Like a dance to double choirs. How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, O noble maiden! The circuits of thy thighs like ornaments, The work of a master’s hands. Thy navel is like a round goblet, Let not spiced wine be wanted in it; Thy body is like a heap of wheat, Hedged round with lilies. Thy bosom is like two young fawns, Twins of a gazelle. Thy neck is like an ivory tower; Thine eyes are as the pools in Heshbon, By the populous gate; Thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon, Looking towards Damascus. Thy head upon thee as purple, And the tresses of thy head as crimson. The king is captivated by the ringlets: How beautiful and how charming, O love, in thy fascinations! This thy growth is like a palm-tree, And thy bosom like its clusters. I long to climb this palm-tree, I long to clasp its branches. May thy bosom be unto me As the clusters of the vine, And the odour of thy breath As that of apples; And thy speech as delicious wine, Which to my friend flows down with mellowed sweetness, And causes slumbering lips to speak. THE SHULAMITE. I belong to my beloved, And it is for me to desire him. Come, my beloved, let us go into the country, Let us abide in the villages. We will go early to the vineyards, We will see whether the vine flourishes; Whether the buds open; Whether the pomegranates blossom; There will I give thee my love. The mandrakes diffuse fragrance, And at our door are all sorts of delicious fruit, Both new and old; I have reserved them, O my beloved, for thee! Chap. VIII. Oh that thou wert as my brother, As one who had been nourished in the bosom of my mother! If I found thee in the street I would kiss thee, And should no more be reproached. I would lead thee thence, I would bring thee into the house of my mother; Thou shouldst be my teacher, I would cause thee to drink Of the aromatic wine, Of my pomegranate juice. Let his left hand be under my head, And his right hand support me! I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, Neither to incite nor to excite my affection Till it desires another love. SECTION V. CHAPTER VIII. 5–14. The Shulamite, released from the palace, returns to her native place with her beloved (5). On their way home they visit the spot where they had been first pledged to each other; and there they renew their vows (6, 7). On their arrival at the Shulamite’s home, her brothers are reminded of the promise they had made to reward their sister’s virtue (9, 10). The Shulamite mentions the greatness of her temptations, and her victory over them (11, 12). The shepherds visit her, to whom she declares, according to request, her unabated attachment to her beloved shepherd (13, 14). THE COMPANIONS OF THE SHEPHERD.