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| THEOCRITUS! Theocritus! ah, thou hadst pleasant dreams | |
| Of the crystal spring Burinna, and the Haleus’ murmuring streams; | |
| Of Physcus, and Neaethus, and fair Arethusa’s fount, | |
| Of Lacinion’s beetling crag, and Latymnus’ woody mount; | |
| Of the fretted rocks and antres hoar that overhang the sea, | 5 |
| And the sapphire sky and thymy plains of thy own sweet Sicily; | |
| And of the nymphs of Sicily, that dwelt in oak and pine— | |
| Theocritus! Theocritus! what pleasant dreams were thine! | |
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| And of the merry rustics who tend the goats and sheep, | |
| And the maids who trip to milk the cows at morning’s dewy peep, | 10 |
| Of Clearista with her locks of brightest sunny hair, | |
| And the saucy girl Eunica, and sweet Chloe kind and fair; | |
| And of those highly favor’d ones, Endymion and Adonis, | |
| Loved by Selena the divine, and the beauteous Dionis; | |
| Of the silky-hair’d caprella, and the gentle lowing kine— | 15 |
| Theocritus! Theocritus! what pleasant dreams were thine! | |
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| Of the spring time, and the summer, and the zephyr’s balmy breeze; | |
| Of the dainty flowers, and waving elms, and the yellow humming bees; | |
| Of the rustling poplar and the oak, the tamarisk and the beech, | |
| The dog-rose and anemone,—thou hadst a dream of each! | 20 |
| Of the galingale and hyacinth, and the lily’s snowy hue, | |
| The couch-grass, and green maiden-hair, and celandine pale blue, | |
| The gold-bedropt cassidony, the fern, and sweet woodbine— | |
| Theocritus! Theocritus! what pleasant dreams were thine! | |
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| Of the merry harvest-home, all beneath the good green tree, | 25 |
| The poppies and the spikes of corn, the shouting and the glee | |
| Of the lads so blithe and healthy, and the girls so gay and neat, | |
| And the dance they lead around the tree with ever twinkling feet; | |
| And the bushy piles of lentisk to rest the aching brow, | |
| And reach and pluck the damson down from the overladen bough, | 30 |
| And munch the roasted bean at ease, and quaff the Ptelean wine— | |
| Theocritus! Theocritus! what pleasant dreams were thine! | |
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| And higher dreams were thine to dream—of Heracles the brave, | |
| And Polydeukes good at need, and Castor strong to save; | |
| Of Dionysius and the woe he wrought the Theban king; | 35 |
| And of Zeus the mighty centre of Olympus’ glittering ring; | |
| Of Tiresias, the blind old man, the fam’d Aonian seer; | |
| Of Hecatè, and Cthonian Dis, whom all mankind revere; | |
| And of Daphnis lying down to die beneath the leafy vine— | |
| Theocritus! Theocritus! what pleasant dreams were thine! | 40 |
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| But mostly sweet and soft thy dreams—of Cypris’ loving kiss, | |
| Of the dark-haired maids of Corinth, and the feasts of Sybaris; | |
| Of alabaster vases of Assyrian perfume, | |
| Of ebony, and gold, and pomp, and softly-curtain’d room; | |
| Of Faunus piping in the woods to the Satyrs’ noisy rout, | 45 |
| And the saucy Panisks mocking him with many a jeer and flout; | |
| And of the tender-footed Hours, and Pieria’s tuneful Nine— | |
| Theocritus! Theocritus! what pleasant dreams were thine! | |
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