BOOK II.

OLYMPUS' gates unfold; in heav'n's high tow'rs
Appear in council all th' immortal Pow'rs;
Great Jove above the rest exalted sate;
And in his mind revolv'd succeeding fate;
His awful eye with ray superior shone,
The thunder-grasping eagle guards his throne;
On silver clouds the great assembly laid,
The whole creation at one view survey'd.

But see, fair Venus comes in all her state!
The wanton Loves and Graces round her wait;
With her loose robe officious zephyrs play,
And strow with odorif' rous flow'rs the way:
In her right hand she waves the flutt'ring Fan,
And thus in melting sounds her speech began.

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Assembled Pow'rs! who fickle mortals guide, Who o'er the sea, the skies, and earth preside; Ye Fountains whence all human blessings flow, Who pour your bounties on the world below; Bacchus first rais'd and prun'd the climbing vine, And taught the grape to stream with gen'rous wine; Industrious Ceres tam'd the savage ground, And pregnant fields with golden harvests crown'd; Flora with bloomy sweets enrich'd the year, And fruitful autumn is Pomona's care. I first taught woman to subdue mankind, And all her native charms with dress refin'd;

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Celestial Synod! this machine survey,

That shades the face, or bids cool zephyrs play;
If conscious blushes on her cheek arise,
With this she veils them from her lover's eyes:
No levell'd glance betrays her am'rous heart,
From the Fan's ambush she directs the dart.
The royal sceptre shines in Juno's hand,

And twisted thunder speaks great Jove's command:
On Pallas' arm the Gorgon shield appears,

And Neptune's mighty grasp the trident bears:
Ceres is with the bending sickle seen,

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And the strung bow points out the Cynthian Queen:
Henceforth the waving Fan my hand shall grace,
The waving Fan supply the sceptre's place.
Who shall, ye Pow'rs! the forming pencil hold?
What story shall the wide machine unfold?
Let Loves and Graces lead the dance around,
With myrtle wreaths and flow'ry chaplets crown'd;
Let Cupid's arrow strow the smiling plains
With unresisting nymphs and am'rous swains;
May glowing picture o'er the surface shine,
To melt slow virgins with the warm design.
Diana rose, with silver crescent crown'd,
And fix'd her modest eyes upon the ground;
Then with becoming mien she rais'd her head,
And thus with graceful voice the virgin said:
Has woman then forgot all former wiles,
The watchful ogle, and delusive smiles?

Does man against her charms too pow'rful prove,
Or are the sex grown novices in love?

Why then these arms? or why should artful eyes
From this slight ambush conquer by surprise?

No guilty thought the spotless virgin knows,
And o'er her cheek no conscious crimson glows: 60
Since blushes then from shame alone arise,
Why should we veil them from her lover's eyes?
Let Cupid rather give up his command,

And trust his arrows in a female hand.
Have not the Gods already cherish'd pride,
And woman with destructive arms supply'd ?
Neptune on her bestows his choicest stores,
For her the chambers of the deep explores;
The gaping shell its pearly charge resigns,
And round her neck the lucid bracelet twines:
Plutus for her bids earth its wealth unfold,
Where the warm ore is ripen'd into gold:
Or where the ruby reddens in the soil,
Where the green em'rald pays the searcher's toil.
Does not the di'mond sparkle in her ear,

Glow on her hand, and tremble in her hair?

From the gay nymph the glancing lustre flies,
And imitates the lightning of her eyes,

But yet, if Venus' wishes must succeed,
And this fantastic engine be decreed,

May some chaste story from the pencil flow,
To speak the virgin's joy and Hymen's woe.

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Here let the wretched Ariadne stand,
Seduc'd by Theseus to some desert land,
Her locks dishevell'd waving in the wind,
The crystal tears confess her tortur'd mind;
The perjur'd youth unfurls his treach'rous sails,
And their white bosoms catch the swelling gales.
Be still, ye Winds! she cries; stay, Theseus, stay!
But faithless Theseus hears no more than they.
All desp'rate, to some craggy cliff she flies,
And spreads a well-known signal in the skies;
His less'ning vessel ploughs the foamy main;
She sighs, she calls, she waves the sign in vain.
Paint Dido there amidst her last distress,
Pale cheeks and bloodshot eyes her grief express:
Deep in her breast the reeking sword is drown'd,
And gushing blood streams purple from the wound;
Her sister Anna hov'ring o'er her stands,

Accuses Heav'n with lifted eyes and hands,
Upbraids the Trojan with repeated cries,
And mixes curses with her broken sighs.

View this, ye Maids! and then each swain believe ;
They're Trojans all, and vow but to deceive.

Here draw Oenope in the lonely grove,

Where Paris first betray'd her into love:
Let wither'd garlands hang on ev'ry bough,
Which the false youth wove for Oenore's brow:
The garlands lose their sweets, their pride is shed,
And, like their odours, all his vows are fled;

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On her fair arm her pensive head she lays,

And Xanthus' waves with mournful looks surveys,
That flood which witness'd his inconstant flame,
When thus he swore, and won the yielding dame;
These streams shall sooner to their fountain move,
Than I forget my dear Oenone's love.

Roll back, ye Streams! back to your fountain run,
Paris is false, Oenone is undone.

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Ah! wretched Maid! think how the moments flew,
Ere you the pangs of this curs'd passion knew,
When groves could please, and when you lov'd the
Without the presence of your perjur'd swain. [plain,

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Thus may the nymph, whene'er she spreads the Fan,
In his true colours view perfidious man;
Pleas'd with her virgin state, in forests rove,
And never trust the dang`rous hopes of love.

The Goddess ended, merry Momus rose;
With smiles and grins he waggish glances throws,
Then with a noisy laugh forestals his joke,

Mirth flashes from his eyes, while thus he spoke: 130
Rather let heav'nly deeds be painted there,
And, by your own examples, teach the fair.
Let chaste Diana on the piece be seen,

And the bright crescent own the Cythian Queen.
On Latmos' top see young Endymion lies,
Feign'd sleep hath clos'd the bloomy lover's eyes;
See to his soft embraces how she steals,
And on his lips her warm caresses seals;
Gay.1

Kij