Page:The Works of Alexander Pope (1717).djvu/392
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356
Part of the XIIIth BOOK of
Oh righteous Gods! of all the great, how few
Are just to heav'n, and to their promise true!
But he the pow'r, to whose all-seeing eyes
The deeds of men appear without disguise,
'Tis his alone, t'avenge the wrongs I bear;
For still th' oppress'd are his peculiar care:
To count these presents, and from thence to prove
Their faith, is mine, the rest belongs to Jove.
Then on the sands he rang'd his wealthy store,
The gold, the vests, the tripods number'd o'er;
All these he found, but still, in error lost,
Disconsolate he wanders on the coast:
Sighs for his country; and laments again
To the deaf rocks, and hoarse-resounding main.
When lo! the guardian Goddess of the wise,
Celestial Pallas, stood before his eyes;
In show a youthful swain, of form divine,
Who seem'd descended from some princely line:
A graceful robe her slender body drest,
Around her shoulders slew the waving vest,
Are just to heav'n, and to their promise true!
But he the pow'r, to whose all-seeing eyes
The deeds of men appear without disguise,
'Tis his alone, t'avenge the wrongs I bear;
For still th' oppress'd are his peculiar care:
To count these presents, and from thence to prove
Their faith, is mine, the rest belongs to Jove.
Then on the sands he rang'd his wealthy store,
The gold, the vests, the tripods number'd o'er;
All these he found, but still, in error lost,
Disconsolate he wanders on the coast:
Sighs for his country; and laments again
To the deaf rocks, and hoarse-resounding main.
When lo! the guardian Goddess of the wise,
Celestial Pallas, stood before his eyes;
In show a youthful swain, of form divine,
Who seem'd descended from some princely line:
A graceful robe her slender body drest,
Around her shoulders slew the waving vest,
Her