Page:The Works of Alexander Pope (1717).djvu/382
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346
The FIRST BOOK of
Oh father Phœbus! whether Lycia's coast
And snowy mountains, thy bright presence boast;
Whether to sweet Castalia thou repair,
And bathe in silver dews thy yellow hair;
Or pleas'd to find fair Delos float no more,
Delight in Cynthus, and the shady shore;
Or chuse thy seat in Ilion's proud abodes,
The shining structures rais'd by lab'ring Gods.
By thee the bow and mortal shafts are born;
Eternal charms thy blooming youth adorn:
Skill'd in the laws of secret fate above,
And the dark counsels of almighty Jove,
'Tis thine the seeds of future war to know,
The change of scepters, and impending woe;
When direful meteors spread thro' glowing air
Long trails of light, and shake their blazing hair.
Thy rage the Phrygian felt, who durst aspire
T' excell the music of thy heav'nly lyre;
Thy shafts aveng'd lewd Tityus guilty flame,
Th' immortal victim of thy mother's fame;
And snowy mountains, thy bright presence boast;
Whether to sweet Castalia thou repair,
And bathe in silver dews thy yellow hair;
Or pleas'd to find fair Delos float no more,
Delight in Cynthus, and the shady shore;
Or chuse thy seat in Ilion's proud abodes,
The shining structures rais'd by lab'ring Gods.
By thee the bow and mortal shafts are born;
Eternal charms thy blooming youth adorn:
Skill'd in the laws of secret fate above,
And the dark counsels of almighty Jove,
'Tis thine the seeds of future war to know,
The change of scepters, and impending woe;
When direful meteors spread thro' glowing air
Long trails of light, and shake their blazing hair.
Thy rage the Phrygian felt, who durst aspire
T' excell the music of thy heav'nly lyre;
Thy shafts aveng'd lewd Tityus guilty flame,
Th' immortal victim of thy mother's fame;
Thy