diff options
Diffstat (limited to '28621-h')
| -rw-r--r-- | 28621-h/28621-h.htm | 17574 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 28621-h/images/front.jpg | bin | 0 -> 24065 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 28621-h/images/vol1.JPG | bin | 0 -> 84090 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 28621-h/images/vol1.jpg | bin | 0 -> 84090 bytes |
4 files changed, 17574 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/28621-h/28621-h.htm b/28621-h/28621-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c043867 --- /dev/null +++ b/28621-h/28621-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,17574 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Metamorphoses, by Publius Ovidius Naso</title> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><style type="text/css"> + + p { + margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; + clear: both; + } + + body { + margin-left: 15%; + margin-right: 15%; + } + + h1 {margin-top: 4em;} + + h2 {margin-top: 2em;} + + .h2a { + text-align: center; + font-weight: bold; + margin-bottom: 1.5em; + } + + .rmn { left: 92%; position: absolute; text-align: right;} + + .pagenum { left: 92%; position: absolute; text-align: right; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; color: #808080;} + + .fnref {vertical-align: 0.25em; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .footnote {margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: small;} + + .sidenote {float: right; border: solid 1px; padding-right: 0.5em; padding-left: 0.5em; margin-left: 0.5em; width: 25%} + + .nowrap {margin-left: 2em;} + + .figure {margin-top: 2em; text-align: center;} + + .caption {text-align: center} + + .titlecenter {text-align: center;} + + .captionright {text-align: right;} + + .volumeend {text-align: center; + font-size: large; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em;} + + .printer {text-align: center;} + + .author {text-align: center; font-size: large;} + + .titlesmaller {font-size: smaller;} + + .trnote {margin: 3em auto 3em auto; + border: 1px solid; padding: 1em 2em 1em 2em; + background-color: #ccffff; width: 30em;} + + ins.hemistich {text-decoration: none;} + + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .allsmcap {font-size: smaller;} + + .fraktur {font-style: italic;} + + +</style> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Metamorphoses of Publius Ovidus Naso in +English blank verse Vols. I & II, by Ovid + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Metamorphoses of Publius Ovidus Naso in English blank verse Vols. I & II + +Author: Ovid + +Translator: J. J. Howard + +Release Date: April 27, 2009 [EBook #28621] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK METAMORPHOSES *** + + + + +Produced by Michael Roe, Ted Garvin and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + +<table> +<tr><td></td><td></td><td><i><a href="#page105quote">Book 3 p. 105.</a></i></td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td><img src="images/front.jpg" width="261" height="334" alt="frontispiece" /></td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td><i>R. Westall R.A. del<sup>l</sup>.</i></td><td></td> +<td><i>E. Scriven sculp<sup>t</sup></i></td></tr> +</table> +<p class="nowrap"> +<i>Caught by the image of his beauteous face,<br /> +He loves th' unbody'd form: a substance thinks<br /> +The shadow:——</i><br /> +</p> +<p> +<i>Pub. 1807, for the Author.</i><br /> +</p> +<h1> +<a name="chapter1"></a> +<span class="titlesmaller">THE</span><br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +<span class="titlesmaller">OF</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Publius Ovidius Naso</span><br /> +<span class="titlesmaller">IN</span><br /> +<span class="fraktur">English Blank Verse</span><br /> +</h1> +<p class="author"> +Translated by<br /> +<span class="smcap">J. J. Howard.</span><br /> +</p> +<h2> +VOL. 1. +</h2> +<p class="figure"> +<img src="images/vol1.jpg" width="577" height="546" alt="lyre" /> +</p> +<p> +<i>London 1807. Printed for the Author; & Sold by John Hatchard, Bookseller to +Her Majesty. Piccadilly; H. D. Symonds, Paternoster Row & James Asperne Cornhill.</i> +<a name="page1"></a> +</p> +<p class="titlecenter"> +TO<br /> +The Patronage<br /> +OF<br /> +THE RIGHT HONORABLE<br /> +WILLIAM,<br /> +EARL OF LONSDALE,<br /> +KNIGHT<br /> +OF THE<br /> +MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER,<br /> +&c. &c. &c.<br /> +</p> +<p> +THE TRANSLATOR CONFIDES HIS ATTEMPT TO RENDER +THE BEAUTIES OF OVID MORE ACCESSIBLE TO ENGLISH +READERS, AND TO CHASTEN THE PRURIENCE OF HIS +IDEAS AND HIS LANGUAGE, SO AS TO FIT HIS WRITINGS +FOR MORE GENERAL PERUSAL. +</p> +<p> +<i>Pimlico, Aug. 22, 1807.</i> +<a name="page2"></a> +</p> +<p class="printer"> +<i>Bailey & Macdonald, Printers,<br /> +3, Harris's Place, Pantheon, Oxford-Street.</i><br /> +</p> +<div class="trnote"> +<h2>Table of Contents</h2> +<p class="h2a"> +(Added by transcriber.) +</p> +<p> +<a href="#chapter1">Volume I</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter2">The First Book</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter3">The Second Book</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter5">The Third Book</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter7">The Fourth Book</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter9">The Fifth Book</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter11">The Sixth Book</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter13">The Seventh Book</a><br /> +<a href="#chapter15">Volume II</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter16">The Eighth Book</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter18">The Ninth Book</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter20">The Tenth Book</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter22">The Eleventh Book</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter24">The Twelfth Book</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter26">The Thirteenth Book</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter28">The Fourteenth Book</a><br /> + <a href="#chapter30">The Fifteenth Book</a><br /> +<a name="page3"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 3]</span> +</p> +</div> +<h2> +<a name="chapter2"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">First Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + From bodies various form'd, mutative shapes<br /> +My Muse would sing:—Celestial powers give aid!<br /> +From you those changes sprung,—inspire my pen;<br /> +Connect each period of my venturous song<br /> +Unsever'd, from old Chaös' rude misrule,<br /> +Till now the world beneath Augustus smiles.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + While yet nor earth nor sea their place possest,<br /> +Nor that cerulean canopy which hangs<br /> +O'ershadowing all, each undistinguish'd lay,<br /> +And one dead form all Nature's features bore;<br /> +Unshapely, rude, and Chaos justly nam'd.<br /> +<a name="page4"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 4]</span> +Together struggling laid, each element<br /> +Confusion strange begat:—Sol had not yet<br /> +Whirl'd through the blue expanse his burning car:<br /> +Nor Luna yet had lighted forth her lamp,<br /> +Nor fed her waning light with borrowed rays.<br /> +No globous earth pois'd inly by its weight,<br /> +Hung pendent in the circumambient sky:<br /> +The sky was not:—Nor Amphitrité had<br /> +Clasp'd round the land her wide-encircling arms.<br /> +Unfirm the earth, with water mix'd and air;<br /> +Opaque the air; unfluid were the waves.<br /> +Together clash'd the elements confus'd:<br /> +Cold strove with heat, and moisture drought oppos'd;<br /> +Light, heavy, hard, and soft, in combat join'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Uprose the world's great Lord,—the strife dissolv'd,<br /> +The firm earth from the blue sky plac'd apart;<br /> +Roll'd back the waves from off the land, and fixt<br /> +Where pure ethereal joins with foggy air.<br /> +Defin'd each element, and from the mass<br /> +Chaötic, rang'd select, in concord firm<br /> +He bound, and all agreed. On high upsprung<br /> +The fiery ether to the utmost heaven:<br /> +The atmospheric air, in lightness next,<br /> +Upfloated:—dense the solid earth dragg'd down<br /> +The heavier mass; and girt on every side<br /> +By waves circumfluent, seiz'd her place below.<br /> +<a name="page5"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 5]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + This done, the mass this deity unknown<br /> +Divides;—each part dispos'd in order lays:<br /> +First earth he rounds, in form a sphere immense,<br /> +Equal on every side: then bids the seas,<br /> +Pent in by banks, spread their rude waves abroad,<br /> +By strong winds vext; and clasp within their arms<br /> +The tortuous shores: and marshes wide he adds,<br /> +Pure springs and lakes:—he bounds with shelving banks<br /> +The streams smooth gliding;—slowly creeping, some<br /> +The arid earth absorbs; furious some rush,<br /> +And in the watery plain their waves disgorge;<br /> +Their narrow bounds escap'd, to billows rise,<br /> +And lash the sandy shores. He bade the plains<br /> +Extend;—the vallies sink;—the groves to bloom;—<br /> +And rocky hills to lift their heads aloft.<br /> +And as two zones the northern heaven restrain,<br /> +The southern two, and one the hotter midst,<br /> +With five the Godhead girt th' inclosed earth,<br /> +And climates five upon its face imprest.<br /> +The midst from heat inhabitable: snows<br /> +Eternal cover two: 'twixt these extremes<br /> +Two temperate regions lie, where heat and cold<br /> +Meet in due mixture; 'bove the whole light air<br /> +Was hung:—as water floats above the land,<br /> +So fire 'bove air ascends. Here he bade lodge,<br /> +Thick clouds and vapors; thunders bellowing loud<br /> +Terrific to mankind, and winds; which mixt<br /> +<a name="page6"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 6]</span> +Sharp cold beget. But these to range at large<br /> +The air throughout, his care forbade. E'en now<br /> +Their force is scarce withstood; but oft they threat<br /> +Wild ruin to the universe, though each<br /> +In separate regions rules his potent blasts.<br /> +Such is fraternal strife! Far to the east<br /> +Where Persian mountains greet the rising sun<br /> +Eurus withdrew. Where sinking Phœbus' rays<br /> +Glow on the western shores mild Zephyr fled.<br /> +Terrific Boreas frozen Scythia seiz'd,<br /> +Beneath the icy bear. On southern climes<br /> +From constant clouds the showery Auster rains.<br /> +The liquid ether high above he spread,<br /> +Light, calm, and undefil'd by dregs terrene.<br /> +Scarce were those bounds immutable arrang'd,<br /> +When upward sprung the stars so long press'd down<br /> +Beneath the heap chaötic, and along<br /> +The path of heaven their blazing courses ran.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Next that each separate element might hold<br /> +Appropriate habitants,—the vault of heaven,<br /> +Bright constellations and the gods receiv'd.<br /> +To glittering fish allotted were the waves:<br /> +To earth fierce brutes:—to agitated air,<br /> +Light-plumag'd birds. A being more divine,<br /> +Of soul exalted more, and form'd to rule<br /> +The rest was wanting. Then he finish'd <span class="allsmcap">MAN</span>!<br /> +<a name="page7"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 7]</span> +Or by the world's creator, power supreme,<br /> +Form'd from an heavenly seed; or new-shap'd earth<br /> +Late from celestial ether torn, and still<br /> +Congenial warmth retaining, moisten'd felt,<br /> +Prometheus' fire, and moulded took the form<br /> +Of him all-potent. Others earth behold<br /> +Pronely;—to man a face erect was given.<br /> +The heavens he bade him view, and raise his eyes<br /> +High to the stars. Thus earth of late so rude,<br /> +So shapeless, man, till now unknown, became.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + First sprung the age of gold. Unforc'd by laws<br /> +Strict rectitude and faith, spontaneous then<br /> +Mankind inspir'd. No judge vindictive frown'd;<br /> +Unknown alike were punishment and fear:<br /> +No strict decrees on brazen plates were seen;<br /> +Nor suppliant crowd, with trembling limbs low bent,<br /> +Before their judges bow'd. Unknown was law,<br /> +Yet safe were all. Unhewn from native hills,<br /> +The pine-tree knew the seas not, nor had view'd<br /> +Regions unknown, for man not yet had search'd<br /> +Shores distant from his own. The towns ungirt<br /> +By trenches deep, laid open to the plain;<br /> +Nor brazen trump, nor bended horn were seen,<br /> +Helmet, nor sword; but conscious and secure,<br /> +Unaw'd by arms the nations tranquil slept.<br /> +The teeming earth by barrows yet unras'd,<br /> +<a name="page8"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 8]</span> +By ploughs unwounded, plenteous pour'd her stores.<br /> +Content with food unforc'd, man pluck'd with ease<br /> +Young strawberries from the mountains; cornels red;<br /> +The thorny bramble's fruit; and acorns shook<br /> +From Jove's wide-spreading tree. Spring ever smil'd;<br /> +And placid Zephyr foster'd with his breeze<br /> +The flowers unsown, which everlasting bloom'd.<br /> +Untill'd the land its welcome produce gave,<br /> +And unmanur'd its hoary crop renew'd.<br /> +Here streams of milk, there streams of nectar flow'd;<br /> +And from the ilex, drop by drop distill'd,<br /> +The yellow honey fell. But, Saturn down<br /> +To dusky Tartarus banish'd, all the world<br /> +By Jove was govern'd. Then a silver age<br /> +Succeeded; by the golden far excell'd;—<br /> +Itself surpassing far the age of brass.<br /> +The ancient durance of perpetual spring<br /> +He shorten'd, and in seasons four the year<br /> +Divided:—Winter, summer, lessen'd spring,<br /> +And various temper'd autumn first were known.<br /> +Then first the air with parching fervor dry,<br /> +Glow'd hot;—then ice congeal'd by piercing winds<br /> +Hung pendent;—houses then first shelter'd man;<br /> +Houses by caverns form'd, with thick shrubs fenc'd,<br /> +And boughs entwin'd with osiers. Then the grain<br /> +Of Ceres first in lengthen'd furrows lay;<br /> +And oxen groan'd beneath the weighty yoke.<br /> +<a name="page9"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 9]</span> +Third after these a brazen race succeeds,<br /> +More stern in soul, and more in furious war<br /> +Delighting;—still to wicked deeds averse.<br /> +The last from stubborn iron took its name;—<br /> +And now rush'd in upon the wretched race<br /> +All impious villainies: Truth, faith, and shame,<br /> +Fled far; while enter'd fraud, and force, and craft,<br /> +And plotting, with detested avarice.<br /> +To winds scarce known the seaman boldly loos'd<br /> +His sails, and ships which long on lofty hills<br /> +Had rested, bounded o'er the unsearch'd waves.<br /> +The cautious measurer now with spacious line<br /> +Mark'd out the land, in common once to all;<br /> +Free as the sun-beams, or the lucid air.<br /> +Nor would the fruits and aliments suffice,<br /> +The rich earth from her surface threw, but deep<br /> +Within her womb they digg'd, and thence display'd,<br /> +Riches, of crimes the prompter, hid far deep<br /> +Close by the Stygian shades. Now murderous steel,<br /> +And gold more murderous enter'd into day:<br /> +Weapon'd with each, war sallied forth and shook<br /> +With bloody grasp his loud-resounding arms.<br /> +Now man by rapine lives;—friend fears his host;<br /> +And sire-in-law his son;—e'en brethren's love<br /> +Is rarely seen: wives plot their husbands' death;<br /> +And husbands theirs design: step-mothers fierce<br /> +The lurid poisons mix: th' impatient son<br /> +<a name="page10"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 10]</span> +Enquires the limits of his father's years:—<br /> +Piety lies neglected; and Astræa,<br /> +Last of celestial deities on earth,<br /> +Ascends, and leaves the sanguine-moisten'd land.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Nor high-rais'd heaven was more than earth secure.<br /> +Giants, 'tis said, with mad ambition strove<br /> +To seize the heavenly throne, and mountains pile<br /> +On mountains till the loftiest stars they touch'd.<br /> +But with his darted bolt all-powerful Jove,<br /> +Olympus shatter'd, and from Pelion's top<br /> +Dash'd Ossa. There with huge unwieldy bulk<br /> +Oppress'd, their dreadful corses lay, and soak'd<br /> +Their parent earth with blood; their parent earth<br /> +The warm blood vivify'd, and caus'd assume<br /> +An human form,—a monumental type<br /> +Of fierce progenitors. Heaven they despise,<br /> +Violent, of slaughter greedy; and their race<br /> +<ins class="hemistich"> +<table> +<tr><td>From blood deriv'd, betray.</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td>Saturnian Jove</td></tr> +</table> +</ins> +This from his lofty seat beheld, and sigh'd;<br /> +The recent bloody fact revolving deep,<br /> +The Lycaönian feast, to few yet known.<br /> +Incens'd with mighty rage, rage worthy Jove,<br /> +He calls the council;—none who hear delay.<br /> +A path sublime, in cloudless skies fair seen,<br /> +<a name="page11"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 11]</span> +They tread when tow'rd the mighty thunderer's dome,<br /> +His regal court, th' immortals bend their way.<br /> +On right and left by folding doors enclos'd,<br /> +Are halls where gods of rank and power are set;<br /> +Plebeians far and wide their place select:<br /> +More potent deities, in heaven most bright,<br /> +Full in the front possess their shining seats.<br /> +This place, (might words so bold a form assume)<br /> +I'd term Palatium of the lofty sky.<br /> +Here in his marble niche each god was plac'd<br /> +And on his eburn sceptre leaning, Jove<br /> +O'er all high tower'd; the dread-inspiring locks<br /> +Three times he shook; and ocean, earth, and sky,<br /> +The motion felt and trembled. Then in rage<br /> +The silence thus he broke:—“Not more I fear'd<br /> +“Our kingdom's fate in those tempestuous times,<br /> +“When monsters serpent-footed furious strove,<br /> +“To clasp within their hundred arms the heavens,<br /> +“Already captive deem'd. Though fierce our foe,<br /> +“One race alone warr'd with us, sprung from one.<br /> +“Now all must perish; all within the bounds<br /> +“By Nereus circled with his roaring waves.<br /> +“I swear by Styx, by those infernal streams,<br /> +“Through shades slow creeping. All I could I've try'd.<br /> +“But lest to parts unsound the taint should spread,<br /> +“What baffles cure, the knife must lop away.<br /> +“Our demi-gods we have,—we have our nymphs,<br /> +<a name="page12"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 12]</span> +“Our rustic deities,—our satyrs,—fawns,<br /> +“And mountain sylvans—whose deserts we grant<br /> +“Celestial honors claim not,—yet on earth,<br /> +“By us assign'd, they safely sure should rest.<br /> +“But, oh! ye sacred powers,—but oh! how safe<br /> +“Are these, when fierce Lycaön plots for me!<br /> +“Me! whom the thunders and yourselves obey?”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Loud murmurs fill the skies—swift vengeance all<br /> +With eager voice demand. When impious hands<br /> +With Cæsar's blood th' immortal fame of Rome,<br /> +Rag'd to extinguish—all the world aghast,<br /> +With horror shook, and trembled through its frame.<br /> +Nor was thy subjects' loyalty to thee<br /> +More sweet, Augustus, than was theirs to Jove.<br /> +His hand and voice, to still their noise he rais'd:<br /> +Their clamors loud were hush'd, all silence kept;<br /> +When thus the thunderer ends his angry tale:<br /> +“Dismiss your care, his punishment is o'er;<br /> +“But hear his crimes, and hear his well-earn'd fate.<br /> +“Of human vice the fame had reach'd mine ear,<br /> +“With hop'd exaggeration; gliding down,<br /> +“From proud Olympus' brow, I veil'd the god,<br /> +“And rov'd the world in human form around.<br /> +“'Twere long to tell what turpitude I saw<br /> +“On every side, for rumor far fell short,<br /> +“Of what I witness'd. Through the dusky woods<br /> +<a name="page13"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 13]</span> +“Of Mænalus I pass'd, where savage lurk<br /> +“Fierce monsters; o'er the cold Lycean hill,<br /> +“With pine-trees waving; and Cyllené's height.<br /> +“Thence to th' Arcadian monarch's roof I came,<br /> +“As dusky twilight drew on sable night.<br /> +“Gave signs a god approach'd. The people crowd<br /> +“In adoration: but Lycaön turns<br /> +“Their reverence and piety to scorn.<br /> +“Then said,—not hard the task to ascertain,<br /> +“If god or mortal, by unerring test:<br /> +“And plots to slay me when oppress'd with sleep.<br /> +“Such proof his soul well suited. Impious more,<br /> +“An hostage from Molossus sent he slew;<br /> +“His palpitating members part he boil'd,<br /> +“And o'er the glowing embers roasted part:<br /> +“These on the board he serves. My vengeful flames<br /> +“Consume his roof;—for his deserts, o'erwhelm<br /> +“His household gods. Lycaön trembling fled<br /> +“And gain'd the silent country; loud he howl'd,<br /> +“And strove in vain to speak; his ravenous mouth<br /> +“Still thirsts for slaughter; on the harmless flocks<br /> +“His fury rages, as it wont on man:<br /> +“Blood glads him still; his vest is shaggy hair;<br /> +“His arms sink down to legs; a wolf he stands.<br /> +“Yet former traits his visage still retains;<br /> +“Grey still his hair; and cruel still his look;<br /> +“His eyes still glisten; savage all his form.<br /> +<a name="page14"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 14]</span> +“Thus one house perish'd, but not one alone<br /> +“The fate deserves. Wherever earth extends,<br /> +“The fierce Erinnys reigns; men seem conspir'd<br /> +“In impious bond to sin; and all shall feel<br /> +“The scourge they merit: fixt is my decree.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Part loud applaud his words, and feed his rage;<br /> +The rest assent in silence; yet to all,<br /> +Man's loss seems grievous; anxious all enquire<br /> +What form shall earth of him depriv'd assume?<br /> +Who then shall incense to their altars bring?<br /> +And if those rich and fertile lands he means<br /> +A spoil for beasts ferocious? Their despair<br /> +He bade them banish, and in him confide<br /> +For what the future needed; held them forth<br /> +The promise of a race unlike the first;<br /> +Originating from a wonderous stock.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + And now his lightenings were already shot,<br /> +And earth in flames, but that a fire so vast,<br /> +He fear'd might reach Olympus, and consume<br /> +The heavenly axis. Also call'd to mind<br /> +What fate had doom'd, that all in future times<br /> +By fire should perish, earth, and sea, and heaven;<br /> +And all th' unwieldy fabric of the world<br /> +Should waste to nought. The Cyclops' labor'd bolts<br /> +Aside he laid. A different vengeance now,<br /> +<a name="page15"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 15]</span> +To drench with rains from every part of heaven,<br /> +And whelm mankind beneath the rising waves,<br /> +Pleas'd more th' immortal. Straightway close he pent<br /> +The dry north-east, and every blast to showers<br /> +Adverse, in caves Æolian, and unbarr'd<br /> +The cell of Notus. Notus rushes forth<br /> +On pinions dropping rain; his horrid face<br /> +A pitchy cloud conceals; pregnant with showers<br /> +His beard; and waters from his grey hairs flow:<br /> +Mists on his forehead sit; in dews dissolv'd<br /> +His arms and bosom, seem to melt away.<br /> +With broad hands seizing on the pendent clouds<br /> +He press'd them—with a mighty crash they burst,<br /> +And thick and constant floods from heaven pour down.<br /> +Iris meantime, in various robe array'd,<br /> +Collects the waters and supplies the clouds.<br /> +Prostrate the harvest lies, the tiller's hopes<br /> +Turn to despair. The labors of an year,<br /> +A long, long year, without their fruit are spent.<br /> +Nor Jove's own heaven his anger could suffice,<br /> +His brother brings him his auxiliar waves.<br /> +He calls the rivers,—at their monarch's call<br /> +His roof they enter, and in brief he speaks:<br /> +“Few words we need, pour each his utmost strength,<br /> +“The cause demands it; ope' your fountains wide,<br /> +“Sweep every mound before you, and let gush<br /> +“Your furious waters with unshorten'd reins.”<br /> +<a name="page16"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 16]</span> +He bids—the watery gods retire,—break up<br /> +Their narrow springs, and furious tow'rd the main<br /> +Their waters roll: himself his trident rears<br /> +And smites the earth; earth trembles at the stroke,<br /> +Yawns wide her bosom, and upon the land<br /> +A flood disgorges. Wide outspread the streams<br /> +Rush o'er the open fields;—uproot the trees;<br /> +Sweep harvests, flocks, and men;—nor houses stood;<br /> +Nor household gods, asylums hereto safe.<br /> +Where strong-built edifice its walls oppos'd<br /> +Unlevell'd in the ruin, high above<br /> +Its roof the billows mounted, and its towers<br /> +Totter'd, beneath the watery gulf oppress'd.<br /> +Nor land nor sea their ancient bounds maintain'd,<br /> +For all around was sea, sea without shore.<br /> +This seeks a mountain's top, that gains a skiff,<br /> +And plies his oars where late he plough'd the plains.<br /> +O'er fields of corn one sails, or 'bove the roofs<br /> +Of towns immerg'd;—another in the elm<br /> +Seizes th' intangled fish. Perchance in meads<br /> +The anchor oft is thrown, and oft the keel<br /> +Tears the subjacent vine-tree. Where were wont<br /> +The nimble goats to crop the tender grass<br /> +Unwieldy sea-calves roll. The Nereid nymphs,<br /> +With wonder, groves, and palaces, and towns,<br /> +Beneath the waves behold. By dolphins now<br /> +The woods are tenanted, who furious smite<br /> +<a name="page17"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 17]</span> +The boughs, and shake the strong oak by their blows.<br /> +Swims with the flock the wolf; and swept along,<br /> +Tigers and tawny lions strive in vain.<br /> +Now not his thundering strength avails the boar;<br /> +Nor, borne away, the fleet stag's slender limbs:<br /> +And land, long sought in vain, to rest her feet,<br /> +The wandering bird draws in her weary wings,<br /> +And drops into the waves, whose uncheck'd roll<br /> +The hills have drown'd; and with un'custom'd surge<br /> +Foam on the mountain tops. Of man the most<br /> +They swallow'd; whom their fierce irruption spar'd,<br /> +By hunger perish'd in their bleak retreat.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Between th' Aönian and Actæian lands<br /> +Lies Phocis; fruitful were the Phocian fields<br /> +While fields they were, but now o'erwhelm'd, they form<br /> +A region only of the wide-spread main.<br /> +Here stands Parnassus with his forked top,<br /> +Above the clouds high-towering to the stars.<br /> +To this Deucalion with his consort driven<br /> +O'er ridgy billows in his bark clung close;<br /> +For all was sea beside. There bend they down;<br /> +The nymphs, and mountain gods adore, and she<br /> +Predicting Themis, then oraculous deem'd.<br /> +No man more upright than himself had liv'd;<br /> +Than Pyrrha none more pious heaven had seen.<br /> +<a name="page18"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 18]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now Jove beheld a mighty lake expand<br /> +Where late was earth, and from the swarming crowds<br /> +But one man sav'd—of woman only one:<br /> +Both guiltless,—pious both. He chas'd the clouds<br /> +And bade the dry north-east to drive the showers<br /> +Far distant, and display the earth to heaven,<br /> +And unto earth the skies. The ocean's rage<br /> +Remains no more. Mild Neptune lays aside<br /> +His three-fork'd weapon, and his surges smoothes;<br /> +Then calls blue Triton from the dark profound.<br /> +Above the waves the god his shoulders rears,<br /> +With inbred purple ting'd: He bids him sound<br /> +His shelly trump, and back the billows call;<br /> +And rivers to their banks again remand.<br /> +The trump he seizes,—broad above it wreath'd<br /> +From narrow base;—the trump whose piercing blast<br /> +From east to west resounds through every shore.<br /> +This to his mouth the watery-bearded god<br /> +Applies, and breathes within the stern command.<br /> +All hear the sound, or waves of earth or sea,<br /> +And all who hear obey. Sea finds a shore;<br /> +Floods flow within their channels; rivers sink;<br /> +Hills lift their heads; and as the waves decrease,<br /> +In numerous islets solid earth appears.<br /> +A tedious time elaps'd, and now the woods<br /> +Display'd their leafless summits, and their boughs<br /> +<a name="page19"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 19]</span> +Heavy with mud. At length the world restor'd<br /> +Deucalion saw, but empty all and void;<br /> +Deep silence reigning through th' expansive waste:<br /> +Tears gush'd while thus his Pyrrha he address'd:<br /> +“O sister! wife! O woman sole preserv'd!—<br /> +“By nature, kindred, and the marriage-bed,<br /> +“To me most closely join'd. Now nearer still<br /> +“By mutual perils. We, of all the earth<br /> +“Beheld by Sol in his diurnal course,<br /> +“We two alone remain. The mighty deep<br /> +“Entombs the rest. Nor sure our safety yet;<br /> +“Still hang the clouds dark louring. Wretched wife,<br /> +“What if preserv'd alone? What hadst thou done<br /> +“Of me bereft? How singly borne the shock?<br /> +“Where found condolement in thy load of grief?<br /> +“For me,—and trust, my dearest wife, my words,—<br /> +“Hadst thou amidst the billows been ingulph'd,<br /> +“Me also had they swallow'd. Oh! for power<br /> +“To form mankind, as once my father did,<br /> +“And in the shapen earth true souls infuse!<br /> +“In us rests human race, so will the gods,<br /> +“A sample only of mankind we live.”<br /> +He spoke and Pyrrha's tears join'd his. To heaven<br /> +They raise their hands in prayer, and straight resolve<br /> +To ask through oracles divine its aid.<br /> +Nor long delay. Quick to Cephisus' streams<br /> +They hasten; muddy still Cephisus flows,<br /> +<a name="page20"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 20]</span> +Yet not beyond its wonted boundaries swol'n.<br /> +Libations thence they lift, and o'er their heads<br /> +And garments cast the sprinklings;—then their steps<br /> +To Themis' temple bend. The roof they found<br /> +With filthy moss o'ergrown;—the altars cold.<br /> +Prone on the steps they fell, and trembling kiss'd<br /> +The gelid stones, and thus preferr'd their words:<br /> +“If righteous prayers can move the heavenly mind,<br /> +“And soften harsh resolves, and soothe the rage<br /> +“Of great immortals, say, O Themis, say,<br /> +“How to the world mankind shall be restor'd;<br /> +“And grant, most merciful, in our distress<br /> +“Thy potent aid.” The goddess heard their words,<br /> +And instant gave reply. “The temple leave,<br /> +“Ungird your garments, veil your heads, and throw<br /> +“Behind your backs your mighty mother's bones.”<br /> +Astonish'd long they stood! and Pyrrha first<br /> +The silence broke; the oracle's behest<br /> +Refusing to obey; and earnest pray'd,<br /> +With trembling tongue for pardon for her sin:<br /> +Her mother's shade to violate she dreads,<br /> +Her bones thus rudely flinging. But meantime<br /> +Deep in their minds, in dark mysterious veil<br /> +Obscurely hid, the sentence they revolve.<br /> +At length Deucalion sooths his wife with words<br /> +Of cheering import: “Right, if I divine,<br /> +“No impious deed the deity desires:<br /> +<a name="page21"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 21]</span> +“Earth is our mighty mother, and her bones<br /> +“The stony rocks within her;—these behind<br /> +“Our backs to cast, the oracle commands.”<br /> +With joy th' auspicious augury she hears,<br /> +But joy with doubt commingled, both so much<br /> +The heavenly words distrust; yet still they hope<br /> +The essay cannot harm. The temple left,<br /> +Their heads they cover, and their vests unbind;<br /> +And o'er their heads as order'd heave the stones.<br /> +The stones—(incredible! unless the fact<br /> +Tradition sanction'd doubtless) straight began<br /> +To lose their rugged firmness,—and anon,<br /> +To soften,—and when soft a form assume.<br /> +Next as they grew in size, they felt infus'd<br /> +A nature mild,—their form resembled man!<br /> +But incorrectly: marble so appears,<br /> +Rough hewn to form a statue, ere the hand<br /> +Completes the shape. What liquid was, and moist,<br /> +With earthy atoms mixt, soft flesh became;<br /> +Parts solid and unbending chang'd to bone;<br /> +In name unalter'd, veins the same remain'd.<br /> +Thus by the gods' beneficent decree,<br /> +And brief the change, the stones Deucalion threw,<br /> +A manly shape assum'd; but females sprung<br /> +From those by Pyrrha cast behind; and hence<br /> +A patient, hard, laborious race we prove,<br /> +And shew the source, by actions, whence we sprung.<br /> +<a name="page22"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 22]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Beings all else the teeming earth produc'd<br /> +Spontaneous. Heated by the solar rays,<br /> +The stagnant water quicken'd;—marshy fens<br /> +Swell'd up their oozy loads to meet the beams:<br /> +And nourish'd by earth's vivifying soil,<br /> +The fruitful elements of life increas'd,<br /> +As in a mother's womb; and in a while<br /> +Assum'd a certain shape. So when the floods<br /> +Of seven-mouth'd Nile desert the moisten'd fields,<br /> +And to their ancient channels bring their streams,<br /> +The soft mud fries beneath the scorching sun;<br /> +And midst the fresh-turn'd earth unnumber'd forms<br /> +The tiller finds: some scarcely half conceiv'd;<br /> +Imperfect some, their bodies wanting limbs:<br /> +And oft he beings sees with parts alive,<br /> +The rest a clod of earth: for where with heat<br /> +Due moisture kindly mixes, life will spring:<br /> +From these in concord all things are produc'd.<br /> +Though fire with water strives; yet vapour warm,<br /> +Discordant mixture, gives a birth to all.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thus when the earth, with filthy ooze bespread<br /> +From the late deluge, felt the blazing sun;<br /> +His burning heat productive caus'd spring forth<br /> +A countless race of beings. Part appear'd<br /> +In forms before well-known; the rest a group<br /> +Of monsters strange. Then, but unwilling, she<br /> +<a name="page23"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 23]</span> +Produc'd terrific Python, serpent huge!<br /> +A mighty mountain with his bulk he hid;<br /> +A plague unknown, the new-born race to scare.<br /> +The quiver-shoulder'd god, unus'd before<br /> +His arms to launch, save on the flying deer,<br /> +Or roebuck fleet, the horrid monster slew:<br /> +A thousand arrows in his sides he fix'd,<br /> +His quiver's store exhausting; through the wounds<br /> +Gush'd the black poison. To contending games,<br /> +Hence instituted for the serpent slain,<br /> +The glorious action to preserve through times<br /> +Succeeding, he the name of Pythian gave.<br /> +And here the youth who bore the palm away<br /> +By wrestling, racing, or in chariot swift,<br /> +With beechen bough was crown'd. Nor yet was known<br /> +The laurel's leaf: Apollo's brows, with hair<br /> +Deck'd graceful, no peculiar branches bound.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Penæian Daphne first his bosom charm'd;<br /> +No casual flame but plann'd by Love's revenge.<br /> +Him, Phœbus flush'd with conquest late obtain'd,<br /> +His bow saw bend, and thus exclaim'd in taunt:<br /> +“Lascivious boy! How ill with thee assort<br /> +“Those warlike arms?—how much my shoulders more<br /> +“Beseem the load, whose arm can deadly wounds<br /> +“In furious beasts, and every foe infix!<br /> +“I who but now huge Python have o'erthrown;<br /> +<a name="page24"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 24]</span> +“Swol'n with a thousand darts; his mighty bulk<br /> +“Whole acres covering with pestiferous weight?<br /> +“Content in vulgar hearts thy torch to flame,<br /> +“To me the bow's superior glory leave.”<br /> +Then Venus' son: “O Phœbus, nought thy dart<br /> +“Evades, nor thou canst 'scape the force of mine:<br /> +“To thee as others yield,—so much my fame<br /> +“Must ever thine transcend.” Thus spoke the boy,<br /> +And lightly mounting, cleaves the yielding air<br /> +With beating wings, and on Parnassus' top<br /> +Umbrageous rests. There from his quiver drew<br /> +Two darts of different power:—this chases love;<br /> +And that desire enkindles; form'd of gold<br /> +It glistens, ending in a point acute:<br /> +Blunt is the first, tipt with a leaden load;<br /> +Which Love in Daphne's tender breast infix'd.<br /> +The sharper through Apollo's heart he drove,<br /> +And through his nerves and bones;—instant he loves:<br /> +She flies of love the name. In shady woods,<br /> +And spoils of captive beasts alone she joys;<br /> +To copy Dian' emulous; her hair<br /> +In careless tresses form'd, a fillet bound.<br /> +By numbers sought,—averse alike to all;<br /> +Impatient of their suit, through forests wild,<br /> +And groves, in maiden ignorance she roams;<br /> +Nor cares for Cupid, nor hymeneal rites,<br /> +Nor soft connubial joys. Oft cry'd her sire;<br /> +<a name="page25"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 25]</span> +“My Daphne, you should bring to me a son;<br /> +“From you, my child, I hope for grandsons too.”<br /> +But she detesting wedlock as a crime,<br /> +(Suffus'd her features with a bashful glow)<br /> +Around his aged neck, her beauteous arms,<br /> +Winds blandishing, and cries, “O sire, most dear!<br /> +“One favor grant,—perpetual to enjoy<br /> +“My virgin purity;—the mighty Jove<br /> +“The same indulgence has to Dian' given.”<br /> +Thy sire complies;—but that too beauteous face,<br /> +And lovely form, thy anxious wish oppose:<br /> +Apollo loves thee;—to thy bed aspires;—<br /> +And looks with anxious hopes, his wish to gain:<br /> +Futurity, by him for once unseen.<br /> +As the light stubble when the ears are shorn,<br /> +The flames consume: as hedges blaze on high<br /> +From torches by the traveller closely held,<br /> +Or heedless flung, when morning gilds the world:<br /> +So flaming burnt the god;—so blaz'd his breast,<br /> +And with fond hopes his vain desires he fed.<br /> +Her tresses careless flowing o'er her neck<br /> +He view'd, and, “Oh! how beauteous, deck'd with care,”<br /> +Exclaim'd: her eyes which shone like brilliant fire,<br /> +Or sparkling stars, he sees; and sees her lips;<br /> +Unsated with the sight, he burns to touch:<br /> +Admires her fingers, and her hands, her arms,<br /> +Half to the shoulder naked:—what he sees<br /> +<a name="page26"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 26]</span> +Though beauteous, what is hid he deems more fair.<br /> +Fleet as the wind, her fearful flight she wings,<br /> +Nor stays his fond recalling words to hear:<br /> +“Daughter of Peneus, stay! no foe pursues,—<br /> +“Stay, beauteous nymph!—so flies the lamb the wolf;<br /> +“The stag the lion;—so on trembling wings<br /> +“The dove avoids the eagle:—these are foes,<br /> +“But love alone me urges to pursue.<br /> +“Ah me! then, shouldst thou fall,—or prickly thorns<br /> +“Wound thy fair legs,—and I the cause of pain!—<br /> +“Rough is the road thou runnest; slack, I pray,<br /> +“Thy speed;—I swear to follow not so fast.<br /> +“But hear who loves thee;—no rough mountain swain;<br /> +“No shepherd;—none in raiments rugged clad,<br /> +“Tending the lowing herds: rash thoughtless nymph,<br /> +“Thou fly'st thou know'st not whom, and therefore fly'st!<br /> +“O'er Delphos' lands, and Tenedos I sway,<br /> +“And Claros, and the Pataræan realms.—<br /> +“My sire is Jove. To me are all things known,<br /> +“Or present, past, or future. Taught by me<br /> +“Melodious sounds poetic numbers grace.—<br /> +“Sure is my dart, but one more sure I feel<br /> +“Lodg'd in this bosom; strange to love before.—<br /> +“Medicine me hails inventor; through the world<br /> +“My help is call'd for; unto me is known<br /> +“The powers of plants and herbs:—ah! hapless I,<br /> +“Nor plants, nor herbs, afford a cure for love;<br /> +<a name="page27"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 27]</span> +“Nor arts which all relieve, relieve their lord.”<br /> +All this, and more:—but Daphne fearful fled,<br /> +And left his speech unfinish'd. Lovely then<br /> +She running seem'd;—her limbs the breezes bar'd;<br /> +Her flying raiment floated on the gale;<br /> +Her careless tresses to the light air stream'd;<br /> +Her flight increas'd her beauty. Now no more<br /> +The god to waste his courteous words endures,<br /> +But urg'd by love himself, with swifter pace<br /> +Her footsteps treads: the rapid greyhound so,<br /> +When in the open field the hare he spies,<br /> +Trusts to his legs for prey,—as she for flight;<br /> +And now he snaps, and now he thinks to hold,<br /> +And brushes with his outstretch'd nose her heels;—<br /> +She trembling, half in doubt, or caught or no,<br /> +Springs from his jaws, and mocks his touching mouth.<br /> +Thus fled the virgin and the god;—he fleet<br /> +Through hope, and she through fear,—but wing'd by love<br /> +More rapid flew Apollo;—spurning rest,<br /> +Approach'd her close behind, and panting breath'd<br /> +Upon her floating tresses. Pale with dread,<br /> +Her strength exhausted in the lengthen'd flight,<br /> +Old Peneus' streams she saw, and loud exclaim'd:—<br /> +“O sire, assist me, if within thy streams<br /> +“Divinity abides. Let earth this form,<br /> +“Too comely for my peace, quick swallow up;<br /> +“Or change those beauties to an harmless shape.”<br /> +<a name="page28"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 28]</span> +Her prayer scarce ended, when her lovely limbs<br /> +A numbness felt; a tender rind enwraps<br /> +Her beauteous bosom; from her head shoots up<br /> +Her hair in leaves; in branches spread her arms;<br /> +Her feet but now so swift, cleave to the earth<br /> +With roots immoveable; her face at last<br /> +The summit forms; her bloom the same remains.<br /> +Still loves the god the tree, and on the trunk<br /> +His right hand placing, feels her breast yet throb,<br /> +Beneath the new-grown bark: around the boughs,<br /> +As yet her limbs, his clasping arms he throws;<br /> +And burning kisses on the wood imprints.<br /> +The wood his lips repels. Then thus the god:—<br /> +“O laurel, though to be my bride deny'd,<br /> +“Yet shalt thou be my tree; my temples bind;<br /> +“My lyre and quiver shalt thou still adorn:<br /> +“The brows of Latian conquerors shalt thou grace,<br /> +“When the glad people sing triumphant hymns,<br /> +“And the long pomp the capitol ascends.<br /> +“A faithful guard before Augustus' gates,<br /> +“On each side hung;—the sturdy oak between.<br /> +“And as perpetual youth adorns my head<br /> +“With locks unshorn, thou also still shalt bear<br /> +“Thy leafy honors in perpetual green.”<br /> +Apollo ended, and the laurel bow'd<br /> +Her verdant summit as her grateful head.<br /> +<a name="page29"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 29]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Within Æmonia lies a grove, inclos'd<br /> +By steep and lofty hills on every side:<br /> +'Tis Tempé call'd. From lowest Pindus pour'd<br /> +Here Peneus rolls his foaming waves along:<br /> +Thick clouds of smoke, and dark and vapoury mists<br /> +The violent falls produce, sprinkling the tops<br /> +Of proudest forests with the plenteous dew;<br /> +And distant parts astounding with the roar.<br /> +Here holds the watery deity his throne;—<br /> +Here his retreat most sacred;—seated here,<br /> +Within the rock-form'd cavern, to the streams<br /> +And stream-residing nymphs, his laws he gives.<br /> +Here flock the neighbouring river-gods, in doubt<br /> +Or to condole, or gratulate the sire.<br /> +Here Spercheus came, whose banks with poplars wave;<br /> +Rapid Enipeus; Apidanus slow;<br /> +Amphrysos gently flowing; Æäs mild;<br /> +And other streams which wind their various course,<br /> +Till in the sea their weary wanderings end,<br /> +By natural bent directed. Absent sole<br /> +Was Inachus;—deep in his gloomy cave<br /> +Dark hidden, with his tears he swells his floods.<br /> +He, wretched sire, his Iö's loss bewails;<br /> +Witless if living air she still enjoys,<br /> +Or with the shades she dwells; and no where found<br /> +He dreads the worst, and thinks her not to be.<br /> +The beauteous damsel from her father's banks<br /> +<a name="page30"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 30]</span> +Jove saw returning, and, “O, maid!” exclaim'd,<br /> +“Worthy of Jove, whose charms will shortly bless<br /> +“Some youth desertless; come, and seek the shade,<br /> +“Yon lofty groves afford,”—and shew'd the groves,—<br /> +“While now Sol scorches from heaven's midmost height.<br /> +“Fear not the forests to explore alone,<br /> +“But in their deepest shades adventurous go;<br /> +“A god shall guard thee:—no plebeian god,<br /> +“But he whose mighty hand the sceptre grasps<br /> +“Of rule celestial, and the lightening flings.<br /> +“O fly me not”—for Iö fled, amaz'd.<br /> +Now Lerna's pastures, and Lyrcæa's lands<br /> +With trees thick-planted, far behind were left;<br /> +When with a sudden mist the god conceal'd<br /> +The wide-spread earth, and stopp'd her eager flight;<br /> +And in his arms the struggling maid compress'd.<br /> +Meantime did Juno cast her eyes below,<br /> +The floating clouds surpris'd to see produce<br /> +A night-like shade amidst so bright a day.<br /> +No common clouds, from streams exhal'd, she knew;<br /> +Nor misty vapours from the humid earth.<br /> +Suspicions rise; her sharpness oft had caught<br /> +Her amorous husband in his thefts of love.<br /> +She search'd around the sky, its lord explor'd,—<br /> +But not in heaven he sate;—then loud exclaim'd:<br /> +“Much must I err, or much my bed is wrong'd.”<br /> +Down sliding from the topmost heaven, on earth<br /> +<a name="page31"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 31]</span> +She lights, and bids the cloudy mists recede.<br /> +Prepar'd already, Jove the nymph had chang'd,<br /> +And in a lovely heifer's form she stood.<br /> +A shape so beauteous fair,—though sore chagrin'd,<br /> +Unwilling Juno prais'd; and whence she came,<br /> +And who her owner asks; and of what herd?<br /> +Her prying art, as witless of the truth,<br /> +To baffle, from the earth he feigns her sprung;<br /> +And straight Saturnia begs the beauteous gift.<br /> +Embarrass'd now he stands,—the nymph to leave<br /> +Abandon'd, were too cruel;—to deny<br /> +His wife, suspicious: shame compliance urg'd;<br /> +Love strong dissuaded: love had vanquish'd shame,<br /> +Save that a paltry cow to her refus'd,<br /> +Associate of his race and bed, he fear'd<br /> +More than a cow the goddess would suspect.<br /> +Her rival now she holds; but anxious, still<br /> +She Jove distrusts, and fears her prize to lose;<br /> +Nor safe she deem'd her, till to Argus' care<br /> +Committed. Round the jailor's watchful head<br /> +An hundred eyes were set. Two clos'd in turn;<br /> +The rest with watchful care, kept cautious guard.<br /> +Howe'er he stands, on Iö still he looks;<br /> +His face averse, yet still his eyes behold.<br /> +By day she pastures, but beneath the earth<br /> +When Phœbus sinks, he drags her to the stall,<br /> +And binds with cords her undeserving neck.<br /> +<a name="page32"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 32]</span> +Arbutus' leaves, and bitter herbs her food:<br /> +Her wretched bed is oft the cold damp earth;<br /> +A strawy couch deny'd:—the muddy stream<br /> +Her constant drink: when suppliant she would raise<br /> +Her arms to Argus, arms to raise were none.<br /> +To moan she tries; loud bellowings echo wide,—<br /> +She starts and trembles at her voice's roar.<br /> +Now to the banks she comes where oft she'd play'd,—<br /> +The banks of Inachus, and in his streams<br /> +Her new-form'd horns beheld;—in wild affright<br /> +From them she strove, and from herself to fly.<br /> +Her sister Naïads know her not, nor he<br /> +Griev'd Inachus, his long-lost daughter knows.<br /> +But she her sisters and her sire pursues;<br /> +Invites their touch, as wondering they caress.<br /> +Old Inachus the gather'd herbs presents;<br /> +She licks his hands, and presses with her lips<br /> +His dear paternal fingers. Tears flow quick,<br /> +And could words follow she would ask his aid;<br /> +And speak her name, and lamentable state.<br /> +Marks for her words she form'd, which in the dust<br /> +Trac'd by her hoof, disclos'd her mournful change.<br /> +“Ah wretch!” her sire exclaim'd, “unhappy wretch!”<br /> +And o'er the weeping heifer's snowy neck,<br /> +His arms he threw, and round her horns he hung<br /> +With sobs redoubled:—“Art thou then, my child,<br /> +“Through earth's extent so sought? Ah! less my grief,<br /> +<a name="page33"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 33]</span> +“To find thee not, than thus transform'd to find!<br /> +“But dumb thou art, nor with responsive words,<br /> +“Me cheerest. From thy deep chest sighs alone<br /> +“Thou utterest, and loud lowings to my words:<br /> +“Thou canst no more. Unwitting I prepar'd<br /> +“Thy marriage torches, anxious to behold<br /> +“A son, and next a son of thine to see.<br /> +“Now from the herd a husband must thou seek,<br /> +“Now with the herd thy sons must wander forth.<br /> +“Nor death my woes can finish: curst the gift<br /> +“Of immortality. Eternal grief<br /> +“Must still corrode me; Lethé's gate is clos'd.”<br /> +Thus griev'd the god, when starry Argus tore<br /> +His charge away, and to a distant mead<br /> +Drove her to pasture;—he a lofty hill's<br /> +Commanding prospect chose, and seated there<br /> +View'd all around alike on every side.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + But now heaven's ruler could no more contain,<br /> +To see the sorrows Iö felt:—he calls<br /> +His son, of brightest Pleiäd mother born,<br /> +And bids him quickly compass Argus' death.<br /> +Instant around his heels his wings he binds;<br /> +His rod somniferous grasps; nor leaves his cap.<br /> +Accoutred thus, from native heights he springs,<br /> +And lights on earth; removes his cap; his wings<br /> +Unlooses; and his wand alone retains:<br /> +<a name="page34"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 34]</span> +Through devious paths with this, a shepherd now,<br /> +A flock he drives of goats, and tunes his pipe<br /> +Of reeds constructed. Argus hears the sound,<br /> +Junonian guard, and captivated cries,—<br /> +“Come, stranger, sit with me upon this mount:<br /> +“Nor for thy flock more fertile pasture grows,<br /> +“Than round this spot;—and here the shade thou seest<br /> +“To shepherds' ease inviting.”—Hermes sate,<br /> +And with his converse stay'd declining day.<br /> +Long he discours'd, and anxious strove to lull<br /> +With music sweet, the all-observant eyes;<br /> +But long he strove in vain: soft slumber's bonds<br /> +Argus opposes;—of his numerous lights,<br /> +Part sleep, but others jealous watch his charge.<br /> +And now he questions whence the pipe was form'd,<br /> +The pipe but new-discover'd to the world.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Then thus the god:—“A lovely Naiäd nymph,<br /> +“With bleak Arcadia's Hamadryads nurs'd,<br /> +“And on Nonacriné for beauty fam'd<br /> +“Was Syrinx. Oft the satyrs wild she fled;<br /> +“Nor these alone, but every god that roves<br /> +“In shady forests, or in fertile fields.<br /> +“Dian' she follows, and her virgin life.<br /> +“Like Dian' cinctur'd, she might Dian' seem,<br /> +“Save that a golden bow the goddess bears;<br /> +“The nymph a bow of horn: yet still to most<br /> +<a name="page35"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 35]</span> +“Mistake was easy. From Lycæum's height,<br /> +“His head encompass'd with the pointed pine,<br /> +“Returning, her the lustful Pan espy'd,<br /> +“And cry'd:—Fair virgin grant a god's request,—<br /> +“A god who burns to wed thee. Here he stays.<br /> +“Through pathless forests flies the nymph, and scorns<br /> +“His warm intreaties, till the gravelly stream<br /> +“Of Ladon, smoothly winding, she beheld.<br /> +“The waves impede her flight. She earnest prays<br /> +“Her sister-nymphs her human form to change.<br /> +“Now thinks the sylvan god his clasping arms<br /> +“Inclose her, whilst he grasps but marshy reeds.—<br /> +“He mournful sighs; the light reeds catch his breath,<br /> +“And soft reverberate the plaintive sound.<br /> +“The dulcet movement charms th' enraptur'd god,<br /> +“Who,—thus forever shall we join,—exclaims!<br /> +“With wax combin'd th' unequal reeds he forms<br /> +“A pipe, which still the virgin's name retains.”<br /> +While thus the god, he every eye beheld<br /> +Weigh'd heavy, sink in sleep, and stopp'd his tale.<br /> +His magic rod o'er every lid he draws,<br /> +His sleep confirming, and with crooked blade<br /> +Severs his nodding head, and down the mount<br /> +The bloody ruin hurls,—the craggy rock<br /> +With gore besmearing. Low, thou Argus liest!<br /> +Extinct thy hundred lights; one night obscure<br /> +<a name="page36"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 36]</span> +Eclipsing all. But Juno seiz'd the rays,<br /> +And on the plumage of her favor'd bird,<br /> +In gaudy pride, the starry gems she plac'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + With furious ire she flam'd, and instant sent<br /> +The dread Erinnys to the Argive maid.<br /> +Before her eyes, within her breast she dwelt<br /> +A secret torment, and in terror drove<br /> +Her exil'd through the world. 'Twas thou, O Nile!<br /> +Her tedious wandering ended. On thy banks<br /> +Weary'd she kneel'd, and on her back, supine<br /> +Her neck she lean'd:—her sad face to the skies,<br /> +What could she more?—she lifted. Unto Jove<br /> +By groans, and tears, and mournful lows she plain'd,<br /> +And begg'd her woes might end. The mighty god<br /> +Around his consort's neck embracing hung.<br /> +And pray'd her wrath might finish. “Fear no more<br /> +“A rival love, in her,” he said, “to see;”<br /> +And bade the Stygian streams his words record.<br /> +Appeas'd the goddess, Iö straight resumes<br /> +Her wonted shape, as lovely as before.<br /> +The rough hair flies; the crooked horns are shed;<br /> +Her visual orbits narrow; and her mouth<br /> +In size contracts; her arms and hands return;<br /> +Parted in five small nails her hoofs are lost:<br /> +Nought of the lovely heifer now remains,<br /> +Save the bright splendor. On her feet erect<br /> +<a name="page37"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 37]</span> +With two now only furnish'd, stands the maid.<br /> +To speak she fears, lest bellowing sounds should break,<br /> +And timid tries her long-forgotten words.<br /> +Of mighty fame a goddess now, she hears<br /> +Of nations linen-clad the pious prayers.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Then bore she Epaphus, whose birth deriv'd<br /> +From mighty Jove, his temples through the land,<br /> +An equal worship with his mother's claim.<br /> +Him Phaëton, bright Phœbus' youthful son,<br /> +In years and spirit equall'd,—whose proud boasts,<br /> +To all his sire preferring, Iö's son<br /> +Thus check'd: “O simple! thee thy mother's arts<br /> +“To ought persuade. A feigned sire thou boast'st.”<br /> +Deep blush'd the youth, but shame his rage repress'd,<br /> +And each reproach to Clymené he bore.<br /> +“This too,” he says, “O mother, irks me more,<br /> +“That I so bold, so fierce, urg'd no defence:<br /> +“Which shame is greater? that they dare accuse,<br /> +“Or that accus'd, we cannot prove them false?<br /> +“Do thou my mother,—if from heaven indeed<br /> +“Descent I claim,—prove from what stock I spring.<br /> +“My race divine assert.” He said,—and flung<br /> +Around her neck his arms; and by his life,<br /> +The life of Merops, and his sisters' hopes<br /> +Of nuptial bliss, adjures her to obtain<br /> +Proofs of his birth celestial. Prayers like these<br /> +<a name="page38"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 38]</span> +The mother doubtless mov'd;—and rage no less<br /> +To hear the defamation. Up to heaven<br /> +Her arms she raises, gazing on the sun,<br /> +And cries,—“My child! by yon bright rays I swear<br /> +“In brilliance glittering, which now hear and view,<br /> +“Our every word and action—thou art sprung<br /> +“From him, the sun thou see'st;—the sun who rules<br /> +“With tempering sway the seasons:—If untrue<br /> +“My words, let me his light no more behold!<br /> +“Nor long the toil to seek thy father's dome,<br /> +“His palace whence he rises borders close<br /> +“On our land's confines.—If thou dar'st the task,<br /> +“Go forth, and from himself thy birth enquire.”<br /> +Elate to hear her words, the youth departs<br /> +Instant, and all the sky in mind he grasps.<br /> +Through Æthiopia's regions swiftly went,<br /> +With India plac'd beneath the burning zone:<br /> +And quickly reach'd his own paternal east.<br /> +<a name="page39"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 39]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter3"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Second Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Palace of the Sun. Phaëton's reception by his father. His request +to drive the chariot. The Sun's useless arguments to dissuade him from +the attempt. Description of the car. Cautions how to perform the +journey. Terror of Phaëton, and his inability to rule the horses. Conflagration +of the world. Petition of Earth to Jupiter, and death +of Phaëton by thunder. Grief of Clymené, and of his sisters. Change +of the latter to poplars, and their tears to amber. Transformation of +Cycnus to a swan. Mourning of Phœbus. Jupiter's descent to earth; +and amour with Calistho. Birth of Arcas, and transformation of Calistho +to a bear; and afterwards with Arcas to a constellation. Story of +Coronis. Tale of the daw to the raven. Change of the raven's color. +Esculapius. Ocyrrhoë's prophecies, and transformation to a mare. +Apollo's herds stolen by Mercury. Battus' double-dealing, and change +to a touchstone. Mercury's love for Hersé. Envy. Aglauros changed +to a statue. Rape of Europa. +<a name="page40"></a> +<a name="page41"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 41]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter4"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Second Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + By towering columns bright with burnish'd gold,<br /> +And fiery gems, which blaz'd their light around,<br /> +Upborne, the palace stood. The lofty roof<br /> +With ivory smooth incas'd. The folding doors,<br /> +Of silver shone, but much by sculpture grac'd,<br /> +For Vulcan there with curious hand had carv'd<br /> +The ocean girding in the land; the land;<br /> +And heaven o'ershadowing: here cerulean gods<br /> +Sport in the waves, grim Triton with his shell;<br /> +Proteus shape-changing; and Ægeon huge,—<br /> +His mighty arms upon the large broad backs<br /> +Of whales hard pressing: Doris and her nymphs:<br /> +<a name="page42"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 42]</span> +Some sportive swimming; on a rocky seat<br /> +Some their green tresses drying; others borne<br /> +By fish swift-gliding: nor the same all seem'd,<br /> +Yet sister-like a close resembling look<br /> +Each face pervaded. Earth her natives bore,<br /> +Mankind;—and woods, and cities, there were seen;<br /> +Wild beasts, and streams, and nymphs, and rural gods.<br /> +'Bove all the bright display of heaven was hung—<br /> +Six signs celestial o'er each portal grav'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The daring youth, the steep ascent attain'd,<br /> +O'erstepp'd the threshold of his dubious sire,<br /> +And hasty rush'd to meet paternal eyes;<br /> +But sudden stay'd: so fierce a blaze of light<br /> +No nearer he sustain'd. In purple clad,<br /> +The god a regal emerald throne upheld;<br /> +Encircled round by hours which space the day;<br /> +By days themselves; and ages, months, and years.<br /> +Crown'd with a flowery garland Spring appear'd:<br /> +Chaplets of grain the swarthy brows adorn'd<br /> +Of naked Summer: smear'd with trodden grapes<br /> +Stood Autumn: icy Winter fill'd the groupe;—<br /> +Snow-white his shaggy locks. Sol from the midst<br /> +His eyes all-seeing glanc'd upon the youth,<br /> +Startled and trembling at the wonderous sight;<br /> +And cried:—“What brings my Phaëton, my son,<br /> +“Whose sire shall ne'er disclaim him? tell me now,<br /> +<a name="page43"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 43]</span> +“What here thou seekest?” Thus the youth replies:—<br /> +“O father, Phœbus, universal light!<br /> +“If justly, I thy honor'd name may use,<br /> +“Nor proudly boasting Clymené conceals<br /> +“A crime by falshood; grant paternal signs,<br /> +“The world convincing that from thee I spring;<br /> +“Reproachful doubts erasing from my mind.”<br /> +He said;—the sire the glittering rays removes<br /> +That blaz'd around his head,—invites him nigh,<br /> +And thus embracing:—“Proud I own thee, son,<br /> +“For all is true by Clymené disclos'd.<br /> +“If still thou doubtest, name the gift thou lik'st,—<br /> +“That shalt thou have; for that will I bestow.<br /> +“Ye streams unseen, which hear celestial oaths<br /> +“My vows attest!” But scarce had Phœbus spoke,<br /> +When Phaëton, the fiery car demands,—<br /> +Demands his sway the winged-footed steeds<br /> +One day should suffer. Soon the solemn oath<br /> +Phœbus lamented: three times mournful shook<br /> +His glorious tresses and in sorrow cry'd—<br /> +“Would I could yet deny thee!—O my son!<br /> +“All else with gladness will I hear thee ask;—<br /> +“List to persuasion,—perseverance sure<br /> +“Will risk thy ruin. Phaëton, my child!<br /> +“The task thou seek'st is arduous; far unfit<br /> +“For those weak arms, and age so immature.<br /> +“Mortal,—thou would'st a seat immortal press.<br /> +<a name="page44"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 44]</span> +“Ignorant of grasping more than all the gods<br /> +“Attempt to manage. Every power we grant<br /> +“Diverse excels; but I of all the gods,<br /> +“Have force in that igniferous car to stand.<br /> +“Ev'n Jove, the ruler of Olympus vast,<br /> +“Whose right hand terrible fierce lightenings hurls,<br /> +“This chariot never rul'd: and who than Jove,<br /> +“More mighty deem we? Steep the first ascent,<br /> +“The fresh steeds clamber up the height with pain:<br /> +“High in mid heaven arriv'd, to view beneath<br /> +“Ocean and earth, oft strikes even me with fear,<br /> +“And with dread palpitation shakes my breast.<br /> +“Prerupt the end, and asks a firm restraint;<br /> +“Tethys herself who nightly me receives,<br /> +“Beneath the waves, fears oft my headlong fall.<br /> +“Nor all;—the skies a constant whirling bears<br /> +“In rapid motion, and the heavenly orbs<br /> +“Sweep with them swift; I strive the adverse my;<br /> +“Nor can th' impetuous force which whirls the rest<br /> +“Bear with them me; I stem the rapid world<br /> +“With force superior. Grant, the car I yield,—<br /> +“Could'st thou the swift rotation of the poles<br /> +“Stem nervous, nor be borne with them along?<br /> +“Perchance imagination fills thy mind,<br /> +“With groves, and dwellings of celestial gods,<br /> +“And temples richly deck'd with offer'd gold,<br /> +“Where thou shall pass. Far else;—thy journey lies,<br /> +<a name="page45"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 45]</span> +“Through ambushes, and savage monsters' forms.<br /> +“Ev'n shouldst thou lucky not erratic stray,<br /> +“Yet must thou pass the Bull's opposing horns;<br /> +“The bow Hæmonian, by the Centaur bent;<br /> +“The Lion's countenance grim; the Scorpion's claws<br /> +“Bent cruel in a circuit large; the Crab<br /> +“In lesser compass curving. Hard the task<br /> +“To rule the steeds with those fierce fires inflam'd,<br /> +“Within their breasts, which through their nostrils glow.<br /> +“Scarce bear they my control, when mad with heat<br /> +“Their high necks spurn the rein. But, oh! my son,<br /> +“Beware lest I a fatal gift bestow.<br /> +“Retract, while yet thou may'st, thy rash demand.<br /> +“Sure tokens thou requir'st to prove thee sprung<br /> +“From me,—the genuine offspring of my blood:<br /> +“My anxious trembling is a token true;<br /> +“Paternal terrors plainly prove the sire.<br /> +“Lo! on my features fix thine eyes; as well,<br /> +“I would thou could'st them place within my breast,<br /> +“And view the anguish of a father's cares.<br /> +“Last throw thy looks around; the riches view,<br /> +“Whatever earth contains, and some demand;<br /> +“Some of so many and such mighty gifts:<br /> +“In heaven, or earth, or sea, 'tis undeny'd.<br /> +“This only would I grant not, as its grant<br /> +“Is punishment, not favor. Phaëton<br /> +“Asks evil for a gift. Why, foolish boy,<br /> +<a name="page46"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 46]</span> +“Hang on my neck thus coaxing with thine arms?<br /> +“Whate'er thou would'st, thou shalt. The Stygian streams<br /> +“Have heard me swear. But make a wiser wish.”<br /> +His admonition ceas'd, but all advice<br /> +Was bootless: still his resolution holds;<br /> +To guide the chariot still his bosom burns.<br /> +The sire, his every effort vain, at length<br /> +Forth to the lofty car, Vulcanian gift,<br /> +Brings the rash youth. Of gold the axle shone;<br /> +The pole of gold; by gold the rolling wheels<br /> +Were circled; every spoke with silver bright;<br /> +Upon the seat bright chrysolites display'd,<br /> +With various jewels shed a dazzling light,<br /> +From Sol reflected. All the high-soul'd youth<br /> +Admir'd, and while he curious view'd each part,<br /> +Behold Aurora from the purple east<br /> +Wide throws the ruddy portals, and displays<br /> +The halls with roses strewn: the starry host<br /> +Fly, driven by Lucifer,—himself the last<br /> +To quit his heavenly station. Sol beheld<br /> +The earth and sky grow red, and Luna's horns<br /> +Blunt, and prepar'd to vanish. Straight he bade<br /> +The flying hours to yoke the steeds: his words<br /> +The nimble goddesses obey, and lead<br /> +The steeds fire-breathing from their lofty stalls,<br /> +Ambrosia fed, and fix the sounding reins.<br /> +Then with a sacred ointment Phœbus smear'd<br /> +<a name="page47"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 47]</span> +The face of Phaëton,—unscorch'd to bear<br /> +The fervid blaze; and on his head a crown<br /> +Of rays he fix'd. His smother'd sighs within<br /> +His anxious breast, sad presages of woe<br /> +Suppressing, thus he spoke:—“If now my words<br /> +“Though late, thou heedest, spare, O boy! the lash,<br /> +“But tightly grasp the reins: unbid they run,<br /> +“They fly; to check their flight thy labor asks.<br /> +“Not through the five bright zones thy journey lies:<br /> +“Obliquely winds the path, with spacious curve,<br /> +“Three girdles only touching; leaving far<br /> +“The pole Antarctic, and the northern Bear:<br /> +“Be this thy track; there plain thou may'st discern<br /> +“The marks my wheels have made. Since heaven and earth<br /> +“An equal portion of my influence claim;<br /> +“Press not the car too low, nor mount aloft<br /> +“Near topmost heaven: there would'st thou fire the roof<br /> +“Celestial;—here the earth thou would'st consume.<br /> +“For safety keep the midst. Let thy right wheel<br /> +“Approach the tortuous Snake not: nor thy left<br /> +“Press near the Altar:—hold the midmost course.<br /> +“Fortune the rest must rule; may she assist<br /> +“Thy undertaking; for thy safety act<br /> +“Better than thou. But more delay deny'd,<br /> +“Lo! whilst I speak the dewy night has touch'd<br /> +“The boundaries plac'd upon th' Hesperian shore.<br /> +“I'm call'd,—for, darkness fled, Aurora shines.<br /> +<a name="page48"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 48]</span> +“Seize then, the reins, or if thy mind relents,<br /> +“My counsel rather than my chariot take.<br /> +“Now whilst thou can'st; whilst on a solid base<br /> +“Thou standest, ere thou yet unskilful mount'st<br /> +“The chariot ev'lly wish'd: give me to dart<br /> +“Those rays on earth which thou may'st safely view:”<br /> +Agile the youth bounds from his sire, and stands<br /> +Proud in the chariot; joyously he holds<br /> +Th' entrusted reigns, and from the seat glad thanks<br /> +Th' unwilling parent gives. Meantime neigh'd loud<br /> +In curling flames, the winged steeds of Sol,<br /> +Pyroeis, Æthon, Phlegon, Eous swift;<br /> +And with impatient hoofs the barrier beat;<br /> +Which Tethys, ignorant of her grandson's fate,<br /> +Drove back, and open laid the range of heaven.<br /> +Swiftly they hasten,—swiftly fly their heels,<br /> +Through the thin air, and through opposing clouds.<br /> +Pois'd by their wings the eastern gales they pass,<br /> +Which started with them: but their burthen light,<br /> +Small felt the pressure on the chariot seat:<br /> +Not what the steeds of Sol had felt before.<br /> +As ships unpois'd reel tottering through the waves,<br /> +Light and unsteady, rambling o'er the main;<br /> +So bounds the car, void of its 'custom'd weight,<br /> +High-toss'd as though unfill'd. This quick perceiv'd,<br /> +Fierce rush the four-yok'd steeds, and quit the path<br /> +Beaten before, and tread a road unknown.<br /> +<a name="page49"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 49]</span> +Trembling the youth nor knows to pull the reins<br /> +Which side, nor knowing would the steeds obey.<br /> +Then first the frozen Triönes from Sol<br /> +Felt warm, and try'd, but try'd in vain, to dip<br /> +Beneath the sea. The frozen polar snake,<br /> +Sluggish with cold, and indolently mild,<br /> +Warm'd, and dire fierceness gather'd from the flames.<br /> +Thou too, Boötes, fled'st away disturb'd,<br /> +Though slow thy flight, retarded by thy teams.<br /> +And now the luckless Phaëton his eyes<br /> +Cast on the earth remote,—far distant spread<br /> +Beneath the lofty sky; pale grew his face<br /> +With sudden terror; trembled his weak knees;<br /> +O'ercome with light his eyes in darkness sunk:<br /> +Glad were he now, his father's steeds untouch'd:<br /> +Griev'd that his race he knows; griev'd his request<br /> +Was undeny'd: glad were he now if call'd<br /> +The son of Merops. Ev'n as Boreas sweeps<br /> +Furious the vessel, when the pilot leaves<br /> +The helm to heaven, and puts his trust in prayers<br /> +So was he hurry'd. What remains to do?<br /> +Vast space of heaven behind him lies;—much more<br /> +He forward views. Each distance in his mind<br /> +Compar'd he measures. Now he forward bends<br /> +To view the west, forbidden him to reach;<br /> +Now to the east he backward turns his eyes.<br /> +With terror stunn'd his trembling hands refuse<br /> +<a name="page50"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 50]</span> +To hold the reins with vigor; yet he holds.<br /> +The coursers' names, affrighted he forgets:<br /> +Trembling he views the various monsters spread<br /> +Through every part above; and figures huge<br /> +Of beasts ferocious. Heaven a spot contains,<br /> +Where Scorpio bends in two wide bows his arms,<br /> +His tail, and doubly-stretching claws;—the space<br /> +Encompassing of two celestial signs.<br /> +Soon as the youth the monstrous beast beheld,<br /> +Black poison sweating, and with crooked sting<br /> +Threatening fierce wounds, he nerveless dropp'd the reins:<br /> +Pale dread o'ercame him. Quick the steeds perceiv'd<br /> +The loose thongs playing on their backs, and rush'd<br /> +Wide from the path, uncheck'd;—through regions strange,<br /> +Now here, now there, impetuous;—unrestrain'd,<br /> +Amidst the loftiest stars they dash, and drag<br /> +The car through pathless places: upward now<br /> +They labor;—headlong now they down descend,<br /> +Nearing the earth. With wonder Luna sees<br /> +Her brother's coursers run beneath her own;<br /> +And sees the burnt clouds smoking. Lofty points<br /> +Of earth, feel first the flames, and fissures wide,<br /> +Departing moisture prove. The forage green,<br /> +Whitens; trees crackle with their burning leaves;<br /> +And ripe corn adds its fuel to the blaze.<br /> +Why mourn we trifles? Mighty cities fall;<br /> +Their walls protect them not; their dwellers sink<br /> +<a name="page51"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 51]</span> +To ashes with them. Woods on mountains flame;—<br /> +Athos, Cilician Taurus, Tmolus, burn;<br /> +Oeté, and Ide, her pleasant fountains dry;<br /> +With virgin Helicon, and Hæmus high,<br /> +Œagrius since. Now with redoubled flames<br /> +Fierce Etna blazes;—Eryx, Othrys too;<br /> +Cynthus, and fam'd Parnassus' double top,<br /> +And Rhodopé, at length of snow depriv'd:<br /> +Dindyma, Mimas, and the sacred hill<br /> +Cythæron nam'd, and lofty Mycalé:<br /> +Nor aid their snows the Scythians: Ossa burns,<br /> +Pindus, and Caucasus, and, loftier still,<br /> +The huge Olympus; with the towering Alps;<br /> +And cloud-capt Apennines. Now the youth,<br /> +Beholds earth flaming fierce from every part;—<br /> +The heat o'erpowers him; fiery air he breathes<br /> +As from a furnace; and the car he rides<br /> +Glows with the flame beneath him: sore annoy'd<br /> +On every side by cinders, and by smoke<br /> +Hot curling round him. Whither now he drives,<br /> +Or where he is, he knows not; in a cloud<br /> +Of pitchy night involv'd; swept as the steeds<br /> +Swift-flying will. The Æthiopians then,<br /> +'Tis said, their sable tincture first receiv'd;<br /> +Their purple blood the glowing heat call'd forth<br /> +To tinge their skins. Then dry'd the scorching fire<br /> +From arid Lybia all her fertile streams.<br /> +<a name="page52"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 52]</span> +Now with dishevell'd locks the nymphs bewail'd<br /> +Their fountains and their lakes. Bœotia mourns<br /> +The loss of Dircé: Argos Amymoné:<br /> +Corinth laments Pirené. Nor yet safe<br /> +Were rivers bounded by far distant shores,<br /> +Tanais' midmost waves fume to the sky;<br /> +And ancient Peneus smokes: Ismenos swift;<br /> +Caïcus, Teuthrantean; and the flood<br /> +Of Phocis, Erymanthus: Xanthus too,<br /> +Doom'd to be fir'd again: Lycormas brown;<br /> +Mæander's sportive oft recircling waves;<br /> +Mygdonian Melas; and the Spartan flood,<br /> +Eurotas; with Euphrates burn: and burn,<br /> +Orontes; and the rapid Thermodoon;<br /> +Ganges; and Phasis; and the Ister swift.<br /> +Alpheus boils; the banks of Spercheus burn;<br /> +And Tagus' golden sands the flames dissolve.<br /> +Stream-loving swans, whose song melodious rung<br /> +Throughout Mæonian regions, feel the heat,<br /> +Caïster's streams amid. In terror Nile<br /> +Fled to the farthest earth, and sunk his head,<br /> +Yet undiscover'd!—void the seven-fold stream,<br /> +His mouth seven dry and dusty vales disclos'd.<br /> +Now Hebrus dries, and Strymon, Thracian floods:<br /> +And streams Hesperian, Rhine; and Rhone; and Po;<br /> +And Tiber, destin'd all the world to rule.<br /> +Asunder split the globe, and through the chinks<br /> +<a name="page53"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 53]</span> +Darted the light to hell: the novel blaze,<br /> +Pluto and Proserpine with terror view'd.<br /> +The ocean shrinks;—a dry and scorching plain<br /> +Where late was sea appears. Hills lift their heads<br /> +Late by the deep waves hid, and countless seem<br /> +The scatter'd Cyclades. Deep crouch the fish;—<br /> +The crooked dolphins dare not leap aloft,<br /> +As, custom'd in the air; with breasts upturn'd<br /> +The gasping sea-calves float upon the waves:<br /> +Nereus, with Doris and her daughter-nymphs<br /> +Deep plung'd to seek their low, but tepid caves.<br /> +Thrice Neptune ventur'd to upraise his arms<br /> +Grim frowning,—thrice the flames too fierce he found,<br /> +And shrunk beneath the waters. Earth at length,<br /> +(By streams and founts encircled,—for her womb<br /> +Trembling they sought for refuge) rais'd on high<br /> +Her face omniferous, dry and parch'd with heat;<br /> +Her burning forehead shaded with her hand;<br /> +Shook all with tremor huge; then shrank for shade<br /> +Beneath, and gasping, thus to heaven she plain'd:<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Almighty lord! if such thy sovereign will,<br /> +“And I deserve it, why thy lightenings hold<br /> +“Thus idle? If by fire to perish doom'd,—<br /> +“Be it by thine,—an honorable fate!<br /> +“Scarce can my lips now utter forth my pains!—<br /> +Volumes of smoke oppress'd her—“See, my hair<br /> +<a name="page54"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 54]</span> +“Sing'd with the flames! Behold my face,—my eyes,<br /> +“Scorch'd with hot embers! Is no better boon<br /> +“Due for the fruits I furnish? Such reward,<br /> +“Suits it my fertile crops? or cruel wounds<br /> +“Of harrow, rake, and plough, which through the year<br /> +“Enforc'd I suffer? For the herds I bring<br /> +“Green herbs and grass; bland aliments, ripe fruit<br /> +“For man; and incense for ye mighty gods:<br /> +“Faulty is this? But grant thy wrath deserv'd,<br /> +“How do the waves, thy brother's realm offend?<br /> +“Why does the main, to him by lot decreed,<br /> +“Shrink and retreat from heaven? Thy brother's weal,<br /> +“Say it concerns thee not, nor my distress;<br /> +“Care for thy own paternal heaven may move.<br /> +“Thine eyes cast round,—black smoke from either pole<br /> +“Mounts!—soon the greedy flames your halls will seize.<br /> +“Lo! Atlas labors;—scarcely he sustains<br /> +“The burning load. If earth and ocean flame,<br /> +“And heaven too perish, all to chaös turn'd,<br /> +“Confounded we shall sink. Snatch from the flames<br /> +“What yet, if ought, remains, and nature save.”<br /> +No more could Earth, for now thick vapors rose,<br /> +Her speech obstructing; down she shrunk her head,<br /> +And shelter'd 'midst the cool Tartarian shades.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now Jove, the gods, all witness to the fact<br /> +Conven'd; ev'n Sol, the donor of the car,<br /> +<a name="page55"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 55]</span> +That but for him the world in ruins soon<br /> +Would lie. The loftiest height of heaven he gains,<br /> +Whence clouds he wont upon the wide-spread earth<br /> +To shower;—from whence his thunders loud he hurl'd;<br /> +And quivering lightenings flung: but now nor clouds,<br /> +Nor showers to rain on earth the sovereign had.<br /> +He thunders;—from his right-ear pois'd, the bolt<br /> +Hurls on the charioteer. Life, and the car,<br /> +Phaëton quits at once;—his fatal fires,<br /> +By fires more fierce extinguish'd. Startled prance<br /> +The steeds confounded; free their fiery necks<br /> +From the torn reins: here lie the traces broke;<br /> +There the strong axle, sever'd from the seat;<br /> +Spokes of the shatter'd wheels are here display'd;<br /> +And scatter'd far and wide the car's remains.<br /> +Hurl'd headlong falls the youth, his golden locks,<br /> +Flame as he tumbles, swept through empty air,<br /> +A lengthen'd track he forms: so seems a star<br /> +In night serene, but only seems, to shoot.<br /> +Far from paternal home, the mighty Po<br /> +Receiv'd his burning corps, and quench'd the flames.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Due rites the nymphs Hesperian gave the limbs<br /> +From the fork'd lightening flaming. On his tomb<br /> +This epitaph they grav'd: “Here Phaëton<br /> +“Intombed rests; the charioteer so bold,<br /> +“Of Phœbus' car, which though he fail'd to rule,<br /> +<a name="page56"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 56]</span> +“He perish'd greatly daring.” Griev'd his sire,<br /> +Veil'd his sad face; and, were tradition true,<br /> +One day saw not the sun; the embers blaz'd<br /> +Sufficient light: thus may misfortune aid.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + When Clymené with all that sorrow could<br /> +To ease her woes give utterance, loud had wail'd<br /> +In wild lament; all spark of reason fled,<br /> +Her bosom tearing, through the world she roam'd.<br /> +And now his limbs inanimate she sought;<br /> +Then for his whiten'd bones: his bones she found,<br /> +On banks far distant from his home inhum'd.<br /> +Prone on his tomb her form she flung, and pour'd<br /> +Her tears in floods upon the graven lines:<br /> +And with her bosom bar'd, the cold stone warm'd.<br /> +His sisters' love their fruitless offerings bring,<br /> +Their griefs and briny droppings; cruel tear<br /> +Their beauteous bosoms; while they loudly call<br /> +Phaëton, deaf to all their mournful cries.<br /> +Stretch'd on his tomb, by night, by day they call'd.<br /> +Till Luna's circle four times fill'd was seen;<br /> +Their blows still given as 'custom'd, (use had made<br /> +Their forms of grief as nature). Sudden plain'd<br /> +Fair Phaëthusa, eldest of the three,<br /> +Of stiffen'd feet; as on the tomb she strove<br /> +To cast her body prone. Lampetie bright,<br /> +Rushing in hope to aid, a shooting root<br /> +<a name="page57"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 57]</span> +Abruptly held. With lifted hands the third<br /> +Her locks to tear attempted; but green leaves<br /> +Tore off instead. Now this laments her legs,<br /> +Bound with thin bark; that mourns to see her arms<br /> +Shoot in long branches. While they wonder thus,<br /> +Th' increasing bark their bodies upward veils,<br /> +Their breasts, their arms, and hands, with gradual growth:<br /> +Their mouths alone remain; which loudly call<br /> +Their mother. What a mother could, she did:<br /> +What could she do? save, here and there to fly,<br /> +Where blind affection dragg'd her; and while yet,<br /> +'Twas given to join, join with them mouth to mouth.<br /> +Nor this contents; she strives to tear the rind,<br /> +Their limbs enwrapping; and the tender boughs<br /> +Pluck from their hands: but from the rended spot<br /> +The sanguine drops flow swift. Each suffering nymph<br /> +Cries,—“Spare me, mother!—spare your wounded child;<br /> +“I suffer in the tree.—farewell!—farewell!”—<br /> +For as they spoke the rind their mouths inclos'd.<br /> +From these new branches tears were dropp'd, and shap'd<br /> +By solar heat, bright amber straight compos'd.<br /> +Dropt in the lucid stream, the prize was borne<br /> +To Latium, and its gayest nymphs adorn'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + This wonderous change Sthenelian Cycnus saw;<br /> +To thee, O Phaëton, by kindred join'd,<br /> +But by affection closer. He his realms,<br /> +<a name="page58"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 58]</span> +(For o'er Liguria's large and populous towns<br /> +He reign'd) had then relinquish'd. With his plaints,<br /> +The Po's wide stream was fill'd; and fill'd the banks<br /> +With his lamentings; ev'n the woods, whose shade<br /> +The sister poplars thicken'd. Soon he feels<br /> +His utterance shrill and weak: his streaming locks<br /> +Soft snowy plumes displace: high from his chest,<br /> +His lengthen'd neck extends: a filmy web<br /> +Unites his ruddy toes: his sides are cloth'd<br /> +With quills and feathers: where his mouth was seen<br /> +Expanded, now a blunted beak obtains;<br /> +And Cycnus stands a bird;—but bird unknown<br /> +In days of yore. Mistrustful still of Jove,<br /> +His heaven he shuns; as mindful of the flames<br /> +From thence unjustly hurl'd. Wide lakes and ponds<br /> +He seeks to habit now;—indignant shuns<br /> +What favors fire, and joys in purling streams.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Meantime was Phœbus dull, his blaze obscur'd,<br /> +As when eclips'd his orb: his rays he hates;<br /> +Himself; and even the day. To grief his soul<br /> +He gives, and anger to his grief he joins;<br /> +Depriving earth of all its wonted light.<br /> +“Troubled my lot has been,” he cry'd, “since first<br /> +“Was publish'd my existence:—urg'd my toil<br /> +“Endless,—still unremitted, still unprais'd.<br /> +“Now let who will my furious chariot drive<br /> +<a name="page59"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 59]</span> +“Flammiferous! If every god shall shrink<br /> +“Inadequate,—let Jove the task attempt:<br /> +“Then while my reins he tries, at least those flames,<br /> +“Which cause parental grief must peaceful rest.<br /> +“Then when the fiery flaming coursers strain<br /> +“His nervous arms, no more he'll judge the youth<br /> +“Of death deserving, who could less control.”<br /> +Sol, grieving thus, the deities surround,<br /> +And suppliant beg that earth may mourn no more,<br /> +By darkness 'whelm'd. Ev'n Jove concession gave,—<br /> +And why his fiery bolts were launch'd explain'd;<br /> +But threats and prayers majestically mix'd.<br /> +The steeds with terror trembling, Phœbus seiz'd,<br /> +Wild from their late affright, and rein'd their jaws;<br /> +Furious he wields his goad and lash, and fierce<br /> +He storms, and their impetuous fury blames<br /> +At every blow, as murderers of his son.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + High heaven's huge walls the mighty sire explores,<br /> +With eye close searching, lest a weakening flaw,<br /> +Might hurl some part to ruin. All he found<br /> +Firm in its pristine strength;—then glanc'd his eye<br /> +Around the earth, and toils of man below.<br /> +'Bove all terrestrial lands, Arcadia felt—<br /> +His own Arcadia—his preserving care.<br /> +Her fountains he restores; her streams not yet<br /> +To murmur daring; to her fields he gives<br /> +<a name="page60"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 60]</span> +Seed-corn; and foliage to her spreading boughs;<br /> +And her scorch'd forests bids again look green.<br /> +Through here as oft he journey'd, and return'd,<br /> +A virgin of Nonacriné he spy'd,<br /> +And instant inward fire the god consum'd.<br /> +No nymph was she whose skill the wool prepar'd;<br /> +Nor comb'd with art her tresses seem'd; full plain,<br /> +Her vest a button held; a fillet white<br /> +Careless her hair confin'd. Now pois'd her hand<br /> +A javelin light, and now a bow she bore:<br /> +In Dian's train she ran, nor nymph more dear<br /> +To her the mountain Mænalus e'er trode.<br /> +But brief the reign of favor! Sol had now<br /> +Beyond mid-heaven attain'd; Calistho sought<br /> +A grove where felling axe had never rung:<br /> +Here was her quiver from her shoulder thrown;<br /> +Her slender bow unstrung; and on the ground<br /> +With soft grass clad she rested: 'neath her neck<br /> +Was plac'd the painted quiver. Jove, the maid<br /> +Weary'd beheld, and from her wonted troop<br /> +Far distant. “Surely now, my wife,” he cries,<br /> +“This theft can ne'er discover. Should she know,<br /> +“What is her rage with such a prize compar'd?”<br /> +Then Dian's face and form the god conceal'd;<br /> +Loud calling,—“Where, O virgin, hast thou stray'd?<br /> +“What hills, my comrade, hast thou crost in chase?”<br /> +Light springing from the turf, the nymph reply'd,—<br /> +<a name="page61"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 61]</span> +“Hail goddess, greater, if with me the palm,<br /> +“Than Jove himself, though Jove himself should hear.”<br /> +The feign'd Diana smil'd, and joy'd to hear<br /> +Him to himself preferr'd; then press'd her lips<br /> +With kisses, such as virgins never give<br /> +To virgins. Her, prepar'd to tell the woods<br /> +Where late she hunted, with a warm embrace<br /> +He hinder'd; and his crime the god disclos'd.<br /> +Hard strove the nymph,—and what could female more?<br /> +(O Juno, hadst thou seen her, less thy ire!)<br /> +Long she resists, but what can nymph attain,<br /> +Or any mortal, when to Jove oppos'd?<br /> +Victor the god ascends th' ethereal court.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The groves and forests, conscious of the deed,<br /> +Calistho hates; so swift she flies the spot,<br /> +Her quiver, and her darts, and slender bow<br /> +Suspended on the tree, through eager haste<br /> +Were nigh forgotten. Lo! Diana comes,<br /> +By clustering nymphs attended, o'er the hills<br /> +Of lofty Mænalus, from slaughter'd beasts,<br /> +Proudly triumphant. She Calistho sees,<br /> +And calls her;—as the goddess calls she flies,<br /> +Fearing another Jove disguis'd to meet.<br /> +But when th' attendant virgin-troop appear'd,<br /> +Fraud she no more suspected, but the train<br /> +<a name="page62"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 62]</span> +Join'd fearless. Hard the countenance to form,<br /> +And not betray a perpetrated crime!<br /> +Scarce from the ground she dar'd her looks to raise;<br /> +Nor with her wonted ardor press'd before,<br /> +First of the throng, close to Diana's side.<br /> +Silent she moves; her blushes prove a wound<br /> +Her modesty had felt. E'en Dian' might,<br /> +(But that a virgin,) all the truth have known.<br /> +By numerous proofs and strong. Nay, fame reports<br /> +Her sister-nymphs had long her shame perceiv'd.<br /> +Nine times had Luna now her orb renew'd,<br /> +When Dian' from the chase retreating faint<br /> +By Phœbus' rays, had gain'd a forest cool,<br /> +Where flow'd a limpid stream with murmuring noise,<br /> +The shining sand upturning. Much the spot<br /> +The goddess tempted, and her feet she dipp'd<br /> +Light in the waves, as to the nymphs she cry'd:—<br /> +“Hence far each prying eye, we'll dare unrobe<br /> +“And lave beneath the stream.” Calistho blush'd;—<br /> +Quick while the other nymphs their bodies bare,<br /> +Protracting she undresses. From her limbs,<br /> +Suspicious they the garments rend, and view<br /> +Her body naked, and her fault is plain.<br /> +To her, confus'd, whose trembling hands essay'd<br /> +Her shame to hide, Diana spoke;—“Hence fly,—<br /> +“Far hence, nor more these sacred streams pollute.”<br /> +And drove her instant from her spotless train.<br /> +<a name="page63"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 63]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Long time the mighty thunderer's queen had known<br /> +Calistho's state; but curb'd her furious ire<br /> +Till ripe occasion suited: longer now<br /> +Delay were needless; now the nymph produc'd<br /> +Arcas; whom Juno more enrag'd beheld.<br /> +With savage mind, and furious look she ey'd<br /> +The boy, and spoke;—“Adulteress! this alone<br /> +“Was wanting! fruitful, harlot, hast thou prov'd?<br /> +“Must by this birth my wrongs in public glare?<br /> +“And what dishonor I from Jove receive<br /> +“Be palpable to sight. Expect not thou<br /> +“Impunity to find. Thy form I'll change,—<br /> +“To thee so pleasing, and so dear to Jove.”<br /> +She said; and on the flowing tresses seiz'd<br /> +Which o'er her forehead stream'd, and prostrate dragg'd<br /> +The nymph to earth. She rais'd her suppliant hands,—<br /> +With black hairs cover'd, rough her arms appear'd;<br /> +Bent were her hands, and, with her lengthen'd nails<br /> +To claws transform'd, press'd on the ground as feet;<br /> +Her mouth so beauteous, late of Jove admir'd,<br /> +Yawn'd wide deformity;—and lest soft prayers<br /> +And flowing words, might pity move, no power<br /> +To speak she left. Now through her hoarse throat sounds<br /> +An angry threatening voice that fear instills;<br /> +A bear becoming, though her sense the same:<br /> +Her sufferings proving by her constant groans.<br /> +Lifting to heaven such hands as lift she could,<br /> +<a name="page64"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 64]</span> +Jove she ungrateful found, but Jove to call<br /> +Ungrateful, strove in vain. Alas! how oft<br /> +In woods and solitudes, to sleep afraid,<br /> +She roam'd around the house and fertile fields<br /> +Of late her own!—-Alas, how oft thence driven<br /> +By yelping hounds o'er craggy steeps she fled!<br /> +Thou dread'st the hunters though an huntress thou!<br /> +Oft was her form forgotten, and in fear<br /> +From beasts she crouch'd conceal'd: the shaggy bear<br /> +Shudder'd to see the bears upon the hills;<br /> +And at the wolves she trembled, though with wolves<br /> +Her sire Lycaön howl'd. Now Arcas comes;<br /> +Arcas, her son, unconscious of his race.<br /> +Near fifteen suns the youth had seen revolv'd;<br /> +And while the game he chases, while he seeks<br /> +Thickets best suited for his sports, and round<br /> +The Erymanthean woods his toils he sets,<br /> +He meets his mother:—at his sight she stay'd,<br /> +The well-known object viewing. Arcas fled<br /> +Trembling, unconscious why those eyes were fix'd<br /> +On him immoveably. His spear, prepar'd<br /> +To pierce his mother's breast, as near she draws<br /> +The youth protends. But Jove the deed prevents:<br /> +Both bears away, and stays the matricide.<br /> +Swept through the void of heaven by rapid whirl<br /> +They're borne, and neighbouring constellations made,<br /> +<a name="page65"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 65]</span> +Loud Juno rag'd, to see the harlot shine,<br /> +Amid the stars; and 'neath the deep descends,<br /> +To hoary Tethys, and her ancient spouse;<br /> +Where reverence oft the host of heaven had shewn.<br /> +And thus to them, who anxious seek the cause,<br /> +Why there she journeys. “Wish ye then to know<br /> +“Why I the queen of heaven, my regal seat<br /> +“Now leave? Another fills my lofty throne!<br /> +“Nor false I speak,—for when gray night shall spread<br /> +“O'er all,—new constellations shall you see<br /> +“Me irking,—on the utmost bounds of heaven,<br /> +“Where the last shorten'd zone the axis binds.<br /> +“Now surely none, t' insult shall rashly dare<br /> +“The thunderer's spouse, but tremble at her frown;<br /> +“For she who most offends is honor'd most!<br /> +“Much has my power perform'd!—vast is my sway!<br /> +“Her human form I chang'd,—and lo! she shines<br /> +“A goddess;—thus the guilty feel my ire!<br /> +“Thus potent I. Why not her form restore,<br /> +“And change that beastly shape, as Iö once<br /> +“In Argolis, the same indulgence felt.<br /> +“Why drives he not his consort from his bed,<br /> +“Calistho placing there;—for sire-in-law<br /> +“The wolf Lycaön chusing? If to you<br /> +“Your foster-daughter's insults ought import,<br /> +“Forbid these stars to touch the blue profound:<br /> +“Repel those constellations, plac'd in heaven,<br /> +<a name="page66"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 66]</span> +“Meed of adultery; lest the harlot dip<br /> +“In your pure waves.”—The gods their promise gave<br /> +And through the liquid air Saturnia flies,<br /> +Borne in her chariot by her peacocks bright;<br /> +Their coats gay studded from fall'n Argus' eyes.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Less beauteous was the change, loquacious crow,<br /> +Thy plumage suffer'd,—snowy white to black.<br /> +With silvery brightness once his feathers shone;<br /> +Unspotted doves outvying; nor to those<br /> +Preserving birds the capital whose voice<br /> +So watchful sav'd;—nor to the stream-fond swans,<br /> +Inferior seem'd his covering: but his tongue,<br /> +His babbling tongue his ruin wrought; and chang'd<br /> +His hue from splendid white to gloomy black.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + No fairer maid all Thessaly contain'd,<br /> +Than young Coronis,—to the Delphic god<br /> +Most dear while chaste, or while her fault unknown.<br /> +But Corvus, Phœbus' watchman, spy'd the deed<br /> +Adulterous;—and inexorably bent<br /> +To tell the secret crime, his flight directs<br /> +To seek his master. Him the daw pursues,<br /> +On plumes quick waving, curious all to learn.<br /> +His errand heard, she cries;—“Thy anxious task,<br /> +“A journey vain, pursue not: mark my words;—<br /> +“Learn what I have been;—see what now I am;<br /> +<a name="page67"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 67]</span> +“And hear from whence my change: a fault you'll find<br /> +“Too much fidelity, which wrought my woe.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Time was, when Pallas, Ericthonius took,<br /> +“Offspring created motherless, and close<br /> +“In basket twin'd with Attic twigs conceal'd.<br /> +“The charge to keep, three sister-maids she chose,<br /> +“Daughters of Cecrops double-form'd, but close,<br /> +“Conceal'd what lodg'd within; and strict forbade<br /> +“All prying, that her secret safe might rest.<br /> +“On a thick elm, behind light leaves conceal'd,<br /> +“I mark'd their actions. Two their sacred charge<br /> +“Hold faithful; Pandrosos, and Hersé they:<br /> +“Aglauros calls her sisters cowards weak;<br /> +“The twistings with bold hand unloosening, sees<br /> +“Within an infant, and a dragon stretch'd.<br /> +“The deed I tell to Pallas, and from her<br /> +“My service this remuneration finds:<br /> +“Driven from her presence, she my place supplies<br /> +“Of favorite with the gloomy bird of night.<br /> +“All other birds my fate severe may warn,<br /> +“To seek not danger by officious tales.<br /> +“Pallas, perhaps you think, but lightly lov'd<br /> +“One whom she thus so suddenly disgrac'd.<br /> +“But ask of Pallas;—she, though much enrag'd<br /> +“Will yet my truth confirm. A regal maid<br /> +“Was I,—of facts to all well-known I speak:<br /> +<a name="page68"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 68]</span> +“Coroneus noble, of the Phocian lands<br /> +“As sire I claim. Me wealthy suitors sought—<br /> +“Contemn me not,—my beauty was my bane.<br /> +“While careless on the sandy shore I roam'd,<br /> +“With gentle pace as wont, the ocean's god<br /> +“Saw me and lov'd: persuasive words in vain<br /> +“Long trying, force prepar'd, and me pursu'd.<br /> +“I fled; the firm shore left, and tir'd my limbs<br /> +“Vainly, upon the light soft sinking sand.<br /> +“There to assist me men and gods I call'd;<br /> +“Deaf to the sound was every mortal ear:<br /> +“But by a virgin's cries a virgin mov'd,<br /> +“Assistance gave. Up to the skies my arms<br /> +“I stretch'd; and black my arms began to grow,<br /> +“With waving pinions. From my shoulders, back<br /> +“My robes I strove to fling,—my robes were plumes;<br /> +“Deep in my skin the quills were fix'd: I try'd<br /> +“On my bare bosom with my hands to beat;<br /> +“Nor hands nor naked bosom now were found:<br /> +“I ran; the sand no longer now retain'd<br /> +“My feet, but lightly o'er the ground I skimm'd;<br /> +“And soon on pinions through the air was borne;<br /> +“And Pallas' faultless favorite I became.<br /> +“What now avail to me my pure deserts?<br /> +“Nyctimené, whose horrid crime deserv'd<br /> +“Her transformation, to my place succeeds.<br /> +“The deed so wide through spacious Lesbos known,<br /> +<a name="page69"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 69]</span> +“Ere this has reach'd thee;—how Nyctimené—<br /> +“Her father's bed defil'd,—a bird became.<br /> +“Conscious of guilt, she shuns the sight of man;<br /> +“Flies from the day, and in nocturnal shades<br /> +“Conceals her shame; by every bird assail'd<br /> +“And exil'd from the skies.” The crow in rage<br /> +To her still chattering, cry'd;—“May each delay<br /> +“Thy babbling causes, prove to thee a curse.<br /> +“I scorn thy foolish presages,”—and flew<br /> +His journey urging. When his master found,<br /> +He told him where Coronis he had seen<br /> +Claspt by a young Thessalian. Down he dropp'd<br /> +His laurel garland, when the crime he heard<br /> +Of her he lov'd;—his harp away he flung;<br /> +His countenance fell, and pale his visage grew.<br /> +Now with fierce rage his swelling bosom fires;<br /> +His wonted arms he seizes; draws his bow,<br /> +Bent to the horns; and through that breast so oft<br /> +Embrac'd,—th' inevitable weapon drove.<br /> +Deep groan'd the wounded nymph, and tearing out<br /> +The arrow from her breast, a purple flood<br /> +Gush'd o'er her shining limbs. She sighing cry'd,—<br /> +“This fate, O Phœbus, I deserv'dly meet,<br /> +“Were but thy infant born;—two now in one<br /> +“Thy dart has slain!”—She spoke,—her vital blood<br /> +Fast flow'd, and stay'd her voice. A deadly chill<br /> +Seiz'd all her members, now of life bereft.<br /> +<a name="page70"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 70]</span> +Too late, alas! her sorrowing lover mourns<br /> +His cruel vengeance; and himself he hates,<br /> +Too credulous listening, and too soon enflam'd:<br /> +The bird he hates, who first betray'd the deed<br /> +And caus'd him first to grieve: his bow he hates;<br /> +His bowstring; arm; and with his arm the dart,<br /> +Shot vengeful. Fond he clasps her fallen form;<br /> +And strives by skill, by skill too late apply'd<br /> +To conquer fate:—his healing arts he tries,—<br /> +All unavailing. Fruitless he beholds<br /> +His each attempt, and sees the pile prepar'd;<br /> +And final flames her limbs about to burn.<br /> +Then from his deepest bosom burst his groans;<br /> +(For tears on cheeks celestial ne'er are seen,)<br /> +Such groans are utter'd when the heifer sees,<br /> +The weighty mallet, from the right ear pois'd,<br /> +Crush down the forehead of her suckling calf.<br /> +And now his useless odors in her breast<br /> +He pour'd; embrac'd her; to her last rites gave<br /> +Solemnization due. The greedy fires<br /> +His offspring were not suffer'd to consume.<br /> +Snatch'd from the curling flames, and from the womb<br /> +Of his dead mother, he the infant bore<br /> +To double-body'd Chiron's secret cave.<br /> +But bade the self-applauding crow, fill'd big<br /> +With hopes of favor for his faithful tale,<br /> +With snowy-plumag'd birds no more to join.<br /> +<a name="page71"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 71]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Meantime while Chiron, human half, half beast,<br /> +Proud of his deity-descended charge,<br /> +Joy'd in the honor with the task bestow'd:—<br /> +Behold, her shoulders with her golden locks<br /> +Shaded, the daughter of the Centaur comes;<br /> +Whom fair Chariclo, on a river's brink<br /> +Swift-rolling, bore, and thence Ocyrrhoë nam'd.<br /> +She not content her father's arts to know,<br /> +The hidden secrets of the fates disclos'd.<br /> +Now was her soul with fate-foretelling sounds<br /> +Fill'd, and within her fiercely rag'd the god:<br /> +The infant viewing;—“Grow,” she said, “apace,<br /> +“Health-bearer through the world. To thee shall oft<br /> +“Expiring mortals owe returning life!<br /> +“To thee 'tis given to render souls again<br /> +“Back to their bodies! Once thou'lt dare the deed;—<br /> +“The angry god's forbidding flames, thy power<br /> +“Further preventing:—and a bloodless corps<br /> +“Heaven-born, thou ly'st;—-but what thy body form'd<br /> +“A god becomes,—resuscitated twice.<br /> +“Thou too, my dearest and immortal sire!<br /> +“To ages never-ending, born to live,<br /> +“Shalt wish for death in vain; when writhing sad<br /> +“From the dire serpent's venom in thy limbs,<br /> +“By wounds instill'd. The pitying gods will change<br /> +“Thy destin'd fate, and let immortal die:<br /> +<a name="page72"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 72]</span> +“The triple sisters shall thy thread divide.<br /> +“More yet untold remains;”—Deep from her chest<br /> +The sighs burst forth, and starting tears stream down,<br /> +Laving her cheeks, while thus the maid pursues:<br /> +“The fates prevent me, and forbid to tell<br /> +“What more I would;—all power to speak deny.<br /> +“Those arts, alas! heaven's anger which have drawn,—<br /> +“What were they? Would I ne'er the future knew!<br /> +“Now seems my human shape to leave me. Now<br /> +“The verdant grass a pleasing food appears.<br /> +“Now am I urg'd along the plain to bound;<br /> +“Chang'd to a mare: unto my sire ally'd<br /> +“In form,—but why sole chang'd? my father bears<br /> +“A two-form'd body;”—Wailing thus, her words<br /> +Confus'd and indistinct at length are heard.<br /> +Next sounds are utter'd partly human, more<br /> +A mare's resembling:—then she neighs aloud;<br /> +Treading with alter'd arms the ground: fast join'd<br /> +Her fingers now become: a slender hoof<br /> +Her toes connecting with continuous horn.<br /> +Her head enlarges; and her neck expands;<br /> +Her spreading garment floats a beauteous tail:<br /> +Her scatter'd tresses o'er her shoulders flung,<br /> +Form a thick mane to clothe her spacious neck:<br /> +Her voice is alter'd with her alter'd shape:<br /> +And change of name the wonderous deed attends.<br /> +<a name="page73"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 73]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Deep Chiron mourn'd, O Phœbus, and thy aid<br /> +In vain invok'd; for bootless was thy power<br /> +Jove's mandate to resist; nor if thou could'st<br /> +Then wast thou nigh to help. In Elis far,<br /> +And fields Messenian then was thy abode.<br /> +Then was the time when shepherd-like a robe<br /> +Of skins enwrapp'd thee;—when thy left hand bore<br /> +A sylvan staff;—thy right a pipe retain'd,<br /> +Of seven unequal reeds. While love engag'd<br /> +Thy thoughts, and dulcet music sooth'd thy cares,<br /> +'Tis said, thy herds without their herdsman stray'd,<br /> +Far to the Pylian meadows. These the son<br /> +Of Atlantean Maiä espy'd;<br /> +And, slily driven away, within the woods<br /> +The cattle artful hid. None saw the deed,<br /> +Save one old hoary swain, well known around,<br /> +And Battus nam'd; whose post it was to guard<br /> +The groves, the grassy meads, and high-bred mares<br /> +Of wealthy Neleus. Him the robber fear'd;<br /> +Drew him aside, and coaxing thus address'd;—<br /> +“Whoe'er thou art, good friend, if here perchance,<br /> +“Someone should seek an herd,—say that thou here<br /> +“No herd hast seen;—thou shall not lack reward:<br /> +“Take this bright heifer:”—and the cow he gave.<br /> +The bribe receiv'd, the shepherd thus replies;<br /> +“Friend, thou art safe,—that stone shall sooner speak<br /> +“And tell thy deed than I:”—and shew'd the stone.<br /> +<a name="page74"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 74]</span> +The son of Jove departs, or seems to go;<br /> +But soon with alter'd form and voice returns.<br /> +“Here, countryman,” he cries, “hast thou an herd<br /> +“This way observ'd to pass?—no secret keep,<br /> +“To aid the theft; an heifer with a bull<br /> +“Await thy information.” Doubly brib'd,<br /> +The hoary rogue betray'd his former trust.<br /> +“Beneath those hills,” he said, “the herd you'll find.”<br /> +Beneath the hills they were. Loud laugh'd the god<br /> +And cry'd,—“Thou treacherous villain, to myself<br /> +“Wouldst thou betray me? wouldst thou to myself<br /> +“My deeds betray?” And to a flinty stone<br /> +His perjur'd breast he chang'd, which still retains<br /> +The name of Touchstone;—on the harmless rock<br /> +His infamous demerits firmly fix'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Hermes from hence, on waving wings upborne<br /> +Darted, and in his flight beneath him saw<br /> +The Attic pastures,—the much-favor'd land<br /> +Of Pallas; and Lyceum's cultur'd groves.<br /> +It chanc'd that day, as wont, the virgins chaste,<br /> +Bore on their heads in canisters festoon'd,<br /> +Their offerings pure to Pallas' sacred fane.<br /> +Returning thence the winged god espy'd<br /> +The troop, and straight his onward flight restrain'd;<br /> +Wheeling in circles round. As sails the kite,<br /> +Swiftest of birds, when entrails seen from far<br /> +<a name="page75"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 75]</span> +By holy augurs thick beset,—he fears<br /> +A near approach, but circling steers his flight<br /> +On beating wings, around his hopes and round.<br /> +So 'bove the Athenian towers the light-plum'd god<br /> +Swept round in circles on the self-same air.<br /> +As Phosphor far outshines the starry host;<br /> +As silver Cynthia Phosphor bright outshines;<br /> +So much did Hersé all the nymphs excel,<br /> +The bright procession's ornament; the pride<br /> +Of all th' accompanying nymphs. Her beauteous mien<br /> +Stagger'd Jove's son, who hovering in the air<br /> +Fierce burns with love. The Balearic sling,<br /> +Thus shoots a ball; quick through the air it flies,<br /> +Warms in its flight, and feels beneath the clouds<br /> +Flames hereto known not. Alter'd now his route<br /> +The skies he leaves, and holds a different flight:<br /> +Nor veils his figure,—such reliance gave<br /> +His beauteous form: and beauteous though that form,<br /> +Yet careful did the god his looks adorn;<br /> +He smoothes his tresses, and his robe adjusts<br /> +To hang in graceful folds, and fair display<br /> +The golden fringe; his round and slender wand,<br /> +Of sleep-procuring, sleep-repelling power,<br /> +His right hand bears; and on his comely feet<br /> +His plumed sandals shine. Within the house<br /> +Three separate chambers were secluded form'd,<br /> +With tortoise and with ivory rich adorn'd.<br /> +<a name="page76"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 76]</span> +Thou, Pandrosos, within the right repos'd;<br /> +And on the left hand thou Aglauros, slept;<br /> +Fair Hersé in the midst. Aglauros first<br /> +The god's approach descry'd, and daring ask'd<br /> +Who he?—and what he sought?—To whom the god;<br /> +“Him you behold, who through the air conveys<br /> +“His sire's commands: Almighty Jove that sire.<br /> +“Nor will I feign my errand. So may'st thou<br /> +“True to thy sister prove, and soon be call'd<br /> +“My offspring's aunt. 'Tis Hersé draws me here.<br /> +“Help then a lover in his warm pursuit.”<br /> +Aglauros bends on Mercury those eyes,<br /> +Which yellow-hair'd Minerva's secret saw;<br /> +And ponderous sums for her assistance claims;<br /> +Driving the god meantime without the gates.<br /> +With angry glare the warlike goddess view'd<br /> +The mercenary nymph, and angry sighs,<br /> +Which shook her bosom heav'd; the Ægis shook,<br /> +On that strong bosom fix'd. Now calls to mind<br /> +Minerva how with hands prophane, the maid<br /> +Her strict behests despising, daring pry'd<br /> +To know her secrets; and the seed beheld<br /> +Of Vulcan, child without a mother form'd:<br /> +Now to her sister and the god unkind;<br /> +Rich with the gold her avarice had claim'd.<br /> +To Envy's gloomy cell, where clots of gore<br /> +The floor defil'd, enrag'd Minerva flew:<br /> +<a name="page77"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 77]</span> +A darkened vale, deep sunk, the cavern held,<br /> +where vivid sun ne'er shone, nor freshening breeze<br /> +Health wafted: torpid melancholy rul'd,<br /> +And sluggish cold; and cheering light unknown,<br /> +Damp darkness ever gloom'd. The goddess here<br /> +In conflict dreaded came, but at the doors<br /> +Her footsteps staid, for entrance Fate forbade.<br /> +The gates she strikes—struck by her spear, the gates<br /> +Wide open fly, and dark within disclose,<br /> +On vipers gorging, (her accustom'd feast,)<br /> +The envious fiend: back from the hideous sight<br /> +Recoils the goddess, and averts her eyes.<br /> +Slow rising from the ground, her half chew'd food<br /> +She quits, advancing indolently forth:<br /> +The maid, in warlike brightness clad, she saw,<br /> +In form divine, and heavy sighs burst forth<br /> +Deep from her bosom's black recess: pale gloom.<br /> +Dwells on her forehead; lean her fleshless form;<br /> +Askaunce her eyes; encrusted black her teeth;<br /> +Green'd deep with gall her breasts; her hideous tongue<br /> +With poisons lurid; laughter knows her not,<br /> +Save woes and pangs unmerited she sees;<br /> +Sleep flies her couch, by cares unceasing wrung;<br /> +At men's success she sickens, pining sad;<br /> +But stung herself, while others feel her sting<br /> +Her torture closely grasps her.—Much the maid<br /> +The sight abhors; and thus in brief she speaks:—<br /> +<a name="page78"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 78]</span> +“Deep in the breast of Cecrops' daughter fix<br /> +“Thy venom'd sting—Aglauros is the nymph.—<br /> +“More needs not.”—Speaking so Minerva fled,<br /> +Upbounding, earth she with her spear repell'd.<br /> +Glancing asquint the fury saw her rise,<br /> +And inly groan'd,—that she success should gain.<br /> +Her staff with prickly thorns enwreath'd she takes,<br /> +And forth she sallies, wrapp'd in gloomy clouds.<br /> +Where'er she flies she blasts the flowery fields;<br /> +Consumes the herbage; and the harvest blights.<br /> +Her breath pestiferous felt the cities round,<br /> +Houses and 'habitants where'er she flew.<br /> +At length the towers of Athens she beheld<br /> +With arts and riches flourishing, and blest<br /> +With holy peace. Scarce could she tears withhold,<br /> +No tearful eye throughout the place to see.<br /> +Straight to the room of Cecrops' daughter now<br /> +Her route she urges, and her task performs:<br /> +Her rusty hand upon the maiden's breast<br /> +She plants, and with sharp thorns that bosom fills;<br /> +Breathes noxious poison through her frame; imbues<br /> +With venom black her heart, and all her limbs.<br /> +Lest from her eyes escap'd, the maddening scene<br /> +Should cease to vex her, full in view she plac'd<br /> +Her sister, and her sister's nuptial rites;<br /> +And Hermes beauteous in the bridal pomp:<br /> +In beauty all, and splendor all increas'd.<br /> +<a name="page79"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 79]</span> +Mad with the imag'd sight, the maid is gnawn<br /> +With secret pangs;—deep groans the lengthen'd night,<br /> +And deep the morning hears; she wastes away<br /> +Silently wretched, lingeringly slow.<br /> +As Sol's faint rays the summer ice dissolves:<br /> +So burns she to behold the envy'd lot<br /> +Of Hersé; not with furious flames,—as weeds<br /> +Blaze not when damp, but with slow heat consume.<br /> +Oft would she wish to die: and oft the deed<br /> +To hinder, thinks to tell her rigid sire<br /> +Her sister's fault. At length her seat she takes<br /> +Across the threshold, and th' approaching god<br /> +Repuls'd; and to his blandishments, and words<br /> +Beseeching fair, and soft-alluring prayers,<br /> +She cry'd,—“Desist,—from hence I ne'er will move<br /> +“Till thou art driven away.” Swift Hermes said.—<br /> +“Keep firmly that resolve.” And with his wand<br /> +The sculptur'd portals touching, wide they flew.<br /> +But when her limbs to raise, the virgin strove,<br /> +A weighty numbness o'er the members crept<br /> +Which bend in sitting, and their movement staid.<br /> +Strenuous she strives to raise her form erect,<br /> +But stiffen'd feels her knees; chill coldness spreads<br /> +Through all her toes; and, fled the purple stream,<br /> +Her veins turn pallid: cruel cancer thus,<br /> +Disease incurable, spreads far and wide,<br /> +Sound members adding to the parts diseas'd.<br /> +<a name="page80"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 80]</span> +So gradual, o'er her breast the chilling frost<br /> +Crept deadly, and the gates of life shut close.<br /> +Complaint she try'd not; had she try'd, her voice<br /> +Had found no passage, for the stone had seiz'd<br /> +Her throat,—her mouth; to marble all was chang'd.<br /> +She sat a pallid statue;—all the stone<br /> +Her envy tainted with a livid hue.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + His vengeance, when Jove's son complete had seen,<br /> +Due to her avarice, and her envious soul;<br /> +He left Minerva's land, and up the sky<br /> +On wafting pinions mounted. There his sire,<br /> +Him from th' assembly drew; nor yet disclos'd,<br /> +The object of his love:—“Son, quickly haste,—<br /> +“Thou faithful messenger of my commands,<br /> +“Urge rapid thy descending flight, and seek<br /> +“The realm whose northern bounds thy mother star<br /> +“O'erlooks,—the land by natives Sidon call'd.<br /> +“There wilt thou pasturing find the royal herd,<br /> +“'Neath hills not distant from the sea: turn down<br /> +“This herd to meadows bordering on the beach.”<br /> +He said;—the cattle tow'rd the sea shore move,<br /> +Where sported with her Tyrian maids as wont,<br /> +The monarch's daughter. Ill majestic state<br /> +And love agree; nor long combin'd remain.<br /> +The sire and ruler of the gods resigns<br /> +His weighty sceptre: he whose right hand bears<br /> +<a name="page81"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 81]</span> +The three-fork'd fires; whose nod creation shakes,<br /> +Assumes a bull's appearance:—with the herd<br /> +Mingles; and strolling lets the tender shrubs<br /> +Brush his fair sides. Of snowy white his skin;<br /> +Such snow as rugged feet has never soil'd,<br /> +Nor southern showers dissolv'd: his brawny neck,<br /> +Strong from his shoulders stands: beneath extends<br /> +The dewlap pendulous: small are his horns;<br /> +But smooth as polish'd by the workman's hand;—<br /> +Pellucid as the brightest gems they shine:<br /> +No threatenings wear his brow; no fire his eyes<br /> +Flame fierce; but all his countenance peace proclaims.<br /> +Him much Agenor's royal maid admir'd;—<br /> +His form so beauteous, and his look so mild.<br /> +Yet peaceful as he seem'd, she fear'd at first<br /> +A close approach;—but nearer soon she drew,<br /> +And to his shining mouth the flowery food<br /> +Presented. Joy'd th' impatient lover stands,<br /> +Her fingers kissing; and with sore restraint<br /> +Defers his look'd for pleasures. Sportive now<br /> +He wantons, frisking in the grass; now rolls<br /> +His snowy sides upon the yellow sand.<br /> +Her apprehensions chas'd, by slow degrees,<br /> +The virgin's fingers playful stroke his breast;<br /> +Then bind with wreaths his horns: more daring now<br /> +Upon his back the royal maid ascends;—<br /> +Witless a god she presses. From the fields,<br /> +<a name="page82"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 82]</span> +His steps deceitful gradual turn'd, he bends,<br /> +And seeks the shore; then playful in the waves<br /> +Just dips his feet;—thence plunging deep, he swims<br /> +Through midmost ocean with his ravish'd prize.<br /> +Trembling the nymph beholds the lessening shore;——<br /> +Firm grasps one hand his horn; upon his back,<br /> +Secure the other resting: to the wind,<br /> +Her fluttering garments floating as she sails.<br /> +<a name="page83"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 83]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter5"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Third Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Unsuccessful search of Cadmus for his sister. Death of his companions +by the dragon. Overthrow of the dragon, and production of +armed men from his teeth. Thebes. Actæon devoured by his hounds. +Semelé destroyed by lightening, and the birth of Bacchus. The prophet +Tiresias. Echo: and the transformation of Narcissus. Impiety of +Pentheus. Change of the Tyrrhenian sailors to dolphins. Massacre of +Pentheus. +<a name="page84"></a> +<a name="page85"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 85]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter6"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Third Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + And now the god, his bestial form resign'd,<br /> +Shone in his form celestial as he gain'd<br /> +The Cretan shore. Meantime, the theft unknown,<br /> +Mourn'd her sad sire, and Cadmus sent to seek<br /> +The ravish'd maid; stern threatening as he went,<br /> +Perpetual exile if his searching fail'd:—<br /> +Parental love and cruelty combin'd!<br /> +All earth explor'd in vain, (for who shall find<br /> +The amorous thefts of Jove?) the exile shuns<br /> +His father's anger, and paternal soil.<br /> +A suppliant bends before Apollo's shrine,<br /> +To ask his aid;—what region he should chuse<br /> +<a name="page86"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 86]</span> +To fix his habitation. Phœbus thus;—<br /> +“A cow, whose neck the yoke has never prest,<br /> +“Strange to the crooked plough, shall meet thy steps,<br /> +“Lone in the desert fields: the way she leads<br /> +“Chuse thou,—rand where upon the grass she rests,<br /> +“Erect thy walls;—Bœotia call the place.”<br /> +Scarce had the cave Castalian Cadmus left,<br /> +When he an heifer, gently pacing, spy'd<br /> +Untended; one whose neck no mark betray'd<br /> +Of galling service. Closely treads the youth,<br /> +Slow moving in her footsteps, and adores<br /> +In silence Phœbus, leader of his way.<br /> +Now had he pass'd the Cephisidian stream,<br /> +And meads of Panopé, when stay'd the beast;<br /> +Her broad front lifted to the sky; reverse<br /> +Her lofty horns reclining, shook the air<br /> +With lowings loud; back then her face she bent,<br /> +And saw the comrades following close behind:<br /> +Down low she couch'd, and press'd the yielding grass,<br /> +Glad thanks to Phœbus, Cadmus gave, and kiss'd<br /> +The foreign soil;—the unknown hills, and land<br /> +Saluted. Then a sacrifice to Jove<br /> +Preparing, sent his followers to explore<br /> +Streams flowing from the living fountain clear.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + An ancient forest hallow'd from the axe,<br /> +Not far there stood; in whose dark bosom gloom'd<br /> +<a name="page87"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 87]</span> +A cavern:—twigs and branches thick inwove<br /> +With rocky crags, a low arch'd entrance form'd;<br /> +Where pure and copious, gush'd transparent waves.<br /> +Deep hid within a monstrous serpent lay,<br /> +Sacred to Mars. Bright shone his crested head;<br /> +His eyeballs glow'd with fire; his body swell'd<br /> +Bloated with poison; o'er a threefold row<br /> +Of murderous teeth, three quivering tongues he shook.<br /> +This grove the Tyrians with ill-fated feet<br /> +Now enter'd; and now in the waters threw,<br /> +With noisy dash, their urns. Uprears his head,<br /> +The azure serpent from the cavern deep;<br /> +And breathes forth hisses dire: their urns they drop;<br /> +The blood forsakes their bodies; sudden fear<br /> +Chills their astonish'd limbs. He writhing quick,<br /> +Forms scaly circles; spiral twisting round,<br /> +Bends in an arch immense to leap, and rears<br /> +In the thin air erect, 'bove half his height;<br /> +All the wide grove o'erlooking. Such his size,<br /> +Could all be seen, than that vast snake no less,<br /> +Whose huge bulk lies the Arctic bears between.<br /> +The Tyrians quick he seizes; some their arms<br /> +Vain grasping,—flying some,—and some through fear<br /> +To fight or fly unable:—these his jaws<br /> +Crash murderous; those his writhing tail surrounds;<br /> +Others his breath, with poison loaded, kills.<br /> +<a name="page88"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 88]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now loftiest Phœbus shorten'd shadows gave,<br /> +When Cadmus, wondering much why still his friends<br /> +Tarried so long, their parting footsteps trac'd.<br /> +His robe an hide torn from a lion's back;<br /> +A dart and spear of shining steel his arms;<br /> +With courage, arms surpassing. Now the grove<br /> +He enters, and their breathless limbs beholds;—<br /> +Their victor foe's huge bulk upon them stretch'd;<br /> +Licking with gory tongue their mournful wounds.<br /> +“My faithful friends,” he cry'd, “I will avenge<br /> +“Your fate,—or perish with you.” Straight a rock<br /> +His right hand rais'd, and with impetuous force,<br /> +Hurl'd it right on. A city's lofty walls<br /> +With all its towers, to feel the blow had shook!<br /> +Yet lay the beast unwounded; safely sheath'd<br /> +With scaly armour, and his harden'd hide:—<br /> +His skin alone the furious blow repell'd.<br /> +Not so that hardness mocks the javelin,—fixt<br /> +Firm in the bending of the pliant spine<br /> +His weapon stood,—and all the iron head<br /> +Deep in his entrails sunk. Mad with the pain,<br /> +Reverse he writhes his head;—beholds the wound;<br /> +Champs the fixt dart;—by many forceful tugs<br /> +Loosen'd at length, he tears the shaft away;<br /> +But deep the steel within his bones remains.<br /> +Now to his wonted fury fiercer flames<br /> +This torture adding, big with poison swells<br /> +<a name="page89"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 89]</span> +His throat; and flowing, round his venom'd jaws,<br /> +White foam appears; deep harrow'd with his scales<br /> +Loud sounds the earth; and vapours black, breath'd out<br /> +His mouth infernal, taint with death the air.<br /> +Now roll'd in spires, he forms an orb immense:<br /> +Now stretch'd at length he seems a monstrous beam:<br /> +Now rushing forward with impetuous force,<br /> +As sweeps a torrent swell'd by rain, his breast<br /> +Bears down th' opposing forest. Cadmus back<br /> +A step recedes, and on his lion's hide<br /> +The shock sustains;—then with protended spear<br /> +Checks his approaching jaws. Furious he strives<br /> +To wound the harden'd steel;—on the sharp point<br /> +He grinds his teeth: now from his poisonous mouth,<br /> +Began the blood to flow, and sprinkling ting'd<br /> +The virid grass; but trivial still the hurt;<br /> +For shrinking from the blow, and twisting back<br /> +His wounded neck, the stroke he still prevents<br /> +Deeper to pierce, by yielding to its force.<br /> +But pushing arduous on, Agenor's son,<br /> +Fix'd in his throat the steel;—and the sharp point<br /> +Forc'd through his neck: an oak oppos'd behind;—<br /> +The tree and neck the spear at once transfix'd.<br /> +Dragg'd by the monster's weight low bends the tree,<br /> +And groans and cracks, as lashing blows, his tail<br /> +Immense, deals round. Now whilst the victor stands<br /> +And wondering views the conquer'd serpent's size,<br /> +<a name="page90"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 90]</span> +Sudden a voice is heard, (from whence unknown,—<br /> +But plain the words he hears) “Why view'st thou thus,<br /> +“Agenor's son, the foe by thee destroy'd?<br /> +“Thou one day like this serpent shalt be seen.”<br /> +Aghast he stood,—the warm blood fled his cheeks;<br /> +His courage chang'd to terror; freezing fear<br /> +Rais'd his stiff locks erect. Lo! Pallas comes,<br /> +Pallas, the known protectress of the brave.<br /> +Smooth sliding from the higher clouds she comes;<br /> +Bids him remove the soil, and place beneath,<br /> +The serpent's fangs, a future offspring's pledge.<br /> +The prince obeys; and as with crooked share,<br /> +The ground he opens, in the furrows throws<br /> +The teeth directed. Thence, (beyond belief!)<br /> +The clods of earth at once began to move;<br /> +Then in the furrows glitter'd, first, the points<br /> +Of spears: anon fair painted crests arose,<br /> +Above bright helmets nodding: shoulders next;<br /> +And breasts; and arms, with javelins loaded came:<br /> +Thickening the harvest grew of shielded men.<br /> +Thus shews the glad theatric curtain; rais'd<br /> +The painted figures' faces first appear,<br /> +Gradual display'd; and more by slow degrees;<br /> +At length the whole stand forth, their feet all fix'd<br /> +Firm on the lower margin. Wondering, he<br /> +His new-made foe beheld; and grasp'd his arms.<br /> +But one whom earth had just produc'd, exclaim'd;—<br /> +<a name="page91"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 91]</span> +“Arm not, nor meddle in our civil broils.”<br /> +He said,—an earth-born brother, hand to hand<br /> +With sword keen-edg'd attacking; but from far,<br /> +A javelin hurl'd, dispatch'd him. Short the boast<br /> +Of him who sent it;—his death wound infix'd,—<br /> +He breathes the air out he so late receiv'd.<br /> +So rage the rest, and in the furious war<br /> +The new-made brethren fall by mutual wounds:<br /> +And on their blood-stain'd mother, dash, the youths<br /> +To short existence born, their damp cold breasts.<br /> +Five only stand unhurt,—Echion one,—<br /> +Who threw, by Pallas prompted, down his arms<br /> +And peace propos'd: his brethren took his pledge.<br /> +These join the Tyrian prince, and social aid<br /> +His efforts, when th' appointed walls he builds;<br /> +Obedient to the Delphic god's commands.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The Theban walls now rais'd, thou, Cadmus seem'd<br /> +Blest in thy exile. Mars and Venus gave<br /> +Their daughter to thy wife. This spouse so fam'd,<br /> +Thee daughters brought, and sons,—a numerous tribe;<br /> +And grandsons, pledges dear of nuptial joys,<br /> +Already risen to manhood. But too true<br /> +That man should still his final day expect;<br /> +Nor blest be deem'd till flames his funeral pyre.<br /> +Thy grandson's fate, O, Cadmus! first with grief<br /> +Thy bosom wrung, amid thy prosperous state:<br /> +<a name="page92"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 92]</span> +The alien horns which nodded o'er his brow;<br /> +And ye, voracious hounds, with blood full-gorg'd,<br /> +Your master's life-stream. Yet by close research,<br /> +We find unlucky chance, not vice, his crime.<br /> +<ins class="hemistich"> +<table> +<tr><td>What sin in error lies?</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td>The hills were drench'd</td></tr> +</table> +</ins> +With blood of numerous slaughter'd savage beasts;<br /> +And objects shorten'd shadows gave: the sun<br /> +Exalted view'd each equi-distant goal;<br /> +When the young Theban hunter thus address'd,<br /> +His fellow sportsmen with a friendly call;<br /> +As wide they rov'd the savage lairs among.<br /> +“Our weapons, comrades, and our nets are moist<br /> +“With blood of spoil; sufficient sport this day<br /> +“Has given. But when Aurora next appears,<br /> +“High on her saffron car, and light restores,<br /> +“Then be our pleasing exercise resum'd.<br /> +“Now Phœbus, distant far from west and east,<br /> +“Cracks the parch'd ground with heat;—desist from toil,<br /> +“And fold your knotted snares.” His words obey,<br /> +His men, and from their sportive labor cease.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Near stood a vale, where pointed cypress form'd<br /> +With gloomy pines a grateful shade, and nam'd<br /> +Gargaphié;—sacred to the girded maid:<br /> +Its deep recess a shrubby cavern held,<br /> +<a name="page93"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 93]</span> +By nature modell'd,—but by nature, art<br /> +Seem'd equall'd, or excell'd. A native arch<br /> +Of pumice light, and tophus dry, was form'd;<br /> +And from the right a stream transparent flow'd,<br /> +Of trivial size, which spread a pool below;<br /> +With grassy margin circled. Dian' here,<br /> +The woodland goddess, weary'd with the chace,<br /> +Had oft rejoic'd to bathe her virgin limbs.<br /> +As wont she comes;—her quiver, and her dart,<br /> +And unstrung bow, her armour-bearing nymph<br /> +In charge receives. Disrob'd, another's arms<br /> +Sustain her vest. Two from her feet unloose<br /> +Her sandals. Crocalé, Ismenian nymph,<br /> +Than others more expert, her tresses binds,<br /> +Loose o'er her shoulders floating, in a knot;<br /> +Her own wild flowing still. Five more the streams<br /> +In huge urns lifting; Hyalé, and Niphé,<br /> +Phialé, Rhanis, Psecas, lave her limbs.<br /> +Here while the goddess in the limpid wave<br /> +Washes as 'custom'd,—lo! Actæon comes;—<br /> +His sportive toil till morning dawn deferr'd:<br /> +And roving through the vale with random steps,<br /> +By hapless fate conducted, he arrives<br /> +Close to the sacred grove. Within the grot<br /> +Stream-pouring, when he stept, the naked nymphs,—<br /> +Then first by man beheld,—their bosoms beat;<br /> +Fill'd the deep grove with outcries loud; and round<br /> +<a name="page94"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 94]</span> +Diana crowded, screening as they could<br /> +Her limbs with theirs. Yet high above them tower'd<br /> +The goddess, and her neck their heads o'erlook'd.<br /> +As blush the clouds by Phœbus' adverse rays<br /> +Deep ting'd;—or as Aurora in the morn;<br /> +So blush'd the virgin-goddess, seen unrob'd.<br /> +Sideway she stood, though closely hemm'd around<br /> +By clustering nymphs, and backward bent her face:<br /> +Then anxious praying she could reach her darts,<br /> +In vain,—she seiz'd the waters which she could,<br /> +And dash'd them o'er his features:—as his locks,<br /> +The vengeful drops besprinkled, thus in rage,<br /> +She cry'd,—“Now tell thou hast Diana seen<br /> +“Disrob'd;—go tell it, if thou canst,”—no more,<br /> +With threatenings storm'd, but on his sprinkled head,<br /> +The antlers of the long-liv'd stag are plac'd.<br /> +His neck is lengthen'd; with a sharpen'd point,<br /> +His upright ears are form'd; to feet his hands,—<br /> +To long and slender legs his arms are chang'd;<br /> +And round his body clings a dappled coat.<br /> +Fear in his bosom she instils: the youth,<br /> +The bold Actæon flies, and wondering feels<br /> +His bounding feet so rapid in the race.<br /> +But soon the waters shew'd his branching horns;<br /> +And,—“ah unhappy me!” he strove to cry:<br /> +His voice he found not; sighs and sobs were all;<br /> +And tears fast streaming down his alter'd face.<br /> +<a name="page95"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 95]</span> +Still human sense remains. Where shall he turn?<br /> +His royal palace seek,—or in the woods<br /> +Secluded hide?—To tarry fear forbids,<br /> +And shame prevents returning. While he doubts<br /> +His hounds espy him. Quick-nos'd Tracer first,<br /> +And Blackfoot give the signal by their yell:<br /> +Tracer of Crete, and Blackfoot Spartan bred.<br /> +Swifter than air the noisy pack rush on;<br /> +Arcadian Quicksight; Glutton; Ranger, stout;<br /> +Strong Killbuck; Whirlwind, furious; Hunter, fierce;<br /> +Flyer, swift-footed; and quick-scented Snap:<br /> +Ringwood, late wounded by a furious bear;<br /> +And Forester, by savage wolf begot:<br /> +Flock-tending Shepherdess; with Ravener fierce,<br /> +And her two whelps; and Sicyonian Catch:<br /> +The thin flank'd greyhound, Racer; Yelper; Patch;<br /> +Tiger; Robust; Milkwhite, with snowy coat;<br /> +And coalblack Soot. First in the race, fleet Storm;<br /> +Courageous Spartan Swift; and rapid Wolf;<br /> +Join'd with his Cyprian brother, Snatch, well mark'd<br /> +With sable forehead on a coat of white:<br /> +Blackcoat: and thickhair'd Shag: Worrier; and Wild,—<br /> +Twins from a dam Laconian sprung, their sire<br /> +Dictæan: Babbler with his noisy throat:—<br /> +But all to name were endless. Urg'd by hope<br /> +Of prey they crowd; down precipices rush;<br /> +O'er rocks, and crags; through rugged paths, and ways<br /> +<a name="page96"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 96]</span> +Unpass'd before. His hounds he flies, where oft<br /> +His hounds he had pursu'd. Poor wretch! he flies<br /> +His own domestics, striving hard to call,<br /> +“Actæon am I!—villains, know your lord.”<br /> +Words aid him not: loud rings the air with yells,<br /> +Howlings, and barkings:—Blackhair first, his teeth<br /> +Fix'd in his back; staunch Tamer fasten'd next;<br /> +And Rover seiz'd his shoulder: tardy these,<br /> +The rest far left behind, but o'er the hills<br /> +Athwart, the chase they shorten'd. Now the pack,<br /> +Join'd them their lord retaining; join'd their teeth<br /> +Their victim seizing:—now his body bleeds,<br /> +A wound continuous: deep he utters groans,<br /> +Not human, yet unlike a dying deer;<br /> +And fills the well-known mountains with his plaint.<br /> +Prone on his knees in suppliant form he bends;<br /> +And low beseeching waves his silent head,<br /> +As he would wave his hands. His witless friends,<br /> +The savage pack with joyous outcries urge;<br /> +Actæon anxious seeking: echoing loud<br /> +Eager his name as absent. At the name,<br /> +His head he turns. His absence irks them sore,<br /> +As lazy loitering, not the noble prey<br /> +Obtain'd, beholding. Joyful could he be,<br /> +At distance now,—but hapless is too near:<br /> +Glad would he see the furious dogs their fangs,<br /> +On other prey than his torn limbs infix.<br /> +<a name="page97"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 97]</span> +On every side they crowd; their dying lord,<br /> +A well-seem'd deer, they rend; their ravenous teeth<br /> +Deep tear his members. With a thousand wounds,<br /> +(Dian's insatiate anger less despis'd)<br /> +The hapless hunter yielded forth his breath.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Report flies dubious; some the goddess blame<br /> +For disproportion'd vengeance; others warm<br /> +Applaud the deed as worthy one so pure;<br /> +And reasons weighty either party urge:<br /> +Jove's consort only silent: she nor blames<br /> +The action, nor approves; but inward joys,<br /> +Agenor's house should such misfortune feel.<br /> +The hatred nourish'd for the Tyrian maid,<br /> +Her brother's offspring visits. Now fresh cause<br /> +Of wrath succeeds; enrag'd the goddess learns<br /> +That Semelé, embrac'd by mighty Jove,<br /> +Is pregnant. Straight broke loose her angry tongue,<br /> +And loud she storm'd:—“Advantage much I gain<br /> +“By endless railing at unfaithful Jove!<br /> +“This harlot will I find,—and, if with truth<br /> +“They potent Juno stile me, she shall die.<br /> +“Destruction shall o'erwhelm her, if beseems<br /> +“My hand the sparkling sceptre of the sky:<br /> +“If queen I am to Jove;—if sister;—wife:—<br /> +“His sister doubtless am I, if no more.<br /> +“Content perchance is Semelé to joy<br /> +<a name="page98"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 98]</span> +“In pleasures briefly tasted; and my wrongs<br /> +“Though deep, not lasting. No!—she must conceive<br /> +“Foul aggravation of her shameless deed!<br /> +“Her swelling womb unblushing proves her crime:<br /> +“By Jove she longs to be a mother hail'd;<br /> +“Which scarcely I can boast. Such faith her pride,<br /> +“In conscious beauty places. Trust me not,<br /> +“Or she mistaken proves. As I am child<br /> +“Of hoary Saturn, she shall sink o'erwhelm'd<br /> +“By her own Jove; and dip in Stygian waves.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + She said, and starting from her regal throne,<br /> +Wrapt in a dusky cloud descended; o'er<br /> +The threshold stepp'd of Semelé, nor chas'd<br /> +Her darkening veil, till like an ancient dame<br /> +She stood display'd. White hairs her temples strew'd;<br /> +Deep furrows plough'd her skin; her bending limbs<br /> +Quiver'd beneath her weight; her tremulous voice<br /> +Exhausted age betray'd: she stood to view<br /> +Old Beroë, from Epidaurus come,<br /> +The nurse of Semelé. With tedious tales<br /> +She garrulous amus'd:—when in her turn<br /> +Listening, the name of Jupiter she heard<br /> +She sigh'd, and said,—“May he be truly Jove!<br /> +“But age is still suspicious. Chastest beds<br /> +“Have been by these pretended gods defil'd:<br /> +“For if the deity supreme he be,<br /> +<a name="page99"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 99]</span> +“Why comes he thus disguis'd? If true his love,<br /> +“Why prove it not? Urge thou an anxious wish<br /> +“To clasp him in his might, in such a sort,<br /> +“As lofty Juno he embraces;—round<br /> +“Begirt with all the ensigns of his power.”<br /> +Thus Juno artful, Semelé's desires<br /> +Apt moulded to her mind. From Jove she prays<br /> +A nameless boon: the ready god consents;—<br /> +“Chuse what thou wilt, nor least denial dread:<br /> +“To prove my faith, I call the Stygian streams<br /> +“To witness, terror of the god of gods.”<br /> +Joy'd at her fatal prayer's too large success;<br /> +And by her lover's prompt compliance, doom'd<br /> +To sure destruction;—“This,” said she, “I wish;—<br /> +“When with me next you love's delights enjoy,<br /> +“Appear as when Saturnia fills your arms.”<br /> +Fain would the god have stopp'd her mouth:—too soon<br /> +The hasty words found entrance to his ears.<br /> +Deep mourn'd he. Equal now the fates forbid,<br /> +The wish retracted, or the oath absolv'd.<br /> +Sorrowing he seeks the lofty heaven: his nod<br /> +Dark rolling clouds collects: here form black showers;<br /> +And hurricanes; and flashing lightenings mixt;<br /> +Thunders; and his inevitable bolt:<br /> +Anxious he strives with all his power to damp,<br /> +The fierceness of his flames: nor arm'd him now,<br /> +With those dread fires that to the earth dash'd down<br /> +<a name="page100"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 100]</span> +The hundred-handed foe:—too powerful they.<br /> +He chose a milder thunder;—less of rage,<br /> +Of fire, and fury, had the Cyclops given<br /> +The mass when forg'd; a second-rated bolt.<br /> +Clad in mild glory thus, the dome he seeks<br /> +Of Semelé;—her mortal frame too weak,<br /> +To bear th' ethereal shock, fierce scorcht she sunk,<br /> +Beneath the nuptial grant. Th' imperfect babe,<br /> +Snatcht from his mother's smoking womb, was sew'd<br /> +(If faith the tale deserves) within his thigh;<br /> +There to complete the period of his growth.<br /> +Ino, his aunt maternal, then receiv'd<br /> +The boy; in private rear'd him, till the nymphs<br /> +Of Nysa's mountains, in their secret caves<br /> +Shelter'd, and fed with milk, th' entrusted charge.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + While the rash promise caus'd on earth those deeds,<br /> +And twice-born Bacchus' cradle safe was hid;<br /> +'Tis said that Jove with heavenly nectar flush'd,<br /> +All serious cares dismiss'd. With sportive jests,<br /> +At ease conversing, he and Juno sate:<br /> +When he:—“The thrilling ecstasies of love,<br /> +“Are surely strongest on the female side.”<br /> +She differs,—and the question both agree<br /> +Tiresias, who each sex had prov'd, shall judge.<br /> +Two mighty snakes he spy'd upon the grass,<br /> +Twisted in Venus' wreaths; and with his staff<br /> +<a name="page101"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 101]</span> +Hard smote them;—instant alter'd was his sex.<br /> +Wonderous! he woman of a man became,<br /> +Seven winters so he liv'd:—the eight, again<br /> +He spy'd the same; and cry'd,—“If such your power,<br /> +“That whoso strikes you must their gender change,<br /> +“Once more I'll try the spell.” Straight as the blow<br /> +The snakes receiv'd, his pristine form return'd:<br /> +Hence was he chosen, in the strife jocose,<br /> +As umpire; and the words of Jove confirm'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Much, say they, Juno rag'd; more than beseem'd<br /> +The trivial cause, or sentence justly given;<br /> +And veil'd the judge's eyes in endless night.<br /> +But Jove omnipotent, him gave to know,<br /> +(For fate forbids to cancel others' deeds)<br /> +What future times conceal; a light divine;<br /> +An honor'd gift to mitigate his pain.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Fam'd far and wide through all Bœotia's towns,<br /> +Unerring answers still the prophet gave,<br /> +To all who sought him. Blue Liriopé,<br /> +First prov'd his faith, and ne'er-deceiving words.<br /> +Her once Cephisus, in his winding stream<br /> +Entwin'd, and forceful in his waves enjoy'd.<br /> +The beauteous nymph's full womb, in time produc'd<br /> +A babe, whose features ev'n from birth inspir'd<br /> +Th' attendant nymphs with love; Narcissus nam'd.<br /> +<a name="page102"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 102]</span> +For him enquiring, whether doom'd to see,<br /> +The peaceful period of maturest age,<br /> +The fate-foretelling prophet thus reply'd:—<br /> +“Yes,—if himself he never knows.” The words<br /> +Were long absurd esteem'd: but well th' event<br /> +Their justice prov'd; his strange unheard of death;<br /> +And love of object never lov'd before.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now sixteen summers had Narcissus seen,<br /> +A boy in beauty, but in growth a man;<br /> +And crowds of youths his friendship sought, and crowds<br /> +Of damsels sought his love: but fiercely pride<br /> +Swell'd in his snowy bosom; and he spurn'd<br /> +His friends' advances, and the love-sick maids.<br /> +A chattering nymph, resounding Echo, saw<br /> +The youth, when in his toils the trembling deer<br /> +He drove;—a nymph who ne'er her words retain'd,<br /> +Nor dialogue commenc'd. But then she bore<br /> +A body palpable; and not, as now,<br /> +Merely a voice:—yet garrulous, she then<br /> +That voice, nor other us'd; 'twas all she could,<br /> +The closing words of speakers to repeat.<br /> +Juno had this ordain'd: for oft the dame<br /> +The frailer nymphs upon the hills had caught,<br /> +In trespass with her Jove; but Echo sly<br /> +With lengthen'd speech the goddess kept amus'd,<br /> +Till all by flight were sav'd. Soon Juno saw<br /> +<a name="page103"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 103]</span> +The trick:—“The power of that delusive tongue,”—<br /> +She cry'd, “I'll lessen, and make brief thy words;”<br /> +Nor stay'd, but straight her threaten'd vengeance took.<br /> +Now she redoubles (all she can) the words<br /> +Which end another's speech; reporting back,<br /> +<ins class="hemistich"> +<table> +<tr><td>But only what she hears.</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td>Through pathless woods</td></tr> +</table> +</ins> +As roves Narcissus, Echo sees, and burns;<br /> +Steals in his footsteps, following close, but flames<br /> +More fierce, more near approaching. Sudden thus,<br /> +The sulphurous daubing o'er the torches spread,<br /> +Snatches th' approaching flame. How oft she wish'd<br /> +With bland and soothing words to hail the youth;<br /> +But nature harsh forbids, nor grants to make<br /> +The first commencement; what she grants she takes,<br /> +And anxious waits to catch the wish'd-for sounds;<br /> +And speak responsive. Chance the youth had led<br /> +Far from his social troop, and loud he cry'd,—<br /> +“Who's he that hither comes?” Attentive she,—<br /> +Reply'd, “O hither come!” Amaz'd he stood,<br /> +Round searching whence the voice; and louder still,<br /> +“Here come!” exclaim'd,—and Echo answer'd,—“Come!”<br /> +To every part his eyes in vain are bent;<br /> +And, “why,” laments he, “dost thou me avoid?”<br /> +Again he hears her,—“dost thou me avoid?”<br /> +Still he persists; th' alternate voice deceives,—<br /> +<a name="page104"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 104]</span> +And,—“come, approach, together let us join,”<br /> +Impatient now he utters: ardent she<br /> +Exclaims, in joyful accents,—“let us join!”<br /> +Her wish in person urging, from the grove<br /> +She springs, and wide extends her arms to clasp<br /> +His neck:—Narcissus flies, and flying calls,—<br /> +“Desist!—hold off thy hands;—may sooner death<br /> +“Me seize, than thou enjoy me.” Nought the maid<br /> +Re-echoes, but,—“enjoy me.” Close conceal'd,<br /> +By him disdain'd, amid the groves she hides<br /> +Her blushing forehead, where the leaves bud thick;<br /> +And dwells in lonely caverns. Still her flame<br /> +Clings close around her heart; and sharper pangs<br /> +Repulse occasions: cares unceasing waste<br /> +Her wretched form: gaunt famine shrivels up<br /> +Her skin; and all the moistening juice which fed<br /> +Her body, flies in air: her voice and bones<br /> +Alone are left: her voice, unchang'd;—her bones<br /> +To craggy stones are harden'd. Still in groves<br /> +She hides secluded; nor on hills appears:<br /> +Heard frequent; only heard, and nought but sound.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thus slighted he the nymph; nor her alone,<br /> +But numbers else who o'er the mountains rov'd;<br /> +Or sported in the waves. Nor less his pride,<br /> +When more mature: keen smarting from his scorn,<br /> +To heaven one rais'd her hands, and ardent pray'd;—<br /> +<a name="page105"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 105]</span> +“Ordain that he may love, but love like me<br /> +“One ne'er to be enjoy'd!” Rhamnusia grants<br /> +To prayers so just, th' assenting nod. There stood,<br /> +A mudless pool, whose waters silvery bright,<br /> +The shepherds touch'd not,—nor the mountain goats,<br /> +Nor lowing herds: which birds, and fierce wild beasts,<br /> +Dabbling disturb'd not:—nor a wither'd branch,<br /> +Dropt from a tree o'erhanging. Round the brink,<br /> +Fed by the moisture, virid grass arose;<br /> +And trees impervious to the solar beam,<br /> +Screen'd the cool surface. Weary'd with the chase,<br /> +And faint with heat, here laid Narcissus down;<br /> +Charm'd with the place, and tempted by the pool.<br /> +Here as he seeks to quench his burning thirst,<br /> +He burns with other fires: and while he drinks,<br /> +<a name="page105quote"></a>Caught by the image of his beauteous face,<br /> +He loves th' unbody'd form: a substance thinks<br /> +The shadow:—loves enraptur'd,—loves himself!<br /> +Fixes with eager gaze upon the sight<br /> +As on a face in Parian marble wrought.<br /> +Stretcht on the ground, his own bright eyes he views,<br /> +Twin stars;—his fingers, such as Bacchus grace;<br /> +His tresses like Apollo's;—downy cheeks,<br /> +Unbearded yet; his neck as ivory white;<br /> +The roseate blooming fading into snow:<br /> +Each trait admiring which the hapless nymphs,<br /> +In him admir'd. Unwitting youth, himself<br /> +<a name="page106"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 106]</span> +He wants;—at once beloving, and belov'd:<br /> +Himself desiring, by himself desir'd:<br /> +Burning with love, while by himself he burns.<br /> +Oft, stooping, were his fruitless kisses given:<br /> +Oft were his arms outstretch'd to clasp the neck<br /> +So plainly seen beneath the waters. No!—<br /> +Himself he could not clasp. Whom he beholds,<br /> +He knows not; but for whom he sees he burns.<br /> +The error that his eye deceives, provokes<br /> +His rage. O, foolish youth! why vainly grasp<br /> +A fleeting shadow? What thou seek'st is not:—<br /> +And what thou lov'st thou now destroy'st:—thou see'st<br /> +A semblance only;—a reflected shade—<br /> +Nought of itself: with thee it came;—with thee<br /> +It stays;—and with thee, if thou could'st, would go.<br /> +Not hunger's power has force to drag him thence;<br /> +Nor cares of sleep oppress him. Thrown along<br /> +The shaded grass, he bends insatiate eyes<br /> +Tow'rds the fallacious beauty;—by those eyes<br /> +He perishes. Now half-uprais'd, his arms<br /> +Outspread, to all the groves around he cry'd:—<br /> +“Ye woods, whose darken'd shades so oft have given<br /> +“Convenient privacies to lovers, say,<br /> +“Saw you e'er one so cruelly who lov'd?<br /> +“In ages heap'd on ages you have stood,<br /> +“Remember ye a youth who pin'd as I?<br /> +“Pleas'd with the object, I its form behold;<br /> +<a name="page107"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 107]</span> +“But what I see, and what so pleases flies.<br /> +“I find it not: in such bewilder'd maze<br /> +“The lover stands. And what my grief augments,<br /> +“No mighty seas divide us; lengthen'd roads;<br /> +“Nor lofty hills; nor high embattled walls,<br /> +“With portals clos'd: asunder are we held<br /> +“By trivial drops of water. It no less<br /> +“Than I, would give th' embrace; for when I bend<br /> +“My lips to kiss it in the limpid stream;<br /> +“With rising lips to meet, it anxious strives:<br /> +“Then might you think we touch, so faint a line<br /> +“Sunders us lovers. Come! whate'er thou art,<br /> +“Come hither! why thus mock me, dearest form?<br /> +“Why fly my wooing thus? My beauty sure,<br /> +“Nor youth are such as should provoke thy flight:<br /> +“For numerous nymphs for me have burn'd. Some hope<br /> +“Thy kindly sympathizing face affords;<br /> +“And when my anxious arms I stretch,—thy arms<br /> +“Advance to clasp me:—when I smile, thou smil'st:<br /> +“And often have I noted, when the tears<br /> +“Stream'd down my cheeks, a rivulet on thine:<br /> +“I nod,—thou, answering, noddest: and those lips,<br /> +“Those beauteous lips, whose movements plain I see,<br /> +“Words utter sure to mine,—though I forbid,<br /> +“The sounds to hear. In thee am I!—no more<br /> +“My shadow me deceives: I see the whole;<br /> +“Love for myself consumes me:—flames self-rais'd,<br /> +<a name="page108"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 108]</span> +“Myself torment. What hope? be woo'd,—or woo?<br /> +“Wooing, or being woo'd, where is my gain?<br /> +“Myself I wish, and plenty makes me poor.<br /> +“Would that my body from itself could part!<br /> +“Strange wish for lovers, what most dear they love,<br /> +“Absent to pray. Grief undermines my strength;<br /> +“Nor long my life can linger;—immature,<br /> +“In youth I perish: but in me no fears,<br /> +“Can death infuse, of all my woes the end;<br /> +“Might I but leave this lovely object, still<br /> +“Existing: now two images, alas!<br /> +“Sink with one soul in death.” Narcissus wails;<br /> +And raving turns to view the face again.<br /> +His tears the waters trouble; and the face<br /> +So beauteous, scarce is seen. Griev'd, he exclaims,<br /> +When disappearing,—“Whither fly'st thou? stay—<br /> +“Stay, I beseech thee; cruel, fly me not,—<br /> +“Thy lover: grant me still to view the form,<br /> +“To touch forbidden:—food, at least, afford<br /> +“To this unhappy flame.” Lamenting thus,<br /> +He from his shoulders tore his robe, and beat<br /> +With snow-white hands his bosom; at the blow<br /> +His bosom redden'd: so the cherry seems,<br /> +Here ruddy blushing, there as fair as snow:<br /> +Or grapes unripe, part purpling to the sun,<br /> +In vary'd clusters. This he soon espy'd,<br /> +Reflected in the placid pool; no more<br /> +<a name="page109"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 109]</span> +He bore it, but as gentle fire dissolves<br /> +The yellow wax: as Phœbus' morning beams<br /> +Melt the light hoar;—so wasted he,—by love<br /> +Gradual consum'd, as by a secret fire.<br /> +No more the ruddy teints appear, with white<br /> +Soft blended. All his active strength decays;<br /> +And all that pleas'd so lately. Ev'n his form<br /> +So much by Echo lov'd, no more remains.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + All Echo saw; and though of former slights<br /> +Still mindful, griev'd; and when the hapless youth<br /> +“Alas!” exclaim'd; responsive sigh'd, “Alas!”<br /> +When on his breast the blows resounded; blows<br /> +Loud answering his were heard. His final words,<br /> +Gazing still earnest on the wonted wave,<br /> +Were,—“dearest form, belov'd in vain!”—the words<br /> +Resounded from the grove: “farewel,” he cry'd,<br /> +And Echo cry'd, “farewel.” Weary'd he threw,<br /> +On the green turf his head. Night clos'd his eyes;<br /> +Their owner fond admiring. Now retir'd<br /> +To regions far beneath, the Stygian lake<br /> +Reflects his form. The Naiäd sisters wail,<br /> +Shorn of their tresses, which to him they throw:<br /> +The Dryads also mourn; their bosoms beat;<br /> +And Echo answers every tearful groan.<br /> +A pile they build; the high-tost torches bring;<br /> +And funeral bier; but, lo! the corpse is gone:<br /> +<a name="page110"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 110]</span> +A saffron-teinted flower alone is found,<br /> +Rising encircled with its snowy leaves.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Th' adventure spread through all the Achaian towns,<br /> +And much repute th' unerring augur gain'd.<br /> +Great now his prophesying fame. Alone,<br /> +Pentheus despis'd him;—(he the gods despis'd)<br /> +And only he;—he mock'd each holy word<br /> +Sagely prophetic:—with his rayless eyes<br /> +Reproach'd him. Angrily, his temples hoar<br /> +With reverend locks, the prophet shook, and said;—<br /> +“Happy for thee, if thus of light bereft,<br /> +“The Bacchanalian orgies ne'er to see!<br /> +“The day approaches, nor far distant now;<br /> +“My sight prophetic tells,—when here will come<br /> +“Bacchus new-born, of Semelé the son,<br /> +“Whose rites, if thou with honor due, not tend'st<br /> +“In temples worthy,—scatter'd far and wide,<br /> +“Thy limbs dismember'd shall the ground bestrew:<br /> +“Thy blood the forests shall distain;—thy gore<br /> +“Thy aunts,—nay e'en thy mother, shall pollute:<br /> +“For thou such honors, as immortals claim,<br /> +“Shalt to the god deny; then wilt thou find<br /> +“Beneath this darkness I but see too well.”<br /> +Thus speaking, Echion's son the prophet push'd<br /> +Harshly away; but his too faithful words<br /> +Time prov'd;—the threaten'd deeds accomplish'd all.<br /> +<a name="page111"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 111]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Lo! Bacchus comes, and all the country rings<br /> +With joyous outcries; crowds on crowds thick swarm;—<br /> +Matrons, and wives new-wedded, mixt with men;<br /> +Nobles, and commons; all the impulse bears,<br /> +To join the stranger's rites. But Pentheus thus;—<br /> +“Offspring of Mars! O nation, serpent born!<br /> +“What madness fills your minds? Can piercing sounds<br /> +“Of brass from brass rebounding; winding horns,<br /> +“And magic cheatings, then possess such power?<br /> +“You whom the warlike sword, the trumpet's clang,<br /> +“And battle's edge, dread bristling close with arms,<br /> +“Appal not; yield ye thus to female howls;<br /> +“Wine's maddening fumes; a filthy shameless crowd;<br /> +“And empty cymbals? In amaze, I see,<br /> +“You venerable men who plough'd the seas,<br /> +“And here, a refuge for your exil'd gods,<br /> +“This second Tyre have built,—without a blow,<br /> +“Yield it a spoil! Ye too, robuster youths,<br /> +“Of hardier age, and years more near my own;—<br /> +“Whom warlike arms, than Thyrsi more become;<br /> +“And brows with helmets than with leaves comprest:<br /> +“Think whence you sprang, and let the thought inspire<br /> +“Your souls with all the dragon's fierceness: he<br /> +Singly slew hosts: he for his fountain fell;<br /> +You for your honor vanquish. He destroy'd<br /> +The valiant; you th' effeminate expel;<br /> +And all the glory of your sire regain.<br /> +<a name="page112"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 112]</span> +“If fate to Thebes a speedy fall decrees,<br /> +“May heroes, O, ye gods! with battering force<br /> +“O'erturn her walls;—may the sword rage, and flames<br /> +“Crackling, devour her. Wretched though our lot;<br /> +“Not criminal: our fate, though much bemoan'd,<br /> +“Would need concealment not: tears then might flow,<br /> +“But not from shame. Now unresisting Thebes,<br /> +“Yields to a boy unarm'd; who never joys<br /> +“In armies, steeds, nor swords;—but more in locks<br /> +“With myrrh moist-dropping, garlands soft, and robes<br /> +“Of various teints, with gold and purple gay.<br /> +“Rest ye but tranquil, and without delay,<br /> +“Him will I force to own his boasted sire<br /> +“Untrue; and forg'd those new invented rites.<br /> +“Had not Acrisius bravery to despise<br /> +“The counterfeited deity, and close<br /> +“The gates of Argos on him? And must now<br /> +“This wanderer come, and Pentheus terrify,<br /> +“With all the power of Thebes! Haste, quickly haste,”—<br /> +He bade his servants,—“hither drag, firm chain'd,<br /> +“This leader. Quick, nor brook my words delay!”<br /> +His grandsire, Athamas, and all the crowd<br /> +Reprove;—while thus he rails, with fruitless toil<br /> +Labor to stop him. Obstinate he stands,<br /> +More raging at remonstrance; and his ire<br /> +Restrain'd, increases; goading more and more;<br /> +Restraint itself enkindling more his rage.<br /> +<a name="page113"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 113]</span> +So may be seen a river rolling smooth,<br /> +With murmuring nearly silent, while unchecked;<br /> +But when by rocks, or bulky trees oppos'd,<br /> +Foaming and boiling furious, on it sweeps<br /> +Impetuous raging; fiercer, more withstood.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + With blood besmear'd, his men return;—their lord<br /> +For Bacchus anxious asks;—but Bacchus they,<br /> +To find, arriv'd too late;—“but here,” they cry,—<br /> +“Here have we seiz'd his comrade;—one who joins<br /> +“His train, and joins his rites.” (The Tuscans once<br /> +The Bacchanalian orgies follow'd.) Bound<br /> +Behind, his hands, their prisoner they present.<br /> +Pentheus survey'd the stranger, while his eyes<br /> +Sparkled with rage terrific: with constraint<br /> +His torture so deferring, thus he spoke;—<br /> +“Wretch! ere thou sufferest,—ere thy death shall give<br /> +“A public warning,—tell thy name;—confess<br /> +“Thy sire; declare thy country; and the cause<br /> +“Those rites thou celebratest in a mode<br /> +“Diverse from others.” Fearless, he reply'd;—<br /> +“Acœtes is my name: my natal land,<br /> +“Tyrrhenia: from an humble stock I spring.<br /> +“Lands by strong oxen plough'd, or wool-clad flocks,<br /> +“Or lowing herds my father left me none:<br /> +“For poor was he;—his daily toil to catch<br /> +“With nets and lines the fish, and as they leap'd,<br /> +<a name="page114"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 114]</span> +“Draw with his bending rod the prey to land:<br /> +“His skill his sole estate. When unto me<br /> +“This art he taught,—receive, said he, my wealth;<br /> +“Such wealth as I possess; heir to my toil,<br /> +“And to my toil successor: dying, he<br /> +“To me bequeath'd the waters;—nothing more:<br /> +“These only as paternal wealth I claim.<br /> +“But soon, disliking on the self-same rock<br /> +“To dwell, I learn'd the art to rule the track<br /> +“Plough'd by the keel, with skilful guiding hand;<br /> +“And learn'd th' Olenian sign, the showery goat;<br /> +“Taygeté; and the Hyädes; the Bear;<br /> +“The dwellings of the winds; and every port<br /> +“Where ships could shelter. Once for Delos bound,<br /> +“By chance, the shore of Chios' isle we near'd;<br /> +“And when our starboard oars the beach had touch'd,<br /> +“Lightly I leap'd, and rested on the land.<br /> +“Now, night expir'd, Aurora warmly glow'd,<br /> +“And rousing up from sleep, my men I bade<br /> +“Supplies of living waters bring; and shew'd<br /> +“What path the fountain led to. I meanwhile,<br /> +“A lofty hill ascending, careful mark'd<br /> +“The wish'd-for wind approaching;—loud I call'd<br /> +“My fellows, and with haste the vessel gain'd.<br /> +“Lo! cry'd Opheltes, chief of all my crew,—<br /> +“Lo! here we come;—and from the desart fields,<br /> +“(A prize obtain'd, he thought),—he dragg'd along<br /> +<a name="page115"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 115]</span> +“A boy of virgin beauty tow'rd the sands:<br /> +“Staggering, the youth, with wine and sleep opprest,<br /> +“With difficulty follow'd. Closely I<br /> +“His dress, his countenance, and his gait remark;<br /> +“And all I see, displays no mortal man.<br /> +“Conscious, I speak my comrades thus:—Unknown<br /> +“To me, what deity before us stands,<br /> +“But sure I am, that form conceals a god.<br /> +“O thou! whoe'er thou art, assist us;—aid<br /> +“Our undertakings;—who have seiz'd thee, spare,<br /> +“Unknowing what they did. Bold Dictys cries,—<br /> +“Than whom none swifter gain'd the topmost yards,<br /> +“Nor on the cordage slid more agile down;—<br /> +“Prayers offer not for us. Him Lybis joins;<br /> +“And brown Melanthus, ruler of the helm;<br /> +“Alcimedon unites; Epopeus too,<br /> +“Who rul'd the rowers, and their restings mark'd;<br /> +“(Arduous they urg'd their sinews by his voice)—<br /> +“Nay all Opheltes join,—the lust of gain,<br /> +“So blinded all their judgments. Still I cry;—<br /> +“Ne'er will I yield my vessel to behold<br /> +“Burthen'd with such a sacrilegious load:<br /> +“Pre-eminent is here my right. I stand<br /> +“To those who strive to hoist him in, oppos'd.<br /> +“Bold and outrageous, far beyond the rest,<br /> +“Was Lycabas; from Tuscan shore exil'd<br /> +<a name="page116"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 116]</span> +“For deeds of murderous violence: he grasp'd<br /> +“My throat with force athletic, as I stood,<br /> +“And in the waves had flung me; but sore stunn'd,<br /> +“A cable caught, and sav'd me. Loud the crew<br /> +“The impious deed applauded. Bacchus rose,<br /> +“(The boy was Bacchus!) with the tumult loud<br /> +“Rous'd from his sleep;—the fumes of wine dispell'd,<br /> +“His senses seem'd restor'd. What is't you do?<br /> +“What noise is this? he cry'd;—What brought me here?<br /> +“O, mariners! inform me;—tell me where<br /> +“You carry me! Fear not,—the pilot said,—<br /> +“Say but the port, where most thou'dst chuse to land;—<br /> +“Thither we straight will steer. The god reply'd;—<br /> +“To Naxos then your course direct; that isle<br /> +“My native soil I call:—to you that isle<br /> +“A friendly shore shall prove. False men, they swear,<br /> +“By ocean, and by all the sacred gods,<br /> +“This to perform; and order me to loose,<br /> +“The painted vessel's sails. Full on the right<br /> +“Stood Naxos. Loudly one to me exclaims;<br /> +“As tow'rd the right I trim the sails to steer;—<br /> +“What now, Acœtes? madman! fool! what now?<br /> +“Art thou distracted? to the left we sail.—<br /> +“Most nod significant their wishes: some<br /> +“Soft whisper in my ear. Astounded, I<br /> +“Let others guide!—exclaim,—and quit the helm;<br /> +<a name="page117"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 117]</span> +“Guiltless of aiding in their treacherous guile.<br /> +“Loud murmurings sound from all; and loudly one,<br /> +“Ethalion, cries;—in thee alone is plac'd<br /> +“Our safety, doubtless!—forward steps himself;—<br /> +“My station seizes; and a different course<br /> +“Directs the vessel, Naxos left behind.<br /> +“The feigning god, as though but then, the fraud<br /> +“To him perceptible, the waves beholds<br /> +“From the curv'd poop, and tears pretending, cries;—<br /> +“Not this, O, seamen! is the promis'd shore:<br /> +“Not this the wish'd-for land! What deed of mine<br /> +“This cruel treatment merits? Where the fame<br /> +“Of men, a child deceiving; numbers leagu'd<br /> +“Misleading one? Fast flow'd my tears with his;<br /> +“Our tears the impious mob deride, and press<br /> +“The ocean with their strong-propelling oars.<br /> +“Now by the god himself, I swear, (and none<br /> +“To vows more ready listens) that the tale,<br /> +“Though in appearance credence far beyond,<br /> +“Is strictly true. Firm fixt amid the waves<br /> +“The vessel stands, as in a harbour laid<br /> +“Dry from the ocean! Wondering, they their oars,<br /> +“With strokes redoubled ply; loose to the wind<br /> +“More sails; and with this double aid essay<br /> +“Onward to urge. Their oars with ivy twin'd,<br /> +“Are clogg'd; the curving tendrils crooked spread;<br /> +<a name="page118"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 118]</span> +“The sails with clustering berries loaded hang.<br /> +“His temples girded with a branchy crown,<br /> +“Whence grapes hang dangling, stands the god, and shakes<br /> +“A spear entwisted with the curling vine.<br /> +“Round seem to prowl the tiger, and the lynx,<br /> +“And savage forms of panthers, various mark'd.<br /> +“Up leap'd the men, by sudden madness mov'd;<br /> +“Or terror only: Medon first appear'd<br /> +“Blackening to grow, with shooting fins; his form<br /> +“Flatten'd; and in a curve was bent his spine.<br /> +“Him Lycabas address'd;—what wonderous shape<br /> +“Art thou receiving?—speaking, wide his jaws<br /> +“Expanded; flatten'd down, his nose appear'd;<br /> +“A scaly covering cloth'd his harden'd skin.<br /> +“Lybis to turn the firm fixt oars attempts,<br /> +“But while he tries, perceives his fingers shrink;<br /> +“And hands, now hands no longer, fins he sees.<br /> +“Another round the cordage strives his arms<br /> +“To clasp,—but arms he has not,—down he leaps<br /> +“Broad on his crooked back, and seeks the waves.<br /> +“Forkt is their new-made tail; like Luna's form<br /> +“Bent in the skies, ere half her orb is fill'd.<br /> +“Bounding all round they leap;—now down they dash,<br /> +“Besprinkling wide the foamy drops; now 'merge;<br /> +“And now re-diving, plunge in playful sport:<br /> +“As chorus regular they act, and move<br /> +<a name="page119"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 119]</span> +“Their forms in shapes lascivious; spouting high,<br /> +“The briny waters through their nostrils wide.<br /> +“Of twenty now, (our ship so many bore)<br /> +“I only stand unchang'd; with trembling limbs,<br /> +“And petrify'd with fear. The god himself,<br /> +“Scarce courage in my mind inspires; when thus,—<br /> +“Pale terror from thy bosom drive, and seek<br /> +“The isle of Naxos.—Thither come, I tend<br /> +“On smoking altars, Bacchus' sacred rites.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Him Pentheus angry stopp'd. “Thy tedious tale,<br /> +“Form'd to divert my rage, in vain is told.<br /> +“Here, men, swift drag him hence!—dispatch his soul,<br /> +“Driven from his body, down to Stygian night;<br /> +“By pangs excruciating.” Straight close pent,<br /> +In solid dungeon is Acœtes thrown,<br /> +While they the instruments of death prepare;<br /> +The cruel steel; the flames;—spontaneous fly<br /> +Wide ope the dungeon doors; spontaneous fall<br /> +The fetters from his arms, and freed he goes.<br /> +Stubborn, the son of Echion still persists;<br /> +But sends no messenger: himself proceeds,<br /> +To where Cythæron, for the sacred rites<br /> +Selected, rings with Bacchanalian songs,<br /> +And outcries shrill. As foams an high-bred steed,<br /> +When through the speaking brass the warlike trump,<br /> +<a name="page120"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 120]</span> +Sounds the glad signal; and with ardor burns<br /> +For battle: so the air, with howlings loud<br /> +Re-echoing, Pentheus moves, and doubly flames<br /> +His rage, to hear the clangor. Clear'd from trees,<br /> +A plain extends, from every part fair seen,<br /> +And near the mountain's centre: round its skirt,<br /> +Thick groves grow shady. Here his mother saw<br /> +His eye unhallow'd view the sacred rites;<br /> +And first,—by frantic madness urg'd,—she first<br /> +Furious the Thyrsus at her Pentheus flung:<br /> +Exclaiming loud;—“Ho, sisters! hither haste!<br /> +“Here stands the furious boar that wastes our grounds:<br /> +“My hand has smote him.” Raging rush the crowd,<br /> +In one united body. All close join,<br /> +And all pursue the now pale trembling wretch.<br /> +No longer fierce he storms; but grieving blames<br /> +His rashness, and his obstinacy owns.<br /> +Wounded,—“dear aunt, Autonoë!”—he cries,<br /> +“Help me!—O, let your own Actæon's ghost<br /> +“Move you to pity!” She, Actæon's name<br /> +Nought heeding, tears his outstretcht arm away;<br /> +The other, Ino from his body drags!<br /> +And when his arms, unhappy wretch, he tries<br /> +To lift unto his mother, arms to lift<br /> +Were none;—but stretching forth his mangled trunk<br /> +Of limbs bereft;—“look, mother!”—he exclaims.<br /> +<a name="page121"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 121]</span> +Loud howl'd Agavé at the sight; his neck<br /> +Fierce grasping,—toss'd on high his streaming locks,<br /> +Her bloody fingers twisted in his hair.<br /> +Then clamor'd loudly;—“joy, my comrades, joy!<br /> +“The victory is mine!” Not swifter sweep<br /> +The winds those leaves which early frosts have nipp'd,<br /> +And lightly to the boughs attach'd remain,<br /> +Than scatter'd flew his limbs by furious hands.<br /> +<a name="page122"></a> +<a name="page123"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 123]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter7"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Fourth Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Feast of Bacchus. Impiety and infidelity of Alcithoë and her sisters. +Story of Pyramus and Thisbe. Amour of Mars and Venus. The lovers +caught by Vulcan in a net. Sol's love for Leucothoë, and her change to +a tree of frankincense. Clytié transformed to a sunflower. Tale of +Salmacis and Hermaphroditus. Transformation of Alcithoë and her +sisters to bats. Juno's fury. Madness of Athamas; and deification of +Ino and Melicertes. Change of the Theban women to rocks and birds. +Cadmus and Hermione changed to serpents. Perseus. Transformation +of Atlas to a mountain. Andromeda saved from the sea monster. Story +of Medusa. +<a name="page124"></a> +<a name="page125"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 125]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter8"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Fourth Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + Warn'd by the dreadful admonition, all<br /> +Of Thebes the new solemnities approve;<br /> +Bring incense, and to Bacchus' altars bend.<br /> +Alcithoë only, Minyäs' daughter, views<br /> +His orgies still with unbelieving eyes.<br /> +Boldly, herself and sisters, partners all<br /> +In impious guilt, refuse the god to own,<br /> +The progeny of Jove. The prophet bids<br /> +Each mistress with her maids, to join the feast:<br /> +(Sacred the day from toil). Their breasts to clothe<br /> +In skins; the fillets from their heads to loose;<br /> +With ivy wreathe their brows; and in their hands<br /> +<a name="page126"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 126]</span> +The leafy Thyrsus grasp. Threatening, he spoke,<br /> +In words prophetic, how th' affronted god<br /> +Would wreak his ire. Matrons and virgins haste;<br /> +Throw by their baskets; quit the loom, and leave<br /> +Th' unfinish'd threads: sweet incense they supply<br /> +Invoking Bacchus by his various names.<br /> +Bromius! Lyæus! power in flames produc'd!—<br /> +Produc'd a second time! god doubly born!<br /> +Born of two mothers! Nyseus! they exclaim;<br /> +Long-hair'd Thyoneus!—and the planter fam'd<br /> +Of genial grapes! Lenæus! too, they sing;<br /> +Nyctelius! Elelcus! and aloud<br /> +Iäcchus! Evan! with the numerous names,<br /> +O Liber! in the Grecian land thou hold'st.<br /> +Unwaning youth is thine, eternal boy!<br /> +Most beauteous form in heaven! a virgin's face<br /> +Thou seem'st to bear, when seen without thy horns.<br /> +Stoops to thy arms the East, where Ganges bounds<br /> +The dusky India:—Deity rever'd!<br /> +Thou impious Pentheus sacrific'd; and thou,<br /> +The mad Lycurgus punish'd with his axe:<br /> +By thee the Tyrrhene traitors, in the main<br /> +Were flung: Adorn'd with painted reins, thou curb'st<br /> +The lynxes in thy chariot yok'd abreast:<br /> +Thy steps the Satyrs and Bacchantes tread;<br /> +And old Silenus; who with wine o'ercharg'd,<br /> +With a long staff his tottering steps sustains:<br /> +<a name="page127"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 127]</span> +Or on a crooked ass, unsteady sits:<br /> +Where'er thou enterest shout the joyous youth,<br /> +Females and males immingled: loud the drums<br /> +Struck by their hands resound;—and loudly clash<br /> +The brazen cymbals: soft the boxen flutes<br /> +<ins class="hemistich"> +<table> +<tr><td>Deep and melodious sound!</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td>Now prays all Thebes</td></tr> +</table> +</ins> +The god's approach in mildness; and perform<br /> +His sacred rites as bidden. Sole remain<br /> +At home secluded, Minyäs' daughters,—they<br /> +With ill-tim'd industry the feast prophane.<br /> +Busy, they form the wool, and twirl the thread;<br /> +Or to the loom stick close, and all their maids<br /> +Urge to strict labor. One with dexterous thumb<br /> +The slender thread extending, cries;—“while all,<br /> +“Idly, those rites imaginary tend,<br /> +“Let us, whom Pallas, deity more great,<br /> +“Detains, our useful labors lighter make<br /> +“By vary'd converse. Each in turn relate<br /> +“Her tale, while others listen; thus the time<br /> +“Less tedious shall appear.” All pleas'd applaud<br /> +The proposition; and her sisters beg<br /> +That she the tales commence. Long she demurs,<br /> +What story first, of those she knew, to tell;<br /> +For numerous was her store. In doubt, thy tale,<br /> +Dercetis Babylonian, to relate,<br /> +<a name="page128"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 128]</span> +Whose form, the Syrians think, with scales is cloth'd;<br /> +The stagnant pools frequenting: or describe<br /> +Thy daughter's change, on waving pinions borne;<br /> +Who lengthen'd age obtain'd, on lofty towers<br /> +Safe dwelling: or of Naïs, who the youths<br /> +With magic works, and potent witching words<br /> +To silent fishes turn'd; till she the same<br /> +Vile transformation suffer'd: or the tree,<br /> +Which once in clusters white its berries bore,<br /> +Now blood besprinkled, growing black. This tale<br /> +Most novel, pleas'd the most: and as she spun<br /> +Her slender thread, the nymph the tale began.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Thisbe, the brightest of the eastern maids;<br /> +“And Pyramus, the pride of all the youths,<br /> +“Contiguous dwellings held, in that fam'd town,<br /> +“Where lofty walls of stone, we learn were rais'd,<br /> +“By bold Semiramis. Their neighbouring scite,<br /> +“Acquaintance first encourag'd,—primal step<br /> +“To further intimacy: love, in time,<br /> +“Grew from this chance connection; and they long'd<br /> +“To join by lawful rites: but harsh forbade,<br /> +“Their rigid sires the union fate had doom'd.<br /> +“With equal ardor both their minds inflam'd,<br /> +“Burnt fierce; and absent every watchful spy<br /> +“By nods and signs they spoke; for close their love<br /> +“Conceal'd they kept;—conceal'd it burn'd more fierce.<br /> +<a name="page129"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 129]</span> +“The severing wall a narrow chink contain'd,<br /> +“Form'd when first rear'd;—what will not love espy?<br /> +“This chink, by all for ages past unseen,<br /> +“The lovers first espy'd.—This opening gave<br /> +“A passage for their voices; safely through,<br /> +“Their tender words were breath'd in whisperings soft.<br /> +“Oft punctual at their posts,—on this side she,<br /> +“And Pyramus on that;—each breathing sighs,—<br /> +“By turns inhaling, have they mutual cry'd;—<br /> +“Invidious wall! why lovers thus divide?<br /> +“Much were it, did thy parts more wide recede,<br /> +“And suffer us to join? were that too much<br /> +“A little opening more, and we might meet<br /> +“With lips at least. Yet grateful still we own<br /> +“Thy kind indulgence, which a passage gives,<br /> +“And amorous words conveys to loving ears.<br /> +“Thus they loquacious, though on sides diverse,<br /> +“Till night their converse stay'd;—then cry'd, adieu!<br /> +“And each imprinted kisses, which the stones<br /> +“Forbade to taste. Soon as Aurora's fires<br /> +“Remov'd the shades of night, and Phœbus' rays<br /> +“From the moist earth the dew exhal'd, they meet<br /> +“As 'custom'd at the wall: lamenting deep,<br /> +“As wont in murmuring whispers: bold they plan,<br /> +“Their guards evading in the silent night,<br /> +“To pass the outer gates. Then, when escap'd<br /> +“From home, to leave the city's dangerous shade;<br /> +<a name="page130"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 130]</span> +“But lest, in wandering o'er the spacious plains<br /> +“They miss to meet, at Ninus' sacred tomb<br /> +“They fix their assignation,—hid conceal'd<br /> +“Beneath th' umbrageous leaves. There grew a tree,<br /> +“Close bordering on a cooling fountain's brink;<br /> +“A stately mulberry;—snow-white fruit hung thick<br /> +“On every branch. The plot pleas'd well the pair.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “And now slow seems the car of Sol to sink;<br /> +“Slow from the ocean seems the night to rise;<br /> +“Till Thisbe, cautious, by the darkness veil'd,<br /> +“Soft turns the hinges, and her guards beguiles.<br /> +“Her features veil'd, the tomb she reaches,—sits<br /> +“Beneath th' appointed tree: love makes her bold.<br /> +“Lo! comes a lioness,—her jaws besmear'd<br /> +“With gory foam, fresh from the slaughter'd herd,<br /> +“Deep in th' adjoining fount her thirst to slake.<br /> +“Far off the Babylonian maid beheld<br /> +“By Luna's rays the horrid foe,—quick fled<br /> +“With trembling feet, and gain'd a darksome cave:<br /> +“Flying, she dropp'd, and left her robe behind.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Now had the savage beast her drought allay'd,<br /> +“And backward to the forest roaming, found<br /> +“The veiling robe;—its tender texture rent,<br /> +“And smear'd the spoil with bloody jaws. The youth<br /> +“(With later fortune his strict watch escap'd)<br /> +<a name="page131"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 131]</span> +“Spy'd the plain footsteps of a monster huge<br /> +“Deep in the sand indented!—O'er his face<br /> +“Pale terror spread: but when the robe he saw,<br /> +“With blood besmear'd, and mangled; loud he cry'd,—<br /> +“One night shall close two lovers' eyes in death!<br /> +“She most deserving of a longer date.<br /> +“Mine is the fault alone. Dear luckless maid!<br /> +“I have destroy'd thee;—I, who bade thee keep<br /> +“Nocturnal meetings in this dangerous place,<br /> +“And came not first to shield thy steps from harm.<br /> +“Ye lions, wheresoe'er within those caves<br /> +“Ye lurk! haste hither,—tear me limb from limb!<br /> +“Fierce ravaging devour, and make my tomb<br /> +“Your horrid entrails. But for death to wish<br /> +“A coward's turn may serve. The robe he takes,<br /> +“Once Thisbe's, and beneath th' appointed tree<br /> +“Bearing it, bath'd in tears; with ardent lips<br /> +“Oft fondly kissing, thus he desperate cries;—<br /> +“Now with my blood be also bath'd!—drink deep!<br /> +“And in his body plung'd the sword, that round<br /> +“His loins hung ready girt: then as he dy'd,<br /> +“Hasty withdrew, hot reeking from the wound,<br /> +“The steel; and backwards falling, press'd the earth.<br /> +“High spouts the sanguine flood! thus forth a pipe,<br /> +“(The lead decay'd, or damag'd) sends a stream<br /> +“Contracted from the breach; upspringing high,<br /> +“And loudly hissing, as the air it breaks<br /> +<a name="page132"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 132]</span> +“With jets repeated. Sprinkled with the blood,<br /> +“The tree's white fruit a purple tinge receiv'd;<br /> +“Deep soak'd with blood the roots convey the stain<br /> +“Inly, and tinge each bough with Tyrian dye.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Now Thisbe comes, with terror trembling still,<br /> +“Fearful, she Pyramus expecting waits:<br /> +“Him seek her beating bosom, and her eyes;<br /> +“Anxious the peril she escap'd to tell.<br /> +“Well mark'd her eyes the place,—and well the tree;<br /> +“The berries chang'd in color, long she doubts<br /> +“The same or no. While hesitating thus,<br /> +“The panting members quivering she beholds,<br /> +“Upon the sanguin'd turf; and back recoils!<br /> +“Paler than box her features grow; her limbs<br /> +“More tremble than when ocean fretful sounds,<br /> +“Its surface briskly by the breezes swept.<br /> +“Nor long the pause, her lover soon is known;<br /> +“And now her harmless breast with furious blows<br /> +“She punishes; her tresses wild she rends;<br /> +“Clasps the lov'd body; and the gaping wound<br /> +“Fills with her tears,—their droppings with the blood<br /> +“Immingling. On his clay-cold face she press'd<br /> +“Her kisses, crying;—Pyramus! what chance<br /> +“Has torn thee from me thus? My Pyramus!<br /> +“Answer me,—'tis thy dearest Thisbe speaks!<br /> +“She calls thee,—hear me,—raise that dying face!<br /> +<a name="page133"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 133]</span> +“At Thisbe's name, his lids, with death hard weigh'd,<br /> +“He rais'd—beheld her,—and forever clos'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Him dying thus,—her lacerated veil;<br /> +“The ivory scabbard empty'd of its sword;<br /> +“She saw,—at once the truth upon her mind<br /> +“Flash'd quick. Alas! thy hand, by love impell'd,<br /> +“Has wrought thy ruin: but to me the hand,<br /> +“In this, at least, shall equal force display,<br /> +“For equal was my love; and love will grant<br /> +“Sufficient strength the deadly wound to give.<br /> +“In death I'll follow thee; with justice call'd<br /> +“Thy ruin's wretched cause,—but comrade too.<br /> +“Thou whom, but death seem'd capable to part<br /> +“From me, shalt find ev'n death too weak will prove.<br /> +“Ye wretched mourning parents, his and mine!<br /> +“The dying prayers respect of him,—of me:<br /> +“Grant that, entomb'd together, both may rest;<br /> +“A pair by faithful love conjoined,—by death<br /> +“United close. And thou fair tree which shad'st<br /> +“Of one the miserable corse; and two<br /> +“Soon with thy boughs wilt cover,—bear the mark<br /> +“Of the sad deed eternal;—ting'd thy fruit<br /> +“With mournful coloring: monumental type<br /> +“Of double slaughter. Speaking thus, she plac'd<br /> +“The steely point, while yet with blood it smok'd,<br /> +“Beneath her swelling breast; and forward fell.<br /> +<a name="page134"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 134]</span> +“Her final prayer reach'd heaven; her parents reach'd:<br /> +“Purple the berries blush, when ripen'd full;<br /> +“And in one urn the lovers' ashes rest.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + She ceas'd: a silent interval, but short,<br /> +Ensu'd; and next Leuconoë thus address'd<br /> +Her listening sisters:—“Ev'n the sun himself,<br /> +“Whose heavenly light so universal shines,<br /> +“To love is subject: his amours I tell.<br /> +“This deity's keen sight the first espy'd—<br /> +“(For all things penetrating first he sees)<br /> +“The crime of Mars and Venus; sore chagrin'd,<br /> +“To Vulcan he th' adulterous theft display'd,<br /> +“And told him where they lay. Appall'd he heard,—<br /> +“And dropp'd the tools his dexterous hand contain'd;<br /> +“But soon recover'd. Slender chains of brass,<br /> +“And nets, and traps he form'd; so wonderous fine,<br /> +“They mock'd the power of sight: for far less fine,<br /> +“The smallest thread the distaff forms; or line,<br /> +“Spun by the spider, pendent from the roof.<br /> +“Curious he form'd it; at the lightest touch<br /> +“It yielded; each momentum, slight howe'er,<br /> +“Caus'd its recession: this he artful hung,<br /> +“The couch enfolding. When the faithless wife,<br /> +“And paramour upon the bed embrac'd,<br /> +“Both in the lewd conjunction were ensnar'd;<br /> +“Caught by the husband's skill, whose art the chains<br /> +<a name="page135"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 135]</span> +“In novel form had fram'd. The Lemnian god<br /> +“Instant wide threw the ivory doors, and gave<br /> +“Admittance free to every curious eye:<br /> +“In shameful guise together bound they laid.<br /> +“But some light gods, not blaming much the sight,<br /> +“Would wish thus sham'd to lie: loud laugh'd the whole,<br /> +“And long in heaven the tale jocose was told.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “The well-remember'd deed, the Cyprian queen<br /> +“Retorting, made the god remember too:<br /> +“And him who her conceal'd amours disclos'd,<br /> +“In turn betray'd. What now, Hyperion's son,<br /> +“Avails thy beauty!—or thy radiant flames?<br /> +“For thou, whose fires warm all the wide-spread world,<br /> +“Burn'st with a new-felt heat! Thou, whose wide view,<br /> +“Should every object grasp, with partial ken<br /> +“Leucothoë only see'st! that nymph alone,<br /> +“Attracts those eyes, whose lustre all the world<br /> +“Expect to view. Oft in the eastern skies,<br /> +“More early rising, art thou seen; and oft<br /> +“More tardy 'neath the waves thou sinkest: long<br /> +“The wintry days thou stretchest, with delay<br /> +“Thy object lov'd to see. Meantime pale gloom<br /> +“O'ercasts thy orb; the dullness of thy mind<br /> +“Obstructs thy brightness; and thy rays obscure,<br /> +“Terror in mortal breasts inspire. Not pale<br /> +“Thou fadest, as, when nearer whirl'd to earth,<br /> +<a name="page136"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 136]</span> +“Faint Luna's shadow o'er thy surface glooms:<br /> +“But love, and only love the paleness gives.<br /> +“Her only, now thy amorous soul pursues;<br /> +“Rhodos, nor Clymené, nor Persé fair,<br /> +“Of Colchian Circé mother, tempt thee now;<br /> +“Nor Clytié, whom thy cold neglect still spurns;<br /> +“Yet still she burns to clasp thee: deep she mourns,<br /> +“Stung more acutely by this fresh amour.<br /> +“Now in Leucothoë, every former love<br /> +“Is lost. Leucothoë, whom the beauteous nymph,<br /> +“Eurynomé, in odoriferous climes<br /> +“Of Araby brought forth. Full-grown, matur'd,<br /> +“Leucothoë's beauteous form no less surpass'd<br /> +“Her mother's, than her mother's all beside.<br /> +“Her sire, the royal Orchamus (who claim'd<br /> +“A seventh descent from ancient Belus) rul'd<br /> +“The Achæmenian towns. The rapid steeds<br /> +“Of Phœbus pasture 'neath the western sky;<br /> +“Not grass, ambrosia, eating; heavenly food,<br /> +“Which nerves their limbs, faint with diurnal toil,<br /> +“Restoring all their ardor. Whilst the steeds,<br /> +“This their celestial nourishment enjoy;<br /> +“And night, as 'custom'd, governs in her turn;<br /> +“The god the close apartments of his nymph<br /> +“Beloved, enters;—form'd to outward view,<br /> +“Eurynomé her mother. Her he saw<br /> +“The slender threads from spindle twirling fine,<br /> +<a name="page137"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 137]</span> +“Illumin'd by the lamp; and circled round<br /> +“By twice six female helpers. Warm he gave<br /> +“As a lov'd daughter, his maternal kiss,<br /> +“And said;—our converse secrecy demands.—<br /> +“Th' attendant maids depart,—nor hinderance give,<br /> +“Loitering, a mother's secret words to hear.<br /> +“When he, the chamber free from spy or guard,<br /> +“Exclaims,—no female I! behold the god,<br /> +“The lengthen'd year who spaces! who beholds<br /> +“Each object earth contains! the world's great eye<br /> +“By which it all surveys. My tender words<br /> +“Believe, I dearly love thee. Pale she look'd,<br /> +“While thus he spoke;—started, and trembling dropp'd<br /> +“Her distaff, and her spindle from her hand<br /> +“Nerveless. But ev'n her terror seem'd to add<br /> +“Fresh beauty to her features. Longer he<br /> +“Delay'd not, but his wonted form assum'd;<br /> +“In heavenly splendor shining. Mild the maid,<br /> +“Won by his beauteous brightness, (though at first,<br /> +“His sudden shape surpriz'd her) sunk beneath<br /> +“The force he urg'd, with unresisting power.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “The jealous Clytié (who with amorous flame<br /> +“Burn'd for Apollo) urg'd by harlot's rage,<br /> +“Straight to the sire, Leucothoë's crime betray'd;<br /> +“Painting the nymph's misdeed with heighten'd glow.<br /> +“Fierce rag'd the father,—merciless inhum'd<br /> +<a name="page138"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 138]</span> +“Her living body deep in earth! Outstretcht<br /> +“High to the sun her arms, and praying warm<br /> +“For mercy;—he by force, she cry'd, prevail'd!<br /> +“O'er her untimely grave a lofty mound<br /> +“Of sand, her sire uprear'd. Hyperion's son<br /> +“Through this an opening with his beams quick form'd,<br /> +“Full wide for her, her head intomb'd to lift,<br /> +“Once to the light again. Thy bury'd corse<br /> +“No more thou now couldst raise; the ponderous load<br /> +“Of earth prevents thee; and a bloodless mass,<br /> +“Exanimate, thou ly'st! Not deeper grief<br /> +“'Tis said, the ruler of the swift-wing'd steeds,<br /> +“Display'd, when o'er the earth the hapless flames<br /> +“By Phaëton were thrown. Arduous he strives,<br /> +“Her gelid limbs, with all his powerful rays<br /> +“To vivid heat recal: stern fate withstands<br /> +“His utmost urg'd endeavours: bathing then<br /> +“Her pallid corse, and all the earth around<br /> +“With odorous nectar, sorrowing sad he cries;—<br /> +“Yet, shalt thou reach the heavens! And soon began<br /> +“Her limbs, soft melting in celestial dew,<br /> +“With moistening drops of strong perfume to flow:<br /> +“Slowly a frankincense's rooted twigs<br /> +“Spread in the earth,—its top the hillock burst.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Angry the god (though violent love the pain<br /> +“Of jealousy might well excuse,—the pain<br /> +<a name="page139"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 139]</span> +“Of jealousy the tale) from Clytié now<br /> +“Abstains; no more in amorous mood they meet.<br /> +“Rash now the deed her burning love had caus'd,<br /> +“Too late she found;—she flies her sister-nymphs;<br /> +“And pining, on the cold bare turf she sits;<br /> +“By day,—by night,—sole shelter'd by the sky;<br /> +“Her dripping tresses matted round her brows:<br /> +“Food,—drink, abhorring. Nine long days she bore<br /> +“Sharp famine, bath'd with dew, bath'd with her tears;<br /> +“Still on the ground prone lying. Yet the god<br /> +“In circling motion still she ardent view'd;<br /> +“Turning her face to his. Tradition tells,<br /> +“Her limbs to earth grew fasten'd: ghastly pale<br /> +“Her color; chang'd to bloodless leaves she stood,<br /> +“Streak'd ruddy here and there;—a violet flower<br /> +“Her face o'erspreading. Still that face she turns,<br /> +“To meet the sun;—though binding roots retain<br /> +“Her feet, her love unalter'd still remains.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + She ended; all their listening ears, well pleas'd,<br /> +The wonderous story heard. Some hard of faith<br /> +Its truth, its probability deny.<br /> +To true divinities such power some grant;<br /> +And power to compass more;—to Bacchus none<br /> +Such potence own. The sisters, silent now,<br /> +Alcithoë beg to speak: she shooting swift<br /> +Her shuttle through th' extended threads, exclaims;—<br /> +<a name="page140"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 140]</span> +“Of Daphnis' love, so known, on Ida's hill,<br /> +“His flocks who tended, whom his angry nymph,<br /> +“To stone transform'd (such fury fires the breast<br /> +“Of those who desperate love!) I shall not tell:<br /> +“Nor yet of Scython, of ambiguous form,<br /> +“Now male, now female; nature's wonted laws<br /> +“Inconstant proving: thee, O Celmis! too<br /> +“I pass; once faithful nurse to infant Jove,<br /> +“Now chang'd to adamant: Curetes! sprung<br /> +“From showery floods: Crocus, and Smilax, both<br /> +“To blooming flowers transform'd: unnotic'd these,<br /> +“My tale from novelty itself shall please:<br /> +“How Salmacis so infamous became,<br /> +“Then list; whose potent waves, the luckless limbs<br /> +“Enerve, of those they bathe. Conceal'd the cause;<br /> +“Yet far and wide the fountain's power is known.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Deep in the sheltering caves of Ida's hill,<br /> +“The Naiäd nymphs a beauteous infant nurs'd;<br /> +“Whom Cyprus' goddess unto Hermes bore.<br /> +“His father's beauty, and his mother's, shone<br /> +“In every feature; in his name conjoin'd<br /> +“He bore their appellations. When matur'd<br /> +“By fifteen summers, from paternal hills<br /> +“Straying, he wander'd from his nursing Idé:<br /> +“In lands unknown he joy'd, and joy'd to see<br /> +“Strange rivers,—pleasure lessening every toil.<br /> +<a name="page141"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 141]</span> +“Through Lycia's towns he stray'd; and further still,<br /> +“To bordering Caria, where a pool he spy'd,<br /> +“Whose lowest depth a gleam transparent shew'd:<br /> +“No marshy canes,—no filthy barren weeds,<br /> +“Nor pointed bulrush near the margin grew:<br /> +“Full on the eye the water shone, yet round<br /> +“Its brink a border smil'd of verdant turf,<br /> +“And plants forever green. Here dwelt a nymph,<br /> +“But one who never join'd the active chace;<br /> +“The bow who never bent; who never strove<br /> +“To conquer in the race: of all the nymphs,<br /> +“Alone no comrade of Diana fleet.<br /> +“Oft, as 'tis said, her sister-nymphs exclaim'd;—<br /> +“Come, Salmacis, thy painted quiver take;<br /> +“Or take thy javelin;—with soft pleasures mix<br /> +“Laborious sporting: but nor javelin she,<br /> +“Nor painted quiver took;—with sportive toil,<br /> +“Soft pleasures mingling: sole intent to bathe,<br /> +“Her beauteous limbs amidst her own clear waves;<br /> +“And through her flowing tresses oft to draw<br /> +“The boxen comb, while o'er the fountain bent,<br /> +“She studies all her graces: now, her form<br /> +“Clad in a robe transparent, stretcht she lies,<br /> +“Or on the yielding leaves, or bending grass;<br /> +“Now flowers she culls;—and so it chanc'd to fall,<br /> +“Flowers she was gathering, when she first beheld<br /> +“The charming youth; no sooner seen than lov'd.<br /> +<a name="page142"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 142]</span> +“Not forth she rush'd at first, though strongly urg'd,<br /> +“Forward to spring, but all adjusted fair:<br /> +“Closely survey'd her robe; her features form'd;<br /> +“And every part in beauteous shape compos'd.<br /> +“Then thus address'd him;—O, most godlike youth!<br /> +“And if a god, the lovely Cupid sure!<br /> +“But if of mortal mould, blest is thy sire!<br /> +“Blest is thy brother! and thy sister blest!—<br /> +“If sister hast thou;—and the fostering breast<br /> +“Which fed thy infant growth: but far 'bove all<br /> +“In rapturous bliss, is she who calls thee spouse;<br /> +“Should nymph exist thou deem'st that bliss deserves!<br /> +“If wedded, grant a stol'n embrace to me;<br /> +“If not, let me thy nuptial couch ascend.<br /> +“The Naiäd ceas'd: a bashful glow suffus'd<br /> +“His face, for nought of love to him was known:<br /> +“Yet blushing seem'd he lovely: thus warm glows<br /> +“The apple, to the ripening sun expos'd;<br /> +“Or teinted ivory; or the redden'd moon,<br /> +“Whom brazen cymbals clash to help in vain.<br /> +“To her, warm praying for at least a kiss,<br /> +“A chaste, a sister's kiss,—her arms firm claspt<br /> +“Around his ivory neck;—desist! he cries,<br /> +“Desist! or sole to thee the place I'll leave.<br /> +“His flight she dreaded, and reply'd,—I go,<br /> +“Dear youth, and freely yield the spot to thee.<br /> +“And seems indeed, her steps from him to turn;<br /> +<a name="page143"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 143]</span> +“But still in sight she kept him; lurking close<br /> +“Shelter'd by shadowy shrubs, on bended knees.<br /> +“Of spy unconscious, he in boyish play<br /> +“Frisks sportive here and there; dips first his feet,<br /> +“Then ancles deeper in the wantoning waves;<br /> +“Pleas'd with the temper of the lucid pool:<br /> +“Till hasty stript from off his tender limbs<br /> +“His garments soft he flings. More deeply struck<br /> +“Stood Salmacis; more fiercely flam'd her love,<br /> +“His naked beauty seen. Her gloating eyes<br /> +“Sparkled no less than seem bright Phœbus' rays,<br /> +“When shining splendid, midst a cloudless sky,<br /> +“A mirror's face reflecting gives them back.<br /> +“Delay ill brooking, hardly she contains<br /> +“Her swelling joy; frantic for his embrace,<br /> +“She pants, and hard from rushing forth refrains.<br /> +“His sides he claps, and agile in the steam<br /> +“Quick plunges, moving with alternate arms.<br /> +“Bright through the waves he shines; thus white appears<br /> +“The sculptur'd ivory, or the lily fair,<br /> +“Seen through a crystal veil. The Naiäd cries;—<br /> +“Lo! here I come;—he's mine,—the youth's my own!<br /> +“And instant far was every garment flung.<br /> +“Midst of the waves she leaps;—the struggling youth<br /> +“Clasps close; and on his cold reluctant lips,<br /> +“Forces her kisses; down she girds his arms;<br /> +“And close to hers hugs his unwilling breast:<br /> +<a name="page144"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 144]</span> +“Final, around the youth who arduous strives<br /> +“In opposition, and escape essays,<br /> +“Her limbs she twines: so twines a serpent huge,<br /> +“Seiz'd by the bird of Jove, and borne on high,<br /> +“Twisting his head, the feet close-bracing holds;<br /> +“The wide-spread wings entangled with his tail:<br /> +“So twines the ivy round the lengthen'd bough:<br /> +“So numerous Polypus his foe confines,<br /> +“Seiz'd in the deep, with claws on every side<br /> +“Firm graspt. But Hermes' son persisting still,<br /> +“The Naiäd's wish denies; she presses close,<br /> +“And as she cleaves, their every limb close join'd<br /> +“Exclaims;—ungallant boy! but strive thy most,<br /> +“Thou shalt not fly me. Grant me, O ye gods!<br /> +“No time may ever sunder him from me,<br /> +“Or me from him.—Her prayer was granted straight;—<br /> +“For now, commingling, both their bodies join'd;<br /> +“And both their faces melted into one.<br /> +“So, when in growth we boughs ingrafted see,<br /> +“The bark inclosing both at once, they sprout.<br /> +“Thus were their limbs, in strong embrace comprest,<br /> +“Wrapp'd close; no longer two in form, yet two<br /> +“In feature; nor a nymph-like face remain'd,<br /> +“Nor yet a boy's: it both and neither seem'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “When Hermes' son beheld the liquid stream,<br /> +“Where masculine he plung'd, the power possess<br /> +<a name="page145"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 145]</span> +“To enervate his body, and his limbs<br /> +“Effeminately soften; high he rais'd<br /> +“His arms, and pray'd (but not with manly voice)<br /> +“O, sire! O, mother dear! indulge your son,<br /> +“Your double appellation bearing, this<br /> +“Sole-urg'd petition. Whoso in these waves<br /> +“In strong virility, like me, shall plunge,<br /> +“Hence let him go, like me enervate made;<br /> +“Spoilt by the stream his strength. Each parent god<br /> +“Nodding, confirm'd their alter'd son's request;<br /> +“And ting'd the fountain with the changing power.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + She ceas'd: the nymphs Minyeian still persist<br /> +Their toil to urge, despising still the god;<br /> +His festival prophaning. Sudden heard,<br /> +The rattling sounds of unseen timbrels burst<br /> +Full on their ears! the pipe; the crooked horn;<br /> +And brazen cymbals loudly clash; perfumes<br /> +Of myrrh and saffron blended smell:—but more,<br /> +And what belief surpasses, straight their looms<br /> +Virid to sprout begin; the pendent threads<br /> +Branch into shoots like ivy: part becomes<br /> +The vine: what now were threads, curl'd tendrils seem:<br /> +Shot from the folded web, the branches climb;<br /> +And the bright red in purpling grapes appears.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now was the sun declining, and approach'd<br /> +<a name="page146"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 146]</span> +The twilight season, when nor day it seems,<br /> +Nor night confirm'd; but a gray mixture forms;<br /> +Of each an indetermin'd compound. Deep<br /> +The roof appear'd to shade; the oily lamps,<br /> +Ardent to glow; the torches bright to burn,<br /> +With reddening flames; while round them seem'd to howl,<br /> +Figures of beast ferocious. Fill'd with smoke<br /> +The room,—th' affrighted maidens seek to hide;<br /> +And each in different corners tries to shun<br /> +The fires and flaming light. But while they seek<br /> +A lurking shelter, o'er their shorten'd limbs<br /> +A webby membrane spreading, binds their arms<br /> +In waving wings. The gloom conceal'd the mode,<br /> +Of transformation from their former shape.<br /> +Light plumage bears them not aloft,—yet rais'd<br /> +On wings transparent, through the air they skim,<br /> +To speak they strive, but utter forth a sound<br /> +Feeble and weak; then, screeching shrill, they plain:<br /> +Men's dwellings they frequent,—nor try the woods;<br /> +And, cheerful day avoiding, skim by night;<br /> +Their name from that untimely hour deriv'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now were the deeds of heaven-born Bacchus fam'd<br /> +Through every part of Thebes; and all around,<br /> +His aunt proud boasts the new-made god's great power:<br /> +She, of the sisters all, from sorrow spar'd,<br /> +Save what to view her sisters' sorrowing gave.<br /> +<a name="page147"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 147]</span> +Juno beheld her lofty thus, her breast<br /> +Elate to view her sons; her nuptial fruits<br /> +With Athamas; and her great foster child,<br /> +The mighty Bacchus. More the furious queen<br /> +Bore not, but thus exclaim'd;—“Has the whore's son<br /> +“Power to transform the Tyrrhene crew, and plunge<br /> +“Them headlong in the deep? Can he impel<br /> +“The mother's hands to seize her bleeding son<br /> +“And tear his entrails? Dares he then to clothe<br /> +“The Minyëid sisters with un'custom'd wings?<br /> +“And is Saturnia's utmost power confin'd<br /> +“Wrongs unreveng'd to weep? Suffices such<br /> +“For me? Is this a goddess' utmost might?<br /> +“But he instructs me;—wisdom may be taught<br /> +“Ev'n by a foe. The wretched Pentheus' fate,<br /> +“Shews all-sufficient, what may madness do.<br /> +“Why should not Ino, stung with frantic rage,<br /> +“The well-known track her sisters trode pursue?”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + A path declivitous, with baleful yew<br /> +Dark shaded, leads, a dreary silent road,<br /> +Down to th' infernal regions: sluggish Styx<br /> +Dank mists exhales: here travel new-made ghosts,<br /> +With rites funereal blest: pale winter's gloom<br /> +Wide rules the squalid place: the stranger shades<br /> +Wander, unknowing which the path to tread,<br /> +Straight to the infernal city, where is held<br /> +<a name="page148"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 148]</span> +Black Pluto's savage court. A thousand gates,<br /> +Wide ope, surround the town on every side.<br /> +As boundless ocean every stream receives,<br /> +From earth pour'd numerous,—so each wandering soul<br /> +Flocks to this city; whose capacious bounds<br /> +Full space for all affords; nor ever feels<br /> +Th' increasing crowd: of flesh depriv'd, and bones,<br /> +The bloodless shadows wander. Some frequent<br /> +The forum; some th' infernal monarch's court;<br /> +Some various arts employ, resembling much<br /> +Their former daily actions; numbers groan<br /> +In punishments severe. Here Juno came,<br /> +Braving the region's horrors, from her throne<br /> +Celestial,—so did ire and hatred goad<br /> +Her bosom with their stings! Sacred she press'd<br /> +The groaning threshold,—instant as she stepp'd,<br /> +Fierce Cerberus his triple head uprais'd,<br /> +And howl'd with triple throat. The goddess calls<br /> +The night-born sisters, fierce, implacable:<br /> +Before the close-barr'd adamantine gates<br /> +They sit; their tresses twisting round with snakes.<br /> +The queen through clouds of midnight gloom they see,<br /> +And instant rise. Here dwell the suffering damn'd.<br /> +Here Tityus, stretcht o'er nine wide acres, yields<br /> +His entrails to be torn. Thou, Tantalus,<br /> +Art seen, the stream forbid to taste;—the fruit<br /> +Thy lips o'erhanging, flies! Thou, Sisyphus,<br /> +<a name="page149"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 149]</span> +Thy stone pursuing downwards; or its weight<br /> +Straining aloft, with oft exerted power!<br /> +Ixion whirling, too; with swift pursuit,<br /> +Thou follow'st, and art follow'd! Belides!<br /> +Your husband-cousins who in death dar'd steep,<br /> +And ceaseless draw the unavailing streams!<br /> +All Juno view'd with unrelenting brow;<br /> +But, view'd Ixion sterner far than all:<br /> +And when on Sisyphus again she cast<br /> +Her eyes, behind Ixion, angry cry'd;—<br /> +“What justice this?—of all the brethren he<br /> +“Sharp torture suffers! Shall proud Athamas<br /> +“A regal dwelling boast,—whose scornful taunts,<br /> +“And scornful spouse have still my power contemn'd?”<br /> +Then straight her hatred's cause disclos'd. They see<br /> +Her journey's object, and revenge's aim.<br /> +This her desire, that Cadmus' regal house<br /> +Perish'd should sink; and Athamas, fierce urg'd<br /> +By madness should some dreadful vengeance claim.<br /> +Commands, solicitations, prayers,—at once<br /> +The goddesses besiege: and as she speaks,<br /> +Angrily mov'd, Tisiphoné replies,—<br /> +(Shaking her hoary locks,—the twining snakes<br /> +Back from her mouth repelling) hasty thus;—<br /> +“A tedious tale we need not; what thou wilt<br /> +“Believe accomplish'd. Fly this hateful gloom;—<br /> +“Up to the wholesome breeze of heaven repair.”<br /> +<a name="page150"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 150]</span> +Glad, Juno left the spot;—when near approach'd<br /> +Heaven's entrance, there Thaumantian Iris met,<br /> +And with her sprinklings purify'd the queen.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Quick now Tisiphoné, the savage fiend,<br /> +Seizes her torch, with gory droppings wet;<br /> +Flings round her limbs a garment, deeply dy'd<br /> +With streaming blood; a twisting snake supplies<br /> +A girdle:—thus array'd she sallies forth,<br /> +Follow'd by loud lament, by terror, fear,<br /> +And quivering-featur'd madness. When she press'd<br /> +The threshold, fame declares the pillars shook;<br /> +The maple doors, with terror mov'd, grew pale:<br /> +Back shrunk the sun! Ino, with trembling dread<br /> +Beheld these wonders;—Athamas beheld;<br /> +And both prepar'd the haunted place to fly.<br /> +Escape the fury hinders: fierce she stands,<br /> +Blocking the entrance: wide her arms she spreads,<br /> +With viperous twistings bound; and threatening shakes<br /> +Her tresses: loud the serpents noise, disturb'd;<br /> +Sprawl o'er her shoulders some; some, lower fall'n,<br /> +Twine hissing round her breasts, with brandish'd tongue,<br /> +Black poison vomiting. With furious gripe,<br /> +Two from her locks she tore;—her deadly hand<br /> +Hurl'd them straight on; the breasts of Athamas,<br /> +And Ino, hungry, with their fangs they seiz'd;<br /> +Fierce pains infixing, but external wounds<br /> +<a name="page151"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 151]</span> +Their limbs betray'd not: mental was the blow,<br /> +So direly struck. Venoms most mortal, too,<br /> +From Tartarus she bore:—the foam high-churn'd<br /> +From jaws of Cerberus; the poisonous juice<br /> +Of Hydra; urgent wish for roaming wide;<br /> +Oblivion mental-blinded; wicked deeds;<br /> +Weeping; and furious fierceness, slaughter fond.<br /> +On these commingled, fresh-drawn gore she pour'd,<br /> +And warm'd them bubbling in a brazen vase;<br /> +Stirr'd by a sprouting hemlock. Trembling, they<br /> +Shudder, while in their breasts the poison fierce<br /> +She pours: both bosoms feel it deep instill'd;—<br /> +Their inmost vitals feel it. Then her torch,<br /> +Whirl'd flaming round and round, in triumph glares,<br /> +Fires from the circling gathering. Powerful thus;<br /> +Victorious in her aims, and deeds desir'd,<br /> +To mighty Pluto's shadowy realm she speeds;<br /> +And from her loins untwists the girding snakes.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Mad bounded Athamas amid the hall,<br /> +“Ho! friends,” exclaiming;—“here spread wide your toils,<br /> +“Here, in this thicket, where ev'n now I saw<br /> +“With young twin cubs, a lioness!”—and mad,<br /> +Pursu'd his consort for a savage beast;<br /> +Snatching Learchus, who with playful smile,<br /> +Outstretch'd his infant hands to meet him. Torne<br /> +Rough from his mother's bosom, round in air<br /> +<a name="page152"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 152]</span> +And round, sling-like he whirl'd; then savage dash'd<br /> +Upon a rugged rock the tender bones.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Loud howls the frantic mother; frantic made<br /> +By grief, or by the scatter'd poison's power:<br /> +And, raving, with dishevell'd tresses spread<br /> +Wide o'er her shoulders, flies. Her naked arms<br /> +Young Melicertes bear; madly she shrieks;—<br /> +“Evoë, Bacchus!”—Loud at Bacchus' name<br /> +Revengeful Juno laugh'd, and said;—“Such boon<br /> +“Thy foster-son upon his nurse confers!”<br /> +A lofty rock the foaming waves o'erhangs,<br /> +Whose dashing force deep in its base have scoop'd<br /> +A cavern, safely sheltering from the showers:<br /> +The adamantine summit high extends,<br /> +And o'er the wide main stretches. Swift this height,<br /> +Active and strong with madness, Ino gain'd<br /> +And fearless, with the infant in her arms,<br /> +Sprung from the cliff, and sunk beneath the waves.<br /> +<ins class="hemistich"> +<table> +<tr><td>White foam'd the surge around her!</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td>Venus, griev'd,</td></tr> +</table> +</ins> +Such sufferings, undeserv'd, her race should bear,<br /> +Thus with bland coaxings Ocean's god address'd:<br /> +“Lord of the azure deep, whose high command<br /> +“Sways next to heaven's,—a vast demand I ask;—<br /> +“But pity my poor offspring, whom thou see'st<br /> +<a name="page153"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 153]</span> +“Plung'd in th' Ionian billows;—with their forms<br /> +“Thy deities increase. Some influence sure,<br /> +“In ocean I should hold, from thence produc'd;<br /> +“Sprung from the froth that on the deep main swims:<br /> +“Whence Grecian poets name me.” Neptune nods,<br /> +Assenting to her prayer; and from their limbs<br /> +Abstracts the mortal portion; on their forms<br /> +Breathes majesty; and with their alter'd mien,<br /> +Their names he changes too; Palæmon he,<br /> +Now stil'd, his mother as Leucothoë known.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The princess' anxious comrades trac'd her steps<br /> +With care; the last with arduous search they found,<br /> +Just on the giddy brink, nor dubious deem'd<br /> +Her fate a moment. Cadmus' house they wail;<br /> +With beating hands their tresses tear, and robes;<br /> +And highly Juno blame, as one unjust:<br /> +Too ireful for the hapless sister's fault.<br /> +Juno, fierce flaming, these reproaches stung;—<br /> +“Ye too,” she cry'd, “shall monuments become<br /> +“Of the fierce ire ye blame!” Deeds words pursu'd.<br /> +The nymph who most her hapless queen held dear,<br /> +Exclaim'd;—“deep in the roaring main I'll plunge,<br /> +“To join her fate,”—and sprung to take the leap;<br /> +But motionless she stood,—fixt to the rock!<br /> +Her wounding blows, upon her bosom one<br /> +Strives to renew, as wont; her striving arms<br /> +<a name="page154"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 154]</span> +Stiffen'd to stone she sees. This tow'rd the waves<br /> +Her hands extends; a rocky mass she stands,<br /> +In the same waves far stretching. Lifted high,<br /> +The locks to rend, the fingers might be seen<br /> +Stiffen'd, and rigid with the hair become.<br /> +In posture whatsoever caught, each nymph,<br /> +In that same posture stands. Thus part are chang'd:<br /> +The rest, to birds transform'd, by wings upborne,<br /> +Skim o'er the surface of the neighbouring sea.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Cadmus, the wond'rous change which rais'd his child,<br /> +And his young grandson to the rank of gods,<br /> +Yet knew not. By his load of grief o'erwhelm'd;<br /> +A chain of woes; and supernatural scenes,<br /> +So numerous which he sees; the founder quits<br /> +His town, suspicious that the city's fate,<br /> +And not his own, misfortune on him showers.<br /> +Borne o'er the main, his lengthen'd wanderings end,<br /> +When with his exil'd consort, safe he gains<br /> +Illyria's shores. Opprest with grief and age,<br /> +The primal fortunes of their house, with care<br /> +They scan, and in their converse all their woes<br /> +Again recounting, Cadmus thus exclaims;—<br /> +“Was then that serpent, by my javelin pierc'd,<br /> +“When driven from Tyre; whose numerous teeth I sow'd,<br /> +“Sacred to some divinity?—If he<br /> +“Thus, vengeful for the deed, his anger pours,<br /> +<a name="page155"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 155]</span> +“May I a serpent stretcht at length become.”<br /> +He said,—and serpent-like extended lies!<br /> +Scales he perceives, upon his harden'd skin;<br /> +And sees green spots on his black body form;<br /> +Prone on his breast he falls; together twin'd,<br /> +His legs commingling stretch, and gradual end<br /> +Lessen'd in rounded point; his arms remain<br /> +Still, and those arms remaining he extends;<br /> +While down his face yet human tears flow fast.<br /> +“O, hapless wife! approach,” he cries, “approach,<br /> +“And touch me now, while ought of me remains;<br /> +“Receive my hand, while yet a hand I bear;<br /> +“Ere to a serpent wholly turns my form.”—<br /> +More he prepar'd to utter, but his tongue,<br /> +Cleft sudden, to his wishes words refus'd:<br /> +And often when his sorrows sad he try'd<br /> +To wail anew, he hiss'd!—that sound alone,<br /> +Nature permitted. While her naked breast<br /> +With blows resounded, loud his wife exclaim'd;—<br /> +“Stay,—O, my Cadmus! hapless man, shake off<br /> +“This monstrous figure! Cadmus what is this?<br /> +“Where are thy feet,—and where thy arms and hands?<br /> +“Where are thy features,—thy complexion? Where,<br /> +“Whilst I bewail, art thou? Celestial powers!<br /> +“Why not this transformation work on me?”<br /> +She ended; he advancing, lick'd her face,<br /> +And creep'd, as custom'd, to her bosom dear,<br /> +<a name="page156"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 156]</span> +And round her wonted neck embracing twin'd.<br /> +Now draw their servants nigh, and as they come<br /> +With terror start. The crested serpents play,<br /> +Smooth on their necks,—now two; and cordial slide,<br /> +In spires conjoin'd; then in the darksome shades<br /> +Th' adjoining woods afford them, close they hide.<br /> +Mankind they fly not, nor deep wounds inflict;<br /> +Harmless, their pristine form is ne'er forgot.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Still, though in alter'd shapes, the pair rejoic'd<br /> +Their grandson's fame to hear; whom vanquish'd Ind'<br /> +Low bending worshipp'd; Greece adoring prais'd,<br /> +In lofty temples. Sole Acrisius stands,<br /> +Like Bacchus sprung from Jove's celestial seed,<br /> +Opposing; and from Argos' gates propels<br /> +The god;—his birth deny'd, against him arms.<br /> +Nor Perseus would he own from heaven deriv'd;<br /> +Conceiv'd by Danaë, from a golden shower:<br /> +Yet soon,—so mighty is the force of truth,—<br /> +Acrisius grieves he e'er so rashly brav'd<br /> +The god; his grandson driving from his court,<br /> +Disown'd. Now one in heaven is glorious plac'd;<br /> +The other, laden with the well-known spoil<br /> +Of the fierce snaky monster, cleaves the air,<br /> +On sounding pinions. High the victor sails<br /> +O'er Lybia's desarts, and the gory drops<br /> +<a name="page157"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 157]</span> +Fall from the gorgon's head; the Ground receives<br /> +The blood, and warms it into writhing snakes.<br /> +Hence does the country with the pest still swarm.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thence borne by adverse winds, he sweeps along,<br /> +Through boundless ether driven; now here, now there,<br /> +As watery clouds are swept. From lofty skies,<br /> +The earth far distant viewing, round the globe<br /> +He skimm'd: three times he saw the Arctic pole<br /> +And thrice the warmer Crab. Oft to the west,<br /> +Th' adventurous youth was borne; back to the east,<br /> +As often. Now the day in darkness sank,<br /> +When he, nocturnal flight mistrusting, lights<br /> +In Atlas' kingdom 'neath th' Hesperian sky;<br /> +A short repose requests, till Phosphor' bright,<br /> +Should call Aurora forth;—she ushering in<br /> +The chariot of the day. Japetus' son<br /> +All men in huge corporeal bulk surpass'd.<br /> +He to th' extremest confines of the land,<br /> +And o'er the ocean sway'd, whose waves receive<br /> +Apollo's panting steeds, and weary'd car.<br /> +A thousand bleating flocks; a thousand herds,<br /> +Stray'd through the royal pastures. Neighbouring lords<br /> +Not near him plough'd their lands. Trees grew, whose leaves<br /> +With splendor glittering, threw a golden shade<br /> +O'er golden branches, and o'er fruit of gold.<br /> +Thus Perseus;—“Friendly host, if glorious birth<br /> +<a name="page158"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 158]</span> +“Thee pleases, here one born of Jove behold.<br /> +“If deeds of merit more attraction move,<br /> +“Mine thy applause may claim. At present grant<br /> +“An hospitable shelter here, and rest.”<br /> +But Atlas, fearing these oraculous words,—<br /> +(Long since by Themis on Parnassus given)<br /> +“The time, O king! will come, thy golden tree<br /> +“Shall lose its fruit. The glory of the spoil<br /> +“A son of Jove shall boast:” and dreading sore;<br /> +Around his orchards massy walls he rears;<br /> +A dragon huge and fierce the guard maintains.<br /> +“Whatever strangers to his realm approach,<br /> +Far thence he drives; and thus to Perseus too;—<br /> +“Haste, quickly haste from hence, lest soon I prove<br /> +“Thy glorious deeds but feign'd,—feign'd as thy birth.”<br /> +Then force to threats he added,—strove to thrust<br /> +The hero forth; who struggling, efforts urg'd<br /> +Resisting, while he begg'd with softening words.<br /> +Proving in strength inferior (who in strength<br /> +Could vie with Atlas?) “Since my fame,” he cries,<br /> +“Such small desert obtains, a gift accept.”<br /> +And, back his face averting, holds display'd,<br /> +On his left side Medusa's ghastly head.<br /> +A mountain now the mighty Atlas stands!<br /> +His hair and beard as lofty forests wave;<br /> +His arms and hands high hilly summits rear;<br /> +O'er-topp'd above, by what was once his head:<br /> +<a name="page159"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 159]</span> +His bones are rocks; then, so the gods decree,<br /> +Enlarg'd to size immense in every part,<br /> +The weight of heaven, and all the stars he bears.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + His blustering vassals Æolus had pent,<br /> +In ever-during prisons. Phosphor' bright,<br /> +Most splendid 'midst the starry host of heaven;<br /> +Admonitor of labor, now was risen;<br /> +When Perseus bound again on either foot,<br /> +His winnowing wings; girt on his crooked sword;<br /> +And cleft the air, on waving pinions borne.<br /> +O'er numerous nations, far beneath him spread,<br /> +He sail'd, till Ethiopia's realms he saw;<br /> +Where Cepheus rul'd. There Ammon, power unjust,<br /> +Andromeda had sentenc'd,—guiltless maid,<br /> +To what her mother's boastful tongue deserv'd.<br /> +Her soon as Perseus spy'd, fast by the arms<br /> +Chain'd to the rugged rock;—where but her locks<br /> +Wav'd lightly to the breeze; and but her eyes<br /> +Trickled a tepid stream; she might be deem'd<br /> +A sculptur'd marble: him the unknown sight<br /> +Astonish'd, dazzled, and enflam'd with love.<br /> +His senses in the beauteous view sole wrapt,<br /> +Scarce he remembers on his wings to wave:—<br /> +Alights, exclaiming;—“O, whom chains like these<br /> +“Should never bind, nor other chains than such,<br /> +“As lovers intertwist! declare thy name;<br /> +<a name="page160"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 160]</span> +“Thy country tell; and why thou bear'st those bonds.”<br /> +Silent awhile the virgin stood; abash'd,<br /> +Converse with man to hold: her blushing face,<br /> +Her hands, if free, had long before conceal'd.<br /> +Quick starting tears, 'twas all she could, her eyes<br /> +Veil'd swimming: then her name and country told;<br /> +And all the conscious pride her mother's charms<br /> +Inspir'd, in full acknowledg'd; lest for crimes<br /> +Her own, just suffering, Perseus might conceive.<br /> +All yet untold, when loud the billows roar'd;<br /> +Upheav'd the monster's bulk: far 'bove the waves<br /> +He stood uprear'd, and then right onward plung'd;<br /> +His ample bosom covering half the main.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Loud shrieks the virgin! Sad her father comes;<br /> +And sad her raving mother, wretched both,<br /> +The mother most deserv'dly. Help in vain<br /> +From them she seeks; with tears, and bosoms torn,<br /> +Her fetter'd limbs they clasp, they can no more.<br /> +Then Perseus thus;—“for tears and loud laments,<br /> +“Long may the time be: but effective aid<br /> +“To give, the time is short. Suppose the nymph<br /> +“I ask;—I, Perseus! sprung from mighty Jove,<br /> +“By her whose prison in a golden shower<br /> +“Fecundative, he enter'd. Perseus, who<br /> +“The Gorgon snaky-hair'd o'ercame; who bold<br /> +“On waving pinions winnows through the air.<br /> +<a name="page161"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 161]</span> +“Him for a son in preference should ye chuse,<br /> +“Arduous he'll strive to these high claims to add,<br /> +“If heaven permits, some merits more his own.<br /> +“Agree she's mine, if by my arm preserv'd.”<br /> +The parents promise;—(who in such a case<br /> +Would waver) beg his help; and promise, more,<br /> +That all their kingdom shall her dower become.<br /> +Lo! as a vessel's sharpen'd prow quick cleaves<br /> +The waves, by strenuous sweating arms impell'd,<br /> +The monster comes! his mighty bosom wide<br /> +The waters sideway breasting; distant now,<br /> +Not more than what the Balearic sling<br /> +Could with the bullet gain, when high in air,<br /> +The sod repelling, upward springs the youth.<br /> +Soon as the main reflected Perseus' form,<br /> +The ocean-savage rag'd: as Jove's swift bird<br /> +When in the open fields a snake he spies<br /> +Basking, his livid back to Phœbus' rays<br /> +Expos'd, behind attacks him; plunges deep,<br /> +His hungry talons in his scaly neck,<br /> +To curb the twisting of his sanguine teeth.<br /> +With rapid flight, thus Perseus shooting cleaves<br /> +The empty air; lights on the monster's back;<br /> +Burying his weapon to the crooked hilt,<br /> +Full in the shoulder of the raging beast.<br /> +Mad with the deepen'd wound, now rears aloft<br /> +<a name="page162"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 162]</span> +The savage high in air; now plunges low,<br /> +Beneath the waters; now he furious turns,<br /> +As turns the boar ferocious, when the crowd<br /> +Of barking dogs beset him fiercely round.<br /> +With rapid waft the venturous hero shuns<br /> +His greedy jaws: now on his back, thick-arm'd<br /> +With shells, he strikes where opening space he sees;<br /> +Now on his sides; now where his tapering tail<br /> +In fish-like form is finish'd, bites the steel.<br /> +High spouts the wounded monster from his mouth;<br /> +The waves with gore deep purpling: drench'd, the wings<br /> +Droop nagging; and no longer Perseus dares<br /> +To trust their dripping aid. A rock he spies<br /> +Whose summit o'er the peaceful waters rose,<br /> +But deep was hid when tempests mov'd the main.<br /> +Supported here, his left hand firmly grasps<br /> +The craggy edge; while through his sides, and through,<br /> +The dying savage feels the weapon drove.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Loud shouts and plaudits fill the shore, the noise<br /> +Resounding echoes to the heavenly thrones.<br /> +Cassiopé and Cepheus joyful greet<br /> +Their son, and grateful own him chief support,<br /> +And saviour. From her rugged fetters freed,<br /> +The virgin walks; the cause, the great reward<br /> +Of all his toil. His victor hands he laves<br /> +<a name="page163"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 163]</span> +In the pure stream: then with soft leaves defends<br /> +A spot, to rest the serpent-bearing head,<br /> +Lest the bare sand should harm it. Twigs marine<br /> +He likewise strews, and rests Medusa there.<br /> +The fresh green twigs as though with life endow'd,<br /> +Felt the dire Gorgon's power; their spongy pith<br /> +Hard to the touch became, the stiffness spread<br /> +Through every twig and leaf. The Nereïd nymphs<br /> +More branches bring, and try the wonderous change<br /> +On all, and joy to see the change succeed:<br /> +Spreading the transformation from the seeds,<br /> +With them throughout the waves. This nature still<br /> +Retains the coral: hardness still assumes<br /> +From contact with the air; beneath the waves<br /> +A bending twig; an harden'd stone above.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Three turfy altars to three heavenly gods<br /> +He builds: to Hermes sacred stands the left;<br /> +The right to warlike Pallas; in the midst<br /> +The mighty Jove's is rear'd: (To Pallas bleeds<br /> +An heifer: to the plume-heel'd god a calf:<br /> +Almighty Jove accepts a lordly bull)<br /> +Then claims Andromeda, the rich reward,<br /> +without a dower, of all his valorous toil.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now Love and Hymen wave their torches high,<br /> +<a name="page164"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 164]</span> +Precursive of their joys: each hearth is heap'd<br /> +With odorous incense: every roof is hung<br /> +With flowery garlands: pipes, and harps, and lyres,<br /> +And songs which indicate their festive souls,<br /> +Resound aloud. Each portal open thrown,<br /> +Display'd appears the golden palace wide.<br /> +By every lord of Cepheus' court, array'd<br /> +In splendid pomp, the nuptial feast is grac'd.<br /> +The banquet ended, while the generous gift<br /> +Of Bacchus circles; and each soul dilates,<br /> +Perseus, the modes and customs of the land<br /> +Curious enquires. Lyncides full relates<br /> +The habits, laws, and manners of the clime.<br /> +His information ended;—“now,”—he cry'd,—<br /> +“Relate, O Perseus! boldest of mankind,—<br /> +“By what fierce courage, and what skilful arts,”<br /> +“The snaky locks in thy possession came.”<br /> +Then Perseus tells, how lies a lonely vale<br /> +Beneath cold Atlas; every side strong fenc'd<br /> +By lofty hills, whose only pass is held,<br /> +By Phorcus' twin-born daughters. Mutual they<br /> +One eye possess'd, in turns by either us'd.<br /> +His hand deceiving seiz'd it, as it pass'd<br /> +'Twixt them alternate; dexterous was the wile.<br /> +Through devious paths, and deep-sunk ways he went;<br /> +And craggy woods, dark-frowning, till he reach'd<br /> +<a name="page165"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 165]</span> +The Gorgon's dwelling: passing then the fields,<br /> +And beaten roads, there forms of men he saw,<br /> +And shapes of savage beasts; but all to stone<br /> +By dire Medusa's petrifying face<br /> +Transform'd. He then the horrid countenance mark'd,<br /> +Bright from the brazen targe his left arm bore,<br /> +Reflected. While deep slumber safe weigh'd down,<br /> +The Gorgon and her serpents, he divorc'd<br /> +Her shoulders from her head. He adds how sprung,<br /> +Chrysaör, and wing'd Pegasus the swift,<br /> +From the prolific Gorgon's streaming gore.<br /> +Relates the perils of his lengthen'd flight;<br /> +What seas, what kingdoms from the lofty sky,<br /> +Beneath him he had view'd; what sparkling stars<br /> +His waving wings had brush'd;—thus ceas'd his tale:<br /> +All more desiring. Then uprose a peer,—<br /> +And why Medusa, of the sisters sole<br /> +The serpent-twisted tresses wore, enquir'd.<br /> +The youth:—“The story that you ask, full well<br /> +“Attention claims;—I what you seek recite.<br /> +“For matchless beauty fam'd, with envying hope<br /> +“Her, crowds of suitors follow'd: nought surpass'd<br /> +“'Mongst all her beauties, her bright lovely hair:<br /> +“Those who had seen her thus, have this averr'd.<br /> +“But in Minerva's temple Ocean's god<br /> +<a name="page166"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 166]</span> +“The maid defil'd. The virgin goddess shock'd,<br /> +“Her eyes averted, and her forehead chaste<br /> +“Veil'd with the Ægis. Then with vengeful power<br /> +“Chang'd the Gorgonian locks to writhing snakes.<br /> +“The snakes, thus form'd, fixt on her shield she bears;<br /> +“The horrid sight her trembling foes appals.”<br /> +<a name="page167"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 167]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter9"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Fifth Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Attack of Phineus and his friends on Perseus. Defeat of the former, +and their change to statues. Atchievements of Perseus in Argos, and +Seriphus. Minerva's visit to the Muses. Fate of Pyreneus. Song of +the Pierides. Song of the Muses. Rape of Proserpine. Change of +Cyané, to a fountain. Search of Ceres. Transformation of a boy to +an eft. Of Ascalaphus to an owl. Change of the companions of Proserpine +to Sirens. Story of Arethusa. Journey of Triptolemus. +Transformation of Lyncus to a lynx. The Pierides transformed to +magpies. +<a name="page168"></a> +<a name="page169"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 169]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter10"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Fifth Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + These wonders, while the son of Danaë tells,<br /> +Circled around by Cepheus' noble troop;<br /> +Sudden th' imperial hall with tumults loud<br /> +Resounds. Not clamor such as oft we hear,<br /> +The bridal feasts, in songs of joy attend:<br /> +But what stern war announces. Much the change,<br /> +(The peaceful feast to instant riot turn'd)<br /> +Seem'd like the placid main, when the fierce rage<br /> +Of sudden tempests lash its surges high.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + First Phineus stepp'd, the leader of the crowd;<br /> +Soul of the riot; and his ashen spear,<br /> +<a name="page170"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 170]</span> +Arm'd with a brazen point, he brandish'd high;—<br /> +“Lo, here!” he shouts, “lo, here I vengeful come<br /> +“On him who claims my spouse! Not thy swift wings;<br /> +“Nor cheating Jove, chang'd to a golden shower,<br /> +“Shall save thee from my arm,”—and pois'd to fling,<br /> +The dart was held, but Cepheus loud exclaim'd,—<br /> +“Brother! what dost thou? what dire madness sways<br /> +“To wicked acts thy soul? Is this the meed<br /> +“His gallant deeds deserve? Is this the dower,<br /> +“We for the valued life he sav'd bestow?<br /> +“List but to truth,—not Perseus of thy wife<br /> +“Bereft thee, but the angry Nereïd nymphs,—<br /> +“The horned Ammon,—and the monster huge!<br /> +“Prepar'd to glut his hunger with my child.<br /> +“Then was thy spouse snatch'd from thee, when remain'd<br /> +“Of help no hope; to all she lost appear'd.<br /> +“Thy savage heart perhaps had ev'n rejoic'd<br /> +“To see her perish, that our greater grief<br /> +“Might lighten part of thine. Couldst thou her see<br /> +“Fast chain'd before thee? uncle! spouse betroth'd!<br /> +“And yet no aid afford! And storm'st thou thus?<br /> +“She to another now her safety owes;<br /> +“And would'st thou snatch the prize? So high if seems<br /> +“To thee her precious value, thy bold arm<br /> +“Should on the rock where chain'd she lay, have sought<br /> +“And have deserv'd her. Now permit that he<br /> +<a name="page171"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 171]</span> +“Who sought her there; through whom my failing age<br /> +“Is not now childless, grant that he enjoy<br /> +“Peaceful, what through his merits he no less,<br /> +“Than our firm compact claims: not him to thee,<br /> +“But him to certain loss I preference gave.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Nought Phineus answer'd, but his furious eyes<br /> +Now Perseus, now the king alternate view;<br /> +Doubtful or this to pierce, or that: his pause<br /> +Was short; his powerful arm, by fury nerv'd,<br /> +At Perseus hurl'd the quivering spear,—in vain!<br /> +Fixt in the couch it stood. Quick bounded up<br /> +Th' indignant youth, and deep in Phineus' breast,<br /> +Had plung'd the point returning, but he shrunk<br /> +Behind an altar; which, O shame! preserv'd<br /> +The impious villain. Yet not harmless sped<br /> +The weapon;—full in Rhætus' front it stuck;<br /> +Who lifeless dropp'd; broke in the bone the steel;<br /> +He spurn'd, and sprinkled all the feast with gore.<br /> +Then rag'd with ire ungovern'd all the crowd,<br /> +And hurl'd in showers their weapons; some fierce cry'd,<br /> +Cepheus, no less than Perseus, death deserv'd.<br /> +But Cepheus left the hall, adjuring loud,<br /> +The hospitable gods; justice; and faith;<br /> +That he was guiltless of the sanguine fray.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Minerva comes; her sheltering Ægis shields<br /> +<a name="page172"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 172]</span> +Her brother's body; in his breast she breathes<br /> +Redoubled valor. Atys, Indian bred,<br /> +Whom fair Limnaté, Ganges' daughter, bore,<br /> +'Tis told, amid the waters' crystal caves,<br /> +Scarce sixteen years had seen. His beauteous form,<br /> +In gorgeous dress more beauteous still appear'd.<br /> +A purple garment fring'd around with gold,<br /> +Enwrapp'd him; round his neck were golden beads;<br /> +And pins and combs of gold his lovely locks,<br /> +With myrrh sweet-smelling, held. Well skill'd the youth<br /> +To hurl the javelin to its distant mark;<br /> +But more to bend the bow. Him Perseus smote,<br /> +The flexile bow just bending, with a brand<br /> +Snatch'd flaming from the altar; crush'd, his face<br /> +A horrid mass of fractur'd bones appears.<br /> +His beauteous features Lycabas beheld<br /> +In blood convuls'd: his dearest comrade he,<br /> +And one who proud his ardent love display'd.<br /> +Griev'd to behold the last expiring breath,<br /> +Of Atys parting from the furious wound,<br /> +He seiz'd the bow the youth had bent, and cry'd;—<br /> +“The battle try with me!—not long thy boast<br /> +“Of conquest o'er a boy; a conquest more<br /> +“By hate than fame attended.” Railing thus,<br /> +The piercing weapon darted from the string.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now Phineus, fearful hand to hand to meet<br /> +<a name="page173"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 173]</span> +The foe, his javelin hurl'd, the point ill-aim'd<br /> +On Idas glanc'd, who vainly kept aloof<br /> +With neutral weapon. Phineus, stern he view'd,<br /> +“With threatening frown, exclaiming;—”though no share<br /> +“In this mad broil I took, now, Phineus, feel<br /> +“The power of him whom thou hast forc'd a foe;<br /> +“And take reciprocally wound for wound.”<br /> +Then from his side the weapon tore to hurl;<br /> +But fast the life-stream gush'd, he instant fell.<br /> +Here, by the sword of Clymenus was slain,<br /> +Odites, noblest lord in Cepheus' court;<br /> +Protenor fell by Hypseus; Hypseus sunk<br /> +Beneath Lyncides' arm. Amid the throng<br /> +Was old Emathion too, friend to the just,<br /> +And fearer of the gods; though ancient years<br /> +Forbade his wielding arms, what aid his words<br /> +Could give, he spar'd not: curs'd the impious war,<br /> +In loud upbraidings. As with trembling arms,<br /> +He grasp'd the altar, Chromis' gory sword<br /> +His neck divided; on the altar dropp'd<br /> +The head; and there the trembling, dying tongue,<br /> +Faint imprecations utter'd; 'midst the flames<br /> +He breath'd his spirit forth. By Phineus' hand,<br /> +Broteas and Ammon fell: the brother-twins<br /> +Unconquer'd in the fight, the cæstus shower'd;<br /> +Could but the cæstus make the falchion yield:<br /> +<a name="page174"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 174]</span> +But Perseus felt it not,—its point hung fixt<br /> +Amidst his garments' folds. On him he turn'd,<br /> +The falchion, glutted with Medusa's gore,<br /> +And plung'd it in his breast. Dying, he looks<br /> +Around, with eyes rolling in endless night,<br /> +For Atys, and upon him drops: then pleas'd,<br /> +Thus join'd in death, he seeks the shades below.<br /> +Methion's son, Syenian Phorbas, now<br /> +And fierce Amphimedon, in Lybia born,<br /> +Rush in the fight to mingle; both fall prone,<br /> +The slippery earth wide spread with smoking blood.<br /> +The sword attacks them rising; in his throat<br /> +Phorbas receives it, and the other's side.<br /> +But Erythis, of Actor born, whd rear'd<br /> +An axe tremendous, not the waving sword<br /> +Of Perseus meets: a cup of massive bulk,<br /> +With both his hands high-heaving, fierce he hurls<br /> +Full on his foe: he vomits gory floods;<br /> +Falls back, and strikes with dying head the earth.<br /> +Then Polydæmon falls, sprung from the blood<br /> +Of queen Semiramis; Lycetes brave,<br /> +The son of Spercheus; Abaris, who dwelt<br /> +On frozen Caucasus; and Helicen<br /> +With unshorn tresses; Phlegias; Clitus too;<br /> +Those with the rest beneath his weapon fall;<br /> +And on the rising heaps of dead he stands.<br /> +<a name="page175"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 175]</span> +And fell Ampycus; Ceres' sacred priest,<br /> +His temples with a snow-white fillet bound.<br /> +Thou, O, Japetides! whose string to sound<br /> +Such discord knew not; but whose harp still tun'd,<br /> +The works of peace, in concord with thy voice;<br /> +Wast bidden here to celebrate the feast:<br /> +And cheer the nuptial banquet with thy song!<br /> +Him, when at distance Pettalus beheld,<br /> +Handling his peaceful instrument, he cry'd<br /> +In mocking laughter;—“go, and end thy song,<br /> +“Amid the Stygian ghosts,”—and instant plung'd<br /> +Through his left temple, his too deadly sword.<br /> +Sinking, his dying fingers caught the strings,<br /> +And, chance-directed, gave a mournful sound.<br /> +Not long the fierce Lycormas saw his fall<br /> +Without revenge: a massy bar of oak<br /> +From the right gate he tore, and on the bones<br /> +Behind the neck, the furious blow was aim'd:<br /> +Prone on the earth, like a crush'd ox he fell.<br /> +Pelates of Cinypheus, strove to rend<br /> +A like strong fastening from th' opposing door;<br /> +The dart of Corythus his tugging hand<br /> +Transfix'd, and nail'd him to the wood confin'd:<br /> +Here Abas, with his spear, deep pierc'd his side:<br /> +Nor dying fell he;—by the hand retain'd,<br /> +Firm to the post he hung. Melaneus fell.<br /> +The arms of Perseus aiding; Dorilas,<br /> +<a name="page176"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 176]</span> +The wealthiest lord in Nasamonia's land,<br /> +Fell too beside him: rich was he in fields;<br /> +In wide extent no lands with his could vie;<br /> +Nor equal his in hoarded heaps of grain.<br /> +Obliquely in his groin, the missive spear<br /> +Stuck deep,—a mortal spot: his Bactrian foe<br /> +His rolling eyes beheld, and dying breath<br /> +In sobs convulsive flitting, and exclaim'd;—<br /> +“This spot thou pressest, now of all thy lands,<br /> +“Possess,”—and turning left the lifeless corse.<br /> +Avenging Perseus hurls at him the spear,<br /> +Torn from the smoking wound; the point, receiv'd<br /> +Full in the nostrils, pierces through the neck:<br /> +Before, behind, expos'd the weapon stands.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now fortune aids his blows, the brother pair,<br /> +Clanis, and Clytius fall, by different wounds.<br /> +Hurl'd by his nervous arm, the ashen spear<br /> +Transfix'd the thighs of Clytius: Clanis dy'd<br /> +Biting the steel that pierc'd his mouth. Now fell<br /> +Mendesian Celadon; and Astreus borne<br /> +By Hebrew mother, to a doubtful sire.<br /> +Now dy'd Ethion, once deep skill'd to see<br /> +The future fates; now by his skill deceiv'd.<br /> +Thoactes, who the monarch's armor bore;<br /> +And base Agyrtes, murderer of his sire.<br /> +Crowds though he conquers, thickening crowds remain;<br /> +<a name="page177"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 177]</span> +For all united wage on him the war.<br /> +In every quarter fight the press, conspir'd<br /> +To aid a cause to worth and faith oppos'd.<br /> +The sire, with useless piety,—the queen,<br /> +And new-made bride, the hero's party take;<br /> +And fill the hall with screams. The clang of arms,<br /> +And groans of dying men their screamings drown.<br /> +The houshold deities, polluted once,<br /> +The fierce Bellona bathes with gore again;<br /> +With double fury lighting up the war.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now Phineus, followed by a furious throng<br /> +Surrounds him single; thicker fly their darts<br /> +Than wintry hail, on every side; his sight<br /> +They cloud, and deafening, whiz his ears around.<br /> +By crowds opprest, retreating, Perseus leans<br /> +His shoulders 'gainst a massive pillar's height;<br /> +And, safe behind, dares all the furious fight.<br /> +Chaonian Molpeus rushes on his left;<br /> +Ethemon, Nabathæan, on his right:<br /> +Thus a fierce tiger, urg'd by famine, hears<br /> +Combin'd the lowings of two different herds,<br /> +Far distant in the vale; in doubt he stands,<br /> +On this, or that to rush; and furious burns<br /> +On both at once to thunder. Perseus so,<br /> +To left and right inclin'd at once to bear,<br /> +Plerc'd first the thigh of Molpeus,—straight he fled<br /> +<a name="page178"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 178]</span> +Unfollow'd; for Ethemon fiercely press'd.<br /> +He, furious aiming at the hero's neck,<br /> +With ill-directed strength, his weapon broke<br /> +Against a column;—back the shiver'd point<br /> +Sprung, and his throat transfix'd: slight was the wound;<br /> +To doom to death unable. Perseus plung'd<br /> +His mortal falchion, as the trembling wretch<br /> +His helpless arms extended, in his breast.<br /> +But now his valor Perseus found oppress'd<br /> +By crowds unequal, and aloud exclaim'd;—<br /> +“Since thus you force me, from my very foe<br /> +“More aid I'll ask;—my friends avert your eyes!”<br /> +Then shew'd the Gorgon's head. “Go, elsewhere seek,”<br /> +Said Thescelus,—“for those such sights may move:”—<br /> +The deadly javelin poising in his hand,<br /> +In act to throw, a marble form he stands,<br /> +In the same posture. Near him Ampyx rear'd,<br /> +Against the brave Lyncides' breast his sword;<br /> +His uprais'd hand was harden'd; here, or there,<br /> +To wave unable. Nileus now display'd<br /> +Seven argent streams upon a shield of gold;<br /> +False boasting offspring from the seven-mouth'd Nile;<br /> +And cry'd;—“Lo! Perseus, whence my race deriv'd;<br /> +“Down to the silent shades this solace bear<br /> +“By such a hand to die.” The final words<br /> +Were lost; his sounding voice abrupt was stay'd;<br /> +His open'd mouth still seem'd the words to form,<br /> +<a name="page179"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 179]</span> +Incapable to utter. Eryx storm'd<br /> +At these, exclaiming;—-“not the Gorgon's hairs<br /> +“Freeze ye, but your own trembling, dastard souls:<br /> +“Rush forth with me, and on the earth lay low,<br /> +“The youth who battles thus with magic arms.”<br /> +Fierce had he rush'd, but firmly fixt his feet<br /> +Held him to earth, a rigid, fasten'd stone;<br /> +A statue arm'd. These well their fate deserv'd,<br /> +But one, Aconteus, while in aid he fought<br /> +Of Perseus, sudden stood to stone congeal'd;<br /> +As star'd the Gorgon luckless in his face.<br /> +Him saw Astyages, but thought he liv'd;<br /> +And fierce attack'd him with a mighty sword.<br /> +Shrill tinkling sounds the blow: astonish'd stands<br /> +Astyages;—astonish'd seems the stone;<br /> +For while he stares, he too to marble turns.<br /> +Long were the tale, of each plebeïan death<br /> +To tell; two hundred still unhurt remain;<br /> +By Gorgon's head two hundred stiffen'd stand:<br /> +When Phineus seems the strife unjust to mourn.<br /> +But what to act remains? Around him crowd,<br /> +The forms of numerous friends: his friends he knows,<br /> +Their aid intreats, and calls on each by name:<br /> +Still doubting, seizes those his grasp can reach<br /> +And finds them stone! Averse he turns his eyes;<br /> +Raises his conscious arms and hands oblique,<br /> +And suppliant begs;—“go Perseus,—conqueror, go!<br /> +<a name="page180"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 180]</span> +“Remove that dreadful monster,—bear away<br /> +“That stone-creating visage, Gorgon's head!<br /> +“Whate'er it be, I pray thee bear it hence.<br /> +“Nor hate, nor lust of empire, rais'd our arms<br /> +“Against thee;—for my wife alone we warr'd.<br /> +“Thy cause, by merit best; mine, but by time.<br /> +“Bravest of men, me much it grieves I e'er,<br /> +“Thy claim oppos'd: existence only give,<br /> +“All else be thine.” To him, as thus he begg'd,<br /> +Fearing his eyes, to whom he suppliant spoke<br /> +To turn;—“thou dastard, Phineus!” Perseus cry'd,—<br /> +“What I can grant, I will; and what I grant<br /> +“To souls like thine a mighty boon must seem.<br /> +“Dispel thy terror; rest from steel secure.<br /> +“Yet must a during monument remain,<br /> +“Still in the dwelling of my spouse's sire,<br /> +“Conspicuous. So my bride may daily see<br /> +“Her imag'd husband.” Speaking thus, he held<br /> +The Gorgon's head, where pallid, Phineus turn'd;<br /> +So turning stiffen'd stood the neck; so turn'd<br /> +Appear'd th' inverted eyes; the humid balls<br /> +To stone concreted. Still the timid look,<br /> +And suppliant face, and tame-petitioning arms,<br /> +And guilty awe-struck look, in stone remain'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now victor, Abantiades re-seeks<br /> +His soil paternal, with his well-earn'd bride:<br /> +<a name="page181"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 181]</span> +And in his undeserving grandsire's aid,<br /> +Avenging war on Prœtus he declares.<br /> +Prœtus then all Acrisius' cities held;<br /> +From each possession forc'd, his brother fled.<br /> +But arms, and battled towns, like ill-possess'd,<br /> +The head snake-curl'd, oblig'd at once to stoop.<br /> +Yet not the youth's bold valor, amply prov'd,<br /> +By all his brave atchievements; nor his toils<br /> +Thee, Polydectes, mov'd; who rul'd the isle,<br /> +The paltry isle, Seriphus; stubborn still,<br /> +Inexorable hatred thou maintain'st:<br /> +Endless against him burns thy rage unjust.<br /> +Nay, from his true deserts, thou would'st detract;<br /> +And swear'st Medusa's death a fiction form'd.<br /> +Then Perseus;—“thus if true I speak, or no,<br /> +“Experience. Close, my friends, your eyes!”—as forth,<br /> +He held the Gorgon;—bloodless stood the face<br /> +Of Polydectes, turn'd a marble form.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thus far, Minerva aided side by side,<br /> +Her brother golden-born; then swiftly flew,<br /> +Wrapt in a cloud opaque; and distant left<br /> +Seriphus. On she flies, to right she leaves<br /> +Cythnos, and Gyaros; and cross the main<br /> +The shortest route she hastens; speeds to Thebes,<br /> +And seeks the Heliconian nymphs, whose mount<br /> +Alighting feels her first: the learned nine,<br /> +<a name="page182"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 182]</span> +Thus she bespeaks;—“fame tells, a new-made spring,<br /> +“Burst from a blow the swift-wing'd horse's hoof<br /> +“Inflicted; lo! the cause I hither come.<br /> +“That steed I saw spring from his mother's blood:<br /> +“Fain would I this new prodigy behold.”<br /> +Urania gave reply. “O, maid divine!<br /> +“What cause soe'er has with thy presence grac'd.<br /> +“Our dwelling, proves to us a grateful boon.<br /> +“Fame speaks not false. Our fountain surely sprung<br /> +“Sole from Pegasus.” Speaking thus, she leads<br /> +The virgin goddess to the sacred streams:<br /> +Who long the spring admir'd;—the spring produc'd<br /> +From the hoof's blow:—around surveying views<br /> +The groves of ancient trees, the grots, the plants<br /> +Of ever-vary'd tint; and happy calls<br /> +The learned nymphs, who such a spot possess'd.<br /> +Then thus a sister;—“O, divinest maid!<br /> +“Our choir to join most worthy, did not aims<br /> +“Of loftier import tempt thy warlike soul,<br /> +“Right hast thou spoke; our habitation well,<br /> +“And well our arts thy highest praises claim.<br /> +“Blest were our lot, if still from danger free:<br /> +“But nought a villain's daring power restrains,<br /> +“And terror soon our virgin minds appals.<br /> +“Ev'n now the dread Pyreneus to my eyes<br /> +“Stands present: to its wonted calm not yet<br /> +“Restor'd my mind. With furious Thracian bands<br /> +<a name="page183"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 183]</span> +“Daulis he conquer'd, and the Phocian fields;<br /> +“And held the sway unjust. Parnassus' fane<br /> +“We sought; th' usurper there beheld us pass,<br /> +“And feigning reverence for our power divine<br /> +“Worshipp'd, and then address'd us, whom he knew.<br /> +“Here, O! ye Muses, rest, nor dubious stand<br /> +“But straight beneath my sheltering roof avoid<br /> +“The cloudy heaven, and rain (for fast it shower'd)<br /> +“Oft mighty deities have enter'd roofs<br /> +“Less pompous.—By his invitation urg'd,<br /> +“And by the tempest, we accede and step<br /> +“Within the hall. The pelting showers now ceas'd,<br /> +“Auster by Boreas vanquish'd; fled the clouds<br /> +“Black lowering, and the face of heaven left clear:<br /> +“Anxious we wish to go: Pyreneus fast<br /> +“His dwelling closes, and rough force prepares:<br /> +“Wings we assume, and from his force escape.<br /> +“He, standing on the loftiest turret's top,<br /> +“Like us his flight about to wing, exclaims—<br /> +“A path you lead, that path will I pursue.<br /> +“Then madly from the tower's most lofty wall,<br /> +“Dash'd on his face he fell, and dying strew'd<br /> +“His shatter'd bones upon the blood-stain'd ground.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + As spoke the muse thus, loud and strong was heard,<br /> +Of fluttering pinions in the air the sound;<br /> +And hailing voices from high branches came.<br /> +<a name="page184"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 184]</span> +Jove's daughter then around enquiring look'd<br /> +(The sounds she hears, so like the human voice,<br /> +From human voice she deems them) birds the sound<br /> +Emitted: magpies were they;—magpies nine:<br /> +Their doom lamenting, on the boughs they sate,<br /> +Aping in voice their neighbours all around.<br /> +Then to the wondering goddess, thus the muse<br /> +Explain'd: “These vanquish'd in the arduous strife<br /> +“Of song, to us submitting, swell the crowd<br /> +“Of feather'd fliers. In Pellenian lands<br /> +“Most rich was Pierus their sire; to him<br /> +“Evippé of Pæonia bore the nymphs;<br /> +“Nine times invoking great Lucina's aid.<br /> +“Vain of their number, proud the sister-crew,<br /> +“In folly journey'd through Thessalia's towns,<br /> +“And through the towns of Greece; when here arriv'd<br /> +“Thus to the test of power their words provoke:—<br /> +“At length desist to cheat the senseless crowd<br /> +“With harmony pretended, Thespian maids!<br /> +“With us contend, if faith your talents give<br /> +“For such a trial. Ye in voice and skill<br /> +“Surpass us not,—our numbers are the same.<br /> +“If vanquish'd, yield the Medusæan fount,<br /> +“And Hyantean Aganippé,—we<br /> +“If conquer'd, all Emanthæa's regions cede,<br /> +“Far as Pæonia's snows. The nymphs around<br /> +“The contest shall decide. Deep shame we felt<br /> +<a name="page185"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 185]</span> +“Thus to contend, but deeper shame appear'd<br /> +“To yield without contention to their boast.<br /> +“The nymphs elected to adjudge the prize<br /> +“Swear by the floods; and on the living rock<br /> +“Seated, await to hear the rival songs.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Then one, impatient who should first commence,<br /> +“Or we, or they, arises;—sings the war<br /> +“Of gods and giants; to the rebels gives<br /> +“False praises; and the high celestials' power<br /> +“Much under-rating, tells how Typhon, rais'd.<br /> +“From earth's most deep recesses, struck with fear<br /> +“All heaven: each god betook him straight to flight<br /> +“Far distant, till th' Egyptian land receiv'd<br /> +“Each weary'd foot, where Nile's dissever'd stream<br /> +“Pours in seven mouths. How earth-born Typhon here,<br /> +“They tell, pursu'd them; and each god, conceal'd<br /> +“In feign'd resemblance, cheated there his power.<br /> +“Jove, (so she sung) a leading ram became;<br /> +“(Whence still the Lybians form their Ammon horn'd)<br /> +“The crow Apollo hid: a goat the son<br /> +“Of Semelé became: Diana skulk'd<br /> +“In shape a cat: a snow-white cow conceal'd<br /> +“The form of Juno: Venus seem'd a fish:<br /> +“And 'neath an Ibis Hermes safely crouch'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Thus far she mov'd her vocal lips; thus far<br /> +<a name="page186"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 186]</span> +“Her lyre her voice attended: then they call<br /> +“For our Aönian song. But that to hear,<br /> +“Perchance your leisure suits not; pressing deeds<br /> +“Unlike our songs must more your time demand.”<br /> +Pallas replies;—“be hesitation far,<br /> +“And all your song from first commence relate.”<br /> +So saying, in the forest's pleasing shade<br /> +She rested; while the Muse proceeding, spoke.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “To one the sole contending task we give,<br /> +“Calliopé;—she rises, neatly bound,<br /> +“Her flowing tresses with an ivy wreath.<br /> +“With dexterous thumb the trembling strings she tries,<br /> +“Then to their quivering sounds this song subjoins.<br /> +“Ceres at first with crooked plough upturn'd<br /> +“The glebe; she first mild fruits and milder corn<br /> +“Gave to the earth; and rules to tend them gave:<br /> +“All gifts from her proceed. To her the song<br /> +“I raise. Would that my best exerted power,<br /> +“A song to suit thy least deserts could form,<br /> +“O, goddess! worthy of our loftiest praise.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “The vast Sicilian isle, with pressure huge<br /> +“Thrown o'er them, deep the limbs gigantic weighs<br /> +“Of huge Typhœus, who the heavenly throne<br /> +“Had dar'd to hope for: struggling oft he tries,<br /> +“His efforts, daily bent to lift his load:<br /> +<a name="page187"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 187]</span> +“But hard Pelorus on his right hand lies,<br /> +“Ausonia facing; while Pachyné rests<br /> +“Heavy to left: wide o'er his giant thighs<br /> +“Spreads Lilybœum: Etna presses down<br /> +“His head; beneath whose crater, laid supine,<br /> +“From his hot mouth he ashes sends, and flames.<br /> +“Thus with his body labouring to remove<br /> +“The ponderous load of earth;—whole towns o'erwhelm;<br /> +“And lofty hills o'erturn; trembles the ground;<br /> +“And Hell's dread monarch fears a chasm should gape:<br /> +“And through the opening wide his realm display:<br /> +“The trembling ghosts with light un'custom'd scar'd.<br /> +“The shock to meet expecting, starts the king<br /> +“Quick from his cloudy throne; and in his car<br /> +“Borne by his sable steeds, with care surveys<br /> +“Sicilia's deep foundations; wide around<br /> +“Exploring all; then with his toils content,<br /> +“No ruin'd part detected, flings aside<br /> +“Each apprehension. Strolling now at ease,<br /> +“Him Venus from the Erycinian hill<br /> +“Espy'd; and to her feather'd son, who lay<br /> +“Clasp'd in her arms, exclaim'd;—O, Cupid! son!<br /> +“My sole assistant! sole defence and aid!<br /> +“Seize now that weapon which o'er all has sway,<br /> +“That piercing dart,—and deep within the breast<br /> +“Of the dark god whose lot was given to rule<br /> +“The nether regions of the triple realm,<br /> +<a name="page188"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 188]</span> +“Bury it. All the gods thy might confess;<br /> +“Ev'n Jove himself. The ocean powers allow<br /> +“Thy rule, and he whom Ocean's powers obey.<br /> +“Why then should Tartarus alone evade<br /> +“Thy thrall? Why not my empire and thine own<br /> +“With that complete? Of all the world's extent<br /> +“A third is stak'd. Nay more, our utmost power,<br /> +“Heaven our own seat contemns;—thy potent sway,<br /> +“And mine alike impair'd. Behold'st thou not<br /> +“Minerva, with the quiver-bearing maid<br /> +“Deserting me? Thus will the blooming child<br /> +“Of Ceres, if we grant it, still remain<br /> +“Inviolate a virgin;—thither tend<br /> +“Her anxious hopes. But thou, if dear thou hold'st<br /> +“Our mutual realm, the virgin goddess link<br /> +“In union with her uncle.—Venus spoke:<br /> +“His quiver he unlooses; from the heap<br /> +“Of darts, by her directed, one selects,<br /> +“Than which none bore a keener point; than which,<br /> +“None flew more certain,—trusty to the string.<br /> +“Bends to his knee the yielding horn, then sends<br /> +“Through Pluto's heart the bearded arrow sure.<br /> +“Not far from Enna's walls, a lake expands<br /> +“Profound in watery stores, Pergusa nam'd:<br /> +“Not ev'n Caïsters' murmuring stream e'er heard<br /> +“The songster-swans more frequent. Woods o'ertop<br /> +“The waters, rising round on every side;<br /> +<a name="page189"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 189]</span> +“And veil from Phœbus' rays the surface cool.<br /> +“A shade the branches form; the moist earth round,<br /> +“Produces purple flowers: perpetual spring<br /> +“Here reigns. While straying sportive in this grove<br /> +“Here Proserpine the violet cropp'd, and here<br /> +“The lily fair; with childish ardor warm'd<br /> +“Her bosom filling, and her basket high:<br /> +“Proud to surpass her comrades all around<br /> +“In skilful culling, she herself was seen;<br /> +“Was chosen, and by Dis was snatch'd away.<br /> +“Love urg'd him to the deed. Th' affrighted maid,<br /> +“Loud on her mother, and her comrades call'd;<br /> +“But chief her mother, with lamenting shrieks.<br /> +“Then as her robe she rent, the well-cull'd flowers<br /> +“Slipp'd through the loosen'd folds: e'en this (so great<br /> +“Her girlish innocence) her tears increas'd.<br /> +“Swiftly the robber speeds his car along<br /> +“Urging his steeds' exertions each by name;<br /> +“'Bove their high manes and necks the rusty reins<br /> +“Rattling, as o'er the wide Palician lake,<br /> +“Where the cleft earth with sulphur boils, he whirls:<br /> +“And where the Bacchiads, from the double sea<br /> +“Of Corinth wandering, rais'd their lofty walls;<br /> +“'Twixt two unequal havens. Midst, the stream,<br /> +“Pisæan Arethusa, and the lake<br /> +“Of Cyané are seen, close round embrac'd<br /> +“By narrowing horns. This Cyané was once,<br /> +<a name="page190"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 190]</span> +“Of all Sicilia's nymphs, the fairest deem'd;<br /> +“Who gave the lake her name. She to the waist<br /> +“Uprais'd, amidst the waters stood, and knew<br /> +“The god, and,—here thy speed must stay,—exclaim'd;<br /> +“Nor e'er of Ceres hope the son-in-law<br /> +“'Gainst her consent to be: beseechings bland,<br /> +“Not rugged rape, thy purpos'd hope might gain.<br /> +“If lofty things with low I durst compare,<br /> +“Anapis lov'd me; but the nuptial couch,<br /> +“I press'd, entreated,—not as thus in dread.<br /> +“She said;—her arms extended wide, and stopp'd<br /> +“His course. The angry son of Saturn flames<br /> +“Swelling with rage; exhorts his furious steeds;<br /> +“Throws with a forceful arm, and buries deep<br /> +“His regal sceptre in the lowest gulph:<br /> +“Wide gapes the stricken earth; an opening gives<br /> +“To hell, and headlong down, the car descends.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now equal Cyané the goddess mourns,<br /> +“So forc'd; and her own sacred stream despis'd;<br /> +“A cureless wound her silent breast contains;<br /> +“And all in tears she wastes: lost in those waves,<br /> +“Where lately sovereign goddess she had rul'd.<br /> +“Soft grow her limbs, and flexile seem her bones;<br /> +“Her nails their hardness lose. The tenderest parts.<br /> +“Melt into water long before the rest:<br /> +“Her tresses green; her fingers, legs, and feet.<br /> +<a name="page191"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 191]</span> +“Quickly this change the smaller limbs perceive,<br /> +“To cooling rills transform'd. Next after these,<br /> +“Her back, her shoulders, breasts, and sides dissolve,<br /> +“And vanish all in streams. A limpid flood<br /> +“Now fills the veins that once in purple flow'd;<br /> +“Nought of the nymph to fill the grasp remains.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Meantime the trembling mother through the earth,<br /> +“And o'er the main, the goddess vainly sought.<br /> +“Aurora rising, with her locks of gold;<br /> +“Nor Hesper sinking, saw her labors cease.<br /> +“With either hand at Etna's flaming mouth,<br /> +“A torch she lighted, restless these she bore<br /> +“In dewy darkness. Then renew'd again<br /> +“Her labor, till fair day made blunt the stars;<br /> +“From Sol's first rising till his evening fall.<br /> +“Weary'd at length, and parch'd with thirst,—no stream<br /> +“Her lips to moisten nigh, by chance she spy'd<br /> +“A straw-thatch'd cot, and knock'd the humble door.<br /> +“An ancient dame thence stepp'd,—the goddess saw,<br /> +“And brought her, (who for water simply crav'd)<br /> +“A pleasing draught where roasted grain had boil'd.<br /> +“Swallowing the gift presented, rudely came<br /> +“A brazen-fronted boy, and facing stood:<br /> +“Then laughing mock'd to see her greedy drink.<br /> +“Angry grew Ceres, all the offer'd draught,<br /> +“Yet unconsum'd, she drench'd him as he jeer'd,<br /> +<a name="page192"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 192]</span> +“With barley mixt with liquid: straight his face<br /> +“The spots imbib'd; and what but now as arms<br /> +“He bore, as legs he carries; to his limbs<br /> +“Thus chang'd, a tail is added; shrunk in size,<br /> +“Small is his power to harm; shorter he seems<br /> +“Than the small lizard. Swift away he fled<br /> +“(As, wondering, weeping, try'd the dame to clasp<br /> +“His changing form) and gain'd a sheltering hole.<br /> +“Well suits his star-like skin the name he bears.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Long were the tale to tell, what tracts of land<br /> +“What tracts of sea, the wandering goddess pass'd.<br /> +“Earth now no spot unsearch'd affording, back<br /> +“To Sicily she turns; with close research<br /> +“Each part exploring, till at length she comes<br /> +“To Cyané; who all the tale had told<br /> +“If still unchang'd: much as she wish'd to speak<br /> +“Nor lips, nor tongue can aid her; nought remains<br /> +“Speech to afford. Yet plain a sign she gives,<br /> +“The zone of Proserpine upon her waves<br /> +“Light floating; in the sacred stream it fell;—<br /> +“Dropt as she pass'd the place. Well Ceres knew<br /> +“The sight, and then—as then her loss first known,<br /> +“Tore her dishevell'd tresses, beat her breast<br /> +“With blows on blows redoubled. Still unknown<br /> +“The spot that holds her, every part of earth<br /> +“Blaming, ungrateful, worthless of her fruits.<br /> +<a name="page193"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 193]</span> +“But chief Trinacria, in whose isle was found<br /> +“The vestige of her loss. For this she breaks<br /> +“With furious hand the glebe up-turning plough:<br /> +“And angry, to an equal death she dooms,<br /> +“The tiller and his ox: forbids the fields<br /> +“Back to return th' entrusted grain; the seeds<br /> +“All rotting. Now that fertile land, renown'd<br /> +“Through the wide earth, lies useless; all the grain<br /> +“Dies in the earliest shoots: now scorching rays;<br /> +“Now floods of rain destroy it: noxious stars<br /> +“Now harm; now blighting winds: and hungry birds<br /> +“The scatter'd seed devour: the darnel springs,<br /> +“The thistle, and the knot-grass thick, which choke<br /> +“The sprouting wheat, and make the harvest void.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Now Arethusa from th' Eleian waves<br /> +“Exalts her head; her dropping tresses flung<br /> +“Back from her forehead, parting shade her ears:<br /> +“And thus;—O goddess! mother of the maid,<br /> +“So sought through earth, mother of all earth's fruits!<br /> +“Cease now thy toilsome labor; cease thine ire,<br /> +“Against the land that prov'd to thee so true:<br /> +“Thine ire unmerited; unwilling she,<br /> +“Op'd for the spoil a passage. Hither I<br /> +“No suppliant for my native isle approach;<br /> +“An alien here sojourning. Pisa's land<br /> +“My country; there near Elis first I sprung:<br /> +<a name="page194"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 194]</span> +“A stranger now in Sicily I dwell.<br /> +“This soil, more grateful far than is my own;<br /> +“This soil, where I my houshold gods have plac'd;<br /> +“I, Arethusa, and have fix'd my seat,<br /> +“Preserve, mild goddess! Why I chang'd my land,<br /> +“Why to Ortygia, through the wide waves borne,<br /> +“I came, a more appropriate hour will ask;<br /> +“When you, from care reliev'd, can grant your ear<br /> +“With brow unclouded. Through the opening earth<br /> +“I flow; and borne through subterraneous depths,<br /> +“Here lift again my head, again behold<br /> +“The long-lost stars. Hence was my lot to see,<br /> +“As pass'd my stream close by the Stygian gulph,<br /> +“Your Proserpine;—sad still her face appear'd,<br /> +“Nor fear had wholly left it. Yet she reigns<br /> +“A queen; the mightiest in the realm of shade,<br /> +“The powerful consort of th' infernal king.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Like marble at the words the mother stands,<br /> +“Stupid with grief; and long astounded seems:<br /> +“Sorrow by heavier sorrow now surpass'd.<br /> +“Then in her chariot mounts th' ethereal sky,<br /> +“And stands indignant at th' imperial throne;<br /> +“Her locks wild flowing, and her face in clouds.<br /> +“Lo! here a suppliant, Jove,—she cry'd,—I come,<br /> +“To beg for her, my daughter and thine own;<br /> +“For if no favor may the mother find,<br /> +<a name="page195"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 195]</span> +“The daughter's claim may move. Let not thy child<br /> +“Deserve thy care the less, as born of me.<br /> +“Lo! my lost maid, so long, so vainly sought<br /> +“At length is found; if finding we may call<br /> +“A surer loss; if finding we may call<br /> +“The knowledge where she is. Her ravish'd charms<br /> +“I'll pardon; let him but my child restore.<br /> +“What though a robber might my daughter wed,<br /> +“Thine sure is worthy of a different mate!<br /> +“Then Jove;—our daughter, our dear mutual pledge,<br /> +“As yours, so mine, demands our mutual care.<br /> +“But rightly still affairs if we design,<br /> +“What you lament will no injustice prove;<br /> +“Love only. Sure, a son-in-law like him,<br /> +“Can ne'er degrade, will you consent but yield.<br /> +“Grant nought beyond,—'tis no such trivial boast,<br /> +“Jove's brother to be call'd! How then, if more<br /> +“I claim pre-eminence from chance alone!<br /> +“Still, if so obstinate your wish remains<br /> +“For separation, go,—let Proserpine<br /> +“To heaven return, on this condition strict,<br /> +“Her lips no food have touch'd. So will the fates.<br /> +“He ceas'd.—Glad Ceres, certain to regain<br /> +“Her daughter, knew not what the fates forbade.<br /> +“Her fast was broken; thoughtless as she stray'd<br /> +“Around the garden, from a bending tree<br /> +“She pluck'd a fair pomegranate, and seven seeds<br /> +<a name="page196"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 196]</span> +“From the pale rind she pick'd, and ate. None saw<br /> +“Save one, Ascalaphus, the luckless deed;<br /> +“Whom Orphné, fam'd Avernus' nymphs among,<br /> +“To Acheron, long since, 'tis said, produc'd<br /> +“Beneath a dusky cave. He, cruel, told;<br /> +“And his discovery stay'd the hop'd return.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Much wept the queen of Pluto, but she chang'd<br /> +“The vile informer to an hideous shape:<br /> +“Sprinkled with streams of Phlegethon, his head<br /> +“Feather'd appears, with beak, and monstrous eyes;<br /> +“Spoil'd of his shape, with yellow feathers cloth'd:<br /> +“Large grows his head; bent are his lengthen'd nails;<br /> +“Scarcely he moves the pinions which are shot<br /> +“Light from his lazy arms. A filthy bird<br /> +“Becoming;—constant presager of woe;<br /> +“An owl inactive; omen dire to man.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Well he by his informing tongue deserv'd,<br /> +“His doom, but Acheloïdes, from whence<br /> +“Your wings, and bird-like feet, whilst still you bear<br /> +“Your virgin features? Was it that you mix'd,<br /> +“When Proserpine the vernal flowers would cull,<br /> +“Amidst her numerous train? The nymph you sought<br /> +“Through earth's extent in vain; that ocean too<br /> +“Your anxious search might scape not, straight you pray'd<br /> +“For waving wings to winnow o'er the deep;<br /> +<a name="page197"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 197]</span> +“And favouring gods you found. Of golden hue<br /> +“Quick-shooting wings your arms you saw bespread;<br /> +“But lest your inbred song, which every ear<br /> +“Had charm'd; and lest your highly-gifted voice,<br /> +“Your tongue should fail to use;—a virgin face,<br /> +“And speech yet human are indulg'd you still.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Now Jove as umpire 'twixt the angry pair<br /> +“His mourning sister, and his brother, bids<br /> +“The year revolving either side oblige:<br /> +“Now will the goddess, mutual in each realm,<br /> +“Six months with Ceres dwell in heaven; and six<br /> +“Reign with her spouse in hell. Straight were perceiv'd<br /> +“The goddess' countenance, and demeanour chang'd.<br /> +“For now her forehead, which had still retain'd,<br /> +“(To Pluto even) a sad and sorrowing gloom,<br /> +“Gladden'd: so Phœbus long in cloudy shade<br /> +“Envelop'd, shines, their umbrous veil dispers'd.<br /> +“Now Ceres calm, her daughter safe regain'd,<br /> +“Enquires:—O Arethusa! say the cause,<br /> +“Which hither brought thee; why a sacred fount?<br /> +“Hush'd were the waves; and from the lowest depths<br /> +“The goddess rais'd her head; and as she told,<br /> +“The old amours the flood of Elis knew,<br /> +“Press'd out the water from her tresses green.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Once with the nymphs, that on Achaïa's hills<br /> +<a name="page198"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 198]</span> +“Rove, was I seen; none closer beat than I<br /> +“The thickets; none than I more skilful spread<br /> +“Th' ensnaring net. Yet though no fame I sought<br /> +“For beauty; though robust, I bore the name<br /> +“Of beauteous. Whilst the constant theme of praise,<br /> +“My features fair, to me no pleasure gave;<br /> +“What other nymphs inspire with joyful pride,<br /> +“Corporeal charms, did but my blushes raise.<br /> +“To please I thought a crime. Once tir'd with sport,<br /> +“The Stymphalidian forest I had left:<br /> +“Warm was the day; I with redoubled heat,<br /> +“Glow'd from my toil. A gliding stream I found<br /> +“By ripplings undisturb'd; silent and smooth<br /> +“It flow'd; so clear, that every stone was seen<br /> +“On the deep bottom; gently crept the waves;<br /> +“To creep scarce seeming; o'er the shelving banks<br /> +“The stream-fed poplar, and the willow hoar,<br /> +“A grateful shadow cast. The brink I reach'd<br /> +“Dipp'd first my feet, then waded to my knee;<br /> +“Not yet content, I loos'd my zone, and hung<br /> +“Upon a bending osier my soft robe:<br /> +“Then naked plung'd amid the stream; the waves<br /> +“Beating, and sporting in a thousand shapes;<br /> +“My arms around in every posture flung;<br /> +“A strange unusual murmur seem'd to sound,<br /> +“Deep from the bottom; terror-struck I gain'd<br /> +“The nearest brink;—when,—whither dost thou fly?<br /> +<a name="page199"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 199]</span> +“O, Arethusa? whither dost thou fly?<br /> +“Alphæus, from his waters, hoarse exclaim'd!<br /> +“Vestless I fled, for on th' opposing bank<br /> +“My garment hung. Fiercer the god pursu'd;<br /> +“Fiercer he burn'd, all naked as I ran:<br /> +“Prepar'd more ready for his force I seem'd.<br /> +“Such was my flight, and such was his pursuit;<br /> +“As when on trembling wings, before the hawk<br /> +“Fly the mild doves: as when the hawk fierce drives<br /> +“The trembling doves before him. Long the chase<br /> +“I bore; Orchomenus, and Psophis soon<br /> +“I pass'd, and pass'd Cyllené, and the caves<br /> +“Of Mænalus, and Erymanthus' frosts,<br /> +“To Elis, ere his speed could cope with mine.<br /> +“In strength unequal, I sustain'd no more<br /> +“The toilsome race; he stouter flagg'd less soon.<br /> +“But still o'er plains I ran; o'er mountains thick<br /> +“With forests clad; o'er stones, and rugged rocks;<br /> +“And pathless spots. Behind me Phœbus shone.<br /> +“I saw, if fear deceiv'd me not, far spread<br /> +“His shade before me. What could less deceive,<br /> +“I heard his footsteps; and his breath full strong<br /> +“Blew on my banded tresses. Weary'd, faint<br /> +“With the long flight, I cry'd;—Dictynna, chaste!<br /> +“Lost am I,—help a quiver-bearing nymph,<br /> +“One who thy bow has oft entrusted borne;<br /> +“And oft thy quiver, loaded full with darts.<br /> +<a name="page200"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 200]</span> +“Mov'd was the goddess; from the darkest clouds<br /> +“She one selected, and around me threw.<br /> +“The river-god, about the misty veil<br /> +“Pry'd anxious; and unwitting deeply grop'd<br /> +“Within the hollow cloud! Unconscious, twice<br /> +“The spot he compass'd, where Diana thought<br /> +“My safety surest; twice he then aloud<br /> +“Ho! Arethusa,—Arethusa! call'd:—<br /> +“What terror seiz'd my soul! not less the dread<br /> +“Of lambs, when round the sheltering fold they hear<br /> +“The wolves loud howling: or the trembling hare<br /> +“Close in a bramble hid, who sees approach<br /> +“The wide-mouth'd, hostile hounds, and fears to move.<br /> +“Further he pass'd not, for beyond the place<br /> +“No footsteps he discern'd, but guarding watch'd<br /> +“Around the mist. So closely thus besieg'd,<br /> +“My limbs a cold sweat seiz'd; cerulean drops<br /> +“Fell from my body; when my feet I mov'd,<br /> +“A pool remain'd; fast dropp'd my hair in dew;<br /> +“And speedier than the wonderous tale I tell,<br /> +“Chang'd to a stream I flow'd. But soon the god,<br /> +“Knew his lov'd waters; laid the man aside,<br /> +“And straight assum'd his proper watery form;<br /> +“With mine to mingle. Dian' cleft the ground;<br /> +“Sinking, through caverns dark I held my way;<br /> +“And reach'd Ortygia, from the goddess nam'd;<br /> +“There first ascending view'd the upper skies.<br /> +<a name="page201"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 201]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Here Arethusa ceas'd. Then Ceres yokes<br /> +“The coupled dragons to her car, their mouths<br /> +“Curb'd by the reins; and through the air is borne,<br /> +“Midway 'twixt heaven and earth. At Pallas' town<br /> +“Arriv'd, Triptolemus the car ascends,<br /> +“By her commission'd;—bade to spread the seed<br /> +“Entrusted: part on ground untill'd before;<br /> +“And part on land which long had fallow laid.<br /> +“O'er Europe now, and Asia's lands, the youth<br /> +“Sublimely sails, and reaches Scythia's clime,<br /> +“Where Lyncus rul'd. Beneath the monarch's roof,<br /> +“Here enter'd; and to him, who curious sought<br /> +“How there he journey'd; what his journey's cause;<br /> +“His name, and country; thus the youth reply'd.—<br /> +“Athens the fam'd, my country; and my name<br /> +“Triptolemus: but neither o'er the main,<br /> +“Borne in a ship, nor travelling slow by land,<br /> +“I hither came; my path was through the air.<br /> +“I bring the gift of Ceres; scatter'd wide<br /> +“Through all your spacious fields, quickly restor'd<br /> +“In fruitful crops the wholesome food will spring.<br /> +“The barbarous monarch, envious he should bear<br /> +“So great a blessing, takes him for his guest,<br /> +“And when with sleep weigh'd down attacks him. Rais'd<br /> +“To pierce his bosom, was the sword;—just then<br /> +“The wretch, by Ceres, to a lynx was turn'd.<br /> +<a name="page202"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 202]</span> +“Then mounts again the youth, and through the air<br /> +“Bids him once more the sacred dragons steer.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Our chosen champion ended here her lays,<br /> +“And all the nymphs unanimous, exclaim'd;—<br /> +“The Heliconian goddesses have gain'd.<br /> +“Vanquish'd, the others rail'd. When she resum'd:—<br /> +“Is not your punishment enough deserv'd?<br /> +“Foil'd in the contest, must you swell your crime,<br /> +“With base revilings? Patient now no more,<br /> +“To punish we begin; what anger bids,<br /> +“We now perform.—Loud laugh'd the scornful maids,<br /> +“Our threatening words despis'd, and strove to speak,<br /> +“And clapp'd with outcries menacing, their hands.<br /> +“When from their fingers shooting plumes they spy;<br /> +“And feathers shade their arms; her sister's face,<br /> +“Each sees to harden in an horny beak;<br /> +“To beat their bosoms trying with rais'd arms,<br /> +“In air suspended, on those arms they move;<br /> +“The new-shap'd birds the sylvan tribes increase:<br /> +“Magpies, the scandal of the grove. Thus chang'd,<br /> +“Their former eloquence they still maintain,<br /> +“In hoarse garrulity, and empty noise.”<br /> +<a name="page203"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 203]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter11"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Sixth Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Trial of skill betwixt Pallas and Arachné. Transformation of Arachné +to a spider. Pride of Niobé. Her children slain by Apollo and Diana. +Her change to marble. The Lycian peasants changed to frogs. Fate of +Marsyas. Pelops. Story of Tereus, Procné, and Philomela. Their +change to birds. Boreas and Orithyïa. Birth of Zethes and Calaïs. +<a name="page204"></a> +<a name="page205"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 205]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter12"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Sixth Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + Minerva pleas'd attention to the muse,<br /> +While thus she spoke afforded; prais'd the song,<br /> +And prais'd the just resentment of the maids.<br /> +Then to herself;—“the vengeance others take,<br /> +“Merely to praise were mean. I too should claim<br /> +“Like praise, for like revenge; nor longer bear<br /> +“My power contemn'd, by who unpunish'd live.”<br /> +And on Arachné, fair Mæönian maid,<br /> +She turns her vengeful mind; whose skill she heard<br /> +Rivall'd her own in labors of the loom.<br /> +No fame her natal town, no fame her sire<br /> +On her bestow'd; her skill conferr'd renown.<br /> +<a name="page206"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 206]</span> +Idmon of Colophon, her humble sire<br /> +Soak'd in the Phocian dye the spongy wool.<br /> +Her mother, late deceas'd, from lowest stock,<br /> +Had sprung; and wedded with an equal mate.<br /> +Yet had she gain'd through all the Lydian towns<br /> +For skill a mighty fame. Though born so low,<br /> +Though small Hypæpe was her sole abode,<br /> +Oft would the nymphs the vine-clad Tmolus leave<br /> +To view her wonderous work. Oft would the nymphs<br /> +In admiration quit Pactolus' waves.<br /> +Nor pleasure only gave the finish'd robe,<br /> +When view'd; but while she work'd she gave delight;<br /> +Such comely grace in every turn appear'd.<br /> +Whether she rounded into balls the wool;<br /> +Or with her fingers mollify'd the fleece;<br /> +And comb'd it floating light in cloudy waves;<br /> +Or her smooth spindle twirl'd with agile thumb;<br /> +Or with her needle painted: plain was seen<br /> +Her skill from Pallas learnt. This to concede<br /> +Unwilling, she ev'n such a tutor scorn'd<br /> +Exclaiming:—“come let her the contest try;<br /> +“If vanquish'd, let her fix my well-earn'd fate.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Pallas, an ancient matron's form conceals;<br /> +Grey hairs thin strew her temples, and a staff<br /> +Supports her tottering limbs; while thus she speaks:—<br /> +“Old age though little priz'd, much good attends;<br /> +<a name="page207"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 207]</span> +“Experience always grows with lengthen'd years:<br /> +“Spurn not my admonition. Great thy fame,<br /> +“Midst mortals, for the wonders of the loom.<br /> +“Great may it be, but to immortals yield:<br /> +“Bold nymph retract, and pardon for thy words,<br /> +“With suppliant voice require; Pallas will grant.”<br /> +Sternly the damsel views her; quits the threads<br /> +Unfinish'd; scarce her hand from force restrains:<br /> +And rage in all her features flushing fierce,<br /> +Thus to the goddess, well-disguis'd, she speaks:—<br /> +“Weak dotard, spent with too great gift of years,<br /> +“Curst with too long existence, hence, begone!<br /> +“Such admonition to thy daughters give,<br /> +“If daughters hast thou; or thy sons have wives:<br /> +“Enough for me my inbred wisdom serves.<br /> +“Hope not, that ought thy vain advice has sway'd<br /> +“My purpose; still my challenge holds the same.<br /> +“Why comes your goddess not? why shuns she still<br /> +“The trying contest?” Then the goddess,—“Lo!<br /> +“She comes,”—and flung her aged form aside,<br /> +Minerva's form displaying. Every nymph,<br /> +And every dame Mygdonian, lowly bent<br /> +In veneration. While Arachné sole<br /> +Stood stedfast, unalarm'd; but yet she blush'd.<br /> +A sudden flush her angry face deep ting'd,<br /> +But sudden faded pale. A ruddy glow<br /> +Thus teints the early sky, when first the morn<br /> +<a name="page208"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 208]</span> +Arises; quickly from the solar ray<br /> +Paling to brightness. On her purpos'd boast<br /> +Still stubborn bent, she obstinately courts<br /> +Her sure destruction, for the empty hope<br /> +Of conquest in the strife so madly urg'd.<br /> +No more Jove's maid refuses, gives no more<br /> +Her empty admonitions, nor delays<br /> +The contest: each her station straight assumes,<br /> +Tighten each web; each slender thread prepare.<br /> +Firm to the beam the cloth is fix'd; the reed<br /> +The warp divides, with pointed shuttle, swift<br /> +Gliding between; which quick their fingers throw,<br /> +Quick extricate, and with the toothy comb<br /> +Firm press'd between the warp, the threads unite.<br /> +Both hasten now; their garments round them girt,<br /> +Their skilful hands they ply: their toil forgot<br /> +In anxious wish for conquest. There appear'd,<br /> +The wool of Tyrian dye, and softening teints<br /> +Lost imperceptible. So seems the arch<br /> +Coloring a spacious portion of the sky;<br /> +Struck by the rays of Phœbus, when the showers<br /> +Recede, a thousand varying tinges shine;<br /> +The soft transition mocks the straining eye,<br /> +So like the shades which join, though far distinct<br /> +Their distant teints. In slender threads they twist<br /> +The pliant gold, and in the web display,<br /> +Each as she works, an ancient story fair.<br /> +<a name="page209"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 209]</span> +Minerva paints the rock of Mars so fam'd<br /> +In Cecrops' city, and the well-known strife<br /> +To name the town. Twice six celestials sate<br /> +On their high thrones, great Jupiter around<br /> +In gravity majestic; every god<br /> +Bore his celestial features. Jove appear'd<br /> +In royal dignity. The Ocean power<br /> +Standing she pictur'd, with his trident huge<br /> +Smiting the rugged rock; from the cleft stone<br /> +Leap'd forth a steed; and thence the town to name<br /> +The privilege he claim'd. Herself she paints<br /> +Shielded, and arm'd with keenly-pointed spear.<br /> +Helm'd was her head; her breast the Ægis bore.<br /> +Struck by her spear, the earth a hoary tree<br /> +She shews producing, loaded thick with fruit.<br /> +The wondering gods the gift admire; the prize<br /> +To her awarded, ends the glorious work.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + More, that the daring rival of her art,<br /> +Should learn experimental, what reward<br /> +Her mad attempt might hope, four parts she adds;<br /> +And every part a test of power presents:<br /> +Bright the small figures in her colors shine.<br /> +This angle Thracian Rhodopé contains,<br /> +With Hæmus; both their mortal bodies now,<br /> +To frozen mountains chang'd; whose lofty pride<br /> +<a name="page210"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 210]</span> +Assum'd the titles of celestial powers.<br /> +Another corner held the wretched fate<br /> +Felt by Pygmæa's matron; Juno bade<br /> +Her vanquish'd rival soar aloft a crane;<br /> +And on her people wage continual war.<br /> +Antigoné, she paints;—audacious she<br /> +With Jove's imperial consort durst contend;<br /> +By Jove's imperial queen she flits a bird:<br /> +Nor aids her Ilium ought; nor aids her sire,<br /> +Laömedon;—upborne on snowy wings,<br /> +A stork she rises; loud with chattering bill<br /> +She noises. In the sole remaining part,<br /> +Was childless Cynaras, in close embrace,<br /> +Grasping the temple's steps, his daughters once;<br /> +And as he lies extended on the stone,<br /> +In marble seems to weep. Around the piece<br /> +She spreads the peaceful olive: all complete<br /> +Her work is ended with her favorite tree.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Arachné paints Europa, by a bull<br /> +Deceiv'd; the god a real bull appears;<br /> +And real seem the waves. She, backward turn'd,<br /> +Views the receding shore, and seems to shriek<br /> +Loud to her lost companions; seems to dread<br /> +The dashing waves, and timid shrinks her feet.<br /> +She draws Asteria, by the god o'er-power'd,<br /> +Cloth'd in an eagle. Leda, fair she lays<br /> +<a name="page211"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 211]</span> +Beneath his wings, when he a swan appears.<br /> +She adds how Jove beneath a Satyr's shape<br /> +Conceal'd, the beauteous child of Nycteus fill'd,<br /> +With a twin-offspring. In Amphytrion's form<br /> +Alcmena, thou wert press'd. A golden shower<br /> +Danaë deceiv'd. A flame Ægina caught.<br /> +A shepherd's shape Mnemosyné beguil'd.<br /> +And fair Deöis trusts a speckled snake.<br /> +Thee, Neptune, too she painted, for the maid<br /> +Æolian, to a threatening bull transform'd.<br /> +Thou, as Enipeus, didst the Aloïd twins<br /> +Beget. Beneath the semblance of a ram,<br /> +Theophané was cheated. Ceres mild,<br /> +Of grain inventress, with her yellow locks,<br /> +In shape a courser felt thy ardent love.<br /> +Medusa, mother of the flying steed,<br /> +Nymph of the snaky tresses, in a bird<br /> +Conceal'd, you forc'd. Melantho in a fish.<br /> +To these the damsel, all well-suiting forms<br /> +Dispens'd, and all well-suiting scenes attend.<br /> +And there Apollo in a herdsman's guise<br /> +Wanders. And now he soars a plumy hawk:<br /> +Now stalks a lordly lion. As a swain<br /> +Macarean Isse, felt his amorous guile,<br /> +Erigoné to Bacchus' flame was dup'd<br /> +Beneath a well-seem'd grape. Saturn produc'd<br /> +The Centaur doubly-shap'd, in form a steed.<br /> +<a name="page212"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 212]</span> +Her web's extremes a slender border girt,<br /> +Where flowery wreathes, and twining ivy blend.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Not Pallas,—not even envy's rankling soul<br /> +Could blame the work. The bright immortal griev'd<br /> +To view her rival's merit, angry tore<br /> +The picture glowing with celestial crimes.<br /> +A boxen shuttle, grasping in her hand,<br /> +Thrice on the forehead of th' Idmonian maid<br /> +She struck. No more Arachné, hapless bore,<br /> +But twisted round her neck with desperate pride<br /> +A cord. The deed Minerva pitying saw<br /> +And check'd her rash suspension.—“Impious wretch!<br /> +“Still live,” she cry'd, “but still suspended hang;<br /> +“Curs'd to futurity, for all thy race,<br /> +“Thy sons and grandsons, to the latest day<br /> +“Alike shall feel the sentence.” Speaking thus,<br /> +The juice of Hecat's baleful plant she throws:<br /> +Instant besprinkled by the noxious drops,<br /> +Her tresses fall; her nose and ears are lost;<br /> +Her body shrinks; her head is lessen'd more;<br /> +Her slender fingers root within her sides,<br /> +Serving as legs; her belly forms the rest;<br /> +From whence her thread she still derives and spins:<br /> +Her art pursuing in the spider's shape.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + All Lydia rung; the wonderous rumor spread<br /> +<a name="page213"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 213]</span> +Through every Phrygian town; the tale employ'd<br /> +The tongues of all mankind. The nymph was known,<br /> +Ere yet Amphion's nuptial bed she press'd,<br /> +To Niobé. She, when a virgin dwelt<br /> +In Lydian Sipylus. She still unmov'd,<br /> +Arachné's neighboring fate not heeded, still<br /> +Proudly refus'd before the gods to bend;<br /> +And spoke in haughty boasting. Much her pride<br /> +By favoring gifts was swol'n. Not the fine skill<br /> +Amphion practis'd; not the lofty birth<br /> +Each claim'd; not all their mighty kingdom's power,<br /> +So rais'd her soul (of all though justly proud)<br /> +As her bright offspring. Justly were she call'd<br /> +Most blest of mothers; but her bliss too great<br /> +Seem'd to herself, and caus'd a dread reverse.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now Manto, sprung from old Tiresias, skill'd<br /> +In future fate, impell'd by power divine,<br /> +In every street with wild prophetic tongue<br /> +Exclaim'd;—“Ye Theban matrons, haste in crowds,<br /> +“Your incense offer, and your pious prayers,<br /> +“To great Latona, and the heavenly twins,<br /> +“Latona's offspring; all your temples bound<br /> +“With laurel garlands. This the goddess bids;<br /> +“Through me commands it.” All of Thebes obey,<br /> +And gird their foreheads with the order'd leaves;<br /> +The incense burn, and with the sacred flames<br /> +<a name="page214"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 214]</span> +Their pious prayers ascend. Lo! 'midst a crowd<br /> +Of nymphs attendant, far conspicuous seen;<br /> +Comes Niobé, in gorgeous Phrygian robe,<br /> +Inwrought with gold, attir'd. Beauteous her form,<br /> +Beauteous, as rage permitted. Angry shook<br /> +Her graceful head; and angry shook the locks<br /> +That o'er each shoulder wav'd. Proudly she tower'd.<br /> +Her haughty eyes, round from her lofty stand<br /> +Wide darting, cry'd;—“What madness this to place<br /> +“Reported gods above the gods you see!<br /> +“Why to Latona's altars bend ye low,<br /> +“Nor incense burn before my power divine?<br /> +“My sire, was Tantalus: of mortals sole,<br /> +“Celestial feasts he shar'd. A Pleiäd nymph<br /> +“Me bore. My grandsire is the mighty king,<br /> +“Whose shoulders all the load of heaven sustain.<br /> +“Jove is my father's parent: him I boast<br /> +“As sire-in-law too. All the Phrygian towns<br /> +“Bend to my sway. The hall of Cadmus owns<br /> +“Me sovereign mistress. Thebes' high towering walls,<br /> +“Rais'd by my consort's lute; and all the crowd<br /> +“Who dwell inclos'd, his rule and mine obey.<br /> +“Where'er within my palace turn mine eyes,<br /> +“Treasures immense I view. Brightness divine<br /> +“I boast: to all seven blooming daughters add,<br /> +“And seven fair sons; through whom I soon expect,<br /> +“If Hymen favors, seven more sons to see,<br /> +<a name="page215"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 215]</span> +“And seven more daughters. Need ye further seek<br /> +“Whence I have cause for boasting. Dare ye still<br /> +“Latona, from Titanian Cæus sprung,—<br /> +“The unknown Cæus,—she to whom all earth<br /> +“In bearing pangs the smallest space deny'd:—<br /> +“This wretch to my divinity prefer?<br /> +“Not heaven your goddess would receive; not earth;<br /> +“Not ocean: exil'd from the world, she weep'd,<br /> +“Till Delos sorrowing,—wanderer like herself,<br /> +“Exclaim'd;—thou dreary wanderest o'er the earth,<br /> +“I, o'er the main;—and sympathizing thus,<br /> +“A resting spot afforded. There become<br /> +“Of two the mother, only—can she vie<br /> +“With one whose womb, has sevenfold hers surpass'd?<br /> +“Blest am I. Who can slightly e'er arraign<br /> +“To happiness my claim? Blest will I still<br /> +“Continue. Who my bliss can ever doubt?<br /> +“Abundance guards its surety. Far beyond<br /> +“The power of fortune is my lot uprais'd:<br /> +“Snatch them in numbers from me, crowds more great<br /> +“Must still remain. My happy state contemns<br /> +“Even now, the threats of danger. Grant the power<br /> +“Of fate this nation of my womb to thin,—<br /> +“Of part depriv'd, impossible I shrink<br /> +“To poor Latona's two. How scant remov'd<br /> +“From mothers childless! Quit your rites;—quick haste<br /> +“And tear those garlands from your flowing hair.”<br /> +<a name="page216"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 216]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Aside the garlands thrown, and incomplete,<br /> +The rites relinquish'd, what the Thebans could<br /> +They gave: their whispering prayers the matron dame<br /> +Address'd. With ire the angry goddess flam'd,<br /> +And thus on Cynthus' lofty top bespoke<br /> +Her double offspring:—“O, my children! see,<br /> +“Your parent, proud your parent to be call'd,—<br /> +“To no celestial yielding, save the queen<br /> +“Of Jove supreme. Lo! doubted is my claim<br /> +“To rites divine; and from the altars, burnt<br /> +“To me from endless ages, driven, I go;<br /> +“Save by my children succour'd. Nor this grief<br /> +“Alone me irks, for Niobé me mocks!—<br /> +“Her daring crime increasing, proud she sets<br /> +“Her offspring far 'bove you. Me too she spurns,—<br /> +“To her in number yielding; childless calls<br /> +“My bed, and proves the impious stock which gave<br /> +“Her tongue first utterance.” More Latona felt<br /> +Prepar'd to utter; more beseechings bland<br /> +For her young offspring, when Apollo, cry'd:<br /> +“Enough, desist to plain;—delay is long<br /> +“Till vengeance.” Dian' join'd him in his ire.<br /> +Swift gliding down the sky, and veil'd in clouds,<br /> +On Cadmus' roof they lighted. Wide was spread,<br /> +A level plain, by constant hoofs well beat,<br /> +The city's walls adjoining; crowding wheels,<br /> +And coursers' feet the rolling dust upturn'd.<br /> +<a name="page217"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 217]</span> +Here of Amphion's offspring daily some<br /> +Mount their fleet steeds; their trappings gaily press<br /> +Of Tyrian dye: heavy with gold, the rens<br /> +They guide. 'Mid these Ismenos, primal born<br /> +Of Niobé, as round the circling course,<br /> +His well-train'd steed he sped, and strenuous curb'd<br /> +His foaming mouth,—loudly “Ah, me!” exclaim'd,<br /> +As through his bosom deep the dart was driv'n:<br /> +Dropp'd from his dying hands the slacken'd reins;<br /> +Slowly, and sidelong from his courser's back<br /> +He tumbled. Sipylus, gave uncheck'd scope<br /> +To his, when through the empty air he heard,<br /> +The rattling quiver sound: thus speeding clouds<br /> +Beheld, the guider of the ruling helm,<br /> +A threatening tempest fearing, looses wide<br /> +His every sail to catch the lightest breeze.<br /> +Loose flow'd his reins. Th' inevitable dart<br /> +The flowing reins quick follow'd. Quivering shook,<br /> +Fixt in his upper neck, the naked steel,<br /> +Far through his throat protruding. Prone he fell<br /> +O'er his high courser's head; his smoking gore,<br /> +The ground defiling. Hapless Phœdimas,<br /> +And Tantalus, his grandsire's name who bore,<br /> +Their 'custom'd sport laborious ended, strove<br /> +With youthful vigor in the wrestling toil.<br /> +Now breast to breast they strain'd with nervous grasp,<br /> +When the swift arrow from the bended horn,<br /> +<a name="page218"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 218]</span> +Both bodies pierc'd, as close both bodies join'd;<br /> +At once they groan'd; at once their limbs they threw,<br /> +With agonies convuls'd, prone on the earth;<br /> +At once their rolling eyes the light forsook;<br /> +At once their souls were yielded forth to air.<br /> +Alphenor saw, and smote his grieving breast;<br /> +Flew to their pallid limbs, and as he rais'd,<br /> +Their bodies, in the pious office fell:<br /> +For Phœbus drove his fate-wing'd arrow deep<br /> +Through what his heart inclos'd. Sudden withdrawn,<br /> +On the barb'd head the mangled lungs were stuck;<br /> +And high in air his soul gush'd forth in blood.<br /> +But beardless Damasichthon, by a wound<br /> +Not single fell, as those; struck where the leg<br /> +To form begins, and where the nervous ham<br /> +A yielding joint supplies. The deadly dart<br /> +To draw essaying, in his throat, full driven,<br /> +Up to the feather'd head, another came:<br /> +The sanguine flood expell'd it, gushing high,<br /> +Cutting the distant air. With outstretcht arms<br /> +Ilioneus, the last, besought in vain;<br /> +Exclaiming,—“spare me, spare me, all ye gods!”<br /> +Witless that all not join'd to cause his woe.<br /> +The god was touch'd with pity, touch'd too late,—<br /> +Already shot th' irrevocable dart:<br /> +Yet light the blow was given, and mild the wound<br /> +That pierc'd his heart, and sent his soul aloft.<br /> +<a name="page219"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 219]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The rumor'd ill; the mourning people's groans;<br /> +The servant's tears, soon made the mother know,<br /> +The sudden ruin: wondering first she stands,<br /> +To see so great heaven's power, then angry flames<br /> +Indignant, that such power they dare to use.<br /> +The sire Amphion, in his bosom plung'd<br /> +His sword, and ended life at once, and woe.<br /> +Heavens! how remov'd this Niobé, from her<br /> +Who drove so lately from Latona's fane,<br /> +The pious crowds; who march'd in lofty state,<br /> +Through every street of Thebes, an envy'd sight!<br /> +Now to be wept by even her bitterest foes.<br /> +Prostrate upon their gelid limbs she lies;<br /> +Now this, now that, her trembling kisses press;<br /> +Her livid arms high-stretching unto heaven,<br /> +Exclaims,—“Enjoy Latona, cruel dame,<br /> +“My sorrows; feed on all my wretched woes;<br /> +“Glut with my load of grief thy savage soul;<br /> +“Feast thy fell heart with seven funereal scenes;<br /> +“Triumph, victorious foe! conqueror, exult!<br /> +“Victorious! said I?—How? To wretched me,<br /> +“Still more are left, than joyful thou canst boast:<br /> +“Superior I 'midst all this loss remain.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + She spoke;—the twanging bowstring sounded loud!<br /> +Terrific noise,—save Niobé, to all:<br /> +She stood audacious, callous in her crime.<br /> +<a name="page220"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 220]</span> +In mourning vesture clad, with tresses loose,<br /> +Around the funeral couches of the slain,<br /> +The weeping sisters stood. One strives to pluck<br /> +The deep-stuck arrow from her bowels,—falls,<br /> +And fainting dies; her brother's clay-cold corse,<br /> +Prest with her lips. Another's soothing words<br /> +Her hapless parent strive to cheer,—struck dumb,<br /> +She bends beneath an unseen wound; her words<br /> +Reach not her parent, till her life is fled.<br /> +This, vainly flying, falls: that drops in death<br /> +Upon her sister's body. One to hide<br /> +Attempts: another pale and trembling dies.<br /> +Six now lie breathless, each by vary'd wounds;<br /> +One sole remaining, whom the mother shields,<br /> +Wrapt in her vest; her body o'er her flung,<br /> +Exclaiming,—“leave me this, my youngest,—last,<br /> +“Least of my mighty numbers,—one alone!”<br /> +But while she prays, the damsel pray'd for dies.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Of all depriv'd, the solitary dame,<br /> +Amid the lifeless bodies of her sons,<br /> +Her daughters, and her spouse, by sorrows steel'd,<br /> +Sits harden'd: no light gale her tresses moves;<br /> +No blood her redden'd cheeks contain; her eyes<br /> +Motionless glare upon her mournful face;<br /> +Life quits the statue: even her tongue congeals,<br /> +Within her stony palate; vital floods<br /> +<a name="page221"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 221]</span> +Cease in her veins to flow; her neck to bow<br /> +Resists; her arms to move in graceful guise;<br /> +Her feet to step; and even to stone are turn'd<br /> +Her inmost bowels. Still to weep she seems.<br /> +Wrapt in a furious whirlwind, distant far<br /> +Her natal soil receives her. There fixt high<br /> +On a hill's utmost summit, still she melts;<br /> +Still does the rigid marble flow in tears.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now every Theban, male and female, all,<br /> +Dread the fierce anger of the powers of heaven;<br /> +And with redoubled fervor lowly bend,<br /> +And own the twin-producing goddess' power.<br /> +Then, as oft seen, they ancient tales recount,<br /> +Reminded by events of recent date.<br /> +Thus one relates.—“Long since some clowns, who till'd<br /> +“The fertile fields of Lycia, felt the ire<br /> +“Of this high goddess, whom they durst despise.<br /> +“Obscure the fact itself, for low the race<br /> +“Who suffer'd; yet most wonderous was the deed.<br /> +“Myself have seen the marsh; the lake have seen<br /> +“Fam'd for the prodigy. My aged sire,<br /> +“To toil unable on the lengthen'd road,<br /> +“Me thither sent; an herd of choicest beeves<br /> +“Thence to conduct; to my unpractis'd steps<br /> +“A guiding native of the land he gave.<br /> +“While we the pastures travers'd, lo! we found<br /> +<a name="page222"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 222]</span> +“An ancient altar, 'midst a spacious lake<br /> +“Erected; black with sacrificing dust;<br /> +“With waving reeds surrounded. Here my guide<br /> +“Halted, and softly whisper'd,—bless me, power!<br /> +“And I, like softly whispering,—bless me!—cry'd.<br /> +“Then ask'd, if nymph, or fawn, or native god<br /> +“The altar own'd?—when thus my guide reply'd.<br /> +“No mountain god, O, youth! this altar claims,<br /> +“But her whom once imperial Juno's rage,<br /> +“Stern interdicted from firm earth's extent:<br /> +“Whom scarce the wandering Delos would receive,<br /> +“Ardent beseeching, when the buoyant isle<br /> +“Light floated. There at length, Latona, laid<br /> +“Betwixt a palm, and bright Minerva's tree,<br /> +“Spite of their fierce opposing step-dame's power,<br /> +“Her twins produc'd. Even hence, in child-bed driven,<br /> +“She fled from Juno; in her bosom bore,<br /> +“'Tis said, the twin-celestials. Now the sun<br /> +“With fervid rays, had scorch'd the arid meads,<br /> +“When faint with lengthen'd toil, the goddess gain'd<br /> +“The edge of Lycia's monster-breeding clime;<br /> +“Parch'd and exhausted, from the solar heat,<br /> +“And infants milking her exhausted breast.<br /> +“By chance a lake, far distant she espy'd,<br /> +“Deep in a vale's recess, of waters pure.<br /> +“There clowns the bulrush gather'd; there they pluck'd<br /> +“The shrubby osier, and the marsh-fond grass.<br /> +<a name="page223"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 223]</span> +“Approach'd the goddess; on her knees low bent,<br /> +“The earth she press'd, and forward lean'd to drink<br /> +“The cooling liquid. This the rustic mob<br /> +“Forbade. When she to those who thus oppos'd,—<br /> +“Water withhold? Water whose use is free?<br /> +“Nature to all unsparing gives to take,<br /> +“Of light, of air, and of the flowing stream.<br /> +“I claim but public gifts: yet suppliant beg<br /> +“Those public gifts to share. Not here I come,<br /> +“My weary'd arms and limbs within the waves<br /> +“To lave: my thirst alone I wish to slake.<br /> +“Even now my speaking lips their moisture want;<br /> +“Scarce my parch'd throat, a passage to my words<br /> +“Can yield. As nectar were the limpid draught.<br /> +“Life with the water give me; for to me,<br /> +“Water is life; with water life I seek.<br /> +“Let these too move you, who their tender hands<br /> +“Stretch to your bosoms,—for by chance the babes<br /> +“Their little hands held forth. The goddess' words,<br /> +“Thus bland-beseeching, who could e'er withstand?<br /> +“Yet these persisted;—obstinate refus'd<br /> +“To grant her wish, and with opprobrious speech<br /> +“And threats revil'd her, should she there remain.<br /> +“Nor rested thus,—the lake with hands and feet<br /> +“Muddy they trouble; with malicious leaps<br /> +“They agitate the pool, and upward stir<br /> +“From the deep bottom clouds of slimy ooze.<br /> +<a name="page224"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 224]</span> +“Anger her thirst diverted. Rage deny'd<br /> +“More supplication from th' indignant dame.<br /> +“Their threatening words, no more the goddess brook'd;<br /> +“But raising high to heaven her hands, she cry'd,—<br /> +“Be this your home for ever!—Gracious heard,<br /> +“Her prayer was granted. Now they joy to plunge,<br /> +“Beneath the waters; now they deep immerge<br /> +“Their bodies in the hollow fen; now raise<br /> +“Their heads, and skim the surface of the pool,<br /> +“Often they rest upon the margin's brink,<br /> +“And oft light-springing, in the cool lake plunge.<br /> +“Now still their rude contentious tongues they use,<br /> +“Still squabbling, lost to shame beneath the waves:<br /> +“Beneath the waves they still abusings strive<br /> +“To utter. Hoarsely still their voice is heard,<br /> +“Through their wide-bloated throats. Their railing words,<br /> +“Their jaws more wide dilate. Depriv'd of neck,<br /> +“Their head and back in junction seem to meet;<br /> +“Green shine their backs; their bellies, hugely swol'n<br /> +“Are white; and frogs they plunge within the pool.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thus as the man, the fate destructive told<br /> +Of Lycia's clowns, to mind another call'd<br /> +The satyr's fate, who vanquish'd in the strife<br /> +Of skill, on Pallas' pipe, Latona's son<br /> +Severely punish'd.—“Wherefore thus,”—he cries,<br /> +“Rent from myself? O, penitent I bow.<br /> +<a name="page225"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 225]</span> +“The pipe,” he shrieks, “should not such rage provoke.”<br /> +Exclaiming thus, o'er his extremest limbs<br /> +Stript was his skin; he one continuous wound!<br /> +Blood flow'd from every part; the naked nerves<br /> +Bare started; and the trembling veins full throbb'd,<br /> +By skin uncover'd. Every beating part<br /> +Inward, the breast's translucent fibres plain<br /> +Display'd to sight. Him every forest fawn;<br /> +Each brother satyr; and each sylvan god;<br /> +And every nymph, with fam'd Olympus wept:<br /> +And every swain, the woolly flock who fed;<br /> +Or on the mountain watch'd the horned herd.<br /> +Wash'd by their falling tears, the fertile earth<br /> +Is soak'd,—absorbs them in her inmost veins;<br /> +Then form'd to water, spouts them high in air.<br /> +Rapid 'twixt banks declivitous, they seek<br /> +The ocean. Marsya, is the river call'd;<br /> +The clearest stream through Phrygia's land which flows.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thus far the crowd;—and then lamenting turn<br /> +To present griefs:—Amphion's race extinct,<br /> +Unanimous they wail; but hated still<br /> +Remains the mother's pride. For her alone<br /> +Weep'd Pelops;—rent his garments, bare expos'd<br /> +His breast and shoulders lay, and fair display'd<br /> +The ivory joint. This shoulder at his birth<br /> +In fleshy substance, and carnation tinge,<br /> +<a name="page226"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 226]</span> +Equall'd the right. When by his sire his limbs<br /> +Disjointed lay, the gods, 'tis said, quick join'd<br /> +The sever'd members: every fragment found,<br /> +Save what combin'd the neck and upper arm;<br /> +The part destroy'd, with ivory they replace;<br /> +And Pelops perfect from the gift became.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The neighbouring lords assemble;—every town<br /> +Their kings intreat condolence to bestow,<br /> +And all to Thebes repair. First Argos sends;<br /> +Sparta; Mycené; Calydon, not yet<br /> +By stern Diana hated; Corinth, fam'd<br /> +For beauteous brass; Orchomenus the fierce;<br /> +Messené fertile; Patræ; Pylos, rul'd<br /> +By Neleus; Trœzen, yet unus'd to own<br /> +The sway of Pittheus; Cleona the low;<br /> +And all those towns the two-sea'd isthmus holds;<br /> +And all those towns the isthmus views without.<br /> +Athens, incredible! was absent sole.<br /> +War all her energy demanded. Borne<br /> +O'er ocean, fierce barbarian troops, the walls<br /> +Mopsopian threaten'd. Thracian Tereus, these<br /> +With arms auxiliar routed; bright his name<br /> +Shone from the conquest. Him in riches great,<br /> +Mighty in power, and from the god-like Mars,<br /> +His lineage tracing, Procné's nuptial hand<br /> +Close to Pandion bound. Their marriage bed<br /> +<a name="page227"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 227]</span> +Nor Grace, nor Hymen, nor the nuptial queen<br /> +Attended. Furies held the torches, snatch'd<br /> +From biers funereal. Furies spread the couch:<br /> +And all night long an owl, ill-omen'd bird,<br /> +Perch'd on the roof that crown'd the marriage dome.<br /> +Join'd with such omens, with such omens bore<br /> +Procné a son to Tereus. Wide through Thrace<br /> +Congratulations sound: glad thanks to heaven<br /> +The parents give, and hail the happy day<br /> +Which gave Pandion's daughter to the king;<br /> +And gave the pair a son. So ignorant still<br /> +Mankind of real happiness remain!<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now through five autumns had the cheerful sun<br /> +The whirling year renew'd. When Procné, bland<br /> +Her spouse besought.—“If grace within thy sight<br /> +“Claim my deserts,—or suffer me to see<br /> +“In her own clime my sister, or to ours<br /> +“My sister bring: a quick return thou well<br /> +“Our sire may'st promise. This high boon obtain'd,<br /> +“My sister's presence,—to my sight thou'lt seem,<br /> +“A deity in goodness.”—On the main<br /> +He bids them launch the vessel; in the port<br /> +Cecropian enters, urg'd by oar and sail;<br /> +And treads Piræus' shore. Soon as he gain'd<br /> +His audience; soon as hand with hand was clasp'd,<br /> +His ill-presaging speech he open'd. First<br /> +<a name="page228"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 228]</span> +The journey's cause narrating; fond desire<br /> +Of Procné; and the promis'd quick return<br /> +Of Philomela, should the sire comply.<br /> +Lo! Philomela enters, splendid robes<br /> +Attire her; still more splendid shine her charms:<br /> +Such they describe within the forests rove<br /> +Dryad, and Naiäd nymphs; such would they seem<br /> +Their shape like hers adorn'd, like hers attir'd.<br /> +Instant was Tereus at the sight inflam'd;<br /> +So instant would the hoary harvest burn,<br /> +The torch apply'd: so burn the wither'd leaves;<br /> +Or hoarded hay. Well might her charms inspire<br /> +Such love in any;—him his inbred lust<br /> +More goaded, more his country's warmth which burns<br /> +Intense; he flames from nature, and from clime.<br /> +First to corrupt th' attendants he designs,<br /> +And faithful nurse; and Philomel' to tempt<br /> +With gifts immense,—his kingdom's mighty price.<br /> +Or forceful snatch her, and the rape defend,<br /> +With all the powers of war. Nought but he dares.<br /> +Impell'd by love's unbridled power; his breast<br /> +The raging fire contains not. Irksome seems<br /> +Delay:—and eager to the anxious wish<br /> +Of Procné, turns his converse; her desires<br /> +His wishes aiding. Eloquent he spoke;<br /> +For love inspir'd him. Often as he press'd<br /> +More close than prudent, all his earnest speech,<br /> +<a name="page229"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 229]</span> +Procné, he said, dictated. Heavens! how dark<br /> +The gloom that blinds the view of human souls.<br /> +Tereus for tenderest piety esteem'd,<br /> +More as for vice he labors: praise he gains,<br /> +for every crime. Now Philomela begs,<br /> +His prayer assisting; flings her winning arms<br /> +Around Pandion's neck, and suppliant sues<br /> +A sight of Procné; for her woe she begs,<br /> +But deems she begs delight. Her Tereus views;—<br /> +Anticipates his joys; her every kiss,<br /> +Her arms around her parent's neck entwin'd,<br /> +But goad his passion: fuel fresh they add;<br /> +Food for his flame. And when her sire she clasps,<br /> +He longs that sire to be. Parent, not more<br /> +His impious purpose would the wretch delay!<br /> +The king by both their warm beseechings won,<br /> +Consents;—she joyful to her father gives<br /> +Glad thanks;—and hapless, deems completely blest,<br /> +Herself and sister, both most deeply curst;<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now Phœbus' toil nigh spent, his coursers' feet<br /> +Sweep'd down the slope of heaven. The royal feast,<br /> +And golden goblets, fill'd with Bacchus' gift,<br /> +The board bespread. From hence in slumbers soft,<br /> +Each sought repose. All but the Thracian king,<br /> +Though far remov'd, still burning; all her face,<br /> +Her hands and gesture he recals, and paints<br /> +<a name="page230"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 230]</span> +At pleasure all her beauties yet unseen:<br /> +Feeding his flame, and sleep repelling far.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + 'Twas morn;—Pandion, pressing warm the hand<br /> +Of Tereus, as they parted, while the tears<br /> +Gush'd sudden, thus bespeaks his friendly care.<br /> +“Dear son, to thee I give her, pious claims<br /> +“Compel me: suppliant let me thee adjure<br /> +“By faith, by kindred, and by all the gods,<br /> +“Thy care paternal, shall protect the maid;<br /> +“And the soft solace of my anxious years,<br /> +“Speedy restore, for each delay is long.<br /> +“Quick, Philomela, quick my child, rejoin<br /> +“Thy sire, if filial duty sways thee. Much<br /> +“Thy sister's absence pains me.”—Speaking thus<br /> +He press'd with kisses soft, the maiden's lips,<br /> +And dripping tears with each behest let fall.<br /> +Their hands he asks as pledge of faith, and joins<br /> +Their hands in his presented; tender begs<br /> +His salutations to his daughter dear;<br /> +And his young grandson. Scarce the last adieu,<br /> +Chok'd with deep sighs, he breathes: his boding mind<br /> +<ins class="hemistich"> +<table> +<tr><td>Foreseeing future woes.</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td>Now Philomel'</td></tr> +</table> +</ins> +Safely on board the painted vessel plac'd,<br /> +The land far left, as with their laboring oars<br /> +<a name="page231"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 231]</span> +The surges move;—exulting Tereus, cry'd,<br /> +“Victorious,—lo! my utmost wishes borne<br /> +Safe with me.“—Scarce his burning soul defers<br /> +His hop'd-for joys. His eyes are never turn'd<br /> +From the lov'd face. Thus Jove's protected bird<br /> +Rapacious bears, with his sharp talons pierc'd,<br /> +An hare defenceless to his lofty nest:<br /> +No flight remains, the spoiler calmly views<br /> +His prey. Now ended is their voyage, now<br /> +Weary'd they quit their ship, and joyful touch<br /> +Their native beach; and now the Thracian king<br /> +Pandion's daughter to a lofty stall<br /> +Conducts; by ancient trees the spot well screen'd.<br /> +There he inclos'd the pale, the trembling maid,<br /> +Of all things fearful, as with tears she press'd<br /> +Her sister's face to see: his purpose dire<br /> +Disclosing,—force the helpless maid o'ercame,<br /> +Loudly exclaiming to her sire; and loud<br /> +Her sister's help invoking, equal vain:<br /> +But chief she begs celestial powers to aid.<br /> +Trembling she lies; so seems a shuddering lamb<br /> +Wounded, and from the hoary wolf's fierce jaws<br /> +Just 'scap'd, not sure his safety yet he deems:<br /> +So seems a dove, her plumes in blood deep-drench'd,<br /> +With fear still shivering; still the hungry claws<br /> +Dreading, that lately pierc'd her. Soon restor'd<br /> +Her mental powers, while scatter'd hung the locks<br /> +<a name="page232"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 232]</span> +Rent in her anguish, high her arms she rais'd,<br /> +Livid with blows, as those that mourn the dead;<br /> +Exclaiming,—“O, barbarian! wretch supreme!<br /> +“In cruelty and vice; whom not the charge<br /> +“Parental, seal'd with pious tears could move;<br /> +“A sister's charge entrusted: not her state,<br /> +“Virgin defenceless; not the sacred vows,<br /> +“Conjugal plighted. In confusion all<br /> +“Commixt, by thee, adulteress here I lie,<br /> +“Against my sister. Thou a double spouse,<br /> +“To both. This scourge is sure to me not due.<br /> +“Why, villain, not my hated life destroy?<br /> +“Perfect in deeds atrocious; would my breath<br /> +“Before the horrid act supprest had been:<br /> +“Then had I guiltless sought the shades. But still<br /> +“If powers celestial view this act; if sway<br /> +“On earth they hold; if all not sinks with me,<br /> +“Thy fate hence-forward from me dread; myself<br /> +“Shall unabash'd, thy acts proclaim. If power<br /> +“Is granted, when in public walks I roam:<br /> +“If here in woods imprison'd, all the woods<br /> +“Shall with my plaints resound; the conscious rocks<br /> +“I'll move. May heaven me hear! and if in heaven<br /> +“A god abides, me hear!”—Rous'd by her words,<br /> +The fierce king's anger burns; no less his fear<br /> +Than anger moves him: strongly spurr'd by each,<br /> +His weapon from the pendent sheath he drew:<br /> +<a name="page233"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 233]</span> +Dragg'd by the hair, her limbs he forc'd to yield<br /> +To fetters; twisting rough her arms behind.<br /> +Glad Philomel' to him her throat presents,<br /> +Death from the glittering sword expecting. Grasp'd<br /> +In pincers, fierce her tongue he tore away;<br /> +Griev'd, and indignant, as her father's name<br /> +She strove to utter: trembling still appear'd<br /> +The bloody root; trembling the tongue itself<br /> +Murmur'd as on the gore-stain'd earth it lay:<br /> +As leaps the serpent's sever'd tail, the tongue,<br /> +Quivering in death, still to her feet advanc'd.<br /> +This deed of horror done, 'tis said that oft<br /> +(Incredible the fact) repeated force<br /> +Upon her mangled form the wretch employ'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now dares he, all those acts atrocious done,<br /> +Return to Procné. Eager as he comes,<br /> +For Philomel' she asks. False tears and groans<br /> +He gives: the hapless nymph he feigns deceas'd:<br /> +His tears convince. Now from her shoulders torn,<br /> +Her robes with gold bright-glittering, sable vests<br /> +Her limbs enfolded. High an empty tomb<br /> +She rais'd, and pious obsequies perform'd<br /> +To manes pretended: for her sister's fate<br /> +She mourn'd, whose fate such mourning ill deserv'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Through twice six signs had Phœbus journey'd on,<br /> +<a name="page234"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 234]</span> +The year completing. What, alas! remains<br /> +For Philomela? Guards prevent her flight.<br /> +Of stone erected, high the massive walls<br /> +Circle her round. Her lips so mute, refuse<br /> +The deed to blazon. Keen the sense of grief<br /> +Sharpens the soul:—in misery the mind<br /> +Ingenious sparkles. Skillful she extends<br /> +The Thracian web, and on the snow-white threads,<br /> +In purple letters, weaves the dreadful tale.<br /> +Complete, a servant with expressive signs,<br /> +The present to the queen she bids to bear.<br /> +To Procné was it borne, witless the slave<br /> +Of what he carry'd. Savage Tereus' spouse<br /> +The web unfolded; read the mournful tale<br /> +Her hapless sister told, and wonderous! sate<br /> +In silence; grief her rising words repress'd:<br /> +Indignant, chok'd, her throat refus'd to breathe,<br /> +The angry accents to her plaining tongue.<br /> +To weep she waits not, in turmoil confus'd,<br /> +Justice and flagrance undistinguished lie;<br /> +Her mind sole bent for vengeance on her spouse.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now was the time Sithonia's matrons wont,<br /> +The rites triennial of the jovial god<br /> +To tend. Those rites to conscious shade alone<br /> +Confided. Rhodopé, the brazen sound<br /> +Shrill tinkling, hears by night;—by night the queen<br /> +<a name="page235"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 235]</span> +The palace quits, attir'd as Bacchus' rites<br /> +Demand; and weapon'd with the Bacchant arms.<br /> +A vine her forehead girds; the nimble deer<br /> +Clothes with his skin her sides; her shoulder bears<br /> +A slender spear. Thus maddening, Procné seeks<br /> +The woods in ire terrific, crowded round<br /> +By all her followers: rack'd by inward pangs,<br /> +The furious rant of Bacchus veils her woes.<br /> +The lonely stable seen at length, she howls<br /> +Aloud,—“Evoë, ho!”—and bursts the door;<br /> +Drags thence her sister;—her thence dragg'd, invests <span class="rmn">I</span><br /> +In Bacchanalian robes; her face inshrouds<br /> +In ivy foliage; and astonish'd leads<br /> +The trembling damsel o'er the palace steps.<br /> +The horrid dome when Philomela saw,<br /> +Perforce she enter'd; through her frame she shook;<br /> +The blood her face deserted. Procné sought<br /> +A spot retir'd, and from her features flung<br /> +The sacred trappings, and her sister's face,<br /> +Sorrowing and blushing, to the light unveil'd;<br /> +Then ran to clasp her. She the sight not bore;<br /> +Her eyes she rais'd not; her dejected brows<br /> +Bent to the ground; thus by her sister seen,<br /> +Encroacher on her bed. Her hands still spoke,<br /> +When oaths she wish'd to utter, and to call<br /> +Th' attesting gods, her foul disgrace by force<br /> +To prove accomplish'd. Furious, Procné burns,<br /> +<a name="page236"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 236]</span> +Nor curbs her ire; her sister's streaming tears<br /> +Reproving checks, and cries;—“no period now<br /> +“For tears, we ask the sword! But if than sword<br /> +“Vengeance more keen thou hop'st for, sister dear,<br /> +“Behold me for most horrid deeds prepar'd.<br /> +“Shall I with flaming torches blaze on high<br /> +“His hall imperial, and the villain king<br /> +“Heave in the conflagration? Shall I rend<br /> +“As thine his tongue? or from his sockets tear,<br /> +“His eye-balls? or what other member maim?<br /> +“Or this, or instant send his guilty soul<br /> +“Thro' thousand wounds to judgment? What thou speak'st<br /> +“Be mighty. I for mightiest acts prepare.<br /> +“To fix I hesitate.” As Procné speaks,<br /> +Lo! infant Itys to his mother runs;<br /> +His sight her mind determines; cruel turn<br /> +Her eyes, exclaiming;—“See, how like his sire's<br /> +“Appear his features!”—More she spoke not, fixt<br /> +Was straight her dread resolve: now fiercer burn'd<br /> +Within her smother'd rage;—yet when the boy<br /> +Approach'd, and round her neck his infant arms<br /> +Threw, and his kisses printed on her lips,<br /> +With bland caresses mingled, even the soul<br /> +Of Procné melted. Mollify'd her rage,<br /> +Tears hard constrain'd flow'd from unwilling eyes.<br /> +Soon as the mother's feelings softening seem<br /> +To melt in extreme fondness; Procné quits<br /> +<a name="page237"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 237]</span> +The sight, and to her sister's face reverts<br /> +Again her visage; then on each in turn<br /> +Full bent her view, she cries;—“Must one me melt<br /> +“With blandish'd soothings? Must the other mute,<br /> +“With tongue dismember'd stand? Must he exclaim<br /> +“O, mother!—she, O, sister! never more?<br /> +“To what a spouse, Pandion's daughter, see<br /> +“Art thou, degenerate wife, conjoin'd! Thy sin<br /> +“A spouse like Tereus to have us'd too well.”<br /> +More she delays not, infant Itys drags,<br /> +Swift as the Indian tiger sweeps the fawn<br /> +Through shady forests. Then the lofty dome,<br /> +For rooms remote well search'd, in one arrives,<br /> +Where she the infant pierces; 'twixt the breast<br /> +And side the weapon enters, while his hands,<br /> +Suppliant, his fate foreseeing, he extends,<br /> +And,—“mother! O, my mother!”—loudly cries.<br /> +Nor mov'd her countenance fell;—the single wound<br /> +Was deadly. Philomela, with her steel<br /> +The throat divided, and the quivering limbs<br /> +Dissever'd, whilst of animation still<br /> +Some glimmering sparks remain'd. Of these, they part<br /> +In brazen cauldrons boil: part on the spit<br /> +Crackling they turn: with gore the secret rooms<br /> +Offensive float. Her unsuspecting spouse<br /> +Procné to feast invites; delusive feigns<br /> +Her country's customs,—where 'twas given, but one<br /> +<a name="page238"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 238]</span> +The husband should be nigh; all menial slaves<br /> +Far distant. On his ancestorial seat<br /> +High-lifted, Tereus sate, and feasted there:<br /> +And in his bowels deep he there entomb'd<br /> +Bowels his own. So blind are human souls,—<br /> +“Call Itys to the feast,”—he cries. No more<br /> +Could Procné veil her savage joy;—full bent<br /> +The slaughter to announce, she loud proclaim'd<br /> +“Thou seek'st who with thee rests!”—Around he looks.<br /> +Wondering where rests he. Philomela rush'd,<br /> +Her tresses sprinkled with the ireful blood,<br /> +As griev'd he, Itys calling loud, and flung,<br /> +With savage fury Itys' gory head<br /> +Full in his father's face; nor ever mourn'd<br /> +Lost speech so much; her well-earn'd joy to show,<br /> +More griev'd lost power. With outcry loud the king<br /> +O'er-turn'd the table; from the Stygian vale,<br /> +Invok'd the viper'd sisters: hard he strove<br /> +To tear his bosom, and from thence disgorge<br /> +The dire repast, the half-digested mass<br /> +Of Itys' limbs. Now weeping, wild he mourns,<br /> +Himself his offspring's tomb. Now fierce pursues<br /> +Pandion's daughters with his unsheath'd sword.<br /> +From him escaping, on light wings upborne<br /> +Th' Athenians seem'd; light wings their limbs upbore!<br /> +One sheltering in the woods: protecting roofs<br /> +The other seeking; still the murderous deed,<br /> +<a name="page239"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 239]</span> +Mark'd on her breast remains; still on her plumes<br /> +The teint of blood is seen. Rapid in rage<br /> +And hope of vengeance, Tereus too is chang'd,<br /> +And flits a bird; a plumy crest he bears,<br /> +High on his head: the lengthen'd sword he bore,<br /> +A beak enormous grows. A lapwing now<br /> +<ins class="hemistich"> +<table> +<tr><td>With fierce-arm'd face he flies.</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td>Untimely sought</td></tr> +</table> +</ins> +Pandion, when the mournful tale he heard,<br /> +The Stygian shades, ere yet the lengthen'd date<br /> +Of years commanded. Next th' Athenian realm<br /> +Erechtheus rul'd, the sceptre dubious held<br /> +By right or forceful arms. Proud could he boast<br /> +Four sons;—and daughters four to him were given.<br /> +Beauteous the maids; in beauty equal two:<br /> +Of these Æölian Cephalus was bless'd<br /> +With thee as spouse, O, Procris!—Tereus long,<br /> +Boreas withstanding, with the power of Thrace,<br /> +Long Orithyïa, by the god belov'd,<br /> +Was lov'd in vain; while soft beseechings more<br /> +And prayers, the power to strenuous force preferr'd.<br /> +But now those soothings bland so vainly try'd,<br /> +Fierce swol'n with rage, his most accustom'd feel<br /> +(Too much that passion knows this wind) he cries;—<br /> +“Well I deserve it, all my proper arms<br /> +“Relinquish'd: savage fierceness, strength, stern rage,<br /> +<a name="page240"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 240]</span> +“And threatening force. With humble softening prayers<br /> +“Fool have I su'd; in each attempt have fail'd.<br /> +“More apt to me is force! by force I drive<br /> +“The lowering clouds before me: Ocean's waves<br /> +“Forceful I turn; forceful the knotted oak<br /> +“Root from its deep foundation; hard the frost<br /> +“I bind; and beat the sounding earth with hail:<br /> +“I when in open sky, for there our field<br /> +“Lies in display, my blustering brethren meet,<br /> +“Oppose such might, that midmost sky resounds<br /> +“Echoing our forceful conflict; flashing flames<br /> +“From the cleft bodies of the hollow clouds,<br /> +“Elicited: I too, earth's secret womb<br /> +“Fierce entering, in her deepest caverns strain<br /> +“My strength, 'till trembling wide through all her frame,<br /> +“The ghosts below are troubled. These the aid<br /> +“My nuptial wish should seek; no longer pray<br /> +“Erechtheus for my sire;—my sire by force,<br /> +“The monarch shall be made.”—So spoke the god,<br /> +Or thus, or more in fury, as he shook<br /> +His plumes, whose motion sweep'd through earth's extent,<br /> +And made the wide main tremble. Lofty hills<br /> +His dusty mantle covers; as the plains<br /> +Rapid he brushes; shrouded deep in mist,<br /> +In his dark wings the furious lover clasps<br /> +His Orithyïa, trembling, pale with fear:<br /> +Flying his flames were fann'd, and fiercer blaz'd.<br /> +<a name="page241"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 241]</span> +Nor check'd the ravisher his lofty flight,<br /> +Till seen the town of Cicones, whose walls<br /> +Receiv'd him. There th' Athenian nymph became<br /> +The freezing monarch's bride: a mother there,<br /> +A double birth she brought, whose shoulders bear<br /> +The father's pinions; all their semblance else<br /> +Their mother's. Not at first, 'tis said, appear'd<br /> +The feathers: Calaïs and Zethes, boys<br /> +Were yet unplum'd; when yet with ruddy hair,<br /> +Their beards appear'd not. From each shoulder shot<br /> +The feathers bird-like, at the self-same time,<br /> +Their manly cheeks were thick with yellow down.<br /> +Now when their youth matur'd to man appear'd,<br /> +Through seas unplough'd before, they sought the fleece<br /> +Splendid with glittering wool; with all the train<br /> +Of Minyæ, in the first-built vessel borne.<br /> +<a name="page242"></a> +<a name="page243"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 243]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter13"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Seventh Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Expedition of the Argonauts. Jason obtains the golden fleece, by the +assistance of Medea. Æson restored to youth by her magic powers. +Murder of Pelias by his daughters. Medea's flight to Corinth. Murder +of her rival and infants. Marriage with Ægeus. Adventures of Theseus. +War with Minos. Plague in Ægina. Change of ants into Myrmidons. +Cephalus and Procris. +<a name="page244"></a> +<a name="page245"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 245]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter14"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Seventh Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now in the Pagasæan vessel borne,<br /> +Plough'd the wide sea the Argonauts, and saw<br /> +The fate of Phineus; whose old age the curse<br /> +Of hunger felt, and felt perpetual night.<br /> +The youths from Boreas sprung, quick sped to flight<br /> +The virgin-featur'd birds, his hapless face,<br /> +Far distant. 'Neath great Jason's rule much toil<br /> +They bore ere on the oozy banks they stay'd<br /> +Of rapid Phasis. Here the king they seek;<br /> +And here demand the golden fleece; and here<br /> +An answer big with fearful labors learn<br /> +The Grecian crew. Meantime the royal maid<br /> +<a name="page246"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 246]</span> +Burns with fierce fires: with reason struggling long,<br /> +Still her hot flame to quench unable, cries<br /> +Aloud Medea;—“vainly I oppose!<br /> +“Some unknown god controls. Perhaps 'tis love!<br /> +“If love 'tis not, no sentiment more near<br /> +“To love can come. Why else my sire's commands<br /> +“So harsh appear? But harsh in truth they are.<br /> +“But why his failing dread? Why dread his death,<br /> +“But barely seen? What cause such fear can give?<br /> +“O, hapless maid! would from my virgin breast<br /> +“Those flames to fling were given. If mine the power<br /> +“More wisdom would I use. But me this force,<br /> +“Before unknown, unwilling drags; this love<br /> +“Persuades, oppos'd to reason: plain I see<br /> +“The better track,—approve it most, yet swerv'd,<br /> +“I tread the worse. Why, royal virgin, burn<br /> +“Thus for a stranger guest? Why long'st thou thus,<br /> +“A foreign partner in the marriage bed<br /> +“To clasp? Thy country well can thee supply<br /> +“What e'er thou lovest. In the gods' decree<br /> +“His death or safety rests. Yet may he live!<br /> +“Pray may'st thou for him sure,—love unconcern'd.<br /> +“But what has Jason done? Savage, indeed!<br /> +“Were those his youth, his birth, and brilliant deeds<br /> +“Not touch'd: how savage too the soul must be<br /> +“His beauty touch'd not, were there nought beside;<br /> +“My bosom sure it moves. But were my aid<br /> +<a name="page247"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 247]</span> +“Deny'd, the furious bulls with flaming breath<br /> +“His fate would compass; or the foes that spring<br /> +“From earth, his harvest, slay him in the fight;<br /> +“Or last, he'd fall the ravenous dragon's prey.<br /> +“If this I suffer, from the tiger sprung<br /> +“Believe me; steel and marble in my breast,<br /> +“Deem me to wear. Why not his death behold?<br /> +“Why not mine eyes with the dread sight pollute!<br /> +“Why not the bulls, the earth-born foes incite,<br /> +“And sleepless dragon, with redoubled ire?<br /> +“Heaven wills it better. But let deeds, not prayers<br /> +“My time employ. How! shall I then betray<br /> +“My parent's realm? an unknown stranger aid<br /> +“With all my power? who by my power preserv'd,<br /> +“Loos'd to the wind his sails, another's spouse<br /> +“Becomes,—me left for punishment behind?<br /> +“If this to do,—another nymph to me<br /> +“Born to prefer, let him, ingrate! be slain.<br /> +“But no! his face denies it; his great soul,<br /> +“And graceful form forbid the fear of fraud;<br /> +“Or benefits forgot. Yet shall he plight<br /> +“His solemn faith first, call th' attesting gods<br /> +“To witness what he vows. What fear I more?<br /> +“All's safe. Medea, hasten, spurn delay,—<br /> +“Jason, remaining life to thee shall owe;<br /> +“Join'd to his state, the annual torch shall flame<br /> +“To thee, preserver! through the Grecian towns<br /> +<a name="page248"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 248]</span> +“By crowds of mothers hail'd. Shall I for this<br /> +“My sister leave, my brother, and my sire;<br /> +“My gods, and natal land? Yes,—fierce my sire;<br /> +“My country barbarous; and my brother young:<br /> +“With all my wishes, warm my sister joins;<br /> +“And dwells within my breast the mightiest god.<br /> +“Much I relinquish not, but much I seek.<br /> +“The glorious title of the Grecian youth<br /> +“Deliverer! gain'd; the sight of lands and towns<br /> +“Whose fame even here has journey'd; manners mild,<br /> +“And cultur'd arts; and Jason for my spouse,<br /> +“For whom all earth's possessions were too small<br /> +“To change. His spouse become, supremely blest,<br /> +“Dear to the gods, the loftiest stars I'll reach.<br /> +“What are those rocks, they tell, which 'mid the waves<br /> +“Meet in encounter? Fell Charybdis what,—<br /> +“Hostile to ships, now sucking in the tide,<br /> +“Now fierce discharging? What the savage bounds,<br /> +“Which compass greedy Scylla 'mid the main<br /> +“Sicilian? O'er the wide-spread ocean borne,<br /> +“Him whom I love embracing; sheltering close<br /> +“In Jason's bosom; clasp'd by him, no fear<br /> +“My soul could harbor. Or if fear I felt,<br /> +“For him alone I'd tremble; for my spouse.<br /> +“Spouse, dost thou say, Medea? hid'st thou thus,<br /> +“With specious names thy crime? Behold the load<br /> +“Of guilt thou goest to bear! While power remains<br /> +<a name="page249"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 249]</span> +“The sin avoid.”—She said, and duty, shame,<br /> +And rectitude, before her eyes appear'd;<br /> +And vanquish'd love address'd his wings to flight.<br /> +Now to an ancient altar Hecat' own'd,<br /> +By shady trees dark veil'd from day, she came:<br /> +Her flames abated, and her eager pulse<br /> +Subsided. Here Æsonides she saw,<br /> +And bright her love reblaz'd. Warm flush'd her cheeks,<br /> +Deep all her visage glow'd. The smallest spark<br /> +Thus low in embers hid, its vigor shews;<br /> +Help'd by the feeding blast, increasing burns,<br /> +And stirr'd in all its wonted fury glows.<br /> +Just so the languid passion which but now<br /> +All but extinct appear'd, the hero seen<br /> +Fresh at his beauteous presence flam'd. By chance<br /> +More beauteous Jason on that morn appear'd;<br /> +Well might a lover all her love excuse.<br /> +She looks, his countenance with her eyes devours<br /> +As then first seen; and madly fond, she deems<br /> +His features more than mortal: bashful turn'd<br /> +Her forehead not from his. But when her guest<br /> +Address'd her: when he gently took her hands;<br /> +And crav'd assistance in an humble tone,<br /> +The nuptial promise giving. Plenteous flow'd<br /> +Her tears, exclaiming;—“What I should perform<br /> +“Plainly I see: not ignorance me misleads<br /> +“But love. My gifts shall aid you, you but keep<br /> +<a name="page250"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 250]</span> +“The promise pledg'd.”—Sacred the hero swears<br /> +By her, the tri-form'd goddess, whom that grove<br /> +Acknowledges divine; and by the god,<br /> +Whence sprung the sire-in-law he hopes to claim;<br /> +The god who all beholds; by all his deeds<br /> +Atchiev'd; and by his perils all he swears.<br /> +His words believ'd, immediate he receives<br /> +The magic plants, their use well taught, and seeks<br /> +The roof rejoicing. Now the morn had driven<br /> +The glimmering stars far distant, crowding press'd<br /> +The people in the sacred field of Mars,<br /> +The king himself amidst them, seated high,<br /> +In purple clad, with ivory sceptre grac'd.<br /> +Lo! come the brazen-footed bulls, who breathe<br /> +Through nostrils fenc'd with adamant hot flames:<br /> +Parch'd by their breath, the herbage blacken'd burns.<br /> +Loud as the blazing forge's chimney roars;<br /> +Or loud as lime in earthy furnace laid,<br /> +Bursts into heat by watery sprinklings touch'd:<br /> +So loud, within their flaming chests contain'd,<br /> +The struggling fires loud bellow'd. Scorch'd their throats<br /> +The sound transmitted. Boldly Æson's son<br /> +March'd onward; fiercely as the youth approach'd,<br /> +His foes dark lower'd, and bent their steel-tipt horns,<br /> +Paw'd with their clefted hoofs the dusty ground,<br /> +And fill'd with smoky bellowings all the air.<br /> +Pale grew each Grecian face; advancing on<br /> +<a name="page251"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 251]</span> +The fiery blasts he feels not, such the power<br /> +The mighty charms possess, but boldly strokes<br /> +Their dewlaps pendulous, and to the yoke<br /> +Subjected, makes them drag the ponderous plough;<br /> +And with the iron cut th' uncustom'd soil.<br /> +The Colchians wondering gaze; the Grecians loud<br /> +Applaud, and with fresh courage fill his soul.<br /> +Then from his brazen helmet pluck'd, he sows<br /> +The serpent's teeth, deep in the furrow'd ground:<br /> +The ground, the teeth with powerful venom ting'd,<br /> +Soften'd and swell'd them, and a novel shape<br /> +Imparted. Thus within the parent's womb,<br /> +An human shape the infant mass receives,<br /> +Completed perfect in the dark recess;<br /> +Nor till mature, to air external given.<br /> +So when the manly forms were perfect made<br /> +Within earth's pregnant bowels, up they sprung<br /> +Thick in the fruitful field; more wonderous still<br /> +Their arms they clash'd when born. Then when the Greeks<br /> +Their keenly-pointed spears preparing saw<br /> +To hurl at Jason's head, low sunk their souls,<br /> +And pallid grew their cheeks; Medea ev'n,<br /> +Whose art insur'd his safety, trembling fear'd,<br /> +When single she the youth beheld assail'd<br /> +By foes in hosts; bloodless her face became,<br /> +And tremor seiz'd her limbs: then lest the herbs<br /> +<a name="page252"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 252]</span> +Presented first, should fail in power, she sings<br /> +An helping magic song, and all her arts<br /> +Latent, calls forth. Amidst the hostile crowd<br /> +A mighty rock he flings; their martial rage<br /> +From him diverted, on each other turns.<br /> +By mutual wounds the earth-born brothers fall;<br /> +In civil discord perish. Joy'd again<br /> +The Grecians clasp the conqueror in their arms.<br /> +Thou too, Medea, wish'd thine arms to fill<br /> +With him victorious. (Shame at first repress'd<br /> +Thy open fondness, though thou wast embrac'd)<br /> +Now reputation awes thee, now prevents<br /> +That bliss. What honor gives,—silent to joy,<br /> +And pour glad thanks to all thy magic arts,<br /> +And gods their authors, those thou dar'st indulge.<br /> +Now sole remains by powerful herbs to lull<br /> +The wakeful dragon, whose high-crested head<br /> +A triple tongue contains, whose crooked fangs<br /> +Dreadful the golden fleece protecting guards.<br /> +Him when be sprinkled with the juices prest<br /> +From plants Lethean; and repeated thrice,<br /> +The words which placid sleep inspire; which still<br /> +The ruffled ocean; and arrest the course<br /> +Of rapid torrents; sleep before unknown<br /> +Stole o'er his eyelids, and th' Æsonian youth<br /> +Seiz'd on the golden prize. Proud with the spoil,<br /> +<a name="page253"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 253]</span> +(A second spoil possessing) she who gave<br /> +The power to conquer, as his wife he bears,<br /> +And lands triumphant on Thessalia's shores.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Mothers of Thessaly, and aged sires<br /> +For sons restor'd, glad offerings bring: bright flames<br /> +The high-heap'd incense; votive victims deck'd<br /> +With gilded horns are slain: but Æson, far<br /> +The grateful crowd avoids, now near his fate,<br /> +Bent by a weight of years. Hence Jason spoke;—<br /> +“O, spouse! to thee my life and safety ow'd;<br /> +“To me, thou all hast given; the high swol'n sum<br /> +“Of all thy favors might belief surpass:<br /> +“This more attempt, if this thou can'st,—and what<br /> +“Thy magic power defies? My years curtail,<br /> +“And to my sire's existence add the term.”<br /> +Fast flow'd his tears while speaking;—while he spoke,<br /> +His pious duty mov'd Medea; quick<br /> +Her sire Æëta, so deserted, sprung<br /> +To thought, and shew'd the two contrasting souls.<br /> +But, veil'd her secret thoughts, she thus replies;—<br /> +“What impious accents hear I from thy tongue,<br /> +“O, spouse religious? Can I then transfer<br /> +“Of thy existence part? Not Hecat's power<br /> +“Fateful, would sanction this; nor stands thy wish<br /> +“In equity. Yet, Jason, will I try<br /> +“More than thou seek'st to give. With all my skill<br /> +<a name="page254"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 254]</span> +“Thy sire's existence to prolong, thy years<br /> +“Unshorten'd; should the tri-form'd goddess aid<br /> +“Propitious my designs.”—Three nights were now<br /> +Deficient, ere the full-form'd horns could meet<br /> +The lunar orb to fill. Complete her round;<br /> +A solid sphere of light from earth beheld,<br /> +Medea wanders forth; loose all her robes;<br /> +Naked her feet; bare-headed; while her hair<br /> +Wild o'er her shoulders floats; and thus array'd,<br /> +Untended, while deep midnight silence reigns<br /> +She bends her devious way. Men, beasts, and birds,<br /> +In bonds of sleep were chain'd; the hedges still,<br /> +No murmur breath'd; nor wav'd the silent trees;<br /> +Hush'd was the humid sky; the stars alone<br /> +Twinkled: to them her arms extending, thrice<br /> +She turn'd around; thrice from the flowing stream<br /> +Her tresses sprinkled; thrice with yelling noise<br /> +The silence broke; then with her bended knee<br /> +The hard earth pressing, cry'd;—“O, night! thou friend<br /> +“Of secret deeds; ye glittering stars! whose rays<br /> +“With Luna's, Sol's diurnal light succeed;<br /> +“And thou, O, Hecat'! tripleform'd, who know'st<br /> +“My undertaking, and approaching aid'st<br /> +“With incantations, and with magic powers:<br /> +“And thou, O, earth! whose bosom witching plants<br /> +“Affords: ye winds; ye skies; ye mountains; lakes;<br /> +“And flowing streams: O, all ye gods! who dwell<br /> +<a name="page255"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 255]</span> +“In shady woods; and all ye gods of night,<br /> +“Hither approach! by whose high power, at will,<br /> +“Rivers I cause between their wondering banks,<br /> +“Back to their springs to flow; the stormy deep<br /> +“Hush by my song, or lash it into rage;<br /> +“Clouds form, or clouds dispel; raise furious blasts,<br /> +“Or furious blasts allay; smite with my song<br /> +“The dragon's furious jaws: the living rocks<br /> +“I shake;—uproot the oak; the earth upturn;<br /> +“Move forests; bid the trembling mountains leap;<br /> +“Loud roar the ground; and from the tombs the ghosts<br /> +“Affrighted walk. Thee, Luna, too I draw<br /> +“From heaven, by all the threatening clash of brass<br /> +“Deterr'd not: pale the brighter car becomes,<br /> +“My spells once utterr'd: by my poisons charm'd,<br /> +“Pallid Aurora seems. You, plants! for me,<br /> +“Blunted the ardor of the flaming bulls;<br /> +“Press'd with the yoke, their necks impatient bent,<br /> +“And dragg'd the crooked plough. You bade the race<br /> +“Snake-born, upon themselves their warring rage<br /> +“To turn. In sleep the roaring dragon's eyes<br /> +“You steep'd; the guard eluded, sent the prize<br /> +“To glad the towns of Greece. Now have I need<br /> +“Of renovating herbs, to make old age<br /> +“Glow once again in all its youthful bloom.<br /> +“This will you grant, for sure those stars in vain<br /> +“Not sparkle; nor in vain the chariot comes<br /> +<a name="page256"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 256]</span> +“Drawn by the dragons wing'd.” The chariot comes<br /> +Swift sweeping through the air. Active she mounts,<br /> +Strokes the rein'd dragons' manes, and shakes the thongs.<br /> +On high they soar:—Thessalian Tempé far<br /> +Beneath she views; then tow'rd the chalky land<br /> +Her snakes directs. On Ossa's top explores<br /> +For plants, and seeks what lofty Pelion bears;<br /> +Othrys, and Pindus, and Olympus huge.<br /> +What please her, part she with their root updrags;<br /> +Part with her crooked brazen sickle mows;<br /> +Apidanus; Amphrysos, on their banks<br /> +Many afforded: nor Enipeus scap'd.<br /> +Peneus, and Spercheus, and the rushy shores<br /> +Of Bæbé some contributed. She pluck'd<br /> +In Anthedon the living grass whose power,<br /> +Then Glaucus' form unchang'd, was yet unknown.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now had nine days, now had nine nights elaps'd,<br /> +Borne on her dragon wings, and in her car<br /> +Wandering the fields among, ere back she turn'd:<br /> +Unfed her dragons, save by odorous smells;<br /> +Yet had they shed their scales, with youth renew'd.<br /> +Arriv'd, without the palace gate she stays,<br /> +And there sole shelter'd by the sky, all touch<br /> +Of man denying; altars two she rears<br /> +Of turf; sacred to Hecate stood the right,<br /> +To Youth the left: when these with vervain bound.<br /> +<a name="page257"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 257]</span> +And forest boughs, here sacrifice she makes.<br /> +Hard by, two trenches scoops from out the ground;<br /> +Smites with her weapon in the sable throat,<br /> +A sheep presented; in the open ditch<br /> +Empties the blood; then bowls of wine she pours,<br /> +And bowls of smoking milk; with mystic words<br /> +Invokes the powers terrestrial; begs the king<br /> +Of shades, and begs his ravish'd spouse to aid,<br /> +Nor of his soul the aged king defraud.<br /> +These when with lengthen'd prayers, and murmurings long,<br /> +Appeas'd; she bids them tow'rd the altars bring<br /> +The feeble Æson; his exhausted limbs<br /> +Bound in deep slumber, by her magic power,<br /> +Corse-like, she lays extended on the grass.<br /> +Then Jason bids, and his attendant crew,<br /> +Far thence depart, nor with their view prophane<br /> +Her acts mysterious. As she bids they go.<br /> +Medea then the flaming altars round,<br /> +In Bacchanalian guise her flowing locks,<br /> +Circles; and in the ditch's blackening gore<br /> +Her splinter'd torches dips; with blood imbu'd,<br /> +Burns them upon her altars; thrice with fire,<br /> +With sulphur thrice, and thrice with flowing streams,<br /> +The sire she lustrates. Heated now in brass,<br /> +Her powerful medicines bubble, high and white<br /> +The swelling froth appears. There boils she all<br /> +The roots in vales Æmonian dug; and seeds,<br /> +<a name="page258"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 258]</span> +And flowers, and juices dark: gems unto these,<br /> +Sought in the distant East, she adds; and adds<br /> +What on the sand the refluent ocean leaves:<br /> +More still, the night-long moon collected dew<br /> +She brings; the dismal screech-owl's flesh and wings;<br /> +The entrails of the wolf ambiguous, wont<br /> +His savage face in human guise to wear:<br /> +Nor wanted there, the scaly skin which clothes<br /> +Th' amphibious snake Cyniphian, long and small:<br /> +The beak and head a crow nine ages bore,<br /> +She adds. Now was the foreign dame prepar'd,<br /> +By help of these, and nameless thousands more,<br /> +The promis'd boon to give, the whole she stirs<br /> +Deep from the bottom, with a bough long rent,<br /> +From the mild olive. Lo! the wither'd branch,<br /> +The boiling caldron stirring, sudden shoots<br /> +In virid freshness! shortly leaves bud forth;<br /> +And soon it bends beneath a load of fruit!<br /> +Where'er the fire above the hollow brass,<br /> +The bubbling foam high-rais'd, and boiling drops<br /> +Sprinkled the ground,—the ground with verdure smil'd;<br /> +Flowers and soft herbage sprung. Medea sees,<br /> +And with her weapon ope's the senior's throat;<br /> +His aged blood exhausted sees, and pours<br /> +Her juices copious: part his mouth receives;<br /> +And part the wound. When Æson these had drank,<br /> +Their hoary whiteness lost, his beard and hair,<br /> +<a name="page259"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 259]</span> +An ebon tinge receiv'd; his leanness fled;<br /> +His pallid ghastly face no more was seen;<br /> +His hollow veins with added blood were fill'd;<br /> +And all his limbs in lusty plumpness swell'd.<br /> +The wondering Æson, such himself beheld,<br /> +As the last forty years he ne'er had past.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Bacchus, from heaven survey'd the mighty change<br /> +Wonderous, and hence that power was given he found;<br /> +His nurses to restore to youthful years:<br /> +The boon from Tethys asking, he obtain'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Nor cease the frauds yet of the Phasian dame:<br /> +Fierce hatred 'gainst her by her spouse she feigns,<br /> +And flies to Pelias' court; a suppliant there,<br /> +His daughters hail her guest:—the sire bent down<br /> +With age. The crafty Colchian these beguiles<br /> +Soon, with her well-dissembled friendship's form.<br /> +Amid her mighty benefits, she tells<br /> +Æson's old age remov'd; relating all,<br /> +On this she chiefly dwells. Hope sudden springs<br /> +Within their virgin breasts: Pelias their sire,<br /> +Such art they trust may yet revivify.<br /> +That art they sue for,—highest claim'd reward<br /> +To her they promise: mute at first she stands,<br /> +And feigning doubt, in hesitation holds,<br /> +And anxious poise their eager minds. At last,<br /> +<a name="page260"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 260]</span> +She says, when promising,—“That in the deed,<br /> +“More faith ye may confide, a leading ram,<br /> +“The oldest in your fleecy flocks, a lamb<br /> +“My medicine shall transform!”—Instant was dragg'd<br /> +The woolly beast, whose wreathing horns around<br /> +His hollow temples curl'd; whose wither'd throat<br /> +The steel Thessalian stabb'd; the scanty blood<br /> +The steel scarce spotting: then th' enchantress steeps<br /> +His mangled body in the caldron deep,<br /> +With juices powerful: smaller grow his limbs;<br /> +Shed are his horns; and vanish'd are his years;<br /> +And from the caldron tender bleatings sound:<br /> +Instant leaps forth to all the wondering crowd<br /> +The bleating lamb, which, frisking, flies and seeks<br /> +The swelling teats. With admiration struck,<br /> +Now Pelias' daughters faith unshaken give;<br /> +More urgent press their wish. Thrice had the sun,<br /> +'Merg'd in th' Iberian sea, unyok'd his steeds;<br /> +And the fourth night the glittering stars had shone;<br /> +When o'er the fire, pure water from the stream,<br /> +And powerless plants, the false Medea plac'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now all in sleep relax'd, a death-like sleep,<br /> +The monarch's limbs were stretch'd; and with their king,<br /> +His guards lay dormant; so her magic words,<br /> +And magic tongue had doom'd. Medea leads<br /> +Across the steps the daughters; bidd'n by her,<br /> +<a name="page261"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 261]</span> +His couch they compass.—“Why, O, feeble souls!<br /> +“Thus hesitate?”—she said,—“your swords unsheathe!<br /> +“Pour out his far-spent gore, that I may fill<br /> +“With youthful, vigorous blood his empty'd veins.<br /> +“Your father's life, and years, are in your hands:<br /> +“If sways you piety; if empty hopes<br /> +“Wavering deceive you not; then well deserve,<br /> +“By duty to your sire: quickly expel<br /> +“With weapons his old age: let issue forth<br /> +“His now congealing blood with brandish'd steel.”<br /> +Exhorted thus, most pious she who feels,<br /> +First impious acts;—a wicked deed performs,<br /> +Lest wicked she were call'd: yet on the blow<br /> +Not one would bend her sight; with eyes averse<br /> +Their savage hands the unseen wounds inflict.<br /> +Flowing with gore, he from the bed uprais'd<br /> +His limbs; and from his posture strove half-torn<br /> +To rise; and stretching forth his pallid arms<br /> +'Mid all their threatening swords;—“Daughters!”—he cries,<br /> +“What do ye? Why against your parent's life<br /> +“Thus arm ye?”—Sink their spirits! drop their hands!<br /> +His throat Medea severing, stay'd the words<br /> +He more had utter'd,—and the mangled corse,<br /> +Deep in the boiling brazen caldron flung.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + She now,—but through the air on dragon wings<br /> +High borne,—their furious vengeance had not scap'd.<br /> +<a name="page262"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 262]</span> +O'er shady Pelion high she flew, and o'er<br /> +The cave of Chiron; Othrys; and the spot<br /> +For old Cerambus' strange adventure known:<br /> +Upborne on wings by kindly-aiding nymphs,<br /> +Here, when the solid earth th' incroaching main<br /> +Wide delug'd, flying, safe Deucalion's flood<br /> +He 'scap'd. Æölian Pitané to left<br /> +She quits; and sees the dragon huge, to stone<br /> +An image turn'd. And Ida's grove where chang'd<br /> +By Bacchus' power, the steer a stag became,<br /> +To screen the theft. And where beneath the sand,<br /> +A little sand, Corythus' father lies;<br /> +And fields which Mæra's new-heard howlings fill.<br /> +Euripylus' fam'd town, where Coän dames,<br /> +What time the troops of Hercules them left,<br /> +With horns were crown'd: and Phœbus' favor'd Rhodes;<br /> +Jalysian Telchines, whose hateful eyes<br /> +All vitiating, Jove detesting 'whelm'd<br /> +Beneath his brother's waves. She passes next<br /> +Carthæïa' walls in ancient Cæä's isle,<br /> +Where wondering saw Alcidamas the sire,<br /> +A placid dove his daughter's body bear.<br /> +And Hyrié's lake she sees, and Tempé's pool<br /> +Cycneiän, which the swan so sudden form'd<br /> +Frequented: Phyllius there, a willing slave,<br /> +Birds and fierce beasts, to his capricious boy<br /> +Oft brought—e'en lions tam'd; a furious bull<br /> +<a name="page263"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 263]</span> +He bade him bring, a furious bull he brought;<br /> +But now in choler at his craving soul,<br /> +The bull refus'd, though as the last gift claim'd:<br /> +Indignant, cry'd he,—“soon you'll wish him given!”—<br /> +And from the high rock plung'd: all thought he fell:<br /> +But form'd a swan, lightly he pois'd in air<br /> +On snowy wings. Hyrié, her son thus sav'd,<br /> +Knew not, by constant weeping soon dissolv'd;<br /> +The lake becoming that still bears her name.<br /> +Near this is Pleuron:—Ophian Combé, here<br /> +Wafted on wings, her murderous sons escap'd.<br /> +Thence she beholds Latona's favorite isle;<br /> +Calaurea, where to birds the royal pair<br /> +Were chang'd: Cyllené, on the right is plac'd<br /> +Where like the savage herd, Menephron sought<br /> +His mother's bed. Far hence she spies in tears<br /> +Cephisus, for his nephew's fate who mourn'd,<br /> +Chang'd by Apollo to a sea-calf huge;<br /> +And saw Eumelus' dome, who wept his child,<br /> +A bird become. At length on dragon wings,<br /> +Pirenian Corinth she regain'd; where tell<br /> +The ancient tales, in primal ages, men<br /> +From shower-fed mushrooms sprung. Here first was flam'd<br /> +In Colchian venoms fierce, the new-made bride;<br /> +Then either sea in blazing spires beheld<br /> +The royal dome; and with her children's gore<br /> +<a name="page264"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 264]</span> +Her impious sword was stain'd. Thus on herself<br /> +Reveng'd; from royal Jason's wrath she fled.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Borne hence, her snakes Titanian reach the walls<br /> +Of Pallas' city, where most just of men<br /> +O, Phineus! thou, and Periphas the old,<br /> +With Polyphemon's niece, as birds are seen,<br /> +Soaring aloft in air on new-form'd wings.<br /> +Here Ægeus' roof receiv'd her, for this deed<br /> +Alone to blame: not satisfy'd as host,<br /> +In marriage bonds he makes her more his own.<br /> +Now Theseus comes, son to his sire unknown,<br /> +Whose brave atchievements, all the two-sea'd land<br /> +In peace had settled. For his death she mix'd<br /> +The baneful aconite, long since from shores<br /> +Of Scythia brought; which thus old tales relate,<br /> +From Cerberus' venom'd jaws was first produc'd,<br /> +Through a dark den, with gloomy opening, lies<br /> +A path steep shelving, where Alcides dragg'd<br /> +Fierce Cerberus to light, resisting strong,<br /> +Glancing askaunce his eyes from day, whose rays<br /> +Sparkled too bright, in adamantine chains.<br /> +With rabid anger swol'n, a triple yell<br /> +Fill'd all the air; he o'er the virid plain<br /> +Sprinkled white foam; increasing fast this shoots;<br /> +The fruitful soil fresh virulence imparts,<br /> +<a name="page265"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 265]</span> +And ranker grows its power: from hardest rocks<br /> +It lively springs, and Aconite hence nam'd.<br /> +This did old Ægeus, by his crafty spouse<br /> +Deceiv'd, to Theseus, as a foe, present.<br /> +Unwitting Theseus, in his hand receiv'd<br /> +The cup presented; when the sire espy'd<br /> +Upon his ivory-hilted sword a mark,<br /> +Which prov'd his offspring; from his lips he dash'd<br /> +The poison. Wrapp'd in clouds by magic rais'd,<br /> +The sorceress from their furious vengeance fled.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The sire, though joy'd, his son in safety found,<br /> +Trembles astonish'd at the narrow 'scape;<br /> +And horrid crime premeditated: burns<br /> +On every altar fires;—to every god<br /> +Piles costly gifts: full on the brawny neck<br /> +Of oxen falls, their horns with garlands bound,<br /> +The sacrificing axe. Ne'er till that day<br /> +Had Athens' town, such joyous feasting seen;<br /> +Nobles and commons crowd around the board,<br /> +And thus, by wine inspir'd, sublime they sing.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Thee, mighty Theseus! Marathon admires,<br /> +“Stain'd by the vanquish'd Cretan bull's black gore.<br /> +“Thy aid the swains of Cromyon own; thou gav'st<br /> +“That now secure they till their fields. The land<br /> +“Of Epidaurus saw the club-arm'd son<br /> +<a name="page266"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 266]</span> +“Of Vulcan slain by thee. By thee, beheld<br /> +“Cephisus' shores, the fierce Procrustes die,<br /> +“Ceres' Eleusis hail'd Cercyon's fall.<br /> +“Sinis thou slew'st, gifted with strength ill-us'd;<br /> +“His strength high trees could bend, and oft he dragg'd<br /> +“Close down to earth the loftiest tops of pines,<br /> +“Thus rent the bodies of his victims wide.<br /> +“Safe now extends the road to Lelex' walls,<br /> +“Scyron low laid: earth to the robber's limbs,<br /> +“Wide scatter'd, rest refuses; to his bones<br /> +“Ocean a tomb denies; long widely tost,<br /> +“Age hardens into rock his last remains;<br /> +“His name the rock still bears. Should we thy age<br /> +“And actions count, thy famous deeds by far<br /> +“Thy years outnumber. O, most brave of men!<br /> +“For thee the public vows ascend; to thee,<br /> +“In Bacchus' bowl we drink. The royal hall<br /> +“Resounds with all the grateful people's praise;<br /> +“Nor through the city glooms one sorrowing spot.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + And yet (so seldom pleasure comes unmix'd,<br /> +But still some cares with joy will intervene)<br /> +While Ægeus, gladden'd that his son secure<br /> +Arriv'd; Minos, for furious war prepares.<br /> +Strong though his troops, and though his navy strong<br /> +His utmost strength was in paternal rage;<br /> +And with just arms Androgeus' death t' avenge<br /> +<a name="page267"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 267]</span> +He wars: yet first auxiliar strength he gains;<br /> +And powerful sweeps the seas with flying ships.<br /> +First Anaphe joins him, and Astypalæa; urg'd<br /> +By promise this, and that by threats constrain'd,<br /> +Low Myconé; Cymolus' chalky fields;<br /> +Bright Cythnos; Scyros; flat Seriphus' isle;<br /> +The marble Paros; and the fort betray'd<br /> +For gold, demanded by the impious nymph<br /> +Sithonian: still for gold she anxious seeks<br /> +Though chang'd a bird; on sable pinions borne,<br /> +With sable feet, she flutters as a daw.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + But Oliaros, and Didymæ, unite;<br /> +And Gyaros, Andros, Tenos, all refuse,<br /> +With Peparethos, in bright olives rich,<br /> +To aid the Gnossian fleet. Thence to the left<br /> +Steering, Œnopia's regions Minos sought;<br /> +Œnopia call'd of old, Ægina now,<br /> +By Æäcus, his mother's honor'd name.<br /> +In crowds the people rush, and pant to view<br /> +So highly fam'd a prince: to meet him go<br /> +First Telamon, then Peleus next in age,<br /> +And Phocas third and last, Ev'n Æäcus<br /> +With years opprest, steps tardy forth, and asks<br /> +The visit's cause. The hundred-city'd king<br /> +Deep sighs, his grief paternal all renew'd,<br /> +And thus replies;—“My arms, O, king! assist<br /> +<a name="page268"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 268]</span> +“Assum'd, just vengeance for a son to claim.<br /> +“Partake this pious war. Peace to his manes<br /> +“I seek.”—But Asopiades replies;—<br /> +“In vain you ask;—my city cannot aid:<br /> +“No lands by neighbouring scite more closely bound,<br /> +“Than ours and Athens'; hence our league.”—The king<br /> +Angry departs, exclaiming.—“Much your league<br /> +“May cost you!”—But to threaten war more safe<br /> +He deems, than wage it there, and waste his force.<br /> +Still from Œnopia's walls the fleet was seen,<br /> +Not distant far; when sped by swelling sail,<br /> +An Attic ship arriv'd; the friendly port<br /> +Enter'd. On board was Cephalus who bore<br /> +His country's message. Well the royal youths<br /> +The hero knew, though long time past beheld;<br /> +And gave the friendly hand, and welcome led<br /> +To their paternal dome. The graceful chief<br /> +Enters, retaining still evincing marks<br /> +Of pristine beauty; in his hand he bears<br /> +A branch of native olive: in the midst<br /> +Senior he stands; and younger on each side,<br /> +Clytus, and Butes, Pallas' sons. Complete<br /> +Their friendly salutations; next the words<br /> +Th' Athenians bade him, Cephalus reports:<br /> +Their aid demands; their ancient league recounts;<br /> +The oaths their fathers swore; and adds, all Greece<br /> +Might perish in their ruin. When their cause<br /> +<a name="page269"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 269]</span> +With eloquence the messenger thus urg'd;<br /> +On his bright sceptre as his left hand lean'd,<br /> +“Take, O Athenians,”—Æäcus exclaim'd,—<br /> +“Not ask, our aid! Unhesitating draw<br /> +“What force this isle possesses, and with yours<br /> +“Employ it: with you shall my strongest power<br /> +“March forth: strength want we not; our numerous troops<br /> +“Abundant, for ourselves and friends suffice:<br /> +“Prais'd be the gods! such is our happy state<br /> +“Your wish defies evasion.”—“Still may grow,”<br /> +Said Cephalus,—“your prosperous city's state,<br /> +“And yours!—What transport seiz'd me as I walk'd,<br /> +“To see each youth so fair, so equal ag'd,<br /> +“Of all who met me. Yet in vain I look'd<br /> +“For many features, known when last your walls<br /> +“Receiv'd me.”—Æäcus, with deep-drawn sighs,<br /> +And sorrowing voice, thus answers.—“Better fate<br /> +“Completed, what a mournful sight began.<br /> +“Would I in full could all the facts relate!<br /> +“Now unconnected must I speak, or tire<br /> +“Your ear with words superfluous. Whom you seek,<br /> +“Whom you remember, bones and ashes rest.<br /> +“But small their numbers:—Heavens! how small to those,<br /> +“My people, who have sunk in death beside.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “A dreadful plague, the angry Juno shed<br /> +“Unjust, upon the natives of the land,<br /> +<a name="page270"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 270]</span> +“Detested, that her rival's name it bore.<br /> +“While human seem'd the scourge, the noxious cause<br /> +“Of slaughter yet conceal'd, with physic's skill<br /> +“We strove; in vain! death mock'd the power of art.<br /> +“At first thick darkness heavy press'd the earth;<br /> +“Pregnant with heat roll'd on the lazy clouds.<br /> +“Four times the full-orb'd moon had join'd her horns,<br /> +“Four times diminish'd, had she disappear'd;<br /> +“Still the hot south-wind blew his deadly blasts.<br /> +“Our lakes and fountains, from th' infected air<br /> +“Contagion suck'd; millions of vipers swarm'd<br /> +“In our uncultur'd fields, our running streams<br /> +“Tainting with poison. First the sudden plague<br /> +“Its power display'd, on sheep, on dogs, on fowls,<br /> +“Cattle, and forest beasts with deadly power.<br /> +“The hapless ploughman, wondering, at his work<br /> +“Sees his strong oxen in the furrow sink.<br /> +“The woolly flocks with sickly bleatings waste<br /> +“In body, while their wool spontaneous falls.<br /> +“The steed so fiery, on the dusty plain<br /> +“So fam'd, the palm contemns; and all despis'd<br /> +“His ancient honors, at his manger groans,<br /> +“Prey to disease inglorious. His fierce rage<br /> +“The boar forgets. The stag neglects his speed.<br /> +“Not rush the bears upon the stronger herds.<br /> +“A general languor reigns. In woods, in fields,<br /> +“In ways, the filthy carcases are seen;<br /> +<a name="page271"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 271]</span> +“The stench pollutes the air: and, wonderous! dogs,<br /> +“Nor birds rapacious, nor the grizzly wolves,<br /> +“Touch the dead spoil. Rotting they melt away,<br /> +“Poisoning the gale; and spreading wide the pest.<br /> +“Now the disease, a heavier scourge, attacks<br /> +“The hapless swains, and in the lofty walls<br /> +“Of cities rules. First the scorch'd vitals burn;<br /> +“The hidden fire the blushing skin betrays,<br /> +“And breath laborious drawn; the furr'd tongue swells;<br /> +“The parch'd mouth widely gapes, th' infectious air<br /> +“Inhaling copious. On the couch none lie;<br /> +“None bear their covering robes; their bodies swol'n,<br /> +“On the bare earth they fling; nor coolness find<br /> +“Their bodies from the ground;—the ground from them<br /> +“Burns hot. Nor aids them now physicians' skill;<br /> +“E'en them the dire pest seizes, and their art<br /> +“Fails to assist themselves. Who boldly comes,<br /> +“With kindly hand his dying friend to aid,<br /> +“Sinks straight in death beside him. Fled all hope<br /> +“Of health, and in the grave alone an end<br /> +“Beheld of their disease,—some wild indulge<br /> +“Their fondest passions, void of every care;<br /> +“For every care is vain. Of modest shame<br /> +“Regardless, in promiscuous throngs they crowd<br /> +“To rivers, fountains, and capacious wells,<br /> +“Their hot thirst unextinguish'd, but with life.<br /> +“To rise unable, many in the stream<br /> +<a name="page272"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 272]</span> +“Sink, and there perish: still their followers drink.<br /> +“So irksome to the wretched sufferers seem<br /> +“Their couches, thence they spring;—and some too weak<br /> +“To lift their limbs, roll desperate to the ground.<br /> +“Each quits his home,—to each his home appears,<br /> +“The fatal spot; and while obscure the cause,<br /> +“Each deems the house contagious. Oft were seen<br /> +“Beings half-dead, slow crawling o'er the ways,<br /> +“Till power to crawl was lost. Others with moans<br /> +“Stretch'd on the ground, rolling their half-clos'd eyes,<br /> +“In final motion: raising high their arms<br /> +“To heaven's o'erhanging stars, breathe out their last,<br /> +“Caught here by death, and there. Ah! me, what then<br /> +“My mind employ'd? What but to loathe my life,<br /> +“And pray with my dear countrymen to die?<br /> +“Whatever side mine eyes were bent, I saw<br /> +“My people strewn;—thick as the mellow fruit,<br /> +“Shook from the branches, or the acorns lie.<br /> +“Observe that temple, lofty where it towers;<br /> +“To Jove 'tis sacred. Who to that high fane<br /> +“Their useless incense brought not? There how oft<br /> +“Wife for her husband, parent for her child,<br /> +“Before th' inexorable altar, breath'd<br /> +“Their dying gasp, 'mid deprecating prayers;<br /> +“And half their incense unconsum'd remain'd.<br /> +“How oft the oxen to the temple dragg'd,<br /> +“While now the priest his voice address'd, and pour'd<br /> +<a name="page273"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 273]</span> +“The goblet o'er their foreheads, have they dropp'd<br /> +“By stroke unlook'd for. When myself, to Jove<br /> +“Wish'd sacrifice to offer up; for me,<br /> +“My country, and my sons,—the victim loud<br /> +“Dire lowings utter'd, and without a blow<br /> +“Fell sudden,—scarce with blood the wounding knife<br /> +“Was stain'd. The morbid inwards mock'd our wish,<br /> +“To learn the truth, and pleasure of the gods:<br /> +“The deep-fixt plague had to the bowels pierc'd.<br /> +“Before the sacred portals have I seen,<br /> +“The corses spread; before the altars too,<br /> +“As death would come in his most hideous form.<br /> +“Some with the cord life's passage choke, and seek<br /> +“Death, lest they death should meet. Madly they rush<br /> +“And voluntary meet approaching fate.<br /> +“The bodies plung'd in death, funereal rites<br /> +“Custom'd, receiv'd not; nor the numerous dead<br /> +“Could all the gates receive: or un-inhum'd<br /> +“Above the earth they lie, or on the pyre<br /> +“Unhonor'd by due rites, the bodies flame.<br /> +“All sense of reverence lost, for piles they fight;<br /> +“And burn their dead in fires which others own.<br /> +“To mourn are none; unwept the shadows roam,<br /> +“Of young and old alike, of sons and sires.<br /> +“The ground for graves too small, for fires the woods.<br /> +“Aghast this whirlwind of distress to view,<br /> +“O, Jove!—I cry'd—if false they not report,<br /> +<a name="page274"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 274]</span> +“That once you in Ægina's arms were clasp'd;—<br /> +“If not, O, mighty sire! asham'd to own<br /> +“Yourself my parent, give my people back,<br /> +“Or give me death with them. A rattling sign<br /> +“He gave, and prosperous thunders roll'd. I spoke;—<br /> +“These omens I accept; and pray these signs<br /> +“May indicate your happy will:—as pledge<br /> +“I take them.—Nigh by chance an oak there stood,<br /> +“Thick-set with spreading boughs, Jove's sacred tree,<br /> +“Sprung from Dodona's stock: here I beheld<br /> +“Grain-gathering ants, each burthen'd with his load,<br /> +“In his small mouth, as o'er the rugged bark<br /> +“In lengthen'd file they march'd. The numerous crowds<br /> +“Admiring;—Best of fathers, I exclaim'd,<br /> +“So many subjects grant me, to refill<br /> +“My desert walls.—Trembled the lofty oak,<br /> +“Of wind no breath, yet mov'd the sounding boughs;<br /> +“With terror shook my limbs, and upright rear'd<br /> +“My hair; then kisses to the ground I gave,<br /> +“And kiss'd the oak; scarce hope I dar'd to feel:<br /> +“Yet still I nourish'd hope within my soul.<br /> +“Night comes; my body worn with cares, to sleep<br /> +“Obedience yielded. Still before mine eyes<br /> +“The oak appear'd; branches the same it bore,<br /> +“And on its branches seem'd the swarms the same;<br /> +“So mov'd the boughs, and on the grass below,<br /> +“Shook the corn-carrying crowd. Sudden they grew;<br /> +<a name="page275"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 275]</span> +“Large, and more large they seem'd, as from the ground<br /> +“Themselves they rais'd, and stood in form erect.<br /> +“Their slender make, their numerous feet, their hue<br /> +“Of sable, disappear'd, and all their limbs<br /> +“An human shape confess'd. Sleep fled mine eyes;<br /> +“And fled my vision:—As by heaven not mark'd,<br /> +“Complaining;—far without the hall I heard<br /> +“A murmuring loud, and human seem'd the sounds,—<br /> +“Though stranger to mine ears: musing if still<br /> +“I slept not,—Lo! quick, Telamon approach'd,<br /> +“Wide threw the doors; and cry'd,—O, sire! behold;<br /> +“What hope, what faith surpasses!—Forth I come;<br /> +“Such men as in my dream my fancy saw,<br /> +“I see;—I know them, man by man, again:<br /> +“They come, and king salute me: unto Jove<br /> +“My votive thanks I pay; my city share<br /> +“Amongst my subjects new; and all my lands,<br /> +“(Of those who till'd them, empty.) Myrmidons,<br /> +“From whence they sprung, I call them. You have seen<br /> +“Their bodies,—still their habits are the same:<br /> +“A frugal race as wont, patient of toil;<br /> +“On gain still bent; tenacious of that gain.<br /> +“These equal all, in courage and in years,<br /> +“Shall follow you to battle; when the east<br /> +“Which blew you here so prosperous, (for the east<br /> +“Had brought him) to the southern gales shall yield.”<br /> +With these and such like speeches, all the day<br /> +<a name="page276"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 276]</span> +They sit conversing; evening they devote<br /> +To banquets; and the night to soft repose.<br /> +Sol rais'd his golden head, but Eurus still<br /> +Prevail'd, and bound their sails. Now Pallas' sons<br /> +To Cephalus, their chief in years, repair,<br /> +And to the king with Pallas' sons he goes;<br /> +But still deep-wrapt in sleep the king was laid.<br /> +Phocus receiv'd them at the gates; employ'd<br /> +Were Telamon and Peleus, troops to chuse<br /> +For the new war. Th' Athenian chief he leads<br /> +Within the palace, to the fairest rooms.<br /> +When all were seated, Phocus mark'd the dart<br /> +The hero bore, shap'd from a wood unknown,<br /> +Pointed with gold; and said, with prefac'd words:<br /> +“To range the forests, and fierce beasts to slay<br /> +“Is all my joy; yet long in doubt I've stood<br /> +“What tree this dart has form'd; for ash too pale,<br /> +“Too smooth for cornel; though from whence it comes<br /> +“So ignorant, ne'er before mine eyes beheld<br /> +“A fairer weapon.”—Pallas' son address'd<br /> +The youth:—“The javelin's use you'll more admire<br /> +“Than beauty;—thrown where'er, its mark it gains,<br /> +“Unrul'd by erring chance, and bloody, back<br /> +“Instant returns.”—Then Phocus curious asks<br /> +More full its story, how, and whence it came,<br /> +And who the author of so priz'd a gift.<br /> +Him Cephalus informs, but shame denies<br /> +<a name="page277"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 277]</span> +To tell the whole, and what the present's price.<br /> +Full to his mind his consort's loss recall'd,<br /> +Tears sudden gush'd:—“O, goddess-born!—he cries,<br /> +“This dart (improbable howe'er) my tears<br /> +“Has often caus'd,—and long will make them flow;—<br /> +“If fate long life should grant. My dear-lov'd spouse<br /> +“This dart destroy'd:—O, that this fatal gift<br /> +“Had still been unpossess'd! Procris, ally'd<br /> +“To stol'n Orithyiä (if Orithyiä's fame<br /> +“Your ears has reach'd) was as her sister fair:<br /> +“Nay, match'd in form and manners, she might more<br /> +“The robber tempt. Her sire Erechthens join'd<br /> +“To me the maid; us love more firmly bound:<br /> +“Blest was I call'd, and blest I was indeed,<br /> +“And still were blest, but heaven else will'd my fate.<br /> +“Now had the second month connubial joys<br /> +“Beheld; when chasing dusky darkness far,<br /> +“Aurora ruddy, saw me on the heights<br /> +“Hymettus flowery rears, as there my toils<br /> +“For antler'd stags I spread: and there by force<br /> +“She clasp'd me. Truth I wish to guide my tongue<br /> +“Nor yet displease the goddess, when I swear<br /> +“Though bright her roseate cheeks; though wide she sways<br /> +“Of night and day the confines; though she quaffs<br /> +“Nectarean liquid, still I Procris lov'd:<br /> +“Still in my bosom Procris reign'd, and still<br /> +“Procris, my tongue repeated. Oft I urg'd<br /> +<a name="page278"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 278]</span> +“The sacred couch, the new-felt joys, the rites<br /> +“So recent, and the plighted faith just given,<br /> +“To her deserted: when the goddess flam'd,<br /> +“Exclaiming;—Ingrate! cease thy doleful plaints,<br /> +“Enjoy thy Procris,—if I right foresee<br /> +“Thou'lt rue that wish'd enjoyment:—Angry thus<br /> +“She fled me. Slow returning, much I mus'd,<br /> +“The goddess' words recalling: fear me thrill'd,<br /> +“Lest Procris had her nuptial oaths profaned.<br /> +“Her age, her beauty, much suspicion mov'd;<br /> +“Her virtue bade me chase my fears as vain.<br /> +“Yet was I absent, and from whence I came,<br /> +“Prov'd how adulterous females might indulge,<br /> +“Suspicious love fears all. Studious I seek,<br /> +“What found would rack with torture; and I burn<br /> +“To bribe with gifts, and try her modest faith.<br /> +“Aurora aids my fears, my shape transforms:<br /> +“(Conscious I felt it.) To Minerva's town,<br /> +“To all unknown, I hastened, and my house<br /> +“Enter'd: the house in faultless guise I found;<br /> +“Chaste all appear'd, and anxious all were seen<br /> +“For their lost master. By a thousand arts<br /> +“Erechtheus' daughter I at length beheld,<br /> +“And seen was stagger'd: near my purpos'd proof<br /> +“Relinquish'd of fidelity; most hard<br /> +“The cheat to tell not; to refrain most hard<br /> +“From conjugal salutes. Sad she appear'd.<br /> +<a name="page279"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 279]</span> +“But nought more lovely could in sadness seem:<br /> +“Burning in wishes for her absent spouse.<br /> +“Image, O, Phocus! what her beauteous face<br /> +“Could boast; a face that woe itself became.<br /> +“Why should I tell how oft her virtuous soul,<br /> +“Repuls'd my tempting offers? Why repeat<br /> +“How oft she cry'd;—For one myself I keep,<br /> +“For one, where'er he stays, my joys preserve.<br /> +“Whose mad suspicion would not this allay?<br /> +“This proof of faith? But I, not so content,<br /> +“Strive for my own confusion. Lavish gifts<br /> +“I proffer for the joys of one short night:<br /> +“More and more rich I heap them, till her breast<br /> +“Wavers, then loud exclaim,—Lo! here behold,<br /> +“Adulteress! one unluckily disguis'd,<br /> +“Unluckily betroth'd, thy lawful spouse!<br /> +“Perfidious! by those eyes convinc'd I stand.<br /> +“Nought she:—with silent shame o'ercome, she fled<br /> +“The house deceitful, and her hated spouse.<br /> +“With me offended, all the race of men<br /> +“Detesting, on the mountain tops she rov'd;<br /> +“Diana's sports close following. Fiercer love<br /> +“Flam'd in my bosom, thus deserted left.<br /> +“I su'd for pardon, and my fault I own'd;<br /> +“Swore that myself so tempted, so had err'd,<br /> +“By such high offers brib'd. Confessing thus,<br /> +<a name="page280"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 280]</span> +“Her wounded modest pride grew more compos'd;<br /> +“And shortly I regain'd her. Long in peace<br /> +“We liv'd, and cordial spent the smiling years.<br /> +“Herself a gift she priz'd not: more she gave,<br /> +“An hound, she from Diana's hand receiv'd,<br /> +“Who said,—accept the fleetest of his race—<br /> +“And gave this javelin which you see me bear.<br /> +“If of the first the fate you seek to know,<br /> +“Attend, th' adventure will your wonder move.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “The son of Laïus had the words explain'd,<br /> +“Before his time to every mind obscure;<br /> +“And the dark prophetess, down headlong flung,<br /> +“Laid lifeless, all her riddling tales forgot.<br /> +“Her, fostering Themis saw, and unreveng'd<br /> +“To lie not suffer'd. Straight another plague<br /> +“On Thebes was loos'd; and all the country swains<br /> +“Fear'd by the savage beast their flocks to lose,<br /> +“And fear'd their own destruction. With the youths<br /> +“Adjacent, I assembled; round the fields<br /> +“Our toils we fix; the toils the rapid beast<br /> +“O'erleaps high-bounding; 'bove the loftiest ropes,<br /> +“Stretch'd o'er the nets, with active spring he flies.<br /> +“The hounds uncoupled, in the chace he mocks,<br /> +“And like an agile bird before them plays;<br /> +“With outcries loud, for Lælaps' aid they call.<br /> +<a name="page281"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 281]</span> +“(My Procris' gift, so nam'd.) Long had he tugg'd,<br /> +“To extricate him from the chain; to free<br /> +“His captive neck: scarce was he loos'd, so swift<br /> +“He shot, in vain our eyes his progress mark'd:<br /> +“In the light dust his feet were printed, he,<br /> +“Rapt from the view, was vanish'd. Swifter flies<br /> +“The darted spear not: nor the leaden ball<br /> +“Hurl'd from the whirling sling;—nor reedy dart<br /> +“Shot from the Cretan bow. A central hill<br /> +“High-towering, all the subject plains o'erlooks;<br /> +“Thither I climb, and there behold the chase;<br /> +“A novel scene. Now seems the beast safe caught;<br /> +“Now from the grasp light-springing. Flight right on<br /> +“Crafty he shuns, and doubles round the field,<br /> +“Cheating his chaser's mouth; and circling turns<br /> +“His foe's quick speed eluding. Swift he flies,—<br /> +“With equal swiftness follow'd. Now to grasp<br /> +“His prey seems Lælaps,—in his grasp deceiv'd,<br /> +“His empty jaws seize air. Now to my aid<br /> +“I call my javelin,—poize it for the blow,<br /> +“And bend mine eyes the thongs to fix secure:<br /> +“Again I lift them to behold the chase,<br /> +“And see astonish'd in the spacious plain<br /> +“Two marble statues! this to fly appears,—<br /> +“That barking seems to follow. So decreed<br /> +“Doubtless the gods, that in the arduous course<br /> +“Unconquer'd, each his glory might retain.”<br /> +<a name="page282"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 282]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thus far he spoke, then silent sate.—“What crime,”<br /> +Said Phocus—“has the javelin then perform'd?”—<br /> +And thus the javelin's fault the hero tells,<br /> +“Since joys supreme my sorrows first forewent,<br /> +“Let me, O, Phocus! first those joys recount.<br /> +“O, youth! how it delights me to retrace<br /> +“Those happy moments, when supremely blest<br /> +“In her, the primal years were joyous spent.<br /> +“She, equal happy in her darling spouse;<br /> +“Each mind of mutual care a portion bore;<br /> +“And love's connubial joys each equal shar'd.<br /> +“Jove's proffer'd couch, with my embrace compar'd,<br /> +“Procris had spurn'd; nor could the loveliest nymph<br /> +“Me tempt, though Venus' self had deign'd to sue:<br /> +“In either breast an equal ardor flam'd.<br /> +“In youthful guise I wont the woods to scour,<br /> +“For sport betimes, ere yet the sun had ting'd<br /> +“With early beams the lofty mountains' tops:<br /> +“Nor took I servants, nor the courser fleet,<br /> +“Nor hounds sharp-scented, nor the knotted snares;<br /> +“This dart my sole dependence: when my arm<br /> +“With slaughtered spoil was satiate, tir'd I sought<br /> +“The cooling shade, and sought where Aura breath'd<br /> +“In frigid vales her breezes. 'Midst the heat<br /> +“Refreshing air I sought, and Aura call'd,<br /> +“My labour's recreation; thus I sung,<br /> +“I well the words remember;—Aura, come!<br /> +<a name="page283"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 283]</span> +“Come, my delight,—within my bosom creep,<br /> +“Most grateful friend; come, and as wont remove<br /> +“My inward flames.—By chance more tender words<br /> +“(So sway'd my destiny) to these I join'd:<br /> +“And thus I spoke—O, thou! my greatest joy<br /> +“Refreshing, cherishing my strength and power!<br /> +“For thee, these woods and lonely spots I love:<br /> +“Here does my wishing mouth thy breath inhale.—<br /> +“These words ambiguous, busy ears receiv'd,<br /> +“And Aura! Aura! oft invok'd, they deem<br /> +“A favor'd nymph,—a nymph by me belov'd.<br /> +“The rash informer with the imag'd wrong,<br /> +“My Procris seeks his whispering tongue relates,<br /> +“The words o'erheard. Love credulous believes.<br /> +“O'erpress'd with grief, she sudden sunk, when heard<br /> +“The tale,—and long she unrecover'd laid.<br /> +“Then—hapless wife!—O, wayward fate! she cries:—<br /> +“My broken faith bewails, and with my crime<br /> +“Imagin'd, troubled, fears what not exists,—<br /> +“A name without a being: much she grieves,<br /> +“As real were her rival: yet full oft<br /> +“Stagger'd, she doubts, and hopes herself deceiv'd:<br /> +“Trusts not th' informer; and her husband's fault,<br /> +“Unless beheld, refuses to believe.<br /> +“When next Aurora bade the darkness fly<br /> +“I sally'd forth, and sought th' accustomed wood:<br /> +“Then tir'd with conquest, on the grass I stretch'd,<br /> +<a name="page284"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 284]</span> +“And,—come, dear Aura, ease my pain,—I cry'd<br /> +“Sudden a mournful sigh betwixt my words<br /> +“I heard, but still proceeded,—dearest, come!—<br /> +“Again the falling leaves a rustling sound<br /> +“Causing, a savage beast I thought lay hid,<br /> +“And hurl'd my faithful dart. Procris was there!<br /> +“And as her tender breast the blow receiv'd<br /> +“Alas! she cry'd.—My faithful spouse's voice<br /> +“I knew, and with distracted speed I ran;<br /> +“Half-dead I found her, all her robes distain'd<br /> +“With flowing blood,—and dragging from the wound,<br /> +“Ah, me!—her fatal gift. My guilty arms,<br /> +“Her body, dearer far than mine, support;<br /> +“My vest I rend, the cruel gash to bind,<br /> +“And check the gushing blood; I fearful pray,<br /> +“She will not leave me guilty of her fate.<br /> +“She now, her strength fast wasting, dying fast,<br /> +“These words to utter try'd:—Suppliant I beg,<br /> +“By all the oaths that form'd our nuptial ties;<br /> +“By all the gods and goddesses above;<br /> +“By all my actions which have given you joy;<br /> +“By that strong love which thus my fate has caus'd,<br /> +“Which now in death my bosom still retains,<br /> +“Let not this Aura to my bed succeed.—<br /> +“She said,—too late I learn'd, too late I told<br /> +“The error of the name; for what avail'd!<br /> +“She sinks, her small remaining strength is fled,<br /> +<a name="page285"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 285]</span> +“Her last blood flows. While ought she seems to view,<br /> +“On me she bends her eyes; her hapless soul<br /> +“My lips inhale, yet pleas'd her brow appears<br /> +“In death, more calm from what I just explain'd.”<br /> +Thus grieving, Cephalus concludes, and all<br /> +His audience with him weep. When, lo! appear<br /> +King Æäcus, his sons, and troops new-rais'd;<br /> +Whom Cephalus, in warlike strength, receives.<br /> +</p> +<p class="volumeend"> +END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.<br /> +</p> +<p class="printer"> +<i>Macdonald & Bailey, Printers, Harris's Place,<br /> +Oxford-Street.</i><br /> +<a name="page286"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 286]</span> +</p> +<h1> +<a name="chapter15"></a> +<span class="titlesmaller">THE</span><br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +<span class="titlesmaller">OF</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Publius Ovidius Naso</span><br /> +<span class="titlesmaller">IN</span><br /> +<span class="fraktur">English Blank Verse</span> +</h1> +<p class="author"> +Translated by +<span class="smcap">J. J. Howard</span> +</p> +<h2> +VOL. II. +</h2> +<p class="figure"> +<img src="images/vol1.jpg" width="577" height="546" alt="lyre" /> +<a name="page_2_1"></a> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter16"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Eighth Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Nisus betrayed to Minos by his daughter Scylla; changed to a falcon, +and Scylla to a lark. Return of Minos to Crete. The Minotaur and +labyrinth. Flight of Dædalus and Icarus. Change of Perdix to a partridge. +Chase and death of the Calydonian boar, by Meleager and Atalanta. +Murder of Meleager's uncles. Vengeance of his mother. Death +of Meleager, and transformation of his sisters to birds. Acheloüs. +Nymphs transformed into the isles Echinades. Perimelè into an island. +Story of Baucis and Philemon. Changes of Proteus. Story of Erisichthon, +and transformations of his daughter. +<a name="page_2_2"></a> +</p> +</blockquote> +<p class="printer"> +<b>Printed by <span class="smcap">G. Hayden</span>,<br /> +Brydges Street, Covent Garden.</b><br /> +<a name="page_2_3"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 3]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter17"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Eighth Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now leading Phosphor' shining day disclos'd,<br /> +The darkness flying; and the eastern gales<br /> +Lull'd into calm, the vapoury clouds arose:<br /> +The placid south befriending, rapid borne,<br /> +The hero Cephalus, and aiding troops,<br /> +Ride unexpected in their wish'd-for port.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Minos, meanwhile, the Lelegeian coast<br /> +Lays waste, and on Alcathoë's town his power<br /> +Essays. Here Nisus rul'd, whose reverend locks<br /> +Of silvery brightness, in the midst contain'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_4"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 4]</span> +One with rich purple splendid, sacred pledge<br /> +Of fortune to his kingdom. Six times seen<br /> +Were Luna's horns arising fresh renew'd;<br /> +Still hover'd conquest doubtful o'er the war,<br /> +On wavering pinions, 'twixt opposing hosts.<br /> +A regal tower its vocal walls high-rear'd,<br /> +Where once Latona's son his golden lyre<br /> +Rested; the music still the stones retain'd.<br /> +Oft here the beauteous daughter of the king<br /> +Ascended, and the latent music drew<br /> +Forth to the ear, by smallest pebbles struck.<br /> +Thus she in peaceful times, and here she oft<br /> +When war was raging, ventur'd: hence she saw<br /> +The rough encounters of the furious field.<br /> +So long the tedious warfare, well she knew<br /> +The leaders' names, their arms, their prancing steeds:<br /> +And knew their garments, and their Cretan bows.<br /> +Far beyond all Europa's son she knew,<br /> +More than became her state: this Minos well<br /> +Could prove; whose head in crested helmet hid,<br /> +Most beauteous helm'd appear'd: whose arm, adorn'd<br /> +With brazen shield refulgent, well became<br /> +The brazen shield: whose hand the tough lance whirl'd,<br /> +And back withdrawn, the virgin wondering prais'd<br /> +Such strength and skill combin'd: to fit the dart<br /> +When to the spreading bow his strength he bent,<br /> +She vow'd that Phœbus in such posture stood<br /> +<a name="page_2_5"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 5]</span> +His arrows fitting: when, his brazen casque<br /> +Relinquish'd, all his features shone display'd,<br /> +As purple-rob'd his snow-white steed he press'd,<br /> +In painted housings gay, and curb'd his jaws<br /> +White foaming,—then the lost Nisean maid,<br /> +Scarcely herself, in frantic rapture spoke:—<br /> +Blest call'd the javelin, that his hands it touch'd;<br /> +Blest call'd the reins he curb'd. Arduous she burns,<br /> +(Could she) through hostile ranks her virgin steps<br /> +To bend: arduous she burns, from loftiest towers<br /> +To fling her body in the Cretan camp.<br /> +The brazen portals of the city's walls<br /> +Wide to the foe she'd ope: what could she not?<br /> +That Minos will'd? As resting here she view'd,<br /> +The white pavilion of the Gnossian king<br /> +Dubious, she cry'd;—“Or should I grieve or joy,<br /> +“This mournful war to witness? Grieve I must<br /> +“That Minos so belov'd should be my foe.<br /> +“But had the war not been, his lovely face<br /> +“Had ne'er to me been known. Now war may cease<br /> +“Should I become the hostage:—I retain'd,<br /> +“As Minos' comrade, and the pledge of peace.<br /> +“Fairest of forms! if she who brought thee forth<br /> +“Resembled thee, well might an amorous god<br /> +“Burn for her beauty. O! thrice blest were I,<br /> +“If borne through air on lightly-waving wings,<br /> +“The Cretan monarch's camp I might explore,<br /> +<a name="page_2_6"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 6]</span> +“And there, my rank and love disclos'd, demand<br /> +“What dowry he would ask to be my spouse.<br /> +“My country's towers alone, he should not seek.<br /> +“Perish the joys of his expected bed,<br /> +“Ere I through treason gain them! Yet full oft<br /> +“A moderate victor's clemency affords<br /> +“Great blessings to the vanquish'd. Doubtless, he<br /> +“Just warfare wages for his murder'd son.<br /> +“Strong in his cause, and in his armies strong,<br /> +“Which aid that cause, he must the conquest gain.<br /> +“Why, if this fate my country waits, should war,<br /> +“And not my love unbar to him the gates?<br /> +“So may he conquer; slaughter, toil, and blood,—<br /> +“His own dear blood, avoided. How I dread,<br /> +“Lest some rash hand might that lov'd bosom wound!<br /> +“None but the ignorant sure, the savage spear<br /> +“At him would hurl. The scheme delights my soul:<br /> +“Fixt my resolve; my country as my dower<br /> +“Will I deliver, finish so the war!<br /> +“But what are resolutions? Watchful guards<br /> +“The passes keep; of every gate, the keys<br /> +“My father careful holds. Hapless! I dread<br /> +“My father only; he alone withstands<br /> +“My wishes; would that so the gods had doom'd,<br /> +“I had no parent! But to each himself<br /> +“A god may surely be; and fortune spurns<br /> +“Lazy beseechers. With such love inflam'd,<br /> +<a name="page_2_7"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 7]</span> +“Another maid had long ere now destroy'd<br /> +“All barriers to her bliss; and why than I,<br /> +“Should any dare more boldly? Fearless, I<br /> +“Thro' swords and flames would pass, but swords and flames<br /> +“Oppose me not in this: my sole desire<br /> +“Compris'd in one small lock of Nisus' hair:<br /> +“Than gold that prize more dear. That purple lock<br /> +“Most blest would make me, and my sole desires<br /> +“Encompass.”—Speaking thus, the gloomy night,<br /> +Imperial nurse of cares, approach'd; more bold<br /> +Her daring project with the darkness grew.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now primal slumbers rul'd o'er weary breasts,<br /> +Tir'd with their toil diurnal. Silent, she<br /> +Her father's chamber enters, and (O, dire!)<br /> +The daughter from her parent's head divides<br /> +The fateful lock! Her wicked prize possess'd,<br /> +Forth from the gate she issues; and the spoil,<br /> +So cursed, with her bears; as through the hosts,<br /> +(Such boldness gave the deed,) she seeks the king,<br /> +Whom thus, astonish'd and aghast, she hails:—<br /> +“To wicked deeds love sways; behold me here,<br /> +“Scylla, from royal Nisus sprung; to thee<br /> +“My household gods and country I betray:<br /> +“Thee, sole reward I seek. Pledge of my faith,<br /> +“This purple lock receive, and with this lock<br /> +“Receive my parent's head.”—Then in her hand<br /> +<a name="page_2_8"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 8]</span> +The impious gift presented. Minos spurn'd<br /> +The parricidal present; deeply shock'd<br /> +A deed so base to witness, and exclaim'd;—<br /> +“May all the gods, from every part of earth<br /> +“Thee banish, scandal of our age! may land<br /> +“And sea alike reject thee; such a soul<br /> +“So monstrous! ne'er with me shall touch the shores<br /> +“Of Crete, my land, and cradle of high Jove.”<br /> +He said, and on his captive foes impos'd<br /> +Most just his equal laws; his men bade loose<br /> +Their cables from the beach, and with their oars<br /> +His vessels bright with brass, urge on the deep.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Launch'd on the main, when Scylla sees the fleet,<br /> +Nor from its leader gain'd the hop'd reward,<br /> +Her wicked deed had sought, tir'd of her prayers,<br /> +In desperate rage she storms; wild throws her hair;<br /> +Stretches her hands, exclaiming;—“Where! O, where!<br /> +“Fly'st thou, the author of thy fortune left?<br /> +“O, priz'd above my country! 'bove my sire!<br /> +“O cruel, whither fly'st thou, whose success<br /> +“At once my merit, and my fault displays?<br /> +“Will not the gifted conquest move thy soul?<br /> +“Will not my love thee move? Will not the thought<br /> +“That all my hopes centre in thee alone?<br /> +“By thee deserted, whither shall I fly?<br /> +“Back to my natal town? Ruin'd it lies;<br /> +<a name="page_2_9"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 9]</span> +“Or if still standing, fast the gates are barr'd<br /> +“Against my treason. To my father's arms,<br /> +“Whom I betray'd? Each citizen me hates<br /> +“Deserv'dly; neighbours my example dread.<br /> +“Banish'd, an exile from each spot of earth,—<br /> +“Crete only open lies. Thence dost thou drive<br /> +“Me also? Ingrate! dost thou fly me so?<br /> +“Europa never bore thee, but some Syrt'<br /> +“Inhospitable; or some tigress fell<br /> +“Bred in Armenia; or Charybdis vext<br /> +“With tempests: Jove was ne'er thy sire, nor feign'd<br /> +“A bull's resemblance to delude her, false<br /> +“That fable of thy origin. A bull,<br /> +“Real and savage thee begot, whose love<br /> +“No heifer mov'd. O father Nisus! now<br /> +“Exact thy vengeance. Joy, O town! betray'd<br /> +“By my transgression; for the woes I feel<br /> +“Most merited I grant; guilty I die:<br /> +“Yet should the deadly blow be given by one<br /> +“My impious fault has injur'd; not by thee,<br /> +“Victor through crimes thou with avenging hate<br /> +“Now persecutest. This flagitious deed<br /> +“Against my country, and against my sire,<br /> +“Was all for thee. Th' adultress who beguil'd<br /> +“In wooden cavity the furious bull;<br /> +“Whose womb an ill-assorted birth produc'd;<br /> +<a name="page_2_10"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 10]</span> +“Well for a spouse befits thee. Do my words<br /> +“Reach to thine ears, or no? Do the brisk winds,<br /> +“Thou ingrate! waft my bootless plainings on,<br /> +“And waft thy vessels? Wondrous now no more,<br /> +“Pasiphaë, to thy embrace a bull<br /> +“Preferr'd; for more unpitying is thy soul.<br /> +“Joyful, ah! hapless me,—away thou fly'st;<br /> +“Thy cleaving oars dash on the sounding waves:<br /> +“Me, and my country far from thee recede.<br /> +“O wretch! forgetful of my favoring aid,<br /> +“Thou striv'st in vain to fly me. 'Gainst thy wish<br /> +“Thee will I follow; on thy crooked ship<br /> +“Hanging, embracing, dragg'd through drenching seas.'<br /> +Scarce ending, in the waves she furious leaped,<br /> +Vigorous by love, and gain'd the flying fleet;<br /> +And clasp'd, unwelcome guest, the Gnossian poop.<br /> +Here soon her father spy'd her (in the air<br /> +He wing'd his way, now cloth'd with yellow plumes<br /> +A falcon) and down darted; with his beak<br /> +So curv'd, to wound her as she clung. In dread<br /> +Her grasp she loos'd, and as she seem'd to fall,<br /> +The light air bore her from the waves below:<br /> +Plum'd she became, and form'd a feather'd bird,<br /> +Ciris they call'd her from the ravish'd lock.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + To Jove now Minos all his vows performs,<br /> +An hecatomb of bulls; as from the fleet<br /> +<a name="page_2_11"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 11]</span> +He lands on Gnossus' shores: his royal hall<br /> +With all his spoils, on high uphung, adorn'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Meantime th' opprobrium of his bed increas'd:<br /> +The two-formed monster in a novel birth,<br /> +At length the mother's beastly crime proclaim'd.<br /> +Minos, the shameful witness from his couch,<br /> +Far to remove determines; in a dome<br /> +Intricate winding, he resolves to lodge,<br /> +From every eye conceal'd, the birth. Intrusts<br /> +The work to Dædalus, in cunning arts<br /> +Most fam'd, to build. He all the various marks,<br /> +Confuses, puzzles; bent on either side,<br /> +The various paths confound the searching eye.<br /> +So in the fields the soft Mæander plays,<br /> +Here refluent, flowing there with dubious course;<br /> +Meeting himself, his wandering stream he sees:<br /> +And urges now to whence he first arose;<br /> +Now to the open outlet of the main.<br /> +Thus Dædalus the numerous paths perplex'd<br /> +With puzzlings intricate, so much entwin'd,<br /> +Himself could scarce the outer threshold gain.<br /> +Here was the double monster, man and bull<br /> +Inclos'd; till by the third allotted tribe,<br /> +The ninth year, vanquish'd; with Athenian blood<br /> +Twice gorg'd before. Then was the secret gate,<br /> +So often sought in vain, found by the aid<br /> +<a name="page_2_12"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 12]</span> +A virgin lent to trace the winding clue.<br /> +Instant for Dias, Theseus loos'd his sails,<br /> +With Minos' ravish'd daughter: on that shore<br /> +Cruel! he left her. The deserted nymph<br /> +Wildly lamenting, Bacchus soon embrac'd,<br /> +And gave her needful aid; her fame to fix<br /> +Immortal in the skies, her sparkling crown,<br /> +Mov'd from her forehead, 'mid the stars he plac'd:<br /> +Through the thin air it flies, and as it mounts<br /> +To blazing stars, the glittering jewels change.<br /> +Still as a crown it shines, its station 'midst<br /> +Where stout Alcides Ophiuchus grasps.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Meantime long exile, and the land of Crete<br /> +Detesting; burning with a patriot's wish<br /> +His native soil to visit, Dædalus,<br /> +By sea escape prevented, thus exclaim'd;—<br /> +“Let earth and ocean both my flight obstruct,<br /> +“Still open lies the air; through air we'll go.<br /> +“Minos controlling all, controls not air.”—<br /> +He speaks, and bends to unknown arts his skill,<br /> +Improving Nature's gift. Quills fixt in rows<br /> +He places; small at first in length and size,<br /> +Gradual enlarg'd, as if a hill's steep side<br /> +Growing, produc'd them: So time past the pipe,<br /> +Of rustic origin, by small degrees<br /> +Increasing reeds compos'd. Firm fixt with thread<br /> +<a name="page_2_13"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 13]</span> +Their middle part he binds, and close with wax<br /> +Cements their bottom. All complete he bends<br /> +The composition in a gentle curve,<br /> +Resembling real wings. Young Icarus<br /> +Alone was present; ignorant that the work<br /> +Would his destruction cause; with playful tricks<br /> +He fingers now the feathers, now his hands<br /> +Soften the yellow wax. His sportive wiles<br /> +His father's wond'rous essay oft delay.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now was the last completing stroke impos'd<br /> +Upon his undertaking: First the sire<br /> +On artificial wings his body pois'd,<br /> +And in the beaten air suspended hung:<br /> +Then his young offspring, Icarus, he taught.—<br /> +“This I my son advise, a middle course,<br /> +“To keep be cautious; low if thou should'st skim,<br /> +“Heavy with ocean's spray thy wings would droop:<br /> +“If high, the sun would scorch them. Steer thy course<br /> +“'Twixt each extreme. Nor would I wish thine eyes<br /> +“To view Boötes, or the northern bear;<br /> +“Nor yet Orion's naked sword. My track<br /> +“Cautious pursue.”—With anxious care he gives<br /> +Rules thus for flight; and to his shoulders fits<br /> +The new-form'd pinions. Tears his ancient cheeks<br /> +Bedew'd, as thus his admonitions flow'd:<br /> +And his paternal hands as thus employ'd,<br /> +<a name="page_2_14"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 14]</span> +Beneath the office trembled. Warm salutes<br /> +He gave the boy, nor knew he gave the last;<br /> +Then on his feathers borne, explores the way,<br /> +Timid for him who follows. So the bird,<br /> +Tempts from her lofty nest her new-fledg'd brood,<br /> +In the thin air. He bids him close pursue,<br /> +Tries in each shape to teach the fatal skill;<br /> +Shakes his own pinions, bending back to view<br /> +His son's. The angler as with quivering reed,<br /> +He drew his prey to land; the shepherd-swain,<br /> +As o'er his staff he lean'd; the ploughman-clown,<br /> +Their flight astonish'd saw, and deem'd them gods,<br /> +That so at will could cleave the liquid sky.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now Samos, Juno's favor'd isle they pass'd,<br /> +Delos, and Paros, all to left;—to right<br /> +Labyrithos lay, and rich in honey'd sweets<br /> +Calymné: when the heedless boy o'erjoy'd<br /> +In his bold flight, the precepts of his guide<br /> +Contemning, soar'd to heaven a loftier range.<br /> +The neighbouring sun's fierce heat the fragrant wax<br /> +Which bound, his pinions, soften'd. Soon the wax<br /> +Dissolves; and now his naked arms he waves;<br /> +But destitute of power his course to steer,<br /> +No air his arms can gather; loud he calls<br /> +His father's name, as in the azure deep<br /> +He drops,—the deep which still his name retains.<br /> +<a name="page_2_15"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 15]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The hapless parent, not a parent now,<br /> +Loud calls on Icarus;—“Where art thou, son?<br /> +“Where shall I seek thee, Icarus?”—He said,<br /> +And spy'd his feathers floating on the waves:<br /> +Then curs'd his hapless art, as in the earth,<br /> +He deep intomb'd him; all the land around<br /> +Bears from the youth intomb'd its present name.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The whirring partridge, from a branchy holm<br /> +Beheld him, as beneath the turf he plac'd<br /> +His son's lamented body, and with joy<br /> +Flutter'd his feathers; while his chirping song<br /> +Proclaim'd his gladness: then the only bird<br /> +Known of his kind, in elder days unseen;<br /> +But lately cloth'd with feathers, through the crime<br /> +Flagitious, Dædalus, of thee! To thee,<br /> +Thy sister, witless how his fate was doom'd,<br /> +Her son committed for instructing art,<br /> +When twice six annual suns the youth had seen;<br /> +His docile mind best fitted then to learn.<br /> +He well th' indented bones remark'd, which form<br /> +The fish's spiny back, and in like mode,<br /> +Sharp steel indenting, first the saw produc'd<br /> +For public service. Two steel arms he join'd<br /> +Fixt to one orb above; each widely stretch'd,<br /> +One steady rests, the other circling turns.<br /> +Him Dædalus with envy viewing, forc'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_16"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 16]</span> +Headlong, from sacred Pallas' lofty tower,<br /> +His death feign'd accidental: but the maid<br /> +Divine, to all ingenious minds a friend,<br /> +Receiv'd him in his fall; chang'd to a bird,<br /> +On pinions bore him through the middle air.<br /> +His vigorous powers in force remain the same,<br /> +But change their seat; rapid he flies, and quick<br /> +He races on the ground; his name remains<br /> +Unalter'd: still the cautious bird declines<br /> +To trust his weight aloft, nor forms his nest<br /> +On lofty boughs, or summits of high trees:<br /> +Nigh to the earth he skims; beneath the hedge<br /> +His shelly brood deposits; of his fall<br /> +Still mindful, towering heights he always shuns.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now Dædalus, with lengthen'd flight fatigu'd,<br /> +Sicilia's realm receiv'd; whose king humane,<br /> +Great Cocalus, mov'd with his suppliant pray'r,<br /> +Arm'd to assist him. Now by Theseus freed,<br /> +Athens no more the mournful tribute paid.<br /> +With garlands every temple gay they hang,<br /> +Invoke the warlike maid, the mighty Jove,<br /> +And every deity: their altars all<br /> +With promis'd blood they honor; with rich gifts,<br /> +And fragrant incense. Now had wandering fame<br /> +Through all the Grecian towns, spread the renown<br /> +Of Theseus: and the rich Achaïa's tribes<br /> +<a name="page_2_17"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 17]</span> +His aid implor'd, when mighty perils press'd.<br /> +Ev'n Calydon, though Meleager brave<br /> +Possessing, sought his help with suppliant words.<br /> +The cause, a furious boar by Dian' sent,<br /> +Avenging instrument of slighted power.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Œneus, from plenteous harvests' full success<br /> +Rejoicing, primal fruits to Ceres gave;<br /> +To Bacchus pour'd libations of his wine;<br /> +To yellow-hair'd Minerva offer'd oil:<br /> +The rites invidious, from the rural gods<br /> +Commencing, all the bright celestials shar'd.<br /> +Latona's daughter only, in her fane,<br /> +Nor flames nor offerings on her altar saw.<br /> +Rage fires ev'n heavenly breasts.—“Not unreveng'd,”—<br /> +She cry'd,—shall this be suffer'd; honor'd not!<br /> +“Not unappeas'd by vengeance will I rest.”—<br /> +Then through th' Œneian fields the maid, despis'd,<br /> +Sends the fierce boar to ravage. Such his size,<br /> +The bulls that in Epirus' pastures graze<br /> +More huge appear not: in Sicilia's meads<br /> +Far less are seen. Red are his sparkling eyes,<br /> +Fire mixt with blood; high rears his fearful neck,<br /> +Thick clustering spears the threatening bristles seem:<br /> +Hoarse as he grunts, down his wide shoulders spreads<br /> +The boiling foam: his tusks the tusks outvie<br /> +Of India's hugest beast: the lightening's blast,<br /> +<a name="page_2_18"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 18]</span> +Driven from his mouth, burns all the verdant leaves.<br /> +Now o'er the corn, but yet in budding ears,<br /> +He tramples, immature he reaps the crop;<br /> +The loud-lamenting tiller's hopes destroy'd:<br /> +The harvest intercepting in the shoot.<br /> +In vain the barns, the granaries in vain,<br /> +Their promis'd loads expect. Prostrate alike<br /> +Are thrown the fruitful clusters of the vine,<br /> +With shooting tendrils; and the olive's fruit<br /> +With branches ever-blooming. On the flocks<br /> +He rages: these not shepherds, not their dogs<br /> +Could save; nor could the furious bull his herd.<br /> +Wide fled the people; safety none durst hope<br /> +Save in their cities' walls; till thirst of fame<br /> +Fir'd Meleager, with his chosen band<br /> +Of valiant youths. And first were seen the twins<br /> +Of Tyndarus, for wond'rous skill renown'd,<br /> +This at the cæstus, that to curb the steed:<br /> +Jason, whose art the primal ship design'd:<br /> +Theseus, in happy concord with his friend<br /> +Pirithous, join'd: Thestius' two valiant sons:<br /> +Lynceus, Aphareus' offspring: Idas swift:<br /> +Leucippus fierce: Acastus unexcell'd<br /> +To dart the javelin: Cæneus, now no more<br /> +Cloth'd in a female figure: Phœnix, sprung<br /> +From old Amyntor: Actor's equal sons:<br /> +Hippothoös: Dryas: and from Elis' town<br /> +<a name="page_2_19"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 19]</span> +Dispatch'd, came Phileus. Nor was absent there,<br /> +Brave Telamon, nor great Achilles' sire:<br /> +Nor stout Eurytion; with Pheretus' son:<br /> +Nor Hyantean Iölaüs brave:<br /> +Echion in speed unconquer'd: Nestor then<br /> +In primal youth: Lelex, Narycian born:<br /> +Panopeus: Hyleus: Hippasus the fierce:<br /> +Nor those whom Hippocoön sent in aid,<br /> +From old Amyclæ: nor Ulysses' sire:<br /> +Ancæus of Parrhasia: Mopsus sage:<br /> +Amphiareus, then by his false spouse's guile<br /> +Betray'd not. With them Atalanta came,<br /> +The grace and glory of Arcadia's woods.<br /> +A shining buckle from the ground confin'd<br /> +Her garment's border: simply bound, her hair<br /> +One knot confin'd: her ivory quiver, slung<br /> +O'er her left shoulder, sounded as she stepp'd:<br /> +Her hand sustain'd a bow: and thus array'd<br /> +Appear'd her form. Her lineaments disclos'd,<br /> +What scarce might feminine in boys appear;<br /> +Or hardly boyish in a virgin's face.<br /> +The chief of Calydon the maid beheld,—<br /> +Beheld, and lov'd: while heaven his love oppos'd.<br /> +The secret flames inhaling deep, he cry'd,—<br /> +“O, blessed youth! if youth to gain thy hand<br /> +“Worthy were deem'd!”—Nor bashful shame, nor time<br /> +<a name="page_2_20"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 20]</span> +Would more allow; a mightier deed now claim'd<br /> +Their utmost efforts for the furious war.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Darken'd with trees thick-growing, rose a wood;<br /> +From earliest ages there the biting axe<br /> +Had never sounded; in the plain it rear'd<br /> +Facing the sloping fields. The youths arriv'd;<br /> +Some spread the knotted toils; some loose the hounds;<br /> +Some strive the foot-prints of the boar to trace,<br /> +Their danger anxious seeking. Low beneath<br /> +A hollow vale extended, where the floods<br /> +Fresh showery torrents gather'd, lazy laid.<br /> +The flexile willow, and the waving reed;<br /> +The fenny bulrush, osier, and the cane<br /> +Diminutive, the stagnant depth conceal'd.<br /> +Arous'd from hence, the boar impetuous rush'd<br /> +Amidst his host of foes; so lightenings dart<br /> +When clouds concussive clash. His rapid force<br /> +Levels the grove, the crackling trees resound<br /> +Where'er he pushes: loud the joyful youth<br /> +Exclaim, each grasping with a nervous hand<br /> +His weapon brandish'd, while its broad head shakes.<br /> +Forward he darts, the dogs he scatters wide,<br /> +And each opposing power; his strokes oblique<br /> +Their baying drives to distance. Echion's arm<br /> +Hurl'd the first dart, but hurl'd the dart in vain;<br /> +Lightly a maple's trunk the weapon graz'd.<br /> +<a name="page_2_21"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 21]</span> +The next, but over-urg'd the force that sent,<br /> +Had pierc'd the rough back of the wish'd-for prey;<br /> +Jason's the steel,—it whizz'd beyond him far.<br /> +Then Mopsus pray'd,—“O Phœbus! if thy rites<br /> +“I e'er perform'd, if still I thee adore,<br /> +“Grant my sure weapon what I wish to touch.”<br /> +The god consented, what he could he gave,—<br /> +The boar was struck, but struck without a wound:<br /> +Diana from the flying weapon snatch'd<br /> +The steely head, and pointless fell the wood.<br /> +More chafes the beast, like lightening fierce he burns,<br /> +Fire from his eyeballs flashes, from his chest<br /> +Clouds of hot smoke through his wide nostrils roll.<br /> +Forc'd from the close-drawn string as flies a stone,<br /> +Hurl'd at embattl'd walls, or hostile towers<br /> +With foes thick crowded: so the deadly beast<br /> +Rush'd on the heroes with unerring shock.<br /> +Eupalamus and Pelagon, who stood<br /> +The right wing guarding, on the earth he threw:<br /> +Their fellows snatch'd them from impending fate.<br /> +Not so Onesimus, of Hippocoön<br /> +The offspring, 'scap'd the death-inflicting blow;<br /> +Torn through the ham, just as for flight he turn'd;<br /> +His slacken'd nerves could bear his weight no more.<br /> +Then Nestor too, long e'er the Trojan times,<br /> +Perchance had perish'd, but beside him stood<br /> +A tree, whose branches nimbly he attain'd;<br /> +<a name="page_2_22"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 22]</span> +A mighty effort, aided by his spear:<br /> +Safe in his seat, he view'd the foe he fled,<br /> +Beneath him. Fiercely threatening death below,<br /> +He whets his tushes on a stumpy oak,<br /> +And bold in sharpen'd arms, ranches the thigh,<br /> +With crooked fangs, of Othrys' mighty son.<br /> +Now the twin-brothers, ere in heaven display'd<br /> +Bright constellations, both fair dazzling shone,<br /> +Mounted on steeds, whose lily'd hue surpass'd<br /> +Th' unsully'd snow; both shook their brandish'd spears,<br /> +The trembling motion sounded high in air;<br /> +Deep both had pierc'd, but 'mid the darkening trees,<br /> +Their bristly foe sought refuge, where nor steed,<br /> +Nor dart could reach him. Telamon pursues;<br /> +Ardent, and heedless of his steps, a root<br /> +Checks his quick feet, and prone the hero falls.<br /> +While Peleus aids his brother chief to rise,<br /> +The beauteous Atalanta to the string<br /> +Fits the swift dart, and from the bended bow<br /> +Speeds it; the arrow, fixt beneath his ear,<br /> +Razes the monster's skin, and drops of blood<br /> +His bristly neck ensanguine. Joys the maid<br /> +To see the blow;—but Meleager far<br /> +In joy surpass'd her. He the first beheld<br /> +The trickling blood; he to his comrades first<br /> +The wound display'd, exclaiming,—“Yon fair nymph<br /> +“The honors so deserv'dly won shall bear.”—<br /> +<a name="page_2_23"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 23]</span> +The warriors blush with shame, and each exhorts<br /> +His fellow; shouts their souls more valiant swell;<br /> +In heaps confus'd their numerous javelins fly;<br /> +Clashing in crowds, each javelin fails to wound.<br /> +Lo! now Ancæus furious, to his fate<br /> +Blind rushing, rears his double axe, and cries,—<br /> +“Behold, O youths! how much a manly arm<br /> +“Outstrikes a female's, to my prowess yield<br /> +“The palm of conquest. Let Latona's maid<br /> +“With all her power protect him, yet my force,<br /> +“Spite of Diana, shall the monster slay.”—<br /> +Proud his big-boasting tongue thus speaks, then grasps<br /> +His two-edg'd weapon firmly in his hands,<br /> +And rais'd on tiptoe meditates the blow.<br /> +The watchful beast prevents him, through his groin,<br /> +To death sure passage, drives his double tusks:<br /> +Ancæus drops; his bowels gushing fall,<br /> +Roll on the earth, and soak the ground in gore.<br /> +Ixion's son, Pirithous, on the foe<br /> +Rush'd, in his nervous hand a powerful spear<br /> +Brandishing; Theseus loudly to his friend<br /> +Exclaim'd,—“O, dearer far than is myself,—<br /> +“Half of my soul, at distance wait; the brave<br /> +“At distance may engage; valor too rash<br /> +“Destroy'd Ancæus.”—As he spoke he hurl'd<br /> +His massive cornel spear; its brazen head<br /> +Well pois'd, its sender's anxious wish appear'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_24"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 24]</span> +Fair to accomplish, when a leafy arm<br /> +Branch'd from a beech, oppos'd it in its flight.<br /> +Next Æson's son, his javelin threw, but chance<br /> +Glanc'd from its mark the weapon, and transpierc'd<br /> +An undeserving hound; the dart was drove<br /> +Through all his belly, and deep fixt in earth.<br /> +But different fortune on the arms awaits<br /> +Of Meleager, javelins two he sent;<br /> +Deep in the ground the foremost pierc'd, the next<br /> +Firm in the monster's back quivering stood fixt.<br /> +Nor stays he, whilst he raging furious whirl'd<br /> +In giddy circles round, and pour'd his foam,<br /> +Mad with the new-felt torture, close at hand<br /> +The hero plies his work, provokes his foe<br /> +To fiercer ire, and in his furious breast<br /> +Buries the glittering spear. A second shout<br /> +Loudly proclaims his thronging comrades' joy;<br /> +Each to the victor crowding, hand in hand<br /> +Congratulating grasps him; each amaz'd<br /> +Views the dire savage, as his mighty bulk<br /> +O'erspreads a space of land. Scarce think they yet<br /> +Their safety sure, him touching; each his spear<br /> +Extends, and dips it in the flowing gore.<br /> +His foot upon the head destructive fixt,<br /> +The conquering youth thus speaks:—“Nonacria fair!<br /> +“Receive the spoil my fortune well might claim:<br /> +“Fresh glory shall I gain, with thee to share<br /> +<a name="page_2_25"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 25]</span> +“The honors of the day.”—Then gives the spoils;—<br /> +The chine with horrid bristles rising stiff,<br /> +And head, fierce threatening still with mighty tusks.<br /> +She takes the welcome gift, for much she joys<br /> +From him to take it. Envy seiz'd the rest,<br /> +And sullen murmurs through the comrades ran:<br /> +Above the rest, were Thestius' sons,—their arms<br /> +Out-stretching, clamor'd thus with a mighty noise;—<br /> +“Let not thy beauteous form thy mind deceive,<br /> +“When from thy eyes the donor of the spoil,<br /> +“Besotted with thy love, shall far be mov'd.<br /> +“Woman! restore the prize, nor hope to hold<br /> +“Our intercepted claims.”—Speaking they rob<br /> +Her of the gift, him of the right to give.<br /> +Nor passive stood the warlike youth, his teeth<br /> +He gnash'd with swelling rage, as fierce he cry'd;—<br /> +“Learn, ye base robbers of another's rights,<br /> +“What difference threats and valiant actions shew.—”<br /> +Then in Plexippus' unsuspecting breast<br /> +He plung'd his impious sword: nor suffer'd long<br /> +Toxeus to doubt, who hesitating stood,<br /> +Now vengeance brooding for his brother's fate,<br /> +Now dreading for himself a like swift blow;<br /> +Again he warms the weapon, reeking still<br /> +Hot from Plexippus' bosom, in his blood.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + To every temple of the favoring gods<br /> +<a name="page_2_26"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 26]</span> +Althæa bore donations for her son,<br /> +Victorious: When the breathless bodies came<br /> +Of both her brethren, loud the sounding blows<br /> +Of grief were heard, and all the city rung<br /> +With lamentable cries: her golden robes<br /> +Were straight to sable chang'd. But when the hand<br /> +Which struck the blow was known, her every tear<br /> +Was dry'd, and vengeance only fill'd her soul.<br /> +A log there lay when Thestius' daughter groan'd<br /> +In child-bed pangs; which on the greedy flames<br /> +The triple sisters flung; and while their thumbs<br /> +Twirl'd round the fatal thread, this was their song;—<br /> +“O newly born! to thee and to this bough<br /> +“Like date of life we give.”—Then ceas'd their words,<br /> +And from her presence vanish'd: sudden snatch'd<br /> +The mother from the fire the burning brand,<br /> +And quench'd it instant in unsparing streams.<br /> +Long in most secret darkness had she hid<br /> +This fatal wood; and, thus preserv'd, her son<br /> +Had safely years mature attain'd; but now<br /> +Forth she produc'd it from its close recess.<br /> +Fragments of torches on the hearth she heap'd,<br /> +And blew the sparklings into deadly flames;<br /> +And thrice she rais'd her hands the branch to heave<br /> +On the fierce fire; and thrice her hands withdrew.<br /> +Sister and mother in one bosom fought,<br /> +To adverse acts impelling. Oft her face,<br /> +<a name="page_2_27"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 27]</span> +Dread of her meditated crime, bleach'd pale;<br /> +Oft to her eyes her furious rage supply'd<br /> +A fiery redness; now her countenance glow'd<br /> +With threatenings cruel; now her softening looks<br /> +To pity seemed to melt; and when fierce ire<br /> +Had fill'd her soul, and parch'd up every tear,<br /> +Fresh tears would gush. Thus rocks a vessel, driven<br /> +By winds and adverse currents, both their force<br /> +At once obeys, and can to neither yield.<br /> +Thus waver'd Thestius' daughter, dubious thus<br /> +Affection sway'd her; now her rage is calm,<br /> +Now her calm'd rage with fourfold fury burns.<br /> +At length the sister's o'er the parent's tie<br /> +The prevalence obtains; impiously good,<br /> +With blood her own, she soothes the brethren's shades.<br /> +Now, when the fires destructive fiercely glar'd,<br /> +She cry'd:—“Here, funeral pile, my bowels burn!—”<br /> +And as the fatal wood her direful hand<br /> +Held forth, the hapless mother, at the pyre<br /> +Sepulchral, stood, exclaiming;—“Furies three!<br /> +“Avenging sisters! hither turn your eyes;<br /> +“Behold the furious sacred rites I pay:<br /> +“For retribution I commit this crime.<br /> +“By death their death must be aveng'd; his fault<br /> +“By mine be punish'd; on their funeral biers<br /> +“His must be laid; one sinning house must fall,<br /> +“In woes accumulated. Blest shall still<br /> +<a name="page_2_28"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 28]</span> +“Œneus enjoy his proud victorious son,<br /> +“And Thestius childless mourn? Better that both<br /> +“Should weep in concert. Dear fraternal ghosts,<br /> +“Recent from upper air, my work behold!<br /> +“Take to th' infernal realms my offering bought<br /> +“So dear! the hapless pledge my womb produc'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Ah! whither am I swept? Brothers forgive<br /> +“The parent. Lo! my faltering hands refuse<br /> +“To second my intents. Well he deserves<br /> +“To perish; yet by other hands than mine.<br /> +“Unpunish'd shall he 'scape then? Victor live,<br /> +“Proud of his high success, and rule the realm<br /> +“Of Calydon, while ye are prostrate thrown<br /> +“A trivial heap of ashes, and cold shades?<br /> +“Patience no more will bear. Perish the wretch!<br /> +“Perish his father's hopes! perish the realm!<br /> +“And all the country perish! Where? O, where?<br /> +“Is then the mother's soul, the pious prayers<br /> +“A parent should prefer? Where the strong pains<br /> +“Which twice five moons I bore? O, that the flames<br /> +“First kindled, had thy infant limbs consum'd!<br /> +“Would I had not then snatch'd thee from thy fate!<br /> +“Thy gift of life is mine; now that thou dy'st<br /> +“Thy own demerits ask: take the reward<br /> +“Thy deeds deserve: yield up thy twice-given life,<br /> +“First in thy birth, then by the brand I sav'd;<br /> +<a name="page_2_29"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 29]</span> +“Or lay me with my brethren in their tomb.<br /> +“I wish, yet what I would my hands refuse.<br /> +“What will my soul determine? Now mine eyes<br /> +“The mangled corses of my brethren fill:<br /> +“Now filial fondness, and a mother's name<br /> +“Distract my soul. O, wretched, wretched me!<br /> +“Brothers you gain the conquest, yet you gain<br /> +“Dearly for me; but on your shades I'll wait,<br /> +“Blest in what gives you once to me again.”<br /> +She said; with face averse and trembling hand,<br /> +The fateful brand amid the fires was dropt.<br /> +The brand a groan deep utter'd, or a groan<br /> +To utter seem'd: the flames half backward caught<br /> +At length their prey, which gradually consum'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Witless of this sad deed, and absent far,<br /> +Fierce Meleager, with the self-same fire<br /> +Burn'd inward; all his vitals felt the flame<br /> +Scorching conceal'd: th' excruciating pangs<br /> +Magnanimous he bore. Yet deep he mourn'd<br /> +By such a slothful bloodless fate to fall;<br /> +And happy call'd Ancæus in his wounds.<br /> +With deep-drawn groans he calls his aged sire,<br /> +His brother, sisters, and the nymph belov'd,<br /> +Who shar'd his nuptial couch; with final breath,<br /> +His mother too perchance. Now glows the fire,<br /> +And now the pains increase; now both are faint;<br /> +<a name="page_2_30"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 30]</span> +Now both together die. The soul flies forth,<br /> +And gently dissipates in empty air.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Low now lies lofty Calydon,—the youths,<br /> +And aged seniors weep; the vulgar crowd<br /> +And nobles mourn alike; the matrons rend<br /> +Their garments, beat their breasts, and tear their hair.<br /> +Stretch'd on the earth the wretched sire defiles<br /> +His hoary locks, and aged face with dust,<br /> +Cursing his lengthen'd years: the conscious hand<br /> +Which caus'd the direful end, the mother's fate<br /> +Accomplish'd; through her vitals pierc'd the steel.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Had heaven on me an hundred tongues bestow'd,<br /> +With sounding voice, and such capacious wit<br /> +As all might fill; and all the Muses' power,<br /> +Still should I fail the grieving sisters' woe<br /> +Justly to paint. Heedless of beauteous forms<br /> +They beat their bosoms livid; while the corse<br /> +Remains, they clasp and cherish in their arms<br /> +The senseless mass; the corse they kiss, and kiss<br /> +The couch on which it rests: to ashes burn'd,<br /> +Careful collected in the urn, they hug<br /> +Those ashes to their breasts; and prostrate thrown<br /> +His tomb they cover; on the graven stone<br /> +Embrace his name; and on the letters pour<br /> +Their tears in torrents. Dian' satiate now<br /> +<a name="page_2_31"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 31]</span> +The house of Œneus levell'd with the dust,<br /> +Rais'd them by wings in air, which sudden shot<br /> +From each their bodies. Gorgé sole, and she<br /> +The spouse of valiant Hercules, unchang'd<br /> +Were left. Long pinions for their arms were seen;<br /> +Their mouths to horny bills were turn'd; through air<br /> +Thus alter'd, ample range the goddess gives.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Theseus meantime, the toil confederate done,<br /> +Homeward to Pallas' towers his journey bent;<br /> +But Acheloüs, swol'n by showery floods,<br /> +Delay'd his progress. “Fam'd Cecropia's chief,”—<br /> +He cry'd,—“here shelter, enter 'neath my roof,<br /> +“Nor through the furious torrents trust thy steps.<br /> +“Whole forests oft they root, and whirl along<br /> +“Vast rocks with thundering sound. High stalls I've seen,<br /> +“Near to the banks erected, swept away:<br /> +“Nor aught avail'd the lusty bull's strong limbs,<br /> +“Nor aught the courser's speed: the torrents oft<br /> +“Of melted snows, which from the mountains rush,<br /> +“Whelm the strong youths beneath the whirling pool.<br /> +“To rest is safer, till their wonted banks<br /> +“Again the streams confine; the lessen'd waves<br /> +“Within their channels pent.”—Theseus complies,<br /> +And answers:—“Acheloüs, we approve<br /> +“Thy prudent counsel, and thy cave will use,”<br /> +The grot they enter; hollow pumice, mixt<br /> +<a name="page_2_32"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 32]</span> +With rugged tophus, form'd it; tender moss<br /> +The moist floor cover'd; fretwork on the roof<br /> +The purple murex and the scallop white<br /> +Alternate form'd. Now Phœbus' steeds had run<br /> +Two thirds their race, when Theseus on his couch<br /> +Reclin'd, the comrades of his toil close by;<br /> +Pirithous here, Trœzenian Lelex there,<br /> +Whose temples now some silvery hairs display'd.<br /> +With these were such as Acheloüs, joy'd<br /> +At such a noble guest, the honor deem'd<br /> +Worthy to share. The barefoot Naiäd nymphs<br /> +Heap'd on the board the banquet: food remov'd,<br /> +They brought the wine, in cups with jewels deck'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The mighty hero then, the distant main<br /> +Surveying, asks:—“What land is that I see?—”<br /> +And shews the spot,—“tell me what name denotes<br /> +“That isle? and yet methinks not one it seems.”<br /> +The river-god replies:—“What we behold<br /> +“A single isle is not, but five; the eye<br /> +“Is mock'd by distance. That Diana's wrath<br /> +“May less your wonder move, these once were nymphs.<br /> +“Ten bullocks had they sacrific'd, and call'd<br /> +“Each rural god to taste the sacred feast,<br /> +“And join the festal chorus, me alone,<br /> +“Forgetful, they invited not. Sore vext,<br /> +“I swell'd with rage, and as my anger rose,<br /> +<a name="page_2_33"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 33]</span> +“My flood increas'd; till at my greatest height,<br /> +“Woods I divorc'd from woods; from meadows tore<br /> +“The neighbouring meadows; and the Naiäds roll'd,<br /> +“Now well-remembering what my godhead claim'd,<br /> +“Down with their habitations to the main.<br /> +“My waves then, with the ocean's waters join'd,<br /> +“The land divided, and those isles you view,<br /> +“Echinades, amid the sea were form'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “More distant may your vision reach;—behold<br /> +“An isle beyond them to my soul most dear;<br /> +“By sailors nam'd Perimelé. I snatch'd<br /> +“Her virgin-treasure from the much-lov'd maid.<br /> +“Hippodamas her sire in fury rav'd;<br /> +“And, from a precipice, the pregnant nymph<br /> +“Plung'd in the deep. My waves receiv'd the load;<br /> +“And whilst I bore her floating, thus I said;—<br /> +“O, trident-bearer, thou whom lot decreed<br /> +“Lord, next to heaven, o'er all the wandering waves,<br /> +“Where all the sacred rivers end their course;<br /> +“To which all rivers tend, O, Neptune, aid!<br /> +“Propitious, hear my prayer! Much have I wrong'd<br /> +“The nymph I now support: if lenient he,<br /> +“And equitable, sure Hippodamas,<br /> +“Her sire, had pity granted, and myself<br /> +“Had pardon'd. Gracious Neptune, grant thy help<br /> +“To her a parent's fury from the earth<br /> +<a name="page_2_34"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 34]</span> +“Wide banishes. O, I beseech thee! grant<br /> +“A place to her, paternal rage would drown:<br /> +“Or to a place transform her, where my waves<br /> +“May clasp her still. The ocean-god consents,<br /> +“And all his waters shake as nods his head.<br /> +“Still floats th' affrighted nymph; and as she swims,<br /> +“I feel her heart with trepid motion beat:<br /> +“While pressing fond her bosom, all her form<br /> +“Rigidly firm becomes, and round her chest<br /> +“Rough earth heaps high; and, whilst I wondring speak,<br /> +“A new-form'd land her floating limbs enclasps:<br /> +“Her shape transform'd, a solid isle becomes.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thus far the watery deity, and ceas'd.<br /> +The wondrous tale all mov'd, save one, the son<br /> +Of bold Ixion; fierce of soul, he laugh'd<br /> +To scorn their minds so credulous, the gods<br /> +Impious contemning, as he thus exclaim'd;—<br /> +“What tales, O, Acheloüs, you relate!<br /> +“Too much of potence to the gods you grant,<br /> +“To give and change our figures.”—All struck dumb,<br /> +Discourage this bold speech, and Lelex first,<br /> +Mature in age, and in experience old<br /> +Beyond the rest, thus spoke:—“Celestial power,<br /> +“In range is infinite, in sway immense;<br /> +“What the gods will, completion instant finds.<br /> +“To clear your doubts, upon the Phrygian hills<br /> +<a name="page_2_35"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 35]</span> +“An ancient oak, and neighbouring linden stand,<br /> +“Girt by a low inclosure; I the spot<br /> +“Survey'd, when into Phrygia's realms dispatch'd<br /> +“By Pittheus, when those realms his father rul'd.<br /> +“Not far a lake extends, a space once fill'd<br /> +“With human 'habitants, whose waves now swarm<br /> +“With fenny coots, and cormorants alone.<br /> +“Here Jove in human shape, and with his sire,<br /> +“The son of Maiä, came; the last his rod<br /> +“Shorn of its wings, still bore. A thousand doors,<br /> +“Seeking repose, they knock'd at; every door<br /> +“Firm barr'd repuls'd them: one at length flew wide;<br /> +“A lowly cot, whose humble roof long reeds,<br /> +“And straw firm-matted, cover'd. Baucis there,<br /> +“A pious dame, and old Philemon match'd<br /> +“In age, had dwelt, since join'd in springtide youth;<br /> +“And there grew old together: Full content,<br /> +“Their poverty they hid not, and more light<br /> +“Their poverty on souls unmurmuring weigh'd.<br /> +“Here nor for lord, nor servant, was there need<br /> +“To seek; beneath the roof these only dwelt;<br /> +“Each order'd, each obey'd. The heaven-born guests<br /> +“The humble threshold crossing, lowly stoop'd,<br /> +“And entrance gain'd: the ancient host bade sit<br /> +“And rest their weary'd limbs: the bench was plac'd,<br /> +“Which Baucis anxious for their comfort, spread<br /> +“With home-made coverings: then with careful hand<br /> +<a name="page_2_36"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 36]</span> +“The scarce warm embers on the hearth upturn'd;<br /> +“And rous'd the sleeping fires of yestern's eve,<br /> +“With food of leaves and bark dry-parch'd, and fann'd<br /> +“To flame the fuel with her aged breath:<br /> +“Then threw the small-slit faggots, and the boughs<br /> +“Long-wither'd, on the top, divided small:<br /> +“And plac'd her brazen vase of scanty size,<br /> +“O'er all. Last stripp'd the coleworts' outer leaves,<br /> +“Cull'd by her husband from the water'd ground,<br /> +“Which serv'd as garden. He meantime reach'd down,<br /> +“With two-fork'd prong, where high on blacken'd beam<br /> +“It hung, a paltry portion of an hog,<br /> +“Long harden'd there; and from the back he slic'd<br /> +“A morsel thin, which soon he soften'd down<br /> +“In boiling steam. The intermediate hours<br /> +“With pleasing chat they cheat; the short delay<br /> +“To feel avoiding. On a nail high hung<br /> +“A beechen pail for bathing, by its hand<br /> +“Deep-curv'd: with tepid water this he fill'd,<br /> +“And plac'd before his guests their feet to lave.<br /> +“A couch there stood, whose feet and frame were form'd<br /> +“Of willow; tender reeds the centre fill'd,<br /> +“With coverings this they spread, coverings which saw<br /> +“The light not, but when festal days them claim'd:<br /> +“Yet coarse and old were these, and such as well<br /> +“With willow couch agreed. The gods laid down.<br /> +“The dame close-girt, with tremulous hand prepar'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_37"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 37]</span> +“The board; two feet were perfect, 'neath the third<br /> +“She thrust a broken sherd, and all stood firm.<br /> +“This sloping mended, all the surface clean<br /> +“With fragrant mint she rubb'd: and plac'd in heaps<br /> +“The double-teinted fruit of Pallas, maid<br /> +“Of unsoil'd purity; autumnal fruits,<br /> +“Cornels, in liquid lees of wine preserv'd;<br /> +“Endive, and radish, and the milky curd;<br /> +“With eggs turn'd lightly o'er a gentle heat:<br /> +“All serv'd in earthen dishes. After these<br /> +“A clay-carv'd jug was set, and beechen cups,<br /> +“Varnish'd all bright with yellow wax within.<br /> +“Short the delay, when from the ready fire<br /> +“The steaming dish is brought; and wine not long<br /> +“Press'd from the grape, again went round, again<br /> +“Gave place to see the third remove produc'd.<br /> +“Now comes the nut, the fig, the wrinkled date,<br /> +“The plumb, the fragrant apple, and the grape<br /> +“Pluck'd from the purple vine; all plac'd around<br /> +“In spreading baskets: snow-white honey fill'd<br /> +“The central space. The prime of all the feast,<br /> +“Was looks that hearty welcome gave, and prov'd<br /> +“No indigence nor poverty of soul.<br /> +“Meantime the empty'd bowls full oft they see<br /> +“Spontaneously replenish'd; still the wine<br /> +“Springs to the brim. Astonish'd, struck with dread,<br /> +“To view the novel scene, the timid pair<br /> +<a name="page_2_38"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 38]</span> +“Their hands upraise devoutly, and with prayers<br /> +“Excuses utter for their homely treat,<br /> +“At unawares requir'd. A lonely goose<br /> +“They own'd, the watchman of their puny farm;<br /> +“Him would the hosts, to their celestial guests<br /> +“A sacred offering make, but swift of wing,<br /> +“Their toiling chace with age retarded, long<br /> +“He mock'd; at length the gods themselves he seeks<br /> +“For sheltering care. The gods his death forbid,<br /> +“And speak:—Celestials are we both; a fate<br /> +“Well-earn'd, your impious neighbouring roofs shall feel.<br /> +“To you, and unto you alone is given<br /> +“Exemption from their lot. Your cottage leave<br /> +“And tread our footsteps, while of yonder mount<br /> +“We seek the loftiest summit. Each obeys;<br /> +“The gods precede them, while their tottering limbs<br /> +“A trusty staff supports; tardy from years,<br /> +“Slowly they labor up the long ascent.<br /> +“Now from the summit wanted they not more<br /> +“Than what an arrow, shot with strenuous arm,<br /> +“At once could gain; when back their view they bent:<br /> +“Their house alone they saw,—that singly stood:<br /> +“All else were buried in a wide-spread lake.<br /> +“Wondring at this, and weeping at the doom<br /> +“Their hapless neighbours suffer'd; lo! they see<br /> +“Their mouldering cot, e'en for the pair too small,<br /> +“Change to a temple; pillars rear on high,<br /> +<a name="page_2_39"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 39]</span> +“In place of crotchets; yellow turns the straw,<br /> +“The roof seems gilded; sculptur'd shine the gates;<br /> +“And marble pavement covers all the floor.<br /> +“Then Saturn's son, in these benignant words<br /> +“The pair address'd;—O, ancient man, most just!<br /> +“And thou, O woman! worthy of thy spouse,<br /> +“Declare your wishes.—Baucis spoke awhile<br /> +“With old Philemon; then their joint desire<br /> +“The latter to the deities declar'd.—<br /> +“To be your ministers, your sacred fane<br /> +“To keep we ask: and as our equal years<br /> +“In concord we have pass'd, let the same hour<br /> +“Remove us hence: may I her tomb not see,<br /> +“Nor be by her interr'd.—The gods comply;<br /> +“These guard the temple through succeeding life.<br /> +“Fill'd now with years, as on the temple's steps<br /> +“They stood, conversing on the wondrous change,<br /> +“Baucis beheld Philemon shoot in leaves,<br /> +“And leaves Philemon saw from Baucis sprout;<br /> +“And from their heads o'er either's face they grew.<br /> +“Still while they could with mutual words they spoke;<br /> +“At once exclaim'd,—O, dearest spouse, farewell!—<br /> +“At once the bark, their lips thus speaking, clos'd.<br /> +“Ev'n yet a Tyanæan shews two trees<br /> +“Of neighbouring growth, form'd from the alter'd pair.<br /> +“Nor dotard credulous, nor lying tongue<br /> +“The fact to me related. On the boughs<br /> +<a name="page_2_40"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 40]</span> +“Myself have seen the votive garlands hung;<br /> +“And whilst I offered fresher, have I said—<br /> +“Heaven guards the good with care; and those who give<br /> +“The gods due honors, honors claim themselves.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + He ceas'd: the deed and author all admire,<br /> +But Theseus most; whom anxious still to hear<br /> +More wondrous actions of the mighty gods,<br /> +The stream of Calydon, as on his arm<br /> +Reclin'd, he rested, in these words address'd:—<br /> +“There are, O, valiant youth! of those once chang'd,<br /> +“Still in the new-form'd figures who remain:<br /> +“Others there are whose power more wide extends<br /> +“To many shapes to alter.—Proteus, thou<br /> +“Art one; thou 'habitant of those wide waves<br /> +“Which earth begird: now thou a youth appear'st;<br /> +“And now a lion; then a furious boar;<br /> +“A serpent next we tremble to approach;<br /> +“And then with threatening horns thou seem'st a bull.<br /> +“Oft as a stone thou ly'st; oft stand'st a tree:<br /> +“Sometimes thy countenance veil'd in fluid streams,<br /> +“Thou flow'st a river; sometimes mount'st in flames.<br /> +“Nor less of power had Erisichthon's maid,<br /> +“Spouse of Autolycus. Her impious sire<br /> +“All the divinities of heaven despis'd,<br /> +“Nor on their slighted altars offerings burn'd.<br /> +“He too, 'tis said, the Cerealean grove<br /> +<a name="page_2_41"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 41]</span> +“With axe prophan'd: his violating steel<br /> +“The ancient trees attacking. 'Mid the rest,<br /> +“A huge-grown oak, in yearly strength robust,<br /> +“Itself a wood, uprose: garlands hung round,<br /> +“And wreaths, and grateful tablets, proofs of vows<br /> +“For prospering favors paid. The Dryad nymphs<br /> +“Oft in its shade their festal dances held;<br /> +“Oft would they, clasping hand in hand, surround<br /> +“The mighty trunk: its girth around to mete,<br /> +“Full thrice five cubits ask'd. To every tree<br /> +“Lofty it seem'd; as every tree appear'd<br /> +“Lofty, when measur'd with the plants below.<br /> +“Yet not for that, did Erisichthon hold<br /> +“The biting steel; but bade his servants fell<br /> +“The sacred oak; lingering he saw them stand,<br /> +“His orders unobey'd; impious he snatch'd<br /> +“From one his weapon, and in rage, exclaim'd;—<br /> +“What though it be the goddess' favorite care!<br /> +“Were it the goddess' self, down should it fall,<br /> +“And bow its leafy summit to the ground.<br /> +“He said;—and pois'd his axe, and aim'd oblique.<br /> +“Deep shudderings shook the Cerealian tree,<br /> +“And groans were utter'd; all the leaves grew pale,<br /> +“And pale the acorns; while the wide-spread boughs<br /> +“Cold sweats bedew'd. When in the solid trunk<br /> +“His blow ungodly pierc'd, blood flow'd in streams<br /> +“From out the shatter'd bark: not flows more full,<br /> +<a name="page_2_42"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 42]</span> +“From the deep wound in the divided throat,<br /> +“The gore, when at the sacred altar's foot<br /> +“A mighty bull, an offer'd victim drops.<br /> +“Dread seizes all; and one most bold attempts<br /> +“To check his horrid wickedness, and check<br /> +“The murderous weapon: him the villain saw,<br /> +“And,—take,—he cries,—the boon thy pious soul<br /> +“Merits so well.—And from the trunk the steel<br /> +“Turns on the man, and strikes his head away:<br /> +“Then with redoubled blows the tree assails.<br /> +“Deep from the oak, these words were heard to sound:—<br /> +“A nymph am I, within this trunk enclos'd,<br /> +“Most dear to Ceres; in my dying hours,<br /> +“Prophetic I foresee the keen revenge<br /> +“Which will thy deed pursue; and this solace<br /> +“Grants comfort ev'n in death.—He, undismay'd,<br /> +“His fierce design still follows: now the tree,<br /> +“Tottering with numerous blows, by straining cords,<br /> +“He drags to earth; and half the wood below,<br /> +“Crush'd by its weight, lies prostrate. All astound,<br /> +“Of her depriv'd, and at their own sad loss,<br /> +“The sister Dryads, clad in sable robes,<br /> +“To Ceres hasten; and for vengeance call,<br /> +“On Erisichthon. To their urgent prayers<br /> +“The beauteous goddess gave assent, and shook<br /> +“Her locks; the motion shook the yellow ears,<br /> +“Which fill'd the loaded fields; and straight conceiv'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_43"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 43]</span> +“A torture piteous, if for pity he<br /> +“For acts like these might look:—to tear his form<br /> +“By Famine's power pestiferous. There, herself<br /> +“Approach forbidden (fate long since had doom'd<br /> +“Ceres and Famine far remov'd should dwell)<br /> +“A mountain-nymph she calls, and thus directs;—<br /> +“A region stretches on th' extremest bounds<br /> +“Of icy Scythia; dreary seems the place;<br /> +“Sterile the soil; nor trees, nor fruits are seen;<br /> +“But sluggish cold, and pale affright, and fear:<br /> +“Still-craving Famine, there her dwelling holds.<br /> +“Bid her within the inmost vitals hide<br /> +“Of this most daring, and most impious wretch.<br /> +“The proudest plenty shall not make her yield:<br /> +“For in the contest, all the power I boast<br /> +“To her shall stoop: nor let the lengthen'd way<br /> +“Appal thy mind; my car receive; receive<br /> +“My dragons; through the air their course direct<br /> +“By these long reins.—Speaking, the reins she gave.<br /> +“She, borne through ether in the granted car,<br /> +“To Scythia's realm is carried: on the ridge<br /> +“A rugged mountain offer'd, first she eas'd<br /> +“The dragons' necks; as Caucasus 'twas known.<br /> +“There she the sought-for Famine soon espy'd,<br /> +“Eagerly searching on the stony fields,<br /> +“At once with teeth and fangs, for thin-sown herbs.<br /> +“Rough matted were her locks; deep sunk her eyes;<br /> +<a name="page_2_44"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 44]</span> +“Pale bleach'd her face; her lips with whiten'd slime<br /> +“O'erspread; with furry crust her mouth was rough:<br /> +“Hard was her skin; and through it might be seen<br /> +“Her inwards: 'bove her hollow loins, upstood<br /> +“The arid bones: a belly's place supply'd<br /> +“A belly's form: her breasts to hang appear'd<br /> +“Held only by the chine: her fleshless shape<br /> +“Each joint in bulk increas'd: rigidly large<br /> +“The knees were swol'n, and each protruding part<br /> +“Immod'rately was big. Then as the nymph<br /> +“From far beheld her,—for a nigh approach<br /> +“She dreaded, what the goddess bade she told.<br /> +“Though brief her stay; though distant far she stood;<br /> +“Though instant there arriv'd; she felt the power<br /> +“Of Famine at the sight, and turning quick<br /> +“Her reins, she urg'd her dragons to their speed<br /> +“In retrogade direction; still on high,<br /> +“Till Thessaly they gain'd. Famine performs<br /> +“The wish of Ceres (though her anxious aim<br /> +“Is still to thwart her power) and borne on winds<br /> +“Swift through the air, the fated house she finds<br /> +“And instant enters, where the inmost walls<br /> +“The sacrilegious wretch inclose; in sleep<br /> +“Deep bury'd, for night reign'd; and with her wings<br /> +“Him clasping close, in all the man she breath'd<br /> +“Her inspiration: in his throat, his mouth,<br /> +“His chest, and in his unreplenish'd veins,<br /> +<a name="page_2_45"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 45]</span> +“Her hunger she infus'd. The bidden deed<br /> +“Complete, she vanish'd from those verdant fields,<br /> +“And turn'd her to the needy roofs again,<br /> +“And well-accustom'd caverns. Gentle sleep<br /> +“Fann'd Erisichthon still with soothing wings.<br /> +“Ev'n in his sleep imagin'd food he craves,<br /> +“And vainly moves his mouth; tires jaw on jaw<br /> +“With grinding; his deluded throat with stores<br /> +“Impalpable he crams; the empty air<br /> +“Greedy devouring, for more solid food.<br /> +“But soon his slumbers vanish'd, then fierce rag'd<br /> +“Insatiate hunger; ruling through his throat,<br /> +“And ever-craving stomach. Instant he<br /> +“Demands what produce, ocean, earth, and air<br /> +“Can furnish: still of hunger he complains,<br /> +“Before the full-spread tables: still he seeks<br /> +“Victuals to heap on victuals. What might serve<br /> +“A city's population, seems for him<br /> +“Too scant; whose stomach when it loads had gorg'd,<br /> +“For loads still crav'd. The ocean thus receives<br /> +“From all earth's regions every stream; all streams<br /> +“United, still requiring; greedy fire<br /> +“On every offer'd aliment thus feeds,<br /> +“Countless supplies of wood consuming;—more<br /> +“Nutrition craving, still the more it gains;<br /> +“More greedy growing from its large increase.<br /> +“So Erisichthon's jaws prophane, rich feasts<br /> +<a name="page_2_46"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 46]</span> +“At once devour, at once still more demand.<br /> +“All food but stimulates his gust for food<br /> +“In added heaps; and eating only seems<br /> +“To leave his maw more empty. Lessen'd now,<br /> +“In the deep abyss of his stomach huge,<br /> +“Were all the riches which his sire's bequest<br /> +“Had given: the direful torment still remain'd<br /> +“In undiminish'd strength; his belly's fire<br /> +“Implacable still rag'd. Exhausted now<br /> +“On the curst craving all his wealth was spent.<br /> +“One daughter sole remaining; of a sire<br /> +“Less impious, worthy: her the pauper sold.<br /> +“Her free-born soul, a master's sway disclaim'd.<br /> +“Her hands extending, to the neighbouring main,<br /> +“O thou!—she cry'd—who gain'd my virgin spoil<br /> +“Snatch me from bondage.—Neptune had the maid<br /> +“Previous enjoy'd: nor spurn'd her earnest prayer.<br /> +“She whom her master following close, had seen<br /> +“In her own shape but now, in manly guise<br /> +“Appears,—in garments such as fishers clothe.<br /> +“The master sees, and speaks:—O, thou! who rul'st<br /> +“The trembling reed; whose bending wire thy baits<br /> +“Conceal; so may thy wiles the water aid;<br /> +“So may the fish deceiv'd, beneath the waves,<br /> +“Thy hooks detect not, till too firmly fixt.<br /> +“Say thou but where she is, who stood but now<br /> +“Upon this beach, in humble robes array'd,<br /> +<a name="page_2_47"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 47]</span> +“With locks disorder'd; on this shore she stood;<br /> +“I saw her,—but no further mark her feet.—<br /> +“The aid of Neptune well the maid perceiv'd,<br /> +“And joys that of herself herself is sought,<br /> +“Thus his enquiries answering;—Whom thou art<br /> +“I know not; studious bent, the deep alone,<br /> +“And care to drag my prey, my eyes employ.<br /> +“More to remove thy doubts, so may the god<br /> +“Who rules the ocean, aid my toiling art,<br /> +“As here I swear, no man upon this shore,<br /> +“Nor female, I excepted, has appear'd.<br /> +“These words the owner credits, and the sand<br /> +“Treads with returning steps; deluded goes,<br /> +“And as he goes, her former shape returns.<br /> +“Soon as this changing power the sire perceiv'd,<br /> +“The damsel oft he sold. Now she escapes<br /> +“Beneath a mare's resemblance: now a bird,<br /> +“An heifer now, and now a deer she seem'd.<br /> +“Her greedy parent's maw with food ill-gain'd<br /> +“Supplying. When at last his forceful plague<br /> +“Had every aid consum'd, and every aid<br /> +“Fresh food afforded to his fierce disease,<br /> +“Then he commenc'd with furious fangs to tear<br /> +“For nurture his own limbs; life to support,<br /> +“By what his body and his life destroy'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “But why on others' transformations dwell?<br /> +<a name="page_2_48"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 48]</span> +“Myself, O youths! enjoy a power, my form<br /> +“To alter; not unlimited my range.<br /> +“Now in the shape at present I assume;<br /> +“Anon I writhe beneath a serpent's form;<br /> +“Or take the figure of a lordly bull,<br /> +“And wear my strength in horns, while horns I had:<br /> +“Disfigur'd now, my forehead's side laments<br /> +“One weapon ravish'd, as you well may see.”—<br /> +He spoke, and heavy sighs his words pursu'd.<br /> +<a name="page_2_49"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 49]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter18"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Ninth Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Combat of Acheloüs and Hercules for Dejanira. Death of Nessus. +Torments and death of Hercules. His deification. Story of the change +of Galanthis to a weasel. Of Dryopè to a Lotus-tree. Iölaüs restored to +youth. Murmuring of the Gods. The incestuous love of Byblis. Her +transformation to a fountain. Story of Iphis and Iänthe. +<a name="page_2_50"></a> +<a name="page_2_51"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 51]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter19"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Ninth Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + The son of Ægeus begs the cause to know<br /> +Whence spring those groans, and whence that wounded front?<br /> +And thus the stream of Calydon replies;—<br /> +(His uncomb'd locks with marshy reeds entwin'd).<br /> +“A mournful task, O, warrior! you impose;—<br /> +“For who, when vanquish'd, joys to tell the fight<br /> +“Where he was worsted? yet will I relate<br /> +“In order all: vanquish'd, the shame was small;<br /> +“The honor great, for such a prize to strive:<br /> +“And such a conqueror more the mind relieves.<br /> +“Has e'er the beauteous Dejanira's name<br /> +<a name="page_2_52"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 52]</span> +“Reach'd to your ears? her charms the envy'd hope<br /> +“Of numerous wooers form'd; mine with the rest.<br /> +“As o'er the threshold of my wish'd-for sire<br /> +“I stepp'd, I hail'd him.—O, Parthaön's son,<br /> +“For thine accept me.—So Alcides spoke,<br /> +“And all the rest to our pretensions bow'd.<br /> +“Of Jove, his sire, he boasts; and all the fame<br /> +“His acts deserv'd; and stepdame's cruel laws<br /> +“Final completed. I (who shameful thought<br /> +“That gods should yield to mortals; then a god<br /> +“Alcides was not) thus his claim oppos'd:—<br /> +“A king of floods behold me; floods which roll<br /> +“With winding current through the land you sway;<br /> +“A son in me accept, no stranger sent<br /> +“From distant regions; of your country one,<br /> +“Part of your rule. Let it not hurt my claim,<br /> +“That Juno hates me not; that all the toil<br /> +“Of slavish orders I have ne'er perform'd.<br /> +“Alcmena was his mother, let him boast!<br /> +“Jove is a sire but feign'd, or if one true,<br /> +“Is criminally so. He claims a sire<br /> +“To prove his mother's infamy: then chuse—<br /> +“Say feign'd thy origin from Jove, or fruit<br /> +“Of intercourse adulterous, own thou art.—<br /> +“Me, speaking thus, with furious eyes he view'd,<br /> +“Nor rul'd his swelling rage, replying fierce;—<br /> +“More than my tongue I on my arm depend:<br /> +<a name="page_2_53"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 53]</span> +“Whilst I in fighting gain the palm, be thou<br /> +“Victor in talking.—Furious on he rush'd.<br /> +“So proudly boasting, to submit I scorn'd;<br /> +“But stript my sea-green robe, my arms oppos'd,<br /> +“And held my firm-clench'd hands before my breast;<br /> +“For stout resistance every limb prepar'd,<br /> +“To meet the fight. He in his hollow palms<br /> +“The dust collecting, sprinkled me all o'er,<br /> +“And then the yellow sand upon me threw.<br /> +“Now on my neck he seizes; now he grasps<br /> +“My slippery thighs: but only thinks to hold,<br /> +“In every part assailing. Still secure<br /> +“In bulk I stand, and he assails in vain.<br /> +“Thus stands a rock, which waves with thundering roar<br /> +“Surround; it stands unhurt in all its strength.<br /> +“A little we recede, then rush again<br /> +“To join the war: stoutly our ground we hold,<br /> +“Steady resolv'd to yield not. Foot to foot<br /> +“Fixt firm: I prone press with my ample breast,<br /> +“And hand with hand, with forehead forehead joins.<br /> +“So have I seen two mighty bulls contend,<br /> +“When each the fairest heifer of the grove<br /> +“Expects the arduous struggle to reward:<br /> +“The herds behold and tremble, witless which<br /> +“The powerful contest shall successful gain.<br /> +“Thrice while I clasp'd him close, Alcides strove<br /> +“To throw me from his breast, in vain,—the fourth<br /> +<a name="page_2_54"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 54]</span> +“He shook me from him, and my clasping arms<br /> +“Unloosing, instant turn'd me with his hand;<br /> +“(Truth must I speak,) and heavy on my back<br /> +“He hung. If credence may my words demand,<br /> +“Nor seek I fame through tales of false deceit,<br /> +“A mighty mountain on me seem'd to weigh:<br /> +“Scarce were my arms, with trickling sweat bedew'd,<br /> +“Loos'd from his grasp; scarce was my body freed<br /> +“From his hard gripe, when panting hard for breath,<br /> +“Ere I could strength regain, my throat he seiz'd.<br /> +“Then on the earth my knee was press'd; my mouth<br /> +“Then bit the sand. Inferior prov'd in strength,<br /> +“To arts I next betook me. Slipp'd his hands<br /> +“In form a long round serpent; while I roll'd<br /> +“In winding spires my body; while I shook<br /> +“My forked tongue with hisses dire, he laugh'd,<br /> +“And mock'd my arts; exclaiming,—snakes to kill<br /> +“I in my cradle knew; grant thou excel'st,<br /> +“O, Acheloüs! others far in size,<br /> +“What art thou mated with the Hydra's bulk?<br /> +“He fertile from his wounds, his hundred heads<br /> +“Ne'er felt diminish'd, for straightway his neck,<br /> +“With two successors, brav'd the stroke again:<br /> +“Yet him I vanquish'd with his branching heads<br /> +“From blood produc'd: from every loss more stout,<br /> +“Him prostrate I o'erthrew. What hope hast thou,<br /> +“In form fallacious, who with borrow'd arms<br /> +<a name="page_2_55"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 55]</span> +“Now threaten'st? whom a form precarious hides?<br /> +“He said, and fast about my throat he squeez'd<br /> +“His nervous fingers; choaking, hard I strove,<br /> +“As pincer-like he press'd me, to unloose<br /> +“From his tight grasp my neck. Conquer'd in this,<br /> +“Still a third shape, the furious bull remain'd:<br /> +“Chang'd to a bull, again I wag'd the war.<br /> +“Around my brawny neck his arms he threw<br /> +“To left, and spite of every effort try'd<br /> +“To 'scape, he dragg'd me down; the solid earth<br /> +“Deep with my horn he pierc'd, and stretch'd me prone<br /> +“On the wide sand. Unsated yet his rage,<br /> +“His fierce hand seiz'd my stubborn horn, and broke<br /> +“From my maim'd front the weapon. Naiäd nymphs<br /> +“This consecrated, fill'd with fruits, and flowers<br /> +“Of odorous fragrance, and the horn is priz'd<br /> +“By Plenty's goddess as her favorite care.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + He spoke, a nymph close-girt like Dian's train,<br /> +Her ample tresses o'er each shoulder spread,<br /> +Enter'd, supporting all of Autumn's fruit<br /> +In the rich horn, and mellowest apples came<br /> +The second course to grace. Now day appear'd:<br /> +The youths when light the loftiest summits touch'd<br /> +Of the high hills, departed; waiting not<br /> +Till the rough floods in peaceful channels flow'd;<br /> +The troubled currents smooth'd. Profound his head<br /> +<a name="page_2_56"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 56]</span> +Of rustic semblance, Acheloüs hides<br /> +'Reft of his horn, beneath his deepest waves.<br /> +His forehead's honor lost sore gall'd him: all<br /> +Save that was perfect. Ev'n his forehead's loss<br /> +With willow boughs and marshy reeds was hid.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thou too, rash Nessus, through thy furious love,<br /> +Of the same virgin, thy destruction met;<br /> +Pierc'd through thy body with the feather'd dart!<br /> +Jove's son returning to his natal soil,<br /> +Companion'd by his new-made bride, approach'd<br /> +Evenus' rapid flood. Swol'n was the stream<br /> +With wintry showers as wont, and raging whirls<br /> +Unfordable proclaim'd it; him, himself<br /> +Fearless, yet anxious for his spouse's care,<br /> +Nessus approach'd, in strength of limbs secure,<br /> +And knowledge of the fords, and thus he spoke;<br /> +“Her, O Alcides! will I safely bear<br /> +“To yonder bank; thou all thy efforts use<br /> +“In swimming.” Straight the Theban hero gives<br /> +The pallid Calydonian to his care,<br /> +Shivering with dread; no less the centaur frights<br /> +Than the rough flood. The mighty warrior, prest<br /> +With his large quiver, and the lion's hide,<br /> +For on the bank opposing had he flung<br /> +His club and curved bow, exclaim'd—“the stream<br /> +“My arms will vanquish, soon as I essay.”—<br /> +<a name="page_2_57"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 57]</span> +Nor dubious waits, but in the torrent leaps,<br /> +Not heeding where most tranquil flows the stream,<br /> +But stemming furious all its utmost rage.<br /> +Now had he reach'd the bank, now held again<br /> +The bow flung o'er, when loud his spouse's shrieks<br /> +Assail'd his ear. To Nessus, whom he saw<br /> +His trust about betraying, loud he cry'd;—<br /> +“What vain reliance on thy rapid speed<br /> +“Tempts thee to violence? O, double-shap'd!<br /> +“I speak, regard me,—to respect my rights,<br /> +“Should deference to me not move thee, think<br /> +“How whirls thy sire, and that thy rage may check<br /> +“For wishes unallow'd. Yet hope thou not<br /> +“With courser's speed to 'scape me: with my dart,<br /> +“Not feet, will I pursue thee.”—His last words<br /> +With deeds he guarantees, and through and through<br /> +The flying culprit felt the javelin driv'n;<br /> +Out through his breast the forked weapon stood:<br /> +Withdrawn, from either wound gush'd forth the gore,<br /> +Mixt with the venom of Lernæa's pest.<br /> +This be preserv'd.—“Nor will I unreveng'd<br /> +“Expire,”—he murmur'd faintly to himself;<br /> +And gave his raiment, in the warm blood dipt,<br /> +A present to the nymph whose spoil he sought;<br /> +To wake again her husband's dormant love.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Long was the intermediate time, the deeds,<br /> +<a name="page_2_58"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 58]</span> +Of great Alcides, and his step-dame's hate,<br /> +Fill'd all the world meanwhile. Victor return'd<br /> +From out Œchalia, when the promis'd rites,<br /> +To Jove Cænean, he prepar'd to pay,<br /> +Tattling report, who joys in falshood mixt<br /> +With circumstantial truth, and still the least<br /> +Swells with her lies, had in thine ears instill'd,<br /> +O Dejanira! that Alcmena's son,<br /> +With Iölé was smitten. Ardent love<br /> +Sway'd her belief, and terror-struck to hear<br /> +Of this new flame, she melted into tears;<br /> +With them her weeping grief first flow'd away:<br /> +But soon she bursted forth.—“Why weep I so?<br /> +“The harlot will but gladden in my tears!<br /> +“But ere she here arrives, it me behoves<br /> +“Each effort to employ, while time now serves,<br /> +“To hinder what he seeks; whilst yet my couch<br /> +“Another presses not. Shall I complain,<br /> +“Or rest in silence? Shall I Calydon<br /> +“Re-seek, or here remain? Shall I abscond<br /> +“His habitation, or, if nought else serves,<br /> +“Strenuous oppose him? Or if truly bent,<br /> +“O, Meleager! with a sister's pride,<br /> +“Thy wicked deeds t' outvie, a witness leave,<br /> +“The harlot's throat divided, what the rage<br /> +“Of woman may accomplish, when so wrong'd.”—<br /> +In whirls her agitated mind is toss'd;<br /> +<a name="page_2_59"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 59]</span> +Determining last to send to him the robe,<br /> +In Nessus' blood imbu'd, and so restore<br /> +His waning love. Witless of what she sends,<br /> +Herself to Lychas' unsuspecting hands<br /> +The cause of future grief delivers. Wretch<br /> +Most pitiable! she, with warm-coaxing words,<br /> +Instructs the boy to bear her spouse the gift.<br /> +Th' unwitting warrior takes it, and straight clothes<br /> +His shoulders with Echidna's poisonous gore.<br /> +Incense he sprinkles in the primal flames<br /> +He kindles,—with the flames his prayers ascend.<br /> +As from the goblet he the vintage pours<br /> +On marble altars; hapless by the heat<br /> +The poison more was quicken'd; by the flame<br /> +Melted, it grew more potent; wide diffus'd,<br /> +Through all the limbs of Hercules it spread.<br /> +Still while he could, his fortitude, as wont<br /> +His groans suppress'd; at last his patience spent,<br /> +Fierce from the altar flinging, Œté's mount<br /> +So woody, with his plaintive shrieks he fills,<br /> +And instant from his limbs the deadly robe<br /> +Essays to tear: that, where he strips, the skin,<br /> +Stript also, follows; dreadful to describe!<br /> +Or to his limbs, his utmost struggling vain,<br /> +It clings: or bare his lacerated joints<br /> +And huge bones stand. With hissing noise his blood<br /> +Burns, as when glowing iron in a pool<br /> +<a name="page_2_60"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 60]</span> +Is dipp'd, so boils it with the venom fierce.<br /> +Nor hope of help remain'd, the greedy fires,<br /> +His utmost vitals waste; and purple sweat<br /> +Bedews his every limb; his scorch'd nerves crack;<br /> +And whilst his marrow, with the latent pest,<br /> +Runs fluid, high tow'rd heaven his arms he holds,<br /> +Exclaiming;—“now Saturnia, feast thy soul<br /> +“With my destruction; joy, O savage!—view<br /> +“From lofty heaven my tortures; satiate now<br /> +“Thy rancorous soul:—but if a foe may move<br /> +“Commiseration, (for thy foe I am)<br /> +“Take hence this life, grievous, through direful pains:<br /> +“Hateful to thee, and destin'd first for toils.<br /> +“Death now would be a boon; and such a boon<br /> +“A step-dame might confer. Have I for this,<br /> +“Busiris slain, who drench'd the temples deep<br /> +“With travellers' blood? For this Antæus robb'd<br /> +“Of nutriment parental? Did thy bulk,<br /> +“Of triple-form, swain of Iberia, fright?<br /> +“Or thou, three-headed Cerberus, me move?<br /> +“Wrought I for this in Elis? at the lake<br /> +“Of Stymphalis? and in Parthenian woods?<br /> +“Did not my valor seize the golden belt<br /> +“Of Thermodon's brave queen? the apples gain,<br /> +“Ill-guarded by th' unsleeping dragon's care?<br /> +“Could the fierce Centaur me resist? or could<br /> +“The mighty boar that laid Arcadia waste?<br /> +<a name="page_2_61"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 61]</span> +“And what avail'd the Hydra, that he grew<br /> +“From every loss, in double strength reviv'd?<br /> +“How? Saw I not the Thracian coursers gorg'd<br /> +“With human gore! whose stalls with mangled limbs<br /> +“Crowded, I overthrew, and slew their lord<br /> +“On his slain coursers? Strangled by these hands<br /> +“Nemæa's monster lies. Heaven I upbore<br /> +“Upon these shoulders. The fierce wife of Jove<br /> +“Weary'd at length with bidding, I untir'd<br /> +“Still was of acting. But at length behold<br /> +“A new-found plague, which not the bravest soul,<br /> +“Nor arms, nor darts can aught resist. Fierce fire,<br /> +“Darts through my deepest inwards; all my limbs<br /> +“Greedy devouring. Yet Eurystheus lives!<br /> +“Still are there who the deities believe?”—<br /> +He said, and o'er high Œté tortur'd rov'd<br /> +Like a mad tiger, when the hunter's dart<br /> +Stands in his body, and the wounder flies.<br /> +Oft would you see him groaning; storming oft;<br /> +Oft straining from his limbs again to fling<br /> +The vest; trees rooting up; against the hills<br /> +Fierce railing; next up to his father's skies<br /> +His arms extending. Lo! he Lychas spies,<br /> +Where trembling in a hollow rock he hides!<br /> +Then, all his fury in its utmost strength,<br /> +Raging, he cry'd;—“Thou, Lychas, thou supply'd<br /> +“This deadly gift. Thou art the author then<br /> +<a name="page_2_62"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 62]</span> +“Of my destruction.”—Shuddering he, and pale,<br /> +In timid accents strove excuse to plead:<br /> +Speaking, and round his knees prepar'd to cling,<br /> +Alcides seiz'd him, with an engine's force<br /> +Whirl'd round and round, and hurl'd him in the waves,<br /> +Which by Eubæa roll. He, as he shot<br /> +Through air, was harden'd. As the falling showers<br /> +Concrete by freezing winds, whence snow is form'd:<br /> +As snows by rolling, their soft bodies join,<br /> +Conglomerating into solid hail:<br /> +So ancient times believ'd, the boy thus flung,<br /> +Through empty air, by strong Alcides' arm,<br /> +Bloodless through fear, and all his moisture drain'd,<br /> +Chang'd to a flinty rock. A rock e'en now<br /> +High in Eubæa's gulph exalts its head,<br /> +Which still of human form the marks retains.<br /> +Which, as though still of consciousness possess'd,<br /> +The sailors fear to tread, and Lychas call.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thou, Jove's renowned offspring, fell'd the trees<br /> +Which lofty Œté bore, and built a pile:<br /> +Then bade the son of Pæan bear thy bow,<br /> +Thy mighty quiver, and thy darts, to view<br /> +Once more the realm of Troy; and through his aid<br /> +The flames were plac'd below, whose greedy spires<br /> +Seiz'd on the structure. On the woody top<br /> +Thou laid'st the hide Nemæan, and thy head,<br /> +<a name="page_2_63"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 63]</span> +Supported with thy club, with brow serene<br /> +As though with garlands circled, at a feast<br /> +Thou laid'st, 'mid goblets fill'd with sparkling wine.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now the strong fires spread wide o'er every part,<br /> +Crackling, and seizing his regardless limbs,<br /> +Who them despis'd. The gods beheld with fear<br /> +The earth's avenger. Jove, who saw their care<br /> +With joyous countenance, thus the powers address'd:<br /> +“This fear, O deities! makes glad my heart;<br /> +“And lively pleasure swells in all my breast,<br /> +“That sire and sovereign o'er such grateful minds<br /> +“I hold my sway; since to my offspring too<br /> +“Your favoring care extends. No less, 'tis true,<br /> +“His deeds stupendous claim. Still I'm oblig'd.<br /> +“But from your anxious breasts banish vain fear;<br /> +“Despise those flames of Œté; he who all<br /> +“O'ercame, shall conquer even the flames you see:<br /> +“Nor shall the power of Vulcan ought consume,<br /> +“Save his maternal part: what he deriv'd<br /> +“From me, is ever-during; safe from death;<br /> +“And never vanquish'd by the force of fire.<br /> +“That we'll receive, his earthly race compleat,<br /> +“Amidst the heavenly host; and all I trust<br /> +“My actions gladly will approve. Should one<br /> +“Haply, with grief see Hercules a god,<br /> +“And grudge the high reward; ev'n he shall grant<br /> +<a name="page_2_64"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 64]</span> +“His great deserts demand it; and allow<br /> +“Unwilling approbation.” All assent;<br /> +Not even his royal spouse's forehead wore,<br /> +A frown at ought he said; his final words<br /> +Irk'd her at length, to be so plainly mark'd.<br /> +Vulcan meantime each corruptible part<br /> +Bore off in flames, nor could Alcides' form<br /> +Remaining, now be known; nought he retain'd<br /> +Of what his mother gave; Jove's share alone.<br /> +A serpent revels thus in glittering scales,<br /> +His age and former skin thrown off at once.<br /> +So when Tirynthius from his mortal limbs<br /> +Departed, in his better part he shone,<br /> +Increas'd in stature; and majestic grace<br /> +Augustly deck'd his venerable brow.<br /> +Veil'd in a hollow cloud, and borne along<br /> +By four swift steeds, in a high car, the sire<br /> +Him plac'd in glory 'mid the radiant stars.<br /> +Atlas perceiv'd his load increas'd. Nor yet<br /> +Eurystheus 'bated in his rancorous hate,<br /> +But cruel exercis'd his savage rage,<br /> +Against the offspring of the sire abhorr'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + But now Alcmena, worn with constant cares,<br /> +In Argolis, to Iölé confides<br /> +Her aged plaints, to her the labors tells<br /> +Her son atchiev'd, o'er all the wide world known;<br /> +<a name="page_2_65"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 65]</span> +And her own griefs beside. Alcides' words<br /> +Caus'd Hyllus to his couch to take, and take<br /> +Iölé, cordial to his inmost heart:<br /> +And now with generous fruit, the nymph was large.<br /> +Alcmena, thus to her commenc'd her tale.—<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “May thee, at least, the favoring gods indulge;<br /> +“And all delay diminish, when matur'd,<br /> +“Thou to Ilithyiä shalt have need to call,<br /> +“Who o'er travailing mothers bears the rule;<br /> +“Whom Juno's influence made so hard to me.<br /> +“Of Hercules toil-bearing, now the birth,<br /> +“Approach'd, and in the tenth sign rul'd the sun.<br /> +“A mighty bulk swell'd out my womb, so huge,<br /> +“Well might you know that Jove the load had caus'd:<br /> +“Nor could I longer bear my throes (my limbs<br /> +“Cold rigors seize, while now I speak; my pains<br /> +“Part ev'n in memory now I seem to feel)<br /> +“Through seven long nights, and seven long days with pangs<br /> +“Incessant was I rack'd: my arms to heaven<br /> +“Stretching, I call'd Lucina, and the powers,<br /> +“With outcries mighty. True Lucina came,<br /> +“But came by Juno prepossest, and bent<br /> +“My life to sacrifice to Juno's rage.<br /> +“Soon as my groans she hearken'd, down she sate<br /> +“Upon the altar, plac'd without the gates:<br /> +“'Neath her right ham, her left knee pressing; join'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_66"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 66]</span> +“Fingers with fingers cross'd upon her breast<br /> +“My labor stay'd; and spellful words she spoke<br /> +“In whispering tone; the spellful words delay'd<br /> +“Th' approaching birth. I strain, and madly rave<br /> +“With vain upbraidings to ungrateful Jove,<br /> +“And crave for death; in such expressions 'plain<br /> +“As hardest flints might move. The Theban dames<br /> +“Around me throng; assist me with their prayers;<br /> +“And me my trying pains exhort to bear.<br /> +“Galanthis, one who tended me, of race<br /> +“Plebeïan; yellow-hair'd; and sedulous<br /> +“What order'd to perform; and much esteem'd<br /> +“For courteous deeds;—she first suspected, (what,<br /> +“I know not) somewhat, form'd by Juno's pique:<br /> +“And while she constant pass'd; now to, now fro,<br /> +“She saw the goddess on the altar sit,<br /> +“Girding her arms, with close-knit fingers o'er<br /> +“Her knees, and said;—O dame, whoe'er thou art,<br /> +“Our mistress gratulate. Alcmena now<br /> +“Argolican, is lighten'd. Now the prayers<br /> +“Of the child-bearer meet her hopes.—The dame<br /> +“Who rules the womb, straight from her station leap'd,<br /> +“And all astounded, her clench'd fingers loos'd:<br /> +“I in that moment felt my bonds undone.<br /> +“Galanthis, they report, the goddess mock'd<br /> +“Thus cheated, by her laughter. Savage, she<br /> +“Dragg'd her so laughing, by the tresses seiz'd,<br /> +<a name="page_2_67"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 67]</span> +“And forc'd her down to earth, as up she strove<br /> +“Erect to rise; and to forefeet her arms<br /> +“Transform'd. The same agility remains;<br /> +“Her back its colour keeps; her form alone<br /> +“Is diverse. She, 'cause then her lying mouth<br /> +“My birth assisted, by her mouth still bears:<br /> +“And round my house she harbors as before.”—<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + She said, and by the memory mov'd, she mourn'd<br /> +For her lost servant, whom, lamenting, thus<br /> +Her child-in-law address'd.—“If then the form<br /> +“Alter'd, of one an alien to your blood,<br /> +“O mother! thus affects you, let me tell<br /> +“The wond'rous fortune which my sister met:<br /> +“Though grief and tears will frequent choke my words.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Her mother, Dryopé alone could boast,<br /> +“(Me to my sire another bore) her charms<br /> +“Œthalia all confess'd; whom (rifled first<br /> +“Of virgin charms, when passively she felt<br /> +“His force, who Delphos, and who Delos rules)<br /> +“Andræmon took, and held a happy spouse.<br /> +“A lake expands with steep and shelving shores<br /> +“Encompass'd; myrtles crown the rising bank.<br /> +“Here Dryopé, of fate unconscious came,<br /> +“And what must more commiseration move,<br /> +“Came to weave chaplets for the Naïad nymphs;<br /> +<a name="page_2_68"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 68]</span> +“Her arms sustain'd her boy, a pleasing load,<br /> +“His first year scarce complete, as with warm milk<br /> +“She nourish'd him. The watery Lotus there,<br /> +“For promis'd fruit in Tyrian splendor bright,<br /> +“Grew flowering near. The flowers my sister cropp'd,<br /> +“And held them to delight her boy; and I,<br /> +“(For there I stood,) the same prepar'd to do;<br /> +“But from the flowers red flowing drops I saw,<br /> +“And all the boughs with tremulous shuddering shook.<br /> +“Doubtless it is, (but far too late we learn'd<br /> +“By the rough swains,) nymph Lotis, when she fled<br /> +“From Priapus obscene, her shape transform'd<br /> +“Into this tree which still retains her name.<br /> +“My sister witless of this change, in fright<br /> +“Would back retreat, and leave the nymphs ador'd,<br /> +“But roots her feet retain: these from the ground<br /> +“She strains to rend; but save her upper limbs<br /> +“Nought can she move; a tender bark grows o'er<br /> +“The lower parts, and her mid limbs invades.<br /> +“This seeing, and her locks to rend away<br /> +“Attempting; her rais'd hand with leaves was fill'd.<br /> +“Leaves cover'd all her head. Amphyssus found,<br /> +“(His grandsire had the child Amphyssus nam'd)<br /> +“His mother's breasts grow hard; nor when he suck'd<br /> +“Lacteal fluid gain'd he. I there stood,<br /> +“Of her sad fate spectator: loud I cry'd—<br /> +“But, O my sister! aid I could not bring;<br /> +<a name="page_2_69"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 69]</span> +“Yet what I could I urg'd; the growing trunk,<br /> +“And growing boughs, my close embraces staid:<br /> +“In the same bark I glad had been enclos'd.<br /> +“Lo! come her spouse Andræmon, and her sire<br /> +“So wretched; and for Dryopé they seek:<br /> +“A Lotus, as for Dryopé they ask,<br /> +“I shew them; to the yet warm wood salutes<br /> +“Ardent they give; and prostrate spread, the roots<br /> +“They clasp of their own tree. Now, sister dear!<br /> +“Nought save thy face but what a tree becomes.<br /> +“Thy tears, the leaves thy body form'd, bedew.<br /> +“And now, whilst able, while her mouth yet gives<br /> +“To words a passage, such like plaints as these<br /> +“She breathes;—If faith th' unhappy e'er can claim,<br /> +“I swear by all the deities, this deed<br /> +“I never merited: without a crime<br /> +“My punishment I suffer. Innocent<br /> +“My life has been. If I deceive, may drought<br /> +“Parch those new leaves; and, by the hatchet fell'd,<br /> +“May fire consume me. Yet this infant bear<br /> +“From those maternal branches; to a nurse<br /> +“Transfer him; but contrive that oft he comes<br /> +“And 'neath my boughs let him his milk imbibe;<br /> +“And 'neath my boughs sport playful. When with words<br /> +“Able to hail me, let him me salute,<br /> +“And sorrowing say;—Within that trunk lies hid<br /> +“My mother—But the lakes, O! let him dread,<br /> +<a name="page_2_70"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 70]</span> +“Nor dare from any tree to snatch a flower;<br /> +“But think each shrub he sees a god contains.<br /> +“Adieu! dear husband; sister dear, adieu!<br /> +“Father, farewel! if pious cares you feel,<br /> +“From the sharp axe defend my boughs, and from<br /> +“The browsing flocks. And now, as fate denies<br /> +“To lean my arms to yours,—your arms advance;<br /> +“Approach my lips, whilst you my lips may touch:<br /> +“And to them lift my infant boy. More words<br /> +“I may not;—now the tender bark my neck,<br /> +“So white, invades; my utmost summit hid.<br /> +“Move from my lids your fingers, for the bark,<br /> +“So rapid growing, will my dying eyes<br /> +“Without assistance close.—Her lips to speak<br /> +“Cease, and existence ceases: the fresh boughs<br /> +“Long in the alter'd body warm were felt.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + While Iölé the mournful fact relates;<br /> +And while Alcmena, from Eurytus' maid,<br /> +With ready fingers dry'd the tears; herself<br /> +Still weeping, lo! a novel deed assuag'd<br /> +Their grief—for Iölaüs, scarcely youth,<br /> +His cheeks with tender down just cover'd, stands<br /> +Within the porch; to early years restor'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Junonian Hebé, by her husband's prayers<br /> +O'ercome, to Iölaüs gave the boon.<br /> +<a name="page_2_71"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 71]</span> +Who, when to vow she went, that future times<br /> +Should none such gift enjoying, e'er perceive,<br /> +Was check'd by Themis. “Now all Thebes,”—she said,<br /> +“Discordant warfare moves. Through Jove alone<br /> +“Capaneus can be conquer'd. Mutual wounds<br /> +“Shall slay the brothers. In the yawning earth<br /> +“A living prophet his own tomb shall see.<br /> +“A son avenger of his parent's death<br /> +“Upon his parent: impious for the deed,<br /> +“At once, and pious: at the action stunn'd,<br /> +“Exil'd from home, and from his senses driv'n,<br /> +“The furies' faces, and his mother's shade<br /> +“Shall haunt him; till his wife the fatal gold<br /> +“Shall ask: and till the Phegian sword shall pierce<br /> +“Their kinsman's side. Callirhoë then, the nymph<br /> +“From Acheloüs sprung, suppliant shall seek<br /> +“From Jove, her infants years mature may gain.<br /> +“Mov'd by her prayers, Jove will from thee demand,<br /> +“Son's spouse, and daughter of his wife, the boon<br /> +“And unripe men thou'lt make the youths become.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + While Themis thus, with fate-foretelling lips,<br /> +This spoke; the gods in murmuring grudgings mourn'd,<br /> +Angry why others might not grant the gift.<br /> +Aurora mourn'd her husband's aged years:<br /> +Mild Ceres 'plain'd that Jason's hairs were white:<br /> +Vulcan, for Erichthonius pray'd an age<br /> +<a name="page_2_72"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 72]</span> +Renew'd. E'en Venus future cares employ'd,<br /> +Anxious for promise that Anchises' years<br /> +Replenishment might find: And every god<br /> +Had whom he lov'd; and dark sedition grew<br /> +From special favor; till the mighty sire<br /> +The silence broke.—“If reverence I may claim,<br /> +“Where rashly rush ye? Which of you the power,<br /> +“Fate to control, possesses? Fate it was<br /> +“Gave Iölaüs youth restor'd again:<br /> +“By Fate Callirhoë's sons ere long shall spring<br /> +“To manhood, prematurely; nor can arms<br /> +“Nor yet ambition gain this gift. With souls<br /> +“More tranquil bear this; since you see the fates<br /> +“Me also rule. Could I the fates once change,<br /> +“Old age should never bend Æäcus down;<br /> +“And Rhadamanthus had perpetual spring<br /> +“Of youth enjoy'd, with Minos, now despis'd<br /> +“Through load of bitter years, nor reigns as wont.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Jove's words the deities all mov'd; not one<br /> +Longer complain'd, when heavy press'd with years<br /> +They Æäcus, and Rhadamanthus saw;<br /> +And Minos: who, when in his prime of age,<br /> +Made mightiest nations tremble at his name.<br /> +He, feeble then, at Deïoné's son<br /> +Miletus, trembled, who with youthful strength,<br /> +And Phœbus' origin proud swol'n, and known<br /> +<a name="page_2_73"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 73]</span> +About to rise against his rule:—yet him<br /> +He dar'd not from his household roof to drive.<br /> +But thou, Miletus, fled'st spontaneous, thou<br /> +Th' Ægean waves in thy swift ship didst pass,<br /> +And on the Asian land the walls didst found<br /> +Which bear the builder's name. Cyancë here,<br /> +Mæander's daughter, whose recurving banks<br /> +She often trode: (whose stream itself reseeks<br /> +So oft) in beauteous form, by thee was known,<br /> +And, claspt by thee, a double offspring came,<br /> +Byblis and Caunus, from the warm embrace.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Let Byblis warn, that nymphs should ne'er indulge<br /> +Illicit warmth. Her brother Byblis lov'd;<br /> +Not as she ought; not with a sister's soul.<br /> +No fires at first the maid suspected; nought<br /> +Of sin: the thought that oft her lips to his<br /> +She wish'd to join, and clasp her arms around<br /> +His neck fraternal, long herself deceiv'd,<br /> +Beneath the semblance of a duteous love.<br /> +Love gradual bends to him her soul; she comes<br /> +Fully adorn'd to see him, anxious pants<br /> +Beauteous to seem; if one more beauteous there<br /> +She sees, invidious she that face beholds.<br /> +Still to herself unconscious was her love:<br /> +No wish she form'd beneath that burning flame,<br /> +Yet all within was fire. She call'd him lord,<br /> +<a name="page_2_74"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 74]</span> +Now kindred's name detesting; anxious more,<br /> +Byblis, than sister he should call her still.<br /> +Yet waking, ne'er her soul durst entertain<br /> +Lascivious wishes. When relax'd in sleep,<br /> +Then the lov'd object oft her fancy saw;<br /> +Oft seem'd her bosom to his bosom join'd:<br /> +Yet blush'd she, tranc'd in sleep. Her slumbers fly,<br /> +She lies awhile in silence, and revolves<br /> +Her dream: and thus in doubting accents speaks;<br /> +“Ah, wretch! what means this dream of silent night,<br /> +“Which yet I oft would wish? Why have I known<br /> +“This vision? Envy's eyes must own him fair,<br /> +“And but his sister am I, all my love<br /> +“He might possess; worthy of all my love.<br /> +“A sister's claim then hurts me! O! at least<br /> +“(While tempted thus I wakeful nought commit)<br /> +“Let sleep oft visit with such luscious dreams:<br /> +“No witness sees my sleeping joys; my joys,<br /> +“Though sleeping, yet are sweet. O, Venus! O,<br /> +“Thou feather'd Cupid, with thy tender dame!<br /> +“What transports I enjoy'd! what true delight<br /> +“Me thrill'd! how lay I, all my soul dissolv'd!<br /> +“How joys it me to trace in mind again<br /> +“The pleasure though so brief: for flying night<br /> +“Invidious check'd enjoyment in the bud.<br /> +“O Caunus! that an alter'd name might join<br /> +“Us closely; that thy sire a sire-in-law<br /> +<a name="page_2_75"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 75]</span> +“To me might be: O, Caunus, how I'd joy<br /> +“Wert thou not son, but son-in-law to mine.<br /> +“Would that the gods had all in common given,<br /> +“Save parents only. Thou in lofty birth<br /> +“I would should me excel. O beauteous youth!<br /> +“A mother whom thou'lt make I know not; I<br /> +“Ne'er can thee know but with a sister's love:<br /> +“Parents the same as thine my hapless lot.<br /> +“All that I have, me only pains the more.<br /> +“What are to me my visions? Weight have dreams?<br /> +“How much more happy are th' immortal gods!<br /> +“The gods embrace their sisters. Saturn clasps<br /> +“Ops, join'd to him by blood; Ocean enjoys<br /> +“His sister Tethys; and Olympus' king<br /> +“His Juno. Gods peculiar laws possess.<br /> +“Why seek I then celestial rites to bring<br /> +“Diverse, with human ord'nance to compare?<br /> +“Forbidden love shall from my breast be driv'n,<br /> +“Or that impossible, may death me seize<br /> +“Instant, and cold upon my couch outstretch'd,<br /> +“My brother then may kiss me as I lie.<br /> +“Yet still my wish double consent requires.<br /> +“Grant I should yield, still might the deed to him<br /> +“Seem execrable. Yet th' Æolian youth<br /> +“A sister's nuptial couch ne'er dreaded. Why,<br /> +“O, why! on this so dwell? Why thus recal<br /> +“Examples to my view? Where am I borne?<br /> +<a name="page_2_76"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 76]</span> +“Hence, flames obscene! hence far! a sister's love,<br /> +“And that alone my brother shall enjoy.<br /> +“But had his soul first burn'd for me, perchance<br /> +“I had indulg'd his passion. Surely then<br /> +“I may demand, who would not, ask'd, refuse.<br /> +“What couldst thou speak? Couldst thou confess thy flame?<br /> +“Love forces, and I can. If shame my lips<br /> +“Close binds; yet secret letters may disclose<br /> +“The hidden flame.”—With this idea pleas'd,<br /> +These words her hesitating mind resolv'd,<br /> +Rais'd on her side, supported by her arm.—<br /> +“He shall”—she said—“now know it; all my love<br /> +“Preposterous confess'd. Alas! what depth<br /> +“Now rush I to? What fire has seiz'd my soul?”—<br /> +And then with tremulous hand the words compos'd.<br /> +Her right hand grasps the style, the left sustains<br /> +The waxen tablet smooth; and then begins.<br /> +She doubts; she writes; condemns what now she wrote;<br /> +Corrects; erases; alters; now dislikes;<br /> +And now approves. Now throws the tablet by,<br /> +Then seizes it again. Irres'lute what<br /> +She would; whate'er is done displeases, all.<br /> +Shame and audacious boldness in her face<br /> +Are mingled. Sister, once her hand had wrote,<br /> +But sister, soon as seen, her hand eras'd;<br /> +And her fair tablet bore such words as these.—<br /> +“To thee, a lover salutation sends,<br /> +<a name="page_2_77"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 77]</span> +“And health, which only thou to her canst give:<br /> +“Asham'd, she blushes to disclose her name.<br /> +“For should I press to gain my wish'd desire,<br /> +“Without my name, my cause I trust would find<br /> +“Successful aid. Let Byblis not be known<br /> +“Till certain hopes of bliss her mind shall cheer.<br /> +“Yet faded color, leanness, and pale face,<br /> +“With constant dripping eye, and rising sobs<br /> +“Shew my unhidden grief. Well might these prove<br /> +“To thee an index of a wounded heart.<br /> +“My constant clasping, numerous fond salutes,<br /> +“If e'er thou'st mark'd, thou well might have perceiv'd<br /> +“Not sister-like embracings. In my soul<br /> +“Though this deep wound I bear; though in my breast<br /> +“This fire consuming burns, yet strive I all,<br /> +“(Witness, ye gods! my truth) all to suppress,<br /> +“And act with wiser conduct: hapless war<br /> +“Long have I wag'd 'gainst Cupid's furious rule<br /> +“More pressure have I borne, than what a maid<br /> +“Could e'er be thought to bear. At length o'ercome,<br /> +“And forc'd to yield, thy help I must implore<br /> +“With trembling voice: thou only canst preserve,<br /> +“Thou only canst the loving nymph destroy.<br /> +“With thee the choice remains. No foe thus sues,<br /> +“But one by nearest ties to thee conjoin'd,<br /> +“Pants to be join'd more nearly; link'd to thee<br /> +“With closest bands. Let aged seniors learn<br /> +<a name="page_2_78"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 78]</span> +“Our laws, and seek what moral codes permit.<br /> +“What is permitted, and what is deny'd,<br /> +“Let them enquire, and closely search the laws:<br /> +“A bolder love more suits our growing years.<br /> +“As yet we know not what the laws allow;<br /> +“And judge for all things we free leave enjoy;<br /> +“Th' example following of the mighty gods.<br /> +“Nor parent stern, nor strict regard for fame,<br /> +“Nor timid thoughts should check us; absent all<br /> +“Should be each cause of fear. The dear sweet theft<br /> +“Beneath fraternal love may be conceal'd;<br /> +“With thee in secret converse I may speak,<br /> +“Embrace thee, kiss thee in the open crowd;<br /> +“How little then remains! Pity, forgive,<br /> +“The declaration of this love, ne'er told<br /> +“Had raging fire not urg'd it, nor allow<br /> +“Upon my tomb this cause of death to stand.—”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Here the fill'd tablet check'd her hand, in vain<br /> +Thus writing, at the utmost edge the lines,<br /> +But stay'd. Her crime straightway she firmly press'd,<br /> +With her carv'd gem, and moisten'd it with tears:<br /> +Her tears of utterance robb'd her. Bashful then<br /> +She call'd a page, and blandishing in fear<br /> +Exclaim'd.—“Thou faithful boy, this billet bear—”<br /> +And hesitated long ere more she said,<br /> +Ere—“to my brother, bear it.”—As she gave<br /> +<a name="page_2_79"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 79]</span> +The tablet, from her trembling hand it fell;<br /> +The omen deep disturb'd her. Yet she sent.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + A chosen hour the servant sought, went forth<br /> +And gave the secret message. Sudden rage<br /> +me youth Mæandrian petrify'd; and down<br /> +The half-read lines upon the ground he flung.<br /> +His hand scarce holding from the trembling face<br /> +Of the pale messenger. “Quick, fly!” he cry'd,<br /> +“Thou wicked pander of forbidden lust!<br /> +“Fly while thou may'st; and know, had not thy fate<br /> +“Involv'd our modest name, death hadst thou found.—”<br /> +He terrify'd escapes, and backward bears,<br /> +To his young mistress all fierce Caunus spoke.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Pale, thou, O Byblis! heardst the rough repulse;<br /> +Thy breast with frigid chills beset. But soon<br /> +Her spirits rally, and her furious love<br /> +Returns: scarce to the trembling air her tongue<br /> +Can utterance give in these indignant words;—<br /> +“Deserv'dly mourn I, who so rashly gave<br /> +“Him of my wounds the conscious tale to learn.<br /> +“Why trust so soon to words, what still might hid<br /> +“Remain, on tablets hastily compos'd?<br /> +“Why were not first the wishes of my soul<br /> +“Try'd in ambiguous hints? First, sure I ought<br /> +“Whence the wind blew have mark'd; nor loos'd my sails,<br /> +<a name="page_2_80"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 80]</span> +“Him flying, to pursue, and the wide main<br /> +“In all directions plough: now bellies out<br /> +“My canvas; not a single course explor'd.<br /> +“Hence am I borne against the rocks; hence 'whelm'd<br /> +“In the wide depth of ocean; nor my sails<br /> +“Know I to tack returning. Did not heaven<br /> +“Check the indulgence of my love, by marks<br /> +“Obvious to all? when from my hand down dropp'd<br /> +“The tablet, which the boy was bade to bear.<br /> +“Mark'd that my falling hopes not? More deferr'd<br /> +“Thy wishes, or the day should sure have been;<br /> +“Surely the day. For heaven itself me warn'd,<br /> +“And certain signs me gave; but those my mind<br /> +“Stupid neglected. Personal my words<br /> +“Should I have urg'd, nor trusted to the wax.<br /> +“In person should my love have been display'd.<br /> +“Then had my tears been seen; then had he view'd<br /> +“My raptur'd countenance; then had I spoke<br /> +“Far more than power of letters can convey.<br /> +“My arms around his neck I then had thrown<br /> +“Howe'er unwilling; and, had he been coy,<br /> +“In dying posture I his feet had clasp'd;<br /> +“And stretch'd before him life demanding, all<br /> +“Had I achiev'd. Perchance though, by the boy,<br /> +“My messenger commission'd, I have fail'd:<br /> +“Aptly perhaps he enter'd not; perhaps,<br /> +“And much I fear, improper hours he chose;<br /> +<a name="page_2_81"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 81]</span> +“Nor sought a vacant time, when nought his mind<br /> +“Disturb'd. This has, alas! my hopes destroy'd:<br /> +“For from a tiger Caunus sprung not; round<br /> +“His heart not solid steel, nor rigid flint,<br /> +“Nor adamant is girt; nor has he suck'd<br /> +“The lioness's milk. He shall be bent,<br /> +“And gain'd his heart shall be; nor will I brook<br /> +“The smallest bar to what I undertake,<br /> +“While now this spirit holds. My primal wish<br /> +“(If it were given I might revoke my deeds)<br /> +“Is, I had ne'er commenc'd: my second now<br /> +“Is, that I persevere in what's begun.<br /> +“For should I now my wishes not pursue,<br /> +“Still must he of those daring wishes think;<br /> +“And should I now desist, well might he judge<br /> +“Form'd lightly my desires: or plann'd to try<br /> +“His virtue, and involve in snares his fame:<br /> +“Or, (dreadful!) think me not by love o'ercome,<br /> +“(Who burns and rages fiercely in my breast)<br /> +“But by hot lust. For now conceal'd no more<br /> +“My guilty act can be; I've written once,<br /> +“Once have I ask'd; corrupted all my soul.<br /> +“Should further no depravity ensue,<br /> +“Guilty I must be call'd. What more remains,<br /> +“In crime is little, but in hope immense.”—<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + She said, and such the wavering of her breast,<br /> +<a name="page_2_82"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 82]</span> +That, whilst the trial grieves her which she made,<br /> +Farther to try she wishes; every bound<br /> +O'erpassing; and, with luckless fate, her suit<br /> +Still meets repulsion. He, when endless seem'd<br /> +Her pressing, fled his country, and the crime;<br /> +And in a foreign region rais'd new walls.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Then, daughter of Miletus, they report,<br /> +Forsook thee all thy senses; then in truth<br /> +Thou rent thy garments from thy breast; thy breast<br /> +Thy furious hands hard smote. Now to the world<br /> +Madly she raves; now to the world displays<br /> +Her wish'd-for love, deny'd: all hope—despair!<br /> +She too forsook her country, and the roof<br /> +So hated; and the vagrant steps pursu'd<br /> +Her flying brother trode. As Thracia's dames<br /> +O, son of Semelé! thy Thyrsus shake<br /> +When celebrating thy triennial rites,<br /> +So did the Carian matrons, Byblis see<br /> +Fly o'er the wide-spread fields, with shrieks and howls:<br /> +These left behind, o'er Caria's plains she runs,<br /> +And through the warlike Leleges, and through<br /> +The Lycian realms. Now Cragos had she left,<br /> +And Lymiré, and Xanthus' waves behind;<br /> +With the high ridge Chimæra lifts, who burns<br /> +Central with flames; his breast and front fierce arm'd<br /> +A lion—tow'rd his tail a serpent form'd.<br /> +<a name="page_2_83"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 83]</span> +Now all the forests past; thou Byblis, faint<br /> +With long pursuit, fall'st flat; on the hard ground<br /> +Thy locks are spread; dumb now thou ly'st; thy face<br /> +Presses the fallen leaves. Oft in their arms<br /> +So delicate, the Lelegeïan nymphs<br /> +To raise thee up attempted. Oft they strove<br /> +To give advice that might thy love control,<br /> +And offer solace to thy deafen'd ear.<br /> +Still silent Byblis lies; and with her nails<br /> +Rends the green herbage; moistens all the grass<br /> +With rivulets of tears. And here, they say,<br /> +The Naiäd nymphs their bubbling art supply'd.<br /> +Ne'er drought to know: more to afford, their power<br /> +Sure could not. Straightway, as the pitchy drops<br /> +Flow from the fir's cleft bark; from solid earth<br /> +As stiff bitumen oozes; or as streams,<br /> +By cold congeal'd, thaw with the southern wind<br /> +And warming sun: Phœbean Byblis so<br /> +By her own tears exhausted, was transform'd,<br /> +A fount becoming; which still in that vale,<br /> +'Neath a dark ilex springing, keeps her name.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now had the rumor of this wond'rous change<br /> +Spread rapid through the hundred towns of Crete,<br /> +But Crete had lately seen a wond'rous change<br /> +In her own clime, in Iphis' alter'd form.<br /> +There in the Phestian land, near Gnossus' realm<br /> +<a name="page_2_84"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 84]</span> +Was Lygdus born: a man of unknown fame,<br /> +But a plebeïan of unblemish'd worth:<br /> +Nor had he, more than noble stock, estate;<br /> +Yet unimpeach'd for honesty his life.<br /> +He thus the ears of his then pregnant spouse<br /> +Address'd, when near her bearing time approach'd:—<br /> +“Two things my wishes bound; first that thy pains<br /> +“May lightly press, next that a male thou bring'st:<br /> +“More burdensome are females; strength to them<br /> +“Nature denies. Then if by fate ordain'd<br /> +“To give a female birth, which I detest,<br /> +“Unwilling I command,—O piety!<br /> +“Excuse it,—let the babe to death be given.”—<br /> +He said, and tears profuse the cheeks bedew<br /> +Of him who bade, and her who heard his words.<br /> +Still Telethusa to the latest hour,<br /> +With vain petitions strives her spouse to move,<br /> +That thus he should not straighten so his hopes.<br /> +Firm to his purpose Lygdus stood. And now<br /> +Scarce could the heavy weight her womb sustain;<br /> +When in the silent space of night, in sleep<br /> +Entranc'd; or Isis stood before her bed,<br /> +Or seem'd to stand; surrounded by the pomp<br /> +To her belonging. On her forehead shone<br /> +The lunar horns, and yellow wheat them bound<br /> +In golden radiance, with a regal crown.<br /> +With her Anubis, barker came; and came<br /> +<a name="page_2_85"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 85]</span> +Bubastis holy; Apis various-mark'd;<br /> +He who the voice suppresses, and directs<br /> +To silence with his finger; timbrels loud;<br /> +Osiris never sought enough; and snakes<br /> +Of foreign lands full of somniferous gall.<br /> +To her the goddess thus, as rais'd from sleep<br /> +She seem'd, and manifest each object stood:—<br /> +“O vot'ry, Telethusa! fling aside<br /> +“Thy weighty cares; thy husband's mandates cheat;<br /> +“Nor waver, when Lucina helps thy pains:<br /> +“Save it whate'er it be. A goddess I,<br /> +“Assisting, still give aid when rightly claim'd:<br /> +“Nor will it e'er thee grieve to have ador'd<br /> +“An ingrate goddess.”—Thus as she advis'd,<br /> +She vanish'd from the bed. The Cretan dame<br /> +Rose from the couch o'erjoy'd; and raising high<br /> +To heaven her guiltless hands, pray'd that her dream<br /> +On truth was founded. Now her pains increas'd;<br /> +And now her burthen forc'd itself to air:<br /> +A daughter came, but to the sire unknown.<br /> +The mother bade them rear it as a boy,<br /> +And all a boy believ'd it; none the truth,<br /> +The nurse excepted, knew. Glad prayers the sire<br /> +Offers, and from its grandsire is it nam'd:<br /> +(Iphis, the grandsire's appellation.) Joy'd<br /> +The mother hears the name, which either sex<br /> +May claim; and none, in that at least, deceiv'd;<br /> +<a name="page_2_86"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 86]</span> +The lie lay hid beneath a pious fraud.<br /> +The robes were masculine, the face was such<br /> +As beauteous boy, or beauteous girl might own.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + And now three annual suns the tenth had pass'd,<br /> +Thy father, Iphis, had to thee betroth'd<br /> +Iänthé, yellow-hair'd; nymph most admir'd<br /> +'Mongst all the Phestians, for her beauteous charms:<br /> +Telestes of Dictæa was her sire.<br /> +Equal in age, and equal in fair form;<br /> +The self-same masters taught the early arts,<br /> +Suiting their years. Their unsuspecting minds<br /> +Were both by love thus touch'd, in both was fix'd<br /> +An equal wound: but far unlike their hopes.<br /> +Iänthé, for a spouse impatient looks,<br /> +With nuptial torches. Whom a man she thinks,<br /> +That spouse she hopes will be. Iphis too loves,<br /> +Despairing what she loves e'er to enjoy:<br /> +This still the more her love augments, and burns<br /> +A virgin for a virgin. Scarce from tears<br /> +Refraining;—“What,”—she cries,—“for me remains?<br /> +“What will the issue be? What cure for this<br /> +“New love, unknown to all, who prodigies<br /> +“Possess in this desire? If the high gods<br /> +“Me wish to spare, straight should they me destroy.<br /> +“Yet would they me destroy, they should have given<br /> +“A curse more natural; a more usual fate.<br /> +<a name="page_2_87"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 87]</span> +“Love for an heifer ne'er an heifer moves;<br /> +“Nor burns the mare for mares: rams follow ewes;<br /> +“The stag pursues his female; birds thus join:<br /> +“Nor animal creation female shews<br /> +“With love of female seiz'd. Would none were I!<br /> +“But lest all monstrous loves Crete might not shew;<br /> +“Sol's daughter chose a bull; even that was male<br /> +“With female. Yet, if candidly I speak,<br /> +“My passion wilder far than hers appears.<br /> +“She hop'd-for love pursu'd; by fraud enjoy'd;<br /> +“Beneath an heifer's form, th' adulterous spark<br /> +“Deceiving. Be from every part of earth<br /> +“Assembled here the skill: let Dædalus<br /> +“Hither, on waxen wings rebend his flight,<br /> +“What could all aid? Could all their learned art<br /> +“Change me from maid to youth? or alter thee<br /> +“Iänthé? But why resolute, thy mind<br /> +“Not fix? Why Iphis thus thyself forget,<br /> +“These stupid wishes driving hence, and thoughts<br /> +“So unavailing? Lo! what thou wast born,<br /> +“(Save thou would'st also thine own breast deceive)<br /> +“What is allow'd behold, and as a maid<br /> +“May love, love only. Hope, first snatch'd by love,<br /> +“Love feeds on still. From thee all hope is borne.<br /> +“No guardians thee debar the dear embrace;<br /> +“Nor watchful husband's care; no sire severe;<br /> +“Nor she herself denies thy pressing prayers,<br /> +<a name="page_2_88"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 88]</span> +“Yet art thou still forbid, though all agree;<br /> +“To reap the bliss, though gods and men unite.<br /> +“Behold, too, all my votive prayers succeed:<br /> +“The favoring gods whate'er I pray'd have given.<br /> +“My sire and hers, and even herself comply,<br /> +“But nature far more strong denies, alone<br /> +“Me irking with refusal. Lo! arrives<br /> +“The wish'd-for hour; the matrimonial light<br /> +“Approaches; when Iänthé will be mine;<br /> +“And yet far from me. In the midst of waves<br /> +“For thirst I perish. Nuptial Juno, why<br /> +“Com'st thou, or Hymen to these rites; where none<br /> +“Leads to the altar, but where both are led?”—<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Here staid her speech; nor less the other nymph<br /> +Burn'd; and O, Hymen, pray'd thy quick approach.<br /> +But what she wishes Telethusa dreads,<br /> +And searches for delays; feign'd sickness oft<br /> +Prolongs the time; oft omens dire, and dreams.<br /> +Now all her artful fictions are consum'd;<br /> +And now the long protracted period came,<br /> +For nuptial rites; and, but one day remain'd.<br /> +She from her own and daughter's head unbinds<br /> +The fillets; and with locks dishevell'd, clasps<br /> +The altar, crying;—“Isis, thou who dwell'st<br /> +“In Parætonium; Mareotis' fields;<br /> +“In Pharos; and the sev'nfold mouths of Nile.<br /> +<a name="page_2_89"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 89]</span> +“Help me I pray! relieve my trembling dread.<br /> +“Thee, goddess, once I saw; and with thee all<br /> +“Those images beheld; them all I know:<br /> +“Thy train, thy torches, and thy timbrels loud.<br /> +“And with a mindful soul thy words I mark'd.<br /> +“That she enjoys the light, that I myself,<br /> +“Not sinful suffer, to thy counsels, we,<br /> +“And admonitions owe. Pity us both;<br /> +“Grant us thy helping aid.”—Tears follow'd words.<br /> +Straight seem'd the goddess' altars all to shake;<br /> +(And shake they did) trembled the temple's doors;<br /> +The lunar horns blaz'd bright; the timbrels rung.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Forth goes the mother, of the omen glad,<br /> +Yet not in faith secure. Iphis pursues<br /> +His mother with a step more large than wont:<br /> +The snow-like whiteness quits his face; his strength<br /> +Increases; fiercer frowns his forehead wears:<br /> +Shorten'd his uncomb'd locks: more vigor now<br /> +Than as a nymph he felt. For thou, a boy<br /> +Now art—so late a female! Bear thy gifts<br /> +Straight to the temple; and in faith rejoice.<br /> +Straight to the temple they their offerings bore,<br /> +And on them this short poem was inscrib'd.—<br /> +“Iphis a boy, the offerings pays, which maid,<br /> +“Iphis had vow'd.”—The following sun illum'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_90"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 90]</span> +The wide world with his rays; when Venus came,<br /> +Juno, and Hymen, to the genial fires;<br /> +And the boy Iphis his Iänthé clasp'd.<br /> +<a name="page_2_91"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 91]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter20"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Tenth Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Marriage of Orpheus and Eurydicé. Her death. Descent of Orpheus +to Hell, to recover her. Her second loss. His mournful music on mount +Hæmus draws the trees, birds, and beasts around him. Change of Cyparissus +to a cypress-tree. Song of Orpheus. Ganymede. Hyacinth changed +to a flower. The Amanthians to oxen. The Propætides to flints. Pygmalion's +statue to a woman. Myrrha's incestuous love, and transformation +to a tree. Venus' love for Adonis. Story of Atalanta and Hippomenes. +Adonis changed to an anemoné. +<a name="page_2_92"></a> +<a name="page_2_93"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 93]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter21"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Tenth Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thence Hymen, in his saffron vesture clad,<br /> +Through the vast air departs; and seeks the land<br /> +Ciconian; by the voice of Orpheus call'd<br /> +Vainly. He came indeed, but with him brought<br /> +No wonted gratulations, no glad face,<br /> +Nor happy omen. And the torch he bore<br /> +Crackled in hissing smoke; nor gather'd flame<br /> +From whirling motion. Still more dire th' event<br /> +Prov'd, than the presage. As the new-made bride,<br /> +Attended by a train of Naïad nymphs,<br /> +Rov'd through the grass, a serpent's fangs her heel<br /> +<a name="page_2_94"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 94]</span> +Pierc'd, and she instant dy'd. Her, when long-mourn'd<br /> +In upper air, the Rhodopeïan bard<br /> +Ventur'd to seek in shades, and dar'd descend<br /> +Through the Tænarian cave to Stygia's realms.<br /> +'Mid shadowy crowds, and bury'd ghosts he goes,<br /> +To Proserpine, and him who rules the shades<br /> +With sway ungrateful. There he strikes the strings<br /> +Responsive to his words, and this his song.—<br /> +“Gods of this subterraneous world, where all<br /> +“Of mortal origin must come, permit<br /> +“That I the truth declare; no tedious tales<br /> +“Of falshood will I tell. Here came I not<br /> +“Your dusky Hell to view: nor to o'ercome<br /> +“The triple-throated Medusæan beast<br /> +“Snake-hair'd;—my wife alone my journey caus'd,<br /> +“Whose heel a trampled serpent venom'd stung:<br /> +“Snatch'd in her bloom of years. Much did I wish,<br /> +“My loss to bear; nor ought forbore to strive;<br /> +“But love o'ercame. Well do the upper gods<br /> +“That deity confess. In doubt I stand<br /> +“If here too he is known; but here I judge<br /> +“His power is felt: the ancient rape, if true,<br /> +“Proves love ev'n you first join'd. You I implore,<br /> +“By all those regions fill'd with dread; by this<br /> +“Chaos immense; your ample realm, all fill'd<br /> +“With silence; once again the thread renew<br /> +“Eurydicé too hasty lost. To you<br /> +<a name="page_2_95"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 95]</span> +“We all belong; a little while we stay,<br /> +“Then soon or late to one repose we haste:<br /> +“All hither tend; this is our final home.<br /> +“You hold o'er human kind a lengthen'd reign.<br /> +“She too, when once her years mature are fill'd,<br /> +“To you again, must by just right belong.<br /> +“I then request her only as a loan:<br /> +“But should the fates this favor me refuse,<br /> +“Certain I'll ne'er return. Two deaths enjoy.”—<br /> +The bloodless shadows wept as thus he sung,<br /> +And struck the strings in concord with his words.<br /> +Nor Tantalus at flying waters caught;<br /> +Nor roll'd Ixion's wheel: the liver gnaw'd<br /> +The birds not: rested on their empty urns<br /> +The Belides: and Sisyphus, thou sat'st<br /> +Upon thy stone. Nay fame declares, then first,<br /> +Vanquish'd by song, the furies felt their cheeks<br /> +Wetted with tears. Nor could the royal spouse,<br /> +Nor he who rules deep darkness, him withstand<br /> +Thus praying; and Eurydicé is call'd.<br /> +Amid the recent dead she walk'd, and still<br /> +Halted with tardy steps from her late wound.<br /> +Her, when the bard of Thrace receiv'd, this law<br /> +Receiv'd he also: that his eyes reverse<br /> +He should not bend, till past Avernus' realms;<br /> +Else he'd the granted favor useless find.<br /> +In silence mute, through the steep path they climb<br /> +<a name="page_2_96"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 96]</span> +Dark, difficult, and thick with pitchy mist;<br /> +Nor far earth's surface wanted they to gain:<br /> +The lover here, in dread lest she should stray,<br /> +And anxious to behold, bent back his sight,<br /> +And instant back she sunk. As forth his arms<br /> +He stretch'd, to clasp expecting, and be clasp'd:<br /> +Unhappy! nought but fleeting air he held.<br /> +Twice dying, she can nought her spouse condemn;<br /> +For how blame him because too much he lov'd?<br /> +She gives her last farewel; which scarce his ears<br /> +Receive, then sinks again to shades below.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Orpheus, thus doubly of his spouse despoil'd,<br /> +All stunn'd appear'd: not less than he who saw<br /> +In wild affright the triple-headed dog,<br /> +Chain'd by the midmost: fear him never fled,<br /> +Till fled his former nature: sudden stone<br /> +On all his body seizing. Or than he,<br /> +Olenus, when the crime upon himself<br /> +He took, and guilty wish'd to seem; with thee<br /> +Hapless Lethæa, confident in charms.<br /> +Once breast to breast you join'd, now join as stones,<br /> +Which watery Ida bears. Beseeching vain,<br /> +And wishing once again the stream to pass,<br /> +The ferryman denies. Then on the bank<br /> +In squalid guise he sate, nor tasted food<br /> +For seven long days; his cares, and grieving soul,<br /> +<a name="page_2_97"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 97]</span> +And tears were all the sustenance he knew.<br /> +Cruel he call'd the gods of Erebus,<br /> +And to high Rhodopé himself betook,<br /> +And lofty Hæmus by the north-wind beat.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thrice had the sun the year completed, each<br /> +By watery Pisces ended. Orpheus still<br /> +Fled every female's love: or his deep woe<br /> +Made him so cold; or faithful promise giv'n.<br /> +Yet crowds there were, who wish'd the bard's embrace:<br /> +And crowds with sorrow saw their love repuls'd.<br /> +A hill there rose, and on its summit spread<br /> +A wide extended plain, with herbage green:<br /> +Shade to the place was wanting; hither came<br /> +The heaven-born poet; seated him, and touch'd<br /> +His sounding strings, and straight a shade approach'd.<br /> +Nor wanted there Chaönian trees; nor groves<br /> +Of poplars; nor the acorn's spacious leaves:<br /> +The linden soft, the beech, the virgin bay,<br /> +The brittle hazle, and spear-forming ash;<br /> +The knotless fir; ilex with fruit low-bow'd;<br /> +The genial plane; the maple various stain'd;<br /> +Stream-loving willow; and the watery lote;<br /> +Box of perpetual green; slight tamarisk;<br /> +Two-teinted myrtle; and the laurustine<br /> +With purple berries. Thou too, ivy, cam'st<br /> +Hither with flexile feet: together flock'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_98"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 98]</span> +Grape-bearing vines; and elms with vines entwin'd:<br /> +Wild ash, and pitch tree; and arbutus, bent<br /> +With loads of ruddy fruit; the pliant palm,<br /> +Meed of the conqueror; the pine close bound<br /> +About its boughs, but at its summit shagg'd:<br /> +Dear to the mother of celestial powers,<br /> +Since Atys Cybeleïan was transform'd,<br /> +And in the trunk a rigid tree became.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + In form pyramidal, amid the crowd,<br /> +The cypress came; now tree, but once a boy;<br /> +Dear to the god who rules the lyre's fine chords,<br /> +And rules the bowstring. Once was known a stag<br /> +Sacred to nymphs that own Carthæa's fields,<br /> +Who bore upon his head a lofty shade<br /> +From his wide-spreading horns; his horns bright shone<br /> +With gold; his collar, with bright gems bedeck'd,<br /> +Fell o'er his shoulders from his round neck hung;<br /> +A silver boss, by slender reins control'd<br /> +Mov'd o'er his brow; a brazen pair the same,<br /> +Shone o'er his temples hanging from his ears:<br /> +Devoid of fear, his nature's timid dread<br /> +Relinquish'd, oft the houses would he seek;<br /> +And oft would gently fondling stoop his neck,<br /> +Heedless who strok'd him. Cyparissus, thou<br /> +Beyond all others priz'd the sacred beast:<br /> +Thou, fairest far amongst the Cæan youths.<br /> +<a name="page_2_99"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 99]</span> +Thou to fresh pastures led'st the stag; to streams<br /> +Of cooling fountains: oft his horns entwin'd<br /> +With variegated garlands. Horseman-like<br /> +Now on his back thou pressest; and now here,<br /> +Now there, thou rul'st his soft jaws with the reins<br /> +Of purple tinge. 'Twas once in mid-day heat,<br /> +When burnt the bent claws of the sea-shore crab,<br /> +In Sol's fierce vapor; on the grassy earth<br /> +The weary stag repos'd his limbs, and drew<br /> +Cool breezes from the trees umbrageous shades.<br /> +Here the boy Cyparissus careless flung<br /> +His painted dart, and fix'd it in his side.<br /> +Who, when he from the cruel wound beheld<br /> +Him dying, instant bent his mind to die.<br /> +What consolation did not Phœbus speak?<br /> +Urging the loss far slighter grief deserv'd:<br /> +Yet mourn'd he still, and from the gods supreme<br /> +Begg'd this last gift, to latest times to mourn.<br /> +His blood in constant tears exhausted, now<br /> +His limbs a green hue take; his locks which late<br /> +Hung o'er his snowy forehead, rough become<br /> +In frightful bushiness; and hardening quick,<br /> +Shoot up to heaven in form a slender spire.<br /> +The mourning god, in grief exclaim'd—“By me<br /> +“Bemoan'd, thou shalt with others always grieve;<br /> +“And henceforth mourners shalt thou still attend.”—<br /> +Thus did the bard a wood collect around;<br /> +<a name="page_2_100"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 100]</span> +And in the midst he sate of thronging beasts,<br /> +And crowding birds. The chords he amply try'd<br /> +With his impulsive thumb, and vary'd much<br /> +In sound, he found their notes concordant still;<br /> +Then to this song rais'd his melodious voice.—<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “O parent muse! from Jove derive my song:<br /> +“All yield to Jove's dominion. Oft my verse<br /> +“Before the mightiness of Jove has sung.<br /> +“I sung the giants, in a strain sublime,<br /> +“And vengeful thunders, o'er Phlegræa's plain<br /> +“Scatter'd; a tender theme now claims my lyre:<br /> +“I sing of youths by deities belov'd;<br /> +“And nymphs who with forbidden wishes burn'd,<br /> +“And met the doom their sensual lusts deserv'd.<br /> +“The king of gods made Phrygian Ganymede<br /> +“His favorite, but some other form possess'd.<br /> +“Jove must in shape be something else than Jove.<br /> +“He deems no form becomes him, save the bird<br /> +“That bears his thunder. Instant all is done;<br /> +“The Phrygian borne away: the air he beats<br /> +“With his feign'd wing. And now this youth the cup<br /> +“Of nectar hands, in Juno's spite, to Jove.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Son of Amycla, thee had Phœbus plac'd<br /> +“Also the skies amidst, had fate allow'd<br /> +“For such position place; yet still thou hold'st<br /> +<a name="page_2_101"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 101]</span> +“Eternal, what fate grants: oft as the spring<br /> +“Winter repulses, and the ram succeeds<br /> +“The watery fishes, thou spring'st forth in flower<br /> +“'Mid the green sward. Beyond all else my sire<br /> +“Thee lov'd, and Delphos, plac'd in midmost earth,<br /> +“Wanted its ruling power, whilst now the god<br /> +“Eurotas lov'd, and Sparta un-intrench'd.<br /> +“Nor lyre, nor darts attention claim'd as wont;<br /> +“Of dignity unmindful, he not spurns<br /> +“To bear the nets; to curb the hounds; to climb<br /> +“With the full train the steepest mountain's ridge:<br /> +“And every toil augments his pleasure more.<br /> +“Now had the sun the midmost point near gain'd<br /> +“'Twixt flying night, and night approaching, each<br /> +“Distant in equal space; when from their limbs<br /> +“They flung their robes; with the fat olive's juice<br /> +“Their bodies shone; they enter'd in the lists<br /> +“Of the broad disk, which Phœbus first well pois'd,<br /> +“Then flung through lofty air; opposing clouds<br /> +“Flying it cleft; at length on solid earth<br /> +“It pitch'd, displaying skill with strength combin'd.<br /> +“Instant the rash Tænarian boy, impell'd<br /> +“By love of sport, sprung on to snatch the orb,<br /> +“But the hard ground repulsive in thy face,<br /> +“O, Hyacinth! it flung. Pale as the boy<br /> +“The god appear'd: he rais'd his fainting limbs,<br /> +“And in his arms now cherishes, now wipes<br /> +<a name="page_2_102"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 102]</span> +“The fatal wound, now stays his fleeting breath,<br /> +“With herbs apply'd; but all his arts are vain;<br /> +“Incurable the hurt. Just so, when broke,<br /> +“The violet, poppy, or the lily hang,<br /> +“Whose dark stems in a water'd garden spring;<br /> +“Flaccid they instant droop; the weighty head<br /> +“No longer upright rais'd, but bent to earth.<br /> +“So bent his dying face; his neck, bereft<br /> +“Of vigor, heavy on his shoulder laid.<br /> +“Phœbus exclaim'd;—Fall'st thou, Œbalian youth,<br /> +“Depriv'd of life in prime? and must I see<br /> +“Thy death my fault? thou art my grief, my crime;<br /> +“My hand the charge of thy destruction bears:<br /> +“I am the cause of thy untimely fate!<br /> +“But what my crime? unless with him to sport;<br /> +“Unless a fault it were too much to love.<br /> +“Would I could life for thee, or with thee quit;<br /> +“But fatal laws restrain me: yet shalt thou<br /> +“Be with me still; dwell ever on my lips;<br /> +“My hand shall sound thee on the lyre I touch;<br /> +“My songs of thee shall tell: a new-found flower<br /> +“Shall bear the letters which my griefs resound:<br /> +“And time shall come, when a most valiant chief<br /> +“Shall join him to thy flower; in the same leaf<br /> +“His name too shall be read.—As words like these<br /> +“The truth-predicting lips of Phœbus spoke,<br /> +“Behold! the blood which flow'd along the ground,<br /> +<a name="page_2_103"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 103]</span> +“And all the herbage ting'd, is blood no more;<br /> +“But springs a flower than Tyrian red more bright,<br /> +“A form assuming such as lilies wear:<br /> +“Like it, save purple this, that silvery white.<br /> +“Nor yet content was Phœbus; for from him<br /> +“The honor was deriv'd. Upon its leaves<br /> +“He trac'd his groans: <i>ai, ai</i>, on every flower<br /> +“In mournful characters is fair inscrib'd.<br /> +“Nor blush the Spartans, Hyacinth to own:<br /> +“His honors still the present age attend;<br /> +“And annual are the Hyacinthian feasts,<br /> +“In pomp surpassing aught of ancient days.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Should you by chance of Amathus enquire,<br /> +“If williang the Propœtides it bore,<br /> +“Denying nods would equally disclaim<br /> +“Them, and the race whose foreheads once were rough<br /> +“With double horns; Cerastæ, hence their name.<br /> +“Jove's hospitable altar at their gates<br /> +“Of mournful wickedness was rear'd: who saw<br /> +“This stain'd with gore, if stranger, might conceive<br /> +“That sucking calves, or two-year's sheep there bled.<br /> +“There bled the guest! Mild Venus griev'd<br /> +“At these most impious rites, at first prepar'd<br /> +“To quit her cities, and her Cyprian fields:—<br /> +“But how,—she said,—can my beloved clime?<br /> +“How can my towns have given offence? what fault<br /> +<a name="page_2_104"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 104]</span> +“Abides in them? Rather the impious race,<br /> +“Shall vengeance feel in exile, or in death;<br /> +“Save death and exile medium may allow:<br /> +“How may that be, unless their shape is chang'd?—<br /> +“Then while she doubts what shape they shall assume,<br /> +“Their horns attract her eyes; struck by the hint,<br /> +“Their mighty horns she leaves them, and transforms<br /> +“To savage oxen all their lusty limbs.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Still dar'd th' obscene Propœtides deny<br /> +“Venus a goddess' power; for which, fame says<br /> +“They first, so forc'd the deity's revenge,<br /> +“Their bodies prostituted, and their charms.<br /> +“As shame them left, the blood which ting'd their cheeks<br /> +“Harden'd, and soon they rigid stone became.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “These saw Pygmalion, and the age beheld<br /> +“With crimes o'er-run; the shameful vice abhorr'd<br /> +“Which lavish nature gave their female souls.<br /> +“Single, and spouseless liv'd he; long a mate<br /> +“Press'd not his couch. Meantime the ivory white<br /> +“With happy skill, and wond'rous art he carv'd;<br /> +“And form'd a beauteous figure; never maid<br /> +“So perfect yet was born, and his own work<br /> +“With love inspir'd him. Of a nymph her face<br /> +“Was such, you must believe the form to live,<br /> +“And move, if not by bashfulness restrain'd.<br /> +<a name="page_2_105"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 105]</span> +“Thus art his art conceal'd. Pygmalion stares<br /> +“In admiration; and his breast draws flames<br /> +“From the feign'd body: oft his hands his work<br /> +“Approach, if ivory or if flesh to judge;<br /> +“Nor ivory then will he confess the form.<br /> +“Kisses he gives, and thinks each kiss return'd:<br /> +“He speaks, he grasps her; where he grasps, he thinks<br /> +“His hands impression leave; and fears to see<br /> +“On the prest limbs some marks of livid blue.<br /> +“Now blandish'd words he uses; now he bears<br /> +“Those gifts so grateful to a girlish mind;<br /> +“Pearls, and smooth-polish'd gems, and smallest birds,<br /> +“With variegated flowers, and lilies fair,<br /> +“And painted figures, and the Heliads' tears,<br /> +“Dropt from the weeping tree: with garments gay<br /> +“Her limbs too he adorns, and jewels gives<br /> +“To deck her fingers; while a necklace large<br /> +“Hangs round her neck: her ears light pearls suspend;<br /> +“And a bright zone is circled round her waist.<br /> +“All well became her, yet most beauteous far<br /> +“She unattir'd appear'd. Her on a couch,<br /> +“Ting'd with the shell Sidonian, then he laid,<br /> +“And call'd her partner of his bed; and plac'd<br /> +“Her head reclin'd, as if with sense endu'd,<br /> +“On the soft pillow. Now the feast approach'd<br /> +“Of Venus, through all Cyprus' isle so fam'd,<br /> +“And snowy-chested heifers, whose bent horns<br /> +<a name="page_2_106"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 106]</span> +“With gold were gay, receiv'd the deadly blow;<br /> +“And incense burnt in clouds. Pygmalion stood<br /> +“Before the altar, with his offer'd gifts:<br /> +“Timid he spoke,—O ye all-potent gods!<br /> +“Give me a spouse just like my ivory nymph,—<br /> +“Give me my ivory nymph—he blush'd to say.<br /> +“Bright Venus then, as present at her feast,<br /> +“Perceiv'd the inmost wishes of his soul;<br /> +“And gave the omen of a friendly power.<br /> +“Thrice blaz'd the fire, and thrice the flame leap'd high.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Returning, he the darling statue seeks<br /> +“Of his fair nymph; extends him on the couch;<br /> +“Kisses, and thinks he feels her lips grow warm:<br /> +“Applies his lips again, and with his hand<br /> +“Presses her bosom: prest the ivory yields,<br /> +“Softening beneath his fingers; nor remains<br /> +“Its rigid harshness. So Hymettus' wax<br /> +“Yields to the heat, when tempering thumbs it mould<br /> +“In various forms; and fit for future use.<br /> +“Astonish'd now he joys with trembling soul,<br /> +“But fears deception; then he loves again,<br /> +“And with his hands again his wishes proves:<br /> +“'Twas flesh, the prest pulse leap'd beneath his thumb.<br /> +“Then did the Cyprian youth, in words most full<br /> +“Of gratitude and love, to Venus pray.<br /> +“Then to her living lips his lips he join'd,<br /> +<a name="page_2_107"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 107]</span> +“And then the damsel felt his warm salute:<br /> +“Blushing she felt it, and her timid eyes<br /> +“Op'd to the light, and with the light beheld<br /> +“Her lover. Venus bless'd the match she made;<br /> +“And when nine times the moon's full orb was seen<br /> +“Sharpen'd to horns, the damsel Paphos bore;<br /> +“Whose appellation oft the isle receives.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “She Cinyras too bore; if childless he<br /> +“A place amongst the happiest might he claim.<br /> +“A direful song I sing! be distant far<br /> +“Ye daughters; distant far, O, parents be!<br /> +“Or if of pleasure to your minds my verse<br /> +“Aught gives, in this at least my truth suspect.<br /> +“Believe the deed not: if you must believe,<br /> +“Mark well the punishment the crime deserv'd.<br /> +“Since nature could such heinous deeds permit;<br /> +“The Thracian realms, my land, I 'gratulate;<br /> +“And joy this clime at such a distance lies,<br /> +“From that which could such monstrous acts produce.<br /> +“Let Araby be in amomum rich;<br /> +“And cinnamon, and zedoary produce;<br /> +“Incense which through the wood exudes; and flowers<br /> +“Of vary'd teints,—while Myrrha too it bears:<br /> +“Too great the price which this new tree procur'd.<br /> +“Cupid denies, O Myrrha! that his darts<br /> +“Thee wounded; vindicating from that crime<br /> +<a name="page_2_108"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 108]</span> +“His weapons. Thee, with Stygian torch most fierce,<br /> +“And viperous venom furies did enflame.<br /> +“Wicked to hate thy parent sure had been,<br /> +“But thus to love is worse than bitterest hate.<br /> +“The choicest nobles come from every part<br /> +“To gain thee; youths from all the East arrive,<br /> +“To struggle for thy hand. Chuse, Myrrha, chuse<br /> +“One from the crowd: one only in the world<br /> +“Whom chuse thou may'st not. She herself perceiv'd,<br /> +“And curb'd the baneful passion in her mind;<br /> +“Communing thus:—Ah! whither rove my thoughts?<br /> +“What meditate I? O, ye gods! I pray,<br /> +“O piety, O parents' sacred laws,<br /> +“Forbid this wicked act; oppose a deed<br /> +“So full of horrid guilt,—if guilt it be!<br /> +“But pious nature ne'er such love condemns.<br /> +“All animals in undistinguish'd form<br /> +“Cohabit: shame the heifer never feels<br /> +“Join'd with her sire; the steed his daughter takes<br /> +“As partner; with the female flock, who ow'd<br /> +“To him their being, couples oft the goat;<br /> +“And birds bring forth to birds who them produc'd.<br /> +“Blest those who thus enjoy; but human race<br /> +“Perversest laws invents: vexatious rules<br /> +“Forbid what nature grants. Yet am I told,<br /> +“Nations exist, where mother joins with son,<br /> +“And daughter with her sire; their pious love<br /> +<a name="page_2_109"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 109]</span> +“Increas'd more strongly by the double bond.<br /> +“Ah, me! unhappy, in such glorious climes<br /> +“Begotten not; I suffer but from place.<br /> +“But why on these ideas dwell? hence far<br /> +“Forbidden hopes. Well he deserves thy love,<br /> +“But as a father love him. Wert thou not<br /> +“Of mighty Cinyras the daughter, then<br /> +“Thou might'st the couch of Cinyras ascend.<br /> +“Now mine he is so much, he is not mine;<br /> +“Our very nearness is my greatest curse:<br /> +“More close, a perfect stranger had I been.<br /> +“Far hence I would depart; my country leave,<br /> +“This mischief flying; but curs'd love restrains.<br /> +“For, present, Cinyras I may behold;<br /> +“Touch, speak, my kisses to his face apply,<br /> +“If nought he'll grant beyond. How! impious maid,<br /> +“Dar'st thou hope ought beyond? perceiv'st thou not<br /> +“What laws, what names thou would'st confound? would'st thou<br /> +“The mother's rival be?—thy father's whore?<br /> +“Thy offspring's sister would'st thou then be call'd?<br /> +“Thy brother's parent? Fear'st thou not the three,<br /> +“Whose locks with sable serpents horrid curl?<br /> +“Who conscious bosoms pierce with searching eyes,<br /> +“And hurl their furious torches in the face?<br /> +“While yet thy body can resist, no more<br /> +“Cherish the heinous guilt thus in thy mind;<br /> +<a name="page_2_110"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 110]</span> +“Nor violate great Nature's sacred law<br /> +“With lust forbidden. Grant I should consent,<br /> +“The king would me deny: too pious he,<br /> +“Too dear to him the law. O, that in him<br /> +“Such furious passion rag'd as burns in me!—<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “She ended; Cinyras, the worthy crowd<br /> +“Of suitors held in doubt; herself he ask'd,<br /> +“As name by name he counted, which as spouse<br /> +“She most would wish. Silent at first she stood,<br /> +“Then burning gaz'd on his paternal face,<br /> +“As the warm tears gush'd in her shining eyes.<br /> +“These, Cinyras effects of virgin fear<br /> +“Believing, chid her and forbade to weep.<br /> +“Drying her cheeks, he on them press'd a kiss;<br /> +“With too much pleasure she the kiss receiv'd:<br /> +“And when consulted what the spouse must be<br /> +“She would prefer, she answer'd,—one like you.—<br /> +“He witless of her meaning, prais'd her words,<br /> +“And said,—be such thy pious duty still—<br /> +“The sound of piety the virgin's eyes,<br /> +“With sense of guilt, cast conscious to the ground.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “'Twas now deep night when sleep sooth'd all the cares<br /> +“Of mortal breasts. But Myrrha wakeful laid<br /> +“Consum'd with raging fires; and rolling deep<br /> +“Her frantic wishes in her wandering mind.<br /> +<a name="page_2_111"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 111]</span> +“Despairing now, and now resolv'd to try;<br /> +“Now shame o'ercomes her, and anon desire:<br /> +“And undetermin'd how to act she rests.<br /> +“A mighty tree thus, wounded by the axe,<br /> +“Ere yet it feels the final blow, in doubt<br /> +“Seems where to fall; they fear on every side:<br /> +“Thus did her stagger'd mind from vary'd force<br /> +“Waver now here, now there; press'd hard by each,<br /> +“No ease for love, no rest but death appears.<br /> +“Death pleas'd. She rose, and round her throat prepar'd<br /> +“The cord to fasten; from the topmost beam<br /> +“She ty'd her girdle, and—farewel!—exclaim'd—<br /> +“Dear Cinyras! guess whence my fatal end.—<br /> +“Then drew the noose around her pallid neck.<br /> +“'Tis said, th' imperfect murmuring of her words,<br /> +“Reach'd to the faithful nurse's ears, who laid<br /> +“Before the threshold of her foster-child.<br /> +“The matron rose, threw wide the door, and saw<br /> +“Prepar'd the instrument of death. At once<br /> +“She scream'd aloud, her bosom tore, deep blows<br /> +“Gave her own limbs, and from the rescu'd neck<br /> +“Tore the tight noose. Then had she time to weep,<br /> +“Then to embrace, then to inquire the cause<br /> +“Of the dread cord. But dumb the virgin sate<br /> +“And motionless, her eyes to earth were fix'd;<br /> +“Griev'd that so check'd her efforts were for death.<br /> +“More the nurse presses, bares her silver'd hairs<br /> +<a name="page_2_112"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 112]</span> +“And wither'd bosom; by the cradle begs,<br /> +“And the first food she tasted, to confess<br /> +“To her the cause of sorrow. Myrrha sighs,<br /> +“But turns her eyes aside as thus she begs.<br /> +“Determin'd still to know, the nurse persists<br /> +“And not content her secrecy alone<br /> +“To promise, says—yet tell me, and my aid<br /> +“Allow me to afford thee. Not yet slow,<br /> +“Though aged. Is it love? with charms and plants<br /> +“I know thy love to cure. Have envious eyes<br /> +“Thee harm'd? with magic rites their charm I'll spoil.<br /> +“Are the gods angry? with appeasing rites<br /> +“Their anger we will soothe. What ill beside<br /> +“Can be conjectur'd? Lo! thy house secure,<br /> +“And safe thy fortune; both in prosperous train.<br /> +“Yet lives thy mother, and thy father lives.—<br /> +“Her father's name when Myrrha heard she drew<br /> +“Deep from her breast a mournful sigh; nor yet<br /> +“The nurse suspected guilt was in her soul:<br /> +“But saw that love disturb'd her. In her aim<br /> +“Inflexible; again she urg'd to know<br /> +“The grief whate'er it prov'd; and lull'd her head<br /> +“Upon her aged lap, and clasp'd her form<br /> +“In her own feeble arms, as thus she spoke;—<br /> +“I see thou lovest; banish far thy fear,<br /> +“My diligence in this shall aid thee; nay<br /> +“Not e'en thy father shall the secret know.—<br /> +<a name="page_2_113"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 113]</span> +“Madly she bounded from the lap, and cry'd,<br /> +“While press'd the couch her face,—I beg thee go!<br /> +“And spare my grievous shame.—More pressing still—<br /> +“Or go—she said—or ask not why I mourn:<br /> +“What thou so seek'st to know is shameful guilt.—<br /> +“With horror struck, the ancient dame holds forth<br /> +“Her hands, which equal shook with fear and age;<br /> +“Then suppliant at her foster-daughter's feet<br /> +“Fell. Now she coaxes; now she threatens loud;<br /> +“If not made privy, threatens to declare<br /> +“The cord's adventure, and half-finish'd death:<br /> +“And offers aid once more her love to gain.<br /> +“She rais'd her head, and fill'd her nurse's breast<br /> +“With sudden gushing tears. And oft she strove<br /> +“All to confess; as oft her tongue was mute;<br /> +“And in her garments hid her blushing face.—<br /> +“Then,—happy mother in thy spouse!—she said;<br /> +“No more, but groan'd. Through her cold limbs and bones,<br /> +“The ancient nurse a shivering tremor felt,<br /> +“And her white hairs all o'er her head, erect<br /> +“Like bristles stood; for all the truth she saw.<br /> +“Much did she urge the direful flame to drive<br /> +“Far from her soul, if that could be. The maid<br /> +“Knows all is just she argues, yet is fix'd<br /> +“For death, unless her lover is obtain'd.<br /> +“Then she;—O live, enjoy thy—silent there,<br /> +<a name="page_2_114"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 114]</span> +“Enjoy thy parent—she not dar'd to say:<br /> +“Yet by a sacred oath her promise bound.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Now Ceres' annual feast, the pious dames<br /> +“All solemniz'd: in snowy robes enwrapt,<br /> +“They offer'd wheaten wreaths, and primal fruits.<br /> +“The rites of Venus, and the touch of man,<br /> +“For thrice three nights forbidden things they held.<br /> +“The monarch's spouse Cenchreïs, 'mid the crowd<br /> +“Forth went to celebrate the secret feast:<br /> +“And while the couch its legal partner lack'd,<br /> +“The ill-officious nurse the king espy'd<br /> +“Oppress'd with wine, and told the tale of love,<br /> +“Beneath a fictious name, and prais'd her charms.<br /> +“The virgin's years he asks.—Equal her age<br /> +“To Myrrha's—she replies.—Desir'd to bring<br /> +“The damsel, she returns:—Rejoice!—she cries,<br /> +“Rejoice! our point is gain'd.—The hapless nymph<br /> +“Felt not a general joy; presaging pangs<br /> +“Shot through her bosom; still she joy'd: her mind<br /> +“Such discord tore. Now was the silent hour;<br /> +“Boötes 'mid the Triönes had bent<br /> +“His wain with sloping pole; when Myrrha came<br /> +“To her flagitious crime. Bright Luna fled<br /> +“The skies; black clouds the lurking stars o'erspread;<br /> +“The night saw not its fires. Thou, Icarus,<br /> +“Thy face first hidst; and thou, Erigoné<br /> +<a name="page_2_115"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 115]</span> +“Hallow'd for thy parental love so pure.<br /> +“Thrice was she warn'd by stumbling feet, and thrice<br /> +“The owl funereal utter'd her death-note.<br /> +“Yet on she went; darkness and sable night<br /> +“Her shame diminish'd. Fast her left hand grasps<br /> +“Her nurse, the other waves t'explore the way.<br /> +“The threshold of the nuptial chamber now<br /> +“She touches; now she gently opes the door;<br /> +“Now enters. Then her trembling knees loose shook<br /> +“Beneath her bending hams; her color fled:<br /> +“Her blood flow'd back; and all her wishes sunk.<br /> +“The nearer was her crime approach'd, the more<br /> +“With horror she beheld it, and sore mourn'd<br /> +“Her daring; anxious to return unknown.<br /> +“The hoary dame, her, lingering thus, dragg'd on,<br /> +“And when presented at the lofty couch,<br /> +“Said—Cinyras receive her, she's thine own!—<br /> +“And the devoted bodies gave to join.<br /> +“The sire his proper bowels, on the bed<br /> +“Obscene, receiv'd; her virgin terrors calm'd,<br /> +“And sooth'd her trembling. Haply too, he said—<br /> +“My daughter,—from her age; and haply she—<br /> +“My sire,—lest names were wanting to their crime.<br /> +“Fill'd with her father from the bed she rose,<br /> +“Bearing in her dire womb the impious fruit;<br /> +“Carrying her crime conceiv'd. Th' ensuing night<br /> +“Her incest she repeats, nor ends she here.<br /> +<a name="page_2_116"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 116]</span> +“But Cinyras eager at length to know,<br /> +“After such frequent converse, who him lov'd;<br /> +“At once his daughter and his sin beheld,<br /> +“By lamps brought sudden. Grief repress'd all words;<br /> +“But from the sheath he snatch'd his glittering sword.<br /> +“Quick Myrrha fled; darkness and favoring night<br /> +“Sav'd her from death. O'er wide-spread fields she roam'd;<br /> +“Through Araby palm-bearing, and the lands<br /> +“Panchæa holds. Nine times returning light<br /> +“Had fill'd the horns of Luna, still she stray'd:<br /> +“Then weary rested in Sabæa's fields;<br /> +“While scarce she bore the burden of her womb.<br /> +“Then what to ask uncertain, 'twixt the fear<br /> +“Of death and weariness of hated life;<br /> +“In words like these she utter'd forth her prayers,—<br /> +“Ye powers, if those who guilt confess are heard,<br /> +“A punishment exemplar I deserve;<br /> +“I shrink not from it. Yet the living race<br /> +“Lest I contaminate, if left to live;<br /> +“Or lest I mix prophane with shades below,<br /> +“Drive me from either realm; from life and death<br /> +“Debar me, into some new shape transform'd.—<br /> +“The penitent some god propitious heard;<br /> +“Her final prayer at least success obtain'd:<br /> +“For as she spoke rose round her legs the earth;<br /> +“The lofty tree's foundation, crooked roots<br /> +“Shot from her spreading toes; hard wood her bones<br /> +<a name="page_2_117"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 117]</span> +“Became; the marrow in the midst remain'd<br /> +“As pith; as sappy juice still flow'd her blood:<br /> +“Her arms large boughs were spread; her fingers chang'd<br /> +“To slender twigs; rough bark her skin became.<br /> +“The growing tree press'd hard the gravid womb;<br /> +“Invested next her breast, and o'er her neck<br /> +“Threaten'd to spread. Impatient of delay<br /> +“She shrunk below to meet th' approaching wood,<br /> +“And hid beneath the rising bark her face.<br /> +“Human sensation with her change of shape<br /> +“She lost, yet still she weeps; and from the tree<br /> +“Warm drops yet fall, and much the tears are priz'd.<br /> +“The myrrh which oozes from the bark still holds<br /> +“Its mistress' name, well known in every age.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Meantime the misbegotten infant grew<br /> +“Within the trunk, and press'd to find a way<br /> +“To push to light, and leave the parent womb.<br /> +“Within the tree the gravid womb swell'd large,<br /> +“Stretch'd was the mother with the load, but mute<br /> +“Were all her woes; nor in travailing voice<br /> +“Lucina could she call. Yet hard to strain<br /> +“She seem'd; thick groans oft gave the bending bole,<br /> +“And tears flow'd copious. Mild Lucina came,<br /> +“And stood before the groaning boughs, and gave<br /> +“Assisting help, and spoke the spellful words.<br /> +“Cleft is the tree, and through the fissur'd bark<br /> +<a name="page_2_118"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 118]</span> +“A living burthen comes: the infant cries,<br /> +“Who on soft grass plac'd. The Naïad nymphs<br /> +“Him bathe in tears maternal: such a face<br /> +“Ev'n Envy could not blame. As painters form<br /> +“The naked Cupid's beauty, such had he;<br /> +“And that their dress no help to guess may give,<br /> +“This the light quiver take, or that resign.<br /> +“Quick passing time unheeded glides along<br /> +“Deceiving: nought than years more quickly flies.<br /> +“The child, of sister and of grandsire born,<br /> +“Late in the tree confin'd, late thence reliev'd;<br /> +“Just seen most beauteous of the infant tribe,<br /> +“Now youth, now man appears, more beauteous still:<br /> +“Now Venus charm'd, his mother's pangs aveng'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “As kisses sweet the quiver-bearing boy<br /> +“Press'd on his mother's lips, he witless raz'd<br /> +“Slightly her bosom, with a dart that stood<br /> +“Protruding. Venus, wounded, angry push'd<br /> +“Her son far from her; light the wound appear'd;<br /> +“At first even her deceiving. With the blaze<br /> +“Of manly beauty caught, she now contemns<br /> +“The Cythereïan shores; nor Paphos seeks,<br /> +“Girt by profoundest seas; Cnidos, so fam'd<br /> +“For fish; nor Amathus with metals rich.<br /> +“Heaven too, she quits, to heaven she now prefers<br /> +“Adonis: him she follows, him attends;<br /> +<a name="page_2_119"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 119]</span> +“Whose sole employ was loitering in the shade,<br /> +“In anxious study to increase her charms.<br /> +“Bare to the knee, her robe, like Dian's train<br /> +“High-girt, o'er hills, through woods, and brambly rocks<br /> +“She roves: exhorts the dogs, and drives such game<br /> +“As threaten not with danger; fearful hares,<br /> +“High-antler'd stags, and rapid-flying deer.<br /> +“Fierce boars she shuns, and shuns the robber-wolf,<br /> +“Strong-talon'd bears, and lions slaughter-gorg'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Thou too, Adonis, admonition heardst<br /> +“These to avoid, if admonition ought<br /> +“With thee could weigh:—Be brave,—the goddess said—<br /> +“To those who fly thee; courage 'gainst the bold<br /> +“To danger drags. Dear youth, thy heart is brave;<br /> +“Indulge not to my hazard, nor provoke<br /> +“Fierce beasts by nature arm'd, nor seek for fame.<br /> +“Nor youth nor beauty, such as Venus move,<br /> +“Will move the lion, or the bristly boar:<br /> +“Their eyes and breasts untouch'd by brightest charms.<br /> +“Thunder and lightning in his bended tusks<br /> +“The fierce boar carries; rapid is the force<br /> +“The tawny lion, (hated race!) exerts:<br /> +“My cause of hatred when to thee disclos'd,<br /> +“Will raise thy wonder at the monstrous crime,<br /> +“In days of yore committed. Now hard toil<br /> +“Unwonted tires me. Lo! the poplar's shade<br /> +<a name="page_2_120"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 120]</span> +“So opportune invites; and the green turf<br /> +“A couch presents. Upon the ground with thee<br /> +“I'll rest:—she spoke, and as she stretch'd along,<br /> +“She press'd the grass, and press'd the lovely youth:<br /> +“Smiling, her head upon his breast reclin'd,<br /> +“'Midst intermingling kisses, thus she spoke.—<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Perhaps thou'st heard of that renowned maid,<br /> +“Whose fleetness in the race the swiftest man's<br /> +“Surpass'd. Not fabulous the tale you heard:<br /> +“She vanquish'd all. And hard it was to say,<br /> +“If praise for swiftness, or for beauteous form,<br /> +“She most deserv'd. To her, who once enquir'd<br /> +“Of marriage, fate-predicting Phœbus said—<br /> +“A spouse would, Atalanta, be thy bane;<br /> +“Avoid an husband's couch. Yet wilt thou not<br /> +“An husband's couch avoid; but lose thyself,<br /> +“Thyself yet living.—Terror-struck to hear<br /> +“The sentence of the god, maiden she lives<br /> +“Amid the thickest woods; driving severe<br /> +“The throngs of pressing suitors from her far,<br /> +“By hard conditions.—Ne'er can I be gain'd—<br /> +“She said—till vanquish'd in the race. With me<br /> +“Your swiftness try: the conqueror in the strife,<br /> +“Shall gain me spouse, and gain a genial couch;<br /> +“But death must him who lags behind reward.<br /> +“Such be the laws of trial.—Pitiless<br /> +<a name="page_2_121"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 121]</span> +“The law appear'd; but (such is beauty's power)<br /> +“Crowds of rash lovers to the law agreed.<br /> +“There sat Hippomenes to view the race<br /> +“Unequal; and exclaim'd,—are there so mad,<br /> +“As seek a wife through peril so immense?—<br /> +“And the blind love of all the youths condemn'd.<br /> +“But when her face he saw, and saw her limbs<br /> +“Bar'd for the contest, (limbs like mine, or thine,<br /> +“Were thine of female mould,) amaz'd he look'd<br /> +“With uprais'd hands, and cry'd;—forgive my fault,<br /> +“Ye whom but now I blam'd; the great reward<br /> +“For which you labor, then to me unknown!—<br /> +“Thus praising, fire he feels, and hopes no youth<br /> +“More swift will run, and envious fears their speed—<br /> +“But why the fortune of this contest leave,<br /> +“Untry'd—he said,—myself? Heaven helps the bold.—<br /> +“While musing thus Hippomenes remarks<br /> +“The virgin's flying pace. Though not less swift<br /> +“Th' Aönian youth beheld her, than the dart<br /> +“Shot from the Scythian bow; her beauty more<br /> +“Ravish'd his eyes, and speed her charms increas'd.<br /> +“Th' opposing breeze, which met her rapid feet,<br /> +“Blew back the ribbons which her sandals bound;<br /> +“Her tresses floated down her ivory back;<br /> +“And loosely flow'd her garment o'er her knees,<br /> +“With painted border gay: a purple bloom<br /> +“With virgin whiteness mixt, her body shew'd;<br /> +<a name="page_2_122"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 122]</span> +“As when the snow-white hall a deepen'd tinge<br /> +“From purple curtains shews. While this the guest<br /> +“Intently notes, the utmost goal is pass'd:<br /> +“Victorious Atalanta with the wreath<br /> +“Is crown'd: the vanquish'd sigh, and meet the doom<br /> +“Agreed. He, by the youths' untimely fate<br /> +“Deterr'd not, forward stood, and on the nymph<br /> +“Fix'd full his eyes, and said;—Why seek you thus<br /> +“An easy conquest, vanquishing the weak?<br /> +“With me contend. So potent am I born<br /> +“You need not blush to such high rank to yield.<br /> +“Megareus was my sire, Onchestius his,<br /> +“Grandson to Neptune; thus the fourth I boast<br /> +“From Ocean's sovereign. Nor beneath my race<br /> +“Stoops aught my valor; should success me crown,<br /> +“A lofty and an everlasting fame,<br /> +“Hippomenes your conqueror, would you gain.—<br /> +“As thus he spoke, with softening eyes the maid<br /> +“Beheld him, doubtful which 'twere best to wish,<br /> +“To vanquish or be vanquish'd. While she thus<br /> +“Utter'd her thoughts—What god, an envious foe<br /> +“To beauty would destroy him: urg'd to seek<br /> +“My bed, by risking thus his own dear life?<br /> +“I cannot sure so great a prize be thought!<br /> +“His beauty melts me not; though yet I own<br /> +“Such beauty well might melt. But such a youth<br /> +“He seems, he moves me not but from his years.<br /> +<a name="page_2_123"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 123]</span> +“What courage in him reigns! his soul unaw'd<br /> +“By death. He springs the fourth from Ocean's king!<br /> +“Then how he loves! and prizes so my hand,<br /> +“That should hard fortune keep me from his arms,<br /> +“He'd perish. Stranger, while thou may'st, depart;<br /> +“Avoid the bloody nuptials. Marriage, I<br /> +“Too cruel make. No maid would thee refuse;<br /> +“And soon may'st thou a wiser nymph select.<br /> +“But why for him this care? from me who see<br /> +“So many die, whom he too has beheld?<br /> +“Then let him perish; since the numerous train<br /> +“Of slaughter'd lovers warns him not: he spurns<br /> +“An hated life. How! should he then be slain<br /> +“Because with me to live he wishes? Death<br /> +“Inglorious must he gain, reward of love?<br /> +“Hatred would such a conquest still attend.<br /> +“Still is not mine the fault. Do thou desist;<br /> +“Or if thy madness holds, O, that thy feet<br /> +“More swift may be! See in his youthful face<br /> +“What virgin beauties! Ah! Hippomenes,<br /> +“Would Atalanta thou had'st never seen.<br /> +“Well worthy thou of life. Were I more blest;<br /> +“Had rugged fate not me a spouse forbade,<br /> +“Thou, sole art he, by whom to Hymen's couch<br /> +“With joy I would be led.—Thus spoke the nymph,<br /> +“In fond simplicity, first touch'd by love,<br /> +<a name="page_2_124"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 124]</span> +“Unknowing what she felt: ardent she lov'd,<br /> +“Yet knew the passion not which rul'd her soul.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Now loud the people, and the king demand,<br /> +“The wonted race. To me with anxious words<br /> +“Hippomenes, great Neptune's offspring pray'd—<br /> +“O Cytherea! I adjure thee, aid<br /> +“My bold attempt; from thee those flames I felt,<br /> +“Grant them thy succour.—Gales auspicious waft<br /> +“To me the tender prayers, my soul is mov'd:<br /> +“Nor long the aid so needful I delay.<br /> +“A tract there lies in Cyprus' richest lands,<br /> +“Nam'd Tamasene by those who dwell around,<br /> +“This ancient times made sacred unto me:<br /> +“And with this gift my temples were endow'd.<br /> +“'Midst of the field appears a shining tree;<br /> +“Yellow its leaves, its crackling branches gold.<br /> +“By chance there straying, from the boughs I pluck'd<br /> +“Three golden apples, bore them in my hand,<br /> +“And seen by none, except the favor'd youth,<br /> +“Approach'd Hippomenes, and taught their use.<br /> +“The trumpets gave the sign, each ready sprung—<br /> +“Shot from the barrier, and with rapid feet<br /> +“Skimm'd lightly o'er the sand. O'er the wide main<br /> +“With feet unwetted, they might seem to fly;<br /> +“Or sweep th' unbending ears of hoary grain.<br /> +“Loud shouts encouraging, and cheering words,<br /> +<a name="page_2_125"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 125]</span> +“On every side a stimulus afford,<br /> +“To urge the youth's exertions.—Now,—they cry,—<br /> +“Now, now, Hippomenes, the time to press!<br /> +“On, on! exert thy vigor—flag not now,—<br /> +“The race is thine.—The grateful sounds both heard,<br /> +“Megareus' son, and Schœneus' daughter; hard<br /> +“Which joy'd the most to judge. How oft her pace<br /> +“She slacken'd, when with ease she might have pass'd,<br /> +“And ceas'd unwilling on his face to gaze.<br /> +“Tir'd now, parch'd breathings from the mouth ascends<br /> +“Of Neptune's son, and far remote the goal.<br /> +“Then, as his last resource, he distant flung<br /> +“One of the tree's bright produce. In amaze<br /> +“The virgin saw it roll; and from the course<br /> +“Swerv'd, tempted to obtain the glittering fruit.<br /> +“Hippomenes o'ershoots her; all around<br /> +“Applauses ring. She soon corrects delay,<br /> +“And wasted moments, with more rapid speed,<br /> +“And leaves again the youth behind. Again,<br /> +“Delay'd to catch the second flying fruit,<br /> +“The youth is follow'd, and again o'erpass'd.<br /> +“Now near the goal they come,—O, goddess! now<br /> +“Who gave the boon assist; he said, and flung<br /> +“With youthful force obliquely o'er the plain,<br /> +“More to detain, the last bright glittering gold.<br /> +“In doubt the virgin saw it fly: I urg'd<br /> +“That she should follow; and fresh weight I gave<br /> +<a name="page_2_126"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 126]</span> +“The apple when obtain'd; thus by the load<br /> +“Her course impeding, and obtain'd delay.<br /> +“But lest my tale, in length surpass the race,<br /> +“The vanquish'd virgin was the victor's prize.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Think'st thou Adonis, did I not deserve<br /> +“Most grateful thanks in smoking incense paid?<br /> +“Mindless, nor thanks, nor incense yielded he;<br /> +“And sudden anger in my bosom rag'd.<br /> +“Irk'd at the slight, I instantly provide<br /> +“That future times with less contempt behave:<br /> +“And 'gainst them both my raging bosom burns.<br /> +“Now pass'd they near a temple, long since rais'd<br /> +“By fam'd Echion, in a shady wood,<br /> +“To the great mother of the heavenly gods,<br /> +“When the long journey tempted to repose;<br /> +“And there, inspir'd by me, ill-tim'd desire<br /> +“Hippomenes excited. Near the fane<br /> +“A cave-like close recess dim-lighted stood,<br /> +“With native pumice roof'd, hallow'd of old;<br /> +“Where priests the numerous images had plac'd,<br /> +“Of ancient deities. They enter'd here,<br /> +“And with forbidden lust the place defil'd.<br /> +“The wooden images their eyes avert:<br /> +“The tower-crown'd goddess dubious stands to plunge,<br /> +“The guilty couple in the Stygian wave.<br /> +“Too light that sentence seems: straight yellow manes<br /> +<a name="page_2_127"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 127]</span> +“Cover their soft smooth necks; their fingers curve<br /> +“To mighty claws; their arms to fore-legs turn;<br /> +“And new-form'd tails sweep lightly o'er the sand:<br /> +“Angry their countenance glares; for speech they roar;<br /> +“They haunt the forests for their nuptial dome.<br /> +“Transform'd to lions, and by others fear'd,<br /> +“Their tam'd mouths champ the Cybeleïan reins.<br /> +“Do thou, O dearest boy! their rage avoid;<br /> +“Not theirs alone, but all the savage tribe,<br /> +“That stubborn meet with breasts the furious war;<br /> +“Not turn their backs for flight: lest bold too much,<br /> +“Thou and myself, have cause too much too mourn.—<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Thus she admonish'd; and by coupled swans<br /> +“Upborne, she cleft the air; but his brave soul<br /> +“Her cautious admonitions rash contemn'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “By chance his dogs the well-mark'd footprints trac'd,<br /> +“And from his lurking covert rous'd a boar;<br /> +“Whom with a stroke oblique, as from the brake<br /> +“To spring he went, the gallant youth transpierc'd.<br /> +“Instant, with crooked tusks, the gore-stain'd spear<br /> +“Wrench'd the fierce boar away, and at him rush'd,<br /> +“Trembling, and safety seeking: every fang<br /> +“Deep in his groin he plung'd, and on the sand<br /> +“Stretch'd him expiring. Cytherea, borne<br /> +“Through midmost ether in her chariot light,<br /> +<a name="page_2_128"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 128]</span> +“Had not at Cyprus with her swans arriv'd,<br /> +“When, known from far, she heard his dying groans;<br /> +“And thither turn'd her snowy birds. From high<br /> +“When lifeless she beheld him, in his blood<br /> +“Convulsive struggling, quick she darted down,<br /> +“She tore her garments, and she tore her hair;<br /> +“And with unpitying hands her breast she smote.<br /> +“Then, fate upbraiding first, she said;—Not all<br /> +“Shall bend to your decision; still shalt thou<br /> +“Remain, Adonis, monument of woe,<br /> +“Suffer'd by me! The image of thy death,<br /> +“Annual repeated, annual shall renew<br /> +“Remembrance of my mourning. But thy blood<br /> +“A flower shall form. Shalt thou, O Proserpine,<br /> +“A female body to a scented herb<br /> +“Transform; and I the Cinyreïan youth<br /> +“Forbidden be to change?—She said, and flung<br /> +“Nectar most odorous on the ebbing gore;<br /> +“Which instant swelling rose. So bubbles rise<br /> +“On the smooth stream when showery floods descend.<br /> +“Nor long the term, an hour's short space elaps'd,<br /> +“When the same teinted flower the blood produc'd:<br /> +“Such flowers the deep pomegranate bears, which hides<br /> +“Its purple grains beneath a flexile rind.<br /> +“But short its boast, for the same winds afford<br /> +“Its name, and shake them where they light adhere:<br /> +“Ripe for their fall in fragile beauty gay.”<br /> +<a name="page_2_129"></a> +<a name="page_2_130"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 130]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter22"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Eleventh Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Rage of the Thracian women. Massacre of Orpheus. The women transformed +to trees by Bacchus. Midas' foolish wish to change all things he +touched into gold. Contest of skill between Pan and Apollo. The ears +of Midas transformed to asses ears. Troy built by Apollo and Neptune. +Laömedon's perfidy. Hesioné freed by Hercules, and married to Telamon. +Peleus and Thetis. Birth of Achilles. Chioné ravished by Mercury, and +by Apollo. Slain by Diana. Her sire Dædalion changed into an hawk. +A wolf changed by Thetis to marble. Voyage of Ceÿx to Delphos. Lost +in a storm. Grief of Alcyoné. Morpheus acquaints her with her husband's +death. Change of both to kingfishers. Æsacus into a cormorant. +<a name="page_2_131"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 131]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter23"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Eleventh Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + While thus the Thracian bard the forests drew,<br /> +And rocks, and furious beasts with strains divine;—<br /> +Behold the Thracian dames! their madden'd breasts<br /> +Clad with the shaggy spoil of furious beasts,<br /> +Espy'd him from an hillock's rising swell,<br /> +As to his sounding strings he shap'd the song.<br /> +When one, her tresses in the ruffling air<br /> +Wild streaming, cry'd—“Lo! him who spurns our ties!”—<br /> +And full her dart 'gainst the harmonious mouth<br /> +Of Phœbus' son she flung: entwisted round<br /> +<a name="page_2_132"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 132]</span> +With leaves, a bruise without a wound appear'd.<br /> +A stone another for a weapon seiz'd;<br /> +The flying stone was even in air subdu'd<br /> +By harmony and song; and at his feet<br /> +Low fell, as suppliant for its daring fault.<br /> +But now the tumult swells more furious,—bounds<br /> +It knows not! mad Erinnys reigns around.<br /> +Yet all their weapons had his music's power<br /> +Soften'd; but clamor, Berecynthian horns,<br /> +Drums, clappings, bacchanalian shouts, and howls,<br /> +Drown'd the soft lyre. Then were the stones distain'd<br /> +With silenc'd Orpheus' blood. The Bacchæ first<br /> +Drove wide the crowding birds, the snakes, the beasts,<br /> +In throngs collected by his tuneful voice;<br /> +Glory of Orpheus' stage. From thence they turn'd<br /> +Their gory hands on Orpheus, and around<br /> +Cluster'd like fowls that in the day espy<br /> +The bird of darkness. Then as in the morn<br /> +The high-rais'd amphitheatre beholds<br /> +The stag a prey to hounds; so they the bard<br /> +Attack'd, and flung their Thyrsi twin'd with leaves;<br /> +For different use first form'd. Those hurl huge clods:<br /> +These branches torn from trees; and others stones.<br /> +Lest to their fury arms were wanting, lo!<br /> +A yoke of oxen with the ploughshare broke<br /> +The ground, not distant far; with sinews there<br /> +Of nervous strength, the husbandmen upturn'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_133"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 133]</span> +The stubborn soil; with sweat producing fruit.<br /> +These, when the troop they saw, affrighted fled,<br /> +Quitting their instruments of toil. Their rakes,<br /> +Their ponderous harrows, and their huge long spades,<br /> +Were scatter'd left on the deserted field.<br /> +These when their furious hands had seiz'd, and tore<br /> +From the strong oxen's heads the threatening horns,<br /> +Back they return'd to end the poet's fate;<br /> +And sacrilegious, as he stretch'd his hands,<br /> +They slaughter'd him! Then first in vain his words<br /> +Were utter'd; nought could then his speech avail.<br /> +Then, heavenly powers! his spirit was expell'd<br /> +And breath'd in air, even through that mouth whose sound<br /> +Hard rocks had heard, and wildest beasts had own'd.<br /> +For thee, O Orpheus! mourn'd the feather'd tribe,<br /> +And crowds of savage monsters; flinty rocks<br /> +Bewail'd thee; forests, which thy tempting song<br /> +So oft had caus'd to follow, wept; the trees,<br /> +Shorn of their pride, bewail'd with falling leaves.<br /> +Each stream, 'tis said, with flowing tears increas'd<br /> +Its current. Naïad nymphs and Dryads wore<br /> +Garments of sable tinge, with streaming hair.<br /> +Wide scatter'd lie his limbs. His head and lyre<br /> +Thou, Hebrus, dost receive; and while they glide,<br /> +Wond'rous occurrence! down the floating stream,<br /> +The lyre a mournful moan sends forth; the lips,<br /> +Now lifeless, murmur plaintive; and the bank<br /> +<a name="page_2_134"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 134]</span> +Echoes the lamentations. Borne along<br /> +To ocean, now his native stream they leave,<br /> +And reach Methymna on the Lesbian shore.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The head, expos'd thus on the foreign sand,<br /> +And locks still dropping with the watery wave,<br /> +A snake approach'd. But Phœbus gave his aid,<br /> +And check'd the greedy bite; with open jaws<br /> +The serpent rears in stone congeal'd, as then<br /> +Widely he gap'd. The ghost from earth descends,<br /> +And views the regions he had view'd before.<br /> +Exploring through th' Elysian fields he meets<br /> +His dear Eurydicé; with longing arms<br /> +He clasps her. Here they walk, now side by side,<br /> +With equal pace; now follows he, and now<br /> +A little space precedes her: Orpheus there<br /> +Back on Eurydicé in safety looks.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + But Bacchus suffer'd not the heinous deed<br /> +Unpunish'd to remain; griev'd that the bard<br /> +Who sung his praises, thus was snatch'd away,<br /> +He bound the Thracian matrons, who the crime<br /> +Had perpetrated, fast by twisted roots<br /> +To earth as trees. He stretch'd their feet and toes,<br /> +Which follow'd him so swift, and struck their points<br /> +Deep in the solid earth: A bird ensnar'd<br /> +Thus finds his leg imprison'd by the wires<br /> +<a name="page_2_135"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 135]</span> +Hid by the crafty fowler, and his wings<br /> +Beats, while his fluttering draws more tight the noose.<br /> +So each, as firmly fixt to earth she stood,<br /> +Affrighted strove to fly, but strove in vain:<br /> +The flexile roots detain'd them; and fast ty'd,<br /> +Spite of their struggling bounds, while they explore<br /> +For toes and nails, and while they seek for feet,<br /> +They see the wood their taper legs conceal;<br /> +Their grieving hands to beat their thighs are rais'd;<br /> +Their hands strike solid wood: their shoulders, breasts,<br /> +Are also wood become. Their outstretch'd arms<br /> +Extended boughs appear'd, and boughs they were.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Nor sated yet was Bacchus; all their fields<br /> +He quits; attended by a worthier troop.<br /> +To Tmolus' vineyards and Pactolus' stream<br /> +He hies: the stream not yet for gold was fam'd;<br /> +Not yet so precious were its envy'd sands.<br /> +Satyrs and Bacchant' nymphs, his 'custom'd choir<br /> +Attend him, but Silenus was not found.<br /> +Him drunken had the rustic Phrygians seiz'd,<br /> +Reeling with wine, and tottering 'neath his years;<br /> +With ivy crown'd; and fetter'd to their king,<br /> +The royal Midas, brought him. Midas once<br /> +The Thracian Orpheus Bacchus' orgies taught,<br /> +With sage Eumolpus; and at once he knew<br /> +His old associate in the sacred rites;<br /> +<a name="page_2_136"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 136]</span> +And joyful feasted with voluptuous fare,<br /> +For twice five days, and twice five nights his guest.<br /> +Th' eleventh time Phosphor' now the lofty host<br /> +Of stars had chas'd from heaven; the jovial king<br /> +Went forth to Lydia's fields, and there restor'd<br /> +Silenus to the youth his foster-child.<br /> +He, joy'd again his nursing sire to see,<br /> +On him bestow'd his anxious sought desire,<br /> +Though useless was the gift. Greedy he crav'd<br /> +What only harm'd him,—saying—“Grant, O, power!<br /> +“Whate'er I touch may straight to gold be chang'd”—<br /> +Bacchus consents to what he wishes;—gives<br /> +The hurtful gift; but grieves to see his mind<br /> +No better wish demand. Joyful departs<br /> +The Berecynthian monarch, with ill-fate<br /> +Delighted; and, each object touching, tries<br /> +The promis'd faith. Scarcely himself believ'd,<br /> +When from a growing ilex down he tore<br /> +A sprouting bough, straight gold the bough became:<br /> +A stone from earth he lifted, pale the stone<br /> +In gold appear'd: he touch'd a turfy clod,<br /> +The clod quick harden'd with the potent touch:<br /> +He pluck'd the ripen'd hoary ears of wheat,<br /> +And golden shone the grain: he from the tree<br /> +An apple snatch'd, the fam'd Hesperian fruit<br /> +He seem'd to hold: where'er his fingers touch'd<br /> +The lofty pillars, all the pillars shone:<br /> +<a name="page_2_137"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 137]</span> +Nay, where his hands he in the waters lav'd,<br /> +The waters flowing from his hands seem'd such<br /> +As Danaë might deceive. Scarce can his breast<br /> +His towering projects hold; all fancy'd gold.<br /> +Th' attendant slaves before their master, joy'd<br /> +At this great fortune, heap'd the table high<br /> +With dainties; nor was bread deficient there:<br /> +But when his hands the Cerealian boon<br /> +Had touch'd, the Cerealian boon grew hard:<br /> +And when the dainty food with greedy tooth<br /> +He strove to eat, the dainty food grew bright,<br /> +In glittering plates, where'er his teeth had touch'd.<br /> +He mixt pure water with his patron's wine,<br /> +And fluid gold adown his cheeks straight flow'd.<br /> +With panic seiz'd, the new-found plague to view,<br /> +Rich, yet most wretched; from his wealthy hoard<br /> +Fain would he fly; and from his soul detests<br /> +What late he anxious pray'd. The plenteous gold<br /> +Abates his hunger nought, and parching thirst<br /> +Burns in his throat. He well deserves the curse<br /> +Caus'd by now-hated gold. Lifting his hands<br /> +And splendid arms to heaven, he cries,—“O sire<br /> +“Lenæan! pardon my offence: my fault<br /> +“Is evident; but pity me, I pray,<br /> +“And from me move this fair deceitful curse.”<br /> +Bacchus, the gentlest of celestial powers,<br /> +Reliev'd him, as he thus his error own'd:<br /> +<a name="page_2_138"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 138]</span> +The compact first agreed dissolv'd, and void<br /> +The grant became:—“Lest still thou shouldst remain<br /> +“With gold”—he said,—“so madly wish'd, imbu'd,<br /> +“Haste to the stream by mighty Sardis' town<br /> +“Which flows; thy path along the mountain's ridge<br /> +“Explore, opposing still the gliding waves,<br /> +“Till thou the spring espy'st. Then deeply plunge<br /> +“Beneath the foaming gush thy head, where full<br /> +“It spouts its waters; and thy error cleanse,<br /> +“As clean thy limbs thou washest.”—To the stream<br /> +The king as bidden hastes. The golden charm<br /> +Tinges the river; from the monarch's limbs<br /> +It passes to the stream. And now the banks<br /> +Harden in veins of gold to sight disclos'd;<br /> +And the pale sands in glittering splendor shine.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Detesting riches, now in woods he lives,<br /> +And rural dales; with Pan, who still resorts<br /> +To mountain caverns. Still his soul remains<br /> +Stupidly dull; the folly of his breast<br /> +Was doom'd to harm its owner as before.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + High Tmolus rears with steep ascent his head,<br /> +O'erlooking distant ocean; wide he spreads<br /> +His bounds abrupt; confin'd by Sardis here,<br /> +By small Hypæpé there. Upon his top,<br /> +While Pan in boastful strain the tender nymphs<br /> +<a name="page_2_139"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 139]</span> +Pleas'd with his notes, and on his wax-join'd reeds<br /> +A paltry ditty play'd; boldly he dar'd<br /> +To place his own above Apollo's song.<br /> +The god to try th' unequal strife descends;<br /> +Tmolus the umpire. On his mountain plac'd,<br /> +The ancient judge from his attentive ears<br /> +The branches clear'd; save that his azure head<br /> +With oak was crown'd, and acorns dangling down<br /> +His hollow temples grac'd. The shepherd's god<br /> +Beholding,—“no delay, your judge,”—he said—<br /> +“Shall cause,”—and straight Pan sounds the rural reeds.<br /> +His barbarous music much the judgment pleas'd<br /> +Of Midas, who amidst the crowd approach'd.<br /> +Now venerable Tmolus on the face<br /> +Of Phœbus turn'd his eyes; and with him turn'd<br /> +Th' attentive woods. Parnassian laurel bound<br /> +His golden locks; deep dipt in Tyrian dye,<br /> +His garment swept the ground; his left hand held<br /> +The instrument with gems and ivory rich;<br /> +The other grasp'd the bow: his posture shew'd<br /> +The skilful master's art: lightly he touch'd<br /> +The chords with thumb experienc'd. Justly charm'd<br /> +With melody so sweet, Tmolus decreed<br /> +The pipe of Pan to Phœbus' lute should yield.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Much did the judgment of the sacred hill,<br /> +And much his sentence all delight, save one:<br /> +<a name="page_2_140"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 140]</span> +For Midas blames him, and unjust declares<br /> +The arbitration. Human shape no more<br /> +The god permits his foolish ears to wear;<br /> +But long extends them, and with hoary hairs<br /> +Fills them within; and grants them power to move,<br /> +From their foundation flexile. All beside<br /> +Was man, one part felt his revenge alone;<br /> +A slowly pacing asses ears he bears.<br /> +His head, weigh'd heavy with his load of shame,<br /> +He strove in purple turban to enfold;<br /> +Thus his disgrace to hide. But when as wont<br /> +His slave his hairs, unseemly lengthen'd, cropp'd,<br /> +He saw the change; the tale he fear'd to tell,<br /> +Of what he witness'd, though he anxious wish'd<br /> +In public to proclaim it: yet to hold<br /> +Sacred the trust surpass'd his power. He went<br /> +Forth, and digg'd up the earth; with whispering voice<br /> +There he imparted of his master's ears<br /> +What he had seen; and murmur'd to the sod:<br /> +But bury'd close the confidential words<br /> +Beneath the turf again: then, all fill'd up,<br /> +Silently he departed. From the spot<br /> +Began a thick-grown tuft of trembling reeds<br /> +To spring, which ripening with the year's full round,<br /> +Betray'd their planter. By the light south wind<br /> +When agitated, they the bury'd words<br /> +Disclos'd, betraying what the monarch's ears.<br /> +<a name="page_2_141"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 141]</span> +Latona's son, aveng'd, high Tmolus leaves,<br /> +And cleaving liquid air, lights in the realm<br /> +Laömedon commands: on the strait sea,<br /> +Nephelian Hellé names, an altar stands<br /> +Sacred to Panomphæan Jove, where seen<br /> +Lofty Rhætæum rises to the left,<br /> +Sigæum to the right. From thence he saw<br /> +Laömedon, as first he toil'd to build<br /> +The walls of infant Troy; with toil immense<br /> +The undertaking in progression grew,<br /> +And mighty sums he saw the work would ask.<br /> +A mortal shape he takes; a mortal shape<br /> +Clothes too the trident-bearing sire, who rules<br /> +The swelling deep. The Phrygian monarch's walls<br /> +They raise, a certain treasure for their toil<br /> +Agreed on first. The work is finished. Base,<br /> +The king disowns the compact, and his lies<br /> +Perfidious, backs with perjury.—“Boast not<br /> +“This treatment calmly borne,” the ocean's god<br /> +Exclaim'd; and o'er the sordid Trojan's shores<br /> +Pour'd all his flood of billows; and transform'd<br /> +The land to sheets of water; swept away<br /> +The tiller's treasure; bury'd all the meads.<br /> +Nor sated with this ruin, he demands<br /> +The monarch's daughter should be given a prey<br /> +To an huge monster of the main; whom, chain'd<br /> +To the hard rock, Alcides' arm set free,<br /> +<a name="page_2_142"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 142]</span> +And claim'd the boon his due; the promis'd steeds.<br /> +Refus'd the prize his valorous deed deserv'd,<br /> +He sack'd the walls of doubly-perjur'd Troy,<br /> +Nor thence did Telamon, whose powerful arm<br /> +The hero aided, unrewarded go;<br /> +Hesioné was by Alcides given.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Peleus was famous for his goddess-spouse:<br /> +Proud not more justly of his grandsire's fame,<br /> +Than of his consort's father; numbers more<br /> +Might boast them grandsons of imperial Jove;<br /> +To him alone a goddess-bride belong'd.<br /> +For aged Proteus had to Thetis said,—<br /> +“O, goddess of the waves, a child conceive!<br /> +“Thou shalt be mother of a youth, whose deeds<br /> +“Will far the bravest of his sire's transcend:<br /> +“And mightier than his sire's shall be his name.”<br /> +Hence, lest the world than Jove a mightier god<br /> +Should know, though Jove with amorous flames fierce burn'd,<br /> +He shunn'd th' embraces of the watery dame:<br /> +And bade his grandson Peleus to his hopes<br /> +Succeed, and clasp the virgin in his arms.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Hæmonia's coast a bay possesses, curv'd<br /> +Like a bent bow; whose arms enclosing stretch<br /> +Far in the sea; where if more deep the waves<br /> +An haven would be form'd: the waters spread<br /> +<a name="page_2_143"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 143]</span> +Just o'er the sand. Firm is the level shore;<br /> +Such as would ne'er the race retard, nor hold<br /> +The print of feet; no seaweed there was spread.<br /> +Nigh sprung a grove of myrtle, cover'd thick<br /> +With double-teinted berries: in the midst<br /> +A cave appear'd, by art or nature form'd;<br /> +But art most plain was seen. Here, Thetis! oft,<br /> +Plac'd unattir'd on thy rein'd dolphin's back,<br /> +Thou didst delight to come. There, as thou laid'st<br /> +In slumbers bound, did Peleus on thee seize.<br /> +And when his most endearing prayers were spurn'd,<br /> +Force he prepar'd; both arms around thy neck<br /> +Close clasp'd. And then to thy accustom'd arts,<br /> +Of often-varied-form, hadst thou not fled,<br /> +He might have prosper'd in his daring hope.<br /> +But now a bird thou wert; the bird he held:<br /> +Now an huge tree; Peleus the tree grasp'd firm:<br /> +A spotted tiger then thy third-chang'd shape;<br /> +Frighted at that, Æäcides his hold<br /> +Quit from her body. Then the ocean powers<br /> +He worshipp'd, pouring wine upon the waves,<br /> +And bleating victims slew, and incense burn'd:<br /> +Till from the gulf profound the prophet spoke<br /> +Of Carpathus. “O, Peleus! gain thou shalt<br /> +“The wish'd-for nuptials; only when she rests<br /> +“In the cool cavern sleeping, thou with cords<br /> +“And fetters strong her, unsuspecting, bind;<br /> +<a name="page_2_144"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 144]</span> +“Nor let an hundred shapes thy soul deceive;<br /> +“Still hold her fast whatever form she wears,<br /> +“Till in her pristine looks she shines again.”<br /> +This Proteus said, and plung'd his head beneath<br /> +The waves, while scarce his final words were heard.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Prone down the west was Titan speeding now;<br /> +And to th' Hesperian waves his car inclin'd,<br /> +When the fair Nereïd from the wide deep came,<br /> +And sought her 'custom'd couch. Scarce Peleus seiz'd<br /> +Her virgin limbs, when straight a thousand forms<br /> +She try'd, till fast she saw her members ty'd;<br /> +And her arms fetter'd close in every part:<br /> +Then sigh'd, and said; “thou conquerest by some god:”<br /> +And the fair form of Thetis was display'd.<br /> +The hero clasp'd her, and his wishes gain'd;<br /> +And great Achilles straight the nymph conceiv'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now blest was Peleus in his son and bride;<br /> +And blest in all which can to man belong;<br /> +Save in the crime of murder'd Phocus. Driven<br /> +From his paternal home, of brother's blood<br /> +Guilty, Trachinia's soil receiv'd him first.<br /> +Here Ceÿx, Phosphor's offspring, who retain'd<br /> +His father's splendor on his forehead, rul'd<br /> +The land; which knew not bloodshed, knew not force.<br /> +At that time gloomy, sad, himself unlike,<br /> +<a name="page_2_145"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 145]</span> +He mourn'd a brother's loss. To him, fatigu'd<br /> +With travel, and with care worn out, the son<br /> +Of Æäcus arriv'd; and in the town<br /> +Enter'd with followers few: the flocks and herds<br /> +That journey'd with him, just without the walls,<br /> +In a dark vale were left. When the first grant<br /> +T'approach the monarch was obtain'd, he rais'd<br /> +The olive in his suppliant hand; then told<br /> +His name, and lineage, but his crime conceal'd.<br /> +His cause of flight dissembling, next he beg'd,<br /> +For him and his, some pastures and a town.<br /> +Then thus Trachinia's king with friendly brow:<br /> +“To all, the very meanest of mankind,<br /> +“Are our possessions free; nor do I rule<br /> +“A realm inhospitable: add to these<br /> +“Inducements strong, thine own illustrious name,<br /> +“And grandsire Jove. In praying lose not time.<br /> +“Whate'er thou wouldst, thou shalt receive; and all,<br /> +“Such as it is, with me most freely share;<br /> +“Would it were better.” Speaking thus, he wept:<br /> +His cause of grief to Peleus and his friends,<br /> +Anxious enquiring, then the monarch told.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Perchance this bird, which by fierce rapine lives,<br /> +“Dread of the feather'd tribe, you think still wings<br /> +“Possess'd. Once man, he bore a noble soul;<br /> +“Though stern, and rough in war, and fond of blood.<br /> +<a name="page_2_146"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 146]</span> +“His name Dædalion: from the sire produc'd<br /> +“Who calls Aurora forth, and last of stars<br /> +“Relinquishes the sky. Peace my delight;<br /> +“Peace to preserve was still my care: my joys<br /> +“I shar'd in Hymen's bonds. Fierce wars alone,<br /> +“My brother pleas'd. His valor then o'erthrew<br /> +“Monarchs and nations, who, in alter'd form,<br /> +“Drives now Thisbæan pigeons through the air.<br /> +“His daughter Chioné, in beauty rich,<br /> +“For marriage ripe, now fourteen years had seen;<br /> +“And numerous suitors with her charms were fir'd.<br /> +“It chanc'd that Phœbus once, and Maiä's son,<br /> +“Returning from his favorite Delphos this,<br /> +“That from Cyllené's top, together saw<br /> +“The nymph,—together felt the amorous flame.<br /> +“Apollo his warm hopes till night defers;<br /> +“But Hermes brooks delay not: with his rod,<br /> +“Compelling sleep, he strokes the virgin's face;<br /> +“Beneath the potent touch she sinks, and yields<br /> +“Without resistance to his amorous force.<br /> +“Night spread o'er heaven the stars, when Phœbus took<br /> +“A matron's form, and seiz'd fore-tasted joys.<br /> +“When its full time the womb matur'd had seen,<br /> +“Autolycus was born; the crafty seed<br /> +“Of the wing'd-footed god; acute of thought<br /> +“To every shade of theft; from his sire's art<br /> +“Degenerate nought; white he was wont to make<br /> +<a name="page_2_147"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 147]</span> +“Appear as black; and black from white produce.<br /> +“Philammon, famous with the lyre and song,<br /> +“Was born to Phœbus (twins the nymph brought forth).<br /> +“But where the benefit that two she bears?<br /> +“Where that the favorite of two gods she boasts?<br /> +“What that a valiant sire she claims? and claims<br /> +“As ancestor the mighty thundering god?<br /> +“Is it that glory such as this still harms?<br /> +“Certain it hurtful prov'd to her, who dar'd<br /> +“Herself prefer to Dian', and despise<br /> +“The goddess' beauty; fierce in ire she cry'd,—<br /> +“At least I'll try to make my actions please.—<br /> +“Nor stay'd; the bow she bent, and from the cord<br /> +“Impell'd the dart; through her deserving tongue<br /> +“The reed was sent. Mute straight that tongue became;<br /> +“Nor sound, nor what she try'd to utter, heard:<br /> +“Striving to speak, life flow'd with flowing blood.<br /> +“What woe (O hapless piety!) oppress'd<br /> +“My heart! What solace to her tender sire<br /> +“I spoke; my solace just the same he heard,<br /> +“As rocks hear murmuring waves. But still he moan'd<br /> +“For his lost child; but when the flames he saw<br /> +“Ascending, four times 'mid the funeral fires<br /> +“He strove to plunge; four times from thence repuls'd,<br /> +“His rapid limbs address'd for flight, and rush'd<br /> +“Like a young bullock, when the hornet's sting<br /> +“Deep in his neck he bears, in pathless ways.<br /> +<a name="page_2_148"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 148]</span> +“Ev'n now more swift than man he seem'd to run:<br /> +“His feet seem'd wings to wear, for all behind<br /> +“He left far distant. Through desire of death,<br /> +“Rapid he gain'd Parnassus' loftiest ridge.<br /> +“Apollo, pitying, when Dædalion flung<br /> +“From the high rock his body, to a bird<br /> +“Transform'd him, and on sudden pinions bore<br /> +“Him floating: bended hooks he gave his claws,<br /> +“And gave a crooked beak; valor as wont;<br /> +“And strength more great than such a body shews.<br /> +“Now as an hawk, to every bird a foe,<br /> +“He wages war on all; and griev'd himself,<br /> +“He constant cause for others grief affords.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + While these miraculous deeds bright Phosphor's sob<br /> +Tells of his brother, Peleus' herdsman comes,<br /> +Phocian Anetor, flying, and, with speed<br /> +Breathless, “O Peleus! Peleus!” he exclaims,<br /> +“Of horrid slaughter messenger I come!”<br /> +Him Peleus bids, whate'er he brings, to speak;<br /> +Trachinia's monarch even with friendly dread<br /> +Trembles the news to hear. When thus the man:<br /> +“The weary cattle to the curving shore<br /> +“I'd driv'n, when Sol from loftiest heaven might view<br /> +“His journey half perform'd, while half remain'd.<br /> +“Part of the oxen on the yellow sand,<br /> +“On their knees bending view'd the spacious plain<br /> +<a name="page_2_149"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 149]</span> +“Of wide-spread waters; part with loitering pace<br /> +“Stray'd here, and thither; others swam and rear'd<br /> +“Their lofty necks above the waves. There stood<br /> +“Close to the sea a temple, where nor gold,<br /> +“Nor polish'd marble shone; but rear'd with trees<br /> +“Thick-pil'd, it gloom'd within an ancient grove.<br /> +“This, Nereus and the Nereïd nymphs possess.<br /> +“A fisherman, as on the shore he dry'd<br /> +“His nets, inform'd us these the temple own'd.<br /> +“A marsh joins near the fane, with willows thick<br /> +“Beset, which waves o'erflowing first has form'd.<br /> +“A wolf from thence, a beast of monstrous bulk,<br /> +“Thundering with mighty clash, with terror struck<br /> +“The neighbouring spots: then from the marshy woods<br /> +“Sprung out; his jaws terrific, smear'd with foam<br /> +“And clotted gore; his eyes with red flames glar'd.<br /> +“Mad though he rag'd with ire and famine both,<br /> +“Famine less strong appear'd; for his dire maw<br /> +“And craving hunger, he not car'd to fill<br /> +“With the slain oxen; wounding all the herd:<br /> +“All hostile overthrowing. Some of us,<br /> +“Ranch'd by his deadly tooth, to death were sent<br /> +“Defence attempting. The shore and marsh<br /> +“With bellowings echoing, and the ocean's edge<br /> +“Redden with blood. But ruinous, delay!<br /> +“For hesitation leisure is not now.<br /> +“While ought remains, let all together join;<br /> +<a name="page_2_150"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 150]</span> +“Arm! arm! and on him hurl united spears.”<br /> +The herdsman ceas'd, Peleus the loss not mov'd;<br /> +But conscious of his fault, infers the plague<br /> +Sent by the childless Nereïd to avenge<br /> +Her slaughter'd Phocus' loss. Yet Ceÿx bids<br /> +His warriors arm, and take their forceful darts;<br /> +With them prepar'd to issue: but his spouse<br /> +Alcyöné, rous'd by the tumult, sprung<br /> +Forth from her chamber; unadorn'd her locks,<br /> +Which scatter'd hung around her. Ceÿx' neck<br /> +Clasping, she begg'd with moving words and tears,<br /> +Aid he would send, but go not; thus preserve<br /> +Two lives in one. Then Peleus to the queen;<br /> +“Banish your laudable and duteous fears.<br /> +“For what the king intended, thanks are due.<br /> +“Arms 'gainst this novel plague I will not take:<br /> +“Prayers must the goddess of the deep appease.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + A lofty tower there stood, whose summit bore<br /> +A beacon; grateful object to the sight<br /> +Of weary mariners. Thither they mount,<br /> +And see with sighs the herd strew'd o'er the beach;<br /> +The monster ravaging with gory jaw,<br /> +And his long shaggy hairs in blood bedy'd.<br /> +Thence Peleus, stretching to the wide sea shore<br /> +His arms, to Psamathé cerulean pray'd,<br /> +To finish there her rage, and grant relief.<br /> +<a name="page_2_151"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 151]</span> +Unmov'd she heard Æäcides implore:<br /> +But Thetis, suppliant, from the goddess gain'd<br /> +The favor for her spouse. Uncheck'd, the wolf<br /> +The furious slaughter quits not, fierce the more<br /> +From the sweet taste of blood, till to a stone<br /> +Transform'd, as on a bull's torn neck he hung.<br /> +His form remains; and, save his color, all;<br /> +The color only shews him wolf no more:<br /> +And shews no terror he shall now inspire.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Still in this realm the angry fates deny'd<br /> +Peleus to stay; exil'd, he wander'd on,<br /> +And reach'd Magnesia: from Acastus there<br /> +Thessalian, expiation he receiv'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Ceÿx meantime, with anxious doubts disturb'd;<br /> +First with the prodigy, his brother's change,<br /> +Then those which follow'd; to the Clarian god<br /> +Prepar'd to go, the oracles to seek,<br /> +Which sweetly solace men's uneasy minds.<br /> +Delphos was inaccessible; the road<br /> +Phorbas prophane, with all his Phlegians barr'd.<br /> +Yet first Alcyöné, most faithful spouse!<br /> +He tells thee of his purpose. Instant seiz'd<br /> +A death-like coldness on her inmost heart:<br /> +A boxen paleness o'er her features spread;<br /> +And down her cheeks the tears in torrents roll'd.<br /> +<a name="page_2_152"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 152]</span> +Thrice she attempted words, but thrice her tears<br /> +Her words prevented; then her pious plaints,<br /> +Broken by interrupted sobs, she spoke.<br /> +“My dearest lord! what hapless fault of mine<br /> +“Thy soul has alter'd? Where that love for me<br /> +“Thou wont'st to shew? Canst thou now unconcern'd<br /> +“Depart, and leave Alcyöné behind?<br /> +“Glads thee this tedious journey? Am I lov'd<br /> +“Most dearly farthest absent? Yet by land<br /> +“Was all thy journey, then I should but grieve,<br /> +“Not tremble: sighs would then of fears take place.<br /> +“The sea, the dread appearance of the main,<br /> +“Me terrifies. But lately I beheld<br /> +“Torn planks bestrew the shore: and oft I've read<br /> +“On empty tombs, the names of dead inscrib'd.<br /> +“Let not fallacious confidence thy mind<br /> +“Mislead, that Æölus I call my sire;<br /> +“Who binds the furious winds in caves, and smoothes<br /> +“At will the ocean. No! when issu'd once,<br /> +“They sweep the main, no power of his can rule:<br /> +“And uncontroll'd they ravage all the land:<br /> +“Nor checks them aught on ocean. Clouds of heaven,<br /> +“They clash; and ruddy lightnings hurl along<br /> +“In fierce encounter. More their force I know,<br /> +“(For well I knew, and oft have mark'd their power,<br /> +“While yet an infant at my sire's abode,)<br /> +“The more I deem them such as should be fear'd.<br /> +<a name="page_2_153"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 153]</span> +“Yet dearest spouse, if thy firm-fixt resolve<br /> +“No prayers can change, and obstinate thou stand'st<br /> +“For sailing, let me also with thee go:<br /> +“Together then the buffeting we'll bear.<br /> +“Then shall I fear but what I suffer; then<br /> +“Whate'er we suffer we'll together feel:<br /> +“Together sailing o'er the boundless main.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Her words and tears the star-born husband mov'd;<br /> +For less of love he felt not. Yet his scheme<br /> +To voyage o'er the deep he could not change;<br /> +Nor yet consent Alcyöné should share<br /> +His peril: and with soothing soft replies,<br /> +He try'd to calm her timid breast. Nor yet<br /> +Himself approv'd the arguments he try'd,<br /> +His consort to persuade consent to yield<br /> +To his departure. This at length he adds<br /> +As solace, which alone her bosom mov'd.<br /> +“All absence tedious seems; but by the fires<br /> +“My father bears, I swear, if fates permit,<br /> +“Returning, thou shalt see me, ere the moon<br /> +“Shall twice have fill'd her orb.” Hope in her breast<br /> +Thus rais'd by promise of a quick return,<br /> +Instant the vessel, from the dock drawn forth,<br /> +He bids them launch in ocean, and complete<br /> +In all her stores and tackling. This beheld<br /> +Alcyöné; and, presaging again<br /> +<a name="page_2_154"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 154]</span> +Woes of the future, trembled, and a flood<br /> +Of tears again gush'd forth; again she clasp'd<br /> +His neck; at length, as, wretched wife, she cry'd,—<br /> +“Farewell” she, swooning, lifeless sunk to earth.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The rowers now, while Ceÿx sought delays,<br /> +To their strong breasts the double-ranking oars<br /> +Drew back, and cleft with equal stroke the surge.<br /> +Her humid eyes she rais'd, and first beheld<br /> +Her husband standing on the crooked poop,<br /> +Waving his hand as signal; she his sign<br /> +Return'd. When farther from the land they shot,<br /> +Her straining eyes no more indulg'd to know<br /> +His features; still, while yet they could, her eyes<br /> +Pursu'd the flying vessel. This at length<br /> +Increasing distance her forbade to see;<br /> +Still she perceiv'd the floating sails, which spread<br /> +From the mast's loftiest summit. Sails at length<br /> +Were also lost in distance: then she sought<br /> +Anxious her widow'd chamber; and her limbs<br /> +Threw on the couch. The bed, the vacant space,<br /> +Renew'd her tears, reminding of her loss.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now far from port they'd sail'd, when the strong ropes<br /> +The breeze began to strain; the rowers turn<br /> +Their oars, and lash them to the vessel's side;<br /> +Hoist to the mast's extremest height their yards;<br /> +And loose their sails to catch the coming breeze.<br /> +<a name="page_2_155"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 155]</span> +Scarce half, not more than half, the sea's extent<br /> +The vessel now had plough'd; and either land<br /> +Was distant far; when, as dim night approach'd,<br /> +The sea seem'd foaming white with rising waves;<br /> +And the strong East more furious 'gan to blow.<br /> +Long had the master cry'd,—“Lower down your yards,<br /> +“And close furl every sail!”—he bids; the storm<br /> +Adverse, impedes the sound; the roaring waves<br /> +Drown every voice in noise. Yet some, untold,<br /> +Haste to secure the oars; part bind the sails;<br /> +Part fortify the sides: this water laves,<br /> +Ejecting seas on seas; that lowers the yards.<br /> +While thus they toil unguided, rough the storm<br /> +Increases; from each quarter furious winds<br /> +Wage warfare, and with mounting billows join.<br /> +Trembles the ruler of the bark, and owns<br /> +His state; he knows not what he should command,<br /> +Nor what forbid; so swift the sudden storm;<br /> +So much more strong the tempest than his skill.<br /> +Men clamorous shout; cords rattle; mighty waves<br /> +Roar, on waves rushing; thunders roll through air;<br /> +In billows mounts the ocean, and appears<br /> +To meet the sky, and o'er the hanging clouds<br /> +Sprinkles its foam. Now from the lowest depths,<br /> +As yellow sands they turn, the billows shine;<br /> +Now blacker seem they than the Stygian waves;<br /> +Now flatten'd, all with spumy froth is spread.<br /> +<a name="page_2_156"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 156]</span> +The ship Trachinian too, each rapid change<br /> +In agitation heaves; now rais'd sublime<br /> +The deepen'd vale she views as from a ridge<br /> +So lofty: down to Acheron's low depths,<br /> +Now in the hollow of the wave she falls,<br /> +And views th' o'erhanging heaven from hell's deep gulf.<br /> +Oft bursting on her side with loud report<br /> +The billows sound; nor with less fury beat<br /> +Than the balista, or huge battering ram,<br /> +Driv'n on the tottering fort: or lions fierce,<br /> +Whose strength and rage increasing with their speed,<br /> +Rush on the armour'd breast and outstretch'd spear.<br /> +So rush'd the waves with wind-propelling power<br /> +High o'er the decks; and 'bove the rigging rose.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now shook the wedges; open rents appear'd,<br /> +The pitchy covering gone, and wide-display'd,<br /> +A passage opens to the deadly flood.<br /> +Then from the breaking clouds fell torrent showers;<br /> +All heaven seem'd sweeping down to swell the main;<br /> +And the swol'n main, ascending to invade<br /> +Celestial regions, soak'd with floods each sail:<br /> +And ocean's briny waters mix'd with rain.<br /> +No light the firmament possess'd, and night<br /> +Frown'd blacker through the tempest. Lightning oft<br /> +Reft the thick gloom, and gave a brilliant blaze;<br /> +And while the lightnings flame the waters burn.<br /> +<a name="page_2_157"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 157]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now o'er the vessel's cover'd deck the waves<br /> +High tower; and as a soldier, braver far<br /> +Than all his fellows, urg'd by thirst of fame,<br /> +(The well-defended walls to scale oft try'd,)<br /> +At length his hope obtains, and singly keeps<br /> +His post, by foes on every side assail'd:<br /> +So when the furious billows raging beat<br /> +The lofty side, the tenth impetuous rears<br /> +Above the rest, and forceful rushes on;<br /> +The battery ceasing not on the spent bark,<br /> +Till o'er the wall, as of a captur'd town,<br /> +Downward it rushes. Part without invade,<br /> +And part are lodg'd within. In terror all<br /> +In trembling panic stand: not more the crowd<br /> +Which fill a city's walls, when foes without<br /> +Mine their foundations; while an entrance gain'd<br /> +Within, part rage already. Art no more<br /> +Can aid; all courage droops; as many deaths<br /> +Seem rapid rushing as the billows break.<br /> +This wails in tears his fate; that stupid stands;<br /> +This calls those blest whom funeral rites await:<br /> +One to his deity rich offerings vows,<br /> +And vainly stretching forth to heaven his arms,<br /> +The heaven he sees not, begs for aid: his friends,<br /> +Brethren and parents, fill of this the mind;<br /> +Of that his children, or whate'er he leaves.<br /> +<a name="page_2_158"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 158]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Alcyöné, alone in Ceÿx' soul<br /> +Found place; and but Alcyöné, his lips<br /> +Nought utter'd. Her alone he wish'd to see;<br /> +Yet joy'd she far was absent. Much he long'd<br /> +To view once more his dear paternal shores;<br /> +And turn his last looks tow'rd his regal dome:<br /> +But where to turn he knows not; in a whirl<br /> +So boils the sea; and all the heaven is hid<br /> +In shade, by more than pitchy clouds produc'd:<br /> +Night doubly darken'd. Now the whirlwind's force<br /> +Shivers the mast, and tears the helm away:<br /> +And like a victor, proud to view his spoils,<br /> +Mounts an high wave, and scornfully beholds<br /> +The lower billows; thundering down it sweeps,<br /> +Impell'd by force that Athos might o'erturn,<br /> +Or Pindus, from their roots; and plunge in sea.<br /> +Down in the lowest depths, the weight and blow<br /> +Bury'd the vessel; with her most the crew<br /> +Sunk in the raging gulf: some met their fate,<br /> +Ne'er to return to air: some floated still;<br /> +To splinter'd fragments of the bark they clung.<br /> +Ceÿx himself, grasp'd only in that hand<br /> +A shatter'd plank, which once a sceptre held;<br /> +And Æölus and Phosphor' call'd in vain:<br /> +But chiefly from his lips was, as he swam,<br /> +Alcyöné resounded; that lov'd name<br /> +Remember'd constant, and repeated most.<br /> +<a name="page_2_159"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 159]</span> +He prays the billows may his body bear<br /> +To meet her eyes; and prays her friendly hands<br /> +His burial may perform. While thus he swims,<br /> +Alcyöné he names, whene'er the waves<br /> +To gasp for breath permit him; and beneath<br /> +The billows, tries Alcyöné to sound.<br /> +Lo! a black towering arch of waters broke<br /> +Midst of the surges; in the boiling foam<br /> +Involv'd, o'erwhelm'd he sunk. That mournful night<br /> +Was Phosphor' dark, impalpable to view:<br /> +And since stern fate to heaven his post fast bound,<br /> +He veil'd in densest clouds his grieving face.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Meantime Alcyöné her height of woe<br /> +Unknown, counts each sad night, and now with haste<br /> +The garments he should wear prepares; and now<br /> +Those to adorn herself when him she meets;<br /> +Cherishing emptiest hopes of his return.<br /> +Devoutest offerings to the heavenly powers<br /> +She bore; but incense far before the rest<br /> +On Juno's altar burn'd; and oft she pray'd<br /> +For him who was not. For his safety pray'd;<br /> +For his return; and that his love might still<br /> +Without a rival hers remain: the last<br /> +Of all her ardent prayers indulgence found.<br /> +But longer bore the goddess not to hear<br /> +Such vain petitions for the dead; these hands<br /> +<a name="page_2_160"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 160]</span> +Polluted, from her altars to remove,<br /> +To Iris thus she spoke:—“O, faithful maid!<br /> +“Most trusty messenger, with speed repair<br /> +“To Somnus' drowsy hall; him bid to send<br /> +“A vision form'd in lifeless Ceÿx' shape<br /> +“To tell Alcyöné her woes' extent.”<br /> +She ended: in her various-teinted robe<br /> +Attir'd, and spreading o'er the spacious heaven<br /> +Her sweeping arch, Iris the dwelling sought<br /> +The goddess order'd. Hid beneath a steep<br /> +Near the Cimmerians, in a deep dug cave,<br /> +Form'd in a hollow mountain, stands the hall<br /> +And secret dwelling of inactive sleep;<br /> +Where Phœbus rising, or in mid-day height,<br /> +Or setting-radiance, ne'er can dart his beams.<br /> +Clouds with dim darkness mingled, from the ground<br /> +Exhale, and twilight makes a doubtful day.<br /> +The watchful bird, with crested head, ne'er calls<br /> +Aurora with his song; no wakeful dog,<br /> +Nor goose more wakeful, e'er the silence breaks;<br /> +No savage beasts, no pastur'd flocks, no boughs<br /> +Shook by the breeze; no brawl of human voice<br /> +There sounds: but death-like silence reigns around.<br /> +Yet from the rock's foundation, gently flows<br /> +A stream of Lethe's water, whose dull waves<br /> +In gentle murmuring o'er the pebbles purl,<br /> +Tempting to slumber. At the cavern door<br /> +<a name="page_2_161"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 161]</span> +The fruitful poppy, and ten thousand plants,<br /> +From which moist night the drowsy juices drains,<br /> +Then scatters o'er the shady earth, grew thick.<br /> +Round all the house no gate was seen, which, turn'd<br /> +On the dry hinge should creak; no centry strict<br /> +The threshold to protect. But in the midst<br /> +The lofty bed of ebon form'd, was plac'd.<br /> +Black were the feathers; all the coverings black,<br /> +And stretch'd at length the god was seen; his limbs<br /> +With lassitude relax'd. Around him throng'd<br /> +In every part, vain dreams, in various forms,<br /> +In number more than what the harvest bears<br /> +Of bearded grains; the woods of verdant leaves;<br /> +Or shore of yellow sands. Here came the nymph;<br /> +Th' opposing dreams push'd sideways with her hands,<br /> +And through the sacred mansion from her robe<br /> +Scatter'd refulgent light. With pain the god,<br /> +His eyelids weigh'd with slothful torpor, rais'd;<br /> +But at each effort down they sunk again:<br /> +And on his breast his nodding chin still smote.<br /> +At length he rous'd him from his drowsy state;<br /> +And, on his elbow resting, ask'd the nymph,<br /> +For well he knew her, why she thither came.<br /> +Then she—“O Somnus! peaceful rest of all!<br /> +“Somnus! most placid of immortal powers;<br /> +“Calm of the soul; whom care for ever flies;<br /> +“Who soothest bosoms, with diurnal toil<br /> +<a name="page_2_162"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 162]</span> +“Fatigu'd; and renovat'st for toil again;<br /> +“Dispatch a vision to Trachinia's town,<br /> +“(By great Alcides founded,) in the form<br /> +“Its hapless monarch bore: let it display<br /> +“The lively image of her husband's wreck,<br /> +“To sad Alcyöné. This Juno bids.”—<br /> +Iris, her message thus deliver'd, turn'd:<br /> +For more the soporific mist, which rose<br /> +Around, she bore not; soon as sleep she felt<br /> +Stealing upon her limbs, abrupt she fled,<br /> +Mounting the bow by which she glided down.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The drowsy sire, from 'midst a thousand sons,<br /> +Calls Morpheus forth, an artful god, who well<br /> +All shapes can feign. None copies else so close<br /> +The bidden gait, the features, and the mode<br /> +Of converse; vesture too the same he wears,<br /> +And language such as most they wont to speak.<br /> +Mankind alone he imitates. To seem<br /> +Fierce beasts, and birds, and long-extended snakes<br /> +Another claims: this Icelos the gods<br /> +Have nam'd; by mortals as Photebor known.<br /> +A third is Phantasus of different skill;<br /> +His change is happiest when he earth becomes,<br /> +Or rocks, or waves, or trees, or substance aught<br /> +That animation lacks. These shew their forms<br /> +By night to mighty heroes and to kings;<br /> +<a name="page_2_163"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 163]</span> +The rest before th' ignobler crowd perform.<br /> +All these the ancient Somnus pass'd, and chose<br /> +Morpheus alone from all his brethren crowd,<br /> +The deed Thaumantian Iris bade, to do;<br /> +Then, weigh'd with slumber, dropp'd again his head,<br /> +And shrunk once more within the sable couch.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + He flies through darkness on unrustling wings,<br /> +And short the space, ere in Trachinia's town<br /> +He lights; and from his shoulders lays aside<br /> +His pinions; when he Ceÿx' form assumes.<br /> +In Ceÿx' ghastly shape pallid he stood,<br /> +Despoil'd of garments, at the widow'd bed<br /> +Of the sad queen: soak'd was his beard, and streams<br /> +Seem'd from his heavy dripping locks to flow.<br /> +Then leaning o'er the couch, while gushing tears<br /> +O'erspread his cheeks, he thus his wife bespoke;—<br /> +“Know'st thou thy Ceÿx, wretched, wretched wife?<br /> +“Or are my features chang'd by death? Again<br /> +“View me, and here behold thy husband's shade,<br /> +“Instead of husband: all thy pious prayers<br /> +“For me, Alcyöné, were vain. I'm lost!<br /> +“No more false hopes encourage, me to see.<br /> +“The showery southwind, on th' Ægean main,<br /> +“Seiz'd on our vessel, and with mighty blast<br /> +“Shiver'd it wide in fragments; and the waves<br /> +“Rush'd in my throat as loud thy name I call'd;<br /> +<a name="page_2_164"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 164]</span> +“But call'd in vain. No doubtful author brings<br /> +“To thee these tidings; no vague rumor this,<br /> +“In person I relate it. Shipwreck'd I,<br /> +“My fate to thee detail. Rise, and assist!<br /> +“Pour forth thy tears; in sable garments clothe;<br /> +“Nor send my ghost to wander undeplor'd,<br /> +“In shady Tartarus.” Thus Morpheus spoke;<br /> +And in such accents, that the queen, deceiv'd,<br /> +Believ'd her husband spoke. Adown his cheeks<br /> +Seem'd real tears to flow; and even his hand<br /> +With Ceÿx' motion mov'd. Deeply she groan'd,<br /> +Ev'n in her sleep, and rais'd her longing arms<br /> +To clasp his body; empty air she clasp'd:<br /> +Exclaiming;—“stay; O whither dost thou fly?<br /> +“Together let us hence!”—Rous'd with the noise,<br /> +And spectre of her spouse; sleep fled her eyes,<br /> +And round she cast her gaze for that to seek<br /> +Which she but now beheld. Wak'd by her voice,<br /> +Her slaves approach'd with lights; but when in vain<br /> +She search'd for what she lack'd, her face she struck;<br /> +Rent from her breasts her garments; beat her breasts<br /> +Themselves: nor stay'd her twisted hair to loose,<br /> +But tore the bands away; then to her nurse<br /> +Anxious the subject of her grief to learn—<br /> +“Alcyöné,”—she cries—“is now no more!<br /> +“She with her Ceÿx in one moment fell.<br /> +“Hence with your soothing words; shipwreck'd he dy'd.<br /> +<a name="page_2_165"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 165]</span> +“I saw; I knew him; as he fled me, stretch'd<br /> +“My arms to hold the fugitive.—Ah! no!<br /> +“The shadow fled, 'twas but his ghost; but shade<br /> +“My husband mere resembling ne'er was form'd.<br /> +“Yet had he not his wonted looks, nor shone<br /> +“In former brightness his beloved face.<br /> +“I saw him, hapless stand with pallid cheek,<br /> +“Naked, with tresses dropping still. Lo! here<br /> +“Wretched he stood, just on the spot I point:”—<br /> +Then anxious try'd his footmarks there to trace.—<br /> +“This did my mind foreboding fear; I pray'd<br /> +“When me thou fled'st, the winds thou would'st not trust:<br /> +“But since to sure destruction forth thou went'st,<br /> +“Would that by me companion'd thou had'st gone.<br /> +“With thee my bliss had been;—with thee to go.<br /> +“Unwasted then one moment of the space<br /> +“For life allow'd; not ev'n in death disjoin'd.<br /> +“But now I perish, and upon the waves,<br /> +“Though absent, float; the main me overwhelms,<br /> +“Though from the main far distant. Mental storms<br /> +“To me more cruel were than ocean's waves,<br /> +“Should I but longer seek to spin out life,<br /> +“And combat such deep grief? I will not strive<br /> +“Nor wretched thee desert; but now, though late,<br /> +“Now will I join thee; and the funeral verse<br /> +“Shall us unite; not in the self-same urn,<br /> +“Yet in the self-same tomb; bones join'd with bones,<br /> +<a name="page_2_166"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 166]</span> +“Allow'd not, yet shall name with name be seen.”—<br /> +The rest by grief was chok'd, and sounding blows<br /> +Each sentence interrupted; while deep groans<br /> +Burst from her raving bosom. Morning shone,<br /> +And forth she issu'd to the shore, and sought<br /> +In grief the spot, where last his face she view'd<br /> +Departing. “Here,”—she said,—“as slow he went,<br /> +“As slow he loos'd his cables; on this beach<br /> +“The parting kiss he gave.” While her mind's eye<br /> +Retraces every circumstance, she looks,<br /> +And something sees far floating on the waves,<br /> +Not much unlike a man: dubious at first<br /> +What it may be, she views it: nearer now<br /> +The billows drive it; and though distant still,<br /> +Plain to the eye a body was descry'd.<br /> +Whose body, witless, still a shipwreck'd wretch<br /> +With boding omen mov'd her; and in tears<br /> +She wail'd him as a stranger in these plaints.—<br /> +“Unhappy wretch! whoe'er thou art; and she<br /> +“Thy wife, if wife thou had'st”—but now the surge<br /> +More near the body bore. The more she views<br /> +Nearer the corps; the more her senses fly.<br /> +And now close driven to shore it floats, and now<br /> +Well she discern'd it was, it was—her spouse!<br /> +“'Tis he!”—she loudly shriek'd, and tore her face,<br /> +Her hair, her garments. Then her trembling arms<br /> +<a name="page_2_167"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 167]</span> +To Ceÿx stretching; “Dearest husband!”—cry'd.<br /> +“Art thou restor'd thus to my wretched breast?”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + High-rais'd by art, adjoining to the beach<br /> +A mole was form'd, which broke the primal strength<br /> +Of ocean's fury, and the fierce waves tir'd.<br /> +Hither she sprung, and, wond'rous that she could!<br /> +She flew; the light air winnowing with her wings<br /> +New-sprung; a mournful bird she skimm'd along<br /> +The water's surface. As she flies, her beak<br /> +Slender and small, a creaking noise sends forth,<br /> +Of mournful sound, and full of sad complaint.<br /> +Soon as the silent bloodless corse she reach'd,<br /> +Around his dear-lov'd limbs her wings she clasp'd,<br /> +And gave cold kisses with her horny bill.<br /> +If Ceÿx felt them, or his head was rais'd<br /> +To meet her by the waves, th' unlearned doubt.<br /> +But sure he felt them. Both at length, the gods<br /> +Commisserating, chang'd to feather'd birds.<br /> +The same their love remains, and subject still<br /> +To the same fates; and in the plumag'd pair<br /> +The nuptial bond is sacred; join'd in one<br /> +Parents they soon become; and Halcyon sits<br /> +Sev'n peaceful days 'mid winter's keenest rule<br /> +Upon her floating nest. Safe then the main:<br /> +For Æölus with watchful care the winds<br /> +<a name="page_2_168"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 168]</span> +Guards, and prevents their egress; and the seas<br /> +Smooths for the offspring, with a grandsire's care.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + These, as they skimm'd the surface of the main,<br /> +An ancient sire beheld, and prais'd their love:<br /> +Constant in death: his neighbour or himself<br /> +Also repeats;—the bird which there you see,<br /> +Brushing the ocean with his slender legs,<br /> +(And shews a corm'rant with his spacious maw)<br /> +A monarch's offspring was; would you descend<br /> +Through the long series, 'till to him you reach;<br /> +Ilus; Assaracus; and Ganymede,<br /> +Borne up to heaven by Jove, supply'd the stock<br /> +From whence he sprung; Laömedon the old;<br /> +And Priam doom'd to end his days with Troy.<br /> +Hector his brother; but in spring of youth<br /> +He felt this strange adventure, he perchance<br /> +As Hector's might have left a towering name:<br /> +Though from old Dymas' daughter Hector sprung.<br /> +Fair Alixirrhoë, so fame reports,<br /> +Daughter of two-horn'd Granicus, brought forth,<br /> +By stealth, Æsacus 'neath thick Ida's shade.<br /> +Wall'd cities he detested; and remote<br /> +From glittering palaces, secluded hills<br /> +Inhabited, and unambitious plains;<br /> +And scarce at Troy's assemblies e'er was seen.<br /> +Yet had he not a clownish heart, nor breast<br /> +<a name="page_2_169"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 169]</span> +To love impregnable. By chance he saw<br /> +Cebrenus' daughter, fair Hesperië—oft<br /> +By him through every shady wood pursu'd—<br /> +As on her father's banks her tresses, spread<br /> +Adown her back, in Phœbus' rays she dry'd.<br /> +The nymph, discover'd, fled. So rapid flies<br /> +Th' affrighted stag to 'scape the tawny Wolf;<br /> +Or duck, stream-loving, from the hawk, when caught,<br /> +Far from her wonted lakes. The Trojan youth<br /> +Quick follows, swift through hope; she swift through fear.<br /> +Lo! in the herbage hid, her flying foot<br /> +With crooked fang a serpent bit, and pour'd<br /> +O'er all her limbs the poison: with her flight<br /> +Her life was stopp'd. Frantic, he clasps her form<br /> +Now lifeless, and exclaims—“how grieve I now,<br /> +“That e'er I thee pursu'd; not this I fear'd!<br /> +“How mean my conquest, bought at such a price!<br /> +“Both, hapless nymph! in thy destruction join'd:<br /> +“I gave the cause, the serpent but the wound.<br /> +“I guiltier far than he, unless my death<br /> +“Shall thine avenge.”—He said, and in the main,<br /> +From an high rock, by hoarsely-roaring waves<br /> +Deep-worn beneath, prepar'd to plunge. Receiv'd<br /> +By pitying Tethys softly in his fall,<br /> +She clothes him, as he swims the main, with wings;<br /> +And death, so much desir'd, denies him still.<br /> +The lover, furious at th' unwelcome gift<br /> +<a name="page_2_170"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 170]</span> +Of life upon him forc'd, and his pent soul,<br /> +Bent on escaping from its hated seat<br /> +Confin'd, soon as the new-shot plumes he felt<br /> +Spring from his shoulders, up he flew, and plunged<br /> +Again his body in the depths below:<br /> +His feathers broke his fall. Æsacus rav'd,<br /> +And deeply div'd; with headlong fury still,<br /> +And endless perseverance death he sought.<br /> +Love keeps him meagre still; from joint to joint<br /> +His legs still longer grow; his outstretch'd neck<br /> +Is long; and distant far his head is plac'd.<br /> +He loves the ocean, and the name he bears,<br /> +From constant diving, seems correctly giv'n.<br /> +<a name="page_2_171"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 171]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter24"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Twelfth Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Rape of Helen. Expedition of the Greeks against Troy. House of +Fame. The Trojan war. Combat of Achilles and Cygnus. The latter +slain and transformed to a swan. Story of Cæneus. Fight of the Lapithæ +and Centaurs. Change of Cæneus to a bird. Contest of Hercules with +Periclymenos. Death of Achilles. Dispute for his arms. +<a name="page_2_172"></a> +<a name="page_2_173"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 173]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter25"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Twelfth Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + Priam the sire, much mourn'd, to him unknown<br /> +That still his son, on pinions borne, surviv'd:<br /> +While Hector and his brethren round the tomb,<br /> +A name alone possessing, empty rites<br /> +Perform'd. Save Paris, from the solemn scene<br /> +None absent were; he with the ravish'd wife<br /> +Brought to his shores a long protracted war.<br /> +Quick was he follow'd by confederate ships<br /> +Ten hundred, and the whole Pelasgian race.<br /> +Nor had their vengeance borne so long delay,<br /> +<a name="page_2_174"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 174]</span> +But adverse raging tempests made the main<br /> +Impassable; and on Bœotia's shores,<br /> +In Aulis' port th' impatient vessels bound.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Here, while the Greeks the rites of Jove prepare,<br /> +Their country's custom, as the altar blaz'd,<br /> +They saw an azure serpent writhe around<br /> +A plane, which near the altar rear'd its boughs.<br /> +Its lofty summit held a nest; within<br /> +Eight callow birds were lodg'd; on these he seiz'd,<br /> +And seiz'd the mother, who, with trembling wings,<br /> +Hover'd around her loss, all burying deep<br /> +Within his greedy maw. All stare with dread.<br /> +But Thestor's son, prophetic truths who still<br /> +Beheld, exclaim'd—“Rejoice! O Greeks, rejoice!<br /> +“Conquest is ours, and lofty Troy must fall.<br /> +“But great our toil, and tedious our delay.”<br /> +Then shew'd the birds a nine years' war foretold.<br /> +The snake, entwining 'mid the virid boughs,<br /> +Hard stone becomes, but keeps his serpent's form.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + But still th' Aönian waves in violent swell<br /> +Were lash'd by Neptune, nor their vessels bore;<br /> +And many deem'd that Troy he wish'd to spare,<br /> +Whose walls his labor rais'd. Not so the son<br /> +Of Thestor thought: neither he knew hot so,<br /> +Nor what he knew conceal'd:—a victim dire<br /> +<a name="page_2_175"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 175]</span> +The virgin-goddess claim'd; a virgin's blood!<br /> +When o'er affection public weal prevail'd,<br /> +The king o'ercame the father; and before<br /> +The altar Iphigenia stood, prepar'd<br /> +Her spotless blood to shed, as tears gush'd forth<br /> +Even from the sacrificial 'tendants. Then<br /> +“Was Dian' mov'd, and threw before their sight<br /> +A cloud opaque, and (so tradition tells)<br /> +The maid Thycenian to an hind was chang'd,<br /> +Amid the priests, the pious crowd and all<br /> +Who deprecating heard her doom. This done,<br /> +Dian' by such a sacrifice appeas'd<br /> +As Dian' best became; and sooth'd her ire,<br /> +The angry aspect of the seas was smooth'd;<br /> +And all the thousand vessels felt the breeze<br /> +Abaft, and bore the long impatient crowd<br /> +To Phrygia's shores. A spot there lies, whose seat<br /> +Midst of created space, 'twixt earth, and sea,<br /> +And heavenly regions, on the confines rests<br /> +Of the three-sever'd world; whence are beheld<br /> +All objects and all actions though remote,<br /> +And every sound by tending ears is heard.<br /> +Here Fame resides; and in the loftiest towers<br /> +Her dwelling chuses; and some thousand ways,<br /> +And thousand portals to the dwelling makes:<br /> +No portal clos'd with gates. By day, by night,<br /> +Open they stand; of sounding brass all form'd;<br /> +<a name="page_2_176"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 176]</span> +All echoing sound; all back the voice rebound:<br /> +And all reit'rate every word they hear.<br /> +No rest within, no silence there is found,<br /> +Yet clamor is not, but a murmur low;<br /> +Such as the billows wont to make when heard<br /> +From far, or such as distant thunder sends,<br /> +When Jove the dark clouds rends and drives aloof.<br /> +Crowds fill the halls: the trifling vulgar come<br /> +And issue forth. Ten thousand rumors vague<br /> +With truth commingled to and fro are heard.<br /> +Words in confusion fly. Amid the throng<br /> +These preach their words to vacant air, and those<br /> +To others tales narrate; the measure still<br /> +Of every fiction in narration grows;<br /> +And every author adds to what he hears.<br /> +Here lives credulity; and here abides<br /> +Rash error; transports vain; astonied fear;<br /> +Sedition sudden; and, uncertain whence,<br /> +Dark whisperings. Fame herself sits high aloft,<br /> +And views what deeds in heaven, and earth, and sea<br /> +Are done, and searches all creation round.<br /> +The news she spreads, that now the Grecian barks<br /> +Approach with valiant force; nor did the foe<br /> +Unlook'd-for threat the realm. All Troy impedes<br /> +Their landing, and the shores defends. Thou first,<br /> +Protesilaüs! by great Hector's spear<br /> +Unluckily wast slain. The war begun,<br /> +<a name="page_2_177"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 177]</span> +Their valiant souls, ere yet they Hector knew,<br /> +Dear cost the Greeks. Nor small the blood which flow'd<br /> +From Phrygia's sons, by Grecia's valor spill'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now blush'd Sigæum's shores with spouting blood,<br /> +Where Cygnus, Neptune's offspring, gave to death<br /> +Whole crowds. Achilles in his chariot stood,<br /> +And with his forceful Pelian spear o'erthrew<br /> +Thick ranks of Trojans; and as through the fights<br /> +Cygnus or Hector to engage he sought,<br /> +Cygnus he met: delay'd was Hector's fate<br /> +To the tenth year. Then to his white-neck'd steeds,<br /> +Press'd by the yoke, with cheering shouts he spoke;<br /> +And full against the foe his chariot drove.<br /> +His quivering lance well-pois'd he shook, and call'd,<br /> +“Whoe'er thou art, O youth! this comfort learn<br /> +“In death, that by Achilles' arm thou dy'st.”<br /> +Thus far Pelides; and his massive spear<br /> +Close follow'd on his words. With truth it fled;<br /> +Yet did the steely point, unerring hurl'd,<br /> +Fall harmless: with a deaden'd point his breast<br /> +Was struck. Then he;—“O goddess-born! (for fame<br /> +“Thy race to me has long before made known)<br /> +“Why wonder'st thou that I unwounded stand?”<br /> +(For wondering stood Pelides.) “Not this helm,<br /> +“Which thou behold'st, gay with the courser's mane.<br /> +“Nor the curv'd buckler by my arm sustain'd,<br /> +<a name="page_2_178"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 178]</span> +“For aid are worn. For comely grace alone<br /> +“They deck me. Thus is Mars himself adorn'd.<br /> +“Thrown every guard far from my limbs, my limbs<br /> +“Unwounded would remain. Sure I may boast!<br /> +“Sprung not from Nereus' daughter, but from him<br /> +“Who rules o'er Nereus; o'er his daughter rules;<br /> +“And all th' extent of ocean.” Cygnus spoke:<br /> +And at Pelides launch'd his spear to pierce<br /> +His orbed shield; its brazen front it pierc'd,<br /> +And nine bull-hides beneath; stay'd at the tenth,<br /> +The warrior shook it forth; with strenuous arm<br /> +The quivering weapon hostile back return'd:<br /> +Cygnus again unwounded felt the blow.<br /> +Nor felt his naked bosom, to the force<br /> +Of the third weapon vauntingly expos'd,<br /> +Aught harm'd. Less fiercely in the Circus wide<br /> +Rages the bull not, when the scarlet vests<br /> +To urge his fury fixt, with furious horn<br /> +To gore attempting, finds elusion still,<br /> +The unhurt limbs invading. Seeks he now<br /> +If fall'n the metal from his weapon's point:<br /> +Fast to the wood the metal still appears;<br /> +And cries he;—“Weak is then my hand? and spent<br /> +“On one, is all the strength I once could boast?<br /> +“For surely strength that arm could boast, which erst<br /> +“Lyrnessus' wall o'erthrew, and when with gore<br /> +“It Tenedos, and Thebes made stream; or when<br /> +<a name="page_2_179"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 179]</span> +“Caÿcus purple flow'd, stain'd with their blood<br /> +“Who on its banks had dwelt; and when twice prov'd<br /> +“By Telephus, the virtue of my spear.<br /> +“This nervous arm has here too shewn its force<br /> +“In hills of slain by me up-heap'd; these shores<br /> +“Attest it.” Speaking so, his spear he sent<br /> +Against Menœtes 'mid the Lycian crowd,<br /> +As doubting faintly deeds perform'd before:<br /> +And pierc'd at once his corslet and his breast.<br /> +From the hot smoking wound as forth he drew<br /> +The dart,—as with his dying head was struck<br /> +The solid ground, he spoke:—“This is the hand,<br /> +“And this the spear which conquest knew before:<br /> +“This will I 'gainst him use. May it, when sent,<br /> +“The same success attend.”—Ere ceas'd his words<br /> +Cygnus again with aim he sought, nor swerv'd<br /> +His ashen weapon whence he aim'd, but rung,<br /> +Unshrunk from, on the shoulder: thence repell'd,<br /> +As from a wall or rugged rock it fell:<br /> +Yet where the blow was felt, did Cygnus seem<br /> +With blood distain'd. Achilles' joy was vain,<br /> +For wound was not. Menœtes' blood was there.<br /> +Then furious from his lofty car he sprung,<br /> +And close at hand his braving foe assail'd<br /> +With glittering falchion; by the falchion broke,<br /> +The helm and shield he saw, but the keen edge<br /> +His stubborn body blunted. More the son<br /> +<a name="page_2_180"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 180]</span> +Of Peleus bore not, but the warrior's face<br /> +With furious buffets from his shield, unclaspt<br /> +First from his arm, he smote, and with his hilt<br /> +Heavy his temples; and with headstrong rage<br /> +Bore on him: nor to his astounded soul<br /> +Respite allow'd. Dread through his bosom spread;<br /> +Before his eyes swam darkness: when amidst<br /> +The plain, a stone his retrogressive feet<br /> +Oppos'd. Pelides, with his mightiest strength,<br /> +Struck Cygnus against it, and to earth<br /> +Hard forc'd him, thrown supine. Pent with his shield,<br /> +And nervous knees upon his bosom prest<br /> +Tight, he the lacing of the helmet drew,<br /> +Which 'neath his chin was ty'd; close press'd his throat,<br /> +His breathing passage and his life at once<br /> +Destroy'd he. When his conquer'd foe to spoil<br /> +Of all his arms he went, the arms he found<br /> +Vacant. The ocean-god had to a bird<br /> +Of snowy plumage chang'd his offspring's form:<br /> +A bird which still the name of Cygnus bears.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Here stay'd the toil, here did the battle gain<br /> +Of numerous days a respite, either power<br /> +Resting on arms unhostile. Then, while guards,<br /> +Watchful, the Trojan walls protective kept;<br /> +And sentries equal wakeful o'er the trench<br /> +Form'd by the Argives watch'd, a feast was held,<br /> +<a name="page_2_181"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 181]</span> +Where Cygnus' victor, stout Achilles, gave<br /> +An heifer ribbon-bound to Athen's maid.<br /> +The sever'd flesh was on the altar plac'd,<br /> +Whose smoking fragrance, grateful to the gods,<br /> +High to th' ethereal regions mounted. Part,<br /> +Their due, th' official sacrificers took;<br /> +To swell the feast the rest was given. Outstretch'd<br /> +On couches, laid the noble guests, and fill'd<br /> +With the drest meat their hunger; and with wine<br /> +At once their thirst and all their cares assuag'd.<br /> +No lyre them sooth'd; no sound of vocal song;<br /> +Nor long extended boxen pipe with holes<br /> +Multiferous pierc'd: but all night long, discourse<br /> +Protracted; valiant deeds alone the theme.<br /> +Alike the valiant acts their foes perform'd,<br /> +And those their own they speak. Much they enjoy<br /> +To tell by turns what hazards they o'ercame;<br /> +And what they oft successless try'd. What else<br /> +Could e'er Achilles' speech employ? What else<br /> +By great Achilles could with joy be heard?<br /> +Chief in the converse, was the conquest late<br /> +O'er Cygnus gain'd, the topic. Strange to all<br /> +Seem'd it; the youth, from every weapon safe<br /> +By wound unconquerable, and with skin<br /> +Blunting the keenest steel. Wonder the Greeks,<br /> +And wonders ev'n Pelides: when in words<br /> +Like these, old Nestor hail'd them. “Cygnus, proof<br /> +<a name="page_2_182"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 182]</span> +“'Gainst steel,—unpierceable by furious blows<br /> +“Your age alone has known. These eyes have seen<br /> +“Perrhæbian Cæneus bear ten thousand strokes<br /> +“Unhurt. He, fam'd for warlike actions, dwelt<br /> +“On Othrys, and more strange those warlike deeds,<br /> +“Since female was he born.” The wondering crowd,<br /> +Mov'd with the novel prodigy, beseech<br /> +(Their spokesman was Achilles) that the tale<br /> +Nestor would give them. “Eloquent old man!<br /> +“Of all our age most prudent, tell, for all<br /> +“The same desire prevails o'er, who was he,<br /> +“This Cæneus? why was chang'd his sex? what wars<br /> +“Of fierce encounter made him known to thee?<br /> +“And if by any conquer'd, tell the name.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Then thus the senior: “Though decrepid age<br /> +“Weighs heavy on me, and the deeds beheld<br /> +“In prime of youth, in numbers 'scape my mind;<br /> +“Yet than those facts, 'mid all of peace and war,<br /> +“Nought on my bosom made a deeper print.<br /> +“Yet may extended age of all beheld<br /> +“Part of the numerous acts and objects seen<br /> +“Relate,—I twice one hundred years have pass'd;<br /> +“Now in the third I breathe. Cænis, a nymph<br /> +“Sprung from Elateus, fam'd was all around<br /> +“For brightest beauty; fairest of the maids<br /> +“Who Thessaly adorn; theme of vain hopes<br /> +<a name="page_2_183"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 183]</span> +“To crowds of wooers through the neighbouring towns;<br /> +“And ev'n through thine, Achilles; for the land<br /> +“Thou claim'st produc'd her. Nay, her nuptial couch,<br /> +“Peleus perchance had sought, save that the rites<br /> +“Already with thy mother were compleat,<br /> +“Or were in promise ready. Nuptial couch<br /> +“She never press'd, for on the lonely shore<br /> +“Strolling, so fame declares, the vigorous clasp<br /> +“Of Ocean's god she felt. The charms possest<br /> +“Of his new object, Neptune said—whate'er<br /> +“Thou wishest, chuse, secure of no repulse.—<br /> +“This too does fame report, that Cænis cry'd—<br /> +“Wrongs such as mine no trivial gift deserve,<br /> +“That ne'er such shame again I suffer, grant<br /> +“I woman be no longer; that will all<br /> +“Favors comprize.—Her closing words betray'd<br /> +“A graver sound; manly appear'd her voice:<br /> +“And masculine it was. Deep ocean's god<br /> +“Acceded to her wish, and granted, more,<br /> +“That wounds should never harm her, nor by steel<br /> +“Should she e'er fall. Joy'd at the gift, the god<br /> +“Atracia's hero leaves—employs his age<br /> +“In studies warlike; and among the fields,<br /> +“Where fertilizing Peneus wanders, roams.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Now bold Ixion's son had gain'd the hand<br /> +“Of Hippodamia; and the fierce-soul'd crowd<br /> +<a name="page_2_184"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 184]</span> +“Cloud-born, had bidden to attend the boards,<br /> +“In order rang'd within a cavern's mouth,<br /> +“By trees thick-shaded. All the princes round<br /> +“Of Thessaly attended: I, myself<br /> +“Amongst them went. Loud rung the regal feast<br /> +“With the mixt concourse; all most joyful sung<br /> +“O Hymen! Iö Hymen! and each hall<br /> +“Blaz'd bright with fires. The virgin then approach'd<br /> +“Pre-excellent in fairness, with a band<br /> +“Of matrons and unwedded nymphs begirt.<br /> +“Most blest, we all exclaim'd, in such a spouse<br /> +“Must be Pirithoüs—but such boding hopes<br /> +“Well nigh deceiv'd us. For when drunken lust<br /> +“O'er thee, Eurytus! govern'd, of the blood<br /> +“Of savage Centaurs, far most savage, fir'd<br /> +“Whether by wine, or by the virgin's charms<br /> +“Thou saw'st, thy breast. Instant, the board o'erturn'd,<br /> +“Routed the guests convivial, and the bride<br /> +“Caught by her locks, was forceful dragg'd away.<br /> +“Eurytus Hippodamia seiz'd; the rest<br /> +“Grasp'd such as pleas'd them, or whoe'er they met.<br /> +“It show'd the image of a captur'd town.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “With female shrieks the place resounded; swift<br /> +“We start, and Theseus foremost thus exclaims:—<br /> +“What frenzy, O Eurytus! thee impels<br /> +“Pirithoüs thus to wrong me still in life!<br /> +<a name="page_2_185"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 185]</span> +“Ign'rant that two thou wound'st in one?—Nor vain<br /> +“The chief magnanimous his threat'nings spoke:<br /> +“Th' aggressors back repell'd; and, while they rag'd,<br /> +“The ravish'd bride recover'd. Nought he said,<br /> +“Nor could such acts defence by words allow;<br /> +“But with rude inconsiderate hands he press'd<br /> +“Full on her champion's face; his valiant breast<br /> +“Assaulting. Near by chance a cup there stood,<br /> +“Of mould antique, and rough with rising forms:<br /> +“Mighty it was, but Theseus, mightier still,<br /> +“Seiz'd it, and full against his hostile face<br /> +“It dash'd; he vomits forth, with clots of gore,<br /> +“His brains, and wine; these issuing from the wound;<br /> +“That from his mouth; and on the soaking sand<br /> +“Supine he sprawls. With rage the two-form'd race<br /> +“Burn for their brother's slaughter; all with voice<br /> +“United, eager call—to arms! to arms!<br /> +“Wine gave them courage, and the primal fight<br /> +“Was goblets, fragile casks, and hollow jars,<br /> +“Dash'd on: once instruments to feasts alone<br /> +“Pertaining; now for slaughter us'd and blood.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “First Amycus, of Ophion son, not fear'd<br /> +“To rob the sacred chambers of their spoils;<br /> +“And from its cord suspensive, tore away,<br /> +“As from the roof it hung, a glittering lamp;<br /> +“And hurl'd it, lofty-pois'd, full in the front<br /> +<a name="page_2_186"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 186]</span> +“Of Lapithæan Celadon. So falls<br /> +“On the white neck the victim bull presents,<br /> +“The sacrificial axe, and all his bones<br /> +“Were shatter'd left; one all confounded wound.<br /> +“His eyes sprang forth; his palate bones displac'd,<br /> +“His nose driv'n back within his palate falls.<br /> +“Him Belates Pellæan with a foot<br /> +“Torn from a maple table, on the ground<br /> +“Stretch'd prone; his chin forc'd downward on his breast;<br /> +“And sputtering teeth, with blackest gore commixt,<br /> +“Sent by a second blow to Stygia's shades.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “As next he stood, and with tremendous brow<br /> +“The flaming altar view'd, Gryneus exclaim'd—<br /> +“Why use we this not? and the ponderous load<br /> +“With all its fires he seiz'd, and 'mid the crowd<br /> +“Of Lapithæans flung: two low it press'd;<br /> +“Broteas and bold Orion. From her sphere<br /> +“Orion's mother Mycalé, by charms<br /> +“The moon to drag to earth has oft been known.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Loud cry'd Exodius:—Were but weapons found<br /> +“That death impunity would boast not. Horns<br /> +“An ancient stag once brandish'd, on a pine<br /> +“Hung lofty, serv'd for arms; the forky branch<br /> +“Hurl'd in his face deep dug out either eye.<br /> +“Part to the horns adhere; part flowing down<br /> +<a name="page_2_187"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 187]</span> +“His beard, thence hang in ropes of clotted gore.<br /> +“Lo! Rhætus snatches from the altar's height<br /> +“A burning torch of size immense, and through<br /> +“Charaxus' dexter temple, with bright hair<br /> +“Shaded, he drives it. Like the arid corn<br /> +“Caught by the rapid flame, the tresses burn;<br /> +“And the scorch'd blood the wound sent forth, a sound<br /> +“Of horrid crackling gave. Oft whizzes steel<br /> +“So, drawn forth glowing from the fire, with tongs<br /> +“Bent, and in cooling waters frequent plung'd;<br /> +“And crackling sounds, immers'd in tepid waves.<br /> +“The wounded hero from his tresses shook<br /> +“The greedy flames, and in his arms upheav'd,<br /> +“Tom from the earth, a mighty threshold stone,<br /> +“A waggon's burthen; but the ponderous load<br /> +“Forbade his strength to hurl it on the foe:<br /> +“And on Cometes, who beside him stood,<br /> +“Dropp'd the huge bulk. Nor Rhætus then his joy<br /> +“Disguis'd, exclaiming:—Such may be the aid<br /> +“That all your friends receive!—Then with his brand<br /> +“Half burnt, his blows redoubling, burst the skull<br /> +“With the strong force; and on the pulpy brain<br /> +“By frequent strokes the bones beat down. From thence<br /> +“Victor, Evagrus, Corythus, he met<br /> +“And Dryas. Corythus o'erthrown, whose cheeks<br /> +“The first down shaded; loud Evagrus cry'd:—<br /> +“What glory thine, thus a weak boy to slay?—<br /> +<a name="page_2_188"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 188]</span> +“No more to utter Rhætus gave, but fierce<br /> +“Plung'd the red-flaming weapon in his mouth,<br /> +“Thus speaking; and deep forc'd it down his throat.<br /> +“Thee also, furious Dryas! with the brand,<br /> +“Whirl'd round and round his head, he next assails.<br /> +“But thee the same sad fortune not befel:<br /> +“Him, proud triumphing from increas'd success<br /> +“In blood, thou piercest with an harden'd stake,<br /> +“Where the neck meets the shoulder. Rhætus groan'd:<br /> +“And from the hard bone scarce the wood could draw;<br /> +“As drench'd in blood his own, by flight he scap'd.<br /> +“With him fled Lycabas; and Orneus fled;<br /> +“Thaumas; Pisenor; Medon, who was struck<br /> +“'Neath the right shoulder; Mermeros, who late<br /> +“In rapid race all else surpass'd, but now<br /> +“Mov'd halting with his wound; Abas, of boars<br /> +“The spoiler; Pholus, and Melaneus too;<br /> +“With Astylos the seer, who from the war<br /> +“Dissuaded, but in vain, his brethren crowd.<br /> +“Nay more, to Nessus, fearing wounds, he cry'd—<br /> +“Fly not!—thou'lt for Alcides' bow be sav'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Euronymus, nor Lycidas, their fate,<br /> +“Areos, nor Imbreos fled; whom face to face<br /> +“Confronting, Dryas' hand smote down. Thou too,<br /> +“Crenæus! felt thy death in front, though turn'd<br /> +“For flight thy feet; for looking back thou caught'st<br /> +<a name="page_2_189"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 189]</span> +“Betwixt thine eyes the massy steel; where joins<br /> +“The nose's basement to the forehead bones.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “With endless draughts of stupefactive wine<br /> +“Aphidas lay, 'mid all the raging noise<br /> +“Unrous'd; and grasping in his languid hand<br /> +“A ready-mingled bowl: stretch'd was he seen,<br /> +“On a rough bear-skin, brought from Ossa's hill.<br /> +“Him from afar, as Phorbas saw, no arms<br /> +“Dreading, he fix'd his fingers in the thongs,<br /> +“And said—with Stygian waters mixt, thy wine<br /> +“Now drink;—and instant round his javelin twin'd<br /> +“The youth: for as supinely stietch'd he lay<br /> +“The ash-form'd javelin through his throat was driv'n.<br /> +“No sense of death he felt; his dark brown gore<br /> +“Flow'd in full stream upon the couch, and flow'd<br /> +“In his grasp'd goblet. I, Petræus saw,<br /> +“An acorn-loaded oak from earth to rend<br /> +“Endeavoring; which while compass'd with both arms<br /> +“He strains, now this way, now the other, shook<br /> +“Appear'd the tottering tree. Pirithous' dart<br /> +“Driv'n through the ribs, Petræus' straining breast<br /> +“Nail'd to the rigid wood. Pirithous' arm<br /> +“Lycus o'erthrew; and 'neath Pirithous' force<br /> +“Fell Chromis,—so they tell. But less of fame<br /> +“The conqueror gain'd from these, than from the death<br /> +“Of Helops, and of Dictys. Helops felt<br /> +<a name="page_2_190"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 190]</span> +“The dart through both his temples; swift it whizz'd<br /> +“His right ear enter'd, shewing at his left.<br /> +“But Dictys, from a dangerous mountain's brow<br /> +“As flying, trembling from Ixion's son<br /> +“Close following, he descended, headlong down<br /> +“He tumbled; with his ponderous fall he broke<br /> +“A mighty ash; within his riven side<br /> +“The stumps his bowels tore. Aphareus fierce,<br /> +“Came on for vengeance; and a massive rock,<br /> +“Torn from the hill, upheav'd to throw—to throw<br /> +“Attempted. Theseus with an oaken club<br /> +“Prevented, and his mighty elbow broke:<br /> +“Nor now his leisure suits, nor cares he now<br /> +“A foe disabled to dispatch to hell:<br /> +“But on Biamor's lofty back he springs,<br /> +“Unwont to bear, except himself, before:<br /> +“Press'd with his knees his ribs, and grasping firm,<br /> +“With his left hand his locks, he bruis'd his face,<br /> +“His frowning forehead, and his harden'd skull,<br /> +“With the rough club. With the same club he lays<br /> +“Nidymnus prostrate; and Lycotas, skill'd<br /> +“To fling the javelin; Hippasus, whose beard<br /> +“Immense, his breast o'ershaded; Ripheus sprung<br /> +“From lofty woods; and Tereus wont to drag<br /> +“Home furious bears still living, on the hills<br /> +“Thessalian, caught. Nor longer in the fight<br /> +“Raging with such success, Demoleon bore<br /> +<a name="page_2_191"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 191]</span> +“Theseus to see, but from a crowded wood,<br /> +“With giant efforts strove a pine to rend,<br /> +“Of ancient growth, up by the roots, but foil'd<br /> +“He flung the broken fragment 'mid the foe.<br /> +“Warn'd by Minerva, from the flying wood<br /> +“Theseus withdrew; so would he we believe.<br /> +“Yet harmless fell the tree not; from the breast<br /> +“And shoulder of great Crantor, was the neck<br /> +“Sever'd. The faithful follower of thy sire<br /> +“Was he, Achilles. Him, Amyntor, king<br /> +“Of all Dolopia, in the warlike strife<br /> +“O'ercome, as pledge of peace and faithful words<br /> +“Gave to Æäcides. Him mangled so<br /> +“With cruel wound, Peleus far distant saw;<br /> +“And thus exclaim'd,—O, Crantor! dearest youth!<br /> +“Thy funeral obsequies behold.—He said,<br /> +“And hurl'd his ashen spear with vigorous arm,<br /> +“And with a spirit not less vigorous, forth,<br /> +“Full on Demoleon: tearing through the fence<br /> +“Of his strong chest, it quiver'd in the bones.<br /> +“The pointless wood his hand dragg'd out; the wood<br /> +“With difficulty dragg'd he: in his lungs<br /> +“Deep was the steel retain'd. To his fierce soul<br /> +“Fresh vigor gave the smart. Hurt as he was<br /> +“He rear'd against the foe, and with his hoofs<br /> +“Trampled thy sire. He, with his helm and shield,<br /> +“Wards off the sounding blows; his shoulders guards;<br /> +<a name="page_2_192"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 192]</span> +“Holds his protended steel, and his foe's chest<br /> +“Full 'twixt the shoulders; one strong blow transpierc'd.<br /> +“Yet had he slain by distant darts before<br /> +“Both Hylis and Phlegræus; and in fight<br /> +“More close, had Clanis and Hipponous fall'n.<br /> +“To these must Dorilas be added, he<br /> +“A wolf skin round his forehead wore; and, bent,<br /> +“A double wound presenting, o'er his brows<br /> +“He bore the weapons of a savage bull;<br /> +“With streaming gore deep blushing. Loud I cry'd,<br /> +“While courage gave me strength—see how my steel<br /> +“Thy horns surpasses—and my dart I flung.<br /> +“My dart to 'scape unable, o'er his brow<br /> +“To ward the blow, his hand he held; his hand<br /> +“Was to his forehead nail'd. Loud shouts were heard,<br /> +“And Peleus at him, wounded thus, rush'd on,<br /> +“(He nearer stood) and with a furious blow<br /> +“Mid belly plac'd, dispatch'd him. High he sprung<br /> +“On earth his entrails dragging;—as they dragg'd<br /> +“Madly he trampled;—what he trampled tore:<br /> +“These round his legs entwining, down he falls;<br /> +“And with an empty'd body sinks to death.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Nor could thy beauty, Cyllarus, avail<br /> +“Aught in the contest! if to forms like thine<br /> +“Beauty we grant. His beard to sprout began,<br /> +“His beard of golden hue; golden the locks<br /> +<a name="page_2_193"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 193]</span> +“That down his neck, and o'er his shoulders flow'd.<br /> +“Cheerful his face; his shoulders, neck, and arms,<br /> +“Approach'd the models which the artists praise.<br /> +“Thus all that man resembled. Nor fell short<br /> +“The horse's portion: beauteous for a beast.<br /> +“A neck and head supply'd, a steed were form'd,<br /> +“Of Castor worthy: so was for the seat<br /> +“Fitted his back; so full outstood his chest:<br /> +“His coat all blacker than the darkest pitch;<br /> +“Save his white legs, and ample flowing tail.<br /> +“Crowds of his race him lov'd; but one alone,<br /> +“Hylonomé, could charm him; fairest nymph<br /> +“Of all the two-form'd race that roam'd the groves.<br /> +“She sole enraptur'd Cyllarus, with words<br /> +“Of blandishment; beloved, and her love<br /> +“For him confessing. Grace in all her limbs<br /> +“And dress, for him was studied; smooth her hair<br /> +“For him was comb'd; with rosemary now bound;<br /> +“Now with the violet; with fresh roses now;<br /> +“And oft the snow-white lily wore she; twice<br /> +“Daily she bath'd her features in the stream,<br /> +“That from Pagasis' woody summit falls;<br /> +“Twice daily in the current lav'd her limbs.<br /> +“Nor cloth'd she e'er her shoulders, or her side,<br /> +“Save with the chosen spoils of beasts which best<br /> +“Her form became. Most equal was their love:<br /> +“As one they o'er the mountains stray'd; as one<br /> +<a name="page_2_194"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 194]</span> +“The caves they sought; and both together then<br /> +“The Lapithæan roof had enter'd; both<br /> +“Now wag'd the furious war. By whom unknown,<br /> +“From the left side a javelin came, and pierc'd<br /> +“Thee deep, O Cyllarus! 'neath where thy chest<br /> +“Joins to thy neck. Drawn from the small-form'd wound,<br /> +“The weapon,—with the mangled heart, the limbs<br /> +“Grew rigid all. Hylonomé supports<br /> +“His dying body, and her aiding hand<br /> +“Presses against the wound; leans face to face,<br /> +“And tries his fleeting life awhile to stay.<br /> +“When fled she saw it, with laments which noise<br /> +“Drown'd ere my ears they reach'd, full on the dart<br /> +“Which through him stuck she fell; and clasp'd in death<br /> +“Her dear-lov'd husband's form. Before my eyes<br /> +“Still stands Phæöcomes, whom, closely-join'd,<br /> +“Six lions' hides protected; man and horse<br /> +“Equal the covering shar'd. Phonoleus' son<br /> +“Fierce on the skull he smote, with stump immense,<br /> +“Huge as four oxen might with labor move.<br /> +“Crush'd was the rounding broadness of the head;<br /> +“And the soft brain gush'd forth at both his ears;<br /> +“His mouth, his hollow nostrils, and his eyes.<br /> +“So through the straining oaken twigs appears,<br /> +“Coagulated milk: so liquid flows<br /> +“Through the fine sieve, by supercumbent weights<br /> +“Prest down, the thick curd at the small-form'd holes.<br /> +<a name="page_2_195"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 195]</span> +“Deep in his lowest flank the foe I pierc'd,<br /> +“As from our fallen friend the arms to strip<br /> +“Prepar'd, he stoop'd. Thy father saw the deed.<br /> +“Chthonius too fell beneath my sword, and fell<br /> +“Teleboas. Chthonius bore a forky bough;<br /> +“A javelin arm'd the other; with its steel<br /> +“He pierc'd me. Lo! the mark the wound has left:—<br /> +“Still the old scar appears. Then was the time<br /> +“They should have sent me to the siege of Troy:<br /> +“Then had I power great Hector's arm to stay;<br /> +“To check, if not to conquer. Hector then<br /> +“Was born not, or a boy. Now age me robs<br /> +“Of all my force. Why should I say how fell<br /> +“Two-form'd Pyretus, by the strength o'erthrown<br /> +“Of Periphantes? Why of Amphyx tell,<br /> +“Who in Oëclus' hostile front deep sunk,<br /> +“(Oëclus centaur-born) a pointless spear?<br /> +“Macareus, Erigdupus, (near the hill<br /> +“Of Pelethronus born, against his chest<br /> +“Full-bearing,) prostrate laid. Nor should I pass,<br /> +“How I the spear beheld, by Nessus' hands<br /> +“Launch'd forth, and bury'd in Cymelus' groin.<br /> +“Nor think you Mopsus, Amphyx' son, excell'd<br /> +“Alone to teach the future. By the dart<br /> +“Of Mopsus, fell Odites double-form'd.<br /> +“To speak in vain he strove, for tongue to chin,<br /> +“And chin to throat were by the javelin nail'd.<br /> +<a name="page_2_196"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 196]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Cæneus ere this had five to death dispatch'd<br /> +“Bromius, Antimachus with hatchet arm'd;<br /> +“Pyracmon, Stiphelus, and Helimus.<br /> +“What wounds them slew I know not; well their names,<br /> +“And numbers I remember. Latreus big<br /> +“In body and in limbs, sprung forth adorn'd<br /> +“In the gay arms Halesus once had own'd;<br /> +“Halesus of Thessalia by him slain:<br /> +“'Twixt strong virility and age his years,<br /> +“Still strong virility his arm could boast;<br /> +“Gray hairs his temples sprinkled. Lofty seen<br /> +“In helm and shield, and Macedonian spear,<br /> +“Proudly between the adverse ranks he rode;<br /> +“And clash'd his arms, and circling scower'd along.<br /> +“These boasting words to the resounding air<br /> +“Brave issuing—Cænis, shall I bear thee so?<br /> +“Still will I think thee Cænis;—female still<br /> +“By me thou'lt be consider'd. 'Bates it nought<br /> +“Thy valor, when thy origin thy soul<br /> +“Reflects on? When thy mind allows to own<br /> +“What deed the grant obtained? What price was paid<br /> +“To gain the false resemblance of a man?<br /> +“What thou was born, remember: mark as well<br /> +“Who has embrac'd thee. Go, the distaff take,<br /> +“And carding basket. With thy fingers twirl<br /> +“The flax, and martial contests leave to men.<br /> +“The spear which Cæneus hurl'd, deep in his side<br /> +<a name="page_2_197"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 197]</span> +“Bare as he cours'd, expos'd the blow to meet,<br /> +“Pierc'd him when boasting thus, just where the man<br /> +“Join'd the four-footed form. With smart he rag'd,<br /> +“And to the Phyllian warrior's face his spear<br /> +“Presented. Back the spear rebounded: so<br /> +“Bound the hard hailstones from the roof; so leap<br /> +“The paltry pebbles on the hollow drum.<br /> +“Now hand to hand he rushes to engage,<br /> +“And in his harden'd sides attempts to plunge<br /> +“His weapon deep. Pervious his weapon finds<br /> +“No spot. Then cry'd he,—still thou shalt not 'scape:<br /> +“Though blunted is my point my edge shall slay;—<br /> +“And aim'd a blow oblique, to ope his side,<br /> +“While round his flank was grasp'd his forceful arm.<br /> +“Sounded the stroke as marble struck would sound;<br /> +“The shiver'd steel rebounding from his neck.<br /> +“His limbs unwounded, to the wondering foe<br /> +“Thus long expos'd, loud Cæneus call'd;—Now try<br /> +“Our arms thy limbs to pierce!—Up to the hilt<br /> +“His deadly weapon 'twixt his shoulders plung'd;<br /> +“Then thrust and dug with blows unseeing 'mid<br /> +“His entrails deep; thus forming wounds on wounds.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Now all the furious crowd of double forms<br /> +“Rush raging round him; all their weapons hurl;<br /> +“And all assail with blows this single foe.<br /> +“Blunted their weapons fall, and Cæneus stands<br /> +<a name="page_2_198"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 198]</span> +“Unpierc'd, unbleeding, from ten thousand strokes:<br /> +“Astonish'd at the miracle they gaze;<br /> +“But Monychus exclaims;—What blasting shame<br /> +“A race o'erthrown by one; that one a man,<br /> +“But dubious. Grant him man, our coward deeds<br /> +“Prove us but what he has been. What avail<br /> +“Our giant limbs? What boots our double strength;<br /> +“Strength of created forms the mightiest two,<br /> +“In us conjoin'd? A goddess-mother we<br /> +“Assur'dly should not boast; nor boast for sire<br /> +“Ixion, whose great daring soul him mov'd<br /> +“To clasp the lofty Juno in his arms.<br /> +“Now vanquish'd by a foe half-male. Him whelm<br /> +“With trees, with rocks: whole mountains heap'd on high,<br /> +“Whole falling forests, let that stubborn soul<br /> +“Crush out. The woods upon his throat shall press,<br /> +“And weight for wounds shall serve.—The centaur spoke,<br /> +“Seizing a tree which lay by chance uptorn<br /> +“By raging Auster; on his valiant foe<br /> +“The bulk he hurl'd. All in like efforts join'd:<br /> +“And quickly Othrys of his woods was stript:<br /> +“Nor Pelion shade retain'd. Cæneus opprest<br /> +“Beneath the pile immense—the woody load,—<br /> +“Hot pants, and with his forceful shoulders bears,<br /> +“To heave th' unwieldy weight: but soon the heap<br /> +“Reaches his face, and then o'ertops his head:<br /> +“Nor breath is left his spirit can inhale.<br /> +<a name="page_2_199"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 199]</span> +“Now faint he sinks, and struggles now in vain<br /> +“To lift his head to air, and from him heave<br /> +“The heap'd-up forests: then the pile but shakes,<br /> +“As shakes the lofty Ida you behold,<br /> +“When by an earthquake stirr'd. Doubtful his end.<br /> +“His body, by the sylvan load down prest,<br /> +“Some thought that shadowy Tartarus receiv'd.<br /> +“But Mopsus this deny'd, who spy'd a bird<br /> +“From 'mid the pile ascend, and mount the skies<br /> +“On yellow pinions. I the bird beheld,<br /> +“Then first, then last. As wide on buoyant wing<br /> +“Our force surveying, Mopsus saw him fly,<br /> +“And rustling round with mighty noise, his eyes<br /> +“And soul close mark'd him, and he loud exclaim'd,—<br /> +“Hail, Cæneus! of the Lapithæan race<br /> +“The glory! once of men the first, and now<br /> +“Bird of thy kind unique!—The seer's belief<br /> +“Made credible the fact. Grief spurr'd our rage.<br /> +“Nor bore we calmly that a single youth<br /> +“By hosts of foes should fall. Nor ceas'd our swords<br /> +“In gore to rage 'till most to death were given:<br /> +“The rest by favoring darkness say'd in flight.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + While thus the Pylian sage, the wars narrates<br /> +Wag'd by the Lapithæan race, and foe<br /> +Centaurs half-human; his splenetic ire<br /> +Tlepolemus could hide not, when he found<br /> +<a name="page_2_200"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 200]</span> +Alcides' deeds past o'er; but angry spoke.—<br /> +“Old sire, astonish'd, I perceive the praise<br /> +“The deeds of Hercules demand, has 'scap'd<br /> +“Your mind. My father has been wont to tell<br /> +“Whom, he of cloud-begotten race o'erthrew:<br /> +“Oft have I heard him.” Nestor sad reply'd;<br /> +“Why force me thus my miseries to recal<br /> +“To recollection; freshening up the woes<br /> +“Long years have blunted; and confess the hate<br /> +“I bear thy sire for injuries receiv'd.<br /> +“He, (O, ye gods!) has deeds atchiev'd which far<br /> +“All faith surpass; and has the wide world fill'd<br /> +“With his high fame. Would I could this deny!<br /> +“For praise we e'er Deïphobus? or praise<br /> +“Give we Polydamas, or Hector's self?<br /> +“Who can a foe applaud? This sire of thine<br /> +“Messenia's walls laid prostrate, and destroy'd<br /> +“Elis and Pylos, unoffending towns;<br /> +“Rushing with fire and sword in our abode.<br /> +“To pass the rest who 'neath his fury fell,—<br /> +“Twice six of Neleus' sons were we beheld;<br /> +“Twice six save me beneath Alcides' arm,<br /> +“There dy'd. With ease were conquer'd all but one;<br /> +“Strange was of Periclymenos the death;<br /> +“Whom Neptune, founder of our line, had given,<br /> +“What form he will'd to take; that form thrown off.<br /> +“His own again resume. When vainly chang'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_201"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 201]</span> +“To multifarious shapes; he to the bird<br /> +“Most dear to heaven's high sovereign, whose curv'd claws<br /> +“The thunders bear, himself transform'd; the strength<br /> +“That bird possesses, using, with bow'd wings,<br /> +“His crooked beak and talons pounc'd his face.<br /> +“'Gainst him Tyrinthius his unerring bow<br /> +“Bent, and as high amid the clouds he tower'd,<br /> +“And poising hung, pierc'd where his side and wing<br /> +“Just met: nor deep the hurt; the sinew torn<br /> +“Still him disabled, and deny'd the power<br /> +“To move his wing, or strength to urge his flight.<br /> +“To earth he fell; his pinions unendow'd<br /> +“With power to gather air: and the light dart<br /> +“Fixt superficial in the wing, his fall<br /> +“Deep in his body pierc'd; out his left side,<br /> +“Close by his throat the pointed mischief stood.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Now, valiant leader of the Rhodian fleet,<br /> +“Judge what from me the great Alcides' deeds<br /> +“Of blazonry can claim? Yet the revenge<br /> +“I give my brethren, is on his brave acts<br /> +“Silent to rest: to thee still firm ally'd<br /> +“In friendship.” Thus his eloquent discourse<br /> +The son of Neleus ended, and the gift<br /> +Of Bacchus, oft repeated, circled round<br /> +To the old senior's words; then from the board<br /> +They rose, and night's remainder gave to sleep.<br /> +<a name="page_2_202"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 202]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + But now the deity, whose trident rules<br /> +The ocean waters, with a father's grief<br /> +Mourns for his offspring to a bird transform'd.<br /> +Savage 'gainst fierce Achilles, he pursues<br /> +His well-remember'd ire with hostile rage.<br /> +And now the war near twice ten years had seen,<br /> +When long-hair'd Phœbus, thus the god address'd;<br /> +“O power! to me most dear, of all the sons<br /> +“My brother boasts! whose hands with mine uprear'd<br /> +“In vain the walls of Troy! griev'st thou not now<br /> +“Those towers beholding as they ruin'd fall?<br /> +“Griev'st thou not now such thousands to behold<br /> +“Slain, those high towers attempting to defend?<br /> +“Griev'st thou not (more I need not speak) to think<br /> +“Of Hector's body round his own Troy dragg'd,<br /> +“When still the fierce Achilles, ev'n than war<br /> +“More ruthless, of our works destroyer, lives?<br /> +“Would it to me were given—my trident's power,<br /> +“Well know I, he should prove; but since deny'd<br /> +“To rush, and hand to hand this foe engage,<br /> +“Slay him with unsuspected secret dart.”<br /> +The Delian god consented, and at once<br /> +His uncle's vengeance and his own indulg'd.<br /> +Veil'd in a cloud amid the Ilian host<br /> +He darts, and 'mid a slaughter'd crowd beholds<br /> +Where Paris, on plebeïan foes his shafts<br /> +Unerring hurls: to him confess'd, the god<br /> +<a name="page_2_203"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 203]</span> +Exclaims;—“Why wast'st thou in ignoble blood<br /> +“Thy weapons? If thy friends employ thy care,<br /> +“Turn on Pelides every dart, revenge<br /> +“Thy murder'd brothers.”—Phœbus spoke, and shew'd<br /> +Where with his steel Achilles ranks on ranks<br /> +Of Troy o'erthrew. On him the bow he turns;<br /> +To him he guides the sure, the deadly dart.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now may old Priam joy for Hector slain;<br /> +For thou, Achilles, victor o'er such hosts,<br /> +Fall'st by the coward's hand, who stole from Greece<br /> +The ravish'd wife. O! if foredoom'd thy lot<br /> +By woman-warrior to be slain, to fall<br /> +By Amazonian weapon had'st thou chos'n.<br /> +Now burns Æäcides, the Phrygians' dread;<br /> +The pride, the guardian of the Grecian name;<br /> +The chief in war unconquer'd: and the god<br /> +Who arm'd him once, consumes him. Ashes now;<br /> +Nought of the great Pelides can be found,<br /> +Save what with ease a little urn contains.<br /> +But still his glory lives, and fills all earth:<br /> +Such bounds alone the hero suit; his fame<br /> +Equals himself, nor sinks he to the shades.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + His shield itself, as conscious whose the shield,<br /> +Fomented wars; and quarrels for his arms<br /> +Arose. Tydides fear'd to urge his claim;<br /> +<a name="page_2_204"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 204]</span> +Ajax, Oïleus' son; Atrides' each,<br /> +Him youngest, and the monarch who surpass'd<br /> +In age and warlike skill; and all the crowd.<br /> +Laërtes' son, and Telamon's alone<br /> +Try'd the bold glorious contest. From himself<br /> +All blame invidious Agamemnon mov'd:<br /> +The Grecian chiefs amid the camp he plac'd,<br /> +And bade the host around the cause decide.<br /> +<a name="page_2_205"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 205]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter26"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Thirteenth Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Contest of Ajax and Ulysses for the arms of Achilles. Success of Ulysses +and death of Ajax. Sack of Troy. Sacrifice of Polyxena to the ghost of +Achilles. Lamentation of Hecuba. She tears out the eyes of Polymnestor, +and is changed into a bitch. Birds arise from the funeral pile of Memnon, +and kill each other. Escape of Æneas from Troy, and voyage to Delos. +The daughters of Anius transformed to doves. Voyage to Crete and Italy. +Story of Acis and Galatea. Love of Glaucus for Scylla. +<a name="page_2_206"></a> +<a name="page_2_207"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 207]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter27"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Thirteenth Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + The princes sate; the common troops in crowds<br /> +Circled them round; when Ajax in the midst,<br /> +Lord of the seven-fold shield, arose, with rage<br /> +Uncurb'd. Sigæum's shores he fiercely view'd;<br /> +And ship-clad beach, while with extended arms,<br /> +“O, Jupiter!” he cry'd, “before this fleet<br /> +“Must then our cause be try'd? With me contends<br /> +“Ulysses? He who yielded all a prey<br /> +“To Hector's fires; whom I alone repell'd?<br /> +“Fires which I from that fleet drove far? More safe<br /> +<a name="page_2_208"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 208]</span> +“'Tis sure with artful language to contend,<br /> +“Than battle hand to hand. Hard 'tis for me<br /> +“To speak; for him 'tis no less hard to fight.<br /> +“And much as I in keen-urg'd blows excel,<br /> +“And arduous contest, such in words is he.<br /> +“My deeds, O Grecians! to rehearse what need?<br /> +“Have you not seen them? Let Ulysses tell<br /> +“His actions, feats without a witness done;<br /> +“Night only privy. Mighty is the prize,<br /> +“I own; but Ajax' glory suffers much,<br /> +“Striving with such a rival. Granted, great<br /> +“Its value; where the boast to have obtain'd<br /> +“What this Ulysses hop'd for? He ev'n now<br /> +“Enjoys th' advantage of the contest. Foil'd,<br /> +“His pride will be to boast with me he strove.<br /> +“But I, if doubtful is my valor deem'd,<br /> +“Have claims most potent in my noble race:<br /> +“Sprung from great Telamon, who Troy's proud town,<br /> +“'Neath brave Alcides captur'd; and explor'd<br /> +“The shores of Colchis in th' Hæmonian bark.<br /> +“His sire was Æäcus, who equal law<br /> +“Dispenses 'mid the silent shades; where toils<br /> +“Æölian Sisyphus beneath his stone.<br /> +“Well mighty Jove knows Æäcus, and owns<br /> +“Him son. Thus Ajax ranks but third from Jove.<br /> +“Nor yet, O, Greeks! should this descent my cause<br /> +“Assist, save that Achilles claim'd the same.<br /> +<a name="page_2_209"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 209]</span> +“Of brothers born, a kinsman's right I ask.<br /> +“Why should one sprung of Sisyphæan blood,<br /> +“Like his progenitor in theft and fraud,<br /> +“Ingraft an alien name upon the stock<br /> +“Of Æäcus? Am I the arms refus'd<br /> +“That first I join'd the warriors? join'd your host<br /> +“Betray'd not by informers? Worthier he,<br /> +“That last his arms he took? with madness feign'd<br /> +“Shunning the warfare; till more crafty came<br /> +“Naupliades, though luckless for himself;—<br /> +“Who shew'd his coward soul's devices plain;<br /> +“And hither dragg'd him to the hated wars?<br /> +“Now let him arms most glorious take, who arms<br /> +“To wear refus'd. Let me unhonor'd go,<br /> +“Robb'd of my kindred right, who first arriv'd<br /> +“To face the perils. Would, ye gods! that true,<br /> +“Or thought so, his insanity had been.<br /> +“Then, counsellor of cruel deeds, he ne'er<br /> +“Had join'd our camp before the Phrygian walls.<br /> +“Then thou, O Pæän's son! had Lemnos ne'er<br /> +“Known—to our shame abandon'd on the shore.<br /> +“Thou now, so fame reports, in woody caves<br /> +“Shelter'd, ev'n rocks mov'st with thy rending groans;<br /> +“Pray'st that Laërtes' son his justest meeds<br /> +“May gain. Ye gods! ye gods! grant ye his prayers<br /> +“A favoring ear! Now he, by oath combin'd<br /> +“With us in war;—O, heavens! a leader too!<br /> +<a name="page_2_210"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 210]</span> +“Heir to employ Alcides' faithful darts,<br /> +“Sinks both by famine and disease opprest:<br /> +“By birds sustain'd, and cloth'd by birds, he spends<br /> +“Upon his feather'd prey, the darts design'd<br /> +“To end the fate of Troy. Yet still he lives:<br /> +“For here he never with Ulysses came.<br /> +“Content had hapless Palamedes been<br /> +“Deserted so. Life might he have enjoy'd<br /> +“Perchance; and blameless sure to death had sunk.<br /> +“He whom this wretch, too mindful of the time<br /> +“His counterfeited madness was expos'd,<br /> +“Feign'd had betray'd the Greeks; and prov'd the crime<br /> +“By forg'd assistance: shewing forth the gold<br /> +“First bury'd by himself. Thus he destroys<br /> +“The strength of Greece, by exile or by death.<br /> +“Thus fights Ulysses; thus must he be fear'd<br /> +“Who, though old faithful Nestor he surpass'd<br /> +“In eloquence, not all would e'er avail,<br /> +“To prove deserting Nestor was no shame:<br /> +“Who press'd with age, and with a wounded horse<br /> +“Delay'd, Ulysses' aid besought: behind<br /> +“His coward comrade left him. Well, this deed<br /> +“Tydides can declare, by me not feign'd,<br /> +“Who oft him reprimanded by his name,<br /> +“And curs'd the flying of his trembling friend.<br /> +“Gods with just eyes all mortal actions view.<br /> +“Lo! he who aid would give not, aid requires!<br /> +<a name="page_2_211"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 211]</span> +“Who Nestor left, deserted was himself:<br /> +“Himself prescrib'd the treatment which he found.<br /> +“Loud call'd he to his friends. I come, I see,<br /> +“Pale trembling, where he lies, with dread to view<br /> +“Impending death. My mighty shield I fling;<br /> +“Beneath it shade him, and his coward breast<br /> +“(My smallest claim to glory) I protect.<br /> +“If still persisting, thou the strife wilt urge,<br /> +“Thither again return. Recal the foe;<br /> +“Thy wound; thy wonted terror; and lie hid<br /> +“Beneath my shield. 'Neath that with me contend.<br /> +“Lo! him I snatch'd from death, whose wounds refus'd<br /> +“Ev'n power to stand; retarded not by wounds,<br /> +“In agile flight sped on. Now Hector comes,<br /> +“Whom in the fight the deities attend.<br /> +“Where'er he swept, not thou Ulysses sole<br /> +“Wast struck with dread; the bravest of our host<br /> +“Shrunk, such the terror which then fill'd the field.<br /> +“When hand to hand engag'd, him prone I laid,<br /> +“Proud of his slaughter, on th' ensanguin'd plain,<br /> +“With a huge stone. I singly him oppos'd,<br /> +“All single challeng'd; all the Greeks to me<br /> +“Pray'd for the lot: nor vain your prayers were found.<br /> +“Enquire ye, what the fortune of the fight?<br /> +“I stood, by him unconquer'd, when all Troy<br /> +“Rush'd on the fleet of Greece, with fire, with sword,<br /> +“And aiding Jove: Where was Ulysses then?<br /> +<a name="page_2_212"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 212]</span> +“The eloquent Ulysses? I alone,<br /> +“A thousand ships, the hopes of your return,<br /> +“Defended with my breast: this crowd of ships<br /> +“Deserves those arms. Nay, if with truth to speak<br /> +“You grant, those arms more glory gain from me<br /> +“Than I from them; our honor is conjoin'd.<br /> +“Ajax the arms demand, not Ajax arms.<br /> +“Let Ithacus compare his Rhæsus slain;<br /> +“And slain unwarlike Dolon; and trepann'd<br /> +“Helenus, Priam's son; and Pallas' form.<br /> +“In open day nought done, and nought perform'd,<br /> +“Save Diomed' assisted. Grant for once,<br /> +“Such paltry service could the armour claim;<br /> +“Divide the prize, and lo! the largest share<br /> +“Tydides must demand. But why this prize<br /> +“Seeks Ithacus? who all his deeds performs<br /> +“In private; traversing unarm'd; the foe,<br /> +“While unsuspecting, conquering by deceit.<br /> +“This helmet's radiance from the glittering gold<br /> +“Darting, would shew his plots, and open lay<br /> +“The latent spy. But his Dulichian head,<br /> +“Cas'd in Achilles' casque, the weight would 'whelm,<br /> +“And for his languid arms, the Pelian spear<br /> +“Too weighty would be found. That shield engrav'd,<br /> +“With all earth's various scenes, but ill would grace<br /> +“His arm, for stealthy deeds alone design'd.<br /> +“Presumptuous fool! to seek a prize, which gain'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_213"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 213]</span> +“Would only mar thy power. By erring votes<br /> +“Of Grecians giv'n to thee, cause would it be<br /> +“The foe would strip thee; not thy prowess fear.<br /> +“And flight, in which, O trembler! erst alone<br /> +“Thou all surpass'd, slow would'st thou then pursue;<br /> +“Such ponderous armor dragging. Those, thy shield<br /> +“Which bears so rare the brunt of battle, shines<br /> +“Yet whole: a new successor mine demands,<br /> +“Which gash'd by weapons, shews a thousand rents.<br /> +“To end, what need of words? let actions shew<br /> +“Each one's deserts. Amid the foe be thrown<br /> +“The valiant warrior's arms. Thence bid us bring<br /> +“The prize;—who brings it, let him wear the spoil.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + So spake the Telamonian warrior; round<br /> +A murmur follow'd from the circling crowd.<br /> +Till up the chief of Ithaca arose;<br /> +His eyes (awhile cast down) rais'd from the earth;<br /> +The chiefs with anxious look'd-for sounds address'd:<br /> +Nor grace was wanting to persuasive words.<br /> +“O Grecians! had your prayers and mine been heard,<br /> +“Owner of what such cause of strife affords<br /> +“Were now not dubious: thou, Pelides, still<br /> +“These arms possessing, we possessing thee.<br /> +“But since unpitying fate, to you, to me,<br /> +“Denies him”—(here as weeping, o'er his eyes<br /> +His hand he draws)—“who with so just a right<br /> +<a name="page_2_214"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 214]</span> +“Can great Achilles now succeed, as he<br /> +“Who great Achilles brought the Greeks to join?<br /> +“Let it not aid his cause, that fool he seems,<br /> +“Or stupid is indeed; nor aught let harm<br /> +“The ingenuity I claim, to mine:<br /> +“Which, O, ye Argives! still has aided you.<br /> +“Let not my eloquence, if such I boast,<br /> +“And words, whose 'vantage often you have prov'd,<br /> +“Now for their author, move invidious thoughts:<br /> +“Nor what each claims his proper gift, refuse.<br /> +“Scarce can we call our ancestry, our race,<br /> +“Or deeds by them perform'd, merits our own:<br /> +“Yet since of grandsire Jove this Ajax boasts,<br /> +“I too, can boast him author of my line:<br /> +“Nor more degrees remov'd. My sire was nam'd<br /> +“Laërtes; his Arcesius; and from Jove<br /> +“Arcesius came direct: nor in this line,<br /> +“E'er any exil'd or condemn'd appear'd.<br /> +“Cyllenius too, his noble lineage adds<br /> +“Through my maternal stock. Each parent boasts<br /> +“A god-descended race. Yet claim I not<br /> +“The arms contested, merely that I spring<br /> +“Maternally more noble; nor them claim<br /> +“That from a brother's blood my sire is free:<br /> +“By merits solely you the cause adjudge.<br /> +“These only none to Ajax, that his sire,<br /> +“And Peleus brethren were, e'er grant. The prize<br /> +<a name="page_2_215"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 215]</span> +“Desert, and not propinquity of blood,<br /> +“Should gain. If kindred, then the hero's heir<br /> +“Demands it: Peleus still survives, his sire;<br /> +“And Pyrrhus is his son. Where Ajax' right?<br /> +“To Phthia, or to Scyros be it borne.<br /> +“Nor less is Teucer cousin than himself;<br /> +“Yet does he ask, or does he hope the arms?<br /> +“But since the obvious contest is by deeds<br /> +“Perform'd, though mine outnumber far what words<br /> +“Can easy compass; yet will I relate<br /> +<ins class="hemistich"> +<table> +<tr><td>“In order some:—</td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td>“The Nereïd mother knew</td></tr> +</table> +</ins> +“His future fate; her offspring's dress disguis'd;<br /> +“And all, ev'n Ajax, the fallacious robes<br /> +“Deceiv'd. With female wares I mingled arms,<br /> +“Which stir the martial soul. Nor had the youth<br /> +“Disrob'd him of his virgin dress, when grasp'd<br /> +“As in his hand the shield and lance he held,<br /> +“I cry'd'—O, goddess-born! reserv'd for thee<br /> +“Is Ilium's fate. The mighty Trojan walls<br /> +“Why to o'erthrow demur'st thou?—Him I seiz'd.<br /> +“Sent the brave youth, brave actions to atchieve:<br /> +“And all his actions as my own I claim.<br /> +“My spear then conquer'd Telephus in fight;<br /> +“And after heal'd the suppliant vanquish'd foe.<br /> +“Thebes low by me was laid. I, you must own,<br /> +<a name="page_2_216"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 216]</span> +“Lesbos, and Tenedos, and Scyros took;<br /> +“Chrysa, and Cylla, bright Apollo's towns.<br /> +“My arm Lyrnessus' walls shook, and laid low.<br /> +“But other deeds I well may pass: since I<br /> +“Gave to the host what dreadful Hector slew;<br /> +“By me renowned Hector fell. Those arms<br /> +“I claim, who gave those arms, which to the Greeks<br /> +“Achilles found. Living, those arms I gave;<br /> +“Him dead, those arms I gave, again demand.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “The wrongs of one through every Grecian breast<br /> +“Spread wide; a thousand ships th' Eubœan port<br /> +“Of Aulis fill'd. The long-expected gales<br /> +“Or came not, or blew adverse to the fleet.<br /> +“The rigid oracle Atrides bade<br /> +“His guiltless daughter sacrifice to calm<br /> +“Ruthless Diana. Stern the sire deny'd,<br /> +“And rag'd against the gods: the sovereign all<br /> +“Lost in the father. I with soothing words<br /> +“The parent's bosom mollify'd, and turn'd<br /> +“To thoughts of public good. Still, I confess,<br /> +“(And such confession will the king excuse;)<br /> +“An arduous cause I pleaded, where my judge<br /> +“Was by affection warp'd. The people's weal,<br /> +“His brother, and the lofty rank he held<br /> +“Mov'd him at length; and glory with his blood<br /> +“He bought. Then to the mother was I sent,<br /> +<a name="page_2_217"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 217]</span> +“Where reasoning had no force, but subtle craft.<br /> +“There had you sent the son of Telamon,<br /> +“Still had jour sails the needful breezes lack'd.<br /> +“Sent was I also to the Ilian towers,<br /> +“A daring envoy. Troy's fam'd court I saw;<br /> +“Troy's court I enter'd, then with heroes fill'd.<br /> +“There undismay'd, I pleaded all that Greece<br /> +“Bade for their common cause; Paris accus'd;<br /> +“Helen demanded, and the stolen spoil;<br /> +“And Priam and Antenor both convinc'd.<br /> +“But Paris, Paris' brethren, and the crowd<br /> +“Who aided in the rape, their impious hands<br /> +“Could scarce withhold. (Thou, Menelaüs, know'st,<br /> +“Who then with me the dawning of the war<br /> +“Didst prove in danger.) Long the tale, to speak<br /> +“Of all my deeds have done, the public cause<br /> +“To aid; since first the lengthen'd war began:<br /> +“By counsel or by valor. Wag'd the first<br /> +“Rough skirmish, long our foes within their walls<br /> +“Protected lay; no scope for open war:<br /> +“But in the tenth year now we fight again.<br /> +“In all that period what hast thou, who know'st<br /> +“But fighting, done? Where was thy service then?<br /> +“I, if my deeds thou seek'st, the foe betray'd<br /> +“By subtilty; girt us with trenches round;<br /> +“Inspirited our soldiers; made them bear,<br /> +“With mind unmurmuring, all the tedious war;<br /> +<a name="page_2_218"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 218]</span> +“Taught where to find the means to gain supplies<br /> +“Of food and arms; wherever need me call'd,<br /> +“There always was I sent. Lo! when the king,<br /> +“From Jove's deceptive dream, gave word to quit<br /> +“Th' unfinish'd war, he might the deed defend<br /> +“Through him who bade. But Ajax disapproves<br /> +“The flight; insists Troy shall in ruins lie,<br /> +“Asserts our power may do it! No! our troops<br /> +“Embarking, he not stay'd. Why seiz'd he not<br /> +“His arms? Why somewhat to the wavering crowd<br /> +“Said not, to fix? no weighty task to him<br /> +“Who ne'er harangues, except on mighty themes.<br /> +“Why? but that Ajax fled himself! I saw,<br /> +“But blush'd to see thee, when thy back thou turn'dst<br /> +“Hasting, thy coward sails to hoist; I spoke<br /> +“Instant—O fellow soldiers! whither now?<br /> +“What voice insane now urges you to leave<br /> +“Already-captur'd Troy? What will you bear<br /> +“Homeward, a lengthen'd ten years' shame besides?—<br /> +“With words like these back from the flying fleet<br /> +“I brought them; eloquence had sorrow's aid.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Atrides call'd the council, all with dread<br /> +“Trembling were dumb; nor there dar'd Ajax gape:<br /> +“But there Thersites durst with galling words<br /> +“The king provoke; vengeance he met from me.<br /> +“I rose, our panic-stricken friends, once more<br /> +<a name="page_2_219"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 219]</span> +“Rous'd 'gainst the foe: I, by my words recall'd<br /> +“Departed valor. Hence, whoever boasts<br /> +“Since then of valiant deeds, those deeds are mine,<br /> +“Who back recall'd him, as he turn'd for flight.<br /> +“Last, tell me which of all the Greeks applauds,<br /> +“Or as a comrade seeks thee. All his acts<br /> +“With me Tydides shares, allows me praise:<br /> +“Ulysses still his confidential friend.<br /> +“Sure from such thousands of the Argive ranks<br /> +“By Diomed' selected, I may boast.<br /> +“Nor lot me bade to go, when void of fear,<br /> +“Through double danger of the foe and night,<br /> +“I went; and Phrygian Dolon slew, who dar'd<br /> +“On our adventure come; but slew him not<br /> +“Till made to utter all; the wiles betray<br /> +“Perfidious Troy intended. All I learnt;<br /> +“Nor ought for further search remain'd. Now I,<br /> +“The camp with fame sufficient might have gain'd;<br /> +“But not content, for Rhesus' tents I push;<br /> +“Him, and his guard surrounding, in his camp<br /> +“I slay. Victorious so, possess'd of all<br /> +“My hopes design'd, the car I mount, and proud<br /> +“A glad triumpher ride. Now me deny<br /> +“The arms of him, whose steeds the spy had hop'd<br /> +“Meed of his bold excursion. Ajax say<br /> +“More worthy. Why Sarpedon's Lycian troop<br /> +“Vanquish'd, should I with boastful tongue relate?<br /> +<a name="page_2_220"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 220]</span> +“I vanquish'd Ceranos, Iphitus' son;<br /> +“Alastor, Chromius, and Alcander stout;<br /> +“Halius, Noëmon, Prytanis, with crowds<br /> +“Slaughter'd beside. Thoön to hell I sent,<br /> +“Chersidamas, and Charops; and to fates<br /> +“Unpitying, Ennomus dispatch'd: with these<br /> +“Beneath yon' walls whole heaps of meaner rank<br /> +“This hand has slain. And, fellow soldiers, lo!<br /> +“My wounds are honorable all in place:<br /> +“Believe not empty words, yourselves behold.”—<br /> +Then stript his robe, exclaiming—“Here the breast<br /> +“Still for your good employ'd. No drop of blood<br /> +“Has Ajax shed since first our host he join'd:<br /> +“In all these years, his body still remains<br /> +“Unwounded. Yet on this why should I dwell,<br /> +“If he must boast, that for the Argive fleet<br /> +“He fought alone 'gainst Jupiter and Troy?<br /> +“He fought, I grant it; no malignant spite<br /> +“Shall move detraction from his valiant deeds.<br /> +“But let him not the common rites of more<br /> +“Monopolize; let him to each allow<br /> +“The honor which they claim. Patroclus, fear'd<br /> +“In great Pelides' semblance, backward drove<br /> +“All Troy and Troy's protector from the ships,<br /> +“Then burning. Next his vanity would boast<br /> +“He only in the field of Mars durst strive<br /> +“With Hector; of the king, the chiefs, and me<br /> +<a name="page_2_221"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 221]</span> +“Forgetful; in the list the ninth alone,<br /> +“Solely by lot preferr'd. Yet, warrior brave,<br /> +“What was the issue of this daring fight?<br /> +“Hector unwounded left you. Mournful theme!<br /> +“With what deep sorrow I the time recal,<br /> +“When, bulwark of the Greeks, Achilles fell!<br /> +“Nor tears, vain lamentations, nor pale fear<br /> +“Me check'd; the prostrate body from the ground<br /> +“I rais'd. Upon those shoulders—yes, I swear,<br /> +“These very shoulders, I Pelides bore,<br /> +“With all his arms. The arms I now require.<br /> +“Strength I must have to bear with such a load:<br /> +“As sure your votes will meet a grateful mind.<br /> +“Was it because the bright celestial gift<br /> +“Might clothe the limbs of one without a soul,<br /> +“Stupidly dull, that all her anxious care<br /> +“The green-hair'd mother on her son employ'd;<br /> +“Arms wrought with art so great? Knows he the least<br /> +“The shield's engravings? Ocean, or the land:<br /> +“The lofty sky; the planets; Pleiäds bright;<br /> +“Hyäds; the bear, ne'er plung'd beneath the main;<br /> +“Orion's glittering sword, or various towns?<br /> +“Arms he demands he cannot understand.<br /> +“But how asserts he I the toils of war<br /> +“Evaded; joining late the fighting host,<br /> +“Nor sees he scandalizes too the fame<br /> +“Of great Pelides? If indeed a crime<br /> +<a name="page_2_222"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 222]</span> +“Dissembling must be call'd,—dissembled both.<br /> +“If faulty all delay, the first I came.<br /> +“A tender wife me kept; a tender tie,<br /> +“A mother, kept Achilles. Our life's spring<br /> +“To them was given, the rest reserv'd for you.<br /> +“Nor should I fear, even were this crime, I share<br /> +“With such a man, of all defence deny'd.<br /> +“Yet his disguise Ulysses' cunning found:<br /> +“Ajax ne'er found Ulysses. Needs surprize<br /> +“To hear th' abusing of his booby tongue,<br /> +“When with like guilt he stigmatizes you?<br /> +“Shames most that I this Palamedes brought,<br /> +“Falsely accus'd your sentence to receive,<br /> +“Or that you doom'd him so accus'd to die?<br /> +“But Nauplius' son not ev'n defence could urge,<br /> +“So plain his crime appear'd; nor did you trust<br /> +“The accusation heard: obvious you saw<br /> +“The bribe for which you doom'd him. Nor of blame<br /> +“Deserve I ought, that Philoctetes stays<br /> +“In Vulcan's Lemnos. You the deed excuse:<br /> +“All to the deed assented. Yet my voice,<br /> +“Persuasive, will I not deny, I us'd;<br /> +“That spar'd from travel, and from war's fatigue,<br /> +“In rest he might his cruel pains assuage:<br /> +“He lik'd my words, and lives. My counsel here<br /> +“Not merely faithful (though our faith the whole<br /> +“Our promise can insure) but happy prov'd.<br /> +<a name="page_2_223"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 223]</span> +“His presence since the seers prophetic ask<br /> +“T' atchieve the fall of Troy, dispatch not me;<br /> +“Ajax will better go, will better soothe<br /> +“With eloquence of tongue, a man who burns<br /> +“With raging choler, and with smarting pains:<br /> +“Or with some stratagem him thence allure.<br /> +“But Simoïs' stream shall sooner backward flow;<br /> +“Ida unwooded stand: Achaïa aid<br /> +“The Trojan power, than Ajax' stupid soul<br /> +“Shall help the Greeks, when first my anxious mind<br /> +“Striving to aid you, has been found to fail.<br /> +“O, stubborn Philoctetes! though enrag'd<br /> +“Against thy comrades, 'gainst the king, and me;<br /> +“Though thou may'st curse me, and my head devote<br /> +“Through endless days; though in thy grief thou ask'st<br /> +“To meet me, and to glut thee with my blood,<br /> +“Still will I try thee, and if fortune smiles,<br /> +“So will I gain thy arrows, as I gain'd<br /> +“The Trojan prophet, whom I captive made;<br /> +“As I the oracles of heaven laid ope;<br /> +“And all the fate of Troy: as from its room<br /> +“Close-hidden, I the form of Pallas brought,<br /> +“The charm of Troy, through ranks of hostile foes.<br /> +“Mates Ajax here with me? Fate had deny'd<br /> +“Of Troy the capture till that prize obtain'd.<br /> +“Where then the mighty Ajax? Where the boasts<br /> +“Of this brave hero? Why this risk evade?<br /> +<a name="page_2_224"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 224]</span> +“Why dar'd Ulysses through the watchful guards<br /> +“Steal 'mid the darkling night? and find his way,<br /> +“Not merely past the Trojan walls, but high<br /> +“Through raging swords their loftiest turrets scale;<br /> +“Bear off the goddess from her sacred fane,<br /> +“And with the prize again repass the foe?<br /> +“This deed not done, Ajax had bore in vain<br /> +“On his huge arm the sevenfold oxen hide.<br /> +“From that night's deeds I Ilium's conquest share.<br /> +“Then Troy I conquer'd, when the fact was done,<br /> +“Which made Troy vincible. Cease thou to mark<br /> +“With looks and mutterings Diomed' my friend;<br /> +“His share in all was glorious. Nor wast thou<br /> +“Single, when with thy buckler thou didst guard<br /> +“The general fleet; crowds aided, I was one.<br /> +“He, but he knows too well that less esteem<br /> +“Valor demands than wisdom; that the prize,<br /> +“A mere unconquer'd arm not justly claims,<br /> +“Had also sought: thy milder namesake too;<br /> +“Or fierce Eurypilus; or Thoas, son<br /> +“Of bold Andræmon. Equal right to hope,<br /> +“Idomeneus, Meriones, might boast,<br /> +“Each Cretan born; and who the sovereign king<br /> +“His brother claims; but all their valorous breasts<br /> +“(Nor does their martial prowess stoop to thine)<br /> +“Yield to my wisdom. In the fight thy arm<br /> +“Is mighty; prudence boast I, which that arm<br /> +<a name="page_2_225"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 225]</span> +“Directs. To thee a force immense is given,<br /> +“Without a brain; foresight is given to me.<br /> +“Well, thou canst wage the war; the time that war<br /> +“To wage, Atrides oft with me resolves.<br /> +“Thou aidest with thy body, I with mind:<br /> +“And as the guider of the ship transcends<br /> +“Him who but plies the oar: as soars above<br /> +“The soldier, he who leads him, so must I<br /> +“Thee far surpass; for far the mental powers<br /> +“In me surpass the merits of my arm:<br /> +“In mind my vigor lies. Ye nobles, speak;<br /> +“Give to your watchful guardian this reward,<br /> +“For the long annual care with anxious mind<br /> +“He gave you. This reward at length bestow,<br /> +“To his deserts but due: his labor done.<br /> +“Th' obstructing destinies by me remov'd,<br /> +“High Troy by me is captur'd; since by me<br /> +“The means high Troy to overthrow are given.<br /> +“Now beg I by our hopes conjoin'd; the walls<br /> +“Of Troy already tottering; by the gods<br /> +“Gain'd from the foe so lately; by what more<br /> +“Through wisdom may be done, if aught remains;<br /> +“Or aught of boldness, which through peril sought,<br /> +“Wanting, you still may deem to fill Troy's fate.<br /> +“If mindful of my merits you would rest,<br /> +“The arms award to this, if not to me:”<br /> +And pointed to Minerva's fateful form.<br /> +<a name="page_2_226"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 226]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Mov'd were the band of nobles. Plainly shewn<br /> +What eloquence could do:—persuasion gain'd<br /> +The valiant warrior's arms. Then he who stood<br /> +'Gainst steel, and fire, and the whole force of Jove,<br /> +So oft, his own vexation now o'ercame:<br /> +Grief conquer'd his unconquerable soul.<br /> +He seiz'd his sword,—“And surely this”—he cry'd—<br /> +“Still is my own! or claims Ulysses this?<br /> +“Against myself this steel must now be us'd:<br /> +“This stain'd so oft with Phrygian blood, be stain'd<br /> +“With his who owns it; lest another hand<br /> +“Than Ajax' own should Ajax overcome.”—<br /> +No more; but where his breast unguarded lay,<br /> +Pervious at length to wounds, his deadly blade<br /> +He plung'd, nor could his hand the blade withdraw;<br /> +The gushing blood expell'd it. Straight there sprung<br /> +Through the green turf, form'd by the blood-soak'd earth,<br /> +A purple flower, like that which sprung before<br /> +From Hyäcinthus' wound. Amid the leaves<br /> +Of each the self-same letters are inscrib'd;<br /> +The boy's complainings, and the hero's name.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Victorious Ithacus his sails unfurls,<br /> +To seek the land Hypsipylé once rul'd,<br /> +And Thoäs fam'd. An isle of old disgrac'd<br /> +By slaughter of its males, to bring the darts,<br /> +The weapons of Tyrinthius. These obtain'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_227"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 227]</span> +To Greece, and with their owner brought, at length<br /> +The furious war was finish'd. Priam falls<br /> +With Troy; and Priam's more unhappy spouse,<br /> +To crown her losses, loses human shape;<br /> +With new-heard barkings shaking foreign climes.<br /> +Where the long Hellespont's contracted bounds<br /> +Are seen, Troy blaz'd: nor yet the fires were quench'd.<br /> +The scanty drops of blood Jove's altar soak'd,<br /> +Which flow'd from aged Priam. By her locks<br /> +Dragg'd on, Apollo's priestess vainly stretch'd<br /> +To lofty heaven her arms. The victor Greeks<br /> +Tear off the Trojan mothers as they clasp<br /> +Their country's imag'd gods; and as they cling<br /> +To flaming temples—an invidious prey.<br /> +Astyänax is from those turrets flung,<br /> +Whence erst he wont to view his sire, whose arm<br /> +Him guarding, and his ancestorial realm<br /> +In fight, his mother shew'd. And Boreas now<br /> +Departure urg'd. Swol'n by a favoring breeze<br /> +The rattling canvas warn'd the sailor crew.<br /> +“O, Troy! farewel!”—The Trojan matrons cry—<br /> +“Hence are we borne.”—They kiss their natal soil;<br /> +And leave the smoking ruins of their domes.<br /> +Last—mournful object! Hecuba, descry'd<br /> +Amid her children's graves, the bark ascends.<br /> +Ulysses' hand her dragg'd, as close she grasp'd<br /> +Their tombs, and kiss'd their bones which still remain'd.<br /> +<a name="page_2_228"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 228]</span> +Yet snatch'd she hastily, and bore away<br /> +Of Hector's ashes some, and in her breast<br /> +Hugg'd them; and on the top of Hector's tomb<br /> +Left her grey hairs; her hairs, and flowing tears.<br /> +Oblation fruitless to his last remains.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Oppos'd to Phrygia, where Troy once was seen,<br /> +A country stands, where live Bistonia's race:<br /> +Where Polymnestor, wealthy monarch, rul'd,<br /> +To whom, O, Polydore! thy cautious sire<br /> +Thee sent; from Iliüm's battles far remov'd,<br /> +For safe protection. Wisdom sway'd the king;<br /> +Save that he sent him store of treasure too,<br /> +Reward of wickedness; and tempting much<br /> +His greedy soul. Soon as Troy's fortune sank,<br /> +Impious the Thracian monarch plung'd his sword<br /> +In his young charge's throat: as if his crime<br /> +And body from his sight at once 'twere given<br /> +To move, he flung him in the dashing main.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now on the Thracian coast, Atrides moor'd<br /> +His fleet, till placid were the waves again,<br /> +And favoring more, the winds. Achilles here,<br /> +Out from the earth, by sudden rupture rent,<br /> +Appear'd in 'semblance of his living form:<br /> +Threatening his brow appear'd, as when so fierce<br /> +He Agamemnon with rebellious sword<br /> +<a name="page_2_229"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 229]</span> +Sought to assail.—“Depart ye then, O, Greeks!”<br /> +He cry'd—“of me unmindful? Is the fame<br /> +“Of all my yaliant acts with me interr'd?<br /> +“Treat me not thus. That honors due my tomb<br /> +“May want not, let Polyxena be given<br /> +“In sacrifice to soothe Achilles' ghost.”<br /> +He said; his fellows with the ruthless shade<br /> +Complying, from the mother's bosom tore<br /> +Her whom she sole had left to cherish. Brave<br /> +Than female more, the hapless maid was led<br /> +To the dire tomb in sacrificial pomp.<br /> +She, of her state still mindful, when before<br /> +The cruel altar brought; when all prepar'd<br /> +The savage-urg'd oblation of herself<br /> +She saw; and Neoptolemus beheld<br /> +There stand, the steel there grasping; on his face<br /> +Her eyes firm-fixing, spoke.—“My noble blood<br /> +“This instant spill. Delay not—plunge thy blade<br /> +“Or in my throat, or bosom;”—and her throat<br /> +And bosom, as she spoke she bar'd—“for ne'er<br /> +“Polyxena, a slavish life had borne.<br /> +“Yet grateful is this victim to no god!<br /> +“My only wish, that from my mother dear<br /> +“May be my death conceal'd: my mother clogs<br /> +“My final passage; damps the joys of death.<br /> +“Yet should she wail my death not, but my life.<br /> +“But distant stand ye all, that to the shades<br /> +<a name="page_2_230"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 230]</span> +“Inviolate I sink; if what I ask<br /> +“Be just, let every hand of man avoid<br /> +“A virgin's touch. Whoe'er your steel prepares<br /> +“To move propitiatory with my blood,<br /> +“A victim quite untainted best must please.<br /> +“And should the final accents that I speak,<br /> +“(King Priam's daughter, not a captive sues)<br /> +“My corse unransom'd to my mother give.<br /> +“Let her not buy the sad sepulchral rites<br /> +“With gold, but tears. Yet time has been, with gold<br /> +“I might have been redeem'd.”—The princess ceas'd,<br /> +And save her own no cheek unwet was seen.<br /> +And ev'n the priest reluctant, and in tears,<br /> +Op'd by a sudden plunge the offer'd breast.<br /> +She, to earth sinking, 'neath her tottering limbs,<br /> +Wore to the last a face unmov'd; ev'n then<br /> +Her final care was in her fall to veil<br /> +Limbs that a veil demanded, as she sank;<br /> +And decent pride of modesty preserve.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The Trojan dames receive her, and recount<br /> +The woes of Priam's house, the streams of blood<br /> +That single stock has spent. Thee too, O, maid!<br /> +They weep; and thee, a royal spouse so late,<br /> +And royal parent stil'd; pride of the realm<br /> +Of glorious Asia; now a mournful lot<br /> +Amid the spoil; whom Ithacus would scorn<br /> +<a name="page_2_231"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 231]</span> +To own, great Hector hadst thou not brought forth:<br /> +The name of Hector scarce a master finds,<br /> +To claim his mother. She, the lifeless trunk<br /> +Embracing, which had held a soul so brave,<br /> +Tears pour'd; tears often had she pour'd before,<br /> +For country, husband, children—now for her<br /> +Those tears gush'd in the wound; lips press'd to lips;<br /> +And beat that breast which oft with grievous blows<br /> +Was punish'd. Sweeping 'mid the clotted blood<br /> +Her silver'd tresses; all these plaints, and more<br /> +She utter'd, as she still her bosom rent.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “My child, thy mother's last afflicting grief<br /> +“(For who is spar'd me?) low, my child, thou ly'st;<br /> +“And in thy wound, I all my wounds behold.<br /> +“Yes, lest a single remnant of my race<br /> +“Unslaughter'd should expire, thou too must bleed.<br /> +“A female, thee, safe from the sword I thought:<br /> +“A female, thee the sword has stretch'd in death.<br /> +“The same Achilles, ruiner of Troy,<br /> +“Bereaver of my offspring, all destroy'd,—<br /> +“Yes, all thy brethren, he, now murders thee!<br /> +“Yet when by Paris' and Apollo's darts<br /> +“He fell,—now, surely,—said I,—now no more<br /> +“Pelides need be dreaded! Yet ev'n now,<br /> +“Dreadful to me he proves. Inurned, rage<br /> +“His ashes 'gainst our hapless race; we feel<br /> +<a name="page_2_232"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 232]</span> +“Ev'n in his grave the anger of this foe.<br /> +“I fruitful only for Pelides prov'd.<br /> +“Low lies proud Iliüm, and the public woe,<br /> +“The heavy ruin ends: if ended yet:<br /> +“For Troy to me still stands; my sufferings still<br /> +“Roll endless on. I, late in power so high,<br /> +“Great in my children, in my husband great,<br /> +“Am now dragg'd forth in poverty; exil'd<br /> +“From all my children's tombs; a gift to please<br /> +“Penelopé; who, while my daily task<br /> +“She gives to Ithaca's proud dames, will taunt,<br /> +“And cry;—of Hector, the fam'd mother see!<br /> +“Lo! Priam's spouse!—And thou who sole wast spar'd<br /> +“To soothe maternal pangs, so many lost,<br /> +“Now bleed'st, atonement to an hostile shade:<br /> +“And funeral victims has my womb produc'd<br /> +“T' appease a foe. Why holds this stubborn heart?<br /> +“Why still delay I? What to me avails<br /> +“This loath'd, this long-protracted life? Why spin,<br /> +“O, cruel deities! the lengthen'd thread<br /> +“Of an old wretch, save that she yet may see<br /> +“More deaths? Who e'er could Priam happy deem,<br /> +“Iliüm o'erthrown? Yet happy was his death,<br /> +“Thy sacrifice, my daughter! not to see;<br /> +“At once of life and realm bereft. Yet sure<br /> +“O, royal maid! funereal rites await<br /> +“Thy last remains; thy corse will be inhum'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_233"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 233]</span> +“In ancestorial sepulchres. Ah, no!<br /> +“Such fortune smiles not on our house; the tears<br /> +“A mother can bestow, are all thy gifts;<br /> +“Sprinkled with foreign dust. All have I lost.<br /> +“Of the whole stock I could as parent boast,<br /> +“To tempt me now still longer to sustain<br /> +“This life, my Polydore alone is left;<br /> +“Once least of all my manly sons, erst given<br /> +“To Thracia's monarch's care, upon these shores.<br /> +“But why delay to cleanse that ghastly wound<br /> +“With water, and that face, with spouting blood<br /> +“Besmear'd.”—She ceas'd, and bent her tottering steps,<br /> +With torn and scatter'd locks down to the shore.<br /> +And as the hapless wretch—“O, Trojans!”—cry'd,<br /> +“An urn supply to draw the liquid waves;”—<br /> +The corse of Polydore, flung on the beach<br /> +She saw, pierc'd deep with wounds of Thracian steel.<br /> +Loud shriek'd the Trojan matrons; she by grief<br /> +Dumb-stricken stood. Affliction keen suppress'd<br /> +Her rising moans, and ready-springing tears:<br /> +Stupid, and like a rigid stone she stood.<br /> +Now on the earth her eyes are fixt; and now<br /> +To heaven her furious countenance she lifts:<br /> +Now dwells she on his face, now on the wounds<br /> +Her son receiv'd, and on the wounds the most:<br /> +And now her bosom with collected rage<br /> +Furiously burning, all on vengeance fierce<br /> +<a name="page_2_234"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 234]</span> +Her soul is bent, as still in power a queen.<br /> +As storms a lioness robb'd of her cub,<br /> +The track pursuing of her flying foe,<br /> +Whom yet she sees not: rage and grief were mixt<br /> +Just so in Hecuba; of her old years<br /> +Regardless, mindful of her ire alone.<br /> +She Polymnestor seeks, of the dire deed<br /> +The perpetrator, and his ear demands—<br /> +That more of gold, intended for her boy,<br /> +Her wish was to disclose. The Thracian king<br /> +Heard credulous; lur'd by his wonted love<br /> +Of gain, with her withdrew, and wily thus;<br /> +With coaxing words;—“quick, Hecuba!”—exclaim'd,<br /> +“Give for thy son the treasure. By the gods!<br /> +“I swear, all shall be his; what more thou giv'st,<br /> +“And what thou gav'st before.”—Him, speaking so,<br /> +And falsely swearing, savagely she view'd,<br /> +And her fierce bosom swell'd with double rage.<br /> +Then instant on him, by the captive dames<br /> +Fast held, she flies; in his perfidious face<br /> +Digs deep; her fingers (rage all strength supply'd)<br /> +Tear from their orbs his eyes; bury'd her hands,<br /> +Streaming with blood, where once the eyes had been;<br /> +Widening the wounds, for eyes no more remain'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Fir'd at their monarch's fate the Thracian crowd<br /> +With stones and darts t'attack the queen began.<br /> +<a name="page_2_235"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 235]</span> +The queen with harsher voice, as they pursue,<br /> +Bites at th' assailing stones, and, trying words,<br /> +Barkings her jaws produce. The place remains<br /> +Nam'd from the change. She, of her ancient woes<br /> +Long mindful, grieving still, Sithonia's fields<br /> +With howlings fill'd. Her fate with pity mov'd<br /> +Her fellow Trojans; and the hostile Greeks;<br /> +Nay, all the gods above; and all deny,<br /> +(Ev'n she, the sister-wife of mighty Jove)<br /> +That Hecuba so harsh a lot deserv'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Nor leisure now Aurora had to mourn<br /> +(Though strong their cause she favor'd) the sad fall,<br /> +And mournful fate of Hecuba, and Troy.<br /> +A nearer case, a more domestic woe,<br /> +The loss of Memnon, wrung the goddess' breast:<br /> +Whom on the Phrygian plains the mother saw<br /> +Beneath the weapon of Achilles sink.<br /> +She saw—that color which the blushing morn<br /> +Displays, grew pale, and heaven with clouds was hid.<br /> +Still could the parent not support the sight,<br /> +Plac'd on the funeral pyre his limbs, but straight<br /> +With locks dishevell'd, not disdain'd to sue<br /> +Prostrate before the knees of mighty Jove.<br /> +These words her tears assisting.—“Meanest I,<br /> +“Of those the golden heaven supports; to me<br /> +“The fewest temples through earth's space are rais'd:<br /> +<a name="page_2_236"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 236]</span> +“Yet still a goddess sues. Not to demand<br /> +“Temples, nor festal days, nor altars warm'd<br /> +“With blazing fires; yet if you but behold<br /> +“What I, a female, for you all atchieve,<br /> +“Bounding night's confines with new-springing light,<br /> +“Such boons you might consider but my due.<br /> +“But these are not my care. Aurora's mind<br /> +“Not now e'en honors merited demands.<br /> +“I come, my Memnon lost, who bravely fought,<br /> +“But vainly, in his uncle Priam's cause:<br /> +“And in his prime of youth (so will'd your fates)<br /> +“Fell by the stout Achilles. Lord supreme!<br /> +“Of all the deities, grant, I beseech<br /> +“To him some honor, solace of his death;<br /> +“Allay the smarting of a mother's wounds.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Jove nodded, round the lofty funeral pile<br /> +Of Memnon, rose th' aspiring flames; black clouds<br /> +Of smoke the day obscur'd. So streams exhale<br /> +The rising mists which Phœbus' rays conceal.<br /> +Mount the black ashes, and conglob'd in one<br /> +They thicken in a body, and a shape<br /> +That body takes, and heat and light receives<br /> +From the bright flames. Its lightness gave it wings:<br /> +Much like a bird at first, and soon indeed<br /> +A bird, its pinions sounded. And a crowd<br /> +Of sister birds, their pinions sounded too;<br /> +<a name="page_2_237"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 237]</span> +Their origin the same. Thrice they surround<br /> +The pile, and thrice with noisy clang the air<br /> +Resounds; the fourth time all the troop divide:<br /> +Then two and two, they furious wage the war<br /> +On either side; fierce with their crooked claws<br /> +And beaks, they pounce their adversary's breast,<br /> +And tire his wings. Each kindred body falls<br /> +An offering to the ashes of the dead,<br /> +And prove their offspring from a valiant man.<br /> +These birds of sudden origin receive<br /> +Their name, Memnonides, from him whose limbs<br /> +Produc'd them. Oft as Sol through all his signs<br /> +Has run, the battle they renew again,<br /> +To perish at their parent-warrior's tomb.<br /> +Thus, while all others Dymas' daughter weep<br /> +In howling shape, Aurora still on griefs<br /> +Her own sad brooding, her maternal tears<br /> +Sprinkles in dew o'er all th' extent of earth.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Yet fate doom'd not with Iliüm's towers the fall<br /> +Of Iliüm's hopes. The Cythereän prince<br /> +Bore off his gods; and on his shoulders bore<br /> +A no less sacred, venerable load,<br /> +His sire. Of all his riches these preferr'd.<br /> +The pious hero, with his youthful son<br /> +Ascanius, from Antandros, o'er the main<br /> +Borne in the flying fleet, leaves far the shore<br /> +<a name="page_2_238"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 238]</span> +Of savage Thrace, still moisten'd with the blood<br /> +Of Polydore, and enters Phœbus' port;<br /> +Aided by currents, and by gentle gales,<br /> +With all his social crew. Anius receives<br /> +The exile, in his temple,—in his dome;<br /> +Where o'er the land he monarch rul'd; and where,<br /> +As Phœbus' priest, he tended due his rites:<br /> +The city, and the votive temples shew'd,<br /> +And shew'd two trees, once by Latona grasp'd<br /> +In bearing throes. The incense in the flames<br /> +Distributed, wine o'er the incense thrown,<br /> +The entrails of the offer'd bulls consum'd<br /> +As wont; the regal roof approach they all;<br /> +And high on tapestry reclin'd, partake<br /> +Of Ceres' gift, and Bacchus' flowing boon.<br /> +Then good Anchises, thus—“O chosen priest<br /> +“Of Phœbus! was I then deceiv'd? methought,<br /> +“As far as memory aids me to recal,<br /> +“When first mine eyes these lofty walls beheld,<br /> +“That twice two daughters, and a son were thine.”<br /> +Old Anius shook his head, begirt around<br /> +With snowy fillets, as in grief, he said:—<br /> +“No, mighty hero! not deceiv'd art thou,<br /> +“Me hast thou seen of five the parent; now<br /> +“Thou well-nigh childless see'st me: (such to man<br /> +“The varying change of sublunary things)<br /> +“For, ah! what can an absent son bestow<br /> +<a name="page_2_239"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 239]</span> +“To aid me, who, in Andros' isle now dwells,<br /> +“Where for his sire the realm and state he holds?<br /> +“Delius on him prophetic art bestow'd;<br /> +“And Bacchus, to my female offspring, gave<br /> +“A boon beyond all credit, and their hopes.<br /> +“For all whate'er, which felt my daughters' touch<br /> +“To corn, and wine, and olives, was transformed:<br /> +“A mighty treasure in themselves they held.<br /> +“But Agamemnon, Troy's destroyer learn'd<br /> +“This gift (think not but that your overthrow<br /> +“In some respect we shar'd,) by ruthless force,<br /> +“Tore them unwilling from their parent's arms;<br /> +“And stern commanded that the heavenly gift<br /> +“Should feed the Grecian fleet. Each as she can<br /> +“Escapes. Eubœä two attain, and two<br /> +“Fraternal Andros seek. The troops pursue<br /> +“And threaten warfare, if withheld the maids.<br /> +“Fraternal love was vanquish'd in his breast<br /> +“By fear, (that thou this terror mayst excuse,<br /> +“Reflect, Æneäs was not there, nor there<br /> +“Was Hector, Andros to defend, whose arms<br /> +“To the tenth year made Iliüm stand.) And now<br /> +“Chains were prepar'd their captive arms to bind.<br /> +“While yet unchain'd, those arms to heaven they rais'd,<br /> +“O father Bacchus!—crying—grant thy aid.—<br /> +“And aid the author of the gift bestow'd:<br /> +“If them to lose by an unheard-of mode<br /> +<a name="page_2_240"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 240]</span> +“Be aid bestowing. Then could I not know,<br /> +“Nor now relate the order of the change<br /> +“Which lost their shapes; the summit of my grief<br /> +“I know; with plumage were they cloth'd; transform'd<br /> +“To snowy doves, thy spouse's favor'd bird.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + With these, and tales like these, the feast was clos'd:<br /> +The board remov'd, all sought repose. With day<br /> +Arising, all Apollo's shrine attend;<br /> +Who bids that they their ancient mother seek,<br /> +And kindred shores. The king attends them, gives<br /> +His presents as they go. Anchises holds<br /> +A sceptre, while a quiver and a robe<br /> +Ascanius boasts; Æneäs holds a cup,<br /> +Erst from Bœötia's shores to Anius sent,<br /> +By Theban Therses. Therses sent the gift;<br /> +Sicilian Alcon form'd it, and engrav'd<br /> +A copious tale around. A town was there,<br /> +And seven wide gates appear'd: for name were these,<br /> +What town it was displaying. All without<br /> +Its walls were funeral trains, and tombs beheld;<br /> +And fires; and piles; and matrons, whose bare breasts,<br /> +And locks dishevell'd, shew'd their mournful woe.<br /> +Weeping the nymphs appear'd, and seem'd to wail<br /> +Their arid streams; the leafless trees were hard;<br /> +The goats were browsing on the naked rocks:<br /> +And, lo! amid the Theban town was seen<br /> +<a name="page_2_241"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 241]</span> +Orion's daughters: this her naked throat<br /> +Offering, with more than female courage; that<br /> +On the sharp weapon's point forth leaning, dy'd,<br /> +To save the people: round the town are borne<br /> +Their pompous funerals, they in splendor burn.<br /> +Then, lest the race should perish, spring two youths<br /> +From out their virgin ashes; which by fame<br /> +Are call'd Coronæ, and the pomp attend,<br /> +When their maternal ashes are interr'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thus far the images on ancient brass<br /> +Were grav'n; the bordering summit of the cup<br /> +In gold acanthus rough appear'd. Nor gave<br /> +The Trojans gifts less worthy than they took.<br /> +To hold his incense, they a vase present<br /> +The royal priest; a goblet, and a crown,<br /> +Shining with gold, and bright with sparkling gems.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thence, mindful that the Trojan race first sprung<br /> +From Teucer's blood, tow'rd Crete their course they bend:<br /> +But long Jove's native clime they could not bear.<br /> +The hundred-city'd isle now left behind,<br /> +Ausonia's port they hope to gain. Rough swell<br /> +The wintry storms, and toss them on the main;<br /> +And in the port of faithless Strophades<br /> +Receiv'd, the wing'd Aëllo scares them far.<br /> +Now had they sail'd beyond Dulichium's bay;<br /> +<a name="page_2_242"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 242]</span> +Samos; and Ithaca, Neritus' soil;<br /> +The realms Ulysses, so perfidious, sway'd:<br /> +And saw Ambracia, for the strife of gods<br /> +Renown'd, and stone to which the judge was chang'd;<br /> +Now as Apollo's Actium far more fam'd:<br /> +And saw Dodona's land with vocal groves;<br /> +And deep Chaonia's bay, where vain-urg'd flames<br /> +Molossus' sons, on new-sprung pinions 'scap'd.<br /> +Phæäcia's neighbouring country, planted thick<br /> +With grateful apples, now they reach; from thence<br /> +Epirus and Buthrotus, by the seer<br /> +Of Iliüm govern'd, image true of Troy.<br /> +Thence of the future certain, full of faith,<br /> +In all that Helenus of fate them told,<br /> +Sicilia's isle they enter, which extends<br /> +Midst of the waves its promontories three.<br /> +Pachymos, tow'rd the showery south is plac'd;<br /> +And Zephyr soft on Lilybæum blows:<br /> +But 'gainst the Arctic bear that shuns the sea,<br /> +And Boreas' rugged storms, Pelorus looks.<br /> +By this the Trojans steer; urg'd by their oars,<br /> +And favoring tide, by night on Zanclé's beach<br /> +The fleet is moor'd. Here Scylla on the right;<br /> +Charybdis, restless, on the left alarms.<br /> +This sucks the destin'd ships beneath the waves,<br /> +And whirls them up again: fierce dogs surround<br /> +The other's sable belly, while she bears<br /> +<a name="page_2_243"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 243]</span> +A virgin's face; and, if what poets tell<br /> +Be feign'd not all, she had a virgin been.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Her many wooers sought; these all repuls'd,<br /> +She join'd the ocean nymphs; by ocean's nymphs<br /> +Much favor'd was the maid; and told the loves<br /> +Of all the baffled youths. Her, while she gave<br /> +Her locks to comb, thus Galatea fair,<br /> +Bespoke, but first suppress'd a rising sigh.<br /> +“'Tis true, O maid! a gentle race thee seeks,<br /> +“Whom safely, as thou dost, thou may'st deny:<br /> +“But I, whose sire is Nereus; who was born<br /> +“Of blue-hair'd Doris; who am potent too<br /> +“In crowds of sisters, refuge only found<br /> +“From the fierce Cyclops' love, in my own waves.”<br /> +Tears chok'd her utterance here; which when the maid<br /> +Had wip'd with marble fingers, and had sooth'd<br /> +The goddess.—“Dearest Galatea! speak;<br /> +“Nor from thy friend this cause of grief conceal:<br /> +“Faithful am I to thee.” The goddess yields,<br /> +And to Cratæis' daughter, thus replies.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “From Faunus and the nymph Symethis sprung<br /> +“Acis, his sire's delight, his mother's pride;<br /> +“But far to me more dear. For me the youth,<br /> +“And me alone, lov'd warmly; twice eight years<br /> +“Had o'er him pass'd; when on his tender cheek<br /> +<a name="page_2_244"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 244]</span> +“A doubtful down appear'd. Him I desir'd,<br /> +“As ceaseless as the Cyclops sought for me.<br /> +“Nor should you ask, if in my bosom dwelt<br /> +“For him most hate, or most for Acis love,<br /> +“Could I inform you: equal both in force.<br /> +“O, gentle Venus! with what mighty power<br /> +“Thou sway'st; lo! he, the merciless, the dread<br /> +“Of his own woods; whom hapless guest ne'er saw<br /> +“With safety; spurner of the power of Jove,<br /> +“And all the host of heaven, what love is, feels!<br /> +“Seiz'd with desire of me he flames, forgets<br /> +“His flocks, and caverns. All thy anxious care<br /> +“Thy beauty, Polyphemus! to improve,<br /> +“And all thy anxious care is now to please.<br /> +“And now with rakes thou comb'st thy rugged hair;<br /> +“Now with a scythe thou mow'st thy bushy beard:<br /> +“Thy features to behold in the clear brook,<br /> +“And calm their fire employs thee. All his love<br /> +“Of slaughter; all his fierceness; all his thirst<br /> +“Cruel of blood, him leaves; and on the coast,<br /> +“Ships safely moor, and safe again depart.<br /> +“Meantime at Etna Telemus arriv'd,<br /> +“Of Eurymus the son, whom never bird<br /> +“Deceiv'd; he to dread Polyphemus came,<br /> +“And spoke:—Thee, of the single light thou bear'st<br /> +“Mid front, Ulysses will deprive.—Loud laugh'd<br /> +“The monster, saying;—Stupidest of seers,<br /> +<a name="page_2_245"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 245]</span> +“How much thou err'st!—already is it gone.—<br /> +“So spurns the truth the prophet told in vain.<br /> +“Then moving on along the shore, he sinks<br /> +“The sand with heavy steps, or tir'd returns<br /> +“To his dark caves. Far stretching in the main<br /> +“A wedge-like promontory rears its ridge<br /> +“Aloft; on either side the surging waves<br /> +“Foam on it. To its loftiest height ascends<br /> +“The Cyclops fierce; his station in the midst<br /> +“Assumes; his woolly flocks his steps pursue<br /> +“Unshepherded. He when the pine immense,<br /> +“Which serv'd him for a staff, though fit to serve<br /> +“For sailyard, low beneath his feet had thrown;<br /> +“And grasp'd the pipe, an hundred 'pacted reeds<br /> +“Compos'd; the pastoral whistling all around<br /> +“The hills confess'd, and all the waters nigh.<br /> +“I, hid beneath a rock, my head reclin'd<br /> +“On my dear Acis' bosom, heard these words—,<br /> +“And still the words are noted in my breast.—<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “O, Galatea! brighter than the leaves<br /> +“Of snow-white lilies; fresher than the meads;<br /> +“More lofty far than towering alder trees;<br /> +“Than chrystal clearer; than the wanton kid<br /> +“More gay; than shells, by ocean's constant waves<br /> +“Smooth polish'd, smoother; dearer than the shade<br /> +“In summer's heat; than winter's sun more dear;<br /> +<a name="page_2_246"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 246]</span> +“More than the apple bright; and fairer far<br /> +“Than lofty planetrees; clearer than the frost;<br /> +“More beauteous than the ripen'd grape; more soft<br /> +“Than the swan's plumage; or the new-prest milk:<br /> +“And, but thou fly'st, more than the garden fine<br /> +“With water'd streamlets. Yet the same art thou,<br /> +“Wild Galatea, than the untam'd steer<br /> +“More fierce; more stubborn than the ancient oak;<br /> +“Than water more deceitful; slippery more<br /> +“Than bending willows, or the greenest vines;<br /> +“More stubborn than these rocks; than seas more rough;<br /> +“Than the prais'd peacock prouder; sharper far<br /> +“Than fire; and piercing more than thistles keen.<br /> +“More savage than a nursing bear; more deaf<br /> +“Than raging billows; than the trodden snake<br /> +“More pitiless; and, what I more than all<br /> +“Would wish thou wast not, fleeter than the deer,<br /> +“Chas'd by shrill hunters; fleeter than wing'd air,<br /> +“Or winds. If well thou knew'st me, much thou'dst grieve<br /> +“That e'er thou fled'st; thou'dst blame thy dull delay,<br /> +“And sue and labor to retain my love.<br /> +“Caverns I have, scoop'd in the living rock<br /> +“Beneath the mountain's side, where never sun<br /> +“In mid-day heat, nor winter's cold can come.<br /> +“My apples bend the branches; grapes are mine<br /> +“On the long vine-trees clustering; some like gold;<br /> +“Some of a purple teint; and these and those<br /> +<a name="page_2_247"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 247]</span> +“Will I preserve for thee. Thy own fair hands<br /> +“Shall gather strawberries soft, beneath the shade;<br /> +“Autumnal cornels; and the purple plumb,<br /> +“Dark with its juice, and that still nobler kind<br /> +“Like new-made wax in hue. Nor shalt thou lack<br /> +“The chesnut; nor the red arbutus' fruit:<br /> +“Be but my spouse. All trees shall thee supply.<br /> +“Mine are these flocks, and thousands more besides<br /> +“Which roam the vallies; thousands like the woods;<br /> +“And thousands shelter in the shady caves:<br /> +“Nor could I, should'st thou ask, their numbers tell.<br /> +“Poor he who counts his store. Believe not me<br /> +“When these I praise; before thine eyes behold<br /> +“How scarce their legs the swelling udder bear.<br /> +“Mine are the tender lambs, in the warm fold<br /> +“Secure; and mine are kids of equal age<br /> +“In folds apart. The whitest milk have I;<br /> +“But still for drink shall serve, and thicken'd, part<br /> +“Shall harden into cheese. Nor wilt thou find<br /> +“But cheap delights, and common vulgar gifts:<br /> +“For deer, and hares, and goats, thou shalt possess;<br /> +“Pigeons in pairs, and nests from mountains gain'd.<br /> +“Upon the hills, a shaggy bear's twin cubs<br /> +“I found; so like, no difference could be seen,<br /> +“With thee to play I found them: these, I said,<br /> +“These will I force my mistress to obey.<br /> +“O Galatea! raise thy lovely head<br /> +<a name="page_2_248"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 248]</span> +“Above the azure deep; come! only come;<br /> +“Nor scorn my gifts. Right well myself I know:<br /> +“I view'd me lately in the liquid stream;<br /> +“And much my image satisfy'd my view.<br /> +“Behold, how vast my bulk! Jove, in his heaven,<br /> +“(For of some Jove ye oft are wont to tell<br /> +“Who rules there) towers not in a mightier size.<br /> +“Thick bushy locks o'er my stern forehead hang,<br /> +“And like a forest down my shoulders spread.<br /> +“Nor deem my body, with hard bristles rough,<br /> +“Unseemly; most unsightly is the tree,<br /> +“Without a leaf; unsightly is the steed,<br /> +“Save on his neck the flowing mane is spread:<br /> +“Plumes clothe the feather'd race; and their own wool<br /> +“Becomes the sheep; so beards become mankind,<br /> +“And bushy bristles, o'er their limbs bespread.<br /> +“True in my forehead but one light is plac'd;<br /> +“But huge that light, and like a mighty shield<br /> +“In size. Yet does not Sol from heaven's high round<br /> +“All view? and Sol possesses lights no more.<br /> +“Remember too, my father o'er your realm<br /> +“Rules sovereign; I in him a sire-in-law<br /> +“Would give thee. Only pity me, I pray,<br /> +“And hear my suppliant vows. To thee alone<br /> +“I bend: and while I scorn your mighty Jove,<br /> +“His heaven, and piercing thunder, thee, O nymph!<br /> +“I fear: than fiercest lightnings dreading more<br /> +<a name="page_2_249"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 249]</span> +“Thy anger. Far more patient should I rest<br /> +“With this contempt, all didst thou thus contemn.<br /> +“But how, the Cyclops first repuls'd, dar'st thou<br /> +“This Acis love? this Acis dare prefer<br /> +“To my embraces? Yet may he himself<br /> +“Delight; nay let him Galatea please,<br /> +“If so it must be, though what most I'd spurn:<br /> +“Let but the scope be given, soon should he prove<br /> +“My strength is equal to my mighty bulk.<br /> +“Living his entrails would I tear, and spread<br /> +“His mangled members o'er the fields, and o'er<br /> +“Thy waters: let him mingle with thee so.<br /> +“For oh! I burn; more fierce my injur'd love<br /> +“Now rages: in ray breast I seem to bear<br /> +“All Etna and its fires. But all my pains<br /> +“Can nought, O Galatea! thee affect.—<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Thus with vain 'plainings (for the whole I saw)<br /> +“He rises, raging like a furious bull<br /> +“Robb'd of his heifer; paces restless round,<br /> +“And bounds along the forests and the coasts.<br /> +“When me and Acis, heedless of such fate,<br /> +“And unsuspecting, he beheld, and roar'd:—<br /> +“I see ye! but the period of your love<br /> +“Will I accomplish.—Loud his threats were heard,<br /> +“As all the Cyclops' power of voice could raise.<br /> +“All Etna trembled at the sound. In fright<br /> +<a name="page_2_250"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 250]</span> +“I plung'd for safety in the neighbouring waves;<br /> +“While fair Symethis' son for flight prepar'd;<br /> +“And—help me, Galatea!—he exclaim'd—<br /> +“Help me, O help! and ye, my parents, aid;<br /> +“And, perishing, receive me in your realm.—<br /> +“Close at his heels the Cyclops comes, and hurls<br /> +“A mighty fragment from a mountain rent;<br /> +“A corner only of the mighty rock<br /> +“Him reach'd: that corner Acis all o'erwhelm'd.<br /> +“But I, what fate alone would grant, perform'd,<br /> +“That Acis still his ancestorial race<br /> +“Should join: his purple gore flow'd from the rock;<br /> +“And soon the redness pal'd; it seem'd a stream<br /> +“Disturb'd by drenching showers; and soon this stream<br /> +“Was clear'd to limpid purity. The rock<br /> +“Gap'd wide, and living reeds sprung up erect,<br /> +“On either brink. Loud roars the pressing flood<br /> +“In the rock's hollow womb, and (wond'rous sight!)<br /> +“A youth, his new-form'd horns with reeds begirt,<br /> +“Sudden appear'd, 'mid waist above the waves;<br /> +“Who but in stature larger, and his skin<br /> +“Of azure teint, might Acis well be deem'd.<br /> +“Acis indeed it was, Acis transform'd<br /> +“To a clear stream which still his name retains.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Here Galatea ceas'd, the listening choir<br /> +Dividing, all depart. The Nereïd train<br /> +<a name="page_2_251"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 251]</span> +Swim o'er the placid waves. Scylla returns;<br /> +Fearful to venture 'mid the boundless main,<br /> +And vestless roams along the soaking sand;<br /> +Or weary'd; finding some sequester'd pool,<br /> +Cools in the shelter'd waters her fair limbs.<br /> +Lo! Glaucus, lately of the mighty deep<br /> +An 'habitant receiv'd, his shape transform'd<br /> +Upon Bœötia's shores, cleaves through the waves;<br /> +And feels desire as he the nymph beholds.<br /> +All he can urge to stay her flight he tries;<br /> +Yet still she flies him, swifter from her fear.<br /> +She gains a mountain's summit, which the shore<br /> +O'erhung. High to the main the lofty ridge<br /> +An undivided sbrubless top presents,<br /> +Down shelving to the sea. In safety here<br /> +She stood; and, dubious monster he, or god,<br /> +Admir'd his color, and the locks which spread<br /> +Adown his shoulders, and his back below:<br /> +And that a wreathing fish's form should end<br /> +His figure from his groin. He saw her gaze;<br /> +And on a neighbouring rock his elbow lean'd,<br /> +As thus he spoke.—“No monstrous thing am I,<br /> +“Fair virgin! nor a savage of the sea;<br /> +“A watery god I am; nor on the main<br /> +“Has Proteus; Triton; or Palæmon, son<br /> +“Of Athamas, more power. Yet time has been<br /> +“When I was mortal, yet even then attach'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_252"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 252]</span> +“To the deep water, on the ocean I,<br /> +“Still joy'd to labor. Now the following shoal<br /> +“Of fishes in my net I dragg'd; and now,<br /> +“Plac'd on a rock, I with my flexile rod<br /> +“Guided the line. Bordering a verdant mead<br /> +“A bank there lies, the waves its circuit bound<br /> +“In part; in part the virid grass surrounds;<br /> +“A mead which ne'er the horned herd had cropp'd:<br /> +“Where ne'er the placid flock, nor hairy goats<br /> +“Had brows'd; nor bees industrious cull'd the flowers<br /> +“For sweets: no genial chaplets there were pluck'd<br /> +“To grace the head; nor had the mower's arm<br /> +“E'er spoil'd the crop. The first of mortals, I<br /> +“On the turf rested. As my nets I dry'd;<br /> +“And as my captur'd scaly prey to count,<br /> +“Upon the grass I spread,—whatever the net<br /> +“Escape prevented, and the hook had snar'd<br /> +“Through their own folly. (Like a fiction sounds<br /> +“The fact, but what avails to me to feign?)<br /> +“Soon as the grass they touch, my captiv'd prey<br /> +“Begin to move, and on their sides to turn;<br /> +“And ply their fins on earth as in the main.<br /> +“Then, while with wonder struck I pause, all fly<br /> +“The shore in heaps, and their new master quit,<br /> +“Their native waves regaining. I, surpriz'd,<br /> +“Long doubtful stand to guess the wond'rous cause.<br /> +“Whether some god, or but the grasses' juice<br /> +<a name="page_2_253"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 253]</span> +“Accomplish'd this. What herb—at last, I said—<br /> +“Can power like this possess?—and with my hand<br /> +“Pluck'd up, and with my teeth the herbage chew'd.<br /> +“Scarce had my throat th' untasted juice first try'd,<br /> +“When all my entrails sudden tremblings shook,<br /> +“And with a love of something yet unknown<br /> +“My breast was mov'd; nor could I longer keep<br /> +“My place.—O earth! where I shall ne'er return—<br /> +“Farewel! I cry'd,—and plung'd below the waves.<br /> +“Worthy the ocean deities me deem'd<br /> +“To join their social troop, and anxious pray'd<br /> +“To Tethys, and old Ocean, Tethys' spouse,<br /> +“To purge whate'er of mortal I retain'd.<br /> +“By them lustrated, and the potent song<br /> +“Nine times repeated, earthly taints to cleanse,<br /> +“They bade me 'neath an hundred gushing streams<br /> +“To place my bosom. No delay I seek;<br /> +“The floods from numerous fountains pour'd, the main<br /> +“O'erwhelm'd my head. Thus far what deeds were done<br /> +“My memory helps me to relate; thus far<br /> +“Alone can I remember; all the rest<br /> +“Dark to my memory seems. My sense restor'd,<br /> +“I found my body chang'd in every part;<br /> +“Nor was my mind the same. Then first I saw<br /> +“This beard of dingy green, and these long locks<br /> +“Which through the seas I sweep; these shoulders huge;<br /> +“Those azure arms and thighs in fish-like form<br /> +<a name="page_2_254"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 254]</span> +“Furnish'd with fins. But what avails this shape?<br /> +“What that by all the deities marine<br /> +“I dear am held? a deity myself?<br /> +“If all these honors cannot touch thy breast.”<br /> +These words he spoke, and more to speak prepar'd,<br /> +When Scylla left the god. Repuls'd, he griev'd<br /> +And sought Titanian Circé's monstrous court.<br /> +<a name="page_2_255"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 255]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter28"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Fourteenth Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Scylla transformed to a monster by Circé through jealousy; and ultimately +to a rock. Continuation of Æneas' voyage. Dido. Cercopians +changed to apes. Descent of Æneas to hell. The Cumæan Sybil. Adventures +of Achæmenides with Polyphemus: and of Macareus amongst the +Lestrigonians. Enchantments of Circé. Story of the transformation of Picus +to a woodpecker; and of the nymph Canens to air. The Latian wars. +Misfortunes of Diomede. Agmon and others changed to herons. Appulus +to a wild olive. The Trojan ships changed to sea-nymphs. The city +Ardea to a bird. Deification of Æneas. Latin kings. Vertumnus and +Pomona. Story of Iphis and Anaxareté. Wars with the Sabines. Apotheösis +of Romulus; and of his wife Hersilia. +<a name="page_2_256"></a> +<a name="page_2_257"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 257]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter29"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Fourteenth Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now had Eubœan Glaucus, who could cleave<br /> +The surging sea, left Etna, o'er the breasts<br /> +Of giants thrown, and left the Cyclops' fields,<br /> +Unconscious of the plough's or harrow's use;<br /> +And unindebted to the oxen yok'd.<br /> +Zanclé he left, and its opposing shore<br /> +Where Rhegium's turrets tower; and the strait sea<br /> +For shipwreck fam'd, which by incroaching shores<br /> +Press'd narrow, forms the separating bound<br /> +Betwixt Ausonia's and Sicilia's land.<br /> +<a name="page_2_258"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 258]</span> +Thence glides he swift along the Tyrrhene coast,<br /> +By powerful arms impell'd, and gains the dome,<br /> +And herbag'd hills of Circé Phœbus sprung:<br /> +(The dome with forms of wildest beasts full cramm'd)<br /> +Whom, soon as greeting salutations pass'd,<br /> +He thus address'd:—“O powerful goddess! grant<br /> +“Thy pity to a god; and thou alone,<br /> +“If worth that aid thou deem'st me, canst afford<br /> +“Aid to my love. For, O Titanian maid!<br /> +“To none the power of plants is better known<br /> +“Than me, who by the power of plants was chang'd.<br /> +“But lest the object of my lore, to thee<br /> +“Unknown, be hid; I Scylla late beheld<br /> +“Upon th' Italian shore: Messenia's walls<br /> +“Opposing. Shame me hinders to relate<br /> +“What promises, what prayers, what coaxing words<br /> +“I us'd: my words all heard with proud contempt.<br /> +“Do thou with magic lips thy charms repeat,<br /> +“If power in charms abides: or if in herbs<br /> +“More force is found, then use the well-try'd strength<br /> +“Of herbs of power. I wish thee not to soothe<br /> +“My heart; I wish thee not these wounds to cure;<br /> +“Still may they last, let her such flames but feel.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Then Circé spoke, (and she a mind possess'd<br /> +Most apt to flame with love, or in her frame<br /> +The stimulus was plac'd; or Venus, irk'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_259"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 259]</span> +At what her sire discover'd, caus'd the heat.)<br /> +“O, better far the willing nymph pursue<br /> +“Who would in wishes meet thee; wh'o is seiz'd<br /> +“With equal love: well worthy of the maid<br /> +“Thou wast; nay shouldst have been the first besought;<br /> +“And if but hope thou wilt afford, believe<br /> +“My words, thou shalt spontaneously be lov'd.<br /> +“Fear not, but on thy beauteous form depend;<br /> +“Lo! I, a goddess! of the splendid sun<br /> +“A daughter, who with powerful spells so much<br /> +“And herbs can do, to be thy consort sue.<br /> +“Spurn her who spurns thee; her who thee desires<br /> +“Desiring meet; and both at once avenge.”<br /> +But to her tempting speeches Glaucus thus<br /> +Reply'd—“The trees shall sooner in the waves<br /> +“Spring up, and sea-weed on the mountain's top,<br /> +“Than I, while Scylla lives, my love transfer.”<br /> +The goddess swol'n with anger, since his form<br /> +To harm 'twas given her not, and love deny'd,<br /> +Turn'd on her happier rival all her rage.<br /> +Irk'd at her slighted passion, straight she grinds<br /> +Herbs infamous, to gain their horrid juice;<br /> +And mixes all with Hecatéan spells.<br /> +Then clothes her in a sable robe, and forth<br /> +Through crouds of fawning savage beasts she goes,<br /> +From her gay palace. Rhegium's coast she seeks<br /> +O'erlooking Zanclé's rocks; and on the waves<br /> +<a name="page_2_260"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 260]</span> +With fury boiling, steps; o'er them she walks<br /> +As on a solid shore, and skims along<br /> +The ridgy billows with unwetted feet.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + A little pool, bent in a gentle curve,<br /> +With peaceful surface oft did Scylla tempt;<br /> +And often thither she herself betook<br /> +To 'scape from ocean's, and from Phœbus' heat,<br /> +When high in noon-tide fierceness short the shade<br /> +Was from the head describ'd. Before she came<br /> +The goddess poison'd all the pool; she pour'd<br /> +Her potent juice, of monster-breeding power,<br /> +Prest from pernicious roots, within the waves;<br /> +And mutter'd thrice nine times with magic lips,<br /> +In sounds scarce audible, her well-known spells.<br /> +Here Scylla came, and waded to the waist;<br /> +And straight, with barking monsters she espies<br /> +Her womb deform'd: at first, of her own limbs<br /> +Not dreaming they are part, she from them flies;<br /> +And chides them thence, and fears their savage mouths.<br /> +But what she flies she with her drags; she looks<br /> +To find her thighs, and find her legs, and feet;<br /> +But for those limbs Cerberean jaws are found.<br /> +Furious the dogs still howl; on their fierce backs<br /> +Her shorten'd groin, and swelling belly rest.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The amorous Glaucus griev'd, and spurn'd the love<br /> +<a name="page_2_261"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 261]</span> +Of Circé, who so rancorously had us'd<br /> +The power of plants. Her station Scylla kept;<br /> +And soon as scope for vengeance she perceiv'd,<br /> +In hate to Circé, of his comrade crew<br /> +Depriv'd Ulysses. Next the Trojan fleet<br /> +Had she o'erwhelm'd; but ere they pass'd, transform'd<br /> +To stone, she tower'd aloft a flinty rock,<br /> +And still do mariners that rock avoid.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The Phrygian ships that danger 'scap'd, and 'scap'd<br /> +Charybdis fell, by oars propell'd; but now<br /> +Ausonia's shore well nigh attain'd, were driv'n<br /> +By adverse tempests to the Libyan coast.<br /> +Æneäs then the queen Sidonian took<br /> +Most welcome to her bosom, and her dome;<br /> +Nor bore her Phrygian spouse's sudden flight,<br /> +With calm indifference: on a lofty pile<br /> +Rear'd for pretended sacred rites, she stood,<br /> +And on the sword's point fell; herself deceiv'd,<br /> +She all around outwitted. Flying far<br /> +The new-rais'd city of the sandy plains<br /> +To Eryx' country was he borne; where liv'd<br /> +Acestes faithful: here he sacrific'd,<br /> +And gave due honors to his father's tomb.<br /> +Then loos'd his ships for sea, well nigh in flames<br /> +By Juno's Iris: all th' Æoliän realm;<br /> +The islands blazing with sulphuric fire;<br /> +<a name="page_2_262"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 262]</span> +And rocks of Acheloüs' siren nymphs,<br /> +He left. The vessel now, of him who rul'd<br /> +The helm, bereft, along Ænaria's shore;<br /> +And Prochytas; and Pithecusa, plac'd<br /> +Upon a sterile hill, its name deriv'd<br /> +From those who dwelt there, coasted. Erst the sire<br /> +Of gods, detesting perjuries and fraud,<br /> +Which that deceitful race so much employ'd,<br /> +Chang'd to an animal deform'd their shapes;<br /> +Where still a likeness and unlikeness seems<br /> +To man. Their every limb contracted small;<br /> +Their turn'd-up noses flatten'd from the brow;<br /> +And ancient furrows plough'd adown their cheeks.<br /> +Then sent them, all their bodies cover'd o'er<br /> +With yellow hairs, this district to possess.<br /> +Yet sent them not till of the power of speech<br /> +Depriv'd; and tongue for direst falsehoods us'd:<br /> +But left their chattering jaws the power to 'plain.<br /> +These past, and left Parthenopé's high towers<br /> +To right; and musical Misenus' tomb,<br /> +And Cuma's shores to left; spots cover'd thick<br /> +With marshy reeds, he enters in the cave<br /> +Where dwelt the ancient Sybil; and in treats<br /> +That through Avernus' darkness he may pass,<br /> +His father's shade to seek. Then she, her eyes,<br /> +Long firmly fixt on earth, uprais'd; and next,<br /> +Fill'd with the god, in furious raving spoke.<br /> +<a name="page_2_263"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 263]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Much dost thou ask, O man of mighty deeds!<br /> +“Whose valor by the sword is amply prov'd,<br /> +“And piety through flames. Yet, Trojan chief,<br /> +“Fear not; thou shalt what thou desir'st attain:<br /> +“By me conducted, thou th' Elysian field,<br /> +“The lowest portion of the tri-form realm,<br /> +“And thy beloved parent's shade shalt see:<br /> +“No path to genuine virtue e'er is clos'd.”<br /> +She spoke, and pointed to th' Avernian grove,<br /> +Sacred to Proserpine; and shew'd a bough<br /> +With gold refulgent; this she bade him tear<br /> +From off its trunk. Æneäs her obeys,<br /> +And sees the treasures of hell's awful king;<br /> +His ancestors', and great Anchises' shades:<br /> +Is taught the laws and customs of the dead;<br /> +And what deep perils he in future wars<br /> +Must face. As then the backward path he trode<br /> +With weary'd step; the labor he beguil'd<br /> +By grateful speech with his Cumæan guide.<br /> +And, while through darkling twilight he pursu'd<br /> +His fearful way, he thus:—“Or, goddess, thou,<br /> +“Or of the gods high-favor'd, unto me<br /> +“Still shalt thou as a deity appear.<br /> +“My life I own thy gift, who hast me given<br /> +“To view the realms of death: who hast me brought,<br /> +“The realms of death beheld, to life again.<br /> +“For these high favors, when to air restor'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_264"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 264]</span> +“Statues to thee I'll raise, and incense burn.”<br /> +Backward the prophetess, to him her eyes<br /> +Directs, and heaves a sigh; as thus she speaks:<br /> +“No goddess I; deem not my mortal frame<br /> +“The sacred incense' honors can deserve:<br /> +“Err not through ignorance. Eternal youth<br /> +“Had I possess'd, if on Apollo's love<br /> +“My virgin purity had been bestow'd.<br /> +“This while he hop'd, and while he strove to tempt<br /> +“With gifts,—O, chuse—he said,—Cumæan maid!<br /> +“Whate'er thou would'st—whate'er thou would'st is thine.<br /> +“I, pointing to an heap of gather'd dust,<br /> +“With thoughtless mind, besought so many years<br /> +“I might exist, as grains of sand were there:<br /> +“Mindless to ask for years of constant youth.<br /> +“The years he granted, and had granted too<br /> +“Eternal youth, had I his passion quench'd.<br /> +“A virgin I remain; Apollo's gift<br /> +“Despis'd: but now the age of joy is fled;<br /> +“Decrepitude with trembling steps has come,<br /> +“Which long I must endure. Seven ages now<br /> +“I have existed; ere the number'd grains<br /> +“Are equall'd, thrice an hundred harvests I,<br /> +“And thrice an hundred vintages must see.<br /> +“The time will come, my body, shrunk with age,<br /> +“And wither'd limbs, shall to small substance waste;<br /> +“Nor shall it seem that e'er an amorous god<br /> +<a name="page_2_265"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 265]</span> +“With me was smitten. Phœbus then himself<br /> +“Or me will know not, or deny that e'er<br /> +“He sought my love. Till quite complete my change,<br /> +“To all invisible, by words alone<br /> +“I shall be known. Fate still my voice will leave.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + On the steep journey thus the Sybil spoke:<br /> +And from the Stygian shades Æneäs rose,<br /> +At Cuma's town; there sacrific'd as wont,<br /> +And to the shores proceeded, which as yet<br /> +His nurse's name not bore. Here rested too,<br /> +After long toil, Macareus, the constant friend<br /> +Of wise Ulysses: Achæmenides,<br /> +Erst left amid Etnæan rocks, he knows:<br /> +Astonish'd there, his former friend to find,<br /> +In life unhop'd, he cry'd; “What chance? What god<br /> +“O Achæmenides! has thee preserv'd?<br /> +“How does a Greek a foreign vessel bear?<br /> +“And to what shores is now this vessel bound?”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> +Then Achæmenides, not ragged now,<br /> +In robes with thorns united, but all free,<br /> +Thus answer'd his enquiries. “May I view<br /> +“Once more that Polyphemus, and those jaws<br /> +“With human gore o'erflowing; if I deem<br /> +“This ship to me than Ithaca less dear;<br /> +“And less Æneäs than my sire esteem.<br /> +<a name="page_2_266"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 266]</span> +“For how too grateful can I be to him,<br /> +“Though all to him I give? Can I e'er be<br /> +“Unthankful or forgetful? That I speak,<br /> +“And breathe, and view the heavens and glorious sun<br /> +“He gave: that in the Cyclops' jaws my life<br /> +“Was clos'd not; that when now the vital spark<br /> +“Me quits, I may be properly intomb'd,<br /> +“Not in the monster's entrails. Heavens! what thoughts<br /> +“Possess'd my mind, (unless by pallid dread<br /> +“Of sense and thought bereft) when, left behind,<br /> +“I saw you push to sea. Loud had I call'd,<br /> +“But fear'd my cries would guide to me the foe.<br /> +“Ulysses' clamor near your ship destroy'd.<br /> +“I saw the monster, when a mighty rock,<br /> +“Torn from a mountain's summit, in the waves<br /> +“He flung: I saw him when with giant arm<br /> +“Huge stones he hurl'd, with such impetuous force,<br /> +“As though an engine sent them. Fear'd I long,<br /> +“Lest or the stones or waves the bark would sink;<br /> +“Forgetful then that not on board was I.<br /> +“But when you 'scap'd from cruel death, by flight,<br /> +“Then did he madly rave indeed; and roam'd<br /> +“All Etna o'er; and grop'd amid the woods;<br /> +“Depriv'd of sight he stumbles on the rocks;<br /> +“And stretching to the sea his horrid arms,<br /> +“Blacken'd with gore, he execrates the Greeks;<br /> +“And thus exclaims;—O! would some lucky chance<br /> +<a name="page_2_267"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 267]</span> +“Restore Ulysses to me, or restore<br /> +“One of his comrades, who might glut my rage;<br /> +“Whose entrails I might gorge; whose living limbs<br /> +“My hand might rend; whose blood might sluice my throat;<br /> +“And mangled members tremble in my teeth.<br /> +“O! then how light, and next to none the curse<br /> +“Of sight bereft.—Raging, he this and more<br /> +“Fierce utter'd. I, with pallid dread o'ercome,<br /> +“Beheld his face still flowing down with blood;<br /> +“The orb of light depriv'd; his ruthless hands;<br /> +“His giant members; and his shaggy beard,<br /> +“Clotted with human gore. Death to my eyes<br /> +“Was obvious, yet was death my smallest dread.<br /> +“Now seiz'd I thought me; thought him now prepar'd<br /> +“T'inclose my mangled bowels in his own:<br /> +“And to my mind recurr'd the time I saw<br /> +“Two of my comrades' bodies furious dash'd<br /> +“Repeated on the earth: he, o'er them stretcht<br /> +“Prone, like a shaggy lion, in his maw<br /> +“Their flesh, their entrails, their yet-quivering limbs,<br /> +“Their marrow, and cranch'd bones, greedy ingulf'd.<br /> +“Horror me seiz'd. Bloodless and sad I stood,<br /> +“To see him champ, and from his mouth disgorge<br /> +“The bloody banquet; morsels mixt with wine<br /> +“Forth vomiting: and such a fate appear'd<br /> +“For wretched me prepar'd. Some tedious days<br /> +“Skulk'd I, and shudder'd at the smallest sound:<br /> +<a name="page_2_268"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 268]</span> +“Fearful of death, yet praying much to die;<br /> +“Repelling hunger by green herbs, and leaves,<br /> +“With acorns mixt; a solitary wretch,<br /> +“Poor, and to sufferings and to death decreed.<br /> +“Long was the time, ere I, not distant far,<br /> +“A ship beheld; I by my gestures shew'd<br /> +“My wish for flight, and hasten'd to the shore.<br /> +“Their hearts were mov'd, and thus a Trojan bark<br /> +“Receiv'd a Greek.—And now, my friend most dear,<br /> +“Tell thy adventures, and the chief's, and crew's,<br /> +“Who with thee launch'd upon th' extended main.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + He tells how Æölus his kingdom holds<br /> +On the deep Tuscan main, who curbs the winds<br /> +In cavern'd prisons; which, a noble boon!<br /> +Close pent within an ox's stubborn hide,<br /> +Dulichium's chief, from Æölus receiv'd.<br /> +How for nine days with prosperous breeze they sail'd;<br /> +And saw the long-sought land. How on the tenth,<br /> +Aurora rising bright, his comrades, urg'd<br /> +By envy, and by thirst of glittering spoil,<br /> +Gold deeming there inclos'd, the winds unloos'd.<br /> +How, driven by them, the ship was backward sped<br /> +Through the same waves she had so lately plough'd;<br /> +And reach'd the port of Æölus again.<br /> +“Thence,”—he continued—“to the ancient town<br /> +“Of Lestrygonian Lamus we arrive,<br /> +<a name="page_2_269"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 269]</span> +“Where rules Antiphates; to him dispatch'd<br /> +“I go, by two attended. I with one<br /> +“Scarce find in flight our safety: with his gore<br /> +“The hapless third, the Lestrigonians' jaws<br /> +“Besmears: our flying footsteps they pursue,<br /> +“While fierce Antiphates speeds on the crowd.<br /> +“Around they press, and unremitting hurl<br /> +“Huge rocks, and trunks of trees; our men o'erwhelm,<br /> +“And sink our fleet; one ship alone escapes,<br /> +“Which great Ulysses and myself contains.<br /> +“Most of our band thus lost, and angry much,<br /> +“Lamenting more, we floated to these isles,<br /> +“Which hence, though distant far, you may descry.<br /> +“Those isles, by me too near beheld, do thou<br /> +“At distance only view! O, goddess-born!<br /> +“Most righteous of all Troy, (for now no more,<br /> +“Æneäs, must thou enemy be stil'd<br /> +“To us, war ended) fly, I warn thee, fly<br /> +“The shore of Circé. We, our vessel moor'd<br /> +“Fast to that beach, not mindless of the deeds<br /> +“Antiphates perform'd, nor Cyclops, wretch<br /> +“Inhuman, now to tempt this unknown land<br /> +“Refuse. The choice by lot is fix'd. The lot<br /> +“Me sends, and with me sends Polites true;<br /> +“Eurylochus; and poor Elphenor, fond<br /> +“Too much of wine; with twice nine comrades mote,<br /> +“To seek the dome Circéan. Thither come;<br /> +<a name="page_2_270"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 270]</span> +“We at the entrance stand: a thousand wolves,<br /> +“And bears, and lionesses, with wolves mixt,<br /> +“Meet us, and terror in our bosoms strike.<br /> +“But ground for terror none: of all the crew<br /> +“None try our limbs to wound, but friendly wave<br /> +“Their arching tails, and fawningly attend<br /> +“Our steps; till by the menial train receiv'd,<br /> +“Through marbled halls to where their mistress sate,<br /> +“Our troop is led. She, in a bright recess,<br /> +“Upon a lofty throne of state, was plac'd,<br /> +“Cloth'd in a splendid robe; a golden veil<br /> +“Around her head, and o'er her shoulders thrown.<br /> +“Nereïds, and nymphs around (whose fingers quick<br /> +“The wool ne'er drew, nor form'd the following thread)<br /> +“Were plants arranging, and selecting flowers,<br /> +“And various teinted herbs, confus'dly mixt<br /> +“In baskets. She compleats the work they do;<br /> +“And well she knows the latent power each leaf<br /> +“Possesses; well their force combin'd she knows:<br /> +“And all the nice-weigh'd herbs inspects with care.<br /> +“When us she spy'd, and salutations pass'd<br /> +“Mutual; her forehead brighten'd, and she gave<br /> +“Our every wish. Nor waited more, but bade<br /> +“The beverage of the roasted grain be mix'd;<br /> +“And added honey, all the strength of wine,<br /> +“And curdy milk, and juices, which beneath<br /> +“Such powerful sweetness undetected lay.<br /> +<a name="page_2_271"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 271]</span> +“The cup from her accursed hand, I take,<br /> +“And, soon as thirsty I, with parch'd mouth drink,<br /> +“And the dire goddess with her wand had strok'd<br /> +“My head (I blush while I the rest relate)<br /> +“Roughen'd with bristles, I begin to grow;<br /> +“Nor now can speak; hoarse grunting comes for words;<br /> +“And all my face bends downwards to the ground;<br /> +“Callous I feel my mouth become, in form<br /> +“A crooked snout; and feel my brawny neck<br /> +“Swell o'er my chest; and what but now the cup<br /> +“Had grasp'd, that part does marks of feet imprint;<br /> +“With all my fellows treated thus, so great<br /> +“The medicine's potency, close was I shut<br /> +“Within a sty: there I, Eurylochus<br /> +“Alone unalter'd to a hog, beheld!<br /> +“He only had the offer'd cup refus'd.<br /> +“Which had he not avoided, he as one<br /> +“The bristly herd had join'd; nor had our chief,<br /> +“The great Ulysses, by his tale inform'd<br /> +“To Circé come, avenger of our woe.<br /> +“To him Cyllenius, messenger of peace<br /> +“A milk-white flower presented; by the gods<br /> +“Call'd Moly: from a sable root it-springs.<br /> +“Safe in the gift, and in th' advice of heaven,<br /> +“He enters Circé's dome; and her repels,<br /> +“Coaxing to taste th' invidious cup; his head<br /> +“To stroke attempting with her potent wand;<br /> +<a name="page_2_272"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 272]</span> +“And awes her trembling with his unsheath'd steel.<br /> +“Then, faith exchang'd, hands join'd, he to her bed<br /> +“Receiv'd, he makes the dowry of himself<br /> +“That all his comrades' bodies be restor'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Now are we sprinkled with innocuous juice<br /> +“Of better herbs; with the inverted wand<br /> +“Our heads are touch'd; the charms, already spoke,<br /> +“Strong charms of import opposite destroy.<br /> +“The more she sings her incantations, we<br /> +“Rise more from earth erect; the bristles fall;<br /> +“And the wide fissure leaves our cloven feet;<br /> +“Our shoulders form again; and arms beneath<br /> +“Are shap'd. Him, weeping too, weeping we clasp,<br /> +“And round our leader's neck embracing hang.<br /> +“No words at first to utter have we power,<br /> +“But such as testify our grateful joy.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “A year's delay there kept us. There, mine eyes<br /> +“In that long period much beheld; mine ears<br /> +“Much heard. This with the rest, in private told<br /> +“To me, by one of four most-favor'd nymphs<br /> +“Who aided in her spells: while Circé toy'd<br /> +“In private with our leader, she me shew'd<br /> +“A youthful statue carv'd in whitest stone,<br /> +“Bearing a feather'd pecker upon his head;<br /> +“Plac'd in a sacred shrine, with numerous wreaths<br /> +<a name="page_2_273"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 273]</span> +“Encircled. Unto my enquiring words,<br /> +“And wish to know who this could be, and why<br /> +“There worshipp'd in the shrine, and why that bird<br /> +“He bore,—then, Macareus,—she said—receive<br /> +“Thy wish; and also learn what mighty power<br /> +“My mistress boasts; attentive hear my words.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Saturnian Picus in Ausonia's climes<br /> +“Was king; delighted still was he to train<br /> +“Steeds for the fight. The beauty you behold<br /> +“As man was his. So strong the 'semblance strikes,<br /> +“His real form in the feign'd stone appears.<br /> +“His mind his beauty equall'd. Nor as yet,<br /> +“The games quinquennial Grecian Elis gives,<br /> +“Four times could he have seen. He, by his face<br /> +“The Dryad nymphs who on the Latian hills<br /> +“Were born, attracted. Naiäds, river-nymphs,<br /> +“Him sought, whom Albula, and Anio bear;<br /> +“Almo's short course; the rapid stream of Nar;<br /> +“And Numicus; and Farfar's lovely shades;<br /> +“With all that Scythian Dian's woody realm<br /> +“Traverse; and all who haunt the sedgy lakes.<br /> +“But he, all these despis'd, lov'd one fair nymph,<br /> +“Whom erst Venilia, fame reports, brought forth<br /> +“To Janus on Palatiura's mount. When reach'd<br /> +“The nuptial age, preferr'd before the rest,<br /> +“Laurentian Picus gain'd the lovely maid.<br /> +<a name="page_2_274"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 274]</span> +“Wond'rous was she for beauty, wond'rous more<br /> +“Her art in song, and hence was Canens nam'd.<br /> +“Wont was her voice forests and rocks to move;<br /> +“Soothe savage beasts; arrest the course of streams;<br /> +“And stay the flying birds. While warbling thus<br /> +“With voice mature her song, Picus went forth<br /> +“To pierce amid Laurentium's fields the boars,<br /> +“Their native dwelling; on a fiery steed<br /> +“He rode; two quivering spears his left hand bore;<br /> +“His purple vestment golden clasps confin'd.<br /> +“In the same woods Apollo's daughter came,<br /> +“And from the fertile hills as herbs she cull'd,<br /> +“She left the fields, from her Circæan nam'd.<br /> +“When, veil'd by twigs herself, the youth she saw,<br /> +“Amaz'd she stood. Down from her bosom dropp'd<br /> +“The gather'd plants, and quickly through her frame<br /> +“The fire was felt to shoot. Soon as her mind<br /> +“Collected strength to curb the furious flame,<br /> +“She would have told him instant what she wish'd,<br /> +“But his impetuous steed, and circling crowd<br /> +“Of followers, kept her far.—Yet shalt thou not,<br /> +“If I but know my power, me fly; not should<br /> +“The winds thee bear away; else is the force<br /> +“Of plants all vanished, and my spells deceive.<br /> +“She said; and form'd an incorporeal shape<br /> +“Like to a boar; and bade it glance across<br /> +“The monarch's sight; and seem itself to hide<br /> +<a name="page_2_275"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 275]</span> +“In the dense thicket, where the trees grew thick:<br /> +“A spot impervious to the courser's foot.<br /> +“'Tis done; unwitting Picus eager seeks<br /> +“His shadowy prey; leaps from his smoking steed;<br /> +“And, vain-hop'd spoil pursuing, wanders deep<br /> +“In the thick woods. She baneful words repeats,<br /> +“And cursing charms collects. With new-fram'd verse<br /> +“Invokes strange deities: verse which erst while<br /> +“Has dull'd the splendid circle of the moon;<br /> +“And hid with rain-charg'd clouds her father's face.<br /> +“This verse repeated, instant heaven grew dark,<br /> +“And mists from earth arose: his comrades roam<br /> +“Through the dark paths; the king without a guard<br /> +“Is left. This spot, and time so suiting gain'd,<br /> +“Thus Circé cry'd—O fairest thou of forms!<br /> +“By those bright eyes which me enslav'd, by all<br /> +“Thy beauteous charms which make a goddess sue,<br /> +“Indulge my flame; accept th' all-seeing sun,<br /> +“My sire, for thine; nor, rigidly austere,<br /> +“Titanian Circé spurn.—She ceas'd; he stern<br /> +“Repuls'd the goddess, and her praying suit;<br /> +“Exclaiming,—be thou whom thou may'st, yet thine<br /> +“I am not; captive me another holds;<br /> +“And fervently, I pray, to lengthen'd years<br /> +“She still may hold me. Never will I wrong<br /> +“The nuptial bond with stranger's lawless love,<br /> +“While Janus' daughter, my lov'd Canens lives.—<br /> +<a name="page_2_276"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 276]</span> +“Sol's daughter then (re-iterated prayers<br /> +“In vain oft try'd) exclaim'd:—Nor shalt thou boast<br /> +“Impunity; nor e'er returning see<br /> +“Thy Canens; but learn well what may be done<br /> +“By slighted, loving woman: Circé loves,<br /> +“Is woman, and is slighted.—To the west<br /> +“She turn'd her twice, and turn'd her twice to east;<br /> +“Thrice with her wand she struck the youth, and thrice<br /> +“Her charm-fraught song repeated. Swift he fled,<br /> +“And wondering that more swift he ran than wont,<br /> +“Plumes on his limbs beheld. Constrain'd to add<br /> +“A new-form'd 'habitant to Latium's groves,<br /> +“Angry he wounds the spreading boughs, and digs<br /> +“The stubborn oak-tree with his rigid beak.<br /> +“A purple tinge his feathers take, the hue<br /> +“His garment shew'd; the gold, a buckle once,<br /> +“Which clasp'd his robe, to feathers too is chang'd;<br /> +“The shining gold circles his neck around:<br /> +“Nor aught remains of Picus save the name.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Meantime his comrades vainly Picus call,<br /> +“Through all the groves; but Picus no where find.<br /> +“Circé they meet, for now the air was clear'd,<br /> +“The clouds dispers'd, or by the winds or sun;<br /> +“Charge her with crimes committed, and demand<br /> +“Their king; force threaten, and prepare to lift<br /> +“Their savage spears. The goddess sprinkles round<br /> +<a name="page_2_277"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 277]</span> +“Her noxious poisons and envenom'd juice;<br /> +“Invokes old night, and the nocturnal gods,<br /> +“Chaos, and Erebus; and Hecat's help,<br /> +“With magic howlings, prays. Woods (wond'rous sight!)<br /> +“Leap from their seats; earth groans; the neighbouring trees<br /> +“Grow pale; the grass with sprinkled blood is wet;<br /> +“Stones hoarsely seem to roar, and dogs to howl;<br /> +“Earth with black serpents swarms; unmatter'd forms<br /> +“Of bodies long defunct, flit through the air.<br /> +“Tremble the crowd, struck with th' appalling scene:<br /> +“Appall'd, and trembling, on their heads she strikes<br /> +“Th' envenom'd rod. From the rod's potent touch,<br /> +“For men a various crowd of furious beasts<br /> +“Appear'd: his form no single youth retain'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Descending Phœbus had Hesperia's shores<br /> +“Now touch'd; and Canens with her heart and looks<br /> +“Sought for her spouse in vain: her servants all,<br /> +“And all the people roam through every wood,<br /> +“Bearing bright torches. Not content the nymph<br /> +“To weep, to tear her tresses, and to beat<br /> +“Her bosom, though not one of these was spar'd,<br /> +“She sally'd forth herself; and frantic stray'd<br /> +“Through Latium's plains. Six times the night beheld,<br /> +“And six returning suns, her, wandering o'er<br /> +“The mountain tops, or through the vallies deep,<br /> +<a name="page_2_278"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 278]</span> +“As chance directed: foodless, sleepless, still.<br /> +“Tiber at length beheld her; with her toil,<br /> +“And woe, worn out, upon his chilling banks<br /> +“Her limbs extending. There her very griefs,<br /> +“Pour'd with her tears, still musically sound.<br /> +“Mourning, her words in a soft dying tone<br /> +“Are heard, as when of old th' expiring swan<br /> +“Sung his own elegy. Wasted at length<br /> +“Her finest marrow, fast she pin'd away;<br /> +“And vanish'd quite to unsubstantial air.<br /> +“Yet still tradition marks the spot, the muse<br /> +“Of ancient days, still Canens call'd the place,<br /> +“In honor of the nymph, and justly too.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Many the tales like these I heard; and much<br /> +“Like this I saw in that long tedious year.<br /> +“Sluggish and indolent for lack of toil,<br /> +“Thence are we bid to plough the deep again;<br /> +“Again to hoist the sail. But Circé told<br /> +“So much of doubtful ways, of voyage vast,<br /> +“And all the perils of the raging deep<br /> +“We must encounter; that my soul I own<br /> +“Trembled. I gain'd this shore, and here remain'd.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Here Macareus finish'd; to Æneäs' nurse<br /> +Inurn'd in marble, this short verse was given:<br /> +“Cajeta here, sav'd from the flames of Greece,<br /> +<a name="page_2_279"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 279]</span> +“Her foster-son, for piety renown'd,<br /> +“With fires more fitting burn'd.” Loos'd are the ropes<br /> +That bound them to the grassy beach, and far<br /> +They leave the dwelling of the guileful power;<br /> +And seek the groves, beneath whose cloudy shade<br /> +The yellow-sanded Tiber in the main<br /> +Fierce rushes. Here Æneäs gains the realm,<br /> +And daughter of Latinus, Faunus' son:<br /> +But not without a war. Battles ensue<br /> +With the fierce people. For his promis'd bride<br /> +Turnus loud rages. All the Tuscans join<br /> +With Latium, and with doubtful warfare long<br /> +Is sought the conquest. Either side augment<br /> +With foreign aid their strength. Rutilians crowds<br /> +Defend, and crowds the Trojan trenches guard.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Not bootless, suppliant to Evander's roof<br /> +Æneäs went; though Venulus in vain,<br /> +To exil'd Diomed's great town was sent.<br /> +A mighty city Diomed' had rear'd<br /> +Beneath Apulian Daunus, and possess'd<br /> +His lands by marriage dower. But when made known<br /> +By Venulus, the message Turnus sent,<br /> +Beseeching aid, th' Etolian hero aid<br /> +Deny'd. For neither was his wish to send<br /> +His father's troops to fight, nor of his own<br /> +Had he, which might the strenuous warfare wage.—<br /> +<a name="page_2_280"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 280]</span> +“Lest this but feign'd you think,” he said, “though grief<br /> +“The sad relation will once more renew,<br /> +“Yet will I now th'afflicting tale repeat.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “When lofty Ilium was consum'd,—the towers<br /> +“Of Pergamus a prey to Grecian flames,<br /> +“The Locrian Ajax, for the ravish'd maid,<br /> +“Drew vengeance on us all; which he alone<br /> +“Deserv'd from angry Pallas. Scatter'd wide,<br /> +“And swept by tempests through the foaming deep,<br /> +“The Grecians, thunders, rains, and darkness bore,<br /> +“All heaven's and ocean's rage; and all to crown,<br /> +“On the Capharean rocks the fleet was dash'd.<br /> +“But not to tire you with each mournful scene<br /> +“In order; Greece might then the tears have drawn<br /> +“Ev'n from old Priam. Yet Minerva's care<br /> +“Snatch'd me in safety from the surge. Again<br /> +“From Argos, my paternal land, I'm driven;<br /> +“Bright Venus bearing still in mind the wound<br /> +“Of former days. Upon th'expanded deep<br /> +“Such toils I bore excessive; on the land<br /> +“So in stern combat strove, that oft those seem'd<br /> +“To me most blest, who in the common wreck,<br /> +“Caphareus sunk beneath the boisterous waves;<br /> +“A fate I anxious wish'd I'd with them shar'd.<br /> +“Now all my comrades, of the toilsome main,<br /> +“And constant warfare weary; respite crav'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_281"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 281]</span> +“From their long wanderings. Not was Agmon so,<br /> +“Fierce still his bosom burn'd; and now he rag'd<br /> +“From his misfortunes fiercer, as he cry'd—<br /> +“What, fellows! can remain which now to bear<br /> +“Your patience should refuse? What, though she would,<br /> +“Possesses Cythereä to inflict?<br /> +“When worse is to be dreaded, is the time<br /> +“For prayers: but when our state the worst has seen<br /> +“Fear should be spurn'd at; in our depth of woe<br /> +“Secure. Let she herself hear all my words;<br /> +“And let her hate, as hate she does, each man<br /> +“Who follows Diomed'! Yet will we all<br /> +“Her hatred mock, and stand against her power<br /> +“So mighty, with a no less mighty breast.—<br /> +“With words like these Etolian Agmon goads<br /> +“Th' already raging goddess, and revives<br /> +“Her ancient hate. Few with his boldness pleas'd;<br /> +“Far most my friends his daring speech condemn.<br /> +“Aiming at words respondent, straight his voice<br /> +“And throat are narrow'd; into plumes his hair<br /> +“Is alter'd; plumes o'er his new neck are spread;<br /> +“And o'er his chest, and back; his arms receive<br /> +“Long pinions, bending into light-form'd wings;<br /> +“Most of his feet is cleft in claws; his mouth<br /> +“Hardens to horn, and in a sharp beak ends.<br /> +“Lycus, Rhetenor, Nycteus, Abas, stare<br /> +With wonder, and while wondering there they stand<br /> +<a name="page_2_282"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 282]</span> +“The same appearance take; and far the most<br /> +“Of all my troop on wings up fly: and round<br /> +“The ship the air resounds with clapping wings.<br /> +“If what new shape those birds so sudden form'd<br /> +“Distinguish'd, you would know: swans not to be,<br /> +“Nought could the snowy swan resemble more.<br /> +“Son now to Daunus, my diminish'd host<br /> +“Scarce guards this kingdom, and those barren fields.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Thus far Diomedes; and Venulus<br /> +Th' Apulian kingdom left, Calabria's gulf<br /> +Pass'd, and Messapia's plains, where he beheld<br /> +Caverns with woods deep shaded, with light rills<br /> +Cool water'd: here the goatish Pan now dwelt;<br /> +Once tenanted by wood-nymphs. From the spot<br /> +Them, Appulus, a shepherd drove to flight;<br /> +Alarm'd at first by sudden dread, but soon,<br /> +Resum'd their courage, his pursuit despis'd,<br /> +They to the measur'd notes their agile feet<br /> +Mov'd in the dance. The clown insults them more,<br /> +Mimics their motions in his boorish steps,<br /> +To coarse abusing adding speech obscene:<br /> +Nor ceas'd his tongue 'till bury'd in a tree.<br /> +Well may his manner from the fruit be known;<br /> +For the wild olive marks his tongue's reproach,<br /> +In berries most austere: to them transferr'd<br /> +The rough ungrateful sharpness of his words.<br /> +<a name="page_2_283"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 283]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Return'd the legates, and the message told,<br /> +Th' Etolians' aid deny'd; without their help<br /> +Wage the Rutilians now the ready war:<br /> +And streams of blood from either army flow.<br /> +Lo! Turnus comes, and greedy torches brings<br /> +To fire the cover'd ships; the flames they fear<br /> +Whom tempests spar'd. And now the fire consum'd<br /> +The pitch, the wax, with all that flame could feed;<br /> +Then, mounting up the lofty mast, assail'd<br /> +The canvas; and the rowers' benches smok'd.<br /> +This saw the sacred mother of the gods,<br /> +And mindful that from Ida's lofty top<br /> +The pines were hew'd, with clash of tinkling brass,<br /> +And sounds of hollow box, fill'd all the air.<br /> +Then borne through ether by her lions tam'd,<br /> +She said; “Those flames with sacrilegious hand<br /> +“Thou hurl'st in vain: I will them snatch away.<br /> +“Ne'er will I calmly view the greedy fire<br /> +“Aught of the forests, which are mine consume.”<br /> +Loud thunders rattled as the goddess spoke;<br /> +And showery floods with hard rebounding hail,<br /> +The thunder follow'd. In the troubled air<br /> +The blustering brethren rag'd, and swell'd the main:<br /> +The billows furious clash'd. The mother us'd<br /> +One blast's exerted force; the cables burst,<br /> +Which bound the Phrygian vessels to the shore;<br /> +Them swiftly swept along, and in the deep<br /> +<a name="page_2_284"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 284]</span> +Low plung'd them. Straight the rigid wood grows soft<br /> +The timber turns to flesh; the crooked prows<br /> +To heads are chang'd: the oars to floating legs,<br /> +And toes; while what were ribs, as ribs remain;<br /> +The keels, deep in the vessels sunk, become<br /> +The spinal bones; in soft long tresses flows<br /> +The cordage; into arms the sailyards change:<br /> +The hue of all cerulean as before.<br /> +And now the Naiäds of the ocean sport<br /> +With girlish play, amid those very waves<br /> +Ere while so dreaded: sprung from rugged hills<br /> +They love the gentle main; nor aught their birth<br /> +Their bosoms irks. Yet mindful still what risks<br /> +Themselves encounter'd on the raging main,<br /> +Oft with assisting hand the high-tost bark<br /> +They aid; save Greeks the hapless bark contains.<br /> +Mindful of Iliüm's fall, they still detest<br /> +The Argives; and with joyful looks behold<br /> +The shatter'd fragments of Ulysses' ship:<br /> +With joy behold the bark Alcinous gave<br /> +Harden to rock, stone growing from the wood.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + 'Twas hop'd, the fleet transform'd to nymphs marine,<br /> +The fierce Rutilians, struck with awe, might cease<br /> +The war; but stubborn either side persists.<br /> +Each have their gods, and each have godlike souls.<br /> +Nor seek they now, so much the kingdom dower,<br /> +<a name="page_2_285"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 285]</span> +Latinus' sceptre, or Lavinia! thee,<br /> +As conquest: waging war through shame to cease.<br /> +Venus at last beholds, brave Turnus slain,<br /> +Her son's victorious arms; and Ardea falls,<br /> +A mighty town when Turnus yet was safe:<br /> +It cruel flames destroy'd; and every roof<br /> +The smoking embers hid; up from the heap<br /> +Of ruins, sprung a bird unknown before,<br /> +And beat the ashes with its sounding wings:<br /> +Its voice, its leanness, pallid hue, and all,<br /> +Suit well a captur'd city; and the name<br /> +Retaining still, with beating wings it wails.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now had Æneäs' virtues, all the gods,<br /> +Ev'n Juno, forc'd to cease their ancient hate.<br /> +The young Iülus' growing empire fixt<br /> +On firm foundations, ripe was then for heaven<br /> +The Cytheréan prince. Venus besought<br /> +That favor of the gods; round her sire's neck<br /> +Her arms she clasp'd—“O, father!”—she exclaim'd—<br /> +“Indulgent still, be more than ever kind:<br /> +“Grant that a deity, though e'er so low,<br /> +“Æneäs may become! who through my blood<br /> +“Claims thee as grandsire; something let him gain.<br /> +“Let it suffice, that he has once beheld<br /> +“The dreary realm; and once already past<br /> +“The Stygian stream.”—The deities consent:<br /> +<a name="page_2_286"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 286]</span> +Nor does the heavenly queen, her forehead stern<br /> +Retain, consenting with a cheerful mien.<br /> +Then spoke the sire. “Both, daughter, merit well<br /> +“The boon celestial: what thou ask'st receive,<br /> +“Since thou desir'st it, and since he deserves.”<br /> +He ceas'd. O'erjoy'd, she grateful thanks returns;<br /> +And by yok'd turtles borne through yielding air,<br /> +She seeks Laurentum's shore, where gently creep<br /> +Numicius' waters 'midst a reedy shade<br /> +Into the neighbouring main. She bids him cleanse<br /> +All of Æneäs that to death was given;<br /> +And bear him silent floating to the sea.<br /> +The horned god, what Venus bade perform'd:<br /> +All that Æneäs had of mortal mould<br /> +He purg'd away, and wash'd him with his waves.<br /> +His better part remain'd. Odours divine,<br /> +O'er his lustrated limbs, the mother pour'd;<br /> +And with ambrosia and sweet nectar touch'd<br /> +His lips, and perfect is the new-made god:<br /> +Whom Indiges, the Roman people call,<br /> +Worship with altars, and in temples place.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Alba, and Latium then beneath the rule<br /> +Of young Iülus, call'd Ascanius, came.<br /> +Him Sylvius follow'd. Then Latinus held<br /> +The ancient sceptre, with his grandsire's name.<br /> +Alba to fam'd Latinus was the next.<br /> +<a name="page_2_287"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 287]</span> +Then Epitus; Capetus; Capys reign'd:<br /> +Capys before Capetus. After these<br /> +The realm was sway'd by Tiberinus; sunk<br /> +Beneath the billows of the Tuscan stream,<br /> +The waters took his name. His sons were two,<br /> +Fierce Remulus, and Acrota; the first<br /> +Pre-eminent in years, the thunder mock'd;<br /> +And by the thunder dy'd. Of meeker mind<br /> +His brother, to brave Aventinus left<br /> +The throne; who bury'd 'neath the self-same hill<br /> +Where once he reign'd, gave to the hill a name;<br /> +And Procas now the Latian people rul'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Beneath this monarch fair Pomona liv'd,<br /> +Than whom amongst the Hamadryad train<br /> +None tended closer to her garden's care;<br /> +None o'er the trees' young fruit more anxious watch'd;<br /> +And thence her name. In rivers, she, and woods,<br /> +Delighted not, for fields were all her joy;<br /> +And branches bending with delicious loads.<br /> +Nor grasps her hand a javelin, but a hook,<br /> +With which she now luxurious boughs restrains,<br /> +And prunes the stragglers, when too wide they spread:<br /> +Now she divides the rind, and in the cleft<br /> +Inserts a scion, and supporting juice<br /> +Affords th' adopted stranger. Ne'er she bears<br /> +That drought they feel, but oft with flowing streams<br /> +<a name="page_2_288"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 288]</span> +Waters the crooked fibres of their roots:<br /> +This all her love, this all her care, for man<br /> +She heeded not. Yet of the lawless force<br /> +Of rustics fearful, she her orchard round<br /> +Well fenc'd, and every part from access barr'd,<br /> +And fled from all mankind. What was there left<br /> +Untry'd, by satyrs, by the wanton fawns,<br /> +Or pine-crown'd Pan; Sylvanus, ever youth;<br /> +Or him whose sickle frights nocturnal thieves<br /> +To gain her? These Vertumnus all excell'd<br /> +In passion; but not happier he than they.<br /> +How oft a basket of ripe grain he bore,<br /> +Clad like a hardy reaper, and in form<br /> +A real reaper seem'd! Oft with new hay<br /> +His temples bound, who turns the fresh cut grass<br /> +He might be thought. Oft in his horny hand<br /> +He bears a goad; then might you swear, that now<br /> +The weary oxen he had just unyok'd.<br /> +Arm'd with a pruning hook, he one appears<br /> +Who lops the vines. When he the ladder lifts,<br /> +Apples about to pluck he seems. His sword<br /> +Shews him a soldier; and his trembling reed<br /> +An angler. Thus a thousand shapes he tries,<br /> +T' enjoy the pleasure of her beauteous sight.<br /> +Now leaning on a staff, his temples clad<br /> +In painted bonnet, he an ancient dame,<br /> +With silver locks thin scatter'd o'er her head,<br /> +<a name="page_2_289"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 289]</span> +Would seem; and in the well-trimm'd orchard walks;<br /> +Admires the fruit—“But, O! how far beyond<br /> +“Are these;”—he said, and kiss'd the lips he prais'd:<br /> +No ancient dame such kisses e'er bestow'd.<br /> +Then rested on the swelling turf, and view'd<br /> +The branches bending with th' autumnal load.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + An elm there stood right opposite, full spread<br /> +With swelling grapes, which, with its social vine,<br /> +He prais'd;—“Yet should that trunk there single stand”—<br /> +Said he,—“without its vine, nought but the leaves<br /> +“Desirable would seem. As well the vine<br /> +“Which rests now safe upon its wedded elm,<br /> +“If not so join'd, were prostrate on the ground.<br /> +“Yet does the tree's example move not thee.<br /> +“Thou fly'st from marriage; fly'st from nuptial joys;<br /> +“Would they could charm thy soul. Not Helen e'er<br /> +“Such crowds of wooers sought; not her who mov'd<br /> +“The Lapithæan war; nor the bright queen<br /> +“Of Ithacus, still 'gainst the coward brave,<br /> +“As would pursue thee. Now, though all thou fly'st,<br /> +“Thy suitors scorning, thousands seek thy hand,<br /> +“Both demi-gods and gods, whoever dwell<br /> +“Of deities on Alba's lofty hills.<br /> +“Yet wisely would'st thou act, and happy wed,<br /> +“Attend my aged counsel (thee I love<br /> +<a name="page_2_290"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 290]</span> +“More than all these, and more than thou'dst believe)<br /> +“Reject such vulgar offers, and select<br /> +“Vertumnus for the consort of thy bed:<br /> +“And for his worth accept of me as pledge.<br /> +“For to himself not better is he known<br /> +“Than me. No truant through the earth he roves;<br /> +“These spots he dwells in, and in these alone,<br /> +“Nor loves he, like thy wooer's greatest share,<br /> +“Instant whate'er he sees. Thou his first flame<br /> +“Shalt be, and be his last. He will devote<br /> +“His every year to thee, and thee alone.<br /> +“Add too his youth, and nature's bounteous gifts<br /> +“Which decorate him; and that changed with ease,<br /> +“He every form can take, and those the best<br /> +“That thou may'st like, for all thou may'st command.<br /> +“Are not your pleasures both the same? the fruits<br /> +“Thou gatherest first, are they not given to him?<br /> +“Who takes thy offerings with a grateful hand.<br /> +“But now he seeks not fruits pluck'd from thy trees,<br /> +“Nor herbs thy garden feeds with mellow juice,<br /> +“Nor aught, save thee. Have pity on his flame:<br /> +“Think 'tis himself that sues; think that he prays<br /> +“Through me. O fear the vengeance of the gods!<br /> +“Affronted Venus' unrelenting rage;<br /> +“And fear Rhamnusia's still vindictive mind.<br /> +“That these you more may dread, I will relate<br /> +“(For age has much to me made known) a fact<br /> +<a name="page_2_291"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 291]</span> +“Notorious through all Cyprus which may urge<br /> +“Your soul more quickly to relent and love.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Iphis of humble origin beheld<br /> +“The noble Anaxareté—the blood<br /> +“Of ancient Teucer: he beheld, and felt<br /> +“Love burn through all his frame; he struggled long<br /> +“By reason to o'ercome the flame, in vain.<br /> +“He came a humble suppliant to her gate.<br /> +“To her old nurse, he now his hapless love<br /> +“Confess'd, and pray'd her by her nurseling's hopes,<br /> +“She would not be severe. Now he assails<br /> +“All her attendants with his flattering speech,<br /> +“And anxious begs of each to intercede.<br /> +“Oft, grav'n on tablets, were his amorous words<br /> +“Borne to her. Oft against her door he hung<br /> +“Garlands, wet dropping with the dew of tears.<br /> +“Plac'd on the threshold hard his tender side,<br /> +“Venting reproaches on the cruel bar.<br /> +“But she more deaf than surges which arise<br /> +“With setting stars; and harder than the steel<br /> +“Numician fires have temper'd; or the rock<br /> +“Still living in its bed, spurn'd him, and laugh'd:<br /> +“And cruel, added lofty words to deeds<br /> +“Unmerciful, and robb'd him ev'n of hope.<br /> +“Impatient Iphis, now no longer bore<br /> +“The pangs of endless grief, but at her gate<br /> +<a name="page_2_292"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 292]</span> +“Thus utter'd his last 'plaints—Thou hast o'ercome<br /> +“O Anaxareté! for never more<br /> +“Will I molest thy quiet. Now prepare<br /> +“Glad triumphs; Pæan call; and bind thy brows<br /> +“With laurel bright, for thou victorious art,<br /> +“And joyfully I die. O heart of steel!<br /> +“Enjoy thy bliss. Now will I force thy praise<br /> +“In something;—somehow find a way to please,<br /> +“And thee constrain to grant I have desert.<br /> +“Yet still remember, that my love for thee<br /> +“Leaves me not but with life! at once I lose<br /> +“A double light. But fame shall not announce<br /> +“To thee my death, for I myself will come.<br /> +“Lest thou should'st doubt, thou shalt thyself behold<br /> +“My death, and on my lifeless body glut<br /> +“Thy cruel eyes. But, O ye gods above!<br /> +“If mortal deeds ye view, remember me:<br /> +“No more my tongue can dare to ask, than this,<br /> +“That distant ages may my fortune know;<br /> +“Grant fame to him, whom ye of life deprive.—<br /> +“He spoke, and to the porch so oft adorn'd<br /> +“With flowing chaplets, rais'd his humid eyes,<br /> +“And stretch'd his pallid arms; then to the post,<br /> +“The cord with noose well-fitted, fastening, cry'd:—<br /> +“Nymph, pitiless and cruel! pleas'd the best<br /> +“With garlands such as these!—Then in the cord,<br /> +“His head inserted; tow'rd the maid still turn'd,<br /> +<a name="page_2_293"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 293]</span> +“As, hapless load! with strangled throat he hung.<br /> +“Struck by his dangling feet, the portals seem'd<br /> +“A sound to give, which mighty seem'd to mourn;<br /> +“And open thrown, the horrid deed display'd:<br /> +“Loudly the servants shriek, and vainly bear<br /> +“His breathless body to his mother's dome.<br /> +“(Defunct his sire) She clasp'd him to her breast,<br /> +“Embrac'd his clay-cold limbs; and all she said<br /> +“That wretched parents say; and all she did<br /> +“That hapless mothers do: then through the town<br /> +“The melancholy funeral pomp she led,<br /> +“The lurid members following, on a bier<br /> +“For burning. In the road the dwelling stood<br /> +“Through which the sad procession took its way,<br /> +“And sound of lamentation struck the ears<br /> +“Of Anaxareté, whom now the power<br /> +“Of vengeance follow'd. Mov'd, she now exclaim'd—<br /> +“I will this melancholy prospect view.—<br /> +“And to the open casement mounted high.<br /> +“Scarce had she Iphis on the bier beheld,<br /> +“When harden'd grew her eyes; a pallid hue<br /> +“O'erspread her body as the warm blood fled.<br /> +“Her feet to move for flight she try'd, her feet<br /> +“Stuck fast; her face she try'd to turn away;<br /> +“She could not turn it; and by small degrees<br /> +“The stony hardness of her breast was spread<br /> +“O'er all her limbs. Believe not that I feign,<br /> +<a name="page_2_294"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 294]</span> +“For Salamis the figure of the nymph<br /> +“Still keeps; and there a temple is high rear'd<br /> +“Where Venus, the beholder, they adore.<br /> +“Mindful of this, O dearest nymph! lay by<br /> +“That cold disdain, and join thee to a spouse.<br /> +“So may no vernal frosts thy budding fruits<br /> +“Destroy, nor sweeping storms despoil thy flowers.”<br /> +When this the god, to various shapes in vain<br /> +Transform'd, had utter'd; he assum'd again<br /> +The youth, and flung the garb of age aside:<br /> +And so appear'd, as seems the radiant sun,<br /> +Freed from opposing clouds, and darting bright<br /> +His glory round. Force he prepar'd, but force<br /> +He needed not. The nymph his beauty mov'd,<br /> +And straight her bosom felt a mutual flame.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Th' Ausonian realm Amulius' force unjust<br /> +Commanded next; and ancient Numitor<br /> +By his young grandsons the lost realm regain'd.<br /> +The city's walls on Pales' feast were laid.<br /> +Now Tatius and the Sabine sires wage war<br /> +Against it; and the fortress' gate unclos'd,<br /> +Tarpeïa, well-deserving of her fate,<br /> +Breathes out her soul beneath a pile of shields.<br /> +Thence Cures' sons, each sound of voice repress'd,<br /> +Silent as wolves, steal on them drown'd in sleep,<br /> +And gain the gates, which Ilia's son had clos'd<br /> +<a name="page_2_295"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 295]</span> +With massive bars. But Juno one threw ope,<br /> +Nor creak'd the portal on its turning hinge.<br /> +Venus alone the fastening of the gate<br /> +Withdrawn, perceiv'd, and had it clos'd again,<br /> +Save that the acts a deity performs,<br /> +No deity can e'er undo. A spot<br /> +Near Janus' temple, cool with flowing streams,<br /> +Ausonia's Naiäds own'd; and aid from these<br /> +She sought. Nor could the nymphs deny a boon<br /> +So just; and instant all their rills and floods<br /> +Burst forth. But still to Janus' open gate<br /> +The way was passable, nor could the waves<br /> +Oppose their way. They to the fruitful springs<br /> +Apply blue sulphur, and the hollow caves<br /> +Fire with bitumen; to the lowest depth<br /> +They forceful penetrate, both this, and that.<br /> +And streams that late might vie with Alpine cold,<br /> +To flames themselves, not now in heat would yield.<br /> +The porches of the deity two-fac'd<br /> +Smok'd with the fiery sprinkling; and the gate,<br /> +Op'd to the hardy Sabine troops in vain,<br /> +Was by the new-sprung fountain guarded, 'till<br /> +The sons of Mars had girt them in their arms.<br /> +Soon Romulus attack'd them, and Rome's soil<br /> +Was strew'd with Sabine bodies and her own:<br /> +And impious weapons mingled blood of sires<br /> +With blood of sons-in-law; yet so it pleas'd,<br /> +<a name="page_2_296"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 296]</span> +War settled into peace, nor rag'd the steel<br /> +To ultimate destruction; in the realm<br /> +Tatius as equal sovereign was receiv'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Tatius deceas'd, thou, Romulus, dispens'd,<br /> +To the joint nations, equitable laws.<br /> +When Mars, his helmet thrown aside, the sire<br /> +Of gods and men, in words like these, address'd.—<br /> +“O parent! (since the Roman realm has gain'd<br /> +“A strong and wide foundation, nor should look<br /> +“To one protector only) lo! the time<br /> +“To grant the favor, promis'd me so long,<br /> +“To thy deserving grandson. Snatch'd from earth<br /> +“Let him in heaven he plac'd. Time was, long since,<br /> +“In a full council of the gods thou said'st,<br /> +“Well I remember, well my mindful breast<br /> +“The tender words remark'd; a son of mine<br /> +“By thee should in the azure sky be plac'd:<br /> +“Now be the fulness of thy words complete.”<br /> +Th' Omnipotent consented; with black clouds<br /> +Darken'd the air; and frighten'd all the town<br /> +With flaming thunders. When the martial god<br /> +Perceiv'd this fiat of the promis'd change,<br /> +Propp'd on his spear he fearless mounts the steeds,<br /> +Press'd by the bloody yoke; loud sounds the lash,<br /> +And prone the air he cleaves, lights on the top<br /> +Of shady Palatine. There Ilia's son<br /> +<a name="page_2_297"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 297]</span> +Delivering regal laws to Romans round,<br /> +He saw, and swept him thence: his mortal limbs<br /> +Waste in the empty air, as balls of lead<br /> +Hurl'd from a sling, melt in the midmost sky:<br /> +More fair his face appears, and worthy more<br /> +Of the high shrines: such now appears the form<br /> +Of great Quirinus, clad in purple robe.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + His spouse him wept as lost, when heaven's high queen<br /> +Bade Iris on her sweeping bow descend,<br /> +And thus her orders to Hersilia speak:—<br /> +“O matron! glory of the Latian land;<br /> +“Pride of the Sabine race; most worthy spouse<br /> +“Of such an hero once; spouse worthy now<br /> +“Of god Quirinus, cease thy tears: if wish<br /> +“To see thy husband warms thee, led by me,<br /> +“To yonder grove upon Quirinus' hill<br /> +“Which flourishes, and overshades the fane<br /> +“Of Rome's great monarch, haste.”—Iris obeys;<br /> +Upon her painted bow to earth slides down,<br /> +And hails Hersilia in the bidden words.<br /> +Her eyes scarce lifting, she with blushing face<br /> +Replies—“O goddess! whom thou art, to me<br /> +“Unknown; that thou a goddess art is plain.<br /> +“Lead me, O lead! shew me my spouse's face:<br /> +“Which if fate grant I may once more behold,<br /> +“Heaven I'll allow I've seen.” Nor waits she more,<br /> +<a name="page_2_298"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 298]</span> +But with Thaumantian Iris, to the hill<br /> +Of Romulus proceeds. There, shot from heaven,<br /> +A star tow'rd earth descended; from its rays<br /> +Bright flam'd Hersilia's hair, and with the star<br /> +Mounted aloft. Rome's founder's well-known arms<br /> +Receive her. Now her former name is chang'd,<br /> +As chang'd her body: known as Ora, now,<br /> +A goddess, with her great Quirinus join'd.<br /> +<a name="page_2_299"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 299]</span> +</p> +<h2> +<a name="chapter30"></a> +<span class="fraktur">The Fifteenth Book.</span> +</h2> +<blockquote> +<p> +Numa's journey to Crotona. The Pythagorean philosophy of transmigration +of the soul, and relation of various transformations. Death of +Numa, and grief of Egeria. Story of Hippolytus. Change of Egeria +to a fountain. Cippus. Visit of Esculapius to Rome, in the form of a +snake. Assassination and apotheösis of Julius Cæsar. Praise of Augustus. +Prophetic conclusion. +<a name="page_2_300"></a> +<a name="page_2_301"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 301]</span> +</p> +</blockquote> +<h2> +<a name="chapter31"></a> +THE<br /> +<span class="fraktur">Fifteenth Book</span><br /> +OF THE<br /> +METAMORPHOSES<br /> +OF<br /> +OVID. +</h2> +<p class="nowrap"> + Meantime they seek who may the mighty load<br /> +Sustain; who may succeed so great a king.<br /> +Fame, harbinger of truth, the realm decreed<br /> +To noble Numa. Not content to know<br /> +The laws and customs of the Sabine race,<br /> +His mind capacious grasp'd a larger field.<br /> +He sought for nature's laws. Fir'd by this wish,<br /> +His country left, he journey'd to the town<br /> +Of him, who erst was great Alcides' host:<br /> +And as he sought to learn what founder first<br /> +<a name="page_2_302"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 302]</span> +These Grecian walls rear'd on Italia's shore,<br /> +Thus an old 'habitant, well vers'd in tales<br /> +Of yore, reply'd.—“Jove's son, rich in the herds<br /> +“Iberia bred, his prosperous journey bent<br /> +“By ocean unto fair Lacinia's shores:<br /> +“Enter'd himself the hospitable roof<br /> +“Of mighty Croto, while his cattle' stray'd<br /> +“Amid the tender grass; and his long toil<br /> +“Reliev'd by rest. Departing, thus he spoke—<br /> +“Here in thy grandson's age a town shall rise.—<br /> +“And true the promis'd words; for Myscelos,<br /> +“Argive Alemon's son, dear to the gods,<br /> +“Beyond all mortals of that time, now liv'd.<br /> +“The club-arm'd god, as press'd with heavy sleep,<br /> +“He lay, hung o'er him, and directed thus.—<br /> +“Haste leave thy native land;—where distant flows<br /> +“The rocky stream of Æsaris, go seek.—<br /> +“And threaten'd much if disobedient found:<br /> +“Then disappear'd the god and sleep at once.<br /> +“Alemon's son arose; with silent care<br /> +“Revolv'd the new-seen vision in his soul,<br /> +“And undetermin'd waver'd long his mind.<br /> +“The god commands,—the laws forbid to go:<br /> +“Death is the punishment to him decreed<br /> +“Who would his country quit. Now glorious Sol<br /> +“Had in the ocean hid his glittering face,<br /> +“And densest night shew'd her star-studded head;<br /> +<a name="page_2_303"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 303]</span> +“Again the god was seen to come; again<br /> +“Admonish, and with threats more stern demand<br /> +“Obedience. Terror-struck he now prepar'd<br /> +“His property and household gods to move<br /> +“To this new seat. Quick through the city flies<br /> +“The rumor; as a slighter of the laws<br /> +“Is he denounc'd. The trial ends at once;<br /> +“Th' acknowledg'd crime without a witness prov'd.<br /> +“The wretched culprit lifts his eyes and hands<br /> +“To heaven, exclaiming;—Thou whose toils twice six<br /> +“Have given thee claim to glory, lend thy aid;<br /> +“Thou art the cause that I offence have given.—<br /> +“Sentence in old, by stones of white and black<br /> +“Was shewn: by these th' accus'd was clear'd, by those<br /> +“Condemn'd. Thus is the heavy doom now pass'd,<br /> +“And in the fatal urn each flings a stone<br /> +“Of sable hue. Inverted then to count<br /> +“The pebbles, lo! their color all is chang'd<br /> +“From black to white; and thus, the doom revers'd,<br /> +“Alemon's son by Hercules is freed.<br /> +“Thanks to Alcmena's son, his kinsman, given,<br /> +“He o'er th' Ionian sea with favoring winds<br /> +“Sail'd, and Tarentum, Sparta's city, pass'd,<br /> +“And Sybaris, Neæthus Salentine,<br /> +“The gulph of Thurium, and Japygia's fields,<br /> +“With Temeses; which shores at distance seen<br /> +“By him, were scarcely pass'd, when he beheld<br /> +<a name="page_2_304"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 304]</span> +“The mouth of Æsaris, the destin'd flood:<br /> +“And thence not far a lofty heap of earth,<br /> +“Where Croto's hallow'd bones were safe inhum'd.<br /> +“There he as bidden rais'd the walls, which took<br /> +“From the high sepulchre their lasting name.<br /> +“Plain then the city's origin appears<br /> +“By fame, thus built upon Italia's shores.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Here dwelt a sage whom Samos claim'd by birth,<br /> +But Samos and its masters he had fled;<br /> +A willing exile from tyrannic rule.<br /> +Though from celestial regions far remov'd<br /> +His mind to heaven could soar; with mental eyes<br /> +He things explor'd which to the human ken<br /> +Nature deny'd. When all with watchful care<br /> +Was learnt in secret, to the listening crowd<br /> +He public spoke. Told to their wondering ears<br /> +The primal origin of this great world;<br /> +The cause of things; what nature is; what god;<br /> +Whence snow; and whence tremendous thunder springs,—<br /> +From Jove, or from the rattling of rent clouds;<br /> +What shakes earth's pillars; by what law the stars<br /> +Wander; and what besides lies hid from man.<br /> +And first that animals should heap the board<br /> +For food, he strict forbade; and first in words<br /> +Thus eloquent, but unbeliev'd he spoke.<br /> +<a name="page_2_305"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 305]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Cease, mortals, cease your bodies to pollute<br /> +“With food unhallow'd: plentiful is grain;<br /> +“The apples bend the branches with their load;<br /> +“The vines bear swelling heaps of clustering grapes;<br /> +“Bland herbs you have; and such as heat require<br /> +“To mollify for use. Nor do you lack<br /> +“The milky fluid, or the honey sweet,<br /> +“Fragrant of thyme. The lavish earth supplies<br /> +“Mild aliments, her riches and affords<br /> +“Dainties, with nought of slaughter or of blood.<br /> +“Their hunger beasts alone with flesh allay,<br /> +“And beasts not all; the generous steed, the flock,<br /> +“The herd, on grass subsist. But lions grim,<br /> +“Armenian tigers, bears, and wolves, delight<br /> +“In bloody feasts. How impious to behold<br /> +“Bowels in bowels bury'd! greedy limbs<br /> +“Fatten on limbs digested, and prolong'd<br /> +“One's animation by another's death.<br /> +“In vain the earth, benignant mother, gives<br /> +“Her copious stores, if nought can thee delight,<br /> +“Save with a savage tooth this living food<br /> +“To chew, and Cyclopéan feasts renew.<br /> +“Can'st thou not cloy the appetite's keen rage,<br /> +“Deprav'd desire! unless another die?<br /> +“That early age, to which we give the name<br /> +“Of golden, happy was in mellow fruits,<br /> +“And plants, by earth produc'd; nor e'er did gore<br /> +<a name="page_2_306"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 306]</span> +“The mouth defile. In safety through the air<br /> +“Fowls way'd their feathers: fearless through the fields<br /> +“Wander'd the hare: nor, on the barb'd hook hung<br /> +“By his credulity, was snar'd the fish.<br /> +“Fraud was not, none suspicious of deceit;<br /> +“And all was fill'd with harmony and peace.<br /> +“But soon some wretch (whatever wretch was he)<br /> +“Such food disliking, in his greedy maw<br /> +“Bury'd what animation once possess'd.<br /> +“He led the way to wickedness. And first<br /> +“The weapon smok'd with blood of ravenous beasts:<br /> +“And there it should have stay'd. Just is the plea<br /> +“To take their lives that follow us for prey;<br /> +“But not devour them when destroy'd. From thence<br /> +“Wide spread the horrid practice, and the sow,<br /> +“Doom'd the first victim, is decreed to die,<br /> +“For digging up with crooked snout the seed;<br /> +“And blasting all the prospect of the year.<br /> +“The goat had gnaw'd the vine;—the culprit bled<br /> +“On Bacchus' altars to appease his ire.<br /> +“These two their fate deserv'd. But how, O sheep!<br /> +“Ye harmless flocks, have ye this merited,<br /> +“Form'd to receive protection from mankind?<br /> +“Who in your swelling dugs bland liquors bear,<br /> +“Who give your fleecy coverings, garments soft<br /> +“For us to form; and more in life than death<br /> +“Assist our wants. What has the ox deserved?<br /> +<a name="page_2_307"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 307]</span> +“A simple harmless beast, and born for toil,<br /> +“Of guile and fraud devoid? Forgetful man!<br /> +“And undeserving of the harvest's boon,<br /> +“Who could, the crooked joke just from his neck<br /> +“Remov'd, his faithful tiller sacrifice;<br /> +“Smite with the axe that neck with labor worn,<br /> +“With which so oft he had the soil renew'd;<br /> +“Which had so many crops on him bestow'd.<br /> +“Nor is this all, the savage deed perform'd,<br /> +“They implicate the heavenly gods themselves,<br /> +“Pretend th' almighty deities delight<br /> +“To see the slaughter of laborious steers.<br /> +“Spotless must be the victim; in his form<br /> +“Perfection: (fatal thus too much to please!)<br /> +“With gold and fillets gay, the beast is led<br /> +“Before the altar, hears the unknown prayers,<br /> +“And sees the meal, the product of his toil,<br /> +“Betwixt his horns full in his forehead flung:<br /> +“Then struck, he stains the weapon with his blood,<br /> +“The weapon in reflecting waves beneath<br /> +“Haply beheld before. Next they inspect<br /> +“His torn-out living entrails, and from thence<br /> +“Learn what the bosoms of the gods intend.<br /> +“Whence, man, such passion for forbidden food?<br /> +“How dar'st thou, mortal man! in flesh indulge?<br /> +“O! I conjure you, do it not; my words<br /> +“Deep in your minds revolve, when to your mouth<br /> +<a name="page_2_308"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 308]</span> +“The mangled members of the ox you raise,<br /> +“Know, and reflect, your laborer you devour.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “And now the god inspires my tongue, my tongue<br /> +“Shall follow what th' inspiring god directs,<br /> +“My truths I will disclose, display all heaven,<br /> +“And oracles of mind divine reveal.<br /> +“I sing of mighty things, by none before<br /> +“Investigated; what has long lain hid.<br /> +“It glads me through the lofty heavens to go;<br /> +“To sail amid the clouds, the sluggish earth<br /> +“Left far below; and on the shoulders mount<br /> +“Of mighty Atlas; thence from far look down,<br /> +“On wandering souls of reasoning aid depriv'd,<br /> +“Shivering and trembling at the thoughts of death.<br /> +“I thus exhort, and scenes of fate unfold.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “O race! whom terror of cold death affrights,<br /> +“Why fear ye Styx? why darkness? why vain names,<br /> +“The dreams of poets? why in fancy'd worlds<br /> +“Severe atonements? Whether slow disease,<br /> +“Or on the pile the body flames consume,<br /> +“Think not that any suffering it can feel.<br /> +“The soul from death is free, and one seat left,<br /> +“Another habitation finds and lives.<br /> +“Well I remember I was Pantheus' son,<br /> +“Euphorbus, in the fatal war of Troy,<br /> +<a name="page_2_309"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 309]</span> +“Whose breast the young Atrides' massive spear<br /> +“Transpierc'd in fight. I lately knew the shield<br /> +“My left arm bore, in Juno's temple hung,<br /> +“In Abantean Argos. All is chang'd,<br /> +“But nothing dies. The spirit roams about<br /> +“From that to this, from this to that again;<br /> +“And enters vacant bodies at its will.<br /> +“Now from a beast's to human frame it goes,<br /> +“Now from the man it passes to a beast;<br /> +“And never perishes. As yielding wax<br /> +“Is with new figures printed, nor remains<br /> +“Long in one form, nor holds its pristine shape;<br /> +“And yet is still the same: so do I teach,<br /> +“The soul the same, though vary'd are its seats.<br /> +“Hence, lest thy belly's keen desire o'ercome<br /> +“All piety, (and prophet-like I speak)<br /> +“Forbear by impious slaughter to disturb<br /> +“The souls of kindred friends; and let not blood<br /> +“With blood be fed. Now on the boundless sea<br /> +“Since I am borne, and to the breeze have loos'd<br /> +“My swelling sail, this more:—Nought that the world<br /> +“Contains, is in appearance still the same<br /> +“All moving alters; changeable is form'd<br /> +“Each image. And with constant motion flows<br /> +“Ev'n time itself, just like a passing stream;<br /> +“For nor the river, nor the flying hour<br /> +“Can be detain'd. As wave by wave impell'd,<br /> +<a name="page_2_310"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 310]</span> +“The foremost prest by that behind; itself<br /> +“Urging its predecessor; so time flies,<br /> +“And so is follow'd, ever seeming new.<br /> +“For what has been, is lost; what is, no more<br /> +“Shall be, and every moment is renew'd.<br /> +“You see the night emerge to glorious day,<br /> +“And the bright sun in shady darkness sink.<br /> +“Nor shews the sky one hue when nature all<br /> +“Worn out, in midnight quiet rests; and when<br /> +“Bright Lucifer dismounts his snowy steed:<br /> +“Varying again when fair Aurora comes<br /> +“Of light fore-runner, and the world, to Sol<br /> +“About to yield, dyes deep. The orbed god,<br /> +“When from earth's margin rising, in the morn<br /> +“Blushing appears, and blushing seems at eve<br /> +“Descending to the main, but at heaven's height<br /> +“Shines in white splendor; there th' ethereal air<br /> +“Is purest, earth's contagion distant far.<br /> +“Nor can nocturnal Phœbe always shew<br /> +“Her form the same, nor equal: less to-day,<br /> +“If waxing, than to-morrow she'll appear;<br /> +“If waning, greater. Note you not the year<br /> +“In four succeeding seasons passing on?<br /> +“A lively image of our mortal life.<br /> +“Tender and milky, like young infancy<br /> +“Is the new spring: then gaily shine the plants,<br /> +“Tumid with juice, but helpless; and delight<br /> +<a name="page_2_311"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 311]</span> +“With hope the planter: blooming all appears,<br /> +“And smiles in varied flowers the feeding earth;<br /> +“But delicate and pow'rless are the leaves.<br /> +“Robuster now the year, to spring succeeds<br /> +“The summer, and a sturdy youth becomes:<br /> +“No age is stronger, none more fertile yields<br /> +“Its stores, and none with heat more fervid glows.<br /> +“Next autumn follows, all the fire of youth<br /> +“Allay'd, mature in mildness, just between<br /> +“Old age and youth a medium temper holds;<br /> +“Some silvery tresses o'er his temples strew'd.<br /> +“Then aged winter, frightful object! comes<br /> +“With tottering step, and bald appears his head;<br /> +“Or snowy white the few remaining hairs.<br /> +“Our bodies too themselves submit to change<br /> +“Without remission. Nor what we have been,<br /> +“Nor what we are, to-morrow shall we be.<br /> +“The day has been when we were but as seed,<br /> +“And in his mother's womb the future man<br /> +“Dwelt. Nature with her aiding power appear'd,<br /> +“Bade that the embryo bury'd deep within<br /> +“The pregnant mother, should not rack her more:<br /> +“And from its dwelling to the free drawn air<br /> +“Produc'd it. To the day the infant brought,<br /> +“Lies sinewless; then quadruped he crawls<br /> +“In beast-like guise; then trembling, by degrees<br /> +“He stands erect, but with a leg unfirm,<br /> +<a name="page_2_312"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 312]</span> +“His knees assisting with some strong support.<br /> +“Now is he strong and swift, and youth's brisk stage<br /> +“Quick passes; then, the flower of years o'ergone,<br /> +“He slides down gradual to descending age:<br /> +“This undermines, demolishes the strength<br /> +“Of former years. And ancient Milo weeps,<br /> +“When he beholds those aged feeble arms<br /> +“Hang dangling by his side, once like the limbs<br /> +“Of Hercules; so muscular, so large.<br /> +“And Helen weeps when in her glass she views<br /> +“Her aged wrinkles, wondering to herself<br /> +“Why she was ravish'd twice. Consuming time!<br /> +“And envious age! all substance ye destroy;<br /> +“All things your teeth decay; and you consume<br /> +“By gradual progress, but by certain death.<br /> +“These also, which the elements we call,<br /> +“Their varying changes know: lo! I explain<br /> +“Their regular vicissitudes,—attend.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Four elements th' eternal world contains;<br /> +“Two, earth and water, which their ponderous weight<br /> +“Sinks low; and two, the air and purer fire,<br /> +“Void of dense gravity, soar up on high,<br /> +“Free, unconfin'd. Though distant far in space,<br /> +“Yet from these four are all things form'd, and all<br /> +“To them resolve again. The earth dissolv'd<br /> +“Melts into liquid dew; more subtile grown<br /> +<a name="page_2_313"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 313]</span> +“It passes to the breezes and the air;<br /> +“And air again, when in its thinest form,<br /> +“Depriv'd of weight, springs to the fires on high.<br /> +“Thence retrogade they come, inverting all<br /> +“This order: fire is thicken'd to dense air;<br /> +“Air into water; water to hard earth;<br /> +“Nor aught retains its form. Nature, of things<br /> +“Renewer, figures from old figures makes.<br /> +“Nought that the world contains (doubt not my truth)<br /> +“E'er perishes, but changes; and receives<br /> +“An alter'd shape. What to be born we call,<br /> +“Is to begin in different guise to seem<br /> +“Than what we were; and what we call to die,<br /> +“Is but to cease to wear our wonted form.<br /> +“Though haply some part hither may be mov'd,<br /> +“Some thither, still the aggregate's the same.<br /> +“Nor can I think that aught can long endure<br /> +“Unalter'd. Soon the primal ages came<br /> +“From gold to iron. Quite transform'd is oft<br /> +“The state of places. I have seen what once<br /> +“Was earth most solid, chang'd to fluid waves.<br /> +“Land have I seen from ocean form'd; and shells<br /> +“Marine, lie scatter'd distant from all shore:<br /> +“Old anchors bury'd in the mountain tops.<br /> +“The rush of waters hollow vallies forms<br /> +“Where once were plains; and level lie the hills<br /> +“Beneath the deluge: dry the marshy ground<br /> +<a name="page_2_314"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 314]</span> +“With barren sand becomes; and what was parch'd<br /> +“Is soak'd, a marshy fen. Here nature opes<br /> +“New fountains; there she closes up the old.<br /> +“Rivers have bursted forth, when earthquakes shook<br /> +“The globe; some chok'd have disappear'd below.<br /> +“Thus Lycus, swallow'd by the yawning earth,<br /> +“Bursts far from thence again, another stream:<br /> +“The mighty Erasinus, now absorb'd,<br /> +“Now flows, to Argive fields again restor'd.<br /> +“And Myssus, they relate, who both his stream<br /> +“And banks disliking, as Caïcus now<br /> +“'Twixt others flows. With Amenane who rolls<br /> +“O'er sands Sicilian, flowing oft, and oft<br /> +“With clos'd-up fountains dry. Anigros, once<br /> +“Sweet to the thirsty, now his waters pours<br /> +“Untouch'd by lips, since (save we must deny<br /> +“To poets faith) the double-body'd race<br /> +“There bath'd the wounds Alcides' arrows gave.<br /> +“And is not Hypanis, the flood that springs<br /> +“From Scythia's hills, once sweet, with bitter salts<br /> +“Now tainted? By the waves begirt were once<br /> +“Antissa, Pharos, and Phœnician Tyre;<br /> +“And not a spot an island now remains.<br /> +“The ancient clowns, Leucadia to the land<br /> +“Saw join'd; now surges beat around its base;<br /> +“And Zanclé, they relate, was once conjoin'd<br /> +“To Italy, 'till ocean burst his bounds,<br /> +<a name="page_2_315"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 315]</span> +“And rent the land, and girt it with his waves.<br /> +“For Helicé or Buris should you seek,<br /> +“Achaïan towns, o'erwhelm'd beneath the waves<br /> +“You'll find them: boatmen oft are wont to shew<br /> +“The tottering cities, and their walls immers'd.<br /> +“Near Pitthean Trœzen is a lofty hill<br /> +“By trees unshaded; now indeed an hill<br /> +“But once a level plain. Wond'rous to tell<br /> +“The wind's resistless force, in caverns deep<br /> +“Inclos'd, for exit somewhere as it strain'd,<br /> +“And struggled long in vain, a freer range<br /> +“Of air to sweep; when all the prison round<br /> +“Was found no fissure pervious to the blast,<br /> +“It swell'd the high-rais'd ground: just so the breath<br /> +“Puffs out the bladder, or the horn'd goat's skin.<br /> +“The tumor still remains, and now appears,<br /> +“Grown hard by lapse of time, a lofty hill.<br /> +“Though numbers to my mind occur, or seen<br /> +“Or heard, but few beside I will relate.<br /> +“Do not streams too receive and lose new powers?<br /> +“Thy fountain, horned Ammon, at mid-day<br /> +“Is icy cold, but hot at morn and eve.<br /> +“The waters of Athamanis, are said,<br /> +“Sprinkled on wood, when Luna's lessening orb<br /> +“Shines in the heavens, to warm it into flame.<br /> +“A river have the Cicones, which turns<br /> +“To marble what it touches: whoso drinks<br /> +<a name="page_2_316"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 316]</span> +“Instant his inwards harden into stone.<br /> +“Cathis and Sybaris, which border near<br /> +“Our pastures, make the hair resemble gold.<br /> +“More wond'rous still, waters there are, with power<br /> +“The mind to change as well as change the limbs.<br /> +“Who has not heard of Salmacis obscene?<br /> +“And Ethiopa's lake, which whoso drinks<br /> +“Or furious raves, or sinks in sleep profound?<br /> +“Whoe'er his thirst at the Clitorian fount<br /> +“Quenches, he loathes all wine: abstemious, joys<br /> +“To drink pure water: whether power the waves<br /> +“Possess to thwart the heating vinous juice,<br /> +“Or, as the natives tell, with herbs and charms<br /> +“When the mad Prætides Melampus cur'd,<br /> +“He in the stream the mental medicine flung;<br /> +“And hate of wine the fountain still retains.<br /> +“Lyncestius' river flows with different power;<br /> +“Of this who swallows but the smallest draught<br /> +“Staggers, as charg'd with plenteous cups of wine.<br /> +“A dangerous place Arcadia holds (of yore<br /> +“Call'd Pheneos) for its waters' two-fold force:<br /> +“Dreaded by night: for drank by night they harm,<br /> +“But guiltless of all mischief drank by day.<br /> +“Thus lakes and rivers now these powers possess;<br /> +“Now those. Time was Ortygia on the waves<br /> +“Floated, now firm she rests. Argo, first ship<br /> +“Dreaded the isles Cyanean scatter'd round<br /> +<a name="page_2_317"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 317]</span> +“And clashing oft amid the roaring waves;<br /> +“Which rest unmov'd now, and the winds despise.<br /> +“Nor Etna whose sulphureous furnace flames<br /> +“Will always burn; time was it burn'd not yet:<br /> +“For let earth be an animated mass,<br /> +“Which lives, and breathing holes in various parts<br /> +“Exhaling flame, possesses, she may change,<br /> +“Each time she moves, those passages of air;<br /> +“These caverns close, and others open throw.<br /> +“Or whether wind, confin'd in those deep caves,<br /> +“Hurls rocks on rocks, and what the seeds of fire<br /> +“Contain; and flames from the concussion burst;<br /> +“The winds appeas'd, cold will the caves be left.<br /> +“Or if the flame be by bitumen caught,<br /> +“Or by pale sulphur, fiercely will it burn<br /> +“To the last particle; but when the earth<br /> +“Fuel and oily nutriment no more<br /> +“The flame shall give; a tedious length of years<br /> +“Its force exhausting, and its nutriment<br /> +“By nature's tooth consum'd, the famish'd flames<br /> +“Will this desert, deserted by their food.<br /> +“Fame says, the men who in Pallené live,<br /> +“A northern clime, when nine times in the lake<br /> +“Tritonian plung'd, in plumage light are clad.<br /> +“This scarce can I believe. They also tell<br /> +“That Scythia's females, sprinkling on their limbs<br /> +“Rank poisons, such like transformation gain.<br /> +<a name="page_2_318"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 318]</span> +“Yet when well-try'd experience us instructs,<br /> +“Faith may be given. Do we not bodies see<br /> +“Decaying slow with moisture and with heat,<br /> +“To animalcules chang'd? Nay, go, inter<br /> +“A chosen slaughter'd steer, (well known the fact,<br /> +“And much in use;) lo! from the putrid paunch<br /> +“Swarms of the flower-collecting bee will rise,<br /> +“Which rove the meadows as their parent rov'd:<br /> +“And urge their toil and labor still in hope.<br /> +“The warlike courser, prostrate on the ground,<br /> +“Becomes the source whence angry hornets rise.<br /> +“Cut from the sea-shore crab his crooked claws,<br /> +“And place the rest in earth, a scorpion thence,<br /> +“Will come, and threaten with his hooked tail.<br /> +“The meadow worms too, which with silky threads<br /> +“(Well noted is the fact,) are wont to weave<br /> +“The foliage, change the figures which they wear,<br /> +“Like the gay butterfly of funeral fame.<br /> +“The life-producing seeds of grass-green frogs<br /> +“Mud holds; and forms them first devoid of feet,<br /> +“Then gives them legs for swimming well contriv'd;<br /> +“And, apt that they for lengthen'd leaps may suit,<br /> +“Behind these far surpass the first in length.<br /> +“The cub the bear brings forth, at its first birth<br /> +“Is but a lump of barely living flesh:<br /> +“Licking, the mother forms the limbs, and gives<br /> +“As much of shape as she herself enjoys.<br /> +<a name="page_2_319"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 319]</span> +“See we the young not of the honey'd bee,<br /> +“Clos'd in the wax hexagonally shap'd,<br /> +“First form'd a body limbless, gaining late<br /> +“Their feet and wings? And who could e'er suppose,<br /> +“Except the fact he knew, that Juno's bird<br /> +“Which bears the starry tail; that Venus' doves;<br /> +“The thunder-bearer of almighty Jove;<br /> +“And all the race of birds, their being owe<br /> +“To a small egg's still smaller central part?<br /> +“There are, who think the human marrow chang'd,<br /> +“A snake becomes, when putrid turns the spine<br /> +“In a close sepulchre. These, each and all,<br /> +“Their origin from other things derive.<br /> +“One bird there is, which from herself alone<br /> +“Springs, and regenerates without foreign aid:<br /> +“Assyrians call her Phœnix. Not on grain,<br /> +“Nor herbs she lives, but on strong frankincense,<br /> +“And rich amomums' juice: when she has pass'd<br /> +“Five ages of her life, with her broad bill<br /> +“And talons, she upon the ilex' boughs,<br /> +“Or on the summit of the trembling palm,<br /> +“A nest constructs: on this she cassia strews,<br /> +“Spikes of sweet-smelling nard, the dark brown myrrh,<br /> +“And cinnamon well bruis'd: then lays herself<br /> +“Above, and on the odorous pile expires.<br /> +“Then, they report, an infant Phœnix springs<br /> +“From the parental corse, to which is given<br /> +<a name="page_2_320"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 320]</span> +“Five ages too, to live. When years afford<br /> +“Due strength to lift, and bear the ponderous load,<br /> +“She lightens of the weighty nest the boughs;<br /> +“With pious duty her own cradle takes,<br /> +“And parent's sepulchre; then, having gain'd<br /> +“Hyperion's city through the yielding air,<br /> +“Before the sacred portal lays it down.<br /> +“If of stupendous wonder aught ye find<br /> +“In this, hyænas must your wonder move;<br /> +“Alternate changing, females now they bear;<br /> +“And annual alter unto males again:<br /> +“That reptile too, which feeds on wind and air;<br /> +“And what it touches, straight its hue assumes.<br /> +“India by cluster-bearing Bacchus gain'd,<br /> +“Lynxes upon the conquering god bestow'd:<br /> +“And, (so they tell) whate'er their bladders void,<br /> +“Concretes to gems, and hardens in the air.<br /> +“Thus too, the coral hardens to a stone;<br /> +“A plant so flexible beneath the waves.<br /> +“Day would desert us; Phœbus' panting steeds<br /> +“Would in the mighty deep be plung'd, ere I<br /> +“Could finish, should I every substance tell<br /> +“Chang'd to new form. This we perceive, that time<br /> +“All turns. These nations mighty strength attain:<br /> +“Those sink in power. Thus Troy in wealth and strength<br /> +“Was mighty; and for ten long years could shed<br /> +“Her blood in torrents. Low she lies, and shews<br /> +<a name="page_2_321"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 321]</span> +“Her ancient ruins, and her numerous tombs<br /> +“For all her riches. Sparta once was great;<br /> +“And fam'd Mycené once in power was strong;<br /> +“With Athens; and the town Amphion rais'd.<br /> +“Now a mean spot is Sparta; low now lies<br /> +“Lofty Mycené; what of Thebes remains,<br /> +“The town of Œdipus, except his tale?<br /> +“What of Pandion's Athens, but the name?<br /> +“And now begins the fame of Dardan Rome<br /> +“To rise; the waves of Tiber from the hills<br /> +“Of Appenine descending, bathe her walls:<br /> +“Plac'd on a huge foundation shall she fix<br /> +“Her empire's base. By increase shall she change;<br /> +“And shall hereafter of the mighty world<br /> +“Be head. This prophets, they assert, have said,<br /> +“And fate-predicting oracles. Myself<br /> +“Remember Helenus, old Priam's son,<br /> +“Address'd Æneas, when the Trojan towers<br /> +“Were tottering, weeping,—and of future fate<br /> +“Doubtful, in words like these—O goddess born!<br /> +“If the prognostics of my soul I read<br /> +“Rightly, Troy ne'er, while thou art safe, will fall.<br /> +“Flames and the sword shall ope to thee a path<br /> +“Thou shalt depart, and with thyself convey<br /> +“An Iliüm, till a foreign land thou find'st;<br /> +“A land more friendly both to thee and Troy.<br /> +“Now, to the Phrygians' offspring due, I see<br /> +<a name="page_2_322"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 322]</span> +“A city rais'd; such former ages ne'er<br /> +“Beheld; such is not; such will never be.<br /> +“Thousands of worthies in a length of years,<br /> +“Its power shall spread; but lord of all the globe<br /> +“Shall he, descended of Iülus, reign;<br /> +“Who, when by earth awhile enjoy'd, shall gain—<br /> +“A seat celestial; and the heavens shall be<br /> +“The bound of his career.—Well does my mind<br /> +“Retain, that Helenus in such like words<br /> +“Address'd the chief who bore his country's gods.<br /> +“Joy'd I behold my kindred walls increase;<br /> +“And Grecia's conquest happy prove for Troy.<br /> +“But lest too wide I wander, and my steeds<br /> +“Forget the goal; know, heaven, and all beneath;<br /> +“Earth, and all earth's contents their shapes must change.<br /> +“Let us then, members of the world (not form'd<br /> +“Of body only, but with winged souls<br /> +“Which to the bodies of wild beasts may pass,<br /> +“Or dwell within the breasts of grazing herds)<br /> +“Permit those forms which may the souls contain<br /> +“Of parents, brethren, or of those once join'd<br /> +“To us by other bonds, certain of men,<br /> +“To rest secure and safe from savage wounds;<br /> +“Nor load our bowels at Thyestes' board.<br /> +“Soon, by ill custom warp'd, does he prepare<br /> +“To bathe his impious hands in human gore,<br /> +“Who severs with his knife the lowing throat<br /> +<a name="page_2_323"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 323]</span> +“Of the young calf, and turns a deafen'd ear<br /> +“To all its cries: or who the kid can slay,<br /> +“Moaning in plaintive tone like children's cries:<br /> +“Or who the fowl he fed before, can eat.<br /> +“What more is wanting, that may now complete<br /> +“The measure of iniquity? From thence<br /> +“Where the next step? Then let thine oxen plough,<br /> +“And let their death be due alone to age.<br /> +“Let from dread Boreas' piercing cold the sheep<br /> +“Defend thee with her wool. Let the full goat<br /> +“Present her udder to thy hand to press.<br /> +“Throw far thy nets, thy nooses, and thy snares,<br /> +“And all thy treacherous skill; nor with lim'd twig<br /> +“Deceive the bird; nor with strong toils the deer;<br /> +“Nor hide the barbed hook with treacherous bait.<br /> +“If animals annoy ye, them destroy:<br /> +“But slay them only. From the taste of flesh<br /> +“Free be your mouths, while food more fit ye eat.”<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + His breast with these, and such like doctrines fill'd,<br /> +Numa, 'tis said, back to his country came;<br /> +And held, unsought for, the supreme command<br /> +O'er Latium's realm. Blest with the nymph his spouse,<br /> +And by the muses guided, all the rites<br /> +Of sacrifice he taught: the people train'd,<br /> +Fond of fierce war, to arts of gentle peace.<br /> +When late he finish'd reign at once, and life,<br /> +<a name="page_2_324"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 324]</span> +The Latian females, nobles, commons, all<br /> +In streaming tears, bewail'd their Numa dead.<br /> +His consort Rome deserted, and lay hid<br /> +In the deep forests of Aricia's vale;<br /> +And with her wailings and her mournful sighs,<br /> +The rites impeded in Diana's fane.<br /> +How oft the nymphs who dwelt in lakes and groves,<br /> +Kind admonitions gave her not to mourn,<br /> +And sooth'd her with consolatory words!<br /> +How oft the son of Theseus weeping, said;<br /> +“Cease thus to grieve, nor think your fate alone<br /> +“Is hard. Look round awhile on others' woes;<br /> +“More mild your own you'll bear. Would that not mine<br /> +“Were such as might assuage your woe; but mine,<br /> +“When heard, to calm your grief may something yield.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + “Haply report has sounded in your ears<br /> +“Of one Hippolytus the fate, destroy'd<br /> +“Through his most impious step-dame's treacherous fraud,<br /> +“And sire's credulity. With much surprize<br /> +“You'll hear,—nay scarcely will you trust my words,<br /> +“But he am I! Pasiphaë's daughter me<br /> +“Accus'd, that I with vain endeavour try'd<br /> +“To violate my parent's nuptial couch:<br /> +“Me feigning guilty of the crime she wish'd;<br /> +“On me th' offence retorting, or through fear<br /> +“I might accuse, or rage at her repulse.<br /> +<a name="page_2_325"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 325]</span> +“My sire, me guiltless from the city drove,<br /> +“And curs'd me going with most hostile prayers.<br /> +“To Pitthean Træzen I my exil'd flight<br /> +“Directed: and now drove along the shore<br /> +“Of Corinth's sea; when ocean sudden heav'd;<br /> +“A mighty heap of waters bent appear'd,<br /> +“Like an huge hill, and increase seem'd to gain;<br /> +“Then roaring loud was at its summit cleft.<br /> +“Thence, from the bursting waves a horned bull<br /> +“Rush'd forth, breast-high uprearing in the air;<br /> +“Spouting the waves through his capacious mouth<br /> +“And nostrils. Terror seiz'd my comrades' breasts:<br /> +“Fill'd with the thoughts of exile, mine alone<br /> +“Unmov'd remain'd. While my impatient steeds,<br /> +“Turn'd to the main their heads; with ears erect<br /> +“Affrighted stood; then by the beast appall'd,<br /> +“Rush'd rapid with the car o'er lofty rocks.<br /> +“With a vain hand I strive to gird the curb,<br /> +“Besmear'd with foaming whiteness; bending back<br /> +“With all my might I pull the pliant reins.<br /> +“Nor had my horses' furious madness mock'd<br /> +“My strength, save that the fast-revolving wheel<br /> +“A tree opposing struck, and shatter'd: wide<br /> +“The fragments flew. I from the car was thrown,<br /> +“Entangled in the harness: plain to view<br /> +“Were seen my living bowels dragg'd along;<br /> +“My sinews twisted round the stump; my limbs<br /> +<a name="page_2_326"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 326]</span> +“Part swept away, and part entangled left:<br /> +“Loud crash'd my fractur'd bones; my weary'd soul<br /> +“At length exhal'd; my body nought retain'd<br /> +“That could be known, one all-continued wound.<br /> +“Can you, O nymph! or dare you, now compare<br /> +“Your woe with mine? Since then I have beheld<br /> +“The realm of darkness, and my mangled limbs<br /> +“Bath'd in the waves of Phlegethon. Nor life<br /> +“Had been restor'd, but through the forceful help,<br /> +“Of medicine that Apollo's offspring gave.<br /> +“From him Pæonian aid when I had gain'd<br /> +“By plants of power, though much in Pluto's spite,<br /> +“Cynthia me cover'd with her densest clouds:<br /> +“And lest my sight their hatred should increase,<br /> +“That safe I might remain, and without risk<br /> +“Be seen, she gave to my appearance age,<br /> +“Nor left me features to be known again:<br /> +“And long deliberated, whether Crete<br /> +“Or Delos, for my dwelling she would chuse.<br /> +“But, Crete and Delos both abandon'd, here<br /> +“She plac'd me, and my name she bade renounce<br /> +“Which still reminded me of my wild steeds;<br /> +“Saying—O thou, Hippolytus who wast!<br /> +“Be Virbius now! Thenceforth within these groves<br /> +“I dwell,—a minor deity, I tend<br /> +“My heavenly mistress, and increase her train.”<br /> +<a name="page_2_327"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 327]</span> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + But foreign griefs possess'd not power to chase<br /> +Egeria's woe; who at a mountain's foot<br /> +Thrown prostrate, melted in a flood of tears;<br /> +'Till Phœbus' sister by her sorrow mov'd,<br /> +Transform'd her body to a cooling fount;<br /> +And her limbs melted to still-during streams.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + The miracle the wondering nymphs beheld;<br /> +Nor stood the son of Amazonia's queen<br /> +With less surprize than on the bosom seiz'd<br /> +Of the Tyrrhenian ploughman, when he view'd<br /> +The fate-foretelling clod, amidst the fields.<br /> +At first spontaneous and untouch'd it mov'd;<br /> +Then took a human figure; shook off earth,<br /> +And op'd its new-form'd prophesying mouth:<br /> +Tages the natives call'd him, who first taught<br /> +Th' Etruscan race the future to explain:<br /> +Or Romulus, when he his spear beheld<br /> +Stuck on Palatium's hill, and sudden sprout:<br /> +By a new root, not by its steely point,<br /> +Fixt fast: no more a weapon, but a tree,<br /> +With pliant branches, which afford a shade<br /> +Unlook'd for to the wondering people round:<br /> +Or Cippus, when he in the flowing stream<br /> +Beheld his new-form'd horns (for them he saw)<br /> +But thought th' appearance false; and what he view'd,<br /> +Oft rais'd his fingers to his head to touch:<br /> +<a name="page_2_328"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 328]</span> +No more his eyes distrusting, then he stood,<br /> +(As victor from a conquer'd foe he came,)<br /> +And raising up to heaven his hands and eyes,<br /> +“Ye gods!” he said, “whatever this portends,<br /> +“If happy, to my country, to the state,<br /> +“Be it;—if ominous of ill, to me.”<br /> +And then with odorous fires the gods ador'd,<br /> +On grassy altars of the green sward form'd;<br /> +And from the goblets pour'd the wine; and search'd,<br /> +The panting entrails of the slaughter'd sheep,<br /> +For what was meant. Th' Etruscan seer beheld<br /> +That mighty revolutions they foretold;<br /> +But yet obscurely: till his piercing eye<br /> +He from the entrails turn'd to Cippus' horns.<br /> +Then cry'd;—“Save thee, O king! for lo! the place<br /> +“For thee, O Cippus! and thy horns, the towers<br /> +“Of Latium will obey. Thou only haste;<br /> +“Delay not, but within the open gates<br /> +“Enter; so fate commands. In them receiv'd<br /> +“King wilt thou be; in safety wilt enjoy<br /> +“An ever-during kingdom.” Back he drew<br /> +His feet, and from the city's walls he turn'd<br /> +Sternly his looks; exclaiming; “far, ye gods!<br /> +“O, far avert these omens! Better I<br /> +“An exile roam for life, than monarch rule<br /> +“The Capitol.” Then he assembled straight<br /> +The reverend senate, and the people round:<br /> +<a name="page_2_329"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 329]</span> +But first with peaceful laurel veil'd his horns:<br /> +Then on a mound, there by the soldiers rais'd,<br /> +He stood; and pray'd in ancient mode to heaven.<br /> +“Lo! here,” he cry'd, “is one, whom save ye drive<br /> +“Far from your city, will your monarch be;<br /> +“By marks, but not by name I him describe:<br /> +“Two horns his forehead bears. He is the man,<br /> +“Once in the town receiv'd, the augur tells,<br /> +“With servile laws will rule ye. Nay, he might<br /> +“Your open gates have enter'd, but myself<br /> +“Oppos'd him; though more near to me is none.<br /> +“Expel him, Romans! from your city far;<br /> +“Or, if he merit them, with massive chains<br /> +“Load him: or rid yourself at once of fear<br /> +“By the proud tyrant's death.” Such murmurs sound<br /> +'Mid lofty pines, when Eurus whistles fierce;<br /> +Such is the roaring of the ocean waves<br /> +Rolling far distant, as the crowd sent forth:<br /> +Till from amidst the all-confounding noise<br /> +One spoke more loud, and—“which is he?” exclaim'd.<br /> +Then all the brows they search'd, the horns to find.<br /> +Cippus again address'd them. “What you seek<br /> +“Behold!” and from his head the garland tore,<br /> +Spite of their efforts, and his forehead shew'd,<br /> +With double horns distinguish'd. All their eyes<br /> +Depress'd, and sighs from every bosom burst:<br /> +Unwillingly, (incredible!) they view<br /> +<a name="page_2_330"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 330]</span> +That head so bright with merit. Then, no more<br /> +Bearing that honors due he should not gain,<br /> +They bind his temples with a festal crown.<br /> +Thee, Cippus! since within the walls forbid<br /> +To enter, now the senators present<br /> +A grateful gift; a tract of land so large<br /> +As with a plough, by two yok'd oxen drawn,<br /> +Thou canst from morn till close of day surround.<br /> +The horns, the type of this stupendous fact,<br /> +Long shall remain on brazen pillars grav'd.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Ye muses, patrons of the poet's song,<br /> +Explain (for all complete your knowledge, age<br /> +Most distant ne'er deceives you) why the isle<br /> +In Tiber's bosom, by his billows wash'd,<br /> +The rites of Esculapius introduc'd<br /> +Into the town of Romulus! A plague<br /> +Of direst form infected Latium's air,<br /> +And the pale bloodless bodies wasted thin<br /> +Squalid in poison. When the numerous deaths<br /> +Prov'd every effort of mankind was vain,<br /> +And vain the art of medicine, they beseech<br /> +Celestial aid, and unto Delphos go,<br /> +Apollo's oracle, 'mid place of earth;<br /> +Pray him to help their miserable state<br /> +With health-affording words; and end at once<br /> +The dreadful pest which scourg'd their mighty town.<br /> +<a name="page_2_331"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 331]</span> +The fane, the laurel, and the quiver, slung<br /> +Upon his shoulder, shook; and this reply<br /> +The tripod from its secret depth return'd;<br /> +Thrilling their fear-struck bosoms: “What you seek,<br /> +“O Romans! here, you should have nearer sought:<br /> +“And nearer now ev'n seek it. Phœbus' aid<br /> +“Your woe can lessen not; but Phœbus' son<br /> +“Can help ye: therefore with good omens go,<br /> +“And call my offspring to afford relief.”<br /> +Soon as the prudent senators receiv'd<br /> +The god's commands, with diligence they seek<br /> +What city's walls Apollo's son contain;<br /> +Depute a band, whom favoring breezes waft<br /> +To Epidaurus' shores. Soon as their keels<br /> +Touch'd on the strand, they to th' assembled crowd<br /> +Of Grecian elders haste; and earnest beg<br /> +To grant their deity, to check the rage<br /> +Of death amongst the hapless Latian race,<br /> +By his mere presence. So unerring fate<br /> +Had said. Divided is the council's voice:<br /> +Some would the aid besought, be granted; some,<br /> +And many, these oppose; refuse to send<br /> +To foreign lands their patron, and their god.<br /> +While dubious they deliberated, eve<br /> +Chas'd the remains of light, and the earth's shade<br /> +Threw darkness round; when, lo! the helping god<br /> +Appear'd in sleep before the Roman's bed<br /> +<a name="page_2_332"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 332]</span> +To stand, in form like what his temples grace.<br /> +His left hand bore a rugged staff; his right<br /> +Strok'd down the hairs of his expanded beard;<br /> +As thus with words of import mild he spoke;<br /> +“Fear not, for I will come; my temple leave.<br /> +“View but this snake which with his circling folds<br /> +“My staff entwines; remark him, that again<br /> +“You well may know him; chang'd to such a form<br /> +“Will I be; but more huge I will appear;<br /> +“Mighty in bulk as heavenly beings ought.”<br /> +The vision ceas'd, and vanish'd with the words:<br /> +And with the god fled sleep; and cheerful light<br /> +Follow'd the flight of Somnus. Now the morn<br /> +Had chas'd the starry fires; the Grecian chiefs,<br /> +Still dubious, in the splendid temple meet<br /> +Of the intreated deity, and pray<br /> +That some celestial sign he should display,<br /> +To prove which country for his seat he chose.<br /> +Scarce had they ended, when the shining god<br /> +Fore-running hisses sent; and as a snake<br /> +With lofty crest appear'd: at his approach<br /> +His statue, altars, portals, gilded roofs,<br /> +And marble pavement shook. He rear'd his chest<br /> +Sublime amid the temple; and around<br /> +Darted his eyes, which shone with living fire.<br /> +Trembled the fear-struck crowd. The sacred priest,<br /> +His hair encircled with a snowy band,<br /> +<a name="page_2_333"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 333]</span> +Straight knew him; and, “the God! the God!” exclaim'd:<br /> +“All present, him with hearts and tongues adore!<br /> +“O glorious deity! may thou, thus seen,<br /> +“Propitious be; thy worshippers protect,<br /> +“Who keep thy rites.” All present to the god<br /> +Adoring bend, and all his words repeat;<br /> +And Rome's embassadors with fervor join<br /> +In mind and voice. To these the god consents,<br /> +And his crest moving, certain signs affords:<br /> +Thrice hissing, thrice he shakes his forked tongue,<br /> +Then down the shining steps he glides, his head<br /> +Retorted; as he thence departs he views<br /> +His ancient altars, and a last salute,<br /> +His wonted seat, his long-own'd temple, gives.<br /> +Thence rolls he huge along the ground bestrew'd<br /> +With scatter'd flowers, in curving folds entwin'd;<br /> +And through the city's centre takes his way,<br /> +To where the bending mole the port defends.<br /> +Here rested he; and to dismiss appear'd<br /> +His followers, and the kind attending crowd,<br /> +With gracious looks; then in th' Ausonian ship<br /> +He plac'd his length. A deity's huge weight<br /> +The ship confess'd; the keel beneath the load<br /> +Bent. Glad Æneäs' offspring felt, and loos'd<br /> +(A bull first sacrific'd upon the shore,)<br /> +The cables which their crowded galley bound.<br /> +Light airs impell'd the vessel. High aloft<br /> +<a name="page_2_334"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 334]</span> +The god appear'd; upon the curving poop<br /> +Rested his neck, and view'd the azure waves.<br /> +By zephyrs wafted o'er th' Iönian sea,<br /> +They reach'd Italia when the sixth time rose<br /> +Aurora. Pass'd Scylacea, and the fane<br /> +Of Juno, on Lacinia's noted shore;<br /> +Japygia left, and shunn'd Amphissia's rocks<br /> +With larboard oars; and, coasting on the right,<br /> +Ceraunia, and Romechium pass'd, and pass'd<br /> +Narycia and Caulonia; they, (the risks<br /> +Of sea, and of Pelorus' narrow straits<br /> +Surmounted) pass th' Æolian monarch's isles;<br /> +Metallic Themesis; Leucasia's land;<br /> +And warm and rosy Pæstus. Thence they coast<br /> +Along Capræa; and Minerva's cape;<br /> +And pass Surrentum, rich in generous wine,<br /> +The town of Hercules; Parthenopé,<br /> +Built for soft ease; with Stabia; and from thence<br /> +Pass the Cumæan Sybil's sacred dome.<br /> +Hence by Linternum, with the mastich rich;<br /> +And boiling fountains are they borne; and past<br /> +Vulturnus sucking sand within the gulf;<br /> +And Sinuessa, fill'd with milk-white doves:<br /> +Marshy Minturnæ; with Cajeta, rais'd<br /> +By him she nurs'd; Antiphates' abode;<br /> +Trachas, by fens encompass'd; Circé's land;<br /> +And Antium's solid shore. Here when the crew<br /> +<a name="page_2_335"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 335]</span> +Had with toe flying vessel reach'd, (for now<br /> +Rough was the main) the god his folds untwines,<br /> +Glides on in frequent coils, and spires immense;<br /> +Entering a temple of his sire that stood<br /> +Close by the yellow beach. The ocean calm'd,<br /> +The Epidaurian god his father's fane<br /> +Now leaves; a deity to him close join'd<br /> +Thus hospitable found: the sandy shore<br /> +Ploughs in a furrow with his rattling scales:<br /> +Then, in the steersman confident, he rests<br /> +On the high poop his head, till they approach<br /> +Lavinium's city, and her sacred seat,<br /> +And Tiber's mouth. The people rush in heaps,<br /> +And crowds of matrons and of fathers rush,<br /> +Confus'dly hither; even the vestal maids<br /> +Who guard the sacred fire: and all salute<br /> +The god with joyful clamor. Then where'er<br /> +The rapid vessel cleaves th' opposing stream,<br /> +The incense crackles on the banks, and rais'd<br /> +Are lines of altars, thick on either shore;<br /> +The smoke perfumes the air; the victims bleed<br /> +In heaps, and warm the sacrificial knife.<br /> +The Roman city now, the world's great head,<br /> +They enter'd, up erect the serpent rose;<br /> +From the mast's loftiest summit tower'd his neck,<br /> +And round he look'd to chuse a fit abode.<br /> +The waves circumfluent in two equal streams<br /> +<a name="page_2_336"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 336]</span> +Divide; the isle has thence its name, the arms<br /> +On either side are stretch'd, land in the midst.<br /> +Hither the Æsculapian snake himself<br /> +Betook, departing from the Latian ship;<br /> +Resum'd his form celestial, and their griefs<br /> +Dispersing, came health-bearer to the land.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + A foreign power he in our temples stands,<br /> +But Cæsar, in his native town a god<br /> +Is worshipp'd. In the forum, and the field<br /> +Fam'd equal: yet not his well-finish'd wars,<br /> +His triumphs, nor the deeds in peace perform'd<br /> +So justly chang'd him to an heavenly shape,<br /> +A blazing star, as did the son he left.<br /> +For no atchievement Cæsar e'er perform'd<br /> +Can with the boast to be Augustus' sire<br /> +Compare. Far greater this than to subdue<br /> +The sea-girt Britons:—his victorious fleets<br /> +To seven-mouth'd Nile to lead;—to bring the realms<br /> +Cinyphian Juba rul'd, 'neath Rome's control,<br /> +Rebel Numidia; and, puff'd high in pride<br /> +With Mithridates' glory, Pontus' land;<br /> +Rich triumphs to have gain'd, and triumphs more<br /> +To merit, as a man so great produce;<br /> +To whose presiding care, O bounteous gods!<br /> +Mankind ye gave, and them completely blest.<br /> +And lest he seem from mortal seed to spring<br /> +<a name="page_2_337"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 337]</span> +His sire must mount to heaven, in form a god.<br /> +This the bright mother of Æneäs saw,<br /> +And for the priest beheld a mournful fate<br /> +Prepar'd, and moving saw the arms conspir'd.<br /> +She trembled, and to every god she met<br /> +Address'd her: “Lo! what deep and potent plots<br /> +“Against me they prepare. See, with what art<br /> +“His life is sought, who sole to me is left<br /> +“Of my Iülus. Why must I alone<br /> +“Be harrass'd still with never-ceasing cares?<br /> +“Whom now Tydides' Calydonian spear<br /> +“Wounds; now the walls of ill-protected Troy<br /> +“Lie prostrate. Who my darling son behold<br /> +“Driv'n to long wanderings; on the ocean toss'd;<br /> +“Entering the silent mansions of the dead;<br /> +“Waging fierce war with Turnus; or, if truth<br /> +“I speak, with Juno rather. Yet why now<br /> +“Record I former sufferings in my sons?<br /> +“Terror prevents all memory of the past;<br /> +“See, where at me their impious swords they point!<br /> +“O, I conjure you! stay them; and prevent<br /> +“The horrid deed; lest, spilt the high-priest's blood,<br /> +“The fires of Vesta be for ever dark.”<br /> +With words like these did troubled Venus move<br /> +Each power of heaven, in vain; yet all were touch'd,<br /> +And, though the stern decrees of rigid fate<br /> +To break unable, tokens plain they gave,<br /> +<a name="page_2_338"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 338]</span> +That some immense calamity was nigh.<br /> +They tell, that clashing arms 'mid the black clouds,<br /> +And dreadful horns and trumpets in the heavens<br /> +Sounded, to warn us of the impious deed.<br /> +Full of solicitude the earth beheld<br /> +The pale wan image of sad Phœbus' face.<br /> +Torches were often seen 'mid heaven to glare;<br /> +And from the clouds oft gory drops were shed.<br /> +Blue Lucifer a dusky hue o'ercast;<br /> +And Luna's car was sprinkled o'er with blood.<br /> +Th' infernal owl in numerous places shriek'd,<br /> +A direful omen! In a thousand fanes<br /> +The ivory statues wept; the sacred groves<br /> +Re-echo'd all with songs and threatening sounds.<br /> +No victim seem'd appeasing; tumults vast<br /> +Approaching shew'd the entrails; and appear'd<br /> +The liver always with a wounded head.<br /> +Around the domes, and temples of the gods<br /> +Loud howl'd the midnight dogs; the silent shades<br /> +Flitted along; and tremblings shook the town.<br /> +Yet could not these forebodings of the heavens<br /> +Crush the conspiracy, or ward his fate;<br /> +And in the temple were the weapons drawn:<br /> +For, but the senate-house, no spot could please<br /> +The vile assassins for the bloody deed.<br /> +Then Cytherea smote her lovely breast<br /> +In anguish; and beneath an heavenly cloud<br /> +<a name="page_2_339"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 339]</span> +Sought to conceal him: such a cloud as once<br /> +From furious Menelaüs Paris sav'd;<br /> +And snatch'd Æneäs from Tydides' sword.<br /> +Then thus her sire: “O daughter! hast thou power<br /> +“Th' immutable decrees of fate to change?<br /> +“To thee 'tis granted to inspect the dome<br /> +“Of the three sisters; there thou wilt behold<br /> +“Th' eternal tablets of events engrav'd<br /> +“On steel and brass, a work of mighty toil.<br /> +“Safe, they nor fear the clashing of the sky,<br /> +“Nor rage of thunder, nor of ruin aught.<br /> +“There wilt thou written find thy offspring's fate<br /> +“On ever-during adamant. Myself<br /> +“Have read it, and record it in my mind;<br /> +“And lest thou should'st be to the future blind,<br /> +“I will relate it. He for whom thou toil'st,<br /> +“O Cytherea! has his time fulfill'd;<br /> +“The sum of years which to the earth he ow'd.<br /> +“That he a deity in heaven may rise,<br /> +“And be in temples worshipp'd is thy care,<br /> +“And his successor's; who his name will take,<br /> +“And on his shoulders bear the wide world's rule;<br /> +“On him impos'd. He, of his murder'd sire<br /> +“Valiant avenger, shall in all his wars<br /> +“Our favoring influence feel. Mutina's walls,<br /> +“By him besieg'd, in conquest shall confess<br /> +“His power, and sue for peace. Pharsalia, him<br /> +<a name="page_2_340"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 340]</span> +“Shall feel; and, drench'd in Macedonian blood<br /> +“Again, Philippi. On Sicilia's seas<br /> +“His mighty name shall conquer. Egypt's queen,<br /> +“Falsely relying on the nuptial bond<br /> +“With Rome's triumvir, falls: all vain her threats,<br /> +“That Tiber should subservient bend to Nile.<br /> +“Why should I speak to thee of barbarous hordes,<br /> +“Nations which dwell at either seas' extreme?<br /> +“Whatever habitable earth contains<br /> +“Will to his empire bend. Ocean will own<br /> +“His sway. Peace on th'extended earth bestow'd,<br /> +“To civil studies will his breast be turn'd;<br /> +“And laws most equitable will he frame.<br /> +“By his example curb licentious souls;<br /> +“And, stretching forward to a future age<br /> +“His anxious care, which their sons' sons may feel,<br /> +“His offspring, nurtur'd in a pious womb,<br /> +“At once his name and station will assume.<br /> +“Nor shall he touch th' ethereal seats, nor join<br /> +“His kindred stars till full like him in years.<br /> +“Meantime his soul, snatch'd from the mangled corse,<br /> +“Form to a brilliant star, a god divine:<br /> +“That Julius from his lofty seat may still<br /> +“Our forum, and our Capitol behold.”<br /> +Scarcely the sire had ceas'd, when Venus, bright,<br /> +But unperceiv'd by all, stood in the midst<br /> +Of Rome's assembled senate; from the breast<br /> +<a name="page_2_341"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 341]</span> +Of her lov'd Cæsar took the recent soul,<br /> +Nor let it waste in air. Up to the stars<br /> +She bore it. Rapid as she swept along,<br /> +She saw it shine with light, she saw it burn;<br /> +Then from her bosom spring above the moon:<br /> +Lofty it flies, it shines a glittering star,<br /> +Dragging a flaming tail's stupendous length.<br /> +Viewing the glorious actions of his son,<br /> +Candid he grants them mightier than his own,<br /> +And thus surpast rejoices. Let him frown,<br /> +If to his parent's deeds we his prefer;<br /> +Yet fame quite free will such commands despise,<br /> +Give him unwish'd-for precedence; and here,<br /> +And here alone he'll disobedience find.<br /> +So Atreus yielded to the mighty fame<br /> +Of Agamemnon; Theseus so surpass'd<br /> +Ægeus; and Achilles Peleus so.<br /> +Nay more, examples nearer to themselves<br /> +If I should use, Saturn submits to Jove.<br /> +Jove rules th' ethereal sky, the triform world;<br /> +And all the earth beneath Augustus lies:<br /> +Each is the sire and ruler of his realm.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + O, I implore, ye gods! who did attend<br /> +Æneäs,—who made fire and sword retreat!<br /> +Ye native deities of Latium's soil!<br /> +Quirinus, founder of the walls of Rome!<br /> +<a name="page_2_342"></a><span class="pagenum">[Pg 342]</span> +Mars, of Quirinus never-conquer'd, sire!<br /> +Vesta, held sacred midst the Cæsars' gods!<br /> +Domestic Phœbus, with chaste Vesta plac'd!<br /> +And Jove, who guards the high Tarpeiän walls!<br /> +With all whom pious poets may invoke;<br /> +Slow may that day arrive, and older far<br /> +Than what our age may see, when to the clouds<br /> +His glorious head shall mount, quitting this globe<br /> +He rules so well, and our beseeching prayers<br /> +Bending with condescending ear to grant.<br /> +</p> +<p class="nowrap"> + Now is my work complete, which not Jove's ire,<br /> +Nor flame, nor steel, nor gnawing tooth of age,<br /> +Shall e'er destroy. Come when it will, that day<br /> +Which nothing, save my mortal frame, can touch.<br /> +Which ends the being of a dubious life,<br /> +My better part unperishing shall mount<br /> +Above the loftiest stars. Eternal still<br /> +Shall be my name. Where'er Rome's power extends<br /> +O'er conquer'd earth, my verses shall be read;<br /> +And, if the presages by poets given<br /> +Be true, to endless years my fame shall live.<br /> +</p> +<p class="volumeend"> +FINIS.<br /> +</p> +<p class="printer"> +Hayden, Printer, Brydges Street, Covent Garden. +</p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Metamorphoses of Publius Ovidus +Naso in English blank verse Vols. I, by Ovid + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK METAMORPHOSES *** + +***** This file should be named 28621-h.htm or 28621-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/6/2/28621/ + +Produced by Michael Roe, Ted Garvin and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + +</pre> + +</body> +</html> diff --git a/28621-h/images/front.jpg b/28621-h/images/front.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5dcbab8 --- /dev/null +++ b/28621-h/images/front.jpg diff --git a/28621-h/images/vol1.JPG b/28621-h/images/vol1.JPG Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..82c2d2d --- /dev/null +++ b/28621-h/images/vol1.JPG diff --git a/28621-h/images/vol1.jpg b/28621-h/images/vol1.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..82c2d2d --- /dev/null +++ b/28621-h/images/vol1.jpg |
