Kitap 2
And naked were expos'd in Vulcan's net.
The gods deride the criminals in chains,
640
And scarce from tears the queen of love refrains;
Nor could her hands conceal her guilty face,
She wants that cover for another place.
To burly Mars a gay spectator said,
" Why so uneasy in that envied bed?
645
On me transfer your chains; I'll freely come
For your release, and suffer in your room."
At length, kind Neptune, freed by thy desires,
Mars goes for Crete, to Paphos she retires,
Their loves augmented with revengeful fires;
650
Now conversant with infamy and shame,
They set no bounds to their licentious flame.
But honest Vulcan, what was thy pretence,
To act so much unlike a god of sense?
They sin in public, you the shame repent,
655
Convinc'd that love increase with punishment.
Tho' in your pow'r, a rival ne'er expose,
Never his intercepted joys disclose:He means intercepting a rival's letter, and discovering the contents. To intercept letters, and divulge a secret, was a crime punishable by the laws, by banishment, or interdiction of fire and water, by which was understood exile.
