Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. Thy builders have perfected thy beauty - Under the allegory of a beautiful ship, the prophet, here and in the following verses, paints the glory of this ancient city. Horace describes the commonwealth of Rome by the same allegory, and is as minute in his description, Carm. lib. 1. Od. xiv: -
O navis, referent in mare te novi
Fluctus? O quid agis? Fortiter occupa
Portum. Nonne video, ut
Nudum remigio latus,
Et malus celeri saucius Africo,
Antennaeque gemant? ac sine funibus
Vix durare carinae Possint imperiosius
Aequor! non tibi sunt integra lintea;
Non Di, quos iterum pressa votes malo:
Quamvis Pontica pinus,
Sylvae filia nobilis,
Jactes et genus, et nomen inutile
Nil pictis timidus navita puppibus
Fidit. Tu, nisi, ventis
Debes ludibrium, cave.
Unhappy vessel, shall the waves again
Tumultuous bear thee to the faithless main?
What, would thy madness thus with storms to sport?
Cast firm your anchor in the friendly port.
Behold thy naked decks, the wounded mast,
And sail-yards groan beneath the southern blast.
Nor, without ropes, thy keel can longer brave
The rushing fury of the imperious wave:
Torn are thy sails; thy guardian gods are lost,
Whom you might call, in future tempests tost.
What, though majestic in your pride you stood,
A noble daughter of the Pontic wood,
You now may vainly boast an empty name,
Of birth conspicuous in the rolls of fame.
The mariner, when storms around him rise,
No longer on a painted stern relies.
Ah! yet take heed, lest these new tempests sweep,
In sportive rage, thy glories to the deep.
Francis.
I give this as a striking parallel to many passages in this chapter.