The Poetical Works of Addison; Gay's Fables; and Somerville's Chase · Chapter 12Europa's Rape
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When now the god his fury had allayed, And taken vengeance of the stubborn maid, From where the bright Athenian turrets rise He mounts aloft, and reascends the skies. Jove saw him enter the sublime abodes, And, as he mixed among the crowd of gods, Beckoned him out, and drew him from the rest, And in soft whispers thus his will expressed. 'My trusty Hermes, by whose ready aid Thy sire's commands are through the world conveyed, _10 Resume thy wings, exert their utmost force, And to the walls of Sidon speed they course; There find a herd of heifers wandering o'er The neighbouring hill, and drive them to the shore.' Thus spoke the god, concealing his intent. The trusty Hermes on his message went, And found the herd of heifers wandering o'er A neighbouring hill, and drove them to the shore; Where the king's daughter, with a lovely train Of fellow-nymphs, was sporting on the plain. _20 The dignity of empire laid aside, (For love but ill agrees with kingly pride,) The ruler of the skies, the thundering god, Who shakes the world's foundations with a nod, Among a herd of lowing heifers ran, Frisked in a bull, and bellowed o'er the plain. Large rolls of fat about his shoulders clung, And from his neck the double dewlap hung. His skin was whiter than the snow that lies Unsullied by the breath of southern skies; _30 Small shining horns on his curled forehead stand, As turned and polished by the workman's hand; His eye-balls rolled, not formidably bright, But gazed and languished with a gentle light. His every look was peaceful, and expressed The softness of the lover in the beast. Agenor's royal daughter, as she played Among the fields, the milk-white bull surveyed, And viewed his spotless body with delight, And at a distance kept him in her sight. _40 At length she plucked the rising flowers, and fed The gentle beast, and fondly stroked his head. He stood well pleased to touch the charming fair, But hardly could confine his pleasure there. And now he wantons o'er the neighbouring strand, Now rolls his body on the yellow sand; And now, perceiving all her fears decayed, Comes tossing forward to the royal maid; Gives her his breast to stroke, and downward turns His grisly brow, and gently stoops his horns. _50 In flowery wreaths the royal virgin dressed His bending horns, and kindly clapped his breast. Till now grown wanton, and devoid of fear, Not knowing that she pressed the Thunderer, She placed herself upon his back, and rode O'er fields and meadows, seated on the god. He gently marched along, and by degrees Left the dry meadow, and approached the seas; Where now he dips his hoofs and wets his thighs, Now plunges in, and carries off the prize. _60 The frighted nymph looks backward on the shore, And hears the tumbling billows round her roar; But still she holds him fast: one hand is borne Upon his back, the other grasps a horn: Her train of ruffling garments flies behind, Swells in the air and hovers in the wind. Through storms and tempests he the virgin bore, And lands her safe on the Dictean shore; Where now, in his divinest form arrayed, In his true shape he captivates the maid; _70 Who gazes on him, and with wondering eyes Beholds the new majestic figure rise, His glowing features, and celestial light, And all the god discovered to her sight.