TRANSLATIONS, &c.
155
O Sappho! now that Muse and lute employ;
Invoke the golden goddess from the sky:
From the Leucadian rock ne'er hope redress; 245
In love Apollo boasts no sure success:
Let him preside o'er oracles and arts;
Venus alone hath balm for bleeding hearts.
O! let the warbled hymn[1] delight her ear;
Can she when Sappho sings refuse to hear? 250
Thrice let the warbled hymn repeat thy pain,
While flow'rs and burning gums perfume her fane:
And when, descending to the plaintive sound,
She comes confess'd with all her Graces round,
O, plead my cause! in that auspicious hour 255
Propitiate with thy vows the vengeful pow'r:
Nor cease thy suit, till with a smiling air
She cries, "I give thy Phaon to thy pray'r;
"And, from his crime absolv'd, with all his charms
"He long shall live, and die in Sappho's arms."—
Then swift, and gentle as her gentlest dove, 261
I'll seek thy breast, and equal all thy love:
Hymen shall clap his purple wings, and spread
Incessant raptures o'er the nuptial bed.
And while in pomp at Cytherea's shrine 265
With choral song and dance our vows we join,
Her flaming altar with religious fear
I'll touch, and, prostrate on the marble, swear
That zeal and love for ever shall divide
My heart between the goddess and the bride. 270
Invoke the golden goddess from the sky:
From the Leucadian rock ne'er hope redress; 245
In love Apollo boasts no sure success:
Let him preside o'er oracles and arts;
Venus alone hath balm for bleeding hearts.
O! let the warbled hymn[1] delight her ear;
Can she when Sappho sings refuse to hear? 250
Thrice let the warbled hymn repeat thy pain,
While flow'rs and burning gums perfume her fane:
And when, descending to the plaintive sound,
She comes confess'd with all her Graces round,
O, plead my cause! in that auspicious hour 255
Propitiate with thy vows the vengeful pow'r:
Nor cease thy suit, till with a smiling air
She cries, "I give thy Phaon to thy pray'r;
"And, from his crime absolv'd, with all his charms
"He long shall live, and die in Sappho's arms."—
Then swift, and gentle as her gentlest dove, 261
I'll seek thy breast, and equal all thy love:
Hymen shall clap his purple wings, and spread
Incessant raptures o'er the nuptial bed.
And while in pomp at Cytherea's shrine 265
With choral song and dance our vows we join,
Her flaming altar with religious fear
I'll touch, and, prostrate on the marble, swear
That zeal and love for ever shall divide
My heart between the goddess and the bride. 270
- ↑ Alluding to her Ode to Venus.
