Ovid

“ Down fell the wounded Nymph, and sadly groan'd,
And pull'd his Arrow reeking from the Wound;
And weltering in her Blood, thus faintly cry'd,
"Ah cruel God! tho' I have justly dy'd,
"What has, alas! my unborn Infant done,
"That He should fall, and Two expire in One?
This said, in Agonies she fetch'd her Breath.
⁠The God dissolves in Pity at her Death;
He hates the Bird that made her Falshood known,
And hates himself for what himself had done ”

“ The Youth was light, nor cou'd he fill the Seat,
Or poise the Chariot with its wonted Weight:
But as at Sea th' unballass'd Vessel rides,
Cast to and fro, the Sport of Winds and Tides;
So in the bounding Chariot toss'd on high,
The Youth is hurry'd headlong through the Sky. ”

“ Chuse what you will, but make a wiser Choice.
⁠Thus did the God th' unwary Youth advise;
But he still longs to travel through the Skies.
When the fond Father (for in vain he pleads)
At length to the Vulcanian Chariot leads.
A Golden Axle did the Work uphold,
Gold was the Beam, the Wheels were orb'd with Gold.
The Spokes in Rows of Silver pleas'd the Sight,⁠
The Seat with party-colour'd Gems was bright;
Apollo shin'd amid the Glare of Light.
The Youth with secret Joy the Work surveys,
When now the Morn disclos'd her purple Rays ”

“ I'm fully satisfy'd!
"This Boy shall stand a living Mark, to prove
"My Husband's Baseness and the Strumpet's Love:
"But Vengeance shall awake: those guilty Charms
"That drew the Thunderer from Juno's Arms,
"No longer shall their wonted Force retain,
"Nor please the God, nor make the Mortal vain. ”

“ And bid the Youth advance: "My Son, said he,
"Come to thy Father's Arms! for Clymenè
"Has told thee true; a Parent's Name I own,
"And deem thee worthy to be call'd my Son.
"As a sure Proof, make some Request, and I,
"Whate'er it be, with that Request comply;
"By Styx I swear, whose Waves are hid in Night,
"And roul impervious to my piercing Sight.
⁠The Youth transported, asks, without Delay,
To guide the Sun's bright Chariot for a Day. ”

“ But Jove forbad, and snatch'd 'em through the Air
In Whirlwinds up to Heav'n and fix'd 'em there:
Where the new Constellations nightly rise,
And add a Lustre to the Northern Skies.
⁠When Juno saw the Rival in her Height,
Spangled with Stars, and circled round with Light,
She fought Old Ocean in his deep Abodes,
And Tethys, both Rever'd among the Gods.
They ask what brings her there: "Ne'er ask, says she,
"What brings me here, Heav'n is no Place for Me.
"You'll see, when Night has cover'd all Things o'er,
"Jove's starry Bastard and triumphant Whore
"Usurp the Heav'ns ”

“ Her Hands bear half her Weight, and turn to Paws;
Her Lips, that once cou'd tempt a God, begin
To grow distorted in an ugly Grin.
And, lest the supplicating Brute might reach
The Ears of Jove, she was depriv'd of Speech;
Her surly Voice thro' a hoarse Passage came
In savage Sounds: her Mind was still the same.
The Furry Monster fix'd her Eyes above,
And heav'd her new unwieldy Paws to Jove,
And beg'd his Aid with inward Groans; and tho'
She could not call him False, she thought him so.
⁠How did she fear to lodge in Woods alone,
And haunt the Fields and Meadows once her own! ”

“ Her Fields he Cloath'd, and Chear'd her blasted Face
With running Fountains, and with springing Grass.
No Tracks of Heav'ns destructive Fire remain,
The Fields and Woods revive, and Nature smiles again. ”

“ ⁠The Raven once in Snowy Plumes was drest,
White as the whitest Dove's unsully'd Breast,
Fair as the Guardian of the Capitol,
Soft as the Swan; a large and lovely Fowl;
His Tongue, his prating Tongue had changed him quite
To sooty Blackness from the purest White. ”

“ A Sister's Likeness was in ev'ry Face.
On Earth a diff'rent Landskip courts the Eyes, ⁠
Men, Towns, and Beasts in distant Prospects rise,
And Nymphs, and Streams, and Woods, and rural Deities.
O'er all, the Heav'ns refulgent Image shines ”

“ You'll see 'em proudly rowl
"In their new Orbs, and brighten all the Pole.
"And who shall now on Juno's Altars wait,
"When those she hates grow Greater by her Hate?
"I on the Nymph a Brutal Form impress'd,
"Jove to a Goddess has transform'd the Beast ”

“ ⁠"Take this at least, this last Advice, my Son,
"Keep a stiff Rein, and move but gently on:
"The Coursers of themselves will run too fast,
"Your Art must be to moderate their Haste. ”

“ What cou'd, alas! the weeping Mother do?⁠
From this to that with eager Haste she flew,
And kiss'd her sprouting Daughters as they grew.
She tears the Bark that to each Body cleaves,
And from their verdant Fingers stript the Leaves:
The Blood came trickling, where she tore away
The Leaves and Bark: The Maids were heard to say,
"Forbear, mistaken Parent, Oh! forbear;
"A wounded Daughter in each Tree you tear ”

“ Nor wou'd he loose the Reins, nor cou'd he hold 'em right.
⁠Now all the Horrors of the Heav'ns he spies,⁠
And monstrous Shadows of prodigious Size,
That deck'd with Stars, lye scatter'd o'er the Skies.
There is a Place above, where Scorpio bent
In Tail and Arms surrounds a vast Extent;
In a wide Circuit of the Heav'ns he shines,
And fills the Space of two cœlestial Signs. ”