Page:Poems upon Several Occasions.djvu/74

Me she excludes: And I in vain adore
Who neither God nor Man refus'd before:
Vulcan, the very Monster of the Skies,
Vulcan she takes, the God of Wit denies.
Then cease to murmur at thy Myra's Pride:
Whimsie, not Reason, is the Female Guide!
The Fate, of which their Master does complain;
Is of bad Omen to th' inspired Train.
What Vows have fail'd! Hark how Catullus mourns,
How Ovid weeps, and slighted Gallus burns.
In melting Strains see gentle Waller bleed,
Unmov'd she hears, what none unmov'd can read.
And thou, who oft with such ambitious Choice
Hast rais'd to Myra thy aspiring Voice,
What Profit thy neglected Zeal repays?
Ah what Return? Ungrateful to thy Praise!
Change, change thy Style, with mortal Rage return
Unjust Disdain, and Pride oppose to Scorn;
Search all the Secrets of the Fair and Young,
And then proclaim, soon shall they bribe thy Tongue:
The sharp Detractor with Success assails,
Sure to be gentle to the Main that rails
Women, like Cowards, tame to the Severe,
Are only Fierce, when they discover Fear.

Thus spake the God: And upward mounts in Air,
In just Resentment of his past Despair.