MESSIAH,

A SACRED ECLOGUE.

YE Nymphs of Solyma! begin the song:

To heav'nly themes sublimer strains belong.
The mossy 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

VER. 8. A Virgin shall conceive-All crimes shall cease, &c.]

Virg. Ecl. iv. ver. 6.

"Jam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna;
Jam nova progenies cœlo demittitur alto.
Te duce, si qua manent sceleris vestigia nostri,
Irrita perpetua solvent formidine terras-
Pacatumque reget patriis virtutibus orbem."

"Now the Virgin returns, now the kingdom of Saturn returns, now a new progeny is sent down from bigh beaven. By means of thee, whatever reliques of our crimes remain, shall be wiped away, and free the world from perpetual fears. He shall govern the earth in peace, with the virtues of his father."

Isaiah.

Isaiah, ch. vii. ver. 14" Bebold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son. -Ch. ix. ver. 6, 7. " Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; the Prince of Peace: of the increase of his govern ment, and of bis peace, there shall be no end: Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order and to establish it, with judgment, and with justice, for ever and ever.”

POPE,

From Jesse's root behold a branch arise,

Whose sacred flow'r with fragrance fills the skies:
Th' Ethereal Spirit o'er its leaves shall move,
And on its top descends the mystic Dove.
Ye' heav'ns! from high the dewy nectar pour,
And in soft silence shed the kindly show'r!

C

The sick and weak the healing plant shall aid,
From storms a shelter, and from heat a shade.

All crimes shall cease, and ancient fraud shall fail;
Returning Justice lift aloft her scale;

Peace o'er the world her olive wand extend,

II

15

And white-rob'd Innocence from heav'n descend. 20
Swift fly the years, and rise th' expected morn!
Oh spring to light, auspicious Babe, be born!
See Nature hastes her earliest wreaths to bring,
With all the incense of the breathing spring :

e

See lofty Lebanon his head advance,

See nodding forests on the mountains dance:

VEK. 23. See nature hastes, &c.] Virg. Ecl. iv. ver. 18.

"At tibi prima, puer, nullo munuscula cultu,
Errantes hederas passim cum baccare tellus,
Mixtaque ridenti colocasia fundet acantho-
Ipsa tibi blandos fundent cunabula flores."

25

See

"For thee, O Child, shall the earth, without being tilled, produce her early offerings; winding ivy, mixed with Baccar, and Colocasia with smiling Acanthus. Thy cradle shall pour forth pleasing flow'rs

about thee.

Isai. ch. xxxv. ver. 1. "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.-Ch. lx. ver. 13. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of thy sanctuary."

a Isaiah, ch. xi. ver. 1.
C Ch. xxv. ver. 4.

e Ch. xxxv. ver. 2.

Ch. xlv. ver. 8. d Ch. ix. ver. 7.

POPE.

See spicy clouds from lowly Saron rise,

And Carmel's flow'ry top perfumes the skies!
Hark! a glad voice the lonely desert cheers;

f

Prepare the 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, rise;
With heads declin'd, ye cedars, homage pay;
Be smooth, ye rocks; ye rapid floods, give way!
The Saviour comes! by ancient bards foretold!

g

Hear him, ye deaf, and all ye blind, behold!
He from thick films shall purge the visual ray,
And on the sightless eye-ball pour the day:

30

35

40

Tis

VER. 29. Hark! a glad voice, &c.] Virg. Ecl. iv. ver. 46.
"Aggredere ô magnos, aderit jam tempus, honores,
Cara deûm soboles, magnum Jovis incrementum-
Ipsi lætitia voces ad sydera jactant

Intonsi montes, ipsæ jam carmina rupes,

Idsa sonant arbusta, Deus, deus ille Menalca!"

Ecl. v. ver. 62.

"Oh come and receive the mighty honours: the time draws nigh, O beloved offspring of the Gods, great encrease of Jove! The uncultivated mountains send shouts of joy to the stars, the very rocks sing. the very shrubs cry out, a God, a God!"

in verse,

Isaiah, ch. xl. ver. 3, 4. "The voice of bim that crieth in the wil derness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord! make straight in the desert a high way for our God! Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and bill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain." Ch. iv. ver. 23. “Break forth into singing, ye mountains! O forest, and every tree therein ! for the Lord bath redeemed Israel.”

f Isaiah, ch. xl. ver. 3, 4.

Ch. xliii. ver. 18. ch. xxxv. ver. 5, 6.

'Tis he th' obstructed paths of sound shall clear,
And bid new music charm th' unfolding ear:
The dumb shall sing, the lame his crutch forego,
And leap exulting like the bounding roe.
No sigh, no murmur the wide world shall hear,
From ev'ry face he wipes off ev'ry tear.

h

In " adamantine chains shall Death be bound,
And Hell's grim tyrant feel th' eternal wound.
As the good shepherd 'tends his fleecy care,
Seeks freshest pasture and the purest air,
Explores the lost, the wand'ring sheep directs,
By day o'ersees them, and by night protects,
The tender lambs he raises in his arms,

Feeds from his hand, and in his bosom warms;

Thus shall mankind his guardian care engage,

k

The promis'd Father of the future age.
No more shall '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 scythes shall bend,
And the broad faulchion in a plow-share end.
Then palaces shall rise; the joyful TM Son
Shall finish what his short-liv'd Sire begun;
Their vines a shadow to their race shall yield,
And the same hand that sow'd, shall

m

reap

45

50

55

the field;

60

65

The swain in barren " deserts with surprise
See lilies spring, and sudden verdure rise ;
And start, amidst the thirsty wilds to hear
New falls of water murm'ring in his ear.
On rifted rocks, the dragon's late abodes,
The green reed trembles, and the bulrush nods.
Waste sandy ° valleys, once perplex'd with thorn,
The spiry fir and shapely box adorn ;

To leafless shrubs the flow'ring palms succeed,
And od❜rous myrtle to the noisome weed.

70

75

The ' lambs with wolves shall graze the verdant mead, And boys in flow'ry bands the tiger lead;

The

VER. 67. The swain in barren deserts] Virg. Ecl. iv. ver. 28. "Molli paulatim flavescet campus arista,

Incultisque rubens pendebit sentibus uva,

Et duræ quercus sudabunt roscida mella."

"The fields shall grow yellow with ripen'd ears, and the red grape shall hang upon the wild brambles, and the hard oak shall distil boney like dew.

Isaiah, ch. xxxv. ver. 7. "The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty lands springs of water: In the habitation where dragons lay, shall be grass, and reeds and rushes."—Ch. lv. ver. 13. "Instead of the thorn shall come up the firstree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle-tres.' POPE.

VER. 77. The lambs with wolves, &c.] Virg. Ecl. iv. ver. 21. "Ipsæ lacte domum referent distenta capella

Übera, nec magnos metuent armenta leones

Occidet et serpens, et fallax herba veneni

Occidet."

"The goats shall bear to the fold their udders distended with milk: nor shall the herds be afraid of the greatest lions. The serpent shall die, and the berb that conceals poison shall die.”

Isaiah,

"Isaiah, ch. xxxv. ver. 1. 7. Ch. xli. ver. 19. and Ch. lv. ver. 13. ▸ Ch. xi, ver. 6, 7, 8.