There let the wanton flocks unguarded stray; Amidst the mighty ruins play, And frisk upon the tombs of Kings. May tigers there, and all the favage kind, In gloomy vaults, and nooks of palaces, Her brinded whelps fecurely lay, Or, coucht, in dreadful slumbers waste the day. While Troy in heaps of ruins lies, Rome and the Roman capitol fhall rife; Th' illuftrious exiles unconfin'd Shall triumph far and near, and rule mankind. In vain the fea's intruding tide Europe from Afric shall divide, And part the fever'd world in two: Through Afric's fands their triumphs they shall And the long train of victories pursue To Nile's yet undiscover'd head. Riches the hardy foldiers fhall despise, And look on gold with un-defiring eyes, [fpread, Nor Nor the disbowell'd earth explore In fearch of the forbidden ore; Those glitt'ring ills conceal'd within the mine, To the last bounds that nature sets, The piercing colds and fultry heats, The godlike race shall spread their arms, 'Till ftorms and tempefts their pursuits confine; Now fweat for conquest underneath the line. This only law the victor shall restrain, On these conditions fhall he reign If none his guilty hand employ To build again a fecond Troy, If none the rash design pursue, Nor tempt the vengeance of the gods anew. A curse there cleaves to the devoted place, That fhall the new foundations rafe: Greece fhall in mutual leagues confpire To ftorm the rifing town with fire, And at their armies head myself will show What Juno, urg'd to all her rage, can do. Thrice fhould Apollo's felf the city raise And line it round with walls of brafs, Thrice fhould my fav'rite Greeks his works con found, And hew the shining fabric to the ground: Thrice should her captive dames to Greece return, And their dead fons and flaughter'd husbands mourn. But hold, my Mufe, forbear thy tow'ring flight, Nor bring the fecrets of the gods to light: In vain would thy prefumptuous verse The mighty ftrains, in lyric numbers bound, TRANSLA |