PA8580 
 . 83 13 1 
 
'A 
 Ui 
 
 <— • 
 
 — 1 
 
 £; 
 
 i— 
 
 -oc 
 
 ] 
 
 ( » 
 
 r 1 
 i 1 
 i—t 
 
 r 1 
 r 1 
 
 r > 
 i 1 
 ( 7 
 1 °? 
 r "? 
 i ■? 
 
 ! 
 
 i 1. 
 
 1-1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 en 
 
 T 
 
 i 
 
 ■J 
 
 1 > 
 i " 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 U-J 
 
 l 31 
 
 I 
 
 l 
 
 > 
 
 of 
 
 . -» 
 
 enfc 
 en«g 
 ens 
 ens 
 o>J3 
 en» 
 en 55 
 «»g 
 en? 
 en? 
 en ^ 
 en? 
 en? 
 «? 
 en? 
 en £ 
 
 er>8 
 en?? 
 ens 
 enjg 
 en S 
 enS 
 en?| 
 enS 
 en 5 
 e»S 
 e»g5 
 e»8 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 ENDOWED BY THE 
 
 DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC 
 
 SOCIETIES 
 
 PA8580 
 .B3I3 
 
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 00031909052 
 
 This book is due at the WALTER R. DAVIS LIBRARY on 
 the last date stamped undef'Date Due." If not on hold it 
 may be renewed by bringing it to the library. 
 
 DATE RET 
 DUE RET " 
 
 DATE RET 
 DUE RET " 
 
 Jtt ■ 
 
 
 
 
 . «,- ■ •■ ... 
 
 
 
 
 '*■■*■•■' _ v 
 
 ' '] 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 )£Cl w ' l 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
r/tfiinfu a*i. 
 
 - J SuJ /arty*//*/ C/?//6j -uAevt ei c&usA etna UU6U. 
 
 
KISSES: 
 
 BEING 
 
 A POETICAL TRANSLATION 
 
 OF 
 
 THE BASIA § 
 
 OF 
 
 JOANNES SECUNDUS NICOLAIUS. 
 
 WITH THE ORIGINAL LATIN TEXT. 
 
 TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, 
 
 AN ESSAY ON HIS LIFE AND WRITINGS. 
 
 J LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR SHERWOOD, NEELY, AND JONES, 
 PATERNOSTER-ROW, 
 
 By J. Gillet, Crown-court, Fleet-street. 
 
 1812, 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil 
 
 http://archive.org/details/kissesbeingpoetiOOjanu 
 
J&lckerui 
 
 joanots SB.cinrl^xrs, 
 
 ANUIS UXXtov******** S'Maf ***<*. 
 
AN 
 
 ESSAY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 LIFE AND WRITINGS 
 
 OF 
 
 SECUNDUS. 
 
 OF all the modern Latin poets, none perhaps has 
 remained longer in obscurity than Joannes Secun- 
 dus, owing to what cause we shall not pretend to de- 
 termine ; yet no author has been more esteemed by 
 the few who have read him, as well for the pu- 
 rity and elegance of his language, as for the sin- 
 gular beauty of his thoughts. Considering, then, 
 that obscurity in which he has so long continued, 
 it is not very wonderful that so few circumstances 
 can be collected with regard to his history. For 
 the following anecdotes of his life we are chiefly 
 indebted to a little treatise in the last edition of his 
 works, published by Scriverius in the year 1631; 
 and these anecdotes are not regularly drawn up 
 into a complete life of our author : therefore, if 
 a 2 
 
IV AN ESSAY ON THE LIFE 
 
 our account of Secundus be not entirely satisfac- 
 tory to the reader, it must be attributed to a want 
 of the existence of necessary materials. 
 
 That Joannes Secundus was descended from an 
 ancient and illustrious family, in the Netherlands, 
 is undoubted. His father Nicolaus Everardus, 
 was born m the neighbourhood of Middelburg, 
 (hence he is often styled Middelburgensis) which 
 is the chief town of the province of Zealand, and 
 situated in the island of Walcheren, belonging to 
 that province. 
 
 Everardus was accounted a man of great erudi- 
 tion, remarkably learned in the law, and had every 
 qualification that might complete the gentleman as 
 well as the scholar ; in short, he was a shining 
 character, and could not fail by such abilities and 
 politeness as he possessed to distinguish himself as 
 a courtier, in which sphere of life fortune had 
 placed him : accordingly, we find him a great fa- 
 vourite with the then Emperor Charles the Fifth, 
 and having employs of the utmost, importance (for 
 he was a member of the grand parliament or coun- 
 cil of Mechelen, and was also president of the 
 States of, Holland and Zealand, residing at the 
 Hague, during his residence at wbich place our 
 Joannes Secundus Nicolaius was born, Anno 1511} : 
 he was afterwards translated to the same honour- 
 able post at Mechelen, where he ended his days, 
 
AND WRITINGS OF SECUNDUS. V 
 
 Aug. 5, 1532, aged seventy ; and at that place he 
 was buried. 
 
 Whence our poet acquired the names of Secun- 
 dus and Nicolaius may be a matter of much dis- 
 pute, as we have nothing upon record which satis- 
 factorily clears up this point. The name of Nicolai 
 all the children of Nicolaus Everardus took, pos- 
 sibly, from their fathers name Nicolaus : but the 
 name of Secundus, which distinguishes our au- 
 thor, most probably had its rise from some pun ; 
 for to be sure h£was, as a poet, nemini secundus. 
 
 But before we proceed any farther in our history 
 of Secundus, let us take a view of the children 
 of Nicolaus Everardus, which were five sons, and 
 we believe three daughters : they were all of a 
 scientific cast ; nay, such was the genius for litera- 
 ture which this family possessed, that it even de- 
 scended to the female line, as we shall shew in 
 mentioning Isabella Nicolaia. To speak of the sons 
 of Everardus, then, in the same order that they 
 are spoken of in that treatise of the family pre- 
 served by Scriverius, we begin with Petrus Nico- 
 laius. He was an ecclesiastic of the order of Pre- 
 montre, also a doctor of divinity and of civil law. 
 Next to him was Everardus Nicolaius, who was a 
 member of the grand council of Friezland, and of 
 the grand council of Mechelen ; afterwards presi- 
 dent at Friezland, and of Mechelen ; he was also 
 
VI AN ESSAY ON THE LIFE 
 
 a knight of the order of the Golden Fleece. Then 
 conies Nicolaus Giudius Nicolaius, (so called be- 
 cause he was born at Lovain, the inhabitants of 
 which country have supposed themselves to be ori- 
 ginally the Grudii of Ceesar, — VideCses. Comment, 
 de Bel. Gal.) : he was treasurer of the province 
 of Brabant, and one of the privy council ; he was 
 also knight, and register of the order of the Gol- 
 den Fleece. Hadrianus Marius Nicolaius is now 
 to be spoken of; he was a knight, a member of 
 the privy council, and high chancellor of Guel- 
 derland and Zutphen. 
 
 Thus we see that it was a family distinguished 
 by princely favours ; nor were these four brothers 
 deficient in point of learning : on the contrary, we 
 find many encomiums paid to their literary merits 
 particularly as poets. That Nicolaus Grudius and 
 Hadrianus Marius excelled in poetry, is evident, 
 not only from the testimony of Secundus, but from 
 their remaining compositions : the Cymba Amoris, 
 of Marius, is a most elegant little piece. 
 
 According to Scriverius, our poet comes last in 
 order, whose history we shall resume after having 
 mentioned his sister Isabella Nicolaia. This lady 
 was an honour to her sex, having a remarkably 
 fine taste for polite and even classical learning : 
 she was capable of corresponding in Latin, as we 
 are informed by an epistle of Secundus to her, 
 
AND WRITINGS OF SECUNDUS. Vll 
 
 wheiein he regrets the loss that society sustained 
 from talents like her's being buried in a cloister ; 
 for that she spent her days in a convent is a fact, 
 but upon what account we are not informed. As 
 to the other sisters of Secundus, nothing" particular 
 is related of them. 
 
 Such were the children of Nicolaus Everardus 
 by his lady, Eliza Bladella, who was a native of 
 Mechelen, and endowed with every female accom- 
 plishment. 
 
 To return to Secundus. He was put under the 
 care of Jacobus Volcardus, who was every way 
 qualified for the undertaking 1 , and whose death Se- 
 cundus mentions in one of his Nsenia with no small 
 concern. Rumoldns Stenemola succeeded him in 
 the place of tutor, and his abilities equalled those 
 <5f Volcaidus. 
 
 The original works of Secundus in painting and 
 sculpture are now extremely scarce, and the veiy 
 few copies of them are become almost equally so. 
 We learn that he carved all his own family, his 
 mistresses, (of whom we shall make mention pre- 
 sently,) the Emperor Charles the Fifth, several 
 great personages of those times, and many of his 
 intimate friends. 
 
 Secundus having nearly attained the age of twen- 
 ty-one, it was thought necessary, that, under some 
 excellent professoT, he should regularly study the 
 
Till AN ESSAY ON THE LIFE 
 
 civil law, in which it was hoped he might one day 
 distinguish himself: for this purpose he quitted 
 Mechelen, and went into France, where he ac- 
 quired, under the celebrated Andreas Alciatus, at 
 Bourges, (a city in the Orleannois,) all that know- 
 ledge which was requisite to make him shine in 
 his profession. 
 
 Our poet, who had now passed a year in the 
 study of the law under this very able teacher, and 
 taken his degrees, returned to Mechelen ; but it 
 must require a soul equally impassioned with his, 
 to conceive his eneasiness when he found upon his 
 return that his Julia was married ; she who had 
 first fanned his youthful fires, and who had hitherto 
 reigned sole mistress of his heart : for certain it is, 
 that our first impressions of love are not very easily 
 effaced, even by time ; and it is not less certain, 
 that memory traces these impressions with a pecu- 
 liar pleasure, as in so doing it recals to our minds 
 those days of innocence when we enjoyed love in 
 its purest and most disinterested state. The many 
 tender things that Secundus wrote on being de- 
 prived of his Julia, may amply verify these re- 
 marks. 
 
 However, Venerilla soon supplied the loss of 
 Julia as a mistress. She was passionately fond of 
 Secundus ; but there is reason to suspect that he 
 was not so much enamoured with her as with hi& 
 
AND WRITINGS OF SECUNDUS. IX 
 
 former lady, or with his Nesera, who succeeded 
 Venerilla in the empire of his affections. Neaera 
 was the last mistress of Secundus, and, no doubt, 
 had very sensibly touched his heart, since she in- 
 spired him with the most voluptuous part of all 
 his writings ; we mean his book of Kisses. The 
 person of Necera we cannot particularize, no carv- 
 ing or picture of her being extant ; but her cha- 
 racter is drawn up at large by her lover in his 
 works more than once. In few words, she was a 
 fair Inconstant, who could play with the passions 
 of a fond youth so as to keep them perpetually 
 inflamed ; and, as we learn that she was a native 
 of Spain, we may conclude her to have been of 
 no cold disposition. 
 
 Let us now view Secundus at a time of life when 
 the world opened more extensive prospects to him, 
 and when he began to enter into public employ. 
 Anno 1533, we find he went into Spain, well re- 
 commended to people of the highest rank, (parti- 
 cularly Count Nassau,) where he became secretary 
 to the Cardinal Joannes Travera, archbishop of 
 Toledo, in a department of business which re- 
 quired a perfect knowledge of the Latin tongue : 
 however, in the midst of his occupations he still 
 found leisure to court the Muses, and wrote many 
 pieces, among which were his Kisses ; therefore 
 we conclude it was while with the cardinal 
 
X AN ESSAY ON THE LIFE 
 
 that be first saw the beauteous subject of them. 
 
 Neaera. 
 
 Secundus had not been a year in Spain before 
 
 the heat of the climate proved too powerful for his 
 constitution, being- seized with a fever which had 
 certainly carried him off, but that youth was on 
 his side. This illness he mentions in a work of 
 his, dated 1534. 
 
 The year following 1535, he accompanied, by 
 the advice of the Cardinal Travera, the Emperor 
 Charles the Fifth to the much celebrated siege of 
 Tunis, against that noted pirate Barbarossa. The 
 emperor was attended in this expedition by num- 
 bers of gentlemen of rank and fortune, who went 
 as volunteers ; and many hardships they suffered — 
 hardships but little suited to the soft disposition of 
 Secundus, whose feats of military valour at this 
 period are not upon record ; but it is generally 
 agreed that war was less his talent than poetry. 
 It appears remarkable, that Secundus wrote no- 
 thing poetical of note upon the siege of Tunis, 
 which might have furnished him with ample mat- 
 ter for an epic poem ; but perhaps the subject was. 
 for some reasons disgusting to him. 
 
 Being returned from his martial expedition, the 
 cardinal sent him upon a very honourable embassy 
 to Rome, namely, to congratulate the Pope Paul 
 the Third upon the success of the emperor's arms ; 
 
AND WRITINGS OF SECUNDXJS. X-l 
 
 but extreme illness overtaking- him upon the road, 
 he was necessitated almost immediately to turn 
 hack, and seek the benefit of his native air, which 
 recovered him. 
 
 Secundus, having now quitted the Archbishop of 
 Toledo, was employed by the Bishop of Utrecht in 
 the same office of secretary ; and so much had he 
 hitherto distinguished himself by his abilities, that, 
 in a short time after this, he was sent for (without 
 any other recommendation than his well-known 
 learning) by the first prothonotary of the Emperor 
 Charles the Fifth, who was then in Italy, to take 
 upon him the charge of those Latin letters signed 
 by the emperor's own hand. But before he could 
 enter upon this new and honourable post, death 
 put a stop to his career of gloiy ; for, being ar- 
 rived at St. Amand, in the district of Toiirnay, in 
 order to meet upon business the Bishop of Utrecht, 
 who is abbot or pro-abbot of the monastery of Be- 
 nedictines there, he was cut off by a violent fever, 
 within five days after his arrival, in the very flower 
 of his age (not having yet completed his twenty- 
 fifth year) October 8th, 1536. He was interred 
 in the church of the abovesaid monastery ; and his 
 near relations erected a marble tomb to his me- 
 mory, whose inscription is thus preserved by Au- 
 bertus Mirceus, in' the first edition of his Elogii 
 Belgarum: - 
 
Xll AN ESSAY ON THE LIFE 
 
 I A N N I HAGENS I, 
 SECRETARIO REVERENDISS. DO- 
 MINI TRAIECTENSIS, ET ABBATI/E 
 HVIUS PR^ELATI, FRATRES ET SO- 
 RORES POSVERE. 
 
 OBIIT A. do Ic XXXVI. 
 VIII. KAL. OCTOB. 
 
 Scriverius gives us the following epitaph, which 
 he found in Douza's hand-writing : 
 
 IOANNI SECUNDO HAGENSI BA- 
 TAVO, I. Cto ORATORI AC POET.E 
 CLARISS. FINGENDI QVOQ. AC 
 SCVLPENDI LAVDATISS. ARTIFICI: 
 QVI PRIMVM IN HISPANISS. IOANNI 
 TAVERJE TOLETANO CARDINALI ; 
 DEINDEIN PATRIA, 1LLVSTRI GEOR- 
 GIO AB EGMONDA, TRAIECTENSI 
 PRiESVLI, ET HVIVS LOCI PRTMATI, 
 AB EPISTOLIS ET SECRETIS FVIT : 
 POSTREMO AB CAROLO V. IMP. 
 AUG. ACCERSITVS. VT EANDEM 
 DEINCEPS APVD SE FVNCTIONEM 
 OBIRET, IMMATVRA NIMIVM 
 MORTE RAPTO, MATER, FRATRES, 
 AC SORORES TRISTISSIMI DESI- 
 DERII MONIMENTVM 
 POSVERVNT. 
 
 VIXITAN. imETxx. MENS x DIES x. 
 
 OBIIT ANNO AB RESTITVTA SALV- 
 
 TE M. D. xxxvi. vin CA- 
 
 LEND, OCTOB. 
 
 This epitaph was effaced during the civil wars ; 
 but Franciscus Sweertius, in his work De Selectis 
 
AND WRITINGS OF SECUNDUS. Xlll 
 
 Orbis Christiani Beliciis, among the Tornacensia, 
 shews it to be thus restored in the nave of the mo- 
 nastery church of Saint Am and, by the Abbot 
 Caroliis de Par, at the desire of Dyonysius Villerius 
 and Hieronynms Winghius. 
 
 lOANNI SECVN'DO HAGIENSI, 
 
 Poetce celeberrimo et nulli secundo: cnjus tu- 
 mulum hcereticorum furore anno do Id lxvi 
 violatum, Caeolus de Par Abbas, ob tanti 
 
 viri memorium restaurari C. 
 
 Obijt anno cId Id xxxvi, Kalend. Octob. d 
 
 Secretis Georgij Egmondani Tr a] ceteris. 
 
 Episcopi, hujus loci Pro-Abbatis. 
 
 Having informed our readers of every circum- 
 stance that we are acquainted with, relative to the 
 Life of Joannes Secundus, which seems to have 
 been a iife chiefly spent in improvement, yet by 
 no means estranged to pleasure and the indulgence 
 of the softer passions, let us now say something 
 of his Works, which, for the satisfaction of those 
 who may be any way solicitous in their enquiries 
 alter this author, we shall enumerate as they stand 
 in the last Editicn of Scriverius, which is the most 
 copious of any edition of Secundus that we have 
 yet seen. They are as follow : 
 
 Series operum omnium quce reperi i 
 potuerunt. 
 
 JULIA, Elegiarum, Liber I. 
 AMORES, Elegiarum, Liber II. 
 
XIV AN ESSAY ON THE LIFE 
 
 AD DIVERSOS, Elegiarum, Liber III. 
 BASIA, incomparabilis et divinus prorsus liber. 
 EPIGRAMMATA. 
 ODARUM, Liber unus. 
 EPISTOLARUM, Liber unus Elegiaco. 
 EPI8TOLARUM, Liber alter Heroico carmine 
 
 scriptus. 
 FUNERUM, Liber unus. 
 SYLV7E, et CARMINUM Fragmenta. 
 POEMATA nonnulla Fratrum. 
 1TINERARIA Secundi tria; et 
 EPISTOLiE totidem, soluta oratione. 
 
 To these is added, an epistle of Kadrianus Ma- 
 rius (Secundus's brother) to Servatius Zassenus, a 
 bookseller at Louvain, which throws some light 
 upon the earlier editions of Secundus. Also a very- 
 excellent treatise, entitled, De Io : Secundo, Ha- 
 gensi : Deque Nicolao Patre, et Gente Nicolaia ; 
 which contains, upon the whole, the most satis- 
 factory account of Secundus and his family that 
 we have yet met with : and to this is added, a 
 little poem of Douza's. Lastly, are some pieces 
 under the title of Manes Io : Secundi; Auctoribus? 
 Hadriano Mario, et Nicolao Grudio, Fratribus. 
 
 What character these works bear, is a question 
 hardly necessary, when we see prefixed to them 
 the testimonies of several excellent critics ; as 
 
AND WRITINGS OF SECUNDUS. XV 
 
 Lilius Greg: Gyraldus, Julius Csesar, Scaliger, 
 Theodoras Beza, and many others equally cele- 
 brated in the republic of letters ; nor are the com- 
 mendations of his brothers and his editors (Cripius 
 and Scriverius in particular) to be disregarded ; 
 but, in short, every writer who mentions Secun- 
 dus speaks of him with rapture. To give our 
 readers a general idea of the great estimation in 
 which his poems were held, we shall insert the 
 following critique, translated from a certain French 
 writer, which, upon the whole, is the most just 
 and concise of any that we know upon the subject. 
 " This young poet has left us three books of 
 Eligies, one of Epigrams, two of Epistles, one of 
 Sylvce, one of Funera, one of gallant pieces, which 
 he has entitled Basia, and some other poetical pro- 
 ductions, which no way relate to any of the above- 
 mentioned kinds of poetry. These works altoge- 
 ther prove, that Secundus was possessed of a deli- 
 cate, pleasing, and lively imagination; which is 
 by so much the more remarkable, as he was born 
 in a climate that does not appear the most favour- 
 able to polite taste, so necessary for all who would 
 distinguish themselves in elegant poetry. His ge- 
 nius, though extremely fertile, never produced 
 any thing but what was excellent, and that with 
 the greatest ease and almost instantaneously. He 
 is sweet, calm, and at the same time perspicuous, 
 in his elegies ; delicately subtile in his epigrams # 
 
Xvi AN ESSAY ON THE LIFE, &C 
 
 pleasingly noble in his lyric compositions ; grave 
 in his funera, without any thing pompous or bom- 
 bastic. In short, throughout all his works we 
 may pronounce his style to be full, elegant, and 
 tender : and we may be assured, that had his lei- 
 sure permitted him to have undertaken and im- 
 proved himself in epic poetry, he would have 
 excelled in it : — but his muse is somewhat too 
 wanton." 
 
 Though the works of Secundus have gone 
 through many editions, yet all are at present be- 
 come extremely scarce, the earlier ones in particu- 
 lar; insomuch, that this poet is hardly known to 
 have existed. 
 
 That none of the works of Joannes Secundus 
 came out during his life, is certain ; but we are 
 informed, that, a short time before he died, he 
 had a design of publishing, and had already laid 
 down the order in which his pieces should be 
 printed. 
 
 But no edition of the works of Secundus com- 
 plete came out till the year 1541, when an edition 
 was printed by Hermannus Borculous, Batav. in 
 small 8vo. which was supposed to have been put 
 out by Marius. 
 
THE KISSES 
 
 OF 
 
 JOANNES SECUNDUS, 
 
 JOANNIS SECUNDI 
 
 BASIA. 
 
BASIA. 
 
 BASIUM I 
 
 CUM Venus Ascaniura super aha Cythera tu- 
 lisset, 
 Sopitum teneris imposuit violis ; 
 
 Alharum nimbos circumfuditque rosarum. 
 Et totum liquido sparsit odore locum. 
 
 [Cum. Venus Ascanium, &c.J This is an imitation of the 
 following lines from Virgil : 
 
 At Venus Ascanio placidam per membra quietem 
 Irrigat : et fotum gremio Dea tollit in altos 
 Idalise lucos, ubi mollis amaracus ilium 
 Floribus et dulci aspirans com plectitur umbra. 
 
 VIRG, iENEID. LIB. I. 
 
KISSES, 
 
 KISS I. 
 
 WHEN young Ascanius, by the Queen of Love, 
 Was borne to sweet Cythera's lofty grove, 
 His languid limbs upon a couch she laid, 
 A fragrant couch ! of new-blown vi'lets made ; 
 The blissful bow'r with shadowing roses crown' d 
 And balmy-breathing airs diffus'd around. 
 
 Mean time the Goddess on Ascanius throws 
 A balmy slumber, and a sweet repose ; 
 Lull'd in her lap to rest, the Queen of Love 
 Conveyed "him to the high Idalian grove ; 
 There on a flow'ry bed her charge she laid, 
 And, breathing round him, rose the fragrant shade, 
 
 PITT, 
 8 2 
 
BASIA. 
 
 Mox veteres ammo revocavit Adonidis igneis, 
 Notus et irrepsit ima per ossa color. 
 
 O, quot'tes voluit circundare colla nepotis ! 
 O, quoties dixit, " Talis Adonis erat /" 
 
 Sed placidam pueri metuens turbare quietem, 
 Fixit vicinis basia mille rosis. 
 
 Ecce calent illce cupidceque per ora Diones 
 Aura, susurranti Jlamine, lenta subit. 
 
 Quotque rosas tetigit, tot basia nata repente 
 Gaudia reddebant rmdtiplicataDede. 
 
 ["Talis Adonis erat!" &c] Adonis was the son of Cy- 
 naras, king of Cyprus, by his own daughter Myrrha ; he was 
 a youth of exquisite beauty, tenderly beloved by Venus . it 
 is said he was slain, in hunting, by a wild boar : which fable 
 has given rise to one of the most beautiful compositions ex- 
 tant, well known to every classical reader ; I mean Bion's 
 first Idyllium, wherein Venus laments, with sweetest lan- 
 guage, the death of her lover, who was changed into an 
 anemone, as Ovid tells us. 
 
 • [Ecce calent illce, &.] This metamorphosis reminds me 
 of one something like it, in Shakespeare : 
 
 Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell : 
 
 It fell upon a little western flow'r, 
 
 Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound. 
 
 And maidens call it love in idleness. 
 
 SHAK. M1DS. NIGHT'S DREAM 
 
KISSES. 
 
 The sleeping Youth in silence she admir'd ; 
 And, with remembrance of Adonis fir'd, 
 Strong- and more strongher wonted flames return'd, 
 Thrill'd in each vein, and in her bosom burn'd. 
 How oft she wish'd, as she survey'd his charms, 
 Around his neck to throw her eager arms ! 
 Oft would she say admiring ev'ry grace, 
 " Such was Adonis ! such his lovely face !" 
 But fearing lest this fond excess of joy 
 Might break the slumber of the beauteous boy, 
 On ev'ry rose-bud that around him blow'd 
 A thousand nectar'd Kisses she bestow'd : 
 And strait each op'ningbud, which late was white, 
 Blush'd a warm crimson to the astonished sight : 
 Still in Dione's breast soft wishes rise, 
 Soft wishes ! vented with soft whisper' d sighs ! 
 Thus, by her lips unnumber'd roses pressed, 
 Kisses, unfolding in sweet bloom, confessed; 
 And, flush'd with rapture at each new-born kiss, 
 She felt her swelling soul o'erwhelmed in bliss. 
 
 I would not insinuate, by this quotation, that Shakespeare 
 was indebted to Secundus for his thought ; as it may be rea- 
 sonably contended, whether the English poet was scholar 
 sufficient to be acquainted with the Latin bard. That same 
 luxuriance of iancy, which both equally possessed, might 
 certainly inspire each other with similar ideas. 
 
6 BASIA. 
 
 At Cythera, natans niveis per nubila cygnis, 
 Ingentis terra: ccepit obire globum. 
 
 Triptolemique modo,fcecundis oscula glebis 
 Sparsity et ignotos ter dedit ore sonos. 
 
 Inde seges felix nata est mortalibus agris ; 
 Inde medela meis unica nata malts. 
 
 Salvete, ceternum, miser ce moderamina fiammcr, 
 Humldd de gelidls basia nata rusis. 
 
 En ego sum, vestri quo vate canentur honores, 
 l\ r ota Medussei dumjuga montis erunt ; 
 
 [Triptolemique modo &c] Triptolemus, according to 
 Hyginus, was the son of Eleusius ; or, according to Pausanias, 
 son of Celeus of Eleusis, a town of Athens. He was bred 
 up from his infancy by Ceres, who fed him with milk in the 
 day, and covered him with fire at ni eht : she taught him agri- 
 culture, and sent him over the world in a chariot loaded with 
 corn, to teach mankind that science ; when he first instructed 
 Greece. Thus Ovid briefly mentions him : 
 
 Iste quidem mortalis erit : scd primus arabit, 
 Et seret, et culta praemia toilet humo. 
 
 OVID. FAST. LIB. IV. 
 
 'Tis true, the youth shall be a mortal born, 
 Nor shall his hands instructive labour scorn ; 
 He first shall plough, first sow the grateful soil, 
 And reap the blessings that await such toil. 
 [Nota Medusaei dumjuga, &c.~] Parnassus, the Muses' 
 hill, was said to have two summits, in the cleft between 
 
KISSES. 
 
 Now round this orb, soft-floating on the air, 
 The beauteous Goddess speeds her radiant car : 
 As in gay pomp the harness'd cygnets fly, 
 Their snow-white pinions glitter thro' the sky ; 
 And, like Triptolemus, whose bounteous hand, 
 Strew'd golden plenty o'er the fertile land, 
 Fair Cytherea, as she flew along, 
 O'er the vast lap of nature Kisses flung : 
 Pleas'd from on high she view'd th' enchanted 
 
 ground, 
 And from her lips thrice fell a magic sound : 
 He gave to mortals corn on ev'ry plain ; 
 But She those sweets which mitigate my pain. 
 
 Hail, then, ye Kisses ! that can best assuage 
 The pangs of love, and soften all its rage ! 
 Ye balmy Kisses ! that from roses sprung ; 
 Roses ! on which the lips of Venus hung. 
 
 which if any one slept, he presently became a poet. Persius 
 
 applies the epithet biceps to this mountain : 
 Nee fonte labra prolui Caballino : 
 Nee in bicipiti somniasse Parnasso 
 Memini, ut repente sic poeta prodirem. 
 
 PERS. PROLOG. AD SATYR, 
 
 These lips ne'er drank the Hippocrenian stream, 
 Nor have I e'er indulg'd gay fancy's dream 
 Within Parnassian cleft, that sudden song 
 Should flow unbidden from my trembling tongue,. 
 
BASIA. 
 
 Et memor .SDneadfim stirpisque disertus amatce, 
 Mollia RomulicUim verba loquetur Amor. 
 
 \Et memor jEneadum, &c] This thought is truly beau- 
 tiful : our poet declares that his kisses shall be sung in the 
 Roman language, being of Roman birth ; that is, deriving 
 their origin from the lips of Venus, who, as every one knows, 
 was the mother of the Romans ; for her son ./Eneas, arriving 
 in Italy, married Lavinia, daughter of King Latinus. Nu- 
 mitor was one of iEneas's descendants ; upon whose only 
 child, Ilia or Rhea Sylvia, Mars begot Romulus and Remus, 
 the founders of Rome. 
 
KISSES. 
 
 Lo ! I'm the Bard, while o'er Pierian shades 
 The tuneful mountain rears its sacred heads, 
 While whisp'ring verdures skirt the laurell'd spring, 
 Whose fond, impassion'd muse of You shall sing; 
 And Love, enraptur'd with the Latian name, 
 With that dear race from which your lineage came, 
 In Latian strains shall celebrate your praise, 
 And tell your high descent to future days. 
 
10 BAST A. 
 
 BASIUM II. 
 
 VICINA qitavti/m vitis lascivit in ulmo, 
 Et tortiles per ihcem 
 
 Brachia proceram stringunt immensa corimbi ; 
 Tan turn, Neoera, si que as 
 
 In mea nexilibus proserpere colla lacertis ; 
 Tali, Neaera, si que am 
 
 Candida perpeluum nexu tua colla ligare,, 
 Jungens perenne basium. 
 
 Tunc me nee Cereris, nee amici cura Lyoei, 
 Soporis aut amabilis, 
 
 [Et tor tiles per ilicem, &c] Horace has the same com- 
 parison, mentioning the embraces of his Neaera : 
 
 - Arctius atque hedera procera astringitur ilex, 
 Lentis adhaerens brachiis, 
 
 HOR, EPOD. 15, 
 
KISSES. 11 
 
 KISS II. 
 
 AS round some neighbouring- elm the vine 
 Its am'rous tendrils loves to twine ,* 
 As round the oak, in many a maze, 
 The ivy flings its gadding sprays : 
 Thus, let me to your snowy breast, 
 My dear Neaera ! thus be prest ; 
 While I as fondly in my arms, 
 Necera, clasp thy yielding charms ; 
 And, with one long, long kiss, improve 
 Our mutual ecstacies of love ! 
 
 Should Ceres pour her plenteous hoard, 
 Should Bacchus crown the festive board, 
 Should balmy Sleep luxurious spread 
 His downy pinions o'er my head; 
 Yet not for these my joys I'd break, 
 For these, thy vermil lips forsake ! 
 At length, when ruthless age denies 
 A longer bliss, and seals our eyes, 
 
 Not the tall oak could clasping ivy bind 
 
 So close, as round me thy fond arms were twin'd. 
 
12 BASIA. 
 
 Vita, tuo de purpureo divelleret ore : 
 Sed mutuis in osculis 
 
 Defectos, ratis una duos portaret amanteis 
 Ad pallidum Ditis domum. 
 
 Mox per odoratos campos, et perpetuum ver 
 Producer emur in loca, 
 
 Semper ubi, antiquis in amoribus, heroinse, 
 Heroas inter nobileis, 
 
 Aut ducunt. chore as, alternate carmina Icttce, 
 In valle cant ant myrted. 
 
 [Mox per odoratos campos, &c] This description of Ely- 
 sium seems to be imitated from Tibullus : 
 
 Hie choreae, cantusque vigent, passimque vagantes 
 
 Dulce sonant tenui gutture carmen aves. 
 Fert casiam non culta seges, totosque per agros 
 
 Floret odoratis terra benigna rosis. 
 Hicjuvenum scries teneris immista puellis 
 
 Ludit, et assidue prselia miscet amor. 
 Illic est cuicumque rapax mors venit amanti, 
 
 Et gerit insigni myrtea serta coma. 
 
 TJUULL. LIB. I. ELEG. 3. 
 
 There joy and ceaseless revelry prevail ; 
 There soothing music floats on ev'ry gale ; 
 There painted warblers hop from spray to spray, 
 And, wildly-pleasing, swell the gen'ral lay : 
 There ev'ry hedge, untaught, with cassia blooms, 
 And scents the ambient air with rich perfumes : 
 
KISSES. 13 
 
 One bark shall waft our spirits o'er, 
 United, to the Stygian shore : 
 Then, passing- thro' a transient night , 
 We'll enter soon those fields of light, 
 Where, breathing richest odours round, 
 A spring eternal paints the ground; 
 Where heroes once in Talour prov'd, 
 And beauteous heroines once belov'd y 
 Again with mutual passion burn, 
 Feel all their wonted flames return ; 
 And now in sportive measures tread 
 The flow'ry carpet of the mead ; 
 Now sing the jocund, tuneful tale 
 Alternate in the myrtle vale : 
 
 There ev'ry mead a various plenty yields ; 
 There lavish Flora paints the purple fields ; 
 With ceaseless light a brighter Phoebus glows, 
 No sickness tortures, and no ocean flows ; 
 But youths associate with the gentle fair, 
 And, stung with pleasure, to the shade repair : 
 With them love wanders wheresoe'er they stray, 
 Provokes to rapture, and inflames the play : 
 But chief the constant few, by death betray'd, 
 Reign, crown'd with myrtle, menarchs of the shade. 
 
 GRAINGER. 
 
 The classical reader, who wishes to compare other descrip- 
 tions of Elysium with this of Seeundus may turn to Homer. 
 Odys. 4.— Pindar. Olymp. Od. 2.— Virgil. JEn.6.— Plutarch, 
 Consol. ad Apollon. 2. 
 
14 BASIA. 
 
 Qua violisque, rosisque, et Jlavi-comis narcissis. 
 Umbraculis trementibus 
 
 Illudit lauri nemus ; et crepitante susurro 
 Tepidi suave sibilant 
 
 zEternum zephyri : nee vomere saucia tellus 
 Foecunda solvit ubera. 
 
 Turba beatomm nobis assurgeret omnis, 
 Inque herbidis sedilibus, 
 
 Inter Mseonidas, prima nos sede locarent : 
 Nee ulla amatricum Jovis 
 
 Prcerepto cedens indignaretur honore ; 
 'Nee nata Tyndaiis Jove. 
 
 [Nee vomere, &c] Thus Virgil, in his description of the 
 
 golden age : 
 
 Omnis feret omnia tellus. 
 
 Non rastros patietur humus, non vineafalcem ; 
 
 Robustus quoque jam tauris juga sol vet arator. 
 
 V1RG. ECLOG. IV. 
 
 Then with each harvest shall each soil be crown'd, 
 No harrow then shall vex the fruitful ground, 
 No hook shall lop the vine ; and o'er the plains ' 
 Shall range the steers, unyok'd by sturdy swains. 
 [Nee nata Tyndaris, &c] The beauteous Helen, wife to 
 Menelaus, whom Paris stole away, causing the celebrated 
 siege of Troy, sung by Homer, is too well known to be 
 spoken of here ; most of the ancient classics mention some- 
 thing of her history. 
 
KISSES. 15 
 
 Where ceaseless zephyrs fan the glade, 
 Soft-murm'ring thro' the laurel-shade ; 
 Beneath whose waving foliage grow 
 The vi'let sweet of purple glow, 
 The daffodil that breathes perfume, 
 And roses of immortal bloom ; 
 Where Earth her fruits spontaneous yields, 
 Nor plough-share cuts th' unfurrow'd fields. 
 
 Soon as we enter these abodes 
 Of happy souls, of demi-gods, 
 The Blest shall all respectful rise, 
 And view us with admiring eyes ; 
 Shall seat us 'mid th' immortal throng, 
 Where I, renown'd for tender song, 
 Shall gain with Homer equal praise, 
 And share with him poetic bays ; 
 While Thou, enthron'd above the rest 3 
 Will shine in beauty's train confest : 
 Nor shall the Mistresses of Jove # 
 
 Such partial honours disapprove ; 
 E'en Helen, tho' of race divine, 
 Will to thy charms her rank resign. 
 
16 BASIA. 
 
 BASIUM III 
 
 " DA mihi suaviolum (dicebam), blanda puella I" 
 Libdsti labris mox mea labra tuis. 
 
 Inde, velut presso qui territus angue resultat, 
 Ora repente meo vellis ab ore procul. 
 
 Non hoc suaviolum dare, lux mea, seddare tantum 
 Est desiderium flebile suavioli. 
 
 [" Da mihi suaviolum," &c] Some of my readers may 
 
 be pleased to see how this lovely little poem appears in a 
 
 French dress. Mons. Dorat, in his Baisers, entitles it L'Etin- 
 
 celle. 
 
 Donne moi, ma belle Mattresse, 
 
 Donne moi, disois-je, un baiser 
 
 Doux, amoureux, plein de tendresse— 
 
 Tu n'osas me le refuser : 
 
 Mais que mom bonheur fut rapide ! 
 
 Ta bouche a peine, souviens-t-en, 
 
 Eut efneuree ma bouche avide, 
 
 Elle s'en detache a l'instant. 
 
 Ainsi s'exhale une Etincelle. 
 
 Oui, plus que Tantale agUe", 
 
 Je vois comme une onde infidelle, 
 
 Fuir le bien qui m'est presente. 
 
 Ton baiser m'echappe, cruelle ! 
 
 Le desir seul m'en est reste. 
 
 DORAT. BAISER II. 
 
KISSES. 17 
 
 KISS III, 
 
 " ONE Kiss, enchanting Maid I" (I cry'd;)- 
 One little Kiss ! and then adieu ! 
 
 Your lips, with luscious crimson dyed, 
 To mine with trembling rapture flew i 
 
 But quick those lips my lips forsake, 
 
 With wanton, tantalizing jest ; 
 So starts some rustic from the snake 
 
 Beneath his heedless footstep prest : 
 
 Is this to grant the wish'd-for Kiss ? — 
 Ah, no, my Love ! — 'tis but to fire 
 
 The bosom with a transient bliss* 
 Inflaming unallay'd desire* 
 
18 BASIA. 
 
 BASIUM IV. 
 
 NON dat basia, Nesera nectar. 
 
 Dat rores animce suave-olentes ; 
 
 Dat nardumque, thymumque, cinnamumque 
 
 Et mel, quale jugis legwnt Hymetii, 
 
 [Non dat basia, dat Nesera nectar, &c] The fallowing 
 Greek epigram seems to have furnished Sccundus with the 
 thought : 
 
 NEJtlap env to $;X>jjua, to yap q-cfxa. yiKia^oqiirvii. 
 Nuv fA.t9v<» to qiyvfxct, nro'kvv tov e goal a 'srE^ojKU'g. 
 
 ANTHOLOG. 
 
 Phillis the gay, in robe of beauty drest, 
 
 Late on my lips a humid kiss imprest ; 
 
 The kiss was nectar which the fair bestow'd, 
 
 For in her am'rous breath a gale of nectar flow'd. 
 
 What love, ye gods ! what raptures in her kiss ! 
 
 My soul was drunk with ecstacy of bliss. 
 
KISSES. 19 
 
 KISS IV 
 
 5 TlS not a Kiss you give, my Love ! 
 'Tis richest nectar from above ! 
 A fragrant show'r of balmy dews, 
 Which thy sweet lips alone diffuse ! 
 'Tis ev'ry aromatic breeze 
 That wafts from Afric's spicy trees ! 
 'Tis honey from the ozier hive, 
 Which chymist bees with care derive 
 
 Buchanan, too, has prettily expressed this conceit ; 
 
 Cum das Basia, nectaris, Neaera, ; , 
 Das mi pocula, das dapes Deorum, 
 
 BUCHAN. HEN©, Lli 
 
 All thy kisses, sweetest fair ! 
 Luscious draughts of nectar are ; 
 Are the banquets heav'nly pow'rs 
 Taste in their Olympian bow'rs, 
 
 c2 
 
20 BASIA. 
 
 Aut in Cecropiis apes roseiis, 
 Atque, hinc virgineis et inde certs, 
 Septum vimineo tegunt quasillo. 
 
 Quae, si mult a mihi voranda denlur, 
 Immortalis in his repente fiam, 
 
 Magnorumque epulis fruar deorum. 
 
 Sed tu munere, puree tali, 
 
 Aut mecum de&fac Neaera, j£as. 
 
 Non mensas sine te volo deoruin ; 
 
 [Aut in Cecropiis, &c] Cecropiis signifies Athenian, from 
 Cecrops, king of Athens. Athens, or Attica, was a most 
 lovely country, rich in flowering. sweets, and celebrated foi 
 honey. Virgil speaks thus of Attic bees : 
 
 Cecropias innatus apes amor urget habendi. 
 
 VIRG. GEORG. JV„ 
 
 Most prone are Attic bees to honied toils. 
 
 I may also remark, that Hymettus is a mountain covered 
 with thyme, near Athens, more particularly famous for its 
 honey. Thus Horace, by way of comparative excellency : 
 Ubi non Hymetto 
 Mella decedunt. hor. ode vi. lib. if. 
 
 Where not the labours of the bee 
 Yield to Hymettus' golden stores. francis, 
 
 Strabo and Pliny affirm, that this mountain was also remarka- 
 ble for its marble.— Vid. Strab. Lib. 9, and Plin. Lib. 17. Cap.l. 
 
 [Non mensas sine te, &o] Tibullus was equally averse 
 with our Secundus to every felicity that his Neaera did no t 
 *hare with him : 
 
KISSES. 21 
 
 From all the newly-open' d flow'rs 
 
 That hloora in Cecrops' roseate bow'rs, 
 
 Or from the breathing sweets that grow 
 
 On fam'd Hymettus' thymy brow : 
 
 But if such kisses you bestow, 
 
 If from your lips such raptures flow, 
 
 Thus blest ! supremely blest by thee ! 
 
 Ere long I must immortal be ; 
 
 Must taste on earth those joys that wait 
 
 The banquets of celestial state. 
 
 Then cease thy bounty, dearest fair S 
 
 Such precious gifts, then spare ! oh spare ! 
 
 Or, if 1 must immortal prove, 
 
 Be thou immortal, too, my love ! 
 
 For, should the heav'nly Pow'rs request 
 
 My presence at th' ambrosial feast ; 
 
 Nay, should they Jove himself dethrone, 
 
 And yield to me his radiant crown ; 
 
 I'd scorn it all, nor Would I deign 
 
 O'er golden realms of bliss to reign : 
 
 Sit mini paupertas tecum, jucunda Neaera ; 
 At sine te, regum munera nulla volo. 
 
 TIBULL. LIB. III. ELEG. III. 
 
 Poor let me be ; for poverty can please 
 
 With you j without you, crowns could give no ease. 
 
 GRAINGER. 
 
22 BASIA. 
 
 Non, si me rutilis prceesse regnis, 
 Excluso Jove, dii deaeque cog ant. 
 
 Mr; Stanley's translation of this kiss is elegantly concise, 
 and harmonious -enough, considering the age in which it 
 was written : I shall therefore give it my readers entire, as a 
 specimen of Mr. Stanley's version of the kisses of Secundus. 
 
 'Tis no kiss my fair bestows ; 
 
 Nectar 'tis whence new life flews ; 
 
 All the sweets which nimble bees 
 
 In their ozier treasuries 
 
 With unequall'd art repose, 
 
 In one kiss her lips disclose. 
 
 These, if I should many take, 
 
 Soon would me immortal make, 
 
 Rais'd to the divine abodes, 
 
 And the banquets of the Gods. 
 Be not, then, too lavish, fair ! 
 
 But this heav'nly treasure spare, 
 
 'Less thou'lt too immortal be : 
 
 For without thy companie, ' 
 
 What to me are the abodes, 
 Or the banquets of the gods ? 
 
 Stanley's poems, kisses. 
 
KISSES. 23 
 
 Jove's radiant crown I'd scorn to wear, 
 Unless thou mig-ht'st such honours share 
 Unless thou, too, with equal sway, 
 Mighfst rule with me the realms of day. 
 
24 BASIA. 
 
 BASIVM V 
 
 DUM me mollibus, hinc et hunc, lacertis 
 Astrictum premis, imminensque toto 
 Collo, pectore, lubricoque vultu, 
 Dependes humeris, Necera, nostris ; 
 Componensque meis labella labris, 
 Et morsu petis et gemis remorsa ; 
 Et linguam tremulant, hinc et hide, vibras ; 
 Et linguam querulam, hinc et inde, sugis ; 
 
 [Dependes humeris, &c] Mons. Dorat has thus prettily 
 turned this part ; 
 
 Belle Tha'is, 6 toi que j'idolatre, 
 Dans des bras amoureux quand je tombe eperdu, 
 
 Et qu' a tes epaules d'albatre 
 Entrela9ant les miens, je reste suspendu. 
 
 DORAT. BAISEK 6. 
 
 [Et linguam tremulant, &c] A French writer seems to 
 have paraphrased these thoughts with no small degree of 
 merit : 
 
 Et qu'en ces jeux nos langues fretillardes 
 
 S'etreignent mollement ; 
 
 Quand je te baise, un gracieux z ephire, 
 Un petit vent moite et doux qui soupire, 
 Va mon coeur eventant. 
 
 L'ABBE DESFORTES. 
 
KISSES. 25 
 
 KISS V. 
 
 WHILE you, Nesera, close entwine 
 In frequent folds your frame with mine ; 
 And hanging o'er, to view confest, 
 Your neck, and gently-heaving breast ; 
 Down on my shoulders soft decline 
 Your beauties more than half divine ; 
 With wand'ring looks that o'er me rove, 
 And fire the melting soul with love : 
 
 While you, Neaera, fondly join 
 Your little pouting lips with mine, 
 And frolic bite your am'rous swain, 
 Complaining soft if bit again ; 
 And sweetly-murm'iing pour along 
 The trembling accents of your tongue, 
 Your tongue ! now here now there that stray. 4 
 Now here now there delighted plays j 
 
 Our tongues in humid pleasures roll ; 
 And, mid the frolic, blend each soul, 
 
 Whene'er thy lips a kiss impart ; 
 Moist breezes, with voluptuous sighing, 
 Exhale rich nectar as they're dying : 
 
 Breezes that cool my fever'd heart ! 
 
26 BASIA. 
 
 Aspirans unimce sudnis miram 
 Mollem, dulci-sonam, humidam, meteque 
 Altricem miserce, Neoera, vitce : 
 Hauriens animam meant caducam, 
 Flagrantem, nimio vapore coctam, 
 C oct am ! pectoris impotent is cestu ; 
 Eludisque mens, Neoera, jiammas, 
 Flahro pectoris haurientis cestum, 
 0, jucunda mei caloris aura ! 
 
 [O, jucunda, &c] An expression so beautifully, so deli- 
 cately metaphorical, cannot sure be found in any writer^ 
 Petrarch very frequently applies the word gale to his mistress, 
 for the sake of the concetti, so peculiar to Italian poetry; 
 L'aura, the gale, signifying also her name, Laura. 
 
 L'aura serena, che fra verdi fronde 
 Mormorando, a ferir nel volto viemme. 
 
 PETRAR. SONETTO CLXIII. 
 
 Soft gale .' that murmurs thro' the verdant grove, 
 Plays o'er my face, and playing whispers love. 
 
KISSES. 
 
 That now my humid kisses sips, 
 Now wanton darts between my lips ; 
 And on my bosom raptur'd lie, 
 Venting the gently whisper'd sigh ; 
 A sigh ! that kindles warm desires, 
 And kindly fans life's drooping fires ; 
 Soft as the zephyr's breezy wing, 
 And balmy as the breath of spring": 
 
 While yon, sweet Nymph ! with am'rous play 
 
 In kisses suck my breath away ; 
 
 My breath ; with wasting warmth replete, 
 
 Parch'd by my breast's contagious heat; 
 
 Till, breathing, soft, you pour again 
 
 Returning life thro' ev'ry vein ; 
 
 And thus elude my passion's rage, 
 
 Love's burning fever thus assuage : 
 
 Sweet Nymph ! whose sweets can best allay 
 
 Those fires that on my bosom prey : 
 
 Sweet as the cool refreshing gale 
 
 That blows when scorching heats prevail ! 
 
 L'aura mia sacra al mio stanco riposo 
 Spira-si spesso. sonetto cccvii. 
 
 Oh my sweet gale! gale dear to lost repose, 
 Breathing so frequent ! 
 
 But such conceits cannot compare with this one exquisite 
 line of Secundus. 
 
BASIA. 
 
 Tunc, dico, " deus est Amor deorum ! 
 <s Et nullus deus est Amore major ! 
 " &£ qvisquam tamen est Amore major, 
 " TV, Tw so/a miAi es, Nesera, major T 
 
 \Timc, dico, &V.] Thus beautifully again the French 
 imitator: 
 
 Alors je renais: et m'ecrie j 
 V Amour soumet la Terre, assujetit les Cieux, 
 Les Rois sont a ses pieds, il gouverne les Dieux, 
 II mele en se jouant des pleurs a l'ambroisie, 
 II est maitre absolu ; mais Thais aujourd'hui 
 L'emporte sur les Rois, sur les Dieux, et sur lui. 
 
 DORAT. BAISEfc VI. 
 
K I S S E S. 29 
 
 Then, more than blest, I fondly swear, 
 " No pow'r can with love's pow'r compare ! 
 " None in the starry court of Jove 
 " Is greater than the god of love ! 
 "If any can yet greater be, 
 "Yes, my Nesera ! yes, 'tis Thee !" 
 
30 BASIA. 
 
 B A SIUM VI. 
 
 DE meliore notd bis basia mille paciscens 
 Basia mille dedi, basia mille tiili. 
 
 ExpUsti numerum,fateor 9 jucunda Neaera ! 
 Expleri numero sed nequit ullus amor. 
 
 Quis laudet Cererem numeratis surgere aristis? 
 Gramen in irrigud quis mimeravit humo ? 
 
 Quis tibi, Bacche, tulit pro centum votaracemis? 
 
 Agricolumve Deum mille poposcit apeis? 
 
 Cum pins irrorat sitienteis Juppiter agros, 
 Deciduce guttas non numeramus aqiue. 
 
 Sic quoque, cum ventis concussus inhorruit a'er, 
 Sumpsit et iratd Juppiter arma rnanu, 
 
 [Agricolumve Deum, &c] Aristaeus, one of the rural 
 deities, who is said to have first discovered the use of honey ; 
 vide Pausanias, in Arcadicis. A pretty history of him may 
 be found in Virgil, Georg. iv. 
 
KISSES. 31 
 
 KISS. VI. 
 
 TWO thousand Kisses of the sweetest kind, 
 'Twas once agreed, our mutual love should bind ; 
 First from my lips a rapt'rous thousand flow'd, 
 Then you a thousand in your turn bestow'd ; 
 The promised numbers were fulfill'd, I own, 
 But Love suflic'd with numbers ne'er was known ! 
 What mortal strives to count each springing blade, 
 That spreads the surface of a grassy mead ? 
 Who prays for number'd ears of rip'ning grain, 
 When lavish Ceres yellows o'er the plain ? 
 Or to a scanty hundred would confine 
 The clustering grapes j when Bacchus loads the vine ? 
 W r ho asks the Guardian of the honied store 
 To grant a thousand bees, and grant no more ? 
 Or tells the drops, while o'er some thirsty field 
 The liquid stores are from above distill'd ? 
 When Jove with fury hurls the moulded hail, 
 And earth and sea destructive storms assail, 
 Or when he bids, from his tempestuous sky, 
 The winds unchain'd with wasting horror fly, 
 
32 BASIA. 
 
 Gr undine confusd terras et ccerula pulsat, 
 Securus sternat qaot sata, quotve locis. 
 
 Sen bona, seu mala sunt, veniunt uberrima ccelor 
 Majestas domui convenit ilia Jovis. 
 
 Tu quoque cum clea sis, divsijbnnosior ilia, 
 Concha per cequoreum quam vaga ducit iter : 
 
 Basia cur numero, ccelestia dona, coerces ? 
 Nee numeras gemitus, dura puella, meos ? 
 
 Nee lacJirymas numeras, qnce per faciemque si- 
 ?mmque, 
 Duxerunt rivos semper-euntis aquce ? 
 
 [Concha per cequoreum, &c] The shell of Venus ha? 
 been celebrated by classics, both ancient and modern - y 
 Et faveas concha Cypria vecta tua 
 
 TIBULL. LIB. III. EL. Z> 
 
 And aid me, Venus I from thy pearly car. 
 
 GRAINGER. 
 
 And thus Hercules Strozza % 
 
 Nabat Erythrea materna per aequora concha., 
 Qualis erat spumis edita, nuda Venus. 
 
 HERC. STROZ. AMO. L. II. EL. 5. 
 
 In Erythrean shell the sea-born Queen 
 
 Rode on her native waves, her native beauties seen% 
 
 IDuxerunt rivos semper-euntis, &c] Sidronius Hoss- 
 chius,, a Latin poet, of Marke, in Germany^ who flourishec, 
 
KISSES. 33 
 
 The God ne'er heeds what harvests he may spoil, 
 Nor yet regards each desolated soil : 
 So, when its blessings bounteous Heav'n ordains, 
 It ne'er with sparing hand the good restrains ; 
 Evils in like abundance, too, it show'rs ; 
 Well suits profusion with immortal Pow'rs ! 
 Then since such gifts with heav'nly minds agree. 
 Shed, Goddess-like, your blandishments on me ; 
 And say, Necera ! for that form divine 
 Speaks thee descended of setherial line; 
 Say, Goddess ! than that Goddess lovelier far 
 Who roams o'er ocean in her pearly car ; 
 Your kisses, boons celestial ! why withhold ? 
 Or why by scanty numbers are they told ? 
 Still you ne'er count, hard-hearted Maid ! those 
 
 sighs 
 Which in my lab' ring breast incessant rise ; 
 
 in the beginning of the 17th century, in like manner ex- 
 presses Love's perpetual sorrow. 
 
 Utque per attritas rivum sibi ducit arenas, 
 Quae riguo manat fonte perennis aqua ; 
 Sic exesa tibi sulcos duxere per ora 
 Ex oculis imbres qui tibi semper eunt. 
 
 S. P. HOSSCH. LACR1M. ELEG. X. 
 
 As wears the f urrow'd sands, with ceaseless wave, 
 The stream, that some exhaustless fount supplies: 
 
 So show'rs thy tear-worn beauties ever lave, 
 
 Sad show'rs, that stream incessant from thine eyes I 
 D 
 
34 BASIA. 
 
 Sinumeraslachrymas,numeres licet oscula; sedsi 
 Non numeras lachrymas, oscula ne numeres. 
 
 Et mihi da, miseri solatia vana doloris, 
 Innumera innumeris basia pro lackrymis. 
 
KISSES. 
 
 Nor yet those lucid drops of tender woe, 
 Which down my cheeks in quick succession flow. 
 Yes, dearest Life ! your kisses number all ; 
 And number, too, my sorrowing- tears that fall : 
 Or, if you count not all the tears, my fair ! 
 To count the kisses sure you must forbear. 
 But let thy lips now soothe a lover's pain ; 
 (Yet griefs like mine what soothings shall restrain !) 
 If tears unnumber'd pity can regard, 
 Unnumber'd kisses must each tear reward. 
 
m BASIA. 
 
 BASIUM VIE 
 
 CENTUM basia centies, 
 Centum basia millies, 
 Mille basia millies, 
 Et lot millia millies, 
 Quot gutter Siculo mari, 
 
 Quot sunt sidera ccelo, 
 
 [Quot gutta Siculo, &c] This idea, though now com- 
 mon, was perhaps originally Catullus's. 
 Quaeiis, quot mini basiationes 
 Tuae, Lesbia, sint satis, superque ? 
 Quam magnus numerus Libyssae arenae 
 Laserpiciferis jacet Cyrenis, 
 Oraculum Jovis inter aestuosi, 
 Et Batti veteris sacrum sepulchrum ; 
 Aut quam sidera multa, ciim tacet nox, 
 Furtivos hominum vident amores ; 
 Tarn te basia multa basiare 
 Vesano satis, et super Catullo est ; 
 Quae nee pernumerare curiosi 
 Possint, nee mala fascinare lingua. 
 
 CATULL. CARM. VII, 
 
 How many sweet kisses (my JLesbia oft cries) 
 Will suffice my fond Bard, nay, more than suffice? — 
 As many as sands that in Libya are found 
 Near thirsty Cyrene, for Benzoin renown'd, 
 
KISSES. 37 
 
 KISS VII. 
 
 KISSES told by Hundreds o'er ! 
 Thousands told by Thousands more ! 
 Millions ! countless millions ! then 
 Told by Millions o'er again ! 
 Countless ! as the drops that glide 
 In the Ocean's billowy tide, 
 Countless ! as yon orbs of light 
 Spangled o'er the vault of Night, 
 
 From where burning Jove's lofty fane is display'd 
 To where sleeps old Battus's reverend shade ; 
 As many as stars that illume the gay night, 
 And silently witness love's stolen delight ; 
 So many (insatiate Catullus replies) 
 Will suffice thy fond Bard, nay, more than suffice j 
 So many no spy vainly-curious can tell, 
 Or ever with slander bewitching reveal. 
 Marshal, also, has the same thought, Epig. 34. Lib. vi. which 
 epigram is very happily paraphrased, by Sir Charles Han. 
 Williams, in the well-known ballad of " Come, Chloe, and 
 give me sweet kisses." The following is a stanza of it, ap- 
 plicable to our subject: 
 
 Go number the stars in the heaven, . 
 
 Count how many sands on the shore ; 
 When so many kisses you've given, 
 I still shall be craving for more. 
 
88 BASIA. 
 
 1st is purpureis geuis, 
 Istis turgidulis labris, 
 Ocellisque loquaculis, 
 Ferrum continuo impetu ; 
 
 0, formosa Nesera ! 
 
 Sed dam totus inhcereo 
 Conchatim roseis genis, 
 Conchatim ruiilis labris, 
 Ocellisque loquaculis ; 
 Non datur tua cernere 
 Eabra, non roseas genas, 
 Ocellosque loquuculos, 
 
 Molleis nee mihi risus 
 
 Qui, velut nigra discutit 
 Coelo nubila Cynthius, 
 
 [Turgidulis labris, &c] These words might perhaps be 
 best translated by applying Suckling's beautiful description 
 of a lip, in the following stanza : 
 
 Her lips were red ; and one was thin, 
 Compar'd to that was next her chin ; 
 
 Some bee had stung it newly ; 
 But (Dick) her eyes so guard her face, 
 I durst no more upon them gaze 
 Than on the sun in July. 
 Suckling. Ballad upon a Wedding. 
 [Ocellisque loquaculis, &c] How delicate is this expres- 
 sion ! It reminds me of the following I met with in some 
 old Latin author. 
 
KISSES. 39 
 
 I'll with ceaseless love bestow 
 On those Cheeks of crimson glow, 
 On those Lips of gentle swell, 
 On those Eyes where raptures dwell. 
 
 But when circled in thy arms, 
 As I'm panting o'er thy charms, 
 O'er thy cheeks of rosy bloom, 
 O'er thy Lips that breathe perfume, 
 O'er thine eyes so sweetly-bright, 
 Shedding soft expressive light ; 
 Then, nor Cheeks of rosy bloom, 
 Nor thy lips that breathe perfume, 
 Nor thine eyes' expressive light, 
 Bless thy lover's envious sight ; 
 Nor that soothing smile, which cheers 
 All his tender hopes and fears : 
 For, as radiant Phoebus streams 
 O'er the globe with placid beams, 
 Whirling thro' th' setherial way 
 The fiery-axled car of day, 
 And from the tempestuous sky, 
 While the rapid coursers fly, 
 All the stormy clouds are driv'n, 
 Which deform'd the face of heav'n ; 
 
 O blandos oculos, et O facetos, 
 
 Et quadam propria nota loquaces! poet, vet 
 
 Oh delightful, pretty eyes ! 
 
 Wheffea secret meaning lies. 
 
40 BASIA. 
 
 Pacatumque per asthera 
 Gemmatis in equis micat, 
 
 Flavo lucidus orbe ; 
 Sic nutu eminus aureo 
 Et meis lachrymas genis, 
 Et cur as animo meo, 
 
 Et suspiria pellunt : 
 Heu ! quae sunt oculis me is 
 Nata pralia cum labris ! 
 Ergo ego mihi vel Jovem 
 Rivalem potero pati ? 
 Rivales oculi met 
 
 Nonferunt mea labra. 
 
 [Sic Nutu eminus, &c] The amorous master of Italian 
 poetry attributes the same power to the smile of his mistress- 
 Vero e, che'l dolce mansueto riso 
 Pur acqueta gli ardenti miei desiri, 
 E mi sottragge al foco de r martiri, 
 Mentr 'io son' a mirarvi intento e fisco. 
 
 PETRARCA. SON. X\*. 
 
 " 'Tis true ; thy tender, thy heart-soothing smile 
 Appeases all my fierce, enflam'd desires ; 
 Allays the tortures of love's potent fires ; 
 As on thy charms I fondly gaze awhile. 
 
 [Ergo ego mihi vel Jovem &c.~] Propertius speaks to the 
 same purpose, thus : 
 
 Rivalem possum non ego ferre Jovem. 
 
 PROPERT. ELEG. XXXII. LIU. II. 
 
 What though 'twere Jove, no rival could I bear. 
 
KISSES. 41 
 
 So, thy golden smile, my fair ! 
 Chases ev'ry am'rous care ; 
 Dries the torrents of my eyes, 
 Calms my fond, tumultuous sighs. 
 
 Oh ! how emulous the strife 
 'Twixt my Lips and Eyes, sweet Life ! 
 Of thy charms are These possest, 
 Those are envious till they're blest: 
 Think not, then, that, in my love, 
 I'll be rivall'd e'en by Jove, 
 When such jealous conflicts rise 
 'Twixt my very Lips and Eyes. 
 
42 BASIA. 
 
 BASIUM VIII. 
 
 QUIS te furor, Nesera, 
 Inepta, quis jubebat 
 Sic involare, nostrum 
 Sic velliclare linguam, 
 Terociente morsu? 
 
 An, quas tot unus abs te 
 Pectus per omne gesto 
 Penetrabileis sagittas* 
 Parian videntur? istis 
 Ni dentibus protervis 
 Exerceas nefandum 
 Membrum nefas in Mud? 
 Quo ! scept sole primo, 
 Quo ! scepe sole sero, 
 Quo ! per diesque longas, 
 Nocteisque amarulentas, 
 Laudes tuas canebam ? 
 
 [Istis ni dentibus fefc] Mons. Dorat has thus beautifully 
 paraphrased this passage : 
 
 Tes dents ces perles que j'adore, 
 D'ou s'echappe a mon ceil trompe 
 Ce sourire dsveloppe. 
 Transfuge des levres de Flore ; 
 
KISSES. 43 
 
 KISS VIII. 
 
 AH ! that ungovern'd rage, declare, ■ 
 Neaera, too capricious Fair ! 
 What unreveng'd, unguarded wrong, 
 Could urge thee thus to wound my tongue ? 
 
 Perhaps you deem th' afflictive pains 
 Too trifling-, which my heart sustains ; 
 Nor think enough my bosom smarts 
 With all the sure, destiuctive darts 
 Incessant sped from ev'ry charm ; 
 That thus your wanton teeth must harm, 
 Must harm that little tuneful Thing, 
 Which wont so oft thy praise to sing ; 
 What time the Morn has streak'd the skies, 
 Or Ev'ning's faded radiance dies ; 
 Thro' painful Days consuming-slow, 
 Thro' ling'ring Nights of am'rous woe. 
 
 Devroient-elles blesser, dis moi, 
 
 Une organe tendre et fiddle, 
 Qui t'assure ici de ma foi, 
 
 Et nomma ThaTs ia plus belle ? 
 
 DOUAT. BAISER II, 
 
44 BASIA. 
 
 Hcsc est, iniqua (nesczs?) 
 Hcec, ilia lingua nostra est, 
 Qucf, tortiieis capillos, 
 QucF. poetulos ocellos, 
 Qucp, lacteas papillas, 
 Quee, colla mollicella, 
 Venustulce Necerae, 
 Molli per astra versu, 
 Ultra Jovis calores, 
 Ccelo bividente, vexit. 
 
 Qnce, te meam salutem r 
 Quce, te meamque vitam, 
 Animcr meceque florem, 
 JEt te meos amores, 
 Et te meos lepores, 
 Et te meam Dionen, 
 Et te meam columbam, 
 Albamque turturillam, 
 Venere invidente, dixit. 
 
 [Quce, te meam salutem &c.] Bonefonius thus distin- 
 guishes his mistress by a series of appellative contrarieties : 
 Salve melque meum, atque amaritudo ; 
 Otiumque meum, negotiumque ; 
 Meus phosphorus, hesperusque salve ; 
 Salve luxque mea, et mese tenebras j 
 Salve errorque meus, mensque portus ; 
 Salve spesque mea, et mei pavores ; 
 Salve nilque meum, meumque totum : 
 Sed quid pluribus ? O ter, ampliusque, 
 Salve tota Acharisque Pancharisque. 
 
 BONEF. BAS1UM VI II- 
 
KISSES. 45 
 
 This tongue, thou know'st, has oft extoll'd 
 Thy hair in shining- ringlets roll'd, 
 Thine eyes with tender passion bright, 
 Thy swelling breast of purest white, 
 Thy taper neck of polish' d grace, 
 And all the beauties of thy face, 
 Beyond the lucid orbs above, 
 Beyond the starry throne of Jove ; 
 Extoll'd them in such lofty lays ! 
 That Gods with envy heard the praise* 
 
 Oft has it call'd thee ev'ry name 
 Which boundless rapture taught to frame ; 
 My life ! my joy ! my soul's desire ! 
 All that my wish cou'd e'er require ! 
 My pretty Venus ! and my love ! 
 My gentle turtle ! and my dove I 
 Till Cypria's self with envy heard 
 Each partial, each endearing- word. 
 
 All hail ! thou sweet-imbitter'd fair ; 
 My fondest ease, my tenderest care ; 
 My star of morn, my star of night, 
 At once my darkness, and my light ; 
 My dreaded rock, my harbour dear ; 
 My only hope, my only fear ; 
 My nothing, yet my valued all : 
 But, oh ! what further shall I call 
 My homely love, my beauteous bliss? 
 In one sweet word, hail, Pancharis ! 
 
46 BASIA. 
 
 An vero, an est id ipsum 
 Quod te juvat, superba, 
 Inferre vulnus Mi, 
 Quam, Icesione nulla, 
 Formosa, posse nosti 
 Ira tumere tantd ; 
 Quin semper hos ocellos ; 
 Quin semper hcec lobelia ; 
 Et, qui sibi, salaceis, 
 Malum dedtre, denteis, 
 Inter suos cruores 
 Balbuliens, recaniet ? 
 O, vis superba formce ! 
 
 [Inter suos cruores, &c] And again, how impassioned 
 is the strain of the French poet : 
 
 Crois-tu le contraindre a se taire ? 
 Non, non, il brave en ce moment 
 Tous les maux que tu peux lui faire. 
 Viens, renouvelle son tourment : 
 Assailli des fleches bmhntes, 
 De ces dards-percans du baiser, 
 II veut sur tes levres ardentes, 
 II veut encore les aiguiser ; 
 Et, charge d'heureuses blessures, 
 Doux vestiges de volupte, 
 Essayer meme au-lieu d'injures, 
 De nouveaux chants a ta beaute. 
 
 DORAT. BAISER XI. 
 
 [O, vis, &.] Muretus has a similar expression : 
 O vis eximiae superba formae ! 
 
 MURETI EPIGRAM. 
 
 O tyrant pow'r of beauty's form I 
 
KISSES. 47 
 
 Say, beauteous Tyrant ! dost delight 
 To wound this tongue in wanton spite ? 
 Because, alas ! too well aware 
 That ev'ry wrong it yet could bear 
 Ne'er urg'd it once in angry strain 
 Of thy unkindness to complain ; 
 But sufT'ring patient all its harms, 
 Still wou'd it sing thy matchless charms ! 
 Sing the soft lustre of thine eye ! 
 Sing thy sweet lips of rosy dye ! 
 Nay, still those guilty teeth 'twould sing ! 
 Whence all its cruel mischiefs spring : 
 E'en now it lisps, in fault' ring lays, 
 While yet it bleeds, Necera's praise. 
 Thus, beauteous Tyrant ! you controul, 
 Thus sway my fond, enamour'd soul ! 
 
48 BASIA. 
 
 BASIUM IX. 
 
 NON semper udum da mihi basium, 
 Necjuncta blandis sibila risibus, 
 Nee semper in meum recumbe 
 Lnplicitum, moribunda, collum. 
 
 Mensura rebus est sua dulcibus ; 
 Ut quodque menteis suavius* afficit, 
 Fastidium sic triste secum 
 JLimite proximiore ducit. 
 
 Quum te rogabo ter tria basia; 
 Tu deme septum, nee nisi da duo, 
 
 [Mensura rebus est, &c] Shakespeare expresses the same 
 thought in the fatherly reproof of the old Friar to Romeo : 
 
 These violent delights have violent ends, 
 And in their triumph die ; like fire and powder, 
 Which, as they meet, consume. The sweetest honey- 
 Is loathsome in its own deliciousness, 
 And in the taste confounds the appetite. 
 
 SHAK. ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
KISSES. 49 
 
 KISS IX. 
 
 CEASE thy sweet, thy balmy Kisses; 
 
 Cease thy many-wreathed smiles ; 
 Cease thy melting-, murm'ring blisses ; 
 
 Cease thy fond bewitching wiles : 
 
 On my bosom soft-reclin'd 
 
 Cease to pour thy tender joys : 
 
 Pleasure's limits are confin'd, 
 Pleasure oft repeated cloys. 
 
 Sparingly your bounty use ! 
 
 When I ask for Kisses nine, 
 Sev'n at least you must refuse, 
 
 And let only two be mine : 
 
 Yet let These be neither long, 
 Nor delicious sweets respire ! 
 
 But like Those which Virgins young 
 Artless give their aged sire : 
 
50 BASIA. 
 
 Utrumque nee Ibngum, nee udum : 
 Qualia teligero Diana 
 
 Dat casta fratri ! qualia dat patri 
 Experta nullos nata cupidines ! 
 Mox' c meis, lasciva, ocellis 
 Curre procul natitante plantd 
 
 \lu demeseptem, &c.~\ All polite voluptuaries have ever 
 admired these little wanton cruelties in their mistresses ; thus 
 Horace speaks with the greatest rapture of his Licymnia : 
 Dum flagrantia detorquet ad oscula 
 Cervicem, aut facili ssevitia negat, 
 Quae poseente magis gaudeat eripi, 
 Interdum rapere occupct. 
 
 HOR. LIB. II. ODE 12. 
 
 While now her bending neck she plies 
 Backward to meet the burning kiss ; 
 
 Then with an easy cruelty denies, . • 
 
 And wishes you would snatch not ask the bliss. 
 
 FRANCIS. 
 
 Boileau's imitation of this passage of Horace is too beau- 
 tiful to be denied a place here, where he speaks of a kiss 
 snatch'd from the lips of Iris : 
 
 Qui mollement resiste, et par un doux caprice, 
 Quelquefois ie refuse, afin qu'on le ravisse. 
 
 boileau. ArtPoetique. Chant, n. 
 
 [Natitante plantd, Sf c .] Milton has a very happy ex- 
 pression similar to this in the following passage •• 
 
KISSES. 51 
 
 Such ! as, with a sister's love, 
 Beauteous Dian may bestow 
 
 On the radiant Son of Jove, 
 Phoebus of the silver bow. 
 
 Tripping- light, with wanton grace : 
 Now my lips disorder'd fly, 
 
 And in some retired place 
 
 Hide thee from my searching eye : 
 
 Then in sportive am'rous play, 
 
 Victor-like, I'll seize my love ; 
 Seize thee ! as the bird of prey 
 Pounces on a trembling clove. 
 
 Each recess I'll traverse o'er, 
 
 Where I think thou liest conceal'd 
 
 Ev'ry covert I'll explore, 
 
 Till my Wanton's all reveal'd. 
 
 So saying, by the hand he took me rais'd, 
 And over fields and waters, as in air 
 Smooth-sliding without step, last led me up 
 A woody mountain. 
 
 MILTON. PAR. LOST. BOOK VIII, 
 
52 BAS1A. 
 
 Et te remotis in penetralibus, 
 Et te latebris abdito hi intimis : 
 Seqaar latebras usque in imas, 
 In penetrate sequar repvstum ; 
 
 Prcedamque, victor fermdus, in mean? 
 JJtrinque herileis injiciens manns, 
 Raptaho ; ut imhell'em cohtmbam 
 Ungnibus acciptlcr recurvis. 
 
 Tu deprecantes victa dabis manias, 
 Thirensque totjs pendula brachiis, 
 Placare me septem jocosis 
 Basiolis cupies, inepta ! 
 
 Errabis ; — illud crimen v.t eluam, 
 Sejiteimjungam basia septies, 
 Atque hoc catenatis lacertis 
 Impediam, fugitiva, collum. 
 
 [Et te remotis, &C.] Cornelius Gallus mentions the 
 same amorous dalliance : 
 
 Erubuit vultus ipsa puella mcos, • 
 
 Et nunc subridens latebras fugitivapetebat. 
 
 CORN. GALL, 
 
 At sight bf me, deep blush'd the lovely maid, 
 Then side-long laugh'd, and flying sought the shade. 
 
KISSES. ' 53 
 
 Now your arms submissive raising 1 , 
 
 Round my neck those arms youll throw ; 
 
 Now sev'n Kisses sweetly-pleasing 
 For your. freedom you'll bestow : 
 
 But those venal Sev'n are vain ; — ' 
 
 Sev'n times sev'n's the price, sweet Maid ! 
 
 Thou my piis'ner shalt remain, 
 Till the balmy ransom's paid. 
 
 And such dalliance was equally grateful to Horace : 
 Nunc et latentis proditor intimo 
 Gratus puellae risus ab angulo. 
 
 HOT!. ODE IX. LIB. I. 
 
 The laugh, that from the corner flies, 
 The sportive fair one shall betray. 
 
 FRANCIS. 
 
 In like manner, too, frolicked the mistress of Virgil's 
 shepherd : 
 
 Malo me Galatea petit, lasciva puella, 
 £t fugit ad salices, sed se cupit ante videri. 
 
 VIRG. ECLOG. III. 
 
 Which Pope thus beautifully imita'tes : 
 
 The Sprightly Sylvia trips along the green, 
 She runs, but hopes she does not run unseen ; 
 While a kind glance at her pursuer Hies, 
 .How much at variance are her feet and eyes ! 
 
 TOPE. PASTORAL I. 
 
54 . BASIA. 
 
 Dum, persolutis omnibus osculis, 
 Jurabis omneis per veneres tuas, 
 Te scepiiis pcenas easdem 
 Crimine vellc pari subire. 
 
 The beginning of this kiss, as translated by Mr. Stanley, 
 possesses no small share of tender enthusiasm : 
 
 Not always give a melting kiss, 
 
 And smiles with pleasing whispers join'd ; 
 
 Nor always extasi'd with bliss 
 
 About my neck thy fair arms wind. 
 
 The weary lover learns by measure 
 
 To circumscribe his greatest joy ; 
 Lest, what well-husbanded yields pleasure, 
 
 Might by the repetition cloy. 
 
 "When thrice three kisses I require, 
 Give me but two, withhold the other ; 
 
 Such as cold virgins to their sire, 
 Or chaste Diana gives her brother. 
 
 Stanley's poems, kisses. 
 
K I S S E S, 55 
 
 Praying-, then, the forfeit due, 
 By thy much-lov'd Beauties swear, 
 Faults like these you'll still pursue, 
 Faults ! Which Kisses can repair. 
 
56 B A S I A. 
 
 B A SIUM X. 
 
 Non sunt certa meam moveant quce basia mentem : 
 
 Uda labris udis conseris, udajuvant. 
 Nee sua basiolis non est quoque gratia sicr.is ; 
 
 Fluxit ab his tepidus scepc sub ossa vapor. 
 Dulce quoq ue est oculis nutantibus oscula ferre, 
 
 Autoresque sui demeruisse mali : 
 Sive genis totis, totive incumbere collo, 
 
 Seu niveis humeris, sen sinui niveo : 
 Et totas livore genas, collumque notare, 
 
 Candidulosque humcros, candidulumque sinum. 
 
 [Collumque notare, &c] The Tender Tibullus most pro- 
 bably gave Secundus the hint of these voluptuous ideas : 
 
 At Venus inveniet puero succumbere furtim, 
 Dum tumet, et teneros conseret usque sinus ; 
 
 Etdare anhelanti pugnantibus uvida linguis 
 Oscula,' et in collo figere dente notas. 
 
 TIBULL. LIB. I. ELEG. 9. 
 
 But fav'ring Venus, watchful o'er thy joy, 
 Shall lay thee secret near th' impassion'd boy ; 
 
KISSES. 57 
 
 KISS X. 
 
 IN various Kisses various charms I find, 
 
 For changeful fancy loves each changeful kind : 
 
 Whene'er with mine thy humid lips unite, 
 
 Then humid Kisses with their sweets delight ; 
 
 From ardent lips so ardent Kisses please, 
 
 For glowing transports often spring from these. 
 
 What joy ! to kiss those eyes that wanton rove, 
 
 Then catch the glances of returning love ; 
 
 Or clinging to the cheek of crimson glow, 
 
 The bosom, shoulder, or the neck of snow, 
 
 What pleasure ! tender passion to assuage, 
 
 And see the traces of our ani'rous rage 
 
 On the soft neck or blooming cheek exprest, 
 
 Twixt yielding lips, in ev'ry thrilling kiss, 
 
 To dart the trembling tongue— what matchless bliss ! 
 
 Inhaling sweet each other's mingling breath, 
 
 While Love lies gasping in the arms of death ! 
 
 His panting bosom shall be prest to thine, 
 And his dear lips thy breathless lips shall join ; 
 With active tongue he'll dart the humid kiss, 
 And on thy neck indent the eager bliss. 
 
58 BASIA. 
 
 Sen labris querulis iitubantem sugere linguam, 
 Et miscere duas juncta per ora animas, 
 
 In que peregrinum diffundere corpus utranque ; 
 Languet in extremo cum moribundus amor. 
 
 Me breve, me longum capiet, laxumque, tenaxque, 
 Seu mihi das, sen do, lux, tibi basiolum. 
 
 Qualia sed sumes, nunquam mihi talia redde : 
 Diver sis varium iudat uterque modis. 
 
 At quern deficiet varianda Jigura priorem, 
 Legem submissis audiat hanc o cutis. 
 
 «" Ut, quot utrinquepriiis data sint, tot basia solus 
 " Dulcia victori det, totidemque modis." 
 
 [Et miscere duas, &c] Lernutius thus imitates this pas- 
 sage of Secundus in his book of Kisses. 
 
 Dum sensim oppresso blanda inter suavia sensu, 
 Immittam exanimatam illius ori animam ; 
 
 Mox lingua avidula fugitivam et dente securus, 
 Miscebo binas juncta per ora animas. 
 
 While show'rs of kisses o'er each sense prevail, 
 My vagrant soul I'll through her mouth exhalej 
 But poignant love-bites, and the nimble tongue, 
 Shall the dear wanderer recal ere long ; 
 Then our twin souls in rapture wild we'll blend, 
 As lips with lips sweet-kissing shall contend. 
 
 [Legem submissis, &c] This kissing-match reminds me 
 of one something similar to it in Guarini's Pastor Fido, where 
 the Megarensian nymphs agree to try among each other who 
 can kiss best : 
 
KISSES. 59 
 
 While soul with soul in ecstacy unites, 
 Intranc'd, impassion'd with the fond delights ! 
 From thee receiv'd, or giv'n to thee, my Love I 
 Alike to me those kisses grateful prove ; 
 The kiss that's rapid, or prolong'd with art, 
 The fierce, the gentle, equal joys, impart. 
 But mark ; — be all my kisses, beauteous Maid I 
 With difFrent kisses from thy lips repaid ; 
 Then varying raptures shall from either flow, 
 As varying kisses either shall bestow : 
 And let the first, who with an unchang'd kiss 
 Shall cease to thus diversify the bliss, 
 Observe, with looks in meek submission dress' d, 
 That law by which this forfeiture's express'd : 
 " As many kisses as each lover gave, 
 i( As each might in return again receive, 
 <* So many kisses, -from the vanquish'd side, 
 " The victor claims, so many ways applied." 
 
 Bacianne, e si contenda 
 
 Tra noi di baci, e quella, che d' ogni altra, 
 
 Baciatrice piu scaltra 
 
 Gli sapra dar piu saporiti e cari, 
 
 N' havra per sua vittoria 
 
 Guesta bella ghirlanda. 
 
 Guarin. Pastor Fido. Atto n. Seen. i. 
 
 Let's kiss, and wage a kissing war : 
 
 Then she, who with superior art 
 
 The sweetest, fondest kisses can impart, 
 
 We'll deem the conqueror; 
 
 And to her brow with one consent decree 
 
 This beauteous wreath, the meed of victory. 
 
60 B A S I A. 
 
 BASIUM XL 
 
 " BASIA lauta minis qvidam mejurtgere dicunt, 
 " Q.ualia rugosi non didicire patres. 
 
 il -Ergo, ego cum cupidis stringotua colla lacertis, 
 " Lux mea basiolis immoriorqve tuis ; 
 
 " Anxius exquiram quid deme quisque loquatur ? 
 " Ipscquis, cntt uhi sim, vix nteminisse vacat." 
 
 Audiit, et visit foimosa Nesera, meumque 
 Hinc colhtm nived cinxit et inde manu ; 
 
 [" Ipse quis" &c] Virgil makes Dido express the 
 wanderings of her mind much in the same strain, though 
 they prorceded from a very opposite cause : her's arose fiom 
 despair, our poet's from rapture : 
 
 Quid loquor ? aut ubi sum ? quae mentem insania mutat ? 
 
 VI RG. SNE1D. IV. 
 
 What do I say ? — where am I ?■ — whence is wrought 
 This change that tortures my distracted thought? 
 
 [Hinc collum nived, &c] Thus, too, Venus caressed her 
 husband Vulcan, w T ho was somewhat uncomplying, when 
 she entreated him to for^e the armour for .dRneas : 
 
KISSES. 61 
 
 KISS XI. 
 
 i SOME think my kisses too luxurious told : 
 6 Kisses ! they say, not known to sires of old. 
 1 But, while entranc'd on thy soft neck I lie, 
 c And o'er thy lips in tender transport die, 
 ' Shall I then ask, dear Life ! perplex'd in vain, 
 i Why rigid Cynics censure thus my strain ? 
 ' Ah, no ! thy blandishments so rapt'rous prove, 
 6 That every ravish'd sense is lost in love ; 
 { Blest with those blandishments, divine I seem, 
 e And all Elysium paints the blissful dream.'" 
 Neaera heard ; —then, smiling 1 , instant threw 
 Around my neck her arm of fairest hue ; 
 
 Dixerat, niveis liinc atque bine Diva lacertis 
 Cunctantem amplexu molli fovet. 
 
 VIRG. iENEID. VIH. 
 
 She spoke, and wantonly the queen of charms 
 Circles the ling' ring god with snow-white arms. 
 
 From this, and the preceding note, as well indeed as from 
 many others, it is pretty clear that Secundus had well stu- 
 died Virgil; every page of his works might furnish instances 
 of his having borrowed expressions from that author. 
 
m BASIA. 
 
 Basiolumque dedit ; quo non lascivius unquam 
 Inseruit Marti Cypria blanda suo : 
 
 " Et quid, fait, J metuis turhce decreta sever ce? 
 iX Caussa meo tantiim competit ista foro." 
 
 [Basiolumque dedit ; &c] This was certainly one of 
 those kisses, mentioned by Horace, 
 
 Quas Venus 
 Quinta. parte sui nectaris imbuit. 
 
 HOR, LIB. I. OD. 13. 
 
 Which the fair Cyprian pow'r 
 Bathes in a fifth of all her nectar'd store. 
 
 M.Doiat'skiss on this subject is so beautiful, that Icannos 
 deny it a place here ; he calls it, la Couronne de Fleurs : 
 
 Renverse dou cement dans les bras de Thai's, 
 Le front ceint d'un leger nuage, 
 Je lui disois ; lorsque tu me souris, 
 Peut-etre sur ma tete il s'eleve un orage. 
 
 Que peuse-t-on de mes ecrits ? 
 Je dcis aimer mes vers, puiiqu'ils sont ton ouvrage. 
 Occuperai-je les cent voix 
 De la vagabonde Deesse ? 
 A ses faveurs pour obtenir des droits, 
 Suffit-il, 6 Thai's, de sentir latendresse? 
 Thai's alors sur de recens gazons 
 Cueille de fleurs, en tresse une couronne, 
 Tiens, c'est ainsi que je repons; 
 Voila le prix de tes chansons, 
 Et c'est ma main qui te le donne : 
 Renonce, me dit-elle, a l'orgucil des lauriers ; 
 Laisse ces froids honneurs qui'ici tu te proposes ; 
 
 II faut des couronnes de roses 
 A qui peignit L' Amour, et chanta lesbaisers. 
 
 DOBAT. EAISER XX, 
 
KISSES. 63 
 
 And kiss'd me fonder, more voluptuous far, 
 Than Beauty's Queen e'er kiss'd the God of War : 
 " What ! (cries the nymph) and shall my am'rous 
 
 " bard 
 " Pedantic wisdom's stern decree regard ? 
 <£ Thy cause must be at my tribunal tried, 
 ° None but Neoera can the point decide." 
 
64 BASIA. 
 
 BASIUM XIL 
 
 QUID vultus r'emovetis hinc pudicos, 
 jUatroiiaeque., Puellulaeque castce ? 
 JSon hie furt a Deum jocosa canto, 
 Monstrosasve libidinum fguras .- 
 Nulla hie carmina meiitulata ; nulla 
 Quce non, discipulos ad integellos, 
 Hirsutus legat in schold magister. 
 Inermeis cano hasiationes, 
 Vastus Aonii chori sacerdos : 
 Sed vultus adhibeni modb hue proterms 
 Matronceque, Puellulceque cunctce ; 
 Ignari quia forte mentulatum 
 Verbum diximus, evolcmte voce. 
 Ite hinc, ite procul, molestu. turba, 
 IVTatronseque, Puelluleeque turpes ! 
 Quart to castior est Ne<era nostra ? 
 
KISSES. 65 
 
 KISS. XII. 
 
 MODEST Matrons, Maidens, say, 
 Why thus turn your looks away ? 
 Frolic feats of lawless love, 
 Of the lustful pow'rs above ; 
 Forms obscene, that shock the sight} 
 In my verse I ne'er recite ; 
 Verse ! where nought indecent reigns; 
 Guiltless are my tender strains; 
 Such as pedagogues austere 
 Might with strict decorum hear, 
 Might, with no licentious speech, 
 To their youth reproachless teach. 
 1, chaste vofry of the Nine ! 
 Kisses sing of chaste design : 
 Maids and Matrons yet, with rage, 
 Frown upon my blameless page ; 
 Frown, because some wanton word 
 Here and there by chance occurred, 
 Or the cheated fancy caught 
 Some obscure, tho' harmless thought. 
 Hence, ye prudish Matrons ! hence, 
 Squeamish Maids devoid of sense ! 
 
<)6 BASIA. 
 
 Qua; certe sine mentula, libellum 
 Mavult, qudm, sine mentula, poetam ! 
 
 i» ■ ■ ' 
 
 [Quce certl, sine &c] Here our poet, or rather his mis- 
 tress Neaera, dissents in opinion from the amorous Catullus, 
 who would inculcate the following opposite principle : 
 
 Nam castum esse decet pium poetam 
 
 Ipsum, versiculos nihil necesse est : 
 
 Qui turn denique habent salem, ac leporem, 
 
 Si sunt molliculi, ac parum pudici, 
 
 Et quod pruriat incitare possunt ; 
 
 Non dico pueris, sed his pilosis, 
 
 Qui durcs nequcunt movere lumbos. 
 
 CATULLUS. CARM.XVI. 
 
 In manners, let the learned bard 
 Severest chastity regard ; 
 In poetry, this rule were vain , 
 For when luxurious phrases reign, 
 And modesty resigns her sway, 
 Then, only then, delights the lay ; 
 The lay ! that moves a Youth's desires, 
 And sluggish Age alike inspires. 
 
 Such, too was the doctrine of Martial, after the example 
 of the poet of Verona : 
 
 Versus scribere me parum seveios, 
 
 Nee quos praelegat in schola magister, 
 
 Corneli, quereris : sed hi libelli, 
 
 Tanquam conjugibus suis mariti, * 
 
 Non possunt sine mentula placere. 
 
 MART. EPIG. XXXVI. LIB. I, 
 
KISSES. 76 
 
 And shall these in virtue dare 
 With my virtuous maid compare ? 
 She ! who in the bard will prize 
 What she'll in his lays despise ; 
 Wantonness with love agrees, 
 But reserve in verse must please. 
 
 To me Cornelius thus complains : 
 " Too wanton are thy frolic strains, 
 " With decency so little fraught, 
 " They can't in public schools be taught.' 
 I answer : " Numbers such as these, 
 " Unless licentious, will not please ; 
 f« No more than he, who guides his life 
 ** By chastity, can please a wife." 
 
 ¥ 2 
 
Ii8 BASIA. 
 
 BASIUMXIIL 
 
 LANGUIDUS e dulci certamine, vita, jacebam 
 
 Fxavimis,fusd per ina colla mann. 
 Omnis in arenti consumptus spiritus ore, 
 
 F I amine non poterat cor recreare novo.. 
 Jam Styx ante oculos, et regna carentia sole, 
 
 Luridaque annosi cyrtibq Charontis erat. 
 Cum tu, suaviolum educens pulmonis ab imo, 
 
 Affldsti siccis irriguum labiis. 
 Suaviolum ! Stygia quod me de voile reduxit ; 
 
 Etjussit vacua currere nave senem. 
 
 \Languidus e dulci, &c] Congreve, perhaps, had in view 
 this line of Secundus when he wrote, 
 
 See, after the toils of an amorous fight, 
 
 Where weary and pleas'd still panting she lies ; 
 
 While yet in her mind she repeats the delight, 
 How sweet is the slumber that steals on her eyes \ 
 congreve's SEMELE, ACT II. SCENE II. 
 
 [Etjussit vacua currere, &c] Secundus here seems to 
 have copied the following lines of Propertius : 
 
 Solus amans novit, quando periturus, et a qua 
 
 Morte ; nequs hie Boreae ilabra, neque arma timet. 
 
 Jam licet et Stygia stdeat sub arundine remex, 
 Cernat et infernae tristia vt la ratis : 
 
 Si modo clamantis revocaverit aura puellae, 
 Concessum nulla lege rsdioit her. 
 
 PP.OPElt. LIB. II. EI.EG. XXTI. 
 
KISSES. 09 
 
 KISS XIH. 
 
 WITH am'rous strife exanimate I lay, 
 
 Around your neck my languid aim I threw ; 
 My trembling heart had just forgot to play, 
 
 Its vital spirit from my bosom flew : 
 The Stygian lake ; the dreary realms below, 
 
 To which the sun a cheering beam denies ; 
 Old Charon's boat, slow wand'ring to and fro, 
 
 Promiscuous pass'd before my swimming eyes ; 
 
 When you, Neoera ! with your humid breath, 
 O'er my parch'd lips the deep-fetch'd kiss be- 
 stow'd ; 
 
 Sudden, my fleeting soul return'd from death, 
 And freightless hence th' infernal pilot row'd. 
 
 The youth, whom love instructs, may read his doom ; 
 What death he'il die, and when that death shall come 
 Nor Boreas' rage, nor hostile steel he fears ; 
 In vain for him on Acheron appears 
 The ghastly mariner ; — in vain his sail 
 Swells proud, distended by th' infernal gale; 
 If the dear nymph, whom most his soul adores, 
 With grateful breath his wish'd return implores ; 
 Her povv'rful voice, with rapture, he'll obeyj 
 And, spite of fate, review life's cheerful day. 
 
70 BASIA. 
 
 Erravi .-—vacua non remigat ille carina, 
 Flebilis ad maneisjam natat umbra mea. 
 
 Pars animce, mea vita, tuce hoc in corpore vivit ; 
 Et dilapsuros sustinet articvlos. 
 
 Quce tamen, impatiens, in prist in a jura reverti 
 Scppz per arcanas nititur, cegra, vias. 
 
 Ac, nisi dilecta per tefoveatur ab aura, 
 Jam cotlabenteis deserit articulos. 
 
 Ergo, age, labra meis iunecte tenacia labris, 
 ASsidueque duos spiritus unus alat. 
 
 [Pars animce, &c] This transfusion of soul is a conceit 
 which the elegant Voiture has very happily touched upo 11 
 in the following stanzas: 
 
 Mon ame sur ma levre estoit lors toute entiere, 
 Pour savourer le mi el qui sur la vostre estoit : 
 
 Mais en me retirant, elle resta derriere, 
 Tant de ce doux plaisir Tamorce l'arrestoit. 
 
 S'esgarant de ma bouche, elle entra dans la vostre, 
 Yvre de ce nectar qui charmoit ma raison : 
 
 Et sans doute, elle prit une porte pour l'autre, 
 Et ne luy souviut plus quelle estoit sa maison. 
 
KISSES. 71 
 
 Yet soft, —for oh ! my crying senses stiay ; — 
 Not quite unfreighted to the Stygian shore 
 
 Old Charon steer' d his lurid bark away, 
 My plaintive shade he to the Manes bore. 
 
 Then smce my soul can here no more remain, 
 A part of thine, sweet life ! that loss supplies 
 
 But what this feeble fabric must sustain, 
 If of thy soul that part its aid denies ? 
 
 And much I fear : — for, struggling "to be free, 
 Oft from its new abode it fain would roam ; 
 
 Oft seeks, impatient to return to thee, 
 Some secret pass to gain its native home. 
 
 Unless thy fost'ring breath retards its flight, 
 It now prepares to quit this falling frame ; 
 
 Haste, then, to mine thy clingy lips unite, 
 And let one spirit feed each vital flame ! 
 
 Mes pleurs n'ont pu depuis flescher cette infidelle, 
 A quitter un sejour qu'elle trouva si doux ; 
 
 Et te suis en langueur, sans repos, et sans elle, 
 
 Et sans moy-mesme aussi, iors que je suis sans vous, 
 
 Elle ne peut laisser ce lieu taht desirable, 
 
 Ce beau temple ou 1'amour est de nous adore ; 
 
 Pour entrer derechef en 1'enfer miserable, 
 Ou le ciel a voulu qu'elle ait tant endure. 
 
 VOITURE. 
 
ft BASIA. 
 
 Donee, in exphti post tcedia serafuroris, 
 Unica de gemino corpore vitajluet. 
 
 There is a little epigram in Manillas which contains the 
 same thought as this Basium ; it is so neatly and delicately- 
 turned, that I am certain my readers will not be displeased 
 to see it inserted here : 
 
 Suaviolum invitae rapio clum casta Neafera, 
 
 Imprudens vestris liquiammam in labiis. 
 Exanimusque diu, cum nee per se ipsa rediret, 
 Et mora lasthalis quantulacumque foret, 
 Misi cor quaesitum animam, sed cor quoque blandis 
 
 Captum oculis nunquam deinde mihi rediit. 
 Quod nisi suaviolo, flammam quoque casta. Nesera 
 
 Hausissem, quae mesubstinet exanimum, 
 Ille dies misero mihi crede supremus amanti 
 Luxisset, rapui cum tibi suaviolum. 
 
 MARUL. EPIG. LIB. II. 
 
 A kiss from chaste Neaera's lips I stole, 
 But on those lips, in kissing, left my soul. 
 Incautious youth ! — long time the loss I mourn'd, 
 And waited long, my soul still ne'er returned : 
 At length, exanimate with slow delay, , 
 I sent my heart to seek my soul astray ; 
 But my poor heart, by beauty's pow'r enchain'd, 
 "With my lost soul, and with the nymph remained : 
 Then, oh ! unless, to foster this sad frame, 
 I from Neaera's lips draw vital flame, 
 That day I kiss'd thee must for ever prove 
 Wretched to me, the greatest wretch in love ! 
 
KISSES. 73 
 
 Till, after frequent ecstacies of Miss, 
 
 Mutual, unsating to th' impassion'd heart, 
 
 From bodies thus conjoin'd, in one long kiss, 
 That single life which nourish'd both shall part, 
 
74 BASIA. 
 
 BASIUM XIV. 
 
 QUID profers mihi fiammeum labellum ? 
 Non te, non volo basiare, dura ! 
 Duro marmore duvior, Neaera ! 
 Tanti istas ego ut osculationes 
 Imbelleis faciam, superba, vestras ; 
 Ut, nervo toties rigens supiuo, 
 Pertundam tunicas me as, tuasque ; 
 Et d e side rio fur ens inani, 
 Tabescam, miser, cestuante vena ? 
 Quofugis ? — remane I nee hos ocellos, 
 Nee nega mihi fiammeum labellum : 
 Te jam, te volo basiare mollis ! 
 Molli mollior anscris medulla ! 
 
 [Quid profers mihi, &c] The reader must easily pei- 
 ceive, that the beginning of this kiss very much resembles, 
 and is evidently written in the same spirit with, the begin- 
 ning of the ninth kiss ; 
 
 /Non semper udum da mihi basium, &c. 
 
 [Molli mollior, &c] This singular expression is imi- 
 tated from the licentious Catullus : 
 
 Cinaede Thalle, mollior cuniculi eapillo, 
 
 Vel anseris medullula. catull. carm. xxv. 
 
 Voluptuous Thallus ! softer far 
 Than softest down, than softest hair. 
 
KISSES. 75 
 
 KISS XIV 
 
 THOSE tempting' lips of scarlet glow, 
 Why pout with fond, bewitching art ? 
 
 For to those lips, Nesera ! know, 
 My lips shall not one kiss impart. 
 
 Perhaps you'd have me greatly prize, 
 Hard-hearted fair ! your precious kiss ; 
 
 But learn, proud mortal ! i despise 
 Such cold, such unimpassion'd bliss. 
 
 ThimYst thou I calmly feel the flame 
 That all my rending bosom fires ? 
 
 And patient bear thro' all my frame, 
 The pangs of unallay'd desires ? 
 
 Ah ! no; — but turn not thus aside 
 Those tempting lips, of scarlet glow! 
 
 Nor yet avert, with angry pride, 
 
 Those eyes, from whence such raptures flow ! 
 
 Forgive the past, sweet-natur'd maid ! 
 
 My kisses, love ! are all thy own ; 
 Then let my lips o'er thine be laid, 
 
 O'er thine ! more soft than softest down ! 
 
76 ^BASIA. 
 
 BASIUM XV. 
 
 ADDUCTO, Puer Idalius, post tempora, nervo, 
 Stabat in exitium, pulchra Necera, tunm. 
 
 Cumfrontem, sparsosqve videns in f route capillos; 
 Luminaque urgutis irrequieta notis ; 
 
 Flammeolasqne genas, et dignas mat re papillas ; 
 Jecit ab ambigud tele remissa manu : 
 
 [Cum frovtem, sparsosque, £zc.~] The turn of this line 
 differs but little from the following of Propertius : 
 
 Seu vidi ad frontem sparsos errare capillos. 
 
 PROP. ELEG. I. LIB. II. 
 
 If o'er that brow your playful hair I view'd. 
 
 In short, traces of Propertius appear throughout all the 
 writings of Secundus. 
 
 [Jecit ab ambiguti, &c] Of all the various instances of 
 the force of female charms, I remember none so happy as 
 this. Madame Dacier remarks, that the manner in which 
 Helen's appearance wrought on the Grecian sages, as they 
 sat at the Scaean gate to view the decisive combat between 
 Menelaus and Paris, is the greatest panegyric on beauty she 
 knows in any classical writer. 
 
 Ol' £' cog- uv giS'ov EXmv itcl isrv^yov lea-av, \ 
 Hhci 'Bu^oc; uWrtXyg iTtza. •jflsoowr aysgivw. 
 Ov vsfxBG-ig, Tg«a? y.ou lvx,rn<Atict<; 'Ap^aia? 
 TQir$' a.{A<*>] yuvauil ttoXvv ffiovov aXysz itcuryiu. 
 
 HOMER. ILIAD. LIB. III. 
 
KISSES. 77 
 
 KISS XV. 
 
 TR' Idalian boy, to pierce Neaera's heart, 
 Had bent his bow, had chose the fatal dart ; 
 But when the child, in wonder lost, survey'd 
 That brow, o'er which your sunny tresses play'd ! 
 Those cheeks, that blush'd the rose's warmest dye ! 
 That streamy languish of your lucid eye ! 
 That bosom, too, with matchless beauty bright ; 
 Scarce Cypria's own could boast so pure a white ! 
 Tho' mischief urg'd him first to wound my fair. 
 Yet partial fondness urg'd him now to spare ; 
 But, doubting still, he linger'd to decide : 
 At length resolv'd he flung the shaft aside : 
 
 These, when the Spartan Queen approach'd the tow'r 
 In secret own'd resistless beauty's pow'r ; 
 They cry'd, no wonder such celestial charms 
 For nine long years have set the world in arms. 
 
 POPE'S HOMER'S ILIAD. BOOK ill. 
 
 Very wonderful indeed are the powers which '"ibullus as- 
 cribes to the charms of his mistress : 
 
 Ssepe ego tentavi curas depellere vino : 
 
 At dolor in hicrimas verterat omne nherum. 
 
 Ssepe aliam tenui ; sed jam quum gaudia adirem, 
 Admonuit dominse, deseruitque Venus. 
 
78 BASIA. 
 
 Inque luas cursu effusus, peariliter, ulnas, 
 Mille tibifixit basia, mille modis; 
 
 Quce succos tibi myrteolos, Cypriosque liquores, 
 Pectoris affiarunt usque sub ima tui :. 
 
 Juravitque Deos omneis, Veneremque parentem. 
 Nil tibi post unquum velle movere mali. 
 
 Et miremur ad hue, cur tarn tua basia fragrent? 
 Duraque cur miti semper amore vaees? 
 
 •Tunc mc devotum descendens femina dixit. 
 
 Et, pudet heu, narrat scire nefanda mea. 
 Non facit hoc verb's ; facie tenerisque lacertis 
 
 Dtvovet, et flavis nostra puella comis. 
 
 » T1BULL. ELEG. VI. LIB. I. 
 
 With wine I strcve to soothe my love-sick soul, 
 But vengeful Cupid dash'd with tears the bowl : 
 | All mad with rage, to kinder nymphs I flew; 
 But viguor fled me, when I thought on you. 
 Balk'd of the rapture, from my arms they run, 
 Swear I'm devoted, and my converse shun ! 
 By what dire witchcraft am I thus betray'd ? 
 Your face and hair unnerve me, matchless maid ! 
 
 GRAINGER. 
 
 For an explanation of the word devovere, see the notes of 
 Tibullus's commentator, Broekhusius, or those of this trans- 
 lator. — But, surely, no example of the effects of beauty can 
 equal the delicate one Secundus gives us in this Kiss. 
 
 Et mirtmuT adhuc, c9c.] What can be more delicately 
 beautiful than this happy fiction, which at the same time 
 accounts for the delicious sweetness of Nehru's kisses, and 
 the extreme coldness of her heart ? 
 
KISSES. 70 
 
 Then rush'd impetuous to thy circling arms, 
 And hung- voluptuous o'er thy heav'nly charms: 
 There, as the boy in wanton folds was laid, 
 His lips on thine in various kisses play'd ; 
 With ev'ry kiss he tried a thousand wiles ; 
 A thousand gestures, and a thousand smiles; 
 Your inmost breast with Cyprian odours nll'd, 
 And all the myrtle's luscious scent instill'd ; 
 Lastly, he swore by ev'ry pow'r above ! 
 By Venus' self, the potent Queen of love ! 
 That thou blest nymph ! for ever shouldst remain 
 Exempt from am'rous care, from am'rous pain. 
 What wonder then such balmy sweets should flow 
 In ev'ry grateful kiss thy lips bestow! 
 What wonder, then, obdurate maid ! you prove 
 Averse to all the tenderness of love ! 
 
80 BASIA. 
 
 BASIVM XVL 
 
 LATONJE niveo sidere blavdicr ! 
 Et Stella V 'eneris puhhrior tmrea ! 
 Da mi basia centum, 
 
 Da tot basia, ijuot dedit 
 Yati muitivolo lesbia, <]uot tulit : 
 Quot blandce Veneres, quoique Cupidines 
 Et lobelia per err ant, 
 Et genas roseas tuas ; 
 
 [Vati muitivolo, ^c] Catullus is here meant, alluding 
 most probably to the following lines : 
 
 Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus, 
 Rurnoresque senum severiorum 
 Omnes unius aestimemus assis. 
 Soles occidere, et redire possunt : 
 Nobis, ciim semel occidit brevis lux, 
 Nox est perpetua una dormienda. ' 
 Da nn basia mille, deinde centum, 
 Dein mille altera, da secunda centum, 
 Deinde usque alcera mille, deinde centum : 
 Dein cum millia multa fecerimus, 
 Conturbabimus ilia, ne sciamus, 
 Aut ne quis malus invidere possit, 
 Ciim tantum sciant esse basiorum. 
 
 CATULL. CARM. V. 
 
KISSES. 81 
 
 KISS XVI. 
 
 BRIGHT as Venus' golden star ! 
 And as silver Cynthia fair ! 
 Nymph, with ev'ry charm replete ! 
 Give an hundred kisses sweet ; 
 
 My dearest Lesbia ! let's employ 
 
 Youth's transient date in am'rous joy; 
 
 Nor heed, tho' fretful age reprove 
 
 The raptures of unbounded love : 
 
 Each sun that sets again shall rise ; 
 
 Not so, when death has seal'd our eyes ; 
 
 Life's little gleam of sunshine o'er, 
 
 We sleep, alas to 'wake no more ! 
 
 A thousand tender kisses give, 
 
 Let me an hundred more receive, 
 
 A second thousand grant me still, 
 
 A second hundred now fulfil, 
 
 Another thousand o'er again, 
 
 Another rapt'rous hundred then : 
 
 And, when the thousands num'rous grow, 
 
 Let's cease to count, that none may know 
 
 What endless sums of bliss I owe. 
 
 \Quot llandce Veneres, &.] The French versificator has 
 imitated the beginning of this kiss with exquisite delicacy : 
 
 Oui ; de ta bouche enfantine 
 Donne moi dans ces vergers 
 Autant de furtif9 baisers 
 Qu' Ovide en prit a Corine ; 
 
82 BASIA. 
 
 Quot vitas oculis, quotque needs geris, 
 Quot spes, quotque metus, quotque perenni'nu 
 Mist a gaudia curis, 
 El suspiria amantium. 
 
 Da, qudm multa meo spicula pectori 
 Insevit volucris dira manus Dei : 
 Et qudm multa phuretrd 
 Conservavit in aured. 
 
 Autant (je n'en veux plus) 
 
 Qu'il natt d' Amours sur tes traces, 
 
 Qu'on voit jouer de Venus 
 
 Et de beautes et de graces, 
 
 Sur ton sein, entre tes bras, 
 
 Dans ton delicat sourire, 
 
 Dans tout ce que tu sais dire,— 
 
 Et ce que tu ne dis pas ; 
 
 Autant que ton ceil de flamme, 
 
 Arme de seductions, 
 
 Lance d'aimable rayons, 
 
 Et de traits qui vont a l'ame, 
 
 De voluptueux desirs, 
 
 Ds rapides esperances, 
 
 Et d'amoureuses vengeances, 
 
 Signal de nouveaux plaisirs ; 
 
KISSES. ' 83 
 
 Then as many kisses more 
 O'er my lips profusely pour, 
 As th' insatiate bard could want, 
 Or his bounteous Lesbia grant ; 
 As the vagrant loves, that stray 
 On thy lip's nectareous way ; 
 As the dimpling- graces spread 
 On thy cheeks' carnation' d bed : 
 As the deaths thy iovers die ; 
 As the conquests of thine eye ; 
 Or the cares, and fond delights, 
 Which its changeful beam incites ; 
 As the hopes and fears we prove, 
 Or th' impassion'd sighs, in love ; 
 As the shafts by Cupid sped, 
 Shafts ! by which my heart has bled 
 As the countless stoves, that still 
 All his golden quiver fill. 
 
 Autant que nos tourterelles 
 Roucoulent de tendres feux, 
 Quand le printeras de ses ailes 
 Semble caresser ces lieUx. 
 
 BORAT. BAJSER X, 
 
 g a 
 
84 BASIA. 
 
 Adde et blanditias, verbaque publico, 
 Et cum suavi-crepis murmur a sibilis, 
 Risu non sine grato, 
 
 Gratis non sine morsibus . 
 
 Qualeis Chaoniae garrula mctibus 
 Alternant tremulis rostra columb.uleE, 
 Cum se dura remittit 
 Primis Bruma Favoniis. 
 
 [Qualeis Chaoniae, &c] Chaonia was a part of Epirus, 
 consisting of wooded mountains, abounding in doves ; hence 
 doves are often called by the Lalin poets, Chaoniae Columbse. 
 Non me Chaoniae vincunt in amore columbae. 
 
 PROPER. ELEG. IX. LIB. I. 
 
 Chaonian doves are not more fond than me. 
 
 Tasso thus prettily mentions the caresses of two turtles : 
 Mira la quel Colombo, 
 Con che dolce susurro lusingando, 
 Bacia la sua compagna. 
 
 TASSO. AMJNTA, ATTO I. 
 
 See, as yon flatt'ring turtle woes, 
 His tender love how fond he coos ; 
 And frequent to his faithful mate 
 Gives many a billing kiss so sweet ! 
 
KISSES. 85 
 
 Whisper' d plaints, and wanton wiles ; 
 Speeches soft, and soothing- smiles ; 
 Teeth-imprinted, tell-tale blisses ; 
 Intermix with all thy kisses : 
 So, when zephyr's breezy wing 
 W T afts the balmy breath of spring-, 
 Turtles thus their loves repeat, 
 Fondly-billing, murm' ring-sweet ; 
 While their trembling pinions tell 
 What delights their bosom swell. 
 
 Now when joys o'erwhelm thy mind, 
 On my glowing cheek reclin'd, 
 All around, in am'rous trance, 
 Let thine eyes voluptuous glance ; 
 And suffus'd with passion's flames, 
 Dart their sweetly-trembling gleams: 
 Then, soft-languishing, and sighing, 
 With delicious transport dying, 
 Say to thy officious swain, 
 " Now thy fainting fair sustain." 
 In my fond, encircling arms 
 I'll receive thy melting charms ; 
 While the long, life-teeming kiss 
 Shall recal thy soul to bliss : 
 And, as thus the vital store 
 From my humid lips I pour, 
 
86 BASIA. 
 
 Incumbensque meis mentis inops genis, 
 Hue, illuc, oculos volve natatileis, 
 Exanguemque, lacertis, 
 Die, te sustineam meis. 
 
 St ring am nexilibus te, te ego brachiis, 
 Frigentem calido pectore comprimam, 
 Et vitam tibi longi 
 
 Redd am afflamine basii. 
 
 Donee siicciduum me qv.oque spiritus 
 1st is roscidiilis linquet in osculis, 
 Labentemque, lacertis, 
 Dicam, collige me tttis. 
 
 Stringes nexilibus me, inea, brachiis, 
 Mulcebis tepido pectore frigidum r 
 Et vitam mihi longi af- 
 Jlabis rore suavii. 
 
 [Incumhensque meis mentis, &c] Mr. Stanley has trans- 
 lated 'his and the three following stanzas with great fidelity,* 
 if not with some degree of poetic harmony : 
 
KISSES. 87 
 
 Till, exhausted with the play, 
 
 All my spirit wastes away ; 
 
 Sudden, in my turn, I'll cry, 
 
 " Oh ! support me, for I die." 
 
 To your fost'ring breast you'll hold me, 
 
 In your warm embrace enfold me ; 
 
 While thy breath, in nectar' d gales, 
 
 O'er my sinking soul prevails ; 
 
 While thy kisses sweet impart 
 
 Life and rapture to the heart. 
 
 Thus, when youth is in its prime, 
 Let's enjoy the golden time ; 
 
 Rest on my cheek in ecstacic, 
 
 Ready to close thy dying eye ; 
 
 And as thou faintest away 
 Me to uphold thee pray : 
 
 My arms about thee I will twine ; 
 
 My warm to thy cold bosome joyn, 
 
 And call thee back from death. 
 With a long kiss's breath : 
 
 'Till me like fate of life bereave, 
 Who in that kiss my spirit leave, 
 And as I sink away 
 Thee to uphold me pray : 
 
 Thy arms about me thou shalt ty, 
 Thy warm to my cold breast apply, 
 And summon me from death 
 With a long kiss's breath, 
 
88 BAS1A. 
 
 Sic cevi, mea lux, tempera fioridi 
 Carpamus simul. En, jam miser abileis 
 Curas cegra senectus 
 
 Et morbos trahct, et necem. 
 
 [Sic cevi> &c] Horace gives much such advice to his fair 
 friend Leuconoe : 
 
 Dum loquimur, fugerit invida 
 /Etas. Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero. 
 
 HOR. OD. XI. LIB. I. 
 
 Even while we talk in careless ease, 
 Our envious minutes wing their flight ! 
 
 Instant the fleeting pleasure seize, 
 Nor trust to-morrow's doubtful light. 
 
 FRANCIS. 
 
 Hear in how eloquent a strain an English bard warns his 
 mistress of the short duration of youth and beauty ; urging 
 her to make present use of them : 
 
 Take heed, my dear, youth flies apace ; 
 
 As well as Cupid, Time is blind : 
 Soon must those glories of thy face 
 The fate of vulgar beauty find : 
 The thousand love's that arm thy potent eye 
 Must drop their quiveis, flag their wings, and die. 
 
 Haste, Caelia, haste, while youth invites; 
 
 Obey kind Cupid's present voice ; 
 Fill ev'ry sense with soft delights, 
 And give thy soul a loose to joys : 
 Let millions of repeated blisses prove 
 That thou all kindness art, and 1 all love. 
 
 PRIOR. AN ODE. 
 
KISSES. 89 
 
 For, when smiling- youth is past, 
 Age these tender joys shall blast : 
 Sickness, which our bloom impairs ; 
 Slow-consuming 1 , painful cares ; 
 Death, with dire remorseless rage; 
 All attend the steps of age. 
 
90 BASIA. 
 
 BASIUM XVII. 
 
 Q VA L EM p u rpu reo diffvn dit mane color em 
 Qucc rosa uociuinis roribus immaduit : 
 
 Maiutiiia rubent dormnse sic oscula nostra 
 Basiolis, lov.gd nocte, riguia meis. 
 
 Quce circum fades niveo candore coronat ; 
 Virginis ut violam cum tenet alba manus. 
 
 a 
 
 Tale novum seris cerasitm subjlorlbus ardet ; 
 uEstutemque, et ver cum simul arbor habet. 
 
 Me miserum ! quare, cumjlagrantissimajungis 
 Oscula, de thalamo cogor abire tuo? 
 
 [Tale novum seris; &c] This simile bears no small re- 
 semblance to the following, which Ovid has in the story of 
 
 Narcissus : 
 
 Dumque dolet, sumroa vestem deduxit ab ora, 
 Nudaque marmoreis percussit pectora pal mis. 
 Fectora traxerunt tenucm percussa ruborem. 
 Non aliter, quam poma so'.ent : quae Candida parte, 
 Parte rubent. Aut ut variis solet uva racemis 
 Ducere purpureum, nondum matura, colorem. 
 
 OVin. METAM. LIU. 111. 
 
KISSES. 91 
 
 KISS XVII. 
 
 ROSES, refreshed with nightly dew, display? 
 New beauties blushing to the dawn of day ; 
 So, by the kisses of a rapt'rous night, 
 Thy vermil lips at morn blush doubly bright ; 
 And from thy face, that's exquisitely fair, 
 That vermil brightness seems more brightt'appear : 
 Deep-purpled vi'lets thus a deeper glow, 
 Held in some virgin's snowy hand, will show ; 
 And early-rip'ning cherries thus assume, 
 Mid the late blossoms, a superior bloom ; 
 When spring and summer boast united pow'r, 
 At once producing both the fruit and flow'r. 
 But why, when most thy kisses fire my heart. 
 Why, from th' endearing transport must I part r 
 
 Then, as he wept, he tore away his vest, 
 And smote with marble hands his naked breast \ 
 His breast, where printed with each frantic blow, 
 In stains ofdeep'ning red began to glow: 
 So apples shew, one white unripen'd side 
 Contrasting one with streaky crimson dy'd ; 
 So clust'ring grapes with partial purple shine, 
 Ere autumn well matures the loaded vine. 
 
92 BASIA, 
 
 O saltern, labris serva h'unc, formosa, ruborem 
 Dum tibi me referet noctis optica qaies ! 
 
 Si tamem interea cujuscjuam basia carpent, 
 Ilia meis fiant pallidiora genis. 
 
 [Ilia meis Jlant pallidiora genis.] i. e. paler than my 
 cheeks shall become at seeing this evident testimony of in- 
 fidelity, viz. your lips losing their rosy colour. The idea of 
 infidelity's being punished by some failure of beauty is also 
 
 Horace's : 
 
 Ulla si juris tibi pcjerati 
 
 Poena, Barine, w cuisset unquam : 
 
 Dente si nigro fieres, vel uno 
 
 Turpior ungui ; 
 Crederem j &c. 
 
 HOR. LIB. I!. OD. VIII. 
 
 If ever injur'd pow'r had shed 
 The slightest vengeance on thy head, 
 If but a nail or tooth of thee 
 Were blacken'd by thy perjury, 
 Again thy falshood might deceive, 
 And I the faithless vow believe. 
 
 FRANCIS. 
 
 And thus Ovid to the same purpose : 
 
 Esse Decs credamne ?— fidem jurata fefellit, 
 Etfacies illi, quae fuit ante, manet. 
 
 GLuam longos habuit, nondum perjura, capillos, 
 Tarn longos, postquam numina laesit, habet. 
 
 OVID. AMOR. LIB. III. ELEG. III. 
 
 Can there be Gods ? — the perjur'd fair-one swore 
 Yet looks as lovely as she look'd before. 
 Long fiow'd the careless tresses of her hair, 
 While yet she shone as innocent as fair ; 
 Long flow the tresses of the wanton now, 
 And sport as trophies of her broken vow. 
 
 DUNK1N. 
 
KISSES. 93 
 
 Oh ! let that crimson on those lips remain 
 Till ev'ning brings me to thy aims again : 
 Yet should those lips ere then some rival bless, 
 Some youth whom thou in secret shalt caress ; 
 Then may they cease for ever to disclose 
 That beauteous blush, which emulates the rose ! 
 Then paler turn, than my pale cheek shall prove.* 
 Whene'er I view this mark of faithless love ! 
 
1)4 BASIA. 
 
 BASIUM XVIII. 
 
 CUMlabra nostra; cerneret puellse, 
 Inclusa circo candidce figurce ; 
 fUt si quis ornet, arte curiosd, 
 Carralinis eburna signa baccis ;) 
 Fhvisse fertur Cypris, et gemcndo 
 Lascivienteis convocasse amoves ; 
 Et, "quidjuvat (dixisse) purpuratis 
 " Vicisse in Ida Palladem labellis. 
 
 [Ut si quis ornet, fife] Secundus here seems to have 
 had an eye to the following lines of Virgil: 
 
 Indum sanguineo veluti violaverit osrro 
 
 Si quis ebur, aut mista rubent ubi lilia multa 
 
 Alba rosa. 
 
 VIRG. /FNEID. XII, 
 
 So looks the beauteous iv'ry, stain'd with red ; 
 So roses, mix'd with lilies in the bed, 
 Blend their rich hues. 
 
 PITT. 
 
KISSES. 95 
 
 KISS XVIII. 
 
 WHEN Cytherea first beheld 
 
 Those lips with ruby lustre bright, 
 
 Those lips ! which, as they blushing swell'd. 
 Blush'd deeper from th' incircling white ; 
 
 (So, when some artist's skill inlays 
 
 Coral mid iv'ry's paler hue, 
 That heigt'ning coral soon displays 
 
 A warmer crimson to the view ;) 
 
 Then, urg'cl by envy and by hate, 
 
 Which rising sighs and tears betray 'd, 
 
 She called her wanton loves; — and straight 
 The wanton loves her call obey'd : 
 
 To whom the queen in plaintive strain ; — 
 "Ah ! what, my boys, avails it now, 
 
 " That to these lips the Phrygian swain 
 " Decreed the prize on Ida's brow ? 
 
90 BASIA. 
 
 " Et pronubam magni Jovis sororem 
 
 " Sub arbitro pastore ? Ciim Nesera 
 
 " H(ec ante-cellai, arbitro poeta? 
 
 " At vos^furentes, ite in hunc po'etam, 
 
 " Et, dira plenis tela de pharetris, 
 
 " In illius medullulas tenettas, 
 
 " Pectusque per, jecurque per jocosnm, 
 
 " Distringite acres perstrepente cornu. 
 
 " At ilia nullo pertepescat igne, 
 
 " Sed tacta pectus plumbed sagittd 
 
 " Torpescat im.s congelata venas." 
 
 [Et pronubam magni, ©V.] Pronuba is a title given to 
 Juno, from her being supposed to preside over marriages. 
 
 [Sub arbitro pastore ? &*c] The story of the judgment of 
 Paris is too well known to be related here : Paris gives a beau- 
 tiful description of it, in the episde which Ovid makes him 
 write to Helen. — Vide Ovid. Epist. xvi. Paris Helena. 
 
 [Plumbed sagittd, G?c] The God of love was said to have 
 two kinds of darts ; one of gold causing love ; the other of 
 lead, causing hate. Ovid in the story of Apollo and Daphne, 
 thus mentions them : 
 
 Eque sagittifera prompsit duo tela pharetra 
 Diversorum operum. Fugat hoc, facit illud amorem. 
 Quod facit, auratum est, cuspide fulget acuta ; 
 Quod fugat, obtusum est, et habet sub aruudine plumbum . 
 
 OVID. METAM. LIB. I, 
 
KISSES. 97 
 
 " That prize ! for which, elate with pride, 
 " The martial maid contentious strove ; 
 
 " That prize ! to Juno's self denied, 
 " Tho' sister, tho' the wife, of Jove : 
 
 " If, to pervert this swain's decree, 
 " A poet's partial judgment dare 
 
 " His mortal nymph prefer to me, 
 " Her lips with lips divine compare ! 
 
 " Swift, then, ye vengeful Cupids, fly 
 " With loaded quivers to the bard ; 
 
 " Let all the pangs ye can supply 
 " His matchless insolence reward : 
 
 " Go, practise ev'ry cruel art 
 
 " Revenge can frame, without delay ; 
 
 u His bosom pierce with ev'ry dart 
 
 " Which love's soft poison may convey: 
 
 " But wound not with such darts the fair, 
 " Her breast must ever cold remain; 
 
 " Your shafts of lead lodge deeply there, 
 " To freeze the current of each vein." 
 
 Two shafts he drew from the full quiver's store ; 
 As one caus'd love, so one repeli'd its pow'r : 
 Sharp was the shaft which caus'd, and gold the head ; 
 That which repeli'd was barb'd with blunted lead. 
 H 
 
98 BASIA. 
 
 Evenit : imis uror in medullis, 
 Etjorridojecur liquescit igne ; 
 Tufulta pectus asperis pruinis 
 Et caute, qualeis aut maris Sicani, 
 Aut Adriae unda tundit cestuosa, 
 Secura ludis impotent em am ant em ; 
 Ingrata! propter ista Libra rubra 
 Laudato plector. Heu ! misella, nescis, 
 Cur oderis : nee ira quid Deorum 
 Effrena possit, et furor Diones ! 
 
 [Qualeis aut maris Sicani, &c] The Sicilian sea, form- 
 ing a part of the Ionian, is remarkable for those terrors to 
 navigators, Scylla and Charybdis. See a beautiful description 
 of them in Virgil, iEneid iii. — And the Adriatic sea, or 
 Gulph of Venice, is celebrated for being tempestuous by 
 many classics. Thus Horace, by way of comparison ; 
 Et improbo 
 Iracundior Adria. 
 
 HOR. OD. IX. LIB. IIJ. 
 
 Moie angry than the Adrian sea. 
 
 Again, 
 
 Fret is acrior Adriae 
 Curvantis Calabros sinus. 
 
 od. xxxur. LIB. I 
 Fiercer than Adrian waves that loar, 
 Winding the rough Calabrian shore. 
 
KISSES. 99 
 
 She spoke ; — now more than usual fire 
 Consumes apace my melting soul ; 
 
 And now, fierce torrents of desire 
 Tumultuous thro' my bosom roll : 
 
 While thou, whose icy heart betrays 
 No more concern than rocks that brave 
 
 The fury of Sicilian seas, 
 
 Or Adria's rudely dashing wave, 
 
 Canst, in unfeeling scorn secure, 
 Mock all thy tortur'd lover's pain ; 
 
 Who for fond praise is doom'd t' endure, 
 Ungrateful maid ! thy cold disdain. 
 
 Yet why, proud wretch ! you thus despise 
 You know not ; — nor how fierce may prove 
 
 Th' ungovern'd anger of the skies, 
 The vengeance of the queen of love ! 
 
 But, oh ! no more pursue that scorn, 
 Which ill becomes each outward grace ; 
 
 Sure, sweetest manners should adorn 
 The nymph who boasts so sweet a face ! 
 
 Then let thy lips to mine be prest, 
 
 Those honied lips ! which cause my care : 
 
 Imbibing from my inmost breast 
 The latent poison rankling there : 
 
100 BASIA. 
 
 Duros remitte, molWcella, fastus ; 
 Istoque clignos ore sutne mores : 
 Et, quce meorum caussa sunt dolorum, 
 Mellita labris necte labra nostris : 
 Haurire possis ut mei pusillum 
 Prcecordiis ex intimis veneni, 
 Et mutuis languere victaflammis. 
 At nee Deos, nee tu time Dionen : 
 Formosa Divis imperat puella ! 
 
 [Istoque dignos ore, &c] When Secundus thus tenderly 
 complains of the cruel behaviour of his Neaera, ill-suited to 
 such divine beauty as her's ; I cannot help calling to mind a 
 similar complaint, in Cowley, which is exquisitely delicate : 
 
 Love in her sunny eyes does basking play ; 
 
 Love walks the pleasant mazes of her hair ; 
 Love does on both her lips for ever stray ; 
 
 And sows and reaps a thousand kisses there : 
 In all her outward parts love's always seen ; 
 But, oh ! he never went within ! 
 
 cowley's mistress, the change. 
 
KISSES. 101 
 
 And as you thus partake the smart 
 Of all my torture,— in your turn 
 
 You'll catch the flame that warms my heart. 
 And soon with mutual passion burn. 
 
 But fear not thou the pow'rs divine, 
 Fear not the potent queen of love ! 
 
 Beauty, well-guarded maid ! like thine, 
 Can sway th' imperial souls above. 
 
102 BASIA. 
 
 BASIUM XIX. 
 
 MELLI-LEGM volucres ! quid adhuc thy ma 
 carta, rosasque, 
 Et rorem vernae nectareum violae, 
 
 Lingitis ? autfiorem late-spirant is anethi ? 
 Omnes, ad dominae Libra, venite, mece. 
 
 Illaros&sspirarit omneis, thymaque omnia sola, 
 Et succum veinse nectareum violse : 
 
 Inde procul dulces aura funduntur anethi : 
 Narcissi veris ilia madent lachrymis ; 
 
 [Omnes, t.d dominae, &c] The thirtieth and last Basium 
 of Lernutius appears to be evidently a concise and not inele- 
 gant imitation of this last of Secundus. I shall here tran- 
 scribe it entire, for my readers to judge : 
 
 Extruite heic cellas, volucres florentis Hymetti, 
 Et dominae in roseis mellificate labris: 
 
 Nam quaecunque mese libaverit oscula Hyellae, 
 Ultra Cecropias nectar habebit apes. 
 
 UKNUTJI B/SJUM XXX. 
 
KISSES. 103 
 
 KISS XIX. 
 
 WHY wing yoltr flight, ye bees, from flow'r 
 
 to flow'r ? 
 Why, toiling thus, collect the luscious store 
 From blossom'd thyme empurpling all the ground ? 
 From the rich anise breathing odours round? 
 Why sip the vernal vi'let's nectar'd dew ? 
 Or spoil the fragrant rose of blushing hue ? 
 Fly to the lips, ye wantons, of my fair; 
 And gather all your balmy treasures there ; 
 
 Ye, that o'er sweet Hymettus wont to rove 
 On busy wing, go seek my sweeter love;, 
 Build on her roseate lips your waxen cells ; 
 Those roseate lips, where genuine honey dwells! 
 For, know, Hy el la's kiss such nectar yields 
 As bees ne'er gather'd in Cecropian fields. 
 
 Since the Essay on the Lite <md Writings of Secundus, 
 where Lernutius is mentioned, went to the press, I have 
 been lucky enough to meet with the following short account 
 of this author, in the supplement to Moieri's Dictionary; 
 " Lernutius (Janus) de Bruges, naquit en 1 545, cc mourut 
 en 161 9. Ltoit Poete ; mais il n'empioya piesque sa Muse 
 qu'a chanter 1' Amour. On trouve ses Pieces de Poesie dans 
 le 3me Tome des Delices Belgiques, p. 114. Voyez Sweer- 
 p. 38-2. Sanderus in brugens. p. 47." 
 
104 BASIA. 
 
 Oebaliique madent juvenis flagrante cruore ; 
 Qualis uterque liquor, cum cecidisset, erat ; 
 
 Nectareque cetherio medic atus, et acre puro, 
 Impleret fcetu vtrsi-colore solum. 
 
 [Fcetu versi-colore, &c] This is certainly a metamor- 
 phosis of Secundus's own invention : he must mean flowers 
 variegated with red and white in general, and not any varie- 
 gated flower in particular ; for we no where read, in the 
 classics, of any such to have sprung from the tears of Nar- 
 cissus, mixed with the blood of Hyacinthus. Narcissus, ac- 
 cording to Ovid, was turned into a daffodil ; and the blood 
 of Hyacinthus produced the hyacinth. Vide Ovid. Metam. 
 Lib. iii. Fab. 6. and Lib. x. Fab. b. However this may be, 
 Secundus, beyond a doubt, is indebted for the poetical ima- 
 gery he makes use of, to the following lines of Ovid, in the 
 story of Adonis being transformed to an anemone, by Venus 
 sprinkling his blood with nectar : 
 
 Sic fata, cruorem 
 Nectare odorato spargit $ qui tactus ab illo 
 Intumuit : sic ut pluvio perlucida ccelo 
 Surgere bulla solet : nee plena, longior hora 
 Facta mora est, cum flos e sanguine concolor ortus. 
 
 OVID. METAM. LIB. X. 
 
 Which Mr. Eusden thus prettily turns into English : 
 
 Then, on the blood sweet nectar she bestows ; 
 The scented blood in little bubbles rose , 
 Little as rainy drops which flutt'ring fly, 
 Borne by the winds, along a low'ring sky. 
 Short time ensu'd, till where the blood was shed 
 A flow'r began to rear its purple head. 
 
KISSES. 105 
 
 Thence catch the fragrance of the blushing rose ; 
 Thence sip that dew which from the vi'let flows ; 
 Thence the rich odours of the anise steal ; 
 And thence the blossom'd thyme's perfume inhale : 
 Lips! where those tears in genuine moisture dwell. 
 That from Narcissus self-enamour'd fell ; 
 Lips ! deeply-ting'd with Hyacinthus' blood, 
 Which, with the tears in one commingled flood, 
 Impregnating the fertile womb of earth, 
 First gave the variegated flow'r its birth : 
 Soon, by the nectar 1 d show'rs that heav'n bestow'd, 
 With fanning gales, the motley offspring blow'd: 
 For drops of blood, lo ! crimson streaks appear ; 
 And streaks uncolour'd for each lucid tear. 
 
 Nectar, according to the ancient poets, seemed a principal 
 requisite for working any supernatural change in the vegeta- 
 ble world. Nectar produced the rose, as the Teian Bard 
 sings : 
 
 Pofov 60$ yivoiro, vzxrag 
 ETTtray^ttj, avsrsiXsv 
 Ayefieo^ov i£ axavQw; 
 <t>urov ctpQgoTOV Audit*. 
 
 ANAC. CD. Mil. 
 
 But, first, th' assembled Gods debate 
 
 The future wonder to create : 
 
 Agreed at length from heav'n they threw 
 
 A drop of rich neetareous dew ; 
 
 A bramble-stem the drop receives, 
 
 And straight the rose adorns the leaves. 
 
 The Gods to Bacchus gave the flower, 
 
 To grace him in the genial hour. fawkes. 
 
106 „. BASIA. 
 
 Sed me, jure meo lihantem mellea labra, 
 Ingratse, socium ne prohibete favis. 
 
 Non etiamtotas, avidoe, distendite cellas 
 Arescant dominse ne semel ora mece ; 
 
 Basiaque hnpressans siccis sitientia labris, 
 Gurrulus indicii triste feram pretium. 
 
 Hen ! non et stimulis compungite molle labellum 
 JEx ociilis stimulos vibrut et ilia pareis. 
 
 Credite, non 2:llu?n patietur vulnns inultum : 
 Leniter innocuce mella legatis apes. 
 
 At the end of these Poems it may not be improper to re- 
 mark, that, though Secuudus seems to make an indiscrimi- 
 nate use or the three Latin words, signifying a kiss, Oscu- 
 lum, Basium, and Suavium, yet they had different significa- 
 tions among the ancient classics : Osculum was the kiss of 
 duty, or oi friendship ; Basium was the kiss of affection, and 
 of love : Suavium was the kiss of wantonness, the libidinous 
 kiss; though some will have it that Basium is used in this 
 last sense, and that Suavium is the kiss of chaster love. — A 
 celebrated grammarian of antiquity has the following words 
 upon this subject : " Oscula officiorum sunt basia pudicoium 
 affectuum, suavia libidinum vel amorum." iElius Donatus. 
 
kisses. 10; 
 
 But still, ye bees well-favour'd, grateful prove ; 
 Let no unkind refusals pay my love, 
 If e'er I claim (what's sure my rightful due) 
 To share those lips, those honied lips ! with you : 
 Nor suck insatiate all their balm away, 
 And to your bursting cells the sweets convey : 
 Lest when to cool my fever'd lips I try, 
 Neaera's lips no cooling dews supply ; 
 Then shall I justly reap the sad* reward 
 Of what misguided confidence declared. 
 
 And oh to wound her tender lips forbear ; 
 Or dread the fatal vengeance of the fair: 
 Tho' sharp your stings, her eyes ban scatter round 
 Darts that with more tormentingstings may wound ! 
 Nor as ye sip, inflict the slightest pain, 
 For unreveng'd the wrong will ne'er remain; 
 But gently gather, from those precious rills, 
 Th' ambrosial drops each humid lip distils. 
 
108 EP1THALAMIUM. 
 
 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 HORA suavicula, et voluptuosa ; 
 Hora blanditiis, lepore, risu ; 
 Hora deliciis, jocis, susurris ; 
 Hora suaviofc, parique magnis 
 Cum Diis et Jove transigenda sorte : 
 Hora qua poterat beatiorem 
 
 [Hora qua. poterat, &c] Bonefonius thus imitates this 
 passage : 
 
 Nox felicibus invidenda Divis, 
 Qua nee Juno mihi beatiorem, 
 Nee possit Venus ipsa polliceri. 
 
 BONEFON. PANCHAR1S. 
 
 Thus rendered by an anonymous imitator : 
 That night, 
 Which Gods would envy if they knew ; 
 A night so pleasant Juno can't bestow, 
 Nor could the Queen of love with Mars a better know, 
 
 ANONYM. 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 109 
 
 THE 
 
 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 HAIL, genial hour ! 
 
 In myrtle bow'r 
 Of young-eyed pleasure born ; 
 
 Whom wanton wiles, 
 
 And jests and smiles, 
 And roseate sports adorn. 
 
 Sweet hour, all hail ! 
 
 With envy pale 
 Which Jove himself might see ; 
 
 And own at least, 
 
 His nectar' d feast 
 Equall'd, sweet hour ! by thee. 
 
 No happier hour 
 The Gnydian pow'r 
 
 Could on blest man bestow : 
 Nor he, who reigns 
 O'er farthest plains, 
 
 God of the fatal bow. 
 
110 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 Nee Gnycli Dea sancta polliceri ; 
 Nee qui cum pharetrd pererrat orbem, 
 
 [Nee qui cam pharetra, &c] Elegantly descriptive of the 
 little winged deity as these lines ot Secundus may be, the 
 classical reader may not be displeased to see, in this place, 
 an admirable picture of Cupid completely equipped, drawn 
 by one of the first poetic painters of amorous subjects, who 
 likewise explains the meaning of his different accoutre- 
 ments : 
 
 Q.uicunque ille fuit puerum qui pinxit Amorem, 
 
 Nonne putas miras hunc habuisse manus? 
 Is primum vidit sine sensu vivere amantes, 
 
 Et levibus curis magna perire bona. 
 Idem non frusta ventosas addidit alas, 
 
 Fecit et humano corde volare Deum. 
 Scilicet alterna quoniam jactamur in unda, 
 Nostraque non ullis permanet aura locis. 
 Et merito hamatis manus est armata sagittis, 
 
 Et pharetra ex humero Cnosia utroque jacet : 
 Ante ferit quoniam, tuti quam cernimus hostem, 
 Nee quisquam ex illo vulnere sanus abit. 
 
 PROPERT. ELEG. XII. LIE. II. 
 
 Whoe'er it was love's infant pow'r that drew, 
 Did not vast skill his wond'rous hands endue ? 
 He saw how small the judgment lovers share, 
 That solid good they'd yield to trivial care : 
 Flutt'ring o'er human hearts he feign'd the god, 
 Nor vainly were his wanton wings bestow' d j 
 For they denote th' inconstancy of love, 
 Denote the tumults am'rous bosoms prove j 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. Ill 
 
 Young Cupid ! wild 
 
 As any child, 
 Who shakes his purple wings ; 
 
 And some rich joy, 
 
 Delicious boy ! 
 On ev'ry sorrow flings : 
 
 Nor thou, great queen ! 
 
 Unrivall'd seen 
 With wond'rous grace to move ; 
 
 At love's high feast 
 
 A bidden guest, 
 Sister, and wife of Jove : 
 
 His youthful hand with hearded shafts he grac'd, 
 Behind each shoulder the full quiver plac'd ; 
 These mark the latent mischiefs of the boy, 
 And that, if once he wounds, his wounds destroy. 
 
 Prior may have copied from the Latin Classic the following 
 similar portrait of the God of love : 
 
 Fast in his hand the idol holds his bow : 
 
 A quiver by his side sustains a store 
 
 Of pointed darts ; sad emblems of his pow'r : 
 
 A pair of wings he has, which he extends 
 
 Now to be gone ; which now again he bends 
 
 Prone to return, as best may serve his wanton ends. 
 
 TRIOR. SOLOMON. BOOK l?< 
 
112 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 Curis g audi a delicata misccns, 
 Pennd splendidus awed Cupido ; 
 Magni pronuba nee Soror Tonantis ; 
 Nee qui fioridulas Hymen puellas, 
 Raptas e gremio tenace matrum, 
 Involvit cupidis viri lacertis, 
 Rupis incola fioriger canbrae; 
 
 [Curis gaudia, &c] Secundus, in mentioning this attri- 
 bute of the God of love, seems rather to have improved 
 upon the expression of Catullus : 
 
 Sancte Puer, curis hominum qui gaudia misces. 
 
 Catul. Epithal. Pelei et Thelid. 
 
 Celestial youth ! 'tis thy delight to throw 
 On human bliss some tinge of human woe. 
 
 Love, in like manner, is represented, by an English bard, 
 blending joy and care : 
 
 Come to my breast, thou rosy-smiling God ! 
 Come unconfin'd ! bring all thy joys along, 
 All thy soft cares, and mix them copious here. 
 
 THOMSON. SOPHONISBA. 
 
 Guarini has a beautiful antithesis, expressive of this idea : 
 O, dolcezze amarissime d'amore ! 
 
 GUARIN. PASTOR FIDO. ATTO III. 
 
 O, most imbitter'd sweets of love ! 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 113 
 
 Nor, Hymen ! thou, 
 
 Upon the brow 
 Of tuneful mountain born ; 
 
 Who dwell' st in bow' is 
 
 Of am'rous flow'rs ; 
 And, from her mother torn, 
 
 Lead' st much afraid, 
 
 Much pleas' d, the maid, 
 (Midst doubts, and hopes, and sighs) 
 
 To the dear youth, 
 
 Who full of truth, 
 In wild expectance lies. 
 
 [Nee qui floridulas, &c] Muretus speaks in the very 
 sortie words : 
 
 Sanctus Hymen, qui seductas a matre puellas 
 Abripit, inque viri collocat ipse sinu. 
 
 MURET. ELEG. I. 
 
 Blest Hymen ! you to fonder youths convey 
 Maids, whom from mothers fond you bear away. 
 
 But Catullus certainly furnished the thought to both our 
 saodem poets : 
 
 Uranise genus, 
 Qui rapis tener-am ad virum 
 Virginem. 
 
 Catul. EpilhaL Manlii et Junioe. 
 Urania's child ! 'tis thine to bear 
 To the fond youth his tender fair. 
 I 
 
114 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 Advecta est, serie rotante cceli. 
 O, felix juvenis, puella felix ! 
 
 Felix sponse ! <cu'i cupita jlamma 
 Jam nunc in gemhris quiescet ulnis, 
 Puella oetheria beat a forma ! 
 
 {Puella aetheria leal a forma !] This line, concisely ele- 
 gant, expre.-sesmore than the most laboured accuracy could 
 have done. 
 
 What images shall eloquence prepare 
 To paint a form so perfect and divine ? 
 
 LANSDGWNE. HEROIC LOVE. 
 
 But of all the pens that ever yet attempted to delineate the 
 several component parts of personal beauty, I know of none 
 that has succeeded so happily as the pen of the descriptive 
 author of the Seasons : 
 
 The faultless form, 
 Shap'd by the hand of harmony ; the cheek 
 Where the live crimson, thro' the native white 
 Sofr-shooring, o'er the face diffuses bloom, 
 And cv'ry nameless grace ; the parted lip, 
 Like the red rose-bud, moist with morning dew, 
 Breathing delight ; and, under flowing jet, 
 Or sunny ringlets, or of circling brown, 
 The neck slight-shaded, and the swelling breast ; 
 The look resistless, piercing to the soul, 
 And by the soul inform' d. 
 
 THOMSON. SUMMER. 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 115 
 
 O hour of bliss ! 
 
 To equal this 
 Olympus strives in vain : 
 
 happy pair ! 
 
 O happy fair ! 
 O happy, happy swain I 
 
 Hail, wedded boy ! 
 
 Whose only joy 
 Soon in thy arms sha!l rest ; 
 
 And face to face, 
 
 In fond embrace, 
 Sink gently on thy breast : 
 
 She i who all day 
 
 An infant lay 
 Prattling- at beauty's feet ; 
 
 Who kiss'd the child, 
 
 And, as it smil'd, 
 Breath'do'er it ev'ry sweet; 
 
 Breath'd charms so bright, i 
 
 That at the sight 
 Venus shrunk back with awe ; 
 
 And from her skies, 
 
 With envious eyes, 
 Indignant Juno saw. 
 i 2 
 
116 EPITHA LA MIUM. 
 
 Qualem magna Venus ; velitque Juno; 
 Et quce casside martia refulget 
 Sancto vertice procreata, Pallas ; 
 Sijunctce statuant adire valleis 
 Umbrosas iterum virentis Idse ; 
 Qua spectanda, vel hsec, vel hasc, vel ilia, 
 (Quovis judicioj superba, malum, 
 
 [Sancto vertice, &c] The extraordinary birth of Pallas 
 is well known ; thus Ovid, 
 
 ■ De capitis, fertur, sine matre paterni, 
 
 Vertice cum clypeo prosiluisse suo. 
 
 OVID. FAST. LIB. III. 
 
 From her great father's pregnant brain, 'tis said, 
 Arm'd like some warrior, sprung the martial maid. 
 
 [Parentis Idae.] The place where Paris decided the pre- 
 eminence of beauty between the three contending goddesses 
 in favour of Venus, according to the fiction of the ancient 
 poets, was mount Ida, to which the epithet virens is extremely 
 applicable, Homer frequently describing it as beautifully 
 clothed with woods. Valerius Flaccus, in like manner, calls 
 it frondosa Ida. — Vide Val. Flac. Lib. iv. 
 
 [Qud spectanda, &c] Propertius, tco, was of opinion, 
 that only a form such as his mistress possessed deserved the 
 prize of beauty : 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 117 
 
 A nobler mien : 
 
 E'en Wisdom's queen 
 With female anger glow'd ; 
 
 And ask'd what chance, 
 
 At each proud glance, 
 Such matchless gifts bestowed ? 
 
 Should they all three 
 
 Once more agree 
 To visit Ida's shade, 
 
 And should again 
 
 The shepherd swain 
 Be of the contest made 
 
 Cedite jam, Divse, quas Pastor viderat olim 
 Ideeis tunicam ponere verticibus. 
 
 PROPERT. LIB. XI. ELEG. II. 
 
 Yield, beauteous pow'rs ! whom once the swain beheld 
 On Ida's brow, with ev'ry charm reveal'd. 
 
 An eminent English poet has the same thought ; but whe- 
 ther borrowed either from Propertius, or Secundus, I shall 
 not pretend to determine : 
 
 A rural judge dispos'd of beauty's prize; 
 
 A simple shepherd was preferr'd to Jove : 
 Down to the mountains from the partial skies, 
 
 Came Juno, Pallas* and the Queen oflove, 
 To plead for that, which was so justly giv'n 
 To the bright Carlisle of the court of heav'n. 
 
 Waller. The Country to my Lady of Carlisle, 
 
118 EP1THALAMIUM. 
 
 Victrix, aureolum reportet aslris. 
 0, felix juvenis, puella felix ! 
 
 Felix sponsa ! cui cupitus ardor 
 Affusus modo lectulo in beato, 
 Stringet colla tenacibus lacertis, 
 Insigni juvenis venustus ore ! 
 Istis qui roseis tuis labellis, 
 Jstis qui niveis iuis papiUis, 
 Isto qui rutilante crine tact us, 
 Isto lumine qui loquace victus, 
 Jampridem tacit o voratur igni : 
 
 [Tacito voratur igvi.~] This expression is exquisitely deli- 
 cate, and reminds me of an elegant little copy of verses, in 
 the Spectator, upon a gentleman|s loving a lady of superior 
 rank to himself; in which are the following lines, beauti- 
 fully descriptive of respectful, silent love. 
 
 Languish in secret, and with dumb surprize 
 Drink the. resistless glances of her eyes •, 
 At awful distance entertain thy grief, 
 Be still in pain, but never ask relief. 
 
 SPECTATOR. NO. V%CU 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 119 
 
 Sole judge : no more 
 
 To Paphos' bow'r 
 Wou'd laughing Venus bear 
 
 The prize away ; 
 
 No longer say, 
 " I'm fairest of the fair!" 
 
 But with one choice, 
 
 With one loud voice, 
 Her's would the apple be, 
 
 In features, sense, 
 
 And elegance, 
 Who most resembled thee, 
 
 O hour of bliss ! 
 
 To equal this 
 Olympus strives in vain : 
 
 O happy pair ! 
 
 O happy fair 1 
 happy, happy swain I 
 
 Hail, happy bride I 
 
 Thy husband's pride, 
 Who soon in eager fold. 
 
 The conscious bed, 
 
 With blushes red, 
 Thy virgin neck shall hold, 
 
120 EPITHALAMJU3L 
 
 Lentamque increpat, usque et usque, solem 
 Tardamque invocat, usque et usque lunam. 
 0, felix juvenis, puella felix ! 
 
 Voti*, fervide sponse, puree votis ; 
 Et suspiria mitie, mitte queslus : 
 Tempus accelerat suave : Mitis 
 Exuudit gemitus Venus suorum : 
 
 [Lentumque increpat, &c] This, and the following line, 
 admirably expresses the eager wishes of love ; and are not 
 excelled even by the poetic strain, in which Shakspearc's 
 Juliet vents "her fund impatience : 
 
 Gallop apace, you fiery-focted steeds, 
 
 Tow'rds Phcebus' mansion ; such a waggoner 
 
 As PhcPtoi. would whip you to the west, 
 
 And bring in cloudy night immediately. 
 
 Spreai thy close curtain, love-performing night, 
 
 That th' run-away 's tyes may wink ; and Romeo 
 
 Leap to these arms, untalkt of and unseen. 
 
 SHAKESPEARE. ROMEO AND JULIET. 
 
EP1THALAMIUM. 121 
 
 Long hath the fire 
 
 Of slow desire 
 His early prime consum'd; 
 
 Marking-, as blows 
 
 The opening rose, 
 How thy young beauties bloom' d : 
 
 Thy breasts of snow ; 
 
 Thy lips that glow 
 In health divinely warm ; 
 
 And thy bright hair, 
 
 With artless care 
 Whose wanton ringlets charm. 
 
 " Ne'er will the sun 
 
 " His circuit run ?" 
 Impatient of delay, 
 
 He sighing cries : 
 
 " O moon, arise ! 
 *i come, O come away ! 
 
 " Come, mildly bright, 
 
 " Pure orb of light ! 
 To thee such scenes belong 
 
 " Come, ev'ry star S 
 
 " And from afar 
 Begin the bridal song." 
 
122 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 Condit Cynthius ora, condit ora ; 
 Seque gurgite perluens Ibero 
 • Cedit noctxva^se locum Sorori : 
 
 Seque gurgite, &c] Virgil too describes night, by the 
 sun immerging itself into the Iberian sea : 
 
 Continuo pugnas ineant, et prselia tentent ; 
 Ni roseus fessos jam gurgite Phcebus Ibero 
 Tingat equos, noctemque die labente reducat : 
 Considunt castris ante urbem, et mcenia valiant. 
 
 V1RG. /ENEID. LIE. Xt. 
 
 Soon had the heroes join'd the horrid fight ; 
 But now the sun roll'd down the rapid light ; 
 And plung'd, beneath the red Iberian sea, 
 The panting steeds that drew the burning day. 
 Before the city camp th' impatient pow'rs, 
 These to defend, and those to storm the tow'rs. 
 
 [Cedit noctivagse, &c] This passage is likewise a very 
 evident imitation from Virgil : 
 
 Jamque dies ccelo concesserat, almaque curru 
 Noctivago Phcebe medium pulsabat Olympum. 
 
 VIRG. /ENEID. LIB. X. 
 
 Now day forsook the skies, and high in air 
 Bland Pncebe sped her nightly-wand'ring car. 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 123 
 
 hour of bliss ! 
 
 To equal this 
 Olympus strives in vain : 
 
 O happy pair ! 
 
 Oh happy fair ! 
 O happy, happy swain ! 
 
 Cease, cease thy fears, 
 
 Thy vows, thy tears, 
 O, fervent bridegroom ! cease S 
 
 Soon shall thy heart, 
 
 No more to part, 
 Resume its long-lost peace. 
 
 Soon from her throne 
 
 Of cygnet's down, 
 With many a ehaplet gay, 
 
 Love's constant friend ! 
 
 Shall Venus bend, 
 And chide the lingering day. 
 
 She chides; — and see ! 
 
 The burning sea 
 Its radiant god receives : 
 
 Faintly he gleams, 
 
 And his shorn beams 
 In blushing- billows laves. 
 
124 EPITHALAMIU3I. 
 
 Et, quo gratior haud relucet ignis 
 Conjunctis animis amore dulci, 
 Producit caput, emicatque ccelo 
 JDuctor Hesperus aurece catervce. 
 0, felix juvenis, puella felix ! 
 
 [Et, quo gratior &c] Catullus, in like manner men- 
 tions the star of evening as grateful to love : 
 
 Hespere, qui coelo lucet jucundior ignis, 
 Qui desponsa tua firmes connubia flamma ? 
 
 CATULL. CARM. NUPT. 
 
 What light in heav'n than Hesper shines more sweet, 
 Whose ray confirms the nuptial bliss complete ? 
 
 [Ductor Hesperus, &cJ] The imagery contained in this 
 line seems to have been copied by an old English bard : 
 
 Did you not erst behold 
 How Hesperus above yon clouds appear'd, 
 Hesperus leading forth his beauteous heard ? 
 
 Randolph. An Eclogue to Mr. Johnson, 
 
 Milton too has a similar expression, in these beautifully 
 descriptive lines : 
 
 Hesperus, that led 
 The starry host, rode brightest, till the moon, 
 Rising in clouded majesty, at length 
 Apparent queen unveil'd her peerless light, 
 And o'er the dark her silver mantle threw. 
 
 MILTON. PAR. LOST, BOOK IV. 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 125 
 
 See, in her hand 
 
 An ebon wand, 
 How his lov'd sister guides 
 
 Her silver car, 
 
 Sweet wanderer ! 
 Climbing heav'n's crystal sides, 
 
 Mark, too, that star, 
 
 To virgins dear, 
 Hesper ! with glitt'ring head ; 
 
 Who loves his train 
 
 O'er the blue plain 
 in golden ranks to lead. 
 
 O hour of bliss ! 
 To equal this 
 Olympus strives in vain : 
 
 O happy pair ! 
 
 O happy fair ! 
 O happy, happy swain ! 
 
 Now shall the maid 
 
 At length be laid 
 A rich unspotted prize ; 
 
 Now youth, beware, 
 
 Be thine the care, 
 That she no maid arise. 
 
126 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 Jum virgo thalamum subibit ; unde 
 Ne virgo redeat, marite^ cura. 
 Jam virgo nive'is locatafulcris 
 Adventum cupiet iuum, tremetque ; 
 Perfusa ingenuo ruhore malas : 
 Forsan et lachrynds genae madebunt, 
 Et suspiriafundet, et querelas: 
 At tu nil remoratus, et querelas, 
 Et suspiria, lachrymasque tolles ; 
 
 [Perfusa ingenuo, &c~\ Thus Bonefonius expresses the 
 blush of modesty : 
 
 Et mox virgineo pudore leves 
 Interfusa genas, et ora casto 
 Spargens molliter imbre lachrymarum, 
 Tota, inquit &c. 
 
 BONEFOK. 
 
 Her looks grow quiet and serene, 
 
 Her virgin modesty appears 
 In her fair face ; hail, brightest scene '. 
 Hence fly my vain, deluding fears ! 
 Now pearly drops flow gently down her cheeks, 
 From chastity they flow, and thus her silence breaks. 
 
 ANONYM. 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 127 
 
 Now, plac'd in bed, 
 
 With unfeign'd red, 
 Her beauteous face shall glow ; 
 
 Now shall she fear 
 
 Thy tread to hear, 
 And hope, and wish it now. 
 
 Perhaps a tear, 
 
 As crystal clear, 
 In trickling haste may flow ; 
 
 Perhaps with sighs 
 
 Your heart she tries, 
 Or murm'rino' vents her woe. 
 
 Prior, ina style not inferior to that qi Secundus, has drawn 
 
 a very happy picture of a beautiful young girl blushing in 
 
 bed: 
 
 Her blushing face the lovely maid 
 
 Rais'd just above the mill'- white sheet : 
 
 A rose tree in a lily bed 
 
 Nor glows so red, nor breathes so sweet. 
 
 PRIOR. THE DOVE. 
 
 [At tu nil remoratus, &c] For, as Artaxerxes tells his 
 Amestris, in the language of Rowe : 
 
 These are the fears which wait on every bride, 
 And only serve for preludes to her joys ; 
 Short sighs, and all those motions of. thy heart, . 
 Are nature's call, and kindle warm desires. 
 
 Rowe. Ambitious Step-mother. 
 
128 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 Abstergent gcuIos tuo ore ; dulce 
 Murmur pro querimoniis reponens. 
 O, felix juvenis, puella felix ! 
 
 Ergo, membra ubi virginis decora 
 Felix Candida lectulus fovebit, 
 (Membra languidulo parata sonmo ! J 
 Et molli quoque te toro locatum, 
 Supra purpureas, beata, reges, 
 Supra constituet Jovem, Dione : 
 
 [Supra constituet, &c] Bonefonius here again intimates 
 Secundus : 
 
 Supcri, tenete coelum, 
 Vestrara numina possidete sortem ; 
 Dum te teneam, alma Pancharilla, 
 Dum te possideam ; nee ipse coelum, 
 Nee vestram, superi, invidebo sortem. 
 
 BONEFON. 
 
 Now, ye superior powers blest, 
 
 From envy free enjoy your state ; 
 Jove ! of thy thunder live possest : 
 Since I'm as happy, and as great : 
 Let me this little empire long retain ; 
 Ye God* ! your heavens keep, monarchs unenvied reiga, 
 
 ANONYM. 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 129 
 
 But mind not thou 
 
 The tears that flow, 
 Mind not the piteous sigh : 
 
 Soft-soothing speak, 
 
 And her wet cheek 
 Wipe with thy kisses dry. 
 
 O hour of bliss ! 
 
 To equal this 
 Olympus strives in vain : 
 
 O happy pair ! 
 
 O happy fair ! 
 O happy, happy swain ! 
 
 Thus when supine 
 - With limbs divine [ 
 She prints the nuptial bed ; 
 And, like the flow'r 
 With hasty show'r 
 O'ercome her virgin head 
 
 Hangs down in shame; 
 
 When o'er her frame 
 Soft languors gently creep ; 
 
 And the clos'd eye, 
 
 Unknowing why, 
 Attempts in vain to sleep ; 
 
 K 
 
130 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 Mox le blandidicis parare rixis, 
 Mox te mollicucE parare pugnce, 
 Motus occipies colore justo : 
 Belli prospera signa non cruenti 
 Figens mille protervns hie et illic, 
 Collo basia multa, multa malis ; 
 Labris basia plura, plura ccellis : 
 Iiepugnabit ; et " improbum" vocabit 
 
 [Repugnalit ; & " improbum" vocalit.^ It is evident, 
 from this passage, that Secundus had Ovid for his amorous 
 instructor : 
 
 Pugnabit primo fortassis et " improbe" dicet : 
 Pugnando vinci sed tamen ilia volet. 
 
 OVID. ART. AMAT. L1R. I. 
 
 Struggling, perhaps she'll cry, *' nay, don't be tude ;" 
 Yet in her struggles, hopes to be subdued. 
 
 Tibullus too, who was perhaps equally well versed in love, 
 advances the same doctrine : 
 
 Tunc tibi mitis crit : iapias tunc cara licebit 
 Oscula ; pugnabit, sed tamen apta dabit. 
 Rapta dabit primo : mox adferet ipse roganti. 
 Post etia«m collo se implicuisse volet. 
 
 T1BULL. ELEG. IV. MB I. 
 
EPITHAL4MIUM. 131 
 
 When at the side 
 
 Of thy dear bride 
 Thou iiest, Dione's care ! 
 
 Happier in love 
 
 Than am'rous Jove, 
 Than monarch's happier far ! 
 
 Then, in full tides 
 Whilst vigour glides 
 Trembling thro' ev'ry vein, 
 
 Begin the fight 
 
 Of fierce delight, 
 Of pleasure mixt with pain. 
 
 Then let the kiss 
 Of humid bliss 
 O'er her sweet body fly; 
 O'er her warm cheek, 
 Her eyes, her neck, 
 And lips of luscious dye. 
 
 Occasion smiles*, then snatch an ardent kiss ; 
 The coy may struggle, but will grant the bliss ; 
 The bliss obtained, the fictious struggle past, 
 r.nbid, they'll clasp you in their arms at last. 
 
 GRAINGER. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 EP1THALA MIUM. 
 
 Et dlcet, "satis est," tremente voce ; 
 Arcibitque maim proterva labra; 
 Propelletqtie manu manum protervam. 
 O noctem ter, et amplius, beat am ! 
 
 Pugnet strenua ; pugnet ilia : pascl 
 Pugnando teneri voluut Amores : 
 Pugnando tibi duplicates ardor 
 Vireis sufficiet novas in arma. 
 
 [Pasci pugnando teneri, &c.~\ Muretus has expressed 
 this idea nearly in the same words : 
 
 Sic age, pugnando teneri pascuntur amores. 
 
 MURET. EPIG. 
 
 Then let sweet conflicts feed the tender loves. 
 
 But the thought, perhaps* originally belonged to a more an- 
 cient author than Secundus, or Muretus : 
 
 Unguibus, et morsu teneri pascuntur amoies. 
 
 CORN. GALL. ELEG. Ill 
 
 Each painless scratch, each am'rous bite improves 
 The poignant bliss, and fosters the young loves. 
 
EPITHALAM1UM. 133 
 
 Oft shall she cry, 
 
 " cruel, ty !" 
 Oft weeping, say, " Forbear!" 
 
 Oft shall her hand 
 
 Your lips withstand ; 
 Oft meet you, you know where. 
 
 night of bliss ! 
 
 To equal this 
 Olympus strives in vain : 
 
 happy pair, 
 
 happy fair ! 
 happy, happy swain ! 
 
 Much, in defence 
 
 Of innocence, 
 Of virtue's nicest laws, 
 
 Will the dear maid 
 
 Affrighted plead, 
 And urge a moment's pause. 
 
 In vain she strives ; 
 
 Enjoyment lives 
 On such endear' d delays ; 
 
 And the wild fire 
 
 Of fierce desire, 
 Oppos'd, the wilder plays. 
 
134 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 Tunc per Candida colla 9 tunc per Mud 
 Quod certat ebori nitore pectus, 
 Nunc per crura tenella, per que venirem, 
 Et quae proxima sunt e t hide et Wis, 
 Saltu valve agili manum salaccm : 
 Et tot millia junge basiorum 
 Qaot caelum rutilos tenebit igneis. 
 noctem, quater el quater, beatam ! 
 
 [Saltu volve, &c.] Thus Bonefonius : 
 
 Nunc saltu volucri insilire collo, 
 Nunc candente genas notare dente, 
 Nunc errare manu licentiore 
 Ilia per femora, ilia perpolita, 
 Ilia marmoreo superba luxu, 
 Quibus janitor excubat Cupido, 
 Et sacram Veneris tuetur arcem. 
 
 BONEFQN* 
 
 Sometimes I kiss her snowy neck, 
 
 In raptures ro"ve from grace to grace: 
 Then gently mark her ro^y cheek ; 
 At lasjt her thigh? I freely trace ; 
 Thighs smooth as maible, white as snows that fall ! 
 Where Cupid sentry stands, to guard his mother's all. 
 
 ANONYM, 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 135 
 
 Hence, proud in arras, 
 
 O'er her rich charms 
 With nimblest strength you more ; 
 
 Hence, bolder grown, 
 
 To the great throne 
 Of love insatiate rove. 
 
 What vast excess 
 
 Of happiness, 
 In show'is of kisses veil'd,. 
 
 When her soft cries 
 
 In softer sighs 
 You drown, and win the field I 
 
 night of bliss ! 
 
 To equal this 
 Olympus strives in vain : 
 
 O happy pair ! 
 
 O happy fair ! 
 happy, happy swain ! 
 
 Not but he'll speak 
 
 In accents meek, 
 Pleading his tale of love ; 
 
 Soft ! as when plays 
 
 The silken breeze, 
 That wakes the whisp'riBg grove ; 
 
136 EPIT.HALAMIUJSL 
 
 Nee desint tibi blandulcequc voces ; 
 Et qucecunque juvant perita verba ; 
 Nee cum murmure sibili suaves, 
 Qiialeis dant zephyro sonante bland urn 
 Frondes, quale columba, quale cygnus 
 Annosus moriente spirat ore : 
 Donee victa potentibus sagittis, 
 
 [Quale cygnus, &c] The swan is fabled to sing very 
 harmoniously as it approaches towards its end ; Martial has 
 the following epigram upon it : 
 
 Dulcia defecta modulatur carmina lingua 
 Cantator Cygnus funeris ipse sui. 
 
 MART. EP1G. LXXVIJ. LID. IS,, 
 
 The swan, melodious with its latest breath, 
 Sings its own dirge ; and singing welcomes death. 
 Thus too Shakespeare : 
 
 I am the cygnet to this pale, faint swan, 
 
 Who chaunts a doleful hymn to his own death. 
 
 SI1AKS. KING JOHN. 
 
 But it is not altogether clear whence this fiction had its ori- 
 gin : most probably from the story of Cycnus, who, as Ovid 
 tells us in the second book of his Metamorphoses, was con- 
 verted into a swan, while he mourned the loss of his friend 
 Phaeton. Virgil makes elegant mention of this transforma- 
 tion : 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 137 
 
 Soft ! as when coos 
 
 The dove, that woos 
 His mate in vernal bow' is ; 
 
 Or, with sweet throat, 
 
 When her last note 
 The swan expiring pours. 
 
 Till, vanquish'd quite 
 
 In the fond fight, 
 O'ercome by Cupid's dart ; 
 
 She lends her ear 
 
 In blushing fear, 
 And yields her virgin heart : 
 
 Namque feruntluctu Cycnum Phaetontis amati, 
 Populeas inter frondes umbramque sororum 
 Dum canit et msestum musa solatur amorem : 
 Canentem molli pluma duxfsse senectam, 
 Linquentem terras, et sidera voce sequentem. 
 
 VIRG, 51NEID. LIB.X. 
 
 'Tis said, as Cycnus, in the poplar grove, 
 Wept fallen Phaeton, with friendly love, 
 Beneath his sisters' shade ; and with those strains 
 The muse inspir'd reliev'd his heart- felt pains ; 
 He found a sudden age his limbs surprise, 
 O'er all his frame a snowy plumage rise, 
 Till to a swan transform'd, singing, he soar'd the skies. 
 Umbramque sororum alludes to the sisters of Phaeton, who 
 were changed into poplars. — Vide Ovid. Metam. lib. ii. 
 
138 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 Et cceco Pueri volantis igne, 
 Paulatim, minus et minus severa, 
 Ponet purpureum toro pudorem ; 
 Collum in brachia nexuosa deden& 9 
 Collo brachia nexuosa stringens* 
 O noctem quater, O quater beatam ! 
 
 Tunc, tunc oscula delicata swnes, 
 Nullis contemerata quce rapinis 
 Hcerebunt vario morata nexu. 
 
 [Paulatim, minus &c] Armstrong in like manner re- 
 presents the yielding maid : 
 
 Perhaps when you attempt 
 The sweet admission, toyful she resists 
 With shy reluctance ; nathless you pursue 
 The soft attack, and warmly push the war, 
 Till quite o'erpower'd with love, the melting maid 
 Faintly opposes. 
 
 Armstrong. Economy of Love. 
 
 [Vario morata nexu.} Imitated from Prcpertius : 
 
 Quantum 
 Oscula sunt labris nostra morata tuis ! 
 
 PR0PERT. ELEG. XV. LIB. II. 
 
 Oh, how my kisses linger on thy lips ! 
 
EPITHALAMIUM 139 
 
 Till that she lies 
 
 All bare, and cries 
 " Sweet, lovely murd'rer, come !" 
 
 Expands her arms, 
 
 Unfolds her charms, 
 And panting- waits her doom, 
 
 night of bliss ! 
 
 To equal this 
 Olympus strives in vain : 
 
 O happy pair ! 
 
 happy fair ! 
 happy, happy swaiu ! 
 
 Then shall thy lip, 
 
 Delighted, sip 
 The dew of nectar'd bliss ; 
 
 Then shall thy soul, 
 
 Without controul, 
 Enjoy the lingering- kiss. 
 
 Then thy rich smiles, 
 
 And wanton wiles, 
 As wanton shell return ; 
 
 With raptures sweet 
 
 Thy raptures meet ; 
 And, as thou hurnest, burn. 
 
140 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 Tunc lusus simileis ; pareisque virgo 
 Recldet delicias ; et os hiulcum 
 Jampridem patulo Ucenter or I 
 Committens,animce Ubidinoso 
 Fragrar.tis cupidum beabit haustu. 
 Mox lusu quoque moUlore ludens, 
 Dlcet blanditias suaviores ; 
 Emittct digitos Hcentiores ; 
 Finget neqidtiam salaciorem. 
 O noctem, nimis et nimis, beatam ! 
 
 [Dicet blanditias, &c] Boi:efonius ccpics this passage al- 
 most verbatim : 
 
 Uterque 
 Fingit blanditias proterviores, 
 Facit nequitias salaciores, 
 Omnes Cypridisinduit figuras, 
 Donee corpora miscuo furore 
 In unum cceunt arnica corpus. 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 141 
 
 Then close to thine 
 
 Her mouth she'll join, 
 Sucking- voluptuous breath ; 
 
 Till, in one sigh 
 
 Of ecstacy, 
 Both touch the verge of death : 
 
 Till that, more gay 
 
 In am'rous play, 
 The genial couch she shakes ; 
 
 Warm, livelier sports 
 
 Inventive courts, 
 And what she wishes speaks, 
 
 O night of bliss ! 
 
 To equal this 
 Olympus strives in vain : 
 
 O happy pair ! 
 
 happy fair ! 
 happy, happy swain ! 
 
 Our souls their former joys renew, 
 
 We raise new sport and wanton jesting, 
 Our eyes each other's charms review, 
 In ev'ry form of love contesting : 
 At last our bodies, warm'd with mutual fire, 
 To prove each other's aid, to join in one conspire. 
 
 * ANONYItf- 
 
142 E PIT HA LA MI UM. 
 
 Tunc aima expedienda ; tunc " ad arma" 
 Et Venus vocat, et vocat Cupido : 
 Tunc in vulncra grata proruendnm. 
 Hue, illuc, agilisferatur hasta; 
 Qiiam crebro furibunda verset beta 
 Kon Martis Soror, ast Arnica Martis, 
 
 [Et vocat Cupido.] Secundus is not the only author who 
 has made a warrior of the God Cupid ; for thus Mr. Chailes 
 Hopkins, in his poem entitled the History of Love : 
 
 Believe me, Delia, lovers have their wars ; 
 And Cupid has his camp, as well as Mars. 
 
 HOPKINS. 
 
 [A T o?i Martis Soror.] Bellona, the goddess of war, is here 
 alluded to ; though some writers affirm that she was not the 
 sister, but the wife of Mars ; others, that she was only his 
 companion and attendant. Be this as it may, she is frequently 
 described as his charioteer, and the poets in general represent 
 her with a bloody whip in her hand ; thus Virgil mentions 
 her figure, as embossed on the shield of /Eneas : 
 
 Etscissa gaudens vadit Discordia palla, 
 
 Quam cum sanguineo sequitur Bellona flagello. 
 
 V1RG. iENEID. LID. VIII. 
 
 There Discord stalk'd, all rent the garb she wore ; 
 Bellona next, with scourge deep-dyed in gore. 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 143 
 
 Then, then, t( To arms !" 
 The queen of charms; 
 ;i To arms S" young Cupid cries : 
 They hear, obey, 
 And urge the fray 
 Of sweet, contentious joys. 
 
 She pants, she bleeds ; 
 
 The youth succeeds ; 
 More close they now engage: 
 
 While, here and there, 
 
 Love's nimble spear, 
 Quick-darting, fires their rage. 
 
 That won'drous spear, 
 
 Great God of war ! 
 Which not thy sister guides ; 
 
 But one more dear, 
 
 Thy mistress fair ! 
 Who at these sports presides ; 
 
 Lucan too gives a similar picture of her : 
 
 Sanguineum veluti quatiens Bellona flagellum, 
 
 LUCAN'. PHARSAL. LIB. VII. 
 
 As when her blood-stain'd lash Bellona shakes. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to remark, that Venus is understood 
 -bj Arnica Martis. 
 
144 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 Semper Iceta novo cruore, Cypris, 
 Nee quies lateri labor ioso 
 Detur, mobilibus nee ulla coxis: 
 Donee deficiente voce anheld, 
 Donee deficientibus me dull is, 
 Membris languidulis, madens uterque 
 Sudabit varii Uquoris undas. 
 noctem nimis, nimis, beatam ! 
 
 [Sudabit varii, &c] Thus again Bonefonius : 
 
 Haec nos praelia militamus inter 
 Sudores varios anhelitusque, 
 Dum fessa Venere artubusque tritis ; 
 Et jam deficientibus medullis, 
 Et jam deficiente corde anhelo, 
 Cogor languidulos inire somnos. 
 
 EONEFON. 
 
 Tir'd with war, 
 A gentle sweat our limbs bedews : 
 Panting, we long engag'd ; but at the last 
 Love flags, our spirits droop, the happy moment's past, 
 
 ANONYM- 
 
EPITHALAMIU3I. 145 
 
 Who, in such fights 
 
 Well-pleas'd, delights 
 The rending wound to spy; 
 
 Who loves to see 
 
 Coy Chastity 
 A bleeding victim lie. 
 
 Mark, with what heat 
 
 They struggling meet ! 
 How ev'ry limb 's employ 'd I 
 
 Till at the last, 
 
 Consuming fast, 
 Enjoying, and enjoy' d, 
 
 ; gasp for breath : 
 
 A moment's death 
 Th' enervate body knows ; 
 
 While, on each side, 
 
 Love's various tide 
 In streams of pleasure flows. 
 
 O night of bliss ! 
 
 To equal this 
 Olympus strives in vain : 
 
 happy pal:- i 
 
 O happy fair ! 
 happy, happy swain ! 
 
 L 
 
146 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 Sudate nt libet ; et diesque long as, 
 Nocteisque exigite impoiente lusu: 
 Et brevi date liberosque dulceis, 
 Et longo or dine blundulos nepotes ; 
 
 [Sudate ut Met ; &c.] Such is the wish with which 
 
 Catullus concludes his Epithalamium : 
 
 Ludite ut libet, et brevi 
 Liberos date. 
 
 Catul. Epithal. Manlii fif Juni«e, 
 
 Oh, still pursue your sports of love ; 
 And may those sports soon fruitful prove ! 
 
 Which passage seems to have been copied also by the old 
 
 English Poet. Randolph: 
 
 Thence may there spring many a pair 
 Of sons and daughters strong and fair ; 
 How soon the gods have heard my prair ! 
 
 Randolph. An Epithalamium. 
 
 But no bard ever concluded a bridal poem with so elegant si 
 complimentary wish as Martial, in his little epigram on the 
 marriage of Pudens and Claudia : 
 
 Candida perpetuo reside, Concordia, lecto, 
 Tamque pari semper sit Venus aequajugo. 
 Diligat ilia senem quondam : sed et ipsa marito, 
 Tunc quoque cum fuerit, non videatur anus. 
 
 MARTIAL, EPIC. XIII. LIB. IV. 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 147 
 
 Rest, take your ease : 
 
 May sports like these, 
 With many a conscious moon ? 
 
 Be oft renew' d ; 
 
 As oft be view'd 
 By many a blushing sun ! 
 
 And, blest pair ! 
 
 May offsprings dear 
 Soon crown your fond embrace ; 
 
 Soon may there rise, 
 
 To glad your eyes, 
 A long, and beauteous race ! 
 
 Whose converse gay 
 
 Will chase away 
 Each heart-consuming care ; 
 
 Whose infant smile 
 
 Those pains beguile, 
 Those pains you're doom'd to bear ! 
 
 O, may bland Concord ever guard their bed, 
 Long on the pair her gifts may Venus shed ! 
 O'er his white head when age has shower'd its snow, 
 Still may her breast with wonted passion glow ; 
 And may she seem, when blooming beauty flies. 
 Still young and lovely in her husband's eyes 
 l2 
 
148 EPITHALAMIUM. 
 
 Quce vobis semi minute turba 
 Ohm sollicitos levabit cmnos, 
 Arcebit querulos toro dolores, 
 Langnentum trenmlos fovebit artus, 
 Componet tumido pios parentes, 
 O felix juvenis, puellafelix! 
 
 [Olim sollicitos leval-it, &c] These last sad offices, due 
 from children to their aged parents, are beautifully expressed 
 by those lines, which the author of a celebrated modern 
 tragedy puts into the mouth of the affectionate Euphrasia : 
 
 The task be mine 
 To tend a father with delighted care, 
 To smooth the pillow of declining age, 
 See him sink gradual into mere decay, 
 On the last verge of life watch every look, 
 Explore each fond unutterable wish, 
 Catch his last breath, and close his eyes in peace. 
 
 MURPHY'S GRECIAN DAUGHTER. 
 
EPITHALAMIUM. 149 
 
 And, when old age 
 
 Life's whitest page 
 Shall from your sight remove, 
 
 Who on your bier 
 
 Will drop a tear, 
 The tear of filial love ! 
 
 Rest, take your ease ; 
 
 For sports like these 
 New strength, new ardour gain : / 
 
 Rest, happy pair ! 
 
 Rest, happy fair ! 
 Rest, happy, happy swain ! 
 
FRAGMENTA ET POEM ATA 
 
 QUJEDAM, 
 
 IN BASIUM. 
 
 FRAGMENTUM* 
 AD LYDIAM. 
 
 LYDIA, bella puella, Candida; 
 Quce bene super as lac et lilimn, 
 Albamque simul rosam rubidam, ' 
 Aut expolitum ebur indicum. 
 
 Pande, puella, pande capillulos 
 Flavos, lucentes ut aurum nitidum 
 
 * This little fragment is found among those pieces of Cor- 
 nelius Gallus, which are perhaps more justly attributed to a 
 different poet, Maximianus Gailus. 
 
SOME 
 
 FRAGMENTS AND POETICAL PIECES 
 
 ON 
 
 THE KISS. 
 
 A FRAGMENT, 
 TO LYDIA, 
 
 LOVELY Lydia, lovely maid ! 
 Either rose in thee's displayed ; 
 Roses of a blushing red 
 O'er thy lips, and cheeks are shed ; 
 Roses of a paly hue 
 In thy fairer charms we view. 
 Now thy braided hair unbind ; 
 Now, luxuriant, unconfin'd, 
 Let thy wavy tresses flow ; 
 Tresses bright, of burnish'd glow I 
 Bare thy iv'ry neck, my fair ! 
 Now thy snowy shoulders bare : 
 
152 FRAGMENT A. 
 
 Pande, puella, collum candidum, 
 Production bene candidis humeris : 
 
 Pande, puella, stellatos oculos ; 
 Flexaque super nigra cilia: 
 Pande, puella, geueas rcseas, 
 P erf us as ruhro purpurea Tyriae. 
 
 Porrige lahra corullina ; 
 
 Da cohtmhai'tm mitia basia : 
 Svgis amentis partem animi : 
 Cor mihi penetrant here tua basia. 
 
 Quid mihi sagis vivum sanguinem ? 
 Conde papillas, conde gemi-pomas, 
 Comprcsso lucte quco modo pullulant 
 
 [Conde papi'Jas, &c] I know not whether these Latin 
 
 lines might furnish the hint of the following little sonnet, 
 
 which certainly breathes the same soft spirit of amorous 
 
 satiety: 
 
 Take, O take those lips away, 
 
 That so sweetly were forsworn ; 
 And those eyes, the break of day, 
 Lights that do mislead the morn ', 
 But my kisses bring again, 
 Seals of love, but seal'd in vain ! 
 
 Hide, O hide those hills of snow, 
 Which thy frozen bosom bears ; 
 
 On whose tops the pinks that grow, 
 Are of those that April wears ; 
 
 But my poor heart first set free, 
 
 Bound in these icy chains by thee ! 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher's Blood 1/ Bfotke . 
 
FRAGMENTS. 153 
 
 Bid the vivid lustre rise 
 In thy passion-streaming' eyes ; 
 See, the lucent meteors gleam ! 
 See they speak the watchful fiame! 
 And how gracefully above, 
 Modell'd from the bow of love, 
 Are thy arching- brows displayed, 
 Soffning in a sable shade ! 
 Let a warmer crimson streak 
 The vel/et of thy downy cheek : 
 Let thy lips, that breathe perfume, 
 Deeper purple now assume : 
 Give me little billing- kisses, 
 Intermixt with murm'ring blisses. 
 Soft, my love ! — my angel, stay ! — 
 Soft '.—you suck. my breath away, 
 Drink the life-drops of my heart, 
 Draw my soul from ev'ry part ; 
 Scarce my senses can sustain 
 So much pleasure, so much pain ! 
 Hide thy broad, voluptuous breast I 
 Hide that balmy heav'n of rest ! 
 See, to feast th' enamour'd eyes, 
 How the snowy hillocks rise ! 
 Parted by the luscious vale, 
 Whence luxurious sweets exhale: 
 Nature fram'd thee but t' inspire 
 ^ever-ending, fond desire ! 
 
154 FRAGMENT A. 
 
 Sinus expansa profcrt cinnama ; 
 Undique surgunt ex te delicite. 
 Conde papillas, que me sauciant 
 Candore, elluxu nivei pectoris. 
 Sseva, non cernis quod ego langueo f 
 Sic me destituis,jam semi-mortuum ! 
 
FRAGMENTS. 155 
 
 Again, above its envious vest, 
 See, thy bosom heaves confest ! 
 Hide the rapt'rous, dear delight ! 
 Hide it from my ravish'd sight ! 
 Hide it !— for thro' all my soul 
 Tides of madd'ning transport roll : 
 Venting now th' impassion'd sigh, 
 See me languish, see me die ! 
 Tear not from me then thy charms ! 
 Snatch, oh, snatch me to thy arms ! 
 With a life-inspiring kiss, 
 Wake my sinking soul to bliss ! 
 
158 FRAGMENT A, 
 
 IN LESBIAM. 
 
 DUMme basioloforet salaci, 
 Et crebro petit excitatque morsu 
 Ilia Lesbia, quce tenelli An.cris 
 Belle surripuit faces et arcum; 
 Imis ardeo toils in medullis, 
 Et secreta color per ossa cvrrit. 
 Non tot astra polo nitent screno, 
 Non tot vineafulgurat racemis, 
 Quot me delicice cupidinesque 
 Accensum exacuunt beatulumque. 
 Sed ml, Lesbia, fare, arnica, quid me 
 Tantum basiolo^bres salaci ; 
 Et crebro petis excitasque morsu ? 
 Te dulci lice at tenere lecto, 
 Te striciis liceat tenere in uhiis, 
 Blando deficiente?n3imons cestu ; 
 Quin si dejicias amoris cestu, 
 Mors tibi hoc pretio placebit hercle ! 
 
 Poet, rustic, littera. oti, 
 
FRAGMENTS. 157 
 
 ON- LESBIA. 
 
 WHEN beauteous Lesbia tires my melting soul, 
 (She, who the torch and bow from Cupid stole,) 
 By many a smile, by many an ardent kiss ; 
 And with her teeth imprints the tell-tale bliss : 
 Thro' all my frame the madding transport glows, 
 Thro' ev'ry vein the tide of rapture Hows. 
 As many stars as o'er heavVs concave shine, 
 Or clusters as adorn the fruitful vine; 
 So many blandishments, voluptuous joys, 
 T' inflame my breast, the wily maid employs. 
 But, dearest Lesbia! gentle mistress ! say, 
 Why thus d'ye wound my lips in am'rous play ? 
 With kisses, smiles, and ev'ry wanton art, 
 Why raise the burning fever of my heart ? 
 Let us, my love ! on yon soft couch reclin'd, 
 Each other's arms around each other twin'd, 
 Yield to the pleasing force of strong desire ; 
 And, panting, struggling, both at once expire S 
 For, oh, my Lesbia ! sure that death is sweet, 
 Which lovers in the fond contention meet ! 
 
158 FRAGMENT A. 
 
 BONEFONII BASIUM XVI. 
 
 DONEC pressius incubo labellis, 
 Et diduco avidus tuce^ puella, 
 Flosculos animce suave-olentes ; 
 Unvs turn video?' mihi deoru?n, 
 Seu quid alt ins est beatiusve. 
 
 Mox ut te eripis, ecce, ego repente 
 Unus qui superum mihi videbar, 
 Seu quid altius est beatiusve ; 
 Orci nit videor relatus umbris, 
 Seu quid inferiusve tristiusve. 
 
FRAGMENTS. 159 
 
 KISS XVI. OF BONEFONIUS. 
 
 CLASP'D, sweet maid ! in thy embrace ; 
 While I view thy smiling- face, 
 And the sweets with rapture sip, 
 Flowing from thy honied lip ; 
 Then I taste, in heav'nly state, 
 All that's happy, all that's great : 
 
 But, when you forsake my arms, 
 And displeasure clouds your charms ; 
 Sudden I, who prov'd so late 
 All that's happy, all that's great, 
 Prove the tortures of a ghost, 
 Wand' ring on the Stygian coast. 
 
160 FRAGMENT A. 
 
 VENERIS LUSUS. 
 
 E FFIN XITguovda-n , blandum meditata labor em . 
 Basia lascivd Cypria diva mdnu : 
 
 Ambrosice sitccos occulta temper at arte, 
 Fragransque hifiiso nectare tirigit opus ; 
 
 Suff.cit et partem mellis, quod subdohs ohm 
 Non impunefavis surripuisset Araor 5* 
 
 JDecussos violae foliis admiscet adores, 
 
 Et spolia cpsiivis plurima rapta rosis ; 
 
 Addit et illecebras, et mille et mille lepores, 
 Et quot Acidaliee gaudia cestus habet : 
 
 Ex his composuit Dea basia ; et omnia libans, 
 Inventus nitidce sparsa per era Cbloes. 
 
 * See the nineteenth Idyllium of Theocritus, to which 
 this alludes. 
 
FRAGMENTS. 161 
 
 THE 
 
 PASTIME OF VENUS. 
 
 INTENT to frame some new design of bliss, 
 The wanton Cyprian queen compos' d a kiss : 
 An ample portion of ambrosial juice 
 With mystic skill she tempered first for use ; 
 This done, her infant work was well bedew'd 
 With choicest nectar ; and o'er all she strew'd 
 Part of the honey which sly Cupid stole, 
 Much to his cost, and blended with the whole ; 
 Then, that soft scent which from the vi'let flows 
 She mixt, with spoils of many a vernal rose ; 
 Each gentle blandishment in love we find, 
 Each graceful winning- gesture next she join'd ; 
 And all those joys that in her zone abound 
 Made up the kiss, and the rich labour crown'd. 
 Consid'ring now what beauteous nymph might 
 
 prove 
 Worthy the gift, and worthy of her love, 
 She fixt on Chloe, as her fav'rite maid ; 
 To whom the goddess, sweetly-smiling, said : 
 " Take this, my fair ! to perfect ev'ry grace ; 
 " And on thy lips the fragrant blessing place." 
 
 M 
 
162 FRAGMENT A. 
 
 BACIAMENTO RECIPROCO. 
 
 BEN e soave cos a 
 
 Quel bacio, che si prende 
 
 Da una vermiglia, e delicata rosa 
 
 Di bella guancia, epur chi 7 vero intende. 
 
 Com' intendete voi 
 
 Auventurosi amanti, che 7 provate ; 
 
 Dird, che quello e morto bacio, a cui 
 
 La baciata beltd bacio non rende. 
 
 Ma i colpi di due lahhra innamorate, 
 
 Qvando dferir si vd bocca con bocca, 
 
 E che in un punto scocca 
 
 Amor con souvissima vendetta 
 
 Uuna, e V altra saetta ; 
 
 Son veri baci : ove con giuste voglie 
 
 Tanto si dona altrui, quanto si toglie. 
 
FRAGMENTS. 1C3 
 
 MUTUAL KISSING. 
 
 WHEN o'er the virgin cheek we meet 
 Health's tender-blooming roses spread ; 
 
 To kiss those roses may be sweet, 
 To kiss them on their native bed ! 
 
 Full well experienc'd lovers know, 
 And chief the few who blissful burn, 
 
 That kiss is lifeless we bestow 
 
 On charms that yield no kind return .: 
 
 But sure those kisses breathe delight, 
 Where love the sweetly- vengeful dart 
 
 Exchanges, while fond lips unite, 
 Lips echoing-soft as kisses part. 
 
 When one warm wish inflames the pair, 
 Not less endearing kisses prove ; 
 
 Each gives, each takes an equal share ; 
 Sweet interchange of sweetest love 1 
 m 2 
 
164 FRAGMENT A. 
 
 X. , .... . ,„ ■ ; .,,,,, 
 
 Baci pur bocca curiosa, e scaltra 
 
 O seno, ofionte, o mano ; unqua nonfia 
 
 Che parte alcuna in bella donna baci, 
 
 Che baciatrice sia 
 
 Se non la bocca, ove V unV alma, e V altra 
 
 Corre, e si bacia ancK ella, e con vivaci 
 
 Spiriti pellegrini 
 
 Da vita al bel tesoro 
 
 De bacianti rubini : 
 
 Si che parlan trd loro 
 
 QuegJi animati, et spiritosi baci, 
 
 Gran cose in picciol suono, 
 
 E segreti dolcissimi, che sono 
 
 A lor solo palesi, altrui celati. 
 
 Talgio'ia amando prova ; anzi tal vita, 
 
 Alma con alma unita : 
 
 E son come d y amor baci baciati 
 
 Gli incontri di duo cori amanti amati, 
 
 Guarini. Pastor Fido. Atto n. 
 
FRAGMENTS. 165 
 
 Kiss the dear lip, the swelling breast, 
 The snow-white hand, the forehead kiss ; 
 
 'Tis by the lip the joy's exprest, 
 'Tis the kind lip repays the bliss. 
 
 When lover's lips in transport join, 
 Their souls to share that transport fly ; 
 
 And, as their mingling breaths combine, 
 The purple gems with life supply : 
 
 Then each inspired kiss imparts, 
 In sounds half utter'd, half suppress 
 
 The tender secrets of their hearts, 
 Secrets to lips alone confest ! 
 
 Where soul is thus with soul intwin'd 2 
 
 The living rapture is improv'd ; 
 *Tis rapture of the sweetest kind, 
 
 To kiss when kiss'd, to love when lov'd ! 
 
166 FRAG ME NT A. 
 
 & UN BACIO. 
 
 UN bacio solo a tante pene, cruda ? 
 
 Un bacio a tantafede ? 
 
 La promessa mercede 
 
 Non si paga, baciando : il bacio e segno 
 
 Difuiuro diletto ; 
 
 E par, che dica anch 1 egli, V ti prometto 
 
 Con si soave pegno : 
 
 In tanto hor godi, e taci. 
 
 Che son cf amor mute promesse i baci. 
 
 These Italian lines, which, as well as the foregoing, are 
 from Guarini, seem to have been imitated rather happily by 
 Randolph : 
 
 Are kisses all ? they but forerun 
 
 Another duty to be done. 
 
 What would you of that minstrel say 
 
 That tunes his pipes and will not play ? 
 
 Say what are blossoms in their prime, 
 
 That ripen not in harvest time ? 
 
 Or what are buds that ne'er disclose 
 
 The long'd-for sweetness of the rose ? 
 
 So kisses to a lover's guest 
 
 Are invitations, not the feast. 
 
 Randolph. A Pastoral Courtship. 
 
FRAGMENTS. 167 
 
 ON A KISS. 
 
 AH ! canst thou, cruel nymph I suppose 
 One kiss rewards thy am'rous youth ; 
 
 Enough rewards his tender woes ; 
 His long", long constancy and truth ? 
 
 Think not thy promis'd kindness paid 
 By simple kissing; for the kiss 
 
 Is but an earnest, beauteous maid ! 
 Of more substantial, future bliss : 
 
 Sweet kisses only were design'd 
 Our warmer raptures to improve ; 
 
 Kisses were meant soft vows to bind, 
 Were silent pledges meant of love, 
 
168 FRAGMENTA. 
 
 AMORE FUGGITIVO* 
 
 XJDITO ho, Citerea, 
 
 Che del tuo grembofore, 
 
 Fuggitivo il tuo figlio a te si cela, 
 
 E promesso hai baciar chi te 7 rivela: 
 
 Non languir, bella Dea, 
 
 Se vai cercando Amore ; 
 
 No 7 cercar, dammi il bacio, io V ho nel core. 
 
 MARINI. 
 
 * See the first Idyllium of Moschus on this subject. 
 
FRAGMENTS. 169 
 
 CUPID STRAYED. 
 
 YES, beauteous queen ; — thy son, they say, 
 Thy wanton son ! is gone astray: — 
 Nay, Venus, more; — 'tis said, from thee 
 A kiss the sweet reward shall be 
 To any swain, who truly tells 
 Where 'tis the little wand' re r dwells : 
 Then grieve no more, nor drop a tear ; 
 For know the little urchin's here; 
 He, from the search of vulgar eyes, 
 Conceal'd within my bosom lies : 
 Now, goddess, as I've told thee this, 
 Give me, oh, give the promis'd kiss ! 
 
170 FRAGMENTA. 
 
 HYMNE aH BAISER, 
 
 Par Monsieur DOR AT. 
 
 * DON celeste, volupte pure, 
 De V univers moteur secret, 
 Doux aiguillon de la nature, 
 Et son plus invincible attrait, 
 Eclair, qui y brulant ce quil touche, 
 Par V heureux signal de la bouche, 
 Avertit tout les autres sens; 
 Viens jouer autour de ma lyre ; 
 Qu'on reconnoisse ton delire 
 A la chaleur de mes accens. 
 
 * Monsieur Dorat seems, in these verses, metaphorically 
 to apply the word kiss to that universal attraction which 
 prevails through all matter. 
 
FRAGMENTS. 171 
 
 HYMN TO THE KISS, 
 
 TRANSLATED. 
 
 I. 
 
 0, choicest gift of heav'nly kind ! 
 
 O, sacred source of joy refill' d ! 
 
 Thou latent spring-, whose vast controul 
 
 Extends throughout the boundless whole ! 
 
 Attraction strong ! all-pow'rful cause, 
 
 Enforcing nature's hidden laws ! 
 
 Thou magic lightning, that canst burn 
 
 Whate'er you touch, wheree'er you turn ! 
 
 Touch but the lips, and you dispense 
 
 The brisk alarm thro* ev'ry sense : 
 
 Come, hover round my tuneful lyre, 
 
 And ev'ry swelling note inspire ; 
 
 So shall the warmth my strains express, 
 
 Thy rapture-giving pow'r confess. 
 
172 FRAGMENTA. 
 
 II. 
 
 Tu vas sur tes svjets fideles 
 Dispersant desjiechcs defeu : 
 Tu novrris de tes etincelles 
 Lefiambeau de 1'aveugle dieu. 
 Sans toi que seroit le bel age ? 
 II f offre son premier hommage, 
 II s' eclaire de tes rayons : 
 Et, de desirs hatant Vivresse, 
 Sur les levres de lajeunesse 
 Tufais tes plus douces moissons. 
 
 III. 
 
 Loin de Vceil cclatant du monde, 
 Combien d' £tres infortuneS) 
 Dans une obscurite profonde, 
 A gemir semblent eondamnes / 
 Pour eux zeplrir est sans haleine, 
 Les epis qui dorent la plaine^ 
 Barement muris sent pour eux ; 
 Toi seul les retiens a la terre, 
 Et 9 meme au sein de leur miseret 
 Tu leur apprens V art d' ttre heureux. 
 
FRAGMENTS. 173 
 
 II. 
 
 To those who own your gentle sway, 
 You darts of pleasing- flame convey ; 
 Your kindling* sparks that ne'er can die, 
 Blind Cupid's burning torch supply : 
 How dull the spring of life would prove, 
 Without the kiss that waits on love ! 
 Youth first to thee its homage pays, 
 Becomes enlighten' d from thy rays ; 
 And, hast'ning by your fost'ring fires 
 The birth of all the gay desires, 
 From youthful lips you soon receive 
 The richest harvests lips can give. 
 
 III. 
 
 Far from the world's more glaring eye, 
 What crowds of wretched beings lie ; 
 Who seem in dull oblivion doom'd 
 For ever to remain entomb'd ! 
 To them no zephyr's balmy wing 
 Refreshing gales, or sweets can bring ; 
 No rip'ning crops of golden grain 
 For them adorn the waving plain : 
 Yet, thy persuasive magic binds 
 To this terrestrial orb their minds ; 
 And bids them, in their gloomy state, 
 Smile, nor regret their piteous fate. 
 
174 FRAGMENT A. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Lajleur qui pare nos prairies, 
 Te doit son lustre et son odeur. 
 Ces arbrisseaux que tu maries, 
 Sont tous eclos de ta chaleur. 
 Ces ruisseaux fuyant sous Vombrage, 
 Ces fiots caressant leur rivage, 
 Par ton souffle vont s 'embrdser ; 
 Pourquoi des levres demi-closes 
 Ont-elles la couleur des roses? 
 C* est Id que siege le baiser. 
 
 V. 
 
 Lefroid scrupule en vain s^ojfensc 
 
 De tes bienfaits consolateurs ; 
 
 Tu tiens sous ton oltissance 
 
 Sages, heros, legislateurs. 
 
 Cesar quitte le capitole, 
 
 II menace, il s'elance, il vole, 
 
 Tout cede a ses travaux guerriers : 
 
 Mais il revient, briguant des chahies, 
 
 Caresser les dames Romaines 
 
 A V ombre mime des lauriers. 
 
FRAGMENTS. 175 
 
 IV. 
 
 The flow'rs, that in yon meadow grow, 
 To thee their bloom, their fragrance owe ; 
 The blossom'd shrubs, in gaudy dress, 
 Thy genial warmth, thy pow'r confess ; 
 The stream, that winds along the grove, 
 And courts the shore with waves of love, 
 Is taught by thee the fond embrace, 
 By thee is taught each rural grace : 
 On gently-parted lips, say, why 
 Is plac'd the rose's beauteous dye ? 
 Because, on that soft seat of bliss 
 Abides the rosy-breathing kiss. 
 
 V. 
 
 Let rigid scruple furl her brow, 
 
 And blame the comforts you bestow: 
 
 The sage, the hero, thee obey ; 
 
 Nay, legislators own thy sway. 
 
 See threat'ning Caesar mounts his car, 
 
 To join th' embattled sons of war ; 
 
 Swift from the capitol he flies, 
 
 And ev'ry hostile warrior dies : 
 
 But soon he quits the bleeding plain, 
 
 With transport hugs fair beauty's chain. 
 
 And, e'en beneath his laurel's shade, 
 
 Caresses many a Roman maid. 
 
176 FRAGMENTA. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Ce Mahomet, cefoii sublime, 
 Contre tous les perils arme, 
 Qui pour V erreur et pour le crime 
 Avoit cru ce globe forme, 
 Auroit-il, conquerant austere, 
 Support? V ennui de la guerre, 
 Sans les baisers de ses houiis, 
 Qui charmoient son dme iniqvAtie, 
 Et, dins le serrail du prophete, 
 Realisoient son paradis ? 
 
 VII. 
 Mais des demeures fastueuses 
 Tu crains V appareil imposant ; 
 Les passions trop orageuses 
 En bannissent le sentiment, 
 Ah ! sur des levres altcrees, 
 Et par V ennui decolorces, 
 Voudrois-tu done te reposer ? 
 Ces lambris dorcs, cette estrade, 
 Ces carreaux, ces lits de parade, 
 Sont /' epouvantail du baiser. 
 
FRAGMENTS. 177 
 
 VI. 
 
 Could Mahomet, whose dauntless soul 
 
 Superior rose to all controul, 
 
 Whose breast was ftVd with hope sublime, 
 
 Who thought that ignorance and crime 
 
 Were destin'd o'er this globe t' have reign'd^ 
 
 Could that stern victor have sustain' d 
 
 The harsh, fatiguing toil of arms, 
 
 Had not his Houiis* soothing charms, 
 
 And tender kisses, lull'd to rest 
 
 The martial tumults of his breast? 
 
 If the seraglio of this earth 
 
 Had not to those sweet joys giv'n birth, 
 
 Which, in the paradise of love, 
 
 The prophet hop'd to taste above? 
 
 VII. 
 
 But tow' ring domes, that strike the eyes 
 
 With. outward grandeur, you despise; 
 There stormy passions govern sense, 
 And banish tender feelings thence. 
 Say, couldst thou well contented lie 
 On lips with shrivell'd coldness dry ? 
 On lips, that no bright purple wear ? 
 But pal'd by sickness or by care ! 
 The gilded ceilings, beds of state 3 
 The gaudy chambers of the great, 
 Th' embroider' d cushions they display, 
 Must fright the gentle kiss away 
 
 ,N 
 
ITS FRAGMENTA. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Fuis sous lesfeuillages champetres : 
 C est Id que reside la paix, 
 Et qu* a V ombre desjeunes htires 
 On pratique tes dottx secrets* 
 Sur des gerbes, sur une tonne, 
 Le baiser s y y prend ou s y y donne ; 
 Le plaisir n'y s ait pas compter; 
 Et V impitoyable etiquette 
 Sur les levres d'une coquette 
 Ne fy fait jamais avorter. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Mais, en quelques lieux qu J on i* apptlle, 
 
 Ne deserte point mon reduit ; 
 
 Sif aipu te resterfidele, 
 
 Que tesfaveurs en soient le fruit ! 
 
 Seme desfleurs sur ma jeunesse ; 
 
 Jusques dans lafroide vieillesse 
 
 Renouvelle encore mes desirs, 
 
 Et puisses-tu, pour recompense, 
 
 Itencontrer souvent V innocence, 
 
 Et la soumettre a tes plaisirs ! 
 
FRAGMENTS. 179 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Fly to the rural, shadowy dells ; 4 
 There peace in calm retirement dwells ; 
 And, underneath the beech's shade, 
 Thy am'rous secrets are display'd; 
 There, on the hay-mow, or the grass, 
 Sport the fond youth, and fonder lass; 
 There, unconstrain'd in frolic play, 
 A kiss they lend, a kiss repay; 
 Pleasures so numerous round them flow, 
 Envy can ne'er the number know ; 
 Nor are the lips' sweet joys deny'd 
 By prudes, affecting virtuous pride. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Tho" tempted hence your flight to take, 
 My humble mansion ne'er forsake ; 
 To you if constant I remain, 
 Let kindness recompense my pain ! 
 Around my youth fresh flow'rets shed, 
 Till age shall silver o*er my head ; 
 Then softly fan my drooping fires, 
 And wake the half extinct desires : 
 So mayst thou, in thy wand' rings, meet 
 Young innocence, who smiles so sweet ! 
 And may she all-submissive prove, 
 To thee, the guiltless guest of love I 
 n2 
 
180 FRAGMENT A. 
 
 X 
 
 Puisse a ce prix, trompant sa mere, 
 La jeune fille de quinze ans, 
 Dans son alcove solitaire 
 Mediter ton art dans tnes chants, 
 Interroger son dme oisive, 
 Devorer V image expressive 
 De V amoureuse volupte, 
 Ne voir que baisers dans ses songes, 
 Et soupconner dans ces mensonges 
 Les douceurs de la verit6! 
 
FRAGMENTS. 1ST 
 
 So may the nymph of gay fifteen, 
 By strict maternal eyes unseen, 
 To some sequester' d grove retire ; 
 There, reading, nurse her infant fire; 
 Free from a parent's stern controul, 
 Fxplore her newly-pp'ning soul ; 
 And riot o'er my am'rous page, 
 Soft-yielding to voluptuous rage ! 
 So may sweet dreams of rapt'rous joy 
 Her pleasing slumbers oft employ ; 
 Till many a fond, illusive kiss 
 Shall almost realize the bliss ! 
 
182 FRAGMENTS 
 
 KISS, 
 
 AFTER THE MANNER OF SECUNDUS 
 
 TO CYNTHIA. 
 
 THE transient season let's improve, 
 That human life allots to love : 
 Youth scon, my Cynthia, flies away, 
 And age assumes its frozen sway, 
 "With elegance and neatness drest, 
 Come, then, in beauty's bloom confest, 
 And in my fond embrace be blest ! 
 
 Faint struggiings but inflame desire, 1 
 And serve to fan the lover's fire : 
 Then yield not all at once your charms, 
 But with reluctance fill my arms ; 
 
FRAGMENTS. 183 
 
 My arms ! that shall with eager haste 
 Encircle now your slender waist, 
 Now round your neck be careless hung-, 
 And now o'er all your frame be flung- : 
 About your limbs my limbs I'll twine, 
 And lay your glowing cheek to mine: 
 Close to my broader, manlier chest 
 I'll press thy firm, proud-swelling breast; 
 Now rising high, now falling low ; 
 As passion's tide shall ebb, or flow : 
 My murm'ring tongue shall speak my bliss, 
 Shall court your yielding lips to kiss ; 
 Each kiss with thousands I'll repay, 
 And almost suck your breath away ; 
 A thousand more you then shall give^ 
 And then a thousand more receive : 
 In transport half dissolv'd we'll lie, 
 Venting our wishes in a sigh ! 
 * 
 
 Quick-starting from me, now display 
 Your loose, and discompos'd array : 
 Your hair shall o'er your polish'd brow 
 In sweetly-wild disorder flow : 
 And those long tresses from behind, 
 You us'd in artful braids to bind, 
 Shall down your snowy bosom spread 
 Redundant, in a sofien'd shade ; 
 
m FRAGMENTS. 
 
 And from your wishful eyes shall stream 
 The dewy light of passion's flame : 
 While now and then a look shall glance, 
 Your senses lost in am'rous trance ; 
 That fain my rudeness would reprove, 
 Yet plainly tells how strong- you love : 
 The roses, heightening on your cheek, 
 Shall the fierce tide of rapture speak: 
 And on your lips a warmer glow 
 The deepen'd ruby then shall show : 
 Your breast, replete with youthful fire, 
 Shall heave with tumults of desire ; 
 Shall heave at thoughts of wishM-for bliss, 
 Springing as tho 1 'twould meet my kiss: 
 Down on that heav'n I'll sink quite spent, 
 And lie in tender languishment ; 
 But soon your charms' reviving pow'r 
 Shall to my frame new life restore : 
 With love I'll then my pains r.ssuage ; 
 With kisses cool my wanton rage ; 
 Hang o'er thy beauties till I cloy ; 
 Then cease, and then renew my joy ! 
 
 FINIS. 
 
BOOKS 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 SHERWOOD, NEELEY, AND JONES, 
 PA TERNOSTER-KOW .. 
 
 The following Articles are printed in an uniform and ele- 
 gant Manner, in small Qvo. on the best zooce Paper, 
 embellished with beautiful Frontispieces. 
 
 i.rjnHE CORRESPONDENCE of THEODOSIUS and 
 A CONSTANTIA, before and after her taking the Veil. 
 By Dr. Langhorne; with a Life of the Author. 5s. boards. 
 
 2. LETTERS of an ITALIAN NUN and an ENGLISH 
 GENTLEMAN. Translated from the French of J. J. Rous-, 
 seau. 3s. Od. boards. 
 
 3. LETTERS of ABELARD and HELOISE, with a par- 
 ticular Account of their Lives and Misfortunes. To which ate 
 added Poems by Pope, Madan, Cawthorne, Birch, Seymour,. 
 &c. &c. 6s. boards. 
 
 4. LETTERS of YORICK. and ELIZA. To which is 
 added, a Sketch of their Lives, &c. This is the only edition 
 published, where Eliza's Letters are incorporated with those of 
 Yorick. 3s. 6d. boards. 
 
 5. FI'J ZOSBORNE'S LETTERS on several subjects, by 
 the late Wm. Melmoth, Esq. of Bath, the elegant Translator of 
 Cicero and' Piiny. To which is added, a Sketch of the Life of 
 the Author. 6s. boards. 
 
 6. THE SORROWS OF WERTER, translated from the 
 German of Baron Goethe by Frederick Gotzberg, with Six 
 elegant Engravings. 3s. 6d. boards. 
 
 7. SW1FTIANA, a Work relating to Dean Swift ; consisting 
 of original Bon Mots, Apophthegms, Observations on Life and 
 Literature, Extracts from his unpublished Letters, with Por- 
 traits and Fac-simiies of Swift, Boiingbroke, Voltaire, and 
 others his contemporaries. Jn two elegant volumes, 10s. 6d. 
 boards. » 
 
 8. LETTERS from a PORTUGUESE NUN to an OF- 
 FICE* in the FRENCH ARMY. Translated by W. R. 
 Bowles, Esq. 4S. fid. beards. > 
 
 9. CLASSIC TALES, SERIOUS and LIVELY. Selected 
 from English Authors of original Genius, and newly translated 
 from the Classics of other Languages; with Critical Essays on 
 their Merits and Reputation, by Leigh Hunt, in Fifteen parts, 
 2s« Gd. each. 
 
Books published by Sherwood and Co. 
 
 This Work is elegantly printed on fine paper, small Svo. size, 
 hot- pressed ; and may be had in parts, by one or more at a time ; 
 each part accompanied with a Narrative Print, illustrative of the 
 most striking passages in the Tales, engraved by Fittler, Anker 
 Smith, Heath, &c. in their best manner, from Designs by Devis, 
 Westall, Wilkie, and others. The object of this work has been 
 to embody all those highly interesting and instructive pieces 
 which are interspersed throughout the writings of Mackenzie, 
 Brooke, Goldsmith, Johnson, Sterne, &c. &c. The whole form 
 Five elegant volumes, and may be considered as a valuable Pre- 
 sent to Friends abroad ; to be had comp'ete, price 2l. in boards. 
 
 10. POEMS and PLAYS, by the Rev. Wm, Mason," M.A. 
 Author of " The English Garden." Containing the Dramatic 
 Poems of Caractacus and Elfrida — Monody on the Death of Mr. 
 Pope — Odes, Elegies, Letters, &c. 7s. 6d. boards. 
 
 11. The LIFE of the late WILLIAM COWPER, Esq. 
 abridged from the 4to edition of William Hayley, Esq. with a 
 fine Portrait, 3s. boards. 
 
 12. The CONDUCT of the UNDERSTANDING, by John 
 Locke, Esq. 3s. 6d. 
 
 13. DR. SHAW'S ENGLISH EDITION of LORD BA- 
 CON'S WORKS.— A NEW AND BEAUTIFUL EDITION 
 of the WORKS of the great FRANCIS BACON, Baron Veru- 
 lam, Viscount St. Alban's, and Lord High Chancellor of En- 
 gland. Printed on fine yellow wove paper, in the best manner, 
 in 12 vols. Si, 12s. extra boards, with several Engravings. 
 Dedicated by Permission to Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. Carefully 
 corrected, and the Latin part translated into English ; with co- 
 pious Notes, Critical and Explanatory, by Dr. Shaw. 
 
 14. ESSAYS, Moral, Economical, and Political. B-y 
 Francis Bacon, Baton Verulam, Viscount St. Alban's. With 
 an Account of his Life, and a fine Portrait. 6s. boards. 
 
 15. ESSAYS on MEN and MANNERS, by OLIVER 
 GOLDSMITH, M.B. With a Life and Critique on the Writings 
 and Genius of the Author, by William Mud ford, Author of 
 " A-Critical Enquiry into the Moral Writings of Dr. Johnson," 
 &c &c. &c. Elegantly printed, and embellished with Four 
 beautiful Engravings, fis. boards. 
 
 10. The POETICAL WORKS, complete, of CLIVER 
 GOLDSMITH, M. B. With some account of his Life and 
 Literature. To which are prefixed, several poetical Tributes 
 to his Memory, by contemporary Writers. An improved Edi- 
 tion. Embellished with Engravings on Wood, by Austin; from 
 Designs by Mr, Craig, 7s. od, boards. 
 
Books published by Sherwood and Co. 
 
 17. ORIGINAL LETTERS of J. J. ROUSSEAU, to M. 
 DE MALSHERBES, M. D'ALEMBERT, Madame La M. 
 LUXEMBOURG, with a Fac simile of Rousseau's Hand-writing, 
 and an original Military Air of his Composition ; also Original 
 Letters of Butta Fuoeo and David Hume, translated from the 
 French. Elegantly printed, with a Portrait of the Author. 
 4s. 6d. boards. 
 
 18. A TRUE ESTIMATE of HUMAN LIFE, in which 
 the Passions are considered in a new Light, by Edward Young, 
 LL.D. Author of the Night Thoughts. Fourth Edition, em- 
 bellished with a Portrait of the Author, and his Lire, by the 
 Rev. John Evans, A.M. 3s. boards. 
 
 19. ELIZABETH, or the EXILES of SIBERIA: a Tale 
 founded on Facts, from the French of Madame Cottin, 5s. 
 boards. 
 
 20. WILLIAM TELL, or SWISSERLAND DELIVERED. 
 Translated from the French of the Chevalier Florian ; accompa- 
 nied with a Biographical Sketch of the Author. By W. B. 
 Hewetson, Author of the Blind Boy, the Fallen Minister, &c. 
 &c. 5s. boards. 
 
 31. SENECA's MORALS by Way of Abstract, to which is 
 added a Discourse under the Title of AN AFTER THOUGHT. 
 2 vols, foolscap 8vo. 12s. boards. 
 
 22. The ECONOMY OF HUMAN LIFE, in Two Books. 
 By Robert Dodskv, with six elegant Engravings. 6s. boards. 
 
 23. A FATHER'S LEGACY to his DAUGHTERS, by the 
 late Dr. Gregory, of Edinburgh. 3s. 6d. boards. 
 
 24. ESSAY ON MAN, delineating his Intellectual and 
 Moral Qualities: 
 
 1st. On ihe Acquisition of Self Knowledge — 2nd. On the 
 Elements of Human Nature — 3. On the Symptoms of Intellec- 
 tual Degeneracy — 4. On Characteiistics of Personal Honour. 
 6s. boards. 
 
 25. SONGS OF THE CHACE ; including those on Racing, 
 Shooting, Angling, Hawking, and Archery: the Second Edition, 
 gs. boards, with appropriate Embellishments by Marshall and 
 Scott. 
 
 SENTIMENTAL BEAUTIES from the WRITINGS 
 of the late DR. BLAIR: including the latest Editions of 
 his Sermons, Lectures, &c. &c. Alphabetically arranged, 
 Wjth a copious Account of the Life and Wiiiings of the 
 
Books published by Sherwood and Co. 
 
 Author. Carefully abridged from the larger Works of the late 
 John Hill, IX. D. and Dr. Finlayson. A New Edition, with 
 considerable Additions. By W. Hamilton Reid. In one large 
 Volume. 4s. 6d. boards. 
 
 The BEAUTIES, Poetical, -Moral, Philosophical, 
 Theological, Critical, and Epistolary, of JAMES 
 BE ATTIS, LL. D., late Professor of Moral Philosophy and 
 Logic in the Marischal College and University of Aber- 
 deen. Arranged ia a pleasing and perspicuous Manner. To 
 which are prefixed a Life of the Author, and an Account of 
 his Writings. 
 
 " It is an humble, but not a useless, labour to collect, into 
 one point, the wit, humour, and instruction, which lie scatter- 
 ed throueh many Volumes." 
 
 BEAUTIES, selected from the WRITINGS of the Late 
 WILLIAM PALEY, D. D. Archdeacon of Carlisle. Alpha- 
 betically arranged, with an Account of his Life, and Critical 
 Remarks upon some Of his peculiar Opinions, by W. Hamilton 
 Reid. 4s. 6d. boards. 
 
 MARY DE CLIFFORD, a Story interspersed with many 
 Poems, by Sir Egerton Brydges, K. J. The second Edition. 
 Embellished with two elegant Engravings. 4s. boards. 
 
 " A production of unprecedented worth, written in the spirit 
 of ancestoiial dignity, and with an enthusiasm scarcely mortal." 
 — See the Second Volume nj the Lyre of Lave. 
 
 The FRIEND OF WOMEX, from the French of Bour- 
 dier de Viilemert, by Alexander Mcrrice. This Work is de- 
 signed to exalt the Female Character, and raise that lovely part 
 of the Creation to the rack they are born to, and to which their 
 many virtues so justly entitle them. It treats on the rank of 
 women in society ; studies suitable to women ; employments 
 of women ; pleasures and luxury of women ; the character and 
 temper of women ; love and gallantry; marriage; education 
 of children; domestic government; virtues of women. One 
 volume, 8vo. 5s. boards. 
 
 LETTERS WRITTEN DURING A JOURNEY THRO' 
 FRANCE in the Year 1802, containing an Account of the 
 State of its Morals, Literature, and Politics, by Henry Redhead 
 Yorke, Esq. Two volumes, 8vo. 16s. boards. 
 
 SHARPE's EDITION, Complete in nine beautiful Minia- 
 ture Volumes, 2s. each, sewed, or 2s. 6d. neat-ly half-bound, 
 red back, and lettered, of the Plays of William Snakspeare, ac- 
 curately printed, and without the smallest abridgment; from 
 the text of the late Mr. Steevens, and now offered to the Pa- 
 
Books published by Sherwood and Co. 
 
 tronage of the Public, in a form combining an elegance, porta- 
 bility, and cheapness, hitherto unattempted. Embellished with 
 an elegant Miniature of Shakspeare. 
 
 The ROBBERS, a Tragedy, translated from the German of 
 Frederick Schiller, by the Rev. W. Render, with an elegant 
 Frontispiece. 3s. 6d. 
 
 DON CARLOS, a Tragedy, Second Edition, translated from 
 the German of Frederick Schiller, by the Rev. W. Render, with 
 an elegant Frontispiece. 6s. 
 
 MARY STEWART, QUEEN OF SCOTS, a Tragedy, by 
 F. Schiller, 8vo. 4s 6d., or fine paper, 6s. boards. 
 
 COUNT BENYOWSCY, or the Conspiracy of Kamtschat- 
 ka, a Tragi-Comedy, in five Acts, by Baron Kotzebue, from 
 the German, by the Rev. W. Render, with an elegant Frontis- 
 piece. 3s. 6d. sewed. 
 
 An ESSAY on CRIMES and PUNISHMENTS, from the 
 Italian of Marquis Beccaria. Fifth Edition, revised and cor- 
 rected ; to which is added, a Commentary by Voltaire, from 
 the French. One Volume, 8vo. 6s. boards. 
 
 The STUDENT and PASTOR, or Directions hrw to attain 
 to Eminence and Usefulness in those respective Characters. 
 To which are added, a Letter to a Friend, uporhhis entrance on 
 the Ministerial Office, and an Essay on Elocurion and Pronun- 
 ciation, by John Mason, M. A. Author of a Treatise on Self- 
 Knowledge. New Edition, with Notes* and an Essay on Cate- 
 chising, by Joshua Toulmin, D. D. 4s. boards. 
 
 LES PETITS EMIGRES, ou Correspondence de quelques 
 Entans, quviage, fait pour seivir, a 1' Education de la Jeunesse, 
 par Madame de Genlis. Nouvelle Edition, avec des Notes 
 grammaticales, 2 vols. 8s. bound. 
 
 SKETCH of the LIFE and LITERARY CAREER of AU- 
 GUSTUS VON KOTZEBUE ; with a Journal of his Tour 
 to Paris at the Close of the Year 1790, written by himself. 
 Translated fiom the German by Anne Plumptre. To which is 
 subjoined an Appendix, including a General Abstract of Ko'ze- 
 bue's Works j embellished with an elegant Portrait of the Au- 
 thor. 8s. boards. 
 
 The MISCELLANEOUS WORKS of TIM BOBBIN, Esq. 
 containing his View of the Lancashire Dialect; with large Ad- 
 ditions and Improvements. Also his Poem of the Flying Dra- 
 gon and the Man of Heaton ; together with other Whimsical 
 Amusements in Prose and Verse. To which is added, a Life 
 of the Author, by Richard Towniey, Esq. 3s. 6d. bound. 
 
Books published by Sherwood and Co. 
 
 The LAW of NATURE, or Catechism of a French Citi- 
 zen : containing the Second and concluding Part of The Ruins, 
 or a Survey of the Revolution of Empires. By M. Volney, one 
 of the Deputies of the National Assembly of 17 Hg, and Author 
 of Travels into Syria and Egypt, &c. A new and beautiful Edi- 
 tion, printed in a pocket Size, with an elegant portrait of the 
 Author, engraved by Ridley. 2s. 6d. sewed, or handsomely 
 bound and gilt, 4s. 
 
 The above elegant Work contains the following interesting 
 subjects : — 
 
 1. On the Law of Nature — 2. Characters of the Law of 
 Nature — 3. The Principles of the Law of Nature, as they re- 
 late to Man — 4. Of the Basis of Morality, of Good, of Sin, of 
 Crimes, of Vice and Virtue — 5. Of individual Virtue, of Know- 
 ledge — 6. Of Temperance — 7. Of Continence — 8. Of Courage 
 and Activity — 9. Of Cleanliness — 10. Of Domestic Virtues — 
 11. Of the Social Virtues and of Justice — 12. Developcment of 
 the Social Virtues. 
 
 A TREATISE on the GAME of CRIBBAGE, shewing the 
 Laws and Rules of the Game, as now played at St. James's, 
 Bath, and Ntwmaiket : with the best Method of laying out 
 your Cards, and exposing all the unfair Arts practised by Pro- 
 fessional Players, or such men as are generally known by the 
 appellation of Black Legs, &c. Composed by several Snorting 
 Gentlemen of the first celebrity, and digested by Anthony Pas- 
 quin, Esq. second edition, 2s. Gd. 
 
 The HISTORY of the VICE-ROYALTY of BUENOS 
 AYRES ; containing the most accurate Details relative to its 
 Discovery, Conquest, Typography, Climate, Curiosities, Natu- 
 ral History, Population, Government, Courts of Justice, Reli- 
 gion, Agiiculture, Productions, Commerce, Revenues, ike. &c. 
 By Samuel Hull Wilcocke, 12s. 6d. boards. 
 
 THE PRINCE : tianslated from the original Italian of Nic- 
 colo Machiavelli. To which is prefixed an Introduction, shew- 
 ing the close analogy between the Principles of Machiavelli 
 and the Actions of Bonaparte. By J. Scott Byerly, Price 93. in 
 boards. 
 
 " To translate ' The Prince' of Machiavelli, is to write the 
 Life of Bonaparte, and the Secret History of the Court of St. 
 Cloud." — Vide Introduction. 
 
 London: Printed byJ.Gillet, 
 Crown-couit, Jfltet-street. 
 
■