Page:Pindar and Anacreon.djvu/301

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ANACREON.
33

Thy vest I'd be, to guard with care
Those heaving breasts, and nestle there.
Oh! would I were a limpid wave,
Thy soft and beauteous limbs to lave;
Thy perfumed oil, that I might share
The glory of thy golden hair!
Or, dearer still, that slender zone,
Which makes thy beauties all its own:
Thy pearly chain, that shines so fair,
But cannot with thy neck compare:
Thy very sandal I would be,[1]
To kiss the foot that trod on me!

ODE XXI.—SUMMER.

Bring, maidens, bring a well-mix'd bowl,
And let me slake my thirsty soul;
For, scorch'd beneath this sultry sky,
My spirits sink—I faint—I die.
This garland, late so fresh and fair,[2]
I twined amid my curling hair;
But all its faded flow'rets now
Have wither'd on my burning brow.
Bring fresher wreaths my head to shade;
Bring others still when those shall fade.
But, oh! what ease can wine impart
When love's fierce flame consumes the heart?

  1. This ode has been imitated by many succeeding writers; and in our immortal bard, who needed no copy but nature, the following passage can only be said to present a remarkable coincidence:—

    "See how she leans her cheek upon her hand!
    Oh! that I were a glove upon that hand,
    That I might touch that cheek!"

    Romeo and Juliet, act 2, scene 2.

  2. The custom of wearing garlands of flowers at entertainments has already been mentioned.