Page images
PDF
EPUB

VERTUMNUS

ET

POMON A.

EGE fub hoc Pomona fuit: qua nulla Latinas
Inter Hamadryadas coluit folertius hortos,

Nec fuit arborei ftudiofior altera foetus:
Unde tenet nomen. non fylvas illa, nec amnes;
Rus amat, et ramos felicia poma ferentes.
Nec jaculo gravis eft, fed adunca dextera falce:
Qua modo luxuriem premit, et spatiantia paffim
Brachia compefcit; fiffa modo cortice virgam
Inferit; et fuccos alieno praeftat alumno.

5

10

Nec patitur fentire fitim: bibulaeque recurvas

15

Radicis fibras labentibus irrigat undis.

Hic amor, hoc ftudium: Veneris quoque nulla cupido.

VERTUMNUS

AND

POMONA

From the FOURTEENTH BOOK of

OVID'S METAMORPHOSES.

T

HE fair Pomona flourish'd in his reign;

Of all the Virgins of the fylvan train,
None taught the trees a nobler race to bear,
Or more improv'd the vegetable care.
To her the fhady grove, the flow'ry field,

The ftreams and fountains, no delights could yield;
'Twas all her joy the ripening fruits to tend,
And fee the boughs with happy burthens bend.
The hook she bore instead of Cynthia's spear,
To lop the growth of the luxuriant year,
To decent form the lawless shoots to bring,
And teach th' obedient branches where to spring.
Now the cleft rind inserted graffs receives,
And yields an offspring more than nature gives ;
Now fliding ftreams the thirsty plants renew,
And feed their fibres with reviving dew.

These cares alone her virgin breast employ,
Averfe from Venus and the nuptial joy.

[ocr errors]

ΙΟ

15.

Vim tamen agreftûm metuens, pomaria claudit
Intus, et acceffus prohibet refugitque viriles.
Quid non et Satyri, faltatibus apta juventus,
Fecere, et pinu praecincti cornua Panes,
Sylvanufque fuis femper juvenilior annis,
Quique Deus fures, vel falce, vel inguine terret,
Ut poterentur ea? fed enim fuperabat amando
Hos quoque Vertumnus: neque erat felicior illis.
O quoties habitu duri mefforis ariftas
Corbe tulit, verique fuit mefforis imago!
Tempora faepe gerens foeno religata recenti,
Defectum poterat gramen verfaffe videri.
Saepe manu ftimulos rigida portabat; ut illum
Jurares feffos modo disjunxiffe juvencos.
Falce data frondator erat, vitifque putator.
Induerat fcalas, lecturum poma putares.
Miles erat gladio, pifcator arundine fumta.
Denique per multas aditum fibi faepe figuras
Repperit, ut caperet fpectatae gaudia formas.

20

25

35

20

25

39

Her private orchards, wall'd on ev'ry fide,
To lawless sylvans all access deny'd.
How oft the Satyrs and the wanton Fawns,
Who haunt the forefts, or frequent the lawns,
The God whofe enfign scares the birds of prey,
And old Silenus, youthful in decay,
Employ'd their wiles, and unavailing care,
To pass the fences, and furprize the fair?
Like these, Vertumnus own'd his faithful flame,
Like these, rejected by the fcornful dame.
To gain her fight a thousand forms he wears,
And first a reaper from the field appears,
Sweating he walks, while loads of golden grain
O'ercharge the shoulders of the feeming swain.
Oft o'er his back a crooked scythe is laid,
And wreaths of hay his fun-burnt temples shade:
Oft in his harden'd hand a goad he bears,
Like one who late unyok'd the sweating steers.
Sometimes his pruning-hook corrects the vines,
And the loose ftraglers to their ranks confines.
Now gath'ring what the bounteous year allows,
He pulls ripe apples from the bending boughs.
A foldier now, he with his fword appears;
A fisher next, his trembling angle bears;
Each shape he varies, and each art he tries,
On her bright charms to feast his longing eyes.

35

40

Ille etiam picta redimitus tempora mitra,
Innitens baculo, pofitis ad tempora canis,

Adfimulavit anum: cultofque intravit in hortos;
Pomaque mirata eft: Tantoque potentior, inquit,
Paucaque laudatae dedit ofcula; qualia nunquam
Vera dediffet anus: glebaque incurva resedit,
Sufpiciens pandos autumni pondere ramos.
Ulmus erat contra, fpatiofa tumentibus uvis :
Quam focia poftquam pariter cum vite probavit ;
At fi ftaret, ait, coelebs, fine palmite truncus,
Nil praeter frondes, quare peteretur, haberet.
Haec quoque, quae juncta vitis requiefcit in ulmo,
Si non nupta foret, terrae adclinata jaceret.
Tu tamen exemplo non tangeris arboris hujus;
Concubitufque fugis; nec te conjungere curas.
Atque utinam velles ! Helene non pluribus effet
Sollicitata procis: nec quae Lapitheïa movit
Proelia, nec conjux timidis audacis Ulyssei.

45

60

« EelmineJätka »