Page:Virgil's Pastorals, Georgics and Aeneis - Dryden (1709) - volume 1.pdf/239

Or o'er the Fruits and Seasons to preside,
And the round Circuit of the Year to guide.35
Pow'rful of Blessings, which thou strew'st around,
And with thy Goddess Mother's Myrtle crown'd.
Or wilt thou, Cæsar, chuse the watry Reign,
To smooth the Surges, and correct the Main?
Then Mariners, in Storms, to thee shall pray,40$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$
Ev'n utmost Thule shall thy Pow'r obey;
And Neptune shall resign the Fasces of the Sea.
The wat'ry Virgins for thy Bed shall strive,
And Tethys all her Waves in Dowry give.
Or wilt thou bless our Summers with thy Rays, 45
And seated near the Ballance, poise the Days:
Where in the Void of Heav'n a Space is free,
Betwixt the Scorpion and the Maid for thee.
The Scorpion ready to receive thy Laws,
Yields half his Region, and contracts his Claws.50
Whatever part of Heav'n thou shalt obtain,
For let not Hell presume of such a Reign;
Nor let so dire a Thirst of Empire move
Thy Mind, to leave thy Kindred Gods above.
Tho' Greece admires Elysium's blest Retreat,55
Tho' Proserpine affects her silent Seat,
And importun'd by Ceres to remove,
Prefers the Fields below to those above.
But thou, propitious Cæsar, guide my Course,
And to my bold Endeavours add thy Force. 60