In thee thy two illustrious ancestors

From the Olympian seat their virtues see:—
One far renown'd for love of heav'nly peace, 14
The other fam'd in battle's crimson'd field.

These hope to view in thee reviv'd their worth
And noble deeds; and when thy bright career
Shall close, a splendid mansion they for thee
Within the Temple of Eternity

Prepare. But while too slowly time concedes A nation's prayer to see thee grace the throne, Favor the Poet's bold aspiring strain,

That strives to claim the meed of thy applause. Here thou shalt see, cleaving the silver'd brine, Thy daring Argonauts; while they rejoice Thou seest them borne upon the angry waves: And hear, tho' premature, thy name invok'd. 15

The wide sea now receives the Lusian fleet, Ploughing the waves that roll with restless force: Their destin'd track propitious zephyrs aid, And gently fill their white and hollow sails; With foaming surge the azure sea is deck'd, And the advent'rous prows dauntless pursue Their course along the consecrated deep,

Where, sportive, wantons Proteus' finny train.
Now all the Gods in bright Olympus, whence

Are issued the decrees of human fate,

In glorious council congregate to fix

Of Orient climes the future destiny;

Convok'd, at the dread Thunderer's command,
By graceful Mercury, (from Atlas sprung,)
Together o'er the bright Lacteal path

16

They tread the pavement crystalline of heav'n.

The seven bright Spheres deserting, which they rule By delegated pow'r from Jove supreme,

Who sways, omnipotent, by thought alone,

The earth, the heavens, and the raging sea,
In conclave instantaneously all join,

Assembling from Arcturus' frozen realms,

From the mild south, and from the points extreme
Of fair Aurora's birth, and Sol's decline.-
With grandeur awful and sublime, the God
Who hurls th' annihilating thunderbolt,

Sat on his crystal throne, glowing with stars,-
His aspect proud, majestic, and severe;
And from his lips exhal'd a breath divine,
Which in a mortal body might infuse

Celestial life. His crown and sceptre shone

With gems more brilliant than the diamond's blaze. On splendid seats, with gold and pearls inlaid, Beneath the throne, th' assembled gods assume,

In due subordination, each the rank

The dignity of each might justly claim:
The elder, venerated most, precede;
Their designated place th' inferior take :-

When Jove sublime, whose voice a dreadful awe 17
Inspir'd, the trembling council thus address'd:

"Eternal Regents of the starry spheres, Inhabitants of heaven's bright abode,

If you the deeds of Lusus' race recal,—
Deeds that in memory must ever live,—
To you th' unalterable Will of Fate

Must equally be known:-that fix'd decree,
That these illustrious heroes shall eclipse
Th' Assyrian, Persian, Greek and Roman fame.-

To them was granted by supernal aid,

Tho' few the numbers of their marshall'd hosts, Th' entrench'd and fiercely hostile Moor to drive From all the lands which smiling Tagus laves. Against the proud Castilian, fear'd by all,

Its aid benignant heaven ne'er denied ;

And Fame and Glory, hov'ring o'er their wings,
Unerringly their trophied ensigns led

To victory. Untold, ye Gods, I leave

Their ancient fame, when, against Roman arms,
Led forth by Viriatus, their brave chief, 18
A Lusian born, they num'rous triumphs gain'd;
I mention not their warlike name acquir'd, 19
Under a chosen chief from foreign lands,
Who, through a timid deer, astutely feign'd
That heav'nly counsels were to him reveal'd.

With greater boldness now, in fragile barks,
They brave the dangers of the treach'rous seas,
And steer through unknown trackless paths, nor fear
The furious south, or Mauritanian gales.

The regions where the splendid Orb of Light
Now lingers, now accelerates his course,

Long since have they beheld;-now they resolve
To see the cradle of his glorious birth.-
To them 'tis promis'd by Eternal Fate,
Whose high decrees immutably prevail,
Their pow'r for lapsing ages shall control
The seas first gilt by Phoebus' dawning ray.
Heartless, exanimated by fatigue,

Through the long stormy winter have they toil'd:

Just is it, therefore, they should now receive

A glimpse of the new distant world they seek.-
After the arduous perils of their voyage,

So patiently endur'd, in which nor clime,

However various, or imminent,

Nor threat'ning sky, nor furious winds, they shunn'd;

'Tis my supreme determination, here,

On Afric's sultry coast, a friendly hand

To them shall be extended ;-the tir'd fleet,
Refresh'd, shall then pursue her distant course."

Thus Jupiter his sov'reign will express'd :-
To him successively the Gods replied,
Each varying in sentiment, as sway'd

By what each felt, or what the rest alleg'd.
But Bacchus most oppos'd the will of Jove;
For well he knew, if once the Lusian race
Should penetrate the regions of the East,
His former splendid deeds would be forgot.
The Fates to him the secret had disclos'd,
That, from Iberia, a valiant race

The eastern seas should traverse, and subdue
The whole of India's coast, by Doris bath'd;-
And that their conquests should obscure the fame