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Chapter I.
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Chapter I.
The miscellaneous works (1739) |  |
Chapter I.
SHE.
O come! and with thy balmy kisses sooth
These holy languishments, and let thy breath
With vital fragrance chear my drooping pow'rs:
Not spicy wines with their delicious scent,
And cordial flavour, so revive the soul.
These holy languishments, and let thy breath
With vital fragrance chear my drooping pow'rs:
Not spicy wines with their delicious scent,
And cordial flavour, so revive the soul.
Thy name is music! when I mention thee
Celestial sweetness fills the ambient air;
The list'ning virgins find the heav'nly charm,
Confess thy worth, and catch the sacred flame.
Celestial sweetness fills the ambient air;
The list'ning virgins find the heav'nly charm,
Confess thy worth, and catch the sacred flame.
O draw me with the soft, resistless bands
Of gentle love, and I will follow thee
To those fair chambers where my gracious king
With royal banquets feasts my longing soul,
And seals his truth in sacramental wine.
But who can paint the rising ecstasy
His presence gives, while on his charming face
Sit smiling beauty, and immortal love?
Of gentle love, and I will follow thee
To those fair chambers where my gracious king
With royal banquets feasts my longing soul,
And seals his truth in sacramental wine.
But who can paint the rising ecstasy
248
Sit smiling beauty, and immortal love?
Have I deserv'd this grace? my conscious heart
Forbids the guilty boast; for I am black
As Kedar's tents; expos'd at burning noon
The sultry sun has stain'd my native hue.
But who shall ask my glorious lover why
His favours, thus unmerited, are plac'd?
Forbids the guilty boast; for I am black
As Kedar's tents; expos'd at burning noon
The sultry sun has stain'd my native hue.
But who shall ask my glorious lover why
His favours, thus unmerited, are plac'd?
Conduct me, thou more dear to me than life!
Conduct me where thy snowy flocks are fed,
In verdant meads among the living springs
That gently wind around their flow'ry banks:
There let me shelter'd in the cool recess
Of some delightful shade repose at noon,
Nor ever from thy sacred pastures stray
In paths unknown, nor hear a stranger's voice.
Conduct me where thy snowy flocks are fed,
In verdant meads among the living springs
That gently wind around their flow'ry banks:
There let me shelter'd in the cool recess
Of some delightful shade repose at noon,
Nor ever from thy sacred pastures stray
In paths unknown, nor hear a stranger's voice.
HE.
Thou fairest object that the world can boast!
Keep near the shepherds tents; thy little kids
May there securely feed, and safely rest,
Follow the bleating of my harmless flocks,
And mark their foot-steps on the grassy plain.
Keep near the shepherds tents; thy little kids
May there securely feed, and safely rest,
Follow the bleating of my harmless flocks,
And mark their foot-steps on the grassy plain.
What artless graces on thy mein appear!
Not Pharaoh's manag'd steeds with easier state,
In golden reins, the royal chariot draw.
Where-e'er I gaze, new beauties charm my sight.
The sparkling pendants on thy blushing cheeks
More warmly glow, while from thy lovely neck
The circling chain new blandishment receives.
Not Pharaoh's manag'd steeds with easier state,
In golden reins, the royal chariot draw.
Where-e'er I gaze, new beauties charm my sight.
The sparkling pendants on thy blushing cheeks
249
The circling chain new blandishment receives.
Ye nymphs of Salem, with your nicest art
Prepare the nuptial vest: On braided gold
Let silver foliage round the border shine.
Prepare the nuptial vest: On braided gold
Let silver foliage round the border shine.
SHE.
While at his royal board the heav'nly king
Vouchsafes to entertain his joyful guests,
Let all my spikenard yield its rich perfume:
But oh! what sweetness like his rosy breath?
Not myrrhe new bleeding from the wounded tree,
Nor blest Arabia thro' her spicy groves
Such fragrance blows. He all the silent night
Shall lean his head upon my peaceful breast.
Vouchsafes to entertain his joyful guests,
Let all my spikenard yield its rich perfume:
But oh! what sweetness like his rosy breath?
Not myrrhe new bleeding from the wounded tree,
Nor blest Arabia thro' her spicy groves
Such fragrance blows. He all the silent night
Shall lean his head upon my peaceful breast.
As clust'ring camphire, with a livelier green
Distinguish'd, in Engedi's vineyard stands,
Thus with peculiar charms thy heav'nly form
Surpasses all the pride of human race.
Not half so bright the eyes of doves as thine,
Their lustre all similitude exceeds:
Description faints, when I would talk of thee.
Distinguish'd, in Engedi's vineyard stands,
Thus with peculiar charms thy heav'nly form
Surpasses all the pride of human race.
Not half so bright the eyes of doves as thine,
Their lustre all similitude exceeds:
Description faints, when I would talk of thee.
But I shall praise thee in a loftier strain,
When in the blissful bow'rs above we meet;
Those glorious mansions rais'd by skill divine,
Where crown'd with peace and ever-verdant youth,
The jocund hours dance on their endless round.
When in the blissful bow'rs above we meet;
Those glorious mansions rais'd by skill divine,
Where crown'd with peace and ever-verdant youth,
The jocund hours dance on their endless round.
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Chapter I.
The miscellaneous works (1739) | |