Page:The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, Volume 2.djvu/194

188 Pan, happy shepherd, if thy cares divine, E'er to improve thy Mænalus incline, Leave thy Lycæan wood and native grove, And with thy lucky smiles our work approve; Be Pallas too, sweet oil's inventor, kind; And he, who first the crooked plough design'd, Sylvanus, god of all the woods, appear, Whose hands a new-drawn tender cypress bear! Ye gods and goddess, who e'er with love Would guard our pastures, and our fields improve; You, who new plants from unknown lands supply, And with condensing clouds obscure the sky, And drop them softly thence in fruitful showers; Assist my enterprize, ye gentle powers!
 * And thou great Cæsar! though we know not yet

Among what gods thou'lt fix thy lofty seat; Whether thou'lt be the kind tutelar god Of thy own Rome, or with thy awful nod Guide the vast world, while thy great hand shall bear The fruits and seasons of the turning year, And thy bright brows thy mother's myrtles wear; Whether thou'lt all the boundless ocean sway, AudAnd [sic] sea-men only to thyself shall pray, Thule, the fairest island, kneel to thee, And, that thou may'st her son by marriage be, Rh