Page:The Works of Alexander Pope (1717).djvu/73

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PASTORALS.
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Rapt into future times, the Bard begun,A Virgin shall conceive, a Virgin bear a Son!From [1]Jesse's root behold a branch arise,Whose sacred flow'r with fragrance fills the skies;Th'Æthereal spirit o'er its leaves shall move,And on its top descends the mystic Dove.Ye [2]heav'ns! from high the dewy nectar pour,And in soft silence shed the kindly show'r!The [3]sick and weak the healing plant shall aid,From storms a shelter, and from heat a shade.All crimes shall cease, and ancient fraud shall fail;Returning [4]Justice lift aloft her scale;Peace o'er the world her olive wand extend,And white-rob'd Innocence from heav'n descend.Swift fly the years, and rise th' expected morn!O spring to light, auspicious Babe, be born!See Nature hastes her earliest wreaths to bring,With all the incense of the breathing spring:
  1. ↑ Isaiah, chap. 11. ꝟ. 1.
  2. ↑ Chap. 45. ꝟ. 8.
  3. ↑ Chap. 25. ꝟ. 4.
  4. ↑ Chap. 9. ꝟ. 7.

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