belong.

The mossy fountains, and the sylvan shades,
The dreams of Pindus and the Aonian maids,
Delight no more-O Thou my voice inspire 5
Who touched Isaiah's hallowed lips with fire!
Rapt into future times, the bard begun :
A Virgin shall conceive, a Virgin bear a Son!

3

1 First published in the "Spectator," May 14, 1712.

2 A contraction of Hierosolyma (Jerusalem).

3 "Jam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna;
Jam nova progenies cœlo demittitur alto.-
Te duce, si qua manent sceleris vestigia nostri,
Irrita perpetua solvent formidine terras-
Pacatumque reget patriis virtutibus orbem."
Virg. Ecl. iv. 6.

"Now the Virgin returns, now the kingdom of Saturn returns, now a new progeny is sent down from high heaven. By means of thee, whatever reliques of our crimes remain shall be wiped away, and free the world from perpetual fears. He shall

From Jesse's root behold a branch arise, Whose sacred flower with fragrance fills the

skies:

ΙΟ

The ethereal Spirit o'er its leaves shall move,
And on its top descends the mystic Dove.
Ye Heavens! from high the dewy nectar pour,
And in soft silence shed the kindly shower!
The sick and weak the healing plant shall
aid,

15

From storms a shelter, and from heat a shade. All crimes shall cease, and ancient fraud shall fail;

Returning Justice lift aloft her scale;

Peace o'er the world her olive wand extend, And white-robed Innocence from heaven de

scend.

20

Swift fly the years, and rise the expected morn! Oh spring to light, auspicious Babe, be born! See Nature hastes 5 her earliest wreaths to bring,

govern the earth in peace, with the virtues of his father."

Isa. vii. 14. —“Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son." Ch. ix. 6, 7.-" Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given-the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government, and of his peace, there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order and to establish it, with judgment, and with justice, for ever and ever."—P. 2 Ibid. xlv. 8.-P. 4 Ibid. ix. 7.—P.

1 Isa. xi. 1.-P.

3 Ibid. xxv. 4.-P.

5 "At tibi prima, puer, nullo munuscula cultu, Errantes hederas passim cum baccare tellus, Mixtaque ridenti colocasia fundet acantho.Ipsa tibi blandos fundent cunabula flores." Virg. Ecl. iv. 18.

For thee, O child, shall the earth, without being tilled, produce her early offerings; winding ivy, mixed

1

25

With all the incense of the breathing spring:
See lofty Lebanon 1 his head advance;
See nodding forests on the mountains dance:
See spicy clouds from lowly Saron rise,
And Carmel's flowery top perfumes the skies!
Hark! a glad voice the lonely desert cheers:
Prepare the way!2 a God, a God appears:
A God, a God! the vocal hills reply,
The rocks proclaim the approaching Deity.

30

with Baccar, and Colocasia, with smiling Acanthus. Thy cradle shall pour forth pleasing flowers about thee."

Isa. xxxv. 1.—“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. Ch. lx. 13.-"The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pinetree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary."-P.

1 Isa. xxxv. 2.—P.

2 Virg. Ecl. iv. 48:

"Aggredere, o magnos, aderit jam tempus, honores, Cara deum soboles, magnum Jovis incrementum—” Ecl. v. 62:

"Ipsi lætitia voces ad sidera jactant

Intonsi montes, ipsæ jam carmina rupes,

Ipsa sonant arbusta, Deus, deus ille, Menalca !"-P.

"Oh come and receive the mighty honours; the time draws nigh, O beloved offspring of the gods, O great increase of Jove: The uncultivated mountains send shouts of joy to the stars, the very rocks sing in verse, the very shrubs cry out, A god, a god!"

Isa. xl. 3, 4.—"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord! make straight in the desert a high way for our God! Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.' Ch. xliv. 23."Break forth into singing, ye mountains! O forest, and every tree therein! for the Lord hath redeemed Israel."-P.

Lo, earth receives him from the bending skies!
Sink down, ye mountains, and ye valleys, rise;
With heads declined, ye cedars, homage pay; 35
Be smooth, ye rocks; ye rapid floods, give way!
The Saviour comes! by ancient bards foretold!
Hear him, ye deaf, and all ye blind, behold!
He from thick films shall purge the visual ray,
And on the sightless eye-ball pour the day: 40
'Tis he the obstructed paths of sound shall clear,
And bid new music charm the unfolding ear:
The dumb shall sing, the lame his crutch forego,
And leap exulting like the bounding roe.
No sigh, no murmur the wide world shall hear,
From every face he wipes off every tear.
In adamantine chains shall Death be bound,2
And Hell's grim tyrant feel the eternal wound.
As the good shepherd tends his fleecy care,
Seeks freshest pasture and the purest air,
Explores the lost, the wandering sheep directs,
By day o'ersees them, and by night protects;
The tender lambs he raises in his arms,3
Feeds from his hand, and in his bosom warms;
Thus shall mankind his guardian care engage, 55
The promised Father of the future age.

5

46

50

No more shall nation against nation rise,
Nor ardent warriors meet with hateful eyes,
Nor fields with gleaming steel be covered o'er,
The brazen trumpets kindle rage no more; 60
But useless lances into scythes shall bend,
And the broad falchion in a plough-share end.
Then palaces shall rise; the joyful son
Shall finish what his short-lived sire begun ;
Their vines a shadow to their race shall yield, 65

1 Isa. xlii. 18; xxxv. 5, 6.-P.

2 Ibid. xxv. 8.-P.

4 Ibid. ix, 6.-P.

e Ibid. lxv. 21, 22.-P.

3 Ibid. xl. 11.-P.

5 Ibid. ii. 4.-P.

And the same hand that sowed, shall reap

field.

1

the

2

70

The swain in barren deserts with surprise
Sees lilies spring, and sudden verdure rise; 2
And starts, amidst the thirsty wilds to hear
New falls of water murmuring in his ear.
On rifted rocks, the dragon's late abodes,
The green reed trembles, and the bulrush nods.
Waste sandy valleys, once perplexed with
thorn,

3

The spiry fir and shapely box adorn;

76

To leafless shrubs the flowering palms succeed,
And odorous myrtle to the noisome weed.
The lambs with wolves shall graze the verdant
mead,*

1 Isa. xxxv. 1, 7.-P. 2 Virg. Ecl. iv. 28:

"Molli paulatim flavescet campus arista, Incultisque rubens pendebit sentibus uva, Et duræ quercus sudabunt roscida mella." "The fields shall grow yellow with ripened ears, and the red grape shall hang upon the wild brambles, and the hard oaks shall distil honey like dew."

Isa. xxxv. 7.—“The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. In the habitation where dragons lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes." Ch. lv. 13.-" Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree.”—P.

3 Isa. xli. 19, and lv. 13.-P.

4 Virg. Ecl. iv. 21:

Ipsæ lacte domum referent distenta capellæ Ubera, nec magnos metuent armenta leonesOccidet et serpens, et fallax herba veneni Occidet."

"The goats shall bear to the fold their udders distended with milk: nor shall the herds be afraid of the greatest lions. The serpent shall die, and the herb that conceals poison shall die."

Isa. xi. 6, 7, 8.-"The wolf shall dwell with the