Ovid's metamorphoses in fifteen books Translated by the most Eminent Hands. Adorn'd with Sculptures |
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 | Ovid's metamorphoses in fifteen books |  |
The Labyrinth.
Now Minos, landed on the Cretan Shore,
Performs his Vows to Jove's protecting Pow'r;
A hundred Bullocks, of the largest Breed,
With Flowrets crown'd, before his Altar bleed:
While Trophies of the Vanquish'd, brought from far,
Adorn the Palace with the Spoils of War.
Performs his Vows to Jove's protecting Pow'r;
A hundred Bullocks, of the largest Breed,
With Flowrets crown'd, before his Altar bleed:
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Adorn the Palace with the Spoils of War.
Mean while the Monster of a Human-Beast,
His Family's Reproach, and Stain, increas'd.
His double Kind the Rumour swiftly spread,
And evidenc'd the Mother's beastly Deed.
When Minos, willing to conceal the Shame
That sprung from the Reports of tattling Fame,
Resolves a dark Inclosure to provide,
And, far from Sight, the two-form'd Creature hide.
His Family's Reproach, and Stain, increas'd.
His double Kind the Rumour swiftly spread,
And evidenc'd the Mother's beastly Deed.
When Minos, willing to conceal the Shame
That sprung from the Reports of tattling Fame,
Resolves a dark Inclosure to provide,
And, far from Sight, the two-form'd Creature hide.
Great Dædalus of Athens was the Man
That made the Draught, and form'd the wondrous Plan;
Where Rooms within themselves encircled lye,
With various Windings, to deceive the Eye.
As soft Mæander's wanton Current plays,
When thro' the Phrygian Fields it loosely strays;
Backward, and forward rouls the dimpl'd Tide,
Seeming, at once, two different Ways to glide:
While circling Streams their former Banks survey,
And Waters past succeeding Waters see:
Now floating to the Sea with downward Course,
Now pointing upward to its ancient Source.
Such was the Work, so intricate the Place,
That scarce the Workman all its Turns cou'd trace;
And Dædalus was puzzled how to find
The secret Ways of what himself design'd.
That made the Draught, and form'd the wondrous Plan;
Where Rooms within themselves encircled lye,
With various Windings, to deceive the Eye.
As soft Mæander's wanton Current plays,
When thro' the Phrygian Fields it loosely strays;
Backward, and forward rouls the dimpl'd Tide,
Seeming, at once, two different Ways to glide:
While circling Streams their former Banks survey,
And Waters past succeeding Waters see:
Now floating to the Sea with downward Course,
Now pointing upward to its ancient Source.
Such was the Work, so intricate the Place,
That scarce the Workman all its Turns cou'd trace;
And Dædalus was puzzled how to find
The secret Ways of what himself design'd.
These private Walls the Minotaure include,
Who twice was glutted with Athenian Blood:
But the third Tribute more successful prov'd,
Slew the foul Monster, and the Plague remov'd.
When Theseus, aided by the Virgin's Art,
Had trac'd the guiding Thread thro' ev'ry Part,
He took the gentle Maid that set him free,
And, bound for Dias, cut the briny Sea.
There, quickly cloy'd, ungrateful, and unkind,
Lest his fair Consort in the Isle behind.
Whom Bacchus saw, and straining in his Arms
Her rifl'd Bloom, and violated Charms,
Resolves, for this, the dear engaging Dame
Shou'd shine for ever in the Rolls of Fame;
And bids her Crown among the Stars be plac'd,
With an eternal Constellation grac'd.
The golden Circlet mounts; and, as it flies,
Its Diamonds twinkle in the distant Skies;
There, in their pristin Form, the gemmy Rays
Between Alcides and the Dragon blaze.
Who twice was glutted with Athenian Blood:
But the third Tribute more successful prov'd,
Slew the foul Monster, and the Plague remov'd.
When Theseus, aided by the Virgin's Art,
Had trac'd the guiding Thread thro' ev'ry Part,
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And, bound for Dias, cut the briny Sea.
There, quickly cloy'd, ungrateful, and unkind,
Lest his fair Consort in the Isle behind.
Whom Bacchus saw, and straining in his Arms
Her rifl'd Bloom, and violated Charms,
Resolves, for this, the dear engaging Dame
Shou'd shine for ever in the Rolls of Fame;
And bids her Crown among the Stars be plac'd,
With an eternal Constellation grac'd.
The golden Circlet mounts; and, as it flies,
Its Diamonds twinkle in the distant Skies;
There, in their pristin Form, the gemmy Rays
Between Alcides and the Dragon blaze.
| Ovid's metamorphoses in fifteen books | |