[50] At Regina, gravi jamdudum saucia cura, Vulnus alit venis, & cæco carpitur igni.

But with consuming Care the restless Queen, Already bleeding, nourishes a Wound.

And what follows, all the Efforts of Prose can never equal: That, particularly, which the Poet subjoins, after he had described her sacrificing to the Gods, and consulting the Oracle:

[51] Heu! vatum ignaræ mentes! quid vota furentem, Quid delubra juvant? est mollis flamma medullas Interea, & tacitum vivit sub pectore vulnus.

Wretched the Ignorance Of Augurs! what, alas! do Vows or Shrines Avail, to heal her Frenzy? A soft Flame Feeds on her Vitals, and a living Wound Silent, uneven, bleeds inward in her Breast.

The whole Description is wonderful, and sufficiently testifies the Power of Poetry, beyond that of Prose. I beg Leave, however, to add one or two Instances more. The Poet describing the Queen just dying for Love, adds,

[52] Nunc eadem, labente die, convivia quærit; Iliacosque iterum demens audire labores Exposcit, pendetque iterum narrantis ab ore.

At Ev'ning she renews Her Banquets; fondly begs again to hear The Trojan Wars; again, while he relates, She listens fix'd, and hangs upon the Sound.

And a few Lines after:

[53] Sola domo mœret vacua, stratisque relictis Incubat; illum absens absentem auditque videtque; Aut gremio Ascanium, genitoris imagine capta, Detinet, infandum si fallere possit amorem.