The Works of the British Poets; With Prefaces, Biographical and Critical Volume 6 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1795 edition. Excerpt: ...thus the Goddessborn ad dress'd: Thou know st my pain, which telling but recals s By force of arms we raz'd the Theban walls; The ransack'd city, taken by our toils, We left, and hither brought the golden spoils; Equal we fhar'd them; but before the rest, 1 he proud Prerogative had sciz'd the best. Chryseis was the greedy tyrant's prize, Chryseis rosy-chc jk'd, with charming eyes. Her sire, Apollo's priest, arriv'd to buy, With proffer'd gists of price, his daughters liberty, Suppliant before the Grecian chiefs he stood, Awful, and arm"d with ensigns of his God: Bare was his hoary head, one holy hand Held forth his laurel crown, and one, his sceptra of command. His suit was common, but above the rest To both the brother prineei was aildrtss'd. With shouts of loud arrclaim the Greeks agres To take the gifts, to let the prisoner free. Not so the tyrant, who with scorn the priest Recciv'd, and with opprobrious wordsadismiss'd. The (rood old man, forlorn of human aid, For vengeance to his heavenly patron pray'd: The Godhead gave a favourable ear, And granted all to him he held so dear; In an ill hour his piercing shafts he sped; And heaps on heaps of flaughter'd Greeks lay dead, While round the camp he rang'd: at length arose A seer who well divin'd; and durst disclose The source of all our ills: I took the word; And urg'd the sacred slave to be restor'd, The God appeas'd: the swelling monarch storm'd: Aud then the vengeance vow'd, he since perform'd: The Greeks, 'tis true, their ruin to prevent, Have to the royal priest his daughter sent; But from their haughty king his heralds came, An J sciz'd, by his command, my captive dame. By common suffrage given; but, thou, be won. If in thy power, t' avenge thy injur'd on: Ascend the skies; and...