[Nereides:] Eclogue VI. William Diaper Alexander Huber Editor Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
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Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive
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Oxford This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. T126092 Diaper, William, d. 1717. Nereides: or Sea-Eclogues. London Printed by J. H. for E. Sanger, at the Post-House, at the Middle-Temple-Gate in Fleetstreet 1712 pp. 27-31. x, 69 p.

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[ Nereides : ] Eclogue VI . Lycon , Anthis , Cete . Lyc. Anthis and Cete comb'd their flowing Hair , And tun'd to pleasing Sounds the trembling Air , While hoary Phorcys sat on floating Weed , And slowly drove th'unwilling Herd to feed . Attend , ye Fish , and all around me throng , While I repeat the Nymph's alternate Song . Ant. Think , how to day a gentle western Breeze With pleasing Gales danc'd on the circling Seas , It swept the calmer Surface of the Main , And smooth'd the Waters to a smiling Plain ; But now diffusive Sweets from spicy Hills Are born on Eastern Winds , and waft their blended Smells . The Dolphins lash the Waves with bending Tails , And ev'ry Ship with speedy Current sails . Since nothing here we fix'd or constant find , Why should the Nereid boast a settled Mind ? The restless Fish who left the open Sea , And swam to every Creek , and winding Bay , To th'Ocean now in Shoals return again , While empty Nets deceive the fishing Swain . Now shortning Days are griev'd by Northern Isles , While from encreasing Cold , and snowy Wilds The starving Birds in numerous Flocks repair To happier Climates , and to warmer Air . Since nothing here we fix'd or constant find , Why should the Nereid boast a settled Mind ? Tho' late the Tides have threatned all the Coast , Now , since the waning Moon her Strength has lost , They own their Weakness , and are heard no more , But creeping hardly cover half the Shore : When she directs , the swelling Floods encrease , And sounding Waters raise the troubled Seas ; But when she horned frowns , the Tumults cease , The Waves are still , and hush'd in sullen Peace . Since nothing here we fix'd or constant find , Why should the Nereid boast a settled Mind ? The conscious Fish the heav'nly Motions feel , And thus confin'd within his native Shell , All dry and lean the mournful Oister lies , ( And Fishers then the tastless Prey despise ) But when the Moon looks down all over bright , They juicy grow , nourish'd with heav'nly Light . Since nothing here we fix'd or constant find , Why should the Nereid boast a settled Mind ? Calthinoe lov'd a Triton-Youth , and swore Her Heart ( thus fix'd by him ) should rove no more But when repeated Loves began to cloy , The wiser Nymph embrac'd a kinder Boy . Lyc. Thus Anthis sung , and Cete thus reply'd , While angry Winds oppos'd the rising Tide . Cete . Resistless Charms are in a lovely Face , But spotless Vertue has a nobler Grace . Alcon did never yet inconstant rove , Or break repeated Vows , or change his Love . Careful he shuns the Streights , and narrow Seas , Where altering Scenes the fickle Mer-man please . For all is restless , and unsettled there ; The Waves , and Winds alike inconstant are . But the unfathom'd Deep is still the same , And alway smiling with an easy Calm . The Waters here a constant Peace maintain , And in soft Murmurs lovingly complain . The Winds themselves are not uncertain here , But their fixt Seasons know , each circling Year . From th'East the Summer Trade-winds never fail To sweep the Ocean with a fresher Gale . Such is his Love ; no Change it undergoes , By Reason fix'd , and no Repentance knows . Lyc. Thus said the Nymph ; and now the Day retires , While sparkling Waves appear like kindled Fires . The distant Rocks shine with deceitful Light , And thus encrease the Terrors of the Night .