"The mad prophetic Sibyl you shall find, Dark in a cave, and on a rock reclined. She sings the fates, and, in her frantic fits, The notes and names inscribed, to leafs commits. What she commits to leafs, in order laid, Before the cavern's entrance are displayed: Unmoved they lie; but, if a blast of wind Without, or vapors issue from behind, The leafs are borne aloft in liquid air, And she resumes no more her museful care, Nor gathers from the rocks her scattered verse, Nor sets in order what the winds disperse. Thus, many not succeeding, most upbraid The madness of the visionary maid, And with loud curses leave the mystic shade."
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The Works of Virgil (John Dryden)
The Works of Virgil (1697), began in 1694 and published by subscription, was John Dryden's most ambitious and defining work as a translator. The publication of the translation of Virgil was a national event and brought Dryden the sum of £1,400.
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