3

4

That have all of them borne twins,
And none bereft among them.

Like a line of scarlet are thy Lips,
And thy speaking beautiful;
Like the halves of the pomegranate
Are thy Temples through thy locks.
Like the Tower of David is thy Neck,
Built for an armoury,.

With a thousand bucklers hung on it,
All shields of the mighty.

5 Thy two Breasts are like two fawns,
Twinlings of the roe,

6

7

That feed among the lilies.
Until the day breathe,

And the shadows flee away,

I will go my way

To the Mount of Myrrh,

And to the Hill of Frankincense.

Thou art all fair,

My Love, and no spot in Thee.

PART III. CHAP. IV. 8-v. I.

Garden of Spices and Fruits in Autumn.

THE KING.

8 Along with me from Lebanon, my Bride, Along with me from Lebanon, come;

Look from off the top of Amana,

From the top of Shenir and Hermon,
From the dwellings of the lions,

From the mountains of the leopards :

Thou hast taken my heart, my Sister, my Spouse,
Thou hast taken my heart with one of thine eyes,
With a single chain of thy neck;

How pleasant is thy love, my Sister, my Spouse,
How good is thy love above wine,

And the odour of thine ointments above all perfumes! Honey from the comb dropping are thy lips, my Spouse, Honey and milk underneath thy tongue,

And the scent of thy garments like

To the scent of the Lebanon :

A Garden enclosed,
My Sister, my Bride,
A spring shut up,
A fountain sealed.
Thy plants a Paradise
Of pomegranate trees,
Along with fruits most choice;
Of fragrant-vines with nards,
The spikenard and the saffron,
The sweet cane and cinnamon,
With all trees of frankincense;

5

5

With all the chief of spices:
A Fountain in the gardens,
A well of living waters,
And streams out of Lebanon.
Awake, O North wind;

And come, thou South,
Breathe upon my garden,
Let its spices flow.

THE BRIDE.

Let my Beloved come into his garden,
And let him eat his pleasant fruit.

THE KING.

I am come into my garden,
My Sister, my Bride;
I have gathered my myrrh
Along with my balm ;
I have eaten my honey
With my honey-comb;
I have drunk my wine

Along with my milk;

Eat, O friends, drink, yea drink abundantly,
O well-beloved.

4

CANTICLE IV.

THE KING PROVOKED TO WITHDRAW, IS DESCRIBED IN HIS BEAUTY; THE BRIDE'S LOVELINESS, AND PRAYER

FOR HIS PRESENCE.

PART I. -CHAP. V. 2-VI. 3.

Sleep and Sorrow; the Beauty of the Beloved.

3

2

THE BRIDE.

I sleep, but my heart waketh;

The voice of my Beloved knocking;

"Open to me, my Sister,

My love, my dove, my innocent,

For my head is filled with dew,

My locks with the drops of the night."

"I have put off my coat,
How shall I put it on?
I have washed my feet,

How can I soil them?"

My Well-beloved thrust his hand
Through the wicket of the door,

5

6.

I arose to open to my Well-beloved,
And my hands were dropping myrrh,
And my fingers myrrh the purest,

On the handles of the bar.

I opened to my Well-beloved;
But my Well-beloved had withdrawn,
He was gone!

My soul swooned away for his word;
I sought him, but I found him not;
Called him, but he answered me not.

7

There found me the watchers,

That walk round the city;

8

9

They have smitten me,

Have wounded me,
Stript my veil from off me

Have the keepers of the walls.

I lay on you a charge,
Daughters of Jerusalem,
If ye find my Well-beloved,
What are ye to tell him?
"That I am sick of love."

DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM.

What is thy Beloved more than any beloved,
O thou Fair One amongst women?