mm^- urn ■U'y- .avaaiH'^ '^Oii,avaaii#' . J^ iirn'lIFn ^xiijoNvsm^ "^/^ajAiNQ-awv ^^Anvaaiii^"^ '-^omw^- VMl/j^ 5 — ^^UIBRARYOc. #UB1lARY&/r \^i\mi^ ^^iiiONvsm^ "^/iajAiNni "^AiJBAINniWV .^,OFCAl!F0%, ^OFCAllFOff^ . -J ^^Aavaaiii^ ^^Auvnaiii^ .^WEUNIVER% ;lOSANCtLfJlK %a3AIN(l-1V\V^ ><^tllBRARYQ^ ^^IIIBRARY '^-. .K-lOSANCEIfr.^ xV^f-llRRARY/3/ ^vkMIRRARV ^. ^nipni 1^ ^^Aaviian-i'^ ^^Aavaani'^ Slil6RARY- en <: 5J(\EUNIVERSy/) % ^lOSANtElfjt^ o "^/yaiAiNHJWV i^=^l ^ ^•lOSANCElfX^ ^ %mm .^OF-CAll PINDAR IN ENGLISH RHYME. PINDAR IN ENGLISH RHYME; BEING AN ATTEMPT TO RENDER THE EPINIKIAN ODES, WITH THE PRINCIPAL REMAINING FRAGMENTS, OF PINDAR, INTO ENGLISH RHYMED VERSE, BY THOMAS CHARLES BARING, M.A., M.P., LATE FELLOW OF BRASENOSE COLLEGE, OXFORD. Henry S. King & Co., London 1875- CONTENTS. OLYMPIAN ODES. 1. To HiERO OF Syracuse, 2. To Theron of Akragas, 3. To the Same, 4. To PSAUMIS OF KaMARINA, 5. To THE Same, 6. To Agesias OF Syracuse, . 7. To DiAGORAS OF RHODES, . 8. To Alkimedon of Aigina, . 9. To Epharmostus of Opous, 10. To Agesidamus of Epizephyrian Lokris 11. To the Same, . . . . 12. To Ergoteles of Himera, 13. To Xenophon OF Corinth, 14. To AsopicHus OF Orchomenus, . Page 3 12 21 25 28 31 40 48 54 62 64 70 72 80 VI PYTHIAN ODES. 1. To HiERO OF Syracuse, 2. To THE Same, 3. To THE Same, 4. To Arkesilas of Kyrene, 5. To THE Same, 6. To Xenokrates of Akragas, 7. To Megakles of Athens, 8. To Aristomenes of Aigina, 9. To Telesikrates of Kyrene, 10. To HiPPOKLEAS GF THESSALY, 11. To Thrasydaius of Thebes, 12. To Midas of Akragas, PACK 94 102 112 136 144 147 149 156 166 172 177 ISTHMIAN ODES. 1. To Herodotus OF Thebes, 2. To Thrasyboulus OF Akragas, 3. To Melissus OF Thebes, 4. To the Same, 5. To Phylakides of Aigina, 6. To the Same, 7. To Strepsiades of Thebes, 8. To Kleandros of Aigina, 183 188 192 194 200 204 210 214 Vll NEMEAN AND OTHER ODES. 1. To Chromius of Etna, 2. To TiMODEMUS OF ATHENS, 3. To Aristokleides of Aigina, 4. To Timasarchus of Aigina, 5. To Pytheas of Aigina, 6. To Alkimides of Agina, 7. To SOGENES OF AlGINA, 8. To Deinis of Aigina, 9. To Chromius of Etna, 10. To Theaius of Argos, 11. To Aristagoras of Tenedos, PAGE 229 232 239 247 252 258 266 271 278 286 FRAGMENTS. 1. Of Epinikia, or Songs of Triumph, . . 293 2. Of Threnoi, or Dirges, ... 295 3. Of Dithyramboi, or Hymns in honour of Dionysus, 298 4. Of Prosodia, or Processional Hymns, . 301 5. Of Skolia, or Wassail Songs, . . . 303 6. Of a Hymn to the Sun in Eclipse, . . 306 7. Of Sundry Odes, ..... 308 OLYMPIAN ODES. I- dl^o Jjiero of .Snracusc. Water is best ; and gold, as blazing fire Gleams far across the night, All pride-begetting wealth beside Excels in might. But if, my own sweet soul, thou hast desire The games to hymn, 'Mid all the pride Of heaven, throughout the desert air Seek not to spy a star that may compare \Vith warming Sun himself, whom daylight cannot dim. Nor shalt thou know To celebrate in song A fairer strife than that Olympia shows : Whence, chanted to and fro. Through pogtsi-skilLthe famous anthem flows In praise of Kronos' son, from those who throng; To crowd the gladsome hearth of wealthy Hicro : ^g Who culling every virtue's topmost flower A righteous sceptre wields O'er Sicily's rich apple-yards And harvest-fields, Yet loves with music's gems in leisure hour His heart to cheer ; When tuneful bards, Assembled round his friendly board, Upraise a merry strain with one accord. Tlien from its solemn peg release, and bring me here The Doric lyre, If aught in Pisa's fame, Or Pherenikus' splendid victory. Had potence to inspire The mind with sweetest thought, when easily By dark Alpheius conquering he came Unspurred, that great renown his master might acquire. The charger-loving king of Syracuse. His glory glows Through all the thickly-peopled colony Of Lydian Pelops, whom there chanced to choose Strong earth-encompassing Poseidon's love : When safe the caldron pure above. 5 One shining shoulder shaped of ivory, In Klotho's arms he rose. For many wondrous haps have been ; And oft a cozening tale With dainty falsehoods tricked, I ween, Man's loud assent to win is seen, And sober truth to fail. ^^ And Grace, for man who fashions all things fair And every pleasure gives, Not seldom that the false may seem The true contrives. Conferring credence ; wiser witness bear The after days ; And meet, I deem, It is in sooth that mortal man Should say about the gods what good he can ; So shall his blame be less, and greater so his praise. Illustrious seed Of Tantalus, there shall A counter-story now by me be told ; How when thy sire decreed On Sipylus the stately feast to hold, And bade th' immortals grace his festival, Then for on high in car of gold with golden steed The monarch who the gleaming trident sways, Subdued by mad desire, Upbore thee towards the blest abode, Where dwells the Sire Of gods, far honoured ; where in later days Young Ganymede Triumphant rode To pleasure Zeus : and when they sought And found thee not, nor home the truant brought. To vex thy mother's ear a melancholy rede In whispers dim Her neighbours, jealous fools. Related ; how when freely flowed the wine, As o'er the flesh-pot's brim The boiling water seethed, the guests divine Threw in thy mangled form, and then, like ghouls. Distributing devoured thee, severed limb from limb. I cannot gods immortal gluttons deem. Avaunt the thought ! For loss is aye the scandal-monger's gain. But if Olympus' lords with high esteem E'er honoured mortal man, then Tantalus Was he : but, o'er-elated thus. He could not brook such bliss, nor could restrain O'ervveening pride that wrought His bane. His insolence to pall His father o'er his head A mighty boulder hung, whose fall He ever seeks to fend, and all His merriment is fled. And now a dreary, helpless life he leads Of never-ending grief. With comrades three the fourth sad soul Because, a thief, Th' ambrosia which undying beings feeds, The nectar which They drink, he stole And gave to fellow-quafifers food Which had himself with deathlessness endued. - If man have hope that crime of his can 'scape the reach Of God on high. He errs, j His son therefore The deathless from their presence drove again As in the days gone-by 8 To mingle with the short-lived race of men. / There soon as on his blackened chin he wore A goodly growth of beard, and dreams of marriage-tie ^^^ithin him stirred his heart, he studied from Her Pisan father's side Hippodameia fair of fame To win for bride. So to the margin of the gray sea-foam At deep of night Alone he came, And hailed the thund'rous Trident-king — Who hearing to his feet sped hurrying — And spake : " Poseidon, if the thought of love's delight In former days Some little grace obtain, Oinomaiis' brazen javelin paralyse ; On swiftest car convey Myself to Elis ; bid my might arise ; For suitois three and ten are with the slain, And still his daughter's wedding rites her sire would stay. High deeds of peril cowards cannot charm ; But since we all Must die, why should man nurse inglorious age, In darkness sitting filled with vain alarm Without a share in all that renders life A pleasure? In the coming strife, — Uo thou give happy issue, — I engage." He ceased. Nor did he call With words of no avail. His kind Intent the god to prove Produced a chariot golden-lined, And tireless horses swift as wind With wings to aid above. And thus he beat Oinomaiis in tlie race ; And thus the maid he won ; ^-- And children six she bore her lord, And each a son, A chieftain each endowed with every grace : And now beside Alpheiu^^Jbrd_^ -- In pilgrim-haunted grave he lies, Where blood-libations crown his obsequies Hard by the stranger-crowded altar. Far and wide The honour shines In Pelops' circus got [O At green Olympia, wliere for rivalry Each festival combines The swift of foot with those whose labours lie In feats of strength; and he to whose glad lot m The wreath has fallen may live in peace and pleasant liii^. To-day's success is deemed his highest bliss By mortal man alway: And with Aiolia's knightly song 'Tis mine to-day To crown the victor whose this triumph is. And sure am I Not one among The sons of men is living at this hour Of fairer knowledge or of kinglier power For bard with music's ceaseless change to glorify. The deity Who o'er the games presides, And makes their guardianship his special care, Has special care of thee, King Hiero, and all the daily wear Of tb.y pursuits : and if his love abides A little while, I hope in sweeter minstrelsy 1 1 My pathway strewing with assistant words, Nigh Kronos' height Sunlit, to laud thee for the four-horse race. For me the Muse within her quiver hoards A mightier arrow. Others other ways Excel ; but aye the crown of praise Ts borne away by kings as first in place. No further strain thy sight. Long be it thine the steeps to tread Of honours won in peace ; While thy reflected glories shed Distinction on thy poet's head Through all the realms of Greece ! 12 2. Co Cfjeroit of l^lua^as. Say, sovereign of the lyre, Sweet Spirit of song, What god, what man, what hero shall we sing With loud acclaim ? In Pisa Zeus is king. And fair Olympia's games by Herakles, The first-fruits of his war, Were stablish'd. Theron too in victor car. By four fleet horses borne along, Demands applause, who ne'er did stranger wrong, The prop in whose support his Akragas has ease. The prime restorer of the glorious name Of many a noble sire. Who after years of woe And weariness Set up their homes and gods yon stream anigli. 13 And there became Sikelia's very eye ; When wealth and favour native worth pursued In Fate's unswerving hand. O Kronian son of Rhea, whose command The prize of emulations stress, Olympus' seat, Alpheius' passages Obey, by these our hymns be softened, look for good On him and his, and let their lands the same To children's children go For ever. What is past and gone, For right or AVTong. Not even Time, the matchless one, The sire of all, can make undone ; But yet there still may be, With dawning of a brighter lot, A calm forgetfulness of what Was ill ere long. And e'en inveterate misery Will faint and die beneath the might Of sweet delight ; When on the whirling wheel Of heavenly fate H Good luck comes uppermost. With this agree The stories told Of Kadmus' progeny, Who suffered evils great, till greater bliss Drove all their griefs away. For 'mongst Olympus' denizens to-day Lives long-haired Semele in state Whom loud-tongued levin slew, but not in hate : Beloved of Pallas, more beloved of Zeus she is ; And Dionyse his ivy-branch in hold Is full of loving zeal. Fair-throned Ino too, The legends say, With Nereus' ocean-maidens in the sea Immortal dwells For all eternity. To dying men it is not given to know The issues after death : Nor know we surely whilst on earth beneath If ever 'twill be ours a day Of quietude to close, whose sun-born ray Unflagging pleasure cheers. This way the currents flow And that, and now the tide of joyance swells, 15 And now the tide of woe. And thus it happed that Destiny, Who wont to nurse The fortunes of this family With heaven-conferred prosperity, In later times began To blend an aye-recurring bane. Since Lai'us met his son again, Who bore the curse And killed his sire, and thus the ban Fulfilled, pronounced by lips divine From Pytho's shrine. Keen-eyed Erinnys saw With eagle sight, And with reciprocating homicide His race destroyed. When Polyneikes died Thersander only lived to gain renown, In boyish feats of strength A conqueror at first, and then at length On fields where warriors lose and win A helpful scion for Adrastus' kin. i6 Ainesidemus' son, thus ancestor'd, to crown 'Tis fit the best of lyres should be employed And praises free of flaw. Himself alone he gained Olympia's prize : But on the Pythian and the Isthmian field, Where round the course A dozen times are wheeled The four-horsed cars, the Graces who dispense Their even favours gave The wreaths to his twin brother, which to have Th' aspirant's load of care unties. The wealth that virtue's garment beautifies, Will opportunity provide and competence For this and that, by nature's deep-set force Of heedfulness sustained ; A star of far refulgent rays And trusty beam. So the possessor rule his ways, As conscious of the coming days ; How lawless souls that sin At once are punished dying here; 17 For crimes that stain this earthly sphere, Where Zeus supreme Is sovereign, judged the earth within Ey one whose sentence is decreed Of ruthless Need. For aye, alike in gloom And broad day-light, Having a sun, a life of lesser toil. The good behold : Who worry not the soil With tireless strength of hand, nor vex the sea For empty livelihood. But with the gods with awful honours dued They who while living took delight In every solemn vow performed aright. Abide, a tearless race for all eternity. While others suffer, sinners over-bold, A sight-surpassing doom. And those who have the strength The ordeal thrice In either world to bide, and keep their soul From every taint i8 Of evil-doing whole, The path of Zeus are privileged to tread To Kronos' castled piles : — Where ocean breezes round the happy isles Blow softly ; where with sunny dyes Blossoms of gold are blazing ; some arise From earth on gorgeous stems, and some are water-fed. To bind the brow and arms of each new saint With glory's wreath at length : — By Rhadamanthus' judgment tried Who sits in state To help at father Kronos' side, Who wedded erst a queenlier bride To fill the highest throne Of heaven, Rhea ; 'mongst the blest Where Peleus and where Kadmus rest, And where elate His mother, whose beseeching tone The heart of Zeus to ruth had wrought, Achilles brought, Who Hektor overthrew. The sole support, 19 The one resistless, stedfast, prop of Troy ; And Kyknus strong, And Eos' Aithiop boy, In combat put to death. In winged rows The arrows lie beneath My elbow, waiting in the quiver-sheath The fitting time to make report To knowing folk ; for those of common sort They need interpreters. The wise by instinct know The learned are a silly chattering throng, That raven-like pursue The bird divine of Zeus With fruitless cry. Arise, my soul, and bend thy bow for aim. Whom shall we strike, Loosing the shafts of fame From thoughts of kind intention ? — Akragas. And loud will I proclaim, — • And call the gods to testify the same, — With tongue that never stooped to lie, That never town in all a centur}' Has brought unto the birth a citizen that was In heart pervading kindliness the like, B 20 Or bounteous hand profuse, Of Theron. But satiety To praise succeeds ; Yet dares not be an enemy With justice in its company, But underhand will go To use the tongues of crazy men And gossip false, to hide from ken Good men's good deeds. For as the sands are countless, so His acts of kindness manifold May ne'er be told. 21 3- Co Cbcron of ^.hragns. To please the stranger-loving sons of Tyndareus, And Helen famous for her tresses fair, By splendid Akragas's praise For Theron's newly-won Olympic victory My hymn I fain would raise, The prize of horses' feet that tireless be. And bent on this intent but now I saw the Muse Beside me, as I strove to find an air To fit to Doric shoes, And brighter make the feast. The wreaths that now are tied Amidst his locks upon the bard impose This need of origin divine, A\'ith citterns many-tongued and oboe's shriller cry To fittingly combine Full rhythmic phrases, so to magnify Ainesidemus' son ; and Pisa magnified Would fain be, whence the sacred hymnal flows, Wherever men abide, For him, for whom, fulfilling Herakles' Behests of old, the judge of Greece, Aitolia's faultless son, Above his brows upon his tresses lays ' The decoration twined of th' olive's branches gray ; Which in prime\'al days The step-son of Amphitryon From Istros' shady sources bore away. Fairest memorial of Olympia's victories. With softly winning speech he begged and honest brow Of them that dwell the northern wind behind, And Phoibos' favour supplicate, A slip that after should become a shady grove, Where Zeus in woodland state Receives the homage of the world, and prove The common crown of manly worth. For duly now His father's fane had hallowed been, and kind The mid -month moon aelow ^Id"- On car of gold her orb lit full 'gainst Evening's end ; When on Alpheius' sacred banks he sate To hold the hsts in equity ; ^Vhere each fifth year for strife the mighty stand arrayed Yet not one lovely tree Throve on the soil in Kronian Pelops' glade. So when he saw the sun's most burning rays descend Full on his close of verdure desolate, His spirit bade him wend To Istros' borders, where in days gone by Leto's fair daughter, apt to ply The lash and haste the steed, Received him, coming from the mountain-lands And tortuous ravines of Arcady, compelled Eurystheus' hard commands By Zeus his sire and Fate to heed. And fetch the golden-antlered hind, of old By Atlas' maid inscribed " Orthosia's hind am I." So pressing on her track he saw that land of rest Beyond the blasts of chilly Boreas, And there the olive tree that grows Therein, and stood entranced, until within his soul A sweet desire arose. 24 Where four times thrice the racing chariots roll Around the course, to plant it. Now a gracious guest, ^^'ith deep-girt Leda's godlike twins, he has Vouchsafed at our request To grace the present feast. For when he parted hence For courts Olympian, them he bade preside O'er all the wondrous rivalry Of manly excellei'tce and cars at top of speed. So to th' Emmenidse, And Theron here, my soul proclaims the meed Is due, which Tyndareus' well-mounted sons dispense : For they of men the guestive boards provide At lavishest expense, AVith pious heart the holy mysteries Preserving. And as water is The best of all, and gold All other gains excels ; so Theron's power And long-descended worth have reached their zenith, heard Where high the pillars tower That Herakles set up of old. Beyond nor foolish man nor wise has steered. Nor mine be now the task : 'twere wasted work, I wis 1 25 4- C0 ^saumts of flamarma* Hail Zeus supreme, untiring thunder's charioteer ! For thine alone The cirding seasons are, which bring me here The mightiest of strifes to see, And Hst the ever-changing tone Of cittern's voice. When friends succeed the tale of their success To hear the good rejoice. Then hear me, Son of Kronos, king Of Etna's mount, whose breezy heights oppress Enormous Typhon's hundred-headed might ; And of thy kindliness, The Graces to delight, Accept the masque we bring To celebrate Olympia's newest victory, 26 The everlasting light of stalwart thews renown : Which comes for sake Of Psaumis' team, who, wreathed with olive crown In Pisa won, is hot with haste For Kamarina fame to make. May heaven befriend The prayers he yet may utter. Praise from me Shall evermore attend One who is bent the horse to train, And joys in boundless hospitality, And strives his best with purity of soul In safe tranquillity His city to control. My words I will not stain With falsehood. Trial shows the worth of man at last. By proven prowess thus The son of Klymenus From Lemnian women's jeers was freed, when he Tlie foot-race won in brazen arms arrayed : And as he went to claim his crown From queen Hypsipyle, " Fair lady," said, ■' Behold ! how swift I am of foot is shown : V Nor weaker are my hands, nor slower beats my heart : Yet oft to youthful brow The freaks of Fate impart, Contrasting manhood's prime, untimely locks of snow." 28 5- ^0 ^saitmis 0f pamarina. The sweetest, fairest, crown Olympia's games can give, To guerdon mightiest renown, With gladsome heart receive, Daughter of Ocean, looking down On Psaumis and his wagon here, Psaumis, who brings his gifts, th' untiring muleteer Who fain to aggrandize The city named for thee Has caused the six twin altars rise, To bounteous feast and free Bidding th' inmiortals from the skies By oxen slain with priestly knife, And five protracted days of agonistic strife. 29 He drove his steeds and mules ; alone he rode : And, Kamarina, still to thee The gentle fame his prowess owed He gave, proclaiming with his victory His father Akron's name, and newly built abode. Protecting Pallas, see. From that beloved shore. Where Pelops and Oinomaiis be At rest for evermore, He comes to hymn the purity Of yonder grove thy shrine anear, And smooth Oanis' stream and land-engirdled mere, And grave canals and gray. Whereby thy Hipparis Thy host to water finds her way. These palaces are his : Like towering groves in strong array He builds them ; his inspiring might This kindred people brings from helplessness to light. But ever round a master's vast emprise No little toil and much expense 30 Do battle 'gainst his work; the skies Are dark with risk. Yet they whose high pretence Succeeds are counted e'en by fellow-townsmen wise. Lord of the clouds above, Our saviour, Zeus supreme, Long wont on Kronos' crest to rove, WTio broad Alpheius' stream And Ida's solemn cave dost love, I come petitioner to thee And chaunt to Lydian flutes my prayerful minstrelsy : This city decorate AVith fame of manly deeds. And, Psaumis, Oh ! be this thy fate, Who lov'st Poseidon's steeds To train, and now art come elate With conquest from Olympia's plains, To live a glad old age as long as life remains, Thy sons beside thee. Still if man possess Good health and spirits, and have got Enough of wealth, to happiness Adding renown untarnished, let him not Aspire to be a god in utter foolishness I 31 6. Co l^gesms of Snratusc. As when some gorgeous banquet-hall is built The stately porch we rear on columns richly gilt, So we will build : the work begun Must show a front resplendent as the sun. And if our subject be The winner of Olympia's victory, Steward of yon prophetic shrines of Zeus, And fellow-colonist of famous Syracuse, For such a man where can we choose Fit hymns in sweetest music to proclaim His worth, whose townsmen know and envy not his fame ? For be the son of Sostratus aware That this his godlike fortune is. Your merit ne'er, Except with peril it have fought, 32 In men or hollow ships with praise is fraught. But if with loss of ease A daring deed is done, the memories Of many men embalm it. Thou the praise hast won, Agesias, which just Adrastus long agone Gave to Oikleus' prophet-son Amphiaraiis, when the meadow clave And with his glossy steeds he found a sudden grave. When seven pyres at Thebes were finished Whereon the dead to bum ; Talaiis' son then cried a bitter cry ; And " More than these," he said, " The eye of all my host I mourn, Foremost of spears in fight as first in prophecy ! " Nor lesser laud belongs To Syracuse's son. Lord of our revels, hero of our songs. Contentious I am not, nor strifeful overmuch ; But this, for I am sure of it, Swearing a mighty oath I will avouch. What I have done The honey-voiced Muses will permit. 33 Come, Phintis, haste to yoke thy sturdy pair Of mules, that we the car may mount, and straight may fare Our unembarrassed path to trace And reach the source of this heroic race. Thy mules of all the rest The road we need to take must know the best, Who for their matchless speed upon their heads have shown Olympia's olive crown. To them and them alone Wide be the gates of music thrown ! For I am bound to-day betimes to be Beside Eurotas' ford by lovely Pitane. She by Poseidon son of Kronos reaved A child, Euadne of the blue-black hair, conceived, And long with folded robes she strove To hide the fruit of her unwedded love : But when her hour was come, She sent her maids the daughter of her womb Straight to the hero-son of Eilatus to bear. Who in Phaisana ruled Arkadian men, and clear Alpheius gained by lot, to rear. There in her prime beneath Apollo's kiss She first essayed the sweets of Aphrodite's bliss. 34 Nor aught her secret Aipytus deceived ; He knew her babe divine ; The wrath unspeakable with anxious care Repressed, his soul that grieved, And went in haste to Pytho's shrine To question there about the wrong he scarce could bear. Her purple-woven gown And silver pitcher she Beneath the shelter of a thicket brown Laid by, and there a boy divine of soul she bare. But Eileithuia mild of mood And, sent by Phoibos of the golden hair. The Spinsters three To help in utmost need beside her stood. There to her painful travail's quick relief Young lamus was brought to light : there crazed with grief She left him on the earth. But two Protecting dragons, gleaming-eyed, thereto — For so th' immortals willed — Appointed, with the harmless juice distilled By honey-bees the infant fed. But when the king From Pytho's rocky cleft drove homeward hurrying, He bade his household, " Quickly bring 35 The child I know Euadne must have borne Hither to me at once ; for Phoibos' self has sworn Himself his sire, and promises that he O'er all of mortal mould shall have supremacy In reading things divine, and ne'er The issue of his loins shall lack an heir." He spake. They all averred With solemn phrase they had nor seen nor heard Aught of an infant five days old. For still the child Lay hidden in the reeds within the thicket wild, His tender frame with radiance mild Of pansies bathed of gold and purple hue : And thence a deathless name his mother made anew To call him by. So when the golden crown Of youth was his, and all Her luscious fruits were tempting his desire, He calmly gat him down To dark Alpheius, there to call Standing in middle stream upon his mother's sire Poseidon, ocean's lord. And godbuilt Delos' king The archer-god ; and prayed they would award 36 Him some folk-tending rank. By night beneath the skies He cried : his sire's responsive cry Rang quick and full of yearning, " Son, arise, And, following My voice, the land where all shall come descry." So came they to the inaccessible Peak of the lofty mount where Kronos used to dwell : And twofold gifts he gave him there Of divination, first the voice to hear That leasing never knew ; And then, — when Herakles, the strong of thew And bold in scheming, came, of all Alkaius' race Most reverend scion, here his father's feast to place Where crowds the countless populace, And solemn games of strength, — his throne divine Of oracles to set on Zeus' supremest shrine. Illustrious thence throughout Hellenic land, The house of lamus became ; and hand-in-hand With honour plenty followed : And holding worth in high esteem they tread A shining path. The deed Proclaims the man. Detraction's evil meed 37 From others' envy hangs above the head of those On whom the bashful Grace towards the race's close A glorious countenance bestows. Yet if in very truth, Agesias, Thy mother's folk who dwelt around Kyllene's base Were often wont with prayerful sacrifice, In lavish piety, Hermes to gift, the heavenly messenger ; — On whom the office lies The games to hold and victory Allot, the contest o'er, who counts Arkadia dear, The nurse of sturdy men ; — Then, son of Sostratus, 'Tis he, who with his thunderous father's ken Determines thy good luck. I seem upon my tongue To feel the shrilly whetstone grate. That woos me nothing loth to floods of song. The beauteous Blooming Metope, child of desolate Stymphalis was my grandam, she who bare Thebe who loves to drive the horse : whose waters fair I soon will quaff, and daintily 38 A wreath of many-tinted poesy Will weave for warrior-brows. Thy fellow-minstrels, Aineas, arouse. To maiden Hera first the shout of praise is due : Then know if th' old reproach " Boiotian hog " we too With truth repel ; for thou'rt the true Herald, the word-stick of the fair-haired Nine, The luscious bowl that brims with song's enchanted wine. Be Syracuse remembered in their lays. And rich Ortygia, which the sceptre pure obeys Of even-minded Hiero ; Who tends Persephone's gay steeds of snow, Demeter's ruddy feet. And Zeus's might in Etna's awful seat, With welcome festive rites. Sweet-sounding lyre and rhyme With him are well acquaint. Oh let not creeping Time Disquiet fortunes so sublime. May he with loving heart and kind await The merry masque that brings Agesias in state Back from the older toward the newer home, Leaving Stymphalus' walls The mother of sheep-herding Arcady. 39 When far amidst the foam Throughout a night of winter squalls The ship must ride, 'tis well her anchors twain should be. May heaven to these and those Vouchsafe a bright career In friendliness : and oh ! do thou dispose, Husband of golden-distaff'd Amphitrite, lord And ruler of the sea, Their voyage straight and smooth to those aboard : And grant me here Th' increasing flower of winsome minstrelsy ! 40 7- ^0 giagoras jof Sfe^^^^s. As when one grasps in plenteous hand A cup wherein the foam Of wine's red juice is gurgUng high, And gives it, drinking to his health, To his young son-in-law to carry home. Wrought all of virgin gold, the crown of all his wealth. The merry-making band Exalting, and his recent tie ; He renders him beside Envied of all the friendly standers-by For winning a congenial bride : So when the Muses' gift I send, As sweet as nectar poured, The luscious fruit of mental strife, To them that wear the athlete's crown, Men who at Pytho or Olympia warred 41 And won, I please them. Blest is he whom fair renown And honour bright attend. But she who gives the bloom to life, The Grace, from time to time With lyres and many a well-concerted fife Another victor makes sublime. And now with both I come, and blended song, Diagoras beside Rhodes the sea-girt isle to celebrate. The child of Aphrodite, Helios' bride : While I shall praise with tuneful choir The mighty man and fair in fight who wore the crowns For pugilistic might Alpheius' and Kastalia's banks along ; And Demagetus therewithal his sire. The friend of Right ; Who with their Argive spearmen cultivate, Near widespread Asia's jutting headland-tongue. The isle of three fair towns. Yes ; now will I in minstrelsy Aloud proclaim for them The story of their origin ; 42 How from Tlepolemus they spring, Branches of Herakles's mighty stem. They boast that on the father's side direct they bring To Zeus their pedigree ; And on the mother's are akin To great Amyntor, sons Of fair Astydameia. Error in The speech of men unending runs. And hard it is to find what now And in the end will be Man's good. For erst in Tiryns town The settler of this isle in ire Struck with a cudgel of tough olive tree Likymnius, bastard offspring of Alkmena's sire, And slew him with the blow, From Midea's chambers coming down. In troubles of the mind The wisdom of the wise is overthrown. So to the god at Pytho shrined He hied him. From the sweet most holy place The god of golden hair Bade him equip a fleet, and from the shore 43 Of Lerne to the sea-girt land repair, Where once the sovereign king of heaven Down on the city poured a rain of golden snow. What time Athene armed, Sprang from her father's forehead through the space Hephaistus' craft and brazen axe had riven ; And air alarmed Rang with her battle-cry's tremendous roar : Heaven shook to view the terrors of her face. And mother Earth also. Then he who light on men bestows The god, Hyperion's child. Commandment on his children laid, A debt of perpetuity, That they, the first, a splendid shrine should build To her the goddess new-create, and solemnly With sacrificial vows Should glad the father and the maid Who sways the thunderous spear. The reverence born of Forethought man to aid Merit imparts and goodly cheer. But often deep forgetfulness, 44 A cloud of baffling, came Work's path direct to lead astray, And drive remembrance from the heart. So bearing not the seed of burning flame These climbed the citadel, and set therein apart With rites no fire could bless The holy ground. But when the day Was dying, Zeus supreme Led up a yellow cloud, and rained away Much gold : and She whose gray eyes gleam And flash with lightnings gave them excellence In every handicraft O'er other toiling men : their roads were lined With works that seemed to live and move ; the draught Of glory was full deep. For lore Acquired in guileless wisdom finds a vast increase. Men's olden legends tell, When Zeus and all the immortals made pretence Among themselves the earth for evermore Divisible To make, that Rhodos' cliffs were not defined Above the waves, but hid from sight and sense Below the briny seas. 45 But no one pointed out the share Of HeHos far away : They left without his lot of earth The spotless god. He bore in mind The slight ; and Zeus, if he had had his say, Had cast the lots afresh ; but Helios dechned. " Where hoar the billows are, Uprising from the depths to birth 1 see an isle," he said, " Where soon shall grow a race of manly worth. And countless flocks of sheep be fed." Then golden-snooded Lachesis He bade stretch out her hand To ratify the mighty oath Of all the gods, and nod unfeigned Assent to Kronos' son, that this new land Emerging into lustrous air, while earth remained, Should evermore be his. She did his bidding nothing loth : The words at that dread sign Had end in true performance. From the froth Of clinging saturating brine 46 An island blossomed. He whom piercing rays Proclaim their kindred's sire Owned it, the lord who has the mastery Of steeds whose breath is e'en as scorching fire. And there in Rhodos' soft embrace Seven sons he gat with gifts of wisest thought endowed, Amongst the men of yore, For their inheritance : in after days To one Jalysus, eldest of his race, Kydippe bore, Kameirus next, then Lindus. These in three Their father's land dividing, went their ways And each his own abode Called by his name. There sweet amends For sorry hap in life. As to a god, is offered now To Tiryns' prince Tlepolemus With sacrifice of sheep and manly strife. And there Diagoras was twice victorious ; Where Isthmus seaward trends Four times ; where Nemea's olives grow Twice running he has ta'en The crown ; and where from her steep mountain-brow Athene gazes on the main. 47 The Argive shield his grasp has known : And Thebes, and Arcady, The yearly games Boiotians hold, Pellene too, his peerless fame Have echoed back : Aigina's victory Six times he won : the tale of him is still the same On Megara's graven stone. Zeus father, who does guard the wold Of Atabyrius' height, The customary hymn in honour hold That celebrates Olympia's fight, And him whose goodly fist has gained the prize. And modest reverence From fellow-townsmen and from strangers grant To him : for aye a foe to insolence He treads his honest path : for he Has throughly learned the truths that from good ancestors Have gro\vn within his soul. Kallianax's seed from kindred eyes Hide not away. Whene'er the Eratidse Are graced, the whole City with festive cheer is jubilant. But oft while sunshine still illumes the skies The rising tempest roars. 48 8. Co §.lhrmeb0ii oi %xcpim. Mother of contests crowned with crowns of gold, Mistress of Truth, All hail ! Olympia, where the prophet-priests of sooth Around the burning victim stand. Intent to find Some index of the mind Of Zeus, who holds the vivid levin in his hand ; If he have word of them whose souls are manned Thy wreath to win, and rest from labours manifold. And answer oft rewards the piety Of them that pray. Thou leafy grove of Pisa nigh Alpheius' spray This masque and show in gracious mood Accept; for great Is always his estate, Who wins thy splendid prize of manly hardihood. 49 Yet not to all men comes the selfsame good. The gods have many paths to reach prosperity. And thee, Timosthenes, thy fate Assigned to tutelary Zeus, and he, Who in the Nemean ring gave thee renown, Now to Alkimedon By Kronos' mountain-crest allots Olympia's crown. Right fair to look upon He was, nor have his deeds his looks beUed, When in his wrestle's victory He named Aigina's isle his native state, Whose long oars sweep the sea. Where saviour Themis stranger-shielding Zeus beside Sits in exceeding worship. What is much, And is inclined In many ways, 'tis hard to judge with righteous mind And opportune. Yon little land Amid the brine By some decree divine Was set, a blessed column of defence to stand For every stranger. Oh ! may heaven command That through the time to come it still may aye be such. 50 By Dorians held since death the sceptre broke Of Aiakus ; WTiom Leto's Phoibos and Poseidon glorious Summoned, when they on Ilium To rear were bent A crown of battlement, To help them build the wall. For cruel wars would come, And 'midst the city-sacking battle's hum Its stones, so Fate had willed, must breathe devouring smoke. There three gray dragons at a tower, When first 'twas builded, leapt : whereof the twain Fell back and yielded up in dire alarm Their souls at once : the third Passed hissing in. Apollo marked the sign of harm, And straight took up the word Of warning, " Hero, where those hands of thine Have wrought shall Pergamus be ta'en. So speaks the hostile portent of this hour To me in language plain. Sent here by Kronos' son, the thunderer divine. Yet not without the aid of thy descent All this shall be : 51 Thy very children of the first and fourth degree Shall lead the foe." He spake, and sought His Xanthus' banks, And th' Amazonian ranks Well-horsed, and Istros ; whilst the trident-wielder brought Their fellow here to Isthmus' ridge sea-wrought, — • And fast the golden steeds that drew his chariot went, — And Corinth's precipice, his famous feast To witness there. Nothing to all men seems in equal manner fair. Should I in song rehearse the praise Melesias From beardless striplings has, Her ruthless stone against me let not Envy raise. Like honour, I declare, in former days In Nemea's lists he gained, and later pancratist Was hailed where grown men strove. The man Who once himself has learned, more easily Can teach : to shirk instruction marks the fool : For inexperience Is light of heart, but they whose selves have been to school Have better competence D 52 1 o point the method which may best advance Him, who the proud celebrity Is fain t'achieve of wreaths Olympian. Melesias, for thee The thirtieth honour this, Alkimedon's good chance. Favoured by luck divine, yet not deprived Of manliness, Four young competitors his blows' terrific stress Sent hating their abasement home, With shame-tied tongue To live unknown to song : And in his father's sire new vigour caused to come. Wherewith to combat eld and brave the tomb. He seldom thinks on death who pleasantly has lived. But sleeping Memory I must arouse To tell the tale. How aye the Blepsiad race was wonted to prevail : For whom with conquest surfeited The sixth green crown Of contest is put down. And part of their renown to those to Hades sped Is duly given. Dust hides not from the dead 53 The cherished honours gained by scions of their house. So when he hears the joyful tale From Gossip, Hermes' daughter eldest-born, Will Iphion Kallimachus advise How Zeus upon their seed Has just conferred the world-renowned Olympic prize. So ever meed to meed Still let him add, and sharp diseases fend ! I iDray of their prosperity He bid not adverse Nemesis avail ; But that their city he May with themselves exalt in peace until the end ! 54 9- C0 (2E|jl^armosfus of #pous. Archilochus's strain, Olympia's song, The shout of ' Conquering Hero ' thrice renewed, Sufficed for Epharmostus, when Before the friendly train He led the revels Kronos' hill along. But now with mightier dart Sped from the distance-killing bow-string of thy Muse, Approach, my heart, The solemn throne of Zeus Who hurls the levin red as blood, And yonder sacred mountain-peak the pride Of Elis' country-side Acquired by Peleus, erst the flower Of Lydia's men. His bride Hippodameia's fairest wedding dower. 55 Then loose thine arrow's wing So sharp and sweet At Pytho. Lay not hold of words that bend Earthward, when thou preparest to wake Thy cittern's quivering To hail the man who rival wrestlers beat, The son of great Opous ; Mingling his praise with hers, whom Law, and Ordinance Her glorious Daughter, — so fell the chance, — With saving presence aye defend. And nigh Kastalia's fount in fame she grows, And where Alpheius flows, Whence primest garlands brought of late More honoured make The forest-shaded mother-town of Lokris' state. And I, for fain I am the town I love With burning song to cause to shine. Swifter than noble steed or winged ship can move Will blazon east and west and south and north This joyous rede : If by the hand of Destiny The Graces' chosen garden-close be mine. 56 For theirs is every pleasant meed. 'Tis only heaven's decree That mortal men endues with wisdom or with worth. Else how had Herakles His cudgel whirled In triumph o'er the trident, when before His Pylos' walls Poseidon fought And gave him little ease ; When Phoibos, silver-bowed and golden-curled, In battle pressed him hard ; While Hades shook in wrath that dread mysterious rod. Wherewith toward The hollow pathway trod By all the dead in years of yore He guides the newly-slain. My mouth, refrain Thy words : so rash a strain Abjure : the lore that gods decries Is ruin-fraught ; And boasts inopportune with madness harmonize. Such babble put thou down : And let alone All strife and warfare of the deathless ones. 57 Attune thy tongue to celebrate Protogeneia's town, Where by command of Zeus Deukalion And Pyrrha, from the crest Of cold Parnassus coming, made their first abode Wherein to rest. And rear a race that owed Its origin to fleshless stones And not to nature, telling in its name The source from which it came. For these song's speeding breath upraise : And ancient date For wine, for minstrel's work the newest blossoms praise. Once on a time, they say, the mighty force Of waters deluged sombre earth ; But through the Thunderer's skill back to its briny source Was driven to make precipitate retreat. And thence descent Your brazen-shielded sires could trace From old lapetus, whose blood at birth With all the noblest ichor blent Of Kronos' heavenly race : A constant line of kings in their ancestral seat. 58 Before Olympus' lord Unhindered caught Opous' fair daughter from th' Epeian land Up to the ridge of Mainalus ; And there upon the sward Enjoyed her charms, and her to Lokrus brought, Lest age should slay him, bare Of children, doomed to die alone. The wife in time A sturdy heir Brought forth ; with joy sublime The son committed to his hand Lokrus beheld ; and 'twas by his desire That for his mother's sire They called the child ; to manhood grown, A marvellous Hero in look and deed : to whom his folk and town His father gave in charge. To him a host From Argos, and from Thebes, and Arcady, And Pisa gathered : every guest With bounty free and large He welcomed, but Menoitius honoured most Of all the stranger band ; 59 The child of Aktor and Aigina, whose one son, When Teuthras' land Th' Atreidae reached, alone Stood with Achilles manfully, When Telephus repulsed the Danaan trooijs Home to their galleys' poops ; To show the wise what courage fired Patroklus' breast. Whenceforth the hero born of Thetis' womb required That never 'midst the cruel battle's roar Patroklus should consent to stand Save where Achilles swayed his conquering spear before. Borne in the Muses' car a nobler lay 'Twere mine to make, Full power with courage following. But for Lampromachus I sought this land. For valour's and his friendship's sake His Isthmian wreaths to sing, Where either held the lists through all one livelong day. And two successes more At Corinth's gate \Vere theirs, and oft was Kpharmostus' head 6o In Nemea's valley crowned : a boy Proud Athens' bays he wore ; Triumphed a man at Argos. Oh ! how great His honours bourgeoned, when Leaving the beardless crowd of youths at Marathon To rival men The silver cup he won ! With never-stumbling, stealthy, tread And nimble turn he passed his elders by ; And oh ! with such a cry — The course completed — took his meed ; Radiant with joy, Bright with the bloom of youth, and fair with fairest deed ! And 'mongst Parrhasia's throng How wondrous fair He showed him at Lykaian Zeus's feast, And at Pellene, when his corse He mantled with the strong Warm remedy for winter's chilly air. And lolaiis' tomb, Seabeat Eleusis too, for witnesses have seen His laurels bloom. Whate'er is best, I ween, 6i Is nature's work ; yet some at least Of men by taught accomplishments acquire The glory they desire : But what is done apart from God 'Twere none the worse To leave unhymned to silence. 'Tis not every road That leads an equal length ; nor thrive we all By one pursuit ; yea learning's hill Is steep to climb. But since to grace this festival Thou bring'st thine offering, sweet Muse of mine, Be bold and cry, That he with strength of hand was blest And supple limbs from birth by heaven's will, And courage flashing from his eye, Who late at Aias' feast Oileus' honours gained, and crowned the hero's shrine. 62 :o. Co gicfisttiamus oi dBpi^cp^griait 'gohm. There is a time when men stand most in need Of breezes fair; a time when most for rains they Ion Cloud's stormy children : but by toil if one succeed He finds his recompense in dulcet song, The source of future tales, the faithful augury Of fame that ever waits on mighty deeds gone by. And these ungrudged songs of praise are given To all Olympia's victors : these my tongue to tend Is fain, as shepherds tend their flocks, for aye from heaven The blooms of poet-lore to men descend. Know then, Agesidamus, yea, be well assured. Son of Archestratus, thy prowess has secured, Besides the golden olive's diadem, A crown of honied song which I will weave, 63 Regardful of the race of Lokrians of the West. Then haste, ye Muses, haste, to lead with them The revels : I will guarantee No stranger-hating people ye shall find, No dullard folk of brutish mind. But shall a highly-cultured race of warriors see : For never fiery fox nor roaring lion leave The characters by Nature's hand imprest. 64 I r, ^0 g^gestbamus of ^pt^epljnrmn lohris. Oh ! read me where within my wit The name of him who won Olympia's bough, Archestratus's son, is writ ; For erst I promised him the sweet reward of song. And now too long My promise have forgotten. Gentle Muse, and thou, Great Zeus's daughter, Truth, from Pindar fend The blame of having lied and wronged a friend. With shame of all my depth of debt The days then future, now left far behind, Come up to cover me : and yet Vantage of interest may cancel slander's score. Wlien billows hoar Roll backward, who may some far- whirling pebble find? And where will be the people's carping mood When payment whelms reproach in gratitude? 65 For Justice over Western Lokris sways The rod of honest rule : her people cultivate Kalliope and brass-clad Ares. Rumour says That e'en the wondrous thews of Herakles Were foiled at first by Kyknus. Thanks for help so great To Has let Agesidamus, decorate With Pisa's boxers' chaplet, give as gave Patroklus to Achilles. Prodigies Heaven's hand with training works in one by nature brave. But few except with toil attain That gladness which can most a life illume. The oracles of Zeus constrain Me now to hymn the strife of all the strifes beside The chiefest pride, Which stalwart Herakles nigh Pelops' ancient tomb, Established, when his strong right hand had slain Fair Kleatus and Eurytus, the twain Sons of Poseidon : so to get His labour's wage from haughty Augeas, Bent to exact the scouted debt. So in a coppice dense beneath Kleonas's gate He lay in wait, 66 And suddenly o'ercame them in the way ; whereas Ambushed in EHs' mountain-passes they Had once his Tiryns' army made their prey ; O'erweening offspring of Mohone ! And very soon the Epeians' guest-defrauding king Beheld his country, rich with long prosperity, And his own city, sinking in the stream Of such calamity as sword and fire may bring When foemen smite and spare not. 'Tis no easy thing Strife with a stronger force to set aside : And Augeas, misled by folly's dream, Knew first the captive's chains, and then dishonoured died. To Pisa then the mighty son Of Zeus his booty brought and all his train : And for his sire, the peerless one, A holy precinct measured out, and fenced around In open ground Our consecrated Altis, and the circled plain To rest and feasting after toil assigned : And dark Alpheius' stream in honour joined WitlT the twelve sovereign gods ; and bade 6; Men call the steep by Kronos' name, that erst Had borne on an untitled head, The while Oinomaiis reigned, the snowy winter gear Of many a year. And when these solemn rites by him were stablished first The Fates were stationed at the founder's side, And he by whom alone the Truth is tried, Unerring Time : who now in later days, How Herakles the first-fruits won in war among The gods in sacrifice distributed, displays : And how for every fifth recurring year He organized the first Olympic feast with song; And valour s prizes gave amid th' assembled throng. In wrestling, running, racing, tell me who Conceived in thought the wish away to bear The contest's[_fame, and gained by deed the garlands too. Oionus first, Lykymnius' son. From Midea came — her army's chief — and he With ease the furlong footrace won : In wrestling Echemus the honours of the brave To Tegeii gave : And where the pugilists encountered, victory E 6cS Fell to Doryklus, who of Tiryns' land Was denizen ; widi horses four-in-hand The son of Halirrhothius, Samus from Mantineia, bore away The prize : with spear victorious Phrastor the target struck : Enikeus put the stone Far off alone With skilful twist of hand ; a long and loud hurrah His backers raised. And fair Selene's ray With lovely light lit up the dying day. Then all the sacred field was flooded o'er With song at gladsome feasts according to the use Of Pisa's country-side. And we the ways of yore Will follow now ] the hymn of victory We too will raise ; and we the olden theme will choose, The fiery-handed levin hurled by thundering Zeus, The burning bolt that fits his boundless might : Whilst with the dulcet reed in harmony Soft notes of song shall wake the echoes of the night ; Song that by Dirke fair of fame Sees light at last though all too long delayed. And as a son to bear his name 69 Born of his wife, the child of long cand fond desire, With love's sweet fire An aged father's bosom warms ; — for wealth uplaid For a strange lord of alien ancestry Is bitterness to one who soon must die ; — So he who noble deeds has wrought. But comes to Hades' gloomy home unsung. Has spent his days in toil for nought Save momentary joy ; but now the sweet-toned lute And dulcet flute, Agesidamus, honour's prize to thee have flung. And wide-spread fame your favour companies, Zeus' gifted daughters, fair Pierides ! • And I my hearty zeal with theirs combine Illustrious Lokris' state with warm embrace to greet. Steeping in honied praise her children's noble line : Archestratus' belovM son elate To praise, whom I beheld beside the holy seat Of great Olympia's god in pugilistic feat Succeed ; who fair in face as brave in deed Had then the bloom of youth, which shameless Fate Erewhile, with Kypris' aid, repelled from Ganymede. 70 12. C0 ^rc[oleIc5 of Dimcra. I PRAY thee, child of Freedom-giving Zeus, Protecting Fortune, keep Good watch o'er Himera's strong walls ; for thine the hand Across the pathless deep That guides the course of winged ships ; on land That sudden wars controls, and rules deliberate Councils of state. For human hope unreal phantasies pursues, Now tossing high, now low, athwart the waves of Fate. Nor ever presage true of future fare Did one of mortal kind Find from the gods. Their hints of coming destinies To us are always blind ; And expectation oft event belies. Without a note of warning unalloyed delight 71 Will take her flight : And they, whose barque the storm has sorely tried, despair Exchange in little time for joy's supremest height. Son of Philenor, e'en thy speed of foot. Like barndoor cock that only fights at home, Had perished fameless, void of fruit, Beside thy native hearth, had no sedition come And set thy Knossus' citizens at strife And robbed thee of thy home and ease. But now thy forehead wears Olympia's crown ; iVnd, Pythian garlands twice, Ergoteles, And Isthmian won, thou liftest to renown The Nymphs' hot baths, where thou dost lead thy farmer's life. 72 i3- Ccr feitopljon of Conntlj. While I extol the family Whose temples Pisa's wreaths have thrice been seen to twine, To townsmen kind, to strangers generous. My song shall celebrate Corinth the prosperous, Isthmic Poseidon's gate, Far-famed for children fair. There Order loves to bide With two twin sisters — safe foundations of the state — Justice and Peace, who wealth to man divide ; The golden progeny Of one who never errs in council, Right divine. And Peace and Justice love to fend Presumption, loud-mouthed mother of Satiety. An honourable tale is mine to tell ; And honest hardihood My tongue would fain impel 7o To speak. What in the blood Is born, 'tis vain to strive to cover. Oft on you, Aletes' sons, the flowery Seasons have bestowed The glory sacred games on might of thew Confer, within your mind Oft sowed the seed of ancient ingenuity. The merit of device Is his alone Who first conceived it. Tell me, then, from whence appeared The joyous feast of Dionyse With bullock-guerdoned dithyramb ? and who His chariot first with reined and bitted horses drew? Or on th' immortals' temples reared The king of birds in double shape of stone ? The Muses too Here sweetly breathe ; and Ares here Beholds with glee the lads who wield the deadly spear. O father Zeus, whose boundless sway Unrivalled rules Olympia, aye ungrudging be To these my hymns, this people at their ease Preserve, and waft thou on With favourable breeze /' The barque of Xenophon. For him the chant, that lauds his prowess' meed, receive, Which he from Pisa's plain is bringing, having won The wreaths that foot-race and pentathlon give, And both within one day : No mortal e'er before had such prosperity. And chaplets wove of parsley twain His tresses covered when to Isthmus' games he sped ; And Nemea utters no discordant sound. Alpheius' stream beside The legends still abound For what a light, swift, stride His father Thessalus was known. At Pytho he In single course and double e'er the daylight died Triumphed : with three fair wreaths of victory. Before one moon could wane. His locks swift-footed Day at Athens garlanded. Hellotis' feast seven times Beheld him win ; And Vvhere Poseidon's course on either hand the sea Assails, embalmed in grander rhymes With Terpsias' and Eritimus' name, 75 His father Ptoiodorus, on the scroll of fame Inscribed, shall ever deathless be. 1 dare the world to tell how often in The Delphian game And Lion's close the bell ye bore. 'Twere easier to count the stones on ocean's shore. But everything has fitting bound, AVhich only the best time reveals. To themes of state, Chanting the prowess of the dead, when I A private man proceed, In nothing will I lie Concerning Corinth's meed, Famous for wisdom as for warfare. There was bred Wise Sisyphus whose craft the gods could not exceed ; And there, against her father's bidding wed, Medeia came, who found Escape for Argo's keel and saved her living freight. And when by force before the walls Of Dardanus the armies thought on either side To end the war ; — with Atreits' kindly son One bent to bring again Sweet Helen home ; and one 76 To rid their native plain Of foreign foes ;— the Danaan chieftains shook to see Glaukus from Lykia come. " A very wide domain Beside Peirene's city," boasted he, " And royal banquet halls Were once my father's own, and kingship far and wide." He by the fountain-head Intent to break The snaky-tressed Gorgon's offspring Pegasus, Had oft ill-hap encountered; Ere to his side the maiden Pallas went Bearing a bridle trapped with gold. His dreams were spent At once in vision. " Sleep'st thou thus Prince sprung from Aiolus," the goddess spake, "Arise attent. Take this to spell yon stallion's fire, A white bull slay, and show this to thy taming sire." Sleeping he saw at midmost night The Virgin of the deep blue shield come near and speak These words. At once he leapt upon his feet ; The marvel by his side Took up, and glad as fleet 77 In happy hurry hied To seek his country's seer, old Koiranos's son, And show him all his chance, and how at eventide, As he had bid, the goddess' steps upon He slept, and in his sight The maiden bom of Zeus, whose wrath the thunders wTeak, Produced the soul-subduing gold. And Polyidus bade him instantly fulfil The vision ; to the earth-en compasser The strong-foot's neck to lift In sacrifice, and her, Equestrian Pallas, gift With altar new. Beyond man's utmost hope or vow The potent arm of heaven has often raised his thrift. And round the winged horse's muzzle now Bellerophon the bold The taming spell applied, and joyed to see his will By such a steed obeyed. Triumphantly He mounted him, and ail his paces sportive tried. In brazen coat of mail arrayed. With him the Amazonian ranks he fought 78 Of female archers from the airs bare bosom fraught With icy blasts : before him died Chimaira breathing flame : the Solymi By him were brought To nought. His fate unsung I leave : The ancient stalls of Zeus on high the horse receive. But whilst my whirling darts I reach Straight at the mark, I must not all my strength of thew Misuse, the many far beyond to throw. For it has been my fate Right willingly to go, The Muses throned in state And Oligaithus' stalwart offspring vowed to aid, To Isthmus and to Nemea. Still I will relate Much in a tale as short as may be made. Full sixty times at each, — The herald's welcome voice shall be my witness true,-- They won. In Pisa what their fare Has been already told, methinks. What yet shall be I then will clearly tell ; at present I But hope ; with those above The future issues lie. 79 Would that the kindly love That guarded all their race may further persevere ! To Zeus and Ares this we leave the task to prove. How often on Parnassus' brow, and near Argos, and Thebes ; and where Lykaios' kingly shrine shall bear to Arcady Witness ; at Sikyon, Pellene too, Eleusis, Megara, the well-defended grove Of Aiakus ; rich Marathon, Euboia ; 'midst the towns that 'neath the crest Of Etna thrive in beauty ; they have been confessed Unmatched ! Their crowns though Hellas rove To count ; they beggar knowing. Monarch, who Canst grant request, Smooth passage give o'er life's rough sea, And temper triumph's sweet delights with modesty. 80 1 4- C0 §^S0pkIjit5 0f @rtlj0imnus« Ye graces three, Ye queens of minstrels' singing, who frequent The charger-breeding lands of fat Orchomenus That has her lot beside Kephisus' waters clear, Ye warders of the olden Minyse, When I implore you, hear ! For yours is all delight. Yours all that renders life for mortals sweet or bright ; And if a man Be wise, or fair, or valorous. The gift is yours. Without your stately aid Nor solemn feasts nor blithesome dances can The gods immortal celebrate : But, stewards of the mysteries on high. Your seats in seemly state The golden-bowed Apollo, Pytho's lord, anigh Are evermore arrayed. 8i For hours in ceaseless praise of Zeus Olympic spent. O worshipful Aglaia and Euphrosyne, who love The sounds of song, ye daughters born to Zeus the king Of gods themselves, my invocation hear ; and thou, Thalia, who dost music's blossoms cull, On our procession now Look kindly as it goes To render thanks for good success on tripping toes. In Lydian style Asopichus I came to sing. Through thy deserts the Minyeian town Is hailed Olympia's winner. Haste the while. Echo, to reach the sable walls Where dwells Persephone ; his father tell. Whom Hades' converse calls Kleodamus, gladsome news, in Pisa's famous dell How his young son half-grown Her winged honours wreathed his flowing locks above. PYTHIAN ODES. H5 1- ^0 f)ma of Snracusc. My golden cittern, whom Apollo keeps In common with the raven-tressed Muses, thee, Beginner of the revelry, The dancers' step awaits ; the minstrel choir, When thy sweet strings' melodious quivering The prelude wake, thy signs inspire The hymn that ushers in the festival to sing. Zeus' pointed bolt of fire eternal thou in gloom Canst shroud ; the eagle on his sceptre sleeps, And lets his wide Pinions so swift of flight droop down on either side ; Of all the feathered kind Though he be lord. About his beaked head a cloud of sable night Thou sheddest ; o'er his orbs of sight 86- Spelled by thy sweep of song his eyelids close In pleasant slumber ; softly to and fro He sways his back in deep repose : Nay, headstrong Ares' self has oftentimes let go His lance's cruel point with sleep to glad his mind. To souls of gods thy missiles calm afford, With skill endued By Phoibos and the Muses' full-clad sisterhood. But whosoe'er Of Zeus's love have never had a share Are sore distressed To hear the cry of the Pierides . On land or midst the dark resistless seas. Like him who lies in baleful Tartarus, Typhoeus of the hundred heads, the deadly foe Of all the gods, whom erst Kilikia's famous cavern nursed : But now the sea-beat cliffs precipitous That frown o'er Cumee hold him down. And all Sikelia weighs upon his shaggy chest ; And Etna's pillar-peak that pierces air. With ice bestrown, The yearlong nurse of nipping snow : 87 From whose recesses jets The awesome flood Of fire that none may near ; and while the dayHght beams A cataract of smoke that gleams With lurid lights her torrents pour, but when The dusk of even falls, her blaze blood-red Rolls boulders huge each ragged glen Adown, to splash and sink in ocean's level bed. 'Tis yonder reptile born to lame Hephaistus lets These fountains forth. To all the neighbourhood A prodigy Of fear and wonder full he is to hear and see ; And how the plain between And Etna's crest Of dark-leafed forest he is chained, and all his back The torments of his bedding rack Laid out at length. O Zeus, I pray thee grant That I may find acceptance in thine eye ; Who lov'st this mountain-top to haunt, A fruitful country's front, whose namesake city nigh Her famous founder has bedecked with glory's sheen ; Since Pytho's herald on the course confessed Her honours thro' 88 The chariot-race's crown adjudged to Hiero. By those who sail Across the seas 'tis deemed of prime avail, When they begin A trip, to quit the port with breezes fair : For thus 'tis like that they will home repair With better luck : so in my song of praise For this success I fain would find an augury That many a future year, For steeds' victorious career And crowns and feasts and hymns that minstrels raise, Renown on Etna may attend. Oh ! Lykian Phoibos, Delos' king, delighting in Kastalia's fount in steep Parnassus' vale, Do thou befriend This noble land, and hear my plea. For human excellence From heaven derives All means of growth, and none, unless the gods assent, Is wise or strong or eloquent. And Hiero to laud is my intent ; So hope I that my missile may not fall 89 Without the hsts, as javeUn sent From whirling hand with cheek of brass, but distance all Opponents by its cast. Would heaven the affluence And gifts of wealth's increase wherein he lives May ne'er be less ; While Time of anguish past affords forgetfulness. Or brings to mind instead The memory How boldly in the stress of fight he held his own ; W1ien at the hands of gods a throne They gat, an honour such as Hellene ne'er May reap, the diadem of majesty And unexampled wealth to wear. And now forsooth in Philoktetes' fashion he Has gone to war, and one that held a haughty head Has found it need his flatterer to be. They say of yore The godlike heroes came from Lemnos' lonely shore The archer-son Of Poias, by his ulcer nigh undone, To fetch away ; Who wasted Priam's city, and at length 90 The Danaans' labours ended, poor of strength Although he went, for thus it was decreed. So may the healing god vouchsafe to Hiero In coming time to be, Granting him opportunity To gain whate'er his heart of hearts may need. Before Deinomenes upraise, Sweet Muse, the psean of the four-in-hands, I pray ; For children share the joy by father's won. Then bid our lays For Etna's sovereign friendly flow ; Since Hiero for him Resolved to rear That town in freedom 'neath the laws of Hyllus' rule. For in Aigimius' Doric school The sons of Pamphilus and Herakles — Who 'neath the slopes of wild Taygetus Are settled, dwelling at their ease — Have ever wished to bide. With fortune prosperous They quitted Pindus' clefts in ages distance-dim, Amykte gained, and dwelt in glory near The snowy steeds Of Leda's twins, abloom with fame of warlike deeds. 91 Grant, Zeus who hearest prayer, In years to come That kings and citizens by Amenanus' burn May truth from falsehood aye discern. Let Hiero a guiding-star arise His son to lead, his folk in honour hold, And both in quiet harmonize. I pray thee, Kronos' son, their warcry overbold Let not Phoinikian nor Tyrrhenian foemen dare To shout again, but keep them still at home, And ponder well The lamentable loss that all their fleet befell At Cumse when, By Syracuse's lord subdued, their men He bade to throw Forth from their speedy ships into the sea ; And from the heavy bonds of slavery All Hellas freed. From Salamis the fame Of Athens I will chant for meed ; the deadly fight At Sparta sing, that nigh Kithairon's heiglits was fought, whereby The Persian host of bent-bowed archers came To ruin ; while to laud the kin 92 Of great Deinomenes my hymn of praise shall flow Of deeds in Himera's well-watered glen Achieved, wherein Their enemies were put to flight. If at the season meet One lift his voice Twisting his many threads to one diminished strand, Less hard will be man's critic-brand Of blame ; for evermore satiety Tarnishes eager hopes : a townsman's ears Do ne'er so much in secrecy Weigh down his soul, as when a friend's success he hears. Yet pass not honours by, for envy is more sweet Than pity. Guide with honest helm the choice Of yonder throng : On Truth's good anvil forge the arrows of thy tongue. For if a syllable Of folly fall Out of thy mouth, 'tis deemed of moment, being thine : Thy every good or evil sign A host of trusty witnesses observe : Of many people thou hast stewardship. 93 Thy native bloom of heart preserve ; And if thou lovest to have thy praise on every lip Shrink not from spending : loose the sail that breezes swell, Like wary skipper. Be not snared withal By cozening cheats. 'Tis posthmnous renown that tongue to tongue repeats Alone may show, Dear friend, the life of mortals hence who go, By minstrelsy And story- tellers' faithful histories. The kindly worth of Kroisus never dies ; And Phalaris, of the burning brazen bull And cruel mind, has earned an infamous renown Wide as the world, and ne'er Do tuneful citterns let him share - Their joyance when the banquet-hall is full Of carols of the gentle train Of boys. The first of prizes is prosperity. The second good repute ; but he, below Who both may gain And keep, has won the highest crown. 94 2. C0 Mmo jof Snmcusc. O Syracuse, thou mighty capital, Domain of Ares deep in schemes of war, Thou nurse divine Of men and steeds that joy in brazen gear to shine. From wealthy Thebes I come To bear my sonnet home. That tells the triumph of the four-horse car Earth-shaking, well-appointed, wherewithal The crown, whose jewels glow The farthest, Hiero Round his Ortygia's head rejoiced to twine ; The seat of Artemis the river-maid, Without whose aid His gentle hands had striven in vain To tame the horses reined with many-coloured rein. For she, the arrow-loving maid, confers By help of Hermes, lord of every game, 95 With both her hands Effulgent graciousness on him ; with harness-bands When to the chariot gay And wheels that aye obey The rein he yokes his steeds of mighty frame ; And on the potent trident-brandisher's Assistance calls. The meed Of song for noble deed Of kingly worth for kings of other lands Have other poets fashioned. Kinyras Full often has His K}7irus' minstrelsy inspired ; The cherished priest of Aphrodite's altar, sired By golden-haired Apollo's tender love. For pious gratitude Repaying deeds of good Thereto impels. But thee, son of Deinomenes, The maiden sings in Lokris of the West Before her doors, for through thy power She dwells in safety at this hour, From helpless terrors freed of threatening enemies. Obeying the behest Of gods above, 96 Bound on his winged wheel, they say, That whirls for ever every way, Ixion cries to men, " Oh make it your delight Whoe'er to you is kind with kindness to requite." And dearly too the lesson he had learned : For when he lived with Kronos' gracious kin A life of bliss, The surfeit of success in pride he took amiss ; And madly passion-led Aspired to Hera's bed, The joyous bed that only Zeus may win. But insolence to guilt surpassing turned His heart, and speedily In matchless anguish he Met his deserts. A twofold crime was his That wrought the pains, which evermore accurst He bears : that first Of mortal race in kindred blood His hands, and not without deception, he imbrued ; And next that in her chambers vast and dim The bed-fellow of Zeus he durst assail. Sore need it is 97 That each should see the bounds of his capacities. For lawless marriage ties In ceaseless miseries Have often plunged their seeker. Hark the tale. A phantom of enjoyment cheated him ; For, knowing not his case, He clasped in love's embrace A cloud whose form assumed the symmetries Of Kronos' heaven-enthroned child. The wile Him to beguile The hands of Zeus contrived, and pain In beauty masked : and so Ixion gat a chain Through wheel-spokes four enwound for his despite ; A living death ; and there, In fetters he shall ne'er Escape, the message he received to bruit abroad. But she — no kindly Grace at hand appeared — A lonely son produced alone, A monstrous wight, who never shone In company with man nor feared the laws of God ; But by his mother reared, Kentaurus hight. With wild Magnetian mares would lie 98 On Pelion's wooded spurs, whereby A wondrous army sprang to life, whose figures show Both parents' likeness, sire's above, and dam's below. God to accomplishment alone can bring His every hope ; god, who can overtake The eagle's wing, And pass the dolphin by when fastest traversing The ocean's vast expanse, And human arrogance Can humble in the dust, and others make For ever famous. Fain would I the sting Of deadly slander flee. For I have seen, though he Died long ago, how oft to wandering His evil -speaking drove censorious Archilochus, Battened on bitter words of hate. Where wealth and wisdom meet is man's most blest estate. And such a lot, illustrious prince, is thine, In thoughts of liberality displayed ; Whose sovereign sway Many a host and well-embattled town obey. 99 And if it be averred That Hellas ever heard Of hero in the olden days, arrayed In wealth and honours that would thee outshine, Such vain contention is But utter foolishness. My galley flower-decked I'll mount to-day Chanting thy excellences. Courage rife For battle strife Becomes a youth ; and I declare Of such distinction thou hast found a boundless share j Now in the ranks where rival chariots strove, 'Mid serried footmen now. And smooth although thy brov/ Thy counsels that might suit with grizzled tresses free My path from danger when thy praise I sing. Then hail ! Across the hoary sea This festive lay I send to thee Like merchandize of some Phoinikian argosy. Be willing, gracious king, To meet with love My gift of Kastorean words, Set to Aiolian music's chords, G lOO For this my seven-toned cittern's sake ; and be \Miat thou hast learned thou art. Let children beauty see In monkey-tricks, and shout their loud ' huzzas ' : But Rhadamanthus lasting happiness Has gained, for he Possessed a spirit void of all iniquity. And ne'er delighted in Deceptions from within, Such as are born of whisperers' finesse. The secret tales of slanderers, alas ! Are double-edged for ill, Like foxes' natures. Still What gains this gainsayer's malignity ? Though sunken all the fishing-gear may be Deep in the sea, Yet like the cork above the net I float upon the waves, and am not even wet. A fraudful townsman's word must ever lack \^'eight with the good. Yet fawning everywhere He'll surely try Each cunning twist he knows. \ot such an one am I In impudence. I love lor To friends a friend to prove : A foe to foes, I hold it not unfair Now here now there by crooked patlis to trnck Their feet in wolfish guise. The man who always tries Straightforwardly to act, and hates a lie, Advances every rule ; or be it thrall Monarchical, Or clamorous mob-government, Or wise men's statesmanship. 'Tis well to rest content With God's decision, who will now uplift The one, and by-and-bye Superiority To others give. But this arrangement pleasures nauglit The jealous souls : their vast ambitions draw Too long a line, and in their heart Plant many a wound of painful smart, Ere they attain the end of all their anxious thouglit. The yoke of present law As heaven's gift To bear as lightly as he can About his neck is best for man. 'Tis slippery travelling to kick against the goad. Welcome amongst the good be ever my abode 1 102 3- (Lo IJiero of Snratusf. Oh would to heaven, If my poor voice may speak the common tongue's refrain, Life from the dead were given To Cheiron son of Philyre, Ouranian Kronos' mighty seed, Amongst the glades of Pelion again In majesty to reign ; A wildwood brute to look upon indeed. But souled with all a man's humanity ; Such as he was when he of old Asklejiius nursed. Soft anodynes' kind author, first To give relief to pain's severest smart And bid disease depart. Him ere the child Of Phlegyas the horseman bore, her latest throe Assisted by the mild 103 Midwifely Eileithuia, she Went, — on her bed of travail slain By shafts from Artemis's golden bow, — To Hades' home below : Apollo planned her end. The enmity Of Zeus's children never wakes in vain. And she in waywardness had slighted him, and wed Another suitor, though her bed Without her father's knowledge she had shared With Phoibos flowing-haired, And bare his fruit divine within her womb. Yet chose she not the festival to wait That welcomes new-wed brides, nor list the mingled cry Of hymeneal revelry, Which comrade maidens of a like estate With serenade delight to come And carol when the sun is set : But craved a something lacking yet. Not seldom thus it is : There is a tribe of men that scoff At present good and peer far off In search of future bliss ; Insensate fools, who hunt with zeal 104 And hopes that no fruition feel Unreal phantasies ! And such a blind O'erpowering spirit of bewilderment possessed Fair-robed Koronis' mind. A stranger came from Arcady ; And she to his soliciting Gave ear : the sin was not without attest ; For at his own behest Great Loxias himself, her temple's king, At sheep-receiving Pytho chanced to be ; And from his fellow true, his own prophetic soul Omniscient, he learned the whole ; Who never lies, whom never god nor man Deceives in act or plan. Where Ischy.s, son Of Eilatus, had lain when he became aware ; And how the wrong was done By fraud, his sister dread, with wrath Resistless boiling o'er, he sent To Lakereia. For the girl did bide Boibiis' banks beside. I05 Another god procured her punishment, Turning her footsteps to an evil path. And many of her neighbours shared her tate, and died With her ; as on the mountain side Fire from a single spark has oft been known To burn a forest down. l>ut when her kinsmen on the wooden wall The damsel laid, and all around it shone Hephaistus' greedy fire with many a leap and jet, Then spake Apollo, " I not yet Have heart to bear that offspring of my own So piteous ending shall befall. Because his hapless mother died." He spoke. With one tremendous stride The blazing pyre he clomb ; The flames to either side were cleft, As quick the babe unborn he reft From his dead mother's womb : Whom to the Kentaur straight he bore To Thrace, to learn the healing lore That rescues from the tomb. There all who came — io6 Though long companionship with sores self-nurtured Had gnawed away their frame, Or cold gray steel, or massive stone Had struck by some far slinger slung, Or summer's heat or damps by winter shed Their strength had minished — This way and that he rid of pain ; he sung Soft strains of incantation over one, Gave others soothing draughts, and healing salves around The aching limbs of others bound ; And some whose wounds were quite incurable He made by cutting well. But evil greed Of gain has captive made even Philosophy. And for a mighty meed E'en him did proffered gold persuade From Hades' realm to bring again A man whom Death had ta'en. But .speedily His bolt of destiny The son of Kronos hurled with might and main Through both their breasts, and took their breath, and dead Bright lightning healer laid and healed. At heaven's hand No mortal e'er should more demand lO/ Than mortal heart befits ; the fact should see, And what is our degree. Affect not, sweet my soul, in froward pride A life that knows no end, but manfully Do what thou find'st to hand. If prudent Cheiron dwelt Still in his cave, and I could melt His heart with honied hymns' soft melody, I now had won him to provide Some son of Phoibos or his sire For godly folk to cool the fire Of fever's suffering ; Who dark Ionia's boisterous sea In swiftest barque should cross with me To cure my friend the king, A\'ho reigns in Etna's citadel, Beneath whose walls the waters well From Arethusa's spring. Right royally His Syracuse he rules, to all her citizens Full of benignity : Not envying good men's renown. To strangers kind as sire to son. io8 Could I have come empowered to dispense The double recompense Of golden health and song of prizes won At Pytho, adding splendour to the crown At Kirrha gained by Pherenikus' victory ; Then over yon abyss of sea More radiant had my coming's brightness been Than heaven's starry sheen. But I will pray The Mother whom, with Pan, the maids before my door Address in night-long lay, The solemn goddess. Hiero, If thou hast skill to read aridit O The sum of saws, thou knowest well of yore From wise men gone before The deathless ones on mortals in their spite One benefit are wonted to bestow For two mishaps ; and fools this limited success Can hardly bear with seemliness : The good know better, making it their pride To show the brighter side. Thee happy fates attend : for greatness aye 109 Looks on a king who guides his people's choice ]\Iore than on other folk. But bliss without a flaw Nor Aiakus' son Peleus saw, Nor godlike Kadmus, by the common voice Though happiest of men were they ; Who heard the Muses sing upon The wooded sides of Pelion With golden-snooded head, And seven-gated Thebes within : Where one was blest enough to win For partner of his bed Harmonia of the splendid eyes ; And one the child of Nereus wise, Illustrious Thetis, wed. • With both of them The gods had feasted : both the progeny had seen Of Kronos' royal stem King-like on golden thrones present Their wedding-gifts. From labours past They rested, and they made their hearts serene Through grate of Zeus : but teen Most sharp a little later overcast And robbed of all his share of merriment no The one, through sore mishaps that all his daughters three Involved in sorest misery — 'Twas father Zeus himself who visited White-armed Thyone's bed. — The other's child, In Phthia whom immortal Thetis bore alone, When by the arrow stilled His spirit fled amid the war. Wrung, as he burned upon the pyre, From Hellas' host an universal moan. But if a man have known The way of truth, he still should more desire That, heaven may prosper him. Inconstant are The breathings of the winds that sport beneath the sky ; And thus with man's felicity, When most the tide is running full and strong It will not tarry long. Lowly in lowly case, and great in great, Will I be. I will alway reverence The fortune that attends me most religiously AVith all my means ; but, if to mc The gods should ample store of wealth dispense, 1 1 1 (lood hope have I that decorate Witli high renown my name will go To after folk. We Nestor know, Lykian Sarpedon too, By tales in sounding song set forth Which skilful wrights have fashioned. Wonh Becomes eternal through Illustrious poesy. But they Who thus achieve an easy way To glory are but few. 112 4- ^0 l^rhcsilas of JUm'cnc. A cherished friend to-day Thou must arouse thee to attend, my Muse, Well-horsed Kyrene's king; That with Arkesilas's revelling Thou mayest speed upon its way The gladsome breath of sacred carol due To Leto's children two, And Pytho, where the priestess erst, Who sits beside the golden birds of Zeus, While Phoibos stood anigh, proclaimed that Battus first Should fruitful Libya colonize, And quit his holy isle, and bid a town. Whose charioteers should gain a glorious renown, Above her chalky hill arise : And brought to mind again, When generations seventeen were gone, 113 The word Medeia spake At Thera, when Aietes' daughter brake Her silence in a deathless strain. Thus Kolchis' fiery princess cried unto Warlike lason's crew Of sailor demirads, " Ye seed / Of gods, and men of mettle ever)' one, Hearken ! From this seabeaten land it is decreed That in the days to come shall rise A child of EpajDhus, a daughter fair, To plant the germ of towns adorned with human care Within Zeus-Ammon's boundaries. Short-finned dolphins there They shall exchange for horses fleet, for oars Shall handle reins, and chariots drive \Vhbse wheels shall thunderous be as whirlwind-storm. That this shall be their fare, And Thera shall the mother city be Of many a powerful colony, That omen is the pledge which, where the lake out-pours For Triton named, the god in human form Was resolute to give ; The clod, which from his prow as host-gift to receive 114 Euijhenius lighted down, and such good hap Zeus, Kronos' son, affirmed with kicky thunderclap. / Just as the sailors weighed The anchor cheeked with brass, quick Argo's bit, He came beside. Before For twelve long days our ship from Ocean's shore We carried, v/here no grateful shade Earth's desert ridges tempered. — This design To beach our craft was mine. — 'Twas then the lonely god appeared, His form and every feature shaped to fit The semblance bright of one whom all of us revered ; And some few friendly words addressed To usward, such as hosts benevolent Who make a feast are wont to speak of kind intent To every fresh-arriving guest. But our unfeigned picas Of eagerness to reach our own sweet home Precluded stay : then he Eurypylus professed himself to be, Son of divine Ennosides The earth-encircler. He could understand 1 1 Our haste. With his right hand He grasped at once a kimp of clay Where he was standing, as it chanced to come, And friendly sought to give it : not to say him Nay Euphemus straightway leapt ashore, And hand from hand received the clod divine. Which from our ship, I hear, was washed, and in the brine Was whelmed amid the billows hoar. At dusk of eventide It happened in the watery main to sink. Yet oft had I on all enjoined, Who shared my toils, to guard the treasure well : My care was nullified By their neglect. And now th' immortal seed Of boundless Libya, ere 'twas need. Bestrews this isle. For if at home, by Hades' brink. To Tainarus' god-guarded citadel The clod had been consigned By him the ocean-king of steed-subduing mind Poseidon gat, Euphemus, whom of yore Europa, Tityos' child, beside Kephissus bore ; His sons of fourth degree H ii6 Had with their Danaan kindred occupied That wide-spread continent. For then had happed a vast self-banishment From Lakedaimon's chieftaincy, And from Mykenai, and from Argos' bay. But now, alack the day, In foreign arms he must beget A chosen race who, when they shall have hied God-helped to Thera's isle, in ages distant yet Shall sire the man predestinate To lord it o'er the plains of sable cloud ; Whom Phoibos in his house with wealth of gold endowed Shall warn in oracles of fate At once from Pytho's shrine To go, and afterwards his host in ships To lead across the sea To Kronian Neilus' fertile boundary.'' Such, slowly uttered line by line. Was dread Medeia's prophecy ; and they, The demi-gods, her lay Of lore sagacious moveless heard, And held their breath in awe with silent lips. O blessed son of Polymnestus, that one word. 117 Spoke by the Deli)hic propliet-bee With unsuggested cry, thus welcoming Thee thrice, ' All hail ! ' proclaiming thee the fated king Of rich Kyrene, righted thee : ig When thou wert questioning What recompense th' immortals would demand To cure thy speech so blurred and lame. And ever since and still, as in the height Of purple-blossomed spring, Eight generations of thy children thrive ; And Phoibos now and Pytho give Arkesilas, from all that dwell around her land, Th' applause wherewith her chariot-race is dight ; And him intent I arn To dedicate unto the Muses, with the ram Of golden fleece, for that the Minyae Sought, when there rose for them divine celebrity. What cause to sail the sea Was theirs? What peril's nails of adamant Bound them the quest to try ? The gods had said that Pelias should die Through the illustrious progeny ii8 Of Aiolus, by schemes inflexible Or force. The oracle Of freezing purport, uttered next The shady mother's central radiant, Came back and ever back in dreams, and sorely vexed His anxious soul, " On every hand The single-sandalled watch with strictest care ; Should such an one come down from lofty mountain-lair To famed lolkos' sunny land, At once a citizen And foreigner." And so he came at last, A wondrous man to view. With javelins twain, and double garments too : One, which Magnetia's countrymen Wear, fitted close his shapely limbs within, And one, a leopard-skin. From shuddering tempest shelter gave : Nor were his curling tresses shorn nor cast Away, but down his back fell rippling wave on wave. And straight with swift unflinching pace, To make of his undaunted spirit test, The market-place he sought, and stood where thickest pressed The city's rabble populace. 119 They recognised him not ; But one of them that gazed in wonder said, "This man can scarce Apollo be; And yet he is not Aphrodite's spouse The brazen-carred, I wot ; And, story tells, in Naxos' vineyards' shade Iphimedeia's sons are laid, Otus, and thou, O bold king Ephialtes, dead. And Tityus, all the common talk allows. An arrow suddenly Brought down, from Artemis' unconquered sheath set free : To teach that none should dare to aim above What he may fairly reach, who dreams the dream of love." And so they gossiped on With mutual response, till Pelias In polished wagon placed Mule-drawn arrived in hurry's headlong haste : And as his vision lit upon The well-known sandal bound about one foot Alone, with horror mute He sat awhile ; then strove to hide The fear within his heart. " What country as Thine own dost thou pretend to, stranger guest?", he cried 120 " What hoary-locked old woman bare Thee on the earth ? With lies that all detest Defile not thou thy mouth, but from a truthful breast The story of thy birth declare ! " Boldly the youth replied In gentle accents, " Cheiron's lore I bring : For from his cave I come, From Philyre's and dear Chariklo's home. Where holy maids, the Kentaur's pride, My childhood nurtured whilst I was a child. But now that I've fulfilled A score of years — nor word nor deed Dishonest ill-repaid their nurturing — I have come home to claim again the ancient meed Of honour which my father bore. Where others now by means iniquitous Bear rule, the throne which Zeus conferred on Aiolus And on his sons in time of yore. For Pelias, I hear. Gave rein to pallid thoughts of jealousy, And stripped by fraud and violence My royal parents of their olden right ; 121 And they in deadly fear Of that o'erweening tyrant's wanton mood, When first in newest babyhood I saw the Hght, — while all the maids a doleful cry Set up, and all the house with mourning dight Assumed a vain pretence Of grief for one just dead, — in secret sent me hence Wrapped in my crimson cradle-clothes, my guide The starlit night, to grow at Kronian Cheiron's side. Now that my history Ye know in brief, O trusty citizens, As clearly tell me where My parents lived, who used to drive their j^air Of milk-white steeds. Not strangerly I tread a foreign soil, but, Aison's child. Come home ; and yonder wild Brute-shaped being half divine lason named and called me 'mongst his glens." He spake. And, as he came anigh, his father's eyne Saw and acknowledged him, and then The tear-drops through his aged eyelids welled For joy of heart that he his darling son beheld Grown up the handsomest of men. I 22 Hearing the glorious cheer Aison's two brethren joined their gathering, One Hypereia's well Leaving, and one Messene's citadel — ■ This dwelt far off, and that anear — Pheres and Amythaon, and with them, A sprig of either stem, Admetus and Melampous made Their cousin welcome. He with banqueting And gracious words received the festive cavalcade. All kindly hospitality Providing fitly. Five long days and nights In all good fellowship they culled the sweet delights Of unrestricted revelry. But on the sixth new day To all his kin the lad with earnest word His story from the outset told. They all assented : quickly from his seat With them he took his way To Pelias' abode, and therewithin Impetuous they stood. The din When he, the lovelock-wearing Tyro's offspring, heard, He came at once his visitors to meet. 123 And then lason bold In gentle language all his counsel 'gan unfold, A sure substructure laying first whereon Wise words to build. " Rock-sundering Poseidon's son, The minds of men are swift Successful craft to justice to prefer ; Although they know the sting They meet with in the morrow's reckoning. Come then, do thou and I upHft Our souls to higher laws, and reining wrath Work for ourselves a path Of happiness. My tale I tell To one that knows it. Kretheus was of her Bom, who the resolute Salmoneus bare as well : And we their third descendants see The golden sun in glory. Ill-content The Fates withdraw, where those of one descent Quarrel, for very modesty. 'Tw^ould ill beseem us twain The mighty honours of our ancestry With brazen swords and spears To dissipate, the gains of olden years. 124 So I agree that thou retain The sheep, the yellow herds of beeves, the lands Which from my father's hands Thou took'st and now dost cultivate, Swelling thy wealth — nor aught it vexes me That these illicit gains enrich thine old estate — So thou on thy part be not loth The royal wand and throne, where Aison sate His knightly people's strifes by law to regulate, Without renewed distress to both To render us again. Lest some fresh evil hap thereout arise." Thus spake lason. Tyro's heir As gently answered, " As thou sayest I Will be : but all the train Of age's ills already me attend : With thee the bloom of youth, my friend, Is just at flood, and thou the ire canst neutralize Of those beneath the earth. For Phrixus' cry Bids us in haste repair To far Aietes' realm, and thence his spirit bear Back home, and fetch the ram's long-haired fleece, By which from angry seas he once obtained release 125 And from the godless aim Of his step-mother's darts. A vision fair Comes, and addresses me In this strange manner. I to Kastaly To seek of her diviners came If aught were there revealed. And there they bade A ship at once be made, And me to sail it. This decree If thou consent to perfect, I will swear To pass the throne and all my kingly power to thee. Let Zeus this pact of ours attest, A mighty witness, guardian-god of both." They all then went their ways having affirmed the oath. But brave lason hot for quest His heralds far and wide Dispatched his instant sailing to proclaim. And quickly heroes three Came to him, Kronian Zeus's progeny, — And two were lovely Leda's pride, The other restless-eyed Alkmena bore, — All tireless men of war. And other twain with crested locks. The seed of dread Ennosides, there came 126 From Pylos and from Tainarus' projecting rocks, Half-shamed because they were so strong, Euphemus clept and Periklymenus The stalwart-thevved : and, sprung from Phoibos, glorious Orpheus, the lyrist, sire of song. Twin brothers Hermes sent, Who wields the rod of gold, the toil to share Throughout. Echion one was hight The other Eurytus, both brimming o'er With youth and merriment. And swiftly they who dwelt about the root Of far Pangaius followed suit, Zetes and Kalais. With willing, cheerful, air Their father Boreas, who rules the roar Of stormy winds, for fight Equipped them well, and both about their backs were dight With purple feathers. Hera stooped to fire The demi-gods with such o'erpowering sweet desire Of Argo's crew to be. That none would stay behind to pass his days ' At home in sodden ease From danger free, but e'en to death would seize 12/ The fairest meed of bravery Amid his fellows. When the peerless host To rich lolkos' coast Came down prepared to dare the sea, lason told them o'er with words of praise. And Mopsus then, the seer well skilled in augury. In gladness his prophetic tongue Unloosed, and by the birds and lots divine Bade all aboard. But when the anchors o'er the brine Well lashed above the beak they hung, The chieftain on the poop, Clasping a golden bowl betwixt his hands, Gan call on Zeus the sire Of th' heavenly race, who wields the lance of fire. And on the speed-imparting swoop Of waves and winds ; and favourable days And nights and watery ways Implored, and, all success to crown, The blessed lot to see their native lands Once more. From out the clouds in thunder came adown Auspicious answer : brilliantly The lightning-flashes through the welkin broke : These signs of heaven's assent the heroes trusting, took 128 Therefrom fresh energy ; and he, The portent-gazer, cried " In with your oars," and pleasant hopes held out. Then stroke on stroke there followed The toil of hands that plied the ceaseless oar ; And o'er the foaming tide By southern breezes wafted speedily, The inlet of th' Unfriendly sea They reached, and for marine Poseidon fenced about A consecrated close : some roving score Of Thrace's bullocks red Beside an altar grazed but newly finished With hollow top of stone : and there they prayed The lord of ships, or ere the danger they essayed, That scathless they might flee The furious onset of the Clashing Rocks. For islets two there were. Alive, and each on other wont to bear With headlong rush more speedily Than ranks of roaring winds. That vessel fraught With demigods had brought Their doom. But when to Phasis' shore 129 The heroes came, it cost a few good knocks On Kolchis' dusky folk well-planted, when before Aietes' self they came. And she, Who owns the barbed shafts that sharpest sting, Down from Olympus brought the wryneck, leg and wing Bound on the wheel that none may free. The Kypriot deity First gave that painted crazy bird to men ; And spells of prayer and lay Taught Aison's prudent son, to take away Medeia's virgin modesty, And reverence to sires by children due, And plant her heart anew With longing, burning, mad, desire Of Hellas through Persuasion's urging. Then She showed him all the tasks of strength with which her sire To test his prowess purposed ; And gave him, mingled with his wrestler's oil, An antidote for harms ; and promised, when his toil Was over, she with him would wed. But when Aietes pressed Into their midst the adamantine plough, 130 And brought the bulls, whose yellow jaws For breath exhaled a flame of burning levin, Whose brazen hoofs' unrest Smote clanging on the ground alternately, Beneath the yoke unaided he Led them ; and drove them straight as if by measure through The meadow's loamy back : the share was driven A fathom's length. Applause Followed. Then spake he, " If the king, who gives his laws To ships, this work of mine can end to-day. Then let him take yon wearless coverlet away, Yon fleece with golden wool Resplendent." When he stopped, his saffron cloak lason doffed, and bold In heavenly aidance on the work took hold. Through his wise hostess' wonderful Behests the fire had lost its power to vex : And round the bullocks' necks, Seizing the plough right manfully, He cast and made secure compulsion's yoke. And on their vasty flanks the goad incessantly Applied ; and thus by violence The task assigned the youth completed. Low m Aietes groaned within himself to see it so, Jealous of such omnipotence. But all his company Reached to such courage hands of friendliness, • And gathered off the ground The fragrant meadow herbs, whereof they wound Him wreaths, and spake him lovingly. And then the wondrous son of Helios Told how the luminous Skin still was lying where the knife Of Phrixus stretched it out. And ne'ertheless He hoped that task would cost the stranger youth his life. For far within a coppice laid By an enormous dragon's teeth 'twas held, Whose length and bulk a ship of fifty oars excelled By blows of iron mallets made. Along the broad high way Far might I travel ; but my hour is nigh. A pathway short I know full well Most other bards suq^assing in this lore. His arts availed to slay The gray-eyed serpent with the mottled skin, 132 Arkesilas, and with it win Medeia not unpleased, who PeUas to die Betrayed. And thence they gained the Ocean's shore, And past the Red Sea's swell To Lemnos' island came, whose women, strange to tell, Their lords had slain, and there for garments wove In feats of manly strength and hardihood they strove. And consorts took at will. And then on foreign soil the fated days Or nights received the seed Of your oncoming glory : bright indeed Its primal radiance shone, for still The race new-planted by Euphemus there For evermore is fair From age to age ; and later, blent With Lakedaimon's sons' more hardy ways, To th' island styled of old ' the Lovely Isle ' they went : And thence to you the Libyan plain The son of Leto gave to hance, and spread The honours of the gods, and o'er the city, head Of golden-throned Kyrene, reign ; For ye the paths had found 133 Of prudent counsels. Now the wisdom learn Of Oidipous, I pray. If from a huge old oak one lop away The branches stretching far around With sharpened axe, and all its beauty mar ; Though leafless, fruitless, are Its limbs, yet witness still it shows Of its old nature ; if at last to burn In winter fire it comes, or, where the columns' rows Lift lordly heads upright, the weight Supports of all the miserable style That decorates the walls of foreign owners, while Its ancient place is desolate. A mediciner thou art Most opportune, and Paian holds thy light In honour. He a gentle hand Should bring who tends a suppurating wound. 'Tis but a coward part And lightly played to set a state at odds ; But oh ! 'tis hard, unless the gods Consent beyond their wont to guide the helm aright For them that rule, again to render sound A plague-afliicted land. 134 Yet such a lot for thee by special grace is planned, Arkesilas. Oh be it thine to dare On thy Kyrene's weal to lavish all thy care. Do thou consider too, And put in practice, this Homeric saw, " A worthy messenger On every matter honour will confer." So to my Muse shall now accrue Honour from worthy message. Long was known Throughout Kyrene's town And Battus' most renowned hall How well Demophilus obeyed the law : For whilst among the lads he still was young yet all His counsels showed the practiced sense Of elders who a hundred years have lived : 111 tongues of all their loud assurance he deprived. And hatred learned of insolence ; Nor ever 'gainst the good Strove he, nor wasted time with long delay. For opportunity Is slow to come for men and swift to flee ; And well he knows her fickle mood, 135 And waits on her, her henchman not her slave. The worst of griefs men have Is happiness to know, and be Therefrom by cruel fate shut out, they say. Far from his father-land and all his property He like another Atlas now Is struggling with the heavens. But deathless Zeus The Titan host released. Their canvas sailors loose When once the storm has ceased to blow. And still he hopes and prays That, when he shall have drunken to the dregs The bitter cup of misery, Once more he may behold his home ; and, where Apollo's fountain plays. May oftentimes when brims the flowing bowl To youthful joyance give his soul ; Or, bearing on his arm his lute of many pegs. Contented converse with the wise may share. Nor plotting injury Nor harmed of others. There perhaps he'll tell how he, Arkesilas, has found a fount tor thee Of song divine, when late in Thebes a refugee. 136 5- ^0 g^rlusHas ai flnrciu. Strong is the sceptre riches sway, When Fortune puts them in the way Of mortal man, With virtue never soiled by sHp To dwell in lovmg fellowship ; And since thy childhood 'gan Its baby steps, above the rest, Arkesilas, thou hast been blest With both by lot divine : And glory's palm is thy reward Through Kastor's aid the golden-carred ; Who after winter's tempests dark and drear Has bid thy hearth rejoice with happy cheer And bright sunshine. But even gifts th' immortals send The wise apply to better end : U7 And on thy road Of justice thou art compassed With much success ; for thou art head Of countries great and broad, — Because thy born nobility, This rank most reverend on thee Imposing, occupies Thy very soul ; — and further still Because by Pytho's famous hill Thy steeds have had the bliss the prize to gain. And from thy people now thou hear'st the strain Of triumphs rise, Wherein Apollo joys. So ne'er forget, Whilst thou art hymned in thy Kyrene's lays Round Aphrodite's garden sweet, For all success the god to praise. And in thy friendship let Karrhotus hold preeminence of place ; For not excuse he brought. The child of tardy-minded After-thought, Returning to the home of Battus' royal race ; But, nigh the stream of Kastaly Where rival chariots meet 138 Made welcome, with the meed of victory, A garland fair, Has bound thy kingly hair : Which in that famous course he won Where circles twelve are swiftly run : Nor, when 'twas o'er, Did splintered wood or damaged rein Or harness chafed betray the strain ; But all the work he bore, That dextrous smiths had wrought of old With ivory inlaid and gold, And crossing Krisa's hill In Phoibos' hollow glen he hung : Close by the man that bowmen sprung From Krete set in Parnassus' temple, hewed From one big block, a beam of cypress-wood Upholds it still. So must thou one, who heaps on thee Renown, receive benignantly With willing mind. And thee, Alexibiades, Those lovely-tressed godda sses, 139 The Graces, have combined To make illustrious. And blest Thou art, from grievous toils to rest, And get from poet's hand Unequalled song's memorial : Because, where forty met their fall. Thy dauntless courage drove thy car safe home ; And thence to Lybia's plain thou now art come, Thy fatherland. None is nor has been nor shall ever be Without his share of toil. Yet Battus' race His old good luck has followed In evil as in happy case ; A tower of majesty To citizens, a light of clearest ray To strangers. Him before The lions fled for fear with sullen roar, \Mien sounds unknown he brought them o'er the salt sea-spray. 'Twas Phoibos, who his army sent, That gave the beasts to dread ; Lest for Kyrene's master ill event Should falsify His gift of prophecy. 140 He from disease's sorest smart To men and women can impart Relief; he brought The lyre to earth ; he grants the Muse Of song to whomsoe'er he choose ; He stills unruly thought, And wins the bosom strife-distrest To gentleness and law and rest ; He haunts the mystic cave Whereby in Lakedaimon's towers, In Argos, Pylos' heavenly bowers, He set the stalwart seed of Herakles, And old Aigimius' sons. The mightiness Of Sparta's brave Engraved upon the roll of fame Is mine ; for thence my fathers came, For Aigeus called, To Thera by the god's advice ; And there the festal sacrifice Some fate anew installed ; And thence we too received the rite, Karneian Phoibos, who to-night In this thy festival 141 Extol well-built Kyrene's charms ; Which strangers clad in brazen arms, Antenor's Trojans, held, who hither came With Helen, having seen in smoke and flame Their country fall The prey of Ares. Full of gladness they, Hasting with sacrifice and offering, Received the knightly company Whom Battus guided, opening The deep sea's pathless way For his swift-winged ships ; and first he made For all the host divine A wider precinct round a statelier shrine ; And then a straight-cut road with level paving laid For steeds to trample, when men wend Apollo's surgery Imploring. There beside the forum-end In lonely pride They laid him when he died. Long as he lived on earth v/ith men He lived in happiness, and then Was worshipped 142 By all his folk as demi-god. But, each before his own abode, The other royal dead In holy calm apart repose. And, while the stream of song bestows Its soft refreshing dew On deeds of wondrous daring, hear In heart in that their nether sphere Their common honour and the grace their son Arkesilas right worthily has won ; Who 'midst the crew Of youthful choristers must sing Praise to the golden-sworded king Of Pytho, whence The conqueror's triumphal hymn, His costs' reward, has come to him. Him all the folk of sense Applaud. His mind and tongue excel — 'Tis but the common tale I tell — His years. In bravery A wide-winged eagle 'midst a flight Of fowls, a very wall in fight Unyielding, on the wings of song he soared 143 In childhood ; now his wisdom reaps th' award Of victory In Delphi's chariot-course. Undaunted he Has dared each road to reach his people's praise. Some kindly god has perfected His powers now. In after days, Ye blessed Kronidse, Grant him in counsel wise as strong in thews To hve, that so no blast Of Autumn's chilly tempest overcast And spoil his later time. The sovereign will of Zeus Directs the luck that waits upon Those he has cherished. And him I pray that great Olympia soon May guerdon with Her garland Battus' kith. 144 6. Co l^noluatcs of ^hraigiis. I BID ye hearken : for we turn again The harvest- field of Aphrodite restless-eyed, Or of the Graces, whilst we press The rock-hewn centre-stone to reach of noisy earth ; Where for the wealthy house of Emmenes, And stream-fed Akragas, and most for thee, Xenokrates, The Pythian victor's chiefest pride, A store of deathless song, is piled in readiness Beside Apollo's gold-adonied hearth : Which neither all the storms of driving rain. The ruthless army ranked in winter's roaring skies, Nor hurricane of winds shall drown, Bruised by rough shingles tossed beneath th' unresting sea Down in her deepest depths. But it shall tell, With countenance that gleams with light unquenchable, What, Thrasyboulus, glorifies 145 Thy sire and all his kin, the charioteer's renown Of conquest gained in Krisa's coombs by thee. And while with skill of hand from every foe Thou win' St the prize, the just command thou keepest whole, Which once the son of Philyre On Peleus' stalwart child among the hills, they say. Enjoined when sireless left. " Thy praise award To deep-toned Kronides above all gods, the lord Of levin-flash and thunder-roll ; Nor e'er from parents while their fated weird they dree Take this, the homage of thy hands, away." Just such a disposition years ago Stalwart Antilochus inspired, who died his sire To save, abiding the attack Of Memnon, Aithiopia's slaughter-loving chief For one of his two horses, pierced from far By darts from Paris' bow, encumbered Nestor's car. And brandishing his spear in ire The old Messenian saw his foeman press his track. And hailed with troubled soul his son's relief Nor fruitless fell to earth his loud appeal ; 146 But on the spot that man of more than mortal clay Stood still, and purchased with his life His sire's escape. His prodigy of work complete, He seemed of young men in the time of old The palm for filial devotedness to hold. Those good old days have passed away ; But Thrasyboulus 'mongst the lads that now are rife Our fathers' honoured standard best could meet ; Who pressing close upon his uncle's heel Has showed his splendour. Yet to prudence he subdues High fortune ; prone to cultivate Nor youth's mad lawlessness nor supercilious ease. But wisdom where the Muses' coverts be. And still his loving soul, Poseidon, cleaves to thee, Earth-shaker, who wert first to use The harnessed steed. With friends his sweetness is more great Than perforated comb of toiling bees. 147 7- C0 Itegahlcs of %i\^mB. Imperial Athens ! with thy name I best may 'gin To build the basement of my lofty song, That lauds Alkmaioti's sturdy kin For horsemanship. "Wliat country or what house More glorious Could poet name amid this earth's unceasing din To thrill Hellenic tongue ? 'to"- For wheresoe'er the tovrw he, 'tis a household word, The honour of Erechtheus' populace, Who have thy holy shrine restored In sacred Pytho beautiful to see, Apollo. Me Thy conquests and thy fathers' — five on Isthmus' sward. One in Olympia's race. Surpassing, Zeus-conferred, and two K 148 At Kirrha^lead to hymn thee, Megakles. And much thy new success doth please Me ; still I rue That envy will not all thy merit spare To cross. But, so they say. Such stedfast, flourishing, success alway Must good and evil bear. 149 8. ^0 l^risfomeius of S^S^i^'^- O kindly Rest, Thou child of Law, in whom the thriving state is blest, Who hast the keys Supreme of council as of war. Deign to accept for Aristomenes The Pythian winner's honours. Thou Of ample knowledge art possessed When best the seasons fitting are To act the gentle part or suffer it, and how. But whensoe'er One drives into his heart a grudge that will not spare, Indignantly Thou meet'st the onset of the foe. And layst his braggart powers in the sea. Unduly when Porphyrion 150 Provoked thee, he was unaware How sore a fate he challenged so. That gain is sweetest which from willing homes is won. But violence E'en the vainglorious sort In time will overthrow ; The sin Typhoeus would not shun, Kilikia's monster of the hundred heads, Nor yet the Giant-King. And so they perished, one By Zeus's bolt, and one by Phoibos' bow : Who greets Xenarkes' son With kind benevolence, From Kirrha coming girt with conquests' meeds, Parnassus' bays and Doric sport. The Graces' hand Cast not away in scorn yon honest sea-girt land. That long has nursed The virtues of the glorious Aiakidae ; but perfect from the first She holds her fame. For often she Is hymned by the triumphal band. When in the strife victorious, 151 The battle of the swift, her hero progeny Success attain : Wherefore her feme is high for men of peerless strain. I have not time The whole of her long history To utter to the lyre in dulcet rhyme ; Lest surfeit coming cause annoy. But at my feet her freshest gain Is waiting me, my debt to thee ; Let this have course on wings my art contrives, my boy. For pressing on Thy mother's brothers' path In wrestle, no disgrace Thou bring'st to Theognetus, who Olympia's chaplet won, nor dimm'st the fame Of Isthmic glories stout Kleitomachus's due : But, aggrandizing thy Midylian race, Thou show'st the saying true, Which erst Oikleus' son Spake darkly, when his comrades' children came To seven-gated Thebes in wrath 152 From Argos land. Siege-lines a second time the Afterborn had manned ; And then he cried, Whileas he watched the doubtful field, " There glows in sons their father's native tide Of stubborn purpose. Perfectly My son, my own Alkmaion, stand Wielding, displayed on sanguine shield. His spotted dragon next to Kadmus' gates I see. And he Avho bore Defeat and loss in that ill-omened siege of yore, The hero-king Adrastus, now the message meets Of less unlucky birds, though sorrowing Shall fill his home. For only he Of all the Danaan host once more Shall come to Abas' spacious streets With all his people safe, for so the gods decree, Bearing along The melancholy way The bones of his dead son." So spake Amphiaraiis. I 153 Myself Alkmaion joy with wreaths t' adorn, Sprinkhng his tomb with copious song. For he anigh My homestead dwells, and all that I have won He guards, and passing by. When to the theme of song Earth's centre-spot I went, his art inborn Of prophecy he put in play. And thou, O god Whose arrows fly afar, whose glorious abode In Pytho's dells All comers welcomes, thought'st it meet There to confer the prize that all excels. And in his island home before Thou at thy feast hast once bestowed The envied name of pentathlete On him. And now, O king, with kindness, I implore Thee, look upon The skein of song I weave, each feat that he has done To celebrate. Beside the vocal revelry Calm Justice stood : and I for your estate Xenarkes, would of heaven entreat 154 Regard undying. Since if one Without exceeding toil should be Successful, to the crowd of fools he haps to meet He seems by lore And wise contrivances With Fortune's gifts to crown His life. Yet this is not in man : 'Tis God that grants them : who will one upraise To-day, another lift to-morrow, as he can Sink others 'neath their power's level down. But thou on Megaran And Marathonian shore Hast won, and thrice thy native Hera's bays In combat, Aristomenes. Four times beneath Thy body thrown thy rivals felt thy ruthless breath Above them burn. And not to them alike and thee In Pytho was decreed a glad return : Nor, when they reached their mother's roof, Did laughter sweet of greeting kith Wait them ; but sore with misery 155 They skulk in devious lanes from foemen's jeers aloof. But if it chance That fresh good fortune fall a mortal's lot to hance In tender age, Aloft on wings of mighty hope He soars in manhood's struggles to engage With nobler aim than rich to be. For, mortals' pleasure to advance, A little luck gives ample scope ; As fast it falls to earth, shaken by stern decree. Things of a day ! What is our somebody ? And what our cipher ? Here Man is the vision of a shade : But when the ray that Zeus bestows has shone. His light at once is clear, his life is easy made. In freedom's road, Aigina, mother dear, With Zeus' and Peleus' aid Conduct this city aye, With royal Aiakus, good Telamon, And with Achilles' bravery ! 156 9- C0 C^Usrhrafcs of Pgr^nc. The man who armed with shield of brass has won The prize of Pytho's ring With the deep-bosomed Graces fain am I to sing ; Brave Telesikrates exceeding blest Styling, the crown Of fair Kyrene's chariot-driving town. Her Leto's son with flowing hair From Pelion's wind-haunted valleys bare Away long since; and brought on car of gold The huntress maid to Libya, and possessed Of lands that teem with grain and sheep ; The third full share of branching earth to keep For ever in her hold, The fairest e'er A blooming mistress gazed upon. And silver-footed Aphrodite there 157 Her guest from Delos' isle Made welcome, as she touched with dainty hand the while The god-built chariot ; and a lovely veil In kindness spread Of modesty around their nuptial bed ; And yoked the god in wedlock's bands With Hypseus' child ; Hypseus', who o'er broad lands Of daring Lapithje was then the king : The second from Okeanus in male Descent ; whom, gladdened by the love Peneius proffered her, where towering His famous vales above Mount Pindus stands, The water-nymph Kreiisa bare. Daughter of Gaia. Her her father bred A maiden fair of arm, Kyrene clept : Who loved not to and fro before the loom to tread. Nor cared at all To hold gay festival With girl-companions who at home were kept. But, armed with brazen dart and sword. She waged a deadly strife With beasts of prey ; and through her constant ward 158 Her father's herds enjoyed a long and peaceful life. Or, if she slept, Scant courtesy she stayed to show To slumber, though the sweetest bedfellow, If up the eastern sky the day to dawning crept. And thus it chanced Apollo one fair morn Surprised her all alone In struggle weaponless against a lion grown. Then straight the ample-quivered Archer-god With rousing cry Old Cheiron summoned from his home hard by : " C-ome out, O son of Philyre, From yonder solemn cave ; in ecstasy The spirit and the wondrous force behold That clothe at times a maiden's womanhood ! See how upon her dauntless head She brings the strife, for labour overbold, With soul unmoved by dread ! Wiose child is she ? From what firm stock has she been torn The hollows of the dusky hills to keep ? Behold how infinite 159 The prowess she dehghts in ! Tell me, were it right At once by strength of hand to make her mine ? Or better, wed To cull the honied harvest of her bed ? " To him the Kentaur all aglow, — While lightly laughter lit his kindly brow, — With counsel deep advising straight replied. " Persuasion hides the keys of love divine ; And wise, O Phoibos, is her way : And laws of gods and men alike decide 'Tis shame in open day. As thou must know, A maiden's virgin flower to reap. Nay but a soft impulse has prompted thee. Who mayst not, if thou would'st, have aught to do With falsehood, thus to speak in insincerity. Dost thou require O king, to ask the sire Of yonder maiden ? Thou ! the prophet who Hast knowledge of th' appointed end Of all things, and the coarse They follow ? All the leaves that earth will send To deck the spring-time, all the sands that 'neath the force i6o Of waves or wind In sea or river whirl, and how And what shall be the future thou dost know. But if I must with thee be measured mind for mind, I tell thee to this valley thou art come With spells upon thee laid To wed and o'er the sea to bear this very maid To Zeus's peerless garden, sovereign To make her there ; Gathering an island people to repair To her plain-girdled hill : yea now Thy noble bride in homes with gold that glow Will queenly Libya, rich in spreading lea, Receive for thee with gladness ; there her plain At once will share with her, to own In common with herself, in loyalty ; Where all the fruit-trees known In plenty grow, And beasts of prey the forest roam. -There she shall bear a son, whom instantly Illustrious Hermes shall To Gaia carry and the throned Hours withal i6i Straight from his loving mother's breast ; and they The baby, set Up on their knees, with constant drops shall pet Of nectar and ambrosia's dew ; And make as though he were immortal too, A Zeus, or Phoibos all immaculate, A present source of joy to friends alway : Whom some as Shepherd, Huntsman, Herd, As Aristaius some, shall celebrate." And so with many a word He urged the two To end their bridal speedily. » Short is the road, and quickly perfected The deed, when gods would hasten. That same day Beheld the work complete. In Libya's golden bed The loving pair Were joined in wedlock ; where She rules a city lovely till to-day And famous for her victories. And now in Pytho's game . Divine the son of staunch Karneiades Has blent the wreath that crowns good fortune with her name. When conquering 1 62 He shouted out "Kyrene." She Will gladly welcome one who brings in glee To her fair-womened land the prize of Delphi's ring. To mighty excellences aye belong Of right protracted tales : But lengthy themes to paint with brevity avails To win a wise man's hearing. After all All issues be Betwixt the hands of Opportunity, Whom lolaiis long ago, As seven-gated Thebes has cause to know, Held not dishonoured. Him, when he had made Eurystheus' head before his falchion fall, She buried where Amphitryon The charioteer beneath the sod was laid, His grandsire, 'mongst the Sown Who used to go, Where milkwhite steeds the roadway throng, A welcome guest erewhile in Kadmus' town. Embraced by him and Zeus, One travail abled wise Alkmena to produce Twin sons with strength to win in battle. He 163 Who could not sing Of Herakles, who e'er could Dirke's spring, That nurtured him and Iphikles, Forget, were dumb. To them for kindnesses Received, and prayers accomplished I my lay Will carol. O ye vocal Graces, still Let the unsullied light ye shed Not quit me. In Aigina's isle, I say, And thrice on Nisus' hill, This man on this His state has heaped immense renown, By action 'scaping silent helplessness. So, be his townsman friend or enemy, How well he has for all endured the struggle's stress Let no man hide ; But loyally abide The maxim of the Old Man of the Sea ; Who said that e'en a foe should praise His fellowman with all His heart who got him fame by honest ways. Full oft they saw at Pallas' stated festival Thee win, when dame And maid, though nought they spoke aloud, L 164 Eacli to herself a longing sweet avowed Thee, Telesikrates, for son or spouse to claim : So in the feast of Zeus Olympian, And ample-bosomed Ge, And all thy country's games, it thus fell out. And me The ancient glory of thy long descent Compels again, Though slaked my thirst for song, to raise the strain, And hymn the suitors brave and good, Who gathered for a maid of Libyan blood To Irasa, Antaius' child to wed. Famed for the beauty of her locks, intent. And many a kindred chieftain came To ask her hand, and many a stranger too ; For not by glozing fame Was she endued With beauty's gifts ; and every man The fruiting blossom of her golden grace Of youth was fain to cull. But for his child her sire conceived a match more full Of honour. He had heard how Danaiis, Of Argos' state i65 The lord, for davigliters twice a score and eight One morning ere the full noonday Provided speedy mates. In long array Beyond the goal the whole fair sisterhood He set at once, and bade the numerous Aspirants to a sonship's tie Before him in the course by fortitude And speed in running try Which daughter they Should get according to their pace. And so the Libyan king a bridegroom gave His daughter : by the goal he bade her stand, The struggle's prime reward, in garments rich and brave, And cried aloud To all the eager crowd That whosoe'er should soonest lay his hand Upon her robes the girl should gain. Alexidamus then, For fast his footsteps fled across the plain, Caught hand in hand the prize he loved and 'mongst his men In triumph led ; And glad his nomad horsemen threw A storm of leaves on him and garlands too ; For oft before Success had lighted on his head. 1 66 lo. ^0 Jjippolilcas of (Lbcssaln- Oh ! happy Sparta ! blessed Thessaly ! For either land One father's progeny, The sons of Herakles the lord of war, command. Why boast 1 thus untimely ? Nay But Pytho and Pelinna call on me, And chiefs who grace Aleuas' pedigree, Hippokleas' success to sing. With them who now in triumph bring The victor home, in laudatory lay. For now he tastes the sweets of victory, Whom to the crowd Of neighbour peasantry Parnassus' inmost vale has just proclaimed aloud The foremost of the boyish quire Who ran tlic double course. O Phoibos, sweet Is goal and start to men wlio hap to meet A god to spur them on. And thou Hast planned his latest conquest now, Who follows in the footsteps of his sire With bent hereditary. Twice arrayed In Ares' warlike panoply He carried off Olympia's victory : Aye and the contest in the mead 'Neath Kirrha's rock has made The name of Phrikias renowned for speed. And so in days to come May Fate bid high success for them to bloom ; And — which in Hellas is a gift most rare — Let them be free From what we mortals share, Reverses from a god's offended jealousy 1 A god alone is griefless aye ; But he must be esteemed a happy man, And one that bards should celebrate, who can Through excellence of hand or foot By strength and daring resolute The most desired of prizes bear away ; 1 68 And still alive behold a youthful son Formally crowned With wreaths at Pytho won. The brazen heavens are still to him forbidden ground ; But every joy of every kind, That we of mortal race delight in, lies Within his reach : no further now he plies His oars. Thou'lt nor by sea nor land Find the strange pathway to the band Of them that live beyond the Northern Wind. Yet with them princely Perseus carnival Held merrily in days of old. When, hecatombs of asses manifold While to the god they slew, he stepped By hap within their hall ; Whose rites and hymns Apollo's self have kept In laughter, 'mid the feast To see the rampant pranks of every beast. And yet the Muse to such outlandish ways Doth not refuse Her presence. Maidens' lays And spirit-stirring lyres and shrilly pipes they use 169 For cheer, and garlanding their hair With woven coronals of golden bays, They pass in jocund revel all their days. Nor carking care nor fell disease Disturbs their calm divinities ; But rid of battle's toil and labour's care They dwell from Retribution's cruel ire Entirely free. And thither with the fire Of valiance in his heart the son of Danae — For guide Athena with him went — Came, to the hidden mansions of the crew Of happy folk : and he the Gorgon slew, And bore that head which serpents wreathe In mottled braids, a stony death, Home to his islanders. Not mine the bent, Whate'er the gods may work, to scant belief. Or marvel at their might. Let go the oars : the bower anchor tight. Quick as thou canst, in earth imbed ; Ere on some hog's-back reef Thou strike and founder. For my Muse has fled, I/O Like flitting honey-bee, Elsewhere to quaff her draughts of poesy. And hope I have that while in Ephyre Her people pour My dulcet minstrelsy From triumjjh-gladdened throats along Peneius' shore, For sake of laurels he has worn I may some day to elder men and young Hippokleas' deserts in worthier song Make glorious, the maiden's theme Of waking thought and sleeping dream. By loves diverse are divers spirits torn ; But if what any seek wdth eager quest He hap to win, The prize he has possessed, So sorely longed for, let him take his pleasure in : For what within a year may be Nor sign nor token can foreshadow. I On Thorax' kindly friendliness rely, Who toiled to harness, me to please, This car of the Pierides With mutual love and mutual instancy. 171 It needs the Lydian stone of proof to try Gold and a soul upright. So to his brothers brave will I indite My praise, because the olden fame Of Thessaly on high Their excellence exalts. 'Tis aye the same In men of right intent Lies only wise paternal government. 1/2 I I. ^0 Cfjrusnbiuus of ^[jcbcs. Daughter of Kadmus, Semele. Who to Olympus' courts a guest art come ; And Ino, goddess white, who in the sea Hast mth the Nereids thy home ; With Herakles' illustrious mother haste, To Melia's shrine repair. The golden tripod's treasury That none may tread, with honour rare That Loxias has graced. The truthful seat of prophecies For his Ismenius named. For now he calls The host of country demigoddesses \Vho dwell around within her walls To meet ; while ye, whom sweet Harmonia bore, Shall holy Themis hymn And Pytho, and the just decrees U3 Of earth's mid stone, when faint and dim The twhght is no more, Our seven-gated Thebes to laud, and Kirrha's ([uest ; ^Vhere Thrasydaius brought To mind the hearth by which his fathers knelt. Crowned with the third glad crown for triumph wrouglu In Pylades' rich corn-fields, where a guest Orestes, fled from Lakedaimon, dwelt. Him, when his father met his death, From Klytemnestra's hands Arsinoe His nurse, who dreaded force or lack of faith With mournful issue, took, when she . Kassandra, Priam's daughter Trojan-bred, ^^'ith cold gray steel beside Her husband Agamemnon's wraith Despatched along the shady side Of Acheron to tread. The ruthless woman ! Was it, pray, Iphigeneia by Euripus' strait Slain as a victim for from home away Provoked her heavy-handed hale ? 174 Or did the pleasures of a stranger's bed Lead her astray ? a crime Esteemed in youthful brides alway Most hateful, one for length of time That ne'er is covered By stranger tongues ; for folk delight in slanderous speech. And when success is great No lesser envy it encounters ; he Unseen may fret v/ho keeps a low estate. So Atreus' hero-son just lived to reach Farfamed Amyklae, when by treachery He perished, and the prophet-maid Whelmed in destruction, who her Troy had burned ; — Its homes for Helen's sake in ruin laid, Its splendour all to ashes turned. To aged Strophius then for guestship came The youngster, who beneath Parnassus dwelt ; till Ares' aid Helped him at last to put todeath Aigisthus and his dame. My friends, I fancy that to-day, 175 Thougli I have trod the path direct before, Some labyrinth has led my steps astray ; Or, like a boat from sight of shore. Far from my course the breezes me have borne. But thine the task, my Muse, If thou hast underta'en for pay To sing thy hireling song, to choose Themes fitter to adorn Young Thrasydaius here, or else his sire who won The Pythian wreath of eld. The kindliness and honour of their race Shine as the sun : for long ago they held, A\niere far-renowned Olympia's course is run By swiftest steeds, the victor's splendid place ; And where unclad the rivals start To run afoot, all Hellas' host for speed They shamed at Pytho. Should the gods impart Distinction, I were fain indeed To clasp whate'er in each succeeding age I could : but when I see That citizens of modest heart Live happy longest, royalty 176 T reckon sorrv wasje. o^ For common ends mj' bow is bent T' achieve success. The ruin Envy wreaks Is foiled, if he who wins the height, content In quiet his enjoyment seeks, And bids offensive insolence begone. He better at the last Will meet black Death, his monument The best, a name that nought shall blast, But children joy to o\^'ti. 'Tis this that Idlaiis son of Iphikles, The theme of many a song, Distinguishes, and thee, of seed divine, King Polydeukes, and thy Kastor strong, Who days alternate sleep in Therapne's Dark tomb, alternate in Olympus shine. 177 12. (jTc gtibas of gihnwis. I PRAY thee, spendour-loving queen, Most beauteous city known to mortal ken, Seat of Persephone, Who on the sheep-fed banks of Akragas Inhabitest a hill where goodly mansions rise, Benignantly Receive with kind assent of gods and men For noble Midas this his Pythian wreath ; And eke himself, who has Victorious over Hellas been In that sweet art which great Pallas Athena first produced, wherewith To imitate With skill the savage Gorgons' lamentable cries. Which sadly flowing forth she heard From those two spinster tliroats in weary woe, 178 And many a serpent-head That none can near, when Perseus' steel had slain The third who with them shared their dismal sisterhood : Before he sped Home to his sea-girt isle, a fatal foe To all Scriphus' folk. From Phorkus' seed Divine their sight was ta'en ; And gruesome was his gift conferred On Polydektes, through The bridal forced and serfdom's cleaving need The mother knew ^Vho bore him, when fair-cheeked Medusa's head was viewed The prize of him whom Danae Brought forth, the son according to repute Of gold's spontaneous shower. But when from these his toils the hero whom She loved she had preserved, the virgin-goddess wrouglit The changeful power Of varied music, bass and treble flute. To counterfeit with instruments the groan Of pain that issued from The jaws of keen Euryale. S!ie made it, and to men 179 Gave it, the ' air of many-headed lone ' By name, since when It minds men of the games by thronging thousands sought ; Breathing its notes through metal thin And reeds, that nigli the Graces' city grow Within Kephisis' grove, Where well the dance is led, true witnesses 'l"o them that measures tread. If any happiness We men may prove. Not free from toil it shows itself ; yet so Fortune perhaps will perfect it to-day ; But whatso fated is No man at all can fail to win. For that good time shall be, AVhen, though he seem a helpless castaway, Prosperity With unexpected luck, the pledge of more, will bless. M ISTHMIAN ODES. i83 I. ^0 |)eroboius of ^§cbes. My mother, golden-shielded Thebes, thy fame Of higher count than all my business shall be. Yet be not wroth with me, thou rugged Dclian isle, For whom my soul in minstrelsy Has spent herself. To folk of honest name What can be dearer than their sires ? Give place awhile, Thou land of Phoibos ! Both, with heaven to succour me, Will I in common honours blend ; and sweet Unshorn Apollo with her sturdy seamen sing In foam-girt Keos ; ay and Isthmus' ridge that fends Salt water ; since 'twas his to bring Six croAVTis from where the rivals brave compete To Kadmus' warrior sons for conquest that commends My native land, wherein her son unwavering Alkmona bore ; 1 84 Whose step the angry hounds of Geryon quailed before. And fain would I exalt Herodotus In music's strains, Who with four steeds has proved victorious, Letting no other hold the reins : Wherefore in song With lolaiis or with Kastor strong I fain would couple him ; for they, In Thebes and Sparta born in th' olden day, Were best of charioteers the hero-host among ; And in the festive lists most frequently Contended for the prize, and decked with tripods rare Their homes, and caldrons too and bowls of massive gold ; While garlands gleaming in their hair Gave them to taste the sweets of victory ; And clear their prowess shines whom all could then behold Full-armed with clanging shield as oft as running bare. How well those hands would cast th' unerring spear, Or send the quoit of stone aloft the sky to rend ! For no man then had heard the name of ' pentathlete,' But every bout its proper end Achieved : and these would garlanded appear i85 Full oft with wreath on wreath by Dirke's waters sweet, Or where the streams of proud Eurotas sea-ward wend ; He who could own For father Iphikles, compatriot of the Sown ; The son of Tyndareus th' Achaian height Of Therapne Inhabiting. I greet ye, men of might ! But now I trim my melody Isthmus divine, Onchestus' shingles, and Poseidon's shrine To praise ; and so will celebrate In this man's victory the glorious fate That waits upon his sire Asopodorus' line, And his adopted home Orchomenus, That gave him shelter, when in seas without a shore, Hard pressed by shipwreck, all the frost he knew Of evil hap. But now once more The old congenial tide of prosperous Good fortune flows again : and one that has gone through Distress, thereafter sets by prudence hearty store. But if a man his every effort use. 1 86 Nor spare expenditure nor toil, renov.n to gain, 'Tis due to them that find it with ungrudging heart To bring the proud, exuhant, strain ; For hght the recompense of poet's Muse For hardships manifold, although the song impart A public monument that aye shall fair remain. For, whatsoe'er It be, the wage is sweet that guerdons human care : And shepherd, farmer, fowler, he who feeds Upon the sea, Have one intent, to satisfy the needs Of hunger crying ceaselessly. But when for game Or battle nobly won their loud acclaim Both countrymen and strangers pour With one consent to hail the conqueror, His is the highest meed, the very flower of fame. But stay ! 't is time to change the theme, and bless Our neighbour Kronos-born, the Shaker of the Earth, Inventor of the car and patron of the horse ; And those to thee who trace their birth, Amphitryon ; and Minyas' recess ; 1 8/ Demeter's storied grove Eleiisis, and the course That gently trends beside Euboia's winding firth. I add thy own and thy Achaian's shrine, Protesilaiis, in Thessahan Phylake. But eveiy spot to name, where on Herodotus Presiding Hermes victory Conferred for harnessed steeds, this lay of mine Would still be all too short though ne'er so copious : And reticence is oft the best of flattery. Be it his fate On shining Anngs of sweet Pierian maids elate ' To soar, and yet in Pytho's vale, and where Alpheius flows Beside Olympia's course, with garlands fair — The choicest wreaths that Hellas knows— To fill his hand ; Building fresh honour for his native land, Thebes of the seven gates. But when One hoards hid wealth and jeers at fellow men, Thoughtless he dooms liis soul unsung to Hades' strand. i88 2. aTo Cljnisuboulus of l^hragiis- Oft, Thrasyboulus, in the ancient days The bards who on the stately car could climb Where sit the Muses, golden bays About their brows, in lightsome rhyme Clasping their honoured lyres would deftly aim Their honied song to glorify the boys Whose ripe young beauty set their hearts aflame For regal Aphrodite's joys. For in those days not yet had Poesy Grown avaricious, nor for hire would slave ; Not then did sweet Terpsichore For coin let any bidder have The dulcet music of her gentle tones All lacquered o'er with silver. Now forsooth She bids us bear in mind the Argive's groans. Not so far off the path of Truth. 1 89 " 'T is money, money, money makes the man," Reft of his goods and friends at once, he cried. ]>ut, for thyself art wise, a triumph not unknown 1 liymn, which, where competing horses ran At Isthmus, to Xenokrates alone Poseidon gave, the crown to own Of Doric parsley round his tresses tied, Gracing a clever charioteer, the light Of all in Akragas. In Krisa fair, Viewed by Apollo vast of might, He carried off his laurels there ; And honoured by Erechtheus' noble kin In olive-dowered Athens, spake not ill Of him who neatly whipped his chariot in With all a driver's handy skill, Nikomachus, who saw the time to loose His every rein; whom all the heralds knew, — Proclaimers of the sacred truce Of Kronian Zeus in Elis, — who Had erst enjoyed his hospitality, And greeted him with softest melody Of gratulating song, when at the knee He fell of golden Victory In that their own dear land, which mortals call The precinct of Olympian Zeus, wherein Ainesidamus' sons an immortality Of fame achieved. For in thy father's hall, O Thrasyboulus, joyful revelry, Mingled with honied poesy, Has oft upraised its glad accustomed din. No rugged rock nor weary uphill road Have they to climb, who music's honours bring To honourable men's abode From them that dwell beside the spring Of Helikon. Oh ! would to heaven that these My quoits might so far distance other men's. As all in kindly ways Xenokrates Excelled. Amidst his citizens His carriage was most reverend, and aye His stables after Panhellenic law He kept, and each god's holiday Made welcome. Ne'er did sudden flaw Of tempest make him shorten sail around 191 His hospitable tabic, evermore In summer's heat to cooling Phasis bound, In winter's cold to Nile's hot shore. 1-ct him not now, because about the heart Of mortals jealous thoughts delight to cling, Dead silence keep about his father's excellence, Nor these my songs. To play no idle part I fashioned them. So when thou comest hence To his, my honoured friend's, presence Thus, Nikasippus, pay thy welcoming. 192 3- ^cr gldbsus of Sbcbcs. If any man by glorious feats of strength, Or store of honest gold, have got him fame, Yet curbs within his soul besetting insolence, He well deserves that on his name His countrymen should heap their praises. Excellence, O Zeus, to mortals comes of thee : And reverential folk prosperity Have more enduring than their neighbourhood ; While crooked hearts their seeming good, Though flourishing awhile, will leave alone at length. For noble deeds beholders it behoves To recompense the brave with noble song. And kindly him to laud who leads the gay parade. Now to Melissus here belong Twin crowns for conquests twain ; tlic one in Isthmus' glade By fa\-ourable Fate was sent 193 To turn his heart to jocund merriment ; The other gathered in the liollow glen Of the deep-chested Hon, when He bade them shout the name of Thebes, the Thebes he lows, Where rival chariots ran, victorious. Nor does he put to shame Th' hereditary courage of his kin. Ye well have known How oft Kleonymus The honours of the chariot-race would win : And so his mother's folk, who trace to Labdakus Their pedigree, Ciat wealth by four-in-hands. But rollingly Time plays a changing game. The sons of gods from hurt are free alone. 194 4- ^0 P^clissus of Cfjcbcs. Thanks to the gods ten thousand paths are mine, In all directions stretched, to tell in song, — Since thou at Isthmus hast thy ready skill displayed, - The virtues which their whole life long, E'en to its final close, have decked by heavenly aid The children of Kleonymus. But oft, Melissus, will the boisterous Storm-wind on mortals with resistless force Swoop down, and drive them from their course This way and that, like ships across the brine. However from the first beginning these In Thebes, men say, were honourable held, And all the neighbourhood with liospitality Entreated ; yet tlie promptings quelled Of full-mouthed arrogance. Whate'er the eulogy Of boundless glory gossiped ^95 From mouth to mouth of men about their dead Or living fellows, they no lesser fame Attained : for manly deeds their name Has reached land's farthest end, the posts of Herakles. For further worth to strive may nought avail. Horse-breeders they became. And favour gat with Ares brazen-clad ; But in one day The savage, stormy, hail Of warfare robbed their hearth so lately glad Of four good men at once. Yet now the wear)' tale Of wintry gloom And fitful months is past, and earth in bloom With spring of fresh-won fame. As if with crimson roses, strews their way By ordinance of gods. And he who smites The earth, inhabiting Onchestus' fane And yon sea-bridge that lies before Korinthus' walls, Inspiring this my wondrous strain. To life the old Renown of noble deeds recalls Done by the family, long lain Asleep on Lethe's bed ; but now again, N 196 Waked out of that dead slumber, she is seen Bright bodily with fairest sheen, As Morning-star among the welkin's lesser lights. She in the meads of Athens heralded His chariot's victory, at Sikyon With sprays of song, like these I weave, from them that chose To woo the Muses long agone In the Adrastean lists his triumph o'er his foes She hailed. Nor kept they e'er afar From common gatherings their bended car ; But joyed with Panhellenic company In lavish horsemanship to vie. In nameless silence they who venture naught are dead ; And even them that fight obscurity Will often ill requite. Before they reach the long projected height. For like event Not aye impartially Does luck bestow ; and men of greater might The craft of lesser folk o'ertaking suddenly Will overthrow. The tale of Aias' bloody feat ye know ; 197 And how he fell that night On his own sword : to Hellas' sons who went To Troy a sore reproach. Yet in his day Did Homer honour him o'er other men ; Who all his prowess told in song divinely sweet Of measured cadence, which since then Our after generations o'er and o'er repeat. For so far immortality Waits on the gift of real poesy, That if a bard have uttered words of worth, O'er all the sea and fruitful earth For ever goes unquenched good work's refulgent ray. Be ours the Muses' kindly-minded hour, To kindle that undying torch of song E'en for Melissus here, of old Telesias The seed ; a crown to suit the strong In box and wrestle both. For he in spirit was, And courage high, and tireless toil, A match for lions roaring for their spoil : Cunning as vixen on her back that lies And all the eagle's swoops defies : For need 't was anywise to foil his foeman's power. 198 For not to him Orion's mighty thews Had kindly nature given ; To look upon he seemed contemptible ; But for a fall 'Twere difficult to choose One heavier to throw. And thus they tell How once from Kadmus' Thebes to swart Antaius' cell In Libya grown With wheat, where he Poseidon's fane would crown With scalps from strangers riven, There came Alkmena's son, of stature small But soul unbending, vowed to overawe His violence by force and make it cease. He to Olympus went, when all the earth, and all The cliffs that fence the hoary seas. He had explored, and smoothed a passage safe withal For voyagers ; and for reward In bliss supreme beside the Aigis-lord He dwells, esteemed by all the gods beside A friend, with Hebe for his bride. Monarch of golden halls, and Hera's son-in-law. Wherefore for him above the Amber-gate 199 Do we his countrymen the feast prepare, Making with Avreaths of flowers new-cut his altars gay, And burn our sacrifices there To those dead sons of his, the eight whom Megara, The child of Kreon, bore for him, And iron slaughtered. Soon as day is dim, With set of sun for them another light Arising shines throughout the night. Lashing the lurid air with smoke of burning fat : Till with the second day the yearly game A fitting ending has In trial of strong muscles : where this man A second time His ^^Teath of conquests wear We saw, his brow with myrtle-flowers wan. A third he gained before in boyhood, giving ear To counsels sage Of him who trained and steered his tender age. Wherefore with Orseas Him will I celebrate in joyful rhyme. 200 5. t^0 ||l^jrMibcs0f|.i;gma. O Theia, worshipped under many names, Mother of Hehos, for thy regard Man reckons gold above all things beside In mighty strength : for thee on ocean wide Ship vies with ship, and horses in the games Their chariots drag at speed for thy award. Where in the circles swift of contest they are seen To court thy glance, immortal Queen. And he in that contested struggle gains An honour all the world would fain acquire. Around whose tresses many garlands meet For skilful hands or swiftness of his feet. But heaven alone to mortal man ordains Prowess : and two endowments must conspire To blend their nurturing, ere life's sweet flower can come In happiness to perfect bloom ; 201 Success in act the first, the second fair Repute. Yet deem not in tliy folly thou canst pair With Zeus. If this The highest hap That men attain be dropped upon thy lap, Thou hast enough : for mortal blessings are Befitting mortals. Thee, Phylakides, Isthmus and Nemea cro\Mied in double list ; And Pytheas was pancratist. My heart no relish has for song th' Aiakidse's Reno^m that mentions not ; and with my melodies And Lampo's sons to this well-ordered town I now am come. Grudge not to one devote To walk the stainless paths of deeds divine The song with seemly boasting to combine For ended toil. For in the days long flown The goodly warriors of heroic note Gat gain of minstrels' tales ; whose glories citterns tell. And many-voiced oboes swell Their fame for countless years. Their excellence For poets' song provides material, Since Zeus so wills ; and bardic carols rise 202 At every bright Aitolian sacrifice To Oineus' sons ; at Thebes her citizens Laud lolaiis ; Argos' festival Perseus exalts ; while Polydeukes is the theme, And Kastor, by Eurotas' stream : But in Oinone all the legend runs Of genial Aialcus and his great-hearted sons ; \Vlio twice the ranks Of battle led To sack the Trojans' city, marshalled Once by Alkeides, by th' Atreidse once. Now quit the plain, and higher soar, and say By whom did Kyknus fall, and Hektor ? Who The fearless mailclad Memnon slew, Swart Aithiopia's chief? Whose shaft amidst the fray Smote goodly Telephus beside Kaikus banks ? Heroes for whom Aigina's peerless shore I claim for mother-land. Long since was built Her tower for high-exalted excellence To mount. And many shafts of eloquence My ready tongue has in redundant store. To loose in praise of them : and thou too \vilt, 203 Fair Salamis, the town of Aias, testify How in the war not long gone by Her sailors saved thee from the smiting storm, When human life-blood showered thick as hail From countless slain. Yet quench the paean now In silence. Zeus alone can good bestow And evil, Zeus, of schemes that mortals form Supreme disposer. In the rhymer's tale Honours like these deUght reward as honey sweet To harvest. Let who will compete, That knows the fame of Kleonikus' race, By deeds from them to win the athlete's foremost place. The mighty moil That they endure Goes not to waste, nor does th' expenditure Expectant hope of cro\\'ns to come efface. So Pytheas I praise, whose masterful Hands made Phylakides's victory Assured ; a deft opponent he ! Then bear him hence a crown, a chaplet of fine wool, And winged song and new withal to grace his toil. 204 6. C0 H^gl^^t'^^S ^^ Sis'l"^' As though at full of festive revelry, We mix the second cup of Muse-inspired song For Lampo's offspring strong In tireless thews. The first in Nemea we drained To thee, O Zeus, When there the flower of coronals was gained ; And this at Isthmus, Isthmus' lord, to thee, And Nereus' daughters fair two score and ten, we bring ; For now Phylakides, his youngest, victory Has gotten : be it ours ere long. To the Olympian saviour offering, To bathe Aigina's isle in honied melody ! For if a man in generous expense Takes pleasure, and in toil, and aye unflinching meets The labours their own feats 205 Have sanctified, For him delicious fame the gods Will plant beside His path : god-honoured in the inmost roads Of bliss his barque has anchor cast. Propense To tastes like these the son of Kleonikus prays Such joy in hoaiy eld and Hades may attend Himself; and towards the lofty seats Of Klotho and her sister Fates I raise My voice, to bid them list the wishes of my friend. And you, ye golden-carred Aiakidas, I hold it aye the strictest law to me To dew with songs of praise, whene'er this isle I reach. WTiose mighty deeds have made them straight and wide Ten thousand paths, beyond the fountain-head Of Neilus' fruitful tide, Beyond the homes of them that dwell behind The northern wind : nor wilt thou find A country so uncouth, so gibbering in speech, As not to be acquaint in some degree With Peleus' heroism, whose luck it was to wed The daughter of a god ; nor to have heard 206 The fame of Aias and his father Telamon. Whom erst Alkmena's son In ships led o'er The sea to Troy with Tiryns' might, The brazen war To join, a glad ally ; to worst in fight Heroes untold ; because his plighted word Laomedon forswore. The height of Pergamus He took ; with him he slew the tribes of Meropes ; And nigh to Phlegrse lighting on Alkyoneus the herdsman mountainous In girth, his twanging string with hands full merciless Alkeides drew. When Telamon he bade Come o'er the sea with him, his folk in general Were keeping festival : And Telamon — Whilst he stood in the lion's skin — Implored the son Of bold Amphitryon mighty-speared begin By offerings of nectar duly made : And therewithal the chief a winecup rough with gold Tendered. Then he to heaven his hands unconquered spread And thus besought. " If thou at all, 207 O Zeus my father, in the days of old With wilHng soul to prayer of mine hast listened, Now, now with most intent request I pray, Grant Telamon that he, my guest to-day, From Eriboia's womb the brave son fore-ordained May get ; and let him in his body be Impervious to wounds, (as roundabout This hide enfoldeth me Of that wild beast that erst in Nemea's dell, The first fruits of my labours, fell,) With dauntless soul to match." He spake; and Zeus unchained And sent his eagle, king of birds. Straightway Sweet gladness woke within his bosom. With a shout In prophet-guise he lift his voice, and cried, " O Telamon, the son thou cravest shall be thine ; And for the bird our eyne Beheld appear Aias shall he be named, of might Immense, the fear Of folk that toil the War-god to delight." He said, and ceasing sat him down beside The rest to feast. But all their worthiness were long 208 To tell. For Pytheas, Euthymenes, and chief Phylakides, O Muse of mine, I come to lead the revels. Let my song That tells their honours be in Argive fashion brief. Three times the laurels of the pancratist The noble uncle and his sister's children won At Isthmus ; oft, where on The leafy vale Of Nemea mountains frown, men see Their skill prevail. They bathe the clan of the Psalychidas r the Graces' freshest dew. Oh ! such a list Of songs they brought to light ! Themistius' house they set Once more on high ; and in this favoured place they dwell : Where Lampo long his work has done With careful love, and reverences yet Old Hesiod's saw, and bids his offspring con it well ; Clothing his town with honours all his own. And love for kindnesses to strangers shown. What to pursue aware, and what to let go by, His tongue he lets not overrun his thought. Greatest of athletes seems he in our eyes, 209 As hones from Naxos brought To temper steel all other stones excel. Him will I give from Dirke's well That water pure to drink, that by the progeny Of wise Mnemosyne with golden gown At Kadmus' well-embattled gates was bid to rise. 210 7- C0 Sirtpstab^s of CbcBts- With which of all the honours that befell Thy land of old didst thou delight Thy spirit most, O Thebes thrice blessed? Was it when Thou gavest birth to curly Dionyse Demeter's comrade, whom the cymbals' symphonies Extol ? or when at night In golden rain thou saw'st descend to men The chief of them on high that dwell. To cross Amphitryon's gate and seek his bride, Whence peerless Herakles was born ? Or in Teiresias' supreme sagacity ? Or in the skill by lolaiis shown As horseman, or the spears untiring of the Sown ? Or when Adrastus, shorn Of his ten thousand comrades, from the cry Of fight thou dravest back, to bide 21 I In Argos, where they love the horse ? or when Thy Doric colony On Lakedaimon's mountain-spurs was set, And strong Amyklce fell before the men Who boasted Aigeus' blood, thy own true progeny, Obeying Pytho's prophecies ? But fairest fame in wondrous wise Grown old will fall asleep, and folk forget ; Save that which gains the bloom of poesy, Yoked with the indestructible Torrents of minstrel-lore. Then raise a revel-song Of sweetest cadence for Strepsiades : For he has carried off the five great victories At Isthmus, terrible In thews, in manly excellence as strong, And passing fair withal to see ; And by the purple-tressbd Muses he Is made illustrious ; and new Sprays of the tree of fame his namesake uncle's tomb He tAvines to deck, whom armed with brazen targe Dread Ares slew. But, know thou surely, honours large To bravery are due. 212 And whoso in this storm for love of home Repels this rain of blood shall be, For driving ruin on the hostile host, For aye, alive or dead. The greatest glory of his native town. And thou, Diodotus's child, hast lost, — Imagining thyself in Meleager's stead, Amphiaraiis rivalling And Hektor in the fight, — thy spring Of blooming manhood, bravely having shown Thy prowess, where amid the van of war The bravest bore till hope had fled The battle's brunt. A grief too deep for words was then My portion : but Poseidon deems it good The tempest's roar to change to happy quietude. And I around my head Will garlands fit to sing the first of men. Nor grudge me, gods, if thus so far, Each day's delights pursuing while I may, I do my best to live at ease Until to eld and fate's appointed time I come. 213 For though our lots unequal be, we all Alike must die at last ; and he his soul who shall With distant prospects please, Will prove too short to reach the burnished home Of gods. As in the olden day Wide-winged Pegasus threw headlong down His lord Bellerophon, Who sought to win the palaces of heaven. The council-halls of Zeus. But e'en renown, If got by means unfair, an ending waits upon Most bitter. Grant us at our prayer, O Loxias of golden hair, Thy flowery crown at Pytho's contests given ! 214 8. C0 |al^aitbr0s of l^i^ma. Ho ! boys, let some one go and call Kleandros and his fellows ; bid them raise Beside the shining entrance-hall Where Telesarchus dwells, His sire, the revel-song, the glorious recompense Of labours finished ; In payment for his Isthmic victory, And for that he At Nemea the contest's honours won : For whom I too, Though vexed at heart, am asked to-day The golden Muses' aid to pray. For now, from mighty sorrow freed, Let us not stint our coronals, nor feed And pamper grief ; But, bidding useless woe begone, Adapt our tongues to merry lays, 215 Though pain be new. For now for our relief The potent spells Of some kind god have banished hence The stone of Tantalus, that o'er our head Was hung, a hardship sore to bear For Hellas. But our fears have fled and ta'en Away our heavy load of care. 'Tis best for man to be Intent on present things : for Time is treacherous ; And swiftly rolls the tide Of life along : but e'en adversity, So freedom be Safe, may be bettered. Man should cherish aye Good hope with care. And he is bounden, who was bred In Thebes the seven-portalled The Graces' fairest wreath to bring For brave Aigina's special honouring. For twins there were Born to Asopus, legends say, His youngest children, daughters twain ; And either fair 2l6 To royal Zeus was dear. The other he By Dirke's fountain beauteous O'er a car-loving city bade preside : But thee to Oinops' isle he bare, And locked in thy embrace he fell asleep. And to his sire the Thunderer there The godlike Aiakus Thou broughtest forth, of men on earth the trustiest Who even gods' dispute Determined. Sons of his ahke divine, And all their line Of warfare -loving children, aye excelled In following Woe-working battle's brazen din With manhood ; yet were sober in Conduct, and wise of soul. And this The Council of the Blessed witnesses. When sharp debate Zeus over Thetis' wedding held 'Gainst the bright Monarch of the deep, Each coveting The maiden for his mate ; 217 So beauteous She was, that love inflamed their breast. Yet of her bed gat neither suitor boot, Though both immortals ; when they heard The oracles of Fate : for in their mid Unerring Themis spake her word, "Because it is decreed That if or Zeus himself, or Zeus's brother, wed The water-goddess, she A kingly son and greater shall produce Than even Zeus, Who shall a weapon than the thunder-flash More mighty wield Or dreadful trident ; pray ye cease Your quarrel : let the girl in peace With mortal man in marriage-tie Be joined, and see her son in combat die, Her son the peer Of Ares in the battle's clash. The swiftness of whose feet shall bid The levin yield. To Peleus then, if here My voice ye heed, 218 Be this high honour offered ; For, sprung from Aiakus, they say that he Is godUest of all that grow On broad lolkos' plain. Let messengers To Cheiron's ageless cavern go At once without delay ; Nor t\vice let Nereus' child the lots of brawlsome mood Force on our hands ; but when At night the waxing moon is at her full Let Peleus pull Away the girdle of her maidenhood." Thus pleaded she Addressing Kronos' offspring. They With brows immortal to her say Nodded assent ; nor fruitless fell Her words and died, for, as the singers tell, Their very king Sped forward for the common good Fair Thetis' bridal. Rhapsoders The bravery Of young Achilles sing To our dull day ; Who vine-clad Mysia steeped in blood. 219 With dark gore dewing Telephus's plain ; And bridged the way for Atreus' sons' Return ; and rescued Helen ; with his spear Cutting away the bravest ones Of Troy, who for a time Hindered his marshalling the ranks of bloody war Upon their owti dear fields, Hektor the overdaring in the fight, And Memnon's might, And other chiefs. Achilles showed them all The dismal land Of dread Persephone, when he, Prince of the bold Aiakidae, Displayed his high ancestral pride, And therewithal Aigina glorified. So e'en when slain He wanted not for musical Gifts ; for his pyre and grave anear The virgin band Of Helikon their strain Of dirge sublime Stood singing : for th' immortals are Agreed, a hero's soul to death who yields 220 To give to them to hymn. And so 'Tis now ; for fast the Muses' chariot speeds To bid the memory brighter glow Of sturdy Nikokles The boxer. Laud ye him who once in Isthmus' glen The Doric parsley gained ; Because with hand that none could 'scape he too Aye overthrew All neighbouring folk confounded by his force. Nor less have shown His honours through the victor son His noble uncle got. Let one Among his fellows haste to twist For brave Kleandros, hailed the pancratist, The slender wTcath Of myrtle. For Alkathoiis' course, And Epidaurus' youth, his deeds With fortune's crown Have met, and plausive breath. And meet it is His praise should come from honest men : - For not in secret sloth his youth was trained. NEMEAN AND OTHER ODES. 22^ I. Co Cbromius nf €tnn- Thou blossom fair of famous Syracuse, Alpheius' holy rest, Ortygia, Thou bed of Artemis, Sister of Delos' isle, in thee I find the source Of dulcet song, That hymns, for sake of Etna's sovereign Zeus, The mighty praise of tempest-footed horse. V And Chromius' car at Nemea In honour of his victories Compels my strain to join the plaudits of the throng. For the foundations by the gods were placed Of yonder mortal's godlike braver)^ ; And in success there Hes The highest excellence of glory ; anH to nurse The memory Of noble deeds that conquest's palm has graced 224 Delights the Muse. With splendour then asperse The isle that to Persephone Olympus' king who rules the skies, Zeus, gave with solemn nod, of earth's fertility The very chiefest flower, SikeHa Rich in the citadels of wealthy towns, to own. And therewithal the son of Kronos gave A people brave To woo on horseback clash of martial steel. Nor yet unused to feel The golden olive of Olympia Twined in their tresses. Oft my shafts not falsely thrown Have hit the mark. And now I stand within The outer portals of a host and friend, Singing his handsomeness. Where for my welcoming the fitting feast is decked. For yonder courts Have large experience of taking in The stranger. They that foolishly expect Good fame by slander's tongue to end. But water smoke. For worthiness Is divers ways displayed, and in their several sorts 225 Men all should strive their best straightforwardly. And strength for work avails, for counsel mind, The gift inborn to tell Future events. And thou, Agesidamus' son. Hast both of these By nature had to use. No wish have I Vast wealth in chambers hid to gloat upon ; But, always to my neighbours kind. In comfort and good name to dwell. For Hope is free to all, and comes whene'er she please To all the sons of toil. But gladly I, Waking the ancient tale how high his virtue rose, Hold fast to Herakles's memory ; And sing how he The son of Zeus, — from out his mother's womb As soon as he had come To the fair shining of his father's sky, With his twin brother scaped from endless travail-throes, But not escaping the malign regard Of golden-throned Hera, — swaddled lay In wraps of saffron hue. Then hot with wrath the queen of heaven in haste dispatched 226 Two dragons gray, Which quickly through the open portals fared To their bed-chamber wide, and fain had snatched, Lapped quickly in their coils, away Both babes. But he their coming knew. And raised his head upright, and first began the fray, Grasping with both his hands the serpents twain Tight by the neck with force they could not flee, Till they were choked, and till Time from their hideous forms the breath of being drove. Then horrible Dread like an arrow smote the female train Who chanced, performing offices of love, About Alkmena's bed to be ; For to her feet unrobed still She sprang from bed to fend th' assault of brutes so fell. And fast with brazen weapons thronging ran The chiefs of Kadmus' folk ; and with them speeding on, A broadsword brandishing of scabbard bare, With stricken air Of bitter anguish, — for his private smart Goes home to every heart 227 Alike, but if mishap another man Befall, we soon take comfort, — came Amphitryon, And stood amazed with sorrow and delight Commingled, for he saw th' unnatural Courage and strength his boy Possessed, and how the gods the message full of fear Had falsified. The prophet then of Zeus supreme in might, Teiresias his neighbour, truthful seer. He summoned, who obeyed the call. And showed him filling him with joy And all his host what fates the baby should betide ; How many foul wild beasts by field and flood He should destroy ; how many evil men. Walking in crooked way Of lawless insolence, he should consign to death, He told ; and how. On Phlegra's plain when with the giant-brood The gods should join in battle, felled beneath The hurling of his javelins then Full many a foeman bold should lay His ringlets bright with oil in earth's defilement low : p 228 But he himself, in splendid recompense For wondrous toils endured, uninterruptedly In peaceful calm in realms delectable For aye should dv/ell : Where blooming Hebe should become his bridt And at the feast beside Zeus, son of Kronos, lie should sit, and thence F.xtol that stately home's supreme felicity. 229 2. Co Cimobcmus of litljcns- As bards who boast themselves the progeny Of Homer, when they gin Recitals of heroic poesy, With Zeus are wonted to prelude, So this man now His earnest gains of crowns, that wreathe the brow Of them the sacred games that win, In.Nemean Zeus's song-renowned wood. And yet Timonoiis's son is bound, If on his father's way. The pride of mighty Athens, he be found Life's path straight-fonvardly to tread, Ofttimes to pluck The fairest flower of Isthmus' godscnt luck ; And often shall he win the dav 230 In Pytho's list : as surely as 'tis said iS^'ot distant from the mountain Pleiades Orion's star must sail. And Salamis has many witnesses How she a fighting-man can rear : For Aias' blow Hektor on Troas' plain had cause to know. And thy pancratic prowess will avail Thee, Timodemus, higher still to bear. Time-honoured is Acharnse's blazonry For famous men. Of all Foremost in sports the Timodemidas Have always borne away the bell. For four times home From lordly-browed Parnassus they have come The heroes of the festival : And twice four times in good king Pelops' dell They gained the victor's garland from the men Of Corinth, and have here In Nemea seven times triumphant been, And in Athenian Zeus's games 231 Won countless times. To whom for Timodemus raise the rhymes Of wassail now, and wish him cheer And proud return. Begin your sweet acclaims. 232 3- ^0 g^nstokbibcs of §.tguut. O venerated Muse, O mother mine, I pray thee in the sacred days Of Nemea Come to the Doric isle Aigina o'er the sea, Where strangers aye Are welcome. For beside Asopus' stream The youthful choir, who make our games the theme Of honied lays, Await thee, longing sore for that sweet voice of thine. Good work is thirsty for its proper meed Each in its sort ; and songs the rightest seem To follow him to whom the crown has been decreed For bravery. Whereof unsparing affluence bestow Through craft of mine. The hymn begin ^32> Acceptable, O daughter, to the lord of cloud-engirdled heaven ; And with its swell My cittern I will join and choral strains, And th' island's glory pleasurable pains Shall have, wherein Dwelt warlike Myrmidons long centuries ago. Not on their market-place of old renown Aristokleides brought dishonour's stains By thy decree ; his strong endurance broke not down, Though he has striven The meed of pancratist to win ; and victory In Nemea's deep vale can healing bring For painful blows and labours harassing. Yet comely though his form, and though his deeds agree \Vell with his looks, the son of Aristophanes Has reached the highest feat he can achieve ; He will not find it easy work to cleave The trackless sea beyond the posts of Herakles, By th' hero-god for famous witnesses Of that his furthest voyage placed. When in his strength 234 He quelled the monsters of the deep, and searched through The weary length Of channels mid the shoals, where he might find Safe passage to the home he left behind, And duly traced The limits of the land. My spirit, tell me, please, For what strange headland settest thou thy sail ? To Aiakus, I tell thee, and his kind — For Right supreme enjoins to laud the good — thy tale Of song is due. 'T is not the love of strangers' fame that best Befits the singer. Seek at home Thy subject. There Thou hast a theme at hand to make thy descant on Surpassing fair. For kingly Peleus in the ages long Agone for bravery rejoiced in song. The wondersome Spearshaft who cut, and took alone without the rest lolkos, and the seaborn Thetis caught By violence : and Telamon the strong At lolaiis' side to utter ruin brought Laomedon ; 235 And followed him where bows of brass the Amazons Handle, nor once did soul-subduing dread Check his high spirit. Eminence inbred Has mighty leverage : but he that only cons A lesson, blowing hot and cold alternately, Ne'er puts his foot with firmness down, but wastes Good effort on ten thousand fruitless tastes. But e'en when staying in the home of Philyre Ruddy Achilles in his childhood played At deeds heroic ; oft would swing In baby hand His little javelin barbed with steel, and swift as wind Would with his brand Do murder on the lions 'mid the wold. Or slaughter boars. When but a six-year-old He 'gan to bring Their palpitating forms, himself all undismayed, To Kronos' Kentaur-son, and aye from this Persisted in his triumphs manifold ; Till bold Athena saw, and huntress Artemis, With awestruck mind Him kill the deer without or cunning snare 236 Or aiding hound, for in his feet His strength appeared. I have a stor}', told by them of former days, How Cheiron reared With deepest counsels in his cavernous Home first lason, next Asklepius, And precepts meet Taught him, with gentle hand his medicines to prepare. There Nereus' noble daughter afterward He gave in marriage, and her marvellous Son tended, all his soul resolved to train and guard In such fit ways That, carried by the sweep of ocean-winds afar To Troas, he might stand the batde-cries Of Lykian, Phrygian, Dardan, enemies Amid the clash of spears, and hand to hand in war Mix with the spearmen, in his heart determining That nevermore to his ancestral home Should Helenus' impetuous cousin come, Memnon the swarthy-skinned, their Ethiopian king. Thence light that casts far radiance rose upon The lineage of Aiakus : 237 For thine they are, O Zeus, in blood ; and thine the strife that now in song The lads prepare, Hymning their country's joy, t' extol ; and well Jubilant shouts befit, and music's swell, Victorious Aristokleides, who on their Thearion, Pythian Apollo's holy house, bestows Illustrious care, and bids their voices tell The honours of this isle. Long trial only shows The truly strong. At first among one's fellow boys a boy, And then a man mth men, the third A later stage With elder folk, one proves how far we men succeed ; And long old age Makes excellences four, and bids one turn One's thoughts to things at hand, nor farther yearn. And by my word This virtue too is his. O friend, I give thee joy, And send thee this white milk v/ith honey sprent, Where clinging round the bowl thou may'st discern A draught of song with soft Aiolian pipings blent. 238 For tardy meed. Of all the birds that fly the eagle is most fleet Of wing, and spies his quarry far away, Gives chase, and quickly grasps the gory prey With ruthless talons ; whilst in lowly places meet The screaming daws. For thee, my friend, from Nemea- So queenly Klio wills — distinction's beam For thy victorious spirit bright doth gleam. From Epidaurus too, and eke from Megara. 239 4- ^0 Ctmasimljus of g^icjina- A FESTIVE bout, when toil is o'er And judgment done, may best restore Exhausted thews ; and hymns, The Muses' gifted children, love Their soothing charms of touch to prove. The ease that weary limbs, In tepid baths relaxed, obtain Compares not with the cittern's strain Attuned to words of praise : For word has longer life than deed, Whene'er the Graces have decreed To deeply-musing tongue the meed Of long-protracted days. Be such my feast-preludmg lay For Kronos' Zeus, and Nemeii, And Timasarchus' feat 240 Of wrestle. Let the d\velling-place Of Aiakus' heroic race, This towered island, greet It well, where law's fair lamp is set Of help for foreigners. If yet Timokritus thy sire Could warm him in the fierce sunshine, His now had been the hand, not mine, Thy song of triumph to combine With his melodious lyre. Kleonas's list thy garlands' chain Began, which Athens twined again, Bright city of renown. In Thebes the seven-portalled, Where splendour sepulchres her dead Hero Amphitryon, Her Kadmus' sons delighted wove With flowers, for x\igina's love. Thy locks ; for thou wert come, A friend to friends, the memories Of ancient liospitalities Awakening, to Herakles' Supremely happy home. 241 With whom the stahvart Telamon In days primeval fell upon Troy and the Meropes ; And slew the huge, dread, man of war Alkyoneus ; but not before Twelve four-horse carriages, And twice as many valiant men Who mounted them or held the rein, Beneath his boulders fell. Witless of battle were the wight, ^\'ho could not understand aright That he, on whom successes light, May light on harm as well. But custom all I fain would say Precludes, and hours that will not stay. Yet this new moon my heart, As if by WTyneck spell, is bent The story shortly to present. Although, my soul, thou art Amidst the deep and briny sea Half-whelmed, resist the treachery : Then we in broad daylight Shall come to land with genial skies, 242 Superior to our enemies ; While th' other, envy in his eyes, Revolves in gloomy night His futile earthward thought. To me What gift imperial Destiny Has granted, I know well. And coming time shall perfect it As fate decrees. So prythee fit To Lydian music's swell, O sweet my lyre, at once and here. The theme to fair Oinone dear, And Kyprus' sea-beat strand ; Where Teukros, son of Telamon, In exile holds a foreign throne ; While Salamis, by birth his own, Obeys her Aias' hand ; And 'midst the Hospitable Main His gleaming isle Achilles' reign. Fair Thetis Phthia sways ; And where Epeirus wide is spread. Beginning from Dodona's head, To far Ionia's bays, 243 In mountain-ridges herds to feed, The herdsman still reveres the rede Of young Neoptolemos : And proud lolkos Peleus gave To Haimon's children, when with glaive Of foe he sought her, for a slave At foot of Pelios, Ware of the subtle treachery Akastus' wife Hippolyte Had planned ; for Pelias' seed With curiously-fashioned knife Laid ambush for the stranger's life. But fate by Zeus decreed Was carried out ; for Cheiron came And foiled him. All-subduing flame When he had mastered, And 'scaped the lion's sharpest claws, And savage craft, and fearful jaws With fangs tremendous armed because A mortal he would wed One of the high-enthroned array Of Nereids, Peleus gat his way ; Q 244 And saw the rounded seat, Whence they who rule the sky and sea On him for his posterity Their gifts and power great Bestowed. To sail is not allowed Beyond Gadeira's banks of cloud. So for the continent Of Europe trim thy barque again. At length the glories of the reign Of Aiakus's sons my strain To hymn were vainly bent. But, as I promised, glad I came To Isthmus' and Olympia's game And Nemea's, that limbs Make strong, with ready heraldry The fame of the Theandridee To blazon in my hymns ; Who from the trial never come Uncrowned with fruitful honours home. And now we hear that these I1iy clansmen, Timasarchus, will There join the melodies that shrill Thy triumi)h. If thou bid'st me still 245 To raise for Kallikles, Thy mother's brother, column new Than Paros' stone more white of hue ; As brightest hghts appear In smelting gold, so song, the meed That chronicles his noble deed, Can make a man the peer Of kings ; and though by Acheron He dwell, my voice's ringing tone Shall reach him even there. Because in Corinth's rivalry Before the thunderous deity Who wields the trident gaily he The parsley wreath did wear. And gladsomely thy father's sire, Old Euphanes, attuned his lyre His praise to chaunt, my boy. Well — others lived in other days ; But each man hopes that terms of praise Himself can best employ For whatso feat himself has seen. Melesias to laud, I ween, 246 Of strife would clear the field. Invincible in speaking, he To goodly folk benignantly Behaves, a stubborn enemy To them that will not yield. 247 5- ^o|lnibiJas of trginit. I AM no sculptor, statued forms to make, In idleness impassible Aye on the selfsame pedestal To stand. From our Aigina passage take By merchantman and skiff, sweet song, and speak How Pytheas, Lampo's strong-limbed-son, In Nemea the crown has won Of pancratist, ere yet upon his cheek The summer-tint like tender vine-down shone ; And graced th' Aiakidae with fresh renown, — The warrior heroes, who from Zeus' And Kronos' loins their line deduce And Nereus' golden maids, — their mother-town And lands to strangers friendly honouring. For whose success upon the brine Erst by th' Hellenic Father's shrine 248 Ende'is' famous sons stood worshipping With strong king Phokus, raising hands and eyne To heaven. Him on the margin of the sea The goddess Psamathea bare. A deed tremendous dared unrighteously 1 fear to utter ; why the pair Quitted their glorious isle, and what avenging god Drove from Oinone men of such high hardihood. I stay me. 'T is not always best That naked Truth should self-confessed To all the crowd her fearless forehead show. 'T is wisest oft to hide within the breast In silence what we hap to know. But if to wealth or strength of hand I deem My praises due, or iron war. Long though the leap they might prepare, To my knees' agile flight 'twould nothing seem. The eagles wing their way across the deep : And glad the Muses' peerless choir Sang them on Pelion, his lyre Seven-tongued while Phoibos in their midst would sweep With golden bow, that flashed and leaped like fire 249 Through strains of many measures. First they 'gan Of Zeus to sing, and Thetis' brow So sweetly grave, and Peleus, how He nigh was trammelled in the crafty plan Of Kretheus' dainty child Hippolyte ; Who strove her husband to beguile, Magnetia's lord, with many a wile, Piecing together lying tales that he Akastus' marriage-bed would sully ; while 'T was just the other way. With burning heart And speech she oft solicited His love : her evil words bred only smart And ire : he spurned the girl for dread Of him who guards the rights of hospitality, The cloud-assembling Sire, King of immortals. He From heaven perceiving bowed assent ; Then quickly to Poseidon went, For Peleus urging him an Ocean-bride, A golden-spindled Nereid, content With mortal kinship, to provide. Oft to the famous Dorian Isthmus he From Aigce's island swiftly speeds, 250 Where jubilant throngs with vocal reeds Welcome the god, and show their rivalry In fearless strength of limb. 'T is Fate decrees Their kindred meed of praise to all. And there thou in the arms didst fall Of Victory divine, Euthymenes, And reap Aigina's choral hymns withal. And even now thy uncle noble proves His kindred folk, who follow in His footsteps, Pytheas, crowns to win. Him Nemea and the month Apollo loves. His country's month, conspired to suit, and he All comers of his age at home Beat, and in Nisus' lovely coomb. Well-pleased am I that for the mastery The whole state strives. But know thy luck has come Thanks to Menander, balm for all thy pain. The athletes' trainer well may hail From Athens. But Themistius if thou fain Would'st sing, then shrink not, hoist thy sail Up to the main-top yard, give thy voice utterance. And cry aloud how he attained the double chance 251 To win in Epidaurus' list In wrestle, and as pancratist ; And to the porch of Aiakus upbare Garlands which leaves with blossoms intertwist Through th' auburn-tressed Graces' care. 25: 6. C0 Itllumiifcs xjf S^ighta. The race of men And gods Is one ; at one the selfsame mother's breast We'all draw in the breath of hfe. But infinite Diversity of powers now divides One from the other : so that we are naught, But aye the brazen heaven abides For them a place of rest. Yet somewhat still in mighty thought Or form the deathless we May near ; although we may not ken What sort of goal unflinching Destiny By day or night For us to run for may decree. And so but now Alkimides tlie proof of consanguinity Shows for us all to see. Like fruitful harvest-fields, 253 That changefully one year produce for men The yearly food-crop of the plains, and one Rest to recruit their strength again ; A boyish victor he, From Zeus the fortune having won. From the beloved games Of Nemea returns, his brow With garlands circled, not without his claims To whatso yields Fame to triumphant wrestlers' names. He planted every footstep painfully Along the ancient track Praxidamas his father's father made : For he the first for the Aiakidae The olive wreath Brought from Alpheius of Olympic victory ; And coming five times crowned from Isthmus back. And thrice from Nemea's green glade. He saved Sokleides, eldest son Of Agesimachus, from dark oblivion, The worser death. For these were three 254 Who dared to taste of toil, and bearing off its prize Reached the supremest height of honoured hardihood. Nor e'er did heavbn-prospered thews make proud Another house with greater store of crowns, Won in the valley whither crowd With eager, scanning, eyes The throngs of all broad Hellas' towns. And I do hope my strain Of triumph may successfully, Like dart from bowstring shot, its aim attain : So thither, good My muse, I pray, direct again Thy glorious gale Of song. For songs and tales each honourable deed Of those now passed away accompanied : and these Were never scarce among the Bassidae, A race of olden note, that bear their own Praise with them, able ceaselessly With themes of song to feed, Because of mighty works well done, Pieria's workmen's tongue. For once in Pytho's holy vale Kallias from the same high lineage sprung, 255 Who wont to please Gold-spindled Leto's scions young, With thongs around his knuckles gained the day, And starlike shone at night In songs the Graces sang by Castaly ; And where in each third year the Amphictyons slay The bull beside Poseidon's grove, the son of Kreon many a day The narrow bridge, that bars the angry might Of the unresting briny sea, Held honoured ; and the lion's wreath Of parsley Phlious' bare primeval hills beneath His tresses tied. On every side The paths are open wide for chroniclers that would This noble isle embellish, since th' Aiakidse, Exceeding merit showing, chances rare Have given ; o'er the land and thwart the sea Their name was wafted through the air Abroad for hardihood ; O'erleaping e'en the boundary Of Ethiopia's sand, 256 When Memnon came not in his pride Back as aforetime to his distant land, Such enmity Achilles showed him hand to hand, Down from his car Leaping to ground, when with his ireful javelin's head He slew bright Eos' son. But o'er this wagon-road Others have driven teams in olden days. Yet carefully I follow in their wake : Though every man, the proverb says. That wave of all will dread The most, whose surges threat to break On his own vessel's bow. Still I have glady come from far Upon a willing back to saddle now My double load Of heraldship, proclaiming how This fifth success, beside the previous score, In contests which we call Divine, Alkimides has gained of late For his time-honoured kindred. Twice before By Zeus's grove 257 Tliou and thy Polytimides of need forswore The flowers of Olympia's festival Through lots but too precipitate. And swift as dolphin through the sea Melesias I call, who hands and strength for thee Like chariot drove. 258 7- ^0 So^cncs nf §.tgni:i. Oh ! hear me, Eileithuia, thou that sit'st beside The three weird sisters deep of thought, All-potent Hera's most prolific child ! Without thy aid we ne'er had seen the light. Nor looked on sable night, Nor known thy sister Hebe fair of limb. Yet not for equal ends are all men brought To life, but binding Fates divide Each one from other. Yet through thy protection mild Has Sogenes, Thearion's noble son. The pentathlete's distinction won ; So are his glories sung in our triumphal hymn. Because his home is in the isle where song doth dwell ; And where the seed of Aiakus Love clash of spear, and joy in exercise To keep their souls for coming victory. 259 And he, whose feats may be By fortune blest, affords the Muses' stream Matter most sweet. For prowess marvellous, That lacks the song its wortli to tell, Thick darkness shrouds : and we can hold no otherwise The mirror up to work well done, save we Bright-filleted Mnemosyne Win to make toil's reward the poet's honoured theme. The wise perceive three days before it come The signs of windy weather. Nor run for gain the risk of injury. Rich men and poor together Travel the road whose goal is death ; and we Deem not Odysseus bare such doom As seems from Homer's charming poesy. Since he by soaring art imparts solemnity To fiction, leading us astray With fables by his lore contri\ed ; and most Amongst us men are ever blind of heart. For, had there been an art To know the Truth, then not for armour's sake Had Aias stout his sword so brightly gray R 26o Deep in his bosom thrust ; for he Except Achilles was the bravest of the host, Whom steady-blowing Zephyr's escort bore In speedy ships the v/aters o'er, — His wife for yellow Menelaiis home to take, — To Ilus' city. But the wave of Hades flows To whelm us all alike, and falls On him that waits it and that waits it not. But honour springs for them, for whom when dead A god prepares the aid Of graceful story, who wide-bosomed Earth's centre-stone have reached. When Priam's halls Neoptolemus had sacked, — the close Of all the Danaan's long toil, — he saw this spot. And lies in Pythian ground ; for sailing home Skyros he missed, but happed to roam To Ephyre at last by devious courses led. He in Molossia reigned but little while, — Though still his seed forever Have held that honour, — for when nigh he drew The altar, to deliver . Troy's first-fruits rare, a fellow of his crew 26 1 In quarrel o'er the fleshy spoil With carving-knife the chief attacked and slew. And sore the kindly Delphic folk were grieved, although He did but pay the debt of fate. For need it was that one of kingly birth Of Aiakus' descent should aye remain Beside the well-built fane Of Phoibos, in that oldest close to be A resident chief-officer of state, The heroes' sacrificial show To see performed with due respect. Three words are worth Much speaking, since no witness false presides O'er Pytho's rites ; no risk betides Me, when I say that those who come of Zeus and thee, Aigina, claim renown in right of ancestry For shining worth. But rest is sweet In every sort of work ; and honey e'en, And Aphrodite's choicest blossoms, breed Surfeit in them that feed Too long thereon. By nature each man lives A life distinct ; no one of us may meet With unalloyed felicity : 262 That were impossible. Sharing her gifts between Us fairly, perfect, lasting, bliss to none That I can name has Moira shown : Still ample share of luck, Thearion, now she gives To thee, with daring set on objects high Sagacity uniting, A guest and stranger I am here to-day, Jealous detraction slighting : Like one who makes the river water-way A friend's dry meads to moisten, I Will laud true glory, good men's richest pay. None of Achaia's men shall blame me, be he nigh Though dwelling on Ionia's sea ; Here on the public friendship I may lean ; And when at home among my countrymen, My eye is bright of ken : Not passing bounds, out of my path I roll All violence. May years oncoming be Cheery ; and men shall say if I To scandal's tattle use my singing to demean. O Sogenes, from Euxenus' proud line Descended, this quick tongue of mine 263 Like javelin brazen-cheeked I ne'er beyond the goal Have sped, I swear it. Thou from wrestling-feat Broughtest thy neck and strength undewed With moisture, till thy young limbs fell within 'I'he sunshine's scorching reach. If toil be sore Joy follows all the more. Nay, let me be ; for if perhaps too gay I cried a little loud, I still am good To pay the winner honour meet. 'T is lightsome work to weave tlie crowns. The song begin For surely gold and snow-white ivory The Muse to-day entwines for thee With lily-flowers plucked beneath the salt sea spray. "When thou dost mention make at Nemea Of Zeus, thou must discreetly Control the varied tones of those who sing. And fit it is that sweetly Low voices in this plot should praise the king Of gods ; for Aiakus, they say, His mother l)orc to his higli fathering, Lord of his own fair isle to be, and brother dear 264 And loving friend, O Herakles, To thee. And if man ever get by man Advantage, we should say a neighbour's love Strong, hearty, true, would prove Joy to his neighbour v/orth the world beside. And if a god would give us gifts like these. Oh ! then full fain to dwell anear Thy temple, who hast quelled the Giants' godless clan. With fortune crowned were Sogenes' desire In gentle tendance on his sire. In that rich street where his forefathers lived and died. For like the pole upon the double-yoked car His home, O blessed hero, lies 'Twixt thy domains that stretch on either hand. Thine is it Hera's husband to persuade, And the fierce grey-eyed maid ; Nay and thyself to mortals oft canst give Aid in embarrassing perplexities. Oh ! would that life, with nought to mar Its happiness, and strength its trials to withstand, Thou wouldest weave for them, for youth's glad stage. And comfortable, calm, old age ! And that their sons' sons aye may high in honour live 265 As now, and higher after. Ne'er did T,— I Avill not make admission, — Neoptolemus with scurvy words abuse. Yet endless repetition Of praise itself can serve no sort of use : As chatter-boxes idly cry Three times and four, " Korinthus is of Zeus." 266 8. ^0 Qetub 0f g^ishm. O ROYAL time of Spring, that heraldest Bright Aphrodite's loves divine, And sitting on the Hds of maidens' eyes and boys' Wilt one with soft compulsion's gentle hands Ennoble, while thy spell destroys Or scathes another's breast. 'T is passing sweet to own the power that commands In every case love's better joys, Nor wander from the path when Fortune is benign. 'T was thus the shepherds of the gifts conferred By her of Kyprus o'er the bed Of Zeus and of Aigina watched ; and thence arose A son, Oinone's king, alike the best In counsel calm and heavy blows. And many prayers were heard Of men that they might see him : for uncalled, unprcssed. 26/ The bravest of the heroes chose, Who dwelt around, by him as chieftain to be led ; They who in rocky Athens kept her host In discipline, and Pelops' seed. Lords of tlie Spartan land. In suppliance I clasp the venerated knees of Aiakus For this dear isle and these her habitants, Bearing my Lydian chaplet, wrought With many a curious Device of thrilling song and sounding reed, For Deinis' double course from Nemea brought To make his father Meges glorious. For weal with heaven begot aye stays by men the most. With wealth erewhile this loaded Kinyras In sea-girt Kyprus. Now I stand 'i'iptoe afoot, and draw my breath before 1 speak. For much has oft been told and many-wise : Yet great the peril if one seek And find new truth, alas ! 1' or proof to lay it on the touchstone. Dainty prize Are tales to Envy's tongue, the weak That ne'er assaults, but stalks the noblest in the land. 268 Envy devoured the son of Telamon ; For this upon his sword he died : For in the dismal strife obHvion is the meed Of one not quick of speech but bold of heart ; And highest honours are decreed To falsehood's shifty tone. For Greeks with votes clandestine took Odysseus' part ; And spoiled of th' arms of gold, his right indeed, Aias was left alone to combat suicide. Yet not alike the wounds in battle free They dealt hot-blooded on the foe. Some round Achilles' body scarcely cold, Some in the other toils of those disastrous days, 'Neath the protecting lance. But e'en of old Hateful Deception had her hour ; Who travels in the ways Where Flattery and Guile are wont to go, ^Vily of mind, an ill of baleful power, That presses hard on brilliancy, to raise The rotten fame of one meet for obscurity. Be ne'er such habit mine, O father Zeus ; To simple paths of life let me 269 Hold fast, that dying I may leave my sons a fame Unsmirched by evil rumour. Some men pray For gold, and others fain would claim Unbounded lands to use ; But I desire in earth my limbs to hide away In favour with my fellows, blame Casting on all things foul, and lauding bravery. For merit, as a tree fed by gray dews Shoots up toward the moistened air, Grows aye more perfect, by the just of men and wise Being exalted. Great and manifold Needs of a friendly hand arise : And though its highest use Be seen in trouble, joy is eager to behold Proof of itself before its eyes. Meges my friend, to bid thy soul again repair To earth is past my strength ; and wishes vain Have empty ending. But I can Build for thy house and the Chariadae A mighty monument of song, to celebrate Two lucky pairs of feet. And joyfully I vaunt me as befits the deed : 270 For song has magic great To kill the pain of toil for toiling man, And festal hymns, the conqueror's best meed, Were known to singers of remotest date ; Before Adrastus fought, or Kadmus' kin were slain. 2/1 9- Co Cbrcrmuts of ^tiur- Come, Muses ; from Apollo's home In Sikyon we'll lead the brawls To new-built Etna till we come, And enter Chromius' happy halls ; Where yielding gates' fly open wide Before his guests' triumphant tide. But words with sweetest minstrelsy Combine ; for when his conquering Chariot he mounts, he claims that we A song should to the Mother sing. And to her children twain, who keep Together watch o'er Pytho's lofty steep. An ancient proverb serves to bid That honest work, when fairly done, Should never be in silence hid OTy 72 Beneath the ground. Th' exultant tone Of song divine may fittest suit High deeds : and we the sounding lute And fife will rouse to hymn the prime Of games, where steeds of famous blood Contend, which in the olden time Adrastus by Asopus' flood Stablished for Phoibos' sake : and we Will deck with honours for their memory The hero who was monarch then ; And there in novel festival, Where hollow cars and valiant men As rivals strove, displayed to all His city's glory. For he fled, Through bold Amphiaraiis' dread, To 'scape sedition murderous From Argos and his father's home ; Since there the sons of Talaiis Bare rule no longer, overcome By faction : for the stronger hand Puts down the early usage of a land. But Eriphyle, fatal wife. 273 When to O'lkleus' son they gave, For surety leal of ended strife, They grew the greatest 'mong the brave Yellow-haired Danaans : so they In those old days their host's array To Thebes the seven-gated led Without one favourable sign From flight of birds ; nor overhead Did Zeus, who makes the lightning shine, Urge them from home in eager pride ; But bade them from the journey turn aside. So swift to ruin sure and clear Sped that ill-omened army's ranks. With brazen arms and splendid gear Of steeds. But on Ismenus' banks, — Sweet hopes of home-returning dead And gone, — they with their bodies fed The thick white smoke. For seven pyres Feasted on young limbs fresh and brave : But Zeus, who wields th' eternal fires, With thunderbolt resistless clave Deep-bosomed Earth, and hid in death Amphiaralis and his steeds beneath. 274 Ere Periklymenus's spear Had struck hiin in the back, and made His warrior's soul ashamed : for fear, — When gods conspire to make afraid, — • Puts even sons of gods to flight. O son of Kronos, if it might So be, I fain would long delay This bold but sore arbitrament, Where life and death hang on the fray. With yon Phoinikian armament ; And pray thee grant that orderly The lot of Etna's children long may be. Nay I would rather they should choose In civic triumphs their success. For men there are there, father Zeus, Who love the steed, and souls possess Superior to gain, although Untrusty sound my words, I know. For unawares is Modesty Despoiled by love of gain, though fraught With glory : but hadst thou been by When foot, and horse, and navies, fought, Chromius' shield-bearer, thine had been 2/5 Throughout the risk of battle's piercing din To judge in stress of fight how well That selfsame goddess Modesty- Nerved his brave spirit to repel The War-god's havoc. Few there be With limbs and soul and wit to know To turn upon the marshalled foe That dreadful cloud, when big with blood About their feet and o'er their head It gathers. By Scamander's flood For Hektor glory's flower is said Once to have bloomed ; and so beside The beetling cliffs that hem Helorus' tide, Hard by the well-known ford that bears Area's name, this light has shone, In early prime of manhood's years, Upon Agesidamus' son. And many a tale have I to tell Of struggles where he bore him well, Some on the dusty plain, and some On yonder sea, its neighbour bright. And out of toils is wont to come, s 2/6 When young men toil with purpose right, Calm in old age. Then let him wot What wondrous bliss the gods have made his lot. For if to wealth's abundant store Be joined illustrious repute, A mortal man may strive no more On other heights to plant his foot. But friends at banquet met delight In quiet ; and triumphant might, Though fresh its youthful vigour be. Will gather strength from gentle song ; And when the bowl is flowing free Unwonted courage fires the tongue. Then straight let some one mix for me This welcome harbinger of revelry. The headstrong offspring of the vine Let them in silver goblets pour ; Which late, on Chromius' board to shine. From Sikyon's god-haunted shore His matchless mares have gained and sent, With Phoibos' well-won chaplets blent. O father Zeus, to thee I pray. 277 Grant me the Graces' aid to sing This worthy deed ; and let my lay, His newest triumph dowering With honour, many lays excel, Striking the Muses' mark with aim invincible ! 2/8 [o. C0 S^Ijcaius 0f %xc^os- The town of Danaiis With fifty daughters each on sj^lendid throne, Argos, the worthy home of Hera's godship sing, Ye Graces ; for she shines with excellence Of hardy deeds in days far hence. 'T were tedious What Perseus with Medusa's Gorgon-head Performed to tell ; or how in Egypt Epaphus Established cities fair past numbering ; Nor when she kept her sword, in purpose all alone, Safe in its sheath was Hypermnestra's soul misled. And once the yellow-tressed Gray-eyed Athena made a god divine Of Diomedes ; once, smit by the bolt of Zeus, The Theban soil Oikleus' prophet-son, War's very storm-cloud, closed upon : 279 And still she best Is famed for fair-haired women. Zeus of old Seeking Alkmena's arms and Danae's confessed This ancient saying true. She too the use Gave to Adrastus' son and Lynkeus to combine Perfect uprightness with ripe wisdom manifold, And nursed the courage of Amphitryon. Nay and the mightiest In bliss to his affinity Came down, for when With brazen weapons the Teleboae He slew, the king of gods his semblance deigned to don, And to his chamber pressed, Bearing the fearless seed of Herakles ; Whose matchless bride, Fairest of goddesses, Hebe, Olympus treads beside The Mother who fulfils the vows of men. Too poor my tongue to tell All the good things that fate has made the share Of Argos' wide domains : and envious folk are hard To meet. But still thy well-strung lyre awake, 28o Bid her of wrestling-matches take Good heed and well. For lo ! to Hera's solemn sacrifice The brazen contest bids the eager people swell, To see each winner get his own reward : And Oulias's son Theaius winning there Has patient labour drowned in sweet oblivion twice. He in the days gone by All Hellas' host at Pytho o'erthrew ; And coming companied by fortune gained the crown At Isthmus and at Nemea, to yield The Muses an unfurrowed field ; Three times he won By the sea's gates, and on the sacred plain Thrice by Adrastus' laws in peerless might he shone. O father Zeus, his tongue will not make kno\\Ti His soul's desires ; but all result to thee is due : No faint-heart he that prays so boldly grace to gain. KnowTi to Theaius and to all, who e'er Strive for the chiefest prize Of th' highest games, I tell my tale : How over all 281 The Pisan rites of Herakles prevail : But twice Theaius' feats to dithyrambic air At Athens' mysteries Sweet voices have proclaimed in revel-song ; And once in clay Fire-hardened to the strong People of Hera came the gray Old olive's fruit in jars pictorial. Thick on thy mother's race Of wide renown the contests' honours fall, Theaius, granted by the Graces and the twin Tyndaridae. But I would never hide, Were I to Thrasyklus allied, — As is thy case, — And Antias, the radiance of my eyes From Argos' folk. For count how many triumphs grace Proitus' horse-breeding city. To begin Four times betwixt her bays at Corinth's festival, And from Kleonre's men four times they took the prize; Then home from Sikyon Enriched with silver wine-cups they returned ; And from Pellene came with cloaks upon their backs 282 Of softest wool ; but all their countless plate And bronzes to enumerate Would lay upon Me more than I can do. A longer space Of leisure time 't would need to tell them one by one, At Kleitor, Tegea, in the mountain-tracks Of rough Achaia's towns, or on Lykaius earned Nigh Zeus's fane by strength of hand or speed of pace. Since Kastor erst and Polydeukes came Twin boys petitioning Old guestship's rights from Pamphaes, AVe marvel not To find inbred in them the qualities Of right good wrestlers. For the fate of every game Is in the ordering Of ample Sparta's lords, with Herakles' And Hermes' aid. And just men's honour these Their special care have always made : Yea faithful is the race by gods begot. And interchanging still Alternate days, they live for one beside 283 Their loving father Zeus, and He the next beneath Earth's bowels in the vales of Therapne, Filling an equal destiny. This lot the will Of Polydeukes chose, rather than dwell Wholly a god for aye upon Olympus' hill, When Kastor had in combat met his death ; With javelin-point of bronze when Idas smote his side, While for his missing kine his wrath was terrible. Far from Taygetus, As on an oaken bole the brothers sate, Lynkeus upon his watch espied them ; for his sight The sharpest was that ever earthly man Was gifted with : then straight they ran Impetuous With nimble feet, and schemed a mighty doom To bring about. But in one end calamitous The sons of Aphareus were through the might Of Zeus involved : for Leda's son precipitate Came in pursuit ; and they against their father's tomb Stood up to meet him. There a polished stone, The head-piece of the gra\'e, 284 Grasping, at Polydeukes' breast They hurled it : yet They crushed him not, nor made him in the least Give back ; but rushing on through Lynkeus' mid-rib bone His spear's quick point he drave. And Zeus his smoking bolt on Idas' head Cast, fraught with flame : And both lay scorched and dead Unholpen. 'T is a losing game For man against a stronger power to fret. Then swiftly back again To his strong brother Tyndareus's son Hasted, and found him not yet dead, but every breath Laboured and rough ; then dropped hot tears beside His body, and with groanings cried Aloud, " From pain, O father son of Kronos, what shall be Deliverance ? For me, great Sovereign, ordain That with my brother I partake his death. Honour from one bereft of those he loves is gone ; And few of men are true in dire extremity Of toil to take their share." 285 This was his plaint ; and Zeus before him came, And spake these words : " Thou art my son ; but afterward Her hero-husband in thy mother's bed Of mortal seed thy brother bred. But come howe'er, I give thee choice of two alternatives. If thou thyself alone wouldst on Olympus care, Escaping death and eld that men regard With hate, to dwell with me for evermore the same, Where my Athena, where black-spearbd Ares lives, This destiny is thine : but if thou wilt Still for thy brother's sake Contend, and all thy lot with him To share dost ask, Then shalt thou half thy days dwell in the dim Regions beneath the earth, and half among the gilt Abodes of heaven." Thus spake The king of gods to Polydeukes. He No doubtful choice Expressed. Then speedily 'Gan Zeus the eyes and then the voice To loose of Kastor of the brazen casque. 286 1 1 • C0 g^rbtngarus of Ci^itcbos. Daughter of Rhea whose it is to sway The civic hearth-stone, sister of most high Zeus and his partner Hera, Hestia, Our Aristagoras to thy retreat With these his friends make welcome nigh Thy shining sceptre, since by this thy worship they Keep Tenedos__their home upright upon her feet ; Much with Hbations glorifying thee As first of gods, and much with burning fat : While lyre and song unite their melody, And with perpetual feasts we celebrate Zeus who protects the stranger ; that So Aristagoras may, rich in dignity. His twelvemonth's task fulfil with heart unharmed by fatt And I congratulate 28; His sire Arkesilas on such a son, Of form so fair and fearlessness innate. But if a man possessed of wealth excel The comeliness Of other men, and strength have shown As winner in the games, let him remember well He still must don On mortal limbs the festal go^vn, And will at last have nought but earth for dress. Yet should he have the favourable word Of fellow-to^vnsmen ; and 't is right that we With honied hymns should make his praises heard, And paint his virtues. By the folk around For wrestle, and the mastery Of pancratist, with wreaths on conquerors conferred He and his famous clan have sixteen times been crowned. His parents' hesitating hope and fear Their mighty son withheld, when fain to try At Pytho and Olympia ; and I swear I throughly am convinced that, had he come To thy clear waters, Castaly, Or Kronos' shady hill, in prowess more than peer 288 Of rival combatants he thence had hied him home, The solemn revelry Of the quinquennial feast of Herakles First having led, with darkling greenery Of olive round his tresses tied. But one Of mortal mould His empty-headed pride has thro^vn Out of good fortune ; one a soul, that dares not run The risk it sees, Drags backward from success his own, O'ercome with fright of being overbold. 'T were easy work his ancient ancestry To piece from Sparta and Peisandros' blood ; For with Orestes from Amyklae he A host of brazen-armed Aiolians led Hither. And by Ismenus' flood From Melanippus' loins his mother's family Their blended worth derive. And excellence inbred Of old, although for generations strange, Recovers strength again. The swarthy field Gives not its yearly crop without a change ; 289 Nor do the trees the fragrance of their bloom Ahvays with equal richness yield Through all the circling years' interminable range, But vary evermore. So mortal folk does Doom Conduct. There comes nowhence Sure sign from Zeus to men : but ne'ertheless We tread the paths of proud self-confidence, Our hearts on much performance bent ; for aye With hopes that know No shame our limbs are girt around ; And forethought's golden streams lie very far away. For greediness Of gain a Hmit must be found ; But mad loves unattained work keener woe. FRAGMENTS. 293 :. #f (^phitlua ox Songs of Cnumplj. Famous is Aiakus in tale, and great Aigina's naval fame : But when the Dorian army, sped by fate Divine, of Hyllus and Aigimius came, They took it for themselves ; but still Subject to ancient rule they dwell; No law of gods or men in stubborn will O'erriding : but their neighbours they excel, As dolphins other fishes in the sea ; And prudent stewards are Of all the Muses fare, And where the wrestlers strive for master}'. II. Take from Taygetus Lakonias' hound, 294 If thou wouldst have the wisest of her race Wild beasts to chase. And Skyros' goats are found The best above the milking-pail to stand. From Argos get thy panoply Of arms ; thy war-car from the land Of Thebes ; but if thou wouldst a fancy carriage see, That thou must seek in fruitful Sicily. III. And 't is a fitting meed That men of worth in choicest song should be Extolled ; for in no other wise Can words lay hold of immortality Of honour ; and a noble deed Forgotten, dies. 295 #f Cljrenoi;, or girgcs- For them the sun in all his strength below Shines, when with us 't is night : And meads with crimson roses' glow Before their town are dight ; And in the shade the trees Bend down with frankincense and golden fruit. And there some please Themselves with feats of horseback exercise, And some with draughts, and others witli the lute. And every sort of happiness Blooms in luxuriance there : Whilst a sweet odour lies For aye above that land so fair From them that mingle victims numberless With fire, whose radiance shines 296 Afar, upon the gods' well-tended shrines. IT. By blessed destiny Each one of us an end attains Where labour gets release. And though with all The body at the bidding needs must be Of overpowering death, there yet remains Life's spirit still alive. For this alone Is from the gods : but whilst the limbs can strive It sleeps ; yet oft in dreams has showii To men asleep at ease The judgment soon to fall Of pleasant or of sad futurity. III. Souls of the impious In killing pains, excluded from the sky, Flit restless over earth's broad face, With gyves about their limbs 297 Of ills they cannot fly : But pious souls in heaven their dwelling-place Sing God Almighty's praise in tuneful hymns. IV. For some, from whom Persephone Accepts atonement for an ancient \ATong, Back to the sun above In the ninth year their souls she gives. From these arise Great kings of matchless might and noble lives, And sages eminently wise. And men thereafter love To call them holy heroes through the long Remainder of the years to be. 298 gtirjDramboi;, or gynms in Ijonowr of gbngsus Come hither to the dance, Olympian gods, and send us glorious Grace, Ye who frequent The city's crowded centre, where the scent Of incense hangs about the holy walls Of Athens, and her famous market-place Gorgeous with ornament. Accept our out-poured offering Of WTeaths of violets fresh-plucked in spring ; And look on me as, by the will of Zeus I for the second time advance To th' ivy-girdled god with noble song, Whom mortal language calls Bromius, the Mighty Shouter. Here I came To hymn the offspring of a sire most high 299 And a Kadmeian dame. In Argive Nemea the sprig of palm 'Scapes not the prophet's eye, Soon as the Season's chamber-doors are loose, And nectar-laden plants perceive the scent Of Spring's fresh balm. Then tufts of violets are spread Over the ground in loveliness divine. And roses in our locks we twine. Sound therefore, choric throng. With flutes and vocal melody, Sound, loudly sound, the praise of Semele, Who wears the twisted fillet round her head. II. O Athens, glorious town. Resplendent, circled with thy crown Of violets and song, Thou only strong Bulwark of Hellas, city marvellous * * * 300 III. * * * to thee, Great Mother Kybele, The cymbals as they whirl the rites begin, And clashing castanets increase the din, And through the air The blazing yellow pine-wood torches flare. ?oi 4- ^f ^rosobia or ^votesstonal pnmns. All hail ! thou god-built daughter of the sea, Offshoot of earth To glossy-tressed Leto's children twain most dear, This wide-spread world's unmoving progeny, Whom mortals Delos' isle, But blessed gods upon Olympus style Our darkling earth's conspicuous star, ***** For formerly by winds and buffets wild Of many a tempest she was borne about : But soon as Koius' child Came to her in the throes of birth, Four columns stout On adamantine bases 'gan uprear Themselves from Earth's deep roots that stretch afar 302 Unseen, and on their capitals they bare The rock ; and there After her pains 't was hers her happy babes to see. II. What can inspire The bard with sweeter zest, Or when he takes or lays aside his lyre, Than hymning Leto of the ample vest, And them that speed The fleetness of the steed ? in. Nay by Olympian Zeus I thee entreat, O golden Pytho, famed for prophecy, With Aphrodite to thy sacred seat And with the Graces, welcome me The mouthpiece of Pieria's minstrelsy ! 303 5- d3f c^holm, ox Massail-songs. Ye damsels of the hospitable kind, Who on Persuasion wait In wealthy Corinth, who to honour her Oft bum the yellow tears of paly trees Of frankincense, and fly in mind To bow before the Mother-queen of Love, The heavenly Aphrodite ; she Has granted ye, children, her indulgence from above, Your prime's soft fruit To gather in the beds of pleasant ease. And all is fair when man with fate Contends. But what of me, 1 wonder, will the lords of Isthmus say, So sweet beginning of a roundelay 304 Who make to suit Women of questionable character ? Nay, we have learned with touchstone pure to prove The qualities of gold * * * * * Then come, O queen of Kyprus, to thine house : For Xenophon has hither led To this thy grove a hundred head Of wild girls in his joy at granted vows. II. 'T is meet, my soul, of love to pluck the fruits, Whilst prime of manhood suits ; But whoso looks upon the sparkling rays Of young Throxenus's eyes. And tosses not on billows of desire ; O'er a cold fire His gloomy heart of adamant was wrought, Or iron : or by some quick glance awry Of Aphrodite's eye He has been scorned, and spends laborious days . For riches, or in soul he tries 305 With woman's courage still his road to keep Albeit steep. But I, like wax of honey-bees, am brought To dwining as one stung, when face to face I look upon The smooth fresh limbs of budding youth. And now in sooth In Tenedos Persuasiveness and Grace Dwell in Agesilas's son. 111. O Thrasyboulus, friend, This vehicle of dulcet songs I send For supper's end. And may they welcome be To them that quaff with thee The fruit of Dionysus' husbandry, And motive of Athenian revelry 3o6 Beam of the Sun that see'st all things that are, Thou parent of the quickness of mine eyes, Supremest star, Wherefore withdrawn by day Hast thou man's soaring powers helpless made. And barred the travel of the wise ? For hurrying along the way Of darkness, thou Art driving some new course untried before. Nay but by Zeus I thee implore, Turn now thy steeds divine, And this the universal prodigy. To unalloyed prosperity For Thebes. But if thou bringest us a sign Of some fresh war, or crops in ruin laid, Or an excessive fall of snow, Or fatal civil war, 307 Or ocean's overflow O'er the dry land, or fields in ice-grip bound, Or summer of south winds juicy with rain Tempestuous ; or if thou now Wilt drown the earth, and make again A brand-new race of men to till the ground ; Then with the wailing train I too will suffer, but will not complain. u 3o8 Suitbrw Q^tB- I. Shall we Ismenus praise, Or golden-spindled Melia, Or Kadmus, or the holy brood Born of the So^\^l, or Thebe's purple snood, Or Herakles' unflinching might, Or Dionysus' mirth-begetting rite, Or bridal of whitearmed Harmonia ? ***** In the primeval days Was heavenly Themis sage as fair With steeds of gold from Ocean's bed By the three Fates to th' holy ladder led, 'Mid bright Olympus' paths to be Preserving Zeus's first-wed wife, and she The fruitful, true, gold-snooded Seasons bare. 309 11. What hopest thou to find in wisdom's lore, Wherein one man a Httle may excel His fellow ? It can never be That mind of mortal should explore The counsels of the gods on high that dwell In immortality. And him a mortal mother bore. III. To them that try it not War is a pleasant thing, but one, whose lot Has been to try it, shudders when he sees Approaching enemies.' IV. When god makes plain The start for each event, the path is straight The palm of worthiness to gain, And better endings on performance wait. 310 If ever citizen Guide his community To rest and quietness, Then let him seek the beaming Hght to find Of self-sufficing unobtrusiveness ; Revengeful faction ousting from his mind ; Whose gifts are penury, Who ever proves a cruel niurse to men. VI. 'T is possible to God from darkest night To bid arise the undefiled day Of sunshine ; or when noon is full and bright Its sheen in murk of clouds to hide away. VII. O Truth, great queen, thou fount and origin Of virtue's might, Snare not, I pray, my plighted promise in The har's evil plight. 311 VIII. When from the breasts of men Anxiety with all her toil departs ; And on a sea Of over-golden riches we S\vim all alike For a deceitful shore. He that was poor before has plenty then, And rich men multiply their store ; While home upon their hearts Shafts from the bow of Dionysus strike. IX. The horse is best for driving, The ox befits the plough. The dolphin quickly diving Goes by the galley's prow ; But if thou wouldst behind thee Bear homeward, safe and sound. The slain wild boar, then find thee The brave, enduring, hound. 312 X. One glories in the honours of the course, The crowns that wreathe the whirlwind-footed horse ; Some love a life that's led In gilded bed ; And some in safety where the salt seas toss Delight in galley swift the brine to cross. XI. Stirred from his rest he roamed o'er land and sea, On mighty mountain out-looks rested he, And searched the forest-nooks and clefts in misery. XII. What must I do to be Thy friend, O mighty Thunderer, dread son Of Kronos, what to make me one Of those the Muses reckon dear. The constant favourite of kindly cheer ? This, only this, I ask of thee. 313 XIII. Then forth from all the flocks there bubbled out, Like purest water from the fountain-head, Fresh milk ; and they to fill their pitchers sped, And ne'er a leathern jug nor pot of stone In all the dwellings thereabout Kept holiday ; But bowls of wood, and jars of clay Were filled to brimming every one. XIV. Show not to strangers whatso harm betide Us ; this to thee I say. If fair success and pleasant cheer Be thine, in public straight appear. That all the folk thy luck may hear. But if God send misfortune in thy way, 'T is best a man should this in darkness hide. TURNBULL AND SPEARS, PRINTERS. so t^ 1 _r / \l so 2 i!^ % C3 (•5 .5 f -Tl 9 f 50 5<> Dl IJ ^OF-CAllFOff^ >&Aavaaii-i^ ^lOSANCElfj-^ o %a3AINn3WV** o^lOSANCnfj"^ 00 so > A^t-lIBRARYQ/r ^^mmyi^ ^OFCAllF0/?;j^ "^^^Aavaaif^ /ERSy^ .V^OSANCElfj-^ -n o -n C_> ^^\\EUNIVER% ^lOSANCElfXo. .^.OFCAIIFO% UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles ThU book b DUE on U,e la« da« stamped below. 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