Marinda Poems and Translations upon Several Occasions [by Mary Monck] |
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A Translation of part of the Fifth Scene of the Second Act of Pastor Fido.
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 | Marinda |  |
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A Translation of part of the Fifth Scene of the Second Act of Pastor Fido.
Dear happy Woods, where gloomy Silence dwells,
Of sweet Repose, ye peaceful lonely Cells,
Gladly I you revisit; had my Fate
Suffer'd my Fortune on my Wish to wait,
You I had priz'd above th'Elysian Field,
Whose Shades to Demi-gods immortal Pleasures yield.
Who most of this World shares, enjoys the least;
Its seeming Goods are real Ills confess'd,
Nor do we them possess, but are by them possess'd.
Wealth's but a Golden Chain; what's Virtue, Birth,
Beauty and Youth, and all that Heaven or Earth
Bestows on Mortals, if 'midst all we find
The Anguish of a discontented Mind?
Thrice happy Shepherdess, whose tender Side
A clean tho' homely Garment scarce does hide,
Rich in herself, and to those Beauties born
With which kind Nature does her Sex adorn;
No Want she knows, nor Plenty, (worse Disease)
Desiring nothing she has all can please:
Of sweet Repose, ye peaceful lonely Cells,
Gladly I you revisit; had my Fate
Suffer'd my Fortune on my Wish to wait,
You I had priz'd above th'Elysian Field,
Whose Shades to Demi-gods immortal Pleasures yield.
Who most of this World shares, enjoys the least;
Its seeming Goods are real Ills confess'd,
Nor do we them possess, but are by them possess'd.
Wealth's but a Golden Chain; what's Virtue, Birth,
Beauty and Youth, and all that Heaven or Earth
Bestows on Mortals, if 'midst all we find
The Anguish of a discontented Mind?
Thrice happy Shepherdess, whose tender Side
A clean tho' homely Garment scarce does hide,
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With which kind Nature does her Sex adorn;
No Want she knows, nor Plenty, (worse Disease)
Desiring nothing she has all can please:
Poor, but contented.
With Nature's Gifts, she Nature's Gifts revives,
Milk to her Milky whiteness Lustre gives,
Whilst the Bees Honey with her Sweetness meets,
And joyns to heighten all her Native Sweets.
The Christal Spring which does her Drink supply,
Is both her Bath, and Glass she dresses by;
When she is pleas'd, all things to her seem Gay,
No Tempests can her Poverty dismay;
One only Care in her soft Breast remains,
Nor is that Care disturb'd by anxious Pains;
Her tender Flocks feed on the Verdant Meads,
On her bright Eyes her faithful Shepherd feeds,
The Shepherd not by Man or Fate enjoyn'd,
But first by Nature, then by Love assign'd,
Under their favourite Myrtle's fragrant Shade
Together sit the Swain and charming Maid:
Belov'd, she loves, nor her pure Flame conceals,
But every Passion to her Swain reveals,
And every Passion he, e'er she reveals it, feels.
Milk to her Milky whiteness Lustre gives,
Whilst the Bees Honey with her Sweetness meets,
And joyns to heighten all her Native Sweets.
The Christal Spring which does her Drink supply,
Is both her Bath, and Glass she dresses by;
When she is pleas'd, all things to her seem Gay,
No Tempests can her Poverty dismay;
One only Care in her soft Breast remains,
Nor is that Care disturb'd by anxious Pains;
Her tender Flocks feed on the Verdant Meads,
On her bright Eyes her faithful Shepherd feeds,
The Shepherd not by Man or Fate enjoyn'd,
But first by Nature, then by Love assign'd,
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Together sit the Swain and charming Maid:
Belov'd, she loves, nor her pure Flame conceals,
But every Passion to her Swain reveals,
And every Passion he, e'er she reveals it, feels.
Poor, but contented.
| Marinda | |