Mercator, vigiles oculos ut fallere possit,
Nomine sub ficto trans mare mittit opes;
Lenè sonat liquidumque meis Euphelia chordis,
Sed solam exoptant te, mea vota, Chloë.
Ad speculum ornabat nitidos Euphelia crines,
Cum dixit mea lux, heus, cane, sume, lyram.
Namque lyram juxta positam cum carmine vidit,
Suave quidem carmen dulcisonamque lyram.
Fila lyræ vocemque paro, suspiria surgunt,
Et miscent numeris mumura mœsta meis,
Dumque tuæ memoro laudes, Euphelia formæ,
Tota anima interea pendet ab ore Chloës.
Subrubet illa pudore, et contrahit altera frontem,
Me torquet mea mens conscia, psallo, tremo;
Atque Cupidineâ dixit Dea cincta coronâ,
Heu! fallendi artem quam didicere parum.
More verses by William Cowper
- Truth And Divine Love Rejected By The World
- Upon A Venerable Rival
- Verses Printed By Himself On A Flood At Olney
- The Love Of God The End Of Life
- The Morning Dream, A Ballad. To The Tune Of 'Tweed Side.'