To such my errand is; and, but for such, 15
I would not soil [these pure ambrosial weeds]
With the rank vapors of this sin-worn mould.
But to my task. Neptune, besides the sway
Of every salt flood and each ebbing stream
Took in, [by lot ’twixt high and nether Jove]. 20
Imperial rule of all the sea-girt isles
That, like to rich and various gems, inlay
The unadorned bosom of the deep;
Which he, to grace his tributary gods,