Page:The Complete Poetical Works of John Milton.djvu/411

 POEMS IN VARIOUS METRES

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��" Ite dornum impasti; domino jam non

vacat, agni. Quicquid erit, certe, nisi me lupus aut6

videbit,

Indeplorato uon comminuere sepulchre, Constabitque tuns tibi hoaos, longumque

vigebit

Inter pastores. Illi tibi vota secundo 30 Solvere post Daphm'n, post Daphnin dicere

laudes, Gaudebunt, dum rura Pales, dum Faunus

amabit; Si quid id est, priscamque fidem coluisse,

piumque, Palladiasque artes, sociumque habuisse

canorum. "Ite domum impasti; domino jam non

vacat, agni. Hfec tibi certa mauent, tibi erunt hsec

prsemia, Damon. At mihi quid tandem fiet mod6 ? quis mini

fidus

Haerebit lateri comes, ut tu ssepe solebas, Frigoribus duris, et per loca fceta pruinis, Aut rapido sub sole, siti morientibus

herbis, 40

Sive opus in magnos fuit eminus ire leones,

Aut avidos terrere lupos prsesepibus altis ?

Quis faudo sopire diem cantuque solebit ?

" Ite domum impasti; domino jam no:i

vacat, agni. Pectora cui credam ? quis me lenire doce-

bit Mordaces curas, quis longam fallere noc-

tem

Dulcibus alloquiis, grato cum sibilat igni Molle pirum, et nucibus strepitat focus, at

mains Auster Miscet cuncta foris, et desuper intonat

ulmo? "Ite domum impasti; domino jam non

vacat, agni. 50

Aut sestate, dies medio dum vertitur axe, Cum Pan sesculea somnum capit abditus

umbra, Et repetunt sub aquis sibi nota sedilia

Nymphse,

Pastoresque latent, stertit sub sepe colonus, Quis mihi blanditiasque tuas, quis turn mihi

risus, Cecropiosque sales referet, cultosque le-

pores ? "Ite domum impasti; domino jam non

vacat, agni. At jam solus agros, jam pascua solus oberro.

��' Go to your folds unfed, my lambs; your master is troubled. Be sure, what- ever comes, unless the wolf's eye brings me death too soon, tkou shalt not crumble in the tomb unwept. Thy honors shall be es- tablished, and long be kept green among shepherds. To thee, next after Daphnis, they shall discharge their vows; of thee, next after Daphnis, they shall rejoice to speak praises, so long as Pales and Faunus love the fields, if it means aught for a man to have been faithful like them of old, and pious, and learned, and to have had a poet for his friend.

" Go to your folds unfed, my lambs ; your master is troubled. These rewards, Damon, are thine for certain. But me, what will become of me ? What faithful comrade will cling to my side, as thou didst, when through the bitter cold of the frost-filled country-sides we went to frighten the hungry wolves from the folds, or when we must needs go afar under the steep sun, where the herbs were dying of thirst, to hunt the great lions ? Who will solace my day with talk and with singing ?

"Go to your folds unfed, my lambs; your master is troubled. In whose breast- shall I put my trust ? Who will teach me to assuage my eating cares ? Who will cheat the long night with sweet converse, when the mellow pears hiss before the cheerj fire, and nuts pop on the hearth, and out side the wild wind makes chaos, storming through the elm-tops ?

" Go to your folds unfed, my lambs, your master is troubled. Or in summer, when the sun is in the zenith at noon, when Pan slumbers deep-hidden in the oak-shade and the nymphs seek their cool nooks under the waters, when the shepherds are all quiet and the boor snores under the hedge, who will bring me thy blandishments, thy laughter, thy wit, thy graceful learn- ing ?

" Go to your folds unfed, my lambs ; your master is troubled. Now I wander alone through the fields and pastures, all

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