The Works of Tibullus Containing his Love-Elegies. Translated by Mr Dart. To which is added, The Life of the Author; with Observations on the Original Design of Elegiack Verse; and the Characters of the most Celebrated Greek, Latin and English Elegiack Poets |
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| I. |
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| II. |
| III. | ELEGY III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
 | II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
 | The Works of Tibullus |  |
ELEGY III.
While you Messala tempt th' Ægean Sea,
I am prevented to attend your Way.
But, O! I wish you still may condescend
To bear a kind Remembrance of your Friend.
I am prevented to attend your Way.
But, O! I wish you still may condescend
To bear a kind Remembrance of your Friend.
Oppress'd with Sickness, weary'd out with Pains,
Phœacia me in unknown Lands detains:
Sick, and a Stranger in a foreign Land,
Black Death withdraw thy dire rapacious Hand;
Black Death keep off I pray, no Mother here
Can gather up my Dust with pious Care.
No Sister here with decent Grief can come
To please my Shade, and off'ring rich Perfume,
With flowing Hair lament before my Tomb.
No Delia who at every Shrine did wait,
Before our Parting, to consult my Fate.
Thrice into Fortune's Chest the Lotts she threw,
And thrice the Boy undoubted Answers drew;
All promis'd a Return, yet the fond Maid
Still wept, and of the Journey still afraid:
Nor Gods could satisfie, nor Fates appease,
'Twas I alone could give the wish'd-for Ease.
When going, I some new Pretence would raise,
To put the Journey off, and frame Delays;
Some inauspicious Bird is seen to fly,
Or some malignant Omen sets it by;
Or else perhaps 'tis Saturn's evil Day,
Or any thing that serves to use Delay.
How often have I stumbl'd at the Gate?
Then said the Voyage was ill-design'd by Fate.
Let none when Love's averse their Journey take,
Or dare proceed when he commands them back.
Phœacia me in unknown Lands detains:
16
Black Death withdraw thy dire rapacious Hand;
Black Death keep off I pray, no Mother here
Can gather up my Dust with pious Care.
No Sister here with decent Grief can come
To please my Shade, and off'ring rich Perfume,
With flowing Hair lament before my Tomb.
No Delia who at every Shrine did wait,
Before our Parting, to consult my Fate.
Thrice into Fortune's Chest the Lotts she threw,
And thrice the Boy undoubted Answers drew;
All promis'd a Return, yet the fond Maid
Still wept, and of the Journey still afraid:
Nor Gods could satisfie, nor Fates appease,
'Twas I alone could give the wish'd-for Ease.
When going, I some new Pretence would raise,
To put the Journey off, and frame Delays;
Some inauspicious Bird is seen to fly,
Or some malignant Omen sets it by;
17
Or any thing that serves to use Delay.
How often have I stumbl'd at the Gate?
Then said the Voyage was ill-design'd by Fate.
Let none when Love's averse their Journey take,
Or dare proceed when he commands them back.
What now avails thy Isis Pow'r to thee?
Or what Advantage, Delia, reaches me?
From jingling Sistrums you unweary'd shake,
And all the kind religious Care you take.
Or what avail thy purifying Rites,
Thy frequent Bathings, and thy lonely Nights?
Now, Goddess! now assist, for in thy Shrine
Suspended Tablets prove thy Help Divine;
That by my Delia, for thy pow'rful Aid,
Repeated Thanks and grateful Vows be paid;
And all in Linnen veil'd, a Vot'ry wait,
Watching incessantly before thy Gate;
And sing thy mighty Praises twice a-Day,
With Hair unbound in the Egyptian way.
But may I worship at my known Aboads,
Paternal Lares and familiar Gods.
Or what Advantage, Delia, reaches me?
From jingling Sistrums you unweary'd shake,
And all the kind religious Care you take.
Or what avail thy purifying Rites,
Thy frequent Bathings, and thy lonely Nights?
Now, Goddess! now assist, for in thy Shrine
Suspended Tablets prove thy Help Divine;
That by my Delia, for thy pow'rful Aid,
Repeated Thanks and grateful Vows be paid;
And all in Linnen veil'd, a Vot'ry wait,
Watching incessantly before thy Gate;
18
With Hair unbound in the Egyptian way.
But may I worship at my known Aboads,
Paternal Lares and familiar Gods.
How blest the Life in old Saturnian Days,
E'er tiresome Journies mark'd out tedious Ways;
Or Pines descending from the Mountain's Brow,
Disturb'd the Azure-main with brazen Prow;
E'er to assist their Way, they spread their Sails,
And swelling Canvass caught the flying Gales:
No Merchants then their dang'rous Coastings made,
To fill their Vessels with a foreign Trade.
No sturdy Bull had wore the Yoke as yet,
Nor Horse (with Mouth restrain'd) had champ'd the Bitt;
No Doors their Bow'rs secur'd, and in their Grounds
No Landmark stood, to parcel out the Bounds;
Nor Rage was then, nor furious Wars alarms,
Nor Smiths with barb'rous Art had fashion'd Arms.
E'er tiresome Journies mark'd out tedious Ways;
Or Pines descending from the Mountain's Brow,
Disturb'd the Azure-main with brazen Prow;
E'er to assist their Way, they spread their Sails,
And swelling Canvass caught the flying Gales:
No Merchants then their dang'rous Coastings made,
To fill their Vessels with a foreign Trade.
No sturdy Bull had wore the Yoke as yet,
Nor Horse (with Mouth restrain'd) had champ'd the Bitt;
No Doors their Bow'rs secur'd, and in their Grounds
No Landmark stood, to parcel out the Bounds;
Nor Rage was then, nor furious Wars alarms,
Nor Smiths with barb'rous Art had fashion'd Arms.
19
Now, Jove an Age by far unhappier sways,
Now, dang'rous Battles, and tempestuous Seas
Have open'd unto Death a thousand Ways.
Spare Father, spare, for (piously inclin'd)
No conscious Perjuries distract my Mind,
Or evil Words in sacred Fanes design'd.
Now, dang'rous Battles, and tempestuous Seas
Have open'd unto Death a thousand Ways.
Spare Father, spare, for (piously inclin'd)
No conscious Perjuries distract my Mind,
Or evil Words in sacred Fanes design'd.
But if the Fates will lead my Clue no more,
And my unhappy Share of Years are o'er;
Upon the Earth, where my cold Ashes lie,
A Stone erect, and write this Elegy;
Here lies Tibullus , stop'd by Death, while he
Messala follow'd, over Land and Sea.
And my unhappy Share of Years are o'er;
Upon the Earth, where my cold Ashes lie,
A Stone erect, and write this Elegy;
Here lies Tibullus , stop'd by Death, while he
Messala follow'd, over Land and Sea.
But me, since Love was still my tender Vow,
Venus shall lead to happy Meads below;
There Songs perpetual charm the list'ning Ear,
Whilst all the Feather'd Wand'rers of the Air,
To join the Sound, their warbling Throats prepare.
Cassia from ev'ry Hedge unbidden breaths,
And to the Gales its fragrant Sweets bequeaths;
The bounteous Earth its purple Product yields,
And od'rous Roses paint the blushing Fields:
There Trains of blooming Youths, and tender Maids,
Sport on the Green, and wanton in the Shades;
While busie Love attends them all the Way,
Joins in the Conflict, and provokes the Fray:
There ev'ry one by hasty Death betray'd,
The faithful Lover, and the constant Maid,
Above the rest distinguish'd, all repair,
And bind with Myrtle Wreaths their flowing Hair.
Venus shall lead to happy Meads below;
There Songs perpetual charm the list'ning Ear,
Whilst all the Feather'd Wand'rers of the Air,
To join the Sound, their warbling Throats prepare.
20
And to the Gales its fragrant Sweets bequeaths;
The bounteous Earth its purple Product yields,
And od'rous Roses paint the blushing Fields:
There Trains of blooming Youths, and tender Maids,
Sport on the Green, and wanton in the Shades;
While busie Love attends them all the Way,
Joins in the Conflict, and provokes the Fray:
There ev'ry one by hasty Death betray'd,
The faithful Lover, and the constant Maid,
Above the rest distinguish'd, all repair,
And bind with Myrtle Wreaths their flowing Hair.
But impious Souls shall lie in Night profound,
Where muddy Waters flow with sullen Sound;
Snake-hair'd Tisiphone rages about,
And lashes here, and there, the impious Rout;
There Hydra horrid, at the Portal waits,
And barking Cerb'rus guards the brazen Gates:
There Ixion's whirl'd around th' incessant Wheel,
For tempting Juno, and th' intended Ill:
There Tityus lies over nine Acres spread,
While his Black Intrails hung'ry Vultures feed:
Tantalus inclos'd with Streams, yet ever dry,
While from his Lips th' eluding Waters fly;
And Danau's Daughter, impious to profane
Great Venus Rites, are doom'd a fruitless Pain,
To fill with Lethe's Streams a Tun in vain:
There all that wish'd this Journey shall remove,
And every Violater of my Love.
Where muddy Waters flow with sullen Sound;
Snake-hair'd Tisiphone rages about,
And lashes here, and there, the impious Rout;
There Hydra horrid, at the Portal waits,
And barking Cerb'rus guards the brazen Gates:
21
For tempting Juno, and th' intended Ill:
There Tityus lies over nine Acres spread,
While his Black Intrails hung'ry Vultures feed:
Tantalus inclos'd with Streams, yet ever dry,
While from his Lips th' eluding Waters fly;
And Danau's Daughter, impious to profane
Great Venus Rites, are doom'd a fruitless Pain,
To fill with Lethe's Streams a Tun in vain:
There all that wish'd this Journey shall remove,
And every Violater of my Love.
But you continue chast, let Nurse with Care
Secure your Modesty and pious Fear;
By Lamp-light tell thee Tales, and Fleeces cull,
Or from the Distaff lead the twisted Wooll;
Let her the Servant close to Labour keep,
'Till Nature tir'd, requires Supplies of Sleep.
Secure your Modesty and pious Fear;
By Lamp-light tell thee Tales, and Fleeces cull,
Or from the Distaff lead the twisted Wooll;
Let her the Servant close to Labour keep,
'Till Nature tir'd, requires Supplies of Sleep.
22
Then, if the Fates this feeble Life sustain,
And I am blest to see my Dear again:
I unexpected come, nor Slave employ
To speak me near, and moderate your Joy;
You'll think my Visit made as from the Skies,
And I shall see, and Share the dear Surprize;
With naked Feet you'll run to meet my Arms,
Your Hair unbound, in all your native Charms,
O! may Aurora bring this happy Light
With Rosy Steeds, and make the Morning bright.
And I am blest to see my Dear again:
I unexpected come, nor Slave employ
To speak me near, and moderate your Joy;
You'll think my Visit made as from the Skies,
And I shall see, and Share the dear Surprize;
With naked Feet you'll run to meet my Arms,
Your Hair unbound, in all your native Charms,
O! may Aurora bring this happy Light
With Rosy Steeds, and make the Morning bright.
| The Works of Tibullus | |