To the same, reading The Art of Love

Elijah Fenton (1683โ€“1730)

Whilst Ovid here reveals the various artsBoth how to polish and direct their darts,Let meaner beauties by his rules improve,And read these lines to gain success in love:But Heav'n alone, that multiplies our race, 5Has pow'r t' increase the conquests of your face.The Spring, before he paints the rising flow'rs,Receives mild beams and soft descending show'rs;But love blooms ever fresh beneath your charms,Tho' neither pity weeps nor kindness warms. 10The chiefs who doubt success assert their claimBy stratagems, and poorly steal a name:The gen'rous son of Jove in open fightMade bleeding Victory proclaim his might:Like him resistless, when you take the fieldLove sounds the signal, and the world must yield. 16