 | Silenus |  |
“Nay, Syrinx, mine, by conquest justified,
Gazing unhindered on thy beauty thrown
Consentingly wide open to the day!
If I sagaciously can scent my game
And track to capture, must I then forego
My natural recompense because the prize
Loves freedom better than fair forfeiture?
What can thy beauty do against my strength?
Merely increase itself in vain affray,
Making my strength grow stronger with the strife!
Unwisely rash, shouldst thou attempt escape,
And flutter uselessly thy milky breath;
What could outstrip my rapid-leaping hoofs,
Whose clatter calls the nymph and satyr throngs,
Hands spread, to admiration as I flit:
One hoof drawn tight to ham, down click; anon
The other up, down click; and then along
The rocky river margin click on click;
Till envious birds would interchange their wings
For hoofs whose nimble play outspeeds the wind!”
Gazing unhindered on thy beauty thrown
Consentingly wide open to the day!
If I sagaciously can scent my game
And track to capture, must I then forego
My natural recompense because the prize
Loves freedom better than fair forfeiture?
8
Merely increase itself in vain affray,
Making my strength grow stronger with the strife!
Unwisely rash, shouldst thou attempt escape,
And flutter uselessly thy milky breath;
What could outstrip my rapid-leaping hoofs,
Whose clatter calls the nymph and satyr throngs,
Hands spread, to admiration as I flit:
One hoof drawn tight to ham, down click; anon
The other up, down click; and then along
The rocky river margin click on click;
Till envious birds would interchange their wings
For hoofs whose nimble play outspeeds the wind!”
| Silenus | |