CQUID, ut infpecta eft ftudiofae litterà
dextrae,
Protinus eft oculis cognita noftra tuis? An, nifi legiffes auctoris nomina Sapphûs,
Hoc breve nefcires unde movetur opus? Forfitan et quare mea fint alterna requiras
5
Carmina, cum lyricis fim magis apta modis. Flendus amor meus eft: elegeïa flebile carmen; Non facit ad lacrymas barbitos ulla meas. Uror, ut, indomitis ignem exercentibus Euris, Fertilis accenfis meffibus ardet ager. Arva Phaon celebrat diverfa Typhoïdos Aetnae, Me calor Aetnaeo non minor igne coquit. Nec mihi, difpofitis quae jungam carmina nervis, Proveniunt; vacuae carmina mentis opus.
prove,
AY, lovely youth, that do'ft my heart command,
Can Phaon's eyes forget his Sappho's hand?
Must then her name the wretched writer
To thy remembrance loft, as to thy love?
Ask not the cause that I new numbers chufe, 5
The Lute neglected, and the Lyric muse;
Love taught my tears in fadder notes to flow,
And tun'd my heart to Elegies of woe.
I burn, I burn, as when thro' ripen'd corn
By driving winds the spreading flames are born. 10
Phaon to Ætna's fcorching fields retires,
While I confume with more than Ætna's fires!
No more my foul a charm in mufic finds,
Mufic has charms alone for peaceful minds.
Nec me Pyrrhiades Methymniadefve puellae, 15
Nec me Lesbiadum caetera turba juvant.
Vilis Anactorie, vilis mihi candida Cydno :
Non oculis grata eft Atthis, ut ante, meis;
Atque aliae centum, quas non fine crimine amavi:
Improbe, multarum quod fuit unus habes. 20
Eft in te facies, funt apti lufibus anni.
O facies oculis infidiofa meis!
Sume fidem et pharetram, fies manifeftus Apollo:
Accedant capiti cornua; Bacchus eris.
Et Phoebus Daphnen, et Gnofida Bacchus amavit ;
Nec norat lyricos illa, vel illa modos.
At mihi Pegafides blandiffima carmina dictant;
Jam canitur toto nomen in orbe meum.
Nec plus Alcaeus, confors patriaeque lyraeque,
Laudis habet, quamvis grandius ille fonet.
Si mihi difficilis formam natura negavit;
Ingenio formae damna rependo meae.
Soft fcenes of folitude no more can please,
Love enters there, and I'm my own difeafe.
No more the Lesbian dames my paffion move,
Once the dear objects of my guilty love;
All other loves are loft in only thine,
Ah youth ungrateful to a flame like mine!
Whom would not all those blooming charms fur-
prize,
20
Those heav'nly looks, and dear deluding eyes?
The harp and bow would you like Phœbus bear,
A brighter Phœbus Phaon might appear;
Would you with ivy wreath your flowing hair, 25
Not Bacchus' felf with Phaon could
compare:
Yet Phœbus lov'd, and Bacchus felt the flame;
One Daphne warm'd, and one the Cretan dame:
Nymphs that in verfe no more could rival me, 30.
Than ev'n thofe Gods contend in charms with thee.
The Mufes teach me all their fofteft lays,
And the wide world refounds with Sappho's praife.
Tho' great Alcæus more fublimely fings,
And strikes with bolder rage the founding ftrings,
No lefs renown attends the moving lyre,
36
Which Venus tunes, and all her loves infpire;
To me what nature has in charms deny'd,
Is well by wit's more lafting flames fuply'd.
40
Sum brevis; at nomen, quod terras impleat omnes,
Eft 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 formofa 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 lafcivia noftra juvabat,
Crebraque mobilitas, aptaque verba joco. Quique, ubi jam amborum fuerat confufa voluptas, Plurimus in laffo corpore languor erat.
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