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"Sappho and Phaon", by Mary Robinson, [1796],

Xxvii. Sappho'S Address To The Stars.

Oh! ye bright Stars! that on the Ebon fields

Of Heavns empire, trembling seems to stand;

Till rosy morn unlocks her portal bland,

Where the proud Sun his fiery banner wields!

To flames, less fierce than mine, your lustre yields,

And powrs more strong my countless tears command;

Love strikes the feeling heart with ruthless hand,

And only spares the breast which dullness shields!

Since, then, capricious nature but bestows

The fine affections of the soul, to prove

A keener sense of desolating woes,

Far, far from me the empty boast remove;

If bliss from coldness, pain from passion flows,

Ah! who would wish to feel, or learn to love?

Xxvii. Sappho's Address To The Stars