THE FOLLOWING LINES IN FRENCH,
Are inscribed upon the Pedestal of a Statue of Cupid,
IN A GARDEN AT UTRECHT.
ORIGINAL.
N’offrant qu’un cœur à la Beauté,
Nud comme la Verité,
Sans armes comme l’Innocence,
Sans aîles comme la Constance,
Tel fut l’Amour dans le siecle d’or,
On ne le trouve plus, quoiqu’on le cherche encore.
TRANSLATION.
To Beauty give your heart, your sighs,
No other off’ring will she prize;
As Truth should unadorn’d appear,
Behold! the god is naked here!
Like Innocence, he has no arms
But those of sweet, of native, charms;
No wish or pow’r has he to fly,
Like thy pure spirit, Constancy!
Such in the golden age was Love;
But now, oh! whither does he rove?