Sum brevis; at nomen, quod terras impleat omnes,

Eft mihi; mensuram nominis ipfa fero. 40 Candida fi non fum, placuit Cepheïa Perseo

Andromede, patriae fusca colore fuae : Et variis albae junguntur faepe columbae,

Et niger a viridi turtur amatur ave. Si, nifi quae facie poterit te digna videri, 45

Nulla futura tua est; nulla futura tua est. At me cum legeres, etiam formosa videbar;

Unam jurabas ufque decere loqui. Cantabam, memini (meminerunt omnia amantes)

Oscula cantanti tu mihi rapta dabas. 50 Haec quoque laudabas ; omnique a parte placebam,

Sed tum praecipue, cum fit amoris opus. Tunc te plus solito lascivia nostra juvabat, 60

Crebraque mobilitas, aptaque verba joco; Quique, ubi jam amborum fuerat confusa voluptas:

Plurimus in lasso corpore languor erat.

Tho' short my stature, yet my name extends
To heav'n itself, and earth’s remotest ends. 40
Brown as I am, an Ethiopian dame
Inspir'd young Perseus with a gen’rous flame;
Turtles and doves of differing hues unite,
And glossy jet is pair'd with shining white.
If to no charms thou wilt thy heart resign, 45
But such as merit, such as equal thine,
By none, alas ! by none thou can'st be mov'd,
Phaon alone by Phaon must be lov’d!
Yet once thy Sappho could thy cares employ,
Once in her arms you center'd all your joy: 50
No time the dear remembrance can remove,
For oh! how vast a memory has love?
My music, then, you could for ever hear,
And all my words were music to your ear.
You stopp'd with kisses my enchanting tongue,55
And found my kisses sweeter than my song.
In all I pleas’d, but most in what was best;
And the last joy was dearer than the rest.
Then with each word, each glance, each motion

fir'd,
You still enjoy'd, and yet you still defir'd, 60
Till all diffolving in the trance we lay,
And in tumultuous raptures dy'd away.

Nunc tibi Sicelides veniunt nova praeda puellae ;

Quid mihi cum Lesbo? Sicelis effe volo. At vos erronem tellure remittite noftrum,

Nisiades matres, Nisiadesque nurus. Neu vos decipiant blandae mendacia linguae : 65

Quae dicit vobis, dixerat ante mihi. Tu quoque quæ montes celebras, Erycina, Sicanos,

(Nam tua fum) vati consule, diva tuae. An gravis inceptum peragit fortuna tenorem? 70

Et manet in curfu femper acerba fuo? Sex mihi natales ierant, cum tecta parentis

Ante diem facrymas ossa bibere meas. Arsit inops frater, victus meretricis amore ;

Mistaque cum turpi damna pudore tulit. Factus inops agili peragit freta coerula remo : 75

Quasque male amisit, nunc male quaerit opes : Mequoque, quod monui bene multa fideliter, odit.

Hoc mihi libertas, hoc pia lingua dedit. Et tanquam defint, quae me fine fine fatigent,

Accumulat curas filia parva meas. Ultima tu noftris accedis causa querelis :

Non agitur vento nostra carina suo. 80 Ecce, jacent collo fparfi fine lege capilli ;

Nec premit articulos lucida gemma meos. Veste tegor vili: nullum est in crinibus aurum :

Non Arabo nofter rore capillus olet.

lamecopilli.

The fair Sicilians now thy soul inflame; Why was I born, ye Gods, a Lesbian dame ? But ah beware, Sicilian nymphs ! nor boast 65 That wand'ring heart which I so lately lost; Nor be with all those tempting words abus’d, Those tempting words were all to Sappho us’d. And you that rule Sicilia’s happy plains, Have pity, Venus, on your Poet's pains ! 70 Shall fortune ftill in one sad tenor run, And still increase the woes fo foon begun? Inur'd to sorrow from my tender years, My parent's alhes drank my early tears : My brother next, neglecting wealth and fame, 75 Ignobly burn'd in a destructive flame : An infant daughter late my griefs increas'd, And all a mother's cares distract my breast. Alas, what more could fate itfelf impose, . But thee, the last and greatest of my woes? 80 No more my robes in waving purple flow, Nor on my hand the sparkling di’monds glow; No more my locks in ringlets curl'd diffufe The costly sweetness of Arabian dews, Nor braids of gold the varied tresses bind, 85 That fly disorder'd with the wanton wind :

Cui colar infelix? aut cui placuiffe laborem ?

Ille mihi cultus unicus auctor abest. Molle meum levibus cor est violabile telis ;

Et semper causa est, cur ego semper amem. 9o Sive ita nascenti legem dixere sorores,

Nec data sunt vitae fila severa meae ;
Sive abeunt studia in mores, artesque magistrae,

Ingenium nobis molle Thalia facit.
Quid mirum, si me primae lanuginis aetas

Abstulit, atque anni, quos vir amare potest? Hunc ne pro Cephalo raperes, Aurora, timebam :

Et faceres ; sed te prima rapina tenet. Hunc fi conspiciat quae conspicit omnia, Phoebe ;

Juffus erit somnos continuare Phaon. Hunc Venus in coelum curru vexisset eburno;

Sed videt et Marti poffe placere suo. O nec adhuc juvenis, nec jam puer ! utilis aetas !

O decus, atque aevi gloria magna tui ! Huc ades, inque finus, formose, relabere nostros :

Non'ut ames oro, verum ut amare sinas. 106 Scribimus, et lacrymis oculi rorantur obortis :

Aspice, quam fit in hoc multa litura loco.