40
Sum brevis; at nomen, quod terras impleat omnes,
Est mihi; menfuram nominis ipfa fero.
Candida fi non fum, placuit Cepheïa Perfeo
Andromede, patriae fufca colore fuae :
Et variis albae junguntur faepe columbae,
Et niger a viridi turtur amatur ave.
Si, nifi quae facie poterit te digna videri,
45
Nulla futura tua eft; nulla futura tua eft. At me cum legeres, etiam formosa videbar Unam jurabas ufque decere loqui. Cantabam, memini (meminerunt omnia amantes) Ofcula cantanti tu mihi rapta dabas. 50 Haec quoque laudabas; omnique a parte placebam, Sed tum praecipue, cum fit amoris opus. Tunc te plus folito lascivia nostra juvabat, Crebraque mobilitas, aptaque verba joco; Quique, ubi jam amborum fuerat confufa voluptas, Plurimus in laffo corpore languor erat.
Tho' fhort my ftature, yet my name extends
To heav'n itself, and earth's remotest ends. 40
Brown as I am, an Ethiopian dame
Infpir'd young Perfeus with a gen'rous flame;
Turtles and doves of differing hues unite,
And gloffy jet is pair'd with shining white.
If to no charms thou wilt thy heart refign, 45
But fuch as merit, fuch as equal thine,
By none, alas! by none thou can't be mov'd,
Phaon alone by Phaon must be lov'd!
Yet once thy Sappho could thy cares employ,
Once in her arms you center'd all your joy: 50
No time the dear remembrance can remove,
For oh! how vaft a memory has love?
My mufic, then, you could for ever hear,
And all my words were music to your ear.
You stopp'd with kiffes my enchanting tongue, 55
And found my kiffes fweeter than my fong.
In all I pleas'd, but most in what was beft;
And the last joy was dearer than the rest.
Then with each word, each glance, each motion
fir'd,
You ftill enjoy'd, and yet you still defir'd,
Till all diffolving in the trance we lay,
And in tumultuous raptures dy'd away.
Nunc tibi Sicelides veniunt nova praeda puellae ;
Quid mihi cum Lefbo? Sicelis effe volo.
At vos erronem tellure remittite noftrum,
Nifiades matres, Nifiadefque nurus.
Neu vos decipiant blandae mendacia linguae : 65
Quae dicit vobis, dixerat ante mihi.
Tu quoque quæ montes celebras, Erycina, Sicanos,
(Nam tua fum) vati confule, diva tuae.
An gravis inceptum peragit fortuna tenorem? 70
Et manet in curfu femper acerba fuo?
Sex mihi natales ierant, cum lecta parentis
Ante diem lacrymas offa bibere meas.
Arfit inops frater, victus meretricis amore;
Miftaque cum turpi damna pudore tulit.
Factus inops agili peragit freta coerula remo: 75
Quafque male amifit, nunc male quaerit opes:
Mequoque, quod monui bene multa fideliter, odit.
Hoc mihi libertas, hoc pia lingua dedit.
Et tanquam defint, quae me fine fine fatigent,
Accumulat curas filia parva meas.
Ultima tu noftris accedis caufa querelis :
Non agitur vento noftra carina fuo.
Ecce, jacent collo fparfi fine lege capilli;
Nec premit articulos lucida gemma meos. Vefte tegor vili: nullum eft in crinibus aurum : Non Arabo nofter rore capillus olet.
The fair Sicilians now thy foul inflame;
Why was I born, ye Gods, a Lesbian dame?
But ah beware, Sicilian nymphs! nor boast 65
That wand'ring heart which I fo lately loft;
Nor be with all those tempting words abus'd,
Those tempting words were all to Sappho us'd.
And you that rule Sicilia's happy plains,
Have pity, Venus, on your Poet's pains!
Shall fortune ftill in one fad tenor run,
And ftill increase the woes fo foon begun?
Inur'd to forrow from my tender years,
My parent's ashes drank my early tears :
My brother next, neglecting wealth and fame, 75
Ignobly burn'd in a destructive flame :
An infant daughter late my griefs increas'd,
And all a mother's cares distract my breast.
Alas, what more could fate itfelf impose,
But thee, the last and greatest of my woes?
No more my robes in waving purple flow,
Nor on my hand the fparkling di'monds glow;
No more my locks in ringlets curl'd diffufe
The coftly sweetness of Arabian dews,
Nor braids of gold the varied treffes bind,
That fly disorder'd with the wanton wind:
Cui colar infelix? aut cui placuiffe laborem ?
Ille mihi cultus unicus auctor abeft.
Molle meum levibus cor eft violabile telis;
Et femper caufa eft, cur ego femper amem. 90
Sive ita nafcenti legem dixere forores,
Nec data funt vitae fila fevera meae;
Sive abeunt ftudia in mores, artesque magiftrae,
Ingenium nobis molle Thalia facit.
Quid mirum, fi me primae lanuginis aetas
Abftulit, atque anni, quos vir amare potest?
Hunc ne pro Cephalo raperes, Aurora, timebam :
Et faceres ; fed te prima rapina tenet.
Hunc fi confpiciat quae confpicit omnia, Phoebe;
Juffus erit fomnos continuare Phaon..
Hunc Venus in coelum curru vexiffet eburno;
Sed videt et Marti poffe placere fuo.
O nec adhuc juvenis, nec jam puer! utilis aetas!
O decus, atque aevi gloria magna tui !
Huc ades, inque finus, formofe, relabere noftros: Non ut ames oro, verum ut amare finas. 106 Scribimus, et lacrymis oculi rorantur obortis : Afpice, quam fit in hoc multa litura loco.
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