DAPHNIS.

And I this bowl, where wanton ivy twines, 35 And swelling clusters bend the curling vines : Four figures rising from the work appear, The various seasons of the rolling year; And what is that, which binds the radiant sky, Where twelve fair signs in beauteous order lie? 40

DAMON. Then sing by turns, by turns the Muses sing, Now hawthorns blossom, now the daisies spring, Now leaves the trees, and flow’rs adorn the ground; Begin, the vales shall ev'ry note rebound.

STREPHON.

45

Inspire me, Phoebus, in my Delia's praise,
With Waller’s strains, or Granville's moving lays !

NOTES.

Ver. 38. The various seasons, &c.] The subject of these Pastorals engraven on the bowl is not without its propriety:-Warburton.

My friend Mr. William Collins, author of the Persian Eclogues and Odes, assured me that Thomson informed him, that he took the first hint and idea of writing bis Seasons, from the titles of Pope's four Pastorals. So that these Pastorals have not had only the merit of setting a pattern for correct and musical versification ; but have given rise to some of the truest poetry in our language.-Warton.

Ver. 41. sing by turns,] Amabæan verses, and the custom of vying in extempore verses, by turns, was derived from the old Sicilian shepherds, and spread over all Italy ; and is, as Mr. Spence observes, exactly like the practice of the Improvisatori at present in Italy.--Warton.

Ver. 46. Granville) George Granville, afterwards Lord Lansdown,

VARIATIONS.

Ver. 36. And clusters lurk beneath the curling vines.-P. This line was probably rejected from its resembling too nearly Dryden. The “Grapes in clusters lurk beneath the vines.” Dryden's Translation of Virgil's Eclogues.--Bowles.

IMITATIONS.

Ver. 35, 36.

“ Lenta quibus torno facili superaddita vitis,

Diffusos edera vestit pallente corymbos.” Virg. The Shepherd's hesitation at the name of the Zodiac imitates that in Virgil,

“Et quis fuit alter,
Descripsit radio totum qui gentibus orbem ?”—P.
Ver. 41. Then sing by turns,] Literally from Virgil,
“ Alternis dicetis, amant alterna Camænæ :

Et nunc omnis ager, nunc omnis parturit arbos,
Nunc frondent sylvæ, nunc formosissimus annus.”—P.

A milk-white Bull shall at your altars stand,
That threats a fight, and spurns the rising sand.

DAPHNIS.

50

O Love! for Sylvia let me gain the prize,
And make my tongue victorious as her eyes:
No lambs or sheep for victims I'll impart,
Thy victim, Love, shall be the shepherd's heart.

STREPHON.

55

Me gentle Delia beckons from the plain,
Then hid in shades, eludes her eager swain ;
But feigns a laugh to see me search around,
And by that laugh the willing fair is found.

DAPHNIS.
The sprightly Sylvia trips along the green,
She runs, but hopes she does not run unseen;
While a kind glance at her pursuer flies,
How much at variance are her feet and eyes !

60

STREPHON.

O'er golden sands let rich Pactolus flow, And trees weep amber on the banks of Po;

NOTES.

known for his poems, most of which he composed very young, and proposed Waller as his model.-P.

VARIATIONS.

Ver 49. Originally thus in the MS.

Pan, let my numbers equal Strephon's lays,
Of Parian stone thy statue will I raise ;

But if I conquer and augment my fold,

Thy Parian statue shall be chang’d to gold.-Warburlon.
Ver. 61. It stood thus at first,

Let rich Iberia golden fleeces boast,
Her purple wool the proud Assyrian coast,

Blest Thames's shores, &c.-P.
Ver. 61. Originally thus in the MS.

Go, flow'ry wreath, and let my Silvia know,
Compar'd to thine how bright her beauties show ;

IMITATIONS.

66

Ver. 47. A milk-white Bull] Virg.

Pa taurum,
Qui cornu petat, et pedibus jam spargat arenam.”—P.
Ver. 58. She runs, but hopes] Imitation of Virgil,
“ Malo me Galatea petit, lasciva puella,

Et fugit ad salices, sed se cupit ante videri.”—P.

Bright Thames's shores the brightest beauties yield,
Feed here my lambs, I'll seek no distant field.

DAPHNIS.
Celestial Venus haunts Idalia's groves ;

65
Diana Cynthus, Ceres Hybla loves ;
If Windsor-shades delight the matchless maid,
Cynthus and Hybla yield to Windsor-shade.

STREPHON. All nature mourns, the skies relent in show'rs, Hush'd are the birds, and clos’d the drooping flow’rs; If Delia smile, the flow’rs begin to spring, The skies to brighten, and the birds to sing.

DAPHNIS.

75

All nature laughs, the groves are fresh and fair,
The sun's mild lustre warms the vital air;
If Sylvia smiles, new glories gild the shore,
And vanquish'd nature seems to charm no more.

STREPHON.
In spring the fields, in autumn hills I love,
At morn the plains, at noon the shady grove,
But Delia always; absent from her sight,
Nor plains at morn, nor groves at noon delight.

80

DAPHNIS.

Sylvia's like autumn ripe, yet mild as May, More bright than noon, yet fresh as early day;

VARIATIONS.

Then die ; and dying teach the lovely maid
How soon the brightest beauties are decay'd.

DAPHNIS.

Go, tuneful bird, that pleas'd the woods so long,
Of Amaryllis learn a sweeter song ;
To Heav'n arising then her notes convey,

For Heav'n alone is worthy such a lay.-Warburton.
Ver. 69, &c. These verses were thus at first :

All nature mourns, the birds their songs deny,
Nor wasted brooks the thirsty flow’rs supply ;
If Delia smile, the flow’rs begin to spring,
The brooks to murmur, and the birds to sing.-P.

IMITATIONS.
Ver. 69. All nature mourns,]

“ Aret ager, vitio moriens sitit aëris herba,” &c.
“Phyllidis adventu nostræ nemus omne virebit.” Virg.-P.

Ev’n spring displeases, when she shines not here;
But blest with her, 'tis spring throughout the year.

STREPHON.
Say, Daphnis, say, in what glad soil appears,
A wondrous Tree that sacred Monarchs bears;
Tell me but this, and I'll disclaim the prize,
And give the conquest to thy Sylvia's eyes.

85

DAPHNIS.

90

Nay tell me first, in what more happy fields
The Thistle springs, to which the Lily yields :
And then a nobler prize I will resign;
For Sylvia, charming Sylvia shall be thine.

DAMON.

Cease to contend; for, Daphnis, I decree The bowl to Strephon, and the lamb to thee. Blest Swains, whose Nymphs in ev'ry grace excel; Blest Nymphs, whose Swains those graces sing so well! Now rise, and haste to yonder woodbine bow'rs, A soft retreat from sudden vernal show'rs; The turf with rural dainties shall be crown'd, While op'ning blooms diffuse their sweets around. 100 For see! the gath’ring flocks to shelter tend, And from the Pleiads fruitful show'rs descend.

NOTES.

Ver. 86. A wondrous Tree that sacred Monarchs bears ; ] An allusion to the Royal Oak, in which Charles II. had been hid from the pursuit after the battle at Worcester.-P.

VARIATIONS.

Ver. 99. was originally,

The turf with country dainties shall be spread,
And trees with twining branches shade your head.-P.

IMITATIONS.

Ver. 90. The Thistle springs, to which the Lily yields :] Alludes to the device of the Scots Monarchs, the Thistle, worn by Queen Anne ; and to the arms of France, the Fleur de lys. The two riddles are in imitation of those in Virg. Ecl. iii.

“ Dic quibus in terris inscripti nomina Regum

Nascantur Flores, et Phyllida solus habeto.”—P.

SUMMER:

THE SECOND PASTORAL,

OR

ALEXIS.

TO DR. GARTH.

5

A SHEPHERD's Boy (he seeks no better name)
Led forth his flocks along the silver Thame,
Where dancing sun-beams on the waters play’d,
And verdant alders form'd a quiv’ring shade.
Soft as he mourn'd, the streams forgot to flow,
The flocks around a dumb compassion show,
The Naïads wept in ev'ry wat’ry bow'r,
And Jove consented in a silent show'r.

Accept, O GARTH! the Muse's early lays,
That adds this wreath of ivy to thy bays;

10

NOTES.

Ver. 3. The Scene of this Pastoral by the river-side, suitable to the heat of the season ; the Time, noon.-P.

Ver. 9. Dr. Samuel Garth, author of the Dispensary, was one of the

VARIATIONS.
Ver. 1, 2, 3, 4, were thus printed in the first edition :

A faithful swain, whom Love had taught to sing,
Bewail'd his fate beside a silver spring ;
Where gentle Thames his winding waters leads

Thro' verdant forests, and thro' flow'ry meads.-P.
Ver. 3. Originally thus in the MS.

There to the winds he plain’d his hapless love,
And Amaryllis fill’d the vocal grove.--Warburton.

IMITATIONS.

Ver. 1. Spenser's Shepherd's Calendar, January :

A shepherd's boy (no better do him call),
When Winter's wasteful spight was almost spent,
All in a sun-shine day, as did befall,

Led forth his flock, that had been loug ypent.— Bowles.
Ver. 8. And Jove consented]

* Jupiter et læto descendet plurimus imbri.” Virg.-P.