Nor dares the fierceft of the winged race
Obftruct his journey thro' th' etherial space;
The hawk and eagle useless wars forbear,
Forego their courage, and confent to fear;
The feather'd nations humble homage bring,
And bless the gaudy flight of their ambrofial king.-
Lefs glittering pomp does Parthia's monarch yield,
Commanding legions to the dufty field;
Tho' fparkling jewels on his helm abound,
And royal gold his awful head furround;
Tho' rich embroidery paint his purple vest,
And his fteed bound in coftly trappings drest,
Pleas'd in the battle's dreadful van to ride,
In graceful grandeur, and imperial pride.
Fam'd for the worship of the fun, there ftands
A facred fane in Egypt's fruitful lands,
Hewn from the Theban mountain's rocky womb,
An hundred columns rear the marble dome;
Hither, 'tis faid, he brings the precious load,
A grateful offering to the beamy god;
Upon whose altar's confecrated blaze
The feeds and reliques of himself he lays,
Whence flaming incense makes the temple shine,
And the glad altars breathe perfumes divine.
The wafted fmell to far Pelufium flies,
To chear old Ocean, and enrich the skies,
With nectar's fweets to make the nations fmile,
And scent the feven-fold channels of the Nile.
Thrice happy Phoenix! heaven's peculiar care
Has made thy felf, thy felf's furviving heir;
By death thy deathlefs vigour is fupply'd,
Which finks to ruin all the world befide;
Thy age, not thee, affifting Phoebus burns,
And vital flames light up thy funeral urns.
Whate'er events have been, thy eyes furvey,
And thou art fixt, while ages roll away;
Thou faw'ft when raging Ocean burst his bed,
O'ertop'd the mountains, and the earth o'erspread;
When the rafh youth inflam'd the high abodes,
Scorch'd up the skies, and scar'd the deathlefs gods.
When nature ceafes, thou fhalt ftill remain,
Nor fecond chaos bound thy endless reign;
Fate's tyrant laws thy happier lot fhall brave,
Baffle deftruction, and elude the grave.
ON HER MARRIAGE. FROM MENAGE.
HE greateft fwain that treads th' Arcadian
grove,
Our fhepherds envy, and our virgins love,
His charming nymph, his fofter fair obtains,
The bright Diana of our flowery plains;
He, midst the graceful, of fuperior grace,
And the the lovelieft of the lovelieft race.
Thy fruitful influence, guardian Juno fhed,
And crown the pleasures of the genial bed,
Raife thence, their future joy, a smiling heir,
Brave as the father, as the mother fair.
Well may'ft thou shower thy choiceft gifts on those,
Who boldly rival thy moft hated foes;
The vig'rous bridegroom with Alcides vies,
And the fair bride has Cytherea's eyes.
HE fragrant painting of our flowery fields, The choiceft ftores that youthfulfummer yields, Strephon to fair Elifa hath convey'd,
The sweetest garland to the sweetest maid.
O! cheer the flowers, my fair, and let them reft
On the Elyfium of thy fnowy breast,
And there regale the fmell, and charm the view,
With richer odours, and a lovelier hue.
Learn hence, nor fear a flatterer in the flower,
Thy form divine, and beauty's matchless power:
Faint, near thy cheeks, the bright carnation glows,
And thy ripe lips out-blush the opening rofe;
The lily's fnow betrays lefs pure a light,
Loft in thy bofom's more unsullied white;
And wreaths of jafmine fhed perfumes, beneath
Th' ambrofial incenfe of thy balmy breath.
Ten thousand beauties grace the rival pair,
How fair the chaplet, and the nymph how fair!
But ah! too foon these fleeting charms decay,
The fading luftre of one haftening day,
This night shall see the gaudy wreath decline,
The roses wither, and the lilies pine.
The garland's fate to thine fhall be applied,
And what advanc'd thy form, fhall check thy pride:
Be wife, my fair, the prefent hour improve,
Let joy be new, and now a waste of love;
Each drooping bloom shall plead thy just excuse,
And that which show'd thy beauty, show its use.
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