Page:The Works of Alexander Pope (1717).djvu/366
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330
The FIRST BOOK of
That driv'n by storms, and pouring o'er the plain,
Swept herds, and hinds, and houses to the main.
Thro' the brown horrors of the night he fled,
Nor knows, amaz'd, what doubtful path to tread,
His brother's image to his mind appears,
Inflames his heart with rage, and wings his feet with fears.
So fares a sailor on the stormy main,
When clouds conceal Boötes golden wain,
When not a star its friendly lustre keeps,
Nor trembling Cynthia glimmers on the deeps;
He dreads the rocks, and shoals, and seas, and skies,
While thunder roars, and lightning round him flies.
Thus strove the chief on ev'ry side distress'd,
Thus still his courage, with his toils, encreas'd;
With his broad shield oppos'd, he forc'd his way
Thro' thickest woods, and rouz'd the beasts of prey.
Till he beheld, where from Larissa's height
The shelving walls reflect a glancing light;
Thither with haste the Theban hero flies;
On this side Lerna's pois'nous water lies,
On that, Prosymna's grove and temple rise:
Swept herds, and hinds, and houses to the main.
Thro' the brown horrors of the night he fled,
Nor knows, amaz'd, what doubtful path to tread,
His brother's image to his mind appears,
Inflames his heart with rage, and wings his feet with fears.
So fares a sailor on the stormy main,
When clouds conceal Boötes golden wain,
When not a star its friendly lustre keeps,
Nor trembling Cynthia glimmers on the deeps;
He dreads the rocks, and shoals, and seas, and skies,
While thunder roars, and lightning round him flies.
Thus strove the chief on ev'ry side distress'd,
Thus still his courage, with his toils, encreas'd;
With his broad shield oppos'd, he forc'd his way
Thro' thickest woods, and rouz'd the beasts of prey.
Till he beheld, where from Larissa's height
The shelving walls reflect a glancing light;
Thither with haste the Theban hero flies;
On this side Lerna's pois'nous water lies,
On that, Prosymna's grove and temple rise:
He