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And various thought has trac'd. On Ida's mount,
Or Dicte, ftudious of his country's praife,

The Cretan boasts thy natal place: but oft'
He meets reproof deferv'd: for he prefump:uous
Has built a tomb for thee, who never know'st
To die, but liv'ft the fame to-day and ever.
Arcadian therefore be thy birth: Great Rhea,
Pregnant to high Parrhafia's cliffs retir'd;
And wild Lycæus, black with fhading pines :
Holy retreat! fithence no female hither,
Confcious of focial love and nature's rites,
Muft dare approach, from the inferior reptile
To woman, form divine. There the best parent
Ungirt her fpacious bofom, and discharg'd

The ponderous birth; fhe fought a neighbouring fpring
To wash the recent babe; in vain : Arcadia,
(However ftreamy) now aduft and dry,
Deny'd the Goddess water; where deep Melas
And rocky Cratis flow, the chariot smoak'd,
Obscure with rising dust: the thirsty traveler
In vain requir'd the current, then imprison'd
In fubterraneous caverns: forefts grew
Upon the barren hollows, high o'ershading
The haunts of favage beafts, where now Iaon

And Erimanth incline their friendly urns.

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Thou too, O Earth, great Rhea faid, bring forth;

And short shall be thy pangs. She faid; and high
She rear'd her arm, and with her sceptre struck
The yawning cliff: from its difparted height
Adown the mount the gufhing torrent ran,

And

And chear'd the vallies: there the heavenly mother
Bath'd, mighty king, thy tender limbs: she wrapt them
In purple bands: she gave the precious pledge
To prudent Neda, charging her to guard thee,
Careful and fecret; Neda, of the nymphs
That tended the great birth, next Philyre
And Styx, the ekleft. Smiling, fhe receiv'd thee,
And, conscious of the grace, abfolv'd her trust:
Not unrewarded; fince the river bore

The favourite virgin's name; fair Neda rolls
By Leprion's ancient walls, a fruitful ftream.
Fast by her flowery bank the fons of Arcas,
Favourites of Heaven, with happy care protect
Their fleecy charge; and joyous drink her wave.
Thee, God, to Cnoffus Neda brought; the nymphs
And Corybantes thee, their facred charge,
Receiv'd: Adrafte rock'd thy golden cradle :
The goat, now bright amidst her fellow-stars,
Kind Amalthea, reach'd her teat diftent
With milk, thy early food: the fedulous bee
Diftill'd her honey on thy purple lips.

Around, the fierce Curetes (order folemn

To thy fore-knowing mother!) trod tumultuous
Their myftic dance, and chang'd their founding arms;
Industrious with the warlike din to quell

Thy infant cries, and mock the ear of Saturn:
Swift growth and wondrous grace, O heavenly Jove,
Waited thy blooming years: inventive wit,
And perfect judgement, crown'd thy youthful act.

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That Saturn's fons receiv'd the three-fold empire
Of Heaven, of Ocean, and deep Hell beneath,
As the dark urn and chance of lot determin'd,
Old poets mention, fabling. Things of moment,
Well-nigh equivalent and neighbouring value,
By lot are parted: but high heaven, thy share,
In equal balance laid 'gainst fea or hell,

Flings up the adverfe fcale, and fhuns proportion.
Wherefore not chance, but power, above thy brethren
Exalted thee their king. When thy great will
Commands thy chariot forth; impetuous ftrength
And fiery fwiftnefs wing the rapid wheels,
Inceffant; high the eagle flies before thee.
And oh! as I and mine confult thy augur,
Grant the glad omen; let thy favourite rise
Propitious, ever foaring from the right.

Thou to the leffer Gods hast well affign'd
Their proper fhares of power: thy own, great Jove,
Boundlefs and univerfal. Those who labour

The fweaty forge, who edge the crooked feythe,
Bend ftubborn steel, and harden gleening armour,
Acknowledge Vulcan's aid. The early hunter
Bleffes Diana's hand, who leads him fafe

O'er hanging cliffs; who fpreads his net fuccefsful,
And guides the arrow through the panther's heart.
The foldier, from fuccessful camps returning
With laurel wreath'd, and rich with hoftile fpoil,
Severs the bull to Mars. The skilful bard,
Striking the Thracian harp, invokes Apollo,

Το

To make his hero and himself immortal.

Thofe, mighty Jove, mean time, thy glorious care, Who model nations, publifh laws, announce

Or life or death, and found or change the empire.
Man owns the power of kings; and kings of Jove.
And, as their actions tend fubordinate

To what thy will defigus, thou giv'ft the means
Porportion'd to the work; thou fee'st impartial
How they those means employ. Each monarch rules
His different realm, accountable to thee,

Great ruler of the world: thefe only have
To speak and be obey'd; to thofe are given
Affiftant days to ripen the defign;

To fome whole months; revolving years to fome :
Others, ill-fated, are condemn'd to toil

Their tedious life, and mourn their purpose blasted
With fruitless act, and impotence of council.

Hail! greatest son of Saturn, wife disposer
Of every good: thy praife what man yet born
Has fung? or who that may be born shall fing?
Again, and often hail! indulge our prayer,
Great father! grant us virtue, grant us wealth:
For, without virtue, wealth to man avails not;
And virtue without wealth exerts lefs power,
And lefs diffufes good. Then grant us, gracious,
Virtue and wealth; for both are of thy gift!

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The Second HYMN of CALLIMACHUS.

To APOLLO.

HA! how the laurel, great Apollo's tree,

And all the cavern shakes! far off, far off, The man that is unhallow'd: for the God, The God approaches. Hark! he knocks; the gates Feel the glad impulse: and the fever'd bars Submiffive clink against their brazen portals. Why do the Delian palms incline their boughs, Self-mov'd? and hovering swans, their throats releas'd From native filence, carol founds harmonious? Begin, young men, the hymn: let all your harps Break their inglorious filence; and the dance, In myftic numbers trod, explain the mufic. But first, by ardent prayer, and clear luftration, Purge the contagious fpots of human weakness : Impure no mortal can behold Apollo. So may ye flourish, favour'd by the God, In youth with happy nuptials; and in age With filver hair, and fair defcent of children So lay foundations for afpiring cities, And blefs your fpreading colonies increase! Pay facred reverence to Apollo's fong; Left wrathful the far-fhooting God emit His fatal arrows. Silent Nature ftands; And feas fubfide, obedient to the found Of Iö, Iö Pean! nor dares Thetis

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