 | Sappho |  |
350
SCENE II.
A soft symphony, during which Sappho falls asleep and the Naiad Arethusa rises from the stream, seated in a shell.ARETHUSA.
See! from her translucent bed
Arethusa brings thee aid.
Lo! she sprinkles on thy breast
Vial'd drops, by fingers chaste
Cull'd from the cærulean deeps,
Where her coldest chrystal sleeps;
Where Alphéus dare not lave,
To mix with her's his amorous wave.
Thrice I lift my virgin hand,
Thrice I shed the vapors bland,
To calm thy soul; while I declare
The council I from Phœbus bear.
Know, by my voice, he bids his vot'ry fly
To where Leucate's cliff o'erhangs the main.
There shall she try
The last, the dangerous remedy
Of those, who love like her, and love in vain.
Arethusa brings thee aid.
Lo! she sprinkles on thy breast
Vial'd drops, by fingers chaste
Cull'd from the cærulean deeps,
Where her coldest chrystal sleeps;
Where Alphéus dare not lave,
To mix with her's his amorous wave.
Thrice I lift my virgin hand,
Thrice I shed the vapors bland,
To calm thy soul; while I declare
The council I from Phœbus bear.
Know, by my voice, he bids his vot'ry fly
To where Leucate's cliff o'erhangs the main.
There shall she try
The last, the dangerous remedy
Of those, who love like her, and love in vain.
351
A voice divine proclaims thy cure:
Hear, Sappho, hear that voice divine!
To Phœbus haste with off'rings pure,
And lay them on his holy shrine:
Then from Leucate's frowning brow
(Resolved to perish or be free)
Rush to the wave that rolls below
And welcome Death or Liberty.
Hear, Sappho, hear that voice divine!
To Phœbus haste with off'rings pure,
And lay them on his holy shrine:
Then from Leucate's frowning brow
(Resolved to perish or be free)
Rush to the wave that rolls below
And welcome Death or Liberty.
[Arethusa descends.
| Sappho | |