Thus in a trice a judge of beauty grown
(A judge erected from a country clown)
He long'd to see her eyes, in slumber hid,
And wish'd his own could pierce within the lid;
He would have wak'd her, but restrain'd his
thought,
[taught,
And love new-born the first good manners
And awful fear his ardent wish withstood,
Nor durst disturb the goddess of the wood.
For such she seem'd by her celestial face,
Excelling all the rest of human race.
And things divine, by common sense he knew,
Must be devoutly seen, at distant view:
So checking his desire, with trembling heart,
Gazing he stood, nor would nor could depart;
Fix'd as a pilgrim wilder'd in his way,
Who dares not stir by night, for fear to stray,
But stand with awful eyes to watch the dawn

of day.

}

At length awaking, Iphigene the fair
(So was the beauty call'd who caus'd his care)
Unclos'd her eyes, and double day reveal'd,
While those of all her slaves in sleep were seal'd.
The slav'ring carden, propp'd upon his staff,
Stood ready gaping, with a grinning laugh,
To welcome her awake; nor durst begin
To speak, but svisely kept the fool within.
Then she: What makes you, Cymon, here alone?
(For Cymon's name was round the country
Because descended of a noble race, [known,
And for a soul ill sorted with his face).

But still the sot stood silent with surprise,
With fix't regard on her new open'd eyes,
And in his breast receiv'd th' envenom'd dart,
A tickling pain that pleas'd amid the smart.
But conscious of her form, with quick distrust
She saw his sparkling eyes, and fear'd his brutal
This to prevent, she wak'd her sleepy crew, [lust:
And, rising hasty, took a short adicu.

Then Cymon first his rustic voice essay'd,
With profer'd rofer'd service to the parting maid,
To see her safe; his haud she long denied,
But took at length, asham'd of such a guide.
So Cymon led her home, and leaving there,
No more would to his country clowns repair;
But sought his father's house with better mind,
Refusing in the farm to be confin'd.

The father wonder'd at the son's return,
And knew not whether to rejoice or mourn;
But doubtfully receiv'd, expecting still
To learn the secret causes of his alter'd will.
Nor was he long delay'd: the first request
He made, was like his brothers to be dress'd,
And, as his birth requir'd, above the rest.
With ease his suit was granted by his sire,
Distinguishing his heir by rich attire:
His body thus adorn'd, he next design'd.
With lib'ral arts to cultivate the mind:
He sought a tutor with his own accord,
And studied lessons he before abhorr'd.

}

Thus the man-child advane'd and learn'd so That in short time his equals he surpass'd; [fast, His brutal manners froni his breast exil'd,

His mien he fashion'd, and his tongue he fild;

In ev'ry exercise of all admir'd,
He seem'd, nor only seem'd, but was inspir'd:
Inspir'd by love, whose business is to please;
Herode, he fenc'd, he mov'd with graceful ease;
More fam'd for sense, for courtly carriage more,
Than for his brutal folly known before.

What then of alter'd Cymon shall we say,
But that the fire which chok'd in ashes lay,
A load too heavy for his soul to move,
Was upward blown below, and brush'd away by
love?

Love made an active progress thro' his mind,
The dusky parts he clear'd, the gross refin'd,
The drowsy wak'd; and, as he went, impress'd
The maker's image on the human breast.
Thus was the man amended by desire:
And tho' he lov'd perhaps with too much fire,
His father all his faults with reason scann'd,
And lik'd an error of the better hand:
Excus'd the excess of passion in his mind,
By flames too fierce, perhaps too inuch refin'd:
So Cymon, since his sire indulg'd his will,
Impetuous lov'd, and would be Cymon still;
Galesus he disown'd, and chose to bear
The name of fool, confirm'd, and Lishop'd by
the fair.

To Cipseus by his friends his suit he mov'd,
Cipseus the father of the fair he lov'd:
But he was pre-engag'd by former ties,
While Cymon was endeavouring to be wise:
And Iphigene, oblig'd by former vows,
Had given her faith to wed a foreign sponse:
Her sire and she to Rhodian Pasimond,
Though both repenting, were by promise bound,
Nor could retract; and thus, as fate decreed,
Though better lov'd, he spoke too late to speed.

The doom was past, the ship already sent
Did all his tardy diligence prevent :
Sign'd to herself the fair unhappy maid,
While stormy Cymon thus in secret said:
The time is come for Iphigene to find
The miracle she wrought upon my mind:
Her charms have made me man, her ravish'd love
In rank shall place me with the blest above.
For mine by love, by force she shall be mine,
Or death, if force should fail, shall finish my
design.

Resolv'd he said; and rigg'd with speedy care
A vessel strong, and well equipp'd for war.
The secret ship with chosen friends hestor'd;
And, bent to die or conquer, went abroad.
Ambush'd he lay behind the Cyprian shore,
Waiting the sail that all his wishes bore;
Nor loug expected, for the following tide
Sent out the hostile ship and beauteous bride.
To Rhodes the rival bark directly steer'd,
When Cymon sudden at her back appear'd,
And stopt her flight; then, standing on his prowy
In haughty terms he thus defied the foe:
Or strike your sails at summons, or prepare
To prove the last extremities of war.
Thus warn'd, the Rhodiansfor the fight provide,)
Already were the vessels side by side; [bride
These obstinate to save, and those to seise the)

But

Fierce was the fight; but, hast'ning to his prey,
By force the furious lover freed his way :
Himself alone dispers'd the Rhodian crew,
The weak disdain'd, the valiant overthrew.
Cheap conquest forhis following friends remain'd;
He reap'd the field, and they but only glean'd.
His victory confess'd, the foes retreat,
And cast the weapons at the victor's feet,

Whom thus he cheer'd: O Rhodian youth, I Are ever present, and her crime upbraid.

For love alone, nor other beauty sought:
Your lives are safe; your vessels 1 resign;
Yours be your own, restoring what is mine:
In Iphigene I claim my rightful due,
Robb'd by my rival, and detain'd by you.
Your Pasimond a lawless bargain drove,
The parent could not sell the danghter's love;
Or, if he could, my love disdains the laws,
And, like a king, by conquest gains his cause;
Where arms take place, all other pleas are vain;
Lovetanghtmeforce, andforceshall love maintain;
You, what by strength you couldnot keep, release,
And at an easy ransom buy your peace.

Stout once a month they march, a blust'ring band;
And ever, but in times of need, at hand;
This was the morn when, issuing on the guard,
Drawn up in rank and file they stood prepar'd
Of seeining arins to make a short essay,
Then hasten to be drunk, the business of the
day.

The cowards would have fled, but that they
knew
Themselves so many, and their foes so few :
Bat, crowding on, the last the first impel;
Till overborne with weight the Cyprians fell.
Cymon enslav'd, who first the war began;
And Iphigene once more is lost and won.

Deep in a dungeon was the captive cast,
Depriv'd of day, and held in fetters fast;
His life was only spar'd at their request,
Whom taken he so nobly had releas'd;
But Iphigenia was the ladies' care,
Each in their turn address'd to treat the fair;
While Pasimondand histhenuptial feastprepare.

}

Her secret soul to Cymon was inclin'd,
But she must suffer what her fates assign'd;
So passive is the church of womankind.
What worse to Cymon could his fortune deal,
Roll'd to the lowest spoke of all her wheel?
It rested to dismiss the downward weight,
Or raise him upward to his former height;
The latter pleas'd; and love (concern'd the
most)

Prepar'd th' amends for what by love he lost.
The sire of Pasimond had left a son,
Though younger, yet for courage early known,
Ormisda call'd, to whom, by promise tied,
A Rhodian beauty was the destin'd bride;
Cassandra was her name, above the rest
Renown'd for birth, with fortune amply blest.
Lysimachus, who rul'd the Rhodian state,
Was then by choice their annual magistrate;
He lov'd Cassandra too with equal fire
But fortune had not favor'd his desire;
Cross'd by her friends, by her not disapprov'd,
Nor yet preferr'd, or like Ormisda lov'd:

So stood th' affair; some little hope remain'd,
That should his rival chance to lose, he gain'd.
Mean time young Pasimond his marriage
press'd,
Ordain'd the nuptial day, prepar'd the feast;
And frugally resolv'd (the charge to shun
Which would be double should he wed alone)
To join his brother's bridal with his own.
Lysimachus, oppress'd with mortal grief,
Receiv'd the news and studied quick relief;
The fatal day approach'd; if force were us'd,
The magistrate his public trust abus'd; ⚫
To justice liable, as law requir'd;

}

For, when his office ceas'd, his pow'r expir'd:
While pow'r remain'd, the means were in his
hand,

By force to seise, and then forsake the land:
Betwixt extremes he knew not how to move;
A slave to fame, but more a slave to love:
Restraining others, yet himself not free,
Made impotent by pow'r, debas'd by dignity

{

An impious act with undeserv'd success;
'The great, it seems, are privileg'd alone
To punish all injustice but their own.
But here I stop, not daring to proceed,
Yet blush to flatter an unrighteous deed;
For crimes are but permitted, not decreed.
Resolv'd on force, his wit the prætor bent
To find the means that might secure th' event;
Nor long he labor'd, for his lucky thought
In captive Cymon found the friend he sought;
'Th' example pleas'd; the cause and erime thesame;
An injur'd lover and a ravish'd dame.
How much he durst he knew by what he dar'd,
The less he had to lose, the less he car'd,
To manage loathsome life when love was the

reward.

found

The grain entrusted in a grateful ground;
But still the great experiment remain'd,
They suffer'd you to lose the prize you gain'd,
That you might learn the gift was theirs alone,
And, when restor'd, to them the blessing own.
Restor'd it soon will be; the means prepar'd,
The difficulty smooth'd, the danger shar'd;
Be but yourself, the care to me resign,
Then Iphigene is yours, Cassandra mine.
Your rival Pasimond pursues your life;
Impatient to revenge his ravish'd wife.
But yet not his to-morrow is behind,
And love our fortunes in one band has join'd
Two brothers are our foes; Ormisda mine,
Be much declar'd as Pasimond is thine;
To-morrow must their common vows be tied;
With love to friend, and fortune for our guide,
Let both resolve to die, or each redeem a bride.
Right I have none, nor hast thoumuch to'plead;
'Tis force, when done, must justify the deed;

Our

1

Our task perform'd, we next prepare for flight, When, like the harpies rushing through the hall,

The double bridegroom at the door attends Their ships unrigg'd, and spent their naval store;

§33. Theodore and Honoria.

A Translation from Boccace. Dryden.

Of all the cities in Romanian lands,
The chief, and most renown'd, Ravenna stands,
Adorn'd in autient times with arins and arts,
And rich inhabitants with gen'rous hearts.
But Theodore the brave, above the rest,
With gifts of fortune and of nature blest,
The foremost place for wealth and honor held,
And all in feats of chivalry excell'd.

This noble youth to madness lov'd a dame
Of high degree; Honoria was her name;
Fair as the fairest, but of haughty mind,
And fiercer than became so soft a kind;
• Proud of her birth (for equabshe had none)
The rest she scorn'd, but hated him alone;
Hisgifts, his constant courtship, nothing gain'd;
For she, the more he lov'd, the more disdain'd.
He liv'd with all the pomp he could devise,
At tilts and tournaments obtain'd the prize;
But found no favor in his lady eves;
Relentless as a rock, the lofty maid
Turn'd all to poison that he did or said:
Nor prayers, nor tears, nor offer'd vows, could

move;

[strove

The work went backward and the more he
T" advance his suit, the farther from her love.
Wearied, at length, and wanting remedy,
He doubted oft, and oft resolv'd to die.
But pride stood ready to prevent the blow,
For who would die to gratify a foe!
His gen'rous mind disdain'd so mean a fate!
That pass'd, his next endeavour was to hate.
But vainer that relief than all the rest,

The less he hop'd, with more desire possess'd;
Love stood the siege, and would not yield his
breast.

}

expence

Of frequent treats, and proud magnificence.
He liv'd as kings retire, tho' inore at large
From public business, yet with equal charge;
With house and heart still open to receive;
As well content as love would give him leave:
He would have liv'd more free; but manyagues!,
Who could forsake the friend, pursu'd the feast.
Before usual left his bed;
It happ'd one morning as his fancy led,
To walk within a lonely lawn that stood
On every side surrounded by a wood:
Alone, he walk'd to please his pensive mind,
And sought the deepest solitude to find:
'Twas in a grove of spreading pines he stray'd:)
The windswithinthe quiv'ring branches) splay'd,
And dancing trees a mournful music made.
The place itself was suiting to his care,
Uncouth Unce and savage, as the cruel fair.
He wander'd on, unknowing where he went,
Lost in the wood, and on all love intent:
The day already half his race had run,
And sumnon'd him to due repast at noon,
But love could feel no hunger but his own.
Whilelist'ningtothe murm'ring leaveshe stood,
More than a mile immers'd within the wood,
At once the wind was laid; the whisp'ring sound
Was dumb; a rising earthquake rock'dtheground;
With deeper brown the grove was overspread,
A sudden horror seis'd his giddy head,
And his ears tingled, and his color fled;
Nature was in alarm; some danger nigh
Seem'd threaten'd, tho' unseen to mortal eye.
Unus'd to fear, he sunamon'd all his soul,
And stood collected'in himself, and whole;
Not long: for soon a whirlwind rose around,
And from afar he heard a screaming sound,
As of a dame distress'd, who cried for aid,

{

Change was the next, but change deceiv'd his

care;

He sought a fairer, but found none so fair.

He would have worn her out by slow degrees,
As men by fasting starve th' untam'd disease:
But present love requir'd a present ease.
Looking he feeds alone his famish'd eyes,
Feeds ling'ring death, but looking not he dies. And fill'd with loud laments the secret shade,

}

Yet still he chose the longest way to fate,
Wasting at once his life, and his estate.

A thicket close beside the grave there stood With briers and brambles choak'd, and dwarfish

wood:

His friends beheld, and pity'd him in vain, For what advice can ease a lover's pain! Absence, the best expedient they could find, Might save the fortune, if not cure the mind: This ineans they long propos'd, but little gain'd, Yet, after much pursuit, at length obtain'd.

Hard you may think it was to give consent, But struggling with his own desires he went, With large expence, and with a pompous train, Provided as to visit France and Spain,

Or for some distant voyage o'er the main.

}

But love had clipp'd his wings and eut him short,
Confin'd within the purlieus of the court.
Three miles he went, nor farther could retreat;
His travels ended at his country seat:

From thence the noise, which now approaching