MESSIAH,

A SACRED ECLOGUE,

In Imitation of VIRGIL'S POLLIO.

YE nymphs of Solyma! begin the fong:

To heav'nly themes fublimer ftrains belong.
The moffy fountains, and the sylvan shades,
The dreams of Pindus, and th' Aonian maids,
Delight no more O thou my voice inspire,
Who touch'd Isaiah's hallow'd lips with fire!
Rapt into future times, the Bard begun :
A Virgin shall conceive, a Virgin bear a Son!
From (1) Jeffe's root behold a branch arise,
Whofe facred flow'r with fragrance fills the skies
Th' ethereal spirit o'er its leaves shall move,
And on its top defcends the mystic dove.

Ye (2) heav'ns! from high the dewy nectar pour,
And in foft filence shed the kindly show'r!
The (3) fick and veak the healing plant shall aid,
From ftorms a shelter, and from heat a shade.
All crimes shall cease, and ancient fraud shall fail;
Returning (4) Juftice lift aloft her scale;
Peace o'er the world her olive wand extend;
And white-rob'd Innocence from heav'n defcend.
Swift fly the years, and rise th' expected morn!
Oh spring to light, aufpicious Babe, be born!
See Nature hafte her earliest wreaths to bring,

(1) Ifaiah, cap. XI. (3) Cap. xxv. v. 4.

. 1. (2) Cap. XLV. .8. (4) Cap. IX. y.

With all the incenfe of the breathing fpring;
See lofty (1) Lebanon his head advance;
See nodding forefts on the mountains dance;
See fpicy clouds from lowly Saron rife;
And Carmel's flow'ry top perfume the skies!
Hark! à glad voice the lonely defart chears:
Prepare the (2) way! a God, a God appears!
A God, a God! the vocal hills reply,
The rocks proclaim th' approaching Deity.
Lo! earth receives him from the bending skies :
Sink down, ye mountains, and, ye valleys, rife!
With heads declin'd, ye cedars, homage pay!
Be smooth, ye rocks, ye rapid floods, give way!
The Saviour comes, by ancient bards foretold;
Hear (3) him, ye deaf, and, all ye blind, behold!
He from thick films shall purge the visual ray,
And on the fightlefs eye-ball pour the day:
'Tis he th' obstructed paths of found shall clear,
And bid new mufic charm th' unfolding ear;
The dumb shall fing, the lame his crutch forego,
And leap exulting like the bounding roe.
No figh, no murmur the wide world shall hear,
From ev'ry face he wipes off ev'ry tear :
In (4) adamantine chains shall Death be bound,
And hell's grim tyrant feel th' eternal wound.
As the good (r) shepherd tends his fleecy care
Seeks fresheft pafture, and the pureft air,
Explores the loft, the wand'ring sheep directs,
By day o'erfees them, and by night protects;
(1) Cap. XXXV. . 2. (2) Cap. XI. . 3, 4,
43) Cap. XLII. V. 18. Cap. xxxv. V.5, 6.
(4) Cap. xxv. . 8. (5) Cap. XL. ✯. 11.

The tender lambs he raises in his arms,
Feeds from his hand, and in his bofom warms:
Thus shall mankind his guardian care engage,
The promis'd (1) father of the future age.
No more shall (2) nation against nation rise,
Nor ardent warriors meet with hateful eyes,
Nor fields with gleaming steel be cover'd o'er,
The brazen trumpets kindle rage no more;
But useless lances into fcythes shall bend,
And the broad faulchion in a plow-share end.
Then palaces shall rife; the joyful (3) fon
Shall finish what his short-liv'd fire begun;
Their vines a shadow to their race shall yield,
And the fame hand that fow'd, shall reap the field.
The fwain in barren (4) defarts with furprize
Sees lilies fpring, and fudden verdure rise;
And ftarts, amidst the thirsty wilds, to hear
New falls of water murmr'ing in his ear.
On rifted rocks, the dragon's late abodes,
The green reed trembles, and the bulrush nods.
Waste fandy (s) valleys, once perplex'd with thorn,
The fpiry fir and shapely box adorn;

To leafless shrubs the flow'ring palms fucceed,
And od'rous myrtle to the noisome weed.
The (6) lambs with wolves shall graze the verdant mead,
And boys in flow'ry bands the tyger lead;

The fteer and lion at one crib shall meet,

And harmless (7) ferpents lick the pilgrim's feet.

(1) Cap. IX. . 6. (2) Cap. II. . 4. (3) Cap. LXV. R. 21, 22. (4) Cap. xxxv. . 1, 7. (5) Cap. XLI.. 19. and. Cap. IV. V. 13. (6) Cap. XI. .6,7, 3. (7) Cap. LXV. . 25. B

The smiling infant in his hand shall take
The crefted bafilisk, and fpeckled fnake,
Pleas'd the green luftre of the scales furvey,
And with their forky tongue shall innocently play.
Rife, crown'd with light, Imperial (1) Salem rife!
Exalt thy tow'ry head, and lift thy eyes!

See a long (2) race thy fpacious courts adorn;
See future fons, and daughters yet unborn,
In crouding ranks on ev'ry fide arise,
Demanding life, impatient for the skies!
See barb'rous (3) nations at thy gates attend,
Walk in thy light, and in thy temple bend!
See thy bright altars throng'd with proftrate kings,
And heap'd with products of (4) Sabxan fprings!
For thee Idume's fpicy forefts blow,
And feeds of gold in Ophir's mountains glow.
See heav'n its fparkling portals wide display,
And break upon thee in a flood of day!
No more the rising (5) sun shall gild the morn,
Nor ev'ning Cynthia fill her filver horn;
But loft, diffolv'd in thy fuperior rays,
One tyde of glory, one unclouded blaze
O'erflow thy courts. The light himself shall shine
Reveal'd, and God's eternal day be thine!
The (6) feas shall wafte, the skies in smoke decay,
Rocks fall to duft, and mountains melt away;
But fix'd his word, his faving pow'r remains ;
Thy realm for ever lafts, thy own Messiah reigns!

(1) Cap. LX. V. 1. (2) Cap. LX. . 4. (3) Cap. LX. . 3. (4) Cap. LX. N. 6. (5) Cap. LX. †. 19, 20. (6) Cap. LI. . 6. and LIV. . 10.

WINDSOR-FOREST.

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE.

GEORGE LORD LANSDOWN.

Non injufa cano: Te noftræ, Vare, myrica,
Te Nemus omne canet ; nec Phœbo gratior ulla eft
Quàm fibi quæ Vari præfcripfit pagina nomen.

VIRG.

B