 | Arcadia |  |
SCENE I.
A view of the country.SHEPHERDS AND SHEPHERDESSES.
CHORUS.
Shepherds, buxom, blithe and free,
Now's the time for jollity.
SYLVIA.
AIR.
Hither haste, and bring along
Merry tale and jocund song.
To the pipe and tabor beat
Frolic measures with your feet.
Ev'ry gift of time employ;
Make the most of proffer'd joy.
Pleasure hates the scanty rules
Portion'd out by dreaming fools.
CHORUS.
Shepherds, buxom, blithe and free,
Now's the time for jollity.
A dance of Shepherds, &c.
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RECITATIVE.
Rejoice, ye happy swains, rejoice;
It is the heart that prompts the voice.
Be sorrow banish'd far away;
Thyrsis shall make it holy-day.
Who at his name can joy suppress?
Arcadian-born to rule and bless.
DAMON.
And hark! from rock to rock the sound
Of winding horn, and deep-mouth'd hound,
Breaking with rapture on the ear,
Proclaims the blithsome Phœbe near:
See where she hastes with eager pace,
To speak the joys that paint her face.
| Arcadia | |