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I swear by heaven and earth, and by my sovereign sway,
Which binds the worlds in concord, be it one
Most near and dearest, sister, spouse, or son;
Or vaunted offspring of this ample brow,—
Before my wrathful shield that God shall bow,
Struck by my lightning bolt shall grovelling lie,
Disclaim his heavenly birth, and wish to die;
Sink to the realm his babbling tongue reveal'd,
And learn the woes that Tartarus can yield!
Let this be Fate's inviolable law!"
He spake, and, nodding, moved the stars with awe.
Within the rocky, steel-resounding hill,
Devoid of care, had Ceres lingered still;
But now terrific visions of the night,
Announcing harm, her troubled soul affright.
With every dream lost Proserpine is blent;
Now her own breast by cruel knives is rent:
Now clothed in funeral garb her form is seen,
And sterile aspens in her courts are green.
At home a favourite laurel throve, and spread
Its modest shelter o'er the virgin's bed.
This prostrate next she views—a shapeless trunk—
And low in dust its shattered foliage sunk:
