FRAGMENTS OF SAPPHO.
FRAGMENT I.
[The Pleiads now no more are seen]
The
Pleiads now no more are seen,
Nor shines the silver Moon serene,
In dark and dismal Clouds o'ercast;
The love appointed Hour is past:
Midnight usurps her sable Throne,
And yet, alas! I lie alone.
FRAGMENT II.
[Whene'er the Fates resume thy Breath]
[_]
This seems to have been addressed to an arrogant unlettered
Lady, vain of her Beauty and Riches.
I
Whene'er the Fates resume thy Breath,
No bright Reversion shalt thou gain,
Unnotic'd thou shalt sink in Death,
Nor ev'n thy Memory remain:
For thy rude Hand ne'er pluck'd the lovely Rose,
Which on the Mountain of Pieria blows.
II
To Pluto's Mansions shalt thou go,
The stern inexorable King,
Among th'ignoble Shades below
A vain, ignoble Thing;
While honour'd Sappho's Muse-embellish'd Name
Shall flourish in Eternity of Fame.
FRAGMENT III. TO VENUS.
Venus
, Queen of Smiles and Love,
Quit, O! quit the Skies above;
To my lowly Roof descend,
At the mirthful Feast attend;
Hand the golden Goblet round,
With delicious Nectar crown'd:
None but joyous Friends you'll see,
Friends of Venus, and of me.
FRAGMENT IV.
[Cease, gentle Mother, cease your sharp Reproof]
Cease, gentle Mother, cease your sharp Reproof,
My Hands no more can ply the curious Woof,
While on my Mind the Flames of Cupid prey,
And lovely Phaon steals my Soul away.
FRAGMENT V. ON THE ROSE.
Would
Jove appoint some Flower to reign
In matchless Beauty on the Plain,
The Rose (Mankind will all agree)
The Rose the Queen of Flowers should be;
The Pride of Plants, the Grace of Bowers,
The Blush of Meads, the Eye of Flowers:
Its Beauties charm the Gods above;
Its Fragrance is the Breath of Love;
Its Foliage wantons in the Air
Luxuriant, like the flowing Hair;
It shines in blooming Splendor gay,
While Zephyrs on its Bosom play.
[Ye Muses, ever fair and young]
[_]
The following is Part of an Ode which Sappho is supposed
to have written to Anacreon.
