eager to descend See fig. 9th Unhappy Seats Here Typho rules alone And fills a dark inhospitable Throne â—his Typho Earth produc't when Giants strove â—o Conquer Heaven and shook the Throne of Jove When Monsters rose and at a wondrous Birth In bigness equal to their Mother Earth Vast Sons broke forth But Thunder stopt their Course And tumbling Mountains dasht the Rebells Force Typhorus fell Earth was too weak to save And War and He lay buried in one Grave Yet now he heaves in his Aetnean Tâ—â—â—b And Earth still fears new struglings in her Womb That next Heaven's topmost point The Eleventh house which riseth high Almost it 's equal in the middle Sky With fairer Hopes and better Fortune blest Erects its Head and much excells the rest Plac't near the highest Hinge it riseth higher This Empire 's Seat and almost fills desire It 's Title the exalted Place may claim A glorious Patron and as great a Name Is Happy Happy if that word can fill The Greek Expression and commend my skill Here Jove presides in all his Pomp and State See fig. 9th And to this ruling Fortune trust thy Fate Oppos'd and next the bottom of the Ball There lies a Seat as wearied with its fall The fifth House See fig. 9th And yet prepar'd tho' with a world of Pain For other Labour and to mount again About to bear and destin'd to obey The Hinge's Power submitting to its sway Yet prest not by the World it gives a Scope To haughty Thoughts and still permits to hopâ— In Greek Demonie But our scanty Tongue Affords no proper word to grace my Song Yet mind this station it thy Thoughts may claiâ— Observe its Patron nor forget the Name Tho' troublesome it seems no toil refuse The Labour 's great but equal'd by the Vse i th' Ninth The third and ninth Houses and Third gay strength and health Delight Or Sickness arms its venom'd Darts for fight Why Contraries should thus these Seats possess 'T is hard to find but Phoebus aids my guess The mighty Patrons whom these Seats obey See fig. 9. In one determin'd time bear different sway And Day succeeds the Night and Night the Day That Seat which next the Highest Hinge doth lie The first declining from the middle Sky The Sun possesses The ninth House From his Rays we draw Our state of Health He gives our Bodies Law Its Title God Oppos'd to this The third House which first begins to rise From Heaven's low bottom and brings up Skies A Seat appears just tipt with Light and guides The Starry Night in this the Moon presides The Moon that sees her Brother's adverse Ray That looks up to him as he guides the Day And imitates his Influence the wrong way She rules our Bodies but her Face derives Moist rotting Powers and wastes the Health He gives It 's Title Goddess But how mean these words Compar'd with those expressive Greece affords But as for Heaven's high top The tenth House the utmost point Of Rising and beginning of Descent Where 'twixt the Eastern rise See fig. 9. and Western fall Jove hangs the Beam at which He weighs the Ball This Venus graceth here she seats her Throne And in the World 's high Face erects her own That Face whose awful force Mankind admires And yields Obedience to her pleasing Fires Her Charge is Marriage for what else can prove The Office of the beauteous Queen of Love Pleasure 's her aim yet she forgets her Ease And puts on Providence on design to please Fortune 's the station 's Name observe the Place My Muse grows weary and contracts her pace Refusing to expatiate in her Race But now go on The fourth House the lowest point of all The fixt Foundation of the solid Ball Which looking upward sees the circling Light And lies it self immerst in deepest Night Is Saturn's Seat See fig. 9. tho' once he rul'd above Enjoy'd that Power and fill'd the Throne of Jove But thence thrown down he makes his last retreat To this low place and fills this humble Seat Himself a Father He pretends to bear Respect to Fathers and makes Age his care This only station double Cares enlarge For Sons and Fathers Fortune are its charge Severe and thrifty This the Greeks proclaim Demonium its power expressing in its Name Now turn thine Eye The first House and view the Eastern Plain The space whence Stars renew their Course again Where moistned Phoebus from the Floods retires Climbs up and shakes the Water from his Fires Then gathers Beauties whose enlivening Heat First strike thee See fig. 9. Mercury and refresh thy Seat O happy Seat on whom the Art that sways O're Heaven it self bestows its 32 Authors rays The Fates of Children this is doom'd to bear And all the Hopes of Parents are its care One Seat remains The seventh House from whose declining steep The Stars fall headlong and enjoy the Deep Which turns the World and now can only trace The back of Phoebus that once view'd his Face No wonder Nature doth this Seat bequeath To Pluto and inexorable Death For here the Day expires this draws the light From all the World and buries Day in Night Nor is this all its care on this depends Faith solid Constancy and Friends So great that Place's power which waste the Ray Which takes in Phoebus and puts out the Day The stations these to which in constant Course The Stars arriving give and take new Force Where Planets touching as they wheel their round Mix foreign Powers and with their own confound Admitted once they make the Seat their own And turn Usurpers in another's Throne But this if Fate my Life and Health prolong Shall make the 32 subject of a future Song Now ends the Book which hath describ'd at large The Heavenly Houses Guardians and their Charge For which the Masters of the Art have found A proper Name but of a foreign Sound 'T is Octotopos With mighty labour I these Rules prepare Forgetting Pleasure and possest with Care So hard it is in numerous Verse to close Unwieldy Words and smooth uneven Prose The End of the Second Book NOTES 1. Manilius having mention'd the chief Arguments of Homer's Poems concludes with a high Character stiling him the Fountain of all Poetry Ovid. Amor. lib. 3. El. 8. to the same purpose A quo ceu Fonte perenni Vatum Pieriis ora rigantur Aquis And Longinus de sublim Sect. 13 says not only Stesichorus and Archilocus but Herodotus the Historian and Plato the Philosopher owe their chiefest Beauties to that Poet. 2. Several Poems of Hesoid are lost and Scaliger with other Criticks conjecture That Manilius refers us to those lost Poems But I think this and the preceding Verse ought to be Corrected of this Correction perhaps I may give an account in a Latin Edition of this Author and then they will be found in those pieces of Hesiod that are
Ionian Towns Arcadia Rival to the waining Moons With Warlike Caria high in Antient Fame Owe all Subjection to her modest Flame What Sign By Libra could you dispose the Signs should fall To Latium's share but that which poizeth all To which by Nature it must needs belong To value things and separate Right from Wrong In which the Times are weigh'd and Day with Night Are met the Darkness equal to the Light The Scales rule Italy where Rome Commands And spreads its Empire wide to Foreign Lands They hang upon her Nod their Fates are weigh'd By her and Laws are sent to be obey'd And as her powerful Favour turns the Poize How low some Nation 's sink and others rise Thus guide the Scales and then to fix the Doom They gave us 35 Caesar Founder of our Rome The following Sign rules Carthage Conquer'd Towers By Scorpio Subject they lie to Scorpio's Scaly Powers With Lybia's Sand and Egypt's fruitful Soil The slimy 36 Gift of the o're-flowing Nile Large Bounds but yet too narrow to confine The vast Ambition of this craving Sign He claims the Isles of the Italian Main And low Sardinia's subject to his Reign To Crete the Centaur makes an hateful claim By Sagittarius And still keeps up the Memory of its shame It bore a Centaur once and that confines The Isle to the same Figure in the Signs To him their Skill and Darts the Cretans owe And imitate the sureness of his Bow Trinacria follows Crete's Example draws Her Sister Isle and yields it to his Laws And Latium's Shores which narrow Friths disjoyn Here baffle Nature and in him combine Nor would be differenc'd by another Sign The West By Capricornus and Northern Parts rich France and Spain Contracted Goat are subject to thy Reign And Germany since 37 Varus stain'd thy Shore A Seat for Beasts and fit for Man no more This monstrous Sign hath variously engrost He Rules at Sea and Land thy doubtful Coast Now Earth appearing now in Water lost But Young Aquarius with his watry Fires By Aquarius From Egypt to the Clydae Isles retires The stout Cilicians and the Neighbouring Plain With Sailing Tyre are subject to his Reign When Heaven grew weak By Pisces and a successful fight The Giants rais'd and Gods were sav'd by flight From Snaky Typhon's Arms a Fishe's shape Sav'd Venus and secur'd her from a Rape Euphrates hid her and from thence his Streams Owe all Obedience to the Fish's Beams Wide Parthia's Plains confin'd by mighty Rocks The Nations round long bent unto its Yokes With Tigris Streams the Red-Sea's shining Shores Are Subject to the Heavenly Fish's Powers Thus Earth's divided What Influence these Signs have in the seveveral Countries subject to their Rule these the Signs that sway Its Portions and the Parts their Beams obey These Signs the Tempers of their Empires show The Parts above directing those below Their Powers infuse And thus as Ruling Signs Are now Oppos'd and now agree in Trines Or other Site maintain which Site directs Their Fatal Influence various in Effects So Towns with Towns and roaring Seas with Seas And Land with Land or differs or agrees And as these Signs direct so Men should choose This Town this Country or that Seat refuse Here Hate expect there surest Friendship prove As Heaven directs and Stars decree above But now attend XXVII What Signs are Eccliptick for Signs Eccliptick claim Thy Care and learn the Reason of the Name For some as weary'd in their tedious Race Grow restiff dull nor keep their usual pace Nor is this strange for through the mighty Frame There 's nothing that continues still the same As Years wheel round a change must needs ensue Things lose their former State and take a new Now tir'd with Births the Fields refuse to bear Now unmanur'd prevent the Tiller's care Dilated Vapours tear the solid Earth Strong the Convulsions at the Fatal Birth Vast Mountains sink And now his large Command Neptune extends and Seas o're-spread the Land Contemning Shores Thus were the Towns o're-flow'd When Mankind's single Heir Deuâ—alion stood On steep Parnassus to repair the Stock The spacious World possessing in one Rock And when bold Phaeton with unequal force The Chariot fill'd and drove the Flaming Horse The Earth took Fire Heaven saw the Stars recoil And frighted Nature fear'd one common Pile So much as Years roul round the mighty Frame Is chang'd yet still returns to be the same And so the Stars whilst they revolve their Course Now lose their Power and now regain their force The Reason's plain Why call'd Eccliptick for when depriv'd of Light The Moon Ecclipst lies vail'd in sudden Night Whilst hindring Earth diverts her Brother's Ray These Signs Eccliptick feel the same decay They feeble grow they hang their bending Head And mourn and pine as if the Moon were dead Now Signs Eccliptick see the Name betray Unusual Languor and a weak decay Grow weak by Pavis and those not Neighbouring Signs But Opposite for thus our Art defines Because the Moon then only feels decay When Opposite unto her Brother's Ray. Nor is this Languor nor these Times of Grief Alike to All fome quickly find relief Some Languish long and e're their Mourning 's done The Sun goes round and all the Year is run But when their Grief is o're In what Order the Eccliptick succeed one another the next in turn Begin to Languish and prepare to Mourn The next in turn that are in Order plac't On either side the Two that Languish't last To speak distinctly 38 those two Signs that view And leave the Earth before the former two Not that the Earth doth noxious Powers dispense Or Subject Heaven to its dull Influence But since the World turns round the Orb obeys And Signs abate the vigour of their Rays Not by Earth's Influence but by their place But what avail my Songs XXVIII This Artho ' difficult yet may be obtain'd if all refuse The profer'd Aid of my obliging Muse If puny fear forbids our Hopes to rise To enter boldly and enjoy the Skies What Nature hides for thus Objections teach Is deeply hid too deep for Man to reach Vast the Recess Though stubborn Fate should Reign And we know this yet all the search were vain Since none can find the Links that make the Chain Fond Mortals why should we our selves abuse Nor use those Powers which God permits to use Basely detract from the Celestial mind And close our Eyes endeavouring to be blind We see the Skies then why should we despair To know the Fatal Office of each Star To open Nature to unvail her Face Go in and tread the Order of the Maze Why should we not employ the Gifts bestow'd By Heaven in knowing the kind Author of the Good Our Work grows short we may surround the Ball Make the whole World our own and live in all Through what remains we now with Ease may pierce
Or rose from working 6 Fire's enlivening Rays Which form Heaven's Eyes and live in every Mass In Thunder roar and in the Lightning blaze Or whether 7 Water which combines the Frame Compos'd and keeps it from the loosning Flame Or whether 8 Water Air and Flame and Earth Knew no beginning no first seeds of Birth But first in Being from themselves arose And as four Members the vast God compose In which Thin Thick Hot Cold and Moist and Dry For mutual Actions mutual parts supply From whose agreeing disagreement springs The numerous odd Variety of Things These Qualities to act provoke the Seed Make Vital Elements and Bodies breed What 't was at first III. The Order of the Frame and whence the All began Is doubted and the Doubt too deep for Man And let it be but whencesoe'er it came Its Face is certain 't is an order'd Frame Upward the 9 Flame on active Pinions fled To Heaven's high Arch it rais'd its shining Head There stopt as weary grown and round the Frame For Nature's Bullwark roll'd a Wall of Flame Then liquid Air spread through the empty space Less light and active took the second place But next the Flame the lightest parts aspire To waste themselves and feed the greedy Fire The heavyer Water makes an humbler Claim And lies the third in order in the Frame That Vapours rising may like Seed repair What Fire destroys and feed decaying Air Weight sank round Earth to the remotest place And floating Sand in clinging Mud's embrace Stuck fast whilst Seas squeez'd out flow'd o'er the Mass As those grew limpid and diffus'd the Waves Through spacious Hollows and descending Caves Rocks started forth their Heads the Mountains rear'd And Earth surrounded by the Floud appear'd Lowest of all and in the midst it lies Compass'd by Seas and cover'd by the Skies The Place doth fix it for still rising higher The other Elements equally retire And that by falling stops its farther fall And hangs the midst and lowest of them all Its parts to one fixt point press jointly down And meet and stop each other from moving on For did not Earth hang midst the airy space IV. The Earth lies in the midst of the World How could the Sun perform his constant race Drive on the Day fall headlong down the West Force up the Stars and rise again at East How could the Moon her usual Round maintain Rise set and rise near the same point again Or He that leads the Stars at Night return To East again and usher forth the Morn But since Earth did not to a Bottom fall But hangs and yielding Air surrounds the Ball The way is open and no stop to force The Stars return or to impede their course For who can think that when the 10 Sun doth rise He 's born anew or when He sets He dies That when one Day He hath display'd his Light His Race is finisht and goes out at Night Since He the same doth every Morn appear And as He drives a Day He whirls a Year From the same East He comes with equal pace To the same West He still directs his Race And not one Change is seen in Nature's Face The same Moon shines and at a certain Day Her light encreases and Her Horns decay The track she made Nature doth still pursue Nor like a Novice wanders in a new Phoebus still warms those signs where first he shone And Day goes round with one eternal Sun Thus prov'd because by just Degrees the Hours In different Countries are the same with Ours The Eastern Nations view the rising Fires Whilst Night shades us and lazily retires And as to distant West we nimbly run That still removes nor can we reach the Sun No East begins no West his race doth bound But he drives on in one continued Round Nor is it wondrous that one single Ball Should hang since 't is the Nature of the All. No prop supports but as their motions prove The whole World hangs and all that whirls above The Sun doth drive his Race through yielding Skies Wheel round the liquid Bound and set and rise Through Aether Moon and Stars direct their Race Like these Earth unsupported keeps its place Though no fixt Bottom props the weighty Mass Well then V. The Earth is round the Earth hangs midst the yielding Air Not stretcht into a Plain but every where It rises and declines into a Sphere In other Parts this Figure Nature drew The Sun and Stars if we exactly view Seem round the Moon is vary'd every Night Nor with an equal Face receives her Brother's Light This proves her round since different rays adorn Now shape now bend now fill her borrow'd Horn This Form's Eternal and may justly claim A Godlike Nature all its parts the same Alike and equal to its self 't is found No End 's and no Beginning in a Round Nought can molest its Being nought controul And this enobles and confines the Whole Hence every Countrey sees not every Sign First Argument What Sailer views the bright 11 Canopus shine O'er Egypt's Shores and when its Rays appear Who sees the little Circles of the Bear For Earth still rising to a Round denies A larger Scene and bounds our feeble Eyes This Truth the 12 Moon confirms when deep in Night Earth interposes Second Argument and diverts her Light She doth not all the World at once surprize But now seems dark to these now other Eyes The Eastern Parts first view her darkned Face Then o'er the South she rolls her broken Rays And then still prest by the obscuring shade She hears the Western Brass resounding to her Aid Now if the Earth were flat the darkned Moon Would seem to all Eclypst as well as one At once presenting to the common view Her gloomy looks and prove this fancy true But since its Figure 's round dim Cynthia's beams By just degrees must visit the Extremes Not all at once she must divide the Skies And while she sets to some to others rise For in the mighty Concave whirl'd above She rising must and must declining move Now climb this rising and her Glories show Then sink again and scatter Beams below This proves nor shall the subtlest Wits escape These twining Reasons the disputed Shape By various Animals this Globe's possest The Common House of Man of Bird and Beast The Northern 13 parts rise high the Southern fall Beneath our Fee the Adverse of the Ball. Yet as it lies its surface a Flat Though false its bigness doth improve the Cheat And take the Roundness off though every where It riseth and declines into a Sphere Hence when with setting Beams the Sun withdrawn Beholds our East they see the Morning dawn And when their Toils He with his Light restores Sleep sits on Us and gently easeth Ours The Sea 14 runs round VI. God the Soul of the World and with its circling Waves The Floud at once divides and joyns the Halves To that
vast Frame in which four parts conspire Of different form Air Water Earth and Fire United 15 God the World's Almighty Soul By secret methods rules and guides the Whole By unseen passes He himself conveys Through all the Mass and every part obeys To proper Patients He kind Agents brings In various Leagues binds disagreeing Things Makes some Powers act and some receive their Force And thus whilst Nature keeps her Vital Course Though different Powers the several Things divide The World seems One and all its parts ally'd Now Constellations VII The Signs of the Zodiack Muse and Signs rehearse In order let them sparkle in thy Verse Those which obliquely bound the burning Zone And bear the Summer and the Winter Sun Those first then those which roll a different way From West nor Heaven's Diurnal whirl obey Which Nights serene disclose and which create The steddy Rules and six the Laws of Fate First Aries glorious in his Golden Wool Looks back and wonders at the mighty Bull Whose back-parts first appear He bending lies With threatning Head and calls the Twins to rise They clasp for fear and mutually embrace And next the Twins with an unsteady pace Bright Cancer rolls Then Leo shakes his Mane And following Virgo calms his Rage again Then Day and Night are weigh'd in Libra's Scales Equal a while at last the Night prevails And longer grown the heavyer Scale inclines And draws bright Scorpio from the Winter Signs Him Centaur follows with an aiming Eye His Bow full drawn and ready to let fly Next narrow Horns the twisted Caper shows And from Aquarius Urn a floud o'erflows Near their lov'd Waves cold Pisces take their Seat With Aries joyn and make the Round compleat Now view the point where turn the shining Bears VIII The Axis And from their height look down on other Stars Which never set but onely change their Sites To the same point and whirl the meaner Lights Thither the Axis runs whose adverse Poles Bears the poiz'd World and Heaven about it rolls No solid substance that the weight might bear But an imagin'd Line stretcht through the Air Begun from either Pole the Line extends Earth's Centre through and in the other ends For since the frame turns round that fancy'd Line Which cuts the middle too minutely thin By turning round it self to measure space But still confin'd to one imagin'd place Is call'd the Axis cause unapt to move It sees Stars whirl the shining Planets rove And swiftly measure the vast space above Fixt near the Pole appear those friendly Stars Well known to wretched greedy Mariners IX The great Bear Which guide their Sails and which direct their Oars When mad for gain they fly to foreign Shores Whilst Heaven it self befriends their Avarice What Pleas may wretched Mortals make for Vice Seven equal Stars adorn the greater Bear Which measure larger Circles of the Sphere And teach the Grecian Sailers how to steer The smaller Bear The little Bear though less in size and light In narrower Circles she commands the Night Yet Tyre prefers for through the Ocean tost They sail by her and find the foreign Coast These stand not front to front but each doth view The others Tayl pursu'd as they pursue Betwixt and round these two the Serpent twines The Serpent At once divides and to their place confines Secure from meeting they 're distinctly roll'd Nor leave their Seats and pass the dreadfull fold These keep the Vertex but betwixt the Bear And shinning Zodiack where the Planets Err A Thousand Figur'd Constellations roll Some near the Zodiack some plac'd near the Pole Whose differing Powers by tempering Skies combin'd Make Seasons fruitfull and refresh Mankind First near the North Hercules as conscious of his shame A Constellation kneels without a Name And next Bootes comes Bootes whose order'd Beams Present a Figure driving of his Teams Below his Girdle near his Knees He bears The bright Arcturus Arcturus fairest of the Stars Behind his Back the radiant Crown is view'd The Crown And shines with Stars of different magnitude One plac'd i' th' front above the rest displays A vigorous light and darts surprizing rays This shone since Theseus first his faith betray'd The Monument of the forsaken Maid Nor far from these distended Lyra lies The Harp Well strung the sounding glory of the Skies This Orpheus struck when with his wondrous Song He charm'd the Woods and drew the Rocks along When Hell obey'd when Death resign'd her Chain And loos'd his dear Eurydice again This gain'd it Heaven and still its force appears As then the Rocks it now draws on the Stars The Planets dance and to the tunefull sound The Heaven consents and moves the fatal Round Next Ophiuchus strides the mighty Snake Ophiuchus Untwists his winding Folds and smooths his Back Extends its Bulk and o'er the slippery Scale His wide stretcht Hands on either side prevail The Snake turns back his Head and seems to rage That War must last where equal Powers engage Next view the Swan The Swan whom Jove advanc'd above That Form's reward by which He caught his Love When shrouded in the fair deceitfull shape He cheated trusting Leda to a Rape Now grac'd with Stars his Wings stretcht o'er the Skies And next the Swan the shining Arrow flies The Arrow The towring Eagle next doth boldly soar The Eagle As if the thunder in his Claws he bore He 's worthy Jove since He a Bird supplies The Heaven with sacred Bolts and arms the Skies Next rais'd from Seas the Dolphin's Tail appears The Dolphin The Glory of the Floud and of the Stars Whom while the Horse one radiant Star doth grace His generous Breast pursues with eager pace The Horse His Legs before as running He extends But clos'd in fair Andromeda he ends Andromeda Her Perseus joyns her Foot his Shoulder bears Proud of the weight Perseus and mixes with her Stars Five splendid Stars in its unequal Frame Deltoton bears The Triangle and from the shape a Name But those that grace the sides dim Light display And yield unto the Basis brighter Ray. Next with her Cepheus Cassiopeia shines Cepheus and Cassiopcia Her posture sad and mourns amongst the Signs She sees her Daughter chain'd the rolling Tide The Monster spout and curses her old Pride She fears that Perseus will inconstant prove And now in Heaven forget his former Love But He attends and bears the Gorgon's head His Spoil and witness of a coming aid Near the bent Bull a seat the Driver claims Heniochus Whose skill conferr'd his Honour and his Names His Art great Jove admir'd when first he drove His rattling Carr and fixt the Youth above Next stormy Hoedi shine which shut the Main The Hoedi And stop the Sailers hot pursuit of gain Then shines the Goat The Goat whose Brutish Duggs supply'd The Infant Jove and nurst his
It must be God nor was it made by Chance As Epicurus dreamt He madly thought This beauteous Frame of heedless Atoms wrought That Seas and Earth the Stars and spacious Air Which forms New Worlds or doth the Old repair First rose from these and still supply'd remain And All must be when Chance shall break the Chain Dissolv'd to these wild Principles again Absurd and Nonsense Atheist use thine Eyes And having view'd the order of the Skies Think if Thou canst that Matter blindly hurld Without a Guide should frame this wondrous World But did Chance make and Chance still rule the Whole Why do the Signs in constant order roll Observe set Times to shut and open Day Nor meet and justle and mistake their Way Perform their Course as if by Laws confin'd None hasten on and leave the rest behind Why every Day doth the discovering Flame Show the same World and leave it still the same E'en then when 17 Troy was by the Greeks o'er-thrown The Bear oppos'd to bright Orion shone She near the Pole in narrow Rounds did move He fac'd her then and measur'd the vast space above And e'en at Night when Time in secret flies And veils himself in Shades from humane Eyes They by the Signs could know how fast He fled And in the Skies the hasty Minutes read How many Towns have fall'n what well-built States Since Troy have sunk below oppressing Fates How many Times hath sporting Fortune hurld The Chance of Rule and Slavery through the World How hath she now reverst Troy's ancient Doom And built her Relicks greater up in Rome Reviv'd old Ilium doth new Spoyls enjoy And Greece now bends beneath the Fate of Troy Why should I count how oft the Earth hath mourn'd The Sun's retreat and smil'd when he return'd How oft he doth his various Course divide 'Twixt Winter's Nakedness and Summer's Pride All Mortal Things must change The fruit full Plain As Seasons turn scarce knows her self again Such various forms she bears large Empires too Put off their former Fance and take a new Yet safe the World and free from Change doth last No Years encrease it and no Years can waste Its Course it urges on and keeps its Frame And still will be because 't was still the same It stands secure from Time's devouring Rage For 't is a God nor can it change with Age. And that the Sun ne'er drives the rising Day From North to South nor leaves the beaten way That weary grown He still falls down the West At Night nor turns his Horses to the East That Light by just Degrees the Moon adorns First shews then bends then fills her borrow'd Horns And that the Stars in constant order roll Hang there nor fall and leave the liquid Pole 'T is not from Chance The Motion speaks aloud The wise and steddy conduct of the God These equally dispos'd in Order lye Make various Shapes and chequer all the Skie Above them nought To the World's Top they rose Painting the Roof of Natures Common House Which in a wide Embrace doth all contain The spatious Air the Earth and raging Main These Set in order and in order Rise As West drives down or East brings up the Skies But now how vast the Arch XIII The bigness of the World how next immense The Zodiack's Round though far remov'd from Sense Plain Reason shews whose Active Force can pierce The deep Recesses of the Universe No Bars can stop it through the World it flies And Heaven it self lies open to its Eyes As great a space as Earth and humble Seas From Heaven divide so great two Signs possess The World 's 18 Diameter by Art is found Almost the third Division of the Round Therefore as far as four bright Signs comprize The distant Zenith from the Nadir lies And two thirds more almost surround the Pole The Twelve Signs measure and complete the Whole But since the Earth hangs midst the spacious All The Solid Centre of the Liquid Ball Therefore as far as e'er our Eyes can pass Upward or downward could they pierce the Mass Till bounding Sky the wearied Sight confines Is equal to the distance of two Signs And six such spaces the vast Round complete Where All the Signs their constant Whirls repeat And each lies distant in an equal Seat Nor must you wonder such Varieties Of different Fates from the same Stars should rise Since great their Empire and unlike their force Their Seats so large and so immense their Course Thus far advanc't my towring Muse must rise XIV And sing the Circles that confine the Skies Describe the track and mark the shining Way Where Planets Err and Phoebus bears the Day One towards the North sustains the Shining Bear And lies divided from the Polar Star The Northern Polar Circle Exactly 19 six divisions of the Sphere Another drawn through Cancer's Claws confines The Tropical Circle of Cancer or Summer Solstice The utmost Limits of the Fatal Signs There when the Sun ascends his greatest height In largest Rounds He whirls the lazy Night Pleas'd with his Station there He seems to stay And neither lengthens nor contracts the Day The Summer 's Tropick call'd It lies the fiery Sun 's remotest Bound Just five Divisions from the other Round A third twines round The Equinoctial and in the midst divides The Sphere and see the Pole on both its sides And there when Phoebus drives He spreads his Light On all alike and equals Day and Night For in the midst He doth the Skies divide And chears the Spring and warms the Autumn's Pride And this large Circle drawn from Cancer's Flame Just four Divisions parts the Starry Frame Another Southward drawn exactly sets The Utmost Limits to the Sun's retreats The Tropick of Capricorn When hoary Winter calls his Beams away Obliquely warms us with a feeble Ray And whirls in narrow Rounds the freezing Day To Us his Journey 's short but where He stands With Rays direct He burns the barren Sands To wisht-for Night he scarce resigns the Day But in vast Heats extends his hated Sway. The last drawn round the Southern point confines Those Bears The Southern Polar Circle and lies the Utmost of the Lines Wise Nature constant in her Work is found As five Divisions part the Northern â—ound From the North point This Southern Round appears Just five Divisions distant from its Bears Thus Heaven 's divided and from Pole to Pole Four Quadrants are the Measure of the Whole The Circles five by these are justly shown The Frigid Temperate and the Torrid Zone All these move Parallel they set they rise At equal Distance moving with the Skies Turn'd with the Orbs the common Whirl repeat Are fixt nor vary their allotted Seat From Pole all round to Pole two Lines exprest The Colure Adversely drawn which intersect the rest And one another They surround the Whole And crossing make right Angles at each Pole These into four just parts
blaze but still presage Some coming Plague on the unhappy Age. No Crop rewards the cheated Farmer 's toil He mourns and curses the ungratefull Soil The meagre Ox to the successless Plow He yoaks and scarce dares make another Vow Or wasting Plagues their deadly Poisons spread Encreasing the large Empire of the Dead Men die by Numbers and by heaps they fall And mighty Cities make one Funeral On groaning Piles whole huddled Nations burn And Towns lie blended in one Common Urn. Such Plagues Achaia felt The Plague of Athens the fierce Disease Laid Athens waste and spoil'd the Town in Peace It bore the helpless Nation to the Grave No Physick could assist no Vows could save Heaps fell on Heaps and whilst they gasp'd for Breath Heaps fell on those and finisht half their Death None nurst the Sick the nearest Kinsmen fled None stay'd to bury or to mourn the Dead The Fires grown weary dy'd beneath their Spoils And heapt-up Limbs supply'd the place of Piles Vast Emptiness and Desolation reign'd And to so great a People scarce one Heir remain'd Such are the Plagues that blazing Stars proclaim They light to Funerals their unlucky Flame They shew not onely private Plagues to come But threaten Mortals with the Day of Doom When Piles Eternal Heaven and Earth shall burn And sickly Nature fall into her Urn. They sudden Tumults Wars and strange Arms declare And when close Treach'ry shall start up to War When faithless Germans did of late rebell And tempt their Fate when Generous Varus fell And three brave Legions bloud the Plains did drown O'er all the Skies the threatning Comets shone E'en Nature seem'd at War and Fire was hurld At Fire and Ruin threatned to the World These things are strange but why should these surprize The Fault is Ours since we with heedless Eyes View Heaven and want the Faith to trust the Skies They Civil-Wars foretell and Brothers rage The Curse and the disgraces of an Age. Never more Comets drew their dreadfull Hair Than when Philippi saw the World at War Scarce had the Plains drunk up the former Bloud On scatter'd Bones and Limbs the Romans stood And fought again disdaining meaner Foes A wretched Conquest where the Victors lose Our Empire 's power did its own self oppose And great Augustus o'er the slaughter'd Heaps Pursu'd bright Victory in his Father's steps Nor did the Rage end here the Actian fight That bloudy dowry of a wanton Night Remain'd and rais'd by Cleopatra's Charms The headlong Nations ran again to Arms. The Chance for the whole World was thrown again And the Skies Ruler sought upon the Main Then War obey'd a Woman Timbrels strove With Thunder Isis with the Roman Jove Nor stopt it here but the degenerate Son Stain'd all the Glory that his Father won The Seas great Pompey freed He seiz'd again His Pirates lay like Tempests on the Main The Relicks of the Wars the Impious Slaves Were arm'd for fight and ravag'd o'er the Waves Till the torn fleet di'd all the Seas with Bloud And Asia's Chains reveng'd the injur'd Floud Let this O Fates suffice Let Discord cease And raging Tumults be confin'd by Peace Let Caesar triumph let the World obey And long let Rome be happy in his Sway. Long have him here and when she shall bestow A God on Heaven enjoy his Aid below The End of the First Book NOTES 1 Whether Divinas is to be rendred Divining or Divine is not yet agreed by the Interpreters of the Poet by rendring it Divine Manilius is freed from a redundancy of Words and the Origine of Astronomy which he so often inculcates in other places is hinted at beside Divinus seldom signifies Divining but when a Substantive follows which determines it to that sense as Divina imbrium and the like and in that case I find Milton venturing at it in his Poem Divine of future Woe 2 It seems very plain that this whole description respects onely the Eastern Kings and therefore Manilius must be reckoned amongst those who believed the head of Nile to be in the East and lest he might be thought to have forgotten the Egyptians I am inclin'd to think he includes them under the Priests to whose care Astronomical Observations were peculiarly committed 3 This was the Opinion of Xenophanes Melissus Aristotle and others and Pliny thus concludes in the second Book cap. 1. of his Natural History 'T is reasonable to believe that the World is a Deity eternal and immense that never had a beginning and never shall have an end As absurd an Opinion as ever was propos'd and repugnant to all the Appearances of Nature look upon the Rocks on the Sea shore and having observ'd their continual wearing consider how few thousands of years they must have stood direct thy eye to Heaven and view the several changes in that which was thought impassible and in short reflect on the essential vileness of matter and its impotence to conserve its own being aud then I believe you will find reason to put this Opinion amongst those absurdities which Tully hath allotted to one or other of the Philosophers to defend 4 This blind fancy we owe to the Phoenicians who if Philo Biblius's Sancuniathon may be trusted taught that the Principles of the Universe were a Spirit of dark Air and a confus'd Chaos this Spirit at last began to Love and joyning with the Chaos produced 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or slime and thence fashioned the World And hence likely the more sober part of the Greek Philosophers for they were but borrowers of Learning who requir'd two eternal principles the one active and the other passive such as Plato Anaxagoras c. took their notions and having added some few new ornaments vented them for their own 5 The Philosophy of Epicurus is too well known to need any explication 6 The Opinion of Heraclitus concerning which see the first Book of Lucretius 7 Thales the Milesian endeavoured to establish this by Arguments drawn from the Origine and Continuation of most things The seminal Principle of Animals is humid Plants are nourished by mere Water Fire it self cannot live without Air which is onely water rarefied and the Sun and Stars draw up vapors for their own nourishment and support These were the considerations upon which he grounded his Opinion and hence 't is easie to guess that he kept up the credit of his School rather by those riches which he gain'd by his lucky conjecture at the scarcity of Olives than by the strength of argument and reason 8 The Assertion of Empedocles agreeable to which Ovid sings Quatuor aeternus genitalia Corpora Mundus Continet 9 There is something in this scheme of Manilius so like the ingenious conjecture of the excellent Authour of the Theory of the Earth that what reflects on the one must have an influence on the other and when the fiction is confuted the serious discourse will find it self concern'd The Stoicks held the material part
times faster than usually they do Though here a Man would be apt to think from the expressions in Genesis The Windows of Heaven were opened that there was somewhat very extraordinary in this Rain and that all those requir'd conditions were observ'd The Caverns of the Earth if they threw out all the Water they contain'd could afford but little in comparison of the great store that was requir'd And if the whole middle region of the Air had been condens'd still there had not been enough because Air being turn'd into Water filleth onely the hundredth part of that space which it formerly possess'd Though all the other ways by which some have endeavour'd to explain the Floud were demonstrably insufficient yet this last which gives an account of it from so natural and easie a Cause as the condensation of the Air deserved to be considered a little more but it is the Art of a Disputer to touch that least which presseth most on that Opinion which he would advance For it being allowed that Air by natural Causes may be chang'd into Water and a Vacuum in this very Chapter being excluded it necessarily follows that as much Air as riseth fifteen Cubits higher than the tops of the Mountains is sufficient to make such a Deluge as is describ'd to have been in Noah's time Because where there is no Vacuum there can be no contraction into a less space and every particle of Matter whatever form or schematism it puts on must in all conditions be equally extended and therefore take up the same Room But suppose a Vacuum or as it happens in our imperfect condensations that a hundred cubical feet of Air would make but one foot of Water yet sure the Region is large enough to make amends for this disproportion Now since Nature is sufficient for condensation and since its powers may be considerably invigorated for the execution of the Almighty's wrath why must it be thought so difficult to explain a Deluge and why should an excellent Wit waste it self in fashioning a new World onely to bring that about which the old one would permit easily to be done It is above the Province of Philosophy to make a World let that be suppos'd to have been form'd as it is reveal'd it is enough for us to search by what Laws it is preserv'd and a system erected on this foundation will be agreeable both to Reason and to Religion 10 He explodes the Opinion of Xenophanes and the Fancy of Epicurus Vid. Lucretius's fifth Book 11 Canopus is a Star in the Southern Keel of the Ship Argo of the first magnitude These particulars as to the Appearance of the two Stars are not mathematically true yet serve well enough for the Poets design sufficiently proving the roundness of the Earth 12 This Argument being taken from the Eclipse and not from the increase or decrease of the Moon the Poet must be understood not as to divers moments of Time for the Moon at the same instant is seen Eclips'd by all to whom she appears above the Horizon but as to the diversity of Hours at which the Eastern or Western People reckon the Eclipse to begin or end 13 This is to be understood in respect of those who inhabit the Northern Hemisphere to whom the North Pole is still elevated 14 It was the Opinion of the ancient Poets and some others that the Sea was as a Girdle to the Earth that it ran round it as an Horizon and divided the upper Hemisphere from the lower 15 Release this Soul from that union which the Stoicks foolishly assign'd and then to hold a Soul of the World and Providence is all one 16 Manilius is not constant in his Position most commonly as a Poet he turns his face to the West and then the North is on his right hand and the South on the left sometimes as an Astronomer he turns his face to the South and this is the position in this place 17 Alluding to the two Verses in Homer's sixth Iliad 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 18 Demonstrated by Archimedes in his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prop. 3. That the Circumference of every Circle exceeds three times the Diameter thereof by a part that is less than 1 7th and greater than 10 70. 19 Eudoxus divided the Sphere into sixty parts and this division Manilius follows and according to that describes the Position of the Celestial Circles 20 The Opinion of Diodorus 21 Macrobius reports Theophrastus to be the Authour of this Fancy 22 From Plutarch we learn that Metrodorus and others asserted this and Achilles Tacius fixes this foolish Opinion on Oenopides Chius 23 The learned Mr. Hayns dislikes Scaliger's reading which I have followed and thinks that he meant that Pella was a Woman a more solemn foppery was never met with and this Note beside a great many others may serve to credit the Dauphin Editions of the Classick Authours MANILIUS The Second Book Manilius takes care frequently to tell his Reader that he is the first that ever ventur'd on an Astrological Poem He seems mightily pleas'd with his undertaking hugs it as his First-born and the Son of his strength and is very troublesome in acquainting us with the pains which he suffered at its Birth and then reckons up the Beauties of the Child and what great hopes he conceives of it If ever he deserv'd Scaliger's Character that he knew not when to leave off it must be acknowledged that this is the Case in which it may be chiefly apply'd We need look no farther than the beginning of this Book to be satisfied in this matter He spends about sixty Verses in reckoning up the chief Subjects of Homer Hesiod Theocritus and others all which being laid aside he declares his design to be wholly new and then begins 1. To prove the World to be one Animal 2. The Influence of the Heavens 3. He Describes the several species of the Signs 4. The various configurations or aspects of the Signs and tells us what are Trines what Quadrates or Squares what Hexagons or Sextiles and what are Right and Left in each of these 5. What Signs are said to be conjoyn'd what not and what oppos'd to what Sign each part of Man's body is appropriate what Signs are said to hear what to see one another what are friendly and what not 6. The friendly and unfriendly aspects of the Signs and the various aspects of the Planets in the Signs 7. The Twelfths or Dodecatemoria of the Signs and Planets 8. The twelve Celestial Houses and assigns to each its proper Planet IN lasting Verse the mighty Homer sings The Trojan Wars Homer the King of fifty Kings Stout Hector's brand the bloudy dreadfull Field And Troy secure behind the Hero's Shield Vlysses wandrings and his travelling years In time and glory equal to his Wars How twice with conquering Fleets he plough'd the Main Whilst Scylla roar'd and Neptune rag'd in vain And how at Home he fixt his
tottering Throne Redeem'd his honour and secur'd his Son Usurping Woers felt his thundring Sword And willing Nations knew their Native Lord. His Subjects these and from his boundless Spring MANILIUS The Second Book Manilius takes care frequently to tell his Reader that He is the first who ventur'd on an Astrological Poem He seems mightily pleas'd with his Vndertaking hugs it as his First-born and the Son of his Strength He at large acquaints us with the Pains which He suffer'd in bringing it to Perfection and then reckons up the Beauty of the Child and what great Hopes He conceives of it ' If ever he deserves Scaliger's Character That he knew not when to leave off it must be principally then when He speaks of himself and his own Performance We need look no further than the Beginning of this Book to be satisfied in this matter He spends about Sixty Verses in reckoning up the chief Subjects of Homer Hesiod Theocritus and other Poets all which being laid aside He declares his Design to be wholly new and then begins 1. To assert that the whole Word is Animate and God the Soul of it 2. The Influence of the Heavens 3. He reckons up the several kinds or sorts of Signs as 4. Male and Female Signs 5. Human and Brute Signs 6. Single and Double Signs 7. Pairs 8. Double Signs made up of different Species 9. Signs Double by Place viz. Those that immediately precede the Four Tropick Signs 10. Signs of Natural or Unnatural Postures 11. Day and Night Signs 12. Earth and Water Signs 13. Fruitful and Barren Signs 14. Signs of different Postures 15. Maim'd and intire Signs 16. Season Signs 17. He sings the various Configurations or Aspects of the Signs As 18. Trines 19. Quadrates or Squares shews what are to be accounted Right and what Left in these Figures And 20. Adds several Cautions concerning Squares and Trines 21. He describes the Intercourse or Agreement of Trines and Quadrates 22. Of Hexagons or Sextiles of which he gives a particular Account 23. Of Contiguous Signs 24. Of Unequal Signs 25. Of Opposites 26. He shews what Gods are the Guardians of each Sign 27. The Signs for the several parts of the Body 28. What Signs See Hear Love or Hate each other 29. He makes a short Digression about Friendship 30. He treats of the Friendly and Unfriendly Aspects 31. Of the Dodecatemoria or Twelfths 32. Of the Dodecatemoria of the Planets and proposes two ways to find them 33. He describes the Celestial Houses assigning them their Proper Charges and their Titles together with the Planets which presided in them and then concludes this Second Book THE mighty Bard in lasting Numbers sings Ilium's long Wars Homer the King of fifty Kings Brave Hector's Brand the bloody dreadful Field And Troy secure behind the Hero's Shield He sings Vlysses and his wandring Years â—n Time and Glory equal to his Wars He sings how twice He conquering plough'd the Main Whilst Scylla roar'd and Neptune rag'd in vain And how at Home He fixt his tottering Throne Redeem'd his Honour and secur'd his Son Usurping Woers felt his thundering Sword And willing Nations knew their Native Lord. His Subjects these from whose 1 abundant Spring â—ucceeding Poets draw the Songs they sing â—rom Him they take from Him adorn their Themes â—nd into little Channels cut his Streams â—ich in his store Next Hesiod sings the Gods Immortal Race Hesiod â—e sings how Chaos bore the Earthy Mass â—ow Light from Darkness struck did Beams display â—nd Infant-Stars first stagger'd in their way â—ow Name 2 of Brother vail'd an Husband's Love â—nd Juno bore unaided by her Jove â—ow twice-born Baccbus burst the Thunderer's Thigh â—nd all the Gods that wander through the Sky Hence He to Fields descends manures the Soil Instructs the Plowman and rewards his Toil He sings how Corn in Plains how Vines in Hills Delight how Both with vast Encrease the Olive fills How Foreign Graffs th' Adulterous Stock receives Bears stranger Fruit and wonders at her Leaves An useful Work when Peace and Plenty reign And Art joyns Nature to improve the Plain The Constellation 's Shapes 3 some make their Themes Eratosthenes Sing whence they came and how adorn'd with Beams Andromeda enjoys kind Perseu's Aid The Sire unbinds the Mother mourns the Maid Callisto ravisht now the Pole surveys Nor grieves to change her Honor for her Rays The Little Bear that rock'd the mighty Jove The Swan whose borrow'd Shape conceal'd his Love Are grac'd with Light the Nursing Goat's repaid With Heaven and Duty rais'd the Pious Maid The Lion for the Honors of his Skin The squeezing Crab and stinging Scorpion shine For aiding Heaven when Giants dar'd to brave The threatned Stars and Thunder fail'd to save And now the Fish ignoble Fates escape Since Venus ow'd her Safety to their Shape The Ram having pass'd the Sea serenely shines And leads the Year the Prince of all the Signs Thus whilst by Fables They the Stars advance They vainly make the Heaven one large Romance Earth fills the Sky the Mass ignobly reigns And Heaven 's upheld by that which it sustains Fables absurd which Nature's Laws reject To make the Cause depend on the Effect The sweet Theocritus with softest Strains Makes piping Pan delight Sicilian Swains Theocritus Thro' his smooth Reed no Rustick Numbers move But all is Tenderness and all is Love As if the Muses sate in every Vale Inspir'd the Song and told the melting Tale. Some Birds Macer some Wars of Beasts or Serpents write Snakes in their Poems hiss and Lions sight Some Fate in Herbs describe Nicander some Sovereign Roots Or see gay Health spring up in saving Fruits One breaks thro' Nature's stubborn Bars Some old Poet who describ'd Hell invades The rest and sacred Silence of the Shades Turns up the inside of the World and Night And brings Eternal Darkness into Light Of every Subject now the Muses sing And Floods confus'd come tumbling from their Spring Yet dry as fast nor can Parnassian Streams Suffice the Throngs that crowd to common Themes I seek new Springs which roul refreshing Waves Thro' Plains untrod and Purls in hidden Caves Kept pure for Me which Birds did ne'er profane And thirsty Phoebus oft hath sought in vain My Verse shall be my Own not stoln but wrought Mine not the Labor of Another's Thought My Vessel 's trimm'd tho' never launch'd before I spread my Sails and boldly leave the Shore I 'll sing how God the World's Almighty Mind Thro' All infus'd 1. The World an Animal and God the Soul of it and to that All confin'd Directs the Parts and with an equal Hand Supports the whole enjoying his Command How All agree and how the Parts have made Strict Leagues subsisting by each others Aid How All by Reason move because one soul Lives in the Parts diffusing thro' the whole For did not all the Friendly Parts conspire To make one Whole
space of time He doubles when He sets The following Signs to Libra rising claim Eight Stadia more and Setting lose the same And thus in order following Signs require Still sixteen Minutes more to raise their Fire And lose as much when setting they retire Thus signs to Libra 18 as they rise increase And thus they lose when they descend to Seas For all the Signs that do from Libra range Take equal measures but the Order change For Signs adverse to equal times engross But setting Gain and still arise with loss Thus Hours and Stadia which bright Aries gets When rising Libra loseth when she sets And all the time which when He leaves the Skies The Ram possesses Libra takes to rise By this Example all the rest define The following imitate the leading Sign This rightly fixt if you these Rules pursue The Horoscope lies open to thy view Securely work since you can fix in Skies The times and Stadia for the Signs to rise From that Degree and Sign in which the Sun Begins to start his daily Course to run Count fairly on and all the work is done Another method if you this refuse Shall lead thee right Another Method and be as plain to use For if the Horoscope you seek by Day Observe these Rules which shew the surest Way First find what 19 Hour the Birth is born and then Add five to that and multiply by Ten Add five for every Hour the Signs ascend Thrice five Degrees in the Celestial Bend This done take that Degree in which the Sign Then rouls the Sun and to this Number join From this whole Sum one Thirty parts apply'd To the Sun's Sign nor to the rest deny'd As following they in order lie will show The thing you sought for and design to know For where the Number ends that Sign and Part Is Horoscope Thus speak the Rules of Art By Night your search demands a different way To the Nights Hour 20 add all the twelve of Day From this whole Sum the Thirty parts apply To following Signs as they in order lie And where the Number ends that Sign and Part Is Horoscope Thus speak the Rules of Art Thus you may find the Horoscope in Skies And tho' Oblique the Circling Zodiack lies This Point determin'd you may fix them all What Crowns the Top and what supports the Ball The Signs true Setting and true Rising trace Assign to each their proper Powers and Place And thus what stubborn Nature's Laws deny Our Art shall force and fix the rowling Skie Nor is o're all the Earth VIII Third Argument against the Chaldaeans the length of Night And Day the same they vary with the sight Nor would the Ram alone and Scales agree In Day and Night in every Sign would be The Equinox if as these Rules devise Two Hours were given to every Sign to rise In that Position where Direct's the Sphere The length of Days and Nights in a Direct Sphere And in the Horizon both Poles appear The Day maintains an equal length to Night And that Usurps not on the others Right No Inequality in Skies is found But equal Day and equal Night goes round Those Days and Nights which Spring and Autumn bear They see unvary'd thro' the rowling Year Because the circling Sun in every Sign Runs round and measures still an equal Line Whether thro' Cancer's height he bears the Day Or thro' the Goat oppos'd He bends his way The Day 's alike nor do the Nights decay For tho' Oblique the Zodiack Circle lies Yet all the Zones do at right Angles rise Still Parallel and whilst the Sphere is Right Half Heaven is Hid and half expos'd to sight Hence take thy way In an Oblique Sphere and o're Earth's mighty Bend From this midst Region move to either End As weary Steps convey thee up the Ball By Nature rounded and hung midst the All To either Pole whilst you your way pursue Some parts withdraw and others rise to view To you thus mounting as the Earth doth rise So varies the Position of the Skies And all the Signs that rose Direct before Obliquely mount and keep that Site no more Oblique the Zodiack grows for whilst we range Tho fixt its place yet ours we freely change 'T is therefore plain that here the Days must prove Of different Lengths since Signs obliquely move Some nearer roul whilst some remoter rove And measure still unequal Rounds above As nearer to the Arctick Round you go The Hours increase On this side the Arctick Circle and Day appears to grow The Summer Signs in ample Arch invade Our Sight the Winter lie immerst in Shade The more you Northward move the more your Eyes Their Lustre lose they set as soon as rise But pass this Round Beyond the Arctick Circle as you your way pursue Each Sign withdraws with all its parts from view Then Darkness comes and chaces Light away And thirty Nights excludes the Dawn of Day Thus by degrees Day wasts Signs cease to rise For bellying Earth still rising up denies Their Light a Passage and confines our Eyes Continued Nights continued Days appear And Months no more fill up the rouling Year Should Nature place us where the Northern Skies Creak round the Pole In an erect or parallel Sphere and grind the propping Ice Midst Snows eternal where th' impending Bear Congeal'd leans forward on the frozen Air The World would seem if we survey'd the whole Erect and standing on the nether Pole Its sides as when a Top spins round incline Nor here nor there but keep an even Line And there Six Signs of Twelve would fill the sight And never setting at an equal Hight Wheel with the Heavens and spread a constant Light And whilst thro' those the Sun directs his way For long Six Months with a continued Ray He chaces Darkness and extends the Day But when the Sun below the Line descends With full Career and to the lower bends Then one long Night continued Darkness joins And whilst he wanders thro' the Winter's Signs The Arctick Circle lies immerst in Shade And vainly calls to feeble Stars for Aid Because the Eyes that from the Pole survey The bellying Globe scarce measure half the way The Orb still rising stops the Sight from far And whilst we forward look we find a Bar For from the Eyes the Lines directly fall And Lines direct can ne'er surround the Ball Therefore the Sun to those low Signs confin'd Bearing all Day and leaving Night behind To those that from the Pole survey denies His chearful Face and Darkness fills their Eyes Till having spent as many Months as past Thro' Signs he turns and riseth to the North at last And thus in this Position of the Sphere One only Day one only Night appear On either side the Line and make the Year What different sorts of Days and Nights are known In all Positions thus my Muse hath shown Her Work goes on and she must
eats his Funeral and he spends his Grave When Virgo rises Virgo who whilst Right prevail'd Rul'd here below retreating when it fail'd To awful Honors all the Births must rise Profoundly skill'd in Sacred Mysteries Good Pious Just Devout unus'd to Rage And great Examples to the looser Age But when Autumnal Scales do first appear Happy the Birth Libra he shall be known from far The Glory of the Bench and of the Bar He justest Laws shall make and Life and Death Depend upon the Issues of his Breath Him Towns shall fear the Earth observe his Nod And after Earth the Heaven enjoy a God Thus Act these Signs Scorpio but Scorpio's Tayl displays A double Influence from his Forked Rays For when that first appears tho Peaceful Child Shall Cities Raise and be inclin'd to build The World shall see him with his 28 Plow surround The place design'd and mark the fatal Bound Or he shall wast what others Pains did raise Where Populous Cities stood there Beasts shall graze Or Harvests grow He leads to these Extreams And Power agreeing waits upon his Beams Bold Sagittarius Sagittarius when he first appears Heats the gay Birth and makes him fam'd for Wars In Triumphs great the Wonder of the Crowd By Captives carry'd he almost a God Shall climb the Capitol bright Fame pursue Old Cities raze or grace the Earth with New But ill succeess his Forehead 's wreath'd with Frowns Shall wast his Fame and blast his gather'd Crowns Thus Conquering Hannibal by this Sign betray'd Before his slight perceiv'd his Wreaths to fâ—de He paid for Trebia's and for Cannae's fame And recompenc'd our Losses by his shame But when the narrow Goat erects his Tail He drives to Sea Capricornus and much inclines to Sail Ignoble Trade then Ploughs the dangerous Main And precious Life is meanly stak'd for Gain The Good the Pious and the Just are born When first Aquarius pours out his Vrn. Aquarius But could I rule Pisces could I the Fates design The rising Fishes ne're should govern mine They give a Hateful Pratling Railing Tongue Still full of Venom always in the wrong That blows up Jealousies and heightens Fears By mutterring Poys'nous Whispers in Mens Ears Faithless the Births and full of wild desire Their Faith is Treachery and their Love is Fire For when the Skies grew weak when Giants strove And snaky Typhon shook the Throne of Jove Fair Venus fled and in a Fish's shape This Syria knows secur'd her mean escape Then did she through the Scaly Kind inspire New Heats and with the Ocean mixt her Fire No single Births for when this Sign begins Twins shall be Born or those that shall have Twins Now learn what Signs o're different Lands controle But first take this short figure of the whole East The winds call'd Cardinal West and North and South on either side These Quarters lie oppos'd the World divide As many Winds from these four Quarters flie And fight and rattle thro' the empty Sky Rough Boreas from the North bears Frost and Snows And from the East the gentle Eurus blows Wet Auster from the torrid South is thrown And pleasing Zephyrus cools the setting Sun 'Twixt these two other Winds their Seats do claim The Collateral winds Alike in Nature different but in Name Around the Earth the liquid Ocean plays The Ball enclosing with a soft Embrace But yet on many parts Earth's bending sides Or open Bays receive the flowing Tides The Sea admitted from the Western Shores The Mediterranean Sea and and the several parts of it Doth on the Right Hand wash the swarthy Moors And Lybia's Sands where once great Carthage stood Then o're the Syrtes whirls the rapid Flood And thence to Egypt it directly flows Where what dry Heaven denies the Nile bestows The Left Hand Sea by Spain and France extends And follows Conquering Italy as it bends Till into Streights the barking Sylla draws And whirls it round Charybdis greedy Jaws Loos'd from these Streights the Flouds spread wide again And freely flow in the Ionian Main Then on the left they turn and winding flow Fair Italy surround and drink the Po. Then make rough Adria's Gulph the other side Illyrium washes with a gentle Tide Sees Epire's Cliffs and Corinth's lofty Towers Then winds round plain Morea's open Shores Thence Northward into vast recesses tost The Sea confines the Learn'd Achaia's Coast Thence North and Eastward the unwilling Flood Consin'd by Streights and stain'd with Helle's Blood To fam'd Byzantium cuts its winding way And joyns Propontis to the Euxine Sea Behind whose back the Lake Meotis lies Receives full Tanais and the Sea supplies Hence when the Circling Waves return again The weary Sailer to the Open Main He cuts th' Icarian and th' Aegaean Tide By Asia's Coasts and wonders at their Pride And whilst the left hand Course he still pursues As many Trophies as he places views A thousand Nations 29 Taurus mount that threats The Floods the Bay that from the Sea retreats Parcht Syria's Plains and the Cilician Seats Till he at last to Egypt turns his Oars And sees the Waves dye on the swarthy Shores Thus ruling Nature draws her bounding Lines Checks midland Seas and all their Rage confines Yet midst this Sea a thousand Islands rise The Islands of the Mediter-anean Shap'd like a Foot the low Sardinia lies Near Lybia's shores Trinaâ—rid fill'd with Fires But just cut off from Italy retires And adverse Greece Euboean Cliffs admires Jove's Birth-place Crete appears a goodly Isle And Cyprus beaten by the adverse Nile A thousand lesser Isles Command these Seas Rhodes Delos and the equal Cyclades Fam'd Aulis Tenedos and by Sardinia's side Lies Corsica and breaks the coming Tide Near the Streight's Mouth the Baleares Reign And strong Ebusus Triumphs o're the Main Ten thousand smaller Rocks the Waves disperse Too little to be nam'd too mean for Verse Nor doth the Ocean but one single way Attempt the Earth The Caspian Sea and force an open Bay It tries on every side but Mountains bound Insulting Billows and preserve the Ground For 'twixt the Summer East and Northern Pole Through narrow Channels secret Waters roul Till spread at last upon the open Plain They make the Caspian like the Euxine Main Southward encroaching Waters doubly press The Persian Gulph O'reflow the Earth and in a vast recess One part more East runs on and breaks a way Through Persia's Banks and makes the Persian Bay More West the other soft Arabia beats Where Incense grows The Arabian Gulph and pleasing Odor sweats Which sends us Gums soft Luxury to please And reconcile the angry Deities Strange that the same when differently apply'd Should calm the Rage of Heaven and serve our Pride This Bay is call'd th' Arabian Gulph the Name The Country gives it and 't is great in Fame Thus lie the Seas Africa Earth midst this mighty Flood Contains first Africk
where proud Carthage good Once great in Arms and whose extended sway O're Libya stretcht and made the Spains obey When Hannibal wrapt Alban Towns in flame And eterniz'd the bloody Trebia's Name When led by Fate he March'd to overcome And pour'd his swarthy Libya upon Rome When gasping Consuls groan'd on every Plain And Canna's Fields were burd'ned with the slain Here Nature angry with Mankind prepares Strange Monsters Instruments 30 of future Wars Here Snakes those Cells of Poyson take their Birth Those living Crimes and grievance of the Earth Fruitful in its own Plagues the Desart shore Hears Elephants and frightful Lions roar Serious it seems in all these Monstrous shapes But sports in the lewd Limbs of Mimick Apes The Country's large the Barren Plains extend A mighty space and then in Egypt end Thence Asia spreads Asia a fruitful Soil the Streams Roul Golden Sand the Ocean shines with Gems The Trees drop Balsom and on all the Boughs Health sits and makes it Sovereign as it flows Thence India lies a Land more large than thought The Parthians oft though not securely fought They flying still delude Rome's firmer Powers And yet Command a different World from Ours These Taurus bounds whose threatning Mountains rise To awful Hights and wound the lower Skies A thousand Nations lie by Tanais flood Which cuts the Scythia's stain'd with humane blood By Lake Meotis and the Euxine Tide Which Nature sets as bounds to Asia's Pride Europe remains Europe which first the Beauteous load Receiv'd and where the Bull confess'd the God Hence came its Name in that the grateful Jove Hath Eterniz'd the Glory of his Love Here Greece is seen with Ruin'd Antient Troy And shew'd what Fates attend unlawful joy A Country Rich in Men of wondrous parts The place of Learning and the Seat of Arts Here Athens stands which makes the best pretence To Sovereignty in Wit and Eloquence For Courage Sparta and for Deities Fam'd Thebes whose Heroes People half the Skies Epirus Thessaly whose lasting Praise One single Pyrrhus and Achilles raise To these Illyrium joyns and Warlike Thrace The Seat of Mars and breeds a stubborn Race Thence 31 Germany a mighty Country runs And wonders at the vastness of her Yellow Sons Thence South and Westward in a fertile Plain Lies France for Tribute fam'd for Battels Spain But Italy Crowns all whom Rome hath given Command of Earth and joyns 32 her self to Heaven These Bounds the Earth What Signs govern each Country and these the Seas confine And God allots to every part a Sign No Land is free no stately Town deny'd The kind Protection of a Starry Guide For as in Man the work of Hands Divine Each Member lies allotted to a Sign And as the Body is the common care Of all the Signs each Limb enjoys a share The Ram defends the Head the Neck the Bull The Arms bright Twins are subject to your Rule I' th' Shoulders Leo and the Crab's obey'd I' th' Breast and in the Guts the modest Maid I' th' Buttocks Libra Scorpio warms desires I' th' secret parts and spreads unruly fires The Thighs the Centaur and the Goat Commands The Knees and binds them up with double bands The parted Legs in cold Aquarius meet And Pisces gives protection to the Feet So in the greater World the Members share Celestial Rulers and enjoy their Care Hence different Men Why different Countreys bear Men of different Shapes and Colours in different Climes we view They vary in their shape or in their Hue The Matter 's common and in all the same But private Stamps distinctly mark the Frame Vast Yellow Offsprings are the German's Pride Whilst Neighbouring France is not so deeply dy'd But hotter Climates narrower Frames obtain And low-built Bodies are the growth of Spain Hesperia mixeth sweet with many Grace And temper'd Mars appears in every Face Whilst active Greece produceth finer parts Their looks betray their Exercise and Arts Short Curl'd up Hair the Sons of Syria grace Whilst Ethiopia's Blackness stains the Face With Horrid Shapes she does her Sons expose Distends their swelling Lips and flats their Nose Less India blackens less it Crusts the Mass And mixeth Colours in the Tawny Face But Egypt's slimy Plains affect the sight With brighter Colours and approach to White Parcht Lybia burns her Sons the vilest Shapes She shews and scarce divides her Men from Apes Whilst Mauritania doth disgust the Eye Her Name betrays it with the blackest Dye Tho' each Speech Organs fram'd alike employs How many Languages confound the Voice How different Vertues Reign how different Crimes Mens Manners are as various as the Climes Like Trees transplanted by the Farmer 's Toyl Vice turns to Vertue in another Soyl. Tho' Seed the same yet different Fruits are born Thus Yellow Ceres varies in her Corn. Nor doth the Vine on every Hill produce Like Grapes nor Bacchus press an equal Juice Rich Cinnamon not every Country bears Nor are all Fields bedew'd with Myrrha's Tears Nor is this great variety exprest In Man and Fruits alone but it divides the Beast Here Lions roar and there in dreadful Wars The high-built Elephant his Castle rears Looks down on Man below and strikes the Stars As many parts so many Worlds appear For every part is subject to a Star They spread their Influence and the Countreys pay A due compliance to the Fatal Ray. Plac't midst the pleasing Vernal Signs What Countreys are govern'd by Aries the Ram Commands the narrow Streight o're which he swam When from the Mothers Rage his Fleece convey'd The Brothers safe and dropt the falling Maid Content he swam and with his Burthen pleas'd He mourn'd his Loss and griev'd to be so eas'd The near Propontis too his Beams obeys And Syria feels the Influence of his Rays The loose Garb'd Persians know his gentle Rule Their Garments bear Relation to his Wool With Nile that swells at Fiery Cancers Beams And Egypt drown'd by its ore-flowing Streams Cold Scythia's Rocks Arabia's wealthy Groves And powerful Asia By Taurus Taurus Empire proves Rich in their Corn and wanton in their Loves The boysterous Euxine By Gemini bent like Scythian bows Beneath the Twins subjection gladly flows And they of Ganges infant Streams dispose The swarthy Indians Fiery Cancer sways By Cancer His Rule the Blackness of their Hue betrays And Ethiopia's heated with his Ray. The Phrygian Plains the large Bithynian Woods The 33 Servant of the Mother of the Gods The Lion own By Leo. the Cappadocian Shoar With fierce Armenia hear the Lion Roar And Macedon that all the World subdu'd Submits to the Great Monarch of the Wood. In happy Rhodes the gentle Maids ador'd By Virgo Rhodes the retirement of our future 34 Lord Blest Island truly Sacred to the Sun E're since in thee the Glorious Coesar Shone The World 's great Light whom with expecting Eyes Mankind desires and longs to see him rise The Dorick Plains the rich
Take and enjoy the Captive Universe Our Parent Nature we her parts descry And Heaven-born Souls affect their Father Skie For who can doubt that God resides in Man That Souls from Heaven descend and when the Chain Of Life is broke return to Heaven again As in the Greater World aspiring Flame Earth Water Air make the Material Frame But through these Members a Commanding Soul Infus'd directs the Motions of the whole So 't is in Man the lesser World the Case Is Clay unactive and an Earthly Mass Bloods Circling Streams the Purple Soul convey The Ruling Mind uniting to the Clay Then who can wonder that the World is known So well by Man since he himself is One The same Composure in his Form is shew'd And Man 's the little Image of the God Now other Creatures view how mean their Birth The Rubbish and the Burdens of the Earth Some hang in Air some float upon the Waves Born for our use and bred to be our Slaves All their Enjoyments are confin'd to Sense The easie Works of wary Providence But since they Reason want their Tongues are mute How mean how low a Creature is a Brute No Mysteries disclos'd commend their Parts Nor are they Subjects capable of Arts How hard the Labour yet how often vain To bring them foolishly to Ape a Man But ruling Man extends his larger sway Beyond himself and makes the World obey Wild Beasts are tam'd The Fields are forc't to bear And Recompence the Labours of the Share In vain the Sea disjoyns the distant Shores His Sails the Winds command the Floods his Ores Alone erect his Form doth nobly rise Up to the Stars he lifts his Starry Eyes And takes a nearer Prospect of the Skies He searches Jove and whilst his Thoughts do trace His kindred Stars in them he finds his Race No outside Knowledge fills his vast Desires The more he riseth he the more aspires We think it Reason that in Augury We should on Birds and slaughter'd Beasts rely And can the Fates be less in Stars exprest Than in a Bird or Entrails of a Beast When God his Mind in meaner things declares Should he neglect the Glory of the Stars Besides the World is eager to be known Our search provoking still for rouling on It shews us all its parts displays its Light And constantly intrudes upon our Sight His Face unvail'd God doth so plainly shew That if we will but look we needs must know He draws our Eyes nor doth our search forbid What Powers he hides not he would not have hid Then who can think it impiously bold To search what we 're encourag'd to behold Nor think thy force too small too weak thy Mind Because to Clay unequally confin'd Its Power is wondrous Great how small a Mass Of Gold or Gems exceeds vast Heaps of Brass How little is the Apple of the Eye And yet at once he takes in half the Sky Nor dreads the disproportion to the Sense The Organ small the Object is immense And from the narrow limits of the Heart The Active Soul doth vigorous Life impart To all the Limbs its Sway the Members own Wide is its Empire from its petty Throne Man know thy Powers and not observe thy Size Thy noble Power in piercing Reason lies And Reason conquers all and rules the Skies Nor must you vainly doubt that Man 's allow'd To know Heaven's mind since Man can make a God A Star 39 new rais'd the Skie enlarg'd contains And Heaven must still encrease whilst Caesar Reigns The End of the Fourth Book NOTES 1 The Poet did not think of the Palladium as Scaliger imagines but only of the Fire at Troy which parted to let Aeneas go through with his Father and his Household Gods 2 Manilius makes only short Reflections on History and therefore is frequently obscure He says here that it was impossible one single Aeneas should have rais'd the Glory and Reputation of ruin'd Troy and made it then conquer when it was overthrown by building Rome which subdu'd the whole World for Rome rose out of the Ruins of Troy unless some over-ruling Power and Fate had ordain'd it should be so 3 Romulus and Remus the Founders of Rome were but Shepherds 4 I chuse to read Auxissent Culmina rather than vexissent or duxissent Fulmina and render Culmina a Cottage 5 If Manilius be suppos'd to keep the Order of Time in his Historical Reflections I must own I have not hit his meaning in this place for no doubt he had an Eye upon the Wars between the Sabines and Romulus but then I cannot imagine what those Words Captus à Captis Orbis foret mean I cannot think with Scaliger and Huetius that he runs back to Troy which he had left several Verses before and therefore apply this passage to the taking and burning of Rome and the besieging the Capitol by the Gauls And 't is certain the Poet in his following Reflections neglects the Order of Time very much 6 The Stories of Mutius Scaevola Horatius Cocles the Virgin Claelia and the Combat between the three Horatij on the Roman and the three Curiatij on the Alban side are well known 8 Short Reflections on the great Accidents in the Second and Third Carthaginian Wars together with the Death of Hannibal 9 He goes on with the Roman History the unaccountable Fortunes of the Great Marius 10 Pompey the Great was a very notable Example of the variety of Fortune being on a sudden rais'd to the highest and as soon thrown down to the lowest Condition in the World 11 Cum jam etiam posses alium cognoscere Magnum I hope I have given this Verse a better Sense than the other Interpreters have done 12 Caesar is said to be sprung from Heaven because he was descended from Aeneas the Son of Venus After his Murther an unusual Star appear'd which the Flatterers of Augustus said was the Soul of his Father Caesar 13 The Poet closeth his Examples with Reflections on the overthrow of Croesus the Famous wealthy King of Lydia who was taken by Cyrus on the wretched Condition to which old Priam was reduc't on the unaccountable overthrow of Xerxes on the Advancement of Servius Tullus who was the Son of a Bond-Woman and yet came to be King of Rome and on the Conduct of Metellus who broke into the Temple of Vesta when it was on Fire and brought out the Image of the Goddess 14 Mortes seque ipsae rursus fugiunt errantque per Ignes 15 To reconcile the different Interpreters I have hinted at both Paris or rather Hercules and Leander 16 Furius Camillus was the restorer of Rome after it had been taken and burnt by the Gauls Of the Family of the Decij there were Three who voluntarily devoted themselves to Death for the Good and Prosperity of their Country Cato Vticensis who kill'd himself that he might not survive the Liberty of Rome 17 Alluding to the Tryal of skill between Pallas and Arachne describ'd
attone Her wretched Brothers Slaughter by thy own Half bury'd whilst alive Whom Love betray'd To give the Hero's Honors to the Maid To rob thy jealous Uncles of their Fame And by their Death secure the Beauty's claim Then Atalante rose who prest for Fame Through thickest Woods and saw and overcame Her Dart first reacht the Boar and wan the Prize She Conquer'd with her Arrow and her Eyes The Monster groan'd and Meleager found As much disquiet and as deep a Wound Some pitch strong Nets and some the Woods surround With 20 fear of Death or slip the faithful Hound Some dig the treacherous Pits some spread the Toyls Or hunt with Spears and Grace their House with Spoyls Another puts to Sea infests the Lakes Draws monstrous Fish and starts at what he Takes Whilst some through Nets the wandring Waters strein Their Game they follow thro' the pathless Main Where no Scent lies yet seldom Hunt in vain As if the Earth were not profusely stor'd They fly to Seas they search what Floods afford And Nereus from his Waves supplies the Glutton's Board XI Procyon or the little Dog But when the Crab hath doubled Tèn Degrees And rear'd seven more bright Procyon leaves the Seas His Influence mean But tho' his feeble Flame No Hunters breeds yet it supports the Game Inclines to Weave strong Nets to Train the Hound To know the Breed and to improve the Sound To shave the Spear and follow every Trade That Love of Sport and Hope of Gain persuade But when the Lion's gaping Jaws aspire XII What Constellations rise with the Lion The Dog appears and foams unruly Fire In Caves scorcht Neptune mourns contracted Floods Herbs dye The great Dog and Beauteous Greenness leaves the Woods To other Climates Beasts and Birds retire And Feverish Nature burns in her own Fire So vast the Heat such Flames increase the Sun As if all Heaven 's great Fires were joyn'd in one Air 's turn'd to Dust the Earth's low Entrails burn And dying Nature fears one common Urn. When this appears his rising Beams presage Ungovern'd Fury and unruly Rage A flaming Anger universal Hate With Jealousie make up his Births unhappy Fate Each little Cause doth scorching Thoughts inspire Their Soul 's inflam'd and Words break out in Fire Yet crowd so fast they justle as they rise And part flies out in Sparkles through their Eyes Their Tongue 's on Foam and with their Teeth they break Their Words and Bark when they design to Speak Besides excess in Wine inflames their Fire And Bacchus makes their Fury blaze the higher They fear no Rocks nor Woods but love to Gore The furious Lion and the Foaming Boar They dread no Beasts but with blind Warmth engage And to their natural strength infuse their Rage Nor is it strange that from his Beams should rise Such Tempers for above through yielding Skies Averse to Peace he cuts his furious way And hunts the Hare intent upon his Prey The Lion mounts XIII The Bowl and with his last the Bowl Studded with Stars comes up and cheers the Pole And then who e're are born their Minds incline To water Meadows and to dress the Vine To Hills Lakes Rivers To what e're produce The generous Liquor and improve the Juice Now Bridegroom Elms they shall in order place And bring the blushing Brides to their embrace Entwine their Boughs Or when the Stock 's display'd Without support nor needs a Foreign Aid In Branches lead it and uncurious grown Trust reeling Bacchus to himself alone Or from the Stock the hopeful Tendrils tear Plant them anew and teach the Twigs to bear Use all improving ways that Art hath sought By long Experience or wise Nature taught When ripe their Bowls the generous Wine shall Crown Soften their Cares and all their Wishes drown They largely shall enjoy their Fruits nor spare The pleasing Recompences of their Care Happy this State but Stars still force them on And urge their greedy Minds to be undone For Corn and Foreign Stores which moisture yields They 'll Plow the Ocean and forsake their Fields Till tost by Storms they midst the Waves resign Their baffled Hopes And thus the Bowl inclines Next Shines the Maid XIV What Constellations rise with Virgo and when the Maid ascends Thrice Five Degrees the glorious Crown attends The Crown since Theseus first his Faith betray'd The Monument of the forsaken Maid The Crown◠They give Soft Arts for here the Virgin Shines And there the Virgin 's Crown and each combines Soft Beams agreeing in the same Designs Births influenc'd then shall raise fine Beds of Flowers And twine their creeping Jasmine round their Bowers The Lillies Violets in Banks dispose The Purple Poppy and the blushing Rose For Pleasure shades their rising Mounts shall yield And real Figures paint the gawdy Field Or they shall wreath their Flowers their Sweets entwine To Grace their Mistress or to Crown their Wine The Odors fair Arabia's Groves dispense Sovereign for Health or grateful to the Sense Shall bath these Wreaths for when the Sweets unite The new Adultery heightens the delight Besides they 'll study Neatness learn to dress Affected grow and think it Art to please The present Pleasures Court and gay desires For this the Virgin 's Age and this the Crown requires When with her Tenth Degree XV. The Sheaf the Sheaf appears Shews her full Corn and shakes her loaden Ears The Fields may fear for those that shall be born Shall Plough the Ground and be intent on Corn They 'll trust their Seed to Clods whose large produce Shall yield the Sum and give increase by Vse Build Barns for Grain for Nature those contrives And in the Ear it self a Pattern gives In that the Corn lies safe her Laws ordain A proper different Cell for every Grain How blest the World had this been only known Had Gold lain hid and Corn been born alone Then Men were rich when they could Want suffice And knew no Baits for Lust and Avarice Yet had they still employ'd their Cares on Corn Alone those Arts would have been slowly born Which make Grain useful and for Common good Grind Mould and Bake and work it up to Food Now Southward bend XVI What Constellations rise with Libra and see in Southern Skies With Libra's Eighth Degree the Arrow rise Their Beams are strong They curious Arts bestow To dart the Javelin and to draw the Bow Or sling the Bullet from the lofty Clouds Swift Birds shall drop nor shall the deepest Floods Secure their Fish But both shall surely feel The fatal force of the unerring Steel What powerful Stars but these drew here below Brave 21 Philoctete's and sure 22 Teucer's Bow One Hector's Flames repell'd the angry Fire Did fear his Shafts and sullenly retire The other bore Troy's Fate more dreadful far He sate Exil'd than all the Greeks in War He own'd those Stars 23 who when the Serpent lay Twin'd round his Child and