 | Ouâbi : or the virtues of nature |  |
CELARIO.
First shall the sun forget to lave
His bright beams in the red'ning wave,
The Pleiades shall forsake their sphere,
And midst the blaze of noon appear,
Or cold Böotes' car shall roll
In sultry splendor round the pole,
Ere thy Celario hails the day,
In which he tears thy soul away.
His bright beams in the red'ning wave,
The Pleiades shall forsake their sphere,
And midst the blaze of noon appear,
Or cold Böotes' car shall roll
In sultry splendor round the pole,
Ere thy Celario hails the day,
In which he tears thy soul away.
Tho' late—with pointed grief I see,
And own my black'ning crimes to thee.
When torn by woes, by cares oppress'd,
You clasp'd me to that shelt'ring breast,
Forbade my exil'd steps to roam,
And led me to this gen'rous home:
Regardless of thy sacred fame,
I dar'd to urge my guilty flame;
Tho' to that arm my life was due,
And ev'ry bliss deriv'd from you,
By each perfidious art I strove
To win the bright Azâkia's love,
With ceaseless passion sought to gain
Her heav'nly charms—but sought in vain.
Yet will the wand'ring traitor go
To distant plains, to realms of woe,
'Till absence from his breast remove
The tortures of his impious love,
'Till time with healing on his wing
Shall peace and soft oblivion bring.
And own my black'ning crimes to thee.
When torn by woes, by cares oppress'd,
You clasp'd me to that shelt'ring breast,
Forbade my exil'd steps to roam,
And led me to this gen'rous home:
Regardless of thy sacred fame,
I dar'd to urge my guilty flame;
Tho' to that arm my life was due,
And ev'ry bliss deriv'd from you,
44
To win the bright Azâkia's love,
With ceaseless passion sought to gain
Her heav'nly charms—but sought in vain.
Yet will the wand'ring traitor go
To distant plains, to realms of woe,
'Till absence from his breast remove
The tortures of his impious love,
'Till time with healing on his wing
Shall peace and soft oblivion bring.
Celario will not be considered as addressing the savage in too philosophical language, when it is remembered that people in a hunting state are necessarily acquainted with the different stars and planets, to aid their course in their excursions from, and returns to, their places of residence. As no images can with propriety be taken from culture or civil society in the dialogues, I am under the necessity of frequently repeating the most striking objects of nature.
| Ouâbi : or the virtues of nature | |