Page:A translation of the Latin works of Dante Alighieri.djvu/393

Under an oak, I and my MelibœusMopsus from the heights of Mænalus
Had taken stand; when he (by longing urged
To learn the song) cried, 'Tell me, Tityrus,
What Mopsus wills.' I laughed, Mopsus; but he
Urged me until for very love at last
I yielded; and, scarce covering my mirth—
'Ah, fool!' I said, 'What madness this? Thy care
The goats bespeak, though by lean fare distressed! [10]
Where Mænalus' high peak the sinking sun
Conceals, lie shady pastures all to thee
Unknown; with many a varying hue inlaid
Of flowers and grasses; round them gently flows,
Under the osiers, with perpetual wave
His banks bedewing from his brimming verge,
A streamlet; offering a ready way
Wherein may gently flow the watery store
Furnished by mountain heights. There, even there,
Whilst in lush grass his oxen sport, the toils
Of men and gods doth Mopsus contemplate,
Exultant! Then through breath-receiving reeds [20]
His inward joy reveals; until the herds
Follow the dulcet strain, and from the mount
Lions, no longer fierce, haste to the fields.
The waves are stayed, and Mænalus himself
Inclines his foliage.'
'Tityrus! what though
Mopsus in unknown pastures sings; yet I
Those unknown songs might practise for my goats,
Poor wanderers, if thou wouldst show the way.'
So he, and what could I, when thus he pressed