The miscellaneous works (1739) | ||
14
To the Author of the foregoing Pastoral.
By Mr. Prior.
By
Sylvia, if thy charming self be meant;
If friendship be thy virgin vows extent;
O! let me in Aminta's praises join:
Her's my esteem shall be, my passion thine.
When for thy head the garland I prepare;
A second wreath shall bind Aminta's hair:
And when my choicest songs thy worth proclaim;
Alternate verse shall bless Aminta's name:
My heart shall own the justice of her cause;
And love himself submit to friendship's laws.
If friendship be thy virgin vows extent;
O! let me in Aminta's praises join:
Her's my esteem shall be, my passion thine.
When for thy head the garland I prepare;
A second wreath shall bind Aminta's hair:
And when my choicest songs thy worth proclaim;
Alternate verse shall bless Aminta's name:
My heart shall own the justice of her cause;
And love himself submit to friendship's laws.
But, if beneath thy numbers soft disguise,
Some favour'd swain, some true Alexis lies;
If Amaryllis breathes thy secret pains;
And thy fond heart beats measure to thy strains:
May'st thou, howe'er I grieve, for ever find
The flame propitious, and the lover kind:
May Venus long exert her happy pow'r,
And make thy beauty, like thy verse, endure:
May ev'ry God his friendly aid afford;
Pan guard thy flock, and Ceres bless thy board.
Some favour'd swain, some true Alexis lies;
If Amaryllis breathes thy secret pains;
And thy fond heart beats measure to thy strains:
May'st thou, howe'er I grieve, for ever find
The flame propitious, and the lover kind:
May Venus long exert her happy pow'r,
And make thy beauty, like thy verse, endure:
May ev'ry God his friendly aid afford;
Pan guard thy flock, and Ceres bless thy board.
But, if by chance the series of thy joys
Permit one thought less chearful to arise;
Piteous transfer it to the mournful swain,
Who loving much, who not belov'd again,
Feels an ill-fated passion's last excess;
And dies in woe, that thou may'st live in peace.
Permit one thought less chearful to arise;
15
Who loving much, who not belov'd again,
Feels an ill-fated passion's last excess;
And dies in woe, that thou may'st live in peace.
The miscellaneous works (1739) | ||