Page:The Works of Alexander Pope (1717).djvu/311
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SAPHO to PHAON.
275
Yet Phœbus lov'd, and Bacchus felt the flame,
One Daphne warm'd, and one the Cretan dame;
Nymphs that in verse no more could rival me,
Than ev'n those Gods contend in charms with thee.
The Muses teach me all their softest lays,
And the wide world resounds with Sapho's praise.
Tho' great Alcæus more sublimely sings,
And strikes with bolder rage the 'ounding strings,
No less renown attends the moving lyre,
Which Venus tunes, and all her Loves inspire.
To me what nature has in charms deny'd,
Is well by wit's more lasting charms supply'd.
Tho' short my stature, yet my name extends
To heav'n itself, and earth's remotest ends.
Brown as I am, an Æthiopian dame
Inspir'd young Perseus with a gen'rous flame.
Turtles and doves of diff'ring hues, unite,
And glossy jett is pair'd with shining white.
If to no charms thou wilt thy heart resign,
But such as merit, such as equal thine,
One Daphne warm'd, and one the Cretan dame;
Nymphs that in verse no more could rival me,
Than ev'n those Gods contend in charms with thee.
The Muses teach me all their softest lays,
And the wide world resounds with Sapho's praise.
Tho' great Alcæus more sublimely sings,
And strikes with bolder rage the 'ounding strings,
No less renown attends the moving lyre,
Which Venus tunes, and all her Loves inspire.
To me what nature has in charms deny'd,
Is well by wit's more lasting charms supply'd.
Tho' short my stature, yet my name extends
To heav'n itself, and earth's remotest ends.
Brown as I am, an Æthiopian dame
Inspir'd young Perseus with a gen'rous flame.
Turtles and doves of diff'ring hues, unite,
And glossy jett is pair'd with shining white.
If to no charms thou wilt thy heart resign,
But such as merit, such as equal thine,
By