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