Ode To A Loved One

Blest as the immortal gods is he,

The youth who fondly sits by thee,

And hears and sees thee, all the while,

Softly speaks and sweetly smile.   'Twas this deprived my soul of rest,

And raised such tumults in my breast;

For, while I gazed, in transport tossed,

My breath was gone, my voice was lost;   My bosom glowed; the subtle flame Ran quick through all my vital frame;

O'er my dim eyes a darkness hung;

My ears with hollow murmurs rung;   In dewy damps my limbs were chilled;

My blood with gentle horrors thrilled:

My feeble pulse forgot to play;

I fainted, sunk, and died away.

This English translation, by Ambrose Philips, of 'Ode To a Loved One' is reprinted from Greek Poets in English Verse.

Ed.

William Hyde Appleton.

Cambridge:

The Riverside Press, 1893.