 | The works of Anacreon, Sappho, Bion, Moschus and Musæus |  |
IDYLLIUM IV. THE POWER OF LOVE.
The sacred Nine delight in cruel Love,Tread in his Steps, and all his Ways approve:
Should some rude Swain, whom Love could ne'er refine,
Woo the fair Muses, they his Suit decline;
But if the love-sick Shepherd sweetly sing,
The tuneful Choir, attending in a Ring,
Catch the soft Sounds, and tune the vocal Shell;
This Truth by frequent Precedent I tell:
For when I praise some Hero on my Lyre,
Or, nobly daring, to a God aspire,
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Or dies in faltering Accents on my Tongue:
But when with Love or Lycidas I glow,
Smooth are my Lays, the Numbers sweetly flow.
| The works of Anacreon, Sappho, Bion, Moschus and Musæus | |