ECLOGUE VII.
MELIBŒUS.
Melibœus. Corydon. Thyrsis.
Melibœus.By chance, my Daphnis sat to rest awhile
Under a rustling holm-oak, and his friends
Thyrsis and Corydon their mingled flocks
Had thither brought, Thyrsis his sheep—there too
The she-goats, full of milk, of Corydon.
Both swains were in the first flower of their youth,
Both of Arcadian sort, equal in song
And skilled in giving answer, verse by verse.
Hither (whilst I, with careful zeal, did seek
My tender myrtles from the cold to shield)
The he-goat, father of my flock, had strayed.
Soon I, and Daphnis, both each other spied,
And he cried, "Melibœus, come with haste!
Thy goat and kids are safe, so, if thou canst
Cease from thy labour, rest here in the shade.
O'er the fair meadows mays't thou see thy kine
Come of their own free will, to slake their thirst,
Green with soft rushes, here are Mincio's banks,
Whilst swarming bees hum round the sacred oak."
—What could I do? I owned no careful folk
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